19-20 September 2016

19 September

Track Asia Cup 2016 concluded; Indian finished second

The 2016 Track Asia Cup concluded on 16 September 2016 at the Cycling Velodrome in IG Stadium in New Delhi. Hong Kong topped the chart with 18 medals which comprise 11 Gold, four Silvers and three bronze.

On the other hand, India the hosts of the tournament ended their campaign at second position with 16 medals, including five gold, four Silver and seven bronze.

India's Deborah Herold, in her Final Sprint event, clinched the top position with a time of 12.576 minutes and 12.493 minutes in the first and second rounds, respectively. She beat Zhaojuan of Hong Kong, who clocked 12.820 minutes and 12.734 minutes in both the rounds to settle for silver. The third position was taken by Farina Shawati of Malaysia with a time of 12.552 and 12.342.

Another Indian -- Kezia Vargheese -- missed the bronze medal by a whisker, finishing fourth in this event. Deborah, however, lost the gold medal in her favourite event -- Keirin -- and managed to win silver ahead of her teammate Kezia Varghesse, who bagged the bronze. The 21-year-old Deborah turned out to be the star performer for the country, having clinched three golds and one silver.

In the Men's Elite Keirin event, Indian cyclist Amarjeet Singh finished 8th, but in the Junior Keirin competition, Emerson won the bronze medal for India.

Track Asia Cup

The Track Asia Cup cycling completition is being held from 14 September to 16 September 2016 at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex velodrome. This is the third year in succession that India is hosting the event. The event is recognised by the International Cycling Federation and is part of the World Championship qualifier.

The event is being held in four categories namely elite and juniors in men and women.

Advertisements issued by Delhi government violated Supreme Court guidelines: Panel

A committee set up by the Union Government said that the Delhi government splurged the exchequer's money on advertisements projecting Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his party that violated Supreme Court guidelines.

The three-member panel headed by former Chief Election Commissioner BB Tandon has asked the Delhi government to reimburse the money expenditure since the violation of the Supreme Court order of 13 May 2015, has taken place. The other two members of the panel were adman Piyush Pandey and journalist Rajat Sharma.The violations shown by the panel includes

• Outstation advertisements

• Advertisements for self-glorification and to target political opponents

• Advertisements against media

• Advertisements mentioning the party in power by name

• Advertisements issued on incidents occurring in other states

The committee was constituted by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry on the directions of the Supreme Court to address issues related to Content Regulation in Government Advertising.

Union Government approves 500 crore rupee projects for development of tourism in J&K

The Union Government approved projects worth 500 crore rupees for integrated development of tourism in Jammu and Kashmir under Swadesh Darshan scheme.

The Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee for the scheme approved the projects as part of Development Package of Prime Minister Reconstruction Plan (PMRP).

The new projects include Integrated Development of Tourist facilities at Mantalai - Sudhmahadev - Patnitop Circuit (for 99.99 Crore rupees), Baramulla-Kupwara-Leh circuit (for 99.98 Crore rupees), Rajouri - Bafliyaz - Shopian - Pulwama Circuit (for 99.99 Crore rupees) and Anantnag-Kishtwar- Pahalgam - Daksum - Ranjit Sagar Dam Circuit (for.99.75 Crore rupees).

Nearly 100 crore rupees have been approved for integrated development of tourist facilities in lieu of damaged assets in the floods.

The projects envisage tourist infrastructural development in Jammu and Kashmir. Highlights of the project involved

• Developing a Convention Centre in Gulmarg and Patnitop

• Development of Ethnic Villages

• Development of Water Sports Centre at Baghliyar Dam - Pool Doda

Other major intervention proposed in the circuits include last mile connectivity, tourist facilitation and interpretation centre, base camps for trekking, facilitation centre for pilgrims for Amarnath Yatra, Sound illumination of heritage structures and others.

Indian shooters clinched three gold medals at ISSF Junior World Cup

Indian shooters clinched seven medals, including three gold, on the opening day of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup for pistol, rifle and shotgun at Gabala in Azerbaijan.

A total of 279 junior athletes, representing 27 countries, are battling it out in 18 events.

Subhankar Pramanick: He clinched gold medal in 50-metre rifle prone event. The Indian shot 205.5 overall to finish top of the podium. Czech Republic's Filip Nepejchal (205.2) followed in second position, while Romania's Dragomir Iordache (185.1) was placed third at the end of the finals.

