Current Affairs September 2014

INTERNATIONAL

EU Imposed New Economic Sanctions On Russia Over Ukraine
The European Union (EU) on 12 September 2014 imposed new economic sanctions on Russia over Ukraine. The restrictions include financing for some Russian state-owned companies and asset freezes on leading Russian politicians.

John Key Re-elected As The PM Of New Zealand For A 3rd Term
John Key was re-elected as the Prime Minister of New Zealand for a third term. John Key-led National Party (NP) scored a huge victory in country’s Parliamentary elections. In the 2014 General Elections of New Zealand held on 20 September 2014, the centre-right National Party led by John Key won 48 percent of the vote.

Scotland Rejects Independence From UK
In a historic referendum held on 18 September 2014 the voters of Scotland rejected its independence from the United Kingdom.The result of this referendum was declared early on 19 September 2014.

Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai Is New President Of Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s election commission on 21 September has named Former Finance minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai as the winner of the country’s Presidential election.

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INDIA & WORLD

India and Germany Agreed To Cooperate In Skill Development
India and Germany on 8 September agreed to prepare a roadmap for cooperation in skill development, solid waste management and cleaning of rivers.This decision was taken during the meeting between German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8 September in New Delhi.

India and Australia Signed Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement
India and Australia have signed the Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (CNCA) that will allow Australia to export uranium to India as well as three other agreements, including on water resources and in sports. The four agreements were signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott in New Delhi on 5 September.

India and Bangladesh Signed MoU on Traditional Medicines
India and Bangladesh have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the field of traditional medicines and homeopathy. The MoU was signed on 9 September in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

India-Vietnam Signed Seven Agreements
India and Vietnam on 15 September signed seven agreements, including one for direct flights between their capitals, for scouting for oil, and an extended line of credit for purchase of defence equipment. The seven agreements were signed in the presence of Indian President Pranab Mukherjee and Vietnam President Truong Tan Sang in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.

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NATIONAL

Civil Aviation Ministry Launched Know Your Rights ‘ Portal
Union Civil Aviation ministry on 9 September launched a new portal namely ‘Know your rights’ for passengers. The portal was launched to mark 100 days of the new government.

Union Cabinet Approved National AYUSH Mission
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15 September approved launching of National Ayush Mission (NAM) to address the gaps in health services through promotion of ancient and traditional systems of medicine like Ayurved, Siddha, Unani and Homeopathy.

Union Cabinet Approved ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’
The Union Cabinet on 24 September gave its approval for restructuring of “Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan” into “Swachh Bharat Mission” (Clean India Mission).The programme is aimed at creating a clean India by 2019 with people’s participation. The sanitation mission was launched on 2 October 2014 in all 4041 statutory towns.

PM Narendra Modi Launched ‘Make in India’ Campaign
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the “Make In India” (MIN) campaign with a high-pitch event held at New Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan on 25 September. The campaign aims at reviving the job-creating manufacturing sector, which is being seen as the key to taking the Indian economy on a sustainable high growth path.

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STATES

Uttarakhand Govt Declared 9th September As Himalaya Diwas
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat officially declared September 9th as ‘Himalaya Diwas’.The state will celebrate Himalaya Diwas to spread the message of conservation of the Himalayan ecosystems. Harish Rawat in his declaration announced that from 2015 onwards, the state government would celebrate the day.

Bihar Govt Recognised Transgender As Third Gender
The Bihar government on 9 September 2014 recognised eunuch and transgender as third gender. This was done to extend the quota benefit as eunuch and transgender were declared as backward class annexure II category.

West Bengal Cabinet Approved Farmer-Friendly Project
The West Bengal cabinet on 12 September cleared a farmer-friendly project (Sech-Bandhu Prakalpa) offering 46,000 new pump sets with power connectivity to the farmers to boost irrigation in the state.

President’s Rule Imposed In Maharashtra
President’s rule was imposed on 28 September in poll-bound Maharashtra after Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan resigned following the break-up of 15-year-old Congress-NCP alliance in the state.President Pranab Mukherjee signed the proclamation for imposition of central rule in Maharashtra, a day after the Union Cabinet recommended clamping of President’s rule in the state.

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CONFERENCES

G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting
The G-20 Meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors was held at Cairns, Australia on 20-21 September 2014. Meeting of G20 finance ministers in Australia endorses plan to automatically exchange information on a reciprocal basis by end of 2018. The Group of Twenty (G20) is the premier forum for its members’ international economic cooperation and decision-making. Its membership comprises 19 countries plus the European Union.

