September 2015 Daily News Current Affairs

1. Sep 17, 2015
   1. September 17 - Birthday of India's 15th (Current) Prime Minister - Narendra Modi.
   2. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley began his four day visit to Singapore and Hong Kong.
   3. Government launched Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) for welfare of people affected by mining activities, using funds generated by District Mineral Foundations (DMFs).
      1. Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Amendment Act 2015 mandated setting up of District Mineral Foundations (DMFs) in all districts affected by mining related operations.
   4. Reserve Bank of India approved 10 entities to set up small finance banks to provide basic banking services to farmers and MSMEs. Entities are - Au Financiers, Capital Local Area Bank, Disha Microfin Private, Equitas Holdings, ESAF Microfinance and Investments, Janalakshmi Financial Services, RGVN (North East) Microfinance, Suryoday Micro Finance, Ujjivan Financial Services and Utkarsh Micro Finance.
   5. South American country Chile got hit by Earthquake of 8.3-magnitude.
   6. India and Cambodia signed two Memoranda of Understanding to boost cooperation in Tourism and another related to projects under Mekong Ganga Cooperation initiative, during Visit of Vice President Hamid Ansari to Cambodia.
   7. Nepal's Constituent Assembly (Headed by Subash Nemwang) approved new constitution after seven years of efforts, splitting the country into seven federal provinces.
   8. West Indian Test cricketer Shiv Chanderpaul has been honoured with Icon Award by Indo-Caribbean Alliance alog with Lakshmee Singh, Eric Ulrich and Dave Kadernauth.
   9. Indian Shot putter Manpreet Kaur qualified for 2016 Rio Olympics as she broke national record during 55th National Open Athletics Championships.
   10. Indian shooter Mairaj Ahmad Khan clinched Rio Olympics quota place at ongoing ISSF Shotgun World Championships in Italy.
   11. South Indian Fertilisers will start Kissan Kendra Agri Super Markets across Kerala to provide information on agriculture and make organic fertilisers available along with other Agri. Products.
   12. India Cements won Moin-ud Dowlah Gold Cup Cricket Tournament 2015 by defeating Hyderabad XI.
   13. Afghan refugee teacher Aqeela Asifi has been awarded with 2015 Nansen Refugee Award by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
   14. National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned immersion of idols into River Yamuna made from non bio-degradable materials.
   15. Actor Nana Patekar established Naam Foundation To aid farmers in overcoming drought conditions.
   16. World Wealth Report 2015 by Capsgemini and RBC Welath Management -
       1. India has become 11th largest population of millionaires with 2 Lakh High net worth individuals (HNWI), up from 1,5 Lakh HNWIs in 2013.
       2. USA has most millionaires (43.5 Lakh), followed by Japan (24.5 Lakh), Germany (11.4 Lakh) and China (8.9 Lakh).
   17. Bharat Dynamics Limited test-fired indigenous anti-tank guided missile Amogha-1 with 2.8 km range.
   18. 2,000-year-old Stupa constructed by emperor Ashoka in China’s Nangchen has been restored.
   19. Longest chain of continental volcanoes has been found in Australia, stretching 2000 km along Australia's east coast.
   20. Delhi Government approved Victim Compensation Scheme enhancing compensation limit to rape victims to 5 lakh rupees and 7 lakh rupees for Acid Atack Victims.
2. Sep 16, 2015
   1. Sep 16 - International Day for Preservation of Ozone Layer. UN proclaimed the same in 1994 commemorating date of signing of Montreal Protocol in 1987 on Substances that Deplete Ozone Layer.
      1. Vienna Convention for Protection of Ozone Layer is an International Agreement about protecting ozone layer agreed upon during Vienna Conference of 1985 and enacted in 1988. It has been ratified by 197 UN Members. It does not include bindings for use of CFCs (Chloro Fluoro Carbons) which is main cause of ozone depletion. These are laid out in accompanyingMontreal Protocol.
   2. Government declared NSCN(K) (National Socialist Council of Nagaland) as an unlawful organisation for 5 years under Unlawful Activities (Prevention), Act 1967 due to continued violence by NSCN(K) even after ceasefire signed on 27th April, 2015.
   3. Sep 16 - Independence Day of Mexico. It marks Declaration of Independence from spain in 1810.
   4. Government approved Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (SPMRM) with an outlay of Rs. 5142 crores for development of rural growth clusters with potential for growth in all States.
      1. Clusters will consist of Gram Panchayats with population of 25000 - 50000 in plain areas and a 5000 - 15000 in desert, hilly or tribal areas.
      2. Mission aims to create 300 such Rurban growth clusters over next 3 years. Funding for Rurban Clusters will be through various Government Rural welfare schemes.
      3. SPMRM will provide an additional funding support of upto 30 % of project cost per cluster as Critical Gap Funding (CGF).
   5. Government approved creation of four posts of Directors for four new National Institutes of Design (NIDs) at Kurukshetra (Haryana), Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Jorhat (Assam) and Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh).
   6. Minister of Finance Arun Jaitley launched Headend In The Sky (HITS) digital platform - NXT DIGITAL promoted by Hinduja Group as part of Digital India initiative and Make In India mission. It will provide viewers access to over 500 television channels of their choice - international, national and local besides other e-applications. The initiative will enable thousands of cable operators to transit from analog to digital across 12 Crore homes in India.
   7. 208th meeting of Central Board of Trustees (EPF) held in Hyderabad under chairmanship of Bandaru Dattatreya (Minister for Labour & Employment & Chairman of CBT, EPF).
      1. Central Board of Trustees enhanced Insurance benefits under Employees Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme for dependants of EPF members from present Rs 3,60,000 to Rs 6,00,000.
      2. EPF Mobile App was launched for benefit of EPF members for activating their UAN (Universal Account Numbers).
   8. India's Swetha Prabhakaran is among 11 winners of Champions of Change award by USA's White House for Founding Everybody Code Now, a non profit organization to make youth efficient in Coding.