Subhankar, along with team-mates Fateh Singh Dhillon and Ajaey Nithish, also helped the Indian team to win a silver in the event.

Sambhaji Patil: He won the junior men's 25-metre standard pistol event by shooting 562 to easily beat Australians Sergei Evglevski and James Ashmore.

Sambhaji along with compatriots Gurmeet and Rituraj Singh helped India to win the team gold.

The other medals won by India on the day included a silver in the junior men's team rifle prone and two bronze medals.

In the year's first Junior World Cup in May 2016 at Suhl, Germany, the Indians had finished fourth with an overall tally of three gold, four silver and three bronze medals.

Union Government notifies new import policy for marble & travertine blocks

Union Government on 18 September 2016 notified the new import policy for marble and travertine blocks and marble and granite slabs. The policy will come into effect from 1 October 2016.

The new policy ends the quantitative restriction on the import of marble and travertine blocks as well as the cumbersome and restrictive import licensing system.

The Minimum Import Price (MIP) for marble blocks has been reduced to 200 US dollar per metric ton. The basic customs duty on import of marble and travertine blocks has been increased from 10 percent to 40 percent to address the interest of domestic producers.

Similarly, the MIP on the import of marble slabs is being reduced to 40 US dollar per square metre and the basic customs duty on the import of marble slabs is doubled to 20 percent.

The MIP on the import of granite slabs has been reduced to 50 US Dollars per square metre and the basic customs duty on import of granite slabs has been doubled to 20 percent.

The new policy balances the interests of domestic consumers, producers and processors, and ends the cumbersome licensing system for import of Marble & Travertine blocks.

Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar declares Charkhi Dadri as 22nd district

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on 18 September 2016 announced Charkhi Dadri as the 22nd district of the state.

The state CM made the announcement at a public rally in Dadri in Bhiwani district. He also announced that developmental projects worth 112 crore rupees had already been completed in the Dadri assembly segment during the two year tenure of his government.

On the other hand, Khattar also inaugurated nine development projects worth 45 crore rupees in Dadri.

About Charkhi Dadri

• Charkhi Dadri is a district in Bhiwani district in the state of Haryana.

• The town was made by joining the villages of Charkhi and Dadri after urban development.

• Charkhi Dadri is on NH 148 B (Narnaul-Bathinda ) pass through the city.

• It is located in southern Haryana 110 kilometres from the national capital of New Delhi.

Priyesha Deshmukh wins bronze in World Deaf Shooting Championships

Hearing-impaired Indian shooter Priyesha Deshmukh on 14 September 2016 won the bronze medal in her first-ever international competition at the first World Deaf Shooting Championships.

The Championships was held in Kazan, Russia from 7 September to 15 September 2016.

Deshmukh won the bronze in the 10m air rifle category.

The shooter won the medal after scoring 180.4 points.

Deshmukh had qualified for the medal round after scoring 404.9 in the qualification round.

Deshmukh has been winning national gold in her the handicapped category since last three years. However, the World Deaf Shooting Championships is her maiden international participation.

Ukraine's Svitlana Yatsenko won the gold in the Championships while Serbia's Gordana Mikovic clinched the silver.

Virat Kohli appointed as Brand Ambassador of Punjab National Bank

Indian test skipper Virat Kohli was on 17 September 2016 appointed as Brand Ambassador of state-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB). Kohli has been an Account Holder of the bank since the age of 16 years.

Since its inception in 1895, PNB has been people's bank serving millions of customers throughout India. Over the years, the Bank has established itself as a major player in Indian banking space.

Background

The bank undertook this move to improve its image which has taken a hit due to rising bad loans. 

For the first quarter that ended in June 2016, the bank's profit declined by a 58 percent to 306 crore rupees on account of mounting bad loans. During the quarter, provision towards non-performing assets (NPAs) jumped almost three-fold to 3620 crore rupees from 1291 crore rupees.

The Gross NPAs rose significantly to 13.75 percent at the end of June 2016 from 12.9 percent in the year-ago period.

China and Russia conduct naval exercises Joint Sea-2016 to improve security

The Chinese and Russian navies on 19 September 2016 concluded Joint Sea-2016, eight days of naval exercises, in the South China Sea.

