DAILY GK UPDATE 51 TO 100 SEPTEMBER 2015

51. Union Cabinet approved Sovereign Gold Bonds Scheme to reduce dependence on physical gold

i. The Union Cabinet on 9 September 2015 gave its approval for the Sovereign Gold Bonds Scheme.

ii. 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.

Comment

• The cabinet approval to the scheme is in tune with the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s 2015-16 budget speech.
• Jaitley, on 28 Februay 2015, announced three major initiatives viz., Gold Monetisation Scheme, Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme and Indian Gold Coin to curb demand for physical gold.
• Since most of the domestic demand for gold is met through imports, this scheme will, ultimately help in maintaining the country's Current Account Deficit (CAD) within sustainable limits.
• Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) is intended to replace both the gold deposit and gold metal loan scheme and to allow depositors to earn interest on their gold metal accounts jewelers to obtain loans.
• Indian Gold Coin, which will carry the Ashok Chakra on its face, would help reduce the demand for gold coins and also help recycle the gold available in the country.

52. Union Cabinet approved constitution of 21st Law Commission of India

i. The Union Cabinet on 9 September 2015 gave its approval for the Constitution of the 21st Law Commission of India.

ii. The formation of the commission was necessitated as the term of the 20th law commission ended on 31 August 2015. It was headed by Justice Ajit Prakash Shah.

iii. The 21st law commission will be functional for a period of three years between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2018 and will consist of:

• A full-time Chairperson;
• Four full-time Members (including a Member-Secretary)
• Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs as ex-officio member
• Secretary, Legislative Department as ex-officio member
• Not more than five part-time Members.

53. Haryana Government sets minimum qualification for candidates in Panchayati Raj polls 

i. Haryana Assembly has passed Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2015 that seeks to fix matriculation as minimum educational qualification for elections to Panchayati Raj institutions (PRIs). 

ii. With this Haryana became second state in India after Rajasthan to fix educational and other qualifications for the candidates contesting Panchayat elections. 

54. India, Belarus set trade target of 1 billion dollar by 2018 

i. India and Belarus have set the bilateral trade target of one billion dollar by 2018. The decision was taken at the Seventh Session of the India-Belarus Intergovernmental Commission held in Minsk, Belarus. 

ii. The meeting was co-chaired by Union Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman co-chaired and her Belarusian counterpart Minister for Industry Vitali Mikhailovich Vovk. 

55. Queen Elizabeth II becomes Britain’s longest-reigning Monarch 

i. Queen Elizabeth II on 9th September 2015 became the longest-reigning Monarch of Britain and the longest-reigning female monarch in history. 

ii. She surpassed the previous record held by her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria who had reigned thousand-year-old dynastical institution of Britain for more than 63 years and 7 months. 

It should be noted that, presently Queen Elizabeth II (88 years old) is world’s oldest living monarch. 

About Queen Elizabeth II 

• Queen Elizabeth II was born as Elizabeth Alexandra Mary on 21 April 1926. 
• She acceded to the throne on 6 February 1952 at the age of 25 after her father, King George VI died. 
• She was crowned as queen of Britain and other realms, including Canada and Australia on 2 June, 1953. 
• Presently, she is Queen of 16 member states in the Commonwealth of Nations which overall consists of overall 53 member states including India. She is also Head of the Commonwealth and Supreme Governor of the Church of England. 
• In 1945, she had actively joined World War II as a driver in the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service (WATS).

56. Pakistan SC ordered adoption of Urdu as official language

i. Supreme Court of Pakistan on 8 September 2015 ordered immediate adoption of Urdu as official language of the country. With this order, Urdu will be used as an official language at the government offices of Pakistan.

ii. The order was passed by a three member bench headed by Chief Justice Jawwad S Khawaja while delivering judgment in a case. The petitioner Advocate Kokab Iqbal through his petition wanted promotion and implementation of the national language. 

iii. The Court also ruled that under the 1973 Constitution it is must to adopt Urdu as official language. 

iv. It also ordered that there should be no delay in implementation of Article 251 in line with Article 5 of the Constitution. It also issued nine guidelines for making Urdu the official language.

