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GK Tornado -2017

Dear readers,
This GK Tornado is a complete docket of important news and events that occurred in last 4.5 months (1th June–15th Oct 2017).
Tornado is important and relevant for all competitive exams like Banking, Insurance, SSC and UPSC Exams.

Banking & Financial Awareness

1. RBI keeps repo rate unchanged at 6% - On 4th October 2017, RBI in its fourth Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement
decided to keep the policy Repo rate unchanged at 6%. Therefore, the reverse repo rate under the LAF remains at 5.75 per
cent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 6.25 per cent. However, RBI cut the Statutory
Liquidity Ratio (SLR) by 0.5 percent to 19.5 percent.
New Policy & Reserve Rates
1. Repo Rate 6% (unchanged)

2. Reverse Repo Rate 5.75% (unchanged)

3. CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio) 4.00% (unchanged)

4. SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio) 19.05% (changed)

5. MSF (Marginal Standing Facility) 6.25% (unchanged)

6. Bank Rate 6.25% (unchanged)

2. RBI opens branch in Dehradun – RBI had opened its
new branch in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. The branch
was inaugurated by Uttarakhand Chief Minister
Trivendra Singh Rawat. Earlier, the state government
had to do financial transactions through the Kanpur
branch of the RBI.
3. Reserve Bank of India recently acknowledged HDFC
Bank Ltd as a Domestic-Systemically Important
Bank (D-SIB). With this, HDFC Bank joins State Bank
of India and ICICI Bank in the elite D-SIB list.
Note: The higher capital requirements applicable to D-
SIBs will be applicable from April 1, 2016, in a phased
manner and would become fully effective from April 1,
2019.
4. P2P platforms will now act as NBFCs: Govt. -
According to the gazette notification issued by the
government, all Peer-to-peer lending (P2P) platforms
will now considered as Non-Banking Financial
Companies (NBFCs) and will be regulated by Reserve
Bank of India (RBI).
About Peer-To-Peer Lending (P2P) - Peer-to-peer
lending (P2P) is a method of bulk funding that enables
individuals to borrow and lend money - without the
use of any official financial institution or bank as an
intermediary. Peer-to-peer lending removes the
middleman from the process and matches lenders with
borrowers online, but it also involves more time, effort
and risk than the general lending process.
5. RBI issues guidelines for Peer to Peer lending
platform – Following are the guidelines -
● Unless an NBFC has received the Certificate of
Registration, it cannot start the the business of a
P2P lending platform.
● New companies who are looking for registration
with the bank as an NBFC-P2P must have a net
owned funds of not less than 20 million rupees
or such higher amount as the RBI may specify.
● The existing NBFC-P2Ps have to apply for
registration as NBFC-P2Ps within 3 months.
Functions of NBFC-P2P – Following are the functions
of NBFC-P2P –
(i) It is necessary to provide online platform to
members involved in P2P lending.
(ii) Cannot lend on its own.
(iv) Cannot hold its own balance sheet of funds received
from lenders or funds given to borrowers

