Current Affairs Update – 21st to 26th September, 2016

Hello and welcome to exampundit . Here are the important Current Affairs from 21st to 26th September, 2016. These are important for the upcoming IBPS PO VI Mains, RBI Assistant, NIACL AO and Bank of Maharashtra PO Exams.

Current Affairs at a Glance – 21st to 26th September, 2016
  1. The Reserve Bank has given approval
    to Rs 26,000-crore cash credit limit (CCL) for purchasing paddy in poll-bound Punjab
    , which came as a relief for SAD-BJP
    combine that struggled hard in the past for release of funds to buy foodgrain.
  2. State-owned Bank of India (BOI) has sold 18 per cent stake in the insurance joint
    venture (JV) Star Union Dai-ichi Life
    Insurance Company
    (SUD) to its Japanese partner.
  3. Online aggregator of homestays Stayzilla.com
    has signed an MoU with Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd (TCGL) to jointly
    promote and market homestays and alternate stays in Gujarat.
  4. Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has landed a 99.7-million dollar
    (around 660 crore rupees) contract from Vietnam Border Guard to design,
    construct and supply high-speed patrol vessels. The contract provides for
    supply of 12 vessels in next 30 months.
  5. Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and GAIL (India) Limited on 21 September 2016 signed a Memorandum of
    Understanding (MoU) with Dhamra LNG Terminal Private Limited (DLTPL) for taking
    equity in the 5 MMTPA capacity LNG Receiving, Storage and Regasification
    Terminal.
  6. The Cabinet Committee on Economic
    Affairs (CCEA) on 21 September 2016 approved the partial capital grant of 5176
    crore rupees to GAIL (India) Limited for development of 2539 km long
    Jagdishpur-Haidia and Bokaro-Dhamra Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL) project
    .
  7. The Union Cabinet on 21 September
    2016 approved merger
    of Rail budget with Union Budget
    . It also decided to advance the
    date of presentation of the annual budget from the last day of February to
    start of February. In addition, it also decided to merge the Plan and the
    Non-Plan classification in the Budget and Accounts. All these changes will be
    put into effect simultaneously from the Budget 2017-18.
  8. India’s Centre for Civil Society
    in collaboration with Canada’s Fraser Institute on 15 September 2016 released
    the Economic Freedom of the World 2016 Annual Report. India has slipped 10
    positions and fetched
    112th spot among all 159 countries in the Index
    .
  9. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)
    on 26 September 2016 successfully launched eight
    satellites in two different orbits in a single mission
    . These
    satellites were launched with the PSLV C35 from the first launch pad of the
    Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikotta.
  10. Visaranai, a Tamil film directed
    by Vetrimaran and produced by Dhanush’s Wunderbar Films, has been selected as India’s entry in the Foreign
    Language Film category for the 89th Academy Awards (Oscars
    ) to be held in
    2017.
  11. India and France
    on 23 September 2016 inked the
    7.8-billion Euro deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets
    . As per the deal, the
    aircraft will be equipped with latest missiles and weapon system like Meteor
    and Scalp.
  12. Indian Air Force on 23 September 2016 successfully fired the
    recently acquired long range air-to-air MICA
    missile on a manoeuvring target from Mirage-2000 Upgrade combat aircraft
    .
  13. The Union Health Ministry has
    decided to launch Mission Parivar Vikas
    in 145 High Focus districts in seven states for improved family planning
    services. The Mission will be implemented in all the 145 districts at one go.
  14. India’s High Commissioner to
    Britain Navtej
    Sarna
    was on Thursday appointed as the next Ambassador to the US as
    that country prepares for a presidential transition.
  15. Senior IAS officer Arun Goyal has been appointed
    as Additional Secretary in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council
    .
  16. Justice Girish Chandra Gupta on 22 September 2016 was sworn in as the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court.
  17. Monika Kapil Mohta was on 17 September 2016 appointed as the India’s Ambassador to Sweden.
  18. Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on 25 September 2016 became the fastest Indian and second overall to take 200 wickets,
    reaching the milestone in his 37th Test
    .
  19. International Day of Peace was observed across the world on 21 September
    2016.

