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Current Affairs August 2015 PDF Capsule

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Current Affairs PDF: August 2015

Current Affairs for Competitive Exam

Table of Contents Indian Affairs................................................................................................................................................. 3

International Affairs ................................................................................................................................. 79

Banking and Finance .............................................................................................................................. 105

Awards ......................................................................................................................................................... 126

Appointments & Resigns ....................................................................................................................... 141

Acquisitions & Mergers .......................................................................................................................... 160

Business ...................................................................................................................................................... 164

Science & Technology ............................................................................................................................ 179

Environment .............................................................................................................................................. 183

Sports .......................................................................................................................................................... 185

Obituary ...................................................................................................................................................... 209

Books and Authors .................................................................................................................................. 217

Important Days ........................................................................................................................................ 220

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Indian Affairs

Government revises scheme for Development of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups

About 75 tribal groups have been identified and categorized as particularly vulnerable tribal

groups (PVTGs) by the government with effect from April 1st 2015

To cater to their overall development, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has further revised the

Development of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) Scheme to provide 100 percent

financial assistance through state governments.

• The scheme focuses on activities such as housing, land distribution, land and

agricultural development, animal husbandry, the construction of link roads, the

installation of non-conventional sources of energy and other innovative activity.

• The scheme is based on a Conservation-cum-Development (CCD) Plan prepared by

concerned state governments on the basis of their requirements.

• The government said that priority is accorded for the tribal community’s protection and

improvement in terms of the social indicators like livelihood, health, nutrition and

education, so as to decrease their vulnerability.

• These tribal groups are located in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat,

Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha,

Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West-Bengal and Andaman

and Nicobar Islands.

Delhi Govt launches country’s first witness Protection Scheme

Country’s capital New Delhi has become the first state in the country to announce a scheme for

witness protection notified by the Delhi Witness Protection Scheme,2015.For implementation

of this scheme the government will make budgetary provisions in its annual budget.

This scheme is for protecting witness in criminal cases.Government framed such policy following

the directions of the high court which ,in the Jessica lal and Nitesh katara murder cases

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The objective of the Scheme is to “ensure that the investigation ,prosecution and trial of criminal

offences is not prejudiced because witnesses are frightened to give evidence without protection

from violent or other criminal recrimination”

ABOUT WITNESS PROTECTION SCHEME:

• Government has appointed Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) as the

competent authority for implementation of the scheme. All decisions and reviews will be

under the purview of DSLSA.

• The witness has to apply for protection following which DSLSA will ask a threat analysis

report from Delhi Police

• All hearings of applications will be held in-camera and full confidentially will be

maintained. The witness will have the option of applying for concealment of identity.

• Witnesses under three categories will be provided protection, depending on the threat

perception. The categories have been draw up based on type of threat and duration for

which the protection has to be given.

• For example, if there is a threat to life and it affects the day-to-day activities of a

witness for a substantial period during the investigation or even after that, then the

person will be in the ‘A’ category.

India’s first Harbour Defence System commissioned in Kochi

Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba, PVSM, AVSM, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval

Command, inaugurated the first India’s harbor defence system named Integrated Underwater

Harbor Defense And Surveillance System (IUHDSS) in Kochi,Kerala on JULY 31,2015.

• This is first system of its kind in the country, was a part of Navy’s initiative to

strengthen security of the coastline.

• Designed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), ELTA of Israel.

• The automatic system IUHDSS is capable of detecting, identifying, tracking and

generating warning for all types of surface and underwater threats to harbor security.

• It consists of Advanced Coastal Surveillance Radars, Electro-optic sensors and SONAR

(Sound Navigation And Ranging) for detecting presence of divers and other underwater

threats to security.

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• The system was contracted by Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence in 2012.

• The system will operate under the control of the Naval Officer-in-Charge of Kerala.

Maharashtra Government announces construction of 800 kms Nagpur-Mumbai

expressway

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that the government will build an

800-km-long expressway connecting Mumbai with Nagpur by September 2019 on JULY 31,

2015.

• Trough this Expressway, A road trip between Mumbai and Nagpur will soon take

just 10 hours nearly half the time it currently takes to complete the journey.

• The estimated cost of the proposed Mumbai-Nagpur expressway is Rs30,000 crore.

• The project will be completed in two phases. In the first phase, four lanes will be built.

In the second phase, the government proposes to concretize the road, add two more

lanes, and build tunnels and the exit roads that will connect to smaller cities and

villages.

• This would be a six-lane road and in the first phase a four lane road would be

constructed. This road will be equipped with CCTV cameras, Wi-Fi facility and optical

fiber network.

This project would be completed in coming five years and the travel time between the state

capital and second capital would be brought down from 14 hours to 10 hours.

Assam govt bans sale of drinking water brand

Assam Government banned the sale of packed drinking water named “Spring Drop”

manufactured by Morigaon-based Company for an initial period of 30 days with immediate effect

on August 1, 2015.

• The Government took this decision due to the following reports received from the Food

Analyst and the Director of Referral Food Laboratory, Ghaziabad, that the water sold by

that brand name contained Chromium above permissible limit.

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• The state government already banned the sale of Annapurna chilly sauce and Niyor

packaged drinking water after it was found after laboratory tests confirmed presence of

benzoic acid and fluoride beyond maximum permissible limits in the two products

respectively.

• Annapurna chilly sauce, manufactured by Satez Agro Products in Assam was found to

have benzoic acid above the maximum permissible limit.

• Niyor packaged drinking water, manufactured by Blue Bell Enterprise of Assam was

found to contain fluoride higher than the maximum permissible limit.

Tata Motors bags 914-cr order from Indian Army

Tata Motors Ltd has bagged an order of Rs 914 crore from the Indian Army to supply 1,239 high

mobility vehicles. Tata Motors along with Mahindra and Mahindra has also been short listed for

supply of 3,192 vehicles to the Army, which is replacing Maruti Suzuki’s Gypsy and Mahindra

Commander.

• Tata Motor will supply indigenously developed 6×6 multi-axle trucks that are mainly

functional for loading and unloading ammunition.

• Army is planning to replace over 30,000 to 40,000 vehicles and going open its

defence orders to private sector. Tata Motors is expected to be the huge gainer among

others in defence orders.

• VS NORONHA, Vice-President of Defence and Government Business said that this was

the first single-largest order of high mobility vehicle was awarded to Tata’s after trial

duration of 25 months in demanding conditions.

India and Bangladesh exchange 162 enclaves

Almost 68 years after the world’s most difficult border disputes keeping the thousands of people

in stateless. India and Bangladesh exchanged 162 enclaves one minute after midnight (12:01

am) on August 1, 2015.

• Thousands of people who have been living without schools, clinics or power for a

generation were in celebration for their new citizenship with the exchange of enclaves.

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• 111 Indian enclaves measuring 17,160 acres became Bangladesh territory and 51

Bangladesh enclaves measuring 7,110 acres became Indian Territory.

• Around 37,000 people are living in Indian enclaves in Bangladesh while 14,000 people

are staying in Bangladeshi enclaves in India.

• Between July 31, 2015 and June 30, 2016, the entire process, including physical

exchange of enclaves and land parcels in adverse possession along with boundary

demarcation, is expected to be completed.

• Both governments have worked together to facilitate trouble-free movement of these

residents before the stipulated date of November 30, 2015.

This decision for exchange of enclaves was during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to

Bangladesh on June 6-7, 2015.

Union Cabinet gives nod to Consumer protection Bill 2015

Union Cabinet approved the New Consumer Protection Bill, 2015 replacing the 29 years

old Consumer Protection Bill, 1986 to stop unfair trade practices and provide safety

to consumer goods and services in the country. This bill is prepared based on the model followed

in U.S and European countries.

Features:

• Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA): CCPA as an apex regulatory

authority with more powers to protect and enforce the rights of consumers. It will have

powers to recall products and initiate action suit against defaulting companies including

e-tailers for refunds and return of products.

• Stringent penalty: In certain cases, the Bill adds stringent penalty provisions including

life imprisonment.

• Product liability: If product or services causes personal injury, death or damage to

property, CCPA will have powers to take action against defaulting manufacturers or

service providers.

• Speedy disposal of court cases: Provision related to “Mediation” has been proposed

which will act as an alternative dispute resolution mechanism. However, mediation will

be under the aegis of consumer courts.

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• Right to inquire: A right to hold inquiry without requiring consumer complaints

regarding the quality, quantity, purity, potency, price and standards of goods or

services , which could hazardous to life and property of any consumer, has also been

given to this authority.

• Power to order to withdraw false Promises: The authority will be given powers to

order the manufacturers and advertisers to withdraw false and misleading

advertisements. They will also be empowered to search, seize documents, records

related to any articles.

• Cancel license: Consumer regulatory authority will have the right to recall products

and cancel licenses if more than one person gets affected by any product or services.

• Establishment of circuit bench: For speedy disposal of complaints consumers can file

complaints electronically circuit bench along with traditional mechanism of filing

complaints in consumer courts that have jurisdiction over the place of residence.

• Other provisions: Under the new bill, consumer will be able to make online complain.

India to host 2nd Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC)

India to host 2nd Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC), were heads of 14 island

nations from Indo-Pacific oceanic region will be attending in Jaipur, Rajasthan on August 21,

2015.

• The FIPIC meeting will give way for agreements in various potential areas between

India and these nations. It will include sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, food

processing, solar energy, e-networks for coordination in tele-education and tele-

medicine.

• It will also include space cooperation and climate change.

• It is the first step of India towards greater engagement with the Indo-Pacific oceanic

region.

• It could also help counter the growing Chinese influence in this oceanic region.

Indo-UK Bilateral Air Exercise Indradhanush concluded

Indo-UK bilateral Air Exercise between Indian Air Force (IAF) and British Royal Air Forces

(RAF) named INDRADHANUSH started in Britain on 21 July 2015.

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It was a 10 day exercise of different element of the IAF contingent operated from separate RAF

bases concluded.

• The SUKHOIS operated from Corningby, combat support elements from Brize

Norton and the GARUD special forces from Hunnington.

• The main objective of this exercise was to enhance “mutual operational understanding”

between the IAF and RAF.

• These two air forces also operate common combat support platforms, namely the Globe

master and the Super Hercules.

India, China Hold First Ever Meet at Daulat Beg Oldie in Ladakh

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) delegation led by Colonel Song Zhoanli has hosted

an Indian Army delegation led by Colonel Bs Uppal for the first time ever, which marked as a

milestone in the Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) area along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh

sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

• This meeting reflected the mutual desire of maintaining and improving relations,

maintaining peace at a functional level at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) border.

• Both the delegations interacted in a free, congenial and cordial environment.

India has foiled UK Company Pangaea Laboratories’ bid to patent use of turmeric, pine

bark and tea

India has foiled a British Company’s bid to patent use of turmeric, pine bark and green tea for

treating hair loss and succeeded in protecting its traditional knowledge. “India once again has

been successful in protecting its traditional knowledge by preventing an attempt made by

Europe’s leading dermaceutical laboratory —Pangaea Laboratories Limited, to take patent on a

medicinal composition containing turmeric, pine bark and green tea for treating hair loss,” a

statement issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology said.

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Dial 138 for medical emergency on train

Manoj Sinha, Minister of State for Railways said that the train passengers can now contact

helpline number “138” through their mobile phones in case of medical emergency and all

passenger trains will be provided with First Aid Boxes containing essential drugs, medicines and

dressing materials.

• The Station Masters will have the details of doctors, clinics and hospitals, both

Government and Private, in the vicinity of the station, so that their services could also

be availed, in emergencies.

• Trains can also make unscheduled halts, if necessary, at the stations en-route in

emergencies.

• The front line staff deployed on trains will be trained in rendering First Aid.

138 will be printed at the front of the reserved (Passenger Reserved System (PRS)) as well as

unreserved train tickets(UTS).

Govt to develop 15,000 km of NH at Rs 1.9 lakh cr

Pon Radhakrishnan, Minister of Road Transport and Highways said that the Government inorder

to improve connectivity with far- flung areas including major tourism centers, plans to develop

15,000 km of National Highways (NH) at an estimated cost of Rs 1,90,000 crore on August

3, 2015.

• The government has undertaken detailed review of NH network with a view to improve

connectivity in border area including coastal boundaries, major cities of tourism,

pilgrimage, minor ports and under developed areas.

• India has the world’s second-largest road network at 4.80 million kms.

• Government has already rolled out projects worth USD 93 billion, including the USD 45

billion flagship road building programme of NHDP.

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Asia’s biggest telescope MAST inaugurated at Udaipur Solar Observatory in Rajasthan

Multi-Application Solar Telescope (MAST), Asia’s biggest telescope has been inaugurated at

the Udaipur Solar Observatory in Rajasthan by the chairman of counselling management of

Physical Research Laboratory Professor U.R Rao.

On the occasion, Rao informed that MAST will be the biggest ever telescope which can help to

study the movements of stars and sun even in the day time.

Lok Sabha passes SC & ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill

The Lok Sabha passed the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities)

Amendment Bill where most of the opposition parties boycotted the House, replacing the

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Ordinance,

2014.

• This bill makes a stringent action against those compelling any member of SC or ST

communities to carry human or animal carcasses or do manual scavenging.

• The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment

Bill, 2014 aims to prohibit the commission of offences against members of the

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SCs and STs) and provides for establishing

special courts for the trial of such offences and the rehabilitation of victims.

Govt. lists manual scavenging as ‘career option’

The recently launched National Career Services portal by the Indian government, allows hiring

of the prohibited act of manual scavenging. The job profiles for a “Safai Karamchari” or a

“scavenger” is listed as being “mildly hazardous”, putting them in the same category as

“astrologer” which is also listed in the unorganized sector.

• On its launch by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the portal was to link two crore job seekers

with nearly nine lakh establishments. Mr. Modi had then said “It is essential for Indian

society to develop a consciousness towards ‘dignity of labour’.”

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• What was earlier conceived by the government as bringing employers and job seekers on a

single platform, now seems to promote and allow the hiring of the prohibited act of manual

scavenging by just one click of a button.

Uttar Pradesh government decided to rename UPTU as APJ Abdul Kalam Technical

University

• Akhilesh Yadav who is Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Government has decided to

rename Uttar Pradesh Technical University(UPTU) to Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam

Technical University as a tribute to former president kalam

• It also decided to construct a grand memorial for kalam in new campus of the

university.

• Before in 2010,the UPTU is divided into Gautam Budha Technical University(GBTU) and

Mahamaya Technical University(MTU) and got its original name in 2013.

Amitabh, Salman, Akshay are world’s top ten highest paid actors

• Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar are among the

world’s top ten highest-paid actors in Forbes first global list of actors earning more than

Hollywood legends Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Johnny Depp and many more.

• Bachchan and Salman each made USD 33.5 million to tie at 7th place while Akshay

ranks 9th with USD 32.5 million in annual earnings. Apart from them Shah Rukh

Khan with earnings of USD 26 million and Ranbir Kapoor with earnings of USD 15 million

ranked 18th and 30th respectively in the list of total 34 global actors, compiled by Forbes

magazine.

Ministry of Rural Development launches ‘SAMANVAY’ portal for Gram Panchayats

• Rural Development Minister, Chaudhary Birender Singh has launched ‘SAMANVAY’

web portal for Gram Panchayats.

• All schemes of both the Centre and State governments at the gram panchayat level will

be compiled under this portal. Around 1800 state schemes from across all states have

been documented under SAMANVAY.

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• The portal will act as a database in which all the information regarding various gram

panchayats will be compiled through various schemes of Central and State

governments.

• The main purpose of this portal is to help the Members of Parliament (MPs) so that they

can have a clear planning and implementation of Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana

(SAGY) which was launched in October 2014 by the government. Under SAGY, MPs

were to choose 3 villages (Gram Panchyat) to develop these villages and create these a

Model Village.

• Along with this, Chaudhary Birender Singh also launched a magazine Panchayat Darpan

in order to monitor the progress of the SAGY. This magazine will tell about all the

development activities going in the Gram Panchayats under SAGY.

Haryana Government launches Thari Pension, Thare Pass project

• Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar launched ‘thari pension, thare paas’

facility. The facility has been launched for transferring pensions of July 2015 month

amounting to about 119 crore directly into the bank accounts or post offices of over 10

lakh beneficiaries.

• The facility is being implemented by state government’s Social Justice and

Empowerment Department and has been undertaken by Team Kalyankarini of the

department.

• Under the first phase of the scheme, over 10 lakh beneficiaries living in 1,744 villages

and 81 towns in the state would get pensions through banks and post offices. The

residents of other villages would, for the time being, get their pension manually.

• Khattar said the state government had decided to disburse pension under various social

security schemes, including old age samman allowance, widow and destitute pension,

disability pension, financial assistance to destitute children, allowances to eunuchs,

dwarfs and disabled children, through banks.

Delhi Government decided to have Old Delhi with tram network

For better connectivity, the Delhi (AAP) Government has decided to run trams in many areas of

Old Delhi as a part of augment transport infrastructure.

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• The tram network comes as a part of redevelopment of the area which covers Lal

Quila, Jama Masjid, Digamber Jain Mandir, Sheeshganj Gurudwara, Old Delhi

Railway Station and the New Delhi Railway Station.

• Government has decided to make Shahjahanad Redevelopment Corporation, set up to

carry out infrastructure projects in Old Delhi, on the lines of New Delhi Municipal Council

(NDMC).

• Trams, regarded as an eco-friendly and cheap transport option that’s widely used in

Europe which survived in Kolkata. In Delhi, trams, started in the British period, ran till

1960s.

Union Cabinet sign agreement with UNESCO

Meeting chaired by PM Narendra Modi, the Union Cabinet approved a proposal to sign an

agreement with UNESCO for the establishment of a Centre for World Natural Heritage

Management and Training Centre for Asia-Pacific region at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII)

in Dehradun as a category-2 centre of the UN body.

• Through this agreement, Environment Ministry and the Centre will provide capacity building

support to countries in the region for upkeep of heritage and natural sites.

• India has 32 UNESCO heritage sites of which 7 are natural sites and 25 are cultural sites

at present.

• Through the establishment of the centre in Dehradun, India will be uniquely placed to

provide services for preparation and evaluation of proposals for new sites in Asia-Pacific

region.

• The operatinalising of the UNESCO C2C at WII would enable India to be a leadership in the

Asia-Pacific region, which comprises of around 50 countries.

India & Mozambique signed MoU on cooperation in New & Renewable Energy

During the official visit of Filipe Nyusi, President of Mozambique to India, the two countries

signed an Memorandum of understanding (MoU) to deepen cooperation in New and Renewable

Energy Sector. Beside that both the countries have agreed ways to intensify cooperation

in maritime security and ocean economy as both have large coastlines and both are also

linked by the Indian Ocean.

• President Filipe Nyusi, who is currently in India for a five-day visit is accompanied by his

wife and a high-level delegation, including the Mozambican Ministers of Foreign Affairs,

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Minerals and Energy, Agriculture, Transportation and Communications and Interior, besides

senior officials and a business delegation.

• As a return gesture, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appreciated Mozambique’s support

for India’s candidature for a Permanent membership of an expanded UN Security Council.

Cabinet approved to release of wages of MNREGA workers into bank accounts

In an effort to prevent the underlying corruption and mainly the delay in payments to workers

under the rural employment guarantee scheme, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime

Minister Narendra Modi, has approved direct benefit transfer (DBT) to beneficiaries of

the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

• Under the scheme, the wage component of MGNREGA will be directly released following

the State Employment Guarantee Fund window to the worker’s bank/post office account

based on a fund transfer order to be generated by states’ implementing agencies in

accordance with procedures prescribed by Rural Development Ministry. The National Rural

Employment Guarantee Act requires workers to be paid within 15 days of closing the

muster roll.

• Recently awarded by the World Bank as the world’s largest public works programme,

MGNREGA was facing criticism mainly due to lack of transparency and delayed payments

to the workers. Now the direct benefit transfer ensures that scheme funds do not get

indefinitely parked with the state finance departments anymore.

Web Portals for Farmers

Radha Mohan Singh, Union Agriculture Minister launched 3 web portals – Soil Health Card

portal, Fertilizer Quality Control System portal and Participatory Guarantee System

India portal.

• Main Objective of these portals is to make the process of organic farming certification, fertilizer’s

quality checking and issuance of soil health cards.

• These portals, launched only in English, will be made available in regional languages also in the

next phase for the benefit of farmers.

• These three agricultural portals will bring more transparency and accountability which help the

farming community.

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PORTALS DESCRIPTION:

Soil Health Card (SHC) portal- • Soil Health Card portal has been developed for registration of soil samples, recording test

results of soil samples and generation of Soil Health Card (SHC) along with fertilizer

recommendations.

• Soil Health Card portal aims to generate and issue Soil Health Cards based on either Soil

Test-Crop Response (STCR) formulae developed by ICAR or General Fertilizer

Recommendations provided by State Governments.

• The Soil Health Card (SHC) portal is a single, generic, uniform, web based software can be

accessed at www.soilhealth.dac.gov.in.

Fertilizer Quality Control System (FQCS) Portal

• Fertilizer Quality Control System (FQCS) is aimed to ensure availability of quality fertilizers

to farmers is a web based and configurable workflow application developed by NIC for

processing of sample collection, testing and generation of analysis reports.

• India imports large quantity of various fertilizers to meet the demands. Fertilizer Quality

Control Laboratories (FQCL) is assigned the responsibility to check the quality of imported

fertilizers. The application can be accessed at www.fqcs.dac.gov.in.

Participatory Guarantee System – India Portal

• Participatory Guarantee System is a process of certifying organic products which ensures

agriculture production process in accordance with the standards laid down for organic

products and that desired quality has been maintained. This is exhibited in the form of

documented logo or a statement.

• It is outside the framework of third party system of certification

• It is cost effective, farmer- friendly and hassle-free.

• For online operation of this certification, Participatory Guarantee System – India portal can

be accessed at www.pgsindia-ncof.gov.in.

Haryana’s CM launched “Thari Pension Thare Pass” scheme

Manohar Lal Khattar,Chief Minister of Haryana to ensure the transparency in the disbursement

of social security pension, launched a new scheme called “Thari Pension Thare Pass”.

• This scheme will be implemented by state government’s Social Justice and Empowerment

Department and has been undertaken by Team Kalyankarini of the department.

• The beneficiaries of social security schemes would get their pension through different

modes, including bank branchs, post offices, business correspondent agents (BCAs),

additional BCAs, primary agricultural cooperative society (PACS), Vodafone M-Pesa,

common service centres and gramin dak sewaks.

• The beneficiaries could withdraw the amount as per their requirement.

http://www.pgsindia-ncof.gov.in/

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Thari Pension Thare Pass Scheme:

• Under the scheme,Rs 119 crore will be transferred directly into the bank accounts of

10,01,795 eligible beneficiaries.

• Manohar Lal Khattar, through this scheme, transferred the pension arrears from March to

June amounting to Rs 13.23 crore.

• Under the first phase of the scheme, over 10 lakh beneficiaries living in 1,744 villages and

81 towns in the state would get pensions through banks and post offices.

• The residents of other villages would, for the time being, get their pension manually.

• There are currently over 23.3 lakh beneficiaries getting pension under various social

security schemes entailing a monthly expenditure of Rs 270 crore.

• This scheme provides facility to pensioner of tracing their account online to know the

balance in his or her account.

• The beneficiaries who are of age above 80 years and who are not physically fit to go to

banks can collect their pension at their door step.

Central Government Liberalises Single-Brand Retail Norms For Non-Resident Entities

• India now can see a flood of single-brand retailers entering , with the government

allowing them to operate across multiple platforms.

• Central government norm of 30% input sourcing from Indian MSEs or cottage

industries relaxed for all non-resident entities who are involved in FDI beyond 51%.

• Presently, 100 per cent FDI is allowed in single-brand retail trading, out of which

proposals beyond 49 per cent require prior approval from the government.

Consequence Of This Norm:

• This norm will generate jobs and also create concern to the niche products of retailers

due to lack of trained labours or the inputs in India.

• To maintain quality of the product the non-resident retailers can opt for specialised

manpower training by setting centres of excellence (CoEs) through corporate social

responsibility (CSR) program.

Parliament passes Delhi High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2015

After two-week-long strike by district court lawyers, the Lok Sabha passed the Delhi High Court

(Amendment) Bill, 2015 which was introduced in Rajya Sabha on February 17, 2014 was passed

by Rajya Sabha on May 6, 2015 related to increasing the pecuniary jurisdiction of district

courts from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 2 crore.

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• Through this bill, it transfers all suits pending in the High Court to the 9 districts courts

in the Delhi.

• According to the data cited by Departmental Standing Committee of law and justice, this

bill will affect 12211 cases pending in the High Court.

• A bill to reduce the workload of the Delhi High Court by enhancing the pecuniary

jurisdiction of civil suits to District courts.

Pecuniary jurisdiction:

Every suit shall be instituted in the court of the lowest grade competent to try it which means that

if a remedy is available at the lowest court,the high court must not be approached.This rule refers

to the monetory value of the suit.A matter that involves a monetory value higher than what a

court is competent to hear,parties can approach a higher court.

PM Modi inaugurates first National Handloom Day in Chennai

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, inaugurated the first National Handloom Day at the Centenary Hall

of Madras University in Chennai in the presence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and

Governor K. Rosaiah on August 7, 2015.

• Modi launched the “India Handloom Brand” mark in the inauguration of first National

Handloom Day in Chennai.

• Narendra Modi said that there is a lack of awareness about rich tradition of Indian handloom

products across the globe and suggested that film industry should take up the initiative to

promote handloom products in their movies.

• Prime Minister also presented Sant Kabir Awards and National Awards for the years

2012, 2013 and 2014 to distinguished handloom personalities.

• Narendra Modi said that Handloom forms 15 % of the total growth rate. If we increase it by

just 20 %, it will have a huge impact in the overall growth.

• An exhibition showcasing master creations of the awardees is also being inaugurated on the

occasion in the adjacent senate building of Madras University.

SANT KABIR AWARD:

• Sant Kabir Award is an Indian Government award conferred to outstanding weavers who

have made valuable contribution in keeping alive the handloom heritage.

• The award was christened in the memory of Sant Kabir, a 15th-century mystic poet and

sant of India.

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Award consists of,

• One mounted gold coin.

• One shawl and a citation.

• In addition to this, Rs 6 lakh financial assistance will also be given to encourage and create

10 new products of high level of excellence, high aesthetic value and high quality in

duration of one year.

NATIONAL AWARDS:

• Every year up to 20 national awards and 20 national merit certificates are given to

outstanding handloom weavers.

The national award consists of,

• A certificate,

• Angavastram,

• Copper plaque and cash award of one lakh rupees.

• National merit certificate consists of certificate and cash award of Rs. 50,000.

Rajasthan signs 12 MoUs at the investment meet in New Delhi

At an investor event named “Delivering dreams, sharing prosperity”, Rajasthan Chief Minister

Vasundhara Raje Scindia inked 12 Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) worth Rs.2530 crores

with private companies to set up industrial units in Rajasthan in New Delhi.

• This investor meet organized by the Government of Rajasthan in association with the

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

• The proposed industrial units are expected to generate around 8,000 jobs and several

thousand more indirect employment opportunities.

• The government signed the MoUs with companies like Nitin Spinners, Mayur Uniquoters,

Sangam India and Rajasthan Textile Mills Limited.

• It was a part of a series of events being held across India and abroad to promote

investment opportunities in Rajasthan ahead of the Global Resurgent Rajasthan Partnership

Summit to be held in Jaipur on November 19-20.

Government to Allow Aadhaar Enrolments of NRIs, PIOs, OICs

• Government has decided that Aadhaar enrolment of Non-Resident Indians,from now all

residents including Indian national and foreigners with valid visas can be enrolled and

provided Aadhaar number by the UIDAI.

• It was announced by Planning Minister Rao Inderjit Singh in Lok Sabha.

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• UIDAI is working on the policy for Aadhaar enrolment of NRIs, PIOs and OICs after

receiving a direction from the government on the issue.

• Aadhaar Number should be eventually allowed to help them authenticate their identity

digitally.

• It is a valid know your customers (KYC) document for various services including

banking, telecom, cooking gas subsidy, vehicle registration driving licence, government

scholarships, pension and public distribution system.

• The UIDAI was set up in January 2009 to issue Aadhaar numbers. It has generated

89.43 Aadhaar numbers so far .

GlobalSat for DRR to be named after Abdul Kalam

“GlobalSat for DRR”, a global satellite for earth observation and disaster risk reduction, will be

named after Indian Missile Man APJ Abdul Kalam as a tribute to the vision of the celebrated

rocket scientist who died July 27.

• The concept was initiated by (CANada-EUrope-US-Asia)CANEUS in cooperation with

UN agencies including the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, the UN International

Strategy for Disaster Reduction, the United Nations Development Programme and the

World Bank.

• Milind Pimprikar, Chairman of CANEUS, said that goals of UN GlobatSat are the same

as those of Kalam. In his ‘World Space Vision-2050’ Mr. Kalam had envisaged space

faring nations joining hands to find solutions to mankind’s major problems such as

natural disasters, energy and water scarcity, health-care education issues and weather

prediction.

• The UN-led GlobalSat will provide a common platform that will allow sharing of space

and data segments, with an ability to serve individual nation’s disaster management and

development needs.

• UN GlobalSat initiative as a tribute to Late Dr. Abdul Kalam will be renamed it as “UN

Kalam GlobalSat”.

• The GlobalSat was proposed in response to the need for a globally interconnected

disaster and environmental management system since no single country can afford to

develop a complete set of sensors and satellite systems needed for forecasting,

monitoring and mitigating disasters like floods, drought, typhoons, earthquakes, wild

fires, windstorms, or tidal events.

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Mysuru of Karnataka topped in Swachh Bharat ranking

A performance ranking on Swachh Bharat Abhiyan of 476 cities in the country, based on the

extent of open defecation and solid waste management practices, released by the Ministry of

Urban Development placed Mysuru of Karnataka at the top. Apart from Mysuru, 3 more

cities from Karnataka namely Hassan, Mandya and Bengaluru are in the top 10.

• Among the states West Bengal’s performance was extraordinary as it listed 25

cities in top 100. Prime Minister’s constituency of Varanasi ranks 418. Among state

capitals, Bengaluru comes first (number 7 in the list of all cities) and

Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala was on second (number 8 among all cities). Among the

metros, New Delhi Municipal Corporation is at 16th position with the Delhi Cantonment

at 15th. Damoh (Madhya Pradesh) came at the bottom at 476th.

• The top 10 ranked cities are Mysore, Thiruchirapalli (Tamil Nadu), Navi Mumbai,

Kochi (Kerala), Hassan, Mandya and Bengaluru from Karnataka, Thiruvananthapuram,

Halisahar (West Bengal), and Gangtok (Sikkim). Among the top 100, 39 cities from the

southern states, 27 from East, 15 from West, 12 from North and 7 from the North-

Eastern states. 15 of the 27 capital cities surveyed are among the top 100.

• All the 476 Class-1 cities in 31 states and UTs, each with a population of above 1 lakh

were surveyed for assessing total sanitation practices covering a set of parameters

including the extent of open defecation, solid waste management, septage

management, waste water treatment, drinking water quality, surface water quality of

water bodies and mortality due to water born diseases.

NIDM signs MoU with JNU to set up Centre for Excellence in Disaster Research

• Santosh Kumar, Executive Director,National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM)

signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Prof. S.K. Sopory, Vice

Chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) for establishing a Centre for

Excellence in Disaster Research and Resilience Building at the JNU.

• The main objective of this MoU is to initiate research, teaching, capacity and manpower

development within a trans-disciplinary framework which brings science to communities

in a manner that it is made usable and understandable to communities in fragile

ecosystems.

• Through MoU, NIDM will be providing financial assistance amounting to Rs 4.14 crores

to JNU over a three year period to start M.Phil and Ph.D. programmes in Disaster

Management for the first time in India.

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• The activities under this MoU would be to build community resilience through better

preparedness, legal and governance reforms, enhanced capacity for early detection and

warning systems, absorption of indigenous wisdom in administrative systems,

resonating vulnerabilities of various kinds, remote sensing and GIS based mitigation

efforts and environmental capacity enhancement of local governance.

Maharashtra govt declares Thane creek area as ‘Flamingo Sanctuary’

Thane Creek, located on the western bank, between the Airoli and Vashi bridges that connect

Mumbai with Navi Mumbai, is declared as “Flamingo Sanctuary” as over 25,000 flamingo turned

up at the stretch of 17 sq km of Thane creek by the Maharashtra Government.

• N Vasudevan, Chief Conservator of Forests said that Thane creek is declared as Wildlife

Sanctuary under Sec. 18 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

• Thane Creek spreads over an area of 1,690 hectares, including 896 hectares of

mangroves and 794 hectares of adjacent water body.

• This will be the state’s second marine sanctuary after Malvan.

• The Mumbai Mangrove Conservation Unit under the Mangrove Cell will be responsible for

the management of the Sanctuary.

DRDO developed poly-herbal medicine to treat Leucoderm

Defence Research and Development Organisation(DRDO) developed a poly-herbal medicine for

the treatment of leucoderma(white patches on skin),this medicine has been introduced in

market by a private company.

• Minister Manohar parrikar said that the poly-herbal formulation comprises of ointment

and oral dose.

• The ointment has seven ingredients of plants having properties such as skin photo

sensitizer, anti-blister, anti-irritation, anti-septic, wound healing and copper

supplementing properties.

• The technology of this herbal product has been transferred to AIMIL Pharmaceutical

Private Limited for commercial production and marketing.

• This product has been launched by the company by the trade name of "Lukoskin".

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Govt approved to set up SPV to clean Yamuna

• Center Government (Bharatiya Janta Party)and Delhi Government (Aam Aadmi

Party) keeping aside political differences, agreed to setup a Special Purpose Vehicle

(SPV) to clean and rejuvenate river Yamuna.

• Water Resources ministry said that they also agreed to prepare a blueprint of the SPV

during the next 45 days.

• The Chief Minister said that such a meeting was important since all the concerned

Ministries/Departments would have to work together for cleaning the historic river and

reviving its past glory.

• The Yamuna, venerated by Hindus, originates from the Yamunotri Glacier, at 6,387

meters above sea level in the Himalayas.

• The Yamuna is considered largely clean from Yamunotri until Wazirabad in Delhi when

the polluted stretch starts.

BHEL commissioned 500 MW unit of Vindhyachal Super Thermal Power Station

• Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) commissioned one more coal-based power plant

of 500 MW Unit-l3 of Vindhyachal Super Thermal Power Station (STPS), Stage-V of

NTPC.

• With the commissioning of this unit, BHEL has now commissioned 7 sets of 500 MW

aggregating to 3,500 MW, the highest by BHEL in a power project.

• The project is located in Vindhyanagar in Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh.

• Equipments for the project were manufactured at BHEL’s Trichy, Ranipet, Haridwar,

Hyderabad, Bangalore and Bhopal plants.

• BHEL has a network of 17 manufacturing units, 2 repair units, 4 regional offices, 8

service centers, 8 overseas offices, 15 regional centers, 7 joint ventures, and

infrastructure allowing it to execute more than 150 projects at sites across India and

abroad.

• BHEL has already established its engineering prowess by successfully delivering higher

rated units such as 600 MW, 660 MW, 700 MW and 800 MW thermal sets with a high

degree of indigenization.

DFCC to commission its first 56 km stretch in Bihar

The Bihar Government announced with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore the first 56-km stretch

of the much-awaited Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) project to be commissioned in Bihar in

March next year.

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• Adesh Sharma, managing director of Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation (DFCC) said

that the stretch between Durgawati and Sasaram will be completed and commissioned

by the end of the current financial year.

• The section is being constructed with an average investment of Rs 20 crore per km,

gradually eliminate all the 18 level crossings on the 56-km stretch.

• This Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) project is funded by Indian Railways’ equity.

Dr Mahesh Sharma inaugurates Bhisham Sahni’s birth centenary celebration

• Dr Mahesh Sharma who is the Minister of State for Culture (Independent Charge),

Tourism (Independent Charge) and Civil Aviation inaugurated the Bhisham Sahni’s who

is a Hindi writer birth centenary celebrations

• In this Occasion, Dr Mahesh Sharma inaugurated a photo and book exhibition

focusing on Bhisham Sahni and also released a monograph on him. Dr Mahesh Sharma

also said that the Government has plans to make India as a spiritual and cultural leader

in the world.A documentary on Bhisham Sahni produced by the Sahitya Akademi was

also screened on the occasion. The event is a 3-day celebration from 8-10 August,

2015.

Kerala Government to Install GPS in Public Vehicles

In the wake of the Nirbhaya gang rape incident, the Centre has given directions to states to

ensure the safety of women in public transport vehicles, reacting to that, Kerala government has

drawn up a plan to install GPS and CCTV cameras in public transport vehicles to ensure

women's safety.

• Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) will be developing the

software for this safety.

• Besides the public transport vehicles, the Motor Vehicles Department is planning to

install the tracking system in all registered vehicles including school buses, vans, Lorries

and auto rickshaws.

• In the first phase, GPS would be installed in vehicles and the second phase CCTV

cameras will be installed.

• Introduction of GPS based auto fare meter in the auto rickshaws is also in the plan.

• Not only crimes against women, but traffic rules violations including over speed could be

controlled with the installation of GPS.

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Government launches Suraksha Bandhan drive in Mission Mode

Suraksha Bandhan scheme is a special enrollment drive launched by Government in a Mission

Mode through participating banks and insurance companies to facilitate enrollment under social

security schemes Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana PMSBY, and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti

Bima Yojana PMJJBY.

• The last date for enrolment under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and

Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana schemes has been extended till 30th of

September 2015.

• This special enrolment drive is being launched in the backdrop of the forthcoming

festival of Raksha Bandhan.

GOI launches ‘Nai Manzil’ scheme for minorities

Nai Manzil scheme was launched by Dr. Najma Heptullah, Union Minority Affairs Minister for

minorities helping minority youth without a formal school-leaving certificate to obtain one and

find better employment.

• The scheme seeks to bridge the academic and skill development gaps between deeni

madrassas passouts and their mainstream counterparts.

• For the allocation for minority affairs, budget had allocated Rs. 3,734 crore to the

Ministry which was cut down to Rs. 3,165 crore in the revised estimates.

• Scheme will be beneficial for minority dominated areas specially, Bihar and UP where

most of the minority concentrated blocks are in these two states.

• This scheme also aims to provide educational intervention through bridge courses to

people between 17 and 35 years of age so as to help them pass class XIII and X from

distance medium educational system.

Telecom Minister launched mobile app "DISHA" for digital literacy

Minister of communications and information technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad has launched a

new mobile app ‘DISHA’ - Digital Saksharta Abhiyan to aid digital literacy in Bihar.

• The app, which is free to download from the Google play store, was launched in Bihar

that aims to help people learn about computers and Internet digitally, through self

learning modules. The app mainly envisages offering digital literacy to Tribal and Dalit

women in the State of Bihar.

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• The Ministry also launched DISHA handbook that was composed in such a manner that

anyone with little or no digital literacy can also learn using this book by means of

pictographic lessons on computers operations. This is framed by the Common Service

Centres (CSCs) for the purpose of digital literacy.

• 10 Dalit women, who have already got training under the Digital Saksharta Abhiyan in

Bodh Gaya (Bihar), were felicitated by the minister on this occasion.

• The training is conducted in partnership with Intel, which is working with the Common

Service Centres (CSCs) to provide digital literacy in India. At present Intel has trained

over 200 Dalit women and aims to train over 500 women in Bihar only.

Union Government launched School Nursery Yojana

Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar launched School Nursery Yojana to bring

students closer to nature. This will engage students of class VI to IX in raising of saplings in

nurseries created in school campuses.

Theme : To plant a tree for sustainable future and to make the nation clean and green.

• As per the yojana, a school Nursery will have a small space of a minimum of 100 sq

meter for raising saplings and for nursery-related activities, including preparing,

planting a mixture of good earth, soil and manure, filling earthen pots and storage of

seeds.

• Each School Nursery is expected to create 1,000 saplings every year. The schools will

be encouraged to take up composting, rain water harvesting and water recycling to

inculcate best practices in young minds under this scheme.

Kerala government announces State film awards 2014

Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards

have been bestowed by Kerala State Chalachitra Academy since 1998 on behalf of the

Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala, India.

• The awards are declared by the Minister for Cultural Affairs and are presented by the

Chief Minister of Kerala. The awards were started in 1969. The latest number of awards

is over 30, while the original number of awards in 1969 was 15.

• Kerala government announced State film awards 2014 in various categories.

The list of awardees was declared by State Minister for Cinema Thiruvanchoor

Radhakrishnan in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

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• Nivin Pauly and Sudev Nair packed away the trophies for Best Actors. Nazriya

Nazim is chosen as the Best Actress. Ottal is the Best Movie. Om Shanti Oshana is

the Best Popular Movie.

Govt approves setting up of All India Institute of Ayurveda

The Government of India has approved establishment of All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA),

the first ever referral-cum-teaching facility in the world's oldest health care system, at Sarita

Vihar in New Delhi.

• The Institute has been conceived as an apex institute of Ayurveda with 200 bedded referral

hospital for imparting education in the field of Ayurveda at MD and Ph.D level. As per the

official report, the construction activities and procurement of medical equipment and

furniture are at a steady stage of completion.

• As per Minister of State, AYUSH, Shripad Yesso Naik, research and development in

AYUSH is undertaken in accordance with the objectives and strategies outlined in

the 'National Policy for Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy-2002'. He

also mentioned that the government is in the process of establishing a North Eastern

Institute of Ayurveda and Homeopathy at Shillong.

President Pranab Mukherjee presented Saraswati Sammaan to Dr. M Veerappa Moily

Dr. M Veerappa Moily, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) received the 24th Saraswati

Sammaan for the year 2014 award from the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee for

his Epic “Sri Ramayana Mahanveshanam” written in Kannada in New Delhi on August 10, 2015.

• Moily was conferred with Moortidevi Award in 2007.

• Ramayana Mahanveshanam was first published in 2007 in Kannada. Later the poem was

translated into English, Hindi, Telugu and Tamil.

• Ramayana Mahaveshanam, Moily tried to explore the Ramarajya or the true principle of

the ideal State from a secular and modern point of view in his collection of poems.

Saraswati Samman:

• The Saraswati Samman is an annual award for outstanding prose or poetry literary

works in any 22 Indian language listed in Schedule VIII of the Constitution of India.

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• It is named after an Indian goddess of learning and is considered to be among the

highest literary awards in India.

• The Saraswati Samman was instituted in 1991 by the K. K. Birla Foundation.

Union Government launches new train services in Northeast

Marking the occasion as a Golden Day in the history of Northeast, Union Railway Minister Suresh

Prabhu on 10 August 2015 launched new train services in the Northeast after the completion of

Balipara-Bhalukpong (Arunachal Pradesh) and North Lakhimpur-Murkongselek (Assam)

sections into broad-gauge. The train services were launched by the Union Railway Minister Suresh

Prabhu through video-conferencing from New Delhi.

• This is the second Broad Gauge connectivity for Arunachal Pradesh after the launch of a

train service between Arunachal Pradesh’s capital Itanagar and Delhi earlier in 2015.

• This new (510 km) gauge conversion project was sanctioned in 2002-03 with the

budgetary outlay of 3600 crore rupees but was delayed due to fund constraints in the

past. But with a budgetary outlay of 713 crore rupees in 2014-15, and an additional

balance of 300 crore rupees it got a new booming start.

• At present, the Union Government in Northeast India has undertaken 13 new lines, 3

gauge conversion and 4 doubling projects, which on completion will augment a railway

network by 1915 km.

ISRO commissions Titanium Sponge Plant in Kerala

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has fully commissioned and started commercial

production at the first indigenous Titanium Sponge Plant at Chavara in Kerala.

• This initiative was taken by ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre to establish

Titanium Sponge Plant (TSP) a dedicated 500 MT per annum plant at M/s Kerala

Minerals and Metals Ltd (KMML), Chavara in Kollam district, Kerala.

• This initiative was taken by ISRO to set up a Titanium Sponge Plant (TSP) in the

country to meet the requirements in strategic areas.It is the only integrated plant in the

world that undertakes all activities right from mining of Ti minerals to manufacturing of

aerospace grade Ti sponge under one roof.

• It is a Titanium (Ti) alloy products produced by conversion of raw titanium through

Kroll process which is subjected to leaching or heated vacuum distillation to remove

impurities and gaining the purest form (99.7 per cent) of Titanium Sponge.

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• By this plant in kerala India has become the seventh country in the world producing

Titanium sponge commercially.

Kochi become first Indian city to join WTCF Council

Kochi now became a member of Beijing-headquartered World Tourism Cities Federation

(WTCF) Council.By this kochi will become first city from India to become member of WTCF.

• With this membership, the State would be able to upgrade its level of tourism industry

as the WTCF was into promoting coordinated economic and social development of world

tourism cities.

• Kochi by joining the WTCF, will bring and share successful experience in the

development of the tourism industry with all other members of federation.”Kochi’s

cuisine, martial arts and snake and dragon boat races” fulfil the set ground for

membership.

Thermal Powertech flags off second unit two of Krishnapatnam plant

• Thermal Powertech Corporation India Ltd has synchronised the second 660 mega watt

(MW) unit of its 1320 MW thermal power plant with the grid.

• The coal-fired power plant located in Krishnapatnam in Nellore district of Andhra

Pradesh has signed a power purchase agreement with Andhra Pradesh Power

Distribution Companies for the supply of 500 MW to the Central, Eastern, Southern

and Northern Power Distribution Companies for 25 years.

• It owns and operates two supercritical thermal power plants, Thermal Powertech

Corporation India (TPCIL) and NCC Power Projects (NCCPP), each having a capacity of

1,320 MW, in Andhra Pradesh.

• CEO of Thermal Powertech Corporation : Atul Nargund

Union Cabinet approves MoU between India, Nepal for construction of petroleum

pipeline

Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi on August 12, 2015 gave its approval for the signing of a

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of India and the Government of

Nepal for the construction of a petroleum products pipeline.

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India MoU with Nepal:

• The pipeline will be constructed from Raxaul of India to Amlekhgunj of Nepal and re-

engineering of Amlekhgunj Depot and allied facilities.

• This approval is made on the visit of the Prime Minister to Nepal on 3-4th August, 2014

for the construction of this petroleum products pipeline.

• Bearing in mind for close friendly relations between the two countries and their people,

this was agreed to by the Indian Government.

• The MoU will promote bilateral cooperation in the oil and gas sector and secure long

term supply of petroleum products to Nepal. It would help to preserve the environment

along the route and decongest the international border at Raxaul.

• The construction of a petroleum products pipeline project will be completed in two

phases.In the first phase, a petroleum products pipeline from Raxaul in India to

Amlekhgunj in Nepal would be constructed.

• The Indian Oil Corporation will bear a cost of Rs. 200 crore for the first phase of the

project.There will be a long term contract of 15 years between the Indian Oil

Corporation and the Nepal Oil Corporation.

