September 2017 Current Affairs Highlights (One-Liners)

sponsored links

Friends, here are the Major Current Affairs Highlights of September 2017. These one-liners cover all important International, National, MOUs, Indexes, Banking, Technology, Books & Authors, Committees and Sports affairs of September month (from 1st to 30th September 2017). We will  provide the pdf version by this evening, but we advise you to write these on your own so that you wont forget them again. All the Best and Happy Reading :)

September 2017 Current Affairs Highlights (One-Liners) 

• 10th September 2017 was observed as the World Suicide Prevention Day with the theme ‘Take a Minute, Change a Life’.
• 11-year old Indian chess player Divya Deshmukh bagged gold in the Under-12 World Cadet Chess championship held in Brazil.
• 12th edition of India-Nepal joint military exercise - Surya Kiran XII was recently held at Nepal Army Battle School (NABS) in Saljhandi, Nepal.
• 13th edition of Yudh Abhyas 2017, an annual bilateral military exercise between India and United States was recently took place at Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington, US.
• 13th Formation Day of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was celebrated across the country on 28th September 2107. The theme of this year’s Formation Day was School Safety.
• 15th September 2017 was observed as International Day of Democracy with the theme "Democracy and Conflict prevention"
• 16th September 2017 was observed as the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer (International Ozone Day) with the Theme "Caring for all life under the sun".
• 190th Gunners Day was celebrated on 28th September 2017.
• 2 Indian women have featured on Fortune's list of Most Powerful Women in business outside the US. Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank Chanda Kochhar was ranked 5th and Managing Director and CEO of Axis Bank Shikha Sharma was ranked at 21.
• 21st September 2017 was observed as the International Day of Peace / World Peace Day with the Theme “Together for Peace: Respect, Safety and Dignity for All.”
• 21st September 2017 was observed as the World Alzheimer’s Day with the Theme 'Remember Me'.
• 27th September 2017 was observed as the World Tourism Day with the Theme "Sustainable Tourism – a Tool for Development:.
• 28th September 2017 (last Thursday of September) was observed as World Maritime Day with the Theme "Connecting Ships, Ports and People".
• 28th September 2017 was observed as World Rabies day with the Theme “Rabies: Zero by 30”
• 29th September 2017 was observed as the World Heart Day with the Theme ‘share the power’
• 2nd edition of India-Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Council was recently held at New Delhi.
• 2nd Saturday of September (9th September 2017) was observed as the World First Aid Day with the theme ‘First aid and road safety’.
• 2nd September 2017 observed as the World Coconut Day with the theme ‘Coconut, the tree of life Sustains family well being’
• 3 districts - Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh), Odisha (Koraput) and Thane (Maharashtra) will see the launch of India's ambitious 'Zero Hunger' programme through interventions in farm sector on October 16 (World Food Day).
• 30th September 2017 was observed as the International Translation Day with the Theme "Let’s tell the world about what we do".
• 3rd India International Science Festival (IISF-2017) will be held in Chennai, Tamil Nadu from 13th to 16th October 2017.
• 50 Nations signed a treaty banning the use of nuclear weapons amid opposition by nuclear-armed countries.
• 50th Engineer's Day was observed on 15th September 2017 with the Theme “Role of Engineers in a Developing India”.
• 57 year old NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, the world's most experienced spacewoman, has returned to Earth after clocking cumulative 665 days in space.
• 5-time world champion and Olympic bronze medalist MC Mary Kom has become the first Indian to be picked as International Boxing Association's (AIBA) representative for the IOC Athletes Forum, scheduled in November.
• 6th edition of VASTRA 2017 (an International Textile and Apparel Fair) was recently held at Jaipur, Rajasthan. More than 50 countries and 13 Indian States participated in VASTRA 2017.
• 7th edition of India-Sri Lanka joint maritime naval exercise SLINEX 2017 was recently held near Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) in Bay of Bengal. Aim of this Exercise : To reinforce strong neighbourly ties between India and Sri Lanka by extensive maritime interaction and improved understanding.
• 8th September 2017 was observed as the International Literacy Day with the theme ‘Literacy in a Digital World’.
• 9th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit was recently held at Xiamen, China. Motto : BRICS: Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future.
• A book against gender bias, titled 'Testosterone Rex: Unmaking the Myths of Our Gendered Minds' has been chosen as Royal Society of London's science book of the year. Written by Cordelia Fine.
• A Karnataka-Finland Innovation Corridor was launched in Bengaluru by the state's IT and Biotechnology Department and the Embassy of Finland.
• A New plastic 10 Pound note featuring renowned author Jane Austen has gone into circulation in Britain.
• A personally signed copy of Hitler's autobiography 'Mein Kampf' has been auctioned in the US for over ₹8 lakh.
• A special TADA court has announced death penalty for Tahir Merchant and Feroze Khan, two convicts in the 1993 Mumbai Blasts case, while announcing life imprisonment for Abu Salem and Karimullah Khan.
