Latest Current Affairs - September 2023

Month	Type

7th and final Frigate under Project 17A of Indian Navy, named Mahendragiri, has been launched.
1. P17A Frigates (or Nilgiri class frigates) are follow-on class of P17 (Shivalik Class) Frigates, with improved stealth features, advanced weapons and platform management systems.
  1. 7 Frigates have been built and launched at Mazagaon Dock Limited (4) and GRSE (3), under the project.
2. 4 frigates to be built at MDL -
  1. Nilgiri, Udaygiri & Taragiri, Mahendragiri (Launched)
3. 3 frigates to be built at GRSE -
  1. Himgiri, Dunagiri, Vindhyagiri (Launched).
Misc. Defence News (Sep 2023) -
1. Israel unveiled its ORON advanced spy aircraft, based on Gulfstream G550 Aerospace platform.
  1. It can operate at altitude range 40000 - 50000 feet, with flight range of up to 1000 KMs.
2. Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved acquisition proposals worth 45000 crores, under Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured (IDMM) /Buy (Indian) category. It notably includes -
  1. Army - Light Armoured Multipurpose Vehicles (LAMV) and Integrated Surveillance and Targeting System (ISAT-S).
  2. Navy - Next Generation Survey Vessels.
  3. Air Force - 12 Su-30 MKI Aircraft from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). Also, Dhruvastra Short Range Air-to-Surface Missiles for indigenously built ALH Mk-IV Helicopters will also be procured.
3. Keel has been laid for construction of a stitched ship for Indian Navy, aimed at reviving an ancient Indian shipbuilding technique, as a joint initiative by Indian Navy, Govt of India, and Hodi Innovations (Goa).
  1. Ministry of Culture has fully funded this project, while Ministry of Shipping and Ministry of External Affairs will be supporting the project to ensure seamless execution of international voyage along ancient trade routes.
4. North Korea launched its first operational tactical nuclear attack submarine, named Hero Kim Kun Ok, after an ex-commander of North Korean navy.
5. Punjab CM Bhagwant Singh Mann laid foundation stone of Saragarhi memorial in Ferozpur, in memory of Battle of Saragarhi (fought on Sep 12, 1897), when 21 brave Sikh soldiers of British-Indian Army attained martyrdom while fighting against about 10000 Afghani tribesmen.
6. India received delivery of its first C295 transport aircraft from Airbus Spain, under a deal worth 21935 crores signed in 2021, to acquire 56 such aircraft. It will help refurbish Indian Air Force’s ageing Avro-748 transport fleet.
7. Indian Air Force and Drone Federation of India co-hosted Bharat Drone Shakti 2023, at IAF's Hindon airbase (Ghaziabad).
8. Indian Navy's indigenously built warship INS Sahyadri participated in 1st trilateral Maritime Partnership Exercise with Royal Australian Navy and Indonesian Navy.
9. Indian Air Force received 1st of 6 Dornier Do-228 aircraft, manufactured in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), with several upgrades. Deal was signed earlier for procurement of 6 Dornier-228 aircraft from HAL for IAF.
10. Indian Air Force successfully tested Type V Heavy Drop System from a cargo aircraft, which can enable transporting Arms/Ammunition weighing up to 20 Ton, to inaccessible places including High Altitudes. It has been developed indigenously by DRDO.
11. Indian Coast Guard conducted Operation Sajag coastal security drill, along west coast.
12. Taiwan launched its first domestically built submarine, named Haikun (meaning mythical sea creature).
Misc. Economy / Financial News (Sep 2023) -
1. In FY23 (2022-23), CBDT recorded highest ever APA (Advance Pricing Agreements) signings in any financial year since launch of APA programme, signing total 95 APAs.
  1. FY23 also saw signing of highest ever number of Bilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (BAPAs) in a financial year, with signing of 32 BAPAs.
2. Bandhan Bank has been named among banks authorized by RBI to disburse civil pensioners' pensions on behalf of Central Pension Accounting Office (CPAO) of Ministry of Finance.
3. Competition of Commission of India (CCI) approved merger of Tata SIA Airlines (Vistara) into Air India, and acquisition of shareholding by Singapore Airlines in Air India.
  1. It includes merger of Tata SIA Airlines (Vistara) into Air India.
    1. Tata Group owned 51 % stake in Vistara, while remaining 49 % was held by Singapore Airlines.
    2. As part of transaction, Singapore Airlines (SIA) invested 2058 crores in Air India. This gave SIA 25.1 % stake in enlarged Air India group.
4. Indian GDP Growth Forecasts (Sep 2023) -
  1. Moody’s - Revised to 6.7 % for FY 24 (2023-24), from previous estimate of 5.5 %. Forecast for FY25 (2024-25) has been lowered to 6.1 % (from 6.5 %).
  2. Morgan Stanley - Revised to 6.4 % for FY 24 (2023-24), from previous estimate of 6.2 %.
  3. S&P Global Ratings - 6.0 % for FY 24 (2023-24). Forecast for FY25 (2024-25) & FY26 (2025-26) kept at 6.9 %.
  4. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) - 6.3 % for FY24 (2023-24).
  5. Asian Development Bank - Lowered its projection to 6.3% for FY24 (2023-24). ADB maintained its growth projection for India for FY25 at 6.7%.
5. Govt conferred Navratna Status upon PSU Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers (RCFL).
  1. It allows firms to invest up to 1000 crore without mandatory approval from central government.
6. Bajaj Auto subsidiary Bajaj Auto Consumer Finance received RBI approval to commence non-banking financial institution (NBFC) operations.
7. US Based glass, ceramics, and related materials firm Corning announced to set up its gorilla glass manufacturing facility in Telangana, as first-of-its-kind investment in India. The facility will manufacture cover glass for smartphones.
8. IndusInd Bank signed up as a Gloabl Partner with International Cricket Council (ICC), for Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 to be held in India during Oct - Nov 2023.
  1. ICC has 20 sponsors and partners for ICC World Cup 2023. It also has 6 global partners including IndusInd Bank (others are MRF Tyres, Booking.com, MasterCard, Aramco and Emirates).
9. Travel and forex services firm Thomas Cook partnered with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to launch a RuPay prepaid forex card for Indians traveling abaord, beginning with UAE as a pilot project.
10. Bank of Baroda (BoB) launched four new savings accounts -
  1. LITE (No Minimum Balance)
  2. BRO (No Min balance for students (16 to 25 years age)
  3. My Family My Bank/Parivar (Family Savings Account)
  4. NRI PowerPack (Specialized Account for Non-Resident Indians).
11. Cross-border payments FinTech firm BriskPe partnered with Yes Bank, to introduce BriskPe A2A, as a suite of solutions designed to empower exporters and importers.
12. RBI canceled banking license of several small banks -
  1. Trivandrum (Kerala) based Ananthasayanam Co-operative Bank.
  2. Lucknow Urban Co-operative Bank (Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh).
  3. Nashik Zilla Girna Sahakari Bank Limited (Nashik, Maharashtra).
  4. Sri Mallikarjuna Pattana Sahakari Bank Niyamita (Maski, Karnataka).
  5. National Urban Co-operative Bank (Bahraich, UP).
  6. Kapol Co-operative Bank (Mumbai, Maharashtra).
13. RBI imposed notable penalties on several Nationalized banks -
  1. State Bank of India - 1.30 Crore
  2. Indian Bank - 1.62 crore
  3. Punjab & Sind Bank - 1 crore
14. RBI approved Poonawalla Fincorp’s collaboration with IndusInd Bank to issue co-branded credit cards.
15. Indian IT Firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) partnered with Norway’s national payment and electronic identity system BankID BankAxept, to fortify Norway’s financial infrastructure.
Kolkata Became 3rd Indian city (After Delhi & Pune) to have its own Air Quality Early Warning System, to offer crucial real-time information on pollution levels.
1. Developed by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), the system was launched in Kolkata during India Clean Air Summit (ICAS) 2023, organised in Bengaluru.
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched comic book Let’s Move Forward, Jointly developed by NCERT and UNESCO.
India and US Jointly launched US - India Renewable Energy Technology Action Platform (RETAP) under Strategic Clean Energy Partnership.
1. RETAP was announced during PM Narendra Modi's visit to US in June 2023, to accelerate partnership in clean energy transitio.
Law Ministry constituted One Nation One Election committee, to be headed by Ram Nath Kovind (former President of India) as chairman and seven other members.
1. Members include Amit Shah (Home Minister), Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (INC Leader), Ghulam Nabi Azad (Former J&K CM), NK Singh (Chairperson of 15th Finance Commission), Subhash C. Kashyap (former Secretary-General of Lok Sabha), Harish Salve (Former Solicitor General) and Sanjay Kothari (Former Central Vigilance Commissioner).
2. Committee will examine and recommend specific amendments to the Constitution and any other laws which would require amendments for purpose of holding simultaneous elections for Central / State Govts.
GST revenue collected in August 2023 stood at 159069 crores (CGST 28328 crore, SGST 35794 crore, IGST 83251 crore & Cess 11695 crore).

Govt launched Invoice incentive Scheme named Mera Bill Mera Adhikaar, to encourage culture of customers asking for invoices/bills for all purchases. Features -

Scheme will initially be launched as a pilot in States of Assam, Gujarat & Haryana and UTs of Puducherry, Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.
Invoices issued by GST registered suppliers (registered in mentioned States/UTs) to consumers will be eligible, with minimum value for invoices to be considered for lucky draw pegged at Rs 200.
Invoices can be uploaded on Mobile Application Mera Bill Mera Adhikaar or on portal web.merabill.gst.gov.in
All residents of India will be eligible to participate in this Scheme irrespective of their State/UT. Maximum 25 invoices can be uploaded by an individual in a month.

Periodicity of draw and prize structure :

Frequency	No. of Prizes	Prize Money
Monthly	800	10,000
Monthly	10	10,00,000
Quarterly (Bumper Draw)	2	1,00,00,000

