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Current Affairs Pocket PDF – August 2019
INDIAN AFFAIRS
Cabinet Approvals
Cabinet Approvals On August 28,2019
• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved the following
proposals:
 Approval to the amendments in The National Medical Commission Bill, 2019
 Approval for the proposal to Review the FDI policy on various sectors
 Approval to Sugar export policy for evacuation of surplus stocks during sugar season
2019-20
 Approval to 75 new Medical Colleges
 Approval to the Establishment of an International Coalition for Disaster Resilient
Infrastructure.Read full details here: Cabinet Approvals On August 28,2019

STATE WISE NATIONAL NEWS
Andhra Pradesh
‘Village Volunteers System’ launched by AP CM Jaganmohan Reddy on independence day
• Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister (CM) and YSR(Yuvajana Sramika Rythu) Congress party leader,
Jaganmohan Reddy on his maiden Independence Day speech on August 15,2019 at IGMS
(Indira Gandhi (municipal) Stadium) ground in Vijayawada, announced a new flagship
programme ‘Village VolunteerSystem’ to provide doorstep governance to people involving
2.8Lakh volunteers. The scheme would be launched on the Birth Anniversary of Mahatma
Gandhi on October 2. Read full details here: ‘Village Volunteers System’ Launched By AP CM
Jaganmohan Reddy On Independence Day
Veteran Telugu Actor Devadas Kanakala passed away in Hyderabad
• Veteran Telugu Actor Devadas Kanakala, aged 74, passed away at KIMS Hospitals Kondapur in
Hyderabad, Telangana after prolonged illness. He was born on 30 July 1945 and hailed from
Andhra Pradesh.
Assam
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Former Congress MLA from Assam Sarat Saikia passed away at the age of 71
• Sarat Kumar Saikia, former three-time Congress MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly)
and the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) spokesman from Assam passed away in Kolkata suffering
from kidney ailments for a long time. He was 71. He was elected as MLA from Mahmora
constituency three times in 2001, 2006 and 2011.
Assam’s first CNG fuel station inaugurated at Chowkidingee, Dibrugarh
• The Chief Minister of Assam Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the state’s first-ever
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fuel station at Chowkidingee, Dibrugarh, Assam. It was
installed by Assam Gas Company Ltd (AGCL). It has the capacity to fuel 60 to 70 small
passenger vehicles in an hour.
Bihar
MoEFCC approved Rs.4900 Crore project for Kosi-Mechi river interlinking
• The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) for river valley and hydroelectric projects of the
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) approved Rs 4,900 crore
project for interlinking of Kosi and Mechi rivers of Bihar. With the approval, it became the
second major river interlinking project in India after the Ken-Betwa project in Madhya
Pradesh.
Chhattisgarh
The Chhattisgarh state government increases reservation for sc and obc categories in state
jobs and education
• The Chhattisgarh government announced an increase in reservation for Scheduled caste (SC)
from 12% to 13% and for Other Backward Classes (OBC) from 14% to 27%. This
announcement was made by Chief Minister (CM) Shri Bhupesh Baghel on August 15,2019
independence day celebration at the Police parade ground in Raipur, Chattisgarh. With the
increase in quota, the state’s reservation becomes a total of 72 percent, which is the highest in
the country and far above the reservation limit of 50 percent mandated by the Supreme court.
Read full details here: The Chhattisgarh State Government Increases Reservation For Sc
And Obc Categories In State Jobs And Education
Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel announces formation of Lemru Elephant Reserve
• The Chief Minister of Chattisgarh, Bhupesh Baghel in his independence day speech in Raipur
announced the formation of 'Lemru Elephant Reserve' (LER) in the state, over an area of 450
square kilometres. It will minimize human-elephant conflict and destruction of property, with
the provision of a permanent habitat for the wild tuskers.
Gujarat
Gujarat CM launches a cash incentive scheme called ‘Vhali Dikri Yojna’ for the welfare of the
girl child
• Gujarat Chief Minister (CM) Vijay Rupani has launched a flagship financial assistance scheme
called ‘Vhali Dikri Yojna’ in Rajkot, Gujarat for the welfare of girl child in the state. The scheme
launched in order to improve the child sex ratio in the state, which currently stands at 890 girl
child per 1000 male child.
Gujarat to get country’s first Institute for chemical engineering and technology
• As a boost to the chemical industry in the country, Gujarat is to get the country’s first Central
Institute of Chemical Engineering & Technology (CICET). The CICET would be built either at
Ahmedabad or Surat.
HM Amit Shah flags off the first fleet of eco-friendly e- buses in Ahmedabad, Gujarat
• In a bid to make the city cleaner & greener, the Union Minister of Home Affairs, Amit Shah has
flagged off the first fleet of eco-friendly e-buses (electric buses) in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, which
will be operated on major junctions in the city. He also inaugurated the India’s 1st automated
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battery charging & changing station for e-buses in the city. Under the Faster Adaption and
Manufacture of (Hybrid) and Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme, Gujarat will get 550 electric
buses. Ahmedabad alone will get 300 e- buses.
Haryana
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reviews functioning of IMAC, IFC-IOR
• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited and reviewed the functioning of Information
Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) and Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region
(IFC-IOR) in Gurgaon, Haryana. These are under the National Maritime Domain Awareness
(NMDA) Project which was launched in accordance with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on Security And Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR).
Haryana CM increases family income limit for BPL beneficiary
• The Chief Minister of Haryana Shri Manohar Lal Khattar, increased the family income limit of
households from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per month to qualify as Below Poverty Line (BPL)
beneficiary. It was announced at a BPL ration card distribution function in Panchkula, Haryana.
Haryana Govt launched Mukhya Mantri Parivar Samridhi Yojna

• In a bid to provide social security to families, the state Government of Haryana has
launched ‘Mukhya Mantri Parivar Samridhi Yojna’ and under this scheme Rs 6,000 per year
will be given to each eligible family of the state. To avail benefit of the scheme, the annual
family income should be less than Rs 1,80,000 or a total landholding of less than two hectares.
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh breaks 70 years record of receiving highest ever rainfall in last 24 hours
• The local Indian Meteorological Department(IMD) announced that Himachal Pradesh recorded
highest ever rainfall in last 24 hours by breaking the last 70 years’ record.Extremely heavy
rains were reported from Shimla, Bilaspur, and Hamirpur.
Himachal Pradesh Assembly passed Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill, 2019
• The Himachal Pradesh assembly passed a bill named Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion
Bill, 2019 which repeals the Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2006. The new bill is
against conversion by force, inducement or through marriages solemnised for the sole purpose
of adopting a new religion.
Jammu and Kashmir

Centre To Repeal Of Article 370 And 35A That Grants Special Status To J&K
• Government announced to repeal Article 370 [except the first clause 370 (1)] and Article 35A
which grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). Union Home Minister Amit Shah
announced to bifurcate the state into 2 Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir, which will
have a legislature like Delhi and Puducherry, and Ladakh, which will be without a legislature
like Chandigarh. Read full details here: Centre to Repeal of Article 370 And 35A That Grants
Special Status To J&K.
Indian Army launches ‘Mission Reach Out’ post Article 370 revocation in Jammu
• The Indian Army has launched a "Mission Reach Out" post revocation of Article 370 in Jammu
Division to ensure basic necessities and essential services are available in the region including
providing water in locations where supply is disrupted and mobile medical care units with
essential medicines, giving essentials including rations, assistance in transportation of patients
to hospitals,etc.
3 Committees formulated for Union Territory related issues of J-K
The Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) administration has constituted 3 committees for devising
modalities for functioning of proposed UT (Union Territory) of J&K and Ladakh, dealing with
financial matters and staff-related issues.
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 12-member committee - Headed by K K Sharma (Advisor to J&K Governor) - for To take

necessary steps for transition from a state to the proposed Union Territory.
 5-member committee - Headed by Shri Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta (Financial Commissioner,
Finance Department) - To deal with the financial matters .
 6-member committee - Headed by Mr. Shaleen Kabra(Principal Secretary, Home
Department) - To suggest measures to be taken for providing staff.
Jharkhand
Mukhyamantri Krishi Ashirwad Yojana - vice president honorable M. venkaiah Naidu launches
Jharkhand government's financial assistance program for its farmers
• Under the Jharkhand state’s scheme, Mukhyamantri Krishi Ashirwad Yojana launched by Shri
Venkaiah Naidu, farmers/ beneficiaries having farmlands of less than 1 acre to 5 acres will be
provided financial assistance of Rs5,000-25,000. The launching ceremony was held in 23
districts apart from Ranchi. This scheme would benefit approximately 35 lakh farmers and by
september/october this year. The outlay is Rs 3000 crore.
Karnataka
Clean air initiative launched by India,UK in Bengaluru
• A two-year UK-India joint initiative, the “Innovation for Clean Air” (IfCA) was launched by the
British Deputy High Commissioner DominicMcAllister in Bengaluru to test interventions
related to equality and support India's transition to EV (electric vehicles) integration. The
program is led by Innovate UK, which is a part of UK research and innovation (UKRI). The UKRI
is funded by Newton Fund and by various other partners.
Senior BJP leader Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri unanimously elected the 22nd Speaker of the
Karnataka Legislative Assembly
• Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, a senior BJP(Bharatiya Janata Party) leader and 6-time
MLA(Member of the Legislative Assembly) has unanimously elected as 22nd Speaker of the
Karnataka legislative assembly after K R Ramesh Kumar resigned from the post. Kageri, an
MLA from Sirsi constituency in Uttara Kannada was the only candidate to file his nomination
for the post was elected unopposed.
Karnataka government launches E-Step, a programme for student entrepreneurs
• The Department of Information Technology (IT), Biotechnology (BT) and Science & Technology
(ST) of Karnataka government launched E-Step, an initiative to empower student start-ups.
The programme is a part of Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society (KITS).
Former Karnataka BJP president and senior advocate A K Subbaiah passed away
• Ajjikuttira Kariappa (AK) Subbaiah, the former Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
president and senior advocate has passed away in Bengaluru, Karnataka after a brief illness. He
was 85. Born in Virajpet town of Karnataka in 1936, Subbaiah was an advocate by profession
before entering politics.
Karnataka CM appoints 3 Deputy CMs and allocates cabinets
• A Chief Minister of Karnataka, Shri B.S Yedayurappa had appointed 3 deputy chief ministers
and had also allocated portfolios to 14 ministers, a week after the cabinet ministry was
expanded. The deputy CMs are Mudhol Govind Karjol (68), Dr. C.N. Ashwath Narayan (51) and
Lakshman Savadi (59).
Kerala
Japanese defense ship “JS Sazanami“, visits Kochi on a 2-day goodwill visit
• Japanese Ship, JS Sazanami, the fourth vessel of the Takanami class destroyers of the Japan
Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) commanded by Commander Shoji Ishkawa visited Kochi
on a 2-day goodwill visit from August 13 to 19, 2019.
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Ladakh
2019 'Aadi Mahotsav’ -national tribal festival begins at Leh-Ladakh
• The 9 day long National tribal festival named “Aadi Mahotsav” commenced at the Polo Ground,
Leh-Ladakh. It is a joint initiative of Ministry of tribal affairs and Tribal Cooperative Marketing
Development Federation of India (TRIFED). The theme of this year’s festival is “A celebration of
the spirit of Tribal Craft,Culture and Commerce”. Read full details here: 2019 ‘Aadi Mahotsav’
-National Tribal Festival Begins At Leh-Ladakh
26th Ladakhi-Kisan-Jawan-Vigyan Mela inaugurated by Rajnath in Leh
• The 26th edition of “Ladakhi-Kisan-Jawan-VigyanMela” organized by Leh-based Defence
Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR) of Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO), was inaugurated by the Union Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh. The
mela seeks to meet the fresh food requirements for soldiers serving in the harsh terrain
regions.
Madhya Pradesh
NCAT releases Phase II study entitled “Economic Valuation of Tiger Reserves in India: A Value+
Approach”
• A statutory body of the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change, National
Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has released a phase II (2016-19) study titled “Economic
Valuation of Tiger Reserves in India: A Value+ Approach” with the aim to promote tiger
conservation. It was published by the Centre for Ecological Services Management (CESM) at the
Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh in collaboration with
NTCA.
Madhya Pradesh- second state to unveil antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
• The health minister of Madhya Pradesh, Tulsi Ram Silawat released Madhya Pradesh Action
Plan for Containment of Antimicrobial Resistance (MP-SAPCAR) in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
This action plan is preceded by Kerala which was the first state to develop an action plan to
manage AMR (antimicrobial resistance). MP-SAPCAR focuses on a 'One Health’ approach.
Madhya Pradesh govt waives off loans taken by tribals from non-licensed money-lenders
• In order to make the tribals debt-free, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath announced
on the occasion of World Tribal Day (August 9, 2019), that all the loans taken from non-
licensed money-lenders by tribals living in 89 scheduled villages in Chhindwara would be
waived in the state. It will benefit 1.5 crore tribals. Read full details here: Madhya Pradesh
Govt Waives Off Loans Taken By Tribals From Non-Licensed Money-Lenders.
Citizens of Indore (Madhya Pradesh) take big steps to become No. 1 in Jal Shakti Abhiyan
• The citizens of Indore (Madhya Pradesh) have taken a rapid step to become number one in Jal
Shakti Abhiyan (JSA), a campaign for water conservation and water security after they got the
top spot in Swachhata Abhiyan continuously since the last 3 years. In Indore Municipal
Corporation area, a record has also been created by installing 1500 water harvesting systems
in a day.
Under Digital India, Banjari village of Katni district in MP to become an integral part of the
digital map of the country
• Under the Prime Minister's ambitious project of Digital India, the Banjari village of Katni
district becomes the 1st village in Madhya Pradesh(MP) to become an integral part of the
digital map of the country. Akodara village of Sabarkantha district of Gujarat is the 1st digital
village in India.
Maharastra
Maharashtra Govt launches Automated Multi-modal Biometric Identification System (AMBIS)
for crime detection
• Maharashtra Chief Minister(CM) Devendra Fadnavis has launched a special digitized policing
system called “Automated Multi-modal Biometric Identification System (AMBIS)” to aid police
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investigations & it will soon be expanded across the country. It is an updated version of
Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), which has limited utility.
World's first ultra-fast Hyperloop project granted to Maharashtra
• The infrastructure project status worth $10billion (Rs. 70,0000 crore) was granted to
Maharashtra by India, to establish the world's first ultra-fast Hyperloop project. This project
stretching over 117.5km, will link Mumbai with the neighboring city of Pune and travels to the
destination in about 35 minutes.
Mission Shakti sports initiative launched by Bollywood actor Aamir Khan
• Mission Shakti which is an initiative to train athletes from Chandrapur and Gadchiroli for
international events, like Olympics, by the Maharashtra minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, was
launched by Bollywood film actor Aamir Khan in presence of Maharashtra sports minister
Ashish Shelar.
Indian Institute of Skills (IIS) will be set up in Mumbai in association with the Tata Trust
• Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE)
stated that world-class Indian Institute of Skills (IIS) will be set up in Mumbai, Maharashtra in
association with Tata Educational and Development Trust (TEDT) aimed at scaling up of skill
training enabling the young generation to acquire skills at par with global standards.
President Ram Nath Govind inaugurates Bunker Museum at Raj Bhavan
• The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Govind inaugurated the 15,000 square feet underground
bunker museum at Raj Bhavan(Governor’s government house) in Mumbai. It is a bunker of the
British era in the 19th century and was discovered in 2016. It was used to fire cannons at
enemy ships and the other section depicts the history of Raj Bhavan. Read full details here:
President Ram Nath Govind Inaugurates Bunker Museum At Raj Bhavan
King of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan launches heritage postal stamp of Bandra station
• Indian actor, film producer, Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) has introduced heritage postal stamp of
Bandra station in Mumbai, Maharashtra on the completion of 150 years of the railway station.
Smriti Irani launches sustainable fashion project,'SU.RE' in Mumbai
• The Union Minister for Textiles Smriti Zubin Irani has inaugurated Project SU.RE(Sustainable
Resolution), a joint project of CMAI(Clothing Manufacturers Association of India)& IMG
Reliance(International Management Group, during Lakme Fashion Winter/Festive 2019) in
Mumbai, Maharashtra. Read full details here: Smriti Irani Launches Sustainable Fashion
Project,’SU.RE’ In Mumbai
Government gives nod to set up Gorewada International Zoo in Nagpur, Maharashtra
• The Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change an Information and
Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar has announced the approval for the establishment of new
International Standard Zoo and Biopark on 1914 hectares in the forest land at Gorewada in
Nagpur, Maharashtra.
Manipur
9 year old Manipuri girl, Valentina Devi made Manipur’s green ambassador
• Elangbam Valentina Devi, a 9 year old girl from Manipur was made the ambassador of ‘Chief
Minister’s Green Manipur Mission’, after a video of her crying over felled trees went viral on
social media. The govt. Made this step in recognition of her immense love and affection for
trees. Valentina Devi will be the green ambassador for a period of 1year from the issue of
order.
Manipur Govt launches "School Fagadaba" scheme to improve infrastructure of government
schools
• Chief Minister (CM) of Manipur, N Biren Singh has launched "School Fagadaba" (Make
education better) scheme with the aim to improve the infrastructure, quality education and
overall improvement of government schools.
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Meghalaya
22nd National Conference on e-Governance 2019 inaugurated in Shillong
• The 2 days lasting 22nd National Conference on e-Governance (NCeG) 2019 was launched by
Dr. Jitendra Singh. This is the first-ever e-Conference in the northeast region in Shillong,
Meghalaya. The theme of this Conference was “Digital India: Success to Excellence”. The chief
guest for this conference was Meghalaya Chief Minister Shri Konrad Sangma.
Nagaland
Nagaland State police Department gets its first Laboratory-cum-Training centre at Dimapur
• The deputy chief minister of Nagaland Yanthungo Patton (Y. Patton), inaugurated the first
Cyber Laboratory-cum-Training Centre of the Nagaland State Police Department at
Chumukedima of Dimapur district. This training centre was inaugurated for the prevention of
Cyber Crime against Women and Children.
New Delhi
Air Force specification-cum-publicity Pavilion inaugurated by Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank”
• The Union Minister for Human Resource Development (MHRD) Mr Ramesh pokhriyal
‘Nishank’, inaugurated the Indian Airforce Facilitation-cum-Publicity Pavilion in National Bal
Bhawan, New Delhi to motivate students to join Indian Air Force.
Indian Army with EESL launches a batch of 10 electric cars in New Dehli to combat air pollution
• In order to tackle air pollution, the Indian Army has launched an environmental friendly
initiative with deploying a batch of 10 electric cars (E-cars) in New Delhi to be used of its Army
personnel. This pilot project was envisioned on the World Environment Day (June 5, 2019) and
launched now in partnership with Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), a joint venture state-
owned NTPC Limited(National Thermal Power Corporation), Power Finance Corporation,
Rural Electrification Corporation and Powergrid under the Ministry of Power.
Free electricity up to 200 units in Delhi: CM Arvind Kejriwal
• The Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announced free
electricity to those consuming up to 200 units a month with effect from August 1, 2019.
Consumption of electricity between 201-400 units will get a 50% subsidy.
Delhi Public Library’s mobile library bus service launched
• Mobile Library Buses procured under CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) assistance from
Airport Authority of India (AAI) by Delhi Public Library (DPL), was launched by the Union
Minister of state for culture and tourism-Shri Prahlad Singh Patel in New Delhi. It was launched
under the “Ghar-GharDastakGharGharPustak” scheme of DPL that provide books to citizens of
Delhi especially residents of slums, resettlement colonies, and rural areas.
Samagra Siksha -Jal Suraksha drive launched by MHRD
• The drive Samagra Siksha - Jal Suraksha which aims to create awareness among school
children about water conservation was launched by Union Minister of Human Resource and
Development (MHRD) Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank’, to make them conscientious and
committed water citizens of the nation. The drive was launched at Dr. Sarvepalli
Radhakrishnan Auditorium, Kendriya Vidyalaya No.2 in Delhi.
2 day exhibition on DAE Technologies inaugurated in New Delhi
• A two-day exhibition on DAE spinoff Technologies for non-power applications organised by the
Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), was inaugurated by Shri Rakesh Gupta, chairman of UPSC
(Union Public Service Commision) at New MotiBagh recreation club, New Delhi.
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Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat launches 2nd Edition of Swaccha Survakshan
Grameen for 2019
• Jal Shakti Minister Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat launched the 2nd Edition of Swaccha
Survakshan Grameen, India's largest sanitation survey, for 2019 in New Delhi. The 45-day long
survey will take place in 18 thousand villages of 698 districts.
'Housing for All' will be achieved 2 years in advance by 2020: Hardeep Singh Puri
• Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri stated that the central
government is committed to achieving its target of providing ‘Housing for all’ under Pradhan
Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in two years before the deadline by 2020. He made this
announcement during “Housing for all 2022: NAREDCO 15th National Convention: Real Estate
Reflection Point: Readying for the future" convention in New Delhi.
Indian President launches plantation drive in New Delhi as part of Van Mahotsav celebrations
• President of India, Shri Ram NathKovind planted Maulsari sapling in the Rashtrapati Bhavan
Estate(New Delhi) and launched a plantation drive. It was done as part of the ‘Van Mahotsav’
celebrations.
Union HRD Minister launches world’s largest teachers’ training programme NISHTHA
• Union Human Resource Development Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched the
National Mission to improve Learning Outcomes at the Elementary level National Initiative for
School Heads and Teachers Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA) at Dr Ambedkar International
Centre in New Delhi. It is the largest teachers’ training programme of its kind in the world with
an aim to motivate and equip teachers to encourage and foster critical thinking in students.
Read full details here: Union HRD Minister Launches World’s Largest Teachers’ Training
Programme NISHTHA
WCD Ministry aims to connect 44 cr people through Poshan Abhiyaan
• Smriti Irani, Women, and Child Development (WCD)Minister stated that the government has
set a target to connect 44 crore people through Poshan Abhiyaan to tackle malnutrition, at a
function in New Delhi. She also gave away the Poshan Abhiyaan Awards for 2018-19 in
different categories to the States, Districts, blocks and Anganwadi Workers.
Delhi government to offer free ride for women on government buses from Oct 29, 2019
• Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal in his independence day speech at Chhatrasal Stadium,
New Delhi, announced to offer free ride for women on Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC),
cluster scheme buses and metro trains starting October 29, 2019.
National Food Laboratory in Ghaziabad inaugurated by Harsh Vardhan
• Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Harsh Vardhan has inaugurated the FSSAI’s (Food
Safety and Standards Authority of India) first National Food Laboratory(NFL) - Delhi,
NCR(National Capital Region) in Ghaziabad on the 13th anniversary of Food Safety and
Standards Act, 2006. The lab has been built with the P-P-P model(Public-Private-Partnership).
India unveiled world’s first ever facial BSID
• India launched the world’s first-ever Biometric Seafarer Identity Document (BSID) which
captures the facial biometric data of seafarers. It was launched by Shri Mansukh Mandaviya,
Minister of State (I/C) Shipping and Chemical & Fertilizers in New Delhi. He handed over the
new BSID cards to 5 Indian seafarers.
7th Community Radio Sammelan for 2019 held in New Delhi
• The 7th Community Radio Sammelan for the year 2019 was inaugurated by Shri Amit Khare,
Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting at Dr. BR Ambedkar Bhawan, New Delhi. It
was held from August 27-29, 2019 and was organized by Ministry of Information &
Broadcasting. The theme of this year’s Sammelan was ‘Community Radio for SDGs’ (Sustainable
Development Goals). Read full details here: 7th Community Radio Sammelan For 2019 Held
In New Delhi
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1st India-Ghana Foreign Office Consultations held in New Delhi

• The first ever India-Ghana Foreign Office Consultations was held in New Delhi. The Indian
delegation was led by Shri. T.S Tirumurti, Secretary (Economic Relations) while the Ghanaian
delegation was led by Mr. Charles Owiredu, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional
Integration.
Campaign to tackle Dengue and Chikungunya launched by Delhi CM
• A 10 week Special campaign to tackle Dengue and Chikungunya was launched by the Chief
Minister of Delhi Shri Arvind Kejriwal on August 28, 2019 in New Delhi. The campaign titled
“10 Weeks, 10 AM 10 minute every Sunday, War against Dengue” ("10 Hafte, 10 Baje, 10
Minute – Har Ravivar, dengue par war"), will be rolled out in 1st September 2019, where
people were asked to spend 10 minutes at 10 am on every Sunday to check for mosquito
breeding spots.
Delhi cabinet approves free ride to women in buses from 29 October 2019
• Transport Minister of Delhi Kailash Gehlot stated that the Delhi Cabinet has approved free
travel for women in Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses and cluster buses from October
29,2019. Female employees of the city government, local bodies and undertakings will not be
entitled for transport allowance (TA) if they pick free ride in DTC and cluster buses.
Odisha
Government of Odisha launched Small Savings Incentive Scheme
• Odisha government unveiled the 'Odisha Small Savings Incentive Scheme' for the calendar year
2019 under the notation "AQ" series. The aim of the scheme is to stop people from transacting
with ‘suspicious’ non-banking private financial institutions.
Draft Agricultural policy released by Odisha government
• As a way of developing the agriculture sector and to focus on increasing the income of farmers,
the Odisha government released a Draft Agricultural Policy. There are about 50,000 single
landless women in Odisha. These women will be specially targeted in this draft policy scheme
to provide for economic development.
Odisha CM Naveen patnaik inaugurates new hockey academy in Bhubaneswar
Chief minister of Odisha Shri Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the Naval Tata Hockey Academy
(NTHA) at the Kalinga stadium, in the state capital Bhubaneswar, as a move to bring more
sports talents and young Olympians from the state. The academy is named in the honour of
Naval H. Tata to commemorate his contribution to hockey in India and his achievements as a
sports administrator. Read full details here: Odisha CM Naveen patnaik inaugurates new
hockey academy in Bhubaneswar
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik dedicates 'The Rath', a steel monument, to the people in
Bhubaneswar
• Chief Minister of Odisha Shri Naveen Patnaik dedicated 'The Rath', a steel monument seeking
to accentuate Odisha's diverse culture and rich heritage, to the people of the state. It is built at
the picturesque Biju Patnaik Park in Bhubaneswar. The steel monument is presented by Tata
Steel in collaboration with the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA).
Online Revenue Payment System Launched By CM Of Odisha
• Chief minister of Odisha Shri Naveen Patnaik, launched online revenue payment system
providing people, an easier way to make their land revenue payments-online, on 73rd
Independence Day on August 15, 2019 at Bhubaneswar. This online payment system was
developed at National Informatics Centre- Bhubaneswar, Odisha. This is the first of its kind
initiative of State revenue department of Odisha under the “5-T mantra”. Read full details here:
Online Revenue Payment System Launched By CM Of Odisha
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Odisha CM to launch “Mo Sarkar” initiative for transparency in governance

• During the independence day celebration in the state, the Chief Minister of Odisha Shri Naveen
Patnaik announced the “Mo Sarkar” initiative. It is an initiative to ensure transparency in
governance focusing fully on the common public and will be commenced from October 2, 2019,
on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanthi.
Noted Odisha tribal leader and Senior Congress candidate Sahura Mallick passed away
• Sahura Mallick, a noted Odisha tribal leader and former Baliguda MLA (Member of the
Legislative Assembly) passed away following a brief illness in Kandhamal district of Odisha. He
was 84. Sahura, worked as a teacher before joining politics.
Odisha’s former chief secretary Lalat Indu Parija passed away
• The former chief secretary of Odisha Lalat Indu Parija passed away in a hospital in Cuttack, at
the age of 89 following a cardiac arrest. Hailing from Odisha, Lalat, the son of eminent scientist
Pranakrushna Parija, served twice as the Chief Secretary of Odisha in 1983 and in 1986. He
recently released the book named “Fate takes a Hand” in March 2019.
Odisha’s Mamata scheme for PVTG women given an extension for 5 years
• The Department of Women and Child Development of the government of Odisha extended the
benefits of the Direct Cash Benefit "Mamata" scheme to the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal
Groups (PVTG) meant for women for another 5 years till 2024. Except government employees,
all adult pregnant women receive Rs 5,000 in two installments, upon fulfilling certain
conditions.
Odisha CM, Naveen Patnaik presents Biju Patnaik Award for Sports, Bravery and State Award
for Social Service
On the occasion of National Sports Day(August 29,2019) The Chief Minister(CM) of Odisha,
Naveen Patnaik conferred the Biju Patnaik Awards for Sports, Bravery and State Award for
Social Service for the year 2018 to the players of the state at Jaydev Bhavan in Bhubaneswar,
Odisha. In total 9 awards were given out.
 Biju Patnaik Sports Award for Excellence in Sports - Pramod Bhagat (para shuttler)
 Biju Patnaik Award for Promotion of Sports and Games - Kalinga Institute of Industrial
Technology (KIIT), Bhubaneswar,Odisha
 Biju Patnaik Bravery Award - Shrimati Badra.Read full details here: Odisha CM, Naveen
Patnaik Presents Biju Patnaik Award For Sports, Bravery And State Award For
Social Service
Punjab
India's first 3-D smart traffic signal ‘Intelights’ designed by Chitkara University students
launched
• Sharad Satya Chauhan, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) of Mohali traffic police
launched 3-D Smart Traffic Signal ‘Intelights’ designed by the students of Chitkara University
Incubated Start-up - Anukai Solutions. On a pilot project basis, the wireless system is installed
at the traffic crossing near Quark City on Airport Road, Chandigarh, Punjab.
Punjab government brings around 4500 journalists into the ambit of its flagship scheme SSBY
• The Punjab State Government has announced to bring around 4500 journalists into the ambit
of its recently launched flagship universal health insurance scheme "Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana"
(SSBY). The state will bear the full premium under this scheme and around 400 private
hospitals have been included in the list.
Punjab govt. UNDP signs pact to implement SDGs
• The government of Punjab signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA)with the United Nations
Development Programme(UNDP) for implementing Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) by
etting up of a Sustainable Development Goals Coordination Centre (SDGCC) in the planning
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department in chandigarh (Punjab). It was signed by UNDP Resident Representative Shoko

