The Daily Brief – 11th September, 2016

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• Mandi in Himachal Pradesh and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra have emerged the cleanest districts in India, according to the Gramin Swachh Survekshan. The Gramin Swachh Survekshan report was released by the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj.
• The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has launched an e-nivaran (electronic resolution) facility for online redressal of taxpayers’ grievances. The grievances can be related to refunds, Income Tax Returns (ITRs), Tax Deducted at Source (TDS), and Permanent Account Number (PAN) among others.
• The Union Government has launched a new program called National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI). The initiative aims at nurturing ideas and innovation into successful start ups.
• Haryana has won ‘Best Horticulture State’ award of the Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA). The award was bestowed upon the state for its concerted efforts made to increase the income of the farmers in horticulture.
• The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) nominated the two-time Olympic-medallist wrestler Sushil Kumar for the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian honour. Sushil is the only Indian athlete to have won two individual Olympic medals — a bronze in the 2008 Beijing Games and a silver in the 2012 London Games.
• India’s mixed doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy won the 2016 Brazil Open Grand Prix. It was their maiden Grand Prix title.
• Abhinav Bindra, India’s lone individual Olympic gold medallist, has officially announced his retirement from shooting.

• Mariyappan Thangavelu has won India’s first gold medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. He won the gold medal in the Men’s High Jump event, with a jump of 1.89 metres. In addition, India’s Varun Singh Bhati won the bronze medal in the same event with the jump of 1.86 metres.
• Stan Wawrinka has defeated Novak Djokovic to win the US Open Men’s Finals. 
• U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have reached a breakthrough deal regarding the situation in Syria, and in their efforts to push an end to the war. USA and Russia will also enter into a military partnership to target the Islamic State.
• Tens of thousands of Catalans are expected to protest in Barcelona so as to demand their own country, Catalonia, and break away from Spain.
• China’s high-speed railway has completed over 20,000 kms of track network in the country, becoming the world’s longest bullet train network.

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