General Affairs
Forces Will Not Talk, Just Deliver: Air Force Chief Arup Raha
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HINDON: Asserting that the Indian armed forces are prepared to take on any challenge, Indian Air Force or IAF chief Arup Raha today said there has been enough discussion on the surgical strikes across the Line of Control or LoC, but the forces will not talk about it.
"There has been so much discussion on this issue in the country; every section of society is giving opinion on this issue. ... the armed forces are supposed to deliver the result that the nation expects. We are not going to talk about it; we will just deliver," Air Chief Marshal Raha said at the Hindon air base on the 84th Air Force Day.
Air chief Raha is also the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee.
Responding to a question on the surgical strikes and politicisation of the issue, Air chief Raha refused to comment on the Indian Army action across the Line of Control on the night of September 28-29 and related issues.
The surgical strikes had come after the September 18 terrorist attack on an army camp in Uri town of Jammu and Kashmir, in which 19 soldiers were killed.
In his speech at the Air Force Day function earlier, Air chief Raha mentioned both Pathankot and Uri attacks in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir respectively.
"Terrorist attacks at the Uri (army camp) and Pathankot (IAF) base show the troubled times we are living in," Air chief Raha said.
Asked to comment on the issue later, the Air Force chief said India is learning lessons every time something happens.
"We are getting smarter and smarter; we are learning lessons every time something happens. I think we are very well prepared now to face any such contingency," he said.
"The armed forces are well prepared to take on any sub-conventional threat. We have had one or two cases... a determined terrorist can always get the better of people but the aim is to prevent it... the deterrence. We should be able to detect any such attack right in the beginning so that we can neutralise them (terrorists) before they cause any damage," the IAF chief said.
Air chief Raha, in his speech, said that India is being seen as a "net security provider" in the Indian Ocean region.
The Air Force Day commemorates the establishment of the armed force on October 8, 1932.
"There has been so much discussion on this issue in the country; every section of society is giving opinion on this issue. ... the armed forces are supposed to deliver the result that the nation expects. We are not going to talk about it; we will just deliver," Air Chief Marshal Raha said at the Hindon air base on the 84th Air Force Day.
Air chief Raha is also the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee.
The surgical strikes had come after the September 18 terrorist attack on an army camp in Uri town of Jammu and Kashmir, in which 19 soldiers were killed.
In his speech at the Air Force Day function earlier, Air chief Raha mentioned both Pathankot and Uri attacks in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir respectively.
Asked to comment on the issue later, the Air Force chief said India is learning lessons every time something happens.
"We are getting smarter and smarter; we are learning lessons every time something happens. I think we are very well prepared now to face any such contingency," he said.
"The armed forces are well prepared to take on any sub-conventional threat. We have had one or two cases... a determined terrorist can always get the better of people but the aim is to prevent it... the deterrence. We should be able to detect any such attack right in the beginning so that we can neutralise them (terrorists) before they cause any damage," the IAF chief said.
Air chief Raha, in his speech, said that India is being seen as a "net security provider" in the Indian Ocean region.
The Air Force Day commemorates the establishment of the armed force on October 8, 1932.
Need To Carefully Resolve Inter-State Water Rows: Union Minister
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NEW DELHI: The inter-state disputes over sharing of Cauvery, Mahadayi and Krishna river waters that are stuck in courts for long need to be "carefully" resolved, Union minister Ananth Kumar said today.
Efforts are also being made to settle out of the court the Mahadayi water dispute between Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa at the earliest, he said.
"Many of the Karnataka issues on inter-state water disputes related to Cauvery, Krishna and Mahadayi rivers are pending in courts at various levels for long. There is a need to resolve them carefully," Mr Kumar said.
While appreciating literary personalities for staging protest on these issues in the interest of Karnataka, the minister said, "More than protests, there is a need to create broader awareness about the state and its concerns at the central government level as well as in the judiciary."
Mr Kumar, a senior BJP leader from the Bangalore south constituency, also assured that Karnataka MPs, irrespective of parties, are united in spirit to work in the interest of the state though the paths may be different.
On the Mahadayi dispute, the minister said the three states - Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra - are making efforts to settle the issue out of the court.
"I have spoken to both Goa and Maharashtra Chief Ministers on this issue and shared how important this river water is for drinking and irrigation purposes in Uttar Kannada district," he said.
The Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has written letters to his Goa and Karnataka counterparts to invite them for a meeting later this month to discuss the matter.
Efforts are also being made to settle out of the court the Mahadayi water dispute between Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa at the earliest, he said.
"Many of the Karnataka issues on inter-state water disputes related to Cauvery, Krishna and Mahadayi rivers are pending in courts at various levels for long. There is a need to resolve them carefully," Mr Kumar said.
While appreciating literary personalities for staging protest on these issues in the interest of Karnataka, the minister said, "More than protests, there is a need to create broader awareness about the state and its concerns at the central government level as well as in the judiciary."
Mr Kumar, a senior BJP leader from the Bangalore south constituency, also assured that Karnataka MPs, irrespective of parties, are united in spirit to work in the interest of the state though the paths may be different.
On the Mahadayi dispute, the minister said the three states - Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra - are making efforts to settle the issue out of the court.
"I have spoken to both Goa and Maharashtra Chief Ministers on this issue and shared how important this river water is for drinking and irrigation purposes in Uttar Kannada district," he said.
The Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has written letters to his Goa and Karnataka counterparts to invite them for a meeting later this month to discuss the matter.
Politics Over Jharkhand's Anti-Land Acquisition Protests Intensifies
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HAZARIBAGH: Anti-land acquisition protests in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh has united the opposition in the state with both the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal demanding that the state government re-look the award of land for mining to energy major National Thermal Power Corporation. The Pakri-Barwadih coal block is estimated to have 1.6 billion tonnes of coal reserves.
At the centre of the anti-land campaign is Dandi Kala village, where four people died last week in police firing. The villagers are demanding compensation according to the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 and jobs for locals in the NTPC project.
The opposition claims that the government is using police to suppress the legitimate demands of the locals. Accusing the police of high-handedness, local Congress legislator Nirmala Devi - who is in hiding - said that the police were misusing their power.
"I was beaten and abused by the police on Saturday (last week when she was briefly arrested) but I will continue to fight for the rights of the people. We are only demanding what is right under the constitution," she told in a recorded message.
"Rahul Gandhi is with the people, unlike Narendra Modi who wanted to change the law (Land Acquisition Act) when he entered office," said senior Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahay.
Jharkhand RJD president Gautam Rana points to the massive paramilitary presence in the area to allege that the government is trying to force the people in parting with their lands.
"Why do you need five companies of the paramilitary here? If you are doing the right thing then people would give the land themselves," he said.
Villagers claim they have been protesting for long, but successive governments did little to acknowledge their claims.
"We were protesting peacefully since 2000, but we intensified out protests this year after the NTPC started hastening its project," said Lakhendra Thakur, a local farmer.
The government has however denied all charges saying that due process was followed in fixing the compensation for villagers. Union minister and BJP legislator Jayant Sinha instead blamed the Congress for the stand-off.
"Nirmala Devi and her husband (former legislator Yogendra Saw) are protesting because they were denied special benefits from the NTPC project. They have been benefiting from illegal mining in the area for years," he said.
A letter, purportedly written by Yogendra Saw, is being circulated as proof that he did indeed ask for contracts for his son Ankit Raj. The latter has however denied the charges.
At the centre of the anti-land campaign is Dandi Kala village, where four people died last week in police firing. The villagers are demanding compensation according to the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 and jobs for locals in the NTPC project.
The opposition claims that the government is using police to suppress the legitimate demands of the locals. Accusing the police of high-handedness, local Congress legislator Nirmala Devi - who is in hiding - said that the police were misusing their power.
"I was beaten and abused by the police on Saturday (last week when she was briefly arrested) but I will continue to fight for the rights of the people. We are only demanding what is right under the constitution," she told in a recorded message.
"Rahul Gandhi is with the people, unlike Narendra Modi who wanted to change the law (Land Acquisition Act) when he entered office," said senior Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahay.
Jharkhand RJD president Gautam Rana points to the massive paramilitary presence in the area to allege that the government is trying to force the people in parting with their lands.
"Why do you need five companies of the paramilitary here? If you are doing the right thing then people would give the land themselves," he said.
Villagers claim they have been protesting for long, but successive governments did little to acknowledge their claims.
"We were protesting peacefully since 2000, but we intensified out protests this year after the NTPC started hastening its project," said Lakhendra Thakur, a local farmer.
"Nirmala Devi and her husband (former legislator Yogendra Saw) are protesting because they were denied special benefits from the NTPC project. They have been benefiting from illegal mining in the area for years," he said.
A letter, purportedly written by Yogendra Saw, is being circulated as proof that he did indeed ask for contracts for his son Ankit Raj. The latter has however denied the charges.
Quami Ekta Dal Chief Afzal Ansari Meets Mulayam Singh, Announces Joint Rally
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LUCKNOW: Two days after the formal declaration of Quami Ekta Dal's merger with Samajwadi Party, its president Afzal Ansari today met Mulayam Singh Yadav and announced a major rally with the SP chief in Ghazipur next month.
"A meeting was held with the SP chief Mulayam Singhji in a very cordial atmosphere and a decision has been taken to hold a rally in Mohamadabad area of Ghazipur in November," said Afzal, the elder brother of mafia don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari.
"The date of the rally will be decided after Diwali," Mr Afzal said.
Asked how many QED members would contest the coming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, he said since his party had now merged with the Samajwadi Party, any decision in this regard would be taken by the SP leadership. He said his brother would contest elections from the Mau seat for the SP.
"We have already started working as Samajwadi Party workers," Mr Afzal said.
On Thursday, the Samajwadi Party's state unit president Shivpal Singh Yadav had cleared the air over the merger with the QED.
"QED has already merged with SP. Netaji (Mulayam) has already made a statement in this regard in the media. His decision in final," Shivpal Yadav had said.
The SP-QED merger was announced in June in the presence of Shivpal Yadav but as Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who was the party's state president then, was reportedly against the move, it was called off by the party's state parliamentary board a few days later.
Speculation is rife that the formal announcement of the merger again by Shivpal Yadav might create fresh problems within Yadav family, as Akhilesh Yadav is said to be against it.
"A meeting was held with the SP chief Mulayam Singhji in a very cordial atmosphere and a decision has been taken to hold a rally in Mohamadabad area of Ghazipur in November," said Afzal, the elder brother of mafia don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari.
"The date of the rally will be decided after Diwali," Mr Afzal said.
Asked how many QED members would contest the coming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, he said since his party had now merged with the Samajwadi Party, any decision in this regard would be taken by the SP leadership. He said his brother would contest elections from the Mau seat for the SP.
"We have already started working as Samajwadi Party workers," Mr Afzal said.
On Thursday, the Samajwadi Party's state unit president Shivpal Singh Yadav had cleared the air over the merger with the QED.
"QED has already merged with SP. Netaji (Mulayam) has already made a statement in this regard in the media. His decision in final," Shivpal Yadav had said.
The SP-QED merger was announced in June in the presence of Shivpal Yadav but as Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who was the party's state president then, was reportedly against the move, it was called off by the party's state parliamentary board a few days later.
Speculation is rife that the formal announcement of the merger again by Shivpal Yadav might create fresh problems within Yadav family, as Akhilesh Yadav is said to be against it.
China Again Blocked UN Ban On Masood Azhar Over 'Different Views'
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China today defended its second technical hold to prevent a United Nations ban on Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar saying there were "different views" on India's application and that Beijing's move will allow more time for the "relevant parties" to have consultations.
Reacting to India's criticism that its second hold on attempts to ban Azhar sends a dangerous message, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the listing application member states submitted to the 1267 Committee of UN "must comply" with specific requirements of relevant resolutions of United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Though China is the lone member among the 15-member UNSC to oppose the ban on Azhar, Beijing claims that "different views" existed about India's application against Azhar.
"There are still different views on India's listing application made this March. The technical hold on it will allow more time for the Committee to deliberate on the matter and for relevant parties to have further consultations," the ministry said in a written reply to PTI to a question seeking its response to India's strong criticism.
The reference to "further consultations" apparently referred to direct consultations between India and Pakistan over the issue.
China had put the first technical hold six months ago on India's application following Azhar's alleged involvement in the Pathankot terrorist attack.
China had extended the second technical hold valid for three months during this week despite several consultations between New Delhi and Beijing at various levels.
It is expected to figure again during the expected meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit to be held in Goa from October 15-16.
While opposing the ban against Azhar, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said: "China firmly supports combating all forms of terrorism, stronger international cooperation against terrorism, and supports the central and coordinating role of the UN in international counter-terrorism cooperation."
It said, China always maintains that on the listing matter, the 1267 Committee should stick to the principles of objectivity, impartiality and professionalism, base its judgments on solid evidence and decide upon consensus among the members of the UNSC.
Without naming China, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said on October 6 that only one country had put the technical hold, blocking the ban by another three months, and criticised the completely "non-transparent and anonymous" manner of designating individuals by the UN Sanctions Committee.
India has been highlighting the cross-border terror threat emanating from Pakistan and tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad are on the rise since last month's Uri attack in Jammu and Kashmir which killed 19 Indian soldiers.
Noting that the UN Sanctions Committee has already proscribed Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed, he said the panel, however, ignored the need to take action against Azhar, the organisation's main leader, financier and motivator who continues his terrorist actions unhindered.
Responding to the extension of the hold, the External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said, "The (UN Sanctions) Committee has already pondered (over) our submission for the last six months. It will get a further three months to ponder, but that will in no way change the strange situation we have of the committee designating the terror organisation but failing to or ignoring the need to designate the organisation's most active and dangerous terrorist."
Reacting to India's criticism that its second hold on attempts to ban Azhar sends a dangerous message, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the listing application member states submitted to the 1267 Committee of UN "must comply" with specific requirements of relevant resolutions of United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Though China is the lone member among the 15-member UNSC to oppose the ban on Azhar, Beijing claims that "different views" existed about India's application against Azhar.
"There are still different views on India's listing application made this March. The technical hold on it will allow more time for the Committee to deliberate on the matter and for relevant parties to have further consultations," the ministry said in a written reply to PTI to a question seeking its response to India's strong criticism.
The reference to "further consultations" apparently referred to direct consultations between India and Pakistan over the issue.
China had put the first technical hold six months ago on India's application following Azhar's alleged involvement in the Pathankot terrorist attack.
China had extended the second technical hold valid for three months during this week despite several consultations between New Delhi and Beijing at various levels.
It is expected to figure again during the expected meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit to be held in Goa from October 15-16.
While opposing the ban against Azhar, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said: "China firmly supports combating all forms of terrorism, stronger international cooperation against terrorism, and supports the central and coordinating role of the UN in international counter-terrorism cooperation."
It said, China always maintains that on the listing matter, the 1267 Committee should stick to the principles of objectivity, impartiality and professionalism, base its judgments on solid evidence and decide upon consensus among the members of the UNSC.
Without naming China, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said on October 6 that only one country had put the technical hold, blocking the ban by another three months, and criticised the completely "non-transparent and anonymous" manner of designating individuals by the UN Sanctions Committee.
India has been highlighting the cross-border terror threat emanating from Pakistan and tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad are on the rise since last month's Uri attack in Jammu and Kashmir which killed 19 Indian soldiers.
Noting that the UN Sanctions Committee has already proscribed Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed, he said the panel, however, ignored the need to take action against Azhar, the organisation's main leader, financier and motivator who continues his terrorist actions unhindered.
Responding to the extension of the hold, the External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said, "The (UN Sanctions) Committee has already pondered (over) our submission for the last six months. It will get a further three months to ponder, but that will in no way change the strange situation we have of the committee designating the terror organisation but failing to or ignoring the need to designate the organisation's most active and dangerous terrorist."
Business Affairs
Swachh Bharat programme adaptation of Egypt project: World Bank Prez
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The USD 1 billion ambitious Swachh Bharat Rural Sanitation Project in India is an adaptation of a similar successful programme of Egypt, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has said while citing this as an example of sharing of global best practices.
"Knowledge is flowing across the organisation and to our client countries, driving creativity and innovation," Kim said in his address to the plenary session of the World Bank Group here.
He stated that the World Bank has successfully transferred knowledge and experience across regions.
"Through our new structure of Global Practices, knowledge sharing across countries has become easier and faster. For example, when the Government of India came to the Bank to prepare a major programme to expand sanitation services for the poor, we were able to transfer knowledge and experience from Egypt's Rural Sanitation Project and apply it in India," he said.
Kim stated that this sharing of knowledge resulted in the USD 1 billion Swachh Bharat Rural Sanitation Project in India, which applied knowledge of good service delivery -- in the areas of local governance, transparency and accountability to citizens -- that had already been taken to scale in Egypt.
"Thanks to our Global Practices, we are now working to share knowledge from these two projects globally. The changes we put in place were done for a reason: to help us better deliver results for you on the ground," he said.
"It's important to note that as we were implementing these reforms, you showed your support with a record 52-billion- dollar replenishment of International Development Association (IDA). And you encouraged us to boost International Bank for Reconstruction and Development's lending power through our 'Margins for Maneuver' programme," he said, adding that the IBRD's loan revenues will exceed administrative expenses in the next fiscal year for the first time in a long while.
Citing another Indian example, Kim said he is encouraged by the work that the World Bank is doing now to crowd in private sector investment.
"India has one of the largest networks of roads in the world, but the roads are overwhelmed -- just 2 per cent of its national highways carry 40 per cent of traffic, causing bottlenecks that can limit productivity and slow economic growth," he said.
"In India, as in every other developing country, infrastructure is key to integrating economies and delivering services. To help improve India's roads, International Finance Corporation (IFC) invested 250 million dollars in the Singapore-based firm Cube Highways. The firm is acquiring a portfolio of toll roads in India, injecting much- needed funds for road developers to complete their projects," the World Bank President said.
The USD 1 billion ambitious Swachh Bharat Rural Sanitation Project in India is an adaptation of a similar successful programme of Egypt, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has said while citing this as an example of sharing of global best practices.
"Knowledge is flowing across the organisation and to our client countries, driving creativity and innovation," Kim said in his address to the plenary session of the World Bank Group here.
He stated that the World Bank has successfully transferred knowledge and experience across regions.
"Through our new structure of Global Practices, knowledge sharing across countries has become easier and faster. For example, when the Government of India came to the Bank to prepare a major programme to expand sanitation services for the poor, we were able to transfer knowledge and experience from Egypt's Rural Sanitation Project and apply it in India," he said.
Kim stated that this sharing of knowledge resulted in the USD 1 billion Swachh Bharat Rural Sanitation Project in India, which applied knowledge of good service delivery -- in the areas of local governance, transparency and accountability to citizens -- that had already been taken to scale in Egypt.
"Thanks to our Global Practices, we are now working to share knowledge from these two projects globally. The changes we put in place were done for a reason: to help us better deliver results for you on the ground," he said.
"It's important to note that as we were implementing these reforms, you showed your support with a record 52-billion- dollar replenishment of International Development Association (IDA). And you encouraged us to boost International Bank for Reconstruction and Development's lending power through our 'Margins for Maneuver' programme," he said, adding that the IBRD's loan revenues will exceed administrative expenses in the next fiscal year for the first time in a long while.
Citing another Indian example, Kim said he is encouraged by the work that the World Bank is doing now to crowd in private sector investment.
"India has one of the largest networks of roads in the world, but the roads are overwhelmed -- just 2 per cent of its national highways carry 40 per cent of traffic, causing bottlenecks that can limit productivity and slow economic growth," he said.
"In India, as in every other developing country, infrastructure is key to integrating economies and delivering services. To help improve India's roads, International Finance Corporation (IFC) invested 250 million dollars in the Singapore-based firm Cube Highways. The firm is acquiring a portfolio of toll roads in India, injecting much- needed funds for road developers to complete their projects," the World Bank President said.
Trump's net worth down $800m, falls in Forbes wealth ranking
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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is worth about USD 800 million less this year as compared to 2015, dropping 35 spots on Forbes list of richest Americans.
Trump's net worth was pegged at USD 3.7 billion, an USD 800 million decline from last year, according to Forbes. The real estate developer and presidential candidate's ranking fell 35 spots to No. 156 on the gilded list, released Tuesday.
Last October, Trump's net worth was USD 4.5 billion, putting him on the 121st rank on 'The Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest people in America'.
It said Trump and his father had appeared on the inaugural issue of the list in 1982 with a shared fortune valued at more than USD 200 million.
"An avalanche of debt stemming from bad business deals knocked The Donald out of the ranks in 1990," it said.
However six years later, riding robust real estate markets, Trump returned to the list with a fortune of USD 450 million.
By 2015 Forbes estimated he was worth 10 times that much as property values continued to soar, especially in New York.
At USD 4.5 billion he appeared alongside Wal-Mart heiress Ann Walton Kroenke, ahead of New Balance owner Jim Davis and fellow Manhattan real estate tycoon Sheldon Solow.
Forbes said all three of them are wealthier than Trump this year.
The 70-year-old reality TV star shares his new spot at number 156 with 16 other billionaires, including filmmaker Steven Spielberg, FedEx founder Frederick Smith and five heirs to the SC Johnson fortune.
While Trump fell, many others gained in the list.
A total of 38 billionaires passed Trump on the 2016 list including one of Trump's most vocal critics, Reid Hoffman (No. 150).
The LinkedIn cofounder, who added USD 100 million his fortune this year, has publicly offered USD 5 million to veterans groups if Trump releases his tax returns.
Forbes said in recent years Trump largely moved away from real estate development in favour of "The Apprentice" and licensing his name globally to luxury properties he does not own.
Still, 53 per cent of Trump's fortune lies in Manhattan properties though he is far from the richest developer in New York City.
Trumps fall in wealth ranking comes amid many controversies he has been embroiled in, including the recent one in which he was caught in a 2005 video making lewd remarks about women.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is worth about USD 800 million less this year as compared to 2015, dropping 35 spots on Forbes list of richest Americans.
Trump's net worth was pegged at USD 3.7 billion, an USD 800 million decline from last year, according to Forbes. The real estate developer and presidential candidate's ranking fell 35 spots to No. 156 on the gilded list, released Tuesday.
Last October, Trump's net worth was USD 4.5 billion, putting him on the 121st rank on 'The Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest people in America'.
It said Trump and his father had appeared on the inaugural issue of the list in 1982 with a shared fortune valued at more than USD 200 million.
"An avalanche of debt stemming from bad business deals knocked The Donald out of the ranks in 1990," it said.
However six years later, riding robust real estate markets, Trump returned to the list with a fortune of USD 450 million.
By 2015 Forbes estimated he was worth 10 times that much as property values continued to soar, especially in New York.
At USD 4.5 billion he appeared alongside Wal-Mart heiress Ann Walton Kroenke, ahead of New Balance owner Jim Davis and fellow Manhattan real estate tycoon Sheldon Solow.
Forbes said all three of them are wealthier than Trump this year.
The 70-year-old reality TV star shares his new spot at number 156 with 16 other billionaires, including filmmaker Steven Spielberg, FedEx founder Frederick Smith and five heirs to the SC Johnson fortune.
While Trump fell, many others gained in the list.
A total of 38 billionaires passed Trump on the 2016 list including one of Trump's most vocal critics, Reid Hoffman (No. 150).
The LinkedIn cofounder, who added USD 100 million his fortune this year, has publicly offered USD 5 million to veterans groups if Trump releases his tax returns.
Forbes said in recent years Trump largely moved away from real estate development in favour of "The Apprentice" and licensing his name globally to luxury properties he does not own.
Still, 53 per cent of Trump's fortune lies in Manhattan properties though he is far from the richest developer in New York City.
Trumps fall in wealth ranking comes amid many controversies he has been embroiled in, including the recent one in which he was caught in a 2005 video making lewd remarks about women.
Indian cotton exports to Pakistan slump amid tensions
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Rising hostilities between India and Pakistan have brought their $822 million-a-year trade in cotton to a juddering halt, as traders who are worried about uncertainty over supplies and driven by patriotism hold off signing new deals.
The nuclear-armed rivals have seen tensions ratchet up in the past few months over the disputed territory of Kashmir, and cotton traders in both countries said they were watching developments along the de facto border with alarm.
Pakistan, the world's third-largest cotton consumer, usually starts importing from September, but three Indian exporters said the number of inquiries had slowed to a trickle in the last two weeks.
In the clearest sign yet of souring relations affecting commerce, Pakistan-based importers also said they were not buying.
"At the moment there is no cotton trade. It's at standstill. There is uncertainty that, God forbid, if war breaks out, what will happen?" said Ihsanul Haq, chairman of the Pakistan Cotton Dealers Association.
Pakistan Cotton Commissioner Khalid Abdullah said a "low quantum of trade activity is still taking place."
He said the Pakistan government had not directed traders to stop buying Indian cotton and expected trade to normalize when tensions eased.
Indian government officials said they had not yet noticed trading had stopped.
But some Indian officials said last week that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government was considering whether it should choke trade with Pakistan to put pressure on its neighbour, even though the trade balance is in India's favour.
INDIA'S BIGGEST COTTON BUYER
Trade between India and Pakistan, which have fought three wars since their independence from British rule in 1947, is small.
In the 2015/16 fiscal year ending on March 31, official trade between the two was $2.6 billion. Cotton is the largest component of that total.
It is not clear whether other goods and commodities traded between the two, such as jewellery and dry fruits, have been hit by the escalation in hostilities as well, but the disruption to cotton shipments is potentially significant.
In the crop year ended Sept. 30, Pakistan was India's biggest cotton buyer after its own crop was hit by drought and whitefly pest.
It imported 2.5 million bales from India, and supported Indian cotton prices at a time when China was cutting imports, traders said.
Lower purchases by Pakistan this year could hurt exports from the world's biggest producer of the fibre and put pressure on Indian prices, but could also help rival cotton suppliers like Brazil, the United States and some African countries.
Chirag Patel, chief executive officer of Indian exporter Jaydeep Cotton Fibers, said the country could export 5 million bales in the 2016/17 crop year, but exports could plunge to 3 million bales without Pakistani imports.
An exporter based in Mumbai estimated that Pakistan will need to import at least 3 million bales in 2016/17, and India will have a surplus of around 8 million bales.
"As soon as the (political) situation improves, cotton trade will definitely resume between the two countries," said Haq of the Pakistan Cotton Dealers Association.
But for now, traders on both sides of the border said the environment was not conducive to doing business.
"Many cotton exporters are not interested in selling cotton to Pakistan. They are trying to find other markets," said Pradeep Jain, a ginner based in Jalgaon in the western state of Maharashtra.
Shahzad Ali Khan, chairman of Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association, referred to a move by the Indian Motion Picture Producers' Association (IMPPA), a small filmmakers' body, last week, banning their members from hiring Pakistani actors.
"India is banning Pakistani artists, so how can it expect us to buy cotton from India?" Khan said.
"In various forums Pakistani traders are saying they will not buy cotton from India this year. Even if they need to pay extra, they will pay and buy it from other suppliers."
Rising hostilities between India and Pakistan have brought their $822 million-a-year trade in cotton to a juddering halt, as traders who are worried about uncertainty over supplies and driven by patriotism hold off signing new deals.
The nuclear-armed rivals have seen tensions ratchet up in the past few months over the disputed territory of Kashmir, and cotton traders in both countries said they were watching developments along the de facto border with alarm.
Pakistan, the world's third-largest cotton consumer, usually starts importing from September, but three Indian exporters said the number of inquiries had slowed to a trickle in the last two weeks.
In the clearest sign yet of souring relations affecting commerce, Pakistan-based importers also said they were not buying.
"At the moment there is no cotton trade. It's at standstill. There is uncertainty that, God forbid, if war breaks out, what will happen?" said Ihsanul Haq, chairman of the Pakistan Cotton Dealers Association.
Pakistan Cotton Commissioner Khalid Abdullah said a "low quantum of trade activity is still taking place."
He said the Pakistan government had not directed traders to stop buying Indian cotton and expected trade to normalize when tensions eased.
Indian government officials said they had not yet noticed trading had stopped.
But some Indian officials said last week that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government was considering whether it should choke trade with Pakistan to put pressure on its neighbour, even though the trade balance is in India's favour.
INDIA'S BIGGEST COTTON BUYER
Trade between India and Pakistan, which have fought three wars since their independence from British rule in 1947, is small.
In the 2015/16 fiscal year ending on March 31, official trade between the two was $2.6 billion. Cotton is the largest component of that total.
It is not clear whether other goods and commodities traded between the two, such as jewellery and dry fruits, have been hit by the escalation in hostilities as well, but the disruption to cotton shipments is potentially significant.
In the crop year ended Sept. 30, Pakistan was India's biggest cotton buyer after its own crop was hit by drought and whitefly pest.
It imported 2.5 million bales from India, and supported Indian cotton prices at a time when China was cutting imports, traders said.
Lower purchases by Pakistan this year could hurt exports from the world's biggest producer of the fibre and put pressure on Indian prices, but could also help rival cotton suppliers like Brazil, the United States and some African countries.
Chirag Patel, chief executive officer of Indian exporter Jaydeep Cotton Fibers, said the country could export 5 million bales in the 2016/17 crop year, but exports could plunge to 3 million bales without Pakistani imports.
An exporter based in Mumbai estimated that Pakistan will need to import at least 3 million bales in 2016/17, and India will have a surplus of around 8 million bales.
"As soon as the (political) situation improves, cotton trade will definitely resume between the two countries," said Haq of the Pakistan Cotton Dealers Association.
But for now, traders on both sides of the border said the environment was not conducive to doing business.
"Many cotton exporters are not interested in selling cotton to Pakistan. They are trying to find other markets," said Pradeep Jain, a ginner based in Jalgaon in the western state of Maharashtra.
Shahzad Ali Khan, chairman of Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association, referred to a move by the Indian Motion Picture Producers' Association (IMPPA), a small filmmakers' body, last week, banning their members from hiring Pakistani actors.
"India is banning Pakistani artists, so how can it expect us to buy cotton from India?" Khan said.
"In various forums Pakistani traders are saying they will not buy cotton from India this year. Even if they need to pay extra, they will pay and buy it from other suppliers."
WTO panel discusses India's paper on TFA in services
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India's concept note for a trade facilitation agreement (TFA) in services evoked good response during a meeting of a WTO members' panel here earlier this week.
On the lines of TFA in goods, India is pitching for a similar pact in services with a view to reduce transaction costs by doing away with unnecessary regulatory and administrative burden on trade in services.
