Notes:
Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar has been appointed as brand ambassador of the Swachh Bharat Mission for Uttarakhand. Earlier, Akshay Kumar was also appointed as the brand ambassador for cleanliness drive by the Uttar Pradesh Government and his film ‘Toilet: Ek Prem Katha’ was interest-free in the state. The film focuses on importance of building toilets and ending open defecation in the country.

Notes:
India’s first indigenously built Scorpene submarine “ INS Kalvari” has been delivered to the Indian Navy at the Mazagon Dock Ltd shipyard and will soon be commissioned. Kalvari is named after the dreaded Tiger Shark, a deadly deep sea predator of the Indian Ocean. It can carry 18 torpedoes and travel 1,020km underwater. The 66-metre submarine can dive up to a depth of 300 metres to elude enemy detection. It has superior stealth and the ability to launch crippling attacks on the enemy with precision-guided weapons. The attack can be carried out with torpedoes as well as tube-launched anti-ship missiles underwater or from the surface. This Scorpene submarine is designed to operate in all theatres of war, including the tropics. Kalvari is capable of handling various missions such as anti-surface warfare (attacking surface ships), anti-submarine warfare (destroying submarines), intelligence gathering, mine-laying and area surveillance.

Notes:
Indian wrestler Bajrang has won gold in the men’s freestyle 65kg by defeating Daichi Takatani of Japan iIn Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games at Ashgabat in Turkmenistan. With this, Indians added four medals including a gold on the 9th day of the games at Ashgabat in Turkmenistan on September 24, 2017. Two women wrestlers Sheetal Tomar and Navjot Kaur also grabbed a bronze each. Krishnan Sasikiran won the third bronze in men’s standard individual chess. Now, India stands at 12th place in the medals tally with 6 gold, 7 silver and 11 bronze.

Notes:
Shashi Shanker has been appointed Chairman and Managing Director of India’s biggest oil and gas producer, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) till March 31, 2021. Currently, he is director (Technical and Field Services) at ONGC and will take over the charge as CMD from October 1.He will succeed Dinesh K Sarraf, who retires on September 30.

Notes:
On the occasion of World Tourism Day (WTD-2017), Madhya Pradesh bagged total 10 National Tourism Awards at a function in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on September 28, 2017. The state won ‘Best Tourism State’ national award for the 3rd consecutive year, besides the Most Innovative Tourist Product award for ‘Hanuwantia Jal Mahotsav’ and Best State for Adventure Tourism. The Hindi brochure published by Madhya Pradesh Tourism in Simhastha-2016 won the national award for Excellence in Publishing in Hindi. The Best Wildlife Guide national award was bagged by Saib Khan of Pachmarhi. Madhya Pradesh also received a national award for Film Promotion Policy in the category of Best Film Promotion Friendly State/Union Territory. While Chanderi was adjudged as the Best Heritage City, the Best Tourist-Friendly Railway Station award was given to Ujjain Railway Station. The Best Civic Management of a Tourist Destination of India award was given to Khargone.

Notes:
India has been ranked the 40th out of 137 countries at the 2017 Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), which is compiled by the World Economic Forum (WEF). According to the Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) 2017-2018, India’s performance improved in Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) indicators, particularly Internet bandwidth per user, mobile phone and broadband subscriptions, and Internet access in schools. The list is topped by Switzerland, followed by United States, Singapore, Netherlands and Germany. The GCI is prepared on the basis of country-level data covering 12 categories or pillars of competitiveness viz. Institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health and primary education, higher education and training, etc.

Notes:
The 3rd India International Science Festival (IISF-2017) will be held in Chennai, Tamil Nadu from October 13-16. The festival is being organised by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST).Top scientists from the government are expected to participate in the four-day festival at IIT-Chennai.The event will be jointly inaugurated by science and technology ministers of Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Portugal.

Notes:
Padma Shri awardee Tom Alter (67), who was veteran actor and theatre personality, has passed away in Mumbai on September 29, 2017. The Indian actor of American descent, Tom Alter made his big screen debut in 1976 with a small role in Dharmendra-starrer Charas and later went on to work in films like Shatranj Ke Khiladi, Gandhi, Kranti, Bose: The Forgotten Hero and Veer Zara. But it was his sitcom Zabaan Sambhalke (1993-1997) that made him a household name. Born in Mussoorie in 1950, Alter was a third-generation American in India who studied at Woodstock School in the Himalayas and then briefly at Yale University in the USA, before returning to India in the early 70s.

Notes:
The Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary (DWS) is located in Baragarh district, Odisha and covers an area of 346.91 square kilometers. This sanctuary is not only famous for the sylvan beauty with magnificent waterfalls but is also very rich in wildlife. The dry deciduous forests with varied flora and fauna attract the tourists of Odisha and neighbouring states. It is home to Indian leopard, Indian elephant, sambar, chital, gaur, etc.

Notes:
Makhan Lal Fotedar (85), a veteran Congress leader, has passed away in Gurugram, Haryana on September 28, 2017. Hailing from Kashmir, Fotedar was ushered into politics by Jawaharlal Nehru in early 1950s and he gradually strengthened his position in the Congress to become one of the most powerful persons in the party. He enjoyed immense trust of Indira Gandhi who had made him her political secretary in 1980. After her death, Rajiv Gandhi also made him his political secretary for three years, before inducting him in his Cabinet as a minister. Fotedar also was a member of the powerful Congress Working Committee (CW), the highest decision-making body of the party, for a long time. Even now, he was a permanent invitee to the CWC. He was also a leader of the Kashmiri Pandits.