Current Affairs Current Affairs - 08 September 2017

General Affairs

Need To Cut Delays In Supply Of Weapons To CRPF: Rajnath Singh

Home Minister Rajnath Singh today lamented the "delay" in supply of weapons and critical equipment to the CRPF by the defence ministry and said there was a need to develop a framework involving defence PSUs to address the issue.

Mr Singh also called upon all defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) to focus on 100 per cent indigenisation of military equipment and platforms and effectively implement the Make in India initiative in defence production to bring down import dependence.

Welcoming the appointment of Nirmala Sitharaman as defence minister, Mr Singh exuded confidence that the key ministry will get "new energy and strength" under her as women symbolise "shakti" (strength).

Speaking at an event in DRDO, where equipment built by several DPSUs were handed over to the paramilitary CRPF, the home minister said procurement of weapons and other systems for paramilitary forces is largely handled by the defence ministry and delays in their supplies often affect them.

Ms Sitharaman was also present on the occasion, the first event she attended as the defence minister.

"For the CRPF, I have seen that the procurement of equipment is done by the defence ministry. The CRPF does not get the priority it should. "There has been a delay in supply of equipment and weapons to them. There is a need to think over it as due to the delay, they suffer. I think a framework for it has to be developed," Mr Singh said.

Number Of Terror Camps Across Line Of Control Has Gone Up: Army Commander

The number of terror camps and launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir have gone up and around 475 terrorists are waiting to sneak into the Indian side, northern Army commander Lt Gen Devraj Anbu said today.

Internally, he said the NIA raids on separatists and the killing of top terrorist leaders by security forces have helped in improving security situation in Kashmir.

He said 144 terrorists have been killed in the state so far this year and the situation is "well under control".

Gen Anbu said there have been a large number of infiltration attempts along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir this year but "very less" have been successful.

"We cannot tell you the exact number of the militants. But the militants, who are waiting to cross over to this side (via the LoC from PoK) are nearly 250 in north Kashmir and around 225 in south of Pir Panjal (Jammu region)," said the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GoC-in-C) of Northern Command.

He was responding to questions from journalists after presenting gallantry and distinguished services medals to 103 army officers and jawans and certificates of appreciation to 31 units apart from 31 civilians at an investiture ceremony at the Northern Command headquarters here.

Gen Anbu said the security situation along the LoC and in the hinterland in well under control.

"We are firmly in control of the situation along the LoC... (the number of) launching pads and terrorist camps along LoC has increased as compared to the previous years," he said.

"While infiltration attempts have increased, the success to infiltrate has been much less than previous years despite large number of infiltration attempts. That is because of our robust counter-infiltration grid that we have on LoC," he said.

"The (number of) militants coming to this side have decreased to a large extent this year," Gen Anbu said.

According to Multi Agency Centre (MAC) of intelligence gathering, the number of terrorists who have managed to infiltrate is 75 during the last eight months, he said, adding, "But according to our assessment, it is 45 to 50."

He said the Army has created a "strong deterrence" at the LoC so that terrorists do not enter the Indian side.

"While attempts are more, we are preventing them from entering this side, whether in Kashmir valley or Jammu region," the Army commander said.

About the input of a group of terrorists having sneaked in via Samba, he said all agencies are closely watching that. "If it manifests somewhere, we will get to know," he added.

"The situation along the LoC and in hinterland is under control," he said.

He said the NIA raids aimed at choking funding to separatists, "which has got direct link to terrorism in Kashmir, compliments the security operations" of forces.

"Administration (in J&K) is good. We have been able to eliminate terrorist leaders and it is complimented by the choking of funds by NIA raids. All this will have a deterring effect on the youth who are likely to become part of agitation dynamics. It has come down drastically," he said.

"What was in November-December last year and what is now - there are very few incidents that take place. There is now a token number of persons who are on the ground as they have realized (futility of terrorism). It is only now handful people who are into this," he added.

Regarding the issue of protests, he said, "Agitational dynamics does not mean that each and every person comes to streets and their heart and soul is into it. There is an upward curve. The government in power and security forces get to top of it."

The Army commander said elimination of the leadership of terrorists has brought down incidents and recruitment of the local terrorists.

"It (local recruitment) happens when the terrorists have an upper hand. The youngsters in the age group of 16 to 18 get moulded by the terrorists and separatists to join the ranks," he added.

"This is what we need to look at. The number of the locals militants joining ranks have been constant in last year years including this year," he said.

About the militancy situation in the hinterland, Gen Anbu said, "It is improving. Those (militants) who are operating in the hinterland are foreign terrorists in north Kashmir and south Kashmir has presence of local terrorists more and foreign terrorists are lesser."

He said the security forces are trying to dominate the south Kashmir region.

"We conduct searches keeping in mind that we do not cause any inconvenience to local people. That is where we get information from and warn them in advance. We conduct operations and they (operations) are clean. After the operation, we keep interacting with people so that they are on our side. This has had very good effect in south Kashmir," Gen Anbu said.

"We have killed 100 militants in the past four months. A total of 144 militants have been killed so far (in Kashmir this year)," he said.

"The effect of what is happening now will menifest in a couple of months from now. But there is decrease in local youth getting recruited," he added.

The Army commander strongly batted for reaching out to the youth of Kashmir.

"The issue that needs attention is that you need to engage the youth and the state government and everybody has to play a part in ensuring employment generation and positive security environment is created by the security forces and it will get controlled," Gen Anbu said.

Army commander said no footprint of terrorists has been seen in the Jammu region.

"There is no militant presence in Jammu region. May be there will one odd such report and that too due to any infiltration. But there is no resident terrorist or presence of foreign terrorist in Jammu region," he said in reply to a question with regard to presence of the militants in the region.

Our Differences Should Not Go Out Of Control: China On Ties With India

China and India should shed their mindset of regarding each other as rivals or threats and make sure that their differences do not go out of control, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said today.

In his first comments on India-China ties after this week's meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, Mr Wang said bilateral relations were "affected and undermined" during the past few months "for clear reasons".

Without mentioning the 73-day standoff between the militaries of the two countries at Doklam, Mr Wang said, "going forward, the two sides need to work together to follow-up on the consensus reached by the two leaders and make sure bilateral relations stay on track."

Speaking to the media after his talks with Nepalese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara, Mr Wang said the China-India relationship "should not be derailed".

"Both the countries should seek harmonious relations and win-win cooperation which is the natural choice and the right choice" for both, Mr Wang said.

"There should be no confrontation. We need to build strategic mutual trust and the two sides need to work to really look at each other as cooperative partners rather than be driven by an old-fashioned mindset and regard each other as rivals or threats," he said.

Both the countries should also "make sure that differences do not go out of control", Mr Wang said.

"Both sides need to remain committed to the five principles of peaceful coexistence and work together to properly handle disputes and also work together to maintain tranquillity in the border areas," he said.

After the end of the Doklam standoff, Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi had a positive meeting at Xiamen.

Putting behind the standoff, India and China had agreed to move forward in their ties with President Xi telling Prime Minister Modi that he wants to put the relationship on the "right track".

Goods Train Derails In Khandala; 3rd Train Accident In A Day

Two wagons of a goods train derailed near Khandala in Maharashtra, the third train accident reported in the country today, a Central Railway spokesperson said.

Two wagons of the train derailed at around 3:55 pm, even as the railways was dealing with two derailments which happened earlier in the day.

"Two wagons of the goods trains derailed in Khandala this afternoon. We are in the process of clearing the tracks," said Sunil Udasi, Chief Public Relations Officer, Central Railway.

This is the third case of derailment today.

Earlier, seven coaches of Jabalpur-bound Shaktipunj Express jumped the rails near the Obra Dam station in Sonbhadra district in Uttar Pradesh at around 6:25 am. Further, the engine and power car of the Ranchi-Delhi Rajdhani Express derailed near Minto Bridge in Delhi at around 11:45 am.

Switch To Clean Vehicles Or Be Bulldozed: Nitin Gadkari To Automakers

Carmakers producing vehicles that run on traditional fuel, take note -- Union minister Nitin Gadkari has a clear message: Go for alternative fuel, else he will not mind "bulldozing" them in his bid to check pollution and imports.

According to the road transport and highways minister, a Cabinet note on electric vehicles is ready that will take care of charging stations.

"We should move towards alternative fuel... I am going to do this, whether you like it or not. And I am not going to ask you. I will bulldoze it. For pollution, for imports, my ideas are crystal clear... The government has a crystal-clear policy to reduce imports and curb pollution," Mr Gadkari said at SIAM's annual convention here.

He held out a veiled warning, saying those supporting the government will have an advantage and those busy "minting money" will be in trouble, asking them not to approach the government later on the ground that they have huge stock of vehicles that do not run on alternative fuel.

"Already, we are in the process of a Cabinet note where we are going to plan charging stations... It is in the last stage and will be done as early as possible," he disclosed, adding that the government will soon bring in a policy on electric vehicles.

Cautioning against any dilly-dallying tactics, he said the future is not of petrol and diesel, but of alternative fuel.

"I urge you (carmakers) politely to do research. First, when I urged you for electric vehicles, you said battery is costly. I coaxed you to start at least. Now, the batteries cost 40 per cent less. And if you start now, cost will be reduced further on mass production. Teething trouble is everywhere," he explained.

The minister is clear that electric cars, buses, taxis and bikes are the future and India should move forward in this direction.

He sought to put the entire issue in perspective, saying imports and pollution are the twin problems as India's import bill stood at a huge Rs. 7 lakh crore per annum, a big drag on the economy.

"Now, the government has decided to start 15 industries for second generation ethanol. Ethanol can easily be produced from agro-based cotton straw, wheat straw, rice straw, bagass and bamboo. Alternative fuel is import substitute, cost effective and pollution free," Mr Gadkari added.

He promised that the proposed vehicle scrapping policy stuck due to GST issues will be sorted out soon.

"Now, the GST Council is formed. We are preparing the note. I am going to the finance minister and after that, we will move this Cabinet note. In the GST Council, we will present the note and take opinion of stakeholders. There are some concessions we are expecting from state governments," the minister said.

The government is planning 2,000 driving schools on two acres each and called on the industry to join hands to make the skill development dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi a big success.

Business Affairs

RBI sends second list of large NPAs to banks for resolution, advocates IBC

Confirming that a new list of stressed accounts has been sent to banks for resolution by the RBI, Deputy Governor Viral Acharya today said the insolvency code has changed "rules of the game" and asked lenders to use it "extensively" for resolving the stress.

"The Reserve Bank has now advised banks to resolve some of the other accounts by December 2017; if banks fail to put in place a viable resolution plan within the timelines, these cases also will be referred for resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC)," he said here.

Acharya, who was delivering the eighth R K Talwar Memorial lecture, however, did not disclose the number of the accounts which have been referred.

Media reports over the last week have been saying the RBI has given banks a new list of 40 accounts, over and above the 12 large accounts which have been marked for resolution.

Terming the concerns on RBI directing banks to file cases under IBC, which is generally a commercial decision, as "legitimate", Acharya said this was done as per the recommendation of the Internal Advisory Committee (IAC).

"The IAC recommended that the Reserve Bank should initially focus on stressed assets which are large, material and aged, in that they have eluded a viable resolution plan despite being classified as NPAs for a significant amount of time," he said.

Welcoming progress on IBC by the banks, Acharya said they should initiate the insolvency provisions more to cleanse the system of the dud assets.

"Going forward, the Reserve Bank hopes that banks utilise the IBC extensively and file for insolvency proceedings on their own without waiting for regulatory directions," he said.

The first priority for banks should be to go for out-of-court restructuring in the pre-default stage itself, which gets triggered as soon as signs of stress become visible, he said.

"Once a default happens, the IBC allows for filing for insolvency proceedings, time-bound restructuring, and failing that, liquidation," he said.

"This would provide the sanctity that the payment due date deserves and improve credit discipline all around, from bank supply as well as borrower demand standpoints, as borrowers might lose control in IBC to competing bidders," Acharya said, seeking to stress the importance of IBC.

Conceding that outcomes of the previous measures to tackle asset quality troubles have "not been too satisfactory", Acharya said the malaise will have to be fought decisively now and added that the enactment of IBC has "changed the rules of the game".

Acharya said the banks will have to set aside more money as provisions for cases referred under IBC but said the pain is necessary to improve the provision coverage ratios and protect them against losses.

"This should also help transition to higher, and more countercyclical, provisioning norms in due course," he said.

Acharya said the high proportion of NPAs -- which are skirting the double digit mark at present -- are taking a toll on the economy as the credit growth is slowing down.

"A primary cause for the recent slowdown in our growth is the stress on the banking sector s balance-sheet, especially of public sector banks," he said.

"The low efficiency of financial intermediation, have created significant headwinds for economic activity."

He said the "tepid, now almost moribund" credit growth can rebound only through quick and strong recapitalisation.

Rs 4,900 crore black money disclosed under PMGKY, Rs 2,451 crore tax collected from it

Black money worth Rs 4,900 crore was disclosed by 21,000 people under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojna (PMGKY), the stash money declaration window announced by the government post demonetisation, an official said on Thursday.

The Income Tax Department, a top government official told PTI, has collected a tax of Rs 2,451 crore till now from these declarations.

"21,000 people disclosed Rs 4,900 crore of black money under the PMGKY scheme that closed on March 31 this year. These are now the final figures," the official said, adding that the I-T department is now following up the legal processes with the declarants in few cases.

The scheme was launched in December last year by the government to enable people with black money to come clean by paying tax and penalty of 50 per cent. It closed on March 31 this year.

The scheme was announced after Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared the demonetisation of two high-value currency notes of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 on November 8 last year.

Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia, after the closure of the PMGKY window, had said that the response to the scheme has "not been so good."

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said that the PMGKY was preceded by similar schemes and hence the response to it by the public should not be seen in isolation.

"Keep in mind that PMGKY in that financial year was not an isolated scheme. You first had the IDS, then you had people depositing cash in banking system knowing it would incur a tax liability and PMGKY was over and above that.

"When you look at the total amount of disclosures made, you have to look at all three of them collectively," the minister had said.

The government had also termed the PMGKY as the one last window for black money holders to come clean by paying tax and penalty on their undisclosed illicit wealth.

The scheme provided for payment of 49.9 per cent tax, surcharge and penalty.

Also, a mandatory deposit of 25 per cent of the black money was to be made in a zero-interest bearing account for four years.

The PMGKY was preceded by the Income Declaration Scheme (IDS), between June 1, 2016-September 30, 2016, where 71,726 declarations disclosing undisclosed income of Rs 67,382 crore were made by black money holders.

The government has collected over Rs 12,700 crore tax under the IDS till now.

McDonald's outlets in North, East may remain shut after NCLAT refuses interim relief to Bakshi

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) refused to issue any interim order on the plea by Vikram Bakshi, asking for relief against termination of franchise agreement by US-based fast food restaurant chain McDonald's. This implies that if Bakshi's CPRL decides to open the McDonald's stores it will be in violation of the NCLAT order.

Today, most McDonald's shops were shut, but some were open as Bakshi hoped to buy time. After the hearing today, McDonald's India has said that CPRL must stop using the brand's intellectual property.

"Following the NCLAT hearing today, the termination notice remains effective as of September 6, which requires CPRL to cease the use of the McDonald's system and its associated intellectual property. We will continue to take steps to exercise our legal and contractual rights and enforce the termination," McDonald's India said in a statement.

Mcdonald's India had terminated its franchise agreement with CPRL, or Connaught Plaza Restaurant Limited, after which Bakshi appealed to the Tribunal to stay the termination notice. CPRL is a 50:50 joint venture between McDonald's and Bakshi, formed 23-years ago to manage McDonald's restaurants in North and East India.

McDonald's had terminated all franchise agreements with CPRL covering 169 restaurants, following which they would have to stop using McDonald's brand name, trademark, design, operating and marketing practices and policies, food recipes and specifications after September 5.

An NCLAT bench chaired by Justice SJ Mukhopadhyaya stated that it will hear the interim plea by Bakshi alongside the main plea filed by McDonald's India. The bench will hear the main plea on September 21.

McDonald's India had filed a petition against the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) order of reinstating Bakshi as Managing Director of CPRL back in July. The interim plea heard today was filed by Bakshi, seeking a fair valuation of McDonald's outlets in North and East India.

This means that the fate of thousands of employees and 169 restaurants in this part of the country remains suspended in uncertainty. Meanwhile, McDonald's India's franchisee in South and West India, Amit Jatia's Westlife Development, is being named as the most probable replacement of Bakshi, if NCLAT does not rule in his favour on September 21.

