Current Affairs july 2014

SC appointed one-man commission to probe 2006 Meerut fire tragedy

The Supreme Court of India on 31 July 2014 appointed a one-member commission headed by former Justice SB Sinha (of apex court) to probe the 2006 Meerut Fire tragedy. The SC bench was headed by Justice Dipak Misra and included Justice V Gopala Gowda has asked the commission to submit its report by 31 January 2015.

Apart from this, the Court also ordered the state government of Uttar Pradesh to pay an interim compensation of five lakh and two lakh rupees to family members of the deceased and seriously injured respectively. It also has ordered to pay 75000 rupees to every person who suffered minor injuries.

In its order, the apex court has given two month time to the state government to deposit the compensation amount to the district judge of Meerut. Then the district judge can nominate an Additional District Judge, on making summary inquiry, shall pay the amount to the legal representatives and the victims within one month from the date of deposit.

This order of the apex court came on a petition of Sanjay Gupta, who lost five members of his family including three children in the accident. He moved to the apex court seeking a CBI inquiry into the incident. 
About the 2006 Meerut Fire tragedy
The 2006 Meerut Fire tragedy occurred on an evening of 10 April 2006 in which around 60 people were killed. Fire spread through a consumer fair in Victoria Park in the city, allegedly after a short circuit. At the time, when the fire broke out about 2000 people was at the site of the incident. The incident also lead to stampede-like situation which ended in tragedy
After the accident the organizers of the fair were booked by the police but they failed to appear before the court and were declared as absconders.

TN Establishment of Private Law Colleges (Prohibition) Bill, 2014 introduced in Assembly

State Government of Tamil Nadu on 30 July 2014 introduced Tamil Nadu Establishment of Private Law Colleges (Prohibition) Bill, 2014 in the Legislative Assembly. The Bill seeks prohibition of establishment of private law colleges in the state. This Bill will become an Act after being enacted and then will also be into force with immediate effect.

The decision was taken as the private trusts and societies failed to provide legal education at affordable cost to the socially and economically sections. They are also unable to run the colleges successfully.

Apart from this, the Bill also mentions that the state government has made a policy decision to establish adequate number of government-run law colleges in the State. These government-run colleges will provide legal education at an affordable cost and will be developed in a phased manner.

The Bill was introduced in the State Assembly by the Minister for Law and Justice SP Velumani. At present, Tamil Nadu has only 12 law colleges, of which 7 are run by state government.

German Sabine Lisicki on 30 June 2014 created a record of fastest serve in the women’s tennis. The world No29 Lisicki set the record by serving at 131 miles per hour during the first-round loss in the Bank of the West Classic Stanford, USA. However, she lost the game played against Ana Ivanovic 7-6 (7-2) 6-1.

The previous record of fastest serve in women’s tennis was held by Venus Williams achieved at the 2007 US Open, at a speed of 129 miles per hour.

Apart from this, the fastest serve record in the men’s side is held by Australian Sam Groth at a pace of 163.4 miles per hour. This record was created at a Challenger event in South Korea in 2012

Theodore Van Kirk, the last airman in US bombing of Hiroshima died

Theodore Van Kirk, the last surviving crewman of the US plane that dropped the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, Japan during the World War II died on 28 July 2014. He was 93. Kirk also known as Dutch died due to natural causes at the Park Springs Retirement Community in Stone Mountain, Georgia.

About Theodore Van Kirk

• Kirk was 24-year old at the time when the first atomic bomb was used in combat

• He was born on 27 February 1921 in Northumberland, Pennsylvania

• He joined the Army Air Force Aviation Cadet Program October 1941

• He was a navigator of the United States Army Air Forces, best known as the navigator of the Enola Gay

• He was the last surviving member of the Enola Gay crew after the death of fellow crewman Morris Jeppson, who died on 30 March 2010

The Hiroshima attack on 6 August 1945 was first atomic bomb attack in the history of combat. The nuclear bomb was dropped by a US plane that carried 12 airmen as the crew of the Enola Gay - the B29 Superfortress. They dropped Little Boy (9000-pound bomb) on Hiroshima in which about one lakh forty thousand people were killed.

After Hiroshima bombing, the second nuclear bomb named Fat Man was dropped in Nagasakion 9 August 1945. About 60 to 70 thousand people were killed in the incident. These explosions and killing of more than 2 lakh people forced Japan to surrender. Japan surrendered on 15 August 1945, bringing an end to World War II.

Since then, the survivors of atomic bomb attack known as Hibakusha has always opposed both nuclear and civilian use of nuclear power. Many of Hibakusha died later due to radiation sickness and cancer.

The use of nuclear bombs has raised the debate on the issue of use of nuclear technology. Till date the United States is the only country to ever use nuclear bomb in combat.

Lt General Dalbir Singh Suhag took over as Chief of Army Staff

Lt. General Dalbir Singh Suhag took over as Chief of Army Staff on 31 July 2014. He succeeded General Bikram Singh to become the 28th Army Chief and will serve as Army chief for 29 months till 31 December 2016.

59-year-old Lt. Gen. Suhag was designated as Army chief in May 2014 by the outgoing United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

About Lt. Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag

•    He is an alumnus of Sainik School, Chittorgarh who joined National Defence Academy in Khadakwasla in Pune in 1970.

•    He was commissioned in 4/5 Gorkha Rifles in June 1974.

•    He is the second Gorkha Rifles officer to become the Army chief after Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw.
•    He had participated in the 1987 Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) operation named

Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka

•    He holds the distinction of commanding 8 Mountain Division in Kargil from October 2007 to December 2008

•    He took over as the Eastern Army Commander on 16 June 2012

•    He became Vice Chief of Army Staff in December 2013

Jacques Kallis announced retirement from all formats of International cricket

Jacques Kallis, the South African all-rounder on 30 July 2014 announced his retirement from all-formats of International cricket, viz., One Day Internationals and T20s. In December 2013, he had announced his retirement from Test cricket after playing the Test series against India. But he would continue to play further for club cricket like Sydney Thunder and Kolkata Knight Riders

About Jacques Kallis

• He is considered as one of the greatest all-rounder of all time as a right-handed batsman and right-arm fast-medium swing bowler

• He played 166 Tests (scored 13289 runs), 328 ODIs (scored 11579 runs) and 25 T20s (scored 666 runs) in career spanning 19 years

• He is the only cricketer in the history of the game to score more than 11000 runs and take 250 wickets in both one-day and Test match cricket

• With this 40th Test century in January 2011, he became the second highest Test century maker after Sachin Tendulkar who has 51 Test centuries to his name.

• He made his international Test debut in December 1995 in a Durban Test against England

• He made his ODI debut against England on 9 January 1996 at Cape Town

Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha took over as the Chairman of COSC

Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha on 30 July 2014 took over as the Chairman of the Chief of Staff Committee (COSC). He received the baton of Chairman, COSC from outgoing Chief of Army Staff, General Bikram Singh at a brief ceremony in the South Block, New Delhi.

About Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha

• He graduated from the National Defence Academy, Pune with the President’s Gold Medal in 1973 and was commissioned in the flying Branch of Indian Air Force in December 1974.
• He is an experienced fighter pilot, a qualified Flying Instructor and a Fight Combat Leader with nearly 3400 hours of flying experience to his credit, primarily on fighter aircraft.
• The Air Chief Marshal has the rare distinction of being the Air Officer Comamnding in Chief of two Operational Air Commands i.e. Central Air Command and the Western Air Command.
• He also is an alumnus of Defence Services Staff College and the National Defence College, Delhi
• For his distinguished service, he has been awarded Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Vayu Sena Medal
• He was appointed as Honorary Aide De Camp (Air) to the Hon’ble President of India with effect from 1 December 2012

About Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC)

• The Chiefs of Staff Committee is a forum for service chiefs to discuss matters having a bearing on the activities of services and to advise the ministry.
• Its members include Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), and Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (a non-voting member).
• The position of chairman devolves on the longest serving Chief of Staff and rotates amongst the chiefs of services
• The function of the COSC is advising the Defence Minister and normally through him the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs on all military matters which require ministerial consideration.

CCEA approved sale of 10 million tonnes of wheat in Open Market to Check Price

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 24 July 2014 approved the sale of 10 million tonnes of wheat from the FCI stock in the open market in order to boost domestic supply and check prices. The CCEA was headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Highlights of the Meeting

The reserve price under OMSS was fixed at 1500 rupees per quintal plus freight charges for old crop and five percent premium for new crop.

It was decided that wheat would be sold through the e-tendering process by the State-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) with an aim to improve domestic supply of wheat and check prices, besides reducing storage pressure on FCI.

The wholesale price of wheat was increased to 19 rupees per kg in the national market in July 2014, from 16.10 rupees per kg in July 2013. Additional release of wheat will ease prices.

Eminent Hindi litterateur Madhukar Singh died at 87

Madhukar Singh, an eminent Hindi litterateur died at his residence in village Dharahara of Bhojpur district on 21 July 2014. He was 87.

He was bedridden since many years after a paralytic attack and is now survived by three daughters and three sons

About Madhukar Singh

•    In 1970s Madhukar Singh led Samantar Kahani Andolan in story writing along with Kamleshwar, a noted writer and others

•    He extensively wrote about rural downtrodden workers and farmers

•    Singh wrote about 35 books and it included 17 collections of stories and 13 novels

•    His story titled Dushman is considered as a milestone in Hindi story writing and was played in 1980s in Hindi belt by different drama groups.

•    Some other novel works of Singh were Arjun Zinda Hai, Benimadho Tiwari Ki Patoh Sonbhadra Ki Radha and Mere Gaon Ke Log

•    In late 1960s, he was deeply influenced by Naxal movement

•    Awards and honours given to Madhukar singh included

a)    Soviet Land Nehru Award

b)    Bihar government's prestigious Jannayak Karpoori Thakur Sahitya Puraskar

c)    Udayraj Puraskar

Union government decided to appoint Suresh Prabhu Committee to review gas pricing formula

Union government on 24 July 2014 decided to appoint Suresh Prabhu Committee to review the gas pricing formula. Suresh Prabhu is a former Union Power Minister under National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The other members of the Committee will be Pratap Bhanu Mehta, President and Chief Executive of Centre for Policy Research and Bibek Debroy of the same institute.

The decision to appoint Suresh Prabhu Committee comes one month after the Union government decided to put on hold the revision of natural gas price. The Union Cabinet on 25 June 2014 had deferred the implementation of the C Rangarajan Committee's pricing formula till 30 September 2014 for conducting a comprehensive review of the whole issue.

The implementation of the Rangrajan pricing formula would have doubled current gas rates to at least 8.4 US dollars per million British thermal unit raising power cost by over 2 rupees per unit, urea production cost by 6228 rupees per tonne and piped gas by 8.50 rupees per kg.

Haryana Power Minister Captain Ajay Singh Yadav resigned from state cabinet

Haryana Power Minister, Captain Ajay Singh Yadav resigned from the state cabinet on 29 July 2014. He submitted his resignation to the Chief Minister Bhupendra Singh Hooda in Chandigarh.
Captain Yadav, a six time MLA from Rewari, alleged that he resigned due to regional bias on part of the Chief Minister and existing favoritism in the party along with asymmetrical development. However, he will continue to be in Congress and will abide by the directions of the high command.

NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity set off-Earth roving distance record

 

NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity set the record of maximum distance covered by a rover. It set the record when it travelled a distance of 157 feet (48 meters) on 27 July 2014 and with this the total distance (or odometry) covered by Opportunity rover stood at 25.01 miles (40.25 kilometers). The previous off-Earth roving record was held by Lunokhod 2 rover of erstwhile USSR (Soviet Union).

The distance covered by Mars rover Opportunity in July 2014 brought it closer to the western rim of Endeavour Crater. The Opportunity rover had reached the Endeavour crater in 2011 after covering a distance of 20 miles (32 kilometers), where it examined outcrops on the crater's rim containing clay and sulfate-bearing minerals.

If the rover succeeds in covering the marathon distance of 26.2 miles (about 42.2 kilometers) then it will reach the next major investigation site named as Marathon Valley by the mission scientists.

The Mars Exploration Rover Project is one element of NASA's ongoing and future Mars missions preparing for a human mission to the planet in the 2030s. Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) manages the project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
Mars Exploration Rover Project Manager - John Callas, of NASA's JPL in Pasadena, California

About Russian Lunokhod 2 rover

Russian Lunokhod 2 rover was a successor of the first Lunokhod mission in 1970 and it landed on Earth's moon on 15 January 1973. This rover drove a distance of about 24.2 miles (39 kilometers) in less than five months, according to calculations recently made using images from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) cameras that reveal Lunokhod 2's tracks.

A white tigress named Sneha on 27 July 2014 gave birth to a melanistic (dark skinned) cub along with other three white cubs in Nandankanan Biological Park in Odisha. This is the first incident in the country in which a white tigress has given birth to a black cub that too in captivity. Black tigers are usually seen in Similipal Tiger Reserve in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha.
Five-year-old Sneha gave birth to these cubs including one black two days before the International Tiger Day that is observed across the world on 29 July 2014. Eight-year-old Royal Bengal tiger Manish is the father of these cubs.

Tiger Population in the Nandankanan Biological Park

Total number of tigers in the park has gone up to 27 including the latest births. The zoo has eight white tigers of which five are females. Before the birth of these four cubs, the park witnessed birth of three tigers on 13 January 2012. These three tigers were born to tigress Sara and Rishi, a white tiger.

Nandankanan Biological Park

The Nandankanan Biological Park lies in the vicinity of Kanjia Lake and is adjacent to Chandaka-Dampara Wildlife Sanctuary. Birth of white tiger from normal coloured tigers has given a special place to Nandankanan over the world as one of the major host zoo for the white tigers. White tigers were born to normal coloured parents in 1980, a unique event in the world.

It is the first zoo in the country where endangered Gharials were born in captivity in 1980. Nandankanan has largest enclosures for housing Gharials and Hippoptamus.
Apart from this, it is the only zoo of India that has certain animals with it namely 
• Patas monkey (Erythrocebus patas)
• Eastern Rosella (Platycercus eximus)
• Open-billed Stork (Anastomus oscitans)

Iraqi Parliament elected Fuad Masum as the seventh President of Ir

Muhammad Fuad Masum of Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party was elected as the seventh President of Iraq on 24 July 2014. He was elected with overwhelming majority by the Council of Representatives of Iraq (Iraqi Parliament) in Baghdad. He won 211 votes as against 17 votes won by Judge Hussein al-Musawi in the second round of voting. 
Masum is the second non-Arab President of Iraq after Jalal Talabani who founded the PUK party and is the incumbent President of Iraq.
In the first round of voting, out of four presidential candidates Fuad had won 175 votes. But it was short of the 218 absolute-majority required for the president in the first vote. The other presidential candidates Hanan al-Fatlawi, Faiq al-Sheikh Ali and Hussein al-Musawi shared the remaining seats. 
As a result, the other two presidential candidates Hanan al-Fatlawi and Faiq al-Sheikh Ali withdrew from the elections leaving the second round of voting a ceremonial contest between Fuad Masum and Hussein al-Musawi who had challenged the incumbent President Talabani in 2010.
What lies ahead?
Fuad Masum election as the President would pave the way for much-delayed formation of a new government in Iraq. Iraq is now actually ahead of the constitutional timeline for forming its next government. But the potentially most problematic task of identifying the largest bloc in the Parliament and nominating Prime Minister remain for which Masum has only got 14 days.  
On the one hand, the pan-Shiite alliance has declared itself the largest bloc repeatedly but it has to agree on a Prime Minister candidate. As long as it does not have an agreed PM candidate it doesn’t exist in a way that is interesting to the Iraqi government formation. On the other hand, The State of Law bloc of PM Maliki – whose candidate is Maliki – is the biggest bloc. Unless a PM candidate emerges, Maliki could legitimately complain to the federal Supreme Court that Masum is wasting his time with a non-existent political alliance.
Further, while forming the next government it has to be seen that it is inclusive. This is because on pretext of this only ISIS has gone for a rampage in Iraq alleging that Nuri-al-Maliki government was discriminating against Shias and Kurds. This has brought Iraq to a near collapse. In fact, after the Fuad election as President, the UN chief Ban ki-Moon met current Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and stressed the need for a broad-based government to be formed as soon as possible to save the country from collapse. 
About Fuad Masum
• After the 1991 Kurdistan Regional uprising, Masum became the first Prime Minister of autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan and served at the position for more than two decades
• In 1976, he was a founding member of PUK in the Syrian capital of Damascus 
• He was born in 1938 in the town of Koya, east of Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan

Bangladesh freedom fighter Bir Bikrom UK Ching Marma died

Bir Bikrom UK Ching Marma, the well known Bangladeshi freedom fighter died on 25 July 2014. He was 76. He died at Chittagong Medical College Hospital due to brain stroke. 
He was given state honour at his Langipara home, about 2 kilometres from the district town, in presence of top officials of district administration, police and army. 
U K Ching was the only person of ethnic minority origin to be awarded Bir Bikrom for his contribution to the country’s Liberation War in 1971. He belonged to the Marma community.
• UK Ching was born in 1937 in a Marma family of Chittagong Hill Tracts (now in Bangladesh) of British India
• Ching was the only ethnic minority origin person to be awarded with Bir Bikram for his contribution to the country’s Liberation War in 1971
• He served Bangla rebels in the Bangladesh war, he participated in the Liberation War along with nine of his colleagues in 1971, while being posted at Rangpur’s Hatibandha border outpost as a Nayek
• He served East Pakistan Rifles (now known as the Bangladesh Rifles) in 1952 and retired in 1982
About Bir Bikrom
Bir Bikrom, literally means Valiant hero in Bengali, is the third highest gallantry award in Bangladesh. Like the other gallantry awards, this was introduced immediately after the Bangladeshi Liberation War in 1971. Bir Bikrom was awarded to 175 fighters.

IAF received 6th C-17 Globemaster III aircraft Benefits of the C-17 Globemaster III aircraft

The C-17 Globemaster III aircraft will enhance the operational potential of the Indian Air Force (IAF) with its payload carriage and performance (about 75 tonnes). It would also augment the strategic reach of the nation during operations to about 4500 kms during disaster relief and other similar missions.

The first Boeing C-17 Globemaster III Aircraft was received by India on 18 June 2013 at Hindon Airbase in Uttar Pradesh in India.

About Boeing C-17 Globemaster III Aircraft

Boeing C-17 Globemaster III Aircraft is a 4-engine, high wing, T-tailed military transport aircraft. C-17 is the biggest aircraft in Indian Air Force inventory and is capable of carrying large equipment, supplies and troops directly to small airfields, day and night, across the world. It has delivered cargo during worldwide operations, since 1990s.

Background

Indian Air Force signed a 4.1 billion US dollar deal with Boeing to get 10 C-17 Aircraft in June 2011. The deal was signed after conducting a thorough study of its capabilities of being operational under all conditions and abilities to take-off from short runways with heavy loads.

CSF agreed to reinstate shooting Pair events in 2018 CWG on India’s request

Apart from this, Baljit Singh Sethi, the National Rifles Association Advisor was elected unopposed as Vice President of the CSF at the General Assembly meeting in Glasgow. The General Assembly has also decided to bring back two pistol events, which will increase the number of pistol matches for men to five instead of three. The two events that will be brought back are:

• Centre Fire Pistol
• Standard Pistol

Background

The pair events of shooting were removed from the programme of the Commonwealth Games in 2014, which led to a loss to India. Its removal from the Glasgow edition has brought down the number of medals in Commonwealth Games. In the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games, Indian shooters won 30 medals (14 gold, 11 silver and five bronze) out of total 101 medals (38 gold, 27 silver and 36 bronze) won by India. This helped India complete the game at second spot. Whereas, in the pair events of shooting, India in 2010 won eight gold, five silver and three bronze medals from 20 events which was dropped at Glasgow Games.

CSF agreed to reinstate shooting Pair events in 2018 CWG on India’s request

Apart from this, Baljit Singh Sethi, the National Rifles Association Advisor was elected unopposed as Vice President of the CSF at the General Assembly meeting in Glasgow. The General Assembly has also decided to bring back two pistol events, which will increase the number of pistol matches for men to five instead of three. The two events that will be brought back are:

• Centre Fire Pistol
• Standard Pistol

The pair events of shooting were removed from the programme of the Commonwealth Games in 2014, which led to a loss to India. Its removal from the Glasgow edition has brought down the number of medals in Commonwealth Games. In the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games, Indian shooters won 30 medals (14 gold, 11 silver and five bronze) out of total 101 medals (38 gold, 27 silver and 36 bronze) won by India. This helped India complete the game at second spot. Whereas, in the pair events of shooting, India in 2010 won eight gold, five silver and three bronze medals from 20 events which was dropped at Glasgow Game

The Lives of Others written by Neel Mukherjee shortlisted for Man Booker Prize 2014

The Lives of Others authored by Neel Mukherjee was shortlisted for Man Booker Prize 2014 in the fourth week of July 2014. Neel Mukherjee is a Kolkata-born British Indian writer and this is his second novel.

The novel is set in 1960s Bengal and revolves around a man's extremist political activism during troubled times. The Novel is published by Granta which has so far sold 300000 copies in the United Kingdom and almost 500000 copies worldwide.

His first novel was Past Continuous which was joint winner of the Vodafone-Crossword Award, India's premier literary award for writing in English for best novel of 2008.

In 2013 another book set in Kolkata, The Lowland written by Jhumpa Lahiri was, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2013. But it lost to The Luminaries written by Eleanor Catton of New Zealand. The Lowland is a story of a young man's tryst with the Naxalite movement at the cost of his family.

Other Books shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2014

• We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves: Karen Joy Fowler
• To Rise Again at a Decent Hour: Joshua Ferris
• The Narrow Road to the Deep North: Richard Flanagan
• History of the Rain: Niall Williams
• The Blazing World: Siri Hustvedt
• Orfeo: Richard Powers
• The Dog: Joseph O'Neill
• J: Howard Jacobson
• The Wake: Paul Kingsnorth
• The Bone Clocks: David Mitchell
• Us: David Nicholls
• How to be Both: Ali Smith

Some Interesting Facts about Man Booker Prize

• For the first time since 1969 (when the award was first given), the 50000 pound prize in 2014 has been opened up to writers of any nationality, writing originally in English and published in the UK. Previously, the prize was open to authors from the UK and the Commonwealth, Republic of Ireland and Zimbabwe.
• Catton became the youngest writer to ever win a Man Booker prize in 2013. Her book The Luminaries with 832-page is also the longest novel to ever win the coveted literary prize.
• The youngest ever winner before Catton was Ben Okri who was 32 when his work The Famished Road won the Booker prize in 1991.

The Vijay Mallya Story written by K Giriprakash published

The Vijay Mallya Story: K Giriprakash

The Vijay Mallya Story written by K Giriprakash was published by Penguin Books Limited in 2014. K. Giriprakash is the Chief of Bureau, The Hindu Business Line.

The book is an intriguing story of the life of Vijay Mallya, an Indian industrialist with a history of ground-breaking success. The book tells about even the lesser known facts and stories from the professional events of Mallya’s life.

The making of this industrial tycoon, his success story, the story of his decline with the downfall of Kingfisher, and a lot of important events from his life are presented in the book.

The book also tells about the various names by which Vijay Mallya was referred. These include the King of Good Times, The Liquor King of India, and King of Good Thrones. The book also presents the details about his presence in the Rajya Sabha (or the Upper House) of the Indian Parliament, his ownership of IPL team Royal Challengers, Bangalore and many other professional roles which he donned.

The book not merely includes the professional life of Mallya, but also of his childhood events, the business acumen he was born with, and how he shared his relationship with his father. The book explains how his skills and the business-dealing abilities got him a long period of unmatched success, while the fall of Kingfisher has been a break in his reign.

RBI cancelled Certificate of Registration of six NBFCs

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 28 July 2014 cancelled the certificate of registration of six non-banking financial company (NBFCs). With this cancellation, these six NBFCs based in Delhi would not be able to conduct business of non-banking financial institution.
These six non-banking financial company (NBFCs) whose cancellation of registration certificate has been issued are 
• GE Strategic Investments India (GESII) 
• Profound Exports Private Limited
• Two Brothers Holding Limited
• Swank Services Private Limited
• Praxis Consulting and Information Services Private Limited
• Credible Microfinance Ltd. (formerly known as "Credible Securities & Finance Pvt. Ltd."
However, reason for the cancellation of registration was not disclosed by RBI.
Power granted to RBI to cancel registration certificate of NBFC
The registration certificate of a non-banking financial company can be cancelled by RBI under the powers conferred under Section 45-IA(6) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. The business of a non-banking financial institution is defined in clause (a) of Section 45-I of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

Indian mission in Tripoli advised all Indian nationals to leave strife torn Libya

India’s mission in Tripoli on 28 July 2014 advised all its nationals to leave strife-torn Libya using all available means for exiting Libya. It also asked its citizens not to travel to the Libya till the situation improves. The mission asked Indians to move to safer places and avoid the conflict zones that include Benghazi and Tripoli. 
In the meanwhile, India also decided to deploy additional staff at its Mission in Tripoli after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj directed Indian Mission to facilitate return of the Indian nationals from Libya.
The advice was issued after an oil depot was set on fire on 28 July 2014 during severe fighting between rival militias at Tripoli's international airport. The spurt in violence has been the worst level of violence since the 2011 Spring Revolution that ousted Moammar Gadhafi.
Over the weekend, the United States and Britain have evacuated their embassies in Libya and transferred the staff to Tunisia. Other countries to have pulled out their embassies in Libya are Germany, the Netherlands and France.
Indians in Libya
At present, Libya houses about 6000 Indian citizens, who are engaged in their works over there. Before the uprising, Libya housed more than 18000 Indians, which has decreased to 6000 since uprising. Indians nationals in Libya are employed in 
• Hospitals
• Teaching institutions
• Construction project 
Earlier, a major number of Indians were evacuated to India from Libya in February-March 2011.

International Tiger Day 2014 observed across the world

29 July: International Tiger Day
The World on 29 July 2014 observed the International Tiger Day. The day is celebrated as an awareness day. The goal of the Tiger Day is to promote protection and expansion of the wild tiger habitats and also to gain support awareness for tiger conservation.At present the number of wild tigers is at its lowest. In last 100 years, around 97 percent of the total tigers population have been lost. In 1913, the world has about 1 lakh wild tigers, which has dropped to 3000 in 2014. As per estimates, India in 2010 had 1706 wild tigers that increased from 1411 in 2006. Among the 13 tiger-range countries, India has the highest number of tiger population.
Decrease of their population
• 1913 – About 1 lakh tigers were available 
• 2013 (in 100 years) – The population went down to 3724 tigers 
• 2014 – The population has gone down to 3000 
It is estimated that if the rate of extinction continues at this rate then all living tigers in the wild could become extinct in 5 years. 
Species of Tigers
Tigers are categorised by the colour of their fur and includes White tigers (rarely occurs once in about 10000 births). Mainly there are six species of tigers that lives in the wild at present and they are 
• Siberian tigers
• Bengal tigers
• Indochinese tigers
• Malayan tigers
• Sumatran tigers
• South China tigers
Apart from this, several subspecies of tigers had already extinct which includes Bali Tigers and Javan Tigers. 
Cause of decrease of their population 
Expansion of cities and agriculture by humans has lead to a loss of 93 percent natural habitat of wild tigers. Poaching is another reason that has made tigers fall into the vulnerable category of IUCN. They are poached for their skins, bones and other body parts, which are consumed as traditional medicines and some time they are also killed as status symbols.

Union Government decided to intensify war against Japanese Encephalitis

Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare decided to intensify major war against Japanese Encephalitis (JE) in the fourth week of July 2014.

This decision was taken in light of outbreak of JE and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) across 17 States of India with more Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam in the month of June and July 2014. The outbreak of the disease in these States have claimed hundreds of lives mostly children.

The main element of the offensive against JE and AES

• Priority would be to ensure 100 per cent immunisation against the JE and AES in the affected areas. The immunization would be carried out on the lines of Pulse Polio Campaign.
• To involve all the stakeholders so as to ensure full vaccine coverage
• Active surveillance along with early diagnosis and effective implementation of control measures
• The Ministry also sought help from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta to deal with the annual outbreak.
• Additional beds and ventilators at the Governmental Hospital in Gorakhpur which sees the highest number of patients and other affected areas

About Japanese Encephalitis

JE is an acute inflammation of the brain and when it occurs with meningitis is known as meningocephalitis.

The disease generally occurs during monsoon and is caused by a mosquito-borne virus. The Japanese encephalitis virus is a virus from the family Flaviviridae.

Domestic pigs and wild birds (herons) are reservoirs of the virus; transmission to humans may cause severe symptoms. Amongst the most important vectors of this disease are the mosquitoes Culex tritaeniorhynchus and Culex vishnui.

Symptoms include headache, fever, confusion, drowsiness, and fatigue. More advanced and serious symptoms include seizures or convulsions, tremors, hallucinations, and memory problems

JE and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) generally have high mortality and morbidity rates. Since the virus attacks the brain of the child, the chances of the child becoming mentally retarded are high.

Situation in India:

In India, the most affected region is eastern India particularly Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Assam.

Uttar Pradesh generally reports 500-600 JE deaths every year while just in June 2013 in Bihar over 100 children died of the disease. Whereas in July 2013, disease claimed about 100 lives in West Bengal and similar number of lives in lower Assam, especially in Barpeta district.

The World Health Organisation put the JE toll at over 1000 in 2013.

Recent Effort of Union Government to tackle JE:

On 4 October 2013, Union Health Ministry launched indigenously produced Japanese Encephalitis (JE) vaccine JENVAC. The vaccine has been jointly developed by scientists of National Institute of Virology (NIV) Pune, Indian Council of Medical Research and Bharat Biotech Limited- Hyderabad.

On 3 July 2014, Union Government introduced adult vaccine against JE along with rotavirus, rubella and polio as part of India’s Universal Immunization Programme (UIP).

American actor James Garner died at 86

American actor James Garner died at the age of 86 in Los Angeles on 19 July 2014.  He was best known for playing a detective Jim Rockford in crime series Rockford Files and also famous for his role in western drama, Maverick.

Garner starred in films such as The Great Escape (1963), The Americanization of Emily (1964), Grand Prix (1966), Blake Edwards' Victor Victoria (1982), Murphy's Romance (1985) Space Cowboys (2000), and The Notebook (2004).

 

He was nominated for Oscar Award for his role in Murphy’s Romance. He received Screen Actor’s Guide lifetime achievement award in 2005.

He was nominated for Emmy Award for best actor in the drama series for five consecutive years. Finally he won the award in 1977 for Rockford Files.

Rockford Files was produced by Roy Huggins and writer Stephen J Cannell and it earned three best drama nominations for Emmy Awards from 1978-80. It finally won it in 1980.

Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu announced launching Web Portal for Industrial Licences

The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J Jayalalithaa on 23 July 2014 announced that the process of issuing licenses to the new industries will be done online henceforth. The step was taken in order to simplify the process involved for registration of new industries in the state.

J Jayalalithaa explained that the difficulties which were faced while issuing the licenses will be tackled through the web portal; which will also facilitate information about the government services apart from other things.

Key Highlights of the New Portal

• The new portal, apart from issuing the industrial licenses, will also help the general public and industrialists in finding out about new government schemes.
• The portal will be developed at the cost of 2.24 crore rupees

It is important to note that according to the Industries Act, 1948, it is obligatory for the industry to get registration and the license from State Government. There are more than 42000 industries that are registered and have also received licenses under the Government of Tamil Nadu.

TCS became first Indian Company to achieve Market Capitalization of 5 lakh crore rupees

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on 23 July 2014 became the first Indian company to achieve a market capitalization of 5 lakh crore rupees. This feat was achieved by the company on the back of Quarter 1 results.

In terms of market capitalisation, TCS is followed by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) at 3.5 lakh crore rupees and Reliance Industries at 3.3 lakh crore rupees.

 

The market capitalization of TCS is higher than the combined market capital of next 4 biggest IT Indian companies, viz. Infosys (1.90 lakh crore rupees), Wipro ( 1.39 lakh crore rupees) and HCL Tech (1.07 lakh crore rupees) and Tech Mahindra (45000 crore rupees). The combined market value of these four biggest IT companies in India is approximately 4.88 lakh crore rupees.

TCS is the largest software services exporter of the country and is currently the most valued company in India in terms of market valuation.

CMSA Scheme launched in Meghalaya for Widows and Pensioners

The Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Dr Mukul Sangma on 23 July 2014 launched a mass enrolment drive under the Chief Minister's Social Assistance (CMSA) Scheme for widows and persons with disabilities at Patharkhmah in Ri Bhoi District in Meghalaya.
Each beneficiary shall be given a financial assistance of 500 rupees per month under the scheme.

Eligibility of Receiving Financial Assistance under CMSA
As far as the persons with disabilities are concerned, there is no age bar for receiving the financial aid. However, in case of widow, the age limit of 58 years was decided for a woman and 60 years for a man to be made eligible for receiving this aid. 
The CM, in the meanwhile, stated that the Government was working towards ensuring the upliftment of people in rural areas by providing them the livelihood opportunities in various sectors; especially tourism and agriculture. 

About the Chief Minister's Social Assistance (CMSA) Scheme
The Chief Minister's Social Assistance (CMSA) Scheme was launched in Asanang in West Garo Hills in the year 2012. 
Financial aid of 500 rupees per month is given to the beneficiaries of the scheme.

HP selected for Union Government’s pilot programme to train Heads of Government Schools

Himachal Pradesh on 23 July 2014 was selected for a pilot project under a sponsored programme of the Union Government to train Principals and Headmasters of government schools. Other states selected for this programme include Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan.

The training will provide education quality and improvement in the overall system. The programme has been prepared by the National University of Education, Planning and administration (NUEPA).

About the Programme

• Under the unique national programme, a ten day workshop has been organized in Kullu.
• Over sixty principals and headmasters from various government schools will participate in the programme to improve leadership quality and other skills.
• The objective of the programme is to help Principals and Headmasters of government schools in better coordination with other teachers.
• The programme also strives to make the principals and headmasters work as the resource persons to train their colleagues in the schools.

As a part of the programme, 628 identified schools in the state would have on line facilities so that everyone can check day to day activities of these schools. RBI Issued Guidelines for Setting up Trade Receivables Discounting System for MSMEs

The Reserve Bank of India on 23 July 2014 issued draft guidelines for setting up and operating a Trade Receivables Discounting System in order to facilitate financing to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and to help them convert trade receivables into liquid funds. 
The draft guidelines issued were a follow up to a paper titled Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) Factoring-Trade Receivables Exchange published by the RBI in March 2014. The paper highlighted that there was a need for addressing this pan-India issue through setting up of an institutional mechanism for financing trade receivables for MSMEs so as to enable the MSMEs have access to finance.

The Draft Guidelines
• The Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) will provide the platform to bring these participants together for facilitating uploading, accepting, discounting, trading and settlement of the invoices or bills of MSMEs.
• The TReDS may also introduce some random audits to ensure that there is no window dressing and that factoring units uploaded on the exchange are authentic & based on genuine transactions.
• TReDS would put in place a standardized mechanism / process for on-boarding of buyers and sellers on the TReDS. This one-time on boarding process will require the entities to submit all KYC related documents to the TReDS
• The TReDS would be governed by the regulatory framework put in place by the Reserve Bank of India under the Payment and settlement Systems Act 2007. 
• TReDS will not be allowed to assume any credit risk and the minimum paid up voting equity capital shall be 100 crore rupees Further, the TReDS should have a net worth of 100 crore rupees at all times.
• The promoter’s minimum initial contribution to the paid up voting equity capital of TReDS shall be at least 40 per cent which shall be locked in for a period of five years from the date of commencement of business of the TReDS.
• Shareholding by promoters in TReDS in excess of 40 per cent shall be brought down to 40 per cent within three years from the date of commencement of business of TReDS.
• The foreign shareholding in the TReDS would be as per the extant FDI policy. 
• The TReDS should have sound technological basis at the minimum to support its operations.
About the Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS)
Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) is the scheme for setting up and operating an institutional mechanism for facilitating the financing of trade receivables of MSMEs from corporate buyers through multiple financiers. 
The TReDS will facilitate the discounting of both invoices as well as bills of exchange.
The direct participants in the TReDS will be MSME sellers, corporate buyers and financiers, both banks and non-bank (NBFC factors).

Typhoon Matmo struck east of Taiwan

Typhoon Matmo struck east of Taiwan on 22 July 2014. Matmo, with a wind gust of 173 kilometres per hour, was the first tropical storm of 2014 to make landfall on Taiwan.

Due to strong winds and heavy downpour brought by Matmo, roofs were tore off and trees were uprooted.     This resulted into interruption of rail and air service and closure of financial centres. Besides, the Matmo also left nine people injured.

Typhoon Matmo slightly weakened before entering the Taiwan Strait and headed towards China's southeastern Fujian province. Yet the residents of Taiwan have been asked by authorities to take precautions because despite moving away from the island, the typhoon was forecasted to spark more rains in the mountainous areas of the southeast.

In 2013, Typhoon Soulik had struck Taiwan which brought torrential rains and powerful winds and left people dead and at least 100 injured.

In 2009 Typhoon Morakot hit Taiwan which left more than 600 dead. The Morakot was the worst storm to hit Taiwan in half a century.

About Typhoon

The English word typhoon originates from the Japanese word taifū. Typhoon is the regional name in the northwest Pacific for a severe tropical cyclone, whereas hurricane is the regional term in the northeast Pacific and northern Atlantic.

Intensity classifications by Japan's Meteorological Agency:

Tropical depression: Wind speeds not exceeding 33 knots or 61 km per hour
Tropical storm: Wind speeds exceeding 34 knots or 63 km per hour
Severe tropical storm: wind speeds of 48 knots or 89 km per hour 
Typhoon: Wind speeds of 64 knots or 119 km per hour

From 2009 the Hong Kong Observatory started to further divide typhoons into three different classifications:

Typhoon: Wind speeds between 64-79 knots or 118-149 km per hour
Severe typhoon: Wind speeds of 80 knots or 150 km per hour
Super typhoon: Wind speeds of at least 100 knots or 190 km per hour

If measured on Saffir-Simpson scale used by National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center of US, then a typhoon has a speed of 130 knots or 241 km per hour and is equivalent of a strong Category 4 storm.

Google announced to launch Hindi version of Google Maps on Android and PC

Internet search engine giant Google on 22 July 2014 announced to launch its Hindi version of Google Maps.

The Hindi language service will be available both on Android and Desktop platforms, and not on Apple's iOS format. On Android, a user can use Google Maps only he/she has Android version 4.3 (Jelly Bean) and upwards.

To access Google Maps in Hindi on a desktop, the user has to go to the settings wheel at the right bottom of the map and select Hindi. On the Android smartphone, users can choose Hindi as their language option to access the maps in Hindi.

With this application, people will be able to see Hindi names for cities, localities, important roads, as well as popular points of interest such as public parks and schools, on the new Google Maps.

These new labels was created by transliterating English names to Hindi, or, translating the English names to Hindi and ensuring the text resonated with local dialects.

Union Government proposed to set up three Low Cost Airports for Bihar

Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, G.M. Siddeshwara on 22 July 2014 proposed to set up three new low-cost airports in Bihar at Muzaffarpur, Raxaul and Gaya. While Gaya will is an operational custom airport, Raxaul will be a non-operational airport.

The development of airports would depends upon availability of land, availability of mandatory clearances, environmental clearances, traffic projections, and provision of support services by the State Government. The support services include access road to the airport, water supply, power supply, services of State Police and State Fire Staff.

Besides, the Ministry of Aviation also decided to develop Kolhapur airport as a small airport among 50 locations identified across the country. The Ministry also recognized the proposed greenfield airport of Solapur in the same category.

The identification of 50 locations across the country for the development of small airports is being considered as a good move towards pending development of the airports. These airports will be constructed in the tourism circuit or backward areas where connectivity needs to be boosted.

Earlier in the fourth week of July 2014, the Ministry also approved for six new airlines. These are Air One Aviation Private Limited, Zexus Air and Premier Air that eventually want to become national airlines. In addition, Turbo Megha, Air Carnival and Zav Airways that want to operate as regional airlines.

Comment

The unveiling of these steps by the Aviation Ministry can be seen as revival of regional airline policy but the means of achieving it are falling short of expectations. This is because there is still no DGCA-approved blueprint for no-frills airports, and building these small airports could cost anywhere northwards of 70-80 crore rupees, setting up 50 such airports is no easy task.

Also because of myriad issues and lack of encouragement from respective state governments, the regional airline policy has not been able to take off in the manner envisioned.

Furthermore, instead of tying up loose ends and ensuring that these small airports and airlines are viable, the ministry seems to have shown undue haste in clearing such proposals. The government has paid enough lip service in recent weeks on creating airport infrastructure, boosting regional connectivity and enhancing competition among existing airlines. It has been speaking of setting up hundreds of no-frills airports in Tier II and Tier III towns, offering incentives for regional airline startups and getting jet fuel taxation down. However, until the groundwork is done in terms of policy formulation and infrastructure, it is unlikely these plans will take-off anytime soon.

National Geographic launched magazine Explorer for schoolchildren in India

The famed National Geographic on 22 July 2014 launched a special edition of Explorer magazines for schoolchildren in India. With this, India became one of the first countries where the magazine has been launched. The magazine will provide educational resources and new learning solutions for teachers as well as students.

The magazine was launched during the inauguration of National Geographic Learning's Explorer Education Program by the US Ambassador to India Kathleen Stephens at the American Centre in New Delhi. The magazine was launched in the presence of the Vice President of India Hamid Ansari and Publisher of National Geographic Learning, Francis Downey.

The programme includes accessing content through an interactive application, content on its website, large posters, projectable magazine content, monthly magazines and a teacher's guide. There will be four reading levels and seven issues will be published in a calendar year for each level.

About 20 to 199 copies of the Explorer will cost 1800 rupees per year, between 200 to 499 copies 1600 rupees and 500 and more copies would cost 1400 rupees annually.

The application is available for teachers and students across the globe with videos, photography and stories as its content.

About National Geographic

• National Geographic, formerly The National Geographic Magazine, is the official magazine of the National Geographic Society.
• It has been published continuously since its first issue in 1888, nine months after the Society itself was founded.
• It primarily contains articles about geography, history, and world culture.
• In 1995, National Geographic began publishing in Japanese, its first local language edition. The magazine is currently published in many language editions around the world, including English on a worldwide basis.

Indian tennis star Sania Mirza appointed as Brand Ambassador of Telangana

 

Indian tennis star Sania Mirza was appointment as Brand Ambassador of Telangana on 22 July 2014.  Sania Mirza will promote the new state’s interests in India and abroad.

The letter of appointment and a cheque of one crore rupees was handed over to Sania Mirza by the Chief Minister of Telangana K Chandrasekhar Rao in Hyderabad.

About Sania Mirza

• Born in Mumbai on 15 November 1986 and brought up in Hyderabad, she  turned Pro in 2003
• She is the highest ranked female tennis player ever from India, with a career high ranking of 27 in singles and 5 in doubles
• She is the first Indian woman to win a WTA title. She won it at Hyderabad in 2005.
• She also is the first Indian woman to reach Round 3 of a Grand Slam at Australian Open in 2005
• She is also first Indian woman to crack Top 50 in 2005
• She is the first Indian female player to surpass 1 million US dollars in career earnings
• In all she has won 20 WTA doubles titles
• She also has won two Grand Slams in mixed doubles, viz., Australian Open (2012) and French Open (2009). In both the finals she paired with Mahesh Bhupathi.

Indian tennis star Sania Mirza appointed as Brand Ambassador of Telangana

 

 

Indian tennis star Sania Mirza was appointment as Brand Ambassador of Telangana on 22 July 2014.  Sania Mirza will promote the new state’s interests in India and abroad.

The letter of appointment and a cheque of one crore rupees was handed over to Sania Mirza by the Chief Minister of Telangana K Chandrasekhar Rao in Hyderabad.

About Sania Mirza

• Born in Mumbai on 15 November 1986 and brought up in Hyderabad, she  turned Pro in 2003
• She is the highest ranked female tennis player ever from India, with a career high ranking of 27 in singles and 5 in doubles
• She is the first Indian woman to win a WTA title. She won it at Hyderabad in 2005.
• She also is the first Indian woman to reach Round 3 of a Grand Slam at Australian Open in 2005
• She is also first Indian woman to crack Top 50 in 2005
• She is the first Indian female player to surpass 1 million US dollars in career earnings
• In all she has won 20 WTA doubles titles
• She also has won two Grand Slams in mixed doubles, viz., Australian Open (2012) and French Open (2009). In both the finals she paired with Mahesh Bhupathi.

Ram Naik sworn in as 27th Governor of Uttar Pradesh

Ram Naik on 22 July 2014 was sworn in as 27th Governor of Uttar Pradesh in Lucknow. He is a former Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader from Maharashtra.

The oath of secrecy was administered by the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud.

Ram Naik succeeded B L Joshi who resigned from the post of Governor resigned in June 2014. Till the swearing in of Ram Naik, Governor of Uttarakhand Aziz Qureshi held the additional charge of Uttar Pradesh.

He was appointed as Governor of UP by the President Pranab Mukherjee on 14 July 2014.

About Ram Naik

• He was the Union Cabinet Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Ram in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee led NDA government from 1999 to 2004.
• After the creation of Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry in 1963, he holds the distinction of being the only minister to complete full five years as Petroleum and Natural gas minister in one government.
• He was responsible for introducing 5kg cylinders to the needs of families in lower income group in hilly regions as well as urban slums.
• He also introduced CNG in Delhi and Mumbai so as to reduce pollution emitted by diesel-run vehicles.
• As a Minister of State for Railways in 1998 under Vajpayee government, he got established the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation for providing facilities to 76 lakh commuters of the world’s most over-crowded suburban trains in Mumbai.
• He founded Goregaon Pravasi Sangh in 1964 for organizing suburban commuters in Mumbai.
• He was also responsible for starting Special Ladies Local Trains in Mumbai for the first time in world.
• He got elected as Member of Parliament successively for five terms from North Mumbai Lok Sabha constituency as BJP candidate.
• He created a new record for getting elected as BJP MP from Mumbai Lok Sabha constituency for eight times.
• He is a law graduate from Kishinchand Chellaram College in Mumbai.
• He wrote a book titled Saga of Struggles that narrates the case of rehabilitation of people affected from Tarapur Atomic Power Project III and IV. The book is translated version of his original Marathi book Gatha Sangharshachi.

Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo won Indonesian presidential election

Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo won the Indonesian presidential elections on 22 July 2014. He won the election with 53 percent of the vote casted in favour of him

Final result was released by General Elections Commission, known as the KPU, in Jakarta. The results showed that Widodo won 70997859 votes, or 53.15 per cent of the nearly 133 million valid ballots cast. On the other hand, Subianto won 62576444 votes, or 46.85 per cent. Voter turnout was 70.7 per cent.

The election result were released after his opponent, former general Prabowo Subianto withdrew from the presidential election citing massive fraud which was unfair and undemocratic. Subianto was on his third bid for the presidency.

Widodo, a former furniture maker, is known widely as Jokowi

It was the first election that pitted two candidates directly against each other since Indonesia emerged from the long and brutal Suharto dictatorship 16 years ago in 1998.

OECD released global Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on 21 July 2014 released single global standard for automatic exchange of financial account information between jurisdictions.

The Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters calls on governments to obtain detailed account information from their financial institutions and exchange that information automatically with other jurisdictions on an annual basis.

Two Components of the Standard

• Competent Authority Agreement (CAA)
• Common Reporting Standard (CRS)

Main Elements of the Standards for Automatic Exchange

• The Standard provides for annual automatic exchange between governments in the field of financial account information. The financial account information includes balances, interest, dividends, and sales proceeds from financial assets which are reported to governments by financial institutions. It also covers accounts held by individuals and entities, including trusts and foundations.
• The Standards also provides confidentiality clause and safeguards in the exchange of information. For this the countries will need to pass domestic laws as per their respective legal jurisdictions to enable such cooperation.
• Also, the Standards provides that each competent authority needs to notify the other competent authority immediately regarding any breach of confidentiality or failure of safeguards and any sanctions and remedial actions consequently imposed.

The OECD will formally present the Standard to G20 Finance Ministers at their meeting in Cairns, Australia, on 20-21 September 2014.

Background

The new framework is a major development in the fight against black money and important move towards greater transparency and putting an end to banking secrecy in tax matters.

The Standard was developed at the OECD Secreteriat in Paris, France. These Standards were developed under a mandate from the G20 of major economies, endorsed by G20 Finance Ministers in February 2014, and approved by the OECD Council.

More than 65 countries and jurisdictions have already publicly committed to implementation, while more than 40 have committed to a specific and ambitious timetable leading to the first automatic information exchanges in 2017.

Countries and jurisdictions publicly committed to implementation of Automatic Exchange of Information

Andorra, Anguilla, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, People’s Republic of China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Montserrat, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Turks & Caicos Islands, United Kingdom, and United States, and the European Union.

India won 5 medals at 45th International Physics Olympiad (IPHO2014) held at Astana

The Indian Contingent won five medals in 45th International Physics Olympiad (IPHO2014) held in Astana, Kazakhstan from 13 July to 21 July 2014 at the Nazarbayev University in Astana. India won 2 gold medals and 3 silver medals in the Olympiad.

Aniket Bajpai (Maharashtra) and Chitraang Murdia (Rajasthan) won gold medals while Bure Vidya Sagar Nadin, Srikakulam (AP) Gurukirat Singh Bajwa, Hoshiarpur (Punjab) and Rupanshu Ganvir (Maharashtra) secured silver medals.

The Indian contingent was accompanied by the Dr. Praveen Pathak, of Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, TIFR, Mumbai and others.

The 45th International Physics Olympiad (IPHO2014) was organized by the Ministry of Education and Science of Kazakhstan. The sponsor of this event was Exxon Mobil Kazakhstan.

In the IPHO2014 84 countries participated with 374 of the brightest students from across the world in the competition.

About the International Physics Olympiad

• The International Physics Olympiad is held every year as a competition among the high school students.
• PhO started in the year 1967 in order to recognize the increasing importance of Physics in Science and Technology fields as well as in terms of general education.
• The first International Physics Olympiad took place in 1967 in Warsaw (Poland) and 5 countries participated in it, viz. Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria.
• The International Physics Olympiad includes theoretical as well as experimental sections. The competition, which takes place over two days, involves theoretical exam on the Day 1 and experimental exam on Day 2. The students get 5 hours to solve the questions on both the stages.

Union Government notified Public Servants Rules, 2014

The Union Government in the third week of July 2014 notified Public Servants (Furnishing of Information and Annual Return of Assets and Liabilities and the Limits for Exemption of Assets in Filing Returns) Rules, 2014.

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) under Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions notified the rules under Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013.
As per the Public Servants Rules 2014, it has been made mandatory for all Government employees to file declarations of their assets and liabilities and those of their spouses and dependent children.
Declarations to Be Made under Public Servants Rules, 2014
• New forms for filing the returns have been issued by the Government. The forms will seek information on cash in hand, bank deposits, investment in bonds, debentures, shares and units in companies or mutual funds, insurance policies, provident fund, personal loans and advance given to a person or any entity, among others.
• As per the rules of the Act, the employees will have to declare motor vehicles, aircraft, yachts or ships, gold and silver jewellery and bullion possessed by them, their spouses and dependent children.
• They should also give detail of their immovable properties and statement of debts and other liabilities on first appointment or as on March 31 of every financial year.
• These declarations are in addition to such returns being filed by the government employees under various services rules.
• The employees, who have already filed their declarations, information and annual returns of property, shall file revised declarations as on 1 August 2014, to the competent authority on or before 15 September 15 2014.
However, the competent authority may exempt a public servant from filing the information in respect of any asset if its value does not exceed his or her four months basic pay or two lakh rupees, whichever is higher.
The Union Government is also under the process of modifying other rules, including the ones associated with search committee's working. 

The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013
The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act was given asset by the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 1 January 2014. The Act provides for establishing Lokpal for the Union as well as Lokayuktas for the States in order to inquire the corruption charges against Government officials.
According to the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 a public servant shall furnish to the competent authority the information relating to the assets of which he, his spouse and his dependent children, jointly or severally, own. He is also mandated to declare his liabilities and that of his spouse and his dependent children, as per the Act.

PM Narendra Modi paid first visit to BARC

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) under Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) in Mumbai on 21 July 2014. This was his first visit to the DAE after becoming the Prime Minister of India in May 2014.

He was received by Dr. R.K Sinha, Secretary, DAE and Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC).

During his visit, he was briefed on India's atomic energy programme; DAE's extensive research and development and education programmes; and DAE's contributions in other areas such as healthcare, especially cancer treatment, food security, solid waste management and water purification.

 

Key Highlights of the Visit

• On his visit, the PM explained about the energy security need, which is based on clean and reliable sources and is critical driver of India's rapid and sustained long term development.
• In implementing, DAE's ambitious expansion programme, the PM assured complete support from the Union Government and asked DAE to meet the target of increasing the capacity by three times from the present level of 5780 MWe by 2023-24 within the projected cost.
• Prime Minister told DAE that nuclear safety and security were of the highest priority and asked DAE to ensure that India's standards and practices were the most advanced in the world.
• The PM asked DAE to pay special attention to the local communities in planning and implementing nuclear power projects.
• Prime Minister lauded the contribution of DAE scientists in the critical area of cancer research and treatment through the Tata Memorial Hospital.
• He expressed hope that DAE would soon implement the planned projects in Chandigarh and Vishakapatnam and would take one of the most advanced standards of cancer treatment in Asia to other parts of India.
• PM also directed DAE to make special efforts to expand its research and extension on national scale applications of atomic science in areas like healthcare, waste management, water treatment, agriculture and food preservation.

Year-Long Celebrations for Diamond Jubilee of DAE

In context of the Diamond Jubilee of DAE which will be celebrated on 3 August 2014, the Prime Minister asked DAE to chalk out programme of year-long celebrations, with special focus on the various human and developmental dimensions of atomic science, with special outreach to the youth in schools and colleges throughout the country.

 

Apart from this, climate change is also a major reason that acts as a threat to population of wild tigers. Climate change is leading to rise in sea levels which poses risk of wiping out of the forests, particularly in Sundarban region, and hence the remaining habitat of the tiger population in this region. Study of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) suggests that sea level will rise by nearly a foot by 2070, which is enough to destroy nearly entire Sunderbans tiger habitat. 
World’s largest number of tiger populations is majorly found in Sundarbans (a large mangrove forest area shared by India and Bangladesh) located on northern coast of Indian Ocean. 
About International Tiger Day 
The decision to observe 29 July as World Tiger Day was taken in 2010 at the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit because at that moment wild tigers were too close to extinction. In the summit, the governments from 13 tiger-range countries committed to double the number of wild tigers by 2022.

Union Civil Aviation Minister announced to Upgrade Tirupati Airport to International Standar

The Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju on 21 July 2014 announced that the Tirupati airport in Andhra Pradesh will be upgraded to international standards by June 2015. 
Tirupati along with Kadapa, Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh and Warangal in Telangana are the sites which have been identified for promotion of regional air connectivity.

The construction of Kadapa airport in Andhra Pradesh has already been completed. 
Standard for Modernisation and Upgradation of Airport Infrastructure
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the United Nations Agency defines International Standard Atmosphere for an airport. According to the ICAO standards as well as recommendations, the detailed master plan of selected airports is prepared and revised by operating agency. 
The upgradation as well as modernization of the airports should be done as per these master plans only. Deviation from master plan leads to seeking approval from Operating Agency’s Board as well as statutory Government agency, both of which are designated primarily for this purpose. 

Characteristics Kept in Mind while Airport Upgradation to International Standards
A few main characteristics should be kept in mind for upgrading an airport to the international standards and these include:
• Safety
• Passenger facilities 
• Aircraft and cargo handling
These three factors play a crucial role in decision of the funds to be allocated for modernisation and upgradation schemes of the airports.

R S Sharma Expert Committee constituted on Cost Records and Cost Audits

Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs on 19 July 2014 constituted R S Sharma Expert Committee on Cost Records and Cost Audits. The Committee will submit the report within three months.

The Expert Committee will review the Companies (Cost Records and Audit) Rules 2014 and the need to have a comprehensive policy towards the role of the cost professions in the corporate and other sectors of economy.

The Composition of the Committee

• R. S. Sharma, former Chairman and Managing Director, ONGC - Chairman
• R.K. Jain, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare - Member
• Chandra Wadhwa, former President, ICWAI - Member
• Aruna Sethi, Adviser (Cost), Ministry of Corporate Affairs - Member-Convener

Terms of Reference

• To examine the Companies (Cost Records and Audits) Rules, 2014 including the prescribed classes of companies/industries/sectors and threshold limits
• To examine the current cost Audit scenario in the country and to suggest measures to optimally utilise  Cost Audit as an instrument of promoting transparency and efficiency in business and industry
• To identify and suggest principles that govern assignment of greater opportunities to cost professionals
• To suggest measures to enhance the utility of Cost Audit Reports to the government and other regulators/related agencies and the manner and extent of their filing.
• To study prevalent international practices relating to Cost Records in large economies and draw comparison to current Indian scenario
• To look into and make suitable recommendations about issues incidental to the above.

The expert committee was constituted in lieu of the concern expressed by the Council of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India (CICAI) over notification of the Companies (Cost Records and Audit) Rules 2014.

UNSC adopted the resolution for an international probe into MH-17 plane crash

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on 21 July 2014 adopted a resolution demanding an international probe into the shooting down of Malaysian airplane MH-17 in eastern Ukraine on 17 July 2014.

The resolution was adopted by the 15-member UNSC unanimously and it condemned the shooting down of MH-17 in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine in the strongest terms. The incident resulted in the tragic loss of 298 lives.

The resolution also demanded that pro-Russia rebels allow unfettered access to the Grabove village, the crash site of Malaysian plane MH17 in eastern Ukraine.

Further, the Council demanded that the armed groups in control of the crash site and the surrounding area refrain from any actions that may compromise the integrity of the crash site.

The Council also demanded that those responsible for this incident to be held to account and that all States cooperate fully with efforts to establish accountability.

Council members also insisted on the dignified, respectful and professional treatment and recovery of the bodies of the victims.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim Arrived in India

The World Bank President Jim Yong Kim arrived in New Delhi, India on 21 July 2014 on his three-day visit. During his visit, he will meet Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi for understanding the development priorities in India. Jim Yong Kim is scheduled to meet the Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley also.

Activities to Be Undertaken during Jim Yong Kim’s Visit
Jim Yong Kim will also visit the World Bank assisted project sites in Tamil Nadu in order to find out about rural-urban transformation challenges. 
Important Facts
The International Finance Corporation, which is the private sector arm of the World Bank Group has so far mobilized 1 billion dollars offshore rupee bond program, which was aimed at providing strength to the capital markets of India as well as for attracting the foreign investments. 
India is also the place for largest operations of the the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Development Association (IDA) and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). 
The assistance received by India by the World Bank Group between July 2013 and June 2014 amounted to 6.4 billion dollars and this included 100 million dollars from the Clean Technology Fund, 2 billion dollars from IBRD and 3.1 billion dollars from IDA. All these resources are administers of the World Bank Group.

Nagoya Protocol on Biodiversity Received Necessary Ratifications

The Nagoya Protocol, in the third week of July 2014, received the 50th instrument of ratification which was mandatory for it. The Instrument of Ratification will become effective on 12 October 2014, i.e. 90 days after the completion of formalities required for ratification. The protocol is meant for creation of incentives for conservation of biodiversity.

Ratification of Nagoya Protocol: A Crucial Step for Achieving Global Aichi Biodiversity Targets
Union Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate explained receiving the ratification of Nagoya Protocol as crucial step meant for achievement of first of the international Aichi Biodiversity Targets. This also explained the leadership role played by India in context with biodiversity, on the global podium. 
India as CoP President and Entry into Landmark International Treaty
It is important to note here that India was the host to Convention on Biodiversity in October 2012 in Hyderabad. Also, India, at present, is the President of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The early entry into this international treaty called Nagoya Protocol had therefore been of paramount importance to India as the President of CoP. 
India’s Efforts in getting the treaty Signed 
The Nagoya Protocol was ratified by only 44 countries as of May 2014. But India took the issue to UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi in June 2014 and through negotiations, got its way to signing of the treaty.

About Nagoya Protocol
• The Nagoya Protocol is primarily an international agreement.
• The aim of the protocol is to share the benefits which arise from the use of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way.
• The Protocol is also meant to create incentives, which in turn, shall be used for conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources. 
• The Nagoya Protocol is meant to enhance the contribution of biodiversity to development as well as human being. 
• The Protocol was adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity at its 10th meeting in 2010 in Nagoya, Japan.

SEBI issued draft guidelines for infrastructure investment trusts

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 17 July 2014 announced draft regulations for infrastructure investment trusts.  The trust will allow companies to monetize their infrastructure projects.

The infrastructure investment trusts aims to provide easier financing options to developers of public works.

