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The Indian Air Force has successfully carried out the first-ever mid-air refuelling of the indigenously build fighter aircraft Tejas MK 1 with an IL-78 MKI tanker of the 78 Sqn. The feat was achieved when 1,900 kg of fuel was transferred from the mid-air refuelling Russian-built tanker IL78 to the Tejas LSP8 at an altitude of 20,000 feet. The tanker aircraft was launched from Agra, while the fighter was launched from Gwalior. The specially modified Tejas aircraft carried out a series of test profiles including a ‘Dry Contact’ with the tanker. The IAF IL78, piloted by Wing Commander Siddarth Singh, accomplished the task with designers from HAL and Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) closely monitoring system parameters from the ground station at Gwalior. With this first trial, the aircraft gets much closer to the important battle-ready tag, called the FOC or the final operational clearance. Beside this, India has also joined an elite group of countries having air-to-air refuelling capacity for military planes.

Notes:
Software major Infosys has recently signed a 3-year partnership with the Australian Open as its official digital innovation partner. The partnership is about creating new ways of experiencing the Australian Open. As per agreement, Infosys will leverage its expertise in emerging technologies like Big Data and Analytics, Artificial Intelligence as well as Virtual and Augmented Reality, to provide unique, innovative and engaging experiences for fans. However, the financial details of the deal were, not disclosed. Tennis Australia is the governing body of tennis in Australia, promoting and facilitating participation the sport at all levels, as well as conducting national and international tournaments and events.

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The Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru is set to become the first airport in Asia to use face recognition as the boarding procedure for passengers to board flights and move across different sections of the airport. For this, the agreement was signed between Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) & Portuguese software firm ‘Vision-Box’ in Lisbon to launch paperless biometric self-boarding technology. The first implementation milestone at Kempegowda will be completed in the first quarter of 2019, with Jet Airways, Air Asia and SpiceJet passengers as first users. The goal of the programme is to simplify the journey by making it paperless from registration to boarding. Biometric technology will identify passengers by their face as they move across the airport. The technology will avoid stops and the repeated presentation of boarding passes, passports or other physical identity documents.

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On September 11, the Haryana government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to set up an ethanol plant in Panipat with an outlay of over Rs 900 crore. The initiative at village Bohali with a proposed capacity of 100 kilolitres of ethanol per day will manage crop residue and prevent straw burning before the upcoming paddy season. The state Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare department will motivate the farmers in the 50 km radius of the plant to provide crop residue or feedstock on regular basis as raw material. The pact will be valid for one year.

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The World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) is observed every year on September 10 to provide worldwide commitment and action to prevent suicides. It is estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO) that over 800,000 people die by suicide each year across the world – that means one person every 40 seconds. Thus, the day aims to open up the conversations and help those in the darkness. The 2018 theme “Working Together to Prevent Suicide” highlights the most essential ingredient for effective global suicide prevention- collaboration.

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The first-ever joint military exercise of BIMSTEC, named MILEX-18, has started at Aundh Military Station in Pune from September 10 to enhance cooperation in dealing with the challenge of terrorism in the region. The aim of the week-long anti-terror exercise is to boost inter-operability among the forces and exchanging best practices to contain terror related activities. The exercise will include training in search-and-cordon operations and handling and neutralisation of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) among other things. The militaries of BIMSTEC member nations barring Nepal are participating in the exercise. The BIMSTEC is a regional grouping comprising Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal. The grouping accounts for 22% of the global population & has a combined gross domestic product of USD 2.8 trillion.

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The Rajasthan government has decided to hold convention on preserving heritage properties & promoting heritage tourism in Bharatpur on September 13-14, 2018. Organised by the Indian Heritage Hotels Association (IHHA), the convention on ‘Revitalising India as a Heritage Destination’ will witness national and international experts speak on preservation of heritage buildings, museums and promoting lesser-known destinations. The convention will strive to preserve heritage properties from decay while promoting heritage tourism in the in-bound tourism market. It will also bring to the forefront ‘battlefield tourism’, which aims to recreate the grand battles of Rajasthan. Similarly, role of next generation heritage owners and spousal participation in property management will also be discussed.

Notes:
The 2018 Global Summit on Climate Action will be held at San Francisco in California, United States from September 12 to 14, 2018. The summit is a platform that brings together several decision makers and officials, as well as people, from around the world to discuss proposals for future action on climate change. It will serve as a starting point for broader and more effective global commitments, to reduce the impacts of climate change and achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement. It will also promote climate action in five key areas: Healthy Energy Systems, Inclusive Economic Growth, Sustainable Communities, Land and Ocean Stewardship and Transformative Climate Investments. The Summit will culminate in a call to action to nations to step up their ambition under the Paris Agreement, and cut emissions on a science-based trajectory that limits warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius.

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India and France have signed an implementation agreement on Mobilise Your City (MYC) programme in New Delhi on September 7. The aim of MYC is to support three pilot cities – Nagpur, Kochi and Ahmedabad – in their efforts to reduce their Green House Gas (GHG) emissions related to urban transport by implementing urban mobility plans at local level and to help India at national level to improve their sustainable transport policy. The MYC is part of an international initiative which is supported by the French and the German Governments and was launched at 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) meeting in December 2015. The details of the project activities will be worked out by AFD in consultation with Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and the three partner cities including institutions such as the respective Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) for Smart Cities, the Municipal Corporations and any transport authority or transport related SPV.

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At the first-ever Women in Film and Television (WIFT-2018) India Award, Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been honoured with the Meryl Streep Award for Excellence in Washington, United States. The award was established to honour the best female talent in Bollywood and Hollywood. WIFT India is part of WIFT International, a network which promotes professional development and achievement for women in the film industry, video, and other screen-based media.