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VOL - 12

ISSUE - 08

CONTENTS

SUCCESS SAGA

Editor
N.K. Jain
Advisors
Neeraj Chabra
K.C.Gupta
Registered Office

SBI FEVER

6-10

SPOTLIGHT

11

THE PEOPLE

12-26

NEWS BYTES

28-94

GLOBAL PEACE INDEX 2016

96

NOVAK DJOKOVICAT2016 FRENCH OPEN

97

PM NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT

98

RLV-TD

99

Que TM - GENERAL AWARENESS

100-105

GRAPHIC FACTORY

106-111

MOHD. ALI THE LEGEND

112-113

WHOS WHO

114

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2016

EDITORIAL
GLOBAL PEACE INDEX
Dear Aspirants,
A Peaceful Earth is much better than a prosperous one; if Peace is prevalent the latter
shall follow. So when the Global Peace Index was released we were delighted to see
Iceland at the top,were apalled to see India not even featuring in the Top 100.
We are reminded of our Father of the Nation who lived,spread and practiced Peace. We
Hope we fare better next year.
As a child,we were amazed and enamoured both in equal measure with the Postman and
the Post Office providing us letters of our dear ones as well those that mattered. Since
the advent of e-mails and other new tools of technology the post office started loosing
its sheen,but its the India Post we are talking out which came out with new techniques
of itself.
One of those is the India Post Payment Bank whereby India Post shall be setting up a
Payment Bank which shall provide nominal banking services like Demand Depsoits
and Debit cards.
At a minimum Paid-up Capital of rs 100 crores and with 650 India Post Payment Bank
Branches,India Post is entering a new domain and we are happy that our childhood has
Grown-Up.
Moving on to the Virat Kohli of Tennis World No. 1 Novak Djokovic who prevailed
on the Rolland Garros and achieved what even the mighty Federer still hasnt achieved.
This gives us an essence that no matter the target it is achievable.
We wondered how can we re-use the single use space vehicles which could lead to high
cost effectiveness. Your Wish and ISRO delivered.
The Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Demonstrator which was a sample in line
with the future of space travel and multiple use of a single Vehicle.
Bravo! ISRO make us Proud!!!
Last but not the least, THE GREATEST bid us adieu, let us try again The Greatest
Boxer is no more. Yes, MOHD. ALI passed away on 3rd of JUNE this year making
us revisit the impeccable legacy of THE PEOPLES CHAMPION.
With Passion,determination and tenacity everything is possible and with an able guide,
Success is a guarantee.
We at Mahendras, follow the same and try to be an able guide the seeking apirant.
In the end, the lines by the Great Mohammad Ali.
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. The hands cant hit what the eyes cant see.

We wish you the Best of Luck and Keep up the Hard Work.
YOUR SUCCESS IS OUR SUCCESS
With Best Wishes
Mahendra Publication Pvt. Ltd.

PEACE

SUCCESS SAGA

TUSHAR

PERSONAL DETAILS
Name

General Awareness:
Internet, for banking Mahendras, MICA & Monthly
Boosters.

: Tushar

Fathers Name : Man Mohan Nayak

Computer & Marketing

Mothers Name : Indu Nayak


Education

: B.Tech.

Hobbies

: Playing

Study material provided by Mahendra


MICA : How do you take Master in Current Affairs
Magazine, and Mahendra Guru Website?

Prior Selection : IBPS-Clerk (RRB)

Tushar : Specially Mahendra Guru website was full of


content & helpful, Interview videos were also
very helpful.

Name of the Exam : Baroda UP Gramin Bank-PO


Roll No. of Qualified Exam

: 3551090126

MICA : What is the best thing about your coaching


institute, according to you?

Roll No. of Mahendra Institute : MAH0010908699


MICA : Mahendras family expresses its heartiest
congratulations on your success as PO in Baroda
UP Gramin Bank.

Tushar : Inspiring faculties and so competitive ambience.


MICA : What is the role of Time Management in ones
success?

MICA : To whom do you want to give the credit of your


selection?

Tushar : Time Management plays a very pivotal role in


any competitions..

Tushar : I would like to owe my success to my parents


and faculty at Mahendra.

MICA : How did you prepare for the Interview?


Tushar : Joined Mahendras Interview classes and regular
Newspaper reading.

MICA : After how many attempts did you succeed in


examination?

MICA : Tell us about the Interview Board and the


questions asked?

Tushar : It was my first attempt.


MICA : Did you take help of any institute and if yes, what
is the role of that institute in your selection?

Tushar : Very co-operative and all questions were


pertaining to banking & academies.

Tushar : Mahendra Institute gave me proper idea how to


prepare and in case of scarcity of time how to
optimize your efforts.

The questions asked were:


(I) Is there any interest paid on CRR & SLR
(II) Role of EXIM & ECGC

MICA : How did you prepare for the written examination?

(III) Faradeys law, ohms law, electricity

Tushar : I had devoted myself to the guidance of


Mahendra Faculty Members, Study Material,
Mahendra Guru Website, Smart Class, Speed
Test and Problem Solving Sessions. The best
part is it was present both in offline and online
mode.

(IV) Gold monetization scheme


(V) Career related question.
MICA : By whom did you get information of your
selection and what was your reaction?
Tushar : I myself was continuously online. It gave me a
very soothing experience like all pressure was
released.

Quantitative Aptitude:
Mahendras Maths Book
Reasoning Ability:

MICA : What message do you want to convey to other


aspirants?

Mahendra Reasoning book & practice paper

Tushar : Be consistent and aspire to achieve bigger than


what currently you have.

English:
Speed test were so helpful and read text book thouroughly
for all subjects.

MICA : Congratulations once again on your success...


Your success is our success.
Tushar : Thank You Mahendra for guiding me to Success.

@Mahendras

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AUGUST/2016/MASTER IN CURRENT AFFAIRS

SBI FEVER
Q.1.

QUE PANORAMA
Q.10. Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Culture
and Tourism (I/C) and Civil Aviation released a
Commemorative Coin of which denomination and
a Circulation Coin of Rs. 10/- on Tatya Tope on the
occasion of his Martyr Day?

The Prime Minister, NarendraModi, launched


which e-trading platform for the National
Agriculture Market on pilot basis?

Ans- e-NAM
Q.2.

Pakistan began their fifth joint air exercise,


Shaheen-V, at an operational base in Pakistan with
which country ?

Ans-

Rs. 200/-

Q.11. Which companys cofounder S Gopalakrishnan


launched a new app itihaasa (history) that
chronicles the fascinating journey of the Indian IT
industry since the 1950s ?

Ans-

China

Q.3.

Who has been appointed as the new chairperson of


the National Monument Authority (NMA)?

Ans-

Susmita Pandey

Q.4.

The Indian Navy has collaborated with which


educational institute to provide recognition to the
in-service training that sailors get by giving them
graduation degrees?

Q.12. A global consortium with Reliance Jio as a key


member announced the launch of a 8,100-km, 100
GBPS fibre optic communications cable system,
inking East Asia and West Asia, with a landing at
which city ?

Ans-

Jamia Millia Islamia

Ans-

Q.5.

Who has appointed as the first woman Chief Justice


of Nepal?

Ans-

Sushila Karki

Q.6.

BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) gave


a $250 million funding to which bank for a
renewable energy project. India is among the
first four countries to get a loan from the newly
established BRICS New Development Bank
(NDB).

Q.13. Multi-lateral funding agency Asian Development


Bank (ADB) has approved a project loan of $300
million (about Rs 2,000 crore) for upgradation of
over 400 kilometre (km) of major district roads in
which state?

Ans-

Canara Bank

Q.7.

NSDC has signed an agreement with ICDL Asia


of Singapore to collaborate on improving digital
literacy skills of Indians. What does NSDC stands
for?

Ans- Infosys

Chennai

Ans- Uttar Pradesh


Q.14. Indias which Trust and Jain Irrigation Systems
(JISL) have signed an agreement to work towards
improving agriculture extension, agribusiness and
research and development systems in multiple
geographies across the country?
Ans- TATA
Q.15. Where did P.M.NarendraModi inaugurated Shri
Mata Vaishno Devi Narayana Superspeciality
Hospital?

Ans-

National Skill Development Corporation

Q.8.

Which Government signed an MoU with Chinabased KDX and Dubai-based Aries EPICA
Electronics to manufacture glass-free 3-D
screens, mobiles, televisions and electronic home
appliances in the state?

Ans-

Ans-

Telangana

Q.9.

National Mission for Clean Ganga under the


Ministry of Water Resources, River Development
and Ganga Rejuvenation in collaboration with
which educational institute announced the
formal launch of Centre for Ganga River Basin
Management and Studies (CGRBMS) in New
Delhi?

Q.17. Panama will adopt international tax reporting


standards and participate in the automatic exchange
of tax information by which year?

Ans-

Q.16. Who has been appointed as the Additional Director


General in Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)?
Ans-

Deepak Mishra

Ans- 2018
Q.18. Which technology will be used to decide whether
the ball has crossed the goal-line at this years
European Championship?
Ans-

IIT Kanpur

@Mahendras

Katra

Hawk-Eye

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SBI FEVER

QUE PANORAMA

Q.19. The Centre informed the Supreme Court that 256


of 675 (over one-third) of Indias districts have
been declared drought-hit, due to which at least
how many people are affected ?
Ans-

Q.29. Which of the following bodies has awarded 67


million $ contract for Solar electronic propulsion
to aero jet rocket dyne?
Ans-

33 crore

Q. 30. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited


(NPCIL) has cleared the insurance policy for all
_____- nuclear reactors in the country.

Q.20. The IMF, World Bank, _______ and the


Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development have joined forces to build effective
tax systems, to avoid tax base erosion and develop
new standards for taxing multinational enterprises.
Ans-

Ans-

Ans-

Nepal

Q. 32. Which of the following social networking site has


collaborated with IndiaSpend to provide real time
pollution updates on air pollution?

Amitav Banerji

Q.22. What is Indias rank in the latest press freedom


index, according to the report which was released
by the Paris-based agency Reporters Without
Borders?
Ans-

21

Q.31. Which of the following countries observed its 1st


Anniversary of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that
claimed 9000 lives?

United Nations

Q.21. Recently who was conferred one of the highest


awards of Cyprus Commander of the Order
of Merit at a ceremony at the Cypriot high
commission?
Ans-

NASA

Ans-

Twitter

Q.33. Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a famous _________


Ans-

133

Director

Q.34. Mumbai-born property magnates ________ have


topped The Sunday Times Rich List 2016 with
a fortune of 13.1 billion pounds, followed by the
Hinduja brothers at 13 billion pounds.

Q.23. Who has joined the prominent world leaders when


his wax figures took up residence at Madame
Tussauds branches in Singapore, Hong Kong and
Bangkok?

Ans-

Ans - Narendra Modi

David and Simon Reuben

Q.24. Which city has been named the worlds best


sporting city of the past decade, beating London,
New York, Tokyo, Berlin and Sydney to the
crown?

Q.35. Where did J P Nadda, Union Minister for Health


and Family Welfare inaugurated the first of its kind
Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP)
compliant facility ?

Ans-

Ans Kasauli

Melbourne

Q.36. Which of the following politicians was elected as


the member of the Rajya Sabha recently?

Q.25. Who is the founder of the Flipkart?


Ans-

Binny Bansal

Q.26. Which country has replaced China as top


destination for foreign direct investment in 2015,
according to the report of FDI Intelligence, a
division of The Financial Times?

Ans-

Ans-

Ans- 8.7%

Anand Sharma

Q.37. According to finance ministry, the interest on PF


deposits in Employees Provident Fund organisation
(EPFO) would be-

India

Q.27. Which firm has been recognised as one of the UKs


leading employers for women in a list published
by The Times?

Q.38. SBI has launched which facility to check debit card


frauds?

Ans- TCS

Ans-

Q.28. Which state has bagged another National Award in


Agriculture sector for 2015-16?

Q.39. What is the name of the Eleventh Indo-Mongolia


joint training Exercise?

Ans- Himachal Pradesh

Ans- Nomadic Elephant

@Mahendras

SBI Quick

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QUE PANORAMA

Q. 40. Recently who has been nominated as a member of


the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association?
Ans-

Q.52. The prestigious award The Order of the Rising


Sun, Gold and Silver Star related to which
country?

Sitasaran Sharma

Ans- Japan

Q.41. Regional Human Development Report is published


by-

Q.53. During his visit in UP on 1 May 2016, PM Modi


Launched which yojana?

Ans- United Nations

Ans-

Q.42. The newly appointed secretary of Information and


Broadcasting is-

Q.54. Recently President Pranav Mukherjee has been


honoured with a banquet by the Governor General
of which country?

Ans- Ashok Lavasa


Q.43. A six-metre statue of former South African
president Nelson Mandela has been unveiled in
__________.

Ans- New Zealand


Q.55. Which state is set to become the first State in
the country to make all of its urban areas Open
Defecation Free by October 2nd this year?

Ans- Palestine
Q.44. Chinese scientists launched a sounding rocket
Kunpeng-1B from which City?
Ans-

Ans- Andhra Pradesh


Q.56. Which scheme is launched in MP recently with
an aim to distribute 3 Crore LED Bulbs in Next 6
Months?

Danzhou

Q.45. India successfully launched its seventh navigation


satellite _____ on-board the PSLV from the Satish
Dhawan Space Centre Sriharikota.
Ans-

Ans-

Sudarsan Pattnaik

Ans- New Zealand

Q.47. Russia launched a _____ rocket from the


Cosmodrome located in the country?

Q.58. Recently the US President Barack Obama and the


First Lady Michelle awarded an Indian- American
journalist and three of her colleagues from Inside
Climate News, which one is not among the
following?

Ans- Soyuz-2.1a
Q.48. The newly appointed Chairman and Managing
Director of Power Finance Corporation (PFC) is-

Ans-

Ans- Rajeev Sharma

Ans- North Star

Ans- 7.4%

Q.50. According to a report by United Nations Economic


and Social Survey for Asia and the Pacific
(UNESCAP), Indian economy for the year 201617 projected to be-

Q.60. Which of the following activist of the


RashtriyaSwayamsevakSangh (RSS) and former
president of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh (BJS) died
recently?

7.6%

Ans-

Q.51. Which of the following Indian origin CEO have


been named among 100 highest-paid CEOs
globally?
Ans-

BalrajMadhok

Q.61. Which international organization and Asian


Development Bank (ADB) has signed a
memorandum of understanding (MOU) for jointlyfinanced projects to strengthen cooperation?

Indira Nooyi

@Mahendras

Neela Banerjee

Q.59. As per the Standard Chartered the Indian economy


is expected to clock a GDP growth of at what per
cent in current fiscal 2016-17?

Q.49. What is the name of the highest civilian award of


Mongolia?

Ans-

Ujala

Q.57. Recently which country has signed a deal with


india that opens the door for direct flights between
the two countries that could boost tourism and
trade sectors?

IRNSS 1G

Q.46. Gold medal at 9th Moscow Sand Sculpture


Championship 2016 goes toAns-

Ujjwala

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QUE PANORAMA

Ans- The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)

Q.71. According to the global financial services company


HSBC Indias annual GDP growth in the current
financial year 2016-17 will be how much percent?

Q.62. Which Indian American Sikh woman elected to an


important position in the Republican Party at the
US national level?
Ans-

Ans- 7.4 percent


Q.72. Who has been the head of the All World Gayatri
Pariwar and editor of Akhand Jyoti magazine
that has been nominated to the Rajya Sabha by
President Pranab Mukherjee?

Harmeet Kaur Dhillon

Q.63. With an aim of afforestation on the vast tracts of


rail land, the Indian Railways signed a MOU with
the forest departments of which of the following
states for plantation of 5 lakh trees as part of the
Green India Mission ?

Ans-

Pranav Pandya

Q.73. Forbes Middle east released the list of Top ten


richest Indians living in Arab region. The list
includes top 10 businessmen above 50 years of
age. who has topped in the list ?

Ans- Punjab and Haryana


Q.64. Future group Chairman Mr. _______________
stepped down as managing director of Future
Retail.

Ans-

Sunil Vaswani of Stallion Group.

Q.74. Who has been appointed as the chairman of the


company of Future Retail group?

Ans- Kishore Biyani


Q.65. Who among the following is a foreign policy
strategist that has been named as the inaugural
Marshall Bouton Asia Fellow of the prestigious
Chicago Council on Global Affairs?

Ans-

V K Chopra

Q.75. Which renowned scholar and critic Professor died


recently and He was 91 years old?

Ans- C Raja Mohan

Ans - Asloob Ahmad Ansari

Q.66. Which bank has extended a line of credit (LoC)


worth USD 1 billion to Mongolia for developing
its railways and related infrastructure?

Q.76. The trade body of Indian IT firms NASSCOM


has signed a MoU with which company to build
a product design initiative to engage the countrys
young entrepreneurs into becoming problem
solvers and solution builders ?

Ans- Exim Bank


Q.67. Who launched a dashboard on EXIM Analytics,
a initiative of the Ministry of Commerce and
Industry to provide easy access to the public on
export and import trends of India?

Ans-

Facebook

Q.77. US President Barack Obama has announced to


reappoint Indian-American _________________
to a key independent government agency devoted
to accessibility for people with disabilities.

Ans- Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman

Ans-

Q.68. Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, Minister of Railways


launched one E-enabled application, PMIS for
proper Monitoring of all the Railway projects
throughout the country.What does PMIS stands
for?

Sachin Dev Pavithran

Q.78. Countrys biggest lender State Bank of India


launched which facility, a mobile-based payment
solution. The service will help customers make
payments through their smartphones by simply
scanning the unique merchant QR (Quick
Response) code at merchant outlets?

Ans- Project Management Information System


Q.69. An eminent statistician, who took over as the
part-time Chairperson in the National Statistical
Commission.?

Ans-

mPaisa

Q.70. Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power,


Coal and New and Renewable Energy launched
which portal of Coal India Limited (CIL)?

Q.79. Which Private Sector Bank became the first


financial institution in the country to tie up with the
BRICS Grouping-promoted. New Development
Bank (NDB) for a partnership in bond issuances,
co-financing, treasury management and human
resources?

Ans-

Ans-

Ans-

Dr. Radha Binod Barman

Contract Labour Payment Management System

@Mahendras

ICICI Bank

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QUE PANORAMA
Q.90. According to Governor Raghuram Rajan, Reserve
Bank is working on a new system for making
public the list of __________.

Q.80. Worlds first ETF focused on Indias sovereign


bonds was launched by the MCB Capital Markets
and will be listed in Mauritius, providing global
investors access to the Indian government
securities,what is the full form of ETF ?
Ans-

Ans- Wilful Defaulters


Q.91. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu launched
which programme in Kadapa, under which loan
waiver of Rs. 10,000 per acre would be extended
to horticulturists in the State?

Exchange Traded Fund

Q.81. Who is the founder and chairman of Finolex


Group,who died recently at the age of 86 years?
Ans-

Ans-

Pralhad P Chhabria

Q.92. Tajima Naoki won the boys singles title of the


BVG India-MSLTA B1 ITF Asian junior tennis
championships. He belongs to which country?

Q.82. Which Senior IPS officer has been appointed as


chief of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS),
the aviation security wing of the government?
Ans-

Ans- Japan

Kumar Rajesh Chandra

Q.93. Which of the following country has the highest


e-commerce growth in the world?

Q.83. American companySpaceX launched which


unmanned rocket to put a communication satellite
into orbit?
Ans-

Runa Upasamanam

Ans- India
Q.94. According to the study of The Economist, What is
Indias position in crony-capitalism?

Falcon 9

Q.84. India ended its campaign at the International


Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World
Cup at which rank with 3 gold, 4 silver and 3
bronze medals, while Italy finished at the top spot
in the medal table?

Ans-

Ans-

Ans- 112

Q.95. Which single emergency number will be


operational throughout India from January 1, 2017
to help people reach immediate services of police,
ambulance and fire department?

Fourth

Q.96. Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Dr.


Mahesh Sharma released a Commemorative coin
of Rs. 100/- and a Circulation coin of Rs. 10/- on
birth occasion of-

Q.85. What is the name given to the military exercise


held by Indian Army in Suratgarh?
Ans-

Chakravyuv II

Q.86. Railway sections of which state has been identified


to be made zero toilet discharge sections, in the
second phase?

Ans-

Ans-

Ans-

Gujarat

Chennamaneni Rajeswara Rao

Q.98. In which city the Union Minister for Micro, Small


and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Kalraj Mishra
inaugurated the HarmukhKhadi Gram Udyog
Sansthan?

Ans- Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi

Ans- Srinagar

Q.88. Name the Pakistani rights activist and social media


campaigner who was killed by unknown assailants
in the countrys financial capital Karachi-

Q.99. Which of the following player defeated Andy


Murray to win Madrid Open Tennis Mens Single
title?

Ans-. Khurram Zaki

Ans- Novak Djokovic

Q.89. Canelo Alvarez defended his World Boxing


Council middleweight belt by knocking out which
boxer?

Q.100. Who was awarded with the Best actor prize at


the British Academy of Film and Television Arts
(BAFTA) TV Awards?

Amir Khan

@Mahendras

Maharana Pratap

Q.97. Veteran freedom fighter and former Communist


Party leader __________ died.

Q.87. Name the Saudi Arabian veteran oil minister


recently replaced with a close ally Deputy Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman-

Ans-

9th

Ans- Mark Rylance


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SPOTLIGHT

ALL THAT MATTERS

ABBREVIATIONS

BOOKS & AUTHORS

CDAC

Centre for Development of Advanced


Computing
EDLI
Employee Deposit Linked Insurance
GRDI
Global Retail Development Index
IBBS
Internet Based Book Building System
ICAO
International Civil Aviation Organization
IIPE
Indian Institute of Petroleum & Energy
ICAO
International Civil Aviation Organization
NADA
National Anti Doping Agency
NDMP
National Disaster Management Plan
RLV-TD
Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology
Demonstrator
IGMDP
Integrated Guided Missile Development
Program
IMPORTANT DAYS AND DATES
1st June
World Milk Day
1st June
Global Parents Day
4rth June
International Day of Innocent Children

Victims of Aggression
5th June
World Environment Day ,Cancer Survivors
Day
8th June
World ocean day, World Brain Tumor day
12 th June
Anti-Child Labor Day
14th June
World Blood Donor Day
20th June
World Refugee day
21st June
International Yoga Day
26th June
International Day against Drug Abuse and
Illicit Trafficking

The Unseen Indira Gandhi


- Dr. K P Mathur
BOOKS AND OUTHORS

Chris Gayle: Six Machine


- Chris Gayle

Gujarat Files- Anatomy of A Cover UP


-RanaAyyub

ECONOMIC GLOSSARY
Interest Rate Corridor:-An interest rate corridor or
a policy corridor refers to the range within which the
operating target of the monetary policy - a short term
interest rate, say the weighted average call money market
rate - moves around the policy rate announced by the
central bank.

INDIA
VS
PAKISTAN

India Vs Pakistan
- Husain Haqani

FBIL :- FBIL Overnight Mumbai Interbank Outright Rate


(commonly called as FBIL-Overnight MIBOR (Mumbai InterBank Offer Rate)) is the new benchmark rate for unsecured
loans of one day duration fixed by the Board of Financial
Benchmarks India Pvt. Ltd (FBIL) based on the actual
transactions in the inter-bank call money market. It reflects
the short term funding costs to banks in India and indicates the
rate at which banks in India borrow and lend money amongst
themselves. The existing benchmark ie. MIBOR based on
polled rates administered by Fixed Income Money Market
and Derivative Association of India (FIMMDA) and National
Stock Exchange (NSE) has been replaced by this new
Benchmark with effect from July 22, 2015.

@Mahendras

THE RISE
AND FALL OF
NATIONS

The Rise and Fall of Nations


-Ruchir Sharma

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THE PEOPLE
APPOINTMENT
Claire Furlong

he
ICC
announced
the
appointment
of
Claire
Furlong as the world cricket
bodys General Manager - Strategic
Communications. She will take up her
position on July 17.
Furlong is the current Head of Sport at
Hanover Sport with clients including
England and Wales Cricket Board, NFL and Asian
Football Confederation.
Namgya C Khampa

ndian Foreign Service officer


Namgya C Khampa was appointed
as Director in Prime Ministers
office.
Khampa is an Indian Foreign Service
officer of 2000 batch.
Khampa has been appointed to the post
for a period of three years, an order
issued by Department of Personnel and Training .
Besides her, there are five other officers working as
Director in the PMO.
Khampa has worked as Counsellor (Trade, Commerce
and Economic) in Indian Embassy in Beijing.
Deepak Gupta

ustice Deepak Gupta was swornin as the new Chief Justice of the
Chhattisgarh High Court.

Chhattisgarh Governor Balram Das


Tandon administered him the oath of
office at a function at Raj Bhawan.
Gupta was earlier the Chief Justice of
the Tripura High Court.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, Speaker of
thestate Assembly Gaurishankar Agarwal, state cabinet
ministers and others were present on the occasion.
The Governor hoped that under the guidance of the new
Chief Justice, there will be speedy disposal of cases.
B K Panda

enior bureaucrat B K Panda was appointed as


Commissioner of Coal Mines Provident Fund
Organisation based in Dhanbad.

Panda is a 1988 batch officer of Indian Ordnance Factory

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APPOINTMENT
Service. The Appointments Committee
of Cabinet has approved appointment of
Panda to the post for five years, an order
issued by Department of Personnel and
Training .
The Coal Mines Provident Fund
Organisation provides social and financial
security to thousands of employees
working in coal industry.
NK Singh

he Union Finance Ministry


constituted a five member Fiscal
Responsibility
and
Budget
Management (FRBM) panel.
The panel would be headed by former
revenue and expenditure secretary and
Member of Parliament N.K. Singh.
Former finance secretary Sumit Bose,
Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian, director of
National Institute of Public Finance and Policy Rathin Roy
and deputy governor of RBI Urijit Patel will be its members.
Swati Dandekar

ndian-American politician Swati


Dandekar has been nominated by the
US Senate to the post of Executive
Director to the Asian Development Bank
which has ambassadorial rank.
The first-ever Indian-American to be
elected to Iowa House of Representatives
in 2003, Dandekar, would replace Robert
M. Orr, who has held this position since 2010.
Dandekar, 65, was also the first Indian-born American citizen
to win a state legislature seat in the United States.
Obama had nominated Dandekar to the top US position in
Asian Development Bank (ADB) in November last year.
Swati and her husband Arvind migrated to the United States
in 1973. Arvind Dandekar is the CEO and president of Fastek
International, located in Hiawatha, Iowa.
Sujoy Bose

ujoy Bose, the global co-head


for infrastructure and natural
resources at International Finance
Corporation, is likely to be appointed as
the first CEO of Indias pioneering quasisovereign wealth fund, (SWF) the National
Infrastructure and Investment Fund (NIIF).
The sources said Boses name has been
recommended by the finance ministry to

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12

AUGUST/2016/MASTER IN CURRENT AFFAIRS

THE PEOPLE

APPOINTMENT

head NIIF as he will be able to hit the ground running given


his current assignment at IFC, the private lending arm of
the World Bank. His appointment order is expected shortly.

High Court. The official said that Justice


Vaiphei, 60, who was administered oath of
office by the Tripura Governor Tathagata
Roy on May 16, replaced Deepak Kumar
Gupta, who was transferred as the chief
justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court.

Mihir Kr Jha and K C Saha

ustice (Retd) Mihir Kumar Jha


and former bureaucrat K C Saha
took oath as members of the threememberBihar Lokayukta.

Separate high courts were set up in 2013


in Tripura, Manipur and Meghalaya
which were earlier under the jurisdiction of the Gauhati High
Court which was common for all the seven northeastern
states, except Sikkim.

Governor Ram NathKovind administered


the oath to Jha and Saha as judicial
member and member respectively.

MachariaKamau

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, incumbent Lokayukta C


M Prasad and other dignitaries attended the swearingin ceremony of the new members of Bihar Lokayukta, a
release from the Raj Bhawan said.

enya
United
Nations
Ambassador MachariaKamau
was appointed as one of two UN
special envoys on El Nio and climate.

Deven J Parekh

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also


named former president of Ireland Mary
Robinson to the newly created post.

he US Senate has confirmed the


nomination of Deven J Parekh,
Indian-American by President
Barack Obama to the board of directors
of the Overseas Private Investment
Corporation.

Ambassador Kamau has had a long and distinguished career


in the service of the United Nations.
He serves as chair of the UN Peacebuilding Commission
and recently played a leading role in drafting the Sustainable
Development Goals.

Nominated by the US President Barack


Obama in August 2014, Mr Parekh is
currently a managing director at Insight Venture Partners, a
position he has held since 2001.

In a message sent to the Nation, Ambassador Kamau cited


his work in formulating the new set of development goals as
having heightened his global profile.

Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) is the US


governments development finance institution. It mobilises
private capital to help solve critical development challenges
and, in doing so, advances US foreign policy.

He said ,he intends to use that prominence to highlight


challenges and responses to climate change and El Nio.
Mr Bans spokesperson stated that these appointments come
at a time of great urgency. Drought and flooding associated
with El Nio have created massive needs across the world,
especially in the four worst affected regions of East Africa,
Southern Africa, Central America and the Pacific.

Sumit Bose

op bourse BSE said it has


appointed Sumit Bose as a
member on the board of directors.

Kiran Bedi

BSE had received the approval from


SEBI on May 19, to nominate Sumit
Bose, a new member on its Governing
Board as a Public Interest Director.

JP leader and former IPS officer


Kiran Bedi was appointed
Lieutenant
Governor
of
Puducherry, a post that has been vacant
for the past two years.

BSE stated that the board has approved the appointment of


Sumit Bose with effect from May 19, 2016.

The Union Territory was under the


additional charge of Lt. Governor of
Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

TinlianthangVaipheias

he
president
has
appointed
Justice
TinlianthangVaipheias the new chief justice of the
Tripura High Court.

The appointment comes three days after the CongressDMK alliance won 17 seats in the 30-member Assembly.
A senior judicial official of Tripura High Court said that The AIADMK, which contested the elections on its own,
union law and justice ministry said that the president had won four seats while the BJP could not get even a single
appointed Justice Vaiphei, senior-most judge of the Tripura seat.
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THE PEOPLE

APPOINTMENT

The post has been lying vacant after the Narendra Modi
government sacked UPA nominee Virendra Kataria on July
2014.

Soon after his resignation, Thakur got the signatures of all


six east zone units in his BCCI presidential nomination,
paving the way for his unanimous choice as the 34th
President of the worlds most influential cricket body.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, with whom Ms.Bedi


had differences as part of the India Against Corruption
movement and against whom she had fought polls,
congratulated Ms.Bedi on her appointment by giving his
best wishes to KiranDidi (elder sister) for this new role.

Thakur, incidentally, will go into the books as the first


first-class cricketer to turn BCCI president after Raj Singh
Dungarpur ended his tenure in 1998-99.
J Jayalalithaa

S K Saini

IADMK chief J Jayalalithaa was


sworn in as Tamil Nadu chief
minister for a historic second
consecutive term, after her mentor M G
Ramachandran set the record in 1984.

Saini, who was posted at the National


Defence College (NDC) in Delhi as
senior director (staff) has worked both
in field operations and administration
during his career. The prestigious academy had been
without a full fledged commandant since some time with
the duties of the commandant being taken care of by acting
commandant Maj Gen YS Mahiwal.

Top political leaders, film stars and


industrialists were in attendance as
68-year-old Jayalalithaa took over the
reins of the state for the sixth time.

ieutenant General S K Saini took


over as the new commandant of
the Indian Military Academy
(IMA).

The swearing-in ceremony was held at the centenary hall of


the University of Madras. Governor K Rosaiah administered
the oath of office and secrecy.
Her 28 cabinet colleagues, including former chief minister
O Panneerselvam were also sworn in.

The post of commandant fell vacant after the incumbent


Lt General BS Negi was transferred to central command
as the general officer commanding-in-chief in December
last year. Since then, Maj Gen Mahiwal was carrying out
the administrative and protocol duties of the commandant.
The delay in appointing a full-fledged commandant for the
academy which is due to conduct its next passing out parade
on June 11, had been questioned by several retired officers.

Her cabinet has a blend of new and old faces, with 12


ministers of the previous cabinet being accommodated and
seven of them retaining their previous portfolios, in what
could be seen as a recognition of their good work.
S K Sharma

minent scientist S K Sharma


was appointed as Chairman and
Managing Director (CMD) of
Nuclear Power Corporation of India
Limited (NPCIL), responsible for
design, construction, commissioning and
operation of nuclear power reactors.

Anurag Thakur

nurag Thakur was unanimously


elected as the second youngest
BCCI President, while Ajay
Shirke was chosen as Secretary in a
smooth transition of power at a time
when the worlds richest Cricket Board
is sailing through choppy waters.

He is presently working as Distinguished


Scientist and Director (Operations) in NPCIL.

The 41-year-old Thakur replaced


ShashankManohar who quit the position
to take up the ICC chairmans job.

Sharma has been appointed to the new post for a period of


five years, an order issued by Department of Personnel and
Training .

The Maharashtra Cricket Association chief and business


magnate Shirke expectedly filled in the Secretarys post
which was left vacant by Thakurs resignation .

M.K. Stalin

MK treasurer and party MLA


M.K. Stalin was once again
unanimously elected as the
organisations legislative party leader.

Senior BCCI vice-president C K Khanna chaired the Special


General Meeting (SGM) and announced Thakurs name for
the top job.

The former Minister, Duraimurgan, was


Manohars exit from the top post barely seven months into
elected as the deputy leader at a partys
his tenure had necessitated the election of the new chief of
legislators meeting, which was presided
the worlds richest and most powerful cricket body.
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14

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THE PEOPLE

APPOINTMENT

over by M. Karunanidhi. Partys whip R. Chakrapanai,


elected from Ottanchathiram, will continue in the post and
former minister K. Pitchandi is the deputy whip.

in-C of the South Naval Command. Vice Admiral A K


Chawla, DG, Naval Operation has been appointed as the
new CoP.

Even after the 2011 Assembly elections, Karunanidhi


stepped aside to make Stalin leader of the party in the
Assembly. The wheel-chair bound leader used to say he
was ready to attend the House if arrangements were made
to pave the way for his entry.

Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar, Commandant of the National


Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, has been made Deputy
Chief of Naval Staff. Vice Admiral K B Singh is currently
the Deputy Chief of Naval Staff.
AR Karve

Sarbananda Sonowal

ice-Admiral AR Karve took


charge as the Flag Officer
Commanding-in-Chief of the
Southern Naval Command (SNC) from
Vice Admiral GirishLuthra.

fter 15 years of Congress


rule, Assam gets its first
BJP government headed by
SarbanandaSonowal. The BJP coalition
won a comfortable 86 seats in the
126-member Assembly. The BJP had
alliances with smaller parties and ethnic
groups like the Asom Gana Parishad
(AGP), the Bodo Peoples Front (BPF)
and the Rabhas and the Tiwa community, which also paved
the way for its strong hold in the state.

An impressive ceremonial parade was


held at the Naval base on the occasion
which was followed by the traditional
Pulling Out ceremony in which the outgoing Commanderin-Chief, Luthra was ceremonially pulled out in a jeep by
Flag Officers and Commanding Officers of ships and naval
establishments of Kochi, amidst emotional Jai- Jai by the
men of SNC.

The swearing-in ceremony of Sarbananda Sonowal as


Assam Chief Minister couldnt have come at a more
appropriate time for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
BJP president Amit Shah coinciding with the celebrations
of the Modi governments two years in office.

In his farewell address Vice Admiral Luthra appreciated the


synergy that exists in the Southern Naval Command and
said without it operations and training cannot be successful.
The Parade was witnessed by many senior officers, men
and families of SNC. Vice Admiral GirishLuthra has been
appointed Flag Officer Commanding in Chief, Western
Naval Command.

PinarayiVijayan

he Left Democratic Front (LDF)


government led by CPI(M) Polit
Bureau member Pinarayi Vijayan
assumed office, after a 19-member
Cabinet was sworn in at the Central
Stadium by Governor P. Sathasivam.

Sunil Lamba

dmiral Sunil Lamba,


took
charge as the Chief of Naval
Staff in New Delhi as the current
CNS Admiral R.K.Dhowan retired after
four decade of service.

This is the second LDF Cabinet to be


sworn in outside the Raj Bhavan.
Governor P. Sathasivam administered the oath of office and
secrecy to Chief Minister-designate Pinarayi Vijayan and 18
members of his Cabinet at the Central Stadium. Mr.Vijayan
had called on the Governor in the morning and submitted
the list of Ministers.

On May 6, 2016, the government


appointed Lamba, the Flag Officer
Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval
Command as the Chief of Naval Staff.
Admiral Lamba, 58, is a qualified specialist in navigation
and direction course and will have a full three-year-term in
office till May 31, 2019.

K B Singh

ice Admiral K B Singh was


appointed as the Vice Chief of
Naval Staff, days ahead of the
retirement of current Navy chief Admiral
R K Dhowan and his deputy Vice
Admiral P Murugesan.

Nishi Singh, Gopal Mukherjee

enior bureaucrats Nishi Singh and Gopal Mukherjee


were appointed as members in Central Board of
Direct Taxes (CBDT), the apex direct taxes body.

The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has approved


In a series of changes carried out by the
their appointments.
force at the top level, Chief of Personnel
(CoP) Vice Admiral A R Karve has been appointed as FOCGet Free Study Material On - www.mahendraguru.com

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15

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THE PEOPLE

APPOINTMENT

Both are the officers of Indian Revenue


Service (Income Tax cadre). While,
Singh will have a tenure till July next
year, Mukherjee will continue till
January 2018, when they complete 60
years of age of superannuation.

The 1958 borne Jha is a Physics Graduate and joined the


Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs as Secretary on the
superannuation of AfzalAmanullah.
V Narayanasamy

enior Congress leader and former


Union Minister V Narayanasamy
sworn in as the tenth Chief
Minister of Puducherry.

