Current Affair of September 2019

National

1. With the aim of addressing opportunities and challenges in development of clean coal technologies, Union Minister of Science & Technology Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the National Centre for Clean Coal Research and Development (NCCCR&D) at Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru. The NCCCR&D has been launched at IISc. by Department of Science & Technology (DST).

2. With an aim to spread awareness about nutrition of children and women, the Department of Women & Child Development and Mission Shakti, Government of Odisha, in collaboration with United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) unveiled a mascot named 'Tikki Mausi'. The state government initiative highlights that Women and children are central to any welfare programme.

3. Vice President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu released the Books on President's speeches titled 'Loktantra Ke Swar (Khand 2)' in Hindi and 'The Republican Ethic (Volume 2)' in English in a function organized at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra in New Delhi.

4. Vatican awarded Bangladesh's Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus prestigious 'Lamp of Peace of Saint Francis' award for his contribution towards establishing peace and harmony.

5. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat launched a scheme called 'Mukhya Mantri Dal Poshit Yojana' to provide state ration card holders two kilograms of two different varieties of pulses available at prices much lower than the market rate. During the launch CM distributed pulse packets among the beneficiaries.

6. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has decided to translate and publish an anthology of writings of Baba Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism (and also 1st of 10 Sikh Guru) in world languages to commemorate 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.

7. Union Ministry of Railways signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) for facilitation of green initiatives in Indian Railways. The MoU would carry forward some major Green initiatives undertaken by Indian Railways as part of India's contribution towards mitigation of global warming and combating climate change.

8. Union Ministry of Home Affairs has announced to set up world-class National Police University (NPU) in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The proposed multi-disciplinary university will provide dynamic, state-of-the-art learning and working environment for advancement and dissemination of education and research in policing science and related areas.

9. Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs Food and Public Distribution has announced a blanket ban on all types of single use plastic products in various departments of Ministry and all its Public Sector Units (PSUs) including Food Corporation of India (FCI) starting from 15 September 2019.

10. Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Sanjay Dhotre launched the Curriculum for Life Skills or Jeevan Kaushal designed by University Grants Commission (UGC) in New Delhi.

11. Union Minister of Defence, Rajnath Singh co-chaired the Japan–India Defence Ministerial Meeting with Defence Minister of Japan Takeshi lwaya in Tokyo, Japan. The dialogue discussed various issues of mutual concern which includes ways to further strengthen existing bilateral co-operative arrangements and adopt new initiatives towards achieving peace and security in region.

12. Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah launched three citizen centric services of Chandigarh Police, in Chandigarh. The services launched include- Emergency Response Support System (ERSS – Dial 112), 'E-Beat Book' System and 'E-Saathi App'. Home Minister observed that the beat officer system has been cornerstone of Indian Policing system for ages and by such Citizen Centric Services in Policing, a SMART Police force can be built in India. He congratulated Chandigarh Police to have taken a lead in introducing such Citizen Centric Services in Policing.

13. Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar launched 'Krishi Kisan' mobile app to help farmers take benefit of field demonstration of new farm technologies, seed hubs as well as weather advisories.

14. Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar launched 'CHC Farm Machinery' mobile App in New Delhi. The Multi-lingual Mobile App CHC Farm Machinery is for farmers to hire tractors and other farm machineries.

15. Union Home Minister Amit Shah laid the foundation stone of Janganana Bhawan or Census Building in New Delhi. It is the office of the census authority. The upcoming Janganana Bhawan is being built on a Green Building concept. This shows Government's commitment of taking forward and popularising the concept of Green Buildings in the country. It is a seven-floor infrastructure which is being built with a cost of Rs.44 crore and is expected to be completed by 2021.

16. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has mooted the idea of a multipurpose identity card for citizens with all utilities such as Aadhaar, bank accounts, passport and driving licence. He also announced that for first time in 140-year history of census in India, data is proposed to be collected through a mobile app and people who conduct door-to-door counting would be encouraged to use their own phone.

17. Union government has constituted a 3-member committee to oversee the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) into two union territories and look into distribution of assets and liabilities of J&K between two successor Union territories that will come into existence on October 31.

18. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman handed over antique 12th century Bronze Idol of Buddha that was stolen from Archaeological Survey of India's (ASI) Nalanda site museum in 1961 to Union Minister of State for Culture & Tourism (IC) Prahlad Singh Patel in New Delhi.

19. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has scripted history by becoming first Defence Minister to fly Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) 'Tejas', an indigenously-built multi-role fighter aircraft. He undertook 30-minute sortie in LCA Tejas along with Air Vice Marshall Narmdeshwar Tiwari, at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Airport in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

20. Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the Promulgation of Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertisement) Ordinance, 2019. The decision is being seen as a major health and wellness initiative for the country.

21. Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved payment of Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) equivalent to 78 days wages to eligible non-gazetted railway employees for Financial Year (FY) 2018-19. The eligible non-gazetted railway employees for payment of PLB exclude Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Railway Protection Special Force (RPSF) personnel.

22. To commemorate 20 years of 'Vijay Diwas' or 'Kargil Vijay Diwas' (named after successful Operation Vijay), the Indian Air Force is organising an ultra-marathon named as 'Kargil to Kohima (K2K): Glory Run' spanning over 4,500 km from Kargil to Kohima. The marathon run was flagged off by Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa in a ceremony held at Vayu Bhavan in New Delhi.

23. The World Translation Day is marked by the United Nations to pay tribute to the language professionals. By this, the organization plays a crucial role in bringing nations together. This strengthens cooperation, understanding, facilitates dialogues, contributes to development and strengthens world peace and security.

24. The World Rhino Day is celebrated every year on 22 September to celebrate the world's five rhinoceros species, and to reflect on the challenges facing them. This special day provides the opportunity for cause-related organizations, Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), zoos, and public to celebrate rhinos in their own unique ways.

25. The World Rabies Day is marked by the Global Alliance World Rabies Control. It is a non – profit organization. The headquarters of the organization are located in United States. The day is endorsed on the anniversary of death Louis Pasteur who developed the first rabies vaccine.

26. The World Heart Day was created by the World Heart Federation to inform the people around the globe that Cardio Vascular diseases are the world's leading cause of death. Its main objective is to educate people that by controlling risk factors such as unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, tobacco use, 80% of premature deaths can be avoided.

27. The work on National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) set up to track any terror suspect and prevent terrorist attacks with real time data, has been accelerated. This move comes after Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently reviewed the progress of NATGRID project. In all probability, NATGRID will start functioning by January 2020.

28. The United Nations World Tourism Day is celebrated on September 27. The day aims at creating awareness on social, political, cultural and economic values among international community.

29. The UN Climate Change Summit, 2019 was held in New York. The key focus of the summit is to accelerate the actions to implement Paris agreement. To achieve this the summit focuses in 9 independent tracks that are led by 19 countries supported by international organizations. India and Sweden are leading the “Industry Transition” track and are supported by the World Economic Forum. The other tracks are as follows:

30. The state government of Telangana has decided to declare 2020 as Year of Artificial Intelligence and thus will be organising various activities related to emerging technology throughout the year. This comes in the backdrop of emerging talent pool as well as renewed focus by industry and other ecosystem players on AI space in last 4-5 years.

31. The state government of Rajasthan launched 'Jan Soochna Portal', a portal for quick access to information on government departments. The portal was launched by Rajasthan's Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and is a step of state government towards making Rajasthan a model state for good governance and accountability in administration.

32. The state government of Madhya Pradesh is launching an online service for those wanting to adopt a cow and provide sheds to them at gaushalas (cow shelters) across the State. People can adopt a cow for a minimum period of 15 days and can go on supporting it till animal's lifetime. This initiative is part of Madhya Pradesh government's 'Project Gaushala'.

33. The Reserve Bank of India has imposed caps on withdrawals made by customers of Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Banks for 6 months. The imposition was invoked by the central bank under Section 35 A of India's Banking Regulation act, 1949.

34. The renovated Jayakar Bungalow, a classic heritage site situated inside the premises of National Film Archives of India (NFAI) in Pune, Maharashtra was inaugurated by Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting.

35. The ranking measures the readiness and capacity of 63 economies to adopt digital technologies. It gives its ranking based on the digital exploration skills of the economies for economic transformation in governance, business and society.

