Current Affairs September 2015

Current Affairs
September 2014 | www.jagranjosh.com
Current Affairs
PREFACE
18
PICK OF THE MONTH
19
Introduction
19
India -US
19
India and the US issued Joint Statement to push strategic ties to new levels
19
Indo-China
26
India-China signed sixteen agreements during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jingping to
India
26
India-Vietnam
32
India-Vietnam signed 7 pacts to strengthen Strategic Partnership
32
India - Australia
36
India, Australia signed pact on Civil Nuclear Energy deal
36
India-Japan issued Joint Statement for enhancing cooperation
39
39
Indian space programme created history as Mangalyaan entered Mars orbit successfully
42
Report titled Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion 2014 released by UNEP and WMO
44
17th Asian Games began in Incheon, South Korea
46
INTERNATIONAL
49
Afghanistan signed Bilateral Security Agreement with the US
49
PM Narendra Modi addressed 69th session of UNGA in Hindi
50
President of Catalonia signed decree to hold independence referendum on 9 November 52

Turkish Government imposed ban on tattoos and piercings in all schools
53
UK Parliament approved Airstrikes in Iraq against ISIS
54
UNSC adopted resolution to prevent citizens of other nations from joining militants like
ISIS
54
US and partners began air strikes in Syria
55
UNSC passed a resolution backing new Government in Iraq in its fight against ISIS mili-
Current Affairs
tants
56
France joined US air strikes against ISIS in Iraq
57
Barack Obama authorised air strikes against ISIS militants in Syria
58
Arab League agreed to join global coalition to counter IS militants
59
China launched Made in China campaign to retain its manufacturing prowess
60
India announced to contribute 12 million US dollar to UN to fight Ebola virus
61
Pakistan test fired short range nuclear capable missile Hatf IX
62
3rd Meeting of SAARC Culture Ministers adopted Delhi Resolution
62
Union Cabinet approved agreement on grid connectivity with Nepal
64
US agreed to pay 500 million US dollar in compensation to Native American Navajo tribe
65
Royal Mint of Britain launched its own online trading service for gold coins
66
US Federal Jury found Arab Bank liable for backing terrorism
67
Third meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Consultative Commission held in New Delhi
68
Voreqe Bainimarama Sworn in as Prime Minister of Fiji
69
UN Secretary-General announced to establish UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response
70
Post-unity deal, Ashraf Ghani named as President-elect of Afghanistan
71
Yemen Government and Houthi rebels signed peace deal
73
John Key re-elected as the Prime Minister of New Zealand for a third term
74
Scotland rejected the referendum for independence
76
US Senate passed resolution declaring September 30 as US-India Partnership Day
77
India-China agreed to set up Joint Working group on films
79
Bangladesh Parliament regained the power to impeach Supreme Court judges
81
French Parliament approved Anti-terror Bill aimed at travel ban of jihadists
82
Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels signed ceasefire agreement called Minsk agreement
83
India and Bangladesh signed MoU in the field of traditional medicines
84
India and Germany agreed to cooperate in skill development and solid waste management
86
Wales Declaration of NATO Summit 2014
87
Current Affairs
Israel to take over West Bank land
90
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated TCS Japan Technology and Culture Academy
in Japan
91
Japan removed six Indian space and defence entities from foreign end users list
92
Libyan parliament reappointed Abdullah al-Thinni as Prime Minister
92
Lesotho Prime Minister Tom Thabane deposed by Coup Leader Kamoli
93
NATIONAL
95
NAT-SC issued guidelines on fake encounters and called for mandatory registration of
FIRs
95
Union Government launched Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana for urban and
rural poor
96
SC struck down National Tax Tribunal Act, 2005 terming it unconstitutional
98
Union Government launched Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana
100
Union Cabinet approved Swachh Bharat Mission for Urban Areas
101
SC quashed allocation of 214 coal blocks allocated since 1993
103
P.M. launched Make In India Campaign to make India a manufacturing hub
104
Union Government appointed Debroy Panel to suggest ways for restructuring the Railway
Board
107
Google India to launch a nationwide contest to develop a mobile app for PMO
109
Ancient Nalanda University inaugurated after 800 years
110
Union I&B Ministry launched News SMS Service in 5 Indian languages
111
SC asked Union Government to bring transparency in appointment of CVC, VCs
112
Union Cabinet approved the launching of National AYUSH Mission
113
CCEA approved the scheme titled Enhancement of Competitiveness of the Capital Goods
Sector
114
Union Government announced to fund Swachh Vidyalaya campaign
116
SC asked Union government to respond on Delhi Government Formation by October 10

117
PMO constituted committee to facilitate utilization of Mineral resources in Meghalaya 118
Union Government mandated scientists to undertake lectures in Public schools & colleges
Current Affairs
119
Union Government approved 28 road projects in Ladakh region in J & K
120
Union Health Minister Launched First National Anti-TB Drug Resistance Survey of India
121
Union Civil Aviation Ministry launched no-frills airport in five cities
122
Union Government extended deadline for employees to file details of assets
123
MoU signed between NAWADCO and NBCC for the development of WAQF Properties 124
SC ordered to release undertrial prisoners who have completed half of maximum term 125
Union Government approved Task Force to monitor Citizenship, Long Term Visas
126
SC upheld Uttar Pradesh Government decision to use Urdu as second official language
128
SC asked Union Government to clarify its stand on citizenship of surrogate children
129
Union Government amended Rule 10 of Lokpal Search Committee Rules granting it more
autonomy
131
Union MHA approved forest land diversion to fight Maoists
132
Congress party secured chairmanship of five DRSCs of the Parliament
133
Union Health Ministry launched revised strategy to eradicate Kala azar by 2015 in Patna
135
ECONOMY
138
RBI announced fourth Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2014-15
138
SEBI notified final rules for REITs and InvITs
139
Union Heavy Industry Ministry proposed to shut down six sick CPSE to the Union Cabinet
140
Public Sector Banks require 2637 billion US dollars to meet Basel-III norms: Moody 141
AAI signed MoU with US Trade & Development Agency
142
IFC raised 100 million US dollars through Maharaja Bonds
143
Union Textiles Ministry approved setting up of 13 textile parks
144
WPI-based Inflation declined to 5-year low of 3.74 percent
146
CCEA approved 4754 crore for power transmission scheme in Arunachal and Sikkim 146
FICCIs Economic Outlook Survey estimated Indias GDP growth rate at 5.6 percent in
Current Affairs
2014-15
147
RBI closed six UCBs suspected of money laundering
149
SBI celebrated 150 years of its operations in Sri Lanka
151
RBI fixed the upper age limit at 70 years for M.D. and CEO in private sector banks
152
Union Government launched New Payment Gateway Integrated to e-Filing System
153
SEBI censured BSE for guilty of lapses in share sale of NMDC
154
Union Government launched RVC service for smooth transportation of perishable goods
156
Highest percentage of hired workers in India is in Arunachal Pradesh: 6th Economic Census
157
CCEA approved stake sale in CIL, ONGC abd NHPC
159
Moodys Analytics released a report titled India outlook: Prospects Brighten
159
Government approved 7% hike in Dearness Allowance
161
India slipped to 71st rank in WEFs annual Global Competitiveness List 2014-2015
162
CAD narrowed down to 1.7 per cent of GDP in Q1 of 2014-15: RBI
164
RBI issued guidelines on implementation of Basel III Capital Regulations
165
RBI asked banks to set time line to process loans
166
ENVIRONMENT | ECOLOGY
168
WWF released Living Planet Report 2014
168
Volcano Mount Ontake erupted in Japan
169
Union government submitted Action Plan on Rejuvenation of River Ganga to the SC
171
Peoples Climate March organised worldwide against Climate change
172
BNP Paribas launched equity index linked green bond to mitigate climate change
173
Scientists warned Climate change will exacerbate the threat of Megadroughts
174
Union Government constituted a panel to review environment laws
176
Tea Board of India postponed the implementation of Plant Protection Code
177
SCIENCE | TECHNOLOGY
178
New Type of Brain Cell Discovered
178
Infosys Ltd signed agreements with Microsoft Corp, Hitachi Data Systems and Huawei179
Current Affairs
New compound BQU57 developed to block protein aiding cancer growth
180
Cambridge University scientists developed first graphene-based flexible screen
182
First evidence for water ice clouds found outside Solar System
184
Solar power technology Electrodialysis unveiled in India to desalinate water
185
Unit 5 of RAPS became second longest running nuclear reactor of World
186
Massive 100 million year old ancient extinct volcano discovered beneath Pacific Ocean
187
Rechargeable magnesium battery developed at IICT- Hyderabad
189
WHO recommended Ebola survivors blood to treat EVD
190
Japan Researchers developed new method called RT-LAMP to detect Ebola virus
191
SPORTS
193
Europe won 40th Ryder Cup in Gleneagles
193
Leander Paes and Marcin Matkowski won Malaysian Open doubles title of tennis
193
BCCI extended tenure of Ravi Shastri as team India Director till 2015 World Cup
194
Kuala Lumpur to host ICC World Cricket League Division 3
195
Marvan Atapattu appointed as head coach of Sri Lankan cricket team
195
Union Ministry of Sports inaugurated National Academies for Athletics & Golf in Thiruvananthapuram
196
Hockey India inducted Hockey Village India as an academy member
197
Sardar Singh became Indias flag bearer at 17th Asian Games opening
198
Chinas Grand Slam winner Li Na announced retirement
198
Union Sports Ministry finally agreed to honour Boxer Manoj Kumar with Arjuna Award 199
AIBA permitted Indian boxers to take part in Asian Games under Tricolour
200
Basketball: FIBA allowed players to wear religious head coverings
200
Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council organised 3rd Ladakh Marathon at Leh 201
Boxing India earned Official Recognition from AIBA
203
USA won FIBA Basketball World Cup 2014
204
HS Prannoy won Indonesian masters title
204
Chitresh Tatha is the youngest sailor at the Asian Games 2014
205
ICC suspended Pakistans Saeed Ajmal for illegal bowling action
205
Current Affairs
Pankaj Advani announced to retire from professional snooker
206
Mike and Bob Bryan won fifth U.S. Tennis Open mens doubles title
207
IOC and Interpol meet to combat match fixing & illegal betting
208
Union Government cleared 679-member squad for Asian Games
208
Marin Cilic won Mens Singles title of US open
209
Harika Dronavalli won bronze in women Grand Prix chess
210
Serena Williams won 3rd consecutive US Open
210
Sania Mirza & Brazilian teammate Bruno Soares won Mixed Doubles trophy of US Open
211
India won the five matches ODI series 3-1 against England
211
Sudhakar Jayant won gold medal at IWF World Masters Weightlifting Championships 213
Ritu Rani to lead Indian Womens Hockey team in Asian Games 2014
213
Saina Nehwal decided to train under new Coach Vimal Kumar
214
World Badminton championships 2014
215
Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland set world record in womens hammer throw
218
Jaipur Pink Panthers won the inaugural title of Pro Kabaddi League
219
CORPORATE
221
Tata motors Limited appointed Mayank Pareek as president of Passenger Vehicle Division
221
Auto Portal Cardekho acquired Gaadi.com for 11 million US dollar
222
SBI signed 500 million dollar Line of Credit with Korea Eximbank
223
Emami biotech acquired Vanaspati brand Rasoi
223
EAC under Union MoEF gave CRZ clearance for Bay of Bengal Gateway Submarine Cable
System
224
Alliance Air signed MoU with NE Council for flight operations
225
Merck KGaA announced to acquire US based Sigma-Aldrich for 17 billion US dollar
226
Reliance Jio signed Master Services Agreement with Indus Towers
227
Union Government removed three independent directors from the ONGC board
229
RBI approved the appointment of V.G. Mathew as MD and CEO of South Indian Bank 230
Amit Mathew elected as chairman of Audit Bureau of Circulations
231
Current Affairs
Yahoo acquired Bangalore start-up firm BookPad
232
China fined British drug maker firm GSK Plc 489 million US dollars for paying bribes
233
Infosys BPO Poland signed largest office lease deal with Skanska Property in Poland 234
Puma India appointed Abhishek Ganguly as Managing Director
235
IndiGo signed agreement with ICBC to purchase over 30 A320 aircrafts
236
Gilead gave voluntary licenses to Indian pharma companies to make genetic version of
Sofosbuvir
237
Cognizant acquired healthcare software company TriZetto
239
Microsoft Corp acquired Minecraft game maker Mojang
239
Croma and Snapdeal tied up to sell electronic items online
240
Drug firm Lupin tied up with Merck Serono
241
SEBI extended deadline by six months to appoint atleast one women director on board
242
SC issued notice to Union and all State governments on wetland conservation
243
Raya Power to set up 50 MW solar park in Andhra Pradesh
244
Union government decided to wind up HMT Watches
244
Apple Inc launched iWatch designed to work with iPhone 6
246
BlackBerry acquired UK mobile technology start-up Movirtu
246
Tata Technologies Ltd appointed Warren Harris as MD and CEO
248
ICICI launched Cardless Cash Withdrawal service
248
Intel launched new range of Processors Xeon E5-v3 for Data Centres
249
Bharti Airtel announced agreement with Eaton Towers to divest 3500 towers in Africa 250
Cipla announced commercial tie-up with UK firm S&D Pharma
251
Electrolux agreed to buy GE Appliances for 3.3 billion US dollars
252
Snapdeal signed joint venture with Den Networks
253
Bharti Airtel launched music streaming app Wynk for Android and iOS
254
V Nagarajan joined IGL as a new director
255
GMR Infrastructure signed MOU with JBIC for infra sector
256
United Bank of India declared Vijay Mallya as wilful defaulter
256
Venus Remedies tied up with Israel-based generic drug maker Teva
258
USFDA granted QIDP status to Indian pharmaceutical firm Wockhardt
259
Current Affairs
STATE
260
Himachal Pradesh government introduced Cage Culture Technique for fish farming
260
AP Government signed MoU with Google India for Digital AP project
261
O Panneerselvam sworn-in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
262
PM Narendra Modi inaugurated India Food Park in Tumkur
263
Tamil Nadu government announced Price Stabilization fund for green tea leaf
264
MP to host Global Investors Summit to attract foreign investment
265
AP Government enhanced the upper age limit for direct recruitment to 40 years
266
DMRC observed World Green Building Week
267
UP government to set Nirbhaya Centers in all districts
268
Sixth Delhi Economic Census 2013 released
268
Assam Chief Minister launched Angel Fund for first generation entrepreneurs
269
Goa became permanent venue for IFFI
271
K P Reddy of ruling TRS Party won by-election for Medak Parliament constituency
272
NTPC and AP government signed MoU for development of 1000 MW Solar Power Projects
272
Tangirala Sowmya of TDP won Nandigama Assembly by-poll of AP
273
Prime Minister launched Gujarat Governments 11 schemes under Swavalamban Abhiyan

274
Delhi Police to launch its first e-police station to deal with vehicle thefts
275
ASSOCHAM estimated J&K floods caused losses of 5700 crore rupees to states economy
276
West Bengal cabinet cleared farmer-friendly project Sech-Bandhu Prakalpa to boost irrigation
277
Delhi Government to charge cess of one rupee on cigarette and liquor to promote public
tra
277
Union Home Minister inaugurated integration of BSF with BISAG at Bhuj in Gujarat
279
Puducherry CM presented Tax free budget for 2014-15 financial year
280
Rajasthan HC ordered end of caste based discrimination at crematoriums
281
Bihar government recognised transgender as third gender
282
SC questioned logic behind Keralas new liquor policy
282
10
Current Affairs
Puducherrys Police Department established a Rape Crisis Intervention Centre
283
Tribal bodies in Tripura rejected demand for a separate state Twipraland
284
Uttarakhand Government declared 9 September as Himalaya Diwas
285
Assam government withdrew Assamese as official language from Barak Valley
285
Delhi Government unveiled need-based development plan for villagers
286
WTI and TCL signed MoU to setup Indias first Coral Garden in Gujarat
287
Chief Minister of AP announced Vijayawada region as the new capital of AP
288
Karnataka became first state in India to launch Health Adalat
289
Jammu & Kashmir government formed panel for welfare of transgenders
290
Himachal HC banned animal sacrifice at any place of public religious worship
292
Andhra Pradesh Government Proposed Metro Rail Project for Tirupati
292
NEWS CAPSULE
294
PERSON IN NEWS
294
Chief Justice of India Justice RM Lodha retired
294
Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai sworn in as president of Afghanistan
295
Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa held guilty in disproportionate assets case
296
Ex-Odisha AG Ashok Mohanty arrested by CBI in connection of infamous chit fund scam
298
Padmini Prakash became the first transgender television news anchor in India
299
Pope Francis approved the cannonisation of Blessed Joseph Vaz as Saint
299
Cause for Canonnisation of Blessed Joseph Vaz
300
Miss Kira Kazantsev won the Miss America pageant
300
SC asked Union Government to reinstate Rajeshwar singh as Deputy Director of ED
301
Suresh Kumar became first Indian to visit Stratosphere
302
South Africa denied visa to Dalai Lama for Nobel Summit
303
Tessy Thomas and V. Ravindranath became first Women directors in IIT council
304
A Nageswara Rao became first Indian actor to be honoured by US post service
305
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Current Affairs
Person Appointed
306
Bangladesh government appointed Syed Muazzem Ali as its new Envoy to India
306
Justice Handyala Dattu sworn-in as new CJI
307
Rajat Sharma appointed as the president of News Broadcasting Association
308
Suresh Parbhu selected as PMs Sherpa for G-20 summit
309
Lieutenant General Rizwan Akhtar appointed as ISI chief
309
Ex-Ambassador of India to UN Hardeep Singh Puri appointed as Secretary General of

