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September 2018 Current Affairs

PM inaugurates Pashupatinath Dharmashala in Kathmandu:
 The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, jointly inaugurated the Pashupatinath
Dharmashala in Kathmandu, with the Prime Minister of Nepal, Shri K.P. Oli.
 The Prime Minister said that the temples of Pashupatinath, Muktinath and Jankidham
showcase Nepal's unity in diversity, besides strengthening its bonds with India.
AYUSH Minister to inaugurate the Fourth International Ayurveda Congress:
 Minister of State, (IC), for AYUSH Shri Shripad Yesso Naik inaugurated the Fourth
International Ayurveda Congress at Netherlands on September 1.
 The Minister is visiting Netherlands from September 1-4, 2018 to participate in the Congress
jointly organized by International Maharishi Ayurveda Foundation, Netherlands; All India
Ayurvedic Congress, New Delhi and the International Academy of Ayurveda, Pune in
association with the Indian Embassy in the Netherlands.
 The congress would focus on promotion and propagation of Ayurveda in Netherlands and its
neighboring countries of Europe.
 A special Seminar is also organized by the Indian Embassy titled “India-Netherlands
collaboration in Healthcare, including Ayurveda” on 3rd September 2018.
6th East Asia Summit and 15th India-ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting held in
Singapore:
 Commerce & Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu attended the 6th East Asia Summit-
Economic Ministers’ Meeting (EAS-EMM) and 15th India-ASEAN Economic Ministers’
Meeting (AEM) in Singapore.
 Singapore is currently holding the Chair of ASEAN.
 The 6th East-Asia Economic Ministers’ Meeting was chaired by Chan Chun Sing, Minister
for Trade and Industry, Singapore, and was attended by Economic Ministers from 10 ASEAN
countries and their eight dialogue partners, Australia, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea,
New Zealand, the Russian Federation and the United States of America
 The 6th EAS–EMM was followed by the 15th ASEAN Economic Ministers - India Consultation.
It was co-chaired by Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Trade and Industry, Singapore, and Suresh
Prabhu, Minister of Commerce and Industry, India.
India Pavilion at Food and Drink Technology Africa Trade Show in South Africa:
 Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) is setting up India Pavilion at the Food and Drink
Technology Africa 2018 trade show being organized at Gallagher Convention Centre,
Johannesburg, South Africa from 4-6 September, 2018.
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 The India Pavilion is part of TPCI’s efforts to promote India’s trade related to food and
beverages industry globally and with special focus on Africa.
 Food & Drink Technology Africa (FDT-Africa) - held biennially in Johannesburg - is the
premier beverage and food event in Southern Africa, tailored to promote the specific needs
of the market.
 The trade show covers the entire value chain related to food and beverages industry and
offers solutions to the challenges and demands of the market in Southern Africa.
J P Nadda addresses the‘71st Session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East
Asia':
 “India has fast-tracked many initiatives aimed at achieving all the core tenets of Universal
Health Coverage i.e, strengthening health systems, improving access to free medicines &
diagnostics and reducing catastrophic healthcare spending.”
 This was stated by Shri J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare at the
inauguration of the ‘71st Session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia'.
 Shri J P Nadda further stated that India on its part firmly believes in the objective of
attainment of the highest possible level of health, where health is a state of complete
physical, mental, spiritual and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or
infirmity.
 “Moving toward this objective, we have adopted the National Health Policy 2017 with the
aim to provide affordable healthcare for all,” Shri Nadda added.
India to take part in tsunami mock drill:
 India along with 23 other nations, would be participating in a major Indian ocean-wide
tsunami mock exercise (drill) on September 4 and 5.
 The exercise, known as IOWave18, is being organised by the Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO.
 The purpose of exercise is to increase tsunami preparedness, evaluate response capabilities
in each state and improve coordination throughout the region.
24th RCEP Auckland Round from 17-24th October 2018:
 In the 6th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Ministerial Meeting held
on 30-31 August, 2018, in Singapore, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Suresh
Prabhu, led the Indian delegation.
 The Ministers acknowledged the good progress made in the negotiations so far with
successful conclusion of 4 chapters, namely (i) Economic and Technical Cooperation; (ii)
Small and Medium Enterprises; (iii) Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation; and (iv)
Government Procurement.
 The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is a mega regional free trade
agreement being negotiated amongst 16 countries, comprising 10
 ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) and six ASEAN FTA partners, namely Australia, China,
India, Japan, Korea and New Zealand.

 So far 6 Ministerial Meetings, 5 Inter-sessional Ministerial Meetings and 23 Rounds of the

Trade Negotiating Committee at the technical level have been held.
Thaawarchand Gehlot to attend the 3rd ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Conference:
 Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot, Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment left for Seoul
(Korea).
 He is heading a 3-member Indian Delegation to attend the 3rd ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting)
Conference on ‘Global Ageing and Human Rights of Older Persons’ jointly organised in
Seoul during 5th to 7th September, 2018 by the Republic of Korea and the National Human
Rights Commission of Korea.
 The Conference will be attended by International Institutions including the United Nations,
Regional Institutions such as UNESCAP, UNECE, European Union, ASEAN, GANHRI and also
International NGOs, Experts etc.
U.S. returns two antique statues stolen from India
 Two antique statues worth hundreds of thousands of dollars stolen from India and
displayed at two American museums have been repatriated to India by the US.
 The first statue, ‘Lingodhbhavamurti’, a 12th century granite sculpture depicting an iconic
representation of Lord Shiva, dates back to the Chola dynasty.
 Currently valued at about $225,000, it was stolen from Tamil Nadu and was on display at
the Birmingham Museum in Alabama.
 The second phyllite sculpture depicts the bodhisattva of wisdom, ‘Manjusri’, holding a
sword and painted in gold leaf. This statue was stolen from a temple in Bihar in the late
1980s.
Facebook to build first Asian data centre in Singapore:
 Facebook has announced it will pour in more than S$1.4 billion to construct its first data
centre in Asia in Singapore.
 The new facility, located at Tanjong Kling (formerly known as Data Centre Park) in the west
of Singapore, will span 170,000 sq m and will support hundreds of jobs.
G20 Education Ministers’ and Joint Ministerial Meeting:
 The Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Dr. Satya Pal Singh lead a high level
delegation to the G-20 Education Ministers’ Meeting as well as Joint Ministerial Meeting
held at Mendoza, Argentina on 5th & 6th September, 2018.
 It was the first ever meeting of Education Ministers in the history of G-20.
 While speaking on the inaugural day in Educational Ministerial meeting, Dr Satya Pal Singh,
appreciated and thanked Argentina for hosting an exclusive meeting of Education Ministers
for first time in the history of G20 Summit.
 He said that Education should be the first and foremost priority area for any society to
develop and for any country to flourish. Therefore, it is most appropriate to place education
at the center of global agenda.

G-20 Labour & Employment Ministers’ Meeting:
 Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Labour& Employment Shri Santosh Kumar
Gangwar, led a delegation to Mendoza, Argentina for the G-20 Labour& Employment
Ministers’ Meeting, held on 6-7, September, 2018.
 Labour& Employment Minister highlighted India’s initiatives for promoting skill
development like Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana and setting up of Sector Skill Councils
and for employment creation like the Start Up India and the MUDRA scheme.
 He added that the process of simplifying and rationalizing nearly 40 labour laws into 4
labour codes has been started which would not only lead to effective enforcement, better
compliance but also ensure universal applicability of various welfare measures.
India and Czech Republic sign five agreements:
 The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, reached the Czech Republic on September 6,
2018 on the final leg of his state visit to three European nations – Cyprus, Bulgaria and the
Czech Republic.
 He was received by Mr Milos Zeman, the President of the Czech Republic.
 India and the Czech Republic are signing five agreements as part of President Kovind’s visit.
These are:
 Cooperation between the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, India, and the Czech
Academy of Sciences
 A work plan to support Indo-Czech projects in diverse areas of science and technology, with
the Department of Science and Technology taking the lead from the Indian side
 A visa waiver agreement for diplomatic passport holders
 Cooperation in laser technology between ELI Beamlines and the Tata Institute of
Fundamental Research
 Cooperation between the Haryana Agricultural University and the Czech University of Life
Sciences
International Literacy Day 2018:
 International Literacy Day is celebrated annually on September 8 across the world.

 The day was declared by UNESCO on October 26, 1966.
 According to UNESCO’s statistics, India’s literacy rate is 72.1 per cent.
 Theme  “Literacy and skill development.”
UN postal agency to issue special Diwali stamp next month:
 The UN postal agency will issue special stamps here next month to commemorate the
festival of Diwali.
 The United Nations Postal Administration will issue a New York special event sheet on
October 19 to commemorate the Indian festival.
 The background of the sheet features the United Nations Headquarters building illuminated
with the message of “Happy Diwali” to celebrate the spirit of the festival.

Opening ceremony: INDO-MONGOLIA joint exercise Nomadic Elephant-2018:
 Indo-Mongolia joint exercise Nomadic Elephant-2018, commenced at Mongolian Armed

Forces (MAF) Five Hills Training Area, Ullanbaatar, Mongolia with a brief but impressive
opening ceremony.
 The 12 days long joint exercise will be conducted from 10 Sep to 21 Sep 2018.
 Exercise Nomadic Elephant is an annual, bilateral exercise since 2006 which is designed to
strengthen the partnership between Indian Army and Mongolian Armed Forces.
Opening Ceremony: BIMSTEC Field Training Military Exercise
 The Inaugural Military Field Training Exercise for the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi
Sectoral Technological and Economic Cooperation nations named MILEX-18 scheduled
from 10 September 18 to 16 September 18 started with a Grand Opening Ceremony on 10
September 18 at Aundh Military Station.
 The aim of the forthcoming exercise is to practice the BIMSTEC Nations in planning and
conduct of counter terrorist operations.
 The exercise schedule is focused upon learning of best practices, team building & special
tactical level operations in a counter-terrorist environment in semi urban setting.
Dubai to host India-UAE Partnership Summit:
 A two-day India-UAE Partnership Summit (IUPS) will be held in Dubai from October 30.
 Second India-UAE Partnership Summit is being organised by the Business Leaders Forum
(BLF).
India focus country in Izmir International Trade Show:
 The Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) led a 75-member Indian delegation for the
ongoing 87th Izmir International Trade Show in Turkey.
 India is the Focus Country in the trade show with a standalone pavilion named ‘Source
India’.
 The India Pavilion is a multi-product pavilion, including companies displaying products like
ceramics, cereals and mechanical appliances.
India ranks 130 in UN's human development index:
 India climbed one spot to 130 among 189 countries in the latest human development index
released by the United Nations Development Programme.
 Within South Asia, India's human development index (HDI) value is above the average of
0.638 for the region, with Bangladesh and Pakistan, countries with similar population size,
being ranked 136 and 150 respectively.
 In 2016, India's HDI value of 0.624 put it at 131 rank.
 India's HDI value for 2017 is 0.640, which put the country in the medium human
development category

 Norway, Switzerland, Australia, Ireland and Germany led the ranking, while Niger, the
Central African Republic, South Sudan, Chad and Burundi have the lowest scores.
Suresh Prabhu to participate in G-20, Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting in Argentina:
 Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, will participate in
the G-20, Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting, being held in Mar del Plata in
Argentina on 14th – 15th September 2018.
4th Eastern Economic Forum opens in Russia's Vladivostok:
 World leaders and business tycoons gathered in Russia's Far Eastern port city of Vladivostok
to discuss cooperation at the fourth Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).
 The three-day forum under the theme of "The Far East: Expanding the Range of
Possibilities" has attracted thousands of attendees from more than 60 countries.
International Day of Democracy: 15 September
 In 2007 the United Nations General Assembly resolved to observe 15 September as the
International Day of Democracy.
 Its purpose is to promote and uphold the principles of democracy and invite all member
states and organizations to commemorate the day in an appropriate manner that
contributes to raising public awareness.
 Theme of the 2018 International Day of Democracy is ‘Democracy under Strain: Solutions
for a Changing World’.
International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer: 16 September
 September 16 was designated by the United Nations General Assembly as the International
Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.
 This designation had been made on December 19, 2000, in commemoration of the date, in
1987, on which nations signed the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the
Ozone Layer.
 “Keep Cool and Carry On: The Montreal Protocol” is the theme for World Ozone Day 2018.
Exercise Aviaindra-18 Commences at Lipetsk (Russia):
 Exercise Aviaindra is an Air Force level exercise between India and the Russian Federation.
First Aviaindra was conducted in 2014 and has been planned as a bi-annual exercise.
 Exercise Aviaindra 18 is being conducted at Lipetsk, Russia from 17 Sep to 28 Sep 18 and
will be conducted in Jodhpur, India from 10 Dec to 22 Dec 18.
 The Indian contingent for Ex Aviaindra departed for Russia on 15 Sep 18.
Germany launches world’s first hydrogen-powered train:
 European railway manufacturer Alstom has launched world's first hydrogen fuel cell train.
 French company said that the Coradia iLint used fuel cells that turn hydrogen and oxygen
into electricity.

 In terms of speed, the new train can travel up to 140 kilometers per hour.
International Peace Day 2018:
 International Day of Peace  21 September every year.