CBDT consists of a chairman and six


members.
Atulesh Jindal is CBDT chairman, while Rani S Nair,Sushil
Chandra, S M Sahai and R C Mishra are other members

Lt Governor Kiran Bedi administered


the oath of office and secrecy to
Narayanasamy and five other ministers A Namassivayam, Malladi Krishna Rao,
M O H F Shah Jahan, M Kandasamy and R Kamalakannan
- at Gandhi Thidal near the sea shore here.

Rahul Johri

CCI president Anurag Thakur


welcomed
former
media
professional Rahul Johri who has
joined the cricket board as its first ever
chief executive officer (CEO).

While Rao, hailing from Yanam, an enclave of Puducherryin


Andhra Pradesh, took the oath in Telugu, others took it in
Tamil.

Johris appointment as CEO, is in


line with the recommendations of the
Supreme Court-appointed Justice R.M.
Lodha Committee.

All of them are former ministers of the Union Territory.


Earlier, Puducherry Chief Secretary Manoj Parida had
read out the warrant of appointment of Narayanasamy as
Chief Minister of Puducherry issued by President Pranab
Mukherjee.

Earlier, welcoming Johri on board, the Board of Control for


Cricket in India (BCCI) extended its warm wishes to the
new chief executive officer.

69-year-old Narayanasamy, who had served as Minister


of State in the Prime Ministers Office in the second UPA
government after serving as MoS Parliamentary Affairs in
UPA-I, did not contest the May 16 assembly polls and will
now have to seek election to the legislature in a bypoll.

Navin Agarwal

enior IPS officer Navin Agarwal


appointed chief of National
Anti-Doping Agency (NADA),
working for dope-free sports. Agarwal is
a 1986 batch IPS officer of Jammu and
Kashmir cadre.

Ashok Ganapathy

harti Airtel announced the


appointment of Ashok Ganapathy
as Director Airtel Business
with effect from July 1. He will report
to Gopal Vittal, Chief Executive Officer
and Managing Director (India & South
Asia), Bharti Airtel.

The Appointments Committee of Cabinet


has approved Agarwals appointment as
Chief Executive Officer/Director General of NADA, an
order issued by Department of Personnel and Training said.
He has been appointed to the post for five years, it said.
Agarwal is presently working in his cadre state.

Ganapathy joined Bharti Airtel in 2013


as the Hub CEO for Mumbai, Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat
circles. He has over 26 years of experience across FMCG,
Retail, Entertainment and Telecom sectors.

Prabhas Jha

rabhas Kumar Jha assumed the


office of Secretary in the Ministry
of Parliamentary Affairs.

He has done B.Tech from IIT-Madras and completed his


MBA from IIMAhmedabad.

Member of Indian Administrative Service


Manish Kumar
(1982 Batch) from Uttar Pradesh cadre
served in different senior positions in the
he National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC)
Central Government. His last assignment
announced the appointment of two key executives in
was as Special Secretary and Financial
its leadership team.
Advisor in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and
Manish Kumar will be joining NSDC as Managing Director
Public Distribution. He also served as Joint Secretary
and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jayant Krishna will take
(Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances).
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16

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THE PEOPLE

APPOINTMENT

up the new role of the Executive Director


and Chief Operating Officer (COO)
effective July 1, 2016.

With a military career in the Swedish Army beginning in


1978, Major General Lodin most recently held the position
of Director of Procurement and Logistics for the Swedish
Armed Forces.

The key executives were selected from


a list of 900 applicants. The selection
committee went through a rigorous
process and was supported by People
Strong before finalising the 2 names.

Peter Thomson

eter Thomson of Fiji has been


elected president of the next
session of the UN General
Assembly, which will choose the
successor to Secretary General Ban Kimoon.

Umang Bedi

acebook India has appointed


UmangBedi as managing director.
He will take over from Kirthiga
Reddy, who will be returning to the US
to take on a new role at the companys
Menlo Park headquarters.

In a keenly contested election, he polled


94 votes narrowly defeated Andreas
Mavroyiannis of Cyprus who got 90. Under the system of
regional rotation, it is the Asia-Pacific regions turn to hold
the post and usually one candidate is proposed by the group
whose turn it is.

Bedi has close to two decades of


leadership experience covering sales,
marketing and partnerships with
multinational companies.

This time the lack of a consensus sent election to a ballot by


the 193-member General Assembly.

Prior to joining Facebook, he was the managing director,


South Asia, at Adobe. He was responsible for making India
one of Adobes leading markets.

Thomson will oversee the election of the next Secretary


General by the General Assembly in a process that will have
a measure of transparency for the first time.

Naresh Goyal

Thomson has a wide range of international leadership


experience. He was the vice president of the General
Assembly in 2010-11.

et Airways said its chairman Naresh


Goyal has been re-elected to IATAs
Board of Governors.

He has also been the chair of the developing nations Group


of 77 to which India belongs, and the chair of the executive
boards of both the UN Development Programme (UNDP)
and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).

This would be the fifth successive


tenure for Goyal at the International Air
Transport Associations (IATA) Board of
Governors, the airline said in a release.

The candidature of Mavroyiannis was undermined by the


fact that Cyprus is member of the European Union, even
as it is a part of the Asian Pacific Group, of which Fiji is
unambiguously a member.

Goyal is the only representative from


India on this board.
Per Lodin

Suresh Chandra

N Secretary General Ban KiMoon has appointed Swedish


Major General Per Lodin, a
logistics expert, to head the UN Military
Observer Group in India and Pakistan
(UNMOGIP) that monitors the situation
in Kashmir. India does not recognize the
UNMOGIPs mandate.

Chandra, an officer of Indian Legal


Service, is currently Additional Secretary
in the department.
The Appointments Committee of
Cabinet has approved the appointment of
Chandra as Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs, an order
issued by Department of Personnel and Training said.

Maj Gen Lodin succeeds Major General Delali Johnson


Sakyi of Ghana, who completes his two-year assignment
as Chief Military Observer and Head of Mission for the
UNMOGIP on July 2. India has maintained that UNMOGIP
has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla
Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line
of Control (LoC).

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enior legal service officer Suresh


Chandra was today appointed as
Law Secretary.

G Narayana Raju, Legislative Secretary, was holding


additional charge of the post of Secretary, Legal Affairs.

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AUGUST/2016/MASTER IN CURRENT AFFAIRS

THE PEOPLE

AWARDS/HONOURS
published in any language that have been translated into
English.

AWARDS/HONOURS

UK s honorary fellowship

The prize money will be split evenly between Ms. Han and
her 28-year-old translator, Deborah Smith, who only began
learning Korean less than seven years ago.

ormer
Chief
Election
Commissioner S Y Quraishi has
been awarded with an honorary
fellowship by a UK student body
to celebrate and acknowledge his
contributions in shaping the present and
future of India.

The Vegetarian is the first of her books to be translated


into English. It tells the story of Yeong-hye, a dutiful wife
whose decision to forego meat uproots her whole existence.
Intel Young Scientist Award

15-year-old
Indian-American
boy has won the prestigious
Intel Foundation Young Scientist
Award for developing a low-cost
electronically-aided knee brace that
allows a person with a weakened leg to
walk more naturally.

Deputy High Commissioner of India


Dr. Virender Paul bestowed the Honorary Fellowship on
Quraishi at an event organised by the 100-Foot Journey
Club and the National Indian Students and Alumni Union
(NISAU), UK.
U.N. honour

our Indian peacekeepers and a


civilian, who laid down their
lives while serving in the U.N.
peacekeeping operations last year, will be
honoured along with other 124 personnel
with a prestigious U.N. medal awarded
posthumously for their courage and
sacrifice. The fallen Indian peacekeepers
who will be honoured with the Dag
Hammarskjold Medal on the International Day of United
Nations Peacekeepers are Head Constable Shubhkaran
Yadav, Rifleman Manish Malik, HavildarAmalDeka, Naik
Rakesh Kumar and Gagan Punjabi.

Syamantak Payra, a Texas resident,


won the USD 50,000 award along
with 17-year-old Kathy Liu. The award was given by
Intel Corporation and the Society for Science and the
Public (SSP) at the 2016 Intel International Science and
Engineering Fair in Arizona.
Othmer Gold Medal

ukesh Ambani, Chairman and


Managing Director of Reliance
Industries Ltd, has been
awarded the prestigious Othmer Gold
Medal for his entrepreneurial leadership.
Specifically, the award has been given to
Ambani in recognition of his leadership
role in the expansion of Indias
petroleum refining industry, creation of
the Jamnagar Refinery in Gujarat the
largest grassroots petroleum refinery in the world and pathbreaking initiatives in oil and gas exploration.

Yadav, serving in the U.N. Organization Stabilization


Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(MONUSCO) made the supreme sacrifice in April last year
and Malik, also serving in the same mission, died in August.
Deka, serving in the United Nations Disengagement
Observer Force (UNDOF) died in June last year and Kumar
serving in the U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) died
in January 2015. Punjabi was serving in MONUSCO in a
civilian capacity under the U.N. Volunteers programme and
died in an incident in January last year. The International
Day of U.N. Peacekeepers, observed annually on May 29,
will be commemorated this year on May 19.

Distinguished Leadership in Teaching Excellence Award

n Indian - American
biotechnologist has received
University of Houstons highest
teaching award for her sustained and
significant contributions to education.

Man Booker prize

RupaIyer , an Indian-American Associate


Dean, Research and Graduate Studies at
the University of Houstons College of
Technology, has been presented the
Award .

outh Korean author Han Kang


won the Man Booker International
Prize for fiction with The
Vegetarian, an unsettling novel in which
a womans decision to stop eating meat
has devastating consequences.

It is the highest award given in teaching and the only one


given in this category by the varsity.

Literary critic Boyd Tonkin, chair of


the panel that chose the winner from
155 entries, said Hans book combined
tenderness and terror in a tale of volcanic, visceral
intensity. The award is the international counterpart to
Britains prestigious Booker Prize and is open to books

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National Medal of Science

.S. President Barack Obama has felicitated an


Indian-American scientist and a Pakistani-American
doctor with the nations top honours on the field of
science, technology and innovation respectively.

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AUGUST/2016/MASTER IN CURRENT AFFAIRS

THE PEOPLE

AWARDS/HONOURS

65-year-old Rakesh K Jain of Harvard


Medical School and Massachusetts
General Hospital was presented with
the National Medal of Science for his
role in developing novel strategies for
manipulating tumours and translating
those strategies into improved cancer
detection, prevention, and treatment in
humans.

with the red tape of the benefits system.


The director, who turns 80 next month,
returned from retirement to make the
film, and took to the stage at the Palais to
address the audience in French.
Loach has a very loyal following in
Europe: many of his films have premiered
at Cannes, while The Wind That Shakes
the Barley, about two brothers who join
the IRA in the early 1920s, won the Palme dOr in 2006. Yet
few foresaw victory for the veteran dramatist .

53-year-old Humayun, who is a grandson of personal


physician of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, received the National
Medal of Technology and Innovation for invention,
development, and application of bioelectronics in medicine,
including a retinal prosthesis for restoring vision to the
blind, thereby significantly improving patients quality of
life.

National Geographic Bee champion

ndian-American
students
have
swept the prestigious national bee
competitions, securing the first
three positions for this years National
Geographic Bee championship finals.

Yug Kavi Siddhicharan Award

ikkim chief minister Pawan


Chamling was conferred the Yug
Kavi Siddhicharan Award by
Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli
for his commendable contributions in
promoting Nepali literature in India.

Rishi Nair, 12, a sixth grader from


Florida took top honours at the 28th
annual National Geographic Bee held at
the National Geographic headquarters in
Washington. As National Geographic Bee champion, Rishi
received a USD 50,000 college scholarship and a lifetime
membership in the National Geographic Society. This is the
fifth consecutive year that an Indian-American has won the
prestigious national tournament.

Siddhicharan
Shrestha
Academy
organised an event in Kathmandu on the
occasion of 105th birth anniversary of
the late poet Shrestha.

Eighth-grader Saketh Jonnalagadda, 14, from Massachusetts


was the runner up and recipient of the USD 25,000 college
scholarship. Third place and a USD 10,000 college
scholarship was grabbed by Kapil Nathan, a 12-year-old
sixth-grader from Alabama.

The award carries a certificate of appreciation and a sum of


NRs 100,000. Chamling, 65, was not present to receive the
award.
He has been awarded twice by the Sikkim Sahitya Parishad
- Chintan Puraskar in 1987 for the best poem and Bhanu
Puraskar in 2010.

Harvard Alumni Award

harti Enterprises founder and


Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal
has received this years Harvard
Business School Alumni Achievement
Award. The award, presented annually
since 1968, is the highest honour the
Harvard Business School confers
on its alumni who have contributed
significantly to their companies and
communities while upholding the highest
standards and values. This years award was conferred on
Mittal.

Chamlings other works in Nepali include Prarambhik


Kavita (poems, 1978), Antyaheen Sapana: Mero Bipana
(poems, 1985), Ma KoHoon! (poems, 1992), and Sikkim ra
Nariko Maryada.
An author of many books in Nepali, English and Hindi, he
is also a publisher.
Cannes Award

annes, Indian film The Cinema Travellers, a


documentary on the traditional art of travelling
cinema in the country, has won the jury prize of the
Cannes documentary award.

On receiving the award, Mittal credited the Harvard


Business Schools management programme with helping
him create Bharti Airtel.

Directed by Mumbai-based filmmakers Shirley Abraham


and Amit Madheshiya, The Cinema Travellers was
bestowed the Honourable Mention by the jury of the
Golden Eye (LOeil dOr) award, presented on the sidelines
of the Cannes film festival to recognize the contribution of
documentary films.

Having served on the HBS Board of Deans Advisors since


2010, Mittal stated that the School continues to lead in
producing world-class business leaders.
Springer Theses Award

In addition to this Ken Loach won his second Palme dOr


the festivals highest honour for I, Daniel Blake, a
social-realist drama about a disabled carpenter struggling

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n Indian-American scientist has received the


prestigious Springer Theses Award in recognition
for his outstanding research in which he developed
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19

AUGUST/2016/MASTER IN CURRENT AFFAIRS

THE PEOPLE

AWARDS/HONOURS

transgenic mice to study a critical tumorsuppressor called A20. Arnab Des thesis
was nominated by New Yorks Columbia
University. Before this, De, who has also
developed peptide-based pro drugs as
therapeutics for diabetes, had received
the Young Investigator Award at the
American Peptide Symposium.

Ceat International Bowler of the Year


award while Rohit Sharma was named as
the Indian Cricketer of the Year.
Kohli has been in the form of his life in
the shortest format recently as he was
named as Player-of-the-Tournament in
the World T20 held in India earlier this
year and won the orange cap for amassing
the most runs of 973 in 16 matches in the
just-concluded IPL-9. 60-year-old Vengsarkar had amassed
6868 runs in 116 Tests with 17 hundreds to boot that
included a hat-trick of tons in successive Test appearances
at Lords Cricket ground in England.

The thesis prize is awarded by Springer,


a leading global publisher of renowned scientific journals
and books, to recognize outstanding PhD research.
Internationally top-ranked research institutes select their
best thesis annually for publication in the book series:
Springer Theses: Recognising Outstanding PhD research.

Vengsarkar was also a part of the 1983-World Cup winning


Indian team.

Additionally, winners also get a cash prize of 500 euros. The


research work was highlighted by the European Molecular
Biology Organization (EMBO) Reports.

The award winners:


Lifetime Achievement Award - DilipVengsarkar

Only research considered to be of fundamental relevance to


a general readership is chosen to be highlighted by EMBO.

International Cricketer of the Year - Joe Root


International Batsman of the Year - Joe Root

Asian Book Award

International Bowler of the Year - R Ashwin

31-year-old
Indian
woman
author in Singapore has won the
Scholastic Asian Book Award
for her 32,000-word manuscript rooted
in love of Indian history.

Test Cricketer of the Year - Kane Williamson


ODI Cricketer of the Year - Martin Guptill
T20 Player of the Year - ViratKohli

Aditi Krishna kumar won the Singapore


dollar 10,000 award this week for her
manuscript Codex: The Lost Treasure
Of The Indus.

Indian Cricketer of the Year -Rohit Sharma

Malti GyanPeeth Puraskar 2016

Special Award - AjinkyaRahane.

Domestic Cricketer of the Year - ShreyasIyer


Young Player of the Year - Rishabh Pant

Grand Fukuoka Prize 2016

peaking on the occasion, the


President said that the award
ceremony coincided with the
95th birthday of Smt. Malti Mohinder
Singh Syngle. He conveyed his best
wishes to her on her birthday and wished
that God may grant her the strength to
continue her seven decades of dedicated
service to the cause of education. He
complimented Manoj Singhal, President
of the Mohinder Singh Syngle Education and Research
Society, for his initiative in introducing this Award and for
his passion in spreading quality education in the rural areas. He
also complimented the efforts of the state government of Punjab
for recognizing and collaborating with the selection process.

usic maestro A R Rahman has


been announced as the recipient
of Grand Fukuoka Prize 2016
for his outstanding contribution to Asian
culture through his music.
As part of the ceremony, Rahman has
been invited to the city to give a public
lecture on From the Heart: The World
of A R Rahmans Music.
The 49-year-old Oscar-winning composer has been chosen
for the honour alongside Philippines historian Ameth R
Ocampo (Academic Prize) and Yasmeen Lari from Pakistan
(Arts and Culture Prize) by the secretariat of Fukuoka prize
committee. The annual award, was established by Fukuoka
City, Japan, in 1990 with an aim to honour the outstanding
work of individuals, groups and organizations working to
preserve and promote the unique and diverse culture of
Asia. Rahman started his movie career with Mani Ratnams
Tamil film Roja. Rahmans first big break in Hindi cinema
came with Ram Gopal Varmas Rangeela.

Ceat Award

tar India batsman Virat Kohli has been named Ceat


T20 Player of the Year while former India captain
Dilip Vengsarkar was conferred with the Lifetime
Achievement Award.
England batsman Joe Root was named as the Ceat
International Cricketer of the Year as well as International
Batsman of the Year. India off-spinner R Ashwin won the

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He is now one of the most sought after composers in India


with his brilliant compositions for films like Bombay,

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20

AUGUST/2016/MASTER IN CURRENT AFFAIRS

THE PEOPLE

AWARDS/HONOURS
Miss USA 2016 Award

Dil Se, Taal, Lagaan, Rang De Basanti, Delhi 6,


Rockstar, Highway and Tamasha.

n Army Reserve officer and


IT analyst from the District of
Columbia has been crowned
Miss USA 2016 after mounting a strong
defense of women in combat roles in the
military. Deshauna Barber, a 26-yearold from the nations capital, gave the
answer during the interview section of
the pageant in Las Vegas

Rahman has carved an impressive career in Hollywood after


composing Jai Ho for British director Danny Boyles
Slumdog Millionaire, which earned him two Academy
awards and a Golden Globe trophy.
Previous winners from India include distinguished
names such as sitar player Ravi Shankar, dancer Padma
Subrahmanyam, historian RomilaThapar, sarod maestro
Amjad Ali Khan, Ashish Nandy, Partha Chatterjee, Vandana
Shiva, NaliniMalini and historian RamachandraGuha.

When asked by judge Joe Zee whether the Pentagons


decision to open up all combat roles to women had put
political correctness over our militarys ability to perform,
1st Lt. Barber responded:

Other winners include Nobel laureates Muhammad Yunus


(Bangladesh) and Mo Yan (China).
Olive Medal of Peace Honour

Tara Conner almost lost her 2006 Miss USA title over
substance abuse and rehab, and she came clean after her
wild partying made national headlines. She was allowed to
keep her crown.

ope Francis honoured Hollywood


actors Richard Gere, George
Clooney and Salma Hayek with
the Olive Medal of Peace in an event
to promote the Scholas Occurrentes
foundation. The A-listers have agreed to
work as ambassadors for the foundations
arts projects, said The Hollywood
Reporter.

Ivory Coast Award

resident Pranab Mukherjee will be presented National


Order of the Republic of Ivory Coast, the highest
award of the West African country where he will be
on a two day visit starting June 14. It will be the first ever
high level visit from India to Ivory Coast. Mukherjee has
been invited by Ivory Coast President AlassaneOuattara.

Scholas Occurrentes, or schools that meet, is a foundation


that links 400,000 schools and educational networks from
various cultures and religions in 82 countries.

Mukherjee will have one-to-one with Ouattara followed by


delegation level talks.

13th National Award for Excellence

The President would also be handed the key to the city of


Abidjan, the economic capital of Ivory Coast, a statement
from External Affairs Ministry said.

.O. Chidambaranar Port has


bagged National Award for
Excellence in Cost Management
for the year 2015 from The Institute
of Cost Accountants of India under
the category of Public Service SectorSmall. The port participated in the 13th
National Awards for Excellence in Cost
Management-2015, organised by The
Institute of Cost Accountants of India.

Regius Professorshipin Manufacturing Award

minent Indian-origin professor


Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya has
been awarded the prestigious
Regius Professorship in Manufacturing
by Queen Elizabeth II for his outstanding
contribution in manufacturing.

This is the third time this port is receiving the award , the
earlier years being 2008 and 2012.

WMG, at the University of Warwick,


which was founded by eminent Indian
Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, has
been bestowed the prestigious Regius Professorship in
Manufacturing by Her Majesty the Queen.

The award has been given for exemplary performance


of V.O. Chidambaranar Port towards optimization of
manpower, savings in electricity, implementation of Solar
Energy Systems, reduction of overall cost of handling by
mechanization and improvising efficiency and logistics
support.

Through his career, he has advised the UK government


on manufacturing, innovation, and technology, including
former Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair.

The Institute of Cost Accountants of India, a statutory body


under an Act of Parliament, presents awards for excellence
in Cost Management to promote and recognize Cost
Management practices in the Corporate Sector. The awards
under various categories were selected by a Jury panel
headed by Honble Justice Mr. V.N.Khare, former Chief
Justice of India and persons of eminence from Industry,
Government, Judiciary and CMA profession.

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International Dublin Literary Award

ndian-American author Akhil Sharma won the


prestigious 100,000-euro International Dublin Literary
Award, the worlds richest award for a single novel, for
his second novel Family Life.
The Delhi-born New Yorker has already bagged the 2015
Folio Prize worth 40,000 pounds for his autobiographical

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21

AUGUST/2016/MASTER IN CURRENT AFFAIRS

THE PEOPLE

AWARDS/HONOURS
US award for diabetes research

novel that tells the tale of how a family


moves from Delhi to New York, where
the older brother has an accident that
leaves him brain-damaged and in need of
24-hour care.

ariatric
surgeon
Shashank
S Shah has been honoured
with the American Diabetes
Associations Vivian Fonseca Scholar
Award 2016 for his contribution in
the field of gastric bypass surgery for
diabetes. Shah was conferred with the
coveted award, given in recognition of
Diabetes research, at a function in New Orleans, a release
issued by American Diabetes Association said. The Punebased surgeon received the award for his abstract Gastric
Bypass Vs Medical/Lifestyle Care for Type 2 Diabetes in
South Asians, which was the focus of his Vivian Fonseca
Award Lecture.

Order of FriendshipHonour

N Secretary-General Ban Kimoon has been honored with


Russias Order of Friendship.
The respective decree of Russian
President Vladimir Putin was published
on the Russian official legal information
website.
American Cinematheque Award

irector Ridley Scott will be


honored with the 30th American
Cinemathequeaward
during
the organizations annual benefit gala
October 14 at the Beverly Hilton. The
event for the iconic director of films
including Alien, Blade Runnerand most
recently last years commercial and
awards-garnering sci-fi pic The Martian
will include in-person tributes from
some of Scotts colleagues and friends.

Highest Civilian Award of Ivory Coast

resident Pranab Mukherjee was


awarded the highest civilian award
of Ivory Coast, the National
Grand Crois. The award was conferred
on him during his two days visit to the
West African country.
Mukherjees visit is the maiden visit of an
Indian President to Ivory Coast. On the
first day of his two day visit to the nation,
Mukherjee held one-to-one dialogue with his counterpart
Ouattara which was followed by delegation level talks.

Scott was the unanimous choice of the Cinematheque


Board of Directors selection committee, the group said in
announcing the news. Reese Witherspoon was the honoree
last year in the annual showcase that is always cream-ofthe-crop stop on the honors circuit.

During the talks, President Mukherjee underlined the need


to reform global organisations.
Both countries also signed Headquarters agreement for reestablishment of Exim bank regional head quarters in the
Ivory Coast.

The American Cinematheque is extremely pleased to


honor Ridley Scott as the 30th recipient of the American
Cinematheque award at our celebration this year said
Rick Nicita, American Cinematheque chairman. Ridley
Scott is one of the greatest directors in the history of the
motion picture. From his first feature, The Duelists, to his
most recent, The Martian, the films of Ridley Scott have
combined keenly observed humanity with dazzling state-ofthe-art effects and design in a style that appeal in equal parts
to the eye and to the mind.

Mukherjee also attended state Banquet hosted by Ivory Coast


President ,where common issues like terrorism, climate
change and sustainable development were discussed.
Later addressing a gathering at the Banquet, the President
reiterated that India will remain the partner in assisting
the West African nation in its economic development and
growth.

Indian of the Year award

LeEco partners with Bollywood IIFA awards 2016

ational award-winning actor


Kangana Ranaut, ace Director
SS Rajamouli and Bollywood
sensation Ranveer Singh got the creme
de la creme at the CNN-News18 Indian
of the Year 2015 awards for their
contribution to the world of cinema.
In a ceremony held here last night,
Information and Broadcasting Minister
Arun Jaitley presented the award to the
trio.

hinese internet and technology


conglomerate LeEco has signed
up as the official sponsor of the
17th International Indian Film Academy
(IIFA) awards 2016 that will be held in
Madrid, Spain, from June 23 to 26.

LeEco is now working with Eros Now,


YuppTV and Hungama in India.
Through LeEcos Membership programme, users can get
access to a collection of over 2000 movies that will be
first released exclusively on LeEco devices, inclusive of
premieres from Hollywood and Bollywood.

Director Rajamouli won the award for the major success of


his movie Bahubal, which grossed over Rs 600 crore at the
box office in 2015.
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THE PEOPLE

OBITUARY
revolutionary comrade of North Korean leader Kim Jong
Un and an excellent son of the countrys ruling party,
died of esophageal cancer Friday afternoon at the age of
76.

OBITUARY

Cundasamy Kuppusami

n Indian-origin pioneering Tamil


scholar and author, who was
instrumental in persuading the
South African government to introduce
Tamil as a language at secondary schools,
died at the age of 103.
Cundasamy Kuppusami, began his career
as a teacher and went on to become
the first inspector of schools in the Department of Indian
Education when the system was still segregated by race in
the apartheid era.
The South African-Indian community is mourning the death
of Mr Kuppusami.
He was also a prolific author on education in the Indian
community and Tamil culture among Indians in South
Africa.
Among his most popular books which are still sought A
Short History of Indian Education, Religions, Customs and
Practices of South African-Indians and The Three Pillars
of Tamil.
Mr Kuppusami was a founder member and the longest
serving member of the South African-Tamil Federation
(SATF).
Deepak Shodhan

eepak Shodhan, who was the first


Indian to make a Test century in
his debut innings, has died aged
87. He had been Indias oldest living Test
cricketer.

Kang, a longtime foreign policy specialist for the North,


was Pyongyangs chief negotiator when it reached a
landmark agreement with Washington in 1994 to freeze
and eventually dismantle its nuclear facilities in exchange
for international aid to build two electricity-producing
nuclear reactors.
The deal fell apart in 2002 after revelations that the North
had operated a secret nuclear weapons program in violation
of the agreement, which was disclosed shortly after a
meeting between Kang and then-U.S. Assistant Secretary
of State James Kelly.
Bikash Sandhu

eteran sports photojournalist


Bikash Sandhu died following
a prolonged battle with a liver
disease, said Calcutta Sports Journalists
Club. He was 64.
Sandhu is survived by his wife, a son
and a daughter.
Sandhu has covered several Tests and
One-day Internationals, including World Cups.
He has also covered the Wimbledon, Olympic Games and
several other prestigious tournaments in his long career
spanning more than three decades.
He has served Aajkal newspaper from its inception in 1985.
K. Anirudhan

An attractive left-hand batsman who


bowled left-arm pace as well, Shodhan
was given his first India cap at 25, against
Pakistan at Eden Gardens in 1952, and made an immediate
impact. He walked in at No. 8, with the score on 179 for 6
and no specialist batsmen left, and he walked out with 110
against his name. India claimed a lead of 140 runs, but the
match ended in a draw.
Kang SokJu

PI(M) veteran and former MLA


and MP K Anirudhan, who was
92, passed away at his residence.

Anirudhan was suffering from agerelated ailments for some time and died
.
Known for his significant contribution
to build theCommunist party movement in southern parts
of the state, Anirudhan was elected to the state assembly in
1963, 1965, 1979 and 1980.

top North Korean diplomat


Anirudhan, also an active trade union leader, had
who negotiated a short-lived
represented the Chirayinkeezhu constituency in Lok Sabha
1994 deal with the United
after defeating former chief minister R Shankar in the 1967
States to freeze its nuclear programs in
elections.
exchange for international aid has died
He is survived by wife Sudharma and sons, CPI-M Lok
of cancer, the countrys state media
Sabha MP ASampath and Kasthuri.
said. The Norths Korean Central News
Agency said Kang SokJu, a trustworthy
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THE PEOPLE

OBITUARY

Aditya Awasthi

She was the first to translate Don Quixote into Chinese,


and her version is still considered the definitive one by
many.

enior journalist Aditya Awasthi


passed away due to protracted
illness.

Her death was the top search term on the Chinese


microblogging site Weibo, a testimony to her fame and the
public adoration she enjoyed.

Awasthi(62) was suffering from liver


related problems for quite sometime.
He is survived by wife, a son and a
daughter.

R G Jadhav

oted Marathi critic and


litterateur R G Jadhav passed
away at his residence due to his
prolonged illness. He was 83.

Awasthi served for a number of media houses including


news agency Samachar, evening daily Sandhya Times.
He also inked a number of books.

Born on August 24, 1932, at Vadodara


in Gujarat, Jadhav served as a professor
of Marathi literature in various colleges,
including one in Amravati, Elphinstone
College in Mumbai, and also at Milind College in Aurangabad.
Jadhav presided over Marathi SahityaSammelan held at
Aurangabad in 2004 and worked as chief editor of Marathi
Vishwakosha between 2000 and 2002.

S.M. Seenivel

ewly-elected AIADMK
legislator from Thiruparankundram in Tamil Nadu S.M.
Seenivel died in a private hospital in
Madurai.
Seenivel, 65, was admitted to hospital
after he complained of chest pain a day
before the vote count. His condition
was critical since then. Thiruparankundram is part of the
Madurai district.

Recipient of many awards, Jadhav penned more than


45 books, including AnandachaDoh (a study of saint
Tukaram), NileePahat (a critique of Dalit literature) and
Bapu (a collection of 91 reflective poems on Mahatma
Gandhi).

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary


J. Jayalalithaa expressed her grief at Seenivels death and
conveyed her condolences to his family.

Makiko Futaki

Burt Kwouk,

nimator Makiko Futaki, who


worked on all of Studio Ghiblis
biggest hits, including 2002
Oscar-winner Spirited Away, died at the
age of 57.

e appeared in seven Pink


Panther films opposite Peter
Sellers as Clouseaus servant
who regularly attacked his employer to
keep him alert.

The prolific animator worked on nearly


every major Studio Ghibli animation,
including the hit factorys final feature,
When Marnie Was There.

He also starred in BBC sitcom Last of


the Summer Wine from 2002 to 2010.
The actor, who was born in Manchester
but raised in Shanghai, was awarded an OBE in the 2011
New Year Honours List.

A private funeral was held for Futaki, who died in a Tokyo


hospital from an unspecified illness.
Futaki worked for Studio Ghibli for three decades and was
an animator for all of legendary Japanese director Hayao
Miyazakis productions including Howls Moving Castle,
Princess Mononoke and 2013s The Wind Rises. Her final
film credit was HiromasaYonebayashis critically acclaimed
When Marnie Was There.

The family had a private funeral but there will be a memorial


at a later date.
Yang Jiang

enowned Chinese writer Yang Jiang, known for her


prolific output and marriage to an equally famous
author, died at age 104.

Giorgio Albertazzi

elebrated Italian theater and film actor-director


Giorgio Albertazzi died in his native Tuscany. He
was 92.

Born in 1911, Yang became a household name in China for


her novels, plays, essays and translated works.

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AUGUST/2016/MASTER IN CURRENT AFFAIRS

THE PEOPLE

OBITUARY
Muhammad Ali

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi


remembered him in Venice as a great
Italian and an artist who was classical
and progressive simultaneously.

uhammad Ali, the former


world heavyweight boxing
champion and one of sports
most influential individuals, has died
aged 74.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella said


that with Giorgio Albertazzi we have
lost one of the foremost artists of the
thecontemporary Italian cinema.

Ali, who earned the nickname The


Greatest, suffered from Parkinsons
Disease since 1984. He was taken into
hospital for a respiratory condition and had been being kept
in as a precaution. News of his death was released by his
familys spokesman .

His interpretations of the great classics remain a milestone


in the history of entertainment.
Describing his theatrical body of work, Mattarella called
Albertazzia maestro and a point of reference for generations
of actors and directors.

Politicians, athletes and celebrities immediately flooded to


social media to pay tribute to The Greatest. Ali was also
described as a humble mountain and the biggest and the
best.

He is best known in the U.S. for Alain Resnais Last Year


at Marienbad, the hypnotizing romance he starred in with
DelphineSeyrig.

K.K. Katyal

His last film, La Sindrome di Antonio, directed by Claudio


Rossi Massimi, is slated to be released this year.

he Hindus former Delhi Chief


of Bureau and veteran journalist
K.K. Katyal passed away in
a Delhi hospital after a brief illness.
Mr.Katyal was 88.

Albertazzi is survived by his wife, Pia de Tolomei.


Prabir Mukherjee

ormer chief curator of the Cricket


Association of Bengal (CAB)
Prabir Mukherjee, who was known
for his no-nonsense steadfast approach,
died at a city hospital after a prolonged
illness.

Mr.Katyal, who was the face of The


Hindus Delhi bureau since the launch of
the papers New Delhi edition in 1986,
had also worked in The Statesman andHindustan Times.
Hailing from Jhang in Pakistan, he had wide contacts across
political and diplomatic circles. Mr.Katyal was widely
travelled and had a wide array of interests.

Mukherjee, 86, was suffering from a liver


condition and depression and was being
treated at the BNR Hospital since April 11, his grandson
Pranay Mukherjee said.

A familiar byline to The Hindus readers, the veteran scribe


worked towards improving relations with Pakistan. After
his retirement from The Hindu in 2004, Mr.Katyal was
associated with the South Asia Free Media Association as
president of its India chapter.

His body, however, was not taken to Eden Gardens in a


departure of the tradition followed in the citys cricket
fraternity to honour his last wish, Pranay said.

Mr.Katyal is survived by his wife Darshan and daughters


Anita and Sugita, both of them accomplished journalists in
their own right.

Razzak Khan

ctor Razzak Khan, who was


popularly known for his role
of Manikchand in Shah Rukh
Khan starrer Baadshah, passed away.

Gordie Howe

He suffered a massive heart attack in


midnight.

Nicknamed as Mr. Hockey, Howe is


considered one of the greatest ice hockey
players of all time and an ironman in
many respects both on and off the ice.

anadas hockey icon Gordie


Howe has died after a lengthy
illness. He was 88 years old.

He was rushed to Holy Family hospital in Bandra, where


doctors declared him dead on arrival.

Born in 1928 in Floral, Saskatchewan,


Howe played 26 seasons in the National Hockey League
(NHL) and six seasons in the World Hockey Association
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The list of his popular films include Hello Brother, JoruKa


Ghulam and Kyaa Kool Hain Hum and many more.

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THE PEOPLE

OBITUARY

(WHA). His first 25 seasons were spent with the NHLs


Detroit Red Wings, and he played an unparalleled 33
seasons over six decades after breaking into the pro ranks
in 1945.

Born in 1931 at Pathsala, Lahkar had established Nataraj


Theatre in 1963 and gave a rebirth to moving theatre in
Assam.
Mudrarakshas

A 23-time NHL All-Star, Howe held many of the sports


scoring records until they were broken in the 1990s by
Wayne Gretzky. Howe continues to hold NHL records for
most games and seasons played.

As per his family members, the


octogenarian writer had been suffering
from age-related ailments for some time.

Howe retired in 1971 and was inducted into the Hockey


Hall of Fame in Toronto in 1972. He was the inaugural
recipient of the NHL Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008.

Educated in Lucknow, Mudrarakshas had


later worked as editor of Hindi journal
Gyanodaya, published from Kolkata.

Achyut Lahkar

eteran
theatre
personality
Achyut Lahkar died at the age
of 85 at his residence in Barpeta
district, leaving a pall of gloom in the
theatre world.

Born on June 21, 1933 in Lucknow, Mudrarakshas original


name was Subhash Chandra, who wrote novels and other
forms of Hindi prose besides producing literature for
children with his pen name.

Lahkar breathed his last and passed away


due to age related issues.

He had also edited Hindi journal Anuvarta and was also


associated with All India Radio. His write-ups invariably
hinged on various vital social causes and issues.

Condoling his death, the Assam


government declared state mourning for a day and his
last rites were performed with full state honours. Chief
Secretary V.K. Pipersenia accorded full state honours and
declared one-day state mourning in his respect.

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amous Hindi novelist and critique


Mudrarakshas died of old age
related causes here. He was 82.

