September 24, 2017 Pradhan Mantri LPG Panchayat launched in Gujarat Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan has launched Pradhan Mantri LPG Panchayat at Mota Ishanpur village in Gandhinagar district of Gujarat. According to him, a total of one lakh, Pradhan Mantri LPG Panchayats would be organized across the country in next one and half year to provide an interactive platform to the rural LPG users. About 100 such beneficiaries- most of them women have participated in this LPG Panchayat. Mr Pradhan also inaugurated the Skill Development Institute at Adalaj near Ahmedabad as part of National Skill Development Mission. Pradhan Mantri Ujjala Yojna (PMUY) was launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 1st May 2016 in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh. Under the PMUY, 5 Cr LPG connections will be provided to BPL families with a support of Rs.1600 per connection in the next 3 years. Mr Vijay Rupani is present Chief Minister of Gujarat. The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is a one-of-its-kind, Public Private Partnership model in India, under the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE). Pralay Sahayam launched in Hyderabad On the 23rd Sept 2017, Pralaya Sahayam, a humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Programme was launched in Hyderabad. The programme provides a www.talentsprint.com 1
common platform for all agencies involved in search, rescue and relief operations in times of natural calamity such as floods, earthquake etc. This will provide an opportunity for all concerned to have a better coordination amongst them. Australia s Deakin University signs MOU with NSDC On the 22nd Sept 2017, the Deakin University in Australia announced that they have signed a MOU with the National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC) for skills in ecosystem. The MOU is for a period of 5 years. Deakin University will be a knowledge partner for NSDC in impact assessment and monitoring and evaluating framework for skill development projects. The alignment will will work on projects to conduct data analytics and impart evaluation studies in the skills eco system. DGCA grants airport license to Shirdi Airport The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has granted airport license to Shirdi Airport in Maharashtra. The license is valid only for daytime operations. Although the length of the runway is only 2500 meters, the airport will be capable of handling C 3 type of Aircraft like Airbus A 320 and Boeing 737. Flight operations at Shirdi Airport are likely to commence from 1st October 2017. The Minister of Civil Aviation in the Union Government is Pashupathi Ashok Gajapathi Raju and the Director General of Civil Aviation is B.S.Bhullar. www.talentsprint.com 2
Sleeping time in Indian Railways reduced by an hour On the 17th Sept 2017, the Indian Railways announced that the sleeping time of passengers in reserved coaches especially in the lower and middle berths would be reduced by an hour with immediate effect. Passengers can sleep only between 10 pm and 6 am. However, pregnant ladies and persons with disability and sickness will be exempt from this directive. Mr Piyush Goel is the Union Minister of Railways. Hui Ka Yan becomes Asia s richest man As per the Forbes Real Time Billionaires List, Chinese real estate moghul Hui Ka Yan of the Evergrande group has officially been recognized as the richest man in Asia, with a networth of $ 41.1billion. He is the 15th richest person in the world. The second richest person in Asia is the Chairman of the Terrance Holding Ma Huateng, with a networth of $ 39.1 billion, while the third richest person is the founder of Alibaba, Jack Ma with a networth of $ 38.9 billion. www.talentsprint.com 3
Uber loses license to operate in London Following a spate of complaints, the taxi aggregator Uber has lost its license to operate in London, w.e.f 30th Sept 2017. This follows a directive from the Transport for London. TfL concluded that Uber was not fit enough to run taxis in the English capital. It said that the decision was taken in the interest of safety and security of the passengers. Several Uber drivers have been reported for criminal offences in the city. SBI Most Trusted Bank in India State Bank of India (SBI) is India s most trusted and most popular bank according to a survey conducted by Brand Finance, a business valuation and strategic consultancy headquartered in London. On the trust charts, SBI is followed by HDFC Bank and Central Bank of India whereas on the popularity charts, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank take the second and third spots respectively. Recently, SBI had slashed interest rate on savings account deposits by 50 basis points to 3.5 per on balance of Rs 1 crore and below. It is headquartered in Mumbai. The current Chairperson of the SBI is Ms Arundathi Bhattacharya www.talentsprint.com 4
Online General Insurance Company Acko General Insurance gets IRDAI license The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has given its license to the online General Insurer Acko General Insurance Co, to start its General Insurance business in India. The license was given on the 22nd Sept 2017. The company will commence operations in Dec 2017and will sell multiple general insurance products through the online channel, thus providing a completely digital experience. Mr Varun Dua is the founder and CEO of the company. Mr T.S. Vijayan is the Chairman of the IRDAI Riyaz Ahmed becomes first Asian actor to win Emmy Award Riyaz Ahmed, the British actor of Pakistani descent, became the first actor to win an Emmy Award, when he won the Best Actor Award at the 69th Emmy Awards ceremony held in Los Angeles on the 22nd Sept 2017. Riyaz won the Outstanding Lead Actor award for his role in the film The Night Of. While he is the first man, two female actresses of Asian descent have won the Emmy Awards earlier. They are the British Indian actress Archie Punjabi in 2010 for The Good Wife and the Iranian American Actress Shoreh for her role in the 2009 film House of Saddam. www.talentsprint.com 5
Prof C.N.R. Rao first Asian to be chosen for Von Hippel Award Prof C.N.R. Rao became the first Asian to be chosen for the prestigious Von Hippel Award for his contribution in materials research. The award is the highest award given by the US Based Material Research Society. The award will be presented in Boston on the 29th November. The Von Hippel award recognizes the most qualities pursued by materials scientists and researchers brilliance and originality of intellect combined with vision that transcends the normal boundaries of scientific discipline. New Indian Ambassador to China On the 17th Sept 2017, it was announced that the current Indian Ambassador to Pakistan, Mr Gautam Bambawale has been appointed as the next Ambassador to China. He replaces Vijay Gokale who has been appointed as the Secretary, Economic Relations in the Ministry of External Affairs. www.talentsprint.com 6
Kuldeep Yadav becomes first Indian spinner to take a hat trick in ODIs Left hand chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav became the first Indian spinner to take a hat trick in One Day International Cricket, when he took three wickets of successive balls in the ODI match against Australia played in Kolkatta on the 21st Sept 2017. He is the third Indian bowler to take a hat trick in ODI. The other two are medium pacers the legendary Kapil Dev in 1991 and earlier, Chetan Sharma in 1987. P.V.Sindhu becomes World No 2 in Women s Badminton Rankings The Rio Olympics Silver Medalist and the runner up in the World Championships, P.V. Sindhu of India has leapfrogged into the No 2 position in the world rankings announced by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) in their latest announcement on 22nd Sept 2017. Taiwan s Tai Tzu Ying is currently the No 1 ranked player in the world in women s singles in badminton. www.talentsprint.com 7