Finance/Industry/Banking –
RBI approves Rs 26,000 crore CCL for paddy procurement in Punjab

  • The Reserve Bank has given
    approval to Rs 26,000-crore cash credit limit (CCL) for purchasing paddy in
    poll-bound Punjab, which came as a relief for SAD-BJP combine that struggled
    hard in the past for release of funds to buy foodgrain.
  • “RBI has given its approval
    for the Rs 26,000 crore of CCL for procuring paddy from Punjab,” Punjab
    Mandi Board Vice-Chairman Ravinder Singh Cheema said on Monday.
  • Paddy procurement in Punjab will
    commence from October 1 and the state is expecting procurement of 150 lakh
    tonne of crop from the state.

BOI sells 18% stake in insurance JV to partner Dai-ichi Life

  • State-owned Bank of India (BOI)
    has sold 18 per cent stake in the insurance joint venture (JV) Star Union
    Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company (SUD) to its Japanese partner.
  • The shareholding of DILIC will be
    44 per cent up from 26 per cent upon completion of the transaction after
    receiving necessary statutory/regulatory approvals.
  • BOI said the transaction was
    completed on Monday.
  • With this, the shareholding of
    BOI has come down to 30 per cent from 48 per cent in SUD. While, Union Bank of
    India will continue to hold 26 per cent.
  • SUD was incorporated in 2007 as a
    JV among Bank of India, Union Bank of India and DILIC to undertake life
    insurance business in India.

AirAsia India ties up with Reliance General Insurance

  • No-frills carrier AirAsia India
    has partnered with Reliance General Insurance for providing travel insurance to
    its flyers.
  • Under the partnership, ‘Reliance
    Inland Travel Care Policy’ will be offered to passengers of AirAsia India.
  • The policy will cover “trip
    cancellation and interruption, trip delay, missed flight connection, damage or
    total loss of checked-in baggage and hospitalisation due to accident,” the
    airline said in a release today.
  • It will be priced at a premium of
    Rs 149 for 30 days, Rs 279 for 60 days and Rs 399 for 90 days.

Stayzilla inks pact with Gujarat Tourism to encourage homestays
  • Online aggregator of homestays
    Stayzilla.com has signed an MoU with Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd (TCGL)
    to jointly promote and market homestays and alternate stays in Gujarat.
  • Homestay is a stay option wherein
    guests (travellers) can rent a room in the home of a local family (host) or the
    entire house.
  • Under this agreement, Stayzilla
    and Gujarat Tourism will share the current base of homestays on each other’s
    digital platforms to bring more awareness on homestays in Gujarat.
  • Stayzilla will also aid
    verification procedures and jointly promote the concept of homestays in the
    State. All homestays registered with TCGL will receive technological and
    operational support to run.

L&T bags 100 million dollar order from Vietnam Border Guard
  • Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has
    landed a 99.7-million dollar (around 660 crore rupees) contract from Vietnam
    Border Guard to design, construct and supply high-speed patrol vessels. The
    contract provides for supply of 12 vessels in next 30 months.
  • As per the contract, L&T will
    also transfer design and technology along with supply of equipment and material
    kits for construction of follow-on vessels to a Vietnam shipyard.
  • These high-speed patrol vessels
    will be built for controlling and protecting sea security and sovereignty,
    detecting illegal activities such as smuggling, and undertaking search and
    rescue missions.
  • Constructed of aluminum alloy,
    these vessels will be about 35 meter long and clock a speed of 35 knots with
    navigation and surveillance equipment and self-defence capabilities on board.

IOCL, GAIL sign MoU for taking equity stake in Dhamra LNG terminal
  • Indian Oil Corporation Limited
    (IOCL) and GAIL (India) Limited on 21 September 2016 signed a Memorandum of
    Understanding (MoU) with Dhamra LNG Terminal Private Limited (DLTPL) for taking
    equity in the 5 MMTPA capacity LNG Receiving, Storage and Regasification
    Terminal.
  • The Dhamra LNG terminal is being
    built by Adani Enterprises Ltd at Dhamra Port, Odisha.