Expressing deep shock at the demise of Mudrarakshas,


famous literary figure Dudhnath Singh said he lost a
personal friend since 1950s.

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Burning Topics of the Month

1. Indias 1st driverless train to hit tracks.


2. Smart Cities list increased : Lucknow tops.
3. Union HRD minister Launches Bharatvani
Portal.
Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and Delhi Chief
Minister ArvindKejriwal.

NITIN GADKARI LAUNCHES INFRACON,


EPACE AND UP-SCALED INAM PRO,
17 MAY 2016

The first driverless train for the Delhi Metros phase 3


project was manufactured at Changwon in South Korea.
It arrived by sea at the Mundra port in Gujarat and was
brought by road to Delhi on specially-made trailers. These
trains will ply on the upcoming 58-km Majlish Park-Shiv
Vihar (Line 7) and 38-km Janakpuri West-Botanical Garden
(Line 8) corridors. Both these corridors are expected to be
operational by the end of 2016.

nion Minister of Road Transport & Highways


and Shipping Nitin Gadkari has called upon
stakeholders to make conscious and active use
of innovations and successful best practices from round
the world in engineering and construction of roads.
Technological initiatives have also been brought in like
satellite based road asset management system, use of
concrete for road construction, electronic toll collection,
INAMPRO other IT initiatives..

Twenty six-coach trains will be manufactured in South


Korea and the remaining 61 are being manufactured at the
Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) plant in Bengaluru.

Gadkari also launched ePACE, INFRACON and an


updated version of INAMPRO, three innovative IT
initiatives of the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways,
developed in house by NHIDCL( National Highways and
Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd.)

Initially, the train operators will be deputed for operation


and gradually withdrawn to move to Unattended Train
Operation (UTO). Each coach can accommodate maximum
380 passengers, which translates to 2,280 passengers in each
six-coach train. The trains would be able to accommodate
40 commuters more in a six-coach train as the drivers cabin
will not be required.

ePACE (Projects Appraisal & Continuing Enhancements)


is an online integrated Management Information System
that brings projects from all wings of the Ministry under a
common platform, ensuring their effective and real time
tracking.

FREE WIFI SERVICE LAUNCHED AT BHOPAL


RAILWAY STATION, 17 MAY 2016

INFRACON is the National Portal for Infrastructure


Consultancy Firms and Key Personnel. This portal acts
as a kind of bridge between consultancy firms working in
the road engineering and construction sector and domain
experts and key personnel who are deployed both for
project preparation and supervision.
INAM PRO has been developed as a web-based application
(www.inampro.nic.in) for Infrastructure and Material
Providers. It is a kind of a web based market place that
brings together the material providers and the prospective
buyers on a common platform.

ith an aim to provide world class amenities to rail


passengers, high-speed free Wi-Fifacility was
launched at the Bhopal railway station by city
MP AlokSanjar. This ultra-modern world class Wi-Fi service
will benefit all passengers arriving at the Bhopal station. The
service is part of Prime Minister NarendraModis Digital
India project.

INDIAS FIRST DRIVERLESS TRAIN HIT


TRACKS, 17 MAY 2016

he Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has conducted


the trial run of Indias first driverless train at
Mukundpur depot.

A train running on Unattended Train Operations mode


flagged off from Mukundpur Metro depot by Union Urban

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The facility is being provided through Rail Wire, which is


Railtels new broadband service.
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TAX GRIEVANCES: IT DEPT LAUNCHES


E-NIVARAN FOR SPEEDY GRIEVANCE
REDRESSAL, 18 MAY 2016

patent by paying additional fees if they choose India as the


International Search Authority or International Preliminary
Examining Authorities. The only new applicants will be
eligible for the benefits of the amended rules. Already, 2.37
lakh patent applications are pending with the government.
For speedy clearances, application fees for individuals and
start-ups have been kept at Rs 8,000 while for companies,
it could be as much as Rs 60,000. However, under normal
circumstances, initial patent filing cost ranges between Rs
1,600 and Rs 8,800. The amended rules suggest refund
of fees in the case of withdrawal of an application. They
provide for full refund of patent application fees and refund
of 90% of the fee paid for request for examination (RQ).
Usually, the RQ fees range between Rs 4,000 and Rs 60,000
and may rise, depending on the number of pages.

he Income Tax department has launched a special


electronic grievance redressal system called
e-nivaran in order to fast track taxpayer grievances
and ensure early resolution of their complaints.
A separate and dedicated window for grievance redressal
has been launched recently in the Income Tax Business
Application (ITBA), the new smart electronic platform for
the regular operations of the department.

The application fees have been waived and that will help
unclog the queue as there are a lot of applicants who are
not withdrawing despite knowing that the application is
not commercially viable. Applicants will be asked to give
their responses within 6 months after the first examination
is completed so that the government will have some time to
decide on it and grant the patent.

INS KARMUK ATTENDS CLOSING


CEREMONY OF 27TH IND INDO CORPAT
AT INDONESIA, 19 MAY 2016

It acts to integrate all online and physical complaints


gathered by the department at this platform which will be
monitored by the Assessing Officer of the case upto the
supervisory officers in a paperless environment.

GOVT AMENDS PATENTS RULES,


OFFERS TATKAL WINDOW FOR SPEEDY
APPROVAL, 18 MAY 2016

he closing ceremony of 27TH India-Indonesian


CORPAT (Coordinated Patrol) was held from 1619 May 16. Indian Naval Ship Karmuk entered
Belawan harbour (Indonesia) on 16 May 16 with the Senior
Officer Commodore Girish Kumar Garg, Naval Component
Commander, Andaman and Nicobar Command embarked to
participate in the closing ceremony. The ship was escorted
by Indonesia Navy ship KRI Imam Bonjol into the harbour.
It was a historic moment as the first woman IFS officer from
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Dr Shalia Shah, Counsulate
General of India in Medan (Indonesia), was present to
receive the Port Blair based ship. The closing ceremony at
Belawan saw the two navies conducting interactive session
on measures to enhance inter-operability.

he government has amended patent rules to offer a


Tatkal option for speedy clearance of applications
by start-ups or those that choose India as the
destination for first filing of patent. In an ambitious move,
India is also planning to reduce the time frame for the
grant of patents to two-and-a-half years immediately and
one-and-a-half years by March 2018, from the current 5-7
years, as it attempts to be recognised as a serious player
globally in protecting intellectual property rights. Entities
can now opt for expeditious clearance route to obtaining

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BJP WINS POWER IN ASSAM, WIDENS


INFLUENCE, 19 MAY 2016

DR. MAHESH SHARMA INAUGURATES


EXHIBITION FRONTIER GANDHI AND THE
INDIAN FREEDOM MOVEMENT
21 MAY 2016

rime Minister NarendraModis ruling party declared


victory in Assam, which will help his right-wing
nationalist government rebuild some momentum
after poll losses last year.

r. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (I/C) for


Culture and Tourism inaugurated an exhibition
entitled Frontier Gandhi and the Indian Freedom
Movement on the occasion of commemoration of
125th Birth Anniversary of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
organized by Ministry of Culture . He honoured the
Descendants of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan viz his Great
Grand daughtersYasmin Khan &Tanzeem Khan, and Great
Grand sonDanish Khan by presenting shawls to them on
this occasion. Prof.Lokesh Chandra, Chairman NMML,
Mr.Shaida Mohammad Abdali, Ambassador of Afghanistan
in India and senior officers of the Ministry of Culture were
present.

The BJP led in the races for more than 80 of the 126 seats in
Assam where clear trends had been established, unofficial
tallies compiled by television broadcasters showed, beating
the Congress party into second place.
Elsewhere, tallies showed regional parties heading for
victory in the southern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu and
the eastern state of West Bengal, where the BJP has a small
presence and was not expected to win.

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS INTRODUCED


WI-FI SERVICES AT THREE MORE
RAILWAY STATIONS I.E. PATNA, RANCHI &
VISAKHAPATNAM, 21 MAY 2016

PUDUCHERRY ASSEMBLY TO HAVE WOMEN


MLA AFTER 20 YEARS, 21 MAY 2016

he Minister of Railways, Suresh PrabhakarPrabhu


inaugurated the High Speed Wi-Fi services at Patna
(Bihar), Ranchi (Jharkhand) & Visakhapatnam
(Andhra Pradesh) Railway Stations through Video
Conferencing from Rail Bhawan, New Delhi for the
commuters at these Railway Stations. The Wi-Fi facility
for the visitors & rail users at these stations has been
commissioned by RailTel in association with Google for
providing high speed state of the art world class internet
experience to the commuters. Chairman, Railway Board
A.K.Mital, Member Engineering V.K. Gupta, M.D. RailTel
Shri R.K. Bahuguna, and other board Members were present
at Rail Bhawan to grace the occasion. Various dignitaries
were also presented at the respective above mentioned
Railway Stations.

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fter a gap of 20 years, the Puducherry assembly will


have women legislators with four of them getting
elected .

V Vizeaveny (Cong - Nettapakkam), Geetha (DMK-Neravy


T R Pattinam, B Kobika (AINRC -Thirubuvani) and
Chandrapriyanka (AINRC - Neduncadu) were among the
30 legislators elected to the assembly. No women candidate
were elected to the assembly afterS Arasi (AIADMK) in
1996.
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MINISTER OF RAILWAYS SURESH


PRABHAKAR PRABHU INAUGURATED FIVE
NEW ACTIVITIES, 24 MAY 2016

Secretariat early this morning along with top Health


Ministry officials to respond to clarifications sought by the
President on the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test
(NEET).
The President was briefed by Union Health Minister J P
Nadda mainly on three issues including different exams of
state boards, syllabi and regional languages.
The exam will be applicable for those applying for Central
government and private medical colleges.

SMART CITIES LIST INCREASED:


LUCKNOW TOPS; WARANGAL,
DHARAMSHALA FOLLOW, 25 MAY 2016

inister of Railways Suresh PrabhakarPrabhu


inaugurated five new activities namely (i)
New AC Weekly Express train between H.
Nizamuddin-Pune, (ii) Expansion of VIKALP Scheme
of Alternate Train Reservation to Delhi-Howrah, DelhiChennai, Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Secunderabad Circuits,
(iii) Pilot Project of Sale of Unreserved Tickets through
Hand Held Terminals, (iv) Launching of Ergonomically
Redesigned & Optimised Tools for Track Gangs, Keymen&
Patrolmen and (v) Pilot Project for Improving Safety at
Unmanned Level Crossing

he government announced that 13 more cities will


be eligible for priority funding under the Smart City
mission.

Minister of Railways SureshPrabhakarPrabhu inaugurated


following activities through video conferencing from
Mumbai . Simultaneously, there was a parallel ceremony at
H. Nizamuddin Railway Station where Dr. Harsh Vardhan,
Union Minister of Science and Technology & Earth Sciences
and Minister of State for Railways Shri Manoj Sinha were
specially present to grace the occasion.

The mission took off earlier this year with names of 20


cities being announced for funding in the first round of the
inter-city competition.
The total proposed investment for the 33 cities, through
Union and state governments as well as private funding,
comes to Rs 80,789 crore.

PRESIDENT SIGNS ORDINANCE KEEPING


STATE BOARDS OUT OF NEET THIS YEAR,
24 MAY 2016

While Lucknow has got the highest score, the other cities in
the order of their ratings include Warangal, Dharamshala,
Chandigarh, Raipur, New Town Kolkata, Bhagalpur, Panaji,
Port Blair, Imphal, Ranchi, Agartala and Faridabad. These
13 are among the 98 cities that were selected for the Rs
48,000-crore mission last year.

DEPARTMENT OF EMPOWERMENT OF
DISABILITY AFFAIRS TO INCORPORATE
THE WORD DIVYANG IN HINDI AND
ENGLISH NAMES, 25 MAY 2016

n line with the Prime Ministers call to call the disabled


as Divyang instead of Viklang, the Centre has
fter raising queries, President Pranab Mukherjee
renamed the Department of Empowerment of Persons
signed the ordinance to keep state boards out of with Disabilities to incorporate the word Divyang in its
the common entrance test ( NEET ) for MBBS and Hindi as well as English nomenclature. The Department
dental courses for this year.
so far known as the Viklangjan Sashaktikaran Vibhag in
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi was at the Presidents Hindi will now be knows as Divyangjan Sashaktikaran
Vibhag as per a change in the Government of India
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Bharatavani aims to establish itself as a single point online
window to knowledge in and about Indian Languages,
dictionaries, language IT tools and textbooks.
Bharatavani Multi-lingual App: Unique multiple source of
worlds.
Alongwith the Bharatavani portal, MHRD has also
launched the Bharatavani Multi-lingual App called
Bharatavani. This App will enable users to search for
one language text in another language as well as get
meanings in different languages. Currently the App has 35
multilingual Dictionaries and MHRD aims to extend it to
250 dictionaries in a years time. This App, on the day of
its launch becomes Indias first and largest multilingual
dictionary. Our endeavour is to make it the worlds biggest
online multilingual dictionary source.

(Allocation of Business) rules now approved by President


Pranab Mukherjee. In the English nomenclature too, the
word Divyangan has been suffixed now to the original
name and the Department will now on be known as the
Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities
(Divyangan).
Last December, at an Accessible India event and later in his
Mann Ki Baat address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had
suggested that the term divyang (divine body) instead of
viklang.

The portal has been launched in 22 scheduled languages,


which eventually will be extended to 100 more languages

UNION HRD MINISTER LAUNCHES


BHARATAVANI PORTAL, 26 MAY 2016

UNION CABINET GIVES APPROVAL TO 6


NEW IITS, 26 MAY 2016

he Union Cabinet which gave its ex post facto


approval to amend The Institutes of Technology
Act, 1961 for incorporation of new IITs at Tirupati
(Andhra Pradesh), Palakkad (Kerala), Dharwar (Karnataka),
Bhilai (Chhattisgarh), Goa, Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir)
and conversion of Indian School of Mines (ISM), Dhanbad
to an IIT under the law.

This project is in line with the HRD Ministrys efforts to not


only ensure universalization of education but also towards
creation of a knowledge society in the digital age. The
Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysuru is
implementing this ambitious project of MHRD.

The amendment will also help convert ISM, Dhanbad into


an IIT by bringing it into the ambit of the Institutes of
Technology Act, 1961.

Bharatavani is the first knowledge portal of its kind in


India which focuses on becoming a single point source for
multiple language learning, content and technology.

he Indian Coast Guard ship Arush, the seventeenth


in the series of twenty Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs),
designed and built by M/s Cochin Shipyard Limited,
was commissioned at Kochi by the Coast Guard Commander
(Western Seaboard) Additional Director General SPS
Basra. Indian Coast Guard will be a 150 ships/boats and
100 aircraft maritime force in next few years. In addition to
these operational assets, a coastal surveillance network is

haratavani Becomes the Largest Online Repository


of Dictionaries in India on its Very First Day.

The Union HRD Minister,Smriti ZubinIani launched


the multilingual knowledge portal www.bharatvani.in in
Lucknow.

INDIAN COAST GUARD SHIP ARUSH


COMMISSIONED, 27 MAY 2016

Given Indias diversity, Bharatavani is an attempt to bring


the people of India under one portal, its goal being to bridge
the Digital and language divide, with the idea to publish as
well as involve people in the Open Knowledge movement.

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being established with 46 stations to ensure real time coastal


surveillance. The 50 meter indigenous FPV displaces 421
tonnes and can achieve a maximum speed of 33 knots with
an endurance of 1500 nautical miles at economical speed
of 13 knots, equipped with state-of-the-art weaponry and
advanced communication and navigational equipment. She
makes an ideal platform for undertaking multifarious closecoast missions such as surveillance, interdiction, search
and rescue and medical evacuation. The special features of
the ship include an Integrated Bridge Management System
(IBMS) and Integrated Machinery Control System (IMCS).

of Understanding (MOU) signed between the three, an


Agriculture Nutrition Cell would be set up in the Rajendra
Agriculture University, Pusa.
UNICEF head of Bihar Yamin Mazumdar, Vice Chancellor
of Rajendra Agriculture University R C Shrivastava and
Director of Mid-Day Meal Harihar Prasad were present on
the occasion. Addressing the function, VC R C Shrivastava
stated that the Nutrition cell would assess the nutritional
value of foodgrains available at local level in different areas
of Bihar. MDM Director stated that the nutritional quality
assessment of food would help the quality of food served
to students in 7,000 schools of Bihar. The Power for All
programme is a major step in this direction. Government
of India have taken a joint initiative with respective State
Governments for preparation of State specific

The ship has been named ICGS Arush, literally meaning


first ray of sun, and will be based at Porbandar under the
administrative and operational control of the Commander,
Coast Guard Region (North West). The ship is commanded
by Commandant Pramod Pokhriyal and has complement of
four officers and 33 enrolled personnel.

MAMATA SWORN IN AS CM OF WEST


BENGAL FOR THE SECOND TIME,
27 MAY 2016

CENTRAL RAILWAYS LAUNCHES SAFETY


PANIC BUTTON FEATURE FOR WOMENS
SAFETY, 30 MAY 2016

MC chief Mamata Banerjee was sworn in as the Chief


Minister of West Bengal for the second consecutive
time, heading a 42-member ministry.

ith a view to strengthen security of women


passengers in trains, Central Railway (CR) has
introduced panic button system to alert officials
in case of an emergency. The security feature - Red push
button - installed inside each of the four ladies coach of a
local train was launched last week on a trial basis.

61-year-old Banerjee was administered oath of office and


secrecy by state Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi at the
sprawling Red Road. Her ministry has 18 new faces.
Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay was among those
in attendance during the swearing-in ceremony of Mamata
Banerjee as West Bengal Chief Minister for the second
consecutive term .

Currently, women passengers have to depend on either on


helpline numbers by call or SMS, or on chain-pulling in
emergency situation, but with this system immediate action
can be taken, he said. Briefing on the feature, a CR press
released said in case of an emergency, women passengers
can press the button, which is placed next to the alarm chain,
which will give an audio visual indication on flasher units
provided outside the coach, thereby alerting commuters and
staffers at the platform.

BIHAR GOVERNMENT, UNICEF AND MDM


JOIN HAND TO CURB MALNOURISHMENT,
27 MAY 2016

he Bihar government, UNICEF and the Rajendra


Agriculture University, Pusa entered into an
agreement to reduce malnourishment among
women and children in the state. As per the Memorandum

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PM MODI APPROVES RETIREMENT AGE


OF 65 YEARS FOR DOCTORS OF CENTRAL
SERVICES, 01 JUNE 2016

of the cooperation between the two parties for imparting


training of engineers, technicians, managers etc.
It will also include any other subject that is relevant to
the common DGAC and DGCA areas of interest. For this
purpose, the Parties undertake to co-operate through the
following actions:
a) By exchanging information concerning the various
techniques used to reach the objectives;
b) By sending French experts or instructors to India for
training missions; and
c) By receiving experts, or instructors of India, in France
for training missions.

uperannuation age of all doctors in Central Health


Service has been enhanced to 65 years , Prime
Minister Narendra Modi stated about the decision
that will benefit about 4,000 doctors.

The specific activities to be performed by DGCA of India


and the DGCA of France under this MoU will be carried out
by mutual consent.

SHORT TERM YOGA PROGRAMMES


INCLUDED IN TOURIST VISA AND
E-TOURIST VISA, 02 JUNE 2016

He tweeted that Central Government has decided to enhance


superannuation age of all doctors in Central Health Service
to 65 years with effect 31st May 2016.
There are about 4,000 doctors under the Central Health
Service, according to the Health Ministry website.

CABINET APPROVES MOU BETWEEN


THE DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF CIVIL
AVIATION OF INDIA (DGCA) AND THE
FRENCH CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY,
02 JUNE 2016

he Ministry of Home Affairs has taken a decision


to include short term yoga programmes in Tourist
Visa and e-Tourist Visa. Realizing the spread and
importance of yoga world over, the Government has decided
to include attending a short term yoga programme in the
list of permissible activities under Tourist Visa. Besides,
the Government has decided to include attending a short
term yoga programme and short duration medical treatment
under Indian systems of medicine in the list of permissible
activities under e-Tourist Visa.

he Union Cabinet under the Chairmanship of Prime


Minister Narendra Modi has given its ex-post
facto approval to the signing of Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) between the Directorate General
of Civil Aviation ofIndia (DGCA) and the French Civil
Aviation Authority - Direction Generale de lAviationCivile
(DGAC) of France to implement Technical Cooperation
Programme for promotion and implementation of Standards
and Recommended Practices of the International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Presently, a Tourist Visa is granted to a foreigner whose


sole objective of visiting India is recreation, sight seeing
and casual visit to meet friends or relatives, short duration
medical treatment or casual business visit.

The MoU has been signed on behalf of the two countries after
its approval by the two Governments and would be for a term All Indian Mission abroad and Foreigners Regional
of four years. The Technical Cooperation programme will be Registration Officers (FRROs)/ Foreigners Registration
beneficial for enhancement of skills and expertise of DGCAs Officers (FROs) in the country have been requested to take
officers. This MoU is also beneficial for implementation action as per above amendments.
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PM MODI UNVEILS FIRST-EVER NATIONAL


DISASTER MANAGEMENT PLAN,
02 JUNE 2016

that seeks to prevent the proliferation of ballistic missiles


that are capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction.
When asked if Indias joining HCoC will effectively mean
that country has to shelve its Agni missile programme.

UNIFIED GUIDELINES FOR LPG


DISTRIBUTORSHIPS ISSUED, 04 JUNE 2016

ndia unveiled a blueprint to tackle national disasters


through its first ever National Disaster Management
Plan (NDMP). The plan, released by Prime Minister
NarendraModi, aims to make the country disaster resilient
and reduce loss of lives and assets during calamities.
The NDMP provides a framework to deal with all phases
of disaster management cycleprevention, mitigation,
response and recoveryand lays down duties of various
government departments at all levels such as centre, state,
district and panchayat.

he Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG)


is committed to provide clean fuel to all households
in the country with key focus on rural and difficult
areas. In this endeavour, strengthening supply chain of LPG
distribution is one of the key initiatives of the Ministry. In
this direction, after an elaborate and comprehensive review
of the existing distributorship selection policies, a new set
of Guidelines have been finalised with the objective of
strengthening LPG supply chain with focus on rural areas
and creating job opportunities through supply chain system.
Union Minister of State (I/C) Petroleum and Natural
Gas DharmendraPradhan unveiled the guidelines. Key
features of the Unified Guidelines for Selection of LPG
distributorships are:-

The plan outlines 15 disasters, and has entrusted various


ministries for its management and mitigation.
For instance, in case of tsunami or cyclone, the ministry
of earth sciences would be responsible for disaster
management and similarly for landslides, it will be the job
of the ministry of mines. Health ministry will take care of
biological disasters and urban development ministry will
deal with urban floods.

HAGUE CODE OF CONDUCT: INDIA JOINS


BALLISTIC MISSILE PROLIFERATION
REGIME, 03 JUNE 2016

# Four broad types of distributorships with varying


refill ceiling limits- Sheheri, Rurban, Gramin and
DurgamVitrak.
# Eligibility norms for age, education, fund requirement
and ownership of land for godown& showroom
have been relaxed to make selection process more
participative.
# 33 % reservation to women across all categories has
been introduced to encourage women entrepreneurship.
3% reservation for Divyang candidates.
# As a part of Governments Digital India campaign,
Online filing, processing and selection has been
introduced for Sheheri distributorships on a pilot basis.

ndia joined a global ballistic missile proliferation


regime, but made it clear that it will not have any impact
on the national security as well as countrys missile
programmes.India has joined the Hague Code of Conduct
(HCoC) against Ballistic Missile Proliferation by notifying
the HCoC Central Contact in Vienna through diplomatic
channels. The HCoC is a voluntary, legally non-binding
international confidence building and transparency measure

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# To take care of interest of Defence personnel and


their dependents, inter-se priority in selection under
Government Personnel category has been introduced.

# Monetary norms for security deposit have been relaxed


for the selected candidates belonging to SC/ST and
OBCs.
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# In order to address the issue of last mile reach of LPG


in difficult areas, LPG Suvidha Kendra facility will be
introduced for improving delivery of services.

aw & Justice Ministry has informed the State


Governments that the Enemy Property (Amendment
and Validation) Third Ordinance, 2016 (6 of 2016)
has been promulgated by the President on 31st May, 2016
and published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, PartII, Section 1, dated 31st May, 2016, which is available on
the official website @ www.egazette.nic.in. The Ministry
has also requested that the same may be downloaded and
re-published in the State Gazette for general information.

# LPG distributorships would be set up in active


collaboration with the State Government agencies to
strengthen the supply chain in Durgam areas.
Unified Guidelines will pave the way for a more broadbased,
participative and transparent system of selection of
distributors across the country. In this year, the Oil
Marketing Companies will start the process for selection
of new distributors in 10,000 new locations. Setting up of
these new distributorships will give a tremendous boost to
the rural employment opportunities.

SURESH PRABHU LAUNCHES TIGER


EXPRESS TRAIN ON THE WORLD
ENVIRONMENT DAY, 06 JUNE 2016

SUGGESTIONS INVITED ON DRAFT


NATIONAL WATER FRAMEWORK BILL AND
DRAFT MODEL BILL FOR CONSERVATION,
PROTECTION, REGULATION AND
MANAGEMENT OF GROUND WASTE,
04 JUNE 2016
Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and
Ganga Rejuvenation has uploaded the draft national water
framework bill and draft model bill for conservation,
protection, regulation and management of ground water on
its website (http://mowr.gov.in). The Draft National Water
Framework Bill provides an overarching national legal
framework based on principles for protection, conservation,
regulation and management of water as a vital and stressed
natural resource, under which legislation and executive
action on water at all levels of governance can take place.
The comments/suggestions/views from all Individuals/
Experts /Organizations/Institutions on the above bill may be
sent to jspp-mowr@nic.in or sjcpp-mowr@nic.in latest by
June 25, 2016. The Draft Ground Water Model Bill is based
on the principles of subsidarity, equitable distribution in an
integrated approach. The State should act as a public trustee
of ground water, which should be treated as a common
pool resource to make sure that groundwater is protected,
conserved, regulated and managed.

ailway Minister Suresh Prabhu flagged off IRCTCs


Tiger Express from Safdarjung station. A semiluxury tourist train, Tiger Express is launched
to spread awareness among people regarding tiger
conservation.
Flagging off the train using a remote control from Mumbai,
Prabhu said that it has been launched to spread awareness
about conservation of tigers.

REPUBLICATION OF ENEMY PROPERTY


(AMENDMENT AND VALIDATION) THIRD
ORDINANCE, 2016 (6 OF 2016) IN THE STATE
GAZETTES, 04 JUNE 2016

It is the first semi-luxury train on a tourist circuit having a


dining car. The itinerary has a tariff structure starting from
Rs 38,500, IRCTC said in a statement.
The package includes accommodation in air-conditioned
rooms of three stars or equivalent ranked hotels for three
nights, sightseeing, food, inter-city transfers and travel
insurance, according to the released statement.
During the five-night-six-day trip, the train would take
passengers to Katni from where they will be taken to
Bandhavgarh by road for a safari.

@Mahendras

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NATIONAL

INDIA BECOMES CO-CHAIR OF WORKING


GROUP ON MARITIME SITUATIONAL
AWARENESS UNDER CONTACT GROUP ON
PIRACY OFF THE COAST OF SOMALIA,
06 JUNE 2016

Solar Power here today. The GPS based mobile app is


developed by National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE)
which is an autonomous institution of Ministry of New &
Renewable Energy (MNRE).

he 19th Plenary Session of the Contact Group on


Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) took place
in Mahe, Seychelles during 31 May 3 June 2016.
India was chosen to co-chair the important Working Group
on Improving Maritime Situational Awareness (MSA) in
the Region through consensus. The session was chaired by
Mr. Joel Morgan, the Foreign Minister of the Seychelles and
more than 60 countries and organisations participated in the
four-day meeting.

The Surya Mitra Mobile App is currently available in Google


play store.This App is a high end technology platform
which can handle thousands of calls simultaneously and can
efficiently monitor all visits of Suryamitras. The trained
Suryamitras who opts for entrepreneurship have joined
in the Mobile App in several states. These Suryamitras
are once again sensitized by NISE on soft skills Customer
Relations Management, Punctuality and are now ready to
deliver the services.

Seychelles is the current chairman of the CGPCS for the


biennium 2016-17.

This innovative mobile approach shall enhance the


employment of trained youth in solar PV technology
and also improve the businesses of solar entrepreneurs
because of quality servicing, maintenance and repairing
professionals are now available to customers at the click of
a button on their mobiles.

DELL AARAMBH INITIATIVE TO PROMOTE


USE OF PC FOR EDUCATION, 06 JUNE 2016

Overall this technical platform which is very useful in


the field of Renewable energy to serve customers at their
doorsteps with quality installation, repair, and O&M
services. Suryamitras with the help of NISE ensure
standard functioning and servicing of Solar PV and thermal
systems to all customers. NISE has checks and controls in
place to ensure that all Suryamitras offer quality service at
reasonable price to their customers. NISE has fixed a price
Rs 150/- per visit as visiting charges for Suryamitra Services
and for installation and O&M Charges Suryamitras would
charge standard charges as per MNRE advised rates. It is
hoped that Suryamitra Mobile App would act as an effective
catalyst in creating demand for solar products in the country
and in offering employment and business opportunities for
Suryamitras.

n line with the governments Digital India campaign,


computer technology giant Dell has announced the
launch of Aarambh a pan-India initiative aimed
at spearheading the use of personal computer (PC) for
education.
Dells Aarambh initiative was aimed at exposing students
to interactive methods of learning in the developmental
years to contribute to the well-rounded growth of a student.
The year-long project aims to reach one million students
and 1,00,000 teachers across 5,000 schools; and 2, 00,000
parents in 75 cities across the country.

BACKGROUND

National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), an autonomous


institution of Ministry of New and Renewable (MNRE), is
iyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal the apex National R&D institution in the field Solar Energy.
and New & Renewable Energy launched Surya The institute is involved in demonstration, standardization,
Mitra mobile App at National Workshop on Rooftop interactive research, training and testing of solar energy
technologies and systems.
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PIYUSH GOYAL LAUNCHES SURYAMITRA


MOBILE APP, 07 JUNE 2016

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STATE

STATE

Burning Topics of the Month

1. Himanchal to get Indias 1st state wind power.


2. Bihar top DIPPs real - time ease of doing biz
ranking
3. Rajnath Singh inaugurated Wi-Fi service at
Charbagh railway station.

analytics and software services, which is likely to aid Apple


in developing local maps

HIMACHAL TO GET INDIAS FIRST SOLAR


WIND POWER PLANT, 19 MAY 2016

Apple CEO Tim Cook stated that Apple is focused on


making the best products and services in the world and we
are thrilled to open this new office in Hyderabad which will
focus on Maps development.Cook has been in India and is
going to inaugurate this centre within the hour.
The talent here in the local area is incredible and we
are looking forward to expanding our relationships and
introducing more universities and partners to our platforms
as we scale our operations. .
The iPhone maker did not specify the direct investment into
this project, but ET has earlier reported that the centre in
the citys IT corridor, will see Apple putting in around $25
million (Rs 170 crore).

tate-run Himachal Pradesh Electricity Board Ltd


(HPEBL) and Solar Energy Corp of India (SECI)
signed a pact to set up Indias first solar wind hybrid
power plant in the hill state. The agreement was signed by
Managing Directors P.C. Negi of HPEBL and Ashwani
Kumar of SECI in the presence of Chief Minister Virbhadra
Singh.

MANGROVE CONSERVATION PROJECT


KICKS OFF IN KERALA , 24 MAY 2016

Under the agreement, joint venture Himachal Pradesh Solar


Power Corp Ltd has been set up to commission a pilot solar
wind hybrid power project of 2.5 MW at Rangrik in Kaza
in Lahaul-Spiti district. It will be commissioned by October
2017, a government statement said. On completion, it
would benefit 12,000 habitants of Rangrik, Kaza, Tabo,
Losar and Pin valley.

Its estimated cost would be Rs.30.72 crore. The entire


Lahaul-Spiti district, where the solar wind hybrid plant will
come up, is populated mainly by tribals. The climate in the
district is harsh as much of the land forms part of a cold
desert where the mercury drops below minus 20 degrees
Celsius during winter.

pollo Tyres and Wildlife Trust of India have entered


into a partnership to restore a critical mangrove
project in Keralas Kannur district.

Apollo Tyres and Wildlife Trust of India announced the


partnership to coincide with the International Day for
Biodiversity.
The Kannur Kandal project (mangrove conservation) aims
at ensuring survival of existing mangroves and increase
acreage of such habitats across Kannur, potentially making
it a prototype for other coastal districts of Kerala and a
model for the rest of the country, a release from the tyre
major said.

APPLE OPENS DEVELOPMENT OFFICE IN


HYDERABAD, 19 MAY 2016

n one of its most significant investments into India


, Apple opened a new office in Hyderabad which
will focus on developing Maps for iPhones, iPads,
Mac and Apple Watch. The move will accelerate Maps
The actual site for Apollo Tyres-WTIs project will be in
development and create up to 4,000 jobs. The CupertinoKunhimangalam village in Kannur district, which is one of
based smartphone maker has also partnered with Noidathe largest mangrove villages of Kerala.
based RMSI, a leading IT services player that offers GIS,
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PETROLEUM MINISTER LAUNCHES


WEBSITE OF IIPE VISAKHAPATNAM,
28 MAY 2016

be replaced with LED bulbs under UJALA programme.


Additionally, replacement of 3000 conventional street lights
with LED street lights is also being taken up.
The Government of India is committed to improve the
quality of life of its citizens through higher electricity
consumption. Our aim is to provide each household access
to electricity, 24x7 Power supply by 2019.

A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
(MoU) SIGNED BETWEEN MINISTRY OF
RAILWAYS AND GOVT. OF HARYANA FOR
SETTING UP OF JV COMPANY, 04 JUNE 2016

he Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum & Natural


Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan launched the website
of Indian Institute of Petroleum & Energy (IIPE),
Visakhapatnam (www.iipe.ac.in).

LAKSHADWEEP SIGNS 24X7 POWER FOR


ALL DOCUMENT, 28 MAY 2016

n the august presence of Union Minister of Railways,


Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu and Chief Minister of
Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) for Formation of Joint Venture
Company for Development of Railway Infrastructure in
the State was signed today i.e. 3rd June, 2016. Chairman,
Railway Board, A.K. Mital, Addl. Chief Secretary to Govt.
of Haryana Hardeep Kumar, and other Board Members, and
senior officials from both the sides were also present on
the occasion. The MoU was signed by Ved Prakash Dudeja
on behalf of Railway Ministry whereas it was signed by
Hardeep Kumar, Addl. Chief Secretary on behalf of Govt.
of Haryana. The MoU was signed in the context of Railway
Ministers Budget Announcement regarding setting up of
JV Companies with the State Government for developing
railway infrastructure in the States.

akshadweep became first Union Territory (UT) to


sign 24x7 Power for All document. Representative
of Government of India and the Administration of
Lakshadweep signed the document in presence of P.K.
Pujari, Secretary, Ministry of Power.

The document chalks out a plan to increase solar capacity Salient Features of MoU : of the region from 2.15 MW to 8.45 MW. At present, 10
inhabited islands of Lakshadweep are being fed by diesel ## In view of the growing demands for railway lines in
various states and huge requirement of funds to execute
mostly. The plan also envisions reduction of AT & C losses
them, Honble Minister for Railways announced in his
from current level of 21% to 6.7% till 2019 by increasing
budget speech regarding setting up of Joint Ventures
the collection efficiency up to 99 %. As a part of energy
with states for focused project development, resource
efficiency measures, 1 lakh LED bulbs will be distributed
mobilization, land acquisition, project implementation
by UT administration through Energy Efficiency Services
and monitoring of critical rail projects.
Limited (EESL) and Incandescent lamps/CFL bulbs will
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## 17 State Governments consented for formation of Joint


Venture Companies in collaboration with the Ministry
of Railways for development of rail infrastructure in
their respective States. Draft MoUs were sent to these
State Governments and discussions were also held with
them to clarify various provisions of the MoU.

expansion as a railway line acts as an engine of growth


for the area it serves.
## However, Railways have a large shelf of ongoing New
Line, Gauge Conversion and Doubling projects needing
about Rs 3.86 lakh crores to complete. We have been
trying to meet the aspirations of public within limited
availability of funds.

## MoUs have already been signed by the Ministry of


Railways with six State Governments viz. Odisha,
Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana
and Kerala.

## To expedite the projects, Railways have been trying to


mobilize resources through other than Gross Budgetary
Support. However, on the initiative of Honble Minister
for Railways Sh. Suresh Prabhuji, Indian Railways
have tied up funds for critical capacity enhancement
project of doubling, third line, electrification etc. This
tied up loan will ensure dedicated and assured funding
for such critical projects.

## Today, MoU is being signed with the State Government


of Haryana. This signing of MoU is going to be a
stepping stone for formation of JV companies.
## The MoU envisages formation of a Joint Venture
company having 51% stake of the State Government
and 49% stake of Ministry of Railways. Thus, the JV
company shall be fully owned by the Government. The
company will primarily identify projects and possible
financing avenues in addition to Govt. of India and the
State Government. After finances for a project are tied
up, project specific SPVs or special purpose vehicles
shall be formed. These SPVs can have other stake
holders from Industries, Central PSUs, State PSUs etc.
However, the JV companies shall be mandatory stake
holders with minimum 26% shares in the SPVs.

## Formation of Joint Venture Companies with the


State Governments will go a long way in faster
commissioning of critical rail infrastructure projects as
it will not only help in mobilization of funds but also
in facilitating various clearances and land acquisition.