"WTO members debated new proposals to ease global flow of services. Brazil described the proposal as interesting and thought-provoking while Chinese Taipei said it was very interesting and creative," a Geneva-based trade official said.
WTO members discussed the Indian proposal for an agreement to ease global services trade aiming at reducing bottlenecks that services suppliers face abroad.
These include high visa application fees, lack of transparency and lack of access to social security.
The proposal builds upon the TFA in goods, which aims to streamline customs procedures to cut the time and cost involved in moving goods across borders.
While members are still reviewing the paper, the official said several delegations questioned India on the implications on members' domestic regulations and the expected benefits for developing and developed members alike, which for the TFA for goods were manifest and well-documented.
However, Canada and the US stated that the proposal touched upon sensitive issues, which for Canada were public education and health services.
India's new concept paper assumes significance as the services sector contributes significantly to the economies of developing nations.
Services sector contributes about 60 per cent to India's economy and 28 per cent to the total employment.
With the growing importance of the sector, India has time and again pitched for liberalisation and streamlining of norms for the sector in the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
India's concept note for a trade facilitation agreement (TFA) in services evoked good response during a meeting of a WTO members' panel here earlier this week.
On the lines of TFA in goods, India is pitching for a similar pact in services with a view to reduce transaction costs by doing away with unnecessary regulatory and administrative burden on trade in services.
"WTO members debated new proposals to ease global flow of services. Brazil described the proposal as interesting and thought-provoking while Chinese Taipei said it was very interesting and creative," a Geneva-based trade official said.
WTO members discussed the Indian proposal for an agreement to ease global services trade aiming at reducing bottlenecks that services suppliers face abroad.
These include high visa application fees, lack of transparency and lack of access to social security.
The proposal builds upon the TFA in goods, which aims to streamline customs procedures to cut the time and cost involved in moving goods across borders.
While members are still reviewing the paper, the official said several delegations questioned India on the implications on members' domestic regulations and the expected benefits for developing and developed members alike, which for the TFA for goods were manifest and well-documented.
However, Canada and the US stated that the proposal touched upon sensitive issues, which for Canada were public education and health services.
India's new concept paper assumes significance as the services sector contributes significantly to the economies of developing nations.
Services sector contributes about 60 per cent to India's economy and 28 per cent to the total employment.
With the growing importance of the sector, India has time and again pitched for liberalisation and streamlining of norms for the sector in the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
IndiGo joins SpiceJet, Jet Airways, AirAsia in festive discounts race, announces fare at Rs 888
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In line with discounted fare announced by its rivals for the festive season, IndiGo has announced sale of tickets at Rs 888 before October 9 for travel till April 13 2017.
Under the offer, the date of travel should be 8 days or more from the date of booking during the offer period. The offer is valid on the airline's domestic network. Sale fares can by identified by a "sale" tag on the flight select page and are applicable for one-way fares only.
These fares are non-refundable. In case of cancellation, only statutory taxes will be refunded, the airline said.
The carriers are already engaged in price wars. Jet Airways has announced special offers that include base fares starting as low as Rs 396 (excluding taxes and fuel surcharge) on select domestic routes while rival low-cost airline Spicejet has come out with discounted fares for both domestic and international routes.
Jet Airways said tickets for the special fare offer can be booked between October 4 and October 7 for the travel period from November 8, 2016 onwards on select domestic routes.
Gurgaon-based SpiceJet has announced airfares as low as Rs 888 for its domestic flights and Rs 3,699 for overseas flights under its festival sale offer.
The flights under the offer can be booked from October 4 till October 7 while the journey can be undertaken between November 8, 2016 and April 13, 2017, SpiceJet said in a release. The seats available under the special festival sale are limited and on a first-come-first-served basis, it added.
Another no-frills carrier, AirAsia India, which has only domestic operations, has also launched a discounted ticket schemes as part of its year-end sale, in which it is offering fares starting at Rs 999 for a limited period.
However, its parent company AirAsia is offering discounted fares on international routes as well.
An industry insider said the slashed fares are being offered to fill seats in advance which otherwise may have gone empty.
In line with discounted fare announced by its rivals for the festive season, IndiGo has announced sale of tickets at Rs 888 before October 9 for travel till April 13 2017.
Under the offer, the date of travel should be 8 days or more from the date of booking during the offer period. The offer is valid on the airline's domestic network. Sale fares can by identified by a "sale" tag on the flight select page and are applicable for one-way fares only.
These fares are non-refundable. In case of cancellation, only statutory taxes will be refunded, the airline said.
The carriers are already engaged in price wars. Jet Airways has announced special offers that include base fares starting as low as Rs 396 (excluding taxes and fuel surcharge) on select domestic routes while rival low-cost airline Spicejet has come out with discounted fares for both domestic and international routes.
Jet Airways said tickets for the special fare offer can be booked between October 4 and October 7 for the travel period from November 8, 2016 onwards on select domestic routes.
Gurgaon-based SpiceJet has announced airfares as low as Rs 888 for its domestic flights and Rs 3,699 for overseas flights under its festival sale offer.
The flights under the offer can be booked from October 4 till October 7 while the journey can be undertaken between November 8, 2016 and April 13, 2017, SpiceJet said in a release. The seats available under the special festival sale are limited and on a first-come-first-served basis, it added.
Another no-frills carrier, AirAsia India, which has only domestic operations, has also launched a discounted ticket schemes as part of its year-end sale, in which it is offering fares starting at Rs 999 for a limited period.
However, its parent company AirAsia is offering discounted fares on international routes as well.
An industry insider said the slashed fares are being offered to fill seats in advance which otherwise may have gone empty.
General Awareness
Latest Current Affairs - September 2016
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Appointments
- Actress Vidya Balan appointed as brand ambassador of Samajwadi Pension Yojana by Uttar Pradesh government.
- Ajay Singh is newly elected president of Boxing Federation of India (BFI).
- Aleksander Ceferin has been elected as UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) president.
- Ali Bongo Ondimba re-elected as President of Gabon (Central Africa).
- Alka Sirohi has been appointed as Chairman of Union Public Service Commission.
- All India Management Association elected Sunil Kant Munjal as its president for 2016-17.
- Anandi Ramalingam appointed as First woman director on board of Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL).
- Anoop Kumar Sharma appointed as CMD (Chairman and Managing Director) of Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) for 3 years.
- Arun Goyal has been appointed Additional Secretary in Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, which is headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. It is mandated to decide on tax rate exempted goods and the threshold limit.
- Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) elected I Venkat as chairman for 2016-2017.
- BCCI appointed MSK Prasad as chief selector of Indian Cricket Team, while Ajay Shirke has been re-elected as BCCI Secretary.
- BHVS Narayana Murthy has been appointed as Director of Research Centre Imarat (RCI) of Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO).
- Bykytzhan Sagintayev appointed as Prime Minister of Kazakhstan.
- CK Asnani appointed as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL).
- Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao has been made acting governor of Tamilnadu. Note that he is also Governor of Maharashtra. This arrangement was done after tenure of K. Rosaiah (previous governor of Tamilnadu) ended on 31 August 2016.
- Deep Kumar Upadhyay re-appointed as Nepal’s ambassador to India.
- Dilip Kumar Mandal has been appointed managing director (MD) & chief executive officer (CEO) of IDBI Asset Management Company (AMC).
- Former Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla has been appointed as Chancellor of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) University.
- G C Gupta appointed as Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court.
- Government appointed 3 economists on Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) - Pami Dua, Chetan Ghate and Ravindra Dholakia.
- Government appointed Navtej Sarna as Ambassador to United States of America. Monika Kapil Mohta is appointed as next Ambassador to Sweden.
- Government appointed R. Subramania Kumar as Executive Director of Indian Overseas Bank.
- Government of Arunachal Pradesh appointed Actor John Abraham as brand ambassador for state tourism to boost tourism.
- Governor of Meghalaya, V. Shanmuganathan has been given Additional charge as Governor of Arunachal Pradesh after removal of Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa from post.
- Indian-origin South African Ravi Reddy has been appointed as Head of International Society for Blood Transfusion (ISBT).
- J Satyanarayana has been appointed as part-time Chairman of UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India).
- J Satyanarayana has been appointed as part-time chairperson of Unique Identification Authority of India(UIDAI).
- Japanese automobile maker Isuzu appointed Hiroshi Nakagawa as head of India Operations.
- Jim Yong Kim (South Korea) has been re-appointed as President of World Bank for a second five-year term beginning 1 July 2017.
- Junaid Ahmad (Bangladesh) has been appointed as World Bank's Country Director for India, replacing Onno Ruhl.
- K K Aggarwal elected as President of Indian Medical Association (IMA) for 2016-17.
- Kerala government appointed Legendary Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as brand ambassador for anti- liquor and anti-drug campaign to create awareness among people against alcoholism and drug abuse.
- Madhusudan Sahoo has been appointed as the new chairman of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) for 5 years.
- Michel Temer has been appointed new President of Brazil.
- Mohan M Shantanagoudar appointed as Chief Justice of Kerala High Court.
- Mukund Choudhari has been appointed as Charman and Managng Director of PSU MOIL (Manganese Ore (India) Limited).
- Nadia Murad Basee Taha, a young Yazidi woman who survived attack of Islamic State terrorists, has been appointed as Goodwill Ambassador for Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Noted American health care company Abbott Laboratories Ambati Venu as Head of India Operations.- O.P. Singh has been appointed as Director General in Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
- Om Prakash Kohli has been appointed as 26th governor of Madhya Pradesh. Kohli is also Gujarat's Governor. He has been given additional charge of Madhya Pradesh after Ram Naresh Yadav’s tenure got over.
- Punjab National Bank appointed Cricketer Virat Kohli as brand ambassador.
- R. K. Pachnanda has been appointed as DG in National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
- RIO 2016 Olympics Bronze Medalist Sakshi Malik has been appointed Wrestling Director at Maharshi Dayanand University (Rohtak).
- Religare Enterprises appointed Sunil Godhwani as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
- Riyadh Mathew has been elected as Chairman of Press Trust of India (PTI).
- SS Mallikarjuna Rao appointed as an executive director of Syndicate Bank and Atul Kumar Goel appointed as an Executive Director in Union Bank of India.
- Sanjay Kumar Srivastava has been appointed as Chairperson of National Authority for Chemicals Weapons Convention.
- Sanjiv Singh appointed as Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.
- Satbir Singh appointed as India's Ambassador to Algeria.
- Shakti Sinha is appointed as director of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML).
- South Korean electronics major Samsung appointed Lee Jae-yong as executive director on board.
- Sudhir Pratap Singh has been appointed as Director General in National Security Guard.
- Surinder Singh appointed as Chief of Army's Western Command.
- Vijay Kelkar elected as new President of Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), replacing Former former RBI governor C Rangarajan.
Awards
- 5 day long 22nd Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award Festival (Odisha) -
- Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award 2016 for lifetime achievement - Jharana Das (Cinema) and Guru Kishore Kumar Mohanty (Odissi).
- Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Yuva Prativa Samman 2016 - Rajib Bhattacharya (Odissi), Madhusmita Mohanty (Odissi), P. Praveen Kumar (Bharatanatyam) and Rupak Kumar Parida (Odissi vocal).
- 68th Emmy Awards, television's biggest award ceremony, held in Los Angeles (USA) -
Category
Winners
Outstanding drama series
Game of Thrones
Outstanding comedy series
Veep
Best television movie
Sherlock: The Abominable Bride
Outstanding lead actor in a drama series
Rami Malek - Mr Robot
Outstanding lead actress in a drama series
Tatiana Maslany - Orphan Black
Outstanding lead actor in a comedy series
Jeffrey Tambor - Transparent
Outstanding lead actress in a comedy series
Julia Louis-Dreyfus - Veep
- 73 Venice Film Festival (World's Oldest Film Festival) -
- Golden Lion - The Woman Who Left (Philippines) by Lav Diaz
- Grand Jury Prize - Nocturnal Animals by Tom Ford
- Silver Lion
- Amat Escalante for Untamed
- Andrei Konchalovsky for Paradise
- Volpi Cup -
- Best Actor - Oscar MartÃnez for Distinguished Citizen
- Best Actress - Emma Stone for La La Land
- Marcello Mastroianni Award – Paula Beer for Frantz
- Airports Authority of India’s Tirupati Airport awarded Best Tourist Friendly Airport under category for State Annual Excellence Awards for the year 2015-16 by Andhra Pradesh Tourism.
- Chinese action movie star Jackie Chan will be awarded with honorary Academy Award (Oscar) by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his extraordinary achievements in movies. Honorary Oscar will be given to editor Anne Coates, casting director Lynn Stalmaster and documentary maker Frederick Wiseman.
- Cricketers Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma conferred with Arjuna Award. Award was bestowed by Sports Minister Vijay Goel. Rohit Sharma was given the award for 2015 and Rahane received it for 2016.
- Ecologist and conservation activist Bibhuti Lahkar (from Assam) became first Asian to win prestigious ‘Heritage Heroes Award’ of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
- Federal Bank has launched its second Skill Academy at Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu), The first one being inaugurated last year at Ernakulam.
- First Jesse Owens Olympic Spirit Award-2016 will be posthumously bestowed to Olympic champion Muhammad Ali, who passed away recently.
- First edition of Lonavla International Film Festival India (LIFFI) - Best Actor - Nawazuddin Siddiqui (for Manjhi-The Mountain Man) Best Actress - Tannishtha Chatterjee (for 'Rough Book'), Best Director - Anant Mahadevan.
- Government appointed S. Sivakumar as a Member of the 21st Law Commission of India (LCI). He is the professor at the Indian Law Institute (ILI) in New Delhi.
- Former Supreme Court (SC) judge Justice Balbir Singh Chauhan is Chairman of commission.
- Haryana won ‘Best Horticulture State’ award of Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA), for its concerted efforts made to increase income of farmers in horticulture. This award was fgiven during Agricultural Leadership Summit 2016 that organized by ICFA in New Delhi.
- Besides, 2016 Best Agriculture State award given to Odisha for its efforts for development of agriculture and bringing rural prosperity.
- Horticulture in Haryana - At present, about 2.5 lakh hectares of land is under horticulture in Haryana. The state government has ambitious target to increase it up to 9 lakh hectares. For this purpose, state government has decided to set a Horticulture University.
- Hindustani classical singer Shubha Mudgal to be honoured with 2016 'LalitArpan Samman'.
- India's Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik won people's choice prize for his sand sculpture Mahatma Gandhi - World Peace at 9th Moscow Sand Sculpture Championship 2016.
- India-born scientist Ramesh Raskar has won 2016 Lemelson-MIT Prize. He is an associate professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT’s) Media Lab and is known for his co-invention of an ultra-fast imaging camera that can see around corners, low-cost eye-care solutions. It also enables users to read the first few pages of a book without opening the cover.
- Indian NGO Slum Soccer won first-ever FIFA Diversity Award for its fight against discrimination and promote diversity in football.
- Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Bollywood actors Katrina Kaif and Juhi Chawla are among recipients of Priyadarshini Global Awards 2016, instituted by socio-cultural and educational organisation Priyadarshini Academy.
- Indian Writer Meghna Pant will be honoured with Kumaon Literary Festival’s FON (Fellows of Nature) South AsiaShort Story Award in Nature writing in October for her short story People of the Sun.
- Indian-American Vinaya Manchaiah named as Future Leader of Audiology and inducted into 2016 class of the ‘Jerger Future Leaders of Audiology’ by the American Academy of Audiology.
- Indian-American physician-author Abraham Verghese selected by USA for 2015 National Humanities Medal, along with 11 others recipients.
- Indian-born researcher Dinesh Bharadia won 2016 Marconi Society Paul Baran Young Scholar Award for his contribution to radio waves.
- Indian-origin South African girl Kiara Nirghin won Google Science Fair prize 2016. She won grand prize of 50000 US dollars scholarship for using orange peel to develop a cheaper super-absorbent material that helps soil retain water.
- Indian-origin person Narendra Babubhai Patel honored 'Lifetime Achievement Award' at Asian Achievers Awards for his work in medical profession and public life in Britain.
- Indo - Japanese Priyanka Yoshikawa has been named Miss Japan.
- Industrialist Adi Godrej (Chairman of Godrej Group), conferred with 10th Annual Clinton Global Citizen Award for leadership in business and philanthropy.
- Jan Shikshan Sansthan Malappuram won UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy in recognition of its literacy-linked skill development activities among underprivileged in rural areas.
- John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation announced its ‘Class of 2016’, consististing 23 exceptionally creative people. It inlcudes 2 Indians Manu Prakash and Subhash Khot.
- Dr. Subhash Khot won Nevanlinna Prize in 2014 and works in theoretical computer science.
- Manu Prakash is a physical biologist and inventor and has invented several devices that support frugal science. He is mostly known for Foldscope, a microscope made by folding paper like in origami and sporting a glass bead lens.
- Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank won 4 awards for inclusive insurance for 2016 from Skoch Group. KVGB operates in 9 districts of Karnataka a nd has brought 28 lakh people under Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojna, PM Suraksha Bima Yojna and PM Jan Dhan Yojna.
- Microfinance institution Ujjivan Financial Services won Platinum Award for Inclusive Insurance.
- Kiran Mazumdar Shaw (Chairperson of Biocon Limited) has been honored as Knight of the National Order of the French Legion of Honour (Chevalier de lOrdre National de la Légion dHonneur) for her contribution to biosciences and research.
- Lopamudra Raut stayed second runner-up at Miss United Continents 2016, held in Ecuador. Jeslyn Santos from Philippines won Miss United Continents 2016 title.
- Misbah-ul-Haq became first Pakistani to receive prestigious ICC Test Championship mace. He has been honored for inspiring Pakistan to reach to top of ICC Test Team Rankings.
- Music director and violinist Uttam Singh for 2016 Lata Mangeshkar Award for Lifetime Achievement by Maharashtra government.
- National award winner director K G George selected for JC Daniel award 2015, Kerala Government’s highest honor for outstanding contribution to Malayalam cinema.
- Noted BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy has been honoured with Tamil Ratna award by America Tamil Sangam (ATS) in USA.
- Noted Odia Poet Hrushikesh Mallick honoured with 37th prestigious Sarala Award for his poetry work Jeje Dekhi Nathiba Bharat.
- Noted Telugu writer Kalakaluri Enoch conferred with Moortidevi Award of Bharatiya Jnanpith for 2015.
- Punjab National Bank has been adjudged best in Rajbhasha Kirti competition for implementation of Official Language Policy in 2015-16.
- Right Livelihood Award 2016 (also known as alternative Nobel) given to -
- Syrian White Helmets also known as Syria Civil Defence is a Syrian civil organisation of emergency responders in rebel-held areas.
- Egypt’s Mozn Hassan and Nazra for Feminist Studies
- Russian mathematician and human rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina
- Turkish Newspaper Cumhuriyet
- The laureates will share the 3.0-million-kronor (350000 dollar) prize.
- Scottish Actor Ewan McGregor will receive Britannia Humanitarian Award at British Academy Britannia Awards in USA.
- Scripts of Adil Hussain-starrers "Sunrise" and "Parched" have been archived at Oscar library (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences).
- Short Film Murga (directed by Katyayan Shivpuri) won first prize at Swachh Bharat Short Film Festival (SBSFF), organised by National Film Development Corporation (NFDC).
- Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar will be honoured with Simon Wiesenthal Centre’s highest honour ‘the Simon Wiesenthal Humanitarian Laureate’, by a prominent Jewish human rights organisation for promoting human dignity and tolerance among people.
- Stuart Blackburn's Novel based on Apatani tribe of Arunachal Pradesh named Into the Hidden Valley has won 2016 MM Bennetts Award for Historical Fiction in United Kingdom.
- T R Zeliang (Chief Minister of Nagaland) won 2016 Pangkor Dialogue Award in Malaysia for the efforts made by the people of the state for environmental preservation and promotion.
- Tamil crime thriller Visaranai is chosen as India’s official entry to Oscars 2017 (89th Academy Awards) in Best Foreign Language Film category.
- The Hindu has been awarded Silver and Bronze awards in Reader Engagement category of South Asian Digital Media Awards at WAN-IFRA (World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers) India 2016 conference in Kolkata.
- Two Indian forest officials -Ritesh Sarothiya and Sanjay Dutta, have been selected for 2016 Clark R. Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Awards.
- West Bengal government will confer 2016 Bangabibhushan award to legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar.
- Writer Meghna Pant won Fellows of Nature (FON) South Asia Short Story Award in Nature writing, for her short story People of the Sun.
Books
- Rekha The Untold Story, biography of actress Rekha has been authored by Yasser Usman.
- Book Anything but Khamoshi: The Shatrughan Sinha Biography, is authored by Bharathi S Pradhan.
- Book Do Not Say We Have Nothing has been authored by Madeleine Thien. It is a story on classical music in revolutionary China.
- Book Driven: The Virat Kohli Story, has been authored by sports journalist Vijay Lokapally.
- Book His Bloody Project has been authored by Graeme Macrae Burne.
- Book Hot Milk has been authored by Deborah Levy.
- Book Imagine Me Gone has been authored by Adam Haslett.
- Book Shanti ki Talaash mein Zindagi, written by Radhika Nagrath has been released, by Uttarakhand Governor K K Paul.
- Book The Last Inning and Beyond, authored by U.D. Choubey, and Smriti Rajvardhini has been released.
- Book Six Machine: I Dont Like Cricket I Love It”, is autobiography of West Indian cricketer Chris Gayle.
- Book ‘Citizen and Society’ written by Vice President Mohd Hamid Ansari has been released.
- Minister of State (IC) for Development of North Eastern Region, Jitendra Singh released Book North Eastern Council: A Story of Sagacity and Successs.
Committees
- Arvind Panagariya committee submitted its report about defining poverty and prepare a road map to alleviate it. It has suggested to set up committee to identify people Below Poverty Line (BPL).
- Committee headed by Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian, which was formed to tackle shortage of pulses, has recently submitted its report.
- Government constituted committee to study silt in river Ganga in Bihar, to be headed by A .K. Sinha.
- Parliamentary committee headed by M Veerappa Moily has been constituted to review all budgetary reforms.
- S.N. Dhingra Committee submitted report to Haryana government on granting of Change of Land Use (CLU) licences in 4 villages of Gurgaon during rule of the previous Congress government.
- To commemorate birth centenary of Jana Sangh ideologue Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, 149 member Committee has been made under PM Narendra Modi.
Days
- 08 September - International Literacy Day. 2016 is observing 50th International Literacy Day. 2016 Theme: ‘Reading the Past, Writing the Future‘.
- India's National Literacy Mission (NLM) was initiated in 1988. In 1951, when first Census was conducted after Independence, literacy rate of country was merely 18%. However, in last Census held in 2011 India has achieved a literacy rate of around 73%. The present national goal is to achieve literacy rate of 80 per cent by end of 12th Plan Period
- 14 September - National Hindi Divas.
- 15 September - Engineer’s Day in India. It is celebrated every year in India on September 15, in memory of Bharat Ratna Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya. He was chief engineer of Krishna Raja Sagara dam in Mysore and also chief designer of flood protection system for Hyderabad
- 15 September - International Democracy Day. 2016 Theme is Democracy and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
- 17 September - International Coastal Cleanup Day.
- 2 Sep - World Coconut Day.
- 21 September - International Day of Peace. 2016 Theme is The Sustainable Development Goals: Building Blocks for Peace.
- 26 September: International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
- 27 September - World Tourism Day. Theme of 2016 is Tourism for All - promoting universal accessibility.
- 28 September - World Rabies Day. 2016 Theme is Rabies: Educate. Vaccinate. Eliminate.
- 29 September - World Maritime Day. 2016 Theme is Shipping: indispensable to the world.
- 5 September - International Day of Charity. It marks death of Mother Teresa (1997).
- 5th September - National Teachers Day in India. Observance of this day commemorates the birthday of India’s first Vice President and second President Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan since 1962.
- On this occasion, Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated Asia’s biggest digital library dedicated to memory of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India, in NIT Silchar. This world class library is established with the help of University of Illinois, USA.
- M Leelavathi chosen for 2016 N Mohanan Suvarna Mudra Award for her remarkable contribution to Malayalam language and literature.
- September 10 - World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD). 2016 theme is Connect, Communicate, Care.
- September 16 - International Day for Preservation of Ozone Layer. 2016 theme is Ozone and climate: Restored by a world united.
- September 29 - World Heart Day. 2016 theme is Light Your Heart, Empower Your Life.
- September 30 - International Translation Day. 2016 theme is Translation and Interpreting: Connecting worlds.
Defence
- 12th Joint military training exercise between India and USA - Yudh Abhyas 2016 begun in Uttarakhand. It is 2 week long.
- Eighth India-Russia Joint Military Exercise ‘INDRA-2016’ begun in Vladivostok (Russia).
- First military exercise between Russia and Pakistan named Druzhba-2016 (Friendship-2016) held in Pakistan.
- Guided Missile Destroyer Mormugao, Second Ship of Project 15b Launched at Mazagaon Docks Mumbai.
- Project 15B has 4 Guided Missile Destroyers in making, First Ship of Project 15B was Warship INS Visakhapatnam and second is now Mormugao.
- Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) successfully test flied indigenous Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), being developed for Armed forces. Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) is eight-seater chopper with a maximum Weight of 3,150 Kgs and fitted with Safran HE Ardiden-1U engine of 750 KW power.
- Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully test fired recently acquired long range air-to-air MICA missile from Mirage-2000 Upgrade combat aircraft.
- Indian Army has set up Army Design Bureau (ADB) in an attempt to reduce import dependence, as part of governments ‘Make in India initiative. Army Design Bureau will provide better understanding of Armys requirements to research organisations and industry for developing high tech defence products in India Itself.
- Indian Army successfully conducted surgical strikes on terror launch pads across Line of Control in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK). Over 40 terrorists and 2 Pak Soldiers were kiled during strikes. Surgical strikes were India’s first direct military response to attack on Uri army base by Pakistan-based militants that had killed 18 Indian soldiers.
- Indian Coast Guard (ICG) commissioned offshore patrolling (OPV) vessel named Sarathi.
- Indian Navy awarded a major $81 million contract to American Company Boeing for supplying 22 Harpoon missile systems for Shishumar class submarines.
- Joint India Kazakhstan Army exercise PRABAL DOSTYK 16 being held in Karaganda region of Kazakhstan.
- Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (WJFAC) TIHAYU, built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) has been handed over to Indian Navy.
Economy
- 22nd Issue of Annual issue of India's External Debt has stated that India's External debt is currently US$ 485.6 billion at end of March 2016, increasing by US$ 10.6 billion (2.2 %) over previous year. Rise in External Debt was due to rise in long-term debt particularly NRI deposits.
- Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan issued guidelines for states to regulate direct selling and multi-level marketing businesses to protect consumers from Ponzi frauds, titled Direct Selling Guidelines 2016 framework.
- Direct selling has been defined as marketing, distribution and sale of goods or providing of services as a part of network of direct selling.
- Legitimate direct selling is differentiated from pyramid and money circulation schemes in order to help identify fraudulent companies. Money Circulation Scheme has same meaning as defined under Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978. It bars direct selling companies from charging any entry fee from agents or compelling them to buy back unsold stocks.
- It lays down remuneration system for person engaged in direct selling firms on sharing of incentives, profit and commission. It Adds provision for appointment of monitoring authority at both Union and state level to deal with the issues related to direct selling.
- Note that SEBI has earlier notified that it is not having regulatory purview of Ponzi schemes.
- Andhra Pradesh topped among states in attracting industrial investments in 2015-16, with investment of Rs 21,914 crore out of the Rs 1,38,700 crore gross investments across India. It pushed previous year’s topper Maharashtra to 3rd spot.
- Anil Ambani led Reliance Communications (RCom) signed a deal with Maxis Communications Berhad (MCB) for merger of wireless businesses of Aircel Limited with itself. Merged entity will be country’s fourth-largest telecom company in terms of customers and revenue.
- Merged company will have second-largest spectrum holding amongst all operators in India, aggregating 448 MHz across 850, 900, 1800 and 2100 MHz bands.
- It will be one of India’s largest private sector companies, with an asset base of over $9.7 billion (Rs. 65,000 crore) and net worth of $5.2 billion (Rs. 35,000 crore).
- RCom and MCB will hold a 50% stake each in the merged entity.
- Asia's oldest bourse Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) became first Indian stock exchange to file IPO papers with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its Initial Public Offering (IPO).
- Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved $631 million loan for building India’s first coastal industrial corridor between Visakhapatnam (Vizag) and Chennai. Fund will help develop the first key 800-km section of the planned 2,500-km East Coast Economic Corridor.
- BHEL commissioned 4th and last unit of the 4x40 MW Teesta Low Dam Hydro Electric Project (HEP) Stage-IV in West Bengal.
- Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) became Asia's first Stock Exchange to partner up with Twitter to provide live updates of S&P BSE Sensex levels, stock prices and opening and closing figures of Sensex companies to millions of investors.
- Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved enhancing buffer stock for pulses up to 20 lakh tonnes (domestic procurement and imports of 10 lakh tonnes each).
- Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved winding up of Hindustan Diamond Company Private Limited (HDCPL) as it had become inconsistent with changing times to facilitate the constant supply of rough diamonds and to make India an International Diamond Trading Hub. HDCPL was a 50:50 joint venture of the Central Government and De Beers Centenary Mauritius Limited (DBCML).
- Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved viability capital grant of Rs. 5,176 crores (40 percent of total cost of Rs. 12,940 crore) to GAIL India Limited for development of 2539 km long Jagdishpur-Haidia and Bokaro-Dhamra Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL) project. JHBDPL project will connect Eastern part of the country with National Gas Grid.
- Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved ‘Project SAKSHAM’ as a New Indirect Tax Network (Systems Integration) of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC). Total cost is 2256 crores, to be incurred over 7 years. Implementation strategy for the project will be to nsure readiness of CBEC's IT systems by April, 1, 2017, when GST is to be introduced. All Taxpayers / lmporters / Exporters / Dealers under various indirect tax laws administered by CBEC (presently about 36 lakhs), likely to go up to over 65 lakhs after introduction of GST. Saksham will help in -
- Implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST).
- Extension of the Indian Customs Single Window Interface for Facilitating Trade (SWIFT).
- Central Board of Direct Taxes received Rs. 65,250 crores as part of Income Disclosure Scheme 2016 that provided opportunity to those who had not paid full taxes in the past to come clean by declaring their income and paying 45% in form of taxes and Penalty. Benefits of Declaration inlcude No wealth tax on asset declared, No enquiry under Income Tax Act or Wealth Tax Act and Immunity from the Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Act, 1988. It will bring Rs 30000 Taxes revenue for the government.
- Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed penalty of Rs 6,700 crores on 10 cement companies including ACC, Lafarge, Ultratech, Jayprakash Associates, Binani etc.
- Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed penalty of over Rs 6,700 crore on 10 cement companies including ACC, Lafarge, Ultratech, Jayprakash Associates, Binani and their trade association the Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA) on charges ofcartelisation (गुटबंदी).
- DCB Bank launched mVisa, a mobile-based payment solution that will make payments at retail outlets much easier.
- Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (Finance Ministry) appointed ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company Ltd as asset management company for creation and launch of a new Exchange Traded Fund, comprising of shares of listed CPSEs and other corporates.
- First meeting of Goods & Services Tax (GST) Council decided to exempt businesses with annual turnover below 20 lakh out of GST net.
- It will giverespite to approx 60 Lac assesses from paying GST. It will also reduce expenditure for tex collection agencies as these 60 lac assesses only contribute approx 2 % of Indirect Tax revenue.
- Businesses in Northeastern and hill states will be free of GST for for annual turnover below Rs.10 lakh.
- Administrative Control -
- States will have sole jurisdiction over assessees having a turnover of Rs.1.5 crore or less.
- In case turnover exceedes 1.5 crore, administrative control will be jointly with central and state governments.
- Existing 11 lakh service tax assessees will continue to be under the jurisdiction of the Centre.
- Base Year: The GST Council also agreed to settle 2015-16 as the base year for calculating the compensation.
- Flipkart became First e-Commmerce Firm to cross 100-million (10 Crore) registered users mark. It added 2.5 crore users in past 6 months.
- Global online payment service provider PayU acquired Indian payments technology player, Citrus Pay for $130 million (Appox 800 Crores). Citrus Pay’s MD Amrish Rau will take charge of the merged entity, and as chief executive of PayU in India.
- Government launched program National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI) for nurturing ideas and innovation into successful start ups.
- Government announced plans to double number of schemes under DBT (Direct Beefir Transfer) to 147 by March 2017 (Currently 74).
- Government announced that Security guards will need to be given minimum salary of 15000 per month, with classifying them among skilled workers. Armed security guards and supervisors will be classified as highly skilled workers and will entitle minimum monthly wage of 25000.
- Government approved Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana (VPBY) 2003 and Varistha Pension Bima Yojana (VPBY) 2014, along with expenditures incurred on subsidy amount released to LIC for both schemes. Both schemes were implemented through Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). Total number of 3,17,991 annuitants are benefited under VPBY 2014 and 2,84,699 are benefited under VPBY 2003.
- Government approved assistance of 1269 crore rupees for drought affected Maharashtra( 589 crores for damage to Kharif crops and 679 crore rupees for Rabi crops).
- Government approved closure of Hindustan Cables Limited (Kolkata). Total cash infusion for closure of company will be Rs. 1309.90 crore and non-cash infusion of Rs. 3467.15 crore in the form of conversion into equity of Government of India's loan (including interest) outstanding.
- There was no production activity in company since January 2003.
- Employees will be offered attractive VRS/ VSS Package at notional 2007 pay scales.
- Government approved establishment of Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) to give push for creation of high quality infrastructure in premier educational institutions.
- HEFA will be jointly promoted by Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and identified Promoter (a PSU Bank or the Government-owned-NBFC)
- HEFA will have an authorised capital of 2,000 crore rupees and government equity would be 1,000 crore rupees.
- It would leverage equity to raise up to Rs. 20,000 crore for funding infrastructure and development projects of world class Labs in IIMs/IITs/NITs and such other institutions, through a 10-year loan.
- Government approved extension of contract with and International Seabed Authority (ISA) for exploration of Polymetallic Nodules (PMS), till 2022.
- Polymetallic nodules (PMN) are also known as manganese nodules. They are potato-shaped, largely porous nodules found in abundance carpeting the sea floor in the deep sea of the world oceans.
- Besides manganese and iron, they contain nickel, copper, cobalt, lead, molybdenum, cadmium, vanadium, titanium. Of these metals nickel, cobalt and copper are considered to be of economic and strategic importance.
- Government approved formation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council as per Article 279A of Constitution, along with Creation of the GST Council Secretariat in New Delhi and several other key posts in the GST Council.
- Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill 2016 (for introduction of GST) was approved by President after being ratified by 15 states (Assam First and Goa 15th). After assent of President, bill becomes law as Constitution (101st Amendment) Act 2016 and It ads adds Article 279A in Constitution.
- As per Article 279A (1) of amended Constitution, GST Council is to be constituted by President within 60 days of commencement of Article 279A.
- Composition of GST Council
- As per Article 279A, GST Council which will be a joint forum of Centre and States. It shall consist
- Union Finance Minister as Chairperson.
- Union Minister of State (MoS) in-charge of Revenue of finance (Member)
- Minister In-charge of taxation or finance or any other Minister nominated by each State Government (Members)
- As per Article 279A (4), GST Council will make recommendations on important issues like Goods and services that may be subjected or exempted from GST.
- Government approved proposals of Ministry of Finance related to certain budgetary reforms -
- Merger of Railway budget with General budget -
- Pesentation of separate Railway budget started in the year 1924, and has continued after independence as a convention rather than under Constitutional provisions.
- Capital at charge of Railways is estimated at Rs.2.27 lakh crore on which annual dividend (approx 9700 crore) is paid by Railways to Government, which will now be wiped off.
- Advancement of the date of Budget presentation from last day of February -
- Advancement of budget presentation would pave way for early completion of Budget cycle and enable Ministries and Departments to ensure better planning and execution of schemes from the beginning of the financial year and utilization of full working seasons.
- Exact date of presentation of Budget for 2017-18 would be decided keeping in view the date of assembly elections to be held in States.
- Merger of Plan and the Non-Plan classification in Budget and Accounts -
- Plan/Non-Plan bifurcation of expenditure has led to a fragmented view of resource allocation to various schemes, making it difficult not only to ascertain cost of delivering a service but also to link outlays to outcomes..
- Earmarking of funds for Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan/Tribal Sub-Plan will be continued. Similarly, allocations for North Eastern States will also continue. This would help in resolving the following issues.
- Government approved simplification of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Policy 2016 in various sectors as announced in June 2016. Changes in FDI Policy are -
- Defence Sector - FDI beyond 49% has been permitted through government approval route, in cases resulting in access to modern technology in the country or for other reasons. FDI limit also made applicable to Manufacturing of Small Arms and Ammunitions covered under Arms Act, 1959.
- Food Products manufactured or produced in India 0 100% FDI under government approval route for trading in respect of food products manufactured in India.
- Pharmaceutical - 100% FDI under automatic route in greenfield pharmaceuticals. FDI up to 100% under government approval in brownfield pharmaceuticals also has been approved and 74% FDI under automatic route in Brownfield pharmaceuticals.
- Civil Aviation - 100% FDI under automatic route in Brownfield Airport Projects. FDI limit raised to 100% in Scheduled Air Transport Service and regional Air Transport Service.
- Animal Husbandry - 100% FDI allowed in Animal Husbandry (including breeding of dogs), Aquaculture, Pisciculture and Apiculture under Automatic Route without requirement of controlled conditions.
- Private Security Agencies - 49% FDI permitted under automatic route and FDI beyond 49% and up to 74% will be permitted through government approval route.
- Single Brand Retail - Entities undertaking single brand retail trading have been relaxed from local sourcing norms up to 3 years that were put earlier. Entities in single brand retail trading of products having ‘state-of-art and ‘cutting edge technology have been relaxed from local sourcing norms up to 5 years.
- Government approved to enable Richardson & Cruddas (1972) Limited to come out of purview of Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) by converting into equity of Government's loan of Rs 101 crores given to the Company alongwith interest amounting to Rs 424 Crores accrued on this loan.
- Government approved to raise 31300 crores in FY 2016-17 to augment infrastructure spending. It has approved to service principal and interest against Extra Budgetary Resources (EBR) of Rs. 16,300 crore by Government for infrastructure spending.
- Government banned agencies in possession of Aadhaar number of Customers to publish or post information publicly to ensure that the details are not misused.
- Government cleared deal with France's Dassault for 36 Rafale fighter jets, worth approx 7.878 billion Euros.
- Government disinvested 7% of its stake in Hindustan Copper Limited, to get approx 400 crores.
- Government issued fresh flexi-fund guidelines to give more freedom to states in spending money under Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) to meet local developmental requirements. Under new norms, flexi-funds in each CSS has been increased from current 10% to 25% for states and 30% for Union Territories.
- Government notified constitution of Six Member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (RBI Act) has been amended by the Finance Act 2016, to provide for a statutory and institutionalised framework for a Monetary Policy Committee. Monetary Policy Committee will fix benchmark policy rate (repo rate) required to contain inflation within the specified target level. Composition of MPC -
- Urjit Patel - RBI Governor (Chairperson)
- R Gandhi - Deputy Governor RBI in charge of Monetary Policy (Member)
- Michael Patra - Executive Director of RBI (Member)
- Government Nominated Members - Chetan Ghate (Indian Statistical Institute), Pami Dua (Delhi School of Economics) and Ravindra H. Dholakia (Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad). Members appointed by Government will hold post for 4 years.
- Government notified new import policy for marble & travertine blocks, aimed at balancing interests of domestic consumers, producers and processors, and ease up importing -
- Policy ends quantitative restriction on import of marble and travertine blocks.
- Marble Blocks - basic customs duty on import has been increased to 40 % and Minimum Import Price (MIP) has reduced to 200 USD / metric ton.
- Marble & Granite slabs - Basic customs duty on import doubled to 20% and MIP on import is reduced to 40 USD / square metre for Marble and 50 USD / square metre for Grainte slabs.
- Government raised Employees Provident Fund (EPF) investment in Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) from 5 to 10 %, considering good returns in ETF investment. In last one year, Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) invested 6577 crore rupees in ETF with a good return of 13.24 %.
- Government raised salary cap of beneficiaries to Rs.21,000 per month from Rs.15,000, to increase number of people eligible for Employees State Insurance (ESI) that which provides medical care to industrial workers and their dependents. It means all industrial workers drawing a salary of up to Rs.21,000 will be eligible for health care at more than 1,500 clinics and hospitals run by Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC). It will add 30 lakh workers to ESIC pool. It will add nearly Rs.3,000 crore to the labour ministry-run ESICs corpus annually.
- HDFC Bank named India’s most valuable brand for 3rd consecutive year, as per BrandZ Top 50 list released by WPP Group. HDFC Bank was followed by Airtel and SBI in the list.
- HDFC Ergo General Insurance Company (HDFC ERGO) has completed acquisition of 100 percent shares of L&T General Insurance Company (L&T Insurance) for Rs. 551 crore.
- ICICI Bank became first Indian Bank to deploy ‘Software Robotics’ for performing over 200 business processes across various functions, including retail banking operations, agri-business, trade & foreign exchange, treasury and human resources management.
- Software robotics takes up several actions done usually by humans and save time and increase efficiency by automating these repetitive, high volume and time consuming tasks.
- Software robots can perform over 10 lakh (1 million) banking transactions every working day.
- IT major Infosys launched Skava Commerce, a new standard for e-commerce platform for retailers. Infosys had acquired in June 2015 for 120 million dollars. Skava Commerce platform can help brick-and-mortar retailers to quickly launch new offerings, improve conversion rates of traffic coming from digital channels.
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited and GAIL Limited signed MoU with Dhamra LNG Terminal Private Limited for taking equity in 5 MMTPA capacity LNG Receiving, Storage and Regasification Terminal. Dhamra LNG terminal is being built by Adani Enterprises Ltd at Dhamra Port, Odisha.
- Karnataka Bank signed MoU with Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company for distribution of mutual fund products.
- MobiKwik launched Bubble Pin as a one-step offline payments mode, which allows users to make payments without data connection.
- Mobile Wallet Paytm Launched service for enabling Railway Ticket Bookings on behalf of IRCTC.
- Mobile payments and loans start-up ftcash launched Unified Payment Interface (UPI) for merchants in association with ICICI Bank.
- President Pranab Mukherjee have his assent to Constitution (122nd Amendment) (GST) Bill 2014 as per Article 111 of the Constitution. With this, bill becomes law and a new indirect tax regime will now be implemented in India with concept of one nation, one tax - GST (Goods and Services Tax).
- GST is a single indirect tax throughout country. It subsumes most of the Central and State indirect taxes such as Value Added Tax (VAT), excise duty, service tax, central sales tax, additional customs duty and special additional duty of customs.
- Constitution (122nd Amendment) (GST) Bill, 2014 will enter into the statute book as The Constitution (101st Amendment) Bill, 2016.
- Private sector Axis Bank tied up with Banaras Hindu University (BHU) to offer specialised banking courses.
- Qatar National Bank (QNB) received approval from India's regulatory authorities to begin operations in country.
- Reliance Industries launched Jio Telecom Service offering free voice calls and zero roaming charges for its customers as a part of Jio Welcome Offer (from 5 September 2016 up to 31 December 2016).
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved 26000 crores cash credit limit (CCL) for purchasing paddy in Punjab.
- Rural housing scheme Indira Awas Yojana (IAY), started by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, has been renamed as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). It will be effective from April 1, 2017. Under this scheme, government is aiming to construct one crore houses by 2019.
- Southern India Engineering Manufacturers’ Association (SIEMA) signed agreement with Anna University for joint work on projects required for industries.
- Standard & Poor's (S&P) Global Ratings forecasted relatively high quality and steroid-free GDP growth of 8% for India over next few years.
- State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, IDFC Bank, and digital wallet Paytm will start issuing electronic tags to vehicles for toll collection.
- Tamil Nadu government allotted 204 crores for Thaaliku Thangam’ (Gold for Mangalsutra) scheme under a marriage assistance programme scheme for the year 2016-17 to benefit 12,500 women.
- Telangana government signed MoU with theGoa government to help Goa in information technology (IT) development.
- To boost Industrial Activities, Government approved special Tax Rebate for Setting up Industrial Units in 7 districts of Andhra Pradesh, till Mar 31, 2020. Any manufacturing undertaking set up during concerned period in concerned districts, is eligible for 15% of higher additional depreciation and 15% of investment allowance on cost of plant and machinery acquired by it. Districts are - Anantapur, Chittoor, Cuddapah, Kurnool, Srikakulam, Vishakhapatnam and Vizianagaram.
- To help exporters, Department of Commerce brought changes in Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) -
- Addition of 2901 new products, taking number of items covered under scheme from 5012 to 7103.
- Increase in MEIS rates - Rates of 575 product items falling under 11 products categories have been increased.
- Total annual government support under MEIS scheme enhanced to 23,500 crore from present Rs. 22,000 crore.
- Vijaya Bank launched 3 innovative apps - VPAYQWIK, Vijaya *99# and V-eConnect+.
- World Bank announced to invest over 1,000 crore rupees in Assam for betterment of inland waterways, including ghats.
- e-Commerce platform Paytm will enable health insurance for 3 lakh auto and cab drivers (in partnership with TATA AIG General Insurance ) that accept its wallet as payment system. New health insurance scheme covers hospitalisation expenses of up to Rs 50,000.
International
- Tech giants Microsoft, Google and Salesforce adopted EU-US Privacy Shield frameworkm to be able to receive personal data from European Union (EU) in compliance with new standards. They are now among 103 companies out of 5526 signatories to replace defunct Safe Harbour framework.
- 193 countries of United Nations (UN) signed declaration to make world free of of drug-resistant infections or Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) or superbugs.
- It is the fourth time a UN declaration has been reached on a health issue, following HIV in 2001, non-communicable diseases in 2011 and Ebola in 2013.
- Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) or superbugs happens when microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites change when they are exposed to antimicrobial drugs. As a result, medicines or drugs become ineffective and infections persist in the body futher increasing the risk of spread to others.
- 19th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit to be held in Islamabad (Pakistan) has been postponed, after India and four other countries boycotted it.
- 20th India International seafood show (IISS) 2016 held in Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) with theme Safe and Sustainable Indian Aquaculture.
- A new Guinness world record for the largest LEGO ship has been set in Denmark, where employees of a shipping company successfully constructed the incredible 2,860 kg boat using over one million interlocking plastic bricks. The blue and white LEGO boat measures 12.035 metres in length.
- Afghanistan signed peace agreement with one of country's largest militant groups Hezb-e-Islami.
- All India Radio (AIR) launched a website and mobile app for its Balochi service to reach people who speak Balochi language across globe.
- As per a Mastercard Report, Five Indian cities - Mumbai (27), Chennai (30), Delhi (48), Kolkata (62) along with Pune (91) ranked in top 100 destination cities for 2016. Asian cities make up half of global top 10 cities and Bangkok (Thailand) is at top.
- Canadas British Columbia province became first foreign government to issue masala bonds, a rupee-denominated bond. It issued Rs 500 crore rupee denominated overseas bonds (masala bond) on London Stock Exchange (LSE). British Columbias issued masala bond was priced for 6.62 % semi-annual yield with 3 year tenor.
- Masala Bonds are rupee-denominated bonds issued to overseas buyers. It is aimed at boosting investments into Indias infrastructure sector.
- China built world's largest radio telescope nicknamed Tianyan (Heavenly Eye or The Eye of Heaven) or the five-hundred-metre aperture spherical radio telescope (FAST).
- It is world’s largest filled aperture (single dish) radio telescope and the second largest radio telescope after the Russian RATAN-600.
- It is made up of 4,450 panels and has reflector as large as 30 football pitches. It has 500 meters diameter, giving it more sensitivity.
- China and Russia carried out joint naval exercise Joint Sea 2016 in South China Sea.
- China and Vietnam agreed to manage their differences over territorial disputes in the South China Sea and safeguard stability.
- China blocked Xiabuqu River (a tributary of the Brahmaputra River) in Tibet, to construct a hydro project. This Blockade may impact water flows into India and Bangladesh.
- China completed over 20,000 kms of Bullet Railway track network, becoming world’s longest bullet train network.
- China successfully launched Tiangong - 2 space lab, on board of Long March-2F T2 rocket. Tiangong-2 (means Heavenly Palace 2) space lab is part of China’s ambitious Project 921-2 space station program aimed at creating a third generation space station. It has replaced China’s now-defunct Tiangong 1 space lab mission which had ended its operational life in March 2016.
- Colombian voters in a referendum rejected peace deal with Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels, with 50.2 % polling in opposition. Deal was earlier signed by President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC leader Timoleon Jimenez after 4 years of negotiations.
- During visit of Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani to India, India and Afghanistan signed Extradition Treaty to facilitate exchange of wanted terrorists and criminals. Alongwith, Both countries signed agreements on peaceful uses of outer space technology and cooperation in commercial and civil matters. India also committed to extend one billion dollars to Afghanistan as development aid.
- Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi visited India and signed agreement for cooperation in area of Maritime Transport.
- Election Commission of India (ECI) granted national party status to All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) Party led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, after TMC fulfilled required conditions to become a national party after getting status of state party in 4 states.
- TMC is ruling West Bengal Government and has its presence in north eastern states Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura.
- With this , TMC became seventh national party in the country along with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM).
- If any political party Secures at least 6% of the valid votes polled in any 4 states. itis eligible for getting considered for national party status.
- In August 2016, ECI brought changes in Paragraph 6C of Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order 1968 to review status of political parties every 10 years, instead of present norm of 5 years.
- European Union approved ratification of Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
- 28 EU Nations contribute 12 % global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
- Once all 28 EU nations ratify the agreement, The Paris Agreement on Climate Change will be ready to enter into force as cumulative emissions of ratifying parties will go beyond 55%.
- Facebook, Amazon, Google, IBM and Microsoft joined up for partnership on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.
- First 5 Day BRICS Film Festival held in New Delhi.
- Russian actress Yulia Peresild won the best female actor for her role in the Russian movie Battle for Sevastopol.
- South Africa's Thabo Rametsi won Best actor title for his film Kalushi.
- Raam Reddy's Kannada film Thithi conferred Best Film award at 1st BRICS Film Festival..
- Best Director Award - Huo Jianqi (China).
- Special jury award: Brazils Phillipe Barcinski for Between Valleys”.
- Forbes' 50 Most Powerful Women International List -
- List is topped by Banco Santander’s Ana Patricia Botin, followed by SBI Chief Arundhati Bhattacharya (2nd).
- India's ICICI head Chanda Kochhar (5th) and Axis Bank CEO Shikha Sharma (19th) are also in List.
- Forbes' best-paid television actresses List 2016 -
- Colombian - American actress Sofia Vergara topped List for fifth time in a row with earnings of $43 Million.
- Indian Actress Priyanka ranked ranked 8th with earnings of $10 million.
- Fortune 19th Most Powerful Women list 2016 -
- List is topped by Mary Barra (CEO of General Motors Company), with Indra Nooyi (CEO of Pepsi Co) and 2nd place and Marillyn Hewson (CEO of Lockheed Martin).
- There are 22 female CEO, down from 27 last year in this year's list.
- German multinational pharmaceutical company Bayer accquired USA Based Monsanto for 66 Billion USD.
- Google rolled out travel app Google Trips and messaging app Allo.
- Government approved MoUs -
- With Singapore for co-operation in Industrial Property Cooperation. MoU will be signed at the upcoming visit of Singapore’s Prime Minister to India from 4-7 October, 2016.
- Government approved MOU with South Korea on Mutual Recognition of Certificates.
- Government approved New Agreements -
- Technical Arrangement with Switzerland on the identification and return of Swiss and Indian Nationals.
- MoU with Kenya on cooperation in National Housing Policy Development and Management.
- MoU with Mozambique on cooperation in the field of Youth Affairs.
- MOU with South Africa in the field of Information and Communication Technologies.
- Guinness World Records officially designated Assams Majuli as largest river island in world.
- Majuli island is situated in Brahmaputra River, covering area of 880 sqkm. It has toppled previous record held by Brazils Marajo island in Amazon river.
- Island has total 144 villages with a population of over 160,000 and a density of 300 individuals per square km.
- In June 2016, Assam Government had officially declared the island as the district making it Indias first island district.
- HP (Hewlett Packard) acquired Samsung's printer business for $1.05 billion.
- India and Chile sigend agreement to expand scope of their existing Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) by covering more goods for tariff concessions.
- India and China have hold first High Level Dialogue on Counter-terrorism and Security held in Beijing (China).
- India and Sri Lanka signed MoU to support livelihood of fishing and farming project to communities in Sri Lanka’s southern Hambantota district.
- India approved revised Double Tax Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with Cyprus, for checking tax evasion.
- India complained to World Trade Organization (WTO) about support given to renewable energy industry in USA to its 8 states - Washington, Montana, California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan and Minnesota.
- Complaint against US is about up proping up renewable sector with illegal subsidies and putting necessity to buy local goods rather than imports.
- Earlier in 2013, India filed questions at WTO about suspected subsidies in solar programmes in four US states - Delaware, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Connecticut. In May 2016, India lost a case at WTO after the US complained about India’s national solar programme over illegal subsidies and domestic content requirements.
- India ratified Paris Agreement (on Climate Change) that was adopted by 185 nations in December 2015. India had signed this Agreement in April 2016. A total of 191 countries have signed to the Paris Agreement so far.
- As per provisions of Paris Agreement, treaty will come into force as and when 55 countries contributing to 55 % of total global emission ratify the agreement. So far, 62 countries (Including India) have ratified it, accounting in total for 51.89 % of total global greenhouse gas emissions (India's part is 4.1%).
- India signed MoU with Greece to allow unlimited number of flights into each other’s countries and also initiated air service agreement for open skies. Greece becomes first country with which India has inked an open sky arrangement under its new civil aviation policy.
- India successfully tested surface-to-air missile (LRSAM) Barak-8 Missile off Odisha coast. Barak-8 missile is long-range nuclear capable ballistic missile, developed jointly by Israel and India.
- India will host next Annual Meetings of African Development Bank (AfDB) Group in Ahmedabad (Gujarat) in May 2017. It will be attended by over 5000 delegates from 80 member countries of the African Development Bank.
- India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) became seventh member of Asia-Pacific Aerospace Quality Group (APAQG) under category Full Member with voting rights. Other nations of APAQG are South Korea, China, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan and Japan.
- India, USA and Afghanistan reaffirmed their shared interests in combating terrorism and advancing peace and security. In this regard, a trilateral statement was issued after meeting of their delegates in New York on the sidelines of 71st session of UN General Assembly.
- Indian Consortium comprising of Oil India Limited, Indian Oil Corporation Limited and Bharat Petro Resources Limited acquired 23.9 % stake in JSC Vankorneft and 29.9 % stake in LLC Taas-Yuryakh from Rosneft Oil Company (Russia).
- Indian Infrastructure Giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T) won 99.7-million dollar (around 660 crores INR) contract from Vietnam Border Guard to construct 12 high-speed patrol vessels in 30 months.
- Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport became Asia-Pacific’s only airport to achieve a carbon neutral status, as announced by Airports Council International (ACI).
- This recognition has upgraded IGI airport’s status to “Level 3+, Neutrality, highest level for airports across the world.
- IGI airport is managed by private operator Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), which has taken several initiatives to make IGI airport recognized at Global Scale -
- Eco-friendly vehicles
- 84 MW solar power plant
- Terminal 3 is a LEED gold certified green building
- Water Conservation, preconditioned air supply systems, Energy efficient lighting systems and bridge mounted equipment.
- Inland Waterways Authority of India (Ministry of Shipping) signed contract with DST, Germany to design vessels that are especially suited to navigate 1620 km stretch of NW-1, aimed at providing safe, environment friendly and economical mode of transportation through National Waterway-1.
- Intel acquired computer vision firm Movidius, which partnered with Google to develop 3D space mapping technology for Project Tango devices.
- LG Electronics tied-up with Amazon.com Inc on smart-home services. This tie-up will help enabling services of Amazon such as Alexa virtual assistant on some of LG's devices.
- Mexico has set up its third consulate in India (and first in South India)in Chennai that will cater to Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
- Microsoft and Adobe partnered to promote use of each other's cloud-computing tools among their mutual customers.
- Minister for State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman visited Sri Lanka for for talks on Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement (ETCA). She announced that India is going to invest 2 billion dollars in Sri Lanka in the next 3 - 4 years.
- Nations have adopted New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Declaration expresses political will of world leaders to protect rights of refugees and migrants to save lives and share responsibility for large movements on a global scale.
- Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed to cut oil production for the first time since 2008 after an informal meeting in Algeria. It was decided to reduce output to 32.5 - 33.0 million barrels per day (bpd) from current output at 33.24 million bpd.
- India is 3rd largest importer of crude oil imports 85% of total oil and 95% of natural gas from OPEC nations. Decision to cut production may result in spike in oil prices in India.
- In recent times, lower oil prices kept the Indian economy on the shining path and managed to keep inflation under control making it fastest growing economy in G20 countries.
- About Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
- OPEC consists of 14 oil-exporting developing nations that account for 43% of global oil production and 73% of the world’s oil reserves. It was Established in 1960 in Baghdad, Iraq.
- OPEC Members - Algeria, Angola, Libya, Nigeria and Gabon (from Africa); Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Ecuador and Venezuela.
- Pakistan’s lower house of parliament passed a landmark bill to address Hindu minority’s concerns over registration of marriages, aimed at protecting women’s rights.
- Powerful typhoon Megi recently hit island-nation Taiwan with winds up to 230 km/hr.
- Report by University of Queensland (Australia)
- Estimated 1.3 million square miles (3.3 million square km) wilderness has been reduced by 10 % since 1990.
- Amazon basin and central Africa have been hit the hardest.
- Total 30.1 million km2 (around 20 % of world's land area) now remains as wilderness. Majority in North America, North Asia, North Africa, and Australia.
- Russian state nuclear agency Rosatom and Cuba's Ministry of Science signed an agreement on cooperation in peaceful atomic energy.
- Scientists from USA's Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) developed a novel spectroscopic technique to find signs of extraterrestrial life on Mars. Ttechnique is incorporated on instrument - SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals). It will be launched by NASA’s new Mars rover to be launched in 2020 to find signs of life on Mars.
- Six member countries of South Asia Sub-regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) program - Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka released Operational Plan 2016-2025.
- SASEC OP was Established in 2001, to promote regional prosperity by improving cross-border connectivity, boosting trade among member countries, and strengthening regional economic cooperation.
- Asian Development Bank (ADB) is the secretariat and lead financier of the SASEC program. To date, ADB has approved 40 SASEC projects worth almost $7.7 billion in transport, energy, trade facilitation, and information and communications technology.
- SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded on its Cape Canaveral launch pad during a test, destroying a commercial satellite that Facebook had planned to use to extend Internet access in Africa.
- Times Higher Education world rankings index -
- Oxford University (UK) topped the list. It become first UK university to top Times Higher Education World University Rankings in the 12-year history of the table.
- China’s Peking University is at 29th and Tsinghua University is at 35th.
- National University of Singapore, is best in Asia with 24th rank.
- India’s Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore is at its highest ever position in 201-250 band.
- Overall, 289 Asian universities from 24 countries make overall list of 980 institutions and an 19 are in top 200, up from 15 last year.
- List of top 10 is -
2016-17 rank 2015-16 rank Institution Country 1 2 University of Oxford United Kingdom 2 1 California Institute of Technology United States 3 3 Stanford University United States 4 4 University of Cambridge United Kingdom 5 5 Massachusetts Institute of Technology United States 6 6 Harvard University United States 7 7 Princeton University United States 8 8 Imperial College London United Kingdom 9 9 ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich Switzerland =10 13 University of California, Berkeley United States =10 10 University of Chicago United States
- Transportation app Uber launched a new initiative in partnership with Maruti Suzuki and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) for creating livelihood opportunities for 10Lakh people by 2018.
- Trial operation of world's largest permanent ship lift designed by Chinese and German engineers on China's Three Gorges Dam began.
- Typhoon Malakas hit southern Japan, bringing damaging winds of up to 180 Km/hr.
- Typhoon Meranti (Ferdie) hits China’s Fujian Province with winds of 173 km/h.
- UN 2016 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Report (first global analysis that assesses countries on SDG health performance ) -
- India ranked 143rd out of 188 countries.
- List is topped by Iceland, followed by Singapore, Sweden, Andorra and UK.
- About SDG -
- The SDGs are 17 universal goals, 169 targets and 230 indicators set by the United Nations in 2015 to guide a range of pressing problems including food and water security, poverty and climate change up to 2030.
- The SDGs follow and expand on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which expired at the end of 2015.
