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INDIAN AFFAIRS
Abhaneri’ Festival Began In Dausa
i. Abhaneri’ festival would be held at the Abhaneri village in Dausa district, Rajsthan to promote rural tourism in the area for two days.
ii.The festival would witness artistes performing ShehnaiVaadan, puppet show, Behrupia, Raavanhatha, among others at Chand Baori and Harshat Mata temple.
iii.The Department of Tourism, Government of Rajasthan in collaboration with the Dausa District Administration organized the annual event.
iv. On the first day there was various cultural performances like Mayur Dance, Langa singing, Kacchi Ghodi, Behrupia, Bhawai Dance while on 2nd day evening there would be a Kavi Sammelan performance by Abdul Ayub Gauri at Chand Baori (step well).
v. Chand Baori is one of the largest step wells built over a thousand years ago in the Abhaneri village of Dausa. The beautiful structure was built during the 8th and 9th centuries and has 3,500 narrow steps arranged in perfect symmetry, which descend 20m to the bottom of the well.
Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of Puducherry and Airports Authority of India signed MoU to Promote Regional Connectivity Scheme
i.Civil Aviation Ministry, along with Airports Authority of India (AAI), today entered into a pact with the Puducherry government for the proposed regional connectivity scheme (RCS).
ii.The MoU was signed by Shri Manoj Parida, Chief Secretary, Puducherry, Smt. Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Shri A.K. Dutta, Member, Airports Authority of India.
iii. The ministry had already signed MoUs with various states, including Gujarat, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh for implementation of RCS.
iv. The scheme aimed to provide air services between un-served and under-served areas and is part of larger plans to boost the domestic aviation sector, which is clocking over 20 per cent passenger growth over the last several months.
v. A large number of incentives were being proposed under RCS, including Rs.2,500 cap on airfare for one-hour flights. The airlines operating flights under RCS would be extended a viability gap funding (VGF), while the states concerned are required to offer certain concessions such as providing police and fire services free of cost.
Haryana to launch portal for paddy procurement
i. The state government was launching its e-kharid portal for procurement of paddy in the upcoming procurement season starting this month.
ii. Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan and Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar would launch the e-procurement portal in Karnal.
iii. Chief Administrator, Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board, J Ganesan announced that a mobile application would also be launched at the same function which would provide all necessary information to farmers, arthiyas and traders.
iv.Arthiyas who were unable to operate computer, their work would be completed by the concerned Secretary, Market Committee. While 31 mandis of the state have already been linked with National Agriculture Market, five more mandis would soon be linked and business of Rs.120 crore has sofar been done, he added.
Haryana:
♦ Capital: Chandigarh.
♦ Chief Minister: Manohar Lal Khattar.
♦ Governor: Kaptansingh Solanki.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Vice President Hamid Ansari’s five-day tour of Nigeria and Mali
Vice President Hamid Ansari had a five-day tour of Nigeria and Mali in order to further strengthen Indias bilateral engagements with these two West African nations.
Nigeria Visit – 26-29, 2016 :
i. Vice President Hamid Ansari arrived in this Nigerian capital on the first leg of his five-day, two-nation tour which will also take him to the another West African country Mali.
ii. India is Nigeria’s biggest partner in trade in Africa. It is also a major supplier of energy.
iii. New areas of cooperation were identified – renewable energy, solar alliance, agriculture, manufacturing, health and science and technology with particular interest shown in our space programme.
Mali Visit – 29-30 September 2016 :
i. After Nigeria, Mr. Ansari then went to Mali, the first high-level visit by any Indian leader. In Malian capital Bamako, he addressed the National Assembly, Parliament of Mali, and met President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, Prime Minister Modibo Keita, CEOs of Indian origin and Indian companies and also Indians posted in the West African country under United Nations Mission.
ii. The two leaders also witnessed the signing of agreements in the field of standards and for expanding cultural exchanges and cooperation.
Pakistan postponed Saarc summit, new dates to be announced soon
i. Pakistan postponed the SAARC Summit to be held here next month after India along with four other member states of the regional grouping decided against attending the meet.
ii. A Foreign Office stated that the spirit of the Saarc Charter was violated when a member state casted the shadow of its bilateral problems on the multilateral forum for regional cooperation.
iii. It alleged that decision by India to “derail the summit” effectively “contradicts” Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s own call to fight against poverty in the region.
iv. In the wake of September 18 terrorist attack in Uri town of Jammu and Kahsmir, India decided not to participate in the Summit, which was followed by the boycott of Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangaladesh and Sri Lanka too expressed its reservations.