Draft Regulations issued by SEBI

• Infrastructure trusts can raise money either through a public issue or a private placement, with a minimum issue size of 250 crore rupees.
• If an investment trust proposed to invest at least 80 percent of its assets in completed and revenue generating infrastructure assets, it has to raise funds through a public issue of units. These sales will need to have a minimum subscription size and trading lot of at least 5 lakh rupees.
• Of the remaining 20%, such trusts can invest a maximum of 10% in under-construction infrastructure projects.
• If such a trust proposes to invest more than 10% of its assets in under-construction public works, it has to mandatorily raise funds through private placement from qualified institutional buyers (typically banks and other financial institutions) and corporate bodies only.
• For such trusts, the minimum investment and trading lot will be of 1 crore rupees and a part of the assets under such trusts will have to be mandatorily invested in at least one completed and revenue generating project and in at least one pre-COD (commercial operation date) project.
• Listing would be mandatory for both publicly offered and privately placed infrastructure investment trusts.
• Both categories of investments trusts may also sell a minimum 5 percent stake to strategic investors who would typically be banks or multilateral finance institutions.
• The aggregate consolidated borrowing of such investment trusts and their underlying SPVs should never exceed 49 percent of the value of the trust’s assets. However, this may exclude any debt infused by the trust in the underlying SPV.
• For any borrowing exceeding 25 percent of the value of assets, the trust will be required to secure approval from unit holders and a credit rating from a SEBI-registered credit rating agency.

Main Functions of trusts

Such trusts will be able to invest in infrastructure projects only directly or through special purpose vehicles (SPVs). A special purpose vehicle is a company created for a specific purpose.

For public-private partnership (PPP) projects, investments can be routed only be through an SPV.

A PPP is one that usually involves a private entity building public infrastructure that is owned by the government, but from which it earned revenue over the duration of its agreement with the government.

Objective of Trust

The trust will attract long term finance from foreign and domestic sources including the NRIs (non-resident Indians).

These structures would reduce the pressure on the banking system while also make available fresh equity.

Y Sudharshan Rao appointed as Chairman of ICHR

Yellapragada Sudharshan Rao on 25 June 2014 was appointed as Chairman of Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). He replaced Basudev Chatterjee.  He would serve the council for a term of three years.

Y.S. Rao taught at Department of History, Kakatiya University. He had worked at Kakatiya University for about 40 years. He had vast experience in teaching and researching.

He guided eight PhD and 15 MPhil students and has about 40 research papers published in various national and international journals to his credit.

About ICHR

The Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) is an agency under the Department of Higher Education in the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development.

ICHR was established in 1972. It is registered under the Societies Registration Act of 1860 with the Department of Industries of Delhi Government, Delhi.

ICHR supports the academic and empirical research of scholars using funds received from the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development. ICHR does not carry out any historical research of its own.

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg won 2014 German Grand Prix

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg of Germany on 20 July 2014 won the German Grand Prix. This is his first German GP and his fourth win of 2014.The race was held at the Hockenheimring near Hockenheim in the Germany.

With this, Rosberg became the second German to triumph at Hockenheim since Michael Schumacher won in 2006. The other one was Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel who won German GP in 2013.

William-Mercedes driver Valterri Bottas secured second place whereas Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain secured third place.

After the German Grand Prix, Rosberg leads the championship standings with 190 points, with Hamilton on 176 points and Daniel Ricciardo third with 106 points.

After the German GP, the team standings was led by Mercedes with 366 points followed by Red Bull Racing-Renault at 188 points and Williams-Mercedes at 121 points.

German Grand Prix 2014 is the tenth round of the 2014 Formula One season, and marked the 75th running of the German Grand Prix.

Deadline for reaching an agreement on Iran's Nuclear Programme extended till November 24

The deadline for reaching an agreement on Iran's Nuclear Programme was extended till 24 November 2014 on 18 July 2014. The decision to extend the deadline was announced by the high representative of the European Union for foreign affairs and security policy Catherine Ashton and the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif.

The decision was taken after the negotiations between P5+1 countries and Iran along with European Union held in Vienna, Austria failed.

The extension of deadline will enable Iran access another 2.8 billion US dollars of its cash frozen abroad during that period, though most sanctions on the Islamic Republic stayed in place.

Earlier on 24 November 2014, after the election of Hassan Rouhani as 7th President of Iran, the P5+1 countries and Iran had agreed on a Joint Plan of Action in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Joint Plan of Action that came into effect on 20 January 2014, aimed to arrive on an agreement by 20 June 2014. Within these six months, Iran and the six countries agreed to draw up a comprehensive nuclear deal which will lead to a lifting of the whole sanctions on Iran. The six-month deal allowed Iran to receive 4.2 billion US dollars in funds held abroad.

Background

The dispute over Iran's Nuclear Programme is decade old. On the one hand the western powers led by the US alleges that Iran is using its nuclear programme for enriching uranium and could be used for developing weapons of mass destruction. As a result, P5 + 1 countries want Iran to significantly scale back its uranium enrichment programme to make sure it cannot produce nuclear bombs.

On the other hand, Iran refutes this stand and argues it is its sovereign right to continue its nuclear programme so as to meet its huge energy needs. Further Iran says the programme is entirely peaceful and wants sanctions that have severely damaged its oil-dependent economy to be lifted as soon as possible.

Although Iran agreed to take several steps, including keeping neutralizing it’s most sensitive uranium stocks (uranium that has been enriched to a level of 20 percent purity) by converting it to fuel for a research reactor in Tehran used to make medical isotopes. However, the core issue is still not resolved.

The core issue is that Iran says it would be willing to delay development of an industrial-scale uranium enrichment programme for up to seven years and to keep the 19000 centrifuges it has installed so far for this purpose. This is too many centrifuges that is being demanded by Iran to be kept with alleges western powers.

The P5 + 1 Group of countries comprises of five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and Germany. The permanent five members of UNSC are Russia, China, the US, Britain and France.

Irishman Rory McIlroy won British Golf Open 2014

Irishman Rory McIlroy won the British Golf Open Championship 2014 held at Royal Liverpool Golf course in Holyake, United Kingdom on 20 July 2014.

Spain's Sergio Garcia (L) and US golfer Rickie Fowler finished two strokes behind McIlory to finish at second position.

The 25-year-old McIlory from Northern Ireland won the championship with a 17-under 271. With this McIlroy joined golfers Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus to win three of the four majors in golf that complete the Grand Slam, by the time they reached 25.

He also became the first European to have won three Majors.

Rory McIlory has so far not won the US Masters Tournament, the only Major that eludes him in completing a Career Grand Slam. The Majors won by him are: US Open in 2011, USPGA Championship in 2012 and the British Open in 2014.

The modern Majors (or golf championship) that makes Career Grand Slam

US Masters Tournament hosted as an invitational by and played at Augusta National Golf Club

U.S. Open hosted by the USGA and played at various locations in the USA

The British Open hosted by The R&A and always played on a links course at various locations in the UK

PGA Championship (USPGA) hosted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America and played at various locations in the USA

Only five golfers have won all four of golf's modern Majors at any time during their careers, an achievement which is often referred to as a Career Grand Slam. 
These golfers are: Gene Sarazen (USA), Ben Hogan (USA), Gary Player (South Africa), Jack Nicklaus (USA), and Tiger Woods (USA). Woods and Nicklaus not only have a Career Grand Slam, they have won each of the four Majors three times.

About Men's Grand Slam

The Grand Slam in professional golf is winning all of golf's major championships in the same calendar year. Bobby Jones of USA was the only golfer to have won Grand Slam in golf. The term Grand Slam, in fact, was first applied to him in 1930. In 1930 he won four major golf events. These were: The Open Championship, the U.S. Open, the U.S. Amateur and The Amateur Championship.

Till the founding of The Masters in 1934 (that started modern Majors) the national amateur championships of the US and the UK were considered majors along with the two national opens.

PM Narendra Modi suggested qualitative changes in PMNRF functioning

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 19 July 2014 suggested certain qualitative changes in the functioning of Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF). The suggested qualitative changes would be on the lines of Gujarat Model.

The suggested changes will target the selection of beneficiaries and will give priority to the poor and children.

Besides, PM Modi also reviewed the functioning of the other Prime Minister's funds -- the PM's discretionary fund, the PM's National Defence Fund, the PM's fund for student's aid, and the PM's fund for folk art.

Suggested Qualitative Changes

• Selection of beneficiaries should be done in a more comprehensive, scientific and humanitarian basis, giving priority to children, poor and cases from government hospitals.
• Cases involving life-threatening diseases should be accorded priority and applications should be decided on need and merit
• Pendency in appeals for help should be minimised
• The draw to select the cases should be conducted in a manner that does not leave out any genuine case
• A letter from the Prime Minister should be sent to all beneficiaries
• Beneficiaries whose appeals have been approved for grant of relief will be informed through an SMS alert

About Prime Minister National Relief Fund

The PM National Relief Fund (PMNRF) was established in 1948 with public contributions to assist displaced persons from Pakistan. The PMNRF fund consists entirely of public contributions and does not get any budgetary support. The corpus of the fund is invested with banks in fixed deposits. Disbursements are made with the approval of the Prime Minister.

The resources of the PMNRF are utilised primarily to render immediate relief to families of those killed in natural calamities like floods, cyclones and earthquakes and to the victims of major accidents and riots. Assistance from PMNRF is also rendered for medical treatment like heart surgeries, kidney transplantation, cancer treatment etc. Om Prakash Kohli sworn in as the Governor of Gujarat

Om Prakash Kohli on 16 July 2014 took oath of office as Governor of Gujarat. He succeeded Kamla Beniwal who was transferred to Mizoram by the President of India.

His oath of the office and secrecy was administered by Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court Bhaskar Bhattacharya. He was appointed as the Governor of Gujarat by the President on 14 July 2014 along with new governors for Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Nagaland.

About Om Prakash Kohli
• Om Prakash Kohli (79) is a veteran leader of BJP 
• He is a former Rajya Sabha member (1994-2000)
• He was the Delhi unit BJP president during 1991-95 and 2009-10
• He is an MA in Hindi from University of Delhi 
• For over three-decades, he has served as a lecturer at Hansraj College and Deshbandhu College of Delhi University. He retired from service as a reader in 1994.
• During the emergency period, he was arrested under Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) and lodged in Delhi, Agra and Varanasi jails for 19 months

RBI eased the infrastructure financing norms to encourage infrastructure development

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 15 July 2014 announced to ease the infrastructure financing norms in order to encourage infrastructure development and affordable housing.

The RBI exempted long-term bonds from mandatory regulatory norms of Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), Priority Sector Lending (PSL) and Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) if the money raised is used for funding of infrastructure projects.

Further, it asked the Banks to issue long-term bonds with a minimum maturity of seven years to raise resources for lending to long-term projects in infrastructure sub-sectors and affordable housing.

The objective of easing infra norms is to mitigate the Asset-Liability Management (ALM) problems faced by banks in extending project loans to infrastructure and core industries sectors. Further it would also ease the raising of long term resources for project loans to infrastructure and affordable housing sectors.

The easing of infrastructure norms are in pursuance of Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s budget speech in which he sought banks to extend long-term loans to infrastructure sector with flexible structuring to absorb potential adverse contingencies. This process of extending loans is sometimes known as the 5:25 structure.

Under the 5:25 structure, bank may fix longer amortisation period for loans to projects in infrastructure and core industries sectors with periodic refinancing, say every five years.

B Ashok took charge as Chairman of IOC

B Ashok on 16 July 2014 took charge as Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the India’s largest oil firm.

His appointment was cleared by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi before leaving for the 6th BRICS Summit.

He was to succeed R S Butola who retired from service on 31 May 2014 on attaining superannuation age of 60 years. Since a full-time chairman was not appointed in time, R K Malhotra, Director (R&D) and senior most Director on IOC board, was given additional charge.

Malhotra retired in June 2014 and A M K Sinha, Director (Planning and Business Development) was given the additional charge.

B Ashok, Executive Director (Retail Sales) was chosen for the post of Director by the Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB) in October 2013, but the previous UPA government could not appoint him before its tenure ended.

Ashok is a mechanical engineer from College of Engineering, Guindy, Madras University and a Post-Graduate in Management from National Management Programme of Management Development Institute.

Veteran actress Suchitra Sen's house to be converted into a museum

Veteran Indian film actress, Suchitra Sen’s ancestral home in Pabna district of Bangladesh will be converted into a museum. The decision of converting the house as a museum was passed by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh on 10 July 2014.
The court ordered to take over the house immediately from Imam Ghazali Institute that is run by Jamaat-e-Islami that had occupied the house for decades.

Suchitra sen, born as Roma Dasgupta Krishna in 1931 spent her childhood in Pabna’s Gopalpur area of Bangladesh. Her family moved to India during the 1947 Partition. 

About Suchitra Sen 
• Suchitra was an Indian film actress who worked in both Bengali and Hindi films 
• She was the first Bengali actress to be awarded at international film festival in 1963. She won the silver medal for Best Actress for Saat Paake Bandha at Russian Film Festival.
• In 1972, she was awarded the Padma Shri, one of the highest civilian awards in India
• In 2005, she refused the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest cinematic award in India
• In 2012, she was conferred the West Bengal Government's highest honour: Banga Bibhushan
• Suchitra was born on 6 April 1931 and died on 17 January 2014

7th BRICS Summit to be held in Russian city of Ufa

Ufa: 7th BRICS Summit to be held in 2015

7th BRICS Summit will be held in Russian city of Ufa in 2015. The announcement was made in Fortaleza Declaration on 16 July 2014 on the sidelines of 6th BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil.

Ufa is the capital city of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia, and the industrial, economic, scientific and cultural centre of the republic.

Brazil, India, China and South Africa conveyed their appreciation to Russia for its offer to host the Seventh BRICS Summit in 2015 in the city of Ufa and extend their full support to that end.

The sixth summit was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Xi Jinping of China, Jacob Zuma of South Africa and Dilma Rousseff of Brazil.

About BRICS

The term BRIC was first used in 2001 by international investor firm Goldman Sachs in their Global Economics Paper No. 66, The World Needs Better Economic BRIC.

The first summit of the leaders of BRIC countries was held in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in June 2009. Brasilia hosted the 2nd BRICS summit in 2010, followed by Sanya in China in 2011, New Delhi in 2012 and Durban in 2013.

In global geopolitics, the acronym BRICS has a special character and weight as the five countries comprise 20 per cent of global GDP amounting to 24 trillion dollars at PPP, 40 per cent of the world’s population and 1/4th of the world’s landmass.

The BRICS is a unique grouping in so far as it’s not a geography-bound grouping like the EU or the ASEAN; or a commodity-based club, like the OPEC, or a security-based alliance such as the NATO. What provides mortar to cement the grouping is the joint strategic will of BRICS countries to reconfigure the world order and engage the world in search of inclusive growth and sustainable solutions.

Ramayana month started in Kerala temples

Ramayana month in Kerala temples - Karkkidakam, the last month of the Malayalam Calendar is observed as Ramayana month 
Kerala on 17 July 2014 started observing Ramayana month in the temples. In Malayalam it is termed as the Ramayana Masam. 
During this month the temples and homes of the state recites Adyatma Ramayana Kilippattu written by Thunjath Ezhuthachan for the 31 days. Ezhuthachan is regarded as the father of Malayalam literature.

The reading of epic Ramayana begins on the first day of the month and is completed on the last day of the month Karkkidakom, which falls on 16 August 2014. The Ramayana is recited by the elder members’ everyday in the evenings after lighting traditional lamp nilavilakku. 
During the observation of the Ramayana month several competitions and cultural activities based on Ramayana is organised across the state. This unique custom has been preserved across the state over the centuries. 
Karkkidakam (July - August) is the last month of Malayalam calendar and is considered as month of rain and scarcity (Panjamaasom). It brings good luck and prosperity to the families as well as spiritual strength to go through different difficulties that comes during monsson. 
Karkkidakam month comes ahead of Chingam that brings colourful festival of Onam for the Malayalis.

Meghalaya saluted its heroes of WW1 on Garo Labour Corps Day

95th Garo Labour Corps Day was observed in Meghalaya on 16 July 2014. On this day the State saluted and paid homage to the heroes of World War I. The homage was paid to the 500 Garo men, who were recruited by British 96 years ago in 1917 in the 69th Garo Labour Corps. The selected men were sent to France to help the Allied forces during the War.These recruits from distant places of the state made roads and carried goods during the war at different places in France i.e. Puisieux, Bucquoy, La Chapellette, Brusle and others. The historian and academician, Milton Sangma has documented the story of courage and bravery of the Garo men in his book on Garo Labour Corps. 
The state remembered those heroes of the war in a special commemorative ceremony – the Garo Labour Corps Day. The tributes were paid at the cenotaph built in the memory of the Garo soldiers at Tura, the headquarters of West Garo Hill district. During the homage, gun salute was given and wreaths were laid. 
Garo Labour Corps Day is celebrated on 16 July because on this day the Garo men returned to India at Tura in Meghalaya from Mersailles in France.

India and Brazil signed three agreements to strengthen the bilateral relation

India and Brazil on 16 July 2014 signed three agreements during the sixth BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil. The agreement was signed by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff at the Brazilian President official residence the Itamaraty Palace.

Narendra Modi was on a visit to Brazil to attend 6th BRICS Summit being held in Fortaleza, Brazil form 15 July to 16 July 2014. 
The three agreements signed between the two countries are
• MoU on Cooperation in the Field of Environment 
• Agreement on Space
• MoU on Cooperation in the Establishment of a consultation mechanism on mobility and consular issues.
MoU on Environment
In the field of Environment, India and Brazil mutually agreed to extend cooperation on Climate change; Biodiversity; Afforestation in arid areas; Water conservation; Protection of wetlands and Waste management. Waste management includes Management of agricultural waste and electronic waste; Management of waste water management; Use of bio-fuels; Air and water quality management; Environmental information systems.
The cooperation in environment between the two countries will be in the form of exchange of information and documentation and collaborative projects. For this two countries agreed to set up an Indo-Brazil Joint Working Group on Environment. The Joint group will see that the contents of the MOU are implemented. 
Agreement on Space
The two countries agreed on Implementing Arrangement Establishing Cooperation in Augmentation of a Brazilian Earth Station for Receiving and Processing Data from Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) Satellites.

Other Agreements
The two countries also agreed to take steps to further expand and diversify trade and investment flows and deepen cooperation in agriculture and dairy science, conventional and renewable energy, space research and application, defence, cyber security and environment conservation. 
They also agreed to intensify their cooperation in international forums and multilateral institutions, including the G 20. 
As leaders of G 4 countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff called urgent progress on reforms of the United Nations, including the Security Council, by the time of the 70th anniversary of the UN in 2015.

Australia’s Senate voted to repeal Carbon tax

Australia's Senate on 17 July 2014 voted to repeal the carbon tax. The Australian Senate voted by 39 to 32 votes to repeal the tax. With this Australia became the first country in the world to abolish carbon tax.

The repealing of the carbon tax will now be replaced with Direct Action Plan, if Senate passes it. Direct Action Plan is a 2.55 Australian dollars taxpayer-funded plan under which industries will be paid to reduce emissions and use cleaner energy.

The carbon tax was passed in July 2012 by the previous Labor government headed by Julia Gillard. The tax was levied on the 348 biggest polluters. The tax saw 348 of Australia's biggest companies pay 23 Australian dollars (22.60 US dollars) for each tonne of CO2 they emitted.

Comment

The repeal of carbon tax is a major victory for Prime Minister Tony Abbott of Liberal-National coalition. He had promised to repeal the carbon tax in his election manifesto in June 2013. The repeal would give a fillip to the Abbott government’s Economic Action Strategy.

However, the repeal of carbon tax has been criticized by the environmentalists. They cite it as a major setback in fighting global warming and global CO2 trading. This is because Australia is one of the world's biggest carbon emitters on a per capita basis and has world's third largest emissions trading scheme (ETS) after Europe and Guangdong.

It might also affect Australia's Renewable Energy Target scheme (ETS). Australia’s ETS was designed to ensure that 20 per cent of Australia's electricity comes from renewable by 2020.

Australia also had committed unconditionally to reducing its overall emissions by 5 per cent compared with 2000 levels by 2020.

About Carbon Tax

A carbon tax is a tax on energy sources which emit carbon dioxide. It is a pollution tax, which some economists favour because they tax a bad rather than a good (such as income). Carbon taxes address a negative externality. Externalities arise when an individual production or consumption activity imposes costs or benefits on others.

By placing a cost on these negative externalities the underlying purpose of a carbon tax is to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and thereby slow global warming.

The first carbon tax was enacted in Finland in 1990, with a small tax on fuels (except for biofuels including peat).

Prehistoric rock paintings depicting aliens and UFOs found in Chhattisgarh

Prehistoric rock paintings that depict aliens and UFOs were found in Caves of Charama village in Kanker district of Bastar region of Chhattisgarh. As per the preliminary dating, the pictures are at least 10000 years old.
The cave was found by archaeologists led by J R Bhagat. The caves are located about 130km from Raipur between village Chandeli and Gotitola.

Depiction of the prehistoric paintings discovered by archaeologists
• Humanoids with featureless faces (nose and mouth are missing)
• Humanoids are seen holding weapon like object 
• The fan-like antenna and three legs of vehicles stand resembling UFOs depicted in Hollywood movies
• The pictures show these people in suitcase-like attire

The paintings on the cave have been done in hard natural colours and hence these paintingshave lasted for so long.
The findings suggest that humans in prehistoric times might have seen or imagined beings from other planets which still generated curiosity among people. To further do research on the found paintings, Chhattisgarh state department of archaeology and culture is planning to seek help from ISRO and NASA. 
According to the villagers, the images depicted on the cave were worshipped by their ancestors who referred these images as Rohela people – small-sized peoples. These small-sized peoples would come from the sky and take the peoples in a round flying like object.

Rahul Dravid elected as member of Laureus World Sports Academy

Indian cricket legend Rahul Dravid on 16 July 2014 was elected as the member of Laureus World Sports Academy. He is the 47th member of the Academy.
After his election to the Academy, Dravid (nicknamed The Wall) met and played cricket with the young coaches of the Urban Academy of London’s East End. He was joined by fellow Academy member Steve Waugh, the Australian cricketing legend, who is the most successful captain in the history of Test Cricket. The young coaches of the Academy were being trained with support from Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.

Other Indian cricketing legend who is the member of the Academy is Kapil Dev.
About Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid started his Test career at Lord’s Cricket Ground in 1996 against England scoring 95 runs. He retired from Test Cricket in 2012 becoming the fourth-highest run scorer in Test cricket after Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis. He is the second Indian cricketer to score more than 10000 runs in both the Test Cricket and ODIs. He also is the first and the only cricketer to score a century in all the ten Test-playing nations.
Laureus World Sports Academy
The Laureus World Sports Academy is a unique association of 47 of the greatest living sporting legends from sports as diverse as football, tennis, athletics, skateboarding and motor racing. The members of the Academy believe in the power of sport to break down barriers and bringing people together to improve lives of young people around the world. 
Laureus comprises 
• The Laureus World Sports Academy
• The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation 
• The Laureus World Sports Awards
All these three together harness the power of sport to promote social change and celebrate sporting excellence.

Laureus Ambassadors
Laureus Ambassadors are a select group of both current and retired sportsmen and women who have achieved sporting greatness or made significant contributions to the sporting community during their careers.

Bashar al-Assad sworn in as President of Syria

Bashar al-Assad was sworn in as Syria’s President in Damascus for a seven-year term on 16 July 2014. With this he became the President for the third consecutive term. He was re-elected after a presidential election that was held in June 2014. 
Assad won 88.7 percent of the votes in the first multi-candidate election that was conducted only in the areas of Syria which were under government control.

After his swearing-in, Assad vowed to fight terrorism until security was restored to all of the country. However, he also promised to offer national reconciliation to opponents.
He has defied calls to step down since an uprising began in March 2011. Since then around 170000 people have been killed and more than nine by The weDownload Manager">million by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> people have been forced out from their homes. The displaced people have been either within the country or are as refugees in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and other countries. According to Syrian Observatory for Human Rights based in Britain, since the election in June 2014, 4743 civilians have been killed.

PM Narendra Modi met Russian President Putin in Fortaleza

The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Fortaleza, Brazil on 15 July 2014. He met the Russian President Putin on the sidelines of Sixth BRICS Summit. The meeting was the first-summit level interaction of PM Narendra Modi with Russian President.

During the 40-minute meeting, PM favoured broadening of the special and privileged strategic partnership with Russia in nuclear, defence and energy sectors and invited President Vladimir Putin to visit Kudankulam atomic power project during his trip in December 2014.

PM emphasized that India is committed to taking the relationship forward and the focus is to broaden the strategic partnership including in the areas of defence, nuclear energy, space, energy, trade and investment, people-to-people contacts and addressing regional and global challenges.

Also, PM stressed on strengthening the issue of liberal visa regime, especially students going for studies. President Putin acknowledged that there was a case for looking at it.

The two leaders looked forward to their Annual Summit in Delhi in December 2014 as an opportunity to outline a bold vision and roadmap for their relationship in the years ahead.

Units 1 and 2 of Tamil Nadu-based Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) have been built with the help of Russian assistance at the cost of 17200 crore rupees.

India and Russia signed a General Framework Agreement on unit 3 and 4 in April 2014 after crossing the initial hurdles of the Civil Liability Nuclear Damage Act 2010.Nuclear power project has been a symbol of India-Russia relations.

127th edition of Durand Cup football tournament to be held in Goa in October 2014

The 127th edition of the Durand Cup Football Tournament will be held in Goa from 28th October 2014 to 9th November 2014. This was revealed by a Defence press release from Mumbai on 15 July 2014.

A host of top clubs and military football teams will participate in the tournament. The tournament will be conducted in two phases.

The first phase would be a qualifier phase in which 12 to 16 teams would be grouped into pools. Top two teams from the qualifier phase would participate in the main tournament.

The tournament will carry prize money of 50 lakh rupees. It will be held under the aegis of the Indian Army’s Headquarter, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa Area.

About Durand Cup

• The Durand Cup is the Asia’s oldest and third oldest football tournament in the world. It was first played in 1888.
• The Tournament is named after its founder, Sir Mortimer Durand, British India's Foreign Member of the time, the counterpart of the Foreign Secretary in London.
• The first Durand Cup was won by Royal Scots Fusiliers. They defeated Highland Light Infantry 2-1.
• In 1940 the venue was transferred to New Delhi, and it is now held at the Ambedkar Stadium in the city. Following India's independence in 1947, the tournament was hosted by the Indian Army.
• The first Durand Cup after independence was won by Hyderabad City Police in 1950. They defeated Mohun Bagan AC 1-0.
• The 125th edition of the Durand Cup was won by Air India in 2012. They defeated by Dodsal Mumbai 3-2.
• The 126th edition of the Durand Cup was won by Mohammedan Sporting. They defeated ONGC 2-1 to win the cup after 70 years.
• The Durand Cup was not played during World War-I (1914-1918), World War-II (1939 – 1945) Partition of India (1946 – 49) and Indo-China War (1962).
• The most successful teams are currently East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, with 16 wins each, accounting for no less 32 cup victories over the years.

TyphOon Rammasun struck large parts of the Philippines

Typhoon Rammasun smashed large parts of the Philippines on 15July 204. This is the first major typhoon of the season striking the Philippines. 
Churning across the country, it passed thRougH capital Manila and killed at least five people. 
The gushing winds at a speed of 250 kilometers per hour ripped down trees, tore roofs off houses, overturned cars, uprooted electrical posts and brought rain up to 16 cm.

Hundreds of thousands were sheltered in evacuation centers, as ferocious winds of Typhoon Rammasun smashed large part of the country. 
RammAsun typhoon, locally known as Glenda made its landfall near Legazpi City in the country’s east coast from Pacific Ocean. It was category 3 typhoon.

South African Nobel-prize winning authoR Nadine Gordimer died

Nadine Gordimer, the South African Nobel Prize-winning author, died on 14 July 2014 in Johannesburg. She was 90. 
Her last novel No Time Like the Present was published in 2012.
About Nadime Grodimer
• She was the first South African to win the Nobel prize in literature.
• Grodimer was among one of tHe literary world’s most powerful voices against apartheid
• In 1974, she jointly won Booker Prize for her book The Conservative 
• In 1991, she was awarded with the Nobel Prize for literature 
• First published work of Gordimer was a story titled Come Again Tomorrow, which was published in a Johannesburg magazinE. At that time she was just 15-year-old
• She wasamong the leading member of the African National Congress (ANC) that fought for release of Nelson Mandela 
• She edited Mandela’sfamous I Am Prepared to Die speech that was given by him during his 1962 trial

As an author, she wrote several books (both novels and short stories), which majorly were based on the themes of consequences of apartheid, exile and alienation. Some famous novels were 
• Get a Life (2005)
• The Pickup (2001)
• The House Gun (1998)
• None to Accompany Me (1994)
• My Son's Story (1990)
• July's People (1981)
• A Guest of Honour (1970)
• Occasion for Loving (1963)
• World of Strangers (1958)
• The Lying Days (1953) (her first published novel)
Some of her books, which were banned by the South African government under the apartheid regime, were
• The Late Bourgeois World - 1966
• Burger's Daughter - 1979
The Nobel prize winning authors from African continent
• Wole Soyinka of Nigeria won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986. 
• J. M. Coetzee from South Africa won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003

Japan nuclear regulator gave nod to restart work at Sendai nuclear plant

Two nuclear reactors of Sendai plant on 15 July 2014 got a preliminary approval from Japan’s nuclear regulator to restart. The decision to restart the Sendai nuclear plant was given after it met the new standards set by Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) after Fukushima disaster.
As a result, the two nuclear reactors at Sendai plant became the first two nuclear reactors in Japan since Fukushima disaster to get the approval of restarting them.

Following this approval, the Japanese government and Sendai’s operator, Kyushu Electric Power, have agreed to a month-long public consultation period and winning agreement from local officials before giving a final nod.
Background
Japan is a country that lies in one of the world’s most seismically active areas and is always hit by powerful earthquakes. Sendai plant is located in Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu in southern part of Japan. Following Fukushima disaster in 2011 that was caused by earthquake triggered tsunami, all the 48 nuclear reactors were shut down but Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been pushing for restarting them, if possible.
Fukushima disaster occurred in March 2011 when a 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck followed by a monster tsunami that slammed into Japan’s Pacific coastline. The tsunami left about 18000 dead. In the meantime, the huge waves swamped the Fukushima plant, sending reactors into meltdown and spewing radioactivity across the adjacent farming region.

Although no one died as a direct result of the atomic accident, but experts warn that decommissioning of the plant could take decades and many evacuated residents may never be able to return to their homes in the shadow of the plant.

Subway metro train derailed in Moscow

Moscow: Subway metro train derailed 
Subway metro train derailed in Moscow, Russia on 15 July 2014. The derailment killed about 21 people and injured several. The accident happened at Park Pobedy which is the deepest metro station (84 meter underground) in Moscow. It was constructed about 10 years ago.

The train derailed after the commuter train braked abruptly during rush-hour leading to spark of fire and smoke. The cause of the accident was reported to be power surge. At the time of the accident, the train was travelling from north-west of Moscow to the city centre.
The President of Russia Vladimir Putin has ordered a criminal investigation into the accident. At present, Putin is on a visit to Brazil to attend the 6th BRICS Summit. On the other hand, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin declared 16 July 2014 as a day of mourning.

