Monthly Current Affairs Magazine

September, 2015

Table of Contents
News Related to Finance/Banking/RBI..............................................

News Related to India........................................................................

Appointments.....................................................................................

17

Awards & Honors...............................................................................

18

World News........................................................................................

21

Sports News.......................................................................................

23

Index and Lists...................................................................................

26

Books and Authors.............................................................................

30

Days...................................................................................................

30

Obituaries...........................................................................................

30

September, 2015

Finance/Banking/RBI
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lowered the benchmark repo rate
by 50 basis points to 6.75 percent. It kept the CRR unchanged at
4 percent.
This marks the fourth repo rate cut by the RBI since January
2015.
However, it has lowered its FY16 GDP growth target to 7.4
percent from 7.6 percent. It also said the focus should now shift
to bringing inflation down to 5 percent by FY17-end.

Types

Current Rate

Repo

6.75% (Reduced by 50 bps)

Reverse Repo

5.75 %

Bank rate

7.75%

MSF

7.75%

CRR

4% (UNCHANGED)

SLR

21.50%

The repo rate was last at 6.75 percent in March 2011.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had allowed corporates to raise $ 750 million under the automatic route
per annum by way of rupee denominated bonds overseas. "Cases beyond this limit will require prior
approval of the Reserve Bank," said the central bank on 29 September, 2015.

India on 28th September 2015 signed a 123.51 million US dollar loan agreement with Asian Development
Bank (ADB) to upgrade tourism infrastructure and services in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

The yearly SBI Composite Index reading for September 2015 has come in at a four month high at 53.9,
suggesting continued pick-up in economic momentum going forward. Last month, the index was at 53.4.

The CANBANK Venture Capital Fund Ltd (CVCFL) was on 21 September 2015 appointed as the
implementation agency of the Electronics Development Fund (EDF) policy. The Electronic Development
Fund (EDF) is set up as a Fund of Funds to participate in Daughter Funds which in turn will provide risk
capital to companies developing new technologies in the area of electronics, nano-electronics and
Information Technology (IT).

The Trust Fund for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, under the Department of Empowerment
of People with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MOSJ&E), signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the New India Assurance Company Limited on 21 September
2015. It can be availed by the beneficiary aged between 18 years and 65 years with family income of less
than 300000 rupees per annum. The scheme will also provide health insurance cover of up to 200000
rupees per annum as family floater.

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Housing.com has acquired Plat, an online network for agents and BigBHK, a property management
software targeted at rental suppliers, to strengthen its supply side product portfolio. Housing.com did not
disclose the acquisition cost.

Bharti Airtel has signed an agreement with Liquid Telecom to share its fibre network to connect its mobile
base stations across Africa, which will enable subscribers in Africa to access better speeds on 3G and 4G
networks.

Paytm, a mobile commerce platform, is backing logistics data startup company LogiNext. The company is
investing $10 million in the first round of institutional funding for the firm.

Asian Development Bank (ADB) on 22 September 2015 lowered Indias gross domestic (GDP) growth
projections for the fiscal year (FY) 2016 to 7.4 percent from 7.8 percent projected in its March 2015
Outlook.

A team of researchers have developed an inexpensive, secure method named SafePay prototype system
to prevent mass credit card fraud using existing magnetic card readers. The research was led by Yinzhi
Cao, assistant professor of computer science and engineering at Lehigh University.

Silicon Valley based chip-maker Qualcomm on 27 September 2015 announced that it will invest 150
million US dollars for Indian start-ups. The investment will come through a venture fund.

Reliance Defence Limited (RDL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure Limited, has signed
a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Emirates Defence Industries Co (EDIC) for
manufacturing, servicing, knowledge transfer and technology development from the UAE.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 24 September 2015 announced relaxation in norms that allow banks
to upgrade credit facilities extended to borrowing entities upon a change in ownership, only if the
ownership has been changed outside Strategic Debt Restructuring Scheme (SDR). The Bankers bank
announced that the banks can treat loans to stressed companies that have undergone ownership changes
as standard loans, provided the stress was due to operational or managerial inefficiencies.

Telenor Group on 23 September 2015 announced that it had changed its brand identity along with legal
company name from Uninor, its subsidiary in India, as Telenor India Communications Pvt. Ltd.

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NDTV Convergence, the digital wing of NDTV group, on 30 September 2015 signed a strategic deal with
the USbased content recommendations engine Taboola worth around 100 crore rupees for 3 years. The
deal is signed to boost the entire network of desktop and mobile sites of NDTV.

The RTGS system, which allows real time transfer of large funds, will not be operated on second and fourth
Saturdays with banks observing public holiday on that days, the Reserve Bank said. However, the system
will operate for full days on other Saturdays of a month, RBI said in a notification. Banks are observing
public holiday on every second and fourth Saturdays of a month. RBI has also effected changes in RTGS
time window. As per the new time schedule for regular days, including Saturdays except second and
fourth, business opening would be at 0800 hours while initial cut off (customer transactions) would be
1630 hours. The final cut-off (interbank transactions) will be at 1945 hours and IDL reversal between 19452000 hours.

SBI Card, one of India's leading credit card issuers, today announced a strategic partnership with 7 of
India's biggest e-commerce players for its newest offering, the SimplyCLICK SBI Card. The collaboration is
with the leading players in the e-commerce industry - Amazon India, BookMyShow, Cleartrip, FabFurnish,
Food Panda, LensKart and Ola Cabs - all front runners in their respective categories.

Reserve Bank inked an agreement with Nepal Rastra Bank on exchange of supervisory information. The
Reserve Bank of India, signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 'Supervisory Cooperation
and Exchange of Supervisory Information' with the Nepal Rastra Bank(NRB), RBI said in a statement.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 1 September 2015 proposed a new methodology to calculate Base
Rate (Base Rate). It is based on marginal cost of funds methodology. The new methodology is aimed at
bringing uniformity among BRs of banks so that they will be more sensitive to any changes in policy rates
of the RBI like Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR), etc. At present, banks are following
different methodologies in computing their BR like on the basis of average cost of funds, marginal cost of
funds or blended cost of funds (liabilities). The new methodology is expected to come into effect from 1
April 2015.

Suvidhaa, Axis Bank's banking correspondent acquired mobile PoS platform AasaanPay

The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal to allow 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in
white labelled automated teller machines (ATM) through the automatic route. The decision is likely to

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result in faster growth of the white labelled ATMs--set up by private non-banking entitiesas flow of
foreign funds will now get expedited.

Bringing to closure an over seven-year-old case, Reserve Bank has cancelled Sahara India Financial
Corporation's certificate of registration as NBFC.

The Centre decided to provide additional 50 days of work in drought-hit areas under the MGNREGA
scheme to provide relief to farmers in view of deficit monsoon in various parts of the country. At
present, 100 days of work is provided to rural job card holders under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

With a large number of its customers going online to buy goods and services, the $16.9 billion Mahindra
Group has finally forayed into e-commerce space with the launch of its online marketplace M2ALL.com.