Noda and Principal Secretary of Planning Jaspal Singh.
Punjab Congress MLA from Mukerian Rajnish Kumar Babbi passed away in Chandigarh
• Congress Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the Mukerian assembly seat in Punjab,
Rajnish Kumar Babbi, aged 59, passed away after a prolonged illness at the Post-Graduate
Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh. He was first elected to
the Punjab Vidhan Sabha in the 2012 assembly polls as an Independent from Mukerian.
Rajasthan
Udaipur will host 3rd edition of India’s largest education brainstorming event “ScooNews
Global Educators Fest 2019”
• The City of Lakes, Udaipur (Rajasthan) will host the 3rd edition of India’s largest education
brainstorming event called “ScooNews Global Educators Fest (SGEF)” on 2019 theme
'Education for Sustainability: Moving on from conformity to creativity' will be held on August 9
&10,2019. Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar of Udaipur will be the patron of 2019 edition.
Anti mob lynching bill and penalty against honour killing bills passed by the Rajasthan
government
• The Rajasthan Protection from Lynching Bill, 2019 which provides life imprisonment and a fine
ranging from 1 lakh – 5 lakh rupees to those convicted in the case of mob lynching and also
leading to victim's death was passed by the Rajasthan state legislative assembly by a voice
vote. Also, in order to curb the incidents of honour killing in Rajasthan, The Rajasthan
Prohibition of Interference with the Freedom of Matrimonial Alliances in the name of Honour
and Tradition bill, 2019 was passed in the Rajasthan assembly by a voice vote, with the
provision of punishment of death penalty or life imprisonment for murdering couples who do
inter-caste, inter-community, inter-religious marriages, citing family honour.
Rajasthan government launches new higher education model named RACE
• Bhanwar Singh Bhati, Minister of State (MoS) for Higher Education inaugurated Resource
Assistance for Colleges with Excellence (RACE) in presence of various college principals. The
colleges in need of faculties and resources like projectors, digital libraries, equipment should
submit their requirement to nodal college. The nodal college will help the needy colleges by
sending teachers on deputation and other resources if needed.
Rajasthan becomes the first state in the country to implement biofuel policy: Sachin Pilot
• Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan state Government, Sachin Pilot stated that Rajasthan is the
1st state in the country that released biofuel rules-2019 (after the notification of the Centre on
April 30, 2019) with the vision to promote the use of biofuels. He introduced the biofuel rules-
2019 at a state-level function on the eve of the World Biofuel Day (August 10, 2019).
Rajasthan tops in free medicine scheme implementation
• In the rankings issued by the National Health Mission (NHM), Rajasthan Government Chief
minister Ashok Gehlot’s flagship free medicine scheme secured the first rank among the 16
states in India. In Rajasthan, the scheme was launched on October 2, 2011. NHM free drug
service initiative has been implemented by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
(MoHFW).
Tamil Nadu
Ex-DMK Minister Jennifer Chandran passed away at the age of 62
• S. Jennifer Chandran, who was the fisheries minister(1996- 2001) in DMK (Dravida Munnetra
Kazhagam ) government, passed away in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, after suffering from kidney-
related ailments. She was 62. She won the DMK ticket from Tiruchendur in the 1996 assembly
election & and lost in 2001 assembly election.
Tamilnadu to get Rs 6.22 crore under Silk Samagra for the development of silk industry
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• Tamil Nadu will receive about Rs 6.22 crore under the Silk Samagra for the development of the
silk industry. The state has been ranked among the leading silk-producing States in India. Silk
Samagra is an Integrated Scheme for Development of Silk Industry (ISDSI) implemented by the
Union government through the Central Silk Board (CSB) at an outlay of Rs 2,161.68 crore for 3
years from 2017-18.
Tamil Nadu trifurcates Vellore district to form new districts
• After taking a consensus from the ministers, MLAs (Member of the Legislative Assembly) and
the general public, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu Shri Edappadi K Palaniswami made an
announcement on trifurcation of Vellore district. Ranipet and Tirupattur are the new districts
carved out of Vellore. After the trifurcation, Tamil Nadu now has 37 districts.
TamilNadu awards people on various categories on the 73rd Independence Day
• The chief minister of TamilNadu Shri Edappadi K Palaniswami conferred awards to people and
organisations at Fort St. George among various categories on the 73rd Independence day
celebration. The Best private employer award went to Everest Stabilizers private Ltd. while
Best social worker award conferred upon Mrs. Chandra Prasad of Pathway, among others.
Blue Waves At Chennai Beaches bad for fishes: Marine Experts
• A beautiful Bioluminescent waves were spotted along the shore of Thiruvanmiyur,
Injambakkam, Besant Nagar's Eliot's and Palavakkam beaches in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
According to marine experts of National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR) of Chennai, the
Noctiluca scintillans algae (unicellular organism), popularly known as sea tinkle were behind
this phenomenon. It is an indication of climate change, impact on deep-sea fishing, and
disruption of the long term health of an ecosystem.
TN education Dept launches 24-hour Tv channel for school students
• The Chief Minister (CM) of Tamilnadushri Edappadi K Palaniswamy launched the 24 hour
TV(television) channel, “Kalvi Tholaikkaatchi” or “Education TV channel” for the school
students by the state education department at a function in Chennai. The programmes in the
channel would cover syllabi from pre-KG (KinderGarten) to 12th standard. Along this, CM also
launched First electric bus in the state and 40 ‘Amma Patrol vehicles’.
Telangana
First Ever Space Museum Of India Inaugurated At Hyderabad
• The first space museum of India opening new attraction to space enthusiasts, was set up at
Hyderabad in association with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The museum is
housed in the Birla Science Museum. It gave Space of 9000 square feet to set up the space
museum. The space Museum is located on the erstwhile Naubat Pahad, Telangana in the centre
of the city. Read full details here: First Ever Space Museum Of India Inaugurated At
Hyderabad.
Amazon inaugurates its world’s largest campus in Hyderabad
• E-commerce company Amazon, inaugurated its single-largest campus in the world in terms of
area (9 acres) in Hyderabad, Telangana. The campus was inaugurated by Mohammed
Mahmood Ali, MLC(Member of Legislative Council), Minister of Home, Prisons, Fire Services,
government of Telangana. This Hyderabad campus of Amazon, is the only one, placed outside
US (United States).
Uttarkhand
SC Clears Chardham Project, Which Will Connect 4 Holy Places In Uttarakhand
• The Supreme Court(SC) bench comprising of Justices Rohinton Fali Nariman and Surya Kant
has cleared the Chardham highway project, which will connect 4 holy places of Uttarakhand
(Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri)through 900 km all-weather roads by
modifying an NGT(National Green Tribunal) order to form a committee to look into
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environmental concerns. Read full details here: SC Clears Chardham Project, Which Will
Connect 4 Holy Places In Uttarakhand
Uttar Pradesh
Allahabad HC imposes ban on playing DJs (Disk Jockey) in Uttar Pradesh
The Allahabad High Court (HC) bench comprising Justice P.K.S. Baghel and Justice Pankaj
Bhatia has prohibited the permission to play DJs (Disk Jockey) all across Uttar Pradesh(UP),
considering noise pollution as a threat to human health. Along with this, the court also ordered
to impose a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh & will face a 5-year jail term, if he/she disobeyed this
instruction.
Lucknow's iconic Hazratganj Chauraha renamed as Atal Chowk
Famous 'Hazratganj Chauraha' of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh has been renamed as 'Atal Chowk' in
memory of former Prime Minister of India, Late Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the occasion of his first
death anniversary, from August 16, 2019. He was a five-time Member of Parliament (MP) from
Lucknow. A memorial named "Atal Smriti Upvan" will also be built on his name.
WestBengal
West Bengal Government launched awareness campaign ‘Save Green, Stay Clean’
• On August 1, 2019, The Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee launched an awareness
campaign ‘Save Green, Stay Clean’ for preserving the greenery and keeping the environment
clean in Kolkata, which will be celebrated every year. She participated in the Padayatra for this
purpose.'
India's first underwater train will be launched in Kolkata
• Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal announced that India's first underwater train project is
set to launch in Kolkata, West Bengal under the Hooghly river. It is a 16-kilometer long Kolkata
Metro project. It will connect Salt Sector 5 with Howrah Maidan.
World’s 1st museum dedicated to the life of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu opened in Kolkata
• West Bengal Chief Minister(CM), Mamata Banerjee has opened the World’s 1st museum
dedicated to the life of a 16th-century saint and social reformer, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu,
designed by the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) in Kolkata, West Bengal. The
budget of the museum is around Rs 12-14 crore. It is named as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
museum.
Other Important National Affairs

Pilot basis of one Nation one ration card scheme launched in 4 States
• In order to boost the National Food Security, the pilot basis of One Nation One Ration Card
scheme was launched by the government in four states namely Telangana , Andhra Pradesh,
Maharashtra, and Gujarat. Families holding this card can buy subsidized rice and wheat from
any ration shop in these four states.
Nepali and Santhali languages to be included in the Scheme for grant of Senior/Junior
Fellowships of Culture Ministry
• The Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism Shri Prahlad Singh Patel informed that 2
languages- Nepali and Santhali from the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution will be
included in the Sub-Field of Field “Literature” in the scheme component ‘Award of
Senior/Junior Fellowships to Outstanding Artistes in the Fields of Culture’.
Parliament passed Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2019
• The Parliament passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) (Amendment) Bill, 2019. It
provides a 330-day timeline for insolvency resolution process and specifies minimum payouts
to operational creditors in any resolution plan. 8 amendments in the IBC, 2016 were made
which include Section 5, Section 7, Section 12, Section 25A, Section 30, Section 31, Section 33
and Section 240 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.
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Parliament passed the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2019

• Parliament unanimously passed the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2019 which
will replace the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Ordinance, 2019, promulgated on
February 21, 2019. It will help to tackle the threat of illicit deposit taking activities in the
country like exploiting regulatory gaps and lack of strict administrative measures to dupe poor
and gullible people of their hard-earned savings. Read full details here: Parliament Passed
The Banning Of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2019
Rajya Sabha Passed Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill 2019
• Rajya Sabha passed the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019. It will amend the provisions
under the 1988 Motor Vehicles Act. The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019 is based on
the recommendations of the Group of Transport Ministers (GoM) headed by Shri. Yoonus Khan,
the then Transport Minister of Rajasthan, to address the issue of road safety and to improve
the facilitation of the citizens while dealing with transport departments. Read full details here:
Rajya Sabha Passed Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill 2019.
150 million workers aimed by the govt. to be enrolled under PM pension scheme
• Over the next 3 years under the pension scheme Pradhan Mantri shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-
SYM), the Union government aims to enroll 150 million workers to bring them under the social
security net. About 50-60 million workers will be from the construction sector and Agriculture
workers and self-employed retailers will also be part of this pension scheme.
President Ram Nath Kovind gives assent to the Finance Bill 2019
• President of India Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the Finance Bill 2019. It gives effect to
the financial proposals of the Central Government for the financial year 2019-20. It was passed
in the parliament on July 23, 2019.
President Ram Nath Kovind gives assent to the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on
Marriage) Bill, 2019
• President of India, Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the Muslim Women (Protection of
Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019. With this, the Bill became an Act. It criminalizes instant 'triple
talaq' among Muslims and attracts a jail term of 3 years for the husband.
Cabinet approves Introduction Of Chit Funds (Amendment) Bill, 2019
• The Union Cabinet approved the Introduction of Chit Funds (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in
Parliament. It is aimed at reducing the regulatory or compliance burden of the registered Chit
Funds Industry and protect the interests of the Chit subscribers. It will amend the Chit Fund
Act 1982. Read full details here: Cabinet Approves Introduction Of Chit Funds
(Amendment) Bill, 2019
Parliament passed Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill 2019
• Parliament passed the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill, 2019 with 147
members voting in favour of the bill and 42 against it. The Bill amends the Unlawful Activities
(Prevention) Act, 1967. It provides for special procedures to deal with terrorist activities, and
empowered the government to designate individuals as terrorists on the grounds of terrorism.
Read full details here: Parliament Passed Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment
Bill 2019
President Ram Nath Kovind gives assent to Right to Information (Amendment) Act, 2019
• President of India Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to Right to Information (Amendment) Act,
2019. It will amend the Right to Information Act (RTI), 2005. Amendments are made in Section
13, Section 16 and Section 27 of the Right to Information Act, 2005.
Lok Sabha to become paperless from next session
• Speaker of Lok Sabha, Om Birla announced that the Lower House (Lok Sabha) will become
paperless from the next session. It will save crores of rupees to the exchequer/ national
treasury.
Parliament passed the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2019
• Parliament passed the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) (Amendment) Bill,
2019 which amends the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. The new bill
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seeks to enhance punishment for sexual offences against children with a provision of death
penalty. Read full details here: Parliament Passed The Protection Of Children From Sexual
Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2019.
Indus Valley inscriptions were written logographically
• Research has found that a majority of the Indus Valley inscriptions were written
logographically i.e. by using word signs and not by using phonograms i.e speech sounds units.
It was published in a Nature group journal Palgrave Communications. The research paper was
titled as “Interrogating Indus inscription to unravel their mechanism of meaning conveyance”.
Lok Sabha passes Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill 2019
• Lok Sabha passed the Jallianwala Bagh national memorial bill introduced by minister of
culture, Prahlad Patel, by a voice vote. This bill seeks to remove the Congress chief from being
a permanent member of Jallianwala bagh memorial trust established in 1951 in Amritsar,
Punjab. The bill amends Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Act, 1951.
Parliament passed the Repealing and Amending Bill, 2019
• Parliament passed the Repealing and Amending Bill, 2019 which repeals 58 obsolete and
irrelevant laws. The new bill repeals 58 laws that have been listed in the First Schedule of the
Bill. It includes the Beedi Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1976, and the Motor Vehicles
(Amendment) Act, 2001.
Parliament Passed Code On Wages Bill, 2019
• Parliament passed Code on Wages Bill, 2019 which replaces the 4 laws- the Payment of Wages
Act, 1936, the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, and the Equal
Remuneration Act, 1976. The new bill seeks to regulate wage and bonus payments in all
employments where any industry, trade, business, or manufacturing is carried out. Read full
details here: Parliament Passed Code On Wages Bill, 2019
Parliament Passed Airports Economic Regulatory Authority Of India (Amendment) Bill 2019
• Parliament passed the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill,
2019 which amends the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act, 2008. The new
bill increases the threshold of annual passenger traffic for major airports to over 35 lakh from
15 lakh. It is increased as the number of air traffic passengers has been increased 117 million
from 2008 to 345 million in 2019. Read full details here: Parliament Passed Airports
Economic Regulatory Authority Of India (Amendment) Bill 2019
National Medical Commission Bill 2019,Passed By Rajyasabha.
• Amid strong protests by the medical fraternity, the Rajya Sabha passed the controversial
National Medical Commission (NMC) bill 2019 which is proposed to bring one of the biggest
reforms in medical education. The National Medical Council (NMC) bill is passed to replace the
Medical Council of India (MCI) which is the central authority regulating the medical education.
Raed full details here: National Medical Commission Bill 2019,Passed By Rajyasabha.
Road transport and highways ministry exempts armed force’s armoured, specialised vehicles
from BS-VI emission norms.
• Emission norms of armoured and specialized vehicles of the armed and paramilitary forces will
be exempted from BS-VI (Bharat Stage emission standard) from April 1, 2020, onwards as
announced by the ministry of road transport and highways. The exemptions are granted to
these vehicles because special engines are required for high-security operations and
requirements, engines suitable for the specialised vehicles will require considerable time.
Union environment ministry unveiled a draft ‘Nation Resource Efficiency Policy’
• In order to save the natural resources, the Union environment ministry unveiled a draft ‘Nation
Resource Efficiency Policy’ which suggests the institutional mechanism and a three-year action
plan through the principle of 6R and ‘green public procurement’.The 6R stands for Reduce,
Reuse, Recycle, Redesign, Re-manufacture and Refurbish.
Lok Sabha passed the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill 2019
• Lok Sabha passed the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill 2019 by a voice vote
which seeks to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court (SC) from the present 30 to
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33, excluding the Chief Justice of India (CJI). It amends the Supreme Court (Number of Judges)
Act, 1956. It was introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
Lok Sabha Passed The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019
• Lok Sabha passed the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019 through a voice vote which aims to
prohibit commercial surrogacy in India. India has emerged as a surrogacy hub for couples from
other countries and there have been reports concerning unethical practices, exploitation of
surrogate mothers, abandonment of children born out of surrogacy, and rackets involving
intermediaries importing human embryos and gametes. Read full details here: Lok Sabha
Passed The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019.
India’s first National Time Release Study conducted from August 1-7, 2019
• The Department of Revenue of the Ministry of Finance conducted India’s first national Time
Release Study (TRS) from August 1-7, 2019. It is lead by the Central Board of Indirect Tax and
Customs (CBIC). It is an internationally recognized tool advocated by the World Customs
Organization (WCO) to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of international trade flows.
President Ram Nath Kovind approves AERA (Amendment) Bill 2019
• President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind approved the Airports Economic Regulatory
Authority of India (AERA) (Amendment) Bill 2019 which increases the threshold of annual
passenger traffic for major airports from 15 lakh to over 35 lakh passengers. It amends the
Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act, 2008.
President Ram Nath Kovind declares abrogation of provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution
• President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind declared abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 of
the Constitution after Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha passed the resolution for the same. Article 370
gave special status to Jammu & Kashmir.
Lok Sabha passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019
• Lok Sabha passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019 by a voice vote. It
was introduced in the Lok Sabha on July 19, 2019 by the Minister for Social Justice and
Empowerment, Mr. Thaawarchand Gehlot. The Bill defines a transgender person as one whose
gender does not match the gender assigned at birth. The Bill prohibits any kind of
discrimination against a transgender person. Read full details here: Lok Sabha Passed The
Transgender Persons (Protection Of Rights) Bill, 2019
Parliament Passed The Consumer Protection Bill, 2019
• Parliament passed the Consumer Protection Bill, 2019 which replaces the Consumer Protection
Act, 1986. It seeks to establish authorities for timely and effective administration and
settlement of consumer disputes. The central government will set up a Central Consumer
Protection Authority (CCPA) to promote, protect and enforce the rights of consumers. Read full
details here: Parliament Passed The Consumer Protection Bill, 2019.
Swedish software Urkund to be accessed for free by Indian Universities
• Urkund is an anti-plagiarism (anti-piracy, anti-theft) Swedish software. It has been chosen to
be accessed for free by Indian Universities through global tender process. On August 2, 2019
trial access to the Urkund software was provided. The previously used software was Turnitin
but it was found to be 10 times more expensive without a proportionate increase in features or
reliability.
Department of Heavy Industry sanctions 5,595 e-buses for 64 cities under FAME India- Phase II
• Under the Scheme of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid and) Electric vehicles
(FAME) India- Phase II, the Department of Heavy Industry under the Ministry of Heavy
Industry and Public Enterprises sanctioned 5,095 e-buses to 64 cities/state transport
corporations for intra-city operations, 400 e-buses for intercity operation and 100 e-buses for
last-mile connectivity to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.
President Ram Nath Kovind approves National Medical Commission Bill, 2019
• President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind approved the National Medical Commission (NMC)
Bill, 2019 which repeals the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. The NMC Act has provisions to
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set up the National Medical Commission which will frame policies for regulating medical
institutions and medical professionals.
4th edition of National Entrepreneurship Awards, 2019 announced by Ministry of Skill
Development and Entrepreneurship
• In a bid to encourage and recognize entrepreneurs and also to catalyse a cultural shift in youth
for entrepreneurship, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has
announced the 4th edition of National Entrepreneurship Awards (NEA) for the year 2019. A
total of 45 awards are to be announced with 39 enterprise awards and 6 Entrepreneurship
Ecosystem Builders awards. The awards will be given on November 09, 2019.
Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan inaugurates inter state portability in two cluster of states
• Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution inaugurated the inter-State
portability in two clusters of adjoining States of Andhra Pradesh & Telangana and Gujarat &
Maharashtra, as a major step towards achieving the objective of ‘One Nation One Ration Card’.
Under the National Food Security Act, beneficiaries can avail the benefits from any of the two
cluster States. 11 States/UT have implemented the intra-State portability.
President Ram Nath Kovind Gives Assent To Arbitration And Conciliation (Amendment) Act
2019
• President of India Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to Arbitration and Conciliation
(Amendment) Act 2019 aimed to make India hub of domestic and global arbitration for settling
commercial disputes. It will amend Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. It provides a
mechanism to deal time-bound settlement of disputes and ensures accountability of the
arbitrator. Read full details here: President Ram Nath Kovind Gives Assent To Arbitration
And Conciliation (Amendment) Act 2019
President Ram Nath Kovind Gives Assent To The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019
• President of India Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act,
2019, to improve road safety and facilitation of the citizens while dealing with transport
departments. The Act will amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. Read full details here:
President Ram Nath Kovind Gives Assent To The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act,
2019.
CBDT increases the monetary threshold limit for IT department for filing appeals
• The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) increased the monetary limit for an appeal before
the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) to Rs 50 lakh from Rs 20 lakh. This is done to reduce
litigation. In case of high courts, the limit has been doubled to Rs 1 crore.
President Ram Nath Kovind approves J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019
• President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind approved the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)
Reorganisation Act, 2019. The Ministry of Law and Justice issued the Gazette Notification. The
Act seeks to make J&K a Union Territory (UT) with legislature and Ladakh, a UT without
legislature.
President Ram Nath Kovind approves UAPA Bill, 2019
• President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind approved the Unlawful Activities (Prevention)
Amendment (UAPA) Bill, 2019 under which individuals can be declared as terrorists, their
properties can be seized and travel ban can be imposed once they are declared as terrorists.
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed and Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar are
likely to be the first 2 individuals to be designated as terrorists.
Swachh Survekshan 2020 Launched By MoS For Housing Shri Hardeep Puri
• The Minister of State (Independent charge) for housing and urban affairs Shri Hardeep
SinghPuri launched the fifth edition of annual cleanliness survey, Swachh Survekshan 2020 (SS
2020) which is to be conducted from January 2020. Swachh Survekshan 2020 Toolkit,
SBM(Swachh Bharat Mission) Water PLUS Protocol and Toolkit, Swachh Nagar- an integrated
waste management app and AI( Artificial intelligence) enabled mSBM app was launched. Read
full details here: Swachh Survekshan 2020 Launched By MoS For Housing Shri Hardeep
Puri
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33% Of India’s Skilled Youth Are Jobless: PLFS 2017-18

• An analysis of the unit-level data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2017-18,
conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), found that 33% of India’s skilled
youth are jobless. 4 out of 10 youth who received vocational training are out of the labour
force. Nearly a third of trained young men and more than a third of trained young women were
unemployed. Read full details here: 33% Of India’s Skilled Youth Are Jobless: PLFS 2017-18
Govt. Makes Headgear Compulsory For Children Aged Above 4 Years
• The govt. has made a significant move on safety measures by making it mandatory for children
above 4 years of age to wear headgear of prescribed standards. This safety measures for the
children has been included in the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) act 2019 which was passed by
the government recently. Section 129 of the principal Act has been replaced in the act. Read full
details here: Govt. Makes headgear compulsory for children aged above 4 years.
CORAS of Indian railways launched by railway minister Piyush Goyal
CORAS (Commandos For Railway Security), a special railway unit for the Indian railways and a
new establishment manual for the Railway Protection Force(RPF) was launched by union
Railway Minister Shri Piyush Goyal at a function in New Delhi railway station. Read full details
here: CORAS Of Indian Railways Launched By Railway Minister Piyush Goyal
Reconstitution Of Inter-State Council; PM Modi Is The Chairman
• The Inter-State Council was reconstituted with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its chairman
and 6 Union ministers and chief ministers as members. The Union ministers who will be
members of the reconstituted council are Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, Rajnath Singh,
Narendra Singh Tomar, Thaawar Chand Gehlot, and Hardeep Singh Puri. Read full details here:
Reconstitution Of Inter-State Council; PM Modi Is The Chairman.
Paddy stubble burning declined by 41% in 2018 over 2016 level in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar
Pradesh and Delhi-NCR
• Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Director General & Secretary of the Department
of Agricultural Research & Education (DARE) under the Ministry of Agriculture , Dr. Trilochan
Mohapatra highlighted that the paddy stubble burning declined by 41% in 2018 over 2016
level in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi-NCR. It was reduced with the help of a Rs
1,151.80 crore (2018-19 to 2019-20) Central Sector Scheme (CSS) on 'Promotion of
Agricultural Mechanization for In-Situ Management of Crop Residue’.
New lighting system was inaugurated in the Parliament House by the Prime minister
• As many as 875 energy-efficient LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights were installed in the
parliament complex and dynamic Facade Lighting of the parliament House estate was
inaugurated by the prime minister of India Shri Narendra Modi. These LED bulbs will
illuminate lights throughout the year.
‘Operation Number Plate’ Launched By RPF In All Railway Premises Ahead Of Independence
Day
• Indian Railways’ Railway Protection Force (RPF) launched a drive named ‘Operation Number
Plate’ under the direction of the Director General of RPF Shri Arun Kumar, to check and verify
unauthorised parking in the railway premises. Unauthorized parking of unidentified vehicles
are considered as a threat to the safety and security of passengers. Owners of the vehicles
should have to contact helpline number 182 if their vehicles have been seized by the RPF from
railway station premises. Read full details here: ‘Operation Number Plate’ Launched By RPF
In All Railway Premises Ahead Of Independence Day.
Ceiling price of orthopaedic Knee implants not to increase beyond 10% a year
• Government assured that the ceiling price of orthopaedic knee implants will not be increased
beyond 10% in a given year and it will monitor the price increase as per Para 20 of Drugs
Prices Control Order (DPCO) 2013.
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Under Swachh Bharat Mission, DEPwD launches San-Sadhan Hackathon for Divyang accessible
toilets
• Under Swachh Bharat Mission, the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities
(DEPwD) has launched a nationwide Hackathon called “San-Sadhan” for Divyang/ physically
challenged people accessible toilets, which will be held from September 14- 15,2019 in New
Delhi. It aimed to enhance sensitivity and develop an ecosystem for creating a barrier-free
environment.
Ministry of Corporate Affairs amends provisions related to issue shares with differential voting
rights
• In a bid to help startups, The Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India(GoI) has
amended the provisions relating to the issue of shares with Differential Voting Rights (DVRs)
under the Companies Act, 2013. It was done with the objective of enabling promoters of Indian
companies to retain control of their companies, even they raise equity capital from global
investors.
SERB’s new scheme called “Supra” will fund cutting-edge research
• In a bid to promote research in cutting edge areas of science, the Science and Engineering
Research Board (SERB) plans to launch a new scheme called “Supra” (Scientific and Useful
Profound Research Advancement) to fund scientists. The scheme has designed as a part of the
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 100-day transformative ideas.
FASTags will be mandatory for all vehicles from December 2019: Nitin Gadkari
• Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) stated that FASTags will
become mandatory for all vehicles from December 2019. It is an electronic toll connection
device attached to the windscreen of the vehicle to enable drivers to pass through toll plazas
without having to stop for a cash transaction.
Indian Railways directs all units to ban single-use plastic from October 2, 2019
• In an eco-friendly initiative, the Ministry of Railways has directed all railway units to strictly
enforce a ban on single-use plastic, with less than 50-micron thickness, from October 2, 2019,
in its premises and trains with the aim to achieve "Plastic Free Railway". The Indian Railways
Catering and Tourism Development Corporation (IRCTC) will implement the return of plastic
drinking water bottles and 1,853 plastic bottle crushing machines will be installed at 360
major railway stations in the 1st phase of this initiative.
All CAPFs to adopt uniform retirement age of 60 years: Union Home Ministry
• According to the order of the Union Home Ministry, all Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs)
personnel will now retire at a uniform age of 60 years. The decision comes in the wake of a
January 2019 order of the Delhi High Court where it had called the policy of different age of
superannuation as discriminatory and unconstitutional, and said it created two classes in the
uniformed forces.
The second Uday Express between Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada to be launched
• Inorder to cater to the busy route in the East Coast Railway zone, The Indian Railways’ second
luxury double-decker Uday(Utkrisht Double-decker Air-conditioned Yatri) Express is to be run
between Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada. Its departure number is 22701 (Visakhapatnam-
Vijayawada) and on the return journey, its number will be 22702. Read full details here: The
second Uday Express between Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada to be launched
Draft On National Resource Efficiency Policy 2019 Released
• The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) released a draft on
National Resource Efficiency Policy (NREP) 2019. It aims to streamline the efficient use of the
resources with minimum negative impact on environment. NREP envisions a future with
environmentally sustainable and equitable economic growth, resource security, healthy
environment (air, water and land), and restored ecosystems with rich ecology and biodiversity.
Read full details here: Draft On National Resource Efficiency Policy 2019 Released
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137 Mountain Peaks opened for Mountaineering, Trekking by India

• The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) notified the opening of 137 mountain peaks for foreigners
desirous of obtaining Mountaineering Visa (‘MX’) for mountaineering and trekking. These
peaks are located in the States of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and
Sikkim.
New set of pictorial health warnings for tobacco packs from Sept 1, 2019
• The Union ministry of health and family welfare has notified new sets of specified pictorial
health warnings for all tobacco product packs with effect from Sept 1, 2019, by making an
amendment in the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labeling) Rules,
2008 that was called "Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labeling) Second
Amendment Rules, 2018". It will also include telephone Quit-line number "QUIT TODAY CALL
1800-11-2356".
Environment Ministry to relax mandatory charging of lease rent of Rs 30000 per MW for wind
power projects
• Shri Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change stated
that in order to boost the investment in wind power projects, the Government has decided to
relax the mandatory charging of lease rent of Rs 30000 per MW for wind power projects. The
move will help in providing wind power at a cheaper rate.
MHRD launched National Digital Library of India
• Under the National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology
(NMEICT), Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) launched the National Digital
Library of India project. It will develop a framework of virtual repository of learning resources
with a single-window search facility.
Prahlad Singh Patel Launches Integrated NOAPS For National Monuments Authority In New
Delhi
• Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, the Minister of State for Culture & Tourism (Independent Charge)has
launched an integrated NOC -No Objection Certificate online Application Processing System
(NOAPS )for National Monuments Authority (NMA) in New Delhi. 6 new States will be part of
this Integrated Online Application Portal with 517 urban Local Bodies Count. Read full details
here: Prahlad Singh Patel Launches Integrated NOAPS For National Monuments
Authority In New Delhi
'Angikaar campaign' launched by HAL to bring PMAY(U) beneficiaries into Ujjawala, Ayushman
Bharat fold
• ‘Angikaar campaign' was launched by Shri Hardeep Singh Puri,Minister of State(MoS-
independent) of Housing and Urban Affairs(MoHUA), in order to bring the PMAY(U) (Pradhan
MantriAwasYojana-Urban) beneficiaries into the fold of other schemes like the Ujjawala(free
gas connections) and Ayushman Bharat(health protection scheme). The campaign will be
rolled out on October 2 till December 10, 2019 in all the cities with PMAY(U).
3rd Advanced Estimate (2018-19) of Area and Production of various Horticulture Crops
released
• The Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare of the Ministry of
Agriculture & Farmers Welfare released the 3rd Advanced Estimate (2018-19) of Area and
Production of various Horticulture Crops based on the information received from different
States & Union Territories (UTs) and other source agencies. The total Horticulture Production
of India for 2018-19 is estimated to be 313.85 Million Tonnes which is 0.69% higher than the
Horticulture Production in 2017-18. Read full details here: 3rd Advanced Estimate (2018-
19) Of Area And Production Of Various Horticulture Crops Released
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INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Netherlands imposed ban on burqa and niqab in public places

