SNIPPETS

June 1-10

Kolkata Knight Riders beat Kings XI Punjab after a nail-biting finish in the IPL 7 final at M Chinnaswamy
Stadium to emerge champions for the second time in three years. It was the ninth successive win by KKR
which is the most by any team in IPL.

Overtaking global giants like the US and China, India has scored top rankings when it comes to putting in
place necessary regulations to ensure soundness of the financial market infrastructure. The assessment
forms a part of a study by global groupings of capital market and banking regulators from across the
world, which have analysed the necessary regulatory framework put in place in various markets to match
the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructure (PFMIs).

Telangana came into existence as India's 29th state, putting an end to the decades-old struggle in the
region for carving out a separate state from Andhra Pradesh. K Chandrasekhar Rao was sworn-in as first
CM of Telangana with 11 Cabinet ministers.

The fifth Indo-French air exercise 'Garuda-V', in which frontline fighter aircraft of both the countries took
part, started at the Jodhpur airbase.

After seven years of a bitter and at times lethal rivalry between the two main Palestinian factions, Fatah
and Hamas, a historic Palestinian unity government was sworn in, ending years of division. The signing
ceremony, which seems likely to complicate relations with the Palestinian Authority's international aid
donors in Europe and the US and increase tensions with Israel, was broadcast live in Gaza and the West
Bank.

King Juan Carlos of Spain announced his intention to abdicate, after nearly 40 years on the throne. His
son, Crown Prince Felipe, 45, will take over the throne.

Rural Development Minister Gopinath Munde died after a road collision in New Delhi, depriving Prime
Minister Narendra Modi of a key ally eight days after coming to office with a mandate to revitalise a stalled
economy. From 1995 to 1999, Munde was deputy chief minister of Maharashtra. He was twice elected to
the Lok Sabha, in 2009 and again last month in the landslide general election victory of the BJP.

In a major decision fraught with financial and political implications, the Jammu and Kashmir government
agreed to enhance the retirement age of its employees to 60 from current 58 years.

President Barack Obama unveiled a $1 billion US security plan for Eastern Europe aimed at allaying fears
over a resurgent Kremlin and the escalating pro-Russian uprising in ex-Soviet Ukraine.

Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath was sworn-in as the Protem Speaker of the newly constituted Lok
Sabha by President Pranab Mukherjee.

Andhra Pradesh Governor ESL Narasimhan appointed Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu
as the first Chief Minister of the new state of Andhra Pradesh and invited him to form the government.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad won a new seven-year term with nearly 90 per cent of a vote in a poll
branded illegitimate by the Opposition and a non-election by the United States.

Eight-term member Sumitra Mahajan was unanimously elected Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha, becoming
the second woman presiding officer of the lower house after her predecessor Meira Kumar.

The first unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power plant (KKNPP) attained its maximum capacity of 1000
MW, thus becoming the largest electricity-generating plant of any type in the country. Located in the
Tirunelveli district, the plants commissioning was delayed for over a year because of anti-nuclear
protestors who held up work citing safety concerns over the plant constructed with Russian help. This is
the 21st nuclear power reactor in the country and Indias first pressurised water reactor belonging to light
water reactor category. KKNPP unit 1 will add 1000 MW electricity to the southern grid and increase the
contribution of nuclear power in the country to 5780 MW. Tamil Nadu will have the lions share of power
generated.

Senior Supreme Court advocate Ranjit Kumar was appointed the Solicitor General (SG) of India. He
replaces senior advocate Mohan Parasaran, who had tendered his resignation after the formation of a new
government at the Centre.

Petro Poroshenko was sworn in as Ukraine's president, after which he called for an end to violence in the
countrys east and outlined plans to sign an economic agreement with the European Union during his
inauguration speech.

Maria Sharapova won another French Open title, defeating Simona Halep, 6-4, 6-7, 6-4, at Roland Garros.
It was Sharapova's third consecutive French final, and her second victory in three years. Sharapova was
seeded seventh in this year's tournament, and she became the lowest seed to win the women's singles
title since No. 17 Francesca Schiavone won in 2010.

Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was sworn in as Egypts President following a landslide election victory almost a year
after he deposed the countrys first freely-elected leader and crushed his Islamist supporters. The exArmy Chief became the countrys second elected President since a popular uprising overthrew strongman
Hosni Mubarak in 2011, unleashing more than three years of unrest.

Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic to win his ninth French Open title and his fifth consecutive win at the
tennis tournament. Nadal has now won 14 tennis titles, tying him with Pete Sampras for second all-time,
and putting him three titles behind Roger Federer.

In a relief to thousands of migrant workers and employees with transferable jobs, the Reserve Bank of
India said that a bank account can be opened with just one address proof, which can be either permanent
or local. The relief makes the dream of walking into a bank and opening an account with just personal
identification a reality for even the poorest of the citizens.

Iran and the United States began direct talks in Geneva aimed at ending Tehrans stand-off with world
powers over its disputed nuclear program.

Libya's Supreme Court said the election of Ahmed Maiteeq as prime minister was illegal. Last month,
parliament elected Maiteeq as new prime minister in a chaotic vote which was disputed by some
lawmakers and officials who said the quorum had been missed.

Reuven Rivlin, a right-wing legislator opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state, was elected Israel's
president to replace the dovish Shimon Peres in the largely ceremonial post.

June 11-20

PM Narendra Modi unveiled the roadmap for putting agriculture on high-growth trajectory with intensive
use of technology in farming to scale up land productivity. In a bid to illustrate how his government would
implement claims made in Presidents speech to the joint session of the Parliament, Mr Modi suggested
soil health card and lab to land as ways to transform agricultural productivity.

A Southern California motorist drove off the lot of a Hyundai Motor Co dealership in a zero-emissions car
touted by the automaker as marking the commercial debut of mass-produced hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles
in the United States.

The government has decided to raise the height of the Narmada Dam by 17 metres a longstanding
demand of Gujarat within 20 days of Narendra Modi becoming the Prime Minister, raising protests from
activist Medha Patkar who drew attention to the resultant displacement of thousands of people. The
Narmada Control Authority (NCA) approved the proposal to raise the dam's height from 121.9 metres to
138.7 metres, making it the second highest dam in the world after Grand Coulee in the US.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi was appointed as the new attorney general (AG) and will have tenure of
three years. The government has already appointed Ranjit Kumar as the solicitor general. Six additional
solicitors general have also been appointed. Rohatgi took over from GE Vahanvati as the 14th AG of the
country.

FIFA World Cup 2014 kicked off in Sao Paulo, Brazil on 12 June.

Aung San Suu Kyis hopes of becoming Myanmars President next year have been dealt a blow when a
parliamentary committee voted not to change a constitutional clause that bars her from the post on
account of her British ties.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated India's largest warship INS Vikramaditya to the nation. He also
sought to make the country self-reliant in manufacturing defence equipment, shedding dependence on
imports.

Reaching out to the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told its leadership
that India will nurture its bilateral ties with it while describing relations as B4B Bharat for Bhutan.

Wholesale price inflation hit a five-month high of 6.01 per cent in May with the rate of rise of food prices
running at 9.5 per cent.

Russia cuts gas supply to Ukraine after talks fail.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won a second term with an election victory that allows him to
continue peace talks with Marxist guerrillas to end a half-century war. Santos beat right-wing challenger
Oscar Ivan Zuluaga with about 50.9 percent support after a bitter campaign that challenged voters to
decide between the incumbent's pursuit of negotiated peace or a likely escalation of combat under his
rival.

Uttar Pradesh governor B L Joshi resigned, even as the Centre nudged nearly half a dozen governors to
step down. The UPA government had approved a second term for Joshi just before the parliamentary
election was announced.

The UK government has rejected the idea of declaring Diwali and Eid as national holidays saying that
adding more public holidays will affect the country's economy.

