September 2016 Current Affairs Highlights (One-Liners)

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Friends, here are the Important Current Affairs Highlights of September 2016. These one-liners cover all important International, National, MOUs, Indexes, Banking, Technology, Books & Authors, Summits, Committees and Sports affairs of September month (from 1st to 30th September 2016). You will get the Pdf Version of September 2016 Current Affairs Quick Review by tomorrow, but we advise you to write these on your own so that you wont forget them again. All the Best and Happy Reading :)

September 2016 Current Affairs Highlights

• Asia's oldest stock exchange BSE has filed draft papers with markets regulator SEBI for its Initial Public Offering (IPO).
  
• American television series 'Game of Thrones' has broken the record for the highest number of Emmy Awards won by any fictional series, with a total of 38 Emmys.
• Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos has once again overtaken Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett to become the world's third-richest person with a net worth of $66.5 billion.
• Actress Rekha's Biography titled 'Rekha: The Untold Story', was recently released. This book was written by Yasser Usman.
• A 60-year-old Japanese government document, which was recently made public, has revealed that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose died in a plane crash in Taiwan on August 18, 1945.
• At least 17 Jawans were martyred in the terror attack at the battalion headquarters of the Army at Uri, Jammu and Kashmir.
• Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani is on a Two day visit to India. This is his 2nd visit to the country.
• A book with a collection of all of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple stories is recognised by the Guinness World Records as the thickest book published.
• According to a recently launched fecility, Drivers would not be required to carry their driving licence and registration certificate, but can store them in 'DigiLocker', the secured national digital locker system.
• A 24-year-old transgender British soldier, Chloe Allen has become the first woman to serve on the front line with the army.
• According to a survey conducted by Virtuoso, an international luxury travel network, Iceland is the best adventure destination for luxury travel.
• Acharya Balkrishna, the CEO of Patanjali, has become a billionaire with a net worth of ₹25,600 crore (around $3.8 billion), according to the Hurun India Rich List 2016.
• Adani Enterprises has commissioned a 648 MW solar power plant in Tamil Nadu, which it claims is the world's largest solar plant at a single location, with an investment of ₹4,550 crore.
• A 2-day National Labour Conference was recently held in Odisha.
• Agra's 12-year-old Shahan Ali Mohsin, has became the first Indian to win the Asian karting championship.
• Aiming to promote avian tourism, the Goa forest department is going to host its first "Bird Festival" in the state in November.
• Aiming to raise awareness and change perceptions regarding the Denotified Tribes, the '1st Nomad Film Festival' was recently held at the India Islamic Cultural Centre in Delhi.
• Air pollution has emerged as the deadliest form of pollution and the fourth-leading risk factor for premature deaths, which cost the global economy over $5 trillion in 2013 in "welfare losses", a World Bank report revealed.
• American multinational technology company, Search Engine Giant, Google was incorporated on 4th September in the year 1998.
• Andhra Pradesh has reportedly become the Second state after Gujarat to achieve 100% electrification of households.
• Armenian PM Hovik Abrahamyan has announced his resignation after weeks of civil unrest and economic recession in the country.
• Australian motoring organisation RAC has launched the country's first ever driverless bus called RAC Intellibus.
• Author of the bestselling novel 'The Da Vinci Code', Dan Brown, is set to release a new Robert Langdon thriller titled 'Origin' on September 26, 2017.
• Bangladesh has decided to erect a barbed wire fence along its border with India and Myanmar.
• Barack Obama agreed to lift economic sanctions against Myanmar, during a meeting with the country's leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
• BCCI (Board Of Control For Cricket In India) has put an age limit of 60 years for the post of National Selectors and has also set September 14 as the deadline for applying for the posts.
• Bihar replaced Urdu with Hindi as its sole official language in 1881, becoming the first state in India to adopt the language.
• Bishesh Huirem (27) from Manipur is slated to represent India at the Miss International Queen contest for transgender women to be held in Thailand on November 11.
• Britain has approved construction of the $24-billion nuclear power plant Hinkley Point C, amid national security concerns over Chinese state companies being involved in "critical" British infrastructure.
• Canada is going to impose a minimum price on carbon emissions in provinces that do not adequately regulate emissions by themselves, in a bid to combat climate change.