 Theme : “The Right to Peace – The Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 70”.
 This year, United Nations is celebrating the 70th year of the declaration of human rights
adopted by the General Assembly.
7th UNWTO Global Summit on Urban Tourism:
 The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is organizing the 7th UNWTO Global Summit on
Urban Tourism: A 2030 Vision for Urban Tourism, on 16-19 September, in Seoul, Republic
of Korea.
 The Summit provides a unique platform to discuss the key issues shaping the future of
urban tourism in the context of the 2030 Urban Agenda.
Closing ceremony: Indo-Kazakhstan Joint exercise Kazind 2018
 Indian Army and Kazakhstan Army today completed the third edition of their joint military
Exercise KAZIND 2018 in Otar Military area, Kazakhstan.
 The two week long exercise had commenced on 10 Sep 2018.
 The primary focus of the exercise was to train and equip the contingents to undertake joint
counter insurgency and counter terrorist operations in urban and rural environment under
mandate of United Nations.
AYUSH Information Cell set up at the Indian Embassy in Romania:
 Ministry of AYUSH has set up an AYUSH Information Cell at the premises of the Indian
Embassy in Romania to disseminate authentic information about AYUSH system of medicine
and encourage Ayurveda practice in Romania.
 The AYUSH Information Cell, Romania will help to organise lectures, consultation, conduct
seminars, training courses and facilitate associations of AYUSH stakeholders for networking
conducting meetings, develop awareness of AYUSH system among public in Romania.
 During the visit to Romania on September 19, 2018, Vice president of India Shri Venkaiah
Naidu digitally inaugurated the AYUSH Information Cell.
 On this occasion, a book on ‘Ayurveda in Romania’ was also released by Vice president.
India ranks 158th among 195 countries in health care investment:
 India ranks 158th in the world for its investments in education and healthcare, a survey of
195 countries has revealed.
 It ranks below countries like Sudan, Azerbaijan, China and Bosnia Herzegovina.
 According to the survey, Finland tops the list of 195 countries in the two key sectors.
 The study, conducted by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the
request of the World Bank, is the first of its kind to measure and compare the strength of
countries’ “human capital”.

Exhibition “India - Uzbekistan: Dialogue of Cultures” inaugurated in the Capital:
 Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Shri Arun Goel inaugurated the exhibition “India -
Uzbekistan: Dialogue of Cultures” at National Museum, New Delhi.
 The Exhibition was dedicated to the state visit of the President of the Republic of
Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the Republic of India
Dr Harsh Vardhan inaugurates air pollution control device WAYU in Delhi:
 Environment Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has inaugurated air pollution control device Wind
Augmentation Purifying Unit (WAYU) at ITO in New Delhi.
 The device WAYU is developed by Council of Science and Industrial Research to mitigate air
pollution at traffic junctions.
 Along with particulate matter, the device will remove poisonous gases such as volatile
organic compounds and carbon monoxide.
First assembly of ISA to be held in India:
 The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is organising the First Assembly of
International Solar Alliance (ISA); 2nd Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Renewable
Energy Ministerial Meeting and the 2nd Global Renewable Energy Investment Meeting and
Expo, (REINVEST- 2018) from 2nd to 5th October 2018 in New Delhi.
 The three events will be inaugurated in a common function by Prime Minister Shri
Narendra Modi, in the presence of Mr Antonio Guterres, Secretary General, United Nations
on 2nd October 2018 in Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.
 The Business and Technical Sessions of ISA Assembly, IORA Meet and RE-INVEST 2018 Expo
will be held at India Expo Mart, Greater Noida, UP.
 The International Solar Alliance (ISA), an Indian initiative, was launched jointly by Shri
Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India and H.E. François Hollande, Hon’ble
President of France on 30 November 2015 in Paris, France on the side-lines of the 21st
Conference of Parties (CoP 21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change.
NITI Aayog to Organize Conference on Empowerment of Women SHGs:
 NITI Aayog is organizing a Conference on Empowerment of Women SHGs & Organic

Farmers Co-operatives from Dantewada, Bastar Region on September 26 at NITI Aayog in
collaboration with the Tribal Affairs Ministry and Tribal Co-operative Marketing
Development Federation of India, TRIFED.
 Tribal Affairs Minister Shri Jual Oram will inaugurate the conference.
 The conference is a part of the visit of the team of entrepreneurs from Dantewada to New
Delhi to identify markets opportunity for their products in urban areas.
UN declares 2019-2028 Nelson Mandela decade of peace:
 A statue of Nelson Mandela has been unveiled at the United Nations to honour the late
South African leader’s birth.

 This year marks the 100th anniversary of Mandela’s birth.

 UN also declared 2019-2028 the “Nelson Mandela Decade of Peace”.
Commerce Ministers of India and Bangladesh hold Bilateral Meeting in Dhaka:
 A bilateral meeting was held in Dhaka between Commerce Minister of Bangladesh, Tofail
Ahmed, MP and Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation Minister of India, Suresh Prabhu.
 Both Ministers noted the significant progress made in the bilateral relationship under the
leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
 They reiterated their commitment to further strengthen the bilateral relations on the basis
of friendship, trust and understanding for the mutual benefit of the people of Bangladesh
and India.
World Tourism Day: 27 September
 Since 1980, the United Nations World Tourism Organization has celebrated World Tourism
Day as international observances on September 27.
 This date was chosen as on that day in 1970, the Statutes of the UNWTO were adopted.
 The adoption of these Statutes is considered a milestone in global tourism.
 The purpose of this day is to raise awareness on the role of tourism within the international
community and to demonstrate how it affects social, cultural, political and economic values
worldwide.
 Theme  "Tourism and the Digital Transformation".
India ranked 96th among 162 countries on Economic Freedom Index:
 In this year’s report on Economic Freedom in the World, India’s rank improved by a couple
of notches.
 India was placed 96th among 162 countries.
 The report was released by the Centre for Civil Society (CCS) along with Canada’s Fraser
Institute.
 Last year, India was placed 98.
 Hong Kong and Singapore again topped the index, continuing their streak as the first and
the second country.
China to host World Internet conference in November:
 China will hold the fifth World Internet Conference (WIC) in November
 The conference, scheduled to run from November 7-9, will be held in the river town of
Wuzhen.
 This year's WIC is themed "creating a digital world for mutual trust and collective
governance -- toward a community with a shared future in cyberspace".

World Heart Day 2018: 29 September
 World Heart Day is celebrated every year on September 29, Organised by the World Heart
Federation.
 Theme  ‘Your heart, my heart’
 World Heart Day was created to inform people around the globe that heart disease and
stroke are the world's leading cause of death.
7th Meeting of National Medicinal Plants Board Held at New Delhi:
 The Seventh meeting of National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) of Ministry of AYUSH was
held under the chairpersonship of Minister of State for AYUSH, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik at
New Delhi on 30th August 2018.
Krishna Kutir, a home for 1000 widows inaugurated by Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi:
 The Minister for Women & Child Development, Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, alongwith Chief
Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Adityanath Yogi inaugurated the widows’ home ‘Krishna
Kutir’ at a function at Vrindavan, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.
 Krishna Kutir is a special home for 1000 widows set up by the Ministry of Women & Child
Development under Swadhar Greh scheme of the Ministry and is the largest ever facility of
its kind created by a government organization.
 The Home for Widows, Krishna Kutir has been constructed on 1.4 hectare of land through
National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) at a cost of 57.48 Crores (including cost
of the land) with a capacity of 1000 inmates.
National Conference being organised by The Supreme Court Advocates on Record

Association:
 The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the National Conference being
organised by the Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association in New Delhi on
September 1, 2018.
 Speaking on the occasion, the President said that India’s judiciary is respected across the
world as an upholder of justice for the defenceless.
 It is also true that our judges are overburdened by the sheer volume of cases. As a
consequence, the Indian legal system is marked by long delays.
 He noted that there is a backlog of 3.3 crore cases in various courts of the country.
 Of these, 2.84 crore cases are in the subordinate courts. Another 43 lakh are in the High
Courts and about 58,000 in the Supreme Court.

Union Home Minister chairs first review meeting of Department of Official Language:
 The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh chaired first review meeting of the
Department of Official Language of MHA to discuss the functioning and issues related to
implementation of Hindi language in official work.
 The Minster was informed that the department has developed a computer software called
“Kanthasth” for translating the all kinds of official files from English to Hindi and vice versa
to make the translation work simpler and quicker.
CCI imposes penalty on Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC):

 The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has found that KFCC and others have acted in
concert and impeded entry and screening of dubbed movies and in particular the
Informant’s film –“Sathyadev IPS” in State of Karnataka, thereby violating the provisions of
section 3(1) and section 3(3)(b) of the Competition Act, 2002.
Jharkhand's railway station, town to be renamed after Lord Krishna:
 The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has cleared the Jharkhand government's proposal to
rename a railway station in Garhwa district after Lord Krishna.
 The Raghubar Das-led state government had proposed that the railway station and Nagar
Untari town should be renamed as Banshidhar Nagar after Bandshidhar Temple.
 The state government wants to develop the town on the lines of Mathura and Vrindavan in
Uttar Pradesh to boost tourism in the city.
Delhi to host International chess tournament for school kids:
 Delhi will host an international chess tournament for school students next year which will be
jointly organised by the governments of Delhi and Moscow, Education Minister Manish
Sisodia said.
 Also, there would be a Moscow Festival in Delhi very soon," he added.
 Sisodia is in Moscow representing the Delhi government at the World Education Summit.
Suresh Prabhu Launches Technology Initiatives for Coffee Stakeholders:
 Minister for Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu launched Coffee
Connect - India coffee field force app and Coffee KrishiTharanga - digital mobile extension
services for coffee stakeholders.
 The mobile app Coffee Connect has been developed to ease the work of field functionaries
and to improve the work efficiency.
 The Coffee KrishiTharanga services are aimed at providing customized information and
services to increase productivity, profitability, and environmental sustainability.

India to generate 100 GW solar energy by 2022:
 Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu said that demand
for energy will increase due to rapid development taking place in India and fossil fuel is not
going to last forever and therefore there is need for renewable energy.
 International Solar Alliance (ISA) Innovation and Investment Forum @ New Delhi
 India has set a target to generate100 GW solar energy by 2022 for increasing share of
carbon free energy in the energy mix.
National Teachers’ Day: 5 September
 Every year, September 5 is observed as Teachers’ Day in India to mark the birth
anniversary of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who was born on September 5, 1888.
 A great scholar, philosopher and a Bharat Ratna recipient, Dr Radhakrishnan was the first
Vice President and second President of independent India.
Curtain Raiser : Indo-Kazakhstan Joint Exercise KAZIND 2018
 Indo-Kazakhstan Joint Army Exercise 'KAZIND' will be conducted between the Indian and
Kazakhstan Army from 10 to 23 Sep 2018 in Otar region, Kazakhstan.
 This is the third joint military exercise between the two countries which have a history of
extensive cooperation in the defence arena.
 The second edition of the exercise was held in India last year.
 The aim of the exercise is to build and promote bilateral Army to Army relations and
exchange skills and experiences between Kazakhstan Army and the Indian Army.
Manoj Sinha inaugurates Conference on E- Mobility:
 A Conference on “E-Mobility in Indian Railways” organized by Ministry of Railways through

Institution of Railways Electrical Engineers (IREE) in association with NITI Aayog concluded
in New Delhi.
 The one-day conference inaugurated by the Minister of State of Communication (I/C) and
Minister of State of Railways, Shri Manoj Sinha was a pre-cursor to the “Move: Global
Mobility Summit” organized by NITI Aayog on 7th and 8th Sept.’18.
The International Aviation Summit held in New Delhi:
 International Aviation Summit in Delhi

 Organized by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), the Airports Authority India (AAI) and
International Air Transport Association.
 India and Bulgaria sign five agreements
 The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, reached Bulgaria on September 4, 2018 on
the second leg of his state visit to three European nations – Cyprus, Bulgaria and the Czech
Republic.
 President delivered an address at Sofia University on the theme “Education as an
Instrument of Change and Shared Prosperity”.
 India and Bulgaria have signed five agreements during President Kovind’s visit:

1) An agreement between Invest India and Invest Bulgaria

2) An agreement on cooperation in and facilitation of tourism
3) An agreement on enhanced science and technology cooperation
4) An agreement on civil nuclear research and cooperation
5) An agreement between the Indian Council of Cultural Relations and Sofia University to
promote Hindi studies
Cabinet approves continuation of Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats scheme:
 The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra
Modi has approved continuation of the Centrally Sponsored Umbrella Scheme of
Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (CSS-IDWH) beyond the 12thPlan period from
2017-18 to 2019-20.
 The Scheme consists of Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Project Tiger (CSS-PT), Development
of Wildlife Habitats (CSS-DWH) and Project Elephant (CSS-PE).
 The total outlay is Rs. 1731.72 crore as central share (Rs. 1143 crore for Project Tiger, Rs.
496.50 crore for Development of Wildlife Habitats and Rs.92.22 crore for Project Elephant)
from 2017-18 to 2019-20.
HRD Minister releases the curriculum on Experiential Learning – Gandhijis Nai Talim:
 Union HRD Minister Shri Prakash Javadekar released the curriculum on Experiential
Learning – Gandhijis Nai Talim in New Delhi.
 This curriculum was brought out simultaneously in 13 languages i.e., Assamese, Tamil,
Bengali, Oriya, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, Marathi, Telugu, Gujarati, Urdu, Hindi and
English in consultation with the state councils of educational research and training along
with the universities in the country.
IAF & French Air force Conduct Basic Training in India:
 Indian Air Force (IAF) recently participated in Exercise Pitch Black 2018 at Darwin,
Australia.
 16 different nations from across the globe, including French Air Force (FAF) participated in
this exercise.
 On the return leg, Rafale fighter aircraft and transport aircraft of FAF staged through Air
Force Station, Gwalior and Air Force Station, Agra from 01 – 04 Sep 18.
 During the staging period, FAF and IAF carried out basic joint training, which included fighter
sorties by pilots in their respective aircraft with observers onboard each other’s transport
aircraft supporting the missions.
Vice President to visit US to participate in 2nd World Hindu Congress:
 The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu to visit United States of America on
September 8-9, 2018 to address the 2nd World Hindu Congress being held in Chicago on the
occasion of 125th Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda’s Historic Speech at the Parliament of
the World's Religions in 1893.