All you need to know about the country's first 3D printed functional component

Recently, Wipro Infrastructure Engineering said it had manufactured India's first additively manufactured functional metal component. 3D printing is coming of age in India - manufacturers are slowly transitioning from prototypes to printing of actual components. While the economics of 3D printing still wouldn't support its usage in many industries, particularly where high volumes are involved, it is finding enough use cases in sectors such as aerospace, where volumes required are low.

Here's all you need to know about the country's first 3D printed functional component.

1. The 3D printed component is flying on ISRO's GSAT-19 satellite, a communication satellite. Called the 'Feed Cluster', the aluminium component was a collaborative effort. While the design was ISRO's, the additive engineering was executed by Wipro 3D. Established in 2012 within Wipro Infrastructure Engineering, the firm provides additive manufacturing services. The component was manufactured on an EOS printer.

2. The component is fairly large in dimension. It is part of the satellite's communication system and is 320 mm in height with a wall thickness of 2mm.

3. The value to ISRO: There are four elements to the 'Feed Cluster'. In the traditional method of manufacturing, they would need to be manufactured separately, aligned, and assembled. That could result in alignment errors. 3D printing implies reduced assembly parts leading to reduced radio frequency leakage. The more joints, more is the inefficiency. Also, the additive process reduces the weight of the component, important from a space point of view.

4. The time taken to print the component: The design iteration spanned a few weeks. However, from the beginning of the production to delivery, it takes a week.

5. Wipro 3D says its rapidly moving from prototyping to functional components in other industries as well - missile components and engine parts are being tested, for instance. The company currently services aerospace, industrial, heavy engineering, automotive, and nuclear sector customers with additive manufacturing services. The ISRO deal is expected to open up newer avenues for the company globally, coinciding the space agency's reputation for pioneering work.

Post GST & new pharma policy, changes in pharmacy landscape likely

It is quite unlikely that the Indian pharmacy distribution network with close to 50,000 distributors will remain unchanged. The talk within the pharmacy space is that post the introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) which has done away with the need for other taxes, such as inter-state octroi, things could change. Many expect to see a reduction in the number of distributors for instance. One of the triggers for this could be companies now wanting to rationalize the number of distributors. Instead of having one in every city and every region in a state, some may opt for much lower number. It could, in some cases, be down to very few spread across, north, south, east and western India. Today, the number of distributors varies from one company to another and typically could be around 1000 distributors for a company. Another factor that could change the landscape is the impact on account of change in the nature of business itself. For example, analysts point out that given that some of them could be those that have traditionally run their business on cash. Now, they may find the transition into a post GST world challenging and this may lead to consolidation.

But then, the story may not be the same at the retailer-front, which in many cases, may be small family-led businesses that engage in not just pure pharma products but also into sale of FMCG products. In fact, the argument is that since the draft pharma policy, which is now being circulated within the industry circles for feedback, may see new entrants into the field. The triggers for this again could be two-fold. One, since there is greater emphasis on sale of generic medicines, pharmacies, as against medicine-producing companies , may now have a greater say in which medicines 'to sell', a more important factor for retail being the attractive margins. Even at 10 per cent, it still is an attractive retail space to be in and that too, as one analyst put it, with minimal risks. While time will tell how exactly the landscape will transform, there is little doubt that it will see changes.

General Awareness

Current Affairs were found in Month - August 2017

Appointments

AIFF (All India Football Federation) appointed Ushanath Banerjee as chairman of a special committee to deal with players’ transfer disputes’.

Airline Jet Airways appointed Vinay Dube as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Ajay Vipin Nanavati has been appointed as chairman of Goverment owned Syndicate Bank.

American Tech giant Cisco named Sameer Garde as President for its India operations and SAARC Nations.

Anita Karwal has been appointed as new Chairperson of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

Ashwani Lohani has been appointed as Chairman of Railway Board (Ministry of Railways).

Bombay Stock Exchange approved another 5 year term for its CEO Ashish Chauhan.

Brazilian Soccer Player Neymar became Goodwill Ambassador for Handicap International, that was founded in 1982 to assist 6,000 Cambodian refugees who had lost limbs and later co-founded International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) in 1992 which won Nobel Peace Prize.

Cherish mathson has been appointed as chief of Indian Army's south western command.

Christopher Wray has been appointed as USA's Prestigius Investigation Agency Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

David Rasquinha has been appointed as Managing Director of Exim Bank of India. ]

Dharmendra Kumar has been appointed as Director General in Railway Protection Force (RPF).

Dipak Misra has been appointed as next (45th) Chief Justice of India, replacing J S Khehar.

Donald Trump appointed 3 Indian-Americans to key posts -

Neil Chatterjee - Member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)

Krishna R. Urs - USA Ambassador to Peru

Vishal Amin - White House Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator

Government appointed Prasoon Joshi as Chairperson of Central Board of Film Certification. Actress Vidya Balan has also joined CBFC as a Member.

Government appointed Rajiv Bansal as interim CMD of Air India, after previous Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani has been appointed as Chairman of Railway Board.

Government appointed S. Aparna as Executive Director of World Bank, to represent India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka for 3 years.

Government appointed Santosh Sharma as CMD of Hindustan Copper Limited and Emandi Sankara Rao as MD & CEO of IFCI Ltd (Industrial Finance Corporation of India).

Government appointed Sunil Arora as aan Election Commissioner of India.

Election Commision has 3 members - 1 Chief EC and 2 EC.

Currently, Achal Kumar Joti is CEC and Om Prakash Rawat is Other EC.

Hassan Rouhani has been appointed as President of Iarn for second term.

Hemant Narayan Bhagwat appointed as Air Officer-in-Charge Administration of Indian Air Force.

I V Subba Rao has been appointed secretary to newly elected Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu.

Indian American Dilip Chauhan has been appointed as the Deputy Comptroller for Minority Affairs in New York’s Nassau county.

Indian noted sprinter Milkha Singh has been appointed as World Health Organisation’s goodwill ambassador for physical activity in South-East Asia Region (SEAR).

Indian-origin person Joseph Yuvaraj Pillay has been appointed as Interim President of Singapore, until new President is elected.

Indo-Canadian entrepreneur Rana Sarkar has been appointed Canada's consul general in San Francisco (USA).

Leading Business House Tata Sons appointed Roopa Purushothaman as Chief Economist and Head of Policy Advocacy.

M. Venkaiah Naidu has been elected as 13th Vice President of India. He will succeed Hamid Ansari, who held the position for two consecutive terms of 5 years.

Mamta Suri appointed as Executive Director in Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI).

Mamta Suri has been appointed as Executive Director of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI).

Metal and mining major Vedanta Ltd appointed Kuldip Kaura as its interim CEO.

Mohammad Mustafa has been appointed as Chairman and Managing Ditrector (CMD) of Small Industries Developent Bank of India (SIDBI).

Nandan Nilekani has been appointed as Non-Executive Chariman of Infosys, India's Mianstream IT Firm. UB Pravin Rao will continue to serve as the interim CEO and MD at Infosys.

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) appointed Dilip Asbe as its CEO, until a regular appointment is made to the post.

New Appointments -

Asha Ram Sihag - Secretary in Department of Heavy Industries.

Rajiv Kumar - Secretary in Department of Financial Services.

Surina Rajan - Director General in Bureau of Indian Standards.

N. Baijendra Kumar - Chairman & Managing Director in National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC).

Rajesh Kumar Chaturvedi - Director General in National Skill Development Agency (NSDA).

Satyajeet Rajan - Director General (Tourism).

R.K. Raghavan - New Indian High Commissioner to Cyprus.

Reenat Sandhu - New Indian Ambassador to Republic of San Marino

Ashwini Attri, Anita Pattanayak and Ranjan Kumar Ghose - Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General(Deputy CAG).

Nikolay Kudashev has been appointed as Russia’s new ambassador to India.

Nuclear scientist U Kamachi Mudali has been appointed as Chief Executive of Heavy Water Board (under Department of Atomic Energy).

O Pannerselvam appointed as Deputy Chief Minister (CM) of Tamil Nadu.

Paul Kagame won Presidential Elections in african nation Rwanda, getting 98.66 % votes.

Peter O'Neill has been re-elected prime minister of Papua New Guinea.

Prabhat Kumar has been appointed as Ambassador of India to Kazakhstan.

Private Bank Karur Vysya Bank appointed P R Seshadri as its Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer.

RBI Released INR 200 Denomination Note. Its The new dimensions are 66 mm × 146 mm. It has Motif of Sanchi Stupa on the reverse, depicting the country’s cultural heritage. The base colour of the note is Bright Yellow.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will also shortly issue new banknotes of Rs. 50 denomination in Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series, with fluorescent blue as base colour. All earlier banknotes in INR 50 denomination will continue to be legal tender. Its dimension will be 66 mm x 135 mm. It will have a motif of Hampi with Chariot on reverse and Swachh Bharat logo.

Rajiv Kumar has been appointed as NITI Aayog's new vice-chairman, after Arvind Pangariya from the post. Vinod K. Paul has also been appointed as a Member of NITI Aayog.

Rajiv Mehrishi has been appointed as New (13th) CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General of India), Replacing Shashi Kant Sharma.

SEBI appointment of Dhirendra Swarup as chairman of board of directors of BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange).

Sanjaya Baru has been appointed as Secretary General of Freedom of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Shashi Shekhar Vempatihas been appointed as chief of Rajya Sabha TV. He is also CEO of public broadcaster Prasar Bharati.

Sohail Mahmood has been appointed as Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India.

Tata group hospitality firm Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) appointed Puneet Chhatwal as its MD & CEO.

Travis Sinniah has been appointed as chief of Sri Lanka’s Navy. He is first Tamil Navy Chief of Sri Lankan Navy in 4 Decades.

USA based Retail Chain Wal-Mart appointed Devendra Chawla as COO and EVP of its India business.

Uhuru Kenyatta won re-election as President of Kenya for 2nd Term.

Uttar Pradesh Government appointed Actor Akshay Kumar as brand ambassador of Swachh Bharat Mission in UP.

Uttar Pradesh Government appointed Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar as brand ambassador of Swachh Bharat Mission in state.

Venkaiah Naidu has been sworn in as 13th vice president of India and rajya sabha chairman.

Awards

Portuguese Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo became First to be named Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Men’s Player of the Year for consecutive 3 seasons - 2014, 2015 and 2016.

The Hindu Playwright Award 2017 has been given to Gerish Khemani and Akshat Nigam for their play In Search of DariyaSagar, during 13th edition of The Hindu Theatre festival.

Around 3.5 lakh students in Gujarat will get 7-inch ‘NAMO E-Tab’ tablets at a subsidised rate of Rs 1,000 each under a state government scheme. The market Price for these Tablets is INR 8000 for one unit.

East Bengal Football Club Awards -

Bharat Gaurav - Dhanraj Pillay (Hockey)

Lifetime Achievement Awards - Subhsh Bhowmick and syed Naeemuddin.

Footballer of the Year - Gurwinder Singh

Cricketer of the Year -Boddupalli Amit

Hugo Award for Best Novel 2017 was given to Nora K. Jemisin (USA) for her work The Obelisk Gate. It was presented at 75th World Science Fiction Convention in Helsinki (Finland).

Indian - origin actor Dev Patel chosen for Asia Society 2017 Asia Game Changers Award, for making a “transformative and positive” difference for future of Asia and world. He will be honored at UN Headquarters in New York in November 2017.

Indian Medical Personality Nanda Kumar Jairam has been awarded Healthcare Personality of the Yearaward by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Indian Origin UAE businessman Firoz Merchant has been honoured with UAE’s prestigious Community Service Medal, after hespent over USD 4 million to help free prisoners languishing in jails due to non-payment of debts.

Madhu Chitkara has been honored by Himachal Pradesh Environment Leadership Award 2017 for promotion of environmental conservation and sustainable development measures.

Minister of Women & Child Development Maneka Sanjay Gandhi presented National Level Awards to anganwadi workers to recognize their voluntary service in field of child development and related areas under ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services) Scheme. Awards for 2016-17 were given to 51 awardees.

NITI Aayog (in partnership with MyGov and United Nations) announced 12 winners of Women Transforming India Awards 2017.Winners are - Laxmi Agarwal (UP), Subasini Mistry (WB), Safeena Hussain (MH), Arunima Sinha (UP), Kamal Kumbhar (MH), Jamuna Tudu (JH), Rajlakshmi Borthakur (KN), Kiran Kanoji (HR), Harshini Kanhekar (MH), Shima Modak (Meghalaya), Sunita Kamble (MH), Kanika Tekriwal (MP).

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) conferred best performance award for 2015-16 and 2016-17 to Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank (KVGB) for its work in credit-linking joint liability groups (JLGs).

National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) won 2 awards - Assocham Services Excellence Award 2017 and its Chairman and Managing Director H Purushotham won international recognition by International Association of Advanced Materials (Sweden).

Noted Konkani writer Mahabaleshwar Sail has been honored by Saraswati Samman 2016 for his novel Hawthan, that captures cultural lives of traditional potter community in Goa.

Noted actor Sharada has been selected for 2017's Prem Nazir Award, was instituted by people of Chirayankeezhu (Nazir's hometown in Kerala).

Noted journalist T J S George chosen for first Kesari Media Award, instituted by Kesari Memorial Journalist Trust.

Odisha Government granted Biju Patnaik Award for Scientific Excellence for the year 2016 to Digambar Behera of PGIMER (Chandigarh).

Preethi Srinivasan has been presented with Kalpana Chawla Award for Courage and Daring Enterprise, for she braved a debilitate accident to support those suffering from spinal cord injuries like her.

Sports Ministry announced National Sports Awards 2017 have been announced. Selection Committee for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award an Arjuna Awards was headed by Justice C. K. Thakkar. Selection Committee for Dronacharya Awards and Dhyan Chand Awards was headed by Pullela Gopichand. Winners -

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna - Winners receive a statuettes, certificate and cash prize of Rs 7.5 lakh. 2017 winners are -

Para Athlete Devendra Singh Jhajharia

Hockey Player Sardar Singh

Dronacharya Awards - winners receive a statuettes, certificate and cash prize of Rs 5 lakh. 2017 winners -

Athlete Late Dr. R. Gandhi

Kabaddi Player Heera Nand Kataria

Badminton Player G.S.S.V. Prasad (Lifetime)

Boxing Player Brij Bhushan Mohanty (Lifetime)

Hockey Player P.A. Raphel (Lifetime)

Shooter Sanjoy Chakraverthy (Lifetime)

Wrestler Roshan Lal (Lifetime)

Arjuna Awards - Winners receive a statuettes, certificate and cash prize of Rs. 5 Lakh. 2017 winners are -

Archer V.J. Surekha

Athlete Khushbir Kaur

Basketball Player Prasanthi Singh

Boxer Sub. Laishram Debendro Singh

Cricketer Harmantpreet Kaur

Footballer Oinam Bembem Devi

Golfer S.S.P. Chawrasia

Hockey Player S.V. Sunil

Kabaddi Player Jasvir Singh

Shooter P.N. Prakash

Table Tennis Player Amalraj

Tennis Player Saketh Myneni

Wrestler Satyawart Kadian

Para Athlete Mariyappan

Para Athlete Varun Singh Bhati

Dhyanchand Award - Winners receive a statuettes, certificate and cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh. 2017 winners are -

Athlete Bhupendra Singh

Football Player Syed Shahid Hakim

Hockey Player Sumarai Tete

Telangana CM K Chandrashekhar Rao has been selected for coveted Agriculture Leadership Award 2017, by a Committee headed by agriculture scientist MS Swaminathan.

Books

Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has written a book I Do What I Do: On Reform, Rhetoric & Resolve, explaining economic concepts and talks of issues like tolerance and connection between political freedom and prosperity

Committees

Committee under Justice B.N.Srikrishna submitted its report regarding measures to be undertaked for speedy resolution of commercial disputes and to make India an international hub of Arbitration and a Centre of robust ADR mechanism catering to international and domestic arbitration at par with international standards.

Information and Broadcasting Ministry constituted a 40-member preview committee for International Film Festival of India 2017 to be held in Goa, with filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri as convenor of committee.

Ministry of Commerce and Industry constituted a Task Force on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for India’s Economic Transformation, to be headed by V. Kamakoti of IIT Madras. Task force will explore possibilities to leverage AI for development across various fields.

Nagaland Government constituted a committee (to be headed by Temjen Toy), to review Nagaland Municipal Act 2001 by consulting all tribal hohos and stakeholders for reviewing Municipal Act and submit its report.

Parliamentary Committee led by B C Khanduri suggested that 100 % pension should be given to widow of the deceased soldier, rather than current system of 60 % of his pension.

Reserve Bank of India appointed committee on Household Finance, headed by Tarun Ramdorai has suggested that banks must link their home loan rates to the RBI's repo rate (rate at which RBI slends to banks), instead of Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR), which banks follow now.

