General Affairs
No New Developments At Doklam Face-Off Site; Status Quo Prevails: Government
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The External Affairs Ministry said today there are no new developments at the India-China military face-off site in Doklam and its vicinity since the August 28 disengagement.
"The status quo prevails in this area. Any suggestion to the contrary is incorrect," the Ministry said in a brief statement.
The Ministry was reacting to recent press reports on Doklam.
The reports said that China has maintained a sizeable presence of its troops near the site of the Doklam standoff with India and even started widening an existing road which is at a distance of around 12 km from the area of conflict.
Troops of India and China were locked in a 73-day-long standoff in Doklam since June 16 after the Indian side stopped the building of a road in the disputed area by the Chinese Army. Bhutan and China have a dispute over Doklam.
Bhutan and India were in touch with each other during the course of the face-off that ended on August 28.
The External Affairs Ministry said today there are no new developments at the India-China military face-off site in Doklam and its vicinity since the August 28 disengagement."The status quo prevails in this area. Any suggestion to the contrary is incorrect," the Ministry said in a brief statement.
The Ministry was reacting to recent press reports on Doklam.
The reports said that China has maintained a sizeable presence of its troops near the site of the Doklam standoff with India and even started widening an existing road which is at a distance of around 12 km from the area of conflict.
The reports said that China has maintained a sizeable presence of its troops near the site of the Doklam standoff with India and even started widening an existing road which is at a distance of around 12 km from the area of conflict.
Troops of India and China were locked in a 73-day-long standoff in Doklam since June 16 after the Indian side stopped the building of a road in the disputed area by the Chinese Army. Bhutan and China have a dispute over Doklam.
Bhutan and India were in touch with each other during the course of the face-off that ended on August 28.
Fire At Oil Depot On Butcher Island Off Mumbai
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A major fire has broken out at Butcher Island which is situated close to the Elephanta Island on the Thane creek, near Mumbai.
According to officials, the fire broke out at two fuel storage tanks. Officials say the fire has been brought under control.
Fire-fighting operations are still on and no casualties had been reported so far.
According to port officials, the fire broke out around 5 in the evening at tank number 13 and 14, which have storage capacity of around 10 to 15 lakh litres each.
Butcher Island has an oil terminal used by the port authorities to offload it from oil tankers. The crude oil is stored in oil containers on the island.
The fire is visible from the Gateway of India in Mumbai which is around 8km away.
A major fire has broken out at Butcher Island which is situated close to the Elephanta Island on the Thane creek, near Mumbai.According to officials, the fire broke out at two fuel storage tanks. Officials say the fire has been brought under control.
Fire-fighting operations are still on and no casualties had been reported so far.
According to port officials, the fire broke out around 5 in the evening at tank number 13 and 14, which have storage capacity of around 10 to 15 lakh litres each.
Butcher Island has an oil terminal used by the port authorities to offload it from oil tankers. The crude oil is stored in oil containers on the island.
The fire is visible from the Gateway of India in Mumbai which is around 8km away.
Butcher Island has an oil terminal used by the port authorities to offload it from oil tankers. The crude oil is stored in oil containers on the island.
The fire is visible from the Gateway of India in Mumbai which is around 8km away.
Calling For Innovation In Railway Safety, Piyush Goyal Says Money No Bar
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Railway Minister Piyush Goyal today called for innovation in making the railways safer while stressing that enough money is available for the purpose.
Speaking at the International Conference on Technological Advancements in Railway and Metro Projects which was also attended by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Mr Goyal also said that budget allocations are a limitation and tend to hold back research and innovation.
"Personally, I believe a budget is a limitation, it holds you back. Allocation of a budget doesn't allow scientists to flourish as he wants to. Budgets restrict innovation," said Mr Goyal as he called for out-of-the-box thinking to improve rail safety features like as signaling systems and fog vision for locomotive pilots.
The railways is embarking on a massive programme to ensure safety of the entire network, he said. "As much money as required is available for safety.
"I am not even saying it will be made available, I am saying it is available," he said, adding that he cannot make the railways safe without new ideas and he hoped that the conference will help generate innovations.
After a September 30 high-level meeting on Railways safety in Mumbai, it was decided that foot overbridges, platforms and pathways on platform ends will have the highest priority as safety items with no budgetary restriction.
This follows the furore raised after the stampede on a foot overbridge in Mumbai last month.
The rail minister also pointed to Vice President Naidu's speech on September 27 at the IISc Bengaluru where he said that innovation plays a key role in driving the knowledge-based economy.
To highlight his point, Mr Goyal said that the last time a train with additional speed, comfort and safety features was introduced was way back in 1969 -- the Rajdhani Express.
"From 1969 to 2017 we have not embarked on any major new technological initiative that will take us to international standards of passenger safety, comfort, convenience and speed," he said.
Japan, he said, has progressed technologically as it has managed to create an ecosystem where scientists and researchers can think out-of-the-box.
"Our plan for the future is to create an ecosystem where the scientific community will choose to stay in India and not go to NASA," the minister said.
He said the railways is open to engaging with experts in improving the environment, stations and passenger convenience.
Enumerating his expectations from the scientific community, the Railway Minister said he needs technology and know-how to improve driver vision during foggy weather, make the signaling system better, manufacture tracks faster and more efficiently, and predict track failures or fractures.
"I do believe that the time has come for us to aggressively go in for newer technologies and better ways of doing work. We will have to work collectively to see what can be done faster and smarter," he said.
His comments come in the wake of serious questions being raised on railway safety following a string of accidents over the last few months.
Ten coaches of the Kaifiyat Express derailed in August, injuring more that 20 people. This was the second rail accident, coming only days after 23 people were killed in another derailment in Uttar Pradesh.
In the same month, nine coaches of the Duronto Express derailed in Mumbai, although no casualties or injuries were reported.
The Rajdhani Express traveling from Jammu Tawi derailed in New Delhi in September, a week after the Shaktikunj Express derailed in Uttar Pradesh.
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal today called for innovation in making the railways safer while stressing that enough money is available for the purpose.Speaking at the International Conference on Technological Advancements in Railway and Metro Projects which was also attended by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Mr Goyal also said that budget allocations are a limitation and tend to hold back research and innovation.
"Personally, I believe a budget is a limitation, it holds you back. Allocation of a budget doesn't allow scientists to flourish as he wants to. Budgets restrict innovation," said Mr Goyal as he called for out-of-the-box thinking to improve rail safety features like as signaling systems and fog vision for locomotive pilots.
The railways is embarking on a massive programme to ensure safety of the entire network, he said. "As much money as required is available for safety.
"I am not even saying it will be made available, I am saying it is available," he said, adding that he cannot make the railways safe without new ideas and he hoped that the conference will help generate innovations.
After a September 30 high-level meeting on Railways safety in Mumbai, it was decided that foot overbridges, platforms and pathways on platform ends will have the highest priority as safety items with no budgetary restriction.
"I am not even saying it will be made available, I am saying it is available," he said, adding that he cannot make the railways safe without new ideas and he hoped that the conference will help generate innovations.
After a September 30 high-level meeting on Railways safety in Mumbai, it was decided that foot overbridges, platforms and pathways on platform ends will have the highest priority as safety items with no budgetary restriction.
This follows the furore raised after the stampede on a foot overbridge in Mumbai last month.
The rail minister also pointed to Vice President Naidu's speech on September 27 at the IISc Bengaluru where he said that innovation plays a key role in driving the knowledge-based economy.
To highlight his point, Mr Goyal said that the last time a train with additional speed, comfort and safety features was introduced was way back in 1969 -- the Rajdhani Express.
"From 1969 to 2017 we have not embarked on any major new technological initiative that will take us to international standards of passenger safety, comfort, convenience and speed," he said.
Japan, he said, has progressed technologically as it has managed to create an ecosystem where scientists and researchers can think out-of-the-box.
"Our plan for the future is to create an ecosystem where the scientific community will choose to stay in India and not go to NASA," the minister said.
He said the railways is open to engaging with experts in improving the environment, stations and passenger convenience.
Enumerating his expectations from the scientific community, the Railway Minister said he needs technology and know-how to improve driver vision during foggy weather, make the signaling system better, manufacture tracks faster and more efficiently, and predict track failures or fractures.
"I do believe that the time has come for us to aggressively go in for newer technologies and better ways of doing work. We will have to work collectively to see what can be done faster and smarter," he said.
His comments come in the wake of serious questions being raised on railway safety following a string of accidents over the last few months.
Ten coaches of the Kaifiyat Express derailed in August, injuring more that 20 people. This was the second rail accident, coming only days after 23 people were killed in another derailment in Uttar Pradesh.
In the same month, nine coaches of the Duronto Express derailed in Mumbai, although no casualties or injuries were reported.
The Rajdhani Express traveling from Jammu Tawi derailed in New Delhi in September, a week after the Shaktikunj Express derailed in Uttar Pradesh.
"Our plan for the future is to create an ecosystem where the scientific community will choose to stay in India and not go to NASA," the minister said.
He said the railways is open to engaging with experts in improving the environment, stations and passenger convenience.
Enumerating his expectations from the scientific community, the Railway Minister said he needs technology and know-how to improve driver vision during foggy weather, make the signaling system better, manufacture tracks faster and more efficiently, and predict track failures or fractures.
"I do believe that the time has come for us to aggressively go in for newer technologies and better ways of doing work. We will have to work collectively to see what can be done faster and smarter," he said.
His comments come in the wake of serious questions being raised on railway safety following a string of accidents over the last few months.
Ten coaches of the Kaifiyat Express derailed in August, injuring more that 20 people. This was the second rail accident, coming only days after 23 people were killed in another derailment in Uttar Pradesh.
In the same month, nine coaches of the Duronto Express derailed in Mumbai, although no casualties or injuries were reported.
The Rajdhani Express traveling from Jammu Tawi derailed in New Delhi in September, a week after the Shaktikunj Express derailed in Uttar Pradesh.
How Judges Are Appointed By Supreme Court To Be Made Public
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How judges are appointed or transferred by the senior most Supreme Court judges - and their reasons - will be open to the public for the first time in history. The Supreme Court collegium - a panel of the country's top five judges including the Chief Justice of India - has decided that all its discussions and recommendations will be put up on the top court's website.
The collegium system of judges appointing judges has been strongly criticized by the government, which has often called for transparency and accountability in judicial transfers and appointments.
Many eminent jurists have also said that how judges are appointed needs reform because the process lacks transparency.
In 2015, parliament cleared a National Judicial Appointments Commission which would include the Law Minister and two eminent persons selected by a separate panel including the Chief Justice, the Prime Minister and the Leader of Opposition.
But the new procedure was cancelled by the Supreme Court, which felt the government would have too great a say in deciding judges and the independence of the judiciary would be eroded.
The Supreme Court's decision in favour of full disclosure follows a controversy over a judge resigning after being passed over for elevation recently. Justice Jayant Patel, who ordered a CBI investigation into the 2004 Ishrat Jehan encounter killing in Gujarat, was not promoted to Karnataka Chief Justice despite being senior most in the state. Instead, he was asked to shift to the Allahabad High Court, where he would drop to third in seniority.
How judges are appointed or transferred by the senior most Supreme Court judges - and their reasons - will be open to the public for the first time in history. The Supreme Court collegium - a panel of the country's top five judges including the Chief Justice of India - has decided that all its discussions and recommendations will be put up on the top court's website.The collegium system of judges appointing judges has been strongly criticized by the government, which has often called for transparency and accountability in judicial transfers and appointments.
Many eminent jurists have also said that how judges are appointed needs reform because the process lacks transparency.
In 2015, parliament cleared a National Judicial Appointments Commission which would include the Law Minister and two eminent persons selected by a separate panel including the Chief Justice, the Prime Minister and the Leader of Opposition.
But the new procedure was cancelled by the Supreme Court, which felt the government would have too great a say in deciding judges and the independence of the judiciary would be eroded.
The Supreme Court's decision in favour of full disclosure follows a controversy over a judge resigning after being passed over for elevation recently. Justice Jayant Patel, who ordered a CBI investigation into the 2004 Ishrat Jehan encounter killing in Gujarat, was not promoted to Karnataka Chief Justice despite being senior most in the state. Instead, he was asked to shift to the Allahabad High Court, where he would drop to third in seniority.
But the new procedure was cancelled by the Supreme Court, which felt the government would have too great a say in deciding judges and the independence of the judiciary would be eroded.
The Supreme Court's decision in favour of full disclosure follows a controversy over a judge resigning after being passed over for elevation recently. Justice Jayant Patel, who ordered a CBI investigation into the 2004 Ishrat Jehan encounter killing in Gujarat, was not promoted to Karnataka Chief Justice despite being senior most in the state. Instead, he was asked to shift to the Allahabad High Court, where he would drop to third in seniority.
Supreme Court Appoints Amicus Curiae To Assess New Probe Into Mahatma Gandhi's Assassination
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The Supreme Court has appointed senior lawyer Amrender Sharan as Amicus Curiae or impartial adviser, to examine whether there is scope for re-investigating Mahatma Gandhi's assassination in 1948. The court is hearing a petition which seeks further investigation, alleging "one of the biggest cover-ups in history."
"We appreciate your passion for the cause but we are not inclined to interfere," the court told petitioner Dr Pankaj Phadnis at a 15-minute hearing today. The judges said though "prima facie we don't find any material," their observation was not binding on Mr Sharan while he makes an assessment. The court will hear the case again on October 30.
Mr Phadnis, a Mumbai-based researcher and a trustee of right-wing organisation Abhinav Bharat, has sought the reopening of investigation into the assassination on several grounds, alleging a "larger conspiracy." He has in his petition raised questions like whether there was a third assassin apart from Narayan Apte and Nathuram Vinayak Godse, a right-wing advocate who shot Mahatma Gandhi at point-blank range on January 30, 1948.
Mr Phadnis' petition alleges that not three but four bullets were fired at the Father of the Nation and that the fourth bullet, fired by a third assassin, killed him. It also claims that a secret British unit called Force 136 was involved in the assassination.
Pankaj Phadnis has also alleged that a commission of inquiry set up in 1966 did not unearth the entire conspiracy behind the assassination. He has argued that the top court has not had occasion to adjudicate the case on merit, pointing out that the Privy Council had in 1949 said that the Supreme Court must examine the case. But before that could happen, Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte, both members of an organisation called the Hindu Mahasabha, were hanged for the assassination on 15 November, 1949.
The Privy Council was dissolved and was replaced by the Supreme Court, which came into existence on January 26, 1950.
Pankaj Phadnis had approached the Supreme Court earlier this year, after the Bombay High Court dismissed his petition.
The Supreme Court has appointed senior lawyer Amrender Sharan as Amicus Curiae or impartial adviser, to examine whether there is scope for re-investigating Mahatma Gandhi's assassination in 1948. The court is hearing a petition which seeks further investigation, alleging "one of the biggest cover-ups in history.""We appreciate your passion for the cause but we are not inclined to interfere," the court told petitioner Dr Pankaj Phadnis at a 15-minute hearing today. The judges said though "prima facie we don't find any material," their observation was not binding on Mr Sharan while he makes an assessment. The court will hear the case again on October 30.
Mr Phadnis, a Mumbai-based researcher and a trustee of right-wing organisation Abhinav Bharat, has sought the reopening of investigation into the assassination on several grounds, alleging a "larger conspiracy." He has in his petition raised questions like whether there was a third assassin apart from Narayan Apte and Nathuram Vinayak Godse, a right-wing advocate who shot Mahatma Gandhi at point-blank range on January 30, 1948.
Mr Phadnis' petition alleges that not three but four bullets were fired at the Father of the Nation and that the fourth bullet, fired by a third assassin, killed him. It also claims that a secret British unit called Force 136 was involved in the assassination.
Pankaj Phadnis has also alleged that a commission of inquiry set up in 1966 did not unearth the entire conspiracy behind the assassination. He has argued that the top court has not had occasion to adjudicate the case on merit, pointing out that the Privy Council had in 1949 said that the Supreme Court must examine the case. But before that could happen, Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte, both members of an organisation called the Hindu Mahasabha, were hanged for the assassination on 15 November, 1949.
The Privy Council was dissolved and was replaced by the Supreme Court, which came into existence on January 26, 1950.
Pankaj Phadnis had approached the Supreme Court earlier this year, after the Bombay High Court dismissed his petition.
The Privy Council was dissolved and was replaced by the Supreme Court, which came into existence on January 26, 1950.
Pankaj Phadnis had approached the Supreme Court earlier this year, after the Bombay High Court dismissed his petition.
Business Affairs
GST Council slashes rates for 27 items; sops for exporters, small businesses
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The Goods and Service Tax (GST) Council meet that was held in the national capital on Friday saw several decisions to ease tax compliance for small taxpayers along with tax rates slashed for a total of 27 items. The concerns about delayed tax refunds raised by exporters were also taken up during the meeting and remedies, both short-term and long-terms have been devised. This was the 22nd meeting of the all-powerful GST Council.
"After receiving GST return for July and August, we have come to know of the experiences and transitions faced by traders of various kinds. Traders and states have expressed their concerns to us. Small scale enterprises and exports were two major concerns among them, Arun Jaitley said at the press briefing after the GST Council meet," said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier said that the government has taken feedback regarding GST. "We have directed the GST Council to resolve the bottlenecks in GST implementation. All the concerns of businesses will be addressed by this government," PM Modi said on difficulties being faced by traders and businesses after GST implementation. PM further added that 19 lakh new taxpayers came into the tax net after GST implementation and at least 1 lakh youth have been received training in the nuances of the indirect tax regime.
GST rate cuts
Several items had disguised excise attached to them during the VAT regime which led these items getting placed in higher tax slabs under GST on the basis of equivalence, said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley while addressing a press briefing after the GST Council meet.
The goods which saw a decline in GST rates include sliced dried mangoes (5%), khakra and plan chapati (5%), ICDS food packets (5%), unbranded namkeen (5%), unbrabded ayurvedic medicines (5%), plastic waste (5%), rubber waste (5%), paper waste (5%), manmade yarn (12%), flooring stones expect marble and granite (18%), stationary items (18%), clips (18%), diesel engine parts (18%), pumps parts (18%), and e-waste (5%).
Moreover, job works related to zari embroidery, imitation jewellery, food items, printing, and government contracts involving high element of labour will all attract GST at the rate of 5 per cent.
GST made easy for small businesses
The GST Council also approved raising the threshold for composition scheme from Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1 crore, along with allowing quarterly filing of returns for businesses with turnover upto 1.5 crore . These decisions are expected to lessen tax compliance burden on small and medium taxpayers.
Under the composition scheme, businesses pay a fixed rate to avoid GST paperwork. It is believed that the higher thresholds will ease the compliance burden and also reduce the filing load on the system. In composition scheme, taxpayers are classified under three categories based on the GST rates they pay - traders pay 1 per cent GST, manufacturers 2 per cent and restaurants are charged 5 per cent GST.
Moreover, taxpayers which are exempt from composition scheme but annual turnover up to Rs 1.5 crore will file their GST returns on quarterly basis istead of every month.
"The system of quarterly retruns will be operationalied from October 1, and GST returns for the same will have to be filed in January. However, the return for the month of July that is to be filed till October 10 has not been relented. So small taxpayers should not think that they do not have to file any taxes this month. We will inform about the necessary details regarding August in due time," said Hasmukh Adhia, Secretary to GST Counil.
"Bulk of tax revenue which comes from big players will be encouraged, whereas medium and small taxpayers will be kept in the tax net with minimum tax burden to enhance the tax base," said the Finance Minister.
GST rate cut for AC restaurants
GST Council meet today also recommended setting up Group of Ministers to examine key rate cut issues regarding AC restaurants. The committee will come up with mechanism to reduce GST on AC restaurants in ten days. GST Council has also discussed bringing down tax rate on AC restaurants with no ITC from 18 per cent to 12 per cent.
Relief to exporters
The GST Council also devised methods to ensure faster tax refund to xporters in response to representations about their working capital being held up in the form of delayed refunds. Now, exporters will receive cheque of their refunds by Ocrober 10 for the returns filed in July and October 18 for the returns filed in August. But, this would be an interim solution, said Jaitley.
He further added, "As a long-term solution, an e-wallet will be created for every exporter in which a notional amount would be credited as advance refund and they can pay their IGST or GST paid through this. The credited amount will be offset from their actual refund. This arrangement will be developed by an appropriate technology company by April 1, 2018".
e-Way Bill round the corner
Finance Minister Jaitley said that e-way bill software has been made functional in the state of Karnataka on pilot basis with pleasant experiences. Nation-wide roll put will begin from the month of January next year, he added.
The govenment intends to completely implement e-way bill software across India by April 2018.
The Goods and Service Tax (GST) Council meet that was held in the national capital on Friday saw several decisions to ease tax compliance for small taxpayers along with tax rates slashed for a total of 27 items. The concerns about delayed tax refunds raised by exporters were also taken up during the meeting and remedies, both short-term and long-terms have been devised. This was the 22nd meeting of the all-powerful GST Council.
"After receiving GST return for July and August, we have come to know of the experiences and transitions faced by traders of various kinds. Traders and states have expressed their concerns to us. Small scale enterprises and exports were two major concerns among them, Arun Jaitley said at the press briefing after the GST Council meet," said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier said that the government has taken feedback regarding GST. "We have directed the GST Council to resolve the bottlenecks in GST implementation. All the concerns of businesses will be addressed by this government," PM Modi said on difficulties being faced by traders and businesses after GST implementation. PM further added that 19 lakh new taxpayers came into the tax net after GST implementation and at least 1 lakh youth have been received training in the nuances of the indirect tax regime.
GST rate cuts
Several items had disguised excise attached to them during the VAT regime which led these items getting placed in higher tax slabs under GST on the basis of equivalence, said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley while addressing a press briefing after the GST Council meet.
The goods which saw a decline in GST rates include sliced dried mangoes (5%), khakra and plan chapati (5%), ICDS food packets (5%), unbranded namkeen (5%), unbrabded ayurvedic medicines (5%), plastic waste (5%), rubber waste (5%), paper waste (5%), manmade yarn (12%), flooring stones expect marble and granite (18%), stationary items (18%), clips (18%), diesel engine parts (18%), pumps parts (18%), and e-waste (5%).
Moreover, job works related to zari embroidery, imitation jewellery, food items, printing, and government contracts involving high element of labour will all attract GST at the rate of 5 per cent.
GST made easy for small businesses
The GST Council also approved raising the threshold for composition scheme from Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1 crore, along with allowing quarterly filing of returns for businesses with turnover upto 1.5 crore . These decisions are expected to lessen tax compliance burden on small and medium taxpayers.
Under the composition scheme, businesses pay a fixed rate to avoid GST paperwork. It is believed that the higher thresholds will ease the compliance burden and also reduce the filing load on the system. In composition scheme, taxpayers are classified under three categories based on the GST rates they pay - traders pay 1 per cent GST, manufacturers 2 per cent and restaurants are charged 5 per cent GST.
Moreover, taxpayers which are exempt from composition scheme but annual turnover up to Rs 1.5 crore will file their GST returns on quarterly basis istead of every month.
"The system of quarterly retruns will be operationalied from October 1, and GST returns for the same will have to be filed in January. However, the return for the month of July that is to be filed till October 10 has not been relented. So small taxpayers should not think that they do not have to file any taxes this month. We will inform about the necessary details regarding August in due time," said Hasmukh Adhia, Secretary to GST Counil.
"Bulk of tax revenue which comes from big players will be encouraged, whereas medium and small taxpayers will be kept in the tax net with minimum tax burden to enhance the tax base," said the Finance Minister.
GST rate cut for AC restaurants
GST Council meet today also recommended setting up Group of Ministers to examine key rate cut issues regarding AC restaurants. The committee will come up with mechanism to reduce GST on AC restaurants in ten days. GST Council has also discussed bringing down tax rate on AC restaurants with no ITC from 18 per cent to 12 per cent.
Relief to exporters
The GST Council also devised methods to ensure faster tax refund to xporters in response to representations about their working capital being held up in the form of delayed refunds. Now, exporters will receive cheque of their refunds by Ocrober 10 for the returns filed in July and October 18 for the returns filed in August. But, this would be an interim solution, said Jaitley.
He further added, "As a long-term solution, an e-wallet will be created for every exporter in which a notional amount would be credited as advance refund and they can pay their IGST or GST paid through this. The credited amount will be offset from their actual refund. This arrangement will be developed by an appropriate technology company by April 1, 2018".
e-Way Bill round the corner
Finance Minister Jaitley said that e-way bill software has been made functional in the state of Karnataka on pilot basis with pleasant experiences. Nation-wide roll put will begin from the month of January next year, he added.
The govenment intends to completely implement e-way bill software across India by April 2018.
Black money hunt: 13 banks submit data on 13,140 suspicious accounts and 5800 companies
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Finance Ministry has received details of suspicious post-demonetisation transactions and bank account operations of 5,800 companies whose names were struck off by the Registrar of Companies earlier this year. From a balance of Rs 22 crore during the pre-demonetisation days, these accounts saw a credit of Rs 4,573 crore post-demonetisation, almost all of which was withdrawn too.
A Ministry statement claimed this to be a major breakthrough in the government's fight against black money and shell companies. The data, submitted by 13 banks involves 13,140 accounts. Few of the companies have been found to have more than 100 accounts to their names. The highest grosser among these is a company having 2134 accounts, followed by others having accounts in the range of 900, 300 etc, the ministry stated.
The data points out that in one of the banks, 429 companies having zero balance each as on 8th November, 2016 had deposited and withdrawn over Rs 11 crore and left again with a cumulative balance of just Rs 42,000 as at the date of freezing. In the case of another bank, more than 3000 such companies, most having multiple accounts, have been located. From having a cumulative balance of about Rs 13 crore as on 8th November, 2016, these companies have deposited and withdrawn about Rs 3800 crore, leaving a negative cumulative balance of almost Rs 200 crore at the time of freezing of their accounts.
The ministry stated that this data is only about 2.5 per cent of the total number of suspected companies that have been struck off by the government. The investigative agencies have been asked to complete necessary investigation in a time bound manner. The government has sought details of bank account operations and post-demonetisation transactions of some of the 2,09,032 suspicious companies that had been struck off the Registrar of Companies earlier this year.
The 13 banks have submitted their First Instalment of data.
Finance Ministry has received details of suspicious post-demonetisation transactions and bank account operations of 5,800 companies whose names were struck off by the Registrar of Companies earlier this year. From a balance of Rs 22 crore during the pre-demonetisation days, these accounts saw a credit of Rs 4,573 crore post-demonetisation, almost all of which was withdrawn too.
A Ministry statement claimed this to be a major breakthrough in the government's fight against black money and shell companies. The data, submitted by 13 banks involves 13,140 accounts. Few of the companies have been found to have more than 100 accounts to their names. The highest grosser among these is a company having 2134 accounts, followed by others having accounts in the range of 900, 300 etc, the ministry stated.
The data points out that in one of the banks, 429 companies having zero balance each as on 8th November, 2016 had deposited and withdrawn over Rs 11 crore and left again with a cumulative balance of just Rs 42,000 as at the date of freezing. In the case of another bank, more than 3000 such companies, most having multiple accounts, have been located. From having a cumulative balance of about Rs 13 crore as on 8th November, 2016, these companies have deposited and withdrawn about Rs 3800 crore, leaving a negative cumulative balance of almost Rs 200 crore at the time of freezing of their accounts.
The ministry stated that this data is only about 2.5 per cent of the total number of suspected companies that have been struck off by the government. The investigative agencies have been asked to complete necessary investigation in a time bound manner. The government has sought details of bank account operations and post-demonetisation transactions of some of the 2,09,032 suspicious companies that had been struck off the Registrar of Companies earlier this year.
The 13 banks have submitted their First Instalment of data.
NCLT refuses to transfer Mistry case to Delhi bench; imposes a cost of Rs 10 lakh on his investment firms
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The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Friday dismissed the plea of ousted Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry, requesting that his case challenging the ouster is transferred to the New Delhi bench from Mumbai. Moreover, principal bench of the Tribunal under Justice Mahesh Mittal Kumar also imposed a cost of Rs 10 lakh on Mistry's two investment firms, which would be shared by both.
The two investment firms owned by the Mistry family - Cyrus Investments Pvt Ltd and Sterling Investments Corporation Pvt Ltd - that filed the case had argued that the Mumbai bench could have a cause of bias. "We are asked to go before a forum (NCLT Mumbai bench) which has already judged the issue," senior advocate CA Sundaram had argued on behald of the two investment firms during the proceedings yesterday.
In rebuttal, senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Mukul Rohatgi had called it an instance of forum shopping. "This should be dismissed at threshold. They have suppressed the facts. They have already raised twice before the NCLAT to transfer the case to Delhi and hear it," Singhvi had said, adding that the appellate tribunal did not decide on it. The NCLT principal bench headed by Justice Mahesh Mittal Kumar had reserved its verdict on the matter yesterday.
Last month, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) had relaxed the norms for Mistry in the minimum shareholding rule for him, allowing him to file a case of alleged oppression of minority shareholders after observing "exceptional" and "compelling circumstances" in the entire episode. A shareholder is required to have at least 10 per cent stake in a compnay in order to file a case alleging oppresssion of miniority shareholders. The Mistry family owns 18.4 per cent stake in the closely-held Tata Sons. The holding is less than 3 per cent if preferential shares are excluded, not meeting the specidfied criteria.
Following this waiver, the appellate tribunal had directed the NCLT to decide the case in three months. The law tribunal had already dismissed Mistry's petition against Tata Sons in the past on the grounds of not meeting the minimum shareholding criteria.
This decision has come shortly after Tata Sons - the holding company of the Tata Group - got its shareholders' approval to list itself as a private limited company at its annual general meeting last month. Mistry family had opposed the move as 'yet another weapon' to oppress minority shareholders. After the company becomes a private limited entity, shareholders will not be able to sell their shares to external investors. Tata Group has reasoned that the their status of deemed public compnay is not statutorily recognised undeer the Company Act, 2013.
Mistry has been locked in a legal battle with the Tatas since his unceremonious exit as chairman of Tata Sons - the promoter company of the $105-billion salt-to-software Tata Group - in October last year.
Mistry was ousted as Tata Sons chairman on October 24, 2016, and was also removed as a director on the board of the holding company on February 6, 2017. Cyrus Investments Pvt and Sterling Investments Corporation Pvt had moved the NCLT against Tata Sons after Mistry's ouster last year alleging oppression of minority shareholders and mismanagement.
However, on April 17, the Mumbai bench of the NCLT had rejected the waiver plea filed by the investment firms while on March 6, it had set aside the one over maintainability. Following that, both the investment firms owned by the Mistry family had moved the appellate tribunal. The NCLAT, however, dismissed another petition filed by these two companies on maintainability, saying the firms do not have more than 10 per cent in Tata Sons.
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Friday dismissed the plea of ousted Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry, requesting that his case challenging the ouster is transferred to the New Delhi bench from Mumbai. Moreover, principal bench of the Tribunal under Justice Mahesh Mittal Kumar also imposed a cost of Rs 10 lakh on Mistry's two investment firms, which would be shared by both.
The two investment firms owned by the Mistry family - Cyrus Investments Pvt Ltd and Sterling Investments Corporation Pvt Ltd - that filed the case had argued that the Mumbai bench could have a cause of bias. "We are asked to go before a forum (NCLT Mumbai bench) which has already judged the issue," senior advocate CA Sundaram had argued on behald of the two investment firms during the proceedings yesterday.
In rebuttal, senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Mukul Rohatgi had called it an instance of forum shopping. "This should be dismissed at threshold. They have suppressed the facts. They have already raised twice before the NCLAT to transfer the case to Delhi and hear it," Singhvi had said, adding that the appellate tribunal did not decide on it. The NCLT principal bench headed by Justice Mahesh Mittal Kumar had reserved its verdict on the matter yesterday.
Last month, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) had relaxed the norms for Mistry in the minimum shareholding rule for him, allowing him to file a case of alleged oppression of minority shareholders after observing "exceptional" and "compelling circumstances" in the entire episode. A shareholder is required to have at least 10 per cent stake in a compnay in order to file a case alleging oppresssion of miniority shareholders. The Mistry family owns 18.4 per cent stake in the closely-held Tata Sons. The holding is less than 3 per cent if preferential shares are excluded, not meeting the specidfied criteria.
Following this waiver, the appellate tribunal had directed the NCLT to decide the case in three months. The law tribunal had already dismissed Mistry's petition against Tata Sons in the past on the grounds of not meeting the minimum shareholding criteria.
This decision has come shortly after Tata Sons - the holding company of the Tata Group - got its shareholders' approval to list itself as a private limited company at its annual general meeting last month. Mistry family had opposed the move as 'yet another weapon' to oppress minority shareholders. After the company becomes a private limited entity, shareholders will not be able to sell their shares to external investors. Tata Group has reasoned that the their status of deemed public compnay is not statutorily recognised undeer the Company Act, 2013.