Egypts Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb was sworn in at the head of a new government that retained key
economic and security ministers but created a new investment post to attract funds to an economy racked
by years of political turmoil. The new Cabinet includes 34 ministers.

Senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi was conferred Russia's highest civilian award for foreign nationals,
"Order of Friendship", for his championing role in fostering ties between the two countries.

Former Norwegian premier Gro Harlem Brundtland was named as the first recipient of the Tang Prize,
touted as Asia's version of the Nobels, for her work as the "godmother" of sustainable development.

The Government has reconstituted six Committees of the Cabinet i.e. Appointments Committee of the
Cabinet, Cabinet Committee on Accommodation, Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, Cabinet
Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs and Cabinet Committee on
Security.

Days after an Intelligence Bureau (IB) report alleged that NGOs were stalling Indias economic growth, the
union Home Ministry has asked Reserve Bank of India to ensure prior permission is sought before any
donation is made to NGO Greenpeace by two overseas contributors.

King Felipe VI begins his reign in Spain, vows to clean up scandal-hit monarchy.

The government has increased railway passenger fare by 14.2 per cent and freight charges by 6.5 per
cent.

Noted Hindi poet Kedarnath Singh has been chosen for the prestigious Jnanpith award for 2013. He is the
10th Hindi writer to receive the honour and joins the likes of Sumitra Nandan Pant, Ramdhari Singh
Dinkar among others.

Indian-born Booker Prize winning author Salman Rushdie was named the winner of this years prestigious
Pen Pinter prize for his outstanding literary output and support for freedom of expression. The award was
established in 2009 by writers charity English Pen in memory of famous British playwright and Nobel
laureate Harold Pinter.

July 21 onwards

Defying the University Grants Commission (UGC), the Delhi University (DU) refused to scrap the
controversial four-year undergraduate programme, raising fears t hat colle ge admissions could be staring
at a nursery-like mess.

The Government has accepted the report of Mayaram panel related with removing ambiguity in the
definition of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Foreign Institutional Investors (FII). The panel was
constituted last year under the Chairmanship of the Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram after then
Finance Minister P Chidambaram announced in the budget. The Committee, in its report, suggested 10 per
cent or more foreign investment in a listed Indian Company should be treated as FDI while below 10 per
cent to be considered as Foreign Portfolio Investor (FPI). FPI combines two categories of foreign investors,
FII and Qualified Foreign Investor (QFI). The panel also said that for an unlisted company even one dollar
worth of foreign investment would be considered as FDI.

A day after Delhi Universitys (DUs) academic council passed a resolution to tweak the Four-Year
Undergraduate Programme (FYUP) to make it compliant with the National Policy on Education (NPE), the
University Grants Commission (UGC) ordered DU to conduct undergraduate admissions only under the
three-year undergraduate programme which was offered prior to the introduction of FYUP.

Governor of Uttarakhand, Dr Aziz Qureshi took the oath of office as additional governor of Uttar Pradesh.
He will replace BL Joshi till the National Democratic Alliance will find some permanent leader for the job.

In a major policy shift, the Union home ministry has decided to scrap any move to give visa-free entry for
Bangladesh nationals. The MHA has red-flagged the ministry of external affairs proposal to grant visa-onarrival facility to Bangladeshi nationals and visa- free entry to citizens of that country under the age of 18
and over the age of 65.

Gunmen fighting Iraqi forces seized more territory along the countrys borders with Jordan and Syria, as
President Barack Obama warned that advances by militants could spill over into neighboring countries.

India has evacuated another 17 of its nationals caught in the zone of conflict in northern Iraq that was
overrun by militants earlier this June.

In a massive relief for lakhs of Mumbai's suburban railway commuters, the Modi government announced
a partial rollback of the unprecedented rail fare hike. Besides not hiking second-class daily ticket fares up
to 80km, first-class daily tickets and first- and second-class season tickets will now be increased by a flat
14.2%. The unprecedented hike announced on June 20, ranging between 100% and 187%, had drawn a
barrage of criticism from over 75 lakh Mumbaikars who commute by local trains.