36. The Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) cards along with valid foreign passport will be considered for exit or entry into India till 31 March 2020. Government of India had earlier advised all PIO card holders to convert their cards to Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cards by 30 September 2019.

37. The Midnapore railway station has become the 5,000th railway station to be Wi – Fi enabled. According to RailTel, Rail Wire Wi – Fi is the biggest public Wi Fi in the world.

38. The Malabar Exercise 2019, the trilateral maritime exercise between navies of India, Japan and the US began off the coast of Japan. The year 2019 is the 23rd edition of Malabar Exercise.

39. The maiden Trilateral Naval exercise involving Indian Navy (IN), Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and Royal Thailand Navy (RTN) commenced at Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The five-day exercise will be held from 16 to 20 September 2019.

40. The joint military training exercise between India and United States (US) named Yudh Abhyas – 2019 will be held at Joint Base Lewis Mc Chord, Washington, US from 05-18 September 2019. It is being conducted as part of the ongoing Indo-US defence cooperation. It is one of the largest joint running military training and defence corporation endeavors between both countries. This will be overall 15th edition of the joint exercise hosted alternately between the two countries.

41. The International Literacy Day (ILD) is being observed every year across the world on 8 September to emphasize importance of literacy to individuals, society and communities. The day was instituted in 1966 by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This year it was 54th International Literacy Day.

42. The International Day of Sign Languages is observed all across the world on 23 September every year as part of the International Week of the Deaf, which takes place from 24-30 September every year.

43. The International Day of Charity is observed every year on September 5 across the world. It aims to recognise role of charity in alleviating human ?suffering within and among nations. It also seeks to raise awareness and provide common platform for charity related activities for charitable, philanthropic and volunteer organizations and individuals all over the world for their own purposes on national, regional and international level.

44. The Indian Navy and Coast Guard leg of Defence Correspondents Course (DCC), a course for selected journalists from regional and national media houses, concluded at Mumbai, Maharashtra.

45. The Indian Air Force inducted 8 Apache AH-64E attack helicopters at Pathankot Air Force station. The Apache AH-64E helicopters are made by US company Boeing and will give a major boots to combat capabilities of Indian Air Force.

46. The Indian Air Force (IAF) inaugurated the resurfaced runway at the Vijaynagar Advance Landing Ground (ALG) in Changlang District in Arunachal Pradesh, which will enable operations by military transport aircraft at the base near the China border. This has also re-established military transport aircraft connectivity at this Eastern most hamlet of India.

47. The Gujarat government has launched country's first 'Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)' which is being described as world's first market for trading in Particulate Matter (PM) emissions. ETS was launched in Surat ETS) to encourage and incentivize the industrial units to cut air pollution.

48. The Government of India think tank NITI Aayog released the SEQI – School Education Quality Index. SEQI evaluates the performance of states and union territories in the school education sector. The report has categorized the states as small and large states for ease of comparability. The Union Territories are categorized separately.

49. The Geographical Indications Registry (GIR) in Chennai has accorded coveted Geographical Indication (GI) tag to Dindigul lock and Kandangi saree from Tamil Nadu. This takes total number of such indigenous products that have been accorded GI tag from Tamil Nadu to 31.

50. The first World Patient Safety Day was observed by World Health Organisation (WHO) on September 17. This day launched by WHO as global campaign 'Medication without Harm'. It aims to create awareness around patient safety and urge people to show commitment to making healthcare safer. The theme for World Patient Safety Day 2019 is 'Patient Safety: a global health priority' and slogan is 'Speak up for patient safety'.

51. The First ever arrested landing of Naval variant of Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, a 4.5 generation, light weight, multirole fighter was successfully executed at the Shore Based Test Facility (SBTF), INS Hansa in Goa. This will pave the way for this Indigenous platform to undertake Aircraft Carrier landing demonstration on board the Indian Naval Aircraft Carrier, Vikramaditya.

52. The first Conference on Military Medicine for Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) Member States will be held in New Delhi from 12-13 September 2019. The conference will also be 1st military co-operation event hosted by India under SCO Defence Co-operation Plan 2019-2020, after India became an SCO member country in 2017.

53. The first batch of newest central government services, 'Indian Skill Development Services' (ISDS) commenced their training program at Administrative Training Institute (ATI), Mysuru, Karnataka. This is the first batch which is joining ISDS cadre from Indian Engineering Service (IES) Examination conducted by UPSC (Union Public Service Commission).

54. The first ASEAN-US Maritime Exercise (AUMX) between regional bloc- Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and United States kicked off at the Sattahip Naval Base in Thailand. The five day naval exercise is co-led by the navies of US and Thailand. It will stretch into international waters in Southeast Asia, including Gulf of Thailand and South China Sea and conclude in Singapore.

55. The fifth edition of Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) was held in Vladivostok, Russia from September 4 to 6, 2019. It was aimed at roviding a platform for discussing issues aimed at expanding international cooperation in Asia-Pacific region and developing the economy of Russias Far East. The participants in Summit were India, Malaysia, Japan, Australia, and South Korea. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi was Chief Guest at the event being hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

56. The exercise codenamed as 'HimVijay' is scheduled to be carried out by Indian Armed Forces in October 2019 in Arunachal Pradesh, close to borders with China. In these upcoming war games, the Indian Armed Forces plan to deploy their latest American weapons systems such as M777 ultra-light howitzers and Chinook heavy-lift helicopters.

57. The Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) handed over a New-Generation Wargaming Software developed by New Delhi-based Institute for Systems Studies and Analysis (ISSA) to the Indian Navy. ISSA is a premier DRDO laboratory.

58. The Centre on 18 September 2019 cleared the appointments of four new judges to the Supreme Court. With the appointment, the judges' strength in apedx court is now 34. On August 30, the Supreme Court four chief justices for the appointment to the top court in order to fill the vacant posts.

59. The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) unveiled its new logo and certificate identity at a first-of-its-kind film industry interaction between eminent industry leaders and CBFC board members held in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The new logo and certificate identity designed by Rohit Devgun was revealed by Prasoon Joshi,  Chairman, CBFC.

60. The 64th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference is being held in Kampala, the capital of Uganda from 22 to 29 September. An Indian parliamentary delegation led by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will be attending the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference.

61. The 5th International Ramayan Festival organized by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) is being held from 17-19 September 2019 in New Delhi. The maiden day of festival was presided by Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah as Chief Guest.

62. The 28th edition of India-Thailand Coordinated Patrol (Indo-Thai CORPAT) between Indian Navy (IN) and Royal Thai Navy (RTN) is being conducted from 5 to 15 September 2019. Indian Naval (IN) Ship Kesari and His Majesty's Thailand Ship (HTMS) Kraburi along with Maritime Patrol Aircraft from both the navies are participating in this CORPAT. It is poised to further enhance strong bilateral ties and maritime cooperation between both countries.

63. The 2019 edition of Maitree, the joint military exercise between India and Thailand will be conducted from 16-29 September at Foreign Training Node, Umroi, in Meghalaya.

64. The 12-day 14th Conference of Parties (COP14) to UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) inaugurated at India Expo Centre & Mart, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

65. The 'SLINEX 2019', the bilateral maritime exercise between India and Sri Lanka commenced on 7 September 2019 and will go on till September 14th. Sri Lankan Navy has sent two offshore patrol vessels SLNS Sindurala and SLNS Suranimala to India to participate in seventh annual Joint Indo-Lanka Maritime Fleet Exercise- SLINEX 2019. The offshore patrol vessels, SLNS Sindurala and Suranimala left from Trincomalee Port (of Sri Lanka) for India and arrived in port of Visakhapatnam (India).

66. Tensions between Indian and Chinese border troops intensified once again as soldiers of India and China were engaged in a prolonged face-off near Pangong Tso lake in eastern Ladakh. The confrontation began on northern bank of 134-km-long Pangong Tso, two-thirds (nearly 66%) of which is controlled by China as it extends into Tibet.

67. Swachh Mahotsav 2019 was held at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi on 6 September 2019.  The function was organised by Union Ministry of Jal Shakti. On this occasion, President of India Ram Nath Kovind presented the Swachh Bharat Awards in various categories for outstanding contribution to Swachh Bharat Mission.