   9. Indian author Sunjeev Sahota has been short-listed for prestigious Man Booker Prize 2015 for Fiction for his novel The Year of the Runaways about life experience of illegal immigrants from Indian subcontinent in Britain.
   10. Hungary declared emergency state in its Csongrad and Bacs-Kiskun regions to cope with High number of Syrian and Afghan refugees.
   11. North Korea’s main nuclear facility at Yongbyon complex resumed operations after it was shut down in 2007.
   12. Indian Actor Anupam Kher received Certificate of Recognition from California legislature for his dedication to helping Kashmiri Hindu community.
   13. Andhra Pradesh Government will Link Godavari and Krishna Rivers for Benefit of Farmers.
   14. USA's Pentagon established first-ever country special cell to speed up its defence ties with India. India Rapid Reaction Cell (IRRC) is headed by Keith Webster.
   15. Olympic Council of Asia announced Chinese Hangzhou city as host of 2022 Asian Games at its General Assembly in Ashgabat (Turkmenistan Capital).
   16. Madhya Pradesh government formed commission under Aryendra Kumar Saxena to probe into Petlawad explosion incident in Jhabua district.
   17. Indian Organization Tambul Leaf Plates has been conferred with SEED Special Recognition Award in Nairobi, Kenya on the 10th anniversary of annual SEED Awards. SEED is a global partnership for action on sustainable development and the green economy.
3. Sep 15, 2015
   1. Sep 15 - International Day of Democracy. Declared by United Nations in 2007. Theme for 2015 is Space for Civil Society.
   2. Sep 15 - Engineer's Day in India. It marks Birthday of Bharat Ratna Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya.
   3. Sep 15 - Independece day of Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador. It Marks Their Independence from Spain in 1821.
   4. UN General Assembly adopted a negotiating text for long-pending Security Council reforms, setting the stage for talks on India's bid for a permanent seat in UN Secuity Council during UN's 70th General Assembly.
   5. Ease of doing business in India Report by World Bank and Department of Industry Policy and Promotion -
      1. Gujarat emerged as number 1 state with 71.14% Score.
      2. Andhra Pradesh is second with 70.12%.
      3. Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are other three in top 5 states.
      4. Arunachal Pradesh is ranked last with 1.23%.
   6. Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari started his Visit to Cambodia and Laos.
   7. India's Ashok Sridharan won Germany’s Bonn city mayoral election.
   8. Malcolm Turnbull has been appointed as 29th Prime Minister of Australia replacing Tony Abbott.
   9. Nepal constituent assembly Rejected A proposal to declare Nepal a Hindu state, will stay secular.
   10. Fortune's Most Powerful Women in Asia Pacific List
       1. India's Chanda Kochhar (Chief of ICICI Bank) has been ranked at Top with Arundhati Bhattacharya (Chairman of State Bank of India) at second Place. Hindustan Petroleum’s CMD Nishi Vasudeva is at fifth Place. Axis Bank’s MD & CEO Shikha Sharma is at ninth.
       2. With 11 names, Chinese women lead the list.
   11. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe Visited India.
   12. India hosted a meeting of Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDCs) on climate change to prepare strategies for negotiation for the UN Climate Change Conferene in Paris (COP 21) to be held later in 2015.
   13. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports recognized Indian Kalaripayattu Federation as Regional Sports Federation for promotion and development of Kalarippayattu sport in India. Origin of sport is Kerala state.
   14. Reserve Bank of India and Nepal Rastra Bank signed an MOU on exchange of supervisory information.
   15. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been selected for United Nations Champions of Earth award for her leadership and vision in tackling climate change issues in Bangladesh. She will be honored during UN Sustainable Development Summit 2015 in Sep 25-27, 2015.
   16. SBI Card launched online specific credit card SimplyCLICK in association with seven partners including Amazon India, BookMyShow and Cleartrip.
   17. World Bank Group's International Finance Corporation launched Suryodaya campaign in Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to increase awareness of quality solar lighting products In order to provide safe and high quality solar lights to people with no access to electricity in rural India.
   18. Mobile commerce firm Paytm introduced cashless payments in educational institutes for fee payments and related purchases.
   19. FreeCharge partnered with Yes Bank and payment bank licensee Fino PayTech to launch e-Wallet service.
   20. United Nations General Assembly adopted resolutions initiated by Armenia to proclaim 9 December as International Genocide Commemoration Day and Prevention of this Crime. 9 December marks anniversary of signing of 1948 Genocide Convention.
   21. USA's We Care Solar won 1 million USD ‘Powering the Future We Want’ grant by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) (in collaboration with China Energy Fund Committee (CEFC)) for providing low cost renewable energy and medical device to prevent complications during labour in areas without electricity.
   22. Ministry of Water Resources created a seven-member committee under Mihir Shah to advise restructuring of Central Water Commission (CWC) and Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) for development of water resources in India.
   23. Government will provide additional 50 days of work in 2015-16 in drought-hit areas under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme in view of deficit monsoon in various parts. At present, 100 days of work is provided to rural job card holders under MGNREGA.
   24. QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) World University Rankings of 2015-16 -
       1. Overall, 14 Indian institutes in QS World University rankings. 7 Indian institutes including IISc Bangalore (147th), IIT Delhi (179th), IIT Bombay (202nd), IIT Madras (254th), IIT Kanpur (271st), IIT Kharagpur (286th), IIT Roorkee (391st) are in top 400. Its First time any Indian Institutes are ranked in top 200 in QS Rankings.
       2. IIT Guwahati, University of Delhi, University of Calcutta, Banaras Hindu University, Panjab University, University of Mumbai and University of Pune are in list but beyond top 400.