• China and Russia have carried out joint naval exercises dubbed as Joint Sea-2016 in the resource-rich South China Sea (SCS) off China’s southern Guangdong province.
• China finished on top of the medals' table at the Rio Paralympics with 239 medals, while India ended their campaign at 43rd spot with four medals. This was India’s best-ever performance at the Paralympics, with two golds, one silver and one bronze.
• China has began operating the world's largest radio telescope, the FAST (Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Telescope).
• China has successfully launched Tiangong-2 space lab to develop expertise for a future space station and conduct science experiments.
• China is set to build the world’s deepest and largest high-speed railway station under a section of the Great Wall, as part of its preparations for the 2022 Winter Olympics.
• China tops the World Health Organisation's (WHO) list for the world's deadliest air pollution, with over one million people dying in the country in 2012 from dirty air.  China is followed by India (6,21,138 deaths), and Russia (1,40,851 deaths).
• China-based Alibaba has become the most valuable Asian listed company, after its market valuation rose to $266 billion.
• CRPF topped with 14 Gold, 6 Silver& 6 Bronze medals at 65th All India Police athletics Championship held in Hyderabad.
• Deaf Indian shooter Priyesha Deshmukh won the bronze medal in her first-ever international competition at the 1st World Deaf Shooting Championships held in Kazan. 
• Deepa Malik became India's first female Paralympic medallist after winning the Silver in the F-53 shot put event at Rio Paralympics.
• Deepak Punia, the son of a former milkman Subhash Punia, won the 85kg wrestling gold at the Cadet World Championships held in Georgia.
• Deutsche Bank has been asked to pay a fine of $14 billion (approx ₹93,611 crores) by the US Department of Justice to settle an investigation into mis-selling of mortgage-backed securities.
• Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi was on a 3 day visit to India. During this visit, he held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi with an aim to step up engagement in areas of security, counter-terrorism and trade.
• Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has launched a web portal for pensioners, which will serve as a one-stop destination for providing information. The Web Responsive Pensioner's Service Portal will allow pensioners to access information about pension cases, and pension payments processed by central departments and banks.
• Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is going to attend the 3-day annual meeting of IMF and World Bank in Washington, US which begins on October 7.
• Flight attendant Neerja Bhanot was the youngest and the first female recipient of Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peacetime gallantry award. 
• Following Bastian Schweinsteiger's retirement from international football, the German Football Association has announced goalkeeper Manuel Neuer as the team's new captain.
• Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar launched SRT Sports, his own sports management company.
• Former Indian women's hockey captain Ritu Rani has retired from international hockey following her axing from the Indian Rio Olympics-bound squad.
• Former Kerala Finance Minister KM Mani-led Kerala Congress (M) was recognised as a separate bloc in the Kerala Assembly by the Speaker. 
• Former 'One Direction' singer Zayn Malik is publishing an autobiography titled 'Zayn', which will be released on 1st November 2016.
• Former West Indies pacer Courtney Walsh has joined the Bangladesh cricket team as its Specialist Bowling Coach.
• Four Indian banks have surpassed Germany-based Deutsche Bank in market capitalisation this year. With a 50% drop in its shares this year, Germany's biggest lender is valued at $18 billion, whereas SBI, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Axis Bank are all valued at over $20 billion.
• France has passed a new law banning all plastic utensils, allowing only those made from biologically-sourced materials.
• France's Melanie Astles became the first ever female pilot to participate in Red Bull Air Race, an extreme-sport air racing competition.
• German shoemaker Adidas has revealed its first ever shoe made entirely by robots at the company's robot manufacturing plant in the home market.
• Germany's biggest lender Deutsche Bank's (DB) shares fell to the lowest level since mid-1980s. This comes amid reports that the government has refused any state-aid to the bank before elections next year.
• Google has launched its smart messaging app Allo which is the first product to have the 'Google Assistant' which will rival Apple's Siri and Microsoft's Cortana.
• Gujaratis dominated the Forbes list of 'India's 100 Richest People' in 2016 with Mukesh Ambani topping the list for the ninth year in a row.
• Gumthala Garhu Village near Pehowa in Kurukshetra district (Haryana) became the first Wifi hotspot village in Haryana circle.
• Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar has announced that the Centre has approved the change in the name of the Gurgaon city and the Gurgaon district to 'Gurugram'.