68. Suresh Chitturi, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of India's leading poultry firm Srinivasa Farms, has been appointed as chairman of the International Egg Commission (IEC). The Srinivasa Farms is recognised as one of the builders of the Indian Poultry industry in the last 50 years.

69. Sri Lanka unveiled a 350-metre-tall Lotus Tower which is now being dubbed as South Asia's tallest tower in Colombo city. Though the tower is still under construction President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena decided to open the tower to public. As per the President, Lotus Tower is foreseen to be one of the significant landmarks and an epitome of island country's culture, economy and development.

70. Russia has formally accepted the 2015 Paris agreement on Climate Change. The Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev has recently signed a document in this regard. As per the document Russia will now allocate financial resources towards developing countries for prevention of and adaptation to climate change.

71. Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt starrer Gully Boy has been announced India's official entry to the Oscars. The movie is a musical drama that revolves around a young man from Mumbai who uses rap music to break free from his situations. It earned around 134 crore rupees in February alone. It was directed by Zoya Akhtar.

72. Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised India's target for restoring degraded land from its earlier target of 21 million hectares (MH) to 26 million hectares (MH) by 2030. The announcement was made by PM Modi while speaking at the high level segment at 14th session of Conference of Parties (COP) to United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

73. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated newly constructed Vidhan Sabha or Legislative Assembly of Jharkhand building at Kute gram in Ranchi (capital of Jharkhand). PM Modi was accompanied by Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das and Jharkhand Governor Droupadi Murmu for the inauguration.

74. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India's second Multi-Modal Cargo Terminal (built at Sahibganj) online from Ranchi, Jharkhand. He also laid the foundation of a secretariat building in the state capital (Ranchi) which will come up at an estimated cost of Rs.1238.92 crore.

75. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated 'Garvi Gujarat', the second state bhawan of the Gujarat government in the national capital New Delhi.

76. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of Mongolia H.E. Mr Khaltmaagiin Battulga, jointly unveiled a statue of Lord Buddha and his two disciples, installed at historic Gandan Tegchenling Monastery in Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia's Capital) via videoconferencing from Delhi.

77. President of India Ram Nath Kovind, addressed the India-Iceland Business Forum in Reykjavik, (capital of Iceland) on 11 September 2019. President Kovind is on a 3 day visit to Reykjavik, Iceland from 9-11 September 2019. This is part of President's three first leg visit to– Iceland, Switzerland and Slovenia. This is also the first visit of an Indian President to Iceland since visit of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam in 2005.

78. Prahalad Singh Patel, Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism, inaugurated first-ever architectural LED illumination at Qutb Minar, the 12th-century monument, in New Delhi. Now with bottom to top illumination, the architectural beauty of historic Qutb Minar will display its historic majesty after sunset.

79. Ponung Doming is the first lady officer from Arunachal Pradesh in the Indian army to be elevated to the rank of Lieutenant colonel.

80. Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare inaugurated National Conference on Crop residue Management for farmers from states of Punjab, Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The conference was held at New Delhi.

81. On September 27, 2019, the Delhi High Court launched a new mobile application. The app makes the services of the court digitally accessible to litigants and lawyers. It was inaugurated the Delhi High Court Chief Justice D N Patel.

82. On September 24, 2019, President Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the 6th India water week at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi. The Theme of the week: “Water Cooperation – Coping with 21st Century Challenges”. The event is organized by Ministry of Jal Shakti.

83. On September 23, 2019, the members of GIFCT met at the UN General Assembly. It was led by the New Zealand and French Presidents. They met to discuss the progress on the steps taken to implement Christchurch Call to Action

84. Nuakhai Juhar, a harvest festival welcoming the newly harvest crop of the season was celebrated in Odisha. It is one of the most ancient festivals celebrated in Odisha to welcome new crop of the season. It is an important social festival of Western Odisha and is an agricultural festival.

85. National Conference on Agriculture for Rabi Campaign 2019 was organized on 20 September 2019 at NASC, Pusa in New Delhi. The conference was inaugurated by Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. The Conference was also attended by senior officers from Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW), DARE, Indian Council of Agriculture Reasearch (ICAR) & State Governments and Union Territories (UTs).

86. Mata Vaishno Devi shrine atop the Trikuta hills in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir has been named country's 'Best Swachh Iconic Place'. President Ram Nath Kovind will confer the award to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) during the 'Swachh Mahotsav' to be organised by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation on 6 September 2019.

87. Madhukar Kamath, chairman emeritus of advertising firm DDB Mudra group, has been elected as chairman of Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) for year 2019-2020. He has more than 4 decades of experience in advertising and marketing services.

88. Ladakhi Shondol dance has created history by breaking into Guinness book of world records as the largest Ladakhi dance. The Shondol dance was gracefully performed by about 408 women artists in traditional dresses on the occasion of the Annual Naropa Festival.

89. Khadi and Village Industries Commission's (KVIC) REducing PLAstic in Nature (REPLAN) project has completed one year. The project was launched in September 2018 as part of KVIC's commitment to Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan. It aims to remove existing waste plastic material from nature and use it in semi-permanent manner, so that presence of plastic waste in nature is reduced to a large extent

90. Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) launched first ever 'Terracotta Grinder' at Sewapuri in Varanasi, Uttar Preadesh. This machine will grind the wasted and broken pottery items for re-using in pottery-making.

91. K Siva Reddy is a Telugu poet. He was awarded the Saraswati Samman award for his collection Pakkaki Ottigilite in 2018.

92. Justice P Lakshmana Reddy, a retired judge of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh High Court was sworn-in as the first Lokayukta of Andhra Pradesh. His oath to office was administered by Governor Biswabhusan Hairchandan at a function held in Vijayawada. Chief Minister of state Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, judges of High Court and senior state government officials presided over the event.

93. Indian Air Force (IAF) has resurrected the Air Force Station (AFS) Ambala-based Number 17 Squadron, also known as 'Golden Arrows', which will operate the 1st squadron of Rafale fighter jets in near future. The resurrection ceremony of 17th Squadron was presided over by IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal (ACM) B.S. Dhanoa.

94. Indian Air Force (IAF) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight tested indigenous air-to-air missile, 'ASTRA', off the coast of Odisha. The beyond-visual-range missile was launched from Su-30 MKI as a part of User trials.

95. India's first 'Garbage Café' will soon be opened in Ambikapur city in north Chhattisgarh. It is initiative of Ambikapur municipal corporation. It aims to make Ambikar city plastic-free.

96. India Pavilion was inaugurated at 44th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2019 by High Commissioner of India to Canada Vikas Swarup on 6 September 2019. The Inauguration of India Pavilion at TIFF 2019 will provide a platform to showcase Indian Cinema in overseas market and facilitate new business opportunities.

97. India and the United States are set to hold their first tri-services exercise code-named as 'Tiger Triumph' at Visakhapatnam and Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. It is scheduled to be held in November 2019.

98. India and Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed 200-million dollar loan agreement for upgrading rural roads in 34 districts of Maharashtra with the objective of improving road safety and better connecting rural areas with markets and services. The agreement was signed between Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) in Union Ministry of Finance and Sabyasachi Mitra, Deputy Country Director of ADB's India Resident Mission.

99. In a first of its kind symbolic effort by India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a 50 kilowatt 'Gandhi Solar Park' at the Headquarters of United Nations (UN). The gesture highlights India's willingness to go beyond the talk on climate change.

100. Hindi Divas (or Hindi day) is an annual day which is observed every year on 14 September all over India since 1953, to celebrate the popularity of Hindi as an official language of India. Although the Hindi Day is mostly observed by Government of India, but many private organizations and voluntary groups also celebrate the day.

101. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has launched Mukhya Mantri Seva Sankalp Helpline '1100' (Chief Minister's Service Resolution Helpline) for speedy and time-bound redressal of public grievances using modern technology. By calling this helpline common citizens of state will be able to resolve their complaints and problems.

102. Government has decided to appoint present Vice Chief of Air Staff Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria as next Chief of Air Staff. He will take charge from the incumbent Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa who is set to retire on September 30. At present, he is the senior most officer in Inidan Air Force after BS Dhanoa.