       3. The Top 10 Universities in world are -

          	Ranking in 2015/16	Ranking in 2014/15	Country
          Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	1	1	US
          Harvard University	2	4	US
          University of Cambridge	3	2	UK
          Stanford University	3	7	US
          California Institute of Technology (Caltech)	5	8	US
          University of Oxford	6	5	UK
          University College London (UCL)	7	5	UK
          Imperial College London	8	2	UK
          ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology)	9	12	Switzerland
          University of Chicago	10	11	US

4. Sep 14, 2015
   1. 14 September - Hindi Diwas. It marks adoption of Hindi (written in Devanagari script ) on 14 September, 1949 as official language of Republic of India. PFC (Power Finance Corporation) received Rajbhasha Award 2014-15 in category of “Rajbhasha Kirti Puruskar” second prize on this occasion.
   2. Rosh Hashanah observed by Jewish Communities across the world as Jewish New Year.
   3. Prabhat Kumar Singh is appointed as MD & CEO of Petronet LNG, India’s biggest liquefied natural gas importer.
   4. Hormusji N Cama is elected as chairman of Press Trust of India (PTI).
   5. RailTel of Indian Railways and Google partnered under project Nilgiri to provide free Wi-Fi High Speed (1 GBPS) Internet services in 400 railway stations across India by using Google’s Fiber technology.
   6. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will execute Vijayawada Metro Rail Project in Andhra Pradesh to improve connectivity in Amaravati (proposed capital) and surrounding areas. Initial Phase will be completed at estimated cost of 6769 crore rupees by 2018.
   7. Tamil Nadu Government announced to set up Tamil Nadu Fibernet Corporation to implement Union Government’s Bharatnet scheme at cost of 3000 crore rupees. It will oversee linkage of 12524 villages in the state through optical fibre network for better internet connectivity of Households.
   8. Largest volcano of Japan, Mount Aso erupted.
   9. Germany introduced border controls along its Austrian border to check migrant influx from Syria.
   10. SpiceJet became first airline to make night landing on Veer Savarkar International Airport at Port Blair (Andaman and Nicobar Islands).
5. Sep 13, 2015
   1. Noted Kathak danseuse Kumkum Dhar has been appointed as Vice Chancellor of Bhatkhande Music Institute deemed university.
   2. CarDekho.com acquired Zigwheels (auto portal owned by Times Internet).
   3. Government approved purchasing 10 Heron TP drones from Israel worth 400 million USD to enhance India's cross-border military strike capability.
6. Sep 12, 2015
   1. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's People's Action Party (PAP) won Singapore general elections 2015. Mr. Loong will be re-appointed as Singapore's Prime Minister for the Third Time.
   2. Royal Aeronautical Society London conferred Indian Scientist G Satheesh Reddy (Missile Scientist of DRDO) with prestigious Silver Medal for his contributions in India's highly developed avionics sensors and systems for key strategic programmes and other defence applications.
   3. US Open Tennis 2015 -
      1. Women's Singles - Flavia Pennetta (Italy) won by defeating Roberta Vinci (Italy).
      2. Men's Singles - Novak Djokovic (Serbia) won by beating Roger Federer (Switzerland).
      3. Mixed Doubles - Martina Hingis (Switzerland) and Leander Paes (India) won by defeating Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sam Querrey of United States
      4. Women's Doubles - Martina Hingis (Switzerland ) and Sania Mirza (India) won by defeating Casey Dellacqua (Australia) and Yaroslava Shvedova (Kazakhstan)
      5. Men's Doubles - Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut of france won by beating Jamie Murray (UK) and John Peers (Australia)
   4. PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry launched Intellectual Property Rights Facilitation Centre (IPFC) for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh).
   5. Inaugural Navy exercise between India and Australia AUSINDEX15 started in Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh).
   6. Bharatiya Janata Party-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) won student union elections of Delhi University by defeating National Students Union of India (NSUI).
   7. Road transport and highways ministry decided to expand National Highways by 50,000 km in next six months.
   8. Rakesh Sharma appointed as Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bengaluru-based Canara Bank.
   9. Jeremy Corbyn elected as leader of Britain's Labour party. He appointed Indian-origin Seema Malhotra and Lisa Nandy Into his shadow cabinet.
   10. JK Tyre & Industries will accquire Kesoram Industries's Tyre Unit - Cavendish Industries Ltd for Rs. 2,200 crore.
   11. India's current account deficit came down to to 1.2 % of GDP ($6.2 Billion USD) in April - June of FY 2015-16 Quarter as compared to 1.6 % of GDP ($6.2 Billion USD) in same periood last year.
   12. Russian astronaut Gennady Padalka returned to Earth after creating record for most time spent in space by spending 879 days over five trips.
   13. Aditi Ashok won Singha Thailand Amateur Golf Championship.
   14. Classical dancer Kalamandalam Sathyabhama passed away.
   15. 12th UWW World Wrestling Championships 2015 (Las Vegas - United States)
       1. Russia Topped with 14 Medals. USA Second wtih 7 Medals while Turkey Third with 6 Medals.
       2. India ranked 24th with One bronze medal in Men’s 74 kg Freestyle won by Wrestler Narsingh Pancham Yadav. He also won a place in Indian Squad in 2016 Rio Olympics.
7. Sep 11, 2015
   1. Book Feminist and Orientalist Perspectives – A Study of Lady Mary Montagu’s Turkish Embassy Letters has been written by Farha Hiba Parvez.
   2. Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani launched National Web Portal for promotion of National Apprenticeship Scheme for Graduates, Diploma holders and 10+2 pass-outs vocational certificate holders. Slogan is Sashakt Yuva, Samarth Bharat.
   3. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi become first Indian political leader to have a mobile app, developed for to digitally connect him with citizens.
   4. Shashidhar Sinha has been appointed as Chairman of Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC).
   5. Indian-American Jagdeep Grewal has been appointed as first woman postmaster of Sacramento city in California.
   6. Renowned water policy expert Ramaswamy R. Iyer passed away.
   7. Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) will built a new cricket stadium in name of Sachin Tendulkar.
   8. 4th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament held at UN Headquarters in New York. Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Sumitra Mahajan attend on India's Behalf.