• Haryana Transport Minister Krishan Lal Panwar has announced free bus rides for the girl school students in the state.
• HDFC Bank has emerged as India’s most valuable brand for the third consecutive year, ranking first on the BrandZ Top 50 list released by WPP Group.
• ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has received the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (SEBI) approval to file its initial public offering (IPO), which will be the first life insurance sector IPO in India.
• ICICI Prudential Life Insurance's Initial Public Offering (IPO), the first ever by an Indian insurer, opened for subscription and is the biggest local IPO in last six years.
• In a first-of-its-kind initiative, Delhi Police flagged off five all-women Police Control Room (PCR) vehicles for improving woman safety in the capital.
• In a step to benefit over 5 lakh coal mine workers across the country, Aadhaar number would now be linked to their provident fund accounts and treated as the PF number.
• India (112) has slipped 10 positions and ranks behind Bhutan (78), Nepal (108) and Sri Lanka (111) but stood higher than China (113), Bangladesh (121) and Pakistan (133) in the World Economic Freedom Index 2016.  Hong Kong topped the index, followed by Singapore and New Zealand among 159 countries.
• India and Afghanistan have reached an agreement to establish an air corridor to facilitate trade between the two nations through air.
• India and China have hold the first High Level Dialogue on Counter-terrorism and Security. This dialogue was held in Beijing (China).
• India and Egypt have signed an agreement in the area of Maritime Transport to step up co-operation on the seas.
• India and Mali have inked two agreements in the fields of Standards and Cultural exchange.
• India and Sri Lanka have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support livelihood of the fishing and farming project to communities in Sri Lanka’s southern Hambantota district.
• India contributed nearly twenty five lakh soldiers to the British war effort in the Second World War, making it the largest ever volunteer force in the world.
• India finished 2nd in the medals tally at the Track Asia Cup 2016 which was recently concluded in New Delhi.
• India has approved a $1.04 billion project for constructing and upgrading 558 km of roads to link it with Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal.
• India has been placed at the 35th rank in the World Bank’s 2016 Logistics Performance Index (LPI) among 160 countries.
• India has lost its World Trade Organization appeal against a US complaint on discrimination against importers in the solar power sector.
• India has observed National Nutrition Week from 1st of September to 7th of September. Theme of the year 2016 : "Savor the Flavor of Eating Righ"
• India has officially declared itself free from highly contagious Avian Influenza (H5N1) or bird flu and has notified the same to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
• India has officially received certificates from World Health Organisation (WHO), recognizing the elimination of Yaws and Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus (MNT) from the country.
• India has ranked on top in terms of offering the least-expensive flight prices, making it the best value location for international and domestic flights worldwide, a survey by a global travel website stated.
• India has sent a contingent of 17 athletes, its largest ever, to the Paralympic Games, which were held in Rio de Janeiro.
• India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Greece to allow unlimited number of flights into each other’s countries and also has initiated the air service agreement for open skies.
• India has successfully test-fired a long-range surface-to-air missile, ‘Barak-8' from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) base at Chandipur in Odisha. It has been jointly developed by India and Israel.
• India is now the world's third-biggest importer for Scotch whisky, after France and the US.
• India is the 7th largest seafood exporter in the world.
• India is the Second most 'unequal' country after Russia in terms of wealth and its distribution among masses, with 54% of the wealth being held by millionaires, a report by a wealth research firm recently announced.
• India slipped 10 positions to the 112th spot, out of 159 countries and territories on the 'Economic Freedom of the World' rankings which measures the extent to which countries' policies and institutions are supportive of economic freedom.
• India won 4 Golds, 1 Silver and 5 Bronze medals in the recently-concluded International Table Tennis Federation Junior and Cadet Open Championships, to finish second to Taipei in the medals tally.
• India, Kazakhstan joint bilateral military exercise PRABAL DOSTYK-16 was recently held at Karaganda region of Kazakhstan. 
• India’s first international conference on cooking gas was recently held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
• India’s high jumper Mariyappan Thangavelu has created history by winning a Gold medal in the men’s high jump T-42 event.
• India’s largest lender SBI has cut deposit rates by 25 basis points in some maturities, thereby indicating excess liquidity in the banking system.
• India’s Pinky Balhara has won bronze medal in the sporting event of kurash at the 5th Asian Beach Games held at Da Nang, Vietnam.