When it comes to currency notes, Rs 500 bills top the demand charts in India, followed by thousandrupee notes at the second place, an Assocham study said. Of all bank notes in circulation, Rs 500
denomination bills accounted for 46%, while thousand-rupee notes were close behind at 39.3% as on
March 2015.

The Commerce Ministry has launched an online certification programme to reach out to potential
exporters and mentor them through orientation, counselling sessions, and individual facilitation. `Niryat
Bandhu @ Your Desktop launched by Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia on Wednesday aims to get a
larger number of Indians into international trade and boost exports from India, an official release said.

The World Federation of Exchanges (WEF), in the first week of September 2015, announced that the
Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has the highest number of listed companies in the world.

The Union Cabinet on 9 September 2015 gave its approval for the Sovereign Gold Bonds Scheme. The
purpose of the scheme is to reduce the demand for physical gold and to shift part of the estimated 300
tons of physical bars and coins purchased every year for investment into Demat (Dematerialised) gold
bonds.

In a bid to provide greater flexibility for structuring of trade credit arrangements, the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) has allowed resident importers to raise trade credit in rupees provided the riders are met. It
can be raised after entering into a loan agreement with the overseas lender.

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Private life insurer HDFC Life has announced the launch of Click2Retire, an online Unit Linked Pension plan
that aims to help individuals to plan retirement by starting to invest as early as 18 years of age.

The Union Cabinet on 9 September 2015 approved Indias Preferential Treatment to Least Developed
Countries in Trade in Services in the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In the realm of Trade in Goods,
India has already made a very generous offer to LDCs in the form of a Duty Free Tariff Preference (DFTF)
scheme.

India remained the fastest growing major economy of the world for a second straight quarter, with GDP
growing at 7 per cent during April-June 2015 against 6.7 per cent in April-June 2014. Growth in the
previous quarter, January-March 2015, was, however, higher at 7.5 per cent. Data released the Central
Statistics Office (CSO) on Monday showed marginal improvement in private consumption expenditure but
gross capital formation rate a barometer for investments continued to decline. It was down to 27.8
per cent from 29.2 per cent in AprilJune 2014.

In a move to increase penetration of RuPay Cards, soon National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)
will roll out a new credit card that will be co-branded with Mudra Bank. It is also in the final stage of
discussion with China UnionPay and Japan-based JCB Co., Ltd, which would allow RuPay card holders to
use their cards in other parts of the world.

Reliance Defence Ltd. (RDL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Infrastructure Ltd.
has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) to explore an
opportunity to set up a strategic partnership for the construction of naval ships including frigates,
destroyers and other specialised vessels to address the needs of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) over the
next 10 years.

The Union Ministry of Urban Development on 1 September 2015 gave approval for Smart National
Common Mobility Card (NCMC) model for seamless travel across India. The model will enable commuters
to travel by different metros and other transport systems across the country besides retail shopping and
purchases.
The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) will develop the standards and hardware
for Metro gates/validators along with related ecosystems. Funding of 4.47 crore rupees approved by the
ministry for developing the model.

When ecommerce marketplace Snapdeal acquired mobile top-up site c in April the biggest acquisition
in India to date the promise was to build a digital commerce ecosystem. An important piece of that

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jigsaw fell into place with the launch of a new mobile wallet by Snapdeal and FreeCharge jointly.
FreeCharge has partnered with Yes Bank and payment bank licensee Fino PayTech to launch the service,
which will go live in a few weeks. The company claims that its wallet is able to reduce checkout times to
under 10 seconds.

Google has announced that it is officially launching its new mobile payments platform Android Pay in the
US. According to The Next Web, it replaces Google Wallet as Google's primary NFC-based payment
system. Android Pay allows the users to make contactless payments using their smartphone at
participating retailers.

Indian Government on 1 September 2015 partnered with the United Nations (UN) Better Than Cash
Alliance to share success stories from the financial inclusion programme Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan
Yojana (PMJDY). By joining the Better Than Cash Alliance, the Indian Government will have a research,
technical, and policy partner as it continues to create a digital financial economy. The partnership is an
extension of Indian Governments commitment to reduce cash in its economy. Digital financial services
lower the cost of providing financial services and make it more convenient for poor people to access their
accounts.

The Union Government on 1 September 2015 decided to exempt Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)/
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) from paying Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) for the period prior to 1 April
2015. The decision was based on Justice A P Shah Committees report that was submitted to the Union
Ministry of Finance on 25 August 2015. It is expected to improve ease of doing business conditions in the
country.

The Union Government on 1 September 2015 released 2000 crore rupees to Employee Pension Scheme,
1995 (EPS-95) as its contribution for the year 2015-16. Further, a sum of 250 crore rupees was contributed
as grant-in-aid for providing minimum pension of 1000 rupees to the pensioners of EPS-95.

The Global Investors Meet (GIM 2015) was on 10 September 2015 held in Tamil Nadu to woo investors
to invest in the state. The GIM 2015 was officially inaugurated by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa
at the Chennai Trade Centre. The first-of-its-kind investors summit in Tamil Nadu was aimed at targeting
investment commitment of 1 lakh crore rupees. Over 5000 delegates including from foreign nations
attended the two-day summit, that is, from 9 September to 10 September 2015.

HDFC Bank Ltd has rolled out its educational film 'Dhanchayat' in Odisha. 'Dhanchayat' aims to raise
awareness about the dangers of borrowing money from the unorganised sector, particularly in rural areas.
This film has been launched under the aegis of 'Swachh Banking', the Bank's latest CSR (corporate social

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responsibility) initiative. 'Swachh Banking' aims to create a better understanding about clean and
convenient banking available through the organised sector.

Snapdeal acquires Silicon Valley startup Reduce Data.

In a fresh setback to the beleaguered Sahara India Pariwar, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled
the license of its holding company Sahara India Financial Corporation Limited (SIFCL).

Doha Bank on 7 September 2015 tied up with Anil Ambani-led Reliance ADA Group to generate business
opportunities in the Gulf Cooperation Council nations and India. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab
Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman are part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Maharashtra government on 7 September 2015 decided to abolish the Local Body Tax (LBT) within 15
days on petrol and diesel. The decision was taken to end the disparity between fuel dealers and other
traders.

The Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX) and Integrated Association of Micro, Small & Medium
Enterprises of India (IamSMEofIndia) on 7 September 2015 signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) aimed at creating awareness among Micro, Small and Medium enterprises (MSMEs) on the benefits
of commodity price risk management.

RBI Deputy Governor Urjit Patel said the central bank expected Current Account Deficit (CAD) around 1.5
per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the current fiscal.

The largest Indian drug maker, Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd, on 16 September 2015 entered into a
deal to acquire US-based InSite Vision Inc. for about 300 crore rupees.

Private equity (PE) investor Blackstone Group LP repurchased the India-based Business Processing
Outsourcing (BPO) operations of the UKs Serco Group Plc. for about 2558 crore rupees. The deal is a
combination of equity and debt.
Apus Group, one of the worlds biggest Android application development companies, on 15 September
2015 tied-up with the Indian mobile advertising network InMobi.

