5-6 September
Mother Teresa canonised as Saint by Pope Francis at Vatican
Mother Teresa on 4 September 2016 was proclaimed a Saint by Pope Francis in a ceremony at the Vatican.
Thousands of pilgrims attended the canonisation of Mother Teresa in St Peter's Square.
During the ceremony, Pope Francis announced “We declare and define Blessed Teresa of Calcutta to be a saint and we enrol her among the saints, decreeing that she is to be venerated as such by the whole Church."
With this, Mother Teresa became the fourth Indian to be made saint. Those who received the honour before her include Father Kuriakose Elias Chavara, Sister Euphrasiaand Sister Alphonsa. Saint Gonsalo Garcia, though of Portuguese parentage, was born in India, and is considered an India born saint.
The process of Cannonisation
•Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process.
•Later, different processes, such as those used by the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church were developed.
•There are four steps to canonization that the saints have to go through: Servant of God → Venerable → Blessed → Saint
Beatification of Mother Teresa
•After Mother Teresa's death in 1997, the Holy See began the process of beatification, the first step towards possible canonisation. This process required the documentation of a miracle performed from the intercession of Mother Teresa.
•In 2002, the Vatican recognised as a miracle the healing of a tumour in the abdomen of an Indian woman, Monica Besra, after the application of a locket containing Mother Teresa's picture. Besra said that a beam of light emanated from the picture, curing the cancerous tumour.
•Mother Teresa was beatified on 19 October 2003, becoming known by Catholics as "Blessed."
•On 17 December 2015, the Vatican confirmed that Pope Francis had recognised a second miracle attributed to her, involving the healing of a Brazilian man with multiple brain tumours.
About Saint Teresa of Calcutta
•Saint Teresa of Calcutta was an Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun and missionary.
•After having lived in Macedonia for eighteen years, she moved to Ireland and then to India, where she lived for most of her life.
•In 1950, Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation.
•In 2012, the Missionaries of Charity consisted of over 4500 sisters and was active in 133 countries.
•The Missionaries of Charity run homes for people dying of HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis, soup kitchens, dispensaries and mobile clinics, children's and family counselling programmes, orphanages and schools.
•In 1962, she won the Ramon Magsaysay Peace Prize.
•In 1979, she was honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize.
Union Government approves use of chilli-based PAVA shells as alternative to pellet guns
Union Government on 3 September 2016 approved the use of Pelargonic Acid Vanillyl Amide (PAVA) as an alternative to pellet guns for crowd control. Pellet guns will be used in the rarest of rare cases.
Pelargonic Acid Vanillyl Amide (PAVA) also called Nonivamide is chilli-based ammunition that is less lethal and immobilises the target temporarily. The shells actually contain an organic compound found in natural chilli.
The PAVA shells were under trial for over a year at the Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, a Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) laboratory in Lucknow.
Background
Earlier in July 2016, the Home Ministry constituted a seven-member Expert committee headed by TVSN Prasad for exploring the other possible alternatives to pellet guns as non-lethal weapons. The Committee submitted its report to the Ministry recommending use of PAVA shells as an alternative. The Kashmir Valley is witnessing unrest following the killing of a Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani on 8 July 2016.
India-Vietnam inked 12 agreements to bolster bilateral relation
India and Vietnam on 3 September 2016 signed twelve agreements to boost the bilateral relations between the two nations. The agreements were inked after delegation level talks between of Prime Minister of the two nations, Narendra Modi and Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is the first Indian premier to visit the country in 15 years, was on a two day visit (2-3 September 2016) to Vietnam. The last Prime Minister to visit Vietnam was Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who visited the nation in 2001.
