1st June to 15th June

AWARDS & HONOURS

Former security contractor Edward Snowden won a Norwegian prize for freedom of expression and received yet
another invitation to leave his exile and receive the award in person. The Norwegian Academy of Literature and
Freedom of Expression said the 31-year old fugitive had won the Bjornson Prize -- named after a Norwegian
Nobel literature laureate -- "for his work protecting privacy and for shining a critical light on US surveillance of its
citizens and others." Snowden, a former analyst at the US National Security Agency, has lived in exile in Russia
since 2013 after revealing mass spying programmes by the United States and its allies. The US administration has
branded him a hacker and a traitor who endangered lives by revealing the extent of the NSA spying program.
Former West Indies paceman Sir Wesley Winfield Hall has been inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. He is
80th cricketer to be inducted in the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame and 18th from West Indies.
16th edition of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) informally known as the Bollywood Oscars,
was held in Malaysia in June 2015. Haider was awarded the most awards (09). Winners:Best Film: Queen
Best Director: Rajkumar Hirani PK
Best Actor in a Leading Role: Shahid Kapoor Haider
Best Actress in a Leading Role: Kangana Ranaut
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Riteish Deshmukh Ek Villain
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Tabu Haider
Male Debutant Star: Tiger Shroff Heropanti
Female Debutant Star: Kriti Sanon Heropanti
Best Performance in a Comic Role: Varun Dhawan
Best Performance in a Negative Role: Kay Kay Menon Haider
Best Story: Vikas Bahl, Chaitally Parmar, Parveez Shaikh- Queen
Best Music Direction: 2 States Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Best Lyrics: Galliyan from Ek Villain Manoj Muntashir
Best Male Playback Singer: Ankit Tiwari
Best Female Playback Singer: Kanika Kapoor
IIFA Award for Outstanding Achievement in International Cinema: Subhash Ghai
IIFA Award for Entertainer of the Year: Deepika Padukon
Prime Minister Narendra Modi received, on behalf of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Bangladesh's prestigious Liberation
War Honour for his "active role" in the country's freedom struggle, saying the BJP veteran was an "inspiration" to
him and other political workers. The citation of the Award hailed Vajpayee as a "highly respected political leader"
and recognised his "active role" in support of the Liberation War of Bangladesh.
Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal was conferred the prestigious 14th Sant Namdev National Award2015 for promoting peace, communal harmony and universal brotherhood by the Sarhad foundation.

BUSINESS & CORPORATE

Global e-commerce major Amazon opened its biggest fulfilment centre (FC) or warehouse in India, at Kothur in
Telangana. Spread over 280,000 square feet, the facility has come up in Mahabubnagar district, about 60 km from
Hyderabad. This has taken to 11 Amazons FCs in eight states.
Mid-tier FMCG firm Emami Ltd acquired the 'Kesh King' brand of hair and scalp care products from SBS Biotech
for Rs 1,651 crore, one of the largest deals in the segment in recent times.
Fortune released the 61st edition of list of top 500 companies. The list was topped by retail behemoth Walmart
with revenue of 485.6 billion US dollar. It was followed by Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Berkshire Hathaway and Apple at
the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th position respectively. The top five of 2015 list remains unchanged as compared to the
2014 list. Further, Apple was the most profitable company with profit of 39.5 billion US dollars followed by Exxon
Mobil.
Cult bike maker Harley-Davidson tied up with fashion portal Myntra to sell its casual merchandise through an
exclusive online store. The online store offers a range of casual outerwear, sportswear, denims and accessories.
Hero MotoCorp Ltd (HMCL), the worlds largest two-wheeler manufacturer, appointed Mr. Pawan Munjal as its
new Chairman. Under the leadership of Mr. Pawan Munjal, Hero has remained the worlds largest two-wheeler
manufacturer in terms of unit volumes sold in a calendar year by a single company since 2001 the year he took
over as the MD & CEO.
ICICI Bank announced the appointment of M K Sharma, a former vice chairman of Hindustan Unilever Limited, as
the non-executive chairman for a period of five years, in place of K V Kamath.
Infosys named R Seshasayee, vice chairman at truck and bus maker Ashok Leyland, as its non-executive
chairman, replacing KV Kamath, who stepped down to take over as president of the newly created BRICS bank.

Indias leading private Bank, HDFC Bank announced launch of PayZapp, an all-in-one mobile payment and money
transfer app that promises to make any sort of payments in a single click. The PayZapp app users can make
variety of transactions like mobile recharges, instant money transfers, bill payments, shopping on various
ecommerce portals to groceries, to even big-ticket purchases such as foreign holidays and designer clothes.
PayZapp features a section called Smartbuy a sort of a aggregator of the major ecommerce sites across various
verticals. PayZapp has partnered with sites like Flipkart, Makemytrip, Cleartrip, Yatra, Big Basket among others.
PVR Cinemas, India's biggest multiplex operator controlled by Ajay Bijli, agreed to buy DT Cinemas, a wholly
owned subsidiary of DLF, for Rs 500 crore to strengthen its position in the movie exhibition business.

E-commerce marketplace Snapdeal acquired mobility solutions company Letsgomo Labs to improve its mobile
technology capabilities. Founded by Manav Kamboj and Vikas Banga, Letsgomo Labs helps companies with end to
end mobility solutions like building mobile strategies, conceptualization of applications and mobile sites,
implementation and hosting. Mobile is one of the key growth drivers of e-commerce in the country and building a
robust mobile commerce platform has been a key focus area for Snapdeal.