31st meeting of Central Hindi Committee concluded:
 31st meeting of the Central Hindi Committee was held in New Delhi under the
chairmanship of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
 He stressed that the Hindi language should be spread through day-to-day conversations
and complex technical terms should be avoided or used negligibly for official purposes.
‘Source India’ at 87th Izmir International tradeshow in Turkey:
 India is the Partner Country in the 87th Izmir International tradeshow which begins in
Turkey from September 7, 2018.
 In this tradeshow India will also be launching a mega business pavilion ‘Source India’
hosting 75 Indian companies with the aim of tie-ups in order to increase India’s exports
to Turkey and other neighbouring countries.
 This is part of a series of Source India pavilions that the Trade Promotion Council of India
(TPCI) is hosting in important tradeshows across the world for boosting India’s exports.
Centenary of the Battle of Haifa Celebrated:
 The Embassy of India held a ceremony in Haifa to mark the centenary of the Battle of
Haifa.
 On 23 Sep 1918, Indian soldiers from the Jodhpur, Mysore and Hyderabad Lancers
liberated the city of Haifa.
 The ceremony was attended by a delegation from India led by Maj Gen VD Dogra and
included personnel from the 61st Cavalry.
Home Minister inaugurates Defence & Homeland Security Expo and Conference, 2018:
 The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh has called upon the law enforcement agencies
to adopt new technologies to enhance their capacities to contain terror and to counter the
emerging challenges to homeland security.
 The Union Home Minister was inaugurating the 3-day Defence & Homeland Security Expo
and Conference – 2018, organised by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry in
association with Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).
 Rajnath Singh said that the Government will soon implement the new Drone Policy which
was announced recently, containing comprehensive regulations on the use of drones.
India’s First Global Mobility Summit 2018 to be inaugurated by the Prime Minister:
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate MOVE: India’s ever first Global Mobility
Summit organized by NITI Aayog at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on 7th and 8th
September.
 The focus of the summit is on raising awareness about various aspects of Mobility and
bringing various stakeholders involved in enhancing mobility across different platforms.

Six Hundred Global Buyers to Participate Indusfood- II 2019 :
 The Dhaka based India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce (IBCCI) will participate with a
strong contingent of F&B buyers in Indusfood-II 2019 to source their food and beverage
requirements from India.
 Abdul Matlub Ahmad, President-IBCCI and former President of the Federation of Bangladesh
Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) made this announcement following discussions
with Ashok Sethi, Director-Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI), at NitolBhaban, in
Mohakhali, Dhaka recently.
 TPCI is working to attract maximum buyers from the SAARC countries to source their food
and beverage related requirements from India. Some of the big buyers, including
supermarket chains, from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries including Iran and the
Commonwealth of Independent States or Russian Commonwealth (CIS) countries have
already pledged their presence in Indusfood-II.
India Sri Lanka Naval Exercise Slinex-18:
 Indian Naval Ships Kirch, Sumitra and Cora Divh entered Trincomalee, Sri Lanka to
participate in the sixth edition of SLINEX 2018, a bi-lateral Naval Exercise between India
and Sri Lanka, from 07 to 13 September 2018.
 SLINEX series of bilateral maritime exercises were initiated in 2005 and since then five
successful engagements have been conducted.
 SLINEX over the years has helped both the Navies in understanding each other's procedures
and enhanced interoperability.
 This edition of the exercise will further strength ties between the two maritime neighbours
and contribute towards maritime security in the region.
Rajnath Singh inaugurates the 6th International Geriatric Orthopaedic Conference:
 The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurated the 6th International Geriatric
Orthopaedic Society of India Conference on the theme “Increased Longevity with Reduced
Fragility and Enhanced Mobility”, at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
 Speaking on the occasion, the Minister hailed the Ayushman Bharat Health Protection
Scheme announced by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for the benefit of the rural
and poor people.
 Under this scheme the Government will provide affordable healthcare with universal health
insurance to poor and needy people and their families, specially the elderly, he added.
Prakash Javadekar inaugurates 4th World Summit on Accreditation:
 Union Minister for HRD Shri Prakash Javadekar inaugurates 4th World Summit on
Accreditation (WOSA-2018) at New Delhi.
 Speaking on this occasion the Minister said that ‘Ratings and Rankings’ both the quality
hallmark for any educational institutions therefore accreditation becomes very important.
Points to Remember:

 The National Board of Accreditation (NBA) is an autonomous organisation under Ministry

of Human Resource Development engaged in quality assurance of the programs offered by
the professional and technical institutions in India through accreditation.
 World Summit on Accreditation (WOSA) is a biennial Summit organised by NBA, which
provides platform to stakeholders to share their knowledge and information on
accreditation.
 The focus of WOSA 2018 is on “CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN OUTCOME BASED
ACCREDITATION”.
Ministry of Defence announces aeroshow :
 The Government has decided to hold the Aero India 2019 in Bengaluru from 20-24 February
2019.
 This five-day event will combine a major trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence
industries with public air shows.
Two Day Regional Conference on Good Governance:
 The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DAR&PG), Government

of India in association with Government of Madhya Pradesh is organizing a Regional
Conference on Good Governance with Focus on Aspirational Districts, in Bhopal.
 Delegates from 12 States and 2 UTs will participate in the Conference. There will be 5
Technical sessions in the 2-day conference.
 The DAR&PG has organized 28 Regional Conferences till date.
Home ministry sanctions Rs 3,000 cr for special women safety programme:
 Public panic buttons and all-women police patrol teams will soon be launched in eight
major cities, including Delhi, under a special women safety programme for which the home
ministry has approved nearly Rs 3,000 crore.
 Transit dormitories for women and children, smart LED streetlights, one-stop crisis centres,
and forensic and cyber crime cells will be part of the Women Safe City Project.
 It will implemented in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad,
Ahmedabad and Lucknow from 2018-19 to 2020-21.
 Safe city proposals amounting to Rs 2,919.55 crore were approved under the ‘Nirbhaya
Fund’ recently.
‘Arogya Yojana to also help counter childhood cancer’:
 A member of the Niti Aayog, Dr Vinod Kumar Paul said that the treatment of childhood
cancer will be covered under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.
 Dr Paul was speaking at the 10th Annual National Childhood Cancer Excellence Awards
Programme in the national capital.
 According to him, this scheme will provide health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh to poor
families.

India launches new digital bridge with Africa:
 As part of India's reachout to Africa, the External Affairs Ministry signed an agreement with
the Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd. (TCIL) to establish a pan-African e-network
between the two nations.
 This project, called the e-VidyaBharati and e-ArogyaBharati Network Project, will serve as a
digital bridge between the two countries, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said.
 She said that the Project "is a clear effort by India to reach out to Africa in the critical areas
of education and health".
PM Modi, Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, jointly dedicate three projects in Bangladesh:
 Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, Chief
Minister of West Bengal - Ms. Mamata Banerjee, and the Chief Minister of Tripura - Shri
Biplab Kumar Deb, jointly inaugurated three projects in Bangladesh, via video conference.
 External Affairs Minister of India, Ms. Sushma Swaraj, and the Foreign Minister of
Bangladesh, also joined the video conference from Delhi and Dhaka respectively.
 These include:
(a) 500 MW additional power supply from India to Bangladesh, through the existing
Bheramara (Bangladesh) - Baharampur (India) interconnection.
(b) Akhaura – Agartala Rail Link
(c) Rehabilitation of the Kulaura-Shahbazpur section of Bangladesh Railways.
Successful Air-to-Air Refuelling of LCA Tejas:
 In a significant achievement and a major step towards Final Operational Clearance (FOC) of
LCA Tejas, the mid-air refuelling of ‘wet contact’ trial for LCA Tejas MK-1 was successfully
carried out from an Indian Air Force base.
 Before this ‘wet contact’ trial, the ‘dry contact trials’ were successfully conducted on
September 04 & 06, 2018 where the Drogue (basket) extended from the IAF tanker aircraft
by a fuel hose, was tracked and plugged into using the aircraft refuelling probe without
taking fuel.
 IAF provided all required support to DRDO including the tanker aircraft for the successful
test flight.
India's first railway varsity starts operations in Vadodara:
 The first of its kind university in the country on the transport sector, the National Rail and
Transportation Institute (NRTI), started operations @ Vadodara
 A total of 103 students formed the first batch of this unique institute.
Bihar-Nepal bus service launched:
 Bihar and Nepal are now connected by bus. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar flagged off
the first bus service between Bihar and Nepal.

 The service will link Bodh Gaya and Patna in Bihar to Kathmandu and Janakpur in Nepal.
 The bus service was commissioned following an agreement between India and Nepal.
Apsara – U Reactor Becomes Operational at Trombay:
 “Apsara”, the first research reactor in Asia became operational in Trombay campus of
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in August 1956.
 After providing more than five decades of dedicated service to the researchers, the reactor
was shut down in 2009.
 Nearly sixty-two years after Apsara came into existence, a swimming pool type research
reactor “Apsara-upgraded”, of higher capacity was born at Trombay on 10th September
2018.
 The reactor, made indigenously, uses plate type dispersion fuel elements made of Low
Enriched Uranium (LEU).
 By virtue of higher neutron flux, this reactor will increase indigenous production or radio-
isotopes for medical application by about fifty percent and would also be extensively used
for research in nuclear physics, material science and radiation shielding.
Curtain raiser: INDO-US joint military exercise Yudh Abhyas 2018
 As part of the ongoing Indo-US defence cooperation, a joint military training Exercise Yudh
Abhyas 2018 is scheduled to be conducted in the foothills of Himalayas at Chaubattia in
Uttarakhand from 16 September to 29 September 2018.
 This will be the 14th edition of the joint military exercise hosted alternately by both
countries.
 The joint exercise Yudh Abhyas 2018 will simulate a scenario where both nations will work
together in counter insurgency and counter terrorism environment in mountainous terrain
under United Nation charter.
Piyush Goyal launches a web portal “Rail Sahyog”:
 The Minister of Railways and Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal launched a web portal
www.railsahyog.in.
 The web portal will provide a platform for the Corporates and PSUs to contribute to
creation of amenities at/near Railway Stations through Corporate Social Responsibility
funds.
Delhi, Seoul governments to ink pact for cooperation in urban regeneration:
 The Delhi Government and the Seoul Metropolitan Government are slated to sign an
agreement this week for cooperation in urban regeneration.
 The agreement will be signed during Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's ongoing trip to
Seoul.
 Kejriwal, along with Urban Development Minister Satyendar Jain visited the
Cheonggyecheon stream in downtown Seoul to see its transformation.

Sonowal inaugurates Indo-Bhutan Border Centre:
 Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has inaugurated the Indo-Bhutan Border
Centre at Darranga in Assam's Baksa district to strengthen bilateral trade with the
neighbouring country.
 The Centre has decided to construct 264 km of border roads touching four BTAD districts
of the state.
Cabinet approves “Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan”:
 Giving a major boost to the pro-farmer initiatives of the Government and in keeping with its
commitment and dedication for the Annadata, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister
Shri Narendra Modi has approved a new Umbrella Scheme “Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay
SanraksHan Abhiyan’ (PM-AASHA).
 The Scheme is aimed at ensuring remunerative prices to the farmers for their produce as
announced in the Union Budget for 2018.
 This is an unprecedented step taken by Govt. of India to protect the farmers’ income which
is expected to go a long way towards the welfare of farmers.
 Government has already increased the MSP of kharif crops by following the principle of 1.5
times the cost of production.
 It is expected that the increase in MSP will be translated to farmer’s income by way of
robust procurement mechanism in coordination with the State Governments.
Cabinet approves amendment to National Institute of Design (NID) Act, 2014:
 The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for
introduction of Bill in Parliament for amendment of NID Act, 2014 to include the four new
National Institutes of Design (NID) viz.
National Institute of Design, Amaravati/Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh;
National Institute of Design, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh;
National Institute of Design, Jorhat, Assam and
National Institute of Design, Kurukshetra, Haryana within the ambit of the National
Institute of Design Act, 2014 and to declare them as Institutions of National Importance
(INIs) at par with the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.
 Some minor amendments to the Act including consequential amendments considered
necessary namely, to re-name NID Vijayawada as NID Amaravati and nomenclature of
Principal Designer as equivalent to Professor are also proposed in the Bill.
 Establishing new NIDs as Institutions of National Importance in different geographical
regions of the country will help produce highly skilled manpower in design which, in turn,
will create job opportunities, both direct and indirect, by providing sustainable design
interventions for crafts, handloom, rural technology, small, medium and large scale
enterprises; and outreach programmes for capacity, capability and institution building.