Misc. Appointments (Sep 2023) -
1. Vumlunmang Vualnam - Secretary in Ministry of Civil Aviation.
2. Nagesh Kapoor - Air Officer-in-Charge Personnel (Indian Air Force).
3. Manish Desai - Principal Director General of Press Information Bureau (PIB).
4. V L Kantha Rao - Secretary in Ministry of Mines.
5. India's Lokesh Suji (Director of Esports Federation of India) has been elected to membership committee of International Esports Federation (IESF).
6. Govt named Neeraj Mittal as secretary in Department of Telecommunications (Telecom Secretary).
7. Election Commission of India named Pawan Kumar Sain as Chief Electoral Officer of Arunachal Pradesh.
8. New Indian Ambassadors / High Commissioners Appointed -
  1. Madan Lal Raigar - Congo
  2. Gopal Baglay - Australia
  3. Santosh Jha - Sri Lanka
  4. Atul Malhari Gotsurve - Mongolia.
9. RBI Approved re-appointment of Sandeep Bakhshi as MD & CEO of ICICI Bank.
10. Payments Services firm Mastercard named Rajnish Kumar (Former SBI Chairman) as Chairman of Mastercard's India Operations.
11. Dinesh Dasa has been named as Member (UPSC).
  1. UPSC comprises of Chairman (Manoj Soni Currently) and upto 6 Members.
12. Srinivasan K. Swamy has been elected as Chairman of Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) for term 2023-2024.
13. K N Shanth Kumar has been named Chairman of Press Trust of India.
14. Saugata Gupta (Marico Ltd) has been named Chairman of Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).
15. RBI approved re-appointment of Sashidhar Jagdishan as MD & CEO of HDFC Bank, for 3 years.
Misc. MOUs (Sep 2023) -
1. Between Maharatna PSUs NTPC Limited and Oil India Limited, to explore collaboration in areas of renewable energy, green hydrogen and its derivatives, and decarbonization initiatives including through use of geothermal energy.
2. Between Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), for co-operation in addressing India’s requirements in domain of Short Range Air Defence Systems.
3. Between Department of Posts and e-commerce enablement platform Shiprocket, to boost creation of an export ecosystem for e-commerce in country. The collaboration aims to enhance e-commerce exports by leveraging India Post’s extensive presence and reliable shipping solutions.
4. Between Indian Railways’ Vadodara-based Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya (GSV) and Airbus (US Based world's largest manufacturer of airliners & helicopters), to strengthen Indian aviation sector.
5. Between Ministry of Education & IT Firm Adobe, to promote creative expression and digital literacy among students and educators through utilization of Adobe Express. Under this, Adobe will providing free access to Adobe Express Premium for schools nationwide.
6. Between Tabreed (Abu Dhabi (UAE) based cooling-as-a-service provider) & Telangana govt, to invest $200 million to develop 125000 refrigeration tons (RT) of cooling infrastructure for Hyderabad Pharma City.
7. Between NTPC Green Energy Limited (NGEL) & Nayara Energy, to collaborate in producing Green Hydrogen for Nayara Energy's captive usage, accelerate decarbonisation and catalyse reduction in carbon footprint.
8. Between United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), to co-create data-driven innovations in agriculture and food systems to support smallholder farmers.
  1. Under it, both organizations will work to improve livelihoods of smallholder farmers by sharing open-source data for product development, transfer of technology and supporting framing of agrarian policies.
9. Between Amazon Web Services (AWS) & ISRO's Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe). Under it, AWS will support space-tech innovations in India through cloud computing.
10. Between Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) and BAE Systems, for co-production of Articulated All-Terrain Vehicle (AATV) BvS10-Sindhu, upgraded to meet requirements of Indian armed forces in different geographies of desert, marshy land & high altitudes.
11. Between Indian Navy and Indian institute of Science (IISc), for technical collaboration and joint research & development.
12. Between PSU REC Limited & Punjab National Bank (PNB), to explore funding projects in Power Sector and Infrastructure & Logistics Sector, amounting to 55000 crores over 3 years.
13. Between several agencies of Ministries of Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and IT Firm IBM, on digital skilling and skilling in emerging technologies.
14. Between Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) & CSIR-National Physical laboratory (NPL), for Development of NavIC based IST traceable Primary Reference Time Clock for Telecom Sector.
  1. It aims to enable affordable broadband and mobile services in rural and remote areas, by development of a device that shall provide direct Indian Standard Time (IST) traceability to Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) within ± 20 ns. This shall also reduce dependency on GPS (shifting to India's IRNSS/NavIC).
15. Between Maruti Suzuki & Indian Navy, to spread awareness among youth in Northeast about career opportunities through Khamree Mo Sikkim outreach program.
Misc. Sports News / Events (Sep 2023) -
1. Viacom18 acquired BCCI TV and digital rights, in a five-year deal worth 5,963 crores. With its winning bid, Viacom18 paid nearly ₹7.76 crore more than last cycle’s ₹60 crore per match paid by Disney Star.
2. India’s Divya Deshmukh won women’s Rapid title at Tata Steel Chess India 2023 (Kolkata).
  1. Also, Alexander Grischuk (Russia) won Open Blitz title at the event, with India's R Praggnanandhaa finishing 3rd.
3. Danielle McGahey (Australia-Born) become first transgender woman to play in international cricket, after moving to Canada, and fulfilling eligibility criteria for male-to-female (MTF) transition.
4. Thailand's Female cricketer Nattaya Boochatham became first cricketer from an associate nation, to take 100-wickets in international cricket.
5. Inaugural edition of Zayed Charity Marathon in India will be held in Kerala in 2024. Proceeds from marathon will be used to support healthcare initiatives in Kerala.
6. Kashi Rudras won Inaugural 2023 UP T20 League Cricket title, defeating Meerut Mavericks in final.
7. Romanian Tennis Player Simona Halep has been banned for 4 years, due to violations of anti-doping policies.
8. Life insurer SBI Life partnered with BCCI as Official Partner for BCCI Domestic & International Season 2023-26.
Misc. Science News / Events (Sep 2023) -
1. US Based Coherent Corp (Global materials, networking and lasers firm) announced to open a centre of excellence (CoE) at IIT Madras Research Park, as company’s first such centre and collaboration with an academic institution across multiple segments.
2. India's 1st underground electric transformer inaugurated in Malleswaram (Bengaluru), with capacity 500 KV.
3. Apple Launched its latest iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max series smartphones, notably with suppoort for India's GPS Rival Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), called NavIC.
  1. Notably, Govt has mandated NavIC integration in all smartphones sold in India by 2025, particularly targeting 5G phones.
4. Petroleum & Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri flagged off 1st Green Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus in New Delhi, as a significant step towards green mobility.
  1. Green Hydrogen can play key role in low-carbon and self-reliant economic pathways by enabling utilization of domestically abundant renewable energy resources.
5. Researchers from Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) named a new species of marine tardigrade that they discovered, after former President & Missile Man Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. It has been named Batillipes kalami.
6. Indian OIL (IOC) unveiled India's first green hydrogen-powered bus that emits just water, as a step towards greener mobility.
  1. At present, IOC's R&D Centre at Faridabad is producing green hydrogen for the pilot run. 4 cylinders with a capacity of 30 kg can run the buses for 350 km.
Obituaries (Sep 2023) -
1. RS Shivaji - Noted Tamil Actor and comedian.
2. Piloo Dara Reporter - Former Indian international cricket umpire.
3. Heath Streak - Former Zimbabwe Cricketer.
4. Malini Rajurkar - Noted classical vocalist.
5. Dennis Austin - Noted American Computer Scientist, known for creating Microsoft PowerPoint.
6. Ajit Ninan - Noted political cartoonist.
7. Ustad Ali Zaki Hader - Noted Rudra veena exponent.
8. Gita Mehta - Noted Author and documentary filmmaker (and Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik’s sister).
9. M S Swaminathan - Noted Indian agricultural scientist, and hailed as a global leader of green revolution.
  1. He was honored with All 3 Padma Awards (Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan & Padma Vibhushan), and also by Ramon Magsaysay Award.
10. Giorgio Napolitano - Former Italian President (2nd longest-serving Italian president).
11. KG George - Noted Malayalam filmmaker.
12. Michael Gambon - Noted American Actor, renowned for his portrayal of Dumbledore Character in Harry Potter film series.

After successfully completing soft lunar landing under Chandrayaan-3 mission, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched Aditya-L1 Mission, containing a coronagraphy spacecraft to study solar atmosphere. It is 1st Indian mission to study the Sun.

Aditya-L1 was launched aboard PSLV C57 rocket, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh).
It will be orbiting at about 1.5 million km from Earth in a halo orbit around L1 Lagrange point between Earth and the Sun, where it will study solar atmosphere, solar magnetic storms, and their impact on environment around Earth.
1. A satellite placed in halo orbit around L1 point has major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation/eclipses.
Spacecraft will undergo 4 earth-bound orbital maneuvers before placing in transfer orbit towards Lagrange point L1. It is expected to arrive the intended orbit at L1 point after 127 days. Planned mission duration is 5.2 years. It costs over 440 Crores.
Mission Science Objectives -
1. Study of Solar upper atmospheric (chromosphere and corona) dynamics.
2. Study of chromospheric and coronal heating, physics of the partially ionized plasma, initiation of the coronal mass ejections, and flares
3. Observe the in-situ particle and plasma environment providing data for the study of particle dynamics from the Sun.
4. Physics of solar corona and its heating mechanism.
5. Diagnostics of coronal and coronal loops plasma: Temperature, velocity and density.
6. Development, dynamics and origin of CMEs.
7. Identify sequence of processes that occur at multiple layers (chromosphere, base and extended corona) which eventually leads to solar eruptive events.
8. Magnetic field topology and magnetic field measurements in the solar corona .
9. Drivers for space weather (origin, composition and dynamics of solar wind.

Payloads -

Type	Sl. No.	Payload	Capability
Remote Sensing Payloads	1	Visible Emission Line Coronagraph(VELC)	Corona/Imaging & Spectroscopy
	2	Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT)	Photosphere and Chromosphere Imaging- Narrow & Broadband
	3	Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer (SoLEXS)	Soft X-ray spectrometer: Sun-as-a-star observation
	4	High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer(HEL1OS)	Hard X-ray spectrometer: Sun-as-a-star observation
In-situ Payloads
	5	Aditya Solar wind Particle Experiment(ASPEX)	Solar wind/Particle Analyzer Protons & Heavier Ions with directions
	6	Plasma Analyser Package For Aditya (PAPA)	Solar wind/Particle Analyzer Electrons & Heavier Ions with directions
	7	Advanced Tri-axial High Resolution Digital Magnetometers	In-situ magnetic field (Bx, By and Bz).

Sep 2 is observed as World Coconut Day Globally, declared by UN-ESCAP, to commemorate foundation day of the International Coconut Community (ICC).
India's Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra won silver at Stockholm Diamond League meet 2023, with a throw of 89.94 meters (new national record). Anderson Peters (Grenada) won the event with a throw of 90.31 meters.
1. Notably -
  1. It is Neeraj Chopra's 3rd Diamond League medal of the year, after Gold medals in Lausanne (Switzerland) & Doha editions of 2023 Diamond League.
  2. This is India's 4th diamond league medal of the year. Earlier, India’s Murali Sreeshankar also had Won Bronze in men’s long jump event at Paris Diamond League 2023, with 8.09 meters jump.
Noted actor R Madhavan has been named as new President of Pune based Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has been named among 3 central bank chiefs gloablly, to earn A+ grade (topmost) in Global Finance Central Banker Report Cards 2023.
1. Grades are based on a scale from A to F, for success in inflation control, economic growth goals, currency stability and interest rate management.
2. Remaining 2 central bank chiefs to get A+ Grade are Thomas J. Jordan (Switzerland) & Nguyen Thi Hong (Vietnam). Notably, Shaktikanta Das is also ranked at top among 3 central bank chiefs to get A+ Grade, making him best ranked central bank chief globally.
Govt granted status of Deemed-to-be-University to NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training), to enable to enhance research in education, through global collaborations.
Govt named Jaya Varma Sinha as new Chairperson and CEO of Railway Board (Ministry of Railways), becoming first woman to hold this post.
Ramon Magsaysay Awards 2023 Winners (65th edition, also called Nobel Peace Prize of Asia) -
1. Korvi Rakshand (Bangladesh) -
  1. Established JAAGO Foundation in 2007, that aimed to address problems of access and quality education for underprivileged children.
2. Eugenio Lemos (Timor-Leste / East Timor).
3. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer (Philippines) -
  1. A Filipino peace negotiator, and first female chief negotiator in world to sign a final peace accord with a rebel group.
4. Ravi Kannan R (India) -
  1. Noted Indian surgical oncologist, and Director of Silchar (Assam) based Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (CCHRC), a nonprofit hospital that provides free cancer treatment.
5. About -
  1. Ramon Magsaysay Award is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in governance, courageous service to people, and pragmatic idealism within a democratic society.
  2. Prize was established in April 1957 by trustees of Rockefeller Brothers Fund based in New York City,with concurrence of Philippine government.
US State Georgia officially declared October as Hindu Heritage Month, to celebrate Hindu heritage by emphasizing its rich culture and diverse spiritual traditions.
Indian-origin economist Tharman Shanmugaratnam won Singapore’s presidential elections 2023, to be appointed as 9th President of Singapore.

Red Bull's Dutch-Belgian F1 Racer Max Verstappen won Italian Grand Prix 2023.