- UN Charter (seminal treaty of United Nations) has now been translated into Sanskrit. The Charter is available in all six official languages of the UN (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish).
- US appointed its first Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis to Cuba in 55 years.
- USA and Vietnamese navies begun 7th annual Naval Engagement Activity (NEA) in Vietnam.
- USA signed a 38 billion USD Deal with Israel to provide Receive military assistance from Israe over a 10-year period (2019 - 2028). Israel will receive 3.8 billion dollars annually from USA, up from 3.1 billion USD currently gives Israel annually under 10-year deal that ends in 2018.
- USA will be partner country in 8th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit-2017 t be held at January 8-9, 2017.
- United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) released report Uprooted: The growing crisis for refugee and migrant children. According to the report, nearly 5 Crore million children have been uprooted across globe and millions migrating in hope of finding a better, safer life.
- United Nations Panel on Access to Medicines suggested delinking drug prices from research and development (R&D) costs and placing human rights over intellectual property laws of pharmaceutical companies. All countries must freely be able to use flexibilities granted under TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) to access affordable medicines.
- United Nations Security Council (UNSC) approved resolution for quick global implementation of Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban treaty (CTBT) to ban tests of nuclear weapons.
- CTBT bans all nuclear explosions for both civilian and military purposes. It was adopted by UNGA under resolution 50 (1996).
- Treaty will enter into force 180 days after ratification from all UN Members. So far, 183 countries have signed CTBT and 166 have ratificatied it.
- Wipro's fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) arm acquired China's Zhongshan Ma Er Daily Products.
- World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2016 - 2017 -
- Top 5 - Switzerland (1st), Singapore (2nd), United States (3rd), Netherlands (4th) and Germany (5th).
- BRICS Countries - China (28th), Russia (43rd), South Africa (47th) and Brazil (81st).
- India facts - India has jumped to 39th (16 places up from 55th in 2015-16), being the highest rising economy due to improvement in goods market efficiency, business sophistication and innovation. India’s overall competitiveness has increased due to improvements in institutions and infrastructure along with recent reforms such as opening the economy to foreign investors and increasing transparency in the financial system.
- World Economic Freedom Index (WEFI) 2016 by Centre for Civil Society and Canada’s Fraser Institute -
- India has been ranked 112th out of 159 countries in List.
- Economic freedom index is directly proportional to freedom and opportunities available to its citizens. People in countries with high economic freedom enjoy greater prosperity and longer lives.
- Top 10 - Hong Kong (1st), Singapore (2nd), New Zealand (3rd), Switzerland (4th), Canada (5th), Georgia (6th), Ireland (7th), Mauritius (8th), UAE (9th) and Australia (10th).
- Bottom 10 - Iran (150th), Algeria (151st), Chad (152nd), Guinea (153rd), Angola (154th), Central African Republic (155th), Argentina (156th), Congo (157th), Libya (158th) and Venezuela (159th).
- USA is at 16th, Germany at 30th and Japan at 40th.
- India’s Neighbours - Bhutan (78th), Nepal (108th) and Sri Lanka (111th), China (113th), Bangladesh (121st) and Pakistan (133rd).
- World Health Organisation (WHO) officially declared Sri Lanka as malaria-free, after certifying that malaria has been completely eliminated from island nation.
- World Health Organisation declared Americas (South and North) as Measles free. Americas are first in world to have eliminated measles.
- World Health Organization (WHO) released its report on pollution and claimed that 92 % of world’s population lives in places where air pollution level exceed WHO limits. Estimated 6.5 million deaths (11.6% of all global deaths) are associated with indoor and outdoor air pollution.
- World's first daily driverless bus service has started in Lyon (France). The buses can hold up to 15 passengers and features like LIDAR radar technology and motion sensors will help to avoid accidents.
- World's largest emitter of harmful carbon emissions, China has ratified the Paris global climate agreement. It is aimed at reducing factors causing climate change.
- World's largest solar power plant, with an installed capacity of 648MW has been commissioned at Kamudhi in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu. It has been Set up by Adani Group, on an area of around 5,000 acres and at total cost of Rs 4,550 crores.
Meetings
- IUCN World Conservation Congress 2016 held in Hawaii (USA). International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed eastern gorilla, the largest living primate, as critically endangered in its latest red list of threatened species. Theme of 2016 IUCN Congress is Planet at the Crossroads.
- 11th Group of Twenty (G20) Summit 2016 held in Hangzhou (China). Theme of 2016 G20 Summit is Toward an Innovative, Invigorated, Interconnected and Inclusive World Economy.
- G-20 leaders pledge have pledged to continue to work for a globally fair and modern international tax system, foster growth and refrain from competitive devaluation of currencies. They vowed to go ahead on ongoing co-operation on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), exchange of tax information, tax capacity-building of developing countries and tax policies to promote growth and tax certainty.
- The summit was attended by PM Narendra Modi on India's Behalf.
- 13 nations participated in South Asia Biosafety Conference (SABC) at Hyderabad (Telengana), aimed at sharing experience in biotechnology, environmental risk assessment and biosafety regulation in South Asia.
- 17th NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) Summit held in Margarita (Venezuela, attended by Vice President M. Hamid Ansari on India's Behalf.
- 2 - day long BRICS Convention on Tourism held in Khajuraho (Madhya Pradesh).
- 2016 Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) will be hosted by the Government of India (GoI) in New Delhi on November 2016.
- 2016 India-US Economic Summit held in New Delhi.
- 2016 International Buddhist Conclave will be held in Sarnath (Uttar Pradesh) in October 2016 to promote Buddhist sites in Bodhgaya and Sarnath.
- 28th and 29th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit held in Vientiane (Laos), chaired by Laos President Thongloun Sisoulith. Theme of summit was Turning Vision into Reality for a Dynamic ASEAN Community. ASEAN Members are - Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Lao PDR (host), Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia.
- PM Narendra Modi also attended 14th ASEAN-India summit. 11th East Asia Summit was also held alongside.
- India and Vietnam signed 12 agreements in different areas of cooperation incouding outer space Exploration, double taxation avoidance, co-operation on UN peacekeeping operation. Health, cyber security, advanced IT training, sharing of shipping information between the Navies of the two countries etc. PM Narendra Modi also announced a line of credit (LoC) of 500 million USD to Vietnam to facilitate deeper defence cooperation. The LoC will be used by Indias L&T to build offshore high speed patrol boats for Vietnamese Coast Guards.
- 2nd meeting of Experts to strengthen SAARC Anti-Terrorism Mechanism held in Delhi.
- 3 Guinness World Records created at Samajik Adhikarita Shivir and Scheme of Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase/Fittings of Aids/Appliances (ADIP) Camp in Navsari (Gujarat) -
- First record - Highest number of Oil lamps lit simultaneously at single location, 989 Divyangs came together to set this record.
- Second record - Biggest Wheelchair Logo, with 1,000 participants in wheelchairs depicted a message saying ‘Happy Birthday PM’ in Tri-colour.
- Torld record - Most people fitted with Hearing Aid in 8 hours at Single location (600 Hearing Aids Fitted).
- 3 day BRICS conference on ‘Urban Transition in BRICS’ Held in Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh).
- 33rd International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation (IASP) World Conference hosted by Moscow (Russia).
- 4th Meeting of BRICS Ministers of Education held in New Delhi.
- 5th Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) 2016 Innovators Meet held in New Delhi with theme Biotech Innovation Ecosystem - Strategizing the Next Leap.
- 60th Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference held in Vienna (Austria). Highlights include agreement between Russia and Cuba on cooperation in field of peaceful atomic energy use.
- 69th session of WHO Regional Committee of South-East Asia Region held in Colombo (Sri Lanka). Minister of Health & Family Welfare J P Nadda visited on India's Behalf.
- During this meet, India along with 10 other member countries of World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) South-East Asian Regional Committee has decided to set up a dedicated fund aimed at building preparedness for health emergencies in region. The joint funding stream will be established under the South-East Asia Regional Health Emergency Fund (SEARHEF).
- 6th meeting of BRICS on Agriculture and Agrarian Development held in New Delhi.
- BRICS Environment Ministers meet held in Goa.
- BRICS Labour & Employment Ministerial Meeting held in New Delhi.
- BRICS Wellness Workshop held in Bengaluru (Karnataka). Inaugural National Fair on comprehensive Indian Medicine system (AROGYA) was also held alongside.
- First BRICS Young Scientists Conclave 2016 hosted by India in Bengaluru (Karnataka).
- First ‘IoT (Internet of Things) India Congress 2016 held in Bengaluru (Karnataka).
- Internet of Things (IoT) is a system of interrelated computing devices and digital machines or people that are provided with unique identifiers. Thus it is an internetworking of physical devices, vehicles, buildings and other items, embedded with sensors and connectivity. The internetworking can transfer data without human interaction.
- India Sanitation Conference nicknamed INDOSAN held in Delhi.
- Meeting of security incharges of BRICS Nations held in New Delhi, hosted by National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval.
- Ministry of Commerce and Industry will organize 2nd Advantage Health Care India 2016 (AHCI 2016), an International Summit on Medical Value Travel in Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh) in October 2016, with aim of ‘Promoting Healthcare Services Exports from India’.
- North East Connectivity Summit held in Agartala (Tripura).
- Odisha government hosted 2016 National conference on labour in Bhubaneswar, in association with International Labour Organisation (ILO).
- The first-ever United Nations Summit for Refugees and Migrants has been held at UN General Assembly in New York (USA), for saving lives of over 6.5 crore refugees and migrants.
National
- 2 world records made by Indian Army DARE DEVILS team of Corps of Signals.
- World Record for Longest continuous ride standing on the seat of a motor cycle broken by Capt Manpreet Singh by covering 75.2 Km in 02 : 24 : 12 hours.
- World Record for Handle Bar Riding on a Motorcycle under fresh category established by Havildar Sandeep Kumar, covering a distance of 46.9 Km in 01 : 27 : 31 hours
- 9th India Chem 2016 International Conference inaugurated by Anant Kumar(Minister for Chemicals & Petrochemicals) in Mumbai (Maharashtra). It is organized by Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals and FICCI.
- Incredible India Tourism Investment Summit-2016 held in New Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan.
- According to Endemic Vascular Plants of India Report by Botanical Survey of India (BSI) -
- 18,259 flowering plants are reported in India, 4,303 (over 23%) are found only in India (endemic to India)
- Tamil Nadu accounts for the highest number of species with 410, followed by Kerala (357 species) and Maharashtra (278 species).
- Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh laid foundation stone of Gokul Gram at Mathura in Uttar Pradesh for conservation and development of native cattle breeds. Government will set up 14 such Grams across country as part of Rashtriya Gokul Mission.
- Andhra Pradesh became 2nd state after Gujarat to achieve 100% electrification of households, as per report by JM Financials. About 35% rural households in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and Assam still lacked access to power supply.
- Annual 5-day socio-religious Solung festival of Adi tribe started in Arunachal Pradesh.
- Arunachal Pradesh’s first Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Store opened in Itanagar.
- As per latest National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) sanitation survey in rural areas, Sikkim is cleanest state in India, followed by Kerala, Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh. Jharkhand comes last in list of 26 states.
- Assam tourism unveiled its new logo with tagline ‘Awesome Assam, aimed at promoting state globally.
- Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) will link exam forms with Aadhaar card to avoid duplication. It is being done after the recent toppers scam.
- Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved initiation of Third Phase of Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP) as a Central Scheme with outlay of Rs. 3600 crore (1330 crore as external assistance from World Bank).
- Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP) commenced in 2003 with World Bank assistance as a long term programme to be implemented in 3 phases. First phase ended on March 31st, 2009. It covered 127 institutes across 13 States.
- TEQIP-II commenced in August 2010, covering 23 States and 191 Institutes. TEQIP-II will conclude in October 2016.
- Focus States in 3rd Phase of TEOIP are -
- 3 Hill States - Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand.
- 6 Low Income States - Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
- 8 North-Eastern States - It includes seven North east states plus Sikkim.
- Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- Cauvery Supervisory Committee headed by Shashi Shekhar directed Karnataka to release 3000 cusecs of water per day to Tamil Nadu.
- Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) launched e-nivaran facility for online redressal of taxpayers’ grievances. These grievances can be related to refunds, Income Tax Returns (ITRs), Tax Deducted at Source (TDS), and Permanent Account Number (PAN).
- Centre for Strategic and International Studies (USA)'s report on status of Women's participation in workplaces in India -
- Sikkim is at top with highest possible 40 points score.
- Delhi being at bottom with score of 8.5, reflecting delhi shows worst state for working women among all states in India.
- India has least rate for women participation in workplaces - Just 24 %.
- Chandigarh Administration and French Development Agency (AFD) signed MoU on Smart City Project and 'Technical Cooperation' in the field of Sustainable Urban Mobility.
- Chhattisgarh Government launched ‘Start Up Chhattisgarh’ programme to encourage entrepreneurs in state.
- Chhattisgarh government launched official AIR Regional News Unit (RNU)’s Facebook page at Raipur Radio station.
- China successfully tested a radar system that uses quantum entanglement to beat stealth technology of modern military aircrafts. Previously, USA was only country haiving stealth-defeating quantum radar technology.
- Quantum radar uses quantum entanglement photons to provide better detection capabilities than conventional radar systems, within range of 100 kilometers.
- It easily tracks aircrafts using stealth technology or targets employing active countermeasures to jam or baffle enemy radar.
- Coal India Limited (CIL) signed Memorandum of Understanding MoU with Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) for effectively monitoring of environment related issues in coal mining projects.
- Delhi Police launched mobile application for senior citizens to provide immediate assistance to them in distress.
- Delhi government increased retirement age of doctors working in its hospitals to 65 years, from 62 earlier.
- Delhi's Race Course Road has now been renamed as Lok Kalyan Marg. It has Official Residence of India's Prime Minister.
- Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers welfare) declared India free from Avian Influenza (H5N1).
- Department of Posts launched toll free number ‘1924’ to register postal complaints. Service will be operational for 12 hours on working days between 0800 hrs to 2000 hrs.
- Department of Telecom (DoT) introduced helpline Urja Mitra for updates about electricity supply. Consumers can now dial 14401 and get update from their respective power distribution companies about outages in their area through ‘Urja Mitra Helpline’.
- Finance Ministry decided that sports infrastructure will be included under harmonised master list of infrastructure sub-sectors.
- First Nomad Film Festival 2016 started at India Islamic Cultural Centre in New Delhi to raise awareness and change perceptions regarding denotified tribes. The tribes were listed as ‘Criminal Tribes’ under 1871 Criminal Tribes Act during the British rule.
- First exhibition on childhood cancer awareness held at Taj Mahal in Agra (Uttar Pradesh).
- First phase of ESIC (Employees State Insurance Corporation) Pilot Project of Telemedicine Services launched for providing specialist medical services at a distance to insured workers.
- Forbes' '100 Richest Indians' list -
- Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has topped the list with net worth of 22.7 Billion USD. It is his ninth consecutive year at top of list.
- Sun Pharmaceuticals founder Dilip Shanghvi at number 2 and 3rd spot taken by Hinduja brothers. 4 - Azim Premji (Wipro), 5th - Pallonji Mistry.
- Patanjali co-founder Acharya Balkrishna entered This year's Forbes Richest Indians List with $2.5 billion net-worth owing to his 97% stake in Patanjali Ayurved Ltd
- Flipkart’s co-founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal opted out of list.
- Tech Entrepreneurs Bhavin & Divyank Turakhia entered into list with combined net worth 1.3 Billion USD, after selling their successful online advertising venture Media.net to chinese consortium for 900 Million USD.
- Goa Tourism department will host the first-of-its-kind Vintage Bikeand Car Festival-2016 on October 1, 2016.
- Goa will host a bird festival from November 11 to 13 with Goa's state bird Bulbul” as logo for the festival.
- Government announced 2,520 cr to be spent on rejuvenation of ghats and infrastructure in Uttar Pradesh'a Vraanasi City, to make it Suramya, Samunnat, Sanyojit Kashi under Smart City Plan.
- Government announced special package of 200 crores for Jammu and Kashmir to engage youth of state in sporting activities.
- Government approved 450 crore rupees for Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Sikkim under Swadesh Darshan scheme.
- Uttarakhand - Jageshwar-Devidhura-Katarmal-Baijnath sites with total cost 83 crores.
- Coastal circuit (Tamil Nadu) - Development of Chennai-Mamamallapuram-Rameshwaram-Manpadu-Kanyakumari.
- Ramayana Circuit (Uttar Pradesh) - Development of Chitrakoot and Shringverpur.
- North East circuit (Sikkim) - Development of cultural centre, paragliding centre and craft bazaar for mountaineering and meditation hall.
- Heritage Circuit in Madhya Pradesh - Developing Tourism Infrastructure Gwalior-Orchha-Khajuraho-Chanderi-Bhimbetka-Mandu.
- Government approved 500 Crores as part of Prime Minister Reconstruction Plan (PMRP) for development of tourism in Jammu and Kashmir.
- Government approved changing name of Gurgaon to ‘Gurugram’. With this, both city and district of Gurgaon would be known as Gurugram.
- Government approved direct communication link through a dedicated submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) between Chennai (mainland India) and Andaman & Nicobar Islands, connecting mainland with Port Blair and five other islands - Little Andaman, Havelock, Car Nicobar, Kamorta and Great Nicobar. Estimated cost of project is 1102.38 crores.
- Government approved to enact Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Bill 2016, related to powers of High Courts in respect of claims associated with transport by sea and navigable waterways. It also repealed five obsolete British statues on admiralty jurisdiction in civil matters - Admiralty Court Act 1840, Admiralty Court Act 1861, Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act 1890, Colonial Courts of Admiralty (India) Act 1891, and Provisions of Letters Patent 1865.
- Government approves subsidized helicopter services in State of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh on a pilot basis in 10 sectors, as per stipulation that most inaccessible destination points should be chosen.
- Government has approved six proposals to set up centres of excellence to promote and fund start-ups under National Initiative for Development and Harnessing Innovation (NIDHI) (Department of Science and Technology). Proposals Included SINE-IIT Bombay, Venture Center-NCL Pune, CIIE-IIM Ahmedabad and a research park at IIT-Gandhinagar.
- Government launched a new service integration of DigiLocker with Driving Licenses (DL) & Vehicle Registration Certificates (RC). It was Launched by Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari and Minister of Electronics & Information Technology and Law & Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad.
- With this integration, people will no longer need to carry around physical copies of their Driving Licences and RCs. Using DigiLocker mobile app, they can instead access digital copies of the same on their mobile phones.
- DLs and VRC documents will be now issued directly to the DigiLockers of individuals in digital formats. These digital copies can be shared with other government departments as identity and address proof.
- Government release special Commemorative Postage Stamp on occassion of 100th anniversary of Lady Hardinge Medical College (Delhi).
- Grand Buddhist festival Naropa which occurs in every 12 years, started at 17th century Hemis Monastery in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir.
- Gujarat government signed MoU with Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airport Authority of India (AAI) to develop 11 small airports and airstrips under Centre’s Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) to boost regional air connectivity in State.
- Gujarat became third State after Jharkhand and Maharashtra to have signed such agreement under Centre’s Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS).
- Gumthala Garhu Village near Pehowa in Kurukshetra district in Haryana became the first Wifi hotspot village in Haryana.
- Haryana Government announced Charkhi Dadri as 22nd district. At present, it is part of state’s largest district - Bhiwani.
- Health Ministry recently launched “Leprosy Case Detection Campaign (LCDC)” to eradicate leprosy from India.
- Health Ministry will launch Mission Parivar Vikas in 145 districts of 8 States, to improve family planning services. Aim is to reach replacement level fertility goals of 2.1 by 2025. States are - Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Assam.
- Himachal Pradesh cabinet amended Hydropower Policy 2006 in respect to transfer of shares to non-Himachalis. Now Himachalis can sell or transfer 49% equity shares to non-Himachalis at any stage after allotment of projects upto 2 MW capacity and full disinvestment after two years of commissioning of projects.
- Himachal Pradesh government notified guidelines for transparent auction and scientific mining and hiked penalty for offences under mining act. Imprisonment up to two years or fine up to 25000 rupees or both has been made for those involved in illegal mining of minerals.
- Himachal Pradesh government signed MoU with Singapore government for developing a smart integrated township in Jathiadevi near Shimla airport.
- Home Minister Rajnath Singh laid Foundation Stone for construction of Infosys – Red Cross Sarai today at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh.
- India declared itself free from highly contagious Avian Influenza (H5N1) or bird flu and has notified it to World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
- Indian Railways launched ‘Yatri Mitra Sewa’, to make rail travel comfortable for elderly, differently-abled and ailing travellers.
- Indias first international conference on cooking gas held in Bhubaneswar (Odisha).
- India’s largest civilian research and development agency Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) completed its platinum jubilee (75 years of operations). CSIR became operational on 26 September 1942.
- Jammu and Kashmir government launched Scooty for College Girls Scheme. As per the scheme, eligibility for a scooty is based on minimum percentage and annual family income of 65 % and Rs.4 lakh respectively. College going girl students will be given 50 % subsidy on purchase of a Scooty.
- Karnataka State Wildlife Board declared Ankasamudra tank in Hagari Bommanahalli taluk as a bird conservation reserve. This is first bird conservation reserve declared in the entire Hyderabad-Karnataka region.
- Minister of Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal laid Foundation Stone of Ludhiana Mega Food Park., to be developed at cost of 117 crores over an area of 100 acres.
- Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airports Authority of India signed MOU with Puducherry Government for Regional Connectivity Scheme.
- RCS is key component of the National Civil Aviation Policy and would be in operation for 10 years, providing connectivity to un-served and under-served airports of country.
- Fare for a 1 hour journey of appx. 500 km on a fixed wing aircraft or for a 30 minute journey on a helicopter would now be capped at Rs. 2,500.
- Puducherry is first Union Territory to have signed RCS. Before Puducherry, states of Gujarat, Jharkhand and Maharashtra have signed this agreement.
- Ministry of Civil Aviation approved 4 new airport projects - 3 in Andhra Pradesh (Bhogapuram, Dagadarthi (Nellore) and Orvakallu (Kurnool)) and Kothagudem in Telengana.
- Ministry of Civil Aviation prohibited use of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 smartphone on board an aircraft. This has been done in light of several incidents globally, involving battery of Samsung Galaxy Note 7.
- Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj released Swachh Survekshan for rural India. A total of 22 hill districts and 53 plain areas were assessed under Gramin Swachh Survekshan launched in May 2016.
- Mandi was judged as cleanest district in Hills category and Sindhudurg as cleanest in Plains category.
- Ministry commissioned Quality Council of India (QCI) to carry out assessment.
- Each district has been judged on four distinct parameters.
- Households having access to safe toilets and using them (toilet usage, water accessibility, safe disposal of waste) (40%)
- Households having no litter around (30%)
- Public places with no litter in the surrounding (10%)
- Households having no stagnant wastewater around (20%)
Overall Ranking - Swachh Survekshan Gramin
Category
Rank
District
State
Cleanliness Score
Hills
1
Mandi
Himachal Pradesh
98.4
Hills
2
West Sikkim
Sikkim
96.4
Hills
3
Shimla
Himachal Pradesh
94.1
Plains
1
Sindhudurg
Maharashtra
96.8
Plains
2
Nadia
West Bengal
95.0
Plains
3
Satara
Maharashtra
92.9
- Ministry of External affairs (MEA) launched a registration module madad.gov.in for Indian students studying abroad so they could be reached in case of emergency.
- Ministry of Home Affairs approved use of Pelargonic Acid Vanillyl Amide (PAVA) shells as an alternative to pellet guns for crowd controlling in Jammu and Kashmir. PAVA sheels also called Nonivamide are chilli-filled grenades. They are less lethal compared to pellet guns and do not cause physical injury.
- Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas launched Gas4India campaign, aimed at promoting use of natural gas in the country.
- Ministry of Urban Development shortlisted 27 cities from 12 States in list of 3rd batch of Smart Cities Mission. These cities were shortlisted based on scores obtained in latest round of the Smart City Challenge competition in which total 63 cities had participated. Competition was topped by Amritsar in Punjab. With 5 cities, Maharashtra has the highest number of cities.
- Mobile phone Maker Gionee signed MoU with Haryana government to set up manufacturing hub with investment of Rs 500 crore (later would be increased to 1,500 crores).
- NHPC (Natinal Hydro Power Corporation) signed pact with BHEL for renovation of 180 MW Baira Siul power station in Himachal Pradesh.
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for first time successfully sequenced DNA in space, on International Space Station (ISS). The genome sequencing was undertaken by astronaut Kate Rubins as part of Biomolecule Sequencer experiment .
- The experiments were undertaken by using commercially available DNA sequencing device called MinION on samples of mouse, virus and bacteria DNA.
- This experiment provides a way to sequence DNA in space which can help astronauts to diagnose an illness.
- National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) approved Rs. 10000 crore Ken-Betwa river interlinking project. It is India’s first inter-State river interlinking project (Uttar Pradesh - Madhya Pradesh). Main feature of this project is a 230-km long canal and a series of barrages and dams (Makodia and Dhaudhan dams) connecting Ken and Betwa rivers. It will irrigate 3.5 lakh hectares in Madhya Pradesh and 14,000 hectares of Uttar Pradesh, in Bundelkhand.
- National Mission on Bioeconomy launched in Shillong (Meghalaya) by Institute of Bio-resources and Sustainable Development (IBSD) under Ministry of Science and Technology. The purpose of the mission is to boost rural economy by utilizing bio-resources.
- Noted Yog Guru and founder of Patanjali group Baba Ramdev laid foundation stone of Patanjali Mega Food and Herbal Park in Outskirts of Nagpur.
- Nuakhai, agrarian mass festival of Kosali people celebrated in western Odisha to welcome new rice of the season. Every year, the festival is observed on panchami tithi, the day after Ganesh Chaturthi.
- Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik announced to share his thoughts on different issues through radio for 10 minutes every month, throughBiju Goan Radio.
- Odisha Government launched Biju Kanya Ratna Yojana (BKRY) for improving Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) and Child Sex Ratio (CSR) in the three districts - Ganjam, Dhenkanal and Angul.
- Odisha government launched pension scheme for construction workers, which will benefit 25 lakh beneficiaries.
- Construction workers above 60 years will get pension of Rs 300 / month while workers above 80 years will get pension of 500 / month.
- Earlier, Odisha government launched Mahaprayan scheme for taking bodies from hospital to deceased’s house and Biju Kanya Ratna scheme that aims to improve child sex ratio.
- Odisha government signed 15 year lease agreement with Falcon Marine Exports for operation of Jagatjore Shrimp Culture Project in coastal Kendrapara sddistrict. It will fetch revenue of 13 crore rupees to government.
- Paryavaran Bhawan located in CGO Complex (New Delhi) has been renamed as Pandit Deendayal Antyodaya Bhawan, highlighting Antyodaya Philosophy of Pandit Deendayal who advocated upliftment of the poorest strata of the Society.
- Patna High Court quashed Bihar government's decision to complete banning liquor in the state, saying that its is ultra vires to Constitution (beyond state government's legal authority). Liquor ban law was made more stringent after Assembly passed Bihar Excise and Prohibition Bill that stated all adult members of family could be arrested for 7 years if liquor was found stored in house.
- Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi launched ‘Shramdaan movement’ as part of Swachh Bharat and Swachh Puducherry initiative.
- Rajasthan High Court become Fourth State to provide e-Stamp facility, after Delhi, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh.
- Rajasthan became first Indian state to adopt centre’s Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) in all its urban local bodies (ULB). Almost 5 lakh conventional street lights have been replaced with LED street lights across the state.
- Rajasthan’s education department partnered with USA based technology firm Cisco to promote digital learning across state using virtual digital room solutions.
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cancelled certificate of registration of 5 non-banking financial companies - Simco Consultants, Lunkad Securities, Rajvir Marketing and Investments and Crystal Investments and Shri Jaya Investments Agency.
- Certificates were cancelled in exercise of the powers conferred on it under Section 45-IA (6) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
- Software major Infosys entered into a joint venture (JV) with Saudi Prerogative Company to offer IT services in middle eastern country, with 70% of JV owned by Infosys.
- Southern state of Kerala entered into joint venture agreement with Railways for rail projects in state under 51:49 equity partnership.
- Telangana government signed MoU with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to promote education. ISRO will help to improve services of Telangana’s educational channel ‘Mana TV’ by using Satcom.
- To boost tourism in State of Jammu & Kashmir, Government extended facility to travel by any airlines to visit Jammu & Kashmir on LTC (Leave Travel Concession), under Special Dispensation Scheme for Central Government employees, for upto September 2018.
- Uttar Pradesh government appointed Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui as brand ambassador of its flagship programme 'Samajwadi Kisan Beema Yojana'. Scheme provides cashless treatment upto Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs one lakh for organ transplant.
- Water Resources Ministry signed MoU with Agriculture Ministry for speedy implementation of Namami Gange programme, by encouraging farmers of over 5,000 villages along Ganga River to take up organic farming to curb pollution caused by chemical fertilisers.
- West Bengal government announced to install monorail from Budge Budge in South 24-Parganas to Ruby Connector in Kolkata, a 14-kilometre-long monorail route. It will cost 4216 crore rupees.
Persons
- 105-year-old Kunwar Bai has been chosen as the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ mascot, after she felicitated by PM Shri Narendra Modi for building toilet by selling off her goats.
- Alexander Tsybulsky, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Russian visited India for 4thMeeting of the India Russia Working group on Priority Investment Projects.
- Australia's oldest surviving Test cricketer, Len Maddocks passed away.
- Bangladesh Government executed Jamaat-e-Islami leader and media tycoon Mir Quasem Ali for war crimes committed during country's 1971 Liberation War.
- Bangladesh noted writer Syed Shamsul Haq passed away.
- Crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will be chief guest for 68th Republic Day celebrations on 26 January 2017.
- First President of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov passed away.
- Former Australian cricketer and Australian rules football player, Max Walker passed away.
- Former union minister and senior BJP leader Arif Beg passed away.
- Government removed Sushil Muhnot from post of Chairman and Managing Director of Bank of Maharashtra.
- India Post released a commemorative stamp to honour Mother Teresa’s canonization.
- James Gordon Carr, Minister of Natural Resources of Canada visited India for participating in 3rd India-Canada Energy Dialogue.
- Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (I/C) for Culture & Tourism visited Australia and attended Confluence Festival of India in Australia. He also received three ancient artefacts stolen and smuggled out of India and acquired by National Gallery of Australia - Seated Buddha, Goddess Pratyangira and Worshippers of Buddha.
- Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, RadhaMohan Singh visited Israel.
- Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, President of Afghanistan visited India.
- Mother Teresa, a Roman Catholic religious sister and missionary has been proclaimed a Saint by Pope Francis in a ceremony at the Vatican.
- Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda visited India. MOUs signed are -
- Credit line agreement - India will provide US 750 million dollars to Nepal for post-earthquake reconstruction projects. It is in addition to 1 Billion USD Loan agreement signed between Government of Nepal and EXIM Bank of India in November 2014.
- MoU for Upgradation and Improvement of Road Infrastructure in Terai Area of Nepal.
- Nepalese Home Secretary Lok Darshan Regmi visited India.
- Noted Assamese poet and author Nalinidhar Bhattacharyya passed away.
- Noted Golf Player Arnold Palmer (USA) passed away. He was known as the king of golf and was part of “The Big Three” in golf during 1960s, along with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.
- Noted Oscar-winning USA director Curtis Hanson Passed away.
- Noted USA playwright Edward Albee passed away.
- Noted Urdu poet, novelist and short story writer Kashmiri Lal Zakir passed away.
- Shimon Peres, Former President of Israel passed away.
- Steel Minister Birender Singh visited United Kingdom and Luxembourg.
Science
- Scientists from Louisiana State University discovered a new Ghost Snake Species of elusive, pale grey reptiles dwelling at Ankarana National Park in Madagascar. It is named as Madagascarophis lolo.
- A team of scientists art Australian University of Wollongong has discovered world's oldest stromatolite fossils about 3.7 billion years old in worlds oldest sedimentary rocks in Isua Greenstone Belt along edge of Greenland's icecap.
- According to the scientists and wildlife conservationists, Gangetic river dolphins (National Aquatic Animal of India) are at threat with decvelopment of National Waterways.
- River dolphins are found in Ganga and Brahmaputra and its tributaries. It has been declared endangered species and is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Fresh water dolphins rely on bio-sonar method to move around as they are alomst blind.
- CSIR-CEERI launched Handheld GPS-Enabled Ksheer Tester Tool on occasion of its 64th Foundation Day. It will enable people to tackle a national level health hazard due to adulteration in milk.
- Human Resource Development Minister Praksh Javadekar launched PARAM-ISHAN supercomputer at IIT Guwahati. It is fastest and most powerful computer in northeastern, eastern and southern regions.
- ISRO successfully Launched advanced weather satellite SCATSAT-1 and 7 other co-passenger satellites on board the PSLV C35.
- 371-kg SCATSAT-1 meant for ocean and weather related studies. This was placed into a 730-km polar sun synchronous orbit.
- Other seven satellites, including 3 from Algeria and 1 each from the US and Canada.
- It was ISRO’s longest mission spread over 2 hours and 15 minutes.
- Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) students created Pratham, a 10 KG microsatellite aimed at total electron count of the ionosphere. It will be launched by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
- Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) successfully launched advanced weather satellite INSAT-3DR, on board of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F05). It was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
- It was seventh successful mission this year, including IRNSS series and scramjet propulsion mission.
- INSAT-3DR weighs 2,211-kg and will supplement services of INSAT-3D launched from French Guiana in July 2013. It has designed mission life of ten years.
- It will provide service continuity to earlier meteorological missions and further augment the capability to provide various meteorological, search and rescue services.
- Other satellittes Include Pratham - 10-kg satellite developed by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay. It will be used to study the total electron count in space with a resolution of 1km x 1km location grid.
- Indian researchers made major discovery by understanding mechanisms by which premature births (between 28 and 32 weeks of gestation) occur (Normally a pregnancy lasts about 40 weeks).
- India with 35% accounts for the highest burden of preterm births in the world.
- Indian researchers have found that gram-positive Group B Streptococcus (GBS) bacteria that produce small balloons called membrane vesicles. These small balloons contain toxins that kill both foetal and maternal cells and destroy the collagen that binds the cells together and call for a preterm birth.
- India’s first LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) laboratory will be set up in Aundh in Hingoli district of Maharashtra. It will be 3rd such laboratory in world and first outside USA . The existing two laboratories are located in Hanford, Washington and in Livingston, Louisiana.
- India’s largest pharmaceutical company Sun Pharma signed deal with International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) for clinical development Cissampelos pariera (Cipa), India’s first vaccine (drug) for treatment of dengue.
- Invasive species (Dangerous) of Giant African Land Snail (GALS) sighted in Goa. It is among world’s 100 most invasive species as listed by International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural resources (IUCN).
- Its threats include harm to crops and local flora, displacing local land snails species (Xetatle Konge) and may cause brain fever (eosinophilic meningitis) in humans.
- NASA’s Cassini spacecraft entered in the final year of its voyage to saturn, beginning November 30, 2016 Cassini will make the closest-ever observations of Saturn.
- Cassini spacecraft has been studying Saturn, its rings and moons for over 12 years.
- New species of a lizard discovered in Maharashtra, named as Cyrtodactylus Varadgirii or Giri’s Geckoella after a Bengaluru-based scientist Varad Giri. It has been discovered 130 years after last such gecko was discovered.
- Researchers from Pune (Maharashtra) produced high-quality carbon from sugarcane waste within minutes by using a low power microwave system. They used a cost-effective and quick process to convert sugarcane bagasse into anode-grade porous, conducting, activated carbon material for use in Li-ion batteries. The process will bring down the time to get anode-grade carbon dramatically. Thus, it will help to reduce electrical energy input substantially.
- Scientists discovered a new species of Pika (a mammal belonging to the rabbit and hare family) in Himalayas in Sikkim. It has been identified as ‘Ochotona sikimaria’.
- Scientists discovered a new species of pterosaur from early Jurassic period in the Patagonia region of South America, named asAllkauren koi.
- USA Scientists grown 3 dimensional lungs in lab, using stem cells. The lungs were created by coating tiny gel beads with lung-derived stem cells and then allowing them to self-assemble into the shapes of the air sacs found in human lungs. Laboratory-grown 3D lungs can be used to study diseases including Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) which has been difficult to study using conventional methods. IPF is a chronic lung disease makes lungs thick and stiff.
- USA's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched unmanned OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to collect samples from an asteroid 101955 Bennu and return to Earth in 2023, with atleast 60 grams of debris and dirt from asteroid 101955 Bennu.
- OSIRIS-Rex stands for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer. NASA scientists feel that the Bennu asteroid hold clues to the origin of the solar system and the source of water and organic molecules found on Earth.
- World’s first robotic operation inside the human eye has successfully performed by British surgeons.
- World’s first three-parent baby boy was born in Mexico to a Jordanian couple with help a controversial new fertility technique that incorporates DNA from three people in the embryo. The ‘three-parent’ technique also known as Mitochondrial donation (Mitochondrial Replacement Therapy) allows parents with rare genetic mutations to have healthy babies.
Sports
- 12th edition of Asia’s oldest and world’s 3rd toughest mountain biking (MTB) race started from Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) with 67 participants from 14 countries. Total 650 kilometers would be covered by the participants during their journey.
- 15th Summer Paralympic Games 2016 Concluded in Rio (Brazil) -
- Stats -
- It was 15th Paralympic Games, continuing since 1960.
- Motto of Rio Paralympics 2016 - A New World.
- Tom is official mascot of 2016 Summer Paralympics (while Vinicius is official mascot of 2016 Summer Olympics)
- 4342 Athletes participated in 528 events in 22 sports with 159 Nations participating.
- India at 2016 Rio Paralympic Games -
- India sent delegation of 19 athletes at Rio Paralympics.
- India won 4 Medals -
- Mariyappan Thangavelu (Tamilnadu) - Gold in Men's High Jump
- Devendra Jhajharia (Rajasthan) - Gold in Men's Javelin Throw
- Deepa Malik (Haryana) - Silver in Women's Shot Put
- Varun Singh Bhati (Uttar Pradesh) - Bronze in Men's High Jump
- Major Facts of 2016 Rio Paralympic Games
- Medal Tally (Top 10 Nations) -
Rank NPC Gold Silver Bronze Total 1 China (CHN) 107 81 51 239 2 Great Britain (GBR) 64 39 44 147 3 Ukraine (UKR) 41 37 39 117 4 United States (USA) 40 44 31 115 5 Australia (AUS) 22 30 29 81 6 Germany (GER) 18 25 14 57 7 Netherlands (NED) 17 19 26 62 8 Brazil (BRA) 14 29 29 72 9 Italy (ITA) 10 14 15 39 10 Poland (POL) 9 18 12 39
- India ranked 43rd with 4 Medals.
- 15th Summer Paralympic Games began at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Summer Paralympic Games will conclude on 18 September 2016. 4,300 athletes from over 160 countries are participating.
- 2016 Brazil Open Grand Prix Badminton -
- Men's Singles - Zulfadli Zulkiffli (Malaysia)
- Women's Singles - Beatriz Corrales (Spain)
- Men's Doubles - Michael Fuchs & Fabian Holzer (Germany)
- Women's Singles - Barbara Bellenberg & Eva Janssens (Germany)
- Mixed Doubles - Pranaav Jerry Chopra & N. Sikki Reddy (India)
- 2016 Track Asia Cup concluded in New Delhi. Hong Kong topped table with 18 medals (11 Gold) and India ended at second position with 16 medals (5 gold).
- 5th Asian Beach Games held in Danang (Vietnam),
- India sent a contingent of 208 members for these games.
- Indian women’s beach kabaddi team won gold by defeating Thailand and Shweta Ramdas More won gold in women's 48kg-52kg.
- India stayed 16th with total 24 medals (G - 2, S - 4, B - 18).
- Medal Table -
Rank NOC Gold Silver Bronze Total 1 Vietnam (VIE) 52 44 43 139 2 Thailand (THA) 36 24 30 90 3 China (CHN) 12 18 19 49 4 Iran (IRI) 9 6 6 21 5 Mongolia (MGL) 7 4 8 19 6 Cambodia (CAM) 6 6 9 21 7 Qatar (QAT) 5 1 1 7 8 Jordan (JOR) 4 4 5 13 9 United Arab Emirates (UAE) 4 2 3 9 10 Malaysia (MAS) 3 6 5 14
- Army Green won 2016 Durand Cup Football Title by defeating Neroca FC, final played in New Delhi.
- Australia Made Highest T20 International Score of 263 aganst Srilanka.
- Bangladesh named former Sri Lankan cricketer Thilan Samaraweera as batting consultant.
- Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd won Obaidullah Khan Heritage Cup Hockey Tournament by defeating Railways.
- Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) tied up with financial services firm Janalakshmi Financial Services (Jana) as an associate sponsor. The agreement also gives Janalakshmi benefits of prominence in stadium branding and on-ground advertising for 68 matches in three years.
- East Bengal FC won Calcutta Football League (CFL) for seventh consecutive time, defeating Mohammedan Sporting Club.
- England Made Highest ODI Score of 444 aganst Pakistan.
- First BRICS U-17 Football Tournament will be held in Goa in October 2016.
- Former Indian Fasdt Bowler Zaheer Khan inducted as an Honorary Life Member of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in England. He is the third Indian player to receive this distinction this year after Virender Sehwag and Anjum Chopra.
- Government suspended talks on India-Pakistan Indus Waters Treaty, in wake of Uri Terrorist attacks on Indian Army that killed our 19 Troops. Key Highlights are -
- Suspend talks on the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC), the dispute redressal mechanism until terrorism stops.
- Build more hydropower projects on western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) to exploit full potential.
- Expedite construction of Pakal Dul, Sawalkot, Bursar dams in Jammu and Kashmir.
- Use 20% of river water allocated under treaty for Jammu and Kashmir farmers.
- About Indus Waters Treaty -
- IWT is a water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan, signed by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and President of Pakistan Ayub Khan in Karachi on September 19, 1960. It was brokered by World Bank.
- Treaty deals with sharing of water of 6 rivers — Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum. As per treaty, control over three eastern rivers - Ravi, Beas and Sutlej was given to India. While control over three western rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab was given to Pakistan.
- It allows India to use only 20% of water of Indus river for irrigation, power generation and transport.
- It is most successful water treaty in world.
- ISSF Junior World Cup for pistol, rifle and shotgun held in Gabala, Azerbaijan. Young Indian shooter Subhankar Pramanick has won gold medal in 50-metre rifle prone event.
- India Blue won inaugural day/night 2016-17 Duleep Trophy Cricket tournament by defeating India Red. It was 55th season of Duleep Trophy and was played with a pink ball.
- India will host 2016 Track Asia Cup cycling competition in New Delhi.
- India won Its Historic 500th test match against New Zealand, played in Green Park (Kanpur).
- India won Under-18 Men’s hockey Asia Cup by defeating Bangladesh.
- Indian Badminton Player Rituparna Das won Polish Open after defeating Rasika Raje.
- Indian Railways won MCC Murugappa Gold Cup Hockey Tournament 2016 by defeatig Indian Oil Corporation.
- Indian Table Tennis Player Sathiyan Gnanasekaran won Belgium Open title after defeating Belgium's Nuytinck Cedric.
- Indian Table Tennis Player Sathiyan Gnanasekaran won men’s singles title of Belgium Open by defeating Nuytinck Cedric.
- India’s lone individual Olympic gold medallist, Abhinav Bindra officially announced his retirement from shooting.
- India’s squash player Velavan Senthilkumar won Under-19 Asian Junior Individual squash championship in Malaysia, by defeating Jordan’s Mohammad Al-Sarraj.
- Javelin thrower Annu Rani broke her own national record and became first Indian woman to cross 60m mark durin 56th Open National Athletics Championships in Lucknow.
- MS Dhoni named captain of the Wisden's all-time India Test XI team.
- Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg from Germany has won the 2016 Italian Grand Prix of Formula One.
- 2016 Formula One season -
- Total 21 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2016. Calendar is -
-
Grand Prix Date Winner Australia 20 March Nico Rosberg (Germany) Baharain 3 April Nico Rosberg (Germany) China 17 April Nico Rosberg (Germany) Russia 1 May Nico Rosberg (Germany) Spain 15 May Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Monaco 29 May Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Canada 12 June Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Europe 19 June Nico Rosberg (Germany) Austria 3 July Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Britain 10 July Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Hungary 24 July Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Germany 31 July Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Belgium 28 August Nico Rosberg (Germany) Italy 4 September Nico Rosberg (Germany) Singapore 18 September Malaysia 2 October Japan 9 October USA 23 October Mexico 30 October Brazil 13 November Abu Dhabi 27 November
- Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg from Germany has won the 2016 Singapore Grand Prix of Formula One.
- 2016 Formula One season -
- Total 21 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2016. Calendar is -
-
Grand Prix Date Winner Australia 20 March Nico Rosberg (Germany) Baharain 3 April Nico Rosberg (Germany) China 17 April Nico Rosberg (Germany) Russia 1 May Nico Rosberg (Germany) Spain 15 May Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Monaco 29 May Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Canada 12 June Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Europe 19 June Nico Rosberg (Germany) Austria 3 July Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Britain 10 July Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Hungary 24 July Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Germany 31 July Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Belgium 28 August Nico Rosberg (Germany) Italy 4 September Nico Rosberg (Germany) Singapore 18 September Nico Rosberg (Germany) Malaysia 2 October Japan 9 October USA 23 October Mexico 30 October Brazil 13 November Abu Dhabi 27 November
- NITI Aayog (think tank of government), has formed a short term and medium to long term action plan to help India achieve 50 medals in 2024 summer Olympics.
- Olympic Council of Asia declared that 2026 Asian Games will be hosted by Japan.
- 2018 Asian Games will be hosted by Indonesia and 2022 edition will be held in Chinese city of Hangzhou.
- Ritu announced her retirement from Indian women's hockey team.
- Sania Mirza and her Czech partner Barbora Strycova won 2016 Toray Pan Pacific Open trophy in women’s doubles event in Tokyo (Japan).
- Services emerged as overall champions at 56th Atheletics Open Nationals held in Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh).
- Sikkim’s Sushmita Rai won bronze medal at World Martial Arts Masterships 2016 in South Korea. Csompetition is considered Olympics for martial arts with 2073 participants from 87 countries.
- Social Justice & Empowerment Minister Thawaarchand Gehlot announced Cash awards of Rs 90 lakhs announced for Rio Paralympics 2016 Medal Winners under Awareness Generation and Publicity (AGP) scheme -
- Gold medalists Mariyappan Thangavelu and Devendra Jhajharia awarded Rs 30 lakh cash prize each.
- Silver medallist Deepa Malik gets 20 lakh and Varun Singh Bhati gets 10 lakh for winning bronze.
- Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin became fastest Indian and second overall to take 200 Test wickets, reaching it in his 37th Test against New Zealand.
- Sports Authority of India (SAI) and All India Football Federation (AIFF) jointly launched online portal for its Global Scouting Programme (GSP), aimed at enabling Indians living abroad to play in India’s team in FIFA under-17 world cup scheduled in 2017 in India.
- Sriram Balaji (Tamilnadu) won $10,000 ITF mens Futures tennis held in Thailand by defeatng top seed Seong Chan Hong of Korea.
- St Petersburg Men's Tennis Open -
- Singles - Alexander Zverev (Germany)
- Doubles - Dominic Inglot (United Kingdom ) and Henri Kontinen (Finland)
- US Open Tennis 2016 Winners -
- Mens' Singles - Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) defeated Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
- Women' Singles - Angelique Kerber (Germany) defeated Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic)
- Men's Doubles - Jamie Murray (United Kingdom) and Bruno Soares (Brazil) defeated Pablo Carreño Busta and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain.
- Women' Doubles - Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) and Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) defeated Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic of France
- Mixed Doubles - Laura Siegemund (Germany ) / Mate Pavic (Croatia) defeated Coco Vandeweghe and Rajeev Ram of USA.
- USA Tennis Player Serena Williams created history by setting a record of most number of Grand Slam matches wins with her 308th win. She left past Roger Federer's record of 307 Grand Slam Match wins.
- World Deaf Shooting Championships held in in Kazan, Russia. India’s Priyesha Deshmukh won a bronze medal in 10 metres air rifle category.
- World's oldest cricketer, Lindsay Tuckett (South African) passed away.
- Actress Vidya Balan appointed as brand ambassador of Samajwadi Pension Yojana by Uttar Pradesh government.
- Ajay Singh is newly elected president of Boxing Federation of India (BFI).
- Aleksander Ceferin has been elected as UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) president.
- Ali Bongo Ondimba re-elected as President of Gabon (Central Africa).
- Alka Sirohi has been appointed as Chairman of Union Public Service Commission.
- All India Management Association elected Sunil Kant Munjal as its president for 2016-17.
- Anandi Ramalingam appointed as First woman director on board of Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL).
- Anoop Kumar Sharma appointed as CMD (Chairman and Managing Director) of Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) for 3 years.
- Arun Goyal has been appointed Additional Secretary in Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, which is headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. It is mandated to decide on tax rate exempted goods and the threshold limit.
- Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) elected I Venkat as chairman for 2016-2017.
- BCCI appointed MSK Prasad as chief selector of Indian Cricket Team, while Ajay Shirke has been re-elected as BCCI Secretary.
- BHVS Narayana Murthy has been appointed as Director of Research Centre Imarat (RCI) of Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO).
- Bykytzhan Sagintayev appointed as Prime Minister of Kazakhstan.
- CK Asnani appointed as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL).
- Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao has been made acting governor of Tamilnadu. Note that he is also Governor of Maharashtra. This arrangement was done after tenure of K. Rosaiah (previous governor of Tamilnadu) ended on 31 August 2016.
- Deep Kumar Upadhyay re-appointed as Nepal’s ambassador to India.
- Dilip Kumar Mandal has been appointed managing director (MD) & chief executive officer (CEO) of IDBI Asset Management Company (AMC).
- Former Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla has been appointed as Chancellor of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) University.
- G C Gupta appointed as Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court.
- Government appointed 3 economists on Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) - Pami Dua, Chetan Ghate and Ravindra Dholakia.
- Government appointed Navtej Sarna as Ambassador to United States of America. Monika Kapil Mohta is appointed as next Ambassador to Sweden.
- Government appointed R. Subramania Kumar as Executive Director of Indian Overseas Bank.
- Government of Arunachal Pradesh appointed Actor John Abraham as brand ambassador for state tourism to boost tourism.
- Governor of Meghalaya, V. Shanmuganathan has been given Additional charge as Governor of Arunachal Pradesh after removal of Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa from post.
- Indian-origin South African Ravi Reddy has been appointed as Head of International Society for Blood Transfusion (ISBT).
- J Satyanarayana has been appointed as part-time Chairman of UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India).
- J Satyanarayana has been appointed as part-time chairperson of Unique Identification Authority of India(UIDAI).
- Japanese automobile maker Isuzu appointed Hiroshi Nakagawa as head of India Operations.
- Jim Yong Kim (South Korea) has been re-appointed as President of World Bank for a second five-year term beginning 1 July 2017.
- Junaid Ahmad (Bangladesh) has been appointed as World Bank's Country Director for India, replacing Onno Ruhl.
- K K Aggarwal elected as President of Indian Medical Association (IMA) for 2016-17.
- Kerala government appointed Legendary Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as brand ambassador for anti- liquor and anti-drug campaign to create awareness among people against alcoholism and drug abuse.
- Madhusudan Sahoo has been appointed as the new chairman of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) for 5 years.
- Michel Temer has been appointed new President of Brazil.
- Mohan M Shantanagoudar appointed as Chief Justice of Kerala High Court.
- Mukund Choudhari has been appointed as Charman and Managng Director of PSU MOIL (Manganese Ore (India) Limited).
- Nadia Murad Basee Taha, a young Yazidi woman who survived attack of Islamic State terrorists, has been appointed as Goodwill Ambassador for Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
- Noted American health care company Abbott Laboratories Ambati Venu as Head of India Operations.
- O.P. Singh has been appointed as Director General in Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
- Om Prakash Kohli has been appointed as 26th governor of Madhya Pradesh. Kohli is also Gujarat's Governor. He has been given additional charge of Madhya Pradesh after Ram Naresh Yadav’s tenure got over.
- Punjab National Bank appointed Cricketer Virat Kohli as brand ambassador.
- R. K. Pachnanda has been appointed as DG in National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
- RIO 2016 Olympics Bronze Medalist Sakshi Malik has been appointed Wrestling Director at Maharshi Dayanand University (Rohtak).
- Religare Enterprises appointed Sunil Godhwani as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
- Riyadh Mathew has been elected as Chairman of Press Trust of India (PTI).
- SS Mallikarjuna Rao appointed as an executive director of Syndicate Bank and Atul Kumar Goel appointed as an Executive Director in Union Bank of India.
- Sanjay Kumar Srivastava has been appointed as Chairperson of National Authority for Chemicals Weapons Convention.
- Sanjiv Singh appointed as Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.
- Satbir Singh appointed as India's Ambassador to Algeria.
- Shakti Sinha is appointed as director of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML).
- South Korean electronics major Samsung appointed Lee Jae-yong as executive director on board.
- Sudhir Pratap Singh has been appointed as Director General in National Security Guard.
- Surinder Singh appointed as Chief of Army's Western Command.
- Vijay Kelkar elected as new President of Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), replacing Former former RBI governor C Rangarajan.
- 5 day long 22nd Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award Festival (Odisha) -
- Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award 2016 for lifetime achievement - Jharana Das (Cinema) and Guru Kishore Kumar Mohanty (Odissi).
- Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Yuva Prativa Samman 2016 - Rajib Bhattacharya (Odissi), Madhusmita Mohanty (Odissi), P. Praveen Kumar (Bharatanatyam) and Rupak Kumar Parida (Odissi vocal).
- 68th Emmy Awards, television's biggest award ceremony, held in Los Angeles (USA) -
- CategoryWinnersOutstanding drama seriesGame of ThronesOutstanding comedy seriesVeepBest television movieSherlock: The Abominable BrideOutstanding lead actor in a drama seriesRami Malek - Mr RobotOutstanding lead actress in a drama seriesTatiana Maslany - Orphan BlackOutstanding lead actor in a comedy seriesJeffrey Tambor - TransparentOutstanding lead actress in a comedy seriesJulia Louis-Dreyfus - Veep
- 73 Venice Film Festival (World's Oldest Film Festival) -
- Golden Lion - The Woman Who Left (Philippines) by Lav Diaz
- Grand Jury Prize - Nocturnal Animals by Tom Ford
- Silver Lion
- Amat Escalante for Untamed
- Andrei Konchalovsky for Paradise
- Volpi Cup -
- Best Actor - Oscar MartÃnez for Distinguished Citizen
- Best Actress - Emma Stone for La La Land
- Marcello Mastroianni Award – Paula Beer for Frantz
- Airports Authority of India’s Tirupati Airport awarded Best Tourist Friendly Airport under category for State Annual Excellence Awards for the year 2015-16 by Andhra Pradesh Tourism.
- Chinese action movie star Jackie Chan will be awarded with honorary Academy Award (Oscar) by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his extraordinary achievements in movies. Honorary Oscar will be given to editor Anne Coates, casting director Lynn Stalmaster and documentary maker Frederick Wiseman.
- Cricketers Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma conferred with Arjuna Award. Award was bestowed by Sports Minister Vijay Goel. Rohit Sharma was given the award for 2015 and Rahane received it for 2016.
- Ecologist and conservation activist Bibhuti Lahkar (from Assam) became first Asian to win prestigious ‘Heritage Heroes Award’ of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
- Federal Bank has launched its second Skill Academy at Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu), The first one being inaugurated last year at Ernakulam.
- First Jesse Owens Olympic Spirit Award-2016 will be posthumously bestowed to Olympic champion Muhammad Ali, who passed away recently.
- First edition of Lonavla International Film Festival India (LIFFI) - Best Actor - Nawazuddin Siddiqui (for Manjhi-The Mountain Man) Best Actress - Tannishtha Chatterjee (for 'Rough Book'), Best Director - Anant Mahadevan.
- Government appointed S. Sivakumar as a Member of the 21st Law Commission of India (LCI). He is the professor at the Indian Law Institute (ILI) in New Delhi.
- Former Supreme Court (SC) judge Justice Balbir Singh Chauhan is Chairman of commission.
- Haryana won ‘Best Horticulture State’ award of Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA), for its concerted efforts made to increase income of farmers in horticulture. This award was fgiven during Agricultural Leadership Summit 2016 that organized by ICFA in New Delhi.
- Besides, 2016 Best Agriculture State award given to Odisha for its efforts for development of agriculture and bringing rural prosperity.
- Horticulture in Haryana - At present, about 2.5 lakh hectares of land is under horticulture in Haryana. The state government has ambitious target to increase it up to 9 lakh hectares. For this purpose, state government has decided to set a Horticulture University.
- Hindustani classical singer Shubha Mudgal to be honoured with 2016 'LalitArpan Samman'.
- India's Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik won people's choice prize for his sand sculpture Mahatma Gandhi - World Peace at 9th Moscow Sand Sculpture Championship 2016.
- India-born scientist Ramesh Raskar has won 2016 Lemelson-MIT Prize. He is an associate professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT’s) Media Lab and is known for his co-invention of an ultra-fast imaging camera that can see around corners, low-cost eye-care solutions. It also enables users to read the first few pages of a book without opening the cover.
- Indian NGO Slum Soccer won first-ever FIFA Diversity Award for its fight against discrimination and promote diversity in football.
- Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Bollywood actors Katrina Kaif and Juhi Chawla are among recipients of Priyadarshini Global Awards 2016, instituted by socio-cultural and educational organisation Priyadarshini Academy.
- Indian Writer Meghna Pant will be honoured with Kumaon Literary Festival’s FON (Fellows of Nature) South AsiaShort Story Award in Nature writing in October for her short story People of the Sun.
- Indian-American Vinaya Manchaiah named as Future Leader of Audiology and inducted into 2016 class of the ‘Jerger Future Leaders of Audiology’ by the American Academy of Audiology.
- Indian-American physician-author Abraham Verghese selected by USA for 2015 National Humanities Medal, along with 11 others recipients.
- Indian-born researcher Dinesh Bharadia won 2016 Marconi Society Paul Baran Young Scholar Award for his contribution to radio waves.
- Indian-origin South African girl Kiara Nirghin won Google Science Fair prize 2016. She won grand prize of 50000 US dollars scholarship for using orange peel to develop a cheaper super-absorbent material that helps soil retain water.
- Indian-origin person Narendra Babubhai Patel honored 'Lifetime Achievement Award' at Asian Achievers Awards for his work in medical profession and public life in Britain.
- Indo - Japanese Priyanka Yoshikawa has been named Miss Japan.
- Industrialist Adi Godrej (Chairman of Godrej Group), conferred with 10th Annual Clinton Global Citizen Award for leadership in business and philanthropy.
- Jan Shikshan Sansthan Malappuram won UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy in recognition of its literacy-linked skill development activities among underprivileged in rural areas.
- John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation announced its ‘Class of 2016’, consististing 23 exceptionally creative people. It inlcudes 2 Indians Manu Prakash and Subhash Khot.
- Dr. Subhash Khot won Nevanlinna Prize in 2014 and works in theoretical computer science.
- Manu Prakash is a physical biologist and inventor and has invented several devices that support frugal science. He is mostly known for Foldscope, a microscope made by folding paper like in origami and sporting a glass bead lens.
- Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank won 4 awards for inclusive insurance for 2016 from Skoch Group. KVGB operates in 9 districts of Karnataka a nd has brought 28 lakh people under Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojna, PM Suraksha Bima Yojna and PM Jan Dhan Yojna.
- Microfinance institution Ujjivan Financial Services won Platinum Award for Inclusive Insurance.
- Kiran Mazumdar Shaw (Chairperson of Biocon Limited) has been honored as Knight of the National Order of the French Legion of Honour (Chevalier de lOrdre National de la Légion dHonneur) for her contribution to biosciences and research.
- Lopamudra Raut stayed second runner-up at Miss United Continents 2016, held in Ecuador. Jeslyn Santos from Philippines won Miss United Continents 2016 title.
- Misbah-ul-Haq became first Pakistani to receive prestigious ICC Test Championship mace. He has been honored for inspiring Pakistan to reach to top of ICC Test Team Rankings.
- Music director and violinist Uttam Singh for 2016 Lata Mangeshkar Award for Lifetime Achievement by Maharashtra government.
- National award winner director K G George selected for JC Daniel award 2015, Kerala Government’s highest honor for outstanding contribution to Malayalam cinema.
- Noted BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy has been honoured with Tamil Ratna award by America Tamil Sangam (ATS) in USA.
- Noted Odia Poet Hrushikesh Mallick honoured with 37th prestigious Sarala Award for his poetry work Jeje Dekhi Nathiba Bharat.