BILLS / ACTS / COMMITTEES / SCHEMES / POLICIES

President Pranab Mukherjee re-promulgated for the third time, as per provisions of Article 123 of Indian
Constitution, the Land Ordinance that prescribes processes for acquisition of land for public projects.

Union Government gave nod for promulgation of Ordinance to amend Negotiable Instruments Act,
1881.The ordinance paves way for filing of cheque bounce cases in place where the cheque was issued.
This move that will benefit around 18 lakh people involved in such cheque bounce cases.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved two road projects, one in Madhya Pradesh
and another in Telangana. The projects will be executed under the flagship road building programme
National Highways Development Project (NHDP) at a cost of Rs 4,721 crore.

The panel on restructuring of the Indian Railways, headed by Mr. Debroy, submitted its final report. The
committee has set a five-year timeframe for implementing its recommendations and has suggested doing
away with the Railway Budget, Improving accountability, decentralising power and setting up an
independent regulator are the key recommendations.

The Telangana government unveiled its new industrial policy today which focuses on time-bound
approvals for setting up projects in the state. As per the new policy Telangana State Industrial Project
Approval and Self-certification System (TS-iPASS), penal action will be taken against government officials
if there is any undue delay in processing applications and mega projects would get permissions in 15
days. The policy prescribed norms for giving permissions to mega (investments of Rs 200 crore and
above), large (Rs 10 crore-Rs 200 crore) as well as small and medium project proposals. The government
identified 14 core areas for a focused approach which include life sciences, pharma, information
technology, aerospace, automobiles, textiles, minerals and transportation and logistics, among others.

Ahmadabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) announced USE and GET PAID scheme, under which people will
be paid one rupees for using public toilets. The announced scheme aims to eradicate the practice of open
defecation and will help to keep the city clean.

Union Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejunivetion Uma Bharti launched
nationwide Jal Kranti Abhiyan from Jaipur, Rajasthan. The aim is to consolidate water conservation and
management in the country.

Union Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi launched the Indian Academy of
Pediatrics (IAP) Health Phone programme in Delhi. The programme is the world's largest digital mass
education programme for addressing malnutrition in women and children. This programme has been
launched by the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) in partnership with the Ministry of Women and Child
Development, UNICEF and supported by Vodafone India. This programme aims to tackle the challenge of
malnutrition in mothers and children across India.

ECONOMY & FINANCE

The Reserve Bank of India issued new norms for Strategic Debt Conversion (SDR) which will give lenders
the right to convert their outstanding loans into a majority equity stake if the borrower fails to meet
conditions stipulated under the restructuring package. Allowing loan conversion will now be a precondition
for all debt restructuring deals.

India joined the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) on Automatic Exchange of Financial
Account Information (AEOI) on 3rd June, 2015, in Paris, France, alongwith Australia, Canada, Costa Rica,
Indonesia and New Zealand. With six countries joining the MCAA on 3rd June, 2015, the total number of
countries/jurisdictions agreeing to exchange information automatically in accordance with MCAA has gone
to sixty. The new global standards are very wide in scope and oblige the treaty partners to exchange wide
range

of

financial

information

after

collecting

the

same

from

financial

institutions

in

their

country/jurisdictions including information about the ultimate controlling persons and beneficial owners of
entities. AEOI based on CRS, when fully implemented, would enable India to receive information from
almost every country in the world including offshore financial centres and would be the key to prevent
international tax evasion and avoidance and would be instrumental in getting information about assets of
Indians held abroad including through entities in which Indians are beneficial owners. This will help the
Government to curb tax evasion and deal with the problem of black money.

Bangladesh has granted permission to Indias state-owned insurance group Life insurance Corporation
(LIC) to do business in the country.LIC will start its operations in Bangladesh as a joint venture (JV) entity
to be called LIC Bangladesh Ltd with a paid up capital of one billion Taka. In this JV entity LIC will hold
half of the amount while the rest would be owed by its Bangladeshi partners. The capital will be raised
from the Bangladeshs capital market and local entrepreneurs.

India slapped anti-dumping duty of up to USD 316 per tonne on imports of certain steel products from
three countries, including China, to protect domestic producers from below-cost inbound shipments. A
duty of USD 309 per tonne has been imposed on imports from China, while USD 316 per tonne duty has
been fixed for Malaysia and USD 180 per tonne for Korea. The duties have been imposed for five years on
imports of certain variety of hot-rolled flat products of stainless steel used in sectors such as auto.

Adani Power Limited of India and Reliance Power Limited of India signed separate memorandums of
understanding with state-run Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB). Reliance Power and BPDB
today signed a MoU to develop four units of power plants to produce 3,000 MW of electricity with a cost of
$3 billion. Adani Power will set up two, coal-fired plants with a total capacity of 1,600 MW that will cost
more than $1.5 billion. Bangladesh produces 7,000 MW of electricity but demand far exceeds supply, with
a daily deficit of up to 1,500 MW.

The second border haat (market) of Tripura at Kamalasagar in Sipahijala district, bordering Brahmanbaria
district of Bangladesh, was opened for common people in June 2015. After setting up a border 'haat'
(market) near the India-Bangladesh international border at Srinagar in South Tripura district on January
13 this year bordering Madhugram village of Feni district of Bangladesh, another such market at
Kamalasagar in Sipahijala district, was opened to boost bilateral trade and enhance people to people
contacts. These markets are set up at the zero line of the international border with one part on the Indian
side and the other in Bangladesh. Business in the market (haat) would take place once a week among the

people living within 5km radius of the border who would sell and buy locally produced goods and crops. No
local taxes would be imposed on the items to be sold in the haats and currencies of both the countries
would prevail.

