pdf capsule - psau · pdf fileit will also gives real time data from customers and show the...

Current Affairs July 2016

PDF Capsule

2 | P a g e

Current Affairs PDF: July 2016

Current Affairs for Competitive Exam Contents INDIAN AFFAIRS............................................................................................................................................. 3

PLACES IN NEWS.......................................................................................................................................... 30

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS ....................................................................................................................... 38

FOREIGN VISITS ........................................................................................................................................... 48

SUMMITS & CONFERENCES ..................................................................................................................... 51

RANKING & REPORTS ................................................................................................................................ 55

BANKING & FINANCE ................................................................................................................................. 64

BUSINESS ........................................................................................................................................................ 81

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS ..................................................................................................................... 92

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS .................................................................................................................. 102

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS .................................................................................................................. 118

SCHEMES ...................................................................................................................................................... 120

MoUs ............................................................................................................................................................... 124

COMMITTEES.............................................................................................................................................. 130

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY ..................................................................................................................... 132

DEFENCE ...................................................................................................................................................... 141

ENVIRONMENT ........................................................................................................................................... 144

SPORTS .......................................................................................................................................................... 145

OBITUARY .................................................................................................................................................... 157

BOOKS & AUTHORS .................................................................................................................................. 161

IMPORTANT DAYS ..................................................................................................................................... 163

Kindly Check Other Capsules AffairsCloud Exam PDF Current Affairs Study Capsule Current Affairs Pocket Capsule Current Affairs Questions & Answers PDF

Help: If You Satisfied with our Capsule mean kindly donate some amount to BoscoBan.org (Facebook.com/boscobengaluru ) or Kindly Suggest this site to our family members & friends !!!

http://bit.ly/BOSCOBang

http://www.affairscloud.com/affairscloud-exam-pdf-for-competitive-exams/

http://www.affairscloud.com/current-affairs-pdf-capsule/

http://www.affairscloud.com/current-affairs-2016-pocket-pdf/

http://www.affairscloud.com/current-affairs-questions-answers-pdf-download/

https://www.facebook.com/boscobengaluru

http://bit.ly/BOSCOBang

3 | P a g e


INDIAN AFFAIRS Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu launched NIVARAN portal for employees’ Grievances

redressal

Railway Minister proactively launched NIVARAN Portal, an online system for redressal of matters

related to grievances of currently serving and former railway employees

Programme: NIVARAN portal

Venue: Rail Bhawan

Launched by: Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu

Purpose: Providing online system for redressal of service related grievance of serving and former

railway employees

Key Aspects:

• In order to eliminate the strike against the various issues such as minimal pay hike as per

7th Pay Commission and Government announced the online grievance system to

address serving and retired employee grievances

• The Railway Ministry already launched an online portal for addressing public

Grievances

• Railways being the single enterprise with multiple numbers of employees in the country

over 14 lakh employee serving and portal has been launched for addressing staff

matters

President Pranab Mukherjee Inaugurates Smart Model Village Pilot Project

WHAT – SMART MODEL VILLAGE PILOT PROJECT

• WHEN – JULY 2, 2016

• WHERE – RASHTRAPATHI BHAVAN, NEW DELHI

• BY WHOM – HONOURABLE PRESIDENT PRANAB MUKHERJEE

• TO WHOM – THE GRAM PANCHAYATS

• FOR WHAT – RESTRUCTURING THE RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND REDIFINING THE

RURAL ECONOMY

Smart village is nothing but a contemporary model village in which a stack of services and goods

are being rendered to the rural population in an efficient and effective manner.

Out of these 6 lakh villages nearly 1.25 lakh villages really backward, a recent by the NSS(

NATIONAL SAMPLE SURVEY) report says. In order to transform this condition this new scheme has

been introduced. The core areas which are going to get transformed through this scheme are :-

Farming, Construction, Electricity, Health care, Water resources, Manufacturing,Provision

retailing and Logistics

i.All these above mentioned services are rendered to the rural population through “computing,

communication and information technologies”.

ii.This scheme mainly emphasize on strategic & integrated planning of the rural infrastructure and

4 | P a g e


development which is the need of the hour to boost our Indian economy.

Being a pilot project it is now introduced in five village panchayats of Haryana. they are

listed as follows:-

DHAULA, ALIPUR, HARICHANDPUR, AND TAJ NAGAR IN GURAGON DISTRICT

ROJKA MEO IN MEWAT DISTRICT OF HARYANA.

The Rapid Rural Police Response System – An intensive seamless rural patrolling network

launched in Punjab

As a next step in safeguarding the rural population, Punjab’s deputy chief minister Sukhbir

Singh Badal Flagged off an intense rural patrolling system, RRPRS – Rapid Rural Police

Response System, in order to ensure the safety of the rural areas of Punjab, which comprises

of around 12,000 villages.

• This system has been introduced to ensure incite and efficient police response at the

doorsteps of the state’s common people, in addition to increasing police visibility for

crime prevention.

• As per this new system, all the rural people can call “100” in case of distress and the

police will response within a short span of not more than 20 minutes.

• This is a 24 X 7 facility with dedicated control rooms and dedicated twin lines to reduce

channel traffic.

Centre nod for renaming of Mhow railway station after B R Ambedkar

i. Being Dr Ambedhkar’s Birth place, a formal Approval has been given by the Central Government

for renaming MHOW Railway Station After B R Ambedhkar. He was born at Mhow, Madhya

pradesh in 1891.

ii. The demand for renaming the railway station was put forth by Thawar chand Ghelot, Union

minister of Social Justice and Empowerment.

iii. It is noticed that already Mhow was renamed as Dr Ambedkar Nagar in 2003 by the

Madhya Pradesh government.

My speed app – An official internet speed check app by TRAI

i. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI) has launched its official internetspeed test

app called MySpeed.

ii. TRAI’s My Speed App is free and measures the download and upload speed of your internet

connection, for both Wi-Fi and Cellular connectivity

iii. It will also gives real time data from customers and show the mobile data speed of each

operator in a given area on real time basis.

Centre to allot Rs 400 Crore for developing airports in UP

i. Ahead of the upcoming polls in Uttar Pradesh, Narendra Modi led NDA Government cleared the

5 | P a g e


tracks for the setting up seven regional airports in Uttar Pradesh.

ii. The Civil Aviation Ministry drawn out a sum of 100 crores to each of the following airports in

order to assist the development. The regional airports are as follows:-

Bareilly, Kanpur and Agra

iii. This decision was announced by shri. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of Sate for Civil Aviation..

Cabinet approved the setting up of a new major port in Tamil Nadu

i. The Union Cabinet has given its in – essence approval to setting up of a major port at Enayam

near Colachal in South Tamilnadu.

ii. Chennai port trust, Kamarajar port trust, V.O.C Chidambaram port trustaltogether

sponsored a Special Purpose Vehicle to develop the port infrastructure including dredging and

construction, reclamation of backwaters, ensuring connectivity etc.

RAJASTHAN – A forerunner in introducing minimum wages for part time workers

i. Rajasthan State Government Labour Department has introduced a new system of

introducing minimum wages to the part time workers

ii. Part time workers fall under the jurisdiction of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948

iii. As per this notification, it is compulsory to pay 50 percent of a day minimum wage to a person

who works less than four hours a day.

Union Cabinet approves The High Courts (Alteration of Names) Bill, 2016

i. The Union Cabinet in its meeting on Tuesday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the chair

approved the introduction of a bill to rename High Courts named after cities they are located

in, consequent to cities name being changed.

ii. The High Courts (Alteration of Names) Bill, 2016 will facilitate the changing of the names

of Bombay High Court to Mumbai High Court and Madras High Court to Chennai High

Court respectively

NAMAMI GANGE – A cleaning spree of the Holy river Ganga is set out to action in various

states

Aiming to give a major boost to Namami Gange Programme, 231 projects inaugurated today at

over 100 locations in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Haryana

and Delhi.

Projects Worth: Rs.1500 Crore

On July 7 ‘Namami Gange’ with the launch of 231 projects including those of STP installations

aiming to clean the holy river and ensuring its unhobble flow.

Union Ministers Nithin Gadkari (Minister of Road Transport & highways and

Shipping), Umabharti ( water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation),

6 | P a g e


Narendra Tomar and Mahesh Sharma launch the works in Haridwar along with the Uttarakhand

CM Harish Rawat.

Future plans:

• ‘Ganga Padayatra’ (foot march) in October this year – To create awareness among the

people about advantages of a ‘Clean Ganga’ and how they could contribute to it.

• Namami Gange will achieve its objective by 2018

• Government will install 60 sewage treatment plants and launch 50 other big projects

under the mission later this year.

Rs 300 crore tourist hub to come up in West Bengal’s Gajoldoba

i. Tourism Department of West Bengal plans to set up a tourist hub at Bhorer alo aka Gajoldoba.

ii. Total estimated cost of the project is Rs.300 crore, of which Rs 200 crore would be spent to

improve the infrastructure.

iii. The total area of the hub is 208 acres.

iv. The place is likely to be a major tourist destination in West Bengal by 2017.

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis inducts 11 Ministers

i. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expanded his council of ministers, inducting 11

ministers, including 10 new faces. With the new faces the state ministers has reached 41, two short

of the maximum limit.

ii. State governor C Vidyasagar Rao administered oath of office to the new ministers. Fadnavis

had inducted only two legislators from Shiv Sena.

Govt rolls out Krishi Vigyan Kendra portal for monitoring of farm centres

i. Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh launched an online portal designed to monitor

nearly 645 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) across the country.

ii. The KVKs also known as known as farm science centres which have a mandate to assess agri-

technology and demonstrate to farmer’s application and capacity development, are being set up in

rural districts.

Cabinet Ministers

♦ Pandurang Fundkar, BJP

♦ Ram Shinde, BJP promoted from MoS

♦ JayKumar Rawal, BJP

♦ Sambhaji Nilangekar-Patil, BJP

♦ Subhash Deshmukh, BJP

♦ Mahadev Jankar , RSP

Minister of State

♦ Arjun Khotkar, Shivsena

♦ Ravindra Chavan, BJP

♦ Madan Yerawar, BJP

♦ Gulab rao Patil, Shivsena

♦ Sada bhau Khot, SSS

7 | P a g e


KERALA government Imposes “FAT TAX” on Junk Foods

i. The new government of Kerala is planning to boost up the tax revenue this year by imposing

a ‘fat tax’ of 14.5 % on food such as burgers, pizzas, donuts, sandwiches and pasta, sold

through branded restaurants.

ii. It is a first-of-its-kind move in the country, The newly-elected LDF government imposed 14.5%

tax on selling items like tacos, pizzas, burgers, sandwiches, among others.

iii. This tax is supposed to add about Rs 10 crore to the tax revenue of state per year.

iv. The “fat tax” is concerned with issues related to public health more than revenue

generation. The introduction of fat tax, as a measure to curb the consumption of junk food among

people, has been a matter of global debate. Some countries like Denmark and Hungary even

implemented it. Denmark, however, scrapped it later.

Centre constitutes cyber cell to check online abuse

i. Union government has constituted a cyber-cell to check the online abuse and harassment of

women and children on social media platforms.

ii. Women and Child Development Ministry has taken the decision as it has got several complaints

from women informed the Minister Maneka Gandhi in New Delhi.

KERALA Government announces Rs 12,000 crore anti-recession package

i. Kerala Government today announced a Rs 12,000-crore rescue package for the state in view of

the Gulf crisis and recessionary trends in the state.

ii. Presenting the first budget of the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF Government, Finance Minister

Thomas Isaac said out of this package, around Rs 2,500 crore will be used this financial year.

iii. The state is facing serious financial crisis after the previous government failed to collect around

Rs 23,900 crore as tax during the past three years

vi. Rs 500 crore to expedite development of Azhikkal port. It has also ensured availability of

money for development of Vizhinjam International Cargo Shipment Port,

Thiruvananthapuram.

Auto Ingress sets up first assembly unit in Tamil Nadu

i. Auto Ingress, Manufacturing Company of automatic sensor doors has set up its first assembly

unit at Chennai (Maraimalai Nagar) with an investment of about Rs 12 crore.

ii. The unit will assemble sliding, swing, revolving, telescopic, hermetic doors and gate accessories

serving both residential and commercial segments, a company statement read.

iii. The unit, set up at SIPCOT Industrial Park, is spread across 20,000 square feet and will

produce automatic sensor doors priced between Rs 50,000 and Rs 3 lakh per unit.

Maharashtra Police Launches Four Apps To Strengthen Public Security System

i. In order to strengthen public security system, the Maharashtra police have launched four mobile

8 | P a g e


apps for timely intervention into emergency situations.

ii. The four applications Pratisaad Ask,Police Mitra,Vahanchoritakrar, and A Railway helpline app.

iii. These security apps were launched by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in Nagpur,

Maharashtra.

iv. These apps would also help establishing better coordination among the police force in the state

as well as improve its own administration. The apps are currently supported on the Android

platform but will soon be available on iOS as well.

v. Through Vahanchoritakrar, one can lodge complaint about stolen vehicles, while the Railway

helpline app has been devised to offer help to railway passengers during emergencies.

vi. Through Police Mitra app, the official said, aims at improving police administration by assisting

the police force in crime prevention and detection as well as ensuring safety of women, children

and senior citizens.

Govt imposes anti-dumping duty on chemical from 5 countries

i. Indian Revenue Department has slapped anti-dumping duty of up to USD 168.76 per tonne on

import of a chemical used in textile industry from five countries, including China and Iran, to

protect domestic manufacturers.

ii. The import restrictive tax has been imposed for five years by the Revenue Department on

recommendations of the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD)

iii. The imports of the chemical from the five countries (China, Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia and

Taiwan) will attract anti-dumping duty in the range of USD 83.08 per tonne to USD 168.76 per

tonne.

Ministry of Health launches Nationwide Intensified Diarrhoea Control Fortnight (IDCF)”

i. Health and Family Welfare Minister J P Nadda launched nationwide “Intensified Diarrhoea

Control Fortnight (IDCF)”, in New Delhi. This drive focuses to make ORS available in the

household when needed at the time of diarrhoea

ii. In the function the Health Ministry also unveiled a package of measures putting the

Government’s resolve to end child diarrhoea deaths on the overdrive.

iii. The Intensified Diarrhoea Control Fortnight (IDCF) will be observed from 11th to 23rd

July across the country.

iv. Under this edge, centre aims at covering over 80% of children (of the 10 crore children below

five years of age) affected by diarrhoea throughout the country.

Cabinet approves disinvestment of 15% in NBCC

i. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by PM Narendra Modi, has approved the

disinvestment of 15% paid up equity of National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited (NBCC)

out of Government of India’s 90% shareholding that will make Rs.1,706 croreapproximately to

the Government.

9 | P a g e


ii. The disinvestment process would further broadbase NBCC’s shareholding and enhance the

disinvestment receipts for making them available to the Government.

iii. The company has also been decided to allot additional shares to the eligible and willing

employees at a discount of 5% to the Issue/discovered (lowest cut off) price of the OFS.

Union Cabinet Approvals – July 13, 2016

Cabinet approves the revised plan for Punatsangchhu-II Hydroelectric Project in Bhutan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led Union Cabinet gave its approval for the revision of cost estimation

for of the Punatsangchhu-II Hydroelectric Project in Bhutan.

• This approval has Revised Cost Estimate (RCE) of Rs. 7290.62 crore for the ongoing

1020 MW Punatsangchhu-II Hydroelectric Project. The total cost estimation for the project

earlier is Rs.3777.82 crore.

• Owing to the inflation from March 2009 to March 2015 this price escalation is signed and

also the capacity of the power grid plan is increased from 990 to 1020 MW.

Union Cabinet approves revitalization of inoperative Fertilizer Units in Bihar, Uttar

Pradesh and Jharkhand.

The Union Cabinet headed by Shri. Narendra Modi has approved to revitalize the inoperative

Fertilizers Units in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand.

These three Fertilizer Units are as follows:-

COMPANY PLACE STATE Fertilizer Corporation India Ltd – FCIL Sindri Jharkhand Hindusthan Fertilizers Corporation Ltd – HFCL Barauni Bihar Fertilizers Corporation India Ltd Gorakhpur Uttar Pradesh These Three Fertilizer units are going to be revitalized with the help of SPV – Special Purpose

Vehicle of the following Public Sector Units:-

• National Thermal Power Corporation

• Coal India Limited

• Indian Oil Corporation

• FCIL and HFCL

Central Cabinet nods for renaming the Rajendra Central Agricultural University to ‘Dr.

Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University’.

The Union Cabinet chaired by Shri. Narendra Modi has given its retroactive agreement for renaming

the Rajendra Central Agricultural University to ‘Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural

University’, Pusa.

• This University is upgraded in to Central University in May, 2016 and in the

commemoration of our First President, It name is changed as such in the amendment.

10 | P a g e


• This up gradation will also to overcome the technical manpower and infrastructure. This

university mainly emphasizes on agriculture, animal husbandry, horticulture and

fisheries in India.

Cabinet approves LTV visas for Minority Community Diaspora

As a result of Government’s steps during the last 2 years to facilitate the stay of persons belonging

to minority communities of some countries, The Union Cabinet Ministry approved the extension of

facilities to people from Minority communities of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan,

namely Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians staying on Long Term Visa

(LTV) in India.

1. This approval is aimed at the following steps :-

2. Now they can open bank account

3. Permitting them to purchase property for self-occupation and employment

4. Permitting to employee themselves in several occupations.

5. Now they can apply for driving license, PAN (Permanent Account Number) card

and Aadhar card.

6. Allowing them for free movement within the state or union territory where they are

staying.

7. They can seek transfer of LTV from one state to other.

8. Waiving the penalty on non-extension of short term visa or LTV.

9. They can apply for LTV from their present place of residence in case they have moved to

that place without permission.

Several collectors of 7 states are employed in facilitating the acquisition of citizenship to these

minority people. They are from the following districts:-

S. No. Districts States 1 Raipur Chhattisgarh 2 Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Kutch Gujarat 3 Bhopal and Indore Madhya Pradesh 4 Nagpur, Mumbai, Pune and Thane Maharashtra 5 West Delhi and South Delhi Delhi 6 Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Jaipur Rajasthan 7 Lucknow Uttar Pradesh

Government apprises Aadhar Act – New Chief to be elected soon for UIDAI

i. The central Cabinet has formed a supreme Committee to select the new chairperson for

the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

ii. The central Government notified that the Aadhar Act 2016 is going to be enacted to perform its

provisions, thereby providing a compact structure to the UIDAI.

iii. The Centre has also separately notified the UIDAI Rules, 2016, paving the way for appointment

of its chairperson and members.

11 | P a g e


Apex court restored Congress ruling in Arunachal Pradesh

i. The Supreme Court of India on 13th July restored the Congress-led Nabam Tuki government

in Arunachal Pradesh spelled out by the Centre in January.

ii. It is considered as a down step for BJP party, as the SCI reappointed the Congress Govt. in AP.

iii. Since January 26, 2016 AP has been under President rule. During this course of the

hearing of a batch of petitions filed by speaker Nabam Rebia, Tuki and others challenging the

imposition of president’s rule, the proclamation was revoked on February 19.

Mumbai Square gets a new name – Jyotirmoy Dey, a bumped off Jounalist

i. Famous Mumbai Square is renamed after Jyotirmoy Dey, A Journalist who has been shot dead

in this same square in 2011.

ii. “J Dey Chowk” – Newly named square was unveiled by the Mumbai Mayor Snehal Ambekar.

iii. The naming of the square after the journalist was an initiative of the Brihanmumbai Municipal

Corporation (BMC) and the Mumbai Press Club.

HRD Ministry Contrives for Interest Free Loans to IITians

The Central Human Resource Development Ministry is now underwriting a scheme in order to

assist IIT Students to overcome their financial burden by providing them a Interest Free Loans.

This will help those students to pay their fees easily.

Why this Idea?

As per this new scheme, all students of the eliteIndian Institutes of Technology (IITs) whose

annual family income is less thanRs.9 lakhs, will be eligible for interest-free education loans for a

tenure of five years.

• This decision, the intially taken by the new HRD minister Prakash Javadekar, is to

outgrowth a tuition fee hike in April, 2016 for undergraduate IIT students.

• It is also noted that this will be applicable to all students whose family income is not more

than Rs.9 lakhs and this facility will be applicable only for loans taken to pay tuition fees.

Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad Launches Transforming India Website

i. Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology and Law &

Justice launched, a new website “Transforming India” in New Delhi.

ii. This website provides information in a user-friendly format enabling citizens to view the content

in the form of Infographics, e-books etc.,

iii. Key Features: Performance Dashboard, Infographics, Voice of India, Live Events, Videos

Weekly Summary, Citizen Speak, Social Media Corner.

Maha CM launches virtual, digital classrooms across 32 ITIs in state

i. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavislaunched the new facilities of virtual and digital

12 | P a g e


classrooms in 32 ITIs across the state on the occasion of World Youth Skills Day.

ii. The facilities will be soon extended to all ITIs which will and bridge the rural, urban connect the

gap between rural and urban areas.

iii. The CM also announced an initiative to make these classrooms and course content 3D enabled

and use of simulators to give hands-on training to youths.

‘Ramayana month’ begins in Kerala

i. The traditional annual Ramayana Month began in Kerala with temples and Hindu houses

resonating with the chanting of the epic Ramayana.

ii. The Karkkidakam is the last month in the Malayalam calendar, is observed as the auspicious

Ramayana month across the state..

Pema Khandu sworn in as Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh

Pema Khandu was sworn in as the 10th Chief Minister ofArunachal Pradesh marking the

culmination of fast-paced political developments in the State. In the sidelines Chowna Mein was

sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister.

• The 37-year-old Pema who became the youngest Chief Minister in the country, and Mein

were administered the oath by Governor Tathagata Roy at the Rajbhavan in Itanagar.

• Ahead of the scheduled floor test in the Assembly the Congress Legislature Party elected

Pema Khandu, in place of Nabam Tuki, who was restored as Chief Minister earlier this

week after the apex court verdict.

• Pema claimed to power on the basis of the support of 45 party MLAs along with two

independents that makes 47 supporters for Congress. In the 60-member House with

an effective strength of 58.

Commerce Ministry starts e-marketplace for goods procurement

i.Union Commerce Ministry has launched an e-marketplace for online purchase of goods and

services by various central government ministries and departments that will help aggregate

demand also lead to lower prices, better choices and faster procurement.

ii.The move is aimed at passing in more transparency and streamlining the government

procurement of goods and services.

iii.The Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D) has developed the portal for

the purpose. The department, which is under the Commerce Ministry, carries out the procurement.

‘The Great India Run’ Marathon Flagged Off At India Gate

i.India’s first multi-city marathon The Great India Run was flagged off by Sports Minister Vijay

Goel, Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju and former World Championship bronze

medallist Anju Bobby George at the at the Amar Jawan Jyoti India Gate in New Delhi.

13 | P a g e


ii.The 1,480 kilometres long ultra-marathon will feature 15 of the best ultra marathoners from

Asia, Africa, US and Europe in its inaugural edition.

Karnataka joins Andhra and Telangana, to tap NRIs for start-ups

i.Karnataka is mulling to tap non-resident Kannadigas to set up start-ups and technology

units in its revised start-up policy, reflecting the efforts by rival states Telangana and Andhra

Pradesh. The state capital is India’s start-up hub, with nearly a third of new firms being set up in

the city.

ii.The move is also aimed at building a bridge with influential technology and business leaders

from the community in the US and West Asia for more investments.

iii.The state government is focusing on incubating start-ups that use technology in

agriculture, horticulture, housing and transport.

Delhi CM launches live interactive programme

i.Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched a live interactive programme named TalkToAK,

to make directly engaging with the Delhiites.

ii.The first programme lasted for two hours, in which the Chief Minister answered a wide-ranging

questions based on education, youth and city administration.

Integrated Criminal Justice System (ICJS) to be 1st launched in AP and TELEGANA

As a part of setting up a new milestone in the judicial system of India, Telangana and Andhra

Pradesh are the first states in the country where Integrated Criminal Justice System (ICJS)will be

launched, Supreme Court Judge Madan B Lokur .

Justice Lokur is also inaugurating the first e-court (paperless court) in the High Court of

Judicature at Hyderabad for the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Status of ICJS in AP and Telegana:-

• The reason behind the launch of this system in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh is that these

states have made lot of progress in their Judicial and security sectors.

• This system will link all the courts, police stations, prosecution, forensic science laboratories

and Jails in Telegana and AP.

• Now the judicial authorities of these states are entered in the process of computerizing

the high courts and also trying to bring about uniformity between the data that is available

in all the high courts.

As per this system, if the judiciary, lawyers, litigants and court staff work together there comes

a massive change in justice delivery and access to justice. The concept of e-court involves

more usage of electronic paper in the court hall and dispensing with the movement of case records,

which consumes time and manpower.

Steps are being taken to install

14 | P a g e


• digital display boards

• information kiosks

in the complexes of city civil courts Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

Railways to set up SOLAR PANELS on all Railway Building across India

i.With focus to curb greenhouse emissions Central Railway Ministry adopted the idea

ofinstalling solar panels in all railway buildings across India.

ii.Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu ( Rajya Shaba – Andhra Pradesh constituency) unveiled

this new idea of solar power installation in order to produce more energy and also to cut the

emissions.

iii. The central railway ministry also planned to produce solar energy from waste materials

that would reduce the expenditure of the Railways on electricity,

Parliament endorses Regional Centre for Biotechnology Bill 2016

Following the authorization by the voice note of Rajya Shaba, the Regional Centre for

Biotechnology Bill, 2016 was passed by the parliament on July 18.

What is this The Regional Centre for Biotechnology Bill, 2016?

• The Regional Centre for Biotechnology Bill, 2016 was introduced in Lok Sabha on March

15, 2016.

• It is known that India had entered into an agreement in 2006 with the United Nations

Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the establishment

of the Regional Centre for Biotechnology Training and Education in India.

• With effect of this agreement, the central government set up the Regional Centre for

Biotechnology Training and Education in Faridabad, Haryana as per an executive order

in 2009. The Bill seeks to provide legal backing to the Regional Centre.

• This bill also bestows upon it the status of an institution of national importance. An

institution of national importance is an institute which imparts scientific or technical

education and is authorized to grant degrees.

Internal Revenue Agent Inks 7 pacts to minimize Litigations in Transfer Pricing

The tax department inked seven one-sided advance pricing agreements (APAs) with taxpayers

in the various sectors of the Indian economy like banking, information technology and

automotives in order to minimize judicial proceedings by providing certainty in the domain of

transfer pricing.

What is APA?

APA stands for Advance Pricing Agreement. The Advance Pricing Agreement is an

arrangement between the taxpayer and the tax authority covering future transactions, with a

view to solve the potential transfer pricing disputes in a cooperative manner.

15 | P a g e


• These APA provisions were introduced in India in July 1, 2012 by the Finance

Minister in the Union Budget 2012. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), by

notification in the official gazette, has introduced the detailed rules providing the procedures

and necessary forms for application/administration of the APAs.

• The APAs may be bilateral or unilateral. When the competent authorities of two

countries negotiate in advance to determine the ALP of the future international transaction,

it is called bilateral APA.

On the other hand sometimes, taxpayers may like to go for unilateral APA in order to have an

agreement only with one government authority to have tax certainty in that country. This is

called Unilateral APA.

Seven Pacts:-

These 7 pacts which relates to international transactions include

• Software development services,

• IT enabled services (BPOs),

• Engineering design services,

• Administrative and business support services.

TRI-NETRA is set to be rolled on floors for Efficient and Effective Railway Development

i.Indian Railway Ministry has originated an offer to introduce TRI-NETRA systems on

locomotives in order to enhance the vision of Locomotive Pilots in merciless weather

conditions.

ii.TRI-NETRA stands for Terrain Imaging for Diesel Drivers Infra-red, Enhanced Optical and

Radar Assisted System.

iii. Being forefront runner India has introduced this scheme in order to help the train pilots to steer

in bad weather conditions, in averting train collisions and Preventing derailment and

accidents on unmanned railway crossings.

iv. The concept of TRI-NETRA was developed by Development Cell under the guidance of

Member Mechanical of the Railway Board while in sighting on the ways to use the technology

employed by fighter aircrafts to see through clouds and operate in pitch darkness.

ECI Launches SVEEP portal in Hindi along with the release of NERP handbook

i.Election Commission of India has launched the SVEEP Portal in Hindi language along with two

other releases in the sidelines of the Conference of Chief Electoral Officers of States by the Chief

Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi.

ii.The Series of Launches

1. Sveep Portal in Hindi

2. Matdaata Mahotsav Document and Film

3. Nerp Handbook

16 | P a g e


Hydropower Station at Sardar Sarovar Becomes Operational

i.Gujarat based Sardar Sarovar Dam at Kevadia in Narmada district have become operational

that with six power producing turbines at its full capacity after 65,000 cusec of water was released.

ii.The turbines coupled with generator has 200 MW peak power capacity of each have been

generating power because of the high flow of water in the river since a week. The totaled installed

capacity power producing house is 1200 MW.

iii.Over 57% of electricity generated is supplied to Madhya Pradesh, 27% to Maharashtra and

16% to Gujarat.The plant has capacity of 1450 MW, which includes five canal based power house

at Sardar Sarovar dam.

Rajya Sabha passes child labour amendment bill

Child Labor law which emphasizes to permits children below 14 to work in family enterprises after

school and on holiday has been amended by the Rajya Sabha on July 20, 2016.

What is Child Labor law?

Child Labor Law which has been amended 2012 mainly focus to ban employment of children under

14 years in all kinds of commercial enterprises. The original Child Labor Prohibition Act of 1986

banned employment of children below 14 in only 18 hazardous industries.

• The Bill passed with drastically cuts down on the number of industries that are considered

hazardous for children, from 83 to just 3, effectively knocking off zari work, bangle-making,

garment industry, leather and tanneries among others in the list.

• The amended Child Labour Act prohibits the employment of children (below 14 years of age)

in all occupations except in non-hazardous family enterprises or the entertainment industry.

NEET Exam Amendment Bill was passed by the Parliament

For the well being of the Indian Medical Industry, two important bills namely The Indian Medical

Council (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and the Dentists (Amendment) Bill, 2016 were passed by

the parliament. Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda introduced both the bills in the Lower House

of Parliament.

What are these bills?

The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill seeks to amend the Indian Medical Council Act,

1956 and the Dentists Act, 1948 seeks to replace the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test

(NEET) ordinances.

Amendment:-

• The Dentists Act amendment bill will give statutory status to the NEET, In order to make the

examination system fair and transparent and students won’t face multiplicity of exams and it

will also stop exploitation of students in the name of capitation fees.

• The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and the The Dentists (Amendment) Bill,

2016 provides a Constitutional status to the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET)

examination and is intended to be introduced in the academic session next year.

17 | P a g e


Six new IITs got grounds cleared through the latest Bill in Parliament

Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar, who introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha which designs at

bringing the six new IITs and also the Indian School of Mines (ISM), Dhanbad under the scope of

the IIT Act.

Amendments:-

The six new IITs are proposed to be set up at the following locations,

• IIT Tirupati, IIT Palakkad,IIT Goa, IIT Dharwar, IIT Bhilai and IIT Jammu.

Union Government reveals a shocking fact of glacier melting due to Global Warming

i. The union environment ministry revealed a shocking fact that almost all Indian glaciers,

including Gangotri, are melting at a rate of 5 to 20 meters per year owing to the worst global

warming issues.

ii. The studies carried out by ISRO, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIGH),

Dehradun and other institutions have revealed that a majority of the glaciers are retreating at

varying rates from 5 meter to 20 meter per year.

iii. The parliament was also informed that a study on the length and area changes of 82 glaciers –

a net loss of 4.6% located in the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda river basins, using remote sensing.

Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2105 approved by Union Cabinet

i. With the desire of introducing in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament, the Union cabinet

approved the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2015 on July 20,2016.

ii. This Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill is aimed at curtailing domestic illegal

and black money and it also endows the Government to impound the benami property with the

help of proper guidelines and regulations.

AIIMS Gorakhpur got its approval from the Central Cabinet

i. PM Narendra Modi Cabinet has given approval for the establishment of a new All India Institutes

of Medical Sciences AIIMS at Gorakhpur in the state of Uttar Pradesh underPradhan Mantri

Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).

ii. Under National Health Mission, The establishment of new AIIMS will serve the dual purpose of

providing super speciality health care to the population while creating a large pool of doctors and

other health workers in this region that can be available for primary and secondary level

institutions.

Transgender show relief signs after the approval of The Transgender Persons (Protection

of Rights) Bill 2016

i. The Union Cabinet chaired by Shri. Narendra Modi approved The Transgender Persons

(Protection of Rights) Bill 2016 on July 20.

ii. This Bill has evolved as a mechanism for the social, economic and educational

18 | P a g e


empowerment of transgender persons in India.

iii. The bill proposes that transgender persons be included in the OBC category in case they

are not listed as scheduled caste or schedule tribe.

iv. The bill also has provision of jail for minimum six months for those found harassing

transgender persons with maximum imprisonment for two years.

The Sagarmala Port Project gets its nod from the Central Union Cabinet

i. Giving a boost of modernizing port infrastructure Sagarmala programme, the Union

Cabinet approved incorporation of Sagarmala Development Co. (SDC) under theCompanies

Act, 2013.

ii. The Union government decided to incorporate Sagarmala Development Company (SDC) under

the Companies Act, 2013. SDC under the administrative control of the ministry of shipping.

iii. The programme has 150 projects comprising of port modernization, connectivity, port-led

industrialization and coastal community development.

The Sagarmala Project includes the following ports in

India,

CCEA approves for Cochin Shipyard Limited’s new Dry Dock Construction

i. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved setting up of a new dry

dock within the existing premises of Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL).

ii. This new augmentation facility will enable Cochin Shipyard to utilize the market potential of

building specialized and technologically-advanced vessels.

iii. This project is figured for an estimated cost of Rs 1799 crore to enhance shipbuilding and repair

capacity of Indian maritime Industry.

Union Cabinet approves Election Commission’s proposal to procure EVMs

i. The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its approval for the proposal

of Election Commission to procure Ballot Units.

ii. Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Election Commission’s proposal to buy nearly 14 lakh new

EVMs today received a push by the government’s first tranche of nearly Rs 920 crore to procure

5.50 lakh new ballot units and 5.45 lakh control units during 2016-17.

iii. The procurement plan for Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail Units (VVPAT) for 2016-17,

2017-18 and 2018-19 would be considered subsequently after price negotiations.

FSSAI issues draft guidelines for standards of instant noodles

Food Safety Regulator of India FSSAI announced draft guidelines for standards of instant

noodles fortified atta, fortified maida, durum wheat maida, quinoa, fortified rice, tapioca sago or

palm sago and pearl millet flour.

West Bengal Sagar Island Tamil Nadu Colachel Gujarat Wadhwan Karnataka Tadadi Andhra Pradesh Machilipatnam

19 | P a g e


4,804 children rescued under ‘Operation Muskan’ in Mumbai

i. Under the Operation Muskan Railway Police from Mumbai city has traced 4,804 missing

children and reunited 4,386 of them with their family.

ii. Upon this Operation three rounds were launched distinctly and each round lasted for a month

was carried out in the month of July in 2015 and third round was carried out in April this year.

West Bengal to set up apex body to deal with cyber-crime issues

i. West Bengal government to set up a cyber-security centre to address the mounding threat of

cyber-crimes across the state.

ii. The state is mulling to open an apex body for dealing with all cyber-security the West Bengal

Cyber Security Centre of Excellence (WBCS-CoE) to deal with increasing cyber-offences.

iii. The Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced such a move along with this she also

announced courses on Data Science and Cyber-Security in different colleges located in WB.

New high-tech museum at Rashtrapati Bhavan

i. New High Museum to come up at Rastrpati Bahvan in New Delhi, The project is expected to be

completed in two years.

ii. It has 10,000 square metres, that will be built in the form of a high-tech museum that will

house precious collections, multiple-screens and holographic projections among other important

things.

PM Modi inaugurates Petrapole Integrated Check Post with PM Sheikh Hasina

i.Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina on

Thursday jointly inaugurated the Petrapole Integrated Check Post (ICP) through video-

conferencing. Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee also participated from Kolkata in

the video-conference.

ii.Petrapole ICP is the second ICP on the India-Bangladesh border after the Agartala ICP at

the Agartala (India)-Akhaura (Bangladesh) land border. It will also be the biggest land port in

South Asia.

ECI launched NERP – National Electoral Roll Purification to minimize the voter list errors

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has launched theNational Electoral

Roll Purification (NERP) programme across the country to correct errors in electoral rolls and

enrolment of all eligible citizens, among other things.

NERP – 2016:-

NREP 2016 will ensure single electoral register entry for every

eligible elector withunique Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number, removal of all absent, shifted

or dead electors’ entries and repeat entries. The NERP is formulated in view of

20 | P a g e


• Improving Health of ERs by-inclusion of all eligible citizens in mission mode; ERs to be

Free from errors.

• Single ER entry for every eligible elector with unique Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC)

number.

• Removal of all Absent (A)/ Shifted (S)/ Dead (D) electors’ entries and Repeat Entries

(REs) and ensuring Photo Electoral Rolls (PERs) with good quality correct images

• Standardization of Sections, PS boundaries & Location and improved PS map by-

Optimization of part boundaries with Standardization of sections using GIS technology.

NDMC ties up with NEERI to develop sewage treatment plants

i. New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has signed an agreement with National Environmental

Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to develop 12 sewage treatment plants (STP) in

order to develop and restructure the green area big and small parks.

ii. This new agreement will help in increasing the green cover in NMDC areas and also to reduce

the dust pollution.

iii. As a initial step, a total of 12 STP are going to be laid across the NMDC areas.

iv. All these plants will be connected to the green area parks, schools and are going to be

maintained by the Horticulture Department.

v. These plants will have a sewage water treating capacity of 50000-1 lakh litre a day.They also

started tree plantation in the barren land in order to curb dust pollution by planting 2 lakh trees in

the laden land.

Lok Sabha passes Bill for new NIT in Andhra Pradesh

i. Lok Sabha passed the National Institute of Technology, Science, Education and Research

(Amendment) (NITSER) Bill, 2016 to establish a National Institute of Technology in Andhra

ii. With a estimate of 226 crores for three years, initially 40 crores has been releasedby the

central Government for the establishment of a new NIT in Andhra Pradesh.

iii. The NIT in Andhra Pradesh has been established in lines with the provisions of Andhra

Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. The Reorganisation Act, 2014 provides for a NIT for the

state after its bifurcation as the existing NIT went to Telangana.

iv. This bill is presented by the Union HRD Minister Mr. Prakash Javadekar in the Parliament

with denoting that In order to make India prosperous the basic sciences and basic research

has to be the thrust of higher education as Innovation is the product of research.

Odisha govt forms judicial panel for reforms in Jagannath temple management

i. Odisha government set up a one-member judicial commission to make reforms in the

management of the Lord Jagannath temple in Puri.

ii. Former High Court Justice Bimal Prasad Das will be the head of the commission and assisted

by former chief administrator of Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Mahimohan Tripathy.

21 | P a g e


iii. The commission was formed demanding suggestions on well-organized rituals, darshan of

deities, security arrangements, training and conservation of heritage and culture in the temple.

IAF plane with 29 people on board goes missing

i. The Antonov An-32 Airforce Plane disappeared after the plane has lost Radar Signal, on the way

to the Andaman Nicobar’s Port Blair over Bay of Bengal.

ii. The Airforce Carrier was carrying 29 persons on board lost its Radar signal passing 150 nautical

miles on route to Blair from Chennai.

iii. The Plane An-32 is a Russian made one that was inducted in the Indian Air Force Decades back,

which can remain flying for a maximum of four and half hours. The Indian Defence forces on full-

fledged searching to locate the plane.

Haryana Bans 15-Year-Old Petrol, 10-Year-Old Diesel Vehicles

i. Haryana has announced ban on 15 year old petrol vehicles and 10 year old diesel vehiclesto curb

air pollution from plying in NCR Region.

ii. The Ban will is effective in the National Capital Region that consist of (NCR): Gurgaon,

Faridabad, Sonepat, and Jhajjar.

iii. In fact these cities composed together accounts over 20 lakh registered vehicles. i.This move

comes after the National Green Tribunal has banned 10 and 15-year-old diesel vehicles in Delhi.

Startup India States’ Conference held in Delhi

i. In order to give a boost to the “Startup India” initiative, A Startup India States Conference is

being held in New Delhi on July 22, 2016.

ii. This conference will serve as a platform for all states to discuss the progress, policies and

good practices which they have followed on the Startup India initiative in their states.

iii. Start-ups, investors, incubators and various Central ministries and departments will be a part of

this conference and Telangana, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Kerala and Karnataka, would be presenting the

initiatives taken by them to promote start-ups.

iv. It is noted that Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) is organizing a day-long

conference on 23rd July, 2016 and this conference will be presided over by Smt. Nirmala

Sitharaman, Hon’ble Minister of State for Commerce & Industry.

Tamil Poet Thiruvalluvar’s Statue finally finds a place in Uttarakhand

i. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat decided to install the statue of Tamil saint-

poet Thiruvalluvar in the lawns of Haridwar’s Mela Bhawan on the bank of the Ganga.

ii. The lawn where the statue is being installed is bigger and adjacent to the one where it was

kept temporarily.

iii. Harish Rawat also wrote a reassuring letter to Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalitha about installing

the statue of Thiruvalluvar is his state’s proud privilege and it will be done with all the fanfare and

22 | P a g e


dignity.

iv. It is noted that In an initiative to introduce Northern India to the great literary legacy of the

Tamil savant, former BJP MP (Rajya Sabha) Tarun Vijay had decided to bring his 12-foot statue to

Haridwar and install it in the city.

Kochi gets India’s first ever Water Metro Project funded by a German Enterprise

Kerala CM Mr. Pinarayi Vijayan launched the India’s first ever water Metro project in the city

of Kochi. This water metro project is a part of the ongoing Kochi Metro Rail Limited. This integrated

water transport project is to be implemented in two phases and should be fully operational

by 2019.

About Kochi Water Metro:

• This project envisages the development of 16 identified routes, connecting 38 jetties

across 10 islands and spans a total route network of 76km.

• The project intends for a fleet of 78 fast, fuel efficient, air-conditioned ferries playing to

38 jetties, 18 of which will be developed as main boat hubs, while the remaining 20 will

be minor jetties for transit services?

• The advent of water metro will make Kochi the first Indian city where water

connectivity will be developed as a feeder service to the metro rail.

• The project aims to provide water connectivity to people living between islands in the

Kochi assemblage area and this project will also connect the islands spread across Kochi

backwaters to main city.

Motor Bike Rally “Ride 4 Accessibility” for Accessible India Campaign organized in New

Delhi

i. Newly Renamed Divyangjan (Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities)

organised a Motorcycle Rally named Ride 4 Accessibility was hit the road in Delhi.

ii. The Rally was flagged off by Shri Prakash JavadekarUnion Minister- Human Resource

Development and Science & Technology Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan.

iii. The event saw a participation of more than 500 young men and women motorcycle riders.