• A stadium in Kentucky, USA, is set to be named after former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar, who will head to Louisville to inaugurate the 'Sunil Gavaskar Field'.
• According to a recent report released by 5 UN agencies, the Global Hunger levels have risen for the first time in more than a decade, now affecting 11% of the world's population.
• According to a recently released circular by Indian Railways, passengers in reserved coaches of trains will now only be allowed to sleep between 10 pm and 6 am.
• According to a report by global brokerage Morgan Stanley, India would grow to be a $6 trillion economy, the third largest in the world, and achieve upper-middle income status in the next 10 years.
• According to a study by apex industry body Assocham, Karnataka has been ranked top among the states in the country in terms of manufacturing excellence.
• According to World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2017, India with six installed nuclear reactors ranks 3rd in world. China is leading the report with 20 installed nuclear reactors.
• Afghanistan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani was on a visit to India. The visit comes weeks after US President Donald Trump announced a new policy on Afghanistan and sought sought more help from India in Afghanistan.
• Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan has become the youngest cricketer to take 100 wickets in T20s, at the age of 18 years and 360 days.
• Aiming at developing villages of freedom fighters in the state, the Jharkhand Government has launched Shaheed Gram Vikas Yojana.
• American boxer David Benavidez became the youngest fighter to win a world super-middleweight title, after claiming the vacant World Boxing Council belt at the age of 20 years and nine months.
• An Anti-child abuse documentary will be played before the movies in theatres across India.
• An expert committee, set up by the Union Home Ministry to suggest ways to tackle online hate speech, has recommended appointing cybercrime coordinators in all states and establishing cybercrime cells in each district. The committee was headed by : TK Viswanathan (ex-Lok Sabha secretary general)
• Angela Merkel won her 4th term as the German Chancellor after the Opposition conceded defeat in the general elections.
• Apple recently launched two new phones 'iPhone 8' and 'iPhone 8 Plus' with wireless charging technology with prices starting from $699 and $799 respectively.
• ASTROSAT, India's first multi-wavelength space-based observatory has completed two years in Earth's orbit.
• Athletes from Australia and the rest of Oceania have been invited to compete at the 2022 Asian Games, for the first time in the history of Asiad.
• Australia is going to establish a National Space Agency to increase engagement with the global space industry and create jobs.
• Australia's biggest bank, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, was hit with a class-action lawsuit on behalf of shareholders over a money laundering scandal. Litigation financier IMF Bentham is funding the lawsuit.
• Bharat Financial Inclusion (BFIL) has entered into an exclusivity agreement with private lender IndusInd Bank to evaluate a merger between the two companies.
• British F1 driver Lewis Hamilton broke the all-time record for pole positions by taking his career's 69th at the Italian Grand Prix.
• Broadcasting firm Star India has acquired the Indian Premier League's (IPL) global media rights from 2018-2022 with a consolidated bid of ₹16,347.5 crore.
• Canada's CHIME radio telescope, which aims to survey the largest volume of the observable universe has started operations.
• China has banned the export of liquefied natural gas and gas condensates to North Korea, as well as textile imports from the country.
• China is planning to ban trading of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on domestic exchanges, but plans to allow over-the-counter transactions.
• China started operating the world's fastest bullet train, Fuxing, between Beijing and Shanghai.
• China's Big Four state-owned banks have completely stopped providing financial services to new North Korean clients as per a ban which took effect August 28.
• China's central bank, the People's Bank of China, has banned individuals and organisations from raising funds through Initial Coin Offerings (ICO).
• Chinese real estate giant Evergrande Group's Chairman Hui Ka Yan has become Asia's richest man with a net worth of $41.1 billion.
• Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman flagged off NavikabSagar Parikrama in Goa, a circumnavigation programme by women naval officers. This is the the first Indian circumnavigation of the globe by an all-women crew.
• Dubai has started testing world's first two-seater self-flying taxi called Autonomous Air Taxi (AAT) for transportation.
• During a high-level meeting at the UN on ‘Preventing Terrorist Use of Internet’ hosted by the UK and Italy, India called for a global action to counter the use of Internet for radicalisation and terror financing.
• External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was on a 3-day visit to Russia. During this visit, she attended the 3rd Eastern Economic Forum which will deliberate on pressing issues relating to global trade.
• External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was on a visit to New York (US). During this visit, she attended the UN General Assembly.
• First Helicopter service was started from Srinagar to world's second coldest inhabited place Drass under Udan Scheme.
• Five banks of the BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism (ICM) have signed an agreement to establish local currency credit lines and develop cooperation on credit ratings in the run-up to the forthcoming BRICS summit in China.
• For the first time in 27 years, the Assam government has extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act for six months, declaring the state a "disturbed area".
• Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, the 64-year-old heiress of French cosmetics company L'Oreal, has become the world's richest woman with a net worth of $43.3 billion.
• French Defence Minister Florence Parly has announced that the country is going to begin arming its surveillance and intelligence drones, saying the move will help France's military become "more effective".