Nagaland Governor Ashwani Kumar became the third person to resign from the post after the NDA
government sounded out some governors appointed during the UPA regime to do so.

Maharashtra government approved 16 per cent reservation for Marathas and five per cent for Muslims in
government jobs and educational institutions.

Iranian lawmakers approved a bill criminalizing birth-control surgeries amid a drop in the country's
population.

The Centre extended the deadline to roll out the National Food Security Act by another three months.
After Parliament passed the law, states were given time till July 5 to roll out the scheme.

Militants took a town an hour from Baghdad that is home to four natural gas fields, another gain by Sunni
insurgents, who have taken large areas to the north and west of the capital.

In a tactical shift from the UPA governments two-pronged strategy of police action and development
to counter Naxalism, the BJP government outlined to states a four-pronged approach of security,
development, entitlement to social welfare schemes and perception management to wipe out left-wing
extremism. On the cards are new special commando forces like the elite Andhra Greyhounds to be
developed in the four worst-affected states Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Orissa with full
Central assistance.

After a long tug of war with the University Grants Commission (UGC), Delhi University (DU) finally
scrapped the controversial four-year undergraduate programme (FYUP), reverting to the three-year
degree format and paving the way for the commencement of the stalled admission process..

Ukraine's new Western-backed President signed a landmark EU pact whose rejection by his pro-Moscow
predecessor plunged the ex-Soviet country into turmoil and sent East-West relations to their lowest level
since the Cold War. Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko hailed the deal, which pulls Kiev out of Kremlins
orbit, as a turning point for the strategic country sandwiched between Europe and Russia.

Stepping up its efforts to rescue Indians stuck in Iraq, the Indian Navy deployed its warship INS Mysore in
the Persian Gulf.

In a fresh dare, China has published a new map that has unnerved sentiments among governments
ranging from India to those in Southeast Asia. The map shows India's Arunachal Pradesh state as Chinese
territory. Not just that, a large part of Jammu and Kashmir is also shown as part of China.

Indian badminton ace Saina Nehwal clinched her second title of the year, by beating Spaniard Carolina
Marin 21-18, 21-11 in the Australian Open Super Series final.

India successfully launched five foreign satellites from four countries on board PSLV-C23 rocket which
placed them in orbit, an achievement described by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an 'endorsement' of
the country's space capabilities.

PEOPLE IN NEWS
Alexander Imich
Alexander Imich, who was recently declared the oldest living man, died in New York at the age of 111.
Alexander Shulgin
Alexander Sasha Shulgin, the pioneering pharmacologist who introduced MDMA to psychologists in the 1970s,
died at 88. He earned the title, the Godfather of ecstasy, after developing a new synthesis method for MDMA
the purest available form of ecstasy in 1976.
Alexander Stubb
Alexander Stubb is set to become Finland's new prime minister after he won a vote to head the ruling conservative
party. Stubb, 46, currently European and Trade Minister in Finland, will replace Jyrki Katainen. He
defeated Social Affairs Minister Paula Risikko by 500 votes to 349 in the second round of polling by members of
Finland's national coalition.
Carla Laemmle
Silent film actress Carla Laemmle, niece of Universal Studios founder Carl Laemmle, died at 104. Laemmle was
considered one of the last surviving performers from Hollywoods silent film years.
Dadi Balsara
Founder of Himalayan natural mineral water brand Dadi Balsara (81) passed away at his home "Taj Mansingh
hotel" in New Delhi. From a salaried professional to becoming one of the wealthiest Indians, Balsara had come a
long way. He started his career as an LIC officer in Nagpur, earning a monthly salary of Rs 600. He later switched
careers and went to the US to study psychiatry on a scholarship. After a few failures, Balsara got it his big break
when a Japanese television channel decided to host his holistic lifestyle programmes. His shows "You & your
destiny" and "Power of the mind" became quite a hit. Balsara later settled in Singapore and started selling
perfumes, earning the title "Perfumes king of Asia". In 1991, he turned his attention to India and set up the
largest natural mineral water plant in Himachal Pradesh with an investment of $20 million. Under the Himalayan
brand manufactured by his Mount Everest Mineral Water Limited, Balsara created a niche in the highly competitive
bottled water segment in the country.
Dhondutai Kulkarni
Dhondutai Kulkarni, a Hindustani classical singer of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana, died at 87 in Mumbai. Dhondutai
was known for being a purist and for her repository of rare ragas. She was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi
Award in 1990.
Gopinath Munde
Union Rural development minister Gopinath Munde died in a road accident in Delhi when he was going towards the
IGI airport. He was a member of Maharashtra's Legislative Assembly (MLA) for five terms during 19801985 and
19902009. He was also the leader of opposition in the Assembly during 19921995. He had held the post of
Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra in 19951999.Munde was elected to Lok Sabha in 2009 and 2014, and
served as the deputy leader of the BJP in the Lok Sabha. He was appointed in Modi's cabinet and took the oath on
26 May 2014.