The signed agreements include
• Framework agreement on cooperation in the exploration and uses of outer space for peaceful purposes
• Protocol for amending the agreement on avoiding double taxation
• Program of cooperation in UN Peacekeeping Matters
• Protocol on celebrating 2017 as the "Year of Friendship”
• MoU on health cooperation
• MoU on cooperation in information technology
• MoU on cooperation between the Vietnam academy of social sciences and the Indian council of world affairs
• MoU on cooperation in cyber security
• MoU for cooperation in the fields of standardization and conformity assessment
• MoU on establishment of the centre of excellence in software development and training
• Technical agreement on sharing of white shipping information
• Contract for offshore high-speed patrol boats
Apart from this, India also extended 500 million dollar Line of Credit (LoC) to Vietnam for facilitating deeper defence cooperation with the South East Asian nation. The LoC was extended as the two nations elevated their ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to respond to emerging regional challenges.
Till now, Vietnam had Strategic Partnership only with Russia and China.
Besides, Prime Minister Modi also extended an invitation to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to visit India at a mutually convenient date. PM Phuc accepted the invitation and the dates for the visit will be finalized through diplomatic channels.
India A wins Quadrangular one-day cricket series
India A on 4 September 2016 clinched the Quadrangular one-day cricket series. In the final clash in Mackay, Australia, India defeated Australia-A by 57 runs.
Electing to bat after winning the toss, India A put up 266 for 4 in their 50 over before bowling out the hosts for 209 in 44.5 over.
Mandeep Singh was the star of India's batting performance with a 108-ball 95. He was named Player of the Match.
Mandeep combined with captain Manish Pandey who scored 61 steered India to victory.
India A have now claimed the last three 'A' series, defeating Australia A on each occasion in the finals in July 2014 and August 2015.
The other two teams in the series were South Africa A and the Australian National Performance Squad.
Nico Rosberg wins 2016 Italian Grand Prix
Nico Rosberg on 4 September 2016 won the 2016 Italian Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Monza, Italy.
It is Rosberg’s seventh victory of the 2016 Formula One season. In this season, he has won the 2016 Australian Grand Prix, the 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix, the 2016 Chinese Grand Prix, the 2016 Russian Grand Prix, the 2016 European Grand Prix and the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix.
Top 5 in the race
|
Position |
Driver |
Car |
|
1 |
Nico Rosberg |
Mercedes |
|
2 |
Lewis Hamilton |
Mercedes |
|
3 |
Sebastian Vettel |
Ferrari |
|
4 |
Kimi Räikkönen |
Ferrari |
|
5 |
Daniel Ricciardo |
Red Bull Racing Tag Heuer |
About Italian Grand Prix
• The Italian Grand Prix is one of the longest running events on the Formula One calendar.
• The Italian Grand Prix was also one of the inaugural Formula One championship races in 1950. It has been held every year since then.
• The 2016 Italian Grand Prix was the fourteenth round of the 2016 Formula One season.
• It marked the eighty-sixth running of the Italian Grand Prix and the eighty-second time the race was held at Monza.
International Day of Charity observed globally
5 September: International Day of Charity
The International Day of Charity was on 5 September 2016 observed globally with an aim to recognise the role of charity in alleviating human suffering within and among nations, as well as of the efforts of charitable organizations and individuals including the work of Mother Teresa.
The day was first celebrated in 2013.
Canonisation of Mother Teresa
On the occasion of the death anniversary of Mother Teresa, which is also commemorated as International Day of Charity, Pope Francis proclaimed Mother Teresa as a Saint on 4 September 2016.
Thousands of pilgrims attended the canonisation of Mother Teresa in St Peter's Square.
Background
On 17 December 2012,the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution A/RES/67/105PDF designated the 5 September, the anniversary of the death of Mother Teresa, as the International Day of Charity.
On this day, the United Nations invites all Member States and all international and regional organizations, as well as civil society to commemorate the Day by encouraging charity, including through education and public awareness-raising activities.
Gumthala Garhu becomes first Wifi hotspot village in Haryana
Gumthala Garhu near Pehowa on 3 September 2016 became the first Wifi hotspot village in Haryana circle under the bulk plan of BSNL for the state.
The service was inaugurated by state Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar from Chandigarh.
Gumthala Garhu is located on Ambala-Kaithal-Hisar road and has a population of 11000.
