National Affairs
President of India appoints New Governors for 5 States and Andaman and Nicobar Islands
The Governors appointments will take effect from the dates the incumbents assume charge of their respective offices. The President has been pleased to make the following appointments:
1- Brig. (Dr.) B. D. Mishra (Retd.) as the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh
2- Shri Satya Pal Malik as the Governor of Bihar
3- Shri Banwarilal Purohit as the Governor of Tamil Nadu
4- Prof. Jagdish Mukhi as the Governor of Assam
5- Shri Ganga Prasad as the Governor of Meghalaya
6-Admiral (Retd.) Devendra Kumar Joshi as the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Indian Navy commissions Water Jet Fast Attack Craft at Mumbai - 26 Sep 17
- INS Tarasa, a Water Jet Fast Attack Craft was commissioned into the Indian Navy by Vice Admiral Girish Luthra, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command at the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai on 26.09.2017.
- At an impressive commissioning ceremony, Vice Admiral Luthra expressed confidence that the new INS Tarasa will discharge her duties with élan and resolve, and bring laurels to the Western Naval Command and the Nation.
Union government has set up special fund ‘DPIDF’ to boost dairy sector.
- The Union government has set up the Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund (DPIDF) worth Rs 10,881 crore to boost the dairy sector. With this investment, 95 lakh farmers from about 50,000 villages would be benefited.
India Joins Race in 5G Ecosystem, Constitutes High Level Forum on 5G India 2020
- India is at the cusp of a next generation of wireless technology 5G. 5G has been conceived as a foundation for expanding the potential of the Networked Society. A digital transformation brought about through the power of connectivity is taking place in almost every industry.
- Government has constituted High Level 5G India 2020 Forum with three Secretaries of key Ministries/Departments Telecom, Meity and DST, and also comprising of renowned experts like Dr. A. Paulraj, Professor Emeritus, Stanford University, USA, Mr Gururaj Deshpande - Chairman of Sycamore Networks, Sandstone, USA, Indian industry led by CEOs of ICT industry, Telecom Standard Development Organisation of India (TSDSI), Professors from IIT Madras, IIT Mumbai, IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad, IISc Bengaluru, IT industry and stakeholders from industry associations.
Vice-President inaugurates a “Crusade for Toilets” in Karnataka
- The Vice President, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu, 26.09.2017, inaugurated the “Swachhta Hi Seva” and “Shouchalayakkagi Samara” (A Crusade For Toilets) Programme in Karnataka. He was presiding as the Chief Guest over a public event at Hubli.
- The Vice President later visited Konnur Village, in Naragund Taluk, Gadag District, where he initiatied the activity of ‘Tippe Samskarane’ (Waste Processing). He also inaugurated a “Shudda Kudiyuva Neerina Ghataka” (Purified Drinking Water Plant), visited the Janata Colony in the village, and addressed a “Shouchalayakkagi Samara” public gathering at the local high school.
Tamil Nadu to host the 3rd India International Science Festival (IISF)-2017
- The 3rd India International Science Festival (IISF-2017) will be held in Chennai, Tamil Nadu from October 13-16. The festival is being organised by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST).
- Top scientists from the government are expected to participate in the four-day festival at IIT-Chennai.The event will be jointly inaugurated by science and technology ministers of Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Portugal.
Shashi Shanker appointed CMD of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)
- Shashi Shanker has been appointed Chairman and Managing Director of India’s biggest oil and gas producer, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) till March 31, 2021.
- Currently, he is director (Technical and Field Services) at ONGC and will take over the charge as CMD from October 1.He will succeed Dinesh K Sarraf, who retires on September 30.
Union Home Minister launches Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour (PENCIL) Portal
- The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh launched the Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour (PENCIL) Portal at the National Conference on Child Labour organised by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India on 26.09.2017.
- The PENCIL is an electronic platform that aims at involving Centre, State, District, Governments, civil society and the general public in achieving the target of child labour free society.
Kandla Port renamed as Deendayal Port
- The Ministry of Shipping has issued a notification renaming Kandla Port Trust as Deendayal Port Trust with effect from 25th of September, 2017. Kandla Port, located on the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat, is one of the twelve major ports in the country.
- As per the Ministry’s notification, the Central Government, in exercise of powers conferred on it under Indian Ports Act, 1908, made the amendment to replace “Kandla” with “Deendayal”.
Union Cabinet approves umbrella scheme of Modernisation of Police Forces
- The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for implementation of umbrella scheme of "Modernisation of Police Forces (MPF)" for years 2017-18 to 2019-20.
- The financial outlay for the scheme over the three year’s period is Rs.25,060 crore, out of which the Central Government share will be Rs.18,636 crore and the States’ share will be Rs.6,424 crore
Union Cabinet approves permanent transfer of land to Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC)
- The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to the permanent transfer of land measuring 1899 sq.m. by Airports Authority of India (AAI) to Lucknow Metro Rail Corportion (LMRC) at Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport, Lucknow.