Mistry has been locked in a legal battle with the Tatas since his unceremonious exit as chairman of Tata Sons - the promoter company of the $105-billion salt-to-software Tata Group - in October last year.
Mistry was ousted as Tata Sons chairman on October 24, 2016, and was also removed as a director on the board of the holding company on February 6, 2017. Cyrus Investments Pvt and Sterling Investments Corporation Pvt had moved the NCLT against Tata Sons after Mistry's ouster last year alleging oppression of minority shareholders and mismanagement.
However, on April 17, the Mumbai bench of the NCLT had rejected the waiver plea filed by the investment firms while on March 6, it had set aside the one over maintainability. Following that, both the investment firms owned by the Mistry family had moved the appellate tribunal. The NCLAT, however, dismissed another petition filed by these two companies on maintainability, saying the firms do not have more than 10 per cent in Tata Sons.
No PAN card required for jewellery purchase above Rs 50,000
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The government on Friday scrapped GST notification on gems and jewellery stating that PAN card will no longer be mandatory on the purchase of jewellery for over Rs 50,000, ANI reported
Also, government need not be informed on jewellery purchase of over Rs 50,000, which means that jewellers will not have to report data on buyers to Financial Intelligence Unit, it said.
The government rolled back the previous notification, according to which dealers in precious metals, precious stones and other high value goods were notified as persons carrying on designated business and professions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
The decision was taken at the 22nd GST Council meeting on Friday.
The government on Friday scrapped GST notification on gems and jewellery stating that PAN card will no longer be mandatory on the purchase of jewellery for over Rs 50,000, ANI reported
Also, government need not be informed on jewellery purchase of over Rs 50,000, which means that jewellers will not have to report data on buyers to Financial Intelligence Unit, it said.
The government rolled back the previous notification, according to which dealers in precious metals, precious stones and other high value goods were notified as persons carrying on designated business and professions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
The decision was taken at the 22nd GST Council meeting on Friday.
Aadhaar becomes mandatory for post office deposits, PPF, NSC, KVP; here're details
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The 12-digit unique identification number Aadhaar has now been made mandatory for all post office deposits, PPF, the National Savings Certificate (NSC) scheme and Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP). The government has already made it compulsory to link the Aadhaar with various services like, bank, mobile and welfare scheme. The recent move by the government is in continuation with its push for Aadhaar. The deadline to provide the 12-digit unique identification number Aadhaar is December 31, 2017. Announcement regarding Aadhaar quoting was made by Ministry of Finance through four separate Gazette notifications. "Provided that where Aadhaar number has not been assigned, the depositor shall submit proof of application of enrolment for Aadhaar," the notification dated September 29 said.
Existing depositors who have not provided Aadhaar number at the time of application for such deposit "shall submit his Aadhaar number to the post office savings bank or deposit office concerned, on or before December 31, 2017," it added.
The government is consistently being pushing for Aadhaar and has made it mandatory for bank deposits, obtaining mobile phone and several government schemes. In fact, it extended the deadline for obtaining Aadhaar for availing government schemes and subsidies from September 30 to December 31.
"As a result of the review of welfare schemes covered and to provide the benefits of such schemes to all eligible beneficiaries of the scheme, it has been decided to further extend the stipulated date in all such notifications up to December 31, 2017," an order dated September 26 said.
The extension stands the same fo Employees under Employees' Pension Scheme of 1995 and students wanting to avail scholarships besides enrolling for national apprenticeship and skill development schemes and crop insurance schemes and Atal Pension Yojana.
"It is hereby clarified that this extension shall only apply to those beneficiaries who are not assigned Aadhaar number or those who have not yet enrolled for Aadhaar. Such beneficiaries are required to enrol for Aadhaar by December 31, 2017and provide their Aadhaar number or enrolment ID," it had said.
It must be noted that after government made it compuslory to link 12-digit Aadhaar issued by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), many telecom operators including Airtel, Idea and Vodafone have been sending messages to its customers for linking their Aadhaar with phone number. Even banks have been informing their customers to link their Aadhaar numbers with bank accounts to avoid making them inoperational.
The 12-digit unique identification number Aadhaar has now been made mandatory for all post office deposits, PPF, the National Savings Certificate (NSC) scheme and Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP). The government has already made it compulsory to link the Aadhaar with various services like, bank, mobile and welfare scheme. The recent move by the government is in continuation with its push for Aadhaar. The deadline to provide the 12-digit unique identification number Aadhaar is December 31, 2017. Announcement regarding Aadhaar quoting was made by Ministry of Finance through four separate Gazette notifications. "Provided that where Aadhaar number has not been assigned, the depositor shall submit proof of application of enrolment for Aadhaar," the notification dated September 29 said.
Existing depositors who have not provided Aadhaar number at the time of application for such deposit "shall submit his Aadhaar number to the post office savings bank or deposit office concerned, on or before December 31, 2017," it added.
The government is consistently being pushing for Aadhaar and has made it mandatory for bank deposits, obtaining mobile phone and several government schemes. In fact, it extended the deadline for obtaining Aadhaar for availing government schemes and subsidies from September 30 to December 31.
"As a result of the review of welfare schemes covered and to provide the benefits of such schemes to all eligible beneficiaries of the scheme, it has been decided to further extend the stipulated date in all such notifications up to December 31, 2017," an order dated September 26 said.
The extension stands the same fo Employees under Employees' Pension Scheme of 1995 and students wanting to avail scholarships besides enrolling for national apprenticeship and skill development schemes and crop insurance schemes and Atal Pension Yojana.
"It is hereby clarified that this extension shall only apply to those beneficiaries who are not assigned Aadhaar number or those who have not yet enrolled for Aadhaar. Such beneficiaries are required to enrol for Aadhaar by December 31, 2017and provide their Aadhaar number or enrolment ID," it had said.
It must be noted that after government made it compuslory to link 12-digit Aadhaar issued by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), many telecom operators including Airtel, Idea and Vodafone have been sending messages to its customers for linking their Aadhaar with phone number. Even banks have been informing their customers to link their Aadhaar numbers with bank accounts to avoid making them inoperational.
General Awareness
Current Affairs were found in Month - September 2017
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Appointments
Abanti Sankaranarayanan has been elected as chairperson of board of The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).- Angela Merkel won fourth term as chancellor of Germany.
- B Sambamurthy has been appointed as interim Chairman of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
- Balraj Joshi has been appointed as Chairman-cum-Managing Director of NHPC (National Hydro Power Corporation).
- Banaras Hindu University (BHU) appointed Royana Singh as its first woman Chief Proctor.
- Cabinet Changes -
- New Cabinet Ministers
- Nirmala Sitharaman - Ministry of Defence. Sitharaman is first woman after Indira Gandhi to hold portfolio of Defence Minister.
- Piyush Goyal - Ministry of Railways (also Minister of State for Coal Ministry (IC))
- Dharmendra Pradhan - Ministry of Petroleum and Natural. He will also hold Ministry for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
- Muqtar Abbas Naqvi - Ministry of Minority Affairs.
- Nitin Gadkari - Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation (also holds Ministry of Road Transport and Highways)
- Uma Bharti - Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation
- Narendra Singh Tomer - Ministry of Mines (Also Holds Ministry of Rural Development and Minsitry of Panchayati Raj)
- Suresh Prabhu -Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- New Ministers Of State
- Gajendra Singh Shekhawat - Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare
- Krishna Raj - Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare
- K J Alphons - Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
- Satya Pal Singh - Ministry of Human Resource Development AND Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
- Virendra Kumar - Ministry of Women and Child Development AND Ministry of Minority affairs.
- Anant Kumar Hegde - Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
- Mahesh Sharma - Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
- Sudarshan Bhagat - Tribal Affairs
- Rao Inderjit Singh - Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
- Arjun Ram Meghwal - Minsitry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation AND Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
- Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary - Ministry of Coal and Ministry of Mines
- Pon Radhakrishna - Ministry of Finance AND Ministy of Shipping
- Shiv Pratap Shukla - Ministry of Finance
- New Ministers of State (Independent Charge)
- Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore - Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (IC)
- Hardeep Puri - Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (IC)
- RK Singh- Ministry of Power (IC) and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (IC)
- K J Alphons - Ministry of Tourism (IC)
- Mahesh Sharma - Ministry of Culture (IC)
- Santosh Kumar Gangwar - Minsitry of Labour & Employment (IC)
- Giriraj Singh - Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (IC)
- Rao Inderjit Singh - Ministry of Planning (IC)
- Piyush Goyal - Ministry of State for Coal Ministry (IC))
- Devendra Kumar Joshi has been appointed as Lieutenant Governor of UT of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- Force Motors Chairman Abhay Firodia has been elected as president of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).
- Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been elected as Chair of Ethics Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for 4 years term.
- Government extended term of Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian by one year till October 2018.
- Halimah Yacob has been appointed as 8th President of Singapore (and First female ever).
- Inder Jit Singh has been appointed as Chairperson of National Authority Chemical Weapons Convention (NACWC).
- India TV Chairman Rajat Sharma elected as President of News Broadcasters Association (NBA) for 2017-18.
- Indian Person Suresh Chitturi has been appointed as Vice-Chairman of International Egg Commission (Belgium).
- Joao Lourenco appointed as Angola (South African Nation)'s first new President in 38 years.
- KV Rama Moorthy appointed as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Tamilnad Mercantile Bank.
- Kenneth I. Juster has been nominated as next USA ambassador to India.
- Leading Housing Finance Firm DHFL (Diwan Housing Finance) appointed Harshil Mehta as Joint Managing Director & CEO.
- M. Nagaraja Sarma has been appointed as chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of United India Insurance Company.
- Mahendra Pratap Mall has been appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).
- Mercedes Araoz Fernandez has been appointed as new Prime Minister of Peru.
- Ministry of Coal appointed Gopal Singh as CMD of Coal India Ltd.
- N Baijendra Kumar has been appointed as Chairman-Cum-Managing Director (CMD) of state-run National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC).
- New Indian Ambassadors Appointed -
- Gautam Bambawale - China
- Ajay Bisaria - Pakistan
- Harsh Kumar Jain - Slovakia
- Vani Sarraju Rao -Estonia
- Palau - Jaideep Mazumdar
- Newly Appointed Governors of Various States -
- B. D. Mishra - Arunachal Pradesh
- Satya Pal Malik - Bihar
- Banwarilal Purohit - Tamil Nadu
- Jagdish Mukhi - Assam
- Ganga Prasad - Meghalaya
- Peter Thomson (Fiji; outgoing president of the UN General Assembly) has been appointed as UN's first Special Envoy for oceans.
- R A Sankara Narayanan has been appointed as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Vijaya Bank.
- Rajni Kant Mishra has been appointed as new Director General of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).
- Raquel Dodge has been appointed as first woman General Prosecutor of Brazil (head of internal security of nation).
- Shashi Shanker has been appointed as the chairman and managing director of ONGC.
- Sjoerd Marijne (Netherlands) has been named chief coach of Hockey men’s side. Harendra Singh has been appointed as Specialist coach of senior women’s team.
- Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company Novartis appointed Vasant Narasimhan as its CEO.
- T. Jacob has been appointed as Secretary in Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
- Tata Sons appointed Pradipta Bagchi as Group Communications chief.
- Twitter Micro-blogging website appointed Indian-born Sriram Krishnan as Senior Director of Product.
- US President Donald Trump appointed Indian-American Raj Shah as Deputy Assistant to President and Principal Deputy Press Secretary.
- Umesh Chand Asawa (CEO of A.P. Mahesh Co-operative Urban Bank ) is elected to managing committee of Indian Banks Association (IBA).
- Unique Identification Authority of India’s (UIDAI) CEO A.B. Pandey has been appointed interim chairman of Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN).
- Uttarakhand Goverment appointed actor Akshay Kumar as brand ambassador of Swachh Bharat Mission in state. Note that that Akshay was also recently appointed as brand ambassador for cleanliness campaign in Uttar Pradesh.
- Viveck Goenka has been elected as Chairman of Press Trust of India (PTI). N. Ravi is elected as Vice Chairman.
- West Bengal government appointed Binay Tamang as chairman of Gorkha Territorial Administration.
- Y C Modi has been appointed as new Director General of National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Awards
- 2017 Balzan Prize Winners -
- James P Allison (USA) - For Immunological Approaches in Cancer Therapy that enhanced the survival of patients with metastatic melanoma.
- Bina Agarwal (Indian British) - For her heroic work studying women’s contributions to agriculture in India.
- Michael Gillon (Belgium) - For his work that helped finding new soalr systems of planet Earth using robotic telescopes, instead of much more costly satellites.
- Germans Aleida and Jan Assmann (Germany) - For presenting collective memory as a requirement for forming identity of religious and political communities.
- 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards announced at Microsoft Theater in California (USA) -
- Outstanding Comedy Series - Veep
- Outstanding Drama Series - The Handmaid’s Tale (First web series to win this award )
- Outstanding Variety Talk Series - Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
- Outstanding Variety Sketch Series - Saturday Night Live
- Outstanding Limited Series - Big Little Lies
- Outstanding Television Movie - Black Mirror: “”San Junipero”"
- Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series - Donald Glover (Marks on Atlanta)
- Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series - Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Veep
- Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series - Sterling K. Brown in This Is Us
- Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series - Elisabeth Moss in The Handmaid’s Tale
- Riz Ahmed become first man of Asian descent to win an Emmy Award ever. He is a British actor of Pakistani descent and won in Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie category for The Night Of.
- 74th Venice International Film Festival (Italy) -
- Golden Lion – The Shape of Water by Guillermo Del Toro
- Grand Jury Prize – Foxtrot by Samuel Maoz
- Silver Lion (Best Direct0r) – Custody by Xavier Legrand
- Volpi Cup (Best Actor) – Kamel El Basha for The Insult
- Best Actress – Charlotte Rampling for Hannah
- Special Jury Prize – Sweet Country by Warwick Thornton
- Badminton Player Prakash Padukone conferred with first Lifetime Achievement Award instituted by Badminton Association of India (BAI). He won 1980 All England and won a bronze at 1983 World Championship in Copenhagen (Denmark).
- GQ Men of The Year Awards 2017 -
- Irrfan Khan - Outstanding Achievement
- Anushka Sharma - Woman of the Year
- Karan Johar - Producer of the Year
- Rajkummar Rao - Actor of Year
- Ranveer Singh - Entertainer of the Year
- Sridevi – Excellence in Acting
- Aamir Khan - Creative Maverick
- Ghana-based Indian entrepreneur Birendra Sasmal won International Business Person of Year at Asian Achievers Awards in London, for for turning his company Subah Group into a thriving succes Through West Africa and employs around 350 people.
- Hyderabad International Airport won National Award for ‘Excellence’ in Energy Management at a conference hosted by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
- ISKCON’s Govardhan Eco village (Maharashtra) received spirit of humanity award by AmeriCares, a non-profit organisation working for disaster relief and global health, in livelihood category.
- Indian Scientist Mahtab Bamji has been selected for Living Legend Award of International Union of Nutritional Sciences ((IUNS), to be presented at its General Assembly to be held in Buenos Aires (Argentina).
- IUNS Council presents Living Legend Awards to individuals of Adhering Bodies in good standing who are eighty (80) years or above.
- India’s first operational Smart City and IFSC, Gujarat International Finance-Tec City (GIFT City) won Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) Services Excellence Award.
- Infosys Cofounder N R Narayana Murthy and Mumbai-born scientist veena Sahajwalla have been conferred PLuS Alliance Prize. Murthy was chosen for Global Leadership while professor Sahajwalla was awarded for Research Innovation for her project.
- Jawaharlal Nehru Port Container Terminal (JNPCT) has been awarded Container Terminal of the Year Award at 10th The Gateway Awards 2017 at Mumbai.
- Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) won Rajbhasha Kirti Puraskar for 2016-17 for its excellent implementation of Official Language. This is 11th consecutive year that JNPT has won this award.
- Jurist Tahir Mahmood has been honored by N R Madhava Menon Best Law Teacher Award 2017 for his services to legal education.
- Karnataka Bank won Best Bank award among small banks for use of technology for financial inclusion at 13th IDRBT Banking Technology Excellence Awards 2016-17.
- Karnataka Cop D Roopa has been conferred President’s Medal for her meritorious service.
- Pune-based NGO Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP) that workes for women farmers, won 2017 UN Equator Prize.
- Raghunandan Industries Private Limited has been awarded with Krishi Pragati Award 2017 by National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX).
- Reliance Foundation and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) received Rashtriya Khel Protsahana Purushkar. KVK was honored for its ‘Identification and Nurturing of Budding and Young Talent’ (IDCO) program.
- Sikkim CM Pawan Chamling has been honoured by Grand Prix Award for his work in field of organic farming, During a ceremony at Germany’s Lagau on the occasion of the One World Festival.
- US-based Marconi Society to honor 3 Indian Origin Person -
- Google research scientist Ananda Theertha Suresh, by Paul Baran Young Scholar award for 2017. He has been honored for creating technology that makes search faster and easier even on low-end mobile devices with basic Internet.
- Thomas Kailath - Lifetime Achievement Award for his stellar contribution to modern communications.
- Arun Netravalli - Marconi Prize for his pioneering work in digital video technology used in mobile phones and television sets.
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced winners of 2017 International Literacy Prizes. These Prizes are divided into 2 categories - Confucius Prize (sponsored by China) and King Sejong Literacy Prize (sponsored by South Korea). All winners will each receive a medal, a certificate and USD 20000, on International Literacy Day on 8 September 2017.
- Confucius Prize 2017 (recognises projects that benefit rural populations and out-of-school youth, particularly girls and women). Winners are -
- AdulTICoProgram - Initiative of Secretariat of Information and Communications Technologies of Armenia (Colombia) for teaching digital competencies to seniors.
- Citizens Foundation (Pakistan) - For its Aagahi Literacy Programme for Women and Out-of-School Girls.
- FunDza (South Africa) - It launched a project to develop a culture of reading and writing for pleasure through an online platform.
- King Sejong Literacy Prize 2017 - Dedicated to mother-tongue literacy education. Winners -
- Centre for the Study of Learning & Performance (Concordia University (Canada)) - For its ‘Using Educational Technology to Develop Essential Educational Competencies in Sub-Saharan Africas project’.
- We Love Reading (Jordan) - It offers online read-aloud trainings for parents, mobilizes volunteers to read aloud in community spaces to children.
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural organization (UNESCO) announced winners of 2017 UNESCO Prize for Girl’s and Women’s Education. Each of 2 winner organisations received prize money of USD 50000. Winners are -
- Development and Education Programme for Daughters and Communities Centre in Greater Mekong Sub-Region (DEPDC/GMS) in Thailand - For its project Education and Life Skills Training Programme to Help Stateless Children and Women Migrating from Shan State to Thailand.
- Mini Academy of Science and Technology (MaCTec Peru) - For its project Mobile MaCTec Bus Labs/Mini Academy of Science and Technology.
- Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu honored film-maker S S Rajamouli (Director of Famed Baahubali Series) with prestigious ANR National Award for his contribution to Telugu film industry.
- Vijaya Bank won bagged first prize under Rajbhasha Kirti Puraskar (Region C) for year 2016-17. Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) has also been awarded National level Rajbhasha Keerti Award for 3rd consecutive year.
- Zannah Mustapha won annual Nansen Refugee Award for his crucial mediating role and efforts to help children affected by insurgency in Nigeria. His Future Prowess Islamic Foundation School provides free Islamic education to orphaned children.
Books
- Book Bhartiya Kala Mein Salil Kridayen Evam Sadyahsnata Nayika authored by Kshetrapal Gangwar and Sanjib Kumar Singh has been launched.
- Book How India Sees the World: Kautilya to the 21st Century, written by Shyam Saran has been launched.
- Book India: Priorities for the Future, authored by Former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan has been launched.
- Book The Shershah of Kargil, is a biography of Kargil war hero Late Captain Vikram Batra has been released. It has been written by Deepak Surana.
- Book Unstoppable: My Life So Far, authored by Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova has been Launched.
- Book titled A to Z of Financial Management in Autonomous Institutions, authored by Rajat Bhargava and Deenanath Pathak has been released.
- Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's first book Hit Refresh has been launched.
- Noted Author Amish Tripathi's new Book Immortal India has been launched.
- Recently released book The Golden House by Noted Indian Writer Salman Rushdie is named as New York Times Bestseller.
Committees
- A Parliamentary Committee has been formed to examine Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill, 2017 in New Delhi. It has been chaired by Bhupender Yadav.
- An advisory committee of Securities and Exchange Board of India, headed by Jayanth R Varma will decide on proposal for extending stock market trading hours from 3.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m (starting 9 am).
- Expert committee headed by TK Viswanathan to deal with cybercrimes especially online hate speech submitted its report. Committee recommended appointing cybercrime coordinators in all states and establishing cybercrime cells in each district.
- Finance Minister Arun Jaitley constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi to monitor and resolve IT challenges faced in implementation of GST.
- Insurance regulator IRDAI formed committee Under Pournima Gupte, to help in implementing new risk-based capital (RBC) regime.
- RBC Committee was headed by Dilip C Chakrabortyand it suggested that industry should move ahead with RBC to ensure that capital held by a company will take into account its overall risk profile, rather than current solvency regime.
- New RBC Regime is expected to be implemented by March 2021.
- National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog constituted Expert Task Force to provide major thrust to job creation by enhancing India’s exports. It will be headed by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar. It will give sector-specific recommendations in key employment sectors for policy interventions and suggest measures to enhance trade in services with high employment potential.
- PM Narendra Modi reconstituted Economic Advisory Council (EAC) to assist on economic issues, with Bibek Debroy appointed as its chairman. EAC was defunct since former C Rangarajan resigned as its chairman.
Days
- National Nutrition Week observed throughout country from Sep 1 - 7, 2017 with theme Optimal Infant & Young Child Feeding Practices: Better Child Health.
- Sep 02 - World Coconut Day.
- Sep 10 - World Suicide Prevention Day.
- Sep 12 - UN International Day for South-South Cooperation.
- Sep 14 - Hindi Day. On this day in 1949, Hindi written in Devanagari script was accepted as official language of India.
- Sep 15 - Engineer’s Day in India. It marks birth anniversary of Noted Indian Engineer Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya.
- Sep 15 - International Day of Democracy. 2017 theme is democracy and conflict prevention.
- Sep 16 - International Day for Preservation of Ozone Layer (World Ozone Day). 2017 theme is Caring for all life under the sun. Sep 16 is also known as International Coastal Cleanup day.
- Sep 21 - International Day of Peace. 2017 theme is Together for Peace: Respect, Safety and Dignity for All.
- Sep 26 - International Day for Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. So far, 50 Nations have signed a recent UN Treaty putting complete ban on nuclear weapons.
- Sep 26, 2017 - 76th Foundation Day of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
- Sep 27 - World Tourism Day with 2017 Theme is sustainable tourism – a tool for development.
- Cab aggregator Ola started a tourism promotion campaign in Karnataka State. with theme GhoomoResponsibly.
- Madhya Pradesh won Best Tourism State national award for 3rd consecutive year at National Tourism Awards.The state bagged total 10 awards, including national award as Best Film Promotion Friendly State/Union Territory.
- Event also saw launch of ‘Incredible India 2.0 campaign’ and ‘Adopt a Heritage’ project and new Incredible India website.
- Sep 28 - International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI). UNESCO hosted Conference under theme Overcoming Divides and Achieving the SDGs in Africa in Balaclava (Mauritius).
- Sep 28 - World Maritime Day. 2017 theme is Connecting Ships, Ports and People.
- Sep 28 - World Rabies Day. 2017 theme is Rabies: Zero by 30.
- Sep 30 - International Translation Day. 2017 theme is Translation and Diversity.
- Sep 5 - International Charity Day.
- Sep 5 - National Teachers Day in India. It marks Birth Anniversary of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, first Vice President of India (1952 - 1962) and 2nd President of India (1962 - 1967).
- Vice President Venkaiah Naidu gave away National awards for teachers on Teachers day Function, horing total 219 teachers.
- He also launched DIKSHA, a national digital infrastructure for teachers. Web - diksha.gov.in.
- Environment Ministry launched environment awareness initiative, under which an online environmental quiz competition named Prakriti Khoj will be conducted at national level. It aims to generate interest among school children about the science related to environment.
- Sep 8 - International Literacy Day. 2017 theme announced by UNESCO is Literacy in a digital world.
- On this occasion,Government announced that School Chalo Abhiyan will be implemented in 2018, aimed at enrolling 80 lakh students.
- Sep 9 - Himalaya Day.
Defence
- 13th edition of Exercise Yudh Abhyas 2017, joint military exercise between Indian and USA armies commenced in Washington (USA).
- 12th India-Nepal joint military exercise - Surya Kiran XII held in Saljhandi (Nepal).
- 7th India-Sri Lanka joint maritime naval exercise SLINEX 2017 held near Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) in Bay of Bengal.
- Pralay Sahayam Multi Agency disaster preperedness exercise conducted on the banks of Hussain Sagar Lake in Hyderabad (Telangana).
- Advanced towed artillery gun system (ATAGS, Developed Jointly by DRDO and Bharat Forge Limited of Kalyani Group) with special ammunition high explosive – base bleed (HE – BB) has set world record in terms of range by hitting targets at distance of 48 km during trial firings at Pokhran (Rajasthan).
- Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) signed contract with Research Centre Imarat (RCI) for the supply of Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missiles (MRSAM) to Indian Army.
- Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) test-fired 3rd generation Anti Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) NAG. It has operational range of 500m to 4km (Land version) and 7-10km (when air-launched).
- INS Tarasa (T94), fourth and last ship in series of Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (WJFAC) commissioned into Indian Navy.
- Indian Air Force (IAF) conducted developmental trials of indigenously developed Astra beyond visual range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM).
- Indian Army organized Operation Sadbhavana for National Integration in Jammu & Kashmir and North East states respectively
- Indian Army will induct women in military police, bringing in 800 women at yearly intake of 52.
- Indian Coast Guard (ICG) commissioned two high-speed interceptor boats C-433 and C-434 boats. Interceptor boat V-409 has also been launched.
- India’s first all-women crew circumnavigation expedition Navika Sagar Parikrama flagged off in Goa, onboard Sailing Vessel INSV Tarini. It will circumnavigate globe in approximately 165 days and is expected to return to Goa in April 2018.
- India’s first indigenous sniper rifle launched at rifle factory in Ishapore (West Bengal). Its total cost is INR 2.5 lakh and weighs 6.7 Kg. It has shooting range of 800 meters.
- India’s first ingenuously built INS Kalavari submarine handed over to Indian Navy, built by Mazagon Dock Limited in Mumbai. INS Kalavari is first of six Scorpion class submarines built in India under Project-75 by Mazagon Docks Limited with technology transfer from France’s DCNS (Direction des Constructions Navales Services).
- Ministry of Home Affairs launched full-fledged intelligence wing of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), paramilitary force that guards India’s borders with Bhutan and Nepal. It will have 650 field and staff agents to gather actionable information. Intelligence wing of and Welfare and Rehabilitation Board App (WARB) was also launched.
Economy
- Finance Ministry imposed 18.95% countervailing duty (CVD) on certain Chinese flat steel products for 5 years to protect domestic players from cheap subsidised imports.
- Fitch declared that Indian banks will need an additional capital of $65 billion in order to satisfy all banking rules of global Basel III norms,by March 2019.
- ADB (Asian Development Bank) signed Loan deal worth $200 Million with India's IndusInd Bank to provide loans for low income women in rural areas.
- Aditya Birla Group will shut down its e-commerce site Abof.com by December 2017, amid strong competition in sector.
- Air India tied up with PNB and IndusInd Bank to secure loans of over Rs 3,000 crore for meeting working capital requirements.
- Airtel Business (part of Bharti Airtel) launched GST Advantage as a solution designed to enable small businesses and start-ups to file GST returns securely and seamlessly.
- Airtel launched Office-In-a-Box for start-ups registered under Karnataka government’s Start-Up Cell initiative.
- As per Report, West Bengal leads with 77% registration in new tax regime of GST, leaving behind national average of 23%.
- As per survey by Brand Finance, State Bank of India (SBI) is India’s most trusted and popular bank, followed by HDFC Bank and Central Bank of India. On popularity charts, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank take 2nd and 3rd spots respectively.
- Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved loan of $80 million (about Rs 524 crore) for modernization of Himachal Pradesh’s technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions.
- Asian Development Bank (ADB) will increase its annual lending to India to maximum of $4 billion between 2018 and 2022, much higher than average $2.65 billion a year in loans extended during 2012 and 2016.
- Bandhan Bank appointed Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Axis Bank, JM Financial and Kotak Mahindra Bank as lead managers to manage its proposed initial public offering (IPO). Bandhan Bank will look to raise INR 5000 crores by IPO in 2018.
- Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) wlll become 8th Maharatna company, upgrading from its Navratna status.
- Maharatna category for CPSEs was introduced in 2009, to empower them to expand their operations globally.
- At present, there are 7 Maharatna companies — Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL), Coal India (CIL), GAIL (India), Indian Oil Corporation, NTPC, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Steel Authority of India (SAIL).
- Criteria for grant of Maharatna status Include annual turnover of Over INR 25000 crores, annual net worth of Over 15000 crores and annual net profit after tax of Over 5000 crores, during last 3 years.
- E-Commerce Firm Amazon tied up with the Bank of Baroda to offer micro loans to its sellers, to attract more sellers. Amazon Seller Services Pvt Ltd (ASSPL), is bringing in more financial partners so that it can cater to its 225,000 seller base.
- Finance Ministry announced to launch Project Insight from October 2017, to restrict black money holdings and transactions.
- Project Insight has been developed by L&T Infotech Ltd and costs approx $156 Million USD.
- It will observe and check high value transactions and track tax evaders with the help of technology to restrict black money holdings.
- It will also check social media posts and activity of people, to determine tax evasion practices.
- Finance Ministry will launch Project Insight in October 2017 to monitor high value transactions and detect tax evaders using technology, in partnershop with IT Major Infotech. Linking of Aadhaar and PAN will be key mechanism in this project.
- Fincare Small Finance Bank (previously Disha Microfin Limited) started its banking operations with branches across Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
- Fino Payments Bank launched its mobile banking app called BPayi in India, as extension of its already existing wallet in same name that was launched in December 2016.
- GDP Growth Rate Forecasts -
- Japanese financial services company Nomura stated that India’s GDP growth will be around 7.1 % in 2017-18.
- Asian Development Bank (ADB) predicted 7 % for India in 2017 - 18 and 7.4 % in 2018 - 19.
- OECD (Paris based think tank) announced that Indian economy will grow at 6.7 % in 2017-2018.
- GST Network (GSTN) reopened registration for composition scheme for small taxpayers with turnover of up to Rs.75 lakh, that offers easy compliance for business as returns are to be filed only quarterly (not monthly).
- Google launched mobile wallet and payments app Tez in India, that will let users link their phones to their bank accounts to pay for goods in physical stores and online, also enabling person to person money transfers.
- Governement extended Deadline for linking Permanent Account Number (PAN) with Aadhaar extended by 4 months to 31st December, 2017.
- Government approved Dairy Processing & Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF) with outlay of Rs 10881 crore during 2017-18 to 2028-29.
- DIDF will be set up as a corpus of INR 8004 crores with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), INR 2001 crores shall be end borrowers contribution, Rs 12 crore would be NDDB/NCDC‘s share and Rs 864 crore shall be contributed by DADF towards interest subvention.
- DIDF activities will include building efficient milk procurement system by setting up of chilling infrastructure & installation of electronic milk adulteration testing equipment, creation/modernization/expansion of processing infrastructure.
- DIDF will be implemented by National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and National Dairy Development Cooperation (NCDC) through End Borrowers such as Milk Unions, State Dairy Federations, Multi-state Milk Cooperatives, Milk Producer Companies etc. End borrowers will get the loan @ 6.5% per annum with repayment period 10 years.
- With this, Approx 1 crore farmers in about 50,000 villages would be benefitted in form of Additional Milk processing capacity of 126 lakh litre per day, milk drying capacity of 210 MT per day, milk chilling capacity of 140 lakh litre per day etc.
- Government approved releasing additional 1 % Dearness Allowance (DA) to Central Government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners with effect from 1 July 2017. It will benefit about 49.26 lakh Central Government employees and 61.17 lakh pensioners.
- Government extended deadline for obtaining Aadhaar to avail benefits of government schemes and subsidies by three months to 31 December 2017. Extension would cover 135 Government schemes.
- Government kept unchanged interest rates on small savings schemes for October-December quarter.
- Investments in Public Provident Fund (PPF) scheme - 7.8 percent
- Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) - 7.5 percent (matures in 115 months)
- Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme - 8.3 percent annually.
- 5-year Senior Citizens Savings Scheme - 8.3 percent (interest paid quarterly)
- Government notified that Peer-to-peer lending (P2P) platforms will be treated as non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and thus regulated by Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
- It will help P2P lenders to gain official recognition and opens new avenues for fund-raising and business expansion.
