- Nigerian lawyer gets top UN peace prize
A Nigerian lawyer who helped secure the release of more than 100 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram was awarded one of the United Nations’ top prizes.
The UNHCR said Zannah Mustapha was given the annual Nansen award for his “crucial mediating” role as well as his work helping children affected by the long-running conflict.
- Akshay Kumar Appointed Uttarakhand Swachh Bharat Mission Brand Ambassador
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat announced the appointment of actor Akshay Kumar as the brand ambassador of the Swachh Bharat Mission in the state.
The 50-year-old actor was also appointed as the brand ambassador for the cleanliness campaign in Uttar Pradesh last month and his film Toilet: Ek Prem Katha was made tax-free in the state.
- India Appoints Ajay Bisaria New High Commissioner to Pakistan
India’s ambassador to Pakistan Gautam Bambawale will now head the Indian mission in China, while envoy to Poland Ajay Bisaria will replace him in Islamabad.
The re-jig was effected in the wake of Vijay Gokhale, the then ambassador to China, being appointed as the Secretary of Economic Relations in the External Affairs Ministry.
- Shaheed Gram Vikas Yojana launched in Jharkhand
BJP president Amit Shah has launched the ‘Shaheed Gram Vikas Yojana’ during a programme at Ulihatu in Khunti district of Jharkhand.
Ulihatu is the birthplace of Jharkhand’s tribal icon Birsa Munda. The programme launched by Shah would provide 136 pucca houses to the dwellers of Ulihatu and a couple of other hamlets around it.
- Bandhan Tod App Launched in Bihar
In a unique initiative, Gender Alliance Bihar, a collective effort of over 270 civil society organisations backed by the UN Population Fund, has come up with a mobile application to fight the rampant social evil of child marriage in the state.
Launched by Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, the “Bandhan Tod” app will try to create awareness on resisting child marriage and will also provide round-the-clock help to adolescent girls saying no to the practice in the form of an SOS button.
- Govt launches mobile pension app for retiring govt staff
A mobile application will be launched tomorrow for central government employees who are about to retire to help them monitor the progress of their pension settlement cases.
Retired employees will also be able to assess their superannuation funds and record complaints, if any, through the pension calculator.
- Cabinet approves Revamped Khelo India Programme
The Union Cabinet has approved the revamped Khelo India programme at a cost of Rs.1,756 crore for the period 2017-18 to 2019-20.
This marks a watershed moment in the history of Indian sports, as the Programme aims at mainstreaming sport as a tool for individual development, community development, economic development and national development.
The revamped Khelo India Programme would impact the entire sports ecosystem, including infrastructure, community sports, talent identification, coaching for excellence, competition structure and sports economy.
- National Conference on Agriculture for Rabi Campaign – 2017-18
The National Conference on Agriculture for Rabi Campaign – 2017-18 is being organized on 19th – 20th September, 2017 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The Conference was inaugurated by Union Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister, Radha Mohan Singh.
The aim of the Government is to increase coverage under irrigation, development of organic farming, distribution of Soil Health Card to all farmers, risk coverage particularly of non-loanee farmers, the strengthening of e-NAM, promotion of horticulture, dairy / animal husbandry / fisheries and other allied sectors.
The new initiatives of the government like,
- Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY),
- Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY),
- Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana,
- Soil Health Scheme,
- Neem Coated Urea and
- E-national Agriculture Market Schemes
- Cabinet Approves Merger of 17 Govt Presses into 5 Units
The Cabinet approved the merger and modernisation of 17 Government of India Presses (GIPs) into five GIPs.
These five will be at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Minto Road and Mayapuri in New Delhi, Nashik in Maharashtra and Temple Street in Kolkata.
- Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2017 Approved by Law Ministry
The law ministry has given its concurrence to a draft bill that will give powers to the government to confiscate property of economic offenders and defaulters who flee India, albeit with a new provision.
It wants a “Saving Clause” to be incorporated in the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill 2017 before it is introduced in the Lok Sabha in the ensuing winter session of Parliament.
- India ranks 128th in Sustainable Development Goals Index
India ranks 128th in terms of meeting the UN’s health related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 with low scores on air pollution, sanitation, hepatitis B and child wasting.
The Global Burden of Disease study provides new estimates on where the world currently stands in terms of meeting these goals, showing that while some countries have made significant improvements, much progress is needed.
The study is the first comprehensive analysis of trends from 1990-2014 and projections to 2030 for 188 countries.
- India to Conduct the First ‘BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise- 2017’
The First BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise- 2017 (BIMSTEC DMEx-2017) will be conducted by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) as the lead agency from October 10-13, 2017 in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).
This Exercise will be a platform for sharing Best Practices on all aspects of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), strengthening regional response and coordination for Disaster Management among the BIMSTEC member countries.
- 13th Inter-Governmental Commission Meeting in Kazakhstan
Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan, led a delegation to Astana, Kazakhstan from 19-20 September 2017 to co-chair the 13th meeting of the India-Kazakhstan Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC).
During the meetings both Ministers discussed entire gamut of India-Kazakhstan bilateral relations covering all areas of contemporary relevance and issues of mutual concern and ideas for stepping up the cooperation in energy sector, trade, economic, investment, transport & connectivity, agriculture, information technology, space, healthcare and cultural spheres between the two countries with his counterpart.
- Japan Launched Postage Stamps on Indian Yoga Experts
Acknowledging the role played by yoga legend Bishnu Charan Ghosh and his family members in spreading Indian postural yoga in Japan, the Japanese postal department has released postage stamps on four of Bengal’s famous exponents of the ancient Indian practice.
The stamps on Bishnu Charan Ghosh, his son Biswanath Ghosh, daughter Karuna Ghosh and Karuna’s father in law Asutosh Ghosh, that were released recently in Japan, were official showcased here by the Japanese Consul General in Kolkata, Masayuki Taga.
- Russia, China hold joint naval drills near Korean Peninsula
Russia and China have begun major military drills less than 100 miles from the North Korean border, amid continuing tensions over the isolated state’s nuclear ambitions.
Chinese warships arrived in Peter the Great Bay, just outside of the Russian port of Vladivostok, for joint naval exercises that will extend into the Sea of Okhotsk, north of Japan.
- August 2017 was the second warmest August on record: NASA
August this year was the second warmest August in 137 years of modern record-keeping, according to an analysis of global temperatures by scientists at NASA.
The measured value is “consistent with the trend in global average surface temperatures that has been observed during the past few decades.
August this year was about 0.2 degrees warmer than the August following the last large El Nino event in 1997-1998.
- Asian Indoor Games: Chitra, Lakshmanan Win Gold
The 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games continued as the country’s athletes added two gold and one bronze on the fourth day of competitions
5000m and women’s 1500m races, respectively, while Dharmender won the bronze in the men’s freestyle 70kg belt wrestling.
India’s medal count swelled to three gold, two silver and two bronze. India are ninth in the medal tally. Hosts Turkmenistan stayed on the top with 39 gold, 27 silver and 18 bronze medals.
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