The BSNL Haryana circle plans to have 238 Wifi hotspot locations with 1072 access points in the state. The project will be implemented to its full capacity during the current financial year.
Key highlights
•The Wifi hotspot facility at the village uses bandwidth of 10 mbps through BSNL’s state-of-the-art network.
•Ten outdoor and one indoor access points have been installed to cover the village.
•The coverage from each access point is about 100 meters.
•Data can be accessed by multiple users simultaneously.
•The system at the village is set up at the cost of 8.59 rupees lakh that has been funded by village panchayat, MLA fund and contributions by the villagers.
•The gram panchayats in Haryana are being connected as part of the National Optical Fibre Network Programme under Digital India Programme.
•In Haryana, 6078 gram panchayats will be connected under this ambitious programme in a phased manner.
•Under phase one, work is in progress in 90 blocks and 90% of it has already been completed.
•In phase two, work will commence in 24 blocks and it will be completed by the end of 2016.
Odisha Government inks lease agreement on Jagatjore Shrimp Culture Project
Odisha government on 3 September 2016 signed a long-term lease agreement with Falcon Marine Exports for the operation of Jagatjore Shrimp Culture Project in coastal Kendrapara district. Falcon Marine Exports was the highest bidder of the project.
The lease period will be for 15 years which, will fetch revenue of 13 crore rupees to the government.
Jagatjore-Banapada Shrimp Culture Project
The project was first implemented in 1992-93 in Mahakalpada Tahasil of Kendrapara District executed by the State Fisheries Department. It was executed with loan assistance from World Bank with a cost of 25.23 crore. It was completed in 2000.
Odisha took up the Shrimp culture in 2001, under which 81 lakh rupees was provided to the BPL beneficiaries as working capital. But, the project became defunct as only crop was partially successful.
The government decided to revive the project, which was lying idle for years on the suggestions from the Seafood Exporters Association. The association requested the government to use the developed infrastructure.
|
NOTE: Odisha in 2015 became the first State of the country to adopt a Comprehensive Fishery Policy. The policy was adopted with an aim to double the fish production and achieve export earnings of 10000 crore rupees within 5 years. Besides, the state in June 2015 also notified the Brackish Water Land Leasing Policy to make available about 24000 hectare of land in coastal area for brackish water aquaculture aiming to change the economy of coastal area. |
Odisha Government launches Biju Kanya Ratna Yojana
The Odisha Government on 3 September 2016 launched the Biju Kanya Ratna Yojana (BKRY) in three districts of the state.
The scheme was launched for the development of girls.
The scheme will be implemented for three years in Ganjam, Dhenkanaland Anguldistricts on a pilot basis.
The objective of the Biju Kanya Ratna Yojana is to improve Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) and Child Sex Ratio (CSR) in the three districts.
The CSR has declined from 967 in the 1991 census to 941 in the 2011 census in Nayagarh, Dhenkanal, Angul and Ganjam districts. However, Nayagarh is covered under Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme.
Key highlights of the Biju Kanya Ratna Yojana
•The BKRY will ensure enrolment of girls in elementary education.
•It will track dropout girls from schools and create a better environment for them.
•The scheme will create awareness on gender discrimination against girls, their health, nutrition and education.
•The scheme also includes provision of toilets for girls in every school, self defence training for girls, promotion of access to education, sensitising adolescent girls on sexual and reproductive health issues, training of elected representatives/grassroots functionaries as community champions to mobilise communities to improve CSR and girls’ education.
•According to the provision of BKRY, the state government will spend 3.5 crore rupees for the three-year planned scheme, which is expected to be completed by 31 March 2019.
Abhinav Bindra announces retirement from Shooting
Abhinav Bindra, India's lone individual Olympic gold medallist, on 4 September 2016 officially announced his retirement from shooting.
He announced his retirement after playing for almost two decades. In Rio Olympics 2016, Bindra nearly missed a second Olympic medal by a whisker and came fourth.