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(v) NBFC-P2P can’t cross-sell products.
Guidelines for lenders and borrowers –
(1) A lender can’t lend more than Rs 10 lakh to all
borrowers at any point of time across all P2Ps
(2) Borrowers can’t borrow more than Rs 10 lakh from
all lenders at any point of time across all P2Ps
(3) Not more than Rs 50,000 can be borrowed from
single lender to the same borrower, across all P2Ps.
(4) The maturity of the loans shall not exceed 36
months.
Fund transfer mechanism – Bank account is mandatory
for transfer of funds. The transfer of funds between lenders
& borrowers on the P2P platform will be done through
escrow account mechanisms. Cash transactions are not
allowed in P2P platform.
6. RBI to conduct financial literacy drive in 9 states –
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to launch
a financial literacy drive in 80 blocks in 9 states.
The nine states include - Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh,
Bihar, Odisha, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh,
Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
Objective –
● The main objective of the financial literacy drive
is to educate people on e-transactions, formal
sector borrowings and insurance purchases.
● Also, to create awareness among people on - e-
transactions through electronic means such as
NEFT, RTGS, IMPS, Internet Banking, Mobile
Banking and UPI (Unified Payment Interface).
Key points –
● Depositor Education and Awareness Fund (DEAF)
will implement the pilot project in collaboration
with banks and six non-governmental organisations
(NGOs)
● Six NGOs include - CRISIL Foundation, Dhan
Foundation, Swadhaar Fin Access, Indian School of
Micro Finance for Women (ISMW), Samarpit and
the PACE Foundation.
● The total cost of the project over a period of three
years would be around Rs 18.40 Cr.
7. Masala Bonds to be treated as ECB: RBI - Masala
bonds were treated by Foreign Portfolio Investors
(FPI) till 3rd October 2017.Now, The Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) announced that it is free from FPI and
being treated by External Commercial Borrowings
(ECB).
Note: Masala bonds are rupee-denominated overseas
bonds. Currently, the limit for investment by Foreign
Portfolio Investors (FPIs) in corporate bonds is Rs
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2,44,323 crore and this includes masala bonds of
Rs.44,001 crore.
8. Two regional rural banks record Over Rs 150-cr
Profit in FY17: According to the Reserve Bank of
India’s ‘Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in
India’ - Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank and
Andhra Pragathi Grameena Bank recorded net profit
of more than ₹150 crore during 2016-17.
9. RBI to pay Rs 30,659 cr dividend to Govt. - The
Reserve Bank has to pay Rs 30,659 crore to the
government for the fiscal ended June 2017. It is a less
than half of what it paid in 2016. Previous year in 2016
RBI had paid Rs 65,876 crore dividend to the
government.
10. RBI issues new Rs 200, Rs 50 banknotes - After
demonetization, Rs 200 is the fourth note introduced
by the apex bank.
Features of Rs. 200 bank note – The note will carry
the signature of RBI governor Urjit Patel, the year of
printing on the left, and the Swachh Bharat logo with
the slogan.
● Colour – The colour of the bank note is Bright
Yellow.
● Design: It has a motif of Sanchi Stupa on the
reverse, depicting the country’s cultural heritage.
● Dimension - The dimension of the bank note will
be 66mm X 146mm.
● Latent image with denominational numeral 200.
● Windowed security thread with inscriptions
‘भारत’ and RBI with colour shift. Colour of the
thread changes from green to blue when the note
is tilted.
● Denominational numeral with Rupee Symbol, ₹
200 in colour changing ink (green to blue) on
bottom right.
● Ashoka Pillar emblem on the right.
● Mahatma Gandhi portrait and electrotype (200)
watermarks
Features of 50 Rs bank note – The note will carry
the signature of RBI governor Urjit Patel, the year of
printing on the left, and the Swachh Bharat logo with
the slogan and language panel.
● Colour: The bank note is fluorescent blue in
colour.
● Design: The note bears the motif of ‘Hampi with
Chariot’ on the reverse that depicts India’s
cultural heritage.
● Ashoka pillar emblem on the right side.
● Mahatma Gandhi portrait and electrotype (50)
watermarks.
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● Dimension - Dimension of the banknote will be
66 mm x 135 mm.
● Windowed demetalised security thread with
inscriptions ‘भारत’ and RBI,
● Note: Till now, India has currency denominations
of Rs. 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 2,000.
11. RBI identified 12 accounts with 25% of bank bad
loans - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had identified
12 accounts which represents 25% of the gross bad
loans in the banking system. RBI had ordered the
banks to implement the insolvency and bankruptcy
code on these 12 accounts to recover the dues. These
accounts are overdue of above Rs 5,000 crore each.
Name of some accounts include - Lanco Infratech
Ltd, Essar Steel, Bhushan Steel, Electrosteel Steel, Alok
Industries, Jyoti Structures, Monnet Ispat and Jaypee
Associates. Note: IDBI Bank has initiated insolvency
proceeding against Lanco Infratech ltd.
12. RBI initiates PCA against six banks as NPA mounts -
The Reserve Bank of India has initiated prompt
corrective action (PCA) against six banks in view of
the high level of bad loans.
Six banks include – Bank of Maharashtra, Central Bank
of India, IDBI Bank, UCO Bank, Dena Bank and Indian
Overseas Bank. The move will restrict the bank from
announcing the dividend, opening branches, hiring and
giving loans to companies rated below investment
grade.
13. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set up Supervisory
Colleges for six Scheduled Commercial Banks which
have sizeable international presence. The banks
include - - State Bank of India, ICICI Bank Ltd., Bank of
India, Bank of Baroda, Axis Bank Ltd. and Punjab
National Bank.
The objectives of the colleges are to enhance
information exchange and cooperation among
supervisors, to improve understanding of the risk
profile of the banking group and thereby facilitate
more effective supervision of internationally active
banks.
14. RBI fined Rs. 3 cr penalty on UBI - The RBI has
imposed a penalty of Rs. 3 crore on state-
owned Union Bank of India for “non-compliance”
with the directions on Know Your Customer (KYC)
norms. This action is based on deficiencies in
regulatory compliance and is not intended to
pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or
agreement entered into by the bank with its
customers.
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15. RBI broadens scope of Banking Ombudsman
Scheme – With the amendment, from 1 July 2017, the
banking ombudsman scheme will include –
i. sale of insurance, mutual funds and other third-party
investment products by banks
ii. mobile and online banking services.
Now, a bank customer also files a complaint to Banking
Ombudsman on following issues –
i. Mutual Fund & Insurance policy - wrongly sold
third party products such as mutual fund schemes &
insurance policies.
ii. mobile and online banking services - delay or
failure of online payments or fund transfers and
unauthorized electronic payments or fund transfers.
Key points -
● So far, the banking ombudsman only accepted
complaints about banking products and services.
● Third-party products sold by banks, such as
insurance and mutual fund products, were kept
out of its ambit.
● RBI has included in its amended scheme that in
case of any grievance, you can lodge a complaint
against the bank for its non-adherence to RBI’s
instructions on mobile banking and electronic
banking services in India.
Increase in compensation amount: The RBI has
increased the compensation limit from Rs10 lakh to
Rs20 lakh. The compensation excludes the amount
involved in the dispute. For case, if you have a
complaint about a transaction amount of, say, Rs15
lakh. The compensation will be over and above this
amount.
16. RBI limits Customer liability in Online Banking – As
per the RB guidelines on customer liability –
● The full amount will be credited to the account
- If the customers report to the banks regarding
the loss they suffer through online banking
transactions within 3 days, then the amount
involved will be credited to their accounts within
a time period of 10 days.
● Only Rs. 25,000 will be credited to the account
- In case the third-party fraud is reported with a
delay of 4 to 7 working days, a customer will face
liability of up to Rs. 25,000.
● Only Rs. 10,000 will be credited to the account
- If the fraud is report after 7 days, the customer
liability will be determined as per the bank’s
Board approved policy. The maximum liability of a
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savings bank account customer will be Rs10,000
in such cases.
17. RBI’s notification related to Interest Subvention
Scheme for Short Term Crop Loans during the year
2017-18 – A farmer can avail loans up to Rs. 3 lakh at
an interest rate of 7% p.a. during the year 2017-18.
● This interest subvention of 2 per cent will be
calculated on the crop loan amount from the date
of its disbursement up to the date of actual
repayment by the farmer or up to the due date of
the loan fixed by the banks, whichever is earlier,
subject to a maximum of one year.
India’s GDP Growth Rate Projected by Different Org. – 2017
1. The Reserve Bank of India - 6.7% in 2017-18.
Note: Also, the projection of real GVA (Gross Value
Added) growth for 2017-18 has been revised down to
6.7 per cent from the August 2017 projection of 7.3
per cent.
● RBI Governor – Dr. Urjit Patel
● RBI headquarter – Mumbai, India
2. International Monetary Fund (IMF) - 6.7% in 2017-
18.
● IMF projected India’s GDP growth rate at 7.4% in
2018-19.
● IMF projected World GDP growth rate at 3.5% in
2017 and 3.6% in 2018.
● IMF Chief – Christine Lagarde
● IMF headquarter – Washington, D.C. (US)
3. World Bank - 7% in 2017-18.
● World Bank projected India’s GDP growth rate at
7.5% in 2018-19.
● World Bank projected India’s GDP growth rate at
7.5% in 2019-20.
● World Bank projected World GDP growth rate at
2.7% in 2017-18.
● World Bank President – Jim Yong Kim
● World Bank headquarter – Washington, D.C. (US)
● Members countries - 189
4. Asian Development Bank (ADB)- 7% in 2017-18.
● Asian Development Bank (ADB) projected India’s
GDP growth rate at 7.5% in 2018-19.
● ADB President: Takehiko Nakao
● ADB headquarter –Mandaluyong, Philippines
● Members countries - 67
5. United Nation (UN) - 7.3% in 2017-18.
● UN projected India’s GDP growth rate at 7.9% in
2018-19.
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● Aadhaar card mandatory - To ensure hassle-free
benefits to farmers under the Interest Subvention
Scheme, the banks are advised to make Aadhaar
linkage mandatory for availing of short-term crop
loans in 2017-18.
● Note: The Cabinet has approved the total
expenditure of Rs 20,339 crore for this financial
year (FY) as interest subsidy on short-term crop
loans.
● UN projected World GDP growth rate at 2.7% in
2017-18.
● UN projected World GDP growth rate at 2.7% in
2018-19.
● UN Secretary‑General - António Guterres
● UN headquarter – New York, US
● Members countries - 193
6. The credit rating agency Fitch Ratings 6.9% for 2017-
18.
● Fitch CEO – Paul Taylor
● Fitch Ratings headquarter – New York, US
7. India Ratings and Research - 6.7% in 2017-18.
● India Ratings and Research MD & CEO - Rohit
Sawhney.
● India Ratings and Research headquarter – Mumbai,
Maharashtra
8. Domestic rating agency CRISIL - 6.7% in 2017-18.
● CRISIL MD & CEO - Ashu Suyash
● CRISIL headquarter – Mumbai, Maharashtra
9. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) - 7.1% in 2017-18.
● CSO Director General – Davendra Verma
● CSO headquarter – New Delhi, India
10. Japanese financial holding company Nomura - 7.1% in
2017-18.
● Nomura CEO: Koji Nagai
● Nomura headquarter - Minato, Tokyo, Japan
11. HSBC - 7.1% in 2017-18.
● HSBC CEO: Stuart Gulliver
● HSBC headquarter – London, UK
12. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) - 6.7% in 2017-18.
● OECD projected India’s GDP growth rate at 7.2% in
2018-19.
● OECD Secretary-General: Angel Gurría
● OECD headquarter – Paris, France
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Digital Banking
1. National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) – It is a
payment system which facilitates one-to-one funds
transfer. Under this facility, any customer can
electronically transfer funds from any bank branch to
any individual, firm or corporate having an account
with any other bank branch in the country.
● Transaction Limit: There is no minimum &
maximum limit of amount.
● Note: For cash-based remittance and remittance
to Nepal - the maximum amount per transaction is
limited to Rs 50,000.
● Timing: At present, NEFT operates in hourly
batches - there are twelve settlements from 8 am
to 7 pm on week days (Monday through Friday)
and six settlements from 8 am to 1 pm on
Saturdays.
2. Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) – Under this
facility the transfer of funds is done individually on an
order by order basis (without any delay). The RTGS
system is primarily meant for large value transactions.
● Transaction Limit: The minimum amount is Rs. 2
lakh. There is no upper ceiling for RTGS
transactions.
● Timing: The RTGS service window for customer's
transactions is available to banks from 9.00 hours
to 16.30 hours on week days and from 9.00 hours
to 14:00 hours on Saturdays for settlement at the
RBI end. However, the timings that the banks
follow may vary depending on the customer
timings of the bank branches.
3. Indian Financial System Code (IFSC) – It is a 11-digit
alpha-numeric code which identifies a bank-branch
participating in the NEFT & RTGS system. IFSC is used
by the NEFT system to identify the originating /
destination banks / branches and also to route the
messages appropriately to the concerned banks /
branches.
Note: IFSC code represent –
● First 4 alpha characters indicate – bank name
● Fifth characters is – 0
● Last 6 characters indicate – bank branch.
● For ex - SBIN0000125 – Here – SBIN indicates –
State Bank of India. 0124 represent the Lucknow
Main Branch name.
4. About NPCI - National Payments Corporation of India
(NPCI) is an umbrella organization for all retail
payments system in India. It was set up with the
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guidance and support of the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA).
● NPCI – Headquarter: Mumbai, Maharashtra
5. About Unified Payments Interface (UPI)- It is an
instant payment system to transfer money between
two parties bank accounts. It is a similar to NEFT or
RTGS transfers in that way. It is developed by the
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
6. Immediate payment service (IMPS) – It is an instant
real-time payment service which help customer to
transfer money anytime and anywhere in India. This
service is similar to NEFT & RTGS and available 24/7
throughout the year including bank holidays. This
service is offered by National Payments Corporation of
India (NPCI).
● Transaction limit – There is a maximum limit of
2 lakhs.
7. Interbank Mobile Payment Service (IMPS) – It is an
instant interbank fund transfer service in which mobile
phones are used as channel through which transaction
happens with the use of Mobile Money
Identifier(MMID). For each account, MMID is generated
by bank and it is linked with registered mobile
number. Now, account details are fetched from MMID
and via registered mobile number transaction occurs.
● **Only MMID and Registered Mobile Number of
Payee are needed. Mobile Money Identifier is a 7
digit number, issued by banks.
● Transaction Limits - RBI has defined the
maximum limit per day transaction. If transaction
happens in encrypted format (from net banking)
then limit is 50,000 rupees per day whereas if
transaction happens in unencrypted messaging
formats (from mobile instrument via text
message) then limit is 1,000 rupees per day.
8. *99# Service – It is a mobile banking facility which is
based on Unstructured Supplementary Service Data
(USSD). With the help of this service a bank customer
can perform financial activities by just dialing *99#
from his/her mobile registered with the bank. *99# is
a common number across all Telecom Service
Providers (TSPs). The service works across all GSM
service providers and handsets.
9. About Unstructured Supplementary Service Data
(USSD) – USSD allows transmission of information
through a GSM (Global System for Mobile
Communications) network. It is used to send text
message between a mobile phone and application
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program in the network. At present, it is one of the best
accessible communications technology to deliver
mobile financial services to low-income customers.
10. Aadhar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) – It is an
Indian payment system which is based on unique
identification number, the AADHAAR. The system
allows a person holding an Aadhaar number to carry
out financial transaction on a Micro-ATM provided by
the Banking correspondent. It is developed by National
Payments Corporation of India.
11. Aadhaar Payments Bridge System (APBS): It is a
payment gateway platform used for Aadhaar schemes.
Under this facility - Aadhaar number used as a central
key for electronically channelizing the Government
subsidies and benefits in the Aadhaar Enabled Bank
Accounts (AEBA) of the intended beneficiaries. It is
developed by National Payments Corporation of India.
It was used for the first time on 1 January 2013 when
Direct Benefit Transfer was launched by Government
of India.
12. BHIM APP – Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) is an
instant payment application which allow users to
transfer fund with the help of mobile phone. It is based
Important news related to digital banking -
1. State Bank of India has launched an Artificial
Intelligence powered chat assistant to help customers
in various banking activities. The chat assistant is
known as SBI Intelligent Assistant (SIA). This chatbot
is made by an Artificial intelligence banking platform -
Payjo.
‘SIA’ is considered as a revolution in the digital
banking field. It can resolve and handle about 10,000
queries per second.
2. Canara Bank has launched its first digital Banking
branch in Bengaluru. This branch is named as ‘CANDI’.
3. Airtel Payments Bank has become the first payment
bank in India to merge the UPI (Unified Payment
Interface) on its digital platform. With this initiative,
the bank customers can now link their bank accounts
on Bhim app and make UPI payments.
Important points related to digital banking
1. DCB Bank launches first iris-based ATM in
Telangana - ATM dispense cash without a debit card
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on the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) and developed
by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
● The Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched BHIM
app for Android and iOS devices on 30th Dec 2016
at the Digi Dhan Mela event in New Delhi.
Features of BHIM App -
● Maximum limit- User can transfer maximum
amount upto Rs 20,000 in a day.
● You can send upto Rs. 10,000 in a single
transaction.
● Transaction Charges – There is no transaction
charges.
● UPI PIN – It is a four or six digit number which is
set by the users itself on BHIM after the
registration process. UPI PIN is used for
authenticating all transactions done on UPI
platform (BHIM or *99# or UPI apps).
● VPA - Virtual Payment Address (VPA) is a unique
identifier which you can use to send and receive
money on UPI.
Note: You can use two VPA’s. First one is the
default VPA (mobile number@upi). The second
one, you can create on “My Profile” page.
Note: Airtel Payments Bank (APB), a joint venture
between Bharti Airtel Ltd and Kotak Mahindra Bank
Ltd.
4. Paytm Payments Bank join hands with NPCI for
RuPay digital card - Paytm Payments Bank (PPB)
joined with the National Payments Corporation of
India (NPCI) for RuPay digital card. With this debit
card customer will get free insurance cover of up to Rs
2 lakh in the case of death or permanent total
disability.
5. Google Tez – The new payment app for India by
Google. It is a mobile wallet app which is based on the
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform. This works
similar to the BHIM app.
as the machine verifies the customer from the Aadhaar
details like the iris and fingerprint.
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2. DCB Bank launched first Aadhaar-based ATM in
Bengaluru - The ATM accepts Aadhaar number and
Aadhaar fingerprint (biometric) instead of ATM /
debit card and PIN to dispense cash from the bank
account.
3. Country’s first banking robot - Lakshmi launched
by City Union Bank in Chennai.
4. RBL Bank becomes the first Indian bank to launch
Aadhaar Payment Bridge System for small ticket
micro-finance loan disbursements.
5. RBL Bank launches India’s first credit card exclusively
for GOLF LOVERS.
6. India’s first cash giving app ‘CASHe’ launched by Tslc
Pte Ltd.
7. First Digital State - Kerala declared first digital state
in India.
List of committees on Digital Banking -
● Committee for accelerating growth of Digital Payments in India is headed by Ratan P. Watal.
● Committee to study financial technology and digital banking issues in India is headed by - Sudarshan Sen
Mobile Apps launched by different banks
1. SBI
● ‘Mingle’ - the social media banking platform for
Facebook and Twitter users.
● ‘Buddy’ - a mobile wallet app in collaboration with
Accenture and MasterCard.
● ‘eforex’ - an internet-based platform that enables
customers to book their foreign exchange
transactions online.
● MobiCash – A digital wallet in partnership with
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).
● SBI Quick – With this app customer can get
balance or mini statement of account through
mobile phone.
● Samadhan – A self-service mobile app for
everyday banking needs.
2. ICICI
● Mera iMobile - India’s first mobile banking
application for rural customers.
● iMobile – With the help of this app a customer can
perform banking activities just like – transfer of
funds, bill payments, can check account balance,
etc.
● Tap n Pay – ICICI bank launched this service in
collaboration with Tech Mahindra Limited which is
based on Near Field Communications (NFC)
technology. This service allows any customer to
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8. First Digital District – Nagpur declared first digital
district in India.
9. First Digital Village - Akodara village in Sabarkantha
district of Gujarat became India’s first Digital village.
The village was adopted by ICICI Bank under its digital
village project 2015.
10. First cashless island - Karang, a small lake island in
Manipur, has become the country’s first cashless
island.
11. First ‘digital’ tribal colony - The Nedumkayam tribal
colony at Nilambur in Malappuram lacks basic
facilities including toilets. However, the colony has
now become a role model to the country by becoming
the first 'digital' tribal colony in India.
make over-the-counter payments without using
cash.
● M- Pesa – ICICI bank launched this service in
collaboration with Vodafone. With this facility, a
customer can transfer money and make payments
via mobile phone.
● Pocket - ICICI Bank launches India's first digital
bank app ‘Pockets’.
● Money2India - It is an online money transfer
tracking service offered to Non-Resident Indians.
● Eazypay - India’s first mobile app for merchants to
accept payments on mobile phone through
multiple digital modes.
● ICICIBankPay on Twitter - This service in India
enables ICICI Bank customers to transfer money to
anyone in the country who has a Twitter account.
● Smart Vault – Fully automated lockers which is
based on robotic technology to access the lockers
from the safe vault conveniently at any time of
their preference in total privacy, without any
intervention of the branch staff.
● Contactless Credit and Debit Cards - India’s first
‘Contactless’ debit and credit cards, enabling its
customers to make electronic payments by just
waving the cards near the merchant terminal in
lieu of dipping or swiping them.
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● Software robotics - ICICI bank launched India’s
first 'software robotics' initiative. Over 200
software robots are now performing over 1 million
transactions per day for the bank which comprises
10% of its total transactions.
● ICICI Bank launched “ATM on Wheels” India’s first
Mobile ATM, in Mumbai.
3. HDFC
● EVA - HDFC Bank launches chatbot Eva for
customer services. Electronic Virtual Assistant
(Eva) is India's first Artificial Intelligence -based
banking chatbot and can answer millions of
customer queries across multiple channels.
● Chillar - It is India's first multi-bank mobile
payment app that links directly to your bank
account. It allows customer to send money
instantly from their HDFC Bank account to anyone
in their phone book or to a beneficiary using their
‘Account number & IFSC code' or ‘UPI ID’.
● PayZapp – With this you can do online payments
and money transfer.
4. AXIS
● ‘Lime’ - India’s first Mobile App integrating Wallet,
Shopping, Payments and Banking
● First Multi- Currency Contactless Card service
launched by - Axis Bank has launched the first
Contactless Debit, Credit and Multi-Currency Forex
Card in association with VISA payWave in the
country
5. Federal Bank
● ‘Scan N Pay’ - allows customers to instantly
transfer money to any of the Federal Bank
accounts through android phones
● Lotza’ is Unified Payment Interface app of Federal
Bank.
● FedMobile – Customers can access specified
banking services including information relating to
their Account(s), transaction details and such
other services as may be made available by the
Bank from time to time.
● FedBook Selfie - India’s first mobile app for bank
account opening.
6. PNB launches –
● mBanking - With the help of this app a customer
can perform banking activities just like – transfer
of funds, bill payments, can check account balance,
etc.
Banking & Financial terms
1. AEPS – Aadhar Enabled Payment System
2. APBS – Aadhar Payment Bridge System
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● Wave N Pay – Contactless credit cards, enabling its
customers to make electronic payments by just
waving the cards near the merchant terminal in
lieu of dipping or swiping them.
7. Kotak Mahindra Bank –
● 811 mobile app - digital banking system on mobile.
Note: 811 offers a zero -balance savings account
with zero charges for all digital transactions,
Note: Kotak is the first bank in India to integrate the newly
introduced Aadhaar-based OTP authentication process for
account opening on mobile. Only Aadhaar and PAN
numbers are required to open and operate 811.
8. Yes Bank –
● PhonePe - It works over the Unified Payments
Interface(UPI) platform developed by the National
Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and is
powered by YES Bank. PhonePe is a one stop UPI-
based app which can serve all your payment needs,
in a safe and secure manner.
● YES mPower - Yes Bank partnered with Silicon
Valley-based bot platform Gupshup to launch an
artificial intelligence-powered banking chatbot
‘YES mPower’ that instantly gives information
about loan products. The ‘YES mPower’ bot is
available through Facebook Messenger
9. Indian Bank –
● IndPay – A mobile application service that enables
its customers to operate bank account from
anywhere, anytime.
10. Bank of Baroda –
● M-Connect - It offers you the chance to manage all
of your banking operations using your Smartphone
in a convenient, safe and simple manner.
11. Union Bank of India –
● U-Mobile - The mobile banking facility that will
help you do banking transactions using your
mobile phone.
12. ‘Project Ananya’ by Syndicate Bank – Syndicate
Bank had launched the ‘Project Ananya’ which provide
latest digital banking services to its customer.
13. MobiKwik launched ‘Bubble Pin’ as a one-step offline
payments mode, which allows users to make payments
without data connection.
3. ATM – Automated Teller Machine
4. ALM - Asset Liability Management
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5. BBPS – Bharat Bill Payment System
6. BHIM - Bharat Interface for Money
7. CBS – Core Banking System
8. CIDR - Central Identities Data Repository
9. CTS – Cheque Truncation System
10. CDR - Corporate Debt Restructuring
11. CASA – Current Account Saving Account
12. CAD – Capital Account Deficit
13. CRR – Cash Reserve Ratio
14. ECS – Electronic Clearing Scheme
15. DNS - Domain Name System
16. DEAF - Depositor Education and Awareness Fund
17. EFTPOS - Electronic funds transfer at point of sale
18. EFT – Electronic Fund Transfer.
19. FRBM - Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management
20. LGD - Loss Given Default
21. GNFV - Gross Negative Fair Value
22. SFTs: Securities financing transactions
23. HCE - Host Card Emulation
24. PFE - Potential Future Exposure
25. ICAAP - Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process
26. IFSC - Indian Financial System Code
27. IMPS - Immediate Payment Service
28. IMPS - Interbank Mobile Payment Service
29. MMID - Mobile Money Identifier
30. MPIN - Mobile Personal Identification Number
31. NPA – Non- Performing Assets
32. NPCI - National Payment Corporation of India
33. NFS – National Financial Switch
34. NACH – National Automated Clearing House
35. NEFT – National Electronic Fund Transfer
36. NFC - Near field communication
37. NDTL – Net Demand and Time Liabilities.
38. OTC – Over the Counter
39. PIN – Personal Identification Number
40. PAC - Personal Access Code
41. PCA - Prompt Corrective Action
42. PSPs - Payment Support Providers
43. RTGS – Real Time Gross Settlement
44. USSD - Unstructured Supplementary Services Data
Agreement
1. IOC overtakes ONGC to become India's most
profitable PSU - Indian Oil Corporation has overtaken
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to
become India’s most profitable state-owned company.
2. SAAB & Adani Group join hands to build Gripen E
fighter jets in India - Swedish defence major SAAB
and Adani Group has join hands to manufacture Gripen
E fighter jets in India under the Defence Ministry’s $10
billion single-engine fighter jet procurement
programme.
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45. UIDAI - Unique Identification Authority of India
46. VPA - Virtual Payment Address.
47. GDR – Global Depository Receipt
48. GAAR - General anti avoidance rule
49. PAN – Permanent Account Number
50. PLR – Prime Lending Rate
51. SLR – Statutory Liquidity Ratio
52. SDR – Special Drawing Rights
53. DTAA – Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement
54. TIEA – Tax Information Exchange Agreement
55. EFSF – European Financial Stability Facility
56. PPP – Purchasing Power Parity
57. PPP – Public Private Partnership
58. NPS – New Pension Scheme
59. EEFC - Exchange Earner's Foreign Currency
60. FII – Foreign Institutional Investor
61. DII – Domestic Institutional Investor
62. GST – Goods and Services Tax
63. DTC – Direct Tax Code
64. FCNRA – Foreign Currency Non- Resident account
65. MFI - Micro Finance Institutions
66. MFDC – Micro Finance Development Council
67. TRAI - Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
68. MSF – Marginal Standing Facility
69. IDF – Infrastructure Debt Fund
70. CRIS – Comparative Rating Index for Sovereign
71. LIBOR – London Inter Bank Operation Rate
72. MIBOR – Mumbai Inter Bank Operation Rate
73. MICR – Magnetic Ink Character Recognition
74. SARFAESI - Securitization and Reconstruction of
Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest
75. BCBS - Basel Committee on Banking Supervision
76. NPCI - National Payments Corporation of India
3. NABARD sanctioned loan of Rs 1,350-cr to
Rajasthan Government for the creation of rural
infrastructure in the state under the Rural
Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF).
4. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide
a USD 152 million to Nepal for the implementation
and enhancement of its power transmission and
distribution. ADB and Nepal’s Ministry of Finance
signed the loan agreement in Kathmandu.
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5. The Finance Ministry & World Bank ink pact of $24
million to improve India’s Forest Ecosystem Services.
6. World Bank to provide $250-million loan to train
India's job seekers - The World Bank has cleared
a USD 250-million loan for making Indian youth more
employable through reskilling, in a move that is seen to
aid the Skill India Mission. Under the program, adults
in 15-59 years of age, underemployed or unemployed,
will get the skill training.
7. ADB approved loan of $80-Million to Himachal
Pradesh - Asian Development Bank (ADB) has
approved a loan of $80 million (about Rs 524
crore) for the modernization of Himachal Pradesh’s
technical and vocational education and training (TVET)
institutions.
8. The government of India and Asian Development Bank
(ADB) has signed a 220 million dollar loan for
improving connectivity as well as transport efficiency
and safety on State Highways of Rajasthan.
9. AIIB approves USD 329 mn loan to build roads in
Gujarat - China based Asian Infrastructure Investment
Bank (AIIB) announced its approval to a $329 million
loan to build access roads across 4,000 villages in
Gujarat.
10. To reduce emissions and promote sustainability to
help India’s smart city programme, France and the
European Union have extended a grant of 3.5 million
euros under the ‘Moblise Your City’ (MYC)
initiative. Three Indian cities- Nagpur, Kochi and
Ahmedabad -- will get the grant as part of the EU’s
Financial & Economy News
1. GIC Re launched India’s 3rd largest IPO - General
Insurance Corp of India (GIC Re) launched its mega Rs
11,370 crore initial public offer (IPO). This is India's
third biggest IPO ever after Coal India's Rs 15,200
crore and Reliance Power's Rs 11,700 crore issues.
2. Wholesale inflation rose to a four-month high of 3.24
per cent in August as prices of food articles, led by
onions and vegetables, soared. Inflation based on the
Wholesale Price Index was 1.88 per cent in July 2017
and 1.09 per cent in August 2016.
3. First regional centre of New Development Bank
opened in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Note:
● The New Development Bank (NDB), formerly
referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a
multilateral development bank established by the
BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and
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commitment under the Paris Climate agreement
according to French Development Agency (AFD).
11. World Bank has approved a loan assistance of 44
million dollars for the Assam State Public Finance
Institutional Reforms (ASPIRe) Project.
12. West Bengal Gets $300 Million ADB Loan - ADB has
sanctioned a USD 300 million loan facility for
carrying forward fiscal reforms in West Bengal. The
board of Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a
loan of USD 300 million to continue a comprehensive
series of fiscal reforms in West Bengal.
13. Reliance Defence inks Pact with Serbia’s Yugoimport to
Manufacture Ammunition in India.
14. Asian Development Bank has pledged USD 10 billion
for development projects in India.
15. India, World Bank sign USD 35 million agreement to
enhance efficiency in tax administration in Assam.
16. Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has
approved $150 million equity investment loan to the
India Infrastructure Fund.
17. India signed an agreement with Sri Lanka on 6 June
2017 to provide fresh assistance of USD 318 million as
a line of credit for the development of the nation’s
railway sector.
18. India & World Bank signed an agreement – for
Himachal Pradesh Financial Management Capacity
Building programme. USD 36 million.
19. India signed a USD 39.2 million loan agreement with
the World Bank for the Assam Citizen Centric Service
Delivery project
South Africa) with an initial authorised capital of
the bank is USD 100 billion.
● The headquarter of NDB is in Shanghai, China.
● K.V. Kamath is the first President of NDB.
4. BSNL Launches digital wallet bespoke - BSNL went
digital by launching a bespoke mobile wallet (mobile
payment App) that would enable its existing 100
million customers to make Bill payments. The wallet
has been developed and issued by MobiKwik on behalf
of BSNL.
5. Nestle set up a first food safety institute in
Manesar, Gurugram to help develop standards in
food safety and quality. It will provide guidance and
training on food safety. While this is the first such
institute in India, Nestle already runs a similar
Institute each in China and Lausanne, Switzerland.
6. India becomes 1st country to give to UN Tax Fund
with $100000 contribution - India has contributed
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$100,000 to a UN fund to help developing countries
actively participate in the discussion of tax
issues, becoming the first country to make the
contribution. The UN Tax Trust Fund aims to support
the work of the Committee of Experts on International
Cooperation in Tax Matters.
7. WTO estimated World Trade to grow at 3.6% in
2017. According to revised estimates circulated by
the World Trade Organisation, the World trade in
goods is estimated to grow at a higher 3.6 percent in
2017. Earlier growth was projected at 2.4 percent in
2017.
8. US shut down Pakistan’s Habib Bank - The US
banking regulators has shut down the Pakistan’s Habib
Bank office in New York for constantly failing to
attention concerns over possible terrorist financing
and money laundering.
Note: Habib Bank Limited (HBL) Pakistan is a Karachi
based multinational bank. It is the largest bank by
assets in Pakistan. Sultan Ali Allana is a Chairman and
Nauman Dar is a President & CEO of HBL.
9. India’s Forex reserves cross $400 billion for first
time - According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI),
India’s foreign exchange (Forex) reserves have crossed
$400 billion mark for the first time. The increase was
due sharp rise in foreign currency assets.
Note: India is now at sixth position in forex reserves
ranking behind China (3,053 billion reserves), Japan
($1,188 billion), Switzerland ($743 billion), Saudi
Arabia ($489 billion) and Taiwan ($441 billion).
10. Air India Ties up with PNB, IndusInd - Air India has
tied up Punjab National Bank and IndusInd Bank to
secure loans to the tune of over Rs 3,000 crore for
meeting working capital requirements.
11. Core sector growth rises to 4.9% in August 2017 -
According to Ministry of Commerce & Industry, eight
core sectors grew by 4.9% in August 2017, the highest
growth rate since April 2017. It was higher than 3.1%
in August 2016 and 2.6% in July 2017
12. IIP rises to 9-month high of 4.3% in August 2017-
According to data released by Central Statistics Office
(CSO), factory output measured in terms of Index of
Industrial Production (IIP) has grown nine-month high
to 4.3% in August 2017.
About Index of Industrial Production (IIP) - The IIP
is composite indicator that measures short-term
changes in volume of production of basket of industrial
products during given period with respect to chosen
base period. It is compiled and published monthly by
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Central Statistical Organization (CSO), Ministry of
Statistics and Programme Implementation.
Note:
● The CSO had revised base year of IIP from 2004-
05 to 2011-12 in May 2017 to capture structural
changes in economy and improve quality and
representativeness of indices.
● The revised IIP (2011-12) reflects changes in
industrial sector and also aligns it with base year
of other macroeconomic indicators like Wholesale
Price Index (WPI) and Gross Domestic Product
(GDP).
● The IIP covers 407 item groups. Sector wise these
items falls into 3 categories viz. Manufacturing
(405 items), Mining (1 items) & Electricity (1
item). The weights of three sectors are 77.63%,
14.37%, 7.9% respectively.
13. ICEX launches world’s first diamond futures
contracts - The Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) as
launched world’s first diamond futures contracts to
provide exporters with a hedging tool. ICEX has
received approval from market regulator Securities
Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to commence trading
with diamond futures contracts.
Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) –
● ICEX is deemed recognized Stock exchange
providing a nation-wide on-line trading platform in
commodity derivative.
● It is a public-private partnership with Reliance
Capital, MMTC Ltd, Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd,
Indian Potash Ltd, KRIBHCO and IDFC Bank as
major shareholders.
● It was established under the SCRA, 1956 in terms
of Section 131(B) of Finance Act, 2015 pursuant to
central Government notification issued in August
2015.
14. Union Government launches Bharat 22 ETF to sell
stakes in 22 firms - The Union Finance Ministry has
launched second exchange-traded fund (ETF),
named Bharat 22. It will help to speed up
Government’s disinvestment programme budgeted to
raise a record Rs 72,500 crore in the FY 2018.
Note:
● Bharat 22 comprise of 22 stocks including those of
central public sector enterprises (CPSEs), public
sector banks (PSBs) and its holdings under the
Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India
(SUUTI).
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● Bharat 22 is a well-diversified ETF spanning six
sectors — basic materials, energy, finance,
industrials, FMCG and utilities.
● The sector wise weightage in the Bharat 22 Index
is basic materials (4.4%), energy (17.5%), finance
(20.3%), FMCG (15.2%), industrials (22.6%), and
utilities (20%).
About Exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are essentially
index funds that are listed and traded on
exchanges like stocks. They are basically basket of
stocks with assigned weights that reflects the
composition of an index. They are similar to
mutual funds in a certain manner but are more
liquid as they can be sold quickly on stock
exchanges like shares. The ETFs trading value is
based on the net asset value of the underlying
stocks that it represents
15. MCX gets SEBI approval to launch India’s first gold
options contract – Commodity derivatives bourse
Multi Commodity Exchange Ltd (MCX) has received
markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of
India’s (SEBI) approval to launch India’s first gold
options contract.
Note: The MCX is the country’s largest metals and
energy commodity bourse. It is country’s first listed
commodity futures exchange that facilitates online
trading, and clearing and settlement of commodity
futures transactions, thereby providing a platform for
risk management.
16. CCEA approves implementation of Dairy
Processing & Infrastructure Development Fund
scheme - The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs
(CCEA) has approved implementation of Dairy
Processing & Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF)
scheme with an outlay of Rs 10881 crore.
Note:
● The Dairy Processing & Infrastructure
Development Fund will be set up as a corpus of Rs
8004 crore with National Bank for Agriculture and
Rural Development (NABARD).
● The scheme will be implemented during the
period from 2017-18 to 2028-29.
● The project will be implemented by National
Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and National
Dairy Development Corporation (NCDC) directly
through the End Borrowers.
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17. New Development Bank (NDB) - has approved USD
470 million loan for Madhya Pradesh’s Multi-Village
Rural Drinking Water Supply Scheme Project.
18. Telecom giant Verizon has acquired Yahoo’s core
business for $4.48bn (£3.51m), thus ending Yahoo’s
two-decade long run as an independent company.
Verizon is the No.1 wireless operator in the US.
19. Union Government restricts import of gold, silver
items from South Korea. India is the world's biggest
gold consumer after China and it imposes a 10 percent
import duty on gold and silver.
20. India to import crude oil from US for first time –
India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, for the
first time will import crude oil from the United States.
The purchase comes after Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s visit to the US in June 2017 when President
Donald Trump had assured that US looks forward to
export more energy products to India.
21. DIPP to set up India’s first TISC in Punjab –
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP)
will establish India’s first Technology and Innovation
Support Center (TISC) at Patent Information Centre of
Punjab. TISC will be established in Punjab under the
World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO)
TISC program.
22. NMCE, ICEX to merge to create India’s third biggest
commodity exchange - National Multi Commodity
Exchange (NMCE), India’s first demutualised online
national multi-commodities exchange will merge with
Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX). The merged entity
will create India’s third biggest commodity exchange.
Note:
● The largest commodity exchange by volume is the
Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) followed by
National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange
(NCDEX).
● At present, India has six national commodity
exchanges namely, Multi Commodity Exchange
(MCX), National Commodity and Derivatives
Exchange (NCDEX), National Multi-Commodity
Exchange (NMCE) and Indian Commodity
Exchange (ICEX), ACE Derivatives exchange (ACE)
and Universal commodity exchange (UCX) apart
from numerous regional exchanges.
● Government had established regulatory body is
Forward Markets Commission (FMC) in 1953. It
was merged with the Securities and Exchange
Board of India (SEBI) in September 2015.
23. Union Government launches new tax payer service
module Aaykar Setu - Aaykar Setu, a new tax payer
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service module - The module was launched in a
mobile responsive android version along with the
desktop version to enhance mobile access experience.
24. India’s Largest Municipal Bond Programme
launched - Union Urban Development Minister
Venkaiah Naidu has launched India’s largest municipal
bond programme. The Pune Municipal Corporation
(PMC) became the first municipal corporation in the
country to tap money through municipal bonds in 14
years. The AA+ rated PMC’s municipal bonds raised Rs
200 crore at 7.59 per cent rate at the Bombay Stock
Exchange (BSE).
Note:
● This is the first-ever mobilisation of debt capital
by a municipal corporation on the BSE BOND
platform. This will also be the first issuance since
the publication of ‘Issue and Listing of Debt
Securities by Municipalities Regulations, 2015’ by
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
SBI Bank in News
1. SBI launched India’s first bond index in London -
SBI along with FTSE Russell, global index and data
provider launched FTSE SBI Bond Index series at
London Stock Exchange (LSE). It is India’s first bond
index series for overseas investors.
2. SBI launches ‘SBI Realty’ portal for home buyers -
SBI has launched ‘SBI Realty’ a dedicated portal that
will help home buyers to choose flats from its 3,000
approved projects across the country.
3. SBI launched SME Assist for MSME Clients – SBI has
launched a new initiative ‘SME Assist’ to provide
a short-term working capital demand loan to its MSME
clients. It offers loans to MSME customers on the basis
of their input credit claims under Goods and Services
Tax (GST). The loan processing fee under the scheme is
Rs 2,000.
4. SBI to set up India’s largest Innovation Centre in
Mumbai – SBI will set up a 15,000-sqft innovation
centre at its Global IT Centre in Belapur in Navi
Mumbai.
5. SBI launches first paperless Banking services
sbiINTOUCH in Nepal – SBI has launched its fully
automatic digital banking services in the Nepalese
capital Kathmandu.
6. SBI, World Bank finance ₹400-cr solar projects –
SBI and the World Bank had financed 100 MW of
rooftop solar projects worth Rs. 400 crore in India.
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● Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) was assisted
by the US Department of Treasury to create a debt
policy.
About Municipality Bonds - Municipality bonds can be
issued by the city corporations to fund developmental
projects. Institutional investors, as well as the public, can
buy these bonds. The corporations can use the revenues
earned from the developmental projects like Metro rail
network to repay the interest and principal on these
bonds. These municipal bonds have now been permitted
for public offering by SEBI.
Municipal bonds have been in existence in India from the
year 1997. Cities such as Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Nashik
and Madurai have already issued them. These bonds will
help the city corporations to directly raise funds without
the help of grants from the state governments or agencies
such as World Bank.
7. SBI tops share of Wilful Default to PSBs - SBI,
accounts for over 27 per cent of the total amount owed
to public sector banks by wilful defaulters. As many as
1,762 wilful defaulters owed SBI Rs 25,104 crore.
Punjab National Bank (PNB) is next on the list with
1,120 wilful defaulters having outstanding non-
performing assets (NPAs) of Rs 12,278 crore. Together
these two banks account for Rs 37,382 crore or 40 per
cent of the total outstanding loans.
8. SBI Tops Trust and Popularity Charts - According to
a survey conducted by Brand Finance, a business
valuation and strategic consultancy, SBI is India’s most
trusted and most popular bank.
Note: On the trust charts, SBI is followed by HDFC
Bank and Central Bank of India whereas on the
popularity charts, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank take
the second and third spots respectively.
9. SBI Eases Minimum Balance Rules On Savings
Accounts - SBI had lowered the 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 a
balance.
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Other Bank in News
1. IDBI Bank only PSB to get ‘high’ rating for code
compliance - According to the Code Compliance
Rating of banks done by the Banking Codes and
Standards Board of India (BCSBI) 2017, only one (IDBI
Bank) out of 26 public sector banks and eight out of 17
private sector banks got ‘high’ rating for their
adherence to code compliance.
The eight private sector banks that got ‘high’ rating
are- Axis Bank, DCB Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank,
IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, RBL Bank and
YES Bank. The three foreign banks are Citibank, HSBC
and Standard Chartered Bank, that were surveyed got
‘high’ ranking.
2. Kotak Bank launched ‘Kotak Remit’ an Aadhaar-
based integrated outward forex remittance solution for
both customers and non-customers.
3. Fincare Small Finance Bank starts banking
operations - Fincare Small Finance Bank
(previously known as Disha Microfin Limited) kick-
started its banking operations with about 25
operational branches across Gujarat, Tamil Nadu,
Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The bank was given
final small finance bank (SFB) licence from the Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) in May 2017.
Note: Rajeev Yadav is the CEO of Fincare Small
Finance Bank. Its headquartered is in Bengaluru,
Karnataka.
4. PNB & BSNL ties up for mobile wallet “Speedpay” -
Punjab National Bank (PNB) & BSNL has joined hands
to roll out open mobile wallet Speedpay across 10
states in the country. Under the agreement, BSNL will
expand Speedpay services in Punjab, Chandigarh(UT),
Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and
Uttarakhand.
5. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank receives scheduled
bank status from RBI - Ujjivan Small Finance Bank
Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ujjivan Financial
Services Ltd, has been given scheduled bank status
Rank of India in Global Indexes: 2017
1. Valuable Nation Brand list 2017 – India ranked at 8th
positions among 100 countries. The report is prepared
by Brand Finance.
● India’s Previous year ranking – 7th
● Top three countries are – China, Germany & Japan.
● Brand Finance headquarter – London, UK
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by RBI. Ujjivan SFB commenced its operations as a
Small Finance Bank with effect from February 1, 2017.
Note: Samit Ghosh is the MD & CEO of Ujjivan SFB.
It headquartered is in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
6. Fino Payments Bank has launched its mobile banking
app called “BPay”.
7. Canara Bank has launched its first ‘Digital Banking
Branch’ named 'CANDI' in Bengaluru. The most
attractive feature of the digital branch is a humanoid
robot that addresses basic queries of customers on
banking products and services. This is a first-of-its
kind initiative by a public-sector bank in the country.
8. Karur Vysya Bank opens its first Aadhaar
Enrolment Centre in Chennai. KVB is the first private
sector bank to provide this service in India.
9. Corporation Bank has bagged the best performance
awards for Self Help Groups bank linkage program for
Karnataka for 2015-16 and 2016-17 from National
Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
(Nabard).
10. KVGB Bags Best Performer Award - National Bank
for Agriculture and Rural Development
(NABARD) has conferred the ‘best performance
award’ for 2015-16 and 2016-17 to Karnataka Vikas
Grameen Bank (KVGB) for its work in the field of
credit-linking joint liability groups (JLGs).
11. IDBI Bank has launched ‘Project Nishchay’ in
partnership with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
to accelerate its turnaround program and improve
financial performance.
12. HDFC Life Insurance Company has launched 'Neo', a
servicing bot for Twitter that uses artificial
intelligence for customer service. This is the second
bot put in operation by HDFC Life, after the launch
of SPOK, which was an email bot to answer customer
queries.
13. Tata AIA Life Launches ‘Eazy Connect’ - Tata AIA
Life announced the launch of ‘Eazy Connect’, that will
extend online customer service to social media
platforms.
● CEO – David Haigh
2. Global Financial Centres Index 2017 – India’s
financial capital Mumbai was ranked at 60th position
among 92 financial centres. The repost is published by
the Z/Yen and China Development Institute.
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● London has topped the index followed by New
York & Hong Kong.
● The GFCI is released twice a year in March &
September.
3. Global Hunger Index 2017: India ranked at 100th
positions among 119 countries. The report is
published by International Food Policy Research
Institute (IFPRI).
● India’s Previous year ranking – 97th
● Most hunger countries in the list– The Central
African Republic (CAR), Chad and Sierra Leone.
● IFPRI headquarter – Washington D.C., US
● Director General - Shenggen Fan
4. Global Retail Development Index 2017 – India
ranked at the top position among 30 countries. The
repost is published by - A.T. Kearney's.
● India’s Previous year ranking – 2nd
● The countries ranked on second & third spot –
China and Malaysia.
● A.T. Kearney Headquarter – Chicago, Illinois,
United States
● CEO - Johan Aurik
5. World Human Development Index 2017 – India
ranked at 131st positions among 188 countries. The
report is published by United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP).
● India’s Previous year ranking – 130
● Top three countries are - Norway, Australia and
Switzerland.
● UNDP Headquarter – New York
● Director General - Achim Steiner
6. Global Connectivity Index 2017 – India ranked at
43rd positions among 50 countries. The report is
compiled and published by Huawei a leading global
information and communications technology.
● India’s Previous year ranking - 44
● Top three countries are – US, Singapore and
Sweden.
● Huawei headquarters– Shenzhen, China
● CEO - Ren Zhengfei (CEO)
7. Word Press Freedom Index 2017 – India ranked at
136th positions among 180 countries. The report is
compiled and published by Reporters Without
Borders.
● India’s Previous year ranking - 133
● Top three countries are – Norway, Sweden &
Finland.
● Reporters Without Borders Headquarters– Paris,
France
● Director General - Christophe Deloire
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8. Ease of Doing Business 2017 – India ranked at 130th
positions among 190 countries. The report is
published by World Bank Group.
● India’s Previous year ranking - 131
● Top three countries are – New Zealand, Singapore
& Denmark.
● World Bank Group Headquarters– Washington,
DC, USA
● President - Jim Yong Kim
9. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Confidence Index
2017 – India ranked at 8th positions among 25
countries. The report is published by A.T. Kearney.
● India’s Previous year ranking – 9th
● Top three countries are -US, Germany & China.
● A.T. Kearney Headquarter – Chicago, Illinois,
United States
● CEO - Johan Aurik
10. Global Competitiveness Index 2017 – India ranked
at 40th positions among 137 countries. The report is
published by World Economic Forum (WEF).
● India’s Previous year ranking – 39th
● Top three countries are – Switzerland, US &
Singapore.
● World Economic Forum Headquarter – Cologny,
Switzerland
● Founder & CEO - Klaus Schwab
11. Global Human Capital index 2017 – India ranked at
103rd positions among 130 countries. The report is
published by the World Economic Forum.
● India’s Previous year ranking – 105
● Top three countries are – Norway, Finland &
Switzerland.
● World Economic Forum Headquarter – Cologny,
Switzerland
● Founder & CEO - Klaus Schwab
12. Global Innovation Index 2017 - India ranked at 60th
positions among 130 countries. The report is
published by Cornell University, INSEAD, and the
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
● India’s Previous year ranking – 66