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AWARDS & HONOURS

South Africa-based Organization Awarded The Gandhi Prize
A South Africa-based outfit involved in conflict resolution has been awarded the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Reconciliation and Peace for its efforts in promoting peace and addressing disputes globally. Graca Machel, chairperson of The African Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes’s (Accord) Board of Trustees and former First Lady when her late husband Nelson Mandela was President, accepted the award on behalf of the institution at the Annual Gandhi Awards Celebration, hosted by the Gandhi Development Trust in Durban.

MS University Chancellor Mrunalinidevi Conferred with Best Manager Award
Dr Mrunalinidevi Puar, Chancellor of Maharaja Sayajirao University, has been conferred with the “Best Manager” award by the Oxford Summit of Leaders (Science and Education) in UK on 2 September.

Indian Scientist Kamal Bawa Won Midori Prize In Biodiversity 2014
Indian scientist Kamal Bawa, an eminent professor of biology at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, has won the prestigious Midori Prize in Biodiversity 2014 for his research that included climate change in the Himalayas.

Snowden and Rusbridger Won Sweden’s ‘Alternative Nobel Prize
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and Guardian editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger on 24 September won Right Livelihood Award. The award was shared between the two.The Right Livelihood Award is also known as Alternative Nobel prize of Sweden.

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SPORTS & GAMES

US Open Tennis Tournament Winners – 2014
Women’s Singles :- Serena Williams of US won the US Open Tennis Tournament women’s singles title on 8 September in New York. She defeated Caroline Wozniazki of Denmark in the final.
Men’s Singles:- Croatia’s Marin Cilic won the U.S. Open men’s singles title on 8 September to become the newest winner of this coveted Grand Slam title. He defeated Japan’s Kei Nishikori in the final.

Lewis Hamilton Won Italian F1 Grand Prix – 2014
Mercedes driver Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton of Britain won the Italian F1 Grand Prix on 7 September.

USA Won 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup
USA won FIBA Basketball World Cup 2014 by defeating Serbia. The World Cup was held on 14 September at Madrid, Spain.

Lewis Hamilton Won Singapore F1 Grand Prix
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain won the Singapore F1 Grand Prix on 21 September to take a slender 3-point lead over his teammate Nico Rosberg (Germany), who was leading the 2014 season till now.

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ECONOMY

SBI Launched First Multi-Currency International Debit Card Launched
State Bank of India (SBI) on 8 September launched its first multi-currency international debit card to allow consumers to use a single card to pay in multiple currencies. This card launched in a tie-up with MasterCard would, at present, enable customers to load four international currencies in this card.

Mukesh Ambani Tops Richest Indian List
Reliance Industries (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani has again topped the list of richest Indian while Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani has made it to the 10th spot. As per the Hurun India Rich List for 2014 released on 16 September, Mukesh Ambani’s wealth has risen 37 percent to Rs 1.65 lakh crore this year.

India Ranks 6th In Billionaire Numbers
According to the Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census 2014, released on 17 September, India has retained its sixth position in the number of billionaires residing in the country. It is home to 100 such people, with a collective net worth of $175 billion. There are 2,325 billionaires worldwide, with the addition of 155 new ones in 2014. On the top 40 list of billionaire countries/territories, the US maintained its position as the first, with a population of 571 billionaires in 2014.

Alibaba Becomes World’s Largest IPO
The IPO of China’s largest e-commerce outfit, Alibaba Group, has become the world’s biggest ever on strong demand, raising $US25.03 billion after bankers exercised an option to boost the deal size by 15 per cent. Agricultural Bank of China previously held the world record, with a $US22.1 billion IPO in 2010. The record was achieved after the underwriters of the previously announced Initial Public Offering (IPO) exercised in full the option to purchase an additional 48,015,900 American depositary shares on 22 September, from Alibaba Group and certain shareholders.

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

India Successfully Test Fired N-capable Agni-I Missile
India on 11 September successfully test-fired indigenously developed nuclear-capable surface -to-surface Agni-I missile from Wheeler Island off Odisha coast.The Agni I has a range of 700–1250 km.

NASA Unveils World’s Largest Welder To Build World’s Most Powerful Rocket
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden officially unveiled the world’s largest welder to start construction of the world’s most powerful rocket – NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket – at NASA’s Michoud’s Vertical Assembly Center (VAC) on 12 September.

Nasa’s Maven Spacecraft Successfully Enters Mars Orbit
Nasa’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft on 22 September 2014 entered orbit around Mars, completing an interplanetary journey of 10 months and 442 million miles (711 million kilometers). Maven is a space probe designed to study the Martian atmosphere while orbiting Mars. Mission goals include determining how the Martian atmosphere and water, presumed to have once been substantial, were lost over time.