ICM
310
US President Barack Obama nominated Richard Rahul Verma as new US envoy to India
312
Lalitha Kumaramangalam appointed as chairperson of National Commission for Women
313
Chinese President appointed Le Yucheng as Chinas New Ambassador to India
314
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio appointed as UN Messenger of Peace
314
International Economic Association appointed Kaushik Basu as President-Elect
315
Krishan Kant Paul sworn-in as Governor of Manipur
317
Antara Haldar of India became first non-European law lecturer at Cambridge
317
Narendra Ambwani elected as chairman of the Advertising Standards Council of India

(ASCI)
318
Russian hackers leaked around five million Gmail passwords
319
Subhash Chandra Garg appointed as Executive Director of World Bank
320
Ravindra Nath took charge as CMD of NSIC
321
Chandrakala Padia appointed as first women chairperson of IIAS
321
President cleared the appointment of Justice H.L. Dattu as 42nd CJI
322
Former CJI P Sathasivam appointed as Governor of Kerala
323
Science | Space
324
World Bank approved 105 million US dollars grant for Ebola Emergency Response Project
324
Spaceship Earth Grants launched Global Crowdfunding Spaceflight Contest
12
325
Current Affairs
Person Resigned
326
Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan resigned
326
Places in News
327
First mobile phone sidewalks lane created in Chinese city Chongqing
327
Chinese Army stopped water supply for Indians from T-Point in Demchock, Ladakh
328
Sri Lankan Navy arrested 9 Indian fishermen near Delft Island
328
Ukraine pulled back troops from Luhansk Airport
329
Libyan Government lost its control over state offices in Tripoli to Militants
330
Iraqi forces broke siege of Amerli town of Iraq from ISIS
330
Person on Visit
332
Germanys Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited India
332
Sushma Swaraj visited Bahrain
332
Prime Minister of Australia, Tony Abbott visited India
333
Person Died
335
Former International cricket umpire Mohammad Ghouse died
335
Bhagat Singhs last surviving sister Bibi Prakash Kaur died
335
Veteran Cricket Statistician Anandji Dossa died at 98
336
Mandolin maestro Uppalapu Srinivas died
337
Pakistans Liberal religious scholar Dr. Shakeel Auj shot dead in Karachi
338
Ex-Assam DGP Shankar Baruah accused in Saradha chit fund scam died
339
Japan actress Yoshiko Yamaguchi died
339
Educationist Kireet Joshi died
340
ISIS beheaded British Citizen, David Haines; David Cameron vows to hunt down killers341
Freedom Fighter and Journalist Jitendra Chandra Paul died
342
Legendary Nazrul singer Firoza Begum Died
343
James Bond villain Richard Kiel died
343
Habib Wali Mohammad died at 90
344
Former NASA Scientist Dr. Noel W. Hinners died
345
13
Current Affairs
US comedian and talk-show host Joan Rivers died
346
Sri Lankas trade unionist, Bala Thampoe died
347
Worlds Oldest Test cricketer Norman Gordon died
348
Former Attorney General of India Goolam Essaji Vahanvati died
348
Former Foreign Secretary A.P. Venkateswaran died
349
Renowned Kathak dancer Maya Rao died
350
Renowned Telugu filmmaker Sattiraju Lakshminarayana died
351
Inventions | Discoveries
354
Ancient nomadic campsite belonging to Liao Dynasty unearthed in China
354
1846 Northwest Passage expedition ship found in Canadian Arctic
355
Awards | Honours
357
Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award 2014 announced
357
Edward Snowden and Alan Rusbridger won Right Livelihood Award 2014
358
Sukinda Chromite Mine of the Tata Steel in Odisha won Asian CSR Leadership Award 359
Malayalam filmmaker MT Vasudevan Nair selected for 2013 JC Daniel Award of Kerala
Government
360
Cricketers Sachin Tendulkar & Steve Waugh selected as 2014 Bradman Honouree
361
Govind Mishra received Saraswati Samman 2013 for novel Dhool Paudhon Par
362
Geethu Mohandas film Liars Dice to be Indias official entry for Oscar Awards 2015
364
The President of Taiwan presented the first Tang Prizes in Taipei
365
President of India presented Indira Gandhi Rajbhasa Awards
366
WHO honoured Bangladesh and Timor-Leste for Excellence in Public Health
368
Indian institutions IARI and NAAS awarded Doctor Honoris Causa to FAO Director-General
368
Bhartendu Harishchandra Awards conferred
369
President Pranab Mukherjee presented Saakshar Bharat Awards 2014
371
Dr. Kamal Bawa won MIDORI Prize in Biodiversity 2014
372
Indian movie Court won best debut award at Venice Film Festival
374
China awarded China Book Award to JNU professor Priyadarsi Mukherji
375
14
Current Affairs
Vinod Mehta selected for G K Reddy Memorial Award 2014
376
Hockey Player Manpreet Singh named Junior Men Player of the Year by AHF
377
Books | Authors
379
Naseeruddin Shah released his autobiography And then One Day: A Memoir
379
50 years of man in space: authoured by Garik Israelien, Brian May and David J Eicher 380
Grandmaster Repertoire -1.e4 vs The French, Caro-Kann and Philidor written by Parimarja
380
Defence | Security
382
Board of Inquiry recommended decommissioning INS Sindhurakshak
382
Indian Air Force gifted vintage Dakota aircraft to Bangladesh Air Force
383
Strategic Force Command of India successfully test-fired Agni-1 missile
383
Indias 1st Air Veteran Rally inaugurated by IAF Chief
384
Indo-Nepal joint military exercise Surya Kiran-VII concluded at Pithoragarh
385
Indias largest offshore patrol vessel INS Sumitra commissioned into Indian Navy
385
Report | Survey
388
Forbes India released The 100 Richest Indian List 2014
388
World population to reach 11 billion by 2100: UN study
389
Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census 2014 released
390
WHO released first global report on suicide prevention
393
KPMG-FICCI study ranked India among top three medical tourism destinations in Asia 396
Summit | Conference
397
3rd Meeting of SAARC Ministers of Culture held in New Delhi
397
UN Climate Change Summit 2014 held in New York
398
Sixth SAARC Home Ministers Meet held in Kathmandu
399
G-20 Labour and Employment Ministerial meet
400
15
Current Affairs
Committees | Commissions
402
SC formed 5-member committee to evaluate damage caused by floods in J&K
402
Justice Dharmadhikari Committee recommended complete ban on dance bars
402
H Devaraj Committee reported most deemed universities not fit for being a university 404
Union Finance Ministry constituted H R Khan panel to evaluate unclaimed PPF
405
The panel has been asked to submit its report by 31 December 2014.
406
Bombay High Court set up V V Daga Committee to conduct forensic audit of NSEL
406
Abbreviations | Terms
408
5/20 rule likely to be scrapped by Union government
408
German Embassy organised Ehsaas-e-Kashmir concert to raise funds for the Valley
408
US foreign policy on the edge of Mission Creep
409
AlKhansaa brigade: Women force of ISIS
409
Fertile Crescent under threat from violent turmoil in the Middle East
410
Rescue Operation Megh Rahat completed
411
PM Narendra Modi described India-China ties as Inch towards Miles
411
Special Rhino Protection Force for protection of Rhinos
412
Qaedat al-Jihad, a terrorist outfit created by Al-Qaeda
412
Plan | Programme
414
Union Government to launch ETC programme under the brand name FASTag
414
Art | Culture
416
Year-Long Centenary Commemoration of Komagata Maru Incident Inaugurated
416
Third Global Citizen Festival held in New York
417
Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy released Unicode version of Tulu Script
419
Exhibition | Fare
421
Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani Inaugurated KRITI Exhibition - 2014
421
16
Current Affairs
Day | Week | Year
422
World Heart Day observed globally on 29 September
422
Gunners Day observed on September 28
423
Union Government declared September 25 as Antyodya diwas
424
World Tourism Day observed across the world
424
International Day for preservation of Ozone Layer observed on 16 September
425
India observed Hindi Divas on 14 September
426
World Literacy Day observed across the world
427
Miscellaneous
429
Narula Brothers won 7 crore rupees in Season 8 of Kaun Banega Crorepati
429
Skeleton of giant water-living Dinosaur unveiled in Morocco
430
Australian PM Tony Abbott returned 11th century stolen idols to India
430
President released a Set of Eight Commemorative Postage Stamps on Indian Musicians

431
WORLD DAIRY September 2014
433
INDIA DAIRY September 2014
442
ONE LINERS September 2014
455
DESCRIPTIVE QUESTIONS September 2014
465
17
Current Affairs
PREFACE
The Current Affairs September 2014 eBook covers the current events that happened in the month of September. Current
Affairs is a crucial component of any competitive exams including IAS|PCS, SSC, Banking, MBA. The lack of preparation for
current affairs by the aspirants and candidates often is a main cause of their failure. Even though the candidates know it but
they are often confused about how to prepare the current affairs section of the different competitive exams. It is to clear such
doubts and confusion, Jagranjosh.com has come up with eBook concept. Although current affairs section per se is very wide
to be covered, yet we have tried to cover all the possible current affairs for the month of September 2014.
The Current Affairs September 2014 eBook especially provides a comprehensive coverage of the Indias Foreign Policy which
includes all the bilateral documents that were signed between India and major countries in the month of September 2014.
The countries with which India signed bilateral documents include India-US, India-China, India-Vietnam, India-Australia
and India-Japan. The September 2014 eBook is divided into different section keeping in mind the need of various exams. The
sections covered namely are International, National, Economy, Ecology and Environment, Science & Technology, Corporate,
Sports, States, and News Capsule. Every news item in each section is arranged date wise with the most recent news being
covered first and so on. Although there might be some deviations but that is solely to give priority to the most important
current affairs in each section.
Presentation of the given current affairs has been planned meticulously. It has been planned in such a way that it remains in
the minds of readers for a longer duration. Wherever necessary each news item is presented along with a background and
analysis so as to help candidates contemplate all the important current events at the time of exam in an effective way.
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18
Current Affairs
PICK OF THE MONTH

Introduction
The month of September 2014 was the busy month from Indian foreign policy point
of view. The month that started with the signing of India-Japan Annual Summit 2014
on 3 September 2014 ended on a high note with the issuing of Joint Statement by
India and the US on 30 September 2014. In view of this, the September 2014 issue of
Current Affairs eBook brings to their reader a compilation of all the bilateral document
signed between India and other major countries in September 2014.
India -US
India and the US issued Joint Statement to push strategic ties
to new levels
India and the United
States
on
30
September
2014
issued
Joint
Statement to push
strategic ties to new
levels. The Joint
Statement
was
issued after the first
bilateral
summit
19
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between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama that
took place in Washington.
Besides, they also signed several agreements in different fields like Economic
Growth, Energy and Climate Change, Defense and Homeland Security Cooperation,
High Technology, Space and Health Cooperation and Global Issues and Regional
Consultations to push their strategic bilateral relationship to new levels.
They also endorsed the first Vision Statement for the Strategic Partnership as a guide
to strengthen and deepen cooperation in every sector for the benefit of global stability
and peoples livelihoods over next ten years. They committed to a new mantra for the
relationship, Chalein Saath Saath: Forward Together We Go.
Details of the agreements in all fields

Economic Growth
To facilitate the actions necessary to increase trade another fivefold so as to make
economic growth sustainable, inclusive and job-led.
To establish an Indo-US Investment Initiative led by the Union Ministry of Finance
and the Department of Treasury, US, with special focus on capital market
development and financing of infrastructure
To establish an Infrastructure Collaboration Platform convened by the Union
Ministry of Finance and the Department of Commerce to enhance participation of
US companies in infrastructure projects in India
Agreement on Indias offer for US industry to be the lead partner in developing
smart cities in Ajmer (Rajasthan), Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and Allahabad
(Uttar Pradesh)
Agreement on partnership to improve access to clean water and sanitation for all
in India, which is the goal of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi
USAID, through the Urban India Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Alliance,
will serve as knowledge partner to support the Prime Ministers 500 Cities National
Urban Development Mission and Clean India Campaign
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Agreement to work through the Trade Policy Forum to promote a business
environment attractive for companies to invest and manufacture in India and in
the United States
Establishment of an annual high-level Intellectual Property (IP) Working Group with
appropriate decision-making and technical-level meetings to foster innovation
Agreement to share expertise and global standards for skills development in India
including reinvigorating the Higher Education Dialogue to achieve Modis goal to
prepare young Indians for 21st century jobs
Agreement on the annual US-India Economic and Financial Partnership in early
2015
The expansion of the partnership in oversight of financial institutions, including
between Reserve Bank of India and the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation,
the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Office of the
Comptroller of Currency
The two sides agreed to reinvigorate the India-US CEO Forum, and welcomed
Indias offer to host the Forum for the second time in early 2015.
Energy and Climate Change

The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to implement fully the US-India civil
nuclear cooperation agreement
To realize early their shared goal of delivering electricity from U.S.-built nuclear
power plants in India, Contact Group has been established on advancing the
implementation of civil nuclear energy cooperation
Agreement to a new and enhanced strategic partnership on energy security, clean
energy, and climate change to recognise the critical importance of increasing
energy access, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improve resilience in the
face of climate change
Agreement to strengthen and expand the US-India Partnership to Advance Clean
Energy (PACE) through a series of priority initiatives that includes
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a) A new Energy Smart Cities Partnership to promote efficient urban energy
infrastructure
b) A new program to scale-up renewable energy integration into Indias power grid
c) Cooperation to support Indias efforts to upgrade its alternative energy institutes
and to develop new innovation centers
d) The formation of a new Clean Energy Finance Forum to promote investment and
trade in clean energy projects
Agreement to work towards a successful outcome in Paris in 2015 of the conference
of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), including the
creation of a new global agreement on climate change
The two sides pledged to urgently arrange a meeting of their bilateral task force on
Hydro Fluoro Carbons (HFCs) prior to the next meeting of the Montreal Protocol
A new US-India Partnership for Climate Resilience to advance capacity for climate
adaptation planning, and a new program of work on air quality aimed at delivering
benefits for climate change and human health.
A new US-India Climate Fellowship Program to build long-term capacity to address
climate change-related issues in both countries
Defense and Homeland Security Cooperation

In regard to facilitate deeper cooperation in Defense and Homeland Security
Cooperation the two sides made decision to renew for ten more years the 2005
Framework for the US-India Defense Relationship
To reinvigorate the Political-Military Dialogue and expand its role to serve as a
wider dialogue on export licensing, defense cooperation and strategic cooperation
Establishment of Task Force to expeditiously evaluate and decide on unique
projects and technologies which would have a transformative impact on bilateral
defense relations and enhance Indias defense industry and military capabilities.
Agreement to intensify cooperation in maritime security to ensure freedom of
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navigation and unimpeded movement of lawful shipping and commercial activity,
in accordance with accepted principles of international law.
Agreement to upgrade the existing bilateral exercise in MALABAR
The two leaders agreed to make joint and concerted efforts for countering terrorism
The two countries would work together to target the financial and tactical support
for the Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Al-Qaeda, Haqqani network and
the D-Company and its head Dawood Ibrahim.
To enhance criminal law enforcement, security, and military information exchanges,
and strengthen cooperation on extradition and mutual legal assistance
The two countries agreed to ease travel between the two countries as India
introduces visa-on-arrival for US citizens in 2015 and works toward meeting the
requirements to make the United States Global Entry Program available to Indian
citizens.
High Technology, Space and Health Cooperation

PM Narendra Modi welcomed the United States as a partner country, for the first
time, at Indias annual Technology Summit in November 2014 and also committed
to convene the ninth High Technology Cooperation Group (HTCG)
Establishment of the Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN or Knowledge)
under which India would invite and host up to 1000 American academics annually
to teach in centrally-recognized Indian Universities, at their convenience.
It was also agreed to establish first meet of the NASA-ISRO Mars Joint Working
Group under the US-India Civil Space Joint Working Group
New agreement to support the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR)
mission that is supposed to be launched in 2021
Agreement of cooperation in the health sector so that spread of Ebola virus can
be prevented from being spread
The two nations agreed to launch a new phase of the India-US Vaccine Action
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Program to develop affordable vaccines for dengue, malaria, and tuberculosis and
the establishment of an adjuvant development center
India and the US has agreed in principle to initiate cooperative activities to increase
capacity in cancer research and patient care delivery through collaborative
programs for and with Indias upcoming AIIMS-National Cancer Institute
Apart from all these agreements, the two sides pledged to consult closely on global
crisis especially related to events in Syria and Iraq. The two leaders committed
to exchange information about nationals returning from these conflict zones and
seek cooperation in protecting and responding the needs of civilians stranded in the
middle of these conflicts.
Vision Statement titled Chalein Saath-Saath: Forward Together We Go

India and the United States issued Vision Statement to boost strategic ties on 29
September 2014. The Vision Statement titled Chalein Saath-Saath: Forward Together
We Go was issued after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President
Barack Obama at the dinner at White House in Washington DC.
The joint statement sought to expand and deepen the strategic partnership between
the largest and oldest democracies in the world for the benefit of not only the two
nations but also for the benefit of the world.
Main Highlights of the Vision Statement

Both the countries would cooperate in security and fight terrorism
It called for an inclusive rule based global order in which India will assume greater
multilateral responsibility, including a reformed United Nations Security Council
(UNSC).
Both the countries also determined to work together to tackle the threat of climate
change
The two countries also committed to cooperate to address the consequences
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Current Affairs
of unchecked pollution through cooperation among governments, science and
academic communities of both the nations.
Both the countries will partner to ensure that they have affordable, clean, reliable,
and diverse sources of energy, including efforts to bring American-origin nuclear
power technologies to India.
Two countries would also work to ensure that economic growth brought better
livelihoods for all people.
The vision statement also stressed the importance of open markets and fair and
transparent practices to allow trade to flourish.
The joint statement also called for jointly countering the infectious diseases,
eliminate maternal and child deaths, and work to eradicate poverty for all and
ensure the fullest empowerment of women in a secure environment.
Both the nation highlighting the mission of their founding fathers emphasised to
provide equal opportunity for our people through democracy and freedom.
The statement also committed to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction
and reduce the salience of nuclear weapons so as to promote universal, verifiable,
and non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament.
Analysis and Comment

