1. WTO rules against India on the US solar power programme
(i) The World Trade Organisation (WTO) in August 2015, ruled against India over the dispute India had with the United States over its solar power programme.
(ii) As per the panel, India violated global trade rules by imposing local content requirements for solar cells and solar modules.
(iii) An unnamed official from the Ministry of Commerce Ministry said that India will appeal the decision.
2. India to develop the Chabahar port in Iran
(i) India has agreed to to lease and develop the strategically important Chabahar port in Iran post the talks between Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif’s and the Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari.
(ii) This move is set to enhance India’s presence in Chabahar and offset Chinese presence in that Pakistani port of Gwadar as a multi- purpose cargo and container terminal is to be developed at the port as per reports.
(iii) Under the Memorandum of Understanding, Chabahar port will be used to ship crude oil and urea, greatly reducing transportation costs for importing these two commodities. The port is to be developed via a special purpose vehicle, which will be owned by the two sides with an investment of around $85 million.
3. ASI excavates one of the biggest human habitations dating back to Sangam Age
(i) The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), in a small hamlet near Madhurai, Tamil Nadu uncovered and excavated one of the “biggest human habitations of Sangam Age known so far.”
(ii) The excavation for the project at Keezhadi began in February 2015 and has been a great success till date. Historians are speculating that it could belong to the Pandya era of the Sangam Age.
(iii) The report quoted, “Through comparative dating, we place this site to be belonging to the 3rd Century B.C., which is over 2,500 years ago. However, the exact age can be arrived at only after carbon dating.”
4. Telangana seeks share of Krishna river waters
(i) The newly formed Telangana state, led by Justice Dipak Misra, said previous dispute proceedings and orders of the Krishna Water Tribunals should be set aside in the light of the bifurcation of the State of Andhra Pradesh and formation of the new State of Telangana.
(ii) As per reports, Telangana sought the issuance of a mandamus to Union government to notify the setting up of a fresh tribunal under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act of 1956 to decide the issue the sharing of the river water among the four neighbouring States of Maharashtra, Karnataka, AP and Telangana.
(iii) The bench is to hear the matter in September 2015, but previously the supreme court likened the plight of Telangana to that of an “unborn child” whose interests were not represented before the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal – II.
5. NASA researchers confirm presence of Neon gas in Moon’s atmosphere
(i) Researchers of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre in Greenbelt, Maryland and the University of Maryland, confirmed the presence of neon gas in the Moon’s thin atmosphere for the first time.
(ii) The lead author of a paper describing observations from Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE)’s Neutral Mass Spectrometer (NMS) instrument published in Geophysical Research said, ” We were very pleased to not only finally confirm its presence, but to show that it is relatively abundant.”
6. Steven Smith ranks first in the ICC’s Tests batsmen ranking 2015
(i) The Australian batsman Steven Smith regained the number one spot in the ICC’s test batsmen ranking.
(ii) Steven Smith, held this title ahead of South Africa’s A B de Villiers and Joe Root of England. He regained his spot after a strong performance at the fifth Ashes test which concluded in August.
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