Presently, he is the Chairman of a review committee formulated by the NRAI to examine and identify in a cold and ruthless manner the reason as to why shooting failed to secure any medal at Rio Olympic Games.
About Abhinav Bindra
• Abhinav Bindra is the first Indian to win an individual Gold medal in Olympic since 1900 the year our country participated in the Olympic Games.
• Having started his Olympic journey in Sydney back in 2000, he qualified in three Olympic finals including his golden journey of Beijing in 2008 in his pet 10m air rifle, while he missed out in Sydney and London.
• In 2001, he was awarded with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award.
• He won the Uttaranchal Praman Patra Award in 2003.
• He was conferred with the Madhya Pradesh Khel Ratna in 2006.
• In 2006, he received Punjab Praman Patra Award.
• He won Padma Bhushan in 2009, the same year he was also conferred with Rajiv Gandhi Award, Bharat Shiromani Award and India Youth Sports Icon.
K K Aggarwal elected as National President of IMA
Cardiologist K K Aggarwal was on 2 September 2016 unanimously elected as the National President of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) for the year 2016-17. Aggarwal is currently the Secretary General of the IMA.
Moreover, the association also elected Dr Ravi Wankhedkar from Maharashtra as the National President for the year 2017-18 and Dr R N Tandon as Honorary Secretary General.
All these appointments will be effective from 28 December 2016.
About Indian Medical Association (IMA)
• Indian Medical Association is the only representative national voluntary organisation of doctors of modern scientific system of medicine.
• Headquartered in Delhi, IMA has over 253000 doctors as its members through more than 1650 active local branches spread across the country.
• It looks after the interest of doctors as well as the well-being of the community at large.
IUCN lists Eastern Gorilla as Critically Endangered
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on 4 September 2016 listed the eastern gorilla, the largest living primate, as critically endangered in its latest red list of threatened species.
The eastern gorilla was listed in the latest update ofThe IUCN Red List of Threatened Speciesthat was released at the IUCN World Conservation Congresstaking place in Hawaii.
The IUCN stated that the eastern gorilla has suffered a 70% population collapse over the past 20 years, primarily due to illegal hunting.
The largest living primate’s population is now estimated to be fewer than 5000. Grauer’s Gorilla, one subspecies of Eastern Gorilla, has lost 77% of its population since 1994, declining from 16900 individuals to just 3800 in 2015. Hunting represents the greatest threat to Grauer’s Gorillas.
The second subspecies of Eastern Gorilla, the Mountain Gorilla, is faring better and has increased in number to around 880 individuals.
Four of the six great apes, Eastern Gorilla, Western Gorilla, Bornean OrangutanandSumatran Orangutan, are now listed as Critically Endangered. The Chimpanzee and Bonobo are listed as Endangered.
About eastern gorilla
•The eastern gorilla is a large hominid with a large head, broad chest and long arms.
•It has a flat nose with large nostrils.
•The face, hands, feet and breast are bald.
•The fur is mainly black, but adult males have a silvery saddle on their back.
•When the gorilla gets older, the hair on the saddle of the back becomes white, much like the gray hair of elderly people. This is why the older males are called silverbacks.
•Grauer's gorilla has a shorter, thicker, deep black fur, while the mountain gorilla has a more bluish color.
•Mountain gorillas are restricted to the mountain rainforests and subalpine forests of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, southwestern Uganda and Rwanda.
•Grauer's gorillas occur across the forests of the Albertine Rift in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
•Eastern gorillas are herbivorous, with a heavily foliage based diet, due lack of available fruit in their habitats.
Noted Assamese poet Nalinidhar Bhattacharyya dies
Noted Assamese poet, literary critic and author Nalinidhar Bhattacharyya passed away on 2 September 2016 in Guwahati following age-old ailments. He was 95.
He was a former principal of Arya Vidyapeeth College, Guwahati.
About Nalinidhar Bhattacharyya
• Born in 1921, Bhattacharyya began his literary career as a poet, but later emerged as a leading literary critic and essayist.