The US is keen on expanding business and security ties with India so as to
counterbalance an increasingly assertive China in Asia. However, so far the relationship
between the two nations failed to live up to the Joint Declaration issued in 2010. The
Joint Declaration called for making the Indo-US partnerships one of the defining
partnerships of the 21st Century.
It has to be seen whether the hype generated by Narendra Modis first visit to the US
in his capacity as Prime Minister really becomes the defininf relationship between the
two nations or not.
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Current Affairs
Indo-China
India-China signed sixteen agreements during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jingping to India
India and China signed sixteen agreements to strengthen the strategic and bilateral
relations between the two countries. Of these sixteen, thirteen were signed on 18
September 2014 in New Delhi and the three others were signed in Gujarat on 17
September 2014.
These agreements were signed in the presence of President of the Peoples Republic
of China Xi Jingping and Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. The agreements
were signed during the three-day state visit of President of China from 17 September
to 19 September 2014.
List of Documents signed during the State Visit of Chinese President Xi

Jinping to India are
S.No
1.
of documents of the Agreement/

Name of Agreement/MoU Brief
MoU
Memorandum of
Understanding between the
The MoU provides for conducting the

annual Kailash Manasarovar Yatra through
Ministry of External Affairs of

the Republic of India and the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of the People's Republic of
China on Opening a New
Route for Indian Pilgrimage
(Kailash Mansarovar Yatra)
to the Tibet Autonomous
Region of the People's
Republic of China
Nathula Pass in Sikkim addition to the

existing Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand.
The route through Nathula will augment
the capacity and reduce the hardship and
journey time enabling many more pilgrims
in particular aged pilgrims to undertake the
Yatra.
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Current Affairs
2.
Memorandum of
Understanding between
Ministry of Railways of the
Government of Republic of
India and the Government
of Peoples Republic of
China on strengthening
cooperation in Railways.
Under the MoU, both sides have agreed

to enhance cooperation in the Railway
sector in following areas: (i)speed-raising,
(ii)studying feasibility of cooperation in
High-Speed Railways, (iii)Heavy-Haul
transportation training of Indian Railway
personnel, (iv)Redevelopment of Railway
stations, (v)setting up of a Railway
University in India, etc.
3.
Action Plan between

It provides specific projects for cooperation
Ministry of Railways of the
in railway sector.
Government of Republic
of India and the National
Railway Administration of
the Government of Peoples
Republic of China on
strengthening cooperation in
Railways.
4.
Five year Trade and

Economic Development
Plan between Ministry of
Commerce and Industry
of the Government of the
It lays down a medium term roadmap

for promoting balanced and sustainable
development of economic and trade
relations between China and India, on the
principle of equality and mutual benefit.
Republic of India and the

Ministry of Commerce of the
Government of the Peoples
Republic of China
The main objectives of the plan are: (i)

reduction of bilateral trade imbalance;
(ii) strengthen investment cooperation to
realize US$ 20 billion investment from
China in 5 years; (iii) a transparent, stable
and investor friendly business environment;
and (iv) enhanced cooperation between
Chambers of Commerce and financial
sectors.
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Current Affairs
5.
Agreed Minutes of the Tenth The tenth Session of the India-China Joint
Session of India-China Joint Group on Economic Relations, Trade,
Economic Group
Science and Technology (JEG) was held
in Beijing on 2nd September 2014. Both
sides held detailed discussions on issues
to promote broad and deep bilateral
trade and economic cooperation between
India and China and agreed to undertake
measures to achieve sustainable and
balanced trade. Specific measures to
enhance market access to Indian products
such as agricultural, pharmaceutical and
export of services will be expedited.
6.
Agreement on Audio-Visual
Co-production between
The Ministry of Information
and Broadcasting of the
State Administration of
Press, Publication, Radio,
Film and Television of The
People's Republic of China
7.
Agreement between the

The Agreement will help in enhancing
Government of the Republic cooperation to fight trans-border economic
of India
crimes and custom offences through
sharing of information. It would also
and the Government of the
facilitate trade through enhanced customs
Peoples Republic of China
cooperation.
On mutual administrative
assistance and co-operation
in Customs matters
The Agreement would enable the

producers from both countries to get
an opportunity to pool their creative,
artistic, technical, financial and marketing
resources to co-produce films. It would
held Indian audio-visual products to gain
greater market access.
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Current Affairs
8.
Memorandum of
Indian Space Research
Organisation and
China National Space
Administration on
Cooperation in the Peaceful
use of Space
The MoU enables both sides to encourage

exchange and cooperation in the
exploration and use of outer space for
peaceful purposes, including Research
and development of scientific experiment
satellites, remote sensing satellites and
communications satellites.
9.
Memorandum of
This MOU is intended to foster long-term
the Ministry of Culture of
the Republic of India and
the Ministry of Culture of
the Peoples Republic of
China on Strengthening the
Exchange and Cooperation
between Cultural Institutions
collaboration between various cultural

institutions of the two countries. These
cultural institutions include museums,
archaeological organizations and
performing art centers.
Memorandum of
Understanding on
Cooperation between
National Book Trust of the
State Administration of
Press, Publication, Radio,
Film and Television of The
People's Republic of China
Both sides have agreed that China will

participate in the New Delhi World Book
Fair 2016 as the Guest of Honour Country.
The Agreement will help provide greater
access to their nationals of publications of
the other side.
10.
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11.
Work Plan on Drug

Administration and
Cooperation
Between China Food and
Drug Administration of the
Peoples Republic of China
Under the work plan, the two sides will

carry out cooperation in fields of drug
standards, traditional medicine and drug
testing, etc. Both sides will exchange
delegations to enhance cooperation in this
area.
And Ministry of Health

& Family Welfare of the
Republic of India
12.
Agreement on establishing
Sister City relationship
between Mumbai and
Shanghai
Establishes Sister-City relations between

Mumbai and Shanghai. It will enhance
people-to-people exchanges fostering
greater mutual understanding.
13.
Memorandum of
Maharashtra Industrial
Development Corporation
and Beiqi Foton Motor
Co. Ltd. on supporting the
setting up of industrial parks
in Maharashtra
The MoU would lead to setting up

of a 1250 acre Industrial Park near
Pune, Maharashtra, providing clustertype development and generation of
employment for a large number of people.
14.
Sister Province/State
relationship between Gujarat
and Guangdong
Establishes Sister-Province/State relations

between Gujarat and Guangdong. It will
enhance people-to-people exchanges
fostering greater mutual understanding.
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15.
Sister City relationship
between Ahmedabad and
Guangzhou
Establishes Sister-City relations between

Ahmedabad and Guangzhou. It will
enhance people-to-people exchanges
fostering greater mutual understanding.
16.
Memorandum of
China Development Bank
Corporation and iNDEXTb
on supporting the setting up
Memorandum of Understanding between

China Development Bank Corporation and
iNDEXTb on supporting the setting up of
industrial parks in Gujarat
of industrial parks in Gujarat
(Signed in Gujarat)
Apart from these agreements, the two countries also had discussion on the border
issue shared by the two nations that is also termed as LAC (Line of Actual Control).
During the talks, the two leaders agreed and committed to resolve the border dispute
through friendly consultation at an early date, so that peace and cooperation between
the two countries lasts long.
However, in relation to repeated incursions by Chinese troops in the Indian side, Xi
described that as the border between the two countries is not demarcated so such
incidents would occur but both sides are much capable of effectively managing the
situation through border-related mechanisms, so that they do not have big impact on
the bilateral relations of the two countries.
Commentary and Analysis

These sixteen pacts between India and China will enhance the diplomatic relations
between the two countries. Xi Jingping is the first President of China to visit India in
past eight years and also the first Chinese leader to be given a public reception in
six decades. Last such kind of public welcome was given to Zhou Enlai on 28 June
1954. But after that visit of Enlai, the two countries saw 1962 war on its border. This
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time also the same kind of welcome was given to Xi Jing Ping but during his visit the
army of the two nations faced off each other in at Spanggur Gap in south-eastern
Ladakh in crucial Chumar region of Jammu and Kashmir. These incursions are being
repeated even after the two sides in 2005 signed a protocol on Modalities for the
Implementation of Confidence Building Measures in the Military Field Along the Line
of Actual Control in the India-China Border Areas.
Its time to see forward that the issue related to border sharing and repeated incursions
will come to an end with discussions and talks or else end with a similar war unlike
1962. The true meaning of the term Inch towards Miles defined by Narendra Modi
in terms of India-China ties is dependent on the development and changes in the
diplomatic and strategic relations of the two nations.
India-Vietnam
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Current Affairs
India and Vietnam on 15 September 2014 signed seven pacts to further strengthen
their strategic partnership in key sectors. These pacts included two agreements, a
letter of intent and four memorandum of understanding.
The pacts were signed in the presence of President of India Pranab Mukherjee and
his Vietnamese Counterpart Truong Tan Sang. Pranab Mukherjee is on a state visit
to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam from 14-17 September 2014 at the invitation of
Truong Tan Sang, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Agreements/MoUs signed on 15 September 2014 are

Sl. No.
Agreement/MoU
Brief description of the Agreement/MoU
1.
Agreement between
the Government of the
Government of the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam on
Cooperation and Mutual
Assistance in Customs
Matters
The Agreement aims to strengthen,

promote and develop cooperation and
mutual assistance on matters pertaining to
customs between India and Vietnam. The
two countries shall assist each other for the
prevention, investigation and combating
customs offences for the proper application
of customs laws and for facilitating
legitimate trade. The two countries shall also
cooperate and exchange information in their
enforcement against the illicit trafficking of
narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances,
precursor chemicals and other prohibited
goods.
2.
MoU on 100 million dollar

Line of Credit for Defence
Procurement
The MoU provides concessional line of credit

for procurement of defence equipment from
India. Details of equipment to be procured
by Vietnam are under finalization. The LoC
opens new opportunities in our defence
cooperation.
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Current Affairs
3.
MoU between the Ministry

of Agriculture of the
Ministry of Agriculture
and Rural Development
of the Socialist Republic
of Vietnam in the field of
Animal Health
The MoU establishes cooperation between

India and Vietnam in the field of Animal
Health including protecting territory of each
other from introduction of animal diseases
and infection caused by the trade of animals,
products of animal origin and materials of
animal reproduction. India and Vietnam
shall also share special information on meat
processing, meat products and slaughter
houses/abattoirs. They shall cooperate in the
training and upgrading of human resources in
the field of animal health through exchange of
delegations, workshops, expert visits, training
and share information on veterinary research.
4.
MoU between National

Fisheries Development
Board, Hyderabad,
Department of Animal
Husbandry, Dairying and
Fisheries, Ministry of
Agriculture of the Republic
of India and Directorate
of Fisheries, Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural
Development, Government
of the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam on Cooperation in
the Field of Setting up of
Pangasius Breeding and
Farming in India
This MoU between India and Vietnam

is aimed at cooperation in transfer of
technology and setting up of Pangasius
(catfish) breeding and farming in India and
allied activities between the two countries
through joint activities, programmes,
exchange of scientific material, information
and personnel. The joint activities shall be
environmentally sound and sustainable.
Annual Work Plan will be drawn and a Joint
Technical Committee shall be formed to
provide guidance, review progress and
facilitate cooperation.
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Current Affairs
5.
MoU between the Ministry

of Skill Development,
Entrepreneurship, Youth
Affairs and Sports of the
Central Committee of the
Ho Chi Minh Communist
Youth Union of the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam on
Cooperation in Youth Affairs
The MoU provides the framework for

programmes of cooperation between
India and Vietnam in the field of youth
development and excellence by encouraging
and promoting an exchange of programmes,
experience, skills, techniques, information
and knowledge. The youth programmes shall
include participation of young politicians,
young entrepreneurs, young doctors,
young journalists etc. It shall also involve
participation of young people from both
countries in youth festivals, seminars and
conferences on youth related issues.
Apart from this, during this visit to Vietnam, President Pranab Mukherjee gifted
sapling of the holy Bodhi Tree to Vietnam. This was the second sapling of the revered
Bodhi tree from Gaya in Bihar and was planted in Vietnams Presidential palace by
President Pranab Mukherjee. This sapling was gifted 55 years after the first offshoot
of the holy tree was given to it.
The President of the two nations, Pranab Mukherjee and Truong Tan jointly inaugurated
the India Study Centre at Ho Chi Minh Academy of Politics and Public Administration
in Hanoi.
Commentary and Analysis

These pacts will enhance the diplomatic relationship between the two countries that
was established in 1972 and the strategic partnership in 2007, after which the bilateral
relations have developed intensively.
Earlier, India as a country supported Vietnams independence from France and also
opposed involvement in the Vietnam War and supported unification of Vietnam.
President Pranab Mukherjees visit can be put in the backdrop of the Prime Minister
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Narendra Modi governments emphasis to give greater priority to Indias immediate
and extended neighbourhood. Earlier in August 2014, Union Foreign Minister Sushma
Swaraj during her visit to Hanoi said India wants to turn its long-standing Look East
policy intoActing East policy. During her visit, the two nations agreed to deepen
cooperation in oil and defence sectors. Swaraj visit to Hanoi happened few days
after, Hanoi renewed Indias lease of two oil blocks in Vietnams East Sea for another
year.
The India-Vietnam relations would be a time for worry for China that shares hostile
relations with Vietnam. This visit and pacts would be a disturbing point for China
because India shares diplomatic disputes with China.
India - Australia
India and Australia on 5 September 2014 signed a pact on civil nuclear energy deal.
This inking of the pact on civil nuclear energy deal has opened decks for the sale of
Australian uranium to India. Now, Australian uranium will be purchased by India to
support its growing energy needs.
The pact was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his
Australian counterpart Tony Abbott in New Delhi. The Prime Minister of Australia
Tony Abbott was on a State Visit to India from 4-5 September, 2014 at the invitation
of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
This nuclear deal is being considered as a concrete symbol of the bilateral partnership
between India and Australia because the pact details say that Australia would provide
supply of uranium, production of radio isotopes, nuclear safety and other areas of
cooperation to India.
Australia as a nation has about a third of the worlds recoverable uranium resources
and it exports nearly seven thousand tonnes of uranium in a year. This was Australias
36
Current Affairs
first nuclear deal with a Non-Nuclear, Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) signatory country.
The efforts to sign the civil nuclear deal for sale of uranium to India between the two
nations were underway since 2012 after Canberra lifted a long-time ban imposed
on India for exporting the valuable ore. It lifted the ban to help India in meeting its
ambitious nuclear energy programme.
Earlier such deal was banned because India is not a signatory of the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty, NPT.
Other MoUs signed between India and Australia

Apart from the civil nuclear deal signed between India and Australia, the two countries
also inked three more pacts. Other three pacts were
MoU on cooperation in Sport

MoU will promote exchange of programmes, experience, skills, techniques and
knowledge in the field of Sports. It will facilitate exchanges of sports personnel,
coaches and officials as well as of training and technologies. It will develop preparation
for competitions and broad cooperation in sports.
Renewal of MoU on cooperation in the field of Water Resources Management

This will promote sharing of policy and technical experiences in the water resources,
particularly river basin management. It will encourage familiarisation of best practices
and technologies developed by each side and for exchange of information and
training. A JWG will coordinate the activities.
MoU on Cooperation in Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET)

Promotes exchange of information and policy ideas in TVET systems, joint
implementation of collaborative projects and facilitating links between governments,
industry organizations, TVET bodies. The focus will be to share experience and policy
to build work force that is skilled and globally productive. The skills will promote
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Current Affairs
broader cooperation including greater access to skilled labour across the region.
On the other hand, the India and Australia has agreed to conduct a bilateral maritime
exercise in 2015. The agreement was reached, as the two sides wants to increase
their security cooperation to counter terrorism, cyber threats and other security
challenges.
Defence and Security Cooperation

Both the countries agreed for the inaugural bilateral maritime exercise to be held
in 2015. The initiatives under way to further strengthen defence cooperation,
including closer engagement and cooperation in defence science and industry.
Prime Minister Modi was invited to attend the commemoration of the 100 year
anniversary of Gallipoli in 2015 by the Prime Minister of Australia, Abbott on behalf
of the Prime Ministers of Australia and New Zealand
Both the countries committed to strengthening the defence and security
partnership and enhance the cooperation in defence, counter-terrorism, cyber
policy, transnational crime, disarmament and non-proliferation, humanitarian
assistance, disaster management and peacekeeping.
Both the countries called for deepening the framework of defence and security
cooperation to guide the bilateral engagement in these and other priority areas.
Cooperation in Energy, Science, Water, Education and Skills

Both the countries agreed an extension of the Australia-India Strategic Research
Fund (AISRF) for a further period of four years.
The AISRF helps Australian researchers to participate in leading edge scientific
projects and workshops with Indian scientists. It supports the development of
strategic alliances between Australian and Indian researchers.
Prime Minister of Australia, Abbott launched the New Colombo Plan at the Mumbai
University.
During his visit, Prime Minister of Australia, Tony Abbott described India as an
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emerging democratic superpower and found the most of the abundant opportunities
for business India. He launched the New Colombo Plan at a programme at the
Mumbai University.
India-Japan
India-Japan issued Joint Statement for enhancing cooperation
India-Japan Annual Summit 2014 was held at Tokyo, Japan on 1 September 2014.
The Summit was held during the Prime Minister Narendra Modi five-day visit to Japan
from 30 August - 3 September 2014. The Summit saw the issuing of Joint Statement
by the two Prime Minister, viz., Narendra Modi and Shinzo Abe. The Joint Statement
called for enhancing the cooperation between the two countries.
Main Highlights of the Joint Statement