Maharashtra CM launches pilot project of e-complaint system

i. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has launched a pilot project of e-complaint

system on an trail basis in the concluding ceremony of 14th Maharashtra Police Duty Meet at SRPF

ground at Ramtekdi Pune.

ii. The pilot e-complaint iniative by the Pune Police helps citizens to file a police complaint from and

also avoid making unnecessary rounds of the police stations for registering complaints in the days

to come.

iii. The CM in his address stated that Maharashtra is the first state to implement the Right to

Services Act

23 | P a g e


Lok Sabha passed bill for the Establishment of six new IITs across India

Lok Sabha amended a bill providing for opening six new IITs, Under the Institutes of

Technology (Amendment) Bill 2016 on July 26. This bill enables the setting up of Indian Institute of

Technology in Palakkad, Goa, Dharward, Bhilai.,Jammu and Tirupati.

Amendment:-

This new bill will establish IIT in the following places,

• Palakkad, Kerala, Goa; Dharward, Karnataka; Bhilai, Chhattisgarh; Jammu, Jammu &

Kashmir and Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh

Karnataka government sets up a dedicated Start-up Cell

The Karnataka government has set up a dedicated Start-up Cell to fuel the implementation of

the initiatives under the Start up policy.

i. The department of Information technology and Bio technology of Karnataka, for the first

time, has got all sphere degree solutions for the startup initiatives and more importantly its much

required direct intervention to the startups though the open house.

ii. In 2016-17, the Department of IT and BT would have special focus on further strengthening the

idea of innovation and leveraging to give impetus to the growth of startups through its startup

policy 2015-2020.

‘Feed the future’ programme launched

i. Indian Agriculture Ministry and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

jointly inaugurated the second phase of the Feed the Future -India triangular training programme

in New Delhi.

ii. In the second phase of the iniative Specialized agriculture training will be provided to 1,500

agricultural professionals across Africa and Asia. The maiden Phase had trained 200

professionals from Kenya, Liberia and Malawi.

iii. The programme is to share these farming techniques used by India and the US worldwide,

helping countries in Africa and Asia to bring innovative solutions to the challenges facing farmers.

Rajasthan aims to double farmers’ income in six years

i. Rajasthan state government aiming to raise the farmer’s income by double within six years,

i.e by 2022.

ii. The state also mulling to bring in latest technological innovation and introduce best farming

practices to improve yields and on use of drip irrigation to overcome drought-like situations by

inviting experts to Global Rajasthan Agritech Meet (GRAM) in Jaipur which is scheduled later

this year.

Union Government issues notification for implementation of 7th Pay Commission

i. The Union government issued notification for the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission

24 | P a g e


recommendations related to the hike a month after the union cabinet gave its nod for the same.

ii. Upon this notification 4.8 million central government employees and 5.2 million pensioners will

get the increased by 2.57 times hike in basic pay payout from their August salaries.

iii. The Pay Commission headed by Ashok Kumar Mathur recommended changes of 1 crore

individuals

Defence Ministry unveils statue of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam in Rameswaram

On commemorating the first death anniversary of the former president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, the

Ministry of Defence has unveiled a life-size statue of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam at his burial site in

Peikarumbu, Rameswaram Island.

Statue for APJ:-

In order to remember APJ forever in our minds and hearts and his thoughts continue to be with us

all the time Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and Defence Minister Manohar

Parrikar Inaugurated the bronze statue of APJ Abdul Kalam.

Lok Sabha passes Lokpal and Lokayukta (Amendment) Bill 2016

Lok Sabha passed the Lokpal and Lokayukta (Amendment) Bill, 2016 which allows extension of

the time given to public servants, trustees and board members of NGOs receiving

government funds of more than Rs. 1 crore or foreign funding of more than Rs 10 lakh to

declare their assets and those of their spouses.

What is Lokpal Act?

• The term Lokpal was coined in 1963 by Laxmi Mall Singhvi, a member of parliament

during a parliamentary debate aboutgrievance mechanisms. The word was derived from

the Sanskrit words “Lok” (people) and “Pala” (protector/caretaker).

• Lokpal and Lokayukta Act is an anti-corruptionAct of Indian Parliament in India

which seeks for the establishment of the institution of Lokpal to inquire into

allegations of corruption against certain public authorities and for matters relate with

them.

• The Bill was introduced in the parliament followingmassive public protests led by anti-

corruption crusader Anna Hazare and his associates. The bill received worldwide

media coverage and has been named among the Top 10 News Stories of 2011 by the

magazine Time.

• The Lokpal bill was first introduced in the Lok Sabha in 1968. The version enacted in

2013 was from a draft prepared in 2010.The bill is an implementation of the Prevention of

Corruption Act, 1988

• For the first time, The Bill was tabled in theLok Sabha on 22 December 2011 and

was passed by the House on 27 December as The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011.

• The amendment to section 44 of the Act was moved by Dr. Jitendra Singh –Minister

of State handling the Bill falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Personnel and

25 | P a g e


Training. The Minister explained that the government was only trying to facilitate effective

implementation of the Act.

The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2016 passed by the Lok

Shaba

The Lok Sabha passed the amendments to the Child Labour Act, there by laying a complete

framework for the absolute prohibition of employment of children below the age of 14 but

allowing minors to work in family enterprises. The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation)

Amendment Bill, 2016 was finally passed in the Lok Sabha after a heated discussion.

What is Child Labor law?

Child Labor Law which has been amended 2012 mainly focus to ban employment of children

under 14 years in all kinds of commercial enterprises. The original Child Labor Prohibition Act

of 1986 banned employment of children below 14 in only 18 hazardous industries.

• The Bill passed with drastically cuts down on the number of industries that are considered

hazardous for children, from 83 to just 3, effectively knocking off zari work, bangle-making,

garment industry, leather and tanneries among others in the list.

• The amended Child Labour Act prohibits the employment of children (below 14 years of age)

in all occupations except in non-hazardous family enterprises or the entertainment industry.

Opposition for this bill:-

BJP MP Varun Gandhi expressed his condemn that It is as a form of slavery, not skill training. India

has the largest number of child laborers in the world and RK Ray of the BJP added that more

children being forced to work is another problem that can be blamed on over-population.

Drawbacks of this bill:-

But, Children’s rights activist and Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi also expressed his

displeasure and concern regarding the bill that “There is a thin line between family enterprise

and employers. In the past, there have been many instances where employers have claimed to be

the fathers, uncles or children, sometimes of up to 30 children. Now, they will have legal backing”

The amended Child Labor Bill might give the first impression that the government is taking a

stringent measure to end child labor.

• According to the statistics made available by CRY, only 33 out of 100 children are

completing Class 12. The amendments to the Child Labor Act make the situation grimmer

Centre approves construction of over 2.4 lakh houses for urban poor

i. Central government has approved construction of over 2.4 lakh houses for the poor under

the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) at an estimated cost of Rs 16,600 crore.

ii. Central assistance of Rs 3,634 crore has been approved for construction of the houses under

three segments of the urban housing mission are as follows

♦ Affordable Housing In Partnership – 1,24,642 houses

♦ Beneficiary Led Construction – 1,15,989

26 | P a g e


♦ In-Situ Slum Redevelopment – 3,636 houses

iii. Maharashtra has got approval for over one lakh houses followed by

♦ Tripura (42,896), Odisha (23,843), Bihar (21,474) and Gujarat (17,838).

iv. The central government has approved an additional investment of Rs 16,641 crore for affordable

housing for construction of 2,44,267 houses for urban poor under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana

(Urban) during the first four months of this financial year.

Centre to distribute 8 lakh seed of pulses to farmers free of cost

i. The Central Government has decided to distribute eight lakh newer varieties of seed of pulses

free of cost to the farmers by the end of this financial year in order to enhance the production of

pulses,.

ii. According to Minister of State for Agriculture, S.S Ahluwalia Rs.20 crore have been approved

for 12 ICAR institutes and State Agricultural Universities for this purpose.

iii. 534 Krishi Vigyan Kendras has been allotted with 31 thousand hectares of cluster frontline

demonstrations of pulses for 2016-17.

Odisha approves 3 investment projects worth Rs 874 cr

The Odisha government’s approved three projects after the State Level Single Window Clearance

Authority (SLSWCA).These three projects with an investment of Rs 874 croreand employment

potential of 630 persons.

♦ P & A Bottlers Limited– Rs 102 crore

♦ Coca-Cola Beverages Private Limited for expansion of its non-alcoholic plant– Rs 500 crore.

♦ Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited Common User Facility Centre–Rs 272 crore.

Centre approves Rs 1,601 crore for Himayat programme in J&K

i. Union government has approved a sum of Rs. 1601 crore for the skill development

initiative named Himayat Programme.

ii. Under this programme 1.24 lakh local youths will undergo training in job-intensive vocational

courses over the next three years.

iii. The designated Project Implementation Agencies will train the aspirants also it would be trained

in and outside the state.

Government to set up National Banana Research Centre in Bihar

i. Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Radha Mohan Singh announced that centre

is mulling to set up National Research Centre for Banana would at Goraul in BIHAR’s Vaishali

district.

ii. The land for this purpose was allotted when Jitan Ram Manjhi was the Chief Minister. This

announcement came while inaugurating a twoday HortiSangam-2016 organised by National

Horticulture Board at Hajipur.

27 | P a g e


iii. The Minister also announced that food processing industry would be set up in Hajipur or its

adjoining area, provided the state government cooperates on this.

Javadekar Inaugurates IIT Goa Temporary Campus – HRD Minister inaugurates IIT Goa

Campus

i. Union Minister of Human Resource Development Prakash Javdekar inaugurated the newly

announced Goa Indian Institute of Technology’s temporary Campus.

ii. The temporary campus is set to function from temporary campus at Goa Engineering College

Farmagudi and will be mentored by IIT Mumbai.

iii. The Proposed IIT to be established at Loliem located about 88 km from Goa capital Panaji in

south. The 300 acre campus is expected to come up in a couple of years.

iv. The temporary campus at GEC is fully equipped with class rooms, laboratories and modern

hostel buildings.

PM Modi Flags Off ‘Run For Rio’ in Delhi

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flags off the Run for Rio also released the brochure of the Indian

History at Olympics so far at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi

ii. Over 20,000 schoolchildren took part in the event from Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium till

Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

iii. The Run aiming to demonstrate to the athletes that the country is proud Rio and to connect

public at large, particularly among Children and youth, with the Olympic spirit and power of

sports

Railway Minister inaugurates maiden broad gage train service from Agartala to Delhi

i. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu inaugurated the first broad gage train service from Agartala to

Delhi also laid foundation stone for Agartala-Akhaura international rail Project.

ii. The new Broad gauge train named Tripura Sundari Express’ will ply weekly between Agartala and

New Delhi will halt at 16 stations and cover a distance of 2461 kms in 46 hours and 50

minutes.

iii. The Minister laid the foundation of the Rail project accompanied by Bangladesh Railway

Minister Mazibul Hoque in New Delhi.

iv. The Rail Minister also pledge that IRCTC would be advised to bring new tourist packages for

North East & Bangladesh for wider connectivity of the region.

Lok Shaba passes Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2015, to curb Black Money Lok Sabha passed the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2015, that seeks

to check generation of black money on July 27.The bill provides for confiscation of benami

properties and assets held in the name of another person or under a fictitious name to avoid

taxation and conceal ill-gotten wealth.

28 | P a g e


• The person on whose name the property has been purchased is called the benamidar and

the property so purchased is called the benami property and the person who has financed

the said purchased is referred to as the real owner.

• The word benami property means the property which has purchased in the name of some

person other than the person who has financed it. The person who has rendered the required

money for the said purchase has not purchased it in his name but in the name of some other

person’s name.

• The person who financed the property has not really purchase and/or purchased it to the

benefit of the person on whose name he has purchased it.

Prohibition Bill, 2015:-

This bill governs:-

• To amend the definition of benami transactions,

• To establish adjudicating authorities and an Appellate Tribunal to deal with

benami transactions, and

• To specify the penalty for entering into benami transactions.

The bill provides for a fine of up to 25% of the fair value of the asset and imprisonment of up to

seven years, unlike an earlier lapsed version of the bill, which stipulated either a fine or

imprisonment.

♦ Under the Act, the penalty for entering into benami transactions is imprisonment up to three

years, or a fine, or both. The Bill seeks to change this penalty to rigorous imprisonment of one

year up to seven years, and a fine which may extend to 25% of the fair market value of the benami

property.

♦ The Bill also specifies the penalty for providing false information to be rigorous imprisonment

of six months up to five years, and a fine which may extend to 10% of the fair market

value of the benami property.

♦ There is Section 58 under the law which clearly states that charitable or religious organisation

properties, the government has power to exempt those.

Parliament passes much awaited Compensatory Afforestation Fund bill, 2016

Parliament has passed the much talked about Compensatory Afforestation Fund bill, 2016 that

seeks for the disbursement of nearly Rs 41,000 crore, reserved for forest land and lying

unexpended for four years.

What is a Compensatory Afforestataion Fund Bill?

• The proposed legislation seeks to provide an appropriate institutional mechanism, both at

the Centre and in each State and Union Territory, to ensure expeditious utilization in

efficient and transparent manner of amounts realized in lieu of forest land diverted for

non-forest purpose. This would mitigate impact of diversion of such forest land.

29 | P a g e


• This bill also ensure expeditious utilization of accumulated unspent amounts available

with the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority

(CAMPA), which presently is of the order of Rs. 38,000 crore, and fresh accrual of

compensatory levies and interest on accumulated unspent balance, which will be of the

order of approximately Rs. 6,000 crore per annum, in an efficient and transparent

manner.

• This proposed also provides safety, security and, transparency in utilization of these

amounts, which currently are being kept in Nationalized Banks and are being managed by

an specific body and the expenditure of the National CAMPA is proposed to be met from

the funds to be retained in the National Compensatory Afforestation Fund

(CAF)from the accumulated funds transferred to it by the CAMPA.

Benefits of this Bill:-

These Funds will receive payments for:

• Compensatory afforestation,

• Net present value of forest (NPV), and

• Other project specific payments.

The National Fund will receive 10% of these funds, and the State Funds will receive theremaining

90%.These Funds will be primarily spent on afforestation to compensate for loss of forest cover,

regeneration of forest ecosystem, wildlife protection and infrastructure development. The Bill also

establishes the National and State Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning

Authorities to manage the National and State Funds.

Cabinet approvals – July 28

Union Cabinet nods for the FDI investment hike in Indian Stock Exchanges

The Union Cabinet led by Shri Narendra Modi has afforded its approval for raising foreign

shareholding limit from 5% to 15% in Indian Stock Exchanges.

i. This move will help India in enhancing global competitiveness of Indian stock exchanges by

inducing the adoption of best in-class technology and global best practices. This adoption will lead

to overall growth and development of the Indian Capital Market.

ii. It is noted that the decision on increasing the foreign shareholding limit in Indian stock

exchanges was in line with an announcement made by finance minister Arun Jaitley during

budget speech on 29 February.

iii. The proposal was first made by capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of

India (Sebi) in 2012, but was turned down by the Bimal Jalan committee set up to suggest

amendments to Stock Exchange and Clearing Corporations (SECC) Regulations.

Union Cabinet approves Amendment in the Central Agricultural University Act, 1992

Union Cabinet chaired by the PM has approved the amendment in relevant clauses of the Central

Agricultural University Act (CAU), 1992. This amendment is proposed to include the State

30 | P a g e


of Nagaland under the jurisdiction of Central Agricultural University, Imphal.

i. In order to facilitate socio-economic growth in the region, the College of Veterinary

Sciences in Nagaland will produce the much-needed professional manpower in the fields of animal

husbandry following the inclusion of State of Nagaland under jurisdiction of the Central Agricultural

University, Imphal,

ii. Central Agricultural University (CAU), Imphal, Manipur, which currently operates as an university

for the whole North Eastern region of the country will share its benefits with the state of

Nagaland.

Cabinet approves Revised Cost Estimate for NATRIP Project

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the revised cost

estimate for Rs. 3727.30 crore for the National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project

(NATRIP).

i. National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project(NATRIP), one of the most

significant initiatives in Automotive sector, represents a unique joining of hands between the

Government of India, a number of State Governments and Indian Automotive Industry to create a

state of the art Testing, Validation and R&D infrastructure in the country.

ii. The Project aims at creating core global competencies in Automotive sector in India and

facilitate seamless integration of Indian Automotive industry with the worldas also to

position the country prominently on the global automotive map and also to create a testing,

validation and R&D infrastructure.

iii. NATRIP has its testing centers in the following cities are Chennai, Manesar, Indore,

Raebareli, Silchar and Pune

136th Birth Anniversary of eminent writer Munshi Premchand being celebrated

i. Eminent Hindi-Urdu literature writer Lamhi, Munshi Premchand’s 136th birthday anniversary is

celebrated on July 31. His last novel Godaan is recognized as the one of the finest Hindi novel.

ii. Prem Chand’s wrote about 300 short stories and several novels, essays and letters. His

penning’s were unique styled intense story-telling and use of simple language also emphasized on

the problems of the rural peasant classes.

PLACES IN NEWS Jawaharlal Nehru Port Becomes First Port in Country to Implement Logistics Data

Tagging of Containers

i. Mumbai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port becomes the first port in the country to implement logistics

data tagging of containers. This is the first of its kind facility.

ii. The new system will help importers/exporters track their goods in transit through logistics data

31 | P a g e


bank service. An RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Tag) tag would be attached to each

container which would be tracked through RIFD readers installed at different locations.

iii. The move will help in state’s Ease of Doing Business initiatives implemented at Jawaharlal Nehru

Port focused towards document, time and cost reduction for the benefit of trade.

Kerala Govt to ban e-cigarettes

i. Newly formed LDF led Kerala government has decided to ban Electronic-Cigarettes alias e-

cigarette in the state keeping the studies in mind that claiming that its use can cause various

health issues, including cancer and heart ailments.

ii. Kerala Health Minister K K Shylaja directed the additional chief secretary (health) to issue an

order banning the production, sale and advertisement of e-cigarette.

iii. The drugs enforcement authorities in the state observed that the device is extensively used for

smoking ganja, hashish and other narcotic substance. E-cigarettes are devices that emit

doses of vaporised nicotine.

World famous Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath begins at Puri

i. This is the only time in the entire year that the devotees will see Lord Jagannath leaving the

Puri Jagannath temple with his brother Balram and sister Subhadra. Devotees from all over

gather in Puri, Odisha for the annual Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra, which begun on july 6th

ii. They visit their aunt for nine days and are taken in a procession which what the Hindu festival is

all about.

iii. The Rath Yatra marks their journey from and to their aunt’s house at Shri Gundicha Temple.

iv. The deities and Sudarshan Chakra or celestial wheel are taken out from the temple on their

chariots or Rath – from where it gets the name Rath Yatra

v. The Puri Jagannath Yatra is also known by variety of other names like Gundicha Jatra,

Navadina Jatra, Dasavatara Jatra and Ghosa Jatra among others.

CCEA Approves Ghatampur Thermal Power Project (GTPS) in UP

i. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) Okayed a plan to set up a thermal power

plant at Ghatampur in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

ii. This plant is able to generate 1,980 mw thermal energy and this project is figured to cost Rs

17,238 crore.

Union Railway Minister Flagged off India’s First ever Green Rail Corridor between

Rameshwaram – Manamadurai in TN

The nation’s first Green Rail Corridor, a 114-km long Rameswaram-Manamadurai extent in

Tamil Nadu was inaugurated by Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu.

What is a Green Rail Corridor?

In order to improve cleanliness and hygiene, Trains in the green corridor have been fitted

32 | P a g e


with bio-toilets, which ensure zero discharge of human waste on the rail tracks.

• All trains on this route will have bio-toilets to ensure zero discharge of human waste on

the track. These include 14 stations with 10 passenger trains, consisting of 286 coaches.

• Indian railways signed a MoU with DRDO (Defence Research & Development

Organization) for the development of this technology.

• This green corridor is aimed towards the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ initiated by Prime

Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian Railways have set the target of providing bio-

toilets in all the coaches by September, 2019 in order to prevent open defaecetation on

the railway tracks.

India sets up apparel training centre in Nigeria

i. India in partnership with Nigerian government is planning to set up an apparel training

centre in Nigeria to support textiles industry of the West African country. This is a first of its

kind centre in Nigeria.

ii. The centre has been built in Kaduna, Nigeria under the Cotton Technical Assistance

Programme for Africa which is being implemented by the Indian Department of Commerce.

iii. The move expected to support and catalyze cotton and textile value chain and address the

need for skilled workforce for domestic as well export-oriented apparel industry in the West African

region.

First Direct Bus Service between Pokhara-New Delhi launched

i. The maiden direct bus service between Pokhara (Nepal) and New Delhi (India) was launched

following the signing of a Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA) during Prime Minister Narendra

Modi’s visit to Nepal in 2014.

ii. The service between the cities was flagged off by Nepal Home Minister Shakti Bahadur

Basnet and India’s ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae from Pokhara.

Kerala launches ‘world’s first’ digital student incubator

i. Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan has launched SV.CO, ostensibly world’s firstdigital

student incubator, as a digital makeover of theStartup Village in Kochi.

ii. The SV.CO Startup Village will constitute the second phase of development of Startup Village and

is designed to help thousands of college-goers make an early start in entrepreneurship.

iii. This Startup Village is India’s first PPP model technology incubator and has supported more

than 500 start-ups and helped create 3,000 jobs during its first phase 2012-15.

iv. The move will increase by reaching out to five million students in 3,500 engineering

colleges across the country and will also provide them a completely digital incubation framework,

ranging from application for admission to teaching, mentoring and graduation.

33 | P a g e


Uttarakhand to set up India’s First ‘Women Entrepreneurs Park’

As a First of its Kind move in India, Uttarakhand Government is going to set up an Industrial

Park completely and exclusively dedicated to the Women entrepreneurs. This new scheme

installation was launched by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat on July 15. The event was

organised by FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO).

What is a Industrial Park?

• It is a part of a city or town which is zoned for industrial purpose. Industrial parks may

consists of oil refineries, ports, warehouses, distribution centers, chemical plants, plastics

manufacturers, airports, food and beverage processors, and steel manufacturers.

• Actually an industrial park can be imagined of as a more “heavyweight” version of

a business park, which has offices and light industry, rather than heavy industry.

India’s first Commercial Court and Commercial Disputes Resolution Centre inaugurated in

Chattisgarh

i. In order to metamorphose the judicial system to the next level of innovative contemporary

system, Chhattisgarh government opted to introduce a new centre for solving disputes regarding

commercial issues and problems. This initiative is launched by Dr. Raman Singh, Chief Minister

of Chhattisgarh.

ii. This centre is located in a dedicated, ultra-modern and large Commercial Court complex in

Raipur, capital of Chhattisgarh.

iii. Various services like Video-conferencing, E-Court, E-Library, E-Filing and E-Summons are

some of the facilities rendered for litigators through this new system.

iv. The court complex also contains an arbitration centre and a mediation centre.

World’s largest charkha unveiled at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.

i. BJP President Amit Shah unveiled the World’s Largest “chakra (spinning wheel)” at

the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.

ii. The ‘charka’ has been installed by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC)

iii. The installation of the charkha also commemorates the centenary year of Mahatma

Gandhi’s arrival from South Africa.

iv. The installation of the four-tonne teakwood charkha began in May. Installed between departure

gates number 3 and 4, it was built in Ahmedabad by 42 carpenters over 50 days.

E –VIDHAN Academy to be set up in Dharamshala

i. Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker BBL Butail today said that a National E-Vidhan Academy

will be set up in Tapovan in Dharamsala, where Himachal Pradesh is situated.

ii. Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs in have already permitted in principle approval for setting up

of the National academy.

iii. This academy in Dharamsala will train MPs, MLAs and the staff of such institutions from

http://www.business-standard.com/search?type=news&q=Uttarakhand

34 | P a g e


different states in the country.

SWACHH BHARAT MISSION – Government to clean 10 Iconic Places in India

As part of Swachh Bharat Mission to clean and sanitize the entire country, the Ministry has

identified 10 such iconic places to start cleanliness drive as part of the pilot project under this

mission. As a part of this pilot project under this mission, Central Government will implement a

cleaning drive to clean 10 iconic places in our country.

• These 10 places includes Taj Mahal, Vaishno Devi temple and Ajmer Sharif.

• Union Minister (Drinking Water and Sanitation) Narendra Singh Tomar revealed the idea

of this pilot project and depends on the

success of this pilot project; this

cleaning drive will be extended to 100

iconic places in India.

• Drinking Water, Sanitation & Rural

Development Minister Narendra

Singh Tomarinaugurated a Two Day

National Workshop on Special cleanliness of 100 Iconic Places of India in New Delhi.

• Union ministry is in the process of selecting 100 iconic places for cleaning under the

mission and most will be either tourist or religious spots.

JK’s first Seed Processing Unit to come up in Kathua

i. In order to produce and procure high quality seeds for cultivation and generate employment in

the state, A seed processing unit will be set up in Jammu & Kashmir to help farmers.

ii. The letter to effect this center has been issued by Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan

Singh to set up the first-ever modern and exclusive seed processing unit in Jammu and Kashmir

will be set up at Kathua.

India’s first smart grid to come up in Gurgaon

i. The Union government has set to extend support to the country’s first smart grid project to be

set up at Gurgaon in Haryana under UDAY, The state has been a performing state under the debt

restructuring programme for state-owned power distribution companies.

ii. The maiden phase of the smart grid project centre would extend a grant of Rs 273 crore to the

Haryana. The assistance to Haryana would be given from the Power System Development Fund

(PSDF) for Rs 7,000-crore project, the first phase of which would cost Rs 1,382 crore.

iii. The project would ensure 24 x 7 quality power supply to the city which depends on diesel

gensets due to irregular power cuts.

MP becomes first state to have ‘Happiness Department’

i. Madhya Pradesh is all set to become the first state to set up ‘Happiness Department’, with

PLACE STATE Vaishno Devi temple Jammu and Kashmir Taj Mahal Uttar Pradesh Tirupathi temple Andhra Pradesh Golden Temple Punjab Ajmer Sharif Rajasthan Jagannath Temple Orissa Chhatrapati Shivaji

Maharashtra Manikarnika Ghat Uttar Pradesh Meenakshi Temple Tamilnadu Kamakhya Temple Assam

35 | P a g e


Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan saying it will work to ensure happiness in the lives of

common people on the lines of Bhutan.

ii. Upon this decision the Cabinet has decided to constitute Happiness Department in the state and

the CM chouuhan will head the department.

iii. The centre includes a chairman, a CEO, a director each for Research and Coordination and an

accounts officer, four posts of Research Assistant, six Junior Assistant and five peons.

iv. The state cabinet approved an estimated budget of Rs 3.6 crore for the Happiness department.

PM Modi Laid Foundation Stone of AIIMS in Gorakhpur

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stones of an All India MedicalInstitute of

Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and a fertiliser plant in Gorakhpur in eastern Uttar Pradesh.

ii. AIIMS: The institute is being estimated cost of Rs. 1,011 crore under the Pradhan

MantriSwasthyaSurakshaYojana and will have 750 beds and emergency as well as ayush sections.

iii. Fertilizerplant: The fertiliser plant had been lying idle for the last 26 years, which was set up

in 1969 but it was locked up in 1990.

Chandrababu Naidu laid the foundation stone for the World Bank funded – MSME centre

i. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu laid the foundation stone for an MSME

technology centre under a World Bank-funded programme at Visakapatinam.

ii. This foundation stone for setting up a Technology Centre Systems Programme (TCSP) at Pudi

village near vizag in Atchutapuram mandal.

iii. This TCSP project is enforced by the Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium

Enterprises (MSME) and this project is funded by the World Bank.

iv. This center is established under a huge sum of 140 crores for supporting the industries,

particularly MSMEs by providing access to advanced manufacturing technologies, skilling manpower

and providing technical and business advisory support to enterprises.

Prestigious Survey ‘SMART PULSE’ Launched in Andhra Pradesh

i. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu launched the State government’s

prestigious ‘Smart Pulse’ socio-economic survey at his residence in Undavalli, Guntur district on

Friday.

ii. This survey is flagged off to collect socio-economic data of 1.48 crore households in the state.

3rd Meeting of the Joint Committee at the Secretary Level under the India-Japan CEPA

held in New Delhi

i. The Joint Committee meeting at Secretary Level under the India-Japan CEPA(Comprehensive

Economic Partnership Agreement) was held in New Delhi. This is the 3 rd meeting that was

called jointly.

36 | P a g e


ii. The Indian side was headed by Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia and their counterpart was

headed by Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. Keiichi Katakami,.

HP govt signs MoU with NTPC, NHPC for hydro engineering college in Bilaspur

i. Government of Himachal Pradesh, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and National

Hydel Power Corporation signed an MoU to establish first hydro engineering college in

Bilaspur to boost regional development.

ii. The will help in generation of a technical human resource specialized for specific requirement of

this stream Power Production that also create potential employment.

iii. The move will help identifying the scholars to develop new areas of Potential power

development from Hydro Space. This is the first of its kind in the state.

iv. The state has over 20,000 MW hydropower potential and NTPC and NHPC are involved in

development of many projects.

Centre sanctions nearly Rs 620 crore to UP as drought assistance

i. Union government has sanctioned nearly Rs. 620 crores to Uttar Pradesh as assistance for the

recent drought situation in the state.

ii. This year the State was affected by intense drought over 10 districts in the state has been

declared as drought hit, also the state was reeling under pressure to deal the water crisis in the

various parts of the state.

iii. The decision to allocate funds comes in the meeting chaired by the Home Minister Rajnath

Singh in new Delhi. The funds were released on the basis of the centre team recommendations

that paid visit to these states.

Strategic Forces Command exempted from RTI ambit

i. Union government has exempted Strategic Forces Command upon providing information under

Right to Information Act -2005 without citing any reason for exempting.

ii. Actually SFC under National Command Authority (NCA), has been included in the Second

Schedule of the RTI that exempts security and intelligence establishments from its purview. The

Exemption has been put on the list of 26 intelligence and security agencies..

iii. The agency however has to provide allegations of corruption and human rights violations if

the RTI has been applied.

Gujarat government selects Infibeam for e-com training programme

i. Gujarat’s Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (CED) has selected the Ahmedabad-

based e-commerce major Infibeam as knowledge partner for its e-commerce training and

development programme

ii. The training programme aimed at grooming budding entrepreneurs and individuals to set up

37 | P a g e


their businesses for first generation entrepreneurs.

iii. Earlier the state has jointly with Infibeam launched an e-commerce workshop programme How

to Start E-commerce Business.

Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu laid foundation stone for Imphal Railway Station at

Yurembam, Manipur

Suresh Prabhu in the presence of Manipur Chief MinisterOkram Ibobi Singh laid the foundation

stone of new railway station at Yurembam in Manipur

i. Outlay: Rs.90 Core

ii. He also inaugurated the boring works of the Tunnel No. 2/12.

iii. This is scheduled to be completed next year. The construction of the railway line reaching up

to Imphal from Tupul in Tamenglong district is scheduled to be completed in 2020.

MoS I&B Rajyavardhan Rathore inaugurates European Union Film Festival in New Delhi

i. Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore inaugurated the

European Union Film festival at Siri Fort Auditorium, New Delhi.

ii. A delegation of European Union including ambassadors from European Union member states was

also present on the occasion.

iii. The opening film of the festival was famous Danish Film Silent Heart (Stille Hjerte) directed by

Bille August.

iv. Bille August, a Danish film director won the Palme d’Or, Academy Award and Golden Globe and

he is one of only eight directors to win the Palme d’Or twice.

Centre forms ‘Disha’ for timely implementation of Central Schemes

i. Union government announced the formation of District Development Coordination and Monitoring

Committee (DDCMC) to be named Disha.

ii. The move comes from the government for effective development coordination of almost all

the programmes form the government, be it infrastructure development or Social and human

resource development.

iii. The Committee would monitor the implementation of 28 schemes of Rural

Development Ministry and other Ministries and will coordinate with Central and State and local

Panchayat Governments, for successful implementation of the same.

CM Chandrababu Naidu launches ‘Mission Harita Andhra Pradesh’

i. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated the Mission Harita Andhra

Pradesh’, with the theme green cover for a happy living to increase the green cover in the

state to 50 per cent by the year 2029.

38 | P a g e


ii. The mission is about planting saplings at Sunkollu village under Nuzividu mandal in Krishna

district.

Cochin Chamber launching Aadhaar-based e-certificate of origin

i. Cochin Chamber Commerce and Industry (CCCI) and IIT Madras backed

Myeasydocs jointly launched the Aadhaar-based e-certificate of origin to prove the actual origin

of their products to the customers abroad. This is the first of its kind.

ii. T he Digital move from CCCI will help the regulator to manage digital entreaties and digitally

sign off electronic Certificates of Origin for the exporters and freight forwarders in the region.

iii. The joint move not only helps the exporters in showcasing the point of origin and also to avail of

duty exemptions under Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

BRICS employment working group meeting concludes in Hyderabad

i. The two-day long meeting also first meeting of BRICS Employment Working Group(BEWG)

meet concluded in Hyderabad.

ii. The meeting was staged with senior Officers between BRICS Countries to shape the agenda for

Labour and Employment track also several aspects of strengthening the BRICS Nations.

Cabinet approves setting up of new AIIMS in Bhatinda

i. Union Cabinet has given nod for the establishment of a new AIIMS at Bhatinda inPunjab under

the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).

ii. The new AIIMS will established at an estimated cost of Rs. 925 crore that shall have a hospital

with capacity of 750 beds that include Emergency/Trauma Beds, AYUSH Beds, Private Beds and

ICU facility.

iii. The institute also work on the research on prevalent regional diseases and other health issues.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS International Solar Alliance Cell and World Bank Signed Declaration for Promoting Solar

Energy

Under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy,International Solar Alliance signed agreement

with United States based World Bank for promoting solar energy globally

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim is being invited to attend the meeting to sign declaration to

boost solar energy globally

Purpose: To boost solar energy worldwide

Promoted by: The Interim Administrative Cell of the International Solar Alliance (ISA Cell) & the

World Bank

Agreements signed by:

• Jim Yung Kim, President, World Bank

39 | P a g e


• Upendra Tripathy, Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Chairperson, ISA

cell

• Onno Ruhl, India Country Director

• Arun Jaitley, Union Finance Minister

• Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy

Prime Minister signed $1 billion deal with United States for Four Poseidon- 8I Longrange

Surveillance and antisubmarine warfare aircraft

The India-US strategic bilateral cooperation is being tightened after signing $1 billion deal by Prime

Minister to acquire four Poseidon as part of US arms deal to India

Highlights:

Acquisition of Poseidon:

Cabinet Committee on Security headed by Prime Minister has signed acquirement of four Poseidon -

8I longrage surveillance and antisubmarine warfare aircraft

Induction of Aircraft:

The Four Poseidon aircraft built with radars and weapons will be joined with the first eight such

aircraft introduced by the Navy in 2013-15 under a $2.1 billion deal

Features of Poseidon 8I:

• The Navy have been utilizing eight P-8Is, built with dangerous Harpoon Block- II

missiles, MK-54, Lightweight torpedoes, rockets and Depth charges

• It will keep an intelligent hawk eye view over the entire Indian Ocean Region to

oversee Chinese Submarine forays over the last two years

• Operating range of 1,200 nautical miles

• Provide the reach and flexibility to undertake vigorous maritime surveillance and

intelligence gathering missions

• Navy using the technology can detect threats and extended the support to neutralize

them

RITES supplies 60 broad gauge passenger coaches to Bangladesh Railway

i. State owned Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) has supplied 60 broad

gauge passenger coaches (LHB type) to Bangladesh Railway (BR) upon a contract

agreement of 120 coaches.

ii. Two train sets, comprising 12 coaches each- 2 AC chair car, 2 first AC sleeper car, 6 non-AC

chair car and 2 power car deployed to operate 3 pairs of inter-city trains between Dhaka and

Rajshahi.

Justin Trudeau first Canadian PM to march in Toronto Pride

i. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau created history by marching with tens ofthousands of

people in Toronto’s Gay Pride parade, becoming the nation’s first sitting prime minister to

40 | P a g e


participate.

ii. The youthful politician observed a minute of silence to pay respect to the victims of the June 12

nightclub massacre in Orlando, Florida that left 49 dead.

iii. Trudeau also marched in the annual parade earlier as head of the Liberal Party, then the

opposition leader facing former president Stephen Harper’s conservative government.

France offers EUR 1 billion to revive India’s combat jet engine project

i. In order to revive the India’s jet engine project France has decided to invest 1 Billion Euros on

July 4th

ii. This project aims at installing KAVERI – Indigenous gas turbines powering TEJAS

FIGHTERS by 2020.

iii. It is mandatory that the Foreign arms companies that sell equipment to India have to invest a

portion of the contract cost in the country’s defense and aerospace industry.

iv. This project proposal is to use offset credits that would come from the planned Rafale fighter jet

deal to revive the indigenous jet engine project.

v. A recent study says, the Kaveri engine — which was more or less abandoned for aviation use

in 2014 due to shortcomings on power —indicated that 25-30% more work would be needed to

make it flight-worthy

vi. With the help of this project, the shortcomings can be rectified and the kaveri engine is set to be

flight worthy by 2020.

BRICS Working Group meeting on “Energy Saving and Energy Efficiency”

The maiden meeting of BRICS Working Group meeting on “Energy Saving and Energy

Efficiency” held in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh on 4th and 5th July. This meeting

acknowledged the role of the energy saving and energy efficiency in ensuring sustainable economic

development of the member countries. This meet rechecked the vitality and necessity of the

advancing cooperation between the member countries in the field of energy efficiency and

energy developing technologies.

The energy efficiency concludes with the following important ideas:-

i. To Implement the areas of cooperation between the BRICS countries as identified in

theMemorandum of Understanding on energy saving and energy efficiency.

ii. To Prepare recommendations for the development of cooperation in the area of energy saving

and improvement of energy efficiency for the BRICS Ministers of Energy.

iii. To Elaborate the work plan on development of cooperation in energy saving and energy

efficiency within BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) till 2020 and beyond.

Joint issue of postage stamp between Department of Posts and Portugal Post

i. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi was apprised of a joint

issue of postage stamps between Department of India Posts and Portugal Post.

41 | P a g e


ii. Department of Posts and Portugal Post will issue joint postage stamps on the theme of folk

dances (Dandiya of Gujarat)

iii. This joint issue will also help the Postal Departments of both countries in production of

philately.

Petronet LNG plans Rs 5000 crore terminal in Bangladesh

i. Indias biggest gas importer Petronet LNG Ltd is planning to set up Rs 5000 crore LNG import

terminal at Kutubdia islands in Bangladesh.

ii. The company planned to construct 5 million tons per annum capacity LNG import terminal.

The company also mulling to set up 1 MT LNG terminal in Sri Lanka to meet local demand.

iii. The company is at the forefront of India’s all-out national drive to ensure the country’s

energy security in the years to come. The terminal, to be set up on the build-own-operate basis,

will supply gas to power plants.

Controversial “BIG BROTHER LAW” signed by Vladimir Putin in RUSSIA

i. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the controversial “anti-terrorist” legislation adopted

by the lower and upper houses of parliament in late June, despite the flurry of criticism from

opposition-minded circles and the serious concerns expressed by Russian telecom and internet

companies on July 7 in Russia.

ii. The laws include increasing government powers of surveillance, strengthening the

punishment for inciting or justifying terrorism online and increasing the number of crimes with

which children between the ages of 14 and 17 can be charged.

iii. The laws, which come into force on July 20, were developed by ultra-conservative United Russia

lawmaker Irina Yarovaya and Federation Council member Viktor Ozerov.

China completes Asia’s longest single cave,double track tunnel

i. China has successfully completed Asia’s longest 16-km single tunnel that has double tracks

for high-speed trains in northwest Shaanxi province of the country.

ii. The tunnel cuts through the Qinling Mountains, It is part of a high-speed rail line that links Xi’an,

the provincial capital and Chengdu in China’s southwest Sichuan province.

iii. The 643-km long line has a running speed of 250 km per hour, will slash the travel time

between the two cities from 16 hours to just three hours.

Bilateral Meeting between Commerce & Industry Minister and Secretary of State for

Business, Innovation and Skills, UK

i. Union Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, held a bilateral meeting with

Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, UK, in New Delhi.

ii. Post Brexit, FTA with UK will be a fresh exercise & work on FTA with EU will continue with a re-

calibrated approach the minister conveyed.

42 | P a g e


iii. During the meeting both sides conveyed hope to take proactive steps to deepen their ties and

engagement in near future. In the meeting range of issues had been discussed.

Nirmala Sitharaman led business delegation to Russia

India is the partner country for ‘INNOPROM 2016’, one of the largest annual international

industrial trade fairs of Russia. Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will led a

delegation which comprises of over 110 Indian companies that will showcase their engineering

prowess at a trade fair in Russia.

The 4-day fair started from July 10 in Ekaterinburg.

Russia is the first country to have agreed to invest under the ‘Make in India’umbrella in two

key strategic sectors – nuclear and defence.

Apart from the 110 Indian companies, some states are also participating in the event. The states

are:

♦ Maharashtra, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh

The Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan also led their respective

state delegations.

♦ India and Russia have set a goal of boosting bilateral trade to 30 billion dollars and mutual

investment to 15 billion dollars by 2025.

US introduces bill to prevent Indian firms from hiring on H-1B, L1 visas

i. A legislation, has been introduced to reform H-1B and L-1 Visa in the House of Representatives

by a bipartisan group of US lawmakers. The bill, if passed, will have hugeeffect on Indian firms.

ii. The bill if passed would prevent Indian companies from hiring IT professionals on H-1B and L1

visas that will prohibit firms from hiring H-1B employees on certain grounds.

iii. The ‘H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act of 2016’ introduced by Democratic Congressman Bill

Pascrell from New Jersey and Republican Dana Rohrabacher from California.

iv. The bill likely to close loopholes in the H-1B and L-1 visa programs, reduce fraud and abuse,

provide protections for American workers and visa holders.

International Court denies China’s claim on South China Sea

i. The tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, The Hague (Netherland) refused China’s

claims to historic and economic rights in the South China Sea as the country have no legal

basis, and hinders China’s efforts to establish its control by force.

ii. There was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within the sea areas

falling within the ‘nine-dash line’.

iii. The South China Sea is a resource-rich strategic waterway through which more than $5 trillion

of world trade is shipped every year.

43 | P a g e


Opeartion ‘Sankat Mochan’ – VK Singh leads in the evacuation of Indians in South Sudan

i. VK Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs left for South Sudan leading the

government’s Operation Sankat Mochan’ to evacuate over 600 Indians stranded in the war-trapped

African country.

ii. India has sent Two C-17 Globe master aircraft to Juba on July 14 to evacuate 600 Indians

iii. It is noted that VK Singh is keeping company with Amar Sinha, Secretary (Economic Relations)

in the External Affairs Ministry, Joint Secretary Satbir Singh and Director Anjani Kumar.