SEBI formed a committee on fair market conduct that which will suggest measures for improving surveillance of the markets and strengthen rules for trades. It will be headed by T K Viswanathan and would suggest measures for improvement in PIT (Prohibition of Insider Trading) norms, PFTUP (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices) regulations.

Days

Aug 01 - Non-cooperation movement Day. Non-cooperation movement was launched on 1st August 1920 by Indian National Congress (INC) under leadership of MK Gandhi.

Aug 07 - National Handloom Day. It was started by Indian Government in 2015. Aug 1 - 07, 2017 is also observed as World breastfeeding week with theme Sustaining Breastfeeding Together.

Aug 08, 2017 - 75th Anniversary of Quit India Movement.

Quit India Movement was a movement launched at Bombay session of the All-India Congress Committee by M K Gandhi on 8 August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British Rule of India.

This year's Theme was Sankalp Se Siddhi (Attainment through Resolve), aimed at New India Movement 2017-2022 that envisages an India free of Poverty, Corruption, Terrorism, Communalism, Casteism and Un-cleanliness.

Aug 09 - International Day of World’s Indigenous Peoples.

Aug 09 - Nagasaki Day. It marks dropping of Atomic Bomb On Japanese City of Nagasaki during second world war On Aug 09, 1945.

Aug 10 - International Biodiesel Day (IBD), to create awareness about non fossil-fuels (Green Fuels).

Aug 10, 2017 - National Deworming Day in India. August 10, is the second round of National Deworming Day, held twice a year. NDD program was launched in 2015, under which children aged between 1-19 are provided deworming tablets in schools and anganwadis across country, except in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh where deworming is carried out once a year.

Aug 12 - International Youth Day. 2017 theme is Youth Building Peace.

Aug 12 - World Elephant Day.

On this occasion, Ministry of Environment and Forest launched nationwide campaign Gaj Yatra to protect elephants.

Aug 13 - International Left-Handers Day and World Organ Donation Day.

Aug 14 - Global Social Security day.

Aug 15, 2017 - 71st Independence Day of India.

President Ram Nath Kovind has approved 112 Gallantry Awards to Defence Personnel, including 5 Kirti Chakras, 17 Shaurya Chakras, 85 Sena Medals (Gallantry), 3 Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry) and two Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry).

Home Minister Rajnath Singh launched live twitter wall for promoting ‘Bharat Ke Veer’ portal on the eve of 71st Independence Day.

PM Narendra Modi has launched a website to honour all gallantry award winners since Independence - http://gallantryawards.gov.in.

Aug 19 - World Honey Bee Day.

Aug 19 - World Humanitarian Day (WHD). 2017 theme is #NotATarget.

Aug 19 - World Photography Day.

Aug 20 - Sadbhavana Diwas (Harmony Day). It commemorates birth anniversary of Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Aug 23 - International Day for Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.

Aug 29 - National Sports day. It marks birthday of legendary hockey player Major Dhyan Chand.

Aug 29 - United Nations (UN) International Day against Nuclear Tests, established by 64th UN GA in 2009.

Aug 30 - International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.

Aug 6 - Hiroshima Day. It marks dropping of Atomic Bomb On Japanese City of Hiroshima during second world war On Aug 06, 1945.

Defence

Defence Ministry approved a proposal to procure six AH-64-E Apache attack helicopters along with weapons systems from American aerospace giant Boeing for Indian Army.

Anil Ambani led Reliance Defence and Engineering changed its name to Reliance Naval and Engineering Ltd (RNEL), in line with company’s focus on building capabilities for Indian Navy and Coast Guard.

Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approved implementation of first phase of reforms pertaining to Indian Army based on recommendations of Lt Gen Shekatkar Committee. It ais to enhance combat capability and optimize defence expenditure of Indian Army by December 2019. It is first ever reform exercise to be undertaken in Indian Army since independence. Major reforms are -

Redeployment and restructuring of approximately 57,000 posts of Armymen.

Optimisation of signals establishments - To include Radio Monitoring Companies, Air Formation Signal Regiments, Corps Air Support Signal Regiments, Composite Signal Regiments and merger of Corps Operating and Engineering Signal Regiments.

Restructuring of repair echelons in Army - To include Base Workshops, Advance Base Workshops and Station Workshops in field Army.

Redeployment of Ordnance echelons - To include Vehicle Depots, Central Ordnance Depots and Ordnance Depots apart from streamlining inventory control mechanisms.

Other Reforms - Better utilization of Supply and Transport echelons and Animal Transport units, Closure of army postal establishments and military farms in peace locations and Improving efficiency of National Cadet Corps (NCC) etc.

Central Government has approved INR 32,000 crore five-year action programme for Indian Coast Guard to enhance its capability in maintaining vigil on coastal waters.

DRDO signed Rs.17,000 crore deal with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for producing advanced medium—range surface to air missile (MRSAM) system for Indian Army by 2020. The deal envisages develping 40 firing units and around 200 missiles.

MR-SAM is land-based version of long range surface to air missile (LRSAM) of Indian Navy, with strike range of up 70 km.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley handed over Long-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LRSAM) jointly developed by India and Israel, to Indian Navy.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley inaugurate production of indigenous design Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) by Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL). In November 2016, defence ministry cleared INR 2900 crore procurement of 15 LCHs from HAL.

IN LCU L52 ship has been Inducted into Indian Navy, as 2nd Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Mk-IV class vehicle to be inducted into Indian Navy.

India and Russia for first time will conduct Indra tri-services exercise (Indra 2017), involving their armies, navies and the air forces in October 2017 to further ramp up military ties.

India is deploying smart Israel-developed fencing systems along its volatile borders with Pakistan, which have quick response team mechanism that strikes when CCTV-powered control room detects an infiltration attempt. BSF is implementing it under project comprehensive integrated border management system (CIBMS).

Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Shaurya has been commissioned, fifth in series of six 105-metre Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs).

Indian Coast Guard Ship Varuna has been decommissioned.

Indian Ocean Naval Symposium’s (IONS) maiden International Maritime Search and Rescue Exercise (IMMSAREX) will be held in November 2017 in Bay of Bengal under chairmanship of Bangladesh. IONS is a regional forum of Indian Ocean littoral states launched by India in February 2008, which now has 35 members.

India’s first private sector missile sub-systems manufacturing facility (a 51:49 joint venture between Kalyani Group and Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defence Systems) inaugurated near Hyderabad (Telangana).

Six-member all-woman team of Indian Navy will set sail to circumnavigate globe on sailing vessel INSV Tarini, making it first-ever Indian circumnavigation of globe by an all-woman crew.

Economy

Shubh Aarambh Home Loans scheme has been launched by Axis Bank, which will see 12 equated monthly installments (EMIs) waived off (4 EMIs each after 4th, 8th and 12th year from the of disbursement) on regular repayments of loans of up to Rs 30 lakh.

Airtel Payments Bank partnered with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) to boost to enanle 14,000 HPCL fuel stations to act as banking points for Airtel Payments Bank.

As per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) report of Return of SBN (Specified Bank Notes), 99 % of demonetised notes (Worth INR 15.28 lakh crores) have been returned to bank. Value of Specified Bank Notes (SBNs). Approx INR 16000 crores worth of demonetised notes have not come back to RBI so far.

As per report, SBI accounts for over 27 % of total amount owed to public sector banks by wilful defaulters, with 1,762 wilful defaulters owing SBI INR 25,104 crore. Punjab National Bank (PNB) is 2nd with 1,120 wilful defaulters Owing INR 12,278 crores.

Bajaj Finance picked 10.83 % stake in Mobile wallet Firm MobiKwik for approx Rs 225 crore. Aim is to offer Bajaj Finance's lending (purchase finance, credit card, mortgage loans and personal loans) and insurance products through MobiKwik app.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) launched bespoke mobile wallet to enable its existing 10 crore customers to make Bill payments, developed by Mobikwik on behalf of BSNL.

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved Scheme of providing Budgetary Support under Goods and Service Tax (GST) Regime for eligible industrial units in Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and North Eastern States including Sikkim.

Budgetary support of INR 27,413 crore for said Scheme has been approved for period from 1-7-2017 till 31-03-2027 for industrial units located in aforesaid States which availed benefit of Central Excise exemption prior to GST implementation.

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved revision in the procedure and mechanism for strategic disinvestment, recommended by Department of Investment and public Asset Management (DIPAM). It will enable completion of strategic disinvestment transactions.

Setting up an Alternative Mechanism (AM) to decide on matters relating to terms of sale from stage of inviting of Express of Interests (Eols) till inviting of financial bid.

Enabling Core Group of Secretaries (CGD) to take policy decisions with regard to procedural issues and consider deviations for effective implementation of decisions of CCEA.

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved closing of loss making Central PSU Bharat Wagon and Engineering Company Limited (BWEL), under Ministry of Railways.

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved renaming Central Sector Scheme - SAMPADA (Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters) as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY).

SAMPADA was approved in May 2017, to supplement agriculture, modernize processing and decrease Agri-Waste.

PMKSY with an allocation of Rs. 6,000 crore is expected to handle 334 lakh MT agro-produce valuing over 1 Lakh Crores INR, benefit 20 lakh farmers and generate over 5 lakh employment by 2020.

Cabinet approved proposal of Finance Ministry to amend Schedule of Section 8 of GST (Compensation to a State) Act 2017, allowing GST Council to hike maximum rate of compensation cess levied from current cap of 15% to 20%.

Final decision to increase compensation cess will be taken by GST Council. Hike in rate of compensation cess will be levied on SUVs, mid-sized, large and luxury cars.

Canara Bank launched 2 new digital services for online payments - payment settlement mechanism Bharat QR (Quick Response) and Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS).

Canara Bank will raise $400 million as part of its $2 billion medium-term note programme, by issuing a benchmark dollar bond with tenor of 5 years. Bond sale will be drawn through London branch of Canara Bank and bonds will be listed on Singapore Stock Exchange. Rating agency Moody’s assigned a Baa3 rating to the issue.

Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company (CHOICE) launched ‘Point-of-Sale’ product targeted at mass-market segment - PoS - Easy Bima Plan. It is first PoS product for company and is a pure term insurance plan.

Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) extended deadline for linking of Aadhaar with PAN till 31 December 2017. Aadhaar - PAN linkage is mandated through Section 139 AA (2) of Income Tax Act 1961 which says that person having PAN as on 1 July 2017 and is eligible to obtain Aadhaar, must intimate his Aadhaar number to the tax authorities.

City Union Bank offered instant credit cards for its Net banking customers. Customer is allowed a credit limit of up to 80% of the deposit or a maximum of 3 lakh.

Commodity derivatives bourse Multi Commodity Exchange Ltd (MCX) received Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) approval to launch India’s first gold options contract with bi-monthly duration. The option will also have existing gold kilo futures contract as its underlier.

Corporation Bank won best performance awards for SHG-bank linkage program for Karnataka for 2015-16 and 2016-17 from National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). It formed more than 1.32 lakh self-help groups (SHGs).

Cryptocurrency trading platform BitBay launched dedicated platform for trade and exchange of digital currencies (bitcoin, litecoin etc.) in India. It will also work towards creating awareness about digital currencies and also removing misconceptions about them in India.

Dara Khosrowshahi has been appointed by Cab Aggregator Major Uber as its CEO.

Defence Ministry approved delegation of administrative and financial powers to Border Roads Organisation (BRO), to improve functioning of BRO and speed project works.

Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) (Commerce and Industry Ministry) will release a new industrial policy by October 2017, to replace National Manufacturing Policy (NMP) released in 2011.

It will review existing foreign direct investment (FDI) policy regime to facilitate greater technology transfer. Policy will aim to attract $100 billion of FDI in a year, up from $60 billion in 2016-17.

DIPP has adopted consultative approach for formulating industrial policy by setting up six thematic focus groups - Manufacturing and MSME, Technology and Innovation, Infrastructure, Investment, Trade and Fiscal Policy, Ease of Doing Business and Skills and Employability for Future.

Digital wallet app Samsung Pay tied up with State Bank of India to store higher variants of SBI debit cards on app, turning Samsung smartphones into electronic card-holders and users can pay at point-of-sale (PoS) terminals with just a tap on cards stored in Samsung Pay.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented 2nd volume of Economic Survey 2016-17 on last day of monsoon session of Parliament. It has been authored by Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian and his team. Key Highlights are -

Transparency of Rules Act (TORA) has been proposed, to help citizens overcome an opaque mesh of complicated rules that often leads to corruption and endless litigation.

TORA is needed as At present due to opaque mesh of regulations prevalent in India make life of ordinary citizens (as well as businesses) difficult as it is not easy for ordinary citizens for them to navigate the multitude of rules, regulations, forms, taxes and procedures imposed by various tiers of government.

Fiscal Developments -

Fiscal Deficit -

Kept Under 3.5 % of GDP in 2016-17 and expected to decline to 3.2 % of GDP in 2017-2018. Fiscal deficit target of 3 % of GDP under FRBM framework is projected to be achieved in 2018-19.

Reforms undertaken in Budget 2017-18 are Integration of Railway Budget with Union Budget, advancing of date of the Budget to February 1, elimination of the classification of expenditure into ‘plan’ and ‘non-plan’ etc. Introduction of Goods and Services Tax from July 01, 2017 has been most highlighted reform among all.

Climate Change, Sustainable Development and Energy -

India ratified Paris Agreement on 2nd October 2016. India’s actions for the post-2020 period are based on its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). NDC targets to lower the emissions intensity of GDP by 33 - 35 % by 2030 from 2005 levels, to increase share of non-fossil based power generation capacity to 40 % of installed electric power capacity(cumulative) by 2030, and to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5-3 Gt CO2e through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.

India has ambitious targets of increasing renewable energy capacity to 175 GW by 2022. This includes 100 GW of solar, 60 GW of wind, 10 GW of biomass, and 5 GW of small hydro power capacity.

A number of initiatives have been taken in the Indian financial sector also. In the renewable energy segment, bank loans of up to Rs.15 crore for solar-based power generators, biomass-based power generators, wind mills, micro-hydel plants, etc. will be considered part of Priority Sector Lending. External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) norms have been further liberalized so that green projects can tap this window for raising finance across the borders.

External Sector

India’s balance of payments improved in 2016-17, as a result of low and falling trade and current account deficits and moderate and rising capital inflows, resulting in further accretion of foreign exchange reserves.

India’s exports increased 12.3 % in 2016-17 and a marginal decline in imports by 1.0 % resulted in narrowing down of trade deficit to US$ 112.4 billion (5 % of GDP) in 2016-17 as compared to US$ 130.1 billion (6.2 % of GDP) in 2015-16.

Current account deficit (CAD) narrowed down to 0.7 % of GDP in 2016-17 from 1.1 % of GDP in 2015-16

Net capital inflows were slightly lower at US$ 36.8 billion (1.6 % of GDP) in 2016-17 as compared to US$ 40.1 billion (1.9 % of GDP) in the previous year, mainly due to fall in NRI deposits.

Gross FDI inflows to India increased to US$ 60.2 billion in 2016-17 from US$ 55.6 billion in 2015-16. FDI equity inflow of 43.4 Billion USD in Financial Year 2016-17, which is highest ever FDI Equity inflows.

Mauritius, Singapore and Japan have been top three source countries of FDI inflows to India contributing 36.2%, 20% and 10.8%, respectively, during 2016-17, according to survey.

Among major economies running current account deficit, India is second largest foreign exchange reserve holder after Brazil with reserves at US$ 386.4 billion as on 7th July, 2017.

India’s aggregate external debt stock at end-March 2017 stood at US$ 471.9 billion registering a decline of US$ 13.1 billion (2.7 %) over end-March 2016. Ratio of external debt to GDP fell to 20.2 % from 23.5 %.

Agriculture and Food Management - Several multi-dimensional Agricultural and Food Management Reforms Measures have been suggested -

Challenges Include -

Small Operational Land Holdings - Average farm size in India is small and declining since 1970-71.

Credit - Predominance of informal sources of credit for farmers is a concern. Moreover, there is regional disparity in the distribution of agricultural credit.

Problems like Post - harvest losses, availability of quality planting material and lack of market access for horticultural produce of small farmers.

Reforms suggested -

Price risks in agriculture and allied sectors - Strengthening and building marketing infrastructure along the entire value chain.

Production risks - Share of irrigated area should be expanded by increasing the coverage of water saving irrigation systems like micro irrigation systems.

To Increase productivity of crops, Standards should be set and enforced for better quality, pest and disease resistant seeds.

Trade and domestic policy changes should be announced well before sowing and should stay till arrivals and procurement is over.

Enhance women’s involvement in the dairy projects.