● Top three countries are – Switzerland, Switzerland
& the Netherlands.
● World Intellectual Property Organization
Headquarter – Geneva, Switzerland
● CEO - Francis Gurry
13. Global Peace Index 2017 - India ranked at 137th
positions among 163 countries. The report is
published by the Institute for Economics & Peace.
● India’s Previous year ranking – 141
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● Top three countries are – Iceland, New Zealand &
Portugal.
● Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) headquarter
– Sydney, Australia.
● Chairman - Steve Killelea
14. World Happiness Index 2017 - India ranked at
122nd positions among 155 countries. The report is
published by United Nations Sustainable Development
Solutions Network.
● India’s Previous year ranking – 118
● Top three countries are – Norway, Denmark &
Iceland.
● UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network
Headquarter – New York, USA
● Director - Jeffrey Sachs
15. Global Resilience Index 2017 - India ranked at 60th
positions among 130 countries. The report is
published by FM Global.
● India’s Previous year ranking – 107
● Top three countries are – Switzerland,
Luxembourg & United Kingdom.
● FM Global Headquarter – Johnston, (US)
● Chairman & CEO - Shivan S. Subramaniam
16. Economic Freedom Index 2017 – India ranked at
143rd positions among 186 countries. The report is
published by ‘The Heritage Foundation’.
● India’s Previous year ranking – 123
● Top three countries are – Hong Kong, Singapore &
New Zealand.
● The Heritage Foundation headquarter –
Washington, D.C
● President - Edwin Feulner
17. International Intellectual Property Index 2017 –
India ranked at 43rd positions among 45 countries.
The report is published by US Chamber of Commerce’s
Global Intellectual Property Centre (GIPC).
● India’s Previous year ranking – 37
● Top three countries are – United States, United
Kingdom & Germany.
● US Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual
Property Centre (GIPC) headquarter – Washington,
D.C
Schemes under Ministry of Finance-
1. Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY)-
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● President & CEO- David Hirschmann
18. Sustainable Development Goal Index 2017 - India
ranked at 116th positions among 157 countries. The
report is published by Sustainable Development
Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Bertelsmann
Stiftung.
● India’s Previous year ranking – 110
● Top three countries are – Sweden, Denmark &
Finland.
19. Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2017– India
ranked at 79th positions among 176 countries. The
report is published by Transparency International (TI).
● India’s Previous year ranking – 76
● Top 3 countries - New Zealand and Denmark in
joint first place followed by Finland and Sweden.
● Counties bottom of the index: Somalia was
ranked the most corrupt country. Other countries
with lower rankings were Syria, South Sudan,
North Korea.
● Transparency International (TI) Headquarter –
Berlin, Germany
● Chairman - José Ugaz
20. Global Index of Talent Competitiveness 2017 –
India ranked at 92th positions among 118 countries.
The report is published by INSEAD in partnership with
The Adecco Group and the Human Capital Leadership
Institute of Singapore (HCLI).
● India’s Previous year ranking – 89
● Top three countries are – Switzerland, Singapore,
United Kingdom
21. Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI)
2017 - India ranked at 40th positions among 130
countries. The report is published by the World
Economic Forum.
• India’s Previous year ranking – 52
• Top three countries are – Spain, France & Germany.
• World Economic Forum Headquarter – Cologny,
Switzerland
• Founder & CEO - Klaus Schwab
• For the senior citizens aged 60 years and above
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• The Scheme provides an assured return of 8% p.a.
payable monthly (equivalent to 8.30% p.a.
effective) for 10 years.
• The scheme will be operated by LIC.
2. Jan Suraksha Yojana-
(i) PRADHAN MANTRI JEEVAN JYOTI BIMA YOJANA-
• PMJJBY is a one-year life insurance scheme.
• Renewable from year to year, offering coverage for
death due to any reason and is available to people
in the age group of 18 to 50 years
• Premium of Rs.330/- per annum per member
• life cover of Rs. 2 lakhs
(ii) PRADHAN MANTRI SURAKSHA BIMA YOJANA-
• Premium of Rs.12 per year
• Age group 18 to 70 years
• Under it, risk coverage available will be Rs.2 lakh
for accidental death and permanent total disability
and Rs. 1 lakh for permanent partial disability
(iii) Atal Pension Yojana-
• Launched in 2015
• Focussed on all citizens in the unorganised sector
• Age- min 18 years, Max- 40 years
• The Union Govt. would also co-contribute 50% of
the subscriber’s contribution or Rs. 1000 per
annum, whichever is lower.
• Subscribers would receive the fixed pension at the
age of 60 years, depending on their contributions.
3. PRADHAN MANTRI MUDRA YOJANA (PMMY)-
• Launched in 2015
• In this scheme, Mudra (Micro Units Development
and Refinance Agency) bank has been opened to
fund all MFI (Micro Financial institutions) which
provide loans to the MSMEs.
• The lending priority will be given to SC/ST
enterprises.
• MUDRA Bank has launched three loan instruments:
(i) Shishu- loans up to Rs 50,000 (ii) Kishor- loans
above Rs 50,000 and up to Rs. 5 lakhs
(iii) Tarun- loans above Rs 5 lakh and up to Rs 10
lakh
4. Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana-
• To provide social security to the persons who are
above or equal to 60 years.
• Implemented through LIC.
• It will provide an assured pension based on a rate
of return of 8% per annum for ten years.
Schemes under Ministry of Women and Child
Development –
1. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP)-
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• Launched by the PM on January 22, 2015 at
Panipat, Haryana.
• Objective- Improve Child Sex Ratio, Protection and
education of girl child.
• Current brand ambassador-Olympic Bronze
medallist Sakshi Malik.
2. Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana-
• Launched by the Prime Minister on January 21,
2015.
• Under Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Women
and Child Development.
• It is a part of BBBP (Beti Bachao Beti Padhao).
• Only for girls whose age are equal or below 10
years.
• Tenure- 21 years from the date of opening or girl’s
marriage
• Current interest rate- 8.3 Percent.
• Account can be opened via post offices or
commercial banks.
3. POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses) e-
Box-
• Online complaint management system
• Action against the offenders under the POCSO Act,
2012.
• Any human being up to the age of 18 years is
recognised as a child under the POCSO Act.
4. SHe-box’ (sexual harassment electronic box) portal-
• Launched in July 2017.
• Online platform to enable women employees of
the central govt. to file complaints related to
sexual harassment at the workplace.
5. ‘SABLA’ Scheme-
• Launched in 2010, also known as Rajiv Gandhi
Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls.
• Development of adolescent girls of 11-18 years by
making them ‘self-reliant’.
• Focus areas- Nutrition, Skill development and
Health.
6. Tejaswini Project-
• Initially the project has been implemented in 17
districts in Jharkhand.
• Tejaswini Socio-Economic Empowerment of
Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW)
Project.
• Project is financed by World Bank.
7. Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)
• Launched in October 2, 1975.
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• Provides food, education, and primary healthcare
to children under 6 years of age and their mothers.
• Anyone can visit to the Aanganwadi centre and
enroll these services.
8. Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahayog Yojana-
• Provide financial aid of Rs 6,000 to pregnant
women who undergo institutional delivery for
hospital admission.
• The scheme provided cash transfer to pregnant
women above the age of 18 years for up to two
live births.
Schemes under Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers
Welfare –
1. Pradhan Mantri FASAL Bima Yojana (PMFBY)-
• Launched in 2016 and replaced two crop insurance
schemes National Agricultural Insurance Scheme
(NAIS) and Modified NAIS.
• Provide insurance coverage and financial support
to the farmers in the case of failure of any of the
notified crop as a result of natural calamities, pests
& diseases.
• Premium Paid by farmers are-
Rabi crop- 1.5 Percent
Kharif crop- 2 Percent
Annual commercial and horticultural crops- 5
percent
2. Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana-
• Attract investments in irrigation system and
bringing efficiency in water usage in irrigation.
• Nodal Agency- State Agriculture Departments
(Because Agriculture is a state subject in schedule
VII of the constitution.)
• Tagline- Per drop more crop
3. Soil Health Card Scheme-
• Launched by the Prime Minister on February 2015
at Suratgarh in Rajasthan.
• In this scheme, the government issue soil cards to
farmers which will carry crop-wise information of
nutrients and fertilisers required for the individual
farms to help farmers to improve productivity.
4. NAM (National Agricultural Market)
• National Agricultural Market is a whole-India
electronic trading portal to facilitate farmers,
traders, buyers, exporters and processors with a
common platform for trading commodities.
• Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC)
is a marketing board established by state
governments which forces the farmers to sell their
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produce only to middlemen approved by the
government in authorized Mandis (markets).
5. Rashtriya Gokul Mission-
• Conservation of indigenous breeds and their
development to improve their genetic makeup,
enhancing the milk productivity and distribution of
disease free high genetic breed.
6. Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojajna-
• Launched in 2016.
• Improve organic farming and soil health.
• Also known as Traditional Farming Improvement
Programme.
Note-
• Sikkim has become India's first fully organic state
by implementing organic practices on around
75,000 hectares of agricultural land.
7. e-pashuhaat portal-
• Connect farmers and breeders of bovine animals.
• Launched in November 26, 2016 on the occasion of
birth anniversary of the father of India’s White
Revolution Verghese Kurien.
8. Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture
• Launched in 2014-15 during 12th five-year plan
• This mission integrates the following schemes-
(1) National Horticulture Mission
(2) Horticulture Mission for North East &
Himalayan States
(3) National Bamboo Mission
(4) National Horticulture Board
(5) Coconut Development Board
(6) Central Institute for Horticulture, Nagaland
9. Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Unnat Krishi Shiksha
Scheme
• Launched in the year 2016.
• Promote agricultural education
10. Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana-
• Launched in 2007 to achieve 4 percent annual
growth in the agricultural sector during the 11th
five-year plan.
• Incentivize the states to increase their investment
in Agriculture
11. Price Stabilization Fund-
• Launched in 2014-15 to help regulate the price
volatility of important agri-horticultural
commodities like onion, potatoes and pulses were
also added subsequently.
• The fund provides a strategic buffer.
12. Mission Fingerling-
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• Development and management of fisheries sector
in India to achieve fish production targets under
the Blue Revolution.
• In this 20 States have been identified based on
their potential and other relevant factors to
Other programs and schemes-
1. ‘Saubhagya’ (Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana) Scheme-
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 'Power
for all' scheme today to mark the birth anniversary
of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya.
• The scheme will be named ‘Saubhagya’ and will
provide subsidy on equipment like transformers,
meters and wires.
2. Mission Indradhanush
• It was launched by Union Health Minister J. P.
Nadda on 25 December 2014.
• It aims to immunize all children under the age of 2
years, as well as all pregnant women, against
seven vaccine preventable diseases.
• The diseases being targeted are diphtheria,
whooping cough, tetanus, poliomyelitis,
tuberculosis, measles and Hepatitis B.
• Later Japanese Encephalitis and Haemophilus
influenzae type B, Rubella, Japanese Encephalitis,
Injectable Polio Vaccine Bivalent and Rotavirus also
added.
3. Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI)
• Prime Minister Modi launched the Intensified
Mission Indradhanush (IMI) at Vadnagar in Gujarat
on October 8, 2017.
• Through this programme, Government of India
aims to reach each and every child under two
years of age and all those pregnant women who
have been left uncovered under the routine
immunisation programme.
4. Udaan
• Udaan provides exposure to the youth of J&K to
the best of corporate India and corporate India to
the rich talent pool available in the State.
• The scheme not only provides skill enhancement
and job opportunity but also connects these bright
youths from the J&K with the vibrant corporate
sector of India.
5. UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik)
• is a regional airport development and "Regional
Connectivity Scheme (RCS)"
6. UJALA Scheme-
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strengthen the Fish Seed infrastructure in the
country.
• Prime Minister of India Sh. Narendra Modi on
January 5, 2015 had launched the world's largest
and most extensive LED distribution programme,
UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by Affordable Lighting for All).
• Recently UJALA scheme launched in Melaka,
Malaysia.
7. Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)
• Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana was launched by
Prime Minister on May 1st, 2016 in Ballia, Uttar
Pradesh.
• It is an ambitious social welfare scheme which aims
to provide free LPG connections to BPL households
in the country.
8. Sagarmala project
• Sagar Mala project is a strategic and customer-
oriented initiative of the Government of India to
modernize India's Ports so that port-led
development can be augmented and coastlines can
be developed to contribute in India's growth.
9. ‘Himayat’ Programme
• It is a training-cum-placement programme for
unemployed youth in Jammu and Kashmir.
10. DIKSHA Portal
• For teacher training by HRD Ministry
11. DISHA-
• District Development Coordination and Monitoring
Committee (DDCMC) to be named “Disha” for
effective development coordination of almost all
the programmes of Central Government
12. Mission Bhagiratha
• Safe drinking water scheme launched in in Medak
District of Telangana by PM.
13. E-Library ‘Sugamya Pustakalaya’
• The Union Government has launched Accessible E-
Library ‘Sugamya Pustakalaya’ for Divyang under
Prime Minister’s Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan.
14. National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS)
• The scheme was announced by the union
government which aims to providing apprenticeship
training to over 50 lakh youngsters in order to create
more jobs.
15. Swadesh Darshan scheme –
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• The scheme was launched by Union Tourism Ministry
with an aim to develop theme based tourist circuits
in the country.
16. Smart Ganga City Scheme in 10 cities
• The scheme was launched by Union Minister for
Water Resources, River Development and Ganga
Rejuvenation Uma Bharti and Union Urban
Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu.
• These cities are – 1. Haridwar, 2. Rishikesh, 3.
Mathura-Vrindavan, 4. Varanasi, 5. Kanpur, 6.
Allahabad, 7. Lucknow, 8. Patna, 9. Sahibgunj, 10.
Barrackpore.
Biotech-KISAN Programme-
• Empowers farmers, especially women farmers.
• Launched by of the Department of Biotechnology,
where scientists will work in sync with farmers to
understand problems and find solutions.
‘Urja Ganga’ gas pipeline project in Varanasi
Obituaries
1. IAF Marshal passed away recently, who led the Indian
Air Force in the 1965 India-Pakistan War -- Arjan
Singh.
Note: Mr. Singh served as the IAF's Chief of Staff during the
1965 India-Pakistan war. Mr. Singh also served the
nation as an ambassador to Switzerland (in 1971), as
High Commissioner to Kenya (in 1974) and became
the Lt. Governor of Delhi (in 1989).
2. Noted BJP politician and religious leader, has passed
away at a Delhi -- Mahant Chand Nath.
Note: He had won the Alwar seat in the 2014
parliamentary elections after defeating Congress
candidate and former Union minister Jitendra Singh.
3. Bollywood actress passed away due to heart attack --
Shakila.
Note: She best known for her roles in Guru Dutt's films,
Aar Paar (1954) and C.I.D. (1956).
4. Veteran American actor, musician, and singer has
passed away in Los Angeles, United States -- Harry
Dean Stanton.
5. French businesswoman, world's richest woman
passed away in Paris -- Liliane Bettencourt.
Note: In 2016, Bettencourt was ranked as the richest
woman in the world with a fortune of USD 39.5bn by
Forbes magazine. Bettencourt was the only child of
Louise Madelaine Berthe and Eugene Schueller
(founded L’Oreal).
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• Urja Ganga”, 1500 km long gas pipeline project which
costing Rs 51,000 crore to provide piped cooking gas
to residents of Varanasi within two years.
‘Kaushalya Setu’
• Skill development programme by Maharashtra govt.
'Farm Tourism'
• Launched by Haryana to attract people to villages.
Annapurna Rasoi Scheme
• Rajasthan Government has launched Annapurna
Rasoi Scheme to provide quality meal at cheap price
to poor and needy on lines with Tamil Nadu
Government’s Amma canteens.
• The tagline for the scheme is: “Sabke liye bhojan,
sabke liye sammaan (Food for all, respect for all)”.
Vittiya Saksharata Abhiyan (VISAKA)
• launched by the Union Ministry for Human Resource
Development (HRD) to make people aware about
cashless economic system.
6. Veteran Marathi writer and journalist passed away in
Mumbai -- Arun Sadhu.
Note: He is better known for his novel in Marathi
"Simhasan" and "Mumbai Dinank". As a journalist, he
has won several awards including Sahitya Academy
award, Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad, NC Kelkar and
Acharya Atre award.
7. An American men's lifestyle and entertainment
magazine ‘Playboy’ founder has passed away at his
home -- Hugh Hefner.
Note: In 1953, Playboy magazine was founded by Hugh
Hefner and his associates in Chicago. Hefner built a
brand that defined the sexual culture of the second
half of the 20th century.
8. The Indian actor of American descent passed away at
his residence in Mumbai -- Tom Alter.
Note: He made his big screen debut in 1976 with a small
role in Dharmendra-starrer Charas and later went on
to work in films like Shatranj Ke Khiladi, Gandhi,
Kranti, Bose: The Forgotten Hero and Veer Zara.
9. A veteran Congress leader passed away at a hospital
in Gurugram -- Makhan Lal Fotedar
Note: Fotedar was ushered into politics by Jawaharlal
Nehru in early 1950s and he gradually strengthened
his position in the Congress to become one of the most
powerful persons in the party.
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10. Veteran Parliamentarian and freedom fighter passed
away at Vellore in Tamil Nadu -- Era Sezhiyan.
Note: Sezhiyan was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1962
on a DMK ticket from Perambalur constituency.
11. Tamil poet popularly known as ‘Kavikko’ has passed
away in Chennai -- S. Abdul Rahman.
Note: Rahman was one of the most admired poets of
modern Tamil literature.
12. Noted historian and former ICHR chairman passed
away in Guwahati, Assam -- Basudev Chatterji.
Note: He taught at St Stephen's College in Delhi, the
University of Hyderabad besides supervising
undergraduates at the University of Cambridge.
13. Eminent rights activist and the protagonist of a
reformist movement 'Muslim Satyashodhak Mandal'
passed away in Pune -- Mehrunnisa Dalwai.
Note: She has worked for justice and equal rights for
Muslim women and spearheaded a march in Mumbai
seeking abolition of triple 'talaq'.
14. Noted politician of Indian National Congress has
passed away -- Palvai Govardhan Reddy.
Note: He was representing the Telangana State as a
Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha).
15. The star of hit TV series ‘Batman’ passed away --
Adam West.
Note: Adam West was the popular star of 1960s “Batman”
TV show.
16. P N Bhagwati, who passed away recently, was known
for introducing -- Public Interest Litigation (PIL).
Note: Former Chief Justice of India P N Bhagwati
considered a pioneer of judicial activism in the
country for introducing the concept of PILs (Public
Interest Litigation) passed away after brief illness.
17. Former German Chancellor passed away at his house
in the western state of Germany --Helmut Kohl.
18. British actor who played Professor Everard in ‘Harry
Potter and the Order of the Phoenix passed away--
Sam Beazley.
Note: As Professor Everard, Beazley became known as one
of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry's most
celebrated head teachers.
19. The President of Ramakrishna Math and Mission
passed away in a Kolkata -- Swami Atmasthananda.
Note: Atmasthananda was born near Dhaka (now in
Bangladesh) and had received ‘mantra diksha’ from
Swami Vijnananandaji Maharaj in 1938.
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20. Baldwin Lonsdale passed away recently, was the
President of --Vanuatu.
Note: President of Vanuatu Baldwin Jacobson Lonsdale
has passed away in Port Vila, Vanuatu.
21. Italian fashion legend passed away in Rome -- Carla
Fendi.
Note: Carla, one of the five Italian sisters (Paola, Anna,
Franca, and Alda) at the helm of the iconic Italian
label, was the public face of the company famous
colourful 'baguette' bags.
22. The founder and chairman of pharmaceutical major
Lupin Ltd, has passed away -- Desh Bandhu Gupta.
Note: He founded Lupin in 1968 and created a global
pharmaceutical major with a presence in over 100
countries.
23. Noted singer has passed away in Kolkata, West Bengal
-- Sabita Chowdhury.
Note: She was wife of legendary composer Salil
Chowdhury.
24. The French politician and Holocaust survivor passed
away in her home in Paris -- Simone Veil.
Note: Simone served as minister of health under the
center-right government of Valery Giscard d’Estaing
and later as president of the European Parliament.
25. Renowned cartoonist passed away at the hospital in
Pune -- Mangesh Tendulkar.
Note: His cartoons specially about government offices and
on traffic rules was famous.
26. The Chinese Nobel Peace Prize laureate and
democracy campaigner, has passed away -- Liu
Xiaobo.
Note: He was the most prominent human rights and
democracy advocate of China.
27. India's former ambassador to the US passed away in
Goa -- Naresh Chandra.
Note: He was conferred with the Padma Vibhushan -
India's second highest civil honour - in 2007.
28. The legendary South African jazz musician, has passed
away in Nelspruit, South Africa -- Ray Phiri.
Note: Phiri was known primarily for his contributions to
Paul Simon’s Graceland album and ensuing tours.
29. Veteran Bengali actress has passed away in Kolkata,
West Bengal -- Sumita Sanyal
Note: She has worked in around 50 Bengali films and was
also part of Hindi films like Guddi, Mili, Aashirwad and
Mere Apne.
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30. The Oscar-winning American film and television actor
passed away at UCLA Medical Center due to
unexpected complications during a short
hospitalization --- Martin Landau.
Note: He won his Academy Award (Oscars) for his
poignant portrayal of washed-up Bela Lugosi in
1994’s Tim Burton’s Ed Wood.
31. The former Chief Minister of Sikkim has passed away
in New Delhi -- Nar Bahadur Bhandari.
Note: Bhandari was the founder leader of Sikkim Sangram
Parishad had governed Sikkim from 1979 to 1994.
32. An Iranian- born mathematician who was the first
woman to win the coveted Fields Medal passed away -
- Maryam Mirzakhani.
Note: Mirzakhani, a professor at Stanford University in
California won the Fields Medal, the equivalent of the
Nobel Prize for Mathematics in 2014.
33. Space scientist and the former chairman of the Indian
Space Research Organization(ISRO) passed away in
Bengaluru-- Prof. 'Udupi Ramachandra Rao.
Note: He initiated the development of the medium
powered GSLV rocket for two-tonne spacecraft in
1991.Prof. Rao was decorated with the Padma
Vibhushan (2017) and the Padma Shri (1976).
34. American songwriter the lead singer of Linkin Park
passed away in California, U.S.-- Chester Bennington.
Note: He was best known as the front man for the rock
band Linkin Park the sixth-greatest band of the music
video era and the third-best of the new millennium.
35. Renowned scientist known for his contributions to the
study of cosmic rays passed away at his residence in
Noida -- Professor Yash Pal.
Note: He received the Kalinga Prize (in 2009) awarded by
UNESCO, Padma Bhushan (in 1976) and Padma
Vibhushan (in 2013).
36. Former Chief Minister of Karnataka and Congress
Leader passed away due to heart attack in Bengaluru -
- N. Dharam Singh.
Note: Mr. Singh headed the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular)
coalition government from May 2004 to February
2006. He represented the Karnataka Legislative
Assembly seven times without a defeat and was a
member of the Lok Sabha from Bidar constituency in
2009 general election.
37. Bollywood actor passed away due to heart attack at
his residence in Andheri Mumbai-- Inder Kumar.
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Note: Inder has worked in several popular films like
Wanted’, ‘Tumko Na Bhool Payenge’ ‘Kahin Pyaar Na
Ho Jaaye’ and Akshay Kumar’s 'Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi.'
38. Veteran congress leader and former union minister
passed away in Silchar, Assam -- Santosh Mohan Dev.
Note: He was Union Minister for Heavy Industries and
Public Enterprise in the first UPA government led by
Dr Manmohan Singh.
39. The veteran molecular biologist and a vehement critic
of genetically modified crops, has passed away in
Hyderabad--Pushpa Bhargava.
Note: Mr. Bhargava was the Founder-Director of Centre for
Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad.
Bhargava is a recipient of over 100 national &
international awards and the Legion d'Honneur in
1998 of France.
40. The veteran Karnataka BJP leader who credited with
building the party brick by brick in its early years in
the State passed away in Bengaluru -- BB Shivappa.
Note: Shivappa played an important role in the formation
of the first ever non-Congress government in
Karnataka, led by Ramakrishna Hegde in 1983.
41. Eminent Dhrupad singer passed away in Pune-- Ustad
Sayeeduddin Dagar.
Note: He had dedicated his life to keeping the Dhrupad
tradition alive.Dhrupad is a genre in Hindustani
classical music initially sung only in the temples, the
singer facing the Lord.
42. Noted actor who portrayed the role of Minister of
Magic ‘Cornelius Fudge’ in four of the ‘Harry Potter’
films passed away in London, England --Robert Hard.
43. Former Union minister and BJP's Member of
Parliament from Ajmer passed away in New Delhi --
Prof Sanwar Lal Jat.
Note: Prof Sanwar Lal Jat was member of the Rajasthan
Legislative Assembly for five terms and also served as
Minister in the Rajasthan Government thrice.
44. Bollywood actor who made his Bollywood debut with
Bandit Queen passed away -- Sitaram Panchal.
45. Veteran poet and writer passed away due to illness --
Vijay Nambisan.
Note: In 1988, he became the first All India Poetry
Champion for his poem 'Madras Central' organised by
the Poetry Society of India and the British Council. He
also translated works of devotional poetry of
Poonthanam and Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri.
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46. German-born Catholic Missionary Sister who devoted
her life to eradicating leprosy in Pakistan passed away
in Karachi, Pakistan -- Ruth Pfau.
Note: She was also known as Pakistan's Mother Teresa
and founder of Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre in
Karachi. Ruth Pfau was honoured with the country's
two highest civilian awards the Hilal-e-Imtiaz and the
Hilal-e-Pakistan.
47. Australia's former Olympic and world cycle champion
passed away --Stephen Wooldridge.
Note: He won gold for Australia in the 2004 Athens
Olympics, was also a four-time world champion in the
discipline and the 2002 Commonwealth Games
champion. He was inducted into the NSW Hall of
Champions in 2015.
48. Veteran photographer passed away at a private
hospital in New Delhi -- S Paul.
Note: He joined The Indian Express in the 1960s and
retired from the newspaper in 1989. Paul received
recognition and fame as a professional photographer
when his pictures were selected for publication in
three renowned British publications (Amateur
Photographer, Miniature Camera & Miniature Camera
World).
49. The first woman doctor of Madhya Pradesh has
passed away in Indore -- Dr. Bhakti Yadav.
Note: Dr. Yadav had offered free treatment to patients for
last 68 years. She was awarded Padma Shri for her
exemplary services in the field of medicine in April
2017.
50. Noted Polish-US playwright and screenwriter passed
away -- Janusz Glowacki.
Note: Glowacki was the author of award-winning plays
“The Fourth Sister” and “Antigone in New York”.
51. Hollywood's one of the most successful comedians
passed away at his home in Las Vegas US-- Jerry
Lewis.
Note: He was started out on New York's Borscht Belt
comedy circuit as a singer at the age of five. Jerry
Lewis was one of the most popular comic actors of the
1950s and '60s.
52. Former Manipur Chief Minister and a member of the
first Lok Sabha, has passed away in Imphal, Manipur --
Rishang Keishing.
Note: Keishing served as Chief Minister of Manipur from
(1980 to 1988) and (1994 to 1997). Raishang joined
Congress under Jawaharlal Nehru and his political
career spanned over 70 years.
53. Oldest Indian cinematographer passed away in
Kolkata, West Bengal-- Ramanda Sengupta.
Note: He worked with legends like Jean Renoir, Ritwik
Ghatak, and Mrinal Sen. In 1946, the first film as a full-
24 | Page
time cinematographer was in Purbaraag directed by
Ardhendu Mukherjee.
54. The well-known comic and character actor, has passed
away in California, United States -- Jay Thomas.
Note: Jay played obnoxious TV talk show host Jerry Gold
on “Murphy Brown” from 1989 until 1998.
55. The well-known climate awareness activist former
Marshall Islands foreign has passed away in Majuro,
Marshall Islands -- Tony de Brum.
56. India's oldest football Olympian passed away at his
residence in Bengaluru -- Ahmed Khan.
Note: Ahmed was part of the famous 'barefoot' football
squad that made its debut in Olympic football at the
1948 London Games.
57. Pulitzer-prize winning poet passed away in Hudson,
New York -- John Ashbery.
Note: His 1975 collection, "Self-Portrait in a Convex
Mirror," was the rare winner of the book world's
unofficial triple crown: the Pulitzer Prize, the National
Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle
prize.
58. Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP passed away after
suffering a cardiac arrest -- Sultan Ahmed.
Note: Mr. Ahmed was elected to the 15th Lok Sabha from
Uluberia (Lok Sabha constituency) on a Trinamool
Congress ticket. He also served as the Union Minister
of State for Tourism in the Manmohan Singh
government.
59. Arunachal Pradesh health and family welfare minister
passed away at a private hospital in Guwahati --
Jomde Kena.
Note: He was a resident of Gensi village in Lower Siang
district. Kena was elected as the deputy speaker
during the Nabam Tuki government and served as a
parliamentary secretary under the Dorjee Khandu and
Jarbom Gamlin ministries.
60. The renowned Marathi poet and activist has passed
away in Mumbai, Maharashtra -- Shirish Pai.
Note: Pai was the daughter of noted writer-journalist
‘Acharya’ Pralhad Keshav Atre.
61. Noted journalist and activists was shot dead at her
Rajarajeshwari Nagar's residence in Bengaluru --
Gauri Lankesh.
Note: She was the editor of popular Kannada tabloid
Lankesh Patrike founded by her father P
Lankesh(writer).
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62. The veteran Kannada actor, producer and singer who
passed away in Bengaluru, Karnataka -- Rattihalli
Nagendra Sudarshan.
Note: In his five-decade film career he acted in Tamil,
Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, and Malayalam films.
63. Veteran actor passed away during open heart surgery
in New Jersey -- Frank Vincent.
Note: He is known for his role in films like “The Sopranos”
and “Goodfellas”.Vincent most notably appeared as
Tony Soprano’s arch nemesis, Phil Leotardo in the
New Appointments
International
1. US President Trump has nominated former justice
department official as the new director of the Federal
Bureau of Investigations (FBI) -- Christopher Wray.
Note: He has replaced James Comey.
2. The Chancellor of Germany is --Angela Merkel.
Note: In German politics, the Chancellor is the equivalent
of a prime minister in many other countries.
3. Indian American has been chosen for the 2017 NASA
Astronaut Candidate Class--Lt Col Raja Grinder Chari.
Note: Lt Col Raja Grinder Chari is a commander of the
461st Flight Test Squadron as well as the director of the
F-35 Integrated Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base in
California.
4. The first Sikh to be elected to the British Parliament’s
House of Commons -- Preet Kaur Gill.
Note: Labour Party candidate Preet Kaur Gill has won
Birmingham Edgbaston seat.
5. The newly appointed Indian Ambassador to European
Union (EU) -- Gaitri Issar Kumar.
6. Indian-origin has become the youngest Prime Minister of
Ireland -- Leo Varadkar.
7. International Law expert has been elected as the Judge of
the United Nations' International Tribunal for Law of the
Sea (ITLOS) -- Neeru Chadha.
Note: Chadha got 120 votes with the highest in the Asia-
Pacific group.
8. UNICEF has appointed education activist & Syrian
refugee as its newest and youngest Goodwill Ambassador
-- Muzoon Almellehan.
Note: Almellehan lived as a refugee for three years in
Jordan before being resettled in the United Kingdom
(UK).
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“The Sopranos” starting in season five and until the
series’ conclusion in 2007.
64. The major litigant in Ayodhya's disputed structure
case passed away due to cardiac arrest -- Swami
Bhaskar Das.
Note: He was the Chief of Nirmohi Akhara and main priest
of Hanumangarhi temple in Ayodhya. Swami Jee has
challenged the Allahabad High Court verdict of 2010
in the Supreme Court claiming ownership of Akhara
over entire campus of disputed structure.
9. India has re-nominated Justice as its candidate for
another term as Judge at the International Court of
Justice (ICJ) -- Dalveer Bhandari.
Note: He was elected in April 2012 during simultaneous
balloting in both the General Assembly and the Security
Council to a seat on the ICJ.
10. The new crown prince of Saudi Arabia by King Salman --
Mohammed bin Salman.
Note: Saudi King ‘Salman’ named his son ‘Mohammed bin
Salman’ as crown prince also named deputy prime
minister and minister of defence.
11. Russian Diplomat appointed as Chief of United Nations
Counter-Terrorism Centre -- Vladimir Voronkov.
12. The new MD & CEO of National Stock Exchange(NSE) --
Vikram Limaye.
13. The new Deputy Chairman of the International Cricket
Council (ICC) board-- Imran Khawaja.
Note: Imran Khawaja has been unanimously elected as
the new Deputy Chairman of the International Cricket
Council (ICC) board.
14. New Prime Minister in Romania -- Mihai Tudose.
15. The president of the India International Centre (IIC)--N N
Vohra
16. The President of the International Economic Association
(IEA) for three years -- Kaushik Basu.
Note: ‘Kaushik Basu’ has served as India’s chief
economic adviser and chief economist at the World
Bank.
17. The first woman chief executive of Hong Kong --Carrie
Lam.
Note: The Chief Executive of Hong Kong (CE) is the
highest office of the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region (HKSAR).
18. The first female Prime Minister of Serbia -- Ana Brnabic.
www.gradeup.co
Note: She succeeded Ivica Dacic.
19. Newly elected President of Mongolia-- Khaltmaagiin
Battulga.
Note: Khaltmaagiin Battulga has won the 2017
Mongolian presidential election by 50.6% votes.
20. The new Prime Minister of Mongolia -- Ukhnaa
Khurelsukh.
Note: President of Mongolia has appointed ‘Ukhnaa
Khurelsukh’ as the new Prime Minister of Mongolia.
21. Indian-origin personality appointed as the UNICEF’s
Global Goodwill Ambassador -- Lilly Singh.
Note: She will use her channel to showcase the
organisation’s work and urge millions of her followers to
work for children’s rights.
22. India’s alternate Governor on the Board of Governors of
the Asian Development Bank (ADB) -- Subhash Chandra
Garg.
Note: The secretary of Department of Economic Affairs
(DEA) Subhash Chandra Garg has been appointed as
India’s Alternate Governor on the Board of Governors of
the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Manila, Philippines.
23. The new Ambassador of India to the Republic of
Kazakhstan -- Prabhat Kumar.
24. Newly elected Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea --
Peter O’Neill.
Note: Peter O’Neill is the leader of the People’s National
Congress and represents the constituency of Ialibu-
Pangia.
25. Who has been re-elected as President of Kenya -- Uhuru
Kenyatta.
Note: Kenyatta got 54.27 % votes beating his rival Raifa
Odinga who got 44.74% of votes. Kenya is a country in
East Africa with coastline on the Indian Ocean.
26. Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India -- Sohail
Mahmood.
Note: He replaced ‘Abdul Basit’ after his premature
retirement earlier this month.
27. Russian President ‘Vladimir Putin’ has appointed career
diplomat as Russia's new ambassador to India -- Nikolay
Kudashev.
Note: Currently, Nikolay Kudashev is the Deputy
Director General Secretariat of the Ministry of foreign
Affairs of Russia. Kudashev’s appointment comes nearly
seven months after the death of Russia's previous
ambassador to India Alexander Kadakin.
National
26 | Page
28. America's foremost expert on US-India trade relations
has been nominated as the U.S ambassador to India --
Kenneth I. Juster.
Note: The United States Ambassador to India is the chief
diplomatic representative of United States in India.
29. Former speaker of Singapore’s parliament has been
declared as the President of Singapore -- Mdm Halimah
Yacob.
Note: Under section 15 of the Presidential Election Act,
declared Mdm Halimah to be elected to the office of
President as only one candidate stands nominated at end
of nomination period.
30. UN Secretary-General ‘Antonio Guterres’ has appointed
the first special envoy for the oceans --Peter Thomson.
Note: Peter Thomson played a leading role at the first-
ever UN conference on oceans in June. The 193 UN
member states issued an urgent call for action to reverse
the decline in the health and productivity of the world's
oceans.
31. Former Secretary-General of UN has been elected as
Chair of Ethics Commission of the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) -- Ban Ki-moon.
Note: Mr. Moon was the 8th Secretary-General of the
United Nations (Jan 2007 - Dec 2016).
32. Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has appointed
former Economy Minister as his new Prime Minister --
Mercedes Araoz.
Note: Araoz replaced Fernando Zavala. She served as
Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism from 2006 to July
2009, after which she was appointed Peru's finance
minister.
33. The Prime Minister has given resignation to the
President ‘Gudni Th. Johannesson’-- Iceland.
Note:The resignation paves the way for the new election
to be held on 4th November 2017.
34. New President of Southern African country ‘Angola’--
Joao Lourenco.
Note: He took over the position from Jose Eduardo dos
Santos. Lourenco will be Angola's first head of state to be
constitutionally limited to serving two five-year terms.
35. The deputy Director-General (DG) of World Health
Organization (WHO) -- Soumya Swaminathan.
Note: This position is the second-highest at the UN’s
health agency. Dr. Swaminathan is a pediatrician and an
internationally-recognized researcher on TB
(Tuberculosis) and HIV.
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1. The new chairperson of the premier Film and Television
Institute of India (FTII) --Veteran actor Anupam Kher.
Note: He will succeed Gajendra Chauhan. FTII is
considered as a premier institute for training in Cinema
and Television established in 1960.
He was conferred the Padma Shri (2004) and the Padma
Bhushan (2016) for his contribution in the field of
cinema and arts.
2. The ‘Cross of the Order of Merit’, the highest civilian
honour awarded to individuals for their services to
Germany -- Rajesh Nath.
Note: The award was instituted in 1951 and is
Germany’s only honour that is awarded to both Germans
and foreigners for achievements in the economic, social,
political, or intellectual realms.
3. Former Indian-American assistant secretary of South and
central Asia has been appointed as the President of US
India Business Council (USIBC) -- Nisha Desai Biswal.
Note: USIBC serves as a direct link between business and
Government leaders, resulting in increased trade and
investment to strengthen ties between the two nations.
4. HSBC has appointed as its next chief executive -- John
Flint.
Note: He will take over from current chief executive
Stuart Gulliver.
5. The Indian govt. has appointed as its next ambassador to
China -- Gautam Bambawale.
Note: Currently, Bambawale is India’s high
commissioner to Pakistan.
6. Registrar of Copyrights for a period of five years --
Hoshiar Singh.
Note: The Copyright Office is under the control of a
Registrar of Copyrights, who acts under the
superintendence and directions of the central
government.
7. The new Independent Directors of India Post Payments
Bank (IPPB) for a period of 3 years -- K G Karmakar
and Gauri Shankar.
8. New MD of Manappuram Home Finance -- Jeevandas
Narayan.
Note: Earlier, Mr. Narayan was the managing director of
the erstwhile State Bank of Travancore until retirement
in 2016.
9. New Managing Director(MD) and CEO of IDFC Ltd for 3
years -- Sunil Kakar.
Note: Prior, Kaka had worked with Max New York Life
Insurance Company since 2001 as CFO.
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10. New Chairperson on the Board of Governors of the
National Institute of Fashion Technology(NIFT) -- Shri
Rajesh V. Shah.
Note: He has replaced Shri Chetan Chauhan.
11. India’s 14th President replacing ‘Pranab Mukherjee’ --
Ram Nath Kovind.
Note: He was administered the oath of office by Chief
Justice of India ‘JS Khehar’ at a special function in the
central hall of Parliament. Kovind was elected as the
President on 20 July 2017 after he defeated the
Opposition parties' nominee Meira Kumar.
12. The new Chief Election Commissioner of India -- Achal
Kumar Jyoti.
Note: Currently, Achal Kumar Jyoti is the Election
Commissioner of India along with O P Rawat.
13. The new CEO & MD of Larsen & Toubro -- SN
Subrahmanyan.
Note: He replaced AM Naik, who will continue as Non-
Executive Chairman for three years.
14. The Attorney General of India --K K Venugopal.
Note: Attorney General appointed by the President of
India under Article 76(1) of the Constitution and holds
office during the pleasure of the President.
15. The new Chairman of Indian Institute of Management
(IIM) Amritsar -- Sanjay Gupta.
Note: Sanjay Gupta is the Editor in Chief of Dainik
Jagran since 2014 and has been associated with the
Jagran Group for more than two decades.
16. The new chief of the National Disaster Response Force
(NDRF) -- Sanjay Kumar
Note: He will succeed R K Pachnanda, who was has
taken charge as DG the Indo-Tibetan Border Police
(ITBP).
17. The new Ambassador of India to the Republic of
Indonesia -- Pradeep Kumar Rawat.
Note: He will succeed Nengcha Lhouvum
Mukhopadhaya.
18. Who has been appointed Chairman of IIT-Kharagpur --
Sanjiv Goenka.
Note:The Chairman of RP Sanjiv Goenka Group 'Sanjiv
Goenka' has been selected as the Chairman of the Board
of Governors at IIT-Kharagpur for three years.
19. Who has been appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador
for Autism-- Saima Wazed Hossain.
Note: Saima is a globally renowned champion for the
cause of Autism spectrum disorder. She will serve as the
goodwill ambassador for autism in the South-East Asia
region for a period of 2 years.
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20. The new Chairperson of Broadcasting Content
Complaints Council (BCCC) -- Vikramajit Sen.
Note: Former Supreme Court Judge Justice Vikramajit
Sen has been appointed as the new Chairperson of
Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) for
three years.
21. The new director-general(DG) of the Directorate of
Revenue Intelligence (DRI) -- Debi Prasad Dash.
Note: DRI is the major intelligence agency that works to
secure India’s national and economic security by
preventing the outright smuggling of contraband such
as firearms, gold, narcotics, Fake Indian Currency notes,
antiques, wildlife and environmental products.
22. The president of the National Rifle Association of India
(NRAI) -- Raninder Singh.
Note: The NRAI is associated with International
Shooting Sports Federation, Asian Shooting
Confederation, Commonwealth Shooting Federation,
South Asian Shooting Confederation, and Indian
Olympic Association.
23. The new Director General (DG)of Goods and Services
Tax Intelligence (GSTI)-- John Joseph.
24. New secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs
(DEA) in the finance ministry-- Subhash Garg.
Note:He will oversee capital markets, Budget
preparation as well as infrastructure financing and
decide on borrowing, along with RBI.
25. The new MD & CEO of Oriental Bank of Commerce --
Mukesh Kumar Jain.
Note: He has replaced ‘Animesh Chauhan’. Slogan of
Oriental Bank of Commerce is 'Where every individual
is committed'.
26. The governing body of Ramakrishna Mission
unanimously elected the 16th president of Ramakrishna
Math and Mission -- Swami Smarananandaji Maharaj.
Note: He succeed ‘Swami Atmasthanandaji Maharaj’
who passed away in June this year.
27. Who has been appointed as the Chief Minister of
Nagaland -- TR Zeliang.
Note: Zeliang staked claim to form government in
Nagaland with a majority support of 47 members of the
Legislative Assembly.
28. Offer letter to the Rio Olympics silver medallist ‘P V
Sindhu’ as a Group-I officer in the state -- Andhra
Pradesh.
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Note: In Olympics history, Sindhu has become the fifth
Indian woman (Karnam Malleswari, Mary Kom, Saina
Nehwal and Sakshi Malik) to clinch a medal.
29. Tamil film actor has been appointed brand icon of Pro
Kabaddi League franchise Tamil Thalaivas -- Kamal
Haasan.
Note: Tamil Thalaivas co-owned by India batting legend
Sachin Tendulkar.
30. The new Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar-- Sushil Kumar
Modi.
31. Who re-appointed as Managing Director (MD) & Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) of Axis Bank for three-year from
June 2018-- Shikha Sharma.
Note: Sharma began her career with the erstwhile infra
lender ICICI Ltd in 1980.
32. The new secretary general of the Federation of Indian
Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) -- Sanjaya
Baru.
Note: He will assume the charge from 1st
September,2017 and will succeed A Didar Singh. The
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and
Industry (FICCI) is an association of business
organizations in India.
33. Officially sworn-in as the 7th President of Iran -- Hassan
Rouhani.
Note: Rouhani won re-election in May 2017, after
securing 57% of the votes and defeating his main
contender Ebrahim Raeisi.
34. Vice chairman of NITI Aayog resigned -- Arvind
Panagariya.
Note: He has submitted a letter to PM Narendra Modi
and requested to be relieved by the end of this month.
The Union Government of India announced the formation
of NITI Aayog on 1st January 2015 and the Prime
Minister serves as the Ex-officio chairman.
35. Noted economist will be the new Vice-Chairman of NITI
Aayog -- Dr. Rajiv Kumar.
Note: Currently, Rajiv Kumar is a senior fellow at the
Centre for Policy Research, a non-governmental think
tank on public policy based out of New Delhi.
36. New chairman of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) --
Dhirendra Swarup.
Note: Swarup was the former Chairman of the Pension
Funds Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).
The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) is an Indian stock
exchange located at Dalal Street, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai
Maharashtra
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37. New CMD of Small Industries Development Bank of India
(SIDBI) -- Mohammad Mustafa.
Note: SIDBI is an independent financial institution aimed
to aid the growth and development of micro, small and
medium-scale enterprises (MSME) in India and is
headquartered in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
38. The brand ambassador for Swachh Bharat Mission in UP-
- Akshay Kumar.
Note: The chief minister Yogi Aditya Nath has announced
to make his upcoming movie ‘Toilet Ek Prem Katha’ tax-
free in the state. The movie stresses on the importance of
building toilets and ending open defecation in the
country.
39. The new Chief Justice of India (CJI) -- Justice Dipak
Misra.
Note: He replaced incumbent Justice J S Khehar. The
Chief Justice of India (CJI) is the head of the judiciary of
India and the Supreme Court of India.
40. Indian-American has been appointed as the Deputy
Comptroller for Minority Affairs of Nassau County, New
York -- Dilip Chauhan.
Note: The Comptroller’s Office has been a driving force in
advocating for increased business opportunities for
Minority and Women Owned Enterprises (MWBEs) to
meet the County’s goals.
41. Who sworn in as the Vice President of India --
Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu.
Note: Naidu was elected as the Vice President by
defeating opposition candidate Gopal Krishna Gandhi
(Mahatma Gandhi's grandson). The Vice-President of
India is elected by an electoral college consisting of
Elected and nominated members of both house (Lok
Sabha and Rajya Sabha) of Parliament.
42. The union govt. has appointed lyricist as Chairman of the
Central Board of Film Certification(CBFC) -- Prasoon
Joshi.
Note: He has replaced former Chairman ‘Pahlaj
Nihalani’. There are 12 members in the new board, which
include Ms. Gautami Tadimalla, Narendra Kohli, Naresh
Chandra Lal, Vivek Agnihotri and Ms Vidya Balan.
43. Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Hindustan
Copper Limited (HCL) for a period of five years--
Santosh Sharma.
Note: Hindustan Copper Ltd. is a Government-owned
corporation in the Central Public-Sector Enterprise
under the Ministry of Mines (India), Government of India.
44. The new MD & CEO of India Infrastructure Finance
Company Limited (IIFCL) -- Sankara Rao.
Note: Currently, he is the Chief General Manager at IIFCL.
29 | Page
45. Resigned as managing director (MD) and Chief executive
officer(CEO) of Infosys Ltd.-- Dr. Vishal Sikka.
Note: The company's board has accepted his resignation
with immediate effect.
46. The President and Managing Director (MD) of General
Motors (GM) India -- Sanjiv Gupta.
Note: He will replace Kaher Kazem. General Motors
Company(GM) is an American multinational corporation
headquartered in Detroit, Michigan.
47. The Executive Director of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy
Board of India (IBBI) -- Mamta Suri.
Note: Earlier, Dr. Suri was serving as the Chief General
Manager of the Insurance Regulatory Development
Authority of India. IBBI is a regulator over the Insolvency
Professionals, Insolvency Professional Agencies and
Information Utilities.
48. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rajya Sabha TV --
Shashi Shekhar Vempati.
Note: The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at public
broadcaster Prasar Bharati ‘Shashi Shekhar Vempati’ has
been given the additional charge of CEO in Rajya Sabha
TV (RSTV).
49. The new Chairman of Railway Board -- Ashwani Lohani.
Note: Lohani, who is the Current Chairman and
Managing Director of Air India has a degree in
mechanical engineering and has also served as Delhi’s
Divisional Railway Manager.
50. The union govt. has appointed senior IAS officer as the
Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Air India --
Rajiv Bansal.
Note: Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, owned
by Air India Limited and operates a fleet of Airbus and
Boeing aircraft serving 90 domestic and international
destinations.
51. Non-official director/non-executive chairman of
Syndicate Bank -- Mr. Ajay Vipin Nanavati.
Note: In 2015, the government had bifurcated the posts
of chairman and managing director in public sector
banks.
52. The Director General (DG) Railway Protection Force --
Shri Dharmendra Kumar.
Note: Presently he is working in CISF as Additional DG.
The Railway Protection Force (RPF) is a security force of
India entrusted with protecting railway passengers,
passenger area and railway property of the Indian
Railways.
53. The new non-executive Chairman of Infosys-- Nandan
Nilekani.
Note: The Infosys co-founder and the architect of
Aadhaar Nandan Nilekani has been appointed as the new
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non-executive chairman of the board of directors of Note: She will be the first Indian woman ambassador to
Infosys. be a part of the FOA advocacy panel. The 'Friends of
54. After latest Union cabinet reshuffle, who has become the Australia' (FOA) program has been devised as a way of
new Defence Minister of India -- Nirmala Sitharaman.
fostering mutually beneficial and long-term friendship
Note: She has become the India’s first woman Defence
with those that Tourism Australia regards as unique
Minister after Indira Gandhi. Now, Suresh Prabhu has
storytellers.
become the new Union Minister of Commerce and
63. Chairman-cum-Managing Director of NMDC (National
Industry.
Mineral Development Corporation) -- N Baijendra
55. The new Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India
Kumar.
-- Rajiv Mehrishi.
Note: The NMDC (National Mineral Development
Note: Three senior bureaucrats (Ashwini Attri, Anita
Corporation) Limited is a state-controlled mineral
Pattanayak and Ranjan Kumar Ghose) have been
producer of the Government of India under
appointed as the Deputy Controller and Auditor General.
administrative control of the Ministry of Steel.
56. Senior IAS officer took charge as the Union Home
64. Unanimously elected as the Chairman of Press Trust of
Secretary -- Rajiv Gauba.
India (PTI) -- Viveck Goenka.
Note: Rajiv Gauba has a graduate degree and is a Gold
Note: Press Trust of India (PTI) is the news agency in
Medallist in Physics (BSc) from Patna University.
India, headquartered in New Delhi and is a non-profit
57. Senior bureaucrat has been appointed Secretary in the
cooperative among more than 500 Indian newspapers.
Department of Financial Services (DFS) -- Rajiv Kumar.
65. The union govt. has appointed interim GSTN Chairman --
Note:The DFS looks after the functioning of banks,
A.B Panday.
financial institutions, insurance companies and the
Note: The union govt. has given Unique Identification
national pension system.
Authority of India (UIDAI) CEO ‘A.B. Pandey’ additional
58. The Chairman of the Central Board of Secondary
charge of Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN).
Education (CBSE) -- Anita Karwal.
66. The chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of Indian
Note: She has replaced ‘Rajesh Kumar Chaturvedi’ who
Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) Ltd.
has been moved to the National Skill Development
for five years -- Mahendra Pratap Mall.
Agency as Director General(DG).
Note: Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation
59. Former Information and Broadcasting Secretary will be
(IRCTC) is a subsidiary of the Indian Railways that
the new the Election Commissioner of India-- Sunil
handles the catering, tourism, and online ticketing
Arora.
operations of the Indian railways.
Note: Achal Kumar Joti is the CEC (Chief Election
67. The chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of the
Commissioner of India), Om Prakash Rawat is the other
United India Insurance Co. Ltd. for five years--M.
Election Commissioner. Election Commission of India is
Nagaraja Sarma.
a permanent Constitutional Body established under
Note: Currently, Sarma is the general manager, Oriental
Article 324 of the Constitution.
Insurance Co. Ltd.
60. Who has been appointed as the new Union Minister of
68. The Director General (DG) of the National Investigation
Railways -- Piyush Goyal.
Agency (NIA) -- Y.C Modi.
Note:He succeeded Suresh Prabhu, who has become the
Note: Mr. Modi will take over from Sharad Kumar after
new Union Minister of Commerce and Industry.
he completes his tenure on 30th October this year.
61. Who has taken charge as Managing Director (MD)and National Investigation Agency (NIA) is a central agency
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vijaya Bank -- R A established by the Indian Government to combat terror
Sankara Narayanan. in India.
Note:He took charge from Dr Kishore Sansi, who had 69. The director general (DG) of the Sashastra Seema Bal
attained Superannuation on 31st August. (SSB) -- Rajni Kant Misra.
62. Bollywood actress has been appointed woman Note: He will hold the post till the date of his
ambassador in 'Friends of Australia' (FOA) advocacy superannuation (31st August,2019). Sashastra Seema Bal
(SSB) is one of India's Central Armed Police Forces,
panel -- Parineeti Chopra.