Governors who resigned

Uttar Pradesh Governor: B.L.Joshi
Chhattisgarh Governor: Shekhar Dutt
Nagaland Governor: Ashwani Kumar
West Bengal Governor: M.K.Narayanan
Jimmy Scott
Jimmy Scott, the revered jazz vocalist known for his unique vocal phrasings and diminutive stature, died at the
age of 88. His vocals influenced a generation of diverse singers, ranging from Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington
to Marvin Gaye and Madonna.
Juan Manuel
President Juan Manuel Santos vowed to bring peace to Colombia after winning re-election on June 15, telling
rebels

his

victory

shows

that

voters

demand

an

end

to

five

decades

of

war.

Santos, a center-rightist who has staked his reputation on securing a peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC), won almost 51 percent support in the runoff election. His right-wing rival Oscar Ivan
Zuluaga trailed with 45 percent. The election divided Colombia between voters who support a deal to end Latin
Americas longest-running insurgency and Zuluagas backers who want to force the militants into a battlefield
surrender.
Kamal Nath
Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath was sworn in as the pro tem Speaker of the newly constituted Lok Sabha by
President Pranab Mukherjee. The Protem Speaker performs the duties of the office of the Speaker from the
commencement of the sitting of the Lok Sabha till the election of the Speaker. Kamal Nath is also a former
parliamentary affairs minister and Lok Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara.
Khagen Mahanta
Assam's eminent folk singer Khagen Mahanta died after a prolonged illness. was an exponent in folk and
traditional music of Assam. Khagen Mahanta was a notable person in Assamese folk music and known as the "King
of Bihu". Recipient of the Sangeet Natak Academy award, Mahanta was also awarded the title of Sangeetacharya
along with Film Craft Award and Shrimoy award.
Kushal Bahl
Veteran Congress leader and cabinet minister from Gurdaspur, Punjab who worked under Punjab CMs Giani Zail
Singh, Beant Singh, Harcharan Brar and Capt. Amarinder Singh, died on June 14 in Gurdaspur, Punjab.
Mithun Chakraborty
Actor-turned-politician Mithun Chakraborty took oath as a Trinamool Congress MP in the Rajya Sabha. In January,
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced the nomination of the Bollywood actor as her party
candidate for the election to the Rajya Sabha and later he was elected as member of the Upper House.
Moon Chang-Keuk
South Korean President Park Geun-hye nominated a political novice and former journalist, Moon Chang-keuk, as
prime minister, as she reshuffled her cabinet in response to intense criticism over the handling of April's ferry
disaster. Although a noted opinion maker from his time as chief editorial writer at the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper,
he has no political or administrative experience, having given up journalism to take up teaching posts in