F1 Season 2023 -

Grand Prix	Winner	Race date
Bahrain Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	5 March
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix	Sergio Pérez (Mexico)	19 March
Australian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	2 April
Azerbaijan Grand Prix	Sergio Pérez (Mexico)	30 April
Miami Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	7 May
Monaco Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	28 May
Spanish Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	4 June
Canadian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	18 June
Austrian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	2 July
British Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	9 July
Hungarian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	23 July
Belgian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	30 July
Dutch Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	27 August
Italian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	3 September
Singapore Grand Prix		17 September
Japanese Grand Prix		24 September
Qatar Grand Prix		8 October
United States Grand Prix		22 October
Mexico City Grand Prix		29 October
São Paulo Grand Prix		5 November
Las Vegas Grand Prix		18 November
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix		26 November

New Govt appointed in Gabon (Central Africa), after a successful Military Coup -
1. Transitional President - Brice Oligui Nguema
2. Interim Prime Minister - Raymond Ndong Sima
India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA) launched Indo-US Task Force for Electronics, to elevate electronics trade between India & US to USD 100 Billion within a decade.
Telangana Chief Innovation Officer Shanta Thoutam received World Innovation Award (instituted by international NGO World Organisation for Development) at first BRICS innovation forum held at Moscow (Russia).
1. Award is given for outstanding contribution to UN Sustainable Development Goal-4 that ensures inclusive and equitable quality education and promotes life-long opportunities for all.
2. Notably, Russia earlier assumed BRICS chair for 2024, and will host BRICS Summit 2024 in Kazan.
  1. This came after Brazil announced skipping hosting BRICS Summit in 2024, as it found organising G20 and BRICS Summits in same year (2024) logistically challenging.
Russia launched Islamic banking as a 2 year pilot programme, in 4 Muslim-majority republics - Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Chechnya and Dagestan.
1. Notable features of Islamic banking -
  1. Operates under Shariah, the Islamic legal system that forbids transactions involving usury, or charging of interest as it is considered an unjust exchange.
  2. Whereas conventional finance is debt-based and client bears all risk and liability, Islamic banking is asset-based, with profit and risks shared between financial institution and client.
  3. Does not finance sectors harmful to society such as alcohol, tobacco and gambling.
  4. Does not allow financing speculation, financial derivatives, or deals with no real asset.
2023 Durand Cup Football (132nd edition, noted as oldest football tournament in Asia) -
1. Mohun Bagan SG won the title (their 17th), defeating East Bengal in Final.
India won 1st edition of Men’s Hockey 5s Asia Cup 2023 in Salalah (Oman), defeating Pakistan in Final.
1. The tournament also served as Asia’s qualifying criteria for 1st FIH Men’s Hockey5s World Cup 2024 (Oman). On the basis of performance in Men’s Hockey 5s Asia Cup 2023, India, Pakistan and Malaysia have qualified for FIH Men’s Hockey5s World Cup 2024.
2. About -
  1. Hockey5s is a hockey variant which features five players on each team (including goalkeeper).
  2. Field of play is 55 m long and 41.70 m wide—this is approximately half the size of a regular pitch.
  3. There is no penalty circle nor penalty corners, and shots can be taken from anywhere on the pitch.
Archeological Survey of India (ASI) launched Adopt a Heritage 2.0, inviting corporate stakeholders to enhance amenities at approx 3700 ASI monuments across nation, by utilizing their CSR funds.
1. The programme is a revamped version of earlier scheme launched in 2017 and defines amenities sought for different monuments as per AMASR Act 1958.
2. Stakeholders can apply for adopting a monument or specific amenity/ amenities at a monument through a dedicated web portal.
Nagaland became first North Eastern State to introduce Aadhaar Linked Birth Registration (ALBR), to enhance accessibility and coverage of Birth Registration.
Punjab National Bank (PNB) launched mobile application based on GST Sahay scheme, as an end-to-end digital product under which lending can be done using GST invoices.
1. With this, PNB became first public sector bank to facilitate frictionless credit flow to MSMEs, using GST invoices.
RBI announced results for 4th edition of G20 TechSprint, a global technology competition to promote innovative solutions aimed at improving cross-border payments. It was organized jointly by RBI & and BIS Innovation Hub (BISIH) of Bank for International Settlements.
1. Winners for 3 Problem statements -
  1. AML/CFT/Sanctions technology solutions to reduce illicit finance risk - Secretarium Ltd (UK).
  2. FX and liquidity technology solutions to enable settlement in emerging market and developing economy (EMDE) currencies - Millicent Labs (UK).
  3. Technology solutions for multilateral cross-border CBDC platforms - Knox Networks (USA).
2. Winners for each problem statement received an award of INR 40 Lakh.
Health Ministry notified scheme named Promotion of Research & Innovation in Pharma-MedTech sector (PRIP), to boost research and innovation in pharmaceutical and medtech sectors.
1. Scheme will run for 5 years (2023-24 to 2027-28), which will include -
  1. Investment of 700 crores for creating 7 Centres of Excellence at various National Institutes of Pharmaceutical, Education & Research (NIPER).
  2. Support of 4250 crores for private sector, to boost research in private sector through milestone-based funding. Govt may also acquire equity stakes of 5-10% in these private entities.
Dipak Gupta took over as interim MD & CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank (until December 31, 2023), after Uday Kotak resigned as MD & CEO.
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched 3-year partnership titled Education to Entrepreneurship: Empowering a generation of students, educators and entrepreneurs, between Ministry of Education and Meta (facebook parent firm).
1. 3 Letters of Intent (LoI) were exchanged between Meta and NIESBUD, AICTE and CBSE. Under the partnership with NIESBUD, 5 lakh entrepreneurs will get access to digital marketing skills by Meta over 3 years.
World Health Organization (WHO) released outcome document of 1st WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit 2023 as Gujarat Declaration, reaffirming global commitments towards indigenous knowledges, biodiversity and traditional, complementary and integrative medicine.
1. Earlier in Aug 2023, 1st Global summit on Traditional was co-organised by World Health Organization (WHO) and India's Ministry of Ayush, at Gandhinagar (Gujarat).
  1. Also, WHO's Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar (Gujarat) was announced in November 2020, as first of its kind global traditional medicine hub.
Sep 5 - National Teachers' Day in India. It commemorates Birth anniversary of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, first Vice President and second President of India.
1. Sep 5 is also observed as UN International Day of Charity, to commemorate anniversary of passing away of Mother Teresa (on Sep 5, 1997).
Hyderabad-based Grene Robotics demonstrated weapons platform named Indrajaal, named as world’s first autonomous wide area, counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS).
1. It is claimed to be world’s only anti-drone system capable of protecting against micro, mini, small, large and extra-large drones.
Tata Institute of Social Sciences Professor Satyajit Majumdar received Dr V G Patel Memorial Award 2023 for Entrepreneurship Trainer, Educator and Mentor, for his work in promoting and entrepreneurship in India. The award is instituted by Ahmedabad-based Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), and consists of cash prize of 1 Lakh.
Indian IT and tech trade body NASSCOM named Rajesh Nambiar (Cognizant India CMD) as its new Chairperson, succeeding Anant Maheshwari.
1. Also, Sindhu Gangadharan (SAP Labs India) has been named Vice-Chairperson of NASSCOM.
43rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit held in Jakarta (Indonesia), with theme ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth. It was chaired by Joko Widodo (President of Indonesia).
1. Indian PM Narendra Modi visited Jakarta (Indonesia), to attend 20th ASEAN-India and 18th East Asia summits, held along sidelines of 43rd ASEAN Summit hosted by Indonesia.
  1. During the ASEAN-India Summit, India announced to establish an Embassy in Dili (Timor-Leste).
    1. Timor Leste joined ASEAN in 2022 as an Observor, before becoming its full Member.
2. About -
  1. ASEAN Summit Meetings are hosted twice annually, by member state holding ASEAN Chairmanship (Indonesia currently).
  2. Laos will hold 10-Nations ASEAN grouping Chairmanship in 2024.
  3. 10 ASEAN member nations - Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.
Cabinet Approvals (Sep 06, 2023) -
1. General -
  1. Approved additional fund requirement of 1164 crores, under Industrial Development Scheme 2017 for states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
    1. Govt had announced Industrial Development Scheme 2017, for Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, with outlay of 132 crores. These funds were exhausted during FY 2021-22.
    2. Further, requirement of additional funds up to 2029 is 1164 Crores, which has now been approved by the cabinet.
  2. Approved Scheme for Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for development of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), envisaging development of 4000 MWh of BESS projects by 2030-31, with initial outlay of 9400 crores (including budgetary support of 3760 crores).
    1. Designed to harness potential of renewable energy sources, the scheme aims to provide clean, reliable, and affordable electricity to citizens.
    2. It targets achieving a Levelized Cost of Storage (LCoS) ranging from Rs 5.50 - 6.60 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), making stored renewable energy a viable option for managing peak power demand across country.
Phase 2 of Varuna-23 bilateral Naval exercise between Indian and French Navies conducted in Arabian Sea.
1. 1st first phase of Varuna 2023 was conducted off India's Western Seaboard, in Jan 2023.
Africa Climate Summit 2023 held in Nairobi (Kenya), during Africa Climate Week 2023.
1. During the event, 48 African countries jointly adopted Kampala Ministerial Declaration on Migration, Environment and Climate Change, to address human mobility and climate change across Africa.
2. Conference was hosted by Govt of Kenya, with support from International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
3. KDMECC was originally signed and agreed upon by 15 African Nations in Kampala (Uganda) in July 2022.
India introduced world's first portable disaster hospital, named Arogya Maitri Cube, under Project BHISHM (Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita and Maitri).
1. Aimed at revolutionizing emergency healthcare capabilities, it can be airlifted to disaster-stricken areas, delivering critical medical aid. The facility can keep 200 survivors alive for 48 hours.
Sep 1 - 7 is observed annually as National Nutrition Week. Also, September is observed as Nutrition Month (Poshan Maah). 2023 is 6th observance of Poshan Maah.
Sep 07 is observed as UN International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies, observed since 2020. 2023 theme is Together for Clean Air.
1. Sep 07, 2023 is also observed by UN as First-ever International Day of Police Cooperation.
RBI announced to discontinue incremental cash reserve ratio (I-CRR) in phased manner. RBI also stated that -
1. Amounts impounded under I-CRR (Incremental Cash Reserve Ratio ) would be released in stages, so that system liquidity is not subjected to sudden shocks and money markets function in an orderly manner.
2. While 25% of I-CRR maintained would be released on September 9, another 25% would be released on September 23, and balance 50% would be released on October 7.
Top ranked cities As per Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2023 organized by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) under Environment Ministry's National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) Program (Among 131 cities) -
1. Category 1 (Population Over 10 lakh) -
  1. Indore (Madhya Pradesh)
  2. Agra (Uttar Pradesh)
  3. Thane (Maharashtra)
2. Category 2 (Population 3-10 lakh) -
  1. Amravati (Maharashtra)
  2. Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh)
  3. Guntur (Andhra Pradesh)
3. Category 3 (Population Under 3 lakh) -
  1. Parwanoo (Himachal Pradesh)
  2. Kala Amb (Himachal Pradesh)
  3. Angul (Odisha)
4. Background -
  1. Launched in 2019, NCAP aims at improving air quality in 131 cities (non-attainment cities and Million Plus Cities) across country. It envisages to achieve reductions up to 40% or achievement of National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter10 (PM 10) concentrations by 2025-26.
Sep 8 is observed by UNESCO as International Literacy Day. 2023 theme is Promoting literacy for a world in transition: Building foundation for sustainable and peaceful societies. On this occasion, UNESCO honored 2023 Laureates of UNESCO Literacy Prizes -
1. UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize awards for mother-tongue literacy education and training, sponsored by South Korea. Each of 3 King Sejong prize winners receive a medal, a diploma and US$20000. Awardees -
  1. GraphoGame programme by the GraphoGame organization (Finland) - For collection of top-tier literacy games in 14 different languages attracting over 5 million users. New language versions are being developed to teach children and adults literacy skills in their mother-tongue.
  2. Himalayan Literacy Network (Pakistan) - NGO that brings quality pre-school and primary education closer to remote Bakarwal communities. Established in 2004, it aims to spur a literacy movement among nomadic pastoralists located in southern Himalayas.
  3. ‘Africa e-Library project’ b Snapplify (South Africa) - Leading edtech company offering digital learning solutions for individuals and institutions. The Africa e-Library project was created in 2011 and provides access to thousands of free eBooks and curriculum-aligned educational contents in multiple local languages.
2. UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy (Supported by China) . Each of 3 Confucius prizewinners receives a medal, a diploma and US$30000.
  1. ‘Empowering remote and climate vulnerable communities with digital literacy’ Programme by Friendship (Bangladesh) - Uses digital tools to provide hybrid learning to marginalized communities in Bangladesh, with a view to addressing school dropout in coastal communities.
  2. ‘My Very Own Library: Cultivating a culture of reading in the homes of children in the Dominican Republic’ Programme by Dominican Republic Education and Mentoring (Dominican Republic) - This NGO aims to cultivate a culture of reading at home by providing children and youth from low-income communities with a diverse range of books, so they are able to build their own home library.
  3. ‘Peaceful Communities’ Programme by Uganda National Self-Advocacy Initiative (Uganda) - A peer-led organization for individuals with psycho-social disabilities in Uganda's rural Kayunga District. Its main objectives include equipping rural persons with disabilities with essential literacy skills, fostering inclusive dialogues for peaceful communities, and empowering them to express their views.
3. Notably, Govt of India has organised literacy week between Sep 1-8, 2023, to celebrate International Literacy Day, under ULLAS- Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram.
  1. ULLAS- Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram on Education for All (erstwhile termed as Adult Education), has been approved as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for implementation during 2022-27, in alignment with National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
  2. It has five components - Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, Critical Life Skills, Basic Education, Vocational Skills & Continuing Education.
  3. The logo, slogan/tagline-Jan Jan Sakshar and name- ULLAS (Understanding of Lifelong Learning for All in Society) of Nav Bharat Saksharta Karyakram were launched by Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in July 2023 in New Delhi during celebration of 3rd anniversary of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
4. Sep 8 is also observed as World Physiotherapy Day, to mark establishment of the profession in 1951.
Prayagraj police (Uttar Pradesh) launched Savera initiative, as a proactive campaign to ensure safety and well-being of senior citizens.
1. Under this, Prayagraj police are maintaining comprehensive record of individuals aged over 60, to ensure a quick and efficient response in times of need.
Sato Kilman has been named as new prime minister of Vanuatu (Oceania).
Home Ministry approved Puducherry govt's proposal to introduce 10% horizontal reservation in undergraduate medical education, for students graduating from govt higher secondary schools.
Sep 9 is observed as World EV (Electric Vehicle) Day.
1. Sep 9 is also observed by UN as International Day to Protect Education from Attack.
2. Sep 9 is also observed as Himalaya Day, declared by Uttarakhand Govt in 2015.
Sanchi (A UNESCO World Heritage Site in Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh) has been named India’s first solar city, with inauguration of 2 solar stations of 3 MW & 5 MW. It will reduce CO2 emissions each year by 13747 tonnes.
Japan launched its lunar exploration spacecraft aboard H-IIA rocket, in an attempt to land on moon in Feb 2024. Mission is dubbed as Moon Sniper.
1. The mission includes Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), a lunar lander developed by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). If the mission is successful, Japan will become 5th country to soft land on the surface of the Moon (After US, Russia, China & India).
2. Launch also included X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM), an X-ray space telescope mission of JAXA & NASA, to provide breakthroughs in study of structure formation of universe, outflows from galaxy nuclei, and dark matter.
SBI launched Nation First Transit Card, which is designed to facilitate seamless and convenient customer commuting experiences, offering easy digital ticketing fare payments across various modes of transportation, through a single card. It can also be used for making retail and e-commerce payments.
Book Ajay to Yogi Adityanath, authored by Shantanu Gupta has been released. It is based on life of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Book Fire on the Ganges: Life Among the Dead in Banaras, authored by Radhika Iyengar has been released.
Sep 10 - World Suicide Prevention Day, with 2023 theme Creating hope Through Action.
Jharkhand govt announced inclusion of transgender community in its universal pension scheme Mukhyamantri Rajya Samajik Suraksha Pension Yojana. Under it, Eligible beneficiary will receive 1000 per month as financial aid.
UK rejoined European Union’s Horizon science research programme, & European earth observation programme (Copernicus).
1. However, UK announced to not participate in EU’s Euratom nuclear research schemem, and will pursue a domestic fusion energy strategy.
West Bengal assembly approved resolution to officially observe Bengali New Year’s Day, known as Poila Baisakh, as state’s foundation day on April 15th.
1. The resolution proposes observance of Poila Baisakh as Bangla Diwas and seeks to declare Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s Banglar Mati, Banglar Jol as as official state song.
General News / Events (Sep 1-10, 2023) -
1. International Aerospace Conference 2023 organized by Ministry of Civil Aviation and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh).
2. 2023 Regional Cooperation and Integration Conference organized by Asian Development Bank (ADB) at Tbilisi (Georgia).
3. Textiles Minister Piyush Goyal unveiled statue of First Finance Minister of Independent India, RK Shanmugam Chetty, in Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu).
4. President Droupadi Murmu released commemorative coin on NT Rama Rao, marking his centenary year. He was a prominent Telugu actor and politician, who served as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.
5. International Cruise Terminal at Visakhapatnam Port has been inaugurated, to serve a pivotal gateway for domestic and international cruise tourism along eastern coast of India.
Global Fintech Fest 2023 (4th edition) held at Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai (Maharashtra).
1. Highlights -
  1. 2023 theme is Global Collaboration for a Responsible Financial Ecosystem - Inclusive | Resilient | Sustainable.
  2. During the fest -
    1. SBI Card introduced SimplySAVE Merchant SBI Card as a specialized credit card tailored for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). It is designed to address short-term credit needs of MSME merchants while providing them with a range of exclusive benefits.
    2. Hitachi Payment Services launched India's first UPI-ATM, in collaboration with NPCI, to enable customers to withdraw cash without a debit or credit card.
    3. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) launched OTG Ring, as a contactless payment wearable ring, In collaboration with fintech startup LivQuik. It will allow users to make payments to any Near Field Communication (NFC)-based device and aims to replace plastic cards for various open-loop transit programs.
    4. RBI launched several new product offerings built by NPCI, including -
      1. Credit Line on UPI - It will offer enables pre-sanctioned credit lines from banks via UPI, to ease up customer access to credit.
      2. UPI LITE X and Tap & Pay - Through this, users can now both send and receive money whilst being completely offline, allowing transactions in areas with poor connectivity. It will be accessible to anyone with a compatible device that supports Near Field Communication (NFC).
      3. Conversational Payments -
        Hello! UPI - This will augment user experience by enabling them to make voice-enabled UPI payments via UPI Apps, telecom calls, and IoT devices. NPCI has partnered with the Bhashini program – AI4Bharat at IIT Madras, to co-develop Hindi and English payment language models, while Other regional languages shall be available soon.
        