- P2P lending is a form of crowd-funding used to raise loans which are paid back with interest. It enables individuals to borrow and lend money, without use of an official financial institution as an intermediary.
- Government reconstituted 6 Cabinet Committees after recent ministry reshuffle.
- Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is inducted as full time member of Cabinet Committee on Security, Cabinet Committees on Economic and Political Affairs.
- Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Dharmendra Pradhan are included in Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).
- Cabinet Committees Constituted under Transaction of Business Rules (TBR) 1961 are -
- Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC).
- Cabinet Committee on Accommodation (CCA).
- Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).
- Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA).
- Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA).
- Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS).
- HDFC Bank has retained its No.1 position in BrandZ India Top 50 report 2017, with its brand value doubled from $9.4 billion to $18 billion since 2014. Others in top 5 are - Airtel, State Bank of India, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank.
- HDFC Bank surpassed Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to become country’s 2nd most valued firm in terms of market valuation on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
- Reliance Industries is India’s most valued firm with market cap of Rs. 533818.72 crores.
- Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) signed agreement with Indian microfinance industry association Sa-Dhan to develop digital ecosystem for India's unbanked segment.
- ICICI Bank announced a new home loan scheme that offers borrowers benefit of 1% cashback on every EMI, for entire tenure of loan (15 - 30 years). Cashback will be accrued from first EMI and will given to customer after completion of 36th EMI.
- IDBI Bank launched ‘Project Nishchay’ in partnership with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to accelerate its turnaround program and improve financial performance.
- India signed a loan deal worth $76 million with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to upgrade environment management plan at Alang-Sosiya ship recycling yards in Gujarat.
- Indian IT Firm Infosys acquired London-based Brilliant Basics for GBP 7.5 million.
- India’s top 50 brands report by WPP Plc and Kantar Millward Brown -
- HDFC Bank remains India's Top Brand for 4th year in a row. Airtel is 2nd and State Bank of India is 3rd.
- Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) approve online non-life insurance company Acko General Insurance Ltd. and it will start operating in December 2017. It will sell multiple insurance products through online channel.
- International Finance Corporation (Member of World Bank Group) invested $10 million in Indian Power Sector startup firm Power2SME.
- IFC will also invest USD 50 million (about Rs 320 crore) in realty firm Mahindra Lifespace Developers industrial park projects.
- Law ministry approved Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill 2017 to empower government to confiscate property of economic offenders and defaulters who flee India.
- A fugitive economic offender is any individual against whom warrant for arrest in relation to economic offence has been issued and person has left India to avoid criminal prosecution.
- Markets regulator Sebi barred Orion Capital, Orion Broking and their partners from securities markets for 10 years for failing to redress several investor grievances pertaining to non- settlement of funds due to the clients.
- Ministry of Commerce and Industries has set up Contact@DGFT online service for effective resolution of foreign trade-related issues of importers and exporters. It will enable traders to raise all trade related matters to Directorate or other agencies of Centre and States.
- Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) and Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) signed MoU for automatic and regular exchange of tax information, to curb menace of shell companies, money laundering and black money.
- Ministry of Development of Northeast invited start-ups from across country to avail benefits of Northeast Venture Fund. NVF is first dedicated venture capital fund for North-Eastern region, set up by North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd (NEDFI) to encourage entrepreneurship in North-eastern region.
- Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MHUA) ordered review of Floor Space Index (FSI) and Floor Area Ratio (FAR) norms in mega cities.
- FSI is ratio of building’s total floor area to size of piece of land on which it is built. It will be taken up in all 53 cities with population above 1 million.
- Multilateral funding agency ADB approved USD 300 million loan for carrying forward fiscal reforms in West Bengal.
- West Bengal for the first time in 2012 received a USD 400 million from ADB.
- National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) sanctioned loan of Rs.119 crore for Haryana to construct 7 bridges and improvement of one rural road project in five districts.
- New Gross State domestic product data by Central Statistics Office, with 2011-12 as base year -
- Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh were fastest expanding State economies in 2015-16. Arunachal Pradesh’s gross State domestic product (GSDP) expanded 16.5 % and that of Jammu and Kashmir 14.7 %. National growth rate remained 8 %.
- Top 5 - Maharashtra (16.6 lakh crores), Tamil Nadu (9.4 lakh crores), Gujarat (9.013 Lakh Crores), Uttar Pradesh (9.012 Lakh crores).
- Paytm partnered with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to launch a RuPay-powered digital debit card for its Payments Bank users. Ccustomers will be able to transact at merchants accepting credit / debit cards.
- Private Bank IndusInd Bank and India's second largest Microfinance company Bharat Financial Inclusionsigned confidentiality agreement for proposed merger between them.
- Punjab National Bank and BSNL partnered to roll out open mobile wallet Speedpay across 10 states.
- Reliance General Insurance received in-principle approval from Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) for its initial public offering (IPO).
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that Masala bonds (rupee-denominated overseas bonds) will be treated as External Commercial Borrowings (ECB), thereby freeing up more investments by FPIs. Current limit for investment by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in corporate bonds is Rs 244323 crore (including masala bonds of 44,001 crores).
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released its 2017 list of the Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs) and added private lender HDFC Bank Ltd as a D-SIB. Now, HDFC has joined State Bank of India (SBI) and ICICI bank, that are tagged as D-SIBs or too-big-to-fail for consecutive 3rd year.
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stated that it uses sophisticated Currency Verification & Processing (CVPS) Machines for checking numerical accuracy and genuineness of currency notes including Specified Bank Notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 instead of counting machines.
- Reserve Bank of India will introduce 100 rupees coin to mark 100th birth anniversary of AIADMK founder M G Ramachandran, weighing 35 grams.
- SBI (State Bank of India) launched its new Management Institute in Kolkata (overall 6th) named as State Bank Institute of Management (SBIM).
- SBI Life Insurance received approval from Securities and Exchange Board of India for an IPO (Initial Public Offering) of up to Rs 8,400 crore ($1.3 billion). SBI owns 70.1 % of SBI Life Insurance and BNP Paribas Cardif holds 26 % stake.
- SEBI also allowed ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company to launch its approx INR 6,000 crores initial public offer (IPO).
- SEBI allowed Real Estate Investment Trusts (Reits) and Infrastructure Investments Trusts (InvITs) to raise capital by issuing debt securities. REITs now require to have 50% stake in holding company, marginally less from earlier limit of 51%. REITs have been allowed to lend to an underlying holding company or a special purpose vehicle (SPV).
- Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has imposed Rs 2,423 crore fine on PACL Ltd, as highest ever Sebi penalty on a defaulter for illegal fund mobilisation through various schemes.
- Singapore Based DBS Bank received RBI approval to convert its existing India franchise to a locally incorporated wholly-owned subsidiary (WOS) in India.
- State Bank of India (SBI) launched FTSE SBI Bond Index series in partnership with global index provider FTSE 100, which will give tools to investors from India, the UK and globally to analyse India’s government bond market, and drive growth in market.
- State Bank of India (SBI) launched its first ever chatbot called SBI Intelligent Assistant or SIA, which would be powered by AI and will assist customers. It has been developed by Artificial intelligence banking platform Payjo.
- State Bank of India lowered Minimum Average Monthly Balance (MAB) requirement in a savings account to Rs 3,000 from Rs 5,000 and also revised downwards penalties for not maintaining such balance.
- Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has cut mobile termination charges (MTC) by 57% to 6 paise per minute (currently 14 paise per minute) with effect from October 1, 2017. MTC would be completely cut by January 1, 2020.
- MTC is paid by operator whose subscriber makes a call to the operator whose subscriber receives the call.
- This will lead to reduction in call rates and will benefit subscribers further.
- This decision has originated from a dispute between Reliance Jio and other top telecom operators.
- Ujjivan Small Finance Bank replaced 75% of its bank loans with borrowings using money market instruments including certificate of deposits, to bring down costs by 75%. Bank will issue 90-day CDs to mutual funds and insurance companies and FDs to corporates, trusts and cooperative banks.
- Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) ruled that banks without Aadhaar enrolment centres in 10 % of branches will pay Rs.20,000 fine for per uncovered branch from October 2017.
- United Bank of India removed 100% processing fee for retail home loans, car loans and two-wheeler loans.
- e-Commerce Firm Flipkart developed India’s first “anti-theft” packaging to prevent goods from in-transit theft and damage, exclusive pilferage protection box specially designed for electronic goods and high-end mobiles.
International
- 2 Democratic lawmakers, Ami Bera and Frank Pallone introduced a legislation in USA House of Representative to support India’s permanent membership to UN Security Council.
- 9 metre (30ft) statue of Mikhail Kalashnikov, inventor of AK-47 assault rifle unveiled in Russian capital Moscow.
- A tomb belonging to a royal goldsmith who lived more than 3500 years ago has been discovered in Luxor (Egypt).
- According to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List, Hui Ka Yan (chairman of Chinese real estate giant Evergrande Group) is now Asia’s richest man with net worth of $41.1 billion. Asia’s second and third richest persons are Tencent Holdings Chairman Ma Huateng ($39.1 billion), Alibaba Group Chairman Jack Ma ($38.9 billion).
- According to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)’s Trade and Development Report (TDR) 2017, India and China at their current levels of growth will not serve as “growth polls” for global economy in near future.
- Global Growth will reach 2.6% this year, well below pre 2008 financial crisis average of 3.2%.
- India’s Growth will slow down to 6.7% in 2017 from 7% in 2016.
- China’s Growth has been retained at 6.7%, same as in 2016. China’s estimated debt-to-GDP ratio is 249%, so it needs to introduce measures to contain its rising debt as domestic demand could be squeezed, with adverse consequences.
- Air India launched its direct flight from New Delhi to Copenhagen (Denmark), as 11th destination for Air India in Europe (described as connecting Maharaja with the Mermaid’.
- Airbus Perlan 2 Engineless aircraft has set a new altitude world record for a glider, climbing to 52,172 feet in El Calafate (Argentina)
- American Chipmaker AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) presented new line of microprocessor chips called ‘Ryzen Pro’ for commercial desktops to be available in India by end of 2017.
- Apple and Google respectively took 2 top spots in list of world’s 100 most valuable brands, as per report by consultancy group Interbrand. This is the fifth consecutive year with Apple and Google at top of the list.
- Arab Nation Jordan, that is 90% desert, has launched Sahara Forest Project near Aqaba City to turn desert land into farming land to produce food using sun and sea water. It is funded by Norway and European Union.
- As per Data by Forbes, based on a recent research by Transparency International (TI) -
- India beats Vietnam, Thailand, Pakistan and Myanmar inn terms of corruption, making India most corrupt asian nation with 69 % bribery rate.
- As per HSBC, India ranks 14th in terms of best country for expats to live and work in. The list is topped by Singapore.
- Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide USD 152 million to Nepal for implementation and enhancement of its power transmission and distribution.
- Australia and East Timor (Known as Timor - Leste) agreed on a maritime boundary and revenue sharing agrement from a natural gas field beneath seabed between them.
- Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina floated a five-point peace proposal at United Nations to find a permanent solution to Rohingya crisis (Over 430,000 refugees fleeing violence in Bangladesh's Rakhine State from Myanmar since August 2017). These Points Include UN Intervention to ensure safe return of all displaced Rohingyas in Bangladesh to their homes in Myanmar and implementing Kofi Annan Commission Recommendations immediately.
- Bengaluru based IT Firm Mindtree inaugurated its first international Digital Pumpkin innovation hub in New Jersey (USA).
- Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) signed agreement with USA's networking solutions provider Coriant to study possibilities of bringing and expanding 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) in India.
- Britain launched a new plastic 10-pound note featuring Jane Austen (renowned British Author), To tackle counterfeiting. Apart from Queen, Austen is 3rd woman (after Florence Nightingale and Elizabeth Fry) to feature on a modern-day British banknote.
- Cabinet Approvals -
- MoU with Morocco on cooperation in the field of health.
- MoU with Armenia on Cooperation in field of Disaster Management.
- Approval for hiving off mobile tower assets of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) into a separate company, fully owned by BSNL.
- MoU with Japan for collaborative research in field of silkworm and silk industries.
- Cabinet Approvals-
- Approved enhancement of age of superannuation of doctors other than Central Health Service (CHS) doctors to 65 years.
- MOU with Ethiopia in field of Information, Communication and Media.
- MoU with Belarus in the oil and gas sector
- MoU with Afghanistan on Technical Cooperation on Police Training and Development
- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare signed a Letter of Intent with Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to extend cooperation in health sector.
- Letter of Intent (LoI) with Norway to extend cooperation within health sector through Norway India Partnership Initiative (NIPI) for 3 years starting from 2018.
- China and Australia joint military training exercise Panda-Kangaroo 2017 concluded in Kunming (China).
- China and Pakistan Joint Air Exercise Shaheen VI has been organized.
- China commissioned its first radar-evading J-20 stealth fighter jets into military service.
- China displayed its first unmanned combat helicopter AV500W for foreign buyers. The aircraft’s length is 7.2 meters.
- China launched world’s fastest bullet train Fuxing between Beijing and Shanghai at 350 kms per hour, covering 1,250-km in 4 hours and 30 minutes.
- China opened a dual-use highway in Tibet to Nepal border which could be used for civilian and defense purposes in China.
- Chinese authorities blocked Anti-Islam terms used by Chinese internet users to stigmatise Muslims, to prevent worsening online hatred towards Islam.
- Cuba began a five-month political transition expected to end with Raul Castro’s departure from Presidency, due to his family’s dominance in country’s political system for 60 years.
- Denmark launched USA based global alliance to manage Climate change in Copenhagen. It is called Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G).
- P4G is supported by China, Indonesia and C40(group of more than 90 large cities of world that represent 25% of global economy).
- Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) of India launched UJALA (Unnati Jyoti by Affordable Lighting for All) Scheme in Melaka State of Malaysia. Malaysia became 2nd country after United Kingdom (UK) where EESL launched UJALA scheme. Under this, each household in Melaka will get 10 high quality 9-watt LED bulbs at a cost of only RM 10.
- Fiji, Niger, Tuvalu and Seychelles ratified ISA Framework Agreement and became members of ISA framework agreement.
- ISA will need the ratification of just 4 more countries to become a recognized inter-governmental body (Total 15 were needed). After which, ISA can embark on its task to channelise $300 billion in 10 years to promote renewable energy globallly.
- First project funded BRICS New Development Bank has started operations in Shanghai (China), that was set up using $76 million loan granted to Shanghai Lingang Distributed Solar Power Project from NDB.
- Forbes Highest Paid TV Actresses 2017 -
- Modern Family’ star Sofia Vergara earned USD 41.5 million (Rs 271 crore), topping the list for the sixth consecutive year.
- India's Priyanka Chopra ranked 8th, as she made USD 10 million ( INR 65 crore).
- Force Motors signed agreement with Rolls-Royce Power Systems AG (UK) to produce engines for power generation and rail application and complete power generation systems.
- Foreign ministers of India, US and Japan held a trilateral meeting in New York on sidelines of 72nd annual session of UN General Assembly. It was attended by Sushma Swaraj on India's Behalf.
- Miroslav Lajcak (Slovakia) is president of 72nd UN General Assembly.
- Fortune Most Powerful Women in Business List -
- USA - Indian Origin PepsiCo chairman Indra Nooyi ranked at 2nd, led by General Motors chairman and CEO Mary Barra.
- Outside USA - Chanda Kochhar (ICICI Bank CEO) ranked 5th and Axis Bank CEO Shikha Sharma ranked 21st. List is topped by Banco Santander group executive chairman Ana Botin.
- French anti-doping laboratory of Chatenay-Malabry provisionally suspended by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), upon self-reported analytical issues to WADA by laboratory.
- Global Financial Centres Index 2017 by Z/Yen Partners and the China Development Institute (CDI). It is released twice a year, in March and September, and ranks 92 financial centres. Top 10 -
- London
- New York
- Hong Kong
- Singapore
- Tokyo
- Shanghai
- Toronto
- Sydney
- Zurich
- Beijing
- Global Human Capital Report 2017 by World Economic Forum (130 Nations) -
- Top 5 - Norway (1), Finland (2), Switzerland (3), United States (4), Denmark (5)
- Bottom 5 - Mali (126), Ethiopia (127), Senegal (128), Mauritania (129), Yemen (130)
- Neighbours - Bangladesh (111), Pakistan (125), Nepal (98), Sri Lanka (70)
- BRICS - Brazil (77), Russia (16), India (103), China (34), South Africa (87)
- Global ranking for least and most stressful cities, by Zipjet (150 Cities) -
- Top 5 - Stuttgart (Germany), Luxembourg (Luxembourg), Hannover (Germany), Bern (Switzerland), Munich (Germany)
- Bottom 5 - Cairo (Egypt), Dakar (Senegal), Lagos (Nigeria), Kabul (Afghanistan), Baghdad (Iraq) (150th)
- India - New Delhi (142), Mumbai (138), Kolkata (131), Bangalore (130)
- Google acquired a part of electronics company HTC Corporation’s engineering and design teams for $1.1 billion. Bought team of approx 2000 engineers are the ones that worked on Pixel smartphones.
- Gulf airline Etihad Airways appointed former Abu Dhabi airport chief Tony Douglas as its Group Chief Executive Officer. Etihad also launched Fly Now Pay Later Scheme, allowing fare repayment in EMIs.
- HP (Hewlett-Packard) launched its new all-in-one point-of-sale (POS) system ElitePOS at India Retail Forum 2017 in Mumbai, priced at Rs.59,999.
- Henley & Partners – Kochenov Quality of Nationality Index (QNI) Report -
- Top 3 - Germany (1st), France and Denmark (Joint 2nd), Iceland (3rd)
- Afghanistan is ranked at bottom of index
- India is ranked 101 among 159 countries
- Hinduja Group's Ashok Leyland signed MoU Russian Firm Rosoboronexport for supplying tracked vehicle solutions to armed forces.
- Hindustan Shipyard Ltd partnered with Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd of South Korea for construction of fleet support ships (FSS) for Navy in both countries.
- India & Sri Lanka signed MoU to upgrade Thondaman Vocational Training Centre in Srilanka. India would provide LKR 199 million to upgrade training facility.
- India announced collaboration with Russia to build a nuclear plant in Bangladesh, as first initiative under Joint deal to undertake atomic energy projects in third-world nations. It is also India’s first atomic energy venture abroad.
- Rooppur Nuclear project (capacity of 2*1200 MWs) is Bangladesh’s first atomic energy project.
- India handed over Varuna off-shore patrol vessel to Sri Lanka as a part of stepping up co-operation between coast guards of 2 nations.
- India is planning to launch major connectivity initiative, connecting Chennai with Russian port Vladivostok via sea route with an aim to harness natural resources from Northeast Asia and Western Pacific region. It will enable to transfer cargo between Chennai and Vladivostok in 24 days in comparison to over 40 days currently taken to transport goods from India to Far East Russia via Europe.
- India launched Incredible India campaign in Cairo (Egypt Capital) to woo Egyptian travellers and make them aware of magnificent holiday options in India.
- India opened 2nd second Indian Workers’ Resource Centre (IWRC) in Sharjah (UAE), To provide support and counseling to Indians in distress. It will help overseas Indian community in any matter. Indians may call 80046342 from anywhere in UAE to get help.
- India received its first High Horsepower Locomotive with bodyshell of 12000 HP loco from Alstom France at Kolkata port,to be used to haul freight trains at twice the existing speed by 2018 (120 KM/H)
- It is first major FDI project in rail sector and each such locomotive costs approx INR 30 crores.
- India refused to be a part of Bali Declaration adopted at conclusion of World Parliamentary Forum on Sustainable Development held in Bali (Indonesia), to show solidarity with Myanmar. It was not adopted because it carried inappropriate reference to violence in Rakhine State from where 1,25,000 Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh.
- India replaced China as the top retail destination in 2017 as part of global retail development index. Change in ranking was an outcome of four factors increased consumer spending beyond essentials, rising mobile and internet penetration, favorable foreign investment climate and bold action on cashless transaction and GST.
- India's Numaligarh Refinery that supplyies High Speed Diesel to Bangladesh, despatched first diesel consignment of 30 MT to Myanmar through NH 37. It is to enhance hydrocarbon synergy with neighbouring countries as well as promoting India’s Act East Policy.
- India's TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) raked 30th in Fortune’s annual list of Top 50 companies that are changing the world. TCS’s mKRISHI® App is one of important reasons that got TCS into list, that lets farmers to access customised expert advice, market information and weather data. Top 3 - JP Morgan Chase, DSM, Apple.
- Indian Firm Mahindra & Mahindra entered into strategic alliance with US car major Ford Motor Company to explore cooperation in products, technologies, and distribution.
- Indian IT Major HCL acquired automation driven data management platform Datawave (UK) to accelerate data integration and migration for clients.
- Indian startup Kheyti won prestigious award in Israel for developing an affordable modular greenhouse that aims to give farmers steady & dependable income. It was chosen in MassChallenge Israel contest that saw participation from over 500 companies.
- Japanese PM Shinzo Abe Visited India, arriving in Ahmedabad (Gujarat).
- He participated in 12th India - Japan Annual Meeting.
- 15 MOUs signed during Mr. Abe's Visit to India, Including -
- Disaster Risk Management
- Japanese Language Skills Development
- India Japan Act East Forum will be established to enhance connectivity and promote developmental projects in northeastern region of India.
- Arrangement between Postal departments for implementation of cool EMS service, through which fresh food can be sent from Japan to India in cool boxes for Japanese expatriates in India.
- India-Japan Investment Promotion Road map to facilitate Japanese investments in India.
- MoC between Japense Trade Ministry and Gujarat State on Japan-India special programme for Make In India in Mandal Bechraj-Khoraj.
- Civil Aviation
- Science and technology
- Life sciences and biotechnology.
- Sports
- India and Japan signed open sky arrangement to allow airlines from both countries to operate unlimited number of flights.
- Foundation stone of India’s first high-speed rail project (bullet train) project has been laid. This 508km-long Mumbai to Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) Project will be built at cost of Rs 1.10 lakh crore. It is expected to be completed by 2022. (It was recently advanced by year from earlier deadline of 2023). An INR 600 Crores high-speed rail training centre for first bullet train project will be set up in Vadodara (Gujarat), to become operational by December 2020.
- Japanese postal department released postage stamps on Indian Yoga Expert Mr.Bishnu Charan Ghosh and his family members.
- Joint Army Exercise of Pakistan and Russia, DRUZBA 2017 held in Russia.
- Lebanon approved country’s first animal welfare bill into law, to ensure that domestic and wild animals will be legally protected from abuse.
- London Administration cancelled License of Cab Aggregator Major Uber. Affecting 40,000 drivers using Uber in London.
- Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. signed MOU with Turkey’s Armagan family for acquiring 100% of Erkunt Traktor Sanay (4th largest tractor manufacturer in Turkey) for approx $70 Million.
- Mahindra & Mahindra and USA Based Ford Motor Company signed a MoU that ensures an alliance to explore electric vehicles, for three years.
- Middle asean Nation Tajikistan banned women from wearing veils and asked women to stick to traditional national clothes and culture.
- Ministry of External Affairs started Operation Insaniyat to provided assistance to Bangladesh in response to humanitarian crisis being faced by it due to large influx of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.
- National Highway Authority of India awarded its first international project in Myanmar to a joint venture of Punj Lloyd-Varaha, for upgradation of Yagyi-Kalewa section in Myanmar.
- National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog and International Road Federation (Geneva) signed Statement of Intent (SoI) to cooperate in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). ITS Policy will be covering Traffic Management, Parking Management, Electronic Enforcement of Traffic Rules and Regulations, Fleet Management and Monitoring, Innovation in field of ITS.
- Nepal began its first-ever survey to remeasure Mount Everest to check if Its height was altered by 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck in 2015.
- Official Height of Mt. Everest is 8,848 metres (29,029 feet), first recorded by an Indian survey in 1954.
- Nepal signed USD 635 million UN assistance package for 2018-2022 to lay out country’s development strategy for next 5 years. The package involves 26 individual UN agencies.
- New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) imposed fine of USD 225 million on Pakistan's Habib Bank Limited (HBL) for failure to comply with New York laws and regulations designed illicit financial transactions.
- North African country Tunisia abolished decades-old ban on Muslim women marrying non-Muslims.
- North Korea successfully tested a hydrogen bomb, placable on an intercontinental ballistic missile. It triggered a 6.3 magnitude earhquake in area, marking it biggest test so far.
- In Response, United Nations Security Council (UNSC) passed new sanctions against North Korea over its sixth and most powerful nuclear test. It was 9th sanctions resolution adopted by UNSC since 2006 over North Korea’s missile programs.
- Norway's sovereign wealth fund (Largest in world) just reached value of $1 trillion for the first time. It means $189,000 for everyone of 5.3 million Norwaighns. With stakes in over 9,000 companies, it owns 1.3 % of world's market capitalization and 2.3 % in Europe.
- Pakistan inaugurated It’s 5th nuclear power plant (C-4 plant) in Mianwali (Punjab). This 340 MW Chasma – IV (C – 4) nuclear power plant is developed in collaboration with China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).
- People’s Bank of China (PBC) banned raising funds through initial coin offerings (ICO), where unregulated means of crowd funding for project are used via use of cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin etc. Ownership or royalties of project is offered to investors in form of digital coins. It allows entrepreneurs create their own digital currencies and selling “coins” on web under ICO route, allowing them to raise millions of dollars quickly.
- President Ram Nath Kovind will make his first foreign trip to African Nations Ethiopia and Djibouti in October 2017.
- Qatar Airways became first in world to launch double beds in business class sections of Flights from London to Doha in Qatar, called Qsuites.
- Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is world’s 3rd biggest energy company behind Russian gas firm Gazprom and German utility E.ON, according to Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings.
- Indian Oil Corp (IOC) climbed to 7th position, Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) placed 11th and Coal India Ltd ranked 45.
- Russia and Iraq restored commercial airline services for first time since 2004.
- Russia had suspended flights to Iraq after 2003 US-led invasion pushed Iraq into war.
- Russia and USA space agencies (Roscosmos and NASA) will jointly build a deep space gateway as first astronaut-tended space station around Moon. It would help prepare for manned missions to deep space destinations including Mars.
- Russia launched world’s largest and most powerful icebreaker ship, Sibir. It is designed to transport cargo via Northern Sea Route in Arctic Ocean.
- Russia liquidated last arsenals of its chemical weapons, 3 years ahead of schedule (2020).
- Saudi Arabia and Britain signed framework deal for military cooperation, as Britain seeks to explore lucrative trade deals outside Europe after leaving European Union.
- Saudi Arabia issued a decree that allows women to drive cars. Women are now also allowed to enter national stadiums in national sports events.
- Saudi Arabia lifted ban on voice and video calling apps such as WhatsApp and Skype and will make them widely available to users, to improve business confidence as reduce dependence on oil revenues.
- Sweden hosted large scale war exercise named Aurora, with NATO.
- Tata Steel and Thyssenkrupp of Germany signed MoU for creating 50:50 Joint Venture as one of Europe's largest steel companies.
- Telecom services provider Bharti Airtel and SK Telecom of Korea partnered for leveraging the SK Telecom's expertise to build advanced telecom network in India.
- Three Indian entrepreneurs - Ratan Tata, Lakshmi Mittal and Vinod Khosla have been included in Forbes’s special list of world’s ‘100 Greatest Living Business Minds.
- Times World University Rankings 2018 -
- Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru retained top position among Indian Universities, although its global position fell to IISc 251-300 band. IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur are in 501-600 band, IIT Bombay in 351-400 club and IIT Kharagpur and IIT Roorkee retained their positions in 501-600 bracket.
- Top 10 - Oxford University (UK), Cambridge University (UK), California institute of Technology (USA), Stanford University (USA), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), Harvard University (USA), Princeton University (USA), Imperial College London (UK), University of Chicago (USA), ETH-Zurich (Switzerland).
- To expedite skill development in North East region of India, Singapore will set up a Skill Development Centre in the region.
- Turkey signed a deal with Russia to buy Advanced S-400 missile defence systems.
- Twitter announced test project allowing tweets to be expanded to 280 characters, double existing limit (140 Chars) in the latest effort to boost flagging growth at the social network.
- US Trade and Development Agency signed MOU with Airports Authority of India, to support a 20-year master plan aimed at expansion of operational capacities of Kolkata and Lucknow international airports.
- US and UAE Armies begun joint military exercise in Abu Dhabi, with name Iron Union 5.
- USA Army Opened Its First permanent base in Middle Eastern Nation Israel.
- USA President Donald Trump scrapped an amnesty programme introduced during Obama’s term that granted work permits to immigrants who arrived in the country illegally as Children. It is likely to impact over 800,000 undocumented workers including more than 7000 Indian-Americans.
- USA central bank fined global banking giant HSBC $175 million for failing to oversee foreign exchange traders who misused confidential client information and colluded with traders at competing banks. This action comes 2 months after Fed also fined BNP Paribas USD 246 million over similar violations.
- WHO released first tranche of emergency funding of $175,000 to provide lifesaving healthcare to vulnerable Rohingya muslims population in Bangladesh.
- World Bank allocated $8 billion for infrastructure projects under China’s Silk Road initiative.
- Purpose of Silk Road initiative is to create an economic corridor connecting China with Asia, Europe and the rest of world.
- Silk Road project has two components - Silk Road Economic Belt (land-based connectivity) and Maritime Silk Road (ocean based connectivity).
- World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) 2017-18 (137 Nations) -
- Top 5 - Switzerland (1st), United States (2nd), Singapore (3rd), Netherlands (4th) and Germany (5th)
- Bottom 5 - Mauritania (133), Liberia (134), Chad (135), Mozambique (136) Yemen (137)
- BRICS - China (27th), Russia (38th), India (40th), South Africa (61st) and Brazil (80th).
- Neighbours - Bangladesh (99), Nepal (88), Pakistan (115), Sri Lanka (85)
- World Health Organisation (WHO) released report Non-communicable Disease Progress Monitor 2017, as a measure of status of implementation of 19 indicators of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in WHO’s 194 Member States.
- Costa Rica and Iran are best performing countries, with each achieving 15 of 19 indicators. They are followed by Brazil, Bulgaria, Turkey and UK.
- World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2017 -
- India is third in world in number of nuclear reactors being installed with 6 reactors. China is leading at 20. Total operational units across the world are 53 currently.
- World trade in goods is estimated to grow at a higher 3.6 % in 2017, compared to earlier estimate of 2.4 %. This change was mainly due to intra-regional shipments picking up and a recovery in import demand in North America.
- World’s highest sandcastle (16.68 meters tall) built in German city of Duisburg, getting 14.84-metre sandcastle built in early 2017 by Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik.
- World’s largest airplane (by wingspan) Stratolaunch successfully completed its initial engine tests in USA, designed for launching for sending satellite-carrying rockets into low-Earth orbit. Its wingspan measures 118 m betwen ends. It weighs about 227,000 kg and can carry nearly 250,000 kg between two fuselages. It has operational range of approximately 2,000 nautical miles.
Meetings
- 12th Edition of ASEAN Computer Emergency Response Team Incident Drill (ACID) held in Hanoi (Vietnam), amid growing cyber challenges witnessed in recent years.
- 3 day International Hindu Conference held in Kathmandu (Nepal), with theme Emerging spiritualism: Renaissance of Hinduism.
- 5th East Asia Summit Economic Ministers Meeting held in Pasay City (Philippines.
- 61st IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) General Conference held at Vienna (Austria). It was attended by Sekhar Basu (Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission & Secretary in Department of Atomic Energy) on India's Behalf.
- 70th Regional Committee Session of WHO South East Asia Region concluded in Male (Maldives). It called for complete Tuberculosis elimination by 2030.
- 7th ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Economic Ministers’ Meeting held in Seoul (South Korea) with Theme Innovative Partnership for Inclusive Prosperity.
- 9th BRICS Summit 2017 in Xiamen (China) with Theme BRICS: Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future. Documents signed -
- Strategic Framework of BRICS Customs Cooperation
- BRICS Action Plan for Innovation Cooperation(2017-2020)
- BRICS Action Agenda on Economic and Trade Co operation.
- MoU between BRICS Business Council and New Development Bank on Strategic Cooperation.
- Five banks of BRICS Nations (Brazilian Development Bank, Vnesheconombank, Export-Import Bank of India, China Development Bank and Development Bank of South Africa) established credit lines in national currencies and cooperate on credit ratings. Also, New Development Bank (NDB) approved 1.4 billion US dollar loans for sustainable development projects in India, Russia and China.
- China will give $76.4 million for a BRICS economic and technology cooperation plan, and another $4 million for projects at BRICS countries' New Development Bank.
- Conference on Sustainable landscapes and forest ecosystems: Theory to Practice held in New Delhi.
- External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj arrived in Russian port city of Vladivostok, to attend 3rd Eastern Economic Forum. Eastern Economic Forum includes representatives from Russia, Pacific Region and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
- First ever Mobile, Internet and Technology event in India - India Mobile Congress 2017 held at Pragati Maidan, Led by Department of Telecom and Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI),.