Cabinet approves continuation of Capacity Development Scheme:
 The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra
Modi has approved continuation of the Capacity Development Scheme for the period 2017-
18 to 2019-20 with an outlay of Rs 2,250 crore.
 The Capacity Development Scheme is an Ongoing Central Sector Scheme of MoSPI.
 The overall objective of the scheme is to augment infrastructural, technical as well as
manpower resources for making available credible and timely Official Statistics for policy
makers and public at large.
Radha Mohan Singh launches Dairy Processing & Infrastructure Development Fund:
 Rs 51,077 crore is needed to operationalize the National Action Plan (Vision-2024),

Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Radha Mohan Singh said at the
inauguration ceremony of Dairy Processing & Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF) in
New Delhi.
 Shri Singh said that as a result of the announcement of Union Budget 2017-18, the
Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (DADF) started the Dairy
Processing & Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF) with an outlay of Rs 10881 crore.
 Under this, the first instalment of Rs 440 crore is being given to the National Dairy
Development Board (NDDB).
First Tribal Circuit Project under Swadesh Darshan Scheme to be inaugurated in

Chhattisgarh:
 Shri. K.J Alphons, the Minister of State for Tourism (IC), Government of India will be
inaugurating the project “Development of Tribal Circuit: Jashpur- Kunkuri- Mainpat-
Kamleshpur- Maheshpur- Kurdar-Sarodadadar- Gangrel- Kondagaon- Nathiya Nawagaon-
Jagdalpur- Chitrakoot- Tirthgarh in Chhattisgarh” implemented under the Swadesh
Darshan Scheme of Ministry of Tourism, in Gangrel, Chhattisgarh on 14th September 2018.
 This is the second project under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme being inaugurated in the
country.
 This project which is to be inaugurated was sanctioned by the Ministry of Tourism in
February 2016 for Rs. 99.21 Crores.
 The project covers thirteen sites in Chhattisgarh i.e. Jashpur, Kunkuri, Mainpat, Kamleshpur,
Maheshpur, Kurdar, Sarodadadar, Gangrel, Kondagaon, Nathiya Nawagaon, Jagdalpur,
Chitrakoot, Tirthgarh.
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi launches National Scholarship Portal Mobile App:
 Union Minister for Minority Affairs Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi launched the country's first
"National Scholarship Portal Mobile App" (NSP Mobile App).
 Speaking on the occasion, Shri Naqvi said that this "National Scholarship Portal Mobile App"
will ensure a smooth, accessible and hassle-free scholarship system for students from poor
and weaker sections.

 He said that all the scholarships are being given directly into bank accounts of the needy
students under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode through the National Scholarship Portal
which has ensured that there is no scope for duplication and leakage.
INMAS develops India’s first indigenous anti-nuclear medical kit:
 In a major shot in the arm for paramilitary and police forces, scientists at a central research
institute claim to have developed India’s first indigenous medical kit that may ensure
protection from serious injuries and faster healing of wounds resulting from nuclear warfare
or radioactive leakage.
 The kit, developed after two decades of work by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and
Allied Sciences (INMAS), has over 25 items, including radio-protectors that provide 80-90
per cent protection against radiation.
 Developed in India for the first time, it’s a potent alternative to similar kits that were till now
being procured from strategically advanced nations such as the US and Russia at much
higher prices.
Hindi Diwas: 14 September
 Hindi Diwas or Hindi day is an annual day celebrated on 14 September in India.

 On this day in 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India had adopted Hindi written in
Devanagari script as the official language of the Republic of India.
World Chefs' congress on Oct 12-14 in Amritsar:
 The World Cultural Culinary Heritage Committee, under the aegis of the World Association
of Chefs' Societies (WorldChefs), will hold the first edition of the World Heritage Cuisine
Summit and food festival from October 12-14 at the Qila Gobindgarh in Amritsar.
 The summit, hosted by the Indian Federation of Culinary Associations, will celebrate
traditional cuisine with live demonstrations, food tasting, presentations, panel discussions,
master classes by chefs from around the world in the holy city.
 It will focus on inculcating appreciation for food culture and traditions, good food habits and
sustainable practices.
Uttarakhand ranked best among states in PMGSY:
 Uttarakhand has been ranked the best among states in the country for the construction of
maximum number of roads under the PMGSY during 2017-2018.
 The state constructed a maximum of 1,839 kilometre roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram
Sadak Yojana against a target of 1,500 km set for the year 2017-18.
 Uttarakhand has also been ranked second for connecting 207 habitations with roads
against a target of 172 under the scheme.
Coast Guard commissions patrol vessel 'Vijaya':
 The Indian Coast Guard commissioned the indigenously built patrol vessel 'Vijaya', fitted
with advanced navigation and communication equipment.

 The 98-metre ship will be based at Paradip in Odisha for extensive surveillance in the
Exclusive Economic Zone.
 Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra and Coast Guard Director-General Rajendra Singh took part
in the commissioning ceremony.
India to hold its first global tourism mart from Sep 16:
 India will hold its first-ever global tourism mart modelled on the ITB Berlin, the world's
largest tourism trade fair.
 The mart will be held in Delhi from September 16-18, said Secretary, Tourism Ministry
Rashmi Verma.
More than 21 lakh people living with HIV in India:
 Maharashtra has the highest number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in India which is
around 3.30 lakh, contributing 15 per cent of total immunodeficiency virus-affected people
in the country which is 21.40 lakh, according to the latest data by Health and Family Welfare
Ministry.
 Nationally, around 69.11 thousand PLHIV died of AIDS-related causes in 2017. The report
"HIV Estimations 2017" compiled by the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) in
collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of
Medical Statistics (NIMS) is the 14th round in the series of HIV Estimations under National
AIDS Control Programme (NACP).
PM launches “Swachhata Hi Seva”:
 The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, launched the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ Movement, to
boost nation wide public participation in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, and catalyse the
fulfilment of Bapu’s dream of a Clean India.
 The Swachhata Hi Seva movement aims at generating greater public participation towards
Swachhta.
 It is being organized in the run up to the fourth anniversary of the Swachh Bharat Mission,
on October 2nd, 2018, which will also mark the commencement of the 150th year
celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi.
 The Prime Minister urged everyone to be a part of this movement and strengthen the
efforts to create a 'Swachh Bharat'.
Power Ministry launches ambitious program on energy efficiency in Chillers:
 Ministry of Power, Government of India launched an ambitious program to encourage the

deployment of Energy Efficient chiller systems in the country.
 The Chiller Star Labelling Program has been formulated by Bureau of Energy Efficiency
(BEE).
 The program envisages providing star rating in terms of its energy performance. Initially, the
program is launched on voluntary basis and will be valid upto 31st December 2020.
 Chillers are used extensively for space conditioning of buildings and for industrial process
cooling applications.

Narendra Singh Tomar chairs the 20th Central Employment Guarantee Council meeting in
Bhopal:
 MNREGA is the largest employment generating scheme in the country. This scheme is
demand based and provides employment to 5.5 to 6 crore people of the country.
 This was stated by the Union Minister of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Mines, Shri
Narendra Singh Tomar while addressing the 20th Central Employment Guarantee Council
(CEGC) meeting that was held in Bhopal.
 Shri Tomar said that the scheme is become more encompassing and 260 types of works
have now been covered under it.
 The Union Minister asserted that most of the banking issues that act as a hindrance for
MNREGA wage payment will be removed through the recently launched India Post Payments
Bank.
Jaipur Literature Festival begins in Houston:
 Jaipur Literature Festival was begun in Houston with a soulful music performance followed
by stimulating discussions.
 The festival is touted as the world’s largest free literary festival.
 The inaugural session also saw Congress leader and writer Shashi Tharoor discuss his book
“Why i am a Hindu” with writer Namita Gokhale.
 The annual festival began in 2006 and is held annually in Jaipur. This is the first time that it
is being held outside Jaipur.
Hyderabad gets India’s first dog park:
 Hyderabad is set to get country’s first exclusive dog park.

 The park, which is spread over in 1.3 acres, has been developed by the Greater Hyderabad
Municipal Corporation at cost of Rs. 1.1 crore.
 The park also has dog training and exercise equipments.
India-US military exercise begins in Uttarakhand:
 India and US armies began a two-week joint military exercise in Uttarakhand to hone their
tactical and technical skills in countering insurgency and terrorism in a United Nation
peacekeeping scenario.
 Battalion-strong Army personnel from the US and an equal number from India are
participating in 'Exercise Yudh Abhyas 2018' at Chaubattia in Almora district.
Inaugural Edition of Bimstec Milex-18 Culminates at Pune:
 The Inaugural Edition of the BIMSTEC Nations Military Field Training Exercise i.e. MILEX -
2018 culminated on 16 September 18 after a Validation Exercise and an impressive Closing
Ceremony held at Foreign Training Node, Aundh Military Station, Pune.
 The tactical drills showcased during the Validation Exercise included Hostage Rescue by
insertion of troops from helicopters, Room Intervention as well as House Clearing Drill as

part of Cordon and Search Operations, Raid on a Terrorist Hideout and neutralization of
Improvised Explosive Devices(IED).
 The entire exercise was monitored and controlled through the Joint Command Post
established with representatives of the participating contingents.
 The Exercise demonstrated the commitment and capabilities of the participating BIMSTEC
National armies in working closely with each other to eradicate the menace of terrorism
existing in different forms.
Second Flight Test of MPATGM Successful:
 Indigenously developed Man Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM), was

successfully flight tested for the second time from the Ahmednagar range.
 All the mission objectives have been met.
 The two missions on 15 and 16 September 2018 have been successfully flight tested for
different ranges including the maximum range capability.
ISRO launches two British earth observation satellites onboard PSLV-C42:
 The Indian Space Research Organization has launched its heavy-weight rocket, the Polar
Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), into orbit carrying two earth observation satellites of
Britain’s Surrey Satellite Technology Limited.
 PSLV-C42 is carrying two earth observation satellites of Britain’s Surrey Satellite Technology
Limited (SSTL), NovaSAR and S1-4, weighing 450 kg each.
 PSLV-C42 is the first fully commercial trip of the year, breaking a five-month-long lull, for
the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Dr. Mahesh Sharma releases National Museum Research Bulletin:
 The Minister of State for Culture (Independent Charge) and Environment, Forest & Climate
Change, Dr. Mahesh Sharma released two important publications of the National Museum
(M/o Culture), Sindhu Ghati Sabhyata:Ek Parichay (Hindi) and the National Museum
Research Bulletin Number 10: Special issue (In House Publication), in New Delhi.
 The National Museum Research Bulletin has been revived after a long gap of 16 years.
 Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Sharma congratulated the efforts of National Museum to
revive the research bulletin which he said will help to generate awareness about the
activities of National Museum.
India – Morocco Tourism Bilateral meeting held in New Delhi:
 A bilateral meeting on Tourism Cooperation between India and Morocco led by the Minister
of Tourism, Air Transport, Handicraft and Social Economy, Kingdom of Morocco, Mr.
Mohamed Sajid and the Minister of State for Tourism (IC), Government of India, Shri. K. J.
Alphons, held in New Delhi.
 During this meeting both the Ministers agreed to enhance the tourism cooperation between
India & Morocco and to work towards increasing tourist arrivals between both countries.