ZIKA Medical emergency across half of the country – declared by PERU

i. After confirming that 102 people have been infected with the virus, Peru has officially declared

a Zika health emergency across the northern half of their country.

ii. Zika is seen as a cause of microcephaly – abnormally small heads and brains – in babies. A

major Zika outbreak in neighboring Brazil, where nearly 1,600 babies have been born with the birth

defect, has prompted concerns for athletes and visitors ahead of the Olympic Games in Rio de

Janeiro next month.

iv. The 90-day emergency was announced in the official gazette El Peruano.

v. The health ministry and local authorities were working to prevent the spread of the disease,

which is principally transmitted by mosquitoes.

INDIA – YAWS & Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus(MNTE) FREE Nation says WHO

As a significant marking in Public Health Protection, India has been declared as YAWS –

FREE country by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is stated that India is the First

ever country to become free from YAWS and declared it free from Maternal and Neonatal

Tetanus(MNTE).

Eradication of YAWS:-

• This has been possible due to the commitment and dedication of the lakhs of health

workers, various stakeholders and concerted efforts of planners and policymaker.

• Few years back, India witnessed 1-2 lakhs neonatal tetanus cases annually, which have

been now reduced to one per 1,000 live births.

Vice President Hamid Ansari unveils Gandhi’s stone statue in Mongolian monastery

Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari has unveiled a stone statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Pethub

Monastery in the Ulaanbaatar that is seen as symbol of India-Mongolia cultural and spiritual

ties.by Indian Vice President Krishan Kant.

• After unveiling the statue of the ‘Father of the Nation’, the Vice President also went

around the monastery founded by former Indian ambassador Kushok Bakula

India’s Biking Queens fight against female foeticide

i. Four Indian women motorcyclists are campaigning against female foeticide and raising

44 | P a g e


awareness by taking a trip around Asia covering 10 nations and over 10,000km in about 40

days.

ii. These women riders campaigning against female foeticide and raising awareness – by taking a

trip around Asia that saw them cover 10 nations and over 10,000km in about 40 days.

iii. Psychologist Sarika Mehta, headed the team, which ended in Singapore after they crossed the

Causeway.

Lifeline Express, world’s first hospital train, celebrates 25 years of service

i. The Lifeline Express, the world’s first hospital on a train, aka the Magic Train of India, today

celebrates 25 years of service.

ii. This five-coach train provided medical facilities to poor and rural people where there were no

hospitals available.

iii. It has completed 173 projects in 18 state and also covered two lakh kilometres distance.

iv. It was given by the Indian Railways in 2007 and served more than 10,00,000 poor in rural

India.

Three new Indian Historical Sites enters the World Heritage Site Listings

For the first time World Heritage Committee (WHC)announced the adding of three new Indian

heritage sites of Historical importance to the World Heritage List by the WHC – A separate wing

governed by UNESCO on in a single session July 17. During the 40th session of the WHC, this

committee has come up with new added listings as follows:-

• Khangchendzonga National Park (KNP), Sikkim

• Nalanda Mahavihara (Nalanda University) Bihar

• The Capitol Complex, Chandigarh.

Historical importance of Khangchendzonga National Park (KNP), Sikkim :-

This is situated at the heart of the great Himalayan range in Sikkim, India. This Khangchendzonga

National Park includes an extensive biodiversity of

• plains, valleys, lakes, glaciers and spectacular, snow-capped mountains covered

with ancient forests,

• This also constitutes the world’s third highest peak, Mount Khangchendzonga.

Fabulous stories are associated with this mountain along with a huge number of natural elements

like caves, rivers; lakes are the subject of worship by the native and ancient people of

Sikkim. The basis for Sikkimese identity instituted the sacred meanings of these stories and

practices which have been integrated with Buddhist beliefs. This park also serves as a abode for

huge number of endemic, rare and threatened plant and animal species. It is noted that this

park first Indian Mixed Heritage Site to be mentioned in this prestigious list

Historical Importance of Nalandha Mahavihara, Bihar:-

Nalanda and the ruins of the ancient Nalanda Mahavihara comprises of this famous historical

site. The name Nalanda evokes up a cenario of ancient Mahavihara. This institution later became

45 | P a g e


a great centre of Buddhist education for nearly 700 years between the 5th to 12th centuries

AD.

Turkish musician Kudsi Ergüner named UNESCO Artist for Peace

i.The United Nations cultural agency UNESCO has named musician Kudsi Erguner, as an Artist for

Peace in recognition of his efforts to promote the universal values of music, his contribution to the

protection of musical heritage.

ii.The appointment comes in a ceremony was held at the Congress Center in the Turkish capital,

Istanbul, of the 40th session of the World Heritage Committee.

iii.Ergner was born in Turkey in 1952 who is a musician, player of the ney (reed flute), composer,

musicologist, teacher, author and translator.

UNESCO declares Nalanda Mahavihara(Nalanda University) as World Heritage Site

The 5th Century ancient seat of learning, ‘Nalanda Mahavihara(Nalanda University) has

been declared as a Heritage Site by UNESCO finally. This will be 33rd site to get this tag.

• This decision was taken at the UNESCO World Heritage Committee’s 40th session, at

Istanbul, Turkey. All 21 Member countries of UNESCO agreed and voted in favour of

Nalanda unanimously.

• Nalanda University gets the heritage tag which made India’s official entry in the ‘Cultural

Category‘ for 2016 became the country’s 33rd archaeological site to win the prestigious

title.

Tentative List of World Heritage:

1. Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art Landscape (China),

2. Persian Qanat (Iran),

3. Nan Madol (Eastern Micronesia)

4. Nalanda Mahavihara (India).

UNESCO lists Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier’s works among World Heritage Sites

i.UNESCO listed Franco-Swiss architect Le Corbusier’s work among its World Heritage Sites.

His works include the Indian city of Chandigarh which he planned in the 1950s.

ii.The decision was announced as the World Heritage Committee meeting in Istanbul.

iii.The chosen creations of Le Corbusier show his contributions to the Modern Movement that

emerged after World War I with an emphasis on functionality, bold lines and materials such as

concrete, iron and glass.

Turkish musician Kudsi Ergüner named UNESCO Artist for Peace

i.The United Nations cultural agency UNESCO has named musician Kudsi Erguner, as an Artist for

Peace in recognition of his efforts to promote the universal values of music, his contribution to

the protection of musical heritage.

46 | P a g e


ii.The appointment comes in a ceremony was held at the Congress Center in the Turkish capital,

Istanbul, of the 40th session of the World Heritage Committee.

UNESCO lists Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier’s works among World Heritage Sites

i.UNESCO listed Franco-Swiss architect Le Corbusier’s work among its World Heritage Sites.

His works include the Indian city of Chandigarh which he planned in the 1950s.

ii.The decision was announced as the World Heritage Committee meeting in Istanbul.

iii.The chosen creations of Le Corbusier show his contributions to the Modern Movement that

emerged after World War I with an emphasis on functionality, bold lines and materials such as

concrete, iron and glass.

Bangladesh government approves easier extradition with India

i.Sheikh Hasina led Bangladesh Cabinet has approved India’s proposal to simplify the

extradition process on July 18. This extradition treaty between Bangladesh and India took effect

on October 23, 2013.

ii.This approval follows by a proposed amendment to an existing extradition treaty with India,

thereby alleviating legal formalities to repatriate wanted criminals in their respective

countries.

Malcolm Turnbull re-elected as Australian Prime Minister

i.Liberal Party Leader Malcolm Turnbull elected as the Prime Minister of the Australia’s jumbo

cabinet for the second term.

ii.The swearing in ceremony for the 29th PM took place in Canberra. He is re-elected as the PM

after a close shave victory in the recent parliamentary elections

iii. Being re-elected as a PM for the second term, He pledged to keep his top priority to budget

repair and a public vote on same sex marriage.

iv.General Elections were conducted on July 12, and his party has a slimmest victory by

securing 76 seats out of 150 parliamentary positions.

First ever Zika Virus testing on Humans is going to be conducted in CANADA

i. A Canadian university is going to conduct the world’s first Zika vaccine test on humans as

health authorities scramble to counter the explosively spreading virus.

ii. A Quebec City-based research team from this Canadian University has received the green

light to begin testing a Zika vaccine on humans in collaboration with U.S.-based partners.

iii. The first phase of study involves administering the vaccine to 40 volunteers spread out over the

three sites in Quebec City, Miami and Philadelphia. .

47 | P a g e


Around the World in 11 days – Russian adventurer Fedor Konyukhov seals New World

Record

i. Russian adventurer Fedor Konyukhov has broken the record for the fastest circumnavigation

of the Earth in a hot air balloon in just over 11 days, landing safely in West Australia’s Wheat

belt.

ii. He made the 34,000km journey in just 11 days and beaten the late Steve Fossett’s record of

circumnavigating the world by two days.

iii. After his successful journey, he landed near the small town of Bonnie Rock. He started his

joinery from Western Australia’s Avon Valley on July 12.

iv. It is also noted that this Russian orthodox priest has already climbed Mount Everest twice

and travelled to the North and South poles. He’s also an artist and has written 17 books.

Three day BSF – BGB meet kick started at Agartala, Tripura

i. In order to sort out problems at border, a three-day meeting between Border

Guard=Bangladesh (BGB) and Border Security Force (BSF) of India is started

in Agartala, the capital city of Tripura.

ii. As both the nations are at the height of good relations and want to further improve through

these kinds of routine’Border Coordination meetings’.

iii. led by Brig Gen Md Habibul Karim led a 21-member BGB delegation and J B Sangwan, IG,

BSF, Tripura Frontier led 21-member delegation of the BSF took part in the meeting.

India, Mexico target tourism, telecom to boost ties

i. India and Mexico are drafting out a new path in bilateral trade and investment ties with a focus

on areas like Renewable Energy, Telecom and Medical Devices.

ii. This decision was taken by the bilateral High Level Group (HLG) on Trade, Investment and

Economic Cooperation at the recent meeting in Mexico.

iii. Renewable Energy: Indian firms like Suzlon Energy are looking to make huge investments in

the renewable energy sector of Mexico.

India contributed $100, 000 fund for sexual exploitation and abuse victims by

peacekeepers

Being a front runner among the peace keeping nations, India has contributed US $100,000 (RS

67,14,945) to a trust fund set up for victims of sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers

and by doing so, India is the first country to make a contribution to the fund.

Every Member State is legally obligated to pay their respective share towards peacekeeping. The

top 10 contributors for the peace keeping operations are:-

1. United States (28.38%)

2. Japan (10.83%)

3. France (7.22%)

48 | P a g e


4. Germany (7.14%)

5. United Kingdom (6.68%)

6. China (6.64%)

7. Italy (4.45%)

8. Russian Federation (3.15%)

9. Canada (2.98%)

10. Spain (2.97%)

Armenia to have the world’s largest Yazidi temple

i. A Yazidi temple is under construction in Armenian village, is set to bet the world largest Yazidi

Temple is expected to be completed next year.

ii. The temple is being built at a 25m high from Armenian granite and Iranian marble and house a

200 sq. m prayer hall as a symbol of resilience for a persecuted religious tradition which has seven

domes and a central arched roof, crowned with a gold-plated sun.

16 Thiruvalluvar statues to be put up in Sri Lanka

i. Sixteen statues of Thiruvalluvar, the author of ‘Thirukkural’, will be installed across Sri Lanka.

ii. V. G. Santhosam, president of VGP International Tamil Association gifted 8ft long

Thriuvalluvar statues to foster greater understanding between India and Sri Lanka.

iii. The statues, made in Tamil Nadu, were handed over to the Sri Lankan State Minister of

Education,K.Radhakrishnan, at a simple ceremony.

World Health Organisation(WHO) declares Brazil free of measles

i. Brazil is free of measles after no new cases of the disease the World Health Organisation

announced. WHO is set to issue a certification for the same.

Measles:

♦ Measles is also called rubeola is a viral infection that’s serious for small children but is easily

preventable by a vaccine. The first symptoms comes after 10 days with red spots on the skin.

♦ It can be transmitted orally, over mucus or saliva. It can be spread rapidly through the air due to

sneezing or a cough.

Hillary makes history as first woman White House nominee

i. US presidential nominee Hillary Clinton wins Democratic nomination for US President; Clinton

makes history as the first woman to become presidential nominee of a major US political party.

ii. She was formally made as the party nominee at the Democratic convention.

iii. Clinton is the former first lady, New York senator and secretary of state is set face Republican

Donald Trump in the general election.

49 | P a g e


FOREIGN VISITS

PM Narendra Modi on a four nation tour of Africa – To compose a fresh chapter in Indo –

African relationship.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a historic Five day visit to the Four African Countries in

order to fortify the bilateral relationship with the developing African Countries. The Following

countries were visited by Modi in the last five days, [From 7th July to 11th July]

Prime Stress given in the Agenda:-

• Energy,Food security,Trade,Maritime cooperation and Diaspora interactions.

Mozambique Visit:

On the First day Modi visited Mozambique as per the schedule. India signed a long-term agreement

for the import of pulses from Mozambique during Modi’s visit. The pact will help India tide over

shortage of pulses in the country that has led to a spurt in prices.

Mozambique grows the commodity without much consumption. India’s cabinet last month had

cleared a proposal to enter into an agreement with Mozambique for importing 100,000 tons of

pulses in 2016-17 with an option to scale it up to 200,000 tons by 2020-2021.

Modi held wide-ranging talks with President Filipe Nyusi.

The leaders witnessed signing of 3 agreements in Maputo.

• An MoU for long term agreement for purchase of pulses from Mozambique,

• An MoU on drug demand reduction and prevention of illicit trafficking of drugs

• An MoU in the field of youth affairs and sports

India handed over 30 Mahindra SUVs to the Mozambique government, completing the delivery

of $4.5 million grant assistance as part of supporting institutions in the African country.

Narendra Modi visited the Centre for Innovation and Technological Development at the Science and

Technology Park at Maluana.

• It is noted that Modi is the first Indian head of government to visit Mozambique after 34

years. Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was the last to visit that country in 1982.

South Africa Visit:

On the second day, He visited South Africa. On arriving in Pretoria, Modi talks with South Africa

President Jacob Zuma and addressed a gathering of business leaders.

In the second day evening, Modi addressed more than 11,000 members of the Indian community in

Johannesburg calling the country the ‘karma-bhoomi’ of Mahatma Gandhi.

During this visit, Modi declared three important MoUs including

• An MoU on grassroot innovation in selected areas

• An MoU in including agricultural technology

• An MoU for indigenous knowledge systems

• And also in tourism and information and communications that were finalized as the

leaders sat across to take the diplomatic and trade relations to the next level.

50 | P a g e


During his visit to South Africa, Modi invited defense businesses to set up a manufacturing base in

India, which could service the domestic requirements of India and South Africa as well as for export

to third countries.

PM Modi visited historical places related to Mahatma Gandhi in SA

Phoenix Settlement:

• Narendra Modi visited Phoenix Settlement, a place well known to be closely related to

Mahatma Gandhi who had established it in 1904. This settlement portrays Gandhi’s

principles of Satyagraha which has played a crucial role throughout his long history in

promoting justice, peace and equality. Prime Minister plants a tree at this settlement.

Pentrich to Pietermaritzburg: PM retraces Mahatma Gandhi’s South African train journey

Earlier in the same day, Modi travelled in a train from Pentrich to Pietermaritzburg railway station,

where Mahatma Gandhi was “dejected from a train in 1893 for refusing to obey an order to move

from a first-class compartment to a third-class one because of his race”.

Tanzania Visit:

As a part of the plan, Modi visited Tanzania on the third leg of the tour plan.

India and Tanzania agreed to deepen overall defense and security partnership, especially in the

maritime security.

India and Tanzania signed five MoU’s in order to fortify the bilateral relationships. They are as

follows:-

• An MoU to work closely and efficiently to combat the twin threats of terrorism and climate

change,

• An MoU as per which India would provide a Line of Credit of $ 92 million for rehabilitation

and improvement of Zanzibar’s water supply system.

• Both country leaders expressed satisfaction on the holding of bilateral counter-terrorism

consultations in early 2016.

• An MoU on water resource management and development.

• An MoU for establishment of vocational training centre at Zanzibar.

• An MoU on visa waiver for diplomatic/official passport holders and an agreement between

the National Small Industries Corporation of India and the Small Industries Development

Organization, Tanzania.

• Modi also offered $500 million of concessional credit for water supply connections to 17

cities in addition to an existing $100 million to Tanzania.

Kenya Visit:

On the final leg of the tour, Modi visited Kenya.

Significant agreements includes

• An MoU on revised double taxation avoidance agreement,

• An MoU on Defense Cooperation, an agreement on exemption of visa facilities for

official and diplomatic passport holders,

51 | P a g e


• An MoU between Bureau of Indian standards and Bureau of Kenya standards

• An MoU on national Housing policy development and management. India has extended

two Lines of Credit to Kenya.

• An MoU for the line of Credit Agreement for US $15 million to IDB Capital Limited,

Kenya, for the development of various small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Kenya.

• An MoU for the line of Credit Agreement for the US $29.95 million to the Government of

Kenya for the upgrade of Rift Valley Textiles Factory [RIVATEX East Africa Limited],

Kenya.

• An MoU on Defense Cooperation.

Nitin Gadkari visits US to attract billions of dollars in FDI

i. Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari will pay a weeklong visit to Unites

States to at attracting billions of dollars in Foreign Direct Investment. This is his maiden visit to the

US in his capacity as Union Minister.

ii. The visit aimed at consolidation and expanding India’s relations with the US by improving

bilateral cooperation in infrastructure sector.

iii. The minister will envisage investment opportunities in the Indian maritime sector and invite US

investments in building ports, port-led industrialisation, coastal economic zones, and

construction of new berths/terminals

SUMMITS & CONFERENCES

Vadodara to host world power ministers at ‘Switch’ summit

i. Vadodara in Gujarat to host World Electrical Buyers Summit – named as ‘SWITCH’ which is a

two-day meet of State Power Ministers under the leadership of Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal.

ii. The summit will feature with Power Ministers from 30-35 countries is termed as thecountry’s

largest electrical summit to be held in during October 6-10.

iii. The mega event will feature will with power utilities from 90 countries and over 100 Indian

power utilities apart from buyers globally.

BRICS policy planning dialogue meeting held in Patna

i. The BRICS Policy Planning Dialogue concluded in Patna, Bihar ahead of the eighth BRICS

Summit to be held in Goa. The Goa Summit will be chaired by India

ii. In the meeting held there were talks about strategic assessments of international situation and

the regional situation and trends therein and others issues discussed.

BRICS countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Second BRICS Youth Summit concludes in Guwahati

i. The second Edition of BRICS Youth Summit concluded in Guwahati of Assam State that focused

52 | P a g e


on enhancing people-to-people contacts of BRICS member states viz. Brazil, Russia, India, China

and South Africa.

ii. It was formally inaugurated by Assam CMSarbananda Sonowal, who lit the lamp and declared

beginning of the three-day long 2nd BRICS Youth Summit, India 2016.

NATO Summit 2016 concluded in Warsaw

i. American President Barack Obama announces stationing of forces to bolster eastern flank of

Nato, one of four new battalions, at Warsaw meeting.

ii. Barack Obama has announced the deployment of 1,000 more US troops to Poland to bolster

NATO’s eastern flank, as he said US-European solidarity would not be affected by Brexit.

iii. The US president made the announcement at a NATO summit in Warsaw that he described as

the “most important moment” for the alliance since the end of the cold war.

iv. NATO’s Summit in Warsaw concluded on Saturday (9 July 2016), following two days of decisions

to strengthen the Alliance’s deterrence and defence, and plans to project stability in the wider

neighbourhood.

11th ASEM summit begins in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

i. The 11thedition of Asia-Europe Meeting Summit (ASEM11) or ASEM2016 began with World leaders

including from the leaders of 51 member countries and the representatives of European Union and

Asian held in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia.

ii. The Summit is held with the theme of 20 Years of ASEM: Partnership for the Future

through Connectivity.

iii. Indian delegation is led by Vice President Mohmmad Hamid Ansari with an agenda to push

the efforts to boost inter-continental connectivity.

ASEM 11 Concludes with the adoption of Ulaanbaatar Declaration

i.With objectives to resolve the fight against the terrorism, Asia Europe meeting (ASEM) Summit

in its 11th session signed the Ulaanbaatar Declaration on July 16 at Mongolia.

ii.Heads of State and Government from ASEM partner countries, the President of the European

Council, the President of the European Commission and the Secretary-General of ASEAN gathered

in Mongolian summit to conclude this declaration.

iii. This declaration fosters fraternity through informal political forum and promotes initiatives in

economic and socio-cultural fields.

iv.This declaration aims to focus on fight against terrorism and greater connectivity among

the Asia and Europe.

v.It is noted that our vice president Mr. Mohammed Hamid Ansari participated in this summit

representing India.

53 | P a g e


ASEAN member countries Finance Ministers meet has begun in Laotian

i. A 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) nations Finance

Ministers meet have begun in the Laotian capital of Vientiane.

ii. This meeting is attributed towards contributing to the maintenance and promotion of peace,

stability and prosperity in the region and the world.

iii. The central topics to be discussed in this meet includes a versatile list of a range of traditional

and non-traditional security challenges, including extremism and terrorism, natural disasters and

climate change, refugee issues and human trafficking as well as economic developments, including

Britain’s exit from the EU.

iv. The 10 foreign ministers of ASEAN are to be joined by those from dialogue partners, including

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, US Secretary of State John Kerry, as well as Japan’s Fumio

Kishida and South Korea’s Yun Byung-se for associated talks that include the Asean Regional Forum

and East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers Meeting.

Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurates the BRICS Heads of Drug Control Agencies Working

Group Meeting in New Delhi

Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurates the second anti-drug Working Group

meeting of Heads of Drug Control Agencies of BRICS countries in New Delhi.

• The meeting is being organized by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).

• In accordance with the ‘eThekwani Declaration‘ adopted during the BRICS summit in March

2013 at Durban, South Africa, it was decided to explore, besides economic issues, various new

areas of cooperation among the member States, including drug related issues.

• In keeping with the spirit of the eThekwani Declaration, the first anti-drug working group

meeting of BRICS countries was organized at Moscow, Russia in November, 2015.

• The delegates from the participating countries shall be deliberating over important drug

related issues over the entire day.

• The Indian delegation shall be headed by Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Director General of the

NCB and shall comprise of officers from the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance,

Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ministry of Health and Family welfare and

Narcotics Control Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs.

• The meeting would also evaluate the drug abuse situation in the member countries and

analyze the legislations of BRICS member states as well as devise modalities to share

the best practices of enforcement and demand reduction being followed in the member

countries.

BRICS Bank board of directors meet in Shanghai

i. In the annual meet of the New Development Bank’s board of directors held

in Shanghai, financing needs of the five BRICS countries used for Infrastructure was the at stage

as the key matter.

54 | P a g e


ii. The BRICS bank observed that countries like India and South Africa are struggling with

infrastructure deficit.

iii. The NDB Board of Directors approved funding for its first Russian project: the development of a

small-scale energy project in Karelia.

iv. The new lender is allocating $100 million for the project in Russia, President KV Kamath

informed.

3rd India Education Fair begins in Dhaka

i. The Two-Day long 3rd India Education Fair has kicked off in Dhaka that is staged participants

with over 35 premier Indian educational institutions including schools, colleges, and technical

institutes

ii. The Event was inaugurated by the Indian High Commissioner Harsh Vardhan Sringla aimed to

deliver one roof to provide educational opportunities to Bangladeshi youths.

Indian-American Girl Sruthi Palaniappan Becomes Youngest Delegate At Democratic

National Convention

As like icing a cake, Sruthi Palaniappan, 18-year-old Indo-American has become the youngest

delegate at the Democratic National Convention which has nominated Hillary Clinton as the party’s

presidential candidate.

What is Democratic National Convention:-

The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a symposium of presidential nominating

conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party.

i. The primary goal of the Democratic National Convention is to nominate and confirm a candidate

for president and vice president, adopt a comprehensive party platform and unify the party.

ii. Pledged delegates from all fifty U.S. states and from American dependencies and territories

such as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, and super delegates which are unpledged delegates

representing the Democratic establishment, attend the convention and cast their votes to choose

the Party’s presidential candidate.

iii. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national

convention. The declarations of DNC for 2016 as follows, Location Permanent

Chairperson Platform

Ballots Presidential Nominee [acceptance speech]

Vice Presidential Nominee

Wells Fargo center, Philadelphia

Marcia Fudge (Ohio)

TBD N/A Hilary Clinton (New York)

Tim Kaine(Virginia)

India to host international summit on tobacco-control

i. India will host a crucial global summit 7th session of the Conference of the Parties(COP7)

to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC) in November this year. The

55 | P a g e


Health Minister of State Anupriya Patel announced in the Lok Shaba.

ii. The Summit aimed to eliminate the illicit trade of tobacco products in which delegates from 180

countries will take part at the Indian Exposition Mart in Noida.

iii. The Minister also said Delegations who is presiding the event is not been decided by India also

urged generating awareness on harmful effects of tobacco use is the key.

Centre to organise ‘Make in India’ conference in Bhubaneswar

i. Union government is set to host the Make in India Conference in the Odisha’s Capital

Bhubaneswar in the month of December this year.

ii. The Commerce Ministry controlled Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion is organising

the mega event to attract the investors to invest in the State

RANKING & REPORTS Ministry of Tourism released data on domestic and foreign tourist visits to states and UTs

The Market Research Division of Ministry of Tourism has released report on Domestic and foreign

Tourist visits to States and Union Territories for the year 2015.

Minister of state (independent charge): Mahesh Sharma

Departments of Tourism of Various State Governments and UT Administrations have

collected the information and sent to the Ministry of Tourism which compiled the data

Domestic Tourist Visits to States/ UTs

Trend in Domestic tourist visits

• In 2015, number of domestic tourist visits: 1432.0 million

• In 2014, number of domestic tourist visits: 1282.8 million

• % growth in 2015 compared to 2014: 11.63%

Top Ten states in terms of number of domestic tourist Visits during 2015

Sl No States No. of Domestic tourist visits (in millions) 1 Tamilnadu 333.5 2 Uttar Pradesh 204.9 3 Andhra Pradesh 121.6 4 Karnataka 119.9 5 Maharashtra 103.4 6 Telangana 94.5 7 Madhya Pradesh 78 8 West Bengal 70.2 9 Gujarat 36.3 10 Rajasthan 35.2

Features of the Data

• The top ten states contributing around 83.62% to the total number of contribution

• Tamilnadu and Uttar Pradesh have retained the top two ranks

• Andhra Pradesh has hold the third position leaving Karnataka and Maharashtrafourth

and fifty positions respectively

56 | P a g e


• Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal have maintained the rankings

• Gujarat shown significant increase trend and jumped to ninth rank leaving Rajasthan at

the Tenth

• Jharkhand state lost its top 10 rankings

Foreign Tourist Visits to States/ UTs

Trend in Foreign tourist visits

In 2015, number of foreign tourist visits: 23.3 million

In 2014, number of foreign tourist visits: 22.3 million

% growth in 2015 compared to 2014: 4.4%

Top Ten states in terms of number of foreign tourist Visits during 2015

Sl No States No. of foreign tourist visits (in millions) 1 Tamilnadu 4.68 2 Maharashtra 4.41 3 Uttar Pradesh 3.1 4 Delhi 2.8 5 West Bengal 1.49 6 Rajasthan 1.48 7 Kerala 0.98 8 Bihar 0.92 9 Karnataka 0.64 10 Goa 0.54

Features of the data

• The top ten states contributing around 88.4% to the total number of contribution

• First Four Positions have been maintained the positions as compared to previous year

• West Bengal has been jumped to one rank above from sixth to fifth position

• Rajasthan stand at Sixth rank

• Kerala, Bihar and Karnataka retained the positions

• Goa re-entered the rankings and Haryana dropped from the list

CSE Cleanest city survey 2016 – Alappuzha tops the list, Three North-Eastern Capital

cities in the Top 10 rankings

i. Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) a New Delhi-based research and advocacy

organization, has released the 10 cleanest cities of the country in a survey conducted by this

organization.

ii. This survey ranking is based on the waste management system. The top ranked cities follows

proper solid waste management techniques like zero landfills, segregation of waste at source and

decentralized waste management system.

iii. The top 10 places go to the following cities,

1. Alappuzha, Kerala.

2. Panaji, Goa

3. Mysuru, Karnataka.

4. Boobli, Andhra Pradesh

5. Aizawl, Mizoram

57 | P a g e


6. Pune, Maharashtra

7. Surat, Gujarat

8. Suryapet, Telegana

9. Gangtok, Sikkim

10. Agartala, Tripura

India slips to third place on business optimism index: Grant Thornton International

Business Report (IBR)

i. According to the latest International Business Report (IBR) carried out by London basedGrant

Thornton, India ranked third during the April June quarter of 2016 on the scale of business

optimism because of delays in key reforms like the GST and bad loans facing state owned

banks.

ii. The report went on to say that the growth in employment expectations dropped to second

position during this period from top rank in the previous quarter (January March this year),

however the optimism further slipped to fourth place in profitability expectations from third.

iii. In the report revealed India continues to top the chart on expectations of increasing revenue

as 96 per cent of the respondents within the survey have voted in favour of increasing revenue.

India moved up to 35th rank on World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index

India has played the important role on “The efficiency of customs and Border management

clearance” and improved the ranking to 35th position in World Bank’s Logistics Performance

Index

About the report

• Released by: United States Based World Bank

• Type of Report: Bi-Annual

• Logistics Performance Index consists of six sub-indices

• The World Banks has gone through thepolicy regulation and supply chain

performance across six sub-indices

• Ranked the country based on theperformance in all the indices

• Conducted the survey based on thefeedback of companies

58 | P a g e


• Various attributes of international trade relating to border clearance procedures,

ensuring access to physical infrastructure and quality of logistics services are

monitored

India’s ranking

• India jumped from 54th position in 2014 to 35th position in overall category

• India stepped ahead 19 positions leaving countries New Zealand, Thailand, Saudi Arabia,

Iceland, Latvia and Indonesia and so on

Category Ranking in 2014

Ranking in 2016

The efficiency of customs and border management clearance 65 38 The ability to track and trace consignments 57 33 The quality of trade and transport infrastructure 58 36 The competence and quality of logistics services 52 32 the ease of arranging competitively priced shipments – 5 frequency with which shipments reach consignees within scheduled or expected delivery times

– 9

Other report:

The World Bank Group’s bi-annual report ‘Connecting to Compete 2016: Trade Logistics in the

Global Economy’, launched captures critical information about the complexity of international trade.

India slips to 75th place in terms of money in Swiss banks; UK on top

i. India listed down to 75th place in terms of money held by its citizens with banks in

Switzerland, while the list is topped by UK as per the latest annual update

released by Switzerlands central bank SNB (Swiss National Bank).

ii. Total funds held by Indians fell by CHF 596.42 million

to CHF 1,217.6 million at the end of 2015 which is not even 0.1 per

cent of the total foreign money.

iii. India was placed at 61st place last year, however the total money

held there by foreign clients from across the world fell by nearly 4 per

cent to Swiss franc (CHF) 1.42 trillion(about Rs 98 lakh crore) at the

end of 2015.

iv. In terms of individual countries, the UK is the largest chunk at about

CHF 350 billion or almost 25 per cent of the total foreign money. While

the US came second with nearly CHF 196 billion or about 14 per cent.

v. India was ranked 75th with about Rs 8,392 crore and is the lowest for the country in at least two

decades. On the other hand Pakistan was placed higher at 69th place with CHF 1.5.

India’s ranking falls down to 91 on Readiness for Digitized Economy

Steeping down into the bottom of the table, India ranked 91among the rest of the countries in

terms of their readiness for transition to a digitised economy and society.

Country Rank

Singapore 1

Finland 2

Sweden 3

Norway 4

United States 5

Netherlands 6

Switzerland 7

UK 8

Luxembourg 9

Japan 10

59 | P a g e


Among the major emerging markets, Singapore ranks first and India ranks last. Other

significant rankings are Finland at 2, Russia at 41, China at 59, South Africa 65, Brazil at 72

positions.

• This readiness index has been released by the World Economic Forum (Headquarter –

Geneva, Switzerland)

• India’s position on the list has come down for the fourth year in a row, from 89th in

2015, 83rd in 2014 and 68th in 2013.

• This digitized readiness index measures countries’ success in creating the conditions

necessary for a transition to a digitized economy and society.

• A report says, ”Only 15 out of 100 households have access to the internet, and

mobile broadband remains a privilege of the few, with only 5.5 subscriptions for every

100 people”.

Indian firms grab top spot for transparency in survey by Institutional Investor

Indian companies rank among the best in the Asia Pacific region for corporate transparency,

trust, and access to top executives, according to new research released today by Institutional

Investor.

• To be precise, banks in India are seeing their CEOs, IROs and CFOs emerge as some ofthe

top ranked, reflecting a commitment to accountability at the top, as well as increasing

Shareholder value.

In India, the most honoured companies in Institutional Investor’s All-Asia Executive Team

rankings 2016 are

• Motherson sumi Systems (Autos and Auto Parts),

• Maruthi Suzuki India (Autos and Auto Parts),

• HDFC Bank (Banks)

• Indusind Bank (Banks),

• Kotak Mahindra Bank (Banks),

• Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (Health Care and Pharmaceuticals)

DOMESTIC AIR PASSENGER GROWTH – INDIA topped the table

The International Air Transport Association (IATA)reported that India’s Air passenger market

in India grew at the fastest pace in the world in 2015 and India topped the domestic air passenger

growth rankings.

With annual growth of 18.8% (in a market

of 80 million domestic passengers), India’s

performance surpassed that of Russia (11.9%

growth, in a market of 47 million domestic

passengers)

1 American Airlines 146.5 million 2 Southwest Airlines 144.6 millions 3 Delta Airlines 138.8 millions 4 China souther Airlines 19.3 millions 5 Ryanair 101.4 millions

60 | P a g e


The number of domestic fliers in India stood at 80 million, compared to Russia’s 47

million, China’s 394 million and the US’s 708 million.

Apart from this IATA also released the following data:

The top five airlines ranked by total scheduled passengers carried (domestic and international)

were:

Star Alliance, of which Air India is a member, maintained its position as the largest airline

alliance in 2015, with 23% of total scheduled traffic, followed by SkyTeam (20.4%) and

oneworld (17.8%).

The top five international/regional passenger airport-pairs within the Asia-Pacific region were

(, up 2.1% from 2014), (, down 2.6%), -Hong Kong (3 million, increase of 29.2 (, up 13%)

and (2.7 million, down 3.2%).

1 Hong Kong-Taipei 5.1 million 2 Jakarta-Singapore 3.4 million 3 Bangkok Suvarnabhumi – Hong Kong 3 million 4 Kuala Lumpur–Singapore 2.7 million 5 Hong Kong-Singapore 2.7 million

India Ranks Second On List of Shark Fishing Nations: WWF

i. India ranks second on the global list of shark fishing nations as fishing of the species in the

country has progressed from being incidental to targeted fishing. The list is topped by Indonesia.

ii. India had made efforts to promote sustainable shark fisheries and better monitor how many

and what species were being caught, India announced a ban on the practice of shark finning by

issuing the Fins Naturally Attached policy requiring fishers to land sharks with their fins attached.

iii. Internationally, finning is a common practice of exclusion of shark fins for export purpose to

nations, particularly China, for its use in soups and other weaknesses. The remaining shark body is

discarded into the sea.

FORTUNE 500 – 2016: 7 Indian Companies among the 500 International Entries

Famous Business Magazine Fortune has released the top 500 lisitngs of the world biggest

companies for the year 2016.

What is FORTUNE 500 List?

Fortune is a New York based international Business Magazine managed by Time Inc., and

dated back to 1929 for its foundation. This magazine is well known for its Fortune 500 list, a

detailed and analytical rankings of the international companies depending upon their

economy and values. Every year this magazine released various listings such as Fortune 500,

100; Fortune Global 500, Fortune India 500, 40 under 40 and the unicorn List etc.

Fortune 500 – 2016:-

The Fortune list for 2016 was released on July 21. The top runners of this listing are as follows,

1. Wal-Mart with revenue of $482,130

2. Exxon with revenue of Mobil$246,204

61 | P a g e


3. Apple with revenue of $233,715

4. Berkshire Hathaway with revenue of $210,821

5. McKesson with revenue of $181,241

6. UnitedHealth Group with revenue of $157,107

7. CVS Health with revenue of $153,290

8. General Motors with revenue of $152,356

9. Ford Motor with revenue of $149,558

10. AT&T with revenue of $146,801

Indian companies among the listings:-

Indian Oil Corp is ranked highest at 161st among Indian firms, at the same time

another state-run firm ONGC has moved out of the rankings for 2016. This time we have a new

entry of famous Private gems and jewellery major Rajesh Exports at 423rd position.

There are 7 Indian Companies in this prestigious list. The respective rankings are:-

• Indian Oil Corp – 161,

• RIL – 215,

• Bharat Petroleum – 358,

• Hindusthan Petroleum – 367,

• Tata Motors – 226,

• SBI – 232,

• Rajesh Exports – 423.

IISc top Indian institute in 2016 BRICS rankings

i. According to the higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds, Bengaluru based IISC

secured Sixth Rank. Also the institute is the India’s top representative in the BRICS ranking list.

ii. In the list released by QS the Analyst the number of universities has increased to 44 as the

reason that the list extends up to 250 from 200 last year .

iii. The QS World University Rankings has been carried out on the basis of good academic and

overall performance.

Top 10 Indian universities

Rank Universities 6 Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 13 IIT, Bombay 15 IIT, Delhi 19 IIT, Madras 22 IIT, Kanpur 25 IIT, Kharagpur 39 IIT, Roorkee 41 University of Delhi 54 University of Calcutta 54 IIT, Guwahati

62 | P a g e


India ranks 110th on Sustainable Development Index

i. India ranks 110 on the Sustainable Development Goal Index of the United Nations has released

the ranking of 149 nations assessed on where they stand with regard to achieving the Sustainable

Development Goals. The list is topped by Sweden.

ii. The SDSN network has launched a new Development Index and Dashboard to provide a report

card for following up the SDG Goals progress and ensuring accountability.

India’s CSIR ranked world’s 12th best government institute

i. The Council of Scientific Industrial Research (CSIR) has moved two places ahead to take 12th

best government institution in the world. However in the overall list the Institute ranked 99.

ii. The list is topped by France’s National Centre for Scientific Research and Chinese Academy of

Science, China follows it.

India ranks on 5th Place in forge goods trade, China on Top in the list

India ranks fifth position in the exports of Fake goods globally, while china is No.1 in the list

with a huge 63 % share in the estimated half-a-trillion dollar worldwide imports of forged and

pirated goods.

Fake Good Trade Ranking Nation % of Fake goods 1 China 63.2 2 Turkey 3.3 3 Singapore 1.9 4 Thailand 1.6 5 India 1.2

Listed by: OECD (Organisation Economic Cooperation and Development) and the European Union’s

Intellectual Property Office

Ranking of Countries affected by global Trade in fake foods

1. US

2. Italy

3. France

4. Switzerland

5. Japan

Value of imported fake goods worldwide at USD 461 billion in 2013, compared with total imports in

world trade of USD 17.9 trillion

• 5% of goods imported into the European Union are fakes

• Half a million customs seizures around the world over 2011-13

• Fake products handbags, perfumes, machine parts, chemicals and footwear

Indian e-commerce sector triples in five years: ASSOCHAM Report

ASSOCHAM Reported that Indian e-commerce sector growthtriples in five years

The Indian E Commerce sector tripled or grew by 209% past 5 years. From $4.4 billion in 2010 to

$13.6 billion in 2014

63 | P a g e


Growth and Development in E-Commerce sector:

♦ According to an Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India

Country’s E-commerce market is expected to reach $38 billion (Rs 252,700 crore) in 2016.

♦ According to Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Deloitte , a consultancy

The online retail sector in India is expected achieve $1 trillion (Rs 660,000 crore) market by

2020.

♦ Internet penetration across the country is rising with as many as 354 million users reported as of

September 2015

Percentage of Internet Users:

Australia – 90 %

US – 87%

Japan – 86%

Brazil – 53%

China – 46%

India – 19 %

♦ Online shoppers have increased from 20 million in 2013 to 39 million in 2015, an increase of

95 percent over three years.

Tamil Nadu and UP tops the list in Urban and Rural Internet Connectivity Index list

respectively

While analyzing the telecom connectivity spread across

the urban areas of the nation, it is found that Tamil

Nadu tops the report with around 21 million urban

internet subscribers, which is about 9% of the total 231

million urban internet subscriber of India.

Urban Internet Subscribers List:-

As a part of digitalizing India and BharatNet, the internet users increase rapidly both in rural and

urban areas of our country. This increasing rate shows that India’s connectivity is getting

rationalized and modernized under several criteria. The top five list as on March 2016 as follows:-

Rural Internet Connectivity:-

On the other hand the rural internet connectivity is also on a gliding face reaching about 112 million

rural users in India, which is about one-third of the total Indian internet connectivity of 342

million.The top lists of the rural internet connectivity are:-

♦ Andhra Pradesh with 9 million users.

♦ Maharashtra with 9.7 million users.

♦ UP with 11.2 million users.

India ranks first in the Pathetic Global Stunted Growth Children List

With a whooping population of 48 million children, India became the destination of largest

State No. of users in Million Tamil Nadu 21 Maharashtra 19.7 Delhi 19.6 Karnataka 17 UP 12

64 | P a g e


number of stunted – malnutrition children in world in terms of volume of the living population.

This pathetic face is revealed by the international charity organization called Water Aid.

Pathetic Ranking:-In the survey it is found that two in every five under five, are suffering from

stunted growth, which affects their physical development as well as cognitive and emotional

development.

1. The report also reveals terrific data about child death. It is noted that Diarrheal

diseases caused by dirty water and poor sanitation are the second biggest killer of

children under five after pneumonia, taking 315,000 young lives every year in India,

about 140,000 children die every year from diarrhea .

2. 76 million do not have access to safe water and 774 million live without adequate

sanitation.

India ranks at first position followed by Nigeria, Pakistan and China. The hall of shame list as

follows:- RANK COUNTRY STUNTED CHILDREN POPULATION in million 1 India 48 2 Nigeria 10.3 3 Pakistan 9.8 4 Indonesia 8.7 5 China 8 6 Ethiopia 5.8 7 Bangladesh 5.4 8 Congo 5 9 Philippines 3.4 10 Tanzania 3.06

BANKING & FINANCE

State Bank of India secured $625 million from World Bank for Solar programme

State Bank of India has signed agreements with the World Bank for $625 million to support

grid connected rooftop solar programme in the Country

SBI Capital Markets was keen advisor for structuring and setting up the facility

Signed by:

• Karnam Sekar, Deputy Managing Director, SBI

• Onno Ruhl, Country Director, World Bank India

Focuses:

• Enhancing the investment for Solar Photo Voltaic Projects

• Increase the ease of doing rooftop business through technical assistance

• To strengthen the capacity of key organizations

• Support development of the overall solar rooftop Photovoltaic Markets

65 | P a g e


RIL, SBI sign shareholder agreement for payments bank JV

i. Reliance Industries Limited went into partnership with banking major State Bank of

India have signed the shareholder for the payment Bank.

ii. Upon this Agreement that was signed by RIL as promoter with a 70 per cent equity

contribution and SBI as joint venture with a 30 per cent equity contribution.

iii. RIL and SBI earlier this year entered into a nonbinding MoU to set out the principal terms. This

would bring together the nation’s largest banking network and pan-India telecom and retail setup.