• The cabinet of Netherlands imposed a ban on Burqa or niqab in public places, including public
transport, government buildings and at health and education institutions. It is not applied to
public streets. Anyone found guilty will have to pay a fine of 150 euros.
Hoverboard inventor Franky Zapata crosses English Channel in his second attempt
• 40-year-old Jet powered hoverboard inventor and former jet ski champion Franky Zapata of
France, crossed the English Channel for the first time within 10days after his first failed
attempt. He started his 22-mile journey at 7:15 am from Sangatte, Northern France and landed
at Saint Margaret’s bay in Dover in around 25 minutes.
China labeled as a currency manipulator for the first time in 25 years by the US
• For the first time in 25 years, the United States (US) has labeled China as a currency
manipulator. Beijing allowed its yuan to fall below the politically sensitive level of 7 to the US
dollar and Chinese firms have reportedly stopped buying US farm produce.
Nigeria, the fourth African Nation joins global collision to protect pollinators
• Nigeria joined the Global coalition group of the willing on pollinators as the fourth African
nation to protect pollinators and their habitats by developing and implementing National
pollinator strategies, where currently the world's pollinator species are on the decline. The
other African nation members in this group are Ethiopia, the first nation to join in 2017
followed by Burundi and Morocco.
Sri Lankan government exempted visa fees for Indian tourists
• The tourism minister of Sri Lanka, John Amaratunga announced that Indian tourists are
exempted from visa fees which range from $20 to $40 with effect from August 1, 2019. It will
not be charged for grant of one month visa for tourism.
Nagar Kirtan(Sikh religious procession) from Pakistan reaches India for the first time since
Partition
• To mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, the Sikhism founder, a Nagar Kirtan ,
a Sikh religious procession was taken out for 1st time after Independence from Nankana Sahib
district(birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev) of Pakistan's Punjab province to Attari village in
Amritsar,Punjab Indian side through the Attari-Wagah land route .
Kajin Sara lake in Nepal is likely to set a new record of being the world’s highest
• A newly discovered Kajin Sara lake in Manang district of Nepal is all set to record the world’s
highest lake. It will replace the Tilicho lake, which is the current world’s highest lake situated
at an altitude of 4,919 metres in Nepal(also in Manang) measures 4 km long, 1.2 km wide and
around 200 metres deep.
$ 1 million dollar contributed to the UN fund by India
• India contributed $1 million to reform the United Nations (UN) Development system by
contributing to the UN Special Purpose Trust Fund (SPTF) for the resident coordinator system.
It is a specific fund established mainly to receive, consolidate, manage and account for all
contributions and financial transactions in an efficient and transparent way. It is housed within
the UN secretariat.
Iceland commemorates first glacier lost due to climate change
• Iceland has marked its first-ever loss of a glacier to climate change. The glacier lost was,
Iceland’s Okjokull glacier. People commemorated this loss with a plaque (An ornamental tablet,
typically of metal, porcelain, or wood, fixed to a wall or other surface in commemoration of a
person or event). The plaque bears the inscription “A letter to the future”.
Saudi Arabia permits women to travel abroad without male guardian's permission
• Government of Saudi Arabia made a reform for allowing women over the age of 21 to receive
passports and travel abroad without permission from a male ‘guardian’. The law to get
permission from male guardian was removed as many women made high-profile attempts to
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escape alleged guardianship abuse despite various reforms made by crown prince Mohammed
Bin Salman.
FATF blacklisted Pakistan against terror financing and money laundering
• The Asia Pacific Group (APG) of the Financial Action Task Force(FATF) has blacklisted Pakistan
for non-compliance and non-enforcement of safeguards against terror financing and money
laundering. The action was taken in the FATF APG meeting held in Canberra, Australia.
reviously Pakistan was greylisted by FATF for failing to curb anti-terror financing. Read full
details here: FATF Blacklisted Pakistan Against Terror Financing And Money Laundering
Restored commemorative plaque of Mahatma Gandhi road inaugurated in Antananarivo,
Madagascar
• Indian High Commissioner to Madagascar Abhay Kumar and Antananariv's Mayor Lalao
Ravalomanana jointly inaugurated a restored commemorative plaque of the Mahatma Gandhi
road in Antananarivo, Madagascar to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. It
was named after the father of the nation in 1969.
Indonesia chooses East Borneo Island for its new capital
• The President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo stated that the government has chosen sparsely
populated East Kalimantan province on forested Borneo island, known for orangutans for its
new capital. The current capital of Jakarta, overcrowded ( home to more than 10 million
people), sits on watery land. Parts of the city are sinking by as much as 25cm a year and almost
half now sits below sea level.
VISITS
Indian Visits
State Visit of Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, President of the Republic of Zambia to India (August 20-
22, 2019)
• Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, President of the Republic of Zambia visited India on a State Visit at
the invitation of Hon’ble President Shri Ram Nath Kovind from 20-22 August 2019. It was the
first visit at the level of Head of State from Africa after formation of the new Government and
the first-ever visit of President Lungu to India.
 President of Zambia, Edgar Chagwa Lungu was accorded a Guard of Honour on his arrival to
India.
 6 MoUs were exchanged between India and Zambia.
 President Lungu participated in an India- Zambia Business Forum 2019 which was held in
New Delhi.
 India’s tele-education and telemedicine expertise would create new opportunities for the
youth in Zambia. Read full details here: State Visit Of Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu,
President Of The Republic Of Zambia To India (August 20-22, 2019)
ADB President Mr. Takehiko Nakao Pledges Over $12 Billion To India In Support Of New
Flagship Initiatives
• Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Mr. Takehiko Nakao met India’s Prime Minister Mr.
Narendra Modi in New Delhi and committed over $12 billion in lending to India over the next 3
years (2020-22) in support of new flagship initiatives, averaging annually over $3 billion for
sovereign operations and $1 billion for nonsovereign operations. He announced a $100 million
investment in the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF). Read full details here:
ADB President Mr. Takehiko Nakao Pledges Over $12 Billion To India In Support Of New
Flagship Initiatives
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Foreign Visits
Overview of President Ram Nath Kovind’s visit to Benin, Gambia and Guinea
• President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind visited Benin, The Gambia and Guinea from 28 July to
3 August, 2019. It was the first ever visit of the Head of State/Head of Government of India to
all 3 countries.
President’s visit to Benin (July 28-30, 2019):
 India offers $100 Mn Financial Aid to Benin.
 India and Benin signed 4 Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs).
 India offered tele-education programme, E-Vidya-bharati, and tele-medicine project, E-
Aarogya-bharati, to skill and train the youth in Benin.
President’s visit to Gambia (July 30- August 1, 2019):
 President Kovind received the Instrument of Ratification of the International Solar Alliance
Framework Agreement from the Gambian President.
 President inaugurated the exhibitions on Mahatma Gandhi and Khadi at the Ebunjan
Theatre in the Gambia to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
 India offered the Gambia a grant of $500,000 in support of skill development and cottage
industry project.
 The two sides signed and exchanged an MOU on Cooperation in the field of Traditional
Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy.
 India has become the fifth largest investor in Africa with cumulative investment at over $54
billion.
President’s visit to Guinea (August 1-3, 2019):
 President honoured with ‘The National Order of Merit’.
 India and Guinea signed 3 MoUs.
 India extended a new Line of Credit (LoC) of $170 million for Conakry Water Supply
Project..
 Guinea expressed its support for India’s candidacy as a non-permanent member of the
United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the term 2021-2022. Read full details here:
Overview Of President Ram Nath Kovind’s Visit To Benin, Gambia And Guinea
Overview Of External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, Visit To Bangkok, Thailand
• External Affairs Minister(EAM) of India Dr. S. Jaishankar visited ( 2-day- August 1,2,2019
)Bangkok, Thailand during which he had 18 bilateral meetings, 5 pull-asides and participated
in 4 multilateral meets.
 ASEAN(Association of Southeast Asian Nations )-India Ministerial Meeting 2019 was held in
Bangkok, Thailand.
 10th Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC) Ministerial Meeting was held in Bangkok, Thailand.
 26th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) was held in Bangkok, Thailand. Read full details here:
Overview Of External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, Visit To Bangkok, Thailand.
Overview Of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Visit To Beijing, China
• External Affairs Minister(EAM) of India Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited(3-day from
August 11 to 13,2019)Beijing, China.
 4th India-China Media Forum 2019 held in Beijing, China.
 2nd Meeting of China-India High-Level Mechanism on Cultural and People-to-People
Exchanges Held in Beijing, China.
 5 MoU’s were signed.
 India-China Film Week inaugurated by S Jaishankar in Beijing, China.
 J&K move won’t impact Line of Actual Control: Jai Shanker to China. Read ful details here:
Overview Of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Visit To Beijing, China.
Commerce And Industry Minister Piyush Goyal Lead A Delegation To Vladivostok, Russia
• Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Piyush Goyal led a high-power delegation to explore the
opportunities for enhancing trade and investment from India to the Far East region of Russia at
Vladivostok, Russia from August 11-13, 2019. His visit is a precursor to the upcoming visit of
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the 5th edition of the Eastern Economic Forum in
September, 2019 where PM will be the guest of honour. Read full details here: Commerce And
Industry Minister Piyush Goyal Lead A Delegation To Vladivostok, Russia.
Overview of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Visit to Bhutan
• The Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi made a State Visit to Bhutan on August 17-18,
2019, at the invitation of Prime Minister of Bhutan Dr. Lotay Tshering. He was on his second
visit to Bhutan and the first since his re-election as the Prime Minister (PM) of India.
 PM inaugurated the Mangdechhu hydroelectric power plant.
 Prime Ministers of India & Bhutan jointly launched stamps to commemorate 5 decades of
India-Bhutan Hydropower cooperation.
 Both leaders jointly inaugurated the Ground Earth Station and SATCOM network,
developed with assistance from Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for utilization
of South Asia Satellite in Bhutan.
 PM launched RuPay Card in Bhutan by making a purchase at Simtokha Dzong which
functions as a monastic and administrative centre and is one of the oldest dzongs in Bhutan.
 The two leaders unveiled e-plaque of the interconnection between India’s National
Knowledge Network and Bhutan’s Druk Research and Education Network.
 9 Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) and 1 power purchase agreement were
exchanged between India and Bhutan.
 PM planted a Cypress tree sapling at the historic Simtoka Dzong in the presence of his
Bhutanese counterpart Dr Lotay Tshering. Read full details here: Overview Of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi’s Visit To Bhutan
Overview of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visit to Bangladesh
• External Affairs Minister(EAM) of India Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has made a two-day
visit to Bangladesh (August 19-20, 2019) to review bilateral relations. This was Jaishankar’s
first visit to Bangladesh since he assumed office in June 2019. The purpose of this visit is to
affirm the strong relationship between the two countries and also to prepare for the
forthcoming visit of Prime Minister Hasina to India in October 2019. Read full details here:
Overview Of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Visit To Bangladesh
Overview of Vice President Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu’s three nation tour to Lithuania, Latvia &
Estonia
• Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu went on a visit to 3 Baltic nations Lithuania,
Latvia and Estonia from August 17-21, 2019 to enhance India’s bilateral ties with each of the
three countries and help in promoting people-to-people contacts and business opportunities.
He was the first high-level dignitary from India to visit the three countries.
Visit to Lithuania (August 17-19, 2019)
 Vice President addressed the India Lithuania Business Forum 2019 in Vilnius, Lithuania.
 ‘History of Lithuania’ in Hindi presented to Vice President.
 The Lithuanian President and the Indian Vice President witnessed the signing of two
agreements on Agriculture and Allied sectors and Cultural Exchange Program from 2019-
21.
Visit to Latvia (August 19-20, 2019)
 He addressed the India-Latvia Business Forum 2019 in Riga, Latvia.
 He unveiled the bust of Mahatma Gandhi at Latvia’s prestigious National Library.
Visit to Estonia (August 20-21, 2019)
• India-Europe 29 Business Forum 2019 to be held on 20-21 November, 2019 in New Delhi.
• He addressed the India-Estonia Business Forum 2019 in Tallinn, Estonia.
• 3 MoUs signed were signed in the field of e-governance and emerging digital technologies
and cooperation in the area of CyberSecurity. Read full details here: Overview Of Vice
President Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu’s Three Nation Tour To Lithuania, Latvia & Estonia
Overview of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visit to Nepal

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• External Affairs Minister(EAM) of India Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has made a two-day
visit to Nepal(August 21-22, 2019) for participating 5th Joint Commission Meeting 2019
between two countries.
 5th India- Nepal Joint Commission meeting 2019 was held in Kathmandu, Nepal.
 An MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) was signed between the Food Safety and
Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and Nepal’s Department of Food Technology and
Quality Control (DFTQC) on food safety and standards. Read full details here: Overview
Of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Visit To Nepal
Overview of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Visit to France, UAE and Bahrain and G7 Summit
• Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi was on a 3 nation visit to France, United Arab
Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain from 22-26 August 2019. He also attended the 45th G7 Summit for
the year 2019 in Biarritz, France.
Visit to France
 PM Modi inaugurates memorial in honour of victims of two Air India crashes in France.
 4 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) were signed between India and France.
 India, France express commitment to Freedom Of Navigation in Indo-Pacific.
 Indo-French Road map on Cyber security and Digital Technology.
 First of the 36 Rafale fighter aircraft will be handed over to India in September 2019.
 India, France Condemn Cross-Border Terrorism.
Visit to United Arab Emirates (UAE)
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the RuPay card in Abu Dhabi, making it the first
country in the Middle East.
 India and United Arab Emirates signed 6 MoUs.
 PM Modi was conferred with the highest civilian award of the United Arab Emirates, the
“Order of Zayed”.
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Abu Dhabi crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed
Al Nahyan jointly released a commemorative stamp of Mahatma Gandhi.
Visit to Bahrain
 4 MoUs were signed between India and Bahrain.
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi was honoured with “The King Hamad Order of the
Renaissance.”
 PM launched the $4.2 million redevelopment project of the 200-year-old Lord Sri Krishna
temple in Manama.
45th G7 Summit for the year 2019
 45th G7 Summit for the year 2019 was held in Biarritz, France from 24 to 26 August, 2019.
The next G7 Summit (46th) for the year 2020 will be held in the United States.
 PM addressed G7 Summit’s session on ‘Biodiversity, Oceans, Climate.’
 PM addressed G7 session on Digital Transformation. Read full details here: Overview Of
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Visit To France, UAE And Bahrain And G7 Summit
Overview of External Affairs Minister S.Jaishankar Visit to Russia and Hungary

• External Affairs Minister(EAM) of India Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has paid a visit to two
nations Russia and Hungary from August 25-28, 2019 to review bilateral relations. Jaishankar
had also inaugurated a photo exhibition on Hungary-India relations at the Indian Embassy
situated in Budapest, celebrating the 70th anniversary of both nations’ diplomatic relations.
External Affairs Minister Jaishankar’s visit to Hungary
 EAM Jaishankar held talks with Foreign Minister of Hungary Peter Szijjarto followed by
delegation-level talks, where bilateral and multilateral issues were discussed in Budapest,
Hungary.
External Affairs Minister Jaishankar’s visit to Russia
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 EAM participates in Valdai Discussion Club interaction on the theme of India’s perspective
of the Indo-Pacific.
 EAM Jaishankar has unveiled a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the premises of the Indian
embassy in Moscow, Russia on the occasion of Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary. Read full
details here: Overview Of External Affairs Minister S.Jaishankar Visit To Russia And
Hungary.
BANKING & FINANCE

RBI in News
Reserve Bank bars NBFCs From Charging Loan pre-payment Penalties
• The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has barred the both deposit-taking and non- deposit taking
NBFCs(Non-Banking Finance Companies) from charging pre-payment /foreclosure charges on
any floating rate term loans sanctioned for purposes other than business to individual loan
borrowers.
Rs.1.5 crore slapped on bank of India by RBI
• Penalty of Rs.1.5 crore was fined on Bank of India over “non-compliance with RBI’s (Reserve
Bank of India) direction on frauds” in Rotomac group companies. The penalty amount was
ordered to be paid within 14 days of receipt of RBI’s order.
RBI imposes fine on 9 commercial Banks for non-compliance relating to reporting of frauds
• India’s central banking institution RBI(Reserve Bank of India) in exercise of the powers
conferred under various sections of the Banking Regulations Act,1949 has imposed a penalty
on nine commercial banks for violations of norms including delay on the reporting of fraud in
the account of Kingfisher Airlines by two banks (PNB,OBC). Read full details here: RBI
Imposes Fine On 9 Commercial Banks For Non-Compliance Relating To Reporting Of
Frauds
Reserve Bank tightens fit and proper guidelines for the position of elected directors on the
board of PSBs
• To keep out political appointees, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released a new master
direction called ‘Fit and Proper’ Criteria for Elected Directors on the Boards of PSBs(Public
Sector Banks)) Directions, 2019 to determine ‘fit and proper’ status of person to be eligible to
be elected as a director. Directors nominated by the Government under Section 19(f) of the SBI
Act/Section 9(3)(c) of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act,
1970/1980 should not be part of the Committee.
Bank Retail loan growth slips to 5-year low in the first half of 2019 at 7.3 %: RBI
• According to the latest monthly data of RBI(Reserve Bank of India), the retail personal credit
disbursement growth in the first half of 2019(January -June) was 7.3%, which is the slowest
rate of disbursement by banks in 5 years. The slowdown of sales volume in the Automobile
sector gradually erected stress in several retail loan portfolios such as personal loans and
credit cards may be caused by a slowdown in disbursements.
RBI Expands biller categories for Bharat Bill Payment System
• The central banking institution, Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has permitted all categories of
billers (except prepaid recharges), who provide for recurring bill payments to participate in
BBPS (Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS)on a voluntary basis. The decision has been taken as
a part of the digitisation of cash-based bill payments.
RBI relaxes bank lending norms to NBFCs and eased bank’s exposure limits
• Relaxing the bank lending norms to Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), RBI has
allowed the banks on lending through NBFCs (other than MFIs- Microfinance Institutions) to
Agriculture, MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) and affordable housing to
be treated as priority sector lending for banks. The banks have been allowed on-lending to
agriculture (investment credit) up to Rs.10 lakh, MSMEs up to Rs. 20 lakh and housing up
26 | P a g e
to Rs.20 lakh per borrower (increased from Rs.10 lakh) to be classified as priority sector
lending(PSL).
Third Bi-monthly Monetary Policy of RBI 2019-20
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced its third Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Rates for
2019-20 in Mumbai. The three-day (5 to 7 August 2019) policy review meeting by the six
members of Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das
with the members - Dr. Ravindra H. Dholakia, Dr. Michael Debabrata Patra, Shri Bibhu Prasad
Kanungo, Dr. Chetan Ghate and Dr. Pami Dua.
Current Policy rates under LAF:
Repo Rate 5.40 %
Reverse Repo Rate 5.15 %
Marginal standing facility (MSF) Rate 5.65 %
Bank Rate 5.65 %
Reserve ratios:
Cash reserve Ratio(CRR) 4%
Statutory Liquidity Ratio(SLR)(will change on October 12, 2019) 18.75%
RBI permits domestic banks to directly sell their NPAs overseas as part of one-time settlement
• India's central banking institution, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has opened a new route to
allow domestic banks directly sell their non-performing assets (NPA) in manufacturing and
infrastructure sectors to investors abroad as part of the one-time settlement (OTS) on behalf of
the borrowing company. It will allow overseas investors to take direct loan exposure to Indian
corporates.
RBI's Money Museum in central Kolkata boost people’s knowledge of banking system
• India’s central bank, RBI’s (Reserve Bank of India) Money Museum, which was opened on
March 11, 2019, aims at improving people's knowledge of the banking system with the help of
interactive displays at Council House Street in Central Kolkata, West Bengal. The museum has a
big tree made using unusable coins and demonetized notes attached with a computer model
outlining how money gets transferred to the account digitally.
RBI granted Bank of China to offer regular banking services in India
• India's central banking institution, RBI(Reserve Bank of India) has allowed Bank of China (BoC)
to provide regular bank services in India. BoC will be included in the Second Schedule of the
Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. Jan Small Finance Bank Ltd has also been included in the
second schedule. Apart from this, the name 'Royal Bank of Scotland' has been changed to
'NetWest Market Plc'.
RBI’s Task Force on Offshore Rupee Markets headed by Usha Thorat recommends extension of
onshore market hours
• The Task Force formed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Offshore Rupee Markets headed
by Usha Thorat has recommended the extension of onshore market hours to 9 am to 9 pm,
from 9 am to 5 pm, to improve access of overseas users and allow Indian banks to freely offer
prices to global clients around the clock. The panel was constituted in August 2018, in view of
the sharp growth in offshore trading volumes in the rupee Non-Deliverable Forward (NDF)
(Offshore markets) markets.
Reserve Bank asks banks not to count failed transactions, balance enquiry as ''free ATM
transactions''
• The country’s Central Bank, Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has asked banks not to count failed
transactions at ATMs due to technical reasons (hardware and software issues, non-availability
of cash, and any other reason attributable to the bank), as part of "free ATM transactions” ,
which are permitted every month. Banks provide a certain number of free transactions at
ATMs permitted every month to their customers and beyond that limit, it imposes charges.
27 | P a g e
RBI Extends Timings of RTGS Transactions by an hour from 7 am instead of 8 am from August
26, 2019
• India's central bank, the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has extended the timings of Real-Time
Gross Settlement (RTGS) transactions by an hour from 7 AM instead of 8 AM with effect from
August 26, 2019, with the aim to increase the availability of the RTGS system. At present, the
Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) System is available for customer transactions from 8 AM to
6 PM and for inter-bank transactions from 8 AM to 7.45 PM.
RBI permits processing of e-mandate on credit and debit cards for recurring merchant
payments
• India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has permitted processing of e-mandate on
credit and debit cards along with Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs), including wallets for
recurring merchant payments with AFA (Additional Factor Authentication, a security measure
put in place for card payments that requires OTP – one-time password verification) during
registration and 1st transaction. It will come into effect from 1 September 2019. Read full
details here: RBI Permits Processing Of E-Mandate On Credit And Debit Cards For
Recurring Merchant Payments
RBI Board Approves Surplus Transfer of Rs 1.76 Lakh Crore to Govt as it Accepts Bimal Jalan
Panel Recommendation
• The Reserve Bank of India(RBI)’s Governor Shaktikanta Das-led RBI central board in its 578th
meeting (held in Mumbai, Maharashtra) has accepted the recommendation of high-level 6-
member panel headed by its former Governor Bimal Jalan on transfer of Rs 1,76,051 crore to
the government comprising of Rs 1,23,414 crore of surplus for the year 2018-19 and Rs 52,637
crore of excess provisions as per the revised Economic Capital Framework (ECF). Read full
details here: RBI Board Approves Surplus Transfer Of Rs 1.76 Lakh Crore To Govt As It
Accepts Bimal Jalan Panel Recommendation
RBI issues guidelines on Interest Subvention Scheme for Kisan Credit Card (KCC) to Fisheries
and Animal Husbandry farmers during 2018-19 and 2019-20
• The RBI directed the central Government to operate the interest subvention guidelines. Apart
from existing KCC holders for crop loans, the farmers involved in activities related to Animal
Husbandry and Fisheries, through a separate Kisan Credit Card (KCC) will get at a concessional
interest rate of 7% per annum during the years only 2018-19 and 2019-20 for the short loan
up to Rs. 2 lakh. Read full details here: RBI Issues Guidelines On Interest Subvention
Scheme For Kisan Credit Card (KCC) To Fisheries And Animal Husbandry Farmers
During 2018-19 And 2019-20
RBI released the report on the Economic Capital Framework submitted by the panel headed by
Bimal Jalan
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the report submitted by the panel headed by Bimal
Jalan, former RBI governor, which was formed to review the Economic Capital Framework
(ECF) of the RBI. The committee recommended to maintain RBI’s Contingency Risk Buffer
(CRB), at a range of 5.5% to 6.5% of the RBI’s balance sheet, which is above the available level
of 2.4% of balance sheet as on June 30, 2018. Read full details here: RBI Released The Report
On The Economic Capital Framework Submitted By The Panel Headed By Bimal Jalan
Banking license of Rupee Cooperative Bank extended by RBI till Nov 30, 2019
• Apex bank of the country, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extended the banking license of
Rupee Cooperative Bank Ltd till November 30, 2019. The decision has been taken by RBI after
exercising its power under sub-section (1) of Section 35A read with Section 56 of the Banking
Regulation Act, 1949.
RBI releases its Annual Report for the year 2018-19
• India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has released its annual report for the fiscal
year (FY) 2018-19. The report, which is released annually, analyses the working and
28 | P a g e
operations of the RBI and suggests measures to improve the economic performance. Read full
details here: RBI Releases Its Annual Report For The Year 2018-19
RBI extends time limit for PPIs to become full KYC complaint by 6 months
• The country’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has again extended the deadline for
prepaid instruments (PPIs), including digital wallets, to do full KYC(Know your customer) by
six months(till February 28, 2020). The deadline was expiring on August 31, 2019.
HFCs will be treated as one category under NBFCs: RBI
• India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) stated that, for regulatory purposes,
Housing Finance Companies (HFCs) will be treated as one of the categories of NBFCs (Non-
Banking Financial Companies) & it will come under RBI’s supervision. This comes after the
Finance (No 2) Act, 2019 (23 of 2019) amended the National Housing Bank Act, 1987, granting
certain powers to RBI for the regulation of HFCs.
Loans issued by banks/others
Loan issued by Received by Amount Points to be noted
Asian Development GRIL( GR $23 million This investment will promote the GRIL’s
Bank(ADB) Infraprojects ability for the construction of roads and
Limited) highways in India.
Agreements/MoU’s Signed
Bank Signed with Points to be noted
Karnataka Bank Fintech company To offer wealth management
Finwizard Technology Pvt products and services, beginning
Ltd (widely known as with mutual funds (MFs), through its
"fisdom") ‘KBL Mobile Plus’ application.
Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance MobiKwik To offer mobile-based group

insurance solutions for the
customers of MobiKwik. It will
provide life insurance in the variants
of Rs 1 lakh, Rs 3 lakh, and Rs 5 lakh
through MobiKwik’s wallet app and
website.
DBS Bank India Social Alpha To mentor & support the start-ups
(Even Cargo, Trust Circle Incredible
Devices) focusing including
inclusion, healthcare, and the
environment in India over the next
18 months. DBS Bank will also give
an annual programme grant o
f ₹1 crore to the three ventures.
Indian Bank Cholamandalam MS (Chola Chola MS will deliver a wide range of

MS) General Insurance insurance policies to the Indian bank
Company customers.
ACKO General Insurance Oyo Hotels and Homes To provide a complimentary

insurance cover up to Rs 10 lakh for
protection against accidental death,
baggage damage, accidental medical
expenses amongst other benefits
29 | P a g e
like OPD (Outpatient

Department)treatment, etc during
their stay.
Axis Bank Aditya Birla Health To provide Aditya Birla’s suite of
Insurance Co Ltd (ABHICL) insurance products to its customers.
Aditya Birla’s products will now be
available in Axis Bank customer base
across its 4,094 branches and digital
channels.
Bharti AXA Life Insurance Akshaya Patra Foundation To support and contribute to the
mid-day meal drive for government-
run school children across India.
Bharti AXA Life has urged its over
5,500 employees to donate a day’s
salary to Akshaya Patra to counter
classroom hunger.
Karur Vysya Bank(KVB) Digit Insurance To provide Digit Insurance’s suite of
products to its SMEs(Small and
medium-sized enterprises)
customers.
Bandhan Bank Standard Chartered Bank To provide co-branded credit cards
to its 40 lakh savings bank account
holders across the 1,000 branches of
Bandhan. As part of this
partnership, Standard Chartered
Bank will take the risk of credit
failure & Bandhan Bank will be
responsible for identifying and
issuing cards to its customers.
Indian Bank Tata AIG General To offer Tata AIG General
Insurance Insurance’s diverse range of general
insurance policies to the bank’s
customers. Tata AIG General
Insurance will work with the Indian
bank for sales training, product
support and ensuring smooth
operational processes.
RBL Bank Samsung India and They have jointly launched the
Mastercard Samsung Pay for RBL Bank’s
Mastercard credit card customers.
The tie-up will allow the customers
of RBL bank to make contactless
transactions with enhanced
security on their Samsung Pay-
compatible smartphones efficiently.
Other Important Banking & Finance News

NHB infuses additional Rs 10,000 cr in NBFCs
The National Housing Bank (NHB) infused an additional Rs 10,000 crore in Non-Banking
Financial Companies (NBFCs) for Housing Finance Companies (HFCs) as additional liquidity for
30 | P a g e
individual housing loans for affordable housing. This is done to ease the flow of funds to the
housing sector.
SBI's Shanghai branch becomes the 1st Indian bank connected to CNAPS
• India’s largest lender, State Bank of India’s(SBI) Shanghai branch has become the first Indian
Bank to be connected to China’s National Advance Payment System (CNAPS). SBI is the only
Indian Bank to have obtained the license to do business in local currency and also inducted to
the CNAPS by the china’s central Bank, ‘People's Bank of China (PBOC)’.
Instant Demat account opening facility launched by Federal Bank for the customers
Instant Demat account opening facility which will help clients to open Demat account instantly
without any heavy paper works, was launched jointly by Managing Director & Chief Executive
Officer (MD & CEO) of Federal Bank, Shyam Srinivasan and G.V Nageswara Rao, MD& CEO of
National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL).
Mastercard launches ‘Identity Check Express’ for uninterrupted secured online transactions
• American multinational financial services corporation, Mastercard has launched a next-
generation, mobile-first authentication solution, called “Identity Check Express” that will help
customers to do uninterrupted secured transactions while shopping online. The new card
payment feature was showcased in New Delhi at the Global Mastercard Cybersecurity Summit
2019, held for the 1st time in India.
New insurance plan “Jeevan Amar” launched by LIC
• Jeevan Amar is a non-linked,non-participating life term insurance plan offering great flexibility
to policyholders in comparison to other insurance plans by the Life Insurance Corporation of
India (LIC). The policyholder cannot claim the money on maturity but will be obtained as a
death claim incase of demise of the person.
India Post Payments Bank will be converted into SFB: postal Department
• The postal department has decided to convert the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) into a
small finance bank (SFB) with the aim to provide micro-credit at the doorsteps to individuals
and SME’s (Small and medium-sized enterprises). The postal department also sets a target to
open one crore accounts for IPPB in 100 days.The decision was taken during the annual Heads
of Circles Conference held at Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir(J&K).
Scheduled bank status is given to Jana Small Finance Bank
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) gave the status to Jana Small Finance Bank to operate as a
Scheduled Bank. The bank was established in the year 2009. Currently, it operates 260
branches and 338 asset centres with over 5.5million customers. It aims o provide financial
inclusion to underserved sections of society, like small business units, small and marginal
farmers, micro and small industries.
MSCI added HDFC Life Insurance to its Global Standard Index
• MSCI Inc ( Morgan Stanley Capital International), One of the world’s biggest index compilers,
has added HDFC Life Insurance Company Ltd. to its Global Standard Index and removed Union
Bank of India(UBI) from its India Smallcap Index. The changes in the MSCI Index will be
implemented as of the closing hours of August 27, 2019.
Digital payments usage acceleration "Digi Vyapari- Safal Vyapari" initiative launched by CAIT
• The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) in partnership with HDFC Bank, Mastercard,
Common Service Centres (CSCs) of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity)
and Global Linkers, launched Digi Vyapari- Safal Vyapari- to accelerate usage of digital
payments in the country.
RBL Bank with digital healthcare platform Practo launches co-branded credit card called “RBL
Bank Practo Plus”
• RBL Bank, one of India’s fastest-growing private sector banks and Practo ,a digital healthcare
platform have jointly launched co-branded health-focused credit card called “RBL Bank Practo
Plus” powered by Mastercard. It's benefits include Unlimited online consultations with
experienced and qualified doctors on all-time(24*7) for one year period among others.
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India’s first Corporate credit card for SMEs launched by B2B payments startup EnKash
• Business-Business payments startup company EnKash launched the country's first corporate
credit card called 'Freedom Card' for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and startups. It is
the brainchild of Mr. Naveen Bindal, Co-Founder of EnKash. This card provides the freedom to
avail credit facility for immediate needs and to manage the liquidity of startups.
After State Bank of India, BoB goes the same way to link home loan product to RBI’s repo rate
• Indian multinational, public sector bank, Bank of Baroda (BoB) has linked its home loan
product to RBI’s (Reserve Bank of India (RBI)repo rate after State Bank of India (SBI). With
this, home loans at BOB will be available at repo rate linked interest rate starting at 8.35%,
thus passing on the further benefit of 10 basis points to the present MCLR (Marginal Cost of
Funds based Lending Rate) rated pricing.
Denmark’s Jyske Bank unveiled world's first negative interest rate home loan
• Denmark’s third-largest bank, Jyske Bank has launched the world’s first negative interest rate
mortgage – handing out loans to homeowners where the charge is minus 0.5% a year. It has
begun offering borrowers a 10-year deal at -0.5%. Under its negative mortgage, Jyske bank
borrowers will make a monthly repayment as usual – but the amount still outstanding will be
reduced each month by more than the borrower has paid.
AePS crosses milestone of 200 million transactions in July 2019: NPCI
• Umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement, National Payments
Corporation of India (NPCI) has stated that Aadhaar enabled Payment System (AePS) used by a
total of 6.65 crore Indian citizens stood at 220.18 million with transaction value Rs 9,685.35
crore during July 2019 against the transaction count of 194.33 million with transaction value of
Rs 8,867.33 crore in June 2019.
Centre Issues Guidelines For Granting Rs 1 Trillion Credit Guarantee For NBFCs
• In a bid to help the Financially sound NBFCs (Non- Banking Financial Companies), including
Housing Finance Companies (HFCs), which are facing stress following stocks of defaults, the
Central Government has issued guidelines of partial guarantee scheme covering a maximum
standard asset value of Rs 1 trillion under which state-run public-sector banks(PSBs) can
purchase high-rated pooled assets originated up to March 31, 2019, from NBFCs. Read full
details here: Centre Issues Guidelines For Granting Rs 1 Trillion Credit Guarantee For
NBFCs
Aditya Puri, CEO of HDFC bank, is the top-paid bank CEO in FY19
• The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of HDFC Bank Aditya Puri is the highest-paid bank chief
executive in India with a monthly basic salary of Rs 89 lakh in FY19. The data was compiled
from annual reports. He has been followed by Amitabh Chaudhry of Axis Bank (30 Lakh) and
Uday Kotak (Kotak Mahindra Bank).
BookMyForex join hands with YES Bank for foreign exchange travel card
• An online forex marketplace, BookMyForex has partnered with YES Bank and card payment
company Visa to launch a co-branded multi-currency forex travel card that will provide a
smooth payments solution to Indians traveling abroad. They can load up to 10 currencies on
the card. BookMyForex will also offer modern contactless cards that allow a user to simply tap
their card on a POS machine.
Acko announces partnership with fintech ZestMoney to offer credit insurance
• Insurtech company Acko General Insurance, has partnered with ZestMoney to offer credit card
insurance to its (ZestMoney) customers. Acko which offers personalized underwriting, micro
insurance products, and automated micro claims process, will offer credit insurance to
ZestMoney customers who are provided with instant financing and the option of paying
through EMIs(Equated Monthly Installments) even if they don’t own a credit card.
NBFCs can use Aadhaar-based bank KYC to give loans: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman notified that the Non-banking financial companies
(NBFCs) will be permitted to use the Aadhaar based bank mandated KYC (Know Your
32 | P a g e
Customer) to avoid repeating the process for the customers. The move will simplify and
quicken up the process of availing credit.
Balkan country Serbia becomes 73rd non-regional member of AIIB
• The Minister of Finance Sinisa Mali of Serbia, announced membership with the Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank(AIIB). By this membership, Serbia officially becomes the 73rd
non-regional member of the AIIB after completing all procedures and met all the conditions for
membership after passing a bill on approval of the AIIB Articles of Agreement and depositing
the Instrument of Accession and the first capital installment with the bank.
CVC sets up 4-member panel to examine bank frauds above Rs 50 crore
• The Advisory Board for Banking Frauds (ABBF) which is a 4 member board headed by former
Vigilance Commissioner T M Bhasin (also former Indian Bank Chief Managing Director(MD), is
constituted by The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) to look into bank fraud cases of over
50 crore rupees and above and to take necessary action. Other Read full details here: CVC sets
up 4-member panel to examine bank frauds above Rs 50 crore
Canara Bank launches India's first OTP facility for ATM cash withdrawals above Rs.10,000
• Canara Bank, one of the largest public sector banks in India has launched India's first one-time
password (OTP) facility for ATM withdrawals over Rs.10,000 in a day. This extra security
armor will protect the card users from illegally withdrawing money from ATMs (Automated
Teller Machine).
Insurance regulator IRDAI has set up a single point contact for RS
• An autonomous body tasked with regulating insurance and re-insurance industries, IRDAI
(Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India) has set up a single point contact
for its regulatory sandbox (RS) initiative. The Fintech entities can seek permission to
experiment with innovative products for the growth of the sector.
Fintech startup based in Bangalore 'MoneyTap' provides lifetime credit of up to Rs.5 lakh
Instantly
• MoneyTap, India’s first company to provide an app-based personal credit line to customers has
announced to provide its customers with a lifetime credit limit of up to Rs. 5 lakh instantly
starting from Rs. 3,000. Unlike personal loans and credit cards, customers pay interest only on
the amount borrowed and at lower rates.
Centre released Rs.47,436.18 crore to 27 States for green activities
• The Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar has handed
over the Rs 47,436.18 crore to 27 States for compensatory afforestation and other green
activities, including prevention of forest fire, biodiversity management and soil conservation.
The Fund will be used as per provisions of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Act and
Rules(CAF Act 2016), under which the CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management
and Planning Authority)has been set up to collect funds from user agencies. The state of
Odisha, the top recipient of funds, got 5933.98 crore.
NPCI has rationalises BHIM UPI charges for merchant transactions to promote digital
payments
• In a bid to promote digital payments, an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments in
India, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has rationalised merchant discount
rates (MDR) for BHIM UPI (Unified Payment Interface ) transactions. It has waived merchant
fees for offline UPI transactions of up to Rs 100 made using QR (Quick Response) code scan-
and-pay. For the large transactions, merchant fees have been capped at Rs 100.
10 public sector banks merged into four large entities: Nirmala Sitharaman
• In the biggest consolidation exercise in the banking space, the Finance Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman has made a big announcement that the formation of four large banks by merging
10 banks under the scheme of amalgamation. The decision aimed at making state-owned
lenders global sized banks. With this, the number of public sector banks will be 12 as against
27 in the year 2017. Read full details here: 10 Public Sector Banks Merged Into Four Large
Entities: Nirmala Sitharaman.
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BUSINESS & ECONOMY NEWS