Highlights of the MoU
  • As per the MoU, DLTPL shall be an
    equal Joint Venture of Indian Oil and GAIL on one hand and Adani Group on the
    other.
  • Indian Oil and GAIL will acquire
    39 percent and 11 percent equity respectively in DLTPL, with the balance 50
    percent stake being held by Adani group.

CCEA approves 5176 crore rupees Capital Grant for GAIL pipeline project
  • The Cabinet Committee on Economic
    Affairs (CCEA) on 21 September 2016 approved the partial capital grant of 5176
    crore rupees to GAIL (India) Limited for development of 2539 km long
    Jagdishpur-Haidia and Bokaro-Dhamra Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL) project.
  • This grant is 40 percent of the
    total estimated capital cost of 12940 crore rupees.

Union Cabinet approves Winding up of Hindustan Diamond Company Private
Limited
  • The Cabinet Committee on Economic
    Affairs gave its approval for initiating the process of winding up of Hindustan
    Diamond Company Private Limited (HDCPL). HDCPL is 50:50 joint venture of the
    Union Government and De Beers Centenary Mauritius Limited (DBCML).
  • The winding up of HDCPL is not
    likely to affect supply of rough diamonds to Indian diamantaires because the
    Indian diamond industry has grown in all these years. At present, India is a
    house of top diamond producers.
  • Besides, the Special Notified
    Zone (SNZ) at Bharat Diamond Bourse, Mumbai established in 2015 also enables
    the smaller Indian players to have a direct access to the supply of rough
    diamond.

Union Cabinet approves merging of Rail budget with Union Budget

  • The Union Cabinet on 21 September
    2016 approved merger of Rail budget with Union Budget. It also decided to
    advance the date of presentation of the annual budget from the last day of
    February to start of February.
  • In addition, it also decided to
    merge the Plan and the Non-Plan classification in the Budget and Accounts. All
    these changes will be put into effect simultaneously from the Budget 2017-18.
  • The arrangements for merger of
    Railway budget with the General budget have been approved by the Cabinet with
    the following administrative and financial arrangements-
  • The Railways will continue to
    maintain its distinct entity -as a departmentally run commercial undertaking as
    at present
  • Railways will retain their
    functional autonomy and delegation of financial powers etc. as per the existing
    guidelines
  • The existing financial
    arrangements will continue wherein Railways will meet all their revenue
    expenditure, including ordinary working expenses, pay and allowances and
    pensions etc. from their revenue receipts;
  • The Capital at charge of the
    Railways estimated at 2.27 lakh crore rupees on which annual dividend is paid
    by the Railways will be wiped off. Consequently, there will be no dividend
    liability for Railways from 2017-18 and Ministry of Railways will get Gross
    Budgetary support. This will also save Railways from the liability of payment
    of approximately 9700 crore rupees annual dividend to the Government of India.
  • The decision scraps over
    nine-decade old tradition of having a separate Railway Budget. The presentation
    of separate Railway budget started in the year 1924, and has continued after
    independence as a convention rather than under Constitutional provisions.

Ola ties-up with Yatra for Cab Booking Interface Integration
  • Transportation app Ola on 20
    September 2016 tied-up with Yatra.Com for Cab Booking Interface Integration. It
    has integrated its application interface on Yatra.com.
  • Through this integration, users
    will be able to book a ride directly through Yatra.Com’s app without having the
    Ola application installed on their devices.
  • It will also give customers the
    access to availability, booking, estimation and tracking across categories,
    directly on the Yatra app.
  • Ola has also opened up its
    Application Programming Interface (API) to other apps like Makemytrip, Oyo
    Rooms and others to extend its mobility offerings to a larger user base.