- Noted Telugu writer Kalakaluri Enoch conferred with Moortidevi Award of Bharatiya Jnanpith for 2015.
- Punjab National Bank has been adjudged best in Rajbhasha Kirti competition for implementation of Official Language Policy in 2015-16.
- Right Livelihood Award 2016 (also known as alternative Nobel) given to -
- Syrian White Helmets also known as Syria Civil Defence is a Syrian civil organisation of emergency responders in rebel-held areas.
- Egypt’s Mozn Hassan and Nazra for Feminist Studies
- Russian mathematician and human rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina
- Turkish Newspaper Cumhuriyet
- The laureates will share the 3.0-million-kronor (350000 dollar) prize.
- Scottish Actor Ewan McGregor will receive Britannia Humanitarian Award at British Academy Britannia Awards in USA.
- Scripts of Adil Hussain-starrers "Sunrise" and "Parched" have been archived at Oscar library (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences).
- Short Film Murga (directed by Katyayan Shivpuri) won first prize at Swachh Bharat Short Film Festival (SBSFF), organised by National Film Development Corporation (NFDC).
- Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar will be honoured with Simon Wiesenthal Centre’s highest honour ‘the Simon Wiesenthal Humanitarian Laureate’, by a prominent Jewish human rights organisation for promoting human dignity and tolerance among people.
- Stuart Blackburn's Novel based on Apatani tribe of Arunachal Pradesh named Into the Hidden Valley has won 2016 MM Bennetts Award for Historical Fiction in United Kingdom.
- T R Zeliang (Chief Minister of Nagaland) won 2016 Pangkor Dialogue Award in Malaysia for the efforts made by the people of the state for environmental preservation and promotion.
- Tamil crime thriller Visaranai is chosen as India’s official entry to Oscars 2017 (89th Academy Awards) in Best Foreign Language Film category.
- The Hindu has been awarded Silver and Bronze awards in Reader Engagement category of South Asian Digital Media Awards at WAN-IFRA (World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers) India 2016 conference in Kolkata.
- Two Indian forest officials -Ritesh Sarothiya and Sanjay Dutta, have been selected for 2016 Clark R. Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Awards.
- West Bengal government will confer 2016 Bangabibhushan award to legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar.
- Writer Meghna Pant won Fellows of Nature (FON) South Asia Short Story Award in Nature writing, for her short story People of the Sun.
- Rekha The Untold Story, biography of actress Rekha has been authored by Yasser Usman.
- Book Anything but Khamoshi: The Shatrughan Sinha Biography, is authored by Bharathi S Pradhan.
- Book Do Not Say We Have Nothing has been authored by Madeleine Thien. It is a story on classical music in revolutionary China.
- Book Driven: The Virat Kohli Story, has been authored by sports journalist Vijay Lokapally.
- Book His Bloody Project has been authored by Graeme Macrae Burne.
- Book Hot Milk has been authored by Deborah Levy.
- Book Imagine Me Gone has been authored by Adam Haslett.
- Book Shanti ki Talaash mein Zindagi, written by Radhika Nagrath has been released, by Uttarakhand Governor K K Paul.
- Book The Last Inning and Beyond, authored by U.D. Choubey, and Smriti Rajvardhini has been released.
- Book Six Machine: I Dont Like Cricket I Love It”, is autobiography of West Indian cricketer Chris Gayle.
- Book ‘Citizen and Society’ written by Vice President Mohd Hamid Ansari has been released.
- Minister of State (IC) for Development of North Eastern Region, Jitendra Singh released Book North Eastern Council: A Story of Sagacity and Successs.
- Arvind Panagariya committee submitted its report about defining poverty and prepare a road map to alleviate it. It has suggested to set up committee to identify people Below Poverty Line (BPL).
- Committee headed by Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian, which was formed to tackle shortage of pulses, has recently submitted its report.
- Government constituted committee to study silt in river Ganga in Bihar, to be headed by A .K. Sinha.
- Parliamentary committee headed by M Veerappa Moily has been constituted to review all budgetary reforms.
- S.N. Dhingra Committee submitted report to Haryana government on granting of Change of Land Use (CLU) licences in 4 villages of Gurgaon during rule of the previous Congress government.
- To commemorate birth centenary of Jana Sangh ideologue Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, 149 member Committee has been made under PM Narendra Modi.
- 08 September - International Literacy Day. 2016 is observing 50th International Literacy Day. 2016 Theme: ‘Reading the Past, Writing the Future‘.
- India's National Literacy Mission (NLM) was initiated in 1988. In 1951, when first Census was conducted after Independence, literacy rate of country was merely 18%. However, in last Census held in 2011 India has achieved a literacy rate of around 73%. The present national goal is to achieve literacy rate of 80 per cent by end of 12th Plan Period
- 14 September - National Hindi Divas.
- 15 September - Engineer’s Day in India. It is celebrated every year in India on September 15, in memory of Bharat Ratna Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya. He was chief engineer of Krishna Raja Sagara dam in Mysore and also chief designer of flood protection system for Hyderabad
- 15 September - International Democracy Day. 2016 Theme is Democracy and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
- 17 September - International Coastal Cleanup Day.
- 2 Sep - World Coconut Day.
- 21 September - International Day of Peace. 2016 Theme is The Sustainable Development Goals: Building Blocks for Peace.
- 26 September: International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
- 27 September - World Tourism Day. Theme of 2016 is Tourism for All - promoting universal accessibility.
- 28 September - World Rabies Day. 2016 Theme is Rabies: Educate. Vaccinate. Eliminate.
- 29 September - World Maritime Day. 2016 Theme is Shipping: indispensable to the world.
- 5 September - International Day of Charity. It marks death of Mother Teresa (1997).
- 5th September - National Teachers Day in India. Observance of this day commemorates the birthday of India’s first Vice President and second President Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan since 1962.
- On this occasion, Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated Asia’s biggest digital library dedicated to memory of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India, in NIT Silchar. This world class library is established with the help of University of Illinois, USA.
- M Leelavathi chosen for 2016 N Mohanan Suvarna Mudra Award for her remarkable contribution to Malayalam language and literature.
- September 10 - World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD). 2016 theme is Connect, Communicate, Care.
- September 16 - International Day for Preservation of Ozone Layer. 2016 theme is Ozone and climate: Restored by a world united.
- September 29 - World Heart Day. 2016 theme is Light Your Heart, Empower Your Life.
- September 30 - International Translation Day. 2016 theme is Translation and Interpreting: Connecting worlds.
- 12th Joint military training exercise between India and USA - Yudh Abhyas 2016 begun in Uttarakhand. It is 2 week long.
- Eighth India-Russia Joint Military Exercise ‘INDRA-2016’ begun in Vladivostok (Russia).
- First military exercise between Russia and Pakistan named Druzhba-2016 (Friendship-2016) held in Pakistan.
- Guided Missile Destroyer Mormugao, Second Ship of Project 15b Launched at Mazagaon Docks Mumbai.
- Project 15B has 4 Guided Missile Destroyers in making, First Ship of Project 15B was Warship INS Visakhapatnam and second is now Mormugao.
- Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) successfully test flied indigenous Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), being developed for Armed forces. Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) is eight-seater chopper with a maximum Weight of 3,150 Kgs and fitted with Safran HE Ardiden-1U engine of 750 KW power.
- Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully test fired recently acquired long range air-to-air MICA missile from Mirage-2000 Upgrade combat aircraft.
- Indian Army has set up Army Design Bureau (ADB) in an attempt to reduce import dependence, as part of governments ‘Make in India initiative. Army Design Bureau will provide better understanding of Armys requirements to research organisations and industry for developing high tech defence products in India Itself.
- Indian Army successfully conducted surgical strikes on terror launch pads across Line of Control in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK). Over 40 terrorists and 2 Pak Soldiers were kiled during strikes. Surgical strikes were India’s first direct military response to attack on Uri army base by Pakistan-based militants that had killed 18 Indian soldiers.
- Indian Coast Guard (ICG) commissioned offshore patrolling (OPV) vessel named Sarathi.
- Indian Navy awarded a major $81 million contract to American Company Boeing for supplying 22 Harpoon missile systems for Shishumar class submarines.
- Joint India Kazakhstan Army exercise PRABAL DOSTYK 16 being held in Karaganda region of Kazakhstan.
- Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (WJFAC) TIHAYU, built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) has been handed over to Indian Navy.
- 22nd Issue of Annual issue of India's External Debt has stated that India's External debt is currently US$ 485.6 billion at end of March 2016, increasing by US$ 10.6 billion (2.2 %) over previous year. Rise in External Debt was due to rise in long-term debt particularly NRI deposits.
- Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan issued guidelines for states to regulate direct selling and multi-level marketing businesses to protect consumers from Ponzi frauds, titled Direct Selling Guidelines 2016 framework.
- Direct selling has been defined as marketing, distribution and sale of goods or providing of services as a part of network of direct selling.
- Legitimate direct selling is differentiated from pyramid and money circulation schemes in order to help identify fraudulent companies. Money Circulation Scheme has same meaning as defined under Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978. It bars direct selling companies from charging any entry fee from agents or compelling them to buy back unsold stocks.
- It lays down remuneration system for person engaged in direct selling firms on sharing of incentives, profit and commission. It Adds provision for appointment of monitoring authority at both Union and state level to deal with the issues related to direct selling.
- Note that SEBI has earlier notified that it is not having regulatory purview of Ponzi schemes.
- Andhra Pradesh topped among states in attracting industrial investments in 2015-16, with investment of Rs 21,914 crore out of the Rs 1,38,700 crore gross investments across India. It pushed previous year’s topper Maharashtra to 3rd spot.
- Anil Ambani led Reliance Communications (RCom) signed a deal with Maxis Communications Berhad (MCB) for merger of wireless businesses of Aircel Limited with itself. Merged entity will be country’s fourth-largest telecom company in terms of customers and revenue.
- Merged company will have second-largest spectrum holding amongst all operators in India, aggregating 448 MHz across 850, 900, 1800 and 2100 MHz bands.
- It will be one of India’s largest private sector companies, with an asset base of over $9.7 billion (Rs. 65,000 crore) and net worth of $5.2 billion (Rs. 35,000 crore).
- RCom and MCB will hold a 50% stake each in the merged entity.
- Asia's oldest bourse Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) became first Indian stock exchange to file IPO papers with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its Initial Public Offering (IPO).
- Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved $631 million loan for building India’s first coastal industrial corridor between Visakhapatnam (Vizag) and Chennai. Fund will help develop the first key 800-km section of the planned 2,500-km East Coast Economic Corridor.
- BHEL commissioned 4th and last unit of the 4x40 MW Teesta Low Dam Hydro Electric Project (HEP) Stage-IV in West Bengal.
- Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) became Asia's first Stock Exchange to partner up with Twitter to provide live updates of S&P BSE Sensex levels, stock prices and opening and closing figures of Sensex companies to millions of investors.
- Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved enhancing buffer stock for pulses up to 20 lakh tonnes (domestic procurement and imports of 10 lakh tonnes each).
- Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved winding up of Hindustan Diamond Company Private Limited (HDCPL) as it had become inconsistent with changing times to facilitate the constant supply of rough diamonds and to make India an International Diamond Trading Hub. HDCPL was a 50:50 joint venture of the Central Government and De Beers Centenary Mauritius Limited (DBCML).
- Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved viability capital grant of Rs. 5,176 crores (40 percent of total cost of Rs. 12,940 crore) to GAIL India Limited for development of 2539 km long Jagdishpur-Haidia and Bokaro-Dhamra Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL) project. JHBDPL project will connect Eastern part of the country with National Gas Grid.
- Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved ‘Project SAKSHAM’ as a New Indirect Tax Network (Systems Integration) of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC). Total cost is 2256 crores, to be incurred over 7 years. Implementation strategy for the project will be to nsure readiness of CBEC's IT systems by April, 1, 2017, when GST is to be introduced. All Taxpayers / lmporters / Exporters / Dealers under various indirect tax laws administered by CBEC (presently about 36 lakhs), likely to go up to over 65 lakhs after introduction of GST. Saksham will help in -
- Implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST).
- Extension of the Indian Customs Single Window Interface for Facilitating Trade (SWIFT).
- Central Board of Direct Taxes received Rs. 65,250 crores as part of Income Disclosure Scheme 2016 that provided opportunity to those who had not paid full taxes in the past to come clean by declaring their income and paying 45% in form of taxes and Penalty. Benefits of Declaration inlcude No wealth tax on asset declared, No enquiry under Income Tax Act or Wealth Tax Act and Immunity from the Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Act, 1988. It will bring Rs 30000 Taxes revenue for the government.
- Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed penalty of Rs 6,700 crores on 10 cement companies including ACC, Lafarge, Ultratech, Jayprakash Associates, Binani etc.
- Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed penalty of over Rs 6,700 crore on 10 cement companies including ACC, Lafarge, Ultratech, Jayprakash Associates, Binani and their trade association the Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA) on charges ofcartelisation (गुटबंदी).
- DCB Bank launched mVisa, a mobile-based payment solution that will make payments at retail outlets much easier.
- Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (Finance Ministry) appointed ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company Ltd as asset management company for creation and launch of a new Exchange Traded Fund, comprising of shares of listed CPSEs and other corporates.
- First meeting of Goods & Services Tax (GST) Council decided to exempt businesses with annual turnover below 20 lakh out of GST net.
- It will giverespite to approx 60 Lac assesses from paying GST. It will also reduce expenditure for tex collection agencies as these 60 lac assesses only contribute approx 2 % of Indirect Tax revenue.
- Businesses in Northeastern and hill states will be free of GST for for annual turnover below Rs.10 lakh.
- Administrative Control -
- States will have sole jurisdiction over assessees having a turnover of Rs.1.5 crore or less.
- In case turnover exceedes 1.5 crore, administrative control will be jointly with central and state governments.
- Existing 11 lakh service tax assessees will continue to be under the jurisdiction of the Centre.
- Base Year: The GST Council also agreed to settle 2015-16 as the base year for calculating the compensation.
- Flipkart became First e-Commmerce Firm to cross 100-million (10 Crore) registered users mark. It added 2.5 crore users in past 6 months.
- Global online payment service provider PayU acquired Indian payments technology player, Citrus Pay for $130 million (Appox 800 Crores). Citrus Pay’s MD Amrish Rau will take charge of the merged entity, and as chief executive of PayU in India.
- Government launched program National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI) for nurturing ideas and innovation into successful start ups.
- Government announced plans to double number of schemes under DBT (Direct Beefir Transfer) to 147 by March 2017 (Currently 74).
- Government announced that Security guards will need to be given minimum salary of 15000 per month, with classifying them among skilled workers. Armed security guards and supervisors will be classified as highly skilled workers and will entitle minimum monthly wage of 25000.
- Government approved Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana (VPBY) 2003 and Varistha Pension Bima Yojana (VPBY) 2014, along with expenditures incurred on subsidy amount released to LIC for both schemes. Both schemes were implemented through Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). Total number of 3,17,991 annuitants are benefited under VPBY 2014 and 2,84,699 are benefited under VPBY 2003.
- Government approved assistance of 1269 crore rupees for drought affected Maharashtra( 589 crores for damage to Kharif crops and 679 crore rupees for Rabi crops).
- Government approved closure of Hindustan Cables Limited (Kolkata). Total cash infusion for closure of company will be Rs. 1309.90 crore and non-cash infusion of Rs. 3467.15 crore in the form of conversion into equity of Government of India's loan (including interest) outstanding.
- There was no production activity in company since January 2003.
- Employees will be offered attractive VRS/ VSS Package at notional 2007 pay scales.
- Government approved establishment of Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) to give push for creation of high quality infrastructure in premier educational institutions.
- HEFA will be jointly promoted by Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and identified Promoter (a PSU Bank or the Government-owned-NBFC)
- HEFA will have an authorised capital of 2,000 crore rupees and government equity would be 1,000 crore rupees.
- It would leverage equity to raise up to Rs. 20,000 crore for funding infrastructure and development projects of world class Labs in IIMs/IITs/NITs and such other institutions, through a 10-year loan.
- Government approved extension of contract with and International Seabed Authority (ISA) for exploration of Polymetallic Nodules (PMS), till 2022.
- Polymetallic nodules (PMN) are also known as manganese nodules. They are potato-shaped, largely porous nodules found in abundance carpeting the sea floor in the deep sea of the world oceans.
- Besides manganese and iron, they contain nickel, copper, cobalt, lead, molybdenum, cadmium, vanadium, titanium. Of these metals nickel, cobalt and copper are considered to be of economic and strategic importance.
- Government approved formation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council as per Article 279A of Constitution, along with Creation of the GST Council Secretariat in New Delhi and several other key posts in the GST Council.
- Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill 2016 (for introduction of GST) was approved by President after being ratified by 15 states (Assam First and Goa 15th). After assent of President, bill becomes law as Constitution (101st Amendment) Act 2016 and It ads adds Article 279A in Constitution.
- As per Article 279A (1) of amended Constitution, GST Council is to be constituted by President within 60 days of commencement of Article 279A.
- Composition of GST Council
- As per Article 279A, GST Council which will be a joint forum of Centre and States. It shall consist
- Union Finance Minister as Chairperson.
- Union Minister of State (MoS) in-charge of Revenue of finance (Member)
- Minister In-charge of taxation or finance or any other Minister nominated by each State Government (Members)
- As per Article 279A, GST Council which will be a joint forum of Centre and States. It shall consist
- As per Article 279A (4), GST Council will make recommendations on important issues like Goods and services that may be subjected or exempted from GST.
- Government approved proposals of Ministry of Finance related to certain budgetary reforms -
- Merger of Railway budget with General budget -
- Pesentation of separate Railway budget started in the year 1924, and has continued after independence as a convention rather than under Constitutional provisions.
- Capital at charge of Railways is estimated at Rs.2.27 lakh crore on which annual dividend (approx 9700 crore) is paid by Railways to Government, which will now be wiped off.
- Advancement of the date of Budget presentation from last day of February -
- Advancement of budget presentation would pave way for early completion of Budget cycle and enable Ministries and Departments to ensure better planning and execution of schemes from the beginning of the financial year and utilization of full working seasons.
- Exact date of presentation of Budget for 2017-18 would be decided keeping in view the date of assembly elections to be held in States.
- Merger of Plan and the Non-Plan classification in Budget and Accounts -
- Plan/Non-Plan bifurcation of expenditure has led to a fragmented view of resource allocation to various schemes, making it difficult not only to ascertain cost of delivering a service but also to link outlays to outcomes..
- Earmarking of funds for Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan/Tribal Sub-Plan will be continued. Similarly, allocations for North Eastern States will also continue. This would help in resolving the following issues.
- Merger of Railway budget with General budget -
- Government approved simplification of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Policy 2016 in various sectors as announced in June 2016. Changes in FDI Policy are -
- Defence Sector - FDI beyond 49% has been permitted through government approval route, in cases resulting in access to modern technology in the country or for other reasons. FDI limit also made applicable to Manufacturing of Small Arms and Ammunitions covered under Arms Act, 1959.
- Food Products manufactured or produced in India 0 100% FDI under government approval route for trading in respect of food products manufactured in India.
- Pharmaceutical - 100% FDI under automatic route in greenfield pharmaceuticals. FDI up to 100% under government approval in brownfield pharmaceuticals also has been approved and 74% FDI under automatic route in Brownfield pharmaceuticals.
- Civil Aviation - 100% FDI under automatic route in Brownfield Airport Projects. FDI limit raised to 100% in Scheduled Air Transport Service and regional Air Transport Service.
- Animal Husbandry - 100% FDI allowed in Animal Husbandry (including breeding of dogs), Aquaculture, Pisciculture and Apiculture under Automatic Route without requirement of controlled conditions.
- Private Security Agencies - 49% FDI permitted under automatic route and FDI beyond 49% and up to 74% will be permitted through government approval route.
- Single Brand Retail - Entities undertaking single brand retail trading have been relaxed from local sourcing norms up to 3 years that were put earlier. Entities in single brand retail trading of products having ‘state-of-art and ‘cutting edge technology have been relaxed from local sourcing norms up to 5 years.
- Government approved to enable Richardson & Cruddas (1972) Limited to come out of purview of Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) by converting into equity of Government's loan of Rs 101 crores given to the Company alongwith interest amounting to Rs 424 Crores accrued on this loan.
- Government approved to raise 31300 crores in FY 2016-17 to augment infrastructure spending. It has approved to service principal and interest against Extra Budgetary Resources (EBR) of Rs. 16,300 crore by Government for infrastructure spending.
- Government banned agencies in possession of Aadhaar number of Customers to publish or post information publicly to ensure that the details are not misused.
- Government cleared deal with France's Dassault for 36 Rafale fighter jets, worth approx 7.878 billion Euros.
- Government disinvested 7% of its stake in Hindustan Copper Limited, to get approx 400 crores.
- Government issued fresh flexi-fund guidelines to give more freedom to states in spending money under Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) to meet local developmental requirements. Under new norms, flexi-funds in each CSS has been increased from current 10% to 25% for states and 30% for Union Territories.
- Government notified constitution of Six Member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (RBI Act) has been amended by the Finance Act 2016, to provide for a statutory and institutionalised framework for a Monetary Policy Committee. Monetary Policy Committee will fix benchmark policy rate (repo rate) required to contain inflation within the specified target level. Composition of MPC -
- Urjit Patel - RBI Governor (Chairperson)
- R Gandhi - Deputy Governor RBI in charge of Monetary Policy (Member)
- Michael Patra - Executive Director of RBI (Member)
- Government Nominated Members - Chetan Ghate (Indian Statistical Institute), Pami Dua (Delhi School of Economics) and Ravindra H. Dholakia (Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad). Members appointed by Government will hold post for 4 years.
- Government notified new import policy for marble & travertine blocks, aimed at balancing interests of domestic consumers, producers and processors, and ease up importing -
- Policy ends quantitative restriction on import of marble and travertine blocks.
- Marble Blocks - basic customs duty on import has been increased to 40 % and Minimum Import Price (MIP) has reduced to 200 USD / metric ton.
- Marble & Granite slabs - Basic customs duty on import doubled to 20% and MIP on import is reduced to 40 USD / square metre for Marble and 50 USD / square metre for Grainte slabs.
- Government raised Employees Provident Fund (EPF) investment in Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) from 5 to 10 %, considering good returns in ETF investment. In last one year, Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) invested 6577 crore rupees in ETF with a good return of 13.24 %.
- Government raised salary cap of beneficiaries to Rs.21,000 per month from Rs.15,000, to increase number of people eligible for Employees State Insurance (ESI) that which provides medical care to industrial workers and their dependents. It means all industrial workers drawing a salary of up to Rs.21,000 will be eligible for health care at more than 1,500 clinics and hospitals run by Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC). It will add 30 lakh workers to ESIC pool. It will add nearly Rs.3,000 crore to the labour ministry-run ESICs corpus annually.
- HDFC Bank named India’s most valuable brand for 3rd consecutive year, as per BrandZ Top 50 list released by WPP Group. HDFC Bank was followed by Airtel and SBI in the list.
- HDFC Ergo General Insurance Company (HDFC ERGO) has completed acquisition of 100 percent shares of L&T General Insurance Company (L&T Insurance) for Rs. 551 crore.
- ICICI Bank became first Indian Bank to deploy ‘Software Robotics’ for performing over 200 business processes across various functions, including retail banking operations, agri-business, trade & foreign exchange, treasury and human resources management.
- Software robotics takes up several actions done usually by humans and save time and increase efficiency by automating these repetitive, high volume and time consuming tasks.
- Software robots can perform over 10 lakh (1 million) banking transactions every working day.
- IT major Infosys launched Skava Commerce, a new standard for e-commerce platform for retailers. Infosys had acquired in June 2015 for 120 million dollars. Skava Commerce platform can help brick-and-mortar retailers to quickly launch new offerings, improve conversion rates of traffic coming from digital channels.
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited and GAIL Limited signed MoU with Dhamra LNG Terminal Private Limited for taking equity in 5 MMTPA capacity LNG Receiving, Storage and Regasification Terminal. Dhamra LNG terminal is being built by Adani Enterprises Ltd at Dhamra Port, Odisha.
- Karnataka Bank signed MoU with Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company for distribution of mutual fund products.
- MobiKwik launched Bubble Pin as a one-step offline payments mode, which allows users to make payments without data connection.
- Mobile Wallet Paytm Launched service for enabling Railway Ticket Bookings on behalf of IRCTC.
- Mobile payments and loans start-up ftcash launched Unified Payment Interface (UPI) for merchants in association with ICICI Bank.
- President Pranab Mukherjee have his assent to Constitution (122nd Amendment) (GST) Bill 2014 as per Article 111 of the Constitution. With this, bill becomes law and a new indirect tax regime will now be implemented in India with concept of one nation, one tax - GST (Goods and Services Tax).
- GST is a single indirect tax throughout country. It subsumes most of the Central and State indirect taxes such as Value Added Tax (VAT), excise duty, service tax, central sales tax, additional customs duty and special additional duty of customs.
- Constitution (122nd Amendment) (GST) Bill, 2014 will enter into the statute book as The Constitution (101st Amendment) Bill, 2016.
- Private sector Axis Bank tied up with Banaras Hindu University (BHU) to offer specialised banking courses.
- Qatar National Bank (QNB) received approval from India's regulatory authorities to begin operations in country.
- Reliance Industries launched Jio Telecom Service offering free voice calls and zero roaming charges for its customers as a part of Jio Welcome Offer (from 5 September 2016 up to 31 December 2016).
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved 26000 crores cash credit limit (CCL) for purchasing paddy in Punjab.
- Rural housing scheme Indira Awas Yojana (IAY), started by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, has been renamed as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). It will be effective from April 1, 2017. Under this scheme, government is aiming to construct one crore houses by 2019.
- Southern India Engineering Manufacturers’ Association (SIEMA) signed agreement with Anna University for joint work on projects required for industries.
- Standard & Poor's (S&P) Global Ratings forecasted relatively high quality and steroid-free GDP growth of 8% for India over next few years.
- State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, IDFC Bank, and digital wallet Paytm will start issuing electronic tags to vehicles for toll collection.
- Tamil Nadu government allotted 204 crores for Thaaliku Thangam’ (Gold for Mangalsutra) scheme under a marriage assistance programme scheme for the year 2016-17 to benefit 12,500 women.
- Telangana government signed MoU with theGoa government to help Goa in information technology (IT) development.
- To boost Industrial Activities, Government approved special Tax Rebate for Setting up Industrial Units in 7 districts of Andhra Pradesh, till Mar 31, 2020. Any manufacturing undertaking set up during concerned period in concerned districts, is eligible for 15% of higher additional depreciation and 15% of investment allowance on cost of plant and machinery acquired by it. Districts are - Anantapur, Chittoor, Cuddapah, Kurnool, Srikakulam, Vishakhapatnam and Vizianagaram.
- To help exporters, Department of Commerce brought changes in Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) -
- Addition of 2901 new products, taking number of items covered under scheme from 5012 to 7103.
- Increase in MEIS rates - Rates of 575 product items falling under 11 products categories have been increased.
- Total annual government support under MEIS scheme enhanced to 23,500 crore from present Rs. 22,000 crore.
- Vijaya Bank launched 3 innovative apps - VPAYQWIK, Vijaya *99# and V-eConnect+.
- World Bank announced to invest over 1,000 crore rupees in Assam for betterment of inland waterways, including ghats.
- e-Commerce platform Paytm will enable health insurance for 3 lakh auto and cab drivers (in partnership with TATA AIG General Insurance ) that accept its wallet as payment system. New health insurance scheme covers hospitalisation expenses of up to Rs 50,000.
- Tech giants Microsoft, Google and Salesforce adopted EU-US Privacy Shield frameworkm to be able to receive personal data from European Union (EU) in compliance with new standards. They are now among 103 companies out of 5526 signatories to replace defunct Safe Harbour framework.
- 193 countries of United Nations (UN) signed declaration to make world free of of drug-resistant infections or Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) or superbugs.
- It is the fourth time a UN declaration has been reached on a health issue, following HIV in 2001, non-communicable diseases in 2011 and Ebola in 2013.
- Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) or superbugs happens when microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites change when they are exposed to antimicrobial drugs. As a result, medicines or drugs become ineffective and infections persist in the body futher increasing the risk of spread to others.
- 19th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit to be held in Islamabad (Pakistan) has been postponed, after India and four other countries boycotted it.
- 20th India International seafood show (IISS) 2016 held in Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) with theme Safe and Sustainable Indian Aquaculture.
- A new Guinness world record for the largest LEGO ship has been set in Denmark, where employees of a shipping company successfully constructed the incredible 2,860 kg boat using over one million interlocking plastic bricks. The blue and white LEGO boat measures 12.035 metres in length.
- Afghanistan signed peace agreement with one of country's largest militant groups Hezb-e-Islami.
- All India Radio (AIR) launched a website and mobile app for its Balochi service to reach people who speak Balochi language across globe.
- As per a Mastercard Report, Five Indian cities - Mumbai (27), Chennai (30), Delhi (48), Kolkata (62) along with Pune (91) ranked in top 100 destination cities for 2016. Asian cities make up half of global top 10 cities and Bangkok (Thailand) is at top.
- Canadas British Columbia province became first foreign government to issue masala bonds, a rupee-denominated bond. It issued Rs 500 crore rupee denominated overseas bonds (masala bond) on London Stock Exchange (LSE). British Columbias issued masala bond was priced for 6.62 % semi-annual yield with 3 year tenor.
- Masala Bonds are rupee-denominated bonds issued to overseas buyers. It is aimed at boosting investments into Indias infrastructure sector.
- China built world's largest radio telescope nicknamed Tianyan (Heavenly Eye or The Eye of Heaven) or the five-hundred-metre aperture spherical radio telescope (FAST).
- It is world’s largest filled aperture (single dish) radio telescope and the second largest radio telescope after the Russian RATAN-600.
- It is made up of 4,450 panels and has reflector as large as 30 football pitches. It has 500 meters diameter, giving it more sensitivity.
- China and Russia carried out joint naval exercise Joint Sea 2016 in South China Sea.
- China and Vietnam agreed to manage their differences over territorial disputes in the South China Sea and safeguard stability.
- China blocked Xiabuqu River (a tributary of the Brahmaputra River) in Tibet, to construct a hydro project. This Blockade may impact water flows into India and Bangladesh.
- China completed over 20,000 kms of Bullet Railway track network, becoming world’s longest bullet train network.