The Joint Sea-2016 was launched as a sign of growing cooperation between their armed forces against the backdrop of regional territorial disputes.

The exercises was conducted following a spike in tensions after Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague rejected China’s claims in the South China Sea and slammed it for causing environmental damage there.

Key highlights of Joint Sea-2016

• The Joint Sea-2016 included ships, submarines, ship-borne helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, along with marines and amphibious armoured vehicles who will conduct live-firing exercises.

• Tasks included defensive and rescue drills, anti-submarine exercises and the simulated seizure of an enemy island by marines from both sides.

• Compared with previous years, the 2016 drill focused more on confrontational capacity such as surface warships, submarines and land-based defences. Use of an advanced command system made communication between the two navies smoother.

• It was also the first time the China-Russia joint exercise had been held in the South China Sea.

68th Primetime Emmy Awards announced

The 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards was announced on 18 September 2016 at the Microsoft Theater, Los Angeles, California, U.S.

The Game of Thrones won best drama series at the 2016 Primetime Emmy Awards, while Veep took home the top comedy award.

The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story also earned several awards, while Julia Louis-Dreyfus won her fifth consecutive Emmy in the lead comedy actress category.

Complete list of the winners

Award	Winner
Outstanding Comedy Series	Veep
Outstanding Drama Series	Game of Thrones
Outstanding Variety Talk Series	Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Outstanding Variety Sketch Series	Key & Peele
Outstanding Limited Series	The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Outstanding Television Movie	Sherlock: "The Abominable Bride"
Outstanding Reality-Competition Program	The Voice
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series	Jeffrey Tambor as Maura Pfefferman on Transparent
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series	Julia Louis-Dreyfus as President Selina Meyer on Veep
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson on Mr. Robot
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	Tatiana Maslany as Sarah Manning, Alison Hendrix, Cosima Niehaus, Beth Childs, Rachel Duncan, and MK on Orphan Black
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie	Courtney B. Vance as Johnnie Cochran on The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie	Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clark on The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	Louie Anderson as Christine Baskets on Baskets
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Kate McKinnon as Various Characters on Saturday Night Live
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Ben Mendelsohn as Danny Rayburn on Bloodline
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Maggie Smith as Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham on Downton Abbey
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie	Sterling K. Brown as Christopher Darden on The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie	Regina King as Terri LaCroix on American Crime
Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series	Transparent (Episode: "Man on the Land"), Directed by Jill Soloway
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series	Game of Thrones (Episode: "Battle of the Bastards"), Directed by Miguel Sapochnik
Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special	Thomas Kail and Alex Rudzinski for Grease: Live
Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special	The Night Manager, Directed by Susanne Bier
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series	Master of None (Episode: "Parents"), Written by Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series	Game of Thrones (Episode: "Battle of the Bastards"), Written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss
Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special	Patton Oswalt: Talking for Clapping, Written by Patton Oswalt
Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special	The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story (Episode: "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia"), Written by D. V. DeVincentis

 

About Primetime Emmy Awards

• The Primetime Emmy Award is an American award bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

• It is given in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming.

• It was first given in 1949.

• The award was originally referred to as simply the Emmy Awards until the first Daytime Emmy Award ceremonies were held in the 1970s. The word prime time was added to distinguish between the two.

• The Emmy Awards are considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards (film), Grammy Awards (music), and Tony Awards (stage).

• The awards are divided into three categories: the Primetime Emmy Awards for television performance, the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, and the Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards.

Indian-origin Ravi Reddy appointed as Head of International Society for Blood Transfusion

An Indian-origin South African Ravi Reddy was on 18 September 2016 appointed as the Head of International Society for Blood Transfusion (ISBT), headquartered in Amsterdam.

With this, Reddy became the first person from the African continent to head ISBT, a global organisation of medicine professionals working for the safety of blood transfusion worldwide.

The ISBT, now with 100 member countries, was established in 1935 as a platform for exchanging knowledge and advancing the blood-transfusion practice.

About Ravi Reddy

• He is currently serving as the Chief Operations Officer of the South African National Blood Service (SANBS).

• He has served in various capacities for more than three decades after starting out as a volunteer at the age of 16 at SANBS.

• He subsequently qualified as a medical technologist with an MBA from the University of Natal in South Africa.