103. Google celebrated its 21st birthday on September 27, 2019, with a doodle of a vintage computer and a Google homepage on it. Google was founded by PhD students Larry Page and Sergey Brin at Stanford University. They named its “Googol”. Googol is a mathematical term and it equals to 10 raised to the power of 100.

104. First National Conference on Cyber Crime Investigation and Cyber Forensics is being held on 4-5 September 2019 at Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Headquarters in New Delhi. It was inaugurated by CBI Director Rishi Kumar Shukla.

105. Expressing concern over depleting groundwater levels, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has set up a committee to formulate steps required to prevent illegal extraction of groundwater.

106. Every Year, World Maritime Day (WMD) is observed on the last Thursday of September. This year, it is being observed on September 26, 2019. This day marks date of adaptation of International Maritime Organization (IMO) Convention in 1958. The day was first observed in 1978. It acknowledges the importance of maritime industry and to highlight importance of shipping safety, maritime security and marine environment.

107. Every year the third Saturday of September is marked as the International Coastal Cleanup Day. This year September 21 was celebrated  as the International Coastal Cleanup Day. It encourages people to clean beaches, remove the garbage plaguing it. It has now become global with 6 million volunteers participating from 90 countries.

108. Every year September 26 is marked as the International Day for total elimination of Nuclear weapons. It is being observed since 2014. The day is observed to enhance public awareness about the threat posed to humanity by nuclear weapons.

109. Every year 23 September is observed as Saudi National Day as a day to commemorate the name changing of what was previously known as the Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The day is now a public holiday in the Kingdom.

110. Emphasising the need to increase the number of licensed private security, Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched the 'Private Security Agency Licensing Portal' in New Delhi. It is a web portal to help private security agencies get licenses.

111. Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, chaired 31st meeting of Standing Committee of Voluntary Agencies (SCOVA), held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

112. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry,  is set to launch Plastic Waste Management Campaign on 11 September 2019. The campaign will be launched under Swachhta Hi Sewa 2019 which is beginning from 11 September.

113. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the government agency charged with the military's research and development, successfully flight tested indigenously developed low weight, fire and forget Man Portable Antitank Guided Missile (MPATGM) in ranges of Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh (AP).

114. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight tested the Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) 'Astra' from Su-30 MKI platform off the coast of Chandipur in Odisha. These trials were held from 16-19 September 2019 and were conducted by Indian Air Force (IAF) against Jet Banshee target aircraft simulating all possible threat scenarios.

115. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commissioned Indian Coast Guard offshore patrol vessel 'Varaha' at Chennai Port Trust. The ship would be based at New Mangalore and will operate from New Mangalore port covering up to Kanyakumari. It will be under administrative and operational control of Commander Coast Guard region (west). It will also have on board 14 officers and 89 men.

116. Daughter's Day, a designated day to celebrate the importance of the girl child, is celebrated in India and worldwide on the 4th Sunday of September every year. The Daughters' Day 2019 was observed on Sunday (September 22) in India.

117. Chief of Army Staff General Bipin Rawat takes charge as Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC). He received the baton of Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) from outgoing Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief Air Chief Marshal (ACM) BS Dhanoa, who retires on 30 September 2019. The ACM BS Dhanoa was appointed as Chairman, COSC on 31 May 2019.

118. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora assumed Chairmanship of Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) for the term 2019-21. India has taken over the AWEB Chair from Romania for two year period. AWEB is a multilateral platform for election management bodies from across the world to share best electoral practices.

119. Central government constituted a task force for drawing up a roadmap for 'National Infrastructure Pipeline' (NIP) of Rs.100 lakh crore from financial year 2019-20 to 2024-25. The Task Force is headed by Economic Affairs Secretary Atanu Chakraborty would cover greenfield and brownfield projects costing above `Rs.100 crore each.

120. BRAHMOS Supersonic Cruise Missile, with major indigenous systems, was successfully test fired from Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur in Odisha. The missile was test-fired for its full strike range of 290-km during the launch jointly conducted by Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and BrahMos Aerospace.

121. Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan will be honoured with India's highest award in cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2018. He will be conferred the prestigious film honour for his 'outstanding contribution for the growth and development of Indian cinema'. The award comes in the year that marks Amitabh Bachchan's golden jubilee (50 years) in cinema. The announcement in this regard was made by Minister of Information & Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar.

122. Bathukamma, the flower festival of Telangana, is being celebrated in state's Warangal district. The nine-day long festival of flowers will be celebrated from 29 September to 6 October 2019. Bathukamma marks the beginning of Sharath Ruthu and it is widely celebrated by young girls and women.

123. Bangladesh Government will allow 500 tons of Hilsa fish to be exported to India prior to the eve of Durga Pooja. Bangladesh accounts to nearly 75% of world Hilsa production. The government of Bangladesh had imposed ban on its export to India due to its over – exploitation.

124. At the ongoing 14th Conference of Parties (COP14) to United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) at India Expo Centre & Mart, Greater Noida a Drought Toolbox was launched on the 10th day of conference (on 11 September 2019) which was dedicated to the theme of Drought. India is hosting the ongoing UNCCD COP14 that started from 2 September and will culminate on 13 September 2019.

125. At Kottal in Kerala, vice President Shri Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Vaidyaratnam P.S. Varier. He emphasized the importance of Ayurvedic medicine and Atharva Veda at the event.

126. As part of Indian Navy's Overseas Deployment to South East Asia and Western Pacific, two Indian Navy warships, INS Sahyadri and INS Kiltan arrived at Laem Chabang, Bangkok for a port call from 31 August to 3 September 2019. The port call is a demonstration of India's warm ties with Thailand.

127. Armies of India, Pakistan will take part in this year's military exercise TSENTR 2019 that will be conducted by Russia from September 9 to 23, 2019. This will be the first time that forces from India and Pakistan will participate in multilateral exercise together since airstrikes conducted by Indian force, deep in Pakistan's Balakot district in February 2019. Earlier armies of India and Pakistan had met last year as part of military exercise conducted by Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) – also held in Russia.

128. Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of P.K. Sinha as Principal Advisor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi with effect from 11 September 2019. He is currently functioning as as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). His appointment as Principal Advisor will be coterminus with the term of Prime Minister or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

129. Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Dr. P.K. Mishra as Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi with effect from 11 September 2019. He was currently functioning as Additional Principal Secretary to PM Modi. His appointment as Principal Secretary will be co-terminus with the term of Prime Minister or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

130. Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of United Nations (UN) appointed India's Lieutenant General (Retired) Abhijit Guha as the head of UN mission in Hodeidah, Yemen. Guha, who has 39 years of national and international military experience will be succeeding Danish Lieutenant General Michael Lollesgaard, who served in these posts from 31 January to 31 July 2019.

131. An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) called 'Rustom-2' belonging to Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) crashed during a trial in an agriculture field in Chitradurga district of Karnataka. No casualties were reported from the crash. According to state government officials, the testing of 'Rustom-2 UAV was in progress when the incident occurred.

132. An Indian Army team successfully summited Mount Leo Pargyil at 6773m on 20 August 2019. The expedition team hoisted National Flag atop Mt Leo Pargyil after an extremely challenging climb in harsh weather.

133. Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria took charge as the new Chief of the Indian Air Force (IAF). He is now the 26th Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force. He succeeds outgoing Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa, who retired after 41 years of service in IAF on 30 September 2019.

134. After completing the official procedure for renaming Hyderabad Karnataka region Chief Minister of Karnataka B.S. Yediyurappa made the official proclamation to rename the region as Kalyana Karnataka. The Hyderabad Karnataka region comprises six north-eastern districts of Karnataka: Bidar, Kalaburagi, Koppal, Ballari, Yadgir and Raichur.

135. According to some researchers three animal species namely Indian Cheetah, pink-headed duck and Great Indian Bustard have become extinct due to desertification in India. The study by researchers was put forth at 14th meeting of Conference of Parties to United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP 14).

136. A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi has recommended former Delhi High Court Chief Justice Rajendra Menon as the next chairman of Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT). The other members of bench included Justices SA Bobde and S Abdul Nazeer.

137. A National Seminar on 'Emerging Trends in Public Architecture' was held on 18 September 2019 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The Seminar was inaugurated by Hardeep S. Puri, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs.

138. A National Green Tribunal (NGT) Bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel has directed Central government to prepare a time-bound action plan within two months for protection of Great Indian Bustard. This decision is in response to the high mortality rate of birds noted by NGT.

139. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was inked between Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Central University of Jammu (CUJ) for the establishment of Kalam Centre for Science and Technology (KCST) at the university. The MoU was signed in presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

140. A joint military exercise between India and Kazakhstan named KAZIND-2019 is scheduled to be held in Pithoragarh district, Uttarkhand from 3-15 October 2019. The exercise focuses mainly on counter terrorism operation.

141. A cultural event called 'Namaste Pacific' to showcase in India the culture of Pacific countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Fiji was held in New Delhi. The event was jointly organized by High Commissions of Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji.

142. A commemorative pillar in memory of Polish families and individuals who had made India their home during World War II was unveiled at Valivade village in western Kolhapur district of Maharashtra. Around 5,000 refugees from Poland lived in Kolhapur's Valivade village between 1942 and 1948.

143. 68th Plenary session of North Eastern Council (NEC) was held in Guwahati, Assam on 8- 9 September 2019. Plenary session was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. All Governors and Chief Ministers of 8 north eastern states and senior officials from states and key Union Ministries also attended the meet. They suggested on increasing the scope of NEC's interventions in Region and improving funds flow to states.

144. 'MASCRADE 2019'- Movement Against Smuggling and Counterfeit Trade scheduled', an annual flagship FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry) event was held from 26-27 September 2019 in New Delhi. This year was the sixth edition of MASCRADE event which was organised by FICCI CASCADE (Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy).

International

1. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia will offer tourist visas for the first time as part of a push to diversify its economy away from oil. The move to open up the ultra-conservative kingdom to holidaymakers comes just two weeks after devastating attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil infrastructure, which has roiled global energy markets.

2. The World Tourism Day which observed globally on 27 September is hosted by a different country every year. India has been selected as the host country for celebration of World Tourism Day 2019 by United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). This is for the very first time that India will host the day in its National Capital, New Delhi.

3. The National Library of Israel unveiled an 80 – year old handwritten letter by Mahatma Gandhiji on the day World War II broke out. He had wished the Jewish people an era of peace in his letter.

4. China has launched its first amphibious assault ship in Shanghai. This ship would enable ground forces to carry out attacks on enemy territory from sea. It is independently developed by China and has a strong capacity in amphibious operations as well as performing a variety of tasks.

5. The SAARC Council of Ministers meeting is to be held on New York on 26th September 2019. Despite of the heightened tensions between India and Pakistan over Kashmir and its recently changed Constitutional status, the countries have agreed to participate in the meeting.

6. The 9th India-China Financial dialogue was held in New Delhi on wide-ranging issues of mutual interest. At the dialogue a high level Chinese delegation led by Zou Jiayi, Vice Minister of Finance, China interacted with Indian delegation led by Atanu Chakraborty, Secretary of Department of Economic Affairs, Union Ministry of Finance.

7. Prime Minister Modi met the leaders of the Caribbean Community on 25th September, 2019, in New York. The meeting focused on fighting climate change and increasing India's participation in the grouping

8. The Bulgarian Economist Christina Georgieva was appointed as the new head of the International Monetary Fund.

9. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with United Nation chief Antonio Guterres and other world leaders, inaugurated the Gandhi Peace Garden at the UN headquarters in New York. The inauguration was held during a special commemorative event on that marked Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary.

10. On 23rd September, 2019, Facebook announced that it will acquire CTRL – Labs, a tech company that makes wrist bands capable of reading minds. The band can transmit electrical signals from brain into computers as digital input. The deal is worth approximately, from 500 million USD to 1 billion USD. This is the most substantial acquisition of Facebook after its acquisition of virtual reality company Occulus on a deal of 2 billion USD in 2014.

11. The European Union's top court on 24th September, 2019, ruled that Google does not have to apply “Right to be forgotten law” globally. This means that the US based Tech giant has to remove data links to personal information only in its European version of search results and not elsewhere in the world.

12. Prime Minister Narendra Modi played host to United States President Donald Trump at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, for an Indian-American rally dubbed the 'Howdy Modi: Shared Dreams, Bright Futures'. The mega 'Howdy, Modi' gala event saw around 50,000 Indian-Americans in attendance. Before this event, no US President has ever addressed a community event along with an Indian Prime Minister.

13. The Department of Posts under Union Ministry of Communications has announced commencing of International Speed Post (EMS) Service to six new foreign destinations in Asia, Europe and South America.

14. US President Donald Trump has named Robert C. O'Brien as his new National Security Adviser (NSA). Robert currently serves as special envoy for hostage affairs at the State Department and will be succeeding John Bolton, who departed the NSA post recently amid differences with President Trump and other top advisers.

15. Sri Lanka unveiled a 350-metre-tall Lotus Tower which is now being dubbed as South Asia's tallest tower in Colombo city. Though the tower is still under construction President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena decided to open the tower to public. As per the President, Lotus Tower is foreseen to be one of the significant landmarks and an epitome of island country's culture, economy and development.

16. Russia is holding its annual Center-2019 International Command Exercise involving six other nations from 16 to 21 September 2019. Center-2019 is an annual strategic and operational military exercises which aren't aimed at any third-party country rather focus on counterterrorist operations and is purely defensive in nature.

17. Special Training Programme for Maldivian Civil Servants is scheduled to be conducted at the hill town Mussoorie (Uttarkhand) and New Delhi from 16 to 28 September 2019. A 32-member Maldivian delegation arrived in India for taking part in Special Training Programme.

18. The 24th World Energy Congress was held in Abu Dhabi, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 9-12 September 2019. It was held under the patronage of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of UAE.

19. President of India Ram Nath Kovind, addressed the India-Iceland Business Forum in Reykjavik, (capital of Iceland) on 11 September 2019. President Kovind is on a 3 day visit to Reykjavik, Iceland from 9-11 September 2019. This is part of President's three first leg visit to– Iceland, Switzerland and Slovenia. This is also the first visit of an Indian President to Iceland since visit of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam in 2005.

20. United Arab Emirates hosted the 8th Asian Ministerial Energy Roundtable (AMER8) on 10 September 2019, alongside the 24th World Energy Congress (which will be held from 9-12 September 2019) in Abu Dhabi, UAE. India is the co-host along with UAE at the AMER8 event.

21. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Prime Minister of St. Vincent and Grenadines Dr. Ralph Everard Gonsalves in New Delhi. Prime Minister R.E Gonsalves who is on a first ever visit of Prime Minister of St. Vincent and Grenadines to India is also participating in high-level United Nations Convention on Combating Desertification (UNCCD) Symposium, a 12-day conference being held from 2-13 September 2019 at Greater Noida.

22. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepal counterpart KP Sharma Oli jointly inaugurated South Asia's first cross-border petroleum products pipeline from Motihari (in Bihar) in India to Amlekhgunj in Nepal through video conference. Both leaders also expressed confidence that bilateral relations between India and Nepal will continue to further deepen and expand across diverse sectors. Also regular exchanges at highest political levels have laid down a forward-looking agenda for expanding India-Nepal partnership.

23. India has announced an immediate humanitarian assistance of $1 million to help people in The Bahamas affected by Hurricane Dorian. The disaster relief aid extended by India signifies that it stands in solidarity with The Bahamas in this difficult time.

24. The 7th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) ministerial meeting of 10 members of ASEAN countries and their six FTA (free trade agreement) partners is being held in Bangkok, Thailand from 8-10 September 2019.

25. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held talks with his South Korean counterpart Jeong Kyeongdoo, Minister of National Defence, on the second day of his 3-day visit to Republic of Korea (ROK) in Seoul. Indian Defence Minister is on a three-day visit to South Korea with an aim to intensify bilateral defence and security relations.

26. India is hosting 6th India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) in New Delhi. The three-day Dialogue will be held from 7-9 September 2019. Every year NITI Aayog (earlier Planning Commission) on Indian side and National Development and Reforms Commission (NDRC) on Chinese side lead SED Mechanism wherein a bilateral Dialogue is held annually alternately at capital cities of two countries i.e. in New Delhi and Beijing.

27. Fourth Indian Ocean Conference 2019 was recently held in Male, capital of Maldives. The two-day conference was held from 3-4 September 2019. Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar was one of the speakers at Indian Ocean Conference 2019 event.