Rs 43,000 crore undisclosed income unearthed in 2 years

i. The Income Tax Department has unearthed undisclosed income of Rs 43,000 crore from

investigations during the past two fiscal years according to the Union Revenue Secretary Hasmukh

Adhia.

ii. In the total wealth Rs 21,000 crore have been found from department’s searches, the balance of

Rs 22,000 crore have been disclosed from various surveys.

iii. The statement from the IT department also made it clear that the declaration window will not be

extended beyond September 30.

RBI to study Blockchain technology to curtail paper currency

i.India’s Central Bank “Reserve Bank of India mulling to set up a committee to study the use

of Blockchain technology”. It will be used to reduce the use of paper currency.

ii. The Technology is made by distributed database that maintains a continuously-

growing list of data records secured against tampering and revision.

iii. The system’s database consists of blocks that hold time-stamped batches of valid transactions

which is seen as the main technical innovation of bitcoin.

State Bank of India launches ‘SBI Mingle’ – social media banking platform

i. Country’s largest lender State bank of India launched a social media banking platform for

Facebook and Twitter users, called ‘SBI Mingle’ to help the customers with a host of banking

services on their social media accounts, at their own convenience.

ii. It was launched by the SBI’s Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya on the occasion of 61st State

Bank Day.

SBI Card launches premium credit card ‘Elite’

i. India’s Largest Bank State Bank of India’s subsidiary arm SBI Card has

launched apremium credit card by the name ELITE with host of facilities targeting high networth

customers.

ii. The card is launched on the Master Card World platform and is enabled with NFC (Near Field

Communication) technology that enables the customers a contactless payment experience,

adding more speed and suave to their wallets.

66 | P a g e


iii. The card comes with a joining fee of Rs 4,999 and all customers will receive a welcome gift

worth Rs 5,000 in the form of vouchers from popular lifestyle and travel brands.

iv. The third-largest card issuer SBI Card that has total card base of 3.75 million.

India’s first SME Bank opened by HDFC Bank

i. HDFC bank launched a full-fledged digital banking service for small and medium enterprises

(SME).

ii. This will help the customers to utilize a complete set of services on their choice at anytime and

at anywhere in India.

iii. SME Bank is the second leg of the ‘Bank Aapki Mutthi Mein’ campaign that was launched

for the Bank’s retail customers in December 2014 at Varanasi.

3% extension in Interest Subvention on Crop Loans

i. In order to boost the fast growing Indian economy several schemes have been introduced by the

Central Government. One among that is the extension of 3% interest subvention on crop loans.

ii. As per this scheme, now Farmers can avail loan up to 3 lakh rupees at 4 % rate of interest,

iii. The interest subvention rate has slashed from 5% to 3% up to one year for loan amount upto

3lakh rupees.

iv. According to this scheme, In case if farmers do not repay the short term crop loan in time they

would be eligible for interest subvention of 2 per cent as against 5 per cent available above i.e 7%

rate of interest.

Cabinet approves increase in FDI limit in Axis Bank to 74%

i. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi,

has approved increased limits in foreign investment in Axis Bank from 62% to 74% of the

total paid up share capital of the Axis Bank on a fully commodity basis.

ii. As the result of this approval, foreign direct investment to the tune of Rs 12,973.14 crore will

be received in the country with an estimated creation of6000 to 7000 jobs over the next three

years.

YELDI SOFTCOM received its semi closed wallet license from RBI

i. Reserve Bank of India (RBI), sanctioned a semi clsed wallet license to YELDI SOFTCOM

ii. A semi-closed wallet is a payment instrument that is accepted by a predefined set of

merchants that have been contracted specifically by the issuer of the semi-closed wallet.

iii. A semi-closed wallet does not allow users to withdraw or redeem cash

NPCIL gets India’s first nuclear liability policy

i. India’s first insurance policy covering public liability to an atomic power plant operator has

been issued to Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited(NPCIL)

67 | P a g e


ii. The total premium of such policy is Rs 100 crore for a risk cover of Rs 1,500 crore.

iii. Policy complies with all the provisions of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLND).

SIDBI partners with Yes Bank for loan guarantee under World Bank scheme.

SIDBI(Small Industries Development Bank of India) entered into a partnership with YES Bank to

guarantee 75% of loans of up to Rs 15 crore extended to energy efficiency projects under the

WORLD BANK initiative.

Aim:

To transform the energy efficiency (EE) market in India by promoting increased level of EE

investments, particularly through energy service performance contracting (ESPC) delivered through

Energy Service Companies (ESCOs).

• SIDBI expects to provide credit guarantee to more than 500 projects and mobilize

financing of up to $127 million through the tie-up.

• A memorandum of understanding was signed between Sidbi and Yes Bank under the

Partial Risk Sharing Facility (PRSF) for financing energy efficiency projects programme

sponsored by the World Bank.

ICICI SECURITIES tops IPO Ratings

ICICI Securities has topped the Initial Public Offering (IPO) league table in the first half of

2016. ICICI Securities isICICI Bank’s investment banking arm.According to data provided

by Bloomberg, ICICI Securities has managed five IPOs to help rise around Rs 1,216 crore for

companies getting listed.

• The overall equity league table for the first half of 2016 is topped by US-based

Citibank,which has handled a total of six deals worth nearly Rs 7,000 crore.

68 | P a g e


• The overall equity league table ranks investment banks on not just IPOs, but also on

other forms of fund-raising managed by them, such as rights offerings, offer for sale, and

block transactions.

• In the overall equity league table, ICICI Securities is second, with nine deals worth Rs

4,053 crore. Last year, Citi was third, while ICICI Securities wasn’t even among the top

10.

• ICICI Securities has topped the IPO league table by managing IPOs, including those of

Ujjivan Financial Services, Equitas Holdings, Thyrocare Technologies, TeamLease, and

Quick Heal.

• The investment bank is also part of the L&T Infotech IPO, which will hit the market next

week.

• Meanwhile, second-ranked Kotak Investment Bank has handled IPOs such as those of

Mahanagar Gas, Parag Milk, Ujjivan Financial Services, and Healthcare Global Enterprises.

Online bidding platform for gold bond issuance by NSE

i. To facilitate orderly trading in sovereign gold bonds, top stock exchange NSE has introduced

online bid collection facility for such issuances.

ii. The bourse has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to act as a receiving

office for sovereign gold bond (SGB) issuances.

iii. So far, three tranches of the bonds have been issued amounting to about Rs 1,322 crore and

the fourth one is expected by July 18.

iv. Accordingly, the exchange will collect bids from its registered stock brokers for their clients for

the gold bond issuance.

v. The bonds will carry an interest rate of 2.75 per cent (fixed rate) per annum on the amount of

initial investment.

vi. Interest is to be paid half-yearly and the last interest will be payable on maturity, along with the

principal.

Credit of $290 million for Bihar’s JEEViKA II by World Bank

i. A USD 290-million credit agreement signed by Centre, Bihar government and World Bank to

help improve livelihood opportunities for poor rural households across 300 blocks and 32 districts of

the eastern state.

ii. Bihar Transformative Development Project, also known as Jeevika II, will mobilize rural

population into self-help groups (SHG) and higher level federations and help them gain access to

markets, public services and a range of financial services from formal financial institutions.

iii. In line with the emerging priorities and JEEViKA’s already significant experience, the new project

will scale up farm and non-farm value chain interventions including setting up of women-owned

farmer producer companies.

69 | P a g e


iv. The credit is from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s

concessionary lending arm, with a maturity of 25 years, including a 5-year grace period.

HDFC to become first issurer of Masala Bonds to overseas investors in order to raise

Rs.3,000 crore

Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Ltd is planning to raise about Rs.3,000 crore

by issuing the first unrated Synthetic Indian Rupee (INR) Notes to overseas investors. It is the

first Indian public issuer of the Synthetic INR Notes. Our country’s largest private sector

mortgage lender HDFC, plans to raise Rs 3,000 crore through these synthetic bonds.

The company nominates to issue Rs 2,000 crore with an option to retain over-subscription of up to

Rs 1,000 crore and this Corporation is the first Indian public issuer of synthetic INR notes.

Incumbency period:

These bonds will bear a fixed coupon and will have a incumbency period of 3 years and 1

month.

BRICS bank to issue $448 million of yuan green bonds

i. The New Development Bank (NDB) of the BRICS countries is set to issue green bonds in Chinese

yuan to raise funds for clean energy and infrastructure projects.

ii. The bank plans to issue 3 billion yuan worth of five-year bonds denominated in Chinese currency

on July 18 also bond proceeds will be used to finance green projects in BRICS Nations.

iii. The green bonds will be issued with a 5-year tenor and will be the first such issuance by a bank

of its type under guidelines issued by China’s central bank in December.

‘Paperless SIP’ introduced by BSE for mutual fund investors

i. ‘Paperless SIP’ (systematic investment plans) which allows mutual fund investors to make

transactions through various modes of payments has been unveiled by the leading Bombay Stock

Exchange (BSE).

ii. These investment plans also allows MF distributors to register SIPs for their clients, who can pay

SIP amounts through different modes.

iii. As per this Paperless SIP facility once the SIP has been registered, the investors would

receive an e-mail for all the payment modes, including direct pay, nodal account, one time mandate

and cheque.

IDFC acquires Micro Finance Institution Grama Vidiyal to extend its Rural Banking

Services.

On a first of its kind of move, IDFC Bank Ltd is going to acquire a Tamil Nadu based microfinance

institution (MFI) called Grama Vidiyal, A small unit financing scheme in rural villages of Tamil

Nadu.

70 | P a g e


• This Acquisition offers the bank access to 1.2 million households apart from adding 319

points of presence in seven states — Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Puducherry,

Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

• The acquisition sum has not been exposed to the public yet. Hereafter, 30 years old

Trichy based Grama vidiyal group will act as a Wholly Owned subsidiary of IDFC bank.

• As per this acquisition the micro-finance unit is going to transfer its 3000 employees and

micro finance assets worth 1502 crores to the IDFC bank.

SBI signs MoU with IIT Bombay for promoting Startups

i. State Bank of India (SBI), one of the leading public sector banks in India has signed a

memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Society for

Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE), (IIT) Bombay’s technology business incubator, in order to

promote the innovation by startups in the financial sector.

ii. SBI and IIT will promote fintech (financial technology) start-ups that have products or

applications to cater to the financial sector.

iii. These products can help SBI to explore opportunities to enhance the synergy for their banking

services.

iv. This MoU will definitely help in mentoring startups. SBI now has a Rs 200 crore fund for startups

and what better place than SINE at IIT Bombay to reach out to startups to use those funds.

Axis Bank ties up with Vistara to introduce cobranded credit card

Guragon based India’s fastest developing air carrier“VISTARA” ties up with AXIS bank to

release a contactless Vistara credit card using the VISA platform.

What is a Contactless Credit Card?

Contactless credit cards use radio-frequency identification (RFID) or near field

communication (NFC) for making secure payments. The embedded chip and antenna enable

consumers to wave their card, over a reader at the point of sale terminal.

User Bung – The cards come with a yearly fee of Rs. 1,500, Rs. 3,000 and Rs. 10,000for the

top-end variety and are aimed towards corporate cum leisure travelers. On procuring this card, the

members will get free upgrades and other loyalty benefits on buying tickets with this credit card.

Benefits of this card – The benefits from this distinct credit card will be tiered depending on

travel preferences of customers and their travel frequency. The card comes in three variants:

• Infinite Signature and Basic

Cauvery Delta’s Irrigation Facilities to be Boosted up through ADB’s Loan Agreement

with GOI

In order to fortify and develop the important Irrigation and Drainage management system in the

Cauvery Delta of Tamil nadu, GOI AND ADB has signed a pact on July 14 which estimates

around $100 million (670 Crores approx.). This system is going to revitalize the mounds and hills

71 | P a g e


of the six major Irrigation systems in the Vennar system and also to renovate the existing Pumping

stations.

Loan Tenure:The loan from ADB’s ordinary capital resources has a 25-year term. The Water

Resources Department of the State of Tamil Nadu is responsible for implementing the project and is

expected to be completed by December 2020.

Benefits:

The Cauvery river basin is an important source of water for agriculture, for Tamil Nadu and the

neighboring states. The vast majority of the delta’s population is engaged in farming and fishing.

The project aims to improve existing infrastructure and will provide flood protection and

renewed access to irrigation.

SIDBI picks eight ventures to invest Rs 428 crore in startups

i. The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has chosen eight venture funds to

invest instartups as defined under theStartup India Action Plan and will support them with a

corpus amount of Rs 428 crore.

ii. The Development Bank’s Venture Capital Investment Committee (VCIC), that consist of

former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai, former Nasscom chief Kiran Karnik, and others, had

screened 13 proposals from VC funds.

iii. The committee recommended 8 proposals for an aggregate corpus support of aroundRs 428

crore from the Fund of Funds for Startups as announced by PM Modi earlier this year and cleared

by the cabinet last month.

IndusInd Bank opens IFSC Banking Unit at GIFT City

i. Mumbai based Indian new generation lender IndusInd Bank has opened its IFSC Banking

Unit (IBU) at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) to meet the requirements

of offshore banking.

ii. It became the sixth bank to open an IBU at GIFT.

iii. IndusInd Bank’s IBU will provide the bank access to International financial markets and will

allow it to deliver a complete range of products to its clients with foreign currency funding

requirements.

iv. GIFT IFSC has had a total business transactions crossing the US$ 475-million mark, generated

by 5 operational IBUs of YES Bank, Federal Bank, IDBI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Bank

each.

Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd launches corporate deposit scheme

i. Dewan Housing Finance has launched a short-term Corporate Deposit Scheme, which offers

interest rates ranging from 7.55 % to 8.40 %, depending on the tenure.

ii. The minimum deposit under the scheme, which is targeted to meet the short-term investment

requirements of corporate customers and is available only to public and private limited companies

72 | P a g e


registered under the Companies Act, is Rs.10 lakh.

iii. Under this scheme Corporates can place deposits for 31 days to 364 days. CRISIL has rated

these corporate deposits as A1+ indicating very strong degree of safety regarding timely payment

of financial obligations.

iv. Upon this scheme corporate deposits are 7.55 % for 31 days; 7.65 % for 61 days; 7.90 % for

91 days; and 8.40 % each for 181 days, 271 days and 364 days.

Ex-Google engineer, Paul Taylor launches blockchain-based system for banks

i. A former Google engineer Paul Taylor launched speech recognition software is used in more

than a billion Android smartphones, that uses block chain technology to build a new operating

system for banks.

ii. Blockchain technology has captured the imagination of the financial industry, with advocates

saying it has the potential to shake up how markets operate.

E-filing: ATM-based validation facility enhanced

i. In a bid to make taxpayers hassle free the Income Tax department has widened the ATM-based

validation system for filing of online Returns by taxpayers.

ii. The department has included Axis Bank to enhance the paperless regime of filing the annual

Income Tax returns and the dept also launched the bank account-based validation facility in this

regard for those who have not availed the internet banking facility.

iii. These measures helps to validate the e-ITR so that the taxpayer does not take the trouble of

sending the paper-based ITR-V by post for final resolution and processing.

Soiled Notes can be Exchanged for Free till certain Limits – RBI

i. Reserve Bank of India advised banks to exchange up to 20 pieces of soiled Indian currency

notes with a cap value of Rs 5,000 through the counter without any processing fee in order to

improve the customer service.

ii. If the notes are presented in bulk (where the number exceeds 20 pieces or Rs 5,000 in value per

day), banks will accept them, against receipt, for value, which is to be credited later.

iii. This facility of exchanging mutilated or imperfect notes is available at all designated bank

branches and also in non-chest branches.

iv. All persons tendering mutilated notes whose value exceeds Rs 5,000 will have to

approach nearby currency chest branch.

Transactions above 3 Lakhs are to be Banned to curb Black Money – SIT

i. In order to trace the Black and illegal Money, Special Investigation Team (SIT) has advocated

for the ban of cash transactions above 3 lakh rupees and also restrict the Money Holding Capacity

to 15 Lakhs in order to curb the Black Money in the nation.

ii. In finding ways to curb generation of black money—unaccounted, untaxed wealth—and bring

73 | P a g e


back funds stashed away overseas, SIT Suggested to ban common High-value transactions in cash,

especially in the real estate sector where buyers try to get away with lower stamp duty.

iii. SIT recommended that an Act be framed to declare cash transactions above Rs.3 lakh illegal. It

pointed out that a large amount of unaccounted wealth is stored and used in the form of cash.

RBI allows foreign players to hike stake in Axis, IDFC Bank

i. Reserve Bank of India has allowed foreign investors to up their stakes in Axis Bank andIDFC Bank

to up to 74 per cent and 46 per cent, respectively under the Portfolio Investment Scheme

(PIS).

ii. With this move Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)/Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors

(RFPIs) can now invest up to 74 per cent of the paidup capital of Axis Bank.

iii. India’s central Bank in a separate note said FIIs/RFPIs can now invest from the existing 24 per

cent up to 46 per cent of the paidup capital of IDFC Bank Limited under PIS.

iv. Both the lenders agreed on enhancing the limit for the purchase of its equity shares and

convertible debentures by FIIs/RFPIs.

International exchange to be set-up in Gift City

i.The Mumbai based BSE is planning to trade currency, metals and energy at its upcoming

international commodity exchange at the

International Finance Tec-City (Gift City)

which will power the global growth story for

the Indian Banking Financial Services (BFSI)

sector in Gandhinagar.

ii.The exchange is in process will be a trading

platform for globally traded things like energy,

currency and metals etc.

IndiaFirst Life Insurance partners Nainital Bank

i.IndiaFirst Life Insurance announced a partnership with Nainital Bank for distribution of its

products and also to provide life insurance solutions to the customers of the bank and enhance our

distribution footprint in northern India.

ii.IndiaFirst Life Insurance is a joint venture betweenBank of Baroda, Andhra Bank and Legal

and General (UK).

Indian PSU banks boosted up the Central Government

i. In order to boost lending and shore up economic growth,the government has provided Rs22,915

crore capital to 13 state-run banks.

ii. The capital infusion exercise for the current year is based on an assessment of need as assessed

from the CAGR of credit growth for the last five years

Bank Name Amount in Crore State Bank of India 7575 Indian Overseas Bank 3101 Punjab National Bank 2816 Bank of India 1784 Central bank of India 1729 Syndicate Bank 1034 UCO Bank 1033 Canara Bank 997 United Bank of India 810 United Bank of India 721 Corporation Bank 677 Dena Bank 594 Allahabad Bank 44

74 | P a g e


iii. The move will provide liquidity support for lending operations and also enable banks to raise

funds from the markets.

iv. It is noted that RBI has lowered interest rates by 150 bps since January 2015 to 6.5 percent,

transmission of policy appears to have stalled.

iv. Money allocated to individual banks as follows:-

RBI is all set to monitor the customer rights in the commercial banks

i. RBI is all set to monitor the issues related to the customer rights in the five broadare as of

banking soon. This step is adopted by the banker’s bank to enhance the banking experience of the

customers.

ii. The five core areas to be monitored by the RBI are:-

♦ Right to privacy,

♦ Right to fair treatment & transparency,

♦ Fair and honest dealing,

♦ Right to suitability and

♦ Right to grievance redress & compensation.

iii. RBI had put out a charter of customer rights in public domain sometime back, asking banks to

implement it after their board’s approval.

iv. June 30 has been assigned as the last date for the individual banks to get their boards

approved. Now RBI will start monitoring and regulation cum supervision of the banks in all the

matters related to the customer rights.

IRCTC and SBI join hands to promote UTS and E-Ticketing System to ease the Service for

Passengers

i. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and one of the World’s Leading

commercial Banks State Bank of India (SBI), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

on July 20.

ii. This pact is signed in order to thrash out a detailed plan for promotion of rail ticketing activities

which includes internet ticketing and unreserved ticketing system.

iii. This MoU is also framed to for the joint exploration in the areas of cooperation and draw up a

detailed plan for promotion of the rail ticketing activities.

iv. Unreserved Ticketing System and Internet Based e-ticketing System are the core areas

to be concerned by the desirous combined work of both signatories.

Federal Bank partners with Reliance Jio Money

i. Kochi based Federal Bank have announced partnership with Reliance Jio Money for One-Click

payment service that will make payment ease for their customers.

ii. The Reliance Jio money is a payment wallet where Federal bank will enable a direct payment

option for its customers in mobile devices.

75 | P a g e


iii. Through this service customers can complete a transaction without funding the wallet also

without pre-loading their wallet.

HDFC ERGO enters into bancassurance tie-up with SVC Bank

i. HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company and Mumbai based Shamrao Vithal Co-operative

(SVC) Bank bancassurance tieup to offer wide range of non-life insurance produts to the customers

of the bank.

ii. Bancassurance is an arrangement in which a bank and an insurance company form a

partnership so that the insurance company can sell its life assurance and other insurance products

and services by banking institutions.

ICICI Bank organises Coin Exchange Mela during the ‘Ratha Yatra’ festival in Puri

i. India’s largest Private Sector lender ICICI bank has conducted a coin exchange mela during

Rath Yatra festival at the RBI financial literacy camp in Puri.

ii. The mela was organised upon the suggestion from RBI’s S. P. Mohanty, General Manager, Issue

Department of RBI. It was inaugurated by the SP.Mohanty.

iii. The melas intended to offer free facility of exchanging acceptable soiled and mutilated currency

notes with fresh currency and coins that had piled of over 52000 people, where they exchanged

coins worth Rs. 6.34 lakh.

Karnataka Bank’s solar initiative for rural students

i. Mangalore based Karnataka Bank has started a programme to offer solar lights in the non-

electrified houses of students in rural zones.

ii. This is joint iniative of lender with the Manipal-based non-governmental organisation Bharatiya

Vikas Trust (BVT) under its corporate social responsibility (CSR) route.

iii. To illuminate two lights in a house total cost of a unit is Rs. 9,500. While the house holder

pays Rs. 4,500, the bank bears the remaining cost.

RBI Fines HDFC, Bank Of Baroda and PNB for Banking Irregularities

Following Rs 6,000-crore forex related irregularities, The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has

imposed a monetary penalty on HDFC and Bank of Baroda.

Why Penalty?

In October 2015, Bank of Baroda, in a notice to the stock exchanges exhibited that during the

period May 2014 to August 2015, a total of 5,853 outward foreign remittance transactions for a

sum of $546.10 million (Rs.3,500 crore) for ‘advance remittance for imports’ and for other

purposes were remitted through 38 current accounts to various overseas parties numbering about

400 in Hong Kong and one of them in the UAE.

This penalty imposition is owing to the weaknesses and failures in internal control mechanisms with

respect to certain AML (anti-money laundering) provisions such as

76 | P a g e


• Monitoring of transactions,

• Timely reporting to FIU (foreign investigations unit),

• Assigning of UCIC (unique customer identification code) to customers.

RBI penalized HDFC bank for lapses in adhering to KYC/AML (know your customer / anti money

laundering) guidelines.

ICICI & AXIS bank teams with Global Payment Giant SWIFT Payment Group

Global payments leader SWIFT, which already has over 70 other leading banks globally now signs

up with ICICI and Axis Bank, thereby become the first domestic leaders to enter the international

payment group.

• The SWIFT international payment network is one of the largest financial messaging systems

in the world. Transfer Wise can send or receive certain currencies via SWIFT payment.

• For USD transfers over the equivalent of £24,000, Transfer Wise sends the money to the

USA via SWIFT international transfer from our foreign currency accounts in Europe. They

also send out JPY and ZAR via SWIFT.

SBI To Use Indian Oil Kisan Seva Centres To Serve Farmers

i. India’s biggest lender SBI has announced that it is going serve as banking correspondents

through Indian Oil Corporation owned 6500 Kisan Seva Kendras.

ii. The KSK centres that offers access to various agricultural inputs like diesel services to the

farmers across the country.

iii. In this regard the lender has inked agreement with IOC for financial inclusion programme that

will help the lender further its services to the unbanked rural sectors.

SBI launches new card less payment system through phone number in the IMT platform

State Bank ATMs are launched with a new payment system, which will allow the account holders to

transfer money using mobile phone number as a key identifier and this system is based on the

instant money transfer (IMT) platform.

Card-less money transfer:-

The facility will enable a payment of up to Rs 10,000 from any SBI bank account and the

recipient of this paymentcan withdraw funds instantly from an IMT-enabled ATM without

using a debit card.

This system also offers a new form of convenience payment to the emerging younger

generation as SBI seeks to address them through new options.

From now on SBI Group will be able to offer a unique payment option to the customers and

expand its reach to those sections of the population who are either unbanked or do not have

access to banking.

AXIS bank ties up with TATA AIG for travel insurance for its customers

i. Tata AIG General Insurance has launched an integrated travel product, for all Axis Bank

77 | P a g e


customers through the bank’s one stop solution called ‘Happy Holidays Package’

ii. The ‘Happy Holidays Package’ offers multiple travel benefits to globe surfers such as aMulti-

Currency Forex Card and can be utilized up to 16 currencies.

iii. The package allows Axis Bank customers, who are travelling abroad to buy Tata AIG travel

insurance policy instantly and in a seamless manner from the bank’s mobile application.

This insurance policy offers several packages including:-

1.Travel insurance policy,

2.Tailor-made Travel Insurance plans;

3.Trip Assist Services – an emergency assistance service;

4.Free International Calling Cards, and

5.Discounts at restaurants in overseas locations.

iv. This digital advancement is a test to TATA AIG’s continuous effort to conceive and to set new

benchmarks for the General Insurance Space.

v. It is noted that Tata AIG General Insurance Company Limitedis an Indian general insurance

company, and a joint venture between the Tata Group and American International

Group (AIG). Tata Group holds 74 per cent stake in the insurance venture with AIG holding the

balance 26 percent.

A new Breakthrough – Cabinet approves the changes to GST Bill

Cabinet cleared changes in the GST Constitutional Amendment Bill, dropping 1 per cent

manufacturing tax and providing guarantee to compensate states for any revenue loss in the first

five years of roll out of the proposed indirect tax regime.

What is a GST Bill?

Goods and Services Tax is a comprehensive indirect tax on manufacture, sale and consumption of

goods and services throughout India, to replace taxes levied by the Central and State governments.

• Goods and services tax would be levied and collected at each stage of sale or purchase of

goods or services based on the input tax credit method.

• The Goods and Services Tax Bill or GST Bill officially known as The Constitution (One

Hundred and Twenty-Second Amendment) Bill, 2014, proposes a national Value added

Tax to be implemented in India from June 2016. This method allows GST-registered

businesses to claim tax credit to the value of GST they paid on purchase of goods or services

as part of their normal commercial activity.

• Taxable goods and services are not distinguished from one another and are taxed at a single

rate in a supply chain till the goods or services reach the consumer. Administrative

responsibility would generally rest with a single authority to levy tax on goods and services.

Exports would be zero-rated and imports would be levied the same taxes as domestic goods

and services adhering to the destination principle.

78 | P a g e


• The tax rate under GST may be nominal or zero rated for the time being. It has been

proposed to insulate the revenues of the States from the impact of GST, with the expectation

that in due course, GST will be levied on petroleum and petroleum products.

What are the GST impacts on common people?

• The GST shall have two components: one levied by the Centre and the other levied by the

States.

• Rates for Central GST and State GST would be prescribed appropriately, reflecting

revenue considerations and acceptability. This dual GST model would be implemented

through multiple statutes

• The Central GST and the State GST would be applicable to all transactions of goods and

services made for a consideration except the exempted goods and services, goods which

are outside the purview of GST and the transactions which are below the prescribed

threshold limits.

• To the extent feasible, uniform procedure for collection of both Central GST and State

GST would be prescribed in the respective legislation for Central GST and State GST.

• The administration of the Central GST to the Centre and for State GST to the States

would be given. This would imply that the Centre and the States would have concurrent

jurisdiction for the entire value chain and for all taxpayers on the basis of thresholds for

goods and services prescribed for the States and the Centre.

• The taxpayer would need to submit periodical returns, in common format as far as

possible, to both the Central GST authority and to the concerned State GST authorities.

• Each taxpayer would be allotted a PAN-linked taxpayer identification number with a total

of 13/15 digits. This would bring the GST PAN-linked system in line with the prevailing

PAN-based system for Income tax, facilitating data exchange and taxpayer compliance.

Keeping in mind the need of tax payer’s convenience, functions such as assessment, enforcement,

scrutiny and audit would be undertaken by the authority which is collecting the tax, with

information sharing between the Centre and the States

“Pashudhan Bima Yojana”, Insurance scheme for cattle breeders launched in Haryana

i. An insurance Scheme for the cattle breeders has been announced by the BJP led Haryana

Government named Jokhim Prabandhan Aur Pashudhan Bima Yojana. The Scheme is the

result of recommendations made in Swaminathan Report.

ii. The scheme insurance would offer a cover encompasses cows, bulls, buffaloes and camel at a

premium of Rs 100 and for sheep, goats and pigs at Rs 25 for 3 years. In case death of animal

compensation will be provided by insurance players.

iii. This scheme is free of cost for cattle breeders belonging to the Scheduled Castes. That state

also targeting to cover one lakh cattle under Pashudhan Bima Yojana.

79 | P a g e


IRCTC to launch travel insurance facility at Rs 1

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is set to launch the facility of

travel insurance for passengers from September

This can be availed at a premium of Re 1.

The scheme offers compensation

i. In the event of death or permanent total disability – upto Rs 10 lakh

ii. For permanent partial disability – Rs 7.5 lakh

iii.For hospitalisation expenses – Rs 2 lakh

iv. For transportation of mortal remains in the event of death or injury from a train accident or

other untoward incident, including terrorist attacks, dacoity, rioting, shoot-out or arson, as well as

for short termination, diverted route and Vikalp trains – Rs 10,000

Train accident and untoward incident cases will be handled according to definition under Sections

123, 124 and 124A of the Railways Act, 1989.

Axis Bank ties up with LIC to extend its Insurance cover across India

Axis Bank has signed an agreement with Life Insurance Corporation to distribute policies of the

country’s largest life insurer. This is the largest bancassurance partnership after the IRDAI allowed

banks to sell policies of more than one company.

LIC- AXIS Bank tie up for Insurance cover Extension:-

As on June 30, 2016, Axis Bank had a network of 3,006 domestic branches and extension

counters situated in 1,882 centres and this is one of the largest bancassurance partnerships

after the recent Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India

(IRDAI) regulations issued on open architecture framework for banks.

• The partnership with LIC would enable the bank to further expand its existing bouquet of

offerings and put forth a compelling proposition for its customers. Apart from LIC, Axis

Bank also has a tie-up with Max Life Insurance in the life insurance space. In the initial

phase, Axis Bank branches in West Bengal, Bengaluru and Panchkula in Haryana

will start selling LIC products.

• Banks have increased their role in Insurance distribution with ‘bancassurance’ being the

biggest contributor. Over the last five years the Life Insurance business at Axis Bank has

grown at a CAGR of over 25%. The partnership with LIC would enable it to further

expand the existing insurance establishment.

• It is noted that Axis Bank already had a distribution arrangement with Max Life

Insurance where it also hold a small stake. Max Life however is set to merge with HDFC

Life Insurance which has the same parent as HDFC Bank. It is not clear whether Axis

Bank will sign a fresh agreement with HDFC Life post merger.

80 | P a g e


OKI completes installation of 600 cash recycling ATMs for SBI across India

OKI, Tokyo completed the installations of 600

sets of cash recycling ATMs of ATM-

Recycler G7 kind to the State Bank of India.

This is the second large deployment of the

cash recycling ATM in India.

i. A cash recycling ATM is a vault that handles

cash coming and cash going out for both

the teller instructions needed in the teller line

in the POD environment.

ii. SBI procured OKI’s cash recycling ATMs in 2015 and deployed them in four of its designated

regions across India and extended to 600 recycling ATM across India in June.

iii. The Oki ATM Recycler G7 accepts rupee banknotes in denominations of 50, 100, 500 and

1,000. Its cash-recycling function reduces cash management and operational costs compared with

ordinary cash dispensers and non-recycling ATMs

iv. India is an important market for Oki and completing this project with SBI withinexpected

timelines is a significant achievement for OKI and it also plans to buildon this program

experience and participate in bids for larger opportunities with SBI and other banks.

RBI fines 13 Banks for breaching FEMA regulations and KYC lapses

Reserve Bank of India has imposed a whooping penalty of 27 crores on 13 private and public

sectors banks including PNB and Bank of Baroda following a major crackdown of FEMA regulations

and KYC lapses.

i. This act extends to the whole of India and makes offences related to foreign exchange civil

offenses.

ii. It enabled a new foreign exchange management regime consistent with the emerging framework

of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

ii. It also paved the way for the introduction of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002,

which came into effect from 1 July 2005.

India approves $318 million loan for Sri Lanka Railways

i. Union Cabinet has approved $318 million loan for Sri Lanka Railways to upgrade the country’s

rail communications system and rolling stock.

ii. The financial grand from India will help to buy six power sets with AC carriages, 10 engines and

160 carriages, 30 wagons with oil tanks and 20 container wagons.

iii. The line of credit also boosts Indian export as 75 per cent of the goods and services being

sourced from India. The credit carries an interest rate of 1.75 per cent, which will have a

repayment period of 20 years.

Bank Name Fine Amount( In Crores) Bank of Baroda 5 Punjab National Bank` 3 Syndicate Bank 3 UCO Bank 2 HDFC Bank 2 Allahabad Bank 2 Canara Bank 2 IndusInd Bank 2 SBBJ 2 Bank of India 1 Corporation Bank 1 RBL Bank 1 SBM Bank 1

81 | P a g e


SBI donates Rs 1.15 cr to L V Prasad Eye Institute

i. State Bank of India has donated Rs 1.15 crore for ophthalmic equipment for non-paying

patients and surgery instrument for an operation theatre to L V Prasad Eye Institute.

ii. According to SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya, the bank spends 1 per cent of its net

profit towards corporate social responsibility(CSR) activities every year.

iii. SBI had spent Rs 143.92 crore towards CSR activities during 2015-16.

BUSINESS Airtel, GBI announce partnership for West Asia

India’s biggest Telecom Giant Bharti Airtel Business and GBI have entered into a strategic

partnership to increase Airtel’s direct reach to many new countries in the Middle East.

• The partnership is in line with the long-term strategy of Airtel Business expected to

increase the potential for the Middle East market

• New Delhi based Bharti Airtel ranks among the top three mobile service providers

globally in terms of subscribers.

• While GBI owns and operates a multilayer carrier neutral network offering services to

West Asian countries.

Zone Startups to launch accelerator for women entrepreneurs

Mumbai based Zone Startups to launch empoWer to support women entrepreneurs who are

building technology ventures. Zone Startups India is supported by Department of Science and

Technology.

(i) This is the six-week Programme and will be a first-of-its-kind. It is an international footprint

of the Ryerson University and the BSE Institute of BSE

(ii) As part of the accelerator programme and various bootcamps, workshops, demo days hosted

by us, we realised the need for a focused programme that works with women entrepreneurs in tech

businesses.

Bitcoin creator confirms identity

(i) Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright has publicly identified himself as Bitcoin creator Satoshi

Nakamoto. He has decided to make his identity known to stop the spread of misinformation about

the virtual currency.

(ii) Craig Wright is the man previously known by the Satoshi Nakamoto. The computer scientist,

inventor and academic launched the currency date back in 2009 with the help of others.

(iii) Wright sustained his claim by signing digital messages using cryptographic keys used during

the early days of Bitcoin.

(iv) Jon Matonis is also one of the founding directors of the Bitcoin Foundation. He is convinced

that Wright is who he claims to be and is responsible for a brilliant achievement.

82 | P a g e


BHEL commissions 600 MW thermal power plant in MP

(i) Power major Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) announced the commissioning of a 600

MW coal-based thermal power plant in Madhya Pradesh.

(ii) The Avantha group’s Jhabua Power Ltd developed unit has been commissioned at the

1×600 MW Thermal Power Project (TPP) located in Seoni district of Madhya Pradesh.

(iii) This is the second project of APIL earlier the power major BHEL commissioned the 1×600

MW in Chhattisgarh.

(iv) The New Delhi based BHEL will look into the contract envisaged design, engineering,

manufacture, supply, erection and commissioning of steam turbine, generator and boiler, along

with associated auxiliaries and electricals, besides controls and Instrumentation and electrostatic

precipitators.

Uber ties up with Alipay globally

i. American Online cab aggregator Uber and china’s e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has

announced a global partnership for payment platform Alipay,

ii. The tieup aims to bring better experiences for our users globally.

iii. This partnership facilitates Chinese travellers to enable rides through this solution in more

than 400 cities.

iv. This cooperation with San Francisco based company replicates a step forward of Ant Financial’s

global strategy, and the collaboration also extends to the Alipay’s strategic global partners like

Mobile payment company Paytm in India.

Reliance Power to setup plant in Bangladesh

i. Reliance power is all set to setup a 3,000 MW LNG-based power plant in Bangladesh as its

Government of has granted in-principle approval for the first phase of Reliance Power’s project

in the country.

ii. The first Phase of 750MW gas-based power plant established at Meghnaghat near Dhaka, along

with a floating storage of 2 million tonnes and regasification unit (FSRU) at Moheshkhali Island

in Bangladesh.

iii. The first phase will be commissioned in 24 months will help in meeting Bangladesh’s rising

demand for electricity.

Union government approves proposal of Infosys to set up IT SEZ

i. Union government has approved the proposal of Infosys to set up an IT/ITeS special

economic zone in Bengaluru. The board has also approved application of Unitech Realty Projec

ii. The SEZ to come up in an area spread over 4 hectares. In this regard decision has been taken

by the Union inter-ministerial Board of Approval (BoA), headed by Commerce Secretary Rita

Teatia.

iii. The Board decided to extend the time limit to nearly around 20 developers to complete their

83 | P a g e


projects.

iv. The Developers list includes Mayar Infrastructure Development for a biotechnology SEZ in

Haryana, Wipro for IT SEZ in Karnataka and Vedanta for its sector-specific SEZ for manufacturing

and exports of aluminium in Odisha.

Flipkart launches its map services, ties up with MapUnity

i. Bengaluru based Flipkart all set to launch its Maps service with Social Technology Lab by Dr.

Ashwin Mahesh MapUnity.

ii. MapUnity has started TechNagara social network for Smart Cities mission and a few other

prominent ones whch can be used for transport, energy, security, tourism for each city, 126 cities

in all.

iii. Flipkart Maps, a product possibly driven by Delhi-based digital mapping MapMyIndia by

Flipkart in an Rs 1600 crore deal in 2015, had certainly tied up with MapUnity.

iv. The deal was likely to give it a competitive edge in terms of supply chain and

logistics.Whether the Maps division will turn into a competitor for the likes of Google remains to

be seen.

Snapdeal ties up with UrbanClap to offer personal services on its Android app

i. New Delhi based E-commerce major Snapdeal in collaboration with UrbanClap inventory in its

Android mobile application to launch a personal services category to help consumer’s book

services ranging from beauty services at home to wedding photographers.

ii. The tie-ups will also help Snapdeal increase the number of transactions on the platform since

personal service is a high frequency category. These are service-oriented iniative that won’t take

up any extra cost to the major.

iii.Experts saying that e-commerce players are experimenting ways to monetize traffic through

fewer cost-intensive models.

Union Government starts UBIN drive for budding entrepreneurs

i. Union Government has started the process for issuance of Unique Business Identification

Number (UBIN) to facilitate potential entrepreneurs set up their business without any delays.

ii. The drive has been launched by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP)

under the aegis of Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

iii. The move by DIPP is seen as a major step towards boosting ease of doing business and the

start-up India initiative also in line with the minimum government and maximum

governance movement of the government.

Government fixes ceiling price of 54 drug formulations

i. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority fixed the ceiling price of 54 drug

formulations used for treatment of cancer and other diseases it also fixed the retail price of 11

84 | P a g e


drugs.

ii. The regulator has fixed/revised ceiling prices of Schedule-I under Drugs

Price ControlAmendment Order, 2016 and Retail Price of 11 formulations under-2013

Amendment.

iii. Union government fixes the prices of essential drugs based on the simple average of all

medicines in a particular therapeutic segment, having sales of more than 1%..

FPL ties up with Nokero to launch off grid solar products

i. Chennai-based FPL has partnered with America based Nokero Solar Equipment maker to launch

off-grid solar products and soon plans to manufacture in India.

ii. FPL currently makes engineering platsics while Nokero makes solar lights, phone chargers

and is a specialist in solar energy-related products.

iii. The American major is keen to look at street lighting in the country as a business opportunity,

due to abundant availability of sunlight in the country.

SC strikes down TRAI’s penalty on call drops

i. The Supreme Court struck down the TRAI regulation making it mandatory for telecom

companies to compensate subscribers for call drops levied by the Telecom Regulator.

ii. The court direction comes in the aftermath of clutch of petitions by Cellular Operators

Association of India, Unified Telecom Service Providers of India and 21 telecom operators.

iii. The petition is challenging sector regulator TRAI’s notification asking them to pay compensation

to consumers Rs 1 for each call drop, subject to a maximum of three disrupted calls per day.

India orders maritime spy planes from Boeing for $1 billion

i. Union government has signed pact with the Boeing Company to buy four maritime spy

planes worth about $1 billion, to bolster theIndian Navy.

ii. The move comes from the government as conformed data about the china’s presence in

theIndian Ocean. However the ordered aircrafts were expected to enter service over the next

three years

iii. Indian Navy has eight of the long-range P-8I aircraft that being deployed to track submarine

movements in the Indian Ocean.

iv. The P81 was an aircraft can be armored with Harpoon missiles for anti-submarine besides

patrolling purpose.

Tata Trusts inks pact with the/Nudge Foundation

i. Tata Trusts and Bangalore-based non-profit Nudge Foundation entered into a strategic

partnership to help alleviate poverty through product innovation and capacity building.

ii. Under this tie-up Tata Trusts will help in much needed product innovation in the poverty

85 | P a g e


alleviation efforts, and support capacity building of the team to scale the results.

NTPC partners with Coal India Limited to foray into fertilizer sector

i. Power major NTPC signed a joint venture agreement with state-owned miner Coal India to

revive plants of the Fertilizer Corporation of India Limited (FCIL).

ii. The agreement was signed by NTPC’s general manager Arun Kumar Gupta and Coal India’s

general manager T. Bandopadhyay.

iii. Under this joint venture company will take up the resumption of FCIL plants at Sindri in Bihar

and Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh by setting up an ammonia urea plant at each location.

iv. This move would initially be integrated with 50:50 equity participation from both,but also holds

provision of inducting strategic partners at a later date depending upon business requirement.