The Japan announced the launch of a feasibility study by the Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA) for setting up of a 10 MW canal-top grid connected
solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Gujarat as a model for next generation
infrastructure.
Japan pledged a loan of 50 billion yen (approximately 500 million US dollars)
for the Public-Private Partnership Infrastructure Financing Project to the India
Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL), and of around 15.6 billion yen
(approximately 156 million US dollars) for the Guwahati Sewerage Project in
Assam.
Both sides directed the respective relevant authorities to start a feasibility study
by JICA on a potential yen loan project for the MRTS between Gurgaon and Bawal
in Haryana.
Both sides instructed their officials to accelerate the implementation of the Smart
Community projects, viz. the Logistics Data Bank project, the Mega Solar Power
project at Neemrana and the Seawater Desalination project at Dahej.
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Current Affairs
Both sides instructed their officials to expeditiously finalise the Master Plan and the
Development Plan of the three cities, viz. Ponneri in Tamil Nadu, Krishnapatnam
in Andhra Pradesh and Tumkur in Karnataka in the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial
Corridor (CBIC) as potential industrial nodes by the end of March 2015.
Both sides welcomed Japan becoming the partner country of the 21st International
Engineering & Technology Fair (IETF 2015) to be held in New Delhi and expressed
their expectation that this would lead to expansion of trade and investment
between the two countries.
Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Ministry of New and
Renewable Energy of India and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation
(JBIC) in the field of new and renewable energy.
Loan agreement signed between the State Bank of India and the Japan Bank for
International Cooperation (JBIC) for the super-critical coal-fired power project in
Meja in Uttar Pradesh and the launch of a feasibility study by JICA for Barauni
super critical thermal power plant in Bihar.
Both sides welcomed substantial agreement on the commercial contract between
Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) and Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC) for the
production of rare earths as a significant step in India-Japan Strategic and Global
Partnership
Both side decided to strengthen cooperation including the acceleration of
Preparatory Survey for New Dholera International Airport Development Project.
The Indian side welcomed Japans intention to launch a new sub-project named
Village Buddha, which aims at leadership development for self-help groups in rural
areas, taking into account the important role played by women in such groups.
The Indian side welcomed Japans hosting the Third UN World Conference on
Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai in March 2015. Both sides affirmed active
participation in and close cooperation for the conference in order to adopt the
succeeding framework of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005- 2015.
Both sides directed the Joint Working Group to accelerate progress for the
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development of the Indian aircraft industry through US-2 amphibian aircraft
cooperation including the transfer of the aircraft and its technology to India.
Both sides expressed their desire to further promote bilateral and multilateral
cooperation on maritime issues and decided to hold the next bilateral dialogue in
Tokyo and joint exercise off the coast of Haneda between Indian and Japanese
Coast Guards in October 2014.
The Indian side welcomed Japanese sides intention to invite young Indian
researchers and students to Japan through Japan Society for the Promotion of
Science (JSPS) Fellowship Program and Japan-Asia Youth Exchange Program in
Science.
Both sides welcomed the signing of the Letter of Intent between the Ministry
of Earth Sciences of India and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and
Technology (JAMSTEC) to launch new cooperation in the field of ocean and earth
science & technology.
Both sides decided to pursue further cooperation in the field of space through
approaches such as Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF) and
expressed their expectation that Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) would work together to further
strengthen its cooperation.
Both sides expressed satisfaction with the ongoing plan of exchange of
approximately 1300 youth between the two countries under JENESYS 2.0 program.
The Japanese side briefed the Indian side about the international symposium on
women, the World Assembly for Women in Tokyo (WAW! Tokyo 2014) to be held
in September 2014.
Both sides welcomed the Programme on Empowerment for Women Leaders in
India to be held in November 2014 in Tokyo by HIDA.
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Comment
The visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Japan and the signing of the Tokyo
declaration, on the one hand, will help boost investment in the Indian economy
especially in the lagging infrastructure and on the other hand, it will help India in
counterbalancing the emerging domination of China in the region.
Indian space programme created history as Mangalyaan entered Mars orbit successfully
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Indias Mars Orbiter Mission, Manglayaan on 24 September 2014 successfully entered
the Martian orbit. To insert the spacecraft into the orbit the operation was started at
scheduled time 07:17:32 am when its Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) was fired for 24
minutes 16 seconds.
By achieving this fete, India created the history of becoming the first country to insert
the spacecraft of the mission around the Mars in first attempt. Apart from this, India
also came one step closer to its cherished dream of landing on Mars.
This success of the scientists of ISRO was witnessed by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, who was present at the ISRO to see the crucial Mars Orbiter Insertion. After
success of the mission, the Prime Minister congratulated the entire team of ISRO as
well as the people of India for the great success.
Other dignitaries present at the ISRO were Union Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda,
Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation G M Siddeshwara, Indian Space Research
Organisation Chairman, Dr. K Radhakrishnan and Senior Scientist UR Rao.
Earlier on 22 September 2014, ISRO test-fired the crucial Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM)
of the Missions main engine successfully.
Till date various countries has sent 51 missions to Mars of which only 21 were
successful. This success of Mars orbiter Mission in the very first shot will boost
Indias global standing in Space.
Mangalyaan is primarily a technological mission and it has been configured to
carry out observation of physical features and the atmosphere of Mars. India on 5
November 2013 launched its first interplanetary mission from Sriharikota in Andhra
Pradesh. The mission was executed within 15 months at the cost of 450 crore ($74
million) after the Union Government gave its approval for the mission.
Comparison of Indias Manglayaan and MAVEN of the US

On 22 September 2014, when MOMs motor engine was test fired to insert it into
Martian orbit, the MAVEN of US entered the Martian orbit
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MOM (Manglayaan)
Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN)
Attempts
Placed in first attempt
Was placed in 15thattempt
Cost
75 million US dollar
671 million US dollar
Weight during Liftoff
1350 kilograms
2250 Kilograms
Patyloads
Carried 5 payloads
Carried 7 payloads
Reach
closest distance from Mars is 150 kilometer

377-423 kilometer
Objective
The main focus of the study

To study upper atmosphere
will be finding the presence of of the red planet. It is the
methane in the red planet.
first spacecraft dedicated to
explore the tenuous upper
atmosphere of Mars.
Report titled Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion 2014

released by UNEP and WMO
A report titled Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion 2014 was released on 10
September 2014. The report has been prepared by the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The report
revealed that the ozone layer is well on track to recovery in the next few decades.
Highlights of the Report

Actions taken under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone
Layer in 1986 are enabling the return of the ozone layer to benchmark 1980 levels.
The Montreal Protocol and associated agreements have led to decreases in the
atmospheric abundance of gases, such as CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) and halons,
once used in products such as refrigerators, spray cans, insulation foam and fire
suppression.
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Total column ozone declined over most of the globe during the 1980s and early
1990s. Since 2000, it has remained relatively unchanged, but there are recent
indications of its future recovery.
The Antarctic ozone hole continues to occur each spring and it is expected to
continue occurring for the better part of this century given that ozone depleting
substances persist in the atmosphere, even though their emissions have ceased.
The Arctic stratosphere in winter or spring 2011 was particularly cold that led to
large ozone depletion as expected under these conditions.
The Montreal Protocol has made large contributions toward reducing global
greenhouse gas emissions.
In 1987, ozone-depleting substances contributed about 10 gigatonnes of CO2equivalent emissions per year. The Montreal Protocol has now reduced these
emissions by more than 90 percent.
The decrease in ozone-depleting substances is about five times larger than the
annual emissions reduction target for the first commitment period (2008-2012) of
the Kyoto Protocol on climate change.
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) currently contribute about 0.5 gigatonnes of CO2equivalent emissions per year. These emissions are growing at a rate of about 7
percent per year. Though HFCS do not harm the ozone layer but many of them are
potent greenhouse gases.
The annual Antarctic ozone hole has caused significant changes in Southern
Hemisphere surface climate in the summer due to cooling of the lower stratosphere
there is associated impacts on surface temperature, precipitation, and the oceans.
In the Northern Hemisphere, where the ozone depletion is smaller, there is no
strong link between stratospheric ozone depletion and tropospheric climate.
The concentrations of CO2, methane and nitrous oxide are the three main longlived greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which will tend to increase global ozone
levels.
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About Tea Board of India
The Tea Board of is functioning as a statutory body of the Central Government
under the Ministry of Commerce. It was constituted under Tea Act 1953 in 1954.
The Board is composed of 31 members (including Chairman) drawn from
Members of Parliament, tea producers, tea traders, tea brokers, consumers, and
representatives of Governments from the principal tea producing states, and trade
unions .
The Board is reconstituted every three years.

The 17th Asian Games also known as XVII Asiad commenced at Asiad Main Stadium
in Incheon, South Korea on 19 September 2104. The theme of the 2014 Asian Games
is Meet Asias Future.
The games will see participation of about 13000 athletes from 45 nations in different
sports categories for over 1300 medals. In 16 days the games will see the participants
competing in 439 events spread across 36 sports disciplines. The 17th edition of the
game will come to an end on 4 October 2014.
Opening ceremony of the Incheon Asian Games 2014

Generally, the opening ceremonies of any game tells a story of the host country, but
this time the opening ceremony was connected to its theme, Meet Asias Future.
The opening ceremony spoke about Asia (a home of about two-thirds of the worlds
population) as a continent, whose countries are divided by oceans. The sum up of
the show said that the Asian countries should stay united and strong. It also hailed
the bright future of Asia.
The Games flame was lighted by two little kids although the lamp was carried all its
way by greatest athletes of Korea. The Games was opened by the South Korean
President Park Geun-Hye. The opening ceremony that ran in four parts lasted for
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three-and-a-half hours. It was
directed by Im Kwon-Taek
and Jang Jin depicting Asias
Past, Present and Future.
Some of the topics included
during the opening ceremony
were Asia long time ago, Asia
meeting through the sea,
Asia as family and friends
and Asia as on and future
joining with today. The show
was participated by several
performers and the last piece
of the show was by Gangnam
style star DJ Psy.
Indian contingent in the

17th Asian Games
The Indian contingent for
the games consisted of 516
athletes participating in 28
sports. The flag bearer of
Indian side during the opening
ceremony of the games was
Sardar Singh, the captain of
Mens Hockey team of India.
In India the Asian Games will
be telecasted by Ten Sports
TV network in India. To greet
and wish the Indian athletes
participating in Incheon by
Indian huge fan following, the
Developments so far
Till 30 September 2014, the medal tally was
led by China with 276 medals (Gold-128,
Silver 82, Bronze 66) Gold followed by
South Korea (Gold 54, Silver 58, Bronze
62) and Japan (Gold 38, Silver 55, Bronze
56) at second and third place respectively.
India was placed at 10th place in the medal
tally with 47 medals (7 Gold, 8 Silver and 32
Bronze).
The 7th Gold medal of India came in the form
of Mary Kom winning the historic Gold in
flyweight category (48-51 kg) of boxing.
The 5th and 6th Gold medal of India came in
the form of Seema Punia in Womens Discus
throw and Sania Mirza and Saketh Sai Myneni
in Mixed doubles of tennis.
The 4th Gold medal of India came in the form
of Yogeshwar Dutt winning the Wrestling
Freestyle in 65 kg weight category
The 2nd and 3rd Gold medal of India came in
the form of Abhishek Verma; Sandeep Kumar
and Rajat Chauhan Archery winning the
Archery - Compound Men`s Team event and
Saurav Ghosal ; Harinder Pal Singh; Mahesh
Mangaonkar and Kush Kumar winning the
Squash - Mens Team event.
India won the 1st Gold medal on the Day 1
of the Asian games in the form of Jitu Rai
winning the 10 meter Air Pistol event.
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channel has come out with #SalaamIndia.
With the opening of the games, Indian shooter Jitu Rai clinched Indias first gold,
which was the second medal for the country at the Incheon Asian Games.
Shooter Jitu Rai clinched Indias first Gold in the Mens 50-metre Pistol event, which
was second medal of the Incheon Asian Games. Indias account was opened by
Shooter Shweta Chaudhary who won a Bronze in the 10-metre Air Pistol event
About Asian Games

The Asian Games also known as Asiad is a Pan-continental multi-sport event. It is
organised every four years and is participated by athletes from all over Asia. The
Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in
New Delhi, India, until the 1978 Games. But Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) started
organising the games from 1982 Games, after the breakup of the Asian Games
Federation. The Games are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
and are described as the second largest multi-sport event after the Olympic Games.
The last Games of 2010 were held in Guangzhou, China from 12 November to 27
November 2010. In the previous edition, China with total 416 medals (199 Gold, 119
Silver and 98 Bronze) was top ranked. However, India with 65 medals (14 Gold, 17
Silver and 34 Bronze) stood at the sixth position.
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INTERNATIONAL
Afghanistan on 30 September 2014 signed Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with
the US with an aim to allow some US troops to remain in the country till 2015.
National Security Adviser of Afghanistan Mohammad Hanif Atmar and US Ambassador
James Cunningham signed BSA at the presidential palace of Afghanistan in Kabul.
Signing of the BSA was the first act of the new government in Afghanistan headed by
President Ashraf Ghani who was sworn-in on 29 September 2014.
Main highlights of Bilateral Security Arrangement (BSA)

12000 foreign military personnel to stay after December 2014 when the combat
mission of Afghanistans US-led NATO force ends.
Out of this 10000 US soldiers will remain in Afghanistan when the combat mission
of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) will end in December 2014.
The troops will continue training, advising and equipping Afghan soldiers and
police, and to carry out counter-terrorism operations.
It allows the US to hold a civil or criminal trial or take other disciplinary action, as
appropriate, in the territory of Afghanistan in the case that a US soldier is accused
of a crime.
It does not require US forces to intervene if Afghanistan comes under foreign
attack.
Foreign troops would not be able to enter holy sites or civilian homes, a longstanding
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demand of former President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai.
The US has the right to keep bases in Afghanistan as long as the security pact
is in force, and in return it promises to raise funds to train and equip the Afghan
security forces, which now number 350000.
Besides, Atmar also signed a status of forces agreement with NATO, providing similar
legal protections for the alliances personnel in Afghanistan.
With this NATO announced a new mission named Resolute Support.
The new mission will focus on training and support for the Afghan army and police
as they take on Taliban fighters. So terrorists can never use Afghanistan to launch
attacks against the U.S. or its allies.
Background
Talks on the security agreement began in November 2012 with a stated goal of
reaching an agreement by May 2013. However, the ex-President of Afghanistan
Hamid Karzai had refused to sign the deal in a disagreement that came to symbolise
the breakdown of Afghan-US relations.
During the campaign trail, both Ghani and his poll rival Abdullah Abdullah had vowed
to reverse Karzais decision. The signing of the deal by newly elected President Ashraf
Ghani is intended to repair the ties with Washington.

The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on 27 September 2014 addressed the
69th session of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. He addressed
the 193-member UN General Assembly in Hindi becoming the second Prime Minister
after Atal Behari Vajpayee who was a Prime Minister from 1998 to 2004.
Apart from this, Modi is the third person to address the UNGA session in Hindi aafter
Vajpayee and PV Narasimha Rao. Rao addressed the session in Hindi as foreign
minister in 1988 and Vajpayee also addressed the UN General Assemblys Millennium
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Summit session in Hindi in 1977.
The theme of the UNGA was delivering and implementing a transformative Post2015 development Agenda.
Some major points of his speech at UNGA were

He termed the 69 UN peacekeeping missions since 1948 as the blue helmet, the
colour of peace.
India is ready to engage in a serious bilateral dialogue with Pakistan but in a
peaceful atmosphere, without the shadow of terrorism, to promote our friendship
and cooperation. For this purpose, Pakistan should take its responsibility seriously
to create such an environment.
He also called for concerted multilateral action to meet the challenges like fragile
global economy, terrorism, Ebola health crisis, climate change and poverty.
While calling for concerted international efforts to fight with terrorism, he
termed that it takes new shape and new name and there is no country either
big or small across the world is free from its threat. So efforts should be made
to combat terrorism and extremism by keeping aside the difference by adopting
Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism
All G-groups should be converted into G1 or G-All
The United Nations including the Security Council should be made more democratic
and participative
Development and empowerment should be spread at the speed of Facebook or
Twitter
The eradication of poverty must remain at the core of the Post-2015 Development
Agenda
Technology and capabilities of the countries should be shared with each other
International Yoga Day should be adopted
Effect of his speech was UNGA was felt clearly after Modi rebuffed Pakistan for
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raising the Kashmir issue at the UN and asking for plebiscite in Kashmir. Pakistan
after his speech at UNGA accepted that its talks with the Hurriyat were not necessary
before the dialogue with India
Hindi is not among the official languages of the UN, which are Arabic, Chinese,
English, French, Russian and Spanish. But Modi wants that the Hindi should be
recognised as a world language as it is fourth most prevalent language in the world
after English, Spanish and Chinese.
President of Catalonia signed decree to hold independence referendum on 9 November

Spanish region Catalonia on 27 September 2014 announced to hold independence
referendum on 9 November 2014.
The President of Catalonia Artur Mas signed a decree calling for a Scottish style
referendum on independence. Earlier on 19 September 2014, Catalonian lawmakers
voted by a margin of 106 to 28 in favour of authorising the referendum.
However, Spain quickly denounced the move and called the plan unconstitutional. It
repeatedly insists that any regional vote on independence would be illegal, pointing
out that the countrys 1978 constitution means major questions must be put to all
Spaniards and that only they can call a referendum.
On the other hand, Mas said he can use local laws to hold the vote and asserts that
the non-binding nature of its regional vote allows it to take place within the legal
confines of the constitution.
Catalonia is one of Spains richest and most highly industrialised regions, and also
one of the most independent-minded. It includes Barcelona.
About Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated a nationality by its
Statute of Autonomy. The official languages are Spanish, Catalan, and Aranese.
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Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. The
capital and largest city is Barcelona, the second largest city in Spain, and the centre
of one of the largest metropolitan areas in Europe.
It comprises most of the territory of the former Principality of Catalonia, with the
remainder now part of France.
Catalonia is bordered by France and Andorra to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to
the east, and the Spanish regions of Aragon and the Valencian Community to west
and south respectively.
Turkish Government imposed ban on tattoos and piercings in all

schools
Government of Turkey on 27 September 2014 imposed ban on students from wearing
tattoos or body piercings in schools.
The ban also prohibited girls from dyeing their hair and applying make-up. It also
forbids boys from keeping moustaches and beards. This move of the ruling Justice
and Development Party (AKP) is aimed at restoring traditional values in Turkey.
The measure is the latest controversial measure taken by the Turkish government in
education after it allowed girls in high schools to wear the Muslim headscarf.
The measure was denounced by Veli Demir, head of the Egitim Is education union.
Demir opined that the measure is impossible to enforce as tattoos could not be
removed like a piece of clothing.
However, the head of another major education union Ismail Koncuk indicated the ban
would apply only to children who want to get tattoos after it comes into force.
A tattoo is a form of body modification, made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis
layer of the skin to change the pigment.
Despite being highly fashionable among secular urban youth and teenagers, tattoos
are frowned upon by conservative elements in the Turkish society. The reason behind
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this is that tattooing carries health risks including infection and allergic reactions.