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Indias installable wind enery potential has been estimated to be 302 GW with towers of a height of 100
metres.

Australian trade minister Andrew Robb on 1 September 2015 said that India has emerged as the 8th
largest tourism market for Australia. In 2014, over 2 lakh Indians visited the nation in and spent about 1
billion dollars which was an increase of 39 percent.

Union Government on 28 August 2015 notified the merger of commodities market regulator Forward
Markets Commission (FMC) with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Its merging will be
effective from 28 September 2015. For this purpose, the government repealed the Forward Contracts
Regulation Act (FCRA) 1952 and made a way to shift the Regulation of Commodity Derivatives Market to
SEBI under Securities Contracts Regulation Act (SCRA) 1956.

The National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
with the Stock Exchange of Mauritius Ltd (SEM) for fostering a deeper and more strategic relationship
between the two bourses.

ICICI Lombard General Insurance has tied up with Catholic Syrian Bank(CSB) for sale of its products through
431 branches of the bank.

PHDCCI on 2 September 2015 launched Intellectual Property Rights Facilitation Centre (IPFC) for Micro
Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

India
To provide aid to farmers to overcome drought conditions, Actor Nana Patekar in third week of September
2015 established an organization named Naam Foundation. The Naam Foundation, a brain child of Nana
Patekar and fellow Marathi actor Makrand Anaspure, was set up for donating money to drought affected
farmers. The foundation will collect the contributions from people and for this purpose Nana Patekar has
opened a bank account with State Bank of India, where people can deposit money for the cause.

To manage Godavaris flood waters which goes waste into the sea every year, two Rivers namely Godavari
and Krishna were formally linked on 16 September 2015 in Andhra Pradesh. The two rivers were formally

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linked by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu who released waters from Godavari at Ibrahimpatnam
Ferry village near Vijayawada.

India and Cambodia on 16 September 2015 signed two MoUs on Tourism and Mekong-Ganga Cooperation
Initiative. The MoUs were signed in the presence of Indian Vice-President Hamid Ansari and Cambodian
Prime Minister Hun Sen at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh.
Vice-President Ansari is on three-day visit to Cambodia from 15 September to 17 September 2015.
On the one hand, the tourism MoU is aimed at boosting tourist movement between the two countries.
On the other hand, the MoU on Mekong-Ganga relates to five quick impact projects undertaken by India
and these are:
50000 US dollars grant to Cambodia for the upgradation of an Entrepreneurship Development Centre in
existence since 2004
Two projects in healthcare, especially to do with malaria

One project on agriculture

One on womens empowerment

The Election Commission (EC) has introduced a symbol for "None of the Above (NOTA)" option to facilitate
voters in exercising their NOTA option in elections.

The Jammu and Kashmir Government on 19 September 2015 banned the sale of Ambuja Cements in the
state. There were complaints of malpractices against the company. The initial enquiry found that the
company sold cement bags at two different MRP rates in the region.

India signed a USD one million partnership with a UN ESCAP to support disaster risk management in the
AsiaPacific region, with a key focus on strengthening early warning systems for coastal hazards like
tsunamis, flooding, storm surges and tropical cyclones.

To transform the lives of people living in the areas which are affected directly or indirectly by mining, the
Union Government on 17 September 2015 launched the Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana
(PMKKKY).
The programme is meant for the welfare of areas and people affected by mining related operations, using
the funds generated by the District Mineral Foundations (DMFs). DMFs were created under the Mines and
Minerals (Development & Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015 in all the districts of the country affected by
mining related operations.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched here the Rs 45,000-crore Integrated Power Development Scheme
(IPDS) which will strengthen distribution networks and ensure 24X7 power supply to all by 2022.

Sixty-four secret files relating to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose that could help throw light on his mysterious
disappearance - an enduring enigma for seven decades - were released by West Bengal government.

To provide various services and teaching-related work to teacher in a simple and easy way, Madhya
Pradesh Government in September 2015 launched M-Shiksha-Mitra mobile app. With this, Madhya
Pradesh became the first state to develop such mobile app for teachers.

India and the United States (US) on 17 September 2015 jointly created a Joint Challenge Coin to symbolise
their unique partnership in creating a next-generation aircraft carrier for the Indian Navy.

Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on 21 September 2015 commissioned two indigenously built ships Apoorva and
C-421 at the Naval Dock in Mumbai. They were commissioned by Flag Officer Commanding in Chief of the
Western Naval Command SPS Cheema.

The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs approved the development of four-laning of the CuttackAngul
section of the National Highway NH-42 at a total cost of about Rs. 1,575 crore.

Search engine Google and Tata Trusts in collaboration with Udacity on 21 September 2015 launched a
scholarship programme to educate Indian students in Android development.

India and Laos signed two key Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) on air services and Quick Impact
Projects (under the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation programme) to strengthen bilateral ties between the two
nations.

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India and the US have signed a significant MoU on energy security, climate change and clean energy which
Secretary of State John Kerry said reflects the commitment of the two countries to make the Paris summit
later this year a success. Indias commitment to reach 175 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2022 is the
worlds most ambitious target in the area of renewables, Kerry said referring to the goal set by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi.

Cabinet approves setting up of India Sign Language Research and Training Centre. It shall be located
initially at the Institute for Physically Handicapped, New Delhi.

The Odisha Government in the third week of September 2015 decided to implement five sub-schemes
introduced by the central government for empowerment of transgenders.

Telangana Government on 22 September 2015 entered into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with
Chhattisgarh for purchasing 1000 mw of power. The PPA would be in force for the next 12 years.

Korea-Andhra Pradesh Friendship Forum organized the Korea Caravan 2015 in Vishakhapatnam on 22
September 2015. This is for the first time that Caravan was held outside New Delhi.

Indian Space Research Orgnaisation (ISRO) on 28 September 2015 launched Indias first dedicated satellite
for astronomy research, named ASTROSAT. The satellite was launched from the first launch pad of Satish
Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh at 10 am by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLVC30). PSLV-C30 is the tenth flight of PSLV in its 'XL' Configuration.

It was for the first time that India launched US satellites--four in all--belonging to a San Francisco-based
company, under an agreement signed with Antrix Corporation Ltd, the commercial arm of Indian Space
Research Organisation (ISRO).

Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions in the fourth week of September revealed
that an expert committee was constituted to revisit the civil services examination pattern. The seven
member committee was constituted on 12 August 2015 and is headed by B S Baswan. Also, the committee
was mandated to submit report within six months from the date of its constitution.

India signed a nearly USD 3 billion deal for purchase of 22 Apache attack helicopters and 15 Chinook
heavylift choppers with American aviation giant Boeing and the US government.

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Filmmaker Rahul Rawail on 23 September 2015 resigned from the Oscar Selection Jury. He resigned from
his post citing differences with chairperson of the Jury Amol Palekar.

