1. Aqeela Asifi gets the Nansen Refugee Award
(i)
The
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) awarded the 2015 Nansen
Refugee Award to Aqeela Asifi, an Afghan refugee teacher, in recognition of her
dedication to educate young Afghan refugee girls in Kot Chandana village in
Mianwali, Pakistan.
(ii)
Asifi,
49, came to Pakistan from Kabul in 1992, and has steered a thousand refugee girls
through primary education.
(iii)
UNHCR’s Nansen Refugee Award commends
extraordinary service to the forcibly displaced.
2. RBI gives in-principle licence to 10 small finance bank applicants
(i) The Reserve Bank of India gave in-principle small finance bank (SFB) licences to 10 entities.
(ii) A total of 72 applicants had put in for an SFB licence. The chosen entities have 18 months to fulfill all the requirements and guidelines as laid down by the central bank. Ujjivan Financial Services Pvt. Ltd, Janalakshmi Financial Services Pvt. Ltd and Equitas Holdings Ltd, are a few of the shortlisted licencees.
(iii)
The main aim of SFBs would be to offer basic
banking services to the unbanked and underbanked including small and marginal
farmers, micro and small industries, among others.
(iv) DHFL, SSK Microfinance, Share Microfin Limited, among others lost out on the SFB licence.
3. Krishna and Godavari rivers interlinked in Andhra Pradesh
(i)
On September 16, in a momentous step in the
mission to interlink rivers, Godavari and Krishna rivers were formally
connected in Andhra Pradesh.
(ii)
Chief Minister of the state N Chandrababu Naidu
inaugurated a pylon at Ibrahimpatnam where Godavari’s water, flowing from
the neighbouring West Godavari district, was linked to Krishna.
(iii)
This step would not only help farmers in Krishna
delta and Guntur region (which suffers from acute shortage) but also enable
generation of power.
4. Union Government launches Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY)
(i) In order to ensure the welfare of people affected by mining projects and related operations, the Union government launched the Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) scheme on September 17.
(ii)
This programme will use funds generated by the
District Mineral Foundations (DMFs) to implement various welfare schemes in
mining-affected areas.
(iii) One of the main objectives is to minimise the adverse impacts, during and after mining, on the environment, health and socio-economics of people in mining districts.
5. International Day of Democracy observed
(i)
The International
Day of Democracy is annually observed on September 15. This year’s theme-Space
for Civil Society-highlights the important role of the civil society to achieve
progress. It stresses the fact that space is shrinking for civil society
organisations and activists as some governments have restricted the operations of
NGOs by limiting their funding.
(ii)
The UN General Assembly drafted a resolution in
2007 encouraging governments to strengthen national programmes aimed at
promoting and consolidating democracy.
6. Salam Rushdie’s book Two Years Eight Months and Twenty Eight Nights released
(i) British-Indian novelist Salman Rushdie released his book titled Two Years Eight Months and Twenty Eight Nights.
(ii) The fiction novel is a reference to the collection of folk tales known as the Arabian Nights. The author combines history, mythology and a timeless love story to paint a picture of a world that has been plunged into an age of unreason.
7. India ranks 22nd in the Asian football technical rankings
(i)
Of all the 46 member countries of
the Asian Football Confederation, India has been ranked 22nd as per the new
technical ranking system. However, India is highest among the South Asian nations.
(ii) In this system, points are given based on the performance of a country’s national team and clubs (at AFC competitions) in the last four years.
(iii) South Korea leads the technical rankings list with 88.354 points followed by Saudi Arabia (84.666), Iran (79.435), Japan (71.191), UAE (68.261), Australia (65.395), China (61.229), Qatar (56.280), Uzbekistan (52.334) and Kuwait (43.635).
8. 2022 Asian Games to be hosted in Hangzhou
(i) On September 16, the Olympic Council of Asia signed a contract with officials from China’s Hangzhou city to host the 2022 Asian Games.
(ii) The year 2022 is expected to be a major sporting year for China with Beijing hosting the Winter Olympics in addition to the Asian Games.
(iii) The next Asian Games would be held in Indonesia in 2018, though initially Vietnam was to hold the games but withdrew citing financial reasons.
9. Manpreet Kaur shatters 18-year-old national record
(i) The 25-year-old, Patiala-based Indian shot putter Manpreet Kaur became the latest Indian athlete to qualify for next year’s Olympics when she shattered an 18-year-old national record by her throw of 17.96 metres.
(ii) With this performance Manpreet also broke her previous best record of 16.39 that she achieved at last year’s Delhi National Open.
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