The Reserve Bank allowed non-resident Indians (NRIs) to invest in chit funds on non-repatriation basis
without any ceiling, a move that will encourage flow of capital into the country. However, the subscription
to the chit funds should be brought in through normal banking channel, including through an account
maintained with a bank in India. Earlier in May 2000, non-residents were barred from investing in a
company or firms engaged in the business of chit fund. Revising the extant guidelines for subscription to
the chit funds, RBI said: It has been decided to permit NRIs to subscribe to the chit funds, without limit,
on non-repatriation. It further said the Registrar of Chits or an officer authorised by the State
Government may permit any chit fund to accept subscription from NRIs on non-repatriation basis.

Union Cabinet approved an interest-free loan i.e. soft loan to the tune of 6,000 crore rupees to enable
sugar mills pay arrears to farmers. As per this decision, interest on the loan will not be charged for a year
but the interest will be borne by the Union government from sugar development fund. The money to be
paid as arrears to farmers under this loan will be directed credited in Jan Dhan accounts of farmers.

The United States has overtaken Saudi Arabia as the world's biggest oil producer in 2014 while India has
recorded the highest growth in energy consumption among major economies. The US produced 15.9%
more oil in 2014 at 11.6 million barrels of oil per day to topple Saudi Arabia's 11.5 million bpd production,
according to BP Plc's Statistical Review of World Energy released in June 2015. Russia with 10.8 million
bpd oil production was placed third.

Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan cut the key interest rate by 0.25 per cent, third time this year,
meeting market and government expectations of boosting growth by lowering borrowing cost. While the
RBI cut the repo rate from 7.5 per cent to 7.25, it left all other policy tools like cash reserve requirement
unchanged at 4 per cent and Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) at 21.5 per cent.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released its final guidelines for 6-year and 13-year cash-settled Interest
Rate Futures (IRF) on Government of India Securities with residual maturity of 4-8 years and 11-15 years,
respectively. The present notification amends the Interest Rate Futures (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2013.
Besides, the RBI has also changed the residual maturity for the existing 10-year cash-settled IRF to 8-11
years from 9-11 years. This would provide market participants greater choice and flexibility to hedge their
interest rate risk across different tenors.

PEOPLE IN NEWS
Prominent scientist Ameenah Gurib-Fakim was sworn as president of Mauritius, becoming the first woman to
hold the ceremonial position in the Indian Ocean island nation. Gurib-Fakim, 56, is the first female president of the
island, which gained independence from Britain in 1968 and replaced Britain's Queen Elizabeth II as its head of
state in 1992. Mauritius is one of the richest -- and least corrupt -- countries in Africa, a middle-income nation of
some 1.3 million people with a per capita GDP of just over US $9,000 (7,200 euros).
A month and a half before the end of his term as Director of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), scientist Bimal
Roy, who was conferred Padma Shri earlier this year, has been unceremoniously removed. In an order issued by
the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Dr. Roy has been accused of indiscipline and the
communication expresses apprehension that he may indulge in acts of administrative and financial impropriety.
He has been replaced by director-designate Sanghmitra Bandyopadhyay, who was supposed to take charge of the
institute on August 1.
Well-known Telugu writer and Sahitya Akademi awardee, Dasaradhi Rangacharyulu, passed away at the age of
86. He was noted for his simple writings, reflecting the culture and ethos of Telangana, and sharp wit. His writings
Chillara Devullu (Lesser Deities), Jeevana Yanam (autobiographical lifes journey), Modugu Poolu (fire flowers),
and a translation of the four Vedas into Telugu, stood out in a long career. A high point of his life was his strident
opposition of the oppressive rule of the Nizams in the erstwhile Hyderabad State, which landed him in jail. He
played a significant role in the Telangana armed struggle against Hyderabad State.
Twitter Inc. announced that its CEO, Dick Costolo, would resign. Jack Dorsey, one of the companys founding
quadrumvirate and the companys first CEO, will take his old job in an interim role. Some investors have called for
Costolos resignation for more than a year, calls which became more strident after extremely disappointing
quarterly results in April. By appointing Dorsey as acting executive, the company seems to be hearkening back to
the idealism of its early days.
Hemant Sonawala, one of the founders of the country's IT industry and chairman of Hinditron Group, passed
away at the age of 78.
Renowned biochemist Irwin Rose who was awarded 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering molecule
Ubiquitin passed away at the age of 88.
K V Chowdary, the former chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes, was appointed the Central Vigilance
Commissioner and senior-most information commissioner, Vijai Sharma was named the new Chief Information
Commissioner. A retired Indian Revenue Service officer, Mr Chowdary had been working as the adviser to the
Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team, which is probing black money cases. Mr. Sharma, a former
Environment Secretary, has been working as an Information Commissioner in the Central Information Commission
since 2012. Both posts had been vacant for months. The issue became politically charged after Congress president
Sonia Gandhi raised it in the Lok Sabha last month, accusing the Narendra Modi government of undermining the
posts by keeping them vacant.
Mahendra Kumar Sharma was appointed as non-executive chairman of Indias largest private sector lender
Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) Bank. He will replace K V Kamath who had resigned
in order to join as President of the Shanghai based New Development Bank established by the BRICS nations.