• French President Emmanuel Macron has proposed creating a new European Monetary Fund to deal with EU's financial affairs.
• General Motors CEO Mary Barra has topped Fortune's 2017 list of Most Powerful Women for the third time in a row.
• Germany-based European XFEL (X-ray Free Electron Laser), the largest and most powerful X-ray laser in the world, has officially begun research operations.
• Government has extended the deadline for sale of pre-GST goods with stickers of revised rates by three months to December 31.
• Gujarat will become first big state to use Electronic Voting Machine (EVMs) equipped with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) in coming Assembly elections to make election process more transparent.
• HDFC Bank surpassed Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to become India's second most valued firm.
• Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the first phase of Lucknow Metro.
• Hong Kong-based AIA Group has agreed to buy the life insurance unit of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (Australia's largest bank), for $3 billion.
• Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has announced a Smart Cities Awards Contest with a total prize money of ₹50 lakh to recognise and reward cities and innovative ideas that promote mission's goals.
• HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar announced that the Indian government is going to start School Chalo Abhiyan from next year for students not going to schools.
• Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport became the first airport in India to offer a wheelchair lift ('verti-lift).
• In a move aimed at boosting productivity and economic growth, Saudi Arabia has lifted its ban on voice and video calling apps such as WhatsApp and Skype.
• In a research report , the State Bank of India (SBI) has announced that banks may lose ₹3,800 crore annually due to investment in card-swipe machines, as costs outstrip revenues.
• In an attempt to reduce tobacco abuse, the Health Ministry has proposed to ban the sale of non-tobacco products such as candies and colas at retail shops selling tobacco products such as cigarettes and gutka.
• In order to restrict smoking in public spaces, the Karnataka government has banned the sale of loose cigarettes, beedis and chewing tobacco products.
• India - Japan Annual Summit was recently held at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar.
• India and Japan have agreed to collaborate closely in defence production, including on dual-use technologies.
• India and Myanmar have signed 11 MOUs in range of sectors, including one on maritime security cooperation.
• India and Switzerland have signed 2 Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) for exchanging technical cooperation in the field of Railways.
• India announced an emergency aid of over ₹1.2 crore ($200,000) for the Caribbean countries worst affected by recent hurricanes.
• India handed over an offshore patrol vessel, Varuna, to Sri Lanka.
• India has begun exporting its 1st consignment of 30 tonnes of high-speed diesel to Myanmar via land route. Myanmar previously relied on imports from Thailand and Singapore to meet its consumption needs.
• India has imposed an additional 18.95% import tax on certain stainless steel products from China for five years in order to curb influx of cheaper foreign imports.
• India has observed National Nutrition Week from 1st of September to 7th of September. Theme of National Nutrition Week 2017 : "Optimal Infant & Young Child Feeding Practices: Better Child Health".
• India has signed Letter of Intent (LoI) with Norway to extend cooperation within health sector through Norway India Partnership Initiative (NIPI) for period of three years starting from 2018.
• India is collaborating with Russia to build Rooppur nuclear power plant in Bangladesh.
• India is going to conduct 1st BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise 2017 (BIMSTEC DMEx-2017) at New Delhi from 10th to 13th October 2017. BIMSTEC - Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation
• India is going to host International Solar Alliance summit in December 2017.
• India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) will provide its financial services through all of the 1.55 lakh post offices and 3 lakh employees by the end of 2018, CEO AP Singh has recently announced.
• India wins 2nd SABA U-16 Zone Basketball Championship by defeating Bhutan by 131-50 in its last league match.
• India’s first electric bus service was launched at Rohtang Pass area in Himachal Pradesh.
• India’s first state of art virology laboratory was inaugurated at Dr. Anjali Chatterjee Regional Research Institute for Homoeopathy in Kolkata, West Bengal.
• India’s zero-subsidy UJALA Scheme was launched in Melaka State of Malaysia by Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), under Union Ministry of Power. UJALA - Unnat Jyoti by Affordable Lighting for All).
• Indian Ace shuttler PV Sindhu became the first Indian to lift the Korea Open Superseries title.
• Indian Army is going to develop the Pinaka guided rockets to counter Pakistan's threat of using tactical nuclear weapons.
• Indian athlete Purnima Hembram has won the Gold Meal in Women's Pentathlon Event at the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games held in Turkmenistan.
• Indian banks will need additional capital of $65 billion to meet Basel III capital standards by March 2019, with state-run lenders accounting for 95% of the requirements, Fitch Ratings recently announced.
• Indian Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav became the first Indian spinner to take a hat-trick in ODI cricket after achieving the feat in the second ODI against Australia.
• Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar announced that India is going to help Myanmar in developing the crisis-hit Rakhine State.
• Indian opener Rohit Sharma broke the world record for hitting the most number of sixes against Australia in international cricket during the third ODI in Indore on Sunday.
• Indian Policemen are set to replace their British-era khaki uniform with Ahmedabad-based National Institute of Design's new All-weather 'Smart Uniform'.