GROWTH RATE:
Organization Year Rate
National Council of Applied FY 2019-20 6.2%.This is down from 6.8% in
Economic Research (NCAER) 2018-19.
CRISIL (formerly Credit Rating 6.9% in 2019 (FY-Fiscal Year
Information Services of India 2020). It cuts the forecast from
Limited) 7.1 % to 6.9% due to the
triangulation of downside risks
of the year 2019.
Australia and New Zealand 2019(FY-Fiscal Year 2020) 6.2 %. It revised downwards its
Banking Group (ANZ) outlook for FY20 from 6.5% due
to sluggish domestic demand,
and slowing down of Industry
figures.
Nomura April-June quarter of 2019 5.7%
Moody's Investors Service 2019 6.2%
Federation of Indian Chambers Q1 (April 2019 to June 2019) of 6.0%

of Commerce and Fiscal year FY 2019-20
Industry(FICCI)
India Ratings & Research (Ind- FY20 (Fiscal year 2020) 6.7%. Read full details here:
Ra) India Ratings Downs GDP
Forecast To 6.7% For FY’20
Ministry of Statistics and April to June quarter of 2019- 5%
Programme Implementation 20.
Microsoft joins hands with Apollo Hospitals to use AI for Cardiovascular Disease
• Targetting cardiac diseases, Microsoft India, a Software company headquartered in Hyderabad
has partnered with Apollo Hospitals Group to set up a National Clinical Coordination
Committee (NCCC), which will guide the two entities on all cardiovascular-related Artificial
Intelligence(AI) projects. It will work for the AI-powered Cardiovascular Disease(CVD) Risk
Score API (application program interface) built on Microsoft Azure (cloud computing service),
to predict the risk of disease.
Pashmina testing centre to be set up by BIS in Leh
• BIS Director-General Ms. Surina Rajan announced that a Testing center for Pashmina, a famous
wool variety in the Jammu and Kashmir region, will be set up by the Bureau of Indian
Standards (BIS) in partnership with the lab of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council
(LAHDC), in Leh, Jammu, and Kashmir.
Consumer affairs ministry releases draft e-commerce norms for consumer protection
• In order to protect the consumers' interest, the Department of Consumer Affairs, Government
of India has released draft guidelines called “e-commerce guidelines for consumer protection
2019” for e-commerce firms. It primarily focuses on fraud, unfair trade practices, privacy
protection of online shoppers, and transactional controls.
PMS Bazaar & EbixCash Fintech partnered to introduce all-in-one PMS & AIF tracking portal for
investors
• PMS Bazaar & EbixCash Financial Technologies (ECFT) tied up to introduce all-in-one PMS &
AIF tracking portal for investors. Through this platform, the investors can analyse their entire
gamut of investments.
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Finance Ministry imposed Anti Dumping Duty on PTA imports from South Korea & Thailand
• Based on the recommendations of the Designated Authority in the Commerce Ministry in its
sunset review findings, Union Ministry of Finance imposed definitive anti-dumping duty on all
imports of Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) from South Korea and Thailand. PTA is a primary
raw material in the manufacturing of polyester chips, which are used in a number of
applications in textile, packaging, furnishings, consumer goods, resins, and coatings.
Govt. Sets up KABIL to supply critical minerals to the Indian market
• As a way of ensuring a consistent supply of critical and strategic minerals to the Indian
domestic market, a joint venture company Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL) is to be set up.
KABIL is a venture between National aluminium Company Ltd (NALCO), Hindustan Copper Ltd
(HCL) and Mineral Exploration Company Limited (MECL) with equity participation ration is
40:30:30 respectively.
Centre sets target of transporting nearly 25% of cargo through coastal shipping and inland
waterways over the next 10 years: Mansukh Mandaviya
• On the event of 30th anniversary celebrations of the nation's largest container port
JNPT(Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust) in Mumbai, Union Minister of State for Shipping , Mansukh
Mandaviya stated that the central government has set a target of transporting nearly 25% of
cargo through coastal shipping and inland waterways over the next 10 years. The increment in
exim cargo will also help to reduce inflation by nearly 2.5 %.
Saudi’s ARAMCO Will Buy 20% Of RIL’s Oil And Chemical Business For $15 Bn
• In the 42nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Reliance Industries Ltd(RIL), its Chairman
&MD(managing director) Mukesh Ambani stated that Saudi Arabia’s most profitable oil
company Saudi Aramco will buy 20 % stake of RIL’s oil and chemicals business for about $15
billion (approximately Rs 1.06 lakh crore), which will be one of the biggest FDI(foreign direct
investment) deal in the country. Read full details here: Saudi’s ARAMCO Will Buy 20% Of
RIL’s Oil And Chemical Business For $15 Bn
Assam’s rare variety tea from Dikom Tea Estate makes records for being sold at Rs.75,000 per
kg
• A rare tea variety of eastern Assam's Dikom Tea Estate named “Golden Butterfly tea” created a
record of being sold at Rs.75,000 per kg at the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC), Assam.
Air India is the first Indian Airline to fly over Zero Degree North Pole
• Air India hoisted its Boeing 777 aircraft (Delhi-San Francisco flight AI-173 ) over the zero
degrees the North Pole and became the first Indian airline to operate commercial flights
overflying polar region. It usually overflies the Atlantic or the Pacific ocean. Flying over the
North Pole saved fuel and time.
Debenture Redemption Reserve requirement for Listed Companies, NBFCs and HFCs removed
by the government
• Ministry of Corporate Affairs has amended the Companies (Share Capital & Debentures) Rules
by removing Debenture Redemption Reserve(DRR) requirement for Listed Companies,
NBFCs(Non Banking Financial Company) and HFCs (Housing Finance Companies). This is done
with the aim of reducing the cost of capital for businesses in the country as part of its 100 Days
Action Plan of “ease of doing business”. Read full details here: Debenture Redemption
Reserve Requirement For Listed Companies, NBFCs And HFCs Removed By The
Government.
Mahindra Finance to acquire up to 58.2% stake in Sri Lanka's Ideal Finance for LKR 2 billion
• Rural NBFC (Non Banking Financial Company) Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Ltd
has signed a joint venture (JV) with Ideal Finance Ltd (IFL), a subsidiary of the leading Sri
Lankan conglomerate, Ideal Group, for the acquisition of up to 58.2 % stake in the Ideal
Finance for LKR-(Sri Lankan Rupees) 2 billion (nearly Rs 80 crore).
SEBI Eases Norms For FPIs
• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) relaxed the compliance requirements for
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI). It modified the norms to boost startups and decided on Rs 1
35 | P a g e
crore reward for informants in insider trading cases. Read full details here: SEBI Eases Norms
For FPIs
Small startups with turnover up to Rs 25 cr to get promised tax holiday
• The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) notified that small startups with a turnover of up to
Rs 25 crore will continue to get the promised tax holiday as specified in the Section 80-IAC of
the Income Tax (IT) Act, 1961. It provides a deduction for 100% of the income of an eligible
startup for 3 years out of 7 years from the year of its incorporation.
Bharatcraft portal will generate Rs 10 lakh crore revenues in 2-3 yrs: Nitin Gadkari
• The Union Minister of Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSME), Nitin Gadkari
stated that the government’s planned e-commerce portal Bharatcraft has the potential to
achieve revenues of around Rs 10 lakh crore in 2-3 years. He stated at the 200th listing of an
MSME company ‘Wonder Fibromats’ on NSE Emerge in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Government announces measures to boost Indian Economy
• A presentation was made by Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Nirmala
Sitharaman on measures to boost Indian Economy during a press conference including the
review of sections under Companies Act 1956. Also, Corporate tax rate for companies with
over Rs 400 crore turnover will be gradually cut to 25% and the government will support
wealth creators. Read full details here: Government announces measures to boost Indian
Economy
Tea grown in Arunachal Pradesh record height set by Assam tea
• A variety of tea grown in Arunachal Pradesh touched the record heights set by Assam tea
where Dikom Tea Estate of Assam had sold its Golden Butterfly tea at Rs 75,000 per kg at the
Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC). 'Golden Needle' tea produced by Donyipolo Tea Estate in
Arunachal Pradesh was sold by Contemporary Tea Brokers and was bought by city-based
buyer Chattar Singh Narendra Kumar for online tea seller Absolute Tea.
Ahmedabad-Mumbai Central Tejas Express and the Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express to be run by
IRCTC
• Indian Railways has decided that Ahmedabad-Mumbai Central Tejas Express and the Delhi-
Lucknow Tejas Express will be run by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation
(IRCTC), a subsidiary of the Indian Railways, for a period of 3 years as a pilot project. The
proposal was mooted by the railways in its 100-day plan.
Amazon launches Military Veterans Employment programme in partnership with DGR and
AWPO
• Amazon India launched Military Veterans Employment programme in order to create
opportunities for military veterans and their spouses in partnership with Director General of
Resettlement (DGR) and the Army Welfare Placement Organisation (AWPO).
India failed to comply with the multiple requirements prescribed in SDDS: IMF Report for 2018
• According to the report titled “Annual Observance Report of the Special Data Dissemination
Standard for 2018” released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), India failed to comply
with the multiple requirements prescribed in Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS)
which are mandatory for all IMF members. The report lists the compliances & deviations from
the SDDS under each data category for a particular year. There are 20 data categories.
STPI sets up India’s 1st FinTech centre of excellence-“Fin Blue” in Chennai, Tamil Nadu
• Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) in association with Electronics Corporation of Tamil
Nadu(ELCOT) has officially set up a ‘Centre of Excellence in FinTech’ with a cost of over ₹23
crore in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It is first of its kind in India and is named ‘FinBlue’.
7 oil and natural gas blocks for bidding offered by the government under OALP-IV
• Government offered 7 oil and natural gas blocks for bidding under Open Acreage Licensing
Policy (OALP)-IV. Five blocks offered are in little-explored Vindhyan sedimentary basin, 1
block is in Bengal Purnea basin and 1 block is the proven basin of Rajasthan.
36 | P a g e
SIDBI partners with Incuspaze for coworking space for MSMEs

• Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has partnered with Incuspaze Solutions
Private Limited (Incuspaze) to open a coworking space, designed for Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises(MSMEs) and startups. This coworking space called @Workspaze is located in
Connaught Place, New Delhi.
Microsoft launches "Digital Governance Tech Tour" programme to skill government IT officials
in new-age technologies
• IT(Information Technology) company, Microsoft India has launched a program called ‘Digital
Governance Tech Tour’ in line with the Digital initiative of the Indian government to train 5000
government employees over a period of 12 months on AI (artificial intelligence) and cloud
computing skills.
CBDT frames 5-member special cell to redress grievances of start-ups
• In a bid to redress the grievances of start-ups and reduce their tax-related issues, the Central
Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has constituted a 5-member special cell led by the member
(Income Tax and Computerisation) of CBDT, P.K. Dash (Addl. Charge), which will work towards
the issues with relation to angel tax and others in case of Start-up entities with respect to
administration of the Income-tax Act, 1961.
2% TDS on cash withdrawals of over Rs 1 crore to come into effect from September 1, 2019
• The Department of Revenue notified that 2% tax deduction at source (TDS) on cash
withdrawals of over Rs 1 crore will come into effect from September 1, 2019. The government
had made this provision in the Union Budget 2019-20 with an aim to discourage cash
transactions and move towards less cash economy.
CAGR of Digital payments in India recorded at 12.7%
• According to the report titled "Fintech in India - Powering mobile payments" released by
KPMG, a global advisory firm, Digital payments in India have grown with a compound annual
growth rate (CAGR) of 12.7% in the number of non-cash transactions. The global digital
payments market is expected to touch $10.07 trillion by 2026.
MOUs/AGREEMENTS COUNTRIES & STATES
MoUs between Countries

No. MoU between Field
1 India and Maldives On Training and Capacity Building Programme for Maldivian Civil
Servants was operationalised after the discussions held between the
senior officials of the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public
Grievances (DARPG), the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG)
and the Maldives Civil Service Commission in a ceremony held at the Civil
Services Commission of Maldives at Male, Maldives. Read full details here:
MoU Between India & Maldives On Training And Capacity Building
Programme For Maldivian Civil Servants Operationalised
2 India and Guinea In the Field of Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy
3 India and Peru In the field of Medicinal Plants
4 India and Gambia In the Field of Traditional Systems of Medicine
MoUs with States

S.No State MoU with Field/Purpose
1 Government of Government of India (GoI) and Agreed to abjure the path of violence,
Tripura Tripura National Liberation Front join the mainstream and abide by the
of Twipra (NLFT) Constitution of India. It also decided to
surrender its 88 cadres with their
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weapons.
2 16 State Textile Ministry To take project Samarth– which is

Governments Scheme for Capacity Building In Textile
Sector (SCBTS) to impart skill based
training to workers. There is a gap of
16 lakh trained skill worker in the
textile industry. Read full details here:
16 State Governments And The
Textile Ministry Signs MoU On Skill
Training
Other MoUs
S.No Organization MoU with Field/Purpose
1 Reliance Jio Microsoft Corporation Announced a 10-year long-term
Infocomm Limited strategic relationship to accelerate the
digital transformation of the Indian
economy and society.
2 Naval Air Enclave Cochin International For the commencement of Naval air
(NAE) Airport Limited ( CIAL) operations from NAE in
Nedumbassery, Kerala. The CIAL
runway will be used as a runway for
military aircraft take off and landing.
3 Common Service Ministry of Panchayati Raj To turn all 2.5 lakh gram panchayats
Centre e-Governance (MoPR ) into ‘digital panchayats’
Services India
Limited, a Special
Purpose Vehicle (CSC
SPV)
4 Indian Army's Army Tata Realty housing To provide quality housing to army
Welfare Housing personnel. By this MoU, the Indian
Organisation (AWHO) army can now take over dwelling units
in 13 'Ready to Move in’ projects of
Tata Realty pan India.
5 National Institute of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi To work jointly to accelerate, expand
Solar Energy (NISE) University (SMVDU) and achieve the objective of National
Solar Mission through training
programmes.
6 Department of Social National AIDS Control The MoU was signed including inclusion of
Justice (DoSJ&E), Organization (NACO), target groups of NACO and National Action
Ministry of Social under the Ministry of Plan for Drug Demand Reduction
Justice and Health and Family (NAPDDR) in the programmes of NAPDDR
& NACO for awareness generation. Read
Empowerment Welfare (MoH&FW)
full details here: Department of Social
(MoSJ&E)
Justice & Empowerment and National
AIDS Control Organization signed an
MoU
7 India Meteorological Indian Navy (IN) The MoU was signed to hand over
Department(IMD) Cyclone Detection Radar(CDR)
building by the IMD to the Indian
Navy(IN) for meteorological purposes.
The MoU was signed in presence of
38 | P a g e
Rear Admiral RJ Nadkarni, Chief of

Staff, Southern Naval Command (SNC)
and Dr. D.Pradhan, Scientist ‘G’,
Additional Director General(DG) of
Meteorology (Instruments), IMD, Delhi.
8 Microsoft Indian School of Business To set up an AI Digital Lab powered by
(ISB) PlatiFi technologies (a Microsoft
partner) at B School's campus
Hyderabad, Telangana to study issues
that are relevant for business and
public policy.
9 French information Centre for Development To work on the technical advancement
technology(IT) firm of Advanced in the field of artificial intelligence (AI),
Atos Computing(C-DAC) exascale computing (billions of billion
calculations per second) and quantum
computing (computer technology
based on quantum theory).
10 Central TB Division of Wadhwani Institute for To explore future possibilities of
the Health and Family Artificial Intelligence tackling TB (tuberculosis) through
Welfare Ministry Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies.
(MoHFW) The MoU was signed by Shri
VikasSheel, Joint Secretary of MoHFW
and Dr P Anandan, ChieF Executive
Officer(CEO) of Wadhwani AI.
11 Government e Small Industries To benefit Micro, Small and Medium
Marketplace (GeM) Development Bank of Enterprises (MSMEs), women
India (SIDBI) entrepreneurs, Self Help Groups
(SHGs), Women Self Help Groups and
various loan beneficiaries under Micro
Units Development and Refinance
Agency (MUDRA) and Stand-up India
scheme.
APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

National
Name Appointed As Entity/Place Points To Be Noted
Ghotu Ram Meena Ambassador of India Republic of Congo He is presently serving as
Counsellor, Embassy of
India, Kyiv, Ukraine
Ministry of External Affairs
(MEA). He replaces Ms.
Nina Tshering La.
Pavan Kapoor Ambassador of India United Arab He replaces Navdeep Singh
Emirates(UAE) Puri, who has been
heading the Indian mission
in UAE since October 2016.
Rajiv Gauba Cabinet Secretary India He will be replacing PK
Sinha.
Pramod Chandra Chairman Central Board of Direct The ACC has also
Mody Taxes (CBDT) appointed 1983-batch IRS
(Indian Revenue Service)
39 | P a g e
officer Prabhash Shankar

as a new member in the
CBDT.
Kandikuppa Chairman and MD Power Grid Corporation He replaces Ravi P Singh
Sreekant of India Ltd. (director (personnel), who
held the post of chairman
& MD of the company give
away the additional
charge.
Pramod Agrawal Chairman-cum- Coal India Limited (CIL) He will succeed incumbent
Managing Director Anil Kumar Jha retiring in
January 2020.
Sonia Gandhi Chief(Interim) Indian National She had held the post of
Congress Congress President
between 1998 and 2017.
She succeeds Rahul
Gandhi.
Anurag Adlakha Chief Financial Officer YES bank He replaces Raj Ahuja who
(CFO) previously served as the
senior group president and
head of financial
management of YES bank,
will now be in charge of
strategy, planning, and
functions of the bank.
Girraj Prasad Gupta Controller General of Ministry of Finance He succeeds Anthony
Accounts (CGA) Lianzuala as the new CGA,
Department of
Expenditure, Ministry of
Finance.
Harshad Pandurang Director National Institute of He replaces Shri. Sudhansh
Thakur Health and Family Pant. Prior to this
Welfare(NIHFW) appointment, Thakur was
a professor at Tata
Institute of Social Sciences
(TISS), Mumbai.
M S Velpari Director (operations) Hindustan Aeronautics He replaces Sunil Kumar.
Ltd (HAL) The appointment comes
after Sunil Kumar was
superannuated from his
service.
Rajesh Kumar Director (exploration) ONGC (Oil and Natural He replaces Mr. A K
Srivastava Gas Corporation) Dwivedi, who
superannuated on 31 July
2019.
Mr. Sandeep Kumar Director (Finance) Indian Oil Corporation He replaces A K Sharma,
Gupta (IOC) who retired as finance
director in May 2019.
Rakesh Asthana Director General Narcotics Control The post of NCB was lying
Bureau (NCB) vacant as incumbent
Abhay was appointed as a
director Sardar
40 | P a g e
Vallabhbhai Patel National

Police Academy,
Hyderabad, Telangana.
VG Somani Drug Controller Central Drugs Standard He is currently Joint Drugs
General of India Control Organisation Controller of India. He
(DCGI) (CDSCO) succeeds Dr. S. Eswara
Reddy.
RN Ravi Governor(20th) Nagaland Arup Kumar Goswami,
Chief Justice (Acting) of
Gauhati High Court(HC)
administered the oath of
office to Ravi at the Raj
Bhavan in Kohima,
Nagaland. Ravi succeeds
Padmanabha Balakrishna
Acharya, whose tenure
ended on July 19, 2019.
Madhumita High Commissioner of Republic of Cyprus She is a 1999 batch Indian
Hazarika Bhagat India Foreign Service(IFS)
Officer presently working
as Joint Secretary in the
Ministry of External
Affairs. She succeeds RK
Raghavan.
Ms. Padmaja High Commissioner of Cook Islands She is presently the High
India Commissioner of India to
the Republic of Fiji. She
succeeds Vishvas Vidu
Sapkal.
Ajay Kumar Bhalla Home Secretary India He has been appointed as
the new Union home
secretary with fixed two-
year tenure till August
2021. He succeeds Rajiv
Gauba, who was appointed
as the new cabinet
secretary.
S.V. Ranganath Interim chairman Coffee Day Enterprises He was appointed after
Ltd founder V.G. Siddhartha
was confirmed dead.
Siddhartha MD (Managing LIC Housing Finance He replaces Shri Vinay
Mohanty Director) & CEO (Chief (Life Insurance Shah.
Executive Officer) Corporation HFL)
Ravinder Takkar MD (Managing Vodafone India Takkar replaces CEO
Director) & CEO (Chief Balesh Sharma, who has
Executive Officer) stepped down citing
personal reasons. Read full
details here: Ravinder
Takkar Appointed As
The New CEO Of
Vodafone India
Replacing Balesh Sharma
41 | P a g e
Pradeep Kumar(PK) Officer on Special Duty Prime Minister's He Succeeds Nripendra

Sinha (OSD) Office(PMO) Misra
Shri Abhay Thakur Permanent Economic Community Of He is 1992 batch Indian
Representative of West African States Foreign Service (IFS)
India (ECOWAS) officer.
Ms Chandrima President Indian National Science She is all set to become the
Shaha (66) Academy (INSA) first woman president of
the Indian National Science
Academy (INSA) from
January 1, 2020. She will
succeed Ajay K. Sood.
Shaha will assume her new
office along with the newly
elected council of 30 other
members from January.
Amit Nayyar President Paytm His appointment comes a
week after Madhur Deora,
the Chief Financial
Officer(CFO) was also
elected as the President of
Paytm. Before joining
Paytm, he worked as
Managing Director(MD) at
Mumbai-based investment
bank Arpwood Capital.
Guruprasad Secretary Department for He replaces Ramesh
Mohapatra Promotion of Industry Abhishek. Prior to this
and Internal Trade appointment, he served as
(DPIIT) chairman of the Airports
Authority of India (AAI).
Ravi Capoor Secretary Ministry of Textiles He succeeds Raghvendra
Singh.
Ajay Kumar Secretary Defence He will replace Sanjay
Mitra (a 1982 batch West
Bengal-cadre IAS officer)
whose term ends on
August 23, 2019.
E L S N Bala Prasad Special Secretary President Ram Nath He was appointed under
Kovind the Central Staffing
Scheme.
International
Name Appointed as Entity/place Points to be noted
Noel Quinn Chief Executive HSBC bank He replaces John Flint
Officer
(CEO)(Interim)
Atish Dabholkar Director International Centre for He was appointed for a
Theoretical Physics five year term starting in
(ICTP) November 2019 with the
rank of Assistant Director-
42 | P a g e
General of the United

Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO).
He succeeds Fernando
Quevedo, who has led the
centre since 2009.
P T Usha Member Asian Athletics She was appointed as one
(Pilavullakandi Association’s (AAA) of the six members of the
Thekkeparambil Athletes Commission Asian Athletics
Usha) Association’s (AAA)
Athletes Commission, in
recognition of her
outstanding achievements
at the continental stage.
The commission will be
headed by Andrey
Abduvaliyev (Uzbekistan).
Alejandro Eduardo President Guatemala He is from Vamos party
Giammattei Falla defeating Sandra Torres,
Former first lady(spouse
of Alvaro Colom- 47th
Guatemala president) by
gaining more than 58% of
the votes. Giammattei
succeeds outgoing
corruption-tainted
President Jimmy Morales
(50th president of
Guatemala).
Lionel Aingimea President(15) Nauru He defeated his rival David
Adeang.He succeeds the
outgoing President Baron
Waqa.
Abdalla Hamdok Prime Minister(15th) Sudan
Justice Madan Lokur Supreme Court (SC) Fiji He will serve as the judge
judge of the non-resident panel
of the Supreme Court of
Fiji. This is the first time
ever an Indian has been
appointed to the Supreme
Court of another country.
Resignation
Name Resigned as Entity/Place
Parthasarathi Mukherjee Managing Director(MD) and Lakshmi Vilas Bank(LVB)
Chief Executive Officer(CEO)
Naresh Takkar Managing Director (MD) and ICRA (formerly Investment
Group Chief Executive Officer Information and Credit Rating
(CEO) Agency of India Limited)
Giuseppe Conte Prime Minister Italy
43 | P a g e
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
Name of Awards Award Winner Field Points to be noted

Awards in the Field of Literature & Academics
2019 Raman Ravish Kumar Journalism Five other individuals were declared
Magsaysay Award winners of this award along with
Ravish Kumar.
2019 Pushkin Medal Meeta Narain She was honoured with the award for
her extraordinary contribution to
Russian studies abroad.
Kalinga-FCC Awards Reuters, BBC Journalism Each awardee received a cheque
for Excellence in (British amount of Rs 1,00,000, a trophy, a
Journalism for 2019 Broadcasting medal and a certificate of merit. Read
Corporation), full details here: Journalists From
Germany- based Reuters, BBC Got Top Prizes For
European Press Excellence In Journalism For 2019
Photo Agency At The Kalinga-FCC Awards Held In
(EPA) and PBS New Delhi
News Hour of USA
(United States of
America)
Awards in the Field of Sports
Bharat Gaurav Award Kapil Dev Sports He was awarded during the 99th
2019 foundation day of East Bengal Club,
the Kolkata soccer giants, at the
award ceremony held at Netaji Indoor
Stadium, Kolkata, West Bengal.
Awards in the Field of Politics,Social Service,Science and Bravery

‘Pride of Nation Vinayak S Hiremath He was presented by the Defence
Award’ Minister of India, Rajnath Singh on the
occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas (July
26). He is the first South Indian doctor
to offer free insulin consultation and
treatment to gestational (pregnancy)
diabetic mothers and family members
of the Indian Army.
National Award Indresh Tripathi Police He is a MIG police station in-charge
in Indore (Madhya Pradesh) will be
conferred with the National Award on
January 26, 2020, in New Delhi by the
central Government for his excellent
services at the national level.
Dr.A.P.J. Abdul Kalam K.Sivan Scientist The award is given by Tamil Nadu
award Government.
Centre for Cellular and K Thangaraj Scientist For his outstanding contribution in
Molecular Biology the field of population and medical
(CCMB) genomics.
Awards in the Field of Art and Culture,Films
44 | P a g e
International Andy Serkis Actor For bringing extraordinary humanity

Broadcasting to computer-generated characters, at
Convention's(IBC) the IBC’s awards ceremony scheduled
highest award to be held on September 15, 2019, in
“International Honor Amsterdam, Netherlands.
for Excellence”
BAF TA LA ( British Steve Coogan Actor He will be honoured during the 2019
Academy of Film and Britannia awards to be held on 25th
Television Arts- Los October at the Beverly Hilton Hotel,
Angeles branch)’s California, America.
“2019 Charlie Chaplin
Britannia Award for
Excellence in Comedy”
14th edition of 2019 I’m Jeeja Documentary It was directed by Swati Chakraborty
'We Care Film Festival Film bagged the top award in the 30-
on Disability Issues' minute category short film
documentary. t is a documentary
about disabled activist Jeeja Gosh (46)
suffering from cerebral palsy, who in
real life made headlines back in 2012
for being asked to deboard a plane
owing to her condition.
Awards for State,Country,Banks and Organization
“Best innovation and Rajasthan For its  The Innovative Practices for
initiative leadership achievement in Academic Excellence award went to
award” at the 14th higher Sant Nandlal Vidya Mandir,
World Education education. Jharkhand.
Summit-2019  Emerging University of India award
conferred upon O P Jindal
University, Raigarh, Chattisgarh.
2019 NCPEDP- Indian Institute of Organization For developing a multisensory kit for
Mphasis Universal Technology-Delhi the visually impaired. NCPEDP stands
Design Award (IIT-D) for National Centre for Promotion of
Employment for Disabled People. She
has received the award under
category 'B' (for Working
Professionals).
Euromoney’s ‘World’s DBS Bank Previously it won Global Finance's
Best Bank’ "Best Bank in the World" in August
2018 and The Banker's "Bank of the
Year - Global" in November 2018.
'Best Navratna' in the ' Hindustan The theme of the event was
Manufacturing Sector ' Petroleum "Strengthening PSUs: Strengthening
for the 2nd time Corporation Brand India".
consecutively at the Limited (HPCL)
6th edition of Dun &
Bradstreet PSU
Awards 2019
Other important Awards
Entrepreneur of the Ruhan Rajput Enterpreneur The event was hosted by America’s
Year award 2019 Business Magazine Entrepreneur
45 | P a g e
India along with its Franchise India in

New Delhi.
Miss World Diversity Transsexual Beauty This was her third successive victory
2019 held in Port woman Naaz Joshi pageant in this beauty pageant competition as
Louis, Mauritius she won the title previously in 2017
and 2018. Naaz Joshi had also won
Miss Republic International Beauty
Ambassador 2017 and Miss United
Nationals Ambassador.
'Chevalier de l'Ordre Priyam Chatterjee Chef With this distinction, Chatterjee
du Mrite Agricoleto' becomes the 1st Indian from Kolkata
(Order of Agricultural (West Bengal) to receive this honour,
Merit) in recognition of his great
contribution towards reinventing the
gastronomic scene in India.
2019 Prem Bhatia Mr. Rajdeep Journalist and 2019 award for Environmental
Award for his Sardesai consulting reporting was given to Down to
Outstanding Political editor at India Earth’s IshanKukreti and
Reporting Today independent journalist Sharada
TV(television) Balasubramaniam.
2019 South Asian Navneeth Murali Student He ousted other competitors in the
Spelling Bee contest finals by spelling the word flipe,
which means "to strip off by or as if by
peeling".
Clark R Bavin Wildlife Vivek Menon Biologist, He received the award at 18th
Law Enforcement author and meeting of Conference of Parties to
Award for the year wildlife CITES held in Geneva, Switzerland.
2019 conservationis
t
2019 Guinness World Short video For creating the largest online video
Records (formerly creation platform, album of people waving the Indian
The Guinness Book of Likee flag during its 'No matter where I am,
Records) #IAMINDIAN' campaign.
‘Eminent Engineer Prabhakar Singh Engineer The award is conferred by the
Award’ for the Year Institution of Engineers (India) for his
2019 distinguished and exemplary Service
in the field of Engineering and
Technology.'
2019 ‘Technovation “Tech Witches”, They were awarded for developing a
challenge’, the world's Five girls from mobile app named ‘Maitri’ which
largest technology and Noida, Uttar connects children at orphanages with
entrepreneurship Pradesh senior citizens in old-age homes.
programme for girls
2019 SKOCH Deendayal
Governance Gold Antyodaya Yojana -
Award National Urban
Livelihoods Mission
(DAY-NULM) for its
Portal for
Affordable Credit
and Interest
Subvention Access
46 | P a g e
(PAiSA) portal
Yoga awards 2019 for Swami Rajarshi Individual-International category -