Formal and institutional credit should be provided in timely and affordable manner to small and marginal farmers.

Industry and Infrastructure -

Industrial performance moderated from 8.8 % during 2015-16 to 5.6 % in 2016-17. Industrial growth as per Index of Industrial Production (IIP) new series of 2011-12 shows overall IIP growth at 5 % in 2016-17 as compared to 3.4 % last year. Index of Eight Core Industries growth during 2016-17 was 4.8 % as compared to 3.0 % in 2015-16.

Steps taken by government have borne fruit since imports of Steel by India have declined by 36.2 % while exports have risen by 102 % in 2016-17. It has been helped by imposition of Minimum Import Price (MIP) to counter dumping of Steel into Indian markets.

Apparel sector is a highly employment intensive industry especially for women. Government in June 2016 approved Rs.6,000 crore special package for textile & apparel sector.

Indian Railways registered freight earnings at Rs.104339 crore (P), registering negative growth of 4.5 % over 2015-16 due to carrying larger volume of low fare freight in 2016-17. Passenger earnings were Rs.46280 crore (P) registered an increase of 4.5 % during 2016-17.

Government launched the UDAY (Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana) for financial turnaround of power distribution companies in November 2015. 26 states and 1 UT which have joined UDAY scheme account for outstanding debt of Rs. 3.82 lakh Cr. So far, 15 states have issued UDAY bonds totaling Rs.2.09 lakh Cr. and DISCOMs have issued Bonds worth Rs. 0.23 lakh Cr.

After introduction of UDAY, National average (all UDAY states) of AT&C loss has come down to 20.2 % in FY 2017 from 21.1 % in FY 2016.

Under Smart Cities Mission, 57 projects worth Rs.941 crore have already been completed as of April 2017. An estimated additional 462 projects worth Rs.15307 crore are likely to be completed through 2018.

GST Council recommended increasing maximum ceiling of cess leviable on motor vehicles falling under headings 8702 and 8703 including SUVs, to 25% instead of present 15%. Such vehicles Include mid-segment, large cars, SUVs and motor vehicles which can carry 10 - 13 Persons.

Goods and services tax (GST) collections exceeded revenue target for first month (July 2017) with INR 92,283 crores collections. Different Components (Approx) CGST - 15000 Crores, SGST - 23000 Crores, IGST - 47000 Crores, Cess - 7000 Crores.

Government approved 100% disinvestment through strategic sale of Central Electronics Limited (CEL), with net worth approx 50 crores.

Government approved raising Extra Budgetary Resources (EBR) of upto Rs. 9020 crore during 2017-18 by NABARD through issuance of Bonds for ensuring lending at 6% per annum under borrowings for implementation of Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) works of 99 ongoing prioritized irrigation projects under PMKSY.

Several irrigation projects taken up under Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) were languishing due to inadequate provision of funds. To cater to large fund requirement and ensure completion of these projects, Government created Long Term Irrigation Fund (LTIF) in NABARD with an initial corpus of Rs. 20,000 crore for funding of Central and State share for identified ongoing projects under PMKSY (AIBP and CAD).

To make loan from NABARD attractive for states, rate of interest was kept around 6% by providing requisite cost free funds to NABARD every year during 2016-17 to 2019-20 on which interest cost would be borne by Govt. of India.

Government banned exports of gold jewellery, medallions and other articles above 22- carat purity in a bid to check round tripping of Gold.

Government disinvested 6.83% of its stake in Hindustan Copper Limited through Offer for Sale (OFS), raising approx 400 crores.

Government formulated National Trade Facilitation Action Plan (2017-20) as a detailed action plan with timelines for smooth implementation of WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). Implementation of the plan has been divided into short term (0-6 months), medium term (6-18 months) and long term (18-36 months).

Government imposed anti-dumping duty on 93 Chinese products to protect profitability of domestic industry from import of cheap Chinese goods. Also, 40 cases concerning imports from China initiated by Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD).

Government imposed penalty of USD 264 million (1,700 crores) on Reliance Industries and its partners for producing less than targeted natural gas from eastern offshore KG-D6 fields in 2015-16.

Government launched a new Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) named BHARAT 22, consisting 22 stocks of CPSE's, PSB's & strategic holding of SUUTI.

It is more diverse as Compared to energy heavy CPSE ETF, and has a Diversified portfolio with 6 sectors (Basic Materials, Energy, Finance, FMCG, Industrials & Utilities).

Bharat 22 Index will be rebalanced annually. ICICI Prudential AMC will be the ETF Manager and Asia Index Private Limited (JV BSE and S& P Global) will be the Index Provider.

Government ruled that Banks importing gold and precious metals will have to pay 3 % tax under GST which can be claimed as input tax credit.

HDFC Bank launched a software update to enable point-of-sale (PoS) machines to accept payments through Unified Payments Interface (UPI), BharatQR, SMS Pay and bank’s mobile wallets, in addition to traditional mode of swiping cards. For this, HDFC Bank issued POS machines are to be updated with a free software.

ICICI Bank launched instant credit cards enabling its savings account customers to get a credit card instantly, in a completely digital and paperless manner, initially available for some pre-qualified customers who can apply for card online and generate card details and start shopping using it instantly.

The credit limit is up to Rs 4 lakh, based on pre-checked bureau scores.

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund launched new website PlanYourGoal.com to help users plan their investments according to their future financial goals. It guides =users to plan their big spends, tax investments and corpus required during retirement.

IDFC Bank partnered with digital payments company Zeta, to launch IDFC Bank Benefits as a payment solution for corporates that digitizes employee spends and claims, making the process simple, real-time and paperless.

In 3rd Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Review by RBI, Repo rate has been cut by 25 basis points. New Monetary Policy rates stand at-

Repo Rate - 6.00 %

Reverse Repo - 5.75 %

Bank Rate - 6.25 %

Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) Rate - 6.25 %

CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio) - 4 %

SLR(Statutory Liquidity ratio) - 20 %

Income Tax Department imposed INR 7900 crores penalty on tax demand of same amount on a unit of Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd, over its decade-old sale of mobile phone business in India to Vodafone India. Vodafone in 2007 acquired 67% stake in mobile-phone business owned by Hutchison Whampoa (now part of CK Hutchison).

India signed Global Environment Facility (GEF) Grant Agreement with World Bank for USD 24.64 Million for “Ecosystems Service Improvement Project”.

India's GDP growth declined to 5.7 % in Q1 (April - June) of FY 2017-18, with growth in manufacturing sector declining rapidly. This is slowest quarterly GDP growth since January-March quarter in 2014. GDP Growth was 7.9 % Strong in Q1 of FY 2016-17 and 6.1% in Q4 of FY 2016-17.

Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) launched world’s first diamond futures contracts to provide exporters with a hedging tool, enabling companies involving in cut and polished gems business to better hedge price risks. ICEX has started trading in 1 carat/100 cent contracts and eventually in future will add 50 cent and 30 cent contracts.

Note that India is a global diamond polishing hub where 14 out of every 15 rough diamonds in the world are polished.

Indian Navy's Band participated in International Military Music Festival "Spasskaya Tower" held in Moscow (Russia). A 66-member Indian Navy band also joined historic Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in the UK.

Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart received investment of $2.4 Billion from Japan's SoftBank Vision Fund, world’s largest technology-focused investment fund. This is as biggest ever private investment in an Indian technology company.

Flipkart is now world's 3rd most funded private company with almost $7 billion capital raised so far. Top 2 are both ride hailing platforms – Chinabased Didi Chuxing ($15 Billion) and US based Uber ($12.9 billion).

Indian signed US$ 329 million Loan agreement with Beijing (China) based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for Gujarat Rural Roads Project.

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) launched a Central Database of all Insurance Sales Persons in country, Named as Envoy.

Karnataka Bank updated interest rates on savings bank account balances -

Under 1 lakh - 3%.

1 Lakh t0 50 Lakh - 3.5 %

50 Lakh to 1 Crore - 4 %

Above 1 crores - 5%

Karur Vysya Bank became First Private Sector Bank to roll out an Aadhaar Enrollment Centre, at its Nelson Manickam Road Branch in Chennai.

Kotak Mahindra Bank launched an Aadhaar-based integrated outward forex remittance service - Kotak Remit for both customers and non-customers. It offers a paperless process that enables users to register online using Aadhaar and PAN numbers, and initiate remittances instantly.

Leading FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) Britannia Industries will set up its largest plant in Maharashtra in a food park at Ranjangaon, with investment of INR 1000 crores.

Lok Sabha passed Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2017 to replace Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance 2017 and amend Banking Regulation Act 1949 to insert provisions for handling cases related to stressed assets or non-performing assets (NPAs) of banks. Key Features -

It enables Central government to authorize Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to direct banking companies to resolve specific stressed assets by initiating insolvency resolution process, as per Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016.

It empowers RBI to issue directions to banks for resolution of stressed assets from time to time.

It inserts provision to make above provisions applicable to the SBI and its subsidiaries and also Regional Rural Banks (RRBs).

Lok Sabha passed National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Amendment) Bill 2017 that amends NABARD Act 1981. Key features -

Capital of NABARD is increased to INR 30000 crores from 5000 crores. Government is also allowed to increase it to over INR 30000 crores in consultation with RBI.

Government must hold at least 51% capital share of NABARD. and .04% shares of NABARD held by RBI (valued 20 crores) will be transferred to Government.

Lok Sabha passed State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill 2017 that repeals State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act 1959 and State Bank of Hyderabad Act 1956. It also amends State Bank of India (SBI) Act 1955 to remove references to subsidiary banks and powers of SBI to act as an agent of the RBI for subsidiary banks.

Messaging app Hike Messenger acquired Bengaluru-based tech start-up Creo for an undisclosed amount.

Ministry of Commerce and Industry will shut down over 100-year-old Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D), government's procurement arm. Now public procurement of goods and services will be managed by Government’s e-market platform (GeM).

Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) and Mahindra Agri Solutions signed MoU to provide agriculture related price information, through their recently launched mobile application MyAgriGuru.

NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation) signed loan agreement for Rs. 3,000 crore with ICICI Bank for partially funding its capital expenditure, with tenure of 15 years.

National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) sanctioned Loan of INR 1349.55 crores to Rajasthan government for creation of rural infrastructure in the state under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF).

National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved merger between Aircel and Reliance Communications wireless business and sale of Reliance's tower business to Canada's Brookfield. RCom and Aircel will ot have to get permission from Supreme Court before filing their merger plea. Merged entities will be called as 'Aircom' and both will have 50% equity stake.

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) approved Spice Digital Ltd. for processing bill payments under Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) as a Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit (BBPOU).

NPCI launched a pilot project for BBPS with eight BBPS operating unit, Spice Digital was one of them.

PNB (Punjab National Bank) customers will have to pay charges for depositing cash above Rs. 5,000 (down from 25000 Currently) in a non-base branch even if it is located in same city. Customer will have to pay Re 1 per Rs 1,000 for above Rs 5,000 cash deposit or part thereof with a minimum of Rs 25 per transaction.

Power transmission utility Powergrid received loan of USD 500 million from Asian Development Bank (ADB) for its various projects.

Private Sector's Axis Bank and Government Owned Indian Bank reduced interest rate on savings bank accounts to 3.5 % for deposits up to Rs 50 lakh (4 % on deposits of above Rs 50 lakh). It has came after SBI slashed interest rate on savings accounts to 3.5% on balance of under INR 1 crore.

Public procurement portal Government eMarketplace (GeM) and industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) have signed a MoU to establish GeMSamvad, a GeM -Industry forum. GeMSamvad aims to create awareness about online purchase of goods and services by government agencies and departments.

Punjab National Bank (PNB) introduced biometric attendance, to enforce punctuality among employees. Timings will be uploaded in HR system automatically.

RBI Stated that out of 56 regional rural banks (RRBs), Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank and Andhra Pragathi Grameena Bank recorded net profit of more than Rs 150 crore during 2016-17. Overall, 49 RRBs recorded net profit in 2016-17.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will pay INR 30,659 crore dividend to government for year ended June 30, less than half of what it paid in 2016 (65,876 crores).

Reserve Bank of India advised banks to make Aadhaar linkage mandatory for availing short-term crop loans up to Rs 3 lakh in 2017-18, To ensure hassle-free benefits to farmers under Interest Subvention Scheme.

To provide short-term crop loans to farmers at an interest rate of 7 % during 2017-18, RBI decided to offer interest subvention of 2 % to lending banks on use of their own resources.

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) directed companies that fail to disclose any default on payment of interest or repayment of principal to banks or financial institutions within a day, from October 1 Onwards.

Solar energy services company Freyr Energy tied up with Axis Bank to offer term loans ranging from Rs 5 to 50 lakh for up to 5 years, for solar rooftop installations in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

State Bank of India (SBI) announced waiver of up to 100% of processing fee on car loans, personal gold loans and personal loans for 2017 festive season. Bank has waived processing fee on car loans till 31st December 2017 and half of he processing fee on personal gold loans till 31st October 2017.

State Bank of India has launched a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiative SBI Gram Seva, which will work in areas of health, education, environment and rural infrastructure. SBI Foundation will partner with NGOs to carry out CSR initiatives under which it adopt 5 villages each from 10 village panchayats with each village getting around Rs 2.40 crore over 3 years.

State Bank of India held Home Loan Utsav in Bengaluru, in association with several sponsors. SBI offered 0.25% concession in interest rate from 4th year of home loans availed at SBI Utsav.

State Bank of India will raise INR 2,000 crores by allotting Basel-III compliant bonds to various investors. It will allot 20,000 AT1 Basel-III compliant non-convertible, perpetual, subordinated bonds in the nature of debentures. Bonds will carry a coupon rate of 8.15% per annum with a call option after 5 years.

Substantial increase observed in number of Income Tax Returns(ITRs) filed, with over 2.8 Crore ITRs filed as compared to 2.26 Crore ITRs last year.

Tata Power became first power utility to introduce a QR code based bill payments system in India. QR code linked to Unified Payments Interface (UPI) will be printed on electricity bills and customers can scan QR code with BHIM app or any other UPI linked app and pay bills..

Uber launched Uber for Business model to enable new use cases like daily commute, late-night rides home from work, between-office transportation and much more. This organisations targeted service would help businesses save costs as they can ensure that employees travel within company policy.

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Ltd (subsidiary of Ujjivan Financial Services) has been given scheduled bank status by RBI. Currently, Ujjivan SFB has 65 branches in 10 states / UTs.

Union Bank of India signed Bancassurance agreements with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance and Cholamandalam MS General Insurance for distribution of their insurance products. Similar Bancassurance tie up has been signed between DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance Company and Dhanlaxmi Bank.

e-Commerce Firm Flipkart launched Budding Star Programme, a program aimed at Flipkart employees to help them achieve their dreams by providing them financial assistance and paid leaves, open for employees who have completed 6 months with company.

International

India's Essar Ports signed 30-year concession agreement with Government of Mozambique to develop a 20 million tons per annum (MTPA) coal terminal at Beira Port as part of a Public Private Partnership (PPP) project. First phase will be developed at a cost of $275 million.

2017 Global Liveability Report compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) -

10 most liveable cities - Melbourne (1st), Vienna (2nd), Vancouver (3rd), Toronto (4th), Calgary (5th), Adelaide (6th), Perth (7th), Auckland (8th), Helsinki (9th) and Hamburg (10th). Melbourne has topped the list For seventh consecutive year

No Indian City named in top 10 Cities' List.

Least Liveable Cities - Damascus (Syria), Lagos (Nigeria), Tripoli (Libya)

2017 Global Retirement Index (GRI) by French asset management company Natixis Global -

India has been ranked Last (43rd) among 43 Countries in List.

Top 3 - Norway, Switzerland, and Iceland.

A new representative body US- India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) is being set up to enhance business relations between India and USA. Mukesh Aghi will serve as a USISPF President while Gaurav Verma will serve as Chief Operating officer.

A team of researchers led by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen discovered wreckage of World War II warship USS Indianapolis 18000 feet below the surface in Pacific Ocean, after 72 years of its drowning by Japanese Soldiers.

According to a report by United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), island of Tuvalu is least visited country in 2016. Approx 2,000 people visited Tuvalu in 2016, while 1000 people visited it in 2014. Located in South Pacific Ocean, Tuvalu has a population of 11,000 people.

According to report by UN Body International Telecommunication Union (ITU), India and China are home to 39% of the 830 million young people worldwide who use Internet.

African country Chad will release released limited edition Lord Krishna silver coin on Janmashtami in commemoration of 5,244th birth anniversary of Hindu God.

After Hindi version, Oxford University Press (OUP) launched online dictionaries in Tamil and Gujarati as part of its special focus on Indian languages, under Oxford Global Languages (OGL) initiative Launched in September 2015.