• His work brought him several awards including the Soviet Land Nehru Award (1983), Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad Award (1991), Sahitya Akademi Award (2002) and the Assam Valley Literary Award (2006).
• He was honoured by Asam Sahitya Sabha with the Sahityacharya title in 2010.
• His best-known collections of poems include Ei Kunwolite, Cherashalir Malita, Bidai Phular Din, Ahata Sapon and Noni Asane Gharat.
6 September
Urjit Patel assumes charge as 24th Governor of Reserve Bank of India
Urjit R Patel on 4 September 2016 assumed charge as the 24th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The handover ceremony will take place on 6 September 2016.
Patel had been serving as the Deputy Governor since January 2013.
Patel succeeds Raghuram Rajan, who after serving a three-year term, is going back to academia.
On 20 August 2016, the appointment committee of cabinet approved the appointment of Patel for three years.
About Urjit R Patel
•Urjit Patel headed a panel that recommended landmark changes to monetary policy in India. The changes included a switch to inflation-targeting and the creation of a panel to set interest rates.
•In January 2016, he was reappointed as the Deputy Governor in Charge of monetary policy, the department he headed from 2013.
•Earlier between 1990 and 1995, he had worked with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) covering US, India, Bahamas and Myanmar.
•He carries a doctorate from Yale University.
•He also carries M Phil from Oxford.
Sikki, Pranaav clinched Brazil Open Grand Prix title
India's mixed doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy on 5 September 2016 won the 2016 Brazil Open Grand Prix. It was their maiden Grand Prix title.
In the final clash, the top seeded Indian pair, ranked World no. 65, defeated Canadian combo of Toby Ng and Rachel Honderich 21-15, 21-16 in straight games at Costa Cavalcante.
The 23-year-old Sikky won as many as five international challenger titles in 2015, which includes two mixed doubles and three women's doubles crowns. She was also a part of the bronze medal winning Indian team at the 2014 and 2016 Uber Cup. So far, she played mixed doubles with six different partners, including V Diju, Alwin Francis, Tarun Kona, Manu Attri and K Nandagopal.
Pranaav was part of the Indian team that stunned mighty China 3-2 to win a bronze in the Asia Badminton Team Championships.
Jackie Chan to be given honorary Oscar
Action movie star, writer, director and martial artist Jackie Chan will be given an honorary Academy (Oscar) Award for his extraordinary achievements in the movies.
Chan will receive an honorary Oscar statuette at the Academy's 8th Annual Governors Awards to be held on 12 November 2016.
The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science recently voted to present the award to Chan, British editor Anne V Coates, casting director Lynn Stalmaster and documentary maker Frederick Wiseman.
Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs described the four as true pioneers and legends in their crafts.
Academy Honorary Award
• The Academy Honorary Award was instituted in 1948 for the 21st Academy Awards (previously called the Special Award).
• It is given by the discretion of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to celebrate motion picture achievements that are not covered by existing Academy Awards.
• Prior winners of competitive Academy Awards are not excluded from receiving the Honorary Award.
• The Honorary Award is presented at the annual Governors Awards.
Religare Enterprises appoints Sunil Godhwani as CEO
Religare Enterprises Limited (REL) on 5 September 2016 appointed Sunil Godhwani as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Godhwani is appointed the Whole Time Director and CEO for the remaining period of his tenure.
Who is Sunil Godhwani?
•Sunil Godhwani has been the Managing Director since 9 April 2007 and Chairman since 6 April 2010 of Religare.
•He holds a BS and MS degrees from New York University Tandon School of Engineering.
•He actively participates in various business platforms such as the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce Industry (FICCI).
About Religare Enterprises
•Religare Enterprises Limited (REL) is the holding company for one of India's leading diversified financial services groups.
•It is headquartered in New Delhi, India.
•It offers an integrated suite of financial services through its underlying subsidiaries and operating entities.
•It has one million clients in India and more than 1700 offices across India.