universities. He will replace Chung Hong-won who resigned over the Sewol ferry tragedy, which claimed around
300 lives, mostly schoolchildren.
Rajya Sabha Nominations
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was named as the Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha, while Congress veteran
Ghulam Nabi Azad was declared the Leader of the Opposition. Jaitley, 61, a senior Bharatiya Janata Party member
was earlier Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha during the United Progressiva Allance government, while
Azad, 65 was Union Health Minister. Both Jaitley and Azad lost elections from Amritsar in Punjab and Udhampur in
Jammu and Kashmir respectively in this Lok Sabha polls but the tenure of their Rajya Sabha membership still
remains.
Reuven Rivlin
Reuven Rivlin, a right-wing legislator opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state, was elected Israel's president
to replace the dovish Shimon Peres in the largely ceremonial post. Rivlin, 74, is a member of Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party. He has a reputation for political independence and has had a frosty personal
relationship with the Israeli premier.
S. Mahajan
Eight-time BJP MP from Indore Sumitra Mahajan was on June 6 elected unanimously to the post of Speaker in the
newly constituted 16th Lok Sabha. With her election to the post Ms Mahajan became the second woman to occupy
the prestigious position after her predecessor Meira Kumar.
Sam Pitroda
Sam Pitroda quit as chairman of the National Innovation Council (NIC) following a prod from the Modi government.
Sources said Pitroda, a close associate of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, quit following a clear signal from the
Modi government that it would like to reconstitute the NIC.
Tapan Sikdar
BJP leader and former Union minister from West Bengal who served as a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee
government from 1999 to 2004, died on June 2 in New Delhi.
V.K.Rajah
Justice V.K.Rajah, an Indian-origin judge, was on June 24 appointed as the eighth Attorney-General of Singapore.
President Tony Tan Keng Yam also appointed Rajah as a Member of the Presidentail Council for Minority Rights for
a term of three years.

AWARDS & HONOURS

Baileys Prize 2014
The Irish writer Eimear McBride has won the Baileys book prize for her first novel, A Girl is a Half-formed Thing,
beating bookie's favourite Donna Tartt's gigantic third novel, The Goldfinch.
Highest French Honour to SRK
France has decided to honour Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan with Legion of France, its highest distinction civilian or military, for his contribution to cinema. The only Bollywood actor to have received the same honour was
Amitabh Bachchan in 2007. The "Legion d'Honneur" (Legion of Honour) is the highest distinction that can be
conferred in France on a French citizen as well as on a foreigner. Lata Mangeshkar and Satyajit Ray are other
notable winners of the honour from India.
Highest Russian Honour to MM Joshi
Senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi was today conferred Russia's highest civilian award for foreign nationals,
"Order of Friendship", for his championing role in fostering ties between the two countries.
Jnanpith Award
Noted Hindi poet Kedarnath Singh has been chosen for the prestigious Jnanpith award for 2013. Singh is the 10th
Hindi writer to receive the honour and joins the likes of Sumitra Nandan Pant, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar among
others. He will be the recipient of the 49th Jnanpith award.
Knighthood For Indian Physicist
An Indian-origin physicist, Tejinder Virdee, best known for his work on the Large Hadron Collider experiment, has
been accorded an honorary knighthood by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II for his achievements in science.
Moortidevi Award
The 27th Moortidevi Award for 2013 has gone to 'Theekkadal Katanhu Thirumadhuram' written by renowned
scientist-turned-writer C Radhakrishna. The title of the fictional biography in Malayalam translates as "nectar
churned out from the ocean of fire".
NIA Sanchez Crowned Miss USA
Miss Nevada Nia Sanchez, a fourth-degree black belt in the Korean martial art of taekwondo, was crowned Miss
USA 2014. She beat out 50 other contestants from all the states and the District of Columbia for the title of 63rd
Miss USA.
Pen Pinter Prize
Indian-born Booker Prize winning author Salman Rushdie was named the winner of this years prestigious Pen
Pinter prize for his outstanding literary output and support for freedom of expression. The award was established
in 2009 by writers charity English Pen in memory of famous British playwright and Nobel laureate Harold Pinter.
Portugal Honours Indian Historian
Portugal President Anival Cavaco Silva has announced one of its highest civilian honours to Percival Noronha, one
of Goa's foremost historians and chroniclers of its past ranging from the colonial times to the present. Noronha,
90, has been honoured with the title of 'Commander' of the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator. The awards are
given to Portuguese diaspora and foreign citizens.

