• National

Railways Ministry signs MoU with CII for facilitation of green initiatives

• Union Ministry of Railways signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) for facilitation of green initiatives in Indian Railways.
• The MoU would carry forward some major Green initiatives undertaken by Indian Railways as part of India’s contribution towards mitigation of global warming and combating climate change.

• International

China launches 3 satellites will help areas including disaster management and climate monitoring

• China successfully launched three satellites including a resource satellite into planned orbits which will help in disaster prevention, urban construction and monitor polar regions and global climate change.
• The resource satellite and two small satellites were launched on a Long March-4B carrier rocket at 11:26 am local time from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in north China’s Shanxi Province.

• International

Russia terminated the functioning of Fedor

• Russia has terminated the robot called Fedor which was sent to the International Space Station (ISS).
• The robot was sent to assist the astronauts on spacewalks. But Fedor could not replace astronauts on spacewalks.

• International

US briefly overtakes Saudi Arabia as world’s top oil exporter

• The US has topped as the world’s top oil exporter.
• The country defeated Saudi Arabia and Russia.
• According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), in June, the US exports of crude topped 3 million barrels per day.

• Sports

India bags 34 medals in 10th Asia Pacific Youth Games

• Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju congratulated Indian contingent for excellent performance in the 10th Asian Pacific Youth Games in Vladivostok.
• India won total 16 gold, 13 silver and 5 bronze medals in seven different sports.

• Appointments

UN appoints Indian Army veteran Abhijit Guha as head of Hodeidah mission

• Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of United Nations (UN) appointed India’s Lieutenant General (Retired) Abhijit Guha as the head of UN mission in Hodeidah, Yemen.
• Guha, who has 39 years of national and international military experience, will be succeeding Danish Lieutenant General Michael Lollesgaard, who served in these posts from 31 January to 31 July 2019.

• Important Days

14 September is being celebrated as Hindi Divas

• Hindi Divas (or Hindi day) is an annual day which is observed every year on 14 September all over India since 1953, to celebrate the popularity of Hindi as an official language of India.
• Although the Hindi Day is mostly observed by Government of India, but many private organizations and voluntary groups also celebrate the day.

• Science and Tech

Astronomers discover water vapour in atmosphere

• Astronomers have for the first time discovered water vapour in the atmosphere of a distant planet called K2-18b.
• Astronomers at the University College London used data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to make the discovery.

• Science and Tech

New Delhi Declaration to combat Drought

• At the end of Conference of Parties (COP) 14, countries party to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) adopted a series of breakthrough measures in the accord of the New Delhi Declaration.
• Features of the Delhi Declaration Along with an agreement to achieve land degradation neutrality wherein the countries pledged to halt the degradation.

• Defence

First ever arrested landing of Naval Tejas successfully executed in Goa

• The First ever arrested landing of naval variant of Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, a 4.5 generation, light weight; multirole fighter was successfully executed at the Shore Based Test Facility (SBTF), INS Hansa in Goa.
• This will pave the way for this Indigenous platform to undertake Aircraft Carrier landing demonstration on board the Indian Naval Aircraft Carrier, Vikramaditya.

• Defence

DRDO hands over second ‘Netra’ early warning system to IAF

• Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) has handed over the second ‘Netra’ Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEW&CS) system to the Indian Air Force (IAF)
• The indigenously-built aircraft was handed over to Western Air Command chief, Air Marshal RaghunathNambiar, at the Bathinda Air Base in Punjab.

• States

Haryana launched two insurance schemes

• The State government of Haryana launched 2 insurance schemes for registered small and medium traders.
• The schemes are Mukhyamantri Vyapari Samuhik Niji Durghatna Beema Yojana and Mukhyamantri Vyapari Kshatipurti Beema Yojana“.