Should the Juvenile Justice Act be amended?

Justice Juvenile Act, 2000 was brought in by repealing the earlier Justice Juvenile Act of 1986 so as to bring the law related to care and protection of children in line with the UN Convention on Child Rights, 1989.

The Act defines a juvenile who is 16 years old and provides for children-sensitive approach towards prevention and treatment of underage offenders. It provides for a maximum three years of punishment to an underage offender in a reformatory home.

The demand to amend the JJ Act gained momentum after the brutal Nirbhaya case of December 2012 in which the most brutal offender out of six was below 18 but was given only three years of punishment!

Further, if we see the number of crimes being committed by juveniles or under-18 children, the data provided by National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) are shocking.  As per NCRB data, there has been 60 percent increase in the rapes committed by under-18 in the year 2013 compared to 2012.

In addition, the poor conditions of reformatory houses, child abuse in such houses, and other issues are deplorable and in no way adds to reducing the number of crimes committed by juveniles.

Thus, in light of the above arguments, it is high time that we amend the JJ Act and treat the juveniles committing heinous crime as adults. Else, the trend of increasing crime committed by juveniles would never see the decline.

BRICS to create 100 billion dollar development bank and emergency reserve fund

BRICS nations on 15 July 2014 signed a deal to create a new 100  US dollar development bank and emergency reserve fund. The deal to from the bank was signed during the 6th BRICS Summit being held in Fortaleza, Brazil form 15 July to 16 July 2014. BRICS group includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Creation of the bank was announced after a plenary meet at a BRICS summit meet by Brazil’s President, Dilma Rousseff. 
The founding treaty for the New Development Bank and the Contingency Reserve Agreement were signed by the economy ministers of the member nations. Initially, the bank will start off with 50  dollars in initial capital with the five BRICS putting in 10 billion US dollars each.

As per the deal, the capital of the bank will be split equally among the five participating countries, while headquarter will be in Shanghai, China. The Bank will have a rotating chair and its first President will come from India for the first six years. The Bank will also have a regional office in Johannesburg, South Africa. 
The Bank’s board will have five Finance Ministers and will be chaired by Brazil. Initially the bank will be involved in infrastructure projects in the BRICS nations. 
BRICS Finance ministers or central banks’ governors will form a governing body to manage the CRA while it will be presided over by the BRICS President. The BRICS CRA will not be open to outsiders.
Participant leaders of the five nations are 
• Brazil - Dilma Rousseff
• Russian - Vladimir Putin
• Indian - Narendra Modi
• China - Xi Jinping
• South Africa - Jacob Zuma 
Contribution of different nations
• China will contribute 41 billion US dollar
• Brazil, Russia and India will contribute 18 billion US dollar each
• South Africa will provide 5 billion US dollar

Future impacts of the deal 
The establishment of the 100 billion US dollars development bank will help the developing nations to avoid 
a) Short term liquidity pressures
b) Promote further BRICS cooperation
c) Strengthen the global financial safety net
d) Complement existing international arrangements
Comment
The deal on the establishment of the bank is a major victory for India because
• The idea of creation of BRICS Bank was proposed by India during the 2012 Summit held in New Delhi
• This is precursor to the longstanding demand of India to reform the World Bank and International Monetary Fund which does not give developing nations enough voting rights
• The equal sharing of 100 billion US dollars by the founding members meets India’s demand which emphasised to prevent domination by anyone of the members

SEBI barred Satyam founder Ramalinga Raju and 4 others from accessing capital markets

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 15 July 2014 barred founder of Satyam Computers, B Ramalinga Raju and four other top executives from accessing the capital markets for 14 years.
Apart from this, the market watchdog also ordered the top five executives of Satyam to pay 1849 crore rupees because they made unlawful gains through sale of shares. The amount has to be paid within 45 days. In its order SEBI also said that the amount must be deposited along with 1200 crore rupees as interest due from January 2009 till date. It means that with extra 1200 crore rupees (which is 12 percent simple interest), the five executives will have to pay at least 3049 crore rupees to SEBI.

The four executives are 
• B Rama Raju, the company’s former managing director
• Vadlamani Srinivas, its former chief financial officer
• G Ramakrishna, its former vice-president (finance)
• VS Prabhakara Gupta, its former head (internal audit)

Operation to refloat wrecked Italian ship Costa Concordia launched

Operation to refloat the wrecked Italian ship Costa Concordia was launched on 14 July 2014. The refloating operation launched was one of the biggest maritime operations in the history. 
The operation will tow the wreck of Concordia at a top speed of about two knots (about 2.3 miles per hour) to the port of Genoa, Italy for dismantling. The total cost of the operation will be 2 billion US dollars (1.5 billion euro).

The in-charge of the refloating operation to lift the Costa Concordia and tow it to Italy's mainland is South African Nick Sloane .

During the operation, the team will also search the vessel for Indian waiter Russel Rebello, the only victim of the tragedy who has not been found.

At this gigantic size, to tow the Concordia to the port of Genoa poses extreme risk of releasing toxic material into the sea if the vessel would fall apart.

Background

The cruise liner Concordia capsized near Giglio Island in 2012 killing 32 peoples. The ship weighs about 114000 tonnes and is 290 meters long which is equivalent of nearly three football fields. It is two-and-a-half times as heavy as the Titanic.

Francesco Schettino, the ship's captain, was charged with manslaughter, causing the shipwreck and abandoning the vessel before the evacuation of all its passengers. If he is convicted he could face decades in jail.

Per Student Cooking Cost under Mid Day Meal Scheme Enhanced

Union Government of India enhanced the per student cooking cost under the Mid Day Meal Scheme (MDMS). The enhancement of the budget came into effect from 1 July 2014. The cooking cost per student has been enhanced by 7.5 percent every year since 2010-11. 
The enhancement in the cost in terms of Rupees

Stage	Cooking cost per child per day 2013-14	Revised cooking cost per child per day 2014-15
Primary	3.34	3.59
Upper Primary	5.00	5.38

About Mid Day Meal Scheme (MDMS)
Mid Day Meal Scheme (MDMS) is a programme of Government of India and has been designed to improve the nutritional status of school-age children nationwide school. The meal programme covers over 12 crore children across India, in 12.65 lakh government and government aided schools on a daily basis. The scheme is the world’s largest school feeding programme.

On 15 August 1995 the scheme was launched as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, initially in 2408 blocks in the country. By the year 1997-98 the NP-NSPE was introduced in all blocks of the country. It was further extended in 2002 to cover not only children in classes I -V of Government, Government aided and local body schools, but also children studying in EGS and AIE centres.

National Centre for R & D in Bulk Drugs to be set up in NIPER Hyderabad

Union Ministry of Chemical and Fertilisers decided on 14 July 2014 to set up National Centre for Research & Development in Bulk Drugs (NCRDBD) at National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Hyderabad.

The NCRDBD will fill the crucial existing gap in Research and Development in bulk drugs. The total cost of setting up NCRDBD will be over 52 crore rupees and will have an operating cost of over 37 crore rupees for five years.

Some Characteristic Features of NCRDBD

• The NCRDBD would be an innovative R&D provider in the field of bulk drugs
• It will offer competitive and eco-friendly technologies in specified areas products and processes
• It will also provide centralized research facilities and technologies, analytical facilities and consulting services for process improvement and optimization
• It would give special emphasis to the empowerment of MSME sector

Why the Need?

The performance of Bulk Drug sector is one of the critical factors that affect the overall efficiency and cost competitiveness of the pharmaceutical sector. There are nearly 2500 bulk drugs manufacturing units in India.

The estimated turnover of the Bulk Drug Industry in 2012-13 was around 12.5  US dollars. The industry has a share of about 10 percent of the global bulk drugs market of about 110 billion US dollars.

However, the import of Bulk Drugs has seen a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18 percent during 2011 to 2013 compared to 17 percent CAGR in domestic production of Bulk Drugs. This indicates an increasing level of dependence on international supply. This is further compounded by the fact that more than 60 percent share in imports of Intermediate for Active PIs is from a single country.

The NCRDBD will be set up to urgently address these concerns and make the industry cost competitive. In Bulk Drug Industry, the reduced processes and improved technology can help in reducing the cost significantly.

Delhi government to set up 320 Mahila Suraksha Dals for women safety

State Government of Delhi on 14 July 2014 decided to set up 320 Mahila Suraksha Dals (MSDs) across the national capital. These MSDs will be established to ensure women safety at public places. 
According to the plan, the MSDs will be made functional in the 80 Gender Resource Centers. As a pilot programme, one MSD will be created in all 11 Districts of the city on the day of Raksha Bandhan. 
The decision to this effect of MSDs was taken at a high-level meet chaired by the Chief Secretary SK Srivastava.

About Mahila Suraksha Dals (MSDs)
The Mahila Suraksha Dals (MSDs) will comprise of retired army personnel, representatives from the local community (both men and women) and local NGO representatives. Each team will consist of 20 community members and three ex- servicemen.
The initiative MSDs will work at the grass-root level and will address the issues of women safety at public place. It will also support women in distress including situations of sexual harassment, assault and rape.
For creation of the MSDs, the former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal constituted a committee headed by the Director General of Home Guards and the Director of Women and Child development. The committee was supposed to submit a detailed report on the structure of the MSD by 15 February 2014.
Earlier, Delhi Government, to address women safety issues, had created new parallel structures, Awaaz Uthao Project.

PM Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Fortaleza

The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Fortaleza, Brazil on 15 July 2014. He met the Chinese President on the sidelines of Sixth BRICS Summit being held in Fortaleza. The meeting was the first-summit level interaction of PM Narendra Modi with Chinese President.

During the 80-minute meeting emphasised on the importance of bilateral relationship between India and China and expressed satisfaction at the high momentum of bilateral engagement since Narendra Modi assumed the office of PM in May 2014.

Both sides also emphasized on the need to find a solution to the Boundary Question and stressed the importance of strengthening mutual trust and confidence, and maintaining peace and tranquility on the border.

Besides, the PM Modi suggested opening of a second route for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and called for enhanced Chinese investment in the infrastructure sector in India. He also expressed the hope that trade imbalance between the two countries is resolved.

PM Modi also expressed hope for increase in tourism and ties between the people of the two ancient civilizations.

Chinese President Xi invited India to Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in November 2014 and asked India to deepen engagement with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Since May 2014, there has been some high level bilateral engagement between India and China. These includehe the visit of Vice-President of India Hamid Ansari to China and the visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to India as President Jinping’s Special Envoy, in June 2014. Later in the year 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping will be visiting India. All these high level bilateral engagement presents an opportunity to India and China to chart a new and ambitious agenda for the strategic partnership.

Environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhatt won the Gandhi Peace prize 2013

Environmentalist and social activist Chandi Prasad Bhatt on 15 July 2014 was awarded with the prestigious Gandhi Peace prize for 2013. He was awarded by the President of India Pranab Mukherjee at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.
80-year-old Bhatt is a Gandhian, an environmentalist and a social activist. He, after realizing aspirations of people, dedicated himself to improve lives of villagers. He is the person, who fought against government’s wrong policies on forests through non-violent means

About Chandi Prasad Bhatt
• In 2005, he was awarded with Padma Bhushan 
• At present, he is considered as one of India’s first modern environmentalist 
• He is also known for his work on subaltern social ecology 
• In 1964, he founded Dasholi Gram Swarajya Sangh (DGSS) in Gopeswar. 
• Later, GPSS became a mother-organisation of the Chipko Movement, for which Bhatt was awarded with the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 1982 
• He was born on 23 June 1934 in Gopeshwar (now in Uttarakhand)
Books written by Chandi Prasad Bhatt
• Pratikar Ke Ankur (Hindi)
• Adhure Gyan Aur Kalpanik Biswas per Himalaya Se Cherkhani Ghatak (Hindi)
• Future of Large Projects in the Himalaya
• Eco-system of Central Himalaya 
• Chipko Experience 
• Parvat Parvat Basti Basti
About Gandhi Peace prize
Gandhi Peace prize is an annual award given by Government of India and was instituted in 1995 on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. It carries a plaque, citation and cash prize of one crore rupees.

The award is given to individuals and institutions for their contributions towards social, economic and political transformation through non-violence and other methods of Mahatma Gandhi. 
Previous recipients of the award includes 
• Julius K Nyerere, former Tanzanian President (he was the first recipient of the award in 1995)
• Nelson Mandela, former South African President, 
• AT Ariyaratne, founder President of Sarvodaya Shramadana movement in Sri Lanka
• Gerhard Fischer of Rama Krishna Mission in Germany and 
• Baba Amte (Murlidhar Devidas Amte), a social worker of India who is known particularly for his work for the rehabilitation and empowerment of poor people suffering from leprosy
• Archbishop Desmond Tutu, cleric and activist of South Africa (received the award in 2005)

Assam decided to implement National Food Security Act from 1 September 2014

National Food Security Act (NFSA) will be implemented by the Assam Government from 1 September 2014. The decision to implement the Act in the state was taken on 14 July 2014 at a meeting of senior officials of Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department convened by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi in Guwahati.
During the meet, the state government also decided to bring onions and potatoes in the list of essential commodities to curb hoarding.

The Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department of the Assam Government will be the nodal department for implementing NFSA. 
The Chief Minister has also asked the officials to make adequate arrangements of the prescribed stock limit of essential commodities in Amar Dukans and keep a check on it, so that no anti-social element could indulge in hoarding of necessary articles leading to black-marketing. He also directed them to ensure that

President appointed Governors of five states

President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 14 July 2014 appointed Governors of five states, namely Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Gujarat and Nagaland.
People, who have been appointed as the Governors by the President are 
• Ram Naik as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh
• Balramji Dass Tandon as the Governor of Chhattisgarh
• Keshari Nath Tripathi as the Governor of West Bengal
• Om Prakash Kohli as the Governor of Gujarat
• Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya as the Governor of Nagaland

Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya, the Governor of Nagaland will also discharge the functions of the Governor of Tripura, in addition to his own duties, until regular arrangements for the office of the Governor of Tripura are made. 
The terms of these Governors will take effect from the dates the incumbents assume charge of their respective offices.
Apart from this, the President also accepted the resignation of Vakkom Purushothaman as Governor of Tripura.

15-member UNSC adopted resolution to allow cross-border aid to Syrians

15-member United Nations Security Council (UNSC) uanimously adopted the resolution 2165 in New York on 14 July 2014. The resolution 2165 sought to allow cross-border aid to three by The weDownload Manager">million by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> Syrians.

The resolution authorized UN Humanitarian agencies and other agencies to deliver relief materials to Syrians for 180 days across the conflict lines and through additional border crossings. It also called for the expeditious deployment of a monitoring mechanism to assure compliance.

The four additional border crossings through which relief delivery will take place are Bab al-Salam, Bab al-Hawa, Al Yarubiyah and Al-Ramtha. Bab a-Salam and Bab al-Hawa are border crossings in Turkey, Al-Yarubiyah in Iraq and Al-Ramtha in Jordan. All of these border crossings fall outside the control of the Syrian government.

The relief delivery will be in the form of food supplies, access to basic healthcare, delivery of medical and surgical supplies. Due to unavailability of safe food and basic health care, humanitarian situation has deteriorated in Syria.

The resolution also called for a cease-fire and resumption of political talks. The resolution declared that all Syrian parties to the conflict must help enable the delivery of humanitarian aid and take all appropriate measures to safeguard UN personnel.

The resolution came five months after the Council adopted resolution 2139 in February 2014, in which it demanded unhindered humanitarian access to those in need inside Syria, where the conflict has raged for over three years. The resolution adopted on 14 July 2014 was jointly sponsored by Australia, Jordan, and Luxembourg. Despite initial opposition, Russia and China both supported the resolution.

Comment and Exam Preparation Notes

UNSC adopted the resolution 2165 on 14 July 2014, amid increasing humanitarian crisis in Syria. According to the UN humanitarian agencies, there are three by The weDownload Manager">million by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> refugees from Syria outside the country and 10.8 million displaced in Syria. Some 4.5 million of these displaced persons are in hard-to-reach areas.

In his latest report, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon  noted that the main obstacle to humanitarian access is the deliberate decision by the Syrian authorities to systematically prohibit the delivery of vital relief supplies. It has been reported that month after month, Syrian authorities confiscated medical and surgical equipment for the most vulnerable populations living in areas controlled by the opposition to Assad’s regime and they denied the passage of humanitarian convoys through the border crossings identified as priorities by the UN.

The resolution 2165 can be taken as serious efforts to provide humanitarian solution in the Syria. Syrian crisis is now in its fourth year with over 150000 people killed. 
The resolution adopted on 14 July 2014 showcased an unusual agreement on Syria among the often divided council for the first time in the recent days. It has never been able to adopt a legally binding resolution calling for an end to the conflict. Earlier, the council has been deeply divided over Syria, between Russia and China, key allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and the United States and its European allies, who have backed the opposition.

On 22 February 2014, the UNSC had reached a rare agreement and adopted a resolution 2139 focusing on the growing humanitarian crisis and demanding that all sides in the conflict allow immediate access for aid, lift the sieges of populated areas, stop depriving civilians of food, halt attacks against civilians and withdraw foreign fighters. Resolution 2139 set out very clearly the council’s expectations of what the Syrian parties need to do. But situation in Syria actually worsened.

Conclusion

Effect of whole efforts is lying on the support of Syrian government and rebels.  We have to see that how much Syrian government is extending its help to fulfill the humanitarian helps to civilian people. Earlier, Syrian government viewed aid entering the country without its approval as an attack on its sovereignty. Russia and China have to use their influence on Assad government to execute humanitarian helps and minimize atrocities on common people of Syria. Rebels have to see that civilian in the areas of their control, getting humanitarian helps, because they are fighting with regime not the common people of Syria. The United Nations has been accusing the Syrian regime of imposing bureaucratic and arbitrary obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Retail inflation fell to 30-month low of 7.31 percent in June 2014

Retail inflation fell to a 30-month low of 7.31 percent in June 2014 from 8.28 pecent in May 2014. The retail inflation went down mainly on account of lower prices of food items that includes vegetables, cereals, and meat. 
Earlier in January 2012, the retail inflation was at its lowest at 7.65 percent. 
On the other hand, Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation (or Headline inflation) fell to 5.43 percent in June 2014 as against 6.01 percent in May 2014. The decline was mainly on account of fall in prices of food items and vegetables with the exception of potatoes and onions.

Retail inflation is measured by the consumer price index. Findings of the data released by Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry
• Food inflation fell to 7.97 percent in June 2014 from 9.56 percent in May 2014
• Inflation in vegetables dropped to 8.73 percent in June 2014 from 15.27 percent in May 2014
• Cereals and their products saw a lower inflation rate of 7.6 percent
• Inflation in the fuel and light segment declined to 4.58 percent in June 2014
• Retail inflation for rural areas dropped to 7.72 percent in June 2014, while in urban areas it slipped to 6.82 percent
• Wholesale inflation dropped to four-month low of 5.43 percent in June 2014
• As per the wholesale price index, inflation had stood at a five-month high of 6.01 percent in May 2014 was and at 5.16 percent in June 2013
• Food inflation eased to 8.14 percent in June 2014, from 9.5 percent in May 2014
• Vegetable prices declined 5.89 percent in June 2014
• Prices of sugar fell 2.09 percent and of edible oils fell 0.75 percent during the June 2014
• But prices of potatoes soared 42.51 percent in the period

Haryana Governor gave assent to Sikh Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee Bill 2014

Haryana Governor Jagannath Pahadia on 14 July 2014 gave his assent to Haryana Sikh Gurudwaras (Management) Bill, 2014. With this, the Haryana Sikh Gurdwaras (Management) Bill, 2014, will be notified as an Act. 
The Act cleared the decks for the state government for creation of a separate committee for managing the Sikh Gurdwaras in the state.
The Bill was passed on 11 July 2014 by the Haryana Legislative Assembly. The Bill stripped the powers of Amritsar-based Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), an apex Sikh body, to control and manage 11 historical Sikh shrines and their assets worth crore across Haryana.

Earlier, the Chief Minister of Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda had said that a separate committee will be set up in the state under the new law for management of Sikh religious places and their properties in the state. 
About the Management Committee
• The management committee will comprise 40 members, who will be elected for a five-year term by Sikh voters in Haryana 
• The Committee’s head office will be at Kurukshetra with regional offices at Panchkula and Jind
Till the formation of the Haryana Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGPC), the state’s Gurudwaras’ will be managed by an ad hoc committee.

Brazil Football Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari resigned

Luiz Felipe Scolari, the football coach of Brazil on 14 July 2014 resigned after Brazil failed to win the 2014 FIFA World Cup. His resignation was confirmed by the Country’s Football Federation Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (CBF).
Scolari, a former Brazilian defender, became the coach of Brazil football team for the first time in 2001. He guided the team to win FIFA World Cup 2002. In the 2002 final played in Yokohama, Japan, Brazil defeated Germany 2-0 to win the Cup for the fifth time.

He was again appointed as Brazil's coach in 2012 after the debacle of Brazil in 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa under Dunga. However, this time he was unsuccessful in guiding the team to win the World Cup for the sixth time. 
In the semifinals of 2014 FIFA World Cup, Brazil lost to Germany 7-1. It was Brazil's worst-ever defeat in World Cup history and their first defeat in semifinals in 39 years. Eventually, Brazil finished their campaign in 2014 World Cup at fourth place after they lost to Netherlands 3-0 in the play-off for third place.
Scolari, called Big Phil, also had brief stint as coach with Portugal, Premier League side Chelsea, Bunyodkor of Uzbekistan and Brazilian club Palmeiras.

India & Sri Lanka signed MoU to set up Engineering & Agricultural faculty for University of Jaffna

India on 14 July 2014 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sri Lanka for setting up a Faculty of Agriculture and a Faculty of Engineering for the University of Jaffna at Kilinochchi. 
The MoU was signed in the presence of Sri Lanka’s Minister of Higher Education, SB Dissanayake in Colombo and the signatories of the MoU were
• YK Sinha, High Commissioner of India 
• Dunil Jayantha Nawaratne, the Secretary to the Ministry of Higher Education

The Main Elements of the MoU signed
• India will set up the physical infrastructure for the two faculties. The physical infrastructure for the two faculties will comprise of
• Lecture halls, a conference hall, computer laboratory, library, and sports complex for the Faculty of Agriculture
• Lecture halls, a conference hall, laboratories, administrative office and staff room for the Faculty of Engineering
• India will also train the teaching staff of the two faculties at prestigious Indian colleges
• Government of India will also provide support for curriculum development, faculty exchanges, training and research
• The estimated cost of 30 crore rupees (600 by The weDownload Manager">million by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> SLR) for the project will be given by India through grant assistance
Significance of the MoU
It will directly benefit the students in the war torn northern region of Sri Lanka and help to develop the region as a whole through capacity building. 
India-Sri Lankan Knowledge Initiative
India-Sri Lanka Knowledge Initiative was signed in 2010 to tap the immense potential that exists in the two countries in the area of knowledge. As per the Initiative, India provides Sri Lanka with extensive assistance in education sector with a number of annual scholarships for meritorious students and by training teachers in various specialized fields. At present about 800 scholarships are available annually to Sri Lanka students.

Other projects of Government of India that has been implemented for education sector in Sri Lanka includes
• The setting up of Nenasalas (e-Learning Centres) in Eastern, Western and Southern Provinces
• Renovation of 79 war-damaged schools in Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Vavuniya
• Setting up of five Vocational Training Centers (VTCs) at Puttalam, Batticaloa and Nuwara Eliya
• Supply of 1260 computers and 218 laser printers to about 500 schools in the Eastern Province
• Setting up of a Siddha Faculty at Trincomalee
• Setting up language laboratories in each of the nice provinces of Sri Lanka to train teachers from schools and colleges
• Gifting of 110 buses to educational institutions for assisting school students

Jayawardene announced retirement from Test Cricket

Mahela Jayawardene, the former skipper of Sri Lankan cricket team, announced his retirement from Test cricket on 14 July 2014. He will retire from Test Cricket after the home series against Pakistan in August 2014. 
The 37-year-old, Lankan batsman, will play two Tests against South Africa on 16 July and 24 July 2014, followed by a two-match series against Pakistan in August 2014. 
He communicated his written decision to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Ashley De Silva. However, Jayawardene will represent the country in the one-day format.

The decision to continue in the one-day format is a hint that he will be playing for the nation during the Cricket World Cup 2015 that will be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
Earlier in April 2014, he announced his retirement from the T20 format of the game after Sri Lanka won the ICC World T20 Cup for the first time defeating India.
About Jayawardene and his Test career
• Jayawardene played his Test debut against India in 1997
• Till date he has played 145 Tests scoring 11493 runs with 33 centuries and 48 fifties
• In 2006, he made the highest ever test-score of 374 by any Sri Lankan cricketer
• He is also the first player in the history of Sri Lankan cricket to score over 10000 Test runs
• In 2006, Jayawardene was named by the International Cricket Council as the best international captain of the year
• He was nominated in 2007 as the best Test cricket player of the year

Railways register 9.48 percent increase in its earning

Indian Railways has registered an increase of 9.48 percent in its earning during the first quarter of the fiscal year 2014-15. Total approximate earnings was 36674 crore rupees against 33500 crore rupees during the same period of fiscal year 2013-14.

As per the reports, the earnings from goods between April-June 2014 grew by 7 percent and reached to 24850.37 crore rupees as compared to 23214.60 crore rupees during the same period in 2013.  The total revenue earnings from the passengers during April-June 2014 registered 16 percent increase, which was 10153.68 crore rupees against 8724.65 crore rupees during the same period of 2013. 
Passengers booking also witnessed a rise of 143 by The weDownload Manager">million by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> registering an increase of more than 7 percent.

World-renowned conductor Lorin Maazel died at 84

Lorin Varencove Maazel, the American conductor of classical music, violinist and composer died on 13 July 2014 at his home in Castleton, Virginia. He died due to complications following pneumonia. He was 84 and is survived by four daughters, three sons and four grandchildren.
Apart from conducting, he also composed music, produced an opera based on George Orwell’s novel, 1984

About Lorin Varencove Maazel
• Lorin Maazel occupied top positions at 
a) The Vienna State Opera 
b) The New York Philharmonic accompanied by him on a 2008 tour of isolated North Korea. 
• He along with his wife, in 2009 founded the Castleton Festival, which aimed to showcase classical musicians at the start of their careers
• Till 2002, he served as the music director of the Symphony Orchestra of the Bavarian Radio 
• He made a debut in New York Philharmonic in 1942 
• At the age of 30 in 1960, he became the first American to conduct at the Bayreuth Festival in Germany 
• From 1965 onwards, he served as an artistic director and chief conductor of the Deutsche Opera Berlin for five years 
• From 1972 to 1982, he served as the music director of the Cleveland Orchestra
• After Cleveland Orchestra, he became the first American to serve as general manager, artistic director and principal conductor of the Vienna State Opera
• Being at the podium for about 72 years, he guided nearly 200 orchestras in at least 7000 opera and concert performances 
• He had a powerful memory and became known for performing without a score
• He took his first violin lesson at the age of 5 further was invited by Arturo Toscanini to conduct the NBC Symphony at the age of 7
• From 1988 to 1996, he was also music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony 
• He won 10 Grand Prix du Disques
• He was born in 1930 in France 
He is the second leading conductor to die in 2014. The first was Italian conductor Claudio Abbado, who died in January 2014 at the age of 80.

Afghanistan's presidential candidates agreed on the audit of votes casted in June 2014 election

The two presidential candidates agreed on 13 July 2014 for an audit of every vote cast in June 2014 presidential election. The deal was brokered by US Secretary of State John Kerry in an effort to end a bitter standoff that raised fears of violence and ethnic unrest.

The two presidential candidates agreed to the deal Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah after two days of negotiations held in Kabul.

As per the deal, after the audit of the votes, the winner will serve as President and will immediately form a government of national unity.

Further the deal reached was far wider than a UN proposal made on 10 July 2014. According to UN proposal, the audit of votes was to be done for over 8000 polling stations where suspicions of ballot-stuffing was raised which was about 44 percent of the total votes cast.

Background

The deadlock over the run-off vote to choose a successor to outgoing President Hamid Karzai plunged Afghanistan into political crisis and dented US hopes of a smooth transfer of power as Washington seeks to withdraw all its troops by late 2016.

Preliminary results released on 7 July 2014 showed that Ghani was in the lead, with some 56 percent of the vote, ahead of Abdullah on 44 percent. However, Abdullah declared himself the true winner citing massive fraud in counting of votes.

One-in-Three Alzheimer's cases are preventable: Cambridge University Research

A research report from the University of Cambridge said that one in the three cases of Alzheimer’s disease worldwide is preventable. The research report is titled Potential for primary prevention of Alzheimer's disease: an analysis of population-based data. 
The study was published in the August 2014 edition of the journal Lancet Neurology. The study was led by Professor Caroline Brayne, from the Cambridge Institute of Public Health at the University of Cambridge.

The study was funded by National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
Main Findings of the Study 
• Lack of exercise, smoking, depression and poor education are the main risk factors of the disease, however, age was still the biggest risk factor
• The highest estimated Population-Attributable Risk (PAR) worldwide was for low educational attainment
• The combined PAR for the seven risk factors was 49.4 percent which equates to 16.8 by The weDownload Manager">million by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> attributable cases of 33.9 million cases worldwide
• The seven risk factors identified in the study are: Physical inactivity; Depression; Smoking; Low educational attainment; Diabetes; Mid-life hypertension and Mid-life obesity
• These seven risk factors are responsible for one-third or 30 percent of the Alzheimer cases worldwide
• The number of the affected people can be reduced by reducing these factors
• Reducing each factor by 10 percent will reduce the prevalence of Alzheimer by about nine by The weDownload Manager">million by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> or 8.3 percent by 2050
• It also suggested that more than 106 by The weDownload Manager">million by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> people of the world will be living with the disease by 2050. The predicted number is three times more that the number affected (34 million) in 2010
• Physical inactivity was the main cause for the largest proportion of cases of Alzheimer's in the US, UK and the rest of Europe

Air India formally joined global airline group Star Alliance

Air India on 11 July 2014 formally joined the airline group Star Alliance as its 27th member. By formally joining the group, public carrier became the first Indian airline to become a member airlines club operating over 18500 flights a day in 192 countries.

This Alliance will further benefit the passengers to get the benefit from a wider choice on routes connecting North America, Europe, Asia and Australia via the Indian Subcontinent. 
CMD of Air India Rohit Nandan and CEO of Star Alliance Mark Schwab jointly inducted an A320 airbus livery that was unveiled at the terminal 3 of the IGI international airport in New Delhi. 
Decision of including Air India, the national air carrier of India into the global airlines grouping, Star Alliance was taken during a meeting of the Star Alliance Chief Executive Board (CEB) on 23 June 2014 in London.