The UK Parliament on 26 September 2014 backed the resolution that seeks British
participation in the US-led air strikes against militants of Islamic State of Iraq and
Syria (ISIS) in Iraq. The resolution of providing military assistance in the fight saw 543
votes in support against 43 that voted no, during a special Parliamentary session.
The UK Prime Minister David Cameroon justified air strikes against ISIS on the ground
that it poses a threat not only to Middle East but also to the streets of Britain.
The resolution was made in the Parliament after the group beheaded one British
hostage David Hanes and threatens to kill two more hostages namely Alan Henning
and John Cantlie (a UK journalist).
Apart from this, the Denmark government on 26 September 2014 announced its
decision to join the US-led coalition of airstrikes against the militant group in Iraq.
This decision is expected to be approved by its Parliament by end of September
2014. As per the Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, her government
would send four operational planes and three reserve jets along with 250 pilots and
support staffs in the fight. This deployment will last for 12 months.
The ISIS group has inspired terrorist acts in Europe like Jewish museum in Brussels
was attacked and six other known plots in Europe were disrupted by the security
services.
UNSC adopted resolution to prevent citizens of other nations

from joining militants like ISIS
The 15-member United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on 24 September 2014
unanimously adopted a binding resolution 2178 that compels member states to
prevent their nationals from joining militant groups like ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
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This US-drafted resolution is binding on the 193 UN member states under Chapter
7 of the UN Charter. The resolution also grants power to the Security Council to
place sanctions against states defying the legally binding resolution. It says that the
recruitment and financing of foreign fighters should be prevented by the nations.
The resolution also compels all states to make abroad travel of its citizens to fight with
militant groups or to recruit and fund others to do so as a serious criminal offence.
However, it does not mandate military force against the militants fighting abroad.
The UNSC session that adopted the resolution was chaired by the US President
Barack Obama, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Council for
September 2014. Obama during the session urged global efforts to dismantle the
ISIS network of death.
Background
The participation of thousands of youths from several nations in the extremist group
led to the development and adoption of the resolution. Youths from different countries
have fled from their states to fight with the extremist groups after emergence of ISIS
and Al Qaedas Syrian wing, Nusra Front.
US and partners began air strikes in Syria

The United States and its five Arab nations coalition on 22 September 2014 launched
their first air strikes against militants of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Syria.
The fighter and bomber jets and Tomahawk missiles were used in the attack.
These strikes were made after the US President Barack Obama authorised his pledge
to degrade and destroy the ISIS, a jihadist group that has captured huge swathes of
Syria and Iraq. Earlier, the US has undertaken 190 air strikes against ISIS in Iraq since
it started an aerial campaign on 8 August 2014.
The American air power is being supported by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan
and the UAE, who earlier agreed to form a coalition of nations to assist US with the
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destruction of ISIS.
Australia Joins Coalition against ISIS

Australia also decided to join the airstrikes against the group. The Australian
announcement was made by Australian Defence Minister David Johnston after his
meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in Baghdad. At present Johnson is
on the state visit of Iraq.
As per the announcement made by the Australian Defence Minister, around eight
Super Hornet aircrafts will take part in the US led coalition in delivering airstrikes. The
Australians will also deploy an E-7 Wedgetail early warning and control aircraft and
an aerial re-fuelling tanker aircraft, as well as Special Forces who will act as military
advisers. As per decided, the Australian airstrikes will target the northern Iraq.
The Defence Minsters announcement came after Australian police in third week
of September 2014 foiled an alleged plot by Islamic state militants to conduct
demonstration killings in the country, including randomly beheading members of the
public.
Australia was one of the four countries - together with the United States, the Britain
and Poland that invaded Iraq in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein.
UNSC passed a resolution backing new Government in Iraq in

its fight against ISIS militants
The UN Security Council (UNSC) on 19 September 2014 passed unanimous resolution
that backs the new Government in Iraq in its fight against the ISIS militants.
The Councils meet was chaired by the US Secretary of State John Kerry, whose
country holds the 15-member bodys presidency for September 2014.
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Main highlights of the UNSC Resolution
The council condemned the attacks by terrorist organisations including Islamic
State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) that is also known as Islamic State in Iraq and the
Levant (ISIL). It termed their offensive as a major threat to the region.
The council also appealed the international community, in accordance with
international law, to support the efforts being made by the government of Iraq
to maintain security and combat terrorism, so that a safe, stable and prosperous
future can be created for people of Iraq.
It reiterated the urgent need to stop any direct or indirect trade in oil from Iraq
involving ISIL.
The UNSC also urged Member States to work closely with Iraq to identify how best
to support democracy and security, as well as national reconciliation to address
the needs of all of Iraqs diverse communities.
The UNSC statement expressed support for Iraqs full integration into the region
and the international community, and recognized the importance for it to achieve
the international standing it held prior to the adoption of resolution 661 (1990).
The UNSC resolution is seen as a strong endorsement of global action against the
militants who have captured large swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq and unleashed
a reign of terror in the region.

France on 19 September 2014 joined US air strikes against ISIS in Iraq. French jets
have carried out their first strikes on IS depot in north-east Iraq.
Four Rafale planes hit the town of Zumar, killing dozens of militants.
Earlier, Iraqi government had requested France government for air support. In
Response, President of France Hollande extended his support to Iraq but the French
jets will not target IS in neighbouring Syria. He also insisted that he would not send
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ground troops.
France is the first of Washingtons allies to strike at IS targets. On 15 September
2014, France hosted an international conference on the crisis in Paris.
The mission saw 26 countries pledge their commitment to support the new Iraqi
government in its fight against IS by any means necessary, including appropriate
military assistance.
Barack Obama authorised air strikes against ISIS militants in

Syria
The US President, Barack Obama on 11 September 2014 authorised US air strikes
against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants in Syria for the first time. He
also asked to escalate the airstrikes in Iraq. The aggressive offensive to combat ISIS,
announcement came on the eve of the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attack of World
Trade Center.
This will be the first open-ended bombing campaign of the US against jihadist ISIS
militants in Syria. As per the plan, the airstrikes will be a systematic campaign of
against the group.
Obama in his speech said that the air strikes were necessary counter-terrorism action
of the country to prevent the ISIS group to become a threat for the US in future, thus
his order doesnt need congressional approval. ISIS militants have captured a swath
territory in northern parts of Iraq and Syria.
The US will also deploy 475 troops of advisers to help Iraqi forces to identifying
further targets for air strikes. In August 2014, to halt the ISIS advances the US military
launched more than 150 air strikes in Iraq.
Apart from this, the key ten Arab countries have agreed to help the US in its fight
against the jihadist group, Islamic State (IS), after their talks with US Secretary of
State John Kerry in Jeddah. They have promised to provide military support and
humanitarian aid to the US to halt the flow of funds and foreign fighters to ISIS.
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Only, the NATO member, Turkey refused to join in the group of Arab nations that will
support the US.
However, Russia has warned the US against expanding its campaign of air strikes
from Iraq into its neighbouring country Syria, without the backing of the UN Security
Council. It said that the US action would be an act of aggression and a gross violation
of international law.
Besides, Syria also expressed reservations about the air strikes. It said that it was
ready to cooperate only if US is ready to seek approval from the Syrian government

The 22-nation Arab League on 7 September 2014 agreed to join the global coalition
to counter the threat of jihadist militants from the Islamic State Group. The decision
was taken at an emergency meeting held in Cairo, Egypt. In the decision, the foreign
ministers of the Arab League decided to block the funds of the militants as the first
step.
The Arab League adopted the UN Security Council Resolution by chocking funds
and stopping the flow of foreign fighters to the radical Islamic extremists. The UN
resolution was passed in August 2014 and called on the member states to act to
stem the flow of logistical, military and financial support to ISIS, the extremists in Iraq
and Syria.
As per the decision, the League will cooperate with all international, regional and
national efforts that are on or has been initiated to combat the militant groups. The
leagues Secretary General, Nabil Al Arabi said that the rise of the jihadist militants is
a challenge which has to be confronted on all fronts, militarily as well as financially.
But the League has yet not cleared that will they directly join the military action
to confront the jihadists. The Arab League includes Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan,
Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
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China on 25 September 2014 launched Made in China campaign to counter India.
The launch of the campaign coincided with the launch of Make In India campaign.
The decision to launch the campaign was taken by Chinese cabinet headed by
Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang.
China by launching Made in China campaign seeks to retain its manufacturing
prowess through giving host of tax concessions.
In order to arm China with advanced technology and equipment, encouraging more
competitive products with high added value, the Chinese cabinet asked government
organs to implement the new measures as soon as possible.
Main Elements of the Campaign

Under the campaign China will encourage high-tech imports, research and
development (R&D) to upgrade Made in China.
Companies that bought new R&D equipment and facilities after January 1 or
possess minor fixed assets will have taxes reduced based on value.
Imported high-tech equipment will also enjoy tax deductions. The industries with
imported equipments which will enjoy tax deduction include aviation and biomedicine production among others.
Made in China campaign aims to prompt technical improvement of companies,
especially innovation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). These SMEs
in the last three decades propelled China to become worlds second largest
economy and made it a powerhouse of the manufacturing industry.
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Comment
Manufacturing sector of China had been a key driver of its economic growth and is
globally competitive. With the launch of Made in China campaign a new round of
innovation is believed to be spurred which will contribute to stabilising economic
growth.
Further this will lighten burdens of enterprises in the real term and prompt the upgrade
of outdated equipment.
Finally, it will help ease three aspects problems, viz., weak domestic demand and
investment amid slowing economic growth, lagging equipment in manufacturing
sector and low technical level of home grown companies.
India announced to contribute 12 million US dollar to UN to fight

Ebola virus
India announced to contribute 12 million US dollars to the United Nations to fight
the deadly Ebola virus in Africa. The contribution was approved by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on 25 September 2014.
India will contribute 10 million US dollar to Fund of United Nations Secretary General
for Ebola and 2 million US dollar for purchase of protective gear to tackle Ebola.
Recently, UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon announced setting up of the UN Mission
for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) to put in place an effective response
mechanism due to the wide spread of Ebola Virus in Africa.
The Ebola Emergency Response project will mobilize 52 million US dollars for Liberia,
28 million US dollars for Sierra Leone and 25 million US dollars for Guinea.
The World Bank Group also approved 105 million US dollars grant for Ebola Emergency
Response to fight Ebola in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in September 2014.
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Pakistan on 26 September 2014 test fired the Hatf IX -short range surface-to-surface
missile. The nuclear capable missile also called as Nasr was tested with successive
launches of four missiles from a Multi Tube Launcher with Salvo Mode.
It is a nuclear capable ballistic missile with a maximum range of 60 kilometers can
cover western parts of India. With in-flight manoeuvre capability Hatf IX is a quick
response system with shoot and scoot capability.
Earlier Pakistan had tested the Hatf IX missile in 2011 and 2012. The development
of the missile is in line with Pakistans objective of developing a full spectrum of
deterrence against the prevailing threat spectrum.
Commentary
The test fire of Hatf IX is in line with the Pakistans objective of developing a second
strike capability if a catastrophic nuclear attack destroyed all its land-based weapons.
In line with above objective Pakistan has repeatedly tested Babur cruise missile their
indigenously produced, nuclear-capable. It has a range of 640 km and can strike
targets at land and sea.
Besides, Pakistan is said to be developing shorter-range cruise missiles that can fly
lower to the ground and can evade ballistic missile defences and developing seabased missiles.
Nuclear push of Pakistan comes amid heightened tension with US intelligence and
congressional officials over the security of Pakistans nuclear weapons.

The 3rd meeting of SAARC Ministers of Culture was held in New Delhi from 24
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September 2014 to 25 September 2014. The meeting was held under the chairmanship
of Minister of State for Culture Shripad Naik.
They adopted the Delhi Resolution as a roadmap for cultural relations in the SAARC
region for the period 201417.
Delhi Resolution
To declare 201617 as the SAARC Year of Cultural Heritage. For 201516, Bamiyan
will be the SAARC cultural capital and the inauguration ceremony of Bamiyan as
SAARC cultural capital will take place in April 2015.
To formulate proposals for transnational nominations for the world heritage list
and a regional list of heritage sites.
To recognize the impact and contribution of maritime routes and the monsoon as
also other inland relations
To enhance interaction between member countries by redefining cultural linkages
through transnational nominations
To promote SAARC culture online by launching a dedicated SAARC website on
culture, with emphasis on digitization of rare manuscripts, rare books and other
articles of intangible cultural value.
To strengthen cultural institutions in the SAARC region, promote cultural festivals
showcasing themes that are unique to the region within SAARC member states,
and enable meaningful exchange programmes for artists, performers, writers and
scholars.
To establish a SAARC Cultural Heritage Committee (SHC) and build cultural
institutions, which, in turn, will bolster efforts in preservation, maintenance, as
well as digital mapping of historic sites in member countries, and simultaneously
develop inventories of cultural assets in museums and other repositories of the
region and apply best practices and standards therein.
To promote the literatures produced in the local languages of the regions, and
make them available to readers across the world through translations, not only
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into English, but also through direct translation from one SAARC language
to another, and also to provide financial support to writers to work on creative
projects, collaborate with other writers and provide them increased exposure to
other cultures.
To accord the highest priority to the preservation of folklores and other oral
traditions that embody local narratives and local cultures, both in order to facilitate
a better understanding of our shared past in this age of global cultural memes,
and to envision the cultural future of the region anew.
To promote visual and performing arts from the SAARC region in other parts of the
world to mirror the vast riches both cultural and geographic that adorn these
lands, as part of a sustained campaign of cultural diplomacy to attract tourists to
these places and stimulate SAARC tourism.
To support, on mission-mode, the improvement of literacy of SAARC populaces,
and further, promote a reading habit among the citizens by providing access to
books and other reading materials through establishing libraries in remote places.
To promote the urge and interest of the SAARC country visitors to archeologically
important places and heritage sites by fixing a common rate for entrance therein.
The SAARC Culture Ministers agreed to meet in Bangladesh for the fourth Culture
Ministers meeting.
Union Cabinet approved agreement on grid connectivity with

Nepal
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 24 September
2014 approved the India-Nepal Agreement on Electric Power Trade, Cross-Border
Transmission Interconnection and Grid Connectivity.
The approval will facilitate and strengthen cross-border electricity transmission grid
connectivity and power trade between the two countries.
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The agreement would also provide a framework for imports, by Indian entities, of
surplus power generated from future hydroelectric plants in Nepal, on mutually
acceptable terms and conditions.
Nepal currently imports 200 MW of electricity from India annually. Besides, the
constructions of the new cross-border transmission lines that are under construction
will more than double the transmission capacity over the next two years.
Background
The power trade was approved in the light of the decision made during Prime Minister
Narendra Modis visit to Nepal in August 2014. During Modis visit it was decided that
negotiations on the power trade agreement would be concluded within 45 days.
US agreed to pay 500 million US dollar in compensation to Native American Navajo tribe
The US government on 24 September 2014 agreed to pay 500 million US dollar in
compensation to Native American Navajo tribe.
In return for 500 million US dollar, the Navajo agreed to dismiss its lawsuit and forego
further litigation over previous U.S. management of Navajo funds and resources held
in trust by the federal government. The agreement will end decades-old disputes
over use of land of tribes. It is the largest payment ever made by the government to
a single tribe.
The Navajo tribe had filed litigation accusing US government for mismanaging
resources on tribal lands.
The deal comes over two years after the administration announced similar settlements
with 41 tribes for about 1 billion US dollar collectively. Since then, the government
has resolved breach of trust claims by nearly 40 additional tribes for more than 1.5
billion US dollar.
The US has previously reached similar agreements with other tribes over the use of
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their land and goods.
About Navajos tribe

The Navajos are the largest indigenous tribe in the United States with more than
300000 members. The Navajo reservation, straddling the western states of Arizona,
New Mexico and Utah, is the largest in the United States. It covers around 70000
square miles.
About 14 million acres of Navajo land is leased out for purposes including farming,
oil and gas production, and mining.
Royal Mint of Britain launched its own online trading service for
gold coins
The Royal Mint of Britain on 22 September 2014 launched its own online trading
service for gold coins. The move is aimed to entice investors away from shares and
into gold sovereigns.
In a move that would spark a new gold rush, the customers will be able to buy
unlimited quantities of gold coins anywhere in the world directly from the Mint.
The gold will be stored in the Mints high-security vault and guarded by Ministry of
Defence personnel. The initiative is designed to overcome some of the key objections
to investing in physical gold, including worries about shipping, storage and finding a
trustworthy broker.
Highlights of the online trading

The online trading will allow a much more active role in what has become an
expanding trade in gold for investment.
The launch of the Mints new website will provide updated prices for gold and
silver as per the current market values.
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The sovereign also has its weight and purity guaranteed to five decimal places by
a 1971 Act of Parliament.
Gold coins can be kept at the Mints vault, in return for an annual storage fee
of 1 percent of the market value of the gold being held, plus VAT. Alternatively
customers can take delivery of the coins through an insured postal service.
When investors want to sell, the Mint will offer a buy-back service on gold coins
stored in its vault, quoting a price pegged to current market prices.
Comment
The Mint has been producing coins for more than 1000 years. It has previously tended
to sell gold coins in small quantities to collectors.
Gold is often seen as a defensive investment in times of stock market uncertainty.
In recent years, there have seen a rapid expansion in the number of online gold
companies.

