Latest Current Affairs - September 2014

1.  Bimal Jalan has been appointed as Chief of Expenditure Management Commission.
2. 1 Sep - LIC Foundation Day.
3. 1 to 7 Sep - National Nutrition Week.
4. 13 People have been honored in Sahitya Akademi Bal Sahitya Puraskar 2014. Dinesh Chamola has been honored for Hindi.
5. 13 Sep - World First Aid Day.
6. 13 Youth have been Honored in Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar 2014. Kumar Anupam has been Honored for Hindi.
7. 14 Sep - Hindi Day
8. 14th SCO Summit (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) was held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. India has been approved as new (7th) member of SCO.
9. 15 Sep - National Engineers' Day. Birth date of Mokshagundam Visvesvaray.
10. 16 Sep - Ozone Day.
11. 17th Asian Games 2014 (Organized in Incheon, South Korea) -
    1. 9,501 Atheletes from 45 Countries Participated in 36 Sports.
    2. China Stayed at the Top of Medal Tally with Total 342 Medals (Gold - 151, Silver - 108, Bronze - 83). Followed by South Korea and Japan.
    3. India at the Asisn Games 2014 -
       1. 541 Indian Atheletes Participated in 28 sports
       2. India Stayed at the 7th Position with total 57 Medals (Gold - 11, Silver - 10, Bronze - 36)
       3. After 16 years India won the Gold medal in Asian Games men's hockey (Beating Pakistan), and earned direct entry in 2016 Summer Olympics hockey.
       4. Indian Male and Female Kabaddi Teams won Gold Medals.
       5. There were Two Golds in Atheletics - 400 Metre Relay Team and Seema Punia in Discuss Throw.
       6. There was one Gold in each of Hockey, Squash, Tennis (Saketh Myneni & Sania Mirza), Shooting (Jitu Rai), Archery, Boxing (Mary Kom), Wrestling (Yogeshwar Dutt).
    4. Next 18th Asisn Games will be held in 2018 in Jakarta (Indonesia)
12. 2 Sep - World Coconut Day.
13. 20 Sep - Red Panda Day.
14. 21 Sep - International Day of Peace and Alzheimer Day.
15. 26 Sep - World Maritime Day.
16. 26th Summit of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was held in Wales, UK.
17. 27 Sep - World Tourism Day.
18. 28 Sep - World Rabies day and Deaf Day.
19. 29 Sep - World Heart Day.
20. 30 Sep - International Translation Day.
21. 4 Sep - World Chocolate Day.
22. 41st Chess Olympiads (Norway) -
    1. Male - Gold - China, Silver - Poland & Bronze - India
    2. Female - Gold - China, Silver - Poland & Bronze - India
23. 5 Sep - National Teachers' Day. (Birthday of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, India's second president..
24. 66th Primetime Emmy Awards were presented in USA. Breaking Bad won most Awards (Five Categories - Drama Series, Writing, Actor, Actress and Support Actor).
25. 7 Sep - Onam (Hindu Festival in Kerala).
26. 8 Sep - International Literacy Day.
27. And then one day is the autobiography of Actor Nasiruddin Shah.
28. Assasination of Rajeev Gandhi : an Inside Job has been written by Faraj Ahmad.
29. God of Antartica has been written by Yashwardhan Shukla.
30. Iqbal ka harfe sheerin has been written by Abdul Haq.
31. Not Just an Accountant has been written by Vinod Rai (India's Former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)).
32. Odyssey of My Life is the autobiography of Former Home Minister Shivraj Patil.
33. A New committee has been formed nder Shanta Kumar to suggest measures to be adopted to carry out improvements in functioning of food corporation of India (FCI).
34. A Hindu temple, claimed as world’s first ‘eco-temple’ with solar panels and rainwater harvesting system is opened in London, UK.
35. A new Committee has been formed under T S R Subramanian to review laws related to protection of forests and suggest changed to make them more effective.
36. A special meet was held in Bangladesh Capital Dhaka To discuss measures for sustainable use of Blue Economy by efficient use of resources in Bay of Bengal.