Lists & Indexes –
Economic Freedom of the World 2016 Report released: India stands at
112th spot on WEF Index
  • India’s Centre for Civil Society
    in collaboration with Canada’s Fraser Institute on 15 September 2016 released
    the Economic Freedom of the World 2016 Annual Report.
  • The report is based on data from
    2014 and measures the World Economic Freedom (WEF) Index by analysing the
    policies and institutions of 159 countries and territories.

Highlights of the Index
  • Hong Kong topped the index
    followed by Singapore and New Zealand at second and third position.
  • The other top 10 countries in the
    Index are Switzerland, Canada, Georgia, Ireland, Mauritius, the UAE, Australia
    and the UK.
  • The 10 lowest-ranked countries
    are: Iran, Algeria, Chad, Guinea, Angola, Central African Republic, Argentina,
    Republic of Congo, Libya and lastly Venezuela.
  • Other notable countries are- the
    United States (16), Germany (30), Japan (40), France (57) and Russia (102).
  • The economic freedom has
    increased throughout the world during the past three decades. Between 1985 and
    2014, economic freedom among high-income countries rose from 6.9 to 7.7 points.

India’s Position in World Economic Freedom (WEF) Index
  • India has slipped 10 positions
    and fetched 112th spot among all 159 countries in the Index.
  • It ranks behind Bhutan (78),
    Nepal (108) and Sri Lanka (111) but stood higher than China (113), Bangladesh
    (121) and Pakistan (133) in the Index.
  • India has fared badly in all
    categories i.e. legal system and property rights (86), sound money (130),
    freedom to trade internationally (144) and regulation (132) except the size of
    the government (8).

India –
ISRO launched 8 satellites in two different Orbits

  • Indian Space Research
    Organization (ISRO) on 26 September 2016 successfully launched eight satellites
    in two different orbits in a single mission. These satellites were launched
    with the PSLV C35 from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre,
    Sriharikotta.
  • The satellites that was carried
    into space include the primary payload SCATSAT-1 of India, weighing 371 kg, and
    seven other customer payloads (five foreign and two domestic) together weighing
    304 kg during lift off. The weather satellite SCATSAT-1 will be hurled into a
    polar sun synchronous orbit of 730 kilometer height.

The other seven satellites that
will be injected into a different orbit as compared to the principal payload
are

  • Three smaller payloads from
    Algeria: Alsat-1B 103 kg, Alsat-2B 110 kg and Alsat Nano 7 kg. They are meant
    for earth observation, remote sensing and technology demonstration.
  • One from US: Pathfinder-1 of 44
    kg. It is a high resolution imaging microsatellite and is owned by BlackSky.
  • One from Canada: NLS-19 of 8 kg
    developed at University of Toronto, Canada. It is a nano-satellite to
    experiment reduction of space debris.

The other two satellites are from
India and they are
  • Pratham: A student-satellite
    of the IIT, Bombay. It would estimate the total electron count with a
    resolution of 1km x 1km location grid.
  • PISAT (पैसेट): It is developed by a consortium-led by the PES
    University in Bengaluru. It would explore remote sensing applications.

Tamil Film Visaranai is India’s official entry for 2017 Oscar

  • Visaranai, a Tamil film directed
    by Vetrimaran and produced by Dhanush’s Wunderbar Films, has been selected as
    India’s entry in the Foreign Language Film category for the 89th Academy Awards
    (Oscars) to be held in 2017.
  • The national award-winning film
    documents four migrant workers who suffer police brutuality and corruption
    after being jailed on false charges.
  • The film is based on true events
    recorded in novel Lock Up written by M Chandrakumar, an auto rickshaw driver
    from Coimbatore.   

India, France inked deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets

  • India and France on 23 September
    2016 inked the 7.8-billion Euro deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets. As per the
    deal, the aircraft will be equipped with latest missiles and weapon system like
    Meteor and Scalp.
  • The 7.8 billion Euro deal is
    crucial for the Indian Air Force and is expected to give India the dominant
    status in the air. The deal was signed in New Delhi by Defence Minister Manohar
    Parrikar and his French counterpart Jean Yves Le Drian.
  • The features that make the Rafale
    a strategic weapon is its Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Meteor air-to-air missile
    with a range in excess of 150 kilometre.
  • During the Kargil war, India had
    used a BVR having 50 kilometre range. The delivery of this aircraft will start
    in 36 months and will be completed in 66 months from the date the contract is
    inked.