• India’s squash player Velavan Senthilkumar has won the Under-19 Asian Junior Individual squash championship title.
• Indian cueist Pankaj Advani became the first Indian to win a medal at the Six-Red World Championships, after winning bronze at the 2016 edition of the tournament. 
• Indian e-commerce company Flipkart has crossed the 100-million registered users mark, becoming the first e-commerce company in the country to hit the milestone.
• Indian film Thithi has won the best film award at the first BRICS Film Festival held in New Delhi.
• Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee, which was established in 1847 as Thomason College of Civil Engineering, is the oldest engineering college in the country.
• Indian kickboxer Sushmita Rai won the bronze medal at the World Martial Arts Masterships 2016, held at Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do of South Korea.
• Indian Navy’s indigenously built most Advanced Guided Missile Stealth Destroyer ‘Mormugao’ was launched in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• Indian Olympic Association has sent a 208-member contingent, its largest ever, to the 5th Asian Beach Games starting on September 24 in Danang, Vietnam.
• Indian pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji announced his retirement from First-class cricket.
• Indian public service broadcaster Doordarshan has began transmission 57 years ago on 15th September in the year 1959.
• Indian Railways has launched Swachhta Saptah (Cleanliness Week) to mark the ‘Swachh Paryavaran Diwas’ (Clean Environment Day).
• Indian shooters Akhil Sheoran and Vinita Bhardwaj won Gold medals at the 6th World University Championships at Bydgoszcz, Poland. 
• Indian shuttler Rituparna Das won the Polish Open after defeating compatriot Rasika Raje in the women's singles final.
• Indian shuttlers Pranaav Chopra and Sikki Reddy defeated the Canadian pair of Toby Ng and Rachel Honderich 21-15, 21-16 to win the Mixed doubles title at the Brazil Grand Prix.
• Indian table tennis player Sathiyan Gnanasekaran won India's first international men's singles table tennis title in half a decade, after securing the Belgian Open.
• Indian tennis star Sania Mirza won her 40th WTA doubles title after winning the Pan Pacific Open title in Tokyo.
• Indian women’s beach kabaddi team has won the Gold medal at the 5th Asian Beach Games held in Danang, Vietnam.
• Indian wrestler Manisha won a gold medal in women’s freestyle wrestling 38 kg event at the World Cadet Wrestling Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia.
• Indiana-based biology professor Thomas Platt has named a parasitic flatworm 'Baracktrema obamai' in honour of US President Barack Obama.
• India's financial capital Mumbai, which is worth over ₹52 lakh crore, is the wealthiest city in the country, according to the New World Wealth Report.
• India's historic 500th Test match was recently held in Kanpur. India won the test by beating New Zealand.
• India's nuclear energy generation capacity has crossed 6,000 MW after the synchronisation of Unit II of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu.
• India's ranking on the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Index for 2016-17 has improved 16 places to 39, making it the fastest riser among the 138 nations surveyed. 
• India's Rio Olympics silver medallist PV Sindhu has signed a three-year-long endorsement deal worth ₹50 crore with sports management company, Baseline. 
• India's second biggest stock exchange BSE is planning to launch its initial public offer (IPO), which will make it India's first listed stock exchange, by the fourth quarter of this fiscal.
• India's unemployment rate reached a five-year high of 5% in 2015-16, the Labour Bureau's annual survey on employment stated.
• INS Viraat, world’s oldest aircraft carrier which served the Indian Navy for 29 years, will be decommissioned later this year.
• Iran has began building a Nuclear Plant with Russian help, in a $10 billion project, after agreeing to limit its nuclear stockpile last year.
• Iran has introduced credit cards for the first time amid attempts to encourage public spending. Two banks, Bank Melli Iran and Ayandeh Bank, have started issuing credit cards.
• Iran’s Morteza Mehrzadselakjani has become the tallest athlete to compete in the history of the Paralympics, standing at 8ft 1in tall.
• Iran's Defence Ministry has launched the production of a home-grown ballistic missile named 'Zolfaqar', which will come into service by March 2017.
• ISRO has successfully launched 8 satellites into two different orbits for the first time. This is the longest mission undertaken by ISRO so far.
• J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti has launched ‘CM Scooty scheme’ in the state under which 300 girls of two colleges were distributed scooters.