37. ASIA Europe Meeting (ASEM)of Finance Ministers Held in Milan (Italy).
38. Abdullah al-Thani has been appointed as Prime Minister of Libya for second Time.
39. Adil Zainulbhai has been appointed as head of Quality Council of India.
40. Ahmet Davutoglu is the new prime minister of Turkey.
41. All India Radio strated free News SMS service in Five languages - Hindi, Marathi, Sanskrit, Dogri and Nepali.
42. Amit Mathew has been elected as Chairman of Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) for 2014-15.
43. Andhra Pradesh government conducted paperless eCabinet meeting for the first time in country.
44. Arunachal Pradesh to get its Third Tiger Reserve in Dibang.
45. As Per FIEO (Federation of Indian Exports Organization) has expected India's Total Exports to reach $750 billion by 2018-19.
46. Asian champion Aditya Mehta has become first Indian in 25 years to get perfect break of 147, maximum achievable in snooker.
47. Bangladesh has the most child marriage rate as per a UN report related to child lives across the world.
48. Bengali film Jaatishwar Nominated for 87th Academy Awards (Oscars).
49. Bhartendu Harishchandra Awards for the years 2011 and 2012 has been conferred. These Awards are given for excellent Literature writing in Journalism and Mass Communication, Women’s Issues, National Integration and Children’s Literature.
50. Bihar Government approved recognition of Transgenders as the Third Gender.
51. Bombay High Court created a Committee under V V Daga for Forensic Audit of NSEL (National Spot Exchange Limited).
52. CSO (Central Statistics Organization) Presented Economy Report for First Quarter of FY 2014 - 15. Indian Economy GDP growth was 5.7% during Apr - June 2014. It is much better then statistics in recent years.
53. Central Board of Direct Taxes has set up a committee to scrutinise all Income Tax cases arising out of the retrospective tax amendment. It will decide on such cases within 60 days of receiving them from the Assessing Officer.
54. Chandrakala Padia to be First Female Chief of Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS)
55. China Launched Gaofen-2 (China) and BRITE-PL-2 (Poland) Observation Satellites from Its 4B Rocket.
56. Dhyanchand Awards 2014 -
    1. Hockey - Gurmail Singh
    2. Swimming - K P Thakkar
    3. Tennis - Zeeshan Ali
57. Dhyanchand Awards 2014 -
    1. Hockey - Gurmail Singh
    2. Swimming - K P Thakkar
    3. Tennis - Zeeshan Ali
58. Discovery Channel started Broadcasting of a New Channel Investigation Discovery in India.
59. Equadfor to become First Country to issue Digital National Currency.
60. FICCI expected 5.6% Growth rate for India in 2014-2015 in its report Economic Outlook.
61. Famous Billiards Player pankaj Advani announced his retirement from Professional Snooker.
62. First Artificial Cave Hindu Shrine made in Australia.
63. First Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST) was started in Howrah, West Bengal.
64. First Pro Kabaddi League Tournament was won by Pink Panthers by beating U Mumba in the Final.
65. Foreign Debt on India Report 2013 - 2014
    1. Total Debt by MAR 2014 - 440.6 Billion USD, its 31.6 Billion USD more than the value at the end of MAR 2013.
    2. Long Term Debt - MAR 2014 - 351.4 Billion USD, its 42.2 Billion USD more than the value at the end of MAR 2013.
    3. Short Term Debt - MAR 2014 - 89.2 Billion USD, its 7.5 Billion USD Less than the value at the end of MAR 2013
66. Foreign VIP Visits to India -
    1. UK's Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg Visited India.
    2. German Foreign Minister FRANK Walter Steinmeier Visited India.
    3. Asian Development Bank Chief Takehiko Nakao Visited India.
    4. Premier of South Australia Jay Weatherill Visited India.
    5. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abott Visited India.
       1. Australia agreed to provide Uranium to India to help India produce more Nuclear Power.
       2. Agreement for cooperation in Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) was signed.
       3. Tony Abbott started India's New Colombo Plan to enhance student exchange and collaboration between the universities of India and Asutralia.