Individual-National Muni of Life Ms. Antonietta Rozzi, Italy.He also
category Mission, Gujarat launched 12 commemorative postal
stamps on 12 modern AYUSH
masters. Read full details here: Prime
Minister of India Shri Narendra
Modi confers Yoga Awards 2019
UP govt creates world record by planting over 22 cr saplings in one day on 77th anniversary of
the Quit India Movement
• To mark the 77th anniversary of Quit India movement, Uttar Pradesh(UP) chief
minister(CM) Yogi Adityanath has launched the mega greenery plantation drive called
“Vriksharopan Mahakumbh”, which now sets a world record by planting over 22 crore saplings
in a day. The state also entered the Guinness World Records’ for distributing 76,823 saplings
simultaneously in six hours across the state.
Badshah of Bollywood, “Shah Rukh Khan” felicitated with an honorary doctorate degree by
Melbourne's La Trobe University
• Shah Rukh Khan (53), an Indian actor, film producer has been conferred with an honorary
degree, Doctor of Letters by the La Trobe University of Melbourne, Australia (1st Australian
University to award Khan with this honour), during 10th edition Indian Film Festival of
Melbourne 2019 (IFFM) in recognition of his humanitarian efforts towards underprivileged
children, empowering women through MEER foundation, and his achievements in Bollywood.
Ahead of the Independence day, a 15-km long tricolor unfurled by forming a human chain in
Raipur, Chhattisgarh
• Ahead of the Independence day celebrations(15 August,2019), thousands of people including
those belonging to 35 social organizations across the state, and students from various schools
unfurled a 15-km long national flag by forming a human chain from Amapara Chowk to Pt
Ravishankar Shukla University in Raipur ,Chhattisgarh.
Rare snapshots of Simla Conference, 1945 is now part of the National Film Archive of India
(NFAI) collection
• Pune based National Film Archive of India (NFAI) has acquired rare black & white footage of
the historic Simla Conference which was held during the crucial period prior to India's
independence (June 25 - July 14, 1945), at Viceregal Lodge (now known as the Rashtrapati
Niwas), Simla, Himachal Pradesh.
96 police personnel awarded the Union Home Minister's Medal for Excellence in Investigation
2019
• Union Home Minister's Medal for Excellence in Investigation 2019 was conferred to 96 police
personnel, including 15 Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officers. The award was instituted
in 2018 to promote high professional standards of investigation of crime and to recognize such
excellence in investigation by officers. 13 women officers were among the 96 personnel.
Biopic- Chrysostom, enters Guinness book of records
• The biographical documentary “100 years of Chrysostom” on Metropolitan Emeritus of the
Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar, Kerala, Philipose Mar Chrysostom, enters
Guinness world book of records as the longest documentary.This documentary of length
48hour and 8minutes has broken the documentary length of Saudi Arabian documentary
'World of Snakes’ of 21-hour length.
Mumbai Man Chinmay Prabhu creates 2nd world record for solving pyraminx puzzles
• A 20-year-old Chinmay Prabhu from Mumbai has created a world record for the 2nd time under
his name of solving 176 pyraminx (pyramid-shaped Rubik's cube) puzzles while riding a bicycle
in 1 hour and 7 minutes. He broke the record of solving 111 pyraminx puzzles.
Prasar Bharati will introduce 2 awards namely ‘Neelum Sharma Tejaswini award’ &
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‘Achyutananda Sahoo Award’ in honor of Neelum Sharma

• India's largest public broadcasting agency, Prasar Bharti’s Chairman A Suryapakash stated that
the agency will introduce 2 awards namely ‘Neelum Sharma Tejaswini award’ & ‘Achyutananda
Sahoo Award’ in memory of Doordarshan(DD) News Former anchor, Neelum Sharma who
passed away due to cancer on August 17, 2019.
Time magazine features Statue of Unity, Mumbai's Soho House among its 100 greatest places in
the world
• Time magazine published its second annual list of the “World’s Greatest Places” with total of
100 places in the list. India’s Statue of Unity in Gujarat and ‘Soho House‘ in Mumbai featured in
this year’s list. The list is a compilation of 100 new and “newly noteworthy destinations to
experience right now”. Read full details here: Time Magazine Features Statue Of Unity,
Mumbai’s Soho House Among Its 100 Greatest Places In The World
Dr. Jitendra Singh presents Smart Policing Awards at the Homeland Security 2019 conference
in New Delhi
• The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for the Ministry of Development of North
Eastern Region, Jitendra Singh has presented 35 Smart Policing Awards, instituted by
FICCI(Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) at Homeland Security 2019
Conference, in New Delhi. He also released a compendium on ‘Best Practices in Policing’ during
the event.
4th Edition of ANUBHAV awards for 2019 presented by MoS (PP) Dr Jitendra Singh
• The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for the Ministry of Development of North
Eastern Region and Minister of State for Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Personnel, Public
Grievances & Pensions, Departments of Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh presented
the 4th Edition of annual ANUBHAV awards 2019 at a function organized by the Department of
Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions in New
Delhi. There were 7 awardees.
Vikram Sarabhai Journalism Award in Space science announced by ISRO for 2019-2020
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has instituted "Vikram Sarabhai Journalism
Award in Space Science, Technology and Research" in two categories of awards in journalism as
part of the centenary year celebration of the father of Indian Space Programme, Dr. Vikram
Sarabhai. This award is to recognise, reward and honour journalists who have contributed to
the field of journalism actively. The articles of journalists from 2019 to 2020 will be considered
for the award.
Overview of National Film Awards 2019
• On August 9, 2019, The annual National Film Awards 2019 were announced by by jury heads
Rahul Rawail, AS Kanal and Utpal Bhorpujari. It was the 66th Edition. This year, a total of 419
films had competed for the awards. The awards are given in 31 categories. The announcement
was made at Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi. Film friendly state: Uttarakhand bagged an award for
the film friendly state. This new award was instituted in 2019.
List of Winners:
Feature Films Section:
S.NO. Title of Film Name Of Film Awardee
1 Best Feature Film HELLARO (Gujarati) Producer: Saarthi
Productions LLP
Director: Abhishek
Shah
2 Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut NAAL (Marathi) Producer: Mrudhgandh
Film of a Director Films LLP
Director: Sudhakar
Reddy Yakkanti
3 Award for Best Popular Film BADHAAI HO (Hindi) Producer: Junglee
Providing Wholesome Pictures Limited
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Entertainment Director: Amit Sharma

4 Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature ONDALLA ERADALLA Producer: D N Cinemas
Film on National Integration (Kannada) Director: Satya Prakash
D
5 Best Film on Social Issues PADMAN (Hindi) Producer: Hope
Productions Pvt. Ltd.
Director: R. Balki
6 Best Film on Environment PAANI (Marathi) Producer: Purple
Conservation/Preservation Pebble Pictures
Director: Addinath
Kothare
7 Best Children’s Film SARKARI HIRIYA Producer : Rishab
PRATHAMIKA SHALE Shetty Films
KASARGODU (Kannada) Director: Rishab Shetty
8 Best Direction URI : THE SURGICAL STRIKE Director: Aditya Dhar
(Hindi)
9 Best Actor (Shared) ANDHADHUN (Hindi) & Ayushmann Khurrana
URI : THE SURGICAL & Vicky Kaushal
STRIKE (Hindi)
10 Best Actress MAHANATI (Telugu) Keerthy Suresh
11 Best Supporting Actor CHUMBAK (Marathi) Supporting
Actor:Swanand Kirkire
12 Best Supporting Actress BADHAAI HO (Hindi) Supporting
Actress: Surekha Sikri
13 Best Child Artist ONDALLA ERADALLA P V Rohith
(Kannada) Sameep Singh
HARJEETA (Punjabi) Talha Arshad Reshi
HAMID (Urdu) Shrinivas Pokale
NAAL (Marathi)
14 Best Male Playback Singer PADMAAVAT (Hindi) Arijit Singh
Song “ Binte Dil Misriya
mein …. ”
15 Best Female Playback Singer NATHICHARAMI (Kannada) Bindhu Malini
Song “ Maayavi
Manave…..”
16 Best Cinematography OLU (Malayalam) Cameraman: M J
Radhakrishnan
17 Best Screenplay CHI ARJUN LA SOW (Telugu) Screenplay writer
ANDHADHUN (Hindi) (original): Rahul
TARIKH (Bengali) Ravindran
Screenplay writer
(adapted): Sriram
Raghavan , Arijit
Biswas, Yogesh
Chandekar,
Hemant Rao & Pooja
Ladha Surti
Dialogue Writer:
Churni Ganguly
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18 Best Audiography TENDLYA (Marathi) Location Sound

URI :THE SURGICAL STRIKE Recordist (for sync
(Hindi) sound films only) :
RANGASTHALAM (Telugu) Gaurav Verma
Sound Designer :
Bishwadeep Dipak
Chatterjee
Re- recordist of the
final mixed track: Raja
Krishnan M.R
19 Best Editing NATHICHARAMI (Kannada) Editor: Nagendra K

Ujjani
20 Best Production Design KAMMARA SAMBHAVAM Production Designer:

(Malayalam) Bangalan
21 Best Costume Designer MAHANATI (Telugu) Costume Director:

Indrakshi Pattanaik,
Gaurang Shah
& Archana Rao
22 Best Make-up Artist AWE (Telugu) Make-up Artist: Ranjith
23 Best Music Direction PAADMAAVAT (Hindi) Music Director

URI :THE SURGICAL (Songs): Sanjay Leela
STRIKE (Hindi) Bhansali
Music Director
(Background Music):
Shashwat Sachdev
24 Best Lyrics NATHICHARAMI (Kannada) Lyricist: Manjunatha

S (Manasor)
Song “ Maayavi
Manave….”
25 Special Jury Award HELLARO (Gujarati) Actresses : Shraddha

& KEDARA (Bengali) Dangar, Shachi Joshi,
Denisha Ghumra,
Neelam Paanchal,
Tarjani Bhadla, Brinda
Nayak, Tejal
Panchasara,
Kaushambi Bhatt, Ekta
Bachwani, Kamini
Panchal, Jagruti
Thakore, Riddhi Yadav
& Prapti Mehta &
Director : Indradip
50 | P a g e
Dasgupta
26 Best Special Effects AWE (Telugu) Srushti Creative
& KGF (Kannada) Studio & Unifi Media
27 Best Choreography PADMAAVAT (Hindi) Kruti Mahesh Madya &
Jyoti Tomar
Song: Ghoomar
28 Best Action Direction Award (Stunt KGF (Kannada)) Vikram More & Anbu
Choreography) Ariv
Best Feature Film in each of the language specified in the Schedule VIII of the Constitution:
S.No Name of Title of Film Awardee
Award
1 Best REVA Producer: Brainbox Studios
Gujarati Director: Rahul Surendrabhai Bhole &
Film Vinit Kumar Ambubhai Kanojiya
2 Best Punjabi HARJEETA Producer: Sizzlin Productions
Film Director: Vijay Kumar Arora
3 Best BULBUL CAN SING Producer: Flying River Films
Assamese Director: Rima Das
Film
4 Best AMORI Producer: Opus Ga La

Konkani Director: Dinesh P Bhonsle
Film
5 Best NATHICHARAMI Producer: Tejaswini Enterprises
Kannada Director: Manjunatha S. (Mansore)
Film
6 Best Telugu MAHANATI Producer: Swapna Cinema
Film Director: Nag Ashwin
7 Best SUDANI FROM NIGERIA Producer: The Happy Hours Entertainments
Malayalam Director: Zakariya
Film
8 Best Bengali EK JE CHHILO RAJA Producer: SVF Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.
Film Director: Srijit Mukherjee
9 Best Urdu HAMID Producer: Saregama India Limited
Film Director: Aijaz Khan
10 Best Hindi ANDHADHUN Producer: Matchbox Pictures Pvt. Ltd.
Film Director: Sriram Raghavan
11 Best Tamil BAARAM Producer: Reckless Roses
Film Director: Priya Krishnaswamy
12 Best BHONGA Producer: Nalinee Productions
Marathi Director: Shivaji Lotan Patil
Film
Best Feature Film in each of the languages other than those specified in Schedule VIII of the
Constitution:
1 Best Garo MA’AMA Producer: Anna Films
Film Director: Dominic Sangma
2 Best MISHING Producer: BB Entertainment Trade Private
Sherdukpan Limited
Film Director: Bobby Sarma Baruah
3 Best IN THE LAND OF POISON Producer: Aaas Productions
Pangchenpa WOMEN Director: Manju Borah
Film
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4 Best TURTLE Producer: Shivazza Films & Entertainment

Rajasthani Director: Dinesh S Yadav
Film
5 Special NATHICHARAMI(Kannada) Sruthi Hariharan (Actress)
Mention KADAKH (Hindi) Chandrachoor Rai (Actor)
JOSEPH (Malayalam) Joju George (Actor)
SUDANI FROM NIGERIA Savithri (Actress)
(Malayalam)
Non-Feature Films Section:
S.No. Name of Award Title of Film Awardee

1 BEST NON- Son Rise Producer: V2 Films & Design Pvt. Ltd.
FEATURE FILM & Director : Vibha Bakshi&
The Secret Life of Frogs Producer: Bedi Universal
Director : Ajay Bedi & Vijay Bedi.
2 BEST DEBUT NON- Feluda_50 Years Rays Producer & Director :Sagnik Chatterjee
FEATURE FILM OF Detective
A DIRECTOR
3 BEST ARTS and Bunkar: The Last of The Producer: Narrative Pictures & S apana
CULTURE FILM Varanasi Weavers Sharma
Director : Satyaprakash Upadhyay
4 BEST SCIENCE & G.D.Naidu : The Edison Of Producer: Films Division
TECHNOLOGY India Director : Renjith Kumar
FILM
5 BEST Rediscovering Jajam Producer: Rachel Bracken Singh

PROMOTIONAL Director : Avinash Maurya & Kriti Gupta
FILM
6 BEST The World’s Most Famous Producer: Natural History Unit India
ENVIRONMENT Tiger Director: Subbiah Nallamuthu
FILM
7 BEST FILM ON Taala Te Kunjee Producer: Simardeep Singh Bhatia
SOCIAL ISSUES Director : Shilpi Gulati
8 BEST Sarala Virala Producer: Sujatha H R
EDUCATIONAL Director : Eregowda
FILM
9 BEST FILM Swimming Through The Producer: Perspective
ON SPORTS Darkness Director : Supriyo Sen
10 BEST Amoli Producer: Culture Machine Media Pvt.
INVESTIGATIVE Ltd.
FILM Director : Jasmine Kaur
Roy & Avinash Roy
11 SPECIAL JURY Why Me? – Director & Director : Harish Shah &
AWARD Ekaant – Art Direction Art Director : Neeraj Singh
12 BEST SHORT Kharvas Producer: Shree Mahalasa Productions
FICTION FILM Ponda
Director : Aditya Suhas Jambhale
13 BEST FILM ON Chalo Jeete Hain Producer: Sundial Ventures Pvt. Ltd.
FAMILY VALUES Director : Mangesh Hadawale
14 BEST DIRECTION Aai Shappath Director : Gautam Vaze
15 BEST The Secret Life of Frogs Cameraman: Ajay Bedi & Vijay Bedi
CINEMATOGRAPHY
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16 BEST ON- The Secret Life of Frogs On location sound recordist : Ajay Bedi
LOCATION SOUND
RECORDIST
17 BEST Children of The Soil Re-recordist (final mixed track)
AUDIOGRAPHY : Bishwadeep Chatterjee
18 BEST EDITING Son Rise Editor : Hemanti Sarkar
19 BEST MUSIC Jyoti Music Director: Kedar Divekar
DIRECTION
20 BEST NARRATION/ Madhubani – The Station of Deepak Agnihotri & Urvija Upaddhyay
VOICE OVER Colours
21 SPECIAL MENTION Mahaan Hutatma – Director Director : Sagar Puranik
Glow Worm in a Jungle – Director : Ramana Dumpala
Director Director : Sameer Sadhwani & Kishor
Laddoo Sadhwani
Best Book on Cinema:
S. Title of the Book Name of the Name of the Publisher
No. Author
1 Mouna Prathanapole (Malayalam) Author : S Kerala State Chalachitra Academy
Jayachandran
Nair
Special Mention
1 In A Cult Of Their Own: Bollywood Author Rupa Publications India Pvt. Ltd
Beyond Box Office (English) :Amborish
Roychoudhury
Award for Best Film Critic:
S. No. Name of Critic Language
1. Blais Johny & Anant Vijay Malayalam & Hindi
Gallantry awards and other decorations- 2019
• President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind approved 132 Awards to Armed Forces Personnel and
members of Paramilitary Forces. President is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
There were 2 Kirti Chakras, 1 Vir Chakra, 14 Shaurya Chakras, 8 Bar to Sena Medals (Gallantry),
90 Sena Medals (Gallantry), 5 Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry), 7 Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry) and
5 Yudh Seva Medals.
Kirti Chakra 2019
About the award: It is awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the field of
battle. It is awarded to civilians as well as military personnel, including posthumous awards. It is
second in order of precedence of peacetime gallantry awards which comes after Ashoka Chakra and
before Shaurya Chakra. It was established as the “Ashoka Chakra, Class II” by the President of India on
4 January 1952 (with effect from 15 August 1947). The statutes were revised and the decoration
renamed on 27 January 1967.
Medal design: The medal is made of standard silver and is circular in shape. The green ribbon is
divided into three equal parts by two orange vertical lines.
Awardees: Sapper Prakash Jadhav of the Rashtriya Rifles (posthumously) and Harshpal Singh, Dy
Commandant of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were awarded Kirti Chakras 2019.
Vir Chakra 2019
About the award: It is awarded for acts of gallantry in the presence of enemy, whether on land or at
sea or in the air. It was established by the President of India on 26 January 1950 (with effect from 15
August 1947). It is given only to Military personnel.
Medal design: The medal is made of standard silver with a five-pointed heraldic star embossed on it.
The star shall have in the centre a Chakra and within the Chakra shall be a domed centre piece bearing
the gilded State Emblem. The words ‘VirChakra’ is embossed both in Hindi and English on the reverse
and the two versions are separated by two lotus flowers.
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Awardee: Wing Commander of Indian Air Force (IAF) Abhinandan Varthaman, who downed an
enemy jet during an aerial combat with Pakistan in February 2019 and was held captive for 3 days,
was conferred the Vir Chakra 2019, India’s third-highest war time gallantry medal.
Shaurya Chakra 2019
i. About the award: It is awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice while not engaged in
direct action with the enemy. It is awarded to civilians as well as military personnel, sometimes
posthumously. It is third in order of precedence of peacetime gallantry awards and comes after the
Ashoka Chakra and Kirti Chakra. It precedes the Sena Medal.
ii. Medal design: It is a circular bronze medal with a green ribbon divided into four equal parts by
three vertical lines.
iii. Awardees: Following 14 personnel were awarded Shaurya Chakras for 2019:
Sl No Name Service
1 Lieutenant Colonel Ajay Singh Kushwah Army
2 Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal (posthumously) Army
3 Captain Maheshkumar Bhure Army
4 Lance Naik Sandeep Singh (posthumously) Army
5 Sepoy Brajesh Kumar (posthumously) Army
6 Sepoy Hari Singh (posthumously) Army
7 Rifleman Ajveer Singh Chauhan Army
8 Rifleman Shive Kumar (posthumously) Army
9 Amit Singh Rana Navy
10 Constable Sable Dnyaneshwar Shriram MHA*
11 Constable Zaker Hussain MHA
12 Special Police Official Ashiq Hussain Malik (posthumously) MHA
13 Head Constable Subash Chander MHA
14 Sub Inspector Imran Hussain Tak (posthumously) MHA
*MHA- Ministry of Home Affairs
Sena Medals 2019
About the award: It is awarded to members of the Indian army, of all ranks. It can be awarded for
gallantry or it can also be for distinguished service carried out by any soldier, not in the face of the
enemy. It is preceded by the Vir Chakra, Shaurya Chakra & Yudh Seva Medal and also the Vishisht Seva
Medal. It was established on 17 June 1960, by the President of India.
Medal design: It is a circular silver medal with a bayonet, pointed upwards and 32 mm, red ribbon,
with a white central stripe- Red 15 mm, white 2 mm, red 15 mm.
Bar to Sena Medal (Gallantry) 2019
Sl No Name Service
1 Colonel Ashutosh Sharma Army
2 Major K Naveen Reddy Army
3 Major Sagar Prakash Pardeshi Army
4 Major Tasou Prao Army
5 Major MD Sahwaj Alam Army
6 Major Kaustubh Prakashkumar Rane (posthumously) Army
7 Major Manish Kumar Singh Army
8 Sepoy Sunil Kumar Army
Sena Medal (Gallantry) 2019
90 Army personnel were awarded Sena medals (Gallantry) 2019.
Nao Sena Medals 2019
i. About the award: It is a gallantry award for servicemen in the Indian Navy. It was established by
the President of India on 17 June 1960.
ii. Medal design: The medal is pentangular in shape, with curved sides made of standard silver. The
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mounting shall is a fixed ring attached to a metal stripe 3mm wide ornamented with Ashoka leaves. It
has embossed on its obverse the Naval Crest. On its reverse, it has a trident within a circle and rope
and the inscription “Nao Sena Medal” in Hindi, embossed along the upper rim. The riband is navy blue
colour with a white thin silver stripe down the centre.
iii. Awardees: Following are the awardees:
1 Captain Naveen Thapa
2 Lt Cdr Ruchir Rakesh Khajuria
3 Takhellambam Rakhesh Singh
4 Shaminder Singh
5 Shri Niwas
Vayu Sena Medals 2019
i. About the award: It is an Indian military decoration, usually awarded in peacetime for a job well
done. It can be awarded Posthumously. It was established on 17 June 1960 by the President of India. It
is awarded for all ranks of Indian Air Force.
ii. Medal design: A four-armed silver star with the points shaped like lotus blooms. In the centre, the
national emblem. Suspended by a straight bar suspender and normally named and dated on the edge.
In the reverse side, A Himalayan Eagle with wings spread, and the legend, above and below, in Hindi
“Vayu Sena Medal” or “Air Force / Medal”. Ribbon: 30 mm, alternating 2 mm diagonal (lower left to
upper right) stripes of grey and orange-saffron. The ribbon has an overall “woven” appearance.
iii. Awardees: Following are the awardees:
Sl No Name
1 Group Captain Saumitra Tamaskar
2 Wing Commander Pranav Raj
3 Wing Commander Amit Ranjan
4 Squadron leader Rahul Basoya
5 Squadron leader Pankaj Arvind Bhujade
6 Squadron leader B Karthik Narayan Reddy
7 Squadron leader Shashank Singh
Yudh Seva Medal 2019
About the award: It is is one of India’s military decorations for distinguished service during wartime.
It is awarded for a high degree of distinguished service in an operational context, which includes times
of war, conflict, or hostilities and may be awarded posthumously. It is the wartime equivalent of the
Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM). It was established on June 26, 1980.
Awardees: Following are the awardees:
Sl No Name Service
1 Air Commodore Sunil Kashinath Vidhate AVSM VM Air Force
2 Group Captain Yeshpal Singh Negi VM VSM Air Force
3 Group Captain Hemant Kumar Air Force
4 Group Captain Hansel Joseph Sequeira Air Force
5 Squadron Leader Minty Aggarwal Air Force
Tatrakshak Medals 2019
President’s Tatrakshak Medal (Distinguished Service) 2019
It was awarded to IG Thekkumpurath Prabhakaran Sadanandan of Indian Coast Guard (ICG).
Tatrakshak Medals (Gallantry) 2019 to ICG personnel
1 DIG Yoginder Dhaka
2 Comdt Anurup Singh
3 Dy Comdt Utkersh Sharma
4 Satish
5 Trinatha Behera
Tatrakshak Medal (Meritorious Service) 2019 to ICG personnel
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1 IG Maneesh Vishal Pathak

2 DIG Neeraj Tiwari
Fire Service Medals 2019 for Gallantry
President Ramnath Kovind awarded ‘Fire Service Medals 2019’ to 56 personnel.
 ‘Fire Service Medals for Gallantry 2019’ was awarded to Umapathi Dhandapani of Tamil Naidu.
 Shivashankara Nanjunde Gowda, Manjunath Narayan Belaguppa, Kriparam Sharma are among
8 personnel who have been awarded ‘Fire Service Medal 2019 for Distinguished Service’.
 ‘Fire Service Medal 2019 for Meritorious Service’ was awarded to 47 personnel including
Kuleswar Teron, Promod Talukdar and Prasanna Teron.
Home Guard and Civil Defence Medals 2019
President Ramnath Kovind awarded ‘Home Guard and Civil Defence Medals 2019′ to 44 personnel.
 Home Guard and Civil Defence Medals 2019 for Distinguished Service’ was conferred to 8
personnel including Bhuban Saikia and Ashok Kumar Verma.
 Home Guard and Civil Defence Medals 2019 for Meritorious Service was given to 36 personnel
including Gobin Saikia, Laxmi Sahu, Aslam Khan, and Sayar Singh Solanki.
Correctional Service Medals 2019 on prison personnel
President Ram Nath Kovind approved the conferment of Correctional Service Medals 2019 on prison
personnel.
 Shakil Allauddin Shaikh, Subedar, Satara District Prison; N Hemantakumar Singh, Jailor,
Manipur Central Jail, Sajiwa, and Sanjay Gupta, Deputy Superintendent, Mondoli Prison
Headquarters were conferred with the Distinguished Service medal.
 Mukkamalla Venugopal Reddy, Jailor, Office of the District, Sub-Jails Officer, Vijayawada;
Animalla Sesha Hanuman, Head Warden, District Jail, Eluru and Ramesh Prashad,
Superintendent, District Jail, Hajipur are among 37 prison personnel who were conferred with
the Correctional Service Medals 2019 for their Meritorious Service.
Police Medals 2019
NDRF Personnel
6 personnel of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were awarded with the Police Medals 2019.
They are
 Shri Randeep Kumar Rana, Dy. Inspector General was awarded with President’s Police Medal
2019 for Distinguished Service.
 Shri Alok Kumar, Commandant, Shri Ravi Kant, Second-in-Command, Shri Bhawani Singh,
Assistant Commandant, Inspector Raj Kumar, and Assistant Sub Inspector (GD) Narain Singh
were awarded Police Medal 2019 for Meritorious Service in recognition of their selfless service
to the nation.
BSF Personnel
56 Border Security Force (BSF) officials were honoured with Police Medals 2019. 5 were awarded
Police Medal for Gallantry, 5- President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service and Police Medal for
Meritorious Service was awarded to 46 personnel.
COAS and VCOAS Commendation Cards Awards 2019
370 and 262 Army personnel were awarded Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Vice Chief of the Army
Staff (VCOAS) Commendation Cards 2019 respectively.
President Awards the Certificate of Honour and Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman for the Year 2019
Certificate of Honour 2019 was given to the following Scholars:
Sl No Name Category
1 Shri Sripada Satyanarayanamurthy Sanskrit
2 Shri Rajendra Nath Sarma Sanskrit
3 Prof. Ramji Thakur Sanskrit
4 Prof. Chand Kiran Saluja Sanskrit
5 Dr. Shri Krishan Sharma Sanskrit
6 Dr. V. Ramakrishna Bhatt Sanskrit
7 Vidwan Janardana Hegde Sanskrit
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8 Dr. Kala Acharya Sanskrit

9 Prof. (Dr.) Harekrishna Satapathy Sanskrit
10 Pandit Satya Dev Sharma Sanskrit
11 Shri Banwari Lal Gaur Sanskrit
12 Dr. V.S. Karunakaran Sanskrit
13 Prof. Yugal Kishor Mishra Sanskrit
14 Pandit Manudev Bhattacharya Sanskrit
15 Shri Subuddhi Charan Goswami Sanskrit
16 Dr. Uma Shankar Vyas Pali
17 Prof. Kamal Chand Sogani Prakrit
18 Prof. Faizanullah Farooqi Arabic
19 Mohammad Iqbal Husain Arabic
20 Dr. Mohd. Samiullah Khan Arabic
21 Prof. Dr. Iraq Raza Zaidi Persian
22 Prof. Chander Shekhar Persian
23 Mohammad Sidiq Niazmand Persian
24 Shri Hampa Nagarajaiah Classical Kannada
25 Prof. Ravva Srihari Classical Telugu
26 Dr.C.P. Achuthan Unny Classical Malayalam
27 Pandit Dr. Antaryami Mishra Classical Odia
Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman 2019 was given to the following Scholars:
Sl No Name Category
1 Dr. Ashok Thapliyal Sanskrit
2 Prof. Sujata Tripathi Sanskrit
3 Dr. Sanju Mishra Sanskrit
4 Dr. Abhijit Hanmant Joshi Sanskrit
5 Dr. Sharachchandra Dwivedi Sanskrit
6 Ms. Anoma Shriram Sakhare Pali
7 Shri Ashish Kumar Jain Prakrit
8 Dr. Fauzan Ahmad Arabic
9 ER.M. Shahbaz Alam Persian
10 Shri G.B. Harisha Classical Kannada
11 Shri S. Karthik Classical Kannada
12 Dr. M. Byrappa Classical Kannada
13 Dr. Addanki Srinivas Classical Telugu
14 Dr. V. Triveni Classical Telugu
15 Dr. D.K. Prabhakar Classical Telugu
16 Dr. Rajeev R.R. Classical Malayalam
17 Shri Santhosh Thottingal Classical Malayalam
18 Dr. Subrat Kumar Prusty Classical Odia
Recognitions
Name of Persons Recognitions
Bill Gates. Jeff Bezos of Amazon still holds his no.1 spot as the Second richest person as per
world's richest person. Bloomberg Billionaire Index
‘Panchamirtham’ of Palani temple(It became the first temple Geographical Identity (GI) tag
offering - Prashad - from Tamil Nadu to be conferred this
honor.)
Tawlhlohpuan(a woven fabric) and Mizo Puanchei(a Geographical Identity (GI) tag
colourful Mizo shawl) from the State of Mizoram and Tirur
betel vine from Kerala
57 | P a g e
1) Dwayne Johnson,2) Chris Hemsworth,3) Robert Downey Forbes magazine’s Worlds Highest-
Jr,4) Akshay Kumar Paid Actors Of 2019 list
Scarlett Johansson (United States) topped Forbes magazine’s world’s Highest-
Paid actresses of 2019 list
Wing Commander Shalija Dhami First-Ever Female Officer To Be
Appointed As Flight Commander
1) Taylor Swift , 2) Beyonce, 3) Rihanna Forbes magazine's ‘highest-paid
woman in music’ category for the year
2019
Dindigul lock and Karaikudi Kandangi sarees Geographical Indication (GI) tag
CONFERENCE/SUMMIT IN NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL NEWS

No Name of Place Facts about the summit /conference
Summit/Conference
1 2019 Indo Pacific Chiefs of Bangkok, Thailand Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Air Chief Marshal
Defence (CHOD) Birender Singh Dhanoa who is also Chairman
Conference of Chiefs of Staff Committee(COSC) and Chief
of the Air Staff(CAS), paid a 3-day visit to
Thailand to attend the Conference. The theme
for 2019 was “Collaboration in a free and
Open Indo – Pacific”.
2 45th G7 Summit for the Biarritz, France PM addressed G7 Summit’s session on
year 2019 ‘Biodiversity, Oceans, Climate.’ He highlighted
India’s large scale efforts towards eliminating
single use plastic, conserving water,
harnessing solar energy and protecting flora
and fauna for a sustainable future. He
highlighted India’s efforts in putting digital
technology to use to fight social inequalities
through empowerment and inclusion during a
G7 session on Digital Transformation. The
next G7 Summit (46th) for the year 2020 will
be held in the United States.
3 Regional Conference on Jaipur, Rajasthan It was launched by Department of
Good Governance Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances
(DARPG) in association with the Department
of Administrative Reforms, Government of
Rajasthan and the Harish Chandra Mathur
Rajasthan State Institute of Public
Administration (HCMRIPA). The theme of the
conference for 2019 is “Strengthening State
Institute of Public Administration”.
4 18th meeting of Geneva, 183 CITES member nations participated in the
Conference of the Parties Switzerland latest meeting held in Geneva. Read full details
(CoP18) of Convention on here: 18th Meeting Of Conference Of The
International Trade in Parties(CoP) Of CITES Held In Geneva,
Endangered Species of Switzerland
Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES)
5 National Conference of New Delhi, Delhi It was organised by the Union Ministry of
Tourism Ministers Tourism was held in New Delhi. It was
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inaugurated by Shri Prahlad Singh Patel,Union