IAF successfully fired long range air-to-air MICA missile from
Mirage-2000 combat aircraft

  • Indian Air Force on 23 September
    2016 successfully fired the recently acquired long range air-to-air MICA
    missile on a manoeuvring target from Mirage-2000 Upgrade combat aircraft.
  • A Defence Ministry release said
    in New Delhi that the missile achieved a direct hit on a target which was much
    smaller than an actual aircraft and flying at a low altitude.
  • The release said, with the
    success of this mission by ‘Tigers’, the first squadron of the force, IAF has
    become one of the few air forces in the world with the capability of such
    beyond visual range air-to-air missile.

Mission Parivar Vikas to be launched in seven states for improved
family planning services

  • The Union Health Ministry has
    decided to launch Mission Parivar Vikas in 145 High Focus districts in seven
    states for improved family planning services. The Mission will be implemented
    in all the 145 districts at one go.
  • Its main objective is to
    accelerate access to high quality family planning choices based on information,
    reliable services and supplies within a rights-based framework.
  • These districts having the
    highest total fertility rates are in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
    Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Assam. These states
    constitute 44 percent of the country’s population.

PM approves constitution of two committees for birth centenary of Pt.
Deendayal Upadhyay
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi on
    23 September 2016 approved the constitution of two committees for the
    commemoration of the birth centenary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay.
  • Modi will head the 149 member
    National Committee while Home Minister Rajnath Singh will chair the 23 member
    Executive Committee.
  • Former Prime Ministers Atal
    Bihari Vajpayee and H.D. Deve Gowda, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Sushma
    Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Manohar Parrikar, former Deputy Prime Minister LK
    Advani and BJP President Amit Shah are the members of National Committee.
  • Besides, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish
    Kumar, Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev, Film Director Chandraprakash Dwivedi, former
    Hockey player Dhanraj Pillai, former Chief Justice R C Lahoti and
    Constitutional expert Subhash Kashyap will have also been included in the
    National Committee among others. The committee includes several Governors,
    Chief Ministers, Scientists, Journalists, Academicians, Social Workers and
    Spiritual Leaders.

IWAI signs contract with DST, Germany for designing Special Vessels for
NW-1
  • The Inland Waterways Authority of
    India (IWAI) on 21 September 2016 signed a contract with M/s DST, Germany to
    design vessels, especially suited to navigate the 1620 km stretch of National
    Waterway-1 (NW-1). Under the contract, DST will develop 150 to 200 low draft
    vessels.
  • The contract was signed with an
    aim to provide safe, environment friendly and economical mode of transportation
    through NW-1.
  • The objective of IWAI is to go
    along with nature and disturb the river minimally. The specially designed
    vessels will navigate on low drafts and will be of high carrying capacity, and
    most importantly, will be environment friendly.

Union Cabinet approves submarine optical fibre cable connectivity with
Andaman & Nicobar Islands
  • The Union Cabinet on 21 September
    2016 approved the provision of a direct communication link through a dedicated
    submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) between Mainland (Chennai) and Andaman and
    Nicobar Islands.
  • The project to be completed by
    December 2018 will connect the mainland Chennai with Port Blair & five
    other islands viz. Little Andaman, Car Nicobar, Havelock, Kamorta and Great
    Nicobar.
  • The estimated cost for
    development of the project is 1102.38 crore rupees including operational
    expenses for 5 years.
  • It will equip Andaman &
    Nicobar Islands with appropriate bandwidth and telecom connectivity for
    implementation of e-Governance initiatives and establishment of enterprises
    & e-commerce facilities.