• Indian shooter Ankur Mittal has won a Silver medal in the double trap event at the ISSF Shotgun World Championship in Moscow.
• Indian shuttler and current world number two PV Sindhu has been recommended for the Padma Bhushan award, India's third highest civilian honour, by the Sports Ministry.
• Indian squash player Harinder Pal Sandhu won his 21st international game on the trot and his fifth consecutive title, winning the Malaysian Squash Tour X event in Kuala Lumpur.
• Indian women's cricket team captain Mithali Raj has been included in BBC's list of the 100 most influential women of 2017.
• India's first Centre for Animal Law was inaugurated at the NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad.
• India's first payments Bank, Airtel Payments Bank launched Unified Payments Interface (UPI) on its digital platform, enabling customers to instantly transfer money to and from any bank a/c without paying any transaction fee.
• India's fiscal deficit for April-August reached 96.1% of the budgeted target for the current fiscal year that ends in March 2018.
• India's foreign exchange reserves crossed $400 billion-mark for the first time.
• India's middle-distance runners PU Chitra and G Lakshmanan bagged Gold medals at the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Turkmenistan.
• Indigenously developed third-generation Anti Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) Nag was successfully flight tested by the Defence Research and Development Organisation.
• INS Tarasa, a Water Jet Fast Attack Craft intended for extended coastal and offshore surveillance and patrolling, was commissioned into the Indian Navy at Mumbai.
• Iran has tested the Bavar 373 missile which is a part of its homegrown air defence system.
• Iraq's Parliament voted against the Kurdish independence referendum to be held later this month, claiming it will affect the war against ISIS and cause instability in the country.
• ISRO’s globally acclaimed Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) also known as Mangalyaan completed three years in Martian orbit.
• Japan Open Super Series (badminton) tournament was recently held at Tokyo. This is the 8 Super Series tournament of the 2017 BWF Super Series.
• Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was on a two-day visit to India. During this visit he held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and both laid the foundation stone of the ambitious Rs 1.08 lakh crore ($17 billion) Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project.
• Jharkhand Governor Draupadi Murmu gave her assent to the Jharkhand Religious Freedom Bill, 2017. With this bill, Jharkhand becomes 7th state in the country to have anti-conversion law. Other six states are : Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
• Jordan, a water-poor country that is 90% desert, has launched Sahara Forest Project near the southern port city of Aqaba to turn desert land into farming land to produce food using sun and sea water.
• Karnataka has become the first Indian state to have an electric vehicle policy after the state Cabinet approved the Karnataka Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy.
• Kerala will soon open India's first transgender-exclusive clinics at government medical colleges across the state.
• Krasava, the official match ball for 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup, was recently launched.
• Madhya Pradesh government has inaugurated India's first cow sanctuary, Kamdhenu Gau Abhyaranya, in Agar Malwa district.
• Maharashtra government has announced plans to launch 112 as a single integrated helpline number for police, fire brigade, and ambulance services.
• Maharashtra government has drafted a bill to make it illegal for doctors to refer patients to healthcare centres, including hospitals and laboratories, in exchange for 'cuts' or commissions.
• Manipur's Nungthang Tampak village has became the 1st in the northeast region to achieve 100% computer literacy.
• Mercedes' British Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton registered his 60th career win at the Singapore Grand Prix.
• Mercedes' British Formula One racer Lewis Hamilton won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
• Microsoft and Facebook have announced the completion of their 6,600 km-undersea internet cable 'Marea' across the Atlantic Ocean.
• Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi launched Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), a maternity benefit program run by the government of India, at a function in New Delhi.
• Mongolian Parliament voted to oust Prime Minister Jargaltulga Erdenebat over alleged incompetence and corruption related to the signing of government contracts with companies linked to three Cabinet members.
• NASA's Spacecraft Cassini on mission to explore giant ring-world of Saturn and its menagerie of moons ended its 20 year voyage on 15th September 2017.
• Nepal began its first-ever survey to remeasure Mount Everest to check if the world's tallest peak's height was altered by the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the country in 2015.
• NITI Aayog recently launched National Nutrition Strategy. Aim of this Strategy : Kuposhan Mukt Bharat.
• NITI Aayog’s SATH (Sustainable Action for Transforming Human capital) Program was launched at Guwahati, Assam.
• Non-resident Indians (NRIs) who harass their wives or desert them could face impoundment or cancellation of their passport, according to the recommendations of a high-level panel. Head of this panel : Arvind Kumar Goel (Retired Judge and Former chairman of Punjab’s state commission for NRIs)
• Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the largest in the world, has hit $1 trillion for the first time.
• Odisha got its first state-run college in 54 years, Saheed Laxman Nayak Medical College and Hospital (SLNMCH).
• Olympic silver medal-winning shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was named the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports. With this, he became the first sportsperson to hold the position.
• Pacer Ishant Sharma has replaced 36-year-old Gautam Gambhir as Delhi Ranji captain ahead of the upcoming season.