Union Cabinet approves swapping of 10.25 acres of AAI land at Rajahmundry Airport
- Union Cabinet approves swapping of 10.25 acres of AAI land at Rajahmundry Airport with equivalent extent of land offered by Government of Andhra Pradesh for the purpose of road construction along the periphery of the airport to provide connectivity to neighbouring villages around the airport .
- The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to the Swapping of 10.25 acres of land belonging to Airports Authority of India (AAI) at Rajahmundry Airport with equivalent extent of land belonging to Govt. of Andhra Pradesh. The proposal is intended to provide road connectivity to the villages around the Rajahmundry Airport, in order to facilitate ease of access to the general public of the area.
Union Cabinet approves Agreement on “Cooperation in the field of Information, Communication and Media” between India and Ethiopia
- The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval to sign the Agreement between India and Ethiopia on “”Cooperation in the field of Information, Communication and Media”.
- It aims to harness the growing power of Information, Communication and Media for information dissemination and enhancing outreach between the two countries for inclusive development.
Union Cabinet approves Enhancement of age of superannuation of doctors other than Central Health Service (CHS) doctors to 65 years
- The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the enhancement of age of superannuation of doctors other than Central Health Service (CHS) doctors to 65 years.
- The decision would help in better patient care, proper academic activities in Medical colleges as also in effective implementation of National Health Programmes for delivery of health care services.
- Around 1445 doctors of various Ministries/Departments of the Central Government would be benefitted.
Union Cabinet approves signing of (i) Inter-bank Local Currency Credit Line Agreement
- The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to the signing of the (i) Interbank Local Currency Credit Line Agreement and (ii) Cooperation Memorandum Relating to Credit Ratings by Exim Bank with participating member banks under BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism.
- As both the Agreement and the MoU are umbrella pacts, and are non-binding in nature, the Board of Directors of Exim Bank has been authorized to negotiate and conclude any individual contracts and commitments within their framework.
Union Cabinet approves revision of policy for providing Defence land to Communication Operators
- The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved a proposal for revision of policy of Ministry of Defence for providing Defence land to Communication Operators for construction of Shared Communication Towers and allied Infrastructure, based on experience in implementing the policy and guidelines issued by Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for issue of clearance for installation of Mobile Towers.
India Mobile Congress-Country’s largest platform connecting Mobile, Internet and Technology gets underway.
- The Minister of Communications Shri Manoj Sinha said that India is currently the second largest telecommunication market in the world with over 1.2 billion subscriber base and approximately 450 million internet users.
- Delivering the inaugural speech at the India Mobile Congress-2017 here, the Minister said that driven by the adoption of smartphones and exponential increase in data consumption, telecom industry is expected to generate revenue of approximately up to USD 38.25 billion by 2017, registering a CAGR of 5.2% during the period 2014 to 2017.
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) registered National E-Governance Services Limited (NeSL)
- The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) registered National E-Governance Services Limited (NeSL) on 27.09.2017, as an Information Utility (IU) under the IBBI (Information Utilities) Regulations, 2017. This registration is valid for five years from the date of registration.
EESL to procure 10,000 Electric Vehicles from TATA Motors
- Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), under the administration of Ministry of Power, Government of India (GoI), will procure 10,000 electric vehicles from Tata Motors Limited.
- The company was selected through an international competitive bidding aimed at increased participation. Tata Motors won the tender and will now supply the Electric Vehicles (EVs) in two phases – first 500 e-cars will be supplied to EESL in November 2017 and the rest 9,500 EVs will be delivered in the second phase.
Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurates ISRO exhibition at Surat
- An exhibition highlighting the achievements of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) was inaugurated by the Union Minister of State of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (Independent Charge), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh, in Surat, Gujarat on 29.09.2017
International Affairs
Union Cabinet approves MoU between India and Belarus in the oil and gas sector
- The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its ex-post facto approval for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and Belarus in the oil and gas sector. The MoU was signed on 12th September, 2017 during the visit of President of Belarus to India.
- The MoU will promote bilateral relationship between India and Belarus and it is envisaged to enhance the economic and commercial cooperation between the two sides in oil and natural gas sector.
Union Cabinet approves bilateral MoU between India and Afghanistan
- The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for signing an MoU between India and Afghanistan on Technical Cooperation on Police Training and Development.
- The MoU will help in capacity building of Afghanistan National Police and improving the security apparatus in the region.
- It has been approved for a period of 5 years from the date of signing the MoU and shall be extended for a further period of 5 years on the condition that are not further changes and or revision.
India Japan Cooperation in Rail Safety
- Taking the technical cooperation in Rail Safety ahead, a team/ Mission of Safety experts from Japan concluded its second visit early this month. This team comprised of representatives of Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) and railway operators etc.