- India will conduct first BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise- 2017 (DMEx-2017) in October 2017 in New Delhi.
- India will host 11th World Congress on Adolescent Health in October 2017 with theme Investing in Adolescent Health : the Future is Now.
- Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan visited Astana (Kazakhstan) to co-chair 13th Meeting of Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC) with Kazakhstan.
- National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog in partnership with USA will host 8th annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES 2017) in Hyderabad (Telangana) in November 2017 with theme Women First, Prosperity for All. This is the first time GES is being held in South Asia.
- PM Narendra Modi inaugurated Rajaswa Gyan Sangam at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, organised by Central Board of Direct Taxes and Central Board of Excise and Customs.
- Second World Congress of Optometry began in Hyderabad (Telangana) with theme Accessible, quality vision and eye health.
- South Asian Women Development Forum (SAWDF) organized Across Barriers-International Business Women’s Summit at Kathmandu, (Nepal).
National
- 10th Medical Technology Conference organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi.
- 13th Formation Day of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) celebrated in New Delhi with theme School Safety.
- 3 Government PSUs - National Aluminium Company (NALCO), Hindustan Copper (HCL) and Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited (MECL) signed MoU to form a joint venture Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (Kabil)-
- KABIL will identify, explore, acquire, develop and process minerals overseas for commercial use and to meet domestic supply needs. It will deal with 12 strategic minerals that are not available in India or available in a very low quantity.
- 3rd India International Science Festival (IISF-2017) will be held in Chennai (Tamil Nadu) in October 2017, organised by Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) and Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA).
- 3rd Women of India Organic Festival held at Dilli Haat in New Delhi, aimed at promoting women entrepreneurs and farmers in organic sector.
- 600-year-old Walled City in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad has been formally accorded status of India’s first World Heritage City by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- Walled city was founded in 15th century by Ahmed Shah of Gujarat Sultanate, on eastern bank of Sabarmati River. It presents rich architectural heritage from sultanate period.
- It is India's first city to get World Heritage status, 3rd in Asia after Bhaktapur (Nepal) and Galle (Sri Lanka). India now has total 36 World Heritage Inscriptions 28 cultural, 7 natural and 1 mixed site.
- 6th Edition of 4-day international textile and apparel fair named VASTRA organized in Jaipur (Rajasthan).
- Bandhan Tod app launched by Bihar Government as a unique initiative of Gender Alliance’s strategy to end child marriage and dowry in state.
- Thaawarchand Gehlot, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment launched Divyang Sarathi mobile app for easy dissemination of information to ‘Divyangjans’.
- According to recently released SRS bulletin, India has registered a significant decline in Infant Mortality Rate (IMR). IMR has declined by 3 points (8% decline), from 37 per 1000 births in 2015 to 34 per 1000 births in 2016.
- Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority(APEDA) developed Hortinetmobile app for farmers to facilitate registration, testing and certification of certain fruits and vegetables.
- American e-commerce company Amazon opened its largest fulfillment center (FC) in India at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad (Telangana).
- Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu declared Friday as Day of Helping Hand, when he will meet with poor and underprivileged people and hear their grievances and try to resolve them.
- Andhra Pradesh Government announced new programme Jala Siriki Haarati, aimed at offering prayers to water bodies and to create awareness among public regarding water preservation.
- Andhra Pradesh Government declared 2017 as e-Pragati year, to promote real-time governance.
- Andhra Pradesh Government released People First mobile grievance redressal app, to enable people to register complaints about government services and schemes by dialing 1100.
- Andhra Pradesh Governmet announced that transgender community can avail government schemes and Andhra Pradesh will be declared ODF by March 2018.
- Andhra Pradesh government signed MoU with USA-based Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT)to build India’s first Hyperloop system, aimed at connecting Amaravati and Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh by covering 35 km in just 5 minutes.
- Andhra Pradesh state Government will build 5.4 lakh affordable houses in urban areas of State under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) in next 15 months.
- Archaeologists discovered an ancient Buddhist site dating back to 1st century AD, in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh.
- As per reports, Parali I island (Lakshadweep) has disappeared due to coastal erosion and another four such islands in Lakshadweep sea are shrinking fast.
- Assam Government extended term of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) and declared entire state a Disturbed Area for six more months. This is first time that a state government has extended AFSPA and Disturbed Area provision on its own. Previously, AFSPA provisions were always extended by Central Government.
- Assam government has set up a Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Cell for implementation of DBT across various schemes, to coordinate efforts at the state level in taking DBT initiative forward.
- Assam government signed MoU with Google India to take Internet connectivity to remote areas. Google will provide Internet connection to 26,000 villages and 1,500 tea garden areas to increase digital literacy. Gujarat government also signed MoU with Google for ‘Digital Gujarat’ movement.
- Assam government will provide skill development training to around 30,000 surrendered militants and over 24000 Assamese youth under Prime Minister Kaushal Vikas Yojna.
- Assam passed Industrial Disputes (Assam Amendment) Bill 2017 regarding lay off of employees. It enables employers to lay off up to 300 employees without prior permission from government. Government also increased compensation of a labourer from 15 days salary to up to 60 days salary, in case of lay off.
- Assam state Assembly passed PRANAM(Parental Responsibility And Norms for Accountability and Monitoring ) bill, making it mandatory for state government employees to take care of their parents and needy siblings. Assam is the first state to approve such a legislation. Government will deduct 10-15 % of salary of employee and give it to the parents for their survival, if not taken care by employee.
- Assam state government will set up a well-equipped skill city with a capacity of 10000 training seats in state, to give skill development training to 30000 former militants as announced earlier. Assam government will upgrade employment exchanges to Modern Career Centres.
- Ayurveda sytudents from across country have set a new Guinness World Record for maximum number of people receiving ‘nasya panchakarma’ treatment at 1st Rashtriya Ayurved Yuva Mahotsav organised by National Ayurveda Student Youth Association (NASYA) at National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA) in Jaipur.
- Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) signed MoU with Chinese gear maker ZTE to work on Pre5G and 5G wireless systems to make a virtual network architecture of a 5G ecosystem for research and commercialization in India.
- BSNL also signed MOU with Aeris Communications to provide packaged Internet of Things (IoT) solutions and services to small, medium businesses and public sector undertakings (PSUs) in India.
- Cabinet Committee of Security (CCS) approved implementation of umbrella scheme of Modernisation of Police Forces (MPF) for 2017 - 2020 It is biggest ever internal security scheme in country and has financial outlay of INR 25,060 crore out of which Central Government share will be Rs.18,636 crore and states’ share will be Rs.6,424 crores.
- Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved surveying 48,243 Line Kilometer (LKM) 2D seismic data for appraisal of Indian sedimentary basins where limited data is available.
- Sedimentary basin is a low area in the Earth’s crust, of tectonic origin, in which sediments accumulate. India has total 26 sedimentary basins covering area of 3.14 Million Sq Km (MSK). 48% of total sedimentary basin area (about 1.502 MSK) does not have adequate geo-scientific data.
- project will be implemented by Oil India Limited (OIL) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and is to be completed by 2019-20.
- Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) extended period Special Industry Initiative for J&K” (Sll J&K)- Udaan Scheme till December 2018. UDAAN Scheme is national integration scheme with goal to mainstream J&K youth with rest of country.
- Cell for IPR Promotions & Management (CIPAM) under Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (Ministry of Commerce and Industry) launched social media campaign to promote Indian Geographical Indications (GIs) with Has tag #LetsTalkIP, to make more people aware about importance of Intellectual Property Rights.
- A Geographical Indication is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin., eg. Darjeeling Tea, Mahabaleshwar Strawberry, Blue Pottery of Jaipur etc. GIs are important as they are an integral part of India’s rich culture and collective intellectual heritage.
- Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) launched monthly Jan Sampark program to enable public to interact with its officials to obtain information related to child adoption.
- Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) signed Agreement with Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru for Development of ground water flow models and preparation of aquifer management plans for parts of Karnataka.
- Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh launched Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Shram Anna Sahayata Yojna, under which nutritious meal will be provided to laborers at price of INR 5.
- Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board (CGECB) ordered closure of1200 MW thermal power plant of Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO) in Korba district, due t0 ash slurry water from damaged ash dam polluting water of a Belgiri nullah passing near plant that drains into Hasdeo river.
- Chhattisgarh High Court ordered state government to grant books and uniform instead of cash to Below Poverty Line (BPL) students studying in private schools under Right to education, in place of current arrengement of prioviding INR 650 per year as cash grant.
- Dabur India has tied up with e-commerce Firm Amazon for online Ayurveda marketplace which will house all ayurvedic brands and products of country.
- Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion organized second State Startup Conference in New Delhi.
- Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) will procure 10,000 electric vehicles (EVs) from Tata Motors, as world’s largest single electric vehicle procurement. Tata Motors quoted lowest price of Rs 10.16 lakh exclusive of GST in the competitive bidding. Procurement will be in Phases - 500 e-cars in first phase in November 2017 and remaining 9,500 EVs in second phase.
- FSSAI CEO Pawan Kumar Agarwal inaugurated Nestle Food Safety Institute in Manesar (Gurugram), as first such institute in India. Nestle already runs a similar Institute each in China and Lausanne, Switzerland.
- First National Canine Seminar organized by National Security Guard (NSG) in Manesar (Haryana).
- First e-court of Jammu and Kashmir insugurated in Srinagar, as first paperless court of Jammu and Kashmir. It will use digitised case records, thus paper usage and space requirements would be reduced to a great extent.
- Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) launched FoSCoRIS as an online platform to bring in transparency in food safety inspection and sampling. It will help in verifying compliance of food safety and hygiene standards by food businesses as per government norms.
- Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar launched Mission-24, a programme to improve quality of life in Mumbai’s poorest wards through collaborative efforts in next 24 months.
- Governmen declared urban Maharashtra open defecation free (ODF) under he Swacch Bharat Mission. Maharashtra is third big state after Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh to become Open Defecation Free in urban areas.
- Government allowed import of 3 lakh tonnes of raw sugar at a concessional duty of 25% import duty under Open General License (Tariff Rate Quota).
- Government approved merger and modernization of 17 Government of India Press Units (GIPs) into 5 GIPs located at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Minto Road and Mayapuri in New Delhi, Nashik (Maharashtra) and Temple Street (Kolkata, West Bengal).
- Government approved revamped Khelo India programme for period 2017-18 to 2019-20, aimed at mainstreaming sport as tool for development.
- Pan India Sports Scholarship scheme - It will cover 1,000 most talented young athletes each year, with Each athlete receiving annual scholarship of INR 5 lakh for 8 consecutive years.
- Sports Universities - 20 universities across country will be promoted as hubs of sporting excellence.
- National physical fitness drive - It will cover about 20 Crore children in age group of 10-18 and will support their fitness related activities.
- Government constituted High Level 5G India 2020 Forum to take on the global tech powers, constiting of high profile Goverment representatives and domain experts.
- Government has undertaken drive to rationalize 38 Labour Acts by framing 4 labour codes viz Code on Wages, Code on Social Security, Code on Industrial Relations and Code on occupational safety, health and working conditions. It will ease up the process by synchronizing varius labour Laws.
- Code on Wages Bill 2017 was introduced in Lok Sabha recently and It repeals 4 existing Laws - Minimum Wages Act 1948, Payment of Wages Act 1936, Equal Remuneration Act 1976 and Payment of Bonus Act 1965.
- Government released Swachta Ranking 2017 of Higher Educational Institutions -
- University - O. P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat (Haryana)
- Colleges - Kongu Arts and Science College, Erode (Tamilnadu)
- Technical institutions - Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore (Tamilnadu)
- Government institutions - G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar (Uttarakhand)
- Government ruled that all mobile phones unlinked with Aadhaar numbers will be deactivated after February 2018.
- Government will provide up to Rs 60000 crore to Maharashtra in next 2 years for river-linking and irrigation projects to tackle the recurring water crisis.
- Government will safeguard fast-eroding Majuli island in Assam (world’s largest riverine island) using research carried out on floating Brahmaputra Biodiversity and Biology Boat (B4) labs along Brahmaputra River.
- Government's Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) issued alert on spread of new malware “Locky Ransomware” that can lock computers and demand ransom for unlocking them.
- Gujarat Government launched Gyakunj e-class project aimed at producing world-class students through interactive e-classes. Outlay of project is 36 Crores and 550 schools are covered In first phase.
- Gujarat Government, Gujarat Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) and 3 leading dairies signed MOU to save children of Anganwadi from malnutrition. Nutritive food will be provided to over 42 lakh children of 53029 Anganwadies, pregnant-mothers, foster mothers and young girls under Take Home Ration scheme.
- Gujarat will become first big state to use Electronic Voting Machine (EVMs) equipped with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) in coming Assembly elections to make election process more transparent.
- Himachal CM Virbhadra Singh inaugurated first phase of 65 MW Kashang Hydel Project in tribal Kinnaur district. It is a 195 MW project ( three units of 65 MW each).
- Himachal Pradesh Goverment will provide monthly honorarium of INR 2500 to 'Jal Rakshaks'. Additionally, Qualified Jal Rakshaks with ITI diplomas will be given quota for pump operators and fitters and Those with matric and 12 years of experience will be inducted against post of Chowkidar and pump attendants.
- Himachal Pradesh government launched first-of-its-kind in Nation electric bus service in ecologically fragile 51 km – long stretch between Manali and Rohtang Pass.
- Home Minister Rajnath Singh and UP CM Yogi Adityanath flagged off commercial operatios of Lucknow Metro, on 8.5-km corridor from Transport Nagar to Charbagh.
- Home Minister Rajnath Singh launched Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour (PENCIL) Portal at National Conference on Child Labour organised in New Delhi, aiming to achieve target of child labour free society
- Home Ministry opened two Zorinpui and Kawrpuichhuah immigration check posts along borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh Respectively.
- Home Ministry will soon grant citizenship to nearly 1 lakh Chakma and Hajong refugees, who came from erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in 1960s and are living in northeast. Chakmas and Hajongs were residents of Chittagong Hill Tracts in erstwhile East Pakistan and had fleed after their land was submerged by Kaptai dam project in 1960s. Chakmas are Buddhists by faith and Hajongs are Hindus.
- Hurun India Rich List 2017 -
- Mukesh Ambani retains the richest Indian title for sixth year (worth of 257,900 crores).
- Patanjali Ayurved CEO Acharya Balkrishna named among India’s top 10 richest people for first time, with wealth of over 70000 crores.
- India started producing Civet Coffee as most expensive coffee in worldm in Karnataka.
- It is made from feces of a species of cat called ‘Civet Cat’.
- One kilogram of this coffee sells for Rs.8000 in India and at Rs.20,000 to Rs.25,000 in abroad.
- Indian Army and Jamia Millia Islamia University (New Delhi) parttnered for academic collaboration, technical advancement and progression of Army Personnel.
- Indian Institute of Management Lucknow (IIM-L) and Yes Bank tied up, aiming to enhance Climate Literacyamong people.
- Indian Railways permitted passengers to show m-Aadhaar, digital version of Aadhaar card, as proof of identity in any reserved class. For this, Passenger has to open the app and enter password to show the card.
- Indian Railways will introduce 100 additional local train services on its Mumbai suburban network of Western Railway (32 services) and Central Railway zones (68 services), giving major boost to suburban rail services in Mumbai area.
- India’s Zero Hunger Programme through interventions in farm sector will be launched on occasion of World Food Day (October 16, 2017). It consists of organisations of farming system for nutrition, setting up genetic gardens for biofortified plants and initiation of ‘Zero Hunger’ training.
- A genetic garden for biofortified plants contains germplasm of naturally biofortified crops through plant breeding. It has plants and crops that help supplement micro-nutrient deficiencies, including iron, zinc, vitamin A and iodine among others.
- Programme will be launched in 3 districts – Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh), Koraput (Odisha) and Thane (Maharashtra).
- India’s first Centre for Animal Law has been established at NALSAR University of Law (Hyderabad), inaugurated by Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi. It will create curriculum on animal welfare laws, including developing topics for research.
- India’s first advanced virology laboratory inaugurated at Anjali Chatterjee Regional Research Institute for Homoeopathy in Kolkata (West Bengal), for developing new drugs and technologies in Homoeopathy to combat emerging challenges of viral diseases.
- Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) registered National E-Governance Services Limited (NeSL) as first Information Utility (IU) under IBBI (Information Utilities) Regulations 2017. S. Ramann is appointed as Managind Director of NESL.
- International NGO Safe Water Network partnered with Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to launch water ATMs, providing safe water access in Hyderabad. The initiative is supported by USAID under Urban WaSH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) Alliance Partnership and funded by Honeywell India.
- Jammu and Kashmir government inaugurated 2nd International Yoga Festival and International Yoga Sports Championship 2017.
- Jharkhand Government launched Shaheed Gram Vikas Yojana, aimed at developing villages of freedom fighters in state.
- Karnataka Department of Information Technology (IT) and Biotechnology (BT) signed MoU with Finland, called Karnataka–Finland Innovation Corridor.
- Karnataka Government launched Nava Karnataka 2025 or Vision 2025 for charting out a development roadmap for next seven years, covering 13 sectors identified for rapid development.
- Karnataka became first state to roll out an Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy that looks not only at boosting sales of Electrical Vehicles, but also setting up charging infrastructure and special manufacturing zones.
- Karnataka government merged existing 7 health schemes to launch a unified health scheme Arogya Bhagya, aiming at Treatment First and Payment Next.
- Karnataka government will provide free eduation for all girls from Class 1 to graduation level in all public and aided private schools and colleges from next academic year.
- Kerala Tourism department launched campaign called Yalla Kerala (Yalla means lets go). to target tourists from Arab Nations (Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar).
- Kerala will soon open India’s first transgender-exclusive clinics at government medical colleges across state.
- Kochi (Kerala) will host 5th Coastal Shipping and Inland Water Transportation Business Summit 2017.
- Maharashtra Government and Mother Dairy Fruit and Vegetables (subsidiary of National Dairy Development Board) signed lease agreement to set up a state-of-the-art milk and milk products processing plant.
- Maharashtra Government launched Maharashtra Mission 1 Million initiative under which over 10 lakh students across state will be encouraged to play football.
- Minister for Electronics & Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad launched nation-wide hackathon #OpenGovDataHack, As part of Startup Eco-system Development program.
- Minister of Railways announced various decisions for Transformation of Indian Railways -
- Highest priority to passenger safety - Eliminating 5000 unmanned crossings by 2018, Shift to LHB coaches from ICF coaches, Use of MTRC (Mobile Train Radio Communication) and TPWS (Train Protection & Warning System). RPF staff will not be allowed to check tickets, which is the function of TTEs.
- Transforming through technology - Use of mobile apps for monitoring passenger services, wi-fi connectivity and increase speed of around 700 trains, GPS based tracking of rail movement.
- Energy efficiency - Complete electrification by 2022 to save INR 10,000 crores.
- Faster Redevelopment of stations
- Railway Stations with less trains to be developed as Multi-utility centres
- Focus on welfare of field staff - Improving working conditions of Group D employees that work hard is to ensure track safety.
- Railways will work with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to devise safety mechanisms to make travel by trains safer.
- Minister of State (IC) for AYUSH, Shripad Naik inaugurated Regional Research Institute of Homoeopathy (RRI) in Agartala (Tripura).
- Ministry of Civil Aviation issued rules to tackle misbehaviour by passengers, by forming national No Fly List of such unruly passengers. DGCA revised relevant sections of Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR), in accordance with Tokyo Convention 1963. It defines three categories of unruly behavior -
- Level 1 - Behaviour that is verbally unruly, calls for debarment upto 3 months
- Level 2 - Physical unruliness and can lead to debarment for upto 6 months
- Level 3 - Life-threatening behaviour would attract minimum 2 years ban.
- Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) launched Wood is Good Campaign under Partnership for Land Use Science (Forest-Plus). It was launched during conference on Sustainable landscapes and forest ecosystems: Theory to Practice held in New Delhi.
- Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change notified Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules 2016, that will replace Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules 2010 to address issues related to conservation and development of wetlands in a comprehensive manner. Highlights of new rules -
- Wetlands shall be conserved in accordance with the principle of ‘wise use’ for maintaining their ecological integrity.
- Rules prohibit any diversion to natural water inflows and outflows of wetland.
- Wetland Authority will be set up by State Governments or UTs (headed by State Chief Minister) to deal with wetland conservation, regulation and management.
- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched 2 new free contraceptives Antara and Chayya in 10 states under Mission ParivarVikas. Antara is injectable contraceptive (effective for 3 months) where Chayya is contraceptive pill (effective for 1 week).
- Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises extended Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) - India scheme by 6 months to promote electric and hybrid vehicles. Phase 1 was effective from April 2015 to March 2017, but received 6 month extension till September 2017. Now it has been further extended till up to March 31, 2018.
- Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas launched country-wide Pradhan Mantri LPG Panchayat scheme to distribute LPG connections among rural areas where conventional fuel is used for domestic purposes.
- Ministry of Science & Technology launched Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhayay Vigyan Gram Sankul Pariyojana to implement appropriate S&T interventions for sustainable development through cluster approach in Uttarakhand.
- Under This, Department of Science and Technology (DST) will adopt few clusters of villages in Uttarakhand and transform them to become self-sustainable in time bound manner.
- Ministry of Shipping renamed Kandla Port Trust (Gujarat) as Deendayal Port Trust, using powers conferred on it under Indian Ports Act 1908.
- Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation constituted task force for speedy implementation of various ongoing Namami Gange programme.
- Ministry of Women and Child Development held first National Conference on Mission Mode to address Under-Nutrition in country in New Delhi, keeping in mind goal of Malnutrition Free India-2022.
- Music video prepared by Telangana Jagruthi to celebrate 9 day Bathukamma festival has been released.
- NBCC obtained license by World Trade Centre (New York) to develop a commercial project as ‘World Trade Centre’ at Nauroji Nagar in New Delhi .This project would be completed by 2020.
- NITI Aayog launched National Nutrition Strategy aimed at Kuposhan Mukt Bharat (terminating malnutrition), by bringing nutrition to center-stage of National Development Agenda.
- National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute signed MoU with Ludhiana based Bonn Food Industries to promote coloured wheat with antioxidant qualities beneficial for control of diabetes, cholesterol and obesity.
- National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog’s SATH (Sustainable Action for Transforming Human capital) Program was launched in Assam. SATH program aims to provide structured support to Assam in identifying key health priorities and implement solutions towards transforming the health and improving the well-being of people of state.
- National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) signed MoU with Andhra Pradesh Innovation Society (APIS) to encourage start-up in manufacturing & technology driven sectors.
- Nationwide health campaign to sensitise women about early screening and the preventive care for cancer has been launched with Theme Nurturing the Nurturer. It is launched by FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) in partnership with Apollo Hospitals.
- Newton will be India’s official entry for the Best Foreign Film category at Oscars 2018, starring Raj Kumar Rao and directed by Amit Masurkar.
- It was chosen by Film Federation of India’s selection committee headed by Telugu producer C V Reddy.
- North East Calling festival held in New Delhi, aimed at increasing investment opportunities in North East.
- North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) will commision important hydro-electric projects in Arunachal Pradesh in 2018 - 600 MW Kameng Hydro Electric Project and 110 MW Pare Hydro Electric Project.
- Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik states 4th Government medical college, as Saheed Laxman Nayak Medical College and Hospital (SLNMCH) in tribal-dominated koraput district of southern Odisha.
- Odisha Government launched Sampurna (Sishu Abond Matru Mrityuhara Purna Nirakaran Abhijan) Yojnafor pregnant women. Under this, government will provide INR 1000 as transport cost for pregnant women to travel to hospital.
- Odisha approved establishment of Handlooms and Handicrafts Development and Promotion Council in capital Bhubaneswar, to improve growth of handlooms and handicrafts sectors.
- Odisha government approved launching first Odia language university for post-graduation in literature and linguistics among other subjects. It will be established in Bhubaneswar and will also carve out ways to make Odia script more adaptable to technology.
- Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) discovered oil in WO-24-3 well located west of Mumbai High fields in Arabian Sea, estimated to hold reserve of 20 million tonnes. Mumbai Oil Field currently produces 205,000 barrels of oil per day (just over 10 million tonnes per annum).
- PM Narendra Modi launched Sardar Sarovar Dam, (world’s second biggest and India's Biggest Dam) on the river Narmada in Gujarat.
- It is 1.2-km-long and 163 metres deep. It will irrigate over 18 lakh hectares in state.
- Before this, Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani had flagged off a statewide Narmada Mahotsav Yatra from Surendranagar district.
- Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharastra and Rajasthan will receive water and electricity supplied from dam.
- Grand Coulee Dam in USA is world's biggest Dam.
- PM Narendra Modi released a postage stamp on different aspects of Lord Ram’s life at historic Tulsi Manas Mandir Varanasi.
- Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) enhanced upper age limit for joining National Pension Scheme (NPS) to 65 years (from 60 currently).
- President Ram Nath Kovind launched nation-wide campaign Swachhata Hi Sewa from Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh).
- President Ramnath Kovind inaugurated Shirdi airport in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra and flagged off inaugural flight of Alliance Air from Shirdi to Mumbai.
- President Ramnath Kovind laid foundation stone for link-4 of Saurashtra Narmada Avataran Irrigation Scheme (SAUNI) Yojana .
- SAUNI is multipurpose project that aims to solve water problems of parched Saurashtra region of Gujarat. It was launched by PM Narendra Modi during his tenure as Gujarat CM.
- It aims to fill up 115 major dams in Saurashtra by diverting overflow of water from Sardar Sarovar Dam on Narmada River.
- Its unique feature is making pipe canals instead of conventional open canals which led to no acquisition of land and less loss of water.
- It has network of canals comprising 1,125-km network of pipelines that will help to channel water into farms.
- Puducherry Government banned use of plastic packaging materials of less than 51 microns as these were found to be injurious to health.
- Railway board ruled that passengers in reserved coaches can only sleep between 10 pm and 6 am to allow others to sit in seats for rest of the time (earlier 9 pm and 6 am).
- Rajasthan government announced Rs 20000 crore farm-loan waiver and waive as it agreed to waive of loans for farmers up to INR 50000.
- Ram Vilas Paswan, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution launched Web Portal of Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) & Electronic Negotiable Warehouse Receipt (e-NWR) System
- e-NWRs would have no chances of any tempering, mutilation, fudging, loss or damage and with no possibility of any multiple financing.
- e-NWRs will save expenditure in logistics as stocks could be traded through multiple buyers without physical movement and can be even split for partial transfer or withdrawal.
- Reliance Energy launched digital assistance robot ELEKTRA, that provides automated responses to customers for their queries and requests.
- Restaurant discovery and food delivery firm Zomato acquired logistics startup Runnr.
- Sep 25, 2017 - Birth Anniversary of Social Reformer Deendayal Upadhyaya. Known for his role in shaping up present day Bharatiya Janata Party. Uttar Pradesh government released 100 inmates from various jails of state on this occasion. PM Narendra Modi launched SAUBHAGYA scheme On this occasion. With details -
- Saubhagya (Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana) aims at bringing electricity for every household in country by March 31, 2019. No price will be charged for the poor to get an electricity connection and the government will bear expected INR 16,320 crores cost of giving electricity connections to the 4 crore households in country. Electricity connections will be given to APL (Above Poverty Line) families for Rs 500, which will be payable in 10 equal monthly instalments.
- PM Narendra Modi also inaugurated Deendayal Hastkala Sankul trade facilitation centre and Crafts Museum for handicrafts at Varanasi. It will facilitate weavers/artisans/exporters in promotion of handlooms and handicrafts in domestic and international markets.
- He also flagged off Varanasi-Vadodara as country’s third Mahamana Express.
- Seven North-East Indian states will launch Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) to focus on select urban areas and other pockets where immunization coverage has been low. Under it, Government aims to reach every child under 2 years and pregnant women with all available vaccines under Universal Immunization Programme by 2018.
- Suzuki Motors will invest over INR 1150 crores along with Japanese partners Toshiba and Denso to set up India’s first lithium-ion battery facility in Gujarat.
- Telangana Forest Department re-introduced endangered species mouse deer in forests of Nallamalla in Amrabad Tiger Reserve (ATR) at Nehru Zoological Park (Hyderabad).
- Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recommended delicensing of chunk of spectrum in few bands to facilitate smooth roll-out of machine-to-machine (M2M) communications.
- Unlike person-to-person (P2P) communication, M2M technologies involve communication between two devices. It acts as basis for automated information exchange between machines and enables wired and wireless devices to talk to each other using sensors.
- M2M communications can be deployed in new-age infrastructure projects and various industry verticals such as smart cities, smart grids, smart homes, smart transportation and smart heath sectors.
- Telecom equipment provider Vihaan Networks Limited (VNL) signed MoU with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to launch Relief 123 service to provide disaster management in India. Relief 123 service is an integrated disaster response solution for first responders and public safety agencies.
- Traditional Bonderam festival held in Divar Island of Goa.
- Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari launched fleet of 1000 E-rickshaws in Gurugram named SmartE. These e-rickshaws were manufactured in India and are fitted with GPS and tracking system.
- Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED) signed MoU with e-commerce firm Amazon for selling tribal products online, to promote various tribal products. TRIFED already has tied-up with Snapdeal.
- Tripura became first state to set up family welfare district committees, to deal with fake and biased complaints by women against their husbands and in-laws.
- Union Minister Jitendra Singh inaugurated first ‘Pension Adalat’ in India Held in Delhi.
- University Grants Commission (UGC) launched 90 days application process for higher education institutes (public / private) seeking institutions of eminence status, aiming to bring more Indian higher education institutions to get into top 100 global rankings in coming years. Shortlisting will be completed by March-April 2018.
- Eligible Institutions will be Top 50 of National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings, those securing ranks among Times Higher Education World University Rankings, Shanghai Ranking Academic Ranking of World Universities or QS University Rankings.
- 20 Institutions of eminence will be selected (10 public and 10 private, will get provision of INR 10,000 crore over 10 years and will be free from usual regulatory mechanism to choose their autonomous path to become institutions of global repute.
- Vanlalawmpuii Chawngthu became first woman minister in Mizoram in 30 years (since 1987 state assembly elections).
- Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu laid foundation stone for Ranchi Smart City, tagged as country’s first ‘green-field’ smart city. It is coming up on 656 acres of Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC) land which would be equipped with severa advance tech features..
- West Bengal government cleared a proposal to rename state as Bangla and sent a proposal to Centre for approval. Note that WB government had earlier too sent a proposal for change of name, but it was rejected by central government.
- World Quality Congress (WQC) ranked Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) security at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) in Mumbai has been recognised as best service in this domain.
- Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) published first ever exhaustive compendium of animal species in Indian Sundarban and threats it faces, titled Fauna of SundarbanBiosphere Reserve. As per publication, ZSI estimates that there are 2626 of animal species in sunderbans.
- Sundarbans is a vast forest in coastal region of Bay of Bengal. it was recognised in 1997 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is Located in delta region of Padma, Meghna and Brahmaputra river basins.
Persons
- American astronaut Peggy Whitson returned to earth after 288-day long mission in space. She now holds record as oldest female astronaut in history of space exploration and record for most spacewalks by a woman.
- Arjan Singh , The Sole Marshal of Indian Air Force (IAF) passed away. He was granted honorary rank of Marshal (highest IAF rank attainable).
- Arunachal Pradesh's serving Health and Family Welfare Minister Jomde Kena passed away.
- Ashish Kashyap resigned as President and Co-founder of Travel Major MakeMyTrip
- Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko visited India, marking 25 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between Belarus and India. India and Belarus signed 10 Cooperation agreements during this visit. MOUs Signed for cooperation in Oil and Gas, Agricultural Research and Education, culture, Sports, Vocational Education and Training, Potash Exploration and Scientific Research.
- Bollywood Actor Salman Khan received a Global Diversity Award at Britain’s House of Commons.
- Brian Acton, co-founder of WhatsApp resigned from Whatsapp to start a non-profit venture of his own.
- Dr. KS Chugh, Noted as father of nephrology in India has passed away.
- Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Salahuddin Rabbani Visited India and signed 4 agreements. He participated in 2nd India-Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Council held in New Delhi.
- French businesswoman and chief of of cosmetics giant L’Oreal, Liliane Bettencourt passed away. She is world’s richest woman with net worth $39.5 billion.
- Iceland Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson resigned, paving way for new elections to be held on November 4, 2017.
- Indian PM Narendra Modi Visited Myanmar, After attending 9th BRICS Summit in Xiamen (China). Several MOUs were signed -
- Maritime Security Cooperation.
- Cultural Exchange Programme for 2017-2020.
- Enhancing Cooperation of Upgradation of Women’s Police Training Centre at Yamethin, Myanmar.
- Sharing White Shipping Information between Navies.
- Technical Agreement for providing Coastal Surveillance System.
- MoU on Cooperation in Medical Products Regulation.
- Exchange of Letter for Extension of MoU on establishment of MIIT India-Myanmar Center for Enhancement of IT-Skill.
- Cooperation in Election Commissions and Press Councils of Both nations.