Agriculture Division of National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog in the fourth week of
September 2015 constituted an Expert Group on Land Leasing. The expert group will be headed by former
Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) chairman T Haque.

The Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India on 24 September 2015 released the Census 2011
data on Households with at least one member aged 15 years and above with or without educational level
of matriculation and above by Household Size.

Around 122.9 million, which is 49.5 percent of the total households in India, with at least one member of
age 15 years and above, had one matriculate or more in the decade 2001-2011. During the decade 19912001, there were 39.4 per cent of households in India with at least one matriculate and above.

Haryana Government on 23 September 2015 increased the pension given to the ex-servicemen or widows
of soldiers who took part in World War I and World War II. The pension has been increased by 1500
rupees.

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on 23 September 2015 approved the proposal for Indian Air
Forces Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS) worth around 8000 crore rupees. The system
aims at integrating all air and ground sensors.

A committee under the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) on 24 September 2015 gave
environmental clearance for the proposed 5465 crore fertiliser plant in Ramagundam, Telangana.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ireland on 23 September 2015. He is the first Prime Minister of
India to visit Ireland in 59 years. Last Prime Minister to visit Ireland was Jawahar Lal Nehru in 1956.

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The Maharashtra government on 28 September 2015 declared the year 2017 as the Visit Maharashtra
Year to promote tourism in the state and thus to attract more tourists.

Naval warship INS Kochi was commissioned by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar at the Naval Dockyard
in Mumbai on September 30, 2015. INS Kochi is the second ship of the Kolkata-class (Project 15A) Guided
Missile Destroyers. The warship is designed by the Navys in-house organisation, Directorate of Naval
Design, and constructed by Mazagon Dock Ship builders Ltd. in Mumbai.

Indo Sri Lanka Joint Exercise MITRA SHAKTI 2015 Commenced from 29 Sep.

Google and Indian Railways have partnered to launch a new project under the code name Project Nilgiri
that will deliver free Wi-fi access to around 400 railway stations across India. Google will be using the
Google Fiber project, thatll provide high speed internet connection for the travellers.

The Union Ministry of Water Resources on 11 September 2015 constituted a seven-member committee
to advise it on restructuring the Central Water Commission (CWC) and the Central Ground Water Board
(CGWB). The expert committee will be headed by former Planning Commission member Mihir Shah.

India-Maldives joint military training Exercise EKUVERIN 2015 was held at the Pangode Military Station
in Trivandrum, Kerala. It was held for fifteen days between 31 Aug and 13 Sep 2015.

Indian and Australian Navy Bilateral Maritime Exercise AUSINDEX-15 kicked off the East Coast of India
on 11 September 2015. The nine-day exercise will conclude on 19 September 2015.

Budget carrier SpiceJet on 11 September 2015 became the first-ever civil airliner to make night landing
on Veer Savarkar International Airport at Port Blair. The successful operation of the flight SG-251 paves
the way for similar flight movements after sunset.

The 10th World Hindi Conference was held for three days between 10 September and 12 September 2015
at the Lal Parade Ground in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

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The Union Government on 11 September 2015 approved the purchase of 10 Heron TP drones from Israel.
This 400 million US dollars proposal for buying armed missile-armed drones from Israel will enhance
India's cross-border military strike capability.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 4 September 2015 released two commemorative coins of 125 rupees
and 10 rupees in the memory of former President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.

Rajasthan on 11 September 2015 became the first Indian state to submit State Annual Action Plan under
Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). Under the Action Plan, Rajasthan
has targeted universal coverage in respect of water supply connections, sewerage connections and urban
transport to all urban households in the state.

Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Smriti Irani on 10 September 2015 launched the
National Web Portal for promotion of National Apprenticeship Scheme for Graduates, Diploma holders
and 10+2 pass-outs vocational certificate holders.

The INS Vajrakosh was on 9 September 2015 commissioned by the Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar at
Karwar, Karnataka. INS Vajrakosh is the latest establishment of the Indian Navy.

India and Indonesia on 9 September 2015 signed a pact for repatriation of wanted prisoners and
cooperation in all criminal matters including gathering evidence.

US-based global renewable energy company SunEdison Inc, SunEdison on 9 September 2015 signed
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tamil Nadu government to develop 2 gigawatts (GW) of wind
and solar power projects in the state in the next five years.

The Union Minister for Social justice and Empowerment Thaawar Chand Gehlot on 8 September 2015
inaugurated the new production facility for producing affordable lower limb prosthetic systems. The
facility was launched under the Make In India initiative with an estimated cost of 6 Crores rupees.

The Jharkhand Government on 8 September 2015 approved the formation of an Anti-Terrorism Squad
(ATS) in the state. The State cabinet also gave its approval to create 243 ATS posts.

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Haryana Government in first week of September 2015 issued a complete ban on manufacturing, storage,
distribution and sale of gutka, pan masala, flavoured or scented tobacco, kharra and other similar products
containing tobacco. The decision was taken in interest of public health.

India, Bangladesh Agree on Fast Repatriation of Fishermen.

The Andhra Pradesh government on 5 September 2015 launched the AP State Enterprise Architecture
(APSEA) ePragati project to bring all the government services under one roof. The APSEA is a
comprehensive architecture to leverage the latest advances in e-governance tools.

Lead scientist of the tiger census Yadvendradev V Jhala in first week of September 2015 presented first
ever data on Indias leopard. The team shows availability of around 7910 of leopards across India, except
the northeastern region of India. Based on the data covered, the team estimates leopard population to
be around 12000 to 14000.

The lead Scientist Jhala says that the species is well distributed across India, which means that the animal
is quite healthy. Their population according to the study
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3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Madhya Pradesh an estimated population of 1817

Karnataka - an estimated population of 1129
Maharashtra - an estimated population of 905
Chhattisgarh - an estimated population of 846
Tamil Nadu - an estimated population of 815
Bihar - an estimated population of 32
Jharkhand - an estimated population of 29

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) on 7 September 2015 decided to upgrade Broadband speed to
minimum 2 Mbps at no additional cost for all its Broadband customers. The service will be effective from
1 October 2015.

To promote organic farming in the state, the Himachal Pradesh Government on 8 September 2015
organised a three-day organic fair and food festival in the state. The organic fair and food festival was
organised in Shimla, the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. It was inaugurated by State Agriculture Minister
Sujan Singh Pathania.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 6 September 2015 inaugurated the extension of Delhi Metro connecting
Badarpur to Escorts Mujesar in Faridabad.

Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Ranjit Rae on 5 September 2015 inaugurated the newly renovated Bala
Tripura Sundari Devi Temple at Tripurakot. It is situated on the bank of glacial river Thuli Bheri in Dolpa
district of Nepal.

NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission was in news recently as its first Joint Steering Group
(JSG) meeting was held on 21 July 2015. NISAR is a dedicated US and Indian InSAR mission, in partnership
with ISRO, optimized for studying hazards and global environmental change.

Union Government cancelled the registration of Greenpeace India under the Foreign Contribution
Regulation Act (FCRA), 2010. This move of the government will make the NGO ineligible to receive funds
from abroad, which means it may force it to close down its operations in India.