   9. Fortune's list of 50 most powerful women in business -
      1. General Motors CEO Mary Barra is at top while PepsiCo's CEO Indra Nooyi is Second. Indira is Only Indian Origin Person in the List. IBM CEO Ginni Rometty is third in List.
   10. Indian - origin Mahesh Ramanujam is appointed as new CEO of US Green Building Council, a non-profit organisation that promotes sustainability in desigining and Operating buildings.
   11. Kopparapu kavula National Eminence award 2015 will be given to classical flutist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia.
   12. Indian Squash player Joshna Chinnappa won NSCI open by beating Habiba Mohmad (Egypt).Men’s singles was won by Adrian Waller of England.
   13. United Nations General Assembly approved Resolution introduced by Iraq on Raising of Flags by Non-Member Observer States like Patestine and Vatican City.
   14. Experts from Tamil University discovered existence of a flourishing port town in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu during Sangam era and Middle Chola period. Sangam era relates to third Century Before Common Era to Third Century Common Era while Middle Chola period ranges from 850 to 1250 Common Era.
   15. Rajasthan became first state to submit State Annual Action Plan under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). Rajasthan Government has proposed projects worth 1087 crore rupees for approval by Urban Development Ministry during 2015-16.
   16. Mumbai Dialogue : Towards a TB-Free India was launched by US Ambassador to India Richard Verma along with Actor Amitabh Bachchan and Ratan Tata, (Chairman of Tata Trusts) with aim to engage corporate sector to strengthen Government’s Call to Action for a TB-Free India.
   17. Cricketer Virat Kohli became co-owner of UAE Royals International Premier Tennis League team. The team will be led by tennis ace Roger Federer.
8. Sep 10, 2015
   1. India and Indonesia signed a pact for repatriation of each other's wanted prisoners and cooperate in all criminal matters, including gathering evidence.
   2. Britain's Queen Elizabeth II became longest-reigning Monarch of Britain and longest-reigning female monarch across world after surpassing Queen Victoria who reigned Britain for over 63 years.
   3. As per World Federation of Exchanges, India's Bombay Stock Exchange has highest number of listed companies in the world (5689 Companies). National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) has 1750 listed companies. Although, Shanghai stock exchange of China (1070 companies) is at top in terms of value of share trading with average 30 trillion USD transactions monthly, while monthly average of transactions at BSE is 100 billion USD. BSE was established in 1855 and is oldest exchange in Asia.
   4. NTPC will raise up to Rs. 700 crore through tax free secured non-convertible bonds. Government approved NTPC's raising Rs. 1,000 crore through tax free bonds, including Rs. 700 crore through public issue.
   5. Haryana government completely banned gutka, pan masala and other similar products containing tobacco in the state for one year.
   6. Tamil Nadu's first Global Investors Summit (TNGIM 2015) began in Chennai seeking investment of over one-lakh crore rupees.
   7. Tenth World Hindi Conference began in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) with theme of Hindi Jagat-Vistar and Sambhavnaye.
   8. India and Pakistan ageeed to Maintain Peace along borders and minimize ceasefire violations during Visit of Umar Farooq Burk, DG of Pakistani Rangers to India.
   9. Scientists discovered bones of a new ancestral species in human family tree named as Homonaledi in South Africa. The species has been classified in genus Homo to which modern humans belong.
   10. Jharkhand Government approved formation of an Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in the state with 243 posts.
   11. Septermber 10 -World Suicide Prevention Day. Theme for 2015 is Preventing Suicide: Reaching Out and Saving Lives.
   12. US-based renewable energy firm SunEdison signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tamil Nadu to develop 2 gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar power projects in the state in next five years with investment of 12000 - 14000 crore rupees.
   13. Government approved 6 % hike in Dearness Allowance to Central Government employees, effective from 1 July 2015. DA will go up to 119 % from 113 %, while benefiting 50 lakh employees and 56 lakh pensioners.
   14. 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games in Apia (capital of Samoa) -
       1. 1000 Atheletes from 63 Nations Participated in Nine Events.
       2. 25 Indian athletes partipating in eight disciplines.
   15. Bollywood actor Anupam Kher has been conferred with Honoured Guest of Texas award for his contribution to cinema. He was also conferred with Senate Proclamation award by Texas State Senate. Besides, Houston state declared 7 August as Anupam Kher Day, after success of his show -My intention was not that.
   16. Forbes Asia’s list of 40 philanthropists (who seeks welfare of others by donating money for good causes) -
       1. Includes a philanthropist from Nepal for first time - Binod Chaudhary. He is nepal's first billionaire and is rebuilding chains of Schools across Nepal after recent devastating earthquakes.
       2. The list has names of seven Indians - Infosys co-founders Senapathy Gopalakrishnan, Nandan Nilekani, SD Shibulal and NR Narayana Murthy (represented by son Rohan) , Sunny Varkey, Suresh Ramakrishnan and Mahesh Ramakrishnan.
   17. Child Mortality Report 2015 (by World Health Organisation, United Nations Children's Fund, World Bank Group and Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA))
       1. Child (0-5 years) mortality rates in 2015 have came down to less than half of what they were in 1990. 12.7 million in 1990 to 5.9 million in 2015.
       2. In India, U5MR (Under 5 Mortality rate) declined to 91 in 2000 and 48 in 2015 as compared to 126 in 1990. UN Millennium Development Goal target is of 42.
   18. Government approved guidelines for spectrum trading between two telecom service providers.
       1. Spectrum trading will now be allowed between two access service providers in 800 MHz/1800 MHz band. Till now, a licensee had the sole authority to use spectrum as it was not tradable.
       2. Spectrum assignment is made for 20 years to a licensee. During this period, some operators are able to acquire subscribers and grow faster as compared to other operators. It results in spectrum lying unutilised with some operators while others face crunch as spectrum is a scare resource.