• He represented the African region on the board of the ISBT between 2006 and 2012, and is also a member of the Working Party on Transfusion and Transmissible Infections. 

• He has presented and published a large number of scientific papers.

Pulitzer-winning US playwright Edward Albee passes away

Pulitzer-winning US playwright Edward Albee passed away on 16 September 2016 following a brief illness in Montauk, New York. He was 88.

He authored many of the masterpieces such as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

About Edward Albee

• Considered one of the most important American playwrights of his time, Albee wrote a variety of intense, controversial plays diving into anxieties, disillusionments and death.

• He burst onto the theatre scene with The Zoo Story (1958) at the age of 30 which later moved to off-Broadway in 1960.

• Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? debuted on Broadway in 1962. It was later made into a 1966 black-comedy movie directed by Mike Nichols starring Elizabeth Taylor, who won an Oscar as best actress.

• Albee won a string of awards for Virginia Woolf including a Tony Award for best play in 1963.

• Throughout an up-and-down commercial career over several decades, Albee won three Pulitzer Prizes for best drama. The first in 1967 was for A Delicate Balance .

• He also garnered Pulitzers for Seascape in 1975, followed by Three Tall Women in 1994.

• In 2005, he was awarded the special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Guided Missile Destroyer Ship Mormugao launched in Mumbai

The Guided Missile Destroyer, Mormugao, second ship of Project 15B,was launched on 17 September 2016 at Mazagaon Dock Ship Builders Limited (MDL), Mumbai.

This marks a significant milestone in the annals of the Indigenous Warship design and construction programme of India.

About Project 15B Ships

• Project 15B ships feature cutting edge advanced technology and are comparable to the best ships of similar class anywhere in the world. 

• These ships have been designed indigenously by the Directorate of Naval Design, New Delhi. 

• Each ship spans 163 metres in length and 17.4 metres at beam and displaces 7300 tonnes. 

• These ships will be propelled by four gas turbines to achieve speeds in excess of 30 knots. 

• The P15B destroyers incorporate new design concepts for improved survivability, sea keeping, stealth and ship manoeuvrability. 

• P 15B ships will be equipped to carry and operate two multiple role helicopters.

• These ships are packed with an array of state of the art weapons and sensors, including vertically launched missile system for long distance engagement of shore, sea-based and air targets.

Background

Four Guided missile Destroyers of Project 15B (P 15B) are under construction at Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, Mumbai. The contract for construction of these four ships was signed on 28 January 2011. 

Stealth has been a major thrust area in P15B design. Enhanced stealth features have been achieved through shaping of hull and use of radar transparent deck fittings which make these ships difficult to detect. 

These ships have been designed for a complement of 50 officers and 250 sailors.

Malayalam critic M Leelavathy chosen for N Mohanan Suvarna Mudra Award 2016

Eminent Malayalam critic and academician M Leelavathy was on 17 September 2016 chosen for the prestigious N Mohanan Suvarna Mudra Award 2016, instituted in memory of well-known short story writer N Mohanan.

An expert panel comprising journalists M G Radhakrishnan and M Saritha Varma and Athmaraman, selected Leelavathy for the biennial award considering her contributions to Malayalam language and literature. 

About N Mohanan Suvarna Mudra Award

• The award, instituted to commemorate N Mohanan, short story writer, is given every alternate year.

• The award was first presented to the late poet ONV Kurup, Jnanpith winning poet.

• It comprises a gold medal of one sovereign.

20 September

Anandi Ramalingam assumed charge as Bharat Electronics Limited’s first woman director

Anandi Ramalingam on 16 September 2016 assumed charge as functional/whole time director of Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).

Ramalingam has assumed charge as Director Marketing. It is the first time that a woman has been appointed as the Director of the company.

Earlier, Ramalingam served as the General Manager heading the Military Communication Strategic Business Unit (SBU) at BEL's Bangalore Complex.

Ramalingam had joined BEL-Bengaluru in March 1985 after completing her BE in Electronics and Communication engineering from the PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore.

About Bharat Electronics Limited

• Bharat Electronics Limited is an Indian state-owned aerospace and defence company with about nine factories in India.

• It is owned by the Indian Government.

• It primarily manufactures advanced electronic products for the Indian Armed Forces.

• It is one of nine PSUs under the Ministry of Defence of India.

• It has been accorded Navratna status by the Government of India.