    6. Chinese President XI Xinping visited India.
       1. He met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad, gujarat.
       2. He is the third Chinese President to visit India.
67. French Yohann Diniz broke world record of 50 KM walk in European athletics championships in Switzerland.
68. G - 20 Countries' Labour and Employment Ministers Met in Australia.
69. Government Changed laws in MPLADS (Member of parliament Local area development scheme) and allowed MPs to spend Upto Rs. 25 lakh outside their Jurisdiction area up from 10 Lakh limit set previously.
70. Government Launched Several welfare schemes in Gujarat under the 'Swavalamban Abhiyan' initiative.
71. Government Started Digital India Scheme for expansion of Broadband Internet services in Rural areas across the country and bringing all the public sector work Online. The cost is estimaated at about Rs. 1 Lakh Crores.
72. Government Started National Ayush Mission' for increasing number of hospitals and availability of drugs and Medical manpower.
73. Government allowed All welfare schemes upto 1000 Crores to be approved directly by the respective ministeries.
74. Government approved Defence purchases totalling Rs.17000 Crores for strengthening of armed forces Artillery Base.
75. Government approved schemes of Rs 4,754 crore for strengthening power transmission systems in Arunchal Pradesh and Sikkim.
76. Government constituted a committee to plan efficient utilisation of mineral resources in Meghalaya to prevent environmental degradation.
77. Government created a Committee under RBI Deputy Governor H R Khan for suggesting measures to be taken for unclaimed Deposits in Banks.
78. Government decided to change GDP Growth Measure base year to 2011-2012 from 2004-2005.
79. Government decided to close HMT Watches due to its non-profitability since long time.
80. Government decided to fence over Bangladesh waters based on skid marine hedge model of Singapore.
81. Government decided to import Rice from Myammar in view of suspected shortage of rice in North East Countries due to stoppage of supply of food commodities as Railway Lines to North East states are being upgraded.
82. Government decided to import Rice from Myammar in view of suspected shortage of rice in North East Countries due to stoppage of supply of food commodities as Railway Lines to North East states are being upgraded.
83. Government has set up R Ramanujam committee to identify obsolete laws that cause avoidable confusion.
84. Government hiked the Dearness Allowance of Central government employees to 107%.
85. Government launched 'Incredible India' mobile application to assist tourists in accessing various Travel related information.
86. Government ordered to Publicize notings of Mukul Mudgal Committee that inspected suspected Lobbying Activities of Retail company Walmart.
87. Government raised the import duty on raw and white sugar to 25 per cent to help sugar mills pay large dues of farmers.
88. Government started 'Swach Bharat Mission' to promote cleanliness across the nation. A new 'Swach Bharat Kosh' was formed with an Initial Funding of Rs. 400 Crore to connect all the schools with the Swach Bharat Mission.'
89. Government started .Bharat Web Domain Registration to promote website development in Hindi.
90. H L Dattu is appointed as India's new (42nd) Chief Justice (Full Name - Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu).
91. Haider al-Abadi has been appointed as new Prime Minister of Iraq.
92. Himachal Pradesh High Court has banned animal sacrifice during all the religiousv activities in Himachal Pradesh.
93. Himanshu Asnani from Kota (Rajasthan), student at Stanford University has been given 2014 Marconi Society Paul Baran Young Scholar Award for his demonstration of Good scientific and entrepreneurial capabilities at an early age.
94. Hindi Seva Puraskar 2010 & 2011 -
    1. Total 28 People were Awarded in all categories awards for 2010 & 2011 by Kendriya Hindi Sansthan.
    2. Various Awards Included in the Hindi Seva Puraskar are -
       1. Gangasharan Singh Puraskar -
          1. 2010 - R F Neeralkutty, Padma Sachdev, Janu Ruha, S A Suryanarayan Verma.