National Board for Wildlife approves first phase of Ken-Betwa project
  • The National Board for Wildlife
    (NBWL) on 20 September 2016 approved 10000 crore rupees Ken-Betwa project,
    India’s first inter-State river interlinking project.
  • With this, India will have a
    river project will be located within a tiger reserve for the first time.

Appointments –
Navtej Sarna appointed new Indian Ambassador to US

  • India’s High Commissioner to
    Britain Navtej Sarna was on Thursday appointed as the next Ambassador to the US
    as that country prepares for a presidential transition.
  • He takes charge after Arun Kumar
    Singh retired last month-end. Both Sarna and Singh are former Indian
    ambassadors to Israel, underlying the importance of a posting in Tel Aviv which
    is one of Washington’s closest allies.
  • Sarna was moved to London as the
    High Commissioner barely eight months back.
  • Sarna has had a previous posting
    in Washington when he was Minister for Press, Information and Culture between
    1998 and 2002.

Arun Goyal appointed Additional Secretary GST Council

  • Senior IAS officer Arun Goyal has
    been appointed as Additional Secretary in the Goods and Services Tax (GST)
    Council.
  • The Council, headed by Finance
    Minister Arun Jaitley, is mandated to decide on tax rate, exempted goods and
    the threshold limit.
  • The Appointments Committee of
    Cabinet has approved Goyal’s appointment against the newly created post, an
    order issued by Department of Personnel and Training said.

Girish Chandra Gupta sworn in as Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court

  • Justice Girish Chandra Gupta on
    22 September 2016 was sworn in as the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court.
  • West Bengal Governor K.N.
    Tripathi administered the oath of office to Justice Gupta at the Raj Bhavan.
  • Justice Gupta replaced Manjula
    Chellur, who has taken over as Chief Justice of Bombay High Court.
  • Justice Gupta was functioning as
    the acting Chief Justice of the high court since 22 August 2016 after Chellur’s
    transfer.

Monika Kapil Mohta appointed as India’s Ambassador to Sweden

  • Monika Kapil Mohta was on 17
    September 2016 appointed as the India’s Ambassador to Sweden.
  • She is presently the Additional
    Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs and looks after India’s relations
    with a large part of the Asia-Pacific region.
  • Mohta is an 1985 batch Indian
    Foreign Services officer. Previously, she has served as the ambassador of India
    to Poland and Lithuania.

Sports –
R Ashwin becomes fastest Indian & second overall to take 200 Test
wickets

  • Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin
    on 25 September 2016 became the fastest Indian and second overall to take 200
    wickets, reaching the milestone in his 37th Test.
  • Ashwin trapped New Zealand
    skipper Kane Williamson in front to get to the 200-mark on day four of the
    first Test at the Green Park in Kanpur.
  • With this feat, Ashwin left
    behind the likes of Dennis Lillee and Waqar Younis, who took 38 Tests to get to
    200 wickets. South African pacer Dale Steyn took 39 Tests to reach the
    landmark.
  • Only leg-spinner Clarrie Grimmett
    got to the double century of wickets faster than Ashwin as the Australian reached
    there in 36 Tests.

Alexander Zverev defeats Stan Wawrinka to win St Petersburg Open Men’s
Singles title
  • German tennis player Alexander
    Zverev on 25 September 2016 defeated Stan Wawrinka to win his first tour title
    in the St. Petersburg Open final.
  • Zverev defeated Wawrinka by 6-2,
    3-6, 7-5 to win the title.
  • With this, Zverev becomes the
    first man to beat Wawrinka in a tour final since 2013. The loss also ends a
    10-match unbeaten run for Wawrinka.

Dominic Inglot and Henri Kontinen win St Petersburg Open Men’s Doubles
title
  • Dominic Inglot and Henri Kontinen
    on 25 September 2016 won the 2016 St Petersburg Open Men’s Doubles title.
  • The duo defeated Leander Paes and
    his German partner Andre Begemann to grab the title.
  • The Indo-German duo lost 6-4 3-6
    10-12 in a match that lasted an hour and 19 minutes.