Arab Nation Qatar government announced that citizens belonging to 80 countries including India can now enter Qatar without a visa.

As per Bloomberg Billionaires Index, India's Mukesh Ambani Became Asia’s second-richest man with Worth of Approx 35.7 Billion USD, getting past Hong Kong Businessman Li Ka-shing. Mukesh added $12.1 billion to his wealth in 2017, mainly owing to Jio Infocom, that roped in Over 11 Crore users in Under an year.

As per Forbes' Magazine, Chinese e-Commerce Firm Alibaba's CEO Jack Ma is back as Asia’s richest man with worth of $37.4 billion. He is followed by China's Ma Huateng (Chairman of Tencent) with worth $36.7 billion.

As per data by U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2016 was warmest on record for planet as a whole and it also surpassed temperature records dating back 137 years.

As per speed tester Ookla, Norway has fastest mobile Internet in the world with 52.6 Mbps speed, followed by Netherlands and Hungary.

Australian government will build world’s biggest single tower solar thermal power plant (150-megawatt capacity) in South Australia by 2020. Solar thermal technology uses mirrors to concentrate the Sun’s light at the top of a tower, heating stored molten salt and heat is used to operate steam turbines.

Bajaj Auto and Triumph Motorcycles (UK) announced a global partnership, to build a range of mid-capacity motorcycles, building on the collective strengths of both companies.

Bangladesh will open a new diplomatic station in Chennai, to focus on medical tourism and educational centres that drew thousands of Bangladesh citizens to India every year.

Bank of England would not change the way its new plastic banknotes are made, that have small amounts of animal fat used in their production.

Biggest X-ray laser gun on earth named, European X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) in German federal states of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein, will begin operating in September 2017.

XFEL will shoot 27000 laser pulses per second, 200 times more per second than next highest-performing gun in California (USA).

1.5 billion-euro laser replaces its predecessor, FLASH, in Germany.

European XFEL is constructed such that electrons produce x-ray light in synchronisation, resulting in high-intensity x-ray pulses with properties of laser light and at intensities much brighter than those produced by conventional synchrotron light sources.

Brazil Government abolished a vast national reserve in the Amazon to open up area to mining, covering 46000 sq km. This area straddles northern states of Amapa and Para and is believed to be rich in gold, zinc, phosphate, manganese and other minerals.

Cabinet Approved MoU with Sweden on cooperation in the field of Intellectual Property (IPRs).

Cabinet approvals -

MOU with Spain on cooperation in renewable energy.

Establishment of BRICS Agriculture Research Platform (BRICS-ARP), as a natural global platform for science-led agriculture-based sustainable development for addressing the issues of world hunger, under-nutrition, poverty and inequality.

India and Somalia signed agreement for transfer of sentenced persons, to deepen humanitarian cooperation between two nations.

Proposal to extend proxy voting to overseas Indians by amending electoral laws has been cleared. NRIs will also be allowed to use option of proxy, which as of now is only available to service personnel.

Canadian government announced to allow Transgender citizens to obtain gender neutral passports, by marking X in space of gender on their passports and other identity documents.

China and Nepal have signed three pacts to further boost their ties. Areas of co-operation are gas resources exploration, economic and technological cooperation and promotion of investment.

China launched its first cyber court specialising in handling internet-related cases in the e-commerce hub of Hangzhou, amid a spike in number of online disputes.

Chinese electronics company TCL Corporation will launch a full touchscreen, waterproof Smartphone under BlackBerry name in October 2017.

East African Nation Kenya has put Toughest laws against use of Plastic Bags, with imprisonment of up to four years or fines of $40000.

Facebook acquired artificial intelligence (AI) startup Ozlo, aimed at building more elaborate personal assistant for Messenger users.

Facebook rolled out Watch video platform to take on Google-owned YouTube. It is a platform for all creators and publishers to find an audience, build a community of passionate fans, and earn money for their work.

Finance Ministry imposed anti-dumping duty on certain textured toughened (tempered) glass imported from China (for five years), to protect domestic industry from cheaper imports.

First Israeli satellite for environmental research - Venus has been launched from French Guiana (France), as a joint effort by the Israel Space Agency and the French Space Agency (CNES).

First meeting of Japan-India Coordination Forum (JICF) for Development of North-Eastern Region held in New Delhi.

First regional centre of New Development Bank has been opened in SouthAfrica. NDB has been set up by India and other BRICS nations with anauthorized capital of USD 100 billion. Its headquarters is in Beijing (China).

Five Indian-origin persons featured in Fortune’s annual list of 40 young and influential people in business globally.

Indian Origin Persons - Leo Varadkar (Irish Prime Minister), Divya Nag, Rishi Shah, Shradha Agarwal and Leila Janah.

List is topped by 39-year-old French President Emmanuel Macron (France’s youngest leader since Napoleon).

Forbes' Highest Earning Male Actors List 2017 -

Mark Wahlberg ($68 million)

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson ($65 million)

Vin Diesel ($54.5 million)

Adam Sandler ($50.5 million)

Jackie Chan ($49 million)

Robert Downey, Jr. ($48 million)

Tom Cruise ($43 million)

Shah Rukh Khan ($38 million)

Salman Khan ($37 million)

Akshay Kumar ($35.5 million)

Forbes’s list of The World’s Most Innovative Companies. 2017 -

Top 5 - Salesforce (1st), Tesla Motors (2), Amazon (3), Shanghai Raas Blood Products (4) and Netflix (5)

Indian Companies - Hindustan Unilever Limited (7th), Asian Paints (8th) and Bharti Airtel (78th).

Google launched its version 8.0 of operating system as Android Oreo. It boasts of a double faster boot speed, autofill option, and a longer battery life. The new update comes with a Picture-in-Picture feature that allows the user to see two apps simultaneously.

Government imposed a five year anti-dumping duty on Sodium Nitrite imports from China, amid injury caused to domestic industry by the same.

Government restricted imports of gold and silver items from South Korea in a bid to contain rise in inbound shipments of precious metals from South Korea.

India and China agreed to disengage 2 month old border standoff at Doklam (Bhutan), brining end to possibilities of an armed conflict Between India and China over the matter.

India and China jointly submitted a proposal to World Trade Organisation (WTO) calling for the elimination of the most trade-distorting form of farm subsidies, known as Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS).

It has come ahead of upcoming 11th Ministerial Conference of WTO (to be held in Buenos Aires (Argentina)) in December 2017.

It counters efforts of some countries to target subsidies of developing countries while letting developed countries retain their huge farm subsidies.

Developed countries have more than 90 percent of the global AMS entitlements amounting to nearly US$ 160 bn. While, Most of developing countries including India and China do not have AMS entitlements.

India and European Union (EU) agreed to strengthen cooperation between their security and intelligence agencies to combat threat of terrorism, during 10th India-European Union Counter Terrorism Dialogue held in New Delhi.

India and Germany signed agreement on technical cooperation under Indo-German Energy Programme – Green Energy Corridors (IGEN-GEC). Green Energy Corridor Project aims to synchronise electricity produced from renewable sources (solar / wind), with conventional power stations in grid.

India and US established new two-by-two (2 by 2) ministerial dialogue to enhance strategic coordination maintaining peace and stability in Indo-Pacific region, replacing earlier India-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue. It will be similar to India-Japan 2+2 dialogue format between foreign and defence secretaries of two countries.

India became 80th country to ratify second commitment period (2013- 2020) of Kyoto Protocol (or Doha Amendment) that commits countries to contain emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs).

India granted US pharmaceutical company Pfizer a patent for its pneumonia vaccine Prevnar 13. .Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine is used for prevention of pneumococcal pneumonia and invasive diseases caused by 13 Streptococcis pneumoniae strains. There are currently 3 types of PCV available on global market - Prevnar, Synflorix and Prevnar 13.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Ministry of Health inked MoU with International Vaccine Institute (IVI) to collaborate on vaccine research and development, committing annual contribution of US $5,00,000 to IVI.

Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) (Ministry of Earth Sciences) inaugurated Ocean Forecasting System for Indian Ocean countries Comoros, Madagascar, and Mozambique, during 3rd Meeting of Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Asia and Africa (RIMES) held in Papua New Guinea.

Ocean Forecast System will offer, high wave alerts, port warnings, forecast, oil spill advisory services along the ship routes in addition to tsunami and storm surge warnings and help in search and rescue operations.

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) bought 1.9 million barrels of U.S. crude in its second import tender making it first Indian refiner to purchase Eagle Ford shale oil. IOC bought 950,000 barrels of light sweet Eagle Ford shale oil and 950,000 barrels of heavy sour Mars crude oil.

Indian Pharma Company Natco Pharma received approval from US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to market Lanthanum Carbonate chewable tablets in various strengths. These tablets are used in treatment of patients with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD).

Indian Software services firm Infosys acquired London-based firm Brilliant Basics for Rs 62 crores (£7.5 million).

Indian Space Research Organistaion (ISRO) and USA's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are working to develop and launch a dual frequency synthetic aperture radar satellite in the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission 2021.

It will be first radar imaging satellite to use dual frequency and it is planned to be used for remote sensing purposes, to observe and understand natural processes of the Earth.

NASA will be responsible for development of L-band SAR, a 12m unfurlable antenna & its deployment elements, GPS system and data recorder. ISRO will be responsible for development of S-ban SAR, Spacecraft Bus, data transmission system, Spacecraft integration & testing, launch using GSLV and on-orbit operations.

Institute of Charteted Accountants of India (ICAI) signed MoU with Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal (ICAN).

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) opened world’s first low Enriched Uranium (LEU) Bank in Oskemen in Kazakhstan. It will be the first of its kind LEU bank not to be under control of any individual country.

International Seabed Authority (ISA) in its 23rd session recently held at Kingston (Jamaica) has extended India’s exclusive rights to explore polymetallic nodules from seabed in Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB). Estimated polymetallic nodule resource potential of this area is around 380 million tonnes, containing nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese.

Iran’s IDRO and the privately owned Negin Group signed Iran’s biggest-ever car deal ($778 million) with French automobile manufacturer Renault to produce 150,000 cars, beginning in 2018.

Japan launched Michibiki No. 3 satellite of its new quasi-zenith satellites to improve the global positioning system (GPS) navigation services in Japan.

Mastercard and Tufts University released Digital Evolution Index 2017, ranking 60 nations in terms of developing their digital economies and integrating digital connectivity among people. India has been categorised under the break out segment that refers to countries with relatively lower absolute levels of digital advancement, yet remain poised for growth and are attractive to investors by virtue of their potential.

Mumbai Based Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Tourbo accquired INR 3375 crores metro order from Mauritius government to design and build an Integrated Light Rail-based Urban Transit System in Mauritius.

NASA launched Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-M) aimed at ensuring efficient communication of astronauts at International Space Station with Earth. TDRS-M is last of 13 such satellites that have been launched since 1983.

Nepal launched climate-smart snow leopard landscape management plan to safeguard endangered species of snow leopard, as first climate-smart landscape management plan for snow leopard conservation in world.

Nepal’s Parliament passed a law that criminalises an ancient practice called Chhaupadi that banishes women from home during mensuration and after childbirth.

Nepal’s Parliament passed a law that criminalises an ancient practice called Chhaupadi that banishes women from home during mensuration and after childbirth.

Newly established Constitutional Assembly of South American Nation Venezuela announced itself superior to all other governmental institutions, including opposition-controlled congress. It prohibit opposition-held National Assembly and other government bodies from taking any action that would interfere with constituent assembly's laws.

Noted Software Firm Microsoft launched Project Brainwave as a deep learning acceleration platform for real-time artificial intelligence (AI), amid AI becoming increasingly important . Project Brainwave uses massive field-programmable gate array (FPGA) infrastructure deployed by Microsoft over past few years.

ONGC Videsh will invest $150 million in exploration to drill more wells in Colombia, Kazakhstan and Bangladesh.

Online entertainment platform Netflix made its first ever acquisition after it acquired comic book company Millarworld.

Powerful Hurrinaces Harvey and Irma struck USA, triggering huge Financial and Human Losses.

Qatar approved law for making permanent residency available to some non-citizens like children of Qatari women married to foreigners, people who offered valuable services to the country and those with special skills. This has made Qatar first Gulf Arab state to make permanent residency available to some non-citizens.

Qatar launched a new direct route between Qatar’s Hamad Port and Pakistan’s port of Karachi.

Qatar restored full diplomatic relations with Iran, disregarding demands of other Arab Nations.

Scimago Institutions ranking World Report 2017 -

India's Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is ranked 9th best government organisation in world and overall ranked 75th institution globally.

Ranking of Government Institutions was topped by Chinese Academy of Sciences, followed by Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (France) and Helmholtz Gemeinschaft (Germany).

Overall global ranking was topped by Chinese Academy of Sciences, followed by Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (France) and Harvard University (USA).

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) signed agreement with its Iran's counterpart Securities & Exchange Organization (SEO), to promote technical assistance and facilitate cross-border co-operation in area of securities regulations.

Sher Bahadur Deuba, Prime Minister of Nepal Visited India. 8 MOUs were signed during his visit -

MoU on Modalities for Utilization of India’s Housing Grant Component to support Reconstruction of 50,000 Houses.

MoU on Implementation of India’s Post-Earthquake Reconstruction Package in Education, Cultural Heritage and Health Sectors in Nepal

MoU for Implementation Arrangement on Cost Sharing, Schedules and Safeguard Issues for Construction of Mechi Bridge under ADB's SASEC Road Connectivity Programme.

MoU on Drug Demand Reduction and Prevention of Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Precursor Chemical and Related Matters

Agreement on Cooperation in Field of Standardization and Conformity Assessment

MoU between Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal.

Sri Lankan Navy commissioned SLNS Sayurala, an India-built state-of-the-art Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel (AOPV), first-ever purchase from a foreign ship builder, to boost its search and rescue capabilities.

Swedish defence firm SAAB and Indian conglomerate Adani group signed collaboration agreement, mailny aiming at a contract for single- engine fighter jets for Indian Air Force.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) signed letter of intent (LoI) with Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) deepen cooperation. It was signed during ITU-TRAI Asia-Pacific Regulators’ Roundtable jointly organised by International Telecom Union (ITU) and TRAI in New Delhi.

US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved first gene therapy treatment that uses patient’s own immune cells to fight acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, that may bring new approach to treatment of cancer and serious and life-threatening diseases.

Gene therapy was identified as CAR-T cell therapy (CTL019) or tisagenlecleucel and now is called Kymriah, completely different as compared to present immunotherapy drugs called checkpoint inhibitors that treat variety of cancers by helping body’s natural T cells better spot tumors.

CAR-T treatment is not a pill or chemotherapy. It uses gene therapy techniques not to fix disease-causing genes (cells) but to turbocharge T cells, immune system cells that cancer can evade.

US and South Korea began 10-day-long annual military exercise - Ulchi Freedom Guardian drill.

USA Space Exploration Firm Space X successfully launched Hewlett Packard Enterprises (HPE) Spaceborne Computer towards International Space Station using Falcon 9 rocket, as part of HPE’s joint experiment with NASA.

USA named Pakistan based Kashmiri terrorist outfit Hizbul Mujahideen as a “Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO)”, the list that has Other organizations like Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

USA will install radar systems in independent nation Palau. It is located in south-west of Guam, the US territory that North Korea has threatened to target.

Unicity International (USA) launched world's first ever Genomeceutical (gene controlling) range of products to India. DNA contains DNA undergoes a process called transcription or gene expression that creates a "messenger" molecule, telling body to make a specific protein.

United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted a resolution to prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons, particularly small arms and light weapons. It came after witnessing a continuous flow of weapons, unmanned aircraft systems and improvised explosive device (IED) components between terrorist oerganizations.

World Bank allowed India to construct hydroelectric power facilities on tributaries of Jhelum and Chenab rivers with certain restrictions under 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).

World Health Organization (WHO) declared Somalia free of polio as it had not recorded any case of polio disease in last 3 years.

World breastfeeding week 2017 is being celebrated from 1st - 7th August 2017 with theme Sustaining Breastfeeding Together.

World’s largest data center - Kolos facility is being developed by a US-Norwegian partnership in Ballangen, a small town in Northern Norway. It will draw on a record-setting 1000 megawatts of power.

Meetings

15th BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Ministerial Meeting held in Kathmandu (Nepal), attended by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on India's Behalf.

17th Meeting of Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) held in New Delhi under Chairmanship of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

7th Meeting of BRICS Trade Ministers held in Shanghai (China) with Indian delegation led by Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

8th Mekong Ganga Cooperation Ministerial Meeting held in Manila (Philippines), attended by V.K. Singh (Minister of State for External Affairs) on India's Behalf.