30 | Page
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currently under the administrative control of the
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
70. Bollywood Actor has been appointed as the Brand
Ambassador of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in Uttarakhand --
Akshay Kumar.
Note: In August 2017, he was also appointed as the
brand ambassador for the cleanliness campaign in Uttar
Pradesh
71. The Union government has constituted a GST Committee
on Exports headed by -- Dr Hasmukh Adhia.
Note: The panel is mandated to recommend to the GST
Council a suitable strategy for helping the export sector
in the post-GST set-up.
72. NPCI’s (National Payments Corporation of India) interim
Chairman -- B Sambamurthy.
Note: National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is
the umbrella organisation for all retail payment systems
in India, aims to allow Indian citizens to have
unrestricted access to ‘e-payment’ services.
73. The chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of National
Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) Ltd.-- Balraj
Joshi.
Note: NHPC Limited is an Indian Hydropower generation
company that was incorporated in the year 1975 with an
objective to plan, promote and organize an integrated
and efficient development of hydroelectric power in all
aspects.
74. The CMD of Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) Ltd. for a
period of five years -- P. Alli Rani.
Note: Currently, she is director (finance) in Container
Corporation of India Limited.
75. The Chairman and Managing Director of ONGC (Oil and
Natural Gas Corporation) -- Shashi Shanker.
Note: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) is
a Public-Sector Undertaking (PSU) of the Government of
India, under the administrative control of the Ministry of
Petroleum and Natural Gas. It produces around 77% of
India's crude oil (equivalent to around 30% of the
country's total demand) and around 62% of its natural
gas.
76. The first Chairman of the five-member Economic
Advisory Council (EAC- PM) --Bibek Debroy.
Books & Authors
1. Book titled “The Coalition Years” authored by –
Pranab Mukherjee (Former President of India)
2. Book titled “I Do What I Do” authored by – Raghuram
Rajan (former RBI Governor)
3. Book titled “Immortal India” authored by – Amish
Tripathi.
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Note: The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime
Minister (PMEAC) is a non-constitutional, non-
permanent and independent body constituted to give
economic advice to the Government of India, specifically
the Prime Minister.
77. The new Governor of Bihar -- Satya Pal Malik.
78. Assam Governor Banwarilal Purohit will now be the
new Governor -- Tamil Nadu.
79. The new Governor of Assam -- Prof Jagdish Mukhi.
80. The Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar--
Admiral (Retd) Devendra Kumar Joshi.
81. The Governor of Arunachal Pradesh_-- Brigadier (Retd)
B D Mishra.
82. The Governor of Meghalaya -- Ganga Prasad.
83. The Supreme Court of India (SCI) has appointed senior
advocate and former additional solicitor general as
amicus curiae on a petition seeking re probe into the
assassination of Mahatma Gandhi-- Amrender Sharan.
Note: Mahatma Gandhi was shot dead at point blank
range in New Delhi on 30th January 1948 by Nathuram
Vinayak Godse.
84. A five-member Commission to examine the sub-
categorization of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) --
Justice (Retd.) G. Rohini.
Note: The Commission will examine the extent of
inequitable distribution of benefits of reservation among
the castes or communities included in the broad category
of OBCs with reference to such classes included in the
Central List.
85. The Union govt. has set up a study group under Special
secretary in the home ministry to examine the problems
of people along IB, LOC in J&K -- Rina Mitra.
Note: The study group will look into broadly three issues
“demand for land for relocation in case of shelling”,
“construction of more bunkers” and “compensation
issues” related to shelling.
86. New Managing Director (MD)& Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Ltd (PNB
MetLife) --Ashish Srivastava.
Note: Earlier, Srivastava was an interim CEO at PNB
MetLife.
4. Book titled “A Horse Walks into a Bar” authored by -
David Grossman (Winner - Man Booker International
Prize 2017)
5. Book titled “How India Sees the World” – Shyam
Saran.
6. Book titled “Hit Refresh” – Satya Nadella.
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7. Book titled “Unstoppable: My Life So far” authored
by – Maria Sharapova.
8. Book titled “The Shershah of Kargil” authored by -
Deepak Surana (Biography of Kargil war hero – Late
Captain Vikram Batra)
9. Book titled “Kadve Vachan” authored by – Tarun
Sagar Maharaj.
10. Book titled “I am HIV positive, so what?” authored by
– Jayanta Kalita (The book is based on the life of an
international bodybuilding champion Khundrakpam
Pradipkumar Singh hailing from Manipur, who was
diagnosed HIV-positive.)
11. Book titled “Cryptocurrency for Beginners” authored
by – Amit Bhardwaj.
12. Book titled “Making of a legend” authored by –
Bindeshawr Pathak.
13. Book titled “Dalhousie Through My Eyes” authored
by – Kiran Chadha.
Honors & Awards
National Awards
1. The ‘Femina Miss India 2017 title’ -- Manushi Chillar
(Haryana).
➢ First runner up: Sana Dua (Miss J&K).
➢ Second runner up: Priyanka Kumari (Miss
Bihar).
2. The Sahitya Academy Yuva Puraskar 2017 in English
Language -- Manu S Pillai.
Note: He won the award for his book ‘The Ivory
Throne – Chronicles of the House of Travancore’.
3. Indian mountaineer has honored by Govt. of Nepal for
scaling Mt. Everest for a record six times -- Love Raj
Singh Dharmashaktu.
4. The RedInk Award Journalist of the Year 2017-- Raj
Kamal Jha.
5. France’s highest civilian award ‘Legion of Honor’ --
Soumitra Chatterjee
Note: Bengali actor Chatterjee has been selected for
his outstanding contribution to cinema and theatre.
6. The water conservation model has been selected for
the national award for excellence in the MGNREGP --
Jal Sanchay.
Note: The model is adopted successfully by the
authorities in Nalanda district of south central Bihar.
7. IIT Kanpur. conferred honorary doctorate degree
(D.Sc) to PT Usha.
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14. Book titled “Playing With Fire” authored by – Katie
Price.
15. Book titled “Future of Indian Universities:
Comparative and International Perspectives” authored
by – C. Raj Kumar.
16. Book titled “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness”
authored by – Arundhati Roy.
17. Book titled “The Crisis Within” authored by – Ganesh
Devy.
18. Book titled “Indira Gandhi – A life in Nature”
authored by – Jairam Ramesh.
19. Book titled “Beren And Luthien” authored by – J.R.R.
Tolkien.
20. Book titled “Yug Purush, Bharat Ratna, Atal Ji”
authored by – Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank”.
21. Book titled “Matoshree” authored by - Lok Sabha
Speaker Sumitra Mahajan
Note: P T Usha has conferred honorary doctorate
degree for her contributions to Indian sports and
women empowerment.
8. 5th Bhupen Hazarika National Award 2017-- Yeshe
Dorjee Thongchi.
Note: The award has been instituted a Maharashtra-
based social organisation ‘Sarhad’ for outstanding
literary work at national and international level.
9. The Yoga Institute selected as the first recipient of the
Prime Minister's Award for outstanding contribution
for promotion and development of yoga -- Ramamani
Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute,Pune.
10. The state has gotten the awarded for constructing the
highest number of rural roads, under the Pradhan
Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)-- Bihar.
11. The state has gotten the award for use of non-
conventional construction material in constructing
roads -- Madhya Pradesh.
12. The state govt. has won the prestigious UN Public
Service Award for year 2017-- West Bengal.
Note: Chief Minister ‘Mamata Banerjee’ has received
the ‘2017 UN Public Service Award’ at a ceremony held
in The Hague, Netherlands on behalf of her state govt.
13. Honored with Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy for his
efforts to reform public-school system in India -- Azim
Premji.
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Note: The Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy considered
the most prestigious prize in philanthropy.
14. The city has topped the newly released list of 30 cities
for development as smart cities under Smart City
Mission -- Thiruvananthapuram.
15. Indian personality has been bestowed with the 2017
Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report Heroes Award --
Mahesh Bhagwat.
Note: Currently, he is serving as the first
Commissioner of Police of Rachakonda.
16. The Indian metro has become the world’s first
completely green metro system -- Delhi Metro.
Note: Delhi Metro has secured the platinum rating for
adherence to green building norms for its 10
residential colonies from the Indian Green Building
Council (IGBC).
17. 2017 Mahanayak Samman -- Shakuntala Barua.
18. Best Action Movie award at the Shanghai International
Film Festival (SIFF) -- Sultan.
19. Prime Minister’s trophy for ‘Best Performing
Integrated Steel Plant’ in 2015-16 -- Tata Steel. Ltd.
Note: Tata Steel Ltd. (TISCO) has won the Prime
Minister’s trophy for ‘Best Performing Integrated Steel
Plant’ in India during 2014-2015 and 2015- 16.
20. Eminent scientist has chosen for the prestigious Von
Hippel Award for his immense contribution in
materials research-- Professor C.N.R Rao.
Note: The award citation noted Mr. Rao’s immense
work on novel functional materials, including
nanomaterials, graphene and 2D materials,
superconductivity, and colossal magnetoresistance.
21. Indian film Best Foreign Film category at the Oscars
2018 -- Newton.
Note: Newton is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language black
comedy film directed by Amit V Masurkar and
Produced by Drishyam Films.
22. The Sportsperson of the Year award during the ‘Maruti
Suzuki Sportsperson of the Year’ Charity Gala Awards -
- P V Sindhu.
23. Indian music composer has been shortlisted for the
2017 World Soundtrack Awards (public choice award)
-- A R Rahman.
24. Indian city has been declared as a World Heritage City
(WHC) by UNESCO -- Ahmedabad.
25. Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader has
received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his
contributions as a Lok Sabha member -- LK Advani.
26. JD(U) leader has also received the Lifetime
Achievement Award as a Rajya Sabha MP -- Sharad
Yadav.
27. Best film award at 18th IIFA Awards 2017-- Neerja.
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Note: Neerja is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language
biographical thriller film directed by Ram Madhvani
and written by Saiwyn Quadras and Sanyuktha Chawla
Shaikh.
28. The Bollywood star has received the ‘Global Diversity
Award’ at Britain’s House of Commons - Salman Khan.
29. The prestigious A Nageswara Rao (ANR) National
Award for his contribution to the Telugu film industry -
- S S Rajamouli.
Note: The ANR National Award was instituted by the
Akkineni International foundation in the honor of
Akkineni Nageswara Rao.
30. The National Institute of Ayurveda has entered the
Guinness Book for 'Most people receiving Nasya Panch
Kararma simultaneously' -- Jaipur.
Note: 733 Ayurvedic practitioners performed Nasya
Karma, which has been registered in the Guinness
Book of records.
31. The Biju Patnaik Award for Scientific Excellence-2016 -
- Digambar Behera.
Note: The Biju Patnaik Award for Scientific Excellence
for the year 2016 to Prof Digambar Behera. The award
was instituted by Odisha Bigyan Academy (OBA) and is
given to any Odia scientist working anywhere in India
or abroad each year for his/her lifetime research
contributions in the field of science and technology.
32. Kolkata’s transwoman has crowned the first Miss
TransQueen India in Gurugram, Haryana-- Nitasha
Biswas.
Note: Currently, Biswas is pursuing Masters in
Business Management in Kolkata, West Bengal. Miss
Transsexual Australia 2017 Laeticia Phylliscia Raveena
had crowned the first Miss TransQueen India.
33. The Airport has bagged the National Award for
‘Excellence’ in Energy Management -- Rajiv Gandhi
International Airport.
34. Indian personality has won the PLuS Alliance Prize for
Global Leadership -- N R Narayana Murthy.
Note: Narayana Murthy for Global Leadership and
Veena Sahajwalla for Research Innovation for her
project 'The new science of green manufacturing.
35. First lifetime achievement award for his contribution
to Badminton -- Prakash Padukone.
Note: Padukone had won the 1980 All England,
besides bagging a bronze at the 1983 World
Championship in Copenhagen and a gold medal at the
1978 Commonwealth Games.
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36. According the 2018 Times Higher Education (THE)
World university ranking, Indian university has been
names the top university in India -- IISc-Bangalore.
Note: The University of Oxford has retained its first
place in the rankings, followed by University of
Cambridge, California Institute of Technology and
Stanford University.
37. The state’s CM has announced a reward of one crore
rupees to Arjuna awardee archer Vennam Jyoti
Surekha -- Andhra Pradesh.
Note: He also announced a 500- sq yd house site in
Vijayawada and a government job for her. The Chief
Minister also announced 10 lakh rupees reward for
Devisri Prasad (10-year) of Tirupati on setting the
Guinness World Record in skating.
38. Agriculture Leadership Award-2017
- K Chandrashekhar Rao
Note: He has been selected for his innovative services
rendered to the welfare of farmers and the farm sector.
39. Indian-origin crowned as the UK’s ‘Child Genius’ in a
popular television quiz competition --Rahul Doshi
Note: He won the Channel 4 show 'Child Genius' by
defeating his nine-year-old opponent Ronan 10-4 in
the programme's finale. Rahul has an IQ of 162, which
is believed to be higher than the likes of Albert Einstein
and Stephen Hawking.
40. Internationally-acclaimed senior kathak dancer has
been conferred with a fellowship by the Department of
Culture, Government of India (GoI) -- Nandakishore
Kapote.
Note: Kapote will carry out a detailed study on ‘Hand
Gestures and Kathak Dance in Abhinaydarpan
41. Bollywood actress has won the 2017 IIFA Women of
the Year award -- Tapsee Pannu
Note: She has won the 2017 IIFA Woman of The Year
for her role in Pink at the 18th edition of the
International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards in
New York City, United States.
International Awards
Nobel Prize 2017 –
1. Nobel Prize in Peace
● Winner - International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear
Weapons (ICAN)
● Field - ICAN for its work to draw attention to the
catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use
of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking
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42. Mohun Bagan Ratna Award 2017 -- Subrata
Bhattacharya.
Note: Former club striker Balwant Singh has been
awarded the Best Football Player of the Year prize.
43. East Bengal football club’s highest honour 'Bharat
Gaurav' - Dhanraj Pillay
Note: He represented the country in four Olympics,
World Cups, Champions Trophy, and Asian Games. He
played total 339 matches for India, scoring 170 goals.
44. Mukesh Ambani has become the Asia’s second richest
man according to the 2017 Bloomberg Billionaires
Index (BBI).
Note: Currently, Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma is the
richest person in Asia with a net worth of USD 43.2
billion.
45. Three-time National Award Winner Veteran actress
has been selected for this year's Prem Nazir Award --
Sharada.
Note: The award, carrying a purse of Rs 75,000, a
statuette and a citation.The award will be presented to
Sharada at a function at Chirayankeezhu (Kerala) on
15th August.
46. Veteran journalist and star of Mysore Columnist has
bagged for the first Kesari Media Award -- T J S George.
47. The first person from India to win Anna Politkovskaya
Award -- Gauri Lankesh.
Note: The Anna Politkovskaya Award was established
to remember and honour Russian journalist Anna
Politkovskaya, who was murdered in Moscow on
October 7, 2006 over her reportage of the second war
in Chechnya.
48. Indian-origin personality will be honoured with the
Asia Game Changers Award- 2017--Dev Patel.
Note: He will be honoured by the Asia Society for
making a transformative and positive difference for the
future of Asia and the world. Patel has turned his
attention and star power to philanthropy.
efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such
weapons.
● ICAN headquarter at – Geneva, Switzerland.
● ICAN Executive Director - Beatrice Fihn
2. Nobel Prize in Literature
● Winner - Kazuo Ishiguro.
● He is a British author and best known for his novel
“The Remains of the Day”.
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● He was born in Nagasaki, Japan.
3. Nobel Prize in Economics
● Winner - Richard Thaler
● Field – for his work in behavioral economics.
● Richard Thaler born in New Jersey, United States.
He is a professor of behavioural sciences and
economics at University of Chicago.
4. Nobel Prize in Medicine
● Winner - Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and
Michael W. Young
● Field - for their discoveries on how plants, animals
and humans adapt their biological rhythm so that
it is synchronized with the Earth's revolutions.
● Jeffrey C. Hall – He is from New York, US and
currently Professor at Brandeis University.
● Michael Rosbash – He is from Missouri, US and
currently Professor at Brandeis University.
● Michael W. Young – He is from Miami, Florida, US
and Professor at Rockefeller University, University
of Texas at Austin, Stanford University School of
Medicine.
5. Nobel Prize in Physics
● Winner - Rainer Weiss, Barry C. Barish and Kip S.
Thorne.
● Field - Their decisive contributions to the LIGO
(Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave
Observatory) detector and the observation of
gravitational waves.
● Rainer Weiss born in Berlin, Germany. He is a
Professor at Massachusetts Institute of
Technology.
● Barry C. Barish born in Nebraska, U.S. He is a
professor at California Institute of Technology.
● Kip S. Thorne born in Utah, U.S. He is a professor
at California Institute of Technology.
6. Nobel Prize in Chemistry
● Winner - Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank and
Richard Henderson.
● Field - They developed cryo-electron microscopy
for the high-resolution structure determination of
biomolecules in solution. It’s a method of
simplifying and improving the imaging of
biomolecules.
● Jacques Dubochet born in Aigle, Switzerland. He
is a professor at University of Lausanne.
● Joachim Frank born in Siegen, Germany. He is a
professor at Columbia University.
● Richard Henderson born in Edinburgh, Scotland.
He is a professor at Laboratory of Molecular
Biology.
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Other Awards –
1. The first Israeli author to win the Man Booker
International Prize 2017 for his novel ‘A Horse Walks
Into a Bar’-- David Grossman.
2. Indian mountaineer has honored by Govt. of Nepal for
scaling Mt. Everest for a record six times -- Love Raj
Singh Dharmashaktu.
Note: He has been honored by Adventure Sports
Tourism Society in Lalitpur Metropolitan City near
Kathmandu, Nepal.
3. US author has won the 2017 Man Booker Prize---
George Saunders.
Note: He has become only the second American writer to
win Britain's renowned Prize, which was awarded for his
first full-length novel "Lincoln in the Bardo".
4. The 2017 Orwell Prize winner-- John Bew.
Note: John Bew has been bestowed with the 2017
Orwell Prize for his extraordinary biography ‘Citizen
Clem’, which is about Clement Attlee.
5. The Member of the Order of the British Empire person is
-- Annabel Mehta.
Note: Social activist Annabel Mehta has been conferred
with the Member of the Order of the British Empire in
recognition of her 40 years of service to underprivileged
communities in Mumbai and the NGO 'Apnalaya'.
6. The World’s best Airline at the SKYTRAX World Airline
Awards 2017 at the Paris Air Show France -- Qatar
Airline.
Note: Qatar Airways also won the World’s Best Business
Class, the World’s Best First-Class Lounge, and the Best
Airline in the Middle East awards.
7. An Indian-origin boy in the UK has secured the top
possible score of 162 on a Mensa IQ test -- Arnav
Sharma.
8. The Indian anti-hunger activist has honoured for the
prestigious Queen’s Young Leaders Award -- Ankit
Kawatra.
9. Indian NGO has won the 2017 UNDP Equator Prize for
sustainable farming model -- Swayam Shikshan Prayog.
10. Indian-Americans, will be honoured with the Great
Immigrants Award for their role in helping advance the
country's society, culture, and economy -- Shantanu
Narayen and Vivek Murthy.
11. The old city of Hebron in the west bank has been
declared as the Palestinian World Heritage Site by --
UNESCO.
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12. A Nigerian lawyer teacher & peacemaker has won the
2017 UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) --
Zannah Mustapha.
Note: Mustapha founded a school 10 years ago in 19. Megastar Amitabh Bachchan's ambassadorship extended
Maiduguri which is the epicentre of the Boko Haram
insurgency.
13. The best actor in drama series at the 69th Prime time
Emmy Awards-2017 -- Sterling K Brown.
14. The Personality of the Year award by Skoch Consultancy
Services (SCS)-2017 -- Kishore Sansi.
15. Highest civilian award Order of Australia for community goodwill ambassador for hepatitis in South-East Asia
work in Australia - Guruswamy Jayraman (Indian
origin)
16. The WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Autism in South-East 20. The world's most liveable city named by Economist
Asia Region -- Saima Wazed Hossain.
17. The television series has won the Outstanding Drama
Series award at the 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Award
-- The Handmaid's Tale.
18. The Climate and energy efficiency solutions company,
has been conferred with the ‘Golden Peacock Award’ --
Danfoss India.
Summits & Conference 2017
1. 3rd International Conference on Yoga 2017 – New
Delhi, India.
● Theme of the conference is – “Yoga for Wellness”.
● Conference was organised by – Ministry of Ayush.
● Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated
the conference.
2. 5th Global Conference on Cyber Space 2017 – New
Delhi, India.
● Theme of the conference – ‘Cyber4All: An Inclusive,
Sustainable, Developmental, Safe and Secure
Cyberspace’
● The 4th GCCS conference held in The Hague,
Netherlands.
3. India – ASEAN Youth Summit 2017 – Bhopal, Madhya
Pradesh
Theme of the summit - “Shared Values, Common
Destiny”
4. First ASEAN – India Music Festival held in New
Delhi, India.
● Note: Theme – ‘Shared Values, Common Destiny’.
5. 14th India - European Union (EU) 2017 Summit –
New Delhi, India.
● President of European Union (EU) – Donald
Tusk.
● Member countries – 28
● European Union (EU) headquarter - Brussels,
Belgium.
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Note: The company has been recognized for its LEED
Platinum rated constructed manufacturing facility in
Chennai.
for another two years after success of polio drive--
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Note: Earlier, He had served as UNICEF Goodwill
Ambassador for Polio in India. The World Health
Organization (WHO) also appointed Bachchan as its
region to boost awareness and intensify action to arrest
the epidemic.
Intelligence Unit (EIU) -- Melbourne (Australia).
Note: It was a record seventh time in a row from 2011 to
2017 in the top spot for Melbourne. Vienna once again
came second and Vancouver third.The Economist
Intelligence Unit's (EIU) Liveability Index ranks 140
cities each year on those topics, as well as stability,
culture, and environment.
● The 15th India-EU Summit will be held in
Brussels, Belgium.
● The 13th India-EU Summit was held in Brussels,
Belgium.
6. 8 Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) 2017 -
th
Hyderabad, India.
● Theme of the Summit – ‘Women First, Prosperity
for All’.
● 7th Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) 2016 –
Silicon Valley, USA.
7. 3rd India International Science Festival (IISF) 2017
– Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
● The 2nd IISF held in New Delhi in 2016.
● The 1st IISF was held at Indian Institute of
Technology (IIT) New Delhi in 2015.
8. India Mobile Congress 2017 - New Delhi.
● Note: This is the first time India is all set to host its
own mobile mega show. The Indian telecom
market is the second-largest in the world after
China. India has a total subscriber base of over 1.18
billion subscribers.
9. 19th UN Climate Change Summit 2017- Bonn,
Germany.
● Note: The United Nations Climate Change
Conferences are yearly conferences held in the
framework of the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
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● 18th UN Climate Change Summit 2016 - Marrakech,
Morocco.
10. 9th BRICS Summit 2017 - Xiamen, China.
● Theme of the Summit - “BRICS: Stronger
Partnership for a Brighter Future”.
● The Summit was attended by –
● President of Brazil – Michel Temer
● President of Russia – Vladimir Putin
● Prime Minister of India – Narendra Modi
● President of China – Xi, Jinping
● President of South Africa – Jacob Zuma
● Note: BRICS comprises 5-member countries:
Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
● Venue of 10th BRICS Summit 2018-
Johannesburg, South Africa.
● Venue of 8th BRICS Summit 2016- Goa, India.
11. Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit
2017 – Astana, Kazakhstan.
● Note:
● SCO General Secretary – Rashid Alimov.
● SCO Headquarter - Beijing, China.
● Official Language – Chinese, Russian.
● SCO comprises 8-member countries: China,
Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,
Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.
● India and Pakistan became full members of
the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)
on 9 June 2017.
● Venue of SCO Summit 2018- China.
● Venue of SCO Summit 2016- Tashkent,
Uzbekistan.
About Kazakhstan – Kazakhstan is a Central Asian
country, it has eastern border with China and Russia.
Capital – Astana
Currency - Tenge
President - Nursultan Nazarbayev
Prime Minister - Bakhytzhan Sagintayev
Legislature - Parliament
Upper house - Senate
Lower house - Mazhilis
12. ASEAN (30th & 31st) 2017 Summit – Manila,
Philippines.
● Association of South East Asian Nations
(ASEAN) organisation comprising 10 South east
Asian countries - Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia,
Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand and Vietnam.
● Its motto is - “One Vision, One Identity, One
Community.
● Note: ASEAN Summit held twice a year.
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● Secretary General – Le Luong Minh.
● Chairman - Philippines Rodrigo Duterte
● ASEAN headquarter – Jakarta, Indonesia.
● Venue of ASEAN (32nd & 33rd) 2018 Summit -
Singapore.
● Venue of 28-29th ASEAN Summit 2016 –
Vientiane, Laos
13. 29 APEC 2017 Summit – Danang, Vietnam
th
● Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC)organisation comprising 21 members
countries – Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada,
Chile, People's Republic of China, Hong Kong,
Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia,
Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru,
The Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei,
Thailand, United States, Vietnam.
● Chairman - Trần Đại Quang
● Executive Director - Alan Bollard
● APEC headquarter – Singapore
● Venue of 30th APEC 2018 Summit - Port Moresby,
Papua New Guinea.
● Venue of 28th APEC Summit 2016 – Peru, Lima
14. 4th BIMSTEC 2017 Summit – Kathmandu, Nepal
● Note:
● Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral
Technical and Economic Cooperation
(BIMSTEC)organisation comprising 7 members
countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar,
Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand.
● Chairmanship – Nepal (since 2014)
● BIMSTEC headquarter – Dhaka, Bangladesh
● Venue of 3rd BIMSTEC Summit 2014 - Nay Pyi
Taw, Myanmar.
15. G-20 Summit 2017 – Hamburg, Germany.
● Theme of the summit – “Shaping an Inter-
connected World”
● The G20 comprises 19 countries plus the
European Union. These countries are
Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France,
Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico,
Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea,
Turkey, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United
States of America (USA).
● Meeting of G20 Labour Ministers 2017 –
Bad Neuenahr, Germany.
● Meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and
Central Bank Governors 2017 – Baden,
Germany.
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● Venue of G-20 2018 Summit - Buenos Aires,
Argentina
● Venue of G-20 2016 Summit – Hangzhou,
China
16. 43rd G-7 Summit 2017 - Sicily, Italy.
● Theme of the summit - “Building the foundations
of renewed trust.”
● The G-7 comprises 7 countries – Canada,
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom,
United States.
● Venue of 42nd G-7 2018 Summit – Shima,
Japan
● Venue of 44th G-7 2016 Summit – Canada
17. NATO Summit 2017 – Brussels, Belgium.
● Note:
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
comprises 29 countries – Albania, Belgium,
Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece,
Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Netherland, Norway, Poland,
Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain,
Turkey, United Kingdom, United States.
● NATO headquarter - Brussels, Belgium.
● NATO Secretary General - Jens Stoltenberg
● NATO 2018 Summit – Brussels, Belgium.
● NATO 2016 Summit -Warsaw, Poland
● Note: Turkey’s offer to host the 2018 NATO
summit is rejected by Canada and 18 European
NATO members. Hence, 2018 NATO Summit will
be held in Brussels, Belgium.
18. 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBS) 2017 –
Bengaluru, Karnataka.
● Theme of 2017 PBS is “Redefined Engagement
With Indian Diaspora”.
● Note:
Important News – India
1. The TATA Projects has launched initiative to promote
green cover and to protect the environment -- Green
Thumb.
2. India successfully test-fires 1st all weather tracked-
chassis -- QR-SAM.
Note: India successfully test-fired its first all-weather
tracked-chassis Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile
(QR-SAM) from a mobile launcher at Integrated Test
Range at Chandipur in Odisha.
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● Chief Guest at 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2017
is - H.E. Dr. Antonio Costa, Prime Minister of the
Republic of Portugal.
● The PBS convention is held on January 9th each
year to commemorate the return of Mahatma
Gandhi from South Africa in 1915. It is celebrated
to mark the contribution of the overseas Indian
community to the development of the country.
● Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBS) 2016 was cancelled.
● 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBS) 2015 –
Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
● Singapore to Host Regional Pravasi Bharatiya
Divas in 2018.
19. 104th Indian Science Congress 2017 – SV
University, Tirupati.
● Focal theme - Science & Technology for National
Development.
● 105th Indian Science Congress 2018 to be
hosted by Osmania University, Hyderabad.
● Focal Theme - Reaching the Unreached Through
Science & Technology
20. 25th CHOGM 2018 Summit– The next 25th meeting of
the heads of government of the Commonwealth of
Nations will be held in the London, United Kingdom.
● Note: In 2017, Vanuatu was selected to host 25th
CHOGM Summit but due to the damage done by
Cyclone Pam, it was decided to be held in United
Kingdom in 2018.
● Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
held after a gap of every two years.
● Total member countries – 52.
● Headquarter – London, United Kingdom.
● CHOGM 2015 Summit – Malta.
21. 3rd World Conference on Environment 2017 – New
Delhi, India.
● It was organized by the National Green Tribunal
(NGT) and inaugurated by the President Pranab
Mukherjee.
3. A pact with Bird Academy to train more than thirty
thousand unemployed youth across various states in
the aviation space -- The National Skill
Development Corporation (NSDC).
Note: Now, they will set up training centres in India under
the guidance of aerospace and aviation sector skill
council.
4. Rutland Island (South Andaman) site for the
country’s long-range missile test facility -- National
Board of Wildlife.
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Note: Since 2012, Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) has been seeking the approval
for the test facility.
5. The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has passed
a resolution to rename the city’s ‘The Officers' Mess
Road’ in Chanakyapuri area to -- Alexander M
Kadakin Marg.
Note: Alexander M Kadakin was born in Chisna, Russia and
served as ambassador from 2009 in India until his
last breath in January 2017.
6. The three mobile Apps (Mycall App, Myspeed App
and Do Not Disturb), an upgraded official website and
a portal in New Delhi -- Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India (TRAI).
Note: The three Apps have been launched with a view to
help mobile phone users rate their experience about
voice call quality in real time.
7. India has signed an agreement with Sri Lanka to
provide fresh assistance of 318 million US Dollar
credit line for the development of --Railway sector.
Note: India has already provided four Lines of Credit for
the development of railway in Sri Lanka through its
EXIM bank amounting around USD 966 million.
8. The ministry has launched ‘Skill for Life, Save a Life’
initiative to promote skill development in the health
sector in New Delhi -- Health Ministry.
Note: The initiative aims to upscale the quality and quantity
of trained professionals in the healthcare system.
9. The ‘Vatsalya – Maatri Amrit Kosh’a National Human
Milk Bank and Lactation Counselling Centre at the
Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC) in New
Delhi_-- Mr. C K Mishra.
Note: It is established in collaboration with the Norwegian
government, Oslo University, and Norway-India
Partnership Initiative (NIPI).
10. Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd (KRCL) is planning
to develop how many stations on the Konkan route--
twenty-one.
Note: A total 147 kms of railway track would be doubled
under the expansion and modernization project at a
cost of Rs. 3,000 crores.
11. The union ministry has launched Mission Retro-
Fitment program -- Railway ministry.
Note: Mission Retro-Fitment is an ambitious program to
upgrade the level of furnishing & amenities in the
coaches of Indian Railways.
12. The SATH program for cooperative federalism -- NITI
Aayog.
Note: NITI Aayog has launched a program Sustainable
Action for Transforming Human capital (SATH)
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with the State Governments for cooperative
federalism.
13. Indian Railways Human Resources Round Table
Conference has started in the city -- New Delhi.
Note: The 3-themes of the conference are Stakeholders
Expectations from HR, The Future of Work – HR Role
and Creativity Within Constraints.
14. The Union Govt. has launched a video conferencing
aided legal service for the people living in rural areas
-- Tele Law.
Note: The ‘Tele-Law’ portal will be available across the
Common Service Centre network connecting the
citizens to legal service providers.
15. The first underwater metro tunnel in India will come
up in the city -- Kolkata.
Note: It will pass through the Hooghly River and connect
the two main terminals Howrah and Sealdah
16. The city to host the second edition of National Health
Editors Conference on Yoga -2017-- New Delhi.
Note: The conference on Yoga was inaugurated by the
Minister of State for AYUSH (Independent Charge)
Shripad Yesso Naik.
17. India's first canal top solar PV System on cooling
water (CW) channel inside power station--NTPC
Mouda (Nagpur).
Note: This novel Solar PV system makes use of side walls of
CW channels as load bearing structure thereby
significantly decreasing cost of civil and mounting
structure.
18. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for
Participation in the ANUGA 2017 Exhibition -- India.
Note: ANUGA (Allgemeine Nahrungs Und Genußmittel
Ausstellung) is the world’s biggest and most
important trade fair for Food and beverage trade.
19. The first phase of Metro for the city in Kerala -- Kochi
Metro.
Note: The Kochi metro project became the first metro in the
country which connects rail, road, and water
transport facilities. Kochi Metro Rail Limited is a 50-
50 Joint Venture of Centre and the Kerala
government.
20. The 71st country to join the United Nations TIR
(Transports Internationaux Routiers) Convention to
boost trade through smoother movement of goods
across territories -- India.
Note: It is part of its multi-modal transport strategy that
aims at integrating Indian economy with global and
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regional production networks through better
connectivity.
21. Sushma Swaraj has inaugurated a Programme for
young overseas Indians in New Delhi-- Know India
Programme (KIP).
Note: The Know India Programme (KIP) is a three-week
orientation programme for the Indian diaspora.
22. A special blue 'umbrella emoji' for its Indian users to
celebrate monsoon -- Twitter.
Note: The emoji went live on 16th June and will be active
till 31st August this year.
23. The authority has cleared the final raising of Sardar
Sarovar Dam (SSD) in Gujarat by lowering of gates
and impounding of water in the reservoir upto its Full
Reservoir Level (FRL) of EL 138.68 mts --Narmada
Control Authority (NCA).
Note: The ‘Sardar Sarovar Project’ would primarily meet
the water requirement of drought prone and desert
areas of Gujarat and Rajasthan.
24. The ministry has launched ‘National Mission on
Cultural Mapping of India’ -- Ministry of Culture.
Note: This Mission is part of the ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha
Bharat’ umbrella and a stage will be provided to the
registered artists for performance and displaying
their talent.
25. The American aerospace giant and ‘Tata Group’ have
signed a pact to produce, operate, and export the
combat-proven F-16 fighters in India -- Lockheed
Martin.
Note: The deal announced during the Paris Air show
between Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) and
Lockheed Martin is ideally suited to meet Indian Air
Force's single-engine fighter needs.
26. Airports in small towns would come on the aviation
map by this September through the regional
connectivity scheme ‘UDAAN’ -- thirty-three.
Note: The ‘UDAAN’ scheme is designed as a demand-driven
one so that States can participate in it to make it
fruitful.
27. A Mobile App – ‘Celebrating Yoga’ to connect people
through Yoga for a scientific healthy living at a
function in New Delhi -- Dr. Harsh Vardhan.
Note: The mobile application will help to provide a
platform to share information and insights about
people's participation during Yoga activities on
International Yoga Day (21st June).
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28. Aa dedicated Webpage has been launched for
facilitating taxpayers with regard to addressing
issues related to Information Technology Services
and Electronics goods-- The Ministry of Electronics
and Information Technology.
Note: Now, the Webpage can be accessed through
Ministry’s Web Portal ‘www.meity.gov.in’.Any
Individuals, Companies and Entrepreneurs in IT and
Electronics sector can visit the webpage for sector-
specific information.
29. People suffering from tuberculosis (TB) will have to
submit their number to avail benefits under a central
government scheme -- Aadhaar number.
Note: The Health Ministry also asked those who do not have
Aadhaar card to get themselves enrolled by 31st
August 2017.
30. A scheme 'Visiting Advanced Joint Research Faculty'
(VAJRA)has been launched to bring together the
Indian scientists abroad --The Department of
Science and Technology (DST).
Note: The idea of the scheme is to bring the best of the
world to India and conduct research here.
31. Election Commission (EC) has disqualified Madhya
Pradesh Minister for submitting wrong expenditure
accounts in the 2008 poll -- Narottam Mishra.
Note: Mr. Mishra has also been debarred from contesting
poll for three years.
32. The Union Minister has presented the 100 volumes of
The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi(CWMG)
published by the Publications Division to Sabarmati
Ashram in Ahmedabad -- Venkaiah Naidu.
Note: To ensure that Gandhian thoughts reach the new
generation readers, all these restored editions have
also been made available as e-Books, and are
available for online sale.
33. Kalraj Mishra has launched a Scheme to boost Digital
India Mission -- Digital MSME Scheme.
Note: This scheme revolves around Cloud Computing which
is emerging as a cost effective and viable alternative
in comparison to in-house Infrastructure installed by
MSMEs.
34. The union Govt. has cleared the proposal for setting
up a new airport in -- Jewar (Greater Noida).
Note: The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development
Authority has notified 3,000 hectares of land for a
world-class international airport.
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35. India's First Blood Bank for Cattle to Come up in the
state -- Odisha.
Note: The blood bank would be established on the premises
of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology at
an estimated cost of Rs. 3.25 crore.
36. Harsh Vardhan has launched "National Biopharma
Mission" to accelerate biopharmaceutical
development in India. Note: Under the Mission, the
ministry launched a programme named Innovate in
India (i3) to create an enabling ecosystem to promote
entrepreneurship and indigenous manufacturing in
the sector.
37. India’s tallest Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower has
installed at -- Indira Gandhi International Airport
(IGIA), Delhi.
Note: It will be the 7th tallest ATC tower in the world.
38. Who has launched a month-long plantation drive to
mark Van Mahotsav -- Dr. Harsh Vardhan.
Note: Van Mahotsav is an annual tree-planting movement
in India, which began in 1950. The purpose of the
festival is to raise the awareness of trees among
people and to highlight the need for planting and
tending of trees as one of the best ways to prevent
global warming and reduce pollution.
39. An agreement with Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd
(KHI) of Japan to manufacture stainless steel coaches
and bogies for metro rail -- The Bharat Heavy
Electricals Limited (BHEL).
Note: The agreement covers establishing engineering,
design, and manufacturing facilities at BHEL using
Japanese technology. It will also entitle BHEL for all
technology advances and upgrades.
40. India’s first university only for Dalit students will
come up in -- Hyderabad.
Note: The purpose of establishing an exclusive university
for Dalit students is to provide them a comprehensive
education, so that they would come out as complete
and knowledgeable citizens.
41. The Asia-Africa-Europe (AAE-1) submarine cable
system stretch from Marseille in France to Hong Kong
-- Reliance Jio.
Note: He was administered the oath of office by Chief
Justice of India ‘JS Khehar’ at a special function in the
central hall of Parliament. AAE-1 is claimed to be the
world’s longest 100Gbps technology-based
submarine system. It will have 21 cable landings
across Asia and Europe.
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42. Western Railways have changed the name of
‘Elphinstone Road station as -- Prabhadevi.
Note: Prabhadevi is a local deity, whose temple is located in
the vicinity of the railway station. In December 2016,
the Maharashtra Assembly had unanimously adopted
a resolution to rename these railway stations which
were subsequently followed by a nod from the
Central Government.
43. The Power Ministry has launched the app and the
portal for providing e-Bidding solution to states to
select Independent Power Producers (IPPs) --
MERIT.
Note: The objective of is to increase transparency and
accountability and transfer maximum benefit to the
consumer reflects a 360-degree approach of a
‘government in action’.The app also gives information
regarding reasons for deviation from merit order
such as must run conditions, transmission
constraints etc.
44. The first government hospital in the country to
perform a lung transplant -- PGIMER, Chandigarh.
Note: The institute has been successfully performing heart,
kidney, pancreas, liver, and Cornea transplants.
45. India’s first high-speed rail training centre will set up
in the state -- Gujarat.
Note: The rail training centre will set up at a cost of Rs 600
crore, and is expected to start operating by 2020.
46. The union govt will organize three-day international
fair in 3 to 5 November 2017 -- World Food India
2017.
Note: International fair will provide a platform to Indian
farmers and manufacturers to showcase their
products and explore partnerships with foreign
companies, organized by the Food Processing
Ministry. The World Food India is a step aimed at
creating India a 'Global Food Factory' and 'Global
Food Retail Market'.
47. Indian Railways has launched virtual server to
optimize server usage and faster connectivity --
RailCloud.
Note: The technology is developed by rail PSU RailTel at an
estimated cost of approx Rs 53 crore. The RailCloud
technology enables maximising the usage of available
server and storage resulting in accommodation of
bigger data and more applications within same
server space.
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48. The two programmes to take education to the
remotest corners of the country with the help of
technology -- Swayam and Swayam Prabha.
Note: Under Swayam, courses would be offered through
digital classrooms with online study material
available free of cost in videos. Swayam Prabha
would tap into the potential of Direct to Home Service
wherein a person can install a dish antenna for about
Rs 1,500 & have access to 32 digital educational
channels run by the HRD Ministry.
49. The union Railway Minister ‘Suresh Prabhu’ has
inaugurated the Science Express Climate Action
Special at -- Madgaon station.
Note: The Science Express is an innovative mobile science
exhibition of the Department of Science and
Technology mounted on a 16-coach AC train. The
objective is to increase awareness on climate change
and its mitigation among various sections of society,
especially students.
50. 100 metres from the edge of River Ganga as a ‘No-
Development Zone’ in the stretch between Haridwar
(Uttarakhand) and Unnao (Uttar Pradesh) -- NGT
(National Green Tribunal).
Note: There shall be no dumping of waste of any kind
within 500 metres from the edge of River Ganga.The
NGT also declared an environment compensation of
Rs. 50,000 on anyone who dumps waste in River
Ganga.
51. The union Cabinet has approved the establishment of
the International Rice Research Institute, South Asia
Regional Center at the campus of National Seed
Research and Training Center in -- Varanasi.
Note: This Center will be the first international Center in
eastern India and it will play a major role in
harnessing and sustaining rice production in the
region. The Centre will also undertake capacity
building exercises for stakeholders across the rice
value chain.
52. The National Strategic Plan for Malaria Elimination
(2017-22) launched by -- Shri J P Nadda.
Note: The Strategic Plan gives year wise elimination targets
in various parts of the country depending upon the
endemicity of malaria in the next 5 years. This plan
focuses on the states like Odisha, Jharkhand,
Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
53. Indian scientists have discovered an extremely large
supercluster of galaxies, which is as big as 20 million
billion suns-- Saraswati.
Note: Inter University Centre for Astronomy and
Astrophysics (IUCAA) team of astronomers has
named it ‘Saraswati’. This is one of the largest known
structures in the neighborhood of the universe, 4,000
42 | Page
million light-years away from Earth and roughly
more than 10 billion years old.
54. The city hosted the National Conference of NITI
Aayog -- New Delhi.
Note: The focus of the conference is on best practices in
social and economic sectors across states.
55. The union minister ‘Arun Jaitley’ has launched a new
pension scheme for the senior citizens in new Delhi --
Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana.
Note: The scheme provides an assured return of 8% per
annum payable monthly for 10 years and exempted
from Service Tax or GST. The scheme can be
purchased offline as well as online through Life
Insurance Corporation of India(LIC). The PMVVY
scheme will be available till 3rd May,2018.
56. The first solar-powered 1600 HP DEMU train in India
has launched from the station -- Safdarjung railway
station.
57. The ministry will launch a new sub-scheme
‘Aajeevika Grameen Express Yojana’ (AGEY) under
the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana--The Union Rural
Development ministry.
Note: The AGEY aims to provide an alternative source of
livelihoods to members of Self Help Groups (SHGs)
under DAY-NRLM by facilitating them to operate
public transport services in backward rural areas.
58. The Indian Railways has launched an integrated
mobile application to cater various passenger
requirements -- SAARTHI.
Note: The Rail SAARTHI (synergised advanced application
rail travel help and information) such as safety for
women, complaint facility and suggestion for
improvement.
59. The 5th ‘North East Connectivity Summit- 2018’ will
be held in the state -- Arunachal Pradesh.
Note: The summit organised by the FICCI is one of the most
important forums for action oriented deliberations
on sub-regional economic integration and
connectivity between North East India and South-
East Asia. The 4th North East Connectivity Summit
will be held in Nagaland in September 2017.
60. The National Trade Facilitation Action Plan (NTFAP)
in New Delhi-- Arun Jaitley.
Note: The WTO-Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) was a
major milestone for the global trading system and all
actions covered under the plan have been categorised
by prioritising the activities into short, mid, and long
term.
61. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)
has launched the mobile app for syncing Aadhaar
data on the mobile phone-- mAadhaar app.
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Note: Once you register in mAadhar app, your Aadhaar card
profile including phone number, address and other
details get stored on the app.
62. The country’s first Bio-CNG (bio-methane) bus at a
bio-energy programme, ‘Urja Utsav’--Tata Motors.
Note: The use of Bio-CNG will contribute in a positive
manner to the Smart Cities proposition of keeping
them clean. The bio-methane engines could be used
in LCV, ICV and MCV buses.
63. The railway station has become the India’s first
station to run by all women staff -- Matunga railway
station.
64. The science & technology ministry has launched a
low-cost indigenously developed hearing screening
device for newborns -- Sohum.
Note: The Sohum uses brain-stem auditory evoked
response technology which is recommended as best
screening choice. SOHUM, has been developed by
School of International Biodesign (SIB), a startup M/S
Sohum Innovation Labs India Pvt. Ltd.
65. The Union Government has approved climate change
projects for three states under National Adaptation
Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC)-- Rajasthan,
Gujarat and Sikkim.
66. The United Nations Peacekeeping Course for African
Partners (UNPCAP-02) 2017 has started in the city --
New Delhi.
67. The city will host the tenth edition of Urban Mobility
India conference beginning 4th November this year --
Hyderabad.
Note: The three-day event will be jointly organised by the
Union Ministry of Urban Development and the
Telangana Government.The theme of this year’s
conference is intelligent, inclusive and sustainable
mobility.
68. The union Minister Maneka Gandhi has launched
online complaint system for registering sexual
harassment complaints at workplace in New Delhi --
sexual harassment e-box.
Note: This online portal is open for central government
women employees only and later on, complaints from
private sector will be entertained effectively. The
Ministry will soon conduct a national level survey to
examine the magnitude of sexual harassment at
workplace.
69. Who has formed a new catering policy to improve
food quality in trains & stations-- Indian Railway
Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC).
Note: As per the new catering policy of 2017, the IRCTC will
manage catering services on all mobile units, and
pantry car contracts will also be reassigned to
railways' catering arm. Now, IRCTC will not have the
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right to outsource or issue licenses for provision of
catering services to private licensees
70. Online application has been invited from girl students
for enrolment in UDAAN project 2017-19 --The
Central Board of Secondary Education(CBSE).
Note: The scheme is open for deserving girl students who
aspire to pursue higher education in engineering and
to assist them to prepare for entrance exam while
studying in Class 11 and 12th in Kendriya
Vidyalaya(KV), Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya(JNV) or
government schools affiliated to CBSE or any board.
71. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism
Corporation (IRCTC) has planned to install 1,100
water vending machines at 450 stations in 2017-
2018 to ensure clean drinking water at low cost.
Note: A glass of 300 ml water dispensed through these
machines will cost just one rupee. At present, there
are 1,106 water vending machines at 345 stations in
the country.
72. The Union minister has launched a mobile app for
road maintenance in all the States -- Aarambh.
Note:The mobile phone app aims at use of Geographic
Information System (GIS) based mapping for making
road inventories, condition surveys, and producing
cost estimates and other relevant data for
preparation and monitoring of annual road
maintenance plans.
73. The FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of
India) directs the concerned food business operators
to discontinue the manufacture, storage, distribution,
sale and import of stapled tea bags by--1st
January,2018.
Note: The FSSAI has also directed all food safety
commissioners to take action to prevent the use of
unsafe packaging materials by companies and take up
measures for enforcement of its order.
74. The first two Naval Offshore Patrol Vessels (NOPVs)
‘Shachi’ and ‘Shruti’ at their shipyard in Pipavav,
Gujarat --Reliance Defence and Engineering
Limited (RDEL).
Note: These two NOPVs are the first warships to be
launched by a private sector shipyard in India.
75. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated a
national memorial on the second death anniversary
of former president Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam in --
Rameshwaram (Tamil Nadu).
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Note: The Kalam memorial was built by the Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in
Pei Karumbu. The memorial, build at a cost of 20
crores, blends Mughal and Indian architecture. Its
main entrance resembles Delhi's India gate and the
main door is a replica of the entrance of the
Brihadiswara Temple in Tanjavur.
76. Microsoft officially unveiled a mobile-only
productivity application to simplify large group
communication for Indian organisations -- Kaizala.
Note: “Microsoft Kaizala, a made for India product, brings
together the two disparate worlds of mobile only
messaging apps and a digitally integrated modern
workplace The application had been optimized for 2G
networks to enable connectivity in remote locations
and offered features with offline support.
77. The High Court ordered that “Vande Mataram” must
be played and sung in all schools, colleges, and
universities at least once a week -- Madras High
Court.
Note: The court also ruled that the national song must be
played and sung in all government offices and
institutions, private companies, factories, and
industries at least once a month.
78. Scientists have developed new Artificial intelligence
(AI) software to create three dimensional (3D)
models from 2D photographs -- SurfNet.
Note: It will give them the ability to understand the 3D
environment around them using standard 2D
cameras. SurfNet software can be used in object
recognition, robotics, and even self-driving cars.
79. The union govt. will provide vaccine free from next
year and it would help in tackling the liver related
diseases -- Hepatitis C.
Note: For this purpose, union government is planning to
provide up to 3,000 crore rupees in the budget.
80. The Defence Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO) has launched India's first unmanned tank
that was being developed in Chennai lab --
‘Muntra’(Mission UNmanned TRAcked).
Note: Muntra-S: Country's first unmanned surveillance
missions. Muntra-M: for detecting mines. Muntra-N:
for operation in areas where there is a nuclear
radiation or bio weapon risk.
81. The oil company will operate India’s first petroleum
R&D facility for testing high-end BS-VI quality fuel
emissions-- Indian Oil Corp (IOC).
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82. The Union government has launched a portal to
provide a platform to sell agricultural produce -- e-
RaKAM.
Note: The e-RaKAM is a first of its kind initiative that
leverages technology to connect farmers of the
smallest villages to the biggest markets of the world
through internet.
83. Indian Army has developed a mobile app for soldiers
to track promotions and postings-- Humraaz app.
Note: With the help of this app soldiers can view their
monthly ‘salary slips’ & the ‘Form 16’ and also
download them.The app will be launched in the
second week of August for prompt communication of
information to junior commissioner officers and
other personnel.
84. The Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Madan B
Lokur has imposed a ban on the use of five harmful
metals in firecrackers as they cause enormous air
pollution -- lithium, mercury, arsenic, antimony,
lead metals.
Note: The order came after the Central Pollution Control
Board's (CPCB) Member Secretary told the top court
that standards on air pollution caused by the bursting
of firecrackers are yet to be laid down.
85. India’s first private sector missile sub-systems
manufacturing facility has set up in the city --
Hyderabad.
Note:It has been established a line with the ‘Make in India’
initiative and Government’s policy to encourage
private sector participation in defense product.
86. The union govt. has ordered state-run oil companies
to raise subsidised cooking gas (LPG) prices by four
rupees per cylinder every month to eliminate all the
subsidies by -- March 2018.
Note: Every household is entitled to 12 cylinders (14.2-kg
each) at subsidised rates in a year and any
requirement beyond that is to be purchased at
market price.
87. SEBI has constituted a committee on fair market
conduct, which will be headed by former Lok Sabha
secretary and law secretary T K Viswanathan.
Note: The committee has been tasked with suggesting
improvements to the existing SEBI norms, including
on insider trading and Fraudulent and Unfair Trade
practices (FUTP).
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88. The 2nd programme of AGRI-UDAAN to promote
innovation and entrepreneurship in agriculture
launched in -- New Delhi.
Note: It will mentor startups and help them connect with
potential investors. The program focuses on
catalyzing scale-up stage food and agribusiness
startups through rigorous mentoring, industry
networking and investor pitching.
89. The Union Ministry has launched a contest for
designing a logo for the 'Women of India Festival' to
be held at ‘Dilli Haat’ in October 2017 -- Women and
Child Development Ministry.
Note: The event is organized and fully sponsored by the
Ministry as part of their major initiative of economic
empowerment of women. The Women of India
Festival offers the biggest selection of organic
products prepared or grown by women.
90. The World Bank has allowed India to construct
hydro-electric power facilities on tributaries of the
Jhelum and Chenab rivers under the Treaty -- Indus
Waters Treaty.
Note: Earlier, Pakistan is opposed to the construction of the
Kishanganga and Ratle hydroelectric power plants