Spelling Bee Championship

Two Indian-Americans Sriram J Hathwar and Ansun Sujoe have scripted history by becoming co-champions of
the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee, the first since 1962. This is the seventh consecutive year that
Indian-Americans have retained the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Tang Prize 2014
Tang Prize Foundation announced the inaugural Tang Prizes on 18 June 2014. Taiwanese Business Magnate,
Samuel Yin founded Tang Prize Foundation in December 2012. The Tang prize is the first international academic
award to be based in Taiwan and commenced its inaugural year in 2014.The Prize will be given in four categories
of Sustainable Development, Sinology, Biopharmaceutical Science and The Rule of Law.

Sustainable Development: Gro Harlem Brundtland former Premier of Norway. She was awarded for her
innovation, leadership and implementation of sustainable development that laid out the scientific and
technical challenges.

Sinology: Chinese American, Historian Yu Ying-shih. He was awarded for his mastery of and insight into
Chinese intellectual, political, and cultural history with an emphasis on his profound research into the
history of public intellectuals in China

Biopharmaceutical Science: James P Allison of US and Tasuku Honjo of Japan. They were awarded for
their discoveries of CTLA-4 and PD-1 as immune inhibitory molecules, revealing ways to harness our
incredibly powerful immune system to fight cancer and marking the beginning of the immunotherapy
revolution.

The Rule of Law: Albie Sachs, former justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. He was awarded
for his contributions to human rights and justice around the world. He is a lawyer and human rights
activist who spent his lifetime fighting apartheid, helped write the new Constitution of South Africa.

Tony Awards
Actress Audra McDonald made Broadway history on June 8, winning her sixth Tony as Billie Holiday in "Lady Day
at Emerson's Bar & Grill" and Bryan Cranston and Neil Patrick Harris nabbed the top acting prizes at the 68th
annual Tony Awards. "A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder," took home the top musical prize and Jessie Mueller
was named best actress for her starring role in "Beautiful - The Carole King Musical". McDonald, with her best
actress prize in a play, became the only woman to win a Tony in all four acting categories. She also tied with the
late actress Julie Harris, who had six wins, including a special lifetime achievement award. With four awards
including Darko Tresnjak's statuette for best director, the musical satire "A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder"
tied with "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" with the most Tonys.
World Food Prize
India-born plant scientist Sanjaya Rajaram has been named the winner of the USD 250,000 World Food Prize for
his contribution in increasing global wheat production by more than 200 million tonnes in the years following the
Green Revolution. This year marks the 28th anniversary of the prize, which recognises individuals who have
advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world.

Business & Economy

The country's fourth budget carrier AirAsia India, the domestic arm of Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia
Berhad, finally commenced operations on June 12 with its first flight taking off from Bangalore's
Kempegowda International Airport for Goa. The new entrant had late last month announced the opening
of bookings for the inaugural flight and offered fares as low as Rs 990 for the Bangalore-Goa flight. AirAsia
India has launched its services more than 15 months after it announced a 49:30:21 partnership with saltto-software conglomerate Tata group and Arun Bhatia's Telestra Trade Place to set up a budget carrier in
the country, in February 2013.The airline has promised fares that are 30-35% lower than those being
offered by other domestic carriers.

Asia Index, a BSE and S&P Dow Jones Indices joint venture, today launched an index to measure the
performance of 30 leading infrastructure companies ahead of an anticipated investment boom in the
sector as the government kick-starts stalled projects. The new index consists of companies from five
sectors - energy, transportation, non-banking financial institutions, telecommunications and utilities.

Citi India Securities Services has become the first designated depository participant to register as the
country's first foreign portfolio investor (FPI) under the newly-formed Sebi guidelines on this set of
investors. Recently, Sebi clubbed all foreign investments through foreign institutional investors (FIIS),
qualified institutional investors (QFIs) under one umbrella framework called foreign portfolio investors
(FIPs).