• Pakistan announced that it has successfully test-fired an air-to-sea anti-ship missile in the North Arabian Sea.
• Pakistan recently opened its 5th Nuclear power plant to meet its growing energy demands. The power plant was built in collaboration with China.
• Pakistan's largest bank, Habib Bank, has been fined $225 million (over ₹1,400 crore) by the US for "grave" compliance failures over regulations concerning money laundering and terror financing.
• Patanjali Ayurved CEO Acharya Balkrishna has been named among India's top 10 richest people for the first time in Hurun Rich List 2017, with a wealth of ₹70,000 crore.
• Paytm Payments Bank has raised $9.3 million from founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma and investors including the parent company One97 Communications.
• PM Narendra Modi and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe jointly laid the foundation stone of India's first Bullet Train project at Ahmedabad.
• PM Narendra Modi expanded his Cabinet by inducting 9 new ministers and promoting four.
• Pralay Sahay, a 2 day multi-Agency humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercise, was recently held in Hyderabad.
• President Ram Nath Kovind launched a fortnight-long 'Swachhta Hi Seva' (Cleanliness is Service) sanitation campaign at Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
• President Ram Nath Kovind will visit Africa in the first week of October. This will be his first foreign trip as a head of state.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has constituted an Economic Advisory Council to analyse and advise on policy matters referred by PM Modi. Head of the Council : Bibek Debroy (NITI Aayog member)
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Sardar Sarovar Dam at Gujarat's Kevadia.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Saubhagya - Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana. Aim of this Scheme : To Provide electricity to all rural and urban households.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a two-day visit to Myanmar. This was his maiden bilateral visit to Myanmar.
• Prince Charles became the Longest-serving Prince of Wales, breaking the record of Queen Victoria's eldest son Albert who held the title for more than 59 years before becoming king.
• Reliance Infrastructure controlled Reliance Defence and Engineering Ltd (RDEL) has changed its name to Reliance Naval and Engineering Ltd (RNEL).
• Ride-hailing startup Uber has announced it has launched its biggest 'Greenlight Centre' in India, located in Bengaluru.
• Rio Olympic silver medalist PV Sindhu has jumped two places to the second spot in the BWF women's singles ranking.
• Russia and China began the 2nd stage of the Joint Sea-2017 naval drills in waters near the Korean Peninsula.
• Russia and Pakistan held a two-week long joint military exercise titled DRUZBA, in the Russian town of Mineralnye Vody.
• Russia destroyed the last batch of its chemical weapons stockpile, fulfilling its obligation under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
• Russia had dropped the world's largest non-nuclear weapon, popularly known as the 'Father Of All Bombs' (FOAB), on ISIS in the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor.
• Russia has launched the world's largest and most powerful icebreaker ship, designed to transport cargo via the Northern Sea Route in the Arctic Ocean.
• Russian and US space agencies, Roscosmos and NASA, have agreed to jointly build a "deep space gateway", the first-ever astronaut-tended space station around the Moon.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia is going to help Japan in its efforts to clean up the nuclear waste released due to the Fukushima nuclear disaster [The 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown is considered to be one of the largest in history].
• Saudi Arabia has invited women to a sports stadium for the first time to attend the kingdom's 87th National Day celebrations with their families.
• Saudi Arabia voted to allow women to issue fatwas.
• Saudi Arabia's King Salman issued a royal decree allowing women to drive, ending its status as the only country in the world to impose such a ban.
• Scientists associated with the European Council for Nuclear Research (CERN), which houses the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's largest particle accelerator, are building a new detector, a scintillating fibre tracker dubbed 'SciFi'. SciFi will help them to harvest more data from the collider.
• Search Engine giant Google launched a mobile wallet and payments app titled 'Tez' in India. Tez will let users link their phones to their bank accounts to pay for goods in physical stores and online.
• Senior advocate and former Law minister Ram Jethmalani announced his retirement from legal practice, after practicing the profession for over 70 years.
• Shah Rukh Khan-owned Trinbago Knight Riders won their second Caribbean Premier league title, defeating St Kitts and Nevis Patriots by three wickets in the final.
• Social media giant Facebook officially launched its video platform titled "Watch" for users in the US.
• South African all-rounder JP Duminy announced his retirement from Tests and first-class cricket with immediate effect.
• South Korea deployed four Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) rocket launchers amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, three days after it made the announcement.
• South Korea has approved a $8-million aid package for North Korea amid increased tensions over the reclusive nation's nuclear programme.
• Spain's Ana Carrasco became the first woman to win an individual World Championship motorbike race.
• Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore has announced that 152 athletes selected under the government's Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme for 2020 Olympics preparation will get a monthly stipend of ₹50,000.
• Sri Lanka is going to open its first official marijuana plantation to ensure high-quality supplies for medicinal purposes as well as for exports to the US.
• Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena banned Plastic bags and other disposable products after one of the country's biggest dump collapsed in April leading to a disposal crisis.