          2. 2011 - H Balsubramanyam, Robin Das, T R Bhatt, Kulchandra Sharma
       2. Aatma Ram Puraskar -
          1. 2010 - Kali Shankar and Anil Kumar Chaturvedi
          2. 2011 - Mahesh Kulkarni and Vijay Kumar Malhotra.
       3. Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Puraskar -
          1. 2010 - Ravish Kumar, Dilip Kumar Chaubey
          2. 2011 - Shivnarayan , Govind Singh
       4. Subramania Bharati Puraskar -
          1. 2010 - Sudhir Chaudhary, Shyam Sunder Dubey
          2. 2011 - Dilip Singh, Nityanand Tiwari
       5. Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan Puraskar -
          1. 2010 - Rarmanand Panchal, Raghuvir Chaudhary
          2. 2011 - Asgar Wajahat, Ved Rahi
       6. Dr. George Grierson Puraskar -
          1. 2010 - Shamtof Azaad
          2. 2011 - U Zo Kim
95. Hockey Madhya Pradesh has been Included into Hockey India as the 23rd Member.
96. ITC has surpassed TCS as the most admired Indian company as per annual List of 45 Most Reputed Indian Companies released by US Magazine 'Fortune'.
97. India - US held Joint military exercise "Yudh Abhyas 2014" in Rajasthan.
98. India and Nepal Armies conducted Joint Army Exercise Surya Kiran VII in Uttarakhand.
99. India has signed the free trade agreement (FTA) in services and investments with 10-member Asean (Association of South East Nations), To Promote free movement of professionals and further opening opportunities for investments.
100. India has signed the free trade agreement (FTA) in services and investments with 10-member Asean (Association of South East Nations), To Promote free movement of professionals and further opening opportunities for investments.
101. India signed a USD 107 Million Loan agreement with World Bank for MSRP Stage 2 Project (Mizoram State Roads Project).
102. India signed agreement with Western African Counrtry Ghana for setting up a joint venture for a urea plant due to high abundance of gas in Ghana which is used for manufacturing of the UREA.
103. India's First Health Court started in Karnataka.
104. India's First Solar Thermal Power Plant to be Started in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.
105. India's first Eco-friendly Bus powered by ethanol was launched in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
106. India's first coral garden to be set up in Gujarat.
107. India-born scientist Thomas John Colacot has won the American Chemical Society's ACS Award in Industrial Chemistry.
108. Indian Actor Shahrukh Khan has been appointed as the Brand Ambassador of Interpol, International Police Co-Operation Organization.
109. Indian Agricultural Research Institute conferred Honorary Doctorate Jose Graziano da Silva, Chief of United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
110. Indian Air Force gifted a vintage Dakota aircraft from its museum to the Bangladesh Air Force To revive historical ties.
111. Indian American Sankar Chatterjee has won the prestigious 'Fulbright Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Award'.
112. Indian Badminton Player Prannoy Haseena Sunil Kumar won the Indonesian Masters Grand Prix Tournament 2014 by beating Firman Abdul Khaliq (Indonesia).
113. Indian Carom Player Rashmi Kumari won Women's singles title in World Carom Championships in Maldives.
114. Indian Coast Guard Ship Abhiraj Patrolling Vessel was Inducted into The Indian Coast Guard.
115. Indian Dental Association (IDA) Organized World Dental Congress in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
116. Indian Origin South African Daya Reddy has been appointed as Chief of ICSU (International Union for Science).
117. Indian Person Amrita Narlikar has been appointed as new president of German Institute of Global and areas studies.
118. Indian Person Subhash Chandra Garg has been appointed as an Executive Director in the world bank.
119. Indian VIP Visits To foreign Countries -
     1. Indian President Pranab Mukherjee Visited Vietnam.
     2. Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj Visited Vietnam and Afghanistan.
     3. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Japan.
        1. Japan Promised 35 Billion USD investment in India.
        2. Indian and Japan agreed for cooperation in various key areas such as education, Railways and Infrastructure.
120. Indian Veena Sahajwalla has been honored by Australian Laureate Fellowship for her work in micro-recycling of e-waste.
121. Indian scientist and ecologist Kamal Bawa has won the prestigious Midori Prize in Biodiversity 2014 for his research that included climate change in the Himalayas.