HP State Electricity Board, SECI form JV for solar projects

i. Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board and Solar Energy Corporation of India signed a pact to

form a 50:50 Joint Venture for implementation of solar power projects in the state.

ii. The total estimated cost of the project is pegged at Rs 30.72 crore. Solar Energy Corporation

of India Ltd (SECI) runs under the aegis of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

iii. Upon this pact a pilot 2.5 MW Solar Wind Hybrid Power Project would be set up at Rangrik

in Lahaul and Spiti district and would be completed by October, 2017.

iv. The Rangrik project will synchronise solar, wind, hydroelectric project with grid supply with help

of large energy storage system. The is the first of its kind in the country.

Apple announces opening of its map development centre in Hyderabad

i. Tech giant Apple has opened a new development center in Hyderabad which will focus on

development of Maps for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch.

ii. This move from the company will make an investmentof $25 million and accelerate Maps

development and create up to 4,000 jobs. The new facility will provide LEED-certified home for

the expanding Maps team.

iii. In a string of iniatives Apple is expected to open three retail stores will in Delhi, Bengaluru

and Mumbai in next 18 months.

iv. This announcement of Digital center comes a day after Apple revealed that it will open iOS App

Design and Development Accelerator in Bengaluru.

Microsoft sells Nokia branding rights to HMD Global, Foxconn

i. Washington based technology major Microsoft’s Finland mobile maker’s Nokia mobile device

business, has decided to sell branding rights to Finnish firm HMD Global and contract manufacturer

Foxconn.

ii. Upon these agreements will make HMD the sole global licensee for all types of Nokia-branded

mobile phones and tablets for the next 10 years.

86 | P a g e


iii. The deal size is about $350 million also Microsoft transaction is expected to close in H2 of 2016.

iv. Nokia Technologies will receive royalty payments from HMD for sales of Nokia-branded mobile

products, covering both the brand and the intellectual property rights.

v. The selling will pave the for Microsoft has signed a pact to sell the company’s entry-level feature

phone assets to FIH Mobile, a subsidiary of Hon Hai/Foxconn Technology Group, and HMD Global

Oy for $350 million.

Apollo Health & Lifestyle to raise $135 million from IFC

i. Chennai-based Apollo Hospitals arm Apollo Health and Lifestyle is planning to raise $135

million from World Bank arm International Finance Corporation (IFC).This includes equity

investment of around $68 million.

ii. IFC includes around $34 million for its own account and around $34 million for IFC’s Asset

Management Company.

iii. This funding expansion is used to open approximately 1,100 new centers and to cover the

losses that will continue to accrue until the centers reach maturity.

iv. The project is located in several cities throughout south and east India.

Hero MotoCorp inked 3-year wage agreement with Gurgaon workers

i. Hero MotoCorp Ltd. (HMCL) has inked a wage settlement pact with its permanent workers

at Gurgaon Plant

ii. As per the settlement, the permanent workers of the Gurgaon facility have been given a hike of

Rs.12,500 spread over the next three years

iii. This three-year agreement will be implemented with retrospective effect starting from August 1,

2015 till July 31, 2018.

iv. The previous settlement was effective from August 1, 2012, to July 31, 2015.

Nasscom unveils India’s first IoT-focused centre

i. Trade body National Association of Software and Services Companies unveiled India’s first

centre of excellence focused on Internet of Things (CoE– IoT).

ii. The centre of excellence is set up at the Nasscom Start-ups Warehouse in Bengaluru. The centre

is a joint initiative between the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEITY),

education and research network (ERNET) and the IT industry body.

iii. The move will function as an enabler of funding, accelerating, and mentoring for start-ups and

has the capacity to incubate up to 40 start-ups.

AVAST and AVG Join Security Forces in $1.3 Billion Deal

i. Avast Software will acquire AVG Technologies for $1.3 billion in a deal which is going to re-

shuffle the security software deck.

ii. The deal gives Avast a substantial combined portfolio of security products

87 | P a g e


iii. Founded out of Czechoslovakia in the early 1990s — initially called Grisoft — AVG has grown to

become one of the biggest brands in desktop and mobile security apps. It also offers a range of

related services, including AVG Cleaner for Android and Mac. The company is now headquartered in

Amsterdam.

To help village retailers access B2B ecommerce Rajasthan ties up with Applicate IT

Solutions

i. The Rajasthan government has joined hands with business-to-business (B2B) ecommerce

firm Applicate IT Solutions to enable 35,000 e-mitra kiosks in the state for traders and retailers

to procure products directly from manufacturers.

ii. The e-mitra kiosks launched in 2011 by the state government allows villagers to access

government services such as licenses and passport services.

iii. As per the agreement entered between Rajasthan government’s RajCOMP Info Services (RISL)

and Bengaluru-based Applicate IT Solutions, ‘Trade GINI’, a proprietary platform of the company

will be added to the e-mitra kiosks that will enable traders and retailers in towns, cities and villages

to access products directly from the manufacturers and at best rates.

Telecom ministry clears Airtel – Aircel 4G spectrum trading deal

i. Telecom ministry is learnt to have cleared the Rs.3, 500 crore 4G spectrum trading

dealbetween service providers Bharti Airtel and Aircel.

ii. Airtel has entered into an agreement with Aircel to acquire rights to use 4G spectrum of Aircel in

eight telecom circles for Rs.3,500 crore.

iii. These eight circles include Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, West

Bengal, Assam, the North-East, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

iv. In a circle, no player can hold more than 25% of the total spectrum allocated in that particular

service area.

v. For a telecom operating company, spectrum is the main asset. Maxis should not be allowed to

sell spectrum and equity unless all the accused Ananda Krishnan and firm Maxis comply with

summons issued by the 2G special court.

Bharti Airtel pips Corporate Transparency list

Bharti Airtel, a Leading telecom services provider with global operations in around 19 countries

across Asia and Africa has been ranked first in a listing of 100 emerging market multinational

companies as part of a study on corporate transparency and reporting by Transparency

International.

In the latest edition of Transparency in Corporate Reporting: Assessing Emerging Market

Multinationals 100 of the fastest-growing companies based in 15 emerging market countries and

operating in 185 countries around the world scored an average score of 3.4 out of 10.

88 | P a g e


Zero – least transparent score

10 – The most transparent Score

Bharti Airtel topped the list with a score of 7.3.

It was followed by

♦ Tata communications

♦ Mahindra & Mahindra

♦ Tata Consultancy Services

♦ Tata Global Beverages

♦ Tata Motors and Tata Steel.

• According to a global anti-graft watchdog’s survey, India has the most transparent

companies while Chinese firms are the most opaque.

• The report covered 100 companies in 15 emerging market countries that also included

Brazil, Mexico and Russia.

• Indian corporate firms are the most transparent while Chinese counterparts the most

opaque, a global anti-graft watchdog said in a news report that assessed efforts of

emerging companies to fight corruption.

• On the other hand, nine companies (eight from China and one from Mexico) were

awarded the lowest possible score of 0 per cent. Fifty-four out of 100 companies scored

above average (50 per cent or more).

Lafarge to sell India assets to Nirma for $1.4 billion

i. World’s largest cement producer Lafarge Holcim has entered into an agreement with Nirma Ltd

to sell its entire 100% holding in cement maker Lafarge India for an enterprise value of $1.4

billion.

ii. The deal is subjected to approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) also the

proceeds from the divestment will be used to reduce debt.

iii. Lafarge India operates three cement plants and two grinding stations with a total capacity of

around 11 million tonnes. The company also markets aggregates and is one of India’sleading

ready-mix concrete manufacturers.

iv. Karsanbhai Patel established Nirma is valued $1.1-billion is one of India’s diversified

conglomerates with businesses across industrial and consumer products ranging from soaps,

detergents, cement, packaging and other household products.

European Major Airbus contracts with Mahindra Aerostructures.

i. A contract has been awarded to Mahindra Aero structures to make air frame parts for the

AS565 MBe Panther by the renowned Airbus Helicopters.

ii. Airbus Helicopters and Mahindra Defence are in the process of forming a joint venture to target

Indias military helicopter programmes such as the Naval Utility Helicopter, the Naval Multi-Role

Helicopter and the Reconnaissance and Surveillance Helicopter.

89 | P a g e


iii. The contract positions Mahindra Aero structures as the first Indian company to receive a

direct manufacturing contract from Airbus Helicopters as a tier 1 supplier.

iv. If Government of India selects the Panther, Airbus Helicopters will establish India as a global

hub for Panther production in partnership with Mahindra.

v. Mahindra Aerospace and Defense led the Mahindra Group’s foray into utility aircraft and

aerostructure manufacturing since 2008. Its utility aircraft business, based in Australia, currently

produces Airvan 8.

HAL, Safran to set up MRO venture

i. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. and France’s Safran Helicopter Engines is set to jointly establish a

helicopter engines maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) centre to service Indian and foreign

customers using Safran’s aero engines.

ii. The location of the centre is slated to be announced in the coming months and the companies

did not disclose the investment or the equity stakes in the venture.

iii. Union government will provide MRO services for Safran TM333 and the co-developed Shakti

engines that are used in helicopters built by HAL.

Cairn Energy slaps $ 5.6 billion claim on govt of India for loss of value.

i. British oil and gas major Cairn Energy limited has raised a $5.6 billion compensation demand

from the Indian government for a breach in an investment treaty arising out of the retrospective

tax demand of Rs. 29,047 crore.

ii. Cairn Energy paid $1.05 billion for the loss of value in its 9.8 per cent shareholding in its

erstwhile subsidiary, Cairn India, following the tax demand and the subsequent freezing of the

shares.

GoAir signs $7.7 billion deal with Airbus for 72 A320neo

i. India’s fifth-biggest carrier GoAir announced an agreement with European plane maker Airbus

to buy 72 A320neos in a deal worth about $7.7 billion.

ii. The deal will help continue company’s growth and built on its existing order for 72 of the same

aircraft which it made in 2011.

iii. The new A320neo has latest generation engines and large Sharklet wing-tip devices, which

deliver for 15 percent saving of the fuel from day one and 20 per cent by 2020.

Tata Advanced Systems, Bell Helicopter sign chopper deal

Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) and Bell Helicopter has signed an agreement to

manufacture helicopters under “Make in India” initiative in order to meet civil and military

requirements.

The pact includes Production, Training, Research & Development, Maintenance, Repair and

Overhaul(MRO) and technology sharing.

90 | P a g e


This agreement covers both Commercial and Government rotary wing markets in the light utility

and reconnaissance segments.

Ashok Leyland to set up bus assembly unit in Kenya

i.Hinduja Group’s Ashok Leyland to set up a bus assembly plant in Kenya with an investment of

Rs 70 crore as part of its global expansion plans. This plant will have an annual capacity of 1,200

buses.

ii.The plant will begin this quarter itself in Kenya will serve at least three neighboring countries,

besides catering to local demand.

iii.This plant will also serve as an export hub for three neighboring countries, in addition meeting

local demand in Kenya.

Ford Motor to invest Rs 1300 cr to set up global business centre in Chennai

i. Detroit-based Ford Motor’s Indian arm pledged to invest Rs.1,300 crore in a technology and

business centre in Chennai to provide support services for the parent’s offices spread across the

globe.

ii. The business centre will come up in Ford Plant located in Chennai would come in operational by

2019.The plant has two units that makes and sells Ford vehicles.

iii. Ford Motor Pvt. Ltd has got the Tamil Nadu government’s approval earlier this year to set up a

global technology and business centre under ELCOT’s special economic zone (SEZ) in Chennai

Mydala partners Viacom 18 for ‘Star Trek Beyond’

i. Local services marketing portal Mydala.com in partnership with Viacom 18 to release theStar

Trek Beyond, which is the third part of the iconic Star Trek Reboot Series.

ii. The movie is the 6th movie that mydala platform has promoted for Viacom 18 this year – the

other’s include Drishyam, Mission Impossible 5.

iii. Upon this joint move Mydala is set to contest where users can win movie tickets as well as

official merchandise.

Snapdeal joins hand with BookMyShow

i. New Delhi based E-commerce major Snapdeal has announced its partnership with e-ticketing

platform BookMyShow and extended its service offerings.

ii. Through this partnership customers can now book tickets for movies on Snapdeal.

iii. The Movie ticketing platform BookMyShow’s e-ticket booking service can be accessed through

Snapdeal’s app as well.

Karbonn launches third manufacturing unit in Haryana

i. Indian smartphone brand Karbonn Mobiles has setup of a new mobile manufacturing plant

in Bawal, Haryana.

91 | P a g e


ii. The manufacturing facility has 22 assembly lines and is expected to manufacture 30 million

mobile units per year.

iii. It will help skill 4,000 employees to be part of its Workforce.

iv. Karbonn Mobiles currently manufacturing 1.5 million units in a month and it will be increased

to 2.5 million by the end of 2016.

Vodafone M-Pesa ties up with PSPCL for Online Electricity Bill Payments

i. Vodafone M-Pesa, a digital wallet service from Vodafone that offers Money Transfer, Bill and

Utility Pay, has announced its partnership with Punjab State Power Corporation

Limited (PSPCL) to offer easy-to-use digital option to pay electricity bills instantly.

ii. Vodafone M-Pesa partnership with the PSPCL is one such initiative that bridges the need for a

simple, timely and cashless electricity bill payment solution through the mobile phone.

iii. To access M-Pesa, a Vodafone customer should either download an Android app from Google

Play Store or dial a USSD short-code (*400#) from any phone and also Vodafone offers new

users of M-Pesa can earn 5% cash back on the payment made through the App.

BHEL commissions 40 MW hydro power unit in West Bengal

i. New Delhi based Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) successfully commissioned the Teesta

Low Dam hydroelectric project stage-IV of third unit West Bengal.

ii. The plant is located in Darjeeling. The project on the River Teesta HEP is established by

National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC).

2nd unit of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant achieves criticality

i. Nuclear Power Corporation of India Chairman and Managing Director S K Sharma announced that

the second unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plantattained criticality.

ii. Criticality means a controlled and sustained fission chain reaction to produce a consistent and

steady stream of energy.

iii. This will add 1000 MWe electricity to the southern grid and raise the contribution of nuclear

power in the country to 6780 MWe.

BHEL commissions 500 MW thermal power unit in Jharkhand

i. Public Sector undertaking, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltdhas commissioned 500 MW

thermalpower unit at Bokaro Thermal Power-AStation of Damodar Valley

Corporation (DVC) in Jharkhand.

ii. With this the power major has added another coal-based power plant to the grid by successfully

commissioning thermal unit on engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) basis.

iii. BHEL has also supplied 84 per cent of the total coal-based power generating capacity

installed by DVC. In Jharkhand the company aims to contribute 87 per cent to the total installed

92 | P a g e


power generating capacity.

BHEL Commissions 250 Mw Thermal Unit In Maharashtra

i. State-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals has successfully commissioned 250 MW thermal unit

in Maharashtra. This is the eighth coal-based unit commissioned by BHEL at Parli Power Station, in

Maharashtra.

ii. The unit has been commissioned at Parli Thermal Power Station located at Beed district in the

Marathwada region of Maharashtra.

iii. The project is owned by Maharashtra State Power Generation Company.BHEL has commissioned

16,000 MW of power generation capacity in Maharashtra, its highest in any single state.

BHEL commissions 250 MW power plant in Gujarat

i. Power major BHEL has commissioned another 250 MW unit coal based using low quality coal

(lignite) as the primary fuel.

ii. This plant uses ecofriendly Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustion (CFBC) technology, that has

been commissioned at Bhavnagar Energy Company (BECL) 2×250 MW thermal power project,

located atPadva village in Bhavnagar district, Gujarat.

iii. The CFBC technology that allows use of low quality lignite as fuel. The second unit of this

project is also at an advanced stage of completion

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS Indian artist, Anjali Chandrashekar wins award at UN poster contest on N-disarmament

22 year old Indian Artist Anjali Chandrashekar won award at UN poster contest on N-

Disarmament and appreciated by UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon.

The competition was structured to remember the anniversary of the first UN General Assembly

resolution adopted in 1946 establishing a Commission to deal with problems related to the

discovery of atomic energy.

Title of the Competition: ‘Cutting Barriers through Peace’

Winners:

First Prize: Ivan Ciro Palomino Huamani

38-year-old artist from Peru for his ‘Spinning Peace’

Features a nuclear weapon being unraveled into string which is then used to fly kites and balloons

and to jump rope

Second Prize: Michelle Li

15-year-old, named her poster as ‘Peace in our Hands’

Features a shadow puppet of a peace dove above a broken nuclear weapon

93 | P a g e


Third Prize: Anjali Chandrashekar

New York-based designer

Won for poster of a peace dove slicing through a nuclear weapon

Award presented by: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

The youngest artist in the competition was 10 years old.

ISRO ex-chairman UR Rao becomes first Indian in International Astronautical

Federation’s ‘Hall of Fame’

i. Former ISRO scientist and Professor Udupi Ramachandra Rao will be honoured with the 2016

IAF Hall of Fame Award by the International Astronautical Federations for his immense

contribution to the progress of astronautics.

ii. This honour consists of a permanent gallery of these personalities, including a citation,

biographical information and a picture, in a special part of the IAF web presence.

iii. Also this year’s 67th International Astronautical Congress will be held in Mexico later this year.

Kerala bags LPMI’s ‘Best Family Destination’ 2016 award

i. Kerala has been awarded the best family destination in the country in the Lonely Planet

Magazine India Travel Awards 2016.

ii. The state Tourism Director U V Jose received the award at a function in Mumbai in an annual

awards showcase the best travel experiences available to Indians and anoint the best service

providers the magazine observed.

iii. Kerala had earlier bagged the Ulysses Prize of the United Nations World Tourism

Organisation for its contribution as a global leader to sustainable tourism.

NASSCOM ranks TCS Top Employer in IT Industry

The National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) has released the

annual rankings of top IT-BPM (business process management) employers in the country for 2016.

According to this report, IT major TCS grabs the top spot with 362, 079 employees.

The top 20 list:-

S. No Company name 1 Tata Consultancy Solutions 2 Infosys 3 Cognizant Technological Solutions Ltd. 4 Wipro Ltd. 5 Capegemini India Ltd. 6 HCL Technologies 7 Tech Mahindra 8 Genpact Ltd. 9 Internet Global Services 10 Aegis Ltd. 11 Hinduja global Solutions 12 CSC India 13 WNS Global Services 14 Syntel 15 Mphasis

94 | P a g e


16 EXL 17 L & T info tech 18 First source Solutions 19 Mind tree 20 CGI

Indian team wins ‘team spirit award’ at NASA’s Prestigious global competition

i. Indian Students Scientist team named Screwdrivers comprising 13 students, including four

girls, has won the team spirit award in NASA’s prestigious global competition to build and

design remotely operated vehicles from scratch.

ii. The team is from Mukesh Patel School of Technology Management, Mumbai, won “Aloha

Team Spirit” award at the Mate International ROV Competition at the NASA Johnson Space

Center, Neutral Buoyancy Lab.

iii.The award is given to the team that shows enthusiasm, exemplary communication within the

team, helps and interacts with other team’s best and has the best team jersey.

President Pranab Mukherjee presents BC Roy National Awards for 2008, 2009 & 2010

President Pranab Mukherjee gave away the Dr BC Roy national awards for 2008, 2009 and 2010

at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

These awards were presented on the occasion of National Doctors’ Day observed on July 1 to

esteem and also to pay tribute to India’s most famous physician Bidhan Chandra Roy.

The Awardees:

2010- Awardees 2009-Awardees 2008-Awardees Nikhil C. Munshi KH Sancheti Mammen Chandy O.P. Kalra Atul Kumar Prof. Rajeshwar Dayal Tejinder Singh Renu Saxena Rohit V. Bhatt Subash Gupta Kanan A. Yelikar Neelam Mohan Amrinder Jit Kanwar Kriplani Prof. Mohan Kameswaran Rajendra Prasad G.V. Rao Harsha Jauhari Glory Alexander Moti Lal Singh Gopal H. Badlani

C.N. Purandare Yash Gulati C.V. Hari Narayan H.S. Bhanushali

Sudarsan Pattnaik creating 100 sand raths for new world record

i. Odisha’s Eminent Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik is making an attempt another world record by

carving 100 sand chariots at the Puri beach in Odisha on upcoming Ratha Yatra of Lord

Jagannath.

ii. Apart from having darshan of the idols of Lord Balabhadra, Lord Jagannath and Devi Subhadra

on the giant wooden chariots, pilgrims will get a glimpse of the sand art during the nine-day

festival.

iii. Twenty-five students and Sudarsan worked on the 100 chariots using 800 bags of sand also

the team had worked about 20 hours in three days.

South African writer Lidudumalingani Mqombothi wins 2016 Caine Prize

i. SA writer Lidudumalingani Wins 17th Caine Prize for African Writing for African Writing for his

95 | P a g e


short story Memories We Lost, published in Incredible Journey: Stories That Move You.

ii. He received the prestigious award at Oxford’s Bodleian Library.

iii. The Eastern Cape-born author is also a filmmaker and producer.

Dipa Karmakar becomes first Indian gymnast to clinch ‘World Class Gymnast’ award

i. Dipa Karmakar becomes the first Indian gymnast to secure World Class Gymnast award,

‘Gymnaste de Classe Mondaile’ by the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG).

ii. she is also the first Indian woman gymnast to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

iii. karmakar received the letter of distinction that also carries a special badge, which she will be

carrying during the Olympics.

v. She ranked fifth in that event in Glasgow.

Double Dhamaka Prize Money( $40,000) for UNESCO KALINGA PRIZE

i. The Odisha government has decided to double the prize money of Unesco Kalinga Prize-

2017 to $40,000

ii. The Kalinga Prize was established in 1951 by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organisation (UNESCO) with a generous grant from Biju Patnaik, the founder-president of the

Kalinga Foundation Trust.

iii. The Kalinga Prize is given to a person(s) who make outstanding contribution to

theinterpretation of science and technology to the general public

iv. Following a proposal of the Union Ministry of Science and Technology, the increase in the prize

money was approved at a meeting chaired by Odisha Science and Technology Minister Pradeep

Kumar Panigrahi.

v. It is noted that Argentinian scientist Diego Andres Golombek received the UNESCO Kalinga

Prize 2015.

Hyundai Honors SAINA NEHWAL for her Australian Open Win

i. Rio-bound Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal was honored by Hyundai Motor India Ltd bygifting her

the 1st anniversary edition of Indian Car of The year – Creta.

ii. The vehicle was gifted to the Olympic bronze medalist celebration of her winning the

Australian Open Championship in Sydney last month.

iii. It is noted that the athlete having won Arjuna Award, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Padam

Shri and Padam Bhushan.

Kerala’s Radhika Menon: First Woman in the World to Bag Bravery Award at Sea

Radhika Menon, who became the first woman in the world to receive the Award for Exceptional

Bravery at Sea from theInternational Maritime Organsiation (IMO) on July 9.

96 | P a g e


• Radhika Menon, a resident of Kerala, rescued seven fishermen from the Bay of Bengal

last June when the fishing boat ‘Durgamma’ drifted from Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh to

Gopalpur in Odisha.

• The Awards ceremony is expected to take place at IMO Headquarters on November 21 at

the end of the first day of the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC).

Gourmand World Cookbook Award bagged by Nimi Sunilkumar

Cookbook author and food blogger Nimi Sunilkumar has bagged the Gourmand World

Cookbook Award for 2015-16.

• She was conferred with this award for her cookbook “4 o’clock Temptations of Kerala”.

• The cookbook is enriched with photos and details of 54 recipes from Kerala and each of

these recipes are said to be specific to each district.

• It was chosen for the award in the ‘Best Indian Cuisine Cookbook’ section

• Nimi Sunilkumar has won award for the second time and earlier in 2013, her Lip-smacking

Dishes of Kerala was selected third ‘Best Local Cuisine Book in the World’ category.

• It is noted that the snacks include ‘unnakkayi’ (plantain rolls), ‘kumbilappam’ (steamed rice

cones) to ‘kozhiyada’ (chicken pancakes) and ‘andiputtu’ (cashew and rice balls). The book,

with 54 recipes, was exhibited at the Frankfurt World Book Fair in Germany in October 2015.

Srinivasan K. Swamy to be conferred with AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award

i. Srinivasan K. Swamy. The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) will, on 29th July,

present him with the Lifetime Achievement Award in Mumbai.

ii. This award is the highest honor to be given to an individual in India for their outstanding

contribution to the advertising industry.

iii. This award was instituted in 1988 by AAAI and so far 23% have been bestowed with this

honor earlier.

iv. It is noted that he stands to win the same award his father, R.K. Swamy, a doyen of the Indian

advertising industry, received several years ago. Making them the only father and son in the

industry to win this prestigious accolade.

Government plans awards for corporate social responsibility activities

i. Government plans to institute awards for corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities across

sectors as part of efforts to incentivise companies to take up work towards social welfare.

ii. The awards for CSR activities across eight sectors, including education, health &

environment.

iii. The private companies will be classified on the basis of annual profit — those having Rs 5 crore

or more and entities having less than that level.

iv. Eight sectors will be chosen and there be three awards for each of them. One will be for

public sector companies and two for private firms.

97 | P a g e


Aditya Puri named best banking CEO in Asia

i. Aditya Puri, the chief executive and managing director of the second largest private sector

lender HDFC Bankhas been named as the best banking CEO in Asia by the investor community.

ii. The bank’s chief financial officer Sashi Jagdishan has been ranked the best CFO. HDFC Bank

was also ranked the best IR Company; thereby making it the most honored one in the

Institutional Investor magazine.

UP creates world record by planting over 5crore trees

i. The forest department of Uttar Pradesh has set a world record for orchestrating the largest

state-wide plantation drive in 24 hours mission to plant 5 crore saplings.

ii. The drive was kicked off by Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav in Lucknow where he

planted eight trees and CM Akilesh Yadav also paid a visit to the command centre to monitor the

drive.

iii. Also the state claimed it had achieved the target and planted 5.01 crore saplings across the

state. UP’s official entry into the Guinness Book of World Records.

iv.This was the biggest plantation exercise carried out globally. Earlier, MP forest department held

the Guinness record of planting 1.43 crore saplings in 24 hours in August 2015.

President confers the 51st Jnanpith Award on Dr. Raghuveer Chaudhari

i. The Jnanpith Award is one of the highest Indian literary awards presented every year

bythe Bharatiya Jnanpith and is given to an author for their work in “outstanding contribution

towards literature”.

ii. Without posthumous conferrals, this award is given to only Indians, who have been writing in

Indian Languages included in the 8th schedule of the constitution and English.

iii. For this year 2016, the 51st Jnanpith Award to the famous writer, Dr. Raghuveer

Chaudhari from Gujarat at a function held at Parliament Library Building in New Delhi.

FORBES Top Paid Celebrity List – SRK and AKSHAY KUMAR grab Top Spots.

International Business magazine, FORBES has released the list of Top Paid Celebrities across the

globe. Indian entertainers Shah rukh

khan and Akshay Kumar grabs their

seats in this list. The list is topped by

the famous singer Taylor Swiftwith

earnings of around 1160 crores.

The top ten list as follows:-

i.Shah Rukh grabbed 86th spot with

earnings of $33M and Akshay Kumar

grabbed 94th spot with earnings of

$31.5M.

Rank Celebrity Earning in Millions 1 Taylor swift $170 2 One Direction $110 3 James Patterson $95 4 Dr. Phil McGraw $88 4 Cristiano Ronaldo $88 6 Kevin Hart $87.5 7 Howard stern $85 8 Lionel Messi $81.5 9 Adele $80.5 10 Rush Limbuagh $79

98 | P a g e


ii.English-Irish boy band One Direction has claimed the second spot on the list with earnings of

USD 110 million.

Out of these 100 only 15 were women and the extensive geographical diversity witnesses the

necessity and the craze for the entertaining celebrities.

Many sports personalities and entertainers also shot their best spots in the list, some of them as

follows

• Cristiano Ronaldo ($88M) – Footballer

• Sebastian Vettel ($41M) – Car racer

• Roger Federer ($68M) – Tennis champ

• Jackie Chan ($61M) – Actor

• Adele ($80.5M) – Singer

• Gisele Buncdchen ($30.5M) – Super model

• Britney Spears ($30.5M) – Singer

• Brad Pitt ($31.5M) – Actor

With earnings of $46M, Jennifer Lawrence retains the highest paid actor in the Hollywood.

It is noted that all these world’s 100 highest-paid celebrities pulled in $5.1 billion pretax in the past

12 months which is more than the GDP of Belize, Gambia and Bhutan together.

Forbes Heroes of Philanthropy List 2016 – Five Indians grabbed Top Spots.

This list comprises of the people from 13 countries, which accounts for 40 philanthropists. A

philanthropist is a person who seeks to promote the welfare of others particularly by the generous

donation of money to good causes.

Indians among these 40 in the list are:-

• Vineet and Anupama Nayar, founders of the Sampark Foundation,

• Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India,

• Bain India CEO Amit Chandra and his wife Archana Chandra,

• CEO of Jai Vakeel Foundation.

Emirates named the best in the world at Skytrax World Airline Awards 2016

i. The world’s best airline for this year is Emirates, according to a survey of millions of airline

passengers conducted by Skytrax World Airline Awards 2016. This is the fourth time Emirates

has won the top accolade since inception.

ii. The Dubai based Fly Emirates has won the top honors at Skytrax World Airline Awards ceremony

at the Farnborough International Airshow in England.

iii. The Airliner in addition to raising up the awards for World’s Best Inflight Entertainment for a

record 12th consecutive year, and Best Airline in the Middle East.

The top 5 best airlines according the Skytrax:

♦ Emirates, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and ANA All Nippon Airways

99 | P a g e


Indian-origin ex S’pore President bestowed South Asian Diaspora award

i.Indian-origin Ex-President of Singapore S R Nathan has been awarded with theOutstanding

Member of the South Asian Diaspora award for his contribution in shaping ties with India.

ii.Nathan who served as President between 1999 and 2011, is a sixth president of the country. He

was awarded by the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) at the 3rd South Asian Diaspora

Convention (SADC).

Nigerian journalist Didi Akinyelure wins BBC World News Komla Dumor Award

i. Nigerian journalist journalist Didi Akinyelure has bagged this year’s BBC World NewsKomla

Dumor Award.

ii. On behalf the award Didi will be offered three-month placement at the BBC office in London later

this year to gain skills and experience by attending a course.

iii. The award was coined after Ghanaian journalist Komla Dumor. He was a presenter for BBC

World News who had died in 2014.

Chennai’s Advay Ramesh wins Google Community Impact Award from Asia

i. Chennai hailed Advay Ramesh has bagged the prominent Google Community Impact Award

from Asia for creating a device that enhances fishermen’s safety and productivity.

ii. This award honors a project through that practical variance in the innovator’s community by

addressing an environmental, health or resources challenge.

iii. The boy Ramesh who is in Class 10 student from Chennai’s National Public School, whose

project shortlisted among 20 finalists shortlisted to contend for a $50,000 scholarship from

Google.

PATA awards 2016 – Kerala Tourism bags two awards for their marketing initiatives

i. Adding to its telling portfolio of citations, Kerala Tourism has secured two Gold Awards at

the prestigious Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) awards witnessing its trendsetting

marketing initiatives to develop the field of tourism.

ii. The two gold medals for ‘Marketing Media’ are in the categories of ‘Travel Advertisement

Broadcast Media’ was clinched by ‘Visit Kerala‘ television commercial campaign and ‘E-Newsletter’

was clinched by the popular Kerala Tourism E-Newsletter.

iii. It is noted that this year’s awards attracted 212 entries from 71 organizations and

individuals worldwide and these awards will be presented at the PATA Gold Awards Launch on and

Presentation on September 9 in Jakarta.

Goutam Ghose, Bappi Lahiri conferred Bengal’s ‘Mahanayak Award’

i. West Bengal Chief Minister Mahanayak Samman awards were given away to the filmmaker

Goutam Ghose and composer-singer Bappi Lahiri.

ii. On the other hand director-actor Kaushik Ganguly was also honoured with the award for best

100 | P a g e


director.

iii. The Mahayanak Samman 2016

♦ Composer-singer Bappi Lahiri.

♦ Paran Bandyopadhyay and Jishu Sengupta — best actor (male) awards while

♦ Sohini Sarkar — Best actor (female) award.

iv. The awards were instituted in 2012 in the memory of Bengali matinee idol Uttam Kumar who is

revered in this part of India as Mahanayak.

Kanyakumari — first woman violinist to get Sangita Kalanidhi award

i. Versatile Violinist Kanyakumari has bagged the Sangita Kalanidhi award by the Music

Academy. She will be the first female recipient of the prestigious award.

ii. The Vijayanagaram in AP hailed maestro has been a soloist and teacher besides violin. The

award will be given to her on January 1 at the Sadras.

iii. Besides the committee has chosen the following musicians for the respective awards:

♦ Sangita Kala Acharya award — R N Thyagrajan, R N Tharanathan and K Venkatramanan

♦ TTK award —- Dr Nirmala Sundararajan and M Kodilingam

♦ Musicologist award — Dr Rama Kausaliya;

♦ The Pappa Venkatramiah award for violin — Sikkil Baskaran;

♦ Natya Kala Acharya Award — Bharatnatyam dancer and choreographer Malavika Sarukkai.

Dakshayani, 86 years old Elephant to be part of Guiness World Record as the Oldest

Elephant Alive

i. Dakshayani, 86 years old female Elephant from Kerala is all set to enter the Guinness World

Records as the oldest living elephant.

ii. Travancore Devaswom Board -TDB has applied to the Guiness Records stating claim to

Dakshayani being the world’ oldest living elephant and this elephant was gifted to the TDB by the

Travancore royal family in 1949 along with 9 other elephants.

iii. On honoring this elephant, a special postal cover of Dakshayani from the Kerala Circle Postal

Service would be issued.

T.M. Krishna and Bezwada Wilson win Ramon Magsaysay Award 2016

i. Bezwada Wilson, a renowned campaigner against manual scavenging, and Carnatic singer T.M.

Krishna from Chennai were named for the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award 2016.

ii. Wilson has been named as an awardee for“asserting the inalienable right to a life of

human dignity” while Mr. Krishna was chosen for the award for bringing “social inclusiveness in

culture.”, under the category ‘Emergent Leadership’

iii. Apart from the two Indians, four others have been selected for the award. They are

♦ Conchita Carpio-Morales of the Philippines,

♦ Dompet Dhuafa of Indonesia,

101 | P a g e


♦ Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers

♦ ‘Vientiane Rescue’ of Laos.

East Bengal to honour Milkha Singh with Bharat Gaurav award

i. City football giants East Bengal announced that this year’s Bharat Gaurav award (Pride of India)

will be conferred on legendary athlete Milkha Singh.

ii. Singh will be travelling to the city on the East Bengal Foundation Day (August 1) to attend the

event.

iii. He will be received the Bharat Gaurav award and a cheque of Rs. 2 lakh. West Bengal Chief

Minister Mamata Banerjee will be the chief guest at the event.

iv. The trophy for the best footballer of the year will be given to South Korean midfielder Do

Dong Hyun who will also receive Rs. 50,000.

National Tourism Awards for the year 2014-2015

In the National Tourism Award function Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan was the Chief Guest

and Union Minister for Tourism Mahesh Sharma were also present in the function held at

Vigyanbhavan in New Delhi.

Some of the Awards are listed below: Award Winner Category Madhya Pradeshfollowed by Gujarat and Karnataka respectively

Best state for comprehensive development of tourism

Rajasthan’s Sawai Madhopur railway station Best Tourist Friendly railway station award Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Best Airport award Telangana’s Warangal Best Heritage City award Monuments of Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh. Best maintained and disable-friendly

monument Taj Exotica, Salcette, Goa Best hotel award under the five star deluxe

category Fateh Prakash Palace in Udaipur, Coconut Lagoon at Kumarakom in Kottayam and Gajner Palace in Bikaner.

Best heritage hotel awards in three different categories

The Lalit in New Delhi received an award under the category of

Hotel providing best facilities for the differently-abled guests.

Kerala Tourism in the Tourism Promotion and Publishing category

Most Innovative use of Information Technology’ – social media/mobile app.

The Wayanad initiative—Kerala Responsible Tourism’ category Sargaalaya Arts and Crafts Village at Iringal, a small but thriving village in Kozhikode–Kerala

Kerala Tourism in the Rural Tourism project category

Kerala–Invis Multimedia and social media managed by Stark Communications

Tourism Promotion and Publishing’ category

Turtle on the Beach, Kovalam—Kerala Best hotel in the Five Star category Coconut Lagoon, Kumarakom Best Heritage Hotel in Classic Category Coconut Creek Farm and Homestay, Kumarakom—Kerala

Best Incredible India Bed and Breakfast Establishment

Somatheeram Research Institute and Ayurveda Hospital Pvt Ltd, Thiruvananthapuram

Best Wellness Centre

102 | P a g e


Four New Writers Get Jnanpith ‘Navlekhan’ Award

i.Bharatiya Jnanpith’s 11th Navlekhan

award which constitutes of a cash awards

of Rs.50,000 each along with a certificate of merit

and an idol of Vagdevi is awarded to the

following

ii. The choosing panel headed by eminent Madhusudan Anand and Vishnu Nagar, Govind Prasad

and Om Nischal decided the final list of the awardees.

Sikkim’s Khangchendzonga National Park Now In UNESCO ‘Heritage’ List

i. Sikkim’s Khangchendzonga National Park has been announced as the India’s first “mixed

world heritage site by the Paris based UNESCO that will help the state to attract the tourists to the

eco spot.

ii. With this the list of UNESCO heritage sites in India moves 35 as on date.

iii. The Mountains Park site has been given this recognition for outstanding universal values both in

terms of its natural and cultural significance.

iv. The park is at an altitude of 8,586 meters and is third highest mountain of the world and is the

highest in the country is a home animals such as red panda, snow leopard, great Tibetan sheep and

musk deer.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

India-born Rajesh Agrawal appointed London’s Deputy Mayor

i. London’s first Muslim Mayor Sadiq Khan has appointed India-born Rajesh Agrawal as the

deputy mayor for business.

ii. Khan and Agrawal will work for championing London’s interests following the exit of Britain after

the EU referendum, and protecting jobs and growth while the negotiation process for exit takes

place.

Ravi Shastri resigns from ICC Cricket

i. Former Indian Cricket Team director Ravi Shastri resigned from the International Cricket

Council’s cricket committee, where he was a media representative for six years.

ii. The chairman of ICC Cricket Committee is current Team India coach Anil Kumble, who pipped

Ravi to the job after getting nod from Cricket Advisory Committee.

New chiefs appointed for FICCI Telangana, AP councils

i. Industry Body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce (FICCI) has appointed new

Awardees Book Name Amlendu Tiwari Parityakt Balram Kawant Sara Morila Om Naagar Nib Ke Chire Se Tasneem Khan Yeh Mere Rahnuma

103 | P a g e


Chairpersons for its Telangana and AP State Councils.

ii. Upon this string of appointments for Telengana state Devendra Surana (MD, Bhagyanagar

India Ltd)has been named as the chairman and for Andra Pradesh state M. Prabhakar Rao(CMD,

NSL Group) will be the Chairman, FICCI Andhra Pradesh State Council.

iii. The current chairperson Sangita Reddy, Jt Managing Director of Apollo Hospitals, who looked

after both the Telugu states is on completion of her tenure.

Sri Lanka appoints Indrajith Coomaraswamy as new central bank chief

i. Sri Lankan Government has appointed a New Governor to its central bank – CBSL ( Central

Bank of Sri Lanka).

ii. Indrajith coomaraswamy, Former director in commonwealth Secretariat, London has been

appointed as the new Governor of CBSL on July 1,2016.

iii. The reason attributed for the new appointment is that the Previous Governor has been accused

of leaking Government’s confident information to his relatives.

RBI appoints Sudarshan Sen as Executive Director

i. Reserve Bank of India’s Executive Director Mr N S Vishwanathan is escalated asDeputy

Governor of RBI on July 4th

ii. His appointment succeeds the completion of Khan’s serving period.

iii. As Deputy Governor, Vishwanathan will look after the Department of Banking Regulation,

Department of Co-operative Banking Regulation, Department of Non-Banking Regulation, Deposit

Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation, Financial Stability Unit, Inspection Department, Risk

Monitoring Department and Secretary’s Department

iv. Meanwhile Sudharsan Sen has been appointed as the Executive Director of RBI following the

promotion of former Executive Director.

Linda Burney becomes first Indigenous woman elected to Australia’s lower house

i. Former teacher Linda Burney won the seat as a candidate of the centre-left Labour Party in

the national polls with this she became the first Indigenous woman elected to the House of

Representatives (lower house) of the Parliament of Australia. She achieved the fete after claiming

victory in the marginal seat of Barton.

ii. With this, Linda joins first Aboriginal MP Ken Wyatt of the conservative Liberal Partywho was

elected in 2010. Olympian Nova Peris was the first indigenous woman in the upper house of the

Parliament.

19 New Ministers inducted in the expansion of the council of Ministers – A Consummate

List

For the second time the Narendra Modi lead NDA government expanded its council of

104 | P a g e


ministers by inducting 19 new Minister of State (MOS) in order to exercise the various schemes

and services promised through the Union Budget 2016.

• Honorable President Pranab Mukherjee administered the new ministers’ oath of office and

secrecy at Rashtrapathi Bhavan on July 5th

• Among these 19 all are new faces. 17 members are from BJP party and one each

from RPI & Apna dal party.

• Apart from this, Prakash Javdekar, Honorable Minister of State foresty, environment

and climate change (independent charge) has been escalated from MOS into Cabinet

rank.

• According to the Article 75, the number of Council of Ministers should not exceed 82. But

after this ministerial expansion the number of union ministers surpassed to 83 breaking

the constitutional sealing limits.

Highlights:

• Prakash Javadekar Promoted to HRD Minister, Replaces Smriti Irani

• Smriti Irani – Textiles

• Arun Jaitley loses Information & Broadcasting retains Finance Ministry, Corporate Affairs

• Sadananda Gowda – Statistics and Programme implementation

• SS Ahluwalia Appointed MoS Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Parliamentary Affairs

• Vijay Goel – MoS Youth Affairs, Sports

• Ramdas Athawale – Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry

• M J Akbar Congress MP to MoS External Affairs

• Ananth Kumar – Parliamentary Affairs Minister

• Venkaiah Naidu – I&B Minister

• Ravi Shankar Prasad – Law Minister

• Anil Madhav Dave – Environment Minister

• Babul Supriyo – Urban Development Minister

• Krishna Raj an MP from Shahjahanpur. With her, the number of women in PM Modi’s

cabinet is seven

• 5 – Ministers, Nihal Chand, Ram Shankar Katheria, Sanwar Lal Jat, Manuskhbhai D

Vasva and M K Kundariya – dropped from PM Narendra Modi’s council of Ministers.