• Starting October 1, the customers of Punjab National Bank (PNB) will be charged ₹10 per transaction beyond a limit of five times a month, even if a PNB cardholder makes the transaction from PNB ATM.
• State Bank of India (SBI) along with FTSE Russell, global index and data provider launched FTSE SBI Bond Index series at London Stock Exchange (LSE). It is India’s first bond index series for overseas investors.
• State-owned telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is going to launch a co-branded feature phone at a price of about ₹2,000 in October.
• State-run oil marketing company Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) is all set to become a Maharatna company. Presently BPCL is having Navratna status.
• Swedish defence giant SAAB and Indian conglomerate Adani group have announced a collaboration in defence manufacturing entailing billions of dollars of investment, mainly eyeing a contract for Single-engine fighter jets for the Indian Air Force.
• Switzerland President Doris Leuthard was on a visit to India.
• Switzerland's financial regulator Financial Market Supervisory Authority has closed down the unauthorised providers of the fake cryptocurrency "E-Coin".
• Switzerland's Martina Hingis won her second US Open title in two days after claiming the women's doubles title alongside Taiwan's Chan Yung-Jan, a day after winning the mixed doubles title alongside Britain's Jamie Murray.
• Tata Group is going to venture into online grocery business under the Starquik brand.
• Tata Sons, the holding company of Tata group firms, received shareholders' approval to become a private limited company.
• Technology giant Apple has been named the most valuable brand for the fifth consecutive year by Interbrand in its Best Global Brands Report 2017.
• Thailand's Supreme Court sentenced former PM Yingluck Shinawatra in absentia to five years in prison after finding her guilty of mishandling a rice scheme which led to at least $8 billion in losses.
• The 12th ASEAN Computer Emergency Response Team Incident Drill (ACID) was recently held in Hanoi, Danang, and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.
• The Afghan Air Force received its first four US-made UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters as part of a planned replacement of its ageing fleet of Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters.
• The Andhra Pradesh government has signed an MoU with the US-based Hyperloop Transportation Technologies to build India's first Hyperloop system.
• The Badminton Association of India (BAI) has increased the total prize money of Senior National Badminton Championships to ₹1 crore, a ten-fold hike from the earlier amount. [BAI President : Himanta Biswa Sarma]
• The Board Of Control For Cricket In India (BCCI) nominated former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the country's third highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan, for his contribution to the game.
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved Dairy Processing & Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF) Scheme with an outlay of Rs 10,881 crore to boost dairy sector.
• The central government extended the deadline for linking Aadhaar with PAN by four months to December 31 this year.
• The central government has exempted import duty on sports items and a wide range of goods for the upcoming Under-17 football World Cup India, which will run from October 6 to 28.
• The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) has inked Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru for Development of ground water flow models and preparation of aquifer management plans for parts of Karnataka.
• The CEO of Food regulator FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India), Pawan Kumar Agarwal has inaugurated Nestle's first food safety institute in India at Manesar, Haryana.
• The CEO of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Ajay Bhushan Pandey has announced that the banks that fail to open Aadhaar enrolment centres in a stipulated 10% of branches till September 30 will be fined ₹20,000 per uncovered branch every month.
• The Department of Science and Technology (DST), India is planning to fund project to develop quantum computers in order to tap into the next big advance in computing technology.
• The Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) has completed 60 years of its existence.
• The Eiffel Tower in Paris will soon get a bullet-proof glass wall along its base in a bid to improve security around the monument.
• The External Affairs Ministry has launched Operation Insaniyat to provide humanitarian assistance to Bangladesh on account of the large influx of Rohingya Muslims in the country.
• The first of the six Scorpene-class submarines, INS Kalvari, was delivered to the Indian Navy by the ship manufacturers Mazagon Dock Limited headquartered in Mumbai.
• The French government has announced that it is considering a draft proposal to ban the country's oil and gas production by 2040 .
• The German nationality has been named the best in the world for the sixth year in a row, according to the Kochenov Quality of Nationality Index.
• The government celebrated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday (on 17th September) as 'Sewa Diwas' (Day of Service).
• The government has decided to increase the retirement age of central government doctors to 65 years from the current 60 years.
• The government has issued India’s first 'No-Fly List' rules with three levels of 'unruly' behaviour.
• The government is going to deactivate SIM cards not linked to Aadhaar number by February 2018.
• The government issued an alert for 'Locky' ransomware that locks all files on a computer and demands 0.5 Bitcoins (around ₹1.5 lakh) to unlock them.
• The government waived off late filing fee for all registered taxpayers who failed to file their first GST returns within the deadline.
• The Haryana government has decided to use drones to monitor illegal construction in urban areas and their peripheries.
• The Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully conducted developmental trials of indigenously developed Astra Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) over the Bay of Bengal, off the coast of Chandipur in Odisha.
• The Indian Army has finalised plan to induct women in military police.
• The Indian contingent of swimmers won 47 medals, including 8 Gold medals, at the 9th Asian Age-group Aquatic Championship.