 This meeting was followed by signing of an agreement of cooperation between the India
Tourism Development Corporation and La Societe Marocaine D’Ingenierie Touristique, also
known as Moroccan Agency for Tourism development (SMIT).
Piyush Goyal inaugurates the first ever India tourism Mart 2018:
 The Union Minister for Railways and Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal inaugurated the ‘first ever’
India Tourism Mart (ITM 2018) in the presence of Union Tourism Minister, Shri K J Alphons
and the Tourism Minister of Morocco, Mr. Mohamed Sajid, in New Delhi.
 The India Tourism Mart is being organized by the Ministry of Tourism from 16th to 18th
September 2018, in partnership with the Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and
Hospitality (FAITH) and with support of State /UT Governments.
 Inaugurating the event, Shri Piyush Goyal wished the best to the Tourism Ministry to reach
the ambitious goal of US$100 billion FTA receipts/year within 5 years.
PM, Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, jointly unveil e-plaques for ground-breaking of two projects:
 Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina,
jointly unveiled e-plaques for the ground-breaking ceremony of two projects, via video
conference. External Affairs Minister of India, Ms. Sushma Swaraj, and Minister for
Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, also joined the proceedings.
 The projects include: (a) India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (b) Dhaka-Tongi-Joydebpur
Railway Project
 Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister described the cooperation between the two
countries as an example for the world.
DAC Approves Procurement of Equipment Worth Rs 9,100 Crores:
 The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Raksha Mantri Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman,
met and accorded approval for the procurement of equipment for the Defence Forces
valued at over Rs 9,100 crores.
 Pursuing the goal of indigenisation and self-reliance, the DAC approved procurement of two
Regiments of Akash Missile Systems under 'Buy (Indian)' category from M/s BDL.
 The Missile to be procured is an upgraded version of the previously inducted Akash missiles
and will include seeker technology, possess 360 degree coverage and will be of compact
configuration with reduced signature.
 The upgraded Akash Weapon System is operationally critical equipment which will provide
protection to vital assets.
 The DAC also accorded approval for progressing Design and Development of Individual
Under Water Breathing Apparatus (IUWBA) for T 90 Tanks.
Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurates ‘All India Pension Adalat’:
 The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region

(DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr
Jitendra Singh inaugurated the ‘Pension Adalat’

 It was organised by the Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare, Ministry of

Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India
 He also presented the ‘Anubhav’ awards 2018 to six pensioners for their contribution
towards creating institutional memory for the departments.
 On the occasion, Dr Jitendra Singh also launched a booklet—“An era of sustained reforms
for Central Government Pensioners” enumerating simplification of rules and steps initiated
to strengthen the Grievance Portal and make it user friendly.
PM to lay foundation stone for India International Convention and Expo Centre:
 The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, will lay the foundation stone for India
International Convention and Expo Centre (IICC) at Dwarka, New Delhi, on September 20,
2018.
 Located in Sector 25, Dwarka, the Centre would be a world-class state-of-the-art Exhibition-
cum-Convention Centre, with facilities like financial, hospitality and retail services.
 The estimated cost of the project is Rs.25,700 crores.
 The project is implemented by India International Convention & Exhibition Centre Limited,
a 100% Government owned company under Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion,
Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana Rolled Out:
 The ESI Corporation during its 175th Meeting held in New Delhi under the Chairmanship of
Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Union Minister of State for Labour & Employment(I/C) has
taken some very important decisions towards improvements in its services and benefits
being provided to Insured Persons and their dependants.
 Considering the change in employment pattern and the current scenario of employment in
India which has transformed from a long term employment to fixed short term engagement
in the form of contract and temping, the ESI Corporation has approved a Scheme named
“ATAL BIMIT VYAKTI KALYAN YOJNA” for Insured Persons (IP) covered under the
Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948.
 This scheme is a relief payable in cash directly to their Bank Account in case of
unemployment and while they search for new engagement.
Union Home Secretary launches ‘e-Sahaj’ portal for grant of Security Clearance:
 The Union Home Secretary Shri Rajiv Gauba launched an online ‘e-Sahaj’ portal for grant of
Security Clearance.
 The portal will facilitate an applicant to submit application online and also to view the status
of his application from time to time.
 Speaking on the occasion, the Union Home Secretary said that with the introduction of
online portal, the process has become standardized, resulting in a process which will be
faster, transparent and easy to monitor.
 Various functionaries can access the application and documents online and take timely
decisions.

ITU South Asia Office and Technology Innovation Centre to be established in New Delhi:
 The ITU South Asia Area Office and Technology Innovation Centre will be established in
New Delhi.
 This was announced by Mr. Houlin Zhao, Secretary General (SG) of the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU), during the 4th BRICS Communications Ministers Meeting
held in Durban, South Africa recently.
 ITU is a United Nations specialized agency for Information and Communication
Technologies, with membership of 193 countries and nearly 800 private sector entities and
academic institutions.
MHA signs MoU with ISRO to set up an Integrated Control Room for Emergency Response:
 The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO),
Department of Space signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for setting up of an
state-of-the-art Integrated Control Room for Emergency Response (ICR-ER) in Ministry of
Home Affairs.
 ISRO will render its technical expertise for setting up of proposed ICR-ER whereas the
project will be executed under overall supervision of MHA.
 The proposed Control Room is expected to be established in next one-and-a-half year.
Successful Flight Test of Prahar:
 Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight tested the
indigenously developed surface-to-surface tactical missile ‘Prahar’, from Launch Complex-
III, ITR, Balasore.
 Range stations and electro optical systems tracked the missile throughout its flight.
 ‘Prahar’ is a contemporary weapon system capable of carrying multiple types of warheads
and neutralizing a wide variety of targets.
Inaugural Naval Flight Test Seminar held at Goa:
 The inaugural Naval Flight Test Seminar was held at Goa on 20 Sep 18.
 The seminar witnessed some intensive brain-storming sessions on flight testing fixed and
rotary wing aircraft towards integrating them on the aircraft carrier and small decks.
 There were also a series of papers which were presented on weapon integration on service
aircraft and towards building and sustaining the training for Naval Experimental Test Pilots
and Flight Test Engineers.
Health Ministry partners with Dell and Tata Trusts:
 Ministry of Health and Family Welfare exchanged the MoUs with the Tata Trusts and Dell
to provide a technological platform for nationwide prevention, control, screening and
management program of Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs).

 Smt Anupriya Patel, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare presided over the
ceremony and also released the user manual for NCD application under Comprehensive
Primary Health Care (CPHC) IT Solutions.
Vice President returns after successful visit to Serbia, Malta and Romania:
 The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu was on an official Visit to Serbia, Malta
and Romania from September 14-20, 2018 and returned after a successful official visit.
Some key outcomes:
 Support for India’s aspiration to be on UNSC and for taking forward UN reforms.
 Endorsement of India’s stand on terror and support for early adoption of United Nation’s
Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.
 Strong support for resuming EU-India trade agreement after Romania assumes Presidency of
EU.
 Business Forums generated a good deal of enthusiasm among the industrialists and
businessmen in every country as they got to listen to the Vice President about India’s
transformative initiatives. The growth story and the reports from World Bank, IMF quoted
by Vice President enhanced awareness.
 The leaders in all the countries expressed unequivocal admiration for India’s economic
growth and were eager to engage and partner with India politically, economically and
culturally. In Romania, there was a special interest in Space and Aerospace. Malta expressed
its desire to join the International Solar Alliance.
 There was a clear demand for Parliamentary friendship groups and frequent visits by
Parliamentarians.
 The visit gave an opportunity for the members of India Diaspora to listen to the Vice
President about the transformative agenda of the government and encouraged them to
think of various ways in which they can contribute to the country’s development. The vice
President underscored the growing importance of India on the world stage and drew
attention to four key features that need to be recognised. He called them 4Ds – Democracy,
Demographic dividend, Demand and Diaspora.
 The visit evoked a lot of interest among the top political leadership and there was an air of
bonhomie in all the meetings. The banquets hosted by the President of Serbia and Malta as
well as by the President of Senate of Romania provided an opportunity for sharing views on
bilateral and multilateral issues with rare candour.
 The address to the Serbian Parliament was very well received and the admiration for India
as the largest democracy and a vibrant, well functioning polity was more than evident in the
standing ovation the Vice President received at the end of his address.
 MOUs entered into related to plant protection, tourism, air services, oil research, diplomatic
training and maritime cooperation.
 In all the three countries, there was considerable interest in Yoga and Ayurveda and in
Romania, the Vice President launched two books on Ayurveda and inaugurated an Ayurveda
Information Centre.

Odisha to name Jharsuguda airport after Veer Surendra Sai:
 The Odisha Assembly has passed a resolution unanimously to name the newly-constructed
Jharsuguda airport after noted freedom fighter Veer Surendra Sai.
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the airport on September 22.
 Earlier, the Civil Aviation Ministry in July had denied naming the airport after the freedom
fighter citing the absence of a state assembly resolution on this.
PM to launch Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana at Ranchi:
 The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, will launch the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana
(PMJAY) at Ranchi, Jharkhand, on September 23, 2018.
 Under this scheme, over 10 crore families will be provided health assurance worth Rs. 5
lakh each, every year.
 On September 24, the Prime Minister will inaugurate Pakyong Airport, which will bring the
State of Sikkim on the country’s aviation map.
President Inaugurates Centenary Celebrations of Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha:
 The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the centenary celebrations of
the Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha in New Delhi on September 22, 2018.
 Speaking on the occasion, the President said that languages connect people. There are
numerous languages and dialects in India. All of them have their special nature and beauty.
This diversity adds to India’s culture and well-being.
 He said that institutions like the Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha have played a very
important role in strengthening the emotional unity of our country. He noted that the Sabha
has developed a network of about 20,000 Hindi campaigners.
Ayushman Bharat to be launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in Ranchi:
 India takes a giant leap towards providing accessible and affordable healthcare to the
common man with the launch of Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan AarogyaYojana
(AB-PMJAY) by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi on 23rd September, 2018 at
Ranchi, Jharkhand.
 This is the “world’s largest government funded healthcare program” targeting more than
50 crore beneficiaries.
 Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan ArogyaYojana (PMJAY) will provide a cover of up to
Rs. 5 lakhs per family per year, for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization.
 Over 10.74 crore vulnerable entitled families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries) will be
eligible for these benefits.
 PMJAY will provide cashless and paperless access to services for the beneficiary at the point
of service.
 PMJAY will help reduce catastrophic expenditure for hospitalizations, which impoverishes
people and will help mitigate the financial risk arising out of catastrophic health episodes.
 Entitled families will be able to use the quality health services they need without facing
financial hardships.

 When fully implemented, PMJAY will become the world’s largest fully government-
financed health protection scheme.
3rd edition of MahaBiz 2018 to be held in Dubai:
 The 3rd edition of acclaimed International Business Conference ‘MahaBiz 2018’ will be
held in Dubai on 12th and 13th October 2018.
 MahaBiz is considered a bridge for business opportunities between Maharashtra state and
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.
 GCC is a political and economic alliance of six middle eastern countries. It includes Saudi
Arabia , UAE , Kuwait , Oman , Bahrain and Qatar.
Assam observed September 22 as Rhino Day:
 The Assam government observed September 22 as Rhino Day to generate public awareness
on protection of the one-horned pachyderm.
 A State Rhino Project in line with National Rhino Project will be launched in Assam soon for
protecting the pachyderms from threats of poaching.
PM to inaugurate Sikkim's first-ever airport:
 The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Sikkim's first-ever airport on
24th September, 2018.
 Built at an estimated cost of over Rs. 605 crore, the Pakyong airport is a new distinction for
the State of Sikkim which has, in the last three to four years, achieved the distinction of
becoming the first "Organic State" of India and also the first "Open Defecation Free" (ODF)
State of India.
DEPwD Celebrates ‘International Day of Sign Languages’:
 “International Day of Sign Languages” was celebrated by Indian Sign Language Research
and Training Centre (ISLRTC) under Department of Empowerment of Persons with
Disabilities (Divyangjan), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on 23 September.
 Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment was the Chief
Guest on the occasion.
 A special calendar of year 2019 with Sign Languages designed by ISLRTC was released on the
occasion.
Vice President Inaugurates Indian Culinary Institute:
 The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that Indian food heritage is a
mixture of art and science and is exceptionally vast and diverse.
 He was addressing the gathering after inaugurating the Indian Culinary Institute, Tirupati
and two projects in Nellore and East Godavari Districts of Andhra Pradesh, implemented
under the Coastal Circuit theme of Swadesh Darshan Scheme of Ministry of Tourism,
Government of India, in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.

Arjun Ram Meghwal inaugurates workshop on National e-Vidhan Application:
 Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Water Resources, River Development and
Ganga Rejuvenation, Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal presided over the Inaugural Session of the
two-day National Orientation workshop on National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA),
organized by Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs in New Delhi.
 On the occasion, Shri Meghwal also launched the new website of the NeVA
 The focus of the workshop would be to encourage all State Legislatures to move towards e-
Vidhan platform and bring in transparency, accountability and responsiveness in their
conduct of business, through the use of technology.
4th India International Science Festival to be inaugurated by President of India:
 The fourth edition of India International Science Festival will be inaugurated by President
of India in Lucknow on October 6, 2018.
 IISF-2018 with its focal theme “Science for Transformation” will have 23 special events.
 This time the 'Science Village' will also be organized in the festival.
Vice President Inaugurates Smart City Expo India 2018:
 The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that the creation of pedestrian
non-motorized zones is the need of the hour curb traffic congestions.
 He was addressing the inaugural session of the Smart City Expo India 2018, in Jaipur,
Rajasthan.
Cabinet approves financial assistance for Sirhind Feeder Canal and Rajasthan Feeder Canal:
 The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved providing
Central Assistance of Rs. 620.42 Cr. and Rs. 205.758 Cr. for implementation of relining of
Rajasthan Feeder Canal and Sirhind Feeder Canal respectively over five years (2018-19 to
2022-23) for Relining of Sirhind Feeder from RD 119700 to 447927 and relining of Rajasthan
Feeder from RD 179000to 496000 of Punjab.
 Implementation of these twin projects would help in addressing the problem of water-
logging in 84800 Ha of land in Muktsar, Faridkot and Ferozpur districts in South-West
Punjab.
 Funding for CA to the Rajasthan Feeder and Sirhind feeder shall be made through NABARD
under existing system for funding of 99 PMKSY-AIBP projects under LTIF.
Cabinet approves National Digital Communications Policy-2018:
 The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the
National Digital Communications Policy-2018 (NDCP-2018) and re-designation of the
Telecom Commission as the “Digital Communications Commission”.
 The NDCP-2018 envisions supporting India’s transition to a digitally empowered economy
and society by fulfilling the information and Communications needs of citizens and
enterprises by establishment of a ubiquitous, resilient and affordable Digital
Communications Infrastructure and Services.

