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President Ram Nath Kovind has launched a nationwide campaign ‘Swacchata Hi Sewa’ from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh on September 15, 2017. He will administer nation-wide Swachhta Hi Seva pledge initiating parallel action in all the two lakh 50 thousand plus Gram Panchayats and cities in India. Eminent personalities, community organizations and private sector organizations will undertakes shramdaan activities. The fortnight long campaign will conclude on 2nd of October, Gandhi Jayanti. The purpose of the campaign is to mobilize people and reinforce the public movement for sanitation to contribute to Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of a Clean India.

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Shripad Yesso Naik, the Union Minister of State for AYUSH, has inaugurated the India’s first State of art virology laboratory at Dr Anjali Chatterjee Regional Research Institute for Homoeopathy in Kolkata, West Bengal. The laboratory, established at a cost of Rs. 8 crore is the only one in India for conducting basic and fundamental research in Homoeopathy for viral diseases like influenza, Japanese encephalitis, dengue, chikungunya and H1N1 (swine flu). The laboratory will also be used to create new drugs and technologies in treating these viral diseases.

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The Karnataka government has recently approved ‘Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy 2017’ to help the state become a hub for production of alternative fuel vehicles, reduce dependency on fossil fuels, bring down pollution levels and push the ‘Make In Karnataka’ initiative. The new policy aims to attract investments worth Rs 31,000 crore and create around 55,000 employment opportunities. With this, Karnataka has become the first Indian State to approve e-vehicle policy.

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The Shiretoko National Park (SNP) is located at the northeastern tip of the island of Hokkaido in Japan and covers an area of 386.33 square kilometers. The park is best known as the home of Japan’s largest brown bear population and for offering views of Kunashiri Island, ownership of which Japan and Russia dispute.

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India has been ranked 103rd out of 130 nations at the 2017 Global Human Capital Index (GHCI). The list compiled by Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF) takes into account ‘the knowledge and skills people possess that enable them to create value in the global economic system” to measure the ‘human capital’ rank of a country. The list is topped by Norway, Finland, Switzerland and United States. The report measures 130 countries against four key areas of human capital development; Capacity (determined by past investment in formal education), Deployment (accumulation of skills through work), Development (continued upskilling and reskilling of existing workers) and Know-how (specialised skills-use at work).

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The International Day of Democracy is observed every year on September 15 to provide an opportunity to review the state of democracy in the world. The 2017 theme “Democracy and Conflict prevention” focuses on the critical need to strengthen democratic institutions to promote peace and stability.

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The National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI) has signed MoU with Ludhiana based Bonn Food Industries to promote coloured wheat with antioxidant qualities beneficial for control of diabetes, cholesterol and obesity. It has been developed by routine way of plant breeding by crossing high yielding Indian cultivars PBW550, PBW621, HD2967 with colored wheat procured from Japan and America, which is as rich in anthocynanins as blueberries and high in zinc. Anthocyanins can act as antioxidants that remove free radicals from the body and help in prevention of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, inflammation, cancer, obesity and aging. Anthocyanin rich colored wheat developed at NABI also has enhanced Zinc content-one of the most deficient micro-nutrients in the developing countries. The NABI is an autonomous body of Ministry of Science and Technology.

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Vikram Sakhuja, group CEO of Madison Media & OOH at Madison World, has been elected as the new president of The Advertising Club. Sakhuja will take over from Raj Nayak, who led the Advertising Club for two consecutive terms. The club is a dynamic platform for professionals from the Advertising, Marketing, Media, Research and Communication fraternity to gain from each other’s expertise.

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The Telangana government has launched a comprehensive land survey for rectification of land records in the state on September 15, 2017. The survey, first of its kind in the country, is aimed at rectifying and updating the land records in all 10,733 revenues villages across the state. Total 1346 teams of officials will take part in the survey which will continue till this year end. Under this programme, teams of revenue and agricultural officers will stay in villages for 10 days, conduct gram sabhas and verify the land records in the presence of farmers. The rectified records will be displayed at village panchayat office and will also be digitized and uploaded online. After completion of the survey, the farmer will be given an Electronic Title Deed Pattadar Passbook which will be farmer proof.

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The first-ever National Ayurveda Youth Festival (NAYF) has started in Jaipur, Rajasthan on September 14, 2017. Approx 3000 youth Ayurveda students and doctors from across the country are participating in the 3-day fest, which is organized by the joint auspices of the National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA) Jaipur and National Ayurveda and Youth Association (NAYA), an affiliate of Vigyan Bharati. In it, Jaipur’s National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA) has entered the Guinness Book for ‘Most people receiving Nasya Panch Kararma simultaneously’. It was a unique record and its purpose was to attract youth towards Ayurveda.