28. National Conference on 'India-Africa Partnership in a Changing Global Order: Priorities, Prospects and Challenges' held in New Delhi. It was organized by Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA).

29. India has announced contribution of $22 million to Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFTAM) for 6th Replenishment Cycle (for year 2020-22). This is an increase of 10% over the amount contributed by India in 5th cycle.

30. Union Minister of Health, Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the week-long 72nd session of World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for South-East Asia (SEA) in New Delhi. This is the 2nd occasion that India is hosting Regional Committee meeting. Last meeting was also hosted by India in New Delhi.

31. Election Commission of India (ECI) is hosting 4th General Assembly of Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) at Bengaluru, Karnataka from 2 to 4, September, 2019. At the same time, India will take over as A-WEB's Chair for 2019-21 term.

32. Government of Indonesia has announced to move its current capital from Jakarta (on the island of Java) to the sparsely populated East Kalimantan (on Borneo island). Indonesia's President Joko Widodo has announced that his government plans to build smart, green capital city on Borneo island. However, t some environmentalist groups fear $33billion relocation plan of capital city may put further pressure on Borneo island's rainforest dwelling species like the orangutan.

33. Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) Regime between Switzerland and India kicked off from September 1, 2019. Under this mechanism, India will start receiving information on all financial accounts held by Indian residents in Switzerland, for the year 2018. Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has hailed this move as a significant step in the government's fight against black money and end of “Swiss bank secrecy” era.

Business, Economy & Banking

1. Government of India has reconstituted Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) under existing Chairman Bibek Debroy. The reconstitution is for a period of two years, with effect from 26 September 2019.

2. Punjab National Bank launched a Preventive Vigilance (PV) portal to facilitate its staff members to check procedural lapses as well as promote good practices. It was launched during a function held at PNB Corporate Office, chaired by Central Vigilance Commissioner Sharad Kumar. Besides PV portal e-pledge mission was inaugurated.

3. The Reserve Bank of India has imposed caps on withdrawals made by customers of Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Banks for 6 months. The imposition was invoked by the central bank under Section 35 A of India's Banking Regulation act, 1949.

4. On 23rd September, 2019, Facebook announced that it will acquire CTRL – Labs, a tech company that makes wrist bands capable of reading minds. The band can transmit electrical signals from brain into computers as digital input. The deal is worth approximately, from 500 million USD to 1 billion USD. This is the most substantial acquisition of Facebook after its acquisition of virtual reality company Occulus on a deal of 2 billion USD in 2014.

5. Since May 2019, onion prices are constantly rising in India. The price has increased by Rs 20 – 25 per kg across the country in the last 6 months.

6. National E-Assessment Centre (NeAC) will be setup in New Delhi as part of the Centre government's ambitious plan to launch faceless and nameless assessment for income tax payers from October 2019. The order for the creation of NeAC was issued by Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), which frames policy for Income-tax department.

7. Union Minister for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri has ordered setting up a mechanism to regularly monitor airfares in the country. With the setting up of new mechanism, the airfares will now be regularly monitored by Union Ministry of Civil Aviation and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

8. The Centre government has cut the effective corporate tax rate for existing domestic companies to 25.17% (from 34.94% now) and for new domestic companies, it will be 15% now. For this purpose the government has brought in Taxation Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2019 to make certain amendments in Income-tax Act 1961 and Finance (No. 2) Act 2019.

9. Nasscom's Data Security Council of India (DSCI) has collaborated with Union Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) and Google India to launch nationwide awareness campaign 'Digital Payment Abhiyan'. It was launched by Union Communications and Electronics & IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad at Google-organised event 'Google for India' in New Delhi.

10. In a bid to boost domestic manufacturing, the Central government has removed 5% custom duty that was imposed on import of open cell TV panel. Open cell TV panel are used in manufacturing of television sets such as LED TVs.

11. Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) and Sa-Dhan along with FIDC (Finance Industry Development Council) have jointly launched the 'Code for Responsible Lending' (CRL) for the micro credit industry. The CRL was launched at Sa-Dhan's 15th Annual National Conference held in New Delhi. Sa-Dhan is Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recognised self-regulatory organisation and industry association for the microfinance industry.

12. In a consumer friendly initiative, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has expanded the scope and coverage of Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) to include all categories of billers who raise recurring bills and payments (except prepaid recharges) as eligible participants, on a voluntary basis.

13. Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Railways, Piyush Goyal launched Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS) in New Delhi. The system has been developed in consultation with Union Ministry of Steel on the pattern of US Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) system.

14. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Network has decided to make Aadhaar authentication or physical verification mandatory for new dealers from January 2020 so as to check malpractices in GST. Aadhaar authentication was earlier optional.

15. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India's second Multi-Modal Cargo Terminal (built at Sahibganj) online from Ranchi, Jharkhand. He also laid the foundation of a secretariat building in the state capital (Ranchi) which will come up at an estimated cost of Rs.1238.92 crore.

16. Government e-Marketplace (GeM) under Department of Commerce, Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry and Government of Punjab, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up a GeM Organizational Transformation Team (GOTT) Project Management Unit (PMU) in the state.

17. ndia and Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed 200-million dollar loan agreement for upgrading rural roads in 34 districts of Maharashtra with the objective of improving road safety and better connecting rural areas with markets and services. The agreement was signed between Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) in Union Ministry of Finance and Sabyasachi Mitra, Deputy Country Director of ADB's India Resident Mission.

18. The India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has rolled out of Aadhaar Enabled Payment System Services (AePS). The announcement of roll out was made by Union Minister for Communications, Electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad at the first anniversary celebrations of India Post Payments Bank in New Delhi.

19. Union Ministry of Civil Aviation organised country's first ever helicopter summit at Sahastradhara helidrome in Dehradun, capital of Uttarakhand. The summit was based on theme of expanding connectivity through helicopters.

20. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched an indigenously-built metro which would be used by upcoming Mumbai metro network. The coach has been built by Bharat Earth Movers (BEML), Bengaluru.

21. Reliance Jio Infocomm has commercially launched its fiber-based wired broadband service called JioFiber, which offers a bundle of services such as high-speed internet, landline phone and High Definition (HD) television.

22. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval to increase price of ethanol procured by public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) for one year starting December 2019. It also increased price of ethanol derived from C heavy molasses from Rs 43.46 a litre to Rs 43.75 per litre, and for B heavy molasses to Rs 54.27 per litre from Rs 52.43 earlier. It also has fixed price of ethanol from sugar, sugarcane juice, sugar syrup route at Rs 59.48 per litre. The increased prices have been approved for the forthcoming 2019-20 sugar season and will be applicable from 1 December 2019 to 30 November 2020.

23. Commercial vehicle major Ashok Leyland announced that its entire range of heavy duty trucks has been upgraded to meet BS-VI emission norms, which come into force from 1 April 2020. With this upgradation the leading truck and bus maker Ashok Leyland has become 1st Indian original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to meet BS-VI emission norms across its entitre range of heavy duty trucks (gross vehicle weight of 16.2. tonne and above).

24. According to official data released by Government, Growth of eight core industries (Index of Eight Core Industries) dropped to 2.1% in July 2019. It was mainly due to contraction in coal, crude oil, natural gas and refinery products. These eight sectors had expanded by 7.3% in July 2018. Moreover, it has declined by 6.2% during April to July, 2019-20 over the corresponding period of previous year.

25. Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu dedicated the country's longest electrified rail tunnel between Cherlopalli and Rapuru in Andhra Pradesh. He also inaugurated electrified railway line between Venkatachalam and Obulavaripalli at Gudur railway station and also flagged off Gudur-Vijayawada inter-city superfast express.

26. Gujarat government has given in-principle approval for a air-conditioned passenger ferry service between Hazira port in Surat and Bandra in Mumbai. The operations of this ferry service are likely to begin in November 2019.

Science & Technology

1. The President of India Ram Nath Kovind launched the first Indigenous High-Temperature Fuel Cell System developed by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under 'New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative (NMITLI)'. The launched was made at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on the occasion of 78th Foundation Day CSIR.

2. The two premier institutions, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and IIT Delhi inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in research, education and technology developments in science and other disciplines.

