1. Two Indian Coast Guard ships Apoorva & C-421 commissioned
i. Indian Coast Guard has commissioned two new ships named Fast Patrol Vessel ICGS Apoorva and Interceptor Boat C-421.
ii. The ships were commissioned by Vice Admiral SPS Cheema, Flag Officer Commanding in Chief of Western Naval Command (Mumbai) off the naval dockyard in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
iii. Fast Patrol Vessel ICGS Apoorva is the 14th fast patrol vessel in a series of 20. It is 50-metre long and can achieve a top speed of 33 knots and displaces 317 tonnes.
iv. The ship Apoorva synonyms with Unparalleled in English will be based at Goa. It is equipped with state-of-the-art advanced communication, navigational and weapons.
v. Interceptor Boat C-421 is 27th in the series of interceptor boats of Indian Coast Guard. It had been designed and constructed by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Limited. It is water jet propelled vessel and can achieve a maximum speed of 45 Knots. It is designed for close coast and shallow water operations and equipped with medium range armaments.
2. Cow declared as National Animal of Nepal
i. Cow was on 20 September 2015 declared as the National Animal of Nepal as per the new secular constitution of Nepal unveiled by Nepalese President Ram Baran Yadav at a special ceremony held in Parliament at Kathmandu.
ii. Cow is considered as a sacred animal to Hindus and as Nepal is a Hindu country, therefore the Nepal's government have made cow the national animal. With this, the animal has constitutional protection and cow slaughter has also been banned.
iii. Nepal on 20 September 2015 adopted its first democratically-framed constitution with the promulgation of the charter by the president Ram Baran Yadav. The constitution was conceptualized, developed and adopted by a representative Constituent Assembly.
3. Urdu scholar Shamim Hanfi awarded with Jnangarima Manad Alankaran award
i. Renowned Urdu scholar Shamim Hanfi was on 20 September 2015 honoured with the Jnangarima Manad Alankaran by Bharatiya Jnanpith in New Delhi.
ii. The award was declared at the annual Kavita Samay, an evening of poetry recitation by authors in Hindi and Urdu. The scholar is best known for his books on criticism like, Ghazal Ka Naya Manzarnama, Jadidiyat ki Falsafiyani Asas and Infiradi Shaoor aur Ijtemai Zindagi.
iii. Hanfi was born on 17 November 1938 in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Later, he moved to Allahabad for higher studies. The eminent scholar has also been a freelance contributor for various Hindi and Urdu newspapers and periodicals.
iv. Bharatiya Jnanpith instituted the Jnangarima Manad Alankaran award in 2015 to commemorate 70 years of the institution. The award identifies the contribution of writers in Indian languages. A Saraswati statue, a silver citation and a shawl is given to the recipient of this literary honor.
4. Bharat Dynamics ties up with ECIL
i. Two public sector units have joined hands to develop missile electronics and weapon support systems for major defence projects.
ii. Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL), an unit under the Ministry of Defence, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL), under the Department of Atomic Energy, to work together.
iii. The tie-up will enable both the organisations to tap business opportunities in the area of missiles and underwater weapon systems for upcoming defence programmes.
iv. The MoU was inked between V Udaya Bhaskar, Chairman and Managing Director, BDL, and P Sudhakar, Chairman and Managing Director, ECIL.
5. Vikram Pawah appointed as Managing Director of Harley Davidson's India operations
i. Vikram Pawah was on 21 September 2015 appointed as the Managing Director of India operations of US cult bike maker Harley Davidson with immediate effect. Pawah succeeded Anoop Prakash, who was appointed as the Managing Director of Harley Davidson Canada.
ii. Pawah will manage Harley Davidson India’s leadership team responsible for in-country sales, dealer network management, marketing, service and operations activities to expand the company’s presence in the country.
iii. Pawah has more than 24 years of experience in the auto industry, out of which he spent 21 years with Honda in India and Australia. His most recent role was as Assistant Vice President and Operating Head - Sales with Honda Cars India Ltd.
iv. Prior to serving Honda, he worked with Jay Engineering Works Ltd, a market leader in the manufacturing of USHA brand fans, sewing machines and fuel injection equipment.
6. Indian Wushu team won 12 medals at Pars International Cup in Tehran
i. The Indian Wushu team secured 12 medals comprising of one gold, four silver and seven bronze medals at the Fifth International Pars Wushu Cup held in Tehran. The event was held from 19 September to 20 September 2015.
ii. India’s L. Budhachandra Singh won the gold medal after defeating Masod Ansari of Iran in the final of the 56 kg category on the last day of the tournament. On the other hand, Mukesh Choudhary and Rajani Deori fetched silvers for the country.
iii. The Indian team won two silver and three bronze medals in the previous edition held at Zenjan, Iran.
iv. Wushu, traditional Chinese sports, is an exhibition and a full-contact sport. It is derived from traditional Chinese martial arts. At present, wushu has become an international sport through the International Wushu Federation (IWUF). The federation organizes the World Wushu Championships every two years.