JHARKHAND ADJUDGED TOP


PERFORMING STATE UNDER PM MODIS
DIGITAL INDIA PROGRAMME, 10 JUNE 2016

## The ministry of Railways will sign a concession


agreement of 30 years with the project SPV for safe
and sound operation, revenue sharing and providing
technical & marketing logistics to the SPV. The revenue
sharing shall be based on already established formula
being used for inter zonal apportionment of revenue.
## The most important aspect of this MoU is that the
ownership of the land shall vest with the SPVs which
is a departure from previous practice. This will give
financial leverage to the company to exploit commercial
potential of the land. This is likely to result in making
project viable which are otherwise not viable.
## At the end of concession period, the railways will have
option to take over the assets at a nominal price. This
is largely in line with average codal life of the assets
as most of the assets will need large scale replacement
after 30 years.

## Signing of this MoU will be followed by signing of


Joint Venture Agreement for which draft has been
made ready. JV Agreements are likely to be signed in
next week or ten days time.

At a programme organised in Mumbai, Goa Chief


Minister Laxmikant Parsekar gave away the award to
Jharkhand for its work under the programme.

## Indian Railways has been playing a major role in


national integration by connecting the remotest places
and bringing people closer to each other. Railways
receive a large number of demands for network

@Mahendras

harkhand was adjudged top performing state under


the Digital India Programme.

Besides Jharkhand, Goa, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Uttar


Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh also got awards as top
performing states.

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BIHAR TOPS DIPPS REAL-TIME EASE OF


DOING BIZ RANKING, 10 JUNE 2016

and laptops as soon as they enter the premises, including at


platforms, retiring rooms and waiting halls.

To log in, users will receive a password via a text message


soon after they connect with the provider through their
device.

ihar is at the top among all the states and union


territories in terms of steps taken to improve ease of
doing business.

RAILWAY MINISTER SURESH PRABHU


DEDICATES SIX RAILWAY FACILITIES IN
BIHAR, 11 JUNE 2016

Nitish Kumar-led Bihar is followed by Telangana and


Jharkhand on a ranking being done on real-time basis by
the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP)
on business reforms and action plans. These rankings are
dynamic and may change on the basis of initiatives taken by
states and union territories.
Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka are fourth and fifth,
respectively, in the ranking.
Bihar is leading the list with a score of 8.53%.
In the last years final rankings, Bihar was at 21st position.
As of now, 16 states have provided details about reform
measures initiated by them through the DIPP-managed
portal.
Among them, Bihar has given information on as many as 29
reforms -- the highest among the 16 states.

ailway Minister Suresh Prabhu inaugurated six rail


facilities in Bihar including flagging off the weekly
Motihari-Anand Vihar Champaran Satyagrah
Express.

The moment other states report their respective reforms to


the DIPP, the rankings are likely to get changed.

RAJNATH SINGH INAUGURATED WI-FI


SERVICE AT CHARBAGH RAILWAY STATION,
04 JUNE 2016

He flagged off the weekly Champaran Satyagrah Express at


a function organised at M S College ground through remote
and dedicated three Road Over Bridges at Danapur (Patna),
Motihari and Begusarai railway stations.

nion home minister and Lucknow MP Rajnath


Singh inaugurated the Wi-Fi service at the Charbagh
railway station in Lucknow.

Prabhu said two MoUs have already been signed for Rs


40,000 crore projects for setting up Diesel and Electric
locomotive factories at Marhaura (Saran) and Madhepura,
respectively.
Get Free Study Material On - www.mahendraguru.com

The benifit can avail those Passengers who will be stepping


onto the NR and NER stations. These passengers will be
able to access Wi-Fi on all 3G and 4G compatible handsets

@Mahendras

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INTERNATONAL Burning Topics of the Month


1. G-7 Finance Summit Begin in Japan.
2. India, Qatar sign part skill development.
3. Modi Becomes 6th Indian PM to address- US
congress.

PANAMA SIGNS ONTO OECD TAX


INFORMATION EXCHANGE PACT,
18 MAY 2016

Administration (UNPA) in February, 2016 for this purpose.


In this Joint issue, the stamps were printed in the form of
sheetlet of 20 se-tenants and Miniature Sheet of two stamps
on the occasion of International Womens Day.
UN Women He For She campaign is a solidarity
movement for gender equality that brings together one half
of humanity in support of the other half of humanity for the
benefit of all in social terms. This Joint issue is dedicated for
the empowerment of women around the world. This would
promote great cause of gender equality which the Indian
government has been championing in the recent times. Thus,
Department of Posts and UNPA have arrived an agreement
to celebrate and to commemorate International Womens day
on 8th of March, 2016 by releasing a joint stamp.

anama has officially signed on to comply with


OECD standards on exchanging tax information,
a move that comes more than a month after the
Panama Papers data leak.

INDIA AND SLOVENIA HAVE SIGNED


PROTOCOL AMENDING THE INDIASLOVENIA DOUBLE TAXATION AVOIDANCE
CONVENTION, 20 MAY 2016

OECD officials stated that, they have long tried to get


Panama to agree to their common reporting standards on
exchanging tax information, to no avail.

ndia and Slovenia have signed a Protocol amending


the existing Convention and Protocol between the
two countries for avoidance of double taxation and
prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on
income in Ljubljana. The Protocol was signed by Sarvajit
Chakravarti, Ambassador of India to Slovenia on behalf
of India and Dusan Mramor, the Slovenian Minister of
Finance on behalf of Slovenia.

However Panamas Foreign Ministry announced that the


country had inked its adhesion to the Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Developments reporting
standards.
Foreign Minister Luis Miguel Hincapie delivered the
document to OECD headquarters in Paris. The new
membership however does not take practical effect until
2018.

The Protocol will broaden the scope of the existing


framework of exchange of tax related information which
will help curb tax evasion and tax avoidance between the
two countries and will also enable mutual assistance in
collection of taxes.

The Panama Papers reveal the full extent to which the


worlds wealthy, alongside criminals, create nominee
companies to stash and transfer assets out of sight of the
law and tax officials.

PAKISTAN-CHINA 820- KM. LONG OPTICALFIBRE CABLE PROJECT LAUNCHED,


20 MAY 2016

JOINT ISSUE BETWEEN DEPARTMENT


OF POSTS AND UNITED NATIONS POSTAL
ADMINISTRATION ON UN WOMEN HE
FOR SHE POSTAGE STAMP, 18 MAY 2016

akistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif performed the


ground-breaking ceremony of the Pakistan-China
Optical Fibre Cable Project which is part of the
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

he Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister


Narendra Modi, was apprised of the joint issue
of UN WomenHe For She postage stamp. A
The $44 million, 820-kilometre-long cable project stretching
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed
from Rawalpindi to Khunjerab in Gilgit-Baltistan, will be
between Department of Posts and United Nations Postal
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Mr Yildirim, 60 has been seen as one of Mr Erdogans
closest longtime confidants and has served an almost
unbroken stint from 2002 to 2013 as transport minister and
then again from 2015.
Analysts expect Mr Yildirim who has never stepped out
of line with the President on a policy issue will prove a
far more pliable figure for the President than Mr Davutoglu.

US HOUSE APPROVES MOVE TO BOLSTER


DEFENCE TIES WITH INDIA, 20 MAY 2016
completed by the Special Communication Organisation
in two years. The project, which will provide an alternate
telecommunication route between Pakistan and China, will
also bring 3G and 4G connectivity to Gilgit region.
India has already expressed its objection to the proposed
corridor as it will pass through Pakistan-administered
Kashmir, a region which is disputed between the two
south Asian neighbours. Sharif also inaugurated the GilgitBaltistan CPEC patrolling police headquarters in Gilgit.
The patrolling force comprising 300 personnel will help
regulate traffic along a 439 km stretch of the CPEC in the
area. China has provided 25 vehicles for the patrolling
force.
The premier announced the establishment of a technical
training institute in the region with the initial set aside
Rs.100 million for this project.

Sharif stressed the need for preparedness for a newer


knowledge-based economy. These development projects
will help reduce extremism.

he US House of Representatives has approved a


bipartisan legislative move to bolster defence ties
with India and bring it at part with other Nato allies
in terms of sale of defence equipment and technology
transfer.

TURKEY NAMES NEW PRIME MINISTER


BINALIYILDIRIM AS PRESIDENT RECEP
ERDOGAN SEEKS TO TIGHTEN GRIP,
20 MAY 2016

It seeks to promote greater defence trade and encourage


additional military cooperation between the United States
and India.Congressman George Holding said on the floor of
the House in favour of the amendment in this regard in the
National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA)-2017.
The amendment (Enhancing Defence and Security Cooperation with India) was sponsored by Holding and Ami
Bera (House India Caucus Chairs) and Chair and Ranking
Member of House Foreign Affairs Committee Ed Royce
and Elliot Engel, respectively.
For the US, it encourages the executive branch to designate
an official to focus on US-India defence cooperation,
facilitate the transfer of defence technology, maintain a
special office in the Pentagon dedicated exclusively to the
US-India Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI).

he ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP)


appointed Transport Minister Binali Yildirim as its
chairman, meaning he will automatically become
It urges the US government to enhance Indias military
the Prime Minister. Mr Yildirim is poised to replace Ahmet
capabilities in the context of combined military planning,
Davutoglu, who stepped down after a power struggle with
and promote co-production/co-development opportunities.
Mr Erdogan.
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TAIWANS TSAI ING-WEN TAKES OFFICE AS


PRESIDENT, 20 MAY 2016

This is the first meeting to identify the pressing


macroeconomic challenges and seek ways to stimulate
growth and check volatility in markets by pooling together
macroeconomic agendas.
The agenda also includes stock market exchange at a time
when the US wants to reiterate its stand against artificial
devaluations to increase competitiveness while Japan
argues that recent Forex movement justifies an intervention
to devalue the yen.
Before the first meeting, participants will travel to the coastal
area of Sendai, which was devastated in the earthquake and
tsunami of March 2011.

sai Ing-wen, Taiwans first female president, was


sworn into office, facing two very different sets of
expectations from those who voted for her and a
Chinese leadership that wants the island on a tight leash.

Japan, which is currently holding the G7 presidency, has


chosen Sendai as the venue for the summit to showcase its
efforts to rebuild the region and its experience in preparing
for natural disasters.

Although she was given a strong mandate in the January


elections, with her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
gaining control of the executive and legislative branches
of government, a souring relationship with Beijing could
undermine her ability to accomplish what she has set out to
do at home.

INDIA AND OMAN SIGN FOUR KEY DEFENCE


AGREEMENTS, 23 MAY 2016

Her address ended with choirs singing Ilha Formosa


a poetic song that became an anthem for pro-democracy
groups in Taiwan.

G7 FINANCE SUMMIT BEGINS IN JAPAN,


21 MAY 2016

ndia and Oman vowed to deepen bilateral defence


ties as the two countries signed four key agreements
in the critical sector with focus on enhancing military
cooperation.

The agreements on defence cooperation, marine crime


prevention, maritime issues and flight safety information
exchange was signed following the maiden visit of Defence
Minister Manohar Parrikar to Oman, considered one of the
closest country in the middle east.

The finance ministers and governors of the central banks


of the worlds seven most developed countries Japan, the
US, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada and their
European Union counterparts met informally in the forum
titled Future of the Global Economy to start the twoday event. International Monetary Fund chief Christine
Lagarde, Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem, World
Bank president Jim Yong Kim and OECD secretary-general
Angel Gurria attended the closed door symposium, along
with experts from top US universities.

Parrikar, who is on an official visit at the invitation of Bader


Bin Saud Bin Harib Al Busaidi, Minister Responsible for
Defence Affairs of Oman, wrapped up his visit and left for
UAE.

he G7 finance summit started in Japans Sendai city


with a focus on boosting and balancing the growth
of the global economy amid the slowing down of the
Chinese economy and those of other emerging countries.

@Mahendras

MALDIVES EX-PRESIDENT SAYS GRANTED


UK REFUGEE STATUS, 24 MAY 2016

ohamed Nasheed, the former president of the


Maldives, has been granted refugee status in
Britain, his office claimed.

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e) To invest in the Tourism and Hospitality sectors
f) To exchange visits of Tour Operators/Media/Opinion
Makers for promotion of two-way tourism
g) To exchange experiences in the areas of promotion,
marketing, destination development and management
h) To participate in travel fairs/exhibitions in each others
country and
i) To promote safe honourable and sustainable tourism

GUINEA
BISSAU
BACIRODJA
AS
27 MAY 2016

The 49-year-old was jailed last year on controversial


terrorism charges, but was allowed to travel to Britain in
January for spinal cord surgery after he fell ill in prison.

PRESIDENT
NAMES
PRIME
MINISTER,

Nasheed claimed that he had no choice but to work from


exile against President Abdulla Yameen.

CABINET GIVES EX-POST FACTO


APPROVAL TO THE MoU BETWEEN INDIA
AND MALDIVES FOR STRENGTHENING
COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF TOURISM,
26 MAY 2016

uinea Bissau President Jose Mario Vaz named


BaciroDja as prime minister, according to a
presidential decree, sparking protests from political
opponents who said the appointment was unconstitutional.
Dja succeeds Carlos Correia, who was sacked earlier this
month in a move that threatened to deepen political turmoil
in the tiny West African nation. The ruling party said it
would not support Dja, who held the same post briefly
last year but was forced to resign when the supreme court
ruled that the appointment was made without consulting all
political parties and was therefore unconstitutional.

he Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister


NarendraModi granted ex-post facto approval to the
Memorandum of Understanding signed between the
Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and the Ministry
of Tourism, Government of Maldives for strengthening
cooperation in the field of tourism.

About 100 protesters descended on the presidential palace


after the appointment, throwing stones at the palace and
burning tyres. Police fired tear gas on the crowd and some
protesters were injured, according to a Reuters witness and
the PAIGC. The incident is the latest in a spiraling political
crisis in Guinea Bissau, a former Portuguese colony that has
not seen a democratically elected leader serve a full term
since independence in 1974.

The Memorandum of Understanding with Maldives will


be instrumental in increasing arrival from this important
source market. In recent years, Maldives has emerged as an
important tourism generating market for India.
The main objectives
Understanding, are:

of

the

Memorandum

of

It has had nine coups or attempted coups since 1980, and


the turbulence has helped it become a major transit point for
cocaine trafficked from South America to Europe

a) To expand bilateral cooperation in the tourism sector


b) To exchange information and data related to tourism

MEDIA EXCHANGES TO HELP SOFT POWER


SOW UNDERSTANDING, 28 MAY 2016

c) To encourage cooperation between tourism stakeholders,


including hotels and tour operators

hinese and Australian media outlets signed multiple


agreements in Sydney that will promote and deepen
their exchanges and build on the comprehensive
strategic partnership between the two countries.
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d) To establish exchange programme for cooperation in


Human Resources Development

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President Hamid Ansari met Tunisian Prime Minister Habib
Essid and discussed a range of issues of mutual and regional
interests.
India will also train 350 Tunisian students in next five years,
Mr Ansari said adding We will be happy to receive 350
Tunisian students for training in our institutions in different
streams as our guests over the next five years.

PM TO INAUGURATE AFGHAN-INDIA
FRIENDSHIP DAM WAPCOS EXECUTES
LANDMARK INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT,
04 JUNE 2016

Underscoring the latter aspect, the signings were witnessed


by Liu Qibao, the Communist Party of China Central
Committees publicity chief, and Gary Quinlan, acting
secretary of Australias Department of Foreign Affairs
and Trade. Six cooperative agreements were signed,
involving Xinhua News Agency, China Daily, China Radio
International, Peoples Daily website, Qingdao Publishing
Group, the University of Technology Sydney, Fairfax
Media, Sky News Australia, Global CAMG and Weldon
International.
In recent years, China-Australia media cooperation has borne
fruitful results and played an important role in facilitating
mutual understanding between the two countries.

rime Minister Narendra Modi will jointly inaugurate


the Afghan-India Friendship Dam (Salma Dam) with
President of Afghanistan Dr. Ashraf Ghani in Herat
province in Western Afghanistan. Afghan-India Friendship
Dam is a Multipurpose project planned for generating 42
MW of power, irrigating 75000 hectares of land, water
supply and other benefits to the people of Afghanistan.
Salma Dam is a landmark infrastructure project undertaken
by Government of India on river Chist-e-Sharif, in Herat
province of Afghanistan. The project is executed and
implemented by WAPCOS Ltd., a Government of India
Undertaking under ministry of Water Resources, River
Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.

EXCHANGE OF TERRORIST SCREENING


INFORMATION ARRANGEMENT BETWEEN
INDIA AND USA SIGNED, 02 JUNE 2016

n arrangement between the authorized governmental


agencies of the Government of India and United
States of America (USA) for exchange of terrorist
screening information was signed in New Delhi.
The arrangement was signed by the Union home Secretary,
Rajiv Mehrishi and Richard Verma, ambassador of the
United States of America to India.
As per this arrangement, both sides shall provide each
other access to terrorism screening information through
the designated contact points, subject to domestic laws and
regulations. The arrangement would enhance the counter
terrorism cooperation between India and USA.

The project is located 165 km east of Herat town and


connected with earthen road. Due to security reasons Indian
engineers and technicians involved with the project have
been reaching the site once in a month by helicopter service
provided by Government of Afghanistan. All equipment and
material were transported from India to Bander-e-Abbas
port of Iran via sea and then along 1200 km by road from
there to Islam Kila border post at Iran-Aghanistan border
and then further 300 km by road from the border post to
the site. Cement, steel reinforcement, explosives etc. were
imported to Afghanistan from neighboring countries. The
gross capacity of the Dam is 633 Million M3. The height of
the Dam is 104.3 Mt, length 540 Mt and width at the bottom
is 450 Mt.

INDIA, TUNISIA SIGN 2 AGREEMENTS IN IT,


HANDICRAFTS SECTORS, 03 JUNE 2016

The project is funded by Government of India. The


successful completion of the project represents culmination
of years of hard work by 1,500 Indian and Afghan engineers
and other professionals in very difficult conditions.

n an effort to increase mutual cooperation, India and


Tunisia signed two MoUs on promotion of handicrafts
and IT and communication and digital economy as Vice

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MODI VISIT WILL HIGHLIGHT DEEPENING


INDO-US TIES: WH, 04 JUNE 2016

hold talks with President Schneider-Ammann to deepen our


bilateral and multilateral cooperation. After Geneva visit,
he will reach Washington DC on a bilateral visit on 6th
June at the invitation of President Barack Obama.

rime Minister Narendra Modis upcoming visit to the


American capital will highlight the deepening of the
US-India relationship.

INDIA, QATAR SIGN PACT FOR SKILL


DEVELOPMENT, 06 JUNE 2016

Among the issues that the President looks forward to


discussing are progress made on climate change and clean
energy partnership, security and defence cooperation, and
economic growth priorities.
There is a whole host of issues where our relationship and
partnership is robust and important and everything ranging
from climate to military steps were taking, to a whole host
of economic steps that were working on together.
Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to arrive in Washington
DC on June 6 on a three-day visit.

This will be his fourth visit to the US.


Soon after his arrival, he is scheduled to lay a wreath at the
Tomb of Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery
where he will be accompanied by US Defence Secretary
Ashton Carter, Pentagon said.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed


in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha. Under
the pact, Qatar will specify the areas in which it requires
manpower and India will provide skill development to its
nationals in those very areas before they go to the gulf
country. The agreement was signed between Ministry of
Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (India) and the
Ministry of Education and Higher Education (Qatar).

He is scheduled to meet President Obama at the White


House on June 7 and address a joint meeting of the US
Congress on June 8.
He will only be the 6th Indian Prime Minister to address a
joint session of Congress.

PMS UPCOMING VISIT TO AFGHANISTAN,


QATAR, SWITZERLAND, USA AND MEXICO,
04 JUNE 2016

SINGAPORES TECHNICAL INSTITUTE TO


SET UP CENTRES IN INDIA, 07 JUNE 2016

he Prime Minister, Narendra Modi will be visiting


Afghanistan, State of Qatar, Switzerland, United
States of America and Mexico from June 4, 2016
to June 8, 2016. In a series of posts from his Facebook
Account, the Prime Minister said.
He will join President Ashraf Ghani to inaugurate
Afghanistan-India Friendship Dam in Herat. It is symbol
of our friendship and would usher in hope, light up homes,
nourish the fertile fields of Herat and bring prosperity to the
people of the region.

After that he will reach Geneva on 5th June on a bilateral


visit to Switzerland, our key partner in Europe. He will

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ndia and Qatar have signed an agreement to forge


cooperation in skill development and facilitate mobility
of workers from India to the gulf nation.

ingapores prestigious Institute of Technical


Education will help set up vocational skill centres
across India to train youths to fulfil the requirements

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of skilled manpower in select industries. ITE Education


Services (ITEES), a subsidiary of the state-owned Institute
of Technical Education (ITE) which offers consultancy
and training services in skills development and vocational
training to more than 25 countries, is already working
on other projects in India, the first of which is slated to
commence training from September 27 in Rajasthan,
coinciding with the World Tourism Day.

Modi said that Mexico is an important partner for Indias


energy security. We are looking to move beyond buyerseller relationship and into a long-term partnership.
Modi, who will hold bilateral talks with President Pena
Nieto, is the first Indian prime minister to go on a state
visit to Mexico, since former PM Rajiv Gandhis trip in
1986. Former PM Dr.Manmohan Singh did visit Mexico in
2012, but it was for a G20 Summit. Earlier, amid chants of
Bharat Mata Ki Jai, the Indian community in Mexico City
welcomed the Prime Minister who arrived in Mexico on the
final-leg of his five-nation tour.

MEXICO BACKS INDIAS BID TO BECOME


MEMBER OF NUCLEAR SUPPLIERS GROUP,
09 JUNE 2016

DISASTERS: INDIA, NEPAL SEEK TO


ENHANCE MUTUAL COOPERATION,
09 JUNE 2016

ays after it got Switzerlands backing, India gained


support from Mexico, as well, for its bid to become
a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

Mexicos President Enrique Pena Nieto said that his country


positively and constructively supports Indias membership
to the NSG.
I thank the President for supporting Indias membership to
the Nuclear Suppliers Group, PM Modi said in statement,
hours after his arrival in Mexico on a state visit.

ndia and Nepal decided to enhance mutual cooperation


in matters of disaster response, management and
effective preparedness against them.

A 15-member Nepalese delegation today met the National


Disaster Response Force (NDRF) here and discussed issues
related to sharing and cooperation in these subjects.

The US has for a while now supported Indias entry into the
Group, even as China remains against it, saying that India
has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The
NSG aims to control proliferation of nuclear weapons.

The Nepal delegation, led by Joint Secretary in the Ministry


of Foreign Affairs P K Suvedi, was briefed about the Indian
disaster profile and scenario and its control and response
mechanisms by NDRF chief O P Singh.

Getting NSG membership will give India access to


technology that will help it in a variety of areas, ranging
from medicine to building nuclear plants.

MODI BECOMES 6TH INDIAN PM


ADDRESS US CONGRESS, 09 JUNE 2016

TO

Earlier this week, India also gained entry into the Missile
Technology Control Regime (MTCR), a non-proliferation
group. Being a member of both the NSG and the MTCR
will give India greater access to research and technology.
Before the PM spoke, President Enrique Pena Nieto also
said that Mexico positively and constructively supports
Indias membership of the NSG. In his statement, PM Modi
focussed on the warm ties between India and Mexico.
He said Mexico was the first Latin American country to
recognize India.

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arendraModi became the sixth Indian Prime


Minister to address the joint session of the US
Congress. Before this Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajiv
Gandhi, P V Narasimha Rao, Atal Behari Vajpayee and
Manmohan Singh have addressed US Congress.

ISRAEL ELECTED TO HEAD PERMANENT


U.N. COMMITTEE FOR FIRST TIME,
14 JUNE 2016

counterpart John Dramani Mahama, included one for visa


waivers for holders of diplomatic and official passports and
one for setting up a Joint Commission.
The Commission framework will periodically review
various aspects of the multi-dimensional relationship
between the two countries. A mutually convenient date for
its first meeting will be decided later.

srael won an election to chair the United Nations legal


committee, the first time that it will head one of the
world bodys six permanent committees since joining
the U.N. in 1949.

After the hosting of the 3rd India Africa Forum Summit


(IAFS) in New Delhi in October 2015, India is working on
a plan to consolidate and further strengthen its engagement
with Africa.

While it is a largely symbolic and procedural role, chairing


the committee will give Israel a chance to have a higher
profile in routine affairs at the United Nations.

In an informal interaction with the accompanying media


delegation on board his aircraft the President said that his
Africa tour was part of series of engagements at the highest
level. 41 of the 54 heads of the African states of the IAFS
were present at the Delhi meet.

The so-called Legal Committee, or Sixth Committee,


oversees issues related to international law. The General
Assembly has six standing committees that report to it, on:
disarmament, economic and financial issues, human rights,
decolonization, the U.N. budget, and legal issues.

Heads of these countries regularly visit India. The President


said that a series of high level visits is taking place this year
from India to Africa. And his visit to Ghana, Cote dIvoire
and Namibia is coming immediately after the visit of VicePresident of India, Hamid Ansari to Morocco and Tunisia.
My visit will be followed by visits to countries of East
and South Africa by Prime Minister NarendraModi, Mr.
Mukherjee said.

Israel was a candidate for the regional Western European


and Others Group (WEOG) and received a comfortable
majority of votes - 109 out of 175 valid votes cast in the
193-nation assembly. Sweden was runner-up with 10 votes.

GHANA
SEEKS
CIVIL
NUCLEAR
COOPERATION WITH INDIA, 14 JUNE 2016

utting the agenda of deepening ties with the African


countries on a fast-track, India and Ghana signed
three bilateral agreements to strengthen co-operation
in varied fields.

Later in the evening Mr. Mukherjee will pay homage to


Ghanas first President Kwame Nkrumah at his mausoleum
in Accra. He will also unveil a statue of Mahatma Gandhi
that was gifted by the ICCR, besides planting a sapling.

Though symbolic in nature, the pacts came during the first


ever visit of the President Pranab Mukherjee to the country.
Ghana is the first of the six-day African tour of the President
which commenced. The other two include yet another
maiden trip by a President to Ivory Coast and to Namibia
after a gap of two decades.

The President will visit the India-Ghana Kofi Annan Centre


of Excellence in ICT, set up by India, and will meet its
faculty and alumni.
India is the largest foreign investor in Ghana today, with
more than 700 investment projects. More than 222 of these
projects are in the manufacturing sector. Bilateral trade
between India and Ghana has increased to $1.2 billion from
$538 million in 2010.

The three agreements signed with Ghana, after delegation


levels talks between Mr. Mukherjee and his Ghanaian
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ECONOMY
(provisional) for the month of April, 2016 as compared to
(-)0.85% for the previous month.

Burning Topics of the Month

It was (-) 2.43% during the corresponding month of the


previous year, showed the data.

1. SBI Associate Banks propose merger with


parent SBI.
2. Islamic Banking to debut in Gujrat.
3. Ola money partner with eBay

TATA TRUSTS PARTNERS THE NUDGE


FOUNDATION ON POVERTY REMOVAL,
17 MAY 2016

UN AGRI ARM IFAD TO GRANT USD 150 mn


TO INDIA IN NEXT 3 YRS, 16 MAY 2016

ata Trusts and The Nudge Foundation, a city-based


non-profit organisation, announced a partnership to
help alleviate poverty through product innovation
and capacity building.
Acco.to a joint release the partnership will enable and
empower the further innovate on their flagship Programme
in Life Management in their Gurukuls, build the team
needed to scale pan-India and gear up for a growth target of
seven times in 2016-17.

nited Nations International Fund for Agricultural


Development (IFAD) will provide grants worth
USD 150 million (about Rs 1,001 crore) to India
in the next three years to aid the farm sector.

WITH $118.9 Bn, INDIA 12TH TOP FOREIGN


HOLDER OF US GOVT BONDS, 18 MAY 2016

Oscar Garcia, Director, Independent Office of Evaluation


(IOE) stated that IFAD will invest USD 150 million in the
next three years for the agriculture sector in India.

WHOLESALE INFLATION TURNS POSITIVE


AFTER 17 MONTHS, 16 MAY 2016

Despite reducing its exposure to USD 1.245 trillion, China


remained the top holder of these securities in March, as per
the latest data released by the US Treasury Department.
China owned bonds valued at USD 1.252 trillion in
February. China is followed by Japan with securities to

W
prices.

holesale price-based inflation turned positive


after 17 months, posting an annual gain of
0.34% in April, on rise in vegetables and pulses

the tune of USD 1.137 trillion.

The April Wholesale Price Index-based inflation was at (-)


0.85% in March.

As per the data, India is the 12th largest overseas holder of


these securities, one place ahead of Saudi Arabia whose
exposure has been made public for the first time in more
than four decades.

Acco. to recent government release the annual rate


of inflation, based on monthly WPI, stood at 0.34%

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ndia is the 12th largest foreign holder of the US


government securities with exposure to the tune of
USD 118.9 billion as on March-end.

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SBI ASSOCIATE BANKS PROPOSE MERGER


WITH PARENT SBI, 18 MAY 2016

With the launch of above services, the customer of Nepal


SBI Bank can utilise various features of mobile banking and
other value added services along with the platform of the
payment gateway, the bank said in a statement. The Payment
Gateway was inaugurated by SBI Managing Director B
Sriram, and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae.

RATAN TATA, RONNIE SCREWVALA INVEST


IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE STARTUP
NIKI, 20 MAY 2016

fter over five years of hiatus, associate banks of SBI


including State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur have
proposed to merger with the parent lender.

Meanwhile, a section of employee unions have registered


protest against any such move and threatened to go
on a strike if such move is approved by the SBI and the
government.

The countrys largest lender has five associate banks - State


Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Travancore, State
Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of
Hyderabad.

rtificial intelligence-powered chat app Niki.ai


has received undisclosed funds from Tata Sons
chairman emeritus Ratan Tata and Unilazer
Ventures . founder Ronnie Screwvala. The company intends
to use the funds to strengthen technology and to increase the
base of partner businesses.

Among these, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank


of Mysore and State Bank of Travancore are listed.

Currently, Niki offers bill payments, cab booking, recharge,


food ordering and cricket scores. It will soon offer laundry
services, bus booking, hotel booking, event ticketing and
doctor appointments. The company had earlier raised a seed
round from Unilazer Ventures.

SBI first merged associate State Bank of Saurashtra with


itself in 2008. Two years later in 2010, State Bank of Indore
was merged.
The government recently set up the Bank Board Bureau
(BBB) headed by former CAG Vinod Rai to look into the
issues including consolidation in public sector banking
space.

GOOGLE DOUBLES DOWN ON ARTIFICIAL


INTELLIGENCE WITH HOME AND ALLO,
20 MAY 2016

NEPAL SBI BANK LAUNCHES PAYMENT


GATEWAY, 19 MAY 2016

lphabets Google Inc (GOOGL.O) unveiled its


answer to Amazons (AMZN.O) Alexa virtual
assistant along with new messaging and virtual
reality products at its annual I/O developer conference,
doubling down on artificial intelligence and machine
learning as the keys to its future.

epal SBI Bank, one of the largest overseas


subsidiaries of SBI, has launched payment gateway
to facilitate online trade and non-trade transactions
between the Himalayan nation and India.

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Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai introduced Google


Assistant, a virtual personal assistant, along with the tabletop
speaker appliance Google Home. He also unveiled Allo, a
new messaging service that will compete with Facebooks
WhatsApp and Messenger products and feature a chatbot
powered by the Google Assistant. Allo, like WhatsApp, will
also have end-to-end encryption when it is rolled out this
summer.
Amazons Echo, a surprise hit that has other tech giants
racing to match it, uses a virtual assistant called Alexa,
a cloud-based system that controls the Echo speaker and
responds to voice-controlled commands by users. Like
Alexa, Google Assistant can search the internet and adjust
your schedule. However, Pichai said Google Assistant can
use images and other information to provide more intuitive
results.

giant Larsen & Toubro. Swapan Dasgupta, Nominee of the


Administrator of The Specified Undertaking of The Unit
Trust of India, has resigned as Director of the Company.
The resignation is effective from May 15, 2016, the
company said.

RBI ALIGNS RULES FOR FDI IN CICs,


20 MAY 2016

Gupta had joined on the board of director of the company


as a nominee of the the administrator of the Specified
Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI), replacing
A K Jain. SUUTI has nominated Dasgupta in place of A K
Jain, as a director on the Board of the Company.
President Pranab Mukherjee last month nominated
Dasgupta to the Upper House following a recommendation
of the Narendra Modi government. Swapan Dasgupta is a
senior journalist and has held different editorial posts at
The Statesman, The Times of India and India Today besides
others.

eeking to attract more foreign investment, the Reserve


Bank laid down rules allowing FDI up to 100 per cent
in credit information companies (CICs) if ownership
of the investor company is well diversified.

Sixty-year-old Dasgupta, a known BJP sympathiser, was


awarded with Padma Bhushan last year.

However, the FDI cap will be 49 per cent if the ownership


is not well diversified. A diversified company is one in
which one or more shareholder each holds more than
10 per cent of voting rights. In supersession of its earlier
directions, RBI stated that it may consider allowing higher
foreign direct investment limits to entities which have
an established track record of running a CIC in a wellregulated environment. On investment by FIIs and FPIs,
RBI said a single entity should, directly or indirectly, hold
below 10 per cent equity.

He regularly appears in political debates in electronic


media, mostly arguing for the Modi government.

FY18 FISCAL DEFICIT TARGET MAY BE SET


AT 3-3.5% THAN 3%: BOFA, 20 MAY 2016

Any acquisition in excess of 1 per cent will have to be


reported to RBI as a mandatory requirement. FIIs/FPIs
investing in CICs shall not seek a representation on the
board of directors based on their shareholding.

DASGUPTA RESIGNS AS DIRECTOR OF


LARSEN & TOUBRO, 20 MAY 2016

ank of America Merrill Lynch (BofA-ML) reported


that governments fiscal deficit target for next fiscal
could be changed to a range and set at 3-3.5 per
cent of the GDP, rather than 3 per cent.

enior journalist-turned politician Swapan Dasgupta,


who was nominated as a Rajya Sabha member last
month, has resigned as a director of the infrastructure
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According to the global financial services major, the


institution of a committee to review the Fiscal Responsibility
and Budget Management Act is a welcome move as it will
allow cyclicity in setting fiscal deficit targets.

offices or branches. Last September, Dilip Shanghvi as


lead applicant along with Telenor Financial Services and
IDFC Bank was granted inprinciple licence by the apex
bank to form a payments bank. Over the past eight months,
representatives of these three partners had worked together
to establish relevant frameworks and a governance structure
for the proposed joint venture.

The government formed a five-member committee under


former revenue secretary N K Singh to review the working
of the 12-year old FRBM Act and examine the feasibility of
a fiscal deficit range instead of a fixed target.

Norways Telenor did not spell out the reasons behind its
decision to scrap the payments bank venture in India.

BofA-ML said in a research note said that financial year


2017-18 fiscal deficit target may be set at 3-3.5 per cent of
GDP than 3 per cent, and added that this fiscal expansion
will offset credit/ growth slowdown.

DEUTSCHE BANK SEES INDIAS GDP


GROWTH AT 7.8% NEXT YEAR, 24 MAY 2016

According to the report, the just-constituted FRBM


committee is expected to shift to a growth-oriented
fiscal policy and this in turn would be a big positive for
consumption-led growth.

In the 2016-17 budget, the government announced it was


setting up a panel to change the medium-term fiscal deficit
target from the current absolute number to a range, to give
necessary policy space to the government to deal with
dynamic situations.

eutsche Bank sees Indias gross domestic product


growth at 7.8 per cent in 2017, up from this years
7.5 per cent, noting that the economy seems to
have bottomed out. But for this year, the growth is flattish,
forecast at 7.5 per cent, the same as last year. Indias
economic challenges includes the building of judicial and
legal systems, especially to settle commercial disputes for
businesses.

DILIP SHANGHVI, IDFC BANK, TELENOR


DROP PLANS TO SET UP PAYMENTS BANK,
21 MAY 2016

Speaking to reporters during the banks annual Asia


Conference , Spencer said that Indian banks efforts to
recapitalise and improve balance sheets while sorting out
non-performing loans. Overall, India remains the worlds
fastest growing economy, ahead of Chinas 6.7 per cent
forecast for 2017 and 2016, down from 6.9 per cent in
2015, according to data released by DB. It has forecast an
improving economy of the combined emerging markets in
Asia at 6.2 per cent growth in 2017 as to 6.0 per cent this
year and 6.2 per cent recorded in 2015.
The bank sees global economy growing at 3.6 per cent in
2017, up from 3.0 per cent this year and 3.1 per cent in
2015.

elenor Financial Services , IDFC Bank and Dilip


Shanghvi announced the withdrawal of their plans to
set up a payments bank in India.

SUBHASH CHANDRA STEPS DOWN AS ZEE


MEDIA CHAIRMAN, 25 MAY 2016

The collective decision of the three partners will be


communicated to Reserve Bank of India (RBI), following
which the payments bank licence will not be pursued.
A payments banks can, typically, accept deposits, convey
remittances and make payments to recipients, making them
ideal for migrant workers who often need to send cash
home. They, however, cannot lend money.

ubhash Chandra has resigned from the post of director


and non-executive chairman of Zee Media. In a filing
to the BSE, Zee Media said that its board in a meeting
held took on record the resignation of Dr. Subhash Chandra
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The decision to abandon plans to set up a payments bank,


it is learnt, was taken as the promoters collectively felt
that they lacked adequate physical presence in terms of

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as Director & Non-Executive Chairman of the Company


with effect from May 24, 2016.

Tech Mahindra Ltd, which received in-principle approval to


start a payments bank in August, said it is dropping its plans.
Its management cited a long payback time on its investment
as a reason. Last week, a consortium of Sun Pharmaceutical
Industries Ltd promoter Dilip Shanghvi, IDFC Bank Ltd
and Telenor Financial Services abandoned its plan to set
up a payments bank. Earlier in March, Cholamandalam
Investment and Finance Co. backed out as well. Neither
gave a reason for its decision.