57. BSE has highest number of listed companies in the world: WFE

i. 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.

ii. By the end of June 2015, a total number of 5689 companies were listed with the BSE. However, out of 5689, only one company was a foreign company.

iii. The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) had 1750 listed companies by the end of June 2015.

Though BSE leads the world in terms of listed companies, Shanghai stock exchange of China (having 1070 companies) was at the top in terms of value of share trading with 30 trillion US dollars worth transactions in June 2015.

iv. The total value of transactions in the BSE was 94 billion US dollars during the same period.

BSE was established in 1855 and is considered as the oldest exchange in Asia.

58. Weightlifter Deepak Lather won Gold in 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games

i. Indian weightlifters Deepak Lather on 8 September 2015 won a gold medal in the 62 kg category of the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) being held in Apia, Samoa. 

ii. This was India’s second gold in weightlifting after Jamjang Deru (17-year-old) who won a gold medal in the 56 kg category on the opening day of the event.

iii. Deepak (15-year-old) finished with a total of 258 kg with 120 kg in snatch, a new CYG record, and 138 kg in clean and jerk. India is being represented by 25 athletes in eight disciplines out of the nine being competed in the CYG.

59.Anirban Lahiri becomes 1st Indian golfer to qualify for President’s Cup 

i. Ace Indian Golfer Anirban Lahiri has become the first Indian to qualify for the prestigious President’s Cup of Golf. 

ii. World No.40, Lahiri qualified to this prestigious cup through automatic qualifications as team member of the International Team. 

iii. The International team is set to take on United States team in the biennial Presidents Cup 2015 to be held at Incheon, South Korea. 

iv. In season 2015, he has won 2 European Tour, 7 Asian Tour including the Hero Indian Open in 2015 and Malaysian Open. So far, he has won 11 National titles in India including Ahmedabad Masters and Haryana Open. Union Government has bestowed Arjuna Award on him in 2014. 

60. Union Cabinet allows 100 per cent FDI under automatic route for white label ATMs

i. The Union Cabinet has allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) under the automatic route for white label ATM operations (WLAO).

ii. Decision in this regard was taken in Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.

iii. This decision will expedite and ease FDI inflows in WLAO further giving a fillip to the government’s ambitious effort to promote financial inclusion in the country, including the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY).

iv. Prior this approval, foreign investment in WLAO was allowed through the government approval route which required some processing time and projects were delayed.

61. Gandhi Peace Prize 2014 conferred on ISRO

i. President Pranab Mukherjee conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2014 on Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

ii. ISRO Chairman A S Kiran Kumar on behalf of the organisation received the prize at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

iii. ISRO was chosen for the prestigious award in March 2015 for its contribution in development of space technology and satellite-based services, making space technology a catalyst of development of India and bringing societal transformation and provided the service to the common man and nation.

iv. Gandhi Peace Prize is awarded annually to individuals and institutions for their contributions towards social, economic and political transformation through non-violence and other Gandhian methods.

62. South Asian Sub-Regional Drug Focal Point meeting begins in New Delhi

i. Sub-Regional Drug Focal Point Meeting and Colombo Plan Drug Advisory Programme (CPDAP), South Asia under the Drug Demand Reduction (DDR) Expert Group Consultation has begun in New Delhi.

ii. The three-day meeting was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh which has been organised by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).

iii. The main objective is to review the progress of the Drug Demand and Supply Reduction activities in the South Asia region.

iv. It is to facilitate exchange of views between delegates on technical aspects of the drug cooperation programme and it aims at achieving efficiency and effectiveness.

v. CPDAP will provide a great platform to coordinate among different countries fighting for the cause of drug menace. About 40 delegates from various participating countries are participating in this meeting.

63. NTPC to raise Rs. 700 cr via tax free bonds

i. State-run power utility NTPC will raise up to Rs. 700 crore through tax free secured non-convertible bonds.

ii. The government has approved the company’s raising Rs. 1,000 crore through tax free bonds, including Rs. 700 crore through public issue.

iii. According to statement, the issue will be for an amount of Rs. 400 crore (“Base issue size“) with an option to retain over subscription of up to Rs. 300 crore for issuance of additional bonds aggregating a total of up to Rs. 700 crore (“issue size“) fiscal 2016 (“issue“).

iv. A draft prospectus dated September 9, has been made public for seeking their comments on the issue in compliance with the SEBI regulations.