- Indian Police Service Officer Aparna Kumar became first Indian woman to scale Mount Manaslu (Nepal), which is the 8th highest mountain peak in the world (8156 metres).
- Infosys Senior Vice President Sanjay Rajagopalan resigned from his post.
- Lok Sabha MP and former Union Minister (Minister of state for Tourism in 2009 - 12), Sultan Ahmed passed away.
- Mark Beaumont (UK) broke world record for cycling around the world as He arrived in Paris 1 day ahead of schedule. He cycled 18,000-miles in 79 days.
- Norwegian Nobel Institute announced that Nobel Peace prize awarded to Myanmar’s Aung Sang Suu Kyi cannot be revoked, as demanded by An online petition signed by over 386,000 people on Change.org.
- Petition calls for revocation of Nobel Peace Prize conferred on Suu Kyi in 1991, over persecution of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims.
- Noted American Actor Frank Vincent passed away.
- Noted Indian Actor of American Descent Tom Alter Passed away.
- Noted Kannada actor RN Sudarshan passed away.
- Noted Marathi poet and activist Shirish Pai passed away.
- Noted Pulitzer-prize winning poet John Ashbery passed away.
- Prince Charles became longest-serving Prince of Wales, getting past Queen’s Victoria’s son Albert who went on to become King Edward VII after holding title of Prince of Wales for over 59 years.
- SEBI Chairman Ajay Tyagi is named 7th among top 10 regulators in world, as per Worlds Most Influential People in Market Structure report (also known as The Exchange Invest 1000 (EI1000)) by Patrick Young & Exchange Invest.
- List is topped by European Unions Commissioner (Competition) Margrethe Vestager.
- Saint Teresa (Mother Teresa) has been declared as co-patron of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Calcutta, 131 years after St Francis Xavier was declared as first patron.
- Senior Supreme Court Lawyer and Constitutional expert PP Rao passed away.
- Sri Lankan External Affairs Minister Tilak Marapana visited India.
- Tourism Australia appointed Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra as first Indian woman Ambassador to encourage Indians to visit Australia. This panel includes people like Chef Sanjeev Kapoor and commentator Harsha Bhogle.
- Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu released Commemorative coins of INR 100 and 10 denominations on occasion of 101st Birth Centenary of noted Carnatic musician MS Subbulakshmi.
- She was first musician to be awarded Bharat Ratna (in 1998). She was also first Indian musician to receive Ramon Magsaysay award (1974) and first Indian musician to perform at UN General Assembly. UN issued stamp In 2016, to honour MS Subbulakshmi.
- Visits from India -
- Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa visited Australia and USA.
- Minister for Commerce and Industry, Suresh Prabhu visited South Korea to participate in the 7th Asia-Europe (ASEM) Economic Ministers meeting.
- Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan visited Kazakhstan to co-chair the 13th meeting of the India-Kazakhstan Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC).
- Maharashtra government signed MoU with South Korea for increasing co-operation in several infrastructure projects, during CM Devendra Fadnavis's visit to South Korea.
- Visits to India -
- Tin Aung San, Navy Chief of Myanmar.
- Minister of Trade of Indonesia, Enggartiasto Lukita.
- US Secretary of Defense James Mattis.
- Abdullah Abdullah, Chief Executive of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. He inaugurated first ever India, US and Afghanistan joint trade and investment show in Delhi.
- World’s oldest person Violet Mosse-Brown from Jamaica has died at age of 117.
- Yesteryear Bollywood actress Shakila passed away.
Science
- A new species of non-venomous aquatic snake named Aquatic Rhabdops has been described as new species from northern Western Ghats in Maharashtra, Goa and North Karnataka. Earlier this species was considered as variant of Olive Forest Snake, first described in 1863.
- According to researchers from University of Southampton (UK), extreme global warming event named Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) that occured 56 million years ago was driven by massive CO2 emissions from volcanoes during formation of North Atlantic Ocean.
- This caused doubling of CO2 in less than 25 thousand years because of CO2 emissions from volcanoes. PETM was most rapid and extreme natural global warming event of last 66 million years and lasted for around 150 thousand years. It increased global temperatures by at least 5 degrees Celsius.
- As per Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA)'s study titled Thresholds of catastrophe in the Earth System, Earth’s sixth mass extinction may become a reality by 2100 due to increasing carbon pressure on oceans.
- In past 540 million years, Earth has seen 5 mass extinction events. By 2100, about 310 gigatons of carbon will have been added to oceans, a potential 'tipping point' for ecological disaster.
- Bengaluru-based biotech startup Bugworks Research became India’s and Asia’s first to receive international CARB-X (Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator) grant for its antibiotic research and development.
- CARB-X is an international partnership set up in 2016 to focus on innovations to improve diagnosis and treatment of drug-resistant infections. It grew out of Barack Obama’s 2015 Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria (CARB) initiative.
- Breakthrough Listen project detected 15 Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) coming from a dwarf galaxy about 3 million light years away from earth, with help of Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in West Virginia.
- FRB is brief, bright pulse of radio emission from distant galaxies. It was first detected in 2007 with help of Parkes Telescope in Australia.
- CSIR scientists developed an ultra-thin wireless device that mimics plant leaves to produce hydrogen fuel using water and sunlight, paving way for clean energy for powering eco-friendly cars in future.
- At present, hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels by steam reforming. In this process large amount of CO2 is emitted. This new green method of generating Hydrogen from Water may be a great reform in coming times.
- When visible light strikes semiconductors, electrons move in one direction and produce electric current. The current almost instantaneously splits water into hydrogen making it one of cleanest forms of fuel as its main byproduct is water.
- Department of Science and Technology (DST) will fund a project to develop quantum computers in order to tap into next big advance in computing technology.
- Quantum computer uses principles of quantum physics to increase computational power beyond attainable limits of traditional computer. It employs complex principles of quantum mechanics to store information in ‘qubits’ (quantum bit) instead of the typical binary ‘bits’ of 1 and 0.
- ISRO’s Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) completed 3 years in Martian orbit, already having outlived its original lifespan. Mangalyaan was launched on board of PSLV C25 rocket on November 5, 2013 and entered Mars orbit on September 24, 2014.
- Indonesian scientists from Lambung Mangkurat University found world's smallest squirrel in Borneo rain forest, named Bormean pigmy. It is 73 mm long and weighs about 17 grams.
- International Astronomical Union (IAU) named 2 mountain ranges on icy dwarf planet Pluto as Tenzing Montes and Hillary Montes, after Tenzing (Nepal) Norgay and Edmund Hillary (New Zealand) who were first mountaineers to reach summit of Mount Everest in 1953. These are among 14 other names officially approved for naming 14 geographical features on Pluto.
- International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has downgraded conservation status of snow leopard from “endangered” to “vulnerable”, that was continuing since 1972.
- Species are endangered if they are fewer than 2,500 with high rate of decline. Vulnerable Species are those with population under 10,000 and declining at rate of 10% over 3 generations.
- NASA’s $3.9 bn Cassini spacecraft ended its 20-year-long journey after Plunging into Saturn’s atmosphere. Cassini's mission to Saturn began in 1997, reaching it in 2004.
- NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured images of 2 significant Solar Flares emitted by Sun, powerful bursts of radiation classified as X2.2 flare and 2nd is X9.3 flare.
- X9.3 flare was the largest flare in the current solar cycle which began in December 2008 and heading towards 'Solar Minimum'.
- Solar Minimum is such phase of the solar cycle when these eruptions on the sun are increasingly rare, but they can be intense.
- NASA’s asteroid-chasing spacecraft Osiris-Rex (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer) successfully swung by Earth to put it on desired trajectory towards near earth asteroid Bennu using Earth’s gravity.
- OSIRIS-REx mission was launched in September 2016 for studying 101955 Bennu, a carbonaceous asteroid as NASA’s first asteroid sampling mission.
- Researchers discovered a new species of edible freshwater fish while exploring Pampa river in Pathanamthitta in Kerala. Newly found fish could possibly be farmed on a commercial scale. It has been named Labeo filiferus (L.filiferus) and belongs to Labeo genus.
- Scientists at University of California (USA) identified 27 distinct types of human emotions, Instead of earlier of just 6 possible emotions - happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, fear and disgust.
- Scientists discovered an underwater natural city built by octopuses and named it as Octlantis, in Australia. Octlantis was found where octopuses were found gathering for fights in 2009.
- Scientists for first time observed Optical polarisation phenomenon (polarised light emitted by rapidly rotating stars), using High Precision Polarimetric Instrument (HIPPI).
- It was predicted by Indian astrophysicist and Nobel laureate Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar in 1946.
- Optical polarisation phenomenon is a measure of the orientation of the oscillations of a light beam to its direction of travel.
- HIPPI was used to detect polarised light from Regulus, one of brightest stars in night sky about 79 light years away. It was observed that Regulus is rotating so quickly with a spin rate of 96.5% of angular velocity (approximately 320 kilometres per second).
- Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize for Physics with William A. Fowler for his theoretical studies of physical processes of importance to structure and evolution of stars.
- Scientists from Brown University (USA) created first map of water trapped in uppermost layer of Moon’s soil, using NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper onboard of India’s Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft. Map builds on initial discovery of water and related molecule – hydroxyl (consists 1 atom each of hydrogen and oxygen) in lunar soil in 2009.
- Scientists from Cardiff University (UK) discovered a new way to produce methanol from methane using oxygen from the air. Methanol is an important chemical often used as fuel in vehicles. New technique uses freely available air, inexpensive chemicals and an energy efficient methanol production process.
- Scientists from University of Manchester (UK) created world’s first molecular robot - millionth of a millimetre in size. It is made up of just 150 carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen atoms which are basic building blocks required to form molecules. Such molecular robots can be used for medical purposes, advanced manufacturing processes and even building molecular factories and assembly lines.
- Scientists successfully detected gravitational waves for 4 time coming from merger of 2 massive black holes. It was for first time, these waves were simultaneously detected by US-based Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) and Italy-based Virgo detectors. First 2 detections were made in September and December 2015 and 3rd time it was detected in January 2017.
- US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) approved a new leukemia treatment, called Kymriah. Each dose of Kymriah contains patient's own immune cells that are genetically modified using a virus. This therapy is known as chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR-T), gives the cells the ability to recognize and kill the source of cancer.
Sports
- 128-player single-elimination chess tournament named Chess World Cup 2017 held in Tbilisi (Georgia). It was won by Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronian as his second win of this tournament. 7 Indians participated in it, including Former World Champion Vishwanathan Anand.
- 2017 AIBA World Boxing Championships held in Hamburg (Germany) -
- India's only medal was a bronze medal won by Gaurav Bidhuri (ranked 10th).
- Medal table
Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total 1 Cuba 5 2 0 7 2 Uzbekistan 1 3 2 6 3 Kazakhstan 1 2 3 6 4 Azerbaijan 1 0 1 2 5 France 1 0 0 1 Ukraine 1 0 0 1
- 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (5th Asian Indoor Games) held in Ashgabat (Turkmenistan) -
- India won 40 medals and finished 11th at 5th Asian Indoor Games, Including 9 Gold Medals.
- Medal Table -
Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total 1 Turkmenistan 89 70 86 245 2 China 42 32 23 97 3 Iran 36 23 59 118 4 Kazakhstan 28 28 40 96 5 Uzbekistan 24 33 74 131
- 2017 Commonwealth (Youth, Junior and Senior) Weightlifting Championships held in Australia. India will host the 2019 edition of these games. India won 37 medals in current championships held in Australia.
- 2017 Laver Cup men's tennis tournament won by Europe, defeating rest of the world. It was held in Prague (Czech Republic).
- 57th National Open Athletics Championships held at Nehru Stadium in Chennai (Tamilnadu).
- Airtel Payments Bank became first payments bank in India to integrate UPI Technology (Unified Payments Interface) on its digital platform. It will allow customers the choice and convenience to facilitate secure digital payments.
- Amritpal Singh became first India-born player to be included into Australia’s National Basketball League, by basketball club Sydney Kings.
- BCCI nominated Mahendra Singh Dhoni for Padma Bhushan, country’s third highest civilian award for his contribution to game. He is only cricketer nominated by BCCI for this years Padma Awards. While, Olympic silver medallist shuttler P.V. Sindhu is recommended for Padma Bhushan title by Sports Ministry.
- Cadet World Wrestling Championships 2017 held in Athens (Greece) -
- India's Wrestler Anshu won Gold Medal defeating Japanese Wrestler Naomi Ruike in 60-kilogram weight category.
- Sonam Malik won gold by defeating Japanese Wrestler Sena Nagamoto in 56 KG Category.
- Besides, Neelam won Bronze in 43-kilogram category.
- East Bengal FC won eighth consecutive Calcutta Football League (CFL) title (39th overall), defeating Mohun Bagan FC in Siliguri (West Bengal)
- First ever Indian squad to participate in the FIFA U-17 World Cup has been announced, with 21 players onboard. FIFA U17 WC will be held in India in October 2017.
- For first time, 5 Indians are in the top-20 of BWF men’s singles rankings -
- Kidambi Srikanth (8th), HS Prannoy (15th), B Sai Praneeth (17th), Sameer Verma (19th), Ajay Jayaram (20th)
- Government approved Olympic Task Force's recommendation of Providing stipend of Rs 50,000 per month be paid to elite athletes preparing for Tokyo Olympic, Asian Games or Common Wealth Games to meet pocket expenses. Government selected 152 elites under TOP scheme.
- Government exempted import duty on a wide range of goods and sports items for upcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup to be held in India in October 2017. However, importers will have to exorts all imported accessories will be re-exported within 3 months of conclusion of World Cup.
- Hockey India removed national coach Roelant Oltmans (Netherlands), appointing David John as Chief coach till a a suitable replacement is found.
- ISSF World Shotgun Championships held in Moscow (Russia). India's Ankur Mittal won Silver Double Trap Men (Adult) and Ahvar Rizvi won Silver in Double Trap Men (Junior). India Finished 5th in this championship.
- India will host South Asian boxing Championship for first time in Guwahati (Assam) in December 2017.
- India won 2nd South Asian Basketball (SABA) Under – 16 Championship by defeating Bhutan in Kathmandu (Nepal). India qualified for 2017 FIBA Under-16 Asian Championship to be played in Malaysia in later 2017.
- India's Sumit Nagal won 8th MCC S R Subramaniam ITF Futures Men’s tennis championship in Chennai.
- India's Tejasvi Duduka won women’s singles of U.S. Open Grand Slam Carrom tournament.
- Indian Olympic Association (IOA) formally awarded rights to host 36th National Games to Goa in November 2017.
- Indian squash player Harinder Pal Sandhu won Malaysian Squash Tour, as his 21st consecutive international match win in a row.
- Indian women’s boxing’s first foreign coach Stephane Cottalorda has resigned after just one month of appointment.
- International Cricket Council (ICC) announced several changes to rules -
- Thickness of edges of bat can’t be more than 40mm and the overall depth can be 67 mm at most.
- Change in DRS rule - A review will now not be lost in case of a decision that remains unchanged, solely as the result of an ‘umpire’s call’. DRS will now also be allowed to be used in T20Is.
- Run outs - If a batsman is running towards crease with forward momentum and grounded its bat behind popping crease but subsequently has lost contact with the ground at the time of the wickets being put down, the batsman will not be run out.
- Boundary catches - airborne fielders making their first contact with the ball will need to have taken off from within boundary, otherwise, a boundary will be scored. Batsman can now be out caught, stumped or run out even if ball bounces off the helmet worn by a fielder or wicket-keeper.
- International Cricket Council (ICC) launched anti-corruption investigation in Sri Lanka Cricket.
- International Olympic Committee (IOC) formally announced Paris (France) as host of 2024 summer Olympics and Los Angeles (LOS) as host of 2028 Olympics.
- Joycilline Jepkosgei of Kenya broke her own 10 km road world record in Prague (Czech Republic) as She has become first woman to run 10 km distance under 30 minutes on road.
- Kochi (Kerala) will host BWF World Senior Badminton Championships, being held in India for first time.
- Korean Open Badminton 2017 -
- Men's singles - Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (Indonesia)
- Women's singles - India P. V. Sindhu. Sindhu Became first Indian to win Korea Open Superseries. She defeated Nozomi Okuhara of Japan.
- Men's doubles - Mathias Boe AND Carsten Mogensen (Denmark)
- Women's doubles - Huang Yaqiong AND Yu Xiaohan (China)
- Mixed doubles - Praveen Jordan AND Debby Susanto (Indonesia)
- Kuldeep Yadav became first Indian spinner to take a hat-trick in ODI cricket, after he took one against an ODI game against Australia.
- Maharashtra won Chief Minister’s cup at National kickboxing championship held in Raipur (Chhattisgarh).
- Mahendra Singh Dhoni became first wicketkeeper in world cricket to do 100 stumpings in One Day Internationals (ODIs).
- Mercedes Racer Lewis Hamilton (Britain) won Italian 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 Lewis Hamilton (Britain) 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
- Mercedes Racer Lewis Hamilton (Britain) won Singapore 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 Lewis Hamilton (Britain) 3 September 14 Singapore Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (Britain) 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 Indian Female Boxer M C Mary Kom became first Indian to be picked as International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) representative for 8th IOC Athletes’ Forum to be held in Lausanne (Switzerland).
- Official emblem and slogan for FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019 has been launched. Slogan is Dare To Shine.
- Official song for FIFA Under-17 World Cup football tournament has been formally launched. The song Kar Ke Dikhla De Goal is written by lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya and composed by Pritam.
- Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) invited Australia to compete at Asiad (Asian Games) in 2022, for the first time. The invite is for selected sports like football and basketball to enable athletes to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
- Olympic Task Force headed by Abinav Bindra suggested forming 13-member Empowered Steering Committee (ESC), to shape India’s preparation for upcoming mainstream sports events. ESC will work till December 31, 2020 with clearly defined terms and references.
- Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) imposed 5 year ban and a fine of one million rupees on batsman Khalid Latif for involvement in spot-fixing during PSL.
- Rishabh Shah of Mumbai won 2 bronze in Under-14 Rapid and Blitz formats of the 2nd Western Asia Youth Chess Championship in Sri Lanka.
- South African Cricketer JP Duminy announced his retirement from test cricket.
- Star India secured Indian Premier League's media rights with a bid of Rs 16347.50 crore for five-year period 2018-2022, getting past Sony's bid of INR 11050 crores. Note that In 2008, Sony Pictures Network won IPL media rights for 10 years for INR 8200 crores
- Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn won India Junior International Grand Prix Badminton Title by defeating Indian Player Rahul Bharadwaj.
- US Open Tennis 2017 -
- Men's Singles - Rafael Nadal (Spain) by Defeating Kevin Anderson (South Africa). It is overall 16th Grand Slam Title for Rafael Nadal.
- Women's Singles - Sloane Stephens (USA) by Defeating Madison Keys (USA)
- Men's Doubles - Jean-Julien Rojer (Netherlands) AND Horia Tecău (Romania)
- Women's Doubles - Chan Yung-jan (Chinese Taipei) AND Martina Hingis (Switzerland)
- Mixed Doubles - Martina Hingis (Switzerland) AND Jamie Murray (UK)
- West Indies Cricketer Chris Gayle become first batsman to hit 100 sixes in Twenty20 Internationals.
- Wrestler Satish Kumar has been awarded Rs 25 lakh as compnesation by a Delhi court for being wrongly restrained from taking part in 14th Asian Games in Busan (South Korea) in 2002. He was barred due to mistaken impression of having taken performance-enhancing drugs.
- Abanti Sankaranarayanan has been elected as chairperson of board of The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).
- Angela Merkel won fourth term as chancellor of Germany.
- B Sambamurthy has been appointed as interim Chairman of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
- Balraj Joshi has been appointed as Chairman-cum-Managing Director of NHPC (National Hydro Power Corporation).
- Banaras Hindu University (BHU) appointed Royana Singh as its first woman Chief Proctor.
- Cabinet Changes -
- New Cabinet Ministers
- Nirmala Sitharaman - Ministry of Defence. Sitharaman is first woman after Indira Gandhi to hold portfolio of Defence Minister.
- Piyush Goyal - Ministry of Railways (also Minister of State for Coal Ministry (IC))
- Dharmendra Pradhan - Ministry of Petroleum and Natural. He will also hold Ministry for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
- Muqtar Abbas Naqvi - Ministry of Minority Affairs.
- Nitin Gadkari - Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation (also holds Ministry of Road Transport and Highways)
- Uma Bharti - Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation
- Narendra Singh Tomer - Ministry of Mines (Also Holds Ministry of Rural Development and Minsitry of Panchayati Raj)
- Suresh Prabhu -Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- New Ministers Of State
- Gajendra Singh Shekhawat - Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare
- Krishna Raj - Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare
- K J Alphons - Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
- Satya Pal Singh - Ministry of Human Resource Development AND Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
- Virendra Kumar - Ministry of Women and Child Development AND Ministry of Minority affairs.
- Anant Kumar Hegde - Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
- Mahesh Sharma - Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
- Sudarshan Bhagat - Tribal Affairs
- Rao Inderjit Singh - Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
- Arjun Ram Meghwal - Minsitry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation AND Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
- Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary - Ministry of Coal and Ministry of Mines
- Pon Radhakrishna - Ministry of Finance AND Ministy of Shipping
- Shiv Pratap Shukla - Ministry of Finance
- New Ministers of State (Independent Charge)
- Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore - Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (IC)
- Hardeep Puri - Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (IC)
- RK Singh- Ministry of Power (IC) and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (IC)
- K J Alphons - Ministry of Tourism (IC)
- Mahesh Sharma - Ministry of Culture (IC)
- Santosh Kumar Gangwar - Minsitry of Labour & Employment (IC)
- Giriraj Singh - Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (IC)
- Rao Inderjit Singh - Ministry of Planning (IC)
- Piyush Goyal - Ministry of State for Coal Ministry (IC))
- New Cabinet Ministers
- Devendra Kumar Joshi has been appointed as Lieutenant Governor of UT of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- Force Motors Chairman Abhay Firodia has been elected as president of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).
- Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been elected as Chair of Ethics Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for 4 years term.
- Government extended term of Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian by one year till October 2018.
- Halimah Yacob has been appointed as 8th President of Singapore (and First female ever).
- Inder Jit Singh has been appointed as Chairperson of National Authority Chemical Weapons Convention (NACWC).
- India TV Chairman Rajat Sharma elected as President of News Broadcasters Association (NBA) for 2017-18.
- Indian Person Suresh Chitturi has been appointed as Vice-Chairman of International Egg Commission (Belgium).
- Joao Lourenco appointed as Angola (South African Nation)'s first new President in 38 years.
- KV Rama Moorthy appointed as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Tamilnad Mercantile Bank.
- Kenneth I. Juster has been nominated as next USA ambassador to India.
- Leading Housing Finance Firm DHFL (Diwan Housing Finance) appointed Harshil Mehta as Joint Managing Director & CEO.
- M. Nagaraja Sarma has been appointed as chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of United India Insurance Company.
- Mahendra Pratap Mall has been appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).
- Mercedes Araoz Fernandez has been appointed as new Prime Minister of Peru.
- Ministry of Coal appointed Gopal Singh as CMD of Coal India Ltd.
- N Baijendra Kumar has been appointed as Chairman-Cum-Managing Director (CMD) of state-run National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC).
- New Indian Ambassadors Appointed -
- Gautam Bambawale - China
- Ajay Bisaria - Pakistan
- Harsh Kumar Jain - Slovakia
- Vani Sarraju Rao -Estonia
- Palau - Jaideep Mazumdar
- Newly Appointed Governors of Various States -
- B. D. Mishra - Arunachal Pradesh
- Satya Pal Malik - Bihar
- Banwarilal Purohit - Tamil Nadu
- Jagdish Mukhi - Assam
- Ganga Prasad - Meghalaya
- Peter Thomson (Fiji; outgoing president of the UN General Assembly) has been appointed as UN's first Special Envoy for oceans.
- R A Sankara Narayanan has been appointed as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Vijaya Bank.
- Rajni Kant Mishra has been appointed as new Director General of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).
- Raquel Dodge has been appointed as first woman General Prosecutor of Brazil (head of internal security of nation).
- Shashi Shanker has been appointed as the chairman and managing director of ONGC.
- Sjoerd Marijne (Netherlands) has been named chief coach of Hockey men’s side. Harendra Singh has been appointed as Specialist coach of senior women’s team.
- Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company Novartis appointed Vasant Narasimhan as its CEO.
- T. Jacob has been appointed as Secretary in Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
- Tata Sons appointed Pradipta Bagchi as Group Communications chief.
- Twitter Micro-blogging website appointed Indian-born Sriram Krishnan as Senior Director of Product.
- US President Donald Trump appointed Indian-American Raj Shah as Deputy Assistant to President and Principal Deputy Press Secretary.
- Umesh Chand Asawa (CEO of A.P. Mahesh Co-operative Urban Bank ) is elected to managing committee of Indian Banks Association (IBA).
- Unique Identification Authority of India’s (UIDAI) CEO A.B. Pandey has been appointed interim chairman of Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN).
- Uttarakhand Goverment appointed actor Akshay Kumar as brand ambassador of Swachh Bharat Mission in state. Note that that Akshay was also recently appointed as brand ambassador for cleanliness campaign in Uttar Pradesh.
- Viveck Goenka has been elected as Chairman of Press Trust of India (PTI). N. Ravi is elected as Vice Chairman.
- West Bengal government appointed Binay Tamang as chairman of Gorkha Territorial Administration.
- Y C Modi has been appointed as new Director General of National Investigation Agency (NIA).
- 2017 Balzan Prize Winners -
- James P Allison (USA) - For Immunological Approaches in Cancer Therapy that enhanced the survival of patients with metastatic melanoma.
- Bina Agarwal (Indian British) - For her heroic work studying women’s contributions to agriculture in India.
- Michael Gillon (Belgium) - For his work that helped finding new soalr systems of planet Earth using robotic telescopes, instead of much more costly satellites.
- Germans Aleida and Jan Assmann (Germany) - For presenting collective memory as a requirement for forming identity of religious and political communities.
- 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards announced at Microsoft Theater in California (USA) -
- Outstanding Comedy Series - Veep
- Outstanding Drama Series - The Handmaid’s Tale (First web series to win this award )
- Outstanding Variety Talk Series - Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
- Outstanding Variety Sketch Series - Saturday Night Live
- Outstanding Limited Series - Big Little Lies
- Outstanding Television Movie - Black Mirror: “”San Junipero”"
- Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series - Donald Glover (Marks on Atlanta)
- Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series - Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Veep
- Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series - Sterling K. Brown in This Is Us
- Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series - Elisabeth Moss in The Handmaid’s Tale
- Riz Ahmed become first man of Asian descent to win an Emmy Award ever. He is a British actor of Pakistani descent and won in Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie category for The Night Of.
- 74th Venice International Film Festival (Italy) -
- Golden Lion – The Shape of Water by Guillermo Del Toro
- Grand Jury Prize – Foxtrot by Samuel Maoz
- Silver Lion (Best Direct0r) – Custody by Xavier Legrand
- Volpi Cup (Best Actor) – Kamel El Basha for The Insult
- Best Actress – Charlotte Rampling for Hannah
- Special Jury Prize – Sweet Country by Warwick Thornton
- Badminton Player Prakash Padukone conferred with first Lifetime Achievement Award instituted by Badminton Association of India (BAI). He won 1980 All England and won a bronze at 1983 World Championship in Copenhagen (Denmark).
- GQ Men of The Year Awards 2017 -
- Irrfan Khan - Outstanding Achievement
- Anushka Sharma - Woman of the Year
- Karan Johar - Producer of the Year
- Rajkummar Rao - Actor of Year
- Ranveer Singh - Entertainer of the Year
- Sridevi – Excellence in Acting
- Aamir Khan - Creative Maverick
- Ghana-based Indian entrepreneur Birendra Sasmal won International Business Person of Year at Asian Achievers Awards in London, for for turning his company Subah Group into a thriving succes Through West Africa and employs around 350 people.
- Hyderabad International Airport won National Award for ‘Excellence’ in Energy Management at a conference hosted by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
- ISKCON’s Govardhan Eco village (Maharashtra) received spirit of humanity award by AmeriCares, a non-profit organisation working for disaster relief and global health, in livelihood category.
- Indian Scientist Mahtab Bamji has been selected for Living Legend Award of International Union of Nutritional Sciences ((IUNS), to be presented at its General Assembly to be held in Buenos Aires (Argentina).
- IUNS Council presents Living Legend Awards to individuals of Adhering Bodies in good standing who are eighty (80) years or above.
- India’s first operational Smart City and IFSC, Gujarat International Finance-Tec City (GIFT City) won Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) Services Excellence Award.
- Infosys Cofounder N R Narayana Murthy and Mumbai-born scientist veena Sahajwalla have been conferred PLuS Alliance Prize. Murthy was chosen for Global Leadership while professor Sahajwalla was awarded for Research Innovation for her project.
- Jawaharlal Nehru Port Container Terminal (JNPCT) has been awarded Container Terminal of the Year Award at 10th The Gateway Awards 2017 at Mumbai.
- Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) won Rajbhasha Kirti Puraskar for 2016-17 for its excellent implementation of Official Language. This is 11th consecutive year that JNPT has won this award.
- Jurist Tahir Mahmood has been honored by N R Madhava Menon Best Law Teacher Award 2017 for his services to legal education.
- Karnataka Bank won Best Bank award among small banks for use of technology for financial inclusion at 13th IDRBT Banking Technology Excellence Awards 2016-17.
- Karnataka Cop D Roopa has been conferred President’s Medal for her meritorious service.
- Pune-based NGO Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP) that workes for women farmers, won 2017 UN Equator Prize.
- Raghunandan Industries Private Limited has been awarded with Krishi Pragati Award 2017 by National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX).
- Reliance Foundation and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) received Rashtriya Khel Protsahana Purushkar. KVK was honored for its ‘Identification and Nurturing of Budding and Young Talent’ (IDCO) program.
- Sikkim CM Pawan Chamling has been honoured by Grand Prix Award for his work in field of organic farming, During a ceremony at Germany’s Lagau on the occasion of the One World Festival.
- US-based Marconi Society to honor 3 Indian Origin Person -
- Google research scientist Ananda Theertha Suresh, by Paul Baran Young Scholar award for 2017. He has been honored for creating technology that makes search faster and easier even on low-end mobile devices with basic Internet.
- Thomas Kailath - Lifetime Achievement Award for his stellar contribution to modern communications.
- Arun Netravalli - Marconi Prize for his pioneering work in digital video technology used in mobile phones and television sets.
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced winners of 2017 International Literacy Prizes. These Prizes are divided into 2 categories - Confucius Prize (sponsored by China) and King Sejong Literacy Prize (sponsored by South Korea). All winners will each receive a medal, a certificate and USD 20000, on International Literacy Day on 8 September 2017.
- Confucius Prize 2017 (recognises projects that benefit rural populations and out-of-school youth, particularly girls and women). Winners are -
- AdulTICoProgram - Initiative of Secretariat of Information and Communications Technologies of Armenia (Colombia) for teaching digital competencies to seniors.
- Citizens Foundation (Pakistan) - For its Aagahi Literacy Programme for Women and Out-of-School Girls.
- FunDza (South Africa) - It launched a project to develop a culture of reading and writing for pleasure through an online platform.
- King Sejong Literacy Prize 2017 - Dedicated to mother-tongue literacy education. Winners -
- Centre for the Study of Learning & Performance (Concordia University (Canada)) - For its ‘Using Educational Technology to Develop Essential Educational Competencies in Sub-Saharan Africas project’.
- We Love Reading (Jordan) - It offers online read-aloud trainings for parents, mobilizes volunteers to read aloud in community spaces to children.
- Confucius Prize 2017 (recognises projects that benefit rural populations and out-of-school youth, particularly girls and women). Winners are -
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural organization (UNESCO) announced winners of 2017 UNESCO Prize for Girl’s and Women’s Education. Each of 2 winner organisations received prize money of USD 50000. Winners are -
- Development and Education Programme for Daughters and Communities Centre in Greater Mekong Sub-Region (DEPDC/GMS) in Thailand - For its project Education and Life Skills Training Programme to Help Stateless Children and Women Migrating from Shan State to Thailand.
- Mini Academy of Science and Technology (MaCTec Peru) - For its project Mobile MaCTec Bus Labs/Mini Academy of Science and Technology.
- Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu honored film-maker S S Rajamouli (Director of Famed Baahubali Series) with prestigious ANR National Award for his contribution to Telugu film industry.
- Vijaya Bank won bagged first prize under Rajbhasha Kirti Puraskar (Region C) for year 2016-17. Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) has also been awarded National level Rajbhasha Keerti Award for 3rd consecutive year.
- Zannah Mustapha won annual Nansen Refugee Award for his crucial mediating role and efforts to help children affected by insurgency in Nigeria. His Future Prowess Islamic Foundation School provides free Islamic education to orphaned children.
- Book Bhartiya Kala Mein Salil Kridayen Evam Sadyahsnata Nayika authored by Kshetrapal Gangwar and Sanjib Kumar Singh has been launched.