       3. So, spectrum trading will improve quality of services and will address issue of call drops.
9. Sep 09, 2015
   1. September 09 - Independence day of Tajikistan. It marks declaration of independence from Soviet Union in 1991.
   2. India's Narcotics Control Bureau Organized South Asian Sub-Regional Drug Focal Point Meeting and Drug Demand Reduction (DDR) Expert Group Consultation in Delhi.
   3. World Economic Forum released first Inclusive Growth and Development Report. The report seeks to improve usage of policy incentives and institutional mechanisms to make economic growth more socially inclusive.
   4. Govrnment approved capital infusion of Rs. 800 Crore in Export Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) to support future growth of the Bank.
   5. Government approved National Offshore Wind Energy Policy by making Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) as Nodal Ministry for use of offshore areas within Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) is authorized as Nodal Agency for development of offshore wind energy in India to carry out allocation of offshore wind energy blocks and allied functions with related agencies.
   6. Government approved Sovereign Gold Bonds Scheme to reduce demand for physical gold by shifting a part of approx 300 tons of physical bars and coins purchased every year for Investment into gold bonds. As most of gold in India is imported, this scheme will help in maintaining Current Account Deficit in limits.
   7. Government approved Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) up to 100 % under automatic route in activity of White Label ATM (WLA) Operations.
   8. Government approved Revamped Gold Monetization Schemes as announced in 2015-16 budget speech - Gold Deposit Scheme (GDS) and Gold Metal Loan (GML) Scheme along with Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme.
      1. Gold Deposit Scheme -
         1. Objectives -
            1. Mobilize gold held by households and institutions in India.
            2. Help jewellery sector by making gold available as loan from banks.
            3. Reduce reliance on import of gold to meet huge domestic demand.
         2. Process -
            1. Customer may approach any of over 350 Purity Testing Centres (PTC) certified by BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) for testing of gold (minimum 30 grams).
            2. If customer allows, PTC will melt the Gold and customer may take the melted Gold home in form of Bars or may keep the Melted pure gold with a bank for monetization.
            3. If the customer wants to keep the gold with the bank, PTC will issue certificate to the customer and Bank will open a Gold Savings Account for the customer.
            4. Gold amount as in PTC's Certificate will then be credited into Customer's Gold Savings Account. Interest rate and Maturity Period (1 - 15 Years) will be decide upon. On maturity, customer will be paid Principal with Interest in form of Gold /Cash.
            5. The bank may keep the gold with itself or may keep it with any of certified Refiners. In both the cases, the customer won't be charged. Minimum Lock in period for gold deposits will be a Year.
            6. Utilization of Gold by Government - The deposited gold will be utilized in medium and long-term deposits, Auctioning, Replenishment of RBIs Gold Reserves and Lending to Jewelers. Government will create a Gold Reserve Fund to keep the difference between current borrowing cost for Government and interest rate paid by Government under the deposits. It will act as a pool for Government to handle losses occuring in the process.
      2. Gold Metal Loan Scheme
         1. Gold Metal Loan Account (denominated in grams of gold) will be opened by banks for jewelers to whom Gold is being provided as loan. Physical gold will be provided to jewellers on sanctioning of Loan. Interest will be received by banks from Jewellers accordingly. Tenure of GML at present is 180 days.
   9. Government approved Amendment in First Schedule of Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951 to transfer authority to regulate 'potable alcohol' to States as recommended by Law Commission's 158th Report. It will end confusion about jurisdiction of Central and State with respect to Potable Alcohol and Industrial Alcohol.
   10. Government approved creation of 21st Law Commission of India for 3 years (1 September 2015 - 31 August 2018). Last (20th) LCI was headed by Justice A P Shah and tenure ended on 31 August, 2015.
   11. Government approved Preferential Treatment to Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in Trade in Services in WTO. India will provide Technical Assistance and capacity building and Waiver of visa fees for LDC applicants applying for Indian Business and Employment visas to win goodwill of LDCs. India's Duty Free Tariff Preference (DFTF) scheme has already done well in helping LDCs for doing Business in India.
   12. Government launched Niryat Bandhu @ Your Desktop online certificate programme in export import business under Niryat Bandhu Scheme of Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) to train potential exporters for getting into international trade and boost India's exports.
   13. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar commissioned Indian Navy's INS Vajrakosh naval station near Karwar in Karnataka.
   14. Indirect Tax Revenue Collections increased to 2,63,089 crore during April-August 2015 from Rs.1,92,677 crore in April-August 2014 (27 % up).
       1. Central Excise collections increased from 60663 crore in April - August 2014 to 102945 crore in April - August 2015 (42 % up).
       2. Service Tax collections increased from 60693 crore in April - August 2014 to 75006 crore in April - August 2015 (20 % up).
       3. Customs collections increased from 70321 crore in April - August 2014 to 85138 crore in April - August 2015 (17.5 % up).
   15. Director General of Safeguards recommended imposition of 20% safeguard duty on common variety of hot rolled coil steel for a period of 200 days to check losses to domestic steelmakeers due to sudden surge in steel imports in recent years.
   16. Bangladesh Army Chief, Abu Belal Muhammad Shafiul Huq visited India.
   17. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu visited Japan.
   18. Minister for Trade and Investment of United Kingdom, Francis Maude visited India and met India's Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan.
10. Sep 08, 2015
    1. Sep 08 - International Literacy Day. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) launched nationwide e-payment literacy workshop on this occasion.
    2. President Pranab Mukherjee presented Gandhi Peace Prize 2014 to Indian Space Research Organization.
    3. Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit (APU) of South Africa has been selected for 2015 UNEP Champions of the Earth award in inspiration and action category for comabatting poaching and community led initiatives in protecting wildlife in Balule Private Game Reserve of South Africa.
    4. Himachal Pradesh Government organised a three-day organic fair and food festival to promote organic farming in the state.
    5. Maharashtra government decided to abolish Local Body Tax (LBT) on petrol and diesel to end disparity between fuel dealers and other traders.