64. E-payment literacy meet

i. Lack of financial literacy among the public is the main reason for common man falling prey to fraudsters, according to Sushma Godbole, Chief Executive Officer of Dharwad Zilla Panchayat.

ii. She was speaking after inaugurating the ‘e-Payments Literacy Workshop’ organised by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), under the aegis of Nabard and Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank (KVGB) at Dharwad on Tuesday, a press release said.

iii. Ashok Reddy, Chairman of KVGB, said the bank has initiated several measures to educate people on basic banking fundamentals. 

iv. The event was hosted by NPCI representatives in 28 States at 120 centres supported by all 56 RRBs in the country, the release added.

65. Union Cabinet approves National Offshore Wind Energy Policy

i. Union Cabinet cleared National Offshore Wind Energy Policy to generate electricity from offshore windmills located in areas within Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the country.

ii. Offshore wind power projects and R&D activities will be carried in waters up to the seaward distance of 200 Nautical Miles (EEZ of the country) from the base line.

iii. Union Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) will be nodal Ministry. National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) will be nodal agency for allocation of offshore Wind Energy blocks.

iv. National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) will be nodal agency for allocation of offshore Wind Energy blocks. NIWE has been authorized to carry out allocation of offshore wind energy blocks. It will also frame guidelines for coordination and allied functions with related ministries and agencies.

66. India, Indonesia sign pact to cooperate on criminal matters

i. India and Indonesia have signed a pact for repatriation of wanted prisoners and cooperate in all criminal matters, including gathering evidence.

ii. In this regard Union Ministry of Home Affairs has issued an official gazette notification for service or execution of summons or warrant in relation to criminal matters in both countries.

iii. India will execute summons to an accused person (or any person) requiring to produce documents and attend or a search-warrant issued by an Indonesian court.

iv. Indonesia will reciprocate with similar action to execute summons if there is any request from any Indian court.

67. National web portal for apprenticeship training launched

i. Human resource development minister Smriti Irani on Thursday launched the national web portal for promotion of a national apprenticeship scheme. The scheme, which provides opportunities for practical training, is for graduates, diploma holders and 10+2 pass vocational certificate holders.

ii. The portal, through the mechanism of internal complaints committee, would also offer security for women at workplace and ensure grievance redressal for the apprentice, she said. It will also be a multilingual platform which currently engages with the user in Marathi, Bengali, Tamil and Hindi.

iii. Irani also asked the All India Council for Technical Education and National Skill Development Corporation to come together to expand the outreach and exposure especially for class 11 and 12 students. A logo and a slogan "Sashakt Yuva, Samarth Bharat" was also released for the portal.

iv. The ministry implements the apprenticeship training scheme for one year through board of apprenticeship training and board of practical training at Mumbai, Chennai, Kanpur and Kolkata.

68. FIPB clears 14 FDI proposals

i. The FIPB on Friday cleared 14 foreign investment proposals including that of Shyam Sistema Teleservices and IIFL Holdings.

ii. The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) chaired by Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das in its meeting considered 23 FDI proposals, deferred decisions on five and rejected four.

iii. The FIPB approved foreign investment proposals of Eros International Media, Indian Rotorcraft, AGS Transact Technologies and O-Zone Networks, sources said.

iv. The investment proposals of Reliance Globalcom, Firefly Networks, Apollo Hospitals and Aegon Religare Life Insurance were deferred.

v. The Aegon Religare's proposal involved hiking of stake of foreign partner in the Indian life insurance venture. Sources said the proposal of Aegon Religare was deferred due to want of comments from the department of financial services.

69. Union Cabinet gives nod to Constitution of 21st Law Commission of India

i. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval to constitute the 21st Law Commission of India (LCI).

ii. The 21st LCI will have a period of 3 years with effect from 1 September 2015 to 31 August 2018.

iii. It will Undertake research in existing laws by reviewing them for making reforms therein and enacting new legislations.

iv. It will Undertake studies and research to bring reforms in the justice delivery systems in the country in order to eliminate the delays in procedures, speedy disposal of cases and cost reduction of litigations etc.