122. Indian young shooter Pradeep won bronze in the 51st Shooting World Championships in Spain.
123. Indian-origin Asanish Kalyanasundaram is named as brightest student in Britain as he scored a perfect five in his main subjects with 100 per cent marks.
124. International Economic Association (IEA) has appointed Kaushik Basu as president-elect of world bank.
125. Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) has signed a pact with Indian GMR Infrastructure for financial help to Japanese companies investing in infrastructure projects of GMR Group.
126. Japanese researchers conducted world's first surgery to implant "iPS" stem cells in a human body as a major boost to regenerative medicine (Transplant of Body Parts to function as normal).
127. Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration, Academics and Management for 2014 has been given to Apathukatha Sivathanu Pillai.
128. Lal Krishan Advani to be the chief of proceeding committee (Aachaar Samiti) of Lok Sabha.
129. Manoj Bajpai-starrer Chittagong won the best feature award at third annual Washington DC South Asian Film Festival (DCSAFF).
130. Manpreet Singh has been named as Asian Hockey Federation's Junior Men's Player of the Year.
131. Massive Floods in Jhelum, Chenab and Ravi rivers caused large scale devastation in Jammu and Kashmir. Indian Armed Forces started Operation Megh Rahat Rescue operation to save stranded and affected people.
132. Mouda Super Thermal Power Project of 1000 MW in Nagpur (Maharashtra) has been Inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi.
133. Nalanda University in Bihar started working after full Reconstruction.
134. Narendra Ambvani has been appointed as chief of ASCI (Advertising Standards Council of India).
135. Naval Offshore Patrolling Vessel INS Sumitra was conducted into Indian Navy.
136. New Government formed In france by President Francois Hollande wit Manuel Wells as Prime Minister-
     1. Emmanuel Macron - Finance Minister
     2. Najat Vallaud - Education Minister
     3. Laurent Fabius - Foreign Minister
137. New Governors of Indian states appointed in September 2014 -
     1. Vajubhai Vala - Karnataka
     2. P Sathasivam - Kerala (He became first former chief justice to be appointed as Governor of an Indian State)
     3. Krishan Kant Paul - Manipur
     4. Krishan Kant Paul - Mizoram
     5. Kalyan Singh - Rajasthan
138. Otto Thaning from South Africa beacme oldest ever to cross swim English Channel successfully (English Channel is an arm of Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France).
139. Paleontologists (Researchers) have found fossils of huge Dinosaur in Argentina weighing about 60 Metric Tonnes, Largest So far.
140. Prayuth Chan-ocha is the new Prime Minister of Thailand.
141. Puducherry Presented a Tax Free Budget of Rs. 6100 Crores for the Union Territory.
142. R.N Ravi has been appointed as chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee.
143. RBI Annual Report 2013 - 2014 -
     1. Report expressed signs of optimism in the economy and that the GDP may grow at 6% in FY 2014 - 15 as key sectors are showing Performance Improvements and RBI suppressed the fear of drought.
     2. Gaps in fiscal and current accounts will likely remain under control in 2014-15.
     3. CPI (Consumer Price Index) based Inflation may come under 8 % by Jan 2015 and Under 6% by Jan 2016.
144. RBI directed all Private banks to set retirement age for MD/CEOs to maximum of 70 Years (Min 21 Years).
145. RBI issued Statistics related to Trade and Payments Balance.
     1. The report states that India's Current Account Deficit (CAD) stood at 1.7% of GDP During First Quarter of FY 2014 - 2015 due to decline in trade deficit and less import of Gold due to heavy duties put on it by Government.
     2. This Figure of CAD is much better than 4.8% CAD During First Quarter of FY 2013-2014. This shows signs of Optimism and improvements in Economical balance of the cvountry.
146. Railways will set up a National Academy for Railway Security at Maula-Ali in Andhra Pradesh with Advanced Training Features.
147. Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Awards 2012 have been conferred by BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards). Best Performance award has been given to Rail Wheel Factory, Bengalore.
148. Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been appointed as 12th President of Turkey.
149. Renowned novelist Mithileshwar has been honored by Shri Lal Shukla Smiriti Iffco Sahitya Samman Award 2014.
150. Richard Rahul Verma has been appointed as new USA ambassador to India replacing Kathleen Stephens.
151. Rona Fairhead has been appointed as the first women chief of BBC.
152. SAIL Chief C.S Verma has been appointed as The first chief of Steel Association of India.
153. SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) has asked PACL (Pearls Agrotech Corporation) to refund Rs 49,100 crore to investors within three months and immediately close all unauthorized collective investment schemes (CIS) of the company.
154. Sakari Momoi (111 Years) of Japan has been named as the Oldest Person Alive on earth by Guinness Book of World records.
155. Sanjeev Singh is appointed as new chief of Delhi Transco.
156. Scotland People decide to stay with UK through a Public Referendum as 55 % voted NO for separation.
157. Second Summer Youth Olympics 2014 (China) -
     1. Total 3600 Atheletes from 201 Countries Participated.
     2. China Stayed at the top. Russia and USA are 2nd & 3rd.
     3. India Rank at 63 with two Medals - Rahul Rangla - Silver (Weight Lifting), Atul Verma (Archery).
158. State Bank of India started Pehla Kadam and Pehli Udaan', two new savings bank products for children. 'Pehla Kadam' is a savings account for minors of any age operated jointly with parent/guardian and 'Pehli Udaan' is a 'single' operated savings account for minors who can sign uniformly.
159. Supreme Court approved recognition of Urdu as second official language of Uttar Pradesh.
160. Supreme Court ordered 3% Reservation for Persons with Disabilities (PWD) in all Government Sector Jobs.
161. Supreme Court ordered West Bengal government not to Sterlise elephants by using Contraceptives that was proposed as a solution by west bengal Government to control population of Elephants.
162. Supreme Court ordered cancellation of all coal block allocations between 1993 - 2010 due to attached corruption activities.
163. T N Suresh Kumar has become First India Person to Travel to Stratosphere (Second Layer of Earth's Atmosphere).
164. The Global Competitiveness Report 2014 (By World Economic Forum) -
     1. India ranked at 71st Place, Lowest in all BRICS Countries.
     2. India was at 60th place in 2013's Report. From 2009 onwards, India has seen continuous decline in Competitiveness as per this report.
     3. Switzerland, Singapore and Britain are the top three competitive countries as per this report.
165. U.S Postal Service has issued a honored postal stamp of Indian Telgu actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao. He is the first indian actor to recive this honor.
166. US Open Tennis 2014 -
     1. Male - Marin Cilic (Croatia) won by beating Kei Nishikori (Japan).
     2. Female - Serena Williams (USA) won by beating Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark).
167. USA's Digitalglobe has successfully tested Worldview 3 Satellite, the Most advanced Commercial Imaging Satellite.
168. United Bank of India has declared Vijay Mallya as Wilful Defaulter. Note that IDBI bank has already declared Kingfisher Airlines creator Vijay Mallya as Wilful Defaulter.
169. United Nations names Leonardo DiCaprio 'Messenger for Peace' on climate issues.
170. Vijay Bahadur Singh has been appointed as Advocate General of uttar pradesh.
171. Vijay Kelkar Committee for determining pricing formulas for natural gas submitted its report and suggested not to reduce prices of Natural gas for all customers except primary sector (Agriculture and related sectors).
172. World Badminton Championships 2014 (Copenhagen (Denmrark)) - China Stayed at top and India at Seventh with One Bronze. Carolina Marin became first spanish to win Women's singles' title.
173. World Bank organized WRC 2 (World Reconstruction Conference) in Washington D.C. (USA). Kiren Rijiju (Union Minister of State for Home Affairs) Attended on India's Behalf.
174. Wrestler Sushil Kumar has been appointed Sports Brand Ambassador of Delhi.
175. lalita kumaramanglam has been appointed as chief of National Commission for Women.