v. SAARC member states include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
BANKING & FINANCE
SBI offered ‘Hope Loans’ at reduced interest rates
i. SBI announced the launch of a special financing scheme ‘Hope Loans’, under which customers could avail credit facility at lower rates.
ii. Hope Loans comes with the added benefit of reduced interest rates that SBI has just announced due to the reduction in the marginal cost of lending rate (MCLR).
iii. On an Rs.50 lakh home loan, for example, one would get to save approximately 3.5 lakh for a 30 year tenor compared to the same period last year..
iv. With the reduction in MCLR, the effective interest rate for home loans would be 9.25 per cent for women and 9.30 per cent for men and for auto loans, it would be 9.65 per cent respectively.
v. Customers who was availing a home loan on SBI approved projects, online applications or applying for transfer of home would also benefit from the fee waiver, the state-run lender said
BUSINESS
OPEC agreed on modest oil production curbs
i. OPEC agreed on modest oil output cuts in the first such deal since 2008, with the group’s leader Saudi Arabia softening its stopped the flow on arch-rival Iran amid mounting pressure from low oil prices.
ii. It was decided that OPEC would reduce output to a range of 32.5 to 33.0 million barrels per day (bpd) from its current output at 33.24 million bpd.The move would effectively re-establish OPEC production ceilings abandoned a year ago.
iii. The amount by each country would produce is to be decided at the next formal OPEC meeting in November, when an invitation to join cuts could also be extended to non-OPEC countries such as Russia.
iv. This is the first OPEC deal in eight years.The trust proved that it still matters even in the age of shale. This is the end of the ‘production war’ and OPEC claims victory,
v. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih reported that Iran, Nigeria and Libya would be allowed to produce “at maximum levels that make sense” as part of any output limits.
OPEC :
♦ The OPEC is an intergovernmental organization of 14 oil-exporting developing nations that coordinates and unifies the petroleum policies of its member countries.
♦ Established:1960 in Baghdad, Iraq.
♦ Headquarters: Vienna, Austria.
♦ OPEC Members: Algeria, Angola, Libya, Nigeria and Gabon (from Africa); Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia (the de facto leader) Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (from Asia); Ecuador and Venezuela (from Latin America).
Arunachal inks MoU with AP Ruchi Soya Industriesfor development of Oil Palm in the state
i. Arunachal Pradesh has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Andhra Pradesh-based Ruchi Soya Industries for development of Oil Palm in the state.
ii. The MoU signed to cover an area of 5,000 hectare initially in the foothill areas of West Siang, Lower Subansiri, Papumpare and East Kameng districts.
iii. This is an initiative step towards gainful utilization of the vast land resource of the state for economic development through farming operation
Arunachal Pradesh :
♦ Arunachal Pradesh is known as North East Frontier Agency(NEFA) during British Period
♦ Tawang Monastery, in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, is the largest monastery in India and second largest in the world after the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet.
APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS
Ravindra concurrently accredited as the Ambassador of India to the Republic of Guinea
i. Ravindra has been concurrently accredited as the Ambassador of India to the Republic of Guinea, with residence in Abidjan
ii. He is presently working as the Ambassador of India to the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire
Republic of Guinea :
♦ Capital: Conakry
♦ Currency: Guinean franc
♦ President: Alpha Condé
Somesh Sharma is elected as INS President
i. Somesh Sharma of Rashtradoot Saptahik has been elected as new President of The Indian Newspaper Society for the year 2016-17 at the 77th AGM held in Bengaluru.
ii. He succeeds PV Chandran.
Other Appointmnets:
♦ Akila Urankar of Business Standard is the Deputy President, K Balaji of The Hindu is the Vice- President and Sharad Saxena of Hindustan Times is the Honorary Treasurer of the Society for the year 2016-17.
Myntra appoints Dipanjan Basu as Chief Financial Officer
i. Online fashion portal Myntra has appointed Dipanjan Basu as the Chief Financial Officer with effective from October 17.He has 15 years of experience in the finance department.
ii. Priot to this , he was the Chief Finance & Operating Officer for Wipro’s Digital & Consulting Business .He also oversaw the finance function for the Manufacturing & Healthcare business at Wipro
iii .He also had a two year stint with Quatrro Risk Management Services where he was the CFO of the company.
Arundhati Bhattacharya gets year-long extension as SBI chief
i. Arundhati Bhattacharya has secured one year extension as the chairperson of the State Bank of India (SBI) .Her tenure was to end on October 6.
ii. She has taken over as SBI chairman on October 7, 2013, and become the first woman to head the country’s largest bank
iii. The government last month gave its nod for the merger of its six branches. Such as
1.State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur
2.State bank of Travancore
3.State Bank of Patiala
4.State Bank of Hyderabad
5.State Bank of Maharashtra and
6.Bharatiya Mahila Bank.