The term InSPA was in news in the first week of September 2015 as the Union Government is planning to
launch the global alliance on solar energy at a conclave in New Delhi. The conclave will be held in the third
week of November 2015 ahead of the COP-21 of The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCC) in Paris.

Union Government on 2 September 2015 launched the Indian Wind Resource Atlas at 100 metre level.
The Atlas will help policy makers at Centre and State Governments to deal with issues related to tariff
fixation, transmission, grade frequency, etc.

India has added 52 million Internet users in first six months of the year, taking the total user base to 352
million as on June 30, 2015, industry body IAMAI said on Wednesday. Interestingly, 213 million (over 60
per cent) users accessed the worldwide web through mobile devices.

The West Central Railway on 31 August 2015 became the first railway zone in the country to eliminate all
Unmanned Level Crossings (ULCs). The headquarters of the zone is located in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.

Swachhata Sangraam Abhiyaan was launched in Indore district of Madhya Pradesh on 1 September 2015.
On the occasion, over 100 public representatives donated 140 toilets for the poor.

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Govt to develop Bodh Gaya as spiritual capital.

Appointments
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
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22.
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24.
25.
26.
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30.
31.
32.
33.
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35.
36.

Jet Airways' Krishnan Balakrishnan joins GoAir as CFO

P Siva Kumar, CVRDE Director, elevated as Distinguished Scientist
Sunil Duggal new CEO of Hindustan Zinc
Vikram Pawah appointed as Managing Director of Harley Davidson's India operations
Zayn Khan elected as President of Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India
Government names Professor Ramesh Chand as NITI Aayog full-time member
Hrithik Roshan's HRX signs on Tiger Shroff as brand ambassador
J Manjula appointed as First Female DG of DRDO
Anjali Duggal takes charge as Financial Services Secretary
A K Jha takes charge as NTPC interim CMD
Bazmi Husain appointed as Chief Technology Officer of ABB India Ltd
Dinesh Kumar Likhi took charge as CMD of Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited
Vinod Dasari appointed as President of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers
Rakesh Sharma appointed as MD and CEO of Canara Bank
Prof Kumkum Dhar appointed as Vice Chancellor of Bhatkhande Music Institute
Hormusji N Cama elected as Chairman of Press Trust of India
Indian-American Jagdeep Grewal Sworn-in as First Female Postmaster of Sacramento
Indian-Origin Man Ashok Sridharan Becomes Mayor of Germany's Bonn City
Malcolm Turnbull sworn in as 29th Prime Minister of Australia
Jayant Prasad appointed as Director General of Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses
Arvind Panagariya appointed as Sherpa for G-20 Summit
Former Indian Cricket Captain Sourav Ganguly appointed President of Cricket Association of
Bengal
West Bengal Governor KN Tripathi got additional charge of Governor of Tripura
Stuti Narain Kacker appointed Chairperson of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
Abdul Bari Siddiqui elected Bihar Cricket Association President
Rear Admiral Sanjay Mahindru took charge as Flag Officer Submarines
S K Sharma appointed as Chairman of Bhakra Beas Management Board
Praveen Dixit appointed as Maharashtra DGP
Neelesh Garg appointed MD and CEO of Tata AIG General Insurance
Meghalaya Governor Shanmuganathan got additional charge of Governor of Manipur
Alexis Tsipras sworn in as PM of Greece for second time in 8 months
Matthias Muller appointed as CEO of Volkswagen Group
Ciscos John Chambers elected as new USIBC chairman
Academician Sachidananda Mohanty nominated as UNESCO member
Sherif Ismail sworn in as Prime Minister of Egypt
Richie Richardson appointed to Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees

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Ministry of External Affairs appointed envoys for Pakistan, China, UK and other countries

1. Navtej Sarna: Secretary (West) in the Ministry, will be the new High Commissioner to the United
Kingdom with effect from November 2015. He succeeded Ranjan Mathai.
2. Gautam Bambawale: India's Ambassador to Bhutan will take over as High Commissioner to
Pakistan. He succeeded TCA Raghavan, who will retire on 31 December 2015.
3. Syed Akbaruddin: Additional Secretary in-charge of Indo-Africa Summit to be held in October 2015
will be the next Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, New York. He will
replace Asoke Mukerji.
4. Vijay Gokhale: India's Ambassador to Germany will be the Ambasador to China. He succeeded
Ashok Kantha.
5. Anil Wadhwa: Secretary (East) will be the new Ambassador to Rome.
6. Pankaj Saran: He will replace PS Raghavan as the Ambassador of Moscow.
7. Harsh V Shringla: Indian Ambassador to Bangkok will now be serving as High Commissioner to
Bangladesh.
8. Sujan Chinoy: Indian Ambassador to Mexico will now be the Ambassador to Japan and replace
Deepa Wadhwa.

Government of India on 29th September 2015 announced that four brand ambassadors for Digital India
programme were appointed.
List of Brand Ambassadors
1.
2.
3.
4.

Satwat Jagwani, All India IIT-JEE Advanced Topper -2015 (Student)

Krati Tiwari, All India IIT-JEE Advanced Girl Topper -2015 (Student)
Ankit Fadia, Author & Ethical Hacker
Pranav Mistry, Samsung USA (Computer Scientist & Author of 6th Sense)

Awards & Honors

Afghan refugee teacher Aqeela Asifi awarded with 2015 Nansen Refugee Award by UNHCR
Urdu scholar Shamim Hanfi awarded with Jnangarima Manad Alankaran award
Sania Mirza & Ajinkya Rahane conferred with Cricket Club of Indias honorary life membership

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Viola Davis becomes first African-American to win best actress Emmy

Union Government presented Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar and National Safety Awards 2013

Senior Journalist Shekhar Gupta Feted With V. Krishnamurthy Award

Shivnarine Chanderpaul received Icon Award by the Indo-Caribbean Alliance

An account of Sri Lanka's civil war by Indian author Samanth Subramanium has been longlisted for the
Samuel Johnson prize, one of United Kingdom's most prestigious award for non-fiction.

24th Vyaas Samman conferred on eminent Hindi writer Dr Kamal Kishore Goenka
Lalita Prasida Sripada Srisai of Odisha won Community Impact Award at Google Science Fair

Indra Nooyi and Shobhana Bhartia win prestigious Global Leadership Awards

Chaitanya Tamhane's National award- winning Marathi film Court, a poignant commentary on India's
judicial system, beat competition from Bollywood entries like PK, Haider and Bajrangi Bhaijaan to be
selected as the country's official entry for the Best Foreign Film category at the Oscars next year.

Mathematician Jacob Tsimerman of the University of Toronto, Canada on 28 September 2015 was chosen
for the prestigious 2015 SASTRA Ramanujan Prize.

Lucknow-based CSIR-CIMAP won CSIR Award for S&T Innovations for Rural Development, 2014
Conservationist Goutam Narayan has become the first Indian to get Harry Messel Award for Conservation
Leadership in recognition of his pivotal role in leading the Pygmy Hog Conservation programme in the
North-East

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Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on 23 September 2015 won the Skoch Award for Smart
Governance.