- China successfully launched Tiangong - 2 space lab, on board of Long March-2F T2 rocket. Tiangong-2 (means Heavenly Palace 2) space lab is part of China’s ambitious Project 921-2 space station program aimed at creating a third generation space station. It has replaced China’s now-defunct Tiangong 1 space lab mission which had ended its operational life in March 2016.
- Colombian voters in a referendum rejected peace deal with Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels, with 50.2 % polling in opposition. Deal was earlier signed by President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC leader Timoleon Jimenez after 4 years of negotiations.
- During visit of Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani to India, India and Afghanistan signed Extradition Treaty to facilitate exchange of wanted terrorists and criminals. Alongwith, Both countries signed agreements on peaceful uses of outer space technology and cooperation in commercial and civil matters. India also committed to extend one billion dollars to Afghanistan as development aid.
- Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi visited India and signed agreement for cooperation in area of Maritime Transport.
- Election Commission of India (ECI) granted national party status to All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) Party led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, after TMC fulfilled required conditions to become a national party after getting status of state party in 4 states.
- TMC is ruling West Bengal Government and has its presence in north eastern states Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura.
- With this , TMC became seventh national party in the country along with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM).
- If any political party Secures at least 6% of the valid votes polled in any 4 states. itis eligible for getting considered for national party status.
- In August 2016, ECI brought changes in Paragraph 6C of Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order 1968 to review status of political parties every 10 years, instead of present norm of 5 years.
- European Union approved ratification of Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
- 28 EU Nations contribute 12 % global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
- Once all 28 EU nations ratify the agreement, The Paris Agreement on Climate Change will be ready to enter into force as cumulative emissions of ratifying parties will go beyond 55%.
- Facebook, Amazon, Google, IBM and Microsoft joined up for partnership on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.
- First 5 Day BRICS Film Festival held in New Delhi.
- Russian actress Yulia Peresild won the best female actor for her role in the Russian movie Battle for Sevastopol.
- South Africa's Thabo Rametsi won Best actor title for his film Kalushi.
- Raam Reddy's Kannada film Thithi conferred Best Film award at 1st BRICS Film Festival..
- Best Director Award - Huo Jianqi (China).
- Special jury award: Brazils Phillipe Barcinski for Between Valleys”.
- Forbes' 50 Most Powerful Women International List -
- List is topped by Banco Santander’s Ana Patricia Botin, followed by SBI Chief Arundhati Bhattacharya (2nd).
- India's ICICI head Chanda Kochhar (5th) and Axis Bank CEO Shikha Sharma (19th) are also in List.
- Forbes' best-paid television actresses List 2016 -
- Colombian - American actress Sofia Vergara topped List for fifth time in a row with earnings of $43 Million.
- Indian Actress Priyanka ranked ranked 8th with earnings of $10 million.
- Fortune 19th Most Powerful Women list 2016 -
- List is topped by Mary Barra (CEO of General Motors Company), with Indra Nooyi (CEO of Pepsi Co) and 2nd place and Marillyn Hewson (CEO of Lockheed Martin).
- There are 22 female CEO, down from 27 last year in this year's list.
- German multinational pharmaceutical company Bayer accquired USA Based Monsanto for 66 Billion USD.
- Google rolled out travel app Google Trips and messaging app Allo.
- Government approved MoUs -
- With Singapore for co-operation in Industrial Property Cooperation. MoU will be signed at the upcoming visit of Singapore’s Prime Minister to India from 4-7 October, 2016.
- Government approved MOU with South Korea on Mutual Recognition of Certificates.
- Government approved New Agreements -
- Technical Arrangement with Switzerland on the identification and return of Swiss and Indian Nationals.
- MoU with Kenya on cooperation in National Housing Policy Development and Management.
- MoU with Mozambique on cooperation in the field of Youth Affairs.
- MOU with South Africa in the field of Information and Communication Technologies.
- Guinness World Records officially designated Assams Majuli as largest river island in world.
- Majuli island is situated in Brahmaputra River, covering area of 880 sqkm. It has toppled previous record held by Brazils Marajo island in Amazon river.
- Island has total 144 villages with a population of over 160,000 and a density of 300 individuals per square km.
- In June 2016, Assam Government had officially declared the island as the district making it Indias first island district.
- HP (Hewlett Packard) acquired Samsung's printer business for $1.05 billion.
- India and Chile sigend agreement to expand scope of their existing Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) by covering more goods for tariff concessions.
- India and China have hold first High Level Dialogue on Counter-terrorism and Security held in Beijing (China).
- India and Sri Lanka signed MoU to support livelihood of fishing and farming project to communities in Sri Lanka’s southern Hambantota district.
- India approved revised Double Tax Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with Cyprus, for checking tax evasion.
- India complained to World Trade Organization (WTO) about support given to renewable energy industry in USA to its 8 states - Washington, Montana, California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan and Minnesota.
- Complaint against US is about up proping up renewable sector with illegal subsidies and putting necessity to buy local goods rather than imports.
- Earlier in 2013, India filed questions at WTO about suspected subsidies in solar programmes in four US states - Delaware, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Connecticut. In May 2016, India lost a case at WTO after the US complained about India’s national solar programme over illegal subsidies and domestic content requirements.
- India ratified Paris Agreement (on Climate Change) that was adopted by 185 nations in December 2015. India had signed this Agreement in April 2016. A total of 191 countries have signed to the Paris Agreement so far.
- As per provisions of Paris Agreement, treaty will come into force as and when 55 countries contributing to 55 % of total global emission ratify the agreement. So far, 62 countries (Including India) have ratified it, accounting in total for 51.89 % of total global greenhouse gas emissions (India's part is 4.1%).
- India signed MoU with Greece to allow unlimited number of flights into each other’s countries and also initiated air service agreement for open skies. Greece becomes first country with which India has inked an open sky arrangement under its new civil aviation policy.
- India successfully tested surface-to-air missile (LRSAM) Barak-8 Missile off Odisha coast. Barak-8 missile is long-range nuclear capable ballistic missile, developed jointly by Israel and India.
- India will host next Annual Meetings of African Development Bank (AfDB) Group in Ahmedabad (Gujarat) in May 2017. It will be attended by over 5000 delegates from 80 member countries of the African Development Bank.
- India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) became seventh member of Asia-Pacific Aerospace Quality Group (APAQG) under category Full Member with voting rights. Other nations of APAQG are South Korea, China, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan and Japan.
- India, USA and Afghanistan reaffirmed their shared interests in combating terrorism and advancing peace and security. In this regard, a trilateral statement was issued after meeting of their delegates in New York on the sidelines of 71st session of UN General Assembly.
- Indian Consortium comprising of Oil India Limited, Indian Oil Corporation Limited and Bharat Petro Resources Limited acquired 23.9 % stake in JSC Vankorneft and 29.9 % stake in LLC Taas-Yuryakh from Rosneft Oil Company (Russia).
- Indian Infrastructure Giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T) won 99.7-million dollar (around 660 crores INR) contract from Vietnam Border Guard to construct 12 high-speed patrol vessels in 30 months.
- Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport became Asia-Pacific’s only airport to achieve a carbon neutral status, as announced by Airports Council International (ACI).
- This recognition has upgraded IGI airport’s status to “Level 3+, Neutrality, highest level for airports across the world.
- IGI airport is managed by private operator Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), which has taken several initiatives to make IGI airport recognized at Global Scale -
- Eco-friendly vehicles
- 84 MW solar power plant
- Terminal 3 is a LEED gold certified green building
- Water Conservation, preconditioned air supply systems, Energy efficient lighting systems and bridge mounted equipment.
- Inland Waterways Authority of India (Ministry of Shipping) signed contract with DST, Germany to design vessels that are especially suited to navigate 1620 km stretch of NW-1, aimed at providing safe, environment friendly and economical mode of transportation through National Waterway-1.
- Intel acquired computer vision firm Movidius, which partnered with Google to develop 3D space mapping technology for Project Tango devices.
- LG Electronics tied-up with Amazon.com Inc on smart-home services. This tie-up will help enabling services of Amazon such as Alexa virtual assistant on some of LG's devices.
- Mexico has set up its third consulate in India (and first in South India)in Chennai that will cater to Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
- Microsoft and Adobe partnered to promote use of each other's cloud-computing tools among their mutual customers.
- Minister for State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman visited Sri Lanka for for talks on Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement (ETCA). She announced that India is going to invest 2 billion dollars in Sri Lanka in the next 3 - 4 years.
- Nations have adopted New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Declaration expresses political will of world leaders to protect rights of refugees and migrants to save lives and share responsibility for large movements on a global scale.
- Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed to cut oil production for the first time since 2008 after an informal meeting in Algeria. It was decided to reduce output to 32.5 - 33.0 million barrels per day (bpd) from current output at 33.24 million bpd.
- India is 3rd largest importer of crude oil imports 85% of total oil and 95% of natural gas from OPEC nations. Decision to cut production may result in spike in oil prices in India.
- In recent times, lower oil prices kept the Indian economy on the shining path and managed to keep inflation under control making it fastest growing economy in G20 countries.
- About Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
- OPEC consists of 14 oil-exporting developing nations that account for 43% of global oil production and 73% of the world’s oil reserves. It was Established in 1960 in Baghdad, Iraq.
- OPEC Members - Algeria, Angola, Libya, Nigeria and Gabon (from Africa); Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Ecuador and Venezuela.
- Pakistan’s lower house of parliament passed a landmark bill to address Hindu minority’s concerns over registration of marriages, aimed at protecting women’s rights.
- Powerful typhoon Megi recently hit island-nation Taiwan with winds up to 230 km/hr.
- Report by University of Queensland (Australia)
- Estimated 1.3 million square miles (3.3 million square km) wilderness has been reduced by 10 % since 1990.
- Amazon basin and central Africa have been hit the hardest.
- Total 30.1 million km2 (around 20 % of world's land area) now remains as wilderness. Majority in North America, North Asia, North Africa, and Australia.
- Russian state nuclear agency Rosatom and Cuba's Ministry of Science signed an agreement on cooperation in peaceful atomic energy.
- Scientists from USA's Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) developed a novel spectroscopic technique to find signs of extraterrestrial life on Mars. Ttechnique is incorporated on instrument - SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals). It will be launched by NASA’s new Mars rover to be launched in 2020 to find signs of life on Mars.
- Six member countries of South Asia Sub-regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) program - Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka released Operational Plan 2016-2025.
- SASEC OP was Established in 2001, to promote regional prosperity by improving cross-border connectivity, boosting trade among member countries, and strengthening regional economic cooperation.
- Asian Development Bank (ADB) is the secretariat and lead financier of the SASEC program. To date, ADB has approved 40 SASEC projects worth almost $7.7 billion in transport, energy, trade facilitation, and information and communications technology.
- SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded on its Cape Canaveral launch pad during a test, destroying a commercial satellite that Facebook had planned to use to extend Internet access in Africa.
- Times Higher Education world rankings index -
- Oxford University (UK) topped the list. It become first UK university to top Times Higher Education World University Rankings in the 12-year history of the table.
- China’s Peking University is at 29th and Tsinghua University is at 35th.
- National University of Singapore, is best in Asia with 24th rank.
- India’s Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore is at its highest ever position in 201-250 band.
- Overall, 289 Asian universities from 24 countries make overall list of 980 institutions and an 19 are in top 200, up from 15 last year.
- List of top 10 is -
2016-17 rank 2015-16 rank Institution Country 1 2 University of Oxford United Kingdom 2 1 California Institute of Technology United States 3 3 Stanford University United States 4 4 University of Cambridge United Kingdom 5 5 Massachusetts Institute of Technology United States 6 6 Harvard University United States 7 7 Princeton University United States 8 8 Imperial College London United Kingdom 9 9 ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich Switzerland =10 13 University of California, Berkeley United States =10 10 University of Chicago United States
- Transportation app Uber launched a new initiative in partnership with Maruti Suzuki and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) for creating livelihood opportunities for 10Lakh people by 2018.
- Trial operation of world's largest permanent ship lift designed by Chinese and German engineers on China's Three Gorges Dam began.
- Typhoon Malakas hit southern Japan, bringing damaging winds of up to 180 Km/hr.
- Typhoon Meranti (Ferdie) hits China’s Fujian Province with winds of 173 km/h.
- UN 2016 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Report (first global analysis that assesses countries on SDG health performance ) -
- India ranked 143rd out of 188 countries.
- List is topped by Iceland, followed by Singapore, Sweden, Andorra and UK.
- About SDG -
- The SDGs are 17 universal goals, 169 targets and 230 indicators set by the United Nations in 2015 to guide a range of pressing problems including food and water security, poverty and climate change up to 2030.
- The SDGs follow and expand on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which expired at the end of 2015.
- UN Charter (seminal treaty of United Nations) has now been translated into Sanskrit. The Charter is available in all six official languages of the UN (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish).
- US appointed its first Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis to Cuba in 55 years.
- USA and Vietnamese navies begun 7th annual Naval Engagement Activity (NEA) in Vietnam.
- USA signed a 38 billion USD Deal with Israel to provide Receive military assistance from Israe over a 10-year period (2019 - 2028). Israel will receive 3.8 billion dollars annually from USA, up from 3.1 billion USD currently gives Israel annually under 10-year deal that ends in 2018.
- USA will be partner country in 8th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit-2017 t be held at January 8-9, 2017.
- United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) released report Uprooted: The growing crisis for refugee and migrant children. According to the report, nearly 5 Crore million children have been uprooted across globe and millions migrating in hope of finding a better, safer life.
- United Nations Panel on Access to Medicines suggested delinking drug prices from research and development (R&D) costs and placing human rights over intellectual property laws of pharmaceutical companies. All countries must freely be able to use flexibilities granted under TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) to access affordable medicines.
- United Nations Security Council (UNSC) approved resolution for quick global implementation of Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban treaty (CTBT) to ban tests of nuclear weapons.
- CTBT bans all nuclear explosions for both civilian and military purposes. It was adopted by UNGA under resolution 50 (1996).
- Treaty will enter into force 180 days after ratification from all UN Members. So far, 183 countries have signed CTBT and 166 have ratificatied it.
- Wipro's fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) arm acquired China's Zhongshan Ma Er Daily Products.
- World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2016 - 2017 -
- Top 5 - Switzerland (1st), Singapore (2nd), United States (3rd), Netherlands (4th) and Germany (5th).
- BRICS Countries - China (28th), Russia (43rd), South Africa (47th) and Brazil (81st).
- India facts - India has jumped to 39th (16 places up from 55th in 2015-16), being the highest rising economy due to improvement in goods market efficiency, business sophistication and innovation. India’s overall competitiveness has increased due to improvements in institutions and infrastructure along with recent reforms such as opening the economy to foreign investors and increasing transparency in the financial system.
- World Economic Freedom Index (WEFI) 2016 by Centre for Civil Society and Canada’s Fraser Institute -
- India has been ranked 112th out of 159 countries in List.
- Economic freedom index is directly proportional to freedom and opportunities available to its citizens. People in countries with high economic freedom enjoy greater prosperity and longer lives.
- Top 10 - Hong Kong (1st), Singapore (2nd), New Zealand (3rd), Switzerland (4th), Canada (5th), Georgia (6th), Ireland (7th), Mauritius (8th), UAE (9th) and Australia (10th).
- Bottom 10 - Iran (150th), Algeria (151st), Chad (152nd), Guinea (153rd), Angola (154th), Central African Republic (155th), Argentina (156th), Congo (157th), Libya (158th) and Venezuela (159th).
- USA is at 16th, Germany at 30th and Japan at 40th.
- India’s Neighbours - Bhutan (78th), Nepal (108th) and Sri Lanka (111th), China (113th), Bangladesh (121st) and Pakistan (133rd).
- World Health Organisation (WHO) officially declared Sri Lanka as malaria-free, after certifying that malaria has been completely eliminated from island nation.
- World Health Organisation declared Americas (South and North) as Measles free. Americas are first in world to have eliminated measles.
- World Health Organization (WHO) released its report on pollution and claimed that 92 % of world’s population lives in places where air pollution level exceed WHO limits. Estimated 6.5 million deaths (11.6% of all global deaths) are associated with indoor and outdoor air pollution.
- World's first daily driverless bus service has started in Lyon (France). The buses can hold up to 15 passengers and features like LIDAR radar technology and motion sensors will help to avoid accidents.
- World's largest emitter of harmful carbon emissions, China has ratified the Paris global climate agreement. It is aimed at reducing factors causing climate change.
- World's largest solar power plant, with an installed capacity of 648MW has been commissioned at Kamudhi in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu. It has been Set up by Adani Group, on an area of around 5,000 acres and at total cost of Rs 4,550 crores.
- IUCN World Conservation Congress 2016 held in Hawaii (USA). International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed eastern gorilla, the largest living primate, as critically endangered in its latest red list of threatened species. Theme of 2016 IUCN Congress is Planet at the Crossroads.
- 11th Group of Twenty (G20) Summit 2016 held in Hangzhou (China). Theme of 2016 G20 Summit is Toward an Innovative, Invigorated, Interconnected and Inclusive World Economy.
- G-20 leaders pledge have pledged to continue to work for a globally fair and modern international tax system, foster growth and refrain from competitive devaluation of currencies. They vowed to go ahead on ongoing co-operation on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), exchange of tax information, tax capacity-building of developing countries and tax policies to promote growth and tax certainty.
- The summit was attended by PM Narendra Modi on India's Behalf.
- 13 nations participated in South Asia Biosafety Conference (SABC) at Hyderabad (Telengana), aimed at sharing experience in biotechnology, environmental risk assessment and biosafety regulation in South Asia.
- 17th NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) Summit held in Margarita (Venezuela, attended by Vice President M. Hamid Ansari on India's Behalf.
- 2 - day long BRICS Convention on Tourism held in Khajuraho (Madhya Pradesh).
- 2016 Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) will be hosted by the Government of India (GoI) in New Delhi on November 2016.
- 2016 India-US Economic Summit held in New Delhi.
- 2016 International Buddhist Conclave will be held in Sarnath (Uttar Pradesh) in October 2016 to promote Buddhist sites in Bodhgaya and Sarnath.
- 28th and 29th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit held in Vientiane (Laos), chaired by Laos President Thongloun Sisoulith. Theme of summit was Turning Vision into Reality for a Dynamic ASEAN Community. ASEAN Members are - Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Lao PDR (host), Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia.
- PM Narendra Modi also attended 14th ASEAN-India summit. 11th East Asia Summit was also held alongside.
- India and Vietnam signed 12 agreements in different areas of cooperation incouding outer space Exploration, double taxation avoidance, co-operation on UN peacekeeping operation. Health, cyber security, advanced IT training, sharing of shipping information between the Navies of the two countries etc. PM Narendra Modi also announced a line of credit (LoC) of 500 million USD to Vietnam to facilitate deeper defence cooperation. The LoC will be used by Indias L&T to build offshore high speed patrol boats for Vietnamese Coast Guards.
- 2nd meeting of Experts to strengthen SAARC Anti-Terrorism Mechanism held in Delhi.
- 3 Guinness World Records created at Samajik Adhikarita Shivir and Scheme of Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase/Fittings of Aids/Appliances (ADIP) Camp in Navsari (Gujarat) -
- First record - Highest number of Oil lamps lit simultaneously at single location, 989 Divyangs came together to set this record.
- Second record - Biggest Wheelchair Logo, with 1,000 participants in wheelchairs depicted a message saying ‘Happy Birthday PM’ in Tri-colour.
- Torld record - Most people fitted with Hearing Aid in 8 hours at Single location (600 Hearing Aids Fitted).
- 3 day BRICS conference on ‘Urban Transition in BRICS’ Held in Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh).
- 33rd International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation (IASP) World Conference hosted by Moscow (Russia).
- 4th Meeting of BRICS Ministers of Education held in New Delhi.
- 5th Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) 2016 Innovators Meet held in New Delhi with theme Biotech Innovation Ecosystem - Strategizing the Next Leap.
- 60th Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference held in Vienna (Austria). Highlights include agreement between Russia and Cuba on cooperation in field of peaceful atomic energy use.
- 69th session of WHO Regional Committee of South-East Asia Region held in Colombo (Sri Lanka). Minister of Health & Family Welfare J P Nadda visited on India's Behalf.
- During this meet, India along with 10 other member countries of World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) South-East Asian Regional Committee has decided to set up a dedicated fund aimed at building preparedness for health emergencies in region. The joint funding stream will be established under the South-East Asia Regional Health Emergency Fund (SEARHEF).
- 6th meeting of BRICS on Agriculture and Agrarian Development held in New Delhi.
- BRICS Environment Ministers meet held in Goa.
- BRICS Labour & Employment Ministerial Meeting held in New Delhi.
- BRICS Wellness Workshop held in Bengaluru (Karnataka). Inaugural National Fair on comprehensive Indian Medicine system (AROGYA) was also held alongside.
- First BRICS Young Scientists Conclave 2016 hosted by India in Bengaluru (Karnataka).
- First ‘IoT (Internet of Things) India Congress 2016 held in Bengaluru (Karnataka).
- Internet of Things (IoT) is a system of interrelated computing devices and digital machines or people that are provided with unique identifiers. Thus it is an internetworking of physical devices, vehicles, buildings and other items, embedded with sensors and connectivity. The internetworking can transfer data without human interaction.
- India Sanitation Conference nicknamed INDOSAN held in Delhi.
- Meeting of security incharges of BRICS Nations held in New Delhi, hosted by National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval.
- Ministry of Commerce and Industry will organize 2nd Advantage Health Care India 2016 (AHCI 2016), an International Summit on Medical Value Travel in Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh) in October 2016, with aim of ‘Promoting Healthcare Services Exports from India’.
- North East Connectivity Summit held in Agartala (Tripura).
- Odisha government hosted 2016 National conference on labour in Bhubaneswar, in association with International Labour Organisation (ILO).
- The first-ever United Nations Summit for Refugees and Migrants has been held at UN General Assembly in New York (USA), for saving lives of over 6.5 crore refugees and migrants.
- 2 world records made by Indian Army DARE DEVILS team of Corps of Signals.
- World Record for Longest continuous ride standing on the seat of a motor cycle broken by Capt Manpreet Singh by covering 75.2 Km in 02 : 24 : 12 hours.
- World Record for Handle Bar Riding on a Motorcycle under fresh category established by Havildar Sandeep Kumar, covering a distance of 46.9 Km in 01 : 27 : 31 hours
- 9th India Chem 2016 International Conference inaugurated by Anant Kumar(Minister for Chemicals & Petrochemicals) in Mumbai (Maharashtra). It is organized by Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals and FICCI.
- Incredible India Tourism Investment Summit-2016 held in New Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan.
- According to Endemic Vascular Plants of India Report by Botanical Survey of India (BSI) -
- 18,259 flowering plants are reported in India, 4,303 (over 23%) are found only in India (endemic to India)
- Tamil Nadu accounts for the highest number of species with 410, followed by Kerala (357 species) and Maharashtra (278 species).
- Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh laid foundation stone of Gokul Gram at Mathura in Uttar Pradesh for conservation and development of native cattle breeds. Government will set up 14 such Grams across country as part of Rashtriya Gokul Mission.
- Andhra Pradesh became 2nd state after Gujarat to achieve 100% electrification of households, as per report by JM Financials. About 35% rural households in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and Assam still lacked access to power supply.
- Annual 5-day socio-religious Solung festival of Adi tribe started in Arunachal Pradesh.
- Arunachal Pradesh’s first Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Store opened in Itanagar.
- As per latest National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) sanitation survey in rural areas, Sikkim is cleanest state in India, followed by Kerala, Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh. Jharkhand comes last in list of 26 states.
- Assam tourism unveiled its new logo with tagline ‘Awesome Assam, aimed at promoting state globally.
- Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) will link exam forms with Aadhaar card to avoid duplication. It is being done after the recent toppers scam.
- Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved initiation of Third Phase of Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP) as a Central Scheme with outlay of Rs. 3600 crore (1330 crore as external assistance from World Bank).
- Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP) commenced in 2003 with World Bank assistance as a long term programme to be implemented in 3 phases. First phase ended on March 31st, 2009. It covered 127 institutes across 13 States.
- TEQIP-II commenced in August 2010, covering 23 States and 191 Institutes. TEQIP-II will conclude in October 2016.
- Focus States in 3rd Phase of TEOIP are -
- 3 Hill States - Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand.
- 6 Low Income States - Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
- 8 North-Eastern States - It includes seven North east states plus Sikkim.
- Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- Cauvery Supervisory Committee headed by Shashi Shekhar directed Karnataka to release 3000 cusecs of water per day to Tamil Nadu.
- Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) launched e-nivaran facility for online redressal of taxpayers’ grievances. These grievances can be related to refunds, Income Tax Returns (ITRs), Tax Deducted at Source (TDS), and Permanent Account Number (PAN).
- Centre for Strategic and International Studies (USA)'s report on status of Women's participation in workplaces in India -
- Sikkim is at top with highest possible 40 points score.
- Delhi being at bottom with score of 8.5, reflecting delhi shows worst state for working women among all states in India.
- India has least rate for women participation in workplaces - Just 24 %.
- Chandigarh Administration and French Development Agency (AFD) signed MoU on Smart City Project and 'Technical Cooperation' in the field of Sustainable Urban Mobility.
- Chhattisgarh Government launched ‘Start Up Chhattisgarh’ programme to encourage entrepreneurs in state.
- Chhattisgarh government launched official AIR Regional News Unit (RNU)’s Facebook page at Raipur Radio station.
- China successfully tested a radar system that uses quantum entanglement to beat stealth technology of modern military aircrafts. Previously, USA was only country haiving stealth-defeating quantum radar technology.
- Quantum radar uses quantum entanglement photons to provide better detection capabilities than conventional radar systems, within range of 100 kilometers.
- It easily tracks aircrafts using stealth technology or targets employing active countermeasures to jam or baffle enemy radar.
- Coal India Limited (CIL) signed Memorandum of Understanding MoU with Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) for effectively monitoring of environment related issues in coal mining projects.
- Delhi Police launched mobile application for senior citizens to provide immediate assistance to them in distress.
- Delhi government increased retirement age of doctors working in its hospitals to 65 years, from 62 earlier.
- Delhi's Race Course Road has now been renamed as Lok Kalyan Marg. It has Official Residence of India's Prime Minister.
- Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers welfare) declared India free from Avian Influenza (H5N1).
- Department of Posts launched toll free number ‘1924’ to register postal complaints. Service will be operational for 12 hours on working days between 0800 hrs to 2000 hrs.
- Department of Telecom (DoT) introduced helpline Urja Mitra for updates about electricity supply. Consumers can now dial 14401 and get update from their respective power distribution companies about outages in their area through ‘Urja Mitra Helpline’.
- Finance Ministry decided that sports infrastructure will be included under harmonised master list of infrastructure sub-sectors.
- First Nomad Film Festival 2016 started at India Islamic Cultural Centre in New Delhi to raise awareness and change perceptions regarding denotified tribes. The tribes were listed as ‘Criminal Tribes’ under 1871 Criminal Tribes Act during the British rule.
- First exhibition on childhood cancer awareness held at Taj Mahal in Agra (Uttar Pradesh).
- First phase of ESIC (Employees State Insurance Corporation) Pilot Project of Telemedicine Services launched for providing specialist medical services at a distance to insured workers.
- Forbes' '100 Richest Indians' list -
- Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has topped the list with net worth of 22.7 Billion USD. It is his ninth consecutive year at top of list.
- Sun Pharmaceuticals founder Dilip Shanghvi at number 2 and 3rd spot taken by Hinduja brothers. 4 - Azim Premji (Wipro), 5th - Pallonji Mistry.
- Patanjali co-founder Acharya Balkrishna entered This year's Forbes Richest Indians List with $2.5 billion net-worth owing to his 97% stake in Patanjali Ayurved Ltd
- Flipkart’s co-founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal opted out of list.
- Tech Entrepreneurs Bhavin & Divyank Turakhia entered into list with combined net worth 1.3 Billion USD, after selling their successful online advertising venture Media.net to chinese consortium for 900 Million USD.
- Goa Tourism department will host the first-of-its-kind Vintage Bikeand Car Festival-2016 on October 1, 2016.
- Goa will host a bird festival from November 11 to 13 with Goa's state bird Bulbul” as logo for the festival.
- Government announced 2,520 cr to be spent on rejuvenation of ghats and infrastructure in Uttar Pradesh'a Vraanasi City, to make it Suramya, Samunnat, Sanyojit Kashi under Smart City Plan.
- Government announced special package of 200 crores for Jammu and Kashmir to engage youth of state in sporting activities.
- Government approved 450 crore rupees for Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Sikkim under Swadesh Darshan scheme.
- Uttarakhand - Jageshwar-Devidhura-Katarmal-Baijnath sites with total cost 83 crores.
- Coastal circuit (Tamil Nadu) - Development of Chennai-Mamamallapuram-Rameshwaram-Manpadu-Kanyakumari.
- Ramayana Circuit (Uttar Pradesh) - Development of Chitrakoot and Shringverpur.
- North East circuit (Sikkim) - Development of cultural centre, paragliding centre and craft bazaar for mountaineering and meditation hall.
- Heritage Circuit in Madhya Pradesh - Developing Tourism Infrastructure Gwalior-Orchha-Khajuraho-Chanderi-Bhimbetka-Mandu.
- Government approved 500 Crores as part of Prime Minister Reconstruction Plan (PMRP) for development of tourism in Jammu and Kashmir.
- Government approved changing name of Gurgaon to ‘Gurugram’. With this, both city and district of Gurgaon would be known as Gurugram.
- Government approved direct communication link through a dedicated submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) between Chennai (mainland India) and Andaman & Nicobar Islands, connecting mainland with Port Blair and five other islands - Little Andaman, Havelock, Car Nicobar, Kamorta and Great Nicobar. Estimated cost of project is 1102.38 crores.
- Government approved to enact Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Bill 2016, related to powers of High Courts in respect of claims associated with transport by sea and navigable waterways. It also repealed five obsolete British statues on admiralty jurisdiction in civil matters - Admiralty Court Act 1840, Admiralty Court Act 1861, Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act 1890, Colonial Courts of Admiralty (India) Act 1891, and Provisions of Letters Patent 1865.
- Government approves subsidized helicopter services in State of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh on a pilot basis in 10 sectors, as per stipulation that most inaccessible destination points should be chosen.
- Government has approved six proposals to set up centres of excellence to promote and fund start-ups under National Initiative for Development and Harnessing Innovation (NIDHI) (Department of Science and Technology). Proposals Included SINE-IIT Bombay, Venture Center-NCL Pune, CIIE-IIM Ahmedabad and a research park at IIT-Gandhinagar.