The entire list of the newly appointed ministers is listed below:-

S NO. MINISTER’S NAME STATE CONSTITUENCY

1 Mr. Ajay Tamta Uttarakhand Almora 2 Mr. Anil Madhav Dave Madhya Pradesh Rajya Shaba MP 3 Mr. Arjun Ram Meghwal Rajasthan Bikaner 4 Mr. Chottu Ram Chaudry Rajasthan Nagaur 5 Dr. Subhash Bhamre Maharashtra Dhule 6 Mr. Faggan Singh Kulaste Madhya Pradesh Mandla 7 Mr. Jasvantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor Gujarat Dahod 8 Mrs. Krishna Raj Uttar Pradesh Shajahanpur 9 Mr. Mahendra nath pandey Uttar Pradesh Chanduali

105 | P a g e


10 Mr. Manshuk L MMandaviya Gujarat Rajya Shaba 11 Mr. MJ Akbar Madhya Pradesh Rajya Shaba 12 Mr. PP Choudhary Rajasthan Pali 13 Mr. Parshottam Rupala Gujarat BJP’s Vice President 14 Mr. Rajen Gohain Assam Nowgong 15 Mr. RC Jigajinagi Karnataka Bijapur 16 Mr. SS Ahluwalia West Bengal Darjeeling 17 Mr. Vijay Goel Rajasthan Rajya Shaba 18 Mr. Ramdas Athawale Maharashtra Leader of RPI Party 19 Mrs. Anupriya Patel Uttar Pradesh Leader of Apna Dal

Amir Khan to host world’s first mixed martial arts league in bid to inspire youngsters to

sport

i. The mixed martial arts event, Super Fight League promoted by British sports enthusiast Bill

Dosanjh and British professional boxing sensation and two-time world champion AmirKhan, have

announced the world’s first-ever MMA league to be hosted in India in August this year.

ii. The franchise based league that will feature eight teams has been sanctioned by the All India

Mixed Martial Arts Association (AIMMAA). The event is third most followed league in the world.

iii. In the league all the team will constitute of nine Indian fighters and three international fighters

that will be a mix of men and women. A total of 72 bouts will be played in the league stage that will

be followed by two semifinals, a third 4th place and a gala title session.

Tejinder Kalra – New COO of Indus Towers

i. Indus towers, one of the largest telecom tower companies in India has appointed Tejinder

Kalra as its new Chief Operating Officer.

ii. Tejinder Kalra was the former Global Head for Bharti Business in NOKIA.

Madhav Dhekane took over as Director of ISRO Inertial Systems Unit

i. Eminent scientist Madhav Dhekane took charge as seventh person to

become Directorat ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU), Department of Space, at Vattiyoorkavu in

Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

ii. Earlier he had also held various positions in ISRO such as Deputy Director, Control, Guidance &

Simulation Entity at VSSC, Chief Controller at VSSC and Associate Director (R&D) at VSSC.

Centre appoints Thiruppathi Venkatasamy as new Tamil Nadu AG

i. Centre announced the appointment of R Thiruppathi Venkatasamy, as Accountant

General(AG), economic and revenue sector audit, of Tamil Nadu.

ii. Prior to this appointment, Venkatasamy a 2000 batch officer of Indian Audit and Accounts

Service, was serving as the Senior Deputy Accountant General in Agartala, Tripura.

Juergen Hase – New CEO for Reliance Group IoT business operations

i. Anil Ambani led Reliance Group, which had drawn up a comprehensive strategy to drive growth

106 | P a g e


in the Internet of Things (IoT) space, has appointed Juergen Hase as the Group CEO for its

IoT Business.

ii. Juergen has worked in the global telecommunications industry for more than 25 years to

develop, implement and execute new businesses in different global markets.

iii. It is noted that Reliance Communications has already announced an IoT partnership with Jasper

(which was subsequently acquired by Cisco), and various IoT solutions have been jointly piloted in

India over the past few months in preparation for the commercial launch.

Deepak Singhal takes charge as the Chief Secretary of UP

i. Deepak Singhal has been appointed the new Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh.

ii. Mr. Singhal will succeed Alok Ranjan, who has got retire in the month of June after a three-

month extension of service.

iii. He will also hold additional charge of Principal Resident Commissioner of UP in New Delhi,

and chairman of the Pradeshiya Industrial & Investment Corporation of UP (PICUP)

Vishal Kapoor to be the new CEO of IDFC MF

i. IDFC Mutual Fund has named Vishal Kapoor as its chief executive officer, who would assume

charge from September this year.

ii. Presently he is a senior executive from Standard Chartered Bank. Vishal has over two decades of

rich experience in Financial Services across functions and businesses.

S K Kohli appointed chief defence accounts auditor

i. Senior civil servant S K Kohli has been named as the Controller General of Defence Accounts

(CGDA). He is an Indian Defence Accounts Service officer.

ii. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has given its nod to Kohli’s empanelment for promotion

to the post of CGDA.

Nimbalkar re-elected as the Maharashtra Council Chairman

i. Senior NCP leader Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar will be formally re-elected as the Chairman of

Maharashtra Legislative Council.

ii. The post lying vacant after the incumbent Vasant Davkare, of NCP, suffered a shocking defeat

in the Council polls from the Thane local body constituency at the hands of Shiv Sena’s Ravindra

Phatak last month.

Srini Gopalan quits Bharti Airtel, set to join Deutsche Telekom

i. Bharti Airtel’s Consumer business director Srini Gopalan set to quit the company and to

join Deutsche Telekom as a member of new board management for Europe business.

ii. Gopalan was the in charge of increasing data usage by Bharti’s subscribers. He had joined

107 | P a g e


Bharti in 2013 from Vodafone UK, where he was working as the director for consumer business.

Phiroz Vandrevala steps down as TCS director

i. Country’s largest IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has announced that its Non-

Executive Director Phiroz Vandrevala resigned from the company with immediate effect.ii. He

had been a director on the TCS board since September 2007.

ii. However, Vandrevala will continue with this role as the Vice-Chairman and MD of Diligenta which

is TCS subsidiary.

Microsoft COO B. Kevin Turner to join Citadel to run market-making business

i. The former Walmart executive Kevin Turner is all set to leave his COO post at Microsoft after an

11-year stint with Microsoft to join Citadel Securities as the Chief Executive Officer.

ii. Citadel Securities is a Chicago-based investment company where Kevin likely to join in the job in

September.

Ramesh Negi appointed as acting Chief Secretary of Delhi

i. The Delhi government appointed Ramesh Negi as the acting Chief Secretary in the absence

of K. K. Sharma, who will remain on leave till July 25. To fill the office the idea has been mooted

by the government.

ii. Negi, who is Principal Secretary in Urban Development Department and is retiring this month

end, has been given the charge.

iii. Negi has been specified the charge after getting the clearance of Lieutenant Governor Najeeb.

Sanjay Gupta appointed Konkan Railway CMD

i. Sanjay Gupta has been appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of Konkan

Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL). He is the youngest ever CMD of KRCL.

ii. Gupta had been officiating as the CMD since November 24, 2015, after the retirement of B P

Tayal.

iii. Prior to his new appointment he was Director (operations and commercial) of Konkan Railway,

he also worked as chief mechanical engineer of Konkan Railway.

D Rajkumar appointed CMD of BPCL; Utpal Bora to head Oil India

i. D Rajkumar and Utpal Bora were appointed as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD)

of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Oil India Ltd, respectively. They have been

appointed to the posts for five-year term.

ii. Currently Rajkumar is working as Managing Director of Bharat Petro Resources Ltd, a unit of

BPCL focused on exploration and production. On the other hand Bora is Executive Director in Oil

and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Limited.

108 | P a g e


iii. Rajkumar will take over the charge on or after October this year after retirement of BPCL’s

current chief S Varadarajan in September

K V R Murthy new chairman-cum-MD at Jute Corp of India

i. K V R Murthy has been appointed as chairman-cum-managing director of the Jute

Corporation of India Limited with the effect from this month beginning.

ii. The appointment is valid for a period of five years or till the date of his superannuation,

whichever is earlier.

iii. Prior to this appointment Murthy was earlier associated with Eastern Railways in the

capacity of Chief Commercial Manager.

Tathagata Roy sworn-in as acting Governor of Arunachal Pradesh

i. Governor of Tripura Tathagata Roy was took charge as the acting Governor of Arunachal

Pradesh. He has been given the additional charge of Governor of Arunachal Pradesh during the

leave of absence of incumbent Governor Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa.

ii. The Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court Ajit Singh had overseen the oath of office to

Tathagata Roy as per the provisions of Article 159 of Constitution of India.

Najma Heptullah and GM Siddeshwara resign; Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi given charge of

Minority Affairs Ministry

i. Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptullah and Minister of State for Heavy Industries Gowdara

Mallikarjunappa Siddeshwara has resigned from the Union council of ministers. Their

resignations were accepted by the President Pranab Mukherjee.

ii. Minister of state Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has been allotted independent charge of ministry of

minority affairs. While Babul Supriyo will fill the shoes of the ministry of heavy industries and public

enterprises.

iii. Babul Supriyo has been released of the charge of minister of state in the ministry of urban

development, and minister of state in the ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation.

Theresa May Becomes Britain’s Second Female Prime Minister

i. Britain’s Home Secretary Theresa May will become the Britain’s new prime ministeras

incumbent Prime Minister David Cameron announced to resign after the Brexit vote. The UK

officially has a new leader is the second woman in the country’s history to hold the top post.

ii. However she’ll be taking over at time of intense crisis: The Brexit referendum has thrown the UK

into what one expert calls.

iii. Theresa will succeed Conservative party leader, David Cameron also becoming Britain’s first

female prime minister since Margaret Thatcher was defeated in a party leadership challenge in

1990.

109 | P a g e


Indian-American Dr. Kinshuk named US university Dean

i. An Indian-American professor Dr. Kinshuk, who goes by single name has been named thedean

of University of North Texas College of Information in the U.S.

ii. Prior to this appointment, he served as Director in the School of Computing and Information

Systems. He has diverse set of academic experience in the field of science and technology

iii. He served as an Associate Dean at Athabasca University in Alberta, Canada, where he

helped lead the Faculty of Science and Technology since 2010.

Patnaik’s appointment as CEO, NATGRID

i. Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has

appointed senior IPS officer Ashok Patnaik as the Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of the National

Intelligence Grid (NATGRID).

ii. Presently he is working as Additional Director in the Intelligence Bureau (IB). He is son-in-law of

former PM Manmohan Singh.

iii. Patnaik is a 1983-batch IPS officer of Gujarat cadre. He will succeed Raghu Raman, the first

CEO of NATGIRD ended in June 2015.

Raghu Reddy – Ex Snapdeal executive is appointed by Xiaomi as its online sales head for

India

i. Xiaomi India has appointed Ragu Reddy (Senior Director of Mobile and Tablet Business) as its

India Head for Online Sales.

ii. Xiaomi’s 90% sales comes through online business in India. Still, this company started focusing

on offline sales in India.

Nabam Tuki takes charge as Arunachal Pradesh CM

i. Nabam Tuki took charge as Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister after the Apex Court ordered

the restoration of the state government as on 15th December 2015.

ii. For now ousted Arunachal Pradesh Chief MinisterKalikho Pul who claims the support of 47 MLAs

said he would file a review petition against the 5 judge Supreme Court judgement.

iii. The crisis in Arunachal Pradesh began when ousted CM Kalikho Pul and 29 Congress MLAs had

merged with the Peoples Party of Arunachal.

Rajesh Kumar Chaturvedi appointed as Chairman of CBSE

i. Union government appointed Rajesh Kumar Chaturvedi as the Chairman of the Central Board

of Secondary Education (CBSE) for a five-year term.

ii. The post had been lying vacant for last two years. However in 2015, Erstwhile HRD Minister

Irani’s choice and Ministry official Satbir Bedi’s name had not passed muster apparently on the

techincal ground that she did not have the requisite experience in educational administration.

110 | P a g e


HCL Tech appoints Vijay Kumar as COO

i.IT services company HCL Technologies Ltd on July 16 said its president, infrastructure services, C.

Vijay Kumar will take on additional responsibility aschief operating officer.

ii.A role of Chief Operating Officer has been established to accelerate growth in the core business.

C Vijay Kumar, currently President, Infrastructure Services will take on this additional responsibility

and continue to report to Anant Gupta, President & CEO,” HCL Tech

Rudra Gaurav Shresth concurrently accredited as the High Commissioner of India to the

Kingdom of Swaziland

i.IFS officer Rudra Gaurav Shresth presently High Commissioner of India to the Republic of

Mozambique has been concurrently accredited as the High Commissioner of India to the Kingdom of

Swaziland, with residence in Mozambique

ii.He is IFS officer of 1999 batch also the current High Commissioner of India to Mozambique.

BJP leader Navjot Singh Sidhu resigns from Rajya Sabha

i.Cricketer-turned- BJP leader in Punjab, Navjot Singh Sidhu resigned from the Upper House at

a time speculations were rife that he might join the AAP party.

ii.Sidhu’s wife Navjot Kaur, who is a lawmaker in Punjab, is also set to resign. She had announced

her resignation on Facebook earlier but changed her mind.

State Owned AAI gets it New Chairman – Guruprasad Mohapatra

i.Former Commerce Ministry Joint Secretary Guruprasad Mohapatra sworn in as the new

Chairman of the AAI – Airport Authority of India.

ii.Priory he functioned as a Managing Director of Gujarat Alkalis and Chemicals Ltd (GACL),

Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers Company Ltd (GNFC) and as Municipal Commissioner

in Surat from 1999 to 2002.

World Bank gets it New Chief Economist – Paul Romer

i.Respected economist, an expansive and unorthodox thinker, Mr. Paul Romer has been appointed

as a Chief Economist of the World Bank.

ii.World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim declared this appointment in this crucial time when

the field of development is transforming under the forces of rapid technological change,

globalization, and demography.

iii. Being appointed as a Chief Economist, Romer will support the President and the senior

management in leading the institution and inspiring the development profession during this time of

transformative change.

iv.This 60 years old Paul Romer replaced the retiring Kaushik Basu, a former Indian government

economics adviser.

111 | P a g e


Western Union appoints Sohini Rajola as new Vice-President for South Asia

i.American financial services company Western Union has appointed Sohini Rajola as Regional

Vice President who will be responsible for managing and developing the Western Union business

across India, .iiSri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives and Bhutan.

ii.Prior to this appointment Rajola was the Senior Vice President at Axis Bank where she was

responsible for designing and leading the digital strategy of the bank.

iii.With respect to remittances India is the world’s largest recipient country and is key to Western

Union’s growth strategy.

Steve Elworthy appointed MD of ICC World Cup 2019

i. Former South Africa pacer Steve Elworthy has been named as Managing Director of the ICC

Cricket World Cup 2019 according to the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the England and

Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

ii. Steve will watch over the Champions Trophy to be held in 2017 and Women’s World Cup 2017 to

be hosted in England and Wales.

iii. Earlier he had served as tournament director for World T20 in 2007 and 2009 and the

Champions Trophy in 2013.

iv. Elworthy played 4 Tests and 39 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and took 57 international

wickets for Proteas.

Coco – Cola India gets new Vice President (Finance) – Sarvita Sethi

i. Sarvita Sethi has been appointed as the Vice-President – Finance for India and South West

Asia of the beverages major Coca-Cola on July 19.

ii. The India and South West Asia Business Unit of The Coca-Cola Company includes Nepal, Bhutan,

Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives besides India.

iii. She has been addressed to this position in order to line with the goal of promoting and

developing Coca-Cola leaders and also maintaining a steady pipeline of senior talent in the system.

Ajay Bhushan Pandey appointed as CEO of UIDAI

i. Centre has appointed Ajay Bhushan Pandey as the Chief Executive Officer of Unique

Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). The Union Cabinet approved the promotion of Pandey.

ii. Pandey is a Maharashtra cadre-1984 batch IAS officer. He has been working in UIDAI since last

August.

Ganesh Singh appointed head of JPC, on land acquistion bill

i. BJP MP Ganesh Singh was appointed the new Chairperson of the Joint Committee of Parliament

examining the Land Acquisition Bill. Singh represents the Satna constituency of Madhya Pradesh.

ii. Earlier S Ahluwalia who was holding the post is who became Minister of the State for

Parliamentary Affairs in reshuffle of the council of ministers. The move has been made as Minister

112 | P a g e


cannot hold any Parliamentary committee.

iii. The Bill creates five special categories of land use PPPs where government owns the land.

♦ Defence, Affordable Housing, Rural Infrastructure, Industrial Corridors, Infrastructure

AXIS Bank names Retired Civil Servant Dr. Sanjiv Mishra as its new AD & NE

i. Dr. Sanjiv Mishra has been appointed as the Additional Director and Non Executive (part time)

of the Axis Bank control board.

ii. India’s third largest private lender appointed Mishra as an independent director and Non-

Executive Chairman for a period of five years.

iii. He was the Finance Secretary of the Central Government at the time of superannuation in 2008

and also served as member of Non Commission as the Non-Executive Chairman of the Bank.

iv. Dr. Mishra is hailing from Delhi and he served in Indian Administrative Service for about 35

years.

v. He also served as a member of the 13th Finance Commission and a member of theAdvisory

Council of the ADB – Asian Development Bank Institute, Tokyo.

NSE revamps board;appoints Mohandas Pai, 2 others as directors

i. Mumbai based National Stock Exchange of India has appointed 3 new public interest directors

including chairman of Manipal Global Education Services and Infosys former director Mohandas Pai.

ii. The other two appointees viz Naved Masood who was the secretary at the Ministry of Corporate

Affairs in the past and Dinesh Kanabar who worked with KPMG India’s as a deputy chief executive.

iii. The three appointees will serve as public interest directors in the 10 member board with Ashok

Chawla, former chief of Competition Commission of India, as its chairman.

ITC appoints Sanjiv Puri as its COO

i. Sanjiv Puri has been appointed as the Chief Operating Officer, a newly created portfolio of ITC

Limited.

ii. Being appointed as a COO, Puri becomes the second most important executive in thetobacco-

FMCG-hospitality and company declared that Puri, a whole-time director of the company, has

been appointed as COO with immediate effect.

iii. Executive director Puri was redesignated at a board meeting and he will now oversee day-to-day

affairs across ITC’s businesses.

Ricoh India Chairman resigns after a prolonged fraud comes to light

i. Ricoh India Chairman Tetsuya Takano resigned his designation on July 25 following the

company’s intromitted its falsified accounts in BSE, a week before.

ii. The Board of Directors of the company has accepted his resignation with immediate effect and

Mr Tetsuya Takano has resigned as Director cum Chairman of the company with effect from July

113 | P a g e


25, 2016.

Nepal Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli resigns

i. Nepal’s Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli has announced his resignation in Kathmandu.

ii. He resigns just before no confidence vote. The no-confidence motion was brought by former

Maoist rebels

iii. Maoist party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal is now expected to form a new government.

Sharad Pawar to step down as MCA chief

i. Veteran administrator Sharad Pawar to step down from the Mumbai Cricket

Association (MCA) president within six months. After he does not qualify on the Recommendations

made by the Lodha committee.

ii. The RM Lodha Committee had said in its recommendations that there be caps of 70 years on

age and duration of tenure of 9 years of elected office bearers and state associations.

Ghanshyam Singh takes over as General Manager of Eastern Railway

i. Ghanshyam Singh an 1979 batch officer of Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineering

(IRSEE), has taken over as the General Manager, Eastern Railway, Kolkata.

ii. Singh has also served in various other important positions including, his stint as General

Manager, RITES, Executive Director (Efficiency & Research), Railway Board, New Delhi.

National Museum gets it New Director General – Dr. Buddha Rashmi Mani, former ASI

head

i. Dr Buddha Rashmi Mani, former Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) official was appointed

Director General of the National Museum by the government.

ii. Dr Buddha Rashmi Mani chaired a team had found remains of what seemed like a temple while

excavating the disputed Ayodhya site; Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site in 2003.

iii. He had retired as the ASI additional director general last year and Dr Mani is appointment as

the National Museum head for three years or till he attains the age of 70.

Justice Iqbal Ahmed Ansari Sworn in as Chief Justice Of Patna High Court

i. Justice Iqbal Ahmed Ansari was sworn in as the 39th Chief Justice of Patna High Court by

Bihar Governor Ramnath Kovind at a function in Raj Bhawan.

ii. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, his Deputy Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, Leader of Opposition in

Legislative Council Sushil Kumar Modi, Speaker Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Council Chairman

Awadhesh Narain Singh and others were present at the occasion.

Satish Mathur appointed as new Maharashtra DGP

i. Satish Mathur, a 1981 IPS batch officer has been appointed as the new police chief of

Maharashtra.

114 | P a g e


ii. Mr.Mathur is currently holding the post of Director General, Anti-Corruption Bureau. He will

succeed Pravin Dixit.

Railway Board chairman AK Mittal gets two year extension

i. The term of the Railway Board Chairman A K Mitalwas extended by two years.

ii. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the re-appointment of Mital as

Chairman, Railway Board, for a period of two years, till he attains the age of 62 years, with effect

from August 1, 2016.

JN Singh appointed as new Chief Secretary of Gujarat

i. Gujarat Government has appointed Dr. J.N. Singh, a 1983-batch IAS officer, as new Chief

Secretary of the State

ii. Dr. Singh is currently Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) and also officiating as Managing

Director of Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC).

iii. His order was issued by the Personnel Department headed by Additional Chief Secretary Anil

Mukim and he will replace G.R. Aloria.

Aruna Sundarajan made new Secretary of ministry of ITx

i. Kerala cadre IAS officer Aruna Sundarajan has been appointed Secretary of the Ministry of

electronics and IT (MEIT) which is newly coined Portfolio in the Ministry. The Office bearer i.e.

Current Secretary Aruna Sharma has been moved to the ministry of Steel.

ii. Aruna had earlier served as the CEO of the National Common Service Centre (CSC) apart

from being administrator of the USO Fund.

CK Mishra Appointed New Health Secretary

i. Bihar cadre IAS officer of 1983 Batch CK Mishra has been appointed the new Health Secretary.

He will fill the shoes of IAS officer BP Sharma, who has been appointed secretary, Department of

Personnel and Training (DoPT).

ii. On the other hand IAS officer of the Punjab cadre NS Kang has been made Secretaryand

Director General of the organisation after upgradation of his post.

First woman chief of aviation regulator DGCA, M Sathiyavathy named as new Union

Labour Secretary.

M Sathiyavathy was named as the new Union Labour Secretary of Director General of Civil Aviation.

She is the first woman chief to hold the post since inception of the Aviation Regulating Body.

Central government —Reshuffle at the secretarial level of the, No Appointee Appointed as Prior to Appointment 1 Aruna Sharma Secretary of Ministry of Steel Secretary of Ministry of

Electronics and Information &

115 | P a g e


Technology. 2 Aruna Sundarajan Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and

Information & Technology. Secretary of Ministry of Steel

3 Bhanu Pratap Sharma

Department of Personnel and Training as Secretary.

Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare

4 AK Dubey Department of Youth Affairs as Officer on Special Duty and will take charge as Secretary

Special Secretary, Ministry of Coal

5 M Sathiavathy Secretary in Ministry of Labour and Employment as Officer on Special Duty

Director General, Directorate General of Civil Aviation

6 Dinesh Singh, Department of Land Resources as Officer on Special Duty. Singh will take over as Secretary

Special Secretary, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation,

7 Amarjit Singh, Secretary of Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation,

Special Secretary –Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation,

8 Rakesh Srivastava, Secretary, National Commission for Backward Classes.

working in his state cadre Rajasthan

9 Latha Krishna Rao Secretary, Department of Social Justice and Empowerment

—

10 C K Mishra, Secretary– Department of Health and Family Welfare,

Additional Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare,

11 NS Kang Secretary and Director General, National AIDS Control Organisation

Additional Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare,

12 B K Prasad Secretary, National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic & Semi-Nomadic Tribes.

Additional Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs,

13 Smita Chugh Secretary– Tariff Commission under Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion

Member Secretary in the same organisation.

14 Rajeev Kapoor Secretary- Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie

Director in the same organisation.

15 Amarjeet Sinha Secretary, Department of Rural Development

Additional Secretary, Department of Rural Development

T Nanda Kumar resigns as NDDB chairman

i. Bihar cadre IAS officer T Nanda Kumar has resigned as chairman of Gujarat-based

National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) with the effect form August 1.

T Nanda Kumar resigns as NDDB chairman

ii. Earlier he had served as chairman of the Spices Board in Cochin and as food secretary in 2006.

He was agriculture secretary in 2008.

Lt. Anurag Thakur joins Territorial Army after clearing SSB

BJP’s Lok Sabha member and Indian cricket board President Anurag Thakur is

commissioned into the Territorial Army in the rank of Lieutenant by army chief General Dalbir

Singh.

i. Lieutenant Anurag Thakur cleared the Services Selection Board and was found fit for joining the

116 | P a g e


Territorial Army, the second line of defence after the Indian Army and he has been commissioned

in 124 Infantary Batallion (Territorial Army) Sikh.

ii. Lt. Thakur became the first serving BJP Member of the Parliament to join the military force.

iii. Anurag Singh Thakur is a member of Lok Sabha from Hamirpur in Himachal

Pradesh in India and he was elected as the youngest President of the Board of Control for

Cricket in India in May 2016.

Sunil Munjal de-escalates as Joint Managing Director of Hero Group following a family

decision

Sunil Munjal brother of Pawan munjal (CEO – Hero Group) will de-escalate as joint managing

director of Hero MotoCorp India Limited.

i. Hero Motocorp Ltd., formerly Hero Honda, is an Indian motorcycle and scooter manufacturer

based in New Delhi, India.

ii. In India, with a market share of about 46% share in 2-wheeler category, Hero is thelargest two

wheeler manufacturer in India. The 2006 Forbes 200 Most Respected companies list has Hero

Honda Motors ranked at 108.

Intex ropes in Madhuri Dixit as its new brand ambassador

i. Intex Technologies has appointed cinestar Madhuri Dixit as brand ambassador for its consumer

durable products, including washing machines and refrigerators.

ii. She has been signed for a period of two years.

Michel Barnier appointed as EU’s chief Brexit negotiator

i. Former French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier, a 65-year-old center-right politician has been

appointed by the European Commission to negotiate with Britain over Brexit.

ii. Mr Barnier will work with his British opposite number, Brexit minister David Davis, who was at

the forefront of the campaign to leave the EU.

iii. The negotiations are likely to be directed by the bloc’s leaders, including German Chancellor

Angela Merkel.

Shambhu Singh Yadav appointed as the new Deputy Lokayukta of the Uttar Pradesh.

On joint recommendation of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Lokayukta Justice Sanjay

Misra, Shambhu Singh Yadav, was appointed as the Deputy Lokayukta of the Uttar

Pradesh.

i. Shambhu Singh Yadav is a 1997-batch IAS officer. He served as special secretary to former

Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav government in 2003 and also Akhilesh yadav’s secretary since

2012.

ii. UP governor Ram Naik appointed Shambhu Singh Yadav as the new Deputy Lokayukta (Up-

Lokayukta) of the state following the retirement of Swatantra Singh in 2015.

117 | P a g e


Tokyo gets it first Woman Governor – Yuriko Koike

Japanese people elected Yuriko Koike as the first woman governor of Tokyo on July 31.It is

noted that she is a former defense minister of Japan. This appointment will play a key in the

preparations of the Olympics 2020 which is going to be held in Tokyo.

i. Ms Koike received more than 2.9 million votes in election, which lead to the defeat of her

opponents by a wide margin. The election which was contested by a record field of 21 candidates.

ii. Yuriko Koike was announced the winner by Japanese media as soon as voting ended, based on

her definitive lead in exit polls. She will take charge of a sprawling Tokyo with a population of more

than 13 million.

iii. It is noted that the former governor Yoichi Masuzoe, resigned in June after an exorbitant,

though not illegal, spending of taxpayers’ money, including for hotel suites and expensive artwork.

The governor before him also resigned in disgrace

Justice Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale sworn in as new CJ of Allahabad HC

i. Justice Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High

Court.

ii. He was administered the oath by Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik in presence of High Court

judges, and other dignitaries.

iii. Justice Bhosale belongs to a family of freedom fighters and his father Babasaheb Bhosale had

served as Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

Vishvas Vidu Sapkal concurrently accredited as the High Commissioner of India to the

Cook Islands

i. Vishvas Vidu Sapkal, a 1998 batch IFS Oficer presently High Commissioner of India to the

Republic of Fiji, has been concurrently accredited as the High Commissioner of India to the Cook

Islands, with residence in Suva (Fiji).

ii. He is expected to take up this position shortly.

B N Reddy concurrently accredited as the High Commissioner of India to the Republic of

Cameroon

Current High Commissioner of India to the Federal Republic Of Nigeria B N Reddy has appointed

as the High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Cameroon.

Rani Nair set to be new CBDT Chairperson

Rani Singh Nair has appointed as the new CBDT Chairperson with incumbent Atulesh Jindal who

retired on july 31st 2016.

i. Nair will be in office till October 31 during which she will be looking to achieve maximum

success under the one-time domestic black money disclosure scheme being run by the government

118 | P a g e


also called the Income Declaration Scheme (IDS).It will close on September 30.

ii. Nair has been instrumental in framing the procedures and protocols that led to the roll-out of the

IDS on June 1 this year. IDS aims to fish out black funds from the domestic arena.

Ashok Leyland non-exec vice chairman R Seshasayee resigns

Non-Executive Vice-Chairman of Ashok Leyland, R Seshasayee has resigned from the board of

directors with effect from July 28.

i. He was the President of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) till September 2003,

ii. He was also the Chairman of the International Trade Committee in SIAM.

iii. He has even served as a director in ICICI Bank, EID Parry India, and Sundaram Asset

Management.

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

Myntra acquires Bangalore-based start-up Cubeit

i. E-fashion store Myntra Designs Pvt. Ltd has acquired Bangalore-based Cubeit to gain access to

its employees also to expand Myntra’s technologyteam. However the financial details of the

acquisition weren’t disclosed.

ii. Myntra, which was acquired by Flipkart for about $330 million in 2014, has bought two

technology start-ups previously.

Travel portal Yatra to merge with Nasdaq-listed Terrapin, deal valued at $218 million

i. E-travel agent Yatra has signed a deal to merger its business with the Nasdaq-listed Terrapin 3

Acquisition Corporation (TRTL).

ii. The merged entity will continue to be run by Yatra’s management under leadership of chief

executive and co-founder Dhruv Shringi.

iii. The deal values the travel Indian portal at $218 million (Rs 1,465 crore). Yatra, like its rival

Indian portal, MakeMyTrip, will also list at Nasdaq.

DABUR India acquires South African Cosmetic Giant

i.India’s leading FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) Dabur International has acquired South

Africa-based manufacturing and trading cosmetic company Discaria Trading Ltd on July 14.

ii.By acquiring 100% stakes of this south African cosmetic company, this becomes the fully

owned subsidiary of India based Dabur company.

Google buys French startup ‘Moodstocks’ that helps machines see

i. Google has acquired Paris-based Moodstocks, a startup that has developed machine learning

technology to bolster the image recognition features on smartphones.

119 | P a g e


ii. Moodstocks team, a small group of researchers and engineers, will join a Google research and

development center in Paris.

iii. Google and its parent Alphabet are expected to integrate the image search team inartificial

intelligence efforts.

Japanese Giant Softbank Acquires UK based ARM Holdings for whooping $32 Billion

i.SoftBank Group Corp., A Japanese internet and telecommunications

conglomerate acquired the global chip industry on July 18 with a whooping $32 billion deal to

acquire ARM Holdings PLC, the U.K.-based designer of the microprocessors that power more

than 95% of the world’s smart phones.

ii.This huge deal would give the Japanese company control of a firm whose chip designs has a

major presence in mobile processing, with its processor and graphics technology used by

Samsung, Huawei, and Apple in their in-house microchips.

iii. Softbank’s acquisition of ARM represents one of the biggest takeovers of a European technology

business. ARM is based in Cambridge, U.K. and employs around 4,000 people.

Aditya Birla Fashion to acquire Forever 21 in India for $26 mn

i.Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL) is all set to acquire American fast fashion retailers Forever

21′ in the Indian market for USD 26 million, which is around Rs 175.52 crore.

ii.ABFRL in May this year announced to ink a MoU with Forever 21 to acquire its online and offline

rights for the Indian market.

iii.After PFRL was renamed as Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, with over 7,000 points of sale in

over 375 cities and towns

Verizon announces its acquittal of Yahoo! Inc. for about $4.83 Billion

i. Verizon Communications Inc. and Yahoo! Inc. mutually declared that they have entered into

a formularized agreement under which Verizon will acquire Yahoo’s operating business for

about approximately $4.83 billion.

ii. Verizon’s purchase of Yahoo, which follows its acquisition of AOL for $4.4 billion in May 2015,

provides more evidence that it sees online content and advertising as a primary way to boost

growth.

Flipkart’s Myntra acquires Jabong for $70 million

i. Myntra, a Flipkart Group company, acquired Jabong from Global Fashion Group (GFG) for$70

million.

ii. Myntra and parent Flipkart together held 60 per cent share of the online fashion and lifestyle

market in the country. With the acquisition of Jabong, the Share per cent will be increased

to 75%.

120 | P a g e


A10 Networks acquires cloud firm Appcito

i. California based application delivery controllers Specialist A10 Networks acquired the Software

Company Appcito based in California will help the A10 to become a comprehensive secure

application services provider.

ii. Upon this buy combined firm will bring various new solutions also comprise a cloud services

controller for centralised application policy management and orchestration, elastic application traffic

management capabilities.

Oracle acquires Net suite for $9.3 Billion, indicating its growth in cloud computing

business

i. In order to gain market share in the fast-growing cloud computing business, Oracle acquired

Net suite in a whopping $9.3 billion cash deal.

ii. Oracle and NetSuite both offer software applications that help companies automate back

end and administrative operations from technology to human resources.

iii. Oracle Corporation established in 1977 is an American multinational computer technology

corporation, headquartered in Redwood City, California. The company primarily specializes in

developing and marketing database software and technology, cloud engineered systems and

enterprise software products.

Cognizant acquires Idea Couture for an undisclosed amount

i. New Jersey headquartered Cognizant Technology Solutions has acquired Idea Couture to

boost its digital technologies offering. While the deal size did not disclosed.

ii. The U.S.-based Idea Couture is a designing and prototyping products, services and business

Models Company.

iii. The new acquisition strengthens the Cognizant Digital Works that makes human insight,

strategy, design, technology and industry expertise to create innovative solutions.

SCHEMES NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP PROMOTION SCHEME – got its ground clear by Cabinet.

i. With a massive target of training 50 lakh apprentices, The Union Cabinet presided over by Mr.

Narendra Modi approved the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme on July 5th2016.

ii. This scheme has a disbursal of about 10,000 crores in order to achieve its vast target of

training 50 lakh apprentices.

iii. Apprenticeship Training is considered to be one of the most efficient ways to develop skilled

manpower for the country. It provides for an industry led, practice oriented, effective and efficient

mode of formal training.

iv. This scheme will be implemented by Director General of Training (DGT) under Ministry of

121 | P a g e


Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).

v. Being a first attempt in offering financial assistance to the apprentices, Central Government will

share 25% of the total stipend payable to the employee directly with employers.

Meghalaya Governor launched the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA)

i. Meghalaya Governor V.Shanmuganathan inaugurated the launch of Pradhan Mantri

Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) in the East Khasi Hills District of Meghalaya at a

programme organized by the office of the District Medical & Health Officer, East Khasi Hills District,

under the aegis of the National Health Mission.

ii. Addressing the concern over the high Maternal Mortality Rate in the state of Meghalaya, the

Governor in his speech called upon all stake holders including the government, social and religious

organizations, youth bodies and the general public to come together to ensure safe and secure

delivery of children.

iii. The inaugural programme was followed by a daylong Free Medical Camp for Pre-Natal and Post-

Natal care which was availed by hundreds of women and children.

ABOUT PMSMA:

♦ PMSMA Scheme is a new initiative of the central government aimed at boosting the health care

facilities for pregnant women especially the poor.

♦ The scheme provides that pregnant women would be given health check-up and required

treatment for free on the 9th of every month in all government hospitals and health centers across

India.

Cabinet approves Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) with an outlay of

Rs.12000 crore

In order to impart skilling to One Crore Indian population in the next four years, PM Narendra Modi

unveiled Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) with an outlay ofRs.12000 crore.

This scheme will impart new skills to 60 lakh people and also make certifications to 40 lakh people

acquired under the Recognition of Prior Learning.

• In this Scheme, the training and assessment cost will be directly given to the training

providers and assessing bodies as per the common norms.

• The financial assistance to the trainees is to be disbursed through the DBT – Direct

Benefit Transfer scheme in the form of travel allowance, boarding and lodging fee.

• At the same time, the subsidy disbursement mandates the link of Aadhar and Biometric

for transparency and better transmission.

• In a nest step of addressing the skill requirements in different states, State Governments

would be involved through a project based approach under the PMKVY 2016-20 with 25%

of the total training targets as both physical and financial forms.

General guidance, supervision and job arrangements for the trained people will be made through

122 | P a g e


♦ Rozgar Melas (placement camps)

♦ Kaushal Shivirs (mobilization camps).

This target allocation between fresh training’s and RPL will be flexible and interchangeable

depending on functional and operational requirements.

GOI releases 100 crore as its contribution for Atal Pension Yojana

i.Government of India liberated Rs. 100 crore as its contribution to the Atal Pension Yojana

Scheme.

ii.This additional contribution is offered to those who enrolled before march 31,2016 as 50% of

the user contribution with a cap value of Rs.1000.

iii. The APY is focused on all citizens in the unorganized sector. The scheme is administered by

the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA)through NPS architecture.

iv.This scheme is implemented through the APY Service Providers comprising of Public Sector

Banks, Private Sector Banks, Regional Rural Banks, Cooperative Banks and Department

of Post both in urban and rural areas across the country.

Rs. 28,000 cr released under MGNREGA

i. Parliament was informed by Minister of State for Rural Development Ram Kripal Yadav that this

year over Rs. 28,000 crore has been released Union government to States under MGNREGA

Scheme to disburse last year’s accountabilities and for running the programme in the ongoing

year.

ii. To avoid delay in paying wages to the beneficiaries of the Scheme government has started

National Electronic Fund Management System in 11 States.

M/O Tourism approves projects of Rs. 275 crore for development of Krishna & Heritage

circuit of State of Haryana, Rajasthan & Gujarat under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme.

i. Under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme the Tourism Ministry has give its nod to the project

worth Rs. 275 Crore for development of Krishna and Heritage circuit of State of Haryana,

Rajasthan and Gujarat.

ii. Out of the total outlay Rs 195 crore for Krishna Circuit in Haryana and Rajasthan, however

projects worth Rs 80 crore for Heritage Circuit on Mahatma Gandhi theme in Gujarat.

iii. The Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee (CSMC) for the Swadesh Darshan Scheme

met under the Chairmanship of Tourism Secretary Vinod Zutshi.

iv. Under Krishna Circuit in State of Rajasthan many sites including Jaipur are covered with total

project cost of approximately Rs. 98.00 Crore.

Rs 2,048 crore sanctioned under ‘Swadesh Darshan” Scheme

i. Tourism Ministry has sanctioned 25 projects under the “Swadesh Darshan” scheme

worth Rs. 2048 Crore to 21 States and Union Territories.

123 | P a g e


ii. The 21 States and Union Territories include Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan,

Maharashtra, Kerala, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Bihar,

West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam,

Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Tripura.

iii. North Eastern States: Ministry has sanctioned 9 projects worth Rs. 821 Crores covering all the

8 states.

iv. It has also sanctioned 3 projects for Rs. 282 Crores to the SG of Nagaland, Chhattisgarh and

Telangana.

Manipur joins UDAY scheme, to get benefits worth Rs 263 crore

i. North Eastern state Manipur has joined the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) scheme.

It is the 14th state to join the UDAY.

ii. The state will get benefit of around Rs 263 crore upon joining and can improve the state

efficiency of the Discoms. The state also the first in Northern states to join in Scheme.

iii. In this regard MoU was inked between Centre and Manipur and its discoms for the benefit of the

Discom

Govt allows state-run general insurers to sell PM’s crop insurance schemes

i. Government of India made a pact of Allowing four Public Sector Insurers in PMFBY (Pradhan

Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana) on July 3rd ,2016.

ii. Along with the existing 11 private sector Insurers now Government allowed Four PSU’s

namely LIC(life Insurance Corporation of India), General Insurance Corporation of India,

National Insurance Co. ltd, Oriental Insurance Co. ltd. to increase the agricultural insurance

cover to a great extent.

iii. The Government aims to achieve a huge potential of $2.5 Billion insurance premium collection

in the upcoming agricultural practice seasons.

iv. The PMFBY has replaced the existing two crop insurance schemes — the National Agricultural

Insurance Scheme (NAIS) and the Modified NAIS.

Government unveils fourth tranche of Sovereign Gold Bonds

Union Finance Ministry has launched the fourth Tranche of Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGB) for

resident individuals and institutional investors. It will be open for investment from July 18 to 22.

• The issue price of the 4th tranche has been fixed at Rs. 3119 per gram of gold based

on average of last week prices of physical gold.

• The first three tranches had attracted an investment of 1318 crore, equivalent to 4.9

metric tons of gold at the then prevailing prices.

• The government presented bonds are a physical gold plus since it also gives an

interest of 2.75 percent per annum, payable every six months on initial investment.

124 | P a g e


Revised Norms:

• The investment in SGB is also eligible investment for Statutory Liquidity Ratio of Banks.

The SGB is eligible to be converted into Demat form and can be used as collaterals for

availing loans.

• The SGB shall be repayable on the expiration of eight years from the date of the issue

and premature redemption is permitted after fifth, sixth and seventh years from the date

of issue of SGB.

• The minimum subscription has been reduced to one gm, although the maximum remains

at 500 gm per person/institution.

Madhubabu Pension Scheme extended to 50 lakh beneficiaries with the latest addition of

3 lakh people

i. On the mark of Independence Day celebrations, ‘Madhubabu Pension Scheme‘ is going to be

extended to three lakh more beneficiaries from August 15.

ii. Odisha Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik directed the district collectors to extend this pension

scheme in order to ensure social security for all the people on time.

iii. On the addition of these 3 lakh beneficiaries on 15 august, this scheme covers 50 lakh

beneficiaries marking a strategic mark in building the social security of the normal people of

Odisha.

iv. The eligible people below poverty line (BPL) category would be covered under this Madhu Babu

Pension Yojana. Under the old-age pension scheme, a person receives Rs 300 per month after

attaining 60 years.

v. Beneficiaries beyond the age of 80 receive Rs 500 per month. While the state government

provides Rs 100 under the scheme, the remaining amount is provided by the Centre.