being built by India in Jammu and Kashmir. India is
permitted to construct hydroelectric power facilities
on these rivers subject to specified constraints.
91. Tata Memorial Centre has joined hands with the
Indian Dental Association (IDA) to start India's first
digital initiative for prevention and early detection of
oral cancer.
Note: Tata Memorial Centre and The Indian Dental
Association (IDA) together have launched a special
course on ‘Oral Cancer’ on 27th last month. The day
is celebrated as the World Head and Neck Cancer Day
to create awareness and early detection of oral
cancer.
92. The union Govt. has proposed to establish new AIIMS
under various phases of Pradhan Mantri Swasthya
Suraksha Yojana in different parts of the country --
14.
Note: An additional 1,563 new beds will be added in the
existing capacity of AIIMS at Delhi and 73 existing
medical institutions are being upgraded by setting up
of super specialty blocks, trauma centres in the
country.
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93. Delhi Police's women safety mobile application via
cab aggregator Uber's application while travelling in
taxis -- Himmat.
Note: In addition to the emergency button in the Uber app,
riders will now have one more touch point to access
the police helpline in case of an emergency.
94. Union ministry has launched a 2017 Swachh
Survekshan (Gramin) -- Drinking Water and
Sanitation ministry.
Note: All districts of the country will be ranked on the basis
of performance, sustainability and transparency
Under the Swachh Survekshan Gramin.
95. A special event ‘Dawn of cruise tourism in India’ has
launched in the city to promote cruise tourism in
India -- Mumbai.
Note: This initiative has a potential revenue gains to all
stakeholders of close to Rs. 35000 crores.
96. NITI Aayog shortlisted Uttar Pradesh, Assam, and
Karnataka under its 'Sustainable Action for
Transforming Human Capital', SATH initiative to
handhold them and transform their health sector.
Note: To give major push to competitive, cooperative
federalism, the government think tank had invited all
states and Union Territories to participate in its SATH
initiative to transform Health and Education sectors.
97. India’s first micro forest being built in --
Chhattisgarh.
Note: Micro forest (land of 19 acres), housed around 70
government office buildings in Raipur (Chhattisgarh)
is being converted into India’s first micro forest to
create an oxy-zone.
98. Indian city to host the India – ASEAN Youth summit
2017-- Bhopal.
Note: The India – ASEAN Youth summit- 2017 held in
Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) with theme ‘Shared values,
common destiny’.Over 175 delegations of youths
from Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia,
Brunei, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam
and India will attend the Summit.
99. The NCERT’s Web portal for supply of textbooks to
schools and individuals--
“www.ncertbooks.ncert.gov.in”.
Note: The portal will ensure better distribution of
textbooks across the country and address the
concerns of schools and parents, regarding
unavailability of textbooks.
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100. The union govt. has fixed an ambitious target of
installing 60 giga watt (GW) wind power capacity in
the country by --2022.
Note: The annual wind power capacity addition of around
5500 mega-watts is required to meet wind capacity
target of 60 GW.The current wind power installed
capacity in the country is over 32.5 GW.
101. The union govt. has set a target of providing skill
training to one crore people in next three years under
-- Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana.
Note: The skill training will be provided through Pradhan
Mantri Kaushal Kendra(PMKK). The target is to set
up five hundred such Kendras in various parts of the
country out of which two hundred are functional. A
separate national skill certification board will be set
up in the Ministry to enable the ITIs to provide
equivalence to class 10th and 12th at par with CBSE
and ICSE.
102. National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed an
interim ban on use of non-biodegradable plastic bags
which are less than 50 microns in the entire Delhi
Note: An environment compensation of Rs. 5,000 on
anyone found in possession of such banned plastic.
The tribunal directed Delhi government to seize the
entire stock of plastic within one week. The National
Green Tribunal (NGT) was established in 2010 by the
National Green Tribunal Act.
103. Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion
(DIPP) under Ministry of Commerce and Industry has
approved two projects for development of industrial
clusters in Andhra Pradesh -- Hindupur and Bobbili.
Note: The objective of the above projects is to provide
quality and reliable infrastructure to industrial units
located in these clusters.
104. The National Skill Development Corporation
(NSDC) and Google India jointly launched the
Android Skill Development Programme to impart
mobile app development training on the Android and
Web platform
Note: It will also improve the quality of mobile app
development ecosystem in India. Now, NSDC would
introduce a specific course to create applications for
the mobile platform that can be used on smartphones
and tablets running on the Android operating system.
105. All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)
has decided to close down those technical colleges
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which recorded less than 30% admissions in the last
five years.
Note: With over 27 lakh seats lying vacant in various
engineering colleges across the country, such colleges
will be closed down from next year.
106. The ministry will celebrate Sankalp to Siddhi- New
India Manthan in all the districts of the country from
19th to 30th of this month -- Agriculture and
Farmers Welfare ministry.
Note: This program will last for two and a half hours in
which the first video message of the Prime Minister
to be shown. A film will be shown on the efforts being
made by the government for agricultural
development and the resolution will be taken to free
the country from poverty, corruption, terrorism,
communalism and casteism.
107. The nationwide campaign Gaj Yatra has been
launched by the Union Govt. to protect elephant.
108. The parliamentary panel B C Khanduri has
recommended 100% pension to widow of deceased
soldier.
Note: In the report, the panel has recommended the 100%
pension to widow of deceased soldier so that she can
take care of her family.
109. Defence Ministry has approved delegation of
administrative and financial powers to the Border
Roads Organisation (BRO).
Note:BRO develops and maintains road networks in India’s
border areas and friendly neighbouring countries.
110. The Union govt. has directed internet majors Google,
Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Microsoft, and
Yahoo to immediately remove links of the dangerous
online game -- Blue Whale Challenge.
Note: There are instances of children committing suicide in
India while playing this online game. The Blue Whale
Challenge is a suicide game in which the player is
given certain tasks to complete for a period of 50
days and the final task leads to suicide.
111. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)
has approved the proposal for the strategic
disinvestment -- Department of Investment and
public Asset Management (DIPAM).
Note: The department will set up an alternative mechanism
comprising of the Finance Minister, Minister for Road
Transport and Highways and Minister of
Administrative Department to decide on the matters
relating to terms and conditions of the sale from the
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stage of inviting of Express of Interests till inviting of
financial bid.
112. The union minister Rajnath Singh has launched the
live twitter wall for promoting Bharat Ke Veer portal.
Note: This portal facilitates online donation directly to the
families of CAPF Martyrs who have sacrificed their
lives for the country in line of duty from January
2016.
113. JP Nadda has launched 15 medical outlets of ‘AMRIT
Deendayal’ in Assam, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab
through Video Conference from Shimla.
Note: Mr Nadda has also inaugurated one outlet of AMRIT
Deendayal at Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC),
Shimla.The purpose of AMRIT Deendayal programme
is to provide different kind of medicines and
equipment’s on cheap rates to the patients.
114. Energy Efficiency Services Limited has signed an MoU
with oil marketing companies for distribution of
UJALA Energy Efficient Appliances through-- Petrol
Pumps.
Note: In the first phase, distribution will commence from
Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. The consumer can
purchase Energy efficient LED bulb at Rs. 70, tube
light at Rs. 220 and 5 star rated ceiling fans at Rs.
1200.
115. The Government eMarketplace (GeM) SPV and the
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a
GeM Industry forum -- GeMSamvad.
Note: GeMSamvad will be a participative and collaborative
approach with the industry for promoting Indian
industry and entrepreneurship. The purchases
through GeM have been made mandatory by Union
Finance Ministry by adding Rule No 149 in the
General Financial Rules, 2017.
116. Dr. Harsh Vardhan has launched the ‘Harit Diwali,
Swasth Diwali’ campaign in New Delhi.
Note: As a part of the campaign, the Environment Ministry
will undertake various activities to create awareness
among various stakeholders and encourage people to
participate in combating air pollution.
117. The historical annual ‘Manimahesh Yatra’ is under
way these days in -- Chamba district (Himachal
Pradesh).
Note: Pilgrims are visiting Manimahesh to worship God
Shiva and Goddess Parvati. The famous sacred
Manimahesh Lake is situated at nearly 14,000 feet
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height in Bharmour area. Every year this yatra begins
on Janamashtami and concludes after fifteen days on
Radha Ashtami.
118. The Defence Acquisition Council meeting has cleared
a proposal to procure AH-64 Apache attack
helicopters for Army -- Six.
Note: The cost of Apaches (including associated equipment,
spares, training, weapons and armaments) is about
4,168 crore rupees.The Council has also approved a
proposal to procure two gas turbine engines for
Naval ships at a cost of 490 crore rupees.
119. Textile Minister Smriti Irani has inaugurated
"Second Groundbreaking” ceremony at Jamshedpur
in Jharkhand for laying foundation stones of 70 new
companies.
Note: The foundation stones for 70 companies were laid
whose permissions have been granted after receiving
the proposals few months ago. This is part of
Jharkhand government emphasis to boost
manufacturing in the state.
120. The union govt. has doubled the child care allowance
for women employees with disabilities to -- Rs. 3000
per month.
Note: Currently, the allowance of Rs. 1,500 per month is
given to Divyang female employees for taking care of
their newborn child. The decision to hike the
allowance is based on the recommendations of
seventh central pay commission.
121. India has registered a growth of foreign tourist
arrivals from January to July this year -- over 15%.
Note: The highest number of tourists arrived from
Bangladesh (20.12%), followed by the US (16.26%),
the UK (10.88%) and France (3.01%).
122. India’s first museum on the Partition of the Indian
Sub-continent will open in the state -- Punjab.
Note: The museum will include newspaper clippings and
donated personal items meant to tell the story of how
the region’s struggle for freedom from colonial rule
turned into one of its most violent episodes.
123. The National Highways Authority of India has
launched a mobile app for smooth functioning of
electronic toll collection --MyFASTag.
Note:The mobile apps will ease the process and will make it
possible to buy or recharge FASTags at the click of a
mobile button.
124. The board of oil and gas company has given 'in-
principle' approval to acquire government's 51.11 %
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stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd. in New Delhi
-- Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC).
Note: The ONGC board also constituted a committee of
directors to examine various aspects of the
acquisition and to provide its recommendations to
the board of directors.Earlier, the union govt. had
also approved the sale of its 51.11% stake in oil
refiner HPCL to India's largest oil producer ONGC.
125. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
(TRAI) has signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with the
Malaysian Communications and Multimedia
Commission (MCMC) to jointly conduct capacity
building exercises in the fields of broadcasting and
telecommunications regulation.
126. UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India)
has joined hands with CSC India for launching door
step enrolment facility in the national capital who
cannot travel the Aadhar centres.
Note: CSC India provides permit and monitors operations of
common service centres across India which are
meant to provide government services in rural area.
127. Venkaiah Naidu has officially launch the Sports
Ministry’s National Sports Talent Search Portal at the
Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.
Note: The portal will provide a three-step simple process
for registration, profile creation and upload of
achievements. Around 1000 kids will be selected and
they will receive scholarships of Rs 5 lakh per year
for eight years.
128. The task force has been constituted by the Union
Government on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for India’s
economic transformation -- V. Kamakoti task force
Note: The eighteen members panel, headed by Dr. V.
Kamakoti will comprise of experts, academics,
researchers, and industry leaders. It will explore
possibilities to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) for
development across various fields.
129. The National Institution for Transforming India
(NITI) Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has launched the
Mentor India Campaign in -- New Delhi.
Note: The campaign is a strategic nation building initiative
to engage leaders who can nurture and guide
students at more than 900 Atal Tinkering Labs. The
labs are dedicated workspaces where students from
Class 6th to 12th learn innovation skills and develop
ideas that will go on to transform India.
130. National Sports Museum to be established to
popularize the sports as a way of life within the
country in -- New Delhi.
Note: The Museum will showcase India’s achievements in
sports and also focus on the traditional sports within
the country.The proposed Museum would go beyond
the classical approach of a collection of memorabilia
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to become an interactive venue of interest for all age
groups.
131. The union External Affairs Minister ‘Sushma Swaraj’
has inaugurated the country’s first ‘Videsh Bhavan’ --
Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), Mumbai.
Note: The ‘Videsh Bhavan’ in the city is the first integrated
office complex of the MEA established in any state of
the country. The facility will help in effective
management of the MEA’s engagement with the
Maharashtra government.
132. Who planning to form a national registry of skilled
people to help upgrade the large number of unskilled
population in the country -- Indian Society for
Training and Development (ISTD).
Note: ISTD has been appointed as the nodal agency for
assessment for testing and certification of skills for all
sectors and states.
133. Arun Jaitley has launched BEML’s third Line Ultra-
Modern Metro Manufacturing Facility to enhance the
production of metro cars for the forthcoming metro
projects in India.
Note: He also inaugurated the indigenously designed and
developed biggest ever diesel excavator BE1800D
and crawler dozer BD475-1 and T-72 hull. It has been
designed for fitting into tanks, at Kolar Gold Fields
(KGF) unit of Bharath Earth Movers Limited.
134. Ministry of Textiles will organize a Pan India camps
in handlooms and handicrafts clusters, under the
initiative ‘Hastkala Sahyog Shivir’ on 7-17th of
October this year.
Note: This initiative is dedicated to ‘Pandit Deendayal
Upadhyay Garib Kalyan Varsh’, the birth centenary
year of Pandit Deendayal Upadhayay. These camps
will be organized in more than 200 handloom Block
Level Clusters and Weavers’ Service Centres in
collaboration with State Governments.
135. Scientists have developed carbon nanotubes over
50,000 times thinner than a human hair which can
separate salt from-- seawater.
Note: The team found that water permeability in carbon
nanotubes (CNTs) with diameters of 0.8 nanometre
significantly exceeds that of wider carbon nanotubes.
136. The ministry will launch Deep Ocean Mission by
January 2018 to spur research activities in ocean
science and develop technology to harness ocean
resources-- Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).
Note: The proposed inter-ministerial and interdisciplinary
project aims to explore and harness mineral
resources beneath the ocean floor.
137. The union govt. extended the deadline to furnish
Aaadhar to avail benefits of social welfare schemes
till -- 31st December 2017.
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138. Rajnath Singh has inaugurated an initiative under
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana ‘YUVA – a skill
development program’, by Delhi Police.
Note: This initiative will connect with youth by upgrading
their skill as per their competencies. Now, the Delhi
Police has tied up with National Skill Development
Corporation (NSDC) and Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII) for providing mass job linked skill
training for selected youth.
139. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has
launched its navigation satellite ‘IRNSS-1H’ from
Satish Dhavan Space Centre at Sriharikotta, on board
the rocket PSLV C39.
Note: The satellite IRNSS-1H is a part of the indigenous
navigation system called ‘NavIC’. NavIC system is
equivalent to the GPS service, having footprint over
the whole of India and about 1500 kilometers from
its borders on all sides.
140. The union Govt. has approved increase in income
criteria for creamy layer for excluding socially
advanced persons from the purview of reservation of
other backward classes (OBC) from six lakh rupees
per annum to -- eight lakh rupees per annum
Note: Now, more people to take advantage of reservation
benefits extended to the OBCs in government services
and in admission to Central educational institutions.
The income limit is based on increase in consumer
price index.
141. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the
annual conference of ‘Rajaswa Gyan Sangam, 2017’ in
-- New Delhi.
Note: The objective of the Conference is to enable a two-
way communication between the policy-makers and
the senior officers in the field offices with a view to
increase revenue collection and facilitate effective
implementation of law and policies in key result
areas.
142. Sumitra Mahajan and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
inaugurated an exhibition Naya Bharat-Hum Karke
Rahenge to aware the youth in -- New Delhi.
Note: Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs has organised the
event in coordination with DAVP. It is being
organized at 39 places across the county to
commemorate the 75 years of Quit India Movement
and forthcoming 75 years of Independence in 2022.
143. The union Govt. has extended the deadline for linking
of Permanent Account Number (PAN) with Aadhaar
till -- 31st Dec 2017.
Note: Earlier, the govt. has granted a similar extension for
furnishing of Aadhaar for availing the benefits of
various social welfare schemes.
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144. The ministry has approved constitution of a 13-
member Empowered Steering Committee (ESC) to
shape and influence India's preparation for multi-
disciplinary events -- Sports Ministry.
Note: The Steering Committee will have the mandate to
work till 31st December 2020 with clearly defined
terms and references. These include review of the
core probable list of each High Priority and Priority
disciplines for the Commonwealth Games, Asian
Games, and Olympic Games.
145. Ahmedabad city has been formally accorded the
status of India’s first World Heritage City by UNESCO
--
Note: Earlier, in July the UN agency had inscribed
Ahmedabad as India's first World Heritage City at a
meeting held in Poland.
146. The formation of an inter-ministerial task force to
expedite implementation of the Centre’s Namami
Gange mission -- Nitin Gadkari.
Note:The ministry will come out with a detailed schedule
on achieving various targets under the mission in a
time-bound and transparent manner.
147. The Environment Ministry has launched an
environment awareness initiative on the occasion of -
-Teacher’s Day.
Note: Under the initiative, an online environmental quiz
competition will be conducted at the national level to
generate interest among school children about the
science related to environment.This will help in
sensitizing the children on the issues related to
environment and development.
148. India-Nepal joint military exercise ‘Surya Kiran XII’
was held at -- Saljhandi, Nepal.
Note: It is largest exercise in terms of troop’s participation
in series of military training exercises undertaken by
India with various countries. Surya Kiran series of
exercises are held alternately in India and Nepal.
149. Who has constituted an ‘Expert Task Force’ to
provide a major thrust to job creation by enhancing
India’s exports -- NITI Aayog.
Note: The panel will give recommendations on sector-
specific policy interventions in key employment
sectors and measures to enhance trade in services
with high employment potential. An urgent and
sustained expansion of the organized sector is
essential to address India’s unemployment and
under-employment issue.
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150. The union govt. has been constituted under the
Chairmanship of former apex court judge to identify
key data protection issues in India -- Justice BN
Srikrishna.
Note: The committee will study various issues and make
specific suggestions for consideration of the
government on the principles to be considered for
data protection.
151. Indian Ambassador to Nepal laid the foundation
stone for the proposed Pension Paying Office (PPO) at
Butwal Nepal-- Manjeev Singh Puri.
Note: It will benefit approximate 45000 Indian Army
Gorkha pensioners and family pensioners in the
region.This bond with the Ex-Servicemen contributes
immensely to warmth and strength of India-Nepal
relationship.
152. India and Sri Lankan joint maritime naval 7th Edition
exercise has begun at Visakhapatnam, Andhra
Pradesh -- SLINEX 2017.
Note: The exercise will be concluded on 14th September
this year. The exercises were held in both Harbour
Phase (professional, cultural, and social interactions)
and Sea Phase (anti-piracy exercises, cross-deck
helicopter operations, gun firings and anti-surface
exercises).
153. The first ‘BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise-
2017’ will be conducted by the National Disaster
Response Force (NDRF) as the lead agency in -- Delhi.
Note: The delegates from all 7 nations of the BIMSTEC
grouping (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar,
Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand) will participate in the
event.
154. The union minister has inaugurated the new head
quarter building of Bureau of Police Research and
Development (BPR&D) in New Delhi -- Rajnath
Singh.
Note: BPR&D was set up in 1970 to identify the needs and
problems of the police in the country. The Bureau
undertake research projects and studies, and suggest
modalities to overcome problems and challenges and
meet the needs and requirements of the police.
155. The union govt. allowed import of 3 lakh metric
tonnes of raw sugar at concessional duty of -- 25%.
Note: The import shall be open to millers and refiners who
have their own capacity to convert raw sugar into
refined.
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156. According to the govt. report, the Pradhan Mantri
MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) has helped in creating jobs --
5.5 crore.
Note: Around Rs 3.42 lakh crore loan has been disbursed to
over 8 crore people under the scheme (mostly small
entrepreneurs). MUDRA loan is available for non-
agricultural activities (like dairy, poultry, bee-
keeping) for up to Rs 10 lakh.
157. An eight feet bronze statue of Indian freedom
struggle leader was unveiled at the naval base INS
Netaji Subhas at Kolkata -- Subhas Chandra Bose.
Note: The Statute has been unveiled by Mr. Krishna Bose
(Niece-in-law of Netaji) and Vice Admiral H.C.S. Bisht
(Eastern Naval Command Chief) by cutting the ribbon
together.
158. Kochi city will host the fifth edition of the ‘Coastal
Shipping and Inland Water Transportation Business
Summit 2017’ at Hotel Crowne Plaza.
Note: The summit will create a platform to discuss various
topics such as Indian Coastal Shipping & Inland
Water Transport (Policies, Current Updates & Vision).
159. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board
(AIMPLB) will constitute a committee to advise the
method and process for undertaking large scale
community reform program within the Islamic
Shariah.
Note: The Board reiterated that Talaq-e-biddat or triple
Talaq in one-sitting, is sinful but valid.
160. The food regulator has launched a nationwide online
platform to bring in transparency in food safety
inspection and sampling -- Food Safety and
Standards Authority of India(FSSAI).
Note: The food regulator asked the state govt. to adopt this
system as it would help eliminate discrepancy and
make food safety officers accountable.The system will
ease out the process of sample collection, make it
transparent and traceable and controls the quality of
compliances.
161. Telecom company has launched Voice over LTE
(VoLTE) services in Mumbai -- Bharti Airtel.
Note: VoLTE (works over 4G) will offer High Definition
(HD) voice calls along with faster call setup
time.Voice over Long-Term Evolution (VoLTE) is a
standard for high-speed wireless communication for
mobile phones and data terminals.
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162. The online facility has been launched by the Union
government to resolve foreign trade issues --
Contact@DGFT.
Note: The Union government has set up an online service
facility that can be used by importers and exporters
to resolve all foreign trade-related issues.
163. India’s first Hyperloop project will come up in the
state -- Andhra Pradesh.
Note: The Hyperloop Technology is a brainchild idea of
Tesla founder Elon Musk, who dubs it as the 5th
mode of transportation.
164. The Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju has
launched BSF Half Marathon online registration
portal at a function in New Delhi --
www.marathon.bsf.gov.in.
Note: The marathon will be held at Jawaharlal Nehru
Stadium in Delhi on 22nd October.It will be dedicated
to martyrs and BSF will facilitate their family
members on the occasion.
165. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese
counterpart Shinzo Abe jointly laid the foundation
stone for the high-speed bullet train project between
-- Ahmedabad and Mumbai.
Note: The high-speed bullet train project expected to be
completed by 2022. The train will cover distance of
508-km in around two hours, cost an estimated
Rs.1,10,000 crore
166. According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of
India (TRAI) report, India's telecom subscriber base
dipped marginally in July this year by 1.3 lakh to --
121.07 crore.
Note: The landline or fixed line customer base declined to
2.39 crore from 2.4 crore.
167. The Tribunal has refused to lift ban on 10-year-old
diesel vehicles in the Delhi-National Capital Region --
National Green Tribunal (NGT).
Note: The NGT has also dismissed the Centre's plea seeking
modification of its ban order on diesel vehicles.
According to the NGT, one diesel vehicle causes
pollution equal to 24 petrol vehicles and 40 CNG
vehicles.
168. PM Modi dedicated to the nation the Dam on
Narmada river at Kevadia in Gujarat -- Sardar
Sarovar Dam.
Note: The project will irrigate 2,46,000 hectares of land in
the strategically important desert districts of Barmer
and Jalore in Rajasthan and 37,500 hectares in the
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tribal hilly tract of Maharashtra. The storage capacity
also rose to 4.73 million cubic metres, MCM
(earlier,1.27 MCM). The foundation stone of the
project was laid out by Prime Minister Jawaharlal
Nehru on 5th April,1961.
169. The Minister of State for Culture, EF & CC Dr. Mahesh
Sharma has inaugurated the Aizawl Circle of
Archeaological Survey of India (ASI) in -- Mizoram.
Note: The Aizawl Circle of ASI will cover Mizoram, Manipur
& Tripura. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is
the premier organization for the archaeological
researches and protection of the cultural heritage of
the nation.
170. The Union Home Minister ‘Rajnath Singh’ made
operational the New Intelligence Set-up of --
Sashastra Seema Bal.
Note: This new unit will gather information along the
borders with Bhutan and Nepal.
171. The 38th meeting of Transport Development Council
is scheduled to be held in this city --Vadodara.
Note: The Council meeting has given an opportunity to the
state Transport Ministers to get an exposure on the
new and upcoming reforms in the transport sector. A
discussion on the subject of Public Transport
Reforms and way forward to Bus Ports.
172. India’s first State of art virology laboratory at Dr
Anjali Chatterjee Regional Research Institute for
Homoeopathy in --Kolkata.
Note:The laboratory will also be used to create new drugs
and technologies in treating these viral diseases.
173. New Delhi city hosted the first-ever National
Conference on “Mission Mode to address Under-
Nutrition”.
Note: The conference has been organized by the Ministry of
Women & Child Development in collaboration with
Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
174. The Union Cabinet has approved increase of cost
norms for supplementary nutrition provided in
Anganwadis and for out of school adolescent girls
under-- Integrated Child Development Services
(ICDS).
Note: It will involve an additional investment of 12
thousand crore rupees over the next three years.
Now, the revised cost norms for children up to 6
years will be Rs. 8 eight, for adolescent girls, pregnant
women, and lactating mothers, it will be Rs. 9.50 and
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for severely malnourished category Rs. 12 will be
given.
175. The union Govt. will introduce a curated food
experience zone 'Food Street' at the global food fair in
-- New Delhi.
Note: It will provide a platform to investors to taste the
foods and then take a call on investing in India under
the ‘make in India’ programme. This will bring
together culinary practices, flavours, fragrances from
cuisines across the world.
176. TARASA Ship has been Commissioned into the Indian
Navy at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai ---.
Note: INS Tarasa (T94) is a patrol vessel of the Car Nicobar-
class of Indian Navy and the last ship in the series of
four Water Jet Fast Attack Craft. The ship is designed
for a maximum speed of 35 knots, with an endurance
of nearly 2,000 nautical miles at 12-14 knots.
177. A web portal has been launched for effective
implementation of National Child Labour Project
(NCLP)-- PENCIL (Platform for Effective
Enforcement for No Child Labour).
Note: PENCIL portal has five components (Child Tracking
System, Complaint Corner, State Government,
National Child Labour Project, and Convergence) and
developed by the Labour Ministry.
178. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate
Change will hold a quiz on environment throughout
the country_--Prakriti Khoj.
Note: The quiz is planned in five rounds, the qualifying
round (first round) will begin on 25th Sep and
continue till 29th of this month.The second round
(30th October to 3rd of November), the third round
(20th to 24 of November) while the fourth round (4th
to 6th of December) and fifth round (18th to 20th
December).
179. The Minister of Communication ‘Shri Manoj Sinha’
has launched the Internet and Technology event in
India at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi -- India Mobile
Congress 2017.
Note: The India Mobile Congress is being organised by
Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).
180. The 6th edition of the four-day international textile
and apparel fair in Jaipur, Rajasthan -- VASTRA
2017.
Note: VASTRA 2017 is an all-encompassing trade fair and
conference on Textiles and Apparel presenting a
fusion of the finest and the latest in textiles products.
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More than 50 countries and 13 Indian States are
participating in VASTRA 2017.
181. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the
'Power for all' scheme in New Delhi -- Saubhagya
Note: The scheme ‘Saubhagya’ will provide subsidy on
equipment like transformers, meters, and wires and
expected to cover all rural families after expected
electrification of all villages by the end of 2017.
182. The Web Portal of Warehousing Development and
Regulatory Authority (WDRA) and Electronic
Negotiable Warehouse Receipt (e-NWR) System in
New Delhi.
Note: The e-NWRs would be immune from any tempering,
mutilation, fudging, loss or damage and with no
possibility of any multiple financing. These NWRs will
not only facilitate an easy pledge financing by banks
and other financial institutions but also smooth
trading on various trading centres like commodity
exchanges, electronic National Agriculture Markets
(e-NAM) and other electronic platforms.
183. The Union Cabinet has approved the enhancement of
age of superannuation of doctors other than Central
Health Service (CHS) doctors to -- 65 years.
Note: 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. The
retirement age of doctors in some departments is 60
years and others 62.
184. A monthly Jan Sampark program to enable the public
to interact with its officials for seeking information
related to adoption as well as flagging their concerns
-- Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA).
Note: Around 150 Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPs),
Adoptive Parents and representatives of agencies
participated in the session.The event will now be a
regular feature every month apart from the quarterly
Facebook live chat by CEO CARA.
185. The third India International Science Festival will be
held from 13-16 October at -- IIT-Chennai.
Note: The festival is being organised by the Ministry of
Earth Sciences and Ministry of Science and
Technology. The first two were held at IIT-Delhi and
National Physical Laboratory, Delhi.
186. Energy Efficiency Services Limited will procure ten
thousand electric vehicles from -- Tata Motors.
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Note: These cars will be used to replace the petrol and
diesel cars used by government and its agencies over
a 3 -4 years period. The total number of vehicles used
by the government and its agencies is estimated to be
5 lakhs.
187. The ‘Kandla Port’ has been renamed as -- Deendayal
Port.
Note: Kandla Port is the largest sea port of India (by volume
of cargo handled) located in Kutch District of Gujarat.
188. The international exhibition ‘World Dental Show
2017’ has opened in the Indian city -- Mumbai.
Note: Indian Dental Association (IDA) hosted the exhibition
which has witnessed participation from the
international exhibitors are displaying their latest
dental wares in 250 well-furnished stalls.
189. The first US crude oil cargo of 1.6 million barrels
bought by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) from the US
reached at -- Paradip Port (Odisha).
Note: Now, Indian Oil will process the crude at its East-
Coast base refineries, located at Paradip, Haldia,
Barauni and Bongaigaon.
190. The first ever ASEAN-India Music Festival hosted by
the city Indian -- New Delhi.
Note: The music festival has been organized by the External
Affairs Ministry in collaboration with Culture
Ministry to celebrate the 25th year anniversary of
ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations.
191. The union minister has launched the countrywide
five days ‘Free Eye Check-up Campaign’ and
distribution of spectacles for truck drivers, cleaners,
and helpers -- Nitin Gadkari.
Important Day
1. The Global Day of Parents is observed every year on -- 1st
June.
Note: The Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly
in 2012 with resolution A/RES/66/292 and honours parents
throughout the world.
2. The World Milk Day has been observed on -- 1st June.
Note: The World Milk Day is a day established by the United
Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to
recognize the importance of milk as a global food.
3. The International Day of Innocent Children Victims of
Aggression is a UN observance each year on-- 4th June.
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Note:The objective of this initiative is to ensure clearer
vision and safe travel for truck drivers who are the
most frequent users of national highways.
192. The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has
launched a health scheme to promote women’s health
and hygiene, especially in rural areas -- Sanitease.
Note: The objective of ‘Sanitease’ is to create awareness and
provide logistics for women specially in the rural
parts of the state.
193. A festival of Tourism will begin all over the country
and continue till 25th of this month -- Paryatan
Parv.
Note: The festival organized by the Ministry of Tourism in
collaboration with other Central Ministries, State
Governments, and Stakeholders.It will have three
main components, Dekho Apna Desh, Tourism for All
and Tourism & Governance.
194. The Chairman of National Highways Authority of
India (NHAI) has launched a world-class, new
multilingual website of the organization -- Shri
Deepak Kumar.
Note: A Project Monitoring Information System (PMIS)
Mobile App that will facilitate close, in-house
monitoring of NHAI projects on a mobile phone
195. The union minister Harsh Vardhan has launched
SECURE Himalaya project in association with UNDP
at the Global Wildlife Programme (GWP) conference
in New Delhi.
Note: The purpose of the 6-year project is to secure
livelihoods, conservation, sustainable use and
restoration of high range Himalayan ecosystems,
which is meant for specific landscapes.
Note: It was established on 19th August 1982.
4. The World Environment Day (WED) observed every year
across the world on -- 5th June.
Note: The theme for World Environment Day 2017 is
"Connecting People to Nature" and the host country is
Canada.
5. The World Oceans Day is observed every year on -- 8th June.
Note: The overall theme of this year is 'Our Oceans, Our
Future'.
6. The World Day Against Child Labour is observed every year
on -- 12th June.
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Note: The day focus attention on the global extent of child
labour and the action and efforts needed to eliminate it.
7. The International Albinism Awareness Day (IAAD) is
observed every year on --13th June.
Note: The day raise worldwide awareness on albinism and
to prevent attacks and discrimination against persons with
albinism.
8. Countries around the world celebrate World Blood Donor
Day (WBDD) every year on -- 14th June.
Note: The day raise awareness of the need for safe blood
and blood products, and to thank blood donors for their
voluntary, life-saving gifts of blood.
9. The ASEAN Dengue Day (ADD) is observed every year on--
15th June.
Note: The day raise awareness on dengue and to mobilize
resources for prevention and control involving private and
public-sector stakeholders. The theme of the 2017 is
‘United fight against dengue’.
10. The World Day to Combat Desertification (WDCD) is being
observed globally on --17th June.
Note: The theme of 2017 is 'Link between land degradation
and migration'.
11. International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in
Conflict is being observed on -- 19th June.
Note: Theme of this year is ‘Preventing Sexual Violence
Crimes through Justice and Deterrence’.
12. The World Refugee Day (WRD) is observed every year on ---
20th June.
Note: The day raise awareness of the situation of refugees
throughout the world.
13. International Yoga Day is being celebrated world-wide on ---
21st June
Note: The theme of this year is "Yoga for Health", to
highlight the fact that yoga can contribute in a holistic way
to achieving an equilibrium between mind and body.
14. The United Nations Public Service Day is observed every
year on -- 23rd June.
Note: The day recognize the work of public servants and to
encourage young people to pursue careers in the public
sector.
15. The International Widows day (IWD) is observed every year
on-- 23rd June.
Note: 2017 theme is “Empowering Women for Greater
Achievements”.
16. The Day of the Seafarer (DotS) was observed on --25 June.
Note: The theme of this year is 'Seafarers Matter'.
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17. The United Nations’ (UN) International Day Against Drug
Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is observed every year on --26th
June.
Note: The theme for 2017 is ‘Listen First - Listening to
children and youth is the first step to help them grow
healthy and safe’.
18. The National Doctors’ Day (NDD) is celebrated every year in
India on -- 1st July.
Note: The day honour the legendary physician and the 2nd
Chief Minister of West Bengal, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy.
19. International Co-operative Day is an annual celebration of
the co-operative movement observed on -- the first
Saturday in July.
Note: The theme for the 2017 International Day of
Cooperatives is Co-operatives ensure no-one is left behind.
20. The World Sports Journalist Day (WSJD) is observed on --
2nd July.
Note: The day mark the services of sports journalists for the
promotion of sports.
21. The 2017 International Plastic Bag Free Day (IPBFD) is
observed on -- 3rd July.
Note: The day highlight the need to phase-out plastic bags
and to promote organic reusable bags.
22. The World Population Day is observed across the world on -
-11th July.
Note: The theme of this year is ‘Family Planning-
Empowering People, Developing Nations’.
23. The World Youth Skills Day is observed globally every year
on --15th July.
Note: The theme of 2017 is "Skills for the Future of Work".
24. The 2017 World Day for International Justice (WDIJ) is
observed on --17th July.
25. Nelson Mandela International Day’ celebrated every year in
honour of Mandela's birthday on --18th July.
Note: The day is observed annually with the slogan ‘Take
Action! Inspire Change’.
26. The 2017 National Broadcasting Day (NBD) is celebrated in
India -- 23rd July.
27. Kargil Vijay Diwas is observed every year in honour of the
Kargil War's Heroes -- 26th July.
Note: On this day in 1999 that the Indian Armed Forces, as
part of Operation Vijay recaptured Indian posts in Kargil
which had been occupied by Pakistan's army.The Kargil war
was fought for more than 60 days, 527 soldiers from Indian
Armed Forces sacrificed their lives during the war.
28. The World Hepatitis Day is being observed on -- 28th July.
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Note: The Theme of this year is "Eliminate Hepatitis" to
mobilize intensified action towards the health targets in the
2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
29. The International Tiger Day is observed globally to raise
awareness for tiger conservation -- 29th July.
Note: According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), only
3,890 tigers are left in the world.
30. The World Day against Trafficking in Persons is observed
across the world -- 30th July.
Note: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC) selected this year ‘Act to Protect and Assist
Trafficked Persons’ as the focus of the Day.
31. The World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is observed every
year from -- 1st to 7th August.
Note: The 2017 theme is “Sustaining Breastfeeding
Together”.
32. The National Handloom Day is celebrated in India -- 7th
August.
Note: The National Handloom Day is celebrated in India on
7th to mark a 1905 movement that boycotted British
products in favour of the revival of domestic ones.
33. The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is
observed on -- 9th August.
Note: The day promote and protect the rights of the world’s
indigenous population.
34. The International Biodiesel Day (IBD) is celebrated every
year on --10th August.
Note: The Biodiesel is an alternative fuel which can be used
in place of fossil fuels. It is manufactured from vegetable
oils, recycled grease, algae, and animal fat.
35. The International Youth Day (IYD) is observed every year
on--12th August.
Note: The 2017 theme is “Youth Building Peace”, which
recognizes the contributions of young people to preventing
conflict, supporting inclusion, social justice, and sustainable
peace.
36. The Parsi New Year is being celebrated across the world --
Navroz.
Note: The day is dedicated to clean and purify the mind and
start a new year with love and peace.
37. The World Humanitarian Day (WHD) is observed every year
across the world on --19th August.
Note: The theme of this year 2017 is #NotATarget.
38. The World Photography Day is observed every year across
the world on --19th August.
Note: On this day, camera persons take stock of the
different kind of photography that has come to the fore.
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39. The 2017 World Mosquito Day (WMD) is observed on --
20th August.
Note: The World Mosquito Day (WMD) raise awareness
about the threat of malaria and other diseases transmitted
by one of the world’s deadliest killers the mosquito.
40. The 413th birthday of 11th guru of Sikhs is being celebrated
with religious fervor--Sri Guru Granth Sahib.
Note: The Guru Granth Sahib (also called the Adi Granth or
Adi Guru Darbar) is more than just a scripture of the Sikhs
for the Sikhs treat this Granth as their living perpetual Guru.
Sri Guru Arjan Dev ji completed the Aad Granth in 1604 and
first Parkash was done at Sri Harmandir Sahib.
41. The 2017 International Day for the Remembrance of the
Slave Trade and its Abolition is observed on --23rd August.
Note: The day pay tribute to all those who fought for
freedom, and, in their name, to continue teaching about
their story and the values therein.
42. The 2017 International Day against Nuclear Tests (IDANT) is
observed on -- 29th August.
Note: The purpose of the day is to end nuclear testing and
to promote peace and security.
43. The National Sports day in India is celebrated every year to
mark the birthday of hockey player Dhyan Chand -- 29th
August.
Note: Dhyan Chand was an Indian field hockey player, who
is considered as one of the greatest field hockey players of
all time.
44. The state is celebrating the biggest cultural festival
Thiruonam (the 10th day) and the most auspicious day of
Onam -- Kerala.
Note: Keralites across the globe irrespective of religious
differences is celebrating the festival in full vigour.
45. Teachers' Day is being celebrated throughout the country
on -- 5th September.
Note: On Teacher's Day, students across the nation honour
the teachers and gurus in their lives.
46. The International Literacy Day (ILD) is being observe on --
8th September.
Note: The day raise public awareness to eradicate illiteracy
and create environment in favour of adult education
programmes. The International Literacy Day (51st) is being
celebrated at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi (India).
47. The traditional Bonderam festival has started in Divar Island
of Goa on -- 9th September.
Note: The word “Bonderam” originated from the
involvement of flags.
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48. The International Day for South-South Cooperation has
been observed on -- 12th September.
Note: The day celebrates the economic, social and political
developments made in recent years by regions and
countries in the south. The Global South-South
Development Expo 2017 will be hosted by Turkey.
49. The Cauvery Maha Pushkaram has been celebrated from
today on the banks of river Cauvery in --Tamil Nadu.
Note: Maha Pushkaram is celebrated from 12 September
and is considered auspicious as the configuration of stars
happen only once in 144 years.
50. The National Hindi Divas is being observed every year
across the country on -- 14th September.
Note: In 1949, on this day the Constituent Assembly
adopted Hindi written in Devanagari script as the official
language of the country.
51. The National Engineers Day (NED) 2017 is celebrated in
India -- 15th September.
Note: This year's theme of democracy and conflict
prevention focuses on the critical need to strengthen
democratic institutions to promote peace and stability.
52. The International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone
Layer is observed every year on -- 16th September.
Note: The Ozone layer is a fragile shield of gas which
protects the Earth from the harmful ultraviolet radiation of
the sun and thus helping preserve life on the planet. This
year, the theme for the Day is 'Caring for all life under the
sun'.
53. The International Day of Peace is observed across the world
annually on -- 21st September.
Note: The theme for 2017 is “Together for Peace: Respect,
Safety and Dignity for All.”
54. The World Tourism Day (WTD) is being observed annually
on -- 27th September.
Note: The theme of this year is 'International Year of
Sustainable Tourism for Development’.
55. The World Rabies Day is observed across the world to raise
awareness about the rabies disease and its preventable
measures - 28th September.
Note: The theme for World Rabies Day-2017 is “Rabies:
Zero by 30”.
56. The World Maritime Day is being observed across the world
on -- 28th September (last Thursday of September).
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Note: 2017 Theme: Connecting Ships, Ports, and People.
57. International Translation Day is celebrated every year on --
30th September.
Note: This year, the United Nations celebrates for the first
time International Translation Day. The celebrations have
been promoted by FIT (the International Federation of
Translators) ever since it was set up in 1953.
58. The International Day of Older Persons --1st October.
Note: The theme of this year is “Stepping into the Future:
Tapping the Talents, Contributions and Participation of
Older Persons in Society.”
59. International Day of Non-violence is observed on
-- 2nd October.
Note: The International Day of Non-violence was
established by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) by
passing the resolution in 2007 in an effort to spread the
message of non-violence
60. The World Habitat Day is observed every year on -- first
Monday of October.
Note: The theme of 2017 is 2017 ‘Housing Policies:
Affordable Homes’.
61. The 2017 World Animal Day (WAD) is observed every
year on -- 4th October.
Note: The day raise the status of animals in order to
improve welfare standards around the globe. It is done
by encouraging individuals, animal welfare
organisations, community groups, youth and children’s
clubs and businesses to organise events in celebration of
this day.
62. The World Teachers’ Day (WTD) 2017 is being observed
across the world on -- 5th October.
Note: The theme of 2017 World Teachers’ Day is
“Teaching in Freedom, Empowering Teachers”.
58. Air Force Day 2017 is being observed annually across
India on -- 8th October.
Note: The Indian Air Force has displayed various Aircraft
at Air Force Station Hindan air base near Delhi with
parade and air display.
59. World Post Day is celebrated each year on -- 9th October
Note:The anniversary of the establishment of the
Universal Postal Union in 1874 in the Swiss Capital, Bern.
60. The International Day of the Girl Child (IDGC) is observed
every year across the world on -- 11th October.
Note: The theme of 2017 is “EmPOWER Girls: Before,
during and after crises”.
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1. UNDOC will collaborate with the state govt. to intensify
anti-drug drive -- Punjab.
Note: The Punjab government has decided to collaborate
with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC) as part of its efforts to root out the drug
menace in the State.
2. India’s first automatic coastal warning for disasters will
come up in the state -- Odisha.
Note: Odisha will be able to warn its coastal population by
pressing a single button from a control room in the
event of natural disasters like tsunami or cyclone.
3. India’s first state to launch single-women pension
scheme -- Telangana.
Note: The Telangana Govt. has become the only state
government in India to launch the single-women
pension scheme.
4. The state govt. has launched a web portal
'Mahaswayam’ -- Maharashtra.
Note: This web portal will cater to job seekers, employers,
entrepreneurs, and training institutes who can avail
details regarding skill development and employment.
5. India’s first freight village will be developed by the
Inland waterways authority of India (IWAI) in --
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
Note: ‘Freight Village’ is a focused industrial estate that
attracts companies requiring logistic services.
6. India’s first-ever Rural LED Street Lighting Project will
be set up in the state -- Andhra Pradesh.
Note: under center's Street Lighting National Project, 10 lakh
conventional street lights with LED lights in Gram
Panchayats of 7 districts (Guntur, Prakasham, Nellore,
Kurnool, Kadapa, Ananthapur, and Chittoor) in Andhra
Pradesh.
7. The state government has launched digital wallet ‘T-
Wallet’--Telangana.
Note: This is the first official e-wallet from any state
government in India and used over the web version.
8. The state govt. has signed MoU with Union Aviation
Ministry for Udan scheme -- Tamil Nadu.
Note: Tamil Nadu state govt. has signed a MoU with the
union Ministry of Civil Aviation for the
implementation of the UDAN scheme in the state.
9. The Kerala government unveiled an empowerment
programme for the differently abled persons --
Anuyatra.
Note: Twenty-three differently abled children who were
given special training in magic at the
Thiruvananthapuram-based Magic Academy were
declared as the ambassadors of ‘anuyatra’.
10. The state govt. will carry out a social audit of the Public
Distribution System to determine effective
implementation of the Right to Food Act, 2013 in the
state -- Bihar govt.
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Note: Bihar was the first state to implement the Right to Food
Act on February 1, 2014.
11. The state govt. will start free mortuary van service for
citizens -- Punjab.
12. The Indian University has signed MoU with South
Korea’s Academy of Korean Studies for academic
linkages and collaborations --Nalanda.
13. As per latest Child Rights and You (CRY) report 2017
Indian state has highest number of child labourers --
Uttar Pradesh.
Note: Around 8 lakh children in India between the age group
5 and 6 years are engaged in child labour.
14. The state Cabinet has approved for setting up of a cloud
based IP CCTV surveillance system in the State -
Andhra Pradesh.
15. The state government launched the website
'PashuBazar' to facilitate online sale or purchase of
cattle --Telangana.
Note: New cattle rules issued by the Central government
were under study and the rules would be applicable to
online sale too.
16. The state govt. has announced to wave off entire crop
loans up to Rs. 2 lakhs for small and marginal farmers -
- Punjab.
Note: The state govt. will take over the outstanding crop loan
from institutional sources of all the families of farmers
who committed suicides in the state.
17. A regional Silk Research and Production centre will be
set up in the city of Uttar Pradesh -- Gorkahpur.
18. The state’s government has launched the Anuyatra
campaign for disabled persons -- Kerala.
19. Andhra Pradesh chief minister ‘N Chandra babu Naidu’
has laid foundation stone of the Greenfield Airport at --
Orvakal (Kurnool district).
Note: The airport will be constructed in 2,000 acres land at a
cost of Rs. 120 crores with international standards.
20. The Odisha Govt. has approved projects under the Atal
Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation
(AMRUT) -- 53 urban projects.
Note: These new projects would be carried out in nine cities
including Bhubaneswar, Puri, Cuttack and Balasore,
with fund sharing patter of 50:50 (Centre and state
government).
21. Maharashtra Forest Minister has announced to launch
a mobile app to help in recording data about tree
plantations in the state -- My Plant.
Note: Using this app, people and organizations can feed the
data about the saplings they have planted with the
Forest Department.
22. The state govt. entered into an agreement with c ‘Ola’
to train 20,000 youth to become micro-entrepreneurs
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in the field of passenger transport in the next five years
-- Maharashtra govt.
Note: The state govt intends to develop skills of youth and
create jobs and through the Pramod Mahajan
Kaushalya Vikas Yojana.
23. The state govt. will implement a health insurance
scheme in the state to provide free health services to
the poor -- Haryana.
Note: The Haryana government will bear the cost of the
premium. The state govt. will establish medical colleges
in every district to meet the shortage of doctors in
government hospitals.
24. The state govt. has decided to increase the retirement
age of regular state government employees to 60 years
-- Arunachal Pradesh.
25. The state govt. will construct 9 thousand kilometre of
roads under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana
(PMSSY) in the next one year-- Assam govt.
Note: 720 new bridges will be constructed and another 1000
wooden bridges will be converted to reinforced
concrete or RCC during this period.
26. The Union Minister of MSMEs ‘Kalraj Mishra’ has
announced sanctioning Rs. 20 crores for a Technology
Centre for the state -- Tripura.
Note: This centre will be utilized for bamboo and rubber
elated enterprising works, which will benefit the youth
of the state.
27. The state govt. will establish Micro, Small, Medium
Entrepreneurs (MSME) Corporation by earmarking 100
crore rupees. -- Andhra Pradesh.
Note: The MSME Corporation office will be constructed at
Amaravati in 15 acres of land.
28. The state government has launched a digital ride
sharing app 'G-Ride'for techies -- Kerala.
Note: The G-Ride app automatically matches co-workers and
neighbours and help them travel together to work.
29. The state govt. has launched ‘Elevate 100’ scheme to
identify and nurture innovative start-ups -- Karnataka.
Note: The purpose of the scheme is to identify 100 most
innovative start-ups in the state to elevate them to the
next level of success.
30. The 2017 Dree festival has celebrated in the state --
Arunachal Pradesh.
Note: ‘Apatanis’ pray their traditional Gods to bring in a
bountiful harvest season along with defeat of
destructive forces in the society through this festival.
The festival is marked by grand ritual and community
feasts.
31. India’s biggest Global Skill Park will be set up in the city
-- Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
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Note:37-acre land has been allotted in Narela Shankari area
of Bhopal for the Global Skill Park. Training will be
imparted to 1000 students every year by trainers of
international standard. The park will function on the
spirit of ‘With Industry -For Industry’."
32. Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu has launched a
web portal to assist visitors to apply for and obtain the
mandatory ILP, online from anywhere in the country--
arunachalilp.com.
Note:The e-Inner Line Permit (eILP) programme is a digital
step for hassle-free entry of domestic visitors to the
state. Inner Line Permit (ILP) is an official travel
document issued by the Government of India (GoI) to
allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected
area for a limited period.
33. Delhi Traffic Police relaunched its mobile app in an
improved avatar that will allow general-public to
report traffic offences occurring on city roads --Traffic
Sentinel.
Note: The mobile application was lunched under the Traffic
Sentinel scheme in December 2015, that allowed users
to report traffic violations by uploading photos and
videos and earn reward points.
