January 2017

AGNI IV NUCLEAR CAPABLE MISSILE TESTED SUCCESSFULLY

At the very beginning of the year, on 2nd January 2017 Agni IV nuclear capable ballistic missile was tested successfully from Dr. Abdul Kalam Island (formerly known as Wheeler Island). Agni IV is surface to surface missile that can travel up to 400 kilometers. It is 20 meters tall and 17 tons in weight. According to Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO);” The Sophisticated surface to surface missile is equipped with modern and compact avionics to provide high level of reliability. Earlier Agni IV had been launched five times in 2011, 2012 twice in 2014 and once in 2015 and all five attempts were successful. This was the sixth trial of Agni IV missile. This news was one of the major news in the month of January 2017.

February 2017

ISRO CREATES HISTORY AFTER LAUNCHING 104 SATELLITES

On 15th February 2017 ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) creates history after launching 104 satellites in one single go. In its thirty ninth flights PSLV – C37 ISRO’s Polar Satellite launch vehicle successfully launched the 714 kg Cartosat – 2 series satellite from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. Out of 104 satellites 101 satellites belonged to six foreign countries like 96 from United States, 1 from Netherlands, 1 from Switzerland, 1 from Israel, 1 from Kazakhstan and 1 from UAE. Earlier Russian Space Agency held this record of launching 37 satellites in one go. This major news creates history and make every Indian proud.

March 2017

INS VIRAAT DECOMMISSIONED

On 6th March 2017, INS Viraat decommissioned. INS Viraat was world’s oldest aircraft carrier and it was serving Indian Navy for last three decades. It was known as Grand Old Lady. INS Viraat was originally commissioned by British Navy. India acquired it in 1986 for $465 million and renamed it INS Viraat. It played a major role in 1989’s operation Pawan in Sri Lanka and in the operation Parakram standoff with Pakistan in 2001-02. INS Viraat spends seven years at sea and covered the Globe 27 times and sailed about 11 lakh kilometers. This farewell of the Grand Old lady was one of the major news in the month of March 2017.

April 2017

9.2 KILOMETERS CHENANI – NASHRI TUNNEL INAUGRATION

Inaugurations of 9.2 kilometers Chenani – Nashri Tunnel was the main major news for the month of April. On 2nd April 2017, Prime Minister Narender Modi inaugurated India’s longest road tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir district of India. This tunnel connects Chenani in Udhampur district and Nashri in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir. Chenani Nashri Tunnel is also known as Patnitop tunnel. This tunnel is India’s first fully integrated tunnel control system. This tunnel reduces the distance between Jammu and Srinagar by 30 kms and travel time by 2 hours. Earlier this route was disturbed by landslides and avalanches during winter season due to heavy snowfall.

May 2017

MUMBAI INDIANS LIFT INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE TROPHY

Major news for the month of May month belongs to Cricket fans of India.  On 22nd May 2017, Mumbai Indians lift Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy by beating Rising Pune Supergiant in the final. Mumbai Indians were crowned as Champions for third times. The celebrations were kicked off when Mumbai Indians wins by just 1 run at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium at Hyderabad. Krunal Pandya was declared player of the match for his 47 valuable runs in just 38 balls to stretched Mumbai Indians to the total of 129 runs target. Ben Strokes gets the most Valuable player of the season awards, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar gets the purple cap for his 26 wickets in blowing and David Warner gets orange cap for scoring 641 runs in the tournament. Glenn Maxwell wins the award for hitting maximum sixes and Basil Thampi gets emerging player of the season award.

June 2017

INDIA BECOME FULL MEMBER OF SHANGHAI COOPERATIVE ORGANISATION

On 9th June 2017, India and Pakistan become full members of Shanghai Cooperative Organization. Shanghai Cooperative Organization is a Eurasian, Political, Economic and Security organization which was announced in 2001 in Shanghai, China by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and come into operation in 2003. The main goal of the SCO (Shanghai Cooperative Organization) is to strengthening mutual confidence and good neighborly relations among the member countries. India’s membership was strongly pushed by Russia while China supported Pakistan. With SCO membership it is expected that India will deal and resolve issue related terrorism with neighboring countries. Entry to the organization was the major news for the month of June 2017.

July 2017

GOODS AND SERVICES TAX COMES INTO OPERATIONS

From 1st July 2017 onwards Goods and Services Tax (GST) was implemented on Indian Tax System. GST replaces 17 indirect taxes and makes taxing easier. GST is considered as one of the biggest tax reforms in Indian History and this news was among the major news in 2017. Motto of Government is One Nation, One Market and One Tax. This is the important step towards the policy of Government. GST will be applicable in all goods and services. All items and services are included in GST except alcohol, tobacco and petroleum products. It is said that after GST tax collection will increase and as a result economy will boost. There is no GST on daily essential products like food grains and vegetables and high taxes on luxury items and services. But still GST is in its initial stage and has to cover long distance.

August 2017

GURMEEET RAM RAHIM SINGH ARRESTED

On 25th August Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh which was convicted in rape case leads to violence by Dera Sacha Sauda’s followers in Punjab and Haryana and around 38 people died and more than 300 followers injured. Dera Sacha Sauda is a religious group which was established in 1948 by Mastana Balochistani. Gurmeet Ram Rahim was head of this social group since 1990. On 28th August Central Bureau of Investigation special court sentenced Gurmeet Ram Rahim 20 year’s jail in verdict of rape case. Gurmeet Ram RAhim had also illicit relations with adopted daughter Honeypreet.

September 2017

BULLET TRAIN PROJECT IN INDIA

On 14th September 2017 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Prime Minister Narendra Modi lay the foundation stone of the much ambitious Mumbai – Ahmadabad high speed rail project. Total cost of the project is Rs 1.08 lakh crore (USD 17 billion). This rail project will cover 508 km with average speed of 320 km per hours with maximum speed of 350 km per hours. 92 percent of the route will be elevated, 6 percent will go through tunnels and only 2 percent will be on ground. Total distance will be covered in 2 hours and 7 minutes if it stops on major stations like Ahmadabad, Vadodaara, Suart and Mumbai. It is assumed that this project will be completed in 2022. India’s first bullet trail will be based on Japan’s Shinkansen network.