Indian-American environmental engineer Kartik Chandran named MacArthur Fellow

M.R. Poovamma (Athletics) and Babita Kumari (Wrestling) Receive Arjuna Award 2015
Indo-British van driver Dee Patel honoured with Pride of Britain Award
India on 1 September 2015 won the UNESCO prize Award of Excellence 2015 for the conserving the Sree
Vadakkunnathan Temple of Kerala. The award was given in the category of UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage
Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation.
Indian-origin British author Sunjeev Sahota is among six writers shortlisted for the prestigious Man Booker
Prize for Fiction for 2015.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been announced as one of the winners of the United
Nations Champions of the Earth award in recognition of her country's initiatives to address climate
change.
G Satheesh Reddy, Scientific Adviser to Raksha Mantri has been conferred with Silver Medal of Royal
Aeronautical Society (RAeS), London.
Acclaimed writer Jhumpa Lahiri awarded with 2014 National Humanities Medal by White House.
Bollywood actor Anupam Kher was on 7 September 2015 conferred with the Honoured Guest of Texas
award for his contribution to the cinema and the world of art.

Haryana bags Skoch Order-of-Merit National Award for implementing e-governance, IT

Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit of South Africa selected for 2015 UNEP Champions of the Earth award.

Muziris Heritage Project of Kerala Tourism has bagged the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) gold
award for 2015 under the heritage category.

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World
The first-ever US-India-Japan Trilateral Ministerial dialogue was held on 29 September 2015. It was held
on the sidelines of the 70th UN General Assembly session in New York. The trilateral meet was attended
by the Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Union External
Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced "immediate disbursement" of USD 504.8 million
to Pakistan, bringing the total amount released to bolster the country's struggling economy to USD 4.54
billion.

Cow was on 20 September 2015 declared as the National Animal of Nepal as per the new secular
constitution of Nepal unveiled by Nepalese President Ram Baran Yadav at a special ceremony held in
Parliament at Kathmandu.

Permila Tirkey, a tribal woman from India working as a maid in the United Kingdom, on 24 September
2015 won the countrys first caste discrimination case.

China on 25 September 2015 successfully launched a new model of carrier rocket the Long March-11 from
the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the north-western province of Gansu. The rocket carried four microsatellites into space, which will be used mainly for testing.

The highest mountain of North America was on 28 August 2015 renamed as Denali instead of its existing
name Mt McKinley by US President Barack Obama. This designation will now recognize the sacred status
of Denali to generations of Alaska Natives.

We Care Solar on 14 September 2015 won 1 million US dollar Powering the Future We Want grant given
by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). Dr. Laura Stachel, co-founder of
We Care Solar, accepted the award at a ceremony held at UN Headquarters in New York.

The largest volcano of Japan Mount Aso Volcano erupted on 14 September 2015. The eruption blasted a
plume of black smoke 2-kilometer high and the ashes from the volcano fell up to 4-kilometer away.

Chinese, Pakistani forces launch joint air drill called 'Shaheen (Eagle)-4'

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An Indian-origin driver in Australia Tejinder Pal Singh was on 31 August 2015 named as Australian of the
Day by Commonwealth Bank of Australia for feeding the homeless in Darwin for the past three years. He
dedicated the last Sunday of every month to feed the poor and homeless in northern Darwin after his
night shift as a cabbie. He cooked around 30 kg of Indian food to feed the homeless. The free lunch
comprises chickpeas, rice and vegetarian curry.

Pulled by falling energy prices and economic troubles in China, Canadian economy entered into the first
technical recession in six years. This was revealed by Canadas national statistical agency Statistics Canada
on 1 September 2015.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on 31 August 2015 unveiled a low-cost device to
monitor air quality in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. It costs around 1500 US dollars per unit. It is a low-cost
device in the sense that it is expected to cost up to 100 times less than existing solutions.

NASA and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on 31 August 2015 launched
SERVIRMekong, to serve the countries of the Mekong River Basin: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand
and Vietnam.

China and Tajikistan have agreed to 3.2 billion yuan ($500 million) currency swap deal, Chinese state
media reported, citing the Central Asian countrys central bank.

To safeguard minority shareholders interests and promote capital market as a key platform to raise funds,
G20 and OECD today announced new corporate governance principles for listed companies and regulators
in all member countries, including India. Consequently, regulators and policymakers across the world,
which include SEBI in India, will update their regulations for the listed firms in line with the new code. The
new global principles, released here on the sidelines of the G20 Meeting of Finance Ministers and Central
Bankers being attended by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and RBI chief Raghuram Rajan, call for protecting
shareholders rights and keeping CEO salaries reasonable, while making adequate disclosures for the
benefit of investors.

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Sports
International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 16 September 2015 announced name of five cities namely Los
Angeles, Hamburg, Paris, Rome and Budapest as candidates to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The final
list of bidders was declared after the deadline for submissions ended on 15 September 2015. IOC will elect
the winning bid at its session in Peru in 2017.

The Union Minister of Finance Arun Jaitley on 15 September 2015 launched the Headend In The Sky (HITS)
digital platform initiative, under the brand name NXT DIGITAL promoted by Hinduja Group.

India Cements on 16 September 2015 won the Moin-ud Dowlah Gold Cup Tournament 2015-16 by
defeating Hyderabad XI. This was the third title for the winning team.

Railways shot putter Manpreet Kaur on 16 September 2015 shattered an 18-year-old national record en
route to a sixth title at the 55th National Open Athletics Championship at Kolkata.

Indias badminton player Ajay Jayram on 20 September 2015 won silver medal in 2015 Korea Open
Badminton tournament in Mens singles category.

Mariko Kipchumba of Kenya on 20 September 2015 won the annual Beijing International Marathon. He
finished the 42.195-km course in 2 hours 14 minutes and 25 seconds.

The Indian Wushu team secured 12 medals comprising of one gold, four silver and seven bronze medals
at the Fifth International Pars Wushu Cup held in Tehran. The event was held from 19 September to 20
September 2015. Indias L. Budhachandra Singh won the gold medal after defeating Masod Ansari of Iran
in the final of the 56 kg category on the last day of the tournament. On the other hand, Mukesh Choudhary
and Rajani Deori fetched silvers for the country.

Indian Air Force (IAF) on 23 September 2015 won the 2015 All India Baba Farid Gold Cup hockey title in
Faridkot, Punjab. IAF defeated the Army XI 2-1 to lift the 24th edition of the championships.

Government Chawngfiang Middle School of Mizoram on 24 September 2015 won the sub-Junior (Under14) title of the 56th Subroto Cup International Football Tournament. In the final held at the Ambedkar
Stadium in New Delhi, it defeated Esteqalal School of Afghanistan 3-2.

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The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the General Administration of Sport of China (GASC) on 22
September 2015 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Performance-Enhancing Drugs
(PEDs).