34. The state govt. has launched a scheme to deposit the
salary of two lakh six thousand Anganwadi Sevika and
assistants in the state directly into their bank accounts
-- Maharashtra.
Note: The scheme which reduces the delay in disbursement
of the salary of these employees. The money will be
deposited through Public Financial Management
System.
35. The Tamil Nadu Housing and Urban Development
Minister ‘K Radhakrishnan’, Chennai Metropolitan Area
will be expanded to -- 8,878 square KMs.
Note: Now, the whole of Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur
districts besides Arakkonam taluk in Vellore would be
included in Chennai Metropolitan Area.
36. The state has been declared as ‘disturbed area’ under
AFSPA for next 6 more months under the Armed Forces
(Special Powers) Act -- Nagaland.
Note: According to The Disturbed Areas (Special Courts) Act,
1976 once declared ‘disturbed’, the area has to
maintain status quo for a minimum of 3 months.
37. The state who has become the first Indian state to
make social boycott a crime -- Maharashtra.
Note: The Maharashtra Prohibition of People from Social
Boycott (Prevention Prohibition and Redressal) Act
prescribes a maximum punishment of 3 year in jail and
a fine of Rs 1 lakh.
38. The state government will set up modern ornamental
fish hatchery in the state-- Haryana
Note: The fish hatchery would be set up in district Jhajjar at a
cost of Rs.13.68 crore.
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39. The Central Public-Sector Unit Energy Efficiency
Services Limited (EESL) will invest how many crores in
Tamil Nadu over the next three years --Rs. 11,000
crores.
Note: The scheme of giving solar pumps for farming will be
extended to cover the whole country soon. The UDAY
scheme has enabled the Tamil Nadu discom to reduce
its debt burden from nearly 14-thousand crore rupees
in 2013-14 to 3783 crore rupees last year.
40. The state govt. has decided to merge all regional Co-
Operative Banks into a mega State Co-Operative Bank--
Chhattisgarh.
Note: Now, the 264 branches will remain functional and will
hereon work as Scheduled Co-Operative Banks. It will
help in reducing the interests on farm loans by up to
2%. The farmers will get modern facilities including
core-banking, mobile and internet banking.
41. The state govt. has decided to extend the current
subsidy on electricity for citizens who use up to 400
units a month--Delhi govt.
Note: Now, the subsidy will continue to be Rs 2 per unit for
consumers in the slab of 0-200 units, and Rs.2.97 per
unit for consumers in the slab of 201-400 units. The
total amount of subsidy will be 1,720 crore rupees for
the current financial year.
42. The state govt. has launched a flagship programme
‘Livelihood Intervention and Facilitation of
Entrepreneurship’ (LIFE) at Songsak--Meghalaya.
Note: LIFE is a programme of the State Rural Livelihood
Society, which is implementing the Centre's flagship
programme National Rural Livelihoods Mission
(NRLM). NRLM promotes livelihood through women
Self Help Groups (SHGs) and their Federations.
43. Uttar Pradesh government has signed Memorandum of
understanding (MoU) with the Centre for setting up of
an All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)
hospital in -- Gorakhpur.
Note: The hospital will have 750 free beds and the project
will cost 1,750 crore rupees. The OPD of the new AIIMS
will start by September,2018 and trauma centres will
be established by 2020.
44. The first Technology and Innovation Support Center
(TISC) of India will be set up in -- Punjab.
Note: TISC will be set up at Patent Information Centre in
Punjab under the World Intellectual Property
Organization’s (WIPO) TISC program.
45. The state hosted the National conference on crowd
management -- Kerala.
Note:The conference was organized by the National Disaster
Management Authority (NDMA) jointly with the Kerala
State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA).
46. The state govt. will set up 60 new primary Health
Centers in the rural areas of the state -- Gujarat
Government.
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Note: This expansion of existing primary health centre
networks will benefit the rural population of the
state. The State government has given approval to 60
more primary health centers (PHCs), which will take
the total number of PHCs in Gujarat to 1453.
47. The state govt. has decided to set up eight new Women
Police Stations at sub-division level in the state--
Haryana Govt.
Note: These will be established at Assandh, Dadri, Hansi,
Gohana, Manesar, Dabwali, Ballabgarh and Naraingarh
and each Women Police Station would have a hundred
percent lady police staff.
48. The state govt. has formed the Saputara Area
Development Authority (SADA) for “comprehensive
development” Dang district -- Gujarat govt.
Note: The authority will carry out planned development in
419-hectare area of ‘Saputara’ for tourism purpose. The
SADA will prepare maps and development plans
considering the future requirements of next twenty-
years.
49. Odisha CM has dedicated the state’s longest road bridge
to the nation named it after -- Netaji Subhas Chandra
Bose.
Note:The 2.88 km bridge over the river Kathajodi will
connect the Bhubaneswar with Cuttack and reduce the
distance by 12 km.
50. Madhya Pradesh govt. has started a Yojana in 25
thousand schools of the state to encourage best works -
- Shala Siddhi Prohatsan Yojana.
Note: The selection committee will forward applications of
three primary and three middle schools for awards to
the District Institute for Education and Training
(DIET).The Yojana will help in encouraging teachers
working in the government schools by recognizing
their best works.
51. The metro city will host global business meet in
November 2017-- Kolkata.
Note: The Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in association
with the West Bengal Government will host a Global
Business meeting ‘Horasis Asia Meeting’ in November
this year. It will focus on sustainable business practices
in various areas, including power and energy.
52. The state govt. has organized first ever weekly cultural
programme ‘Cultrue of Cruise' at Dal Lake to bring
artists from various fields on one stage -- Jammu and
Kashmir (J-K).
Note: In the festival, the organisers would hold regular
interactions with cross sections of the society and
tourists who visit
53. “Janahitha” to receive complaints from public through a
special portal -- Telangana.
54. The Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju has
inaugurated the Research Institution of World
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Ancient, Traditional, Culture & Heritage (RIWATCH)
Museum at – Roing (Arunachal Pradesh).
Note: It will serve as a place of exchange of cultural values
of various tribes of the state and the North East.
55. The ‘Mission Football’ at a grand ceremony at JN
Sports Complex, Shillong launched by -- Dr. Mukul
Sangma.
Note: Mission Football is an initiative to help develop skills
of football enthusiasts and develop young footballers
for the country.
56. ‘Rojgar Mela’ inaugurated by the minister in Kukas
area of Jaipur(Rajasthan) -- Col Rajyavardhan
Singh Rathore.
Note: Three thousand students have been enrolled in the
Rojgar Mela and more than 40 companies would
take interviews of them.
57. The state hosted the fifth edition of South India
Writers Ensemble (SIWE) at Chengannur -- Kerala
state.
Note: The core theme of this year festival is ‘tolerance’.The
three-day event is being organized by People for
Performing Arts and More, an art and cultural outfit.
58. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister ‘Yogi Adityanath’ has
launched online UP- RERA (Real Estate Regulatory
Act.) registration platform in Lucknow-- www.up-
rera.in
Note: Now the builders of Uttar Pradesh can register their
projects on the site and instantly get a RERA
registration number.
59. The state government has formally named the Outer
Wheeler island in Bhadrak district as APJ Abdul
Kalam Island as a tribute to the former president --
Odisha government.
Note: Dr Kalam's emotional attachment with the interim
test range at Chandipur in Balasore district and
Wheeler Island in Bhadrak district.
60. The Union government has launched two Mobile
apps to the user community in timely manner for
their safety--India Quake & Sagar Vani.
Note: The 'India Quake' will automatically disseminate
relevant parameter (location, time and magnitude)
after the occurrence of earthquakes. The 'Sagar Vani'
is a software platform where various dissemination
modes are integrated on a single central
server.Mobile apps have been Developed by the
National Centre for Seismology (NCS).
61. The state government has launched its flagship
health scheme Care Companion Programme (CCP) --
Punjab.
Note: The CCP scheme is targeted to improve patient
outcome by implementing better family engagement.
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62. The state government has signed MoU with Airport
Authority of India (AAI) for aviation development --
Uttarakhand.
Note: The Airport Authority of India (AAI) has signed MoU
with Govt. of Uttarakhand for development for
aviation sector in the state.
63. The 2017 Aadi Perukku festival is celebrated in which
Indian state -- Tamil Nadu.
Note: The Aadi Perukku festival is being celebrated with
traditional gaiety to express gratitude to water bodies
in Tamil Nadu.
64. The union Govt. has approved establishment of Post
Graduate Institutes for Research in Yoga and
Naturopathy at -- Nagmangla(Karnataka) and
Jhajjar(Haryana).
Note: An autonomous Research body, Central Council for
Research in Yoga and Naturopathy (CCRYN) is working
under the Ministry of AYUSH as the apex body for
Research and Education in the field of Yoga and
Naturopathy.
65. Telangana state has tied up with Microsoft to use its
AI-based MINE platform to screen children for eye
problems.
Note:The Microsoft Intelligent Network for Eyecare (MINE) is
an artificial intelligence platform to reduce avoidable
blindness.
66. The Punjab govt. has initiated the process of inducting
Harmanpreet Kaur to the post of Deputy
Superintendent of Police (DSP) in the state police.
Note: The state Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has directed
the state Director General of Police (DGP) to complete
the necessary formalities for her appointment.
67. The Maharashtra government has constituted
committee on safety measures for women in IT sector -
- Rashmi Shukla committee.
Note: The committee will suggest measures that can be
undertaken to ensure safety of women working in the
IT sector.
68. The Maharashtra govt. has launched Aadhaar-
authenticated Direct Benefit Transfer portal --
MahaDBT.
Note: Now, Maharashtra state has become the first state in
India to launch such a system that will provide direct
benefits with Aadhaar authentication. The MahaDBT
portal is an Aadhaar-authenticated electronic
mechanism that will enable direct transfer of benefits
for over 40 schemes currently implemented.
69. Jharkhand state Cabinet has approved Religious
Freedom Bill 2017 in which forceful or allurement
induced religious conversion will be a non-bailable
criminal offence.
Note: In the event of violation of section three, there will be
up to three years imprisonment or Rs. 50,000 penalties
or both. If the crime involved a minor, woman or
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person from SC or ST community then the prison term
would be up to four years and a penalty of one lakh
rupees.
70. The Uttar Pradesh state cabinet has decided to go
Digital by transforming all state-run offices into e-
offices.
Note: ‘e-office’ would commence from the state secretariat
from 1st October and by January next year all the state
government offices would be equipped with the
system. The Cabinet has also decided to spend around
57 crore rupees for purchase of computers and training
of the employees for the purpose.
71. Bihar Govt. has decided to compulsory retire non-
performing head masters, teachers, and education
department officials above the age of 50 years.
Note: Those teachers having failed thrice in the assessment
test would also be removed. The state government is in
process of identifying non-performing institutions and
all those responsible for poor show will be given
compulsory retirement.
72. A service to provide air transit from Kempegowda
International airport to Electronic City within
Bengaluru city -- Helitaxi service.
Note: The commercial operations will begin in another
couple of months.
73. The Maharashtra Govt. has launched two online
portals 'MahaDBT & MahaVASTU' to streamline the
process of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
Note: The portals were launched with an aim to bring in
more transparency in construction sector and to
provide direct benefits with 'Aadhaar' authentication.
MahaDBT portal is Aadhaar-authenticated electronic
mechanism that will enable direct transfer of benefits
for over 40 schemes and DBT scheme,Aadhaar will be
mandatory to claim benefits through this portal.
MahaVASTU portal is an Online Building Permission
Management System with an electronic workflow for
sanctioning building approvals with full transparency.
74. India’s initiative to develop green airports, two airports
in Andhra Pradesh are going to go completely green --
Tirupati and Vijayawada.
Note:Airports Authority of India (AAI) has commenced
installation of 1MWp solar power plant at both the
airports. It has also completed installation of solar
power plants at 29 airports/locations with a total
capacity of 12.84 MWp
75. The state govt. to provide land with record to landless
slum dwellers -- Odisha.
Note: According to the decision, 600 square feet land will be
provided in 112 Notified Area Councils while 450
square feet land would be provided in 107 municipal
areas. In corporation areas, government will provide
houses to the slum dwellers.
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76. The Jammu and Kashmir govt. has announced to
spend around Rs 1 lakh Cr on development works with
special emphasis on education and road connectivity
over the next five years.
Note: The new projects are being taken up regularly whereas
old ones are being completed with expedited urgency.
77. The UP govt. has launched awareness drive along
banks of river Ganga to maintain cleanliness.
Note: The Chief Minister ‘Yogi Adityanath’ flagged off an
awareness drive the 'Namami Gange Jagriti Yatra’ in 25
districts situated on the banks of river Ganga for
maintaining the cleanliness and ever-flowing nature of
the river. Around one lakh Home guard volunteers will
organise public gathering and other awareness
programmes in the district under this project till the
6th Sep 2017.
78. The Gujarat govt. has distributed NAMO e-tabs to
college students across the state.
Note: e-tablet which costs Rs 8000 is being distributed to the
students for one thousand Rupees only. The
Government will distribute e-tablets to 4 lakh students
during this year for which provision of Rs.300 crore
has been made. 21.5 lakh students have already
registered for this NAMO- e-TAB.
79. Bihar govt. has launched mobile therapy vans which
would provide basic medical assistance to elderly
people, widows and other section who requires social
security.
Note: The vans equipped with basic medical apparatus and
accompanied by technical team would provide basic
medical care to elderly people, widows and disabled in
the districts. The van is an outcome of a joint project of
the World Bank and the Bihar government which is run
by Social Welfare department.
80. Chief Minister of Maharashtra ‘Devendra Fadnavis’ has
launched an initiative providing job opportunities to
unemployed youth in Mumbai -- Namo Yuva Rojgar
Kendra.
Note: Under this Yuva Rojgar Kendra and Mumbaikars can
get fresh and healthy food as well as farm produce
procured directly from farmers.
81. The state assembly has passed Religious Freedom Bill
2017, which aims to stop the forced conversions in the
state -- Jharkhand.
Note: A person converting willingly will have to inform the
Deputy Commissioner about details such as time, place
and the person who administers the conversion
proceedings.
82. Chief Minister of Odisha 'Naveen Patnaik' has launched
Facebook's programme for women entrepreneurs in
the state -- She Means Business.
Note: The ‘SheMeansBusiness programme’ has been launched
in 16 countries across the world including India.The
programme was launched in partnership with Odisha’s
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micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME)
department and Project Mission Shakti.Around 25000
women entrepreneurs and Self-Help Group (SHG)
members will get training on digital marketing skills by
the end of 2018.
83. The Indian cities have been selected for the
implementation of a biodiversity conservation project
supported by Germany -- Kochi, Mangaluru, and
Panaji.
Note: These cities will receive support for the project, which
aims to support the “implementation of National
Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans through the
mainstreaming of biodiversity objectives across city
regions”. The project’s primarily aims to achieve Aichi
Target 2.
84. The state government has launched “Indira Canteen”
for urban poor-- Karnataka.
Note: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has launched the
‘Indira Canteen’ scheme aimed at providing food at low
cost to the urban poor.The canteens are loosely
modelled on late Tamil Nadu chief minister J.
Jayalalithaa’s ‘Amma Canteens’.
85. Social education start-up ‘Meghshala Trust’ has
launched offline mobile app on Google Play Store for
Karnataka teachers --Meghshala.
Note: The app empowers teachers with the necessary tools
and resources to create classroom learning
experiences. It is preloaded with over 2,500 of
Meghashala’s ‘TeachKits’, aligned to the Karnataka
State curriculum for science, maths, English and social
studies in Kannada, English, and Hindi.
86. India’s first-ever railways disaster management centre
will come up in the city -- Bengaluru.
Note: India’s first-ever railways disaster management centre
will come up near Bengaluru, Karnataka by 2018.
87. India’s first-ever aviation university Rajiv Gandhi
National Aviation University (RGNAU) will come up in
Uttar Pradesh.
Note: India’s first-ever aviation university will be
inaugurated at Fursatganj in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh.
88. New Delhi hosted the Chief Electoral Officers’
Conference of all States and Union Territories.
Note: The Chief Electoral Officers’ Conference of all States
and Union Territories has been inaugurated by Chief
Election Commissioner Achal Kumar Joti and Election
Commissioner OP Rawat in New Delhi.
89. The Telangana govt. has launched an exclusive 24×7
helpline ‘181’ for women.
Note: The helpline will respond to calls on dowry harassment
cases, stalking, domestic violence, sale of girl child and
immoral trafficking.
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90. The Telangana govt. has decided to conduct a
comprehensive land survey in the state to address
disputes and litigations over maintenance of land
records and ownership.
Note: The survey would be done in 10,875 villages in the
state.The surveying personnel would stay put in the
villages for conducting the survey and they will update
land records online.
91. The state govt. has decided to build an Eco-Park on
thirty-four acres of land -- Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
Note: The park is a first-of-its-kind project in the region,
planned under the convergence of local resources and
it is expected to be completed by end of this year.The
eco-park will have a botanical garden, a cactus garden,
a cafeteria and other amenities
92. The state government has launched a new ‘E-Waste
Disposal’ scheme in state schools -- Kerala.
Note: The E-waste includes old monitors, mouses, keyboards
and UPS, among other things that have been lying
unused since 2000 in the state.
93. The UP govt. has decided to end the process of holding
interview for selection of candidates for the
government jobs in all the non-gazetted posts of Group
B, C and D categories.
Note: The decision has been taken keeping in mind the
system followed by the Government of India. The state
government has decided to do away with interview in
the recruitment of non-gazetted officers from Class II to
IV.
94. The Gurugram city to host Digital Haryana Summit
(SHS).
Note: The Haryana government will organize Digital Haryana
Summit (DHS) in Gurugram on 15th September 2017.
The purpose of the summit is to bring together
different stakeholders and develop a singular agenda
for the digital transformation of Haryana, in line with
the Digital India initiative.
95. The Karnataka govt. has tied up with tech giant
Microsoft to develop India’s first Farm Price
Forecasting Model.
96. Coast Guard launched an aviation infrastructure
including a multi-mission maritime aircraft hanger,
MMMA in -- Bhubaneswar.
Note: This is part of the ongoing effort by the Coast Guard to
strengthen the maritime and coastal security. The
newly launched aviation infrastructure would provide
a fillip towards futuristic expansion plan of Coast
Guard's air arm.
97. The state govt. will provide free education to girls up to
graduation -- Karnataka.
Note: The state govt. will provide free education for girls
across the state from Class 1 up to graduation in all
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public and aided private schools and colleges,
excluding professional institutions.
98. The Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik has
inaugurated the fourth Government Medical College in
-- Koraput.
Note: The Medical College has been named after ‘Saheed
Laxman Naik’ (freedom fighter of Koraput).
99. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has launched a
project at Shahpur primary school -- Gyankunj e-class
project.
Note: The entire project will work on pilot basis with
Interactive e-class room and smart boards have been
provided under this initiative. 1609 government
primary schools have been provided laptop, projector,
infrared camera, smart board, speaker and WiFi router
facilities for 3,173 class rooms of standard 7 and 8.
100. ‘Ye India ka time hai’ event has been organized at
National Institute of Technology at -- Raipur,
Chattisgarh.
Note: Students of NIT Raipur participated in a brainstorming
session on 'New India Manthan' and discussed their
views on ‘what kind of India do they imagine for the
year 2022’.
101. The Gujarat state Govt. have signed the Memorandum
of Understanding(MoU) to save the children of
Anganwadi from malnutrition -- Amul (Gujarat Milk
Marketing Federation).
Note: Under the ‘Take Home Ration’, district dairies in
cooperation with the Gujarat milk marketing federation
will provide nutritive foods to more than 42-lakh
children of more than 53 thousand Anganwadis ,
pregnant-mothers, lactating mothers and young girls.
102. The state govt. will upgrade employment exchanges to
Modern Career Centres -- Assam.
Note: As a pilot project two district employment exchanges in
Guwahati and Jorhat will be upgraded as modern
career centres.
103. The state has set up a Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)
Cell for the implementation of DBT across schemes in
the country-- Assam govt.
Note: The purpose of the cell is to coordinate efforts at the
state level in taking the DBT initiative forward with
immediate effect. The Chairman of the cell will be the
Chief Secretary of Assam.
104. The state govt. has signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with ‘Google India’ to take
Internet connectivity to the remotest part of the state--
Assam govt.
Note: Through the MoU with Google, Assam govt. would work
to provide Internet connection to 26,000 villages and
1,500 tea garden areas to increase digital literacy.The
MoU would be used as a launch pad to materialise the
state government's vision of women empowerment,
skill development and universal education.
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105. The state govt. has signed a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) with the US-based Hyperloop
Transportation Technologies (HTT) to build India's
first Hyperloop system -- Andhra Pradesh govt.
Note: Hyperloop will cover 35 km distance between
Vijayawada and Amaravati only in five
minutes.Hyperloop is a transportation system which
proposes to propel a pod-like vehicle through a near-
vacuum tube at more than airline speed. Hyperloop is
faster than fastest high-speed rail and claimed to have
speeds even greater than commercial air travel.
106. The state govt. has hiked the Freedom Fighters pension
from 12-thousand rupees to thirteen thousand rupees
per month -- Tamil Nadu govt.
Note: According to an order by the Public Department, family
pension to their eligible heirs would be enhanced from
6000 rupees to 6500 rupees with retrospective effect
from the 15th August.
107. The state govt. will start implementing Direct Benefit
Transfer (DBT) under MGNREGA to ensure
transparency and check corruption at all levels --
Nagaland govt.
Note: Wages of the MGNREGA workers will be directly
credited to the individual accounts of the job card
holders through National Electronic Fund Management
System or Public Financial Management System.
108. The state govt. has announced 1 lakh Rupees cash
reward to those providing information about the
administrators and curators of the deadly Blue Whale
Challenge -- Gujarat govt.
Note: The cyber cell of the Gujarat police has launched a
helpline number (079-22871917) for anyone seeking
information on the online game.
109. The state govt. will provide skill development training
to 30 thousand surrendered militants -- Assam govt.
Note: Another 24 thousand youths in Assam will be trained
under the Prime Minister Kaushal Vikash Yojna. The
Assam Skill Development Mission will provide skill
training in 40 sectors.
110. The state govt. and Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable Pvt.
Ltd have signed a lease agreement to set up a state of
the art milk and milk products processing plant --
Maharashtra Govt.
Note: As per the MoU, a dairy development initiative will
begin in Vidarbha and Marathwada regions in the state
to provide access to milk producers to markets in
Nagpur and Mumbai.
111. The state assembly has passed a bill seeking to
deduct a fraction of the salary of state govt.
employees for the benefit of their parents -- Assam.
Note: The Assam Employees’ Parents Responsibility and
Norms for Accountability and Monitoring Bill-2017
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is aimed at ensuring that employees do not neglect
their loved ones in times of need. The bill has
provisions for deducting 10% of an employee’s pay
and transferring it to the account of the relative
concerned.
112. The state govt. has fixed a target of constructing 5 lakhs
39 thousand houses in the next 15 months for the
urban poor in the state -- Andhra Pradesh.
Note: Construction of one lakh and 30 thousand houses is
underway and the remaining houses will be grounded
soon.AP Township and Infrastructure Development
Corporation is chosen as the nodal agency for
construction of these houses.
113. A well-equipped skill city with a capacity of 10
thousand training seats will be set up at block levels in
-- Assam.
Note: A Singapore based premier institute will support the
state govt. in this regard and it will take 4 to 5 years to
complete.A temporary complex with 400 capacities is
being set up in Guwahati.
114. The state govt. has inaugurated the second
International Yoga Festival and International Yoga
Sports Championship 2017 in -- Kashmir.
Note: Around 300 participants from various parts of India,
Vietnam, Taiwan, Canada, Bulgaria, USA, and Nepal are
participating in the festival. The festival is being
organized by the Yoga Society of Kashmir at the Sher-i-
Kashmir International Conference Centre.
115. The state’s high court has ordered the state
government to grant books and uniform instead of cash
to the Below Poverty Line students -- Chhattisgarh.
116. The state government has launched Shaheed Gram
Vikas Yojana to provide houses to freedom fighters --
Jharkhand.
Note: Under the scheme, villages of many tribal freedom
fighters will be developed and their habitants will be
provided with basic amenities.
117. The first Indian state to set up family welfare district
committees to examine the complaints of women
against their husbands and in-laws and find an
amicable solution -- Tripura.
Note: Now, Tripura High Court is the first high court among
24 high courts of the country that has constituted the
family welfare district committees.
118. The state govt. has constituted a Screening Committee
on anti-profiteering -- Haryana.
Note: It is mandatory (under section 171 of GST Act.) to pass
on benefit to the customer. If a person is not getting the
benefit of reduction in tax, he/she can send the
grievance to the steering committee. The Steering
Committee would send the consumer complaints to the
Standing Committee which will examine the prima
facie evidence within two months.
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119. The first Indian state to launch electric bus service --
Himachal Pradesh.
Note: The state govt. has launched the first electric bus
service on 51km ecologically fragile between Manali
and Rohtang Pass.The move was made amidst concern
over increasing environmental degradation in the
Rohtang Pass area due to plying of diesel taxis.
120. The Union Minister has launched 'Pt Deen Dayal
Upadhayay Vigyan Gram Sankul Pariyojana' in
Uttarakhand-- Dr. Harshvardhan.
Note: It will experiment and endeavour to formulate and
implement appropriate S&T Interventions for
Sustainable Development through cluster approach in
Uttarakhand.This project has been inspired by
teachings and ideals of ‘Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhayay’
whose birth centenary is being celebrated this year.
121. Odisha state Govt. has launched a scheme for pregnant
women, in Odisha-- Sampurna Yojna.
Note: The main objective of this scheme is to reduce the
death ration of the new born child and mother
mortality rate.
122. The state govt has launched 'Vision-2025' project
across the state__ Karnataka.
Note: The project aimed at evolving a draft policy for
development of the state for the year 2025 by seeking
the opinion of the general public.
123. The union govt. has approved 221 rural roads projects
and bridges involving an expenditure of 782.24 crore
rupees under the ‘Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana’
(PMGSY)-- Himachal Pradesh.
Note: The projects would be funded in the ratio of 90:10 by
the central and state governments. The approval
includes 11 bridges at different locations in the state.
124. The state govt. has launched a mass marriage scheme
‘Mukhyamantri Samoohik Vivaah Yojana’ for BPL
families ___ Uttar Pradesh.
Note: The state govt. will spend Rs 35,000 on each couple,
besides gifting them mobile phones and household
items, and the social welfare department will conduct
the mass marriages.
125. The state govt. has launched a campaign against child
marriage & dowry on the occasion of Mahatma
Gandhi’s birth anniversary -- Bihar.
Note: People pledged not to get married a girl below 18 years
or a boy below 21 or participate in a child marriage or a
wedding with dowry.
126. Prime Minister ‘Narander Modi’ laid the foundation
stone of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)
at --Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh.
Note: The 750-bed hospital AIIMS, will be built at a cost of
approximately 1,350 crore rupees.
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127. Uttar Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh & Meghalaya have
signed an MoU under a program to boost cultural ties --
Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat.
Note: Under the program, the states will connect with each
other to know more about the culture, heritage, and
traditions of each other.
128. A research centre for start-ups, academicians,
environmentalists, and entrepreneurs in Guwahati,
Assam -- Indian Space Research Organization
(ISRO).
Important News – World
1. Officially joined North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) and become the 29th member country --
Montenegro
Note: Earlier, Montenegro Foreign Minister ‘Srdjan
Darmanovic’ submitted the official accession papers in a
ceremony at the US State Department.
2. India and Spain signed agreements in cyber security,
renewable energy, technical cooperation in civil aviation,
visa waiver for diplomatic passport holders--seven.
Note: The agreements were signed after Prime Minister
Narendra Modi held wide-ranging talks with President of
Government of Spain Mariano Rajoy at the Moncloa
Palace in Madrid.
3. The temple was discovered by Chinese archaeologists,
remained hidden for nearly 1000 years-- The Fugan
Temple.
4. The city hosted the 2017 Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO) summit -- Astana.
Note: The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic, and
military organisation which was founded in 2001 in
Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
5. Nepal has tied up with the country to build Budhi-
Gandaki Hydropower Project (1200MW) -- China.
Note: Nepal has signed a agreement with Gezhouba
Group Corporation (CGGC) of China to build 1,200-
megawatt Budhi-Gandaki hydroelectric project.
6. The news agency will set up USD 1 million fund to boost
BRICS media cooperation -- Xinhua (China).
Note: Xinhua (news agency of China) will set up a USD
million fund to institutionalize media cooperation among
the BRICS countries including awards for journalists from
the five-member states.
7. The 2017 European Union Film Festival (EUFF) held in
the city -- New Delhi.
Note: The European Union Film Festival (EUFF) has
started at Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi with an aim
to improve cultural ties between India and European
countries.
8. The 2017 Little Miss Universe Internet beauty contest
title --Padmalaya Nanda.
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Note: ISRO will explore the possibility of using geospatial
technology, which include data generated through
global positioning system (GPS), geographical
information systems (GIS) and satellite remote sensing
for expediting the development of Assam.
129. India’s first-ever Industrial Training Institute for the
Divyangans will come up in the state-- Assam.
Note: The foundation stone for the institute was laid at
Dibrugarh ITI Complex at Borboruah in Assam.
Note: Now, she will participate in the “Little Miss World
2017” competition that will be held at Greece.
9. The country has ratified automatic exchange of
information with India to help flush out black money--
Switzerland.
10. Re-elected to the UN's principal organ on economic,
social, and environmental issues for another three-year
term --India
Note: India was among 18 nations to win election to the
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
11. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Board of
Governors has approved the membership of the countries
at its second annual meeting --Argentina, Madagascar,
and Tonga.
Note: These members will join the AIIB once they
complete the required domestic processes and deposit
the first instalment of the capital with the bank.
12. A country has announced to opening of online visitor visa
applications for Indian nationals --Australia.
Note: The online application option would make applying
for the country's visitor visas easier and enhance the
experience for Indians.
13. The countries have been re-elected to the United Nations
Economic and Social Council -- India, Japan, and the
Philippines.
14. The first ‘Afghanistan-India air corridor’ at the Kabul
International Airport, Afghanistan -- Ashraf Ghani.
Note: The aim of the corridor is to create direct route
(bypass Pakistan) to improve commerce in Afghanistan.
15. The interplanetary Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) of ISRO
completed 1000 Earth days in its orbit -- Mangalyaan.
16. The city hosted the World Summit on Information Society
(WSIS) Forum-2017 -- Geneva (Switzerland).
17. As per a new study conducted by the UN Refugee Agency,
the number of people displaced worldwide in 2016 --65.6
million
18. The first country to contribute one lakh US Dollars to a
UN fund -- India.
Note: The UN Tax Trust Fund aims to support the work of
the Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in
Tax Matters.
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19. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) city has been declared
the ‘World Book Capital’ for the year 2019 by UNESCO --
Sharjah.
Note: Sharjah has been chosen by an international
committee of UNESCO experts for the quality of its
literary and cultural activities, and its efforts to make
books accessible to the entire population of the country.
20. The biggest new generation destroyer weighing 10,000
tonnes to become a global naval power at the Jiangnan
Shipyard -- China Navy.
Note: It is equipped with new air defence, anti-missile,
anti-ship, and anti-submarine weapons.
21. The 6th Joint Trade Committee (JTC) Meeting was
convened between India and -- Myanmar.
22. The 41st session of UNESCO World Heritage Committee
has started in -- Krakow, Poland.
Note: The World Heritage Committee consists of
representatives from 21 of the States Parties to the
Convention Concerning the Protection of the World
Cultural and Natural Heritage, elected by the General
Assembly of States Parties to the Convention.
23. The world's most detailed scan of the brain's internal
wiring has been produced by scientists at -- Cardiff
University.
Note: The MRI machine reveals the fibres which carry all
the brain's thought processes. It has been done in Cardiff,
Nottingham, Cambridge, and Stockport, as well as London
England and London Ontario.
24. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the
end of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the -- Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC).
Note: Though the agency marks an end to the outbreak
in the country, enhanced surveillance will continue, as
well as strengthening of preparedness and readiness for
Ebola outbreaks.
25. A new fast-growing Israeli flower has named after Prime
Minister Narendra Modi -- Crysanthumun.
Note: The Danziger flower farm is one of Israel's leading
floriculture companies with approximately 80,000 square
meters of state-of-the-art greenhouses specializing in
reproduction of plants.
26. The Informal Leader’s Meeting of the 5 BRICS countries
was held in -- Hamburg, Germany.
Note: The meeting was held in run up for the upcoming
9th BRICS Summit, which will take place in Xiamen, China
in September.
27. The country hosted the 2017 Everest International Model
United Nations (EIMUN) Regional Conference -- Nepal.
Note: The fourth edition of Everest International Model
United Nations (EIMUN) Regional Conference was held in
Kathmandu, Nepal from 10-14 July,2017.
28. The world’s first centre for breeding Saola will be
constructed at Bach Ma National Park in -- Vietnam.
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Note: Saola is recognised by two parallel horns with
sharp ends, which can reach 51cm in length and are
found on both males and females.
29. The eighth meeting of the SAARC Ministers of Law and
Order preceded by meeting of the SAARC Secretaries of
Law and Order and Immigration Authorities has begun in
-- Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Note: The meeting focused on the issue of tackling
terrorism apart from discussing liberalization of visa,
illegal trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic
substances, and small arms. The South Asian Association
for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional
intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of
nations in South Asia.
15. Recently, the US House of Representatives has passed a
bill that proposes to advance defence cooperation with --
India.
Note: The amendment passed by the House requires the
Secretary of Defence, in consultation with the Secretary of
State, to develop a strategy for advancing defence
cooperation
16. The country will introduce a new procedure for officials
visiting the country to meet political representatives and
prisoners -- Sri Lankan.
Note: The move comes as government is unhappy with
the outcome of the visit by UN Special Rapporteur on
Human Rights and Counter-terrorism.
17. The Navy has tested the world's first-ever active laser
weapons system (LaWS) which is now deployed and
ready for war -- United States Navy.
Note: The system has special materials that release
photons and at the speed of light, it silently hits an object,
burning it to a temperature of thousands of degrees. Each
strike travels 50,000 times the speed of an incoming
ICBM.
18. Tri-Nation navies concluded the eight days 'Malabar
Naval Exercise' aimed at achieving deeper military ties
between the three nations near Chennai in Bay of Bengal -
- US, Japanese and Indian
Note: The naval exercise featured 95 aircraft, 16 ships
and two sub marines. Aim of exercise is to Increase
interoperability amongst the three navies and develop
common understanding of procedures for Maritime
Security Operations.
19. The country to host the 2022 World Short Course
Swimming Championships -- Russia.
Note: The International Swimming Federation (FINA) has
selected the Russian city to host the 2022 World Short
Course Swimming Championships.
20. The country has declared total independence from IMF
and World Bank (WB)-- Bolivia.
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Note: The President of Bolivia Evo Morales has declared
his government’s full independence from the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.
21. The country who has successfully launched an advanced
satellite-carrying rocket “Simorgh” -- Iran.
Note: Iran has successfully launched Simorgh’ into space
from the Imam Khomeini National Space Station in
Semnan.
22. The world's first full-scale floating wind farm has started
to take shape off the north-east coast of -- Scotland.
Note: The technology will allow wind power to be
harvested in waters too deep for the current conventional
bottom-standing turbines used. The Peterhead wind farm
(Hywind) is a trial which will bring power to 20,000
homes.
23. The new species of giant ocean sunfish has been
discovered by an international team of researchers led by
Murdoch University in Perth, Australia --hoodwinker
(mola tecta).
Note: The heaviest type of bony fish that can weigh over
two tonnes and grow to three metres long. The new
species has so far been found around New Zealand,
around the southeast coast of Australia, off Africa and
southern Chile.
24. Dubai as the data hub for the Middle East North Africa
and South Asia (MENASA) region for the city’s integrated
initiatives to mine and manage its data -- The United
Nations (UN).
Note: The designation will be part of a portfolio of local
and regional data portals, analytics and reports to engage
stakeholders and help accelerate progress.
25. The 2017 BRICS Youth Forum opened to discuss the
development of the youth in the countries of the grouping
in-- Beijing, China.
Note: The three-day forum gathered 50 youth
representatives working as civil servants, scholars,
entrepreneurs, artists, and journalists from the BRICS
countries. The theme of the forum is 'Enhance BRICS
Partnership, Promote Youth Development'.
26. The mostly submerged unknown continent beneath the
South Pacific has been named as -- Zealandia.
Note: Zealandia measured 1.9 million square miles and is
94% underwater. It had only three major landmasses,
New Zealand’s North, and South Islands to the south, and
New Caledonia to the north Zealandia.
27. The 7th edition of South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC) Artists Camp & Exhibition of
Paintings begins in -- Nepal.
Note: These events provide platform to artists for
exchanging ideas with fellow artists and helping in
creating special bonding among them. Around 40 artists
from SAARC member countries (except Afghanistan)
taking part in the camp.
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28. The world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge has
opened in the country -- Switzerland.
Note: The longest pedestrian suspension bridge 'Charles
Kuonen Suspension Bridge' has opened in Swiss Alpine
resort of Zermatt Matterhorn in south Switzerland.
29. International organization has released 2017 ICT Facts
and Figures report -- International Telecommunication
Union.
Note: 830 million young people online worldwide, 320
million are in China and India.
30. Country to host the 15th meeting of the Foreign Ministers
of BIMSTEC countries --Nepal.
Note: The 15th meeting of the Foreign Ministers of
BIMSTEC countries will be held in Kathmandu, Nepal.
31. Israel launched the country’s first environmental
research satellite from a launch site in French Guiana --
VENμS.
Note: It in a joint venture between the Israel Space
Agency (ISA) and its French counterpart CNES (Centre
National d’Etudes Spatiales).
32. The country has officially informed the United Nations
(UN) that it will withdraw from the Paris Climate
Agreement -- United States.
Note: In June 2017, President Donald Trump announced
his decision to withdraw from the Paris deal. Earlier,
Former US President Barack Obama had pledged as part
of the Paris accord to cut US greenhouse gas emissions by
as much as 28% from 2005 levels by 2025 to help slow
global warming.
33. India and the country have signed a bilateral agreement
for the transfer of sentenced prisoners -- Somalia.
Note: The agreement was signed between External
Affairs Minister ‘Sushma Swaraj’ and Foreign Minister of
the Federal Republic of Somalia ‘Yusuf Garaad Omar’.The
agreement will help Indian inmates imprisoned in
Somalia or vice versa be near their families while serving
the remainder of their sentence and also facilitate their
social rehabilitation.
34. The country has announced scrapping of visa
requirements for visitors from 80 countries including
India to host the Football World Cup 2022 -- Qatar.
Note: Citizens of 33 mostly European countries can enter
without a visa for 90 days in single or multiple trips
during a 180-day period. Americans, Britons, Canadians,
and citizens of 44 other countries can enter visa-free for
an initial 30 days on single or multiple trips, and can
extend that for a further 30 days.
35. The country has ratified the second commitment period
of the Kyoto Protocol that commits countries to contain
the emission of greenhouse gases, reaffirming its stand on
climate action-- India.
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Note: India deposited its Instrument of Acceptance of the
Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol under the UN
Convention on Climate Change.
36. The External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has
participated in the two days 15th BIMSTEC Ministerial
Meeting in --Nepal.
Note: During the meeting of foreign ministers of the Bay
of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and
Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), countries will review
the progress in identified fourteen areas of cooperation
and discuss ways to accelerate cooperation. The BIMSTEC
(Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand,
Bhutan, and Nepal) states are among the countries
dependent on the Bay of Bengal.
37. An India-built state-of-the-art Advanced Offshore Patrol
Vessel (AOPV) to boost its search and rescue capabilities -
- Sri Lankan Navy.
Note: The new patrol vessel is named as “SLNS Sayurala”.
It is the largest vessel built by an Indian ship builder for a
foreign navy to date.
38. India and US will co-host the Global Entrepreneurship
Summit from 28th to 30th November this year at --
Hyderabad.
Note: The Summit is an unique opportunity for bringing
together entrepreneurs and start-ups with global leaders.
Mr. Modi during his meeting with Trump in Washington
in June had invited Ivanka (US President Donald Trump’s
daughter) for the Summit.
39. The UN health agency, World Health Organization (WHO)
has declared the country free of polio. -- Somalia
Note: According to the UN health agency, it had not
recorded any case of polio disease in Somalia in the last
three years. Somalia recorded the last case of polio in
2014 in the central part of the country.
40. The Oxford University Press has launched online
dictionaries in the Indian languages -- Tamil and
Gujarati.
Note: The launch is a part of Oxford Global Languages
initiative with an aim to build dictionaries and
lexicographical resources for around 100 of the world’s
languages and to make them available online. Earlier, the
Hindi online dictionary was launched in 2016.
41. The ISRO and NASA are jointly working on the mission to
co-develop and launch a dual frequency (L & S Band)
synthetic aperture radar satellite by 2021 -- NASA-ISRO
Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR).
Note: In this joint mission, NASA will be responsible for
design and development of L-band SAR, 12m un-furlable
antenna, GPS system and data recorder. It is the first big
collaboration between NASA and ISRO.
42. The host of summit of Group of Seven (G-7) Interior
Ministers centered on security issues in the fall -- Italy.
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Note: Italy currently holds the rotating helm of the G-7
industrialized nations. The group consists of seven major
advanced economies including Canada, France, Germany,
Italy, Japan, United Kingdom and the United States.
43. According to global leader in broadband testing Ookla,
the fastest mobile Internet in the world -- Norway.
Note: Average internet connection speed of Norwegians'
mobile phones has increased by 69% during the last year
and has speed of 52.6 megabits per second.The
Netherlands and Hungary are ranked number two and
three on the list of the world's fastest mobile networks,
44. Nepal and China have signed three pacts to further boost
their ties in -- Power and energy sectors.
Note: The pacts were signed to undertake a feasibility
study to excavate natural gas and petroleum in the
Himalayan country.The agreements signed will cover
economic and technological cooperation, oil and gas
resources exploration, and promotion of investment.
45. According to Rice University scientist, a microplate
discovered off the west coast of Ecuador adds another
piece to Earth’s tectonic puzzle-- Malpelo.
Note: The Malpelo Plate, named for an island and an
underwater ridge it contains.
46. The country has launched its first cyber court specializing
in handling Internet-related cases in the e-commerce hub
of Hangzhou -- China.
Note: The Hangzhou Internet Court in Hangzhou will
handle cases such as online trade disputes and copyright
lawsuits. The cases handled by the court will be tried
online.
47. The United States (US) and South Korean forces has
begun joint drills in the South -- Ulchi Freedom
Guardian.
Note: 17,500 US soldiers and about 50,000 South Korean
troops are participating in the drill. This year's drills will
center on war games to confirm arrangements to
coordinate their command systems by using computers.
48. The country will chair the IONS maiden International
Maritime Search and Rescue Exercise-2017--
Bangladesh.
Note: The International Maritime Search and Rescue
Exercise will be chaired by Bangladesh at the Indian
Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) in the Bay of Bengal in
November 2017.
49. Google has launched the latest version of its mobile
operating system -- Android Oreo.
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Note: The Oreo boasts of a two times faster boot speed,
autofill option, and a longer battery life. The new update
comes with a Picture-in-Picture feature that allows the
user to see two apps simultaneously.
50. British scientists have developed the world’s smallest
surgical robot which could transform daily operations for
tens of thousands of patients -- Versius.
Note: The robot ‘Versius’ mimics the human arm and can
be used to carry out a wide range of laparoscopic
procedures like hernia repairs, colorectal operations, and
prostate and ear, nose, and throat surgery.The robot is
controlled by a surgeon at a console guided by a 3D
screen in the operating theatre.
51. US-based Indian doctor has discovered an inexpensive
prevention technique against sepsis -- Dr. Pinaki
Panigrahi.
Note: His team found that feeding babies with probiotic
bacteria dramatically reduces the risk of sepsis in new
borns. This is a breakthrough study and going to be an
inexpensive treatment that could possibly save hundreds
of thousands of newborns from a top killer ‘Sepsis’.
52. Indian scientists have discovered a new species of frog
that has a snout-shaped nose, just like a pig in West Ghats
--Nasikabatrachus bhupathi.
Note: Soiled-dwelling species ‘Nasikabatrachus bhupathi’
discovered by scientists from the Centre for Cellular and
Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad. It has been
named after the Indian herpetologist S. Bhupathy.
53. Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has
signed the MoU with the Institute of Chartered
Accountants of Nepal (ICAN) to establish mutual co-
operation for the advancement of accounting knowledge.
Note: ICAI has a membership base of over 5,000
members in Nepal
54. A two-day meeting of Heads of Governments of Shanghai
Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States has
begun in --Kyrgyz Republic.
Note: Rajnath Singh (Home Minister) is leading the
Indian delegation which includes senior officers from
Home and External Affairs Ministries and National
Disaster Management Authority.
55. A deep learning acceleration platform 'Project Brainwave'
for real-time artificial intelligence (AI) --Microsoft.
Note: Real-time AI is becoming increasingly important as
cloud infrastructures process live data streams, whether
62. Swedish defence giant and Adani group have announced a
collaboration in defence manufacturing entailing billions
of dollars of investment -- Saab.
Note: They mainly eyeing a contract for single-engine
fighter jets for the Indian Air Force. The project will
encompass design, development, and production of
Gripen jets for India in line with the Make in India
initiative.
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they be search queries, videos, sensor streams, or
interactions with users.The 'Project Brainwave' uses the
massive field-programmable gate array (FPGA)
infrastructure that Microsoft has been deploying over the
past few years.
56. A internet based software has been launched by the
Election Commission of India in Assam -- Eronet.
Note: Eronet is useful for various activities relating to
electoral roll such as the inclusion of name, deletion,
name correction, transfer of name including providing the
new photo identity cards.
57. The world's toughest law against plastic bags in the
country to reduce plastic pollution -- Kenya.
Note: The law punishes Kenyans producing, selling or
using plastic bags with a maximum fine of over Rs. 25
lakhs or a four-year jail term. It took Kenya three
attempts over ten years to pass the ban which critics say
could cut 80,000 jobs.
58. A group of 20 students of the country have been
sponsored by Government of India (GoI) to study Hindi at
the Central Institute of Hindi in Agra --Sri Lankan.
Note: Government of India has sponsored their visit,
academic fees, and local hospitality for one year in
Agra.Hindi is the most popular foreign language in Sri
Lanka and is being taught in almost 80 institutions all
over the island.
59. President of Swiss Confederation arrived in New Delhi on
a three-day visit to India -- Ms. Doris Leuthard.
Note: India and Switzerland enjoy robust economic ties,
with Switzerland being seventh largest trading partner
and eleventh largest foreign investor for India. It will
provide an opportunity to both sides for holding wide-
ranging discussions on bilateral, global, and regional
issues of mutual interest.
60. Two-day Indian Ocean Conference 2017 being organized
by India Foundation in Temple Trees in -- Colombo.
Note: The theme of this year’s conference is Peace,
Progress and Prosperity and will involve participants
from more than 35 countries. This will be second IOC
conference (first edition-Sep16 in Singapore).
61. The 2017 International Military Music Festival
“Spasskaya Tower” has started in --Moscow, Russia.
Note: Music Festival is a mega event, where military
musicians represent the variety of national, artistic and
military traditions of the world.
63. The 9th BRICS summit has begun in the Chinese city with
theme “BRICS: Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future
-- Xiamen.
Note: In a joint declaration, Brazil, Russia, India, China,
and South Africa (BRICS) condemned all terror attacks
worldwide, including those attacks in the member states,
stressing that there can be no justification whatsoever for
any such act.
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64. The world’s highest sandcastle has built in the country --
Germany.
Note: According to the Guinness World Records, the
world's highest sandcastle is now standing 16.68 meters
tall in the German city of Duisburg.
65. Astronaut returned to Earth, wrapping up a record-
breaking flight that catapulted her to first place for U.S.
space endurance -- Peggy Whitson.
Note: Whitson’s 665 days off the planet 288 days on this
mission alone exceeds that of any other American and any
other woman worldwide.
66. Nepal has signed how much amount of United Nations
Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for the
next five years -- USD 635 million.
67. The species who has moved from ‘Endangered’ to
‘Vulnerable’ category in the IUCN Red List -- Snow
Leopard.
68. The United States of America is considering closing its
embassy located in the country -- Cuba.
69. International organisation WHO has granted USD
175,000 for healthcare of Rohingya refugees in Cox’s
Bazar of -- Bangladesh.
Note: The WHO grant will support 20 mobile medical
teams to provide essential services for at least two
months.
70. The country will lift its ban on internet calling
applications, easing restrictions online as the
conservative kingdom faces new criticism over
censorship-- Saudi Arabia.
Note: Now, Voice and video calling apps such as
WhatsApp and Skype will be widely available to users.
The move is aimed at improving business confidence as
the kingdom transitions into a post-oil era, access to VoIP
(Voice over Internet Protocol) will reduce operational
costs and spur digital entrepreneurship.
71. The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI
Aayog) and the federation have signed a Statement of
Intent (SoI) to cooperate in the field of Intelligent
Transportation Systems (ITS) -- International Road
Federation, Geneva (IRF Geneva).
Note: The objectives of this national ITS Policy will be to
contribute to reducing urban traffic congestion,
improving the situation around parking of vehicles in
cities, improving road safety, and improving the security
of passenger and goods traffic.
72. The countries have signed a treaty to ban nuclear
weapons, a pact that the world’s nuclear powers spurned
but supporters hailed as a historic agreement nonetheless
– Fifty countries.
Note: They would be barred from developing, testing,
producing, manufacturing, otherwise acquiring,
possessing, or stockpiling nuclear weapons ‘under any
circumstances’.
73. Who will limit oil exports to North Korea under UN
sanctions over its nuclear and missile development --
China
Note: China accounts for some 90% of the North's trade,
making its cooperation critical to any efforts to derail
Pyongyang's development of nuclear weapons and long-
range missiles.
74. Iran has tested a new ballistic missile that can carry
multiple warheads and has a range of 2,000km-
Khorramshahr.
Note: The Khorramshahr missile has become smaller in
size and more tactical. Iran unveiled the ballistic missile
as its president stepped up pressure on the United States
by defending its right to strengthen military defenses.
75. Twitter has announced a test project allowing tweets to
be expanded to -- 280 characters.
Note: Twitter is an online news and social networking
service where users post and interact with messages
(tweets). Registered users can post tweets, but those who
are unregistered can only read them.
76. Who has provisionally suspended the WADA
accreditation of the laboratory of the National Anti-
Doping Organization of France due to analytical issues --
World Anti-Doping Agency(WADA).
Note: The provisional suspension came into effect on
Sunday and prohibits the Paris Laboratory from carrying
out any anti-doping activities, including all analyses of
urine and blood samples.