CCEA approves proposal for strengthening drug regulatory system

• In line with the Make in India campaign, to facilitate domestic manufacturing of

quality medical products, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by

the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, approved a proposal for strengthening and

upgrading the drug regulatory system both at the Central and state level, at a total cost

of Rs 1750 crore which will be spread over a period of three years.

• In an official statement the CCEA said, Out of the total amount of Rs 1750 crore, Rs 900

crore will be spent on strengthening central structures and Rs 850 crore will be made

available to the state governments after signing a Memorandum of Understanding.

Indian Railways ink 4 MoUs with Union Power

Union Power Ministry and New & Renewable Energy Ministry signed four Memorandum of

Understandings (MoUs) for energy conservation, transmission and solarisation on August

12, 2015.

• The main objective of the MoUs is to boost cooperation between both parties in the

areas of electricity transmission, promotion of renewable energy and energy

conservation in a time bound manner.

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MoU-1-

The first MoU was signed between the Power and Railways Ministries for knowledge sharing in the

field of electricity and energy conservation to reduce the cost of electricity for the Railways.

MoU-2-

The second MoU was signed by Railway Ministry and Ministry of New & Renewable Energy to

promote solar energy usage while it signed a third MoU with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency to

identify technologies to improve energy utilisation.

MoU-3-

The third MoU was signed by Railway Ministry and Bureau of Energy Efficiency to identify

technologies to improve energy utilization.

MoU-4-

The fourth MoU was signed by Railway Energy Management Company and Energy Efficiency

Services Ltd for implementation of energy efficient systems and conservation projects for the

Railways.

• Piyush Goyal, Union Power Minister said that the Railways have saved Rs. 2,500 crore over the

last five years in energy costs.

Maharashtra Gov forms Cabinet sub-committee to tackle drought crisis

• By observing the Marathwada grim drought situation,Maharashtra government set up a

cabinet sub-committee headed by Agriculture Minister Eknath Khadse empowered to

monitor the water scarcity situation and to prepare an action plan to tackle the crisis.

• The committee also comprising of water supply Minister Babanrao Lonikar, Rural

Development Minister Pankaja Munde and finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar.

• Beed, Osmanabad and Latur in Marathwada region are facing the worst crisis.

• The state has received an average of 61 percent rain. There is 44 percent water

storage, out of which in Marathwada there is only seven per cent and 87 percent area

has been covered by sowing.

• Agriculture Minister Eknath Khadse said that they discussed if drinking water can be

transported through railway from the Ujani dam.

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Union Cabinet approves Spectrum Sharing Guidelines

Indian cabinet approved the much-awaited spectrum sharing guidelines, which are expected to

address the issue of mobile phone call drops and the quality of services as also optimise the

use of radio frequency spectrum for telecom services.

• The TRAI had sent its recommendations on sharing of airwaves to the Telecom

Commission. While this was welcomed by the operators, they did not appreciate the idea

of a fee proposed on such sharing.

• Spectrum sharing would be allowed only for the access service providers in the first

instance in a Licensed Service Area (LSA), where both the licensees are having

spectrum in the same band.

• Further, spectrum holding of any licensee post-sharing shall be counted after adding 50

percent of the spectrum held by the other licensee in the band being shared, being

added as additional spectrum to the original spectrum, held by the licensee in the band,

the statement said.

• Guided by the principle of “ease of doing business“, the cabinet also decided that both

licensees sharing the spectrum shall jointly give a prior intimation for sharing the right

to use the spectrum at least 45 days before the proposed effective date of the sharing.

• A processing fee, of Rs.50,000, which could be modified from time to time, shall be

payable individually by each licensee for each service area at the time of intimation

• A licensee shall not be eligible to share its spectrum, if it has been established that it is

in breach of terms and conditions of the licence, and the licensor has ordered for

revocation or termination of its licence.

Government approves Soft loan scheme to sugar mills

• To further infuse liquidity into the sugar industry and facilitate clearing of cane dues

arrears, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri

Narendra Modi, has approved a soft loan scheme to the extent of Rs. 6000 crore for

the current sugar season.

• The CCEA has further mandated that banks pass on the financial assistance directly to

the cane growers after obtaining the list from the mills.

• Furthermore, in order to incentivize mills to clear their dues expeditiously, the

government had earlier mandated that soft loans will be provided to only those units

which have cleared at least 50 percent of their outstanding arrears by 30.6.2015.

• The Government has provided one year moratorium on this loan, and will bear the

interest subvention cost to the extent of Rs. 600 crore for the said period.

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Gov sanctioned 1,500-MW ultra mega solar power park for Andhra Pradesh

• The Ministry for New and Renewable Energy sanctioned a 1,500-MW ultra mega solar

power park for Andhra Pradesh.

• The 1,500 MW ultra mega solar park will be developed in Kadapa district by NTPC,

which will the third mega park of over 1,000 MW to be taken up by the state.

• Earlier two mega parks of 1,000 MW each were executed by NTPC at Anantapur and

Kurnool districts, respectively. Part from the above projects the state utility Andhra

Pradesh Genco has approved a move to set up a 500 MW (250×2) solar park in

Anantapur.

ISRO teams up with Urban Development ministry, to map 4041 towns

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has tied up with the Union Urban

Development Ministry for mapping over 500 towns and cities, to make a base plan for

better planning and management which will further help the town planners to prepare a

master plan for many fast urbanising local bodies. The mapping is being currently done

for municipal local bodies with a population of more than one lakh and it is

expected to start by September, 2015.

• As per the official report, a small per cent of the cities have been mapped. This project

can cover around 500 urban areas, which will be later taken to 4,041. The report also

added that over 2,500 town planners have been roped in and trained on how to use

the base plan which in turn can help urban planners prepare a better master plan.

• ISRO has diversified operations under Bhuvan Application Services, country’s geo-

platform launched in 2009 like 1 meter satellite images for more than 300 cities in the

country and 3D city models with extrusions of the buildings and virtual city models,

which would be a useful tool for Smart City Programme of the government. The space

agency will also map and provide management plans for heritage sites and

monuments of national importance.

NTPC signed two MoU’s for Skill Development

National Skill Development Fund (NSDF) and National Skill Development Corporation

(NSDC) are the two MoU’S signed by National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) for skill

development training. NTPC will fund these projects and executed by NSDC through its Training

Partners.

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• There are over 70 skill development schemes across various sectors implemented by over 20

Central Ministries/Departments for various skill development/entrepreneurship programmes for

both the organized and unorganized sectors.

MoU-1:

• The first MoU was signed to provide skill training to 5000 youth and women across 22

locations with special focus on the eastern states/ part of the country where NTPC power

plants are located.

• The first MoU project cost is Rs 6.5 Crore and the time period is two years.

MoU-2:

• The second MoU was signed to train 25000 candidates in services and manufacturing

sectors across under-served locations in Bihar.

• The second MoU project cost is Rs 30 crore and the time period is five years.

Assam passed Witch Hunting Bill, 2015

Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Bill, 2015 has been passed by

the Assam state assembly that any person making any offence under the Act as non-bailable,

cognizable and non-compoundable to eliminate rising cases of superstition leading to murder of

so-called "witches".

• About 1,000 women have been killed across India in the past decade for "practicing

witchcraft".

• At least 77 persons were killed and 60 others were injured in witch hunting incidents

across Assam since 2010.

• The recent killings of five women suspected to be "witches" in Jharkhand. These

women were allegedly killed after they were suspected of practicing "black magic" on

some children.

UP CM launches mobile app for people

• Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav launched of ‘Samajwadi Akhilesh’

mobile application, a channel through which users will stay connected with Samajwadi

Party.

• This application users will now be able to receive notification messages directly from the

CM and learn more about his initiatives for the state

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• People will always be empowered with the latest information.It will keep you updated.

• Besides CM’s achievements, feeds from FB and Twitter, videos and interviews of CM,

one can also read and share news related to him.

• This applications also highlights initiatives and achievements of Samajwadi Party.

Govt to spend Rs 14,000 crore to promote eco-friendly vehicles

• Government will spend Rs 14,000 crore to promote hybrid and electric vehicles in the

country, Heavy Industries Minister Anant Geete.

• Domestic automobile industry needs to become sustainable in the wake of stiff global

competition, specially when we are competing with developed nations.

• Under the National Electric Mobility Mission, we are making special efforts to make

Prime Minister’s ‘Make in India’ drive a success,”

International climate office to be set up in Pune

An International Climate Variability and Predictability project office would be set up in

Pune for implementation of intra-seasonal, seasonal and inter-annual variability and

predictability of monsoon systems.

• An agreement has already been signed in February this year in this regard between

Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (ESSO-IITM) and World Climate Research

Programme, Geneva, the Union Cabinet was informed

• Hosting of the office will not only give it an international recognition but will also help

ESSO-IITM scientists to establish fruitful cooperation with the global community of

climate researchers.

• It will lead to better understanding of climate variability and development of climate

prediction models that are useful for the global community.

Cochin International Airport all set to become India’s first green airport

Cochin International Airport will become the first Indian airport or may be the first in the world to

operate on solar power and turn itself to a “Green Airport” which will be inaugurated by the

Kerala State Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on August 18, 2015.

• Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) will be commissioning its first solar power

project consisting of 12 MW plant in 45 acres near the cargo complex.

• This 12MW plant has 46,000 solar panels can produce 52,000 units of power daily.

• The total cost of the project is around Rs 62 crore.

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• The solar power plant has been set up by Bosch Ltd., Bangalore and completed the

entire work of the installation in a short span of six months.

• A 12MW solar power project set up at the Cochin Airport will generate 18 million units of

power annually.

• It is equivalent to cutting around 3 lakh metric carbon dioxide emission from coal

powered power plants over the next 25 years, or planting 30 lakh trees or not driving

750 million miles.

• The government has also entrusted CIAL with the construction of 8 mini hydel projects.

Odisha Government approves “Housing for All” policy in urban areas

• “Housing for All” policy for urban areas was approved by the Odisha Government. State

cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik given the approval for this new policy.

• The policy envisages provisions enabling framework for implementation of affordable

housing projects, slum rehabilitation and redevelopment projects and to facilitate

development of housing schemes in urban areas.

Rajiv Gandhi International Airport becomes 1st to receive approval for e-boarding

facility

Following to Prime Minister’s ‘Digital India’ initiative GMR Hyderabad International Airport

(GHIAL) become the India’s first airport to get approval for implementation of the end-to-end

e-boarding for domestic passengers.

• With the help of e-boarding, a passenger will need only a mobile e-boarding card and

Aadhaar number to enter the airport. One can use the e-boarding card issued by CUSS

(Common Use Self Service) machine or check-in counters also.

• The Commissioner of Security Civil Aviation (CoSCA), Bureau of Civil Aviation Security

(BCAS), under the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), has given the approval for the e-

boarding project.

• Implementation of full scale e-boarding will be initiated soon at the airport for domestic

passengers.

• The e-boarding project has been recognized by International Air Transport Association

(IATA) as being aligned to their “Fast Travel” vision and “Simplify the

Business” initiative.

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Puducherry Science Centre, Planetarium will be named after Abdul Kalam

• Puducherry government announced that the newly inaugurated science centre-cum-

planetarium would be named after former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

• On 68th Independence Day, Chief Minister N. Rangasamy said the Rs 5.5-crore

science centre-cum-planetarium at Lawspet here would be named after the former

President who “lives on in our hearts” and whose “thoughts continue to inspire us

to take our country forward.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a new campaign ‘Start-up India; Stand up

India’

On the eve of celebration of 69th Independence Day at Red Fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi

announced a new campaign “Start-up India; Stand-up India” to promote bank financing for

start-ups and offer incentives to boost entrepreneurship and job creation which would in turn

encourage entrepreneurship among the youth of India.

• The scheme aimed at extending support to people to start new ventures and businesses,

especially those belonging to the weaker sections. It was in this context that he urged

1.25 lakh bank branches to provide loans/finances to at least one tribal or dalit and

at least one woman entrepreneur.

• This initiative is expected to open a new dimension to entrepreneurship and to set up a

network of start-ups in the country which aims to make India the No.1 country in start-

ups. He also added, as part of the skill India and Digital India initiative, a package of

incentives will be given to manufacturing units for generating jobs.

• Modi also questioned the practice of “interviews” for recruitments even at

relatively junior levels and asked departments concerned to end this practice at the

earliest and promote merit by recruiting only through transparent, online processes.

Union Government unveils Indradhanush Mission

Indradhanush(rainbow) mission, a seven-pronged plan to revamp functioning of public sector

banks (PSBs) was launched by Government of India Finance minister Arun Jaitley.Through this

plan it helps the lenders register higher growth rate than earlier estimated and effectively deal

with the issue of Non-Performing Assets (NPAs).

• According to rating agency Crisil, the plan to provide a clear roadmap on capital infusion

by the government and maintaining a capital buffer beyond the regulatory minimum

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reinforces the rating agency stance that the credit ratings of public sector banks would

remain in the 'high safety' category in the near term.

• Indradhanush proposals can help PSBs effectively deal with the malaise of NPAs.

These banks can potentially grow faster than its earlier estimate of 12 per cent

annually till fiscal 2019.

• The seven elements of Indradhanush includes Appointments, Board of Bureau,

Capitalization, De-Stressing, Empowerment, Framework of Accountability and

Governance Reforms.

• The government said that it would infuse Rs 20,088 crore into 13 PSU banks within a

month's time with country's largest lender SBI cornering a hefty Rs 5,531 crore.

• The 13 PSU Banks includes State Bank of India, Bank of India, IDBI, Bank of Baroda,

Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Union Bank of India,

Corporation Bank, Andhra Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Allahabad Bank, Dena Bank.

• Indradhanush mainly focuses on systemic changes in state-run lenders, including a

fresh look at hiring, a comprehensive plan to de-stress bloated lenders, capital infusion,

accountability incentives with higher rewards including stock options and cleaning up

governance.

Taj Mahal becomes first historical monument in the world to have a Twitter account

Being recognized as one of the world’s most iconic sights, the symbol of true love, an architectural

brilliance and one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Taj Mahal, Shah Jahan's gift to his wife

Mumtaz now has its own Twitter account - @Taj Mahal.

• The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav launched the official Twitter

account on the Independence Day. As per The Uttar Pradesh Tourism department, the

Taj Mahal had now become the first historical monument in the world to have its own

Twitter account.

• According to tourism officials, the Twitter handle will help have a better interaction with

tourists and the feedback would help address grievances. After the launch, within an

hour, it had more than 2,000 followers.

• According to sources, initially, it was proposed to launch the Twitter handle from Taj

Mahal itself, but the Archaeological Survey of India of Agra Circle had delayed the

proposal citing security issues.

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Microsoft to help Andhra Pradesh get low cost Internet

• Global technology giant Microsoft will be working with Andhra Pradesh Government

on TV White Spaces Project, a technology that uses unused TV spectrum to deliver

low-cost Internet connection to users. AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu

requested the IT giant to look for avenues where the AP Government and Microsoft

could work together.

• In a first-of-its-kind pilot, Microsoft, Department of Telecommunications, Department of

Electronics and IT, and Education and Research Network (ERNET) are working with

the Government of Andhra Pradesh to bring low-cost broadband internet connection to

four educational institutions in the district of Srikakulam which had no internet earlier.

With Zilla Panchayat High School at Voppangi as the base station, the other three

campuses were receivers located at distances of 10 kilometers or more from the base

station.

Gujarat Government declares ban on use of plastic in state

• Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel today announced a ban on the use of plastic in

the state.

• "Keeping in view protection of environment, cattle health and cleanliness, have

declared plastic ban across Gujarat," Patel said after unfurling the National Flag at

the Independence Day ceremony at Lunavada in Mahisagar district.

• Several municipal bodies in the state have already baned use of plastic bags thinner

than 40 microns. But the state government has announced this kind of a ban for

the first time.

• She didn't specify plastic carry-bags, though presumably the ban is only about such

bags.

Ministry of Agriculture renamed as the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare

• Seven decade-old Agriculture Ministry will be renamed as ‘Agriculture and Farmers’

Welfare Ministry’ announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

• Pre-independent India had a combined Department of Revenue, Agriculture and

Commerc set up in June 1871.

• In 1881, the Department of Revenue and Agriculture was reconstituted as separate

departments.In 1923 it was combined with Education and Health.

• The Department of Agriculture was re-dedicated as the Ministry of Agriculture in

August 1947.

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42 mega food parks to start operations by 2019

Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that with a potential investment of

about Rs 14,000 crore, Government approved 42 mega food parks which will become

operational by 2019 this will benefit about 12.5 lakh farmers.

• These 42 mega food parks are expected to generate about 3-4 lakh jobs.

• Mega Food Park Scheme aims at facilitating the establishment of a strong food

processing industry backed by an efficient supply chain, which includes collection

centres, a central processing centre (CPC) and cold chain infrastructure.

• Mega Food Park offers various facilities to food processors, farmers, retailers and

exporters, helping achieve faster growth for food processing industries.

Odisha Cabinet approves Fisheries Policy 2015

Odisha government chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik approved Odisha Fisheries Policy,

2015, to enhance the productivity and production of fish from the inland, brackish water and

marine resources.

• Fisheries policy targets 7.15 lakh tonne of total fish production by the end of 2019-20

from present level of 4.13 lakh tonnes.

• The policy aims to develop additional 15,000 hectares new tank and ponds will be

developed for freshwater aquaculture in 30 districts by 2020 which will create an

additional direct employment for 60,000 persons.

• An increase in the inland fish production from 2.63 lakh tonnes at present to about 5.30

lakh tonnes in the next five years will be done through this policy.

• Additional direct employment to approximately 60,000 persons in fish farming and

indirect employment to 1,20,000 persons in ancillary activitieswill be created.

• The freshwater fish productivity is aimed to be increased from 2.13 tonnes per hectare

to 3.5 tonnes per hectare through extensive farming practices

• Productivity will be enhanced in semi-intensive and intensive systems to five tonnes and

10 tonnes per hectare.

MHA To Setup Pan-India National Fingerprint Database

In a bid to expedite investigation of crime across India, the Ministry of Home Affairs will setup

a national fingerprint database of nearly 28 lakh convicts and those arrested for criminal

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offences, by collecting and combining records from all the states, to record a pan-India criminal

data. The National Informatics Centre is creating a 'cloud' for this integration.

• The Delhi-based Central Finger Print Bureau (CPFB), at present, has data of more

than 9.7 lakh finger print records of convicted or arrested persons in digitized form.

However, more than 18 lakh finger print records with finger print bureaus of other

states and Union Territories are not linked to this central database.

• The plan is to gather all records from the state bureaus and make them part of the

national database so that real time data based on fingerprints can be furnished, in case

local police raises any query from any part of the country.

• The ministry is also considering a proposal to integrate the finger print data with other

biometric techniques like digital images, palm prints and auxiliary biometric like Iris

records in future.

India stands alone on ‘name & shame’ policy- sex offender registration

• The government’s announcement that it would maintain a publicly available database

of sex offenders. The home ministry’s proposal to ‘name and shame’ those charged for

sexual offences by putting their names in the public domain runs completely contrary to

the principle.

• 2014 report of the office of sex offender sentencing, monitoring, apprehending,

registration and tracking (SMART), the US government agency to monitor such

crimes, states that such registers are maintained by at least 19 countries.

• US, the first country to pass a national sex offender registration law in 1994.

• Other major countries that have similar laws include the UK, Canada, France, Germany,

South Africa and South Korea,Austria, Finland, Israel, Malaysia, New Zealand,

Switzerland and UAE are among many countries that have considered or were

considering such laws.

Modi government to launch Accessible India to help physically challenged people

After Swachh Bharat, Modi government, will soon launch “Accessible India” the next sweeping

initiative over the next five years as India has 2.2 crore people with disabilities, or 2.13% of the

population which make the country disabled-friendly.

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Accessible India:

For starters, the government is working to introduce set-top boxes that will make TV

programmes more useful for the visually impaired.

• Officials from the Department of Disability Affairs have met manufacturers of set-top

boxes to discuss introduction of a button on the set-top box and remote control that will

convert text on the TV screen to voice.

• At present, there is no such set-top box in India. A prototype was found in the UK

market.

• The feature includes video descriptions, which are narrations of a television show's key

visual elements, a feature found in some programmes in the US, UK and European

countries.

• Another part of making television more disabled-friendly is the introduction of sign

language in at least 25% of the programmes

• The Department of Disability Affairs is also introducing other initiatives in the Accessible

India programme, including conversion of content on government websites through

screen reader programmes for the visually impaired and the introduction of a mobile

app to provide information on disabled-friendly public utilities in a city.

• The app is likely to be unveiled as early as next month. It would map facilities such as

ATMs, banks, malls, toilets and provide user-generated ratings of how disabled-

friendly they are.

• The government is also laying emphasis on making all public buildings disabled-friendly.

To start with, the department has identified auditors and selected parameters for an

audit of 100 government buildings

• All ministry and department websites are being examined to see how their content can

be converted through a screen reader programme from text to speech mode and it will

be done within this financial year.

Odisha government approved SCRIPS scheme

During a State Cabinet meeting, chaired by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the Odisha

government has approved a Rs 1,500-crore State Capital Region Improvement of Power

System (SCRIPS) scheme to facilitate 24x7 quality power supply to the people in and around the

state capital of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, to be implemented in five years that is from 2015-

16 to 2019-20.

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The project envisages renovation, modernization and expansion of the existing transmission

and distribution infrastructure with an objective to ensure round-the-clock uninterrupted, reliable

and stable power supply to all classes of consumers, including public services in the geographical

areas covered under the Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) for the twin cities

Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.

Highlights of The Scheme:

• SCRIPS aims to provide 24x7 quality power supply to the people in and around the state

capital of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack urban complex.

• Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Limited (OPTCL) will be the implementing

agency.

• The scheme will be implemented entirely out of state’s own finances from 2015-16 to

2019-20 and will have different components like underground cabling of important lines,

smart grid and SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition).

• The project is expected to benefit over 3 million electricity consumers.

• Apart from this, the Cabinet also approved Odisha Fisheries Policy, 2015, and

a 650.64km ambitious Biju Expressway to build a 4-lane economic

corridor from Rourkela to Jagadalpur in Chhattisgarh and 30 other proposals.

Delhi government launches new taxi scheme ‘City Taxi’

AAP government announced a new scheme ‘City Taxi’ under which permits will be issued to 600 cc

vehicles which will charge Rs 10 per km.

Small size taxis between 600 cc and 749 cc operational under the scheme will have minimum

flag down rate of 25 rupees for first two kilometres, which is same in the auto rickshaws. After

two kilometres passengers will have to pay 10 rupees per kilometer, which is higher than the

present 8.5 rupees per kilometre fare that auto rickshaws charge.

About the City Taxi Scheme 2015

• vehicles having capacity of 600cc onwards can register with the government. Until now,

only those vehicles which had capacity of 750cc or more were issued permits.

• Licenses will be given to individuals, groups as well as the taxi aggregators. The Delhi

government will also allow transfer of permits from Economy Taxi Scheme (2010) to

New City Taxi Scheme.

• The taxis will come with a panic and hooter button as a safety feature.

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• Taxi under this scheme will come in white colour with provisions of advertisements on

both sides. LCD display will be installed on top of the vehicles in green and red colour for

availability and occupied category.

Odisha sets up special entity ‘SLFC’ to fast track Investment approvals

The Odisha government has set up a special entity to fast track approvals for investment projects.

The new entity christened state level facilitation cell (SLFC) has been mandated to clear

investment proposals in 15-30 days.

• The SLFC has categorised companies in two broad categories — green and non-green.

• The green category largely comprises agri-based industries, food-processing, cottage

industries, textiles, light engineering, chemicals, building materials, and consumer

goods.

• Under the new arrangement, SLFC will provide clearances to green category projects

within 15 days. All other industrial projects placed under the non-green category would

receive approvals within 30 days.

Kerala Government signed MoU with Adani Group for development of Vizhinjam Port

The Adani Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state government in

Congress-ruled Kerala to build and operate the Vizhinjam International Seaport.

• They will make operational the Vizhinjam mega transshipment container terminals

within1,000 days from the start of construction on November 1, 2015. The project was

conceived over 25 years ago but had failed to take off as three rounds of prior bidding

got no commitment from any serious developer

• Vizhinjam, with its strategic access to the Middle East, the Suez Canal, the coast of

East Africa, Bay of Bengal and the Straits of Malacca has an unmatched location

advantage. This, coupled with the strong growth of India and the subcontinent, makes it

one of the most exciting ports being developed in the world.

• Adani Group has chosen Santosh Kumar Mahapatra, a former IAS officer who was

instrumental in building the challenging Dhamra port in Orissa, to be the CEO for the

Vizhinjam project.

Telangana Government launched Grama Jyothi Scheme

• Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao launched a flagship programme

Grama Jyothi across the state on 17 August 2015. The scheme is aimed at

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comprehensive development of rural areas allowing planning and execution of works by

villages themselves.

• The scheme will focus on improving the Human Development Index (HDI) by

addressing core issues such as drinking water and sanitation, health and nutrition,

education, infrastructure, natural resources management, agriculture, social security

and poverty reduction.

• For the successful implementation of the scheme, the state government has decided to

invest 25000 crore rupees to empower villages.The Grama Jyothi programme aims to

empower gram panchayats. The programme introduces a participatory approach in

preparing village development plans involving the panchayats, self help groups, people

and all interested in the holistic development of the village.

• Grama Jyothi programme will be a game-changer to inclusive and holistic development

of backward villages of Telangana. The government will also incentivise villages that

achieve 100 percent targets in the areas of sanitation, immunisation, nutrition,

literacy and green cover.

Union Government announces Rs 1.25 lakh crore special package for Bihar

A special package of Rs 1,25,003 lakh crore was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for

Bihar state ahead of the Assembly elections in Bihar for its growth and development, this package

would change the “face and fate” of the State.

• Rs 1.25 Lakh Crore with Rs 40,000 crore of the existing projects. This totals to Rs. 1.65

lakh crore for the development of Bihar.

• Farmer’s Welfare- Rs 3,094 cr-Up-gradation of Rajendra Prasad Agriculture University to

Central University, creation of new Research Centre

• Development of Fisheries, Farm water management, Storage capacity, Farm

mechanisation, Seed production systems

• Construction of new Godowns for foodgrains Education- Rs 1,000 cr

• Central University near Bhagalpur IIM at Bodhgaya Skill Development- Rs 1,550 cr

• Establishment of Mega Skill University Training of 1 lakh

• youth Health- Rs 600 cr Up-gradation of 3 medical colleges at Patna, Bhagalpur, Gay

• Electricity- Rs 16,130 cr ,1,300 MW new power plant at Buxor

• Electrification of villages under Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Vidyut Yojana (sufficient for

farms, uninterrupted for homes)

• Electrification of towns-cities under Integrated Power Development Scheme Rural

Roads- Rs 13,820 cr

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• 22,500 kms of Rural Roads Highways- Rs 54,713 cr-2,775 kms of National Highways

(four-laning & widening).Construction of Bridges (across Ganga, Sone, Kosi)

• Construction of 12 Rail overbridges Railways- Rs 8,870 cr ,Doubling and Tripling of 676

kms of Railway line Electrification of 574 kms

• Airports- Rs 2,700 cr Construction of new airport at Patna,Development of airports at

Gaya, Raxaul, Purnea

• Digital Bihar- Rs 449 cr,Software Technology Parks, Rural BPOs, Training Centres,1,000

new Mobile towers to increase coverage and quality,30 WiFi hotspots across prominent

tourist place,Common Service Centres to be scaled up from 8,800 to 26,000

• Petroleum & Gas- Rs 21,476 cr-Expansion of Barauni Refinery + new Petrochemical

Plant,Construction of Gas pipelines, new LPG plants and massive expansion in domestic

LPG connection,Petrol-Diesel pipeline from Raxaul to Nepal Tourism- Rs 600 cr

• Development of 7 Tourist circuits Total- Rs 1,25,003 cr

Lonely Planet ranks Taj Mahal as world’s fifth most attractive travel hotspot

• The Taj Mahal has made it to the top five of a prestigious new list of the world’s best

tourist attractions.

• Lonely Planet’s “Ultimate Travelist” ranks the historic mausoleum built in Agra by

Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as the fifth most attractive travel hotspot in the world and

describes it as a “magnificent Mughal masterpiece”.

• The Temples of Angkor, a UNESCO World Heritage site in northern Cambodia, tops the

list as a complex of more than 1,000 temples, shrines and tombs which attracts more

than 2 million visitors annually.

• The Great Barrier Reef in Australia comes in at number two, the Inca city of Machu

Picchu in Peru at number three, and the Great Wall of China at four.

US firm signs deal with Haryana government to create 2000 jobs

• The Haryana government has signed a deal with a leading US firm to manufacture air

conditioners at an eight-acre facility in Gurgaon that will generate about 2,000 jobs.

• The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Connecticut-based

firm United Technologies and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar

Lenovo-Motorola starts making smartphones at Chennai plant

Lenovo has begun local manufacturing of smartphones at Sriperumbudur near Chennai through

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global contract manufacturing partner Flextronics, becoming the second Chinese company after Xiaomi to have its mobile devices made in India.

• The company has started making two 4G smartphones, the Moto E and the Lenovo K3

Note.

• The Chennai plant, which has already hired 1,500 employees, is the only plant outside

China that produces devices for both the smartphone brands.

Centre to declare Rishikesh, Haridwar as Twin National Heritage Cities

The Union tourism ministry will be conferring the title of 'twin national heritage cities' to the

temple towns of Rishikesh and Haridwar. This will be a first of its kind instance where a city has

been given such a tag.

• As per the ministry, the funds are being earmarked for the development of the two cities

already. Funds to the tune of Rs 120 crore for setting up a cable car ropeway system

for Tehri Lake and the char dhams were allotted.

• While Rs 50 crore has been allotted for Kedarnath, Rs 40 crore is for the other char

dham destinations, Rs 30 crore has been allotted for Tehri Lake alone.

Only BS-IV compliant vehicles will be sold and registered from 2017: Government

• Sale of four-wheelers not meeting Bharat Stage (BS)-IV emission norms will be barred

in India from April 2017, with the government deciding to bring the entire country

under the ambit of the tighter pollution control standard.

• The sale and registration of vehicles not meeting the new emission norms won’t be

allowed in the country from April 2017 and only Bharat Stage compliant four-wheeler

vehicles will be manufactured

• BS-IV is already mandatory in some major cities, including Delhi-NCR, Mumbai,

Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad. For the rest of the country, the government has

prepared a plan to implement the new norms in two phases.

Govt launches portal for students seeking loans

The government has a launched a website, vidyalakshmi.co.in on the occasion of Independence

Day i.e. 15th August, 2015 .

• The portal has been developed and maintained by NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure

Limited (NSDL e-Gov) under the guidance of Department of Financial Services in the

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Finance Ministry, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource

Development and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA).

• 13 banks have registered 22 educational loan schemes on the Vidya Lakshmi Portal

and five banks — SBI, IDBI Bank, Bank of India, Canara Bank and Union Bank of India

have integrated their system with the portal for providing loan processing status to

students.

Haryana, Maryland agreed to cooperate in biotechnology, life sciences

• At a meeting in state capital Annapolis, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar

and Maryland Lt. Governor Boyd K. Rutherford agreed that Haryana and the US state

of Maryland to explore the possibility of cooperation in the fields of biotechnology, life

sciences, agriculture, cyber security and engineering.

• They also decided to find out scope for working with companies engaged in the sector of

low-cost housing in Maryland.

• Manohar Lal Khattar, led a 20-member delegation of officials and businessmen on a 10-

day trip to the US and Canada.

• In the memory of the first Indian-origin astronaut Kalpana Chawla, the government of

Haryana has decided to set up the Kalpana Chawla University of Health Sciences

Khattar sought cooperation and guidance from its Bloomberg School of Public Health

of Maryland.

The world's first solar powered airport - in Kerala

Scripting a new chapter in Renewable energy, the southern Indian city of Kochi in Kerala is

now the proud home of the world’s first fully solar-powered airport as Chief Minister Oommen

Chandy inaugurated the 12 MWp (megawatt peak) solar power plant near the cargo complex at

the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL).

About the Project:

• With 46,150 solar panels Spread across 45 acres of land, equivalent to 25 football fields

- the project was built by German engineering company Bosch for Rs 62 crore ($9.5

million).

• The airport already had a 1MW solar power plant, which can produce 4,000 units of

electricity daily. With its new solar plant, the airport can now produce 60,000 units of

electricity every day, which is more than enough to meet its daily requirement.

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• Since the airport expects to produce more than what it is likely to consume, CIAL is

planning to feed some of the power into the state grid.

• It is equipped with a SCADA system, through which remote monitoring is carried out.

Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Value Added Tax (Amendment) Regulation 2015 promulgation

approved

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved the promulgation

of the Dadra and Nagar Haveli Value Added Tax (Amendment) Regulation, 2005. The

amendment was promulgated by President Shri Pranab Mukherjee under article 240 of the

Constitution of India.

As per the official report, this will substitute the clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 4 of the

Dadra and Nagar Haveli Value Added Tax Regulation, 2005 with the amendment, namely “(b) in

respect of goods specified in the Third Schedule, at the rate of five percent.”

Possible Impact:

This will help the Union territory to generate additional gross revenue up to approximately 120

crore rupees and the net tax generation is estimated to be 7 crore rupees per annum.

What is Article 240?

Article 240 of the Constitution, empowers the President to make regulations for the peace,

progress and good governance of certain Union territories in our Country.

Manipur Government reaches agreement with JCILPS on ILP System

• Inner Line Permit System (ILPS) is a travel document that restricts “outsiders”

from entering and staying in a state without permission, Manipur Government made

agreement with the Joint Committee on the Inner Line Permit System, JCILPS, on

insertion of five major points in the Draft Bill to safeguard the rights of indigenous

people of Manipur.

• JCILPS said implementation of the system would check influx of migrants and safeguard

the culture, tradition, identity and demographic structure of the indigenous people of the

state.

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• A total of 16 members from the JCILPS and 12 member’s team of Political Parties

Committee on ILP comprising of Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam, MLA RK Anand, Ng

Bijoy and others attended the meeting.

Centre sanctions Rs 99.86 cr for tourism developp in Telangana

• Under Swadesh Darshan Mission 2015-16, the Tourism Ministry sanctioned Rs

99.86 crores for the ‘Integrated Development of Eco-Tourism Circuit’ project in

Mahabubnagar district of Telangana.

• The project includes works on Somasila riverside development with jetties and boating

facilities, development of Singottam reservoir and tourist facilitation centre, and

development of Akka Mahadevi caves with illumination and visitors amenities among

others.

• Telangana Tourism Corporation has proposed a tourism circuit highlighting the scenic

beauty of the region, covering forests, tiger reserve and wildlife, waterfalls, caves, rivers

and reservoirs and ancient temples, tourist-friendly amenities and infrastructure,

including a water-sports hub at Singottam reservoir.

HP Government launches RISHTA project

• Rajiv Gandhi Illuminating Scheme for Hill Town Advancement (RISHTA) project

has been launched by HP Government which is an efficient smart LED based street

lighting project. It was launched by Virbhadra Singh who is State Chief Minister of

Shimla.

• This project is also known as Centralized Control and Monitoring System, Smart Street

Lighting Scheme for Urban Local bodies which implements LED based street lighting

project.

This project will replace total of 63, 484 street lights with LEDs in all the Urban Local

areas.

• By this project, energy will saved by 45 to 55 percent.

• This project is being implemented by state Urban Development Department association

and Energy Efficient Services Limited (EESL).

Union Government sell 10 per cent stake in IOC

The Government holds 68.57 per cent shares in Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the biggest oil

refining and marketing company in the country will sell over 24.28 crore shares or 10 per cent of

its stake in Indian Oil at Rs. 387 a piece can get over Rs. 9,000 crore.

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• The floor price is at around 2 per cent discount on closing price of Rs. 394.45. Any

investor can bid on or above the floor price in the share sale.

• Stake sale in IOC will be the fourth disinvestment this fiscal. The earlier three stake

sales had risen just over Rs 3,000 crore.

• The decision to sell stake was taken after a ministerial level consultation between

finance minister Arun Jaitley and oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Committee on Consumption of Junk Food by School Children submitted its report to

WCD Ministry

• The committee set up by Ministry of Women and Child Development recommended that

Junk food should be clearly defined.

• It also suggested that the food falling under such a definition of Junk food should be

banned from school canteens and from the shops and restaurant selling food within the

200 metres of a school premise.

• Till now there is no particular definition of junk food has been given under the Food

Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006 though the guidelines to provide wholesome,

nutritious, safe and hygienic food to the school children are framed by Central

Advisory Committee, FSSAI.

India to host ‘Call To Action Summit 2015′ ending preventable child and maternal

deaths’

• Call To Action Summit 2015 for ending preventable child and maternal deaths will be co-

hosted by The Ministry of Helath and Family Welfare, Government of India along with

Ministry of Health Government of Ethiopia, USAID, UNICEF, The Bill & Melinda Gates

Foundation, and Tata Trusts in New Delhi on August 27-28, 2015.

• The two-day Leadership Summit will be a confluence of health ministers from 24 priority

countries that committed to the Global Call To Action for Child Survival in June 2012 ,

state health ministers from India, international academic experts, health practitioners,

and global leaders from diverse sectors – corporate, civil society and media.

• The New Delhi Summit will be a prelude to the United Nations Summit for the adoption

of post-2015 development agenda that will be held as a high-level plenary meeting of

the UN General Assembly in September 2015.

• As world leaders prepare to be in New York to redefine goals that will carry forward the

legacy of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), India will co-host this landmark

event that will enable countries to take stock of progress, share best practices, and

forge alliances for ending preventable child and maternal deaths.

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US’ top medical body collaborates with Apollo Hospitals

The American College of Cardiology (ACC), a top medical body in the US, collaborated with

Apollo Hospitals to expand medical education in India by providing new opportunities to

cardiovascular physicians to improve their skills.

• The American College of Cardiology is a 49,000-member medical society that is the

professional home for the entire cardiovascular care team.

• As part of the collaboration, ACC will provide its guideline-driven educational content to

physicians participating in Apollo’s Medvarsity e-learning programme.

• Medvarsity participants will have access to the ACC’s valvular heart disease education

module, which focuses on training healthcare professionals in the diagnosis and

management of adult patients with valvular heart disease.

Chengalikodan Banana from Kerala accorded GI status

The ‘nendran’ banana variety, ‘Chengalikodan’, has been accorded the Geographical Indication

(GI) status. It was first cultivated in Chengazhikode, that is why it is known as

Chengazhikodan banana and now known as Chengalikodan banana.

• The banana, the special variety grown in suburbs of Thrissur and Thalappilly taluks, is

known for its unique size, shape, colour and taste.

• GI status is an indication that identifies goods as produced from a particular area, which

has special quality or reputation attributable to its geographical origin.

• Chowannur, Puzhakkal, Wadakkanchery, Pazhayannur and Ollukkara block panchayats

are the prime producers of this banana variant in Thrissur.

Gujarat HC stays implementation of compulsory voting Act in local polls

Gujarat government recently framed the rules making voting compulsory in the local elections,

the Gujarat High Court stayed its implementation after a lawyer moved a public interest litigation

challenging the constitutional validity of the same.

• The ‘right to vote’ itself provides right to refrain from voting and it cannot be turned

into ‘duty of voting’, the high court said while acting on a petition challenging the

Gujarat Local Authorities (Amendment) Act 2009, which makes voting mandatory

in local body polls in the state.

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• The government had notified the law saying those who fail to vote will have to pay a

fine of Rs 100.

• The local body of Gujarat polls in 253 municipalities, 208 taluka panchayats, 26 district

panchayats and six municipal corporations are expected to be held in October, 2015.

Minority Ministry Launches OAMS for “Nai Roshni”

• Union Minister for Minority Affairs Dr.Najma Heptulla Launched Online Application

Management System (OAMS) for “Nai Roshni” .

• This scheme for Leadership Development of Minority Women since 2012-13.The scheme

is implemented through Non -Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Civil Societies, Trust

etc.

• So far, more than 1.67 lakh women have been trained in 24 States with an amount of

about Rs. 36 Crore in last three years.

• It is tune with Good Governance Mission and Digital India Mission of present

Government.

A P Shah Committee recommends MAT relief to FIIs

Justice AP Shah Committee on minimum alternate tax (MAT) has recommended to the

finance ministry that the levy shouldn’t be imposed on Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) for

the periodpreceding April 1, 2015.

As per the Finance Act, 2015 proposed in the union budget, the 20 percent MAT on capital

gains made by FIIs is waived off from the financial year 2015-16. However, the issue of imposing

MAT for past years till 2014-15 has become controversial. If this recommendation is accepted, it

would mean a significant relief for FIIs facing several years of levies on capital gains made by

them.

Background of the Committee:

The panel was set up to resolve the dispute between FIIs and the government after notices were

sent to 68 FIIs by the Income Tax Department demanding Rs 602 crore as MAT dues. The notices

were sent to these FIIs after the Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR) in 2012 had directed

Castleton to pay MAT in India on its book profits when the company transferred shares from a

Mauritius entity to one in Singapore. However, many FIIs challenging the demand in court and in

the wake of this row the panel was established by the finance ministry and officials were told not

to pursue MAT cases.

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About the Committee:

The committee was composed of 3 members – Justice Ajit Prakash Shah (Chairman) who is

currently heading the 20th law commission of India, Dr. Girish Ahuja and Dr. Ashok Lahiri.

India accounts for 74% of Smokeless Tobacco Deaths in World

• According to the TeCake study that assessed the impact of smokeless tobacco on adults

India accounts for nearly three-fourths of over a quarter million deaths worldwide

caused by smokeless tobacco .

• It was the first time that global impact of smokeless tobacco consumption on adults

has been assessed.

• 85% of the total burden attributable to smokeless tobacco (SLT) use was in South-

East Asia, and India alone accounting for 74% of the global burden, followed by

Bangladesh (five per cent) said by Kamran Siddiqi from Hull York Medical School

• The study collected smokeless tobacco consumption figures for 115 countries and

estimated burden of disease for 113 of these countries.

• It found that in 2010, smokeless tobacco use led to 62,283 deaths due to cancers of

mouth, pharynx and oesophagus and 204,309 deaths from heart diseases.

Rs 700cr from Nirbhaya fund for CCTV cameras on trains

• To strengthen security on trains, Indian Railways is expediting the process of installing

CCTV surveillance cameras in 20,000 coaches at a cost of Rs. 700 crore, which will

be derived from Nirbhaya Fund.

• It has been decided in a recent meeting held at the PMO to speed up certain projects

which include works on new lines, construction of rail over-bridges and under-bridges,

improving passenger convenience, and safety and security.

Arunachal Pradesh to sign MoUs for boosting bamboo sector

• Arunachal Pradesh ink Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with Numaligarh

Refinery Limited (NRL) and Hindustan Paper Corporation to help potential bamboo

growers in the state said by Arunachal Pradesh Bamboo Resource Development

Agency(APBRDA) Vice-chairman Yora Tagung.

• MoU would also be signed between the state government and the Hindustan Paper

Corporation for exporting one lakh tonne of bamboo for paper manufacturing.

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• APBRDA is contemplating to establish a bamboo shoot market for which a land of 70,000

square meters has already been allotted.

• Several skill development and awareness programmes were also conducted to boost

bamboo sector.

Jain Irrigation in Fortune’s ‘Change of the World’ list

• India Maharashtra-based micro-irrigation firm Jain Irrigation Systems is the only

company from the country named in Fortune magazine’s ‘Change the World’ list of

companies.

• Fortune magazine has ranked Jain Irrigation No. 7 in the list of companies that have

made serious progress addressing the world’s biggest social and environmental

problems as a core part of their corporate strategy.

• Anil Bhavarlal Jain, head of Jain Irrigation said that it has built its business by

improving the livelihoods of five million small farmers in India.

• Yields increased dramatically from 50 per cent to 300 per cent, depending on the plant

along with farmers’ incomes.

Commerce Ministry to organise India International Seafood show in Vizag

India International Seafood show will be organized in Visakhapatnam by the Government to

boost trade and commerce in the seafood sector.

• Commerce and industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while laying the foundation

stone of sub-office of Export Inspection Council (EIC) at Visakhapatnam announced

it.

• EIC along with its field agency, Exports Inspection Agencies – has a network of 30 sub-

offices. They are responsible for the quality control and inspection of notified

commodities from India.

• India’s seafood industry has become one of the leading suppliers of quality seafood to all

the major markets of the world. India has world class seafood processing plants that

follow quality control regimes complaint to stringent international regulatory

requirements.

R-Mitra: Indian Railways launches new app for women safety

• Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu introduced a mobile-based application system R-Mitra

(Railway Mobile Instant Tracking Response and Assistance) to ensure women’s

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safety and said that it is an “extremely useful app” that could be used by regional

railways nation-wide.

• 2.7 crore to 3 crore people travel in the Indian Railways system on a day-to-day basis.

R-Mitra:

• Railway Mobile Instant Tracking Response and Assistance is to alert the nearest RPF

inspector and divisional security control room in case of any emergency .

• Once the button on the app is pressed, the physical location of the victim will be sent to

the control room with the help of GPS and GPRS.

• Control room will track the user and ensure action immediately .

• The app works both online and offline in SMS mode by using the helpline number

56161.

Govt approval to develop 50 solar cities

• Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has approved a proposed master plan to develop

50 solar cities out of proposed 60 solar cities.

• Of these 50 cities, master plans have been prepared for 46 cities. The ministry had

empanelled 26 consultants in June 2009 to prepare master plan for the development of

solar cities.

• 46 cities that include are Agra, Gandhinagar, Rajkot, Surat, Thane, Shirdi, Nagpur,

Chandigarh, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Bilaspur, Raipur, Agartala, Guwahati, Mysore, Shimla,

Hamirpur, Jodhpur, Vijayawada, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Dehradun, Panaji and New Delhi

(NDMC area), it added. Further, in-principle approvals have been given to five cities

namely Thiruvananthapuram, Jaipur, Indore, Leh and Mahbubnagar.

• Eight cities are to be developed as ‘Model Solar Cities’. Of these 8 cities, Nagpur,

Chandigarh, Gandhinagar and Mysore have so far been selected to be developed as

‘Model Solar Cities.

• Fifteen cities will be developed as ‘Pilot Solar Cities.’

World’s largest solar power station to come up in Madhya Pradesh

750 Mega Watts (MW) the world’s largest solar power station will be built in Rewa district’s

Gudh area, covering an area of over 1,500 hectares at Bandwar region in Gudh tehsil of Rewa in

Madhya Pradesh.

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• Under the joint venture of Solar Energy Corporation of India and MP Urja Vikas Nigam,

where both parties have 50 per cent stake the project will be done.

• The plant is expected to start generating solar energy by March 2017.

• At present, world’s largest solar power project, Ivanpah Solar Power Facility of 392 MW

is at Mojave deserts in California, United States.

• The cost of generating one MW solar energy comes to around Rs. 7.6 crores.

India, Nepal ink MoU to construct Raxaul-Amlekhgunj oil pipeline

• India and Nepal signed an MoU for the construction of 41-km Raxaul-Amlekhgunj oil

pipeline. The MoU was signed between Nepal’s Minister for Commerce and Supplies

Sunil Bahadur Thapa and Indian Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra

Pradhan.