It further said that its board also approved appointment of


R K Arora, CEO, as an Additional Director of the company.

INDIA SIGNS $100 MILLION LOAN


AGREEMENT WITH WORLD BANK,
25 MAY 2016

This leaves eight potential payments banking entities:


Payments banks can collect deposits and offer different
payment solutions to customers but are not allowed to lend.
RBI has also asked them to invest 75% of their deposits
in government securities, limiting their ability to earn. And
they will need to offer at least 4%, the current savings rate
that banks offer, to attract customers.
That leaves the banks with an interest spread of not
more than 3-4% taking the current benchmark 10-year
government bond yield of 7.46%.

ISLAMIC BANKING TO DEBUT IN GUJARAT,


25 MAY 2016

he Indian government signed a $100 million (about


Rs.677 crore) loan agreement with multilateral
lending agency World Bank for the Karnataka urban
water supply modernisation project.
The project aims to provide access to a continuous piped
water supply in various cities in Karnataka and strengthen
the service delivery arrangements at the city level, a finance
ministry statement said.

eddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is


set to start its India operations from Gujarat. The
international financial institution from Saudi Arabia
has chosen Gujarat to set up its first branch in India. The
state will also get 30 medical vans as part of IDBs social
sector initiatives. IDBs main objective is to foster the
economic development and social progress of member
countries as well as the Muslim community in accordance
with principles of Shariah (Islamic law). The bank has 56
Islamic countries as its members.

The Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development &


Finance Corp. (KUIDFC) is the implementing agency for
the project.
The project will have four broad componentscapital
investment programme, institution building, technical
assistance for sector development and project management.
It will be implemented over a period of six years, initially
in the twin cities of Hubballi and Dharwad, with provision
for other eligible cities to join the project at a later date, the
statement said.

During prime minister Narendra Modis visit to UAE in April


this year, Indias EXIM Bank had signed a memorandum of
understanding with IDB for a $100 million line-of-credit to
facilitate exports to IDBs member countries.

The agreement was signed by the department of economic


affairs joint secretary Raj Kumar on behalf of India and
World Banks India acting country director Michael Haney.

TECH MAHINDRA LATEST TO DROP PLAN


FOR PAYMENTS BANK, 25 MAY 2016

IDB had also signed a $55-million pact with Rashtriya


Institute of Skill and Education (RISE) to provide medical
care to rural poor in India. IDB will provide 350 fullyequipped medical vans (mobile clinics) to India, 30 of
which will be received for the tribal areas of Chhota Udepur,
Narmada and Bharuch in Gujarat, in the first phase.

he payments bank model, once considered an


innovation, is looking less appealing, with three
of eleven firms that received licences to start such
banks abandoning their plans to do so.

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HAL SIGNS PACT WITH BEL TO DEVELOP


AIRBORNE COMMUNICATION, 21 MAY 2016

disposable income and improvement in economic activity,


global rating agency Fitch said in a report.

industan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) said it has


signed a pact with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL)
for developing advanced airborne communication
and electronic warfare systems.

Fitch expects Indias GDP to grow 7.5% in fiscal year ending


March 2016 and improve to 7.7% in the current fiscal year
and further to 7.9% in the fiscal year ending March 2018.

T Suvarna Raju, CMD, HAL stated in a release.that the


umbrella understanding includes sharing of expertise in
design, development, engineering and manufacturing
between HAL and BEL to develop and produce advanced
airborne communication, electronic warfare systems, etc.

India remains the fastest growing country across the world


with GDP in 2016 estimated to grow at 7.55% year on year
compared to global GDP which is likely to grow at 2.5%
according to Fitch estimates.

INDIAN OIL REPORTS HIGHEST EVER NET


PROFIT IN SINGLE YEAR, 28 MAY 2016

S K Sharma stated that he is sure that such efforts will


lead to greater indigenisation and self-reliance in defence
technologies. This collaboration will support the Make in
India mission.
D K Venkatesh, Director (Engg and R&D) HAL and A T
Kalghatgi, Director (R&D) of BEL signed the MoU in the
presence of T Suvarna Raju, CMD, HAL and S K Sharma,
CMD, BEL in New Delhi.

EPFO DOUBLES INSURANCE FOR


SUBSCRIBERS TO RS 6 LAKH, 26 MAY 2016

overnment has enforced the


decision of retirement fund
body EPFO to almost double
the maximum sum assured under its
insurance scheme from 3.6 lakh to 6 lakh
rupees.

ndias largest fuel retailer Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)


reported its highest ever net profit in a single year at Rs
10,399 crore in FY16, nearly double the level (Rs 5,273
crore) reported in FY15. This is despite its total income
from operations dropping by 19.86% to Rs 3,50,603 crore
in FY16 against Rs 4,37,524 crore in FY15.

It will benefit around four crore subscribers.


Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya told reporters in
New Delhi, that the notification to enhance amount has
been issued. In September, Employee Provident Fund
Organizations apex decision making body Central Board
of Trustees had decided to increase benefits under the
Employees Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) scheme to
six lakh rupees

It impacted its net profit by Rs. 2,464 crore. At the same


time, it booked about Rs, 494 crore of impairment losses.
Till now, IOC had reported the highest profit of Rs 10,200
crore in 2009-10 when crude oil prices were at peak. The
government-owned company has reported a gross refining
margin of $5.06/barrel in FY16 against $0.27/barrel in
FY15.

INDIAS GROWTH TO RISE TO 8 PERCENT IN


FY2019: FITCH, 27 MAY 2016

ndias economic growth rate will slowly accelerate to


8% by fiscal year ending March 2019, driven by the
gradual implementation of structural reforms, higher

@Mahendras

TM

The inventory losses in FY16 were down 45.39% at Rs 9,731


crore against Rs 17,822 crore in FY15. The company sold
5.49% more petroleum products in FY16 at 80.7 million

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tonnes in FY16 against 76.5 million tonnes in FY15. During


state elections also, oil marketing companies have increased
auto fuel prices and maintained their marketing margins.
Now, there are no major state elections in FY17. Thus, we
expect companies will be able to maintain its marketing
margin by adjusting auto fuel prices. Current year-to-date
margins on diesel and petrol are Rs. 1.1 per litre and Rs 2.3
per litre, respectively, which is higher in petrol and flat in
diesel on year-on-year basis. We believe given the recent
correction in the stock price it is good opportunity again to
enter in the (IOC) stock, said Dhaval Joshi, an analyst at
Emkay Global Financial Services.

Association (WSA). India imported 13.3 million tonnes


(MT) of the metal in 2015 and was just a notch up from
China, which imported 13.2 MT of steel during the same
period.
According to the WSA data, European Union as a bloc
imported 37.7 MT of steel last year, which was followed
by the US (36.5 MT), Germany (24.8 MT), South Korea
(21.7 MT), Italy (19.9 MT), Turkey (18.6 MT), Vietnam
(16.3 MT), Thailand (14.6 MT), France (13.7 MT) and
India (13.3 MT).
According to Indian government data, steel imports rose
by 25.6 per cent to 11.71 MT during the 2015-16 financial
year against 9.32 MT in the year-ago period. India was a net
importer of the metal in the last fiscal.

In FY16, IOCs refinery throughput stood at 56.694 mt


and its pipeline network ferried 79.824 mt of crude oil and
products.

WSA data also showed that India exported 7.6 MT of steel


in 2015, which was just a fraction of what its neighbour
China exported during the same period at 111.6 MT.

TATA GROUP ENTERS E-COMMERCE


MARKET WITH APPAREL, ELECTRONICS
WEBSITE, 28 MAY 2016

Admitting that Indian steel sector is going through stress


for some time due to rising imports, steel minister Narendra
Singh Tomar had earlier this month assured the Rajya Sabha
that government will take all steps to promote and safeguard
the industry.

SBI NOW ALSO HAS THE LARGEST POS


NETWORK IN INDIA, 31 MAY 2016

ndias biggest conglomerate Tata Group launched an


e-commerce venture , as it seeks to cash in on rising
purchasing power in a market dominated by deeppocketed international retailers and startups backed by
global tech investors. The group said it developed its Tata
Cliq website over a year-and-a-half at a cost of several
hundred million dollars to be a marketplace for in-house
and partnercompanies to sell apparel and electronics.

The move is in line with a second phase in Indian e-commerce


development, with the some of the countrys oldest and
largest corporations entering an industry established in the
last five years by startups Snapdeal and Flipkart Online
Services Pvt Ltd.

tate Bank of India (SBI)s point of sales terminal


(PoS) network is now the largest in the country after
it over took its private sector rivals in February. It
plans to add another 1 lakh PoS terminals in the current
fiscal year ending March 2017.

The market also welcomed global e-commerce firm


Amazon.com Inc in 2013, which has invested over $2
billion for growth.

As of April 30, the state owned lender had a PoS network


of 3,07,000, 26% of which were in the semi urban and rural
areas, the bank said in a press release.

INDIA AMONG TOP 10 STEEL IMPORTERS IN


2015: WORLD STEEL ASSOCIATION,
30 MAY 2016

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data shows that it had installed


2,96,310 PoS terminals in India, higher than HDFC Banks
ndia, the worlds third largest steel producer, was among 2,81,642, Axis Banks 2,58,250 and ICICI Banks 2,00,756.
the top 10 importers of the alloy last year, according to These four large banks together dominate the 13,63,148
the latest data by the global industry body World Steel PoS terminal network in the country.
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FINANCE MINISTRY EXPECTS GDP GROWTH
TO IMPROVE TO 8% IN 2016-17, 01 JUNE 2016

In the fiscal year which ended in March 2016, SBI added


1,00,000 new PoS terminals, more than 30,000 of which
were equipped with near field communications to make
payments. The bank contributed 40% of the growth of total
network that year.

FICCI SURVEY REPORTS GDP GROWTH


ESTIMATE AT 7.7% FOR 2016-17,
31 MAY 2016

Economy grew at 7.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of 201516 taking the growth rate for the entire fiscal to a five-year
high of 7.6 percent, mainly on account of good performance
of manufacturing sector although farm sector grew at a
much slower pace.

he results of latest round of FICCIs Economic


Outlook Survey puts across a median GDP growth
forecast of 7.7 percent for the fiscal year 201617. The growth in 2016-17 is expected to be supported
by an improvement in the agricultural and industrial
sector performance. Prediction of a good monsoon after
two consecutive years of sub-optimal rainfall backs the
improved outlook in the current fiscal.

GOVERNMENT ACHIEVES 3.9% FISCAL


DEFICIT TARGET, 01 JUNE 2016

According to the survey results, agriculture sector is


expected to record a median growth of 2.8 percent in 201617, with a minimum and maximum range of 1.6 percent and
3.5 percent respectively. Industrial growth is anticipated
to grow by 7.1 percent in 2016-17, while services sector
growth is estimated at 9.6 percent.

The survey was conducted during April/May 2016 among


economists belonging to the industry, banking and financial
services sector. The economists were asked to provide
forecast for key macro-economic variables for the year
2016-17 as well as for Q4 (January-March) FY16 and Q1
(April-June) FY17.

The CGA further said revenue deficit during the last fiscal
was 2.5 per cent of GDP.

The outlook of the participating economists on inflation


remained moderate. The median forecast for Wholesale
Price Index based inflation rate for 2016-17 has been put at
2.2 percent, with a minimum and maximum range of (-)1.3
percent and 2.9 percent respectively. The Consumer Price
Index has a median forecast of 5.1 percent for 2016-17,
with a minimum and maximum range of 4.5 percent and 5.5
percent respectively.

@Mahendras

overnment said that it has achieved the fiscal deficit


target of 3.9 per cent of GDP in 2015-16.

Acco.to the Controller General of Accounts ( CGA )


the fiscal deficit is 3.9 per cent of GDP or Rs 5.32 lakh crore
in 2015-16. For 2016-17, the government aims to further
bring down the fiscal deficit the gap between expenditure
and revenue to 3.5 per cent.

The median growth forecast for IIP has been put at 3.5
percent for the year 2016-17, with a minimum and maximum
range of 3.0 percent and 4.5 percent respectively.

TM

inning hopes on better monsoon, the Finance


Ministry said it expects GDP growth rate to notch up
to 8 percent in the current financial year.

As per the provisional data, the fiscal deficit in April was


Rs 1.37 lakh crore, which is 25.7 per cent of the Budget
estimate as against 23 per cent a year ago.
The fiscal deficit for the whole year is estimated at Rs 5.33
lakh crore.
Total expenditure of the government in April was Rs 1.61
lakh crore, or 8.2 per cent of the full-year estimate.

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NOMURA LOWERS INDIAS GDP GROWTH


TO 7.7% FOR FY17, 01 JUNE 2016

UNION CABINET APPROVES SETTING UP OF


INDIA POST PAYMENTS BANK, 02 JUNE 2016

he Union Cabinet approved a proposal by the


department of posts for foray into the banking
sector by launching the India Post Payments Bank, a
development that would help the central government in its
initiative of 100% financial inclusion.

omura marked down Indias GDP growth forecast


marginally to 7.7 per cent for the current fiscal,
from 7.8 per cent earlier, saying there is still no sign
of an export or private capex turnaround.

Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union minister for communications


and information technology said that the India Post
Payments Bank will be a game changer for financial
inclusion of the poorest of poor people and it will be the
largest banking network in the world.As per the proposal
approved by the Cabinet, the India Post Payments Bank will
be set-up as a public limited company under the department
of posts, with a total investment of Rs 800 crore, according
to a government statement. Of this Rs 400 crore would be
infused by the government as equity and the remainder
would be given as grant for the next five years, it showed.
The secretary of the department will be a part-time nonexecutive chairman of the banks board.

INDIA A BRIGHT SPOT ON GLOBAL MAP,


GROWTH RATE EXPECTED TO BE NEAR
7.5%: OECD, 02 JUNE 2016

RBI BEGINS WORK ON IT ARM, 03 JUNE 2016

he Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set in motion


the process of establishing an IT (information
technology) subsidiary.

Key heads

ndias growth rate is expected to hover near 7.5% this


year as well as next even as many emerging market
economies continue to lose momentum. Its solid
growth led by strong investment is expected to continue,
helped by reforms to bolster infrastructure spending and
robust demand growth, Paris based Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Development ( OECD ) said in
its Global Economic Outlook .

It has commenced the exercise to recruit key heads for


assorted verticals of the proposed subsidiary.
The subsidiary will have advisory committees to provide
guidance on cyber security, current and future requirements
of entities regulated by the RBI, particularly from the
regulatory and supervisory points of view, and to the central
bank on its IT systems and projects. RBI said that the IT
subsidiary would focus on IT and cyber security (including
related research) of the financial sector and assist in IT
systems audit and assessment of the RBI regulated entities;
advise, implement and manage internal or system-wide IT
projects (both the existing and the new) of the Reserve Bank
as mutually decided between the Reserve Bank and the
subsidiary . Given the need for inter-operability and crossinstitutional co-operation, the entity would be expected
to play an effective role in setting standards to strengthen
RBIsrole as regulator.

The outlook was released a day after data shared by the


statistics office showed that India grew at 7.6% in 2015-16
and economists expect it to grow 7.9% in FY17.
The projections incorporate an increase in public sector
wages and pensions and efforts to improve tax compliance.

However, the OECD cautioned that non-performing loans


in the banking sector have been rising in several countries,
including India where growth has been comparatively
robust.
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BSNL PARTNERS HITACHI TO FACILITATE


BILL PAYMENT VIA ATMS, 03 JUNE 2016

In a circular BSE said that it has received approval from the


Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for acting as a receiving office
for the Sovereign Gold Bond scheme.
The exchange plans to offer an online bidding platform for
collecting bids from members and their clients for the SGB
issue.
This bidding platform is part of the IBBS (Internet-based
Book Building System) - exchanges existing web-based
online bidding platform for IPO, Offer for Sale, offer to buy
issues.

NESTLE, ALIBABA UPGRADE PARTNERSHIP


TO TAP CHINESE CONSUMPTION
POTENTIAL, 06 JUNE 2016

tate-run firm BSNL announced partnership with


Hitachi Payment Services for facilitating round-theclock phone bill payment through ATMs.

Some customers often miss to pay bill because of fix timing


of BSNL counters. With these ATMs in place, customers
will be able to pay their bill during any time of the day.
Under the partnership, Hitachis ATMs will be installed in
all major customer service centers of BSNL. BSNL will
provide free space in its premises to Hitachi to install and
maintain ATMs.
BSNL customers will be able to pay their bills through these
ATMs.

estle and Alibaba announced plans to upgrade their


partnership. The worlds largest food retailer will
launch its biggest e-commerce campaign ever with
its diverse products, spanning 30 brands from coffee to baby
formula, being sold on Alibabas expansive e-commerce
platforms such as T-mall.

BSE GETS RBI NOD FOR ONLINE BIDDING


PLATFORM FOR SOVEREIGN GOLD BOND
SCHEME, 03 JUNE 2016

China is the right place to start Nestles next 150-year


growth story as Chinese consumers have a more developed
understanding and are quicker to adopt new consumption
technologies than their global peers and have great passion
for innovation, she added.
Chinas consumption pattern and manner have evolved
fast and consumption is becoming increasingly digital with
more young consumers choosing to shop online, said Zhang
Yong, Alibaba CEO.

The volume of online purchases surged by more than 12


times from January 2011 to April 2016 in China, while per
capita consumption grew by 27 percent, according to a joint
report released by Alibabas financial services platform Ant
Financial and a private economics research institute.

SE, Asias oldest bourse, has received the Reserve


Bank approval to start an online bidding platform
for Sovereign Gold Bond scheme.

SGBs - government securities denominated in grams of


gold - offer an alternative to holding gold in physical form.

Nestle strengthened its global capabilities in e-commerce


by signing a strategic cooperation partnership with Alibaba
in late 2015 to increase its online sales and build its brands.
In 2015, half of Nestles sales in China were online.

The bond is issued by RBI on behalf of government and


investors can apply for the bonds at the price as disseminated
by RBI.

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YES BANK PROJECTS INDIAS GDP FY17 TO


CROSS 8.1 %, 07 JUNE 2016

Switzerland is a key member of the NSG and its support to


Indias bid for membership of the elite grouping was seen
as crucial in the backdrop of China harping on the need for
consensus as India was not a signatory to the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty (NPT).
In his remarks, the Prime Minister thanked the Swiss
President for Switzerlands understanding and support
for Indias membership of the NSG. He also said combating
the menace of black money and tax evasion was shared
priority for both the countries.

The US and many other NSG member countries have


supported Indias inclusion based on its non-proliferation
track record.

A surplus monsoon out turn (assuming a favorable


spatial and intertemporal distribution) is likely to support
agriculture output and rural demand to a greater extent.

The NSG looks after critical issues relating to the nuclear


sector and its members are allowed to trade in and export
nuclear technology. Its membership will help India
significantly expand its atomic energy sector.

ES Bank projects Indias GDP set to cross 8.1% in


FY17 on the back of visible pickup in consumption
demand like cement, oil, electricity along with
stronger than anticipated Q4FY16 corporate earnings .

The NSG works under the principle of unanimity and even


one countrys vote against India will scuttle its bid.

Impetus to consumption gets further entrenched with


anticipated revision in wages for government employees.

The NSG had granted an exclusive waiver for India in 2008


to access civil nuclear technology after China reluctantly
backed Indias case based on the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Visible return in investment appetite by the end of the year.

SWITZERLAND BACKS INDIAS NSG BID; TO


HELP TACKLE BLACKMONEY, 07 JUNE 2016

RBI MONETARY POLICY: RAGHURAM


RAJAN LEAVES KEY POLICY RATES
UNCHANGED, 07 JUNE 2016

he Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept a key interest


rate unchanged at a five-year low of 6.50% in its bimonthly policy review.

n a major boost to its diplomatic push for NSG


membership, India managed to win crucial support of
Switzerland ahead of a key meeting of the 48-nation
bloc even as the two countries agreed to step up cooperation
in unearthing black money stashed by Indians in Swiss
banks.

In the first policy review of the financial year, governor


Raghuram Rajan had in April cut the central banks repo,
or short-term, rate by 25 basis points to 6.5%. Repo rate is
the rate of interest at which banks borrow from the central
bank.
The cash reserve ratio (CRR), or the share of deposits banks
must keep with the RBI, was unchanged at 4% .

Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann announced his


countrys support to Indias membership in the elite Nuclear
Suppliers Group (NSG) after holding comprehensive talks
with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a range of bilateral
and global issues.

@Mahendras

TM

For now, economists say, Rajan will focus on persuading


banks to pass on benefits of earlier RBI rate cuts to
borrowers, as they have only lowered lending rates by 65
bps since early 2015.
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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA AND ASIAN


DEVELOPMENT BANK SIGN $120 MILLION
LOAN AGREEMENT TO
MODERNIZE
IRRIGATION
AND
IMPROVE
WATER
MANAGEMENT IN ODISHA , 07 JUNE 2016

said an RBI-sponsored survey of professional forecasters.


Output growth, measured using GVA at basic prices, is
likely to improve gradually in 2016-17 and further in 201718. Quarterly growth projections for the next five quarters
indicate that growth is likely to improve..., RBI said while
releasing the survey on macroeconomic indicators.
In the 40th round of survey, the forecasters expect real
GVA to increase by 7.6 per cent in 2016-17. The survey
further said agriculture and allied activities and services
are expected to grow by 2.9 per cent and 8.8 per cent,
respectively. Industry growth forecast has been placed at
7.6 per cent.

Regarding 2017-18, the forecasters said real GVA is


expected to increase by 7.8 per cent, led by growth in
services by 9.2 per cent. Agriculture and allied activities
and industry are expected to grow by 2.7 per cent and 8 per
cent, respectively.

The loan is the second tranche of a $157.5 million financing


facility under the Orissa Integrated Irrigated Agriculture
and Water Management Investment Program. The financing
will be used for modernizing seven irrigation subprojects
resulting in improved irrigation in over 100,000 hectares,
and strengthening of Water User Associations (WUAs)
and the institutional capacity of Odishas Department of
Water Resources. The selected areas for the investment
program are the Baitarani, Brahmani, Budhabalanga, and
Subernarekha river basins and part of the Mahanadi delta.

Current Account Deficit is projected at 1.1 per cent and 1.5


per cent (of GDP) in 2016-17 and 2017-18, respectively.

Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary (Multilateral Institutions),


Department of Economic Affairs and. M. Teresa Kho,
Country Director, ADBs India Resident Mission signed the
loan agreement on behalf of Government of India and ADB
respectively. A separate project agreement was signed by.
P.K. Jena, Principal Secretary, Water Resource Department
of Government of Odisha.

WORLD BANK CUTS 2016 GLOBAL GROWTH


FORECAST TO 2.4%, 09 JUNE 2016

overnment of India and the Asian Development


Bank (ADB) signed a $120 million loan agreement
to improve irrigation and water management
infrastructure in Odisha.

CPI inflation is expected to be at 5.2 per cent in first quarter


of 2016-17 and remain above 5 per cent till fourth quarter of
this fiscal. Centres gross fiscal deficit (GFD) is projected at
3.5 per cent of GDP in 2016-17 and is expected to moderate
to 3.1 per cent of GDP next fiscal.
The results of the survey represent the views of the
respondent forecasters and in no way reflect the views or
forecasts of the RBI, the central bank said.

OUTPUT GROWTH LIKELY TO IMPROVE IN


FY17: RBI SURVEY, 07 JUNE 2016

he World Bank has lowered its forecast for the global


growth in 2016 to 2.4 per cent, saying that the world
economy is facing stronger headwinds.

In its Global Economic Prospects Report, the Washingtonbased institution expected the world economy to grow 2.4
per cent in 2016, 0.5 percentage point lower than the banks
forecast in January.
Growth continues to falter in advanced economies, while
there is considerable divergence of performance across
emerging market and developing economies, and their
overall growth remains below potential.

According to the report, developing economies are forecast


ndias real economy , as measured by the Gross Value to expand by 3.5 per cent in 2016, 0.6 percentage point
Added (GVA), is likely to expand by 7.6 per cent in 2016- lower than its Januarys projection; advanced economies
17 due to improvement in farm and industry sectors, are expected to grow 1.7 per cent this year, 0.5 lower than
its Januarys forecast.
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OLA MONEY PARTNERS WITH eBAY, TWO


OTHER ONLINE MARKET PLATFORMS,
10 JUNE 2016

RBI CANCELS REGISTRATION OF THREE


NBFCS, 11 JUNE 2016

eserve Bank has cancelled registration of three


NBFCs including Escorts Finance and Express
Trading & Securities.

la Money, the wallet payment of cab aggregator


Ola, has partnered with online marketplaces eBay,
YepMe and Askme Bazaar, to allow customers to
pay through its digital payment service.

The apex bank has also terminated the registration certificate


of Jayant Security and Finance.
However, the RBI did not cite any reason behind the
cancellation of registrations.

Customers will also be eligible for an additional 10 per cent


discount on the usage of Ola Money to make their payments
on eBay, which will be valid till June 21, a company
statement said.

179.9% GROWTH IN TOURISTS ARRIVAL ON


E-TOURIST VISA IN MAY 2016 OVER THE
SAME PERIOD IN 2015, 12 JUNE 2016
USA Continues to Occupy Top Slot followed by UK and
China Amongst the Countries Availing E-Tourist Visa
Facility during May 2016

At the time of payment on any of these platforms, both web


and app, customers will get to choose Ola Money as one of
their payment options.

A total of 43,833 tourists arrived in May 2016 on e-Tourist


Visa as compared to 15,659 during the month of May 2015
registering a growth of 179.9%.

On selection, a one touch check-out, if on the app, and a


simple OTP authentication, if on the web, completes the
payment.

Commencing from 27th November 2014 e-Tourist Visa


facility was available until 25th February 2016 for citizens
of 113 countries arriving at 16 Airports in India. The
Government of India has extended this scheme for citizens
of 37 more countries w.e.f 26th February 2016 taking the
tally to 150 countries. The following are the important
highlights of e-Tourist Visa during May, 2016.

MAGICBRICKS PARTNERS SBI FOR HOME


BUYING FESTIVAL, 11 JUNE 2016

INDIA TO GROW AT 7.8 PER CENT IN FY17,


LED BY CONSUMPTION: DBS, 13 JUNE 2016

ealty portal Magicbricks has partnered with State


Bank of India(SBI) to organise an online homebuying festival.

Magicbricks and State Bank of India (SBI) have launched


Indias biggest property festival, Home Buying Festival
(HBF).

ecovery in the Indian economy is likely to continue


and the GDP growth is expected to be higher at
7.8 percent in the current fiscal, although it will be

The three-week long online festival will kick start from


June 10-30.

@Mahendras

TM

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uneven, propped largely by strong consumption and


public expenditure, says a DBS report.

LinkedIn has seen 19 per cent growth year-on-year to


more than 433 million members worldwide while quarterly
member page views rose 34 per cent to over 45 billion. Over
92 million users came from Asia and the Pacific region.

According to the global financial services firm, doubts


remain however on the underlying inconsistencies in the
GDP numbers. For the 2015-16 fiscal, the GDP growth has
been pegged at 7.6 percent.

In the first quarter of 2016, LinkedIns revenue increased 35


per cent year-on-year to reach $861 million. It had forecast
its revenue for the full year 2016 to be in the range of $3.653.7 billion.

We expect growth to gain momentum in 2016-17 fiscal,


with headline real GDP up at 7.8 percent, DBS said in a
research note. Though the January-March growth fared
better than expected on real GDP and gross value added
(GVA) basis, it masked underlying weakness in fixed
investments and non-agricultural growth, the report added.

Microsoft will finance the transaction primarily through


the issuance of new indebtedness. Upon closing, Microsoft
expects LinkedIns financials to be reported as part of
Microsofts Productivity and Business Processes segment.

The Indian economy expanded by 7.6 per cent in 2015-16.

In addition, Microsoft also reiterated its intention to


complete its existing $40 billion share repurchase
authorisation by December 31, 2016, the same timeframe as
previously committed. LinkedIn has more than 9,700 fulltime employees and is headquartered in Mountain View,
California. It has offices in 30 cities, including Bengaluru,
Beijing, Chicago, Dubai, Dublin, Hong Kong and London.

The government expects the economy to grow by 7-7.75 per


cent in the current fiscal.
Regarding the Reserve Banks policy stance, the report said
that limited disinflation is expected to narrow the room for
further rate cuts.
Transmission of 150 bps rate cut since January 2015 and
provision of liquidity to meet will continue to be a priority
for the RBI, until the room to ease further re-emerges, DBS
said. In its policy review meet on June 7, RBI Governor
Raghuram Rajan had kept interest rates intact citing rising
inflationary pressure but hinted at a reduction later this year
if good monsoon helps ease inflation.

Morgan Stanley acted as exclusive financial advisor to


Microsoft and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP was the
legal advisor to Microsoft.
Qatalyst Partners and Allen & Company LLC are acting
as financial advisors to LinkedIn while Wilson Sonsini
Goodrich and Rosati, Professional Corporation, is acting as
legal advisor.

MICROSOFT AGREES TO BUY LINKEDIN


FOR $26.2 BILLION, 14 JUNE 2016

RBI UNVEILS NEW SCHEME TO TACKLE


BAD LOANS OF BIG FIRMS, 14 JUNE 2016

n a bid to further strengthen the lenders ability to deal


with stressed assets and put real assets back on track,
the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) unveiled yet another
scheme Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed
Assets (S4A) for reworking the financial structure of
big corporate entities facing genuine difficulties.

echnology giant Microsoft will acquire LinkedIn for


$196 per share in an all-cash deal valued at $26.2
billion, inclusive of LinkedIns net cash.

The S4A envisages determination of the sustainable


debt level for a stressed borrower, and bifurcation of the
outstanding debt into sustainable debt and equity/quasiJeff Weiner will remain CEO of LinkedIn, reporting to Mr. equity instruments which are expected to provide upside
Nadella. Reid Hoffman, Chairman of the board, co-founder to the lenders when the borrower turns around, the RBI
and controlling shareholder of LinkedIn, and Weiner both said in a notification. The scheme will be considered if
fully support this transaction, the statement said. In India, the aggregate exposure (including accrued interest) of all
LinkedIn has about 650 employees and R&D operations in institutional lenders in the account is more than Rs 500
Bengaluru.
crore (including rupee loans, foreign currency loans and
external commercial borrowings).
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LinkedIn will retain its distinct brand, culture and
independence.

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DELL PARTNERS WITH SHIV NADAR


UNIVERSITY FOR RESEARCH, 14 JUNE 2016

The April WPI-based inflation was at 0.34 per cent and in


March it was (-)0.45 per cent while it stood at (-)2.20 per
cent in May 2015. Food inflation rose to 7.88 per cent in
May as against 4.23 per cent in April, showed a government
data. Inflation in vegetables came in at 12.94 per cent, a
sharp rise from 2.21 per cent, in May. Pulses inflation
remained stubborn at 35.56 per cent.

ell and Shiv Nadar University have signed an


agreement to collaborate and drive research and
innovation.

Under this agreement, Dell will engage with faculty


members at the university to mentor students and jointly
work on technology projects in areas such as big data,cloud
computing and Internet of Things.

Prices of egg, meat and fish paced up by 9.75 per cent and
in fruits the rise was 3.80 per cent. However, kitchen staple
onion continued to witness decline at (-)21.70 per cent in
May. Manufactured products inflation too inched up to 0.91
per cent from 0.71 per cent in April.

Through this partnership, Dell has set up two laboratories


jointly with the university to integrate theoretical concepts
with practical experience.

The hardening of WPI food inflation follows the trend of


retail inflation . Retail inflation touched a 21-month high
of 5.76 per cent in May mainly due to rising prices of food
items. The hardening of inflation could further dent the
chances of a interest rate cut by Reserve Bank in its policy
review in the months ahead.

DCB BANK LAUNCHES AADHAAR-BASED


ATM IN BENGALURU, 14 JUNE 2016

In its policy review earlier in June, RBI had retained


January 2017 retail inflation target at 5 per cent, though
with an upward bias on account of firming of oil prices and
implementation of 7th Pay Commission recommendations.

CABINET APPROVES MERGER OF 5


ASSOCIATE BANKS WITH SBI, 15 JUNE 2016

CB Bank, launched a card-less and PIN-less


ATM in Bengaluru. The ATM accepts Aadhaar
number and Aadhaar fingerprint (biometric) instead
of ATM / debit card and PIN to dispense cash from the bank
account.
The bank had, in April launched a pilot Aadhaar-based ATM
in Mumbai. This was followed by launch of Aadhaar-based
ATMs in Odisha and Punjab.

Nandan Nilekani, Chairperson and Co-founder of


EkStep Foundation, a non-profit literacy organisation, &
inaugurated the facility .

he Union Cabinet approved the merger of five


associate banks State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur,
State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Patiala,
WHOLESALE PRICE-BASED INFLATION AT
State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Hyderabad as well
0.79% IN MAY, VEGETABLE PRICES RISE,
as Bharatiya Mahila Bank with State Bank of India. Last
14 JUNE 2016
month, SBI cleared proposal for merger of subsidiary banks
ising for the second straight month, wholesale price- and Bharatiya Mahila Bank. The merger will create Rs 37based inflation jumped to 0.79 per cent in May with lakh crore banking behemoth with over 50 crore customers.
vegetable prices witnessing a double-digit growth.
SBI first merged State Bank of Saurashtra with itself in
2008. Two years later, State Bank of Indore was merged.
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Burning Topics of the Month

1. Sania & Maria triumph in Rome WTA event.


2. Virat Kohli becomes 1st player to score 4000
IPL Runs.
3. Indian womens team settle for bronze in
Thomas Uber Cup.
GEREMEW AND JEPCHIRCHIR POWERED
TO IMPRESSIVE VICTORIES AT THE NINTH
TCS WORLD 10K, 16 MAY 2016

SPORTS
Mladenovic at Porsche Tennis Grand Prix and Mutua Madrid
Open. Across the net were familiar foes in Makarova and
Vesnina, who were playing just their second tournament
together since last summer, having briefly split as the former
healed a leg injury.
Winners of the last three major titles, Sania and Martina
roared through the opening set and carved out a 5-3 lead in
the second. But the Russians levelled the set and later the
match in a tie-break.
Sania and Martina shook off the hiccup to beat back their
opponents and a gloomy forecast to capture their 14th title as
a pair, and their fifth of 2016.
Heading into the French Open on a four-match winning
streak, Santina next look to complete a box set of Grand
Slam titles - a Santina Slam - that began at Wimbledon over
Makarova and Vesnina, and took them through victories at
the US Open and Australian Open in January.

JOE ROOT CLAIMS ENGLAND AWARDS


TRIPLE, 17 MAY 2016

osinet Geremew and Peres Jepchirchir powered


to impressive victories at the ninth TCS World
10K in Bengaluru.

Taking control of the mens race in the eighth kilometre,


Geremew held on to win in 28:36 to become the first athlete
to secure back-to-back titles in Bengaluru. Jepchirchir, the
world half marathon champion, broke from the field in the
seventh kilometre to win in 32:15, 13 seconds clear of her
Kenyan compatriot Helah Kiprop.

SANIA AND MARTINA TRIUMPH IN ROME


WTA EVENT, 16 MAY 2016

ania Mirza and Martina Hingis won their first ever


title on red clay, capturing the International BNL
dItalia trophy with a 6-1, 6-7(5), 10-3 win over
Ekaterina Makarova and ElenaVesnina in the final .

oe Root was named Test Player of the Year, Limited


Overs Player of the Year and Fans Player of the Year
at Englands annual awards ceremony.

The Yorkshire batsman 25, hit two centuries in Englands


Ashes triumph last year, scored four one-day tons and was
his teams leading scorer at the recent World Twenty20
tournament in India.
He overcame competition from Stuart Broad and Ben Stokes
for the Test award and edged Jos Buttler and David Willey in
the Limited Overs category, with both prizes decided upon
by a media poll.

VIRAT KOHLI BECOMES FIRST PLAYER TO


SCORE 4000 IPL RUNS, 19 MAY 2016

iratKohli became the first player in the history of the


Indian Premier League to score 4000 runs. His 113
run knock off 50 balls in the 15 over game against
KXIP saw him cross the 4000 mark.

The joint number one, Sania and Martina were playing


their third straight final since the start of the clay court
swing, falling both times to Caroline Garcia and Kristina
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HARI BECOMES SECOND INDIAN TO BAG
PODIUM IN ASIA DREAM CUP, 21 MAY 2016

Kohli was batting with as many as 7 stitches on his hand


and very efficiently defeated his injury.
He now has 865 runs in this years IPL. Kohli hit 8 sixes and
12 fours in his mammoth score as RCB posted 211-3 in the
rain curtailed match in their 15 overs.

INDIAN WOMENS 4X100M RELAY TEAM


BREAKS 18-YEAR-OLD NATIONAL RECORD,
19 MAY 2016

he Indian 4x100m womens relay team broke the


18-year-old national record to finish in 4th position
at the IAAF World Challenge .

The 4x100m women relay team comprising Dutee Chand


,Srabani Nanda , HM Jyoti and Merlin Joseph clocked
44.03s to finish the race, breaking the 18-year-old record
of 44.43s created by the quartet of Saraswati Dey, Rachita
Mistry, EB Shyla and PT Usha on July 22, 1998 in Fukuoka,
Japan. The Indian team ran with Merlin starting the race
with Jyoti running the second followed by the Srabani with
Dutee running the anchor leg.

ndian motorcycle racer Hari Krishnan romped home to


his first-ever podium finish at the international level,
finishing a creditable second in the Race 2 of the Asia
Dream Cup .
Putting in a spectacular performance from start-to-finish,
the 22-year old from Chennai provided ample proof of his
talent with his aggressive racing style.