 The key objectives of the policy are provisioning of

 Broadband for all
 Creating 4 Million additional jobs in the Digital Communications sector
 Enhancing the contribution of the Digital Communications sector to 8% of India’s
GDP from ~ 6% in 2017
 Propelling India to the Top 50 Nations in the ICT Development Index of ITU from
134 in 2017
 Enhancing India’s contribution to Global Value Chains
 Ensuring Digital Sovereignty
 These objectives are to be achieved by 2022.
Successful Flight Test of Astra BVR Air-to-Air Missile:
 Astra, the indigenously developed Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM), was
successfully test fired by the Indian Air Force from Su-30 aircraft, from Air Force Station,
Kalaikunda.
 The missile successfully engaged a manoeuvring target with high precision meeting the
mission objectives.
 In the series of trials held to date, Astra has been launched in the complete Su-30 flight
envelope.
 The flight test assumes significance as it was part of the series of final pre-induction trials.
 Astra is the best in class weapon system and has undergone more than twenty
developmental trials.
Finance Ministry Launches Mobile Application “Jan Dhan Darshak”:
 Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance and National Informatics

Centre (NIC) has jointly developed a mobile app called Jan Dhan Darshak as a part of
financial inclusion (FI) initiative .
 As the name suggests, this app will act as a guide for the common people in locating a
financial service touch point at a given location in the country.
 While over 5 lakh FI touch points (Bank branches, ATMs, Post Offices) have been mapped on
this App, approx. 1.35 lakh Bank Mitras would be on-boarded by 01.12.2018.
Sh. Ravi Shankar Prasad to launch Centre of Excellence for Data Analytics and DigiVaarta:
 National Informatics Centre (NIC) and National Informatics Centre Services Incorporated
(NICSI) have jointly set up a Centre of Excellence for data analytics to support Government
departments to unlock the hidden potential of the data that they are generating as part of
the governance processes and use it to improve the overall governance.
 Launch of Centre of Excellence for Data Analytics (CEDA) is being held on 28th September,
2018 by the Hon’ble Union Minister of Electronics & Information Technology, Sh. Ravi
Shankar Prasad in the presence of Hon’ble Minister of State, Electronics & Information
Technology.

Tribes India launches “Punch Tantra Collection and Ms Mary Kom as Brand Ambassador”:
 Tribes India and TRIFED under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs launched “Punch Tantra
Collection and Ms. Mary Kom as Brand Ambassador of Tribes India” at a function.
 Shri Jual Oram, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs introduced the Indian Sporting Legend and
the World Boxing Champion Ms. Mary Kom as the Brand Ambassador of “Tribes India” and
launched the “Punch Tantra” Diwali collection.
 Four promotional video spots produced by NFDC featuring Brand Ambassador Ms. Mary
Com promoting Tribal products of Tribes India were also released on the occasion.
India and the United Nations to sign a Five-Year Sustainable Development Framework:
 CEO NITI Aayog, Amitabh Kant and United Nations Resident Coordinator in India, Yuri
Afanasiev, will sign the Government of India-United Nations Sustainable Development
Framework (UNSDF) for 2018-2022, at a special signing ceremony on September 28 at NITI
Aayog premises.
 The signing ceremony would be presided over by Vice Chairperson, NITI Aayog, Dr. Rajiv
Kumar, Members of NITI Aayog and will be attended by the heads of UN agencies in India.
 Government of India-United Nations Sustainable Development Framework (SDF) 2018-2022
outlines the work of UN agencies in India, to support the achievement of key development
outcomes that have been identified in consultation with the government and are aligned to
the national priorities.
 The NITI Aayog is the national counterpart for the UN in India for the operationalization of
the UNSDF.
 Nineteen (19) UN agencies have signed on the UNSDF 2018-2022.
Twenty Embryo Transfer Technology (ETT) centres are being established in the country:
 Twenty Embryo Transfer Technology Centres are being established in the country and a
proposal of 19 centres has been approved so far.
 This was stated by the Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Radha Mohan Singh.
 The Minister further stated that 3000 high genetic merit bulls of indigenous bovine breeds
are being produced from these centres.
 Two of these centres are to be set up in Nagpur and Pune in Maharashtra.
20th livestock Census to be conducted from 1st October in all districts of the country:
 The 20th Livestock Census will be conducted in all districts of the Indian Union in
participation with all States and Union Territories.
 States/UTs have been requested to start the census operations from 1st October, 2018.
 The success of this novel initiative is dependent on full cooperation and commitment from
all States/UTs Governments.
 The enumeration will be done in all villages and urban wards.
 Various species of animals (Cattle, Buffalo, Mithun, Yak, Sheep, Goat, Pig, Horse, Pony,
Mule, Donkey Camel, Dog, Rabbit and Elephant)/poultry birds (Fowl, Duck, Emu, Turkeys,

Quail and other poultry birds) possessed by the households, household enterprises/non-
household enterprises and institutions will be counted at their site.
High Level Committee Constituted on Corporate Social Responsibility:
 A High Level Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility – 2018 (HLC-2018) has been
constituted under the Chairmanship of Shri. Injeti Srinivas, Secretary, Ministry of Corporate
Affairs (MCA) to review the existing framework and guide and formulate the roadmap for a
coherent policy on Corporate Social Responsibility ( CSR).
Constitution of Group of Ministers (GoM):
 During the 30th Meeting of the GST Council, the proposal of the State of Kerala for
imposition of Cess on SGST for rehabilitation and flood affected works was discussed in
detail.
 The Council decided to constitute a 7-Member Group of Ministers (GoM) to examine this
issue in depth.
 Accordingly, the Union Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley, has approved the constitution of
a Group of Ministers to examine the issue regarding ‘Modalities for Revenue Mobilisation
in case of Natural Calamities and Disasters’.
 Shri Sushil Kumar Modi, Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar is the Convenor of the GoM.
Kolkata launches India’s first flood forecast system:
 The Kolkata Municipal Corporation, with the support of the Asian Development Bank, has
launched the country’s first flood forecasting and early-warning system.
 It will provide real-time data on inundation, rainfall intensity, temperature, air quality and
other climate-related data
 This is expected to help policy-makers make informed decisions during disasters.
Tripura to set up flute performance research institute:
 Tripura Government would set up a flute performance research institute to take out the
traditional musical act and its eminence as a traditional musical instrument across the world,
Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said.
 The Chief Minister said there are a huge variety of bamboo in Tripura and other
northeastern states and with this high quality bamboo, flute can be made to sell them in the
national and international markets.
President of India Inaugurates Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention:
 The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the Mahatma Gandhi
International Sanitation Convention in New Delhi on September 29, 2018.
 Speaking on the occasion, the President said that achieving universal access to adequate and
equitable sanitation and hygiene by 2030 is a major challenge in many parts of the world.
 Drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene are central to Sustainable Development Goal 6,
especially targets 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3.

 Target 6.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals calls for countries to end open
defecation, ensure everyone has access to a basic toilet and put in place systems for safe
management of excreta.
PM inaugurates Conference on Academic Leadership on Education for Resurgence
 The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the Conference on Academic
Leadership on Education for Resurgence in Vigyan Bhawan in which the Vice-
Chancellors/Directors from more than 350 universities participated.
 The conference was organized jointly by UGC, AICTE, ICSSR, IGNCA, IGNOU, JNU and SGT
University.
 Union Minister for Human Resource Development Shri Prakash Javadekar and MoS, HRD
Dr Satya Pal Singh were also present on the occasion.
 Speaking on the occasion the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi said that when one thinks
of resurgence or revival, the first image that comes to mind is of Swami Vivekananda, who
presented before the world, the strength of Indian thought.
Suresh Prabhu launched the World Bank Group’s regional trade report:
 Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, launched the
World Bank Group’s regional trade report “A Glass Half Full-The Promise of Regional Trade
in South Asia” at a seminar organised by FICCI in New Delhi.
 Speaking on this occasion the Minister said that the potential for intra-trade growth in
South Asia region has not been fully tapped as yet.
 India’s top three trading partners in South Asia are Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal.
 India’s trade with South Asia is only 3% of its global trade.
 Today India’s trade with the world stands at 637.4 billion USD but with South Asia it stands
at only 19.1billion USD.
 Trade between India and Pakistan is USD 2 billion
PM to launch India Post Payments Bank:
 The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, will launch the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) at
Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi on September 1st, 2018.
 On the day of the launch, IPPB will have 650 Branches and 3250 Access Points spread across
the country. Simultaneous launch events will be held at these branches and access points.
 All the 1.55 lakh Post Offices in the country will be linked to the IPPB system by December
31, 2018.
India on track to buy 18 bullet trains from Japan for Rs 7,000 crore:
 India will purchase 18 bullet train sets from Japan at a total cost of about Rs 7,000 crore in
a deal that includes a pledge to transfer technology for local production.
 Each train will have 10 coaches and would be able to cruise at the speed of 350 km per hour.

 The country’s first bullet train is likely to start running between Mumbai and Ahmedabad
by the end of 2022.
 The 508-km, high speed train corridor is being built with Japanese assistance.
Cabinet doubles Jan Dhan accounts overdraft cap to Rs 10,000 from 5,000 :
 Commenting on government's financial inclusion scheme, Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley said
in a significant move, the cabinet approved doubling Jan Dhan accounts overdraft cap to Rs
10,000 from 5,000.
 The age for availing entitlements has also been relaxed from 60 to 65 years.
 Around 83 per cent of accounts opened in Jan Dhan are linked with Aadhar.
India and US Hold '2 + 2' Dialogue:
 Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Minister of Defence Nirmala Sitharaman
welcomed Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis
to India on September 6, 2018 for the inaugural India-U.S. Ministerial 2+2 Dialogue.
 They welcomed the launch of the 2+2 Dialogue as a reflection of the shared commitment by
Prime Minister Modi and President Trump to provide a positive, forward-looking vision for
the India-U.S. strategic partnership.
 Two plus two meeting is a kind of dialogue mechanism where two important portfolios (say,
Finance and Defence) of the countries taking part in the meeting.
India and France sign an implementation agreement on “MOBILISE YOUR CITY”:
 India and France have signed an implementation agreement on “MOBILISE YOUR CITY”
(MYC) in the presence of Minister of State (I/C), Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs
(MoHUA) Shri Hardeep Singh Puri and Shri Alexander Ziegler, Ambassador of France in India.
 Mobilise Your City (MYC) is part of an international initiative which is supported by the
French and the German Governments and was launched at 21st Conference of Parties
(COP21) meeting in December, 2015.
 Based on a proposal made by AFD in 2015, the European Union has agreed to provide funds
of Euro 3.5 million through the AFD to contribute to specific investments and technical
assistance components within the Mobilise Your City (MYC) programme in India.
NIIF inks $400 mn agreement with Singapore's Temasek :
 Singapore government’s Temasek Holdings has agreed to invest $400 million in the
National Infrastructure Investment Fund (NIIF) in another bet on India’s infrastructure asset
management space.
 NIIF, touted as India’s first sovereign investment vehicle anchored by the government,
already has investors such as Abu Dhabi Investment Authority along with several large
domestic financial institutions.
 With the entry of Temasek, NIIF’s Master Fund is now one of the largest infrastructure funds
in India, after IDFC Alternatives and ICICI Infrastructure Fund.

IPPB ties up with FSS:
 India Post Payments Bank has tied up with Financial Software and Systems (FSS), a leading
payments technology and transaction processing systems, to offer a wide range of banking
solutions to financially underserved customer segments—especially rural households, small
and medium enterprises and women.
 FSS will help India Post to provide affordable, quality banking and payment services to its
customers.
 It comprises of a comprehensive set of solutions to bring customers and merchants into the
digital payments mainstream, generating critical network effects for furthering adoption and
usage.
NITI Aayog, Intel and TIFR collaborate for Model International Center for Transformative AI:
 NITI Aayog, Intel, and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) announced on 7th
September that they are collaborating to set up a Model International Center for
Transformative Artificial Intelligence (ICTAI) towards developing and deploying AI-led
application-based research projects.
 This initiative is part of NITI Aayog’s ‘National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence’ Discussion
Paper that focuses on establishing ICTAI in the country through private sector collaboration.
 Based in Bengaluru, the Model ICTAI aims to conduct advanced research to incubate AI-led
solutions in three important areas – healthcare, agriculture and smart mobility – by bringing
together the expertise of Intel and TIFR.
 It aims to experiment, discover and establish best practices in the domains of ICTAI
governance, fundamental research, physical infrastructure, compute and service
infrastructure needs, and talent acquisition.
Cabinet approves MoU on blockchain technology by EXIM Bank:
 The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its ex-post facto
approval for the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Collaborative Research on
Distributed Ledger and Block chain Technology in the context of Development of digital
economy by Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank).
 Participating member banks under the BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism are
namely Banco Nacional de DesenvolvimentoEconomico e Social (BNDES, of Brazil), China
Development Bank (CDB), State Corporation Bank for Development and Foreign Economic
Affairs (Vnesheconombank, of Russia) and Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).
 Distributed Ledger/Block chain technology holds potential for solutions to various challenges
being faced in the financial sector space of the BRICS nations.
 The MoU intends to enhance understanding of Distributed Ledger/Block Chain technology,
through the joint research efforts to identify areas within respective business operations
where it may have the potential for applications aimed at enhancing the operational
efficiencies.