• This pipeline will be the first of its kind project between two neighbouring countries in

the SAARC region in the oil and gas sector. It would would promote bilateral

cooperation in the oil and gas sector and secure long-term supply of petroleum products

to Nepal.

Key facts of the MoU:-

• The MoU will Secure long term supply of petroleum products including petrol, diesel and

kerosene to the Himalayan country as it solely depends on India for all of its petrofuel

requirements worth some 41 billion dollars.

• The project for the construction of 41-km Raxaul-Amlekhgunj oil pipeline will be

completed in two phases. In the first phase, a petroleum products pipeline from Raxaul

in India to Amlekhgunj in Nepal would be constructed.

• The Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) will bear an expense of INR 200 crore for the first

phase of the project while Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) will also contribute INR 75 crore

for re-engineering the Amlekhgunj Depot

• Thirty-nine kilometres of the proposed cross-border petroleum pipeline lies in Indian

territory and the remaining two kilometres in Nepal.

Gujarat set to become the first state in the country to launch ‘agro-solar policy’

• Gujarat is set to become the first state in the country to launch ‘Agro-Solar policy’ under

which farmers will be motivated to tap energy from sun which will also help them earn

additional income from power generation companies,

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• Under ‘Agro-Solar policy’ farmers and power generation companies will be in a win-win

situation with generation of solar energy in agricultural fields.

• Power Generation Companies like GIPCL (Gujarat Industries Power Company Limited),

GSECL ( Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Limited) and GPCL ( Gujarat Power

Corporation Limited) have set up SPV plants in farm fields on the experimental basis.

• Farmers are likely to get 30 to 40 per cent share from the profit of power generation

companies and the solar photo voltaic plant will be set up on poles so that farmers can

also grow their crops.

DJB commissioned 1st ever Hydro-power plant at Chilla

Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has commissioned the first-ever hydropower plant in the national capital

which will produce 20,000 kWh of electricity per year at Chilla area in East Delhi.

• This is the first plant in Delhi which will be run through hydraulic turbines propelled by

treated effluent coming out of a Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP).

• The use of fossil fuels leads to generation of carbon dioxide, which in turn leads to

Green House Effect and Global Warming. However, no fossil fuel is being used in

generation of power through Hydro-power at Chilla.

• This technology at Chilla is termed “Pollution Free Technology”.

UNFCCC, MSSRF to work for conservation of coastal resources in Andhra Pradesh

• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC) and the

Chennai-based MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) agreed to work

together for the conservation of coastal resources in Andhra Pradesh.

• As per the official report, The UNFCCC has sanctioned Rs. 3.8 crore for the potential

adaptation strategy of MSSRF in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh through an

adaptation fund, the objective of which is to overcome the consequences of sea level rise

and seawater inundation following cyclones. The UNFCCC will release the adaptation fund

through the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

Postal stamp on Ashoka released; Kalam, Manjhi to follow soon

• Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad released a postal stamp on emperor Ashoka on

Monday and announced that stamps would also be released soon to honour former

president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Bihar’s mountain man Dashrath Manjhi.

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• This postal stamp in honour of Ashoka would be available for sale in the post offices at

Rs.5 per stamp. Ravi Shankar Prasad released the postal stamp during a BJP function to

celebrate the birth anniversary of Ashoka.

Haryana to emerge most favored FDI destination

• US and Canada provided overwhelming support to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal

Khattar new policy that Haryana will soon emerge as the “most favoured FDI

destination” in India.

• It is the first Haryana Chief Minister in decades to travel to the US and Canada to attract

foreign investment, Khattar lead a high powered State delegation, including Industry

Minister Capt Abhimanyu, to New York, Connecticut, Baltimore, Washington DC, San

Francisco, Vancouver and Toronto.

• Six memorandums of understandings were signed during the trip by Chief Minister

Manohar Lal Khattar.

• During the trip, Mr Khattar announced to host a “Happening Haryana” conclave next

year, to which he said a large number of companies from both the US and Canada have

agreed to attend.

Restrict tobacco advertisements in J-K: DGP

• Director General of Police (DGP) Jammu and Kashmir K Rajendra Kumar directed all

district police heads to restrict tobacco advertisements at the point of sales (POS)

across the state.

• In an order issued here, the DGP directed all district police chiefs to implement the rules

related to section 5 of COTPA (restriction of tobacco advertisements at point of sale).

India to implement Sendai framework for Disaster Reduction 2015 – 2030

• Union Government has announced its plans to implement the Sendai framework for

Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 in letter and spirit. Union Minister of State (MoS) for

Home Kiren Rijiju announced it after inaugurating a workshop on Enhancing Private

Sector Partnership for Disaster Risk Reduction in New Delhi.

Union Government launches ‘Sehat’ to provide healthcare facilities in rural areas

The Union government launched a telemedicine initiative ‘Sehat’ in collaboration with Apollo

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Hospitals to provide healthcare facilities in rural areas.The initiative was launched by Union

Communication and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad at a function in New

Delhi.

All you need to know about ‘Sehat’:

• Under the initiative people will be able to consult doctors through video link and alsoorder generic drugs.

• This will also help in providing quality and affordable healthcare which is one of the

emerging needs for citizens in rural areas.

• The Common Service Centres (CSCs) have been delivering tele-consultation services

with support from Apollo and Medanta Hospitals in some areas.

• CSCs will also provide diagnostic services and promote sale of generic drugs through

collaboration with Health Ministry by setting up Jan Aushadhi Stores.

• With this initiative, the tele-consultation services are being extended to 60000 centres

across the country specifically in rural areas.

• The digitalization initiative of the Government is to build a truly inclusive and

enlightened India. This unique initiative for health care named ‘Sehat’ is an initiative in

furtherance to Government’s commitment to empower rural citizens in having access to

information, knowledge, skills and other services in various sectors through the

intervention of digital technologies and fulfilling the vision of a ‘Digital India’.

Rajasthan Government approved Arogya Rajasthan campaign

Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje approved the Aarogya Rajasthan Abhiyan programme a

campaign for healthy Rajasthan from December this year to March 2016 to collect and compile

health data of rural population in the state on August 25, 2015.

• E-health cards will be generated for people living in rural areas during the campaign.

48,000 health workers would collect health-related information of about five crore

people by visiting about one crore households from September 15 to October 31.

• The three-month programme will have health camps organised across the state, whe

residents would be issued health cards based on spot diagnoses. The cards would be

used for further treatment and follow-up of patients.

• An online database of this information would be prepared, which would be utilised for

the innovative health insurance scheme to be launched in the state.

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• A proper record of health of an individual will be maintained with the help of e-health

cards. Rajasthan is the second state in the country after Kerala to launch such a

campaign.

• The card will be linked with the health insurance scheme under which persons suffering

of common diseases to get insurance of Rs 30,000 and Rs3 lakh.

• The Cabinet also decided to conduct a written exam for recruiting college lecturers.

Earlier, the lecturers were recruited on the basis of their performance in interviews.

• The aim is to cover 5 crore people in around 1 crore households.

• The campaign Health camps will be organised at gram panchayat level and every citizen

will be issued a Health Card.

PM inaugurates birth centenary celebrations of Rani Gaidinliu

• Recalling the contribution of Naga leader Rani Gaidinliu to India’s freedom struggle,

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated birth centenary celebrations of freedom

fighter Rani Gaidinliu in New Delhi.

• Narendra Modi said that Rani Gaidinliu believed that her struggle for the Naga people

against the British was also a struggle for Indias unity and integrity and also credited

Rani Gaidinliu with spreading the message of Mahatma Gandhi in the North-East.Rani

Gaidinliu born on January 26, 1915, joined her Cousin Haipou Jadonang’s movement

at the age of 13 to drive out the British from Manipur.

• Central Government also allocated Rs. 9.83 crores for setting up a Library-cum-

Museum at Kohima onRani Gaidinliu.

• Narendra Modi launched commemorative coin of 100 rupees and circulation coin of 5

rupees of Rani Gaidinliu to mark her birth centenary celebrations on the occasion.

Muslim share of population up 0.8%, Hindus’ down 0.7% between 2001 and 2011

According to the official data released by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner,

the Muslim population in India grew by 24.6% while the decadal population growth for Hindus

stood at 16.8% during between 2001 and 2011.

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• The 2001-11 decadal growth rate for total population was 17.7%. Over this period,

Christians grew by 15.5%, Sikhs by 8.4%, Jains by 5.4% and Buddhists by 6.1%. Those

stating other religions and persuasions grew by 19.6% in the 10 years preceding 2011

• Total Population in 2011 is 121.09 crore. Hindu 96.63 crores (79.8%), Muslim 17.22 crores

(14.2%), Christian 2.78 crores (2.3%), Sikh 2.08 crores (1.7%), Buddhist 0.84 crores

(0.7%), Jain 0.45 crores (0.4%), Other Religions & Persuasions (ORP) 0.79 crores (0.7%)

and Religion Not Stated 0.29 crores (0.2%).

• The number of people who did not state their religion went up by 294% between 2001 and

2011.

Second Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) Summit held in Jaipur

India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) second forum held in Jaipur, Rajasthan on August 21,

2015 attended by heads of states and governments and key officials of the 14 pacific island

nations of the group.

• The objective of summit is to strengthen trade and bilateral relations between India and

the Pacific countries.

• The leaders discussed common areas of cooperation including marine resources

exploration, oil and natural gas, mining, IT, health care, fishing, marine research and

space collaboration, climate change, UN reforms in the summit.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi also held bilateral dialogue with various heads of

governments on the sidelines of the summit.

• The first summit was held in Fiji’s capital Suva in the third week of November 2014.

Indian Army inaugurated Jaisalmer War Museum and Laungewala War Memorial

For the Indian heroes of the 1965 and 1971 war with Pakistan, ‘Jaisalmer War Museum’ has been

established in the Military Station of Jaisalmer to commemorate the sacrifice of war heroes.

• Lieutenant General Ashok Singh, General Officer Commanding in Chief, Southern

Command inaugurated the museum.

• The War Museum is located 10 km short of Jaisalmer on the Jaisalmer – Jodhpur

Highway.

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• The museum has two large Information Display Halls, an Audio Visual Room and a

souvenir shop. There are a large number of captured war trophies and own vintage

equipment on display to include tanks, guns and military vehicles.

• The inauguration of the museum in the Golden Jubilee Commemoration Year of 1965

Indo Pak War is also a tribute to all soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice in the

defence of the motherland.

Union Cabinet gives nod to amend Arbitration and Conciliation Bill, 2015

To make the resolution of commercial disputes less time-consuming and fast-tracking the whole

process, union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its nod for

amendments to the Arbitration and Conciliation Bill, 2015.

Background:

• The amendments to this Bill are based on the Law Commission’s recommendations and

suggestions received from stakeholders. Law Commission of India (LCI) in its

246th Report had recommended various amendments in Arbitration and Conciliation

Act, 1996 in order to pave way for India to become a hub of International Commercial

Arbitration.

Key Facts:

• In order to ensure neutrality of arbitrators, it is proposed to amend Section 12 to the

effect that when a person is approached in connection with possible appointment of

arbitrator, he shall disclose in writing about existence of any relationship or interest of

any kind, which is likely to give rise to justifiable doubts. Further, if a person is having

specified relationship, he shall be ineligible to be appointed as an arbitrator.

• It is mandatory for arbitrators to settle disputes within 12 months. This period can be

extended by 6 months only by a court on sufficient cause.

• Cut the fees of arbitrators if the court finds that the delay has been caused due to

arbitrators and rewarding arbitrators with extra fees in case the matter is disposed of

within 6 months and the parties agree to pay more.

• Amendment of Section 34 relating to grounds for challenge of an arbitral award, to

restrict the term ‘Public Policy of India’ (as a ground for challenging the award) by

explaining that only where making of award was induced or affected by fraud or

corruption, or it is in contravention with the fundamental policy of Indian Law or is in

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conflict with the most basic notions of morality or justice, the award shall be treated as

against the Public Policy of India. Also a new provision to provide that application to

challenge the award is to be disposed of by the Court within one year.

• Empower arbitration tribunals to grant all kinds of interim measures that courts provide

thus giving more teeth to them in order to make tribunals directives enforceable in the

same manner as those of courts.

Union Cabinet approved Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in Civil and Commercial matters

with Oman

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for

signing and ratification of the agreement on mutual legal and judicial cooperation in civil and

commercial matters with Oman.

Background:

• The Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) in Civil and Commercial

mattersis a comprehensive agreement for reciprocal arrangement with foreign countries

for service of summons, for execution of Civil Decrees, for issuing Letter of Request, for

taking of evidence under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC) and for enforcement

of Arbitral Awards under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

• This agreement was under negotiation since 2003. All the provisions in the draft MLAT in

Civil and Commercial Matters were agreed upon during the visit of the Indian delegation to

Oman in 2010.

All you need to know about the Agreement:

• Service of judicial orders, summons and other legal and judicial documents or

processes.

• Taking of evidence through request.

• Execution of judgments, settlements and arbitral awards.

• The agreement also applies to any request for reciprocal legal assistance relating to civil

and commercial matters submitted before or after its entry into force.

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• Service of summons and other judicial documents shall not be refused on the ground

that the request does not show sufficient grounds supporting merits of the case, unless

the requested State, considers that compliance with the request would infringe its

sovereignty, security or public policy.

• This agreement also deals with “taking of evidence by Diplomatic and Consular

representatives” from nationals of the country they represent, without compulsion, in

order to help in the completion of judicial proceedings commenced in the courts of the

country they represent.

• The agreement shall come into force on the 30th day after the exchange of the

Instrument of Ratification. It shall remain in force until terminated by either party by

giving six months prior notice and the provisions of agreement are in conformity with

the provisions of the CPC, 1908 and the Arbitration and Cancellation Act, 1996.

Significance:

This agreement will be beneficial for citizens of both the countries. It will also fulfill the desire of

both countries to strengthen the bonds of friendship and fruitful cooperation in the judicial and

legal spheres, which are the spirit, essence and language of the preamble of the agreement.

CCEA gives nod to Differential Royalty Payment to states on crude oil production

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,

agreed the proposal to pay the differential royalty on crude oil production through the budgetary

allocation for the Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) awarded to 28 discovered fields located in

Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Gujarat from 2015-16.

The proposal is for payment of differential royalty to State Governments concerned in respect of

28 discovered fields, which were awarded by the Government to different companies during the

years 1994-95, 2001 and 2004. Also the payment shall be through budgetary allocation instead

of through Oil Industry Development Board (OIDB) fund from now on.

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Government to construct ‘manimandapam’ for Sivaji Ganesan

The State government allotted 65 cents of land opposite Sathya Studio to construct the

Manimandapam for thespian Sivaji Ganesan as the South Indian Film Artistes in 2002.

• But the Association failed to construct the memorial. Government allotted land

measuring 65 cents on September 26, 2002, as the approach road to the quarters of

the High Court Judges ran through the land, the government requested the association

to give Rs. 4.2 lakh for laying a new road. But, the association paid only Rs. 2 lakh and

the rest was contributed by the State government.

• Sivaji Ganesan, had acted over 300 films and received many honours, including

Dadasaheb Palkhe award.

• Chief Minister Jayalalithaa told the Assembly that her government would construct

a manimandapam for thespian Sivaji, as Associations had failed to utilise the land

allotted for the purpose.

Cabinet gives nod to include Sipai, Patni, Jamat Kahar and Tanwar Singhariya in the

OBC list

Amendments in the Central List have been made by the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister

Narendra Modi, for Other Backward Classes in respect of Gujarat and Uttarakhand.

• Inclusion/correction of castes/communities in the other backward classes is made as per

the advices received from the National Commission for Backward Classes.

• Sipai and Patni Jamat or Turk Jamat (all Muslims) in Gujarat, and Kahar and Tanwar

Singhariya communities from Uttarakhand has been included in the Central OBC List.

• Persons belong to these castes/communities will also become eligible for benefit under

various welfare schemes, scholarships etc. being administered by the central

government, which are at present available to persons belonging to the OBCs.

India declared maternal and neonatal tetanus free

Maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT) was responsible for the deaths of an estimated two lakh

adults and children every year in India.

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Tetanus, which majorly occurs due to an open wound in the body, is one of the biggest reasons

behind maternal and newborn mortality.

• India achieved a huge success recently, when WHO declared that mothers and

newborns are now free from tetanus at the time of birth in the country.

• Figures have been constantly decreasing with help of aggressive medical intervention

and introduction of ASHAs (Accredited social health activists).

• India’s infant mortality rate (IMR) stands at 40 while the maternal mortality rate

(MMR) stands at 167, which is far less when compared to that in 1990 .

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi made this announcement that this achievement as yet

another milestone for India thatWHO declared that mothers and newborns are now free

from tetanus at the time of birth in India.

Delhi Sex Ratio Alarmingly Low at 896: Report

• The national capital continues to languish among the worst in terms of sex ratio in the

country with 896 females to 1,000 males as per the Delhi government’s annual birth

and death registration report, a negligible improvement from last year’s 895.

• Both 2011 census, which says the capital has 866 females per 1,000 males, and

countrywide data of Civil Registration System, place Delhi among the worst

performing states and Union territories in terms of sex ratio.

Javadekar Launches E-Payment Module for Deposit of Compensatory Levies into CAMPA

Funds

• The Government today launched an e-payment module, with an objective to make the

payment of compensatory levies receivable in lieu of diversion of forest land quicker and

more transparent.

• The module will end delays in the deposit of compensatory levies. The payment through

the e-payment module has to be made to the designated account, depending on the

State in which the forest land, proposed to be diverted, is located.

• The deposit of compensatory levies through the e-portal will be optional till August 31,

2015.

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• However, the payment of compensatory levies by User Agencies will be accepted only

through the e-module from September 1, 2015. With the activation of the e-payment

portal, no payments will be accepted other than through the portal. Initially, payments

will be permitted through two modes – online challan mode through RTGS and NEFT

and offline challan mode.

Theme for Delhi Book Fair – Skill Development

• The 21st edition of the DelhiBook Fair(DBF) that begins today is based on the theme

of skill development. The DBF started in the year 1995 with cooperation of ITPO.

• The theme of the event jointly organised by the Federation of Indian Publishers(FIP)

and Indian Trade Promotion Organisation(ITPO) follows the Skill Indiacampaign

launched recently by PM Narendra

• The nine-day fair includes numerous literary seminars and conferences besides activities

for children, book launches and author interactions with participation by leading

publishers.

• President of FIP – Ashok Gupta.

• Chief of ITPO- Sh. J S Deepak

8th International Conference on “Indian Civil Aviation and Tourism” held in New Delhi

Ministry of Civil Aviation and ASSOCHAM organized an event 8th International Conference on

“Indian Civil Aviation & Tourism” in New Delhi which was jointly inaugurated by Union Minister of

Civil Aviation Shri Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Culture

(Independent Charge) and Tourism (Independent Charge), Dr. Mahesh Sharma.

• During the event, a Knowledge Report titled “Indian Civil Aviation: At the Cusp of

Taking off” was released by Shri Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Dr. Mahesh Sharma.

• The inaugural session was followed by various sessions in which crucial issues related to

aviation sector like Infrastructure challenges, Cargo and freight Industry, Regulatory

Issues, Fiscal framework and potential of Tourism.

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Union Government gives nod to 6 new SEZ proposals

Board of Approval (BoA) for SEZ chaired by Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia taken decision

for approval for six new proposals, including four from IT and ITeS sector, for setting up of Special

Economic Zones (SEZs) by the Government.

The approved SEZ proposals are

• HCL IT City Lucknow- set up IT/ITeS zones in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

• Loma IT Park Developer- set up IT/ITeS zones in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

• North Mumbai International Commodity Township- It is proposed free trade

warehousing zone in Thane, Maharashtra.

• Exports from these zones rose to Rs 4.94 lakh crore in 2013-14, from Rs 22,840 crore

in 2005-06.

• Formal approval has come for 416 proposals, of which 330 SEZs have been notified. As

many as 36 such zones are operational in Tamil Nadu, followed by Karnataka,

Telangana (26) and Maharashtra (25).

Maharashtra government acquires Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s London House

The three-storey bungalow on King Henry road in London where Dalit icon and architect of

Indian Constitution, BR Ambedkar lived as a student in the 1920s is acquired by Maharashtra

government.

• The state government became the first in India to own a property abroad for Rs 35

crore.

• Dr Ambedkar, lived in this house for nearly a year between 1921-22 as a student of the

London School of Economics. He is known to have written several research papers in

the house.

• Spread over 2500 square feet, the house is expected to become an attraction for

followers of Dr Ambedkar, especially students, given that many owners in the area rent

their homes to students who pursue higher education in institutions nearby.

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NITI Aayog launched second version of India Energy Security Scenarios 2047

NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya in New Delhi has launched the second version of

the India Energy Security Scenarios 2047 calculator (IESS 2047) an open source Web-based tool

which can be used to explore different energy scenarios.

• The tool aims to scan a range of potential future energy scenarios for India for diverse

energy demand and supply sectors leading up to 2047.

• The model allows users to interactively make energy choices and explore a range of

outcomes for the country from carbon dioxide emissions and import dependence to land

use.

• Its purpose is to look forward to a more comprehensive policy discourse on India’s

future energy planning by policy makers, academicians, private sector and other

stakeholders, engage various stakeholders in the country’s energy planning and

facilitate informed debates at different levels.

• This instrument allows the user develop a secure future pathway and suggest current

policy interventions for the same.

• It will support the Government’s vision of achieving power for all and 175 GW of

renewables by 2022, rural electrification and reducing import dependency.

Railway Minister Advocates Launching of Zero Accident Mission

Advocating ‘zero accident mission’, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu asked other countries to

make India their base for manufacturing as the government will be investing USD 120

billion over the next five years to develop the railway services. This would require the railways

to adopt an integrated approach involving use of cost-effective advanced technology and trained

manpower.

• Targeting investment from abroad, he appealed to foreign companies and their

representatives participating in the convention to come to India, collaborate and

manufacture, highlighting that India has the advantage of skilled manpower, big market

and a large manufacturing base.

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• With the Indian Railways adopting modern signalling and telecommunications solutions like

centralized operation of signalling system, electronic interlocking, LED signals and block

proving by axle counters, signalling and telecommunications professionals, industry

representatives and companies like Efftronics, RTVision, Railel, Huawei, TechnoSatComm,

Siemens, Thales, Hitachi, Frauscher, EMC and other participated in the convention.

Union Cabinet approved signing of agreement between India and Afghanistan

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved signing of the

agreement between India and Afghanistan on legal and judicial cooperation in civil and

commercial matters for the service of summons, judicial documents, commissions, execution of

judgements and arbitral awards.

Background:

During the recent State visit to India of the President of Afghanistan, Mohammad Ashraf

Ghania Joint Press Statement was released after delegation level meetings with the Prime

Minister, which amongst other things mentioned that the two leaders agreed to sign certain

agreements, which includes Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) in Civil and Commercial

Matters. Subsequently, all provisions in the Indian Standard draft Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty

in Civil and Commercial Matters were agreed upon.

Significance:

The MLAT agreement in Civil and Commercial matters is a comprehensive agreement for

reciprocal arrangement with foreign countries for service of summons, for execution of Civil

Decrees, for issuing Letter of Request, for taking of evidence under the Code of Civil Procedure,

1908 (CPC), and for enforcement of Arbitral Awards under the Arbitration and Conciliation

Act, 1996.

Highlights of the Agreement:

• Service of judicial orders, summons and other legal and judicial documents or

processes.

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• Taking of evidence through request.

• Execution of judgments, settlements and arbitral awards.

• The agreement also applies to any request for reciprocal legal assistance relating to civil

and commercial matters submitted before or after its entry into force.

• It states that service of summons and other judicial documents shall not be refused on

the ground that the request does not show sufficient grounds supporting merits of the

case.

• This also deals with taking of evidence by Diplomatic and Consular representatives from

nationals of the country they represent, without compulsion, in order to help in

completion of judicial proceedings commenced in the courts of the country they

represent.

• The agreement will come into force on the 30th day after the exchange of instrument of

Ratification and shall remain in force until terminated by either party by giving six

months

• The provisions of the agreement are in conformity with the provisions of the Code of

Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC) and the Arbitration and Cancellation Act, 1996.

Possible Impact:

This agreement will be beneficial for the citizens of both countries. It will also fulfill the desire of

both countries to strengthen the bonds of friendship and fruitful cooperation in the judicial and

legal spheres, which is the spirit, essence and language of the preamble of the agreement.

Government gives nod to rename Delhi’s Aurangzeb Road as Abdul Kalam Road

New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) decided to rename Delhi’s famous Aurangzeb Road as

APJ Abdul Kalam Road, as the jurisdiction of the road comes under it and Union Government has

given its nod to rename it.

• The road was earlier named after the Mughal emperor Abul Muzaffar Muhi-ud-Din

Muhammad Aurangzeb. It is also said that, Aurangzeb Road is India’s richest road

where property prices are the highest and is located in the heart of Lutyens’ bungalow

zone.

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• The road begins at the Taj Mansingh hotel near India Gate and joins Safdarjung Road

near the official residence of the Indian Prime Minister.

Rs 125 coin to mark Bhim Rao Ambedkar’s 125th birth anniversary

As a tribute to the architect of the Constitution Bhim Rao Ambedkar on his 125th birth

anniversary the government is likely to come out with a “coin of Rs 125”.

• According to sources, the commemorative coin would carry a picture of Ambedkar with

125th birth anniversary celebrations etched on it and Rs 125 embossed prominently.

The government will also release a commemorative postal stamp on Ambedkar.

• Sources said discussions are on between the finance ministry and the social justice

ministry headed by Thaawar Chand Gehlot on the shape and value of the coin.

• Besides, the government is likely to start raising the building at 26, Alipur Road in

Delhi around October to pave the ground for construction of an ‘Ambedkar

Memorial’.

50th anniversary of 1965 Indo-Pak war observed

• India celebrated 50thanniversary of 1965 war with Pakistan on 28th Aug India won the

war under the leadership of PM Lal Bahadur Shastri.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to the war heroes who fought for our

motherland during the 1965 war and President Pranab Mukherjee laid a wreath at the

martyr’s memorial at Delhi’s India Gate monument

• The celebrations began on 28 August and go on until 22 September – the day India

and Pakistan agreed to a UN-sponsored ceasefire.

• The celebrations will also include seminars, photo exhibitions and a concert.

• Main Event -“victory carnival” with a show of military might, song and dance – is

planned for20 September on Rajpath.

NTPC sets a record in single-day power generation

• NTPCBSE, India’s largest power generator, has achieved a record highest single-day

electricity generation of 733.12 million units.

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• The record generation of 733.12 million units from NTPC’s 18 coal-based power plants,

7 gas-based units and 8 solar and hydro power stations, was achieved on August 27.

• NTPC currently has an installed capacity of 45,548 Mega-Watts (including 6,196 MW

through joint ventures).

• During financial year 2014-15, NTPC contributed 25% of total electricity generated in

India with 16% share of country’s total installed capacity as onMarch 31.

Ex-Ekuverin 2015 – Joint Military Training between India and Maldives

• Ex-Ekuverin 2015’, the sixth joint military training exercise involving the Indian Army

and the Maldivian National Defence Forces(MNDF), will be conducted at the

Pangode Military Station in Thiruvananthapuram from August 31 to September 13.

• The bilateral annual exercise was first held in Belgaum in 2009 and is alternatively

held in India and Maldives with the aim of enhancing military cooperation, inter-

operability between the two countries and polishing understanding between the Indian

Army and MNDF.

• 45 marines from the MNDF and 45 soldiers of the Indian Army will take part in this

exercise.Ex-Ekuverin 2015 will be the first joint exercise involving an international

contingent to be conducted in Thiruvanathapuram.

Government orders inclusion of 13 central laws within purview of Land Acquisition Act

2013

Under the removal of difficulties clause (Section 113) in the Land Act, the government has

issued an ‘order’ to include 13 central Acts which extends the provisions relating to the

determination of compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement to all cases of land acquisition

under 13 central acts which were left out in the 2013 law.

• The 13 Central Acts were included under the purview of Right to Fair Compensation and

Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR)

Act, 2013.

• UPA government extends the compensation and resettlement benefits under the law to

land acquired under 13 different laws so far not covered including highways and railways

laws.

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PM released AIR copy of ‘Ramcharitmanas’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a special digital version of epic Ramcharitmanas produced

by All India Radio but two years ago, the Prasar Bharati Board had red-flagged such a move.

• It has taken more than 30 years to get all the work recorded and digitally restored when

the process of digitisation started in Prasar Bharati in 2005.

• In the late 1970s under Bhopal station director Samar Bahadur Singh and later,

director E.M. Joseph, who got AIR staff artists and folk artists to give music to

Ramcharitmanas, and this was aired on radio stations in the North.

• The Ramcharitmanas was composed and recorded for the first time in 1980 at

Akashvani Bhopal.

• The Prime Minister also felicitated 7 leading artists of the Bhopal Gharana who have

sung the recordings of Goswami Tulsidas’ work.

Union Government identifies 305 cities for implementing ‘Housing for All’ scheme

Housing for All (Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojna) was launched on June 25. Nowhousing ministry

has identified 305 cities and towns across 9 states to start building houses for the poor in urban

areas under the ‘Housing for All by 2022’ mission target to build 2 crore homes

Selected cities :

• 74 are in Madhya Pradesh, 42 in Odisha, 40 in Rajasthan, 36 in Chhattisgarh, 30 in

Gujarat , 34 in Telangana, 19 in Jammu & Kashmir and 15 each in Kerala and

Jharkhand.

• These 9 states along with other 6 more states have signed MoA with HUPA Ministry for

their commitment to implement 6 mandatory reforms essential for making the housing

for all mission successful in urban areas.

• 15 states – Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Gujarat,

Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Odisha, Telangana,

Rajasthan and Uttarakhand are agreed to implement the mandatory reform measures.

• Under the urban housing mission, Centre will provide assistance in the range of Rs one

lakh and Rs 2.30 lakh per house under different components.

Union Government launched SAHAJ scheme for online release of new LPG connections

Union Government has launched SAHAJ scheme for online release of new LPG connections for the

consumers . It was launched by Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra

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Pradhan at a function held in New Delhi.

• SAHAJ facility will enable the customers to post online request for a new connection by

filing Know Your Customer (KYC) form by uploading bank account details and

photographs.

• After submitting the details, customer will receive the registration number to know the

new connection status. Later, customer can opt for offline or online mode of payment for

the new connection.

• Once payment is done, electronic subscription voucher will be mailed to the new

customer. Later distributor will do physical delivery of the Gas cylinder, regulator with

hose pipe. Initially, the scheme has been launched in twelve cities across the country. In

near future, this scheme will be extended to other parts of the country.

• Twelve cities are Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Chennai, Chandigarh,

Kolkata, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Patna, Mumbai and Pune.

Vice President Inaugurates Golden Jubilee Session of ‘All India Muslim Majlis-e-

Mushawarat’

Vice President M. Hamid Ansari inaugurated the 50th anniversary of All India Muslim Majlis-

e- Mushawarat and said thatthey were an integral part of the freedom struggle against the

British rule.

• Shri M. Hamid Ansari has said that the Muslims of India constitute a community of 180

million, amounting to a little over 14 percent of the population of the country. They

are, after Indonesia, the second largest national grouping of followers of Islam in the

world.

• He said that the Independence of India in August 1947, and the events preceding and

following it, cast a shadow of physical and psychological insecurity on Indian Muslims.

• Mushawarat was formed in response to a perceived need to defend and protect the

identity and dignity of the Muslim community in India in terms of the rights bestowed by

the Constitution of India on the citizens of this land. This objective remains relevant

though some of its ingredients may stand amplified or modified.

17.74 Crore accounts opened under PMJDY

On the First Anniversary of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY),Launched by the

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 28th August, 2014, the Finance Minister said that with

Close to 18 Crore (180 Million) Bank Accounts Opened Under the PMJDY.

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• At present more than 17.5 crore bank accounts have been opened under Pradhan Mantri

Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) and the people have deposited more than Rs.22,000 crore in

these accounts.

• The scheme has been started with a target to provide ‘universal access to banking

facilities’ starting with “Basic Saving Bank Account” with an overdraft upto Rs.5000

subject to satisfactory operation in the account for six months and RuPay Debit card

with inbuilt accident insurance cover of Rs. 1 lakh and providing social security schemes.

• As on 22nd August, 2015, 8.17 crore beneficiaries have been enrolled under the Pradhan

Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and 2.76 crore have been enrolled under Pradhan Mantri

Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana. 6.83 lakh account holders have been enrolled under Atal

Pension Yojana.

• 131012 Mega Financial Literacy camps were organized by banks under PMJDY ‘in

coordination with various agencies and 89876 Financial Literacy counters, to spread

awareness on PMJDY, use of RuPay cards etc. 147418 students in 2567 schools/collage

were imparted training on Financial literacy from September 2014 to April 2015.

West Bengal launches packaged drinking water

West Bengal Gov has decided to produce bottled drinking water-Pran Dhara. The government

has chosen seven bottling plants across the state to filter water from Hoogly river.

• The project is being supervised by state Public Health & Engineering Department.The

seven plants, which produce around three thousand bottled water per hour, are at

Haringhata, Nodakhali, Baharampur, Maldah, Siliguri and Coochbehar.

• The 1 litre bottle will cost Rs 18 while the 500 ml bottle will cost Rs 9.

Manipur Legislative Assembly passes ‘Protection of Manipur People Bill, 2015′

The Manipur Legislative Assembly onunanimously passed the Protection of Manipur People Bill,

2015.

• The House also unanimously passed two amendment bills- the Manipur Land Revenue

and Land Reforms (Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2015 and the Manipur Shops and

Establishments (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015.

• The three Bills were introduced in the House on Friday to protect indigenous peopleand

also passed a resolution accepting the Peace Accord signed between the Centre and the

National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN (IM)). The resolution was moved by CM

Ibobi Singh.

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PM to inaugurate international Hindi meet in Bhopal

PM Narendra Modi will inaugurate a three-day international Hindi conference in Bhopal on

September 10 aimed at popularising the language globally, with delegates from at least 27

countries besides scholars from across India expected to participate.

• Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan will address

the gathering on the concluding day of the conclave which will have a total of 28

sessions on a range of subjects relating to Hindi.

• Search engine giant Google and iPhone maker Apple Inc will be among a number of

technology companies which will participate in the exhibition at the event where they

will highlight their efforts to popularise Hindi.

• The conference, theme is “Hindi jagat: Vistar evam Sambhavanai” (World of Hindi:

Expansion and Scope), is being organised by the External Affairs Ministry in cooperation

with Madhya Pradesh government.

• Twenty Indians and another 20 personalities from abroad will be honoured at the

conference.

AP govt initiates steps to develop 10 new ports

Andhra Pradesh gov has initiated steps to develop 10 new ports in the state, the Legislative

Assembly was informed.The 10 new ports are Bhavanapadu Port, Narsapur Port, Ramayapatnam

Port, Machilipatnam Port, Kakinada SEZ Port (captive), Meghavaram Port (captive), Nakkapalli

Port (captive), Nizampatnam and Vodarevu and Dugarajapatnam Port.

• The Centre has been requested to develop the Dugarajapatnam Port in Nellore district

(major port) as per the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, said by Chief Minister N

Chandrababu Naidu.

• Kakinada SEZ Port , Meghavaram Port and Nakkapalli Port have been awarded to

different developers who have been requested to take up the development work.

Bengal govt plans water transport in 12 rivers

The ministry has developed a comprehensive policy for integrated development of inland

waterways throughout the country as inland water transport is fuel efficient, cost effective and eco

friendly said by Raja Roy, general secretary of Kolkata Goods Transport Association.

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• The Union ministry has identified 101 new inland waterways across the country as a

cheaper mode of transport.

• In West Bengal, 12 rivers that has been identified for national waterways, include the

Allahabad-Haldia stretch of the Ganga Bhagirathi Hooghly river, Ajoy river, (96 km)

Bakreswar Mayurakshi river (110 km) Damodar river (135 km), DVC canal, (130 km)

Dwarekeswar river (113 km) Ichamati river (634 km) Jalangi river (131 km)

Rupnarayan river (72 km), Subarnarekha river (314 km) and Sunderban Waterways

(201 km).

• The Union Government will provide adequate infrastructure for safe, convenient and

sustained shipping operations through the waterways.

International Affairs Pakistan becomes Associate Member State of CERN

• Pakistan is now an associate member of CERN,the world’s largest and most prestigious

center for science research.CERN also known European Organization for Nuclear Research

which is a world’s largest physics laboratory recently found some evidence of God

Particle.

• From Asia, Pakistan is the first country and third in the world after Turkey and Serbia

to get the status of CERN’s associate membership.Before becoming full member of cern a

country should become associate member of cern. Pakistan is the 21st member of the

research organisation.

• The Associate member status also means that Pakistani nuclear industry can now bid for

CERN contracts, thus opening up opportunities for industrial collaboration in areas of

advanced

Iran no longer on restricted visa list

• The Union government has removed Iran from the list of countries put under the

restricted visa category.

• India has liberalised its visa policy for Iran and struck it off the prior referral category

(PRC) of countries. Three categories of visas — employment, conference, students and

research visa — were on the restricted list till now.

• Union Home Ministry issued an order which said Iran was no longer on the PRC list,

which has countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and China.

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Union Cabinet approved signing of MoU between India and Australia on education and

research

• Union Cabinet has approved the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

between India and Australia on cooperation in the fields of education, training and

research.

• This will help to intensify existing partnerships between India and Australia in higher

education & research, including technical and professional education, schools, vocational

education.

Objectives:

• Strengthening the policy dialogue .

• Supporting mobility of students and faculty members.

• Improving credit transfer arrangements.

• Supporting and organizing professional development programmes .

• Encouraging research collaboration.

• Further develop bilateral programmes between institutions,subjected to availability of

fund.

• Any other activity as mutually determined by both parties.

Mumbai to host Miss India Worldwide 2015

• Mumbai is to host the 24th annual Miss India Worldwide next month announced by

US-based organisers of the event.

• Square Entertainment has been given the ownership to manage the property for the

next three years in India.

• Contestants from over 35 counties are scheduled to participate in the beauty pageant

and finals would be held on September 5.

193 UN Members Reached Agreement On Sustainable Development Agenda

“Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” is the new

Sustainable Development agenda for next 15 years till 2030 was the agreement reached by the

United Nations 193 member states on AUGUST 2, 2015.

• This agenda was built on the success of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

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• The main objective of this agenda is eradicating poverty and hunger, achieving gender

equality, improving living standards and taking urgent action to combat climate change.

• This sustainability agenda deals with “five P’s”- People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace,

and Partnership.

• The draft agreement outlines 17 non-binding goals with 169 specific targets that

comprise different socio-economic issues. These goals will succeed 8 MDGs which was

adopted in 2000.

• This new global agenda will be formally adopted by UN member states at coming

Sustainable Development Summit to be held at the UN headquarters in New York from

25 to 27 September 2015.

Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) renewed, Benefits Indian exporters

Generalized system of preferences (GSP) of US Government which expired on July 2013, after 18

months renewed to till December 31, 2017 enabling duty-free entry of 3,500 product lines.

• Indian exports to the US, which includes items such as textiles and gems and jewellery,

will benefit from the US government’s move to extend duty waivers to products from

developing countries.

• According to the US Trade Representative’s office, the GSP is a renewable

preferential trade programme that allows the eligible products of developing

countries to enter directly to US free of duty.

• S C Ralhan,President of Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said that it

will benefit Indian exports which will get duty advantage in respect of 3500 tariff lines

and the duty benefits across these items range from 4-6%.

USFDA hike drug Application by 30%

• The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has hiked the fee for Abbreviated

New Drug Applications (ANDAs) to $76,030 from $58,730 currently i.e by up to 30%.

Such a move may hit Indian drug makers hard, which account for a major chunk of generic

medicines sold in the US. These fees are effective from October 1, 2015, and will remain in

effect through September 30, 2016.

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• According to a notification issued by the drug regulator, fee for Drug Master File

(DMF) will also be costlier by over 20% while fees for inspecting domestic and foreign API

and FDF facilities will be slightly reduced. The reduction of fees for facility inspection of

foreign companies will encourage more firms to opt for audit of their facilities by the

regulator.

India and Myanmar inked agreement to set up CESDT in Myanmar

H.E Gen (Retd) V K Sigh, Minister of state for External Affairs of India during his visit to Kuala

Lumpur to attend the ASEAN-India Foreign Affairs meet and H.E. U Wunna Maung Lwin,

Minister for Foreign Affairs for Myanmar, witnessed the signing an agreement with Myanmar to set

up a Center Of Excellence In Software Development And Training (CESDT) in Myanmar on

August 6, 2015.

• The Agreement was signed by Dr B.K. Murthy,Executive Director, Centre for Development

of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), NOIDA and H.E. U Aung Lynn, Permanent Secretary in

the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Union of Myanmar.

• This project will be implemented by C-DAC, through the financial support of ASEAN-Indian

Cooperation Fund.

• This project envisages the setting up of a state of the art Information and Communication

Technology (ICT) centre, imparting intensive teachers training, extending support for ICT

curriculum development, and will be accredited as an authorized center of C-DAC.

• This project is yet another example of India’s strong commitment to assisting Myanmar, a

close friend and neighbor, in capacity building and human resource development, aimed at

helping them in narrowing the infra-ASEAN development gap.yanmar, a close friend and

neighbor, in capacity building and human resource development, aimed at helping them in

narrowing the infra-ASEAN development gap.

48th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ meet held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The 48th ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) foreign ministers meet was held

between August 4 and August 6, 2015 were foreign ministers and representatives from 10

Southeast Asian countries were represented in Kuala Lumpur.

• The meet was chaired by Anifah Aman, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia.

• The main focus of this meet was establishment of the ASEAN Community by the end of

year 2015.

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• The main theme of this meet was “Our People, Our Community, Our Vision”, to create

an ASEAN community which is truly people- oriented, people centered comprising all areas

of cooperation.

• By establishing the ASEAN Community, the region is hoping to enhance its role as a global

player and be more active in the international community.

• The foreign Ministers of ASEAN discussed regional and international issues as well as their

ongoing efforts to maintain peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

• The foreign Ministers had also made productive discussion revolving round the theme of

the meet.

• The ASEAN foreign ministers meet was participated by India’s Minister of State for External

Affairs of India Gen (Retd) VK Singh.

Egypt launches Suez Canal expansion

• Abdelfattah el-sisi has inaugurated a major extension of the suez canal in stage-

managed ceremony celebrating his government’s “gift to the world”.

• This expansion aims to increase the traffic handled by the canal

• Expansion brings the Suez Canal’s length to 120 miles and depth to 78 feet .

• The canal is one of Egypt’s top foreign currency earners, with around 10 per cent of the

world’s trade passing through it.

Azim Premji and Shiv Nadar are Top 20 Tech Billionaires in the world

• Azim premji who is founder of wipro has been awarded 11th place with cash prize of Rs

1.12 lakh crore.

• Shiv nadir who is founder and chairman of HCL Technologies got rank 5thwith Rs 94.3

crore.

• Bill Gates got rank 1 with net worth $79.6bn. Larry Ellison founder of oracle got rank 2

with net worth of $50bn.

TurkmenGaz lead the consortium for the TAPI natural gas pipeline

Turkmenistan’s state-owned company TurkmenGaz will lead the(Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-

Pakistan-India) TAPI consortium for the construction of 1800 kilometer long pipeline carrying

gas from the former Soviet state Turkmenistan to India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

• After the meeting of the 22nd Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) steering

committee in Ashgabat by ministers from the four countries, this decision was taken.

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• Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to energy-rich Turkmenistan in July the

TAPI pipeline project was also discussed.

• The Asian Development Bank is the lead partner in the 1,800 km pipeline project

• The project will be expected to launch in December 2015, while gas deliveries to

India via the new pipeline are likely to start in 2018.

• India is the world’s fourth largest energy consumer, imports 80% of its crude oil

and 25% of its natural gas requirements. Petroleum product consumption in India grew

3.14% to around 163.17 million tonnes in 2014-15.

Bobby Jindal is the youngest US Republican presidential

The US is getting closer to have it’s first ever Indian-American president as Louisiana Governor

Piyush “Bobby” Jindal made his 2016 campaign announcement as he tweeted “I’m running for

President of the United States of America.”

Tom Davies completes around the world cycling trip

• A British teenager Tom Davies-19, completed 30,000 kilometer around-the-world

cycling journey .

• He stepped the final leg in Dorset, UK on August,9 2015 after 6 months on the road.

• He has raised nearly £60,000 for charity, pedalling about 100 miles a day at at an

average speed of about 17mph.

• The trip raised money for charities including Prostate Cancer UK,Carney’s

Community, which works with disadvantaged young people, and the Sohana Research

Fund, set up to support Sohana Collins, a teenager who suffers from recessive

dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, an incurable and often fatal illness that causes severe

blistering of the skin.

China devaluated Yuan by 2 per cent largest since 1994

• China devalued the yuan in a move that rippled through global markets, as policy

makers stepped up efforts to support exporters and boost the role of market pricing in

Asia’s largest economy.

• The central bank cut its daily reference rate by 1.9 percent, triggering the yuan’s

biggest one-day drop since China ended a dual-currency system in January 1994.

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Japan Restarts Nuclear Reactor For The First Time Since Fukushima Disaster

Japan has made a controversial return to nuclear power generation by restarting a nuclear reactor

for the first time under new safety standards put in place since the Fukushima disaster,

triggered by a powerful earth-quake and Tsunami in 2011 which forced the evacuation of

160,000 people, many of whom might never return home.

• Kyushu Electric Power, the operator of the Sendai plant, said it had restarted one of

the facility’s two reactors. The 30-year-old Sendai No 1 reactor is expected to reach full

capacity next month and the second Sendai reactor is due to restart in October.

• These two reactors at the Sendai plant got approval last September from

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority under stricter safety rules.

NABARD accredited as National Implementing Entity

• National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has been

accredited as the first National Implementing Entity (NIE) of Green Climate Fund

(GCF) established under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

(UNFCCC).

• The decision to accredit NABARD was taken on 09 July 2015 at the Board meeting of

GCF at Songdo, Republic of Korea in which Shri.R.Amalorpavanathan, Dy Managing

Director, NABARD participated.

• NABARD has earlier been accredited by the Adaptation Fund Board (AFB) of UNFCCC

as the only National Implementing Entity (NIE) for India. In all five projects amounting

to US $ 7.07 million have been submitted to AFB, of which 3 with an outlay of US $

5.0 million have been approved by AFB.

• The application has undergone Fund’s stringent accreditation process based on three

stages. The project plans to cover an area of 30,000 hectare under the agro-forestry

plantation of fast growing canal eucalyptus species.

• GCF:Green Climate Fund (GCF) was set up under the framework of the United Nations

Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2010 to help developing

countries finance clean energy, other mitigation efforts and adaptation to climate

change.