70. Tenth World Hindi Conference begins in Bhopal

i. The Tenth World Hindi Conference (विश्व हिंदी सम्मेलन) has begun in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh with the theme of Hindi Jagat-Vistar and Sambhavnaye.

ii. The three-day conference was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It has been organised in Madhya Pradesh for the first time and being held in India after 32 years.

iii. It is joint event of Union Ministry of External Affairs in partnership with the state Government of Madhya Pradesh. This edition of conference will host scholars from 39 countries who are going to discuss issues like Hindi in administration, foreign policy and law during the event. An exhibition showcasing assimilation of Hindi with modern techniques also has been set up at the conference venue.

iv. The First World Hindi Conference was organized in Nagpur by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. It was held from 10 to 12 January 1975. Since then every year 10th January is being observed as the World Hindi Day.

71. Download 'Narendra Modi Mobile App'; Connect with the PM, Learn About his Day-to-Day Activities Digitally

i. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become the first political leader to have a mobile app, developed for him to digitally connect with the citizens of the country. The PM himself launched the 'Narendra Modi Mobile App' on Wednesday.

ii. The app not only connects the citizens of India with their Prime Minister, it also provides a platform to look into "comprehensive information on initiatives and achievements of the Union Government, including an 'infographics' section," the release said.

iii. The app has been developed for Android-powered devices and can be downloaded for free from the Android Play Store. After launching the 'Narendra Modi Mobile App', the Prime Minister invited people to give their feedback on the app.

iv. Ever since Modi took over as the PM of India, he has embraced technology to digitally connect with the people of the country.

72. Shashidhar Sinha New Head of ABC

i. The CEO of IPG Mediabrands India, Shashidhar Sinha, was elected as chairman of ABC during the 67th Annual General meeting for the year 2015-16.

ii. Sinha who also chairs the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) is actively involved in other industry bodies including Advertising Standards Council of India, Media Research Users Council, and Ad Club.

iii. The statement from the bureau noted that the immediate task before Sinha was to implement the digital measurement project undertaken by ABC so that the industry benefited from credible digital data from a trustworthy independent body like ABC.

iv. L Venkat of EENADU was unanimously elected as the Deputy Chairman and Madhan Kumar from Mudra Communications will function as treasurer of ABC.

73. Indian American Jagdeep Grewal chosen as postmaster for Sacramento

i. The post service in Sacramento has got a female postmaster after a span of 166 years and the new postmaster is an Indian American named Jagdeep Grewal.

ii. The U.S. Postal Service said that Grewal will oversee 1,004 employees who process and deliver mail on 537 city routes and 94 rural routes – and fill nearly 20,000 post office boxes

iii. Grewal started her career with the postal service as a window clerk in 1988. Five years later, she became a manager. She has also worked as a postmaster in Pacifica-Daly City.

iv. There has been a steep decline in the usage of postal services due to the surge of Internet and privately owned courier services. Referring to this current situation, Grewal said that she looked forward to working with Sacramento’s Postal Service employees during a challenging time.

74. Virat Kohli starts tennis innings as UAE Royals co-owner in IPTL

i. After picking up minority stake in the Goa franchise of the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) last year, Indian test captain Virat Kohli has now invested in the Dubai frnachise of Mahesh Bhupati-promoted Coca-Cola International Premier Tennis League (IPTL).

ii. The franchise, called UAE Royals also has on board Neelesh Bhatnagar and Sachin Gadoya as co-owners.

iii. Sourav Ganguly is part of the consortium that owns the Atletico de Kolkata, the winner of the inaugural season of the Hero ISL.

iv. Roger Federer has joined the UAE Royals franchise in the second season of the Coca-Cola IPTL 2015 that will be held from 2nd to 20th December, 2015.

75. National highways to grow by 50,000 km in 6 months

i. The road transport and highways ministry will add nearly 50,000 km of roads to the National Highways (NH) network in the country in the next six months. 

ii. This addition within two years of the Narendra Modi government will be more than twice the length NDA-I had added in its six years and over three times of what UPA added in its 10-year rule.

iii. According to the sources,in the past 15 months, the new government has added about 7,000 km of roads to the NH length and at present it's little more than one lakh km. Road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari has announced to take it to 1.5 lakh km by this year end.