- This mission discussed detailed scope of cooperation. This Mission visited Indian Railway’s (IR) coach/wagon/loco maintenance facilities. The Mission also observed rail welding and track maintenance practices followed by IR.
India’s ranked 40th in the 2017 Global Competitiveness Rankings (GCR)
- India has been ranked the 40th out of 137 countries at the 2017 Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), which is compiled by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
- According to the Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) 2017-2018, India’s performance improved in Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) indicators, particularly Internet bandwidth per user, mobile phone and broadband subscriptions, and Internet access in schools. The list is topped by Switzerland, followed by United States, Singapore, Netherlands and Germany.
New Delhi to host the 14th India-EU Summit -2017
- The 14th India-EU Summit will be held in New Delhi from October 5-7, 2017. During the summit, both sides are expected to discuss a host of key issues including ways to remove hurdles for the long-pending free trade agreement.
- The president of the European Council (EC) Donald Franciszek Tusk, and the president of the European Commission (EC) Jean-Claude Juncker, will attend the summit.
NITI Aayog will host Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES 2017) in Hyderabad
- NITI Aayog will host the 8th annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES 2017) in partnership with the USA, which is scheduled to be held in Hyderabad from November 28 to 30. The 2017 theme “Women First, Prosperity for All” will celebrate entrepreneurship in all its strength, diversity and entirety.
- The four primary focus areas of GES 2017 are Health Care and Life Sciences, Digital Economy and Financial Technology, Energy and Infrastructure, and Media and Entertainment.
World Tourism Day (WTD) is observed September 27
- The World Tourism Day (WTD) is observed every year on September 27 to raise awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic value.
- The 2017 theme “Sustainable tourism – a tool for development” is dedicated to explore the contribution of tourism to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
World Tourism Day (WTD) is observed September 24
- World Deaf Day 2017 will be celebrated at last Sunday (24th of September) in the month of September.
- World Deaf Day is celebrated every year in last week (last Sunday of the month of September) of the September to draw the attention of general public, politician and development authorities towards the achievements of the deaf people as well as deaf people community.
World Maritime Day (WMD) is observed September 28
- The World Maritime Day (WMD) is observed every year on September 28 to highlight importance of shipping safety, maritime security and marine environment and to acknowledge maritime industry....
- 2017 Theme: Connecting Ships, Ports and People. This year's theme was chosen to provide an opportunity to focus on the many diverse actors involved in the shipping and logistics areas.
World Rabies Day is observed September 28
- World Rabies Day is celebrated annually to raise awareness about rabies prevention and to highlight progress in defeating this horrifying disease.
- 28 September also marks the anniversary of Louis Pasteur's death, the French chemist and microbiologist, who developed the first rabies vaccine.
- 2017 – Zero by 30, World Rabies Day 2017 marks the announcement of the biggest global anti-rabies initiative.
GST Revenue Figures – As on 25th September, 2017
- The Goods and Services Tax (GST) was introduced on 1st of July, 2017. In the press release dated 29th August, 2017, it was reported that the total revenue of GST paid under different heads for the month of July, 2017 (upto 29th August) was Rs. 92,283 crore.
- Out of the total GST collection of Rs. 92,283 crore, the total CGST revenue was Rs. 14,894 crore, SGST revenue was Rs.22,722 crore, IGST revenue was Rs.47,469 crore (of which IGST from imports was Rs.20,964 crore) and Compensation Cess was Rs.7,198 crore (of which Rs.599 crore is Compensation Cess from imports). Many assessees have been filing the returns for July 2017 belatedly and till 31st August, 2017 and the total GST paid for July is Rs. 94,063 crore.
Awards/Prizes
Madhya Pradesh won the ‘Best Tourism State’ National award-2017
- On the occasion of World Tourism Day (WTD-2017), Madhya Pradesh bagged total 10 National Tourism Awards at a function in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on September 28, 2017.
- The state won ‘Best Tourism State’ national award for the 3rd consecutive year, besides the Most Innovative Tourist Product award for ‘Hanuwantia Jal Mahotsav’ and Best State for Adventure Tourism.
Sports Affairs
2017 South Asian Boxing Championship (SABC) will be held in Guwahati
- 2017 South Asian Boxing Championship (SABC) will be held in Guwahati, Assam from December 6 to 10. This is first time India will host the championship, which will see a potential blockbuster clash against arch-rivals Pakistan besides other SAARC countries — Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, among others.
- Apart from this, the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has announced that India will also host the ‘India International Open tournament’ in New Delhi on January 2017.
Sumit Nagal, wins gold at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games
- Sumit Nagal from India has won gold medal in the men’s singles tennis event of Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games with a dominating win over compatriot Vijay Sundar Prashanth in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on September 27, 2017.
- Nagal outplayed Prashanth 6-1, 6-1 in the all-Indian final as he broke him five times in the match.