• The Indian government is considering a proposal to introduce its own cryptocurrency 'Lakshmi' similar to Bitcoin.
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) failed to successfully place IRNSS-1H, India's first satellite built in collaboration with the private sector, in orbit.
• The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has named two mountain ranges on icy dwarf planet Pluto as Tenzing Montes and Hillary Montes after Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary.
• The International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially awarded the 2024 Summer Olympic Games to Paris and the 2028 edition to Los Angeles following a vote in Peru's capital Lima. Paris will be hosting the quadrennial event 100 years after its last Games in 1924.
• The International Police Organization, Interpol has announced it had admitted Palestine and Solomon Islands as member states.
• The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has taken Snow Leopard off the "endangered" list, where it was included in 1972.
• The Karnataka government has banned the possession and acquisition of arms, including swords, machetes, kirpans, and batons, without a license in Bengaluru.
• The Karnataka government has decided to provide free education to girls in the state up to post-graduation level, including private educational institutes.
• The Karnataka government launched 'Puneeta Yatre', to provide subsidised tour packages for promoting religious tourism in the state.
• The Louvre Abu Dhabi museum is opening on Saadiyat Island in November, 10 years after the project was announced. This museum was designed by : Jean Nouvel (French architecy)
• The Maharashtra government has decided to declare lightning a disaster and increase the compensation from ₹1.5 lakh to ₹4 lakh for victims and their families.
• The Maharashtra government is going to acquire the decommissioned aircraft carrier INS Viraat and convert it into a Naval Museum.
• The Maharashtra government is going to completely ban plastic bags from Gudi Padwa (festival falling in March-April period) next year.
• The Minister of Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Dr. Harshvardhan launched “Pt Deen Dayal Upadhayay Vigyan Gram Sankul Pariyojana” which will experiment and endeavour to formulate and implement appropriate S&T Interventions for Sustainable Development through cluster approach in Uttarakhand.
• The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) and Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) have signed a MOU for automatic and regular exchange of tax information.
• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched two new contraceptives Antara and Chayya, an injectable drug and a pill, in 10 states (Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Haryana, West Bengal, Odisha, Delhi and Goa).
• The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has approved constitution of 13-member Empowered Steering Committee (ESC) to shape and influence India’s preparation for multi-disciplinary events, including 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
• The Multi Purpose Stall Policy issued by the Railway Board has made it mandatory for kiosks on all zonal railway platforms to display and sell books on Indian culture, values, morals, and history.
• The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has commissioned a predictive policing software that aims to stop crimes before they happen.
• The National Payments Corporation of India-backed BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) app has been updated with features like splitting bills and collecting payments.
• The NITI Aayog has constituted Expert Task Force to provide major thrust to job creation by enhancing India’s exports. Head of this Taskforce : Dr Rajiv Kumar (NITI Aayog Vice Chairma).
• The Odisha government has passed a bill to launch the first-ever Odia language university at Bhubaneswar, for post-graduation in literature and linguistics among other subjects.
• The official song of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup, Kar Ke Dikhla De Goal, has been formally launched.
• The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, was on two-day visit to India. Along with PM Modi, Lukashenko has released a commemorative stamp to mark 25 year of IndiaBelarus relations.
• The Rajaswa Gyan Sangam 2017, a two-day annual conference of senior tax administrators was recently held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has increased corporate bond investment limit for foreign investors by taking out Masala bonds (rupee-denominated bonds) from ambit of total debt investment limit.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has listed HDFC Bank as a Domestic Systemically Important Bank (DSIB) under the bucketing structure identified last year. State Bank of India and ICICI Bank were already identified as DSIBs under the RBI rules in 2015.
• The Royal Air Force (RAF) has become the first branch of Britain's military to open every role to female personnel.
• The Shri Dharmic Leela Committee, which was established in 1924 and is the oldest Ramlila celebration in Delhi, has turned 94.
• The State Bank of India (SBI) announced that cheque books of six banks that merged with it in April this year would become invalid from September 30. IFSC codes of these banks will also become invalid from September 30.
• The State Bank of India (SBI) has reduced the minimum Monthly Average Balance (MAB) on savings accounts for metros from ₹5,000 to ₹3,000, effective from October 1.
• The Tajikistan government has banned women from wearing hijab and has introduced a legislation asking them to "stick to traditional national clothes and culture".
• The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED) has inked MoU with e-commerce giant Amazon for selling tribal products.
• The Union Cabinet approved a 1% hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) to central government employees and pensioners, with effect from July 1, 2017.
• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for introduction of the Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2017 in the Parliament. The Bill seeks to amend Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972.
• The Union Cabinet has approved Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Japan for collaborative research in the field of silkworm and silk industries.
• The Union Cabinet has given its approval for the Merger and Modernization plan of 17 Government of India Presses (GIPs) into 5 GIPs. The five GIPs are located at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Minto Road and Mayapuri in New Delhi; Nashik (Maharashtra) and Temple Street (Kolkata, West Bengal).