ISRO’s Mars Orbiter Spacecraft Successfully Inserted into Mars Orbit
The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also called Mangalyaan “Mars-craft” is a Mars orbiter launched into Earth orbit on 5 November 2013 by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It was successfully inserted into Mars orbit on 24 September 2014. It is India’s first interplanetary mission and ISRO has become the fourth space agency to reach Mars, after the Soviet space program, NASA, and the European Space Agency. This was also India’s first attempt to reach Mars orbit — historically, only Europe’s ESA made it to Mars on its first attempt.

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PERSONS IN NEWS

A) APPOINTMENTS

P Sathasivam Sworn In As Kerala Governor
Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Palaniswamy Sathasivam was on 5 September sworn in as Kerala Governor. He is the 23rd Governor of the state. He is the first Chief Justice of India to be appointed to the post which is lower in warrant of precedence to the CJI.

Justice H.L. Dattu Sworn In As 42nd Chief Justice of India
Justice Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu was sworn in as the 42nd Chief Justice of India (CJI) on 28 September 2014. Justice Dattu succeeds Chief Justice R M Lodha who retired on 28 September 2014. He will have a tenure of 14 months and will retire on 2 December 2015.

B)RESIGNS

Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan Resigned
Prithviraj Chavan on 26 September resigned as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra after his government was reduced to a minority. Chavan submitted his resignation to governor of the state C Vidyasagar Rao.

C)DEATHS

Former Attorney General GE Vahanvati Died
Former Attorney General of India GE Vahanvati (Goolam Essaji Vahanvati) died on 2 September in Mumbai. Vahanvati was first Muslim to become Attorney General of India and he was 13th Attorney General of India. He was appointed the 13th attorney general in June 2009 for a three-year term after UPA government was re-elected. In 2012, the term was extended by another two years. He resigned from the position of Attorney General on 27 May 2014 following the regime change at the Centre.

D)VISITORS

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Visited U.S
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Visited U.S from 26 – 30 September 2014. During his five day visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 69th session of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on 27 September. In his speech addressing Indian-Americans at Madison Square Garden in New York, Narendra Modi announced lifetime visas for PIOs (Persons of Indian origin). India and US has issued a joint vision statement declaring cooperation in energy, economic growth, science, technology health and education. The Vision Statement titled ” Chalein Saath-Saath: Forward Together We Go” was issued after the Summit-level meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama at White House in Washington DC. In the meeting, the two sides had decided to take steps for extension of the pact besides agreeing to enhance cooperation in joint production and development of defence equipment.

E)MISCELLANEOUS

Kira Kazantsev Crowned Miss America 2015
Miss Kira Kazantsev was crowned Miss America 2015. She belongs to New York. This is the third year in a row that the contestant from New York has won. Kazantsev received the crown on  14 September at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall from outgoing Miss America and Miss New York Nina Davuluri.

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PLACES  IN  NEWS

London Ranked As World’s Most Expensive City
London has overtaken Hong Kong as the world’s most expensive place to live and work. This fact was revealed in the 5th edition of the Savills Live/Work Index that was released on 26 September 2014. At the other end of the scale, Mumbai remained the cheapest world city in which to locate employees.

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ABBREVIATIONS

NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization

ESCAP – Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

FICCI – Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry

NCERT – National Council of Education Research and Training

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BOOKS IN NEWS

M S Swaminathan In Conversation with Nitya Rao Book Released
The book entitled “M S Swaminathan, in conversation with Nitya Rao – The Ethics and Politics of Science” was released on 10 September by Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu was in New Delhi.This book is in continuation of the earlier book released in August 2013.

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COMMITTEES

Finance Ministry Sets Up H R Khan Committee On Unclaimed PPF, Small Savings Deposits
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has set up a committee on 3 September under Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor H R Khan to assess the amount of unclaimed deposit in the popular Public Provident Fund (PPF) and Post Office saving schemes, and suggest steps for utilisation of funds for the benefit of senior citizens.

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IMPORTANT DAYS AND DATES

World Tourism Day Observed Across The World
World Tourism Day (WTD) was observed across the world on 27 September 2014. The theme of the World Tourism Day 2014 is Tourism and Community Development. The 2014 WTD is focused to highlight the ability of tourism to empower people and provide them with skills to achieve change in their local communities.

World Heart Day Observed Across The World
World Heart Day was observed across the world on 29 September 2014. The objective of the day is to inform people around the world of the danger of heart disease and stroke. 2014 theme for World Heart Day’s is Heart Choices NOT Hard Choices. The World Health Organization on the occasion said that there is a need to reduce the consumption of salt that is linked to death of people from cardiovascular diseases.