The host nation grabbed the first and third positions with
China A and China B team on the first and third position
respectively while Japan finished second.

Hari is a product of Hondas training Ten10 Racing academy


and selected by the company to represent Indiabased on
his consistent performances in the Honda One Make Race
Championships. With the podium, he became the secondIndian to do so after S Sarath Kumar had finished second in
Qatar during 2014 season.

EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL 2016: SEVILLA


DEFEATS LIVERPOOL IN BASEL, 19 MAY 2016

RENATO SANCHES BREAKS CRISTIANO


RONALDOS LONG STANDING PORTUGAL
RECORD, 21 MAY 2016

evilla achieved a remarkable hat-trick as it became


the first club to win three successive Europa League
titles with victory over Jurgen Klopps Liverpool.

The Spanish club came from behind to defeat its English


opponent 3-1 at the St. Jakob-Park stadium in Basel,
Switzerland, with Kevin Gameirocanceling out Daniel
Sturridges beautifully controlled first half strike before a
brace from Coke sealed Sevillas success.

enato Sanches, who is just 18 years old, has shattered


Cristiano Ronaldos long standing 12-year-old
record of being the youngest footballer to be called
up by Portugal for a major tournament. Ronaldo had set this
record by entering the Euro 2004 with Portugal, when he
was 19 years and four months old.

There was controversy over Cokes second goal on 70


minutes with Liverpool players claiming the Sevilla
captain was offside before firing beyond goalkeeper Simon
Mignolet. The victory marks Sevillas fifth Europa League On the other hand, Sanches is only 18 years and 10 months
success in 11 years and ensures it will qualify for next old. He was chosen in the Portuguese squad for the Euro
seasons Champions League.
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2016 . The young Portuguese had only two caps for the
national team, but his incredible performances for Benfica,
that sealed him a move to Bayern Munich, have also earned
him a spot in the national team.
Sanches earned the spot after Monaco midfielder Bernardo
Silva was injured last weekend. Striker Danny and full-back
Fabio Coentrao have also been ruled out due to long-term
injuries.

time, according to information received. The double IBSF


World Six-Red Snooker Champion stamped his authority
again in the short format of the game, defeating top seeded
Malaysian Keen Hoh Moh by 7-5 .

Renato Sanches has had a truly magnificent break-through


season with Benfica having scored two goals in the process.
Last week, he signed a bumper contract with Bundesliga
winners Bayern Munich, who also snapped Mats Hummels
shortly afterwards.

Advani won the final in a battle of fluctuating fortunes by


keeping his nerves intact.

INDIAN WOMENS TEAM SETTLE FOR


BRONZE IN THOMAS AND UBER CUP,
21 MAY 2016

With the Indian ace leading the match 4-2 at the end of six
frames, Keen Hoh Moh fought back by winning the seventh
frame, 38-21 only to lose the eight frame 24-45 with Advani
securing a 45 break.

ASHWIN RETAINS NO. 2 SPOT IN TEST


BOWLERS RANKING, 23 MAY 2016

ndian womens team settled for a bronze medal after


suffering a 0-3 defeat at the hands of defending
champions China in the semifinals of the Uber Cup
badminton championship . After top shuttlersSainaNehwal
and PV Sindhu went down narrowly against their respective
opponents in the two singles match, JwalaGutta and N Sikki
Reddy also bit the dust in the first doubles, ending Indias
campaign. Indian eves had scripted history in the last
edition when they won a historic bronze in New Delhi and
they repeated the feat this time at Kunshan Sports Center
Stadium. Indian eves, who assured themselves a bronze
after 3-1 win over Thailand , needed a magical performance
to tame 13-time champions China at home but unfortunately
the miracle did not happen.

ff-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has managed


to retain his second spot in the latest ICC Player
Rankings for Test Bowlers issued, while no Indian
features in the top 10 batsmen list.
Ashwin (871) trails Englands Stuart Broad (872) by just
a point while another Englishman James Anderson has
returned to the top three following his 10-wicket haul at
Headingley against Sri Lanka to leapfrog Yasir Shah of
Pakistan and South Africas Dale Steyn. Anderson earned
49 points for his performance, which has put him on a
career-high 854 points.

In the second game, Sindhu had a healthy 18-8 advantage


but all of it vaporised as Shixian crafted her way back in the
contest and caught up with the Indian at 20-20. But in the
end it was the Chinese who had the last laugh.

The ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen is headed


by Australia captain Steven Smith (925), followed by
Englands Joe Root (876), New Zealand skipper Kane
Williamson (868), South Africas HashimAmla (860) and
veteran Pakistan batsman Younus Khan (826).

PANKAJ ADVANI WINS ASIAN 6-RED


SNOOKER TITLE, 23 MAY 2016

ndias ace cueist Pankaj Advani created history in Abu Ashwin continues to head the Test all-rounders ranking
Dhabi by clinching the Asian 6-Red Snooker title. with 406 points. Bangladeshs Shakib Al Hasan is second
Advani thus became the first in the world to hold both ahead of Englands Broad.
world and continental titles in 6-red snooker at the same
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MOHUN BAGAN FLOORS AIZAWL, WINS


14TH FED CUP TITLE, 23 MAY 2016

And the hero of the day was Hans-Kristian Vittinghus.


The 30-year-old Vittinghus stayed calm throughout the
match to beat an inexperienced 21-year-old Ihsan Maulana
Mustofa 21-15, 21-7 in the decider and wild celebration
erupted in Denmarks camp.
Earlier, Denmark had won two points through Viktor
Axelsen and Jan O Jorgensen. Indonesias two points
came through their doubles players - Mohd Ahsan-Hendra
Setiawan and Angga Pratama-Ricky Karanda Suwardi.

ROHAN BOPANNA GETS CLOSER TO TOP-10,


LEANDER PAES BACK IN TOP-50,
23 MAY 2016

ohun Bagan perfected a spectacular second-half


resurgence to floor Aizawl FC by a record 5-0
margin and regain the Federation Cup football
title after eight years, at the Indira Gandhi Stadium
..ProminentFiguring prominently in Bagans win with two
goals was Mizoram striker Jeje Lalpekhlua while Haitian
Sony Norde, Dhanachandra Singh and Bikramjit Singh
scored one each.

ndias doubles specialist Rohan Bopanna raised hopes


of getting a direct entry into the Rio Olympic Games
as he rose by two rungs to be 11th in the latest ATP
Ranking charts issued.

He scored eight goals, including a hat-trick, in the Fed Cup.

DYNAMIC DENMARK WIN FIRST THOMAS


CUP TITLE, BEAT INDONESIA 3-2,
23 MAY 2016

Bopanna and his Romanian partner Florin Mergea had


earned 360 points with a semifinal place at Rome Masters.
Leander Paes, who is gunning for his seventh Olympics and
is playing at the Challenger level to earn points, was back in
top-50 with a jump of four places.
Meanwhile, Sania Mirza continued to be world number one
in womens doubles ranking after winning the title in Rome.

FIFAS DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL


MARKUS KATTNER DISMISSED WITH
IMMEDIATE EFFECT, 24 MAY 2016

enmark created history by winning the Thomas


Cup Finals for the first time.

After crashing out in eight previous finals since the


tournaments inception in 1949, Denmark finally got their
acts right by beating fancied Indonesia 3-2 in the final to
become the first European country to win the world team
title.
They are only the fifth nation to win the Thomas Cup.

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SONIA LATHER LONE INDIAN TO MAKE


SEMIS OF WORLD CSHIPS, 25 MAY 2016

IFAs Deputy Secretary General Markus Kattner


has been dismissed from his position effective
immediately. FIFAs internal investigation uncovered
breaches of his fiduciary responsibilities in connection with
his employment contract.
FIFA will not comment further on any of the details, but will
continue its cooperation with the relevant authorities.

BARCELONA BEATS SEVILLA TO WIN THE


COPA DEL REY FOR THE 28TH TIME, 24 MAY
2016

en-man Barcelona completed the Spanish league


and cup double as two goals in extra time clinched
the Copa Del Rey. Luis Enriques side claimed the
trophy for the 28th time despite having Javier Mascherano
sent off in the first half.

ormer Asian silver-medallist Sonia Lather (57kg)


was the lone Indian boxer to make the semifinals and
assure herself of a medal at the AIBA Womens World
Championships even as four others lost their quarterfinal bouts .

Jordi Alba and Neymar scored for Barcelona, who can boast
back-to-back doubles after winning La Liga.
Carrico was dismissed in stoppage time at the end of extra
time when he received a yellow card for a foul on Messi and
another for his angry protest.

KERALAS ANMOL SETS NEW RECORD IN


GIRLS 3000M RUN, 27 MAY 2016

Messi then fed Neymar for the Brazilian to add a second


with a confident finish.

LAHIRI ENSURES US OPEN BERTH; WILL


PLAY 8th SUCCESSIVE MAJOR, 24 MAY 2016

eralas distance runner Anmol Thampi bettered


the national and meet records in the 3000 metre as
the hosts began their campaign in style at the 13th
National Youth (Under-18) Athletics championships.

ndian golfer Anirban Lahiri will play his eighth


successive Major next month after confirming his place
for the US Open at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont,
Pennsylvania from June 16 to 19.

Haryana athletes also shone bright bagging three golds,


including in the 100 metre run in the boys division, on the
first day of the three-day meet at C H Mohammed Koya
Stadium in the Calicut University campus. Thampi clocked
a record 10:00.22 seconds, surpassing the national record of
10:08.29 set by S Jadhav of Maharastra in 2013 and the meet
record of 10:08.45 set by Aleesha, also of Kerala, in 2015.

Following his Tied 46th place at the AT&T Byron Nelson


golf, Lahiri stayed at the 56th place, which ensured that he
stayed on in Top-60 of the World Golf Rankings. The US
Open is the only Major where Lahiri has not made the cut
so far. This will be the eighth successive Major for Lahiri,
who is also confirmed for the British Open Championships
and the PGA Championships later this year.

Bihars Rima Patel, came second, finishing the distance


in 10:19.61 sec and Maharashtras Komal Chandrakant
won the bronze in 10:30.59s. In the boys 3000m run,
Tamil Nadus Bahadur Patel claimed the gold covering the
distance in 8:36.76s. Anoj Kumar Yadav of Manipur came
second clocking 8:37.84s and Uttarkhands Mohan Saini
finished third with 8:37.98s.

After his maiden appearance at a Major in Open


Championships in 2012, Lahiri has played seven Majors
in a row dating back to the Open in 2014. He has the best
streak of Major appearances by an Indian.

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HOCKEY INDIA INDUCTS PSPB AS


ASSOCIATE MEMBER, 27 MAY 2016

SUNRISERS HYDERABAD TEAM WON IPL 9


2016, 30 MAY 2016

ockey India inducted Petroleum Sports Promotion


Board (PSPB) as an associate member, making it
the 36th inclusion in this category.

unrisers Hyderabad clinched the 2016 IPL title by


beating Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final.
The Hyderabad unit sucessfully defended 209 runs
even after fifties from Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli for RCB.
After their effort, Twitterati was in full praise of the team as
they won their maiden title.

With this inclusion, PSPB can now take part in all the annual
National Championships which are being conducted by HI.
PSPB was established in June 1979 and registered through
Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 as extended to the
Union Territory of Delhi.

IPL 2016: VIRAT KOHLI BAGS ORANGE CAP


AFTER RECORD-BREAKING SEASON FOR
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE,
30 MAY 2016

Presently, a 12-member organisation (ONGC, IOCL, HPCL,


OIL, GAIL, EIL, CPCL, MRPL, NRL, BalmerLawrie and
PLL) form the PSPB.

DHIRENDRA KUMAR BREAKS RECORD TO


CLAIM POLE VAULT GOLD, 28 MAY 2016

oyal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain and


Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli bagged the coveted
Orange Cap in the ninth edition of Indian premier
League 2016. Virat Kohli amassed 973 runs in 16 matches.
Kohli had a record-breaking season for RCB hitting as many
as four-centuries most by any player in the history of IPL.
RCB won 3 of 4 the matches that Kohli cracked hundred.
Kohli averaged a phenomenal 81.08 with a highest score
of 113. David Warner came in a close second with 848
runs in 17 matches playing for IPL 9 champions Sunrisers
Hyderabad. Full Cricket Scorecard: Royal Challengers
Bangalore vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, IPL 2016 Final

hirendra Kumar of Gujarat shattered the national


and meet records to bag the gold in the boys Pole
Vault category on the second day of 13th National
Youth (Under 18) Athletics championship.
Kumar vaulted a height of 4.72m to claim the first place in
boys Pole Vault, bettering the national record of 4.70m set
by P Kumar Patel of Uttar Pradesh in 2010 and the meet
record of 4.41 m by Kundan of Haryana in 2011. Delhis
Manish Singh came second with 4.40m followed by
Krishnan of Haryana who finished third with 4.30m.

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AB de Villiers came in at No.3 in the leading run scorer


of IPL 9, making with 687 runs in 16 matches with the
highest strike-rate among the top 5 (168.79). Kolkata Night
Riders (KKR) skipper came in a fourth with 501 runs in 15
matches, SRHs Shikhar Dhawan also scored 501 runs in
17 matches. Kohlis team fell short of just 8-runs of the IPL
title chasing SRhs mammoth target of 208 runs in the final
at Bangalore.

and have also become the first team to lift the trophy five
times in the UEFA Champions League era.

RUSSIAS MEN WIN GOLD AT EUROPEAN


GYMNASTICS MEET, 30 MAY 2016

DELHIS KIRTI GUPTA SHOOTS DOUBLE


GOLD, 30 MAY 2016

ussias men won the team final at the European


Artistic Gymnastics Championships. The Russia team,
comprising Denis Abliazian, David Belyavskiy, Nikita
Ignatyev, Nikolai Kuksenkov and Nikita Nagornyy, won three
gold, two silver and one bronze medals and recorded a score
of 271.378. Great Britain and Armenia were joint second, with
one gold and two silver medals each.

ndias Kirti Gupta won the individual gold as well as


team gold medal in trap event at the 8th International
Junior Shotgun Cup shooting 2016 at Orimattila,
Finland.

ALASTAIR COOK SURPASSES SACHIN


TENDULKAR AS FASTEST TO 10K RUNS IN
TESTS, 31 MAY 2016

The silver medal went to Italian shooter Erica Sessa and


Russias Natalia Chestova got the bronze.
Italys Erica shot 65/75, the highest in the semifinals. Natalia
scored 60/75 while Kirti shot 58/75 clays.
In the finals, Kirti shot 14 to win the gold medal while Erica
and Natalia scored 12 and 10 for silver and bronze medals,
respectively.

lastair Cook became the first England cricketer


to cross the 10,000-run mark in Test cricket, and
the youngest overall, beating Sachin Tendulkars
record set in 2005 by five months at the age of 31 years,
five months. Tendulkar - Test crickets leading run-scorer
- was 31 years, ten months 20 days old when he scored
his 10,000th run in 2005. England captain Cook, already
his countrys leading Test run-scorer, came into the ongoing
second Test against Sri Lanka at Chester-le-Street just 20
runs away from becoming the first Englishman to join the
coveted 10k club. Cook was dismissed for 15 runs in the first
innings and the landmark came in post-lunch session of the
fourth day in the second over of the second innings when he
flicked a Nuwan Pradeep delivery to mid-wicket for four.

The Indian team comprising Kirti, Bhopals Manisha Keer


and Pragat Dubey won the gold medal in the trap shooting
event, while the silver medal went to Germanys shooting
team.

REAL MADRID LIFT 11TH UEFA CHAMPIONS


LEAGUE TITLE IN MILAN, 30 MAY 2016

Cook is the 12th batsman to get to 10,000 runs in Tests, after


Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis, Rahul Dravid,
Kumar Sangakkara, Brian Lara, ShivnarineChanderpaul,
Mahela Jayawardene, Allan Border, Steve Waugh and
Sunil Gavaskar. Pakistans Younis Khan is the next active
batsman with a chance at entering the club, having 9116 to
his name, and there is a chance he joins Cook with Pakistan
playing four Tests in England later this summer.

eal Madrid strengthened their position as the


European Cups dominant force with their 11th
victory in the competition following their penalty
shoot-out defeat of neighbours Atltico Madrid in Milan

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SANDHU BECOMES FIRST INDIAN TO PLAY


IN EUROPEAN TOP LEAGUE, 31 MAY 2016

NUWANKULASEKARA RETIRES FROM TEST


CRICKET, 01 JUNE 2016

ational football team goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh


Sandhu has achieved a historic feat as he became
the first Indian to feature in a top-tier league match
in Europe by turning out for his Norwegian side Stabaek
FC.

The 24-year-old Indian kept a clean sheet in his first


Tippeligaen (Norwegian Premier League) start for Stabaek
FC, helping them claim a dominant 5-0 triumph over IK
Start in an away league match .

uwanKulasekara, the 33-year old Sri Lanka seamer,


has announced his retirement from Test cricket.

Kulasekara had played 21 Tests and picked up 48


wickets since making his debut in April 2005. Although
pace wasnt his strong suit, he had the ability to move
the new ball and was known for his accuracy. Among his
standout performances were the two four-wicket hauls he
took against Pakistan in Colombo in 2009 to finish with a
match-winning 8 for 58 in 28.4 overs.

Sandhu, who signed for Stabaek FC in 2014, has not played


in the Tippeligaen though he has already featured in five
matches in the Norwegian Cup. He has thus far played
second fiddle to Ivorian goalkeeper SayoubaMande who is
the first choice Stabaek FC goalkeeper.

Kulasekara played his last Test in June 2014 at Lords,


where Sri Lanka clung on to a nail-biting draw. He was
not in the XI at Headingley, though, where Sri Lanka beat
England to seal a landmark series win.

Sandhu will directly join the national football team in Laos


where India are playing their play-off match of the 2019
Asian Cup Qualifiers on June 2.

ENGLISH PACER JAMES ANDERSON


BECOMES NUMBER-ONE TEST BOWLER,
01 JUNE 2016

HERO MOTOCORP EXTENDS TITLE


SPONSORSHIP OF CARIBBEAN PREMIER
LEAGUE UNTIL 2018, 01 JUNE 2016

ndian two wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp


Ltd has extended its Title Sponsorship of the popular
Caribbean Premier League (CPL) for another three
years. With this extension, the mega cricketing event will
continue to be called the Hero Caribbean Premier League
until the 2018 season.

ngland paceman James Anderson has topped the


ICCPlayer Rankings for Test Bowlers for the first
time in his career after bowling his side to a ninewicket victory over Sri Lanka in the second Test.

The New Delhi headquartered Hero Moto Corp became


the Title Sponsor of the Twenty20 cricket league in the
Caribbean for the first time in 2015.

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Anderson (884) leads Indias RavichandranAshwin by 13


points, who maintained the second position with 871 points.
RavindraJadeja, another Indian featuring in the top ten,
maintained his sixth position with 789 points.

Under this contract, which includes media and digital rights,


Star India will become Roland-Garros exclusive media
partner for India and the Indian subcontinent (Bangladesh,
Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka).

Anderson took three for 36 in the first innings and five for
58 in the second, leapfrogging team-mate Stuart Broad and
Ashwin to the coveted number-one position.

Star India will offer extensive coverage of the full 15 days


of the tournament, and all of the French Tennis Federations
(FFT) on-ground initiatives in the region.

Anderson is the fourth England bowler to top the bowlers


table since Ian Botham first achieved this feat in 1980. Steve
Harmison stormed up the chart in 2004, while Broad vaulted
to the number-one position earlier this year following the
Johannesburg Test against South Africa.

FILM STARS JOIN TENDULKAR AS COOWNERS OF KERALA BLASTERS,


01 JUNE 2016

LI NA BECOMES 60TH MEMBER OF LAUREUS


ACADEMY, 01 JUNE 2016

consortium of investors, including Telugu film stars


Chiranjeevi and AkkineniNagarjuna, joined cricket
legend Sachin Tendulkar as co-owners of Indian
Super League franchise, Kerala Blasters.
Besides the duo, two other new co-owners are leading
film producer AlluArvind and industrialist and serial
entrepreneur Nimmagadda Prasad.

etired Chinese tennis star Li Na has been named the


60th member of the Laureus World Sports Academy.

The consortium has purchased stake in Blasters Sports Pvt


Ltd, the owners of Kerala Blasters Football Club.

The former world No.2 joins the 59 fellow sporting


legends in the Laureus Academy including tennis greats
Boris Becker, IlieNastase, Martina Navratilova and Monica
Seles.

KOHLI, DHONI THE ONLY CRICKETERS IN


ESPNS WORLD FAME 100, 02 JUNE 2016

Li Na became professional in 1999 and went on to win nine


singles Womens Tennis Association and 19 International
Tennis Federation titles throughout her career.
As well as winning the 2011 French Open, Li Na also
achieved Grand Slam glory at the Australian Open in 2014.
She retired from the professional game in September 2014
following a serious knee injury. In 2015, Li Na was presented
with the Laureus Academy Exceptional Achievement Award
at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Shanghai.

STAR INDIA BAGS 5 YEAR BROADCAST


RIGHTS FOR FRENCH OPEN, 01 JUNE 2016

ountrys leading broadcaster Star India announced


that it has bagged exclusive broadcasting rights for
the next five French Open from 2017 to 2021.

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iratKohli, in irresistible form in Twenty20 cricket


and the captain of the Indian Test team, has found
himself in the top ten of the global sports fame list
put together by ESPN.

The world number one downed old rival Andy Murray 3-6,
6-1, 6-2, 6-4 to claim a 12th career major and join Don
Budge in 1938 and Rod Laver , in 1962 and 1969, as the
only players to simultaneously possess the French Open,
Australian Open, US Open and Wimbledon trophies.

Kohli was at No. 8 in the ESPN World Fame 100 rankings,


which is otherwise dominated by basketball and football
players. However, cricket and India had a second entry in
the top 20, with MS Dhoni, Indias ODI and T20 captain, at
number 13. Tennis player SaniaMirza was the third Indian
on the list, at number 41.

Djokovic, 29, also put himself halfway to the calendar


Grand Slam, last achieved by Laver 47 years ago.
But he did it the hard way as the final reached its conclusion,
being broken in the eighth game of the fourth set as he
served for the title and then squandering two championship
points in the 10th before he sealed victory when Murray
netted a backhand.

INDIA DROPS ONE PLACE TO 163RD IN FIFA


RANKINGS, 02 JUNE 2016

Playing in his 20th final at the majors and sixth in succession,


the Serb superstar is the first man since Jim Courier in 1992
to win the Australian and French Opens back-to-back.
Victory also allowed Djokovic to stretch his winning record
over 29-year-old Murray to 24-10 overall and 8-2 in Grand
Slams.

LUCKNOW TO HOST JUNIOR HOCKEY


WORLD CUP, 06 JUNE 2016

ndia, who beat Laos 1-0 in Vientiane in a play-off match


of the 2019 Asian Cup Qualifiers today, are one place
behind Myanmar among the Asian countries at 29th
place.
Iran and Korea are the two highest ranked teams in Asia, at
39th and 50th respectively.
Overall, there has been no movement with Argentina
and Belgium occupying the number one and two spot
respectively.

DJOKOVIC WINS FRENCH OPEN,


COMPLETES NON-CALENDAR GRAND
SLAM, 06 JUNE 2016

he Capital city of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow will host


this years FIH Junior Mens Hockey World Cup.

The official said the venue for the event was decided
after Hockey India President Narendra Batra met UP
Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav who accepted the national
federations invitation to host the tournament.
The FIH Junior World Cup will be held between December
8 to December 18 and would be the first international
hockey competition to be hosted in Lucknow.

The Chief Minister said hockey is the national game and


many masters of the game from the state like legendary
Dhyanchand, K D Singh Babu along with other men and
women players have made their place in the national team.
ovak Djokovic captured a first French Open at the Batra said Junior World Cup was one of the most prestigious
12th time, becoming just the third man in history tournament and best 16 teams of the world would participate
to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time. in it.
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The countries that will participate in the Junior World Cup,


include hosts India, Argentina, Autralia, Austria, Belgium,
Canada, Egypt, England, Pakistan, Germany, Japan, Korea,
Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa and Spain.

Meanwhile, Japanese womens doubles players


MisakiMatsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi edged Chinas
Tang Yuanting and Yu Yang 21-15, 8-21, 21-15 to lift their
first Indonesian Open title.

The competition would be aired live in 100 countries of the


world.

The Japanese pair walked away with a prize of $71,000


U.S. dollars while the Chinese duo earned $34,000.

SHUTTLERS CHONG WEI, TAI TZU BAG


SINGLES TITLES AT INDONESIA OPEN,
06 JUNE 2016

Ayaka said the victory came after they well adjusted their
game in the one hour and six minute final.
In the mixed doubles final, Chinese pair of Xu Chen and Ma
Jin successfully defended their title as they defeated South
Korean Ko Sung Hyun and Kim Ha Na 21-15, 16-21, 21-13
in 58 minutes.

ROHAN BOPANNA OFFICIALLY ENTERS


TOP-10, SECURES DIRECT ENTRY FOR RIO
2016 OLYMPICS, 06 JUNE 2016

eteran Malaysian shuttler Lee Chong Wei and


Chinese Taipeis rising star Tai Tzu Ying won
the mens singles and womens singles titles
respectively in the Indonesia Open Superseries.

ndian tennis star Rohan Bopanna officially returned to


top-10 in the ATP ranking doubles chart, securing a direct
entry into the mens doubles event of the Rio Olympic
Games. After exiting the French Open at quarterfinal stage,
Bopanna needed defending champions Marcelo Melo and
Ivan Dodig to lose in the semi-finals to return to top-10.

Chong Wei came from behind to beat Danish fifth seed Jan
Jorgensen 17-21, 21-19, 21-17 in an hour and 13 minutes
for his sixth Indonesia Open crown.
Jorgensen, the 5th seed, said he was disappointed for the
defeat because he could have won the game if he had grabbed
the crucial point in the second game, reports Xinhua.

As Melo and Dodig lost, Bopanna gained a position to be


ranked 10 in the doubles chart issued . Veteran Leander
Paes, who also made the quarterfinals, gained five places to
be placed 46 now.

World No.2 Chong Wei didnt attend the press conference


as he had to rush to the airport to catch his flight. The former
World No.1 pocketed $67,500 for the title, with runner-up
Jorgensen receiving $34,200 dollars.

Bopanna being a top-10 player not only gets a direct entry but
also has the choice to pick his partner for the mens doubles
event irrespective of his ranking. The next best players in
the doubles for India are Purav Raja (103) DivijSharan
(114), SakethMyneni (125), JeevanNedunchezhiyan (134)
and Mahesh Bhupathi (164).

Chong Wei now has a 15-1 advantage in career meetings


against World No.5 Jorgensen. The Danish shuttlers only
win came in 2009 at the China Open.
In the womens singles contest, Tai stunned former
world champion Yihan Wang of China 21-17, 21-8 in
just 34 minutes at the landmark badminton stadium of
IstoraSenayan.

In the singles, out-of-action Yuki Bhambri has now slipped


six more places to 147 and is followed by Saketh (150) and
RamkumarRamanathan (224).

World No.9 Tai, 21, now leads 5-3 against No.3 Yihan in a
head-to-head record.

In the womens doubles chart, SaniaMirza continued to be


joint world number one with Swiss partner Martina Hingis.

In the mens doubles final, South Koreas Lee Yong Dae and
YooYeonSeong defeated Chinas Chai Biao and Hong Wei
13-21, 21-13, 21-16 in an hour and 13 minutes.

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PrarthanaThombare was second-highest ranked player at


number 209. In the singles, Ankita Raina dropped out of
top-300 as she lost 10 spots to be 306.
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SERENA WILLIAMS DETHRONES MARIA


SHARAPOVA AS WORLDS HIGHEST PAID
FEMALE ATHLETE, 07 JUNE 2016

BRAZIL TO HOST COPA AMERICA 2019,


08 JUNE 2016

ONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez has let


slip that Brazil will host the Copa America in 2019.

The South American giants, who staged the 2014


World Cup, were widely expected to be named as hosts but
no official confirmation had been made. Brazil were set to
host the 2015 edition of the tournament but Chile, next on
CONMEBOLs alphabetical rotation policy, were chosen
instead due to the fact that Brazil were hosting the 2013
Confederations Cup, 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic
Games.

erena Williams may have come off second best in the


final of the French Open, but she has claimed the top
spot in terms of being the worlds highest paid female
athlete.
According to Forbes magazine, Williams has beaten out
fellow tennis player Maria Sharapova for the number one
spot.
Williams overtaking ends Sharapovas 11-year run atop the
list, as she earned US$28.9 million (NZ$41.9M) over the
past 12 months.

The United States been great hosts, just like Chile were last
year and like Brazil will be in 2019.
Brazil have an excellent history when it comes to hosting
the Copa America, having won all four editions (1919,
1922, 1949 and 1989) that it has staged.

American mixed martial arts star Ronda Rousey owns the


third spot on the list at US$14M (NZ$20.2M) after a jump
from eighth last year, just ahead of fourth placed NASCAR
driver Danica Patrick who earned US$13.9M (NZ$20.1M).

GERMAN STAR MESUTOZIL ANNOUNCED


AS LAUREUS AMBASSADOR, 09 JUNE 2016

The rest of the womens top ten is made up of tennis players,


including Spains newly crowned French Open champion
GarbineMuguruza (US$7.6 million, NZ$11M).

HERO MOTOCORP TO BE TITLE SPONSOR


OF CHAMPIONS TROPHY HOCKEY,
07 JUNE 2016
Indias two-wheeler manufacturing major Hero MotoCorp
Ltd will be the title sponsor of the mens Hockey Champions
Trophy 2016 which will be held in London from June 1017.

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) confirmed


that Hero MotoCorp Ltd. will be the title sponsor of the
prestigious tournament.
The event will be called the Hero Hockey. This is the latest
agreement between Hero and FIH as part of the Hockey
Revolutions major initiative aimed at securing commercial
partners who share the 10-year strategys vision -- to make
hockey a global game that inspires the next generation.

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ust days before the start of the European Championship,


Germany and Arsenals star midfielder Mesut Ozil was
announced as Laureus Sport for Good Ambassador.

Ozil took time out of his preparations to inspire young


people from the Laureus-supported KICK FOR MORE
project.
In 2013, Ozil signed for Arsenal, where he currently plays
and regularly tops the assist charts.

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MARIA SHARAPOVA BANNED FOR TWO


YEARS FOR DOPING, 09 JUNE 2016

The arbiters declared Visakh (ELO 2400) as the champion


on a better tie-break as he drew with Ghosh in 16 moves.
Gusain also finished on 8 points after a final round win over
IM Vikramaditya Kulkarni.

ABHINAV BINDRA CHOSEN AS INDIAS


FLAGBEARER AT RIO 2016 OLYMPICS,
11 JUNE 2016

aria Sharapova has been suspended for two years


by the International Tennis Federation for testing
positive for meldonium at the Australian Open.

The five-time Grand Slam champion was provisionally


suspended by the International Tennis Federation in early
March, when she announced at a news conference in Los
Angeles that she failed a doping test in January.

lympic champion shooter Abhinav Bindra was


chosen as the flagbearer of the Indian contingent
at the Rio Games opening ceremony on August 5.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) confirmed that they


have chosen the 2008 Beijing Olympic gold medallist as the
countrys flagbearer for the quadrennial extravaganza.
Bindra will be making his fifth olympic appearance this year.
Alongside star boxer Vijender Singh, tennis legend Leander
Paes and decorated grappler Sushil Kumar, Bindras name
was under consideration prior to the 2012 London Games
too, before the IOA gave the honour to the double Olympic
medallist wrestler.
The 33-year-old is till date Indias only individual gold
medallist at the Olympics.

Sharapova said, she was not aware that the World AntiDoping Agency had barred athletes from using meldonium,
also known as mildronate, as of January 1.

N R VISAKH BECOMES FIRST INDIAN TO


WIN MAYORS CHESS, 10 JUNE 2016

The usually reserved shooter achieved the feat when he


clinched a historic gold in 10-metre air rifle event at the
Beijing Games in 2008.
The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) expressed
its delight at the development.
Winner of numerous medals at top international
competitions including World Championships, World Cups,
Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, Bindra is also
one of the goodwill ambassadors of the Indian contingent
for the Rio Games and is working towards inspiring the
athletes to give their best in the Brazilian city this summer.

amil Nadu teenager and International Master N R


Visakh created history by becoming the first Indian
to clinch the Mumbai Mayors International Open
Chess Tournament and lead a top-three sweep.

INDIAN
MEN
BREAK
18-YEAR-OLD
NATIONAL RECORD IN 4X400M RELAY,
13 JUNE 2016

The 17-year-old Visakh drew his final round match with


fellow-Indian and GM Diptayan Ghosh and was tied for the
top place on 8 points with Ghosh and Chandigarhs Himal
Gusain in a three-way tie.

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he Indian mens 4x400m relay team created a new


national record, clocking 3:02.17 at the International
Sprint and Relay Teams Cup.

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DUTCH FOOTBALL STAR JOHN ARNE RIISE
ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT, 14 JUNE 2016

They bettered the previous record of 3:02.62 set at the 1998


Asian Games in Bangkok.
Meanwhile, the Indian womens 4x400m relay team, who
are the reigning Asian Games champion and record-holder,
clocked 3:30.16 and jumped to world No 12 in the rankings,
to emerge as strong contenders for a qualification berth for
the 2016 Olympic Games.
Earlier, the Indian team management decided to field two
teams each in both the relay events for more options. The
mens second team (B team) clocked 3:06.61 while the
womens second team (B team) finished with a timing of
3:34.45.
As per the IAAF regulations, only the top-16 teams as per
qualification norms and world rankings under a stipulated
period, will be eligible for participation in the relay events
at the Rio Olympic Games.

LEWIS HAMILTON WINS 2016 FORMULA 1


CANADIAN GRAND PRIX, 13 JUNE 2016

ormer Liverpool star John Arne Riise, who also


played for Delhi Dynamos FC, has announced his
retirement from professional football.

The 35-year-old confirmed the news, following a hugely


successful career that lasted 20 years.
Riise joined Delhi Dynamos F.C. After a hugely successful
stints at Monaco, Liverpool, Roma and Fulham. In the seven
years at the Anfield, he cemented his reputation as arguably
the best left-back during his time at the Premier League.

DHONI BECOMES FIRST INDIAN KEEPER TO


COMPLETE 350 ODI DISMISSALS,
15 JUNE 2016

ewis Hamilton has closed to within nine points of


Nico Rosbergs world championship lead after
beating Ferraris Sebastian Vettel to victory in a
tense Canadian Grand Prix.

For the fifth time in nine starts in Montreal, Hamilton


emerged victorious but was pushed hard by a two-stopping
Vettel after the German stormed past both Mercedes cars
and into the lead of the race at the start.

imited overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni became


the first Indian wicket keeper and fourth in the world
to complete 350 dismissals in One-Day International
(ODI) cricket.

Rosberg finished only fifth, meaning his advantage over


Hamilton has shrunk from 43 to nine points in just two
races.

Playing in his 278th match, Dhoni has taken 261 catches


and effected 89 stumpings.
Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara leads the list with 482
dismissals followed by Australian Adam Gilchrist and
South African Mark Boucher with 472 and 424 dismissals
respectively.

The championship leader dropped to 10th on the opening


lap after banging wheels with Hamilton as they went sideby-side into Turn One behind the fast-starting Vettel.

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SCIENCE

Burning Topics of the Month

SCIENCE
INDIA SUCCESSFULLY TEST FIRES
NUCLEAR CAPABLE PRITHVI-II MISSILE
FROM ODISHA, 18 MAY 2016

1. Australia researches build worlds 1st


scanning helium microscope.
2. MoU b/w ISRO and United Arab Emirates
Space Agency.
3. China Launches 23rd BeiDiu Navigation
Satellite.
INDIA SUCCESSFULLY TEST FIRES
INDIGENOUS ADVANCED AIR DEFENCE
INTERCEPTOR MISSILE, ASHWIN,
16 MAY 2016

ndia successfully test-fired its indigenously-developed


nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile as part of a user trial
by the army from a test range at Chandipur in Odisha.

The trial of the surface-to-surface missile was carried out


from a mobile launcher from launch complex-3 of the
Integrated Test Range (ITR).
With a strike range of 350 km, the Prithvi-II is capable of
carrying 500 kg to 1,000 kg of warheads and is thrusted by
liquid propulsion twin engines. It uses advanced inertial
guidance system with maneuvering trajectory to hit its target.

ndia successfully test fired an indigenously developed


Advanced Air Defence interceptor missile, Ashwin. It
was launched from the complex of Abdul Kalam Island
(formerly known as Wheeler Island) off Odisha coast.
The advanced version of low altitude supersonic ballistic
interceptor missile was fired at a ballistic missile, a
modified version of Prithvi weapon system. It was test
fired to validate various parameters of the interceptor in
flight mode.

The missile was randomly chosen from the production


stock and the entire launch activities were carried out
by the specially formed strategic force command (SFC)
and monitored by the scientists of Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO) as part of training
exercise.

AUSTRALIAN RESEARCHERS BUILD


WORLDS FIRST SCANNING HELIUM
MICROSCOPE, 18 MAY 2016

Ashwin is capable of destroying any incoming hostile


ballistic missile. Indigenously developed by DRDO, the
ADD interceptor missile is a 7.5-meter long single-stage
solid rocket propelled guided missile equipped with a
navigation system, a hi-tech computer and an electromechanical activator. It weighs around 1.2 tonnes and has
a diameter of less than 0.5 meter.
With this, India became the fourth country to have
successfully developed this anti-ballistic missile system.
The other three are United States, Russia and Israel. This
development now strengthens Indias position in the very
exclusive Ballistic Missile Defence club of the three
countries.

he World-first scanning helium microscopehas been


built by Australian researchers who feel it could
open doors for many new discoveries by allowing
scientists to scrutinize materials without disturbing them.