MGC is an initiative by India and five ASEAN countries, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam for cooperation in tourism, culture, education, as well as transport and communications. It is named after Ganga and Mekong which both are civilisational rivers.

8th World Renewable Energy Technology Congress & Expo 2017 Organized in New Delhi, with Theme Renewable Energy: What Works.

8th meeting of Regional Technical Group of Confidence Building Measure on Trade, Commerce & Investment Opportunities under Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process held in New Delhi.

9th Meeting of Heads of Governments of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held in Kyrgyzstan. Home Minister Rajnath Singh Attended on India's Behalf.

India and USA will co-host Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) at Hyderabad (Telangana) from 28-30 November, 2017.

India-ASEAN Youth Summit 2017 held in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh). It marks 25th anniversary of ASEAN-India dialogue partnership with theme Shared Values, Common Destiny.

International Snow Leopard & Ecosystem Forum (Summit 2017) held in Kyrgyzstan capital Bishkek, Attended by Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan on India'a Behalf.

Italy will host summit of Group of Seven Interior Ministers on security issues in October 2017.

Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) organized Business and Climate Change Summit 2017.

National

19 acres of land housed around 70 government office buildings in Chattisgarh’s Raipur is being converted into India’s first micro forest to create an oxy-zone, aimed at creating an oxyzone in midst of packed houses in Highly populatedRaipur city.

2030 Water Resources Group (2030WRG) will help Maharashtra Government raise $270 million from Green Climate Fund, which will be invested in integrated watershed programmes such as Jalyukt Shivar Yojana.

GCF is a new fund under UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and 2030WRG is hosted by the International Finance Corporation. It is a public-private-civil society collaboration for water resources reform in developing economies.

3 day annual cultural festival named Fete de Puducherry organised by government in Puducherry in association with South Zone Cultural Centre. It aims to bring to multi-faceted cultural features of various states.

A Supreme Court Bench (led by Chief Justice J.S. Khehar) pronounced that individual privacy is a fundamental right protected by Constitution. It Comes under under various fundamental freedoms in PART III of Indian Constitution. With this now India has total seven fundamental rights. Which are -

Right to equality

Right to freedom

Right against exploitation

Right to freedom of religion

Cultural and Educational rights

Right to constitutional remedies

Right to Privacy

Aadi Perukku Festival celebrated in Tamilnadu, marking begining of month of Aadi. During this month, Thai and Aadi sun changes directions so it is celebrated Aadi Perukku festival celebrated in Tamilnaduin that way.

According to report by Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), population estimation of Asian elephant in India is around 27,312. It was first-ever synchronised all-India Elephant Population census that covered 1.10 lakh square kilometres and spanned four regions of - northeast, south, east-central and north.

Karnataka has the highest number of elephants (6,049), followed by Assam (5,719) and Kerala (3,054).

Amazon India signed MoU with Telangana Department of Handloom and Textiles, to train and enable weavers and artisans to directly sell their products to Amazon customers across country.

An Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) and CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (NPL), to provide for time and frequency traceability services to ISRO by CSIR-NPL.

Andhra Pradesh’s Eastern Power Distribution Company (EPDCL) and Southern Power Distribution Corporation of AP (SPDCL) became first state-owned distribution companies in India to accept payments through Bharat QR, As part of ‘Vizag less–cash city’ initiative by Visa and Andhra Pradesh government.

Assam Government will launch Scheme for Compassionate Family Pension (CFP), in place of Compassionate Appointment. It is being done as Compassionate Appointment didn’t serve objective due to practical difficulties (Incuding Under qualification and other issues of compassionate Appointee).

Bangalore International Airport Ltd and private helicopter service Thumby Aviation partnered to launch HeliTaxi services from Bengaluru Airport, Making Bengaluru Airport first in India to get HeliTaxi service.

Bengaluru based social education start-up Meghshala Trust launched Meghshala (‘School on the Cloud’) offline mobile app, supported by Tata Trusts. It empowers teachers with tools to create classroom learning experiences and is preloaded with over 2,500 of Meghashala’s ‘TeachKits’.

Bihar government will enforce retirement of non-performing educational personnel above age of 50 years, in view of poor perforamance of academics in state.

Cabinet Approvals -

MoU with Myanmar for the Conservation of Earthquake-Damaged Pagodas at Bagan.

MOU with Israel on India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F). India and Israel will make contribution of US $4 million (Rs.25 crore) each for Fund, both equivalent amount, annually for 5 years. The fund will be governed by joint Board which will consist of 4 members from each country.

MoU with Brazil for cooperation in Zebu Cattle Genomics and Assisted Reproductive Technologies.

Joint issueof 2 Commemorative Postage Stamps on India-Canada: Joint Issue on theme "Diwali".

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved closure of Andaman & Nicobar Islands Forest and Plantation Development Corporation Limited (ANIFPDCL) in Port Blair, to help stop unproductive loans to ANIFPDCL from Gol and would enable a more productive utilization of assets.

Congress Government launched subsidized food scheme named Indira Canteen scheme in Bengaluru (Karnataka). In This, Breakfast available for Rs 5, lunch and dinner for Rs 10.

Defence Accounts Department (DAD) organized its first Synergy Conference on Defence Pensions in New Delhi.

Delhi Assembly passed two amended Bills - Minimum Wages (Delhi) Amendment Bill 2017 and Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology (NSIT) Bill 2017.

NSIT Bill 2017 gives University status to Netaji Subhash Institute of Technology.

Minimum Wages Amendment Bill 2017 hikes minimum wages of workers and puts strict penalties on employers failing to pay minimum wages to workers. It enhances penalty for non-payment of minimum wages from INR 500 to 50000 and increased jail term of 3 years.

Delhi Metro opened a facility to recycle waste produced during its demolition and construction work.

Delhi Police partnered with cab Aggregator UBER to intensify safety of women in city, enabling Passengers to access Delhi Police’s women safety mobile application ‘Himmat’ via Uber’s Mobile application.

Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) approved 2 projects for development of industrial clusters at Hindupur and Bobbili in the Andhra Pradesh, under ‘Modified Industrial Infrastructure Up gradation Scheme (MIIUS)’.

Drug price regulator National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority (NPPA) capped the prices of orthopaedic knee implants upto 70% lower than current market rates. It came after World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that osteoarthritis will be 4th largest cause of immobility in globally by 2020.

Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) signed MoU with Oil Marketing Companies (IOCL, HPCL and BPCL) for distribution of energy efficient appliances under flagship Unnat Jeevan by Affordable LEDs and appliances for All (UJALA) scheme. Under this MOU, Consumer can purchase high quality 9W LED Bulbs for Rs 70, 20W LED Tubelight for Rs 220 and Five-Star Rated Ceiling Fan for Rs 1,200.

First 3 of 24 fast track courts for Maharashtra in two of its most popular cities - one in Mumbai and 2 in Thane.

Gabriel Chundan won 65th edition of Nehru Trophy Boat Race held at Punnamda Lake in Kerala.

Geographical Indications Registry (GIR) granted geographical indication (GI) status to Gobindobhog rice, a speciality from Burdwan district of West Bengal. It derives its name from principal ingredient usage in preparation of offerings to Govindajiu, family deity of Setts of Kolkata.

Global e-Commerce Firm Amazon partnered with Akshaya Patra Foundation to implement Karnataka Government’s Ksheera Bhagya Scheme. Under this, school children of city would be provided a glass of milk each five days a week.

Goa Legislative Assembly passed Goa, Daman and Diu, Preservation of Trees Act 1984. It seeks to reclassify coconut as a tree and ensure legal protection to it.

Goverment approved Proposal for Completion of balance works of North Koel Reservoir Project in Bihar stalled since 1993 has been approved. Under revived project, storage of water in Mandal dam to be constructed under it will be will be restricted at lower level than envisaged earlier to reduce submergence and to protect Betla National Park and Palamau Tiger Reserve. 24 MW power project as part of the original design also has been scrapped.

Government approved Uttar Pradesh government’s proposal to rename Mughalsarai railway station as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (DDU) station.

Government approved creation of a single corpus fund known as Madhyamik and Uchchtar Shiksha Kosh (MUSK), in which all secondary and higher education cess will be credited and utilised for government’s schemes in education sector.

MUSK will be operationalised as per present arrangements under Prarambhik Shiksha Kosh (PSK) wherein the proceeds of cess are used for Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Schemes.

Expenditure on ongoing schemes of the HRD Ministry will be initially incurred from the gross budgetary support (GBS) in any financial year and expenditure will be financed from MUSK only after GBS is exhausted.

Government approved norms for establishing equivalence of posts in Government Organizations (PSUs), for claiming benefit of OBC reservations. This will ensure that children of lower category workers in PSUs and other institutions can get benefit of OBC reservations and will prevent treatment of children of OBC individuals in senior positions as non Creamy Layer by wrong interpretation of income.

Cabinet also approved increase inCreamy Layer ceiling of OBCs from Rs 6 lakh per annum to Rs 8 lakh per annum, with increase in Consumer Price Index.

Government approved setting up a Commission under article 340 of Constitution to examine issue of sub-categorization of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

Government doubled Child Care allowance from Rs 1500 to Rs 3000 for women employees with disabilities, payable will child is 2 years old and shall be payable for maximum of 2 eldest surviving children. Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) also issued orders for the reimbursement of children education allowance, which will be Rs 2,250 per month.

Government finalised a new policy for cadre allocation for IAS, IPS and other officers. Now, officers of these services will choose cadres from a set of zones instead of states. Existing 26 state cadres have been divided into 5 zones now.

Government has fixed target of installing 60 giga watt (GW) wind power capacity by 2022, up from 32.5 GW capacity currently.

Government is developing Tirupati and Vijayawada Airports in Andhra Pradesh as green airports (solar powered).

Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) in Kerala is first airport in the world to be completely powered by solar energy.

Government launched e-RaKAM portal as a joint initiative by MSTC and Central Warehousing Corporation. It is a digital initiative that aims to bring together farmers, PSUs, civil supplies and buyers on a single platform to ease selling and buying process of agricultural products.

Government will provide 40 5 reservation for girls at 100 Navodaya-type schools and will set up 5 higher education institutes for minority community students.

Gujarat became First State to Implement Coal Utilisation after it issued tender for power developers to receive cheap coal marked for state in return for selling coal-based power at less than Rs 2.82 a unit. Through auction, coal allocated to state government's power generating stations will be transferred to more fuel-efficient private power plants. It will reduce cost of fuel for distribution companies and ensure effective distribution of domestic coal.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated YUVA – Skill Development Programme, an initiative by Delhi Police under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana.

Home Ministry declared entire Assam state as a disturbed area under Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act for one more month, citing various violent activities by insurgent groups ULFA, NDFB, and others.

Home Ministry merged National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) with Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD), to improve administrative efficiency and optimal utilisation of resources for development works related to policing.

Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry will conduct National Assessment Survey (NAS) for students of class 3, 5, and 8 on November 13, 2017. Approx 30 lakh students will be assessed in 2017-18,making it world’s largest sample survey of student learning achievement.

India's First World Peace University opened in MIT Pune,Following a Global Summit Science and Spirituality for World Peace.

India's largest telecom services provider Bharti Airtel partnered with leading global cyber security company Symantec Corp, to serve growing cyber security requirements of businesses in India.

Indian Army developed Humraaz mobile application, that allows serving soldiers to track details like postings and promotion.

Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad’s (IIM-A) incubator Center for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) announced AGRI UDAAN - Food and Agribusiness Accelerator 2.0 as a 6 month program to help innovative startups in scaling up their operations in agri value chain for effective improvement in agriculture.

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) will invest INR 52,000 crores in expanding Paradip refinery in Odisha and setting up petrochemical complex after Odisha State Government agreed to restore part of tax incentives and give INR 700 crore per annum of an interest-free loan for 15 years.

Indian Railways announced ePaylater scheme, enabling people to book now & pay later for tickets booked under tatkal quota on IRCTC website. Users may pay the fare within 15 days, with a service charge of 3.5 %.

Indian Railways has signed its first EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) contract with Larsen and Toubro (L&T) for electrification of railway lines, valuing INR 1050 crores.

India’s first railways disaster management village will come up near Bengaluru (Karnataka) by December 2018, where situations like trains falling into rivers and coaches catching fire will be replicated and mock rescue operations will be carried out in real time.

India’s policy think-tank NITI Aayog organized event called Champions of Change, aimed at bringing together young businessmen at a place and share ideas.

Infusion Nurses Society (INS) India launched country’s first online course on Infusion Therapy for nurses, during its 6th National conference. Under this, INS aims to train over 3000 nurses in vital medical procedures.

Jammu and Kashmir government will State's first Eco-Park on over 34 acres of land reclaimed from encroachers in Rajouri district.

Jammu and Kashmir government will spend Rs 1 lakh Cr on development works with special emphasis on education and road connectivity over the next five years.

Jharkhand approved Jharkhand Freedom of Religion Bill 2017, that seeks to bring stringent anti-conversion law in place under which forceful or allurement induced religious conversion will be a non-bailable criminal offence.

Karnataka Government has launched clouding seeding Project Varshadhari in Bengaluru under which an aircraft will spray chemicals to induce rainfall. Flight for cloud seeding – BQ-100 Beechcraft will spray Silver Iodide, Sodium Chloride and Potassium Chloride to condense water particles.

Karnataka Government signed MoU with software giant Microsoft to develop a unique “farm price forecasting model, as a first-of-its-kind initiative in country. It will aid farmers from states to predict farm prices in advance and deal effectively with the unpredictable market.

Kerala government began e-waste disposal project in its state schools with about 12500 kg being disposed on a single day, as an initiative of Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE) and Clean Kerala Company.

Launch of IRSO’s eight navigation satellite IRNSS-1H onbaord PSLV-C39 from Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) has been unsuccessful.

Heat shield did not separate as a result of which satellite did not complete the 4th stage.

IRNSS-1H was being sent to space to replace India’s first navigation satellite IRNSS-1A (launched in July 2013) as its three rubidium atomic clocks on board had stopped functioning.

Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) is an independent regional system developed by India on par with the US-based GPS, Russia’s Glonass and Galileo developed by Europe. It offers wide services like terrestrial and marine navigation, disaster management, vehicle tracking and fleet management visual and voice navigation for drivers. It was named “Navic” (Navigation with Indian Constellation) by PM Narendra Modi.

Maharashtra Government launched Namo Yuva Rojgar Kendra initiative aimed at providing job opportunities to unemployed youth in Mumbai.

Maharashtra Government launched MahaDBT and MahaVASTU portals to streamline process of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

MahaDBT portal is an Aadhaar-aunthenticated electronic mechanism that will enable direct transfer of benefits for over 40 schemes implemented by various departments.

MahaVASTU is an Online Building Permission Management System with an electronic workflow for sanctioning building approvals with full transparency.

Manipur’s Nungthaang Tampak village has emerged as India's 2nd and North East's 1st 100 % computer literate village. Kerala’s Chamravattom village is the country’s first 100 % computer literate village.

Microsoft tied up with Telangana Government to use its artificial intelligence-based MINE (Microsoft Intelligent Network for Eyecare) platform to screen children for eye problems and prevent avoidable blindness.

Minister for Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal launched Common Food Processing Incubation Center for Shallots (Small Onions) in Chettikulam village in Perambalur District of Tamil Nadu.

Perambalur is the hub for small onions (Shallots) cultivation in over 8000 hectares producing around 65,000 to 70,000 tonnes every year. Farmers reported massive losses due to conventional methods of handling and storage.

Minister of State for HRD Mahendra Nath Pandey launched Indian National Anthem video in sign language, Directed by filmmaker Govind Nihalani (3 mins duration), Featuring Actor Amitabh Bachchan.

Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers constituted a committee of joint secretaries for ensuring enhanced affordability, availability and accessibility of drugs for the citizens. It will suggest ways to make pricing policy in favour of poor patients.

Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation released Swachh Survekshan Gramin 2017 to assess progress Swachh Bharat Mission in rural India, undertaken by Quality Council of India (QCI). It covered 4626 villages across nation.

Report stated that 62.45% of the households have access to a toilet and Sanitation Coverage has increased from 39% in October 2016 to 66% in August 2017.

Big States - Kerala, Haryana and Gujarat are top performers while Bihar (30% coverage) and Uttar Pradesh (37%), Jharkhand (37%) are worst performers in terms of rural sanitation.

Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) will launch Deep Ocean Mission by January 2018 to spur research activities in ocean science and develop technology to harness ocean resources.

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) launched first phase of National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC) , to scan country’s web traffic to detect cyber security threats.

NCCC is implemented by Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) and works as per provisions of section 69B of Information Technology Act 2000.