        BillPay Connect - This will enable customers to conveniently fetch and pay their bills by sending instructions on the messaging app. Those without smartphones will be able to pay bills by giving a missed call.
2. About -
  1. GFF is largest fintech conference globally, organized by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Payments Council of India (PCI) and Fintech Convergence Council (FCC).
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched University Grants Commission's Malaviya Mission- Teachers Training Programme, which aims to provide tailored training programmes for teachers.
1. Govt also renamed Human Resource Development Centres (HRDCs) as Madan Mohan Malaviya Teachers’ Training Centre.
2. Mission will help in building capacities of 15 lakh teachers of Higher Educational Institutions through 111 Malaviya Mission centres across India in a time-bound manner.
India hosted G20 Summit 2023 (18th), at newly built Bharat Mandapam International Exhibition-Convention Centre (Pragati Maidan) in New Delhi.
1. About -
  1. It was 1st G20 summit hosted by India, held under India's 2023 G20 presidency.
    1. Theme for G20 Summit 2023 is Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, meaning One Earth, One Family, One Future.
  2. India handed over G20 presidency to Brazil, who will host G20 Summit & Presidency in 2024. India will continue to hold G20 Presidency until 30 November 2023.
  3. G20 (Group of 20) is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries, European Union (EU), and African Union (AU).
    1. Member Nations include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, UK, US.
    2. Guest Invitees at G20 Summit hosted by India Included Bangladesh, Comoros, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain, UAE.
2. Highlights -
  1. Summit was attended by heads of governments of G20 Nations.
    1. Notably, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping skipped the summit. Their places were taken up by Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese premier Li Qiang, respectively.
  2. At the venue of the G20 Summit, 27-foot-tall statue of Nataraja (Lord Shiva in his cosmic dance) was installed.
  3. Notable Outcomes -
    1. African Union joined G20 as a permanent member. It comprises 55 member states from across African continent.
    2. Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA) was launched during the summit, to promote development and adoption of sustainable biofuels, and set relevant standards and certification.
      1. GBA is an India-led Initiative to develop an international alliance, to facilitate adoption of biofuels, and position biofuels as a key to energy transition and contribute to jobs and economic growth.
    3. New Delhi Leaders Declaration was adopted with consensus.
      1. G20 2023 joint consensus declaration is an official non-binding declaration that seeks to place emphasis on strong, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive growth. Its preamble says For the Planet, People, Peace, and Prosperity.
      2. The declaration's preamble acknowledges global community's failure to meet UN Sustainable Development Goals of 2030 Agenda, as well as pertinent issues of poverty and an increased average cost-of-living. It aims to -
        Fulfill the 2030 Agenda with "full and effective implementation".
        
        Reduce GHG emissions.
        
        Provide easier access to medical care and supplies.
        
        Offer wider access to digital infrastructure.
        
        Close the gender gap.
    4. A group of countries made a joint agreement to build a rail and shipping corridor linking India with Middle East and Europe, called India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor.
      1. IMEEC will aim to bolster economic development by fostering connectivity and economic integration between Asia, Persian Gulf and Europe. The corridor is proposed from India to Europe through UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel and Greece.
        It will comprise of an Eastern Corridor connecting India to Gulf region and a Northern Corridor connecting Gulf region to Europe. It will include a railway and ship-rail transit network and road transport routes.
      2. During G20 Summit 2023, MoU regarding the planned corridor was signed by India, US, UAE, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Italy, and European Union.
  4. Other Notable Meets held under India's 2023 G20 Presidency -
    1. B20 (Business 20) Summit Held in New Delhi, with theme Responsible, Accelerated, Innovative, Sustainable, Equitable (R.A.I.S.E) Businesses.
      1. It emphasized on responsible AI development and deployment, drawing parallels with past social media pitfalls and encouraged excitement about AI opportunities.
    2. Y20 (Youth 20) Summit concluded in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), with signing of Y20 Communiqué.
    3. G20-Digital Innovation Alliance Summit held in Bengaluru.
      1. As part of India’s G20 Presidency, G20 Digital Innovation Alliance (G20-DIA) initiative was launched under MeitY Startup Hub. It recognizes and accelerates growth of startups from G20 countries, in six sectors – Ed-tech, Health-tech, Agri-tech, Fin-tech, Secured Digital Infrastructure, and Circular Economy.
    4. Ministerial Conference on Women’s Empowerment (G20 EMPOWER) Held in Gandhinagar (Gujarat).
    5. Labour 20 (L-20) summit held in Patna (Bihar).
    6. Mumbai hosted G-20 Research and Innovation Initiative Gathering (RIIG) Summit, on sidelines of G20 Research Ministers’ Meeting.
    7. Startup20 Shikhar Summit organized by Startup20 Engagement Group in Gurugram (Haryana).
      1. Notably, Startup20 engagement group was initiated under Indian presidency of G20 in 2023.
    8. G20 Health Ministers’ Meeting 2023 held in Gandhinagar (Gujarat). During the summit -
      1. India’s first medical technology expo, called India MedTech Expo 2023 was also held.
      2. Global Initiative on Digital Health was launched in partnership with World Health Organization (WHO), to support implementation of WHO member-states’ endorsed WHO’s Global Digital Health Strategy 2020-2025.
        It aims to support countries in implementation of high quality digital health systems and facilitate patients to access healthcare services based on a people-centric approach.
    9. Under India's 2023 G20 Presidency, 1st ever G20 film festival was held in New Delhi, organized by Ministry of External Affairs and India International Centre. Festival's opening film was Pather Panchali by Satyajit Ray.
  5. Notably, During the summit -
    1. India's Ministry of Tourism launched G20 Tourism and SDG Dashboard, in collaboration with United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
      1. It showcases best practices, case studies, and insights from G20 countries, modeled for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
    2. Britain committed to provide $2 billion to Green Climate Fund (GCF), to help developing countries cope with climate change.
      1. GFC was set up under United Nations' climate change negotiations to help channel money needed by poor states to meet their targets to reduce carbon emissions, develop cleaner energy sources and adjust to a warming world.
    3. India's Ministry of Culture unveiled portal Bharat: The Mother of Democracy, as a digital exhibition chronicling rich history of democracy in India, spanning 7000 years.
Sep 11 is observed in India as National Forest Martyrs Day, observed by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
2023 SAFF U-16 Championship Football Title (Thimphu, Bhutan) -
1. India won the title (their 5th), defeating Bangladesh in final.
2023 US Open Tennis -
1. Winners -
  1. Men's singles - Novak Djokovic (Serbia). He defeated Daniil Medvedev (Russia) in final.
    1. It was Djokovic's 4th US Open title and record-extending 24th men's singles grand slam title overall. He also became oldest US Open men's singles champion ever.
  2. Women's singles - Coco Gauff (US). She defeated Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) in final.
  3. Men's doubles - Rajeev Ram (US) & Joe Salisbury (UK).
  4. Women's doubles - Gabriela Dabrowski (Canada) & Erin Routliffe (New Zealand).
  5. Mixed doubles - Anna Danilina (Kazakhstan) & Harri Heliövaara (Finland).
2. About -
  1. US Open is 4th and final Grand Slam event of the year, others being Austalian Open, French Open, Wimbledon.
2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup (Hosted by Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia) -
1. This was 19th edition of FIBA Basketball Men's World Cup, featuring 32 teams.
2. Germany won the title (their 1st), defeating Serbia in final. Canada & USA claimed 3rd & 4th places respectively.