NITI Aayog chalks up plan to secure 50 medals in 2024 Olympics
  • NITI Aayog, the think tank of
    union government, has devised a short –term and medium-to-long term action plan
    to help India achieve 50 medals in 2024 summer Olympics.
  • In its action plan for
    revitalising sports in India, Niti Aayog said, India still does not have a
    conducive environment for sports to polish the talent of Indian sports persons
    and make them at par with their global counterparts.

Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova lifts Toray Pan Pacific Open trophy in
Tokyo

  • India’s Sania Mirza and her Czech
    partner Barbora Strycova on 24 September 2016 lifted the women’s doubles title
    in the Toray Pan Pacific Open trophy in Tokyo. In the final clash, the
    Indo-Czech pair defeated the unseeded Chinese pair of Chen Liang and Zhaoxuan
    Yang 6-1, 6-1.
  • This is Sania and Strycova’s
    second title in three tournaments since they have paired together.
  • This is Sania and Strycova’s
    second title in three tournaments since they have paired together. They won their
    first title in Cincinnati.

India’s Velavan Senthilkumar wins U-19 Asian Junior Individual squash
title in Kuala Lumpur

  • India’s Velavan Senthilkumar on
    24 September 2016 bagged the Under-19 Asian Junior Individual squash
    championship title. In the final clash played in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, he
    defeated Jordan’s Mohammad Al-Sarraj 12-14, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-7.
  • The Chennai player, who trains at
    the Indian Squash Academy, is the second Indian to win the title after Ravi
    Dixit in 2010.
  • From among 31 Indian players in
    various age categories at the tournament, there were two more medal winners in
    Tushar Shahani, who claimed silver in boys’U-17, and Yash Fadte who earned a
    bronze in boys’ U-15 section.

MS Dhoni named captain of India’s all time Test XI by Wisden

  • Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the third
    week of September 2016 was named the captain of the all-time India Test XI
    chosen by cricket magazine Wisden.
  • Dhoni has received the honours
    ahead of Sourav Ganguly and Mohammad Azharuddin.
  • The openers in the team are Sunil
    Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag, followed by Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS
    Laxman, all-rounder Kapil Dev and Dhoni.
  • Veteran Indian all-rounder Kapil
    Dev along with Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan have been named as pacers, while
    legendary Bishen Singh Bedi, Harbhajan Singh and Team India coach Anil Kumble
    are the spinners. Azharuddin has been named as the 12th man.

Days –
International Day of Peace observed with theme Building Blocks for
Peace

  • International Day of Peace was
    observed across the world on 21 September 2016. The 2016 theme for the day is
    The Sustainable Development Goals: Building Blocks for Peace.
  • The day is dedicated to world
    peace, and specifically the absence of war and violence, such as might be
    occasioned by a temporary ceasefire in a combat zone for humanitarian aid
    access.
  • The International Day of Peace
    was established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly. Two decades
    later, in 2001, the General Assembly unanimously voted to designate the Day as
    a period of non-violence and cease-fire.

Books & Authors –
Democrats and Dissenters authored by Ramachandra Guha released

  • Book titled Democrats and
    Dissenters authored by Ramachandra Guha was released in September 2016. The
    book is a work of rigorous scholarship on topics of compelling contemporary
    interest, written with elegance and wit.
  • Democrats and Dissenters covers a
    wide range of themes: from the varying national projects of India’s neighbours
    to political debates within India itself, from the responsibilities of writers
    to the complex relationship between democracy and violence.
  • It has essays critically
    assessing the work of Amartya Sen and Eric Hobsbawm, essays on the tragic
    predicament of tribals in India—who are, as Guha demonstrates, far worse off
    than Dalits or Muslims, yet get a fraction of the attention—and on the peculiar
    absence of a tradition of conservative intellectuals in India.