Former bureaucrat Dr. Mahesh N. Buch who was widely regarded as the architect of modern Bhopal, passed
away at the age of 80. He was known for his clear views in context of urban planning and environment protection
for betterment of Bhopal and Madhya Pradesh. He received Padma Bhushan in 2011 for his services to the nation.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appointed Meena Hemchandra as the executive director who would be in
charge of department of banking supervision. She will also be in charge of department of non-banking supervision
and department of co-operative banking supervision.
Nek Chand, creator of the iconic Rock Garden who amazed people for decades with his unique sculptures made
from waste, died at the age of 90. The Padma Shri awardee, whose 90th birthday was celebrated by the
Chandigarh Administration and the City residents on December 15, had millions of fans across the globe. Working
as a roads inspector of the Public Works Department in Punjab from 1951, Nek Chand had quietly built his magical
kingdom clearing a little forest patch near the famous Sukhna lake to create a small garden. Waste like broken
crockery, electrical fittings, glass bangles, bathroom tiles, wash basins and bicycle frames were used to make
mosaic sculptures of men, women, animals and gods. The iconic Rock Garden, inaugurated in 1976, is now spread
over an area of forty acres and more than 2.5 lakh people from India and abroad visit it every year with the
annual revenue generated from ticket sales around Rs 1.8 crore. Nek Chands unique art has also been showcased
in museums abroad, including at the National Childrens Museum in Washington.
Union Home Ministry appointed Senior IPS Officer RC Tayal as the new Director General (DG) of Indias elite
counter-terror force National Security Guard (NSG). He succeeds JN Choudhury who had retired on 31 May 2015.
He will have tenure till August 2016.
Legendary English actor, singer and writer Sir Christopher Lee passed away in London, at the age of 93. The
veteran actor was famously known as the master of horror for his famous villainy acting roles in numerous movies
such as Dracula, The Wicker Man, James Bond, Lord of the Rings trilogy etc.
Dr. Srivari Chandrasekhar, a senior scientist, was appointed Director of CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical
Technology (IICT) a premier research institute of Union Government based in Hyderabad, Telangana.
Former Director of Intelligence Bureau (DIB) Syed Asif Ibrahim was appointed as Prime Ministers Special Envoy
for Counter Terrorism and Extremism in National Security Council (NSC) Secretariat.

SPORTS
Barcelona FC won 2015 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League trophy for the fifth
time after defeating Juventus FC in the finals.
Cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the only Indian among Forbes magazines 100 highest-paid athletes in the
world. American boxer Floyd Mayweather tops the list, which also includes golfer Tiger Woods, tennis star Roger
Federer and Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo. Dhoni has been ranked 23rd, dropping a notch from his
ranking of 22 last year. Dhonis total earnings stood at $31 million, including amount from salary/winnings at $4
million and endorsements worth $27 million. The 33-year old cricketer retired from Test cricket at the end of 2014,
but remains Indias skipper at the One Day International and T20 levels.
Indias tennis player Rohan Bopanna along with his Romanian partner Florin Merge a won the ATPs Stuttgart
Open final doubles trophy in Germany after defeating Austrian-Brazilian pair of Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares.
President of the Fdration Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Sepp Blatter resigned amid a corruption
scandal which is under investigation in United States. Earlier on 30 May 2015, he was re-elected as the FIFA
President for a fifth term by defeating his rival candidate Prince Ali bins Al Hussein of Jordan.
Serena Williams of United States won French Open womens single title after defeating Lucie Safarova of
Czechoslovakia. This was her third French Open title and overall 20th Grand Slam title.
Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland won his first French Open Mens single title of Tennis. After defeating Novak
Djokovic of Serbia. It his first his first French Open title and second grand slam title.
Indias Sundaram Ravi was inducted into the Elite Panel of International Cricket Council (ICC) Umpires for year
2015-2016.With this appointment, Sundaram Ravi became second Indian umpire after S Venkataraghavan to be
inducted into the ICCs elite panel. S Venkataraghavan was inducted in this panel in 2004.

MISCELLANEOUS
World

The World Day against Child Labour was observed across the world on 12 June to bring awareness against
child labour. The theme of this year was No to Child Labour, Yes to Quality Education.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) announced that in past one decade renewable
energy targets have quadruple globally. As per the report released in June 2015, 164 countries have
adopted at least one type of renewable energy target compared to 43 countries in 2005. All nations are
adopting renewable energy targets to meet multiple objectives including energy security, environmental
sustainability and socio-economic benefits.

China conducted the fourth successful test of a new Wu-14 hypersonic strike vehicle which is capable of
delivering nuclear weapons.

African countries signed a historic The Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) that facilitates creation of Africas
largest free-trade zone, covering 26 countries in an area from Cape Town to Cairo. The deal, signed in
Egypt, is intended to ease the movement of goods across member countries which represent more than
half the continent's GDP. With this agreement comes into fruition a century-old dream to link the
continent from the Cape to Cairo. Explorers and freedom fighters alike all shared the vision to integrate
African economies.

India

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar launched a campaign called Badh Chala Bihar in Patna to collate ideas
from the public to produce Bihar@2025. It is a vision document on states development between 2015 and
2025.

Jind and Karnal districts of Haryana and Muzaffarnagar of Uttar Pradesh were included in National Capital
Region in June 2015.