76. Leander Paes, Martina Hingis won US Open Mixed Doubles Title 2015

i. Leander Paes and Swiss Martina Hingis 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. The pair fired 32 winners and staved off four of five break points during the 77-minute affair. This is 17th Grand Slam crown for Paes.

ii. With this victory, they became the first team since 1969 to win three Grand Slam mixed doubles titles in the same season at the US Open. They defeated Daniel Nestor and Kristina Mladenovic in the Australian Open final 2015 and beat Alexander Peya and Timea Babos in the Wimbledon title match 2015 itself.

iii. With the mixed double win, Paes surpassed compatriot and former partner Mahesh Bhupathi's record of eight mixed doubles titles. As Paes has now eight men's doubles and nine mixed doubles title in his pocket.

77. Rakesh Sharma appointed as MD and CEO of Canara Bank

i. Rakesh Sharma was appointed as Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bengaluru-headquartered Canara Bank.

ii. Prior to this appointment, Sharma was the MD and CEO of Lakshmi Vilas Bank since March 2014, where in a short span of 18 months, he helped the private sector lender excel in all parameters.

78. Radical leftist Jeremy Corbyn becomes head of Britain's Labour party

i. Jeremy Corbyn has been elected leader of the British Labour party, in a stunning first-round victory that dwarfed even the mandate for Tony Blair in 1994.

ii. Corbyn won with nearly 59.5% of first-preference votes, beating rivals Andy Burnham, who trailed on 19%, and Yvette Cooper who received 17%. The “Blairite” candidate Liz Kendall came last on 4.5%.

iii. The north London MP is one of the most unexpected winners of the party leadership in its history, after persuading Labour members and supporters that the party needed to draw a line under the New Labour era of Blair and Gordon Brown.

79. Three IIA members awarded at Asia Brand ceremony

i. Three IIA members were felicitated at the 10th Asia Brand Ceremony, which is also termed as the Oscars of Industry awards in Asia. 

ii. During the ceremony, IIA members like MD of Celestial Knit & Fabs Private Limited, Noida got the Asia Brand Annual Personality Award and Top 500 Asia Brand Award, Noida's Rajiv Bansal, Manali Pigments Private Limited 's MD Manmohan Agrawal from Lucknow feted with awards such as Top 10 Most Influential Brand Award, Asia Famous and Fine Brand and Asia's Annual Innovative Enterprise Award, similarly Puri Industries' MD Kush Puri, was felicitated with Asia Famous and Fine Brand Award. 

80. JK Tyre, Singapore arm to buy 100% in Cavendish Ind

i. JK Tyre & Industries (JK Tyre) and JK Asia Pacific Singapore Pte Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of JK Tyre said that it has signed a binding term sheet with Kesoram Industries Ltd (KIL) to acquire 100 per cent equity in Cavendish Industries Ltd (CIL) at a value of ₹2,200 crore.

ii. CIL houses a tyre business undertaking located at Haridwar (Laksar) which manufactures a range of tyres, tubes and flaps.

iii. JK Group has agreed for this acquisition at an enterprise value not exceeding ₹2,200 crore.

81. Current a/c deficit narrows to 1.2% of GDP in April-June

i. A decline in merchandise imports helped the country narrow its current account deficit to 1.2 per cent of GDP in the first quarter of the current financial year compared with 1.6 per cent in the year ago period. 

ii. The reduction in the CAD was also enabled by higher net earnings through services exports and lower outflow on account of primary income (profit, dividend and interest), according to RBI data on balance of payments

iii. In absolute terms, the CAD, which arises when a country’s total import of goods, services and transfers is greater than exports, was at $6.2 billion in the April-June quarter, compared with $7.8 billion in the year ago quarter.

82. Vice-President Hamid Ansari Releases Book by Jamia Faculty

i. The Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari released a book entitled “Feminist and Orientalist Perspectives – A Study of Lady Mary Montagu’s Turkish Embassy Letters” authored by Dr. Farha Hiba Parvez’ at a function . 

ii. Addressing on the occasion, the Vice President said that this book on Lady Mary Montagu’s Turkish Embassy Letters is a serious work diligently done and will become an open area for many scholars. 