HRD Minister inaugurates Super Computer PARAM-ISHAN at IIT Guwahati

Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar on 19 September 2016 inaugurated the super computer PARAM ISHAN at IIT Guwahati campus.

Students and faculty members of IIT Guwahati are expected to derive huge benefit from the facility.

PARAM ISHAN

• It is the fastest and most powerful computer in North East, Eastern and Southern region.

• It has been jointly developed by IIT Guwahati and Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, C -DAC.

• PARAM ISHAN has the power of 250 Teraflops and 300 terabyte capacity and can be used in the application areas like computational chemistry, computational fluid dynamics, computational electromagnetic, civil engineering structures, nana-block self assemble, optimization and others.

• It can also be used for weather, climate modeling and seismic data processing.

BCCI partners Janalakshmi Financial Services for three years

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on 15 September 2016 tied up with financial services firm Janalakshmi Financial Services (Jana) as an associate sponsor.

Janalakshmi will be the official financial services partner of the BCCI where the brand would enjoy visibility on the field.

The agreement also gives Janalakshmi benefits of prominence in stadium branding and on-ground advertising for 68 matches in three years across the three formats.

About Janalakshmi Financial Services

• Janalakshmi Financial Services is the largest and the fastest growing Micro Finance Institution (MFI) in India.

• It recently has been granted in-principle approval to convert itself into a Small Finance Bank.

• It has deep domain expertise in banking and financial services, with over 500 years of banking sector expertise just among the senior management.

• In March 2016, it received the VC Circle award for the Best Financial Services Firm in India that has received venture capital funding.

• JFS is also a part of the financial inclusion working group with the World Economic Forum.

Russia: Ruling United Russia party wins parliamentary election

President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party on 19 September 2016 won the Russian parliamentary election by securing 343 seats of the total 450 in Duma, the lower house of Parliament. This win, paves the way for Putin to run for a fourth term as President.

Central Election Commission said, Communist Party and Liberal Democratic Party with about 14 percent each are in second and third place, while A Just Russian party gained about 6 percent of the votes. No other party has overcome the 5 percent threshold for entry into the parliament by party tickets.

Earlier, the elections to the state Duma were held on 18 September 2016 in a split system – 225 members of parliament were elected by party tickets, while the other 225 were elected in one-seat constituencies. More than 111 million people were eligible to vote in the election and no minimal turnout was required.

In the last election for the Duma in 2011, United Russia won 49 percent (238 seats) of the vote.

Scientists use stem cells to successfully grow human lungs in a dish

A team of researchers from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) created a three-dimensional lung, called as organoids, to study diseases, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

The organoids resemble sections of human lungs instead of just cells.

The study was published in the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine.

How the researchers grew lungs?

• The researchers used stem cells taken from actual adult human lungs to coat tiny sticky hydrogel beads.

• The beads eventually grew and self-assembled to envelope the hydrogel beads, which were all placed inside linked wells.

• The resulting structure produced evenly distributed three-dimensional patterns consistent with actual air sacs like those in human lungs.

• Inside each well, the lung cells grew around the beads, which linked them and formed an evenly distributed three-dimensional pattern.

• To show that these tiny organoids mimicked the structure of actual lungs, the researchers compared the lab-grown tissues with real sections of human lung.

• Moreover, when the researchers added certain molecular factors to the 3D cultures, the lungs developed scars similar to those seen in the lungs of people who have idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

• The scientists were not able build a fully functional lung. However, they have been able to take lung cells and place them in the correct geometrical spacing and pattern to mimic a human lung.

What is Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis?

• Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a chronic lung disease characterised by scarring of the lungs.

• The scarring makes the lungs thick and stiff, which over time results in progressively worsening shortness of breath and lack of oxygen to the brain and vital organs.

• The term 'idiopathic' is used because the cause of pulmonary fibrosis is still unknown.

• To study the effect of genetic mutations or drugs on lung cells, researchers have previously relied on two-dimensional cultures of the cells. But when they take cells from people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and grow them on these flat cultures, the cells appear healthy.

HAL gets APAQG membership with voting rights

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) was on 16 September 2016 conferred with the prestigious membership of the Asia-Pacific Aerospace Quality Group (APAQG) under the category Full Member with voting rights.

With this, India became the seventh nation to join the APAQG under TRHE International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG). The other nations of APAQG are China, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Singapore and Japan.