Minister of State for Tourism & Culture
(Independent Charge). Three new
Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) and
five new Letters of Intent (LoIs) to the
prospective ‘Monument Mitras’ were handed
over. Read full details here: National
Conference Of Tourism Ministers
Organised By The Tourism Ministry In New
Delhi
6 Journey of Teacher New Delhi, Delhi It was inaugurated by the Union Minister of
Education: Local to Global Human Resource Development Shri Ramesh
Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ and was organized by the
National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE)
as a part of the silver jubilee celebration of its
establishment in 1995 (August 17).
7 India Economic Summit New Delhi, Delhi World Economic Forum (WEF) in
2019 collaboration with Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII) will organize 2-day India
Economic Summit 2019 scheduled to be held
in New Delhi from October 3 - 4, 2019 with the
aim of promoting strong collaboration
between South Asia and ASEAN (Association
of Southeast Asian Nations ) nations. The
theme of the event will be 'Innovating for
India: Strengthening South Asia, Impacting the
World'.Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina and tennis star Sania Mirza will be
among co-chairs for India Economic Summit.
8 State Tourism Ministers’ New Delhi, Delhi A reduction in the e-visa(electronic visa) fee
conference was proposed by the tourism ministry with
the aim of attracting more foreign travellers to
the country. As of the proposed plan, a new 5-
year visa plan was announced, and also the e-
visa fee will be offered with the option of
short-term as well as long-term tourist e-visa
plan. The announcement was made by
Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel
(Minister of State- independent charge)
during the conference. Read full details here:
Tourism Ministry Announces New 5 Year
Visa And Other E-Visa Relaxations In The
Works
9 First World Youth New Delhi, Delhi The president addressed the event celebrating
Conference on kindness the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma
Gandhi on the theme 'Vasudhaiva
Kutumbakam: Gandhi for the Contemporary
World’.
10 12th edition of India New Delhi, Delhi It is organised by the Associated Chambers of
security summit Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM)
was held in New Delhi. The theme for the year
2019 is “Towards New National Cyber
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Security Strategy”.
11 Global Investors Summit Srinagar, Jammu It will provide the state an opportunity to
2019 and Kashmir(J&K) showcase its strengths, strategies, and
potential. The Confederation of Indian
Industries (CII) will be the national partner for
the investor's summit, which has signed an
MoU(Memorandum of understanding) with
Jammu and Kashmir Trade Promotion
Organisation (JKTPO).
COMMITTEES/MEETINGS IN NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Meetings Held
No. Name of Meeting Place Facts about the Committee/Meeting
1 ASEAN(Association of Bangkok, Thailand
Southeast Asian Nations )-
India Ministerial Meeting
2019
2 8th Inter-Sessional Beijing, China It was held before the 7th RCEP ministerial
Ministerial Meeting of meet which will be convened in Bangkok,
Regional Comprehensive Thailand on September 2019. In this meeting,
Economic Partnership all partner countries agreed to finalize trading
(RCEP) 2019 deal negotiations. Read full details here: 8th
RCEP Inter-Sessional Ministerial Meeting
2019 Held In Beijing, China
3 India and China Navy Joint Beijing, China In order to improve military to military
Working Group (JWG) cooperation, India and China reviewed the
situation on the border and agreed on more port
calls by each side’s Navies at a meeting of the Joint
Working Group (JWG) between the Defence
Ministries in Beijing, China. The meeting was a
preliminary one attended by Joint Secretary from
the Defence Ministry of India along with one-
star officer each from the 3 Services.
4 4th edition of Internet of Bengaluru, The theme of 'Mainstreaming the Internet of
Things (IoT) India Karnataka Things'. The 2-day Congress was organized by
Congress 2019 Institution of Engineering and Technology
(IET) IoT Panel with a footfall of over1600
participants and about 70 speakers from over
6 countries.
5 4th United States-India California, U.S. The Indian delegation was led jointly by Indra
Maritime Security Mani Pandey, Additional Secretary (D&ISA),
Dialogue Ministry of External Affairs and Smt. Richa
Misra, Joint Secretary (Navy), Ministry of
Defence. Both sides exchanged their views on
maritime developments in the Indo-Pacific
region.
6 National Conference on Chennai, Tamil It was inaugurated by Shripad Yesso Naik,
Varmam Science Nadu Union Minister of State (Independent Charge)
in the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga &
Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy
(AYUSH).
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7 India and Bangladesh Dhaka, Bangladesh India and Bangladesh decided to set up a Joint
Secretary-level meeting Technical committee for optimum utilization
of Ganges water as being received by
Bangladesh under the Ganga Water Sharing
Treaty 1996. The Indian delegation was led by
Water Resources Secretary Upendra Prasad
Singh while the Bangladesh side was led by his
counterpart Kabir Bin Anwar.
8 225th meeting of Central Hyderabad, It was attended by the Minister of State (I/C)
Board of Trustees (CBT) Telangana for Labour and Employment Shri Santosh
Kumar Gangwar, who is also Chairman of CBT.
Read full details here: 225th meeting of CBT
held at Hyderabad, Telangana
9 5th India- Nepal Joint Kathmandu, Nepal To discuss bilateral relations between the two
Commission meeting 2019 countries. EAM Jaishankar and his Nepalese
counterpart Pradeep Kumar Gyawali co-
chaired the meeting along with their
respective delegations.
10 India and the United States Monterey, The Indian delegation was led jointly by Shri
(US) 2+2 Intersessional California, US Gourangalal Das, Joint Secretary in the
meeting Ministry of External Affairs and Shri V.
Anandarajan, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of
Defence.
11 2nd meeting of Prime Mumbai, The committee was headed by Maharashtra
Minister Narendra Modi Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for
formed High Powered transforming Indian agriculture and raising
Committee (HPC) of chief farmers’ income, under NITI (National
ministers Institution for Transforming India) Aayog.
Read full detail here: 2nd meeting of High
powered panel of CM’s headed by Devendra
Fadnavis for the transformation of Indian
agriculture held in Mumbai
12 SAARC(South Asian Nepal This meet is based on the sidelines of the 74th
Association for Regional UN General Assembly (UNGA) session.
Corporation) foreign
ministers informal
meeting
13 30th Pro-Active New Delhi It was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra
Governance and Timely Modi. On his 30th interaction, many issues
Implementation were reviewed. This was the first meeting of
(PRAGATI) platform PRAGATI chaired by the Prime Minister in his
second term in office. Grievances under
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) was
reviewed and the Prime Minister directed all
the officers to achieve the target of ‘housing
for all by 2022’. Read full details here: 30th
Interaction Through PRAGATI Platform
Chaired By Prime Minister Narendra Modi
14 High-Level Meeting (HLM) New Delhi The Indian delegation was led by Director
between India and General, Indian Coast Guard K Natarajan, and
Srilanka the Srilankan delegation was held by Rear
Admiral Samantha Wimalathunge.
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15 9th session of India-Kenya New Delhi Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and
Joint Trade Committee Railways, PiyushGoyal led the Indian
(JTC) delegation, whereas the Kenyan delegation
was led by Peter Munya, Minister of Industry,
Trade and Cooperatives, Government of the
Republic of Kenya. Read full details here: India
holds 9th Session of India-Kenya Joint
Trade Committee in New Delhi
16 International dialogue on New Delhi Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and
South-South and Railways, Shri PiyushGoyal addressed the
Triangular Cooperation International dialogue on South-South and
Triangular Cooperation that was held in New
Delhi. It was organised by Research and
Information System (RIS) and the United
Nations Office for South-South
Cooperation(UNOSSC).
17 5th BRICS Minister of Sao Paulo, Brazil The Indian delegation was led by Union Minister of
Environment Meeting Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri
Prakash Javadekar. The participated BRICS
Ministers praised the Indian Presidency of the
14th session of the CoP of the United Nations
Convention to Combat Desertification. Read full
details here: 5th Meeting Of BRICS Minister Of
Environment Held In Sao Paulo, Brazil
18 28th session of BASIC Sao Paulo, Brazil Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate
(Brazil, South Africa, India, Change, Shri Prakash Javadekar represented India
and China) Ministerial for this meeting. This comes ahead of United
meeting 2019 on Climate Nations Framework for Climate Change (UNFCC)
Conference of Parties (COP-25) meet scheduled to
Change
be held in Santiago, Chile from 2 – 13 December
2019. Read full details here: 28th BASIC
Ministerial Meeting 2019 On Climate Change
Held In Sao Paulo, Brazil
19 15th India-US Defence Washington, Officials of both countries agreed to follow a
Policy Group meeting, United States policy environment conducive to cooperation
2019 on defence issues between the Defence industry and start-ups in
both countries. The Indian side was led by
Sanjay Mitra, defence secretary and the US was
led by John Rood, undersecretary of defence
for policy.
Committee’s Formed
No. Name of Head Facts about the Committee
Committee/Organization
which formed the
committee
1 4-member panel of Amit Shah To propose action against mob lynching. The
ministers panel was headed by then Home minister
Rajnath Singh when it was formed. The Group
of Ministers (GoM) will have the members
including S. Jaishankar, Nitin Gadkari, Ravi
Shankar Prasad, and Thawar Chand Gehlot.
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2 Ministry of Statistics and To recommend operational level modifications

Programme for restructuring the National Statistical Office
Implementation (MoSPI) (NSO). NSO will be chaired by Pravin
constituted an 8-member Srivastava, the chief statistician, and MoSPI
committee secretary. In May 2019, MoSPI had approved
the merger of the Central Statistics Office
(CSO) and the National Sample Survey Office
(NSSO) into NSO to streamline and strengthen
the present nodal functions and to bring in
more synergy by integrating its administrative
functions within the ministry.
3 Three member committee To resolve dispute between the Indian
constituted by Railways and Steel Authority of India (SAIL)
Government of India regarding issues related to the quantity and
supply of high-quality steel rails. Read full
details here: Three Member Panel To
Resolve Dispute Between SAIL And
Railways Set Up By The Govt
4 High level steering Injeti Srinivas The committee has recommended to make
committee on Corporate CSR expenditure tax-deductible and that non-
Social Responsibility (CSR) compliance of CSR norms be treated as a civil
offence. The committee presented its
recommendations to Finance Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman. Read full details here: Injeti
Srinivas Committee Suggests CSR
Expenditure Be Made Tax Deductible
5 Ministry of Civil Aviation The committee is constituted to rationalise
(MoCA) additional taxes that airlines have to pay while
uplifting Air Turbine Fuel (ATF) at airports
across India. It is formed to develop a direct
billing mechanism between airline companies
and airport operators so that the multiple
taxes can be removed.
6 12-member high-level Apurva Chandra To revise and align the procedure of Defence
committee approved procurement with the aim of strengthening
Rajnath Singh the 'Make in India' initiative. Read full details
here: Rajnath Singh Approves A High-Level
Committee To Review Defence
Procurement Procedure To Strengthen
‘Make In India’ Initiative
7 National Green Justice Adarsh To look into the issues of illegal sand mining in
Tribunal(NGT) has formed Kumar Goel the Yamuna river and sought a report within a
a committee month. The panel consists of Delhi district
magistrate, Delhi Pollution Control Committee
(DPCC), and Central Pollution Control Board.
8 Group of experts panel Akhilesh Ranjan The committee submitted a report to Nirmala
Sitharaman(Finance Minister), to replace the
Income Tax Act with a new Direct Tax
Code(DTC). Read full details here: Committee
Headed By CBDT Submits Report On
Replacing I-T Act With DTC
9 National Green Tribunal S P Garg The committee suggests that all water bodies
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(NGT) committee in Delhi must be provided with Unique

Identification Numbers (UID) after properly
demarcating them and mapping them on GPS
(Global Positioning System) platforms in order
to conserve them.
INDEX
RANKING
Report Titles Name of the Organizations Key Notes
that Release the
report/Who Released
Water Stress Index Verisk Maplecroft India ranked as the 46th highest risk country in
2019 the world.
Chennai is the “tip of the iceberg” for India’s
water-stressed cities.
Largest economy in World Bank data for 2018 India’s GDP rose from $2.65 trillion in 2017 to
the world $2.7 trillion in 2018. The data topped by US
followed by China and Japan.
State Rooftop Solar RK Singh, Union Minister of Top 5 States:
Attractiveness State for Power and New & 1. Karnataka(78.8)
Index 2019 Renewable Energy (IC) and 2. Telangana(72.2)
(SARAL) Skill Development & 3. Gujarat(67.9)
Entrepreneurship 4. Andra Pradesh(66.1). Read full details here:
Karnataka Tops In State Rooftop Solar
Attractiveness Index(SARAL) 2019
Prime Global Cities Knight Frank  Berlin(Germany) topped.
Index Q1  Istanbul(Turkey) and Vancouver(Canada)
2019(Fastest were the weakest markets.
growing prime  Bengaluru (2.8%) and Mumbai (0.8%) were
market globally) ranked 15th and 30th.
 Delhi ranked at 10th.
“Child well-being World Vision India and Top 3 States:
index” Institute for Financial Kerala (0.76), followed by Tamil Nadu (0.67) and
Management and Research- Himachal Pradesh (0.67)
Leveraging Evidence for Puducherry topped the spot among Union
Access and Development territory. Read full details here: Kerala, TN,
(IFMR LEAD) Himachal & Py Tops The 2019 India Child
Well-Being Index
Henley Passport Henley Top 5 Countries:
Index for world’s 1 Japan and Singapore.
most powerful 2 South Korea, Germany & Finland.
passport” in 2019 3 Denmark and Italy.
4 France and Sweden.
5 Austria, Netherlands, Portugal & Switzerland
India ranked at 86th Position.
World’s Safe city Economist Intelligence Unit Top 3 Cities:
index(SCI) for the sponsored by NEC 1. Tokyo(Japan)
year 2019 corporation 2. Singapore
3. Osaka.
Mumbai was ranked 45th safest city whereas
Delhi stood at the 52nd position.
REPORT
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“Building Better Vidhi centre Top-performing states in court infrastructure

Courts (Surveying facility:
the Infrastructure 1. Delhi (90%) and
of India's District 2. Kerala (84%)
Courts)” Poorest Performing states:
Bihar (26%) and Manipur (29%)
“Grain by Grain” for Minister for Environment It is a Green Rating Project (GRP) on the Indian
the year 2019 and Forests Prakash fertilizer industry conducted by the Centre for
Javadekar Science and Environment (CSE). It is regarded as
India’s only independent, rigorous and credible
programme of its kind. Read full details here: A
report Grain by Grain 2019 on Indian
fertilizer industry conducted by the CSE
released
Aqueduct Water World Resources Institute’s Report states that about 17 countries in the world
Risk Atlas (WRI) President and which hold a quarter of the earth's population is
CEO(Chief Executive Officer) facing extremely high water crisis. India is one among
Andrew Steer those 17 countries facing extremely high water
stress. All these countries are close to “Day Zero”.
“Top 100 Retailers Euromonitor International Top 3 Retailers in 2018:
in Asia 2019” Walmart Inc which acquired Flipkart in 2018($16 Bn
deal) with Gross Merchandise Volume(GMV) of $14.
49 Bn. Amazon(US) came on the second spot with
$9.8 Bn GMV followed by Mumbai based retail
company Future Group with $3.8Bn GMV(3rd
position) and Reliance Group(4th position ) with
$3.6 Bn GMV.
Report on Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister Top State:
Breastfeeding of Health and Family Manipur.Worst Performing State:
welfare Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar.The national
capital Delhi is also one among the worst-
performing states.
4th edition of Top LinkedIn Top 3 Companies:
Companies list for 1. Walmart acquired Flipkart was ranked first
India 2019 for best place as the best workplace in India.
workplace 2. Amazon and
3. Oyo
Climate Change and Intergovernmental Panel on Read full details here: IPCC Reports Land To Be
Land, an IPCC Climate Change (IPCC) A Critical Resource
special report on
climate change,
desertification, land
degradation,
sustainable land
management, food
security, and
greenhouse gas
fluxes in terrestrial
ecosystems
4th report of “Skin TRAFFIC It revealed that nearly 2000 tigers were poached
and Bones between 2000 and 2018 in India which is the
Unresolved: An home for more than half of the global tiger
Analysis of Tiger population (75%). Read full details here: 2019
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Seizures from Report By “TRAFFIC” Reveals 2000 Tigers

2000-2018” Poached Over The Past 19 Years
Composite Water NITI Aayog(National Top 3 States:
Management Index Institution for Transforming 1. Gujarat
2019” (CWMI 2.0) India) in association with 2. Andhra Pradesh
for the year 2017- Ministry of Jal Shakti and 3. Madhya Pradesh
2018 Ministry of Rural .
Development
"Special Report on Intergovernmental Panel on It is a draft of a major United Nations (UN) report
the Ocean and Climate Change (IPCC) obtained by AFP (Agence France-Presse), slated
Cryosphere in a for release Monaco on September 25, 2019. Read
Changing Climate full details here: IPCC "special report" on
(SROCC)" oceans and Earth's frozen zones warns of
rising seas, storm surges, melting permafrost
ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

Acquisitioner/Merger Netvalue(amount) Points to be Noted
Fynd, acquired by Reliance 2.95 Billion Indian rupees( Reliance industries will now
industries $42.33 million) own 87.6% stake in Fynd.
Microsoft acquired BlueTalon Undisclosed amount BlueTalon works with leading
Fortune 100 companies. It
helps enterprises to set
policies for how their
employees can access their
data. BlueTalon will become
part of the Azure Data
Governance group.
Dharmesh Mehta and other Undisclosed amount Both the entities entered into
investors bought 100% stake in an agreement to sell/acquire
IDFC Securities Ltd from IDFC the stake.
Financial Holding Company
(IDFC FHCL)
Amazon will acquire a 49% stake Undisclosed amount It will have both voting and
in Kishore Biyani-led Future non-voting shares. Future
Coupons Ltd Retail operates more than
1,500 stores in India. It owns
several supermarket brands
like Big Bazaar. With this,
amazon acquired around a 3.6
percent stake in the Future
group.
DEFENCE
EXERCISE’s:
Exercise Name Participating Countries Location
"Tsentr (centre) 2019" Shanghai Cooperation Orenburg, Russia
Organisation (SCO) Member
countries including India and
Pakistan
Multilateral Naval Exercise Visakhapatnam
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named ‘MILAN‘ 2020

14th Edition of KONKAN-19 India and Britain .Indian Navy’s South Coast of the United
Bilateral Navy Exercise INS Tarkash Participated Kingdom (UK)
Indo-USCG joint exercise Indian Coast Guards Shaurya and Chennai coast, Tamil Nadu
Abheek, and Chetak helicopter
along with Stratton took part in
an Indo-USCG joint exercise off
the Chennai coast.
Shaheen-VIII China and Pakistan(air forces) Holton, China close to the Indian
border of around 300 km north
of Ladakh, Jammu and
Kashmir(J&K). This is the 8th
such exercise undertaken by two
countries with the participation
of Chinese J10 & J-11 and
Pakistani JF-17s planes.
Testing:
Missile Name Location Features
Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Chandipur in Odisha It was developed by the Defence
Missile (QRSAM) Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) for the
India Army.
"Yasin", "Balaban" and a new Tehran The air-to-air missiles were
series of "Ghaem” developed jointly by the
Ministry of Defence of Iran and
Sa Iran, also known as Iran
Electronics Industries.
Ground-launched cruise missile San Nicolas Island in California, After the United States exited
United States (US). from the Intermediate-range
Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, The
Pentagon for the first time,
tested a conventionally
configured ground-launched
cruise missile with a range of
more than 500 kilometres (310
miles)
surface to surface(SSM) name Sonmiani flight test range of The Pakistan army successfully
“Ghaznavi” Balochistan test-fired its 290km range
surface to surface(SSM) name
“Ghaznavi”. It is developed by
National Development Complex
(NDC) which is a missile
developer for Pakistan army
headquartered at Fatehjang,
Punjab (Pakistan).
Other News Related to Defence:
Defence ministry extends benefits of Child Care Leave to single male service personnel
• Defence Minister of India, Rajnath Singh has approved the extension of Child Care Leave (CCL)
benefits to single male service personnel and further, the minimum period of CCL has been
reduced to 5 days instead of 15 days.
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DAC chaired by Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh approves acquisition of two Brahmos missile
batteries for Indian Navy
• The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh approved
the procurement of indigenous Software Defined Radio (SDR Tactical) worth Rs 1,100 crore
and Next-Generation Maritime Mobile Coastal Batteries (NGMMCB, Long Range) for the Indian
Navy worth Rs 1,247 crore. SDR is designed and developed by the Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO), Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Weapons Electronics
System Engineering Establishment (WESEE).
5th Fast Patrol Vessel- Kanaklata Barua, for Indian Coast Guard Launched By GRSE Kolkata
• The Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) which is a premier warship builder
based at Kolkata, launched the fifth Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) for the Indian Coast Guard(ICG)
named Kanaklata Barua. The mini Ratna Category 1 PSU(Public Sector Unit), GRSE, launched
the FPV at its Rajan Bagan Dockyard unit, Kolkata. Read full details here: 5th fast patrol
vessel- Kanaklata Barua,for Indian Coast Guard launched by GRSE Kolkata
Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh Approves Decisions Regarding Re-Organisation Of Army
Headquarters
• Union Minister for Defence Shri Rajnath Singh approved certain decisions regarding re-
organisation of Army Headquarters, based on a detailed internal study conducted by the Army
Headquarters (AHQ).
The decisions are:
 Separate Vigilance Cell under COAS
 An umbrella organisation under VCOAS for enhanced focus on human rights issues
 Re-location of 206 Army Officers from AHQ to Formations/Units of the Field Army.Read
full details here: Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh Approves Decisions
Regarding Re-Organisation Of Army Headquarters
DRDO hands over MMR design to the Indian army
• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) chairman, and Secretary of the
Department of Defence (Research & Development- R&D) G. Satheesh Reddy handed over the
design of the Mobile Metallic Ramp (MMR) to the Indian army in an event held at the DRDO
bhawan in New Delhi.It has been designed and developed by the Centre for Fire, Explosive and
Environment Safety (CFEES), which is DRDO’s premier research laboratory.
USCG Stratton arrives in Chennai port; Participates in the Indo-USCG joint exercise
• United States Coast Guard (USCG) ship Stratton on the maiden visit to India arrived at Chennai
port as a part of a goodwill visit. The Captain of USCG is Bob Little.
Critical components to India's Gaganyaan mission to be supplied by Russia
• India is in talks with Russia for a wider range of cooperation in the space sector to supply semi-
cryogenic engine technology and critical components for India’s first human space mission
Gaganyaan for the year 2021. India and Russia are expected to negotiate the contracts for the
Supply of crew seats, windows and spacesuits, crew rescue system, aerodynamic tests for the
2021 Gaganyaan mission. Read full details here: Critical Components To India’s Gaganyaan
Mission To Be Supplied By Russia
11th C-17 Globemaster III Transport Aircraft of Boeing, delivered to IAF
• American aerospace company Boeing has delivered its 11th C-17 Globemaster III Transport
Aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF) in order to boost the airlift requirements. It can carry
large combat equipment, troops and humanitarian aid across long distances in all weather
conditions.
Akademik Lomonosov: World's first floating nuclear reactor of Russia launched in Arctic
• The world's first floating nuclear reactor Akademik Lomonosov was launched by Russia on August 23,
2019, and had set up on a 5000 km journey to northeastern Siberia from Arctic port of Murmansk
(north Arctic region), and the trip is expected to last between 4-6 weeks depending on the ice amounts
and weather. Despite warnings by environmentalists the journey was started as the reactor is
vulnerable to storms and could also produce radioactive wastes.
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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Apps/Portals Launched:
Mobile apps/portal Launched by Purpose
Meghdoot Minister for Earth Science, It is developed by experts from
Science and Technology Dr. the India Meteorological
Harsh Vardhan Department (IMD) and Indian
Institute of Tropical
Meteorology(IITM) and the
Indian Council of Agricultural
Research(ICAR).
‘Uber for tractors’ Agricultural Ministry and the To aid farmers in accessing
Government of India cutting- edge technology at
affordable prices. Farmers can
book and hire agricultural
equipment and use them on
rent basis. Through this
initiative, small farmers will be
able to make use of tools
equipped with technology that
are expensive to own. Read full
details here: Govt. To Launch
New App ‘Uber For Tractors’
To Aid Farmers.
IndTokyo Arhan Bagati, Awareness and To help para-athletes to look up
Impact Ambassador of accessible places in Tokyo,
Paralympic Committee of India Japan during their visit to the
city for the 2020 Paralympics
Games.
Janaushadhi Sugam Union Minister for Chemicals It help in searching for outlets
and Fertilizers, Shri D.V. and generic medicines.
Sadananda Gowda Reduction in the cost of “Jan
Aushadhi Suvidha Oxo-
Biodegradable Sanitary Napkin”
was also announced. The
napkins will now be available at
Rs 1 per pad from its previous
amount of Rs 2.50.
Other Science and Technology News of National & International

Two new vaccines introduced to conduct India's first tuberculosis preventive trial
• India's first large scale trial for Two new TB vaccines, was launched by the Indian Council of
Medical Research (ICMR). The two drugs are IMMUVAC and VPM1002. The TB vaccine trial will
be carried out in 6 States involving more than 12000 healthy household contacts of newly
diagnosed TB patients with 2000 participants from each state. The six states are: Delhi,
Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana and Karnataka and will be implemented over the next 7-8
months.
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ISRO laid foundation stone for Space Situational Awareness Control Centre at Peenya,
Bengaluru
• Chairman of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Dr. K Sivan laid foundation stone for
Space Situational Awareness Control Centre at Peenya, Bengaluru, Karnataka which will host a
range of activities related to the protection of Indian space assets from inactive satellites,
pieces of orbiting objects, near-earth asteroids and adverse space weather conditions.
World's thinnest gold created by British Scientists
• Scientists from the University of Leeds, United Kingdom (UK), claim to have created the world’s
thinnest gold (periodic table representation of gold is Au) which is one million times thinner
than fingernail of human. As it appears to be green in the water, researchers named it gold
“nanoseaweed”. This paperwork was published in the journal Advanced Science. The lead
author of the study is author Sunjie Ye.
Three new exoplanets discovered by NASA’s TESS in a new planetary system TOI 270.
• The Transmitting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) of NASA has discovered 3 new planets
which are the smallest and nearest known to date. The planets include a small, rocky super-
Earth and 2 Sub-neptunes orbiting a dwarf star just 73 light-years away from our earth. A
paper describing the system was published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
Scientists from IIT-Kanpur develop a robotic hand to help paralyzed stroke patients
• The scientists at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Kanpur have developed the world's
first robot hand for the rehabilitation of stroke patients. It is a two-finger robotic hand
(exoskeleton) that uses a four-bar mechanism and has four degrees of freedom (DOF). It uses
brain signals, with the help of the brain-computer interface (BCI). It was developed by
Professor Ashish Dutta and Professor K S Venkatesh.
Researchers from China & US developed a new computer model to predict India's pollution
levels
• The team of researchers from China and the United States developed a new computer model
that can help accurately predict air pollution levels in the region a season in advance. The data
from El Niño and Antarctic Oscillation events can be used to predict air pollution levels in
northern India. The research was published in the journal Science Advances.
Flipkart launched ‘Samarth’ initiative to support weavers, artisans and makers of handicrafts
to its platform
• Anurag Thakur, Minister of State, Finance and Corporate Affairs and Kalyan Krishnamurthy,
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Flipkart Group launched ‘Samarth’, an initiative of Flipkart, to
support weavers, artisans, and makers of handicrafts to its platform.
NASA’s TESS satellite discovers first nearby super Earth
• A super-Earth was discovered by an international team of astronomers led by Lisa Kaltenegger
and is considered to be the first potentially habitable world outside our own solar system. The
super-Earth is named as GJ 357 d and it was discovered by NASA’s Translating Exoplanets
Survey Satellite (TESS) according to new modelling research in “Astrophysical Journal Letters”.
IIT Kharagpur researchers develop ‘zero loss’ process HTC for wet MSW management
• A research team from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur have developed a ‘zero
loss’ process called Hydro Thermal Carbonization (HTC) for the Indian conditions which can
effectively manage mixed Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) with high moisture content where
MSW can be converted into biofuel, soil amendment, and absorbents.
Rotavirus Vaccination Extended Across All States And UTs By September 2019
• Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, decided to provide Rotavirus
vaccine (RVV) to children across all states and Union Territories (UT) by September 2019
inorder to achieve the goal of ending morbidity and mortality in children due to diarrhoea by
2022. Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhoea in children of less than 2 years
of age. Read full details here: Rotavirus Vaccination Extended Across All States And UTs By
September 2019.
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Falcon 9 rocket launched by SpaceX carrying AMOS-17 satellite of Israel

• The US (United States) carrier rocket Falcon 9 carried Israel’s satellite AMOS-17 off the pad in
Florida, America. This is SpaceX’s 25th reflight of an orbit class rocket and also this booster’s
third flight. The communication satellite will be used by the US military and other govt. Leaders
for secure voice, video and data communications. It is a replacement for Amos-5.
Huawei launches its own Operating System HarmonyOS
• Huawei Technologies launched its own Operating System (OS) named HongMengOS in
Chinese/ HarmonyOS in English. The first version of the OS will be launched later in 2019 in its
smart screen products. It is a part of Huawei's play in the Internet of Things (IoT).
India's first clinical ecotoxicology facility inaugurated at AIIMS, Delhi
• India’s first-of-its-kind clinical ecotoxicology facility was inaugurated at the All India Institute
of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi. It will investigate the increasing number of diseases
resulting from exposure to environmental toxins contaminating water, food, and air. It will
provide diagnostic and research services to all the clinical departments dealing with diseases
due to ecotoxicity.
Astronomers discover massive black hole with mass of 40 billion suns.
• Astronomers from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Germany discovered a
Super Massive Black Hole (SMBH) with a mass of 40 billion suns (40 billion solar masses). The
findings of this SMBH is published in the Astrophysical Journal.
For the first time, IIT Madras records initial success by fabricating a rechargeable iron ion
battery
• For the first time, a team of Researchers led by Ramaprabhu Sundara at Indian Institute of
Technology(IIT) Madras has fabricated a rechargeable iron ion battery designed using mild
steel as the anode. The rechargeable iron ion battery is cost-effective and it will store a high
amount of energy in the battery & also displayed good stability with 54% capacity retention at
the end of 50 cycles.
IIT Hyderabad, NIT Jalandhar Researchers develop Bone Implant Materials From waste
Eggshells
• Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad and Dr. B R Ambedkar National Institute of
Technology (NIT) Jalandhar (Punjab) researchers have developed a process by which bone
implant materials can be synthesized from eggshells which are dumped as waste. The research
work done by the team was published in the March 2019 issue of the journal Ceramics
International.
IITM develops Multimodal Robotic System called “GraspMan” with a human-like grasp
• A team of researchers led by Asokan Thondiyath at Indian Institute of Technology Madras
(IITM) have developed a new class of Robotic System called “GraspMan’, which has a human
hand like grasping, manipulation and locomotion abilities. The research has been published in
Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics.
FDA of US approves PRETOMANID new drug for drug resistant TB
• The United States(US) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave approval to a new drug
named Pretomanid, for treating extensively drug-resistant Tuberculosis (XDR TB) which is
estimated to have a mortality rate of 60%. Pretomanid was developed by New York based non
profit organisation TB alliance. It is used as a combination of drugs along with bedaquiline and
linezolid collectively called as BPaL regimen.
China successfully launched a new rocket for commercial use named Smart Dragon-1
• A new rocket for commercial use named Smart Dragon-1 (SD-1) with 3 satellites, developed by
the China Rocket Company affiliated to the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology
(CALVT) was launched successfully from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest
China. 3 satellites were developed by 3 separate Beijing-based companies. They will be used
for remote sensing services, communication and Internet of Things (IoT).
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India Gets Its First NEDL Finalized By ICMR

• India has got its first National Essential Diagnostics List (NEDL) finalized by the Indian Council
of Medical Research (ICMR). The objective of the list is to bridge the current regulatory
system’s gap that does not cover all the medical devices and in-vitro diagnostic device (IVD).
With this, India became the first country to compile such a list. Read full details here: India
Gets Its First NEDL Finalized By ICMR
Scientists discovered a new pain-sensing organ in the skin
• Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have discovered a new mesh-like organ in the
skin that senses pain and able to detect painful mechanical damage such as pricks and
pressure. The study has been published in the journal, ‘Science’. The new two-cell receptor
sensory organ is made up of glial 'Schwann' cells with multiple long protrusions present below
the outer layer of skin (the epidermis).
Astronomers discovered a 2nd planet called 'B Pictoris c ' for Beta Pictoris star
• Astronomers at the Institute for Planetary sciences and Astrophysics, Grenoble, France (IPAG)
have discovered a 2nd planet called 'B Pictoris c'. It is roughly around 3,000 times more
massive than Earth. It orbits Beta Pictoris star, which is about nearly twice the mass of Sun and
lies about 63 light years away from Earth. The discovery was published in the journal Nature
Astronomy.
Membranes that can separate oil and water developed by IIT Guwahati researchers
• The researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, Assam invented two
distinct and special membranes that can separate oil and water, even under harsh conditions.
This development is expected to be used in applications of oil spill management. The work is
published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering journal.
Karnataka Government categorised Nicotine as “class A poison”
• The Government of Karnataka amended the Karnataka Poisons (Possession and Sale) Rules
2015 and notified Nicotine as “Class A poison” in order to strengthen the enforcement of the
ban on production and sale of electronic cigarettes. The new rules are called the Karnataka
Poisons (Possession and Sale) Rules, 2019.
NASA's MMS Mission took 1st high-resolution measurements of an interplanetary shock
• America's space agency, NASA’s (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
Magnetospheric Multiscale mission (MMS) has obtained 1st high-resolution measurements of
an interplanetary shock event. These shocks are launched from the Sun which continually
releases streams of charged particles called the solar wind, which has 2 types, slow and fast.
When a fast stream of solar wind overtakes a slower stream, it creates a shock wave. The
findings have been published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics.
US startup Cerebras Systems unveils World's largest processor with 1.2 trillion transistors
called Cerebras Wafer Scale Engine
• New artificial intelligence (AI) company Cerebras Systems based in United States(US) has
unveiled the world's largest single silicon-based processor, the Cerebras Wafer Scale Engine
(WSE) with 1.2 trillion transistors, the basic on-off electronic switches that are the building
blocks of silicon chips.
NASA confirms Europa Clipper Mission
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), United States (US) space agency, has
confirmed the next phase of development of the Europa Clipper Mission, an interplanetary
mission to Jupiter’s smallest moon Europa, with the target to launch by 2023. It will be
conducting an in-depth exploration of Jupiter’s moon Europa.
Russia successfully sent its First Humanoid Robot into space 'Fedor'
• Russia launched its first unmanned rocket carrying a life-size humanoid robot named 'Fedor'
(Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research) in Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft from Russia's
Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It will spend 10 days learning to assist astronauts on the
International Space Station (ISS).
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Amid increasing tensions with US, Iran unveils its new home-grown missile defence system, “
Bavar-373”
• The Iranian Defense Ministry has unveiled its new home-grown air defence system called
“Bavar-373” at a time of increasing tensions between Iran & United States(US) since US
President Donald Trump in 2018 withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal -2015 and
reimposed sanctions on Iran. It is a mobile surface-to-air missile system which means "believe"
in Farsi.
Ocean Power Classified As Renewable Energy By The Govt
• The proposal to declare ocean energy as renewable energy was approved by R K Singh,Power
and New & Renewable Energy Minister. According to the proposal, all forms of ocean energy,
such as tidal, wave, ocean thermal energy conversion, will now be considered as renewable
energy and also be eligible for meeting non-solar renewable purchase obligations (RPO). Read
full details here: Ocean Power Classified As Renewable Energy By The Govt
Prakash Javadekar inaugurates National Centre for Avian Ecotoxicology in Coimbatore, Tamil
Nadu
• The Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Information and Broadcasting
Minister Prakash Javadekar has inaugurated the National Centre for Avian Ecotoxicology at
Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural Sciences ((SACON) in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
The ministry also funded an amount of Rs 4 crore to the centre for modernization & to handle
the challenges posed by the continued entry of newer chemicals into the environment.
NASA named a rock on Mars in honour of the iconic English band, The Rolling Stones
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) named a rock on Mars in honour of the
iconic English band, The Rolling Stones. The team behind NASA's InSight lander has named a
Martian rock after the band: 'Rolling Stones Rock.' The InSight mission is led by NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
North Korea tests new 'super-large' multiple rocket launcher
• A newly developed “super-large multiple rocket launcher” as part of North Korea’s expanding
weapons arsenal (collection of weapons and military equipment) was test-fired and was
supervised by North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong-Un. This latest North Korean launch was
made two days after South Korea announced the possible termination of its intelligence-
sharing deal with Japan amid trade disputes between the US (United States) allies.
Satellite surveillance of ships planned between India and France
• India and France have formalized the development and launch of a unique constellation of
around 10 low-earth orbit satellites. It will continuously provide maritime surveillance and
security. The satellite-based Automatic Identification System (AIS) will detect, identify and
track a range of vessels moving in the Indian Ocean region and guard against aggression,
terrorism, piracy, smuggling, source of oil slicks and also be useful for rescues.
Intel launched its first artificial intelligence chip ‘Spring Hill'
• Intel Corp launched its latest processor named ‘Spring Hill' or Nervana NNP (neural network
processor) -I 1000, at the HotChips 2019 symposium for high-performance chips at Stanford
University in California, United States. It is Intel’s first artificial intelligence (AI) chip.
IIT-Guwahati Researchers developed lab grown meat
• Researchers from the IIT-Guwahati (Assam), have developed a fully grown meat in their
Biomaterial and Tissue Engineering laboratory. Claimed to be natural, the meat is formulated
and is applied for patent rights for production. Also, it has improvised nutritional values as per
customer needs.
MIT scientists developed biggest-ever carbon nanotube computer chip- RV16XNano
• Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, USA, have developed
the biggest-ever computer chip using carbon nanotubes (CNT)- RV16XNano. This was
published in the journal Nature. RV16X-Nano is a 16-bit processor that contains 14,000
transistors — electronic switches. These switches are made up of CNT — tiny cylinders made
of rolled-up, atom-thick sheets of graphene.
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ENVIRONMENT
Remains of the world's largest bird "Heracles inexpectatus" on earth discovered