India's first indigenous anti-submarine warship INS Kamrota handed over to Indian Navy

India's first indigenous anti-submarine warship (ASW) Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kamorta was handed over to the Indian Navy by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) in Kolkata on 12 July 2014. The ship was handed over to the Navy by Rear Admiral (retd) A K Verma, Chairman and Managing Director of GRSE, in a brief ceremony at GRSE’s Fitting-Out-Jetty.

INS Kamrota is the first in its class of four ASW corvettes being built by GRSE under Project-28 for the Navy. It is the first warship ever built in the country with almost 90 per cent of indigenous content.

It is armed with stealth features and is the first warship equipped with new trainable chaff launcher - Kavach. Besides, it is loaded with formidable array of weapons on board. These includes heavy weight torpedoes, ASW rockets, 76 mm medium range gun and two guns as Close-in-Weapon System (CIWS) with dedicated fire control systems, chaff systems.

The ship would be commissioned in August 2014 at Visakhapatnam and would form part of the Eastern Fleet under the Eastern Naval Command.

The ship’s keel was laid on 20 November 2006 and the ship was launched on 19 April 2010.

India's first indigenous anti-submarine warship INS Kamrota handed over to Indian Navy

India's first indigenous anti-submarine warship (ASW) Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kamorta was handed over to the Indian Navy by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) in Kolkata on 12 July 2014. The ship was handed over to the Navy by Rear Admiral (retd) A K Verma, Chairman and Managing Director of GRSE, in a brief ceremony at GRSE’s Fitting-Out-Jetty.

INS Kamrota is the first in its class of four ASW corvettes being built by GRSE under Project-28 for the Navy. It is the first warship ever built in the country with almost 90 per cent of indigenous content.

It is armed with stealth features and is the first warship equipped with new trainable chaff launcher - Kavach. Besides, it is loaded with formidable array of weapons on board. These includes heavy weight torpedoes, ASW rockets, 76 mm medium range gun and two guns as Close-in-Weapon System (CIWS) with dedicated fire control systems, chaff systems.

The ship would be commissioned in August 2014 at Visakhapatnam and would form part of the Eastern Fleet under the Eastern Naval Command.

The ship’s keel was laid on 20 November 2006 and the ship was launched on 19 April 2010.

Sim Bhullar became first Indian-origin basketball player to join NBA

Sim Bhullar became the first basketball player of Indian origin to join the National Basketball Association (NBA). He signed a summer contract in second week of July 2014 with the Sacramento Kings, a professional basketball team in the US.

In 2013, the Sacramento Kings became the NBA's first team to have an Indian-origin majority owner -- Vivek Ranadive.

Since taking over the reins of the Kings, which was lying low in recent years due to less winning percentages and declining ticket sales, Ranadive has transformed the organisation into one of the better ones in the league.

About Sim Bhullar

• He is originally from Canada and his parents are from Punjab.
• Bhullar, aged 21, is 7.5 feet tall and weighs 360 pounds. He is a centre from New Mexico State University.
• He made everyone took note of him in college as he averaged 10.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game in his two-year career with the Aggies.
• His younger brother Tanveer, who is 7.2 feet, also plays college basketball at New Mexico State.

Post recovery of four bodies from River Beki, tensions rise in Assam’s Baksa district

River Beki in Assam: Source of tension in Baksa district

River Beki in Baksa district of Assam was in news due to recovery of four kidnapped bodies on 13 July 2014. The bodies recovered were those of lemon traders from Baksa district who were kidnapped by suspected National Democratic Front of Bodoland – Songbijit (NDFB – S) militants.

The recovery of bodies led to mob protesting and imposition of indefinite curfew in Salabari sub-division and Anand Bazar area of the Baksa district. As a result, Deputy Commissioner of Baksa district Vinod Seshan has called in the Army and kept it on stand-by.

Earlier in May 2014, 50 people were killed in Baksa and Kokrajhar in Bodoland Territorial Area Districts by suspected Bodoland Peoples Front-supported militants.

INS Kuthar Warship damaged in mishap, 15th such incident since August 2013

Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kuthar Warship was damaged in a mishap on 13 July 2014. This was the 15th such incident after INS Sindhurakshak sank on 14 August 2013. The Indian Navy ordered a Board of Inquiry to probe the incident.

INS Kuthar suffered damage while entering the harbour of a naval base in Port Blair, A & N Islands when it ran aground in rough weather in the end of June 2014.

About INS Kuthar

INS Kuthar is a Khukri class missile corvette warship weighing 1350 tonne. It is the part of the fleet of the Vishakhapatnam-based Eastern Naval Command, which is in-charge of operations in Bay of Bengal and areas beyond it.

It was commissioned in the Indian Navy in 1990 and was designed by Indian naval architects and built at Mazagon Dock in Mumbai.

INS Kuthar along with INS Satpura and INS Ranvijay represented Indian Navy in the first ever Japan-India maritime exercise (JIMEX) held in the Bay of Bengal from 19 December - 22 December 2013.

Some Major mishaps since August 2013

14 August 2013: Russian-origin submarine INS Sindhurakshak sank killing 18 personnel on board

22 September 2013: Fire on board aircraft carrier INS Virat

4 December 2013: Fire on board INS Konkan

23 December 2013: Russian-origin stealth frigate INS Talwar rammed a fishing vessel off Ratnagiri

The spate of accidents in the Navy resulted in the resignation of former Navy Chief Admiral DK Joshi, who took moral responsibility for the accidents and sought voluntary retirement from the maritime force on 26 February 2014.

SC ordered Union Government to bring MGNREGS's wage rates on par with minimum wages

Supreme Court ordered Union government to bring wages under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) on par with minimum wages existing under different States. The order was passed by the SC on 11 July 2014.

The decision was given by the SC bench of Justice S J Mukhopadhaya and Justice S A Bobde. The bench directed that wage under the scheme cannot be less than the minimum wage fixed by the State government for agricultural labourers. The bench also asked the Union government to pay arrears to workers who had been paid less.

The bench issued the direction while hearing an appeal filed by the Union government against a Karnataka High Court order which on 23 September 2011 had held the wage under the scheme cannot be less than the minimum wage.

Earlier, the SC had questioned the Union government for paying fewer wages. It said that MGNREGS is a beneficiary legislation so there cannot be difference between minimum wages and the wage paid under the MGNREGS.

The wage rate under the MGNREGS, which varied between 118 rupees and 181 rupees from State to State, was less than the notified minimum daily pay in six States. But in 14 States the wages under rural job scheme was higher than the minimum wage.

About Minimum Wages Act, 1948

In India, the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 provides for fixation and enforcement of minimum wages in respect of scheduled employments.

The Act also requires the appropriate government (both at Centre and States) to fix minimum rates of wages in respect of employments specified in the schedule and also review and revise the same at intervals not exceeding five years.

Since the respective state governments have been empowered to independently fix minimum wages, disparities between wages in neighboring states are common. In order to reduce this problem and bring comparability the Central government has set up 5 regional committees for harmonization of minimum wages.. 
Impact and benefits of the service
• The service will provide air connectivity to the southernmost Nicobar group of islands 
• The service will help the island to get a better connectivity also during monsoons, which gets paralyzed during this period due to its dependence on the shipping services – considered as the lifeline for the islands  
Germany won the 2014 FIFA Football World Cup beating Argentina 1-0

Germany on 13 July 2014 became the 2014 FIFA World Cup champion after defeating Argentina 1-0 at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The single goal of the final was made by Mario Gotze during the extra-time. 
With this win, Germany lifted the trophy for the fourth time in the history of FIFA world Cup and first since 1990. The previous title was won by Germany in 1954, 1974 and 1990. Brazil with 5 wins is the country that leads the winning record. Germany also became the first European team to win a World Cup played in North or South America.

The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament
• Golden Ball - Lionel Messi of Argentina
• Golden Boot - James Rodriguez of Colombia
• Golden Glove - Manuel Neuer of Germany
• Best Young Player - Paul Pogba of France
• FIFA Fair Play Trophy - Colombia
To qualify into the finals, Germany led by Philipp Lahm defeated Brazil 7-1 in the semi-final, which was the worst defeat ever for Brazil. On the other hand, Argentina defeated Netherlands 4-2 on penalty shootout in the semi-finals and reached the final of the Football World Cup for the first time in 24 years.
About 2014 FIFA World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup participated by 32 nations was started on 12 June 2014 with a group stage and concluded on 13 July 2014 with the win of Germany in the finals against Argentina. The 2014 tournament was the 20th edition of FIFA World Cup and was held at 12 venues across Brazil, the country that hosted the game for the second time. Brazil known as Mecca of football hosted the tournament for the first time in 1950.

Brazil was elected as the host of 2014 FIFA World Cup in 2007, when international football federation (FIFA) decreed that the tournament would be staged in South America for the first time since 1978 in Argentina, and the fifth time overall.
Apart from this, the 2014 edition finals of the tournament for the first time saw use of the goal-line technology by match officials.

Union Ministry of Railways launched Social Media Platform for Indian Railways

Union Ministry of Railways launched Social Media Platform for the Indian Railways on 7 July 2014.

With this, customers can connect with the Railways through Facebook and Twitter. Besides, all the important announcements of Railways starting with Rail Budget 2014-15 will be available to the customers on 24×7 basis.

The launch of Social Media Platform is the endeavour of Indian railways to use social media as a platform to tell its stories and constantly hear from fellow travelers.

The new initiative of railways joining social media will add to the technology development of India and transparent.

Earthquakes in Oklahoma due to wastewater disposal wells: Cornell University

The Earthquakes in Oklahoma since 2009 increased due to massive injections of subsurface wastewater from the by The weDownload Manager">oil by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> and gas industry at a handful of wastewater disposal wells.

This was revealed by a study conducted by Cornell University researchers led by Prof Katie Keranen. The Study was published in the journal Science on 3 July 2014.

According to the study, waste water associated with by The weDownload Manager">oil by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> and gas production is injected into the ground called disposal well. These wells operating at very high volumes, created substantial anthropogenic seismic hazard.

The number of potentially damaging earthquakes with magnitude of 3.0 or larger was up more than 120 percent (241 earthquakes) by the end of June 2014 as compared to 109 earthquakes in 2013.

Researchers of Cornell University reported that earthquakes can be induced nearly 30 km or nearly 19 miles, away from a disposal well, beyond the current range of about 5 km or 3 miles.

Besides, researchers also said that four of the highest-volume disposal wells in Oklahoma were capable of triggering 20 percent of recent earthquakes in the Oklahoma. Earthquakes of Oklahoma in areas of high industry waste water disposal constituted nearly half of all central and eastern US seismicity from 2008 to 2013.

In 2011, Oklahoma suffered its biggest recorded earth quake of 5.6 magnitude.

World Population Day 2014 observed across the world

11 July: World Population Day

World Population Day was observed across the world on 11 July 2014. The theme of World Population Day 2014 was by The weDownload Manager">Investing by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> in Young People.

World Population Day is observed to bring awareness to people about importance of small families and living healthy lives. The day is celebrated with several programs that are initiated to educate people about family planning methods.

About World Population Day
World population day was first celebrated in 1987, the day when world population reached five billion people. At present, the day is celebrated across 200 countries by Government Organizations, NGO's and numerous non-profit organizations by arranging special campaigns and programs to educated people about global population issues.

The World population edged to 7 billion people in 2011 from 2.5 billion in 1950. The 7 billion people are both a challenge and an opportunity with implications on sustainability, urbanization, access to health services and youth empowerment.  To create awareness to the people, who need to realize and act on healthier lives on growth of population.

Union Budget 2014-15: Weaker Sections

Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley on 10 July 2014 presented Union Budget 2014-15. the Union Budget introduced new scheme Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojna for tribals, National level institutes for Universal Inclusive Design, Mental Health Rehabilitation and a Centre for Disability Sports to be established.

Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe
• An amount of 50548 crore rupees is proposed under the SC Plan and 32387 crore rupees under TSP.
• For the welfare of the tribals Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojna launched with an initial allocation of 100 crore.

Senior Citizen & Differently Abled Persons
• Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana (VPBY) to be revived for a limited period from 15 August 2014 to 14 August 2015 for the benefit of citizens aged 60 years and above.
• A committee will to examine and recommend how unclaimed amounts with PPF, Post Office, saving schemes etc. can be used to protect and further by The weDownload Manager">financial by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> interests of the senior citizens?
• Government notified a minimum pension of 1000 per rupees month to all subscriber members of EP Scheme. Initial provision of 250 crore rupees.
• Increase in mandatory wage ceiling of subscription to 15000 rupees. A provision of 250 crore rupees in the current budget.
• EPFO to launch the Uniform Account Number Service for contributing members.
• Scheme for Assistance to Disabled Persons for purchase/fitting of Aids and Appliances (ADIP) extended to include contemporary aids and assistive devices.
• National level institutes for Universal Inclusive Design, Mental Health Rehabilitation and a Centre for Disability Sports to be established.
• Assistance to State Governments to establish fifteen new Braille Presses and modernize ten existing Braille Presses.
• Government to print by The weDownload Manager">currency by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> notes with Braille like signs for visibly challenged persons.

UN released World Urbanization Prospects Report 2014

The United Nation (UN) on 10 July 2014 launched the 2014 revision of the World Urbanisation Prospects report. The report said that at present, 54 percent of the world's population lives in urban areas, which will have an additional 2.5 billion people in urban areas by 2050.

Highlights of the report
• Tokyo was ranked at first position as populous cities in 2014 with 38 million inhabitants (projection says that Tokyo’s population will decline, but will remain the world's largest city in 2030 with 37 million people)
• Delhi with 25 million population was ranked at 2nd position 
• Shanghai with 23 million was placed at the at the third position 
• Mexico City, Mumbai and Sao Paulo, each with around 21 million inhabitants in 2014 were ranked at fourth position 
• Osaka with just over 20 million people, round up the top five spots.
• According to UN, at present worldwide, there are 28 megacities that represents 12 percent of the world’s urban population of which 16 megacities are located in Asia, with four in Latin America, three each in Africa and Europe and two in North America.  The number of megacities has reached to 28 from previous 10 marked in 1990 (megacities are defined as urban agglomerations with more than 10 million inhabitants). 
• By 2030, the world will have 41 megacities each with more than 10 million inhabitants of which maximum will be in developing nations. 
• The World Urbanisation report said that between 2014 and 2050, the largest urban growth will take place in India, China and Nigeria. These three countries will account for 37 percent of the projected growth of the world’s urban population 
• As per the report, by 2050 India will add 404 million urban dwellers, which will be much more than China’s projection of 292 million. Nigeria will add 212 million to its urban population. 
• At present, urban population of 758 million exists in India and China, which accounts to 30 percent of world’s urban population. 
• After combining India and China with the United States, Brazil, Indonesia, Japan and Russia at present accounts for more than half of the world's urban population.

Report in context of India 
The UN report highlighted Delhi with 25 million inhabitants as the world’s second most populous city after Tokyo.  Mumbai was ranked at fourth place in the list. 
The reports projection says that Delhi’s population that has almost doubled to 25 million, since 1990 will retain the spot of world’s second most populous city through at least 2030, when its population is expected to rise swiftly to 36 million. It also projected that India will add the highest number of people to its urban population by 2050, ahead of China. At present India’s urban population are 410 million people and by 2050, it will grow to 814 million.  
Director of the UN Population Division - John Wilmoth

Union Budget 2104-15: Financial Sector

Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley on 10 July 2014 presented Union Budget 2014-15. the union budget to energize capital by The weDownload Manager">markets by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> introduced uniform KYC norms and inter-usability of the KYC records across the financial sector, one single operating demat account and Uniform tax treatment for pension by The weDownload Manager">fund by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> and mutual fund.

Capital Market
• Ongoing process of consultations with all the stakeholders on the enactment of the Indian by The weDownload Manager">Financial by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> Code and reports of the by The weDownload Manager">Financial by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) to be completed.
• Government in close consultation with the RBI to put in place a modern monetary policy framework.
• Following measures will be taken to energize Capital by The weDownload Manager">markets by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> :
1. Introduction of uniform KYC norms and inter-usability of the KYC records across the entire financial sector.
2. Introduce one single operating demat account
3. Uniform tax treatment for pension by The weDownload Manager">fund by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> and mutual by The weDownload Manager">fund by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> linked retirement plan

Union Budget 2014-15: Infrastructure

Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley on 10 July 2014 presented Union Budget 2014-15. The Union Budget provided finances to set up an institute which provides support to mainstream the 4PIndia, Comprehensive policy will be announced, to develop Jal Marg Vikas (project on Ganges) and encouraging Tier I and Tier II airports.

Infrastructure
• An institution to provide support to mainstreaming (People Public Private Partnership - PPPPs) called 4PIndia to be set up with a corpus of 500 crores rupees.

Shipping
• 11635 crore rupees will be allocated for the development of Outer Harbour Project in Tuticorin for phase I.
• SEZs will be developed in Kandla and JNPT.
• Comprehensive policy to be announced to promote Indian ship building industry.

Inland Navigation
• Project on Ganges called Jal Marg Vikas to be developed between Allahabad and Haldia.
New Airports
• Scheme for development of new airports in Tier I and Tier II Cities to be launched.

Roads sector
• Sector needs huge amount of by The weDownload Manager">investment by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> along with debottlenecking from maze of clearances.
• An by The weDownload Manager">investment by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t">of an amount of 37880 crores rupees in NHAI and State Roads is proposed which includes 3000 crores rupees for the North East.
• Target of NH construction of 8500 km will be achieved in current by The weDownload Manager">financial by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> year.
• Work on select expressways in parallel to the development of the Industrial Corridors will be initiated. For project preparation NHAI shall set aside a sum of 500 crore rupees.

Petroleum & Natural Gas
• Production and exploitation of Coal Bed Methane reserves will be accelerated.
• Possibility of using modern technology to revive old or closed wells to be explored.
• Usage of PNG to be rapidly scaled up in a Mission mode.
• Proposal to develop pipelines using appropriate PPP models.
Mining
• Changes, if necessary, in the MMDR Act, 1957 to be introduced to encourage investment in mining sector and promote sustainable mining practices.

Union Budget 2014-15: Industry, MSME & Textiles

Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley on 10 July 2014 presented Union Budget 2014-15. The Union Budget 2014-15 provided new initiatives like National Industrial Corridor Authority and preparing master planning of industrial corridors and economic corridors to increase the industrial growth. It also proposed for Export promotion Mission to bring different stake holders under one umbrella.

In MSME sector, new schemes like skill India to create employability and entrepreneur skills to youth whereas Fund of by The weDownload Manager">Funds by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> is corpus to  provide equity through venture capital funds, quasi equity, soft loans and other risk capital etc.

In Textile sector, budget provided finance to set up by The weDownload Manager">Trade by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> Facilitation Centre and a Crafts Museum, and to develop the Textile mega-clusters. It also provided finance to set up Hastkala Academy and for the development of Pashmina Promotion Programme (P-3) and Jammu and Kashmir crafts.

Industry
• Central Government Departments and Ministries to integrate their services with the e-Biz -a single window IT platform- for services on priority by 31 December 2014.
• 100 crore rupees provided for setting up a National Industrial Corridor Authority.
• Amritsar Kolkata Industrial master planning to be completed expeditiously.
• Master planning of 3 new smart cities in the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor region, viz., Ponneri in Tamil Nadu, Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Tumkur in Karnataka to be completed.
• Perspective plan for the Bengaluru Mumbai Economic corridor (BMEC) and Vizag-Chennai corridor to be completed with the provision for 20 new industrial clusters.
• Development of industrial corridors with emphasis on Smart Cities linked to transport connectivity to spur growth in manufacturing and urbanization will be accelerated.
• Proposed to establish an Export promotion Mission to bring all stakeholders under one umbrella.
• Apprenticeship Act to be suitably amended to make it more responsive to industry and youth.

Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Sector
• Skill India to be launched to skill the youth with an emphasis on employability and entrepreneur skills.
• Committee to examine the financial architecture for MSME Sector, remove bottlenecks and create new rules and structures to be set up and give concrete suggestions in three months.
• Fund of Funds with a corpus of 10000 crore rupees for providing equity through venture capital funds, quasi equity, soft loans and other risk capital specially to encourage new startups by youth to be set up.
• Corpus of 200 crore rupees to be set up to establish Technology Centre Network.
• Definition of MSME to be reviewed to provide for a higher capital ceiling.
• Programme to facilitate forward and backward linkages with multiple value chain of manufacturing and service delivery to be put in place.
• Entrepreneur friendly legal bankruptcy framework will be developed for SMEs to enable easy exit.
• A nationwide District level Incubation and Accelerator Programme to be taken up for incubation of new ideas and necessary support for accelerating entrepreneurship.

Textiles
• 50 crore rupees is provided to set up a Trade Facilitation Centre and a Crafts Museum to develop and promote handloom products and carry forward the rich tradition of handlooms of Varanasi.
• Sum of 500 crore rupees for developing a Textile mega-cluster at Varanasi and six more at Bareilly, Lucknow, Surat, Kutch, Bhagalpur and Mysore.
• 20 crore rupees to set up a Hastkala Academy for the preservation, revival, and documentation of the handloom or handicraft sector in PPP mode in Delhi.
• 50 crore rupees is provided to start a Pashmina Promotion Programme (P-3) and development of other crafts of Jammu & Kashmir

Union Rail Budget 2014-15: New Trains

Sadananda Gowda, the Union Railway Minister on 8 July 2014 presented his maiden Rail Budget 2014-15 in the Lok Sabha. This was also the first rail budget of the Narendra Modi led NDA government. 
In the budget, Gowda announced introduction of 5 Jansadharan Trains, 5 Premium Trains, 6 AC Express Trains, 27 Express Trains, 8 Passenger Trains, 2 MEMU services and 5 DEMU services. Apart from this, Gowda also proposed to extend the run of 11 existing trains. The list of new trains is

Jansadharan Trains
• Ahmedabad – Darbhanga Jansadharan Express via Surat
• Jaynagar – Mumbai Jansadharan Express
• Mumbai – Gorakhpur Jansadharan Express
• Saharasa – Anand Vihar Jansadharan Express via Motihari
• Saharasa – Amritsar Jansadharan Express
Premium Trains
• Mumbai Central – New Delhi Premium AC Express
• Shalimar – Chennai Premium AC Express
• Secunderabad- Hazrat Nizamuddin Premium AC Express
• Jaipur – Madurai Premium Express
• Kamakhya – Bengaluru Premium Express
AC Express Trains
• Vijayawada-New Delhi AP Express (Daily)
• Lokmanya Tilak (T) – Lucknow (Weekly)
• Nagpur – Pune (Weekly)
• Nagpur – Amritsar (Weekly)
• Naharlagun – New Delhi (Weekly)
• Nizamuddin – Pune (Weekly)
Express Trains
• Ahmedabad – Patna Express (Weekly) via Varanasi
• Ahmedabad - Chennai Express (Bi-weekly) via Vasai Road
• Bengaluru – Mangalore Express (Daily)
• Bengaluru – Shimoga Express (Bi-weekly)
• Bandra (T) – Jaipur Express (Weekly) Via Nagda, Kota
• Bidar – Mumbai Express (Weekly)
• Chhapra – Lucknow Express (Tri-weekly) via Ballia, Ghazipur, Varanasi
• Ferozpur – Chandigarh Express (6 days a week)
• Guwahati – Naharlagun Intercity Express (Daily)
• Guwahati – Murkongselek Intercity Express (Daily)
• Gorakhpur – Anand Vihar Express (Weekly)
• Hapa – Bilaspur Express (Weekly) via Nagpur
• Hazur Saheb Nanded – Bikaner Express (Weekly)
• Indore – Jammu Tawi Express (Weekly)
• Kamakhya – Katra Express (Weekly) via Darbhanga
• Kanpur – Jammu Tawi Express (Bi-weekly)
• Lokmanya Tilak (T) – Azamgarh Express (Weekly)
• Mumbai _ Kazipeth Express (Weekly) via Balharshah
• Mumbai – Palitana Express (Weekly)
• New Delhi - Bhatinda Shatabdi Express (Bi-weekly)
• New Delhi – Varanasi Express (Daily)
• Paradeep – Howrah Express (Weekly)
• Paradeep – Visakhapatnam Express (Weekly)
• Rajkot – Rewa Express (Weekly)
• Ramnagar – Agra Express (Weekly)
• Tatanagar – Baiyyappanahali (Bengaluru) Express (Weekly)
• Visakhapatnam – Chennai Express (Weekly)
Passenger Trains
• Bikaner – Rewari Passenger (Daily)
• Dharwad – Dandeli Passenger (Daily) via Alnavar
• Gorakhpur – Nautanwa Passenger (Daily)
• Guwahati – Mendipathar Passenger (Daily)
• Hatia – Rourkela Passenger
• Byndoor – Kasaragod Passenger (Daily)
• Rangapara North – Rangiya Passenger (Daily)
• Yesvantpur – Tumkur Passenger (Daily)

MEMU services
• Bengaluru – Ramanagaram 6 days a week (3 Pairs)
• Palwal – Delhi – Aligarh
DEMU services
• Bengaluru – Neelmangala (Daily)
• Chhapra – Manduadih (6 days a week) via Ballia
• Baramula – Banihal (Daily)
• Sambalpur – Rourkela (6 days a week)
• Yesvantpur- Hosur (6 days a week)
Extension of run of existing Trains
• 22409/22410 Anand Vihar – Sasaram Garib Rath Express to Gaya
• 12455/12456 Delhi Sarai Rohilla – Sriganganagar Express to Bikaner
• 15231/15232 Gondia – Muzaffarpur Express to Barauni
• 12001/12002 New Delhi – Bhopal Shatabdi Express to Habibganj
• 54602 Ludhiana – Hissar Passenger to Sadulpur
• 55007/55008 Sonpur – Kaptanganj Passenger to Gorakhpur
• 55072/55073 Gorakhpur – Thawe Passenger to Siwan
• 63237/63238 Buxar – Mughalsarai MEMU to Varanasi
• 63208/63211 Jhajha – Patna MEMU to Jasidih
• 64221/64222 Lucknow – Hardoi MEMU to Shahjahanpur
• 68002/68007 Howrah – Belda MEMU to Jaleswar

India successfully test-fired BrahMos supersonic cruise missile

India on 8 July 2014 successfully test-fired an advanced version of the 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from Chandipur-on-Sea off Odisha coast. It was test-fired from a mobile launcher from launch complex number three of the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Balasore.

BrahMos has been inducted into the Army and Navy, while, the Air Force is in final stages of trial. The induction of the first version of BrahMos Weapon Complex (N1) in the Indian Navy commenced from 2005 with the missile being deployed on-board warship INS Rajput (the first ship with the missile).

The Indian Army also received the first regiment of BrahMos missile, Block I (A1), with the formation of N816 missile regiments and commencement of deliveries from 2007.
At present, to develop an air as well as the submarine–launched version of the missile system, work is going on by an Indo-Russian joint version company, BrahMos Aerospace. 
About the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile
• BrahMos supersonic cruise missile is capable of carrying a conventional warhead of 300 kilogram and operates on ‘Fire and Forget Principle’, adopting varieties of flights on its way to the target
• BrahMos is the first supersonic cruise missile known to be in service
• BrahMos with a top speed of Mach 2.8 is about three times faster than the US subsonic Tomahawk cruise missile
• It can be launched from ships, aircrafts and submarines
• It is a two-stage missile with Solid propellant in the first stage and Ramjet liquid propellant in the second stage 
• Name BrahMos has been formed from the names of two rivers, namely the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia

Eduard Shevardnadze, the ex-President of Georgia died at 86

Eduard Shevardnadze, the former President of Georgia died on 7 July 2014. He died after prolong illness at the age of 86. 
He became the second President of Georgia in 1992 after disintegration of Georgia from the erstwhile Soviet Union. He had succeeded Zviad Gamsakhurdia. He was toppled in November 2003 after the Rose Revolution led by Mikheil Saakashvili.

He was alleged about irregularities in Parliamentary polls as well as with corruption and nepotism. However, Eduard Shevardnadze led Georgia out from the long running instability and civil war.
About Eduard Shevardnadze
• He was born in 1928 in Lanchkhuti, Georgia
• In 1946, he joined the youth movement of the Communist party and became the party’s Georgia head in 1972
• In 1985 under reformist leader Mikhail Gorbachev, he was appointed as the foreign minister of the Soviet Union
• In 1990 he resigned from the post and rejoined it in 1991 when Soviet Union was disintegrating 
• He was credited with helping end the Cold War
• He authored his memoir titled The Future Belongs to Freedom
• He was the last foreign minister of Soviet Union

Alfredo Di Stefano, the Real Madrid FC legend died

Alfredo Di Stefano, the legend of Real Madrid Football Club, died on 7 July 2014 at the General Universatario Gregorio Maranon Hospital in Madrid. He was 88. He died after suffering a heart attack.
Stefano was a football player, who played for three different nations at international level but never appeared at the world cup. He played for Argentina, Colombia and Spain. Although FIFA in 1954 blocked him from playing for Spain but the decision was reversed in 1957, when Stefano gained the Spanish citizenship. Apart from this, FIFA do not officially recognised his Colombian caps.

About Alfredo Di Stefano
• Stefano was born on 4 July 1926, in Buenos Aires, Argentina
• He was regarded as one of the greatest players of all time
• He played between 1956 and 1960 as a forward and won five straight European Cups 
• In 1957 and 1959, was voted as European player of the year 
• He won eight Spanish league titles 
• At the age of 38, he left the Real Madrid after scoring over 300 goals across 11 seasons 
• With over 300 goals he was the second highest scorer from Real Madrid after  Spaniard Raul Gonzalez who scored 307 goals in all competitions
• He managed Real Madrid for five months from 1990 when the club won Spanish Super Cup against Barcelona. 
• Stefano as manager led Boca Juniors and River Plate to Argentine league titles and won La Liga and the Copa del Rey with Valencia
• In 2000, he became an honorary President of Real Madrid

Sania Mirza ranked career-best fifth in WTA doubles rankings

Sania Mirza, the Indian tennis ace, along with her Zimbabwean doubles partner Cara Black on 7 July 2014 were ranked career-best fifth in the latest WTA Doubles rankings. 
This feat was achieved by the duo after displaying some consistent results on their tour to just concluded Wimbledon championships. Their appearance in the second round fetched them crucial 130 ranking points which was enough to push them under top-5.

Sania, who became a professional tennis player in 2003, entered the top-five chart for the first time in her career. 
On the other hand in the ATP rankings, Somdev Devvarman was dropped by 10 places to 135 due to his poor performance. In the doubles Leander Paes remained unchanged at number 13. Rohan Bopanna was dropped three places to sit on the edge of top-20.

Granville Austin, the scholar of Indian constitution died

Granville Austin, the eminent scholar of the Indian Constitution died on 6 July 2014 in Washington DC. He died at the age of 87. He described Indian Constitution as first and foremost a social document that embodied the objectives of a social revolution.