The Brooklyn Federal Jury of New York, the US on 22 September 2014 found the
Jordan-based multinational Arab Bank liable of supporting terrorism on 24 counts by
transferring funds to Hamas. The federal jury held the bank for two dozen attacks on
Middle East.
This was the first time ever that a Bank or a financial institution has been held liable
in civil suit for supporting terrorism. Also, this was the first major verdict under the
Anti-terrorism Act, 2001 of the US.
The Jury accused the bank of knowingly supporting specific terrorist acts in and
around Israel during the Second Intifada, also known as the Oslo War that began in
2000.
The Jury asked the bank to compensate the victims of attacks those were allegedly
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carried out in Israel and Palestinian Authority-controlled territories. The verdict was
pronounced after a six-week trial in a Brooklyn federal court. The federal law suit was
filed in 2004.
The lawyer of the case against the bank was Gary Osen. He was representing around
300 American relatives and the victims of 24 attacks those were carried out in Israel
and the Palestinian territories.
The Arab Bank Group has more than 600 branches in 30 countries, with assets worth
46.4 billion US dollars and a shareholders equity base of 7.8 billion US dollars as
recorded in 2013.
Third meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Consultative Commission held in New Delhi
The third meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Consultative Commission (JCC) was
held in New Delhi on 20 September 2014. The third JCC was co-chaired by Union
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Bangladeshi counterpart Abul
Hassan Mahmood Ali.
The meeting focused on review of progress of initiatives in various sectors of the
relationship. It also focused on identifying the thrust areas to give directions for further
growth of the bilateral partnership.
Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali during his visit to New Delhi also met Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee. During his meet with Modi, he
extended invitation of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to visit Bangladesh.
In response to which, Modi said that he is looking forward to visit the country at the
earliest and also welcome Sheikh Hasina in India.
The Prime Ministers of the two countries will have their first bilateral interaction on
the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) meet later in September 2014.
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India-Bangladesh Joint Consultative Commission
The Joint Consultative Commission was constituted under the Framework Agreement
on Cooperation for Development. The agreement was signed during the visit of
former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to Bangladesh in September 2011. The
first and second meeting of the JCC was held in New Delhi in May 2012 and in Dhaka
in February 2013, respectively.

Voreqe Bainimarama on 22 September 2014 was sworn in as new Prime Minister of
Fiji. He was sworn in by President Epeli Nailatikau at a brief ceremony in Government
House of Suva.
He was sworn-in after the official results showed that he had won 60 percent of the
seats.
The official results of the 2014 elections in Fiji were declared after five days of general
elections held on 17 September 2014. It was the first general election in Fiji after
2006 military coup by Bainimarama.
Fijis 2014 Election Results

As per the final count of the votes, Fiji First Party led by Bainimarama earned 59.2
percent of the vote which is equal to 32 seats in the new 50-seat parliament set up
under the Fiji constitution introduced in 2013.
The Social Democratic Liberal Party stood at second position with 28.2 percent of
votes and acquired 15 seats. The National Federation Party took the third place with
5.5 percent of votes and fetched 3 seats in total. The official results showed that 83.9
percent population voted out of 590000 registered voters.
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System of Elections in Fiji
Fijis current constitution provides for a unicameral 50-member parliament which will
be the supreme authority and be elected on the basis of one person, one vote and
one value.
Parliamentary elections are held every four years and every Fijian over the age of 18
is entitled to vote in the single constituency that is nationwide.
The 2014 general elections of Fiji extended full voting rights for the first time to
ethnic Indians who backed Bainimaramas move to put them on an equal footing
with indigenous Fijians.
Past military coups in Fiji

Fiji is a tropical region of about 3200 km (2000 miles) east of Australia. It had suffered
four coups since 1987. Rivalry between Fijian nationalists and minority ethnic Indians
was the underlying cause of all the four coups.
In 2000 Coup, ethnic Fijians held the first Indo-Fijian prime minister hostage in
parliament for 56 days that led to deadly riots in the streets of Suva in Fiji.
The latest coup took place in 2006 which was led by Voreqe Bainimarama. He held on
a long run rivalry between indigenous Fijian nationalists and minority ethnic Indians
to justify his coup in 2006.
Ethnic Indians make up about 40 percent of the 900000 population and are
economically powerful descendants of labourers brought by the British to work at
the sugarcane fields in Fiji.
UN Secretary-General announced to establish UN Mission for

Ebola Emergency Response
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 20 September 2014 announced to establish
the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) in New York.
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He declared Ebola outbreak in West Africa a threat to peace and security.
The announcement came following the unanimous adoption of a key resolution by
the 193-Member UN Security Council on measures to contain and combat the virus
(document A/69/L.2).
Ban Ki-moon instructed the advance teams to head to Ghana, Guinea, Liberia and
Sierra Leone in West Africa by 22 September 2014 for carrying out first-of-its-kind
operations. UN System Senior Coordinator for Ebola Dr. David Nabarro will provide
strategic guidance to the Mission.
United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER)

The Missions initial level is a major step in this expanding effort to tackle the greatest
peacetime challenge that the United Nations and its agencies have ever faced. The
hub of the Mission will be located in Accra, Ghana.
The Mission will provide the operational framework and unity of purpose to ensure the
rapid, effective and coherent action necessary to treat the infected, ensure essential
services, preserve stability and prevent its spread to countries which are currently
unaffected.
The Mission will rely on the support of the entire UN system in particular the critical
technical expertise of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Moreover, the mission will immediately begin to pull together the assets from the
relevant agencies and will work closely with the Governments in Guinea, Liberia and
Sierra Leone.

Election Commission of Afghanistan on 21 September 2014 declared Ashraf Ghani
Ahmadzai as the President-elect of Afghanistan.
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His name was announced by the Chief of Election Commission Ahmad Yousuf
Nuristani after a Unity deal was signed between Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah,
former foreign minister of Afghanistan.
Ghani Adhmadzai is a former finance minister and World Bank official whose power
base is in the South and East Afghanistan. He is expected to be sworn-in as President
on 29 September 2014.
However, the Election Commission did not release the final tally of votes on the
suggestion of UN representative in Afghanistan Jan Kubish who feared that release
of result may lead to spate of violence.
Unity deal
Ashraf Ghani signed a power sharing agreement with rival Abdullah Abdullah on 21
September 2014. The deal ended three-month stalemate over government formation
in Afghanistan on account of disputed election results.
The main highlights of the deal

A loya jirga (grand assembly) will be held within two years to amend the Constitution
and discuss creating a new post of Prime Minister, who will serve under the
President.
Until the Constitution is amended, a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) will be appointed
and will be the acting Prime Minister.
The President will head the cabinet, and the CEO will head weekly cabinet meetings.
The President and the CEO will have equal share in security, economic, independent
institutions and in the national security council
Election reforms will be enacted before parliamentary polls in 2015 along with an
electronic identity card system being introduced
The deal is a victory for US secretary of state John Kerry who during a July 2014
visit to Afghanistan convinced the candidates to agree in principle to share power.
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Presidential Election Dispute in Afghanistan

Preliminary results of the June 2014 elections released in July 2014 showed Ghani
ahead of ex-foreign minister Abdullah with 56 percent of the vote. However, Abdullah
believed that he won the elections against Ghani. He thereby accused Afghan Election
Commission of fraud.
Seeing this, UN and Afghan election officials began auditing the results after allegations
of fraud. But run-off vote total of Ghani dropped by only 1 percent after the audit.
Still, people supporting Abdullah maintained that the fraud was undetectable.

Yemen President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi on 21 September 2014 signed a peace
deal in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, with Shiite Houthi rebels. The peace deal aims
to put an end to the violence in the country.
The deal was signed at the Presidential palace in the presence of President Hadi, the
UN envoy to Yemen Jamal Benomar and representatives of Yemens political forces,
including the Houthi rebels.
Following the deal, the Prime Minister Mohammed Basindwa submitted his resignation
to President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi. He resigned because under the ceasefire deal,
present Government led by Prime Minister was to resign and a new government with
wider representation was to be formed.
Other aspects of the deal

The deal asks for formation of a new government within one month.
It also says that the President Abdrabuh Mansour al-Hadi will also appoint advisers
from the Houthi rebels and southern separatists within three days.
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The President will also name the new premier within three days that will replace
Basindawa, the Prime Minister. The new premier must be neutral and should not
belong to any party.
The deal also asks for continuation of the fuel subsidy.
The deal was signed after the rebel groups seized strategic positions of the country
that included the Government headquarters in capital Sanaa.
Comment
The violence broke out in the state on 16 September 2014. The rebels were demanding
the sacking of current Government, more shares in power and retention of the fuel
subsidy.
This violence resulted in death of about 140 people and also forced thousands to flee.
But it seems that, the UN-brokered peace deal between Houthi rebels and Yemens
government will also end the violence and lift seize from parts of capital Sanna by
Houthi rebels.
John Key re-elected as the Prime Minister of New Zealand for a

third term
John Key on 21 September 2014 was re-elected as the Prime Minister of New Zealand
for a third term. This was revealed by the preliminary results released by the Electoral
Commission of New Zealand. He has led New Zealand as the Prime Minister since
2008.
In the 2014 General Elections of New Zealand held on 20 September 2014, the
centre-right National Party led by John Key won 48 percent of the vote. The Labour
Party of New Zealand led by David Cunliffe won 25 percent of the votes whereas the
Green Party won 10 percent and New Zealand First (NZF) party won 9 percent of the
total votes.
Meanwhile, Internet-Mana Party, a party funded by Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom
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failed to win a parliamentary seat despite Dotcom pouring more than 3 million New
Zealand dollars into the campaign.
As a result, the National Party won 61 seats out of 121 parliamentary seats, Labour
Party won 32 seats, Green Party and NZF Party won 13 and 11 seats respectively.
The small free-market Act Party and centrist United Future and indigenous Maori
Party, together won four seats.
The percentage of total votes won by the National Party is an improvement over the
2011 General election results. In the last elections it had won 47 percent of the total
votes.
System of Government in New Zealand

New Zealand is a democratic country in which the Members of Parliament (MP)
are chosen in free and fair elections.
Citizens and permanent residents who are aged 18 years and above are required
to enroll to vote. However, voting is not compulsory
New Zealand has a single chamber of Parliament which consists of the House
of Representatives having 120 members and the Governor-General. The House
is elected for a maximum three year term using the Mixed Member Proportional
(MMP) system.
MMP is a proportional system which means that the proportion of votes a party
gets will largely reflect the number of seats it has in parliament. This proportional
system was introduced in 1993.
Under the MMP system of New Zealand, parties must form coalitions to govern the
nation for the three-year terms. However, the winner party can pass the legislation
that does not have the support of any other parties.
Coalitions or agreements between political parties are usually needed before
Governments can be formed.
New Zealands first parliamentary elections were held in 1853.
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People of Scotland on 19
September 2014 rejected the
historic
referendum
for
independence from United
Kingdom. In the referendum
asking
simple
question,
Should Scotland be an
independent country?, 55.3
percent of the Scots voted
No whereas 44.7 percent of
the Scots voted Yes. In effect
the referendum was rejected
by a huge margin of 10.6
percent.
Comment
The referendum marked not only a new chapter
for Scotland within the UK but also wider
constitutional reform across the union because
the vote against independence was clearly not
a vote against change.If the UK has to avoid a
repeat of the 1980 referendum in Qubec, then
David Cameron led Britain government must
deliver on time and in full the radical package
of newly devolved powers to Scotland. The
triumphalist behaviour of Ontario fuelled the
separatist cause that nearly succeeded in a
second referendum in 1995.
Out of 32 council areas, the

Scots backing Yes scored four big successes, winning 53 percent of the vote in
Scotlands largest city, Glasgow, 54 percent in West Dunbartonshire, 57 percent in
Dundee and 51 percent in North Lanarkshire.
However, the Scots backing No emerged victorious in 28 authorities. It won
overwhelmingly in Edinburgh, Aberdeenshire and Borders, Falkirk, Inverclyde, Eilean
Siar and Clackmannanshire.
With the announcement of the result, David Cameron, the Prime Minister of Britain,
announced to devolve more powers to Scotland and other unions of the UK, whereas
Alex Salmond, Scotlands First Minister and the leader of the Scottish National Party,
announced his retirement.
The results were also welcomed by the US and Europe, particularly Spain which face
their won secessionist movement in the form of Catalonians.
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Fallout of the Scottish referendum

With the rejection of the refrendum, Pound Sterling jumped, reaching a new two-year
high against the euro in Asian trading hours and the FTSE 100 opened 44 points
higher.
The results also came with host of announcements by David Cameron, Prime Minister
of Britain. He announced that Lord Smith of Kelvin would oversee the process to take
forward the scheme of devolution of maximum powers to Scotland which include new
powers over tax, spending and welfare. The scheme has to be agreed by November
2013, and draft legislation to be published by January 2015.
He also acknowledged that the people of England, Wales and Northern Ireland must
have a bigger say over their affairs.
Background
Scotland joined the United Kingdom in 1707, but the demand for Independence
from UK emerged first in 2009 and again in 2011. The demand for Independence
was made by Scottish National Party. After Scottish National Party came in power
in 2011, the Scottish Independence Referendum Bill was passed by the Scottish
Parliament in November 2013 under an agreement between the Scottish and United
Kingdom Governments.
US Senate passed resolution declaring September 30 as USIndia Partnership Day

US Senate on 19 September 2014 passed a bipartisan resolution declaring 30
September 2014 as US-India Partnership Day. The resolution recognizes the
importance of India and the US to one another and their relationship in defining the
21st century.
The resolution was introduced by senators Mark Warner of Democratic Party and
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John Cornyn from Republican on 17 September 2014. Warner and Cornyn are cochairmen of the 42-member Senate India Caucus which is the only country specific
caucus in the Senate.
The resolution said that the relationship between India and the US is a special and
permanent bond. It further praised the way General Elections 2014 were conducted
which was the largest in the Indian history and reflected that democracy in India is
as strong as it is encompassing of its religious, ethnic, socioeconomic and cultural
diversity.
Besides, it also recognized that the US and India are the two largest democracies in
the world and both countries share multi-faceted relationship.
The declaration came few days before the Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled
visit to the US on 29 September and 30 September 2014 where he will have talks
with President of US Barack Obama.
Lockdown in Sierra Leone to fight Ebola

The three day lockdown
began in Sierra Leone to fight
Ebola. During the lockdown,
30000 volunteers will look for
people infected with Ebola,
or
bodies,
which
are
especially contagious.
They will hand out bars of
soap and information on
preventing infection.
Background
On 18 September 2014, the UN Security Council
declared the outbreak a threat to international
peace and called on states to provide more
resources to combat it.
Meanwhile, the US military has started work in
the Liberian capital Monrovia to establish an air
bridge. Air Bridge will take health workers and
supplies to affected countries.
The teams will not enter

peoples homes but will call
emergency services to deal with patients or bodies.
Volunteers will mark each house with a sticker after they have visited it.
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Many people have been reluctant to seek medical treatment for Ebola. People feared
that diagnosis might mean death as there is no proven cure.
Sierra Leone is one of the countries worst hit by West Africas Ebola outbreak, with
more than 550 victims among the 2600 deaths so far recorded.
Ebola Virus Disease (EVD)

Symptoms include high fever, bleeding and central nervous system damage
Spread by body fluids, such as blood and saliva
Current outbreak has mortality rate of about 55%
Incubation period is two to 21 days
There is no proven vaccine or cure
Supportive care such as rehydrating patients who have diarrhoea and vomiting
can help recovery.
India-China agreed to set up Joint Working group on films

India and China on 18 September 2014 agreed to establish a Joint Working Group
to promote facilitation in the film sector. The group will meet for the first time in
November 2014 on the sidelines of the International Film Festival India 2014 at Goa.
The decision of formation of the Joint Working Group was taken in New Delhi at the
meet between the Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar
and his Chinese counterpart, Minister for State Administration of Press, Publication,
Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) Cai Fuchao.
As per the plan, the proposed meet will involve the stakeholders from both the
countries to concretize cooperation in the film sector with specific proposals and
projects. The meet will be an important step towards identifying key deliverables and
a common road-map to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the areas of films and
audio-visual production.
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The two nations have decided to work on the agreement within an institutional time
frame in the light of the audio-visual co-production signed during the India visit of
Chinese President Xi Jinping. The ambit of co-production agreement covered the
domains of feature films, documentaries, cine films and animations.
Apart from this, the two nations also agreed that the Chinese Films Co-production
Commission would interact more closely with the Union I&B Ministry.
Nepal government cleared GMR Company proposal to build 900