• Remains of the World's largest parrot that lived 19 million years ago have been discovered in
New Zealand which is well known for giant birds. It is nicknamed as "Squawkzilla". The report
on this bird has been published in the latest edition of Biology Letters. This flightless bird has
been named as Heracles inexpectatus reflecting the Herculean myth of size and strength and
unexpected nature of discovery.
Gogabeel, an ox-bow lake in Bihar declared as the state’s first ‘Community Reserve’
• Gogabeel, an ox-bow lake (measures 88 hectares ) in Katihar district of Bihar has been declared
as state’s 1st ‘Community Reserve’. Gogabeel, which is the 15th Protected Area (PA) in Bihar, is
formed from the flow of the rivers Mahananda and Kankhar in the north and the Ganga in the
south and east.
Giant river animals face the danger of being extinct
• As per the report named, "The global decline of freshwater megafauna", the giant river animals
that once were in huge numbers have been reduced to a great extent in the last 50 years. This
was published in the journal Global Change Biology. It is stated in the journal that the majority
of the giant freshwater animal species are prone to extinction.
Researchers of RGU in Arunachal Pradesh discovered 5 new fish species
• Researchers from the Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU), Arunachal Pradesh have discovered 5
new fish species in various districts of the state.
Fish species Place
Mystus prabini Sinkin and Dibang rivers in Lower Dibang
valley district.
Exostoma kottelati Ranga river in Lower subansiri district
Creteuchiloglanis tawangensis Tawangchu river in Tawang district
Garra ranganensis Ranga river
Physoschistura harkishorei Dibang and Lohit rivers in lower Dibang
valley district.
Earth has lost 53% of its wildlife since 1970: WWF report
• According to the first-ever global assessment of forest biodiversity, “Below the Canopy:
Plotting Global Trends in Forest Wildlife Populations” by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF),
the number of forest wildlife populations have declined on average by 53% since 1970 due to
Habitat loss and degradation, over exploitation and Climate change. Read full details here:
Earth Has Lost 53% Of Its Wildlife Since 1970: WWF Report
India is the top emitter of sulfur dioxide (SO2) in the world: Greenpeace
• According to a data released by a non-governmental environmental organization, Greenpeace,
India is the world’s top emitter of anthropogenic sulphur dioxide(SO2) in the world with more
than 15% of all the SO2 hotspots, tracked by NASA’s (National Aeronautics and Space
Administration) OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) satellite. The name of the report is
"Global SO2 emission hotspot database: Ranking the world’s worst sources of SO2 pollution". It
is written by Sunil Dahiya and Lauri Myllyvirta. Read full details here: India is the top emitter
of sulfur dioxide (SO2) in the world: Greenpeace
WWF and Discovery tie up with forest directorate to preserve Sundarbans
• Discovery India and World Wide Fund (WWF) India have tied up with the Forest Directorate,
the government of West Bengal and local communities in the Sundarbans. It is done as a move
to protect the Sundarbans- the mangrove forest, habitat of Bengal tigers, to reduce the tiger-
human conflict and also as part of a global movement “Project CAT -Conserving Acres for
Tigers”.
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World bank reports economic growth to be affected by water pollution

• According to the World Bank report- “Quality Unknown: The Invisible Water Crisis”,one-third
of the potential economic growth will be affected in heavily water polluted areas leading to
invisible crisis of water quality. Nitrogen which is used as a fertilizer in agriculture, affects the
water system by entering rivers, lakes and oceans and finally transforming into nitrates. Read
full details here: World Bank Reports Economic Growth To Be Affected By Water
Pollution
Nations around the world moved to protect giraffes as endangered species
• At the global meeting on endangered species, the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) 2019, in Geneva, Switzerland, CITES
member nations have agreed to protect giraffes for the 1st time, which draws the praise from
conservationists.
7 new species of insects that can walk on water discovered
• The journal ‘Zootaxa’ has published about 7 new species of insects that can walk or run on the
surface of the water. This was discovered by scientists of the ‘Zoological Survey of India’.
Rare Peacock Parachute Spider spotted in Pakkamalai Reserve in Villupuram district of Tamil
Nadu
• A team of researchers at the Puducherry-based Indigenous Biodiversity Foundation (IBF) have
discovered Peacock Parachute Spider, a deeply endangered species of tarantula for the 1st time
beyond its natural habitat in the Eastern Ghats. It was found resting in a cave in Pakkamalai
Reserve Forests near Gingee in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu(TN).
SPORTS
Sports/Tournament Title Winner Points to be Noted

Formula 1 Hungarian grand prix Mercedes’ Lewis He outpaced max verstappen to
Hamilton the second spot. Ferrari’s
Sebastian Vettel and Charles
Leclerc took third and fourth spot
respectively.
2019 Belt and Road China Hunan Surya Shekar Ganguly The runner up was Yu Yangyi
International tournament held in from China as Ganguly was half a
Hunan province, China point more than Yangyi.
Tbilisi Grand Prix 2019 held in Bajrang Punia He won gold in 65kg men’s
Tbilisi, Georgia freestyle competition at Tbilisi
Grand Prix 2019 against Iran's
Peiman Bibyani by 2-0. The event
was held at the New Sports
Palace, Tbilisi, Georgia and was
organised by the Georgian
Wrestling Federation.
3rd edition of Ultimate Table Tennis Chennai Lions Chennai Lions team was led by
(UTT) 2019 played at Thyagaraj Sharath Kamal where Dabang
Stadium in New Delhi Delhi led by Sathiyan
Gnansekaran.Chennai Lions has
captured the title for the 1st time
by defeating defending champions
Dabang Delhi with (8–1) scores.
Medved event 2019 in Minsk, Vinesh Phogat Vinesh Phogat won Silver medal.
Belarus She suffered a 0-10 (technical
superiority) defeat against N
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Malisheva of Russia. She had won

3 consecutive gold medals at the
Grand Prix of Spain, Yasar Dogu
International and Poland Open in
2019.
Junior World Championships 2019 Deepak Punia He won gold in 86-kg junior
at Tallinn, Estonia freestyle category by beating Alik
Shebzukhov of Russia at the
Junior World Championships
2019 at Tallinn, Estonia. In the
92kg, Vicky Chahar defeated
Mongolia's Batmagnai
Eenkhtuvshin and claimed the
bronze medal.
2019 US (United States) Gymnastics Simone Arianne Biles Biles became the first woman in
Championships held at Kansas City, the world to make a “triple-
Missouri, US double” floor exercise landing
which is a finale featuring two
flips and three twists
UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) Cyclists Esow Alben, India’s Men’s team defeated
Junior Track Cycling World Ronaldo Singh and Rojit Australia men’s team in sprint
Championships 2019 held in Singh event & won gold
Frankfurt, Germany
5th edition of 'International Army Indian Army team won Indian Army was trained under the
Scout Masters Competition 2019’ the event aegis of Southern Command. Read
held in Jaisalmer Military Station, full details here: Indian Army
Rajasthan Emerged As The Winner In 5th
‘International Army Scout Masters
Competition’2019
2019 Bombay Gymkhana Youth Kreishh Gurbaxani He defeated Odisha’s Asutosh
Snooker Open title Padhy for 5-4 in the 4-hour final
contest. The winner, Kreishh, was
awarded the champion's trophy
and a cheque of Rs 30,000.
Athleticky Mitink Reiter Event 2019 Hima Das won gold in Mohammad Anas won gold in
in the Czech Republic women’s 300 m men’s 300 m
Dolo-650 Bangalore Cup All India Indian Oil Corporation They defeated the Army XI by 5-0.
Hockey Tournament 2019 Ltd (IOCL) It was the second title for IOCL in
a fortnight after Bangalore Super
Division 2019. It was the 4th
Edition of the tournament held at
the Field Marshal KM Cariappa
Hockey Arena, Bangalore.
Olympic test event for hockey held Indian Hockey teams “READY STEADY TOKYO” is the
at Oi Hockey Stadium, Tokyo, Japan (Men & Women) won the official brand name and logo for
event the test events Tokyo 2020. The
name of the hockey test event was
"READY STEADY TOKYO -
Hockey". It was organized by the
Tokyo Organising Committee of
the Olympic & Paralympic Games.
19th Paris Brest-Paris circuit (PBP) Anil Puri He became the first serving
Lieutenant General-rank officer of
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2019 the Indian Army to complete 1200

km of France's oldest and toughest
cycle competition. He achieved this
feat by cycling non-stop for 90 hours
without sleeping.
2019 World Archery Youth India won 2 golds and 1  Raginee Markoo and Singh
Championships held in Madrid, bronze Sukhbeer won India’s first gold
Spain medal to win India’s first
compound junior mixed teamgold
medal at the Madrid.
 The second gold to india was
earned by Komalika Bari.
Read full details here: India wins
two gold at the 2019 World
Archery Youth Championships
held in Madrid, Spain
2019 GoPro British Grand Prix Alex Rins Marc Marquez won the second
MotoGP race at Silverstone circuit, prize.
United Kingdom(UK)
Women’s 400m race in VK Vismaya(gold) She finished the race in 52.12s
International Athletic Meeting – which was her personal best.
Josef Seckar Memorial (MJS) in
Brno, Czech Republic
555 kms long 10th edition of ‘La Ashish Kasodekar He became the 1st Indian to
Ultra The High’ marathon 2019 held complete the 555 kms long race.
in Ladakh, Jammu, and Kashmir Ashish came in 3rd at 126 hrs 18 min
(J&K) to finish the distance.
45th Edition of the World Skills The Indian team won 1 Gold, 1 Silver
International Competition for the and 2 Bronze medals along with 15
year 2019, a biennial event, was Medallions of Excellence at the
held at Kazan Expo International competition. Read full details here:
45th World Skills International
Exhibition Centre, Kazan, Russia
Competition For 2019 Held At
Kazan, Russia
Badminton
Women singles ranking by Badminton World Federation:
 Akane Yamaguchi(Japan) topped the ranking.
 PV Sindhu(5th spot) and Saina Nehwal(8th spot).
Men singles ranking by Badminton World Federation:
 Kento Momota(Japan) topped the ranking.
 India’s Kidambi Srikanth and Sameer Verma are ranked 10th and 13th respectively.
Overview of Toyota Thailand Open (Badminton) 2019:
• Toyota Thailand Open (Badminton) 2019 was held at Indoor Stadium Huamark in Bangkok,
Thailand from July 30 to August 4, 2019. It was the sixteenth tournament.
List of Winners:
Category Winner Runner
Men’s Chou Tien-chen (Taiwan) Angus Ng Ka Long (Hong
Singles Kong)
Women’s Chen Yufei (China) Ratchanok Intanon
Singles (Thailand)
Men’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Li Junhui & Liu Yuchen
Doubles Chirag Shetty (India) (China)
Women’s Shiho Tanaka & Koharu Du Yue & Li Yinhui
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Doubles Yonemoto (Japan) (China)

Mixed Wang Yilü & Huang Dongping Yuta Watanabe & Arisa
Doubles (China) Higashino (Japan)
Overview of Hyderabad Open (Badminton) 2019
• The Hyderabad Open (Badminton) 2019, officially known as IDBI Federal Life Insurance
Hyderabad Open 2019, was held at G.M.C. Balayogi SATS Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad, India
from August 6 -11, 2019. The total prize money of the tournament was $75,000.
Men’s Sourabh Verma (India) Loh Kean Yew (Singapore)
Singles
Women’s Yeo Jia Min (Singapore) An Se-young (South Korea)
Singles
Men’s Muhammad Shohibul Fikri Na Sung-seung & Wang Chan
Doubles & Bagas Maulana (Indonesia) (South Korea)
Women’s Baek Ha-na & Jung Kyung-eun Ashwini Ponnappa & N Sikki
Doubles (South Korea) Reddy (India)
Mixed Cheah Yee See & Hoo Pang Ron Mychelle Crhystine Bandaso &
Doubles (Malaysia) Adnan Maulana (Indonesia)
Overview of Total 2019 BWF World Championships
• Total 2019 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships, an annual tournament was
held from August 19-25, 2019 at St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland. It was the 25th Edition.B. Sai
Praneeth became the first Indian male shuttler in 36 years to secure a medal in the BWF World
Championships. He won bronze.PV Sindhu became the first Indian to win gold in the BWF World
Championships.
Men’s Singles Kento Momota (Japan) Anders Antonsen (Denmark)
Women’s Singles PV Sindhu (India) Nozomi Okuhara (Japan)
Men’s Doubles Mohammad Ahsan & Hendra Takuro Hoki & Yugo Kobayash
Setiawan (Indonesia) (Japan)
Women’s Doubles Mayu Matsumoto & Wakana Yuki Fukushima & Sayaka
Nagahara (Japan) Hirota (Japan)
Mixed Doubles Zheng Siwei & Huang Yaqiong Dechapol Puavaranukroh &
(China) Sapsiree
Taerattanachai(Thailand)
Bulgarian Junior International Indian junior shuttlers won Gold:
Championships 2019 held at Sports 6 medals- 3 gold, 1 silver, 1. Samiya Imad
Hall "Vasil Levski", Pazardzhik, and 2 bronze Faruqui(Women’s Singles)
Bulgaria 2. Edvin Joy and Shruti
Mishra(Mixed doubles)
3. Tanisha Crasto and Aditi
Bhattwon(Women’s doubles).
Silver:
1. Ishan Bhatnagar and
Vishnuvardhan(Men’s doubles)
Bronze:
1. Malvika Bansod (Women’s
singles)
2. Meiraba Luwang(Men’s
Singles)
2019 Badminton World Federation Ajith Haridas and Vijay
(BWF) World Senior Lancy won Men’s Doubles
Championships, officially YONEX
BWF World Senior Badminton
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Championships Katowice 2019 held

in Spodek, Katowice, Poland
Boxing
Magomed Salam Umakhanov Indian boxers claimed 6 Gold:
Memorial International Boxing medals at the Lovlina Borgohain (69kg), Neeraj
Tournament 2019 was held in tournament- 2 golds, 1 (57kg).
Kaspiysk, Russia silver, and 3 bronze Silver: Gaurav Solanki.
Bronze: Pooja Rani (75kg),
Govind Sahani (49Kg) and Jony
(60Kg).
3rd Nation”s Cup 2019 held in India’s junior women 4 Gold medal winner:
Sports Hall ,Vrbas, Serbia boxers team has clinched Tamanna(Haryana)-48
12 medals(4 gold, 4 silver kg,Ambeshori Devi(Manipur)-57
and 4 bronze medals) kg,Preeti Dahiya(Haryana)-60
kg,Priyanka (Haryana)-66 kg
Read full details here: India’s
Junior Women Boxers Win 12
Medals Including 4 Gold At 3rd
Nations’ Cup 2019 Held In
Serbia
Cricket
Under-19 Tri-Series 2019 India India defeated Bangladesh in
Title(India, Bangladesh and finals by 6 wickets at the County
England) in England Ground, Hove in the United
Kingdom (UK) and clinched the
Under-19 Tri-Series 2019 Title.
T20 Physical Disability (PD) World India The tournament was organized by
Cricket Series 2019 held in the England and Wales Cricket
Worcester, England Board (ECB). 6 teams- India,
Pakistan, Afghanistan, England,
Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe had
participated in the tournament.
India tops the test rankings released by ICC

ICC Test batsmen rankings ICC Test bowler rankings ICC test all rounder rankings
Virat Kohli (India) Pat Cummins (Australia) Jason Holder(West Indies)
Steve Smith ( Australia) Kagiso Rabada (South Africa) Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh)
Kane Williamson ( New James Anderson (England) Ravindra Jadeja( India)
Zealand) Vernon Philander (South Ben Stokes (England)
Cheteshwar Pujara (India) Africa)
Former New Zealand all rounder cricketer Daniel Vettori’s jersey no.11 announces retirement
• Cricketing board for Kiwi players announced that Jersey no. 11 of New Zealand all-
rounderDaniel Vettori has been retired at the age of 40. Vettori has played over 291 ODI (One
day international) matches and 113 Tests for New Zealand.
Former New Zealand Captain Brendon McCullum announces retirement from all forms of
cricket
• Former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, aged 37, has announced retirement from all
forms of cricket. He will retire after the conclusion of the ongoing Global T20 Canada, which
will be played against Montreal Tigers on August 11, 2019. He plays for Toronto Nationals. He
has played 101 Tests, 260 One Day Internationals-ODIs (6,083 runs with 5 hundred) and 71
Twenty20 (T20) Internationals.
South Africa's leading wicket-taker Dale Steyn announces retirement from test cricket
79 | P a g e
• 36-year-old South Africa's Wicket taker DaleSteyn who made his test debut in 2004
announced retirement from test cricket, and has so far taken 439 wickets in 93 tests. The
reason for his retirement is to prolong his playing career. Currently, Dale Steyn is in 8th
position in the all-time test bowling list and took 26 five-wicket hauls.
Steve Smith becomes second fastest to score 25 test centuries overtaking Virat Kohli
• Former Australian captain Steve Smith has overthrown Indian Skipper Virat Kohli to become
the second-fastest batsman to score 25 test centuries during the second innings of the first
Ashes test match against England. The chart is topped by Australian cricketer, Sir Don
Bradman. Smith recorded this feat in his 119th innings whereas Sir Don Bradman achieved
this feat in just 68 innings.
South African cricketer Hashim Amla retires from international cricket
• South African batsman Hashim Amla, aged 36, announced his retirement from all forms of
international cricket. He will pay for domestic cricket and the Mzansi Super League in South
Africa. He is the only South Africa batsman to score a triple century — 311 not out against
England at The Oval in 2012.
BCCI agreed to come under the jurisdiction of NADA: Sports Secretary
• The Indian Sports Secretary, Radheshyam Jhulaniya stated that the Board of Control for
Cricket in India (BCCI) has agreed to come under the jurisdiction of the anti-doping watchdog,
National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) after years of resisting the move. BCCI calling itself an
autonomous body, and was against the signing up with NADA for a period of time. The Indian
cricket board decided in march 2019 to work with the country's anti-doping agency on a trial
period of 6 months.
Thailand women's cricket team rewrites world record for most consecutive wins in T20I
• The Women’s Cricket team of Thailand rewrote a world record by winning 17th successive
T20 international match and surpassed the record held by Australian Women (16 victories).
They won the match against the Netherlands in the fifth match of an ongoing quadrangular
series in the Netherlands. The other 2 teams of the quadrangular series are Ireland and
Scotland.
Uttarakhand gets full member status in the BCCI by CoA
• The Cricket Association of Uttarakhand (CAU) have been granted full membership in the BCCI
(Board of Control for Cricket in India) by the Committee of Administrators (CoA). This
membership grant brought an end to long-standing dispute among Uttarakhand Cricket
Association(UKCA), United Cricket Association ( UTCA), Uttaranchal Cricket Association
(UCA) and the CAU vying for BCCI affiliation.
Ireland women’s cricket team makes record-breaking performance-makes two records
against the Netherlands
Ireland women's cricket team made two records in the 2019 Netherlands Women’s
Quadrangular series against the Netherlands held at Sportpark Het Schootsveld cricket
ground in Deventer, the Netherlands from August 8-14, 2019.
First record:
 Ireland which won the toss and elected to bat first made the highest opening stand in
the T20 Internationals.
Second record:
 It also made history by posting the highest T20Internationals score made by a team.
They scored 213-4 from 20 overs.
New transgender-inclusive policy to include transgender player in cricket unveiled by cricket
Australia
• Cricket Australia took a revolutionary move announcing new guidelines with the
International Cricket Council’s (ICC) gender recognition policy to include transgender players
to play cricket. The transgender players willing to play for the state and national women’s
team will have to undergo a test to verify the testosterone level limit set out in the policy.
NZ’s Tim Southee equals India’s Sachin Tendulkar’s record
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• New Zealand's fast bowler Tim Southee now equaled former Indian cricketer Sachin
Tendulkar's record tally of sixes in Test cricket, on the first day of the Test match between
Srilanka and New-Zealand that was held at Galle, Srilanka. Both Tendulkar and Southee have
made 69 sixes in the Test cricket. Tendulkar had 69 sixes in 329 innings. But Tim Southee
made it in just 89 innings.
Ravi Shastri re-appointed as head coach of Indian men's cricket team
• Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) headed by Kapil Dev, former Indian cricketer, unanimously
re-appointed Ravi Shastri as the head coach of the Indian men's cricket team for 2 years,
ending with the 2021 T20 (Twenty 20) World Cup in India. It will be Shastri's fourth stint
with the national team, earlier, having served as the Cricket Manager (2007 tour of
Bangladesh), Team Director (2014-2016) and head coach (2017-2019).
Australian cricketer Marnus Labuschagne becomes first concussion substitute
• Australia's Marnus Labuschagne born in South Africa became the first person to replace as a
concussion substitute in Test cricket. He replaced Steve Smith who suffered a delayed
concussion caused by a blow on the back of the neck by England's Jofra Archer's bowling
during the second match of 2019 Ashes Series in Lord's, London.
BCCI announces a reduction in ban period to 7 years ending in 2020 for cricketer S Sreesanth
• BCCI Ombudsman DK Jain has ordered for the reduction in the ban of Indian cricketer
Shanthakumaran Sreesanth (S. Sreesanth), who was alleged in a match-fixing scandal in
2013. His ban period is now lowered to 7 years by the Supreme Court (SC) which will end by
September 2020 setting aside the BCCI disciplinary committee’s order banning him for a
lifetime.
Former Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson has been made an honorary life member of
MCC
• The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) stated that Former Australian fast bowler Mitchell
Johnson (37) has been elected as an Honorary Life Member of the MCC, the custodian of the
rules of cricket, during the second Test between Australia and England of 2019 Ashes Series at
Lords's London.
Russell Domingo appointed as the new head coach of Bangladesh
• Russell Domingo was appointed as the head coach of Bangladesh, replacing Steve Rhodes
(English cricket coach and former cricketer) by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). Russel
will remain as the head coach for the next two years.
Vikram Rathour is India’s new batting coach

• Former opener Vikram Rathour, aged 50, was appointed as India's new batting coach. He
succeeds Sanjay Bangar. Bharath Arun and R Sridhar retained as bowling and fielding coaches
respectively.
Paytm to continue as BCCI title sponsor till 2023 for Rs 326.8 crore
• The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Rahul Johri
announced that Paytm will continue as the title sponsor of the Indian cricket board’s domestic
and international matches for the next five years i.e till 2023. The bid from One 97
Communications, holding company of Paytm, was the winning bid for Rs 326.80 crore.
Dream 11, Hyundai and ACC Cement secure BCCI Partners’ Rights for the next 4 years
• The National governing body for cricket, BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India, Mumbai)
has stated that Sporta Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (Dream11), LafargeHolcim (ACC Cement and
Ambuja Cement) and Hyundai Motor India Ltd. have acquired the official partners' rights for
its international and domestic matches set to take place from 1st September 2019 - 31st
March 2023.
Feroz Shah Kotla Cricket Ground in Delhi is set to be renamed as Arun Jaitley Stadium
• The governing body of Cricket activities in the Delhi state, the Delhi and District Cricket
Association (DDCA) has decided to rename the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi as Arun
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Jaitley Stadium in the memory of the cricket body's former president who passed away on
August 24, 2019. He served as the president of the DDCA from 1999 to 2013.
West Indies bowler Cecil Wright announces retirement at the age of 85
• West Indies cricket player Cecil Wright with a career spanning 60 years, announced his
retirement from all forms of cricket at the age of 85. He will play his last match representing
Uppermill cricket club (England), against Pennine League Side Springhead cricket club of
England on September 7, 2019.
Virat Kohli tops & Jasprit Bumrah enters top 10 in latest ICC test rankings
• Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli ranks 1st in the latest ICC (International Cricket Council)
Test rankings released on August 27, 2019, with 910 points whereas Indian bowler Jasprit
Bumrah made his maiden entry into the top 10 rankings placed at 7th spot with 774 points.
ICC test bowler ranking topped by Pat Cummins (Australia) and, ICC test all-rounder ranking
grabbed by Jason Holder (West Indies).
SL cricketer Ajantha mendis retires from all forms of cricket
• Srilankan cricketer Ajantha Mendis(34), who made his debut in 2008, announced his
retirement from all forms of cricket on August 28, 2019. He was Famous for his “carrom ball”.
He snapped 70 wickets in 19 Tests, 152 in 87 ODIs and 66 in 39 T20Is.
Kerala all-rounder Jalaj Saxena has become the 1st Indian cricketer to sets rare record in
Indian first-class cricket history
• Jalaj Saxena (32), an Indian cricketer who plays as an all-rounder for Kerala has set a big
record in first-class cricket by becoming the only cricketer to score 6044 runs in first-class
cricket, as well as 305 wickets and still not have played for Team India. The record was made
during the 58th season of Duleep Trophy 2019–20 match between India Red and India Blue
played at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, Karnataka.
Football
44th UEFA Super Cup 2019 at Liverpool Chelsea
the Vodafone Park, Istanbul,
Turkey
U 14 Subroto Cup International Saidan Secondary School of They defeated defending
Football tournament title 2019 Mizoram champions Unique Model
in New Delhi Academy, Manipur. It is Asia’s
largest youth football
tournament.
2019 Durand cup (129th Gokulam Kerala Football Mohun Bagan team of West
edition) match held at Salt Lake club(FC) Bengal was the runner
Stadium in Kolkata up.Kerala lifted the title for the
second time in the 131 year
history of the oldest football
tournament in Asia. Read full
details here: Gokulam Kerala
FC wins 129th edition of
Durand Cup (2019) defeating
Mohun Bagan to win the title
Four footballers slapped with life bans for match-fixing in Asian Football Cup tournaments
• Four football players have been banned for life by AFC (Asian Football Confederation, the
governing body of association football in Asia and Australia ) for match-fixing at the AFC Cup
in the year of 2017 and 2018. The four players include Kursanbek Sheratov, Vladimir
Verevkin and Iliaz Alimov (all Kyrgyzstan ), and Abdulaziz Mahkamov (Tajikistan).
Netherlands most capped footballer Wesley Sneijder announces retirement
• Former Real Madrid professional footballer, Wesley Sneijder (35) of Netherlands has
announced his retirement from football after arranging a business deal with Dutch football
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club FC Utrecht.
FIFA bans former Nigeria coach Samson Siasia for lifetime
• FIFA’s (Federation Internationale de Football Association) adjudicatory chamber of the
independent ethics committee banned former Nigeria coach of Nigeria Football Federation
(NFF), Samson Siasia, aged 52, for a lifetime as he was found guilty of a violation of the FIFA
Code of Ethics. He had breached Article 11 (Bribery) of the 2009 edition of the FIFA Code of
Ethics.
Former Chelsea footballer Ashley Cole retires from football
• Former Chelsea, Arsenal, and England football player Ashley Cole aged 38, announced his
retirement from football, ending his 20-year playing career. It is expected that he would be
pursuing a career in coaching. In 687 games throughout his career, he scored 20 goals and
made 69 assists and won UEFA team of the year twice for Arsenal and Chelsea.
Odisha’s Kalinga Stadium gets provisional clearance to be the 1st venue for 2020 FIFA U-17
Women’s World Cup
• Kalinga Stadium of Bhubaneswar, Odisha was named as the first venue for the upcoming
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) U-17 Women’s World Cup India
2020 after getting provisional clearance. The stadium will be ratified by FIFA at the final
inspection by the end of this year and then the city will be confirmed as a Host City for the
World Cup.
Tennis
Under- 12 Asian Tennis Team India defeated Chinese Taipei The final was a tie of three
Championship 2019 held in matches - 2 singles and one
Kazakhstan double. India won both the
singles matches but lost the
doubles match.
Serbian tennis player, Novak Djokovic remain at top of ATP rankings

• According to the recently released ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) rankings as of
August 12, 2019, Serbian professional tennis player, Novak Djokovic remains at the top
position by collecting 12,325 points in the list, a huge lead over the 2nd placed Rafael Nadal
on 7,945 points.
Overview of Cincinnati Masters/ Western & Southern Open 2019