- Book How India Sees the World: Kautilya to the 21st Century, written by Shyam Saran has been launched.
- Book India: Priorities for the Future, authored by Former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan has been launched.
- Book The Shershah of Kargil, is a biography of Kargil war hero Late Captain Vikram Batra has been released. It has been written by Deepak Surana.
- Book Unstoppable: My Life So Far, authored by Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova has been Launched.
- Book titled A to Z of Financial Management in Autonomous Institutions, authored by Rajat Bhargava and Deenanath Pathak has been released.
- Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's first book Hit Refresh has been launched.
- Noted Author Amish Tripathi's new Book Immortal India has been launched.
- Recently released book The Golden House by Noted Indian Writer Salman Rushdie is named as New York Times Bestseller.
- A Parliamentary Committee has been formed to examine Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill, 2017 in New Delhi. It has been chaired by Bhupender Yadav.
- An advisory committee of Securities and Exchange Board of India, headed by Jayanth R Varma will decide on proposal for extending stock market trading hours from 3.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m (starting 9 am).
- Expert committee headed by TK Viswanathan to deal with cybercrimes especially online hate speech submitted its report. Committee recommended appointing cybercrime coordinators in all states and establishing cybercrime cells in each district.
- Finance Minister Arun Jaitley constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi to monitor and resolve IT challenges faced in implementation of GST.
- Insurance regulator IRDAI formed committee Under Pournima Gupte, to help in implementing new risk-based capital (RBC) regime.
- RBC Committee was headed by Dilip C Chakrabortyand it suggested that industry should move ahead with RBC to ensure that capital held by a company will take into account its overall risk profile, rather than current solvency regime.
- New RBC Regime is expected to be implemented by March 2021.
- National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog constituted Expert Task Force to provide major thrust to job creation by enhancing India’s exports. It will be headed by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar. It will give sector-specific recommendations in key employment sectors for policy interventions and suggest measures to enhance trade in services with high employment potential.
- PM Narendra Modi reconstituted Economic Advisory Council (EAC) to assist on economic issues, with Bibek Debroy appointed as its chairman. EAC was defunct since former C Rangarajan resigned as its chairman.
- National Nutrition Week observed throughout country from Sep 1 - 7, 2017 with theme Optimal Infant & Young Child Feeding Practices: Better Child Health.
- Sep 02 - World Coconut Day.
- Sep 10 - World Suicide Prevention Day.
- Sep 12 - UN International Day for South-South Cooperation.
- Sep 14 - Hindi Day. On this day in 1949, Hindi written in Devanagari script was accepted as official language of India.
- Sep 15 - Engineer’s Day in India. It marks birth anniversary of Noted Indian Engineer Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya.
- Sep 15 - International Day of Democracy. 2017 theme is democracy and conflict prevention.
- Sep 16 - International Day for Preservation of Ozone Layer (World Ozone Day). 2017 theme is Caring for all life under the sun. Sep 16 is also known as International Coastal Cleanup day.
- Sep 21 - International Day of Peace. 2017 theme is Together for Peace: Respect, Safety and Dignity for All.
- Sep 26 - International Day for Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. So far, 50 Nations have signed a recent UN Treaty putting complete ban on nuclear weapons.
- Sep 26, 2017 - 76th Foundation Day of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
- Sep 27 - World Tourism Day with 2017 Theme is sustainable tourism – a tool for development.
- Cab aggregator Ola started a tourism promotion campaign in Karnataka State. with theme GhoomoResponsibly.
- Madhya Pradesh won Best Tourism State national award for 3rd consecutive year at National Tourism Awards.The state bagged total 10 awards, including national award as Best Film Promotion Friendly State/Union Territory.
- Event also saw launch of ‘Incredible India 2.0 campaign’ and ‘Adopt a Heritage’ project and new Incredible India website.
- Sep 28 - International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI). UNESCO hosted Conference under theme Overcoming Divides and Achieving the SDGs in Africa in Balaclava (Mauritius).
- Sep 28 - World Maritime Day. 2017 theme is Connecting Ships, Ports and People.
- Sep 28 - World Rabies Day. 2017 theme is Rabies: Zero by 30.
- Sep 30 - International Translation Day. 2017 theme is Translation and Diversity.
- Sep 5 - International Charity Day.
- Sep 5 - National Teachers Day in India. It marks Birth Anniversary of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, first Vice President of India (1952 - 1962) and 2nd President of India (1962 - 1967).
- Vice President Venkaiah Naidu gave away National awards for teachers on Teachers day Function, horing total 219 teachers.
- He also launched DIKSHA, a national digital infrastructure for teachers. Web - diksha.gov.in.
- Environment Ministry launched environment awareness initiative, under which an online environmental quiz competition named Prakriti Khoj will be conducted at national level. It aims to generate interest among school children about the science related to environment.
- Sep 8 - International Literacy Day. 2017 theme announced by UNESCO is Literacy in a digital world.
- On this occasion,Government announced that School Chalo Abhiyan will be implemented in 2018, aimed at enrolling 80 lakh students.
- Sep 9 - Himalaya Day.
- 13th edition of Exercise Yudh Abhyas 2017, joint military exercise between Indian and USA armies commenced in Washington (USA).
- 12th India-Nepal joint military exercise - Surya Kiran XII held in Saljhandi (Nepal).
- 7th India-Sri Lanka joint maritime naval exercise SLINEX 2017 held near Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) in Bay of Bengal.
- Pralay Sahayam Multi Agency disaster preperedness exercise conducted on the banks of Hussain Sagar Lake in Hyderabad (Telangana).
- Advanced towed artillery gun system (ATAGS, Developed Jointly by DRDO and Bharat Forge Limited of Kalyani Group) with special ammunition high explosive – base bleed (HE – BB) has set world record in terms of range by hitting targets at distance of 48 km during trial firings at Pokhran (Rajasthan).
- Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) signed contract with Research Centre Imarat (RCI) for the supply of Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missiles (MRSAM) to Indian Army.
- Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) test-fired 3rd generation Anti Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) NAG. It has operational range of 500m to 4km (Land version) and 7-10km (when air-launched).
- INS Tarasa (T94), fourth and last ship in series of Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (WJFAC) commissioned into Indian Navy.
- Indian Air Force (IAF) conducted developmental trials of indigenously developed Astra beyond visual range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM).
- Indian Army organized Operation Sadbhavana for National Integration in Jammu & Kashmir and North East states respectively
- Indian Army will induct women in military police, bringing in 800 women at yearly intake of 52.
- Indian Coast Guard (ICG) commissioned two high-speed interceptor boats C-433 and C-434 boats. Interceptor boat V-409 has also been launched.
- India’s first all-women crew circumnavigation expedition Navika Sagar Parikrama flagged off in Goa, onboard Sailing Vessel INSV Tarini. It will circumnavigate globe in approximately 165 days and is expected to return to Goa in April 2018.
- India’s first indigenous sniper rifle launched at rifle factory in Ishapore (West Bengal). Its total cost is INR 2.5 lakh and weighs 6.7 Kg. It has shooting range of 800 meters.
- India’s first ingenuously built INS Kalavari submarine handed over to Indian Navy, built by Mazagon Dock Limited in Mumbai. INS Kalavari is first of six Scorpion class submarines built in India under Project-75 by Mazagon Docks Limited with technology transfer from France’s DCNS (Direction des Constructions Navales Services).
- Ministry of Home Affairs launched full-fledged intelligence wing of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), paramilitary force that guards India’s borders with Bhutan and Nepal. It will have 650 field and staff agents to gather actionable information. Intelligence wing of and Welfare and Rehabilitation Board App (WARB) was also launched.
- Finance Ministry imposed 18.95% countervailing duty (CVD) on certain Chinese flat steel products for 5 years to protect domestic players from cheap subsidised imports.
- Fitch declared that Indian banks will need an additional capital of $65 billion in order to satisfy all banking rules of global Basel III norms,by March 2019.
- ADB (Asian Development Bank) signed Loan deal worth $200 Million with India's IndusInd Bank to provide loans for low income women in rural areas.
- Aditya Birla Group will shut down its e-commerce site Abof.com by December 2017, amid strong competition in sector.
- Air India tied up with PNB and IndusInd Bank to secure loans of over Rs 3,000 crore for meeting working capital requirements.
- Airtel Business (part of Bharti Airtel) launched GST Advantage as a solution designed to enable small businesses and start-ups to file GST returns securely and seamlessly.
- Airtel launched Office-In-a-Box for start-ups registered under Karnataka government’s Start-Up Cell initiative.
- As per Report, West Bengal leads with 77% registration in new tax regime of GST, leaving behind national average of 23%.
- As per survey by Brand Finance, State Bank of India (SBI) is India’s most trusted and popular bank, followed by HDFC Bank and Central Bank of India. On popularity charts, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank take 2nd and 3rd spots respectively.
- Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved loan of $80 million (about Rs 524 crore) for modernization of Himachal Pradesh’s technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions.
- Asian Development Bank (ADB) will increase its annual lending to India to maximum of $4 billion between 2018 and 2022, much higher than average $2.65 billion a year in loans extended during 2012 and 2016.
- Bandhan Bank appointed Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Axis Bank, JM Financial and Kotak Mahindra Bank as lead managers to manage its proposed initial public offering (IPO). Bandhan Bank will look to raise INR 5000 crores by IPO in 2018.
- Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) wlll become 8th Maharatna company, upgrading from its Navratna status.
- Maharatna category for CPSEs was introduced in 2009, to empower them to expand their operations globally.
- At present, there are 7 Maharatna companies — Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL), Coal India (CIL), GAIL (India), Indian Oil Corporation, NTPC, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Steel Authority of India (SAIL).
- Criteria for grant of Maharatna status Include annual turnover of Over INR 25000 crores, annual net worth of Over 15000 crores and annual net profit after tax of Over 5000 crores, during last 3 years.
- E-Commerce Firm Amazon tied up with the Bank of Baroda to offer micro loans to its sellers, to attract more sellers. Amazon Seller Services Pvt Ltd (ASSPL), is bringing in more financial partners so that it can cater to its 225,000 seller base.
- Finance Ministry announced to launch Project Insight from October 2017, to restrict black money holdings and transactions.
- Project Insight has been developed by L&T Infotech Ltd and costs approx $156 Million USD.
- It will observe and check high value transactions and track tax evaders with the help of technology to restrict black money holdings.
- It will also check social media posts and activity of people, to determine tax evasion practices.
- Finance Ministry will launch Project Insight in October 2017 to monitor high value transactions and detect tax evaders using technology, in partnershop with IT Major Infotech. Linking of Aadhaar and PAN will be key mechanism in this project.
- Fincare Small Finance Bank (previously Disha Microfin Limited) started its banking operations with branches across Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
- Fino Payments Bank launched its mobile banking app called BPayi in India, as extension of its already existing wallet in same name that was launched in December 2016.
- GDP Growth Rate Forecasts -
- Japanese financial services company Nomura stated that India’s GDP growth will be around 7.1 % in 2017-18.
- Asian Development Bank (ADB) predicted 7 % for India in 2017 - 18 and 7.4 % in 2018 - 19.
- OECD (Paris based think tank) announced that Indian economy will grow at 6.7 % in 2017-2018.
- GST Network (GSTN) reopened registration for composition scheme for small taxpayers with turnover of up to Rs.75 lakh, that offers easy compliance for business as returns are to be filed only quarterly (not monthly).
- Google launched mobile wallet and payments app Tez in India, that will let users link their phones to their bank accounts to pay for goods in physical stores and online, also enabling person to person money transfers.
- Governement extended Deadline for linking Permanent Account Number (PAN) with Aadhaar extended by 4 months to 31st December, 2017.
- Government approved Dairy Processing & Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF) with outlay of Rs 10881 crore during 2017-18 to 2028-29.
- DIDF will be set up as a corpus of INR 8004 crores with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), INR 2001 crores shall be end borrowers contribution, Rs 12 crore would be NDDB/NCDC‘s share and Rs 864 crore shall be contributed by DADF towards interest subvention.
- DIDF activities will include building efficient milk procurement system by setting up of chilling infrastructure & installation of electronic milk adulteration testing equipment, creation/modernization/expansion of processing infrastructure.
- DIDF will be implemented by National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and National Dairy Development Cooperation (NCDC) through End Borrowers such as Milk Unions, State Dairy Federations, Multi-state Milk Cooperatives, Milk Producer Companies etc. End borrowers will get the loan @ 6.5% per annum with repayment period 10 years.
- With this, Approx 1 crore farmers in about 50,000 villages would be benefitted in form of Additional Milk processing capacity of 126 lakh litre per day, milk drying capacity of 210 MT per day, milk chilling capacity of 140 lakh litre per day etc.
- Government approved releasing additional 1 % Dearness Allowance (DA) to Central Government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners with effect from 1 July 2017. It will benefit about 49.26 lakh Central Government employees and 61.17 lakh pensioners.
- Government extended deadline for obtaining Aadhaar to avail benefits of government schemes and subsidies by three months to 31 December 2017. Extension would cover 135 Government schemes.
- Government kept unchanged interest rates on small savings schemes for October-December quarter.
- Investments in Public Provident Fund (PPF) scheme - 7.8 percent
- Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) - 7.5 percent (matures in 115 months)
- Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme - 8.3 percent annually.
- 5-year Senior Citizens Savings Scheme - 8.3 percent (interest paid quarterly)
- Government notified that Peer-to-peer lending (P2P) platforms will be treated as non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and thus regulated by Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
- It will help P2P lenders to gain official recognition and opens new avenues for fund-raising and business expansion.
- P2P lending is a form of crowd-funding used to raise loans which are paid back with interest. It enables individuals to borrow and lend money, without use of an official financial institution as an intermediary.
- Government reconstituted 6 Cabinet Committees after recent ministry reshuffle.
- Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is inducted as full time member of Cabinet Committee on Security, Cabinet Committees on Economic and Political Affairs.
- Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Dharmendra Pradhan are included in Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).
- Cabinet Committees Constituted under Transaction of Business Rules (TBR) 1961 are -
- Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC).
- Cabinet Committee on Accommodation (CCA).
- Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).
- Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA).
- Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA).
- Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS).
- HDFC Bank has retained its No.1 position in BrandZ India Top 50 report 2017, with its brand value doubled from $9.4 billion to $18 billion since 2014. Others in top 5 are - Airtel, State Bank of India, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank.
- HDFC Bank surpassed Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to become country’s 2nd most valued firm in terms of market valuation on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
- Reliance Industries is India’s most valued firm with market cap of Rs. 533818.72 crores.
- Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) signed agreement with Indian microfinance industry association Sa-Dhan to develop digital ecosystem for India's unbanked segment.
- ICICI Bank announced a new home loan scheme that offers borrowers benefit of 1% cashback on every EMI, for entire tenure of loan (15 - 30 years). Cashback will be accrued from first EMI and will given to customer after completion of 36th EMI.
- IDBI Bank launched ‘Project Nishchay’ in partnership with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to accelerate its turnaround program and improve financial performance.
- India signed a loan deal worth $76 million with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to upgrade environment management plan at Alang-Sosiya ship recycling yards in Gujarat.
- Indian IT Firm Infosys acquired London-based Brilliant Basics for GBP 7.5 million.
- India’s top 50 brands report by WPP Plc and Kantar Millward Brown -
- HDFC Bank remains India's Top Brand for 4th year in a row. Airtel is 2nd and State Bank of India is 3rd.
- Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) approve online non-life insurance company Acko General Insurance Ltd. and it will start operating in December 2017. It will sell multiple insurance products through online channel.
- International Finance Corporation (Member of World Bank Group) invested $10 million in Indian Power Sector startup firm Power2SME.
- IFC will also invest USD 50 million (about Rs 320 crore) in realty firm Mahindra Lifespace Developers industrial park projects.
- Law ministry approved Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill 2017 to empower government to confiscate property of economic offenders and defaulters who flee India.
- A fugitive economic offender is any individual against whom warrant for arrest in relation to economic offence has been issued and person has left India to avoid criminal prosecution.
- Markets regulator Sebi barred Orion Capital, Orion Broking and their partners from securities markets for 10 years for failing to redress several investor grievances pertaining to non- settlement of funds due to the clients.
- Ministry of Commerce and Industries has set up Contact@DGFT online service for effective resolution of foreign trade-related issues of importers and exporters. It will enable traders to raise all trade related matters to Directorate or other agencies of Centre and States.
- Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) and Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) signed MoU for automatic and regular exchange of tax information, to curb menace of shell companies, money laundering and black money.
- Ministry of Development of Northeast invited start-ups from across country to avail benefits of Northeast Venture Fund. NVF is first dedicated venture capital fund for North-Eastern region, set up by North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd (NEDFI) to encourage entrepreneurship in North-eastern region.
- Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MHUA) ordered review of Floor Space Index (FSI) and Floor Area Ratio (FAR) norms in mega cities.
- FSI is ratio of building’s total floor area to size of piece of land on which it is built. It will be taken up in all 53 cities with population above 1 million.
- Multilateral funding agency ADB approved USD 300 million loan for carrying forward fiscal reforms in West Bengal.
- West Bengal for the first time in 2012 received a USD 400 million from ADB.
- National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) sanctioned loan of Rs.119 crore for Haryana to construct 7 bridges and improvement of one rural road project in five districts.
- New Gross State domestic product data by Central Statistics Office, with 2011-12 as base year -
- Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh were fastest expanding State economies in 2015-16. Arunachal Pradesh’s gross State domestic product (GSDP) expanded 16.5 % and that of Jammu and Kashmir 14.7 %. National growth rate remained 8 %.
- Top 5 - Maharashtra (16.6 lakh crores), Tamil Nadu (9.4 lakh crores), Gujarat (9.013 Lakh Crores), Uttar Pradesh (9.012 Lakh crores).
- Paytm partnered with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to launch a RuPay-powered digital debit card for its Payments Bank users. Ccustomers will be able to transact at merchants accepting credit / debit cards.
- Private Bank IndusInd Bank and India's second largest Microfinance company Bharat Financial Inclusionsigned confidentiality agreement for proposed merger between them.
- Punjab National Bank and BSNL partnered to roll out open mobile wallet Speedpay across 10 states.
- Reliance General Insurance received in-principle approval from Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) for its initial public offering (IPO).
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that Masala bonds (rupee-denominated overseas bonds) will be treated as External Commercial Borrowings (ECB), thereby freeing up more investments by FPIs. Current limit for investment by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in corporate bonds is Rs 244323 crore (including masala bonds of 44,001 crores).
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released its 2017 list of the Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs) and added private lender HDFC Bank Ltd as a D-SIB. Now, HDFC has joined State Bank of India (SBI) and ICICI bank, that are tagged as D-SIBs or too-big-to-fail for consecutive 3rd year.
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stated that it uses sophisticated Currency Verification & Processing (CVPS) Machines for checking numerical accuracy and genuineness of currency notes including Specified Bank Notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 instead of counting machines.
- Reserve Bank of India will introduce 100 rupees coin to mark 100th birth anniversary of AIADMK founder M G Ramachandran, weighing 35 grams.
- SBI (State Bank of India) launched its new Management Institute in Kolkata (overall 6th) named as State Bank Institute of Management (SBIM).
- SBI Life Insurance received approval from Securities and Exchange Board of India for an IPO (Initial Public Offering) of up to Rs 8,400 crore ($1.3 billion). SBI owns 70.1 % of SBI Life Insurance and BNP Paribas Cardif holds 26 % stake.
- SEBI also allowed ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company to launch its approx INR 6,000 crores initial public offer (IPO).
- SEBI allowed Real Estate Investment Trusts (Reits) and Infrastructure Investments Trusts (InvITs) to raise capital by issuing debt securities. REITs now require to have 50% stake in holding company, marginally less from earlier limit of 51%. REITs have been allowed to lend to an underlying holding company or a special purpose vehicle (SPV).
- Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has imposed Rs 2,423 crore fine on PACL Ltd, as highest ever Sebi penalty on a defaulter for illegal fund mobilisation through various schemes.
- Singapore Based DBS Bank received RBI approval to convert its existing India franchise to a locally incorporated wholly-owned subsidiary (WOS) in India.
- State Bank of India (SBI) launched FTSE SBI Bond Index series in partnership with global index provider FTSE 100, which will give tools to investors from India, the UK and globally to analyse India’s government bond market, and drive growth in market.
- State Bank of India (SBI) launched its first ever chatbot called SBI Intelligent Assistant or SIA, which would be powered by AI and will assist customers. It has been developed by Artificial intelligence banking platform Payjo.
- State Bank of India lowered Minimum Average Monthly Balance (MAB) requirement in a savings account to Rs 3,000 from Rs 5,000 and also revised downwards penalties for not maintaining such balance.
- Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has cut mobile termination charges (MTC) by 57% to 6 paise per minute (currently 14 paise per minute) with effect from October 1, 2017. MTC would be completely cut by January 1, 2020.
- MTC is paid by operator whose subscriber makes a call to the operator whose subscriber receives the call.
- This will lead to reduction in call rates and will benefit subscribers further.
- This decision has originated from a dispute between Reliance Jio and other top telecom operators.
- Ujjivan Small Finance Bank replaced 75% of its bank loans with borrowings using money market instruments including certificate of deposits, to bring down costs by 75%. Bank will issue 90-day CDs to mutual funds and insurance companies and FDs to corporates, trusts and cooperative banks.
- Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) ruled that banks without Aadhaar enrolment centres in 10 % of branches will pay Rs.20,000 fine for per uncovered branch from October 2017.
- United Bank of India removed 100% processing fee for retail home loans, car loans and two-wheeler loans.
- e-Commerce Firm Flipkart developed India’s first “anti-theft” packaging to prevent goods from in-transit theft and damage, exclusive pilferage protection box specially designed for electronic goods and high-end mobiles.
- 2 Democratic lawmakers, Ami Bera and Frank Pallone introduced a legislation in USA House of Representative to support India’s permanent membership to UN Security Council.
- 9 metre (30ft) statue of Mikhail Kalashnikov, inventor of AK-47 assault rifle unveiled in Russian capital Moscow.
- A tomb belonging to a royal goldsmith who lived more than 3500 years ago has been discovered in Luxor (Egypt).
- According to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List, Hui Ka Yan (chairman of Chinese real estate giant Evergrande Group) is now Asia’s richest man with net worth of $41.1 billion. Asia’s second and third richest persons are Tencent Holdings Chairman Ma Huateng ($39.1 billion), Alibaba Group Chairman Jack Ma ($38.9 billion).
- According to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)’s Trade and Development Report (TDR) 2017, India and China at their current levels of growth will not serve as “growth polls” for global economy in near future.
- Global Growth will reach 2.6% this year, well below pre 2008 financial crisis average of 3.2%.
- India’s Growth will slow down to 6.7% in 2017 from 7% in 2016.
- China’s Growth has been retained at 6.7%, same as in 2016. China’s estimated debt-to-GDP ratio is 249%, so it needs to introduce measures to contain its rising debt as domestic demand could be squeezed, with adverse consequences.
- Air India launched its direct flight from New Delhi to Copenhagen (Denmark), as 11th destination for Air India in Europe (described as connecting Maharaja with the Mermaid’.
- Airbus Perlan 2 Engineless aircraft has set a new altitude world record for a glider, climbing to 52,172 feet in El Calafate (Argentina)
- American Chipmaker AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) presented new line of microprocessor chips called ‘Ryzen Pro’ for commercial desktops to be available in India by end of 2017.
- Apple and Google respectively took 2 top spots in list of world’s 100 most valuable brands, as per report by consultancy group Interbrand. This is the fifth consecutive year with Apple and Google at top of the list.
- Arab Nation Jordan, that is 90% desert, has launched Sahara Forest Project near Aqaba City to turn desert land into farming land to produce food using sun and sea water. It is funded by Norway and European Union.
- As per Data by Forbes, based on a recent research by Transparency International (TI) -
- India beats Vietnam, Thailand, Pakistan and Myanmar inn terms of corruption, making India most corrupt asian nation with 69 % bribery rate.
- As per HSBC, India ranks 14th in terms of best country for expats to live and work in. The list is topped by Singapore.
- Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide USD 152 million to Nepal for implementation and enhancement of its power transmission and distribution.
- Australia and East Timor (Known as Timor - Leste) agreed on a maritime boundary and revenue sharing agrement from a natural gas field beneath seabed between them.
- Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina floated a five-point peace proposal at United Nations to find a permanent solution to Rohingya crisis (Over 430,000 refugees fleeing violence in Bangladesh's Rakhine State from Myanmar since August 2017). These Points Include UN Intervention to ensure safe return of all displaced Rohingyas in Bangladesh to their homes in Myanmar and implementing Kofi Annan Commission Recommendations immediately.
- Bengaluru based IT Firm Mindtree inaugurated its first international Digital Pumpkin innovation hub in New Jersey (USA).
- Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) signed agreement with USA's networking solutions provider Coriant to study possibilities of bringing and expanding 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) in India.
- Britain launched a new plastic 10-pound note featuring Jane Austen (renowned British Author), To tackle counterfeiting. Apart from Queen, Austen is 3rd woman (after Florence Nightingale and Elizabeth Fry) to feature on a modern-day British banknote.
- Cabinet Approvals -
- MoU with Morocco on cooperation in the field of health.
- MoU with Armenia on Cooperation in field of Disaster Management.
- Approval for hiving off mobile tower assets of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) into a separate company, fully owned by BSNL.
- MoU with Japan for collaborative research in field of silkworm and silk industries.
- Cabinet Approvals-
- Approved enhancement of age of superannuation of doctors other than Central Health Service (CHS) doctors to 65 years.
- MOU with Ethiopia in field of Information, Communication and Media.
- MoU with Belarus in the oil and gas sector
- MoU with Afghanistan on Technical Cooperation on Police Training and Development
- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare signed a Letter of Intent with Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to extend cooperation in health sector.
- Letter of Intent (LoI) with Norway to extend cooperation within health sector through Norway India Partnership Initiative (NIPI) for 3 years starting from 2018.
- China and Australia joint military training exercise Panda-Kangaroo 2017 concluded in Kunming (China).
- China and Pakistan Joint Air Exercise Shaheen VI has been organized.
- China commissioned its first radar-evading J-20 stealth fighter jets into military service.
- China displayed its first unmanned combat helicopter AV500W for foreign buyers. The aircraft’s length is 7.2 meters.
- China launched world’s fastest bullet train Fuxing between Beijing and Shanghai at 350 kms per hour, covering 1,250-km in 4 hours and 30 minutes.
- China opened a dual-use highway in Tibet to Nepal border which could be used for civilian and defense purposes in China.
- Chinese authorities blocked Anti-Islam terms used by Chinese internet users to stigmatise Muslims, to prevent worsening online hatred towards Islam.
- Cuba began a five-month political transition expected to end with Raul Castro’s departure from Presidency, due to his family’s dominance in country’s political system for 60 years.
- Denmark launched USA based global alliance to manage Climate change in Copenhagen. It is called Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G).
- P4G is supported by China, Indonesia and C40(group of more than 90 large cities of world that represent 25% of global economy).
- Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) of India launched UJALA (Unnati Jyoti by Affordable Lighting for All) Scheme in Melaka State of Malaysia. Malaysia became 2nd country after United Kingdom (UK) where EESL launched UJALA scheme. Under this, each household in Melaka will get 10 high quality 9-watt LED bulbs at a cost of only RM 10.
- Fiji, Niger, Tuvalu and Seychelles ratified ISA Framework Agreement and became members of ISA framework agreement.
- ISA will need the ratification of just 4 more countries to become a recognized inter-governmental body (Total 15 were needed). After which, ISA can embark on its task to channelise $300 billion in 10 years to promote renewable energy globallly.
- First project funded BRICS New Development Bank has started operations in Shanghai (China), that was set up using $76 million loan granted to Shanghai Lingang Distributed Solar Power Project from NDB.
- Forbes Highest Paid TV Actresses 2017 -
- Modern Family’ star Sofia Vergara earned USD 41.5 million (Rs 271 crore), topping the list for the sixth consecutive year.
- India's Priyanka Chopra ranked 8th, as she made USD 10 million ( INR 65 crore).
- Force Motors signed agreement with Rolls-Royce Power Systems AG (UK) to produce engines for power generation and rail application and complete power generation systems.
- Foreign ministers of India, US and Japan held a trilateral meeting in New York on sidelines of 72nd annual session of UN General Assembly. It was attended by Sushma Swaraj on India's Behalf.
- Miroslav Lajcak (Slovakia) is president of 72nd UN General Assembly.
- Fortune Most Powerful Women in Business List -
- USA - Indian Origin PepsiCo chairman Indra Nooyi ranked at 2nd, led by General Motors chairman and CEO Mary Barra.
- Outside USA - Chanda Kochhar (ICICI Bank CEO) ranked 5th and Axis Bank CEO Shikha Sharma ranked 21st. List is topped by Banco Santander group executive chairman Ana Botin.
- French anti-doping laboratory of Chatenay-Malabry provisionally suspended by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), upon self-reported analytical issues to WADA by laboratory.
- Global Financial Centres Index 2017 by Z/Yen Partners and the China Development Institute (CDI). It is released twice a year, in March and September, and ranks 92 financial centres. Top 10 -
- London
- New York
- Hong Kong
- Singapore
- Tokyo
- Shanghai
- Toronto
- Sydney
- Zurich
- Beijing
- Global Human Capital Report 2017 by World Economic Forum (130 Nations) -
- Top 5 - Norway (1), Finland (2), Switzerland (3), United States (4), Denmark (5)
- Bottom 5 - Mali (126), Ethiopia (127), Senegal (128), Mauritania (129), Yemen (130)
- Neighbours - Bangladesh (111), Pakistan (125), Nepal (98), Sri Lanka (70)
- BRICS - Brazil (77), Russia (16), India (103), China (34), South Africa (87)
- Global ranking for least and most stressful cities, by Zipjet (150 Cities) -
- Top 5 - Stuttgart (Germany), Luxembourg (Luxembourg), Hannover (Germany), Bern (Switzerland), Munich (Germany)
- Bottom 5 - Cairo (Egypt), Dakar (Senegal), Lagos (Nigeria), Kabul (Afghanistan), Baghdad (Iraq) (150th)
- India - New Delhi (142), Mumbai (138), Kolkata (131), Bangalore (130)
- Google acquired a part of electronics company HTC Corporation’s engineering and design teams for $1.1 billion. Bought team of approx 2000 engineers are the ones that worked on Pixel smartphones.
- Gulf airline Etihad Airways appointed former Abu Dhabi airport chief Tony Douglas as its Group Chief Executive Officer. Etihad also launched Fly Now Pay Later Scheme, allowing fare repayment in EMIs.
- HP (Hewlett-Packard) launched its new all-in-one point-of-sale (POS) system ElitePOS at India Retail Forum 2017 in Mumbai, priced at Rs.59,999.
- Henley & Partners – Kochenov Quality of Nationality Index (QNI) Report -
- Top 3 - Germany (1st), France and Denmark (Joint 2nd), Iceland (3rd)
- Afghanistan is ranked at bottom of index
- India is ranked 101 among 159 countries
- Hinduja Group's Ashok Leyland signed MoU Russian Firm Rosoboronexport for supplying tracked vehicle solutions to armed forces.
- Hindustan Shipyard Ltd partnered with Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd of South Korea for construction of fleet support ships (FSS) for Navy in both countries.
- India & Sri Lanka signed MoU to upgrade Thondaman Vocational Training Centre in Srilanka. India would provide LKR 199 million to upgrade training facility.
- India announced collaboration with Russia to build a nuclear plant in Bangladesh, as first initiative under Joint deal to undertake atomic energy projects in third-world nations. It is also India’s first atomic energy venture abroad.
- Rooppur Nuclear project (capacity of 2*1200 MWs) is Bangladesh’s first atomic energy project.
- India handed over Varuna off-shore patrol vessel to Sri Lanka as a part of stepping up co-operation between coast guards of 2 nations.
- India is planning to launch major connectivity initiative, connecting Chennai with Russian port Vladivostok via sea route with an aim to harness natural resources from Northeast Asia and Western Pacific region. It will enable to transfer cargo between Chennai and Vladivostok in 24 days in comparison to over 40 days currently taken to transport goods from India to Far East Russia via Europe.
- India launched Incredible India campaign in Cairo (Egypt Capital) to woo Egyptian travellers and make them aware of magnificent holiday options in India.
- India opened 2nd second Indian Workers’ Resource Centre (IWRC) in Sharjah (UAE), To provide support and counseling to Indians in distress. It will help overseas Indian community in any matter. Indians may call 80046342 from anywhere in UAE to get help.
- India received its first High Horsepower Locomotive with bodyshell of 12000 HP loco from Alstom France at Kolkata port,to be used to haul freight trains at twice the existing speed by 2018 (120 KM/H)
- It is first major FDI project in rail sector and each such locomotive costs approx INR 30 crores.