MoUs Haryana to develop new industrial township in Gurgaon district at $ 5 billion

i. Haryana Governemnt set up a board for Developing new industrial township in Guragon District

of Haryana on JULY 3RD, 2016.

ii. Government of Haryana signed a MoU With China Fortune Land Development (CFLD)

company for $5 Billion fund assistance for setting up this township.

iii. The agreement was signed by Haryana Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation

(HSIIDC) Managing Director Sudhir Rajpal and China Fortune Land Development Company

President Jerry Zhao.

iv. It is spreaded to a vast area of about 1500 acres in Sohna and Manesar Areas of Guragon

district of Haryana.

125 | P a g e


Bihar signs MoU with Bangkok firm for disaster risk reduction

i. Bihar government signed a MoU with Bangkok-based Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre

(ADPC) to implement the Roadmap for Disaster Risk Reduction in Bihar (2015-30). The move will

help reduce disaster risk management in the state.

ii. The ADPC centre will deliver technical assistance to implement the Roadmap for Disaster Risk

Reduction in Bihar (2015-30).

iii. One of the targets of the roadmap is bring down the loss of human lives in natural disasters by

75 per cent within 2030 in comparison to the current data.

UTTAR PRADESH inks pact with NETHERLANDS to foster Farmer Welfare

i.Akilesh Yadav led Uttar Pradesh Government signed an Memorandum of Understanding with

Netherland in order to set up a new Skill Development Centre for Famers of UP.

ii.This MoU ensures procedure about how modern techniques can be also used for better

production of sugarcane, potato, dairy development and flowers apart from getting information of

food processing.

iii. Following this declaration, Netherland is going to help out UP in several sectors such

as solid waste management, urban development and infrastructure and water

management, water supply, cleanliness of water resources, sewage treatment, transport

management and revival of water bodies.

iv. The MoU will be effective for 3 years and would also help in land reclamation of 1,500 acres in

the Ganga basin in Kanpur and development of cultural heritage.

v.This MoU results in a state where the agriculture production would increase, dairy industry would

be modernised and modern technology would be introduced in the food-processing industry.

Union Cabinet nods for the Indo – Swiss MoU for Skill Development

i. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi has approved a

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which was signed between India and the State

Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation of the Swiss Confederation for cooperation in

skill development.

ii. This MoU was signed on June 22, 2016, during the visit of a delegation, led by the Minister of

State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to Switzerland.

Cabinet Approves a MoU between India and Mozambique on Airline Promotions

i. The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved signing of the Air Services agreement

between India and Mozambique.

ii. This Agreement intends as a move to regulate and advance air connectivity between the two

countries.

126 | P a g e


Indo – African MoU gets its approval from Indian Union Cabinet

i. The Union Cabinet sanctioned a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed betweenIndia and

Tunisia .

ii. This MoU is signed between both the countries both the countries on June 2, 2016 for toning up

bilateral cooperation in the field of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and

Digital Economy.

Afhanisthan Traders laid a platform to tie up with Indian Traders in MADE IN

AFGHANISTHAN Conference

i. As a platform to promote Afghan products and to boost trade relations between both nations,

a conference named ‘Made in Afghanistan’ was held in New Delhi.

ii. ‘Made in Afghanistan: Harnessing the Economic Potential‘ was the theme of this

neighboring conference.

iii. This Conference has been designated to enable for the Afghani entrepreneurs to connect with

the Indian Business men mainly in the Agricultural Sector.

iv. During the event, An MoU was also signed between FICCI-FLO andAfghanistan women

business federation for business promotion.

Cabinet nods for the approval of MoU between India and Mauritius in the field of rural

development and poverty alleviation

Following the reshuffling of the cabinet, Union ministry led by Mr. Narendra Modi has approved the

signing of Memorandum of Understanding between India and Mauritius in the field of

Rural development and Poverty Alleviation on 5th July 2016.

• As both the countries have a large segment of their population living in rural areas and are

pre-dominantly dependent on agriculture and its allied activities for their livelihoods. This

MoU will help to constitute a integral framework for cooperation between the National

Development Unit, Prime Minister’s Office of the Republic of Mauritius and the

Ministry of Rural Development of the Republic of India.

• Key objectives:

i. Exchange of relevant information and documents in the sphere of rural development,

including scientific and technical information together with policies and support

measures adopted to foster rural development

ii. Cooperation by exchanging relevant information on issues of mutual interest

Undertaking exchange visits on programmes to foster sharing of experience

iii. Collaboration to strengthen their human resource capacity through sector-specific in-

country training in Mauritius and training at reputed institutions in India through customized

schemes and

iv. To facilitate the transfer of latest technology, state of the art equipment and

materials, and share best practices.

127 | P a g e


Cabinet approval of MoU between INDIA AND TANZANIA

i. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved signing of a

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Tanzania in the field ofTraditional

Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy.

ii. Tanzania is an important East African country with historical ties with India and with substantial

population of around 70 thousand Indian diaspora. Tanzania and India have traditionally enjoyed

close, friendly and co-operative relations.

iii. The MoU will provide integrated structured frame work for the cooperation between the two

countries for the promotion and propagation of Indian Traditional Systems of Medicine &

Homeopathy in Tanzania.

Karnataka Inks pack with Sanya City, China

i. A (MoU) has been signed between the Karnataka Region Economic and Trade Organization

(KRETO) and Sanya People Municipal Government of China in order to nurture the trade

between Sanya City and Karnataka.

ii. This pack permits for large and medium delegations from china to visit Karnataka and vice-

versa.

iii. This pack also permits for Sanya city to be certified as an accredited destination for the

delegations from Karnataka.

Agreement between BHEL, India and Bangladesh for power generation.

i. An agreement was signed with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), India to build the

1,320MW coal-fired power plant at Rampal of Bagerhat, near the Sundarbans mangrove

forest.

ii. Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Pvt Limited signed the contract agreement for

main plant EPC (turnkey) package with BHEL in Dhaka.

iii. Prime Minister’s Adviser Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, State Minister for Power, Energy and

Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid, Indian Power Secretary Pradeep Pujari and Indian High

Commissioner Harsh Vardhan Shringla witnessed the signing event.

iv. The estimated cost of the project is $1.49 billion.

India and USA ties up for Petroleum & Renewable Energy conservation

i. An agreement was signed between Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and US Secretary of

Energy Dr Ernest Moniz in Washington

ii. According to this agreement, the two countries agreed to enhance institutional and technical

cooperation in specific areas such as assessment and unconventional hydrocarbon

reserves inIndia both onshore and offshore; new technologies in development of second

generation bio-fuel and development of Petroleum storage.

iii. The two ministers also agreed on the need for regular meetings of officials and experts

128 | P a g e


from both sides

India Japan inks Social Security Agreement

i. India and Japan have entered into a social security agreement and benefit thousands of Indian

and Japanese professionals and skilled workers working in the both the countries. The Agreement

will come into force on 1 October.

India Japan inks Social Security Agreement

ii. The move is to avoid double social security contributions means an Indian worker working in

Japan will be exempt from making a social security contribution there. Likewise Japan Workers

who serve in India.

Apollo Hospitals signs MoU with Osler Health for research in chronic disease

i.Chennai based Apollo Hospitals has signed a MoU with William Osler Health System aims to

positively impact the health and wellness of the patients they serve.

ii.Under this iniative scientists at the two organisations will begin by identifying areas of

cooperation, collaboration and innovation, particularly around the range of diseases like

diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

Nalco signs MoU with BARC for research and development

i. Bhubaneswar based National Aluminium Company has signed an MoU with Bhabha Atomic

Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, for research and development cooperation in the fields of mutual

interest.

ii. The pact was signed by BK Satpathy, Executive Director of NALCO and Jagtap, Director of

BARC.

Ola signs MoU with govt. to benefit ‘Safai Karamcharis’

i. Cab aggregator Ola has signed a MoU with National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development

Corporation (NSKFDC) to focus on building a sustainable framework by supporting

entrepreneurship, skill development training and self-defence courses for Safai Karamcharis and

Scavengers.

ii. This partnership has the potential to generate synergies that will result in a better future for

driver entrepreneurs by creating sustainable careers and livelihoods for them.

DABUR India Inks MoU with DIHAR for Sustainable Development

i.India based largetst FMCG Company Dabur signed an MoU with DIHAR – Defense

Institute of High Altitude Research, A regulatory body governed by DRDO.

ii.This MoU is agreed to establish sustainable cultivation of rarefied medicinal

plants inLadakh, one of the most difficult tracts in the world.

iii. Dabur and DIHAR altogether is going to educate farmers in the Leh-Ladakh region about high

129 | P a g e


altitude medicinal plant species. This will enhance the livelihood of villagers in the cold desert area

by involving them in the cultivation of medicinal plants..

India, WHO tie up for promotion of Yoga, Ayurveda

i.Indian AYUSH Ministry has inked Pact with World Health Organisation for promotion the

systems Indian medicines that encompasses Yoga and Ayurveda, Worldwide.

ii.It was signed in Geneva by Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH, Ajit M Sharan and Assistant Director

General, Health Systems and Innovations, WHO, Marie Kieny.

iii.This pact was inked to accomplish support in promoting quality, safety and effectiveness in

traditional and complementary medicine.

iv.The Agreement four main categories namely Yoga,Ayurveda,Unani medicine and

Panchkarma.

NITI Aayog signs deal with Intel to foster Young Innovators of India

i. A two-year statement of intent (SOI) signed between NITI AAYOG and tech giant Intel

India to set up the first 10 Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) in the country to foster curiosity,

creativity and imagination among young innovators.

ii. NITI Aayog also organized an expert consultative group meeting on creating a framework

for operating 500 ATLs.

iii. A sum of $15 million has been earmarked to be spent over a period of next five years to build

and manage 500 ATLs in schools and communities around the country and these first 10 ATLs will

act as exemplars for the rest of them.

India inks Rs 262-crore deal with ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems

i. Indian Government signed a deal with Thyssennkrupp marine systems, Germany on june

30,2016 in Mumbai.

ii. In order To retrofit the anti-ship American Harpoon Missiles (AHM) on two shishumar class

submarines namely INS SHANKUSH and INS SHALKI at NAVAL DOCKYARD, MUMBAI.

iii. AHM’s were bought from America in 2014 for $200 Million in order to enhance India’s defense

capability.

Cabinet approves Bilateral Investment Treaty between India and Cambodia

i. Union Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval to the

Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) between India and Cambodia.

ii. The agreement is intended to promote and protect investments from either country in other

country that also increasing bilateral investment flows.

iii. The Agreement is to look on the opportunities to create favourable conditions for investors of

the other country to make investments.

130 | P a g e


NetApp signs deal for Varanasi’s Smart City initiatives

i. American storage and data management company NetApp has signed a MoU with

Varanasi and Karnal Municipal Corporation to develop Smart City Developments.

ii. The Data major will provide storage, surveillance and security infrastructure also to get the

specifications, design elements and architecture right of the projects

COMMITTEES Government forms Four-member committee to examine desirability and feasibility of

having a new financial year.

i. Government has constituted a four-member committee to examine the desirability and

feasibility of having a new financial year.

ii. This Four-Member committee, headed by former Chief Economic Adviser Shankar Acharya.

Other Members:

♦ Former Cabinet Secretary – K M Chandrasekhar,

♦ Tamil Nadu’s former Finance Secretary – P V Rajaraman

♦ Centre for Policy Research Senior Fellow – Rajiv Kumar

iii. It will look into the impact of having a new financial year in relation to effect of different

agricultural crop periods, taxation systems and procedures and impact on businesses.

iv. The committee will examine merits and demerits of various dates for the commencement of the

financial year, including the current date of April 1.

Government sets up panel to consider MSP hike, bonus for pulse production

i. Union government set up a high-level committee headed by Chief Economic Adviser Arvind

Subramanian to consider a reasonable increase in minimum support price (MSP) for pulsesand

bonus for farmers.

ii. To address the issue of escalating prices of pulses the committee was named that will submit its

report in two weeks. It will look into various options, including MSP and bonus.

iii. A ministerial committee chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jatley also decided to increase the

buffer stocks to 20 lakh tonnes from the existing 8 lakh tonnes.

iv. The government will import 1 lakh tonne of arhar and tur dal annually from Mozambique.

PM Modi, during his visit to African countries including Mozambique, signed an agreement in this

regard.

Madhav Chitale committee constituted to prepare guidelines for desiltation of River

Ganga

i. A committee has been constituted to gear up the guidelines for the desiltation (clearing odd

the silts) of the river Ganga by the Union Ministry of Ministry of Water Resources, River

Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.

131 | P a g e


ii. This desiltation process is going to be carried out from Bhimgauda (Uttarakhand) to Farakka

(West Bengal).

iii. It also establishes difference between desilting and sand mining and also the need for desilting

for ecology and free flow of the holy Ganga.

iv. The committee has a tenure of three month and it comprises of the following members:-

♦ Shri Madhav Chitale (Expert Member, NGRBA) – Chairman of the committee.

♦ Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation

♦ Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change

♦ Mukesh Sinha, Director, Central Water and Power Research Station, Pune.

v. The setting up of this committee is proposed by Uma Bharti when she chaired the 6th meeting

of the National Ganga River Basin Authority in New Delhi in July, 2016.

MHA sets up T V S N Prasad Committee to explore possible alternatives to pellet guns in

Kashmir

i. Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has constituted a seven-member expert committee for

exploring the other possible alternatives to pellet guns can be lethal, when sensitive parts like

eyes are hit.

ii. The Committee will be headed by Joint Secretary in the MHA T V S N Prasad. The remaining six

members include members of the committee: Atul Karwal (IG, CRPF), Rajeev Krishna, (IG

Operations, BSF), Tushar Tripathy (DDG, Small Arms, Ordnance factory Board) and Naresh

Bhatnagar (Professor at IIT, Delhi).

iii. The committee likely will submit its report within two months.

Sudarshan Sen Committee to brush up the FINTECH Payments Entity

i. In order to study regulatory issues relating to financial technology and digital banking in India,

the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) set up an inter-regulatory working group on July 14. This idea

is executed as suggested by the sub-committee of the Financial Stability and Development Council

(FSDC).

ii. On last April 26, the Financial Stability and Development Council – Sub Committee (FSDC – SC),

had decided to set up such a Working Group to look into and report on the chondritic aspects of

Fintech and its significance’s.

iii. This enacting group is chaired by Sudarshan Sen, Executive Director of RBI, and also

comprises of 12 members including

♦ AP Hota, MD and CEO, National Payments Corporation of India

♦ AS Ramasastri, Director, Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology

♦ Mrutyunjay Mahapatra, Deputy Managing Director

♦ CIO, State Bank of India

♦ Nitin Chugh, Head (Digital Banking), HDFC Bank.

132 | P a g e


SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

China launches second Shijian-16 series satellite

i. China launched its second Shijian-16 series satellite for space research and experiments that

was carried by a Long March-4B rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China. The

first Chinese satellite, Shijian-16 was launched in 2013.

ii. The second series satellite will be used for space environment measurements and technology

testing.

iii. It will monitor the space environment, radiation and its effects and also record space physical

environment constraints and conduct other related space experiments.

Researcher develops non-invasive method to kill cancer cells in two hours

i. Scientists have developed a non-invasive method which can kill cancer cells in twohours, an

advance that may considerably help people with inoperable tumours, as well as young children

stricken with the deadly disease.

ii. The method involves injecting a chemical compound,nitro benzaldehyde, into the tumour

and allowing it to diffuse into the tissue also a beam of light is then targeted at the tissue, causing

the cells to become very acidic inside and, essentially, commit suicide.

iii. In two hours close to 95 per cent of the targeted cancer cells are dead are estimated to be dead

according to the study made by Matthew Gdovin from University of Texas in the US.

World biggest and sensitive radio telescope “FAST” completed in China!

i. World’s largest and sensitive radio telescope, FAST (Five hundred meter Aperture Spherical

Telescope) Has been installed in Pingtang county, South west China. The final Installation finished

on 3rd july,2016.

ii. As the name indicates, it will have a diameter of 500 metres.

iii. FAST will have an effective dish size of 300 m and is capable of covering the sky within ±40°

from the zenith.

vi. It costs around $180 Million to the China government to built this exploring radio telescope.

A rarefied ant mimicking spider species found in Kerala

i. Kerala, being an abode of biodiversity & wildlife numerous plants and creatures are living in its

dense forests. In evidencing such a rich multifariousness, a new species of ANT-MIMICKING

SPIDER was found in the WAYANAD Wildlife Sanctuary of KERALA.

ii. This peculiar mimicking spider has been jointly discovered by researchers of the Centre for

Animal Taxonomy and Ecology (CATE) of Christ College, Irinjalakuda, and the Oxford Museum of

Natural History, London.

iii. Among the 300 different species of spider, this unique spider belongs to the Aetius genus of the

133 | P a g e


ant-mimicking spider family Corinidae.

NASA’S JUNO SPACE PROBE – embraced yet another milestone in space exploration!

Juno spacecraft followed by The Galileo is a key mission endeavoured to explore and study the

biggest planet of the solar system “The Jupiter”. It was launched on 2011 fromCape Canaveral

station, Florida. This craft is designed in a special way to study the

• composition,gravity field,magnetic field, and polar magnetosphere of Jupiter.

• “Juno – Welcome to Jupiter”, acclaimed all the scientists and researchers in the station in

immense joy and pleasure

Researchers Develop Electronic Nose To Sniff Out Pesticides and Nerve Gas

i. An international team of researchers led by Ivo Stassen and Rob Ameloot from KU Leuven,

Belgium has developed an Electronic nose that smells pesticides and nerve gas.

ii. It is a very sensitive electronic nose with metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).

iii. MOFs are like microscopic sponges which can absorb quite a lot of gas into their minuscule

pores.

iv. MOFs can measure very low concentrations, so it can be very easy to identify the diseases

like lung cancer at an earlier stage.

ARTIFICIAL PANCREAS – A boon to Diabetic patients

i. In order to monitor blood glucose in patients with diabetes an automatically adjusts levels of

insulin entering the body, researchers found how to make a artificial PANCREAS in 2018.

ii. One part of the clinical need for the artificial pancreas is the variability of insulin requirements

between and within individuals – on one day a person could use one third of their normal

requirements, and on another three times what they normally would.

iii. Currently available technology allows insulin pumps to deliver insulin to people with diabetes

after taking readings from glucose meters, but these two components are separate.

iv. It is the joining together of both parts into a ‘closed loop’ and makes an artificial pancreas.

New tarantula species named in the honor of Nobel laureate Garcia Marquez

i. A new species of tarantula has been identified near the home town of Gabriel Garcia Marquez,

the late Nobel literature laureate.

ii. The newly researched “Kankuamos marquezi” is named for both Garcia Marquez and the

indigenous Kankuamo group who live in the area of Caribbean Colombia where the writer was born.

iii. spider’s body is three centimeters long with legs the same length giving an overall size of nine

centimeter (3.5 inches).

iv. Garcia Marquez: He was born in Aracataca near Colombia’s northern coast and started out as

a journalist in Cartagena.

134 | P a g e


China inducts its largest homegrown military transport plane, Y20.

i. China has inducted its largest indigenously-built transport aircraft Y-20, that allows the world’s

largest force to transport cargo and troops over long distances in diverse weather conditions.

ii. The maximum take off weight of that transport plane is 200 tonnes.

iii. The plane is comparable to the Russian-made IL-76 and the US C-17.

NASA’s Next Airborne Mission unveiled to Study Earth Atmosphere

i. order to map the contours of the Earth’s atmosphere to discover how much pollution exists in the

most remote corners of the planet and assess how the environment has changed,NASA is going

to unveil a new airborne mission.

ii. The Atmospheric Tomography (ATom) mission is the first to survey the atmosphere over the

oceans.

iii. Scientists aboard NASA’s DC-8 flying laboratory will journey from the North Pole south over

the Pacific Ocean to New Zealand and then across to the tip of South America and north up the

Atlantic Ocean to Greenland.

iv. Researchers found that pollutants emitted to the atmosphere – soot, hydrocarbons, nitrogen

oxides – are dispersed over the whole globe, but remote regions are cleaner, by factors of 1000 or

more, than areas near the continents.

HD 131399Ab – A Strange Planet Found by the Astronomers

i. An international team of astronomers have announced the discovery of a strange planet in a

faraway solar system that contains not just only one sun, but three.

ii. The distant planet, named HD 131399Ab, by far the widest known orbit within a multi-star

system. The discovery is published online by the journal Science.

iii. Located about 340 light years from Earth in the constellation Centaurs, HD 131399Ab is

believed to be about 16 million years old.

iv. Having a temperature of 850 Kelvin (about 1,070 degrees Fahrenheit or 580 degrees Celsius)

and weighing in at an estimated four Jupiter masses, it is also one of the coldest and least massive

directly imaged exoplanets.

Centre for Propulsion Technology – DRDO signs Accord with IITs

i. The Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) on Saturday signed an

agreement with IIT-Bombay and Madras to establish a bi—nodal ‘Centre of Propulsion

Technology’ (CoPT) at the two institutions

ii. The Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) on Saturday signed an agreement

with IIT-Bombay and Madras.

iii. The agreement is aimed at achieving synergy between DRDO and IITs for channelizing research

efforts towards developing products and aerospace technologies.

135 | P a g e


Spanish train Talgo train clocks 120 kmph during Mathura-Palwal trial

i. Spanish made train Talgo commenced its second phase trial from Mathura at a speed of120 km

per hour.

ii. The train fitted with nine coaches covered 84 kmdistance in about 53 minutes. The trial

between Mathura and Palwal will go on for 25 days and the speed will go up to 180 kmph

this time.

iii. The prime mover of the train i.e pulled by a 4,500 HP diesel engine, Talgo coaches are

lightweight and designed in a way that it can run on curves without decelerating the speed.

iv. Besides reducing travel time, Talgo’s lighter trains consume 30 per cent less energy.

Bengaluru-based Startup Launches India’s First Smart Glucometer for Diabetics

i. Bengaluru based start-up Cooey Technologies has released India’s first IOT Glucometer that

wirelessly syncs data with a smartphone by combining user-centric design and smart technology.

ii. The Smart Glucometer is compact also pocket-sized device that is portable, connects to a

smartphone using the 3.5mm headphone jack and transfers the readings automatically into the

Cooey application.

New electronic tattoo can read emotions

i. Nano technologists at Tel Aviv University have created a new adhesive Electronic Tattoo that

can read emotions and also can improve muscle control of amputees and patients with brain

injuries.

ii. The tattoo consists nanotechnology-based conductive polymer coating that increases the carbon

electrode’s performance. It archives a strong, steady signal for hours on end without irritating the

skin.

iii. The electrode, developed by Yael Hanein of Tel Aviv University in Israel, may develop the

therapeutic restoration of injured nerves and tissue.

Newly discovered dwarf planet takes 700 years to orbit the sun

i. Astronomers has discovered a new dwarf planet dubbed 2015 RR245 in the icy realms of

space beyond Neptune. The system is 120 times farther from the Sun than the Earth at its farthest

orbital point.

ii. An international team of astronomers marked the tiny world using the Canada-France-Hawaii

Telescope as part of the Outer Solar System Origins Survey.

iii. The dwarf is likely to be around 700 kilometer in size, not more than five percent that of

Earth’s. It has one of the biggest orbits for a dwarf planet, however, taking some 700 years to

travel around the Sun.

Talgo becomes the fastest train; clocks 180 km/hr

i. Spanish-made Talgo is the fastest train in the country by clocking a speed of 180 km/hr

136 | P a g e


by covering 84 km in 38 minutes in a trial conducted by Railways on Mathura-Palwal route,

surpassing the record of Gatimaan Express whose speed is 160 km/hr.

ii. When the trial, the train covered 84 km in 38 minutes between Mathura and Palwal. On the

first day of the trial between Mathura and Palwal, the train had clocked 120 km/hrfollowing which

it was decided that its speed would be increased by 10 km/hr.

iii. The Talgo train also aims to connect the national capital, New Delhi, with the financial

capital, Mumbai.

Boston Scientific launches first integrated facility in India

i. Boston Scientific Company has launched its first integrated facility in India to develop and sell

minimally invasive technologies also to train physicians in using them.

ii. The 1 lakh sq ft facility comprises research and development, training and commercial center.

The center will focus on creating market-appropriate products and will also serve as a global

product engineering center.

iii. The Institute for Advancing Science (IAS), a physician training facility equipped with simulators

for hands-on training on innovative technologies, is the newest addition to growing global network

of Boston IAS facilities.

Chinese bullet trains cross at high speeds in world’s first

i. Couple of Chinese made trains running at world-record speeds in opposite direction scrossed

each other on parallel tracks, in the latest feat achieved by China in high-speed rail network.

ii. The two trains Golden Phoenix and Dolphin Blue travelling at 420 km per hour crossed on

lines between Zhengzhou in the central Henan Province and Xuzhou in the eastern Jiangsu

Province.

iii. This feat using homegrown trains, demonstrated that China has fully mastered the core

technology of high-speed trains.

iv. The country has built over 16,000 kms of high-speed train tracks connecting most of the major

cities also it is very significant for the branding and export of Chinese high-speed trains.

NASA’s Next Mars Rover Progresses towards 2020 Launch

i. NASA is in the final design and construction of its next Mars rover, aimed to launch in2020,

which will probe for evidence of past life on the red planet and help prepare for future manned

missions.

ii. The rover is set to arrive on the planet in 2021 to study a region of Mars where the ancient

environment may have been favourable for microbial life.

iii. The mission is the first step in a potential multi mission campaign to return carefully

selected and sealed samples of Martian rocks and soil to Earth.

iv. It results important milestone in NASA’s Journey to Mars to find whether life has ever existed

on Mars, and to advance our goal of sending humans to the Red Planet.

137 | P a g e


Scientists developed a new robot – with human sized feet

US Scientists have developed a new robot that can imitates the walking motion of humans,

making it more energy-efficient and better at navigating uneven terrain.

• The bipedal robot- with human sized feet fastened up in a pair of sneakers steps with a

heel-toe motion that copies human locomotion more closely than flat-footed robot walkers

can.

• The humanoid robot DURUS was designed collaboratively by the research firm SRI

International and Georgia Tech’s Advanced Mechanical Bipedal Experimental

Robotics (AMBER) Lab.

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket propels cargo to International Space Station, lands successfully

i.SpaceX rocket blasted off from Florida to direct a cargo ship to the International Space

Station, then returned around and landed itself at the launch site.

ii.California-based Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies or SpaceX developed the 23-

story-tall Falcon 9 rocket, lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

iii.The on board cargo weighing over 2,300 kilograms includes an international docking adaptor

that will function as a parking spot for commercial space taxis in future.

NASA’s Kepler mission discovers 100 new planets

i.Astronomers has confirmed a treasure trove of new worlds with over 100 new planetsby the

help of Nasa’s Kepler spacecraft on its K2 mission.

ii.The Missions findings made a total 197 initial planets, of which astronomers confirmed 104

planets outside our solar system. All the discovered planets are 20 and 50 % larger in diameter

size than Earth.

iii.Nasa’s Kepler’s K2 mission findings were based on measuring the subtle dip in a star’s brightness

caused by a planet that has provided an ecliptic field of view with greater opportunities for Earth-

based observatories in both the northern and southern hemispheres.

NASA Marks 40 Years of Viking 1 Mars Landing

i. NASA announced that 40 years ago spacecraft of it named Viking 1 landed on the surface of

Mars that had a view of the Red Planet (Mars).

ii. The 90-day operation of the NASA was pushed into a six-year mission, paving the way for

later Mars rovers like Opportunity and Curiosity.

iii. The spacecraft gladdened down on the Martian surface on July 20, 1976, seven years after

Apollo 11 astronauts stepped out onto the moon.

Nasa’s New Institute to Explore Ways to Protect Astronauts

i. American Space Agency NASA has established a new institute for research and

138 | P a g e


development of innovative approaches to reduce risks to astronauts.

ii. As Astronauts have to undergo during long-duration exploration missions, including the journey

to Mars.

iii. On behalf of the move the work under the Translational Research Institute Cooperative

Agreement, overseen will initiate on October 1.

Aquila – first ever high-altitude solar plane successfully tested by FACEBOOK

i. Facebook has successfully tested the first flight of a high-altitude solar plane to bring internet

access to remote parts of the world.

ii. The Aquila drone has the wingspan of an airliner but weighs less than a car. While cruising

it consumes just 5,000 watts – the same as three hairdryers or a powerful microwave.

iii. The company ultimately hopes to have a fleet of Aquilas that can fly for at least three months

at a time at 18,290 meters and communicate with each other to deliver internet access.

CSIR-CMERI develops Solar Power Tree for generation of electricity from solar energy

i. Durgapur based CSIR run-Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-CMERI)

developed Solar Power Tree harnesses solar energy for producing electricity with an innovative

vertical arrangement of solar cells.

ii. The development named Solar Power Tree was launched by Science and Technology Minister Dr.

Harsh Vardhan in New Delhi.

iii. The estimated cost of the system is around 5 Lakh rupees for a 5 KW specification.

Oil-degrading bacteria to undergo field trials

i. Malabar Botanical Garden and Institute of Plant Sciences, Kozhikode, has joined hands

with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) for field trials to establish the oil-degrading

properties of three new strains of bacteria.in order to clean up petroleum pollutants from the

environment.

ii. Scientists isolate the key hydrocarbon-degrading enzyme produced by the bacteria.

iii. A pilot plant is being established at Kochi.

Chinese Aviation Company comes up with an amphibious giant to modernize its Armed

Forces

i. China brings out an amphibious aircraft cum seaplane which is the largest of its kind in the

world, used for marine rescues and to prevent forest fires.

ii. This double character airplane named AG600 merely about the size of a Boeing 737 and its built

to plane built to take off and land on water.

iii. The state-run Aviation Industry Corporation of China unveiled this first of the new planes in the

southern port city of Zhuhai and the homegrown production is the latest effort in the country’s

program to wean itself off dependence on foreign aviation firms

139 | P a g e


iv. With a maximum take-off weight of 53.5 tons, the AG600 is the largest seaplane in the world,

Xinhua said. It has a reported flight range of 4,500 kilometers and can collect 12 tons of water

in only 20 seconds.

v. The plane is part of a massive program to modernize China’s armed forces, the world’s

largest, which includes the development of aircraft carriers, anti-satellite missiles and stealth

fighters.

Solar Impulse 2 completes historic round-the-world trip

i. Solar Impulse 2, the first plane powered by renewable energy has completed the first round

world trip.

ii. The solar-powered plane finally arrived at Al-Bateen Executive Airport located in Abu Dhabi,

where it had started its journey 505 days ago.

iii. The plane is extra sensitive to weather patterns and it depends on the sun for power and also

its tiny weight makes it difficult to fly through heavy cloud cover or rain.

iv. The flight covered a remarkable 42,000-kilometre journey across four continents, two oceans

and three seas.

Culex mosquito strain that carries ZIKA Virus is found by Brazil Researchers

i. Zika virus is a member of the virus family Flaviviridae and the genus Flavivirus. It is spread by

daytime-active Aedes mosquitoes, such as A. aegypti and A. albopictus. Its name comes from the

Zika Forest of Uganda, where the virus was first isolated in 1947.

ii. Researchers in Brazil announced that the “presence of the Zika virus” in Culex mosquito, a

common house mosquito and its strain capable of carrying the virus is threatening the population.

Digital Attic – a new masterpiece in the field of Data Storage revealed by a Scientist in

Washington

i. Scientist at Microsoft Research in Redmond, Washington, is working to make that sci-fi fantasy a

reality.

ii. The Scientist named Karin Strauss has created a digital attic — a place which stores the old

data like when she published her math paper wrote in high school, and computer science

schoolwork from college.

iii. For long-term storage it’s typically disks or a specialized kind of tape, wound up in cartridges

about three inches on a side and less than an inch thick. A single cartridge containing about half a

mile of tape can hold the equivalent of about 46 million books of 200 pages

NASA To Launch Spacecraft To Near-Earth Asteroid

i. NASA is set to launch a new spacecraft in the month of September that will travel to a near-

Earth asteroid known as Bennu and bring back a sample of surface material which may contain

building blocks of life.

140 | P a g e


ii. The team equipped the spacecraft with an instrument that will measure the spectral signatures

of Bennu’s mineralogical and molecular components.

iii. OVIRS (OSIRIS-REx Visible and Infrared Spectrometer), the instrument will measure visible

and near-infrared light reflected and emitted from the asteroid and split the light into its component

wavelengths, much like a prism that splits sunlight into a rainbow

Reliance Jio will provide Wi-Fi connectivity to all Government Colleges in Puducherry

i. Reliance Jio Company will provide Wi-Fi connectivity to all Government Colleges in

Puducherry under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme.

ii. It will extend to the tourist hot spot Beach Promenade.

IMD sets up new dynamic model in collaboration with IITM for efficient monsoon

predictions

i. A supercomputer running on a dynamical model will make India’s annual summer monsoon

forecast probably from next year.

ii. A dynamical monsoon model works by simulating the weather on powerful computers and

extrapolating it over particular time frames is going to be employed for the efficient and accurate

interpretation of the monsoon conditions in India.

iii. The dynamical model has been used on an experimental basis in the past few years,Indian

Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) scientists in Pune are now confident that it can be

used as the main operational model to make India’s monsoon forecast. IITM works closely with IMD

on forecast technology.

iv. The experimental forecast based on the coupled dynamical model said that the monsoon

rainfall during 2016 is likely to be 111% of the long-period average (LPA) with a margin

of error of 5%.

IGI, New Delhi gets India’s first elevated taxiway for efficient fuel consumption

i. India’s first elevated taxiway will be set up in Indira Gandhi International Airport, New

Delhi. This new infrastructure add-on will get the help the Airport operator to cut down on the

time taken by an aircraft to reach a runway and lead to fewer delays.

ii. The taxiway, which will accommodate aircraft as big as Airbus A380, will help the airlines

save fuel as the plane now have to travel a long distance to reach their take-off points and is likely

to be operational by 2020.

iii. To save fuel, the airlines prefer the runway closer to the terminal to avoid covering Western

Link, this establishment of the 2.5 km Eastern Cross Taxiway, which is going to connect the

Runway 10-28 lying on the side of domestic terminal 1-D with Runway 11-29 at T3, will pass over

the central spinal road connecting the two terminals.

iv. Let it be DIAL, ATC or any airlines, this elevated system will optimize airside utilization and it

will create a win-win situation for every authority working at the airport. It will also help ATC to

141 | P a g e


assist a flight to clear its runway soon after its landing thereby providing way for other incoming

flights.

v. It is noted that an aircraft now has to crawl for about 20-25 minutes before preparing for the

take-off.

West Bengal tourism department launches app

i. West Bengal Tourism Department has launched a mobile app based on the theme of

Experience Bengal aiming to attract the travelers across the world

ii. The App will have various information on places also comes with other facilities like maps and

directions.

iii. The App also comes with various links facilitated on it to ease the needs tourists also has

various festivals of the state.

Indo-US Scientists Discover New Natural Gas Reserve in Indian Ocean

i. India’s Oil Ministry and the US Geological Department has jointly discovered the highly

enriched accumulations of natural gas hydrate Reserve in the Bay of Bengal. This is the first of its

kind in the Indian Ocean.

ii. The Reserve has an amount of gas contained by the world’s gas hydrate reserves are

estimated to greatly exceed the volume of all known conventional gas resources.

iii. The new discovery will help global energy resource potential of gas hydrates.

World’s lightest electric paraglider trike developed

i. National University of Singapore Scientists, including Indian origin have designed and built

the worlds lightest electric paraglider trike, that can take off and land with wheels. It operates on

battery also can reach 6 Km.

ii. The aircraft named Delta, has two propellers that mounted on the tail. The Motors are the prime

movers for the propellers is powered by lithium polymer batteries.

The Delta:

♦ The Delta made of a frame from aluminium with carbon fibre connections – materials for their

strength and lightweight nature weighs 49 kilogrammes, and is capable of carrying one person

up to 75kg. In its current prototype.

♦ It can fly up to a speed of 36 km per hour under normal wind conditions, and for a typical flight

time of 10 minutes on fully-charged batteries. This allows it to cover up to a distance of 6 km.

DEFENCE

INS Viraat, Navy’s ‘Grand Old Lady’, Sets Sail For One Last Time

i. India’s majestic aircraft carrier, INS Viraat aka“Grand Old Lady” of Indian Navy set sail for one

142 | P a g e


last time from Mumbai to Kochi which will be decommissioned later this year.

ii. The 750-feet long ‘giant’ served the Indian Navy with distinction for almost three decades.

iii. The second aircraft carrier of the country has spent 29 years under the Indian flag and 27 years

with the Royal Navy (United Kingdom).

iv. The ship holds the Guinness Record for being the oldest serving warship.

First squadron of LCA Tejas inducted into Indian Air Force

i. The first squadron of indigenously designed and manufactured Light Combat

Aircraft(LCA) Tejas was inducted into Indian Air Force (IAF).

ii. The Tejas is a fourth-generation one which is lightweight, multi-role supersonic single-engine

aircraft designed and developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) jointly with

India’s largest defence PSU, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bengaluru.

Indian Navy launches water jet craft in Kolkata

i. The Indian Navy launched the last of the series of the Water Jet Fast Attack Craft(WJFAC)

ship at a ceremony in Kolkata.

ii. The Water Jet vessel was launched in the waters by wife of chief of logistics, Vice-Admiral Jayant

Korde, at Raja Bagan dockyard to build small ships.

iii. The fighter jet is capable of attack missions and is also used against smuggling and poaching

activities. Water Jet FAC (Fast Attack Craft) 49-meter long vessel weighs 315 tons and is

designed to reach a maximum speed of 35 knots.

iv. The ship Tarasa is named after an island in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago.

Indo-Israel medium range surface-to-air missile, Barak 8 test-fired successfully

i. India successfully blasted off twice a medium-range surface-to-air ballistic missile,

developed in collaboration with Israel, from launch pad 3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at

Chandipur-on-sea in Balasore district off the coast of Odisha.

ii. The missile has a strike range of 70 km, is designed to defend against any airborne threat, apart

from aircraft and helicopters, and can also intercept supersonic aircraft and missiles.

iii. The missile has made by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation

(DRDO), Israel Aerospace Industries and Israel’s Administration for the Development of

Weapons and Technological Infrastructure.

China Navy Conducts Combat Drill in the South China Sea

i. The Chinese navy conducted combat drills near its southern island province of Hainan and the

Paracel islands in the South China Sea on July 9

ii. The drills come ahead of a July 12 ruling by the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration on

a case brought by the Philippines disputing several of China‘s territory claims in

143 | P a g e


the South China Sea.

Admiral Sunil Lanba Commissions Marine Commandos Unit ‘INS Karna’

i. Indian Navy launched a dedicated base for its Special Operation Forces – MARCOS (Marine

Commandos) named INS Karna was commissioned in Visakhapatnamby Chief of Naval Staff

Admiral Sunil Lanba.

ii. The first base for Indian Navy’s elite force with capability to operate in all three dimensions of

warfare – air, land and sea in the homeport of the Navy on the Eastern Seaboard.

iii. The MARCOS East unit has developed in terms of manpower, infrastructure, equipment

holding and other resources.

DRDO successfully test fired ATAGS – A pure Indigenous Combat system

i. DRDO successfully test fired the purely indigenous 155 mm x 52 caliber Advanced Towed

Artillery Gun System (ATAGS), which the Indian Army is all set to get the much needed weapon

for user trials by early 2017.

ii. Giving the ‘Make in India’ initiative for the defense sector yet another boost, DRDO (Defense

Research and Development Organization) built this 155 mm x 52 caliber Advanced Towed Artillery

Gun System (ATAGS) in India itself.

iii. The specialties of ATAGS are, the gun will have a firing range of 40 kms and boasts of

advanced features such as high mobility, quick deploy ability and auxiliary power mode, advanced

communication system, automatic command and control system with night firing capability in direct

fire mode.

Three Indian Naval Ships reaches Port Kelang in Malaysia on four day visit

i. Indian Naval Ships Sahyadri, Shakti and Kirch under the Command of the Flag Officer

Commanding Eastern Fleet, Rear Admiral S V Bhokare, YSM, NM have made a visit at Port

Kelang on a four day visit.

ii. The current visit seeks to enhance maritime cooperation between the Indian Navy and the Royal

Malaysian Navy.

iii. The visiting ships are also to be expected to conduct exercises with the Royal Malaysian Navy,

aimed at enhancing interoperability in communication as well as Search and Rescue procedures,

post departure from Port Kelang.

RIMPAC 2016 – World’s largest international maritime exercise kicks off

i. World’s largest international Biennial maritime exercise named RIMPAC (Rim of the

Pacific) 2016 kicked off in Pacific Ocean at Hawaii, United States.

ii. Over one month long RIMPAC 2016 exercise will see participation of navies from 26 countries.

This year it is the 25th edition of biennial exercise in the series that began in 1971.

iii. India is being represented by Indian Naval ship (INS) Satpura, an indigenously built guided

144 | P a g e


missile stealth frigate.

RIMPAC 2016:

Theme: Capable, Adaptive, Partners.

Course of Exercise: 30 June to 4 August 2016.

Participating Countries: 26

Participants: 45 ships, 5 submarines, about 200 aircrafts and 25000 personnel’s.

New Nations Taking Part for the first time: Denmark, Germany and Italy.

Joint Indo-Thailand Military Exercise ‘Maitree’ culminates

i. The Two Week long Indo-Thailand Military Exercise Maitree–2016 is came to end at

Krabi, Thailand. The exercise had commenced on 15 July 2016.

ii. The Royal Thailand Army hosted the Exercise along with Indian Army where 90

Soldiersfrom India took part.

iii. In the two week exercise there was extensive training to expand interoperability between the

two countries

ENVIRONMENT Bornean Orangutan Now ‘Critically Endangered’: IUCN

i. The Bornean Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) has been declared as the critically

endangered according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This

change means that both species of orangutan now face an exceptionally high risk of extinction in

the wild.

ii. The species has declared Endangered as a reason of deforestation, palm oil plantations and

hunting posing a serious threat to its continued existence.

Bornean orangutan:

These Species share approximately 97% of their DNA with humans.

Bornean females only reproduce once every six to eight years, as it is the longest birth interval of

any land mammal and orangutan numbers are slow to rebound in the wake of meaningful

improvements.

Government permits SEZ units to import solid plastic waste

i. The Environment Ministry of the central government has allowed companies located in Special

Economic Zones (SEZs) to import solid plastic waste.

ii. As per this pact now SEZ units can import plastic or mixed plastic waste prepared to a

specification

iii. The government is conscious that the government will not permit imports of hazardous and

other wastes from any country to India for disposal but will be allowed only for recycling, recovery,

reuse and utilisation, including co-processing

145 | P a g e


SPORTS

Nirmala qualifies for Rio Olympics in 400m

i. Nirmala Sheoran in the women’s 400 metres category has just clocked 51:48seconds at

the 56th National Inter State Senior Athletics Championships at Hyderabad’s G.M.C. Balayogi

Stadium

ii. The Haryana hailed sprinter has thus beaten the qualification mark of 52:20 seconds for Rio by a

fair margin on Day 4 of the meet organised by the Telengana Athletics Association.