16th June to 30th June

AWARDS & HONOURS

The Sahitya Akademi announced the Bal Sahitya Puraskar for this year, in which five novelists, four writers of
short stories, and three authors of poetries, among others, were awarded for their contribution to childrens
literature. Instituted by the Sahitya Akademi, the award comprises Rs 50,000 and a casket containing an inscribed
copper plaque and a citation. Tiren Boro (Bodo), Sowmya Rajendran and Nivditha Subramaniam (English),
Ramnath G Gawade (Konkani), Ramdeo Jha (Maithili) and Mukti Upadhyay Baral (Nepali) were awarded for their
novels. Those who were awarded for their short stories were Nayeem Kashmiri (Kashmiri), Thokchom Thouyangba
Meitei (Manipuri), Krishna Kumar Ashu (Rajasthani) and Janardhan Hegde (Sanskrit). Tara Chand Kalandri
(Dogri), Srikanta Saren (Santali) and Sella Ganapathi (Tamil) were awarded for their poetry collections. Bano
Sartaj (Urdu) was honoured for her book on a one act play. Eli Ahmed (Assamese) and Kartik Ghose (Bengali),
among others, were honoured with the Bal Sahitya Puraskar 2015 for their contribution to Childrens Literature.
Indias oldest and largest shipping trade union, National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) was honoured with the
Best Welfare Organisation of the Year 2015 award. The award is promoted by the United Kingdom based
International Seafarers Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN) and recognise excellence of organisation in the
provision of welfare services and facilities for seafarers.
Sahitya Akademi conferred 4 scholars with prestigious Bhasha Samman for their contribution to classical and
medieval literature in various languages.

K Meenakshi Sundaram: For her contributions to Classical and Medieval Literature(Southern) .

Acharya Munishwar Jha: For his contributions to Classical and Medieval Literature (Eastern).

Charu Chandra Pande and Mathuradutt Mathpal: Jointly recognised for their work towards the
enrichment of Kumauni.

Historian-author Ramachandra Guha was selected for Japans prestigious Fukuoka Prize in the Academic
category. Guhas fellow winners were Thant Myint-U (Grand Prize) and Minh Hanh (Arts and Culture). Fukuoka
Prize honours those who have made outstanding contributions to academia, arts and culture across Asia.
Veteran Writer Vishwanath Tripathi was selected for the 28th Moorti Devi Award for the year 2014 for his book
Vyomkesh Darvesh.
Eminent scientist and recipient of Bharat Ratna CNR Rao was conferred the 'Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and
Silver Star', Japan's highest civilian award, for promoting academic interchange and mutual understanding in
science and technology between the two countries.
Carnatic vocalist Sanjay Subrahmanyan was selected for this year's Sangita Kalanidhi award. Subrahmanyan,
47, is one of the youngest to receive the award. He joined the illustrious line of stalwarts who had received the
award before they turned fifty years like Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Musiri Subramania Iyer, Maharajapuram
Viswanathan

Iyer,

Semmangudi

Srinivasa

Iyer,

Balasubramanian,

Vasanthakumari

and

Balamuralikrishna.
Nadia district in West Bengal won the United Nations Public Service Award 2015 in the category of improving
delivery of public services for or eliminating open defecation in the district.

BUSINESS & CORPORATE

Private insurer Bajaj Allianz launched a weather-based crop insurance scheme for orange crops in Nagpur,
Hingoli and Washim districts of Maharashtra. The index-based insurance policy will cover losses incurred by orange
fruit-growing farmers due to deviation in weather conditions and has been approved by Central and the State
government.
Blue Star, India's largest central air-conditioning company, launched VRF (variable refrigerant flow) IV Plus air
conditioning (AC) system. This is the first-ever locally-developed-and-produced VRF ACs in India.
Bahrain-based GFH Financial Group signed an agreement with Indian conglomerate Adani Group for developing
an economic development zone in Mumbai. Under the agreement, the financial group's unit Energy City Navi
Mumbai (ECNM) and Adani Group will work together in creating the master plan for the lands of Phases II and III
of the project, which will offer world class business infrastructure for local and international services, IT and
energy companies.
Micromax Informatics Ltd launched a 5.1mm thick smartphone in New Delhi, claiming that its the worlds
slimmest 4G-enabled phone when measured end-to-end. Priced at Rs 17,999, the company announced M! Onsite Care, a 7 day doorstep service policy. The phone is bundled with a free 4G SIM from Airtel, with a double data
offer that doubles the 4G data cap upon activation for the first three months.
The Bombay High Court allowed Nestle India to export Maggi noodles, currently banned in Maharashtra and
Many States. After samples of noodles manufactured in March 2014 were reportedly found to contain high lead
content and Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), the brand is under scrutiny of various State governments and Union
Consumer Affairs Ministry.
SoftBank Corp.

formed a solar and wind energy joint venture that could invest as much as $20 billion in

producing 20 gigawatts of power in India, partnering the countrys top wireless provider, Bharti Enterprises Ltd.,
with Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn Technology Co. Ltd. SoftBank is one of the largest investors in
Indias biggest ridesharing services provider Ola Cabs and Snapdeal.com, which is the countrys second-largest ecommerce company. Subject to certain conditions, SoftBank, Bharti and Foxconn will jointly invest in the new
venture, called SBG Cleantech Ltd. India has set itself the target of generating 100 gigawatts of electricity through
solar installations and a further 60 gigawatts via wind turbines by 2022.
Japans SoftBank Corp announced that it was setting up a joint venture with Chinese online shopping giant
Alibaba and electronics supplier Foxconn Technology to sell its human-like robot Pepper around the world.
US-based SunEdison Inc. announced to acquire Continuum Wind Energy Ltd, a Singapore-based company with
assets in India, for an undisclosed sum. Continuum owns and operates 242 megawatts (MW) of wind power plants
in Maharashtra and Gujarat, besides a 170 MW wind power unit under construction in Madhya Pradesh. It has
more than 1,000 MW of wind power plants in development across six states in India.
Indias largest IT services company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) launched a Next-Gen Technology
Solutions Center of Excellence (CoE) at its campus in Hyderabad, dedicated to research and development of
futuristic technologies and creation of next-generation products and solutions for its global customers in the
Semiconductors, Devices and Networks space.
Wealth-X released the Worlds Wealthiest Self-Made Billionaires List. It included worlds top 25 richest self-made
billionaires.
The list was topped by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates with a personal fortune totaling nearly 86 billion US dollars.
American entrepreneurs dominated the list claiming 14 of the 25 spots.