2023 Archery World Cup Finals (Hosted in Hermosillo, Mexico) -

Overall Medal Table (Including 4 events held during 2023, and Finals) -

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	South Korea	13	8	6	27
2	United States	7	4	2	13
3	India	7	2	8	17
4	Mexico	2	7	3	12
5	Colombia	2	4	0	6

India finished 3rd in 2023 Archery World Cup, having won 17 medals (7 Gold, 2 Silver & 8 Bronze).
1. Prior to the Finals, 2023 Arhcery World cup comprised of 4 events, hosted by Turkiye, China, Columbia & France.
2. In Finals, India won 1 Medal, which was Silver medal won by Prathamesh Samadhan Jawkar, in Compound Men category.

Tata Group-owned Air India launched Project Abhinandan, aimed at elevating on-ground experience of travellers, by providing a personalised and hassle-free airport experience.
Sep 12 - UN International Day for South-South Cooperation.
Govt announced winners of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar (SSB) Prize for 2022, honoring 12 scientists from across different science streams.
1. About -
  1. SSB prizes are awarded each year for outstanding contributions in various science streams during last five years (up to 45 years age). It comprises cash award of 5 Lakh rupees. Streams include Biological sciences, Chemical Sciences, Medical Sciences, Physical Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Engineering Sciences and Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean and Planetary Science.
  2. These awards were instituted in 1957, in memory of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar, founder director of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research(CSIR).
ICICI Bank received RBI approval to convert I-Process Services (India) Pvt Ltd (I-Process) into a wholly-owned subsidiary.
1. Established in 2005, I-Process offers staffing solutions to few leading financial institutions in India. ICICI Bank currently holds 19% stake in iProcess.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh laid foundation stone of an airfield in Eastern Ladakh at Nyoma village.
1. Located near south Bank of Pangong Tso at an altitude of 13700 feet, it will be world's highest fighter airfield.
South Central Railways' Vijayawada Railway Station has been awarded Green Railway Station certification with highest rating of Platinum, by Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), for its efforts in improving environmental standards and providing eco-friendly services to passengers.
1. Notably, Jodhpur was India’s first railway station to become Platinum Rated Green Railway Station with Highest Points.
Cabinet Approvals (Sep 13, 2023) -
1. MOUs -
  1. With Armenia, Antigua & Barbuda, Sierra Leone - Co-Operation in Sharing successful Digital Solutions implemented at Population Scale for Digital Transformation.
2. General -
  1. Approved eCourts Project Phase III as a Central Sector Scheme spanning 4 years (2023 onwards), with outlay 7210 crores.
    1. As part of National eGovernance Plan, the e-Courts Project is under implementation since 2007 for ICT enablement of Indian Judiciary. Phase II was concluded in 2023.
    2. Phase III aims to create a unified technology platform for judiciary, which will provide a seamless and paperless interface between courts, litigants and other stakeholders.
  2. Approved extension of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), for release of 75 lakh LPG connections over 3 years (2023-24 to 2025-26), taking number of Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries to 10.35 crores.
    1. Ujjwala Yojana was launched by PM Narendra Modi on 1 May 2016, to distribute LPG connections to women of Below Poverty Line (BPL) families. It was replaced by Ujjwala Yojana 2.0 in 2021. Also, Additional Subsidy of Rs 200 per year for 12 upto refils is also being given to PMUY beneficiaries.
3. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) Approvals -
  1. Approved FDI proposal for foreign investment of up to 9589 crores in Suven Pharmaceuticals Limited by Berhyanda Limited (Cyprus), for acquisition of up to 76.1% equity shares of Suven Pharmaceuticals Limited.
President Droupadi Murmu launched Ayushman Bhav campaign along with Ayushman Bhava Portal, from Gandhinagar (Gujarat).
1. Ayushman Bhav Campaign is a nationwide healthcare initiative of Health Ministry, which aims to provide universal coverage of healthcare services across country. It will be implemented during Seva Pakhwada, between September 17 to October 2, 2023.
2. Its 3 components include - Ayushmaan Apke Dwar 3.0, Ayushman Melas at Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs), and Ayushman Sabhas in every village / panchayat.
India-UK launched Infrastructure Finance Bridge, as a collaborative initiative to leverage expertise and investment in support of India’s National Infrastructure Pipeline.
1. It was launched during 12th Round of Ministerial India-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue in New Delhi.
Louisville city in Kentucky State of USA declared to observe September 3 annually as Sanatana Dharma Day, emphasizing significance of fostering peace, tolerance, and understanding within diverse communities.
1. Previously, July 20 was declared as Encyclopedia of Hinduism day in Kentucky.
2023 Indonesia Masters Super 100 I Badminton (Medan, Indonesia) -
1. Men's singles - Kiran George (India)
2. Women's singles - Ester Nurumi Tri Wardoyo (Indonesia)
3. Men's doubles - Indonesia'sSabar Karyaman Gutama & Muhammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahani
4. Women's doubles - Indonesia'sLanny Tria Mayasari & Ribka Sugiarto
5. Mixed doubles - Malaysia's Yap Roy King & Valeree Siow
Sep 14 is observed as Hindi Diwas (Also called Rajbhasha Diwas). It commemorates adoption of Hindi written in Devanagari script as one of the two official languages of the Republic of India by Constituent Assembly of India, in 1949.
Notable points from PM Narendra Modi's visit to Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh -
1. Madhya Pradesh -
  1. Laid foundation stone of Petrochemical Complex at Bina Refinery of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), to be developed at cost 49000 crores.
    1. It will produce 1200 KTPA (Kilo-Tonnes Per Annum) of ethylene and propylene, to reduce country's import dependence in these vital components for various sectors (textiles, packaging, pharma etc).
  2. Other notable projects include Power and Renewable Energy Manufacturing Zone in Narmadapuram district, 2 IT parks in Indore and a Mega Industrial Park in Ratlam.
2. Chhattisgarh -
  1. Launched railway projects worth 6350 crores in Raigarh, including Chhattisgarh East Rail Project Phase-I, which is a 125 KM Rail line being developed under PM GatiShakti - National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity.
  2. Launched 65-km-long electrified MGR (Merry-Go-Round) System to deliver low cost & high grade coal from NTPC’s Talaipalli coal mine to 1600 MW NTPC Lara Super Thermal Power Station.
Education and Skill Development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched Skill India Digital (SID), as a comprehensive digital platform aimed at synergizing and transforming skills, education, employment, and entrepreneurship landscape across India.
Indian Air Force's Western air command held its annual mega operational readiness exercise Trishul.
As per US News Best Countries 2023 Rankings -
1. Top 5 - Switzerland, Canada, Sweden, Australia, USA.
2. India ranks 30th on list.
3. Neighbors - China (20), Pakistan (Not named in list), Bangladesh (69), Sri Lanka (54).
Telecom PSU ITI Limited (earlier Indian Telephone Industries Limited) developed its own branded Laptop and Micro PC under brand name SMAASH, to compete against international brands.
1. The flagship products - Laptop and Micro PC have been developed by ITI Limited in association with Intel Corporation.
Karnataka Budget Analysis 2023-24 Highlights -
1. Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) (at current prices) projected to be 25.7 lakh crore, with growth of 17.7% over revised estimates of 2022-23.
2. Expenditure (excluding debt repayment) in 2023-24 is estimated to be 3.05 lakh crores. In addition, debt of 22,441 crore will be repaid by state.
3. Receipts for 2023-24 are estimated to be 2.39 lakh crores. Rest (66000 Crores) shall be met by borrowings.
4. Policy Highlights -
  1. Revenue augmentation- Additional excise duty on Indian Made Liquor will be increased by 20%. The additional excise duty on beer will be increased from 175% to 185%.
  2. State government will implement five guarantees -
    1. Free bus travel for women under Shakti scheme
    2. Free electricity up to 200 units for domestic consumers under Gruha Jyoti
    3. 2000 monthly financial assistance to woman head of family under Gruha Lakshmi
    4. 5 kg additional foodgrains to eligible persons under Annabhagya
    5. Monthly unemployment allowance of 3000 for degree holders and 1500 for diploma holders under Yuvanidhi.
  3. In next 3 years, metro network will be expanded from 70 km to 176 km.
  4. Life and accidental insurance of 2 lakh rupees each will be provided for full/part time delivery personnel of e-commerce companies.
Monthly Trade and Inflation Data (August 2023) -
1. Inflation and Trade Data for August 2023 -
  1. Wholesale price Index Based (WPI) -
    1. WPI based inflation stayed at (-) .52% (Negative) in August 2023.
    2. WPI Inflation in last 12 months -
      1. July 2023 - (-) 1.36 % (Negative)
      2. June 2023 - (-) 4.12 % (Negative) (lowest in 8 years)
      3. May 2023 - (-) 3.48 % (Negative)
      4. April 2023 - (-) 0.92 % (Negative)
      5. March 2023 - 1.34 %
      6. February 2023 - 3.85 %
      7. January 2023 - 4.73 %
      8. December 2022 - 4.95 %
      9. November 2022 - 5.85 %
      10. October 2022 - 8.39 %
      11. September 2022 - 10.07 %
      12. August 2022 - 12.41 %
  2. Consumer Price Index (CPI) Based (retail inflation) -
    1. CPI-based inflation rate for August 2023 fell to 6.83 %.
    2. CPI Inflation in Last 12 Months -
      1. July 2023 - 7.44 % (15 Month High)
      2. June 2023 - 4.81 %
      3. May 2023 - 4.25 % (25 Month Low)
      4. April 2023 - 4.7 %
      5. March 2023 - 5.66 %
      6. February 2023 - 6.44 %
      7. January 2023 - 6.52 %
      8. December 2022 - 5.72 %
      9. November 2022 - 5.88 %
      10. October 2022 - 6.77 %
      11. September 2022 - 7.41 %
      12. August 2022 - 7.01 %
  3. Trade -
Tamil Nadu govt launched its Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam (Kalaignar women’s entitlement scheme) on Sep 15, under which monthly cash assistance of Rs 1000 will be given to women with Annual family income under 2.5 lakh. It has been launched on the occasion of birth anniversary of state’s first chief minister, C N Annadurai.
Sep 15 - Engineer's Day in India. It commemorates Mokshagundam Vishweshvaraya (popularly known as Sir MV). In 1955, he was conferred India's highest honour, Bharat Ratna. 15 September is celebrated as Engineer's Day in India, Sri Lanka and Tanzania.
1. He was chief engineer responsible for the construction of Krishna Raja Sagara dam in North-West suburb of Mysuru city and chief engineer of flood protection system for city of Hyderabad.
2. Notably, Telangana state celebrates Engineers day on July 11th on birthday of Ali Nawaz Jung Bahadur.
Sep 15 - UN International Day of Democracy. 2023 theme is Empowering the next generation.
Madhya Pradesh Cabinet approved several notable proposals -
1. MP Mob Lynching Victim Compensation Scheme 2023 - It will provide ₹10 lakh compensation to family of any person killed in a mob lynching incident. There will be a provision of compensation of 4-6 lakh for the injured.
2. Mukhyamantri Ladli Behna Housing scheme - Under it, homeless women and families will be given houses, who didn’t get housing under PM housing scheme.
3. Cabinet also doubled honorarium of guest teachers across state.
Sep 16 - UN International Day for Preservation of the Ozone Layer. 2023 Theme is Montreal Protocol: fixing the ozone layer and reducing climate change.
1. Vienna Convention for Protection of Ozone Layer, was signed in 1985, to provide frameworks for international reductions in production of chlorofluorocarbons.
2. In 1994, UN proclaimed 16 September as International Day for Preservation of Ozone Layer, commemorating date of signing, in 1987, of Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. Montreal Protocol has been successful in phasing out 99 % of ozone-depleting chemicals.
3. Sep 16, 2023 is also observed as International Coastal Clean-up Day 2023, observed annually on 3rd Saturday of September.
Govt named Rahul Navin as acting director of Enforcement Directorate (ED), succeeding Sanjay Kumar Mishra who resigned recently.
RBI approved Amalgamation of Sahebrao Deshmukh Co-operative Bank (Mumbai, Maharashtra) with Cosmos Co-operative Bank (Pune, Maharashtra).
As per RBI data -
1. External debt of India at end June 2023 (Q1 FY24 End) stood at US$ 629.1 billion, recording increase of US$ 4.7 billion over its level at end March 2023.
2. External debt to GDP ratio declined to 18.6 % at end June 2023, from 18.8 % at end March 2023.
Govt re-appointed M. Rajeshwar Rao as RBI Deputy Governor, for 1 year.
1. RBI has 4 Deputy Governors, with others being M D Patra, T Rabi Sankar & Swaminathan J.
Education and Skill Development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched Skills on Wheels initiative, jointly with NSDC and IndusInd Bank.
1. Under It, 60000 youth will be empowered by providing relevant skills training, over 5 years, to improve livelihood of rural households.