China, Pakistan sign deals to beef up CPEC project

To implement the ambitious 3000 km CPEC (China Pakistan Eocnomic Corridor) project, worth

of $46 billion, connecting Xinjiang with Pakistan's Gwadar Port through PoK (Pakistan-occupied

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Kashmir), China and Pakistan have signed 20 agreements worth $1.6 billion (10.35 billion

yuan) at the CPEC Forum held at Karamay city in Xinjiang province bordering PoK. Furthermore

they have issued the "Karamay Manifesto" on the CPEC, a major project under China's Belt and

Silk-Road Initiative.

• A total of 51 agreements were signed during Chinese president Xi Jinping’s visit of

which 30 are linked to the strategic economic corridor, regarded as the biggest

connectivity project between the two countries after the Karakorum highway built in

1979.

• The project includes building of highways, railways as well as pipelines and it is among

the six economic corridors conceived under China's Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-

Century Maritime Silk Road.

Govt approves MoU between India and America to establish PACE setter Fund

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, gave its ex-post-facto

approval for the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation to establish the PACE

Setter Fund – a fund to support the Promoting Energy Access through Clean Energy track of

the U.S. – India Partnership to Advance Clean Energy (PACE) between India and United States of

America. This MoU was signed at New Delhi on 30th June, 2015.

• The signing of MoU will help accelerate commercialization of innovative off-grid clean

energy solutions by providing early-stage grant funding, which would allow businesses to

develop and test innovative products, systems and business models.

• The MoU will help cooperation through technical and commercial innovation and

advancement of clean energy in off-grid space. The India-U.S. corpus of about Rs.500

million ($8 million U.S. Dollars) has been drawn on a 50:50 sharing basis.

India and Slovak Republic Sign MoU on Technical Cooperation in Railway Sector

• Ministry of Railways, Government of India and the Ministry of Transport, Construction and

Regional Development of the Slovak Republic signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

on Technical Cooperation in Railway Sector on August 12, 2015.

• This MoU was signed by Mr. Ganga Ram Agarwal, Secretary, Railway Board and Mr.

Zigmund Bertok, Ambassador of Slovak Republic.

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Main areas highlighted in MoU:

• Infrastructure building and management station development and workshop

modernisation.

• Information & communication technologies especially for passenger amenities.

• Modernization of rolling stock.

• Modernization of Signaling & Telecom.

• The tenure of this MoU is two years and it will be automatically renewed for further

successive period of two years at a time.

2015 US-India Cyber Dialogue held in Washington, DC

• 2015 US – India Cyber Dialogue was held on 11 and 12 August 2015 at the US

Department of State in Washington, DC.

• The whole-of-government Cyber Dialogue, fourth in the series, was led by the U.S.

Cybersecurity Coordinator and Special Assistant to the President Michael Daniel and by

India’s Deputy National Security Advisor Arvind Gupta.

• The two delegations identified a variety of opportunities for increased

collaboration on cyber security capacity-building, cyber security research and

development, combatting cyber crime, international security, and Internet governance,

and intend to pursue an array of follow-on activities to bolster their cyber security

partnership and achieve concrete outcomes.

• The two countries decided to hold the next round of the Cyber Dialogue in Delhi in

2016.

Britain marks 70th anniversary of end of World War II

• Queen Elizabeth II on Aug 15 led celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary of the

end of World War II.

• The Victory over Japan (VJ) Day coincides with India’s 69th Independence

anniversary, which will be celebrated in London.

• World War II ended 70 years ago this week.On August15,1945, Japan surrendered to all

ied forces led by the United States.

• A small museum on U.S. Marine has been in Okinawa shows pictures historical objects

from the battle.Mark Waycaster is the curator of the museum’s Battle of Okinawa area.

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India imposed Anti-dumping duty on potassium carbonate imports from Taiwan, South

Korea

• India has imposed definitive anti-dumping duty for period of five

years on Potassium Carbonate imports from Taiwan and South Korea. The duty

was imposed by Union Finance Ministry based on the recommendations of the

Directorate General of Anti-Dumping Duty (DGAD) that works under the aegis of Union

Commerce Ministry.

• The revenue department has imposed anti-dumping duty of 153 US dollar per tonne on

Potassium Carbonate imports from Taiwan and 9.45 US dollar per tonne in case of

imports from UNID Co Ltd, and 123.86 US dollar per tonne from all other exports from

South Korea

• This move was taken following the findings of Central Board of Excise and Customs

(CBEC) which concluded that Potassium Carbonate imports from Taiwan are entering in

the Indian market at dumped prices.

India, Canada Working To Boost Economic Ties

In order to sharpen their economic relations and to accelerate investments, India and Canada are

jointly working to finalize a bilateral foreign investment agreement.

• The agreement, designed to protect investors by defining their legally binding rights and

obligations, would give new impetus to Indo-Canada economic relations. It would

also bring a new legal regime that would boost bilateral investment.

• Earlier, both the prime ministers had welcomed the continuing diversification,

growth and deepening of bilateral relations in recent years.

• The leaders agreed to take concrete measures to expand bilateral cooperation in key

areas including the economy, trade and investment, civil nuclear cooperation, energy,

education and skills development, agriculture, defence and security, science,

technology, innovation and space, culture, regional and global issues etc.

India, Bangladesh Ink Mou To Fight Fake Currency

India and Bangladesh have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for full cooperation to

tackle the menace of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) smuggling. The MoU was signed at a

maiden meeting of the Joint Task Force on Fake Currency Notes (JTFFC) in Dhaka and it was

in lines of pact which was signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangladesh earlier

in June, 2015.

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Key Points Of The MoU:

• Both the countries have agreed to share intelligence inputs on operatives engaged in

circulating FICN on real time basis in order to curb the practice.

• India will provide Advance note sorting machines to Bangladesh to detect FICN

circulation at key places like international airports, immigration points, integrated

crossing points, banks and financial institutions in Bangladesh.

• India will help Bangladesh to set up Forensic Science laboratory for examination of

fake currency notes and maintain a digital depository of forensic reports.

• India will establish state-of-the-art facilities for examination of fake currency notes in

Bangladesh which will include creation of a database on smugglers which in turn can be

used by both the countries.

Beside the MoU, both the countries have decided to organize capacity building training

programmes in near future. As per the official report the next Joint Task Force meeting will be

held again in November 2015.

China, Russia set for naval assertion in Sea of Japan

• China and Russia are stepping up their military collaboration by holding another round of

naval exercises, this time in the Sea of Japan, following recent measures adopted by

Tokyo that could deepen its military ties with Washington.

• Chinese navy dispatched seven Chinese warships for the Sea of Japan. They will join the

Russian Navy’s 16 surface ships, two submarines, 12 naval aircraft, nine amphibious

vehicles and 200 marines.

• The drills are an extension of Joint Sea-2015 (I), another naval exercise that the two

countries had held in May in the Mediterranean Sea, on the doorstep of Europe, and in

the backdrop of the crisis in Ukraine. The nine-day manoeuvres under Joint Sea-2015

(II) will simulate anti-submarine combat, evident from the presence of the two Russian

submarines, air defence and other related missions.

• Apart from the Sea of Japan, these drills will also take place in the Peter the Great Gulf

and waters off the Clerk Cape.

• The Chinese Defence Ministry had earlier stated that the exercise is meant to bolster the

comprehensive strategic cooperation and partnership between Russia and China, and to

increase the military capabilities of both countries to counter maritime threats.

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India, UAE released Joint Statement to take bilateral relations to a higher level

Narendra Modi, visited the United Arab Emirates from 16-17 August 2015 after 34 years marks

the beginning of a new and comprehensive strategic partnership between India and UAE in

a world of multiple transitions and changing opportunities and challenges. .

• India and UAE, these two countries have the potential to build a transformative

economic partnership, not only for sustained prosperity of their two countries, but to

also advance progress in the region and help realize the vision of an Asian Century.

• India and UAE share centuries-old ties of commerce, culture and kinship.

• The two nations reject extremism and any link between religion and terrorism.

• Proximity, history, cultural affinity, strong links between people, natural synergies,

shared aspirations and common challenges create boundless potential for a natural

strategic partnership between India and UAE.

Abu Dhabi, His Highness Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Zayed AI Nahyan and Prime Minister

Narendra Modi agreed to seize this historic moment of opportunity and shared responsibility to

chart a new course in their partnership for the 21st century which includes:

• Elevate the India-UAE relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

• Coordinate efforts to counter radicalization and misuse of religion by groups and

countries for inciting hatred, perpetrating and justifying terrorism or pursuing political

aims

• Denounce and oppose terrorism in all forms and manifestations.

• Enhance cooperation in counter-terrorism operations, intelligence sharing and capacity

building.

• Work together for the adoption of India’s proposed Comprehensive convention on

International Terrorism in the United Nations.

• Work together to control, regulate and share information on flow of funds.

• Strengthen cooperation in law enforcement, anti-money laundering, drug trafficking,

other trans-national crimes, extradition arrangements, as well as police training.

• Promote cooperation in cyber security, including prevention on use of cyber for

terrorism, radicalization and disturbing social harmony.

• Establish a dialogue between their National Security Advisors and National Security

Councils.

• Cooperate to strengthen maritime security in the Gulf and the Indian Ocean region,

which is vital for the security and prosperity of both countries.

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• Promote collaboration and inter-operability for humanitarian assistance and evacuation

in natural disasters and conflict situations.

• Strengthen defence relations.

• Cooperate in manufacture of defence equipment in India.

• Work together to promote peace, reconciliation, stability, inclusiveness and cooperation

in the wider South Asia, Gulf and West Asia region.

• Support efforts for peaceful resolution of conflicts.

• Call on all nations to fully respect and sincerely implement their commitments to resolve

disputes bilaterally and peacefully.

• Establish a Strategic Security Dialogue between the two governments.

• Facilitate participation of Indian companies in infrastructure development in UAE.

• Promote strategic partnership in the energy sector, including through UAE's participation

in India.

• Further promote trade between the two countries.

• Tap India's expertise in Small and Medium Enterprises to create a vibrant industrial base

in UAE, which could also be of benefit to Indian enterprises.

• Strengthen cooperation between UAE's increasingly sophisticated educational

institutions and India's universities and higher research institutions

• Promote cooperation in Space, including in joint development and launch of satellites.

UAE’s plan to set up the West Asia’s first Space Research Centre at AI Ain and plans to

launch a Mars Mission in 2021.

• Cooperate in peaceful uses of nuclear energy including in areas like safety, health,

agriculture and science and technology.

• Prime Minister thanked UAE for its support for India's candidature for permanent

membership of a reformed United Nations Security Council.

• The finalization of the post-2015 Development Agenda with elimination of poverty by

2030 as its core objective was a welcome development.

• The International Conference on Climate Change in Paris in December 2015 should

produce an effective agreement, which includes provision of means and technologies to

developing countries to transition to clean energy.

Egypt approves stringent new counter-terrorism laws

• Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has approved stringent new counter-terrorism

laws to fight a growing jihadist insurgency.

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• The laws establish special courts and offer additional protection from legal consequences

for military and police officers who have used force.

• They also impose the death penalty for anyone found guilty of setting up or leading a

terrorist group.

Under the new laws introduced :

• Trials for suspected militants will be fast-tracked through special courts. Anyone found

guilty of joining a militant group could face 10 years in prison

• Financing terrorist groups will also carry a penalty of life in prison (25 years)

• Inciting violence or creating websites deemed to spread terrorist messages will carry

sentences of five to seven years

• Journalists can be fined between 200,000 and 500,000 Egyptian pounds (£16,300-

£41,000; $25,550-$64,000) for contradicting official accounts of militant attacks. The

original draft of the law was amended following domestic and international outcry after

it initially called for a two-year prison sentence

Sri Lanka General Elections 2015: UNFGG emerges as largest group

• United National Party (UNP) led United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG)

has emerged as the single largest party with 106 seats in the 225-member legislature.

• Sri Lankan parliamentary election 2015 was held on 17 August 2015 to elect 225

members to Sri Lanka’s 15th Parliament.

United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG)

Direct election-93 seats

National list-13 seats

Total-106 seats

Leader of the UNFGG and UNP and current Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesing he is expected

to form a new government with the support of 95 MPs of United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA)

loyal to President Maithripala Sirisena.

Desi Hoppers Become 1st Indian Dance Crew to Win ‘World of Dance’ Competition

Indian troupe Desi Hoppers — a group of sevenmembers from across the country has emerged

victorious at theWorld of Dance Championship in Los Angeles, Californiawhich was judged

by ace international dancers Matt Steffanina, Galen Hooks, Arnel Calvario, Jun Quemado and Beau

Fournier.

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• The crew put India on the map as the first desi troupe to not only represent, but also

win the title on the maiden attempt. While they scored 96.33 points, the Canadians

finished up second with a score of 94 points.

• The five judges found Desi Hoppers’ performance to be high energy, clean and precise

and well executed. The judges also found their performance to be cohesive and dynamic

and very entertaining and appreciated that they included moves that stuck to their

roots, a performance which earned the standing ovation, a feat that none of the other

teams have achieved.

Bangladesh became first country to receive funds from UN for Solar Home Systems

UN Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) issued 3.56 million US Dollar Carbon

Credit to Bangladesh for its fast growing solar home systems. With this Bangladesh became the

first country to receive funds from UN for solar home systems.

• Solar home systems helps Bangladesh to cut carbon emissions by reducing use of

kerosene in rural areas.

• Bangladesh is one of the lowest emitters of carbon globally, it has set an example by

embracing the clean energy generated from small solar home systems.

• Other countries such as Senegal and India are in line to get the fund.

• Two Bangladeshi organizations named Infrastructure Development Company Ltd

(IDCOL) and Grameen Shakti will be receiving the funds.

• IDCOL receives 212482 carbon credits and Grameen Shakti receives 182804 credits

from UNFCCC.

• IDCOL is a state-owned development financial institution dedicated to promoting and

financing infrastructure and renewable energy projects in the country.

US launches biggest allied airborne drills since Cold War

The United States has launched the largest NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) airborne

drills in Europe since the end of the Cold War, named "Swift Response 15”, to enhance security

and stability in the region.

As per the official sources, Nearly 5,000 soldiers from 11 NATO allies are taking part in four weeks

of simultaneous multinational airborne operations across Germany, Italy, Bulgaria and Romania

which had started last week and would last for almost a month.

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Highlights about the Drills:

• On 26 August, NATO airplanes will drop more than 1,000 paratroopers at Hohenfels

training area in

• A similar drill will also take place at the Novo Selo training area in Bulgaria, a former

Soviet ally.

• More than 4,800 soldiers from Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the

Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Britain and the United States are

participating in the exercises until 13 September.

• The drills are aimed at helping allied high-readiness forces to act as one and to

demonstrate the alliance's capacity to rapidly deploy and operate in support of

maintaining a strong and secure Europe.

• NATO in fact defended the number of military exercises it has staged as a response

to growing Russian aggression and denied suggestions that they were helping make

war in Europe more likely.

Pakistan and Russia signed defence agreement that includes the sale of four Mi-35

helicopters

• Pakistan and Russia signed a landmark defence deal on the sale of four Mi-35 ‘Hind E’

in Rawalpindi.The agreement have been finalised during Chief of Army Staff General

Raheel Sharif’s visit to Russia in June earlier this year.

• It was the first major defence deal between the two Cold War-era adversaries.

• In November 2014, Pakistan and Russia had signed a bilateral defence cooperation

agreement aimed at strengthening military-to-military relations.

• Pakistan currently has a number of ‘Mi-17’ helicopters delivered by the US to assist in

the fight against militancy.

Ranil Wickremesinghe sworn in PM of Sri Lanka

• Ranil Wickremesinghe has sworn-in as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka for fourth

time.

He was administered the oath of office by President Maithripala Sirisena at the oath

taking ceremony held at Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.

• Immediately after oath taking ceremony, two main parties in the country Sri Lanka

Freedom Party (SLFP) and the United National Party (UNP) inked a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) to form national unity government and work together in the

parliament.

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• Ranil Wickremesighe has held the position of Prime Minister of the country on three

earlier occasions i.e. in 1993-94, 2002-2004 and from January 2015 to August 2015.

He holds record of being Member of Parliament continuously without losing his seat for

the last 38 years in Sri Lankan history.

China to build $10 billion N-plants in Pakistan

• The Karachi Nuclear Power Plant II (Kanupp II) with the capacity to produce 1,100

MW electricity will be constructed with the assistance of China with an estimated cost of

$10 billion.

• Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif inaugurated construction work on a China-backed

nuclear power plant.

• Kanupp II will pave the way for the construction of Kanupp III, also with a planned

capacity to produce 1,100 MW, to be built also with help of China.

• The groundbreaking of Kanupp III was also performed in 2013 along with Kanupp II.

• This is considered to be the biggest energy investor and infrastructure projects in

Pakistan.

Lahore High Court banned film ‘Phantom’ from release in Pakistan

• Pakistan’s Lahore High Court banned the release of Bollywood movie ‘Phantom’ in

Pakistan. It also banned its airing on the cable networks and its sale in the form of CDs.

• The order to ban the release of the Saif Ali Khan-starrer film in the theaters in

Pakistan was issued by Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan of the Lahore High Court.

• The decision was taken on a plea of by Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) chief and Mumbai attack

mastermind Hafiz Saeed. The petitioner in his plea argued that the film set on post-

26/11 attacks contains filthy propaganda against him and his outfit.

• The film could be a direct threat to his life as the dialogues of the film could poison the

minds of the public.

Over 10 countries to join China’s military parade

• More than 10 countries including Russia will join with China for a military parade in

Beijing next month commemorating the 70th anniversary of victory over Japan in

World War II.

• Parade is widely seen as a public display of the People’s Liberation Army’s fast-growing

capabilities.

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• The foreign troops joining in the parade are from countries in Asia, Europe, Africa the

Americas and Oceana.

• 12,000 troops will take part in the Sept. 3 event, showcasing 500 pieces of equipment

of about 40 different types along with almost 200 aircraft of more than 20 types.

• China’s last such military parade was in 2009 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of

the founding of the People’s Republic.

• Parade deputy commander : Qu Rui

Pakistan cancels Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference

• Pakistan cancelled the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference as India had

threatened to boycott the meet if Pakistan did not extend invite to Jammu and

Kashmir Assembly speaker.

• The conference, which was to bring together speakers of Commonwealth nations, will

now be held in New York in the first week of October.

• Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Special Adviser on Foreign Affairs and National Security

Sartaj Aziz had said Kashmir was a disputed territory and Pakistan does not recognize

its Assembly.

• Pakistan had ruled out inviting the J&K Assembly speaker saying it does not recognise

and accept the state assembly as legitimate one.

• A year ago, India cancelled talks between the two nations’ foreign secretaries after a

similar meeting with Kashmiri separatists.

• Twenty-seven out of the 28 members of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association

voted in favour of changing the venue of the meet to New York.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras resigned

• Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has resigned on August 20, 2015. He has

submitted his resignation to President Prokopis Pavlopoulos.

• The resignation comes after a divide within the governing left-wing party over the terms

of the country’s latest bailout.

• According to the government sources, he has also proposed for early elections. He had

proposed the elections on September 20, 2015.

Women in Saudi Arabia will finally participate as voters in Election 2015

• Women in Saudi Arabia will finally get a chance to cast their ballot and contest in the

upcoming election (Municipal elections) in December 2015.

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• On August 17, 2015 the two women who became the first two women to register as

voters were Jamal Al-Saadi and Safinaz Abu Al-Shamat from the electoral offices of

Madinah and Mecca, respectively.

• In September 2011, King Abdullah made the official declaration about this reform that

women of Saudi Arabia would be allowed to participate as voters from 2015.

TCS Amongst World’s 100 Most Innovative Companies: Forbes

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and four other Indian companies like Hindustan Unilever,

construction services firm Larsen & Toubro, pharma major Sun Pharma Industries and Bajaj Auto

have been named among the world’s 100 most innovative companies by Forbes in a list that has

been topped by Tesla Motors.

Ranks in Forbes List:

· TCS at 64

· HUL at 41

· Larsen & Toubro at 58

· Pharma major Sun Pharma Industries at 65

· Bajaj Auto at 96.

The top five in the list are Tesla Motors (1), Connecticut-based biotech firm Alexion

Pharmaceuticals (2), British semi-conductor company ARM Holdings (3), fast moving consumer

goods company Unilever Indonesia (4) and New York-based biopharmaceutical company

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (5).

World’s Highest Paid actresses Forbes – Jennifer Lawrence Top

• Jennifer Lawrence, 25-year-old “Hunger Games” movie star tops the list of highest-

paid actresses according to the annual thespian earnings survey by Forbes.

• Jennifer Lawrence has her signature role as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games

trilogy this year banked $52 million, more than any other actress in the world and her

highest paycheck to date.

• Her pre-tax payday is $16.5 million more than second-ranked Scarlett Johansson, who

earned $35.5 million.

The top 10 paid actress are:

1. Jennifer Lawrence, $52 million

2. Scarlett Johansson, $35.5 million

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3. Melissa McCarthy, $23 million

4. Bingbing Fan, $21 million

5. Jennifer Aniston, $16.5 million

6. Julia Roberts, $16 million

7. Angelina Jolie, $15 million

8. Reese Witherspoon, $15 million

9. (tie) Anne Hathaway, $12 million

10. (tie) Kristen Stewart, $12 million

Britain, Iran reopen embassies in each other’s countries

After 4 years, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond reopened the British Embassy in

Tehran. Britain has had no diplomatic presence in Tehran since hard-liners protesting the

imposition of international sanctions stormed it in November 2011.

• The Iranian Embassy in London was simultaneously reopened in London.

• The two countries are expected to appoint ambassadors in the coming months.

Reason for closure of Embassies:

• The attack erupted after Iran’s parliament voted to expel the British ambassador and

reduce trade relations in retaliation for sanctions against Iran’s banking sector.

• Students rampaged for hours through the diplomatic compound in downtown Tehran,

tearing down the British flag, ripping up pictures of Queen Elizabeth II and trashing

offices. Staff were seized by protesters.

ISIS blows up Baalshamin Temple in Syria’s Palmyra

Baal Shamin was built in 17AD and it was expanded under the reign of Roman emperor

Hadrian in 130AD. Known as the Pearl of the Desert. Islamic State blew up the ancient temple

of Baal Shamin in the Unesco-listed Syrian city of Palmyra.

• Isis, which controls swaths of Syria and neighbouring Iraq, captured Palmyra on 21 May

said that the inner area of the temple was destroyed and the columns around collapsed.

• The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group that monitors the

country’s civil war, confirmed the destruction of the temple.

• Baal Shamin name first appeared on a tablet in the 19th century BC as a stopping point

for caravans travelling on the Silk Road and between the Gulf and the Mediterranean.

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India, Egypt agree to step up bilateral cooperation

• With an aim to improve their ties, India and Egypt decided to put in place a bilateral

framework for enhancing cooperation in key areas of security, counter-terrorism, defence

and investments. Both the sides agreed to step up engagement in a variety of potential

areas whereas underlining the necessity to fight terrorism notably the dreaded terrorist

outfit ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) in an efficient manner.

• As per the plan, a bilateral framework of cooperation in all fields, particularly in the fields

ofsecurity, counter- terrorism, defence, trade and investments are being put in place

to step up engagement in these areas. Both sides reviewed the entire gamut of relationship

and decided to diversify defence cooperation from training of personnel to defence

production.

• As per Secretary East in Ministry of External Affairs Anil Wadhwa, both the countries

had a discussion briefly on the Palestinian issue and their stands are similar. Both the

countries will support each other at the United Nations as well. Also a discussion about

the three pillars of cooperation that are political and safety pillar, financial and

investments and other people-to-individuals contact took place during the meet.

South, North Korea reached agreement to defuse crisis

North and South Korea have come to an agreement, following marathon talks, on ending a

tense military stand-off that had pushed the two rivals to the brink of armed conflict.

Background of the Crisis:

Seoul had begun loudspeaker broadcasts, which infuriate Pyongyang, after a landmine

blast at the border injured two of its soldiers earlier this month. The South demanded an

apology, while the North denied any involvement and threatened to attack the propaganda

units as cross-border military tensions soared. The tensions bubbled over in a brief exchange

of fire at the heavily guarded border last week. The latest crisis saw a rapid escalation in

military movements, with South Korean and US fighter jets flying simulated bombing sorties

and North Korea reportedly deploying dozens of submarines and doubling artillery units at the

border.

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Progress of the Deal:

• The deal actually came after North Korea expressed regret over the landmine incident,

though initially they denied planting the mine. In return, South Korea will stop anti-North

propaganda broadcasts. South Korea’s defence ministry said troops would remain on high

alert until it confirmed that the North had stepped down from a semi-war state ordered by

leader Kim Jong-Un. The two sides also agreed to work towards resumption next month

of reunions for families separated by the war, and to hold official talks in either Seoul or

Pyongyang at a date to be decided.

India-Australia bilateral maritime exercise next month

India andAustralia will undertake their first bilateral maritime exercise – AUSINDEX in

Visakhapatnam next month announced by Defence Minister Manohar Parikkar, who is on a

two-day visit to Australia, met his Australian counterpart Stephen Smith in Perth

• The maritime exercises, to be held in the Bay of Bengal off India’s eastern coast next

month, will include anti-submarine warfare and coordinated anti-submarine drills said

by the Australian High Commission in Delhi

• Three Royal Australian Navy ships and a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C aircraft are

expected to travel to India for the week-long exercise.

• The ships, including frigate Arunta, tanker Sirius, and a submarine Sheean, are

expected to participate with four Indian Navy ships.

• India and Australia had participated together in multilateral maritime exercises in

Malabar in 2007 and in Milan in 2012.

Three Indians named as Fellows by American Society for Metals

Three Indians named Pradeep Goyal, Vivekanand Kain, and Gankidi Madhusudhan Reddy

and while three Indian-origin achievers named Pranesh Aswath, Suveen Mathaudhu,

Muthukumarasamy Sadayappan are among 29 people, who have been named as Fellows this year

by the American Society for Metals.

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• The fellowship was created in 1969 to provide recognition to ASM members for their

distinguished contributions to materials science and engineering, and to develop a

broad-based forum of technical and professional leaders to serve as advisers to society.

• The fellows will be presented with their awards for the recognition during the Materials

Science and Technology 2015 event in Columbus, Ohio, in October, 2015.

TCS donates Rs 231.77 crore to Carnegie University

Indian IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has announced a donation of $35 million

(nearly Rs 231.77 crore) to the prestigious Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), the largest gift

this top American educational institute has received from outside the United States.

• The donation will be used for setting up a new facility at its campus in Pittsburgh,

Pennsylvania and providing scholarships for students.

• Representing the largest corporate gift to CMU and the largest gift from outside the US,

this donation will fund a new facility, the TCS Building, which will support education and

cutting-edge research by CMU faculty and students.

Pact Signed Between India and Seychelles to Curb Black Money

In a decision taken in the Cabinet meeting headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has

inked an information exchange agreement on tax matters with Seychelles in order to curb tax

evasion and boost its efforts to fight against black money.

Background:

As Seychelles is considered one of the preferred offshore havens for routing of funds, the Union

Cabinet recently approved the signing and ratification of the taxation pact with the island nation

to unearth black money.

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Other Key Agreements:

• Agreements in sectors such as agricultural research and space were being signed to

deepen the engagement.

• Agreement on strengthening maritime security

• An air services agreement was also signed to enable more and easier connections

between the two countries.

• Agreement on cooperation in space, including in the areas of managing land and marine

resources, fisheries advisory, weather forecasting and disaster management.

• Presentation of Navigational chart related to Aldabra Island.

• An agreement to gift a second Dornier aircraft to Seychelles which was announced

earlier in March, 2015.

• A bilateral agreement for cooperation on blue economy.

India lost Solar case against US at WTO

• India has lost a case against the United States (US) at World Trade Organization (WTO) as

the Dispute Settlement Body(DSB) of WTO ruled that India’s domestic content

requirements under its ambitious solar power programme Jawaharlal Nehru National

Solar Mission (JNNSM) were inconsistent with the international trade norms.

• However, as per the officials, India will now approach the appellate body of WTO against

the dispute panel’s ruling.

Vassiliki Thanou sworn in as first female Prime Minister of Greece

Vassiliki Thanou, president of Greece’s Supreme Court age 65, sworn in as head of Greece’s new

caretaker government.

• Vassiliki Thanou, a top judge and the country’s first female prime minister, will lead

the country until the election, which is expected to take place on 20 September.

• Thanou was appointed as Prime Minister as President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, after

leaders of the three main political parties of Greek parliament failed to form a coalition

government to replace outgoing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

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• Tsipras, who resigned barely seven months into his four-year term, has said he needed

a stronger mandate to implement the tough austerity measures accompanying the

€86bn (£63bn) bailout.

Pakistan’s nuclear stockpile could become world’s third largest by 2025

Pakistan will become the third largest nuclear stockpile in the world, behind only the US and

Russia in less than 10 years.

• According to the report, Pakistan is adding 20 warheads to its nuclear arsenal annually

because of its fear of India which is also a nuclear power.

• India has large stockpiles of plutonium, essential for high-yield weapons, the report

says that most of it is being used to produce domestic nuclear energy. It says Pakistan

could have 350 warheads in the next 5-10 years, leaving UK and France behind.

• Pakistan has the fastest growing nuclear weapons programme in the world and by 2020

it could have enough fissile material to produce more than 200 nuclear devices.

India, US plan MoU to crack down on fake note network

India and United States are working together to sign on a proposed MoU that will allow both

countries to blacklist currency material manufacturers found supplying currency printing

machines, material or services to a country or entity known to be printing counterfeit bank notes.

• As per the MoU, counterfeiting of currency shall be declared as an instrument for hitting

monetary and financial stability of a country.

• The action points proposed in the MoU are sharing of real-time information on sources of

materials used in printing fake bank notes, especially the detailed analysis of the

chemical composition of ink used to print Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN).

• Currency material manufacturers (CMM) all over the world are proposed to be

brought under certain safeguards, standards and obligations on the basis of reciprocity

between India and the US.

• Any CMM associated with sale, manufacture and trade of currency printing machine,

equipment, services and consumables, if found supplying these to a country known to

be printing fake bank notes, is proposed to be blacklisted by both COU.

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Pakistan bans Islamic State militant group

The Islamic State (IS) militant group which has undertaken vast stretches of Iraq and Syria in its

control has been banned by Pakistan after repeatedly denying the dreaded outfit’s presence within

its territory.

• The decision was taken on recommendation of the Foreign Office, which regularly

updates the Pakistan government about international militant groups banned by the

United Nations.

• Banners and graffiti in support of Islamic State (IS), also known as Daesh in Arabic,

have often appeared in Pakistan but the government has until now rejected its presence

inside the country.

• Following the death of Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar, the IS has become

particularly powerful in Afghanistan.

India pitches for anti-terror treaty, UNSC reforms

India made a strong pitch for finalisation of the Comprehensive Convention on International

Terrorism(CCIT) at the UN during a meeting with the President-elect of the global body.

• During Sushma Swaraj talks with President-elect of the UN General Assembly Mogens

Lykketoft, who is in New Delhi on a two-day visit, she stressed on the need for UN

Security Council reforms on the occasion of 70th anniversary to reflect current

geopolitical realities and increasing role of developing nations.

• The Indian sides also strongly pitched for early finalisation of the CCIT, a treaty

proposed by India in 1996 to ban terrorists and make it binding for countries to deny

funds and safe haven to them.

Theme of his Presidency :’The United Nations at 70 – A New Commitment to Action’.

First ever MPhil degree in Hindi awarded in Pak

• For the first time in Pakistan’s history, a university has awarded an MPhil degree in

Hindi. Military-run National University of Modern Languages (NUML) here has

become the first Pakistani university to award the degree.

• NUML student Shahin Zafar is the first student from a Pakistani university to receive an

MPhil degree in Hindi. Her thesis, titled ‘Swatantryottra Hindi Upanyason Mein

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NasriChittran (1947-2000)’ was supervised by Professor Iftikhar Husain Arif and

endorsed by the Higher Education Commissio.

Banking and Finance

SBI’s Hong Kong branch fined $1 mn for violating money laundering law

• SBI Hong Kong branch is fined by Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) .HKMA fined

HK dollar 7.5 million(Rs 6.4 crore) ,SBI HK Branch for violating Anti-Money Laundering

and financial Institutions ordinance of Hong Kong(HK).

• SBI Hong Kong branch is fined because it failed to carry out the Anti Money Laundering

Ordinance rules before establishing business relationships with 28 corporate customers

.HKMA said it also failed to perform a series of key anti money laundering checks

,monitoring exiating business relationships ,verifying whether its customers were politically

exposed persons

HDFC Bank ties up with Snapdeal for co-branded credit card

Country’s second largest private sector lender, HDFC Bank and online e-retailer Snapdeal which

is owned and operated by Jasper Infotech jointly launched co branded e-commerce credit card

on 3rd Aug, 2015.

• According to Snapdeal, over 70% of its customers are from tier-2 and tier-3 cities and a

majority of them opt for cash-on-delivery service and only a small portion of them opt for

digital payment methods.

• The credit cards that the online marketplace and the financial institution will launch, will

target these buyers in smaller towns and cities, the officials added.

• Though the officials from HDFC Bank and Snapdeal confirmed the tie-up, they refused to

share the details of the partnership except that the cards are expected to be rolled out over

the next four to six weeks.

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BRICS Business Forum to be held in Dubai

BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) business forum for the first time will be held in

next month at the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre in Dubai on SEPTEMBER 9, 2015.

• The main objective of this business forum will be to provide opportunities for greater

economic collaboration between the five member countries.

• Chairman of the Dubai-based Russian Business, Igor Egorov said that this forum will

be the platform for meeting and discussing are central to economic and cultural growth

and development.

• BRICS forum will serve as a platform to unveil a roadmap for the development of

business activities.

• The forum provides an opportunity for BRICS companies located in the UAE to exchange

technical knowledge and establish collective action plans in order to improve their

capacity for innovation and competition in the market.

IDFC Bank to start operations from October

• IDFC which is Infrastructure financier that received a universal banking licence from the

Reserve Bank of India(RBI) last year,will start banking operations from October

1st 2015.

• IDFC received in-principle approval for operation in April 2014

• Vinod Rai, former Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), will be the non-

executive chairman of IDFC. IDFC has three finance subsidiaries — IDFC AMC, IDFC

Alternatives, and IDFC Securities

HSBC India to launch “green-bonds” in India

Naina Lal Kidwai, Chairman of HSBC on August 3, 2015 said in Ficci Event that HSBC India,

world’s fourth largest issuer of green bonds is planning to launch “Green bonds” in India to

enable fund raising for investments in environmental projects.

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• Naina Lal Kidwai, besides green bonds, also announced on creating ‘Yieldcos’ that

enable access to low cost liquid and generate predicable cash flows by bundling up

renewable assets with long-term power purchase agreements.

• Green Bonds in India was initially launched by Axis Bank and Yes Bank. Globally, the

green bonds market has tripled to USD 37 billion in last two years.

• Green bond is a debt instrument with which a bond issuer gets capital while the

investors receive fixed income in the form of interest.

Visa to test new mobile payments service app mVisa in India

• Visa which is a global payment technology is going to provide a new mobile payment

service in India from September 2015 through smartphones.

• This service will be available in this tech hub on a pilot basis through four selected

banks and will be extended through to many cities.Banks are Axis bank,HDFC

bank,ICICI bank ,SBI.

• To get this service Visa customers have to download the mVisa form into their

smartphones and link their Visa debt, credit or prepaid account to the application. ”On

activation, customers can pay for retail purchases online by transferring funds from their

account to the store’s or its owner’s account

• This service will also be available to 20,000 merchants across Bengaluru who can be

notified through SMS that payment has been made. Payments through mobile handset,

tablet or smartphone are projected to touch $3.3 trillion by 2018 worldwide

SBI Life Insurance launched “Smart Humsafar Plan”

SBI Life Insurance has launched a new product, “SBI Life – Smart Humsafar”, a unique plan

that provides a wide range of multiple benefits of savings and insurance cover for husband and

wife under a single policy.

• It complements the couple’s efforts to achieve prosperity along with protection to fulfill

their dream of leading a better life.

• In case of death of one of the spouses, a payment of sum assured is made to the surviving

spouse, in addition to waiver of future premiums.

Smart Humsafar features:

• Provides financial protection in the event of death of either or both the lives assured

• Pays death benefit to the surviving spouse in addition to waiver of future premiums

• Death benefit also payable in case of subsequent death of the surviving spouse during the

policy term

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• Pays a maturity amount on survival of one or both the lives assured at the end of the policy

term

• Tax benefits as per prevailing norms under the Income Tax Act, 1961.

• The minimum and maximum entry age for this plan is 18 and 46 years respectively.

• If either or both of the lives assured survives till maturity then Basic Sum Assured +

Vested Simple Reversionary Bonuses + Terminal bonus, if any, will be paid provided

the policy is in-force.

• Guaranteed minimum bonus for the first 3 years will be 2.50 percent of the assured basic

sum.

RBI allows banks to merge, shift or close branches in Urban areas

The RBI has now allowed banks to shift, merge or close branches in urban areas without seeking

its prior permission. Rural branches outside the block can also be shifted without prior

approval of RBI. However shifting, merging or closing a branch in a rural area or a sole branch in

a semi-urban area would continue to require prior permission from RBI.

Government to impose 10 per cent import duty on wheat

The Government of India has imposed 10 percent of import duty on wheat till March 31 2016 .

• This is suggested by the Food Ministry to get the premium quality Australian wheat

shipments in order to liquidate the stocks having with the Food Corportion of India(FCI).

• The government is estimated to gain revenue of about Rs 90 crore in the remaining

part of the year

• India is the world’s second largest wheat producer and consumer after China, and its

warehouses often hold double the target amount as farmers get more incentives to

produce grains than oilseeds and pulses.

• Wheat output is estimated at 90.78 mt in 2014-15 against a record production of 95.85

mt the year before.

Swiss National Bank hikes exposure to Indian companies

The Swiss National Bank (SNB), which is one of the largest central bank investors in equities

globally, hiked exposure to Indian companies namely IT-giant Infosys and automobile major

Tata Motors beside the elite league of global enormous large and powerful organization

like Apple, Microsoft and ExxonMobil.

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• Apart from these, the bank retained its investments in four other Indian companies -

ICICI Bank, Dr Reddy's Labs, Vedanta Limited and Wipro.

• SNB's enhanced exposure to the Indian companies during the last quarter, ended on

June 30, coincided with a loss of about 10 per cent in its nearly USD 60-million portfolio

of Indian companies.

• Despite that SNB acquired more equity in case of Infosys and Tata Motors in second

quarter. However the total value of investments in six Indian companies fell by nearly

$6 million to $54.6 million.

India received USD 24 bn in FDI from EU in last 3 yrs

• Despite the Free Trade Agreement talks with the European Union being in limbo, India

has received an impressive USD 24 billion in Foreign Direct Investment from the 28-

nation bloc over the last three years.

• The EU has been India’s largest trading partner and the two-way trade is likely to swell

significantly if the countries could firm up the long-pending Free Trade Agreement,

officially called the Broadbased Investment and Trade Agreement (BTIA).

• The FDI inflow was USD 8.20 billion in 2014-15, which was a decline of USD 862

million compared to the year ago period. In 2015-16, the amount in first two months of

current fiscal was USD 1.39 billion.

• In total, India received USD 24.91 billion in FDI equity inflows from EU between April

2012 and May 2015.

• The two way commerce between EU and India stood at about USD 99 billion in 2014-

15 while it was USD 101.5 billion in 2013-14.

CBDT notifies changes in IT rules to comply with FATCA pac

A month after signing the tax information sharing agreement under the Foreign Account Tax

Compliance Act (FATCA) with the US, the revenue department of India has amended income

tax rules to provide for reporting of information with regards to financial assets and accounts.

• As per the latest amendment, the financial Institutions should maintain detailed

information of the each individual including – Name, Address, date, place of birth

and taxpayer identification number (assigned to the account holder by the country

or territory of his residence for tax purposes) of each reportable person.

• The rules also define various terms such as financial asset, financial account, excluded

accounts, participating and non-participating financial institutions, among others.

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Furthermore, the rules prescribe reporting requirements on a staggered basis starting

from 2014 and reporting of all details prescribed from 2017 onwards.

ICICI Bank launches ‘Saral-Rural Housing Loan’ Scheme

“Saral-Rural Housing Loan”, a new home loan proposition has been announced by India’s

largest private sector bank ICICI Bank with a special interest rate for rural areas which includes

(women borrowers as well as seekers from weaker sections).

• Through this scheme now borrowers can avail home loans at the ICICI Bank Base Rate

(“I-Base”) which is currently at 9.70%.

• Mr. Rajiv Sabharwal, Executive Director, ICICI Bank said that ICICI Bank is committed

to support the socio-economic development of a larger section of the society.

• Interested customers can apply for the “ICICI Bank Saral-Rural Housing Loan” at any

ICICI Bank branch in the locations where the loan is being offered.

Features of the scheme:

• An eligible borrower can take up to Rs.15 Lakhs under the ‘Saral-Rural Housing Loan’.

• The customers can avail the loan to purchase or construct or renovate a home in rural

areas.

• Loan amount sanctioned under this scheme is Rs 5 Lakhs– Rs 15 Lakhs and the Loan

Tenure is 3 years – 20 years.

• Loan can be availed up to 90% of property value.

• As per ICICI Bank, The definition of weaker section and rural areas is as per the Circular

of Refinance Schemes for Scheduled Commercial Banks by National Housing Bank (NHB)

dated 01-02-2013.

• As per ICICI Bank ‘Rural area’ is defined as the area comprised in any village, including

the area comprised in any town, the population of which did not exceed 50,000 as per

the 1991 Census.

• The scheme envisages the socio-economic development of weaker sections in rural

areas.

India signs Financing Agreement with World Bank for NCRMP Projects

Government of India and World Bank signed a financing agreement for World Bank (IDA) for

additional financial assistance of USD 308.40 million for National Cyclone Risk Mitigation

Projects I & II (NCRMP-I &II).

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• The objective of Additional Financing under NCRMP-I is to reduce the vulnerability of

coastal communities to cyclone and other hydro meteorological hazards in Andhra

Pradesh and Odisha.

• The objective of NCRMP-II is to reduce vulnerability to cyclone and other hydro-

meteorological hazards of coastal communities in the States of Goa, Gujarat,

Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and West Bengal to increase the capacity of the

State entities to effectively plan for and respond to disasters.

IRDAI allows Banks to tie up with insurers

According to the new bancassurance guidelines, Insurance Regulatory and Development

Authority of India (IRDA) have allowed banks to tie up with a maximum of nine insurers from

three segments which are life, non–life and standalone health insurers.

• These tie-up is not mandatory on the banks and it has been left to them they are free to

take their call on the number of tie-up.

• Within a short time, IRDA is likely notifying the new guidelines on the bancassurance

norms.

• IRDA has been making efforts to launch a policy of open architecture bancassurance

policy but was unable to finalize the broad features of the new policy as they were not

agreed by the various stake holders of the insurance industry.

• Bancassurance is a French term referred as selling of insurance through a bank’s.

Thus it can be said that Bancassurance “Banks as Insurance Agents”.

RBI notified Interest Subvention Scheme 2015-16 of Union Government for banks

• Reserve Bank of India on 13 August 2015 notified the Union Budget-2015-16 Interest

Subvention Scheme (ISS).Farmers can now gets corp loans at just 4% next financial

year as GOI has approved implementation of interest rate subvention schemes with an

extension.

• The central bank said that interest subvention of 2 percent per annum will be made

available to public and private sector banks provided they lend short term credit at the

ground level at 7 percent per annum to farmers. The bank said that additional interest

subvention of 3 percent will be available to farmers.

• The government in the Budget for 2015-16 proposed to implement interest subvention

scheme in the 2015-16 fiscal for short-term crop loans up to 3 lakh rupees.

• After that, extended ISS to Public Sector Banks (PSBs), private sector commercial

banks, rural regional banks (RRBs), cooperative banks and NABARD.

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• The benefit of interest subvention will be available to small and marginal farmers having

Kisan Credit Card for a further period of up to six months post-harvest on the same

rate as available to crop loan.

Axis Bank launched the First Multi-Currency Contactless Card service in India

• India’s third largest private sector lender, Axis Bank has launched the first Contactless

Debit, Credit and Multi-Currency Forex Card in association with VISA the payments

gateway company in the country.

• The bank will offer a contact less debit/credit cards to its 1.7 million premium

customers, which also enables withdrawal of 15 currencies including Swiss Franc and

Hong Kong dollar besides US dollar, Euro and British Pound via Multi-Currency Forex

facility.

• To facilitate this Axis Bank will upgrade close to about one-fourth, or 50,000, of

its point of sale (PoS) machines across the country, so that they can accept debit and

credit card payments from contactless cards.

• With the launch of these cards, banks are aiming to leverage Reserve Bank of India

(RBI)’s guidelines, which allow them to process contactless transactions below Rs

2,000 without a personal Identification Number(PIN).

• At the moment the bank has started offering credit card only to the premium segment

and will soon be extending it to the other segments of customers as well.

RBI paid Rs.66 crore in dividend

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) paid a dividend of nearly Rs 66,000 crore to the government,

the highest ever from the central bank in its 80-year history, and 22% more than it paid last

year.

• As a matter of fact, RBI's dividend payment to the government is up more than four

times in as many years and it exceeded the Rs 64,500 crore target that the finance

minister had budgeted under 'Dividend/Surplus of RBI, nationalized banks & financial

institutions.

• As banker to the central government, state governments and the banks in the country,

the RBI has several sources of income. The three main sources of income are

the coupon payments it gets on its holding of government securities, the interest it

receives from banks which borrow money from it (repo operations) and also interest

incomes on its holdings of sovereign bonds like US treasury bills etc.

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• Every year, after meeting its expenses and keeping aside part of its total profits, the

central bank transfer a substantial amount to the central government as dividend.

Union Bank of India launches three new cards

State-run lender Union Bank of India (UBI) in association with Visa today launched three new

cards – one debit card and two credit cards for its customers, generally targeting young

students, high net worth individuals and small business men. These cards are part of the digital

initiatives of the bank in line with the Digital India drive of the country.

Cards and their facilities:

The three cards are

1. Business Debit Card: This will be issued to all current account holders with a cash

withdrawal limit of Rs 50,000 and daily shopping limit through point of sale and online of

Rs 2 lakh.

2. Usecure Credit Card: This will be given to bank customers against lien on term

deposits with a spending limit of Rs 5 lakh.

3. Signature Credit Card: This will be issued to high networth customers with a spending

limit linked to the income of the individual and a cap of 20 per cent of the annual

income.

Furthermore, the bank has already launched 20 IT enabled services and has plans to add 11 more

e-initiatives by March-end. Also as per official report, the bank has plans to roll out 100 Union

24x7 Comfort lobbies this year and has already opened 27 so far.

Union Government to form Bank Board Bureau

Union Government decided to set up a Bank Board Bureau (BBB) to monitor key performance

pointers of public sector banks (PSBs). Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced as

part of seven-pronged revamp plan for PSBs in Indradhanush (rainbow) plan.

• The Banks Board Bureau will recommend appointment of directors in public sector banks

(PSBs) and advise on ways of raising funds and dealing with issues of stressed assets

because banks have a requirement for Rs.180,000 crore over the next four years.