Sports News
National
1. The first Indian woman to cross the 65m mark in the 3. The 2017 men’s singles title at the Thailand Grand Prix
hammer throw -- Sarita R Singh. Gold badminton tournament -- B Sai Praneeth.
2. The 2017 HCL Asian Junior Tennis Championship boys Note: The Thailand Masters Grand Prix Gold 2017 was the
singles title --Nitin Kumar Sinha. third Grand Prix's badminton tournament of the 2017
Note: Indian wild card ‘Nitin Kumar Sinha’ has won the BWF Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix.
boys singles title of HCL Asian Junior Tennis 4. First Indian Pair to reach Quarter finals in World TT
Championship at the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Championships -- Manika Batra and Mouma Das.
Complex in Pune.

70 | Page
www.gradeup.co
Note: They created history with luck on their side as they
got a walkover from the Netherlands and Polish
combination of Li Jie and Li Quian.
5. The ITF men's Futures tennis title in Singapore --
Ramkumar Ramanathan.
6. The first-ever AIFF Women’s player of the year for 2016-
Sasmita Malik.
Note: She won the award for her immense contribution
to the success and growth of the Indian women’s football
team.
7. Mohun Bagan striker has won the 2016 AIFF player of the
year -- Jeje Lalpekhlua.
Note: Jeje Lalpekhlua won the award for scoring a total of
7 goals in the last 9 games he has played for India in the
2016-17 season.
8. Indian sportsperson has featured in the 2017 Forbes list
of world’s highest paid atheltes -- Virat Kohli.
9. Indian pair have won gold in mixed team 10m air pistol
event at 2017 International Shooting Sport Federation
(ISSF) Gabala World Cup-- Jitu Rai and Heena Sidhu.
Note: The event will see the eight best shooters of the
world compete in each Olympic discipline along with
reigning Olympic and World Championship medalists and
wild-cards.
10. Nguyen Duc Hoa has won the 2017 Mumbai Mayor’s Cup
International Open Chess Tournament.
Note: He defeated Indian chess player Grandmaster
Neelotpal Das in the final round with 8.5 points.
11. India’s shuttler Kidambi Srikanth has lifted the
Indonesia Open Super Series men's singles Premier title at
Jakarta, Indonesia.
Note: In the final, Srikanth defeated Kazumasa Sakai
(Japan) in straight games 21-11, 21-19.
12. India bag how many medals in Asian Junior Wrestling
Championships--five.
Note: India bagged five medals (Gold-1-, Silver-2, Bronze-
2) in the 2017 Asian Junior Wrestling Championships in
Taiwan.
13. Former Indian Captain has resigned from the post of
‘Head Coach’ of the Senior Indian Cricket team -- Anil
Kumble.
14. International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that
the Women’s World Cup winning team will bag a handy
prize money of -- USD 660,000.
Note: Earlier, the ICC had declared that the total prize
money for the tournament would be 2 million US Dollars.
15. Yashaswini Singh Deswal has won a gold at the women's
10 metre air pistol event in the ISSF Junior World
Championship Rifle/Pistol competition in Suhl, Germany.
16. Indian shuttler has won the Australian Open Super Series
Badminton trophy -- Kidambi Srikanth.
Note: Srikanth beat Olympic champion Chen Long (World
No.6) 22-20, 21-16 to win the Series title.
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17. India has won ‘Team Bronze’ in 25- meter Rapid Fire
Pistol Men Junior Shooting World Championship in Suhl,
Germany --.
Note: The trio of Anish, Anhad Jawanda, and Shivam
Shukla notched up a combined score of 1711 to claim
third place and take India's overall tally from the
competition to two Golds, one Silver and one Bronze
medal.
18. India has won medals in the ‘Wushu competition’ of the
first ever BRICS Games in Guangzhou, China -- Six.
Note: Around 300 athletes from five countries Brazil,
China, India, Russia, South Africa) with 10 events in 3
sports (men's basketball, women's volleyball and Wushu).
19. Srinivas Gokulnath has become the first Indians to
complete the 4,900-km Race Across America (RAAM) in
the solo 18-59 age category.
Note: Srinivas Gokulnath finished the distance in 11 days
and 18 hours and Samarth took 11 days and 21 hours to
finish the race. The race was won by Christoph Strasser.
20. Former India hockey captain will be awarded, East Bengal
football club’s highest honour ‘Bharat Gaurav’ -- Dhanraj
Pillay.
Note: Currently, Pillay serves as the manager of the
Indian national hockey team.
21. The Indian Super League (ISL) has been granted official
recognition by the -- Asian Football Confederation
(AFC).
Note: Now, there will be two national leagues in the
country from 2017-18 and the winner of the I-league will
participate in the AFC Champions League qualifiers.
22. The first Indian woman wrestler Kavita Devi to compete
in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
Note: Former Indian powerlifter and South Asian Games
gold medal winner Kavita Devi will become the first
Indian woman to compete in the World Wrestling
Entertainment (WWE).
23. Ankush Dahiya has won gold in the 60kg category at the
2017 Ulaanbaatar Cup boxing tournament.
24. The flag bearer athlete for the Indian contingent in the
22nd Asian Athletics Championship (AAC)-2017 -- Tintu
Luka.
Note: Over 1,200 athletes and officials from 43 countries
in Asia witnessed the largest sporting event at Kalinga
Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The official mascot of
the Championship is 'Olly Turtle' that represents the
famous Olive Ridley sea turtle.
25. India has won the 2017 Asian Team Snooker
Championship --
Note: India's leading cueist Pankaj Advani teamed up with
Laxman Rawat to demolish Pakistan in the final of the
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Asian Team Snooker Championship in Bishskek,
Kyrgyszstan.
26. The new chief coach of the Indian cricket team till ICC
World Cup 2019 -- Ravi Shastri.
Note: Earlier, the head coach ‘Anil Kumble’ has resigned
from the post after the ICC Champions Trophy 2017.
27. The first Indian to complete the 4,900- Kilometers RAAM
(Race Across America) in the solo category -- Gokulnath.
Note: A solo rider has 12 days to finish the race and has to
ride over 400 kilometers a day to finish it in given time.
Sleep is for under 3-hours a day.
28. Indian women's cricket team skipper has surpassed
former England captain'Charlotte Edwards' (5992 runs)
to become the highest run-scorer in the One-Day
Internationals (ODI) -- Mithali Raj.
Note: Mithali Raj became the first women’s player to
reach 6000 ODI runs. Now, Mithali Raj has 6,028 runs in
181 ODIs at an average of 51.37.
29. Harinder Pal Sandhu has won the South Australian Open
Squash tournament 2017.
Note: Harinder Pal Sandhu from India has won the South
Australian Open squash title by defeating Rhys Dowling in
the final by 11-8, 12-10, 11-4 at Adelaide, Australia.
30. Sundar Singh Gurjar has won the gold at World Para
Athletics Championships.
Note: The 2017 World Para Athletics Championships is a
track and field meet for athletes with disabilities,
governed by the International Paralympic Committee,
being held at Olympic Stadium in London.
31. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has
appointed the Indian Cricket team's bowling coach --
Bharat Arun.
Note: Bharat Arun’ coaching career started with Tamil
Nadu in 2002, where he continued to work for four years
and led the team into the finals of Ranji Trophy twice, in
2003 and 2004 respectively.
32. Olympic bronze-medallist has become the first Indian to
be picked as the International Boxing Association's
representative for the IOC Athletes' Forum -- MC Mary
Kom.
Note: She has been invited to attend the 8th International
Olympic Committee's (IOC) Athletes' Forum in Lausanne
from 11th to 13th November this year.
33. The 57th National Open Athletics Championships 2017
has begun at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in -- Chennai.
Note: Around 1200 athletes from various states and
departments & public-sector undertakings would be
taking part in the four-day meet.
34. Indian Shuttler Vaishnavi Reddy has clinched the
women's singles Under-19 title at the Belgian Junior Open
badminton tournament at Herstal, Belgium.
Note: She defeated Vivien Sandorhazi (top seed, Hungary)
in a three-game final (21-19, 17-21, 21-12) in summit
clash at the Hall Omnisport La Prealle.
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35. The Indian duo Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah
claimed gold in the doubles event of Slovenia Open Junior
and Cadet Open Table Tennis championship.
Note: Indian duo beat the top-seeded Chinese Taipei pair
of Feng I-Hsin and Tai Ming-Wei 11-7, 11-6, 17-15 at
Otocec, Slovenia.
36. India will host the South Asian boxing Championship
(SABC) for the first time from 6th to 10th December this
year --.
Note:Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, SARCC
countries and countries like Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and
Ukraine among other top boxing nations participating in
the Championship.
37. India's boxer Gaurav Bidhuri has won the bronze medal
at the 2017 World Boxing Championships in Hamburg,
Germany.
Note: He lost his semi-final bantamweight (56kg)
category clash to Duke Ragan (America).
38. Divya Deshmukh has won gold in the girls’ Under-12
category at the World Cadets Chess Championship.
Note: It is Divya’s second world title after her victory in
the under-10 World Youth Chess Championship-2014 in
Durban.
39. Mahendra Singh Dhoni has become the first
wicketkeeper in world cricket to effect 100 stumpings in
One Day Internationals(ODI) --.
Note: Mr. Dhoni achieved the feat in his 301st ODI in
Colombo (Sri Lanka), when he whipped off the bails to
remove batsman Akila Dananjaya (Sri Lankan) off leg-
spinner Yuzvendra Chahal's bowling.
40. Konsam Ormila Devi bagged a gold medal in 44kg
weight category at Commonwealth Youth (boys & girls)
weightlifting championships in Australia --.
Note: Ormila lifted 57kg in snatch and 76kg in clean and
jerk for an overall effort of 133kg, to finish on the top of
the podium.
41. Indian pair Rohan Kapoor and Kuhoo Garg has won the
mixed doubles title at 2017 Hellas Open International
Badminton Series --.
Note: They defeated compatriots Karishma Wadkar and
Utkarsh Arora by 21-19 21-19 in the final.
42. Neel Joshi (boy) and Ananya Dabke (girl) bagged the
under-15 (boys & girls) titles in the Dutch Open Junior
Squash Championship in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
43. I H Manudev has won the first National Masters snooker
tournament title in Chennai.
Note: Manudev defeated former Asian champion Alok
Kumar 4-1 to win the National Masters Snooker’s Title.
44. Harinder Pal Sandhu has won the Victorian Open squash
tournament in Melbourne, Australia.
Note: He defeated top-seed Rex Hedrick (Australia) by
12-14, 11-3, 11-4.
45. ICC has chosen captain of the ICC Women’s World Cup
2017 team -- Mithali Raj.
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46. Indian Shuttler H S Prannoy has won the 2017 US Open
Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament title at Anaheim -
-.
Note: In the final match, Prannoy beat Kashyap(India) 21-
15, 20-22, 21-12. In the women's singles tournament, Aya
Ohori (Japan) won the final beating Michelle Li (Canada).
47. India will host the men's World Championship for the
first time in 2021,
Note: Earlier, the major men's boxing events hosted by
India have been the 1990 World Cup in Mumbai and the
2010 Commonwealth Championships in New Delhi.
48. Indian weightlifter Konsam Ormila Devi has bagged a
gold medal at the Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting
Championships in Kathmandu, Nepal,
Note: The weightlifter from Manipur lifted 56kg in snatch
and 70kg in clean & jerk for a total effort of 126kg in the
44kg weight category to finish on the top of the podium.
49. The first Indian to win in the FIA Formula 3
European Championship -- Jehan Daruvala.
50. The world youth champion Indian boxer has clinched a
gold medal in Commonwealth Youth Games Bahamas --
Sachin Siwach.
Note: Siwach defeated Welsh boxer James Nathan Probert
4-1 in the final to claim the gold in the light flyweight
(49kg) category.
51. Ajay Singh has won bronze medal in Asian Youth and
Junior Weightlifting Championships at Kathmandu, Nepal.
Note: Dressel won the 50m freestyle (22.76) and the
100m butterfly before leading off a world-record
performance in the 4x100-meter mixed freestyle relay.
Dressel has become the second swimmer to win seven
gold medals at a single World Championships, after
Michael Phelps.
52. Indian shuttler has won the men’s singles Lagos
International 2017 -- Rahul Yadav Chittaboina.
Note: He won the men’s singles title by defeating his
compatriot Karan Rajan Rajarajan by 21-15 21-13 in the
summit clash at the 2017 Lagos International Badminton
Classics in Lagos, Nigeria.
53. Manju Kumari has won the bronze medal in the 59kg
category Junior World Wrestling Championship in
Tampere, Finland.
54. Veer Dev Gulia bagged a bronze medal on the
competition at Tampere in Finland.
Note: In the Men's 74 kg freestyle category, Gulia finished
third after beating Yamasaki Yajuro of Japan, 8-5 in the
bronze medal play-off bout. Gulia had made it to the play-
off despite losing in the quarterfinals as his last-eight
stage opponent Isa Shapiev of Uzbekistan reached the
gold medal round.
55. Indian athlete bagged Gold in women's pentathlon event
at the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in
Turkmenistan -- Purnima Hembram.
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56. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has
nominated Padma Bhushan for his contribution to the
game -- Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Note: Dhoni is already a recipient of the prestigious Rajiv
Gandhi Khel Ratna and the Padma Shri award.
57. Hyderabad has won the 2017 Kalpathi AGS – Buchi Babu
All-India Invitation cricket tournament.
Note:The Hyderabad team have won the 2017 Kalpathi
AGS – Buchi Babu All-India Invitation cricket tournament.
58. The player has won the 2017 BWF Korean Open Super
Series Women’s Singles title -- PV Sindhu.
Note: With this, Sindhu has become the first Indian to win
the Korea Super Series crown.
59. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has won the All-
India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament-
2017.
Note: The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has
won the 91st edition of All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold
Cup hockey tournament at Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
60. Indian shooter has won a bronze in men's trap event at
the 7th Asian Championship Shotgun at Astana,
Kazakhstan -- Kynan Chenai.
Note: Kynan first shot 116 out of 125 to qualify for the six
men final round in third sport and then held on to the
position till the end of the finals.
61. Young Indian shuttler clinched the Bulgaria Open
International Series title in Sofia, Bulgaria -- Lakshya Sen.
Note: He defeated second seed Zvonimir Durkinjak
(Croatia) 18-21 21-12 21-17 in a 57-minute match.
62. Shapath Bharadwaj has won a bronze medal in the
double trap event at the ISSF Junior Shotgun World Cup in
Porpetto, Italy.
Note: Lakshay Sheoran and Manisha Keer combined to
win a bronze in the mixed team trap competition. He shot
a 48 in the final to finish behind gold-medal winning
Briton James Dedman and silver medalist Finland's Miki
Ylonen.
63. Dhyan Chand Award will be given to Bhupender
Singh(Athletics), Syed Shahid Hakim(Football) and
Sumarai Tete(Hockey) for their life time contribution to --
Sports development.
Note: The awardees will receive their awards from
President ‘Ram Nath Kovind’ in a special function at the
Rashtrapati Bhawan on 29th of August.
64. Para Athlete and Hockey player have been selected for
this year's Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award_-- Sardar
Singh & Devendra.
Note: Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is given for the
spectacular performance in the field of sports by a
sportsperson over a period of four years.
65. The 58th edition of Subroto Cup International Football
Tournament held in --New Delhi.
Note: A total of 99 teams from India and abroad are
participating across three categories in this edition of
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famous inter-school football tournament. Teams from
Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal, Afghanistan and Singapore
are participating in this edition.Football carnival will be
played in three categories Sub-Junior boys (Under-14),
Junior Girls (Under-17), Junior Boys (Under-17).
66. The Indian pair have won bronze in mixed team trap
event in Asian Shotgun Shooting Championship in Astana,
Kazakhstan -- Kynan Chenai & Shreyasi Singh.
Note: They defeated Lebanon shooters 40-38. Kynan
Chenai had won bronze in men's trap event.
67. India's shooter bagged a bronze medal at the Asian
Shotgun Championship in Kazakhstan -- Maheshwari
Chauhan.
Note: Maheshwari also led India to the team silver,
alongside compatriots Rashmmi Rathore and Saniya
Sheikh.
68. Indian pair has won gold in the skeet mixed team event at
the 7th Asian Championship Shotgun --Mairaj Ahmad
Khan and Rashmmi Rathore.
69. India player continued to be the world's top-ranked One-
day International (ODI) batsman in the latest ICC ODI
rankings_--Virat Kohli.
Note: Other Indian batsmen in the top-15 are former
skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni(12th), Shikhar Dhawan
(13th) and vice-captain Rohit Sharma(14th). As for the
ICC ODI Team Rankings, India team are currently at
number three.
70. The company has won the coveted Indian Premier League
(IPL) media rights for 2018-23 -- Star India.
Note: Star India acquired digital as well as media rights
for Indian Premier League for a term of five years 2018-
2023 with a whooping bid of Rs. 16,347.50 crores on 4th
September 2017.
71. Indian sportsperson has won silver in senior men’s
double trap at 2017 ISSF World Shotgun Championship in
Moscow -- Ankur Mittal.
72. The country will host the 2019 edition of the
Commonwealth (Youth, Junior and Senior) Weightlifting
Championships -- India.
Note: The Executive Board of Commonwealth
Weightlifting Federation met at Gold Coast, Australia and
decided to allot the 2019 edition of the competitions to
India.
73. Indian weightlifters Rahul’ have qualified for next year's
Commonwealth Games after winning a gold medal each in
their respective weight divisions -- Sivalingam Sathish
Kumar and ‘Ragala Venkat.
International
1. The football club has won the 2017 UEFA Champions
League trophy -- Real Madrid.
Note: Real Madrid is a professional football club based
in Madrid, Spain.
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Note: Rahul created new records en-route to his standout
total lift of 351 kilogram (156kg in snatch and195
kilograms in clean & jerk).
74. The Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Senior
Badminton Championship has begun at -- Kochi
Note: A total of 665 players (175-Indian players) from
forty countries in eight different groups are participating
in the week-long Championship. It is for the first time the
Championship is being held in India.
75. India finishes in medals tally with one gold and two silver
medals at Moscow Shotgun World Championships -- fifth.
Note: Italy topped the tally with nine gold medals for a
total of 17 medals in all and USA (12 medals) -2nd.
76. Who has lead Indian challenge at Korea Super Series, in
Seoul, South Korea -- P V Sindhu.
77. The state has won the Chief Minister's cup with 45 gold
medals at the National kickboxing championship being
held in Raipur -- Maharashtra.
Note: Chhattisgarh secured second position with 27 gold
and Haryana third with 15 gold medals. Around two
thousand players from 27 states participated in the four-
day event.
78. The country to host Junior Asian Wrestling Championship
(JAWC)- 2018 -- India.
Note: India will host the Junior Asian Wrestling
Championship (JAWC)- 2018, which is scheduled to be
held from 19 to 22 July 2018, in New Delhi.
79. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has
released its first ever players handbook '100 things every
professional cricketer must know' in New Delhi --
Note: The book was released by the Committee of
Administrators (COA) and is in line with the
recommendations of the Lodha panel.
80. The four-day annual Border Security Force (BSF) sports
meet has begun in -- Jammu.
Note: The Inter-Frontier Sports Competition of the
Border Security Force is aimed at preparing the Jawans
for national and international-level championships.
81. India lose Davis Cup Tennis World Group Play-offs tie
against -- Canada.
Note: India has lost the World Group Play-off tie of Davis
Cup Tennis Tournament to the host Canada 2-3.
82. India's Pooja Kadian has won the first ever gold medal at
Wushu World Championships in Kazan, Russia.
Note: Pooja defeated Evgeniya Stepanova in the final.
2. West Indies cricket team's official name changed to --
WINDIES.
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Note: The cricket board for West Indies has re-
branded themselves as Cricket West Indies from the
former West Indies Cricket board.
3. The Cricketing country has launched Twenty20 league,
the league will be called the T20 Global League-- South
Africa.
4. The French Open mixed doubles tournament 2017 --
Bopanna and Dabrowski.
Note: They beat the pair of Anna-Lena Groenefeld
(Germany) and Robert Farah (Colombia) by 2-6, 6-2,
12-10. Rohan Bopanna has become only the fourth
Indian (after Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, and
Sania Mirza) to win a Grand Slam crown.
5. Rafael Nadal has won the 2017 French Open Men’s
Singles Tennis Tournament.
6. The first Sri Lankan cricketer to be inducted into ICC
Hall of Frame -- Muttiah Muralidaran.
Note: Muralidaran has become the first player from Sri
Lanka and the 83rd overall to be inducted into the Hall
of Fame.
7. Who has won the 2017 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix
tournament -- Lewis Hamilton.
Note: British Formula One racing driver Lewis
Hamilton has won the 2017 Formula 1 Canadian Grand
Prix tournament Canadian Grand Prix at the Circuit
Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada.
8. Pakistan has clinched its maiden ICC Champions
Trophy title with a massive 180-run victory over India
at the Oval in London.
Note: The Man of the series: Hasan Ali (Pakistan).
9. Jelena Ostapenko has won the 2017 French Open
Women’s Singles Tennis Tournament.
Note: Jelena Ostapenko has won the 2017 French Open
Women’s Singles Tennis Tournament by defeating
Simona Halep (Romania) in the final by 4–6, 6–4, 6–3.
10. The winner of the 2017 Halle Open Men’s Singles title
is -- Roger Federer
Note: The Halle Open is a tennis tournament held in
Halle, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
11. Germany has won the 10th edition of FIFA
Confederation Cup Football-2017 title.
Note: The four-time World Cup winners, Germany won
the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup by defeating Chile
1–0 in the final to win their first title.The FIFA
Confederations Cup is an international association
football tournament for national teams, currently held
every four years by FIFA.
12. Tennis star of Serbia defeated Gael Monfils to clinch
the Eastbourne International Men’s Singles title --
Novak Djokovic
13. Karolina Pliskova has won the Eastbourne
International Women’s Singles title.
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14. Finnish racing driver has won the Formula One
Austrian Grand Prix tournament 2017-- Valtteri
Bottas.
Note: Finnish racing driver Valtteri Bottas has won the
2017 Formula One Austrian Grand Prix tournament at
Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria.
15. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has launched
an anti-corruption investigation in --. Sri Lanka,
Note: According to the Sri Lanka Cricket, forty of its
contracted players called for an immediate inquiry
into the allegations made by Pramodya
Wickremasinghe (former player and selector)
insinuating unnatural and mysterious match
patterns.
16. Lewis Hamilton has won the Formula One British
Grand Prix.
Note: Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton is a British
Formula One racing driver who races for the Mercedes
AMG Petronas team. British Grand Prix is currently
held at the Silverstone Circuit near the village of
Silverstone in North amptonshire in England.
17. Roger Federer has won the 2017 Wimbledon title in
the men’s single category.
Note: Federer defeated Marin Cilic (Croatia) by 6-3, 6-
1, 6-4. It was Federer’s record 8th Wimbledon title and
overall 19th Grand Slam.
18. Garbine Muguruza. has won Wimbledon Women’s
singles title beating Venus Williams (United States) 7-
5, 6-0.
Note: The 2017 Wimbledon Championships was a
Grand Slam tennis tournament which took place at
the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in
Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom.
19. England has won the 2017 ICC women world cup title
by defeating India at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London.
Note: Chasing a target of 229, India being bowled out
for 219 in 48.4 overs. Shrubsole (England) who took
six wickets was declared Player of the Match. Tammy
Beaumont (England) was awarded Player of the Series
title. She had made 410- runs in the tournament.
20. British racing driver has won the Singapore Grand Prix
-- Lewis Hamilton.
Note: Hamilton has built a 28-point cushion, courtesy
a no show from main championship rival Vettel (235
points) and Hamilton (263 points). The Singapore
Grand Prix is a motor race on the calendar of the FIA
Formula One World Championship.
21. The World Cup 2019 will be played from 30th May to
15th July in 2019 in -- United Kingdom (UK).
22. Kylie Masse has won the women's 100m backstroke
gold in a new world-record time at the world aquatics
championships in Budapest.
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23. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) has won the Hungarian
Formula One Grand Prix at the Hungaroring in
Mogyoród.
Note: The 2017 Hungarian Formula One Grand Prix
was the eleventh round of the 2017 Formula One
season and the 32nd running of the Hungarian Grand
Prix.
24. American newest star of the pool has become the first
swimmer to win three gold medals on a single night at
either the worlds or the Olympics -- Caeleb Dressel.
25. The world's most expensive footballer, with Paris
Saint-Germain signing him for a five-year deal from
Barcelona for a fee of Rs. 1,680 crores -- Neymar.
Note: Earlier, Paul Pogba (Manchester United) was the
most expensive player. Neymar scored 105 goals in
186 Barcelona appearances, will earn Rs. 6.5 crore-a-
week before tax.
26. Who formally announced its bid for the 2028 Summer
Olympics after agreeing on a deal with the Olympic
organizers -- Los Angeles (United States).
Note: Now, this deal with Olympic organizers paves
the way for Paris to host the Summer Olympics in
2024.The 2020 Summer Olympics will be hosted by
Tokyo, Japan.Earlier, Los Angeles hosted Olympics in
1984.
27. The ten days grand event World Athletics
Championships will begin in -- London.
Note: 25 Indian athletes are taking part in this event.
India has taken part in every championship since the
first one in 1983.Legendary long jumper Anju Bobby
George's bronze in Paris 2003 has been the lone medal
at this global stage.
28. The country is hosting the FIBA Asia Championship-
2017 -- Lebanon.
Note: Asia’s biggest basketball tournament, the FIBA
Asia Cup has started in Beirut, Lebanon.
29. Olympic Champion has won the men's 400 meters
event and retained his title in World Athletics
Championships, London --Wayde Van Niekerk (South
African).
Note: Niekerk, clocked 43.98 seconds to finish at the
top of podium. Steve Gardiner (Bahamas) finished
second in the event while Abdalelah Haroun (Qatar)
claimed the Bronze.
30. Olympic gold medallist has won the men's 3,000
metres steeplechase at the IAAF World Athletics
Championships in London -- Conseslus Kipruto.
Note: The Kenyan clocked eight minutes and 14.12
seconds to continue his in-form performance in the
event after the Rio Olympic Games last year.
31. The team has won the UEFA Super Cup football
tournament-2017-- Real Madrid.
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Note: Real Madrid has won the 2017 UEFA Super Cup
football tournament by defeating Manchester United in
the final by 2-1 at the Philip II Arena in Skopje,
Macedonia.It is their 4th UEFA Super Cup title.
32. Legendary sprinter retires from the Athletics world --
Usain Bolt.
Note: Running the final race of his career, after taking
the baton from his Jamaican teammate Yohan Blake,
suffered cramps on his left hamstring as he tried, in
vain, to chase down his rivals in the men's 4x100m
relay race in the World Athletics Championships in
London. Britain won the gold in 37.47 seconds while
United States (38.01) and Japan took the silver and
bronze respectively.
33. Alexander Zverev has won fifth Rogers Cup
championship.
Note: He defeated Swiss Roger Federer in straight set
6-3, 6-4 at the Rogers Cup final to claim his second
Masters 1000 title in Montreal, Canada. The events
alternate from year to year between the cities of
Montreal and Toronto.
34. Real Madrid star has been banned for five-match by
the Spanish football federation after pushing the
referee following his red card -- Cristiano Ronaldo.
Note: Ronaldo received an automatic one-match ban
and an extra four games for his reaction towards
referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea. He has also
been fined USD 4,500.
35. Real Madrid has won the 2017 Spanish Super Cup
beat their rivals Barcelona 2-0 at a joyous Santiago
Bernabeu.
Note: Real Madrid football club is a professional
football club based in Madrid, Spain founded on 6th
March 1902 as Madrid Football Club.The Spanish
Super Cup is a Spanish football championship
contested by the winners of La Liga and the Copa del
Rey.
36. British racing driver has won the 2017 Belgian Grand
Prix of Formula One (F1) at Circuit de Spa-
Francorchamps Stavelot, Belgium--Lewis Hamilton.
Note: Hamilton is the only driver to have won at least
one Grand Prix in every season he has competed in.The
Belgian Grand Prix is an automobile race, part of the
Formula One World Championship.
37. Nozomi Okuhara defeated ace shuttler PV Sindhu to
claim the 2017 BWF World Championships at the
Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland
Note: Sindhu lost to her Japanese rival Okuhara 19-21
22-20 20-22. Sindhu became only the second Indian to
win a silver medal after Saina Nehwal had achieved the
feat in the last edition at Jakarta in 2015.
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38. The 2017 Italian Formula One Grand Prix tournament -
- Lewis Hamilton.
Note: British racing driver Lewis Hamilton has won
the 2017 Italian Formula One Grand Prix tournament
at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Monza, Italy.
39. A Spanish professional tennis player has defeated
Kevin Anderson (South Africa) to claim US Open tennis
tournament-2017 in New York -- Rafael Nadal
Note: It is Nadal's second Grand Slam title of the year
and 16th overall.
40. American tennis player defeated Madison Keys to win
2017 US Open Women's Singles title -- Sloane
Stephens.
Note: The US Open is owned and organized by a not-
for-profit organization United States Tennis
Association (USTA).
List of Upcoming Sports Venue
41. Los Angeles (USA). will host the 2028 Olympics.
Note: The full IOC will award the 2024 Games to
Paris and the 2028 Games to Los Angeles.
42. Australian fast bowler has called it quits from Test
Match and ODIs --John Hastings.
Note: Hastings wants to solely focus on T20 cricket. He
has represented Australia in 1 test, 29 ODIs and 9
T20Is.
43. American has won the all-around title at the
gymnastics world championships in Montreal --
Morgan Hurd.
Note: She won the United States' seventh straight
Olympic by edging out Elsabeth Black (Canada) 55.232
to 55.132