SBI:
♦ Headquarters: Mumbai
♦ The Imperial Bank of India was nationalized in 1955 and was renamed a State Bank of India.
♦ Tagline: With you all the way ,Pure banking nothing else,The nation’s bank on us.
SPORTS
Sports Sector got the Infrastructure Status
i. The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports Affairs had moved a proposal for inclusion of Sports in the harmonized master list of infrastructure sub-sectors due to the deficit of sports infrastructure
ii. Sports sector becomes eligible for obtaining long term financial support from banks and other financial institutions on same principle available to other infrastructure projects.
iii. This was disclosed by Rajiv Yadav, Secretary, Sports, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, while addressing ‘Turf 2015-16’, the seventh edition Global Sports Summit, held in New Delhi organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) with the support of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India.
iv. It would also strengthen the investment in sports infrastructure sector which would contribute to the economy and help in promotion of health and fitness of the people of this country as also provide opportunities for employment in the new and exciting sectors
v. It would also provide opportunities for employment in the new and existing sectors. Besides, investment from private sector would widen the platform from where the country could become a sporting power in future.
Services clinched overall title at National Athletics & Rani becomes 1st Indian woman to cross 60m in javelin
i. Annu Rani became the first Indian woman javelin thrower to cross the 60m mark 
on the third day of the 56th Open National Athletics Championships by smashing her own national record. She represented Railways and created her fourth national record in two years. The 23-year-old hails from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.
ii. Annu, who won a bronze in the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, threw the javelin to a distance of 60.01m to erase her own earlier national mark of 59.87m
iii. Poonam Rani of ONGC won the silver with an effort of 56.73m while the bronze went to another Railway woman K Rashmi with 51.56m.
iv. Inmen’s jump, for the first time in Indian athletics history, all the top three finishers cleared 2.20m. Tejaswin Shankar of Delhi went on to win the gold with an effort of 2.22m while Chetan of Services and Sreenith Mohan of Kerala bagged the silver and bronze respectively by clearing 2.20m.
v. 17-year-old Commonwealth Youth Games champion Tejaswin, who earlier this year won silver in the South Asian Games in Guwahati, surprised many of his senior competitors to win the gold.
VCA became first BCCI member to adopt Lodha panel recommendations
i. The Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) became the first full member of the BCCI to adopt the MoA and Rules and Regulations as recommended by the Supreme Court appointed Justice Lodha Committee. General Meeting of the VCA was held at Nagpur.730 members were attended the meeting and 727 voted for the change.
ii. TCA secretary Sourav Dasgupta emailed to the Lodha Committee that the house after discussions passed a resolution unanimously to implement the recommendations made for state association by the Supreme Court committee and a proposed draft of amendment made and passed for further necessary action with Register of Societies, Government of Tripura, under Registration Act, 1860.
iii .A new executive committee of the Vidarbha association would be elected by November 15, the deadline set by the Lodha Committee, and the new administration would conform to the rules and the eligibility criteria specified by the three-member panel.
iv. The new VCA executive would comprise the president, a vice-president (previously two), a secretary, a joint secretary (earlier two), a treasurer, five executive members (earlier seven) with one member elected from the clubs (earlier five).
v. Those who have attained the age of 70 years or declared insolvent or of unsound mind, or holds any post in any other sports or athletic association or federation and also those who have completed nine years in office for a cumulative period of 9 years would be ineligible to hold any post in the association.
India lifts 4th men’s Under-18 Asia Cup hockey trophy
i. India lifted the 4th men’s Under-18 Asia Cup hockey trophy by defeating Bangladesh 5-4 in the Under-18 Asia Cup hockey trophy in Dhaka.
ii. Earlier, India had stormed into the final by defeating arch rivals Pakistan 3-1 in the semi-final match.
iii. Man of the Match : Hardik Singh
iv. Best Goalkeeper of the tournament : Pankaj Kumar Rajak
IMPORTANT DAYS
International Day of Older Persons – October 1, 2016
i. The International Day of Older Persons is observed on October 1 each year. The theme for 2016 is “Take A Stand Against Ageism”
ii. The President of India Shri Pranab Mukharjee presented the National Awards for Senior Citizens“Vayoshreshtha Samman-2016”to eminent senior citizens and institutions in recognition of their service towards the cause of elderly persons, especially indigent senior citizens at a function organized by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.
iii. Delhi Police launched a mobile application for senior citizens to enable them to reach out to the police quickly in emergency situations.