    6. Haryana Assembly passed Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2015 to amend the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 and fix matriculation as minimum educational qualification for elections to Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). Haryana became second state after Rajasthan to fix educational and other qualifications for candidates contesting Panchayat elections.
    7. Yadvendradev V Jhala presented first ever data on India’s leopards. The research estimates leopard population to be around 12000 to 14000 in India. Max Number being in Madhya Pradesh (Over 1800).
    8. Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley launched e-version of 100 volumes of Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi.
    9. Indian shooter Apurvi Chandela won silver medal in women’s 10m air rifle event of ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup Finals in Germany.
       1. 2015 ISSF World Cup is Annual Five stages shooting competition administered by International Shooting Sport Federation.
    10. Anirban Lahiri became first Indian golfer to qualify for a Presidents Cup and will be part of International Team in 2015 championships to be held at Incheon in South Korea in October 2015.
    11. Doha Bank tied up with Reliance ADA Group to generate business opportunities in Gulf Cooperation Council nations and India. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman are part of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
    12. Global Waste Management Outlook by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) estimates around 7 to 10 billion tonnes per annum being generated by urban areas across the globe.
    13. Brij Raj Sharma has been appointed as Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir.
    14. Ramesh Chand is appointed as full time member of NITI Aayog.
    15. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) appointed J Manjula as Director General (DG - Electronics & Communications Systems or ECS). She will be one of seven DG's, heading different clusters within DRDO. She is also first woman Director General of DRDO.
    16. Vijaya Kamlesh Tahilramani is appointed as Chief Justice of Bombay High Court.
    17. Competition Commission of India imposed penalty on Kerala Film Exhibitors Federation for indulging in anti-competitive activities.
    18. Reserve Bank of India cancelled license of Sahara India Financial Corporation Limited (SIFCL) due to several irregularities and ignoring financial rules and regulations.
    19. India sand Belarus set up a target of USD $ 1 billion by 2018 during Seventh Session of India-Belarus Intergovernmental Commission meet on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation. Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman attended on India's Behalf.
11. Sep 07, 2015
    1. September 7 - Independence day of Brazil. It Marks declaration of independence from Portugal in 1822.
    2. September 7 - Independence day of Swaziland. It Marks declaration of independence from United Kingdom in 1968.
    3. Puducherry Government announced annual State Best Teachers’ Awards 2015. 20 teachers from four regions of the Union Territory were awarded in different categories on the occasion of Teacher's Day.
    4. To the Brink and Back: India's 1991 Story has been written by Jairam Ramesh.
    5. Thailand's Junta appointed reform council recected a controversial new constitution that had a provision of enabling a 23-member panel to take over government during a national crisis. This could delay return of democracy in Thailand projected for April 2017.
    6. Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Ranjit Rae inaugurated renovated Bala Tripura Sundari Devi Temple at Tripurakot (Nepal) that was constructed with 3.3 Crore Nepali rupees support from India.
    7. Andhra Pradesh government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to increase employability of students in the state.
12. Sep 06, 2015
    1. Government owned Telecom service provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) upgraded landline broadband speed to minimum 2Mbps at no additional cost for all broadband customers.
    2. Sixth Joint Military Training Exercise between India and Maldives Armies called (EXERCISE EKUVRIN – VI) being held at Trivandrum, Kerala.
    3. Abdullah Bin Khasim Bin Abdullah Al Raisi, Chief of Oman's Navy Visited India.
    4. Russian Minister of Interior, Vladimir Kolokoltsev visited India.
    5. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated Badarpur-Faridabad Metro Extension on Violet Line of Delhi Metro.
    6. China and Pakistan launched Their joint air exercise Shaheen (Eagle)-4 in China.
    7. Andhra Pradesh government launched e-Pragati as a comprehensive architecture for implementing e-governance and provide e-services to citizens. It is renaming adn advanced version of of AP State Enterprise Architecture (APSEA).
    8. Government approved One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme for ex-servicemen -
       1. It will provide uniform pension to ex-servicemen of same rank and same length regardless of date of retirement.
       2. Pension will be re-fixed every five years.
       3. Armed forces personnel who retire voluntarily would be not covered.
       4. All arrears will be paid in four half-yearly installments and all widows will be paid arrears in one installment.
       5. Estimated cost for implementation of OROP would be around 10,000 crore rupees.
    9. Australian Cricketer Shane Watson announced retirement from Test cricket.
    10. Asian Boxing Championships 2015 in Bangkok (Thailand).
        1. India's Vikas Krishan won Silver while Shiva Thapa, Devendro Singh and Satish Kumar won bronze medals.
    11. Lewis Hamilton (England) won Italian Grand Prix 2015 -
        1. 2015 Formula One season -
           1. Total 19 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2015. Calendar is -

              1. Grand Prix	Date	Winner
                 Australia	15 March	Lewis Hamilton (UK)
                 Malaysia	29 March	Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
                 China	12 April	Lewis Hamilton (UK)
                 Baharain	19 April	Lewis Hamilton (UK)
                 Spain	10 May	Nico Rosberg (Germany)
                 Monaco	24 May	Nico Rosberg (Germany)
                 Canada	7 June	Lewis Hamilton (UK)
                 Austria	21 June	Nico Rosberg (Germany)
                 Britain	5 July	Lewis Hamilton (UK)
                 Hungary	26 July	Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
                 Belgium	23 August	Lewis Hamilton (UK)
                 Italy	6 September	Lewis Hamilton (UK)
                 Singapore	20 September
                 Japan	27 September
                 Russia	11 October
                 USA	25 October
                 Mexico	1 November
                 Brazil	15 November
                 Abu Dhabi	29 November

           2. Trick for remembering recent F1 Races Winners so far (Based on data till Italian Grand Prix held on Sep 06, 2015) -
              1. Italy and all countries starting with A, B and C except Austria WON by Lewis Hamilton (England).
              2. Hungary and Malaysian Races have been Won by Sebastian Vettel (Germany) (remember - Sabastian was HUNGRY in MALAYSIA) :)
              3. All other races including Austria have been won by Nico Rosberg (Germany).
13. Sep 05, 2015
    1. Vinod Dasari is appointed as President of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).
    2. Sep 05 - Indian National Teachers' Day. It marks birth date, of second President of India Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (5 September 1888).