Highlights of the membership

• HAL is now a part of Global Quality team dedicated to bring improvements in the Aerospace Quality. 

• The company can participate in international forums and contribute to the development and revision of current and new quality Standards.

• The membership enables HAL to have access to various Quality System Standards and other guidelines developed by IAQG.

• To become a part of IAQG, HAL has to be a member of APAQG and then graduate to IAQG as a voting member.

About TRHE International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG)

• The IAQG is an international non-profit cooperative global organisation that brings aviation, space and defence companies together to deliver more value at all levels of the supply chain.

• It establishes and maintains Quality Management System standards (9100 series) and controls the certification system.

• The IAQG comprises Americas (AAQG), Europe (EAQG) and Asia-Pacific (APAQG) sectors.

Naropa Festival: Devotees visit Indian Himalayas to celebrate Buddhist festival

A once-in-12-years festival of Buddhist spirituality, culture and tradition began on 16 September 2016 at the Hemis monastery of Drukpa lineage in Ladakh region of India. The festival will conclude on 22 September 2016.

Hundreds of thousands of monks, devotees and tourists have reached Ladakh for the Naropa Festival, which is also called as the Kumbh Mela of the Himalayas.

The Naropa Festival draws huge numbers of Buddhists, especially those from the Drukpabranch which is traditionally practised in Ladakh and Bhutan.

Dancers in bright, silk costumes and striking headgear performed to drum and pipe music as part of the festival being held in a mountain village to commemorate the 1000th birth anniversary of Buddhist saint Naropa.

On the other hand, a 60-foot-tall silk embroidery brocade of Buddha Amitabha was unfurled on 19 September 2016.

The 12th Gyalwang Drukpa, the spiritual head of the 1000-year-old Drukpa Order based in the Himalayas, unfurled the brocade amidst chanting of prayers.

A special stand was erected at the Naropa Palace, the venue of the carnival, to display the largest silk embroidered thanka or brocade.

About Saint Naropa

• Naropa was an Indian Buddhist Mahasiddha.

• He was a contemporary of Atisa, a Buddhist Bengali religious leader and master.

• Naropa was born in a high status Brahmin family of Bengal.

• At the age of 28, he entered the famous Buddhist University at Nalanda where he studied both Sutra and Tantra.

• He eventually gained the title Guardian of the Northern gate.

• He was the disciple of Tilopa and brother, or some sources say partner and pupil, of Niguma.

• Some accounts relate that Naropa was the personal teacher of Marpa Lotsawa. Other accounts suggest that Marpa held Naropa's lineage through intermediary disciples only.

About Hemis Monastry

• The Hemis Monastry is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the Drukpa Lineage, located in Hemis, Ladakh.

• The monastery existed before the 11th Century.

• Saint Naropa is connected with this monastery.

• The monastery was re-established in 1672 by the Ladakhi king Sengge Namgyal.

World leaders adopt New York Declaration at UNGA Summit for Refugees and Migrants

The World Leaders on 19 September 2016 adopted the New York Declaration at the opening of the United Nations General Assembly's (UNGA) first-ever Summit for Refugees and Migrants.

The delegations adopted the landmark Declaration containing bold commitments to address current issues and to prepare the world for future challenges, including, to start negotiations leading to the adoption of a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration in 2018.

Highlights of the New York Declaration

• Protect the human rights of all refugees and migrants, regardless of status. This includes the rights of women and girls and promoting their full, equal and meaningful participation in finding solutions.

• Ensure that all refugee and migrant children are receiving education within a few months of arrival.

• Prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence.

• Support those countries rescuing, receiving and hosting large numbers of refugees and migrants.

• Work towards ending the practice of detaining children for the purposes of determining their migration status.

• Find new homes for all refugees identified by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as needing resettlement.

• Expand the opportunities for refugees to relocate to other countries through labour mobility or education schemes.

• Strengthen the global governance of migration by bringing the International Organization for Migration (IOM) into the UN system.

The adoption of the New York Declaration means that more children can attend school; more workers can securely seek jobs abroad and more people will have real choices about whether to move once the conflicts are resolved.

Other Developments

• UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also launched a new campaign called Together – Respect, Safety and Dignity for All to respond to rising xenophobia and turn fear into hope.

