Assam, Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh are the most malnourished states in India

NATIONAL NEWS

Hyderabad Karnataka is Kalyana Karnataka now

• After completing the official procedure for renaming Hyderabad Karnataka region comprising six north-eastern districts of the State — Bidar, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal and Ballari — as Kalyana Karnataka, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa made the official proclamation at a public meeting at the Nutan Vidyalaya Ground.
• The proclamation was followed by announcements of several development initiatives by the Chief Minister as a gesture of his commitment to developing the region.

5th International Ramayan Festival organized in New Delhi

• The 5th International Ramayan Festival organized by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) is being held from 17-19 September 2019 in New Delhi.
• The maiden day of festival was presided by Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah as Chief Guest.
• The year 2019 is 5th edition of International Ramayan Festival. The festival is being organized for 5th year in row, during which 17 countries have participated with their artists and rendered their versions of Ramayan.
• The ICCR was established with the vision of propagating Indian culture and its values to the whole world and organizing Ramayan festival is one way to realize this vision.

Delhi Police's 'Tatpar' app launched to facilitate delivery of citizen-centric services

• Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal launched 'Tatpar' app, developed by the Delhi Police, which is a one-stop destination for access to over 50 citizen-centric services.
• The app amalgamates all the websites and mobile applications of Delhi Police, and over 50 services which can now be accessed with a single touch in the app.
• Through the app, citizens can navigate to their nearest police station, traffic pit and prepaid taxi booth.
•  On a single touch, the user will be provided with the directions as well as the complete contact details of the concerned Station House Officer (SHO) of a police station.

India Post expands speed post service to six new foreign countries

• India expanded speed post service to six new foreign destinations in Asia, Europe and South America.
• The Department of Posts has announced commencing of International Speed Post (EMS) Service to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Ecuador, Kazakhstan, Lithuania and North Macedonia.
• EMS or Express Mail Service is a premium service that enables its users to send documents and merchandise faster and with the added facility of being able to track the movement of the item on the internet.

India is the top source of immigrants across the globe

• India has emerged as the leading country of origin for immigrants across the world, with 17.5 million international migrants in 2019 coming from India, up from 15.9 million in 2015, according to a dataset released by the Union Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in New York.
• The International Migrant Stock 2019, released by the UN DESA's Population Division, the number of international migrants in the world had reached an estimated 272 million 2019 — 51 million more than in 2010. The percentage of international migrants of the total global population has increased to 3.5% from 2.8% in 2000.
• While India remained as the top source of international migrants, the number of migrants living in India saw a slight decline from 5.24 million in 2015 to an estimated 5.15 million in 2019 – both 0.4% of the total population of the country.
• Bangladesh was the leading country of origin for migrants in India.
• That one-third of all international migrants originated from 10 countries — after India, Mexico ranked second as the country of origin for 12 million migrants, followed by China (11 million), Russia (10 million) and Syria (8 million).
• The European region hosted the highest number of the immigrants at 82 million in 2019, followed by North America (59 million) and Northern Africa and Western Asia (49 million).
• Two-fifths of all international migrants had gone from one developing country to another.

Assam, Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh are the most malnourished states in India

• Malnutrition is still the underlying risk factor for 68 per cent of the deaths among children below the age of 5
• A study, published by Lancet Child & Adoloscent Health, stated that Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh (UP), Bihar and Assam have the highest malnutrition levels in the country, despite the substantial drop in disease burden and death rate.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Sri Lanka unveils South Asia’s tallest tower, funded by China

• Sri Lanka unveiled South Asia’s tallest tower, costing over $100 million, 80% of which has been funded by China under Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
• The 350-metre-tall 17-storey Lotus Tower, located in the heart of Colombo city, comprises a television tower, a hotel, a telecommunications museum, restaurants, auditorium, an observation deck, a shopping mall and a conference centre.
• The tower, spread over an area of 30,600 sq. metres, was constructed at a cost of over $100 million, 80% of which was funded by China.

Veteran Malayalam actor Sathar passes away at 67

• Veteran Kerala actor Sathar passed away due to prolonged illness, He was 67.
• He began his film career in the mid-70s and established himself as the villain especially in the film where the hero was played by legendary actor Jayan.

SPORTS

Vinesh Phogat sets sight on maiden Olympics medal after World Championships bronze

• Vinesh Phogat ended her medal drought at Wrestling World Championships as the start Indian wrestler clinched a bronze in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
• Vinesh Phogat defeated two-time world bronze medalist Maria Prevolaraki of Greece by fall in the bronze medal bout of 53 kg freestyle event.
• She is only the fourth Indian female wrestler to win a medal at the prestigious tournament.

Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic mascots unveiled

• An animated giant panda named "Bing Dwen Dwen" and a red lantern baby called "Shuey Rhon" have been unveiled as the two mascots for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.
• The mascots, revealed at Beijing's Shougang Ice Hockey Arena, are strongly associated with the host nation's culture.