Vijaya Bank, Dena Bank, BoB to merge: Govt
 The government said state-owned Bank of Baroda, Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank will be
merged to create the country’s third largest lender as part of efforts to revive credit and
economic growth.
 The move follows top lender State Bank of India last year merging with itself five of its
subsidiary banks and taking over Bharatiya Mahila Bank.
 Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the merger will make the banks stronger and sustainable
as well as increase their lending ability.
 This merger will create third largest bank in India.
India Post Payments Bank, Bajaj Allianz join hands ‘to provide insurance to all’:
 State-owned India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) and private life insurer Bajaj Allianz Life
Insurance Co Ltd (BALIC) have entered into a strategic partnership to provide life insurance
solutions.
 This partnership will leverage IPPB’s last mile reach for building awareness about life
insurance.
 Both the companies came together to formally sign the Corporate Agency Agreement.
India signs Loan Agreement with the World Bank for US$ 74 Million for Uttarakhand:
 A Loan Agreement for IBRD Credit of US$74 million equivalent for the Uttrakhand
Workforce Development Project (UKWDP) was signed with the World Bank.
 The Project objective is to improve the quality and relevance of training at priority Industrial
Training Institutes (ITIs) and to increase the number of labor-market-relevant workers
through short term training in Uttrakhand.
BRICS bank approves USD 525-million loan for infra projects in Madhya Pradesh:
 The New Development Bank (NDB) of the BRICS countries has approved a USD 525-million
loan to Madhya Pradesh for infrastructure projects.
 The Board of Directors of the NDB approved a USD 350-million loan for the Major District
Roads Project II of Madhya Pradesh and USD 175 million for building and upgrading 350
bridges.
PPF, NSC, other small savings to give higher interest:
 Small saving schemes such as Public Provident Fund (PPF), National Savings Certificates and
Post Office Deposit Scheme will fetch more in the three months period starting October 1.
 PPF and NSC will earn interest at 8 per cent while Senior Citizens Savings Scheme, which
has a tenure of five years, will fetch 8.7 per cent.
Jharkhand govt inks MoU with NICL for Ayushman Bharat Scheme:
 The Jharkhand government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with

National Insurance Company Ltd to provide medical facilities to the people of the state
under the Centre’s flagship health scheme – Ayushman Bharat Yojana.

 The scheme will be launched nationally by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Ranchi on
23 September.
 As per information received, Jharkhand government and National insurance company have
signed a MoU for quality and timely medical treatment to the citizens.
Cabinet clears proposal to convert GSTN into govt entity:
 The Union Cabinet cleared a proposal to convert GST Network (GSTN), which provides IT
infrastructure for the new indirect tax regime, into a 100 per cent government-owned
company.
 Briefing about the decisions taken in the Cabinet meeting, the finance minister said after
restructuring of GSTN, ownership will be equally divided between the Centre and states.
 Shares for each state will be worked on pro-rata basis.
 Currently, the Centre and states together hold 49 per cent stake in the GST Network.
 The remaining 51 per cent is held by five private financial institutions -- HDFC Ltd, HDFC
Bank Ltd, ICICI Bank Ltd, NSE Strategic Investment Co and LIC Housing Finance Ltd.
India, Japan sign Agreement for Construction of Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project :
 Two Loan Agreements were signed between India and Japan on Japanese Official
Development Assistance loan for Construction of Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail
Project (I) of Yen 89.457 billion (Rs.5591 crore approx.) and Kolkata East-West Metro Project
(III) of Yen 25.903 billion (Rs.1619 crore approx.).
 India and Japan have had a long and fruitful history of bilateral development cooperation
since 1958.
 In the last few years, the economic cooperation between India and Japan has steadily
progressed.
 This further consolidates and strengthens the Strategic and Global Partnership between
India and Japan.
Rail Heritage Digitisation Project of Indian Railways in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture:
 Minister of Railways and Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal has launched “Rail Heritage Digitisation
Project” of Indian Railways in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture
 The project is a landmark effort, first of its kind in this part of the globe, to showcase
country’s Rail Heritage to National and International audience in an online story-telling
platform.
MoHUA partners with Google to launch #LooReview Campaign:
 The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, under the aegis of Swachh Bharat Mission –
Urban (SBM – U), has partnered with Google to launch the Loo Review campaign to
encourage all local guides in India to rate and review public toilets on Google Maps.
 This campaign is part of a feature which allows all citizens to locate public toilets in their
cities on Google Maps, Search and the Assistant and also provide feedback on the same.
 500+ cities in India with more than 30,000 toilets with the name of “SBM Toilet” are
currently live on Google Maps.

 One of the objectives of the Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban (SBM - U) is to provide
sanitation coverage through public toilet facilities across cities in India for achieving Open
Defecation Free (ODF) status.
 With around 3400 cities already having achieved ODF status, and other cities gearing up
towards the same, there is now a need to ensure that the ODF status is sustained through
continuous usage and proper maintenance of public toilets.
NITI Aayog and Oracle sign a Statement of Intent to pilot drug supply-chain using blockchain:
 In order to fight the growing problem of counterfeit drugs in India, NITI Aayog and Oracle
signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) to pilot a real drug supply-chain using blockchain
distributed ledger and Internet of Things (IoT) software.
 Apollo Hospitals and Strides Pharma Sciences will partner in this effort.
 The major advantages of blockchain software will be its ability to allow the sharing of
information across the drug supply chain securely.
Arif Alvi elected new Pakistan president:
 Dr Arif Alvi, a close ally of Prime Minister Imran Khan and one of the founding members of
the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, was elected as the new President of Pakistan.
 Defeated Pakistan Peoples Party candidate Aitzaz Ahsan and the Pakistan Muslim League-
N nominee Maulana Fazl ur Rehman in a three-way contest to become the 13th president.
 Of the 430 votes cast via a secret ballot in the National Assembly and Senate, Alvi received
212 votes.
India retains WHO Regional Director position:
 India has retained the top WHO position in South-East Asia Region with Dr Poonam
Khetrapal Singh unanimously re-elected as Regional Director for another five-year term
beginning February 2019.
 The elections were held at the ongoing Regional Committee meeting of WHO South-East
Asia.
 Dr Singh is the first woman to have been elected to the position of Regional Director for
WHO South-East Asia Region after an illustrious career in the Indian civil service, World
Bank and WHO.
Justice Ranjan Gogoi appointed as next Chief Justice of India:
 The President of India has appointed Justice Ranjan Gogoi as the next Chief Justice of
India.
 He will assume the office of Chief Justice on 3rd October, 2018 after the retirement of the
current Chief Justice, Justice Dipak Misra.
 He was appointed as Chief Justice of Punjab & Haryana High Court on 12th February, 2011.
 He was appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India on 23rd April, 2012.

Moutaz Mousa Abdallah becomes Sudan’s new PM:
 Moutaz Mousa Abdallah has become the Sudan’s new Prime Minister. A 21-member
cabinet was sworn in at the presidential palace in Khartoum.
 Mousa Abdallah is also holding the finance portfolio in a bid to revive the country’s ailing
economy.
 Sudan has been grappling with an acute foreign exchange shortage and inflation above 65
percent for several months.
Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma signed as ambassadors of Skill India Campaign:
 Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma have been signed on to promote and endorse the
Skill India Mission, chaired by the Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
 Varun and Anushka will dedicate time to promote India's skilled talent and their fine work
by engaging with them across different parts of the country.
Kalraj Mishra appointed chairman of House panel on defence:
 A Former minister in the Narendra Modi government, Kalraj Mishra, replaced former
Uttarakhand chief minister Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri as the chairman of the
parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence.
 There are 24 parliamentary standing committees, of these 16 are under the administrative
control of the Lok Sabha and 8 under the Rajya Sabha.
Jaya Prada appointed goodwill ambassador for Nepal tourism
 Former Member of Parliament and Bollywood actress Jaya Prada has been appointed
Goodwill Ambassador for the promotion of Nepal tourism.
 The appointment is for a period of four years.
 Tourism is an important source of revenue and employment generation in Nepal. India is the
biggest source market for Nepal tourism.
 The Nepal government has also decided to observe the year 2020 as the 'Visit Nepal Year'
and has set a target of attracting two million international visitors.
B. S. Mubarak appointed as next Ambassador of India to Republic of Guatemala
 B. S. Mubarak has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of
Guatemala.
Anil Kumar Chaudhary appointed as new SAIL chairman
 Anil Kumar Chaudhary has been appointed as the new chairman of the Steel Authority of
India (SAIL).

Ibrahim Mohamed Solih wins presidency polls in Maldives
 Maldivian presidential challenger Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has beaten incumbent Abdulla
Yameen.
 Results released by the Elections Commission showed Solih had secured 58.3 percent of the
popular vote as opposed to the incumbent, President Yameen, who garnered less than 42
percent of the votes.
SC constitutes committee over prison reforms
The Supreme Court has constituted a three-member committee to recommend measures on prison
reforms.
 The committee, headed by apex court's Justice (retd.) Amitava Roy will look into the
problems in prisons across the country and suggest measures to tackle them.
 Government officials will also assist the committee and submit a report before the top court
in a stipulated time period.
Anil Khosla to be appointed as New Vice Chief of Air Force
 Air Marshal Anil Khosla will be appointed as the new Vice Chief of the Indian Air Force.
Rajni Kant Misra appointed BSF chief, S S Deswal to head SSB
 Rajni Kant Misra and S S Deswal were appointed director general of the Border Security
Force (BSF) and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) respectively.
Govt constitutes Lokpal search committee
 The Centre constituted an eight-member search committee, to be headed by former

Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, to recommend the chairperson and
members of the anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal.
 The search committee is a major step towards setting up of the Lokpal. The committee will
start its functioning soon.
Vikram Misri next ambassador to China
 The government has notified that Vikram Misri would be the new Indian envoy to Beijing.
 He would be taking over the responsibility from Gautam Bambawale, who retires this year.
Mumbai neurosurgeon named for Dr B.C. Roy award
 Dr B.K. Misra has been named for this year's prestigious Dr B.C. Roy National Award as an
Eminent Medical Person of the Year.
 The highest medical honour of India,instituted by the Medical Council of India in 1962, it
will be given away by President Ram Nath Kovind on July 1 next year, the National Doctors
Day.

'Sarala Puraskar' for poet Satrughna Pandav
 Noted Odia poet Satrughna Pandav will be honoured with the prestigious 'Sarala Puraskar'
for his poetry collection 'Misra Dhrupad'.
India-born student Rajalakshmi Nandakumar to get 2018 ‘Young Scholar’ award
 Rajalakshmi Nandakumar, an India-born woman scholar in the US, has been chosen for a
prestigious award for her work to help detect potentially life-threatening health issues
using smartphones.
 She has been selected for the 2018 Marconi Society Paul Baran Young Scholar award.
 Nandakumar, studying at the University of Washington, has created a technology that turns
an ordinary smartphone into an active sonar system capable of detecting physiological
activities, such as movement and respiration, without requiring physical contact with the
device.
Manoj Jhalani, AS & MD (NHM) selected for UNIATF Award
 Shri Manoj Jhalani, Additional Secretary & Mission Director (NHM), Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare, has been conferred with the prestigious UN Interagency Task Force
(UNIATF) Award for his outstanding contribution towards prevention and control of non-
communicable diseases (NCDs) and related Sustainable Development Goals.
 It is in recognition of Government of India’s efforts made in the field of prevention and
control of Non-Communicable Diseases.
 National Programme to control NCDs has been scaled up by more than eight times in the
past four years and covers all the 36 States/Union Territories now.
Poet, writer Sawai Singh Shekhawat to be honoured with Meera Puruskar
 Jaipur-based poet and writer Sawai Singh Shekhawat will be honoured with Meera
Puruskar by Rajasthan Sahitya Academy for his contribution to Hindi literature.
 President of the academy Indushekhar Tatpurush informed that Shekhawat was selected for
the Meera award, which is the highest award of the academy.
6 AAI-run airports bag international awards
 Six aerodromes of the Airports Authority of India have bagged seven international awards.
 The Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards 2017 were presented by the Airports Council
International (ACI) at the Customer Excellence Global Summit at Halifax, Canada, on
September 12.
 The winning airports are Lucknow, Indore, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Pune
airports.