• Japan has recently announced a grant assistance of ₹183 crore to Nepal on the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Nepal.
• Japan is going to host the Asian Games for the 3rd time in 2026 after the Aichi Prefecture and its capital Nagoya were confirmed as the venue by the Olympic Council of Asia.
• Japan PM Shinzo Abe pledged $440 million to help Asian countries strengthen counter-terrorism measures.
• Japan's biggest opposition Democratic Party has chosen Renho Murata as its first ever woman leader.
• Javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia became the first Indian to win two Paralympic gold medals, winning his second with a world record throw in the F46 javelin event at the Rio Paralympics.
• Kerala's St Joseph's College is the only higher education institute given A++ grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) under its new grading system.
• 'Mercedes' German Formula One racer Nico Rosberg won the Italian Grand Prix.
• Mother Teresa was recently declared 'Saint Teresa of Calcutta' in canonization ceremony headed by Pope Francis in the Vatican.
• National Security Advisors of the BRICS Nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) have decided to launch joint efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism in West Asia and North Africa, during a meeting in New Delhi.
• Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal was on a 4-day state visit to India. This was his first bilateral visit abroad after assuming office for the second time as Nepal’s Prime Minister on 4th August 2016.
• New Zealand PM John Key has announced a ban on forced marriages and introduced family member abuse as a separate offence in a crackdown on domestic violence.
• Olympic gold-medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra announced his retirement from shooting.
• One of the most popular Indian writers of the present times, Chetan Bhagat, who is often credited to have introduced the genre of campus novels in India, recently announced the title of his next book, One Indian Girl. Contrary to all his previous books, this has been written from the viewpoint of a woman.
• Pangolin is the world’s most trafficked mammal and the only one to be completely covered in scales. India is a major supplier of pangolin meat and scales across illegal markets in China, Vietnam, and Thailand.
• Paralympics gold medalist Devendra Jhajharia was named Sportsman of the Year at the GQ Men of the Year Awards 2016.
• PM Narendra Modi and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi have decided to step up Defence and Security cooperation to deal with radicalisation and terrorism.
• PM Narendra Modi announced a ₹200 crore package for Jammu & Kashmir, to involve the state’s youngsters in sports.
• PM Narendra Modi has recently visited Vietnam. This is the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Vietnam in 15 years.
• President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Vice President Hamid Ansari's book titled 'Citizen and Society' at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
• President Pranab Mukherjee signed the Goods and Services Tax Bill (GST), making the bill a law. Under GST, taxes previously imposed by the Centre and States will be replaced with a common nation-wide taxation system.
• Ravichandran Ashwin became the fastest Indian and second fastest overall to register 200 Test wickets, after reaching the landmark in his 37th Test against New Zealand.
• Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has topped the list of EA Sports FIFA 17's top-rated players for the first time since the FIFA 09 edition of the game.
• Reliance Communications board has approved a merger with Aircel, making it the largest-ever consolidation deal in India's telecom sector.
• Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani has announced the full-scale launch of its telecom venture 'Reliance Jio', during the company's 42nd annual general meeting. Reliance Jio started operations from September 5.
• Russia and Cuba have signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of peaceful atomic energy use.
• Sikkim is the best workplace for women in India while Delhi is the worst workplace, claimed a report prepared jointly by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a top American think-tank, and Nathan Associates.
• Sofia Vergara, known for her appearance in 'Modern Family', has been named the highest paid television actress in the world by Forbes, earning $43 million in the last 12 months up to June.
• Solar power capacity of about 4,800 MW will be added in India this year as the number of installations are increasing.
• Somali refugee Fadumo Dayib has become the first woman ever to contest in the country's presidential elections.
• Sri Lanka was declared Malaria-free by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
• State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, IDFC Bank, and digital wallet Paytm will start issuing electronic tags to vehicles for toll collection.
• State-owned Canara Bank has announced that its board has permitted raising up to $500 million as a part of its $2-billion medium-term note programme, for funding its overseas branches.
• Taiwanese electronics maker Acer has recently unveiled the world's first curved screen laptop named 'Predator 21 X'.
• Tamil film 'Visaaranai' is India's official entry to Academy Awards 2017 in the Foreign Language Film category.
• Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has announced that the government will increase maternity leave for female state government employees from six months to Nine months, fulfilling an electoral promise.
• Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa has announced the set up of 'Amma Marriage Halls' to help the poor people conduct weddings by paying a reasonable rent
• The 1st BRICS film festival was recently held at the Sirifort Auditorium Complex in New Delhi. The film festival is the run up to the BRICS summit which is to be held in Goa in October 2016.
• The 1st military exercise between Russia and Pakistan named Druzhba-2016 (Friendship-2016) was recently held.
• The 2016 BRICS Labour & Employment Ministerial Meet was held in New Delhi from September 27- 28, 2016 to deliberate on issues including job creation and social security for workers.
• The 2016 Group of Twenty (G20) Summit was held in Hangzhou, China from 4th to 5th September 2016 .
• The 28th and 29th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit was recently held at Vientiane, Laos.
• The 2nd meeting of the High Level Group of Eminent Experts to strengthen the SAARC Anti-Terrorism Mechanism was held in New Delhi.
• The 8th edition of joint military exercise ‘Indra-2016’ between India and Russia was recently held at the Russian city of Vladivostok.
• The annual socio-religious Solung festival of Adi tribe was recently held in Arunachal Pradesh.
• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved $631 million assistance for India's first coastal industrial corridor between Visakhapatnam and Chennai.
• The Bank of England has kept its interest rate unchanged at a record low of 0.25%, amid expectations of a future rate cut.
• The Bank of Japan has kept the interest rates on the current accounts held by financial institutions at the central bank unchanged at (-)0.1%.
• The BRICS Convention on Tourism for the year 2016 was recently held t  Khajuraho (UNESCO World heritage) of Madhya Pradesh. The goal of this 2 day convention is to promote intra-regional tourism.
• The Cabinet has approved a ₹1,102 crore-project to lay an undersea cable link to Andaman and Nicobar Islands from Chennai.
• The Cabinet has approved the scrapping of the 92-year old practice of presenting a separate Railway Budget and merged it with the Union Budget.
• The Cabinet has cleared a $3.14 billion (around ₹21,000 crore) stake buy in two Russian oilfields by a consortium of Indian Oil, Oil India, and BPCL.
• The Canadian government has approved a new law which allows doctors to prescribe pharmaceutical-grade heroin to treat severe heroin addicts.
• The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has launched ’e-nivaran’ (electronic resolution)  facility for online redressal of taxpayers’ grievances.
• The Central government has decided to ban the use of polythene within a 100-metre radius of all national monuments starting 2nd October 2016, as a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Swachh Bharat campaign.
• The Centre has cleared the deal to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets from France, which is likely to cost India nearly €7.8 billion (over ₹58,000 crore).
• The Centre has cut the import duty on wheat, crude and refined palm oils, and potato to keep prices in check ahead of the festival season.
• The DCB Bank, a new-generation private sector bank, has launched a card-less mobile-based payment solution 'mVisa', to make payments at retail outlets easier.
• The Defence Ministry has approved the acquisition of weaponry worth ₹1,900 crore, including ₹330 crore low-intensity electronic warfare systems for Jammu and Kashmir.
• The Department of Telecom (DoT) has created ‘Urja Mitra Helpline’ through which customers can get information on power outages from distribution companies by dialling 14401.
• The Election Commission has confirmed that the Mamata Banerjee-led All India Trinamool Congress is now a 'National party'.
• The first air show in North Korea was recently held at the Kalma Airport in Wonsan city.
• The first edition of ‘IoT (Internet of Things) India Congress, 2016’ was recently held in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
• The first Jesse Owens Olympic Spirit Award will be posthumously awarded to Muhammad Ali.
• The first meeting of Goods & Services Tax (GST) Council has decided to exempt businesses with annual turnover below Rs.20 lakh out of the GST net.
• The Global Burden of Disease study has ranked India 143th in a list of 188 countries, citing mortality rates, malaria hygiene and air pollution as major challenges. Iceland topped the index. Central African Republic was ranked the lowest.
• The government has approved the Human Resource Development Ministry's proposal to set up a Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) that will pro vide funds for research-oriented infrastructure in premier institutions like IITs and IIMs.
• The government has ordered the prohibition of photography and shooting of videos in the Parliament House complex by visitors, officers and staff of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariat, and allied agencies.