Saina moves up to fifth, Jwala-Ashwini slip four places

i. Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal progressed up one place to occupy the fifth spot while P V Sindhu

remained unchanged at 10th in the latest Badminton World Federation Rankings.

ii. Saina swapped places with Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara, who now occupies the sixth spot in the

women’s singles list headed by Spain’s Carolina Marin.

iii. On the other hand in the men’s singles rankings, Srikanth Kidambi, Ajay Jayaram and H S

Prannoy were unchanged at 11th, 24th and 28th respectively.

iv. In the women’s doubles category Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponappa glided four places to be at

20th spot.

v. However their counterparts Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy also came down two places to

occupy 23rd spot while the young pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar moved up

one spot to be at 29th.

Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports grants recognition to Paralympic Committee of India

i. The Union Sports Ministry granted recognition to Paralympic Committee of Indiathat

helps to the several para-athletes who have qualified for Rio Paralympics.

ii. The Ministry decided to grant recognition after the International Paralympic Committee

announced temporary lifting of suspension imposed on the national body last year so that Indians

can take part under the tri-colour in the mega event to be held in Rio in September 2016.

Amla, Bravo in world record fifth-wicket T20 stand

i. Proteas Opener Hasim Amla and West Indies All-rounder Dwayne Bravo set a new world

record for a fifth-wicket stand in Twenty 20 cricket of 150 in 92 balls for the Trinbago Knight

Riders against the Barbados Tridents at Queen’s Park Oval in the Caribbean Premier League.

ii. In the record the Amla went on to score 81 from 54 balls having brought up his half century

from 42 balls while Bravo made an unbeaten 66 with

146 | P a g e


LEWIS STRIKES AGAIN! – AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX TITLE

i. Ace British Formula One Racer LEWIS HAMILTON has bagged the famous

AUSTRIANGRAND PRIX TITLE 2016 by defeating NICO ROSBERG and MAX VESTEREPPAN on

3rd July held in Red Bull Rings, in Styrian mountains of Austria.

ii. Lewis Hamilton collided with Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg on the last lap before passing

him to win a thrilling Austrian Grand Prix.

Sports Ministry Announces Rs 10 Lakh Grant for Mohammed Shahid

i. The Union Sports minister Dr Jitendra Singh announced a grant of Rs 10 lakh for sickly

Olympic gold medallist Mohammed Shahid, who is undergoing treatment for serious liver and

kidney ailment at Medanta Medicity in Gurgaon.

ii. Presently Shahid’s medical expenses are being taken care by his employers Indian Railways.

iii. He is well known for his artistic stickwork, Shahid was a member of the V Baskaran headed

Indian team that won its last gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

Canada Open Badminton: Indian shuttlers bag twin crowns

i. Indian Shuttlers have made their day in the Canada open Grand Prix badminton 2016 by easing

through the final matches.

ii. Indian Shuttler B Sai Praneeth defeated Korea’s Lee Hyun il in a nail biting match to bag the

title of the Canada open badminton grand prix.

iii. Indian Men Doubles team Manu Attri andSumeeth reddy toppled over Adriand liu and Toby

Ng to notch up the Men Doubles Title.

Niranjan wins eight medals in IWAS World Games

i. Bengaluru hailed para swimmer Niranjan Mukundan has bagged eight medals, that covers

three golds, at the recently-concluded IWAS (International Wheelchair and Amputee

Sports) U-23 World Games in Prague, Czech Republic.

ii. Niranjan’s clinched gold medals in 200m freestyle, 50m butterfly and 50m breaststroke, silver in

100m fly and 50m freestyle, as also bronze in 100m freestyle, 100m breaststroke and 100m

backstroke events, that is supporting Niranjan through the Para Champions Programme.

Saudi Arabia becomes Associate Member of ICC

i. Saudi Arabia turned into the 39th Associate Member of the International Cricket

Council (ICC) after being unanimously elected during the Full Council meeting in Edinburgh.

ii. Saudi Cricket Centre (SCC) has 4350 cricketers and 80 committed facilities has been an

Affiliate Member of the ICC since 2003 that will continue to play an active role in developing

the game in the region.

iii. The Cricket Administrating body announced that the suspensions of the Cricket Association of

Nepal (CAN) and the USA Cricket Association (USACA) were also ratified by the ICC Full Council.

147 | P a g e


OAI – AN OFFICIAL VOICE OF INDIAN OLYMPIAN COMMUNITY 2016

In order to bring harmony and to look after the former & current Olympic athletes, A maiden Non-

Profit organization named Olympians Association of India has been introduced on July 4 in

New Delhi.his organization is directly affiliated to World Olympians Association (WOA) under

the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

OAI has been founded by Olympians namely

♦ Shiva Keshavan (luge),Viren Rasquinha (hockey),Malav Shroff (sailing),Adille Sumariwalla

(athletics),Ashwini Nachappa (athletics),Saina Nehwal (badminton),Hakimuddin Habibulla

(swimming) and MC Mary Kom (boxing)

Javeline thrower Annu Rani sets national mark at National Inter-state Athletics

Championships

i. Javeline thrower Annu Rani, the Incheon Asian Games bronze medalist, sets national mark at

National Inter-state Athletics Championships.

ii. She has snapped her own national record with a massive 59.87m throw at the recently-

concluded 56th National inter-state Senior Athletics Championships.

iii. Her previous mark was 59.06m at G.M.C. Balayogi Stadium

Rajkot hockey ground gets FIH recognition

i. The Major Dhyanchand Hockey Ground in Rajkot, has received recognition from the

International Hockey Federation (FIH).

ii. The ground owned by Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) that has become the first hockey

ground in Gujarat to have the FIH approval. Besides Rajkot, there are only 30 grounds in the

country that have FIH recognition.

iii. The local civic body spent around Rs 5 crore to develop the ground, which was built within a

year.

Joshna Chinappa breaks into top 10 in PSA World Squash Rankings

i. Top Indian squash player Joshna Chinappa rose to a career high 10th position in the latest PSA

world rankings, becoming the second Indian to break the top-10 barrier after longtime India

teammate Dipika Pallikal.

ii. Meanwhile Dipika stays put at 19th this month and Sachika Ingale of India has dropped

one place to be 82nd.

Serena William wins Women’s Singles; equals Steffi Graf’s record of 22 Grand Slams

i. Serena Williams won a historic 22nd Grand Slam title defeating German professional tennis

player Angelique Kerber by 7-5, 6-3 in the Wimbledon held at London.

ii. Serena employed first strike tennis going for the big serves and groundstroke winners early.

Williams ended up winning the shorter rallies 51-33. While Kerber did better as the rallies went

148 | P a g e


longer winning the rally exchange 5 shots and over 27-21.

RIO OLYMPICS 2016 – Swimmers Sajan Prakash and Shivani Kataria chosen to represent

India

i. After a long wait, the names of the swimmers set to represent India at the Rio Olympics 2016

have been revealed by the Swimming Federation of India (SFI)

ii. As per the decision of SFI Swimmers Sajan Prakash and Shivani Kataria will represent India

at the Rio Olympics.

iii. The SFI selected them through the Universality rule, which allows one male and one female

competitor to participate provided the swimmer has participated in the last World Championship.

Lionel Messi handed 21-month prison term in Spain for tax fraud

i. FC Barcelona’s Superhero Lionel Messi his father Jorge have been sentenced to 21months in

prison for tax fraud, but the Barcelona forward is not expected to spend any time behind bars.

ii. This jail term for deceiving Spain of €4.1m (£3.5m; $4.5m) between 2007 and 2009.

iii. Messi proclaimed that he “knew nothing” about his financial affairs, while his father said he

was told by a legal adviser that the practice was legal.

iv. As well as the jail terms, Messi was fined about €2m and his father €1.5m. They made a

voluntary €5m “corrective payment“, equal to the alleged unpaid tax plus interest, in August

2013.

Women’s hockey captain Ritu Rani dropped from Olympics Squad

i. Indian women’s hockey team captain Ritu Rani has been dropped from the Rio Olympics squad

owing to lack of performance and attitude problems a senior member of the team management

confirmed has left the ongoing national camp in Bangalore.

ii. It is believed that in her absence, the leadership role could fall on another senior playerRani

Rampal. However the final squad of 16 is to be picked in three days’ time.

iii. Under the Haryana hailed skipper the Indian women’s team qualified for the Olympics for the

first time in 36 years since 1980.

Sandeep Tomar Wins Silver, Narsingh Yadav Bags Bronze in Spanish GP

i. Indian Wrestlers Sandeep Tomar and Narsingh Yadav has bagged the silver andbronze

medals in 74kg and 57kg respectively at the Spanish Grand Prix Wrestling championship held

in Madrid.

ii. In the 74kg category, Livan Lopez of Cuba and Zelimkhan Khadjiev of France won the gold and

silver medal respectively.

iii. However in the 57kg category, Erdenebat Bekhbayar of Mongolia won the gold and

Darthe Capellan of Canada and Levan Metreveli of Spain won the bronze medals.

149 | P a g e


Wimbledon 2016 Championships – Overview

This year £28 million has been granted for Winners. The winners of the men’s and women’s

singles pocketed £2 million each and singles runners-up took £1 million each.

Category Winner Runner Men’s Singles Andy Murray (Britain) Milos Raonic (Canada). Women’s Singles Serena Williams (US) Angelique Kerber (Germany) Men’s Doubles PierreHugues Herbert

(France) and Nicolas Mahut (France)

Julien Benneteau (France) and ÉdouardRogerVasselin (France)

Women’s Doubles Serena Williams (US) and Venus Williams (US)

TímeaBabos (Hungary) and YaroslavaShvedova (Kazakhstan)

Mixed Doubles Henri Kontinen (Finland) and Heather Watson (UK)

Robert Farah (Colombia) and AnnaLenaGrönefeld (Germany)

Lewis Hamilton wins 2016 British Grand Prix

i. Lewis Hamilton of Britain finished with a dominant victory in a British Grand Prix to cut team-

mate Nico Rosberg’s championship lead to one point.

ii. Dutchman Verstappen who drive Red Bull finished with second despite making his pit stop for

dry-weather ‘slick’ Tyres a lap later than the Mercedes drivers, and another Mercedes Driver ico

Rosberg finished third in the contest.

GM Harika Dronavalli wins Fide Women’s Grand Prix trophy in China

i. India’s Grand Master Harika Dronavalli has bagged Fide Women’s Grand Prix trophy in

Chendu in China. In a game against Russia’s Olga Girya. It has her maiden career GP title.

ii. She finished on 7 points in the round robin tournament featuring the world’s top 12 players

to be crowned the champion.

Misbah-ul-Haq Becomes Oldest Player to Score Test Hundred

i. Pakistan captain Misbah–ul–Haq became the oldest player to score a Test century for 82 years

when he reached the three-figure mark against England at Lord’s.

ii. However other 5 Batsmen older than Misbah who have scored Test hundreds: Hobbs has done it

four times, while Patsy Hendren, Bardsley, Dave Nourse and Frank Woolley have made it once

each.

Portugal win Euro 2016 football championship

i. Portugal were crowned as Euro 2016 champions by defeating France in the title clashheld in

Paris. It was the 15 the edition of the major tournament. Also Portugal win the trophy for the first

time

ii. Portugal had a bad start as Cristiano Ronaldo was subbed in the 25th minute due to injury. But

Eder scored in extra-time by the end 1-0 was the result in the final at the Stade de France to clinch

their first major football title.

150 | P a g e


Rio 2016: Sreejesh to lead men’s hockey team

i. Hockey India named senior goalkeeper PR Sreejesh as the captain of the national team for

the Rio Olympics, axing long time captain Sardar Singh.

ii. The Kerala hailed Sreejesh, one of the finest keepers in world hockey at the moment,was

rewarded after the team, under his leadership, ended up with a silver medal at the Champions

Trophy in London.

iii. In the string of moves playmaker SV Sunil, who is also a key player in the side, has been

named vice-captain. He was Sreejesh’s deputy in the Champions Trophy.

Ashwin placed second in ICC Test rankings

i. In the latest ICC rankings Ravichandran Ashwin topped the all-rounders list besides being

placed second in bowling. However India held the second position with third-placed Pakistan,

while the Australia remains on top.

ii. In batting, Australia’s Steve Smith leads the field and he is followed by Kane Williamson of

New Zealand and South Africa’s Hashim Amla.

Six more Indians qualify for Rio Olympics

i. Six more Indians qualified for the Rio Olympics making the total count of the qualifiers to the

three digits figures. These are Renjith Maheswary, Anirban Lahiri, Dharambir Singh, Jinson

Johnson, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chawrasia and Aditi Ashok.

ii. Notably Golf as game returned to the Olympics for the first time since 1904 St. Louis Games.

Qualifier Game Note

Renjith Maheswary Jumper

Dharambir Singh 200 meter race First Indian to run in an Olympics 200m race after

36 years

Jinson Johnson 800 Meters race Second fastest ever 800 metres race toqualify.

Anirban Lahiri Golf These golfers qualifies after crossing the mark of

rank 60 in world rankings Shiv Shankar Prasad

Chawrasia

Golf

Aditi Ashok Golf

Indian Junior Men’s Team wins EurAsia Hockey Cup 2016

i. India’s Junior Men’s Hockey team has just clinched the EurAsia Cup 2016 after

defeatingDynamo–Stroitel 3-2 in a close contest held at Yekaterinburg in Russia.

ii. In the game Simranjeet Singh doubled over the lead, before Vikramjit added a third eight

minutes later.

Ritu Rani dropped, Sushila Chanu to lead India eves at Rio Olympics

i. Hockey India named Defender Sushila Chanu as the skipper in place of Ritu Rani who was

151 | P a g e


dropped from the squad by the selectors due to poor form and attitude problems. Sushila’s

colleague Deepika named as the vice-captain.

ii. Chanu will lead the 16-member Indian women’s hockey team at the forthcoming Olympic Games

to be held at Rio de Janeiro.

iii. This will be the first time in 36 years that Indian women’s hockey team will be participating

at the Olympic Games.

iv. Earlier Sushila, had captained the Indian team in Rani’s nonappearance during their tour of

Australia this year. She also led the Indian junior women’s team to a bronze medal finish at the

2013 Junior World Cup in Möncheng ladbach, Germany.

Vijender Singh beats Kerry Hope to clinch WBO Asia Pacific title

i.Indian Pro boxer Vijender Singh clinched the WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight title with a

dominating win over former WBC European champion Kerry Hope in New Delhi.

ii.The victory pushed him to the 15th spot in the WBO rankings, however he will have to defend his

title in the next two months. Also this was his 7th straight pro-career win.

India jumps 11 places to 152nd in football rankings

i.Indian football team has climbed 11 places in the latest FIFA rankings and reached 152nd

spot. This progress comes after two successive win over Laos in the AFC Asian Cup qualification

playoffs.

ii.The Ranking is topped by Argentina in fact, India is the fourth best positive mover among the

Asian countries.

iii.Overall Belgium, Colombia, Germany and Chile retained their places at second, third, fourth and

fifth while UEFA Euro 2016 champions Portugal moved up two places to be at sixth.

Shah scales to No.1 spot in ICC Test rankings

i.Pakistani Wrist spinner Yasir Shah has reached the number spot in the MRF ICC Test

rankings, becoming the first Pakistani bowler to do so since Mushtaq Ahmed achieved the feat

two decades back.

ii.Shah achieved this feat after bowling Pakistan to a 75-run victory over England in the first Test

at Lord’s.

iii.Shah also bagged the player of the match award in his first Test outside Asia and now leads

Indian Spinner Ashwin by seven points and Anderson by 10 points.

Dipika Pallikal Karthik, Saurav Ghosal clinches 73rd Senior National Squash

Championship

i.Nineteenth seed Dipika Pallikal Karthik dethroned defending champion Joshna Chinappa to

regain the women’s title in the 73rd Senior National Squash Championship held in Mumbai.

ii.In the men’s event was seized by title holder and top seed Saurav Ghosal, who created

152 | P a g e


history by winning it for the 11th time, defeating fourth seed Harinderpal Singh Sandhu.

iii.The World no. 19 seed Dipika, who won the title in 2011, made it to the tops once again by

beating arch-rival Joshna 4-11, 11-6, 11-2, 11-8.

Bopanna beats Hong Chung to win 10th Davis Cup singles

i.Indian Tennis Star Rohan Bopanna defeated Hong Chung by a 3-6 6-4 6-4 to win against

Chung his 10 th Davis Cup Singles win.

ii.This happened before Yong-Kyu Lim prevented a Korean whitewash with a gritty win over

Ramkumar Ramanathan in the Davis Cup Asia\Oceania Group I tieon.

iii.The Indian Bopanna last played a singles match in the Davis Cup back in 2012 when he won the

dead fifth rubber against Uzbekistan’s Sarvar Ikramov.

Rohit Khandelwal – First Indian to become the Mr. World

i. Popular actor and model, Rohit Khandelwal is the first Indian to clinch the most desired

Mr World title.

ii. The 26 years lad from Hyderabad had been crowned the title after a crucial judgment in the

grand ceremony held in UK on July 19.

iii. In this grand ceremony, the title winner Rohit is followed by Mr Puerto Rico Fernando

Álvarez and Mr Mexico Aldo Esparza Ramírez.

WADA recommends banning Russia from Olympics

i. World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) recommends for Russia ban from all international

competition, including Rio Games.

ii. Also International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that it is mulling for legal options’for

banning Russia from the Games.

iii. Over 10 national anti-doping organisations – including those in the United States, Germany

have planning to request a complete ban on Russian Participation at the Rio Games and

the International Olympic Committee.

iv. IOC also went on to say that mulling to re-test all Russians who participated at the 2014

Winter Olympics in Sochi.

HERBALIFE teams up with IOA to become the official nutritional partner for Rio-Olympics

i. Global premier nutrition company Herbalife International India has to be the official

nutrition sponsor of the Indian Olympic contingent to Rio de Janeiro by signing a two-year

exclusive partnership with Indian Olympic Association.

ii. Herbalife Internationalis an American multinationalmulti-level marketing company that

develops, markets and sells nutrition supplements for weight management, sports nutrition and

personal-care products.

153 | P a g e


iii. The teaming up of Herbalife and Indian Olympic Association marks a new chapter in Indian

sports sharing a common vision of holistic development of sports through nutrition.

India women’s hockey team beats hosts USA 2-1 in Pennsylvania

i. India women’s hockey team led by Sushila Chanu battled to make a 2-1 win over hosts USA

in their second game of the America tour in Manheim, Pennsylvania.

ii. Both the teams were goal less in the maiden quarter of the contest with neither able to breach

the rival defense and create openings.

iii. The Indians capitalized the game by 1-0. The team has assured the win in the final minute of

the third quarter when PreetiDubey scored a goal.

Fastest Woman – Kendra Harrison sets a World Record of 12.2s in London League

i. Kendra Harrison of America set a 100m hurdles world record of 12.20 seconds at the

London Diamond League meeting on July 22 in London.

ii. This was one hundredth of a second faster than the previous world record of 12.21 had stood

since 1988 and was held by Yordanka Donkova of Bulgaria.

iii. Kendra Harrison has run six of the seven fastest times this year, and two of the four fastest

ever.

Virat Kohli becomes first Indian captain to score double century outside India

i. India test Skipper Virat Kohli has become the first Indian captain to score a double century

outside India.Beside he is the fifth Indian Skipper to score a double century in a Test match.

ii. The Delhi batsman Kohli scored 200 runs against West Indies in the first Test at the Sir Vivian

Richards stadium in North Sound in West Indies.

iii. The feat also marks first double ton outside the sub-continent since Wasim Jaffer’s 212 for India

in St. John’s in 2006.

Sachin Tendulkar to launch new game Sachin SaGa

i. Indian Batting great Sachin Tendulkar is set to appear in the world of digital gaming with the

proposed launch of his official game named Sachin Saga.

ii. On Sachin Saga a gamer can experience his cricketing journey and get to play as Sachin in his

favorite 100 matches.

iii. Sachin Saga being developed by PlayIzzOn Technologies at its studios. PlayIzzOn firm is a

gaming arm of JetSynthesys.

PM Modi attends launch of Reliance Foundation Youth Sports

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made attendance at Reliance Foundation Youth Sports event.

During the function he interacted with students at Reliance Foundation Youth Sports event via

videoconferencing in New Delhi.

154 | P a g e


ii. The Prime Minister also explained sports is an acronym for skill, perseverance, optimism,

resilience, tenacity and stamina.

Neeraj Chopra becomes 1st Indian to set world record in Junior Athletics Championship

Haryana hailed Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra made a history by becoming the first Indian

athlete to become a world champion after he clinched a gold medal at the U-20 World

Championships held in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

♦ With the record he also produced new U-20 world record by throwing the javelin a stupendous

distance of 86.48m. His mark is also a new national record. He is 18.

♦ The Javelin thrower broke the old mark of 84.69 metres held by Latvian Zigismunds Sirmais by

nearly two metres.

♦ To encourage the feat of the young Chopra Union Sports Minister Vijay Goel announced a cash

reward of Rs. 10 lakh.

Shooter Manavaditya Rathore Wins Bronze in Junior World Cup

i. Indian Shooter Manavaditya Rathore won bronze medal in trap event of ‘Champion of

Champions’match at the Junior World Cup in Porpetto, Italy.

ii. Anant Naruka bagged a bronze in ‘Champion of Champions’ battle in skeet.

iii. ‘Champion of Champions’ battle: It is a match where the medallists of the three Junior World

Cups of the year compete against each other.

iv. Manavaditya – Son of Athens Olympics silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.

Lopez beats Haase 2-0, wins Swiss Open Gstaad 2016

i. Spain’s Feliciano Lopez has won his first clay court singles title by defeating Netherland’sRobin

Haase.

ii. The Spaniard got the first break of the match in the 5th game to lead 3-2 and then went on to

win the set 6-4.

iii. Lopez is currently No. 21 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, earned 250 points and €82,450in prize

money.

iv. He becomes the Sixth Spaniard to win an ATP World Tour title in 2016.

Lewis Hamilton wins Hungarian Grand Prix

i. Mercedes Driver Lewis Hamilton wins Hungarian Grand Prix after some feisty driving on the

track.

ii. After the race the Britain man Hamilton called for clarification on the yellow flag rules after

Mercedes mate Rosberg beat him to pole in Hungary.

India’s Rio-bound wrestler Narsingh Yadav fails doping test

i. According to National Anti-Doping Agency Director General Navin Agarwal, Rio Olympics-

155 | P a g e


bound wrestler in 74 kg category Narsingh Yadav, tested positive for a banned steroid.

ii. Yadav, a Commonwealth Games gold medallist, qualified for next month’s Olympics in the74-

kilogram freestyle category, but tested positive for a banned steroid during routine testing.

iii. A subsequent sample known as a B sample was also found to be positive.

Rio bound shot putter Inderjeet Singh fails dope test

i. Shot putter Inderjit Singh, the second Rio Olympics-bound athlete to fail a dope test

after wrestler Narsingh Yadav.

ii. 28-year-old Singh’s ‘A’ sample returned positive for a banned substance.

iii. Inderjeet Singh had won a bronze medal in the 2014 Asian Games and won the gold medal at

the Asian Athletics Championships in 2015.

Ashwin regains top spot in ICC bowler rankings

i. India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has moved to the top spot of the MRF Tyres ICC

Rankings for Test Bowlers. The Chennai hailed spinner has replacedPakistan leg-spinner Yasir

Shah.

ii. He produced a match-winning spell of 7/83 in the second innings of the Antigua Test against

West Indies on behalf that he gained five points.

iii. The off spinner who was top-ranked in the 2015 also gained in the batsmen’s rankings with a

knock of 113 that will help him in gaining top spot in the all-rounder category.

Odisha announces Rs 60 lakh special incentive for Rio Olympic qualifiers

i. Six women from Odisha have qualified for the Rio Olympics.

Sprinters Srabani Nanda(200-m) and Dutee Chand(100-m run,)

Women Hockey players Deep Grace Ekka, Namita Toppo, Lilima Minz and Sunita Lakra

ii. These Rio Qualified athletes will receive Rs 10 lakh each as a special incentive.

iii. Besides the Chief Minister of Odisha Navin Patnaik also increased to Rs 5 lakh for both group

and individual events for Olympic qualified sportspersons.

iv. The Present cash incentive is Rs 50,000 for group event and Rs one lakh for individual event.

Parveen Rana to replace Narsingh Yadav for Rio Olympics

i. Parveen Rana will represent India in the Rio Olympics in place of Narsingh Yadav in the 74kg

freestyle category after the Wrestling

Federation of India (WFI) has sent an

official request to

United World Wrestling (UWW).

ii. This comes after Narsingh Yadav

have been tested Positive in a doping test as this replacement is placed.

Inductees Country Role Muttiah Muralitharan Sri Lanka Spin bowler Arthur Morris Australia Batsman Karen Rolton Australia women’s captain George Lohmann England Bowler

156 | P a g e


Muttiah Muralitharan to be inducted into ICC Hall of Fame

i. Sri Lankan spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan has been officially inducted into the ICC Hall of fame.

He becomes the first Sri Lankan player to be inducted

ii. The Sri Lankan was named by ICC along with three other cricketing legends viz two from

Australia and one from England.

iii. The feat honors the achievements of the legends of cricket’s long and illustrious history in the

game.

IWF bans Russian team from Rio Olympics

The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) blanket ban on the Russian weightlifters to

compete in the Rio Olympics. This is the Second Sports outfit to ban Russians after the track & field

team effected ban few days back.

Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger retires from international football

i. German’s midfielder and captain bastian Schweinsteiger has announced his retirement from

international football. He retires as country’s fourth most-capped player with 120 appearances

for the nation.

ii. The German Skipper made debut in 2004 also holds the German record for European

Championship appearances, having played 18 times at the tournament.

India To Host Kabaddi World Cup In October

International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) announced that India will host the Kabaddi World Cup this

year, featuring 12 countries. The mega Event will be hosted this October the regulator added.

i. The Kabaddi World Cup-2016 will have participation from USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Iran,

Poland, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Korea, Japan and Kenya apart from the hosts. Star Sports will be the

official broadcaster of the Event.

Luke Aikins created a new record by diving from 25, 000 feet without parachute

i. Luke Aikins became the first skydiver to leapt into the sky from an airplane at 25,000 in a

operation named Heaven Sent, without any parachute or wingsuit and landed safely on the ground

in a net. He leapt in free fall using only the air currents around him to land safely on a high-tech

10,000-square-foot net.

ii. He prepared him to jump out of a plane at 25,000ft and him successfully done with this

unusual record by landing in a Californian desert.

iii. Out of the three skydivers who tried this diving, only aikins accomplished this without any aid

to glide in the air.

157 | P a g e


OBITUARY Renowned Marathi literary scholar R C Dhere no more

i. Well-known Marathi writer R C Dhere, who was recognized for his exhaustive research in folk

literature and bhakti tradition of Maharashtra, passed away after prolonged illness in Pune. He was

86.

ii. He has bagged the Sahitya Academy Award in 1987 for his book Sri Vitthal- A

Mahasamanvayak (Lord Vitthal- A great coordinator).

iii. Dhere’s works that won acclaim included Muslim Marathi Saint Poets, Dakshinecha Lokdev

Khandoba, History of Nath Sampraday and Sri Venkateshwara.

iv. He wrote more than 100 scholarly books on Marathi folk literature and culture, Marathi

literature, religious sects in Maharashtra, and lives of saint poets.

Writer and futurist Alvin Toffler dies

i. Famous Author Alvin Toffler passed away in Los Angeles, United States. He was 87 year

old.

ii. Toffler co-wrote many books with his largely uncredited wife, Heidi, who survives him and also

authored Future Shock that outlines people’s anxiety at the pace of social change in the 1960s.

Michael Cimino, Oscar-winning director of ‘The Deer Hunter’, dies at 77

i. American Film Director Michael Cimino has passed away at Los Angeles, California. He was 77

year old.

ii. The Director who bagged Academy Award for the film The Deer Hunter became one of the

great triumphs of Hollywood’s 1970s that has also won five Academy Awards,including Best

Picture and Best Director for Cimino heyday and whose disastrous Heaven’s Gate helped bring

that era to a close.

Former French Prime Minister Michel Rocard dies

i. Former French Socialist Prime Minister Michel Rocard, has passed away at Paris, France. He

was 85 year old. He was a member of the European Parliament, and has been strongly involved

in European policies until 2009.

ii. Rocard held several cabinet portfolios including agriculture and planning. He became politically

active while studying at the prestigious Institute of Political Studies. He headed the Socialist

students’ movement.

Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate, dead at 87

i. Romanian-born American Jewish writer, professor, political activist Elie Wiesel has breathed his

last at his home in New York City. He was 87 year old.

ii. Elie has won a Nobel Peace Prize for becoming the life-long voice of millions of Holocaust

158 | P a g e


victims in 1986.

iii. He was a founding board member of the New York Human Rights Foundation and

remained active throughout his life.

Former president of World Peace Council, Romesh Chandra passed away

Com. Romesh Chandra, A veteran communist leader and Former president of World Peace

Council passed away in Mumbai on July 4th, 2016. He was 97 when he is dead.

Romesh Chandra

i. He joined Communist Party of India (CPI) in 1939 and participated in Indian Freedom Struggle

as a Student leader.

ii. He was also the editor of “new age”, the central organ of CPI.

iii. He joined World Peace Council (WPC) headquarters in Helsinki in 1953 and became its president

in 1977.

iv. He was a recipient of Lenin Peace Award and also holds the record of addressing the

United Nations Assembly many a times, the highest number of times by an Indian.

Noel Neill, first actress to play Lois Lane in ‘Superman,’ dies at 95

i. US actor Noel Neill, the first actress to play the role Lois Lane on the Adventures ofSuperman

television series passed away, She was 95.

ii. Neill first took on the role as the Daily Planet reporter in the 1948 Columbia movie

serial, “Superman.”

iii. She would reprise the part alongside George Reeves as the Man of Steel in the 1950’s TV

series, “The Adventures of Superman.”

iv. The city of Metropolis, Illinois, unveiled a statue of Lois Lane modeled after Neill in 2010.

Veteran music director Om Prakash Sonik passed away

i. Veteran music director Om Prakash Sonik aka Omi,one of the well-known duo Sonik-

Omi passed away in Mumbai due to a brief illness. He was 77 at the time of his death.

ii. Omi was the nephew of the blind music director Master Sonik and together they formed

the noted Sonik-Omi team which provided music to nearly 125 Bollywood movies in the 1950-

1980s.

Pakistani philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi dies

i. Renowned Pakistani philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi has died after a long kidney illness at the

age of 88.

ii. Edhi was born in Gujarat in British India, Edhi and his Muslim family moved to Pakistan in 1947

during partition.

iii. The Edhi foundation was at the lead of the response last year when a devastating heat wave

struck Karachi, a city of about 20 million people.

159 | P a g e


Legendary football coach Amal Dutta passes away

i. Former India footballer and the country’s first full time ‘diamond’ coach Amal Dutta has

passed away at his residence following age related illness in Kolkata. He was 86 year old.

ii. Dutta was a midfielder, who represented India at the 1954 Asian Games, the former Mohun

Bagan and East Bengal footballer later made a name for himself as a tactical genius as he forged

professional coaching in India.

India’s Olympic Silver Medalist Joe Antic Passes Away Aged 90

i. Joseph Anthony Antic, silver medallist in men’s hockey for India at the Rome Olympics, passed

away at the age of 90.

ii. He played in the centre-half position at the 1960 Summer Olympic Games and received the

silver medal in Rome

Renowned Vocalist Mubarak Begum Passed Away

i.Fabled Playback singer Mubarak Begum passed away after a long illness in Mumbai

ii.From 1950s to 1970s she ruled the bollywood industry with her mesmerizing voice in songs

and ghazals.

iii. She made her debut in 1949 and her voice on screen is a track from To Diwana Hai in 1980.

iv. Mubarak Begum started her career with light music recitals performed for All India Radio. Her

career as a playback singer began in 1949 with the Indian, Hindi-language film Aaiye. The first

song she recorded for films was “Mohe Aane Lagi Angrayi, Aja AjaBalam“. A major hit in her

career was the song “Kabhi Tanhaiyon Mein Yun” for composer Snehal Bhatkar in Kidar Sharma’s

film Hamari Yaad Aayegi.

Hockey legend Mohammed Shahid passes away

i. Hockey legend Mohammed Shahid has passed away owing to a severe liver condition and

kidney failure in Gurgaon. He was 56 year old.

ii. The man who won a gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympic games who was awarded the

Arjuna Award and the Padma Shri.

Former French cyclist Dominique Arnaud passes away

i. Former French cyclist Dominique Arnaud has passed away after following a cancer in a hospital

in Dax. He was 60 year old.

ii. Arnaudrode in eleven editions of the Tour de France and won three stages of the Vuelta a

Espana.

Vetrean Indian Modern Artist S.H.Raza passed away

i. As like an end of an Era Veteran Indian painter and a well-known Modern Artist, S.H.Raza

passed away on July 23 in New Delhi following a prolonged Illness.

160 | P a g e


ii. He is a Padma Vibushan Awardee and he is well known for his ‘bindu’, ‘purush-

prakriti’ and ‘nari’ in his instantly recognisable geometric abstract works.

iii. His works are mainly abstracts in oil or acrylic, with a very rich use of color, replete with icons

from Indian cosmology as well as its philosophy.

Former diplomat Arundhati Ghose passes away

i. Former India’s ambassador to the UN Arundhati Ghose was passed away following abattle with

cancer at her residence in Palam in New Delhi. She was 76 year old.

ii. In her extensive career she had served in Indian Missions in Austria, the Netherlands,

Bangladesh, South Korea and Egypt and many other positions.

iii. Ghose was also the first Indian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Offices.

She had retired from diplomatic services in November 1997.

Rajjat A Barjatya, MD and CEO, Rajshri Media, passes away

i. Rajjat Barjatya, MD and CEO of Rajshri Media suffered from Leukemia, passed away at a

hospital in Mumbai.

ii. Barjatya is credited for turning around Rajshri Productions’ digital fortunes with the creation of

Rajshri.com

iii. Rajshri Productions is one of the pillars of the Hindi film establishment.

Renowned Afro-American writer James Alan McPherson Passed away

i. The Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa announced the death note of James Alan

McPherson, who overcame segregation and the narrow prism of a legal education to become the

first black writer to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

ii. McPherson was born in Savannah,Georgia in 1943. He passed away on July 27 at the age of 72

in Lowa city following a prolonged Pneumonia.

iii. He was a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a MacArthur Fellowship.

Renowned Table Player Lachhu Maharaj Passed Away

i. One of the finest but little-known musicians of the Banaras gharana and a great Tabla

maestro Pt Lachhu Maharaj passed away in Varanasi on July 28.

ii. He was born on 16 October 1944 and he played the instrument in many Bollywood films

iii. Lachhu Maharaj was nominated for Indian civilian award, Padma Shri, but refused it on the

grounds that the biggest honour for an artist was the appreciation of audience.

Mahasweta Devi, Renowned Writer, Dies In Kolkata

i. Bengali eminent writer Mahasweta Devi has passed away of cardiac arrest due to multiple-

organ failure at a nursing home in Kolkata. She was 90 years old.

ii. She was known for a lifetime of dedicated work for the welfare of tribals especially lodhas

161 | P a g e


and shabars.

iii. Devi had received various awards such as Sahitya Academi, Padmashri (1986), Jnanpith ,

Ramon Magsaysay and Padma Vibhushan.

Neelamraju Ganga Prasada Rao, Father of Hybrid Sorghum passes away

i. Eminent Agricultural Scientist Neelamraju Ganga Prasada Rao has passed away following a

brief illness inHyderabad. He aged 89.

ii. He is also known as a Father of Hybrid Sorghum who had done basic and applied research in

breeding and agronomy dryland crops.

iii. The Andra Pradesh hailed Scientist received degree in Agricultural College, Bapatla, moved

on to the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi and then worked with Bihar University.

BOOKS & AUTHORS ‘Ringside With Vijender’ by Rudraneil Sengupta,available online

i. The book named ‘Ringside With Vijender’, which was published online was in the news as

Beijing Olympics bronze medallist pugilist Vijender Singh’s move to turn Pro featured in the book.

ii. The book authored by senior journalist Rudraneil Sengupta, the book, published by Juggernaut

Books, deals with the boxer’s life post his transition to the brutal world of pro boxing.

Shah Rukh Khan launches Sania Mirza’s autobiography ‘Ace Against Odds’

i. Bollywood’s star Shah Rukh Khan launched tennis star Sania Mirza’s the autobiography, Ace

Against Odds, in Hyderabad.

ii. The book captures Sania’s journey of becoming World’s No.1 player in women’s doubles

and the difficulties and challenges faced by her in making her dream come true.

iii. The book Published by Harpercollins, is made available on stands in all major bookstores

across the country. In the launching ceremony the star praised Sania’s determination and hard

work.

Biography titled “Who moved my interest rate?” by Mr. Subbarao

i. Former Reserve Bank of India Governor Duvvuri Subbarao’s memoirs, revealing a turbulent

relationship with two Finance Ministers of the time P. Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee.

ii. The biography titled “Who moved my interest rate? Mr. Subbarao penned about his five

years at the country’s central bank, between 2008 and 2013. His account may cause some

embarrassment to a few prominent leaders in the previous UPA government.

iii. In his penning the former governor indicates that the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee

seemed reluctant to grant him an extension in 2011. However, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

was odd on it by keen on he serve a five-year term.

162 | P a g e


An Autobiography titled “Courage & Commitment” by Margaret Alva

i. A book titled Courage & Commitment: An Autobiography by Margaret Alva was in

news.Alva pensher forty-year career under four Prime Ministers, namely Indira Gandhi, Rajiv

Gandhi, PV Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh.

ii. It also tells about her transition from politician to Governorand the trials and triumphs and

controversies that rocked her career as a politician leading to expulsion from CongressParty in

1979.

iii. Margaret Alva is a political leader from the Indian National Congress, She was thegovernor

Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. Alva was elected to the 13th LokSabha as a Member of Parliament

in 1999.

Book titled The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable by Amitav

Ghosh

i. Book titled “The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable”, was in the

news that has explains information about climate change, the catastrophe unfolding around us and

the conspiracy of silence around the dangers of it.

ii. The book was writer Amitav Ghosh’s latest book in that the author demanding to expose

terminologies and myths usually associated with climate change.

President of India receives copy of coffee table book ‘India’s most Powerful Women’

i. The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee received a copy of a book ‘India’s Most

Powerful Women’ at Rashtrapati Bhavan

ii. The book has been written by Mrs. Prem Ahluwalia.

iii. Mrs. Prem Ahluwalia, the author of the book recognizes the contribution of women in India

through her book.

iv. The objective of the book and the stories of its women reach every young mind and inspire

them to move towards a progressive society.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child book launched

i. JK Rowling’s eighth Harry Potter story,“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” has been

released in bookstores across the globe.

ii. “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”, a script rather than a narrative novel, is set 19 years after

the seventh novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — which came out back in

2007.

iii. The script is written by Jack Thorne, from an original story JK Rowling.

163 | P a g e


IMPORTANT DAYS

July 1 2016

Remember Day: National Doctor’s Day

Purpose : To recognize the contributions of physicians to individual lives and communities

Organization: GOI

July 2 2016

Remember Day: World Sports Journalists Day

Purpose : To commemorate the creation of AIPS and to celebrate the achievements of members of

the sporting media.

Organization: International Sports Press Association (AIPS)

Remember Day: International Day of Cooperatives

Purpose : To increase awareness on cooperatives, as well as strengthen and extend partnerships

between the international cooperative movement and other supporting organizations including

governments.

Organization: UN

July 11 2016

Remember Day: World population day

Purpose : To increase people’s awareness on various population issues such as the importance of

family planning, gender equality, poverty, maternal health and human rights

Organization: UNDP

Theme: ‘Investing in teenage girls’

July 12 2016

Remember Day: Malala Day Purpose : To raise awareness and to help girls get their right to education. Malala Yousafzai is a

global symbol of every girl’s right to an education. Organization: UN

Theme:

July 15 2016

Remember Day: World Youth Skills Day Purpose : To highlight the fundamental rights of the youth. Organization: UN, UNESCO, ILO

Theme: Skills Development to Improve Youth Employment

164 | P a g e


July 18 2016

Remember Day: Nelson Mandela International Day 2016

Purpose : To remembers Mandela’s achievements in working towards conflict resolution,

democracy, human rights, peace, and reconciliation.

Organization: UN

July 26 2016

Remember Day: Kargil Vijay Diwas

Purpose : To honour the Kargil War’s Heroes in the Kargil – Dras sector in New Delhi.

Organization: GOI

July 28 2016

Remember Day: World Hepatitis Day Purpose : To mark the awareness of hepatitis and to boost prevention, diagnosis and treatment of

the decease. Organization: WHO

Theme: Prevent Hepatitis: It’s up to you

Remember Day: World Nature Conservation Day Purpose : To increase the awareness about and protecting the natural resources.

July 29 2016

Remember Day: International Tiger Day Purpose : To promote the protection and expansion of the endangered wild tigers habitats and to

gain support through awareness.

July 30 2016

Remember Day: International Day of Friendship Purpose : To promote the role that friendship plays in also making peace in many cultures

Organization: UN

Remember Day: World Day against Trafficking in Persons Purpose : To raise awareness around human trafficking. The Day is witnessed across the world. Organization: UN

165 | P a g e


AffairsCloud Important Page Links

Current Affairs Sections

Current Affairs Current Affairs 2016 Current Affairs Today Current Affairs PDF Current Affairs Quiz Current Affairs Mock Test Study Materials PDF

Subject-Wise Question Sections

Reasoning Questions Quantitative Aptitude Questions English Questions Computer Questions Banking Awareness Questions

Study Guide Sections

General Aptitude Reasoning Letter Writing Math Tricks Computer Awareness

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR EXAMS!!!

Suggestions are welcomed; Contact us any time at

[email protected] & [email protected]

http://www.affairscloud.com/current-affairs/

http://www.affairscloud.com/current-affairs-2016/

http://www.affairscloud.com/current-affairs/current-affairs-today/

http://www.affairscloud.com/current-affairs-pdf-capsule/

http://www.affairscloud.com/current-affairs-quiz-current-affairs/

http://www.affairscloud.com/current-affairs-online-mock-test/

http://www.affairscloud.com/study-material-pdf-download/

http://www.affairscloud.com/reasoning-questions/

http://www.affairscloud.com/quantitative-aptitude-questions/

http://www.affairscloud.com/english-questions-and-answers/

http://www.affairscloud.com/quiz/computer-awareness-quiz/

http://www.affairscloud.com/banking-awareness-quiz/

http://www.affairscloud.com/banking-awareness/general-aptitude/

http://www.affairscloud.com/banking-awareness/reasoning/

http://www.affairscloud.com/banking-awareness/letter-writing/

http://www.affairscloud.com/banking-awareness/math-tricks/

http://www.affairscloud.com/banking-awareness/computer-awareness/

mailto:[email protected]

pdf capsule - psau · pdf fileit will also gives real time data from customers and show the...

Documents