About Granville Austin
• He authored two books on Indian Constitution. These are
a) The Indian Constitution – The Indian Constitution: A Cornerstone of a Nation 
b) Working a Democratic Republic: The Indian Experience
• In 2011, he was awarded with fourth highest civilian award in India, Padma Shri. He was awarded in recognition of his writings on the framing and working of the Indian Constitution.
• He worked as a journalist and photographer 
• He was born in 1927 at Norwich, Vermont 
• He earned recognition in the form of numerous fellowships and grants, including from St. Antony's College, Oxford, the Ford Foundation, the Fulbright Program, the American Institute of Indian Studies, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars, the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, and the Institute of Current World Affairs. 
• Among friends he was described as a remarkable man and was known as Red

Union Rail Budget 2014-15: Highlights

Union Rail Budget 2014-15 was presented by the Union Railway Minister Sadanand Gowda on 8 July 2014. This is the first rail budget presented by any Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister and it is also Gowda’s first rail budget.

Highlights of Union Rail Budget 2014-15
• Railways to build FOB and escalators, toilets on all stations
• Railways also proposes to set up Food Courts at major stations
• RO drinking water facilities to be installed at stations
• Separate housekeeping wing at 50 major stations
• CCTV to monitor cleanliness activities
• Mechanized laundry will be introduced
• Dedicated freight corridor on Eastern and Western corridors
• Tourist trains to be introduced to link all major places of tourist interests across the country
• 4000 women constables to be recruited to ensure safety of women
• 17000 Railway Protection Force (RPF) constables to provide safety to passengers
• Setting up of Railway University for technical and non-technical study
• Ultrasonic Broken Rail Detection System (UBRD) to detect problem in track
• Proposal to start Bullet trains in Mumbai—Ahmedabad route
• Diamond Quadrilateral project of high speed trains to connect all major metros
• Efforts will be made to increase speed of trains to 160-200km/h on select sectors. The identified sectors are: Delhi-Agra; Delhi-Chandigarh; Delhi-Kanpur; Nagpur-Bilaspur; Mysore-Bengaluru-Chennai; Mumbai-Goa; Mumbai-Ahmedabad; Chennai-Hyderabad and Nagpur-Secunderabad.
• E-ticketing system to be improved. Future e-ticketing to support 7200 tickets per minute & to allow 120000 simultaneous users
• Wi-fi in A1 and A category stations and in select trains. Internet-based platform and unreserved tickets
• Will develop 10 metro stations with state-of-the-art facilities
• Outsourcing at 50 major stations; on board housekeeping to be extended to more trains; launching feedback service through IVRS on the quality
• Hospital Management Information System to integrate all railway health units and hospitals
• Special milk tanker trains to be introduced
• Temperature-controlled storage for fruits and vegetable
• setting up of Railway University for technical and non-technical subjects, tie-up with technical institutions
• Paperless office of Indian railways in 5 years. Digital reservation charts at stations
• Ready-to-eat meals to be introduced in phased manners
• New trains in Rail Budget: 5 Jansadharan, 5 Premium, 6 AC, 27 express trains, 8 passenger, 5 DEMU & 2 MEMU services; 11 train extensions
• Office-on-wheels: Internet and workstation facilities on select trains
• Temperature-controlled storage for fruits and vegetable

Some by The weDownload Manager">financial by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> aspects of Railways in 2013-14
• Social obligation of Railways in 2013-14 was 20000 crore rupees
• Gross traffic receipts in 2013-14 was 1235558 crore rupees
• Operating ratio was 94 per cent.
• Spend 94 paisa of every rupee earned, leaving a surplus of only 6 paisa
• Gross Traffic Receipts were 139558 crore rupees 
• Total Working Expenses were 130321 crore rupees 
• Plan Outlay under budgetary sources was 35241 crore rupees

Rail Budget Estimates 2014-15
• Total receipts of 164374 crore rupees
• Total expenditure at 149176 crore rupees
• Earnings from Freight Traffic are estimated at 105770 crore rupees 
• Earnings from Passenger Traffic 44645 crore rupees    
• Plan outlay under budgetary sources 47650 crore rupees
• Additional Budgetary Support (ABS) of 1100 crore rupees as Capital
• Railways Share from diesel cess at 273 crore rupees for important Road Safety works

Resource Mobilisation
• Leveraging Railway PSU Resources
• Private by The weDownload Manager">investment by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> in Rail Infrastructure through Domestic and Foreign Direct by The weDownload Manager">Investment by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> (FDI)
• Public Private Partnership

In tiatives for Resource Mobilisation
• Near Plan Holiday approach
• Prioritizing and setting timelines for completion of the ongoing projects
• Decision Support System for project implementation
• Aggressive indigenization of imported products
• Adopting safety standards matching international practices and setting up of Simulation Center to study causes of accidents
• Encouraging development of Locomotives, Coaches and Wagon Leasing by The weDownload Manager">Market by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t">

Analysis
Railways are a microcosm of India on the move. With 12500 trains, railways move 23 million passengers every day; equivalent to moving Australia's population. Thus, extending passenger-friendly services shall be the main motive of any reforms.
Besides, Railways is also the carrier of bulk goods but it suffers from host of infrastructural and logistics issues. Hence, the Rail Budget target is to become the largest freight carrier in the world.

Indian Railways spent 41000 crore rupees on laying of 3700 km of new lines in last 10 years. A tardy progress and Railways need immediate course correction. Hence the Rail Budget 2014-15 focuses is on project completion rather than project announcements. 
From above it can be discerned that Railways is in dire by The weDownload Manager">financial by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> crunch. As per Interim Rail Budget 2014-15, Railways are in losses to the tune of 26000 crore rupees. Earlier in June 2014 Narendra Modi-led government increased railway passenger fares by 14.2 percent and freight carriage charges by 6.5 percent.

However, there is need to explore alternative sources of resource mobilisation and not depend on fare hike alone. This is because although fare revision will bring in 8000 crore rupees but an additional 9 lakh crore rupees alone needed for golden quadrilateral project. 5 lakh crore rupees is required for ongoing projects alone over the next 10 years.
In sum, the Rail Budget tries to balance social and commercial obligations.

IMG constituted to examine potential of GAGAN in Non-Aviation Sectors

The Union Civil Aviation Ministry on 7 July 2014 constituted an Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) to examine the maximum potential of the GPS Aided Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) system. The IMG will be headed by Ashok Lavasa, the Secretary of Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Tasks of the Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG)
• The Group will examine the potential of sector-specific utilisation of GAGAN system for its use in non-aviation sectors 
• Develop appropriate work programmes using GAGAN signals that can benefit diversified users
With GANAN, India would become the fourth nation after the US, Europe and Japan to use the satellite-based navigation system.

About GPS Aided Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) system
• GAGAN is a satellite based augmentation system of India 
• It has been developed jointly by Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
• It has been developed at an estimated cost of 774 crore rupees for enhanced Air Navigation Services across the country
• GAGAN system offers free enhanced satellite navigation signals over India and these signals are ten times more precise than GPS
Benefits of GAGAN
• GAGAN as a system can offer civilian users’ integrity as it is capable of automatically alert about the error made by the system. 
• It will play an important role in safety of life applications in transport, sensitive commercial applications and liability-critical applications needing legal course. 
• It will generate substantial by The weDownload Manager">fund by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> for India in future because GAGAN can be leased by India to neighbouring countries to manage their air traffic as well as overflights.
• It will enable transition of the air traffic management system to satellite-based seamless navigation across continents covering the airspace from Australia to Africa as well as west Asia to China and Russia.

Kvitova won the Women’s Wimbledon Tennis Open

Petra Kvitova of Czechslovakia on 5 July 2014 won the women’s single of Wimbledon Tennis Open of 2014. To win her second title, she defeated the Canadian Eugenie Bouchard 6-3, 6-0.
With this win, Kvitova collected a reward of 1760000 Pound and the Venus Rosewater Dish, symbol of the greatest prize in the women’s game. Kvitova won her first Wimbledon title in 2011 by defeating Maria Sharapova.

On the other hand, Bouchard (20-years-old) became the first Canadian to reach a Grand Slam final. 
Sixth seeded, Kvitova with this win, will move up to fourth in the world rankings.

Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act invoked against striking medical officers

State Government of Maharashtra on 5 July 2014 invoked Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA) 2011 against medical officers’, who are on strike since 1 July 2014. In its directive, the government ordered to register cases against those medical officers, if they fail to resume their services by 6 July 2014. 
Background
About 5000 medical officers of the state went on strike on 1 July 2014 with a demand of higher pay, permanent status to Ayurveda and dental health officers and fixed duty hours. The striking medical officers included permanent employees, temporary employees and bonded doctors, and this strike crippled health services of the state.

They went on strike under banner of Maharashtra Association of Gazetted Medical Officers Organisation (MAGMO).

Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA) 2011
The Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA) 2011 has given authority to police to arrest the doctors without issuing warrants. It states:
• Any police officer can arrest any person without any warrant who is reasonably suspected of having committed any offence under this Act. 
• All offences under this Act is non-bailable and can be imprisoned for a term which extends to one year or with fine that extends up to 2 thousand rupees or both.

SC ruled Shariat Courts are illegal

The Supreme Court of India on 7 July 2014 ruled that Shariat courts are illegal and objected to Shariat court from passing orders against innocent person. It said that no religion allows punishment of innocent and hence no Darul Qaza should give verdict on rights of a person, unless it is asked for by the person. 
It said that no legal status has been granted to the Sharia Courts or religious decrees of fatwas, thus they are illegal if it violates fundamental rights of an individual.
The SC judgment was delivered while hearing a petition that asked whether Shariat courts are unconstitutional or not. The petition was filed by a Delhi-based advocate Vishwa Lochan Madan in 2005, which challenged the parallel courts run by institutions like the Darul Qaza and Darul-Iftaa and have an impact on the fundamental rights of the Muslim citizens. 
The decision was delivered by the bench headed by Justice CK Prasad of SC.
Earlier in February 2014, the Supreme Court had observed that it cannot interfere with fatwas or religious decrees issued by Muslim clerics. 
However, All India Personal Law Board had earlier submitted that fatwa was not binding on people and it was just an opinion of a mufti (cleric) and he has no power and authority to implement it. Also, if a fatwa was sought to be implemented against the wish of the person concerned, then he could approach the court of law against it.

C Rangarajan Committee on Poverty presented its report to Union Government

C Rangrajan Committee to review the Methodology for Measurement of Poverty presented its report to the Union Planning Minister Rao Inderjit Singh in the first week of July 2014.

The report retained consumption expenditure estimates of NSSO as the basis for determining poverty. On the basis of this, it pegged the total number of poor in India at 363 million or 29.6 percent of the population. This is higher than 269.8 million poor people or 21.9 percent pegged by the Suresh Tendulkar committee.

Highlights of the Report
• The daily per capita expenditure is pegged at 32 rupees for the rural poor and at 47 rupees for the urban poor.
• Poverty line based on the average monthly per capita expenditure is pegged at 972 rupees for rural India and 1407 rupees for urban India.
• The all-India poverty line in terms of consumption expenditure for a family of five is estimated at 4760 rupees per month in rural areas and 7035 rupees per month in urban areas in 2011-12.
• The percentage of people below the poverty line in 2011-12 was 30.95 in rural areas and 26.4 in urban areas.
• The respective ratios for the rural and urban areas were 41.8 percent and 25.7 percent, respectively, and 37.2 percent for the country as a whole in 2004-05.  In 1993-94, it was 50.1 percent in rural areas, 31.8 percent in urban areas and 45.3 per cent for the country as a whole.
• In 2009-10, about 91.6 million people were lifted out of poverty as compared to 454.6 million poor in 2009-10. 
• The poverty rate fell by 8.7 percentage points in 2009-10 under the Rangarajan formula against a 7.9 percentage point fall under the Tendulkar methodology.

M S Mehta appointed as CEO of Reliance Infrastructure

M S Mehta was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Reliance Infrastructure on 7 July 2014. He took charge as CEO for a period of five years.

He replaced Lalit Jalan, who held the post of CEO of Reliance Infrastructure for more than seven years.

About M S Mehta
• MS Mehta is a mechanical engineer and done MBA from IIM Ahmedabad.
• Earlier, he was working with Vedanta Resources as its Group CEO for five years.
• He also served as CEO of Hindustan Zinc and also worked with Lloyds Steel.

About Reliance Infrastructure
Reliance Infrastructure is a part of Reliance Group. It is India's largest infrastructure company and has presence across three verticals such as Engineering, Procurement and Construction, Energy and Infrastructure.

The company has presence in across the value chain of power business i.e. Generation, Transmission, Distribution, EPC and by The weDownload Manager">Trading by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> and the largest infrastructure company by developing projects in all high growth areas in infrastructure sector i.e. Roads, Highways, Metro Rails, Airports and Speciality Real Estate.

German Cabinet approved dual citizenship for children of immigrants

German Cabinet headed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel on 3 July 2014 approved a new law that allows dual citizenship for the children of immigrants on 3 July 2014.

According to the new law, those born since 1990 will now be allowed to keep both passports, that is, German citizenship and the citizenship of their parent’s country of origin. The rule applies for those who are at age 21 and have lived in Germany for at least eight years, attended school for at least six years, gained school-leaving qualifications in Germany or completed vocational training in Germany.

Now the law will have to be approved by the lower house of the German Parliament Bundestag before it becomes an Act.
Until now, Germany-born children of immigrants from most non-EU countries were granted both German and their parents' citizenship at birth but then had to opt for one of them by age 23.

Germany had already allowed dual citizenship to European Union and several dozen other nations and many countries in the world allows dual or multiple Citizenship.

Background
The approved law allowing dual citizenship will relieve the three million Turkish peoples living in Germany who have been demanding this since very long. Besides, the law also gives the green light to a pet project of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) who shares power with Angela Merkel's conservatives.

However, Turkish community leaders have criticised the new law because it applies only to youngsters and does not cover older people who have often spent decades in Germany.

President Pranab Mukherjee appointed Governor for Mizoram and Nagaland

President Pranab Mukherjee on 6 July 2014 appointed Governor for Mizoram and Nagaland. 
Governor of Gujarat, Kamla Beniwal was transferred and appointed as Governor of Mizoram for the remainder of her term. 
Vakkom Purushothaman, the Mizoram Governor, transferred and appointed as Governor of Nagaland for the remainder of his term. Vakkom will continue to hold the additional charge of the office of the Governor of Tripura.

Margaret Alva, the Governor of Rajasthan, was given the additional responsibility of discharging the functions as Governor of Gujarat, until regular arrangements for the office is made. 
The appointments will take effect from the dates the incumbents assume charge of their respective offices.

Novak Djokovic won the Men’s Wimbledon Tennis Open defeating Roger Federer

Novak Djokovic of Serbia on 6 July 2014 won the Men’s Wimbledon Tennis Open defeating Roger Federer of Switzerland. He defeated Federer 6-7(7), 6-4, 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-4. This is the second Wimbledon title for 27-year-old, Djokovic and seventh career Grand Slam. Djokovic won his first Wimbledon title in 2011.
With this win world number two Djokovic reclaimed top spot in the men’s rankings replacing Rafael Nadal for the first time since September 2013. 
This defeat of 32-year-old Federer ended his bid to become the oldest Wimbledon Champion in the Open Era and of breaking the record of seven titles he shares with Pete Sampras.
In the women’s single Petra Kvitova of Czechoslovakia won the Wimbledon Tennis Open defeating Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard 6-3, 6-0.

Other Results of Wimbledon Open
Mixed Doubles: Nenad Zimonjic (Serbia) and Samantha Stosur (Australia) beat Max Mirnyi (Belarus) and Hao-Ching Chan (China)
Men’s Doubles: Vasek Pospisil (Canada) and Jack Sock (USA) defeated Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan of USA
Women's Doubles: Sara Errani (Italy) and Roberta Vinci (Italy) beat Timea Babos (Hungary) and Kristina Mladenovic (France) 
Boys Singles: Noah Rubin of USA beat Stefan Kozlov of USA
Girls Singles: Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) beat Kristina Schmiedlova (Slovakia)

MCC XI won the match played to celebrate 200 years of Lord’s Cricket Ground

Marylebone Cricket Club XI on 5 July 2014 won the match played to celebrate 200-years (bi-centenary) of Lord’s Cricket Ground – the Home of Cricket. Sachin Tendulkar-led MCC XI beat Shane Warne-led Rest of the World XI in Lord’s in London, UK.
Batting first MCC XI made 296 for 3 wickets. Aaron Finch with unbeatable 181 was the highest scorer of the match. On the other hand, Yuvraj Singh of Rest of the World XI was able to make 132 runs and helped the team to reach a respectable score of 293.

Players of both the team 
Marylebone Cricket Club Team: Sachin Tendulkar, S Chanderpaul, Rahul Dravid, Aaron Finch, Brian Lara, Brett Lee, Chris Read, Saeed Ajmal, SW Tait, Umar Gul, Daniel Vettori
Rest of the World XI Team: Shane Warne, TL Best, Paul Collingwood, Adam Gilchrist, M Muralitharan, KP Pietersen, Virender Sehwag, Shahid Afridi, PM Siddle, Tamim Iqbal, Yuvraj Singh

Four Indian Americans honoured on the eve of US Independence Day

Four India-born Americans were honoured on the eve of US Independence Day on 4 July 2014. They were honoured for their contributions to the US during annual Great Immigrants tribute held in New York, US.

The Indian-Americans honoured were Microsoft Corp chief executive Satya Nadella, Comedian and actor Aasif Mandvi, Carnegie Mellon University president Subra Suresh and former president of the University of West Georgia, Beheruz Sethna. They were honoured along with 36 others.

Satya Nadella born in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh became the shining stars among the Indian-Americans when he was chosen to head technology giant Microsoft Corp in February 2014. He migrated to the US in the 1980s.

Aasif Mandvi was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra and migrated to the US when he was 16. He is known for his satire on issues such as Islam, the Middle East and South Asia during his stint as correspondent on The Daily Show.

Subra Suresh was born in Chennai, Tamil nadu and migrated to the US to work on a postgraduate science degree. He graduated in 1979. He is the ninth president of the Carnegie Mellon University. He was appointed as director of the National Science Foundation in 2010 by US President Barack Obama. He served as the director of federal science agency till 2013.

Beheruz Sethna was born in India in 1948 and served as the sixth president of the University of West Georgia - the first Indian-American to lead a university in the US.

The annual Great Immigrants event  is sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation, a foundation started by a Scottish immigrant Andrew Carnegie who spearheaded the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and was himself one of the most well-known philanthropists of his time.

NABARD and SFAC signed a MoU for development of Small Farm Producers

National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) on 4 July 2014 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the development of Small Farm Producers.

The MoU seeks to bring the two institutions in close coordination for implementing schemes for promotion of Producer Organisations (POs).

The SFAC is implementing a scheme of the Government of India whereby the Producers Organisations are given equity support and the financing banks are given credit guarantee cover to enable formation of Producer Organisations.

NABARD will proactively leverage the benefits of the equity grant and credit guarantee by The weDownload Manager">fund by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> for Follow on Public Offers (FPO) set up by SFAC to ensure that finance for producer company flows smoothly.

NABARD will actively collaborate with the SFAC at national, state and district level by participating in the Food Security Mission. NABARD informed that it has a by The weDownload Manager">fund by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> of 50 crore rupees for supporting producer organisations.

Follow on Public Offers (FPO)
FPO is a process by which a company, which is already listed on an exchange, issues new shares to the investors or the existing shareholders, usually the promoters. FPO is used by companies to diversify their equity base.

Hurricane Arthur hit the coast of North Carolina

Hurricane Arthur hit the coast of North Carolina on 4 July 2014. It made landfall on the southern end of the barrier island with a speed of 100 miles per hour. 
The Category-2 Hurricane Arthur is the first hurricane of the season. It flooded some homes and businesses, trees were toppled and initially thousands were without electricity.
Pattern of naming storms that can graduate to hurricanes 
The process of naming storms started in 1953 and since then it has continued. Name of storms are kept in alphabetical order in which letters Q, U, X, Y and Z has been omitted. The international committee of World Meteorological Organization (WMO), an agency of the United Nations, is the in charge that names the Atlantic tropical storms that sometimes become hurricanes. Whereas, the lists originated by the National Hurricane Center.

The process of naming the storms consider six years of lists and the list is reused every six years (2008 list is being used in 2014). Earlier, the name list featured only women’s names but in 1979 the list was updated and saw men’s names also. These names are alternate with the women’s names. 
Categorisation of Storms
The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale categorizes storms based on their sustained wind speed and estimates property damage. 
Category 1: 74 to 95 mph. Very dangerous winds will produce some damage
Category 2: 96 to 110 mph. Extremely dangerous winds will cause extensive damage
Category 3: 111 to 129 mph. Devastating damage will occur
Category 4: 130 to 156 mph. Catastrophic damage will occur
Category 5: 157 mph and higher. Catastrophic damage will occur

Bihar Governor DY Patil took additional charge of West Bengal

DY Patil, the Governor of Bihar, on 4 July 2014 assumed the additional charge of West Bengal as the acting Governor. His oath of the office was administered by senior most judge Justice Asim Kumar Bandyopadhya of the Calcutta High Court at a function in Raj Bhawan in Kolkata. 
Patil took over the charge of the office from MK Narayanan who resigned from the post on 30 June 2014, which was accepted by the President on 4 July 2014. Narayanan became the 24th Governor of West Bengal on 24 January 2010. 
DY Patil will hold the additional charge of the post as interim arrangement till some permanent Governor is not appointed for the state.

About DY Patil
• He is an educator and a leader of the Indian National Congress from Maharashtra state
• Patil was elected to the Kolhapur Municipal Council as a Congress candidate in 1957 and remained in office until 1962
• He was the member of the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha from 1967-78
• He was appointed the Governor of Tripura state on 21 November 2009
• He became Governor of Bihar on 29 May 2013
• He received the Padma Shri award in 1991 for social wo

Narendra Modi inaugurated 240MW Uri-II hydroelectric project in Jammu and Kashmir

Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi on 4 July 2014 inaugurated the 240MW Uri-II Hydro Electric Project (HEP) in Jammu and Kashmir. This Uri-II project will be able to generate an estimated 1124 million units of hydel-energy annually from its four units of 60 MW each.  
The Uri-II project is the second power project on the Jhelum River in Uri area and is close to the Line of Control (LoC) in Baramullah district of the state. It is locate on the downstream of the 480-MW Uri-I HEP that is operational whose work was completed in 1997.

About the Uri-II Hydro Electric Project 
The Uri-II Hydro Electric Project has a concrete gravity dam with four spillways of nine meters each. The dam is 52-meter high and 157-meter long. In the process of generating the power, the 4.23-km head race tunnel carries water from the dam to the powerhouse that has four units of 60 MW that is designed to generate 1124 million units of electricity annually. It has been built by NHPC at an expense of 2290 crore rupees. 
Jammu and Kashmir is a state that has a great potential of generating hydroelectric power (clean and environment-friendly energy) in a great amount. 
Apart from this, earlier on 4 July 2014 he also inaugurated prestigious project Katra-Udhampur train.

Udhampur-Katra rail line inaugurated by the Prime Minister

Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, on 4 July 2014 dedicated 25 km-long Katra-Udhampur railway line of Jammu to the nation. He was on his first visit to the State after becoming the Prime Minister.
He inaugurated the first train from Katra railway station and named it as Shree Shakti Express. This train will facilitate pilgrims to visit Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine.

The train on its route will cross by The weDownload Manager">seven by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> tunnels and over 30 small and large bridges. The route from Udhampur and Katra has a small station named Chakrakhwal. The complete project has been developed at an estimated cost of 1132.75 crore rupees. The railway station is situated on the foothills of the Trikuta Hills in Reasi district of the state. The Trikuta Hills nestle the holy cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi. 
While dedicating the Katra-Udhampur by The weDownload Manager">rail by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> to the nation, the Prime Minister said that he will take ahead the plan of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for connecting Jammu and Kashmir through Railways. Vajpayee as a Prime Minister emphasized on development of the state to deal with all the sensitive issues in Kashmir.

APSEZ formed JV with French shipping company CMA CGM to build a container terminal

Adani Ports & SEZ Ltd (APSEZ) on 4 July 2014 formed a joint venture (JV) with French by The weDownload Manager">shipping company by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> CMA CGM to build a container terminal. The container terminal by The weDownload Manager">will by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> be built at Mundra in Gujarat.

The terminal, fourth in number, will have a capacity to handle 1.3 million twenty foot equivalent containers annually. The construction phase will be completed in a 24 months.

The new terminal adds to the company's existing two container handling locations at Mundra and Hazira along with its already announced two container terminals to be constructed at Ennore in Chennai and Dhamra in Odisha.

CMA CGM is the third-largest by The weDownload Manager">container shipping by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> line in the world. It has 24 offices and 8 direct by The weDownload Manager">shipping services by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> in India.

Supreme Court ruled no automatic arrest of accused in dowry cases

The Supreme Court on 2 July 2014 ruled that the police cannot automatically arrest the accused in dowry cases and police must give reasons for taking such steps, which by The weDownload Manager">will by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> be judicially examined.

The Supreme Court bench headed by Justice C K Prasad directed

• All the State governments to instruct its by The weDownload Manager">police officers by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> not to automatically arrest when a case under Section 498-A of the IPC (dowry harassment) is registered. 
• The police should satisfy themselves about the necessity for arrest under the parameters laid down flowing from Section 41 by The weDownload Manager">Criminal Procedure by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> Code. 
• The police officer shall furnish the reasons and materials which necessitated the arrest before the magistrate.
• A person accused of offence punishable with imprisonment for a term up to by The weDownload Manager">seven by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> with or without fine, cannot be arrested by the police officer only on its satisfaction that such person had committed the offence.
• The attitude of police to arrest first and then proceed with the rest is despicable and it must be curbed. 
• Any arrest or detention by a police official without by The weDownload Manager">recording by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> reasons as aforesaid by the judicial magistrate concerned shall be liable for departmental action by the appropriate High Court and amount to contempt of court.

SC gave the judgement in the by The weDownload Manager">backdrop by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> of misuse of the anti-dowry law by disgruntled wives against their husbands and in-laws (mother and sister).  It referred to the statistics that rate of charge-sheeting in these cases is as high as 93.6 percent, while the conviction rate is only 15 percent that means the remaining cases are pending at trial stage.

Senegal President Macky Sall sacked Prime Minister Aminata Toure

Senegal President by The weDownload Manager">Macky by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> Sall on 4 July 2014 sacked Prime Minister Ms Aminata Toure. She was sacked due to her failure to win a seat from Dakar in the 2014 local elections.

Aminata Toure, 51, headed the Alliance for the Republic (APR) was appointed as Prime Minister in September 2013.  Earlier she was a Justice Minister.

Senegal is West African country and seen as a beacon of democracy in West Africa. It is the only country never to have had a military by The weDownload Manager">coup by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> in the West African region.

Senegal is a republic with Presidential form of government. The President is elected for a five year term since 2001. Earlier the term was by The weDownload Manager">seven by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> years. The President is responsible for appointing local administrators who are responsible to him.

Senegal President Macky Sall sacked Prime Minister Aminata Toure

Senegal President by The weDownload Manager">Macky by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> Sall on 4 July 2014 sacked Prime Minister Ms Aminata Toure. She was sacked due to her failure to win a seat from Dakar in the 2014 local elections.

Aminata Toure, 51, headed the Alliance for the Republic (APR) was appointed as Prime Minister in September 2013.  Earlier she was a Justice Minister.

Senegal is West African country and seen as a beacon of democracy in West Africa. It is the only country never to have had a military by The weDownload Manager">coup by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> in the West African region.

Senegal is a republic with Presidential form of government. The President is elected for a five year term since 2001. Earlier the term was by The weDownload Manager">seven by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> years. The President is responsible for appointing local administrators who are responsible to him.

Supreme Court directed Haryana Government to stop illegal mining in Aravali Hills

The Supreme Court (SC) of India on 4 July 2014 directed Haryana Government to stop all illegal mining and stone crushing activities in Aravali Hills region. In its direction, SC gave two weeks time to stop the process otherwise it will face Contempt of Court proceedings. 
SC also asked the Haryana Government to file an affidavit along with a status report on stoppage of illegal mining within two weeks.

SC also asked Advocate AND Rao, amicus curiae for SC green bench, to request its high-powered environmental panel, Central Empowered Committee, to inspect the area and furnish a report. 
The direction was passed by the Supreme Court’s bench comprising of Justice FMI Kalifulla and Justice AK Sikri after referring the fresh site inspection report submitted by the environment panel. The order came on a PIL filed by an NGO Bandhua Mukti Morcha. In the PIL, the NGO argued that illegal mining in the region have not stopped despite SC order banning illegal mining in Arravali and Shivalik regions. This is causing immense damage to the environment and ecology of the area. 
Background
In May 1992, some parts of the Aravalli hills in Rajasthan and Haryana were protected from mining by declaring it as Ecologically Sensitive Areas. In 2003, The Union Government prohibited mining operations in these areas. In 2004, Supreme Court banned mining in the notified areas of Aravalli range. In May 2009, the Supreme Court extended the ban on mining in an area of 448 square kilometers across Faridabad, Gurgaon and Mewat districts in Haryana, covering Aravalli range.

About Aravali Ranges
• The Aravali Range literally meaning 'line of peaks' is a range of mountains in western India running approximately 800 km in a north-eastern direction across Indian states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi. It is also called Mewat hills locally
• The Aravalli ranges are the oldest fold mountains in India
• The northern end is at Delhi Rdige and the southern end is at Palanpur near Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The highest peak is Guru Shikhar (1722 meters) in Mount Abu in Rajasthan
• Numerous rivers rise amidst the ranges. These are the Banas River, the Luni River, the Sahibi, the Sakhi, and the Sabarmati River

Senegal President Macky Sall sacked Prime Minister Aminata Toure

Senegal President Macky Sall on 4 July 2014 sacked Prime Minister Ms Aminata Toure. She was sacked due to her failure to win a seat from Dakar in the 2014 local elections.

Aminata Toure, 51, headed the Alliance for the Republic (APR) was appointed as Prime Minister in September 2013.  Earlier she was a Justice Minister.

Senegal is West African country and seen as a beacon of democracy in West Africa. It is the only country never to have had a military coup in the West African region.

Senegal is a republic with Presidential form of government. The President is elected for a five year term since 2001. Earlier the term was seven years. The President is responsible for appointing local administrators who are responsible to him.

Special Air India flight carrying 46 Indian Nurses and 137 others from Erbil arrived at Kochi

Erbil in Kurdistan, Iraq: from where 46 Indian Nurses and 137 others came to India 
Special Air India flight that carried 46 Indian nurses and 137 others from Erbil in Kurdistan, Iraq arrived to Kochi in Kerala, India on 5 July 214. 
At present Iraq is under the attack of ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) jihadist militants. They abducted the nurses against their will from a hospital in the militant-controlled city of Tikrit in Iraq. Tikrit is the birthplace of former President Saddam Hussein.