Ferrari's French F1 Racer Carlos Sainz Jr. won Singapore Grand Prix 2023.

F1 Season 2023 -

Grand Prix	Winner	Race date
Bahrain Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	5 March
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix	Sergio Pérez (Mexico)	19 March
Australian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	2 April
Azerbaijan Grand Prix	Sergio Pérez (Mexico)	30 April
Miami Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	7 May
Monaco Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	28 May
Spanish Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	4 June
Canadian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	18 June
Austrian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	2 July
British Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	9 July
Hungarian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	23 July
Belgian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	30 July
Dutch Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	27 August
Italian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	3 September
Singapore Grand Prix	Carlos Sainz Jr. (France)	17 September
Japanese Grand Prix		24 September
Qatar Grand Prix		8 October
United States Grand Prix		22 October
Mexico City Grand Prix		29 October
São Paulo Grand Prix		5 November
Las Vegas Grand Prix		18 November
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix		26 November

Assam Govt organized Amrit Brikshya Andolan on Sep 17 (PM Narendra Modi's Birthday), which included planting 1 crore commercially-viable saplings across state, to increase green cover and boost state's green economy.
Sep 17 is observed as World Patient Safety Day, by World Health Organisation (WHO). 2023 theme is Engaging patients for patient safety.
Sep 17 is observed as Marathwada Liberation Day, also known as Marathwada Mukti Sangram Din (celebrated in Maharashtra).
1. It marks anniversary of Marathwada's integration with India when Indian Army liberated State of Hyderabad, by defeating the Nizam on 17 September 1948, 13 months after Indian independence.
Sep 18 is observed by UN as International Equal Pay Day, since 2020.
1. Sep 18 is also observed as World Bamboo Day.
India ranked first in grassroots crypto adoption, even amid a tough regulatory environment, as per Chainalysis’ 2023 Global Crypto Adoption Index.
1. Nigeria ranked 2nd, followed by Vietnam, US and Ukraine.
2023 Asia Cup Cricket (16th edition, Hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka) -
1. India won the title (Their 8th), defeating Sri Lanka in final. India's Kuldeep Yadav was named Player of the series.
2. Notably, India’s Virat Kohli became fastest batter to reach 13000 ODI runs, during Asia Cup 2023.
PM Narendra Modi launched Phase 1 of India International Convention and Expo Centre - Yashobhoomi, at Dwarka (New Delhi).
1. With project area of 8.9 lakh square metres, Yashobhoomi is among world’s largest MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) facilities. It has been built at cost 5400 crores.
2. PM also launched PM Vishwakarma Scheme for traditional artisans and craftspeople (on occasion of Vishwakarma Jayanti), worth 13000 crores. He also Launched PM Vishwakarma Logo, Tagline (Samman Samarthya Samridhi), and Portal.
3. It Scheme envisages provisioning of following benefits to artisans and crafts persons -
  1. Recognition of artisans and craftspeople through PM Vishwakarma certificate and ID card.
  2. Basic Training of 5-7 days and Advanced Training of 15 days or more, with a stipend of Rs. 500 per day.
  3. Toolkit incentive of upto Rs. 15,000 in the form of e-vouchers at the beginning of Basic Skill Training.
  4. Collateral free 'Enterprise Development Loans' of upto Rs. 3 lakh in two tranches of Rs. 1 lakh and Rs. 2 lakh with tenures of 18 months and 30 months, respectively, at a concessional rate of interest fixed at 5%, with Govt subvention to the extent of 8%.
    1. Beneficiaries who complete Basic Training will be eligible to avail first tranche of credit support of upto 1 lakh. 2nd loan tranche will be available to beneficiaries who have availed 1st tranche and maintained a standard loan account and have adopted digital transactions in their business or have undergone Advanced Training.
  5. Amount of Rs 1 per digital transaction, upto maximum 100 transactions monthly will be credited to beneficiary's account for each digital pay-out or receipt.
  6. Marketing support will be provided to artisans and craftspeople in the form of quality certification, branding, onboarding on e-commerce platforms such as GeM, advertising, publicity and other marketing activities to improve linkage to value chain.
India's 1st solar power generating cycle track has been opened in Hyderabad, which is 23-km long & capable of generating 16 MW solar power. Named Healthway, it has two lines.
1. It is 2nd solar power generating cycle track in world after South Korea's solar rooftop covered track. Similar ones are under construction in Dubai and Switzerland.

2023 ISSF World Cup (Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Leg (Final Leg)) -

Medal table so far -

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	China	10	3	3	16
2	Hungary	6	7	1	14
3	Switzerland	4	4	2	10
4	India	4	3	4	11
5	Kazakhstan	2	4	2	8

Indian Medalists so far -
1. Rudrankksh Patil (Men's 10m Air Rifle, Cairo (Egypt))
2. Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar (Men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions, Cairo (Egypt))
3. Elavenil Valarivan (Women's 10m Air Rifle, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil))
4. Narmada Nitin Raju & Rudrankksh Patil (Mixed team 10m Air Rifle, Cairo (Egypt))

2023 ISSF World Cup World Cup Final will be held in Doha (Qatar), during 18-27 November, 2023.

American space agency NASA announced completion of MOXIE (Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilisation Experiment) mission, which Successfully demonstrated generation of Oxygen On Mars.
1. During its operations, MOXIE successfully produced total 122 grams of oxygen, which is twice as much as NASA's original goals for the instrument. MOXIE has been generating oxygen aboard Perseverance rover since its landing in 2021.
As per a new govt report, number of elephant corridors in India has increased to 150, against 88 in 2010.
1. West Bengal has most elephant corridors (26). Also, Elephant population in country rose to over 30000.
2 New Indian Sites including in UNESCO World Heritage Sites List (Taking number of UNESCO world heritage sites in India to 42) -
1. Santiniketan (West Bengal) -
  1. Town in West Bengal’s Birbhum district where Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore spent much of his life. It was founded as an ashram by Debendranath Tagore (Rabindranath Tagore's father) in 19th century and then developed into a university town for Visva-Bharati University.
  2. Also, Visva-Bharati University, founded by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore received UNESCO World Heritage inscription to become world’s first living heritage university.
2. Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas (Karnataka) -
  1. This site comprises 2 clusters of monuments (in Belur and Halebidu), and Keshava temple in Somanathapura, dating to time of the Hoysala Empire, between the 11th and 14th centuries.
  2. Hoysala architecture combined elements of Dravidian architecture with influences from northern India. The temples were built by the followers of Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Jainism, and they are richly decorated with stone sculptures and carvings.
RBI Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index) stood at 60.1 in March 2023, compared to 56.4 in March 2022.
1. RBI constructed FI-Index to capture extent of financial inclusion across country, which was first published in August 2021 for FY ending March 2021.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman & Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar Launched several farmer focused initiatives -
1. Kisan Rin Portal - It aims to ease up access to credit services for farmers under Kisan Credit Card (KCC).
2. KCC Ghar Ghar Abhiyaan - It aims to extend benefits of Kisan Credit Card (KCC) Scheme to farmers across nation.
3. Manual on Weather Information Network Data Systems (WINDS) - WINDS initiative stands aims to establish a network of Automatic Weather Stations & Rain Gauges at taluk/block and gram panchayat levels.
General News / Events (Sep 11-20, 2023) -
1. Ministry of Jal Shakti organized International Conference on Dam Safety at Rajasthan International Centre in Jaipur, to discuss measures for strengthening capacities for enhancing dam safety.
2. Bangus Valley Festival organized in Kupwara district (J&K UT).
3. 1st Global Symposium on Farmers' Rights held at ICAR Convention Centre in New Delhi.
4. 2nd Green Hydrogen India Conference held in Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh).
TIME Magazine's List of World's Best Companies of 2023 -
1. Top 5 - Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Accenture
2. Indian Companies in List -
  1. Infosys is only Indian Firm in Top 100 (Ranked 64th), followed by Wipro (174), Mahindra Group (210).
  2. Total 8 Indian companies have been named in list of 750 best companies globally.
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launched Mukhyamantri Sampoorna Pushti Yojana, along with complementary Pada Pushti Yojana, to address nutritional needs of mothers, adolescent girls, and children in state.
1. Mukhyamantri Sampoorna Pushti Yojana aims at tackling malnutrition and improving nutritional well-being of most vulnerable groups in State - mothers, adolescent girls, and children.
2. Complementing Mukhyamantri Sampoorna Pushti Yojana, the Pada Pushti Yojana focuses on delivering good quality cooked food to youngsters living in rural and tribal areas.
Olympic champion Indian Javelin Thrower Neeraj Chopra won his 4th Diamond League Medal of the year, after winning Silver at Eugene Diamond League Final 2023 (US), with a throw of 83.80 meters.
1. Neeraj Chopar's Earlier Medals in Diamond League 2023 -
  1. Gold in Doha Diamond league 2023, with a throw of 88.67 meters.
  2. Gold in Lausanne Diamond league 2023, with a throw of 87.66 meters.
  3. Silver in Zurich Diamond league 2023, with a throw of 85.71 meters
2. Notably -
  1. India won Total 5 Medals in diamond league 2023. Remaining one Medal was won by India’s Murali Sreeshankar at Paris Diamond League 2023, as a Bronze in men’s long jump event (with 8.09 meters jump).
  2. Records set during Diamong league 2023 Season -
    1. Kenya's Faith Kipyegon has set 3 world records in Women's 1500, Women's 5000m and Women's mile events.
    2. Ethiopia's Lamecha Girma - Men's steeplechase (7:52.11)
    3. Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen - Men's 2000m (4:43.13)
    4. Mondo Duplantis (Swedish-American) - Men's pole vault (6.23m)
    5. Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay - Men's 5000m (14:00.21)
Noted Indian designer Rahul Mishra has been honored with Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) by French government.
Sep 21 is observed by UN as International Day of Peace. 2023 theme is Actions for peace: Our ambition for the #GlobalGoals.
1. Sep 21 is also observed as World Alzheimer’s Day.
African Union announced to launch a new African credit rating agency, to generate its own evaluation of lending risks associated with African countries.
1. It will operate within African continent, to provide additional context for investors when making decisions about purchasing African bonds or extending private loans to countries.
As per Kantar BrandZ Top 75 Most Valuable Indian Brands Report -
1. Top 5 Indian Brands - TCS, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Airtel, SBI
2. Combined value of India’s Top 75 brands estimated at $379 billion, down 4 % compared to 2022.
Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar presented one-time Sangeet Natak Akademi Amrit Awards to 84 artists from the field of performing arts of India, who are above age of 75 years and haven’t been accorded any national honour in their career so far.
India became 13th country that can issue Internationally Accepted OIML (International Organization of Legal Metrology) Certificates.
1. India had joined OIML in 1956, and has now become authority for issuing internationally accepted OIML certificate for selling weights & measures anywhere in world.
2. To sell a weight or measure in International market an OIML Pattern Approval certificate is mandatory, which India's Department of Consumer Affairs can issue now. This will enable Domestic / International manufacturers to get their weighing & measuring instrument tested in India and sell in International market.
Assam govt launched Mukhyamantri Atmanirbharshil Asom Abhiyan, under which assistance of upto 5 lakh will be provided to young individuals, fostering self-reliance and economic independence among state's youth. Age criteria for all applicants is set at 28 years, with upper limit being 40 years for general category (43 for ST, SC, and OBC applicants).

Special Session of Parliament 2023 (18 to 22 September 2023) -

This special session witnessed transfer of parliamentary proceedings from existing premises of British-era building to Newly built Parliament House. Special session did not include Question Hour, Zero Hour, or Private Member Business.

Bill Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam - The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill 2023, was introduced, discussed and passed in Parliament during the session.