MW Upper Karnali HEP in Nepal
Nepal government cleared GMR Company proposal to build 900 MW Upper Karnali
hydroelectric power plant (HEP) in North-West Nepal. The proposal approved by
Nepal Cabinet on 18 September 2014 is a part of foreign investment scheme in
Nepal aimed at exporting electricity to India.
With the Nepal Cabinet passing the proposal, now the Investment Board Nepal will
sign a Project Development Agreement (PDA) with GMR to construct transmission
lines across the border to transmit the electricity to India.
The GMR is expected to complete the project in 2021 and will provide 12 percent
energy free to Nepal to ease a crippling power shortage in Nepal. Rest of the electricity
will be exported to India. According to the agreement, the GMR will give 27 percent
of stake of the project to Nepal.
The GMR also will build a separate power house to generate two megawatts of
electricity to be supplied to villagers in Achham, Surkhet and Dailekh districts where
the project will be located.
Significances of the approval

The approval of Nepal cabinet allowing GMR Company to build hydro power project
in Nepal paves the way for other Indian companies to invest in powers sector in
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Nepal. For instance, Satluj Vidyut Nigam Limited along with other companies have
plan to build HEP plants totaling 42000 MW.
Besides, the approval will bring Indian companies in direct contention with Chinese
companies who are competing with New Delhi to influence Nepal through investment
in power infrastructure in Nepal. For instance Three Gorges Dam International is also
in talks with Investment Board Nepal to build a 1.6 billion US dollars dam to generate
750 MW of electricity on the West Seti River in Nepal.
Background
Earlier in 2008, the government of Nepal agreed to allow GMR to construct the 900
megawatt (MW) Upper Karnali hydroelectric power plant. However, due to the political
instability in Nepal, the clearance for the project got delayed.
Then once again, the agreement was expected to be signed during Prime Minister
Narendra Modis visit in August 2014 but was delayed because some political parties
wanted to ensure that the supply of water to irrigation canals on the same river would
remain unaffected by the dam, as well as other benefits to Nepal.
Bangladesh Parliament regained the power to impeach Supreme Court judges

Bangladesh Parliament on 17 September 2014 unanimously passed the 16th
Constitutional Amendment Bill that reinstates Article 96 of Constitution and empowers
Parliament to impeach Supreme Court Judges.
The 16th amendment bill introduced by ruling Awami League in the Parliament
was passed by a voice-vote of 327-0 in the 350-strong unicameral legislature. The
passing of the Bill by voice-vote restored the old provision that allowed Parliament
to impeach the judges of Supreme Court for misconduct and incapacity and to make
higher judiciary accountable to the legislature.
The amendment to empower Parliament for impeaching SC judges once again
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was done despite lawyers and political groups urging the government to review the
decision.
The amendment was passed by the Parliament within four weeks after the proposal
to restore the Parliaments authority to impeach the SC judges was made.
Background
Article 96 of the Bangladesh
Constitution
that
was
adopted in 1972 allowed
Parliament to impeach the
judges of the Supreme Court
in case their offences or
incapacity were proven by
the vote of a two-thirds
majority.
Effects of the amendment

Provisions that came into effect with amendment
allow Parliament to remove a judge of the
Supreme Court by adopting a resolution with a
two-thirds majority on the basis of a government
probe. But it allows the judges in question to
defend themselves.
But this Article was cancelled

later in 1978 by the then President Ziaur Rahman, the founder of the Bangladesh
Nationalist Party and the power was bestowed to the Supreme Judicial Council
through Fifth Amendment of the Constitution.
This existing constitutional provision allowed the Supreme Judicial Council, comprising
of the Chief Justice and two other senior most judges of the Appellate Division,
to investigate allegations of misconduct against any judge and makes necessary
recommendations to the president.
French Parliament approved Anti-terror Bill aimed at travel ban

of jihadists
French Parliament on 16 September 2014 approved a new anti-terror bill aimed at
preventing jihadists from travelling to Iraq, Syria or elsewhere by confiscating their
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passports.
The bill also targets messages posted on the Internet. The bill will undergo a singleround formal vote on 17 September 2014.
The ban is imposed to prevent people who are planning to take part in terrorist
activities, war crimes or crimes against humanity, from travelling abroad. Around
930 French citizens travelled to and from Iraq and Syria recently. Of those 36 were
killed while overseas.
The travel ban may be imposed for six months, but is renewable for up to two years.
Violation of the new French rules will be punishable by three years in prison and a
hefty fine. However, anyone targeted by the new laws would have the right to legal
redress.
This French move is similar to the plans of British government wherein it is willing to
give powers to border police in seizing passports from suspected would-be jihadists
at the border.
Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels signed ceasefire agreement

called Minsk agreement
Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels agreed on a ceasefire agreement in Minsk, Belarus
on 5 September 2014. The deal is also known as Minsk agreement. The agreement
was brokered by Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The
agreement will end almost five months of fighting between Ukraine and pro-Russian
rebels in eastern Ukraine.
The ceasefire was based on a 12-point peace plan that included the release of
hostages and terms of the deal were not immediately known. But both the sides
indicated that a humanitarian corridor will be created for refugees and aid, a prisoner
exchange will take place, and rebuilding work will begin in conflict areas.
Pro-Russian rebels confirmed that the ceasefire had not changed their policy of
advocating splitting from Ukraine. The ceasefire will lasts long and political dialogue
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will be continue to find peace and stability.
12-point peace plan also includes a decentralisation of powers, had been agreed to
bring peace and stability to the mostly Russian-speaking eastern Ukrainian regions
of Donetsk and Lugansk with a concrete timetable for implementation.
Background
Since Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in February 2014, there was conflict
going between Pro- Russian Rebel in Eastern Ukraine and Ukraine. Rebels want
to separate from Ukraine which is in east part of the country of Ukraine consists of
Russian speaking people.
The key southeastern port of about 500000 lies on the Sea of Azov, between Russia
to the east and the Crimean Peninsula to the west, which Russia annexed in March.
Now rebels had partially surrounded the area which is important to Ukraine if it lose
the area then a huge chunk of its coast and access to the hydrocarbon resources the
Sea of Azov will be lost.
NATO leaders and European Union leaders voiced deep caution in NATO Summit
2014 held in Wales on 5 September 2014 and also voiced about talk of a ceasefire.
NATO leaders and Ukraine believes that rebels are armed by the Russia.
India and Bangladesh signed MoU in the field of traditional

medicines
India and Bangladesh on 9 September 2014 signed Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) in the field of traditional medicines and homeopathy. The MoU aims to enhance
cooperation between the two countries in the health sector.
The MoU was signed between the two countries on the sidelines of South-East Asia
regional conference of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Dhaka where the
traditional medicine was one of the major issues of discussion.
The MoU was signed by Nilanjan Sanyal, Secretary, Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturapathy
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Unani, Siddhi and Homeopathy (AYUSH) on Indias behalf and M M Neazuddin, Health
Secretary of Bangladesh.
Main Highlights of the MoU

The two sides agreed to exchange all kinds of traditional medicines alongside the
experts and physicians for conducting training.
Recognised institutions of both the countries would provide scholarships to each
other in addition to setting up an academic chair.
The agreement would benefit Bangladesh in the field of education and research
of traditional systems of medicine as India is known for its rich ancient system of
medicine called ayurveda.
JNRA gave safety approval to restart two reactors of Sendai nuclear plant
Japan Nuclear Regulation Authority (JNRA) on 10 September 2014 gave its final
safety approval to restart two reactors of Sendai nuclear plant located in southwest Kyushu, Japan. The permission to restart Sendai nuclear plants two reactors
was given after it met new standards that were introduced following the Fukushima
disaster in 2011.
Kyushu Electric Power Cos Sendai plant will be the first nuclear plant to be reopened
in Japan that has been lying idle since the Fukushima disaster. After the disaster, all
the 48 reactors of Japan were stopped.
The Sendai plant had secured preliminary approval in July 2014 and completed the
public consultation period in August 2014. However, Sendai plant is yet to obtain
restart approval from the local authorities and will also have to pass on-site operational
inspections.
Background
Fukushima nuclear disaster happened in March 2011 after a massive earthquake
of 9.0 magnitudes hit off the coast of Tohuku generating a huge tsunami. This led
to Japan government under the leadership of the then Prime Minister Naoto Kan
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declaring that all the nuclear reactors will be stopped and in August 2011 passed a
bill to subsidize electricity from renewable energy sources.
As a result, 48 nuclear reactors in Japan were stopped from operating subsequently.
Japans last reactor, at Ohi in western Japan, went offline in September 2013. Japan
is currently relying on extra imports of coal and gas to generate power while its
nuclear reactors are idle.
Before the Fukushima incident, nuclear plants in Japan supplied about 30% of
Japans power.
However, with the election of Shinzo Abe as PM of Japan, the process towards
restarting Japans nuclear reactors started wherever possible.
India and Germany agreed to cooperate in skill development

and solid waste management
India and Germany on 8 September 2014 agreed to cooperate and prepare a roadmap
in skill development, solid waste management and cleaning of rivers.
This was agreed during the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
visiting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in New Delhi.
It was also agreed that India and Germany will undertake preparations with the aim of
finalizing concrete roadmap for cooperation in each of these areas at the next InterGovernmental Consultations meeting in 2015.
During the meeting, PM Narendra Modi also suggested that India should use the
expertise of Germans in the area of skill development. In this regard, he suggested
that both sides could develop a concrete time-bound plan for training of Indian youth
to meet Indian needs and the global requirement of skilled human resources.
The agreement to cooperate is a part of Germanys desire to expand and strengthen
bilateral relations with India.
Besides, the move to take Germanys help in skill development, waste management
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and river cleaning assumes significance as Modi has enlisted cleanliness as his
priority agenda.
Wales Declaration of NATO Summit 2014

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Summit 2014 was held in Wales, UK from
4 to 5 September 2014. This was the first summit held in the United Kingdom since
Margaret Thatcher welcomed NATO leaders to London in 1990.
More than 60 world leaders attended the NATO Summit. Ukraine, Afghanistan was
the top agenda for leaders of NATO Summit.
The summit in Wales was also attended by the US President Barrack Obama, with this,
Obama became the first sitting President to visit Wales. Earlier, no sitting President
of US has visited Wales.
Wales declaration on Ukraine Crisis

The Heads of NATO and Ukraine Commission condemned Russias illegal and
illegitimate self-declared annexation of Crimea, which created destabilization of
eastern Ukraine that is a violation of international law.
They called on Russia to reverse its self-declared annexation of Crimea and must
end its support for militants in eastern Ukraine, withdraw its troops and stop its
military activities across the Ukrainian border.
NATO recognized Ukraines intent to expand its Distinctive Partnership with NATO
and strategic consultations in the NATO-Ukraine Commission.
NATO will also provide assistance to Ukraine to rehabilitate injured military
personnel and encouraged NATOs advisory presence at the NATO offices in Kyiv.
NATO also considered Ukraines requests for military-technical assistance, and
many Allies are accepted to provide additional support to Ukraine on a bilateral
basis.
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Wales Declaration on Afghanistan

International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) will conclude at the end of 2014 as
planned. ISAF and the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) have assisted the
Afghan people to regain control over their nations destiny over the past thirteen
years.
With the end of ISAF, the nature and scope of NATOs engagement with Afghanistan
will change and it will be envisaged in three parallel, mutually reinforcing, strands
of activity.
1. Resolute Support Mission - Under the Resolution Support Mission, NATO Allies
and partner nations stand ready to continue to train, advise and assist the ANSF
after 2014. For this purpose, a new, non-combat mission will be established and
establishment is contingent on the signing of the US-Afghanistan Bilateral Security
Agreement and NATO-Afghanistan Status of Forces Agreement.
The Resolute Support Mission should be in consultation with the Government
of Afghanistan and it should be supported by a United Nations Security Council
Resolution.
2. Financial Sustainment of the ANSF - NATO and its allies have decided to provide
support to the ANSF, as appropriate, through the Transformation Decade. They
renewed their financial commitments to support the sustainment of the ANSF till
the end of 2017, but they also want that Afghanistan should take its financial
responsibility for its own security forces by 2024 that was agreed at Chicago
summit.
Oversight and Coordination Body was already established to ensure donors
can confidently commit this support and decided to maintain and strengthen
the transparent, accountable and cost-effective of relevant international funding
mechanisms since Chicago summit 2012.
3. NATO-Afghanistan Enduring Partnership - NATO and its allies committed to the
NATO
Afghanistan Enduring Partnership. Under this partnership, both the political and
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practical elements of the partnership should be jointly owned and strengthened
through regular consultation on issues of strategic concern.
NATO is ready to work with Afghanistan to develop this partnership in line with
NATOs Partnership Policy, possibly including the development of an Individual
Partnership Cooperation Programme at an appropriate time.
NATO decided to support an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and inclusive peace
process, as stated at the 2011 Bonn Conference and at the Chicago Summit in
2012.
They also decided to support Afghanistan in making further progress towards
becoming a stable, sovereign, democratic and united country, where rule of law
and good governance prevail.
They emphasized the particular importance of strengthening efforts to implement
the rights of women, need for the protection of children from armed conflict and
the United Nations Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security,
and to include women fully in political, peace and reconciliation processes.
Wales declaration on the Transatlantic Bond

North America and Europe agreed to increase defence expenditure in real terms
as GDP grows and will direct their defence budgets as efficiently and effectively
as possible.
At Present, the aim is to move towards the existing NATO guideline of spending 2
percent of GDP on defence within a decade, with a view to fulfilling NATO capability
priorities.
North Atlantic Alliance- The North Atlantic Alliance binds North America and Europe
in the defence of common security, prosperity and values. It guarantees the security
of its members through collective defence.
It strengthens security in Europe, and projects stability further afield through crisis
management and cooperative security with its unique set of partnerships.
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About NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) also called the North Atlantic Alliance.
NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty
which was signed on 4 April 1949.
The last NATO summit was held in Chicago in 2012 and the next NATO Summit will
be held in Warsaw, Poland in 2016.
Israel to take over West Bank land

Israel on 31 August 2014 announced to take over West Bank land. The area will be
named as Gevaot.
The land portion is located south of Bethlehem. The seizure of the land is said to be
the largest seizure by Israel in last 30 years.
Israel will expropriate 4 sq km (1.5 sq miles) of Palestinian land in the occupied
West Bank. Israel Government planned to build on the land, while Palestinian officials
claimed that the land include many olive groves.
The move was a response to the kidnapping and killing of three Jewish teenagers in
the area in June 2014.
The Palestinian Government claimed this seizure as illegal. Palestinians demanded
that a diplomatic action should be taken against Israel.
The Palestinians want their state back which include all land captured by Israel in
1967. Currently, some 500000 Jews now live in more than 200 settlements and
outposts in the West Bank - including East Jerusalem.
Comment
United Nations (UN) said that the seizure of such a large swathe of land risks paving
the way for further settlement activity.
Further, UN declared the seizure of land is illegal under international law and runs
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totally counter to the pursuit of a two-state solution.
Also, other governments like UK and US called on Israel to reverse it.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated TCS Japan Technology and Culture Academy in Japan
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi inaugurated the TCS
Japan
Technology
and
Culture Academy in Japan on
2 September 2014. The
Academy was opened during
Narendra Modis five-day
visit to Japan.
Background
In April 2014, Tata Consultancy Services and
Mitsubishi Corp announced that they were
merging their IT operations in Japan to create
a new global scale player in the Japanese IT
industry. Tata Consultancy Services have 51
per cent stake in the new venture called Tata
Consultancy Services Japan (TCSJ).
The TCS Japan Technology

and Culture Academy is
a Joint Venture of Tata
Consultancy Services and Mitsubishi Corporation and the aim of establishing this
academy is to enhance the technological and cultural knowledge between Indian
and Japanese IT professionals.
Initially, TCSJ will provide work to more than 4000 employees in Japan and in a
dedicated centre located in Pune, India. It will provide a mix of global talent and
capabilities combined with local expertise and knowledge to Japanese companies.
Narendra Modi also flagged off the first batch of 48 students who will be going to
India for 6-8 months of training. This training will be followed by on-the-job training
on projects for six months.
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Japan on 1 September 2014 removed six Indian space and defence entities from
the foreign end users list, which will help in defence technology cooperation. This
decision was taken during the meeting between PM Narendra Modi and Japans PM
Shinzo Abe in Tokyo. PM Narendra Modi is on a five-day visit to Japan.
Japan and India completed an agreement for buying the US-2 amphibian aircraft that
includes transfer of the aircraft and its technology to India. Both the countries agreed
to work together even in exporting the aircraft to third countries which will be the
beginning of defence industry in India.
Both the countries also made significant progress in negotiations on civil nuclear
cooperation and have agreed to instruct their negotiators to work expeditiously
to strengthen strategic partnership. Japan declared that goods and technologies
transferred from Japan would not be used for delivery systems for WMD (weapons
of mass destruction).
Both the countries decided to expand cooperation in advanced technology, science
and technology, people-to-people exchanges and educational exchanges.