The success is likely to pave the way for the supersonic


interceptor missiles induction in the armed forces. The
test was the twelfth test of interceptor missiles fired from a
warship in the Bay of Bengal near Paradip. Of the 11 tests
held earlier, nine have been successful.

Paul Dastoor of University of Newcastle who has been


working on the scanning helium microscope (SHeM) for
two decades said the new microscope will enable scientists
to study human, animal and plant samples, as well as
computer chips and pharmaceutical drugs, without damaging

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SCIENCE
MOU BETWEEN INDIAN SPACE RESEARCH
ORGANISATION AND THE UNITED ARAB
EMIRATES SPACE AGENCY, 26 MAY 2016

or changing them. He said the scanning helium microscope


means the samples will be analysed in their true state for
the first time ever and every time a new microscope was
developed there had been enormous scientific advances.

SWADESHI SPACE SHUTTLE TESTS, ISROS


MISSION ACCOMPLISHED, 23 MAY 2016

he Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister


Narendra Modi was apprised of a Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) signed between Indian
Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the United Arab
Emirates Space Agency (UAESA) for cooperation in the
exploration and user of outer space for peaceful purposes.

ndia successfully tested its first-ever swadeshi or


indigenous space shuttle today as its scale model - the
Re-Usable Launch Vehicle - Technology Demonstrator
or RLV-TD - was launched from Sriharikota in Andhra
Pradesh. Nearly 20 minutes after its lift-off, the Indian
Space Research Organization (ISRO) announced, mission
accomplished.

The MoU would result in setting up a Joint Working Group


with members from ISRO and UAESA, which will further
work out the plan of action including the time-frame and the
means of implementing this MoU.
Background:

INDIA TO GET NEW INDIGENOUSLY-BUILT


SUPERCOMPUTER NEXT YEAR, 25 MAY 2016

Promoting space cooperation between India and UAE was


highlighted during the visit of Prime Minister of India
to UAE in August 2015 and also at the 11th meeting of
India-UAE Joint Commission for Economic and Technical
Cooperation held at New Delhi in September 2015.
Subsequently, a delegation from UAESA visited ISRO
technical facilities on September 16, 2015 and discussed on
the avenues of building space cooperation including signing
of a MoU. Accordingly, ISRO and UAESA, considering
their mutual interest in expanding the applications of space
technology for peaceful purposes signed a MoU in New
Delhi on February 11, 2016.

ndia will get an indigenously-built supercomputer


next year as part of the governments Rs 4,500-crore
programme aimed at taking India into an elite league of
nations who have made advancements in the field.

CHINA TO LAUNCH FIRST QUANTUM


COMMUNICATION SATELLITE, 30 MAY 2016

hina will launch its first quantum communication


satellite in July to improve the security of data
transmission and thwart hackers.

The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing


(CDAC) that built Indias first supercomputer, Param , is
handling the project, said Ashutosh Sharma, secretary in the
ministry of science and technology.

It will be the first quantum communication through a


satellite in the world. Quantum communication boasts ultrahigh security as a quantum photon can neither be separated
nor duplicated.

The new supercomputers will be kept in different institutes


across the country. The supercomputer can be used for various
purposes like climate modeling, weather forecast, discoveries
of drugs among others. Currently, countries like the US, Japan,
China and the European Union account for a major share of the
top supercomputing machines in the world.

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The CASs project includes the launch of a satellite and


building of four ground stations for quantum communication
and one space quantum teleportation experiment station.

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NASA SPOTS GIANT CORONAL HOLE ON
SUN, 01 JUNE 2016

Upon completion, the satellite will be able to establish


quantum optical links simultaneously with two ground
bases thousands of kilometres apart, state-run.
Chinese scientists have taken five years to develop and
manufacture the first quantum satellite.
It will be transported to Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in
June

CHINA LAUNCHES THREE SATELLITES,


31 MAY 2016

ASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory has spotted a


giant dark area on the upper half of the Sun known
as a coronal hole.

Coronal holes are areas on the Sun where the solar magnetic
field extends up and out into interplanetary space, sending
solar material speeding out in a high-speed stream of solar
wind.
Scientists study these fast solar wind streams because they
sometimes interact with Earths magnetic field, creating
what is called a geomagnetic storm, which can expose
satellites to radiation and interfere with communications
signals.
Coronal holes are low-density regions of the Suns
atmosphere, known as the corona. They contain little solar
material and have lower temperatures, thus appearing much
darker than their surroundings, researchers said.
Coronal holes are visible in certain types of extreme
ultraviolet light, which is typically invisible to our eyes.

hina successfully launched a new civilian highresolution mapping satellite along with two other
foreign satellites .

These coronal holes are important to understand the space


environment around Earth through which technology and
astronauts travel, NASA said.

The Ziyuan III 02 satellite took off on the back of a Long


March 4B rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre
in northern Shanxi Province.

Coronal holes are the source of a high-speed wind of solar


particles that streams off the Sun around three times faster
than the slower wind elsewhere.

It was the 228th flight mission by a Long March carrier


rocket.

While it is unclear what causes coronal holes, they correlate


to areas on the Sun where magnetic fields soar up and
away, without looping back down to the surface, as they do
elsewhere, researchers said.

All three satellites have entered the preset orbits, the Taiyuan
centre said in a statement.

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SCIENTISTS UNLOCK X-FILES DNA


MYSTERY, 07 JUNE 2016

CHINA LAUNCHES 23rd BEIDOU


NAVIGATION SATELLITE, 13 JUNE 2016

cientists have unlocked a crucial part of the mystery


as to how our DNA can replicate and repair itself,
something which is essential for all life forms.

The new research, conducted by leading scientists at


the University of Sheffield in the UK, has revealed how
branched DNA molecules are removed from the iconic
double-helical structure, a process which scientists have
been looking to unlock for over 20 years.

hina launched a satellite to support its global


navigation and positioning network on June 12.

The satellite, launched from the Xichang Satellite


Launch Centre in southwest Chinas Sichuan Province, was
taken into orbit by a Long March-3C carrier rocket.

In reality, far from being of alien origin, branched DNA


is formed every day in our bodies. It happens every time
our cells divide. These branches are essential intermediates
formed during the process of copying our DNA.

It is the 23rd satellite in the BeiDou Navigation Satellite


System (BDS), which is being developed as an alternative
to US GPS.

The interdisciplinary team from the Universitys


Departments of Infection, Immunity and Cardiovascular
Disease, and Molecular Biology and Biotechnology
captured never-before- seen snapshots of the molecular
events in incredible detail.

It was the 229th launch of the Long March carrier rocket.


The satellite, after entering its designed work orbit and
finishing in-orbit testing, will join others already in orbit
and improve the stability of the system, preparing for BDS
to offer global coverage.

They show how Flap Endo Nuclease enzymes (FENs) trim


branched DNA molecules after cells have divided.

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ndia is projected to add 300 million new urban residents


by 2050 and it will need to build climate-friendly
cities to address the challenge of accommodating the
needs of the growing population, a UN report has said.
The first World Cities Report 2016 - Urbanisation and
Development: Emerging Futures report by UN Habitat
said in India, urban areas already contribute more than 60
per cent of the GDP and an extra 300 million new urban
residents are projected by 2050, leading to a call by the
Indian government to build 100 new cities over the period.
The report said that central to this challenge are the twin
bottlenecks of municipal finance and infrastructure finance
for transport, electricity, communications, water supply and
sanitation in support of production.

MISCELLANEOUS Burning Topics of the Month


1. India ranks 3rd in Renewable Energy
Country Attractiveness Index.
2. Taj Mahal in top 5 tourist attractions globally.
3. India 5th largest producer of e-waste.
INDIA RANKS 3RD IN RENEWABLE ENERGY
COUNTRY ATTRACTIVENESS INDEX,

16 MAY 2016

Large South-Asian countries like Bangladesh, India and


Pakistan feature massive, expanding urban populations in
mega- cities such as Dhaka, Mumbai, Delhi, Karachi and
Lahore as well as in growing number of secondary cities,
it said. The report further said that as the world recovers
from the global recession, cities in emerging economies
such as China, India and Brazil have become major sites
for business investment, presenting global companies with
unprecedented opportunities for research and development.

TAJ MAHAL IN TOP 5 TOURIST


ATTRACTIONS GLOBALLY: SURVEY,
19 MAY 2016

ndias renewable energy sector has been ranked third


in the Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index
(RECAI) with China at second and the US on top.

The so-called emerging markets now represent half the


countries in the 40-strong index, including four African
markets featuring in the top 30. Just a decade ago, only
China and India were attractive enough to compete with
more developed markets for investment. While the top
three countries maintained their ranking, Chile, Brazil and
Mexico climbed higher in the index to be ranked in the top
10 at the fourth, sixth and seventh, respectively. Germany at
fifth and France at eighth fell in the latest ranking.

INDIA PROJECTED TO ADD 300 MILLION


URBAN RESIDENTS BY 2050: UN, 18 MAY 2016

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onsidered one of the most iconic wonders of the


world, the TajMahal has been voted among the top
five tourist attractions in the world, second in Asia
and led the popularity list in India, according to a leading
travel planning and booking site Trip Advisor.

The iconic monument of love is ranked number 5 in the


global list of the recently released TripAdvisors Travellers
Choice Landmarks Awards, which put Machu Picchu
in Peru and the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Center in
Abu Dhabi as the top two destinations for travellers. The
TajMahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage
Site in 1983 for being the jewel of Muslim art in India and
one of the universally admired masterpieces of the worlds
heritage.
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UKHAND GUV RELEASES BOOK FOR


TEACHING VISUALLY CHALLENGED,
24 MAY 2016

roughly 18.5 lakh metric tonnes of electronic waste each


year, with telecom equipment alone accounting for 12 per
cent of the e-waste.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
has notified e-waste management rules, 2016, in which
producers are for the first time covered under Extended
Producers Responsibility (EPR).

The rules prescribe a waste collection target of 30 per


cent waste generated under EPR for the first two years,
progressively going up to 70 per cent in the seventh year of
the rule. The rules prescribe stringent financial penalties for
non-compliance. However, the study said the unorganised
sector in India is estimated to handle around 95 per cent of
the e-waste produced in the country. Given the huge user
base and vast reach of telecom in India, it is practically
difficult and expensive for the handset manufacturers to
achieve the targets prescribed in the rules from first year,
the study added.

ttarakhand governor K K Paul released a resource


book for teachers engaged in educating visually
challenged persons.

Paul stated during the release function at Raj Bhavan that


the book would prove to be very useful for professionals
who are teaching visually challenged children and youth.

HDFC AMONG WORLDS TOP 10 CONSUMER


FINANCIAL SERVICES FIRMS, 27 MAY 2016

The book was prepared by the National Institute for the


Visually Handicapped (NIVH) in collaboration with experts
on the matter. The Governor appreciated the efforts of the
institute and those involved in the creation of the book.

INDIA FIFTH LARGEST PRODUCER OF


E-WASTE: STUDY, 26 MAY 2016

ortgage lender HDFC Ltd has been ranked


among the worlds ten biggest and most powerful
companies in the consumer financial services
sector on a Forbes list topped by global major American
Express.

Ranked 7th, HDFC is the only Indian company in top-ten


in this category, where others include Capital One ,Visa and
MasterCard.

ith more than 100 crore mobile phones in


circulation, nearly 25 per cent end up in e-waste
annually.

In the overall list of the worlds 2,000 largest and most


powerful public companies compiled by Forbes, HDFC
is ranked 404th while it is at tenth position among Indian
firms.

India, which has emerged as the worlds second largest


mobile market, is also the fifth largest producer of e-waste,
discarding roughly 18.5 lakh tonnes of electronic waste
each year, a study says.

There are total 56 Indian companies on the list, with


Reliance Industries ranked highest among them. It is at
121st place globally.

Acco. to Assocham-KPMG the telecom equipment alone


accounts for 12 per cent of the e-waste.
Matter of concern

For the oil and gas sector, RIL is ranked 9th while the topranked firm is Exon Mobil of the US.

The rising levels of e-waste generation in India have been a


matter of concern in recent years. With more than 100 crore
mobile phones in circulation, nearly 25 per cent end up in
e-waste annually, it said.

SADHGURU TO LEAD YOGA SESSION AT UN


ON 2nd INTERNATIONAL YOGA DAY,
28 MAY 2016

Acco.to the study,India has surely emerged as the second


largest mobile market with 1.03 billion subscribers, but also
the fifth largest producer of e-waste in the world, discarding

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piritual leader and Isha Foundation founder Sadhguru


JaggiVasudev will lead a yoga session at the UN on
the occasion of the second International Yoga Day.

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INDIA TOPS GLOBAL SLAVERY INDEX WITH
18.35 MILLION PEOPLE ENSLAVED,
31 MAY 2016

The International Yoga Day will be commemorated on June


21 and this years focus will be on the theme of Yoga for the
Sustainable Development Goals.
Indias Permanent Mission to the UN said Sadhguru will
lead the yoga session at the international yoga day in the
premises of the world bodys headquarters.

ndia has the dubious distinction of having the highest


number of people in the world trapped in modern
slavery with 18.35 million victims of forced labour,
ranging from prostitution and begging, according to a new
report, which estimated that nearly 46 million people are
enslaved globally.

The first International Yoga Day was commemorated at the


UN with aplomb last year, with External Affairs Minister
SushmaSwaraj leading the celebrations along with UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi
Shankar and US Congresswoman TulsiGabbard.
Ban and his wife had joined hundreds of students and yoga
practitioners to perform asanas and mediate during the
event.

According to the 2016 Global Slavery Index released by


Australia-based human rights group Walk Free Foundation
, an estimated 45.8 million people, including women and
children, are subject to some form of modern slavery in the
world, compared to 35.8 million in 2014.

Apart from the Yoga day commemoration by the Indian


mission in the UN, several events have been planned across
the city by various organizations.

The report said India has the highest absolute numbers of


people trapped in slavery with 18.35 million slaves among
its 1.3 billion population while North Korea has the highest
incidence, 4.37 per cent of the population, and the weakest
government response to deal with it.

MADHAVAN IS GOODWILL AMBASSADOR


AGAINST LEPROSY, 30 MAY 2016

In the last report in 2014, India had nearly 14.3 million


people enslaved. Incidences of slavery were found in all
167 countries in the index, with Asian countries occupy the
top five for people trapped in slavery.
Behind India was China (3.39 million), Pakistan (2.13
million), Bangladesh (1.53 million) and Uzbekistan (1.23
million). The index said that these five countries combined
accounted for almost 58 per cent of the worlds enslaved, or
26.6 million people.

The Index presents a ranking of 167 countries based on


the proportion of the population that is estimated to be
in modern slavery. Modern slavery refers to situations of
exploitation that a person cannot leave because of threats,
violence, coercion and abuse of power or deception.

Madhavan tweeted that he feels proud to be a goodwill


ambassador for LEPRA India spreading the word that
leprosy is curable and no one needs to live with it.

The research included over 42,000 interviews conducted in


53 languages across 25 countries, including 15 state-level
surveys in India. These representative surveys covered 44
per cent of the global population. The countries with the
highest estimated prevalence of modern slavery by the
proportion of their population are North Korea, Uzbekistan,
Cambodia, Cambodia, India, and Qatar.

ollywood Actor R Madhavan feels proud to be


the goodwill ambassador for the the LEPRA India
organisation that fights against diseases like leprosy
and tuberculosis.

LEPRA India is a non-government organisation working


in the fields of leprosy, tuberculosis, malaria, HIV or AIDS
and community health.

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INDIA AMONG 10 RICH COUNTRIES BUT


AVERAGE INDIAN QUITE POOR: REPORT,
01 JUNE 2016

2 INDIAN-ORIGIN WOMEN IN FORBES


SELF-MADE AMERICAN WOMEN LIST,
02 JUNE 2016

wo Indian-origin women have featured on the


Forbes annual list of Americas 60 wealthiest and
most successful self-made women entrepreneurs who
have crashed ceilings through invention and innovation.
India-born NeerjaSethi, who co-founded IT consulting and
outsourcing firm Syntel with her husband Bharat Desai, is
ranked 16th on Americas Richest Self-made Women list
while president and CEO of Arista Networks Jayshree Ullal
(55) is ranked 30th. According to Forbes, the richest selfmade woman in America is Diane Hendricks, the owner of
ABC Supply, the largest wholesale distributor of roofing
and siding in the country. Hendricks is now worth USD
4.9 billion, USD 1.2 billion more than last year when she
was ranked second. The second annual tally of Americas
wealthiest, most successful self-made women includes 60
trailblazers 10 more than last year.

ndia has been ranked among the 10 wealthiest countries


globally with total individual wealth of $5,200 billion,
but this is largely owing to its large population, a report
said, adding that on a per capita basis, the average Indian
is quite poor . According to the report by New World
Wealth, India has been ranked seventh in the list of top 10
wealthiest countries in the world, which was topped by
the United States with total individual wealth of $48,700
billion. Acco.to report ,India only makes the W10 (10
wealthiest) due to its large population. On a per capita basis,
the average Indian is quite poor, adding that over the past 15
years the country grew strongly.

The 60 women, who are worth a combined USD 53 billion,


have created some of the nations best known brands such
as Gap and Spanx, while a number of them have also helped
build some of the most successful companies in tech,
including Facebook, eBay and Google.

China was the fastest growing W10 country over the past 15
years (2000-2015). Australia and India also grew strongly.
Moreover, India has overtaken Italy this past year. Australia
and Canada are expected to overtake Italy in the next couple
of years.

Ms. Sethi (61) has a net worth of USD 1.1 billion. Her
company employs more than 25,000 people and boasts a
recent market capof USD 3.6 billion.

Other countries in the top five list are China in the second
position with a total individual wealth of $17,300 billion,
Japan (3rd, $15,200 billion), Germany (4th, $9,400 billion)
and United Kingdom (5th, $9,200 billion).

She is currently the vice president of corporate affairs, a


role she has had since the companys inception. She also
sits on the board of directors alongside her husband, who
remains the chairman.

The other nations in the list include France at the 6th place
with total individual wealth of $7,600 billion, Italy (8th,
$5,000 billion), Canada (9th, $4,800 billion) and Australia
(10th, $4,500 billion). Australias ranking is impressive
considering it only has 22 million people living there.

Born in London, raised in New Delhi, Ullal has a net worth


of USD 470 million. She became president and CEO of
Arista Networks in 2008, when it had no revenues and
fewer than 50 employees. The company reported USD 838
million in revenue in 2015, after going public in June 2014.

Total individual wealth refers to the private wealth held


by all the individuals in each country. The report defines The youngest person in the ranks is 26-year-old singer and
wealth as the net assets of a person. It includes all their pop icon Taylor Swift, who made her debut at number 60
assets (property, cash, equity, business interests) less any with a net worth of USD 50 million, thanks to her 1989
liabilities. The report excludes government funds from its World Tour, which grossed a quarter of a billion dollars last
year.
figures.
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NO POLITICS, SAYS SONIA AT INDIRA BOOK


LAUNCH, 03 JUNE 2016

It said the size of the Indias black economy expanded


rapidly over the 1970s and 1980s, but since then had been
contracting at a gradual pace and is now estimated at around
20 per cent of the countrys GDP.
The term black economy typically refers to the economic
activities outside formal banking channels and include cash
transactions in high-value assets like gold and real estate.
Given that Indias GDP in calender year 2016 is expected to
be $2.3 trillion, the size of Indias black economy is about
$460 billion (over Rs 30 lakh crore), which is larger than
the stated GDP of emerging markets like Thailand and
Argentina.

INDIA JUMPS 13 POSITIONS TO RANK 2nd ON


GRD INDEX ON EASE OF DOING BUSINESS:
STUDY, 06 JUNE 2016

he book, The Unseen Indira Gandhi Through


Her Physicians Eyes is written by Dr K P Mathur,
who was Indiras physician. The 92-year-old has
chronicled 20 years of his personal experience with the
former Prime Minister a rare personal account of Indira.
Mathur said many people had the impression that Indira
was arrogant but he found her to be very pleasant, caring
and ready to listen.

BLACK ECONOMY SHRINKING, STILL


EXCEEDS THAILANDS GDP: AMBIT
CAPITAL, 06 JUNE 2016

ndia has jumped 13 positions from last year to rank


second among 30 developing countries this year on
ease of doing business, according to a study topped by
China.
According to 2016 Global Retail Development Index
(GRDI), which ranks top 30 developing countries for retail
investment worldwide, a pick up in GDP growth and better
clarity regarding FDI regulations have helped india achieve
a second ranking.

egging Indias black economy at over Rs 30 lakh


crore or about 20 per cent of total GDP , a new study
says it has been contracting gradually over the years
but still remains bigger than the overall economic size of
countries like Thailand and Argentina .

Indias strong ranking reflects foreigner retailers increased


optimism in its retail market and its vast growth potential,
said Debashish Mukherjee, a partner with A T Kearney
and co-head of the Consumer Industries & Retail Products
Practice for India and Southeast Asia.

Besides, a crackdown on black money has made the cost of


capital costlier in the black economy with the lending rates
having risen to as high as 34 per cent, from about 24 per
cent a year ago, as per the study by Ambit Capital Research.

India has relaxed several key Foreign Direct Investment


(FDI) regulations in single-brand retail and this has paved
the way for multinational firms to enter the market.

The study said that the crackdown has had some unintended Indias retail sector has expanded at a compound annual
consequences in form of an increase in preference for cash growth rate of 8.8% between 2013 and 2015, with annual
in its physical form and a notable decline in the usage of sales crossing the US $1 trillion mark, according to A T
formal banking channels with record low deposit growth Kearney, a London-based business consultancy.
which may keep the GDP growth rate flat this year.
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DIAMIRZA NAMED AMBASSADOR FOR


SWACHH SAATHI PROGRAMME,
06 JUNE 2016

uwahati, Assam become the first city in the country


to have its own city animal with the Kamrup
metropolitan district administration declaring the
Gangetic River dolphin as its mascot.
In a press conference, Kamrup metropolitan deputy
commissioner, M Angamuthu, said that the animal, locally
known as Sihu, would be the city animal of Guwahati.
The district administration had organised online and offline voting among three protected creatures, which are on
the verge of extinction, to decide the mascot.

Along with Gangetic River dolphin, the other two animals


were black softshell turtle (BorKaso) and greater adjutant
stork (Hargila).
While fewer than 2,000 Gangetic River dolphins remain in
the Brahmaputra along Guwahati, a recent survey said only
a small population of Black Softshell Turtle were found in
the river and its tributaries.

ctress DiaMirza has been named the ambassador


for Swachh Bharats youth based SwachhSaathi
(student internship) programme.

Swachh Bharat is amongst the most important initiatives


taken up by the government and she believe that the Swachh
Saathi programme will be an extremely important part of
our dream to realise a clean, healthy and environmentally
conscious youth and country, Dia said in a statement.

The three-month long voting process attracted 60,003


participants to decide the city animal and Gangetic River
dolphin received 24,247 votes.
Along with the Kamrup metropolitan district administration,
other organisations such as the Assam forest department,
Assam state biodiversity bard and an NGO, Help Earth
worked closely to decide the city animal.

Under the programme more than 2000 interns would be


enrolled, who would coordinate with around 10,000 schools
across the country and ensure that all students in these
schools take the pledge for Clean India.

INDIAN, SOUTH KOREAN COAST GUARDS


TO JOINTLY HOLD NAVAL EXERCISE,
07 JUNE 2016

Dia is a youth icon and has been an active campaigner for


Swachh Bharat. Authorities felt that she would be the best
person to help us reach out to more youngsters. The aim
behind this is to make it a viral youth led movement.

he coast guards of India and South Korea will hold a


joint exercise Sshyog-Hyeoblyeog-2016 in Bay of
Bengal off Chennai from June 8 to 11.

As the brand ambassador, Dia would be interacting with


thousands of school and college students from across the
country through awareness sessions, community cleaning
activities and motivational videos.

Korea Coast Guard ship 3009 will participate in the exercise,


whose highlights encompass an anti piracy scenario wherein
the hijacked.
Vessel is subsequently rescued in a combined operation of
both coast guards, the interdiction of the pirate vessel, a
joint boarding operation and other exercises.

GUWAHATI BECOMES FIRST CITY TO HAVE


CITY ANIMAL, 07 JUNE 2016

The exercise would be jointly witnessed by the Indian


Coast Guards Director General Rajendra Singh, and his
counterpart, Korea Coast Guards Commissioner General
Hong Ik-tae.
During their stay, the South Korean delegation would be
calling on important dignitaries in Chennai.

KENNETH COLE NAMED UNAIDS


INTERNATIONAL GOODWILL
AMBASSADOR, 08 JUNE 2016

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ashion designer and AIDS activist Kenneth Cole was


named an international goodwill ambassador by the
head of the U.N.s AIDS-fighting organization.

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a payment aggregator service, among others. Under her
leadership, SBI grew its network to around 17,000 branches
and services over 330 million customers with presence in
36 countries.

MALABAR-16: INDIA, US, JAPAN TO PLAY


WAR GAMES, 09 JUNE 2016

The appointment by UNAIDS chief Michel Sidibe came on


the eve of the U.N. General Assemblys high-level meeting
on ending AIDS.
Cole told reporters at a news conference at U.N. headquarters
he hopes to combine his United Nations work with his work
at The Foundation for AIDS Research, known as AMFAR,
and its goal of finding a cure for the disease by 2020.

our Indian naval ships including two stealth frigates


and elite Marine Commandos (Marcos) will take
part in a trilateral maritime exercise Malabar-16, that
will see India, US and Japan playing war games in seas off
Japan.

ARUNDHATI BHATTACHARYA 5TH MOST


POWERFUL WOMAN IN FINANCE: FORBES,
08 JUNE 2016

The exercise also assumes significance as it is conducted


in East Asia at a time when the South China Sea issue is
a raging issue in the region. India has deployed two of its
multi-role stealth frigates, INS Sahyadri and INS Satpura,
equipped with weapons and sensors, missile corvette Kirch
and fleet tanker INS Shakti for the exercise. Led by Eastern
Fleet commander Rear Admiral S V Bokhare, Sea King42B and Chetak helicopters have also been deployed by the
India for the military exercise starting from June 10 to 13 in
the first phase at Sasebo in Japan. The second phase from
June 14 to 17 will be off Okinawa.

The US too will participate in the exercise with its full


might. It also has Ticonderogaclass missile cruiser USS
Mobile Bay, three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and a
tanker along with a wide array of aircraft and helicopters.

rundhati Bhattacharya , the first woman chairperson


of the nations largest bank SBI , has been ranked
among the top five most powerful women in finance
by the Forbes magazine.

Japan has deployed its destroyer-cum helicopter carrier JS


Hyuga, apart from P-3C Orion anti-submarine aircraft as
well as the US-2i ShinMaywa amphibious aircraft, which
it is keen to sell to India. Reacting sharply to Indias move
in December last year of including Japan in the Indo-US
Malabar naval exercises on a permanent basis, China had
said that Tokyo will not provoke confrontation and
heighten tensions in the region.

Bhattacharya has moved up five spots from the previous


year to 5th this year.

She is also ranked 25th in Forbes list of The Worlds 100


Most Powerful Women, which features top female leaders,
entrepreneurs, investors, scientists, philanthropists and
CEOs. Bhattacharya has been instrumental in transforming
the over 200 year-old bank into technology-driven lender
with SBI in TOUCH digital banking outlet, mobile wallet The US, which had been pushing for Japans inclusion,
State Bank Buddy, State Bank Anywhere - a retail internet has said the exercise is an important element for assessing
banking based application for smartphones, SBI Tech the maritime capabilities of all the three countries. The US
Learning Centres for educating customers and SBI e-Pay, has in recent months ramped up its warnings over what
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it calls Chinas growing militarisation in the region.


American warships and aircraft have undertaken number
of operations in the region to challenge Chinas moves
even as the US hopes to stitch Asian military powers into
a closer cooperation. The US has also been pushing for a
quadrilateral security dialogue involving itself, India, Japan
and Australia.

INDIA BEATS JAPAN IN OIL USE, ONLY NEXT


TO US, CHINA, 09 JUNE 2016

India has moved up two position, from 143rd last year, but
the study said the countrys peace score has deteriorated
over the past year -- which means the slight rise in ranking
could be due to worse performance of others.
The report said that in the last decade, Indias position has
deteriorated when it comes to peace by 5 per cent largely
due to deteriorations in the indicators measuring UN
peacekeeping funding and the level of political terror.

Within South Asia, Bhutan was ranked best (13th overall


rank), while India was fifth followed by Pakistan at sixth
(overall 153rd) and Afghanistan at sixth place (global
160th).

ndia has surpassed Japan to become the worlds thirdlargest oil consumer, with its oil demand galloping 8.1
per cent in 2015, according to BP Statistical Review of
World Energy released . With demand of 4.1 million barrels
per day, India is the third-largest consumer behind US
(19.39 million bpd) and China (11.96 million bpd). India
accounted for 4.5 per cent of world oil consumption in 2015.

INDIAN AMONG TIME MAGAZINES 10


MILLENNIALS CHANGING THE WORLD,
09 JUNE 2016

Indias demand growth surpassed Chinas 6.3 per cent


expansion. US oil consumption grew 1.6 per cent, which
accounts for 19.7 per cent of the total world pie of 95
million bpd in 2015. Japan slipped to the fourth spot after
its oil usage contracted 3.9 per cent to 4.15 million bpd in
2015. In 2014, it used 4.3 million bpd, ahead of Indias 3.84
million bpd.

INDIA RANKS LOW AT 141st PLACE IN


GLOBAL PEACE INDEX, 09 JUNE 2016

ndia was ranked at 141st place on a Global Peace Index


-- making it less peaceful than countries like Burundi,
Serbia and Burkina Faso -- with violence taking a US
$680-billion toll on its economy in 2015.
In a ranking of 163 countries, compiled by global think tank
Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), Syria has been
named as the least peaceful, followed by South Sudan, Iraq,
Afghanistan and Somalia.

30-year old Indian entrepreneur has been named by


Time magazine to its 2016 list of 10 millennials
who are changing the world for building a phone
which can help people to interact and access critical services
by communicating in their native languages.

On the other hand, Iceland was ranked as the worlds most


peaceful country, followed by Denmark and Austria.
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NEWS BYTES

MISCELLANEOUS

UmeshSachdev has been named by Time to its 2016 list


of 10 millennials who are changing the world for his
work on building a phone that can understand almost any
language. MrSachdev, along with his college friend Ravi
Saraogi, founded Uniphore Software Systems.

exercise since 1992. Since 2007, the Malabar has been held
alternatively off India and in the Western Pacific. Last year,
it was conducted off Chennai and included participation of
Japan.

GLOBAL NUCLEAR WEAPONS: DOWNSIZING


BUT MODERNIZING, 14 JUNE 2016

The Chennai-based start-up produces software allows


people to interact with their phones and access services
such as online banking by communicating in their native
languages.
Uniphores products, which include a virtual assistant that
is able to process more than 25 global languages and 150
dialects, are being used by over five million people, mostly
in India. Time said through the software, Mr. Sachdev is
building bridges and helping hundreds of millions of people
cross the divide between the digital and the real world
by harnessing the power of speech. Mr. Sachdev found
solution to a problem that phones didnt carry the language
of villagers in rural India.

MALABAR16 EXERCISE TAKES PLACE


NEAR SOUTH CHINA SEA,
11 JUNE 2016

he Stockholm International Peace Research Institute


(SIPRI) launches its annual nuclear forces data,
which highlights the current trends and developments
in world nuclear arsenals. The data shows that while the
overall number of nuclear weapons in the world continues
to decline, none of the nuclear weapon-possessing states are
prepared to give up their nuclear arsenals for the foreseeable
future. At the start of 2016 nine statesthe United States,
Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan,
Israel and North Koreapossessed approximately 4,120
operationally deployed nuclear weapons. If all nuclear
warheads are counted, these states together possessed a
total of approximately 15,395 nuclear weapons compared
with 15,850 in early .

ndia, Japan and the US kicked off their annual naval


war exercise named Malabar Exercise near South China
Sea. The 8-day joint exercises will see in action over 100
aircraft and 22 naval ships including a nuclear submarine.

IIT MADRAS, KANPUR BREAK INTO TOP-50


IN QS UNIVERSITY RANKINGS ASIA 2016,
14 JUNE 2016

The exercise assumes significance as it is being conducted


close to South China Sea at a time when Chinese
assertiveness in the region is a raging issue. It aims to
achieve deeper military ties and greater interoperability
amid rising tensions in the region.

wo more Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) broke


into the top-50 in the latest Quacquarelli Symonds
(QS) University Rankings Asia 2016.

Among Indian universities featuring in the top-50 list in


the QS University Rankings Asia, IIT Bombay and IIT
Madras joined the likes of Indian Institute of Science (IISc)
Bangalore (33), IIT Bombay (35) and IIT Delhi (36).

The Indian Navy said that their four ships are participating
in the 20th edition of the naval exercise in consonance with
Indias Act East Policy and growing ties among the three
countries.

Further, two Indian universities debuted the rankings this


year Amrita University, which ranked a joint 169th, and

India and the US have regularly conducted the annual

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MISCELLANEOUS

Andhra University, which debuted in the 301st-350th band.


The biggest leap among Indian universities was seen by the
University of Delhi and the University of Calcutta wherein
the former rose by 25 places to 66th, the latter jumped 41
places to 108th. Indias performance as a nation is the 5thbest of the 17 countries that feature in the rankings. With 23
universities, it is outperformed by Taiwan (34), South Korea
(54), Japan (72), and China (82). Eleven Indian universities
score the benchmark score of 100.0 for QS.

most expensive prime office market in the world, said a new


study. Connaught Place was ranked sixth in the previous
CBRE Researchs Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs
bi-annual survey.
Global prime office occupancy costs which reflect rent,
plus local taxes and service charges for the highest-quality,
prime office properties rose 2.4% year-on-year. In Asia
Pacific, prime office occupancy costs are growing at a faster
pace than average, up 2.7% year-over-year. A few key
Southeast Asian markets registered decreases, including
Singapore and Jakarta.

In the overall rankings, the National University of Singapore


and University of Hong Kong retained their first and second
positions, respectively, for this year.
The QS University Rankings Asia was expanded this
year to include the regions 350 best universities and an
expansion of 50 on the previous year. The rankings also saw
methodological enhancements this year, introducing staff
with PhD in order to add another dimension to the analyses
of teaching quality their rankings provide.

Asia continued to dominate the list of the worlds most


expensive office locations, accounting for seven of the top
ten markets, according to the survey, Beijing (Finance
Street) at $188 per sq. ft.), Beijing (Central Business
District (CBD) at $182 per sq. ft and Hong Kong (West
Kowloon at S$179 per sq. ft rounded out the top five
positions. Apart from New Delhi (Connaught Place - CBD),
Tokyo (Marunouchi/Otemachi), and Shanghai (Pudong)
also featured in the top ten list.

CONNAUGHT PLACE WORLDS SEVENTH


MOST EXPENSIVE OFFICE MARKET,
15 JUNE 2016

ith occupancy cost of $149.71 (Rs 10,030) per


sqft, New Delhis Central Business District
(CBD) of Connaught Place ranks as the seventh

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GLOBAL PEACE INDEX


2016

ARTICLE

The Global Peace Index Records a Historically Less


Peaceful and More Unequal World

positions from 143rd rank in 2015 GPI. Key facts from


2016 Global Peace Index Top 10 peaceful countries: Iceland
(1st), Denmark (2nd), Austria (3rd), New Zealand (4th),
Portugal (5th), Czech Republic (6th), Switzerland (7th),
Canada (8th), Japan (9th) and Slovenia (10th). Top least
peaceful countries: Pakistan (153rd), Libya (154th), Sudan
(155th), Ukraine (156th), Central African Republic (157th),
Yemen (158th), Somalia (159th), Afghanistan (160th), Iraq
(161st), South Sudan (162nd) and Syria (163rd).

The 2016 Global Peace Index (GPI) shows the world


became less peaceful in the last year, reinforcing the
underlying trend of declining peace over the last decade.
Three of the five biggest countries declining in peace
occurred in the region: Yemen, Libya and Bahrain.
Among the countries with the largest deteriorations were
Djibouti, Guinea-Bissau, Poland, Burundi, Kazakhstan and
Brazil.

Indias neighbours: Bhutan (13th), Nepal (78th),


Bangladesh (83rd), Sri Lanka (97th), China (120th) and
Pakistan (153rd).

The terrorism impact indicator had the greatest overall


deterioration, with all but two regions recording an increase
over the past decade. While still accounting for a small
percentage of the total number of violent deaths, terrorism
has grown steadily over the past decade. The number of
yearly incidents has almost tripled since 2011 and the
number of deaths has increased to over 30,000.

In year 2016, the economic impact of violence on the


global economy was around US 13.6 trillion dollars (13.3
% of gross world product). In this year world became a
less peaceful mainly on account of increased terrorism and
higher levels of political instability.
About Global Peace Index (GPI) GPI is an annual report
published by the Sydney (Australia) based Institute for
Economics and Peace (IEP) since 2007.

The majority of terrorist activity is highly concentrated


in five countries: Iraq, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and
Syria. Between them these countries accounted for 78 per
cent of deaths from terrorism in 2014. However, there are
signs that terrorism is becoming more common across the
globe, with almost every region having an increase in its
terrorism impact score from 2008 to 2016.

GPI uses 22 indicators to measure levels of world peace.


Indicators range from a nations level of military expenditure
to its relations with neighboring nations and the percentage
of prison population in 162 countries.
It also includes safety and security in society, extent
of domestic and international conflict. The IEP is an
international and independent think tank dedicated to
draw the worlds attention towards peace as a positive,
achievable, and tangible measure of human well-being and
development.