• United Nations and International Organization for Migration (IOM) signed the new agreement by which IOM officially becomes a related organization of the United Nations system.

Indian Railways launches Yatri Mitra Sewa for elderly, differently-abled

Indian Railways on 19 September 2016 launched Yatri Mitra Sewa to facilitate access to wheelchairs, battery operated cars and porter services. The service was launched to make rail travel comfortable for elderly, differently-abled and ailing travelers.

Highlights of the Yatri Mitra Sewa

• Yatri Mitra or Passenger Friend service can be an assistant or any other person nominated for the purpose.

• The service will be available at major railway stations across the country.

• It can be availed at the time of online booking of tickets by calling or messaging 139 or by simply dialling a dedicated mobile phone number to be activated for the purpose.

• Passengers can also access the Mobile app to avail the service in the future. The App will be developed by the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS).

• Once the service is booked, the IRCTC will ensure the Yatri Mitra receive the passenger at the entrance of the station and help in boarding the train safely.

• The assistant will also be available at the coach when the passenger arrives at the designated railway station.

Background

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) was mandated to implement the service which may provide Yatri Mitra Sewa free of cost by involving some NGO, charitable trust, PSUs under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) category.

But, if the service cannot be provided free of cost due to lack of response, then the IRCTC may arrange this service on reasonable and affordable charges through a service provider or on its own.

Cauvery Supervisory Committee directs Karnataka to release 3000 cusecs of water per day for 10 days

The Cauvery Supervisory Committee headed by Shashi Shekhar on 19 September 2016 directed Karnataka to release 3000 cusecs of water per day to Tamil Nadu. As per the committee’s direction, Karnataka will have to release 3000 cusecs water per day from 21 to 30 September 2016 to Tamil Nadu.

The other members of the committee are Chief Secretaries of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry and Central Water Commission chairman. It will once again meet in October 2016.

It seems that the decision of the committee will go in vain as no consensus was reached between the two states regarding the release of water. Karnataka had opposed the release of water due to ground reality and drinking water problems in the state.

Earlier on 5 September 2016, the Supreme Court asked Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to approach the panel and till then asked Karnataka to release 15000 cusecs of water per day for 10 days to Tamil Nadu. Later on 12 September, it revised the limit to 12000 cusecs per day till 20 September 2016.

Outcome of the decision

The Karnataka government said that it will move Supreme Court to challenge the Cauvery Supervisory Committee's order asking the state to release 3000 cusecs of water per day for 10 days. It said that the state is not in a position to release Cauvery water due to shortage being faced by them.

Jubilant FoodWorks CEO Ajay Kaul resigns

Ajay Kaul on 19 September 2016 resigned as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Jubilant FoodWorks Limited. However, Kaul will continue in his current role till March 2017.

Kaul's resignation came at a time when Jubilant Foodworks, which is the master franchisee of Domino's and Dunkin' Donuts in India, reported decline of 3.2 percent in its same-store sales growth (SSG) for the first quarter of financial year 2016-17.

About Ajay Kaul

• Ajay Kaul joined the Board of Directors of Jubilant FoodWorks as Chief Executive Officer cum Whole Time Director in March 2005. 

• He holds a bachelor’s degree in technology from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and a masters’ degree in business administration from XLRI, Jamshedpur. 

• He has experience in industries such as financial services, airlines, express distribution and logistics and food retail.

India successfully test fires long range surface-to-air Barak-8 missile off Odisha coast

India on 20 September 2016 successfully test-fired the most advanced surface-to-air missile 'Barak-8' off the Odisha coast. The long-range nuclear capable ballistic missile, developed jointly with Israel, was launched from a mobile launcher at the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur in Balasore district.

The 4.5-meter missile weighs around 3 tonnes and can carry a payload of 70 kilograms. The system also includes a Multi-Functional Surveillance and Threat Alert Radar (MF STAR) for detection, tracking and guidance of the missile.

The missile swung into action after getting a signal from the radars to intercept a moving aerial target supported by an unmanned air vehicle ‘Banshee’ over the Bay of Bengal.

As a precautionary measure, Balasore district administration had made adequate arrangements to temporarily shift 3700 people residing within the 2.5 km radius. The fishermen were also asked not to venture into the sea during the launch.

Earlier between 30 June and 1 July 2016, the Barak-8 was successfully test fired twice.