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) launched Harit Diwali, Swasth Diwalicampaign aimed at reducing adverse environmental conditions especially pollution in country after post Diwali celebrations due to excessive bursting of crackers.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) launched country’s first Videsh Bhavan by assimilating all Regional Passport Offices and allied departments under a single roof at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai (Maharashtra). It will cut operating costs and increase efficiency.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched second phase of measles-rubella (MR) vaccination campaign to reduce measles morbidity and mortality. This phase covers 8 states and union territories.

Ministry of Home Affairs launched digital police portal under Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems Project (CCTNS), as a smart policing initiative to aid efficient police investigation. Digital police portal is a platform for citizens to file online crime related complaints and also request for antecedent verification.

Ministry of Shipping will expand Logistics Data Bank (LDB) project to southern region, that is So far being used only in western part since its launch at Jawaharlal Nehru Port (Mumbai) in July 2016.

LDB project uses Information Technology to make logistics sector more efficient. Under this, every container is attached to a Radio Frequency Identification Tag (RFID) tag and tracked through RFID readers. LDB project covers entire movement of containers through rail or road till Inland Container Depot and Container Freight Station.

Ministry of Women and Child Development organize Women of India Festival at Dilli Haat in New Delhi in October 2017.

Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports launched National Sports Talent Search Portal, to ease up process of finding sporting talent from across nation. It will enable any person to upload their information through a simple procedure.

NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog partnered with 3 states each to radically transform their Health and Education sectors under its Sustainable Action for Transforming Human Capital (SATH) initiative. Shortlisted states for health sector are Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Karnataka while Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha are selected for transforming their education sector.

NITI Aayog launched Ease of Doing Business report based on an Enterprise Survey of 3,500 manufacturing firms across India, to assess business regulations and enabling environment across India from firms’ perspective. Major findings -

Economic Performance and Reforms - More economic activity and better performance in several business indicators are correlated.

Improvements over time - Younger firms (established after 2014) report more favorable business environment as they take less time in obtaining approvals than older firms

Informational gaps - States need to enhance awareness of steps being undertaken by them to improve ease of doing business. For Exaple, only 20% of start-ups use single window facilities introduced by state governments for setting up a business.Even only 41 % of experts know about such facilities.

Labor regulations as bigger constraint for labor intensive firms - Labor intensive sectors that create comparatively more jobs per unit of capital investment, are more constrained by labor related regulations

Barriers to firm growth - The experience of firms with fewer employees is different from that of larger firms. Sometimes, large firms face more regulatory barriers than smaller firms.

National Conference on Insolvency and Bankruptcy: Changing Paradigm held in Mumbai, aimed at facilitating better understanding of intricacies of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.

National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) launched a web portal (ncertbooks.ncert.gov.in) to enable schools and individuals to place orders for their books online. Portal will ensure better distribution of NCERT textbooks across country.

National Green Tribunal (NGT) imposed ban on use of non-biodegradable plastic bags which are less than 50 microns in national capital Delhi.

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) launched mobile Apps MyFASTag and FASTag Partner to facilitate availability of FASTags for Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) project.

National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog has launched Mentor India Campaign, a strategic nation building initiative to engage leaders for guiding and mentoring students at Atal Tinkering Labs. Under this, NITI Aayog is looking for leaders who can spend one to two hours a week in Atal Tinkering labs, to enable students learn future skills of computational thinking.

National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog suggested establishment of judicial performance index (JPI) to check delay in finalisation of cases in lower judiciary (district and subordinate courts). It was suggested As part of ‘Three Year Action Agenda (2017-20) recommendations for reforms to expedite justice delivery system. Note that approx 3 crore cases have been pending for years in lower courts.

National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and Google launched Android Skill Development Programme to impart mobile app development training on Android and Web platform and improve quality of mobile app development ecosystem in India.

New Metro Rail Policy has been approved, based on Make in India and with several key features -

Policy promotes private investments across a range of metro operations making PPP component mandatory for availing central assistance for new metro projects.

It will be Necessary to provide last mile connectivity to metro Stations through feeder services, Non-Motorised Transport infrastructure like walking and cycling pathways and para-transport facilities.

To ensure that least cost mass transit mode is selected for public transport, new policy mandates evaluation of other modes of mass transit like BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit System), Light Rail Transit, Tramways etc Setting up Urban Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) has been made mandatory which is to prepare Comprehensive Mobility Plans for cities.

Policy stipulated a shift from present ‘Financial Internal Rate of Return of 8%’ to ‘Economic Internal Rate of Return of 14%’ for approving metro projects, in line with global practices.

New policy empowers States to make regulations and set up permanent Fare Fixation Authority for timely revision of fares.

Policy envisages private sector participation in O & M of metro services in different ways -

Cost plus fee contract - Private operator is paid a monthly/annual payment for O&M of system. Operational and revenue risk is borne by the owner

Gross Cost Contract - Private operator is paid a fixed sum for duration of the contract. Operator to bear O&M risk while the owner bears the revenue risk.

Net Cost Contract - Operator collects complete revenue generated for services provided.

At present, metro projects with a total length of 370 kms are operational in 8 cities - Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, Kochi, Mumbai, Jaipur and Gurugram.

Nuakhai Agriculture Festival observed by people of Western Odisha, aimed at welcoming new rice of season. It is also observed in adjoing areas of Simdega in Jharkhand

Odisha Government launched a grid-connected rooftop solar programme through net-metering system at State Secretariat in Bhubaneswar, aimed at harnessing renewable solar capacity through people’s participation to further strengthen grid and benefit public.

Odisha Government will launch Durgama Anchalare Malaria Nirakaran (DAMON) as a special programme to prevent spread of malaria in remote areas of Ganjam district.

Odisha government and Facebook launched ‘SheMeansBusiness’ programme to train women entrepreneurs in state under Project Mission Shakti.

PM Narendra Modi announced INR 100 crores corpus to find a permanent solution to Flood issues in North-Eastern states. He also announced INR 2350 crores as an immediate aid, after reviewing flood situations in North Eastern states.

PM Narendra Modi announced launching of 15-days 'Cleanliness is Service' campaign ahead of Gandhi Jayanti 2017 (October 2, 2017).

PM Narendra Modi dedicated to nation 11 completed highway projects in Rajasthan, covering a total length of about 873 kilometres and total expenses approx INR 15000 crores.

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture observed that Impact of Climate change on agriculture includes -

Decrease in Productivity of major crops such as wheat, rice, oilseeds, pulses, fruits and vegetables.

Food Security - By 2030, India may need 70 million tonnes more of foodgrains than the expected production in 2016-17.

Projected food demand of 345 million tonnes (MT) by 2030, 30% higher than in 2011.

Economic Losses of about $9-10 billion annually due to extreme weather events.

Improve in Yields - Though most crops will see reduced production, but climate change may also help improve yields of soyabean, chickpea, groundnut, coconut (western coast) and potato (in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh).

Punjab government joined hands with World Bank to set up India’s first ever official Partition museum at Amritsar.

Note that central Government also recently announced to establish National Sports Museum at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi.

Rajasthan government and HPCL will form a joint venture company - HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Limited (HRRL), for Barmer petroleum refinery and petrochemical complex. State government will have 26% and HPCL will have 74 % of partnership. Refinery would be set up in 4,813 acres of land and 270 MW power would be generated from waste petcoke generated from refinery.

Smriti Irani inaugurated Jharkhand’s first textiles manufacturing and export unit ‘Orient Craft Ltd’.

State government of Assam will distribute 13 lakh Soil Health Cards among farmers.

Soil Health Card Scheme is launched by Government of India in February 2015. Under this, government issues soil cards to farmers which will carry crop-wise recommendations of nutrients and fertilisers required for the individual farms to help farmers to improve productivity through judicious use of inputs.

State government of Bihar released INR 1935 Crores to undertake relief operations in flood affected areas of state.

Supreme Court ruled that insurance companies will not renew insurance of a vehicle unless owner provides pollution under control (PUC) certificate.

Tata Memorial Centre partenered with Indian Dental Association (IDA) to initiate India’s first digital initiative for prevention and early detection of oral cancer.

Telangana Government and World Resources Institute (WRI) launched Smart Streets Lab program aimed at carving out innovative road and women safety solutions in Hyderabad.

Telangana Governmrnt initiated an INR 2000 crores project to modernize Sriram Sagar project that has potential to serve several districts in state.

To end issue of Triple Talaq in Muslim community, five judges bench (of five faiths) of Supreme Court struck down validity of triple talaq by a majority of 3:2, stating that Triple Talaq violates fundamental right of Muslim women as it irrevocably ends marriage without any chance of reconciliation.

To prevent adulteration and revenue leakage, Assam government has decided that country liquor would be grain-based, undergo chemical tests and be branded and make it mandatory for bottles to sport a hologram as in the case of IMFL.

To promote cruise tourism in India, The dawn of cruise tourism in India event held in Mumbai.

UIDAI partnered with CSC India for launching door step enrolment facility in DELHI for elderly and patients who cannot travel to Aadhar centers.

Uttar Pradesh Government launched Namami Gange Jagriti Yatra awareness driver, to focus on cleanliness along 1025 KMs long banks of Ganga river. National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) also approved 10 projects in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal of approx INR 2033 crores.

Uttar Pradesh government ended interviews for selection of candidates for government jobs in all non-gazetted posts of Group B, C and D categories. However, for recruitment of gazetted officers in Class II category, Interview will be a must.

e-Commerce Firm Amazon launched virtual customer service (VCS) as an initiative to create cost efficient employment prospects for skilled candidates seeking more flexible work opportunities. It will help many people resume their career and find an earning with comfort of being at home.

Persons

10-year-old Kaamya Karthikeyan from Visakhapatnam became Youngest to climb Mount Stok Kangri with height 6,153 metres.

12-year-old Indian-origin boy Rahul Doshi has been crowned as UK’s ‘Child Genius’ in a popular television quiz competition - Channel 4 show ‘Child Genius’.

Actor Hritik Roshan signed as a brand ambassador by a health and wellness startup Cure.fit, with deal worth Rs 100 crores.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan became first female actor to hoist Indian National Flag at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM), Australia’s annual celebration of film from India and subcontinent.

Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Steven Ciobo visited India, to participate in second Australia Business Week.

British Author and Harry Potter Character creator JK Rowling has been named world’s most highly-paid author with earnings of £72.2m ($95m).

Country's oldest cinematographer Ramanda Sengupta passed away at age 101 years.

Darshan Lal became first Hindu Minsiter in Pakistan's Cabinet in past 20 years. He would head coordination between 4 Pakistani provinces.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov Visited India. It was decided that New Delhi will host next steering committee meeting of proposed 1,814 kilometre-long Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline.

Elyor Ganiev, Minister of Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan visited India.

Emma Stone named as Hollywood’s best-paid female actor in Forbes annual list of top earners, having made over $26m in last 12 months.

Former Chief Minister of Manipur, Rishang Keishing passed away.

India’s two-time Olympic footballer Ahmed Khan passed away. He had played in 1948 and 1952 Olympics.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, Abdulaziz Kamilov visited India.

Miroslav Lajcak (Slovakia), President-elect of 72nd United Nations General Assembly visited India.

New Zealand's oldest cricketer Tom Pritchard passed away.

Nitasha, a trans woman from Kolkata has been named winner of first Miss Transqueen India Beauty Pageant held in Gurugram (Haryana).

Nitin Gadkari (Minister for Shipping and Road Transport & Highways) visited Iran.

Nizamuddin Ahmed, Navy Chief of Bangladesh visited India.

Noted photographer S Paul passed away.

Noted American Actor Jerry Lewis passed away, known for his comedy roles.

Noted American Neuro Scientist Marian Diamond passed away, mostly known for her investigations of Albert Einstein’s brain.

Noted British Writer Brian Aldiss passed away.

Noted Poet and writer Vijay Nambisan passed away. He won first All India Poetry Competition in 1990 organized by Poetry Society (India) in collaboration with British Council.

Noted molecular biologist Pushpa Mittra Bhargava passed away. He was founding director of Hyderabad based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB).

Pakistani rights activist Malala Yousafzai secured a place at Oxford University after getting her A-level results. She studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford.

Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari visited Iran. India and Iran ave expressed commitment for early completion and operationalisation of strategically important Chabahar Port in Iran.

Ruth Pfau, a German nun who devoted her life to combatting leprosy in Pakistan has passed away. She was known as Pakistan’s Mother Teresa.

Switzerland President Doris Leuthard Visited India. 2 MOUS were Signed in area of Railways -

Exchanging technical cooperation in Railways.

MoU is between Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich.

Tanzania's Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment Charles John Mwijage visited India for 4th Session of India - Tanzania Joint Trade Committee meeting.

Vishal Sikka resigned as Managing Director and CEO of Mainstream IT Firm Infosys. Meanwhile, UB Pravin Rao has been appointed as Interim CEO.

Yisrael Kristal (Israel), certified by Guinness World Records as world’s oldest man, passed away at age of 113.

Science

100 million year old damselfly species, discovered in Myanmar has been named as Mesosticta davidattenboroughi, after British naturalist David Attenborough. There has been a long list of animals that are named after David Attenborough - a carnivorous plant, a butterfly, a tiny spider, a Peruvian frog and a Namibian lizard.

2 new species of Cycas Tree discovered by researchers in Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden (West Bengal), taking Total number of Cycas species found in India to 14. Cycas are among most ancient plants whose fossils date to the Jurassic period.

A Group of USA Scientists has developed an artificial womb that can be used to save extremely premature human babies. Research showed that preterm lambs were successfully maintained in a healthy condition with significant growth for upto a week, using ex-vivo uterine environment (EVE) therapy.

According to Japanese scientists, delicate mosses found on rocks and trees in cities can be used as low-cost bioindicator to monitor urban pollution and to measure impact of atmospheric change. Mosses respond to pollution or drought-stress by changing its shape, density or disappearing.

Mosses are a common flowerless plant found in all cities especially in damp (humid) or shady locations. It generally absorb water and nutrients from their immediate environments, so it can reflect changes to ecosystems.

According to recent report by NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) satellite, the monster El Nino of 2014-16 caused over 3 billion tonnes of carbon to get released into the atmosphere, pushing carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration to record levels.

According to study by a Group of Indian Scientists, black carbon (BC) ejeculated by aeroplanes is affecting monsoon, depleting ozone layer and quickening glacier melt.

Earlier it was believed that airborne BC is unlikely to travel upward of 4 km and dissipate and settle down in few months under influence of wind and rain. However, this study shows that such particles exist up to 18 km into the stratosphere, a stable region of the atmosphere.

After successful launch of India’s first indigenously developed robot BRABO, TATA Motors Owned TAL Manufacturing launched Robo Whiz. It will provide students hands-on experience and help develop skills needed for effective use and management of Robotics and Automation Technology.

An Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi team developed a new drug delivery platform using nanoparticles, with ability to boost efficacy of antibiotics at the cellular level and improve chances of recovery from cancer-related bacterial infections.

An unusual breed of fruit bat (discovered in Papua New Guinea) is now officially recognised as a new species. This bat was previously nicknamed 'Yoda and has now been renamed happy (Hamamas) tube-nosed fruit bat.

As per study, newly found solar system TRAPPIST-1 star is between 5.4 and 9.8 billion years old, twice as old as our own solar system (4.5 billion years). TRAPPIST-1 is a system of 7 Earth-size planets orbiting an ultra-cool dwarf star about 40 light-years away.

Canada researchers discovered fossils of a new species of arrow-shaped marine animals that have translucent bodies making them difficult to spot. These 51 crore year old fossils are much bigger than their modern counterparts, largest being 10 cm long.

Chilesaurus (Dinosaur species recently discovered in southern Chile) has been reported to be missing link that fills gap between 2 of major dinosaur groups - plant-eating herbivores and carnivores.

European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA Researchers discovered that Sun’s core is rotating four times faster than its surface, using 16 years of observations from an instrument called GOLF (Global Oscillations at Low Frequency) on a spacecraft called Solar and Heliospheric bservatory (SOHO).

Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru researchers developed a highly sensitive and low cost nanometre-scale carbon monoxide (CO) sensor, with potential applications in environmental pollution monitoring. Carbon Monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas and is harmful when inhaled in large amounts.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch a niche Earth observation (EO) satellite - Hyperspectral Imaging Satellite (HySIS), with critical chip called optical imaging detector array. Its will allow ISRO to enter operational hyperspectral imaging from earth orbit.

Hyperspectral imaging or hyspex imaging combines power of digital imaging and spectroscopy. It collects and processes information from across the electromagnetic spectrum. It enables distinct identification of objects, materials or processes on Earth by reading spectrum for each pixel of a scene from space.