• The government is planning to double the number of schemes under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to 147 by March, Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa has recently announced.
• The government is planning to make the issuance of passport documents easier by processing passport applications at major post offices in Delhi by the year-end.
• The Gujarat government has inked a tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Airport Authority of India (AAI). Under these MoUs, 11 small airports and airstrips will be developed under the Centre’s Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) to boost regional air connectivity in the State.
• The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has successfully conducted a technical flight of the new indigenous Light Utility Helicopter (LUH).
• The Incredible India Tourism Investors Summit (IITIS) 2016 was recently held in New Delhi.
• The Indian Air Force (IAF) has successfully fired the recently acquired long-range air-to-air MICA missile on a manoeuvring target from Mirage-2000 Upgrade combat aircraft.
• The Indian Army has set up Army Design Bureau (ADB) in an attempt to indigenise procurements and reduce import dependence.
• The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has commissioned well-equipped Offshore Patrolling Vessel (OPV) named ‘Sarathi’.
• The Indian contingent won a total of 9 medals, including 4 silver and 5 bronze medals at the 9th Asian Wushu Championships.
• The Indian government recently gave its nod for the installation of a Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in the country.
• The Indian Navy has launched the country's latest missile destroyer, the Mormugao, at Mumbai's Mazagon Docks.
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully launched GSLV-F05 rocket carrying an advanced weather satellite 'INSAT-3DR' from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. This is the first time ISRO has used an indigenous cryogenic engine on an 'operational flight'.
• The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has signed a contract with German company DST to design vessels suited to navigate the 1620 km stretch of National Waterway (NW-1).
• The International Union for Conservation of Nature has agreed at an international summit to ban domestic ivory trade.
• The joint military training exercise between India and United States dubbed as “Yudh Abhyas 2016” was recently held in Chaubattia in Uttarakhand.
• The Karni Mata Temple is a temple near Bikaner in Rajasthan where rats are worshipped.
• The meeting of BRICS Representatives in charge of security was recently held in New Delhi, India. This meeting was hosted by Ajit Doval (National Security Adviser). 
• The Naropa festival, which is held every 12 years, was recently held at the 17th century Hemis Monastery in Ladakh.
• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a US space agency has launched OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to collect samples from an asteroid 101955 Bennu and return to Earth.
• The Odisha Government has launched the Biju Kanya Ratna Yojana (BKRY) for the development of girls in three districts of the state.
• The Odisha government has reduced the stamp duty on the purchase of land and houses in the name of women to 4% from 5%.
• The Punjab National Bank has recently announced that it will charge current account holders more from October for not maintaining the quarterly average balance.
• The Race Course Road, where the Prime Minister's residence is situated, has been renamed as Lok Kalyan Marg.
• The Railways Ministry has introduced a flexi-fare system for premium trains like Rajdhani and Shatabdi starting September 9, to decide ticket prices based on the availability of seats.
• The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) left the official cash rate on hold at a record low of 1.5%, amid concerns that the rates are becoming ineffective at stimulating growth.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed banks to accept tax dues in cash under the domestic black money declaration scheme which closes on September 30.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently announced that it will reallocate the portfolios for its three Deputy Governors, including shifting the monetary policy, economic policy and research, and financial market operations to R Gandhi.
• The Supreme Court has directed authorities, including the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), to immediately enforce ban on all forms of chewable tobacco and nicotine.
• The third edition of BRICS Urbanisation Forum Meet was recently in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
• The two-day International Buddhist Conclave is going to be held during 3rd and 4th October 2016 at Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh.
• The UK government has agreed to ban plastic microbeads in beauty products by the end of 2017, following a campaign by environmentalists.
• The UN Security Council has approved a resolution on Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), urging global implementation of the treaty that would ban tests of nuclear weapons.
• The Union Government has approved 450 crore rupees for Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Sikkim under the Swadesh Darshan scheme.
• The Union Government has constituted 4 member expert committee to study silt in river Ganga in Bihar. The team will be headed by : A .K. Sinha (member of Ganga Flood Control commission).
• The Union Government has notified National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) for providing apprenticeship training to over 50 lakh youngsters in order to create more jobs.
• The Union Government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with one of India's largest selling comic book series, Amar Chitra Katha to publish and distribute comic book on Swachh Bharat Mission.