- India refused to be a part of Bali Declaration adopted at conclusion of World Parliamentary Forum on Sustainable Development held in Bali (Indonesia), to show solidarity with Myanmar. It was not adopted because it carried inappropriate reference to violence in Rakhine State from where 1,25,000 Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh.
- India replaced China as the top retail destination in 2017 as part of global retail development index. Change in ranking was an outcome of four factors increased consumer spending beyond essentials, rising mobile and internet penetration, favorable foreign investment climate and bold action on cashless transaction and GST.
- India's Numaligarh Refinery that supplyies High Speed Diesel to Bangladesh, despatched first diesel consignment of 30 MT to Myanmar through NH 37. It is to enhance hydrocarbon synergy with neighbouring countries as well as promoting India’s Act East Policy.
- India's TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) raked 30th in Fortune’s annual list of Top 50 companies that are changing the world. TCS’s mKRISHI® App is one of important reasons that got TCS into list, that lets farmers to access customised expert advice, market information and weather data. Top 3 - JP Morgan Chase, DSM, Apple.
- Indian Firm Mahindra & Mahindra entered into strategic alliance with US car major Ford Motor Company to explore cooperation in products, technologies, and distribution.
- Indian IT Major HCL acquired automation driven data management platform Datawave (UK) to accelerate data integration and migration for clients.
- Indian startup Kheyti won prestigious award in Israel for developing an affordable modular greenhouse that aims to give farmers steady & dependable income. It was chosen in MassChallenge Israel contest that saw participation from over 500 companies.
- Japanese PM Shinzo Abe Visited India, arriving in Ahmedabad (Gujarat).
- He participated in 12th India - Japan Annual Meeting.
- 15 MOUs signed during Mr. Abe's Visit to India, Including -
- Disaster Risk Management
- Japanese Language Skills Development
- India Japan Act East Forum will be established to enhance connectivity and promote developmental projects in northeastern region of India.
- Arrangement between Postal departments for implementation of cool EMS service, through which fresh food can be sent from Japan to India in cool boxes for Japanese expatriates in India.
- India-Japan Investment Promotion Road map to facilitate Japanese investments in India.
- MoC between Japense Trade Ministry and Gujarat State on Japan-India special programme for Make In India in Mandal Bechraj-Khoraj.
- Civil Aviation
- Science and technology
- Life sciences and biotechnology.
- Sports
- India and Japan signed open sky arrangement to allow airlines from both countries to operate unlimited number of flights.
- Foundation stone of India’s first high-speed rail project (bullet train) project has been laid. This 508km-long Mumbai to Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) Project will be built at cost of Rs 1.10 lakh crore. It is expected to be completed by 2022. (It was recently advanced by year from earlier deadline of 2023). An INR 600 Crores high-speed rail training centre for first bullet train project will be set up in Vadodara (Gujarat), to become operational by December 2020.
- Japanese postal department released postage stamps on Indian Yoga Expert Mr.Bishnu Charan Ghosh and his family members.
- Joint Army Exercise of Pakistan and Russia, DRUZBA 2017 held in Russia.
- Lebanon approved country’s first animal welfare bill into law, to ensure that domestic and wild animals will be legally protected from abuse.
- London Administration cancelled License of Cab Aggregator Major Uber. Affecting 40,000 drivers using Uber in London.
- Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. signed MOU with Turkey’s Armagan family for acquiring 100% of Erkunt Traktor Sanay (4th largest tractor manufacturer in Turkey) for approx $70 Million.
- Mahindra & Mahindra and USA Based Ford Motor Company signed a MoU that ensures an alliance to explore electric vehicles, for three years.
- Middle asean Nation Tajikistan banned women from wearing veils and asked women to stick to traditional national clothes and culture.
- Ministry of External Affairs started Operation Insaniyat to provided assistance to Bangladesh in response to humanitarian crisis being faced by it due to large influx of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.
- National Highway Authority of India awarded its first international project in Myanmar to a joint venture of Punj Lloyd-Varaha, for upgradation of Yagyi-Kalewa section in Myanmar.
- National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog and International Road Federation (Geneva) signed Statement of Intent (SoI) to cooperate in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). ITS Policy will be covering Traffic Management, Parking Management, Electronic Enforcement of Traffic Rules and Regulations, Fleet Management and Monitoring, Innovation in field of ITS.
- Nepal began its first-ever survey to remeasure Mount Everest to check if Its height was altered by 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck in 2015.
- Official Height of Mt. Everest is 8,848 metres (29,029 feet), first recorded by an Indian survey in 1954.
- Nepal signed USD 635 million UN assistance package for 2018-2022 to lay out country’s development strategy for next 5 years. The package involves 26 individual UN agencies.
- New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) imposed fine of USD 225 million on Pakistan's Habib Bank Limited (HBL) for failure to comply with New York laws and regulations designed illicit financial transactions.
- North African country Tunisia abolished decades-old ban on Muslim women marrying non-Muslims.
- North Korea successfully tested a hydrogen bomb, placable on an intercontinental ballistic missile. It triggered a 6.3 magnitude earhquake in area, marking it biggest test so far.
- In Response, United Nations Security Council (UNSC) passed new sanctions against North Korea over its sixth and most powerful nuclear test. It was 9th sanctions resolution adopted by UNSC since 2006 over North Korea’s missile programs.
- Norway's sovereign wealth fund (Largest in world) just reached value of $1 trillion for the first time. It means $189,000 for everyone of 5.3 million Norwaighns. With stakes in over 9,000 companies, it owns 1.3 % of world's market capitalization and 2.3 % in Europe.
- Pakistan inaugurated It’s 5th nuclear power plant (C-4 plant) in Mianwali (Punjab). This 340 MW Chasma – IV (C – 4) nuclear power plant is developed in collaboration with China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).
- People’s Bank of China (PBC) banned raising funds through initial coin offerings (ICO), where unregulated means of crowd funding for project are used via use of cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin etc. Ownership or royalties of project is offered to investors in form of digital coins. It allows entrepreneurs create their own digital currencies and selling “coins” on web under ICO route, allowing them to raise millions of dollars quickly.
- President Ram Nath Kovind will make his first foreign trip to African Nations Ethiopia and Djibouti in October 2017.
- Qatar Airways became first in world to launch double beds in business class sections of Flights from London to Doha in Qatar, called Qsuites.
- Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is world’s 3rd biggest energy company behind Russian gas firm Gazprom and German utility E.ON, according to Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings.
- Indian Oil Corp (IOC) climbed to 7th position, Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) placed 11th and Coal India Ltd ranked 45.
- Russia and Iraq restored commercial airline services for first time since 2004.
- Russia had suspended flights to Iraq after 2003 US-led invasion pushed Iraq into war.
- Russia and USA space agencies (Roscosmos and NASA) will jointly build a deep space gateway as first astronaut-tended space station around Moon. It would help prepare for manned missions to deep space destinations including Mars.
- Russia launched world’s largest and most powerful icebreaker ship, Sibir. It is designed to transport cargo via Northern Sea Route in Arctic Ocean.
- Russia liquidated last arsenals of its chemical weapons, 3 years ahead of schedule (2020).
- Saudi Arabia and Britain signed framework deal for military cooperation, as Britain seeks to explore lucrative trade deals outside Europe after leaving European Union.
- Saudi Arabia issued a decree that allows women to drive cars. Women are now also allowed to enter national stadiums in national sports events.
- Saudi Arabia lifted ban on voice and video calling apps such as WhatsApp and Skype and will make them widely available to users, to improve business confidence as reduce dependence on oil revenues.
- Sweden hosted large scale war exercise named Aurora, with NATO.
- Tata Steel and Thyssenkrupp of Germany signed MoU for creating 50:50 Joint Venture as one of Europe's largest steel companies.
- Telecom services provider Bharti Airtel and SK Telecom of Korea partnered for leveraging the SK Telecom's expertise to build advanced telecom network in India.
- Three Indian entrepreneurs - Ratan Tata, Lakshmi Mittal and Vinod Khosla have been included in Forbes’s special list of world’s ‘100 Greatest Living Business Minds.
- Times World University Rankings 2018 -
- Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru retained top position among Indian Universities, although its global position fell to IISc 251-300 band. IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur are in 501-600 band, IIT Bombay in 351-400 club and IIT Kharagpur and IIT Roorkee retained their positions in 501-600 bracket.
- Top 10 - Oxford University (UK), Cambridge University (UK), California institute of Technology (USA), Stanford University (USA), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), Harvard University (USA), Princeton University (USA), Imperial College London (UK), University of Chicago (USA), ETH-Zurich (Switzerland).
- To expedite skill development in North East region of India, Singapore will set up a Skill Development Centre in the region.
- Turkey signed a deal with Russia to buy Advanced S-400 missile defence systems.
- Twitter announced test project allowing tweets to be expanded to 280 characters, double existing limit (140 Chars) in the latest effort to boost flagging growth at the social network.
- US Trade and Development Agency signed MOU with Airports Authority of India, to support a 20-year master plan aimed at expansion of operational capacities of Kolkata and Lucknow international airports.
- US and UAE Armies begun joint military exercise in Abu Dhabi, with name Iron Union 5.
- USA Army Opened Its First permanent base in Middle Eastern Nation Israel.
- USA President Donald Trump scrapped an amnesty programme introduced during Obama’s term that granted work permits to immigrants who arrived in the country illegally as Children. It is likely to impact over 800,000 undocumented workers including more than 7000 Indian-Americans.
- USA central bank fined global banking giant HSBC $175 million for failing to oversee foreign exchange traders who misused confidential client information and colluded with traders at competing banks. This action comes 2 months after Fed also fined BNP Paribas USD 246 million over similar violations.
- WHO released first tranche of emergency funding of $175,000 to provide lifesaving healthcare to vulnerable Rohingya muslims population in Bangladesh.
- World Bank allocated $8 billion for infrastructure projects under China’s Silk Road initiative.
- Purpose of Silk Road initiative is to create an economic corridor connecting China with Asia, Europe and the rest of world.
- Silk Road project has two components - Silk Road Economic Belt (land-based connectivity) and Maritime Silk Road (ocean based connectivity).
- World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) 2017-18 (137 Nations) -
- Top 5 - Switzerland (1st), United States (2nd), Singapore (3rd), Netherlands (4th) and Germany (5th)
- Bottom 5 - Mauritania (133), Liberia (134), Chad (135), Mozambique (136) Yemen (137)
- BRICS - China (27th), Russia (38th), India (40th), South Africa (61st) and Brazil (80th).
- Neighbours - Bangladesh (99), Nepal (88), Pakistan (115), Sri Lanka (85)
- World Health Organisation (WHO) released report Non-communicable Disease Progress Monitor 2017, as a measure of status of implementation of 19 indicators of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in WHO’s 194 Member States.
- Costa Rica and Iran are best performing countries, with each achieving 15 of 19 indicators. They are followed by Brazil, Bulgaria, Turkey and UK.
- World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2017 -
- India is third in world in number of nuclear reactors being installed with 6 reactors. China is leading at 20. Total operational units across the world are 53 currently.
- World trade in goods is estimated to grow at a higher 3.6 % in 2017, compared to earlier estimate of 2.4 %. This change was mainly due to intra-regional shipments picking up and a recovery in import demand in North America.
- World’s highest sandcastle (16.68 meters tall) built in German city of Duisburg, getting 14.84-metre sandcastle built in early 2017 by Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik.
- World’s largest airplane (by wingspan) Stratolaunch successfully completed its initial engine tests in USA, designed for launching for sending satellite-carrying rockets into low-Earth orbit. Its wingspan measures 118 m betwen ends. It weighs about 227,000 kg and can carry nearly 250,000 kg between two fuselages. It has operational range of approximately 2,000 nautical miles.
- 12th Edition of ASEAN Computer Emergency Response Team Incident Drill (ACID) held in Hanoi (Vietnam), amid growing cyber challenges witnessed in recent years.
- 3 day International Hindu Conference held in Kathmandu (Nepal), with theme Emerging spiritualism: Renaissance of Hinduism.
- 5th East Asia Summit Economic Ministers Meeting held in Pasay City (Philippines.
- 61st IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) General Conference held at Vienna (Austria). It was attended by Sekhar Basu (Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission & Secretary in Department of Atomic Energy) on India's Behalf.
- 70th Regional Committee Session of WHO South East Asia Region concluded in Male (Maldives). It called for complete Tuberculosis elimination by 2030.
- 7th ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Economic Ministers’ Meeting held in Seoul (South Korea) with Theme Innovative Partnership for Inclusive Prosperity.
- 9th BRICS Summit 2017 in Xiamen (China) with Theme BRICS: Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future. Documents signed -
- Strategic Framework of BRICS Customs Cooperation
- BRICS Action Plan for Innovation Cooperation(2017-2020)
- BRICS Action Agenda on Economic and Trade Co operation.
- MoU between BRICS Business Council and New Development Bank on Strategic Cooperation.
- Five banks of BRICS Nations (Brazilian Development Bank, Vnesheconombank, Export-Import Bank of India, China Development Bank and Development Bank of South Africa) established credit lines in national currencies and cooperate on credit ratings. Also, New Development Bank (NDB) approved 1.4 billion US dollar loans for sustainable development projects in India, Russia and China.
- China will give $76.4 million for a BRICS economic and technology cooperation plan, and another $4 million for projects at BRICS countries' New Development Bank.
- Conference on Sustainable landscapes and forest ecosystems: Theory to Practice held in New Delhi.
- External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj arrived in Russian port city of Vladivostok, to attend 3rd Eastern Economic Forum. Eastern Economic Forum includes representatives from Russia, Pacific Region and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
- First ever Mobile, Internet and Technology event in India - India Mobile Congress 2017 held at Pragati Maidan, Led by Department of Telecom and Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI),.
- India will conduct first BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise- 2017 (DMEx-2017) in October 2017 in New Delhi.
- India will host 11th World Congress on Adolescent Health in October 2017 with theme Investing in Adolescent Health : the Future is Now.
- Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan visited Astana (Kazakhstan) to co-chair 13th Meeting of Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC) with Kazakhstan.
- National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog in partnership with USA will host 8th annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES 2017) in Hyderabad (Telangana) in November 2017 with theme Women First, Prosperity for All. This is the first time GES is being held in South Asia.
- PM Narendra Modi inaugurated Rajaswa Gyan Sangam at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, organised by Central Board of Direct Taxes and Central Board of Excise and Customs.
- Second World Congress of Optometry began in Hyderabad (Telangana) with theme Accessible, quality vision and eye health.
- South Asian Women Development Forum (SAWDF) organized Across Barriers-International Business Women’s Summit at Kathmandu, (Nepal).
- 10th Medical Technology Conference organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi.
- 13th Formation Day of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) celebrated in New Delhi with theme School Safety.
- 3 Government PSUs - National Aluminium Company (NALCO), Hindustan Copper (HCL) and Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited (MECL) signed MoU to form a joint venture Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (Kabil)-
- KABIL will identify, explore, acquire, develop and process minerals overseas for commercial use and to meet domestic supply needs. It will deal with 12 strategic minerals that are not available in India or available in a very low quantity.
- 3rd India International Science Festival (IISF-2017) will be held in Chennai (Tamil Nadu) in October 2017, organised by Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) and Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA).
- 3rd Women of India Organic Festival held at Dilli Haat in New Delhi, aimed at promoting women entrepreneurs and farmers in organic sector.
- 600-year-old Walled City in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad has been formally accorded status of India’s first World Heritage City by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- Walled city was founded in 15th century by Ahmed Shah of Gujarat Sultanate, on eastern bank of Sabarmati River. It presents rich architectural heritage from sultanate period.
- It is India's first city to get World Heritage status, 3rd in Asia after Bhaktapur (Nepal) and Galle (Sri Lanka). India now has total 36 World Heritage Inscriptions 28 cultural, 7 natural and 1 mixed site.
- 6th Edition of 4-day international textile and apparel fair named VASTRA organized in Jaipur (Rajasthan).
- Bandhan Tod app launched by Bihar Government as a unique initiative of Gender Alliance’s strategy to end child marriage and dowry in state.
- Thaawarchand Gehlot, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment launched Divyang Sarathi mobile app for easy dissemination of information to ‘Divyangjans’.
- According to recently released SRS bulletin, India has registered a significant decline in Infant Mortality Rate (IMR). IMR has declined by 3 points (8% decline), from 37 per 1000 births in 2015 to 34 per 1000 births in 2016.
- Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority(APEDA) developed Hortinetmobile app for farmers to facilitate registration, testing and certification of certain fruits and vegetables.
- American e-commerce company Amazon opened its largest fulfillment center (FC) in India at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad (Telangana).
- Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu declared Friday as Day of Helping Hand, when he will meet with poor and underprivileged people and hear their grievances and try to resolve them.
- Andhra Pradesh Government announced new programme Jala Siriki Haarati, aimed at offering prayers to water bodies and to create awareness among public regarding water preservation.
- Andhra Pradesh Government declared 2017 as e-Pragati year, to promote real-time governance.
- Andhra Pradesh Government released People First mobile grievance redressal app, to enable people to register complaints about government services and schemes by dialing 1100.
- Andhra Pradesh Governmet announced that transgender community can avail government schemes and Andhra Pradesh will be declared ODF by March 2018.
- Andhra Pradesh government signed MoU with USA-based Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT)to build India’s first Hyperloop system, aimed at connecting Amaravati and Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh by covering 35 km in just 5 minutes.
- Andhra Pradesh state Government will build 5.4 lakh affordable houses in urban areas of State under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) in next 15 months.
- Archaeologists discovered an ancient Buddhist site dating back to 1st century AD, in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh.
- As per reports, Parali I island (Lakshadweep) has disappeared due to coastal erosion and another four such islands in Lakshadweep sea are shrinking fast.
- Assam Government extended term of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) and declared entire state a Disturbed Area for six more months. This is first time that a state government has extended AFSPA and Disturbed Area provision on its own. Previously, AFSPA provisions were always extended by Central Government.
- Assam government has set up a Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Cell for implementation of DBT across various schemes, to coordinate efforts at the state level in taking DBT initiative forward.
- Assam government signed MoU with Google India to take Internet connectivity to remote areas. Google will provide Internet connection to 26,000 villages and 1,500 tea garden areas to increase digital literacy. Gujarat government also signed MoU with Google for ‘Digital Gujarat’ movement.
- Assam government will provide skill development training to around 30,000 surrendered militants and over 24000 Assamese youth under Prime Minister Kaushal Vikas Yojna.
- Assam passed Industrial Disputes (Assam Amendment) Bill 2017 regarding lay off of employees. It enables employers to lay off up to 300 employees without prior permission from government. Government also increased compensation of a labourer from 15 days salary to up to 60 days salary, in case of lay off.
- Assam state Assembly passed PRANAM(Parental Responsibility And Norms for Accountability and Monitoring ) bill, making it mandatory for state government employees to take care of their parents and needy siblings. Assam is the first state to approve such a legislation. Government will deduct 10-15 % of salary of employee and give it to the parents for their survival, if not taken care by employee.
- Assam state government will set up a well-equipped skill city with a capacity of 10000 training seats in state, to give skill development training to 30000 former militants as announced earlier. Assam government will upgrade employment exchanges to Modern Career Centres.
- Ayurveda sytudents from across country have set a new Guinness World Record for maximum number of people receiving ‘nasya panchakarma’ treatment at 1st Rashtriya Ayurved Yuva Mahotsav organised by National Ayurveda Student Youth Association (NASYA) at National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA) in Jaipur.
- Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) signed MoU with Chinese gear maker ZTE to work on Pre5G and 5G wireless systems to make a virtual network architecture of a 5G ecosystem for research and commercialization in India.
- BSNL also signed MOU with Aeris Communications to provide packaged Internet of Things (IoT) solutions and services to small, medium businesses and public sector undertakings (PSUs) in India.
- Cabinet Committee of Security (CCS) approved implementation of umbrella scheme of Modernisation of Police Forces (MPF) for 2017 - 2020 It is biggest ever internal security scheme in country and has financial outlay of INR 25,060 crore out of which Central Government share will be Rs.18,636 crore and states’ share will be Rs.6,424 crores.
- Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved surveying 48,243 Line Kilometer (LKM) 2D seismic data for appraisal of Indian sedimentary basins where limited data is available.
- Sedimentary basin is a low area in the Earth’s crust, of tectonic origin, in which sediments accumulate. India has total 26 sedimentary basins covering area of 3.14 Million Sq Km (MSK). 48% of total sedimentary basin area (about 1.502 MSK) does not have adequate geo-scientific data.
- project will be implemented by Oil India Limited (OIL) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and is to be completed by 2019-20.
- Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) extended period Special Industry Initiative for J&K” (Sll J&K)- Udaan Scheme till December 2018. UDAAN Scheme is national integration scheme with goal to mainstream J&K youth with rest of country.
- Cell for IPR Promotions & Management (CIPAM) under Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (Ministry of Commerce and Industry) launched social media campaign to promote Indian Geographical Indications (GIs) with Has tag #LetsTalkIP, to make more people aware about importance of Intellectual Property Rights.
- A Geographical Indication is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin., eg. Darjeeling Tea, Mahabaleshwar Strawberry, Blue Pottery of Jaipur etc. GIs are important as they are an integral part of India’s rich culture and collective intellectual heritage.
- Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) launched monthly Jan Sampark program to enable public to interact with its officials to obtain information related to child adoption.
- Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) signed Agreement with Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru for Development of ground water flow models and preparation of aquifer management plans for parts of Karnataka.
- Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh launched Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Shram Anna Sahayata Yojna, under which nutritious meal will be provided to laborers at price of INR 5.
- Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board (CGECB) ordered closure of1200 MW thermal power plant of Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO) in Korba district, due t0 ash slurry water from damaged ash dam polluting water of a Belgiri nullah passing near plant that drains into Hasdeo river.
- Chhattisgarh High Court ordered state government to grant books and uniform instead of cash to Below Poverty Line (BPL) students studying in private schools under Right to education, in place of current arrengement of prioviding INR 650 per year as cash grant.
- Dabur India has tied up with e-commerce Firm Amazon for online Ayurveda marketplace which will house all ayurvedic brands and products of country.
- Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion organized second State Startup Conference in New Delhi.
- Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) will procure 10,000 electric vehicles (EVs) from Tata Motors, as world’s largest single electric vehicle procurement. Tata Motors quoted lowest price of Rs 10.16 lakh exclusive of GST in the competitive bidding. Procurement will be in Phases - 500 e-cars in first phase in November 2017 and remaining 9,500 EVs in second phase.
- FSSAI CEO Pawan Kumar Agarwal inaugurated Nestle Food Safety Institute in Manesar (Gurugram), as first such institute in India. Nestle already runs a similar Institute each in China and Lausanne, Switzerland.
- First National Canine Seminar organized by National Security Guard (NSG) in Manesar (Haryana).
- First e-court of Jammu and Kashmir insugurated in Srinagar, as first paperless court of Jammu and Kashmir. It will use digitised case records, thus paper usage and space requirements would be reduced to a great extent.
- Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) launched FoSCoRIS as an online platform to bring in transparency in food safety inspection and sampling. It will help in verifying compliance of food safety and hygiene standards by food businesses as per government norms.
- Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar launched Mission-24, a programme to improve quality of life in Mumbai’s poorest wards through collaborative efforts in next 24 months.
- Governmen declared urban Maharashtra open defecation free (ODF) under he Swacch Bharat Mission. Maharashtra is third big state after Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh to become Open Defecation Free in urban areas.
- Government allowed import of 3 lakh tonnes of raw sugar at a concessional duty of 25% import duty under Open General License (Tariff Rate Quota).
- Government approved merger and modernization of 17 Government of India Press Units (GIPs) into 5 GIPs located at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Minto Road and Mayapuri in New Delhi, Nashik (Maharashtra) and Temple Street (Kolkata, West Bengal).
- Government approved revamped Khelo India programme for period 2017-18 to 2019-20, aimed at mainstreaming sport as tool for development.
- Pan India Sports Scholarship scheme - It will cover 1,000 most talented young athletes each year, with Each athlete receiving annual scholarship of INR 5 lakh for 8 consecutive years.
- Sports Universities - 20 universities across country will be promoted as hubs of sporting excellence.
- National physical fitness drive - It will cover about 20 Crore children in age group of 10-18 and will support their fitness related activities.
- Government constituted High Level 5G India 2020 Forum to take on the global tech powers, constiting of high profile Goverment representatives and domain experts.
- Government has undertaken drive to rationalize 38 Labour Acts by framing 4 labour codes viz Code on Wages, Code on Social Security, Code on Industrial Relations and Code on occupational safety, health and working conditions. It will ease up the process by synchronizing varius labour Laws.
- Code on Wages Bill 2017 was introduced in Lok Sabha recently and It repeals 4 existing Laws - Minimum Wages Act 1948, Payment of Wages Act 1936, Equal Remuneration Act 1976 and Payment of Bonus Act 1965.
- Government released Swachta Ranking 2017 of Higher Educational Institutions -
- University - O. P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat (Haryana)
- Colleges - Kongu Arts and Science College, Erode (Tamilnadu)
- Technical institutions - Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore (Tamilnadu)
- Government institutions - G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar (Uttarakhand)
- Government ruled that all mobile phones unlinked with Aadhaar numbers will be deactivated after February 2018.
- Government will provide up to Rs 60000 crore to Maharashtra in next 2 years for river-linking and irrigation projects to tackle the recurring water crisis.
- Government will safeguard fast-eroding Majuli island in Assam (world’s largest riverine island) using research carried out on floating Brahmaputra Biodiversity and Biology Boat (B4) labs along Brahmaputra River.
- Government's Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) issued alert on spread of new malware “Locky Ransomware” that can lock computers and demand ransom for unlocking them.
- Gujarat Government launched Gyakunj e-class project aimed at producing world-class students through interactive e-classes. Outlay of project is 36 Crores and 550 schools are covered In first phase.
- Gujarat Government, Gujarat Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) and 3 leading dairies signed MOU to save children of Anganwadi from malnutrition. Nutritive food will be provided to over 42 lakh children of 53029 Anganwadies, pregnant-mothers, foster mothers and young girls under Take Home Ration scheme.
- Gujarat will become first big state to use Electronic Voting Machine (EVMs) equipped with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) in coming Assembly elections to make election process more transparent.
- Himachal CM Virbhadra Singh inaugurated first phase of 65 MW Kashang Hydel Project in tribal Kinnaur district. It is a 195 MW project ( three units of 65 MW each).
- Himachal Pradesh Goverment will provide monthly honorarium of INR 2500 to 'Jal Rakshaks'. Additionally, Qualified Jal Rakshaks with ITI diplomas will be given quota for pump operators and fitters and Those with matric and 12 years of experience will be inducted against post of Chowkidar and pump attendants.
- Himachal Pradesh government launched first-of-its-kind in Nation electric bus service in ecologically fragile 51 km – long stretch between Manali and Rohtang Pass.
- Home Minister Rajnath Singh and UP CM Yogi Adityanath flagged off commercial operatios of Lucknow Metro, on 8.5-km corridor from Transport Nagar to Charbagh.
- Home Minister Rajnath Singh launched Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour (PENCIL) Portal at National Conference on Child Labour organised in New Delhi, aiming to achieve target of child labour free society
- Home Ministry opened two Zorinpui and Kawrpuichhuah immigration check posts along borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh Respectively.
- Home Ministry will soon grant citizenship to nearly 1 lakh Chakma and Hajong refugees, who came from erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in 1960s and are living in northeast. Chakmas and Hajongs were residents of Chittagong Hill Tracts in erstwhile East Pakistan and had fleed after their land was submerged by Kaptai dam project in 1960s. Chakmas are Buddhists by faith and Hajongs are Hindus.
- Hurun India Rich List 2017 -
- Mukesh Ambani retains the richest Indian title for sixth year (worth of 257,900 crores).
- Patanjali Ayurved CEO Acharya Balkrishna named among India’s top 10 richest people for first time, with wealth of over 70000 crores.
- India started producing Civet Coffee as most expensive coffee in worldm in Karnataka.
- It is made from feces of a species of cat called ‘Civet Cat’.
- One kilogram of this coffee sells for Rs.8000 in India and at Rs.20,000 to Rs.25,000 in abroad.
- Indian Army and Jamia Millia Islamia University (New Delhi) parttnered for academic collaboration, technical advancement and progression of Army Personnel.
- Indian Institute of Management Lucknow (IIM-L) and Yes Bank tied up, aiming to enhance Climate Literacyamong people.
- Indian Railways permitted passengers to show m-Aadhaar, digital version of Aadhaar card, as proof of identity in any reserved class. For this, Passenger has to open the app and enter password to show the card.
- Indian Railways will introduce 100 additional local train services on its Mumbai suburban network of Western Railway (32 services) and Central Railway zones (68 services), giving major boost to suburban rail services in Mumbai area.
- India’s Zero Hunger Programme through interventions in farm sector will be launched on occasion of World Food Day (October 16, 2017). It consists of organisations of farming system for nutrition, setting up genetic gardens for biofortified plants and initiation of ‘Zero Hunger’ training.
- A genetic garden for biofortified plants contains germplasm of naturally biofortified crops through plant breeding. It has plants and crops that help supplement micro-nutrient deficiencies, including iron, zinc, vitamin A and iodine among others.
- Programme will be launched in 3 districts – Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh), Koraput (Odisha) and Thane (Maharashtra).
- India’s first Centre for Animal Law has been established at NALSAR University of Law (Hyderabad), inaugurated by Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi. It will create curriculum on animal welfare laws, including developing topics for research.
- India’s first advanced virology laboratory inaugurated at Anjali Chatterjee Regional Research Institute for Homoeopathy in Kolkata (West Bengal), for developing new drugs and technologies in Homoeopathy to combat emerging challenges of viral diseases.
- Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) registered National E-Governance Services Limited (NeSL) as first Information Utility (IU) under IBBI (Information Utilities) Regulations 2017. S. Ramann is appointed as Managind Director of NESL.
- International NGO Safe Water Network partnered with Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to launch water ATMs, providing safe water access in Hyderabad. The initiative is supported by USAID under Urban WaSH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) Alliance Partnership and funded by Honeywell India.
- Jammu and Kashmir government inaugurated 2nd International Yoga Festival and International Yoga Sports Championship 2017.
- Jharkhand Government launched Shaheed Gram Vikas Yojana, aimed at developing villages of freedom fighters in state.
- Karnataka Department of Information Technology (IT) and Biotechnology (BT) signed MoU with Finland, called Karnataka–Finland Innovation Corridor.
- Karnataka Government launched Nava Karnataka 2025 or Vision 2025 for charting out a development roadmap for next seven years, covering 13 sectors identified for rapid development.
- Karnataka became first state to roll out an Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy that looks not only at boosting sales of Electrical Vehicles, but also setting up charging infrastructure and special manufacturing zones.
- Karnataka government merged existing 7 health schemes to launch a unified health scheme Arogya Bhagya, aiming at Treatment First and Payment Next.
- Karnataka government will provide free eduation for all girls from Class 1 to graduation level in all public and aided private schools and colleges from next academic year.
- Kerala Tourism department launched campaign called Yalla Kerala (Yalla means lets go). to target tourists from Arab Nations (Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar).
- Kerala will soon open India’s first transgender-exclusive clinics at government medical colleges across state.
- Kochi (Kerala) will host 5th Coastal Shipping and Inland Water Transportation Business Summit 2017.
- Maharashtra Government and Mother Dairy Fruit and Vegetables (subsidiary of National Dairy Development Board) signed lease agreement to set up a state-of-the-art milk and milk products processing plant.
- Maharashtra Government launched Maharashtra Mission 1 Million initiative under which over 10 lakh students across state will be encouraged to play football.
- Minister for Electronics & Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad launched nation-wide hackathon #OpenGovDataHack, As part of Startup Eco-system Development program.
- Minister of Railways announced various decisions for Transformation of Indian Railways -
- Highest priority to passenger safety - Eliminating 5000 unmanned crossings by 2018, Shift to LHB coaches from ICF coaches, Use of MTRC (Mobile Train Radio Communication) and TPWS (Train Protection & Warning System). RPF staff will not be allowed to check tickets, which is the function of TTEs.
- Transforming through technology - Use of mobile apps for monitoring passenger services, wi-fi connectivity and increase speed of around 700 trains, GPS based tracking of rail movement.
- Energy efficiency - Complete electrification by 2022 to save INR 10,000 crores.
- Faster Redevelopment of stations
- Railway Stations with less trains to be developed as Multi-utility centres
- Focus on welfare of field staff - Improving working conditions of Group D employees that work hard is to ensure track safety.
- Railways will work with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to devise safety mechanisms to make travel by trains safer.
- Minister of State (IC) for AYUSH, Shripad Naik inaugurated Regional Research Institute of Homoeopathy (RRI) in Agartala (Tripura).
- Ministry of Civil Aviation issued rules to tackle misbehaviour by passengers, by forming national No Fly List of such unruly passengers. DGCA revised relevant sections of Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR), in accordance with Tokyo Convention 1963. It defines three categories of unruly behavior -
- Level 1 - Behaviour that is verbally unruly, calls for debarment upto 3 months
- Level 2 - Physical unruliness and can lead to debarment for upto 6 months
- Level 3 - Life-threatening behaviour would attract minimum 2 years ban.
- Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) launched Wood is Good Campaign under Partnership for Land Use Science (Forest-Plus). It was launched during conference on Sustainable landscapes and forest ecosystems: Theory to Practice held in New Delhi.
- Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change notified Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules 2016, that will replace Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules 2010 to address issues related to conservation and development of wetlands in a comprehensive manner. Highlights of new rules -
- Wetlands shall be conserved in accordance with the principle of ‘wise use’ for maintaining their ecological integrity.
- Rules prohibit any diversion to natural water inflows and outflows of wetland.
- Wetland Authority will be set up by State Governments or UTs (headed by State Chief Minister) to deal with wetland conservation, regulation and management.
- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched 2 new free contraceptives Antara and Chayya in 10 states under Mission ParivarVikas. Antara is injectable contraceptive (effective for 3 months) where Chayya is contraceptive pill (effective for 1 week).
- Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises extended Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) - India scheme by 6 months to promote electric and hybrid vehicles. Phase 1 was effective from April 2015 to March 2017, but received 6 month extension till September 2017. Now it has been further extended till up to March 31, 2018.
- Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas launched country-wide Pradhan Mantri LPG Panchayat scheme to distribute LPG connections among rural areas where conventional fuel is used for domestic purposes.
- Ministry of Science & Technology launched Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhayay Vigyan Gram Sankul Pariyojana to implement appropriate S&T interventions for sustainable development through cluster approach in Uttarakhand.
- Under This, Department of Science and Technology (DST) will adopt few clusters of villages in Uttarakhand and transform them to become self-sustainable in time bound manner.
- Ministry of Shipping renamed Kandla Port Trust (Gujarat) as Deendayal Port Trust, using powers conferred on it under Indian Ports Act 1908.
- Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation constituted task force for speedy implementation of various ongoing Namami Gange programme.
- Ministry of Women and Child Development held first National Conference on Mission Mode to address Under-Nutrition in country in New Delhi, keeping in mind goal of Malnutrition Free India-2022.
- Music video prepared by Telangana Jagruthi to celebrate 9 day Bathukamma festival has been released.
- NBCC obtained license by World Trade Centre (New York) to develop a commercial project as ‘World Trade Centre’ at Nauroji Nagar in New Delhi .This project would be completed by 2020.
- NITI Aayog launched National Nutrition Strategy aimed at Kuposhan Mukt Bharat (terminating malnutrition), by bringing nutrition to center-stage of National Development Agenda.
- National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute signed MoU with Ludhiana based Bonn Food Industries to promote coloured wheat with antioxidant qualities beneficial for control of diabetes, cholesterol and obesity.
- National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog’s SATH (Sustainable Action for Transforming Human capital) Program was launched in Assam. SATH program aims to provide structured support to Assam in identifying key health priorities and implement solutions towards transforming the health and improving the well-being of people of state.
- National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) signed MoU with Andhra Pradesh Innovation Society (APIS) to encourage start-up in manufacturing & technology driven sectors.
- Nationwide health campaign to sensitise women about early screening and the preventive care for cancer has been launched with Theme Nurturing the Nurturer. It is launched by FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) in partnership with Apollo Hospitals.
- Newton will be India’s official entry for the Best Foreign Film category at Oscars 2018, starring Raj Kumar Rao and directed by Amit Masurkar.
- It was chosen by Film Federation of India’s selection committee headed by Telugu producer C V Reddy.
- North East Calling festival held in New Delhi, aimed at increasing investment opportunities in North East.
- North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) will commision important hydro-electric projects in Arunachal Pradesh in 2018 - 600 MW Kameng Hydro Electric Project and 110 MW Pare Hydro Electric Project.
- Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik states 4th Government medical college, as Saheed Laxman Nayak Medical College and Hospital (SLNMCH) in tribal-dominated koraput district of southern Odisha.
- Odisha Government launched Sampurna (Sishu Abond Matru Mrityuhara Purna Nirakaran Abhijan) Yojnafor pregnant women. Under this, government will provide INR 1000 as transport cost for pregnant women to travel to hospital.
- Odisha approved establishment of Handlooms and Handicrafts Development and Promotion Council in capital Bhubaneswar, to improve growth of handlooms and handicrafts sectors.
- Odisha government approved launching first Odia language university for post-graduation in literature and linguistics among other subjects. It will be established in Bhubaneswar and will also carve out ways to make Odia script more adaptable to technology.
- Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) discovered oil in WO-24-3 well located west of Mumbai High fields in Arabian Sea, estimated to hold reserve of 20 million tonnes. Mumbai Oil Field currently produces 205,000 barrels of oil per day (just over 10 million tonnes per annum).
- PM Narendra Modi launched Sardar Sarovar Dam, (world’s second biggest and India's Biggest Dam) on the river Narmada in Gujarat.
- It is 1.2-km-long and 163 metres deep. It will irrigate over 18 lakh hectares in state.
- Before this, Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani had flagged off a statewide Narmada Mahotsav Yatra from Surendranagar district.
- Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharastra and Rajasthan will receive water and electricity supplied from dam.
- Grand Coulee Dam in USA is world's biggest Dam.
- PM Narendra Modi released a postage stamp on different aspects of Lord Ram’s life at historic Tulsi Manas Mandir Varanasi.
- Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) enhanced upper age limit for joining National Pension Scheme (NPS) to 65 years (from 60 currently).
- President Ram Nath Kovind launched nation-wide campaign Swachhata Hi Sewa from Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh).
- President Ramnath Kovind inaugurated Shirdi airport in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra and flagged off inaugural flight of Alliance Air from Shirdi to Mumbai.
- President Ramnath Kovind laid foundation stone for link-4 of Saurashtra Narmada Avataran Irrigation Scheme (SAUNI) Yojana .
- SAUNI is multipurpose project that aims to solve water problems of parched Saurashtra region of Gujarat. It was launched by PM Narendra Modi during his tenure as Gujarat CM.
- It aims to fill up 115 major dams in Saurashtra by diverting overflow of water from Sardar Sarovar Dam on Narmada River.
- Its unique feature is making pipe canals instead of conventional open canals which led to no acquisition of land and less loss of water.
- It has network of canals comprising 1,125-km network of pipelines that will help to channel water into farms.
- Puducherry Government banned use of plastic packaging materials of less than 51 microns as these were found to be injurious to health.
- Railway board ruled that passengers in reserved coaches can only sleep between 10 pm and 6 am to allow others to sit in seats for rest of the time (earlier 9 pm and 6 am).
- Rajasthan government announced Rs 20000 crore farm-loan waiver and waive as it agreed to waive of loans for farmers up to INR 50000.
- Ram Vilas Paswan, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution launched Web Portal of Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) & Electronic Negotiable Warehouse Receipt (e-NWR) System
- e-NWRs would have no chances of any tempering, mutilation, fudging, loss or damage and with no possibility of any multiple financing.
- e-NWRs will save expenditure in logistics as stocks could be traded through multiple buyers without physical movement and can be even split for partial transfer or withdrawal.
- Reliance Energy launched digital assistance robot ELEKTRA, that provides automated responses to customers for their queries and requests.
- Restaurant discovery and food delivery firm Zomato acquired logistics startup Runnr.
- Sep 25, 2017 - Birth Anniversary of Social Reformer Deendayal Upadhyaya. Known for his role in shaping up present day Bharatiya Janata Party. Uttar Pradesh government released 100 inmates from various jails of state on this occasion. PM Narendra Modi launched SAUBHAGYA scheme On this occasion. With details -
- Saubhagya (Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana) aims at bringing electricity for every household in country by March 31, 2019. No price will be charged for the poor to get an electricity connection and the government will bear expected INR 16,320 crores cost of giving electricity connections to the 4 crore households in country. Electricity connections will be given to APL (Above Poverty Line) families for Rs 500, which will be payable in 10 equal monthly instalments.
- PM Narendra Modi also inaugurated Deendayal Hastkala Sankul trade facilitation centre and Crafts Museum for handicrafts at Varanasi. It will facilitate weavers/artisans/exporters in promotion of handlooms and handicrafts in domestic and international markets.
- He also flagged off Varanasi-Vadodara as country’s third Mahamana Express.
- Seven North-East Indian states will launch Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) to focus on select urban areas and other pockets where immunization coverage has been low. Under it, Government aims to reach every child under 2 years and pregnant women with all available vaccines under Universal Immunization Programme by 2018.
- Suzuki Motors will invest over INR 1150 crores along with Japanese partners Toshiba and Denso to set up India’s first lithium-ion battery facility in Gujarat.
- Telangana Forest Department re-introduced endangered species mouse deer in forests of Nallamalla in Amrabad Tiger Reserve (ATR) at Nehru Zoological Park (Hyderabad).
- Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recommended delicensing of chunk of spectrum in few bands to facilitate smooth roll-out of machine-to-machine (M2M) communications.
- Unlike person-to-person (P2P) communication, M2M technologies involve communication between two devices. It acts as basis for automated information exchange between machines and enables wired and wireless devices to talk to each other using sensors.
- M2M communications can be deployed in new-age infrastructure projects and various industry verticals such as smart cities, smart grids, smart homes, smart transportation and smart heath sectors.
- Telecom equipment provider Vihaan Networks Limited (VNL) signed MoU with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to launch Relief 123 service to provide disaster management in India. Relief 123 service is an integrated disaster response solution for first responders and public safety agencies.
- Traditional Bonderam festival held in Divar Island of Goa.
- Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari launched fleet of 1000 E-rickshaws in Gurugram named SmartE. These e-rickshaws were manufactured in India and are fitted with GPS and tracking system.
- Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED) signed MoU with e-commerce firm Amazon for selling tribal products online, to promote various tribal products. TRIFED already has tied-up with Snapdeal.
- Tripura became first state to set up family welfare district committees, to deal with fake and biased complaints by women against their husbands and in-laws.
- Union Minister Jitendra Singh inaugurated first ‘Pension Adalat’ in India Held in Delhi.
- University Grants Commission (UGC) launched 90 days application process for higher education institutes (public / private) seeking institutions of eminence status, aiming to bring more Indian higher education institutions to get into top 100 global rankings in coming years. Shortlisting will be completed by March-April 2018.
- Eligible Institutions will be Top 50 of National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings, those securing ranks among Times Higher Education World University Rankings, Shanghai Ranking Academic Ranking of World Universities or QS University Rankings.
- 20 Institutions of eminence will be selected (10 public and 10 private, will get provision of INR 10,000 crore over 10 years and will be free from usual regulatory mechanism to choose their autonomous path to become institutions of global repute.
- Vanlalawmpuii Chawngthu became first woman minister in Mizoram in 30 years (since 1987 state assembly elections).
- Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu laid foundation stone for Ranchi Smart City, tagged as country’s first ‘green-field’ smart city. It is coming up on 656 acres of Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC) land which would be equipped with severa advance tech features..
- West Bengal government cleared a proposal to rename state as Bangla and sent a proposal to Centre for approval. Note that WB government had earlier too sent a proposal for change of name, but it was rejected by central government.
- World Quality Congress (WQC) ranked Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) security at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) in Mumbai has been recognised as best service in this domain.
- Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) published first ever exhaustive compendium of animal species in Indian Sundarban and threats it faces, titled Fauna of SundarbanBiosphere Reserve. As per publication, ZSI estimates that there are 2626 of animal species in sunderbans.
- Sundarbans is a vast forest in coastal region of Bay of Bengal. it was recognised in 1997 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is Located in delta region of Padma, Meghna and Brahmaputra river basins.
- American astronaut Peggy Whitson returned to earth after 288-day long mission in space. She now holds record as oldest female astronaut in history of space exploration and record for most spacewalks by a woman.
- Arjan Singh , The Sole Marshal of Indian Air Force (IAF) passed away. He was granted honorary rank of Marshal (highest IAF rank attainable).
- Arunachal Pradesh's serving Health and Family Welfare Minister Jomde Kena passed away.
- Ashish Kashyap resigned as President and Co-founder of Travel Major MakeMyTrip
- Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko visited India, marking 25 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between Belarus and India. India and Belarus signed 10 Cooperation agreements during this visit. MOUs Signed for cooperation in Oil and Gas, Agricultural Research and Education, culture, Sports, Vocational Education and Training, Potash Exploration and Scientific Research.
- Bollywood Actor Salman Khan received a Global Diversity Award at Britain’s House of Commons.
- Brian Acton, co-founder of WhatsApp resigned from Whatsapp to start a non-profit venture of his own.
- Dr. KS Chugh, Noted as father of nephrology in India has passed away.
- Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Salahuddin Rabbani Visited India and signed 4 agreements. He participated in 2nd India-Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Council held in New Delhi.
- French businesswoman and chief of of cosmetics giant L’Oreal, Liliane Bettencourt passed away. She is world’s richest woman with net worth $39.5 billion.
- Iceland Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson resigned, paving way for new elections to be held on November 4, 2017.
- Indian PM Narendra Modi Visited Myanmar, After attending 9th BRICS Summit in Xiamen (China). Several MOUs were signed -
- Maritime Security Cooperation.
- Cultural Exchange Programme for 2017-2020.
- Enhancing Cooperation of Upgradation of Women’s Police Training Centre at Yamethin, Myanmar.
- Sharing White Shipping Information between Navies.
- Technical Agreement for providing Coastal Surveillance System.
- MoU on Cooperation in Medical Products Regulation.
- Exchange of Letter for Extension of MoU on establishment of MIIT India-Myanmar Center for Enhancement of IT-Skill.
- Cooperation in Election Commissions and Press Councils of Both nations.
- Indian Police Service Officer Aparna Kumar became first Indian woman to scale Mount Manaslu (Nepal), which is the 8th highest mountain peak in the world (8156 metres).
- Infosys Senior Vice President Sanjay Rajagopalan resigned from his post.
- Lok Sabha MP and former Union Minister (Minister of state for Tourism in 2009 - 12), Sultan Ahmed passed away.
- Mark Beaumont (UK) broke world record for cycling around the world as He arrived in Paris 1 day ahead of schedule. He cycled 18,000-miles in 79 days.
- Norwegian Nobel Institute announced that Nobel Peace prize awarded to Myanmar’s Aung Sang Suu Kyi cannot be revoked, as demanded by An online petition signed by over 386,000 people on Change.org.
- Petition calls for revocation of Nobel Peace Prize conferred on Suu Kyi in 1991, over persecution of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims.
- Noted American Actor Frank Vincent passed away.
- Noted Indian Actor of American Descent Tom Alter Passed away.
- Noted Kannada actor RN Sudarshan passed away.
- Noted Marathi poet and activist Shirish Pai passed away.
- Noted Pulitzer-prize winning poet John Ashbery passed away.
- Prince Charles became longest-serving Prince of Wales, getting past Queen’s Victoria’s son Albert who went on to become King Edward VII after holding title of Prince of Wales for over 59 years.
- SEBI Chairman Ajay Tyagi is named 7th among top 10 regulators in world, as per Worlds Most Influential People in Market Structure report (also known as The Exchange Invest 1000 (EI1000)) by Patrick Young & Exchange Invest.
- List is topped by European Unions Commissioner (Competition) Margrethe Vestager.
- Saint Teresa (Mother Teresa) has been declared as co-patron of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Calcutta, 131 years after St Francis Xavier was declared as first patron.
- Senior Supreme Court Lawyer and Constitutional expert PP Rao passed away.
- Sri Lankan External Affairs Minister Tilak Marapana visited India.
- Tourism Australia appointed Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra as first Indian woman Ambassador to encourage Indians to visit Australia. This panel includes people like Chef Sanjeev Kapoor and commentator Harsha Bhogle.
- Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu released Commemorative coins of INR 100 and 10 denominations on occasion of 101st Birth Centenary of noted Carnatic musician MS Subbulakshmi.
- She was first musician to be awarded Bharat Ratna (in 1998). She was also first Indian musician to receive Ramon Magsaysay award (1974) and first Indian musician to perform at UN General Assembly. UN issued stamp In 2016, to honour MS Subbulakshmi.
- Visits from India -
- Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa visited Australia and USA.
- Minister for Commerce and Industry, Suresh Prabhu visited South Korea to participate in the 7th Asia-Europe (ASEM) Economic Ministers meeting.
- Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan visited Kazakhstan to co-chair the 13th meeting of the India-Kazakhstan Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC).
- Maharashtra government signed MoU with South Korea for increasing co-operation in several infrastructure projects, during CM Devendra Fadnavis's visit to South Korea.
- Visits to India -
- Tin Aung San, Navy Chief of Myanmar.
- Minister of Trade of Indonesia, Enggartiasto Lukita.
- US Secretary of Defense James Mattis.
- Abdullah Abdullah, Chief Executive of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. He inaugurated first ever India, US and Afghanistan joint trade and investment show in Delhi.
- World’s oldest person Violet Mosse-Brown from Jamaica has died at age of 117.
- Yesteryear Bollywood actress Shakila passed away.
- A new species of non-venomous aquatic snake named Aquatic Rhabdops has been described as new species from northern Western Ghats in Maharashtra, Goa and North Karnataka. Earlier this species was considered as variant of Olive Forest Snake, first described in 1863.
- According to researchers from University of Southampton (UK), extreme global warming event named Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) that occured 56 million years ago was driven by massive CO2 emissions from volcanoes during formation of North Atlantic Ocean.
- This caused doubling of CO2 in less than 25 thousand years because of CO2 emissions from volcanoes. PETM was most rapid and extreme natural global warming event of last 66 million years and lasted for around 150 thousand years. It increased global temperatures by at least 5 degrees Celsius.
- As per Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA)'s study titled Thresholds of catastrophe in the Earth System, Earth’s sixth mass extinction may become a reality by 2100 due to increasing carbon pressure on oceans.
- In past 540 million years, Earth has seen 5 mass extinction events. By 2100, about 310 gigatons of carbon will have been added to oceans, a potential 'tipping point' for ecological disaster.
- Bengaluru-based biotech startup Bugworks Research became India’s and Asia’s first to receive international CARB-X (Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator) grant for its antibiotic research and development.
- CARB-X is an international partnership set up in 2016 to focus on innovations to improve diagnosis and treatment of drug-resistant infections. It grew out of Barack Obama’s 2015 Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria (CARB) initiative.
- Breakthrough Listen project detected 15 Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) coming from a dwarf galaxy about 3 million light years away from earth, with help of Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in West Virginia.
- FRB is brief, bright pulse of radio emission from distant galaxies. It was first detected in 2007 with help of Parkes Telescope in Australia.
- CSIR scientists developed an ultra-thin wireless device that mimics plant leaves to produce hydrogen fuel using water and sunlight, paving way for clean energy for powering eco-friendly cars in future.
- At present, hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels by steam reforming. In this process large amount of CO2 is emitted. This new green method of generating Hydrogen from Water may be a great reform in coming times.
- When visible light strikes semiconductors, electrons move in one direction and produce electric current. The current almost instantaneously splits water into hydrogen making it one of cleanest forms of fuel as its main byproduct is water.
- Department of Science and Technology (DST) will fund a project to develop quantum computers in order to tap into next big advance in computing technology.
- Quantum computer uses principles of quantum physics to increase computational power beyond attainable limits of traditional computer. It employs complex principles of quantum mechanics to store information in ‘qubits’ (quantum bit) instead of the typical binary ‘bits’ of 1 and 0.
- ISRO’s Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) completed 3 years in Martian orbit, already having outlived its original lifespan. Mangalyaan was launched on board of PSLV C25 rocket on November 5, 2013 and entered Mars orbit on September 24, 2014.
- Indonesian scientists from Lambung Mangkurat University found world's smallest squirrel in Borneo rain forest, named Bormean pigmy. It is 73 mm long and weighs about 17 grams.
- International Astronomical Union (IAU) named 2 mountain ranges on icy dwarf planet Pluto as Tenzing Montes and Hillary Montes, after Tenzing (Nepal) Norgay and Edmund Hillary (New Zealand) who were first mountaineers to reach summit of Mount Everest in 1953. These are among 14 other names officially approved for naming 14 geographical features on Pluto.
- International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has downgraded conservation status of snow leopard from “endangered” to “vulnerable”, that was continuing since 1972.
- Species are endangered if they are fewer than 2,500 with high rate of decline. Vulnerable Species are those with population under 10,000 and declining at rate of 10% over 3 generations.
- NASA’s $3.9 bn Cassini spacecraft ended its 20-year-long journey after Plunging into Saturn’s atmosphere. Cassini's mission to Saturn began in 1997, reaching it in 2004.
- NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured images of 2 significant Solar Flares emitted by Sun, powerful bursts of radiation classified as X2.2 flare and 2nd is X9.3 flare.
- X9.3 flare was the largest flare in the current solar cycle which began in December 2008 and heading towards 'Solar Minimum'.
- Solar Minimum is such phase of the solar cycle when these eruptions on the sun are increasingly rare, but they can be intense.
- NASA’s asteroid-chasing spacecraft Osiris-Rex (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer) successfully swung by Earth to put it on desired trajectory towards near earth asteroid Bennu using Earth’s gravity.
- OSIRIS-REx mission was launched in September 2016 for studying 101955 Bennu, a carbonaceous asteroid as NASA’s first asteroid sampling mission.
- Researchers discovered a new species of edible freshwater fish while exploring Pampa river in Pathanamthitta in Kerala. Newly found fish could possibly be farmed on a commercial scale. It has been named Labeo filiferus (L.filiferus) and belongs to Labeo genus.
- Scientists at University of California (USA) identified 27 distinct types of human emotions, Instead of earlier of just 6 possible emotions - happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, fear and disgust.
- Scientists discovered an underwater natural city built by octopuses and named it as Octlantis, in Australia. Octlantis was found where octopuses were found gathering for fights in 2009.
- Scientists for first time observed Optical polarisation phenomenon (polarised light emitted by rapidly rotating stars), using High Precision Polarimetric Instrument (HIPPI).
- It was predicted by Indian astrophysicist and Nobel laureate Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar in 1946.
- Optical polarisation phenomenon is a measure of the orientation of the oscillations of a light beam to its direction of travel.
- HIPPI was used to detect polarised light from Regulus, one of brightest stars in night sky about 79 light years away. It was observed that Regulus is rotating so quickly with a spin rate of 96.5% of angular velocity (approximately 320 kilometres per second).
- Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize for Physics with William A. Fowler for his theoretical studies of physical processes of importance to structure and evolution of stars.
- Scientists from Brown University (USA) created first map of water trapped in uppermost layer of Moon’s soil, using NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper onboard of India’s Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft. Map builds on initial discovery of water and related molecule – hydroxyl (consists 1 atom each of hydrogen and oxygen) in lunar soil in 2009.
- Scientists from Cardiff University (UK) discovered a new way to produce methanol from methane using oxygen from the air. Methanol is an important chemical often used as fuel in vehicles. New technique uses freely available air, inexpensive chemicals and an energy efficient methanol production process.
- Scientists from University of Manchester (UK) created world’s first molecular robot - millionth of a millimetre in size. It is made up of just 150 carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen atoms which are basic building blocks required to form molecules. Such molecular robots can be used for medical purposes, advanced manufacturing processes and even building molecular factories and assembly lines.
- Scientists successfully detected gravitational waves for 4 time coming from merger of 2 massive black holes. It was for first time, these waves were simultaneously detected by US-based Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) and Italy-based Virgo detectors. First 2 detections were made in September and December 2015 and 3rd time it was detected in January 2017.
- US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) approved a new leukemia treatment, called Kymriah. Each dose of Kymriah contains patient's own immune cells that are genetically modified using a virus. This therapy is known as chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR-T), gives the cells the ability to recognize and kill the source of cancer.
- 128-player single-elimination chess tournament named Chess World Cup 2017 held in Tbilisi (Georgia). It was won by Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronian as his second win of this tournament. 7 Indians participated in it, including Former World Champion Vishwanathan Anand.
- 2017 AIBA World Boxing Championships held in Hamburg (Germany) -
- India's only medal was a bronze medal won by Gaurav Bidhuri (ranked 10th).
- Medal table
Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total 1 Cuba 5 2 0 7 2 Uzbekistan 1 3 2 6 3 Kazakhstan 1 2 3 6 4 Azerbaijan 1 0 1 2 5 France 1 0 0 1 Ukraine 1 0 0 1
- 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (5th Asian Indoor Games) held in Ashgabat (Turkmenistan) -
- India won 40 medals and finished 11th at 5th Asian Indoor Games, Including 9 Gold Medals.
- Medal Table -
Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total 1 Turkmenistan 89 70 86 245 2 China 42 32 23 97 3 Iran 36 23 59 118 4 Kazakhstan 28 28 40 96 5 Uzbekistan 24 33 74 131
- 2017 Commonwealth (Youth, Junior and Senior) Weightlifting Championships held in Australia. India will host the 2019 edition of these games. India won 37 medals in current championships held in Australia.
- 2017 Laver Cup men's tennis tournament won by Europe, defeating rest of the world. It was held in Prague (Czech Republic).
- 57th National Open Athletics Championships held at Nehru Stadium in Chennai (Tamilnadu).
- Airtel Payments Bank became first payments bank in India to integrate UPI Technology (Unified Payments Interface) on its digital platform. It will allow customers the choice and convenience to facilitate secure digital payments.
- Amritpal Singh became first India-born player to be included into Australia’s National Basketball League, by basketball club Sydney Kings.
- BCCI nominated Mahendra Singh Dhoni for Padma Bhushan, country’s third highest civilian award for his contribution to game. He is only cricketer nominated by BCCI for this years Padma Awards. While, Olympic silver medallist shuttler P.V. Sindhu is recommended for Padma Bhushan title by Sports Ministry.
- Cadet World Wrestling Championships 2017 held in Athens (Greece) -
- India's Wrestler Anshu won Gold Medal defeating Japanese Wrestler Naomi Ruike in 60-kilogram weight category.
- Sonam Malik won gold by defeating Japanese Wrestler Sena Nagamoto in 56 KG Category.
- Besides, Neelam won Bronze in 43-kilogram category.
- East Bengal FC won eighth consecutive Calcutta Football League (CFL) title (39th overall), defeating Mohun Bagan FC in Siliguri (West Bengal)
- First ever Indian squad to participate in the FIFA U-17 World Cup has been announced, with 21 players onboard. FIFA U17 WC will be held in India in October 2017.
- For first time, 5 Indians are in the top-20 of BWF men’s singles rankings -
- Kidambi Srikanth (8th), HS Prannoy (15th), B Sai Praneeth (17th), Sameer Verma (19th), Ajay Jayaram (20th)
- Government approved Olympic Task Force's recommendation of Providing stipend of Rs 50,000 per month be paid to elite athletes preparing for Tokyo Olympic, Asian Games or Common Wealth Games to meet pocket expenses. Government selected 152 elites under TOP scheme.
- Government exempted import duty on a wide range of goods and sports items for upcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup to be held in India in October 2017. However, importers will have to exorts all imported accessories will be re-exported within 3 months of conclusion of World Cup.
- Hockey India removed national coach Roelant Oltmans (Netherlands), appointing David John as Chief coach till a a suitable replacement is found.
- ISSF World Shotgun Championships held in Moscow (Russia). India's Ankur Mittal won Silver Double Trap Men (Adult) and Ahvar Rizvi won Silver in Double Trap Men (Junior). India Finished 5th in this championship.
- India will host South Asian boxing Championship for first time in Guwahati (Assam) in December 2017.
- India won 2nd South Asian Basketball (SABA) Under – 16 Championship by defeating Bhutan in Kathmandu (Nepal). India qualified for 2017 FIBA Under-16 Asian Championship to be played in Malaysia in later 2017.
- India's Sumit Nagal won 8th MCC S R Subramaniam ITF Futures Men’s tennis championship in Chennai.
- India's Tejasvi Duduka won women’s singles of U.S. Open Grand Slam Carrom tournament.
- Indian Olympic Association (IOA) formally awarded rights to host 36th National Games to Goa in November 2017.
- Indian squash player Harinder Pal Sandhu won Malaysian Squash Tour, as his 21st consecutive international match win in a row.
- Indian women’s boxing’s first foreign coach Stephane Cottalorda has resigned after just one month of appointment.
- International Cricket Council (ICC) announced several changes to rules -
- Thickness of edges of bat can’t be more than 40mm and the overall depth can be 67 mm at most.
- Change in DRS rule - A review will now not be lost in case of a decision that remains unchanged, solely as the result of an ‘umpire’s call’. DRS will now also be allowed to be used in T20Is.
- Run outs - If a batsman is running towards crease with forward momentum and grounded its bat behind popping crease but subsequently has lost contact with the ground at the time of the wickets being put down, the batsman will not be run out.
- Boundary catches - airborne fielders making their first contact with the ball will need to have taken off from within boundary, otherwise, a boundary will be scored. Batsman can now be out caught, stumped or run out even if ball bounces off the helmet worn by a fielder or wicket-keeper.
- International Cricket Council (ICC) launched anti-corruption investigation in Sri Lanka Cricket.
- International Olympic Committee (IOC) formally announced Paris (France) as host of 2024 summer Olympics and Los Angeles (LOS) as host of 2028 Olympics.
- Joycilline Jepkosgei of Kenya broke her own 10 km road world record in Prague (Czech Republic) as She has become first woman to run 10 km distance under 30 minutes on road.
- Kochi (Kerala) will host BWF World Senior Badminton Championships, being held in India for first time.
- Korean Open Badminton 2017 -
- Men's singles - Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (Indonesia)
- Women's singles - India P. V. Sindhu. Sindhu Became first Indian to win Korea Open Superseries. She defeated Nozomi Okuhara of Japan.
- Men's doubles - Mathias Boe AND Carsten Mogensen (Denmark)
- Women's doubles - Huang Yaqiong AND Yu Xiaohan (China)
- Mixed doubles - Praveen Jordan AND Debby Susanto (Indonesia)
- Kuldeep Yadav became first Indian spinner to take a hat-trick in ODI cricket, after he took one against an ODI game against Australia.
- Maharashtra won Chief Minister’s cup at National kickboxing championship held in Raipur (Chhattisgarh).
- Mahendra Singh Dhoni became first wicketkeeper in world cricket to do 100 stumpings in One Day Internationals (ODIs).
- Mercedes Racer Lewis Hamilton (Britain) won Italian 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 Lewis Hamilton (Britain) 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
- 2017 Formula 1 Season -
- Mercedes Racer Lewis Hamilton (Britain) won Singapore 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 Lewis Hamilton (Britain) 3 September 14 Singapore Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (Britain) 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
- 2017 Formula 1 Season -
- Noted Indian Female Boxer M C Mary Kom became first Indian to be picked as International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) representative for 8th IOC Athletes’ Forum to be held in Lausanne (Switzerland).
- Official emblem and slogan for FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019 has been launched. Slogan is Dare To Shine.
- Official song for FIFA Under-17 World Cup football tournament has been formally launched. The song Kar Ke Dikhla De Goal is written by lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya and composed by Pritam.
- Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) invited Australia to compete at Asiad (Asian Games) in 2022, for the first time. The invite is for selected sports like football and basketball to enable athletes to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
- Olympic Task Force headed by Abinav Bindra suggested forming 13-member Empowered Steering Committee (ESC), to shape India’s preparation for upcoming mainstream sports events. ESC will work till December 31, 2020 with clearly defined terms and references.
- Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) imposed 5 year ban and a fine of one million rupees on batsman Khalid Latif for involvement in spot-fixing during PSL.
- Rishabh Shah of Mumbai won 2 bronze in Under-14 Rapid and Blitz formats of the 2nd Western Asia Youth Chess Championship in Sri Lanka.
- South African Cricketer JP Duminy announced his retirement from test cricket.
- Star India secured Indian Premier League's media rights with a bid of Rs 16347.50 crore for five-year period 2018-2022, getting past Sony's bid of INR 11050 crores. Note that In 2008, Sony Pictures Network won IPL media rights for 10 years for INR 8200 crores
- Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn won India Junior International Grand Prix Badminton Title by defeating Indian Player Rahul Bharadwaj.
- US Open Tennis 2017 -
- Men's Singles - Rafael Nadal (Spain) by Defeating Kevin Anderson (South Africa). It is overall 16th Grand Slam Title for Rafael Nadal.
- Women's Singles - Sloane Stephens (USA) by Defeating Madison Keys (USA)
- Men's Doubles - Jean-Julien Rojer (Netherlands) AND Horia Tecău (Romania)
- Women's Doubles - Chan Yung-jan (Chinese Taipei) AND Martina Hingis (Switzerland)
- Mixed Doubles - Martina Hingis (Switzerland) AND Jamie Murray (UK)
- West Indies Cricketer Chris Gayle become first batsman to hit 100 sixes in Twenty20 Internationals.
- Wrestler Satish Kumar has been awarded Rs 25 lakh as compnesation by a Delhi court for being wrongly restrained from taking part in 14th Asian Games in Busan (South Korea) in 2002. He was barred due to mistaken impression of having taken performance-enhancing drugs.
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