       1. PM Narendra Modi released two commemorative coins of 125 rupees and 10 rupees in memory of former President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.
    3. PM Narendra Modi announced to develop Bodh Gaya (Bihar) site as spiritual capital for Buddhist world Describing its as land of enlightenment.
    4. Maharashtra Government will train over 50,000 employees as part of its Key Result Area (KRA) programme to enhance their performance in competence with corporate sector.
    5. G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ held in Ankara (Turkey). India's Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and RBI Governor Raghuram G Rajan attended on India's Behalf.
       1. G20 and OECD announced new governance principles for listed companies in all member countries to safeguard shareholders’ interests and promote capital market as a key platform to raise funds. Regulators and policymakers across the world (including SEBI in India) will update their regulations for listed firms in line with the new code.
       2. W20 grouping of women leaders launched in order to push for gender inclusive global economic growth across the globe.
    6. Chandra Bahadur Dangi from Nepal, Recognised as world's shortest man (at 21.5 inches) by Guinness Book of Records, Passed Away.
    7. Bollywood Music Composer Aadesh Shrivastava passed Away.
14. Sep 04, 2015
    1. Levan Aronian of Armenia won Sinquefield Cup International Chess Tournament at St. Louis (USA). Norway's Magnus Carlsen is second while India's Vishwanathan Anand ended up at 9th Place.
    2. Former Goa CM Dr Wilfred de Souza passes away.
    3. Maharashtra Government will take ordinance route to amend Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities (MPDA) Act, 1981 to make Illegal sand mining has been made non - bailable offences.
    4. Punjab Government won highest capacity addition in grid connected solar rooftop power in the country during the financial year 2014-15.
    5. Ministry of Urban Development plans to develop Smart National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) model to enable seamless travel and shopping in metro areas (called EMV Open Loop Card with stored value).
    6. Canada’s economy fallen into a recession for first time after global financial crisis of 2009. Canada's GDP Growth Rate has been 0.5 % in April - June 2015 while it was 0.8 % in Jan - Mar 2015. Two consecutive negative quarters leads to recession.
    7. India will launch Indonesia’s second multi-spectral remote sensing satellite LAPAN A2/Orari from Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) on September 27, 2015.
    8. Indian-American author Jhumpa Lahiri (Nilanjana Sudesana) has been selected for 2014 National Humanities Medal of White House.
    9. Ratan P Watal is appointed as Finance Secretary after replacing Rajiv Mehrishi.
    10. Mumbai won Buchi Babu Memorial Trophy by defeating Tamil Nadu Cricket Association Districts (TNCA) XI.
    11. The Duels of the Himalayan Eagle: The first Indo-Pak Air War (1-22 September 1965) has been written by Bharat Kumar.
    12. Dinesh Kumar Likhi appointed as CMD of Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited.
    13. Bihar Government decided to give 2 % reservation in government jobs to grand children of freedom fighters.
    14. Allahabad High Court ordered Uttar Pradesh government to ensure flag hoisting ceremony of National Flag on Independence Day and Republic Day in all schools in the state and Madrasas.
    15. NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar mission (NISAR) is a dedicated US and Indian mission for studying hazards and global environmental change.
    16. Dasho Tshering Dorji, Foreign Secretary of Bhutan visited India for fourth India-Bhutan Development Cooperation Talks.
    17. Russia dismissed France's proposal for asking United Nations Security Council (UNSC) permanent members to limit the use of veto power at least in cases involving mass atrocities (Torture) that demands action.
    18. Government launched Indian Wind Resource Atlas at 100 metre level to help Governments in policy making to deal with issues related to tariff fixation, transmission, grade frequency.
    19. Indian Government will launch global alliance on solar energy to be called as InSPA (International Agency for Solar Policy & Application). It's launch event will be attended by 107 countries located between tropic of cancer and tropic of capricorn. These are also called as sunshine countries as they receive high solar energy round the year.
        1. India’s leadership role in launch of this grouping is coincided with recent revision in target of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM). Under the mission, India intends to reach production of 1 lakh MW of solar energy (increased from earlier terget of 20000 MW) by 2022 with an investment of 6 lakh crore rupees.
    20. Llyod's City Risk Index 2015-2025 about expected loss to cities’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from various threats (Natural, Manmade and Emerging) -
        1. Index quantifies losses by using GDP@Risk methodology by taking into account 301 major cities across the globe and 18 major threats for 2015-2025.
        2. 301 cities together will see loss of 4.56 trillion USD out of total 372.56 trillion USD GDP during 2015-25.
        3. Taipei (Taiwan) topped the List with 181 billion USD Loss.
        4. Mumbai is Indian City expected to face maximum risk in India with 47 billion USD, Delhi Second with 44 Billion USD Risk.
15. Sep 03, 2015
    1. L C Goyal has been appointed as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Indian Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO).
    2. India won UNESCO prize ‘Award of Excellence’ 2015 for conservation efforts of Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple in Kerala.
    3. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports recognized Yoga as a sports discipline in Priority category. Also, sport of Fencing was upgraded from Others to General based on major past performance at international events.
    4. South African city of Durban has been selected as host for 2022 Commonwealth Games. Games would be held from 18 to 30 July, 2022(opening on birth date of the late South African President Nelson Mandela).
    5. NASA and US Agency for International Development (USAID) started SERVIR-Mekong project, to strengthen environmental monitoring in Southeast Asia's Five 5 countries of Mekong River Basin - Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam (called as rice bowl of Asia).
    6. A K Jha has been appointed as interim Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).
    7. Snapdeal acquired Silicon Valley-based startup Reduce Data, a programmatic display advertising platform.
    8. National Stock Exahcnge signed a memorandum of understanding with Stock Exchange of Mauritius (SEM) to facilitate co-operation between the two exchanges.