Kurdish authorities released the Nurses from the ISIL captivity in Iraq on 4 July 2014. After releasing the nurses from Mosul they brought them to Erbil and handed over them to Indian Embassy officials. 
This evacuation process was undertaken under collective efforts of External Affairs Ministry and Indian Embassy in Iraq.

Supreme Court directed Haryana Government to stop illegal mining in Aravali Hills

The Supreme Court (SC) of India on 4 July 2014 directed Haryana Government to stop all illegal mining and stone crushing activities in Aravali Hills region. In its direction, SC gave two weeks time to stop the process otherwise it will face Contempt of Court proceedings. 
SC also asked the Haryana Government to file an affidavit along with a status report on stoppage of illegal mining within two weeks.

SC also asked Advocate AND Rao, amicus curiae for SC green bench, to request its high-powered environmental panel, Central Empowered Committee, to inspect the area and furnish a report. 
The direction was passed by the Supreme Court’s bench comprising of Justice FMI Kalifulla and Justice AK Sikri after referring the fresh site inspection report submitted by the environment panel. The order came on a PIL filed by an NGO Bandhua Mukti Morcha. In the PIL, the NGO argued that illegal mining in the region have not stopped despite SC order banning illegal mining in Arravali and Shivalik regions. This is causing immense damage to the environment and ecology of the area. 
Background
In May 1992, some parts of the Aravalli hills in Rajasthan and Haryana were protected from mining by declaring it as Ecologically Sensitive Areas. In 2003, The Union Government prohibited mining operations in these areas. In 2004, Supreme Court banned mining in the notified areas of Aravalli range. In May 2009, the Supreme Court extended the ban on mining in an area of 448 square kilometers across Faridabad, Gurgaon and Mewat districts in Haryana, covering Aravalli range.

About Aravali Ranges
• The Aravali Range literally meaning 'line of peaks' is a range of mountains in western India running approximately 800 km in a north-eastern direction across Indian states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi. It is also called Mewat hills locally
• The Aravalli ranges are the oldest fold mountains in India
• The northern end is at Delhi Rdige and the southern end is at Palanpur near Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The highest peak is Guru Shikhar (1722 meters) in Mount Abu in Rajasthan
• Numerous rivers rise amidst the ranges. These are the Banas River, the Luni River, the Sahibi, the Sakhi, and the Sabarmati River

B V Wanchoo, the Governor of Goa resigned

Bharat Vir Wanchoo, the Governor of Goa resigned on 4 July 2014. He is the fifth Governor to resign in last one month after M K Narayanan (West Bengal), B L Joshi (Uttar Pradesh), Shekhar Dutt (Chhattisgarh) and Ashwani Kumar (Nagaland).
Also, he became the second Governor to be quizzed by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after M K Narayanan. He is being quizzed as a witness in connection with the alleged irregularities in the 12 helicopters deal meant for VVIPs from AgustaWestland.

About BV Wanchoo
• He is Indian Police Service officer of 1976 batch of West Bengal cadre 
• He was appointed Director of the Special Protection Group (SPG) in 2004 and continued in that post till his retirement in 2011
• SPG was created in 1985 after the assassination of Indira Gandhi. It protects the Prime Minister, former Prime Ministers and their families
• He was awarded the Indian Police Medal in 1993 and was awarded President's Police Medal in 2001
• He became Governor of Goa in May 2012 and his tenure was scheduled to end in 2017 
About the AgustaWestland Deal 
The AgustaWestland 3600-crore deal was signed in 2010 and was cancelled in January 2014 by India. The reason for cancellation was allegations that kickbacks were paid by AgustaWestland and its parent company (Italian defence giant Finnmeccanica). The 12 VVIP helicopters, for which the deal was signed was to be used by the President, Prime Minister and others VVIPs.

AgustaWestland, the Anglo-Italian helicopter company owned by Italy’s Finmeccanica, is a total capability provider in the vertical lift by The weDownload Manager">market by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> .
Comment 
This process of questioning the Governors by the CBI has raised questions on whether Governors are entitled to the Constitutional immunity from interrogation or not. Whereas, as per the Raj Bhawan release, Wanchoo volunteered to give his statement after the CBI formally requested him on 24 June 2014.

Olympian and WW II veteran Louis Zamperini died

Louis Zamperini, a 1936 US Olympic distance runner and World War II veteran, died due to pneumonia on 2 July 2014. He was 97.

About Louis Zamperini
• He was born on 26 January 1917 in the western New York city of Olean 
• He participated in the 5000-meter race at the 1936 Berlin Olympics in which he became famous for running the last lap in 56 seconds despite finishing 8th
• He was also known as Torrance Tornado
• He was an enlisted in the US Army just before the Pearl Harbour incident in 1945 and participated in WW-II
• He survived on a raft for 47 days and before being captured by the Japanese Army. He spent more than two years as a Prisoner of War
• His life as a WWII prisoner of war is the subject of the 2010 book titled Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption authored by Laura Hillenbrand
• In December 2014 a movie adaption of the novel will be released. The movie is being directed by Angelina Jolie 
• Zamperini, already a five-time Olympic torch bearer, ran a leg in the torch relay for the 1988 Winter Olympic in Nagano, Japan
• In May 2014, he was named as grand marshal of the 2015 Rose Parade in Pasadena, California

Japanese Cabinet adopted resolution to end 60 years of pacifism

Japan on 1 July 2014 ended the 60 years of pacifism giving Army the option to exercise force. The resolution towards this was adopted by Japanese Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Shizo Abe.

The Cabinet resolution laid down certain scopes or minimum degree under which Japan can exercise force and they are:

• Threat to the existence of the Japanese State
• In case there is a clear danger to the people’s right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness could be subverted and there is no appropriate alternative
• Defensive support to the US forces under attack in vicinity of Japan
• Co-operating military with US forces to safeguard the citizens of Japan at risk overseas
• During the time of war, it will participate in minesweeping activities
• Deployment of the Japanese forces to protect access to energy supplies or critically important sea-lanes of communication vital for Japan’s survival

Comment

With the end of pacifism in Japan imposed by the Article 9 of the 1947 Constitution, Japanese armed forces will become more aligned with the militaries of other advanced nations in terms of its options. The resolution also provides relation limits on activities in UN led peace-keeping operations and grey zone incidents short of full-scale war.

Now the country’s military can go for collective self-defence or can aid a friendly country under attack.

War-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan had limited Japan’s ability to defend itself. Article 9 restricted the nation from building a military any larger than it needs for self-defence of its immediate geographic area. The post-war Constitution, also barred Japan from using force to resolve conflicts except in cases of self-defence.

This step of allowing the military to fight abroad has brought worries among many Japanese voters and has riled China, which has had strangled relation with China over the maritime row.

Whereas, the United States that defeated Japan in the World War II has welcomed the Japanese move and said that this step would nurture the US-Japan alliance more effective. The US is a close ally of Japan with a security cooperation treaty. The reason that made Japan depended on the US for its defence was the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between Japan and the United States.

Japanese Cabinet adopted resolution to end 60 years of pacifism

Japan on 1 July 2014 ended the 60 years of pacifism giving Army the option to exercise force. The resolution towards this was adopted by Japanese Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Shizo Abe.

The Cabinet resolution laid down certain scopes or minimum degree under which Japan can exercise force and they are:

• Threat to the existence of the Japanese State
• In case there is a clear danger to the people’s right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness could be subverted and there is no appropriate alternative
• Defensive support to the US forces under attack in vicinity of Japan
• Co-operating military with US forces to safeguard the citizens of Japan at risk overseas
• During the time of war, it will participate in minesweeping activities
• Deployment of the Japanese forces to protect access to energy supplies or critically important sea-lanes of communication vital for Japan’s survival

Comment

With the end of pacifism in Japan imposed by the Article 9 of the 1947 Constitution, Japanese armed forces will become more aligned with the militaries of other advanced nations in terms of its options. The resolution also provides relation limits on activities in UN led peace-keeping operations and grey zone incidents short of full-scale war.

Now the country’s military can go for collective self-defence or can aid a friendly country under attack.

War-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan had limited Japan’s ability to defend itself. Article 9 restricted the nation from building a military any larger than it needs for self-defence of its immediate geographic area. The post-war Constitution, also barred Japan from using force to resolve conflicts except in cases of self-defence.

This step of allowing the military to fight abroad has brought worries among many Japanese voters and has riled China, which has had strangled relation with China over the maritime row.

Whereas, the United States that defeated Japan in the World War II has welcomed the Japanese move and said that this step would nurture the US-Japan alliance more effective. The US is a close ally of Japan with a security cooperation treaty. The reason that made Japan depended on the US for its defence was the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between Japan and the United States.

ADB approved 300 million US dollar loan for Assam's power sector

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on 3 July 2014 approved 300 million US dollars loan to Assam. The loan will help Assam in its drive to eliminate power sector inefficiencies that are hurting its consumers, its world-famous tea industry, and its environment.

The by The weDownload Manager">funds by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> will be disbursed to the State in three tranches with the project set to be completed by the end of 2023. The first installment will be of 50 million dollars for the replacement of ageing gas turbines at the Lakwa Gas Power Plant in northern Assam. The second tranche will also be for 50 million US dollar and the third for 200 million US dollar.

The new loan will continue past efforts to build up the capacity of power companies and regulatory agencies, and to further cut distribution losses

The loan is a part of a broader 10-year, 3.5 billion US dollars state by The weDownload Manager">investment by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> program. It will by The weDownload Manager">fund by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> generation and distribution upgrades, including the construction of a 120-megawatt hydropower plant. Lower Kopili run-of-the-river hydropower plant in central Assam will help Assam avoid over 530000 tons per annum of carbon dioxide emissions that would otherwise be produced by fossil fuel-driven generation.

The loan will also finance new energy efficient generating equipment at existing plants, new distribution lines and substations. It will also provide by The weDownload Manager">financial by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> management training and other support for staff of the Assam Power Generation Corporation and Assam Power Distribution Company.

RBI restored the limit of Overseas Direct Investment taken under automatic route

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 3 July 2014 restored the limit of Overseas Direct by The weDownload Manager">Investment by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> (ODI) by an Indian company under the automatic route of Foreign Exchange Management Act, 2004.

With this decision now an Indian company can undertake by The weDownload Manager">financial by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> commitment or invest up to 400 percent of the net worth in all its Joint Ventures (JVs) and/or Wholly Owned Subsidiaries (WOSs) abroad.

However, RBI decided that any financial commitment exceeding one billion US Dollars or its equivalent in a financial year will require prior approval of the Reserve Bank. This rule is applicable even if total commitment undertaken by an Indian company falls within the eligible limit.

Earlier in August 2013, RBI reduced the ODI limit to 100 percent of net worth of company from 400 percent for all Indian companies by considering the prevailed macro economic situation. The decision was taken in order to control the unprecedented appreciation of the dollar when the rupee touched an all-time low of 68.80 rupees.

However, the restriction was not applicable on public sector firms like Oil India and ONGC Videsh.

Overseas direct by The weDownload Manager">investments by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> (ODI)
ODI is the reverse of Foreign Direct by The weDownload Manager">Investment by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> (FDI) i.e. Indian direct investment abroad.

ODI brings host of benefits along with it. These are: promotes economic co-operation between India and the host countries; helps in transfer of technology and skills; enables sharing of results of Research & Development; provides access to the global by The weDownload Manager">market by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> ; enables promotion of the brand image; generates employment and aids in utilization of raw materials available in India and the host country.

President joined on Twitter with @RashtrapatiBhvn

President Pranab Mukherjee on 1 July 2014 joined Twitter with the handle - @RashtrapatiBhvn (https://twitter.com/RashtrapatiBhvn). He is the first serving president of India to join Twitter.

The account is the official Twitter account of Rashtrapati Bhavan and is run by President’s Secretariat and tweets from the President Pranab Mukherjee are signed. People can fallow the President for all the updates about activities and news from Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Prime Minister Modi also has an account on twitter with the handle @narendramodi and former President Abdul Kalam with the handle @apj_abdul_kalam.

Four-party meet in Berlin agreed to resume ceasefire in eastern Ukraine

Four-party meet held in Berlin on 2 July 2014 agreed on a series of step to resume the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. The four-party meet was held between Foreign Ministers of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France.

The steps include reopening talks before 5 July 2014 with the goal of reaching an unconditional and mutually agreed sustainable cease-fire. The talks will be monitored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSC) in Europe.

During the meet, Russia also agreed to the proposal to grant Ukrainian border guards and OSC representatives’ access to Russian territory. They will take part in controlling two border crossings once the ceasefire is in place.

Background
20 June 2014: Ukraine declared unilateral ceasefire in eastern Ukraine

25 June 2014: Russian Parliament revoked the military intervention in Ukraine

30 June 2014: Ukraine withdrew the ceasefire and declared military action against pro-Russian separatist

2 July 2014: Cease-fire resumed during a four-party meet in Berlin

Union Government introduced four new vaccines as a part of UIP

Union Government on 3 July 2014 introduced four new vaccines as part of India’s Universal Immunization Programme (UIP). These include vaccines against rotavirus, rubella and polio (injectable), along with an adult vaccine against Japanese encephalitis. The adult vaccine against Japanese encephalitis will be introduced in districts with high levels of the disease (in 179 endemic districts in 9 states).

The aim of introduction of these lifesaving vaccines is to ensure that the benefits of vaccination reach to all sections of the society, regardless of social and economic status. Till now these are available through private practitioners to only those, who can afford them. 
The decision to introduce new vaccines was announced by Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India after accepting the recommendations made by the National Technical Advisory Group of India (NTAGI). NTAGI, the country’s apex scientific advisory body on immunization recommended the introduction of the new vaccines after numerous scientific studies and comprehensive deliberations. 
Importance and impact of these vaccines 
• These vaccines will collectively expedite India’s progress on meeting the Millennium Development Goal 4 targets to reduce child mortality by two-thirds by the year 2015 and meet global polio eradication targets
• The recent introduction of the pentavalent vaccine will help in preventing at least 1 lakh infant deaths, deaths of adult in working age group and up to 10 lakhs hospitalization each year 
With introduction of these new vaccines, India’s UIP will now provide free vaccines against 13 life threatening diseases to 27 million children annually, the largest birth cohort in the world.
The rotavirus vaccine is an indigenous vaccine of India that has been developed under a public-private partnership by the Union Ministry of Science and the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. This vaccine will be introduced in a phased manner.

Universal Immunization Programme (UIP)
Universal Immunization Programme is a vaccination program of the Government of India and was launched in 1985. It became a part of Child Survival and Safe Motherhood Programme in 1992 and is currently one of the key areas under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) since 2005.

Evolution of the programme
1978: Expanded Programme of immunization (EPI) and it had a limited reach-mostly urban
1985: Universal Immunization Programme (UIP)
• For reduction of mortality and morbidity due to 6 VPD’s
• Indigenous vaccine production capacity enhanced
• Cold chain established
• Phased implementation-all districts covered by 1989-90
• Monitoring and evaluation system implemented 
1986: Technology Mission on Immunization
• Monitoring under PMO’s 20 point programme 
• Coverage in infants (0–12 months) monitored
1992: Child Survival and Safe Motherhood (CSSM)
• Included both UIP and Safe motherhood program

1997: Reproductive Child Health (RCH 1)
2005: National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)

Ram Naresh Yadav sworn-in as Governor of Chhattisgarh

Ram Naresh Yadav was sworn-in as Governor of Chhattisgarh at Raj Bhawan, Raipur on 2 July 2014. Ram Naresh Yadav, Governor of Madhya Pradesh, has been given the additional charge of Chhattisgarh.

He was adminsterd oath of secrecy by the Chief Jusitce Yatindra Singh of Bilaspur High Court, Chhattisgarh.

Ram replaced Shekhar Dutt, who resigned as the Governor of Chhattisgarh on 18 June 2014.

About Ram Naresh

• Ram Naresh Yadav was born in 1928 in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh.
• He served as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 1977 to 1979 from Janata Party.
• He later joined Indian National Congress party.
• He was appointed Governor of Madhya Pradesh in 2011.

Swamy Goud elected as Chairman of Telangana Legislative Council

Swamy Goud of Telangana Rashtriya Samiti party was elected as Chairman of the 40-member Telangana Legislative Council (LC) on 2 July 2014. Goud was polled 21 votes against zero votes polled for Farooq Hussain, congress candidate who contested for the chairman of Legistlative council of Telangana.

About Legislative Council
Legislative Council (also called Vidhan Parishad) is the upper house of the state.

Article 168 of the Constitution: The Legislative Council of a State shall be constituted. Article 171 of the Indian Constitution provides that the total number of Members in the Legislative council of a State shall not exceed one third of the total number of Members in the Legislative Assembly.

Article 182 of the Constitution provides that the Legislative Council of the state may choose two members as Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the council.

At present there are seven states which have legislative council. These are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana.

Former French President Sarkozy charged with corruption & influence peddling

Nicolas Sarkozy, the former President of France, on 2 July 2014 was charged with corruption and influence peddling. 
Sarkozy was charged on the allegation that he sought insider information from a judge regarding an investigation into illegal campaign financing of his 2007 presidential campaign by former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

With this, Sarkozy became the first French President who was taken into custody in criminal investigation. The ex-President for the second time has lost presidential immunity from legal prosecution. He lost presidential immunity for first time in 2013 but the case was later dropped against him.
In case he is convicted of those charges, he could face a sentence of 10 years in prison.

Indian Railways successfully conducted test run of Delhi-Agra semi-high speed train

Indian Railways on 3 July 2014 successfully conducted a trial run of a semi-high-speed train to make travel faster between Delhi and Agra. This train is equipped with an electronic locomotive of WAP 5400 horse power from the Ghaziabad Loco Shed. It is the country’s fastest train. 
The train was flagged off from New Delhi Railway Station at 11:45 am, which reached Agra at 1 pm. The speed of this semi-high speed train is 160 kilometer per hour. The semi-high-speed train will come into service from November 2014 and will reduce the travel time between the two destinations by 30 minutes.

At present the fastest train of India is Bhopal Shatabdi Express that runs at a speed 150 kilometer between Delhi and Agra stretch. 
Expenditure incurred 
An estimated cost of 15 crore rupees has been invested to make the track ready for the semi-high-speed train. The track will witness fencing for a stretch of 27-kilometer along the track between Delhi-Agra route to prevent obstruction and ensure speed. 
Apart from this, the Railways have also planned to run similar trains for Kanpur and Chandigarh from Delhi.

Japan eased sanctions against North Korea

Japan eased several sanctions against North Korea on 3 July 2014. The decision was taken in response to North Korea reopening the investigation to probe decades-old kidnappings of Japanese nationals.

North Korea in this regard has set up a Special Investigative Committee which includes about 30 member officials who will look into all the abducted Japanese in North Korea.

Japan eased some of its unilateral sanctions though it will continue to abide by resolutions imposed by the UN Security Council. The sanctions lifted includes some travel restrictions on North Koreans, allowing port calls by North Korean ships for humanitarian purposes and restrictions on cash sent to the North.

Sanctions lifted are:
• Travel Restrictions 
Japan allowed North Korean nationals to enter, but the request to enter will be screened case-by-case. A ban on individuals subject to the U.N sanctions remains.

• Port Calls

North Korean-registered vessels will be able to enter Japanese ports but only for humanitarian purposes.

Port calls are limited to pickups of food, medicine and clothing and other articles for personal use only. Shipment of large quantities is not permitted. North Korean crewmembers will not be permitted ashore without prior approval.

•by The weDownload Manager">Money by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t">Transfers
North Korea’s groups and companies remittances do not have to be reported to the Japan government if not exceeding 30 million yen (300000 US dollars), the same as to other countries.

Under the sanctions, reporting any remittance exceeding 3 million yen (30000 US dollars) was compulsory.
Those visiting North Korea can now carry cash up to 1 million yen (10000 US dollars) without having to report it to the Japanese government, up from 100,000 yen (1000 US dollars).

• Exports
Overall by The weDownload Manager">trade by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> ban on North Korea remains in place.
Freezing of assets on individuals and entities involved in missile programs, under U.N. Security Council resolutions, stay in place.
Background
North Korean operatives abducted at least 17 Japanese people in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 2002, North Korea admitted to the kidnappings for the first time but allowed only five abducted victims to return home to Japan. Japan issued advisory to their nationals not to go to North Korea and imposed some unilateral sanctions.

TN government sets up Raghupathy commission to probe Chennai building collapse

State Government of Tamil Nadu on 3 July 2014 constituted a one-man commission headed by Justice (retd.) R Raghupathy to inquire into the 11-storey building collapse of Chennai. In the building collapse that happened in June 2014 about 56 lives were lost. 
The inquiry commission will look out for the reasons of collapse and will also suggest preventive measures that should be taken up during construction of such huge buildings.

About the Incident
The 11-storey building collapsed in Moulivakkam suburb of Chennai on 29 June 2014 that has claimed about 56 lives. But the death toll would increase further as the rescue team of National Disaster Response Force is nearing the ground and basement. It’s likely that the rescue operation would continue till 5 July 2014. 
After the accident, five people including promoters and engineers of the building have been arrested and charged with violations of approved structural plans.

NASA launched Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 to track Carbon Dioxide

NASA on 2 July 2014 launched Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2), a satellite designed to track carbon dioxide which is responsible for global warming. The satellite was launched aboard Delta 2 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The OCO-2 launch mission preparation  was managed by NASA's Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and was  handled by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.

OCO-2 is the first of its kind mission of NASA dedicated to study the atmospheric carbon dioxide over several seasons. The spacecraft was launched to replace the first OCO that did not make it into orbit due to an anomaly in February 2009.

The mission worth 468 million US dollars will last for two years. During these two years it is expected to produce detailed readings to provide regional sources of carbon dioxide as well as sinks for the greenhouse gas.

The spacecraft carries one instrument and its sole focus is detecting carbon. The instrument is very accurate through which researchers will be able to count the number of carbon dioxide molecules in the layers of the atmosphere and use the data to draw conclusions about how the increasing amount of gas will affect things like the global temperature.

OCO-2 is a part of the A-Train, a constellation of five other international Earth-observing satellites and joins the train of polar-orbiting environmental satellites of the Earth.

The spacecraft was launched from the west coast of Vandenberg because it is the only way to accomplish a polar orbit from the US

US Snoopgate: A show of duality in US foreign policy

The Snoopgate scandal broke in early June 2013 when the Guardian newspaper reported that the US National Security Agency (NSA) was collecting the telephone records of tens of millions of Americans. The main whistleblower of the Snoopgate scandal was Edward Snowden, a former contractor for the CIA, left the US in late May 2013.

Since then many cases of NSA spying on various countries embassies and on many world leaders have been revealed by Snowden.

US Snoopgate incident has casted a serious doubt on the foreign policy of US. The incident has been criticized by many a global leaders like Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany and Dilma Rousseff, the Brazilian President.

Recently in July 2014, it was reported by Washington Post that a legal certification was approved by U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to spy on Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). BJP was among a handful of political organisations on which the U.S. court allowed the NSA to spy on. The others included Lebanon's Hezbollah-allied group Amal, Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, and the Pakistan People’s Party.

Whether the incident is case of mistrust that US share with other countries or is it a case of US trying to establish a hegemonic world order. It is not certainly known. But one thing is certain it is a clear cut case of duality in US foreign policy that has been its hallmark since very long.

CCEA approved inclusion of onion and potato under Essential Commodities Act, 1955

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 2 July 2014 approved the inclusion of onion and potato under the purview of by The weDownload Manager">stock by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> holding limits under the Essential by The weDownload Manager">Commodities by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> Act 1955. The inclusion will remain in force for a year. 
CCEA’s decision was taken after six states, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Tripura and West Bengal requested the centre for such a measure. 
With this inclusion, the State governments have been empowered to undertake de-hoarding operations of onion and potato based on local conditions, to control the prices. This de-hoarding operations include limits/licensing requirements and others. 
The decision will help in tackling the problem of price rise and improve availability of these by The weDownload Manager">commodities by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> to general public especially vulnerable sections. 
Other decision taken by CCEA to tackle food price inflation
• CCEA increased the minimum export prices (MEP) of onion by 67 percent to 500 US dollar per tonne from 300 US dollars/tonne. A higher MEP would mean that exports will become costlier and no longer profitable for by The weDownload Manager">traders by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> . Earlier on 26 June 2014, the Union Government had imposed an MEP of 450 US dollars/tonne for potato.
• It also approved additional allocation of 50 lakh tonnes of rice for distribution to Below Poverty Line and Above Poverty Line families for the July 2014 to March 2015 period. The allocations were approved in view of the persistent demand from States and Union Territories for more foodgrains to meet their targeted public distribution system requirements. This will mitigate the problems of people affected by food price inflation, particularly in States where the National Food Security Act has not been implemented so far.
• It also approved the continuation of the scheme to modernize and strengthen intellectual property offices. The overall project cost would be 309.6 crore rupees. The scheme will address the increase in the number of filings of intellectual property applications.

The reasons for such a move by CCEA
• In May 2014, inflation based on the wholesale price index rose at the quickest pace since December 2013 to 6.01%. The increase in WPI was led by an increase in food prices, especially that of potatoes, fruits, eggs and fish.
• In the coming months, the threat of inadequate rainfall is expected to exert further pressure on food prices. Rainfall in June was 42% lower than normal.
• A lot of speculative elements get into the pricing of onions and potatoes and this has a cascading impact on prices of other vegetables as well.
About Essential by The weDownload Manager">Commodities by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> Act, 1955
The Essential Commodities Act, 1955 was enacted to ensure the easy availability of essential commodities to consumers and to protect them from exploitation by unscrupulous by The weDownload Manager">traders by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> . The Act provides certain rights to maintain and increase supplies by securing equitable distribution and availability at fair prices and they are
• Regulation and control of production
• Distribution and pricing of by The weDownload Manager">commodities by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> 
At present the by The weDownload Manager">stock by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> limits are imposed on pulses edible oils and oilseeds till September 2014, while on rice and paddy, the stock limits are imposed till November 2014. 
About Stockholding limit under ESA, 1955
A stockholding limit ensures that traders cannot by The weDownload Manager">stock by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> more than a prescribed quantum. If it is found that traders are holding more than the prescribed limit, they can be fined and, in some cases, even prosecuted. Currently, stock limit provisions exist for various foodgrains and cereals under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955

National Assembly of Pakistan approved Protection of Pakistan Bill 2014

National Assembly of Pakistan on 2 July 2014 approved Protection of Pakistan Bill 2014 amid military offensive against the Taliban in North Waziristan. This Bill will remain in force for two years. 
The Protection of Pakistan Bill, 2014 seeks to provide for protection against waging of war against Pakistan and the prevention of acts threatening the security of Pakistan.
Earlier, the Bill was unanimously approved by the Senate or upper house on 30 June 2014.
The Main Provisions of the Bill
• It defines enemy alien as a militant whose identity is unascertainable as a Pakistani, in the locality where he has been arrested or in the locality where he claims to be residing, whether by documentary or oral evidence; or who has been deprived of his citizenship by naturalisation.
• It defines militant as any person who wages war or insurrection against Pakistan, or raises arms against Pakistan, its citizens, the armed forces or civil armed forces; or takes up advocates or encourages or aids or abets the raising of arms or waging of war or a violent struggle against Pakistan.
• It empowered the official of grade 15 (Non Gazetted Officers/Junior Officers/ JCOs) and above to issue orders of shoot-at-sight.
• It also allows the security forces to detain suspects for a period of 60 days after getting judicial remand. 
• It also allows security forces to conduct search operations without securing warrant from a judicial officer.
• The circumstances justifying the search & seizure operation and the items recovered shall be reported within two days to special judicial magistrate of the area by the officer conducting the search.
• It provides for at least 20 years of imprisonment for those convicted of militancy.
• Convicted persons will have the right to appeal before a high court against their convictions. Earlier, a convicted person had only the right to appeal before the Supreme Court.
• It also containS a list of scheduled offences which among others include cybercrimes and offences related to information technology and crossing of national boundaries illegally.
• The punishments for these scheduled offences can be extended to 20 years.

The bill essentially is an anti-terror law which provides unbridled powers to security forces that includes shoot-at-sight of suspects involved in terrorism, arson and murder. However, the human rights bodies and opposition of Pakistan have criticised the Protection of Pakistan Bill 2014 as it provides unbridled powers to security agencies.

Michelle Howard became first female four-star admiral in US Navy

Michelle Howard became the first female four-star admiral in US Navy. She is the first women admiral in 236 year old history of US Navy.

Vice-Admiral Michelle was promoted to the highest rank of four-star admiral at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial in US on 1 July 2014. The Promotion ceremony was presided over by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus.

Howard is perhaps best known for leading Task Force 151, which oversaw counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden conducted in April 2009 to rescue captured Capitan Richard Phillips by Somali pirates.

About Michelle Howard 
• Michelle was born in 1960 in US. 
• She was the first African Women to achieve three star rank in US Armed Forces and first African-American woman to achieve the rank of admiral in the US Navy.
• She is also the first African American woman to command a ship, the amphibious, dock-loading ship, Rushmore, in 1999. 
• She was the first female graduate of the US Naval Academy selected for flag rank in 2006.
• She is the first African-American and the first female Vice Chief for Naval Operations.

Coffee-Table book titled First Citizen: Pranab Mukherjee in Rashtrapati Bhavan released

First Citizen: Pranab Mukherjee in Rashtrapati Bhavan: published by The Week Magazine
A coffee-table book titled First Citizen: Pranab Mukherjee in Rashtrapati Bhavan was released on 2 July 2014 at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. The book’s first copy was received by Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India.

The book has been published by The Week Magazine and was released by Dr. Karan Singh in the presence of Pranab Mukherjee and Philip Mathew, the Managing Editor of The Week. 
The foreword of the book has been written by the President in which he has written about The Raisina Hill and the buildings in and around Rashtrapati Bhavan. 
The coffee-table book is a compilation of articles that were published in The Week under the column titled First Citizen from January 2013 to May 2014. The book covers 
• Initiatives of President to reach out to citizens on issues concerning them
• President’s tours across the country and abroad
• The new initiatives taken to open up the doors of the Rashtrapati Bhavan to the common citizen
• The ceremonies associated with the Presidency, the Kitchen and others

The book also includes 
• Never before seen archival photographs of former Presidents from the Rashtrapati Bhavan collection
• Interesting news snippets of information 
• Three articles authored by the President on Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Rabindranath Tagore and Swami Vivekananda which were published in The Week
About The Week
The Week is one of India's leading news-magazines and is published by the Malayala Manorama Group, the 125th Anniversary celebrations of which were inaugurated by the President of India at Kottayam in 2013. The Week has been in publication since 1982.