Awards & Honors –
Sanjay Dutta, Ritesh Sarothiya selected for Bavin Wildlife Law
Enforcement Awards
  • Two Indian forest officials,
    Sanjay Dutta and Ritesh Sarothiya, have been selected for the 2016 Clark R.
    Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Awards. Clark R. Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement
    Awards honours individuals engaging in exemplary law enforcement actions to
    protect wildlife.
  • Sanjay Dutta is the range officer
    of Belakoba Forest Range Jalpaiguri in West Bengal and Ritesh Sarothiya is the
    assistant conservator of Madhya Pradesh State Forest.
  • The award ceremony will be held
    on 3 October 2016 at the 17th Conference of the Parties (CoP) of the Convention
    on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in
    Johannesburg, South Africa.

2016 Right Livelihood Award announced

  • The 2016 Right Livelihood Award
    widely referred as the Alternative Nobel Prize was announced on 22 September
    2016 in Stockholm, Sweden. The laureates of this year’s Right Livelihood Award
    include
  • Syria Civil Defence (The White
    Helmets)
  • Egypt’s Mozn Hassan and Nazra for
    Feminist Studies
  • Russia’s Svetlana Gannushkina
  • Turkish daily Cumhuriyet
  • The laureates will share the
    3.0-million-kronor (350000 dollar) prize.
  • The White Helmets of Syria was
    awarded for their outstanding bravery, compassion and humanitarian engagement
    in rescuing civilians from the destruction of the Syrian civil war’. It is the
    first time that a Right Livelihood Award goes to a Laureate from Syria.

Adi Godrej conferred Clinton Global Citizen Award

  • Adi Godrej, the Chairman of
    Mumbai-based Godrej Group, on 19 September 2016 was conferred the 10th Annual
    Clinton Global Citizen Award for leadership in business and philanthropy.
  • The award recognises Godrej’s
    leadership in transforming the intersection of business and philanthropy and
    making the Godrej Group a global example of what can be achieved through
    inclusive, sustainable business strategies.
  • The award was presented by Hikmet
    Ersek, CEO and President of Western Union, in the presence of former US
    President Bill Clinton.
  • Some of the other awardees for
    the year 2016 include Jon Bon Jovi for the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation in the
    US, President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia and Hawa Abdi of Somalia.

Aung San Suu Kyi honoured as 2016 Humanitarian of the Year by Harvard
Foundation
  • Nobel laureate and Myanmar leader
    Aung San Suu Kyi was on 15 September 2016 honoured as the 2016 Humanitarian of
    the Year by the students and faculty at the Harvard Foundation.
  • She gained international
    prominence as the General Secretary of the National League for Democracy in
    Myanmar in 1990.

World –
First Russia-Pakistan joint military exercise Druzhba-2016 begins in
Cherat
  • The first Druzhba-2016
    (Friendship-2016) Russian-Pakistani joint military exercise commenced on 24
    September 2016 in Cherat, Pakistan. The exercise will conclude on 10 October
    2016.
  • The drills are being conducted at
    the Pakistan Army’s High Altitude School at Rattu in Gilgit-Baltistan and at a
    special forces training centre at Cherat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

China unveils Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope in search
for extraterrestrial life
  • China on 25 September 2016
    officially launched the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST)
    in a mountainous region of Guizhou province.
  • The telescope was launched to
    hunt for extraterrestrial life and explore space.
  • The FAST is a radio telescope
    located in the Dawodang depression, a natural basin in Pingtang County, Guizhou
    Province, southwest China.
  • It is the world’s largest filled
    aperture (single dish) radio telescope.

Obituaries –
Golf legend Arnold Palmer passes away

  • US golfer Arnold Palmer passed
    away on 25 September 2016 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania due to heart
    complications. He was 87.
  • Palmer is generally regarded as
    one of the greatest players in professional golf history.

Hindi and Urdu writer Reoti Saran Sharma passes away
  • Reoti Saran Sharma, the renowned
    Hindi and Urdu writer, playwright and television personality, died in New Delhi
    on 23 September 2016. He was 92 years.
  • He was a Pioneer in radio plays
    in All India Radio and was conferred with Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for 2007
    for his contribution to theatre (dramatic literature and performance).

Regards

Team ExamPundit

This post was last modified on March 19, 2021 9:40 am