83. Singapore ruling party wins elections, returns to power

i. Singapore's prime minister lauded the city-state's youth vote for helping return his party to power in a massive victory for the 12th time since independence a half-century ago.

ii. The PAP (People's Action Party) got 83 of the 89 seats in Parliament while the opposition Workers' Party captured six. In an indication that the PAP has regained some of its lost popularity, it won 69.86 percent of the votes cast, according to the Elections Department, compared to 60 percent votes in the 2011 elections.

iii. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who won from the Ang Mo Kio constituency, singled out the youth, saying the results show that the young people "understand what is at stake, support what we are doing."

84. Russian astronaut record-breaker Padalka returns to Earth

i. Russian astronaut Gennady Padalka has returned to Earth with the record for having spent the most time in space. The 57-year-old's latest mission lasted 168 days, bringing his total to 879 days in space over five trips. This is two months longer than the previous record set in 2005 by Russian Sergei Krikalev over six missions.

ii. Mr Padalka and two other members from the International Space Station (ISS) landed safely in Kazakhstan on their Soyuz spacecraft just before sunrise.

85. Indian golfer Aditi Ashok claims Singha Thailand Amateur title

i. Aditi Ashok clinched the Singha Thailand Amateur Championship after carding a one-over 73 to finish the tournament at two-under 286, five shots ahead of Australian Gennai Goodwin and Thailand's Chakansim Khamborn.

ii. Bengaluru's 17-year-old Aditi opened the final round with bogeys on 2nd and 3rd before firing birdie on 11th and then dropped another shot on 14th followed by a birdie on 16th to claim the title at the Par-72 Panya Indra Golf Club.

iii. This is the third International victory in 2015 for the current leader of Indian Golf Union ladies order of merit after the St. Rule Trophy at St. Andrews in June and Ladies British Amateur Stroke Play Championship in England last month.

86. India, Pakistan agree to maintain peace along border after DG level talks 

i. India and Pakistan have started a three-day Director General (DG)-level border dialogue in New Delhi. 

ii. Director General (DG) Border Security Force (BSF) D K Pathak is leading 23 member Indian delegation and his counterpart Major General Umar Farooq Burki, DG  of Pakistan Rangers (Punjab) is leading a 16 members Pakistani delegation. 

iii. Both the delegations also have representatives from respective Home and Foreign ministries along with officers from narcotics control and survey department.

iv. In this dialogue both sides have 

• Decided to devise new strategies along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) to put an end to incidents of ceasefire violations. 
• Agreed maintenance of peace and tranquility on the border is the most important issue and this needs to be implemented on the ground. 

v. India also has suggested that rather than debating and contesting about the past incidents, both sides should work on a future strategy in order to make the border peaceful and safe for the troops and civilians alike.

87. AUSINDEX15, first Australia and India maritime exercise begins in Visakhapatnam 
i. Inaugural bilateral maritime exercise between India and Australia AUSINDEX15, commenced off coast of Visakhapatnam.
ii. The inaugural biennial exercise began with briefings and practical demonstrations ashore between Royal Australian Navy and Indian Navy before moving to sea.

iii. AUSINDEX15 naval exercise between navies of both countries is held in line with the Framework for Security Co-operation. The framework was announced by the Australian and Indian Prime Ministers in 2014.

88. Union Government extends e-Tourist Visa Scheme to 37 more countries 

i. Union Government has announced to extend e-Tourist Visa Scheme to 37 more countries in order to attract maximum foreign tourists in the country. 

ii. It was announced by Secretary of Union Tourism Ministry Vinod Zuthsi while addressing a function of Indian Association of Tour Operators in New Delhi. 

iii. With this extension, the total 150 countries will come under the ambit of e-Tourist Visa Scheme from present 113 countries. 

iv. By August 2015, more than 22,000 tourists have used this scheme to visit India, compared to 2700 tourists in August, 2014. 