126th Amendment of Constitution of India, officially known as Constitution (106th Amendment) Act 2023 and informally Women's Reservation Bill 2023 (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam) seeks to allocate 33 percent of the seats in the directly elected Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies for women.
The bill aims to culminate a long standing legislative debate, including lapsed Women's Reservation Bill 2010, due to lack of consensus among political parties. The bill's passage ensures that the reservation will come into force soon after first delimitation (frozen untill 2026).
Bill aims to increase number of Women Parliamentarians to 181, which is currently 102 (under 15% ). The proposed legislation defines 33% women reservation to continue for 15 years.
Features -
1. Bill reserves one-third of all seats for women in Lok Sabha, state legislative assemblies, and Legislative Assembly of National Capital Territory of Delhi. This will also apply to the seats reserved for SCs and STs in Lok Sabha and states legislatures.
2. Reservation will be effective after census conducted after commencement of this Bill has been published. Based on census, delimitation will be undertaken to reserve seats for women. Reservation will be provided for a period of 15 years. However, it shall continue till such date as determined by a law made by Parliament.
3. Seats reserved for women will be rotated after each delimitation, as determined by a law made by Parliament.
Notably, Vice-President & Chairman Rajya Sabha (Jagdeep Dhankhar) reconstituted the panel of Vice-Chairpersons, comprising all 13 women Rajya Sabha Members, to discuss Nari Shakti Vandan Vidheyak Bill 2023.

Earlier -

73rd and 74th Amendments passed in 1993, which introduced panchayats and municipalities in Constitution, reserved 33% seats for women in these bodies. Constitution also provides for reservation of seats in Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies for SC /STs in proportion to their number in population. However, Constitution does not provide for reservation of seats for women in Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. This is being accomplished through passage of concerned bill.

Key changes between 2008 Bill and Bill introduced in 2023 -

	Bill introduced in 2008 (Was Rajya Sabha but lapsed later)	Bill introduced in 2023
Reservation in Lok Sabha	One-third of Lok Sabha seats in each state/UT to be reserved for women	One-third seats to be reserved for women
Rotation of Seats	Reserved seats to be rotated after every general election to Parliament/legislative assembly	Reserved seats to be rotated after every delimitation exercise

Also, Govt announced new name for old Parliament building, which will be called Samvidhan Sadan (Constitution House). It was designed by British architects Sir Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker and completed in 1927.

Sep 22 is observed as World Rhino Day, as an international ecological observance to raise awareness on protection of 5 existing species of rhinoceros - white rhino, black rhino, Indian rhino, Javan rhino, and Sumatran rhino.
1. Sep 22 is also observed as World rose day, for welfare of cancer patients.
Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan unveiled 108-foot-tall Statue of Adi Shankaracharya at Omkareshwar, called Statue of Oneness. The statue depicts Shankaracharya as a 12-year-old child when he is said to have visited Omkareshwar.
1. Adi Shankaracharya is believed to have lived between 788 and 820 AD. He left his Brahmin household in Kerala in early age, and visited Omkareshwar, where he became a proponent of Advaita Vedanta. He challenged prevailing philosophical traditions - including Buddhism and Jainism.
Indian Bank launched IB Sustainable Access and Aligning Technology for Holistic Inclusion (SAATHI) initiative, aimed at providing an integrated ecosystem for stakeholders in financial sector through business correspondent route.
1. It aims to offer an enhanced user experience through simplified delivery of services, encompassing basic and value-added offerings to customers.
Ruixiang Zhang (University of California, USA) has been honored with 2023 SASTRA Ramanujan Prize for his contributions in mathematics.
1. The award will be conferred in Dec 2023, at SASTRA University in Kumbakonam (mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan’s hometown).
2. About -
  1. SASTRA Ramanujan Prize is awarded every year to a young mathematician, with outstanding work in Ramanujan's fields of interest. The award carries USD 10000, with Age limit set at 32, influenced by Ramanujan’s achievements in his brief life of 32 years.
Sweden based Volvo Cars announced to completely end production of diesel cars by 2024, under its committment to going fully electric by 2030.
United Kingdom (UK) Govt delayed ban on sale of new petrol and diesel cars, as a major change to UK govt's approach to achieving net zero targets by 2050.
1. Changes include delay in ban on new fossil fuel heating for off-gas-grid homes, and sale of new petrol and diesel cars to 2035. It has been done amidst rising cost-of-living crisis across UK.
Notable Points from PM Narendra Modi's Visit to Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) -
1. Laid foundation stone of International Cricket Stadium in Varanasi, to be developed at cost 450 crores. Thematic architecture of the stadium draws inspiration from Lord Shiva, with capacity of 30000 spectators.
2. Dedicate to Nation 16 Atal Awasiya Vidyalayas built across Uttar Pradesh.
Sep 23, 2023 is observed as International Astronomy Day.
1. International Astronomy Day is Observed twice a year - one in autumn and another in spring. First observance of this day in 2023 was on Apr 29.
Sep 23 is observed by UN as International Day of Sign Languages (IDSL), with 2023 theme Sign languages unite us!.

Breakthrough Prize Foundation announced recipients of 2024 Breakthrough Prize, known as the Oscars of Science, and presented in fields of Life Sciences, Fundamental Physics and Mathematics. 2024 Awardees -

Award	Awardee
2024 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences ($3 Million USD Each)	Carl June and Michel Sadelain - Genetically engineered T cells - key players in body’s immune system, and boosts resistance against several types of cancer
	Sabine Hadida, Paul Negulescu and Fredrick Van Goor - Invented first effective medicines to treat underlying cause of cystic fibrosis.
	Thomas Gasser, Ellen Sidransky and Andrew Singleton - discovered most common genetic causes of Parkinson’s Disease

2024 Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics ($3 Million USD)	Simon Brendle - Contributed a series of remarkable leaps in differential geometry
2024 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics ($3 Million USD)	John Cardy and Alexander Zamolodchikov - For contribution of deep insights into quantum field theories
New Horizons (In Physics, Mathematics) ($100000 USD) (Awarded for Early-Career Achievements in Physics and Mathematics)	Physics - 9 Researchers honored Mathematics - Roland Bauerschmidt, Angkana Rüland & Michael Groechenig
Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize ($50000 USD) (Awarded to Women Mathematicians for Early-Career Achievements)	Hannah Larson - algebraic geometry, Laura Monk - discoveries about hyperbolic surfaces, Mayuko Yamashita - contributions to mathematical physics and index theory

About -
1. Breakthrough Prizes were founded in 2012 by Sergey Brin (Google), Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Yuri and Julia Milner (Russia Born Israeli entrepreneur), and Anne Wojcicki (23andMe).

Govt announced a new set of National Awards in field of Science, Technology and Innovation, known as Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar.
1. Awards will be given in 4 categories -
  1. Vigyan Ratna - Will recognize lifetime achievements & contributions made in any field of science and technology.
  2. Vigyan Shri - Will recognize distinguished contributions in any field of science and technology.
  3. Vigyan Yuva-Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award - Will recognize & encourage young scientists up 45 years age, who made exceptional contribution in any field of science and technology.
  4. Vigyan Team award to be given to a team comprising of 3 or more researchers who have made an exceptional contribution working in a team in any field of science and technology.
2. Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar shall be given in 13 domains. There will be no cash prize associated with the awards.
3. Nominations received shall be examined by a Committee, to be headed by Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to Government of India (Ajay K. Sood Currently).
4. Nominations will be invited every year on January 14, to remain open till February 28 (National Science Day). Awards shall be announced on May 11 (National Technology Day), and Award Ceremony will be held on August 23 (National Space Day).
2023 Laver Cup Tennis (Vancouver, Canada) -
1. This men's tennis tournament is held between teams from Europe and rest of world. Team World won the title (their second consecutive title).

Red Bull's Dutch-Belgian F1 Racer Max Verstappen won Japanese Grand Prix 2023.

F1 Season 2023 -

Grand Prix	Winner	Race date
Bahrain Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	5 March
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix	Sergio Pérez (Mexico)	19 March
Australian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	2 April
Azerbaijan Grand Prix	Sergio Pérez (Mexico)	30 April
Miami Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	7 May
Monaco Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	28 May
Spanish Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	4 June
Canadian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	18 June
Austrian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	2 July
British Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	9 July
Hungarian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	23 July
Belgian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	30 July
Dutch Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	27 August
Italian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	3 September
Singapore Grand Prix	Carlos Sainz Jr. (France)	17 September
Japanese Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	24 September
Qatar Grand Prix		8 October
United States Grand Prix		22 October
Mexico City Grand Prix		29 October
São Paulo Grand Prix		5 November
Las Vegas Grand Prix		18 November
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix		26 November

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inducted first Airbus C-295 medium tactical transport aircraft into Indian Air Force (IAF), at Air Force Station Ghaziabad.
1. C-295 aircraft is capable of carrying up to nine tonnes of payload or as many as 71 troops at a maximum cruise speed of 260 knots.
2. It has been received from Airbus Spain, under deal worth 21935 Crores, for procuring 56 C295 aircrafts for IAF, to replace ageing Avro-748 fleet.

2023 World Wrestling Championships (Belgrade (Serbia))-

Winners -
1. Freestyle - United States
2. Greco-Roman - Azerbaijan
3. Women - Japan

Medal Table -

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Japan	6	3	3	12
2	United States	4	3	7	14
3	Kyrgyzstan	3	1	1	5
4	Azerbaijan	2	5	0	7
5	Iran	2	3	4	9