Pankaj Advani won the IBSF World Billiards Championship.

Bindra Shoots Down Gold in Asian Air Gun Championships

Sania Mirza-Martina Hingis win Guangzhou Open title

Former world number one Heena Sidhu lived upto the billing as she clinched the gold medal in women's
10m air pistol to cap off India's campaign at the 8th Asian AirGun Championship

Anirban Lahiri on 7 September 2015 became the first Indian golfer to qualify for a Presidents Cup. He will
be part of the International Team in the 2015 championship.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on 14 September 2015 recognized the Indian Kalarippayattu
Federation as Regional Sports Federation with a view to promote and give due acknowledgement and
importance to sports having regional spread.

Leander Paes and Swiss Martina Hingis on 11 September 2015 won the US Open Mixed Doubles Title 2015.
This fourth seeded Indo-Swiss pair defeated unseeded Americans Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sam
Querrey 6-4, 3-6, 10-7 in a tricky final which lasted for one hour and seventeen minutes.

Flavia Pennetta on 12 September 2015 won the US Open Womens Singles title. She defeated fellow Italian
Roberta Vinci 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 in the summit clash held in New York

Virat Kohli, the test cricket captain of India, on 10 September 2015 became the co-owner of the UAE
Royals. The team will be led by tennis ace Roger Federer.

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Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis continued their domination in the women's doubles by winning the US
Open crown, their second Grand Slam of the season, after a crushing victory over Casey Dellacqua and
Yaroslava Shvedova.

Novak Djokovic on 13 September 2015 won the US Open Mens Singles title. In the summit clash held at
the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, the Serbian defeated Roger Federer 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-4.

Australias Brad Haddin retires from Test cricket.

Abitha Mary Manuel and Anamika Das on 9 September 2015 won bronze medals at the 5th
Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) in Apia in Samoa.

Indian weightlifters continued to make their presence felt on Day 2 of the fifth Youth Commonwealth
Games after Deepak Lather won a gold in the 62 kg category. This was India's second gold in weightlifting
after Jamjang Deru stood atop the podium in the 56 kg category on the opening day of the event.

Young Indian shooter Apurvi Chandela impressed again as she clinched the silver medal in the womens
10m air rifle event of the ISSF rifle and pistol World Cup Finals in Munich.

Sports ministry recognizes Yoga as a sports discipline, places it in priority category.

Mumbai on 1 September 2015 won the Buchi Babu Memorial Trophy in the All India invitation cricket
tournament.
In the final match played in Chennai, Mumbai defeated Tamil Nadu Cricket Association Districts (TNCA) XI
by six wickets.

Australian Cricket Shane Watson retired from Test cricket

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) General Assembly on 2 September 2015 selected South
African city Durban as the host for the XXII Commonwealth Games. With this, South Africa became the
first country from Africa to host the games in its 85 years history.

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India beat Sri Lanka by 117 runs to win series 2-1 in Sri Lanka after 22 years. Ravichandran Ashwin was
delcared man of the series.

India paceman Ishant Sharma and three Sri Lankan players have been charged for misconduct during the
third test between the neighbours, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said.

Olympic medallist Gagan Narang of India has achieved the number one spot in mens 50m rifle prone
shooting category in Asia.

Pistol King Jitu Rai was placed number two in mens 50m pistol with 1929 points, behind Jongoh Jin of
Korea.

Indian boxer Vikas Krishan (75kg) won silver medal in Asian Championships.

Marvan Atapattu on 3 September 2015 announced his resignation as head coach of Sri Lanka cricket team.
His resignation was accepted by the Sri Lankas Cricket Board.

Index/List
The 8th edition Global Innovation Index (GII) 2015 was released on 17 September 2015 jointly by Cornell
University, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The GII 2015 was based on
the theme of Effective Innovation Policies for Development.
The index is topped by Switzerland for being the most innovative nation. Countries like China, Malaysia,
Viet Nam, India, Jordan, Kenya and Uganda are among a group of countries outperforming their economic
peers as per the GII 2015. Although India's ranking has slipped further to 81 in the list, compared to 76 in
2014, but it remained at the top of the regional ranking of Central and Southern Asia.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on 17 September
2015 jointly released the Achieving the malaria MDG target report. The report concluded that the malaria
Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target to stop and reverse the incidence of malaria by 2015 was
achieved. India stood at the third place after Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo in terms of number
of cases and number of deaths due to malaria.

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The United Nations (UN) Broadband Commission on 21 September 2015 released the State of Broadband
Report 2015. As per the report, the global broadband growth is slowing down sharply as 4 billion people
are still offline. The report reveals that 57 percent of the worlds people remain offline and unable to take
advantage of the enormous economic and social benefits the Internet can offer. The State of Broadband
2015 is the fourth edition of the Commissions broadband connectivity report.

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 21 September 2015 released NASSCOMS
report on Contributions of Indias Tech Industry to the US economy in Washington, the USA. It was
released on the sidelines of US-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue. This report tries to quantify the
positive impact of investments made by Indian IT BPM companies in the US by way of job creation,
contribution by way of taxes and more importantly impact of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
measures on the US economy.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on 22 September 2015 released
the International Migration Outlook 2015. It analysed recent development in migration movements and
policies in OECD countries and some non member countries. Also, the report delineated the evolution of
recent labour market outcomes of immigrants in OECD countries.

The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare JP Nadda on 22 September 2015 released the National
Health Profile (NHP) 2015 prepared by the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence (CBHI). The E-book (digital
version) of NHP was also released for the first time. This is the 11th edition of NHP. The National Health
Profile covers demographic, socio-economic, health status and health finance indicators, along with
comprehensive information on health infrastructure and human resources in health.

World Bank on 24 September 2015 released a report entitled Leveraging Urbanisation in South Asia:
Managing Spatial Transformation for Prosperity and Livability. The report provided original empirical and
diagnostic analysis of urbanization and related economic trends in the South Asia region. Also, it also
discussed in detail the key policy areas, the most fundamental being urban governance and finance, where
actions must be taken to make cities more prosperous and livable.
Report with respect to India

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13.7 percent of urban population or 1 in 7 in urban areas live below the poverty line in the
country compared to 13.1 percent in Pakistan.
Among the very poorest, under 5 mortality rate is higher in urban than in rural settings.
Delhis air pollution (PM 2.5 concentration) is almost three times higher than in Beijing giving
it the dubious distinction of being the worlds most polluted city.