89. Rajasthan first state to submit State Annual Action Plan under AMRUT 

i. Rajasthan has become the first state in the country to submit State Annual Action Plan under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). 

ii. State Government has submitted the action plan for approval by the Union Urban Development Ministry for financial year 2015-16. 

iii. The plan seeks to target two categories of AMRUT projects in the state viz. universal coverage in respect of water supply connections, sewerage connections and urban transport to all urban households. 

90. 2015 Singapore General Elections: PAP returns to power 

i. In recently concluded 2015 Singapore General Elections, People’s Action Party (PAP) led by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has emerged victorious. 

ii. PAP returned to power after scoring a landslide victory by winning an absolute majority of 83 seats in the 89 member Parliament. 

iii. With this victory, governing PAP has secured their 14th consecutive term in office since independence of city-state in 1965. 

iv. 2015 Singapore General Elections was country’s first election after the death of its founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. 

91. Indra Nooyi, 2nd powerful women in 2015 Fortune’s business list 

i. Indra Nooyi, CEO of food and beverage giant PepsiCo is the sole Indian-origin executive in 2015 edition of Fortune’s list of 50 Most Powerful Women in Business. 

ii. India-born Nooyi was placed at second position in this year’s list and has moved up by single position from her previous third position in year 2015. 

iii. This edition of the list was topped by General Motors CEO Mary Barra. She heads United States largest auto-maker and it is her second year as head.

92. Renowned Water policy expert Ramaswamy Iyer passes away 

i. Renowned water policy expert Ramaswamy R. Iyer passed away in New Delhi following a severe bout of viral fever. He was 86. 

ii. He was instrumental in drafting India’s first National Water Policy in 1987. Ramaswamy R. Iyer was born in October 1929 in Thakkalai district of Tamil Nadu. 

iii. He was best known for producing a rich body of commentary on water policy and environmental issues. 

iv. He was an officer of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IAAS) and also had served as Secretary of Water Resources in the Union Government. His last held position was that of an honorary research professor at the New Delhi based Centre for Policy Research.

93. Tenth World Hindi Conference begins in Bhopal 

i. The Tenth World Hindi Conference has begun in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh with the theme of Hindi Jagat-Vistar and Sambhavnaye. 

ii. The three-day conference was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It has been organised in Madhya Pradesh for the first time and being held in India after 32 years. 

iii. It is joint event of Union Ministry of External Affairs in partnership with the state Government of Madhya Pradesh.

iv. This edition of conference will host scholars from 39 countries who are going to discuss issues like Hindi in administration, foreign policy and law during the event. An exhibition showcasing assimilation of Hindi with modern techniques also has been set up at the conference venue. 

94. ABVP sweeps Delhi University polls

i. The Bharatiya Janata Party-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has for the second consecutive year trounced National Students Union of India (NSUI) to win all four seats in the student union elections of Delhi University.

ii. The Congress-backed NSUI stood on the second position on three posts including that of president, joint secretary and secretary while AAP's student wing came second for the post of vice president.

iii. ABVP's presidential candidate, Satender Awana won by a margin of over 6,000 votes. "Our party has been working for the cause of students which is why we have won," Mr. Awana said soon after the victory.

95. Indian bankers top Fortune’s most powerful women list

i. 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.

ii. 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.

iii. It has credited Kochhar with reshaping banking in the country, and for building ICICI Bank into the “nation’s largest and most profitable private sector lender’’.

iv. She is followed by Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairman of the country’s largest lender State Bank of India, whose ranking has also moved up from the fourth spot where she was last year.

v. State-run oil marketing company Hindustan Petroleum Corporation’s Chairman and Managing Director, Nishi Vasudeva, has also made it to the list at fifth rank, same as the previous.The country’s third largest private sector lender Axis Bank’s Managing Director and chief executive, Shikha Sharma, came in at the ninth spot in the list.

96. Prabhat Singh takes over as MD & CEO of Petronet LNG

i. Prabhat Kumar Singh today took over as the new Managing Director and CEO of Petronet LNG Ltd, India’s biggest liquefied natural gas importer.

ii. Singh, 58, was the Director of Marketing at state gas utility GAIL India Ltd before his appointment at Petronet.

iii. Petronet LNG said Singh was appointed as Managing Director & CEO of the company by the board of directors at its meeting held on July 30.

iv. He replaced A K Balyan, who had completed his five-year term on July 15. He was eligible for an extension till his superannuation age of 65 years in July 2016, but he was not given an extension.

v. Singh is an Engineering graduate from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur and has more than 35 years of experience in hydrocarbon industry, having worked in both MNC and state-owned firms.

vi. Prior to becoming Director (Marketing) in GAIL in February 2010, he headed the Upstream Business Development and Strategy Divisions in British Gas (India).