• Bank Board Bureau will start the functioning from next financial year means from 1st

April 2016 and the selection of its member will start in the next six months.

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• It will be six members body with at least 3 former bankers, 2 professionals and

secretary, department of financial services representing government.

• The BBB will also be a link between the government and banks and will be engaged with

banks to evolve strategies for them.

• It will replace existing system Appointments Board in which appointments for top level

jobs at PSBs are made by an appointments committee which led by the Reserve Bank of

India (RBI) Governor.

• Its Functions are to give recommendations for appointment of full - time Directors as

well as non - Executive Chairman of PSBs.

• The BBB will be a body of ‘eminent’ professionals and shall consist of only one

government official.

SBT launches new mobile ATM facility

• With an aim to bring banking facility at the doorstep of customers,State bank of

Travancore here has launched a new mobile ATM in Thiruvanathapuram, Kerala’s

capital.

• The ATM is installed in a mobile air-conditioned van equipped with uninterrupted power,

CCTV and guarded security with satellite connectivity.

• The mobile ATM, which also serves as an Information Kiosk to public to help them know

about banking products and services, moves from place to place in the city, delivering

customers safe and swift banking

• With the launch of Mobile ATM, SBT adds one more ATM to its network of 1632 ATMs

linked to State Bank Group ATM network, the largest ATM network in the country.

RBI suspended licence of 7 Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs)

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) suspended licences of seven non-banking financial

companies (NBFCs), some for being dormant and some for either not carrying out its principal

business or not fulfilling various norms including minimum net owned funds according to the

directions or orders issued by RBI under RBI Act, 1934.

The seven NBFCs whose licences were suspended are

1. Religare Finance

2. Artisans Micro Finance

3. Eden Trade & Commerce

4. RCS Parivar Finance

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5. Nott Investments

6. Dewra Stocks & Securities

7. Swetasree Finance

• There are around 12,000 NBFCs in the system currently.

• The Reserve Bank of India is entrusted with the responsibility of regulating and

supervising the Non-Banking Financial Companies that meet the 50-50 criteria of

principal business, by virtue of powers vested in Chapter III B of the Reserve Bank

of India Act, 1934.

• Also as per the rules if any NBFC do not carry out its principal business according to the

directions or orders issued by RBI under the act, is eligible for penal action that can also

result in cancelling the Certificate of Registration issued to that particular NBFC.

Jaitley launches SBI’s mobile wallet ‘Buddy’

• Union Finance minister Arun Jaitley launched State Bank of India’s mobile wallet-

State Bank ‘Buddy’ in collaboration with Accenture and Master Card.

• He also unveiled brand logo and website for SBI Foundation, a arm set up to implement

corporate social responsibility (CSR) of the State Bank of India group.

• The ‘Buddy’ application will be available for all customers irrespective of the bank the

customer is banking with or card customer is using. The application will be available on

the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

• The Mobile Wallet comes with features like send money to registered and new

users,recharge and pay bills instantly also book for movie tickets and flights.

IDBI appointed Kishor Piraji Kharat as its MD and CEO

• IDBI (Industrial Development Bank of India )has appointed Kishor Piraji Kharat as its

new Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer.

• Kishor Kharat is a graduate in commerce and law who is also a certified associate of the

Indian Institute of Bankers. He had earlier assumed post of executive director of Union

Bank of India and before that he had served Bank of Baroda for three decades.

• IDBI was constituted on 1 July 1964 under IDBI Act 1964 based on the model of

Developmental Bank of Canada with a motive to provide direct and indirect finance to

Industries. Government of India took over the controls of IDBI in 1975 and then

transformed into independent autonomous statutory organisation.

• IDBI was regarded as a Public Financial Institution and continued to serve as a DFI for

40 years and was formally transformed into a Bank on 28 September 2004. IDBI thus

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became 28th Public Sector Bank. IDBI Bank was earlier known as IDBI Ltd which was

change to its existing name IDBI Bank Ltd on 7 May 2008.

ICICI Bank launched locker facility named Smart Vault

• ICICI Bank, India’s largest private sector bank, has launched the ‘Smart Vault’, a fully

automated locker available 24×7, including weekends and after banking hours. The

‘Smart Vault’ uses robotic technology to access lockers from the safe vault. It enables

customers to access their lockers in a secure lounge where the locker automatically

comes up to the customer.

• Customers can access the lockers in total privacy without any intervention of the branch

staff. Located at New Delhi, the ‘Smart Vault’ is equipped with multi-layered security

systems including biometric authentication, debit card & PIN authentication, unique

dimple keys that are difficult to replicate, ‘unbreakable lock system’ and the option of

using additional personal lock as well.

• The smart vault facility comprises of a locker room for complete privacy. A customer can

gain access to this locker room by swiping their debit card and validating their identity

through biometric authentication.

Finance Minister launches two funds for promoting MSMEs and Start-ups

With an aim to aid small enterprises and to boost funding for start-ups in the country, the Union

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley launched two funds - the India Aspiration Fund

(IAF) and SIDBI Make in India Loan for Enterprises (SMILE) under Small Industries

Development Bank of India (SIDBI).

About the Funds:

India Aspiration Fund (IAF):

• Under this fund, SIDBI would invest in venture capital funds for meeting the equity

requirement of MSME start-ups in the country.

• The initial corpus of 2,000 crore has been set for this fund.

• Life Insurance Corp. of India (LIC) will be a partner and co-investor in this fund.

SIDBI Make in India Loan for Enterprises (SMILE) Fund :

• This is a debt-fund which will carter soft term loans to MSMEs to meet debt-to-equity

norms and pursue growth opportunities.

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• The Initial corpus of 10, 000 crore has been set under SMILE fund.

Possible Impacts:

• These funds under SIDBI to boost MSME and start-ups under Make in India initiative and

expects to create employment for over one lakh person for four to five years.

• The ministry also intends to move people from overstaffed agriculture sector to areas

such as services and manufacturing through MSMEs and start-ups which fund their own

business and creates employment.

LIC launches maiden unit linked insurance plan (ULIP)

Unit-Linked Insurance Plan (ULIP), a new Endowment Plus policy which offers investment cum

insurance during the term policy and provide due benefit of risk cover and benefits of investment

markets is launched by Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).

• The policy holders will have options to choose from any of the four funds -bond fund,

secured fund, balance fund and growth fund through this policy.

• This policy also adds conveniences of switching between these funds. Within a given

policy year, four switches will be allowed free of charge.

• The NAV (net asset value) of all the segregated funds will be computed on daily basis

and will be based on investment performance and fund management change of each

fund type. On the launch, tomorrow, the NAV under all funds will be Rs 10.

• The policy will also offer double death benefit.

• On death before the commencement of risk, an amount equal to the policy holder's fund

value will be payable, while on death after date of commencement of risk, an amount

equal to the higher of basis sum assured or policy holder's fund value will be payable.

• Further, it comes with an accident death benefit rider which provides for an additional

amount equal to accident death benefit sum assured on death due to accident.

• The premium allocation charges would range from 7.5% of premium paid in the first

year to 3% from the sixth year onwards.

• The minimum age at entry for this product would be 90 days whereas the maximum age

at entry would be 50 years. The policy term would be 10-20 years and the minimum

annual premium would be Rs 20,000 with no limit on the maximum premium payable

annually.

• Partial withdrawal will also be available under the plan.

• The product is likely to be available only offline.

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RBI granted ‘in-principle’ approval to 11 applicants to start a payments bank

The Reserve Bank of India granted ‘in-principle’ approval to 11 entities to set up payments banks

under the Guidelines for Licensing of Payments Banks issued on November 27, 2014 proposed

such licences ‘on tap’ in future.

“In-principle” Approval:

• The “in-principle” approval granted will be valid for a period of 18 months, during which

time the applicants have to comply with the requirements under the Guidelines and fulfil

the other conditions as may be stipulated by the Reserve Bank.

• On being satisfied that the applicants have complied with the requisite conditions laid

down by it as part of “in-principle” approval, the Reserve Bank would consider granting

to them a licence for commencement of banking business.

• A total of 41 applicants had applied for payments banks from them only 11 applicants

has been selected by External Advisory Committee (EAC) under the Chairmanship of

Dr. Nachiket Mor, Director, Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India, Internal

Screening Committee (ISC) and finalized by Committee of the Central Board (CCB).

11 applicants includes:

1. Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited.

2. Airtel M Commerce Services Limited.

3. Cholamandalam Distribution Services Limited.

4. Department of Posts.

5. Fino PayTech Limited.

6. National Securities Depository Limited.

7. Reliance Industries Limited.

8. Shri Dilip Shantilal Shanghvi.

9. Shri Vijay Shekhar Sharma

10. Tech Mahindra Limited.

11. Vodafone m-pesa Limited.

Operations to be made by 11 Applicants (Payment Banks):

• Payment banks allow mobile firms, supermarket chains, and others to cater to

individuals and small businesses.

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• The Payments Bank will be set up as a differentiated bank and shall confine its activities

to acceptance of demand deposits, remittance services, Internet banking and other

specified services.

• Payments Banks will initially be restricted to holding a maximum balance of Rs. 1 lakh

per individual customer.

• They will be allowed to issue ATM/debit cards as also other prepaid payment

instruments, but not the credit cards.

• These banks can also distribute non-risk sharing simple financial products like mutual

funds and insurance products.

• They will not be allowed to undertake lending services and non resident Indians will not

be allowed to open accounts.

BSE sets up new system for reporting suspicious trades

• Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) a new system used for checking money

laundering through stock markets was set up by BSE stock exchange.

• BSE has asked its members to report on a monthly basis details of the STRs (Suspicious

Transaction Reports) submitted to the government’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).

• Trading members are required to submit the data through a specific FIU-STR module

of the online gateway BSE Electronic Filing System.

• The members have been asked to provide details of their registration with the FIU, as

also the information about the principal officer and the designated directors for the PMLA

(Prevention of Money Laundering Act) compliance.

• FIU India is the government agency responsible for receiving, processing and analysing

financial transactions and disseminating information relating to suspect transactions to

various intelligence and enforcement agencies.

Emirates NBD ties-up with Axis Bank, Empays Payment

• UAE-based bank Emirates NBD to transfer money directly into registered mobile

numbers in India from UAE, Emirates NBD has tied up with Axis Bank and Empays

Payment Systems.

• Through an innovative funds remittance service ‘DirectRemit2 Mobile’, account

holders in the UAE can transfer funds to any registered mobile phone number in India.

• Within 60 seconds through the DirectRemit platform funds can be transferred to the

beneficiary’s account.

• Emirates NBD Senior Executive Vice President & Group Head – Retail Banking and

Wealth Management Suvo Sarkar said that we foresee DirectRemit2 Mobile

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revolutionising peer-to-peer international money transfers in the UAE as we expand the

service to new markets in the near future.

R Gandhi panel recommended conversion of UCBs into Regular Banks

To strengthen the Urban Cooperative Bank (UCB) structure the Reserve Bank of India’s

(RBI) nine-member High Powered internal Committee on Urban UCBs headed by RBI Deputy

Governor R Gandhi in its report has recommended conversion of UCBs with business size

of 20000 crore rupees or more into regular banks.

Key Recommendations:

• A business size of Rs20,000 crore or more may be the threshold limit beyond which

a UCB may be expected to convert to a commercial bank. However, the conversion isn’t

mandatory.

• Smaller UCBs with business size of less than Rs20000 crore rupees willing to convert

to Small Finance Banks (SFBs) can apply for conversion provided they fulfill all the

eligibility criteria and selection processes prescribed by the RBI.

• Licenses may be issued to financially sound and well-managed co-operative credit

societies having a minimum track record of 5 years which satisfy the regulatory

prescriptions set by the RBI.

• Setting up a Board of Management (BoM) as suggested by the Malegam

Committee has to be one of the mandatory licensing conditions for licensing of new

UCBs and expansion of existing ones.

• Stiff entry-point norms for new UCBs - to operate as a multi-state UCB, the minimum

capital requirement would be Rs 100 crore, to operate beyond two districts and as a

state-level UCB, the capital threshold is Rs 50 crore and a capital of Rs 25 crore if the

UCB is at the district level.

• As recommended, the depositors must have a say on the Boards. For this, a majority of

the board seats may be reserved for depositors by making suitable provisions in the

bye-laws.

As per the official report, this transition is required due to the changing financial landscape in the

country and also for giving an opportunity to well-run UCBs to play a major role going forward.

But this requires requisite amendments in the provisions of the Cooperative Societies Acts of all

states which is a long process. That’s why the Committee recommended that only UCBs which are

registered under the Multi-state Co-operative Societies Act, 2002 may be considered for

conversion to commercial banks.

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SEBI bars 59 entities from trading for manipulating markets and evading taxes

For alleged manipulation of the stock exchange route for evading taxes, Securities and Exchange

Board of India (SEBI) in a 37-page order bars 59 entities from trading, buying, selling or

dealing in the securities markets, either directly or indirectly.

• This is the third such crackdown against alleged market manipulators looking to evade

taxes or convert black money into ‘white’.

• More than 950 entities have already been banned from capital markets by the regulator

for suspected tax evasion of at least Rs 5,000-6,000 crore.

Bank holiday on second, fourth Saturdays

• Bank employees have something to cheer on alternate weekends. The Centre on

Thursday declared that the second and fourth Saturday of every month would be a

holiday for banks, with effect from September 1, 2015.

• This announcement is being made as part of the agreement arrived at during the 10

bipartite wage settlement between the IBA and bank employees’ unions in June this

year.

• All India Bank Employees’ Association general secretary C.H. Venkatachalam said, “As

of now, they are working on all Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Beginning

September, they will have two alternate Saturdays as holidays and have to work from

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the first and third Saturdays.”

Government Issues Norms for Selection of CEOs and MDs of Smaller PSU Banks

The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has approved the guidelines for selection of

Managing Directors (MDs) and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) in Public Sector Banks (PSBs)

other than the five large PSBs and the hiring process will start from the next month.

Selection Guidelines:

• The selection to the top job in the PSBs would be from the existing pool of executive

directors (EDs) or deputy managing directors (DMDs) in state-owned banks with a

remaining service period of 2 years.

• The new norms have excluded private sector executives to become part of the selection

process of top management in the PSBs.

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• Executive Directors of nationalised banks, DMDs of IDBI Bank and MDs of associate

banks of SBI who have risen from the associate bank services, with one yearof service

as ED/DMD/MD and who have two years remaining service are also eligible for

consideration as MD & CEO of PSBs.

• For the five large banks viz. Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India,

Canara Bank and IDBI Bank, there will be a separate procedure for selection.

Selection Procedure:

• The selection will be made by the Appointments Board as per the existing methodology

of interaction of the candidates with three panels of the sub-committee of the

Appointments Board.

• The candidates will be rated out of 100 marks with 50 marks to be awarded for Annual

Performance Appraisal Reports (APARs) of five years and 50 marks assigned on the

basis of performance during interaction with the sub-committee.

Other Norms:

The committee also laid down the eligibility criteria for the post of executive directors of the

nationalized banks. General Managers of nationalized banks and CGMs of associate banks of

SBI who have risen from the associate banks service, and who have completed two years of

service are eligible for consideration for the post of executive director.

Insta Account launched by ICICI

• An online investment account has been launched by ICICI Securities for investment in

mutual funds. This will save the lengthy process of submitting the documents by an

investor who is KYC compliant.

• There will be no charges for opening the account. In order to open the account, investor

has to provide the Permanent Account Number and date of birth.

SBI developing low-cost model to counter payments banks

Country’s largest commercial banking Giant State Bank of India (SBI) announced that they are

“working on” its low-cost consumer touch model to compete with payments banks for getting

access to people living in the remote areas.

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• Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairman of SBI said that the bank intends to do this by

strengthening the business correspondent (BC) model.

• Low-cost business correspondent (BC) model to reach out to rural unbanked areas to

compete with the upcoming payments banks.

• The bank already has 56,000 business correspondents, and another 500 will be added

to the unbanked gram panchayats in West Bengal soon.

• SBI would be opening customer service points (CSPs) in unbanked panchayats and also

train youth with minimum education so that they are able to operate a mobile phone,

printer and a scanner.

Arun Jaitley inaugurated the Bandhan Bank in Kolkata

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley inaugurated the Bandhan Bank as a full-fledged scheduled

commercial bank at a function held in Kolkata’s Science City Auditorium on Sunday and on

account of that India got its first private bank in 11 years.

• Bandhan is the first microfinance company to transform into a bank. As per RBI

guidelines, Bandhan will now merge its micro-finance business with the bank. The bank will

have two distinct wings – one will cater to the micro-banking segment, targeting the rural

and un-banked areas and the other will look at general banking services.

• The RBI licensing norms stipulate that a new bank must have a Rs 500 crore capital base.

Bandhan Bank starts with a capital base of Rs 2,570 crore. Multilateral financier

International Finance Corporation and the Singapore government-backed GIC are

expected to invest Rs 500 crore collectively in Bandhan Bank soon, taking the net worth

to Rs 3,200 crore.

About Bandhan:

• Bandhan was founded in 2001 when Bandhan was operating as an NGO lending to the

poor. Bandhan turned itself to a non-banking finance company in 2006.

• Bandhan Bank Limited was incorporated on 23rd December 2014 as a wholly-owned

subsidiary of Bandhan Financial Holdings Limited. Bandhan received the in-principal

approval of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for setting up a universal bank in April 2014.

The banking regulator gave its final nod in June 2015. Incidentally, Kolkata-

headquartered Bandhan is the first bank to be set up in eastern part of India after

Independence.

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About the Bank Board:

• Ashok Kumar Lahiri, a former Chief Economic Advisor to the Centre, will be the

Chairman, while Chandra Shekhar Ghosh the founder of Bandhan will be the MD and

CEO of the bank.

• The 10 member board will also consist of former top bank executives such as Bhaskar

Sen of United Bank of India and B Sambamurthy of Corporation Bank and many more.

Motto of the Bank:

• Bandhan begun operation with 500 branches, a majority of these are in the eastern

region including West Bengal. The primary focus will be the eastern region where

banking penetration is still poor.

• The Bank will fund lakhs of small and medium entrepreneurs, create jobs and act as a

response to agrarian poverty and the objective is to extend over Rs 1 trillion worth

funds to SMEs across the country.

ICICI Bank launches ‘mortgage guarantee’ backed loans for affordable housing sector

‘Mortgage guarantee’ backed loans for retail customers allows a borrower to enhance the loan

amount by up to 20% and also provides the option to extend the repayment period up to 67

years of age is launched by ICICI Bank.

• ‘ICICI Bank Extraa Home Loans’ will be available at the bank’s branches in Greater

Mumbai, NCR (National Capital Region), Bengaluru and Surat.

• Self-employed individuals seeking home loans of a maximum amount of Rs 75 lakh are

eligible for this loan, the variant for middle aged, salaried customers is suitable for

salaried borrowers up to 48 years of age.

• Under this facility they can extend their loan tenure till 65 years of age.

• Young, salaried borrowers up to 37 years of age are eligible to avail a 30-year home

loan with repayment tenure running till 67 years of age.

Indian Bank launches IndPay mobile app service

A mobile application service named IndPay has been launched public lender Indian Bank which

enables its customers to operate bank accounts from anywhere, anytime.

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• IndPay can be operated through smartphones compatible with Android, Windows and

iOS mobile operating systems.

• Customers can do transactions like enquiries, getting mini statements and transferring

funds to any account, the Chennai-based bank said in a statement.

• Indian Bank closed at Rs 136.00, up Rs 2.65, or 1.99 percent. The 52-week high of

the share was Rs 224.20 and the 52-week low was Rs 120.00 as on August 28, 2015.

Govt. to infuse Rs 947 crore in Canara Bank

Public lender Canara said the government will infuse an equity capital of Rs 947 crore in the

bank.

• It said the board of the bank at a meeting held today approved the proposal of issuing

equity shares on preferential basis to the government in lieu of the capital infusion.

• SBI also spoke of issuance of equity shares on a preferential basis to the government for

a capital infusion of Rs 5,393 crore.

• Earlier this month, the government decided to infuse a total of Rs 20,088 crore in 13

public sector banks, including SBI, PNB, IDBI, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Indian

Overseas Bank and Union Bank of India .

HDFC Bank cuts base rate by 35 bps to 9.35%

HDFC Bank, the country’s second-largest private-sector lender, slashed its base rate the minimum

rate at which it lends by 0.35 percent to 9.35 percent, effective tomorrow.

• The move comes after the Reserve Bank of India cut its benchmark repo rate thrice

this year (by a total 0.75 percent), and urged banks to follow through with cuts on their

lending rates.

• The move by the retail customer-focused HDFC Bank’s will put pressure on other large

lenders such as ICICI, SBI and Axis to follow through with rate cuts of their own.

• At 9.35 percent, HDFC Bank’s base rate is the lowest among banks. Peers SBI and ICICI

Bank are at 9.7 percent but may move soon.

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Awards

McCann bags Incredible India ad campaign

The Indian Ministry of Tourism has made its decision to assign the duties of INCREDIBLE INDIA

advertising campaign to McCann Erickson replacing Ogilvy India for a period of three years.

• The Ministry said McCann was chosen because of its unique consumer understanding,

intrinsic reflection of the social conscience cultural insight and superlative creative work.

• McCann has also been responsible for the set of four commercials on “Atithi Devo

Bhav”, from the Tourism Ministry, which is currently playing on air, and which feature

superstar Aamir Khan.

• McCann is a global advertising agency network, with offices in 120 countries.

• It is founded in 1902 and has its headquarters in U.S.

Hindi litterateur Kashinath Singh chosen for Bharat Bharti literary award 2014

• Kashinath Singh who is noted Hindi literature has been chosen for UttarPradesh state’s

highest literaryaward,Bharat Bharti.This award is given in list of 2014

• This award is given by UP Hindi Sansthan and its cash prize is 5 lakh.Singh is famous

for his novel Kashi Ka Assi .With this novel a moving is coming woith name ‘Mohalla

Assi’

• Singh who is 78 penned many novels and short stories.His recent work in 2014 is

Upsanhar

Ex-Jalore EO Rajan Vishal chosen for Election Commission’s award

• Jalore electoral officer Rajan Vishal is choosen for Election commission’s Zonal

award under the Best Electoral Practices Award-2014.

• This award is given to him for doing works like reaching out to remote areas and

convincing people,especially women,to play their role in democracy .

• The Election commission will present the award to Vishal who is a 2008-batch IAS

officer at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on August 10th 2015.At present he is working

as District collector of Nagpur.

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Mathematician Amalendu Krishna won 2015 Ramanujan Prize

The International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Italy, the Department of Science and

Technology, Government of India, and the International Mathematical Union (IMU) joinly awarded

the 2015 Ramanujan Prize to Hindu Mathematician Dr. AMALENDU KRISHNA, Professor of the

Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai.

• He was awarded with this award for his outstanding contributions in the area of algebraic

cycles, algebraic K-theory and the theory of motives.

• He was awarded the Swarnajayanti Prize in Mathematical Sciences from the Government

of India in 2011.

• The Ramanujan Prize is awarded annually to a researcher from a developing country who

is less than 45 years of age, and who has conducted outstanding research in a developing

country.

National Dairy Development Board won the ESRI Special Achievement in GIS Award

2015

For exemplary work in Dairy Geographical Information System, the National Dairy

Development Board (NDDB) is awarded with ESRI Special Achievement in GIS Award 2015 on

August 4, 2015.

• NDDB’s Internet-based Dairy Geographical Information System (i-DGIS) application is

the first attempt of its kind in India, where village-level integration of data has been

done, at such a large scale, for the dairy sector.

• Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), is an international supplier of

Geographic Information System (GIS) software, web GIS and geodatabase

management applications.It has its headquartered in Redlands, California.

Zhanna Nemtsova awarded with Poland’s Solidarity Prize 2015

Russian journalist, Zhanna Nemtsova, the daughter of slain Russian opposition politician Boris

Nemtsov has been awarded with Poland’s Solidarity Prize 2015 by President Bronisław

Komorowski on August 4, 2015.

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• Nemtsova received the Solidarity Prize award for advocating democracy and

humanrights.

• She worked as an economic journalist for the Russian TV station RBK, anchoring

broadcasts and interviewing representatives from businesses and politicians.

• After her father was assassinated in February 2015, Nemtsova received threats and,

fearing for her own safety, decided to emigrate. In August 2015, she began her work as a

reporter in the Russian department of German public radio Deutsche Welle in Bonn.

PM meets prize winners of Techno-Challenge 2015

• Girls belonging to New Horizon Educational Institution ,Karnataka met prime

minister Narendra Modi.

• These girl students recently won the 1st prize in the techno-Challenge 2015 competition

in US .

• Taking PM’s Swachh bharat initiative these girl students developed a mobile application

that connects buyers and sellers of “waste”

Sanjiv Sambandan wins Google Pitch Fest

• Hand-held waste- water filteration technology that promises zero wastage,developed

at IISc in Bengaluru ,won the Google startup festival at Zurich,Switzerland.

• This technology was developed by Sanjiv Sambandan of the flexible electronics

lab,Department of Instrumentation and Applied Physics at Indian Institute of Science

won Pitch Fest at google Zurich.

• The filtration technique can transform highly contaminated water into very clean water,

with no water wastage.

Goa Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar to be honoured with PATWA award

• Dilip Parulekar who is Goa Tourism minister has been awarded with PATWA-safari

India south Asia travel award for the year 2015.

• PATWA(Pacific Area Travel Writers Association) is an affiliate of United nations

WTO.Parulekar is the first tourism minister of Goa to receive this PATWA award

• This PATWA award will be presented to him at a ceremony in New delhi on August

7th2015.

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Indian professor conferred with Germany’s highest civilian honor

Indian Sociobiologist Raghavendra Gadagkar, a professor at the Centre for Ecological Sciences,

Indian Institute of Science (IISc) was awarded Germany’s highest civilian honor “The Cross of

Order of the Merit”

• He was bestowed with the honor for contribution in the field of behavioral ecology and

sociobiology.

• Gadagkar is the president of the Indian National Science Academy,published more

than 270 research papers and two books.

• Prof Gadagkar is one of the leading experts in the field of insect sociobiology.

• He is active in the Indo-German scientific cooperation with the Max-Plank-Institute for

Chemical Ecology in Jena, the German Zoological Society in Halle and the universities of

Freiburg and Offenburg.

Kashmir Valley flood coverage nominated for Emmy Awards

“The Buck stops here-Srinagar floods coverage” has been announced as one of the eight

international nominees for the 2015 news and current affairs categories of the 2015

International Emmy Awards.

• Barkha dutt ,who has covered Jammu and Kashmir region for 20 years and brought

reports and interviews from the scenes of the tragedy.

• This is the first time India has been nominated in this category.

• Barkha dutt team reported from some of the most inaccessible areas that could only be

reached by boat, wading through water and jumping over walls and debris to bring the

stories of horror and heroism in the worst floods to hit Jammu and Kashmir.

• It shows the courage of local Kashmiri volunteers and highlighted the role of the military

in the relief and rescue operations in a state which has witnessed a two decade-old

insurgency in the Kashmir valley.

Suhasini Haidar wins Prem Bhatia Award

• Suhasini Haidar,selected for the Prem Bhatia Memorial Award for Excellence in

Political Reporting and Analysis, 2014.

• She was Diplomatic and Strategic Affairs Editor at The Hindu.

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• The award, instituted by the Prem Bhatia Memorial Trust, carries a cash prize of Rs.

2,00,000 and a citation. Prem Bhatia was one of India’s eminent and influential

journalists, whose career spanned six decades.

• The award will be presented on August 11, 2015 in New Delhi at the 2015 Prem Bhatia

Memorial Lecture, which will be delivered by Dr. Pratap Bhanu Mehta on “India’s Aborted

Transitions”.

• Previous award-winners: Harish Khare, P. Sainath, Gargi Parsai, Nirupama

Subramanian, Pallavi Aiyar, Smita Gupta, Shalini Singh and Amit Baruah.

Ajeet Kumar Saroj, Varanasi jail inmate awarded with IGNOU gold medal

• A 23-year-old prisoner Ajeet Kumar Saroj lodged in the Varanasi Central Jail has been

awarded a gold medal by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) for

topping in Diploma in Tourism Studies (DTS).

• He was awarded his diploma at the 28th convocation of IGNOU,Given by Vice-

chancellor of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University, Faizabad, G C Jaiswal.

• The convocation ceremony was telecast live for the very first time on DD Bharti from the

varsity’s Convention Centre.

UP approved new guidelines for Begum Akhtar Award

Uttar Pradesh Government approved the modified guidelines for Begum Akhtar Award. The

modification empowers the Chief Minister to make any further modify to the guidelines.

• Begum Akhtar Award is named after Akhtari Bai Faizabadi, as she is known as Begum

Akhtar who was a well known Indian singer of Ghazal, and Dadra, and Thumri genres

of Hindustani classical music.

• Akhtar received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for vocal music, and was awarded

Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan (posthumously) by Union Government.

• Begum akthar was also given the title of Mallika-e-Ghazal (Queen of Ghazals).

• The award will be given to singers of ghazal, dadra, and thumri who have achieved a

milestone in these forms of music and will be given to a singer who is a local resident of

the state and should not be less than 40 years of age.

• This award will carry a cash award of 5 lakh rupees, an ‘angvastram’ and a certificate.

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Facebook awarded $21 million to Indian app developers under Fb Start initiative

• Facebook has given benefits of around $21 million to Indian developers as part of its

FbStart initiative.

• FbStart is a programme launched last year to help early-stage mobile start-ups build

and grow their applications. Under this, Facebook runs two tracks called ‘Accelerate

companies’ and ‘Bootstrap companies’.

• FbStart is being organised across 20 cities to meet mobile developers. In the Asia-

Pacific region, FbStart was organised in countries like Hong Kong, South Korea,

Taiwan andIndia.

• In India, the event is being organised in Bengaluru and Gurgaon.

Martha Bhaskar Rao received ‘Vaidya Ratna’ award

• Martha Bhaskar Rao, an Ayurvedic surgeon of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams-run Sri

Venkateswara Ayurvedic College, Tirupati, has received ‘Vaidya Ratna’ award at a

function organised recently by Suman Art Theatres in Hyderabad.

• Rao has performed over 10,000 surgeries pertaining to piles and fistula using the time-

tested ‘Ksharasutra’ method and his recent book ‘Recent advances in Ksharasutra in

high anal fistula’ has also been made a referral text book.

IISc Professor Ajay Sood becomes Royal Society Fellow

• Professor Ajay Sood from the Department of Physics at the Indian Institute of Science

(IISc) has been elected as the fellow of prestigious Royal Society.

• Prof Sood is India’s leading experimental physicist working in the field of Quantum

Condensed Matter with focus on nanomaterials since 35 years. He is presently a

faculty at the Department of Physics, IISc.

• Sood and his team have designed Field Effect Transistors (FETs) using materials like

carbon nanotubes, graphene, Molybdenum disulphide and black phosphorus and

superconductors such as iron pnictides.

PAHAL scheme enters into Guinness Book of world records

The Guinness Book of World Records had acknowledged Union Government of India’s ambitious

Pratyaksha Hastaantarit Laabh (PAHAL) as the world’s largest cash transfer program

(households).

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• In 2013, the PAHAL scheme was launched in 291 districts as Direct Benefit Transfer

Scheme for LPG subsidy, under the aegis of Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Later it was modified and named as PAHAL in November 2014 and was then again launched

in 54 districts. Finally it was extended nationwide on 1 January 2015.

AIATF awards two J&K youths for overpowering Pak terrorist

• The two young men, Rakesh Sharma and Vikramjit from Udhampur in Jammu and

Kashmir, who overpowered and caught alive a suspected Pakistani terrorist last week,

were given Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Bravery award by the All India Anti Terrorist

Front (AIATF) at a function held in Mumbai for showing exemplary courage. The award

includes a financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh each.

Sania gets Khel ratna, 17 others get Arjuna Awards

Sania Mirza ranked World No.1 in women’s doubles, created history as the sports ministry

confirmed that Sania Mirza will be awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, the country’s highest

sporting honour.

• The Government also announced the Arjuna Awards 2015.There are 17 sportspersons in

the list of winners of 2015 Arjuna Awards.

• Selection Committee headed by Justice V.K. Bali, former Chief Justice of Kerala High

Court selected the awardees as there are large numbers of nominations was received for

these awards this year.

Arjuna Awards 2015 winners:

1. P R Sreejesh (Hockey)

2. Dipa Karmakar (Gymnastics)

3. Jitu Rai (Shooting)

4. Sandeep Kumar (Archery)

5. Mandeep Jangra (Boxing)

6. Babita (Wrestling)

7. Bajrang (Wrestling)

8. Rohit Sharma (Cricket)

9. K Srikanth (Badminton)

10. Swarn Singh Virk (Rowing)

11. Satish Sivalingam (Weightlifting)

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12. Yumnam Santhoi Devi (Wushu)

13. Sharath Gaekwad (Para-sailing)

14. M R Poovamma (Athletics)

15. Manjeet Chhillar (Kabaddi)

16. Abhilasha Mhatre (Kabaddi)

17. Anup Kumar Yama (Rollerskating).

Anoop, Naval & three others recommended for Dronacharya Award

• Three-time former National Champion and international wrestler cum wrestling Coach

Anoop Singh and Paralympics coach Naval Singh were among the five names

recommended for this year's Dronacharya Award by a selection panel.

• The recommendations will now be sent to the Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal,

who will take the final decision and only after his signing, the names would be made public.

Finally, the awards are to be given away by the President Pranab Mukherjee on August 29,

the National Sports Day.

Vice President Presents Gujar Mal Modi Award to Prof. Mustansir Barma

Shri M. Hamid Ansari, Vice President of India presented Gujar Mal Modi Award 2015 to Prof.

Mustansir Barma for his commendable contribution in the field of Science and Technology.

• The Gujar Mal Modi Science Foundation has announced the name of Professor

Mustansir Barma as the recipient of this Award for the year 2015.

• Prof. Mustansir Barma, age 65, a distinguished Professor and former Director, Tata

Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai has made immense contribution in

the field of Statistical Physics in India.

• He has published numerous papers on the topic and is one of the best recognized names

in the discipline internationally.

• He has contributed to the research and training in new areas of Science with the

establishment of a new campus of TIFR in Hyderabad and he gave his support and

encouragement to younger scientists in exploring new areas is commendable.

• He has been elected to the Fellowship of the Indian National Science Academy, the

Indian Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, India and the Academy

of Sciences of the Developing World (TWAS).

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Kerala’s ‘Vision 2020′ to make it first digitally literate state

• Kerala has set policy framework to make it first 'digitally literate' state in India.

• State Minister for Industries and IT P K Kunhalikutty said the vision aims to ensure

that various e-services offered by the government are availed of by the people and

achieve social harmony and high quality of life for all.

• Four major pillars that contributed to the gradual evolution of Kerala into a truly digital

society are Akshaya Project(2002), IT@School Project(2002),Digital

Infrastructure Availability and State Data Centre and Allied Applications.

Kalam award for ISRO scientist “N. Valarmathi”

On 69th Independence Day, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa awarded the first APJ Abdul

Kalam award to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientist N. Valarmathi, Programme

Director, Microwave Remote Sening Programme, ISRO Satellite Centre (Bangalore) at Fort St.

George in Chennai.

• Valarmathi led the team that successfully launched Radar Imaging Satellite RISAT-1 in

2012.

• RISAT-1 a technologically superior imaging satellite, had instruments such as the

Synthetic Aperture Radar that could look through clouds and take images even during

the night.

• Valarmathi has been working with the ISRO for the past 32 years.

• She has been in the part of missions including Insat 2A, IRS IC, IRS ID, TES, she

became involved in the indigenously made remote sensing satellite, RISAT - I, in 2002.

• She is the second woman scientist of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to

head a prestigious project after T K Anuradha, project director of the GSAT-12 mission

in 2011.

• Valarmathi grew in the ranks from deputy project director and associate project director,

before she was promoted to the post of Project Director for RISAT-I.

APJ Abdul Kalam Award:

• The A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Award, named after the 11th President of India and

aerospace scientist A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.

• It is awarded by the Government of Tamil Nadu in recognition of contributions on

scientific development, humanities and student’s welfare.

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• The award prize will be five hundred thousand Indian rupees (about US$7,700), a

certificate and a gold medal weighing eight grams.

Bhumi Pednekar win best actress at IFFM 2015

Bhumi Pednekar, 25-year-old Indian actress, who played an overweight girl in the film “Dum

Laga Ke Haisha” won the best actress award at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM)

2015.

• Bhumi bagged her first award on the International stage.

• Bhumi Pednekar gained 20 kgs for her role in maiden flick in the film.

• Film “ Dum Laga Ke Haisha” released on 27th Feb 2015, the story of this film oscillates

around the stereotype and mindset of a typical Indian bride who is suffering from

obesity along with the stigma that how she is treated by our society and also the qualms

of Indian male to accept his wife who is fat and obese.

• An IFFM award for 2015 for best film was given to the movie “Piku”.

Indian siblings become ‘youngest climbers’ to reach the base camp of Everest

Kandarp Sharma and Ritvika of Gwalior are the youngest two Indian siblings who set a new

record to reach the base camp of the world's highest peak, the Mount Everest.

• Kandarp, 5 years and 10 months old while her sister Ritvika is 8 years and 11

months old reached the base camp situated at an altitude of 5,380 metres in

northeast Nepal.

• Kandarp is a First-grader and Ritvika is a fourth-grader students of Little Angels High

School in Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh.

• The siblings reached the base camp of the 8,848-metre peak accompanied by their

parents.

• Kandarp broke the record of Harshit, another climber from India, had reached the base

camp at the age of 5 years and 11 months, setting a record in 2014.

• After reaching Kalapatthar, the Kandarp Sharma and Ritvika had chanted 'Bharat

Maata Ki Jay' and hoisted the tri-colour.

• Kalapathar is higher than the highest peaks of three continents – Mont Blanc (4,810 m)

in Europe, Vinson Massif (4,810 m) in Antarctica, and Puncak Jaya (4,884 m) in

Australasia.

• The siblings and the parents also have become the first to reach the base camp on the

8,848 metre tall Everest.

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Queen Elizabeth II set to become Britain’s longest-reigning Monarch

• Queen Elizabeth is all set to become Britain’s longest-reigning monarch in history.

On September 9, she will topple her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, who

reigned for more than 63 years to become the new record holder. She was just 25

when she became Queen Elizabeth II on Feb 6, 1952 on the death of her father.

• The popularity of the 89-year-old Queen has seen better times recently with her

popularity chart rocketing , an image that had taken a hit following princess Diana’s

death in a Paris car crash in 1997.

• The Queen who is Britain’s 40th monarch and who has seen 12 prime ministers

during her reign in her speech read out from the throne in the House of Lords in June

setting out the new government’s agenda said Britain gave utmost importance to the

growing friendship between India and Britain.

• Britain has major plans to commemorate the landmark of Queen Elizabeth becoming the

longest serving monarch. Special displays are being planned at Buckingham Palace,

Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse ,three of the Queen’s favourite homes.

• From September 9, visitors to the three castles will be able to witness special

photographic displays marking the reign. The displays will be shown in the inner

Quadrangle of the official residences , areas of Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle

that are not normally included in the visitor route.

TPP Nair, SP Misra, Romeo James recommended for Dhyan Chand award 2015

The selection committee headed by former Indian hockey captain Zafar Iqbal recommended the

names of TPP Nair, SP Misra and Romeo James for 2015 Dhyan Chand award by shortlisting these

three players out of 60 applicants in total.

About the Recipients:

• TPP Nair, the former captain of the Indian volleyball team, led the Indian team

which bagged a bronze medal in the 1958 Tokyo Asian Games and a silver medal in

the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games.

• SP Misra is the former captain of Davis Cup and at present is the chairman of the All

India Tennis Association Selection Committee (AITASC).

• Romeo James, the former goalkeeper of the Indian hockey team, represented the

country in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics where India finished fifth.

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Lionel Richie named MusiCares Person of the Year

• Lionel Richie will receive the 2016 MusiCares Person of the Year award in honor of his

storied music career and charitable work for multitude causes.

• Richie will be honoured at the 26th annual MusiCares benefit gala 2016.

• Richie wrote soulful songs such as “Three Times a Lady,” ”Still” and “Easy” that

spanned across musical genres. As a solo artist, he became an international success

with his diamond certified album “Can’t Slow Down,” which spawned the hit “All Night

Long (All Night).”

• Last year’s MusiCares recipient was Bob Dylan.

• President and CEO of the MusiCares Foundation and the Recording Academy: Neil

Portnow.

Zia, Bangladeshi writer has won Britain’s oldest literary award

• Novelist Zia Haider Rahman , Bangladeshi writer has won Britain’s oldest literary

award -James Tait Black Literary Prizes awarded by the University of Edinburgh,

since 1919 were announced by broadcaster Sally Magnusson at the Edinburgh

International Book Festival.

• He receive this award for his novel “In the Light of What We Know” released in the

spring of 2014 to international critical acclaim .His novel was published by Farrar, Straus

and Giroux.

• DH Lawrence, Graham Greene, Angela Carter and Ian McEwan are among the past

winners of the prizes.

Historian Babasaheb Purandare conferred with Maharashtra Bhushan Award 2015

• History writer Balwant Moreshwar Purandare was conferred with the ‘Maharashtra

Bhushan’ award, the state’s highest honour, at a glittering function in Mumbai.

• He was bestowed this award in literature category by Maharashtra Governor C

Vidyasagar Rao at a function held at Raj Bhavan, Mumbai.

• Purandare, who was born on 19 August, 1921, started writing about the life of Shivaji

from a very young age. He is known for his books like Raja Shiv Chhatrapati,

Purandaryanchi Daulat, Purandaryanchi Naubat and Gadsanch which are considered

masterpieces on the life and times of the 16th century Maratha warrior king.

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High Commissioner to Singapore receives award on PM Modi’s behalf

• India’s High Commissioner to Singapore, Vijay Singh Thakur, has received ‘Asian of the

Year 2014’ award by leading Singapore daily The Straits Times, on behalf of Prime

Minister Narendra Modi in Singapore. The award was given to Mr. Narendra Modi in

December 2014.

Syrian woman Journalist Zaina Erhaim wins 2015 Peter Mackler Award

• A Syria-based woman journalist Zaina Erhaim has won the prestigious 2015 Peter Mackler

Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism. She was awarded for her efforts to train

citizen reporters despite facing harsh oppression in her war-ravaged country – Syria. The

award will be presented at a ceremony to be held at the National Press Club

in Washington in late October 2015.

Cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin presented with Arjuna Award

• India off-spinner Ravichandran was presented with the Arjuna Award, which was

conferred on him last year, by the Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in the nation’s

capital.

• The off-spinner was unable to make it to the National Sports Awards function on August

29 last year as he was in England playing the One-Day International series.

• Ashwin Dressed in the traditional maroon-coloured blazer designed for Arjuna awardees,

Ashwin received the award at a special function organised in the chamber of the Sports

Minister here. The award includes a bronze statuette, a prize money and Rs. five lakh.

Punjabi University wins Maulana Abul Kalam Azad trophy 2014

• Fourth year in a row, Punjabi University of Patiala has won the prestigious Maulana Abul

Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy for the year 2014, to be eighth time adjudged country’s best

overall University in games. Punjabi University vice-chancellor Jaspal Singh will collect the

award from President Pranab Mukherjee on August 29, on the occasion of National

Sports Day.

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• The award was announced by the Association of Indian Universities by releasing the names

and points of top nine universities in sports in India. While Punjabi University has topped

the list with 71,840 points, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar held the second spot with

65,170 points and Delhi University took the third spot with 31,770 points.

Government announces Dronacharya, Dhyan Chand, Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar

awards 2015

The Union Government has announced names of recipients of Dronacharya Awards, Dhyan Chand

Awards and Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar for year the 2015. The awardees will receive the

awards from the President Pranab Mukherjee at a special function at Rashtrapati Bhawan to be

held on 29 August 2015–The National Sports Day.

Dronacharya Award 2015

1. Naval Singh- Athletics Para-sports coach

2. Anoop Singh– Wrestling coach

3. Harbans Singh- Athletics coach

4. Swatantar Raj Singh- Boxing coach

5. Nihar Ameen- Swimming coach

Dhyan Chand Award 2015

1. Romeo James– Hockey

2. Shiv Prakash Mishra- Tennis

3. P.P Nair– Volleyball

Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar 2015

1. Directorate General of Military Training (DGMT) – for identifying and nurturing of young talent in

sports

2. Coal India Limited (CIL) – for encouraging sports through Corporate Social Responsibility

3. Haryana State Police- For employing sportspersons and sports welfare measures

4. Sports Coaching Foundation (SCF)- For development of sports

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Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg world’s richest individual under 35: Wealth-X

• Co-Founder and Chief Executive of the Facebook Mark Zuckerberg is the wealthiest

individual under the age of 35 – $41.6 billion by Wealth-X report.

• Facebook co-founders Dustin Moskovitz-second place on the list with $9.3 billion and

Eduardo Saverin-fourth with $5.3 billion.

• Only six women in the top-20 list features, However, no Indian featured on the list.

• Huiyan Yang, the 34-year-old Vice Chairman of Chinese real estate developer Country

Garden Holdings – third spot with $5.9 billion.

• The youngest individual on the list is Snapchat Chief Executive Evan Spiegel, who at

the age of 25 has amassed a fortune of $1.9 billion.

Scientist Dr Modadugu Vijay Gupta to receive inaugural Sunhak Peace Prize

The first Sunhak Peace Prize 2015 was awarded to award to Kiribati President Anote Tong and

fisheries scientist Dr. M. Vijay Gupta on August 28, 2015. This award is given to eminent

individuals from around the world for their contribution to peace and development of the world.

• Indian agriculture scientist Dr Modadugu Vijay Gupta, has done pioneering work in

aquaculture in India, Bangladesh and several Southeast Asian countries.

• He has been selected for this award for his pioneering work in the blue revolution. He

has invested his entire life to developing sustainable aquaculture as an alternative

solution to the future food crisis.

• Tong, 63, the head of the Pacific Ocean island nation which is facing dire prospects of

being engulfed by rising sea waters by 2050, was chosen for the award for his dogged

fight to end the carbon emissions which are spelling doom for small island nations.

• The winners, who were announced at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on

June 8, 2015, will share the $1 million international peace prize.

Mountaineer Jot Singh awarded Tenzing Norgay National Adventure award

President Pranab Mukherjee awarded the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2015 to

Indo-Tibetan Border Police official and mountaineer Jot Singh.

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• Singh, has been undertaking expeditions with the border guarding force for a long time,

was decorated with the award during the national games awards presentation ceremony

held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

• Inspector Jot Singh became 11th ITBP official to receive this honour till date.

• ITBP is India’s mountain-trained armed force and also known as special force for

mountaineering skills. The mountain-trained force has been deployed primarily to guard

high altitude Indo-China border since 1962.

• The force has scaled more than 200 peaks across the globe successfully and Inspector

Jot Singh is one of the best mountaineers of ITBP, who has also scaled the Mount

Everest.