    9. Swiss Engineering Company ABB appointed Bazmi Husain as global chief technology officer.
    10. ICICI Lombard General Insurance tied up with Catholic Syrian Bank (CSB) for sale of Insurance products through Over 430 branches of Kerala Based Catholic Syrian Bank.
    11. Disaster Mitigation conference of member counties of South Asian Association on Regional Cooperation (SAARC) held in New Delhi.
    12. Reserve Bank of India will issue coins of 5 rupees denomination to commemorate golden jubilee (50th) year of Indo-Pak War 1965.
    13. Haryana Government won Skoch Order-of-Merit national award for e-Governance and IT initiatives in state. Haryana Government notified 163 e-Governance services to be delivered to citizens at their doorsteps to provide time-bound services.
    14. Punjab Government established a special MGNREGA cell to coordinate effective implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in the state.
    15. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) bought 15 % stake in Russia’s second-largest oil firm Rosneft for about 1.35 billion USD.
    16. Government cancelled licence of Greenpeace India, a non-profit Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) for mixing foreign and domestic funds and not disclosing the movement of its funds.
16. Sep 02, 2015
    1. Sep 2 - Independence day of Vietnam - It Marks declaration of independence from France and Japan in 1945.
    2. Air Marshal SB Deo is appointed as new chief of Western Air Command of Indian Air Force.
    3. India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) will organize South Asian Annual Disaster Management Exercise (SAADMEx-2015) in November 2015.
    4. West-Central Railway (headquartered in Jabalpur) become first Indian Railway Zone to eliminate all unmanned level crossings.
       1. Indian Railways has total 30,348 level crossings, out of which 11,563 (40 %) are unmanned.
    5. Chandrika Kumaratunga Bhandaranaike (Former President of Sri Lanka) Visited India.
    6. Foreign Minister of UAE, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited India for 11th meeting of India-UAE Joint Commission For Economic and Technical Cooperation.
    7. Government decided to close Indian People’s Natural Calamity Trust (IPNCT) created by former Ruler of Jaipur in 1900 to provide relief to Indian people during natural calamities. The task is currently administered efficienctly by National Disaster Management Authority in Ministry of Home Affairs.
    8. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley visited Ankara (Turkey) to attend G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meetings on 4th and 5th September 2015. He will also participate in Joint meeting of G-20 Finance and Labour Ministers and First Meeting of Governing Council of BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA).
    9. Girish Shankar is appointed as Secretary in Department of Official Language of Ministry of Home Affairs.
    10. Minister of Mines & Steel Shri Narendra Singh Tomar attended Asia Pacific Mining Exhibition (AIMEX) 2015 in sydney (Australia).
    11. INS Trikand Visited United Kingdom to participate in Annual Indo-UK Navy Execrise Konkan.
    12. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) declared State Bank of India (SBI) and ICICI Bank as Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs).
    13. Government released 2,000 crore rupees to Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) (1995) as its contribution for 2015-16. This contribution is in addition to 250 crore rupees contributed by government as grant-in-aid in order to provide minimum pension of 1,000 rupees to pensioners under the scheme.
    14. Highest mountain of North America - Mt McKinley (USA) has been renamed as Denali.
    15. Indian-Australian Tejinder Pal Singh has been named as Australian of the Day by Commonwealth Bank for feeding homeless in Darwin for past three years.
17. Sep 01, 2015
    1. Sep 1 - Independence day of Uzbekistan. It marks declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
    2. Book 30 Women in Power has been written by Naina Lal Kidwai (India's Country head of HSBC India).
    3. Mogens Lykketoft (Denmark) visited India. He is President-elect of 70th Session of United Nations General Assembly.
    4. Committee headed by A.P. Shah recommended to amend section 115JB of Income-tax Act to clarify the inapplicability of MAT (Minimum Alternate Tax) provisions to FIIs/FPIs for period prior to 01.04.2015.
    5. Anjuly Chib Duggal is appointed as Secretary in Department of Financial Services of Finance Ministry.
    6. Hasmukh Adhia is appointed as Revenue Secretary in Ministry of Finance.
    7. India joined UN-based Better Than Cash Alliance for Digitization of Payments and promote financial inclusion programme Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY). Under PMJDY, in one year, over 18 crore bank accounts were opened with deposits over $3.4 billion.
    8. Shaktikanta Das is appointed as Secretary in Department of Economic Affairs of Ministry of Finance.
    9. Pravir Kumar is appointed as Secretary in Inter-State Council Secretariat.
    10. Government approved 20% hike in honorarium paid to workers of Grih Kalyan Kendra (GKK), a welfare society under Department of Personnel & Training for welfare of central government employees in lower income groups.
    11. Railways launched Freight Monitoring App ‘Parichaalan’ developed by CRIS to improve operating efficiency through better planning freight operations on real time basis.
    12. Book Globalisation, Democratization and Distributive Justice has been authored by Mool Chand Sharma.
    13. Australian Minister of Defence Kevin Andrews Visited India.
    14. India’s economy grew at 7% in first quarter of 2015-16 (April to June 2015) as compared to 7.5% Growth Rate in Last quarter of 2014-15 (January to March 2015) as measured at market prices. Another measure - Gross value added (GVA) at basic prices showed economic growth accelerated to 7.1% in April-June against 6.1% in January-March 2015.
        1. GDP at market prices is estimated by adding net indirect taxes to GVA at basic prices.
        2. Net indirect taxes is computed by deducting subsidies from gross indirect taxes on products.
    15. Government approved merger of commodities market regulator Forward Markets Commission (FMC) with SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) with effect from September 28, 2015. Forward Contracts Regulation Act (FCRA) 1952 has been repealed (Cancelled) and Regulation of Commodity Derivatives Market will shift to SEBI under Securities Contracts Regulation Act (SCRA).