97. Dr G Satheesh Reddy conferred with Royal Aeronautical Society Silver Medal

i. DRDO scientist Dr G Satheesh Reddy in the first week of September 2015 was conferred with the Silver Medal of the prestigious Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS). DRDO stands for Defence Research and Development Organisation.

ii. Dr Reddy was conferred with this medal in recognition of his contributions as one of the leading navigation and avionics experts of the Indian Defense research establishment.

iii. The award will be formally presented to him at the Wilbur and Orville Wright Lecture to be held on 9 December 2015 in the Society's headquarters in London.

iv. He joined DRDO in 1985 after graduating from JNTU Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh. At present, he is the Director, Research Centre Imarat (RCI) and Programme Director, medium-range surface-to-air missile (MRSAM) system since May 2013. Also he is the Scientific Adviser to Raksha Mantri. 

98. Hormusji N Cama elected as Chairman of Press Trust of India

i. Hormusji N Cama was on 14 September 2015 unanimously elected as the new chairman of the Press Trust of India (PTI). He is the Managing Director of Bombay Smachar, which is the oldest continuously-published newspaper in India from 1855.

ii. A member of the Press Council, Cama succeeded Mohan Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director of the Jagran Prakashan Limited (JPL).

iii. Cama, currently the Chairman of the Readership Studies Council of India, has also served as President of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS). He is also on the Board of Council for Fair Business Practices and Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC).

iv. Apart from him, Riyad Mathew was unanimously elected as the Vice Chairman of the PTI.

99. Classical dancer Kalamandalam Sathyabhama passes away

i. Kalamandalam Sathyabhama, doyen of classical dance form Mohiniyattam passed away in Palakkad district of Kerala. She was 77.

ii. She was regarded as a matriarch of Mohiniyattam and was well-known for her experimental reforms in this classical dance form which helped to preserve and popularise the traditional art form.

iii. Kalamandalam Sathyabhama was born at Shoranur in 1937 and had started learning classical dance at a very early age of 12. Her debut on major stage was in 1955 during the silver jubilee of the Kalamandalam (Kerala Government’s Deemed University of Art and Culture).

iv. She also was the first woman Vice Principal of Kerala Kalamandalam and later, became its Principal till she retired in 1992. She was also well versed in other classical dances of Kerala.

100. Winners of 2015 US Open Tittles of Tennis

i. The 2015 US Open is a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. It was the overall 135th edition of the US Open, the fourth and final Grand Slam event of the year 2015.

ii. Women’s Singles : Italy’s Flavia Pennetta has lifted the Women’s Singles trophy of the US Open. In the Open Era’s final match, 26th seed Pennetta defeated compatriot Roberta Vinci (Italy) in straight sets 7-6 and 6-2.

iii. Men’s Doubles : French pair of Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut won the Men’s Doubles trophy of the US Open. In the final match, they defeated, Jamie Murray (United Kingdom) and John Peers (Australia) pair by 6–4, 6–4 score.

iv. Women’s Doubles : Sania Mirza (India) and Martina Hingis (Switzerland) pair won the Switzerland women’s Doubles trophy of the US Open. In the final match, they defeated, Casey Dellacqua (Australia) and Yaroslava Shvedova (Kazakhstan) pair by 6–3, 6–3 score.

v. Mixed Doubles Title Leander Paes (India) and Martina Hingis (Switzerland) pair won the Mixed Doubles trophy of Final Grand Slam of the US Open. In the summit clash 4th seeded Indo-Swiss pair defeated American pair of Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sam Querrey 6-4, 3-6, 10-7.

vi. Men's Singles : Roger Federer was on a roll: new tactics, renewed confidence and 28 straight sets won coming into the United States Open final. But once again, Novak Djokovic was the antidote.

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