BILLS / ACTS / COMMITTEES / SCHEMES / POLICIES

The Maharashtra government decided to evoke Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act
(MPDA) against those involved in black marketing of essential commodities and sand mafia. The decision
to impose MPDA was taken by government in order to tackle the menace of black marketing of essential
commodities and sand mafia in state and to prevent organised attacks against revenue officials and
employees by sand mafias and smugglers.

Union Cabinet approved introduction of Bureau of Indian Standards Bill, 2015 in coming session of
Parliament. The new bill seeks to replace the existing Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act, 1986 with an
aim to bring in more products under the mandatory standard regime and end the inspector raj.

Union Ministry of Finance constituted a 10 member Task Force on Financial Redress Agency (FRA) which
will be headed by Dhirendra Swarup. Dhirendra Swarup has also served as first chairman of the Pension
Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) in 2004. This task force was set up to begin the
preparatory work for FRA that was recommended by the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission
(FSLRC) as FRA will act as a unified redress agency for financial consumers across the country.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) announced that it will soon constitute an expert
group to regulate salt, sugar and fat in food products, following a Delhi High Court order. The committee
will advise FSSAI on matters related to health risks, dietary intake and current levels of sugar, salt and fat
in products in the market. It will also provide recommendations on regulations and labelling of these
elements in food being manufactured, sold, marketed and imported.

The Union Government of India increased The National Floor Level Minimum Wage (NFLMW) for workers
from rupees 137 to 160 rupees which will be effective from 1st July 2015. It was fixed at 35 rupees per
day in 1996 and has since been revised almost regularly every two years taking into account the increase
in the CPI (IW). It was last raised in July 2013 from 115 rupees a day fixed in 2011. The Labour
and Employment Minister, Bandaru Dattatreya, also emphasized to ensure implementation of various
provisions of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 so that the objective of ensuring the minimum wages to
workers can be achieved.

Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) notified an order to make Universal Account Number (UAN)
mandatory for all employers covered under the Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions
Act, 1952. The UAN facility that remains portable throughout the lifetime of an employee was launched by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2014.

ECONOMY & FINANCE

Continuing its declining trend, Indias exports shrank by about 20.19 per cent in May 2015 to USD 22.34
billion, marking a fall for the sixth straight month. The slump in exports is mainly due to global slowdown,
dip in crude oil prices and rupee appreciation. In May 2014, the countrys merchandise exports stood at
USD 27.99 billion. The main exporting sectors, including petroleum products, gems and jewellery,
engineering and chemicals reported a negative growth in April. Imports, too, declined 16.52 per cent to
USD 32.75 billion. Trade deficit narrowed to USD 10.4 billion in the month under review compared with
USD 11.23 billion in May 2014, according to data released by the commerce ministry in June 2015.

The Cabinet approved the revised target of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) to generate
100,000 Mw by 2022 five times the previous target. The target will comprise 40 Gw power generated
through rooftop units and 60 Gw through large and medium scale grid connected solar power projects.
The total investment in setting up projects with capacity of 100 Gw will be around Rs 6 lakh crore.

The government will provide additional employment of 50 days under its flagship rural employment
scheme in areas affected by drought. The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
approved a proposal that sought to raise the number of work days to 150 from 100 under the Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in drought-hit areas.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley approved the formation of two committees to facilitate the
implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from next April. A steering committee, chaired by
the Additional Secretary, Department of Revenue, and the Member Secretary of the Empowered
Committee of State Finance Ministers, will monitor the setting up of IT infrastructure for the GST network,
the Central Board of Excise and Customs and other tax authorities. The committee will monitor the
progress of consultations with stakeholders such as trade and industry and the training of officers. The
other committee, chaired by Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser, will recommend possible tax
rates under the GST that would be consistent with the present level of revenue collected by the Centre
and the States. While making recommendations, the committee will take into account the expected levels
of economic growth, the different levels of compliance, and the broadening of the tax base. The panel
would assess the sector- and State-wise impact of the GST on the economy.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs(CCEA) increased the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy
by Rs 50 to Rs 1,410 per quintal for this year. The decision on paddy is in line with the recommendation of
the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), a government advisory body. MSP is the rate at
which government buys the grain from farmers.Paddy is the main crop grown in the kharif (summer)
season.

The Union Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers Shri Ananth Kumar formally launched the Cluster
Development Programme for Pharma Sector (CDS-PS). The programme will provide support to the
Pharmaceutical industry in becoming more capable, productive and competitive. The Cluster Development
Programme is proposed to be the key step in ensuring health security of the country. The Minister said
that by the end of this financial year, 06 Pharma Clusters are likely to come up of which 03 will be
greenfields.