Mukesh Ambani dethrones Dilip Shanghvi as world’s richest Indian

• RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani has regained his position as the world’s richest Indian

with a net worth of $18.2 billion, as pharma tycoon Dilip Shanghvi slipped to the

second place after remaining on top for the last few months

Appointments & Resigns

Ved Prakash Mahawar takes charge as Director (Onshore) at ONGC

VED PRAKASH MAHAWAR takes charge as Director (Onshore) of state-owned Oil and Natural

Gas Corporation (ONGC). He will be directly looking after all the onshore operations spread

across the country which significantly contribute towards ONGCs overall physical performance.

• MAHAWAR has 33 years of vast experience of managing drilling and operational

functions, holding various key positions across vast spectrum of oil field activities.

• He acted as Executive Director-Asset Manager in Tripura Asset of ONGC. Under his

leadership, Tripura Asset saw increase in gas production by more than two folds.

• He is known as the first Sub-Sea Engineer of ONGC.

• Mahawar started career with ONGC as Drilling Engineer in 1982.

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LIC chief SK Roy elected Chairman of apex body of insurers

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) elected S.K. ROY as chairman of the Life Insurance

Council, the apex industry body of insurers in the country. He will be heading the three members

Executive Committee (EC).

• S.K Roy was elected among all the 24 members of the Council .

• Tarun Chugh (PNB Met Life), Anup Rau (Reliance Life) and Sandeep Ghosh (Bharti AXA)

were the three members of the EC.

• Life Insurance Council has representatives from the 24 insurance companies, is a forum

that connects the various stakeholders of the sector which develops and coordinates all

discussions between the Government, regulatory body and the public.

Lt Gen MMS Rai takes over as the new vice chief of Army staff

• Lt Gen MMS Rai is new vice chief of Army staff by succeeding Lt Gen Philip Campose

who retired after fourty years of service.

• MMS Rai is a General officer is a third generation officer in the Indian army and

commissioned into the corps of Enginners on 15 Dec 1976.

• Rai has a rich operational and command experience and has commanded and armoured

Engineer regiment.Before his appointment as Eastern Army Commander ,he was chief

of staff of Nothern command at udhampur.

Ganga Ram Agarwal appointed new Railway Board Secretary

• Railway official Ganga Ram Agarwal has been appointed as new secretary of Railway

board by replacing PC Gajbhiye who retired from his post.

• Before he is appointed as railway board secretary he worked as a chief electrical

Engineer in Central Railway an officer of Indian Railway Serives of Electrical

Engineering(IRSEE).

• Railway board founded on 16th april 1853 and is a apex body of Indian Railways.

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Folger appointed MD, CEO of Mercedes-Benz India

• Mercedes-Benz appointed Roland S Floger as managing Director and CEO of its Indian

operations succeeding Eberhard Kern.Folger will be heading Mercedes-Benz India from

October 1st 2015.

• Before Folger is positioned in sales departments for Mercedes-Benz passenger cars

and commercial vehicle with responsibility .

• He was even appointed as vice-president for sales,marketing .He has been

president&CEO of Mercedes-Benz Malaysia since 2011 and he was part of the team that

introduced the first M-class in the USA.

Bharti Airtel names Nilanjan Roy as Global Chief Financial Officer

Nilanjan Roy is appointed as global Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of BHARATHI AIRTEL, taking

over from Srikanth Balachandaran, who is now being appointed as the global Chief Human

Resources Officer on August 4, 2015.

• The company informed the local exchanges that Nilanjan Roy appointment will come

into effect from August 5, 2015.

• Bharti Airtel has also appointed Rajiv Mathrani as Chief Brand Officer for its India

operations.

• Nilanjan Roy worked as the CFO for India and South Asia business. Before joining Airtel,

he worked with Unilever in India and overseas for 15 years.

• Mathrani has held various leadership, marketing and sales roles earlier in India and

other emerging markets across organizations like Marico Industries, Citibank and Glaxo

SmithKline Consumer Healthcare.

Neeraj Aggarwal, new Managing Director for BCG

World’s leading management consultants, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) India made Neeraj

Aggarwal as its new Managing Director, who was working for 16 years to BCG as senior partner

from Delhi, replacing incumbent Arindam Bhattacharya.

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• Bhattacharya, who has led BCG India over the past six years, helped make India a role

model within the BCG network, will move to larger global role as Director of the Bruce

Henderson Institute.

• Before joining BCG, Neeraj worked with Cadence Design Systems, the world’s leading

company in Electronic Design Automation.

• The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is a global management consulting firm with 82

offices in 46 countries.

• BCG advises clients in the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors around the world,

including more than two-thirds of the Fortune 500.

Atul Keshap appointed as Ambassador to Sri Lanka,Maldives

Atul Keshap, age 44, a former official at the US Embassy in India has been appointed to the

post of U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives becoming the second Indian-origin diplomat

to be posted to the region after the appointment of Richard Rahul Verma, as the

U.S. Ambassador to India.

• He was the deputy political counsellor at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi from 2005 to

2008.

• He was also the director for UN Human Rights in the Bureau of International

Organization Affairs from 2008 to 2010.

• He started his career with the government in 1994 when he joined the Foreign Service,

and moved to the White House in 2003, where he became director for North African and

Middle Eastern regional affairs on the staff of the National Security Council.

Soumya Swaminathan Appointed as DG of ICMR

Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) appointed Scientist Soumya Swaminathan as

Director General (DG) of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Secretary in Department

of Health Research.

• Dr.Soumya has conceptualized, initiated and implemented several clinical trials

investigating treatment and prevention regimens for TB among HIV-infected adults and

children.

• She has over 160 peer-reviewed publications and over 15 book chapters and served as

Coordinator for Neglected Priorities Research at the Special Programme for Research

and Training in Tropical Diseases at WHO, Geneva between 2009 and 2011.

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• ICMR: It is the apex body for the formulation, coordination and promotion of

biomedical research in the country.

Rajiv Kumar Nagpal appointed as the next Ambassador of lndia to Iceland

• Shri Rajiv Kumar Nagpal, presently Director at Headquarters,appointed as the next

Ambassador of lndia to lceland.

Satender Kumar appointed as the next Ambassador of lndia to Republic of Suriname

• Satender Kumar, presently Consul General of lndia, Zanzibar, has been appointed as the

next Ambassador of lndia to Republic of Suriname.

Sanjay Rana appointed as the next Ambassador of lndia to the Republic of Azerbaijan

• Shri Sanjay Rana (lFS: 1996), presently Deputy High Commissioner of India, Male, has

been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Republic of Azerbaijan.

Rekha Menon appointed as Accenture’s India chairman

• Accenture appointed Rekha Menon as its new India chairman to succeed Avinash

Vashistha who resigned in July.

• Menon, who has over 24 years of industry experience, currently is the head of human

resources for growth markets at Accenture.She was Accenture’s first woman head in

India.

• Accenture also appointed Anindya Basu as its new country managing director for

India. Both the appointments will be effective August 21.

• Basu will continue his role working with Accenture’s products clients in India, as well as

serving as the APAC regional lead of the company’s automotive, industrial, infrastructure

and travel & transportation industry practice.

Ram Nath Kovind, Acharya Dev Vrat appointed Bihar, HP Governors

The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee has appointed Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

leader Ram Nath Kovind and Acharya Dev Vrat as Governors of Bihar and Himachal

Pradesh.

• Ram Nath Kovind will overtake Keshri Nath Tripathi, West Bengal Governor who was

holding additional charge of Bihar.

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• He was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh in two separate terms, 1994-

2000 and 2000-2006.

• Acharya Dev Vrat will overtake Kalyan Singh, Rajasthan Governor who was holding the

additional charge of Himachal Pradesh.

• Vrat has been a principal in the Gurukul since 1981. Vrat imparts modern and traditional

education through a “Gurukul” in Haryana's Kurukshetra.

Amrit Lugun appointed as Ambassador of Republic of the Sudan

• Amrit lugun presently Ambassador of India,sanaa has been appointed as the next

Ambassador of India of the Republic of the sudan.

Amitava Ghosh appointed as Vice President-engineering of Snapdeal

• E-commerce major Snapdeal has appointed Amitava Ghosh former TaxiForSure Chief

Technology Officer (CTO) as Vice President Engineering who will lead the development

of intuitive technology solutions at the Delhi-based online marketplace.

• Ghosh, having 17 years of experience, acted as the chief technology officer at

TaxiForSure before Ola Cabs acquired the company.

• He headed the India engineering team of Tribune Digital Ventures earlier.

• Ghosh will work out of the Snapdeal’s technology innovation centre in

Bangalore. Currently, a 200-people team works out of the Bangalore office.

• He holds an M.Tech degree in biochemical engineering and biotechnology from Indian

Institute of Technology, Delhi.

DoT Secretary Rakesh Garg to hold additional charge of DEITY

• Telecomunications secretary rakesh Garg has been given additinal charge of secretary in

department of electronics and information technology(DEITY) replacing S. Sharma, who

has been nominated as chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

• The ACC approved appointment of Rakesh Garg, at present in the cadre, as secretary,

department of telecommunications, ministry of communications and IT in vacancy of MF

Farooqui.

• Farooqui retired onJune 30 after which the secretary at department of electronics and

IT, RS Sharma given additional charge of DoT.

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Amitabh Bachchan to be Maharashtra’s Tiger Ambassador

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan is now Tiger ambassador of Maharastra

by accepting the proposal of Maharashtra Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar.

• As a tiger ambassador Amitabh will promote eco tourism, especially tiger tourism in

Maharashtra.

• Maharashtra has six tiger reserves including Melghat Tiger Reserve in Amravati,

Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Mungantiwar’s home district of Chandrapur, Pench

and Nagzira-Navegan Tiger Reserves near Nagpur, Sahyadri sanctuary which includes

Chandoli National Par and Koyna Sanctuary and Bor tiger reserve in Wardha district.

• Vidarbha had the potential to become the 'tiger capital' of the country, with its tiger

population rising from 169 in 2006 to 190 in 2014. India is home to 2,226 tigers.

• Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra has been extremely popular with tourists

due to the increased frequency of tiger sightings.

• Airbus, and also it makes products for chemical processing and the oil and gas industry.

Sundar Pichai named as CEO of Restructured Google

India-born Sundar Pichai is the new CEO of the technology giant Google , company co-founder

Larry Page announced about this in the formation of a new umbrella firm Alphabet, of which

Google will be a part.

• Chennai-born Mr Pichai who is 43, has been named CEO of the new Google, which Larry

Page said will be a “a bit slimmed down.”

• Mr Pichai will be a “key part” of the new structure that will “allow us to keep

tremendous focus on the extraordinary opportunities we have inside Google.”

• Sundar Pichai is the second person of Indian origin to head a major IT company after

Hyderabad born Satya Nadella who became CEO of software giant Microsoft in February

2014, succeeding Steve Ballmer.

• Pichai “was doing work in the field of electronics at a time when no separate course on

electronics existed in our curriculum.”

• Pichai started working at Google in 2004, where he was known as a “low-key manager”

who worked on the Google toolbar and then led the launch of the market-beating

Chrome browser in 2008.

• Promotion to Product Chief in October 2014 literally made him Mr. Page’s second-in-

command with oversight of day-to-day operations for all of Google’s major products

including maps, search, and advertising.

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L&T Infotech appoints Sanjay Jalona as MD and CEO

• Larsen and Toubro appointed former Infosys executive Sanjay Jalona as the Managing

Director and CEO of its IT arm, L&T Infotech.

• Jalona will take over office of L&T Infotech’s in New Jersey, USA.

• He also appointed as a Director on the board of L&T Infotech.

• Before coming to L&T he Jalona worked with Infosys as Executive Vice-President and

global head of High-Tech Manufacturing and Engineering Services.

• During working with Infosys, he has held senior leadership positions across the US,

Europe and India.

Sudhakar Shetty elected as President of Gymnastics Federation of India

Sudhakar Shetty of Maharashtra was elected as the president of the Gymnastics Federation of

India (GFI) on 12 August 2015. He succeeds Jaspal Singh Kandhari.

• Elections for the four year term were attended by 35 members from 18 States and Units.

Kandhari, the outgoing president who was in the fray for a third term, could not contest the

elections after his nomination was rejected. According to GFI release, his nomination was

rejected on the ground that he did not file his address in the nomination form, which is

mandatory as per the rules.

• The elections were held with Justice P K Bhasin (Retired Judge of Delhi High Court) acting

as the Returning Officer in the presence of HS Bhadu, IOA Observer and R K Saxena,

Government Observer.

Rajeev Shahare appointed as the Ambassador of India to Denmark

• Rajeev Shahare appointed as the Ambassador of India to Denmark.Mr. Rajeev

Shahare an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of the 1986 batch has been appointed

as the country’s next Ambassador to Denmark.

• Rajeev Shahare, presently High Commissioner of India to the Maldives.

• His prior diplomatic assignments also include Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Saudi

Arabia,and Mauritius.

• He will be replacing Niraj Srivastava shortly.

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Mafatlal industries appoints Aniruddha Deshmukh as it’s CEO

Mafatlal Industries has appointed Aniruddha Deshmukh as its company new chief executive

(CEO) and managing director.

• Mafatlal Industries is headquatered in Mumbai.

• Before Anirudh was President of textiles division at Raymond Limited.

• From August 13, 2015, Deshmukh will take position of CEO of Mafatlal industries.

• Mafatlal which is domestic textile and apparel industry in India is estimated to reach

$100 billion by 2017 from $ 67 billion in 2014.

• Before the company’s former MD and CEO, Rajiv Dayal had decided to opt for pre-

mature retirement and company had appointed Deshmukh as company’s chief operating

officer (COO).

Jethabhai Patel re-elected as Amul Chairman

The chief of Sabar Dairy, Jethabhai Patel, was re-elected as the chairman of the Gujarat

Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), for another three-year term.

• The GCMMF is the largest milk and milk products marketing organisation in the country

with annual sales turnover of Rs 21,000 crore. It markets a wide range of milk and milk

products under the brand name Amul and Sagar.

• GCMMF, popularly known as Amul, is Asia’s largest dairy cooperative marketing body,

which clocked an annual turnover of Rs 20,733 crore during 2014-15.

• The union of GCMMF produces an average of 15 lakh litres of milk per day within

Gujarat and outside and it has dairy plants in Sabarkantha District and one dairy plant

at Rohtak, Haryana with processing capacity of 10 lakh litres per day.

• GCMMF is India’s largest food products marketing organisation with annual turnover of

Rs 18, 143 crore during year 2013-14. It markets a wide range of milk and milk

products under the brand name “Amul” and “Sagar”.

• Member unions of GCMMF are procuring on an average of 132 lakh litres of milk

everyday from 33 lakh milk producers from more than 17,000 villages of the state.

Jayant Patel appointed as acting Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court

• Justice Jayant Patel has been appointed as acting Chief Justice of the Gujarat High

Court.

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• Patel replaced V M Sahai who retired as chief justice today after reaching the age of

superannuation.

• Justice Patel (59), who hails from Veraval town in Junagadh district, graduated in

commerce and law from M S University and started practising law in 1979.

Om Prakash Rawat appointed as new Election Commissioner

Om Prakash Rawat, a former Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer was appointed as the new

Election Commissioner . His appointment will come into effect from the day he assumes office.

• Rawat born on December 2, 1953, a 1977 batch officer will have a tenure of more than

three years which will end in December, 2018. He had retired from government service

in December 2014.

• An EC or a CEC has a tenure of six years in office or till he or she attains the age of 65

years, whichever is earlier.

• In 1993, he was a Director in the Defence Ministry. He has also served as Principal

Secretary to Babu Lal Gaur, the then Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh between 2004

and 2006.

• While Naseem Zaidi is the Chief Election Commissioner, Achal Kumar Joti is the other

Election Commissioner. Rawat’s second stint at the Centre began in March 2012 and he

was Secretary, Department of Public Enterprises in the Ministry of Heavy Industries

when he retired.

• An awardee of state government’s ‘recognition of forest rights‘ in 2009, Rawat did

his MSc in Social Development Planning in 1989 in the United Kingdom.

Indian-American Atul Keshap appointed as new US Envoy to Srilanka

Indian-American Atul Keshap 44 has been confirmed as the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka and

Maldives, becoming the second Indian-origin diplomat to be posted to the region after Richard

Rahul Verma.

• He is currently working as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in South and Central

Asian Affairs Bureau of State Department. He joined the Foreign Service in 1994.

• Mr Keshap and Dr Verma, the US envoy to India, both are from Punjab

• He was the deputy political counselor at the US Embassy in New Delhi from 2005 to

2008.

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• His father, Keshap Chander Sen, was a UN development economist working in Nigeria.

His mother, Zoe Calvert, had been in the US Foreign Service when she met and married

Sen in London. She had also served at the US embassy in India.

• In 2003, keshap moved to the White House as director for North African and Middle

Eastern regional affairs on the staff of the National Security Council.

• He was also the director for UN Human Rights in the Bureau of International

Organization Affairs from 2008 to 2010.

Foodpanda India co-founder Rohit Chadda steps down as MD

Rohit Chadda, co-founder of online food ordering and delivery firm Foodpanda India, has

stepped down as managing director (MD)

• Foodpanda India was co-founded by Chadda, Amit Kohli and Akhilesh Bali in 2012 and

currently has around 12,000 restaurant partners in over 200 cities in the country.

• Foodpanda had appointed Saurabh Kochhar as its India CEO and chief business officer of

global operations in March this year. Foodpanda India is owned by Foodpanda group.

• The Foodpanda group is active in over 40 countries across five continents. It started as

independent startups in multiple countries across South & East Asia, incubated by the

same investor – Rocket Internet.

• The Foodpanda group has raised over USD 300 million in multiple rounds of funding

with the last one being of USD 100 million.

Former cab secy Ajit Kumar Seth appointed PESB chief

• Former Cabinet secretary Ajit Kumar Seth was appointed as the Chairman of the

Public Enterprises Selection Board(PESB), the government’s head-hunter

• He has been appointed for a period of three years or till he attains 65 years of age, by

the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).

• Seth, a 1974-batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, completed his extended tenure of

four years at the Cabinet secretariat on June 13 this year.

• Seth has been appointed in place of Atul Chaturvedi, who has completed his tenure

Govt appoints Arun P Sathe on Sebi’s board, raises eyebrows

• Government has appointed senior lawyer Arun P Sathe, elder brother of Lok Sabha

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, on the board of markets regulator Sebi.

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• Mr. Sathe, who is also said to have been an RSS full-timer in the past and had

unsuccessfully fought Lok Sabha elections as a BJP candidate in 1989 from Mumbai

North-West against Congress’ Sunil Dutt.

• Mr. Sathe has been appointed a part-time member of the Securities and Exchange

Board of India for a period of three years.

• Sathe, who has been on boards of some companies as well as an independent director,

is expected to attend his first Sebi board meeting later this month.

Union Government appointed two private sector professionals to head BoB, Canara

Bank

• Bank of Baroda and Canara Bank today became the first state-owned banks to be

headed by private sector professionals as government announced appointment of MD

and CEOs of five PSU lenders.

• Managing Director and CEO of VBHC (Value Homes Pvt Ltd) P S Jayakumar (53) has

been selected to head Bank of Baroda. MD and CEO of private sector lender The Laxmi

Vilas Bank Rakesh Sharma (57) will head Canara Bank.

• Ravi Venkatesan (51), Independent Director, Infosys has been appointed as non-

Exeuctive Chairman of Bank of Baroda. T N Manoharan (59), Director, Tech Mahindra,

Public Health Foundation is non-Executive Chairman of Canara Bank

• The entire process of selection for MD & CEO was revamped. Private sector candidates

were also allowed to apply for the position of MD & CEO of the five top banks. Three

stage screening was done for the MD’s position culminating into final interview by three

different panels.

Sachin Tendulkar to be Maharashtra’s Tiger ambassador

• Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar agreed to become Maharashtra’s tiger

ambassador.

• Tendulkar wrote a letter to Mr. Sudhir Mungatiwar, the state’s forest minister, to give

his consent for the same.

• On July 29, World Tiger Day, Mungatiwar wrote to actor Amitabh Bachchan and

Tendulkar, requesting them to be part of tiger conservation project.

• Tendulkar had expressed his desire to work on this front after the government’s request.

• Earlier in this August, Amitabh Bachchan accepted the request from the government

and met the minister to discuss details of his role and involvement in the project.

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Abhay Kumar Singh Appointed as Private Secy To Agriculture Minister

• IAS officer Abhay Kumar Singh has been appointed as Private Secretary to Agriculture

Minister Radha Mohan Singh by Department of Personnel and Training.

• Currently, he is working as Additional Secretary in the Department of General

Administration, Bihar.

Karnal Singh assigned additional charge of Director of Enforcement Directorate

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC)

assigned additional charge of Director, Enforcement Directorate to IPS officer

Karnal Singh.

• This is the first time that an Indian Police Service officer has been appointed as the chief

of the central agency.

Lt Gen Hira appointed Chief of Staff Northern Command

• Lieutenant General NPS Hira, Commander of Vajra Corps, has been appointed as Chief

of Staff Northern Command at Udhampur.

• On completion of his successful tenure as Vajra Corps Commander, Lt Gen NPS Hira is

now moving to the prestigious appointment of Chief of Staff Northern Command at

Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir

Ashwani Lohani appointed as CMD of Air India Ltd.

• Ashwani Lohani was on 20 August 2015 appointed as the Chairman and Managing

Director (CMD) of state owned national carrier Air India Limited. he will succeed Rohit

Nandan.

• His appointment was approved by the Appointment Cabinet Committee (ACC) chaired

by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

• He succeeded senior IAS officer Rohit Nandan whose tenure ended on 21 August 2015.

• He will have a tenure of three years. Presently, he is working as Managing Director (MD)

of Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (MPTDC) in Bhopal.

Actor Anupam Kher appointed as the advocate for United Nations’ campaign “He For

She”

• Indian actor Anupam Kher has been appointed as the advocate for the United

Nations’ Campaign “He For She”on August 19, 2015.

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• UN Women Deputy Executive Director Lakshmi Puri declared that Anupam Kher will

collaborate with the United Nations for the campaign which has been initiated by UN

Women for making men and boys to participate in the voices against gender inequalities

and discrimination.

• The campaign “He For She” started with the special event on September 20, 2014 at the

Headquarters of the United Nations in New York. The event was hosted by UN Women

Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson.

AirAsia India appointed Mittu Chandilya as Managing Director

• AirAsia India on August 20, 2015 appointed Mittu Chandilya as the Managing Director

(MD) of the company in addition to his current role as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

• Along with this he has also been appointed as the first full time independent

Executive Director of AirAsia India.

Justice M L Tahaliyani sworn in as Lokayukta of Maharashtra

Justice (Retd) M L Tahaliyani who is often called a ‘green judge’ due to his passion for nature

was sworn in as the new Maharashtra Lokayukta, Governor C Vidyasagar Rao administered

the oath of office to Justice Tahaliyani at a brief ceremony held at the Darbar Hall of Raj Bhavan.

• Justice Madanlal Laxmandas Tahaliyani was the retired judge of Bombay High Court.

• Tahaliyani was born in the Gondia district and studied law in Nagpur before being

appointed as the metropolitan magistrate in 1987 at the Bandra Metropolitan Court.

• He was appointed as Judge of Bombay City Civil Court in 1997, Registrar (Inspection)

High Court of Bombay in 2008, 2nd Additional Principal Judge, City Civil Court, Mumbai,

in 2009, 1st Additional Principal Judge in 2009 and Principal Judge Bombay City Civil

Court in 2010. He was elevated as High Court Judge on March 18, 2011.

Indian-origin businessman appointed CEO of DGCX

• Indian-origin businessman Gaurang Desai has been appointed as the new chief

executive officer of the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange in the UAE.

• Desaiwas the one of the founding members of the team that setup DGCX in 2005, is

ideal to take the Exchange to its next stage of development of the company.

• Hewas previously Chief Operating Officer of DGCX.

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Amol Palekar appointed chairman of India’s Oscar jury

• Veteran actor-filmmaker Amol Palekar has been appointed the chairman of

India’s Oscar jury by the Film Federation of India (FFI), the body which selects the

country’s official entry in the Best Foreign Film category of the prestigious Academy

Awards. He will succeed veteran film directors Hariharan and Goutam Ghose as the

chairman of the committee

• Amol Palekar will be heading a 17-member jury from September 17 to September 24

that will select India’s official entry for the 88th Academy Awards, to be held in Los

Angeles on February 28

• Amol Palekar’s directorial film Paheli was chosen as India’s official entry for the Academy

Awards in 2005. He is known for his roles in films like Rajnigandha, Chhoti Si Baat,

Chitchor and Golmaal.He has also directed National Award-winning films like Dhyaas

Parva and Quest.

• He was last seen in the Marathi film Samantar with Sharmila Tagore.

• Awards and honours: He received one Filmfare award and six State awards as Best

Actor.

• Note : Mother India, Salaam Bombay! Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India are the Indian

films that made it to the top five at the Academy Award.

Indian-American Vince Chhabria appointed as a full-time federal judge by Obama

President Obama made appointments of 11 people as full-time judges, among which Vince

Chhabria 46-year-old Indian-American federal judge as a full-time judge in the third largest US

state California.

• Vince Chhabria was appointed the Bay Area’s first Indian-American federal judge.

• He once clerked for US Supreme Court Judge Stephen Breyer, as well as his brother,

San Francisco federal judge Charles Breyer.

• San Francisco-born Chhabria, whose father came to the US from Mumbai on a college

scholarship, is a graduate with honours from University of California, Berkeley (Boalt

Hall) and the University of California, Santa Cruz.

• He has issued significant decisions allowing cases, inlcuding that of labour laws, against

transport companies.

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Girish Sahni assumed charge as Director General of CSIR

• Girish Sahni assumed charge as the next Director General of the Council of Scientific

& Industrial Research(CSIR) and Secretary, Department of Scientific & Industrial

Research (DSIR), Ministry of Science & Technology.

Ananth Padmanabhan appointed as CEO of HarperCollins India

• HarperCollins has appointed Ananth Padmanabhan as the new CEO of

HarperCollins India.

• Presently,he is working as a Senior Vice President of Sales at Penguin Random

House. He has a total of 20 years of experience in the publishing sector.

• HarperCollins announced the formation of a new board for the business.The board

includes Redmayne, Padmanabhan, Colin Hughes, Ed Kielbasiewicz, Alex Beecroft, and

Amit Abrol.Krishna Naroor will also join the board.

Djokovic new UNICEF goodwill ambassador

Novak Djokovic, the number one tennis player in the world,is appointed as the a new

goodwill ambassador for the UN Fund for Children, joining a roster of athletes and celebrities

to hold the post.

• Djokovic, was born in Belgrade in 1987 shortly before the Balkans war broke out, spent

much of his childhood in Serbia.

• Novak first teamed up with UNICEF in 2011 when he was appointed a UNICEF Serbia

Ambassador, he has been lending his support to improving the lives of children,

especially those who are amongst the most marginalized.

• Novak also signed Memorandum of Understanding between the World Bank and the

Novak Djokovic Foundation, setting out to promote early childhood development.

• Djokovic joins a VIP list of UNICEF goodwill ambassadors that has included entertainers

Danny Kaye, Audrey Hepburn, Katy Perry, Sir Roger Moore and Shakira, soccer star

David Beckham and women’s tennis star Serena Williams.

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Newly appointed SGPC Chief Secretary takes charge

• Newly appointed Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) Chief

Secretary Harcharan Singh took over the charge of his office today in presence of senior

functionaries of the Sikh religious body.

• SGPC President Avtar Singh Makkar handed over the appointment letter to Singh in a

brief religious function at its headquarters

Sanjay Kapoor steps down as Chairman of Micromax

• Sanjay Kapoor is stepping down as chairman of Micromax after joining the country’s

No. 2 handset maker.

• Kapoor, a former Bharti Airtel chief executive for India and South Asia and also a

director at PVR and Bennett Coleman & Company Ltd, which publishes ET.

• At the time Kapoor joined, Micromax also hired Samsung India mobile head Vineet

Taneja and another Bharti Airtel veteran Badal Bagri to power growth and build a bigger

brand before an initial public offering (IPO).

• Samsung is the leader in the tally with 23 per cent, followed by Micromax (17 per

cent), Intex (11 per cent), Lava (7 per cent) and Lenovo (6 per cent).

• Co-founder of Micromax Informatics Ltd – Rahul Sharma .

• Founder of Samsung – Lee Byung-chul.

Rajiv Mangla appointed as CTO of Snapdeal

• Former Adobe executive Rajiv Mangla has been appointed as Chief Technology

Officer (CTO) of eCommerce major Snapdeal.

• In his new role, Mangla will help to establish Snapdeal’s technical vision and lead all

aspects of its technological development of the company.

• Prior to this appointment he was serving as VP Engineering, Digital Marketing at Adobe

Systems and has spent about 10 years in this company.

• Prior to joining Adobe, Mangla had been an entrepreneur for 10 years and founded a

couple of companies.

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Kandakatla Manohar appointed as Director of NIMS

Dr Kandakatla Manohar who has been working as the superintendent of the MGM Hospital in

Warangal,the state Government appointed him as as new new director of Nizams Institute of

Medical Sciences (Nims), replacing Dr L Narendranath.

• The appointment of Dr Narendranath was in violation of Rule 3 of the minimum

qualifications for teachers in Medical Institutions Regulations, 1988 and was therefore

illegal.

• Dr K Manohar is a native of Penchikalapeta of Warangal district.

• Dr Narendranath never worked as professor of orthopaedics or head of the department

for five years as required as minimum qualifications prescribed by the Medical Council of

India.

• In 2014, a writ petition was filed in the AP High Court, questioning the government’s

decision to appoint Dr L Narendranath as Director of NIMS, the hospital witnessed

protests from doctors belonging to Telangana. However, Narendranath refuted all

allegations and continued in his post.

Tsewang Namgyal appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Cuba

• Shri Tsewang Namgyal (IFS: 1992), presently DHC in High Commission of India,

Ottawa has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Cuba

Rajeev Kumar appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Senegal

• Shri Rajeev Kumar (IFS: 2001), presently DCM in Embassy of India, Brasilia has

been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Senegal.

Krishan Kumar appointed as the next Ambassador of lndia to the Czech Republic

• Shri Krishan Kumar (IFS : 1984) presently Ambassador of India to Morocco has been

appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Czech Republic.

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Ajay Kumar Sharma appointed as the next Ambassador of lndia to the Republic of Mali

• Shri Ajay Kumar Sharma presently Ambassador of India, Pyongyang, has been

appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Mali.

Satish Chandra elected CAMPCO president

R. Satish Chandra was elected unopposed president of Central Arecanut and Cocoa

Marketing and Processing Cooperative Ltd. (CAMPCO). He succeeds Konkodi Padmanabha.

• K. Shankara Narayana Bhat was elected unopposed CAMPCO vice- president and other

directors of the 16-member board elected unanimously are R.M. Ravi, Shambulinga

Ganapathi Hegde, Padmaraja Pattaje, C.K. Balakrishna Rai, Jayarama Saralaya,

Rajagopal K., K. Satishchandra Bhandary, M.K. Shankaranarayana Bhat, Shivakrishna

Bhat, Dayananda Hegde, Kishore Kumar Kodgi, Mr. Padmanabha, Krishnaprasad

Madthila and Thimmappa Shetty.

• Newly elected president of Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing

Cooperative Ltd (CAMPCO) S.R. Satishchandra said that the cooperative wants to

diversify its products.

• The Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Co-operative

Limited or CAMPCO was found on 11 July 1973 at Mangalore.

• The organisation working on principles of co-operative was found to mitigate the

sufferings of arecanut and cocoa growers in Indian states of Karnataka and Kerala.

Shri Rajiv Mehrishi appointed as Home Secretary

• Rajasthan cadre IAS officer Rajiv Mehrishi became the third Home Secretary t

appointed by the Modi government .Mr. Mehrishi replaces L.C. Goyal, who took

premature voluntary retirement ,barely months after being appointed to the post.

• A 1978 batch IAS officer, Mr. Mehrishi was to retire as Secretary, Department of

Economic Affairs.

• The appointment took many by surprise, with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) directly

posting a press release, rather than routing the same through Department of Personnel

and Training (DoPT).

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Raghav Chandra takes over as NHAI chief

Senior IAS officer Raghav Chandra has appointed as the Chairman of the National Highways

Authority of India (NHAI).

Acquisitions & Mergers

BNP Paribas to acquire broking firm Sharekhan

Global financial services group Banque Nationale De Paris (BNP) Paribas to acquire retail

brokerage Sharekhan, one of the first movers in the country’s online broking segment at a value

between Rs 2,000 crore and Rs 2,200 crore.

• BNP Paribas after nearly six months of negotiations between existing investors and

bidders, including bulge bracket private equity (PE) firms Warburg Pincus Llc. and

General Atlantic Llc., which bid together.

• Sharekhan will be part of BNP Paribas Personal Investors division, which is a key player

in retail brokerage and digital banking services with 1.7 million clients in Europe.

• BNP Geojit Paribas currently has around 7,50,000 retail clients.

• JORIS DIERCKX, head of BNP Paribas India, said that the acquisition would help expand

the group’s footprint in the country.

Russia’s Rosneft to acquire 49% stake in Essar Oil

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Ufa, Russia, for the BRICS Summit,a term sheet

pertaining to the deal was signed between the two companies. Through the deal, Russian

Government-owned oil company ROSNEFT will acquire 49 percent of Shashi Ruia’s ESSAR OIL.

• Rosneft will buy 49 percent stake in Essar Oil for about USD 3.2 billion after excluding

the Mumbai-based firm’s flourishing coal-bed methane (CBM) business.

• Through this agreement, Rosneft will also get a stake in Essar Oil’s retail chain of 1,600

stations and the two companies plan to increase it to 5,000 within the next two years.

• This agreement will ensure supplies of 10 Million Tons per annum of crude oil and

feedstock to Essar’s Vadinar refinery over a period of 10 years.

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Yahoo acquires style-tip specialist Polyvore

Yahoo Inc announced in to acquire POLYVORE, an 8 year old startup that specializes in

connecting merchants with consumers browsing for ideas on clothing, health, beauty and home

decor products on AUGUST 1, 2015.

• Yahoo plans to tap into Polyvore’s taste-making skills and loyal consumer following to

sell more ads in its digital magazines focusing on style and beauty.

• Financial terms for acquisition of Polyvore aren’t being yet disclosed.

• (NASDAQ:YHOO)’s acquiring style-tip specialist Polyvore in its most recent attempt to

turn out to be a more fashionable place to advertise.

• Good Housekeeping magazine once dubbed the service a “fashionist’s playground”.

Airtel acquires YTS Solutions to boost wallet services

Airtel M-Commerce Services (AMSL), subsidiary of telecom service provider BHARTI

AIRTEL acquired digital financial company Yatra Tatra Sarvatra (YTS) SOLUTIONS for an

undisclosed amount on AUGUST 3, 2015.

• Through this acquisition, Airtel would integrate the payments and remittance businesses

of YTS and will expand Airtel’s portfolio in the mobile commerce segment.

• MANISH KHERA, Co-founder and MD of YTS Solutions will be appointed as CEO

of Airtel M Commerce ServicesLimited (AMSL).

• Airtel is India’s largest mobile operator with a customer base of over 230 million

customers.

RINL, NTPC mull joint venture to set up greenfield power plant

Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), a Navratna company, the corporate entity of

Visakhapatnam Steel Plant and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has decided to

form a joint venture to set up a “Greenfield coal fired power plant”.

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• RINL owns 25,000 acres, is keen on establishing below 1,000 MW plant with

supercritical technology on its premises at Ukkunagaram by allotting around 400

acres to meet its future power requirement.

• NTPC, has 2,000 MW Simhadri Super Thermal Power Plant at Parawada, near

Visakhapatnam and is establishing 4,000 MW plant with an investment of Rs.24,000

crore at Pudimadaka to expand the capacity of Simhadri.

• RINL, Chairman cum Managing Director P. Madhusudan said that the discussions for

joint venture are in progress.

Mallinckrodt Pharma acquires Therakos for USD 1.3 billion

• Mallinckrodt, biopharmaceutical company has signed an agreement to buy a

immunotherapy company Therakos Inc, for approximately 1.325 billion US dollars.

• Mallinckrodt Public Limited Company develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes

specialty pharmaceutical products and medical imaging agents worldwide.

• Therakos Inc is a US based global leader in autologous immune cell therapy delivered

through extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) that focuses to harness the power of

patients’ immune systems to fight blood cancer.

Greenko to sell India’s assets to GIC of Singapore for Rs. 1,600 crore

For Rs. 1,600 crore, Greenko Group, green energy company in Hyderabad of India signed a

non-binding deal with GIC (Government of Singapore Investment Corporation) the

sovereign wealth fund of Singapore agreeing to sell its India assets to GIC.

• This move will result in the sale of the company's trading activities and assets, which

comprise the development, ownership and operation of clean energy projects in India.

• Greenko and GIC are currently in an advanced stage of negotiations. The disposal will be

subject to a legally binding agreement.

• Greenko Group includes projects on wind, hydropower, natural gas and biomass in

India.

Housing.com acquired Bengaluru-based HomeBuy360

• Real estate listing portal Housing.com has acquired Bengaluru-based HomeBuy360, a

customer relationship management software company, for $2 million or Rs 13 crore,

the company said in a release.

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• The cloud-based a sales lifecycle management platform connects developers, agents and

buyers and streamlines the entire sales lifecycle, by tracking inventory, managing

customer relations and in effect drives efficiencies in their sale operations.

• This is the third acquisition by Housing.com, which counts SoftBank as its investor, so

far this year. Earlier in 2015, Housing.com had acquired Indian Real Estate Forum

(IREF), a platform providing property information to consumers and Realty BI that

allows property buyers and financial institutions to assess risks and take decisions.

Birla Corp to acquire Lafarge’s two Indian units for Rs. 5000 crore

• Birla Corporation said it will acquire two cement units from Lafarge India having a

capacity of 5.15 million tonnes per annum for Rs. 5,000 crore.

• It has agreed to a transaction with Lafarge India Private Ltd, whereby Birla Corp, either

directly or through its wholly-owned subsidiary, shall acquire both the Jojobera and

Sonadih cement businesses (Acquisition business) from Lafarge India for an Enterprise

Value of Rs 5,000 crore.”

• Birla said it will acquire the cement business, comprising an integrated cement unit at

Sonadih (Chhattisgarh), a cement grinding unit at Jojobera (Jharkhand), along with

Concreto and PSC brands

HDFC will sell 9 percent stake in HDFC Life to its British joint venture partner Standard

Life for a little over Rs 1,700 crore.

• The British firm would be increasing its stake to 35 per cent from 26 per cent as the

Indian government has allowed up to 49 per cent FDI in the domestic insurance sector.

• HDFC’s stake in the joint venture would come down to 61.65 per cent.

• HDFC Life Insurance, launched in 2000, was the first private life insurer to be granted a

licence to operate in India.

• HDFC to sell its 9% stake in HDFC life to JV partner Standard Life for Rs. 1700 Crore

• HDFC Life MD and CEO : Amitabh Chaudhry

HDFC Chairman: Deepak Parekh

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Business

Godrej Agrovet buys Astec Life Sciences, makes open offer

Diversified Agribusiness Company Godrej Agrovet Ltd (GAVL), a subsidiary of Godrej Industries

Ltd made an open offer to public shareholders to acquire an additional 26.05% stake at a price

of Rs 246.60 per share.

• The open offer follows its share purchase agreement with the promoters of Astec

LifeSciences to buy 45.29 per cent stake.

• Godrej Agrovet will also acquire Astec LifeSciences’ wholly owned subsidiary Astec Corp

Care Pvt Ltd.

• Depending on the response to the open offer, Godrej Agrovet may acquire additional

shares from the promoters such that Godrej Agrovet’s total holding reaches 50% plus

one share of the fully diluted share capital of the company after completion of the open

offer.

• Shares of Astec LifeSciences jumped to a high of Rs. 262 on the BSE and were currently

ruling at Rs. 257, up 6.8 per cent. Godrej Industries stock gained 1.2 per cent at Rs.

372.

Reliance Group to expand business cooperation with Qatar

Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group has expressed a keen interest in playing a larger role in the

growing economic ties between India and Qatar by expanding business cooperation with the

Gulf country.

• Ambani called on Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al

Thani among other senior Qatari ministers during a visit to the oil-rich country.

• Accompanied by a team of senior executives, he discussed bilateral trade ties with

Qatari dignitaries, underlining the group’s keen interest in playing a larger role in the

growing economic partnership between India and Qatar.

• Ambassador of India to Qatar Sanjiv Arora was present during Ambani’s meetings .An

interaction hosted by Doha Bank Group CEO R Seetharaman and his team where

Qatar Airways Group CEO Akbar Al Baker was the Guest of Honour.

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DRDO collaborates with Patanjali Ayurved for marketing Seabuckthorn based products

Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR), One of the Life Science laboratories of

DRDO successfully developed technologies based on Seabuckthorn that has found to be having

high nutritional values.

• Patanjali Ayurved Ltd. has taken Transfer of Technologies (ToT) through a “Non

Exclusive” license from DRDO for five of the Seabuckthorn based products namely:

Seabuckthorn Beverage, Seapricot Beverage, herbal Tea, Seabuckthorn Oil Soft Gel

Capsules and Seabuckthorn Jam.

• These technologies were earlier given to 2 more companies on “Non Exclusive” basis

namely: M/s Pravek kalp Pvt. Ltd & M/s Ambe Phytoextracts Ltd. As these

Licenses are Non Exclusive in nature, DRDO can provide additional licenses, if required.

Reliance Communications Ltd tied up with Jasper to offer Internet of Things services in

India

• Reliance Communications partnership with Internet of Things(IoT) platform

provider Jasper to launch their IoT services. Jasper’s only telecom partner in India is

Reliance.

• This will help enterprises automate IoT service lifecycle as well as monetize their

businesses.Silicon Valley-based Jasper currently provides solutions for connected

devices, connected cars and mobility services.

• The tie-up will provide solutions to the upcoming smart cities, making electricity

distribution grids smarter for public safety and on the healthcare front.

• Reliance Group president (IT and Innovation): Alok Srivastava .

• Chief architect for Jasper for the APAC region :Lee Cox.

IFFCO launches joint venture with Mitsubishi Corp for manufacturing agrochemicals

For manufacturing agrochemicals in India, Fertilizer cooperative IFFCO launched a joint venture

with Japanese firm Mitsubishi Corp.

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• The joint venture IFFCO-MC Crop Science Private Ltd, IFFCO holds 51% stake and the

rest is held by Mitsubishi.

• IFFCO-MC will come up with 20 different products across various product ranges of

agrochemicals.

• The logo of the JV firm was exchanged between IFFCO chairman Balvinder Singh Nakai

and Mitsubishi Corporation India chairman and managing director Masakazu Sakakida.

• IFFCO has a strong presence in the fertiliser market and Mitsubishi Corporation, are

expertise in agrochemical business internationally.

• Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited, also known as IFFCO, is the world’s

largest fertiliser cooperative federation based in India which is registered as a Multistate

Cooperative Society. IFFCO has 40,000 member cooperatives.

• IFFCO has been ranked 37 in top companies in India in 2011 by Fortune India 500 list.

India’s state-owned LIC buys 86% of Indian Oil shares on offer

Life Insurance Corporation of India, bought 86 percent of shares on offer, in state-run

Indian Oil Corp ,salvaging a $1.4 billion government sale, as the Indian market took its biggest

tumble in more than six years.

• It heavily supported the sale of Coal India shares in January and the sale of shares

in Steel Authority of India (SAIL) last year.

• The investments have sometimes proved fruitful for LIC, with stock in the State Bank of

India, which was invested in January 2014, up more than 60 percent.

• The sale was undermined by the sharpest fall in the Indian stock market, since January

2009.Next on the stump for the government are sales, including a 10 percent slice of

Coal India and stakes in NTPC, Bharat Electronics, Hindustan Copper.

• LIC Chairman– S K Roy

• Indian Oil Chairman – B. Ashok

DRDO ties up with Ramdev to market supplements

• DRDO entered into licensing agreements with Ramdev’s company for transfer of

Seabuckthorn technology based products developed by Defence Institute of High

Altitude Research (DIHAR).

http://www.thehindu.com/business/markets/sensex-plunges-in-early-trade-rupee-rate-goes-down/article7574405.ece

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• DIHAR, a frontier laboratory of DRDO which is located in Leh with detachments in the

strategic Siachen sector has pioneered cold arid-agro animal technologies for

augmenting local availability of fresh food in the region.

• The technology has been transferred under the DRDO FICCI ATAC (Accelerated

Technology Assessment & Commercialisation) programme that to land approach,

develops technologies for fresh food cultivation, poultry, goat and dairy farming and

green house cultivation which are disseminated to the local farmers.

Uber Cabs tied-up with Bharti Airtel to set up WiFi hotspots in each of its cabs

• Bharti Airtel Limited on 21 August 2015 tied-up with the Uber Cabs, allowing Uber

riders to pay using Airtel’s mobile wallet service Airtel Money. With this partnership,

Uber will set up WiFi hotspots in each of its cabs. Uber will pay Airtel for the bandwidth

consumed.

• As part of this partnership, Uber riders across India can now pay for their trips using

Airtel’s mobile wallet service Airtel Money. Mumbai will be the first city in India to enjoy

free high-speed internet from Uber, powered by Airtel 4G. The service will soon be

rolled out for Uber riders pan-India.

Nutraceuticals global market to touch $262.9 b by 2020

• According to the joint study of Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of

India (Assocham) and RNCOS, Global nutraceuticals market is expected to cross

$262.9 billion by 2020 from the current level of $182.6 billion growing at compound

annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 8 per cent.

• According to a study on ‘Indian Nutraceuticals, Herbals, and Functional Foods Industry:

Emerging on Global Map, India’s nutraceuticals market is likely to cross $6.1 billion by

2020 from the current level of $2.8 billion growing at compound annual growth rate

(CAGR) of about 17 per cent.

• U.S. has the largest market for nutraceuticals, followed by Asia-Pacific and European

Union.

• The Indian nutraceuticals market is at a nascent stage accounts for around 1.5 per cent

of the global market.

• “At present, India does not have any kind of regulatory guidelines for the approval or

monitoring of the products under this segment. These products are regulated under the

guidelines of FSSA, 2006 amended in 2011 for registration, licensing, approval, labelling

and packaging, import, marketing & distribution, laboratory testing such as conventional

food products.”

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Google and Amazon in fray to buy Tata’s data centre

• Around about for Rs 4,261.4 crore to Rs 4,589.2 crore ($650-700 million) Search

engine giant Google Inc and ecommerce Amazon are in talks to buy the data centre

business of the Indian company of TATA Group.

• Besides India, Tata Communications has data centres in the US, UK and Singapore, with

over 1 million sq ft of co-location space, offering managed hosting and storage services.

• Acquiring large data centre operations will give access for companies like Google to

penetrate into the Indian data market.

• With the success of the transaction, will help Tata Communications reduce debt burden

and concentrate on its core data carrier business.

• Companies like Blackstone Group, Carlyle, KKR, Bain Capital and Advent International,

who are all, looking to buy up to 74% stake in the data centre unit and take control of

the business.