• The Union Health Ministry has recently launched the “Leprosy Case Detection Campaign (LCDC)” to eradicate leprosy from the country.
• The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has approved the use of Pelargonic Acid Vanillyl Amide (PAVA) shells as an alternative to Pellet Guns for crowd controlling in Jammu and Kashmir.
• The Union Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas has launched #Gas4India  campaign, aimed at promoting the use of natural gas in the country.
• The United Nations Charter has been translated into Sanskrit for the first time since coming into force in 1945.
• The United Nations held its first-ever summit on 'Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants' to discuss the issue of around 65.3 million refugees displaced around the world. 
• The United States has agreed to partner with India for the 2017 Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, the biennial investors’ summit to create a business-friendly environment in Gujarat.
• The United States is the third-most depressed nation in the world, after India and China, according to a WHO report on mental illness.
• The US has labelled the Syrian jihadist rebel group Jund al-Aqsa as a terrorist organisation.
• The US House of Representatives has approved a bill authorising the sale of lethal weapons to Ukraine.
• The World Trade Organization has cut its forecast for global trade growth in 2016 to 1.7%, down from its April estimate of 2.8%.
• The World War II, which resulted in the death of about 56.4 million people, is recognised by the Guinness World Records as the war having the highest death toll ever.
• The world’s largest river island Majuli, was declared as a district to make it the 35th district of Assam and the only river island district in India.
• The world’s largest Solar Power Plant with an installed capacity of 648MW was commissioned at Kamudhi in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu.
• The world's largest indoor theme park, IMG Worlds of Adventure was recently opened in Dubai.
• To clean up the examination system after the toppers scam, the Bihar School Examination Board has decided to link Aadhaar card number of the students with their examination forms to avoid duplication.
• Twitter has announced that it is rolling out changes to its 140-character limit, which were first announced in May this year.
• UK PM Theresa May is going to introduce the 'Alan Turing' Law, which will give posthumous pardons for gay men convicted under historic indecency crimes.
• UK's former PM David Cameron has announced that he is resigning from the Parliament to end his political career, months after he lost a referendum to stay in the EU.
• Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman was a 3-day visit to Sri Lanka. The aim of this visit was to expand bilateral trade relations between the two nations.
• UP and Bihar have the youngest population in India while Kerala and Tamil Nadu have the oldest population, stated Census 2011 data.
• US Federal Reserve has left the key interest rate unchanged at 0.25-0.50% for the sixth straight time.
• US President Barack Obama has established the first national marine monument in the Atlantic, permanently protecting nearly 5,000 square miles of underwater canyons and mountains.
• US space agency NASA is building the world's largest and most powerful rocket at its Michoud Assembly Facility, US.
• US-based flash memory products maker SanDisk unveiled a prototype of the world's first 1 TB SD memory card.
• US-based Moody's Investor Service has cut Turkey's sovereign credit rating to "junk" (from Baa3 to Ba1), following an attempted coup and amid a slowing economy.
• US-based Wells Fargo lost its status as the world’s most valuable bank to JPMorgan Chase.
• Venezuela is the most successful country in terms of wins at the Miss World beauty pageant (6 winners). India and the United Kingdom stand second with five winners each.
• Vice-President Hamid Ansari was on a 5-day visit to Nigeria and Mali. This is the first-ever high-level visit to Mali from India. The main aim of this visit was to strengthen India's bilateral engagements with the two West African nations.
• West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has left for a week-long visit to Rome and Germany. During this visit, she attended Mother Teresa's canonisation ceremony. 
• With 86.4% literacy, the Jain community has the highest proportion of literates among all communities in India, the 2011 Census data has revealed. Meanwhile, Muslims were revealed as the least educated, with 42.7% of the 17.22 crore being illiterate.
• With an altitude of up to 6,700 m (22,000 ft), Siachen Glacier at the India-Pakistan LoC, is the world's highest battlefield.
• World   leaders have adopted New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
• World number one Serena Williams broke the all-time record for most Grand Slam match wins in tennis history after her 308th win, coming against Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova in the US Open.
• Young Indian shooter Subhankar Pramanick has won the gold medal at the ISSF Junior World Cup for pistol, rifle and shotgun in Gabala, Azerbaijan.
• Zurich in Switzerland has been named the most sustainable city in the world by global design and consultancy firm Arcadis.

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