PNB wins Hindi implementation award
 Punjab National Bank (PNB) bagged the “Rajbhasha Kirti” award for outstanding
performance in implementing the Official Language Policy during 2017-18.
 The award, under the category of ‘Nationalised Banks and Financial Institutions in Region
A’, was presented by Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu to PNB Chief Executive and MD Sunil
Mehta.
Dr. Raghupati Singhania conferred with civilian honour of Mexico
 Chairman and MD, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd., Dr. Raghupati Singhania has been conferred
with 'Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle', the highest honour accorded to non-nationals by
the Government of Mexico.
 Melba Pría, Ambassador of Mexico to India presented the award to Dr. Singhania on behalf
of the President of Mexico on the eve of 128th National Day of Mexico.
 The top honor is in recognition of Dr. Singhania's exemplary leadership, his noteworthy
services towards humanity and his efforts to strengthen bilateral ties between India and
Mexico.
Kerala Tourism wins two Pacific Asia Travel Association gold awards
 Kerala Tourism walked away with two prestigious gold awards of the Pacific Asia Travel
Association (PATA) for its innovative marketing campaigns.
 Kerala Tourism got the first gold for its 'Yalla Kerala' travel advertisement print media
campaign in the Gulf countries.
 The second gold award came for an innovative poster Kerala Tourism had developed for
the third edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB).
Delhi airport gets top honour at ASQ Awards 2017
 Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) has bagged the title of Best Airport to
handle over 40 million passengers per annum (MPPA) by the Airport Service Quality (ASQ)
Awards 2017.
 According to the statement, the Delhi airport is now the seventh busiest airports in Asia
and among the top 20 busiest airports across the world.
INSV Tarini crew bestowed with Tenzing Norgay Award
 All-women crew of INSV Tarini has bagged the prestigious Tenzing Norgay National
Adventure award for beating the odds in water with their enduring skills and sailing across
the world for eight long months.
 The award is the highest national recognition for outstanding achievements in the field of
adventure on land, sea and air.
 The women Navy officers had spent as many as 194 days at sea as part of a mission under
the Navika Sagar Parikrama project that began in September last year.
 The crew was also bestowed with Nav Sena Medal on the occasion of 72nd Independence
Day.

Kohli, Chanu to receive Khel Ratna on September 25
Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli and world champion weightlifter Mirabai Chanu will receive the
prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna on September 25, the sports ministry announced.
The list of awardees:
 Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award: Virat Kohli and Mirabai Chanu.
 Arjuna Awards: Neeraj Chopra, Jinson Johnson and Hima Das (athletics); N. Sikki Reddy
(badminton); Satish Kumar (boxing); Smriti Mandhana (cricket); Shubhankar Sharma (golf);
Manpreet Singh and Savita (hockey); Ravi Rathore (polo); Rahi Sarnobat, Ankur Mittal and
Shreyasi Singh (shooting); Manika Batra and G. Sathiyan (table tennis); Rohan Bopanna
(tennis); Sumit (wrestling); Pooja Kadian (wushu); Ankur Dhama (para-athletics); Manoj
Sarkar (para-badminton).
 Dronacharya Awards: C. A. Kuttappa (boxing); Vijay Sharma (weightlifting); A. Srinivasa Rao
(table tennis); Sukhdev Singh Pannu (athletics); Clarence Lobo (hockey, lifetime); Tarak Sinha
(cricket, lifetime); Jiwan Kumar Sharma (judo, lifetime); V. R. Beedu (athletics, lifetime).
 Dhyan Chand Awards: Satyadev Prasad (archery); Bharat Kumar Chetry (hockey); Bobby
Aloysius (athletics); Chougale Dadu Dattatray (wrestling).
Lucknow Metro First From India To Get This International Award
 Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) has become the first ever metro rail corporation
from India to bag the International 'Royal Society For The Prevention Of Accidents'
(RoSPA) Award.
 LMRC has been given the Silver Award for its Phase 1A (North-South Corridor) in the
Project/Infrastructure category for the year 2018.
Assamese film Village Rockstars is India’s official entry to Oscars 2019
 Assamese film Village Rockstars is India’s official entry for Oscars 2019 in the Best Foreign
Language film category.
 The announcement was made by the Film Federation of India (FFI).
 The Rima Das film was also named Best Feature Film at the 65th National Film Awards.
AP, Odisha & Madhya Pradesh are Three Best Performing States in Ease of Living Index
 Andhra Pradesh has topped the charts among States in terms of “Ease of Living Index”
rankings launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
 It was followed by Odisha and Madhya Pradesh.
 The three States were awarded best performing States at the National Dissemination
Workshop on Ease of Living Index, 2018.

Croatia’s Luka Modric wins FIFA Best Men's Player of the Year award
 Real Madrid and Croatian midfielder Luka Modric ended a decade-long dominance of
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on the FIFA Best Men's Player Award as he take the
trophy at an award ceremony in London.
 Modric had a brilliant summer where he helped Real Madrid win a record third consecutive
Champions League title and then went on to guide Croatia to their first ever World Cup final.
 Croatia came up short in the final losing 4-2 to young French team but Modric was award
the Best Player of the tournament award.
PM Modi gets UN's 'Champions of the Earth' award
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been awarded with the UN’s highest environmental
honour, bestowed upon five other individuals and organisations, for his leadership of the
International Solar Alliance and pledge to eliminate single use plastic in India by 2022.
 Six of the world’s most outstanding environmental changemakers have been recognised
with the Champions of the Earth Award, the UN’s highest environmental honour.
 French President Emmanuel Macron and Modi have been jointly recognised in the Policy
Leadership category for their pioneering work in championing the International Solar
Alliance.
 Cochin International Airport has also been honoured this year with the award for
Entrepreneurial Vision, for its leadership in the use of sustainable energy.
AAI’s Ahmedabad and Indore Airports awarded as Best Airports under National Tourism Awards
 Airports Authority of India’s Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport, Indore and Sardar Vallabhbhai
Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad were conferred with the prestigious National
Tourism Awards 2016-17 at a glittering award function on World Tourism Day.
 Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad received the Best Airport
Award in Major Cities category and Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport, Indore received the
Best Airport Award in ‘Rest of India’ category for promotion of Tourism at these airports.
 The award was presented by Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism, Shri K.J.
Alphons.
Asian Games 2018: India finished with 69 medals
 India finishes 8th with a final tally of 69 medals – 15 gold, 24 silver and 30 bronze, at Asian
Games 2018.
 China topped the tally with 289 medals including 132 gold.
 Japan finishes second while Republic of Korea secured third place.
 The 2018 Asian Games, officially known as the 18th Asian Games were held in Jakarta-
Palembang 2018 from 18 August to 2 September 2018 in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta
and Palembang.

Japan's swimmer Ikee named Asian Games MVP
 Japan's young swimmer Rikako Ikee was named the 2018 Indonesia Asian Games Most
Valuable Player (MVP) after winning 6 gold and 2 silver medals.
 The 18-year-old Japanese won the 50m and 100m freestyle, 50m and 100m butterfly as well
as the 4x100m freestyle and medley relays.
 The teenager is the first female winner of the award, which has been presented at every
Games since the 1998 edition in Bangkok.
India Blue win Duleep Trophy
 India Blue thrashed defending champion India Red by an innings and 187 runs in the final
to win the Duleep Trophy.
 Spinners Deepak Jagbir Hooda (5 for 56) and Saurabh Kumar (5 for 51) needed just 10.5
overs on the fourth day to bundle out India Red for 172 in the second innings.
 The Duleep Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket competition played in India.
 It is named after Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji.
Assam government makes Hima Das as Sports Ambassador of state
 Assam government has made Asian Games medalist Hima Das as the Sports Ambassador
of the state.
 Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal has handed over the letter to Hima at a function in
Guwahati.
 The Chief Minister also announced to develop 500 village stadiums in the state.
US Open 2018: Novak Djokovic beats Juan Martin del Potro to win title
 Novak Djokovic produced an impeccable performance to beat Juan Martin del Potro in the
US Open final and win his 14th Grand Slam title.
 The 31-year-old Serb won 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 to earn his third triumph in New York and equal
American great Pete Sampras' haul of major trophies.
 Djokovic, who won Wimbledon in July, will climb to fourth in the world after back-to-back
Grand Slam victories.
Osaka claims US Open title after beating Serena
 Naomi Osaka became Japan's first Grand Slam singles champion by thumping Serena
Williams 6-2 6-4 in a controversial U.S. Open final.
 Williams was given a game penalty for her outburst, which followed racquet smashing and
another code violation as Osaka won 6-2 6-4 in New York.
 Osaka kept her focus to become the first Japanese to win a Grand Slam.
 The 32-year-old made over 350 international appearances for India and captained the
national team for eight long years from 2008 to 2016.
 He received the Arjuna award in 2012 and Padma Shri in 2015.

Mumbai Marathon gets IAAF gold label
 The Tata Mumbai Marathon, to be held on January 20, 2019, was accorded the gold label
by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
 The 16th edition of the race became the only gold label marathon in the country and joined
the elite list of marathons in Asia.
 The USD 405,000 event is set to witness over 46,000 participants running across six race
categories.
SAFF Cup: Maldives beats India 2-1 to win title
 India's quest for an eighth South Asian Football Federation Cup title ended as it suffered a
1-2 defeat against Maldives in the summit clash.
 India, the defending champions, largely dominated the match with better ball possession
and more shots at the opposition goal but the Maldives team scored from the few chances it
got to lift the winners' trophy for the second time.
 Maldives had also won the title in 2008 edition which it co-hosted.
India to host the Women’s Boxing World Championships
 The Women’s Boxing World Championships, to be hosted by India after more than a
decade, will be held from November 15-24, 2018, in New Delhi.
8th Asian Yoga Sports Championship
 Thiruvananthapuram is all set to play host to the 8th Asian Yoga Sports Championship,
which will be held at the Jimmy George indoor stadium from September 27 to 30.
 The event willwitness around 500 participants representing 14 Asian countries showcasing
their yoga skills.
India pip Bangladesh to win Asia Cup for 7th time
 India beat Bangladesh by three wickets to win their seventh Asia Cup title in a pulsating
last-ball finish.
 Chasing 223 runs to win, India scored the winning run of the last ball of the match.
 Shikhar Dhawan was declared Man of the tournament while Liton Das was declared man of
the match.
 The first Asia cup was held in 1984 in Sharjah.
 India is the most successful team in the history of the Asia cup, winning it 7 times.
PM releases book to mark one year in office of Vice President Venkaiah Naidu
 The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, released the book “Moving On, Moving Forward –
A Year in Office” to mark one year in office of Vice President Venkaiah Naidu.
 He also presented the first copy of the book to the Vice President of India.

Vice President Releases Book ‘Constitutionalizing India: an Ideational Project’
 The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that we should salute the
constitution-framers for giving us a constitution that strengthened parliamentary democracy
and stood the test of times, even as it evolved through several amendments.
 He was addressing the gathering after releasing the Book ‘Constitutionalizing India: an
Ideational Project’ authored by Shri Bidyut Chakrabarty.
 The book reveals how the ideas with completely different socio-economic roots competed
with each other in the making of a Constitution which was acceptable to all.

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September 2018 Current Affairs

AYUSH Minister to inaugurate the Fourth International Ayurveda Congress:

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India to take part in tsunami mock drill:

24th RCEP Auckland Round from 17-24th October 2018:

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 So far 6 Ministerial Meetings, 5 Inter-sessional Ministerial Meetings and 23 Rounds of the

Thaawarchand Gehlot to attend the 3rd ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Conference:

U.S. returns two antique statues stolen from India

Facebook to build first Asian data centre in Singapore:

G20 Education Ministers’ and Joint Ministerial Meeting:

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G-20 Labour & Employment Ministers’ Meeting:

India and Czech Republic sign five agreements:

International Literacy Day 2018:

 International Literacy Day is celebrated annually on September 8 across the world.

UN postal agency to issue special Diwali stamp next month:

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Opening ceremony: INDO-MONGOLIA joint exercise Nomadic Elephant-2018:

 Indo-Mongolia joint exercise Nomadic Elephant-2018, commenced at Mongolian Armed

Opening Ceremony: BIMSTEC Field Training Military Exercise

Dubai to host India-UAE Partnership Summit:

India focus country in Izmir International Trade Show:

India ranks 130 in UN's human development index:

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4th Eastern Economic Forum opens in Russia's Vladivostok:

International Day of Democracy: 15 September

International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer: 16 September

Exercise Aviaindra-18 Commences at Lipetsk (Russia):

Germany launches world’s first hydrogen-powered train:

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International Peace Day 2018:

 International Day of Peace  21 September every year.

7th UNWTO Global Summit on Urban Tourism:

Closing ceremony: Indo-Kazakhstan Joint exercise Kazind 2018

AYUSH Information Cell set up at the Indian Embassy in Romania:

India ranks 158th among 195 countries in health care investment:

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Exhibition “India - Uzbekistan: Dialogue of Cultures” inaugurated in the Capital:

Dr Harsh Vardhan inaugurates air pollution control device WAYU in Delhi:

First assembly of ISA to be held in India:

NITI Aayog to Organize Conference on Empowerment of Women SHGs:

 NITI Aayog is organizing a Conference on Empowerment of Women SHGs & Organic

UN declares 2019-2028 Nelson Mandela decade of peace:

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 This year marks the 100th anniversary of Mandela’s birth.

Commerce Ministers of India and Bangladesh hold Bilateral Meeting in Dhaka:

World Tourism Day: 27 September

India ranked 96th among 162 countries on Economic Freedom Index:

China to host World Internet conference in November:

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World Heart Day 2018: 29 September

7th Meeting of National Medicinal Plants Board Held at New Delhi:

National Conference being organised by The Supreme Court Advocates on Record

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CCI imposes penalty on Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC):

Jharkhand's railway station, town to be renamed after Lord Krishna:

Delhi to host International chess tournament for school kids:

Suresh Prabhu Launches Technology Initiatives for Coffee Stakeholders:

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India to generate 100 GW solar energy by 2022:

National Teachers’ Day: 5 September