1. Asian Games - The Asian Games, also known as Asiad is a Pancontinental multi-sport event held every four years among
athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF).
Note: First Asian games were held in New Delhi, India in 1951.
● Venue of Asian Games 2014 – Incheon, South Korea.
● Venue of Asian Games 2018 - Jakarta-Palembang, Indonesia.
● Venue of Asian Games 2022 – Hangzhou, China.
● Venue of Asian Games 2026 – Nagoya, Japan.
2. Commonwealth Games (CWG) - The Commonwealth Games is an international multi-sport event involving athletes from
the Commonwealth of Nations held every four years.
Note: The first Commonwealth Games held in 1911 in London, England.
● Venue of CWG Games 2010 – New Delhi, India.
● Venue of CWG Games 2014 – Glasgow, Scotland.
● Venue of CWG Games 2018 – Gold Coast, Australia.
● Venue of CWG Games 2022 – Birmingham, England.
Note: The 2022 Commonwealth Games will no longer take place in Durban, South Africa as the South African
government failed to give financial guarantees for the event.
3. Olympics Games - The Olympic Games are held every four years, with the Summer and Winter Games alternating by
occurring every four years but two years apart.
Note:
● The first modern Olympics games were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896.
● International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarter - Lausanne, Switzerland.
● IOC President - Thomas Bach
Summer Olympic -
● Venue of Summer Olympic Games 2016 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
● Venue of Summer Olympic Games 2020 – Tokyo, Japan
● Venue of Summer Olympic Games 2024 – Paris, France
Winter Olympic –
● Venue of Winter Olympic Games 2014 – Sochi, Russia.
● Venue of Winter Olympic Games 2018 – Pyeongchang, South Korea.
● Venue of Winter Olympic Games 2022 – Beijing, China.
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4. ICC World Cup Cricket - The ICC Cricket World Cup is the international championship of One Day International (ODI)
cricket. The event is organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC), every four years.
Note: The first World Cup was held in England in June 1975. West Indies won the title by defeating Australia in the final.
Australia has been the most successful team in the World Cup, with 5 titles and 2 runners up.
India won the first World Cup title in 1983 by defeating West Indies in the final.
Australia won the World Cup title in 2015 after defeating New Zealand in the final.
● International Cricket Council (ICC) headquarter - Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
● President of ICC – Zaheer Abbas.
● Chairman of ICC – Shashank Manohar.
● CEO – David Richardson.
● Venue of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 – India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh.
● Venue of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 – Australia & New Zealand.
● Venue of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 – England, Wales.
● Venue of ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 – India.
5. ICC World Cup T20 – The ICC World Twenty20 is the international championship of Twenty20 cricket. It is organised the
International Cricket Council (ICC).
Note:
● The first T20 World Cup was held in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2007.
● India won the first T20 world cup title after defeating Pakistan in the final.
● West Indies won the T20 World Cup title two times.
West Indies wont the title in 2016 after defeating England in the final.
● Venue of World Cup 2014 – Bangladesh.
● Venue of World Cup T20 2016– India.
● Venue of World Cup 2020 – Australia.
6. ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup – The ICC Women's Cricket World Cup is the oldest and most prestigious international
women's cricket tournament.
Note:
The first Women’s World Cup was held in England in 1973, two years before the inaugural men's tournament. England
won the title by defeating Australia in the final.
Australia has been the most successful team in the Women’s World Cup, with 6 titles and 3 runners up.
England won the Women’s World Cup in 2017 by defeating India in the final.
● Venue of ICC Women Cricket World Cup 2013 – India.
● Venue of ICC Women Cricket World Cup 2017 – England.
● Venue of ICC Women Cricket World Cup 2021 – New Zealand.
7. ICC Women’s World Cup T20 - The ICC Women’s World Twenty20 is the international championship for Women’s
Twenty20 cricket. It is organised the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Note:
● The first Women’s T20 World Cup was held in England in 2009.
● England won the first T20 world cup title after defeating New Zealand in the final.
● Australia has been the most successful team in the Women’s World Cup, with 3 titles and 1 runners up.
● West Indies won the title in 2016 after defeating Australia in the final.
● Venue of World Cup 2014 – Bangladesh.
● Venue of World Cup T20 2016– India.
● Venue of World Cup 2020 – Australia.
8. Hockey Men’s World Cup – The Hockey World Cup is an international field hockey competition organised by the
International Hockey Federation (FIH). It is held every four years, bridging the four years between the Summer Olympics.
Note: The first Men’s Hockey World Cup was held in 1971 Barcelona, Spain. Pakistan won the title after defeating Spain in
the final.
Pakistan has been the most successful team in the World Cup, with 4 titles from 6 appearances in the final.
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Australia won the title in 2014 after defeating Netherlands in the final.
Note:
● International Hockey Federation (IHF) headquarter - Lausanne, Switzerland.
● President of IHF - Narinder Batra.
● Venue of Hockey Men’s World Cup 2010 – New Delhi, India.
● Venue of Hockey Men’s World Cup 2014 – The Hague, Netherlands.
● Venue of Hockey Men’s World Cup 2018 – Bhubaneswar, India.
9. Hockey Women’s World Cup - The Women’s Hockey World Cup is an international field hockey competition organised
by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). It is held every four years, bridging the four years between the Summer
Olympics.
Note: The first Women’s Hockey World Cup was held in 1974 in Mandelieu, France. Netherlands won the title after
defeating Argentina in the final.
Netherlands has been the most successful team in the World Cup, with 7 titles from 11 appearances in the final.
Netherlands won the title in 2014 after defeating Australia in the final.
● Venue of Hockey Men’s World Cup 2010 – Rosario, Argentina.
● Venue of Hockey Men’s World Cup 2014 – The Hague, Netherlands.
● Venue of Hockey Men’s World Cup 2018 – London, England.
10. FIFA (Football) World Cup – The FIFA World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the
senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). It is held every
four years.
Note: The first FIFA World Cup was held in 1930 in Uruguay. Uruguay won the title after defeating Argentina in the final.
Brazil has been the most successful team in the World Cup, with 5 titles from 7 appearances in the final.
Germany won the title in 2014 after defeating Argentina in the final.
Note:
● Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) headquarter - Zürich, Switzerland.
● President of FIFA - Gianni Infantino.
● Venue of FIFA World Cup 2014 – Brazil.
● Venue of FIFA World Cup 2018 – Russia.
● Venue of FIFA World Cup 2022 – Qatar.
11. FIFA Women's World Cup – The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international football competition contested by the
senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). It is held
every four years.
Note: The first FIFA Women’s World Cup was held in 1991 in China. United States won the title after defeating Norway in
the final.
USA is the most successful nation in the tournament's history, with 3 titles and 1 runners up.
USA won the title in 2015 after defeating Japan in the final.
● Venue of FIFA World Cup 2015 – Canada.
● Venue of FIFA World Cup 2019 – France.
12. FIFA (U-17) World Cup – The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to its
current name in 2007, is the world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). It is held every two years.
Note: The first FIFA (U-17) World Cup was held in 1991 in Italy. Ghana won the title after defeating Spain in the final.
Nigeria is the most successful nation in the tournament's history, with five titles and three runners up.
Nigeria won the title in 2015 after defeating Mali in the final.
● Venue of FIFA (U-17) World Cup 2015 – Chile.
● Venue of FIFA (U-17) World Cup 2017 – India.

Best wishes for your exams!

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