India at the event -
1. As a result of sanctions by United World Wrestling imposed on Wrestling Federation of India for not conducting its elections on time, wrestlers from India were not permitted to participate under Indian Flag. They instead participated under the name and flag of United World Wrestling (UWW).
2. India's Antim Panghal won Bronze in Women's freestyle 53 KG, while participating under name and flag of UWW. This secured an Olympic quota for India in same weight category for Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Ducati's Italian Rider Marco Bezzecchi won 2023 Indian motorcycle Grand Prix (IndianOil GP India) held at Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh).
Sep 24, 2023 is observed as World Rivers Day, which is observed annually on last Sunday in September.
Goa approved its State Shack Policy 2023-2026, aimed at enhancing the beach experience for tourists while promoting sustainable tourism and economic opportunities for local community.
NASA's OSIRIS-REx Probe swung by Earth to deliver a sample from asteroid Bennu, carrying to Earth the largest asteroid sample ever collected. OSIRIS-REx probe's sample capsule went through a soft landing in US military’s Utah Test and Training Range.
1. About The Mission -
  1. OSIRIS-REx was launched in September 2016, and touched down on Bennu in October 2020. It then began its journey back to earth, with largest asteroid sample ever collected.
  2. NASA has now extended the Mission as OSIRIS-APEX (OSIRIS-APophis EXplorer), to study near-Earth asteroid Apophis after asteroid's close approach to Earth on April 13, 2029.
Sep 25 is Observed by India as Antyodaya Diwas, announced in 2014. It marks Birth anniversary of noted philosopher Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay.
1. On this day in 2014, Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) had revamped it’s existing skill development program called Aajeevika Skills as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY).
2. On this day in 2017, Saubhagya Scheme or Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana was launched, to provide electricity to all rural households.
3. Sep 25 is also observed as World Pharmacist Day, marked by FIP Council.
Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh) has been recognized as India's 54th (And State's 7th) tiger reserve.
1. Madhya Pradesh is home to most number of tigers in India, rising to 785 from 526 in 2018.
Goa CM Pramod Sawant launched Griha Aadhar Scheme by distributing Griha Adhar sanction orders to beneficiaries across state.
1. Under this, monthly assistance of Rs 1500 will be provided to housewives/homemakers from middle, lower middle and poor sections of society (Family income under 3 lac annually).
Health & Family Welfare Minsiter Mansukh Mandaviya launched National Policy on Research and Development and Innovation in Pharma-MedTech Sector in India and Scheme for promotion of Research and Innovation in Pharma MedTech Sector (PRIP).
1. Policy aims to encourage R&D in pharmaceuticals and medical devices, to create an ecosystem for innovation in the sector, to make India leader in drug discovery and innovative medical devices.
  1. It is also proposed to set up an Indian Council of Pharmaceuticals and Med-tech Research and Development, to promote collaboration among industry, academia and research institutions.
2. About PRIP (Promotion of Research and Innovation in Pharma MedTech Sector) -
  1. Department of Pharmaceutical proposed PRIP scheme with budget outlay of 5000 crores, to transform Indian pharmaceuticals sector from cost based to innovation-based growth by strengthening research infrastructure. It has 2 components -
    1. Component A - Strengthening research infrastructure by establishment of 7 CoEs at NIPERs, at cost 700 Crores.
    2. Component B - Promoting research in pharmaceutical sector by encouraging research in 6 priority areas, wherein financial assistance will be provided for research. The component has financial outlay of 4250 Crores.
Sep 26 is observed by UN as International Day for the total elimination of nuclear weapons.
1. Sep 26 is also observed as -
  1. World Environmental Health Day (WEHD), declared by International Federation of Environmental Health (IFEH).
  2. Foundation day of CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research), set up in 1942.
  3. Military Engineer Services Day, marking raising of MES on Sep 26, 1923.
Notably, Govt issued 50-year security for the first time, under its borrowing programme for second half (H2) of FY 2023-24.
1. Out of Gross Market borrowing of ₹15.43 lakh crore projected for FY 2023-24, govt will borrow balance amount of ₹6.55 lakh crore in second half of FY 2023-24, through dated securities, including ₹20,000 crore through issuance of Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs). Market borrowing will be spread over 3, 5, 7, 10, 14, 30, 40 and 50 years securities.
IMD World Talent Ranking 2023 -
1. Top 3 - Switzerland (1), Luxembourg (2), Iceland (3)
2. India ranked 56th (down by 4 places compared to last year).
World University Rankings 2023 by Times Higher Education -
1. Top 5 -
  1. University of Oxford (UK)
  2. Harvard University (USA)
  3. University of Cambridge (UK)
  4. Stanford University (USA)
  5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA)
2. Indian Universities in List -
  1. Indian Institute of Science (IISC) is top ranked Indian university in List (Named in range 251-300), followed by JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research & Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences (Both in 351-400).
  2. Total 101 Indian Universities have been featured in List.
Sep 27 - World Tourism Day, marked in 1970. 2023 Theme is Investing in People, Planet, and Prosperity. On this occasion -
1. Ministry of Tourism Launched Travel for LiFE, as a sectoral program under Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment), in partnership with United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Event saw launch of Travel for LiFE program for two verticals -
  1. Travel for LiFE for Cleanliness - National campaign for cleaning tourist sites and monuments in convergence with Swachhata campaign.
  2. Travel for LiFE for Rural Tourism - Encouraging tourists to explore rural and lesser-known hinterland promoting sustainable rural tourism thereby empowering rural communities.
2. George Everest Cartography Museum has been inaugurated in Mussoorie (Uttarakhand), as India's First Cartography Museum. The museum is situated in Park Estate, which used to be residence of famous surveyor George Everest, after whom Mount Everest is named.
3. Sep 27 is also Birth Anniversary of Legendary Indian Freedom Fighter Sardar Bhagat Singh (Born Sep 27, 1907).
Govt named noted actress Waheeda Rehman to be honored with Dadasaheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award for 2021, for her contribution to Indian Cinema. Award will be conferred along with National Film Awards 2021 (On Oct 17, 2023).
1. Introduced in 1969, Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in field of cinema. The recipient is awarded with Swarna Kamal, with cash prize of 10 Lakh INR.
Malayalam film 2018: Everyone is a Hero, has been selected as India's official entry for 96th Academy Awards 2024 (Oscars), in Best International Feature Film category.
India's National Medical Commission (NMC) achieved Recognition by World Federation for Medical Education (WFME), for 10 years.
1. This will entitle 706 existing medical colleges in India as WFME accredited, enhancing quality and standards of medical education in India.
Conflict-ridden Afghanistan's currency (Afghani) emerged as best performing currency globally during July-September quarter, due to large massive dollar inflow in form of humanitarian aid, and currency control measures imposed by ruling Taliban.
Sep 28 - UN International Day for Universal Access to Information (commonly called Access to Information Day), being held since 2016. Other Observations on Sep 28 -
1. Sep 28 is also observed as World Rabies Day (Diesease caused by Dog Bites).
2. Sep 28, 2023 is also observed as World Maritime Day, observed annually on Last Thursday of September. 2023 theme is MARPOL at 50 — Our commitment goes on.
  1. In India, Apr 5 is observed as National Maritime Day in India, being observed since 1964. On this day in 1919, SS Loyalty, the first ship of The Scindia Steam Navigation Company travelled from Mumbai to United Kingdom (London).
Global Innovation Index 2023 by WIPO -
1. Top 5 - Switzerland (13th year in a row), Sweden, USA, UK and Singapore.
2. India ranks 40th among 132 featured economies.
3. Neighbors - China (12), Sri Lanka (90), Pakistan (88), Bangladesh (105)
JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced to incorporate Indian government bonds (IGBs) into its benchmark Emerging Market index, paving way to bring billions of dollars in investments to India's debt market. Process of including IGBs will occur gradually over 10 months, between June 28, 2024, to March 31, 2025.
1. It was noted that there are presently 23 IGBs with collective value of $330 billion, that meet eligibility criteria for inclusion in the index.
2. Notably, US Based JPMorgan Chase & Co. is largest bank in US and world's largest bank by market capitalization.
Axis Bank launched its Transaction Banking platform NEO for Business, to cater to evolving needs of Indian Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), by creating a distinctive first Transaction Banking platform for MSMEs.
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) granted official recognition to Mithun, a semi-domesticated bovine animal, as a consumable food source. This will enable promotion of Mithun meat consumption and commercial breeding in Northeastern region.
African Nations Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger signed a mutual defence pact called Liptako-Gourma Charter.
1. It establishes Alliance of Sahel States (AES), which aims to protect against possible threats of armed rebellion or external aggression.
2. The Sahel region has been seeing an ongoing Islamic jihadist insurgency since 2003, which has led to many conflicts in the region. All three member states have had their pro-Western governments overthrown by their militaries, and each is ruled by a junta as part of the Coup Belt.
Sep 29 is observed as World Heart Day, launched in 2000 by the World Heart Federation.
1. Sep 29 is also observed as UN International Day of Awareness on Food Loss and Waste Reduction.
Govt upgraded green financing NBFC PSU Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd (IREDA) from Schedule B to Schedule A category of Central Public Sector Enterprises.
Indian Army participated in ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM) Plus Expert Working Group (EWG) on Counter Terrorism Field Training Exercise (FTX) 2023, held in Russia.
Indian & Singapore Navies participated in Singapore India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) 2023, held in Singapore.
Raghu Srinivasan has been appointed as new Director General Border Roads (DGBR), as new chief of Border Roads Organization (BRO).
Indian-origin author Chetna Maroo‘s debut novel, Western Lane has been named in final shortlist of 6 novels for Booker Prize 2023.
1. The novel tells story of an 11-year-old British Gujarati girl, and explores challenges faced by an immigrant father who endeavors to raise his family as a single parent.
2. Winner of Booker Prize 2023 will be announced in London on November 26, 2023.
As per Economic Freedom of the World report 2023 by Canadian think tank Fraser Institute -
1. Singapore became world’s freest economy, followed by Hong Kong & Switzerland. For the first time in the history of the index, Hong Kong slipped from its top position.
2. India ranked 87th.
3. Neighbors - China (111), Pakistan (123), Bangladesh (132), Sri Lanka (116).
E-commerce Firm Amazon announced to invest $4 billion in AI startup Anthropic, in an effort to boost its stake in growing generative artificial intelligence space.
Sep 30 is observed by UN as World Translation Day, to pay tribute to language professionals. The day celebrates the feast of St. Jerome, the Bible translator, who is considered the patron saint of translators.
2023 SAFF U-19 Championship Football (Kathmandu, Nepal) -
1. India won the title (their 3rd), defeating Pakistan in final.
General News / Events (Sep 21-30, 2023) -
1. 5th World Coffee Conference hosted in Bengaluru (Karnataka), by International Coffee Organisation (ICO) and Coffee Board of India. Event featured tennis player Rohan Bopanna as its brand ambassador.
2. PM Narendra Modi Laid foundation stone of project Vidya Samiksha Kendra 2.0, as successor to Vidya Samiksha Kendra, which has ensured continuous monitoring of schools and improvement in student learning outcomes in Gujarat.
3. Ministry of Tribal Affairs' National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS) launched Phase II of Amazon Future Engineer Programme in 54 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) across Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana. The second phase would also include an Advanced Block Programming and Artificial Intelligence curriculum.
4. India’s First Lighthouse Festival held at Fort Aguada Lighthouse in Panjim (Goa).
5. International Lawyers’ Conference 2023 held at Vigyan Bhawan (New Delhi), organised by Bar Council of India.
6. India acquired bid to host International Congress on the Chemistry of Cement (ICCC) at New Delhi in 2027.
7. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) organized India Smart Cities Conclave 2023 in Indore (Madhya Pradesh).
8. Indian Army and US Army co-hosted IPACC (Indo- Pacific Armies Chiefs Conference), IPAMS (Indo- Pacific Armies Management Seminar) and SELF (Senior Enlisted Leaders Forum) 2023, in New Delhi.
9. Govt launched mobile app and portal for GCES (General Crop Estimation Survey), designed to transform agricultural practices through integration of real time estimates and technology.
10. Govt renamed Udhampur Railway Station (J&K) as Martyr Capt. Tushar Mahajan Railway Station.
11. Election Commission of India partnered with Pran Comics, to issue Comic book Chacha Chaudhary aur Chunavi Dangal, to educate and motivate young voters.
12. National Health Authority (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) organized Arogya Manthan in New Delhi, to observe 5 years of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) and 2 years of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).
13. China and Syria announced formation of a strategic partnership, for co-operation in several sectors.
14. Agriculture Ministry launched AI Chatbot for Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme, aimed at enhancing efficiency and reach of PM-KISAN scheme.
15. 4th Nadi Utsav organized by National Mission on Cultural Mapping (NMCM) of IGNCA in Delhi, on banks of River Yamuna.
16. NITI Aayog Launched Unified Portal for Agricultural Statistics (UPAg Portal- www.upag.gov.in), to address complex governance challenges in agriculture sector.
17. Assam Governor Gulab Chand Kataria launched Sarpanch Samvad app, developed by Quality Council of India (QCI). It aims to provide comprehensive support to sarpanchs and foster their growth.
18. Maharashtra Govt released Official Notifications for renaming Aurangabad and Osmanabad districts as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Dharashiv respectively.
19. Nuakhai annual harvest festival has been observed across Odisha state, marking arrival of new rice season.
20. 14th World Spice Congress held in Mumbai, organized by Spices Board (Ministry of Commerce and Industry).
21. 14th Global Skills Summit held in New Delhi, with theme building skills, empowering youth, and creating a future.
Visits From India (Sep 2023) -
1. Ports, Shipping & Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal visited Russia, to attend Eastern Economic Forum held at Russian port city of Vladivostok.
  1. During the visit, India and Russia also discussed implementation of Northern Sea Route (NSR) & Eastern Maritime Corridor (EMC), to widen maritime cooperation.
    1. EMC is a proposed sea route between Chennai (India), and Vladivostok (Russia), passing through Sea of Japan, South China Sea, and Malacca Strait.
      1. It will enable Significant time reduction of upto 16 days, boost Presence in Southeast Asia & Access to Russia’s resource-rich Far East regions.
2. Minister of State for External Affairs, Rajkumar Ranjan Singh visited New Zealand & Timor-Leste.
3. External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar visited USA.
  1. Attended High Level Week at 78th Session of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
  2. Hosted special event India-UN for Global South: Delivering for Development.
    1. At the event, India and United Nations launched a joint capacity-building initiative for Global South , to share India’s development experiences, best practices and expertise with partner countries in Global South through capacity building and training programs.
  3. India, Israel, US and UAE under I2U2 group announced a new joint space venture, aimed at creating a unique space-based tool for policymakers, institutions, and entrepreneurs.
  4. G77+China Summit was held along.
    1. G77 is a coalition of 135 developing countries. There were 77 founding members of organization headquartered in Geneva, but it has since expanded to 135 member countries.
    2. G77 Chair -
      1. Pakistan - 2022
      2. Cuba - 2023
      3. Uganda - 2024
  5. Climate Ambition Summit 2023 was held along.
    1. Notably, Major economies whose actions significantly influence future of global emissions, absented from the summit. These include China, United States and India, who collectively account for 42% of global greenhouse gas emissions and are top three emitters.
  6. Notably, Dennis Francis (Trinidad and Tobago's Permanent Representative to UN) has been named President of 78th session of UN General Assembly (UNGA). He took over from Hungary's Csaba Kőrösi.
Visits to India (Sep 2023) -
1. M Nazmul Hassan, Chief of Bangladesh Navy visited India.
2. Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud, Energy Minister of Saudi Arabia India visited India. During the visit -
  1. India and Saudi Arabia signed MOU on cooperation in field of energy.

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Latest Current Affairs - September 2023

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