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Forbes on 23 September 2015 released the Forbes list of richest Indians. The list contains names of 100
wealthiest people of India with a collective wealth amounting to 345 billion dollars. Industrialist Mukesh
Ambani has retained the tag as Indias richest for the ninth year in a row with a net worth of 18.9 billion
dollar.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Mukesh Ambani 18.9 Billion dollars

Dilip Shanghvi 18 Billion dollars
Azim Premji 15.9 Billion dollars
Hinduja Brothers 14.8 Billion dollars
Pallonji Mistry 14.7 Billion dollars
Shiv Nadar 12.9 Billion dollars
Godrej Family 11.4 Billion dollars
Lakshmi Mittal 11.2 Billion dollars
Cyrus Poonawalla 7.9 Billion dollars
Kumar Birla 7.8 Billion dollars

Indias 100 richest list include names of four women who have a collective wealth of 9.2 billion dollar,
which accounts to nearly three percent of the total net worth of all in the list. The four women in the list
are
1. Savitri Jindal Chairperson of the OP Jindal group was ranked at 23th position with net worth
of 3.8 billion dollars
2. Leena Tewari - Chairperson of generic drugs maker USV Pharma group was ranked at 54th
position with net worth of 1.9 billion dollars
3. Indu Jain - Chairperson of India's largest media group, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd group was
ranked at 57th position with net worth of 1.9 billion dollars
4. Vinod Gupta - Wife of Havells founder Qimat Rai Gupta was ranked at 74th position with net
worth of 1.6 billion dollars

London-based business daily Financial Times (FT) on 29 September 2015 released Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI) data for the period January June (H1) of 2015. As per the data, India in the first half of
2015 surpassed China to emerge as the most-favoured destination for FDI. India received 31 billion dollar
of foreign capital inflows through FDI during January-June 2015 while China with 28 billion dollars is placed
at number two position. India and China are followed by the US with 27 billion dollars at third place.

In a big jump, India has moved up 16 positions to rank 55th on a global index of the world's most
competitive economies, where Switzerland remains on top. The jump in India's position underlines the
country's recent economic recovery, improvement in the competitiveness of the country's institutions
and its macroeconomic environment and a "slight improvement" in infrastructure, the World Economic
Forum (WEF) said in its latest Global Competitiveness Report. Globally, Switzerland has retained its top
position as the world's most competitive economy for seventh year in a row and is followed by Singapore,
the US, Germany and the Netherlands in the top-five.

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Bankers Chanda Kochhar and Arundhati Bhattacharya have been ranked as top two in a list of most
powerful women in Asia Pacific prepared by the global magazine Fortune.
Kochhar, 53, who heads the country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank has been ranked at the top,
up from the second position last year, the magazine said on its website. It credited Kochhar with reshaping
banking in the country, and for building ICICI Bank into the "nation's largest and most profitable private
sector lender".
She is followed by Arundhati Bhattacharya, the chairman of the country's largest lender State Bank of
India, whose ranking has also moved up from the fourth spot she was at last year, the magazine added.
Country's third largest private sector lender Axis Bank's managing director and chief executive Shikha
Sharma comes in at the ninth spot in the list.

A report titled Assessment of State Implementation of Business Reforms was released on 14 September
2015. The report captures the findings of an assessment conducted jointly by the Department of Industrial
Policy and Promotion (DIPP), the World Bank Group and KPMG as the knowledge partner, the
Confederation of Indian Industry and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The
assessment, the first of its kind, was conducted to take stock of reforms implemented by states in the
period January to June 2015 based on the 98-point action plan for business reforms agreed between DIPP
and State and Union Territory governments in December 2014.
Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan have
implemented over 50 percent of the 98 point action plan business reforms studied in the assessment.
Gujarat took the top position in a list that ranked states on the ease of doing business. Karnataka,
Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh are also among the top 10 states in the assessment. No state has
implemented 75 per cent or more of the proposed reforms. Punjab leads in the area of Setting up a
Business, as it features an online single window system for registrations and licenses that cover most of
the regulatory services in the country. Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have also made significant
progress in this area.

Llyod's City Risk Index 2015-2025 was released on 3 September 2015. The Index is the first of its kind as it
quantified the expected loss to cities Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from various natural and manmade
threats. While Taipei topped the Index with 181 billion US dollars, Mumbai is expected to face maximum
risk in India with 47 billion US dollars.

The Global Waste Management Outlook was released on 7 September 2015 in the Belgium capital
Antwerp. It was a first of its kind report on waste management at the global level.

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Books & Authors

30 Women in Power: Their Voices, Their Stories by Naina Lal Kidwai

Book titled Globalisation, Democratization and Distributive Justice was presented to Vice
President Hamid Ansari on 2 September 2015. The book has been authored by Mool Chand
Sharma, Professor of Law at Delhi University and presently the Member of 20th Law Commission
of India.
The Duels of the Himalayan Eagle authored by Air Marshal Bharat Kumar
To the Brink and Back: India's 1991 Story by Jairam Ramesh
Novelist by Profession authored by Japaneese Author Haruki Murakami
Hungry Bengal: War, Famine, Riots and the End of Empire authored by Janam Mukherjee
Two Years Eight Months and Twenty Eight Nights written by Salman Rushdie released

Days

The International Literacy Day was celebrated on 8 September

World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) was observed on 10 September
First Telangana Language Day (Telangana Bhasha Dinosthavam) was observed on 9 September
Las Vegas Declares September 10 as 'Anupam Kher Day'
Hindi Divas observed on 14 September across India
UN adopted Resolution proclaiming 9 December as International Genocide Commemoration Day
International Democracy Day observed on 15th September
National Engineer's Day celebrated on 15th September
The International Day of Peace was observed on 21 September
The World Rhino Day was observed on 22 September
World Tourism Day was observed across the world on 27 September
The International Translation Day was observed across the world on 30 September

Obituaries

Disney Star Dean Jones Dies at 84

Hollywood Actress Amanda Peterson Dead
Music composer Aadesh Shrivastava dies of cancer at 51
World's shortest man Chandra Bahadur Dangi dies aged 75
Renowned water policy expert Ramaswamy R Iyer passed away on 9 September 2015 following a
severe bout of viral fever in New Delhi.
Senior Congress Leader and former Member of Parliament Balkrishna Ramchandra Wasnik died
on 10 September 2015 following cardiac arrest.
Veteran Congress leader Gopal Krishan Chatrath died.
John P Connell, best known as the star of the daytime drama Young Dr. Malone, has died in
Woodland Hills.
Dennis Greene, a founding member of the rock and roll/doo-wop group Sha Na Na and former
Columbia Pictures executive, has died at a hospital in Dayton, Ohio. He was 66.

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September, 2015

Mohiniyattam Exponent Kalamandalam Satyabhama Passes Away

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright Frank D Gilroy Dies at 89
Veteran Marathi Cricket Commentator Bal Pandit Dies at 86
BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya passes away
Veteran Communist Leader Sadhan Gupta Dies
Renowned novelist Jackie Collins is dead
New York Yankees Catcher Yogi Berra Dies Aged 90
England's Former Fast Bowler Frank Tyson Dies Aged 85
Meghalaya's Longest Serving Legislator Hoping Stone Lyngdoh Dies
Manipur Governor Syed Ahmed Dies at 70
Twin Peaks star Catherine Coulson Dies at 71

Disclaimer:
Readers are requested to verify/cross-check up to their satisfaction themselves about the doubtful
contents. Plenty of news which are dynamic in nature change within a week. Hence it is requested to
check if you have any doubt.

All the best. Study Hard. May The Force Be With You.

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