3. The state government of Telangana has decided to declare 2020 as Year of Artificial Intelligence and thus will be organising various activities related to emerging technology throughout the year. This comes in the backdrop of emerging talent pool as well as renewed focus by industry and other ecosystem players on AI space in last 4-5 years.

4. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) signed Memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to provide technologies for development of human centric systems for Human Space Mission to demonstrate its human space flight capabilities.

5. Union Minister of Science & Technology Harsh Vardhan launched an Interdisciplinary Centre for Energy Research (ICER) equipped with modern facilities for conducting a wide spectrum of energy research through knowledge network.

6. Survey of India (SoI), the oldest scientific department of country will for the first time rely on drones to map the country. SoI which is India's National Survey and Mapping Organization is in charge of mapping and surveying entire country. SoI is affliated to the Department of Science and Technology (DST).

7. Maritime Communication Services to offer broadband services to support those travelling at sea was launched at Mumbai, Maharashtra. Along with Maritime Communication Services, a web portal for reporting stolen mobiles to help trace them was also launhced. This portal is under a project called Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) system, which has been undertaken by Department of Telecom for addressing security, theft and other concerns including reprogramming of mobile handsets.

8. India has joined Global Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Research and Development (R&D) hub as a new member. The announcement in this regard was made by Department of Biotechnology, Union Ministry of Science & Technology in New Delhi on 12 September 2019.

9. Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Aswini Kumar Choubey, announced that government plans to set up a National Genomic Grid, so as to take cancer research to the next level and make treatment viable for people of different economic classes. This National Genomic Grid will study genomic data of cancer patients from India.

10. Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Parshottam Rupala launched a multilingual Mobile App called 'CHC Farm Machinery' for the farmers during a conference on National Conference on Crop residue Management held in New Delhi. Minster also sought ideas from farmers to ensure zero burning in all villages and also thanked farmers for bringing down incidents of stubble burning.

11. Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (Independent charge), Prahlad Singh Patel flagged off Leh's 1st ever Mobile Science Exhibition (SCIENCE EXPLORER) of National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) for entire Ladakh Region.

12. National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) will launch 'Samudrayaan project by 2021-22 to explore the deep sea region. It is pilot project of Union Ministry of Earth Sciences as part the Rs 6000 crore 'Deep Ocean' mission for deep ocean mining of rare minerals.

13. Tech giant Google and Union Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) launched 'Build for Digital India' programme for engineering students. Google and Meity have signed a statement of intent for rolling out the programme.

Government Schemes

1. Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the Delhi-Meerut Package-3 connecting Dasna in Ghaziabad to Hapur. It is the most awaited third package of Delhi Meerut expressway.

2. Centre is considering a proposal to introduce a rating system for small and medium enterprises (SME) to help them get credit easily. The announcement in this regard was Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) Nitin Gadkari while addressing women entrepreneurs in Chennai.

3. With an aim to spread awareness about nutrition of children and women, the Department of Women & Child Development and Mission Shakti, Government of Odisha, in collaboration with United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) unveiled a mascot named 'Tikki Mausi'. The state government initiative highlights that Women and children are central to any welfare programme.

4. In an effort to reach out to every tuberculosis (TB) patient in the country, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched 'TB Harega, Desh Jeetega' campaign in New Delhi. Along with the campaign government also launched 'National TB Prevalence Survey', the country's largest-ever conducted TB prevalence survey.

5. Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr. Harsh Vardhan has launched two initiatives to tackle the menace of genetic diseases in newborns. These are:
I. The Unique Methods of Management and treatment of Inherited Disorders (UMMID) initiative
II. National Inherited Diseases Administration (NIDAN)

6. Union Ministry of Sports will set up 20 National Centres of Excellence (NCE) to groom athletes for 2024 Paris and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. This is the first-of-its-kind move, with top-of-the-line coaches will be training athletes in developmental group keeping upcoming Olympics in mind.

7. Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' launched multiple new initiatives of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) in New Delhi on 18 September 2019. This includes Waste Management Accelerator for Aspiring Women Entrepreneurs (WAWE Summit 2019), Facilitation through Margadarshan and Margadarshak, Model Curriculum for Diploma Courses, and 360-degree Feedback of Faculty. These schemes are launched to improve quality of education and will further contribute in creating New India.

8. Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawar chand Gehlot launched a Management Information System (MIS) under Accessible India Campaign in New Delhi. The launch was in presence of Secretaries of various nodal ministries including Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), Union Ministry of Railways, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

9. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has launched Mukhya Mantri Seva Sankalp Helpline '1100' (Chief Minister's Service Resolution Helpline) for speedy and time-bound redressal of public grievances using modern technology. By calling this helpline common citizens of state will be able to resolve their complaints and problems.

10. Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar announced that 118 new Community Radio Stations (CRS) are in process of being set-up across country. The approved lists of applicants have already been granted Letter of Intent (LoI) for setting up CRS. It is expected that these Community Radio Stations will become operational within a period of next 6 months.

11. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat launched a scheme called 'Mukhya Mantri Dal Poshit Yojana' to provide state ration card holders two kilograms of two different varieties of pulses available at prices much lower than the market rate. During the launch CM distributed pulse packets among the beneficiaries.

12. Union Ministry of Human Resource and Development has prepared a module to introduce study of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the school level. The announcement for the initiative was made by Union Human Resource and Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishak while addressing Central Board of Secondary Education's Teachers Awards 2018-19. During the event, 34 teachers were felicitated for their outstanding and innovative contribution in field of teaching.

13. Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik will be inaugurating Unani Medical Centre at New OPD Building in Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi on 13 September 2019.

14. Union Minister of state for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) Mahendra Nath Pandey laid the foundation stone for Indian Institute of Skills (IIS) at Mumbai, Maharashtra. The concept of IIS was envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he had visited Vocational Education and Training Centre in Singapore.

15. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the National Artificial Insemination Programme at Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. He also launched a country wide workshop in all Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) in all 687 Districts of country on vaccination, disease management, Artificial Insemination and Productivity.

16. Indian Railways will help recharge phones of passengers if they use plastic bottle crushing machines installed at stations. The step is in a bid to promote Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative to junk single use plastic. In PM Modi's 2019 Independence Day speech he appealed to nation to eliminate single-use plastic and to find alternatives to plastic water bottles on a priority basis.

17. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is schedule to launch Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana on 12 September 2019 at Ranchi in Jharkhand. During his visit, PM Modi will also inaugurate-

18. In one of the major efforts towards doubling farmers income and empowering farmers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be launching National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP) on 11 September 2019 from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh. The NADCP aims towards eradicating Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis in the livestock.

19. Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal inaugurated Telangana's first food park at Lakkampally village in Nandipet Mandal of Nizamabad district, Telangana. It has been set up at a cost of ?109 under Centre's Food Park Scheme and is promoted by Smart Agro Food Park.

20. Bal Basera or a Cre`che is a project for the welfare of Children of Construction Workers was deployed at AIIMS Rishikesh site. The project is supported by Central Public Works Department (CPWD). It will be inaugurated by Deepa Singh, President CPWD Officers' Wives Association on 9 September 2019.

21. On occasion of Swachh Mahotsav 2019 held at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi (on 6 September 2019), President of India Ram Nath Kovind presented an award to Indian Railways as Best Ministries for Implementation of Swachhata Action Plan for 2018-19.

22. Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Nitin Gadkari launched the updated Credit linked Capital Subsidy Scheme (CLCSS) to allow micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) access to capital. Union Minister re-Launched the Credit Linked Capital Subsidy (CLCS) web portal during the 2-day workshop on 'Credit Linked Capital Subsidy and Delayed Payment of MSMEs' held at New Delhi.

23. Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) have issued orders to 5 public Universities namely, IIT Madras, Banaras Hindu University, IIT Kharagpur, University of Delhi and University of Hyderabad conveying their declaration as Institutions of Eminence (IoE).

24. Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur has been selected for setting up a Sophisticated Analytical and Technical Help Institute (SATHI), a Department of Science and Technology (DST) initiative of Centre. Centre has allotted an amount of Rs.125 crore over a period of financial years (starting from 2019-20) for the purpose.

25. Union Government is celebrating the entire month of September as “Rashtriya Poshan Maah” (National Nutrition Month) to emphasise the need for healthy nutrition. This initiative is aimed at sensitising public on healthy eating, addressing twin issues of malnutrition and undernutrition and obesity in some sections and also intensifying existing nationwide campaign for 'malnutrition-free India'.

26. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced government's target of setting up 12,500 AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) Centres across India. Out of which government is trying to set up 4000 such centres in 2019 itself. The announcement was made by PM Modi during giving away Yoga Awards to winners for Outstanding Contribution for Promotion and Development of Yoga in New Delhi.

Awards & Honours

1. The 62 year old Physicist and Cosmologist Thanu Padmanabhan was conferred the prestigious M P Birla Memorial Award 2019 for his contributions to the world of cosmology. He received the award at a programme held at M P Birla Planetarium in Kolkata. The planetarium is currently in its 54th year and had played a pioneering role by initiating an Astronomy Awareness Programme in 1965.

2. The IAU – International Astronomical Union has named a minor planet between Mars and Jupiter after an Indian classical singer Pandit Jasraj. He is the first Indian musician to receive this honor. The planet was discovered on November 11, 2006.

3. President Ram Nath Kovind presented President's Colors award to the Corps of army air defense. The Supreme Commander of the Indian armed forces recalled the participation of Air Defense troops in world war II, Burma Campaign, siege of Imphal and Kohima, Arakan operations, recapture of Rangoon.

4. The eminent Archeologist Dr. G.B. Deglurkar was conferred with prestigious Punyabhushan Award for his long-standing contribution to the field of Indian Archaeology through renowned Deccan College Post graduate & Research Institute. He was presented the award by Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu at an special public award function in Pune, Maharashtra.

5. National Tourism Awards for 2017-18 were presented by Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi on 27 September 2019 on occasion of World Tourism Day. This year a total of 76 awards were given under various categories.

6. Information Technology (IT) major Infosys has won the United Nations Global Climate Action Award (UNGCAA) in the 'Climate Neutral Now' category for “Infosys' Journey to Carbon Neutrality”. The announcement of winners was made after UN Climate Summit in New York, US was convened by UN Secretary General (UNSG) Antonio Guterres.

7. The winners of Right Livelihood Award 2019 were announced in Stockholm, Sweden. The year 2019 was celebrated as the 40th anniversary of Right Livelihood Award, widely known as 'Alternative Nobel Prize'.

8. President of India Ram Nath Kovind, presented Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prizes 2019, for outstanding contributions in science and technology at a function held at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. The awards were presented on the occasion of the 78th Foundation Day of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

9. Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina has been conferred with prestigious 'Vaccine Hero' award of Global Alliance for Vaccination and Immunisations (GAVI) in recognition of Bangladesh's outstanding success in vaccination to immunise children. She was conferred the award at a ceremony at United Nations Headquarters in New York on the sidelines of 74th session of UN General Assembly (UNGA).

10. Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the 2019 'Global Goalkeeper Award' by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation at a ceremony held on the sidelines of United Nation General Assembly (UNGA) meeting in New York City, US.

11. The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony was held on 22 September 2019, at the Microsoft Theater in Downtown Los Angeles, California, US. The annual award honored the best in U.S. prime time TV programmes from 1 June 2018 until 31 May 2019. The awards are chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

12. Ponung Doming is the first lady officer from Arunachal Pradesh in the Indian army to be elevated to the rank of Lieutenant colonel.

13. Senior journalist Ravish Kumar was awarded the inaugural Gauri Lankesh Memorial Award in Bengaluru. The award was announced on 5 September 2019 on the 2nd death anniversary of Gauri Lankesh.

14. Popular Bollywood playback singer Sonu Nigam has been honoured with 'Magnificent Performing Arts Award' at the 21st Century Icon Awards in London, United Kingdom (UK).

15. Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina was conferred Dr Kalam Smriti International Excellence Award 2019 in Dhaka (Bangladesh Capital). She received the prestigious award for vision of a peaceful and prosperous South Asia, free of tension, conflicts and terrorism. The award also acknowledged her contribution in fostering cooperation between India and Bangladesh.

16. Recipients of Visitor's Awards 2019 for research in various fields were announced by President's Secretariat. The award will be conferred by President Ram Nath Kovind at an event to be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan the date for which is yet to be announced.

17. 76th Venice International Film Festival was, held at Venice Lido in Venice, Italy from 28 August 7 September 2019. The Festival was organised by La Biennale di Venezia and is officially recognised by FIAPF or the International Federation of Film Producers Association.

18. Vedanta Resources Chairman Anil Agarwal was conferred lifetime achievement award at prestigious Annual Asian Achievers Awards in London, UK. The year 2019 marks the 19th edition of Annual Asian Achievers Awards.

19. A Coffee Table Book titled 'Glorious Diaspora- Pride of India' on Pravasi Bharatiya Samman awardees was released by Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi.

20. Mata Vaishno Devi shrine atop the Trikuta hills in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir has been named country's 'Best Swachh Iconic Place'. President Ram Nath Kovind will confer the award to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) during the 'Swachh Mahotsav' to be organised by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation on 6 September 2019.

21. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to receive an award from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for one of his ambitious projects- Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan (SBA). This award will be conferred to him during his visit to United States in late September 2019.

Sports

1. India won the SAFF Under-18 football Championship by defeating Bangladesh by 2-1 in final held in Kathmandu, Nepal. This is India's maiden SAFF U-18 trophy.

2. The President of Athletics Federation of India (AFI), Adille Sumariwallam has been re-elected as member of Council of International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). His election is for a second four-year term.

3. The Best FIFA Football Awards 2019 were presented at La Scala opera house in Milan, Italy. It is an association football award presented annually by FIFA, the highest governing body of football. The FIFA The Best Football Awards

4. At the World Wrestling Championships held in Nur-Sultan (Kazakhstan), India's Rahul Aware bagged a bronze medal in men's 61kg category bout while Deepak Punia won silver in men's 86 kg freestyle. Rahul Aware won against his opponent Tyler Lee Graff with 11-4.

5. Sebastian Vettel ended a 13-month win drought by leading a Ferrari one-two victory at Singapore Grand Prix held on 22 September 2019. It was the first time a team had finished one-two in Singapore.

6. Divij Sharan of India and partner Igor Zelenay of Slovakia, clinched Men's Doubles Title at ATP Tour Tennis Tournament held in St. Petersburg in Russia. In the final, the duo defeated Italian pair of Matteo Berrettini and Simone Bolelli (with 6-3, 3-6, 10-8).

7. Spain captured its second FIBA basketball World Cup title after defeating Argentina with 95-75 in the gold medal game held at Wukesong Arena in Beijing, China. The Spaniards won their 1st basketball World Cup title in 2006 in Japan.

8. The Bengaluru-based cueist Pankaj Advani increased his tally of world titles to 22 by winning a 4th straight final in the 150-up format at IBSF World Billiards Championship 2019 held in Mandalay, Myanmar. Pankaj Advani defeated 'Nay Thway Oo' of Myanmar.

9. PepsiCo India has roped in India's star athlete Hima Das as the brand ambassador for its sports drink brand Gatorade. With this the 19-year old Hima Das joins ace shuttler PV Sindhu (since 2017) and javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra (since 2018) as the brand's ambassadors in country.

10. Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) derecognised the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) for violating National Sports Development Code of India, 2011.

11. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) emerge champion in the 93rd All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament by defeating Punjab National Bank (PNB) with 3-1 in final held at Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Murugappa Group Chairman M M Murugappan gave away trophy to the winning team.

12. At the age of 20 years & 350 days, the spinner of Afghanistan, Rashid Khan has becomes the youngest captain in test cricket. He led Afghanistan for the first time in a Test Match and is now the youngest skipper ever in the history of Test Cricket.

13. Rishabh Pant became fastest Indian wicket-keeper to claim 50 dismissals in Test cricket. He broke previous record held by MS Dhoni for India. Pant claimed his 50th test dismissal in his 11th test during India vs West Indies. MS Dhoni had taken 15 tests to get to 50 Test dismissals.

14. 'Nadubhagam Chundan', the snake boat of Pallathuruthy Boat Club, lifted the 67th Nehru Trophy at Punnamada Lake in Alappuzha in Kerala. This year was 67th edition of coveted boat race.

References:
gktoday.in

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