YouTube tied-up with Whistling Woods International to set up YouTube Space

• Google-run video sharing portal YouTube to set up YouTube Space in Mumbai tied-up

with Whistling Woods International (WWI).

• YouTube Space Mumbai is the seventh such facility for the Google-run video sharing

portal. It has similar facilities in Tokyo, Los Angeles, London, New York, Brazil, and

Berlin.

• It will allow YouTube creators and students at WWI to learn about video production,

collaborate with other creators.

Prasar Bharti, Digital Television Russia inked MoU

• Prasar Bharati (PB) and Russian Pay-TV programmer Digital Television Russia

(DTR) today signed a deal on cooperation focussing on high quality production,

marketing and distribution of content related to art, culture, research, technology in the

two countries.

• Prasar Bharati chairman A Surya Prakash.

• Dmitry Mednikov Yurievich, deputy CEO of Russia Television and Radio.

India’s foodgrain production estimated to decline by 4.6 percent

• The Indian foodgrain production is projected to decline by 4.66 percent to 252.68

million tonnes in 2014-15 due to “setbacks” in kharif and rabi seasons.

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• “Production of kharif crops during 2014-15 suffered due to bad monsoon. Unseasonal

rains/hailstorm during Feb-March 2015 had significant impact on production of rabi crops.

As a result of setback in kharif as well as rabi seasons, the production of most of the crops

in the country has declined during 2014-15,” according to the fourth advance estimates of

production of major crops released by the ministry on Monday.

Amul to build Rs 600 crore cheese plant in Palanpur, Gujarat

• Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation, owner of the country’s top dairy

products brand Amul, plans to invest Rs 600 crore in a greenfield cheese plant in

Palanpur, Gujarat, that will help it triple cheese output.

• Amul looks to increase its share in the Indian cheese market from 65% now. Its

Palanpur plant would produce mozzarella and processed cheddar cheese to start with.

• Amul’s value added products such as butter, curd, ice-cream and milk-based beverages

have seen impressive growth over the past few years. Amul butter holds 90% share in

the Indian market whereas its fresh milk share is 40%-45%.

• GCMMF had posted turnover of Rs 20,730 crore for the last fiscal ended March, up

14% from the previous year’s Rs 18,143 crore.

India imposed Anti-dumping duty on Linen imports from China and Hong Kong

‘Flax’ and ‘linen’ are synonymous and these fibers are used to produce yarn and fabric, the

Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India has imposed definitive anti-

dumping duty on ‘flax’ fabric imports from China and Hong Kong.

• This duty would be applicable only on those flax fabrics with flax content of over 50 per

cent.

• It is often used as in generic term to describe a class of woven bed, table and kitchen

textiles because traditionally flax was widely used for towels, sheets etc.

• For fabric originating in or exported from Hong Kong, this duty would be applicable at

$0.63 per meter, this duty would be effective for a period of five years (unless

revoked, superseded or amended earlier) from August 12, 2015.

• Jaya Shree Textiles, a unit of Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd, had filed the petition seeking

continuation of anti-dumping duty on ‘flax’ fabric imports from China and Hong Kong.

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Trade Deficit widens to $12.8 billion as exports drop

• As per the data released by Ministry of commerce and industry, trade deficit has

widened to $12.8 billion in July from $10.8 billion in June.

• Imports fell 10.3 per cent to $35.95 billion while exports came in at $23.1 billion.

India’s merchandise exports has contracted for the eighth month running in July,

registering a 10.3 per cent drop over last year.

• In the April-July period, exports fell 15 per cent over last year. India’s exports were

hurt because of a stronger currency, a problem that could worsen after the yuan

devaluation.

• A trade deficit is an economic condition that occurs when a country is importing more

goods than it is exporting.

Datawind to open 2 more plants in India

• Low-cost mobile device maker Datawind will add two more manufacturing units in

the country within next six months to meet its local requirements as the company has

stopped importing finished products from China.

• "The new schemes and taxes now in place have made it beneficial for mobile devices

companies to Make In Indiaand Datawind is no exception.

• The company has an assembly unit in Amritsar and a manufacturing facility for touch

panels. Amid debate on net neutrality, Datawind has partnered Reliance

Communications to offer 12 months free access to websites through its UbiSurfer

browser.

• Toronto Stock Exchange-listed Datawind did not disclose the investments, but said that

the company is evaluating that if it should have a captive plant or manufacture mobile

devices through contract manufacturers.

India set to turn a big buyer of airplane

• Boeing’s annual India Current Market outlook(CMO),Which was released on

Mumbai,Aug 13.The largest demand from airlines in India will be for single airplanes

numbering 1460 with $160 billion.

• Now demand for airlines will grow and airlines will buy 260 aeroplanes worth

$80billion.

• Keskar-Senior Vice President ,Asia Pacific & India sales,Boeing commericam Airplanes

said Next 20 years India will need 1740 new airplanes worth $240 billion and 20

regional jets with estimated value of $1billion.

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• In India airlines such as Air India,Air India Express,Jet Airways and Spice Jet in their

fleet,while other airlines such as IndiGo,GoAir , Vistara , AirAsia and Airbus

Government clears FDI proposals worth Rs 10,379 crore

• Gov has cleared 23 foreign investment proposals, including that of Catholic Syrian

Bank and Bandhan Financial Services, amounting to Rs 10,378.92 crore.

• The investment proposals were approved by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board

(FIPB), headed by Finance Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi.The proposals entail investment

worth Rs 1,049 crore.

• The FIPB has also cleared an investment proposal of Mylan Laboratories, Volkswagen

Finance, Amar Ujala Publications, Eros International and Reliance Globalcom, Catholic

Syrian Bank, GlaxoSmithKline, Alpha Pharma Healthcare India, Natco Pharma, and Den

Networks.

• FDI rejected proposals are Centurion Laboratories, Jasper Infotech, Diabu Diamond

Tools and BTL India.

• India received USD 7.45 billion worth of FDI during April-May of 2015-16 fiscal, up 40

per cent from USD 5.3 billion in the corresponding period of last fiscal.

Tata Sons raise stake in AirAsia India from 30% to 41%

• Tata Sons will raise its stake to 41.06 percent in low-cost carrier AirAsia India .

• The airline, which is facing stiff competition, is also set for top management reshuffle

with CEO Mittu Chandilya expected to be elevated as Managing Director in addition to

his current responsibility.

• We are in the process of subscribing to the capital of AirAsia India which will take up our

stake to 41.06 percent from the current 30 percent,” a Tata Sons spokesperson said.

Uninor signed worth Rs 1,200 cr contract with Huawei

Uninor, which is a Norwegian telecom major Telenor,which has a unit in India has awarded a

contract worth Rs 1,200 crore to Chinese firm Huawei to modernise and manage its network

across six circles in India within a three-year time frame.

• While this project it will enable the company to make its network 4G.

• Huawei India will modernise Uninor’s entire telecom network across six telecom circles

with 24,000 base stations.

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• Present , Uninor operates in the circles of UP (West), UP (East), Bihar (including

Jharkhand), Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat. It will soon start operations in

the Assam circle.

• Huawei will also become the managed services partner of Uninor. This is the largest deal

of its kind in the Indian telecom industry and also within the Telenor Group.

• This project will start this year with modernisation of 5,000 mobile tower sites. The

remaining 19,000 sites will be modernised in 2016. By 2017, we will move completely

to IP (internet protocol) network and will be ready to embrace big data era.

• Uninor will also install small mobile sites closer to customers to reduce gap in its

network coverage.This company has about 40 million mobile customers in India, out of

which26 percent are active internet users.

• By the end of the project, Uninor expects to reduce carbon emission from its network

in India by 30 percent.

Hero Cycles acquires majority stake in UK’s Avocet Sports

• Hero Cycles today picked up majority stake in UK-based Avocet Sports, its first

overseas acquisition, to mark entry into high-end bicycle market in Europe for an

undisclosed sum.

• “This acquisition marks our entry into the European market and plays an important

role in realising our ambition of becoming one of its key players,” Hero Cycles Chairman

and MD Pankaj Munjal said in a statement.

Google restructuring under new parent company Alphabet Inc

• The tech company Google announced that it would rebrand itself as Alphabet. The

name Alphabet was chosen for two reasons. It represents language, “the core of how we

index with Google search”, and because Alpha-bet means “investment return above

benchmark, which we strive to do”.

• Alphabet will manage each of its growing cast of businesses, including those building

robots and self-driving cars, helping to cure disease, developing nanoparticles and

extending Internet connectivity via balloons.

• Some of the newer entities, such as the investment and research divisions, the “smart-

home” unit Nest, and the drone arm will be run under Alphabet.

• Alphabet’s new Google subsidiary including the search business, YouTube and the

Android and Chrome operating systems will be led by Sundar Pichai

• Mr Larry Page will become chief executive of Alphabet, with senior vice president

Sundar Pichai becoming CEO of Google

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• Google co-founder Sergey Brin will become president of Alphabet, and Eric Schmidt, the

current Google chairman, will be executive chairman of the holding company.

Posco Joint Venture with Uttam Steel to set up steel plant in Maharashtra

• South Korean steelmaker Posco, the world’s No.6 steelmaker made an agreement

with Shree Uttam Steel and Power Ltd, of Uttam Galva groupto start a joint venture

to set up a 3-million-tonnes-per-year integrated steel plant in Maharashtra.

• An investment of about $1 billion is needed to set up a 1 million tone per year steel

plant plans to set up the plant at Satarda in Sindhudurg district, in two phases.

• The plant would be the first in India for Posco, as it continues to battle regulatory

hurdles for a decade-old project to set up a mega $12 billion steel plant in the eastern

Odisha state.

• Posco will have 20 per cent stakewhile 80 per cent would be with Shree Uttam Steel and

Power Ltd.

• This is the second major manufacturing facilityannounced in Maharashtra after

Taiwan’s contract electronics manufacturer Foxconn announced a USD 5 billion

investment for a plant in the state.

Warren E Buffett led Berkshire Hathaway to acquire the PCC for 37.2 billion USD

US based company Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has agreed to buy Precision

Castparts, a leading supplier for aerospace industry, for USD 37.2 billion and it is the largest

industrial deal in 50-year history.

• Hathaway will pay USD 235 per share in cash for all of PCC’s outstanding shares, a 21

percent premium on PCC’s closing price of USD 193.88

• Precision Castparts will have its name and its headquarters in Portland, Oregon, as a

wholly owned subsidiary of Buffett’s holding company, as it presently owns about 3.0

percent of its stock.

• This deal is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2016.Precision Castpartsis a

industry that makes complex metal components and products for the aerospace

industry, including aircraft makers Boeing and

Xiaomi ties up with Foxconn to set up 1st Assembly line in Andhra Pradesh

• Xiaomi has tied up with electronics contract manufacturer Foxconn to set up a

manufacturing unit in Andhra Pradesh’s Sri City.The company’s move to make phones

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in India is a major boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship “Make in India”

campaign.

• In India Xiaomi entered in July last year, has fast become its second-largest

market as the company’s low-priced, feature-rich phones find favour with young and

cost-conscious customers.

• Xiaomi ranked seventh in terms of smartphone shipments to India.Xiaomi declined to

reveal the size of its investment in the new assembly line or planned production

capacity.

• Redmi 2 Prime will be available for Rs 6,999 on Mi.com and other partner sites such as

Flipkart, Amazon, and Snapdeal.

India tops in Beef export

• According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report, India retains its top

position as the world’s largest exporter of beef which extended its lead over Brazil.

• India’s buffalo meat exports have been growing at an average of nearly 14 per cent

each year since 2011 and according to the data,India exported 2.4 million tonnes

of beef and veal in FY2015, compared to 2 million tonnes by Brazil and 1.5

million by Australia.

• India alone accounted for 23.5 percent of the exports,while comparing three countries

account for 58.7 percent of all thebeef exports in the world.

• Cow slaughter is banned in the following states of India - Andhra Pradesh, Telangana ,

Bihar, Chattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and

Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan,

Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Phicomm to invest $1 billion to set up India unit

• Shanghai-based Smartphone maker, Phicomm by 2017 to set up five business units

which includes mobile phones, SOHO, Enterprise, Cloud services and Intelligent Cities in

a phased manner plans to invest around $1 billion (Rs6400 crore) in India.

• Company would set up an R&D unit in Gurgaon or Bangalore, local Brownfield assembly

unit and contract manufacturing units in India.

• Company earns revenue of $1.5 billion in 2014 and expects to see it growing at 50%

in 2015.

• Phicomm had launched its first device in India in June this year. It will launch a mass

market 4G device “Energy 653” priced under Rs 6,000, on August 10.

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PMF acquired Deutsche MF business in India

Pramerica Mutual Fund has acquired the Indian asset management business of Deutsche

Mutual Fund (India) for an undisclosed sum.Induatry sources estimate it to be between Rs.300-

400 crore.

• This transaction should be approved by the Securities and Exchange Board of India and

the Competition Commission of India.

• Deutsche Asset Management (India) is the MF business of Deutsche Asset & Wealth

Management in India.

• This agreement is to sell its Indian asset management business to Pramerica Asset

Managers was subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

• This sale by Deutsche Bank is the latest among a slew of foreign asset managers

exiting the mutual fund business in India, including Morgan Stanley (acquired by HDFC

AMC), ING (Birla Sun Life), Daiwa (SBI) and PineBridge (Kotak).

TRAI mandates Telcos to notify users on data usage

• Telecom Regulatory of India asks telecom companies to keep subscribers informed of

all important stages of data usage,which is a big relief to a big relief to lakhs of internet

users on Mobile phones.

• This decision from TRAI is due to a large number of complaints from customers that

mobile operators were keeping the process of deactivation very complex to earn extra

revenue.

• Customers can send SMS to 1925 by writing ‘START‘ to activate and ‘STOP’ to

deactivate the service or by making a call on the number and following instructions.

• Telecom operators will have to immediately reply to customer about status of activation

and deactivation of their service.

• It should alert customers immediately when they have consumed 50 percent of

data, 90 percent of data and 100 percent data of the data permitted under the special

schemes. Alternatively, when the data balance available in the account of the subscriber

reaches 500 MB, 100 MB and 10MB.The service providers have been given time

till November 15, 2015.

• Ans also inform the subscribers about the details of ‘new’ tariff applicable after

exhausting the data limit, when the data limit reaches 90% or the data balance

available in the account reaches 10MB.

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BHU signs MoU with Kyoto

• Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development (IESD), Banaras Hindu

University(BHU) signed 5 years of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Graduate

School of Global Environmental studies (GSGES), Kyoto University to strengthen

research activities and to facilitate student and faculty exchange programmes.

• This MoU will allow exchange of faculty and research fellows, exchange of students and

exchange of academic materials and publications and focus on science and technology.

• As a part of five-year MoU, a student of town planning of Kyoto University, Neha Sahoo

will pursue PhD from BHU and while former MPhil student, BHU, Pramit Verma will take

up a complimentary research and an interim report.

• Both the universities had earlier undertaken a joint study on Climate and Disaster

Resilience of Varanasi: City, Zone and Ward profile in close partnership with Varanasi

Municipal Corporation.

Thomas Cook Ltd acquires Kuoni’s travel business

• Travel services provider Thomas Cook (India)Ltd backed by billionaire investor Prem

Watsa's Fairfax Financial Holdings has acquired Swiss tourism major Kuoni’s

travel business in India and Hong Kong for Rs 535 crore.

• Thomas Cook will take on the approximately 1,800 employeesof Kuoni’s business units

in India and Hong Kong and will continue to run the business as an independent

company.

• Thomas Cook India has its branches in 232 locations in 95 cities across India, Mauritius

and Sri Lanka.

• Kuoni had entered India in 1996 by acquiring SOTC Tours, and in 2000, it bought SITA

World Travels.

DRDO transfers Technology to L&T to develop Lakshya

Ministry of Defence (MoD) made a path breaking decision by approving a proposal by the

Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) for Transfer of Technology (ToT) for

commercial production of its LAKSHYA pilotless target aircraft (PTA) to private sector defence

manufacturer Larsen and Toubro (L&T).

• Larsen and Toubro (L&T) is the first Indian private firm to receive license for technology

of full-scale system to make Lakshya from Defence Research and Development

Organization (DRDO).

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• L&T will get the technology for the digital version of Lakhsya, an unmanned drone that

is used by pilots to target practice from the fighter planes.

• The drone is designed by Aeronautical Development Agency, a DRDO unit in Bangalore.

• Digital version of Lakshya is advanced version of Lakshya-1 whose flight path can be

pre-programmed and has advanced digitally controlled engine.

• Lakshya is powered by a gas turbine engine and launched either from land or ship, it

carries two towed targets to realistically simulate enemy aircraft threat.

Foxconn to invest $5 billion in Maharashtra

• Taiwan-based global electronic manufacturing company Foxconn signed a

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Maharashtra Government to invest $5

billion over next five years in a new manufacturing facility in Maharashtra.

• The Foxconn has a roster of clients including Apple, BlackBerry, Motorola, Amazon Cisco

and Xiaomi. The company makes iPhones for Apple.

• Maharashtra government allotted 1,500 acres of land for the new facility at Taloja in

Pune district which will create direct employment of 50,000 people.

• The company said it would partner with local companies for its Maharashtra unit.

• Foxconn itself shut down its manufacturing facility near Chennai in 2014 after Nokia, to

which it was supplying components, decided to move out of India.

India extended anti-dumping duty on Vitamin-C imports from China

• India today extended anti-dumping duty on import of all forms ,grades of vitamin-C at

3.74USD perkg from china for next 5 years.

• “The anti-dumping duty Shall be applicable to all synonyms of Vitamin-C,

including…Ascorbic Acid, L-Xyloascorbic Acid, 3-Oxo-L-gulofuranolactone (enol form), L-

3-Ketothreohexuronic Acid Lactone, etc.

• The Government had earlier imposed the anti-dumping duty on import of Vitamin-C

from China in 2009 and later extended it by one year till June 2015.

FICCI, ILO signed MoU to establish National Coordination Centre for SCORE Training

• The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and The Federation of Indian

Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) signed an Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) for co-operation for establishing a National Coordination Centre for

Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) Training Services in India to

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provide training to Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to make them

competitive and boost productivity of the sector.

• The MoU was a part of the second phase which covers three years period from January

2014 to December 2017 wherein national institutes will provide training to MSMEs. The first

phase was covered between October 2009 and December 2013.

Murugappa Group to form new Joint venture with Japan-based Organo

Polutech which engages in the water treatment engineering services,is a part of Murugappa’s

Group will form a Joint Venture (JV) with Japan-based Organo Group for providing water

treatment services in the industrial sector.

• Polutech Ltd, Chennai-based group will hold a stake of 51 per cent and remaining with

the Japan-based Organo Group in the Joint Venture.

• The new venture will work on industrial water treatment requirements of the growing

manufacturing sector in India.

• Polutech is one of the leading players in the water treatment engineering services in

India which engages in water treatment engineering services, manufactures equipment

and designing systems for water and waste water treatment plants for sugar, pharma,

food & beverage industries.

• Organo is a leading general water treatment engineering company that provides water

treatment systems and chemicals to a wide range of industries.

• It has its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.

• Organo operates on businesses like sales of water treatment systems, maintenance and

management of delivered systems, and sales of standard products and chemicals.

• Organo’s turnover was Rs 3,500 crore in the financial year 2014(FY 14).

Alibaba to invest 4000 crore rupees in Paytm.

• E-commerce giant Alibaba is to invest 4000 crore rupees in m-commerce giant

paytm. Paytm has morethan 23 million registered users.

• Paytm started off as a mobile recharge service but recently pivoted to become a full

market place along with its recharge and bill payments services.

• Alibaba is looking in investing as much as $575 million(Rs 3,600 cr approx) in paytm

for a 25-30 percent stakeBefore they invested in snapdeal,Freecharge .

• The Indian merchants are second biggest sellers on Alibaba portal after the chinese

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Science & Technology

China is building the world’s biggest radio telescope

The Five hundred meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) is a radio telescope under

construction which will be the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope and three

times more sensitive than the Arecibo Observatory in a natural basin in Pingtang County, Guizhou

Province, southwest China.

• Started on June 2011, the construction will be completed by September 2016.

• It will have a cost of 1.2 billion Yuan.

• It will allow scientists to get weaker radio signals from outer space, even further than

our solar system.

• The first proposal for building this radio telescope was made in 1993.

• It will have a diameter of 500 meters (1,600 ft).

Three super-Earths found 21 light years from Earth

Researchers at the University Of Geneva (UNIGE), have discovered a new planetary system that

includes three super-Earths and one giant outer world orbiting a nearby star called HD 219134,

using the HARPS-N spectrograph on the Italian Telescopio Nazionale Galileo at the Roque de los

Muchachos Observatory in Canary Islands.

• HD 219134, also known as HR 8832, is a 5th magnitude K-dwarf star located

approximately 21 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia.

• The planet, known as HD 219134b, is approximately 4.5 times more massive than

the Earth and 1.6 times larger, and orbits its star once every three days.

• It was not in the so-called “habitable zone” of its star, and would not have liquid water

necessary for life.

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ISRO to launch 9 nano/micro American satellites during 2015-16

This will be the first time that Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will be launching nine

nano/ micro satellites for United States during 2015-16 time frames.

• DEVIPRASAD KARNIK, ISRO Director Public Relations said that Antrix Corporation

Ltd, the commercial arm of ISRO, has signed agreement to launch about nine

nano/micro (US) satellites.

• These satellites will go as piggyback on PSLV’s (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle).

• About 45 satellites belonging to international customers from 19 countries have been

launched successfully by Isro’s satellite launch vehicles.

Facebook Unveils Solar Drone that can beam the internet down to earth.

• Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has announced the completion of Aquila

,facebook first unmanned plane that beams down internet connectivity from sky which

is a part of his project with Internet.org.

• It finally conceived its 1st full scale drone ,which has wingspan of boeing 737 and will

provide Internet access to most remote parts of the world.Semi-autonomous drones

will fly 17 miles above from earth.

• This is to provide wireless internet access to the four billion people currently unable to

get online

Microsoft introduces translator app

Microsoft Translator is a new app designed in which users can type or speak the word or phrase

they want translated. In response, the app will show the translated text on the screen and then

speaks it out loud has been launched by Technology Giant MICROSOFT.

• Microsoft Translator supports 50 different languages, including English, Chinese, French,

Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Spanish and Russian but the Google's Translate app,

supports only 27 languages for text and voice conversion.

• Microsoft Translator is available for iOS and Android platforms.

• This app supports phones and tablets as well as the Apple Watch and smart watches

that run Android Wear.

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STPI to set up IT facilitation centre in Odisha

Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), an autonomous society under Union ministry of

communication and information technology, plans to set up a facilitation centre at

Bhubaneswar,Odisha

• With this approval, the state will now boast of having 10 STPI units. At present, there

are four STPI centres in the state at Bhubaneswar, Berhampur, Rourkela and

Balasore.

• The centre, to be set up on three acres of land near the International Institute of

Information Technology(IIIT), will have software and hardware incubation centres, data

centre for the use of IT industries.

• For this project Union ministry has sanctioned about Rs 49 crore for the centre in the

first phase for taking up the civil infrastructure. The centre will be a G+7 storied

building.

• STPI was set up with the objective of encouraging, promoting and boosting the software

exports from India. It maintains internal engineering resources to provide consulting,

training and implementation services.

• National Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd (NBCC) has been entrusted the job of

constructing the building, which will be completed within two years.

Goa Police launches SOS app

• The Goa Police launched a mobile application for helping citizens to reach out for instant

help in times of emergency, easily access Goa Police, and to add to the overall

vigilance in the state.

• The application is developed by Karbens Infotech Pvt. Ltd and is supported

by Manipal Hospital, Goa, as the latter’s social responsibility initiative.

• The app can be downloaded from Google Playstore and iTunes.

NASA’s engine for next-generation rocket test-fired

• NASA has performed a nearly 9-minute-long test of the engine at the heart of the US

space agency’s next-generation megarocket.

• The agency successfully tested an RS-25 engine at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.

• The test was the sixth of seven planned hot-fire trials for the RS-25, which also served

as the main engine for NASA’s now-retired space shuttle fleet.

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• SLS and Orion are scheduled to blast off together for the first time in 2018, on a flight

known as Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1).

• Gary Benton:RS-25 test project manager

China successfully tests power system for largest space rocket

• China successfully test fired the power system of a Long March-5 carrier which is

stated to be the largest space launch vehicle that will be used in the Chang'e-5

lunar mission around 2017.

• As per state-run Xinhua news agency report, the State Administration of Science,

Technology and Industry for National Defence stated that this final ground test of the

power system was good preparation for tests which are to be performed on actual

launch of the rocket next year.

Android’s next: Marshmallow

• Who doesn’t like marshmallows? The folks at Android must really do since they have

chosen it as the name for the next Android update (6.0). The fluffy treats beat the

likes of M&Ms in the grand tradition of naming Android versions after any thing sweet,

and in alphabetical order.

• The previous versions of Android in order are: Cupcake (1.5); Donut (1.6); Eclair (2.0–

2.1); Froyo (2.2–2.2.3); Gingerbread (2.3–2.3.7); Honeycomb (3.0–3.2.6); Ice Cream

Sandwich (4.0–4.0.4); Jelly Bean (4.1–4.3.1); KitKat (4.4–4.4.4, 4.4W–4.4W.2) and

Lollipop (5.0–5.1.1)

ISRO successfully launches GSLV-D6 carrying GSAT-6 satellite

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) successfully launched India’s communication satellite

GSAT-6 first 2,000-kg-plus satellite using the Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle

(GSLV) D6 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

• (GSLV)D6, equipped with the indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS), successfully

launched GSAT-6, the country’s latest communication satellite, into a Geosynchronous

Transfer Orbit (GTO).

• The GSAT-6 has a six-metre wide unfurlable antenna that can facilitate utilisation of S-

band space spectrum for communication and an 80-cm C band antenna that has been

reserved for strategic uses.

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• GSAT-6 satellite will be orbiting the Earth with a perigee (nearest point to Earth) of 168

km and an apogee (farthest point to Earth) of 35,939 km with an orbital inclination of

20.01 deg with respect to the equator.

• The 416 tonne, 49 m tall GSLV-D6 carrying the 2117 kg, GSAT-6, lifted off at 16:52 Hrs

IST.

• The GSAT-6 satellite is the same one that had been leased out to a private company,

Devas Multimedia, four years ago for launching satellite-based mobile communication

services, Devas had been authorised by ISRO, and the deal had been cancelled by the

government in 2012 after allegations of favouritism surfaced.

• ISRO is the sixth space agency in the world after those of US, Russia, Japan, China and

France to have joined the indigenous cryogenic regime, which is crucial for launch of

heavier satellites weighing more than two tonnes.

• This is the second consecutive success with indigenous cryogenic engine capable of

carrying 2-2.5 tonne class of spacecraft.

Environment

MoEF limits eco-sensitive zone around Okhla Bird sanctuary

Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar announced that the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ)

around the Okhla Bird Sanctuary in Delhi will be kept within reasonable limits after consulting

members of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL).

• The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had forbidden the Noida Authority from giving

completion certificates to the projects that fall within a 10-kilometre radius of the Okhla

bird sanctuary near Noida over a year ago.

• Keeping in mind the requirements of property buyers within the 10 km radius of the

sanctuary. This move that is likely to cheer home-buyers in the region, the limiting of

the ESZ does not amount to any violation of orders.

• Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) Hem Kumar Pande and attended by

representatives of the governments of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh has given its stamp of

approval to a limit that extends to 100 metres on the east, west and south sides of the

sanctuary while it will stretch out to 1.27 kilometres on the northern side.

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India lost 41 tigers in 7 months: NTCA & Traffic India data

Despite appointing Amitabh Bachchan as the brand ambassador for the government’s tiger

conservation projects, Tiger deaths persisted and the tiger numbers are dwindling in the country.

• As per the latest data released by National Tiger Conservation Authority, under

the Ministry of Environment and Forests and TRAFFIC-India, the wildlife trade

monitoring network, the country lost close to 41 tigers from January until August 9 this

year. Surprisingly, the numbers matches the count in the same period in 2014.

• The data also revealed that tigers are dying not just from natural causes. Apart from

natural death, authorities have pointed out other reasons for tiger deaths in the last

various years, including poaching, in fighting, snares and traps, poisoning by villagers

and shooting. Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have reported

the maximum number of tiger deaths in the recent years.

Australia unveils plan to reduce emissions by 26-28 per cent by 2030

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced cuts to Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions

that were immediately criticised by environmental groups and opposition politicians for lagging

behind other advanced economies.

• The world’s largest exporter of coal and iron ore Australia will cut emissions by 26-

28 percent of 2005 levels by 2030, a target that will be submitted as part of

negotiations on a global climate deal in Paris at the end of the year 2015.

• Australia is currently aiming to reduce emissions by 5 percent from 2000 levels by 2020.

• Aimed to raise the level of energy generated by renewable sources to 50 percent by

2030.

• 63 percent of Australians wanted more action on climate change, up six percentage

points from 2014.

347 flora, 424 fauna species discovered in 2013-14: Government

• Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar announced 347 species of flora and 424 of

fauna, including two reptiles have been discovered in the country in 2013-2014

• This discovery is saidas per the studies conducted by scientists and tax eonomists of

Botanical Survey of India (BSI) and Zoological Survey of India (ZSI)

• We can see the details of discovery in ‘Plant Discoveries 2013′, ‘Plant Discoveries 2014′

published by BSI and ‘Animal discoveries 2013′, ‘Animal Discoveries 2014′ by ZSI.

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• Two species of reptiles have been located for the first time in the country,

namely ‘Boiga flaviviridis‘ in Berahampur, Odisha and ‘Rhinophis goweri’ located in

Noolathu Kombai, Bodamalai hills.

• India ranks among the top ten species rich nations in the world and is known for

its rich biological diversity and high endemism.

• All endangered species are protected under section 38 of the Biological Diversity Act

2002 to know that any species which are on the verge of extinction or likely to become

extinct in the near future as threatened species, and prohibit or regulate their collection.

• As per BSI, India has about 47,791 species of plants, and as per ZSI India has over

96,000 species of animals.

Kanpur Zoological Park receives ISO certification 14001:2004.

• Kanpur Zoological Park is only zoo in UttarPradesh to get a rare status of ISO

certification 14001:2004.

• This award is given to Kanpur zoo for successful conserving,breeding and providing

opportunities for education,research and awareness amongst the masses.

• Certification explains that Kanpur Zoo is found to be ‘Environment Management System

Standard’.This ISO certificate will be valid upto August 3,2018.

New frog species named ‘Indirana Salelkari’ discovered in Goa

• A new species of frog named Indirana Salelkari is discovered in the Tanshikar Spice

Farm at Netravali (Neturlim) in the town of Sanguem Taluk by Wildlife researchers in

Netravali forest sanctuary in Southern Goa.

• This new species frog, Indirana Salelkari, and named after state ranger forest officer

Prakash Salelkar.

Sports

Saurav Ghosal back in top 20 of world rankings in Squash

• India’s top male player Saurav Ghosal returned to the top 20 of Professional Squash

Association (PSA)men’s rankings for the first time since November last year moving to

19th position.

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• 24-year old Egyptian Mohamed EI Shorbagy is celebrating a 10th consecutive month

stay on top of the men’s Section.While Malaysian star Nicaol David continues her reign

at the top of women’s rankings for the 109th consecutive month .

• From India In women Ranking’s Jodhana Chinappa is at 28th rank and Dipika

Pallikal is at 18th rank.

Indian golfer Ranveer Saini bags gold in Special Olympics

• Ranveer Singh Saini created history by becoming the first Indian golfer to win a

gold medal at the Special Olympics World Games

• The 14-year-old autistic golfer achieved the feat in GF Golf-Level 2 Alternate Shot Team

Play event

• Ranveer and his partner Monica Jajoo were nine shots clear of joint second-placed

teams from Hong Kong (Tsz Leung Chung-Ka Kit Lam) and Nippon (Takefumi Hiyoshi-

Tadatoshi Sakai).

India’s Prabhroop Sekhon wins two golds in Special Olympics World Games

• 14-year-old Prabhroop Sekhon, student of ASHA School,Lucknow, son of Dr

BS Sekhon an Indian Air Force officer, won two gold medals, in 300m and 500m

Roller Skating in the Special Olympics World Games on JULY 31,2015.

• He was coached and selected for various camps at State and National level as one

amongst the 241 participants representing India.

South Sudan becomes 206th Olympic Nation

International Olympic Committee approved South Sudan to become 206th member of the

Olympic family hence through this South Sudan competing at next year’s Rio Olympics.

• The International Olympic Committee (IOC) unanimously approved the inclusion of the

African republic, which became independent in 2011.

• Sports leaders from South Sudan, Sudan and IOC executive members could not hold

back tears as the International Olympic Committee accepted the country by acclaim at a

meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

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• South Sudan’s marathon runner Guor Marial competed at the London 2012 Olympics

but did so under the Olympic flag after refusing to run for Sudan and with South Sudan

not yet an IOC member at the time.

• South Sudan’s Olympic chief Wilson KUOIROT said that there will be four athletes

competing in Rio 2016 representing South Sudan. All of them are training in the

neighbor country Kenya.

India women’s team wins silver in World Archery Championship

The Indian women’s archery team comprising of Deepika Kumari, Laxmirani Majhi and Rimil

Buriuly has to settle with silver medal who were defeated by Russian team comprising Inna

Stepanova, Ksenia Perova and Tuyana Dashidorzhieva in World Archery Championship in

Copenhagen, Denmark.

• Russian team clinched the gold medal in a nerve-wracking tie-breaker which ended 28-

27.

• It was India’s second silver medal in the World Championship as archer RAJAT

CHAUHAN has won silver medal in the World Archery Championships in the compound

category on August 1, 2015.

• The World Archery Federation is the governing body of the sport of archery based

in Lausanne, Switzerland.

• It is composed of 156 national federations and other archery associations, and is

recognized by the International Olympic Committee.

Sania Mirza recommended for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna 2015

Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports confirmed that Indian Tennis star and Wimbledon

doubles champion SANIA MIRZA name has been recommended for the RAJIV GANDHI KHEL

RATNA 2015 on August 1, 2015.

• The final decision on this matter will be taken by the Awards Committee.

• Sania is among the 12 contenders in race for the prestigious award, including

Indian Hockey captain Sardara Singh, Squash player Dipika Pallikal, Discus

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thrower Vikas Gowda, Sprinter Tintu Luka and Archer Abhishek Verma. The Ministry

usedclause 5.3 under the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award Scheme to nominate Sania.

• Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is India’s highest honour given for achievement in

sports given by Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

• It carries a medal, scroll of honor and monetary award of 7.5 lakh rupees.

Joshna Chinappa wins Victorian Open squash title

Indian female squash player Joshna Chinappa won the Women’s SQUASH TITLE in the US

15,000 dollars Victorian Open Women’s Squash Association (WSA) event in Melbourne,

Australia on AUGUST 2, 2015.

• She defeated Line Hansen, the second seed from Denmark.

• It was her 10th WSA title.

• The 28-year-old Joshna Chinappa had won her last WSA title in the Richmond Open in

April last year.

• Ryan Cuskelly of Australia won the the men’s title by defeating Greg Lobban of

Scotland.

• The WSA World Tour involved over 100 tournaments annually all over the globe.

• Over 250 players were registered with the WSA and rankings are updated monthly

based on player’s performances.

‘Frisbee’ officially recognized as an Olympic sport by the IOC

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has officially announced the recognition of FRISBEE,

one of the disc sports of World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) as Olympic sport at the 128th

Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on August 2, 2015.

• The WFDF governs several disc-based activities, including Ultimate Frisbee, Disc Golf

and Freestyle.

• WFDF President Robert Nob Rauch said that this was an incredible milestone in the 30-

year history of WFDF which was launched in August 1985.

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• WFDF represents 65 member associations in 62 countries and holds major World

Championships in Ultimate Frisbee, Beach Ultimate, Guts, Disc Golf, Freestyle and Field

events regularly in Open, Women’s and Mixed divisions of all age categories.

Rajat Chauhan bags historic silver in World Archery Championship

• Twenty –year old Rajat Chauhan of Rajasthan won silver in World Archery

Championship by defeating Stephan Hansen of Denmark in final match.

• Chauhan is the first Indian senior level archer to get an individual medal at World

Championships at Copenhagen

• In 2014 Asian Games he won Gold Medal.India opened account in World Archery

Championship by chauhan winning silver medal where India before had never won any

individual medal in World Archery Championship

Sjostrom breaks women’s 100m butterfly record

Sarah Sjostrom from Sweden breaks her own world record in the women’s 100m butterfly

which she made in the semi-final in world swimming championship held in Kazan, Russia

on August 3, 2015.

• Sjostrom made her world record in the semi-final of swimming championship becoming

a world champion clocking 55.74 seconds to break Dana Vollmer’s previous record of

55.98 secs set at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

• She broke her own world record in final by clocking 55.64 seconds which broke her

previous mark of 55.74, which she set in the semi-finals.

• This was the third world record to fall in FINA World Championships 2015 in Kazan,

Russia.

Dipa Karmakar wins bronze at Asian Gymnastics

• Indian artistic gymnast Dipa Karmakar from Agartala has won the women’s

vault bronze medal at the Asian Championships held in Hiroshima.

• Chinese Yan Wang won the gold medal and Sae Miyakawa from Japan won silver.

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• Dipa has won many medals at different games. In February 2015, she won a total of

five medals in the 35th National Games held at Kerala. In 2014 Asian Games, she

finished fourth and in 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, she won a bronze.

US breaks the world record in World Swimming Championship

United States grabs the world record in the mixed 4×100 meters medley relay by breaking the

Russia’s world record which was set by them few minutes before at the world swimming

championships in Kazan, Russia.

• The American quartet of Ryan Murphy, Kevin Cordes, Kendyl Stewart and Lia

Neal posted a combined time of 3 min 42.33 sec, which wiped out the Russia who

made the combined time of 3 min 45.87 sec which was set just a few minutes earlier.

• The mixed medley relay is being held at the world championships for the first time but

is not on the Olympic programme.

Indian Athletes won 173 medals at the Special Olympics

• India won 173 medals at the special Olympic world Summer games 2015 in Los

Angeles.US first lady Michelle obama joined opening ceremony held on 25th july 2015.

• The 275-member Indians won 47 gold, 54 silver and 72 bronze in 14 disciplines

during the nine-day event that ended August 2. India had won 156 medals — 56 gold,

48 silver and 52 bronze — in the last edition of the games held in Athens, Greece.

• Phoolan Devi won the first gold for India in power-lifting, maximum Golds (47) came

from the athletes.

India static at 156th in FIFA

The Indian football team continued to be at 156th in the latest FIFA rankings, as world

champions Germany dropped to number three, with beaten finalist Argentina still holding on to

the number one spot.

• India shares the position with another Asian nation Kyrgyzstan.

• India dropped a whopping 15 places in the rankings issued last month, following

reverses against Oman and lowly Guam in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

• Belgium toppled Germany to climb to the number two spot. The top three is followed

by Colombia, Brazil, Portugal and Romania.

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• The FIFA World Ranking is a ranking system for men's national teams in association

football, currently led by Argentina.

Australia captain Michael Clarke retires after Ashes series

• Australia captain Michael Clarke has confirmed that he will retire from International

cricket after completion of Ashes series, concluding the 12-year international career as a

player who will be counted among the best Australian batsmen in a generation.

• He has scored 117 runs in eight innings ashes series, and passed 50 just twice in 20

months in test cricket.

BCCI announced Ad-Hoc Committee for Cricket Administration in Bihar and Uttarakhand

• The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) formed an ad-hoc five-member

committee for cricket administration in Bihar and Uttarakhand.

• Cricket in Bihar has been in a shambles due to the absence of a representative body

when the state was divided into Bihar and Jharkhand. Similarly Uttarakhand state was

bifurcated from Uttar Pradesh in November 2009.

• The five-member committee for Uttarakhand will be chaired by MP Pandoveand Bihar

will be spearheaded by its chairman Niranjan Shah.

• To ensure cricket grows in these states, the BCCI has decided to form an ad-hoc

Committee for these states, which will function to ensure participation of budding

cricketers from these states in the BCCI Associate and Affiliate members tournament.

10-Year-Old Girl becomes Youngest Swimmer at a World Championship

Alzain Tareq, 10 year old Bahrainian girl who swam in the 50 meter butterfly heats in World

Championships in Kazan became the youngest-ever swimmer at world championships.

• She finished with a time of 41.13 seconds came in last place,competing with 25 year

olds coming in 64th out of 64.

• Tareq trains five days a week in Manama, where she has access to 25 meters and 50

metres pools in the capital of the Persian Gulf nation, which has no swimming tradition.

• She attends school from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., rests for an hour and then swims.

• Tareq is one of 12 girls all under 12 training on a team in Bahrain. She is the fastest of

them all, so she was chosen by her coach to compete in Kazan.

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Jawahar Thayankari wins 63rd Nehru Trophy Boat Race

Jawahar Thayankari of Vembanad Boat Club, Kumarakom, won the 63rd Nehru Trophy Boat

Race at Punnamada Lake,Kerala.

• Mahadevikkattil came in second, Sree Ganesh finished third and St Pius 10th of St

Pius 10th boat club finished fourth.

• Nehru Trophy Boat Race has been described as the Olympics in the backwaters.

• Marking the 63rd year of the race, a total of 63 boats participated in the Boat race.

• The Nehru Trophy Boat Race, which was first held in 1952, has become one of Kerala’s

greatest attractions.

• Jawahar Thayankari won the Nehru Trophy for the first time in 1977 and after in the

years 1978, 1985 and 2010.

Saina, Srikanth upbeat as India chase medals at World Championship

India, for the first time will have two players in the top 5, Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth

will be at the forefront as a strong Indian badminton contingent look to create a flutter at the

World Championships.

• Saina at World No 2 in women’s singles and Srikanth at World No 3 in men’s singles

will lead Indians at the Championship.

• Saina, who won Syed Modi GPG and India Super Series this season, is likely to take on

Sayaka Takahashi of Japan in the prequarterfinals.

• Srikanth, who won two titles in men’s singles this season at Swiss Open and India

Super Series, will face Michael Fariman of Australia in the first round.

England wins Ashes 2015 against Australia

• England has reclaimed the Ashes from Australia, posting an innings and 78-run win on

day three of the fourth Test at Trent Bridge.

• Victory saw England regain the Ashes after it was whitewashed 5-0 in Australia in

2013/14.It also gave England a fourth successive Ashes series win on home soil, with

Australia’s last away triumph coming in 2001.

• Australia resumed day three on 7 for 241, trailing England by 90 runs, but it took the

home side less than an hour to wrap up the tail and establish an unassailable 3-1 series

lead.

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Gurbaj Singh suspended for 9 months

• The Indian hockey team midfielder Gurbaj Singh from punjab has been suspended

for 9 months by Hockey India. The 27-year-old was suspended because of his

‘misbehaviour and creating disharmony within the team’.

• The decision was taken by the Hockey India disciplinary committee headed by

Mr.Harbinder Singh. which means due to this suspension he will be unable to play for

India till May 9, 2016.

• The report was given by Jude Felix in his (Hockey World League) report he had

brought up disciplinary issues against Gurbaj.

• Felix also mentioned in his report that Gurbaj had indulged in ‘groupism within the team’

and did not co-operate well with the coaches and staff during his participation in the

recently-concluded World League.

• He was suspended for a brief period after the London Olympics following similar

accusations from the then chief coach Michael Nobbs .

• Gurbaj Singh (born 9 August 1988) represented India in Men’s Hockey during the 2012

London Olympics.Gurbaj made his India debut in 2006 at the Asian Games in Doha,

Qatar.

India Eye 3rd Spot in ICC Test Rankings

• The Indian test cricket team trying to get third in the ICC Test rankings .It will

acheive it if Virat Kohli’s men whitewash Sri Lanka in the three-match series

starting August 12th 2015 .

• At present India is at fifth rank know that a 3-0 victory can give them up the rankings

table, and depending on the final result in the ongoing Ashes series, they can even

climb to as high as third place, provided Australia defeats England at The Oval. If

India gets 2-1 victory it would gain three points.

• If seventh-placed Sri Lanka whitewash India by 3-0 then they will gain eight rankings

points and could climb to fifth and India would drop to 89 points.

Indian under-12 team finishes 2nd in Asian Youth Football

Nagaland’s Green wood School under-12 team represented India defeated Team Xi’an AIZI

football club of China and won second place in Asian Youth Football Festa 2015 held at

Anseong, South Korea.

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• A total of 47 teams from 15 countries participated in the event. India was in Group B-2

along with three teams of South Korea and a team from China and Thailand each.

• Thailand won the first place followed by India in the second place by winning three of

its four matches.

• National Sports Development Fund of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports provided

the financial assistance for participation of the team.

• The school was the winner of the last under-14 Subroto Cup held in 2014.

• The 15 countries whose teams participated in the event were South Korea, China, India,

Thailand, East Timor, Mongolia, Palestine, Nepal, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan,

Pakistan, Bangladesh, Laos and Tajikistan.

Gayatri creates history at All India Junior Badminton tournament

Pullela Gopichand's daughter Gayatri, a lanky 12-year-old shy and demure girl created history by

becoming the youngest player to win two U-17 girls doubles titles in All India Junior (U-17

and U-19) Ranking Badminton tournament at Dehradun.

• On the seventh and concluding day of the ONGC Sidcul All India Junior (U-17 and U-19)

Ranking Badminton tournament, Gayatri and her partner Vaishnavi Reddy Jakka

defeated Ritika Thaker and Simran Singhi and won U-17 girls doubles title for the

second time.

• Gayatri and Vaishnavi Reddy Jakka the talented duo had entered the record books

for the first time with their maiden U-17 girls doubles All India title at Kakinada, Andhra

Pradesh on November 11, 2014.

• Gayatri has been training at her father's academy in Hyderabad since the age of six. The

young shuttler, attends Glendales School in Hyderabad, begins her day before 4 in the

morning.

Nanjappa wins India’s sixth shooting quota for Rio Olympics

• India’s Prakash Nanjappa who is 39 years old has earned a quota place for the 2016

Rio Olympics after getting eighth position in the finals of 50-metre men’s pistol event

at the ISSF World Cup in Gabala, Azerbaijan.

• Nanjappa who is a Bangalore based shooter is the sixth shooter to have earned the

country a quota place for next year’s quadrennial extravaganza

• He ranked 52nd in the world, with 567 points, he turned out to be the second-best

athlete in the qualifications.

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• He also won a silver and bronze each at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow

and Asian Games in Incheon.

• Nanjappaalso won a bronze medal in the 2013 ISSF World Cup in Changwon, South

Korea, in the 10 metre air pistol event suffered from a paralytic attack the same year in

the right side of his face, during the World Cup in Granada.

• Following his recovery, in October 2013, Nanjappa won the silver medal in the 50 metre

pistol event in the Asian Air Gun Championship.

Kabaddi is going to be big in Poland by 2016

• Accroding to polishkabbadi player Michael Spiczko, who is a member

of bengaluru bulls team, by next year this kabbadi would become a huge rage in his

country Poland because of the game’s ever-growing popularity.