• The Cincinnati Masters/ Western & Southern Open 2019 was held from August 12-18, 2019 at
the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, a northern suburb of Cincinnati, in the United
States. It was the 118th men's edition and the 91st women's edition.
Men’s Daniil Medvedev (Russia) David Goffin (Belgium)
Singles
Women’s Madison Keys (America) Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia)
Singles
Men’s Ivan Dodig (Croatia) & Filip Juan Sebastián Cabal & Robert
Doubles Polášek (Slovakia) Farah (Colombia)
Women’s Lucie Hradecká (Czech Anna-Lena Grönefeld (Germany)
Doubles Republic) & Andreja Klepač & Demi Schuurs (Netherlands)
(Slovakia)
Overview of 2019 Rogers Cup/Canadian Open
• 2019 Rogers Cup/ Canadian Open presented by National Bank of Canada was held from
August 5-11, 2019. The Men’s tournament was held at IGA Stadium, Montreal, Quebec, Canada,
and Women’s tournament was held at Aviva Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was the
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139th edition of Men’s tournament with prize money of $5.7 million and 128th Edition of
Women’s tournament with prize money of $2.8 million.
Men’s Rafael Nadal (Spain) Daniil Sergeyevich Medvedev
Singles (Russia)
Women’s Bianca Vanessa Andreescu Serena Williams (America)
Singles (Canada)
Men’s Marcel Granollers (Spain) & Robin Haase & Wesley Koolhof
Doubles Horacio Zeballos (Argentina) (Netherlands)
Women’s Barbora Krejčíková & Kateřina Anna-Lena Groenefel (Germany)
Doubles Siniaková (Czech Republic) & Demi Schuurs (Netherlands)
Overview of Washington Open (Citi Open) 2019
• The Washington Open (Citi Open) 2019 was held at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center
in Washington DC, United States from July 29- August 4, 2019. It was the 51st Edition for
Men’s Category & 9th Edition for Women’s Category.
Men’s Nick Kyrgios (Australia) Daniil Medvedev (Russia)
Singles
Women’s Jessica Pegula (America) Camila Giorgi (Italy)
Singles
Men’s Raven Klaasen (South Africa) Jean-Julien Rojer
Doubles & Michael Venus (New (Netherlands) & Horia
Zealand) Tecău (Romania)
Women’s Cori Gauff & Caty McNally Maria Sanchez (America) &
Doubles (America) Fanny Stollar (Hungary)
Overview of 2019 BWF Para-Badminton World Championships
• The 2019 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Para-Badminton World Championships was
held from August 20-25, 2019 at St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland. It was the 12th edition
of the tournament. China topped the list of the medal with a total of 13 medals (7 Gold, 3
Silver & 3 Bronze), followed by Indonesia with 10 medals (4 Gold, 2 Silver & 4 Bronze) and
India with 12 medals (3 Gold, 4 Silver & 5 Bronze).
Indian Winners- Gold medal:
 In the Men’s Singles Standing Sport Classes – SL 3, Pramod Bhagat won gold.
 In the Men’s Doubles Standing Sport Classes – SL 3, SL 4 Pramod Bhagat & Manoj
Sarkar clinched gold.
 In the Women’s Singles Standing Sport Classes – SL 3, Manasi Girishchandra Joshi won
the gold.
Wrestling
Vinesh Phogat won 3rd successive gold in women’s 53kg category in Poland Open Wrestling
Tournament in Warsaw
• 24-year-old Vinesh Phogat won her 3rd consecutive gold in women’s 53kg category in the
Poland Open Wrestling Tournament in Warsaw, the capital of Poland. She defeated wrestler
Roksana of Poland by 3-2. She had won gold at the Grand Prix of Spain and at the Yasar Dogu
International at Istanbul, Turkey in July 2019.
WWE star Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson officially announces his retirement from wrestling
• An American actor, producer, and a professional wrestler, Dwayne Johnson(47), popularly
known by his ring name “The Rock” has officially announced his retirement from World
Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) while he did not rule out the possibility of a comeback in
future.
Other Sports News
Legendary Aussie athlete Sally Pearson announces her retirement
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• Former Olympic champion and Australia’s most awarded athlete, Sally Pearson(32) has
announced her retirement after suffering from persistent injuries throughout the past year.
She won the 8 major championship medals for Australia throughout her 16-year career.
Pearson won gold at the 2012 London Olympic Games in the 100m hurdles as well as a silver
medal in the 100m hurdles at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2013 World
Championships.
After 7 years, Indian men's 20km race walk team win upgraded bronze
• Athletics Federation of India (AFI) stated that after the Indian men’s 20km race walk team
had finished 4th in the IAAF World Race Walking Cup held back in 2012 at Saransk, Russia,
they have now (2019) been awarded the upgraded bronze medal position following the
disqualification of a member (Ruslan Dmytrenko )of the second-placed Ukrainian team for
dope violation.
Bangalore will host the 10th AASF Asian Age Group Championships 2019 for the 1st time
• For the first time, Bangalore(Karnataka) will host the 10th AASF (Asia Swimming Federation)
Asian Age Group Championships 2019 starting from September 24, 2019, to October 2, 2019,
will give the country’s swimming enthusiasts an opportunity to witness the aquatic event.
Swimming Federation of India (SFI)will organize the 9-day event.
Germany’s Fiona Kolbinger becomes the first woman to win cycling’s Transcontinental Race
2019
• Germany’s cancer researcher Fiona Kolbinger, aged 24, became the first woman to win
cycling’s Transcontinental Race 2019 (No.7) from Bulgaria to France. She cycled for more
than 2,485 miles across Europe in just over 10 days, 2 hours and 48 minutes. Britain’s Ben
Davies finished second who completed the race in 10 days, 13 hours and 10 minutes.
12 member channel for national sports awards features Mary Kom, Bhaichung Bhutia
• This year's national sports awards to athletes and coaches will be decided by a 12 member
panel. This panel features 6-time world boxing champion M.C. Mary Kom and former Indian
football team captain Bhaichung Bhutia. The national sports awards are to be given on
National Sports Day falling on August 29, which marks the birth anniversary of legendary
hockey player Major Dhyan Chand. The committee is headed by retired Supreme Court Judge,
Justice Mukundakam Sharma.
Archery Association of India suspended by World Archery
• The World Archery (WA) has suspended the Archery Association of India (AAI) due to the
internal factionalism (dispute and disagreements within the body). This factionalism rose
between Union Tribal Affairs minister Arjun Munda and BVP Rao (former AAI president),
when Archery Association of India unanimously elected both of them in separate elections in
New Delhi and Chandigarh respectively. This led to a confusion of not knowing who the actual
elected body is.
Aishwarya Pissay creates history by becoming the first indian woman to win FIM Bajas World
Cup
• 23-year-old Indian motorsport rider, Aishwarya Pissay from Bengaluru became the first
woman from India as well as the first Indian to win the FIM (Fédération Internationale de
Motocyclisme) Bajas World cup with a tally of 65 points. The final round of the championship
was held at Varpalota, Hungary.
Three new sports including Women’s T20 cricket included in the CWG 2022
• The Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2022 which is to be held in Birmingham, England will be
the first major multi-sport event to give additional spot to women’s medal thus making more
Women’s medal than men’s medal. The medal classification are- 135 medals for women and
133 medals for men. The three newly added sports are:
 Women’s T20 (twenty-twenty) cricket
 Beach volleyball and
 Para-table tennis.Read full details here: Three New Sports Including Women’s T20
Cricket Included In The CWG 2022
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Mumbai to host 2019 World Youth chess meet

• The 2019 World Youth chess championship is to be held in Mumbai from October 1-13, at the
Renaissance Hotel in Powai, Mumbai under the aegis of All-India Chess Federation and
organized by the All-Marathi chess Association.
Indian para-swimming team crossed Catalina Channel of US in 11 hours 34 min
• Indian para-swimming team of 6 members comprising Para swimmer Satendra Singh Lohia
from Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh) has created history by becoming the 1st Asian swimmer
team to cross the Catalina Channel (42 km )of US(United States) in just 11 hours 34 minutes.
Rohan More was the coach of the team.
“Op-Blue Freedom” flagged off by KirenRijiju and BaichungBhutia
• Op-Blue Freedom' a first of its kind in Asia, a nation-wide adaptive scuba diving programme
for people with disabilities as well as for able-bodied persons. It was launched by sports
minister (independent charge) Kiren Rijiju and former Indian football team captain Baichung
Bhutia at Talkatora garden, New Delhi. It aims to train adventure enthusiasts in special forces
skills like survival techniques, emergency first response skills, unarmed combat, endurance,
and fitness.
18th edition of World Police and Fire Games (WPFG) 2019
 Ashish Kapoor, an Assistant Inspector General (AIG) in Vigilance Bureau of Punjab has
clinched 2 gold medals for India in both singles and doubles Tennis events during the 18th
edition of World Police and Fire Games (WPFG) 2019, held at Chengdu in China from August
11-17,2019.
 CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) have won 10 medals (5 Gold, 3 Silver & 2 Bronze
medals) for India at the recently-concluded 18th edition of World Police and Fire Games
(WPFG) 2019, held at Chengdu in China from August 8-18, 2019. Gold medal winners are:
Kuheli Gangulee, (Rifle Shooting), Harmeet Judo (60 kg), and Meena Kumari Devi (Boxing 54
kg).
 Assistant-Sub-Inspector (ASI) of Haryana, Manjit, won a gold medal in wrestling (86kg
category) at the 2019 World Police and Fire Games (WPFG) held in Chengdu, China. Constable
Monali Jadhav of Jalamb police station in Buldhana district of Maharashtra had also won three
medals (2 golds & 1 bronze) at the WPFG International Championship.
28-member Advisory Committee under the chairmanship of sports minister Kiren Rijiju for
Fit India Movement formed
• The 28-member Advisory Committee under the chairmanship of sports minister Kiren Rijiju
was formed for Fit India Movement which aims to encourage people to inculcate physical
activity and sports in their everyday lives. It will be launched by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on August 29, 2019.
WADA suspends India’s NDTL for 6 months
• The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) suspended the accreditation of the National Dope
Testing Laboratory (NDTL) of India for 6 months due to non-conformities with the
International Standard for Laboratories (ISL), as identified during a WADA site visit in New
Delhi, with effect from August 20, 2019. Pursuant to Article 13.7 of the World Anti-Doping
Code (WADA), NDTL can appeal this decision in the Court of Arbitration for Sport in
Lausanne, Switzerland, within 21 days of receipt of the notice.
AFI ropes in Nestle Milo’s association as NIDJAM- 2019 title sponsor
• The Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju has unveiled a multi-national food and beverage
company, Nestle Milo’s association as title sponsor for the National inter-district junior
athletics meet 2019 (NIDJAM) to be held on November 24 -26, 2019 in Andhra Pradesh (AP)
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BOOKS & AUTHORS
Book Name Author Other Information

Tools and Weapons: Brad Smith & Carol Ann It is published by Hachette Publishers.
The Promise and The Browne
Peril of the Digital Age
The Book of gutsy Hilary Rodham Clinton To honour famous women personalities. The
Women (called as Hilary Clinton) book will be published by Simon & Schuster
and her daughter Chelsea publications on October 1, 2019.
Clinton
‘Listening, Learning and The book marks Shri Venkaiah Naidu's two
Leading’ years of service as vice president was
launched by Union Home minister Amit Shah
at Kalaivanar Arangam, Chennai during the
function organized by Information and
Broadcasting Ministry.
Sridevi: Girl Woman Satyarth Nayak The book recalled the life and times(in Hindi,
Superstar Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada
cinema) of the legendary actor Sridevi will be
published under the Ebury Press imprint of
Penguin Random House in October 2019.
'Kashmir’s untold story: Delhi- based filmmaker The book portrays the time of political and
Declassification Iqbal Chand Malhotra and geographical consolidations of Jammu &
defence analyst Maroof Kashmir (J&K), beginning from the era of
Raza Maharaja Gulab Singh till the present day.It
was published by Bloomsbury publishers.
Second Night Rajiv Dogra It was published by Rupa. This novel
describes and focuses on friendship, love,
and loss in the life of a woman.
The Diary of Manu Dr. Tridip Suhrud Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, Union Minister of State
Gandhi(1943-44) (Independent Charge) for Culture and Tourism
has launched the book called ‘the Diary of Manu
Gandhi ’(1943-44) at a function in the
auditorium of Nehru Memorial Museum and
Library, New Delhi. The diary was in Gujarati
language & it has been edited and translated by
Dr. Tridip Suhrud. It has been brought out by
National Archives of India in collaboration with
Oxford University Press.
"Big Billion Startup: The Mihir Dalal This book recounts the story of how Binny
Untold Flipkart Story" Bansal and Sachin Bansal (both-former
and is published by founders of flipkart) built e-commerce giant
“Pan Macmillan India” Flipkart
"Obama: The Call of Peter Baker A book on Barack Obama, former United
History" States (US) President, titled "Obama: The Call
of History" has been written by Peter Baker,
the Chief White House Correspondent for
The New York Times. It gives an in-depth
account of Obama's years in office. It has
been published by Penguin India.
A Short History of Rajendra B Aklekar The book covers the history of Indian
87 | P a g e
Indian Railways Railways details the journey of the national

transporter starting from the 1830s(almost
15 years before the official train run of 1853)
to the new high-speed Train 18 and Prime
Minister(PM) Narendra Modi's ambitious
bullet train project, has been introduced in
Mumbai, Maharashtra.
'Jin Dhoondha Tin O P Singh Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal
Paaiyan Khattar released a book
OBITUARY
NATIONAL
Name of the Field/ State Place where Points to be noted
person who born
passed away
Vidya Sinha(71) Actor/Mumbai Mumbai she last featured in actor Salman
Khan’s Bodyguard.
Amarendra Advocate/ Rishikesh, Sharan served as Additional
Sharan(69) Uttarakhand Solicitor General (ASG) in the
supreme court during UPA-I
(United Progressive Alliance)
regime from 2004-2009. He also
served as special counsel for CBI
(Central Bureau of
Investigation) in coal block
allocation scam case.
Neelam Anchor/ Noida She was awarded the 2018 'Nari
Sharma(50) Shakti Puraskar’ by the
President of India Shri Ram Nath
Govind.She is one among the
founding anchors of
Doordarshan News.
Nimu Bengali actor/ Kolkata, Dinajpur district 'Dash Mash Das Diner Galpo'
Bhowmik(84) West Bengal of undivided (2019) was his last film.
Bengal.
J. Om Prakash(92) Bollywood Punjab He served as President of Film
filmmaker/Mumbai, Federation of India (FFI) from
Maharashtra 1995-1996.
V. G. Siddhartha Business man/ Chikmagalur Siddhartha was the son-in-law of

Hegde(60) Netravati river near district of former Karnataka chief minister
Mangaluru Karnataka SM Krishna. Hailing from the
Chikmagalur district of
Karnataka, he established Cafe
Coffee Day in 1996, which is an
Indian café chain owned by
Coffee Day Global Limited.
Situ Mallick(16) Common Person/ Odisha He had saved his uncle from the
Rajnagar area of jaws of a crocodile and was
Kendrapara district, awarded National Bravery
88 | P a g e
Odisha Award 2019 instituted by the

Indian Council for Child Welfare
from Prime Minister Narendra
Modi. Situ Mallick and his cousin
Bapu Mallick were the 2 persons
killed in a road accident.
VB Cricketer/ Chennai, Chennai, Tamil The Chennai born cricketer
Chandrasekhar(57) Tamil Nadu Nadu represented India in seven
ODIs(One Day Internationals)
between 1988 and 1990.
Anant Setalvad(84) Cricket He was a cricket commentator
commentator/Mumbai, for All India Radio (AIR) in Ranji
Maharashtra Trophy, BCCI (Board of Control
for Cricket in India)
tournaments and also for some
test matches from the mid-
1960s13 to 1980s.
Kanchan Director General of Himachal Pradesh She was the second woman IPS
Chaudhary Police (DGP)/ Mumbai, (Indian Police Service) officer of
Bhattacharya(72) Maharashtra India after Kiran Bedi and
India's first woman Director
General of Police (DGP)
YG Rajalakshmi Educationalist, Chennai, Tamil She played a major role in
Parthasarathy(93) journalist and social Nadu setting up of the Padma Seshadri
worker/ Chennai, Bala Bhavan(PSBB) group of
Tamil Nadu schools. She received the Padma
Shri award in 2010 for her
contribution to the field of
education and literature.
Dayanidhi Freedom fighter/ He had struggled against the
Nayak(95) Bargarh, Odisha British Government during the
Quit India movement (8 August
1942). He was also jailed for 9
months and he was one of the 32
freedom fighters from Panimora.
Kanti Bhatt(88) Journalist, author, and Sachra village in He had joined journalism in
columnist/ Mumbai, erstwhile 1966 in Mumbai.
Maharashtra Bhavnagar state of
Gujarat
Ranjit Guru(61) Journalist, Columnist & Odisha After completing post-

Editor/ Bhubaneswar, graduation and M Phil degree,
Odisha Ranjit started his career in
journalism as correspondent of
Sambalpur for the language
daily Sambad & with over 30
years long career, he promoted
to the rank of the editor.
Karpuri Devi(94) Madhubani painting Ranti village of The National Award recipient
and Sujni artist/ Bihar contributed towards setting up
Madhubani district of of the Mithila Museum which is
89 | P a g e
Bihar located in Tokamachi hills in

Japan’s Niigata region.
Mohammed Zahur Music Director/ Rahon, Punjab Khayyam served in the army
'Khayyam' Mumbai, Maharashtra during World War II for a short
Hashmi(92) period after which he moved to
Bombay and started his music
career.
Noel Kelman(92) Navy Commander/ Goa He was also awarded the king’s
Porvorim, Goa commendation (for brave conduct)
in the Second World War (WW II),
for sinking a Japanese submarine.
He was a Kirti Chakra (peacetime
gallantry award) awardee.
Sushma Swaraj(67) Politician/ New Delhi Haryana She served as the Minister of
Information and Broadcasting from
30 September 2000 – 29 January
2003 in Atal Bihari Vajpayee govt.
Then from 29 January 2003 – 22
May 2004, she served as the
Minister of Health and Family
Welfare. She also served as the
Leader of the Opposition in the
15th Lok Sabha 21 December 2009
– 26 May 2014. From 26 May 2014
– 7 January 2016, she was the
Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs.
Then her last post was as the well-
respected Minister of External
Affairs 26 May 2014 – 30 May 2019
in Narendra Modi govt.
Jagannath Politician/ New Delhi Supaul district, He was former Bihar chief
Mishra(82) Bihar minister.
Arun Jaitley(66) Politician/ New Delhi New Delhi Lawyer by profession, Arun Jaitley,
who was born on 28 December
1952, was a member of the political
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and
held various portfolios during the
Government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee
and Shri Narendra Modi
government’s first term. Read full
details here: Former Finance
Minister ArunJaitly Passed Away
At The Age Of 66
Babulal Gaur(89) Politician/ Bhopal, Pratapgarh He was served as the Chief

Madhya Pradesh district of Uttar Minister of Madhya Pradesh
Pradesh from August 2004 to November
2005.
Navnitbhai Politician/ Palghar Maharashtra Shah served as Palghar MLA in
Shah(96) town in Maharashtra 1957 and 1962 before which he
served as the first Sarpanch
(village head) of Palghar in
1952.
Damodar Ganesh Social Worker/ Maharashtra He had dedicated his life to the
Bapat(84) Chhattisgarh treatment and service of leprosy
90 | P a g e
patients at Bhartiya Kushta

Nivarak Sangh in Janjgir-
Champa district. He was known
for his social work in tribal areas
in Chhattisgarh.He was a Padma
Shri awardee.
Niranjan Singh Writer(Punjabi)/ Amritsar Tasneem served as a professor
Tasneem(91) Ludhiana, Punjab in Satish Chander Dhawan(SCD)
government college in Ludhiana.
He was awarded the Sahitya
Akademi award for his book
“Gawache Arth” (The Lost
Meaning) in 1999.
INTERNATIONAL
Name of the person Field/ Country Place where Points to be noted
who passed away he/she demised born
Peter Fonda(79) Actor/ Los Angeles, New York, He is best known for his role as
America America Wyatt in 1969 movie “Easy
Rider”.
David Hamilton American Wichita, He struggled with prostate
Koch(79) philanthropist & co- Kansas, US cancer. Koch Industries was
owner of Koch known for refining crude oil,
Industries/ making fertilizer, producing
Southampton, United Dixie cups and Quilted Northern
States toilet paper.
Richard Williams(86) Animator/ Bristol, Toronto, Triple Oscar-winning and triple
United Kingdom (UK) Canada BAFTA-winning animator
Richard Williams, was best
known for creating Roger Rabbit.
Takis (Panayiotis Artist Athens, Greece He was known for his kinetic
Vassilakis)(93) sculptures, that made use of
technology, motion, and light and
were displayed in art galleries and
museums around the world has
passed away in Athens, Greece at
the age of 93. He was the founder of
Takis Foundation, a research Center
for the Art and the Sciences that
contains a museum, garden, and the
sculptor's studio, and aims to
promote the appreciation of the
visual arts.
Valerie Harper(80) Comedian/ Los Suffern, New She won Emmy award 4 times.
Angeles, United States York
Malcolm Nash(74) Cricketer/ London Abergavenny, Former England cricketer
United Malcolm Nash, who was best
Kingdom(UK) known for being hit by Sir
Garfield Sobers for six sixes in an
over has passed away after he
collapsed while attending a
dinner at Lord’s Cricket Ground
in London.
Bjorg Lambrecht(22) Cyclist/Poland Ghent, East He passed away after a crash in
91 | P a g e
Flanders, the third stage of the Tour of

Belgium. Poland 2019.
Arafat(33) (Real name: DJ/ Abidjan, Ivory Yopougon, He had issued 11 albums, mainly
Ange Didier Huon) Coast Ivory coast of "coupe-decale" – a dance
music form combining rapid
percussion, choppy rhythms
with hip hop-style vocals.
D.A. Pennebaker(94) Documentary maker/ Evanston, He was the recipient of honorary
New York, US Illinois, United Academy Award/ Lifetime Oscar
States in 2013.
Ferdinand Karl Engineer/ Rosenheim, Austria He is well known for creating a
Piëch(82) Germany revolution in German automaker
Volkswagen in the 1990s
José Luis Brown(62) Footballer/ La Plata, Ranchos, José worked as coach of the U-23
Argentina Argentina team of Argentina that won a
gold medal in the 2008 Beijing
Olympics. Argentina won 1986
World Cup while Jose Played for
it.
Nicolas Leoz(90) Footballer/ Asuncion, Paraguay He was a key suspect in the FIFA
Paraguay (Fédération Internationale de
Football Association) corruption
scandal investigated by the
United States (US) Justice
Department in 2015. He had
served as the President of the
Confederation of South American
Football (CONMEBOL) from
1986 to 2013.
Christina(72) Former Dutch Soestdijk She is the youngest sister of
Princess/ The Hague, Palace, former Queen of the
Netherlands Netherlands Netherlands- Beatrix.
Steve Sawyer(63) Greenpeace warrior & Boston He was the founder of the Global
wind energy Wind Energy Council (GWEC).
campaigner/
Amsterdam
(Netherlands)
Madan Mani Dixit(96) Journalist & Kathmandu, He was the first photojournalist
Litterateur/ Nepal of Nepal.
Kathmandu, Nepal
Toni Morrison(88) Novelist/ New York, Ohio, America She was the first African
United States American to win the Nobel Prize
for literature. Most of her work
focused on the African
community, African women and
their struggles in life.
Rizia Rahman(79) Novelist/ Dhaka, Kolkata & She was an awardee of Ekushey
Bangladesh moved to Padak in 2019, the 2nd -highest
Bangladesh civilian award in Bangladesh.
Dorothy Eleanor Pilot/ Washington, Woodburn, She is one of the member of a
Olsen(103) United States Oregon, US group of civilian volunteers who
92 | P a g e
flew planes during World War II.

She flew about 60 missions as
part of the 6th Ferry Group of
the Women Airforce Service
Pilots (WASP).
Jean Poet and fiction Sri Lanka The author has written over 50
Arasanayagam(88) writer/ Kandy, Sri books focused mainly on civil
Lanka wars, ethnic and religious
turmoils in Sri Lanka as her
subject.
Harold ‘Hal’ Prince(91) Theatrical producer Manhattan, He had won 21 Tony Awards
and director/ New York, over the course of his career.
Reykjavík, Iceland United States
IMPORTANT DAYS
Observed Day Other information

date/week
August (1-7), World Breastfeeding To encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of
2019 Week babies around the world. Read full details here: World
Breastfeeding Week Observed From Aug1-7 In
Over 120 Nations.
August 6, 2019 Hiroshima Day It marks the anniversary of the atomic bombing of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States (US) in
1945. During World War II, an American B-29 bomber
had dropped the first atomic bomb nicknamed ‘Little
Boy’ on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.
August 7, 2019 National Handloom Day To honour the Handloom weavers of the country and also
to highlight the Handloom industry. A function to mark the
occasion was held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
Bhubaneswar, Odisha having a rich tradition of Handlooms,
has been chosen as the venue to conduct various events.
The prime objective to hold the events in Bhubaneswar is
for empowering women and girls.
August 9, 2019 International Day of the It is celebrated to raise awareness about the protection of
World's Indigenous the rights of the world's indigenous population. The theme
People of International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples
2019 is ‘‘Indigenous Languages”.
August 9, 2019 Nagasaki Day On this day, the United States had dropped an atomic
bomb known as “Fat Man” on Nagasaki city of Japan in
1945 during World War II. 2019 marks the 74th
anniversary of the disastrous event.
August 10 World Biofuel Day In order to create awareness about the importance of
non-fossil fuels as an alternative to conventional fossil
fuels and to highlight the various efforts made by
Government in the biofuel sector, August 10 is
observed as World Biofuel Day. The theme for the
World Biofuel Day 2019 was “Production of Biodiesel
from Used Cooking Oil (UCO)”.
August 12 World Elephant Day To create awareness and bring attention to the urgent
plight (dangerous situation) of Asian and African
elephants. The day was first launched on August 12,
93 | P a g e
2012. Singapore announced on World elephant day

that ivory sales will be banned from the country from
2021. Read full details here: World Elephant Day
Celebrated On August 12, 2019
August 12, 2019 Vikram Sarabhai’s 100th He was born on 12 August 1919 in Ahmedabad,
birth anniversary Gujarat. He was a Padma Bhushan and Padma
Vibhushan awardee. Read full details here: Founder
Of ISRO, Vikram Sarabhai’s 100th Birth
Anniversary Observed On 12 August,2019
August 12, 2019 International Youth Day To recognize the efforts put in by the youth for the
betterment of the society. The 2019 theme is
“Transforming education”.
August 13, 2019 International Left- The objective of this day is to promote awareness of
Handers Day the inconveniences faced by left-handers in a
predominantly right-handed world.
August 13, 2019 World organ donation day To create awareness about organ donation and to
motivate people to donate organs thus saving lives
after their death. Spain has the highest donor rate in
the world at 46.9million people followed by Portugal
at 34 million as of 2017.
August 14, 2019 Pakistan observed its The Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan Syed
73rd Independence Day Haider Shah read out the message of Pakistan
as 'Kashmir Solidarity President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan,
Day' hosted on the Chancery's lawns, by hoisting the
Pakistani flag to the tune of its national anthem.
Pakistan has announced to celebrate August 15 -
India's Independence Day - as "Black Day".
August 15, 2019 73rd Indian Independence Prime Minister Narendra Modi unfurled the national
Day flag at the Red Fort, New Delhi. He received a Guard of
Honour from a contingent of the Army, Navy, Air Force
and Delhi Police. Flying Officer Preetam Sangwan
assisted PM Modi in the unfurling of the national flag,
Flight Lieutenant Jyoti Yadav and Flight Lieutenant
Mansi Geda were positioned on either side of the
saluting dais for the Prime Minister. Read full details
here: India Celebrates 73rd Independence Day On
August 15, 2019
August 17, 2019 Navroz or Jamshedi The day is dedicated to the beginning of spring. Navroz
Navroz means a "new day" and the Parsi New Year is popularly
referred as Pateti. In India, it is celebrated on the first day
of the first month of the Shahenshahi Calendar for health,
wealth, prosperity and productivity.
August 19, 2019 World Humanitarian Day The Campaign for the 2019 World Humanitarian Day
(WHD) 2019 is ‘Women Humanitarians’. It aims to draw attention
towards the work of women in crises throughout the
world.
August 19, 2019 World photography day The aim of this day is to encourage people to express
their feelings, emotions and social thinking through
their photography skills.
20 August 2019 World Mosquito Day This day honor the British doctor Sir Ronald Ross’s
groundbreaking discovery in 1897 that, female
Anopheles mosquitoes transmit malaria between
94 | P a g e
humans.
20 August 2019 Sadbhavana Diwas This day is observed to encourage the national
(harmony day) integration, peace, affection and communal harmony
among the Indian people of all religions. 2019
commemorates the 75th birth anniversary of Rajiv
Gandhi.
August 21, 2019 World Senior Citizen Day The day is recognized to create awareness of the
condition of elder people and support them through
senescence. The day was first announced on 14th of
December in the year 1990, by the United Nations
General Assembly(UNGA) & it was celebrated for the
first time on October 1, 1991.
August 21, 2019 International Day of It is observed with the aim to focus on the resilience of
Remembrance and victims and their families.This is the second
Tribute to the Victims of International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the
Terrorism Victims of Terrorism
August 22, 2019 International Day It aims to honor the victims and survivors of
Commemorating the disgraceful acts who often remain forgotten. On 28
Victims of Acts of Violence May 2019 United Nation General Assembly (UNGA) in
Based on Religion or a meeting , adopted resolution A/RES/73/296 for the
Belief same. The world observed ‘International Day
Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based
on Religion or Belief’ for the 1st time.
August 23, 2019 International Day for the This day is observed as a remembrance of people
Remembrance of the involved in the tragedy of the transatlantic slave trade.
Slave Trade and its The theme for the year 2019 is "Remember Slavery:
Abolition The Power of the Arts for Justice".
August 25- National Eye Donation It aims to create mass public awareness about the
September 8, Fortnight importance of eye donation and to motivate people to
2019 pledge their eyes for donation after death.
August 26, 2019 Women's Equality Day It commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment in
the United States of America (USA) Constitution by US
Congress in 1920 that provides equal rights to women,
including the right to vote. It is an annual event in the US.
The amendment for the same was first introduced in 1878.
August 29, 2019 International Day against The day raises awareness about the effects of nuclear
Nuclear Tests (IDANT) weapon test explosions or any other nuclear explosions.
The day also calls to bring the Comprehensive Nuclear-
Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) into force, which was adopted by
UNGA in 1996. It has been signed by 182 countries but its
entry into force depends on 44 specific States that must
have signed and ratified the Treaty. Out of these 44 states, 9
States still need to do so.
August 29,2019 National Sports Day It was observed across the country to create
awareness about sports in public. August 29 marks the
birth anniversary of India’s hockey legend, Major
Dhyan Chand. Prime Minister (PM) Shri Narendra
Modi has launched a nation-wide ‘Fit India’ Movement
on the occasion of National Sports Day in New Delhi.
President of India Ramnath Kovind felicitated National
Sports awards along with Tenzing Norgay National
Adventure Award 2018 at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Read full details here: National Sports Day Observed
95 | P a g e
On 29th August, 2019

August 30, 2019 International Day of the The day aims to increase awareness about the number
Victims of Enforced of enforced disappearances around the world.
Disappearance Enforced disappearance is a situation where people
literally disappeared; from their loved ones and their
community when a person is secretly abducted or
imprisoned by a state (or someone acting with state
consent) and then refuse to say where they are.
PM Modi announces to celebrate September as a month of nutrition
• Prime Minister(PM) of India Shri Narendra Modi announced in his “Mann Ki Baat” programme
(PM addressing the nation programme) to celebrate September month, as a month of nutrition
as part of ‘POSHAN Abhiyaan ’(National Nutrition Mission). It is a multi-ministerial convergence
mission with the aim to make india free from malnutrition by 2022. Read full details here: PM
Modi announces to celebrate September as a month of nutrition
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Haryana Govt launched Mukhya Mantri Parivar Samridhi Yojna

Jammu and Kashmir

 12-member committee - Headed by K K Sharma (Advisor to J&K Governor) - for To take

1st India-Ghana Foreign Office Consultations held in New Delhi

Odisha CM to launch “Mo Sarkar” initiative for transparency in governance

department in chandigarh (Punjab). It was signed by UNDP Resident Representative Shoko

Other Important National Affairs

Parliament passed the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2019

33% Of India’s Skilled Youth Are Jobless: PLFS 2017-18

137 Mountain Peaks opened for Mountaineering, Trekking by India

Netherlands imposed ban on burqa and niqab in public places

Overview of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visit to Nepal

Overview of External Affairs Minister S.Jaishankar Visit to Russia and Hungary

BANKING & FINANCE

Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance MobiKwik To offer mobile-based group

Indian Bank Cholamandalam MS (Chola Chola MS will deliver a wide range of

ACKO General Insurance Oyo Hotels and Homes To provide a complimentary

like OPD (Outpatient

Other Important Banking & Finance News

BUSINESS & ECONOMY NEWS

Moody's Investors Service 2019 6.2%

Federation of Indian Chambers Q1 (April 2019 to June 2019) of 6.0%

SIDBI partners with Incuspaze for coworking space for MSMEs

MOUs/AGREEMENTS COUNTRIES & STATES

MoUs between Countries

MoUs with States

2 16 State Textile Ministry To take project Samarth– which is

Rear Admiral RJ Nadkarni, Chief of

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

officer Prabhash Shankar

Vallabhbhai Patel National

Pradeep Kumar(PK) Officer on Special Duty Prime Minister's He Succeeds Nripendra

General of the United

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

Name of Awards Award Winner Field Points to be noted

Awards in the Field of Politics,Social Service,Science and Bravery

International Andy Serkis Actor For bringing extraordinary humanity

India along with its Franchise India in

Yoga awards 2019 for Swami Rajarshi Individual-International category -

‘Achyutananda Sahoo Award’ in honor of Neelum Sharma

Entertainment Director: Amit Sharma

18 Best Audiography TENDLYA (Marathi) Location Sound

19 Best Editing NATHICHARAMI (Kannada) Editor: Nagendra K

20 Best Production Design KAMMARA SAMBHAVAM Production Designer:

21 Best Costume Designer MAHANATI (Telugu) Costume Director:

22 Best Make-up Artist AWE (Telugu) Make-up Artist: Ranjith

23 Best Music Direction PAADMAAVAT (Hindi) Music Director

24 Best Lyrics NATHICHARAMI (Kannada) Lyricist: Manjunatha

25 Special Jury Award HELLARO (Gujarati) Actresses : Shraddha

4 Best AMORI Producer: Opus Ga La

4 Best TURTLE Producer: Shivazza Films & Entertainment

S.No. Name of Award Title of Film Awardee

5 BEST Rediscovering Jajam Producer: Rachel Bracken Singh

1 IG Maneesh Vishal Pathak

8 Dr. Kala Acharya Sanskrit