HySIS satellite of ISRO can see in 55 spectral or colour bands from 630 km above ground. It can be used for a range of applications from monitoring environment, crops, looking for oil and minerals, military surveillance.

Indian scientists discovered Nasikabatrachus bhupathi, a new species of frog with a snout-shaped nose like a pig, near Srivilliputhur Grizzled Giant Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu. It has been named after the Indian herpetologist S. Bhupathy.

India’s first calf delivered by a surrogate cow through In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) technology carried out in a mobile laboratory in Pune (Maharashtra). Purpose of producing surrogate calf was to protect indigenous cow breeds in its original form that have been destroyed due to cross-breeding.

Kenya Anthropologists discovered 1.3 crore year old baby ape skull, revealing what common ancestor of all living humans and apes would have looked like. The skull belongs to a newly identified species of early ape named Nyanzapithecusalesi, that existed in Africa for over 1 crore years.

Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) launched Swasth Bachche, Swasth Bharat Programme, as an initiative of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) to prepare a physical Health and Fitness Profile Card for more than 12 lakhs of Kendriya Vidyalaya students.

NASA rocket named WINDY (Waves and Instabilities from a Neutral Dynamo) will form night-time white artificial clouds visible by residents of Republic of Marshall Islands. It will study a phenomenon that occurs in Ionosphere (Layer of charged particles in upper atmosphere).

NASA's Cassini spacecraft started its final mission - five ultra-close orbits around Saturn. It would be spacecraft’s last mission of its 20-year-long journey, before plunging into atmosphere of Saturn.

NASA’s Curiosity rover completed 5 years of Its MARS Exploration Mission.

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has discovered strongest evidence to date for a stratosphere on a planet outside our solar system, WASP-121b. Stratosphere is a layer of atmosphere in which temperature increases with higher altitudes.

Purdue University (USA) Researchers designed a micropropulsion system called a Film-Evaporation MEMS Tunable Array (FEMTA) thruster that uses liquid water as the propellant for orbital maneuvering of tiny satellites called CubeSats.

CubeSats are miniature satellites weighing under 2 KGs and have potential to carry out tasks like imaging and remote-sensing currently performed by heavier satellites.

CubeSats at present cannot totally replace larger satellites as they are incapable of changing orbit or performing complex manoeuvres as they do not have a propulsion system.

CubeSats having such system would allow such tiny satellites to correct their orbit or maintain their altitude, thereby prolonging their operating life in space before becoming space debris.

Researchers form CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB) and National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) have developed an ultrasensitive DNA chip based sensor for quick pathogen detection. The sensor can detect S. pyogenes bacterium in about 30 minutes, that causes a wide range of diseases.

Researchers from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati created an implantable bioartificial pancreas model grown within 3D silk scaffold, that encapsulates insulin-producing beta cells and is capable of naturally producing insulin in sustained manner. After Trials, it can be used for treating people with Type 1 diabetes that arises when body’s immune system kills insulin-producing beta cells.

Researchers from Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Bombay and Indore jointly developed a biosensor that makes it possible to detect kidney disorders in under 8 minutes. It can accurately measure pH and urea concentration with a single drop of urine.

Researchers from US-based Rice University have found new tectonic mircoplate off Ecuador’s coast in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It has been named Malpelo plate, after a Colombian island and an oceanic ridge it contains. It is overall 57th tectonic mircoplate to be discovered so far and the first in nearly a decade. Microplates are tectonic plates with an area less than 1 million km2.

Scientists at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati developed a 3D cardiac tissue patch using silk protein membranes seeded with heart muscle cells. The patch can be used for regenerating damaged heart tissues and sealing holes in heart.

Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory (USA) discovered a potential new state of matter that may help explain phenomena like superconductivity. It was discovered in the high-magnetic-field state of the heavy fermion superconductor CeRhIn5.

In new state, material’s electrons are aligned in such a way that they reduce symmetry of original crystal. This electronic alignment in a prototypical heavy-fermion superconductor is called nematic behaviour, common among superconducting materials in high magnetic fields.

Superconductivity is ability of certain materials to conduct electric current with zero resistance. For a material to behave as a superconductor, critically low temperatures are required. Superconductivity was first observed in 1911 by H. K. Onnes (Dutch physicist)

Scientists at Stanford University (USA) developed a cost-effective and highly sensitive blood test to detect cancer, Called single colour digital PCR.It can detect genetic mutations in minute amounts of DNA released from cancer cells into blood.

Scientists discovered 2 new species of earthworm belonging to primitive family Moniligastridae in Western Ghats ranges of Kerala, named as Drawida polydiverticulata and Drawida thomasi. There are about 200 species of earthworm known in genus Drawida.

Scientists from CSIR’s National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (Thiruvananthapuram) developed new technique to produce bioethanol from discarded cotton-stalks. It will help produce bioethanol (a clean fuel) from cotton stalk wastes.

It is vital as India has about 9.4 million hectares under cotton cultivation and every hectare generates 2 million tonnes of cotton stalk wastes.

Scientists from Edinburgh University (UK) uncovered largest volcanic region (91 Volcanoes) discovered on earth so far, under west Antarctica. Largest volcano stands at almost 4000 metres.

Scientists from USA developed the world’s first plant-based mosquito-borne Zika virus, using proteins derived from Tobacco plant.

Scientists from USA found that curcumin (bioactive component of turmeric) that is widely used in Indian cuisine can treat cancer in children. They found that nanoparticles loaded with curcumin can target and destroy neuroblastoma tumour cells, which commonly affects children aged under 5.

Scientists from USA have discovered an inexpensive prevention therapy against sepsis in new born babies, led by US-based Indian doctor Pinaki Panigrahi.

Globally, over 600000 infants die of sepsis annually (mostly in developing countries).

Scientists from University of Toronto (Canada) developed an injectable tissue bandage dubbed as AngioChip, that can repair damaged hearts. AngioChip is a tiny patch of heart tissue with its own blood vessels and heart cells beating with a regular rhythm.

It is useful as Repairing heart tissue destroyed by a heart attack or medical condition with regenerative cells usually requires invasive open-heart surgery which usually poses more risks.

Scientists in UK have developed world’s smallest surgical robot called Versius, that can mimic human arm and can be used to carry out a wide range of surgical procedures. It can make series of small incisions that will circumvent the need for traditional open surgery.

Tamilnadu based student Dacharla Panduranga Rohith has been recognised by World Records of India for developing a nano missile for Army and Local Police. This 1 cm nano missile can fly by burining red phosphorus and hit target of upto 3 metres distance.

Vizag’s Rayichapalu is declared one of the rarest fish in world by Marine Living Resources Department of Andhra University. Rayichapalu will have the scientific name ‘Pseudathias Vizagensis’, after the city where it was first discovered.

Sports

14th World Wrestling Championships 2017 held in Paris (France) -

India Participated with 24 wrestlers, unable to win a medal.

Medal Table -

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total

1 Japan 6 1 2 9

2 United States 3 3 3 9

3 Turkey 3 1 3 7

4 Georgia 2 0 3 5

5 Armenia 2 0 2 4

16th IAAF World Athletics Championships 2017 held in London (UK) -

204 Nations Participated in this Major Sports Event. India sent 25 athletes, none of which could secure a medal. Although, Davinder Singh Kang has become first Indian to qualify for final round of javelin throw in World Athletics Championships.

Noted Jamaican Sprinter Usain Bolt retired from Internaional Athletics. He is only athlete to complete coveted Triple - Triple, after he won 100m, 200m and 400 m relay titles in 2008 (Beijing), 2012 (London) and 2016. In his final 100 m race in IAAF World Athletics Championships 2017, he stayed 3rd with Justin Gatlin coming first.

Medal Table -

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total

1 United States 10 11 9 30

2 Kenya 5 2 4 11

3 South Africa 3 1 2 6

4 France 3 0 2 5

5 China 2 3 2 7

6 Great Britain & N.I. 2 3 1 6

7 Ethiopia 2 3 0 5

8 Poland 2 2 4 8

9 Germany 1 2 2 5

10 Czech Republic 1 1 1 3

2017 BWF World Championships of badminton held in Glasgow (Scotland) -

India's PV Sindhu won women's singles silver medal. In final match, She lost to Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara. Saina Nehwal Won a Bronze Medal.

Men's Singles - Denmark's Viktor Axelsen won by defeating China's Lin Dan.

Men's Doubles - China's Liu Cheng and Zhang Nan defeated Indonesia's Mohammad Ahsan and Rian Agung Saputro.

Women's Doubles - China's Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan defeated Japan's Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota

2017 Western & Southern Open (Cincinati Open) Tennis 2017-

Men's Singles - Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria)

Women's Singles - Garbiñe Muguruza (Spain)

Men's Doubles - France 's Pierre-Hugues Herbert AND Nicolas Mahut

Women's Doubles - Chan Yung-jan (Chinese Taipei) AND Martina Hingis (Switzerland)

7th Asian Shotgun Championships held at Astana (Kazakhstan)

Kuwait stayed at top with 5 medals (4 Gold, 1 Silver), followed by China (4 Gold, 1 Bronze) and India stayed 3rd with 7 medals (2 Gold, 1 Silver, 4 Bronze).

7th World Dwarf Games held in Ontario province of Canada with approx 400 athletes from 24 countries participating. Indian contingent won record 37 medals (15 G, 10 S and 12 B).

8 member Olympic Task Force constituted to plan a roadmap to improve India’s performance in Olympics submitted its report titled Preparation of 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. Task Force focused on 3 fold formula - athlete-centric, coach-led and system-driven.

AIFF (All India Football Federation) appointed Ushanath Banerjee as chairman of a special committee that will deal with players’ transfer disputes.

American Boxer Floyd Mayweather beat Conor McGregor to win his his 50th straight victory, heading to retirement with a perfect 50-0 record.

Arab Nation Qatar will host 2022 FIFA Football World Cup, and would be building a stadium shaped like an Arabian skull cap for the event.

Argentinian Footballer Lionel Messi became first player to score 350 goals in La Liga (Spanish football league ).

Australia won FIBA Basketball Asia Cup 2017, defeating Iran. While, South Korea clinched the third place. It was held In Lebonan.

Brazil’s Neymar became world’s most expensive footballer, after signing an INR 1,680 crores (€222 million) deal with France's Barcelona FC.

England will host International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) 2018 Team World Cup.

Team World Cup is ITTF’s second most noted tournament after World Championships.

Govenment announced that first edition of Rural Games or Grameen Khel Mahotsav will be held in Delhi, aiming at popularising indigenous games like wrestling, athletics etc. It will also have fun games like Matka Race, Tug of War for senior citizens.

ISSF Junior World Cup Shotgun held in Porpetto (Italy).

India - Shapath Bharadwaj won Bronze in Double Trap Men Junior Event. Additionally, Lakshay Sheoran and Manisha Keer won bronze in mixed team trap competition (a test event). Shapath Bhardwaj (aged 15) also become India’s youngest athlete to figure in government’s Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme.

Italy dominated with 6 Medals (2 each of Gold, Silver and Bronze).

India Men’s Hockey team defeated Netherlands by 2-1 to win the series.

India at Recent Sports Events -

India won 10 medals (including 2 gold by Jyoti and Vanlalharitpuii) at 6th Golden Glove women’s Boxing Tournament in Serbia.

Indian Badminton Player Lakshya Sen won Bulgaria Open International Series Badminton title, defeating Croatia’s Zvonimir Durkinjak.

Indian U-15 football team won SAFF U-15 Championships held in Kathmandu (Nepal), defeating Nepal.

Indian professional boxer Vijender Singh won ovrer his Chinese opponent Zulpikar Maimaitiali to retain WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight title and win WBO Oriental Super Middleweight title. It is vijender's 9 successive win in his professional career.

India’s Soumyajit Ghosh and G Sathiyan won silver in men’s doubles at Bulgaria Open Table Tennis in Panagyurishte (Bulgaria).

Kerala High Court ordered Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to lift life ban imposed on Cricketer Sreesanth, that was put after 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal. Cricketers Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were also included in same.

Mercedes Racer Lewis Hamilton (Britain) won Belgian Grand Prix -

2017 Formula 1 Season -

Round Grand Prix Winner Date

1 Australian Grand Prix Sebastian Vettel (Germany) 26 March

2 Chinese Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (Britain) 9 April

3 Bahrain Grand Prix Sebastian Vettel (Germany) 16 April

4 Russian Grand Prix Valtteri Bottas (Finland) 30 April

5 Spanish Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (Britain) 14 May

6 Monaco Grand Prix Sebastian Vettel (Germany) 28 May

7 Canadian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 11 June

8 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) 25 June

9 Austrian Grand Prix Valtteri Bottas (Finland) 9 July

10 British Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (Britain) 16 July

11 Hungarian Grand Prix Sebastian Vettel (Germany) 30 July

12 Belgian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (Britain) 27 August

13 Italian Grand Prix 3 September

14 Singapore Grand Prix 17 September

15 Malaysian Grand Prix 1 October

16 Japanese Grand Prix 8 October

17 United States Grand Prix 22 October

18 Mexican Grand Prix 29 October

19 Brazilian Grand Prix 12 November

20 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 26 November

Noted English Footballer Wayne Rooney retired from international football. He is leading Goalscorer of England, with 53 Goals.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) won 91st All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament, by defeating Bengaluru Hockey Association (BHA).

Punjab State government appointed Indian female cricketer Harmanpreet Kaur as Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in state police, honoring her superior performance in Recent ICC Women's world World Cup 2017.

Real Madrid defeated Barcelona in second leg of 2017 Spanish Super Cup. Note that Real Madrid's Star Player Cristiano Ronaldo did not play due to 5 game ban for pushing referee.

Real Madrid defeated Manchester United to win 2017 UEFA Super Cup Soccer title.

Rogers Cup Tennis 2017 (Canadian Open) -

Men's Singles - Alexander Zverev (Germany) (Defeated Roger Federer (Switzerland))

Women's Singles - Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) (Defeated Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark))

Men's Doubles - France 's Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut

Women's Doubles - Russia's Ekaterina Makarova and Russia Elena Vesnina

Sanath Jayasuriya-led Sri Lankan cricket selection panel stepped down after recent poor performances against India.

Spanish Tennis Player Rafael Nadal returned to number 1 spot in ATP ranking after 3 years.

USA's Tennis Player Serena Williams topped Forbes' list of highest-paid female athletes in 2016 - 2017, with earnings of $27 million. This is Williams’ second consecutive year as highest-earning female athlete, dethroning Maria Sharapova that held the spot for 11 years straight.

World Junior Wrestling Championships 2017 held in Tampere (Finland) -

India’s Manju Kumari won bronze medal in women’s 59kg category.

Veer Dev Gulia won bronze medal In men’s 74kg freestyle category.

World U-20 Junior Para Athletics Championships, Held in Notwill (Switzerland) -

India stayed at 9th Place in team rankings, with 5 medals (2 Gold, 3 Silver). Gold medals were won by Aamit Kumar (200 m Male) and Behera Jeyanti (400 m Female).

USA stayed at top with 18 medals, followed by Iran (9).

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Current Affairs - 08 September 2017

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Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Japan	6	1	2	9
2	United States	3	3	3	9
3	Turkey	3	1	3	7
4	Georgia	2	0	3	5
5	Armenia	2	0	2	4

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States	10	11	9	30
2	Kenya	5	2	4	11
3	South Africa	3	1	2	6
4	France	3	0	2	5
5	China	2	3	2	7
6	Great Britain & N.I.	2	3	1	6
7	Ethiopia	2	3	0	5
8	Poland	2	2	4	8
9	Germany	1	2	2	5
10	Czech Republic	1	1	1	3

Round	Grand Prix	Winner	Date
1	Australian Grand Prix	Sebastian Vettel (Germany)	26 March
2	Chinese Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (Britain)	9 April
3	Bahrain Grand Prix	Sebastian Vettel (Germany)	16 April
4	Russian Grand Prix	Valtteri Bottas (Finland)	30 April
5	Spanish Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (Britain)	14 May
6	Monaco Grand Prix	Sebastian Vettel (Germany)	28 May
7	Canadian Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (UK)	11 June
8	Azerbaijan Grand Prix	Daniel Ricciardo (Australia)	25 June
9	Austrian Grand Prix	Valtteri Bottas (Finland)	9 July
10	British Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (Britain)	16 July
11	Hungarian Grand Prix	Sebastian Vettel (Germany)	30 July
12	Belgian Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (Britain)	27 August
13	Italian Grand Prix		3 September
14	Singapore Grand Prix		17 September
15	Malaysian Grand Prix		1 October
16	Japanese Grand Prix		8 October
17	United States Grand Prix		22 October
18	Mexican Grand Prix		29 October
19	Brazilian Grand Prix		12 November
20	Abu Dhabi Grand Prix		26 November