Shri Ananth Kumar said that these Clusters will ensure adequate testing, training and

affluent treatment facilities for pharmaceuticals industry.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) relaxed the norms for technological start-ups to raise
funds from the capital market, while easing the norms for issuance of Initial Public Offering (IPO) by
companies. Exchanges will have a separate platform, Institutional Trading Platform (ITP), and would
facilitate capital raising as well for start-ups. The capital market regulator reduced the post-listing lock-in
period for tech start-up promoters to six months, instead of three years for other IPOs.

The association of bond dealers, local currency traders and bankers formed a new firm to fix the Mumbai
Inter-Bank Offer Rate (Mibor), in line with a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) panel recommendation which
seeks to avoid a Libor (London Interbank Offer Rate) like fiasco in India. Mibor is the rate at which banks
lend and borrow overnight money to each other. The Fixed Income Money Market and Derivatives
Association of India (FIMMDA), the Foreign Exchange Dealers Association of India (FEDAI) and the Indian
Banks Association have together formed a new firm named the Board of Financial Benchmarks India Pvt.
Ltd (FBIL), which will henceforth administer the Mibor.

The finance ministry issued draft proposals for facilitating electronic transactions that are aimed at
bringing transparency in the economy and promoting cashless payments. The ministry said that the
objective is to improve the ease of conducting transactions for individuals and cut costs of managing cash.
The decision, once implemented, will also go a long way in reducing tax avoidance that is rampant
because of cash payments. The government said that the by facilitating electronic transactions, it will be
able to build a transactions history which will in turn help customers in getting loans easily and will help in
financial inclusion.

The Union Cabinet gave its approval to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to apply to the
Registrar of Companies for converting it into a Section 3 company under the Companies Act, 2013 and its
renaming. The new corporation shall be known as Renewable Energy Corporation of India (RECI). The
major impact of the decision will be that SECI will become a self-sustaining and self-generating
organisation and will engage itself in owning solar power plants generating and selling power and in other
segments of solar sector activities, including manufacturing of solar products and materials. After it is
rebranded, the corporation will take up development of all segments of renewable energy namely, geothermal, off-shore wind, tidal and so on, apart from solar energy.

India regained its position in the list of top 10 destinations for foreign direct investments (FDI) in 2014,
after failing to make it to the list a year ago, according to the World Investment Report 2015 released by
the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad). India is ranked ninth in the latest
report; it was 15th last year. During 2014, FDI inflows into India jumped 22% to $34 billion at a time
when global FDI fell by 16% to $1.23 trillion. Unctad projected global FDI flows to rise 11% to $1.4 trillion
in 2015. Indias rank as a top prospective host country for FDI also rose to third place from fourth place in
an Unctad survey for the period 2015-17. However, India fell to the seventh rank from sixth last year in
the survey as a source country for FDI for 2014-2016 period.

The report identified the automotive industry as one of the sectors in which India has the potential of
becoming a world leader. The report revealed that China became the largest recipient of FDI in 2014,
followed by Hong Kong and the US. Developing economies, as a group, attracted $681 billion worth of FDI
and remain the leading region by share of global investment inflows.

The Reserve Bank of India released its Financial Stability Report (FSR), the 11th issue of its bi-annual
publication. The report states the easing global crisis and strong macroeconomic fundamentals in the
domestic market, including increased FDIs in the past year offer India a "reasonable degree of resilience"
to fight uncertainties, but poor asset quality of banks and managing expectations are key challenges for
regulators and the government. "There has been a significant improvement in the macroeconomic
environment, and going forward, economic performance is expected to be better," the FSR said.

PEOPLE IN NEWS
Journalist and writer Aakar Patel joined Amnesty International India as its new Executive Director. Patel will head
Amnesty International India's operations. Amnesty International India is one of the movement's three national
offices, set up to increase our impact in countries with growing global influence which continue to face human
rights challenges.
Bangladesh's Supreme Court upheld the death sentence against the second highest ranking leader of the
fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami for war crimes, including massacre of intelligentsia during the liberation war
against Pakistan, paving the way for his execution. Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha's four-member bench
confirmed the death penalty for 67-year-old Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid, Jamaat-e-Islami secretary general
and a former commander of Al-Badr, the militia raised by Pakistan to crush the Bangladesh's struggle for
independence.
Anshula Kant was appointed as the Deputy Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of State Bank of
India (SBI). She succeeded P K Gupta, who was promoted as Chief Executive Officer of SBI Capital.
Indias greatest contemporary architect Charles Correa passed away at the age of 84. He had played a pivotal
role in the creation of architecture for post-Independence India. He was known for his sensitivity to the needs of
the urban poor and use of traditional methods and materials for construction.
Senior Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) leader and Lok Sabha MP Dileep Singh Bhuria passed away at the age of 71.
He was Lok Sabha MP from Ratlam-Jhabua constituency of Madhya Pradesh.
James