- Government launched a new service integration of DigiLocker with Driving Licenses (DL) & Vehicle Registration Certificates (RC). It was Launched by Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari and Minister of Electronics & Information Technology and Law & Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad.
- With this integration, people will no longer need to carry around physical copies of their Driving Licences and RCs. Using DigiLocker mobile app, they can instead access digital copies of the same on their mobile phones.
- DLs and VRC documents will be now issued directly to the DigiLockers of individuals in digital formats. These digital copies can be shared with other government departments as identity and address proof.
- Government release special Commemorative Postage Stamp on occassion of 100th anniversary of Lady Hardinge Medical College (Delhi).
- Grand Buddhist festival Naropa which occurs in every 12 years, started at 17th century Hemis Monastery in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir.
- Gujarat government signed MoU with Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airport Authority of India (AAI) to develop 11 small airports and airstrips under Centre’s Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) to boost regional air connectivity in State.
- Gujarat became third State after Jharkhand and Maharashtra to have signed such agreement under Centre’s Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS).
- Gumthala Garhu Village near Pehowa in Kurukshetra district in Haryana became the first Wifi hotspot village in Haryana.
- Haryana Government announced Charkhi Dadri as 22nd district. At present, it is part of state’s largest district - Bhiwani.
- Health Ministry recently launched “Leprosy Case Detection Campaign (LCDC)” to eradicate leprosy from India.
- Health Ministry will launch Mission Parivar Vikas in 145 districts of 8 States, to improve family planning services. Aim is to reach replacement level fertility goals of 2.1 by 2025. States are - Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Assam.
- Himachal Pradesh cabinet amended Hydropower Policy 2006 in respect to transfer of shares to non-Himachalis. Now Himachalis can sell or transfer 49% equity shares to non-Himachalis at any stage after allotment of projects upto 2 MW capacity and full disinvestment after two years of commissioning of projects.
- Himachal Pradesh government notified guidelines for transparent auction and scientific mining and hiked penalty for offences under mining act. Imprisonment up to two years or fine up to 25000 rupees or both has been made for those involved in illegal mining of minerals.
- Himachal Pradesh government signed MoU with Singapore government for developing a smart integrated township in Jathiadevi near Shimla airport.
- Home Minister Rajnath Singh laid Foundation Stone for construction of Infosys – Red Cross Sarai today at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh.
- India declared itself free from highly contagious Avian Influenza (H5N1) or bird flu and has notified it to World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
- Indian Railways launched ‘Yatri Mitra Sewa’, to make rail travel comfortable for elderly, differently-abled and ailing travellers.
- Indias first international conference on cooking gas held in Bhubaneswar (Odisha).
- India’s largest civilian research and development agency Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) completed its platinum jubilee (75 years of operations). CSIR became operational on 26 September 1942.
- Jammu and Kashmir government launched Scooty for College Girls Scheme. As per the scheme, eligibility for a scooty is based on minimum percentage and annual family income of 65 % and Rs.4 lakh respectively. College going girl students will be given 50 % subsidy on purchase of a Scooty.
- Karnataka State Wildlife Board declared Ankasamudra tank in Hagari Bommanahalli taluk as a bird conservation reserve. This is first bird conservation reserve declared in the entire Hyderabad-Karnataka region.
- Minister of Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal laid Foundation Stone of Ludhiana Mega Food Park., to be developed at cost of 117 crores over an area of 100 acres.
- Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airports Authority of India signed MOU with Puducherry Government for Regional Connectivity Scheme.
- RCS is key component of the National Civil Aviation Policy and would be in operation for 10 years, providing connectivity to un-served and under-served airports of country.
- Fare for a 1 hour journey of appx. 500 km on a fixed wing aircraft or for a 30 minute journey on a helicopter would now be capped at Rs. 2,500.
- Puducherry is first Union Territory to have signed RCS. Before Puducherry, states of Gujarat, Jharkhand and Maharashtra have signed this agreement.
- Ministry of Civil Aviation approved 4 new airport projects - 3 in Andhra Pradesh (Bhogapuram, Dagadarthi (Nellore) and Orvakallu (Kurnool)) and Kothagudem in Telengana.
- Ministry of Civil Aviation prohibited use of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 smartphone on board an aircraft. This has been done in light of several incidents globally, involving battery of Samsung Galaxy Note 7.
- Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj released Swachh Survekshan for rural India. A total of 22 hill districts and 53 plain areas were assessed under Gramin Swachh Survekshan launched in May 2016.
- Mandi was judged as cleanest district in Hills category and Sindhudurg as cleanest in Plains category.
- Ministry commissioned Quality Council of India (QCI) to carry out assessment.
- Each district has been judged on four distinct parameters.
- Households having access to safe toilets and using them (toilet usage, water accessibility, safe disposal of waste) (40%)
- Households having no litter around (30%)
- Public places with no litter in the surrounding (10%)
- Households having no stagnant wastewater around (20%)
- Overall Ranking - Swachh Survekshan GraminCategoryRankDistrictStateCleanliness ScoreHills1MandiHimachal Pradesh98.4Hills2West SikkimSikkim96.4Hills3ShimlaHimachal Pradesh94.1Plains1SindhudurgMaharashtra96.8Plains2NadiaWest Bengal95.0Plains3SataraMaharashtra92.9
- Ministry of External affairs (MEA) launched a registration module madad.gov.in for Indian students studying abroad so they could be reached in case of emergency.
- Ministry of Home Affairs approved use of Pelargonic Acid Vanillyl Amide (PAVA) shells as an alternative to pellet guns for crowd controlling in Jammu and Kashmir. PAVA sheels also called Nonivamide are chilli-filled grenades. They are less lethal compared to pellet guns and do not cause physical injury.
- Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas launched Gas4India campaign, aimed at promoting use of natural gas in the country.
- Ministry of Urban Development shortlisted 27 cities from 12 States in list of 3rd batch of Smart Cities Mission. These cities were shortlisted based on scores obtained in latest round of the Smart City Challenge competition in which total 63 cities had participated. Competition was topped by Amritsar in Punjab. With 5 cities, Maharashtra has the highest number of cities.
- Mobile phone Maker Gionee signed MoU with Haryana government to set up manufacturing hub with investment of Rs 500 crore (later would be increased to 1,500 crores).
- NHPC (Natinal Hydro Power Corporation) signed pact with BHEL for renovation of 180 MW Baira Siul power station in Himachal Pradesh.
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for first time successfully sequenced DNA in space, on International Space Station (ISS). The genome sequencing was undertaken by astronaut Kate Rubins as part of Biomolecule Sequencer experiment .
- The experiments were undertaken by using commercially available DNA sequencing device called MinION on samples of mouse, virus and bacteria DNA.
- This experiment provides a way to sequence DNA in space which can help astronauts to diagnose an illness.
- National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) approved Rs. 10000 crore Ken-Betwa river interlinking project. It is India’s first inter-State river interlinking project (Uttar Pradesh - Madhya Pradesh). Main feature of this project is a 230-km long canal and a series of barrages and dams (Makodia and Dhaudhan dams) connecting Ken and Betwa rivers. It will irrigate 3.5 lakh hectares in Madhya Pradesh and 14,000 hectares of Uttar Pradesh, in Bundelkhand.
- National Mission on Bioeconomy launched in Shillong (Meghalaya) by Institute of Bio-resources and Sustainable Development (IBSD) under Ministry of Science and Technology. The purpose of the mission is to boost rural economy by utilizing bio-resources.
- Noted Yog Guru and founder of Patanjali group Baba Ramdev laid foundation stone of Patanjali Mega Food and Herbal Park in Outskirts of Nagpur.
- Nuakhai, agrarian mass festival of Kosali people celebrated in western Odisha to welcome new rice of the season. Every year, the festival is observed on panchami tithi, the day after Ganesh Chaturthi.
- Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik announced to share his thoughts on different issues through radio for 10 minutes every month, throughBiju Goan Radio.
- Odisha Government launched Biju Kanya Ratna Yojana (BKRY) for improving Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) and Child Sex Ratio (CSR) in the three districts - Ganjam, Dhenkanal and Angul.
- Odisha government launched pension scheme for construction workers, which will benefit 25 lakh beneficiaries.
- Construction workers above 60 years will get pension of Rs 300 / month while workers above 80 years will get pension of 500 / month.
- Earlier, Odisha government launched Mahaprayan scheme for taking bodies from hospital to deceased’s house and Biju Kanya Ratna scheme that aims to improve child sex ratio.
- Odisha government signed 15 year lease agreement with Falcon Marine Exports for operation of Jagatjore Shrimp Culture Project in coastal Kendrapara sddistrict. It will fetch revenue of 13 crore rupees to government.
- Paryavaran Bhawan located in CGO Complex (New Delhi) has been renamed as Pandit Deendayal Antyodaya Bhawan, highlighting Antyodaya Philosophy of Pandit Deendayal who advocated upliftment of the poorest strata of the Society.
- Patna High Court quashed Bihar government's decision to complete banning liquor in the state, saying that its is ultra vires to Constitution (beyond state government's legal authority). Liquor ban law was made more stringent after Assembly passed Bihar Excise and Prohibition Bill that stated all adult members of family could be arrested for 7 years if liquor was found stored in house.
- Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi launched ‘Shramdaan movement’ as part of Swachh Bharat and Swachh Puducherry initiative.
- Rajasthan High Court become Fourth State to provide e-Stamp facility, after Delhi, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh.
- Rajasthan became first Indian state to adopt centre’s Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) in all its urban local bodies (ULB). Almost 5 lakh conventional street lights have been replaced with LED street lights across the state.
- Rajasthan’s education department partnered with USA based technology firm Cisco to promote digital learning across state using virtual digital room solutions.
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cancelled certificate of registration of 5 non-banking financial companies - Simco Consultants, Lunkad Securities, Rajvir Marketing and Investments and Crystal Investments and Shri Jaya Investments Agency.
- Certificates were cancelled in exercise of the powers conferred on it under Section 45-IA (6) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
- Software major Infosys entered into a joint venture (JV) with Saudi Prerogative Company to offer IT services in middle eastern country, with 70% of JV owned by Infosys.
- Southern state of Kerala entered into joint venture agreement with Railways for rail projects in state under 51:49 equity partnership.
- Telangana government signed MoU with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to promote education. ISRO will help to improve services of Telangana’s educational channel ‘Mana TV’ by using Satcom.
- To boost tourism in State of Jammu & Kashmir, Government extended facility to travel by any airlines to visit Jammu & Kashmir on LTC (Leave Travel Concession), under Special Dispensation Scheme for Central Government employees, for upto September 2018.
- Uttar Pradesh government appointed Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui as brand ambassador of its flagship programme 'Samajwadi Kisan Beema Yojana'. Scheme provides cashless treatment upto Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs one lakh for organ transplant.
- Water Resources Ministry signed MoU with Agriculture Ministry for speedy implementation of Namami Gange programme, by encouraging farmers of over 5,000 villages along Ganga River to take up organic farming to curb pollution caused by chemical fertilisers.
- West Bengal government announced to install monorail from Budge Budge in South 24-Parganas to Ruby Connector in Kolkata, a 14-kilometre-long monorail route. It will cost 4216 crore rupees.
- 105-year-old Kunwar Bai has been chosen as the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ mascot, after she felicitated by PM Shri Narendra Modi for building toilet by selling off her goats.
- Alexander Tsybulsky, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Russian visited India for 4thMeeting of the India Russia Working group on Priority Investment Projects.
- Australia's oldest surviving Test cricketer, Len Maddocks passed away.
- Bangladesh Government executed Jamaat-e-Islami leader and media tycoon Mir Quasem Ali for war crimes committed during country's 1971 Liberation War.
- Bangladesh noted writer Syed Shamsul Haq passed away.
- Crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will be chief guest for 68th Republic Day celebrations on 26 January 2017.
- First President of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov passed away.
- Former Australian cricketer and Australian rules football player, Max Walker passed away.
- Former union minister and senior BJP leader Arif Beg passed away.
- Government removed Sushil Muhnot from post of Chairman and Managing Director of Bank of Maharashtra.
- India Post released a commemorative stamp to honour Mother Teresa’s canonization.
- James Gordon Carr, Minister of Natural Resources of Canada visited India for participating in 3rd India-Canada Energy Dialogue.
- Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (I/C) for Culture & Tourism visited Australia and attended Confluence Festival of India in Australia. He also received three ancient artefacts stolen and smuggled out of India and acquired by National Gallery of Australia - Seated Buddha, Goddess Pratyangira and Worshippers of Buddha.
- Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, RadhaMohan Singh visited Israel.
- Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, President of Afghanistan visited India.
- Mother Teresa, a Roman Catholic religious sister and missionary has been proclaimed a Saint by Pope Francis in a ceremony at the Vatican.
- Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda visited India. MOUs signed are -
- Credit line agreement - India will provide US 750 million dollars to Nepal for post-earthquake reconstruction projects. It is in addition to 1 Billion USD Loan agreement signed between Government of Nepal and EXIM Bank of India in November 2014.
- MoU for Upgradation and Improvement of Road Infrastructure in Terai Area of Nepal.
- Nepalese Home Secretary Lok Darshan Regmi visited India.
- Noted Assamese poet and author Nalinidhar Bhattacharyya passed away.
- Noted Golf Player Arnold Palmer (USA) passed away. He was known as the king of golf and was part of “The Big Three” in golf during 1960s, along with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.
- Noted Oscar-winning USA director Curtis Hanson Passed away.
- Noted USA playwright Edward Albee passed away.
- Noted Urdu poet, novelist and short story writer Kashmiri Lal Zakir passed away.
- Shimon Peres, Former President of Israel passed away.
- Steel Minister Birender Singh visited United Kingdom and Luxembourg.
- Scientists from Louisiana State University discovered a new Ghost Snake Species of elusive, pale grey reptiles dwelling at Ankarana National Park in Madagascar. It is named as Madagascarophis lolo.
- A team of scientists art Australian University of Wollongong has discovered world's oldest stromatolite fossils about 3.7 billion years old in worlds oldest sedimentary rocks in Isua Greenstone Belt along edge of Greenland's icecap.
- According to the scientists and wildlife conservationists, Gangetic river dolphins (National Aquatic Animal of India) are at threat with decvelopment of National Waterways.
- River dolphins are found in Ganga and Brahmaputra and its tributaries. It has been declared endangered species and is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Fresh water dolphins rely on bio-sonar method to move around as they are alomst blind.
- CSIR-CEERI launched Handheld GPS-Enabled Ksheer Tester Tool on occasion of its 64th Foundation Day. It will enable people to tackle a national level health hazard due to adulteration in milk.
- Human Resource Development Minister Praksh Javadekar launched PARAM-ISHAN supercomputer at IIT Guwahati. It is fastest and most powerful computer in northeastern, eastern and southern regions.
- ISRO successfully Launched advanced weather satellite SCATSAT-1 and 7 other co-passenger satellites on board the PSLV C35.
- 371-kg SCATSAT-1 meant for ocean and weather related studies. This was placed into a 730-km polar sun synchronous orbit.
- Other seven satellites, including 3 from Algeria and 1 each from the US and Canada.
- It was ISRO’s longest mission spread over 2 hours and 15 minutes.
- Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) students created Pratham, a 10 KG microsatellite aimed at total electron count of the ionosphere. It will be launched by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
- Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) successfully launched advanced weather satellite INSAT-3DR, on board of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F05). It was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
- It was seventh successful mission this year, including IRNSS series and scramjet propulsion mission.
- INSAT-3DR weighs 2,211-kg and will supplement services of INSAT-3D launched from French Guiana in July 2013. It has designed mission life of ten years.
- It will provide service continuity to earlier meteorological missions and further augment the capability to provide various meteorological, search and rescue services.
- Other satellittes Include Pratham - 10-kg satellite developed by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay. It will be used to study the total electron count in space with a resolution of 1km x 1km location grid.
- Indian researchers made major discovery by understanding mechanisms by which premature births (between 28 and 32 weeks of gestation) occur (Normally a pregnancy lasts about 40 weeks).
- India with 35% accounts for the highest burden of preterm births in the world.
- Indian researchers have found that gram-positive Group B Streptococcus (GBS) bacteria that produce small balloons called membrane vesicles. These small balloons contain toxins that kill both foetal and maternal cells and destroy the collagen that binds the cells together and call for a preterm birth.
- India’s first LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) laboratory will be set up in Aundh in Hingoli district of Maharashtra. It will be 3rd such laboratory in world and first outside USA . The existing two laboratories are located in Hanford, Washington and in Livingston, Louisiana.
- India’s largest pharmaceutical company Sun Pharma signed deal with International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) for clinical development Cissampelos pariera (Cipa), India’s first vaccine (drug) for treatment of dengue.
- Invasive species (Dangerous) of Giant African Land Snail (GALS) sighted in Goa. It is among world’s 100 most invasive species as listed by International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural resources (IUCN).
- Its threats include harm to crops and local flora, displacing local land snails species (Xetatle Konge) and may cause brain fever (eosinophilic meningitis) in humans.
- NASA’s Cassini spacecraft entered in the final year of its voyage to saturn, beginning November 30, 2016 Cassini will make the closest-ever observations of Saturn.
- Cassini spacecraft has been studying Saturn, its rings and moons for over 12 years.
- New species of a lizard discovered in Maharashtra, named as Cyrtodactylus Varadgirii or Giri’s Geckoella after a Bengaluru-based scientist Varad Giri. It has been discovered 130 years after last such gecko was discovered.
- Researchers from Pune (Maharashtra) produced high-quality carbon from sugarcane waste within minutes by using a low power microwave system. They used a cost-effective and quick process to convert sugarcane bagasse into anode-grade porous, conducting, activated carbon material for use in Li-ion batteries. The process will bring down the time to get anode-grade carbon dramatically. Thus, it will help to reduce electrical energy input substantially.
- Scientists discovered a new species of Pika (a mammal belonging to the rabbit and hare family) in Himalayas in Sikkim. It has been identified as ‘Ochotona sikimaria’.
- Scientists discovered a new species of pterosaur from early Jurassic period in the Patagonia region of South America, named asAllkauren koi.
- USA Scientists grown 3 dimensional lungs in lab, using stem cells. The lungs were created by coating tiny gel beads with lung-derived stem cells and then allowing them to self-assemble into the shapes of the air sacs found in human lungs. Laboratory-grown 3D lungs can be used to study diseases including Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) which has been difficult to study using conventional methods. IPF is a chronic lung disease makes lungs thick and stiff.
- USA's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched unmanned OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to collect samples from an asteroid 101955 Bennu and return to Earth in 2023, with atleast 60 grams of debris and dirt from asteroid 101955 Bennu.
- OSIRIS-Rex stands for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer. NASA scientists feel that the Bennu asteroid hold clues to the origin of the solar system and the source of water and organic molecules found on Earth.
- World’s first robotic operation inside the human eye has successfully performed by British surgeons.
- World’s first three-parent baby boy was born in Mexico to a Jordanian couple with help a controversial new fertility technique that incorporates DNA from three people in the embryo. The ‘three-parent’ technique also known as Mitochondrial donation (Mitochondrial Replacement Therapy) allows parents with rare genetic mutations to have healthy babies.
- 12th edition of Asia’s oldest and world’s 3rd toughest mountain biking (MTB) race started from Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) with 67 participants from 14 countries. Total 650 kilometers would be covered by the participants during their journey.
- 15th Summer Paralympic Games 2016 Concluded in Rio (Brazil) -
- Stats -
- It was 15th Paralympic Games, continuing since 1960.
- Motto of Rio Paralympics 2016 - A New World.
- Tom is official mascot of 2016 Summer Paralympics (while Vinicius is official mascot of 2016 Summer Olympics)
- 4342 Athletes participated in 528 events in 22 sports with 159 Nations participating.
- India at 2016 Rio Paralympic Games -
- India sent delegation of 19 athletes at Rio Paralympics.
- India won 4 Medals -
- Mariyappan Thangavelu (Tamilnadu) - Gold in Men's High Jump
- Devendra Jhajharia (Rajasthan) - Gold in Men's Javelin Throw
- Deepa Malik (Haryana) - Silver in Women's Shot Put
- Varun Singh Bhati (Uttar Pradesh) - Bronze in Men's High Jump
- Major Facts of 2016 Rio Paralympic Games
- Medal Tally (Top 10 Nations) -
Rank NPC Gold Silver Bronze Total 1 China (CHN) 107 81 51 239 2 Great Britain (GBR) 64 39 44 147 3 Ukraine (UKR) 41 37 39 117 4 United States (USA) 40 44 31 115 5 Australia (AUS) 22 30 29 81 6 Germany (GER) 18 25 14 57 7 Netherlands (NED) 17 19 26 62 8 Brazil (BRA) 14 29 29 72 9 Italy (ITA) 10 14 15 39 10 Poland (POL) 9 18 12 39
- India ranked 43rd with 4 Medals.
- Medal Tally (Top 10 Nations) -
- Stats -
- 15th Summer Paralympic Games began at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Summer Paralympic Games will conclude on 18 September 2016. 4,300 athletes from over 160 countries are participating.
- 2016 Brazil Open Grand Prix Badminton -
- Men's Singles - Zulfadli Zulkiffli (Malaysia)
- Women's Singles - Beatriz Corrales (Spain)
- Men's Doubles - Michael Fuchs & Fabian Holzer (Germany)
- Women's Singles - Barbara Bellenberg & Eva Janssens (Germany)
- Mixed Doubles - Pranaav Jerry Chopra & N. Sikki Reddy (India)
- 2016 Track Asia Cup concluded in New Delhi. Hong Kong topped table with 18 medals (11 Gold) and India ended at second position with 16 medals (5 gold).
- 5th Asian Beach Games held in Danang (Vietnam),
- India sent a contingent of 208 members for these games.
- Indian women’s beach kabaddi team won gold by defeating Thailand and Shweta Ramdas More won gold in women's 48kg-52kg.
- India stayed 16th with total 24 medals (G - 2, S - 4, B - 18).
- Medal Table -
Rank NOC Gold Silver Bronze Total 1 Vietnam (VIE) 52 44 43 139 2 Thailand (THA) 36 24 30 90 3 China (CHN) 12 18 19 49 4 Iran (IRI) 9 6 6 21 5 Mongolia (MGL) 7 4 8 19 6 Cambodia (CAM) 6 6 9 21 7 Qatar (QAT) 5 1 1 7 8 Jordan (JOR) 4 4 5 13 9 United Arab Emirates (UAE) 4 2 3 9 10 Malaysia (MAS) 3 6 5 14
- Army Green won 2016 Durand Cup Football Title by defeating Neroca FC, final played in New Delhi.
- Australia Made Highest T20 International Score of 263 aganst Srilanka.
- Bangladesh named former Sri Lankan cricketer Thilan Samaraweera as batting consultant.
- Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd won Obaidullah Khan Heritage Cup Hockey Tournament by defeating Railways.
- Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) tied up with financial services firm Janalakshmi Financial Services (Jana) as an associate sponsor. The agreement also gives Janalakshmi benefits of prominence in stadium branding and on-ground advertising for 68 matches in three years.
- East Bengal FC won Calcutta Football League (CFL) for seventh consecutive time, defeating Mohammedan Sporting Club.
- England Made Highest ODI Score of 444 aganst Pakistan.
- First BRICS U-17 Football Tournament will be held in Goa in October 2016.
- Former Indian Fasdt Bowler Zaheer Khan inducted as an Honorary Life Member of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in England. He is the third Indian player to receive this distinction this year after Virender Sehwag and Anjum Chopra.
- Government suspended talks on India-Pakistan Indus Waters Treaty, in wake of Uri Terrorist attacks on Indian Army that killed our 19 Troops. Key Highlights are -
- Suspend talks on the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC), the dispute redressal mechanism until terrorism stops.
- Build more hydropower projects on western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) to exploit full potential.
- Expedite construction of Pakal Dul, Sawalkot, Bursar dams in Jammu and Kashmir.
- Use 20% of river water allocated under treaty for Jammu and Kashmir farmers.
- About Indus Waters Treaty -
- IWT is a water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan, signed by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and President of Pakistan Ayub Khan in Karachi on September 19, 1960. It was brokered by World Bank.
- Treaty deals with sharing of water of 6 rivers — Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum. As per treaty, control over three eastern rivers - Ravi, Beas and Sutlej was given to India. While control over three western rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab was given to Pakistan.
- It allows India to use only 20% of water of Indus river for irrigation, power generation and transport.
- It is most successful water treaty in world.
- ISSF Junior World Cup for pistol, rifle and shotgun held in Gabala, Azerbaijan. Young Indian shooter Subhankar Pramanick has won gold medal in 50-metre rifle prone event.
- India Blue won inaugural day/night 2016-17 Duleep Trophy Cricket tournament by defeating India Red. It was 55th season of Duleep Trophy and was played with a pink ball.
- India will host 2016 Track Asia Cup cycling competition in New Delhi.
- India won Its Historic 500th test match against New Zealand, played in Green Park (Kanpur).
- India won Under-18 Men’s hockey Asia Cup by defeating Bangladesh.
- Indian Badminton Player Rituparna Das won Polish Open after defeating Rasika Raje.
- Indian Railways won MCC Murugappa Gold Cup Hockey Tournament 2016 by defeatig Indian Oil Corporation.
- Indian Table Tennis Player Sathiyan Gnanasekaran won Belgium Open title after defeating Belgium's Nuytinck Cedric.
- Indian Table Tennis Player Sathiyan Gnanasekaran won men’s singles title of Belgium Open by defeating Nuytinck Cedric.
- India’s lone individual Olympic gold medallist, Abhinav Bindra officially announced his retirement from shooting.
- India’s squash player Velavan Senthilkumar won Under-19 Asian Junior Individual squash championship in Malaysia, by defeating Jordan’s Mohammad Al-Sarraj.
- Javelin thrower Annu Rani broke her own national record and became first Indian woman to cross 60m mark durin 56th Open National Athletics Championships in Lucknow.
- MS Dhoni named captain of the Wisden's all-time India Test XI team.
- Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg from Germany has won the 2016 Italian Grand Prix of Formula One.
- 2016 Formula One season -
- Total 21 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2016. Calendar is -
Grand Prix Date Winner Australia 20 March Nico Rosberg (Germany) Baharain 3 April Nico Rosberg (Germany) China 17 April Nico Rosberg (Germany) Russia 1 May Nico Rosberg (Germany) Spain 15 May Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Monaco 29 May Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Canada 12 June Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Europe 19 June Nico Rosberg (Germany) Austria 3 July Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Britain 10 July Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Hungary 24 July Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Germany 31 July Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Belgium 28 August Nico Rosberg (Germany) Italy 4 September Nico Rosberg (Germany) Singapore 18 September Malaysia 2 October Japan 9 October USA 23 October Mexico 30 October Brazil 13 November Abu Dhabi 27 November
- Total 21 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2016. Calendar is -
- 2016 Formula One season -
- Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg from Germany has won the 2016 Singapore Grand Prix of Formula One.
- 2016 Formula One season -
- Total 21 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2016. Calendar is -
Grand Prix Date Winner Australia 20 March Nico Rosberg (Germany) Baharain 3 April Nico Rosberg (Germany) China 17 April Nico Rosberg (Germany) Russia 1 May Nico Rosberg (Germany) Spain 15 May Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Monaco 29 May Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Canada 12 June Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Europe 19 June Nico Rosberg (Germany) Austria 3 July Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Britain 10 July Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Hungary 24 July Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Germany 31 July Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Belgium 28 August Nico Rosberg (Germany) Italy 4 September Nico Rosberg (Germany) Singapore 18 September Nico Rosberg (Germany) Malaysia 2 October Japan 9 October USA 23 October Mexico 30 October Brazil 13 November Abu Dhabi 27 November
- Total 21 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2016. Calendar is -
- 2016 Formula One season -
- NITI Aayog (think tank of government), has formed a short term and medium to long term action plan to help India achieve 50 medals in 2024 summer Olympics.
- Olympic Council of Asia declared that 2026 Asian Games will be hosted by Japan.
- 2018 Asian Games will be hosted by Indonesia and 2022 edition will be held in Chinese city of Hangzhou.
- Ritu announced her retirement from Indian women's hockey team.
- Sania Mirza and her Czech partner Barbora Strycova won 2016 Toray Pan Pacific Open trophy in women’s doubles event in Tokyo (Japan).
- Services emerged as overall champions at 56th Atheletics Open Nationals held in Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh).
- Sikkim’s Sushmita Rai won bronze medal at World Martial Arts Masterships 2016 in South Korea. Csompetition is considered Olympics for martial arts with 2073 participants from 87 countries.
- Social Justice & Empowerment Minister Thawaarchand Gehlot announced Cash awards of Rs 90 lakhs announced for Rio Paralympics 2016 Medal Winners under Awareness Generation and Publicity (AGP) scheme -
- Gold medalists Mariyappan Thangavelu and Devendra Jhajharia awarded Rs 30 lakh cash prize each.
- Silver medallist Deepa Malik gets 20 lakh and Varun Singh Bhati gets 10 lakh for winning bronze.
- Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin became fastest Indian and second overall to take 200 Test wickets, reaching it in his 37th Test against New Zealand.
- Sports Authority of India (SAI) and All India Football Federation (AIFF) jointly launched online portal for its Global Scouting Programme (GSP), aimed at enabling Indians living abroad to play in India’s team in FIFA under-17 world cup scheduled in 2017 in India.
- Sriram Balaji (Tamilnadu) won $10,000 ITF mens Futures tennis held in Thailand by defeatng top seed Seong Chan Hong of Korea.
- St Petersburg Men's Tennis Open -
- Singles - Alexander Zverev (Germany)
- Doubles - Dominic Inglot (United Kingdom ) and Henri Kontinen (Finland)
- US Open Tennis 2016 Winners -
- Mens' Singles - Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) defeated Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
- Women' Singles - Angelique Kerber (Germany) defeated Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic)
- Men's Doubles - Jamie Murray (United Kingdom) and Bruno Soares (Brazil) defeated Pablo Carreño Busta and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain.
- Women' Doubles - Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) and Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) defeated Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic of France
- Mixed Doubles - Laura Siegemund (Germany ) / Mate Pavic (Croatia) defeated Coco Vandeweghe and Rajeev Ram of USA.
- USA Tennis Player Serena Williams created history by setting a record of most number of Grand Slam matches wins with her 308th win. She left past Roger Federer's record of 307 Grand Slam Match wins.
- World Deaf Shooting Championships held in in Kazan, Russia. India’s Priyesha Deshmukh won a bronze medal in 10 metres air rifle category.
- World's oldest cricketer, Lindsay Tuckett (South African) passed away.
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