India ranked 141 out of 163 countries on 2016 Global Peace


Index June 11, 2016.No comments India was ranked 141
on a Global Peace Index (GPI) for year 2016 out of 163
countries, making it less peaceful country. The GPI ranking
of 163 countries was compiled by global think Institute
for Economics and Peace (IEP). India has moved up two

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NOVAK DJOKOVICAT2016
FRENCH OPEN

ARTICLE

The 2016 French Open was a tennis tournament played on


outdoor clay courts. It was the 115th edition of the French
Open and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took
place at the Stade Roland Garros from 22 May to 5 June
and consisted of events for professional players in singles,
doubles and mixed doubles play. Junior and wheelchair
players also took part in singles and doubles events.
Novak Djokovic won the mens singles in the 2016 edition.
Stan Wawrinka was the defending champion in mens
singles, but he lost to Andy Murray in the semifinals. Serena
Williams was the defending champion in the womens
singles, but she lost to GarbieMuguruza in the final.
Roger Federer withdrew before the tournament due to a
knee injury, making this tournament the first Grand Slam
he missed since the 2000 Australian Open. Furthermore,
nine-time champion Rafael Nadal withdrew during the
tournament due to injury, for the first time in his French
Open career.

The tournament is an event run by the International Tennis


Federation (ITF) and is part of the 2016 ATP World Tour
and the 2016 WTA Tour calendars under the Grand Slam
category. The tournament consists of both mens and
womens singles and doubles draws as well as a mixed
doubles event.

Novak Djokovics victory at this tournament in his 20th


Grand Slam final completed his career Grand Slam (all
four major tournaments), the eighth man to do so in singles
and only the fifth career Grand Slam since the start of the
Open Era (after Rod Laver, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer,
and Rafael Nadal). Djokovic also achieved a non-calendar
year Grand Slam, where he is the first man since Rod Laver
in 1969 to hold all four major titles at once. The victory
by GarbieMuguruza was her first Grand Slam win in her
second Grand Slam final.

There are singles and doubles events for both boys and girls
(players under 18), which is part of the Grade A category of
tournaments, and singles and doubles events for mens and
womens wheelchair tennis players as part of the UNIQLO
tour under the Grand Slam category. The tournament was
played on clay courts and took place over a series of 22
courts, including the three main showcourts,Court Philippe
Chatrier, Court Suzanne Lenglen and Court 1.
Prize money

Court Philippe Chatrier, where the Finals of the French


Open take place.

The total prize money for the tournament was 32,017,500,


an increase of 14% compared to the previous edition. The
winners of the mens and womens singles title receive
2,000,000, an increase of 200,000 compared to 2015.

The 2016 French Open is the 115th edition of the French


Open and is held at Stade Roland Garros in Paris.

A SHORT STORY: CABINET APPROVES SETTING UP OF INDIA POST PAYMENTS BANK

The Union Cabinet under the Chairmanship of Prime


Minister NarendraModi has given its approval for setting up
the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) as a Public Limited
Company under the Department of Posts, with 100%
Government of India (GOI) equity. The total expenditure
involved in this project is Rs 800 Crore. All citizens,
especially 40% of the countrys population that is outside
the ambit of formal banking in the country will benefit
from this project. The project will be rolled out in the entire
country in a phased manner.

financial services like insurance, mutual funds, pensions and


access to credit in tie-up with third party financial providers
with special focus on rural areas and the unbanked and
under-banked segments. It will generate new employment
opportunities for skilled banking professionals and will
generate opportunities for propagating financial literacy
across the country. It will create the largest bank in the
world in terms of accessibility and in time, will encourage
the move towards a less cash economy.
Background

The IPPB will obtain banking licence from RBI by March


2017 and by September 2017, its services will be available
across the country through 650 payments bank branches,
linked post offices and alternative channels riding on
modern technology including mobiles, ATMs, PoS/ m-PoS
devices etc and simple digital payments. The proposal will
further the cause of financial inclusion by providing basic
banking, payments and remittance services and facilitate

@Mahendras

Setting-up of the IPPB to further financial inclusion was


one of the budgetary announcements during 2015-16.
The Department of Posts had obtained the in-principle
approval of the RBI in September 2015 to set up the India
Post Payments Bank. The India Post Payments Bank will
leverage the Departments network, reach, and resources
to make simple, low-cost, quality financial services easily
accessible to customers all over the country.
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PM NATIONAL DISASTER
MANAGEMENT

ARTICLE

The first-ever national plan for disaster management,


which encompasses a blueprint for making the country
disaster-resilient and significantly reducing loss of lives and
livelihoods, was unveiled on Wednesday by Prime Minister
NarendraModi.
The National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) provides
a framework and direction to the government agencies
for all phases of disaster management cycle -- prevention,
mitigation, response and recovery.
The NDMP is a dynamic document in the sense that it will
be periodically improved keeping up with the emerging
global best practices and knowledge bases in disaster
management.
The vision of the plan is to make India disaster- resilient,
achieve substantial disaster risk reduction, and significantly
decrease the losses of life, livelihoods, and assets
economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental by
maximising the ability to cope with disasters at all levels
of administration as well as among communities, the
statement said.

disaster risk, managing risk by strengthening governance,


investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience and
enhancing disaster preparedness. The Sendai Framework
for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, adopted at the
3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in
Japanese city Sendai on March 18 last year, outlines seven
clear targets and four priorities for action to prevent new
and reduce existing disaster risks.

The NDMP provides a generalised framework for recovery


since it is not possible to anticipate all the possible elements
of betterment reconstruction.

The plan ensures that all phases of disaster management


preparedness, mitigation, response and recoveryare
covered by a horizontal and vertical integration among all
agencies and departments of the government.

The Prime Minister said to prepare communities to cope


with disasters, the plan emphasises on a greater need for
information, education and communication activities.
The Plan also highlights that the disaster risk reduction will
be achieved by mainstreaming the requirements into the
developmental plans.

The NDMA seeks to improve the plan periodically by


keeping up with the knowledge base and global practices in
disaster management.

Globally, the approach towards post-disaster restoration


and rehabilitation has shifted to one of betterment
reconstruction.

The plan also states that six areas, namely the Himalayas,
coastal tracts, riverine areas, the northeast, arid and semiarid regions, islands and marine assets located in one or
more state or union territory, require special attention vis-avis disaster management.

The NDMP has been aligned broadly with the goals and
priorities set out in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk
Reduction.

In the Himalayan region, human activities are the prime


cause of environmental degradation. Coastal areas are
constantly at risk of geological shoreline changes, cyclones,
sea level rise, coastal flooding and tsunamis. Riverine
regions, which are primarily dependent on agriculture, are
subject to extremes of rainfall conditions. Therefore, they
are most vulnerable to riverine flooding and food shocks
during droughts.

Indias first disaster management plan in history hopes to


make India disaster resilient, achieve substantial disaster
risk reduction and significantly decrease the loss of life,
livelihoods and assets. The plan was released by Prime
Minister NarendraModi on June 1, 2016.
Prepared by the National Disaster Management Authority,
the plan spells out the roles of all tiers of the government,
including panchayats and urban local bodies. It identifies
crucial parts of disaster management such as early
warning, information dissemination, medical care, fuel,
transportation, search and rescue, evacuation, among
others.

The Northeast needs to be treated in an integrated manner for


disaster management. Union territories, islands and marine
assets are at risk from multiple hazards such as sea surges,
high velocity winds, cyclones, earthquakes and tsunamis.
Arid and semi-arid regions require special attention like
monitoring of hydro-meteorological and agro-economic
conditions as well as accurate forecasting methods.

The plan is in tandem with the four primary themes of


the United Nations Sendai frameworkunderstanding
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RLV-TD

ARTICLE

Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Demonstrator


(RLV-TD) is one of the most technologically challenging
endeavours of ISRO towards developing essential
technologies for a fully reusable launch vehicle to enable
low cost access to space. The configuration of RLV-TD is
similar to that of an aircraft and combines the complexity
of both launch vehicles and aircraft. The winged RLVTD has been configured to act as a flying test bed to
evaluate various technologies, namely, hypersonic flight,
autonomous landing and powered cruise flight. In future,
this vehicle will be scaled up to become the first stage of
Indias reusable two stage orbital launch vehicle.
RLV-TD consists of a fuselage (body), a nose cap,
double delta wings and twin vertical tails. It also features
symmetrically placed active control surfaces called Elevons
and Rudder. This technology demonstrator was boosted to
Mach no: 5 by a conventional solid booster (HS9) designed
for low burn rate. The selection of materials like special
alloys, composites and insulation materials for developing
an RLV-TD and the crafting of its parts is very complex and
demands highly skilled manpower. Many high technology
machinery and test equipment were utilised for building
this vehicle.

# Evaluation of autonomous Navigation, Guidance and


Control (NGC) schemes
# Integrated flight management
# Thermal Protection System Evaluation
Achievements:
RLV-TD was successfully flight tested on May 23, 2016
from SDSC SHAR Sriharikota validating the critical
technologies such as autonomous navigation, guidance &
control, reusable thermal protection system and re-entry
mission management.

Objectives of RLV-TD:
# Hypersonic aero thermodynamic characterisation of
wing body

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GENERAL AWARENESS

Q.1. According to Ernst and Young


report, what is Indias rank in
the Renewable Energy Country
Attractiveness Index (RECAI)?

1) 1
3) 3
5) 5

2) 2
4) 4

Q.2. The WPI Inflation in the month


of April is

1) -2.14
3) -0.85
5) 0.34

2) -3.66
4) -1.99

Q.3. Who has been awarded with an


honorary fellowship by a UK
student body to celebrate and
acknowledge his contributions
in shaping the present and
future of India ?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Virendra Paul
S Y Quraishi
A K Singh
Ajay Lal
Vijay Lokhania

Q.4. An Indian-origin pioneering


Tamil scholar and author,
__________
who
was
instrumental in persuading the
South African government to
introduce Tamil as a language
at secondary schools, died.

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Cundasamy Kuppusami
Lamjang Haokip
S Rangaswammy
K Ranganathan
Venugopal Aiyyar

Q.5. Who has won the Man Booker


International Prize for fiction
The Vegetarian, an unsettling
novel in which a woman stops
eating meat and desires to
become a tree?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Amitabh Ghosh
Han Kang
Marlon James
Julian Barnes
Aravind Adiga

Q.6. Which
Indian
American
scientist will receive the
prestigious National Medal
of Science award from US
President Barack Obama?

@Mahendras

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

U.R.Rao
A.S.Kiran Kumar
C.N.Rao
Ajit Mishra
Rakesh K Jain

Q.12. What is the name of the person


who is going to head the panel to
review the Fiscal Responsibility
and
Budget
Management
(FRBM) Act of 2003?

Q.7. Which bank has approved $625


million loan to support Indias
grid-connected rooftop solar
programme to generate clean
energy?

Q.13. Which of the following Indian


American entrepreneur has
been nominated by US senate
to the board of directors of the
Overseas Private Investment
Corporation?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

World Bank
IMF
Asian Development Bank
New Development Bank
AIIB

Q.8. Which of the following person


has been appointed as Director
in Prime Ministers office?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

P. K. Mishra
Nripendra Misra
Namgya Khampa
Tarun Bajaj
Anurag Jain

Q.9. Which of the following IndianAmerican politician has been


nominated by the US Senate to
the post of Executive Director
to the Asian Development
Bank?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Meera Khanvilkar
Deepak Gupta
Swati Dandekar
Namagya Khampa
Rituparna Ghosh

Q.10. Which author has received


PENs
Literary
Service
Award for her extraordinary
creativity
and
other
humanitarian causes?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Charles Dickenes
Danielle Steel
Sidney Sheldon
Paulo Coelho
J.K. Rowling

Q.11. According to the latest data


released by the US Treasury
Department, which country has
the largest foreign holder of the
US government securities?

1) China
3) Pakistan
5) Britain

2) India
4) Nepal

1) Ajit Rawal
2) N.K.Singh
3) Suresh Yadav
4)Vikram Bhatia
5) Ankit Laal

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Vikas Tomar
Mahesh Dutta
Deven Parekh
Anil Gupta
Arvind Gill

Q.14. Which of the following state has


signed a pact to set up Indias
first solar wind hybrid power
plant in the state?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Punjab
Himanchal Pradesh
Odisha
Bihar
Uttar Pradesh

Q.15. Justice (Retd) Mihir Kumar Jha


took oath as the Lokayukt of
which state?

1) Punjab
2) Haryana
3) Odisha
4) Bihar
5) Uttar Pradesh

Q.16. Recently which Indian bank


suffered
the
biggest-ever
quarterly loss reported by an
Indian bank?

1) PNB
3) IDBI

5) Indian Bank

2) SBI
4) Dena Bank

Q.17. India along with which country


signed a Protocol amending
the existing Convention and
Protocol between the two
countries for avoidance of
double taxation and prevention
of fiscal evasion with respect to
taxes on income in Ljubljana?

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1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

GENERAL AWARENESS

China
Afghanistan
Turkey
Mauritius
Slovenia

Q.18. What is the new FDI limit for


well diversified companies in
credit information companies
(CICs)?

1) 26%
3) 51%
5) 100%

2) 46%
4) 76%

Q.19. Recently Mr. Pranab Mukherjee


launched a Mobile App for
transformation of Presidents
Estate into a smart township
at a function to be held at
Rashtrapati Bhavan. What its
name?

1) Guard
3) Leader
5) Authority

2) Supervisor
4) Monitor

Q.20. Pakistans Prime Minister


Nawaz Sharif inaugurated
the Pakistan-China Optical
Fibre Cable Project, which is
_______ long.

1) 220 Km
3) 820 Km
5) 620 km

2) 920 Km
4) 720 km

Q. 24. J Jayalalitha sworn in as CM


of Tamilnadu. She hails from
which party ?

Q.30. Uttarakhand Governor K K


Paul released which book for
teachers?

Q.25. India successfully tested its


first indigenously made RLV
from Sriharikota Space Centre
in Andhra Pradesh. What does
RLV stands for?

(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)

Shashank Manohar
Sharad Pawar
Anurag Thakur
Jagmohan Dalmia
None of these

Q.22. IPS officer Aparna Kumar


who achieved fateh on Mount
Everest belongs to which state
cadre?

(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)

Uttar Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Himanchal Pradesh
None of these

Q. 23. Which of the following country


shall buy 100 Boeing Air Craft
Carrier from US?

(1) Iraq
(3) China
(5) None

@Mahendras

(2) Iran
(4) Japan

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Reusable launch vehicle


Readily launch vehicle
Radio launch vehicle
Remote launch vehicle
Root launch vehicle

Q.26. Which of the following CM has


been conferred with the Yug
Kavi Siddhicharan Award?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

J Jayalalitha
Pawan Chamling
Nitish Kumar
Arvind Kejriwal
Akhilesh yadav

Q.27. BJP leader and former IPS


officer Kiran Bedi was
appointed
as
lieutenant
governor of which state?

Q. 21. Who has been elected as the


youngest president of BCCI ?

(1) DMK
(2) PMK
(3) AIADMK (4) TMC
(5) None of these

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Lakshadweep
Chandigarh
Puducherry
Daman and Diu
Delhi

Q.28. Which Indian documentary


film has won the documentary
award at the 69th Cannes Film
Festival?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Being Bhaijaan
An American in Madras
Court
The Cinema Travellers
Indias Daughter

Q.29. Who has been appointed as


the Chairman and Managing
Director (CMD) of Nuclear
Power Corporation of India
Limited?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

V.K.Singh
Auroop Shah
S.K.Sharma
Vikrant Singh
Asif Ali

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

The Professionals
Visual Disability
The Headmaster
Shikshak
Nation Builders

Q.31. Tyre Maker _____ Tyres and


Wildlife Trust of India have
entered into a partnership to
restore a critical mangrove project
in Keralas Kannur district.

1) Apollo
2) Bridgestone
3) Ceat
4) MRF
5) Good Year

Q.32. How many times has golfer


Dustin Johnson won the US
Open Golf tournament?

1) 1
3) 3
5) 5

2) 2
4) 4

Q.33. Which of the following individual


resigned from the post of Director
and Non-Executive Chairman of
Zee Media?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Subhash K. Jha
Shriram Ghosh
Ronni Tandon
S.P. Bose
Subhash Chandra

Q.34. Which of the following Multilateral lending agency has made


an agreement with India for
100 million $ for Urban Water
Supply Modernisation Project?

1) World Bank
2) International Monetary Fund
3) World Trade Organsiation
4) Asian Development Bank
5) None of these

Q.35.

Which of the following cities


has not been included in the
second set of smart cities
mission announced recently?

1) Lucknow
3) Panji
5) Raipur

2) Bhagalpur
4) Cuttack

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Q.36. Which of the Following took


oath as the Chief Minister of
Assam?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Tarun Gogai
Tathagata Roy
Kaliko Pul
Sarbanand Sonowal
None of these

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Bharatgyan
Bharatvani
Bharatshakti
Bharatmoksh
Bharatbuddhi

Q.38. Which Bank has introduced a


Positive Pay feature in its
mobile banking application
which allows customers to
transfer images of the cheques
they have issued to the bank?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

ICICI Bank
HDFC Bank
Axis Bank
Yes Bank
Kotak Mahindra Bank

Q.39. CBT had decided to increase


benefits under the Employees
Deposit Linked Insurance
(EDLI) scheme from Rs. 3.6
lakh to _____?

1) Rs 4 lakh
3) Rs 6 lakh
5) Rs 8 lakh

2) Rs 5 lakh
4) Rs 7 lakh

Q.40. The Cabinet Committee on


Economic Affiars (CCEA)
gave ex post facto approval to
increase the foreign investment
limit in YES Bank to what
percent in future?

1) 26%
3) 49%
5) 76%

2) 46%
4) 74%

Q.41. Recently which ship was


commissioned at Kochi by
the Coast Guard Commander
(Western Seaboard) Additional
Director General SPS Basra?

@Mahendras

1) Arush
2) INS Vikrant
3) INS Chakra
4) INS Kalvari
5) Ganga

Q.42. Who sworn-in as West Bengals


chief minister for the second
time?

Q.37. What is the name of the first


knowledge portal of India
which focuses on becoming a
single point source for multiple
language learning, content and
technology?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Goutam Deb
Upen Biswas
Mamta Banerjee
Partha Chatterjee
Amit Mitra

Q.43. Which
state
government,
UNICEF and the Rajendra
Agriculture University, Pusa
entered into an agreement to
reduce malnourishment among
women and children in the
state?

1) Sikkim
2) Bihar
3) Odisha
4) Rajasthan
5) Uttar Pradesh

Q.44. Which of the following person


has received this years Harvard
Business
School
Alumni
Achievement Award?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Mukesh Ambani
Aditya Birla
Narayan Murthi
Ratan Tata
Sunil Bharti Mittal

Q.45. Which of the following


Formula-one has won the
Monaco Grand Prix?

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Lewis Hamilton
Nico Rosberg
Sebastian Vettel
Mark Verstappen
Kimi Raikonen

Q.46. Which Indian cricketer has


launched his clothing Brand
True Blue ?

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Sourav Ganguly
Sachin Tendulkar
VVS Laxman
Rahul Dravid
Sunil Gavaskar

Q.47. Who is the Union Minister for


Tourism in India?

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Mahesh Sharma
Harsh Vardhan
S.P. Tyagi
Piyush Goyal
Harsh Sinha

Q.48. From which financial year


would the Indian Meterological
Department provide state-wise
Moonsoon Forecast?

1. 2015
3. 2017
5. 2019

2. 2016
4. 2018

Q.49. Which country has become the


third largest steel producer in
the year 2015?

1) India
3) USA
5) Canada

2) Russia
4) France

Q.50. With a view to strengthen


security of women passengers
in trains, Central Railway (CR)
has introduced which system
to alert officials in case of an
emergency?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Alert Button
Panic Call
Panic Button
Emergency Call
Emergency Button

Q.51. Who took charge as the Flag


Officer
Commanding-inChief of the Southern Naval
Command (SNC)?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Dinesh Pandey
Vishwajeet Rathore
Ashok Bhatt
A.R.Karve
Girish Luthra

Q.52. Celebrated Italian theatre and


film actor-director ______ died.

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Alberto Sordi
Giorgio Albertazzi
Robert De Niro
Terence Hill
Franco Nero

Q.53. Who has been awarded Japans


Grand Fukuoka prize 2016 for
his outstanding contribution
to Asian culture through his
music?

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1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

GENERAL AWARENESS
Q.60. The newly approved
superannuation age for doctors is-

Sajid Khan
Anu Mallik
Gulzaar
A.R.Rehman
Rahat Fateh Ali

Q.54. Which banks Point of Sale


network, has become the
countrys largest POS network?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

PNB
HDFC Bank
Axis Bank
ICICI
SBI

1) 7.5%
3) 7.7%
5) 7.9%

2) 7.6%
4) 7.8%

Q.56. Which actor has been appointed


as the goodwill ambassador
against leprosy by LEPRA
India?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Shahrukh Khan
R Madhawan
Salman Khan
Farhan Akhtar
Ranbir Kapoor

1) First
3) Fifth
5) Ninth

2) Third
4) Seventh

1) 6.4%
3) 8.4%
5) 11%

2) 7.4%
4) 9.4%

Q.59. According to the Finance


Ministry, the estimated GDP
growth for the current financial
year would be

1) 7.7%
3) 7.9%
5) 8.2%

@Mahendras

2) 7.8%
4) 8.0%

Manish Pathak
Atul Rai
Rahul Johri
Alok Nanda
Vivek Joshi

1) 1
3) 3
5) 5

2) 2
4) 4

Q.67. Which country along with


India signed two MoUs on
promotion of handicrafts and IT
and communication and digital
economy?

1) France
3) Tunisia
5) Monaco

2) Mauritius
4) USA

Q.68. Who has topped the list of 100


global sports personalities by
ESPN?

1) 7.4%
3) 7.6%
5) 8%

2) 7.5%
4) 7.7.%

Q.63. The Rajasthan government


signed a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) with
which bank to boost the startup ecosystem in the state?
1) SBBJ
2) PNB
3) SBI
4) Dena Bank
5) Indian Bank

Q.64. The Union Cabinet approved


which payment bank as a
Public Limited Company with
100% equity by Government of
India (GOI)?

Q.58. As per the data released by


Government, Indias per capita
income rose by

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Q.62. According to Organisation for


Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD), the
expected growth rate of India
for the year 2016-17 would be-

Q.57. According to the report by New


World Wealth, what is Indias
position in the list of top 10
wealthiest countries in the
world?

2) 62 years
4) 67 years

Q.61. Who took charge as the first


Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
of the Board of Control for
Cricket in India?

Q.55. According to the FICCIs


Economic Outlook Survey,
Indias growth for the year
2016-17 will be-

1) 60 years
3) 65 years
5) 70 years

women have featured on the


Forbes annual list of Americas
60 wealthiest and most
successful self-made women
entrepreneurs?

1) National Securities Depository


2) Aditya Birla Nuvo
3) FINO PayTech
4) India Post
5) Prizm

Q.65. Recently
which
country
joined global ballistic missile
proliferation regime Hague
Code of Conduct (HCoC)?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Brazil
North Korea
China
India
Japan

Q.66. How

many

Serena Williams
Sania Mirza
M.S.Dhoni
Virat Kohli
Cristiano Ronaldo

Q.69. How many agreements have


been signed between india and
Qatar during the recent visit of
Prime minister to bolster ties?

1) 2
3) 5
5) 7

2) 3
4) 6

Q.70. After how many years Caroline


Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic
came out the first French pair
to win a Grand Slam womens
doubles tennis title creating a
history?

1) 20 years
3) 45 years
5) 35 years

2) 30 years
4) 60 years

Q.71. The
Central
Information
Commission
has
directed
which bank to disclose details
of alleged loan default by
Gurgaon-based entertainment
group Kingdom of Dreams in
larger public interest.?

Indian-origin

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

1) SBI
3) HDFC
5) AXIS

2) IDBI
4) ICICI

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Q.72. Name the Former Mr Universe


and celebrated body-builder
who died at his home following
old
age-related
health
complications.

Q.78. According to the Forbes


Magazine, worlds highest-paid
sportswoman is-

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Manohar Aich
Murli Kumar
Sangram Chougule
Suhas Khamkar
Rajendran Mani

Q.73. According to 2016 Global


Retail Development Index
(GRDI), what is Indias
position among 30 developing
countries this year on ease of
doing business?

1) First
3) Third
5) Fifth

2) Second
4) Fourth

2) 20%
4) 40%

Q.75. The worlds largest food


retailer ______ and Chinese
E-commerce Company Alibaba
announced their partnership to
increase online selling.

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Nestle
Wal-Mart
Bharti retail ltd
Reliance fresh
Metro

Q.76. Recently who has defeated


Andy Murray of Britain to win
his first mens singles French
Open title and with this he has
become the third man in tennis
history to hold all four Grand
Slam titles at the same time?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Novak Djokovic
Andre Agasi
Rafael Nadal
Roger Federer
Stan Wowrinka

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Dolphin
Lion
White Shark
Star Fish
Tortoise

Serena Williams
Maria Sharapova
Martina Hingis
Sania Mirza
Li Na

Q.79. Which company has announced


the launch of Aarambh
a pan-India initiative aimed
at spearheading the use of
personal computer (PC) for
education?

Q.74. According to a new study


of Ambit Capital Research,
Indias black economy stood
over Rs 30 lakh crore which is
about _____ of total GDP?
1) 10%
3) 30%
5) 50%

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

1) Lenovo
3) Acer
5) Dell

2) Sony
4) HP

Q.80. Who was crowned as the Miss


USA 2016?
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Stacy Kiebler
Johnna Moss
Mitchell Parry
Pamela Harrison
Deshauna Barber

Q.81. Who has been named as


the International goodwill
ambassador by the head
of the UNs AIDS-fighting
organisation?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

John Bennedict
David Kross
Kenneth Cole
Angella Merkel
Hillary Clinton

Q.82. Who among the following


has been conferred with the
National Order of the Republic
of Ivory Coast ?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Pranab Mukherjee
Mukesh Ambani
Narendra Modi
Raghuram Rajan
Ratan Tata

outstanding contribution
manufacturing?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

in

R. Kuttum
Swapan Hembram
Bishwajeet Acharya
Ajay Beniwal
Kumar Bhattacharyya

Q.84. Which of the following has


signed a $120 million loan
agreement with India to
improve irrigation and water
management infrastructure in
Odisha?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Brics Bank
World Trade Organisation
World Bank
Asian Development Bank
International Monetary fund

Q.85. In a ranking of 163 countries,


compiled by global think tank
Institute for Economics and
Peace (IEP), which country
ranked as the worlds most
peaceful country?

1) Monaco
3) Burundi
5) Iceland

2) Serbia
4) India

Q.86. According to a report of BP


Statistical Review of World
Energy,which country holds
the top position in terms of oil
consumption?

1) Israel
3) India
5) US

2) Russia
4) China

Q.87. What is the name of the joint


maritime exercise between
India, U.S.A. and Japan that
took place in June 2016?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Surya-Kiran-16
Trishool-16
Malabaar-16
Garuda-16
Sahyog-Kaijin-16

Q.88. What is the full form of NSG?


1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Nitrate Supervisor Group


Nomadic Supplier Group
Nuclear Supplier Group
Neutron Supplier Group
Next Supreme Group

Q.83. Who has been awarded


the
prestigious
Regius
Q.77. Which animal was declared as
Professorship in Manufacturing
the Guwahatis City Animal?
by Queen Elizabeth II for his
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Q.89. Who has been named by Time


magazine to its 2016 list of 10
millennials who are changing
the world for building a
phone which can help people
to interact and access critical
services by communicating in
their native languages?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Rajendra Jain
Vimal Rai
Rajiv Patel
Umesh Sachdev
Suresh Yadav

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Vinayak Gupta
Akhil Sharma
Jeetu Pal
Rajesh Lal
Abhijeet Mukherjee

Q.91. Which state was adjudged as


the top performing state under
the Digital India Programme?

1) Delhi
2) Bihar
3) Uttarakhand 4) Telangana
5) Jharkhand

Q.92. Which of the following state


achieves top position in terms
of steps taken to improve
the ease of doing business
according to a ranking done
on a real-time basis by the
Department of Industrial Policy
and Promotion (DIPP)?
Q.1.(3).

Q.2.(5).

Q.3.(2).

1) Delhi
2) Bihar
3) Uttarakhand 4) Telangana
5) Jharkhand

Q.93. Who has been honoured


with the American Diabetes
Associations Vivian Fonseca
Scholar Award 2016 for his
contribution in the field of
gastric bypass surgery for
diabetes?

Q.90. Who has won the prestigious


100,000 - euro International
Dublin Literary Award, the
worlds richest award for a
single novel, for his second
novel Family Life?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

R.K.Jain
Manohar Khurana
Rajeev Patil
Vikram Dutt
Shashank Shah

Q.94. According to global financial


services firm DBS, recovery
in the Indian economy will
continue to be uneven and
the GDP growth expected to
increase from 7.6 per cent to
what per cent in the current
fiscal 2016-17?

1) 7.7%
3) 7.9%
5) 8.1%

2) 7.8%
4) 8.0%

Q.95. Recently which of the following


satellite was launched by China
to support its global navigation
and positioning network?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

21st BeiDou
22nd BeiDou
23rd BeiDou
24th BeiDou
25th BeiDou

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Q.97. Which of the following Bank


launched its first Aadhaarbased ATM in Bengaluru?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Q.98. Which company will acquire


LinkedIn for $26.2 billion?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Q.6.(5).

Facebook
Microsoft
Accenture
Tech Mahindra
Orange

Q.99. India along with which


country signed three MoUs
including the waiver of visa
for diplomatic and official
passports, establishment of a
joint commission to periodically
monitor various aspects of
multi dimensional relationship,
and helping in training of their
Foreign services?

1) France
2) Mauritius
3) Ghana
4) Mexico
5) Switzerland

1) -3.14

2) -2.14

3) -1.99
5) 0.79

4) 0.34

ANSWER - GENERAL AWARENESS


Q.5.(2).

Kotak Mahindra bank


Axis Bank
ICICI Bank
DCB Bank
HDFC Bank

Q.100. The whole sale price index for


May 16 is-

Q.96. Former
England
Cricket
Captain ________ died.

Q.4.(1).

Donald Carr
Jack White
Bob Wyatt
Gubby Allen
David Sheppard

Q.7.(1).

Q.8.(3).

Q.9.(3).

Q.10.(5).

Q.11.(1). Q.12.(2). Q.13.(3). Q.14.(2). Q.15.(4). Q.16.(1). Q.17.(5). Q.18.(5). Q.19.(4).

Q.20.(3).

Q.21.(3). Q.22.(1). Q.23.(2). Q.24.(3). Q.25.(1). Q.26.(2). Q.27.(3). Q.28.(4). Q.29.(3).

Q.30.(2).

Q.31.(1). Q.32.(5). Q.33.(1). Q.34.(1). Q.35.(4). Q.36.(4). Q.37.(2). Q.38.(1). Q.39.(3).

Q.40.(4).

Q.41.(1). Q.42.(3). Q.43.(2). Q.44.(5). Q.45.(1). Q.46.(2). Q.47.(1). Q.48.(3). Q.49.(1).

Q.50.(3).

Q.51.(4). Q.52.(2). Q.53.(4). Q.54.(5). Q.55.(3). Q.56.(2). Q.57.(4). Q.58.(2). Q.59.(4).

Q.60.(3).

Q.61.(3). Q.62.(2). Q.63.(1). Q.64.(4). Q.65.(4). Q.66.(2). Q.67.(3). Q.68.(5). Q.69.(5).

Q.70.(3).

Q.71.(2). Q.72.(1). Q.73.(2). Q.74.(2). Q.75.(1). Q.76.(1). Q.77.(1). Q.78.(1). Q.79.(5).

Q.80.(5).

Q.81.(3). Q.82.(1). Q.83.(5). Q.84.(4). Q.85.(5). Q.86.(5). Q.87.(3). Q.88.(3). Q.89.(4).

Q.90.(2).

Q.91.(5). Q.92.(2). Q.93.(5). Q.94.(2). Q.95.(3). Q.96.(1). Q.97.(4). Q.98.(2). Q.99.(3).

Q.100.(5).

@Mahendras

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CURRENT
ACCOUNT
DEFICIT
IN GDP %

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MUHAMMAD ALI

THE LEGEND

MUHAMMAD ALI (1942 2016)


Born On
Born At
Full Name
Old Name
Profession
Death On
Death At
Country Represented
First International Match
Matches/Wins/ Losses
Professional Career
Achievements

January 17, 1942


Louisville, Kentucky, United States
Mu hammad Ali
Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.
Boxing(Heavyweight192236 lb.)
June 03, 2016
Scottsdale, Arizona, United States
Professional Summary
United States of America
With Tunney Hunsaker on October 29, 1960
61/56/5
1954 1981
# Olympic Gold Medal (Light Heavyweight) 1960 at Rome
Olympics
# Mens Amateur Boxing Medal

Awards & Accolades

# WBC and WBA heavyweight championships


## 5 time Ring magazine fighter of the year
## Sports Illustrated Sportsman Of The Century
## BBC Sports Personality of the Century
## Presidential Citizens Medal
## Presidential Medal of Freedom
## International Boxing Hall of Fame
## CSHL Double Helix Medal (2006)
With Trevor Berbick on December 11, 1981, in Nassau, Bahamas.
The Greatest

Last Match
Nick Names

The Peoples Champion


The Louisville Lip

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MUHAMMAD ALI

THE LEGEND
Personal & Family
Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr. ( father) Odessa Grady Clay (mother)
Lonnie Ali (m. 19862016)

Parents
Spouse Name

Veronica Porche Ali (m. 1977-1986)


Belinda Boyd (m. 1967-1976)
SonjiRoi (m. 1964-1966)
Laila Ali, Rasheda Ali, Hana Ali, Asaad Amin, Maryum Ali, Jamillah
Ali, Khaliah Ali, Muhammad Ali Jr., Miya Ali
Rahman Ali (brother)
African American
Sunni Islam
Album of spoken word music on Columbia Records titled I Am the
Greatest in 1963

Children
Sibling(s)
Ethnicity
Religion
Book, Music, etc.

Recorded a cover version of the rhythm and blues song Stand by


Me in 1964
I Am the Greatest, was nominated for a Grammy Award.

Others

Best Recording for Children, with his 1976 novelty record, he


received a second Grammy nomination.
Muhammad Ali, a Superman: The Echelon of Confidence and Grit. An Unparalleled Player, not only in the
Game but through it becoming a Legend and a Champion against racism.
Dignity and Liveliness can never be defined better in person other than Mohammad Ali.
To The Greatest, The Greatest Boxer Ever May his soul rest in peace Mahendras Family.

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WHOS WHO

DESIGNATION
WHOS WHO

S.No. DESIGNATION
1.
Chairman, Rajya Sabha
2.
Chairperson of Lok Sabha
3.
Chairman of NITI Ayog
4.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha
5.
Leader of House in Lok Sabha
6.
Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha
7.
Chief Election Commissioner
8.
Election Commissioner
9.
Election Commissioner
10. Chief Vigilance Commissioner
11. Foreign Secretary
12. Comptroller & Auditor General of India
13. Chairman, National Commission for Backward Classes
14. Chairman, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
15. CBI Director
16. Chairman, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes
17. Chairperson, National Commission for Minorities
18. Chairman, UPSC
19. Director General, National Investigation Agency
20. Chairman, UGC
21. Chairman, Space Commission and ISRO
22. Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission and Sec. Deptt. of Atomic Energy
23. Chairman, SSC
24. Chairman,National Human Rights Commission
25. Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner
26. Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes
27. Chairman, Insurance Regulatory Development Authority
28. Chairman, Securities & Exchange Board of India
29. Chairperson, State Bank of India
30. Chairman, LIC
31. Indias permanent representative in UNO
32. Home Secretary
33. Chairperson of National Commission for Women
34. Chairman, 14th Finance Commission
35. Chairman, Competition Commission of India
36. Chairperson,CentralBoard of Film Certification
37. President, ASSOCHAM
38. Chairman, NASSCOM
39. President, NASSCOM
40. Director General, RAW
41. Chairperson, Children Film Society of India
42. Director, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
43. President, CII
44. President, FICCI
45. Chairman, National Knowledge Commission
46. National Security Advisor
47. Chairperson, Prasar Bharati
48. Chairman, Investment Commission
49. Finance Secretary
50. Chairman, Indian Banks Association

@Mahendras

TM

NAME
Mohd.Hamid Ansari
Sumitra Mahajan
Narendra D Modi
Gulam Nabi Azad
Narendra D Modi
Mallikarjun Kharge
Syed Nasim Ahmed Zaidi
Om Prakash rawat
Achal kumar jyoti
K V chaudhary
Dr S jayshankar
Shashi Kant Sharma
Jus. Vangala Eswaraiah
R. S Sharma
Anil Kumar Sinha
Rameshwar Oran
Naseem Ahmed
Deepak Gupta
Sharad Kumar
Ved Prakash
A S Kiran kumar
Sekhar Basu
Ashim Khurana
Cyriac Joshep
Sailesh
AtuleshJindal
T.S. Vijayan
U.K. Sinha
Arundhati Bhattacharya
S.K. Roy
Syed Akbaruddin
Ratan P. Vatal
Lalitha Kumaramanglam
Y.V. Reddy
D.K. Sikri
Pahlaj Nihalani
Sunil kanoria
C.P. Gurnani
R. Chandrasekhar
Rajinder Khanna
Mukesh Khanna
Kamlesh Nilkanth Vyas
Sumit Majumdar
Harshavardhan Neotia
Sam Pitroda
Ajit Doval
Surya Prakash
Ratan Tata
Ashok Lavasa
T.M.Basin

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