• The Union Finance Ministry has constituted Group of Ministers (GoM) to monitor and resolve IT challenges faced in implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST). Head of this GoM : Sushil Kumar Modi (Bihar Deputy Chief Minister)
• The Union Government has issued gazette notification, notifying that Peer-to-peer lending (P2P) platforms will be treated as Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and thus regulated by Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• The Union Government signed $76 million loan deal with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for starting upgradation project related to environment management plan at Alang-Sosiya ship recycling shipyards in Gujarat.
• The Union Home Ministry is going to grant citizenship to nearly one lakh Chakma and Hajong refugees, who came from erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) five decades ago and are living in northeast.
• The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industries has set up an online service facility titled Contact@DGFT, for effective resolution of foreign trade-related issues of importers and exporters.
• The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has launched “Wood is Good Campaign" under Partnership for Land Use Science (Forest-Plus). Aim of this campaign : To promote wood as climate-friendly resource and substitute to materials like steel and plastic as it is carbon neutral unlike others materials which leave carbon footprint in their production.
• The Union Ministry of Home Affairs launched full-fledged Intelligence Wing of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).
• The Union Ministry of Shipping has renamed Kandla Port Trust as Deendayal Port Trust, by exercising powers conferred on it under Indian Ports Act, 1908.
• The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced that it will grant visa on arrival to Indian passport holders with residence visas from the UK and EU.
• The United States commemorated the 16th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on 11th September 2107.
• The United States opened its 1st permanent military base in the middle of the Negev desert, Israel.
• The US Federal Reserve kept its key interest rates unchanged at up to 1.25% but signalled it still expects one more increase by the end of the year.
• The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet approved a proposal to end interviews for recruitment of class II (non-gazetted), III and IV state government employees.
• The world's largest aircraft 'Stratolaunch' built by Microsoft Co-founder Paul Allen has completed its first engine test.
• To boost dairy sector, the govt sets up Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund worth Rs 10,881 cr.
• To bring in transparency in food safety inspection and sampling, food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) launched a nationwide online platform ‘FoSCoRIS’.
• To distribute LPG connections among rural areas where conventional fuel is used for domestic purposes, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas launched a country-wide scheme titled Pradhan Mantri LPG Panchayat scheme.
• To empower government to confiscate property of economic offenders and defaulters who flee India, the Union Law ministry has approved Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2017.
• To enable authorities to determine a driver's identity when caught speeding, Germany has passed a new law banning drivers from covering their faces.
• To meet the nutritional needs of pregnant and lactating women in rural areas, the Karnataka government is going to launch a scheme titled 'Mathru Purna' on October 2.
• To monitor high value transactions and detect tax evaders using technology with a view to curbing circulation of black money, the Union Finance Ministry is going to launch ‘Project Insight’ from October 2017.
• To provide digital platform to teacher and make their lifestyle more digital, the Union Ministry of Human Resource and Development (HRD) launched Diksha Portal (diksha.gov.in). This portal will serve as National Digital Infrastructure for Teachers.
• To show of solidarity with Myanmar, India refused to be a part of Bali Declaration adopted at conclusion of World Parliamentary Forum on Sustainable Development held in Bali, Indonesia.
• Tunisia abolished a 44-year-old ban on Muslim women marrying non-Muslims.
• Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has signed a law that makes the Ukrainian language the main medium of instruction in state schools.
• Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh launched a web portal called ‘PENCIL’ for effective implementation of the National Child Labour Project (NCLP). PENCIL is an electronic platform for no child labour in the country is being developed by the Labour Ministry.
• US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis was on a 2 day visit to India. This is the first cabinet-level visit to India under the Trump administration.
• Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath has set up a $156.2 million (about ₹1000 crore) startup fund to encourage startup schemes in the state.
• Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu released commemorative coins of Rs 100 and Rs 10 denomination on the occasion of 101st Birth Centenary of noted Carnatic musician Dr. MS Subbulakshmi.
• Virat Kohli celebrated his milestone 50th T20 international by reaching 15,000 international runs in just 304 matches.
• Windies' cricketer Chris Gayle became the first batsman to hit 100 sixes in T20I cricket.
• With 4.79 million millionaires, the United States had the highest number of millionaires in 2016, according to consultancy firm Capgemini's World Wealth Report.
• With the support of at least 40,000 drivers, the former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy launched an app-based cab-hailing service called Namma TYGR in Bengaluru.
• World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has announced that $8 billion has been allocated for infrastructure projects under China's Silk Road initiative.
• World Bank provides 1100 crore rupees to Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) to undertake research work on agriculture this year.
• World number 83 Sloane Stephens clinched her maiden Grand Slam title defeating fellow American Madison Keys in the first all-American US Open women's singles final since 2002.
• World number one Rafael Nadal clinched his 3rd US Open title, taking his tally of Grand Slam titles to 16 by defeating first-time Grand Slam finalist Kevin Anderson
• Young Indian wrestler Sonam Malik bagged a Gold medal at the World Cadet Wrestling Championship in Athens.

sponsored links