India became the first Country to Ratify the Marrakesh Treaty

India on 30 June 2014 became the first country to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty to facilitate access to published works for persons who are blind and visually impaired 
Dilip Sinha, the Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, handed over the Instrument of Ratification to Francis Gurry, Director General, WIPO. The instrument was handed over at a ceremony held during the 28th Session of SCCR (Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights) in WIPO Headquarters.

Marrakesh Treaty and its goal
The Marrakesh Treaty formally is the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works by Visually Impaired Persons and Persons with Print Disabilities, and was signed in Marrakesh, Morocco, on 28 June 2013. 
The Marrakesh Treaty has been created to set mandatory limitations and exceptions for the benefit of blink, visually impaired and otherwise print disabled (VIPs). The Treaty has been signed by 64 countries but has been ratified just by India. 
The Marrakesh treaty will come into force once it is ratified by 20 countries. 
According to the Treaty the contracting parties need to adopt national law provisions that permit reproduction, distribution and making available of published works in accessible formats, like Braille to VIPs. It also permits exchange of these works across the borders by organisations that serve those beneficiaries. 
Benefits of Marrakesh Treaty
Marrakesh Treaty after being into force will facilitate
• Access to published works for millions of blind, visually impaired and other print disabled persons in India
• It will establish equal rights and opportunities for education and employment for them 
• It will also facilitate import of accessible format copies from the member states by the Indian authorized entities like as educational institutions, libraries and other such institutions working for benefits of visually paired people 
• It will facilitate translation of imported accessible format copies and export of accessible format copies in Indian languages
The Indian Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012 is in harmony with the Marrakesh Treaty.
Marrakesh Treaty is also associated with the establishment of  the World by The weDownload Manager">Trade by The weDownload Manager"" style="width:7.5pt; height:7.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square" o:button="t"> Organization in 1994.

First Aid Post inaugurated at Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi

First Aid Post was launched on 2 June 2014 at Shastri Bhawan in New Delhi. The post was launched to expand the network of health care to its beneficiaries. It was inaugurated by Harsh Vardhan, the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare and Smriti Irani, the Union Minister for Human Resources Development.

The First Aid Post will provide first aid services like BP monitoring, dressing and other referral services to about 15000 employees of various ministries posted at Shastri Bhavan and nearby Government offices.
The Post was opened under Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) which already runs five such health posts in Delhi at 
• Central Secretariat
• Parliament House
• Vitthal Bhai Patel House
• Supreme Court 
• Nirman Bhawan 
Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS)
The Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) was started as a scheme in New Delhi in 1954 and provides comprehensive health care facilities for the Central Government employees and pensioners and their dependents residing in CGHS covered cities.

Supreme Court directed J&K government to restore Dal Lake

The Supreme Court on 1 July 2014 directed the Jammu and Kashmir government to concentrate on efforts to restore the pristine beauty of the world-famous Dal Lake.

A Supreme Court Bench of Justice T S Thakur and Justice C Nagappan gave directions rejecting the plea of the J&K government for discounting the service of Irfan Yasin, the Vice Chairman of the Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA).

Besides, the Supreme Court also directed that State government have to obey with all the directions of the High Court of J & K concerning the restoration of Dal Lake and to prevent pollution and encroachments in the periphery of Dal Lake.

Background

Earlier, the High Court had directed the state government to appoint a full-time official as the chairperson of the J&K LAWDA but as the deadline for appointment was reaching, the government gave additional charge of the Lake Authority to an already serving official.

In the absence of regular chairperson of LAWDA, State government extended the term of Irfan Yasin, Vice Chairman of LAWDA, who was due to superannuate on 31 March 2014. The State government of J&K challenged the directions of High Court in the Supreme Court in the extension of term of Yas in, Vice Chairman of LAWDA.

Sujit Choudhry became the first Indian-American dean of Berkeley Law School

Sujit Choudhry became the first Indian-American dean of the Berkeley Law School, University of California. He is the 12th dean of the famed Law school and he will serve the institution for five years starting from 1 July 2014.

He relieved Interim Dean Gillian Lester, and replaces Christopher Edley, who stepped down in December 2013 after nearly ten years as dean.

He is a noted expert in comparative constitutional law and his core work addresses basic methodological questions in comparative constitutional law. He also studied constitutional design as a way for states to transition from civil war to peaceful democracies, especially in ethnically divided societies.

About Sujit Choudhry
• He was born in Delhi and raised in Toronto, Canada. A Rhodes Scholar, Choudhry holds law degrees from Oxford, Toronto, and Harvard.
• He was the Cecelia Goetz Professor of Law at New York University School of Law and founder of its Centre for Constitutional Transitions.
• He was a member of the United Nations Mediation Roster, and has served as a consultant to the World Bank Institute.
• He was an expert in support of constitutional transitions in Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Tunisia, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
• He had published more than 70 articles, book chapters, working papers, and reports.
• He has authored several books and they are Constitutional Design for Divided Societies: Integration or Accommodation, The Migration of Constitutional Ideas and Dilemmas of Solidarity: Rethinking Redistribution in the Canadian Federation.  
• He received the Trudeau Fellowship, Canada's equivalent of the MacArthur awards in 2010 and the South Asian Bar Association of Toronto named him Practitioner of the Year in 2011.

World Bank released a report titled Student Learning in South Asia

World Bank released a report titled Student learning in South Asia: challenges, opportunities, and policy priorities on 30 June 2014. According to the report, the poor quality of education is hampering the development of South Asia including India.

The poor quality is reflected in learning levels, traps many of its young people in poverty and prevents faster economic growth and more broadly shared prosperity.

Highlights of the Report
• Many governments in South Asia (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) have invested heavily in education to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education for all children by 2015. 
• The investment resulted in an increase in the net enrollment rate in South Asia’s primary schools from 75 percent to 89 percent from 2000 to 2010. The increase in enrollment brought the region closer to the enrollment rates in Latin America and the Caribbean (94 percent) and East Asia and the Pacific (95 percent).
• There are large differences in schooling access across the countries of South Asia as well as between different socioeconomic and demographic groups within countries. For instance, Sri Lanka is a clear outlier, having achieved near-universal primary education decades ago. On the other hand, Afghanistan and Pakistan still lag significantly behind other South Asian countries.
• Most of the South Asia's education system has shown disappointing outcomes, as measured by student learning. This in part reflected coping with the large influx of children who were first-generation school-goers.
• Inferior education systems and the shortage of skills are constraining private sector investment and future economic prospects
• The teachers in India and Pakistan have poor performance in Mathematics and language tests based on the curriculum they are supposed to teach.
• Students are poorly prepared in practical competencies such as measurement, problem-solving, and writing of meaningful and grammatically-correct sentences.
• One quarter to one third of those who graduate from primary school lack basic numeracy and literacy skills that will enable the students to further their education.

Recommendations
Raising education quality in South Asia is an urgent priority that could transform the region’s economic landscape. The following recommendations are the multi-pronged strategy to address the challenges of the above.
• Ensure young children get enough nutrition
Government need to invest in early-life nutrition, with appropriate coverage and age targeting. It can be a highly cost-effective investment in the quality and efficiency of education.

• Raise teacher quality
Teachers in South Asia are poor in math and languages tests based on the curriculum they are supposed to teach. To overcome this higher and clear standards must be enforced, absenteeism curbed, and non-merit-based promotions halted.

• Use financial incentives to boost quality
The extra resources are available, instead of going to higher pay for teachers, reducing class sizes or improving facilities, the resources will be to link them to need and student performance.

• Bring in the private sector
The private sector is already playing a major role in education, and governments should encourage greater private-sector participation by easing entry barriers and encouraging well-designed public-private partnerships.

• Improve the measurement of student progress
Governments need to improve the quality and reliability of assessments and benchmarking national learning outcomes against international standards.

Is DU and UGC stand-off dangerous precedent for autonomy of educational institutions?

Yes it is. The recent stand-off between Delhi University (DU) and University Grants Commission (UGC) over Four Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP) has set a dangerous precedent for autonomy of educational institutions.

Section 30 of Delhi University Act, 1922 gives the university full autonomy in making ordinances on admission of students, course of studies, etc. On the other hand, UGC Act, 1956 empowers UGC to just define minimum standards of instruction and regulate the maintenance of standards and the co-ordination of work or facilities in universities.

However, UGC directing DU to scrap FYUP and DU scrapping the FYUP after giving a stiff fight means that autonomy of the Central Universities are at huge stake. This is because the four-year programme was in vogue since 2012 and even the DU’s Executive Council (which has been empowered under Section 31 of the DU Act) scrapped the three-year programme in 2013. So the question arises where was UGC for so long? Were student’s career was not at stake then?

Viewed in more subtle way, in fact, DU scrapping the four-year programme was a clear cut case of politicisation of academia and this may not augur well for the standard of higher education in India which already is in mess.

President conferred National, Shilp Guru and Sant Kabir Awards for 2011

Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India on 1 July 2014 presented the National Awards for Handicrafts and Handlooms, Shilp Guru Awards and Sant Kabir Awards for the year 2011. The awards were given to weavers and artisans at a function at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi. 
Sant Kabir Awardees are 
• L Subadani Devi of Manipur 
• Gour C Basak of West Bengal

Shilp Guru Awardees are
• Ghulam Mehdi Joo of Jammu and Kashmir
• MM Mahapatra of Odisha 
• Ghanshyam Nimbark of Rajasthan 
• Shabbir Hasan of Rajasthan 
• K Rahmatullah of Tamil Nadu 
• Subhrendu B Roy of Tripura
• Kaneez Asghar of Uttar Pradesh 
• Fayyaz Ahmad of Uttar Pradesh 
• Babu Ram Yadav of Uttar Pradesh 
• Alima Khatun of West Bengal 
The National Awards were presented in two categories namely in Handicrafts and Handlooms.
• National Award in Handicrafts category was conferred on 21 people
• National Award in Handlooms category was conferred on 25 people
Besides, President Pranab Mukherjee also gave National Merit Certificate to 20 people in Handicrafts category and to 21 persons in Handloom category.
Sant Kabir Award
Sant Kabir Award established in 2009 is conferred to outstanding weavers who have made valuable contribution in keeping alive the handloom heritage. The award is christened in the memory of sant Kabir, a 15th-century mystic poet and sant of India. It consists of one mounted gold coin, one shawl and a citation along with a financial assistance of 6 lakh rupees.
About Shilp Guru Awards
Shilp Guru Award was established in 2002 on occasion of Golden Jubilee Year of Handicrafts Resurgence in India. It is conferred to legendary master craft persons of handicrafts whose work and dedication have contributed not only to the preservation of rich and diverse craft heritage of the country but also to the resurgence of handicrafts sector as a whole.
The award consists of one mounted gold coin, one shawl and a citation along with a financial assistance to the extent of 7.50 lakh rupees.
The Eligibility criteria for Sant Kabir Awards and Shilp Guru Awards are same. Any Indian master craft persons who is either a National Awardees or a State Awardees of exceptional standing or master craft persons of extraordinary skills and having immense contribution to handicrafts sector. The craftsman should not be below the age of 55 years. A maximum of 10 Awards is given in each category in a given year.
About National Awards
The National Awards for craftsmen was introduced during the year 1965 and later the same was extended to weavers also.  Every year up to 20 national awards and 20 national merit certificates is given in each category to the outstanding craftsmen and handloom weavers. National award consists of a certificate, angavastram, a copper plaque and cash award of 1 lakh rupees and national merit certificate award consists of a certificate and a cash award of 50000 rupees.
All craftspersons and weavers residing in India and who are above the age of 35 years and are having 10 years experience in the field of handicrafts or handlooms as on 31st December of previous year are eligible for the award.

Indian pistol shooter Jitu Rai ranked No. 1 in the world

Jitu Rai became World Number 1 pistol shooter in the men's 10m air pistol category. This was revealed by the latest rankings released by the International Shooting Federation (ISSF) on 1 July 2014.
Earlier, Rai was ranked 26th in the World but his recent performance in Maribor and Munich Shooting World Cup made him number 1 pistol shooter in the World. At the Maribor Shooting World Cup in June 2014, he won a Gold and a Silver and at the Munich Shooting World Cup in June 2014, he won the Silver medal in 10-meter air pistol.

Apart from Jitu Rai, Indian Prakash Nanjappa also moved up to the fifth spot in the 10m air pistol category. Other Indians to be ranked under top 10 are
• Sanjeev Rajput at 10th position in 50m rifle
• Manavjit Singh Sandhu was placed at 8th position in trap
In women listing, Heena Sidhu was ranked at 4th position in women’s 10m air pistol category, whereas, Ayonika Paul was ranked at World Number 8 in the women’s 10m air rifle category
Jitu Rai, a 27-year-old army man from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh is the seventh Indian shooter to have achieve the feat. The other six to be ranked number 1 in ISSF release were
• Anjali Bhagwat
• Rajyavardhan Rathore
• Gagan Narang
• Manavjit Singh Sandhu
• Ronjon Sodhi 
• Heena Sidhu

Rajasthan Government declared Camel as the State animal

State Government of Rajasthan on 30 June 2014 declared Camel as the State animal. The step has been taken to check the diminishing number of camels in the State. 
The decision to declare Camel as State Animal was taken during a State Cabinet meet held in Bikaner on the last day of Sarkar Aapke Dwar campaign. The Cabinet meet was chaired by Vasundhara Raje, the Chief Minister of Rajasthan. 
Comment 
Camel as an animal provide livelihood to numerous people of Rajasthan and is called as a ship of desert. However, over the years these animals are slaughtered for its meat and are also illegally transported to neighbouring states. Camels are also killed as part of sacrifice in several districts of the Rajasthan. As a result, the camel population in Rajasthan has dwindled sharply.
As per the Livestock Census data, 668000 camels were recorded in 1997 which has gone down to 498000 in 2003. This means 25 percent decrease in a period of five years. In the next five year census data, the population went down by 13.5 percent to 430426. The census also highlighted that the population during 2003-08 period increased in Jaisalmer district. 
Thus, besides declaring Camel as the State Animal, the State government is also in a process to draft a new law that bans slaughter, illegal trade and transportation of camels. The step includes camel milk in its food security programme and fast disappearing grazing areas leading to severe food crisis for camels.

Rajasthan Government declared Camel as the State animal

State Government of Rajasthan on 30 June 2014 declared Camel as the State animal. The step has been taken to check the diminishing number of camels in the State. 
The decision to declare Camel as State Animal was taken during a State Cabinet meet held in Bikaner on the last day of Sarkar Aapke Dwar campaign. The Cabinet meet was chaired by Vasundhara Raje, the Chief Minister of Rajasthan. 
Comment 
Camel as an animal provide livelihood to numerous people of Rajasthan and is called as a ship of desert. However, over the years these animals are slaughtered for its meat and are also illegally transported to neighbouring states. Camels are also killed as part of sacrifice in several districts of the Rajasthan. As a result, the camel population in Rajasthan has dwindled sharply.
As per the Livestock Census data, 668000 camels were recorded in 1997 which has gone down to 498000 in 2003. This means 25 percent decrease in a period of five years. In the next five year census data, the population went down by 13.5 percent to 430426. The census also highlighted that the population during 2003-08 period increased in Jaisalmer district. 
Thus, besides declaring Camel as the State Animal, the State government is also in a process to draft a new law that bans slaughter, illegal trade and transportation of camels. The step includes camel milk in its food security programme and fast disappearing grazing areas leading to severe food crisis for camels.

Bor Wildlife Sanctuary of Maharashtra to be the country's 47th Tiger Reserve

Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) on 1 July 2014 notified Bor Wildlife Sanctuary as Tiger Reserve. With this, Bor Wildlife sanctuary will become the 47th Tiger Reserve of India and sixth Tiger Reserve of Maharashtra. The approval aimed at strengthening the conservation efforts of the national animal.
In its notification the MoEF declared 13812 hectare area of Bor Sanctuary, New Bor Sanctury and the New Bor Extended Wildlife Sanctuary as a core, critical tiger habitat. The sanctuary will also act as an important corridor between Tadoba-Andhari and Pench Tiger Reserves that lies on the boundary of Nagpur and Wardha districts.
The notification of Union Government will help the sanctuary to receive funding and technical support to strengthen tiger conservation and eco-development and benefit of local communities residing along the border of the reserve.
The proposal to notify Bor Wildlife Sanctuary in Wardha district as Tiger Reserve was forwarded by Maharashtra Government. The other Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra are Melghat, Pench, Tadoba, Nagzira and Sahyadri. 
Bor Wildlife Sanctuary notified by Maharashtra government in 1970 is rich in biodiversity with a wide variety of flora and fauna that includes tigers, co-predators, prey animals and birds. 
Apart from it, the Ministry also approved the recommendations of a technical committee of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to establish ecological baselines for long term monitoring of tigers in the Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary and adjoining landscapes in Arunachal Pradesh. The proposal for Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary was mooted by the Wildlife Institute of India and would also conduct monitoring of co-predators and prey species apart from tigers.

About Project Tiger 
Project Tiger was launched in the year 1973 by the Government of India led by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The project was initiated to save the endangered species of tiger in the country. The project was started with nine (9) reserves in 1973-74 and till now it has gone up to 47. 
Aim of Project Tiger 
To aid and facilitate the breeding of tigers within a safe environment and then transport these tigers further afield so that the world’s population can be increased. 
The Project Tiger is controlled by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, which is under the umbrella of a Steering Committee. 
Minister of State (Independent Charge), Environment, Forests & Climate Change - Prakash Javadekar, he is also the a Chairperson of the National Tiger Conservation Authority
Due to concerted efforts under Project Tiger, at present India has the distinction of having the maximum number of tigers in the world (1706) as per 2010 assessment, when compared to the 13 tiger range countries. The 2010 country level tiger assessment has also shown a 20% increase of tigers in the country (from 1411 in 2006 to 1706 in 2010). 
Tiger Reserves are spread out in 17 of our tiger range states. This amounts to around 2.08% of the geographical area of our country. The tiger reserves are constituted on a core/buffer strategy.
Nagarjunasagar Tiger Reserve is the largest tiger reserve in terms of area.

Shah Rukh Khan Conferred with Knight of the Legion of Honor

Shah Rukh Khan was conferred with top French civilian award Knight of the Legion of Honor on 1 July 2014. The Knight of the Legion of Honor was presented to him by the French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius in Mumbai. The award was presented for his outstanding contribution to cultural diversity across the world.

Shahrukh Khan is the second Bollywood actor after Amitabh Bachchan to be honoured with Knight of the Legion of Honour. Amitabh Bachchan received the honour in 2007.

Other Indian personalities who have been honoured with France highest honour are Singer Lata Mangeshkar and director Satyajit Ray for their contribution in their respective fields as well.

About Shah Rukh Khan
• Shah Rukh Khan was born in 1965. He acted in over 50 films like Darr, Baazigar, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Dil To Pagal Hai, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Swades, Chak De! India, Devdas, My Name Is Khan and Chennai Express.
• He is a producer, television personality, philanthropist and entrepreneur.
• He was awarded Padma Shri in 2005 by the Government of India.
• He was also awarded with the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the government of France in 2007 for his contribution to cinema

France announced to provide 1 billion Euros credit line to India

France on 30 June 2014 announced to provide one billion Euros (8200 crore rupees) line of credit over a three years period to India. The announcement was made by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius who is on a visit to India.

The line of credit will help India take initiative in the climate control area and enable India to work closely with France on the issue of climate change.

The credit will be offered through the Agnece Francaise de development (French Development Agency) for creation of sustainable infrastructure and urban development in India.

Earlier, Fabius held talks with his counterpart Sushma Swaraj on the crucial issue of climate change. He said that his country was looking forward to make the Paris Climate Change Conference of the UN in December 2015 a success one.

Apart from this, the Fabius announced decision of his country to have a new visa regime for Indian travellers from January 2015. Under the new visa regime an Indian traveller would get visa in 48 hours. The minister stressed for more people-to-people contact through developing tourism linkages.

During his India visit, Fabius also unveiled a mobile application named Chalo Paris. The application will provide all information about tourists’ destinations, food and other key to Indian travellers during their visit to France.  This app will work on both Android and iOS platforms and will start functioning from September 2014

Pakistan Army launched Phase-II of the Operation Zarb-e-Azb against militants

Pakistan Army launched the Phase-II of the Operation Zarb-e-Azb or Strike of the Prophet’s Sword on 30 June 2014. The Phase-II of the Operation will be in the form of ground offensive against Taliban militants in North Waziristan.

The launch of ground offensive will strengthen security on the border of Afghanistan-Pakistan and prevent militants from escaping into Afghanistan.

The Pakistani Army launched the Operation Zarb-e-Azb on 15 June 2014 but limited its tactics to airstrikes.
The operation in North Waziristan came after militants launched an attack on Karachi airport on 7 June 2014, which left 36 people dead, including the 10 Taliban gunmen who performed the attack.

Earlier, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif had held several rounds with the Taliban militants to broker a ceasefire as part of a broader regional settlement.

North Waziristan is a key sanctuary for the Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups, such as the Haqqani network and Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Pakistan Army launched Phase-II of the Operation Zarb-e-Azb against militants

Pakistan Army launched the Phase-II of the Operation Zarb-e-Azb or Strike of the Prophet’s Sword on 30 June 2014. The Phase-II of the Operation will be in the form of ground offensive against Taliban militants in North Waziristan.

The launch of ground offensive will strengthen security on the border of Afghanistan-Pakistan and prevent militants from escaping into Afghanistan.

The Pakistani Army launched the Operation Zarb-e-Azb on 15 June 2014 but limited its tactics to airstrikes.
The operation in North Waziristan came after militants launched an attack on Karachi airport on 7 June 2014, which left 36 people dead, including the 10 Taliban gunmen who performed the attack.

Earlier, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif had held several rounds with the Taliban militants to broker a ceasefire as part of a broader regional settlement.

North Waziristan is a key sanctuary for the Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups, such as the Haqqani network and Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Malala Yousafzai won Liberty Medal for the year 2014

Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani education advocate, on 30 June 2014 won the 2014 Liberty Medal given by the National Constitution Centre in Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, US. 
She won the medal for her continued demonstration of courage and resilience in the face of adversity and for serving as a powerful voice for those who have been denied their basic human rights and liberties

Malala, the youngest recipient of medal in 25-year history, will receive the award at a ceremony to be held at the centre in Philadelphia on 21 October 2014. 
About Malala Yousafzai 
• Malala is the survivor of a shot of Taliban at an age of 15. She was shot in October 2012 while advocating for education of girls 
• Malala is also the youngest person ever to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
• She was one of the four runner-ups for the Time Magazine’s Person of the Year in 2013
• She is also the winner of the 2013 United Nations Human Rights Prize that is given every five years 
About Liberty Medal
The Liberty Medal is an annual medal established in 1988 and is given by the National Constitution Center, Philadelphia. It is given to men and women of courage and conviction who have strived to secure the blessings of liberty to people the world over. 
The medal is being awarded since 1989 and the first recipient of the medal was Polish Solidarity founder Lech Walesa. 
Some other recipients of the medal are Muhammad Ali, former President Jimmy Carter, South African leader Nelson Mandela, Sandra Day O’Connor, Shimon Peres, Colin Powell and former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. 
The 2013 Liberty Medal was awarded to the then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Chairman of the National Constitution Centre - Florida Gov Jeb Bush

Third edition of Ladakh International Film Festival held in Leh

The third edition of Ladakh International Film Festival (LIFF) was held in Leh, Jammu and Kashmir from 27 June to 29 June 2014. The festival screened over 50 films which included among others Bollywood, Iranian and Korean films etc.

Bollywood’s Kaafiron Ki Namaaz (The Virgin Arguments) won four awards and Iranian film Wet Letters bagged three awards at the third edition of Ladakh International Film Festival.

Category wise Awards
Best Director Short Film: Villari –India
Jury Grand Prize: White Van Stories- Sri Lanka
Best Documentary Film: Roque Dalton - Let's Shoot The Night- Cuba
Grand Jury Prize: The Homecoming-Venezuala
Best Debut: The Virgin Arguments (director Ram Ramesh Sharma) - India
Best Actress: Wet Letters- Iran
Best Actors: The Virgin Arguments (Alok Chaturvedi and late Chandrahas Tiwari )- India
Best Cinematography: Wet Letters - Iran
Best Screenplay: The Virgin Arguments - India
Best Director: Wet Letters -Iran
Best Feature: The Virgin Arguments (producer Bhargav Saikai) - India

India announced new liberal visa policy for Afghanistan nationals

India on 30 June 2014 announced a new liberal visa policy for nationals of Afghanistan on humanitarian grounds. The Policy was released by Union Home Ministry and will be effective from 1 July 2014.

The new policy allows nationals of Afghanistan to stay in India on stay visa or resident permit for a period of two years at a time. Besides, Afghanistan nationals below 12 years or above 65 years are also granted exemption from police reporting.

The policy has also the liberal provisions in relation to exemption from the requirement of police reporting to various categories including Afghan students, medical patients, short-term visitors, businessmen, scholars and eminent persons.

A system of biometric enrolment and photography will be introduced to ensure that the provided facilities are not misused by unscrupulous elements. The new policy further streamlines procedures being implemented in the current visa policy for citizens of Afghanistan.

US named a mountain in Antarctica after an Indian-American scientist, Akhouri Sinha

The United States on 30 June 2014 named a mountain in Antarctica as Mt. Sinha to honour an eminent Indian-American scientist, Akhouri Sinha. The mountain was named in recognition of Sinha’s work done as an explorer in 1971-72. Sinha’s pioneering biological research expedition has provided critical data about animal populations in Antarctica.

Mt Sinha is a mountain of 990 meter at the southeast extremity of Erickson Bluffs in the south part of McDonalds Heights. It overlooks lower Kirkpatrick Glacier from the north in Marie Byrd Land. 
The mountain was named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) and the US Geological Survey. Akhouri was recognised by the US Geological Survey. 
About Akhouri Sinha
• He was a member of a team that catalogued population studies of seals, whales and birds in the pack ice of the Bellingshausen and Amundsen Seas using US Coast Guard Cutters South wind and Glaciers in 1972 and 1974. He was invited to conduct research on reproduction of Antarctic seals by the National Science Foundation Antarctic Program.
• Akhouri Sinha is an adjunct professor in the Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development at the University of Minnesota
• He graduated with BSc degree from the Allahabad University in 1954 and MSc degree in Zoology from Patna University in 1956
• Before going to the US, he taught in the Department of Zoology at the Ranchi College from November 1956 to July 1961
• His forefathers migrated to Buxar in Bihar from Delhi after it was invaded by Nadir Shah of Iran in 1739

Former Haitian President Leslie Manigat died at 83

Former Haitian president Leslie Francois Manigat on 27 June 2014 died at the age of 83. He was elected as the President of Haiti in January 1988 but was overthrown by General Henri Namphy in June 1988.

He led the centre-left Assembly of Progressive National Democrats party (RNDP) that was founded in the late 1970s.

About Leslie Francois 
• He was born in 1930 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. 
• He was an academic turned politician and was recognised for his intellect and personal integrity.
• He began his career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the 1950s.  He was imprisoned under the rule of Francois Duvalier in 1963 and after his release he went into exile to France, US and Venezuela. He returned to Haiti after the fall of Jean- Claude Duvalier in 1986.
• He was the first elected President of Haiti in 1988 and again after this was presidential candidate in 2006.
• He won The Haiti Grand Prize of literature 2004 at the Miami Book Fair International.

India and China inked 3 agreements including one to facilitate setting up of Chinese Industrial

India and China on 30 June 2014 signed three agreements in the fields of commerce, water resources and human resources development. The signed agreements will facilitate China to set up industrial parks, share hydrological information during Brahmaputra floods and impart training to public officials.
These agreements were signed after delegation level talks between Hamid Ansari, the Vice President of India and his Chinese counterpart Li Yuanchao at Chinese Parliament called Great Hall of People in Beijing. Hamid Ansari was on a visit to China from 26 June to 30 June 2014. 
List of Documents signed during the official visit of Vice President to China

Title	Signatory from India	Signatory from China	Remarks
Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation on Industrial Parks in India	Sujatha Singh Foreign Secretary	Gao Yan, Vice Minister, Ministry of Commerce	Signed between Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China to further expand the scope of bilateral trade and investment cooperation, and promote cooperation between Chinese and Indian enterprises including the development of industrial parks in India so as to provide a platform for cluster type development of the enterprises of both countries.
Implementation Plan for Provision of Hydrological Information of the Yarlung Zangbu/ Brahmaputra River in Flood Season by China to India	Ashok K. Kantha Ambassador of India	Liu Ning, Vice Minister, Ministry of Water Resources	Signed between Central Water Commission and the Bureau of Hydrology and Water Resources this document states that Chinese side will provide hydrological information of Yarlung Zangbu/ Brahmaputra River in flood season to the Indian side, and the Indian side will provide the Chinese side information regarding data utilization in flood forecasting and mitigation and the information of the related hydrological stations.
Memorandum of Understanding concerning communication and cooperation of training in the area of Capacity Building of Public Officials	Ashok K. Kantha Ambassador of India	Feng Jun Executive Vice President, China Executive Leadership Academy Pudong	MOU between Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration and China Executive Leadership Academy Pudong to enhance understanding and friendship by promoting exchange and cooperation in the area of capacity building of public officials.

Apart from this, the Vice President Hamid Ansari on 30 June 2014 also launched the Encyclopedia of India-China Cultural Contacts in Beijing.

Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj concluded three-day visit to Bangladesh

Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj concluded her three-day visit to Bangladesh on 27 June 2014. This was the first-ever visit by an External Affairs Minister to Bangladesh and it was also Sushma Swaraj's maiden visit to Bangladesh. The visit to Bangladesh was a goodwill visit.

During the visit, she met the top leadership of Bangladesh, including President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Sushma Swaraj also met Begum Khaleda Zia, leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), and Begum Raushan Ershad, leader of the Jatiya Party, to send out a message that India will reach out to all mainstream political parties in Bangladesh.

The issues discussed with the top leaders during the visit included bringing cross-border movement of people into a mutually discussed and agreed legal paradigm. This is shorthand for ensuring that illegal migration is controlled and people enter India from Bangladesh legally.

Besides, Teesta Water sharing treaty, the Land Boundary Agreement and to ease visa regulation to facilitate legal travel by Bangladeshis to India were also discussed.

Before returning to Delhi, she visited Dhakeshwari Temple and offered prayers.

Analysis
By making Dhaka her first stop, Eaternal Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj began the task of fine-tuning of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ground breaking foreign policy gambit that saw the leaders of SAARC countries and Mauritius attend the swearing-in ceremony of the prime minister and his cabinet colleagues.

The renewed emphasis on reaching out to neighbours is an adroit move by India’s new government. It also signals the growing bipartisan nature of the conduct of foreign policy, cutting across party lines, by India’s political leadership. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is badly in need of rejuvenation.