For the third year in a row, Indira Gandhi International Airport has been adjudged the second best
airport in the world for its service quality among the airports handling 25-40 million passengers per
annum (MPPA). Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport was placed at the fifth position in this
category by the Airport Council International (ACI). ACI is a global body of airports which represents their
interests with governments and international organisations. It covers 1,751 airports in 174 countries.
However, in the global ranking, IGI this year was placed at the sixth position against last year's fourth.
The airport scored 4.84 on the airport service quality scale out of 5 points to get the recognition of the
sixth best airport in the world among 235 participating airports across all categories.

The Centre has extended a ban on the import of milk and milk products from China by a year to June
23, 2015. India, which first banned Chinese dairy products in 2008, had been periodically extending it.
The previous ban expired on June 23, 2014.

The government on June 2 reduced the import tariff value on gold and silver to $408 per 10 grams and
$6.17 per kg respectively amid price of the yellow metal falling in the international market.

Dr. R.K.Malhotra has been entrusted with additional charge as Chairman, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.
He continues to head India Oils Research and Development Division as Director.

The Indian Railways on June 20 effected the largest-ever hike in recent times by increasing the
passenger fares by 14.2 percent and freight charges by 6.5 percent. The hike took effect from June 25.
The railways hopes to collect Rs. 8000 crore a year with the increase in passenger and freight fares.
During April-December (2013-14), the railways incurred a loss of Rs. 4000/- crore due to lower passenger
fare tariff and an additional loss of Rs. 883 crore in the freight segment. Indian Railways on June 24
modified its decision on the passengers fare hike and said there would be no change in fares for second
class travel upto 80 kms.

Micromax named former Bharti Airtel India CEO Sanjay Kapoor as the chairman of board. Kapoor had
quit Airtel last year. The country's No. 2 smartphone maker had co-founders Vikas Jain and Sharma at the
helm till former Samsung mobile and IT head Vineet Taneja joined the company as CEO late last month.
Micromax, which is popular for its affordable handsets, holds 15% share in the domestic smartphone
market that is led by Samsung. Micromax sells over 3 million mobile handsets a month, of which about a
third are smartphones.

The government announced Rs 50 per quintal increase in the minimum support price of paddy to Rs
1,360 to encourage farmers to cultivate rice, but said that the decision will not have an impact on
inflation. Minimum support price (MSP) of pulses has been raised by up to Rs 100 per quintal.

The department of public enterprises has granted Navratna status to National Buildings Construction
Corporation Limited (NBCC) and Engineers India Limited (EIL) following fulfillment of prescribed criteria
by the two Central PSUs. NBCC is a CPSE under the ministry of urban development, whereas the EIL is a
PSU under the ministry of petroleum and natural gas. The status came into effect from June 23. NBCC
became the 15th and EIL 16th Navratna Company amongst 250 Central Public Sector Undertakings in the
country.

Indias largest software exporters, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has rewarded its Chief Executive
N Chandrasekaran with a massive 60% hike in salary at Rs. 18.68 crore for the fiscal 2013-14 against Rs.
11.69 crore last year. This makes him the highest paid CEO in the countrys $118-billion IT industry.

India's tea production in 2013-14 increased by 6.19 percent to 1,205.40 million kg. Tea production in
2012-13 was 1,135.07 million kg, according to Tea Board of India data. The combined output of Assam
and West Bengal and other north Indian states rose 7.56 percent to 960.96 million kg in the previous
financial year from 893.38 million kg a year earlier. Assam and West Bengal are the major tea-producing
states, accounting for almost 80 percent of Indias total output. India is the worlds second-largest
producer and biggest consumer of tea.

The highest decision making body in telecom department, Telecom Commission on June 13 gave its inprinciple approval to full mobile number portability which will allow a mobile subscriber to retain his
number even if he moves from one state to another. Currently mobile number portability is restricted
within a service area.