• By 2016, kabaddi will be a huge thing in Poland. There is a growing number of fans and

people, want’s to play kabaddi.

• Spiczko said kabaddi is at its nascent stage in Poland, but is becoming bigger and

bigger each day. Kabaddi is an interesting sport because it is a team sport and a contact

sport, and the Polish people like such sports

Pankaj Advani Wins the World 6-Red Snooker Championship

India’s Pankaj Advani won his ninth world title by winning the IBSF 6 Reds World

Championship snooker crown in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt by defeating Kacper Filipiak

of Poland 6-1 in the final.

Srikanth, Prannoy wins in World Championship

• Srikanth World No. 3 Indian badminton player defeated Chinese Taipei’s Hsu Jen

Hao 21-14 21-15. Srikanth will take on Hu Yun of Hong Kong, against whom the

Hyderabadi has a 2-0 record.

• Prannoy Haseena Sunil Kumaralso known as HS Prannoy World No.12 Indian

badminton player defeated Uganda’s Ekiring Edwin 21-14 21-19. Prannoy have a

tough task ahead as he faces Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen. The world No. 7 has beaten

Prannoy twice in the last two meetings.

• World Badminton Championship winners will be crowned as the “World Champions”and

awarded gold medals but it does not offer any prize money.

• The tournament started in 1977 and the tournament will not be held once every four

years to give way to the Olympic Games.

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Lahiri wins Long Drive at Whistling Straits

• Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri won the star-studded Long Drive Competition at the

Whistling Straits in the traditional event preceding the PGA Championships, the

fourth and final Major of the year.

• Lahiri, 28, winner of the Malaysian Open and Hero Indian Open, which catapulted him

into the Top-50 of the world — he is now No. 53 in the rankings.

Maharashtra's Dahi Handi granted with the Adventure Sport status

Maharashtra Government declared Dahi Handi as an "adventurous sport" to the human

pyramids of 'Govindas' which are formed during the Dahi Handi festival. Students below 12

years of age are not allowed and permission letters from parents for students between 12 to 15

years of age is mandatory for participation in the sport.

• State Education Minister Vinod Tawade said that the State Government intended to

make Dahi Handi has an international sport.

• Human pyramids, which sometimes rise upto as many as 10 tiers of Govindas, are

integral part of festival, the activity also faces criticism because of the fatal injuries the

participants can receive in case of a fall.

• The Govinda troupes can register their associations, impart proper training,hold

demonstrations, award certificates and awards.

• Adventure sport status will also entail that organizers ensure that medical treatment is

provided if a participant is injured, foam mattresses, harnesses, and guards for knee,

chest and head.

• The court directed the State to restrict the height of human pyramids to 20 feet.

• A government resolution (GR) has been issued in which rule shall apply to every

pyramid which has more than four tiers. Violation of rules will lead to penal action.

Indian Men’s Hockey team won European series

• Indian Men hockey team won European series by winning 2 matches in three matches

series after winning final match.by 4-2 against spain

• In the series first match was won by spain by 4-1 after second by 2-0 and final match

was won by India

• Ramandeep Singh (17th) and Akashdeep Singh (33rd) scored two field goals to register

the win for India.

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Rahane makes it to record books by taking 8 catches

• India’s fielder Ajinkya Rahane of Mumbai became the first in Test history to

take eight catches, achieving the feat in the ongoing first cricket match against Sri

Lanka in Galle.

• Before Ajinkya Yajuvindra took 7 catches in a Test after Independence Day in 1977,

while Rahane has done it on the eve of August 15 again.

• Rahane caught Rangana Herath at slip off Amit Mishra to enter the record books after

going past five international players

• Englishman Wally Hammond though holds the record for most catches 10 in first class

cricket, having achieved the feat as a Gloucestershire fielder against Surrey in 1928

• England wicketkeeper Jack Russell in 1995 and South African glovesman AB de Villiers

in 2013 have 11 dismissals each in a Test match

Chain Singh clinches India’s 7th Olympic quota place

• Chain singh son of a small-time farmer became the seventh Indian shooter to clinch

an Olympic berth after finishing eighth in the 50m rifle 3-position event at the World

Cup in Gabala, Azerbaijan.

• It was Chain’s maiden final appearance at a World Cup and although he was the first

amongst the eight shooters to exit, he managed to achieve his long-pending target.

• Abhinav Bindra, Gagan Narang, Jitu Rai, Gurpreet Singh, Prakash Nanjappa and Apurvi

Chandela are the other shooters who have won quota places for next year’s Rio

Olympics.

• The qualification process for the Olympics is such that it does not reward consistency.

Chain will vouch for it.

• Chain shot a total of 1,174 out of 1,200 (kneeling: 395, prone: 396, standing: 383) in

the elimination round to qualify for the final in seventh place. Once assured of a quota,

he took his foot of the peddle and shot a disappointing 403.7 in the final to bow out in

eighth place.

Australia names Steve Smith as captain of the Cricket team

• Australia cricket board confirmed Steve Smith as test captain who will replace the

retiring Michael Clarke

• Clarke will retire after the fifth Ashes test at The Oval in London. England regained the

Ashes 3-1 by winning the fourth test at Trent Bridge inside three days.

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• Smith had already become the country’s 45th test captain last year when Clarke missed

three tests due to hamstring surgery and back issues.

• Marsh said Warner had been chosen to support Smith in the test and one-day

international format.

Saina Nehwal settles for silver medal at the World Badminton

Saina Nehwal, world number two badminton player lost for the second time with the same

opponent Spain's Carolina Marin in the All England Championships final earlier 2014 lost her

quest to become the first Indian world champion in badminton ended in heartbreak in

Jakarta.

• Despite achieving her final challenge, 25-year-old Saina Nehwal created history by

giving India its first ever silver medal in World Championships.

• Saina went down 16-21, 19-21 in the final to her opponent Carolina Marin.

Back as world No. 1, Saina Nehwal signs Rs 25 crore deal

• It was double delight for Saina Nehwal on Thursday. The World Championships silver

medallist regained the No. 1 rank - surging 2,180 points ahead of Carolina Marin and

also struck a landmark deal with management company IOS Sports & Entertainment.

• Saina's deal is worth Rs 25 crore over two years. IOS also manages top sportspersons

like Suresh Raina, MC Mary Kom, Sushil Kumar and Vijender Singh.

• The shuttler was also excited to be back on the top of the world rankings. She secured

the No. 1 rank for the first time on April 2 but remained there only for five weeks.

However, this time round, the Indian will enjoy a longer reign. With 82,792 points,

Saina is 2,180 points ahead of world champion Carolina Marin. Third placed Tzu Ying Tai

of Chinese Taipei is over 12,000 points behind the Indian.

Abhishek Verma wins gold medal in Archery World Cup

• Indian archer Abhishek Verma took top prize at the World Archery

Championships in Poland, marking a special independence day for the nation.

• Scoring an impressive 13 perfect-10s and putting on a stunning display of archery,

Verma took the gold medal at the compound men’s individual event. He beat Iranian

archer Esmail Ebadi 148-145.

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• Verma’s victory marks the only win India has had at the championships as both the

men's and women’s recurve teams failed in the early rounds of the team events at the

championship.

• Ebadi and Verma last faced off at the Asian Games in 2014 at Incheon, South Korea, a

battle in which Ebadi, the ruling champion, had emerged the victor.

• Of his 15 arrows, Verma had 5 closest to the bullseye, shooting a maximum including

the shot that would ultimately be closest to the centre. He scored 30 points for that shot

in contrast to Ebadi’s 28.

Ronit, Archana emerge triumphant

• Ronit Bhanja of West Bengal and Airport Authority of India’s Archana Kamath, both

qualifiers, bagged the junior boys’ and girls’ titles with ease in the South Zone National-

ranking table tennis championships at the Nehru Indoor Stadium.

• Junior Boys: Final:Ronit Bhanja (WB) won against Abhimanyu Mitra (WB).

• Junior Girls: Final:Archana Kamath (AAI) won against R. Harshavardhini (TN).

Lahiri tied eighth at PGA Championships

• Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri scored two-under 70 to drop four places to be tied eighth

after the third round of the $10,000,000 97th Professional Golfers Association (PGA)

Championship at the par-72 Whistling Straits.

• Lahiri, winner of the Malaysian Open and Hero Indian Open earlier this season, came

onto the Whistling Straits course ,to complete his remaining five holes from second

round and then less than three hours later began his third round.

• Lying tied eighth, Lahiri will now play his final round with Matt Kuchar of the US, while

Jason Day (66) will go in the lead group with Jordan Spieth (65), who already owns two

of this year's Majors - the Masters and US Open.

Andy Murray won Rogers Cup Masters tournament

• Andy Murray run against Novak Djokovic to win the Rogers Cup in

Montreal,Canada.

• A first win over the Serb since the 2013 Wimbledon final.The Scot dominated from the

baseline as he claimed an 11th Masters title.

• Murray is now set to overtake Roger Federer in Monday’s new ATP rankings to return to

number two for the first time since 2013.

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Other Winners:

• In the Women’s section, 18-year old Belinda Bencic of Switzerland lifted her maiden

Canadian Open Masters title after world number two Simona Halep retired hurt.

• In the Women’s Doubles, the French-Slovenian team of Caroline Garcia and Katarina

Srebotnik lost the Final against the American-Czech duo of Bethanie Mattek-Sands and

Lucie Safarova.

• The Men’s Doubles trophy was bagged by America’s top seeded Bryan brothers, Bob

and Mike.

Aditi Chauhan 1st Woman Indian Football player to play in UK

• Aditi Chauhan, India’s international football goalkeeper, has became the country’s first

woman to play English league football.

• She made her debut for the women’s team of the West Ham United in the opening game

of the season against Coventry City.

• This development comes months after the signing of Indian men’s team goalkeeper

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu to play first division football in Norway.

Coe pips Bubka to become world athletics chief

• Britain’s Sebastian Coe beat Sergey Bubka in a tight vote to become the new

president of world athletics body the IAAF.

• Coe received 115 votes to Bubka’s 92, and will take over from Lamine Diack.

Bangladesh has won maiden Under-16 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF)

championship title 2015.

• Bangladesh has won earliest Under – 16 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF)

championship title 2015.

• It was played at the Sylhet District Stadium and they defeated defending champions

of India by 4 – 2 in penalties shoot out.

• In the regular play, both teams had scored equal one goal against each other.

• In Under – 16 SAFF tournament, the participants were Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri

Lanka, Afghanistan and the Maldives.

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Chess Prodigy, Aryan, becomes the second youngest IM

• Chess prodigy Aryan Chopra, 13 years and 10 months old has become India’s

second youngest International Master (IM) after Parimarjan Negi who set record

in 2006 was nine months less than Aryan Chopra.

• Aryan got his first International Master Norm at the Sants Open at the age of 11 where

650 players from 42 countries had participated.

Deepak Paul pulls off dramatic win in National Racing

• Deepak Paul Chinnappa pulled off a dramatic win in the top-end Indian Touring Cars

race in the fifth and concluding round of the MMSC-FMSCI National Racing

Championship.

• Also tasting success was Mohit Aryan of Anish Racing in the Formula LGB 1300 category

who started from pole position and saw off early challenge for his fifth win in nine starts

to increase his championship tally to 113 for a 13-point lead over Chetan Korada who

came in third in the race behind his Wallace Racing team-mate Raghul Rangasamy.

Kartik Tharanisingh wins Formula 1600 title

• Karthik Tharanisingh clinched the title in the MRF Formula Ford 1600 series in

style with a win and second place in the final round of the MMSC-FMSCI Indian

National Racing Championship at the MMRT track.

• Tharanisingh, who was trailing championship leader Goutham Parekh by 12 points, won

the first race and finished second in 193 points.

Golfer Aditi Ashok first Indian to win Ladies British amateur stroke-play Championship

India’s Golfer Aditi Ashok became the first from the country to win the Ladies British Amateur

stroke play golf championship at the Moortown Golf Club.

Cincinnati Masters title of Tennis 2015 – Complete Overview

The Cincinnati Masters, currently sponsored by the Western & Southern Financial Group and also

called the Western & Southern Open of 2015 was held in Mason, Ohio near Cincinnati, Ohio,

USA from 15th August to 23rdAugust, 2015.

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List of champions:

• Men’s Singles finals – Roger Federer avenged his Wimbledon final loss to Novak

Djokovic by beating the top-seeded Serbian 7-6(1), 6-3 on Sunday to capture his

second consecutive Western & Southern Open title.

• Women’s Singles finals – World number one ranking Serena Williams won the

women’s Singles title by defeating the third seeded Simona Halep of Romania. It was

the 69th singles crown of her career.

• Open Era Men’s Doubles champions – Daniel Nestor of Canada and Edouard Roger-

Vasselin of France defeated Marcin Matkowski of Poland and Serbia’s Nenad

Zimonjicfor the doubles title.

• Open Era Women’s Doubles champions – Chinese Taipei duo Chan Hao-

ching and Chan Yung-jan defeated Casey Dellacqua and Yaroslava Shvedova of

Australia and Kazakhstan respectively for the title.

Some Incredible Records of Cincinnati:

• Most Men’s Singles titles – Roger Federer (7 times)

• Most Women’s Singles titles – Ruth Sanders Cordes and Clara Louise Zinke (5

times)

• Most Men’s Doubles titles – Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan, and Daniel Nestor (5 times)

• Most Women’s Doubles titles – Clara Louise Zinke (6 times)

Usain Bolt beats Justin Gatlin for gold in 100 at worlds championship

Usain Bolt crossed the line 0.01 seconds ahead of his twice-banned American rival Justin Gatlin

to retain his world 100m title and wins World Championships 100m title for the third time.

• Bolt crossed the line in 9.79 seconds, fractionally ahead of the seemingly unassailable

Gatlin.

• At these world championships, 66 competitors have formerly been banned.

• For the first time since his Olympic 100m triumph in the same Bird’s Nest Stadium

seven years ago, the bookies did not give him a chance.

• Usain St. Leo Bolt, born 21 August 1986, is a Jamaican sprinter. Regarded as the

fastest person ever, he is the first man to hold both the 100 metres and 200 metres

world records since fully automatic time measurements became mandatory in 1977.

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Pro Kabaddi League 2015: U Mumba crowned champions

• U Mumba overcame a fighting Bengaluru Bulls in a thrilling summit clash to crown

Pro KabaddiLeague 2015 at a packed NSCI Stadium in Mumbai.

• The U Mumba gottop prize of Rs one crore and the Bulls got Rs 50 lakh.

• Telugu Titans beat Patna Pirates to finish third.

• U Mumba’s captain : Anup

• Bengaluru Bulls Captain :Shabeer Bapu

England won 2015 Ashes Test series 3-2

• England cricket team won 2015 Ashes Test series 3 – 2,46 runs at against Australia in

the fifth and final match at The Kia Oval.

• Chris Rogersof Australia and Joe Root of England shared man of the series and

England team turn to become the best team in the world.

• Australia cricket captain Michael Clarke retired after the final match of Ashes andSteven

Smith was named the new captain.

• England Cricket team captain:Alastair Cook.

World Athletics Championships: Lalita breaks national record

Lalita Shivaji Babar 26-year-old Maharashtra girl Babar, who trains under Nikolai Snesarev

smashed her own national record in a creditable performance to qualify for the women’s 3000m

steeplechase final in the World Athletics Championships.

• Babar, Asian champion, clocked 9:27.86 to finish fourth cut more than six seconds than

her own earlier national record time of 9:34.13.

• Lalita Shivaji Babar, who also won silver in this event in the 2014 Asian Games, is the

first Indian to have qualified for the final round of the 3000m steeplechase event in a

World Championships.

• Hailing from Satara, the drought prone Sahyadri region of Maharashtra, Babar is no

stranger to hard work.

• With her parents as farmers and the terrain being rendered difficult for agriculture, the

toil during her youth has given her body the ability to recover faster than most.

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Rahane, Mishra climb to career best 20th and 39th spots in rankings

• Following his 126 against Sri Lanka in the just-concluded second Test against Sri Lanka,

Indian Ajinkya Rahane gained two places to a career-best 20th spot in the

International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings, while leg-spinner Amit Mishra with a

match haul of seven for 72 moved up 42 places to a career-high 39th.

• R. Ashwin’s remarkable outing in the ongoing series against Sri Lanka helped him earn a

place to eighth in bowling while holding the second spot in the all-rounders’ rankings.

• Kohli, who was in the top-10 for a long time, is now placed 11th. while Lokesh Rahul

(up 30 places to 87th) and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha (up 15 places to 100th) also

climbed up the ladder.

Michael Clarke and Chris Rogers retire from international cricket

• After helping Australia to win the fifth and final Ashes Test against England, Michael

Clarke and Chris Rogers made an emotional good bye to international cricket.

• Rogers scored five centuries in his 25 Test career and Clarke played almost 400 matches

across all formats for Australia, after making his international debut more than 12 years

ago.

• It was a perfect ending for Chris Rogers’ international career as he was named

Australia’s man of the series.

• Australia’s retiring skipper, Michael Clarke and retiring batsman, Chris Rogers were both

given the guard of honour by the Australian team.

Lewis Hamilton wins Belgian Grand Prix

• Lewis Hamilton beat Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg and wins the Belgian

Grand Prix championship. It is only his second win here, after victory for McLaren in

2010, and the first time he has converted pole position to a win.

• It is Hamilton’s sixth win this year and he now leads his team-mate by 28 points in the

world championship.

• Hamilton was on pole by nearly half a second from Rosberg and his advantage

continued into the race.

• Lewis Hamilton, the championship leader, dominated the race to take his victory in

Belgium, his 39th career victory and his sixth of the season.

• Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, (born 7 January 1985) is a British Formula One racing

driver from England, currently racing for the Mercedes AMG team. He is the 2008 and

2014 Formula One World Champion.

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First international weightlifting event in India

• The first time in the history of weightlifting, an individual international tournament

will be organised in India when it hosts the Commonwealth Youth, Junior and

Senior Weightlifting Championships in Pune from October 11-15.

The Squads:

• For 26th Women & 45th Men Senior Asian Championship:S Mohana Sundaram (56kg),

Vikas Thakur (85kg), Md. Jameer Hussain (94kg), Praful Kumar Dubey (105kg), Bangaru

Usha (48kg).

• Coaches-q Kunjarani Devi, Sandip Kumar and Dathan AP.For 5th Commonwealth Youth

Games:Jamjang Deru (56kg), Deepak Lather (62kg). Coach: Vijay Sharma.

SAI launches School Sports Promotion Foundation

Sports Authority of India organize sports tournaments across India to identify talent,

arrange to nurture it and take them through the city, district, state, zonal and national level of

competitive sport.

• SAI will arrange to provide sports coaching to those talented youth who are identified

through these tournaments at all levels.

• In the first year of its operations, School Sports Promotion Foundation will roll out

Football and Cricket.

• Other sports like Tennis, Basketball and Athletics will be introduced in the second year

and rural, sub-urban elementary schools with a strong focus on rural sports would be

included in the programme.

• The Sports Promotion Foundation hopes to reach out to around 1,00,000 secondary and

senior secondary schools irrespective of their ownership, economic or social strata they

operate in or the board they are affiliated to.

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Kohli moves up to No.4, India retain 2nd spot in ODI rankings

• India’s batting mainstay Virat Kohli has climbed up a place to number four in the ICC

rankings for the ODI batsmen, while the side retained its second position in the team

list.

• Shikhar Dhawan and ODI skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni are the other two Indians in

the top-10 list. While Dhawan maintained his position at seventh, Dhoni is static at

number nine.

• In the ODI bowlers’ chart, Ravichandran Ashwin is the lone Indian figuring in the

top-10 list after gaining a place to be No. 10.

AB de Villiers broke Sourav Ganguly’s record of fastest 8000 ODI runs

• After a gap of 13 years,Former India captain Sourav Ganguly’s record of being the

fastest to reach 8000 ODI runs has been broken by the South Africa skipper and

stroke-maker AB de Villiers.

• De Villiers achieved this milestone during the third ODI against New Zealand in

Durban on 26 Aug, 2015.

• De Villiers is the only batsman to score 8000 runs in less than 200 ODIs.He took 182

innings to reach the milestone whereas Ganguly belted the same numbers in 200

innings. It took De Villiers 10 years and 205 days to reach the landmark.

• De Villiers had already entered the record books, for the umpteenth time.

Air India won Guru Tegh Bahadur Hockey title after 7 years

• Air India won the Guru Tegh Bahadur Hockey title after seven years against Army

XI 3-1 via the penalty shoot-out after the two teams were deadlocked goalless in

regular play in the finalat the MHA-Mahindra Stadium in Mumbai.

• Last time, it won the title in 2008.

• Former India custodianAdrian D’Souza got the player of the final award from the

tournament’s organisersMumbai Hockey Association Limited and Army’s goalkeeper

Najmudeen was declared as the Best Goalkeeper in the tournament.

• The winning team got Rs 1.5 lakh while the runners-up received Rs 75,000.

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Doha to host first edition of Pakistan Super League

• PCB today announced Doha, Qatar as the venue for hosting the inaugural edition of

the Pakistan Super League (PSL) from February 4-24 next year.

2015 World Athletics Championships: Usain Bolt wins fourth straight 200m world title

• Jamaica’s Usain Bolt ran the fastest time of the year in 19.55 seconds to win a

record fourth straight world 200 metres title and sweep the individual sprints at a

major global championships for a fifth time.

Lionel Messi – UEFA Best Player in Europe

• Barcelona’s Lionel Messi has received the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award for the

second time after finishing ahead of Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo and teammate Luis

Suárez in a live poll of 54 journalists. The Argentine received a total of 49 votes, beating

Luis Suárez (3) and Cristiano Ronaldo (2) for the award.

• Messi, the four-time FIFA world player of the year, is the first ever two-time winner after

winning the inaugural award in 2010-11. Messi scored 58 goals and provided 31 assists as

Barcelona won La Liga, the Copa Del Rey and Champions League.

Indian Women’s hockey team qualifies for next years Rio Olypmics

• Indian women’s hockey team qualifies to the Olympics after a long gap of 36 years

courtesy England making it to the final of the ongoing EuroHockey Championships in

London, confirmed by International Hockey Federation (FIH).

• England,Netherlands in the other semi-final in the European Championships freed one

quota place as both the finalists have already qualified for the Olympic Games.

• India took the quota place on the basis of its fifth-place finish in the women’s Hockey

World League Semifinals in Antwerp, Belgium last month.

• Indian women’s hockey team last featured in an Olympics in the 1980 Moscow Games,

where they finished at a respectable fourth position.

• India’s coach :C R Kumar.

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Ian Bell Retires From ODIs

Ian Bell, the 33-year-old England’s record ODI run-scorer, with 5,416 runs in 161

matches has announced his retirement from One Day Internationals in order to completely

devote his focus and attention towards his Test cricket.

• Bell has played 115 Tests – only four Englishmen have played more – and scored 7,569

runs at an average of 43 with 22 centuries and 45 fifties. However Bell has endured a

difficult year, averaging 24.29 with one hundred.

• Bell is also a five-time Ashes winner.

• He managed only 215 runs at an average of 26.87 in the 3-2 series win against

Australia, a record-equaling fifth Ashes triumph for an Englishman.

Wrestler Anil wins gold at World Cadet Championship

India had its second medal in World Cadet Championship with the gold medal of Wrestler Anil

in the 50 kg freestyle category.

• Anil’s gold is the second after female grappler Ankus won silver medal in the 38 kg

female category on the third day of the Championship.

• In the 2014 Asian Champion, Anil clinched the gold in the 50 kg freestyle category with

a convincing 10-6 win over returning world champion Efan Aeini (IRI).

• Anil opened with a quick body tackle and gut wrench for a 6-0 lead less than 20 seconds

into the final and then held off the 2014 champion for a 10-6 victory.

Fifteenth IAAF World Championships in Athletics concluded in Beijing

• 15th IAAF World Championships in Athletics was held between 22 August and 30 August

2015 at the Bird’s Nest Stadium at Beijing in China.

• It is a biannual event organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations

(IAAF) started in 1983.

Important Points:

• 43 nations won medals, 144 of which were awarded.Kenya was at the top with overall

16 medals,Jamaica was at the second position by winning 12 medals and SA was at the

third position with 18 medals.

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• Till now, India won only 2 medals in the championships. Both were won by long jumper

Anju Bobby George(bronze) in the 2003 championships held in Paris and gold medal

in the 2005 championships held in Montecarlo, Monaco.

• 14th edition (2013) was held in the Russian capital Moscow and 16th edition (2017) will

be hosted by London.

• IAAF chief: Sebastian Coe .

Obituary

US country singer Lynn Anderson passes away

• Multi-award winning American country music singer Lynn Rene Anderson died of a

heart attack at a hospital in Nashville at 67.She is also known as “The Great Lady of

Country Music”

• Anderson started her career of country music in 1960’s.She got many awards in her 40

years career like one Grammy award,one American Music award, two academy music

awards and one Billboard Award.

• She is most popular and successful country singer in 1970’s.She is famous for her

country pop,world wide mega hit (I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden.Anderson born

on September 26th ,1947 and died on 30th July 2015.

Former MP minister Jagannath Singh passes away

• Former minister of Madhya Pradesh and senior BJP leader Jagannath singh passed

away.he was 69.He is suffering from brain Hemorrhage from few days back .

• Singh was first elected as an MLA in 1977 from Devsar and elected as MLA for four

times ,twice as lok sabha member from sidhi and once as Rajya Sabha member.

• He worked as a labour minister in the BJP government.

“Voice of Racing” O’Sullevan dies at 97

Commentator and journalist Sir Peter O’Sullevan who was known as “The Voice” throughout

five decades at the microphone for the BBC died July 29 at his home in London after a long battle

with illness at the age of 97.

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• Sir Peter O’Sullevan, known as the “Voice of Racing”, called 14,000 races, among them

50 Grand Nationals.

• Sir Peter O’Sullevan was also an award-winning journalist for the Daily Express.

• He was awarded a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II.

• Sir Peter O’Sullevan’s made commentaries on many of the most famous moments in

racing, including Red Rum’s third Grand National success in 1977, Dawn Run’s

Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1986 and Desert Orchid’s win in the same race in 1989.

Punjab’s World War 2 hero Colonel Harwant Singh passes away

Colonel Harwant Singh, a World War-Two hero who was decorated with the Military Cross,

the highest award of the British Army and officer in charge of the flag-hoisting ceremony on the

first Independence Day in 1947 passes away at Patiala at the age of 95 years.

• Commissioned in 2nd battalion of the Sikh Regiment in September 1941, he served in

Iraq, Palestine, North Africa, Cyprus and Italy during World War-2 for the British Army.

• Harwant Singh was awarded the Military Cross in September 1944 in an attack on

German defences on the Gothic Line in Italy.

• Colonel Harwant Singh was one of the leading company commanders airlifted to

Srinagar on the outbreak of hostilities with Pakistan in October 1947.

Hollywood Actor George Cole passed away

• Veteran actor George Cole,best known as loveable rogue Arthur Daley from the TV

series Minder has died at 90

• He spanned more than 70 years. He was known for playing Arthur Daley in the long-

running ITV drama show Minder and Flash Harry in the early St Trinian’s

• His best remembered television role was as the crooked used-car dealer Arthur Daley in

the Thames Television series Minder, which he played from 1979 to the show’s

conclusion in 1994

Fashion designer Arnold Scaasi passed away

• Arnold Scaasi, the Canadian-born designer died at 85.His custom gowns graced

celebrities such as Barbra Streisand and Elizabeth Taylor as well as a number of

American first ladies.

• Arnold had won the Coty American Fashion Critics Award for best designer of the year.

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• Scaasi published several books including a 2004 memoir titled “Women I Have Dressed

(And Undressed).”

• His prolific designs were celebrated in a 2011 exhibition at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts

entitled,”Scaasi: American Couturier.”

• His work was also featured at the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History in Florida.

Anti-thalidomide hero Frances Oldham Kelsey dies

• Frances Oldham Kelsey age 101, the Canadian doctor and thalidomide hero died in

London, Ontario, with her daughter by her side on AUGUST 7, 2015.

• Kelsey was a reviewer for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration who raised serious

concerns about the safety of the drug Kevadon. She declined to approve the drug

Kevadon, its key ingredient was thalidomide.

• Thalidomide was prescribed to pregnant women in the 1960s, it was discovered that

it caused serious birth defects such as missing limbs, internal organ damage, deafness

and blindness.

• She was given the award for distinguished federal civilian service by President John F

Kennedy.

Freedom fighter Kayyara Kinhanna Rai passes away

• Freedom fighter, teacher, journalist and poet Kayyara Kinhanna Rai died in

Kasargod, Kerala.Kinhanna, who turned 100 onJune 8, was considered a bridge between

Kannada and Malayalam literature.

• He was 100-years-old Kinhanna was considered as a bridge between Kannada and

Malayalam literature.

Veteran Marathi stage actor Bhalchandra Pendharkar died

Veteran Marathi stage actor, singer and drama producer Bhalchandra Pendharkar has died at

94 due to brief illness.

• Pendharkarborn on November 25, 1921, in Hyderabad ,Andhra Pradesh.

• Pendharkar was affectionately known as Anna and gained immense popularity through

his play “Duritanche Timir Javo”.

• He received many honours and awards, including the Bal Gandharva award and the

Vishnudas Bhave award.

• He was also a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 2004.

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The founder of Hero Cycle Om Prakash Munjal passes away

Om Prakash Munjal, chairmanemeritus of Hero Cycles and one of the founders of the Hero

Group, died in Ludhiana. He was 86. Munjal, who led Hero Cycles for almost 60 years, retired

from active business roles leaving the chairmanship of the company to son Pankaj Munjal.

• Munjal, along with his three brothers including family patriarch Brijmohan Lall Munjal,

started a bicycle spare parts business in Amritsar in 1944.

• They after moved the base to Ludhiana, named the company ‘Hero‘ and set up India’s

first bicycle manufacturing unit in 1956.

• During early of 1980s, Hero Cycles emerged as the largest manufacturer of bicycles by

volume in the world. A Rs 3,000 crore company now, it has diversified into other

businesses such as auto parts manufacturing and hospitality.

U.S. civil rights leader Julian Bond dead

• US civil-rights leader and former NAACP head Julian Bond, who also held elected

office in Georgia for two decades, died at the age of 75.

• He was the civil-rights organization's first president. "Julian was a visionary and

tireless champion for civil and human rights," SPLC said of its former president, who

held the post from 1971 to 1979.

• From 1998 to 2010, Bond was chairman of the National Association for the

Advancement of Colored People.

Former ISI chief Hamid Gul passes away

• Former Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt General (retd) Hamid Gul passed

away in Murree.

• He fought in the 1965 war with India.During 1972–1976, Gul directly served under

General Muhammad Ziaul-Haq as a battalion commander, and then as Staff Colonel,

when General Zia was GOC, 1st Armoured Division and Commander, II Corps at Multan.

• Gul was promoted to Brigadier in 1978 and steadily rose to be the Martial Law

Administrator of Bahawalpur and then the Commander of the 1st Armoured Division,

Multan in 1982.

• He then served as the director general of ISI between March 29, 1987 and October 4,

1989.He retired from service in 1992.

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Viji Manuel,keyboard player par excellence passed away

• Viji Manuel (64), the keyboard player who was part of music director Ilayaraja’s

troupe for four decades, died .

• Viji was the son of late pianist Handel Manuel who was instrumental in popularising

classical music in Chennai in a big way.

• He can play any complicated music effortlessly and also without referring to the

notations. In hundreds of songs of Ilayaraja, you can listen to his contribution.

• In 1971, he won the best drummer award at an all-India contest.

India’s First Lady Suvra Mukherjee passed away

• India’s First Lady Suvra Mukherjee, wife of President Pranab Mukherjee, passed

away on 18 August 2015 following a cardiac arrest in New Delhi. She was 74.

• Suvra Mukherjee was born on September 17, 1940 in Jessore (now in Bangladesh) and

married Pranab Mukherjee on July 13, 1957.

• A graduate, she was an ardent fan of India’s national poet, Gurudev Rabindranath

Tagore.

• She was a vocalist of Rabindra Sangeet and performed in the poet’s dance-dramas for

many years not only in different parts of India, but also in Europe, Asia and Africa.

All In The Family’ producer Bud Yorkin dies at 89

• Bud Yorkin, a director and producer of topical TV comedy with the 1970s hit “All in

the Family,” died at 89.

• He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and went to work for NBC in the 1950s,

directing hit shows of the era including the “Dinah Shore Show.”

• He won six Emmy Awards, a Peabody, a Sylvania and a Director’s Guild Award, also

collaborated with Mr. Lear on “Maude,” “The Jeffersons” and “Sanford and Son” .

• Mr. Yorkin was named man of the year by the Television Academy in 1973 and inducted

into the Television Hall of Fame in 2002.

Malayalam actor Paravoor Bharathan died

• Malayalam film actor Paravoor Bharathan died at 86.

• He began his career in the late 1940s in drama, he first appeared in films in 1951 and

till 2009 was an integral part of the film industry.

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• He acted in more than 250 movies, Some of his well-known films include In Harihara

Nagar, Aniyan Bava Chetan Bava and Aniathipravu.

Eminent Sanskrit Scholar and Indologist NR Varhadpande passed away

• Eminent Sanskrit Scholar and Indologist NR Varhadpande passed away in Nagpur

at the age of 94.

About NR Varhadpande:

• Varhadpande authored several books on contemporary Indian history, Sanskrit,

philosophy and riddles of ancient history.

• He was famously known for his book titled “Aryan Invasion-A Myth” that is considered

as one of the most profound works in changing the course of ancient Indian history.

• He worked as the Chief Psychologist with the Ministry of Defence and was instrumental

in devising various Psychological tests for the armed forces personnel.

• He is the the Founder Editor of the periodical Sanskrit Bhavitavyam and also served as

the President of Sanskrit Bhasha Pracharini Sabha. He was the champion of providing

education in mother tongue and re-popularising Sanskrit language.

Editor Satyanand Pathak passed away

• Editor Satyanand Pathak, editor of a local Hindi daily, passed away on August 21,

2015 due to a brief illness.

• He was 53.Pathak was serving as the Editor of Hindi daily Dainik Purvoday and was

earlier the Executive Editor of Purvanchal Prahari

Australian cricket legend “Arthur Morris” passes away

• Former Australian Test opening batsman Arthur Morris, a member of Don

Bradman’s 1948 Invincibles team, has died aged 93

• Arthur Morris has played 46 Test matches between 1946 and 1955 and made 3533 runs

at an average of 46.46 and captained Australia in two Test. He had retired from

international cricket at the age of 33.

• Morris made his Test debut against England during their tour of Australia in 1946- 47

when he overcame a slow start to make three consecutive centuries. Morris is regarded

as one of Australia’s greatest left-handed batsmen.

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Noted journalist Pranab Kumar Borah passes away

Veteran journalist Pranab Kumar Borah age 63, passed away at his residence at Morikolong

and his body was taken to Nagaon Press Club before cremation.

• Borah was associated with prominent Assamese daily Dainik Janambhumi, The Sentinel

Group, Doordarshan and Bishmoi and also He was the pioneer in arranging the first

Book Fair of the state held at Nagaon in 1978.

• Former chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, minister Rockybul Hussain, former MLA

Girindra Kumar Borooah and others condoled his death describing Borah as an

uncompromising journalist who always fought for justice.

• He is survived by wife, a son and a daughter.

IndyCar driver Justin Wilson Dies

• 37-year-old former Formula One driver Justin Wilson who had been in a coma since

sustaining a head injury when he was hit by a large piece of debris that broke off a car

in a crash-filled race at Pocono Raceway died at the hospital.

• Wilson suffered a traumatic brain injury in an accident at the Pocono Raceway which

caused his death the following day

Legendary NBA Player Darryl Dawkins dies

Darryl Dawkins, age 58, the former Philadelphia 76 years player known for his legendary

dunking abilities, has died due to heart attack.

• Dawkins began his NBA career in 1975, when he made history as the first player drafted

directly from high school.

• Nicknamed the Chocolate Thunder by Stevie Wonder, Dawkins was famous for his

dunks. In 1979, he shattered two backboards in separate games.

• Dawkins is survived by his wife Janice and four children.

• Dawkins died at a hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania, according to the Lehigh County

coroner’s office.

• Dawkins spent parts of 14 seasons in the NBA with Philadelphia, New Jersey, Utah and

Detroit. He averaged 12.0 points and 6.1 rebounds in 726 regular-season games. His

57.2 field goal percentage is seventh best in NBA history.

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Kannada writer M.M. Kalburgi died

M. Kalburgi, age 77, veteran Kannada writer and former Vice-Chancellor of Kannada

University, Hampi was shot dead by two unidentified persons at his residence in Dharwad in

Kalyan Nagar, Karnataka.

• M. M. Kalburgi was known for his strong stand against superstitious practices and right-

wing groups.

• According to his family members, Prof. Kalburgi was speaking on his cellphone when

someone knocked on the door of his house. When he opened the door, Prof. Kalburgi

was shot at from a point-blank range on his forehead. The bullet pierced through his

head.

• Along with Ms. Roopadarshi(daughter), Prof. Kalburgi’s wife, Umadevi, and grandson

were in the house when the incident occurred.

• The CCTV camera installed at Kalyan Nagar has recorded the movement of two youths

aged between 24 and 28, wearing black clothes and riding a motorcycle, in the area. But

it would be premature to say anything now, the sources added.

Awakenings’ author, neurologist Dr.Oliver Sacks dies at 82

Dr. Oliver Sacks age 82, died at his home in New York City. He was terminally ill with a rare eye

cancer that had spread to his liver. As a practicing neurologist, Sacks looked at some of his

patients with a writer’s eye and found publishing gold.

He wrote many books, some of his publications are-

• In his best-selling 1985 book, “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat,” he

described a man who really did mistake his wife’s face for his hat while visiting Sacks’

office, because his brain had difficulty interpreting what he saw.

• Sacks’ 1973 book, “Awakenings,” about hospital patients who’d spent decades in a kind

of frozen state until Sacks tried a new treatment, led to a 1990 movie in which Sacks

was portrayed by Robin Williams. It was nominated for three Academy Awards.

• A prolific journal-keeper, Dr. Sacks compiled more than 600 notebooks. He published his

essays in medical journals and magazines like The New Yorker and The New York

Review of Books as well as small literary magazines like Antaeus.

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Horror maestro Wes Craven dies at 76

The director of Scream and Nightmare on Elm Steet ,Wes Craven has died at 76.

About Wes Craven:

• In the ’70s and early ’80s, Craven directed Last House on the Left, which quickly

established his horror bona fides, followed by films including The Hills Have Eyes and

Swamp Thing.

• Then, in 1984, he releasedA Nightmare On Elm Street — starring a 21-year-old .He

departed from the horror genre to direct Music of the Heart, a drama starring Meryl

Streep, which was nominated for two Oscars.

• Most recently, he served as executive producer forThe Girl in the Photographs, which is

debuting at the Toronto Film Festival next month.

Former Bihar minister Mohidur Rahman dead

• SeniorCongress leader and former minister Mohidur Rahman died at 83 in his

residence at Chandradei in this district of Bihar following prolonged illness.

• A two-term MLA from Jokihat Assembly seat between 1980-90, he had served as a

minister in the Congress governments headed by Chandrashekhar Singh and Jagannath

Mishra respectively in Bihar.

Books and Authors

Indian Army Releases Amar Chitra Katha & Aan Comics on Inspirational Stories of War

Heroes

• Lt Gen Rakesh Sharma, Adjutant General of Indian Army released a new series of

Amar Chitra Katha and Aan Comics on Aug 28,2015.

Amar Chitra Katha:

India’s favorite storyteller, is presenting a book on inspirational stories of 21 Param Vir Chakra

Awardees, as a tribute to the recipients of the highest gallantry award in India.

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Aan Comics:

Four Aan Comics were also released based on the heroics of four war heroes who fought in 1965

Indo Pak war and were awarded Maha Vir Chakra. They were Maj Asaram Tyagi, Maj Bhaskar Roy,

Sub Ajit Singh and Sub Tika Bahadur Thapa.

• The PVC is India’s highest military honour awarded to those soldiers who display the

greatest degree of valour and self-sacrifice on the battlefield.

• The MVC is the second highest gallantry award in India, given to those soldiers who

display a very high level of valour & self sacrifice in the face of the enemy.

Army Releases Book on 1965 Indo Pak War

• The Indian Army has released a book on 1965 Indo Pak War. The book, “1965 :

Stories from the Second Indo-Pak War” by Rachna Bisht Rawat , is an

authoritative narrative in collaboration with the Indian Army to mark fifty years of the

historic Indo-Pak War of 1965,Lt Gen KJ Singh.

• Army Commander Western Command released the book and is published by Penguin

Books India. The book includes five key battles from the 1965 war and is extensively

researched, with interviews and profiles of war veterans.

India ‘won’ 1965 war with Pakistan: New Army book

New army book named 1965, Turning the Tide: How India Won the War written by defence

analyst Nitin Gokhale revealed details which prove that India was the victor in the 1965 war with

Pakistan according to the quoting the statistics from the book .

• Pakistan, since the war has celebrated September 6 as the ‘Defence of Pakistan Day’

claiming that they won the war although analysis showed that the war ended in a draw.

• According to statistics from the book:

• India had lost only 540 sq km of its own land while capturing 1,920 sq km of the

Pakistani land.

• India lost less than 100 tanks, Pakistan had lost over 450 tanks.

• India had lost 2,862 soldiers while Pakistan had lost 5,800. But because Pakistan says

that they lost only 1,033 soldiers in the war, the figures cannot be verified.

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Vice President releases the book ‘Modern Thought Leaders- Lal Bahadur Shastri

Memorial Lectures (1997-2014)’

• The Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari has said that the ideal way to

remember any person is to organize Memorial Lectures in his memory and it gave him

immense pleasure to release the book- Modern Thought Leaders- Lal Bahadur Shastri

Memorial Lectures (1997-2014)

• Addressing after releasing a book ‘Modern Thought Leaders- Lal Bahadur Shastri

Memorial Lectures (1997-2014)’ edited by Shri Anil Shastri, Former Union Minister

and son of Late Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri.

Book titled Mrs Funnybones authored by Twinkle Khanna released

• Actor-turned-writer Twinkle Khanna, wife of Akshay Kumar launched her first book

‘Mrs Funnybones: She’s Just Like You and a Lot Like Me’.

• Twinkle’s tongue-in-cheek column “Mrs Funnybones” is a commentary on society and

trends.

• Published by Penguin Books India, the 248 page is a collection of observations by Mrs

Funnybones (the narrator/character) on the life of the modern Indian woman who

organizes dinner each evening, even as she goes to work all day, who runs her own life

but has to listen to her Mummyji, who worries about her weight and the state of the

country.

• The 40-year-old actor’s mother Dimple Kapadia, Akshay Kumar and close friends Aamir

Khan and Karan Johar were present on the launch of the book.

Making India Awesome authored by Chetan Bhagat

• Indian author, columnist, screenwriter, television personality and motivational speaker

Chetan Bhagat, launches second political nonfiction ‘Making India Awesome’ after

What Young India Wants, which was published in 2012 and was a national

bestseller.

• In ‘Making India Awesome’ by Chetan Bhagat, the author attempts to analyse and

provides inspired solutions to the country’s most intractable problems like poverty,

unemployment, corruption, violence against women, communal violence, religious

fundamentalism and illiteracy.

• Chetan Bhagat is the author of seven blockbuster books. These include six novels-Five

Point Someone (2004), One Night @ the Call Center (2005), The 3 Mistakes of My Life

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(2008), 2 States (2009), Revolution 2020 (2011), Half Girlfriend (2014)-and the non-

fiction title What Young India Wants (2012).

• ‘Making India Awesome’ books consists of 192 pages published by Rupa Publications.

Igniting minds: Kalam’s books fly off the shelves

After the PASSING AWAY of “People’s President” APJ ABDUL KALAM on July 27.He is igniting in the

minds of every people.This is seen as APJ Abdul Kalam’s books are flying off the shelves, say book

sellers, with the former president’s autobiography, Wings of Fire, emerging as the top seller

online.

• Spokesperson for Amazon India said that over the past two days WINGS OF FIRE has

been the No. 1 best seller on Amazon.in, and it has replaced Amish Tripathi’s latest

book, Scion Of Ikshvaku.

• All the books authored by Kalam are in demand, with eight of them on the top 20

bestsellers list on online retailer Amazon.

• T Arul Jothi, owner of Annai Book Centre in Chennai, said at least 10 people came to

buy both English and Tamil versions of his autobiography.He also added that school and

college students have been buying 20-30 books from the store in bulk.

Arun Jaitley Releases Book “Globalisation, Democratization and Distributive Justice”

• Arun Jaitley Releases Book “Globalisation, Democratization and Distributive

Justice” Authored by Professor Mool Chand Sharma Professor of Law at Delhi

University and Presently the Member of Law Commission of India.

Important Days Aug 1 2015

Remember Day: World Breast Feeeding Day Organization: UN Purpose: To support women to combine breastfeeding and work. Aug 6 2015

Remember Day: Hiroshima Day, Anti Nuclear Day Organization: Japan

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Purpose: To commemorate dropping of Atomic bomb on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 Aug 7 2015

Remember Day: National Handloom Day Organization: India Purpose: To make better market positioning of quality handloom products Aug 8 2015

Remember Day: World Senior Citizen's Day Organization: UN Purpose: Recognition of senior citizens. Aug 9 2015

Remember Day: Kiranti Divas(Quit India Day) Organization: Gandhi for Satyagraha. Purpose: For an orderly British withdrawal from India. Remember Day: Nagasaki Day. Organization: Japan Purpose: To remember the day when Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki Remember Day: International Day of world’s indigenious people Organization: UN Purpose: Ensuring indigenous peoples' health and well-being. Aug 10 2015 Remember Day: World Bio-Fuel Day Purpose: Aim to create awareness about non fossil-fuels (Green Fuels). Aug 12 2015

Remember Day: International Youth Day Organization: UN Purpose: To engage the participation of youth is essential to achieve sustainable human development. Aug 12 2015 Remember Day: Elephant Day Organization: Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team (WRRT) Purpose: To the preservation and protection of the world's elephants. Aug 14 2015

Remember Day: Pakistan’s Independence Day Organization: Pakistan Aug 15 2015

Remember Day: India’s Independence Day Organization: India

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Aug 19 2015

Remember Day: World Photography Day, Purpose: Anniversary of the first photographic process patent Remember Day: World Humanitarian Day Organization: United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Purpose: Observed with theme Inspiring the World's Humanity Aug 20 2015

Remember Day: Sadbahavana Divas or Harmony Day Organization: India Purpose: To commemorate the birth anniversary of the earlier PM Rajiv Gandhi. Aug 23 2015 Remember Day: International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, Organization: UNESCO Purpose: To memorialize the transatlantic slave trade. Aug 29 2015

Remember Day: National Sports Day Organization: India Purpose: To marks the birthday of Dhyan Chand Remember Day: Aug 30 2015

Remember Day: Small Industry Day

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