Horner,

the

consummate

film

composer

known

for

his heart-tugging

scores

for Field

of

Dreams, Braveheart and Titanic, for which he won two Academy Awards, died in a plane crash at the age of 61.
Britains longest-serving Indian-origin MP Keith Vaz, was re-elected as Chairman of Home Affairs Select
Committee (HASC) in House of Commons of UK Parliament.
Billionaire financier Kirk Kerkorian, one of the founders of modern Las Vegas, whose name is synonymous with
some of the Strips best-known hotel-casinos, died at the age of 98.
Mogens Lykketoft from Denmark was unanimously elected as President of United Nations General Assembly
(UNGA). He was only the nominee put forward by the Western Europe and other group (WEOG).
Narendra Kumar Yadav took charge as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the state-run telecom
operator Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL). Yadav succeeded PK Purwar.
Journalist-activist-author Praful Bidwai passed away in Amsterdam at the age of 66. A former journalist with
The Times of India, Praful wrote with authority and erudition on human rights, environment, global justice and
peace. He was a founder-member of the Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace. He was a co-recipient of
the prestigious Sean MacBride International Peace Prize.
Lenovo appointed Rahul Agarwal as the managing director for Lenovo India, effective June 29, 2015. He took
over from Amar Babu who has been elevated as the Chief Operating Officer for the Asia Pacific region and
Chairman of Lenovo India. This appointment comes at a time when the world's largest PC maker is diversifying

beyond PCs into smart connected devices which the company terms as 'PC+ devices'. These include smartphones,
tablets, wearables and smart TVs among others.
Former Indian women hockey captain Shashi Bala passed away along with her son following a road accident in
Punjab. 45-year-old Shashi Bala made her international debut in 1987 and was a member of the national team in
the 1998 FIH Women World Cup in the Netherlands. She was captain of the national team during the 1997 FIH
Women World Cup Qualifier held in Harare, Zimbabwe. After her playing career, she coached India Railways'
hockey teams and later become a Selector of Hockey Punjab.
Sister Nirmala, who succeeded Mother Teresa as superior general of the Missionaries of Charity, died at the age
of 81. Nirmala became the second head of the Missionaries of Charity after its founder Mother Teresa stepped
down from the post in March 1997.
A comprehensive book in Dogri on the Dogri literature of 20th century, entitled Beehmi Sadi Da Dogri Da Gadya
Sahitya: Ik Jayzaa written by noted scholar of Dogri Dr Vijay Seth, was released in Jammu.
Former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, whose career included journalism, diplomacy and spycraft,
died at the age of 85.

SPORTS
Astronomers named a newly discovered galaxy as CR7 (COSMOS Redshift 7) after Portuguese footballer Cristiano
Ronaldo. Ronaldo is famously known as CR7 after his initials and his jersey number. He had won Fifas Ballon
dOr award consecutively for two years in 2013 and 2014.
India was ranked third in Anti-Doping Rule Violations Report for year 2013 released by World Anti-Doping Agency
(WADA). Russia was ranked first in this report with maximum number of doping athletes, followed by Turkey.
Indian pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwni Ponappa won the womens doubles title of the Canada Open Badminton
tournament when they defeated Dutch pair of Eefje Muskens and Selena Piek in the finals.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman were fined 75 and 50 per
cent of their match fees respectively after being found guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during the first
One-Day International at Mirpur.
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg from Germany won the Austrian Grand Prix Formula One (F1) World Championship
title. It is Rosbergs eleventh overall championship title and the third win in the 2015 season.
World number two Roger Federer won the Halle Open ATP title in Germany when he defeated Andreas Seppi of
Italy in the finals.
Indias legendary batsman and Bharat Ratna recipient Sachin Tendulkar was voted the Best Test player of the
21st century in an online poll conducted by Cricket Australias website for the list of the 100 best Test players
since 2000.
Satnam Singh Bhamara became the first Indian basketball player to be drafted in the National Basketball
Association (NBA) after being picked by Dallas Mavericks. The 19-year-old, who hails from a remote village in
Punjab and stands 7 feet 2 inches tall, was the 52nd pick in the NBA Draft.
Tennis legend Steffi Graf was appointed the Ayurveda brand ambassador of Gods Own Country Kerala. The 46year-old Graf, who retired in 1999, married former World No. 1 mens tennis player Andre Agassi. Keralas
Ayurveda, an ancient system of health care which is famous for its holistic effect on body and mind, attracts large
number of people from the country and abroad every year.
Sunil Chhetri became the first Indian footballer to score 50 international goals. He achieved this feat in his 87th
match i.e. during 2018 World Cup qualifying match between India and Guam.
Former Pakistan cricket team captain Zaheer Abbas was selected the new President of International Cricket
Council (ICC) for one year term. He will be the 13th President of ICC and succeeds Mustafa Kamal of Bangladesh.

MISCELLANEOUS
World

India was among the 50 founding countries that signed an agreement providing the legal framework for
the China-led $100 billion multilateral Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) which is being seen as
a rival to the US and Europe-dominated banking institutions. The 60-article agreement specified each
member's share as well as governance structure and policy-making mechanism of the bank, which is
designed to finance infrastructure in Asia. Australia was the first country to sign the agreement, followed
by 49 other members.

According to a research published by the World Economic Forum, the US department of defense is the
world's biggest employer which claims over 3.2 million employees on its roster. Second is People's
Liberation Army (the Chinese military) with 2.3 million, and in third is the US supermarket giant Walmart
with 2.1 million workers. Indian Railways was placed at 8th position with 1.4 million staff, while Indian
Army was placed at 9th position with 1.3 million employees in the list of worlds biggest employers.

A three week long joint military training exercise code named Silk Route- 2015 between China and Sri
Lanka begun at Buttala in Central Sri Lanka.

India

India is the fourth largest carbon emitter in the world in terms of per capita emission accounting for 6.6 %
of global emissions for the year 2012. It was revealed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) in its latest
analyses of the country-wise carbon emissions of climate-damaging greenhouse gases (GHGs). According
to the analysis figures of WRI, Top 5 emitters are: China (25.26%), US (14.4%), European Union
(10.16%), India (6.69%) and Russia (5.36%).

India pledged an assistance of one billion US dollars to the quake-ravaged Nepal for its massive reconstruction programme.