Libyan parliament reappointed Abdullah al-Thinni as the Prime Minister on 1
September 2014 as the government lost control over the ministries in Tripoli which
had been taken over by armed groups. Thinni, a former defence minister, had been
the prime minister of Libya since March 2014.
64 out of 106 representatives voted for Abdullah al-Thinni and on the basis of these
votes the house instructed him to form a crisis government within two weeks. Abdullah
al-Thinni is tasked to assert government control over the country where a fear of fullSeptember 2014 | www.jagranjosh.com
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scale civil war looms large.
Background
The move came after the Islamists rejected the authority of the new Parliament and
asked Omar Al Hassi to form a salvation government in a week. Subsequently, the
Islamists Misrata Forces took control over the capital Tripoli.
They secured control over the government headquarters, ministries and buildings
along with the US embassy in Tripoli which was evacuated in July 2014 for safety
reasons.
It is believed that the forces attacked Tripoli to harm the displaced people from the
western town of Tawergha, a town in Libya. The Misrata forces accused the Tawergha
people of having backed Libyas former dictator Muammar Gaddafi who was ousted
in a US NATO-backed rebellion in 2011.
The situation worsened in Tripoli due to a separate clash in the eastern port city of
Benghazi where Khalifa Haftar, a renegade general from the Libyan army, declared
war on Islamist militants. Following which the Islamist militia launched an attack to
capture Benghazis civilian and military airport from Libyan special forces which is
under the control of general Khalifa Haftar.
However, the victory of Misrata forces in Tripoli has not yet affected oil production in
the country.
Lesotho Prime Minister Tom Thabane deposed by Coup Leader

Kamoli
Lesotho Prime Minister Tom Thabane was deposed on 30 August 2014 by the military
coup led by army commander Lieutenant-General Tlali Kamoli.
The chief reason behind the coup seems to be the decision of Thabane to suspend
parliament in June 2014 to prevent it from passing a motion of no confidence against
him which could have brought down his government. It is widely believed that Lesotho
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Deputy Prime Minister Mothetjoa Metsing was behind the coup.
In a further development on 31 August 2014 Thabane was escorted by the South
African security forces from his hideout in Ladybrand to attend a Southern African
Development Community (SADC) meeting chaired by South African President Jacob
Zuma in Pretoria on a trial of resolving the crisis in Lesotho country.
Zuma authorised South African Special Forces to provide Thabane with security
when or if he returned to Lesotho and also issued a stern warning to Kamoli that it
would not tolerate any further disturbances.
About Lesotho
The Kingdom of Lesotho is land locked by South Africa and is made up mostly of
highlands where many of the villages can be reached only on horseback, by foot or
light aircraft.
South Africa is the Country on which Lesotho is depended for employment and trade
of its main natural resource - water.
UN described 40% of the Lesotho population as ultra-poor. Because of its high rate
in Aids the food output was drastically reduced as the farmers are the most victims
of the disease.
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NATIONAL
SC issued guidelines on fake encounters and called for mandatory registration of FIRs
Supreme Court of India on 23 September 2014 issued guidelines for police encounter
in India and called for mandatory registration of FIRs in all cases of encounter deaths.
In its directive the Court said that in case encounter that leads to death, FIRs should be
filed and magisterial probe under Section 176 of the Criminal Procedure Code should
be carried out. These FIRs should be probed to bring to justice the perpetrators of
the crime who take law in their hands.
The apex court expressed its concern that no guidelines are in place for encounter
killings in the country. The Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice RM
Lodha said that cases of death in police encounters continue to occur in spite of
Constitutional provisions for safeguarding the personal liberty and life of a citizen. It
is essential to restore the faith of people in the police force.
Apart from this, the Court also said that no out-of-turn promotion or instant gallantry
rewards should be bestowed on the concerned officers soon after the occurrence
of the incidents. It must be ensured at all costs that such rewards are given or
recommended only when the gallantry of the concerned officers is established
beyond doubt.
The Case
The Supreme Court issued the guidelines, while hearing a PIL filed by NGO named
Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). The NGO and the NHRC in their suggestion
asked the court to set up a separate and independent probe agency under NHRC or
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the state human rights commission to probe all encounter killings.
Union Government launched Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya

Yojana for urban and rural poor
Union Government on 25 September 2014 launched Deen Dayal Upadhyaya
Antyodaya Yojana for urban and rural poor. The Yojana aims at alleviating urban
and rural poverty through enhancement of livelihood opportunities through skill
development and other means.
Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana has two components one for urban India
and other for rural India. The Urban component will be implemented by the Union
Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation while rural component named as
Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana will be implemented by the Union
Ministry of Rural Development.
Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana

Under the Yojana, the Union Ministry of Rural Development will launch skill development
training centres on a large scale to address the problem of unemployment particularly
in rural India.
Main Highlights of the Rural Scheme

The Yojana aims at training 10 lakh (1 million) rural youths for jobs in three years,
that is, by 2017.
The minimum age for entry under the Yojana is 15 years compared to 18 years
under the Aajeevika Skills Programme.
Skill development training centres to be launched so as to address the
unemployment problem in the rural area.
The skills imparted under the Yojana will now be benchmarked against international
standards and will complement the Prime Ministers Make In India campaign.
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The Kaushalya Yojana will also the address the need for imparting training to the
differently-able persons and chip in private players including international players
to impart the skills to the rural youths.
Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana for urban areas

Under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana (DAY) for urban areas extends
the coverage to all the 4041 statutory cities and towns, there by covering almost
the entire urban population. Currently, all the urban poverty alleviating programmes
covered only 790 towns and cities.
Main Highlights of the Urban Scheme

The scheme will focus on
Imparting skills with an expenditure of 15000 rupees to 18000 rupees on each
urban poor
Promotion of self-employment through setting up individual micro-enterprises
and group enterprises with interest subsidy for individual projects costing 2lakhs
rupees and 10 lakhs rupees for group enterprises. Subsidized interest rate will be
7 percent.
Training urban poor to meet the huge demand from urban citizens by imparting
market oriented skills through City Livelihood Centres. Each Centre would be
given a capital grant of 10 lakhs rupees.
Enabling urban poor form Self-Help Groups for meeting financial and social needs
with a support of 10000 rupees per each group who would in turn would be helped
with bank linkages.
Development of vendor markets besides promotion of skills of vendors
Construction of permanent shelters for urban homeless and provision of other
essential services.
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The Supreme Court of India on 25 September 2014 struck down the National Tax
Tribunal (NTT) Act, 2005 terming it as unconstitutional.
The five-judge Constitution Bench of SC comprising Chief Justice of India R M Lodha
and Justices J S Khehar, J Chelameswar, A K Sikri and Rohinton Nariman quashed
Sections 5, 6, 7, 8 and 13 of the NTT Act rendering it ineffective for all practical
purposes.
Since the provisions of sections 5, 6, 7, 8 and 13 of the NTT Act constitute the
structure of whole Act and without these provisions the remaining provisions are
rendered ineffective and inconsequential.
The bench ruled that these sections of the NTT Act by providing an appeal directly to
the Supreme Court against an NTT order directly encroached upon the high courts
power under Article 227 to decide substantial questions of law which would bind all
tribunals.
Moreover, Justice Nariman wrote a separate but concurring judgment ruling that the
law is unconstitutional on two grounds:
Separation of powers between the judiciary and the executive
Judicial superintendence.
However, SC bench did not quashed Article 323B of the Indian Constitution that
talk about the creation of tribunals by the executive. Article 323B was challenged by
the petitioners as being defiant of the concept of separation of powers between the
executive and the judiciary.
Petition Challenging the NTT Act, 2005

Even before setting up of the tribunal, petitions were filed against the Act. First petition
was filed in 2006 when the Madras Bar Association challenged the proposed tribunal.
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The petitioner challenged the constitutional validity of the NTT Act and the Article
323B of the Indian Constitution. The contention was that Article 323B violates the
basic structure of the constitution by allowing the legislature to take away jurisdiction
of the High Courts and vesting them in Tribunals.
The petitioner also contended that the process of the selection of the appointees to
the Tribunal must be done as in the case of the High Court Judges.
Effect of the Judgement

The National Tax Tribunal Law was meant for reducing the pile-up of tax demands
locked up in litigation in high courts that currently amounts to over 4 trillion rupees.
But with this judgement, the government will have to look at new ways to reduce
pending litigation on direct and indirect taxes. The committee constituted by the
Central Board of Direct Taxes and government will work to ensure that an alternative
dispute resolution process is legislated to increase the confidence of tax payers.
This ruling of Supreme Court can affect all such similar tribunals set up to decide
substantial questions of law including the National Company Law Tribunal and
Appellate Tribunal which are also facing legal challenge.
The National Tax Tribunal (NTT) Act, 2005

The National Tax Tribunal Act was passed in 2005. The tribunal was set up under
the Act to hear appeals against orders of Income-Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) and
Central Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT).
The NTT was seen as an alternative to high courts where the tax department,
unhappy with the decision of the appellate tribunal, could file an appeal.
The decision of the NTT could only be challenged in the Supreme Court. The idea
was to move tax cases away from the high court and speed up decision-making.
The NTT Act allowed the executive to have extensive control with regard to
appointments of members and procedure of the tribunal.
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Union Government launched Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen
Kaushalya Yojana
Union government on 25 September 2014 launched Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen
Kaushalya Yojana. The Yojana was launched by Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for
Rural Development during the National Convention on Skills for Rural and Urban
Poor held in New Delhi.
The Yojana was launched during the 98th birth anniversary of Pandit Deendayal
Upadhyay. Earlier the Yojana was known as Aajeevika Skills Development Programme
(ASDP).
Main Highlights of the Yojana

The Yojana aims at training 10 lakh (1 million) rural youths for jobs in three years,
that is, by 2017.
The minimum age for entry under the Yojana is 15 years compared to 18 years
under the Aajeevika Skills Programme.
Skill development training centres to be launched so as to address the
unemployment problem in the rural area.
The skills imparted under the Yojana will now be benchmarked against international
standards and will complement the Prime Ministers Make In India campaign.
The Kaushalya Yojana will also the address the need for imparting training to the
differently-able persons and chip in private players including international players
to impart the skills to the rural youths.
The Rationale for launching the Yojana

The Yojana was launched in the light of huge problem of unemployment among the
rural youths despite the fact that they have merits. In order to correct this match,
Union government decided to launch skill development scheme.
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Further, in light of the fact that, by 2020 developed countries will have a shortfall of
over 57 million semi-skilled workers while India by 2020 will have 47 million surplus of
workers. This effectively means that there will be high demand for skilled manpower
in developed countries, where Indian rural youth can be absorbed after they acquire
industry-specific training.
Status of Skilled workers in India

In India as against 12 million people entering the workforce every year during the last
10 years only 1 million youths were trained. Further out of 12 million people, only 10
percent were skilled ones, while the percentage in European Union is 75 and in China
it is 50 percent. Also, as compared to 4500 skills in China, India only has 1600 skills,
a huge gap indeed.
About the Aajeevika Skill Development Programme (ASDP)

Aajeevika Skills Development Programme (ASDP) was launched in June 2011 as a
sub-mission under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM). It was launched to
cater to the occupational aspirations of the rural youth who are poor and to diversify
incomes of the rural poor.
The ASDP aimed at skilling and placing 50 lakhs youth in the formal sector by 2017.

The Union Cabinet on 24 September 2014 approved Swachh Bharat Mission for
Urban Areas. The mission will begin from 2 October 2014 and will be implemented
over a period of five years.
The mission will be implemented in over 4041 statutory towns of the country and will
cost around 62009 crore rupees of which 14623 crore rupees will be borne by the
Union Government.
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The Mission is the urban component of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and will be
implemented by Union Ministry of Urban Development. The rural component of the
Mission will be implemented by Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
Main elements of the Mission

The Mission includes elimination of open defecation, conversion of insanitary
toilets to pour flush toilets, eradication of manual scavenging, Municipal Solid
Waste Management.
The Programme consists of components for providing (i) Individual household
toilets; (ii) Community and public toilets; and (iii) Municipal Solid Waste Management
in all 4041 statutory towns
It would cover 1.04 crore households, provide 2.5 lakh seats of community toilets,
2.6 lakh seats of public toilets and solid waste management facility for all towns.
Aim of the Mission

It aims towards bringing a behavioural change in people regarding healthy
sanitation practices and generating awareness among citizens about sanitation
and its linkages with public health.
It also aims at strengthening of urban local bodies to design, execute and operate
systems to fulfill these objectives and creating an enabling environment for private
sector participation in capital expenditure and operational expenditure.
Background
The plan of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was mentioned in the Union Budget 201415 by the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 10 July 2014. The Swachh Bharat
Abhiyan was proposed in the Union Budget under Drinking Water & Sanitation plan.
As proposed, the Abhiyan will cover every household with sanitation facility by the
year 2019
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Supreme Court of India on 24 September 2104 cancelled allocation of 214 out of 218
coal blocks which were allocated to various companies since 1993. The four blocks
which were not cancelled included one of NTPC and SAIL each and two of Ultra
Mega Power Projects of Sasan Power Ltd owned by Anil Ambanis Reliance Power.
The bench that quashed almost all allocated coal blocks was headed by Chief Justice
of India RM Lodha and comprised Justice Madan B Lokur and Justice Kurian Joseph.
Earlier on 25 August 2014, SC in its verdict had held that the coal blocks allocated by
the screening committee from 1993 to 2010 by various regimes, before pre-auction
era, was illegal and arbitrary.
The Main Highlights of the Judgement

The SC bench granted a breather time of six months to companies who have started
extracting coal from the mines and asked them to make alternative arrangements
for coal linkages for their plants.
These orders of cancellation of the allocated blocks will come into effect from 31
March 2015. Till then, the court asked Coal India Limited (CIL) to take over the
operation of 42 blocks which are functional at present though government had
pleaded for 46 blocks.
The bench accepted the CAGs calculation on loss incurred by the government
due to illegal allotment of coal blocks and directed all those companies which
have started mining these coal mines to pay compensation to the government at
the rate of 295 rupees per tonne as additional levy.
The compensatory payment should be made within a period of three months and
in any case before 31 December 2014. The coal extracted thereafter till 31 March
2015 will also attract the additional levy of 295 rupees per tonne.
It also ruled that CBI scrutiny for criminality in the cancelled allocations will
continue.
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The Supreme Court took the decision following the statement of Attorney General
that the government favoured the cancellation of the blocks as it is fully prepared to
face socio-economic impact of the cancellation of the coal blocks.
Analysis and Commentary

This judgment of the Supreme Court is similar to its decision of 2012, when it cancelled
122 telecom licences. The judgement is a blow to the firms who have invested
heavily in these mines and also has sent jittery to the banks who have financed these
companies. According to estimates, the industry seems to lose 4 lakh crore rupees
of investment and the banks are poised to see their Non-performing Assets (NPAs)
rise. The ruling is also expected to hit different sectors like power, steel and mining.
However, 7 companies especially Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) owned by Naveen
Jindal will be affected the most by the judgement. It is expected that these companies
are stand to lose 20 million tonnes per year of output.
On the other hand, others like SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya opines that
judgement will help economic growth as it ended the uncertainty over coal block
allocations. Now it is high time that government comes forward with a quick plan of
action so that coal supplies are not disturbed.
P.M. launched Make In India Campaign to make India a manufacturing hub

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 25 September 2014 launched Make In India
Campaign at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi to make India a manufacturing hub.
The campaign is aimed to attract foreign companies to set up their manufacturing
units in India and to seek greater foreign investment.
The launch ceremony was attended by Top CEOs from India Inc, international
industry leaders, ambassadors, ministers and government officials. Further, Special
arrangements were made to publicise the event globally in different world capitals.
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At the same time, programmes were held in state capitals and also Indian missions
abroad, where officials engaged with investors and consultants.
P.M. Narendra Modi on his Independence Day speech announced the Make in India
policy.
Objective of the campaign

The objective of the campaign is to get manufacturing sector to grow over 10% on a
sustainable basis over a long run.
The campaign is aimed to transform the economy from the services-driven growth
model to labour-intensive manufacturing-driven growth. This will help in creating jobs
for over 10 million people, who join the workforce every year.
Focus of the campaign

The programme lays emphasis on 25 sectors with focus on job creation and skill
enhancement.
These include: automobiles, chemicals, IT, pharmaceuticals, textiles, ports, aviation,
leather, tourism and hospitality, wellness, railways, auto components, design
manufacturing, renewable energy, mining, bio-technology, pharmaceuticals and
electronics among others.
Union Government released separate brochures for these sectors along with a general
brochure.
The brochures will provide details of growth drivers, investment opportunities, sector
specific FDI and other policies and related agencies.
Features of the campaign

The government will look into all regulatory processes to ease the burden of
investors.
A dedicated cell has been created to answer queries from business entities through
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a newly created web portal.
While an exhaustive set of FAQs on this portal will help investors find instant
answers to their general queries, the back-end support team of the cell would
answer specific queries within 72 hours.
The DIPP and industry lobby FICCI have jointly set up an eight-member expert
panel to address queries and concerns of investors. They will clarify Indian policies
to the investors and suggest reforms to the Central and states governments.
All central government services are being integrated with an e-Biz single window
online portal.
States have been advised to introduce self-certification.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has been asked to give all security clearances
to investment proposals within 3 months.
An advisory has been sent to all departments/state governments to simplify and
rationalise regulatory environment which includes online filing of all returns in a
unified form.
Commentary
Through this campaign, the Union Government aims to clear the daunting image
of complex rules and bureaucratic red tape of Indian administration. It will help the
global investors to foster their investment decisions. This will help in realizing the aim
of liberalized economy.
As per the World Banks ease of doing business index, India ranked lowly 134 out of
189 countries in 2014, which was three places lowest than in 2013.
Make in India will act as a first reference point for guiding foreign investors on all
aspects of regulatory and policy issues and assists them in obtaining regulatory
clearances.
Union Government has already allowed 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment under
automatic route in construction, operation and maintenance in rail infrastructure
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projects and increased FDI in Defence to 49 per cent.
Union Government appointed Debroy Panel to suggest ways for

restructuring the Railway Board
The Union government on 23 September 2014 appointed Debroy Panel to suggest
ways for restructuring the Railway Board. The Panel has been tasked to suggest
measures to reorganize the Railway Board and its departments so that policy making
is separated from day-to-day operations.
The Panel would submit its report till the end of 2015. The seven-member panel will
be headed by economist Bibek Debroy.
The other members are former cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar, Gusharan Das,
former CMD of P&G, Ravi Narain, former MD of National Stock Exchange and Partha
Mukhopadhyay, Senior Fellow of Centre for Policy Research, as other members.
Terms of reference of the Panel

The panel has been mandated to estimate the financial needs of railways and
ensure policies to raise resources, internally and otherwise to meet future demands.
To suggest ways to reorganize and restructure the Board and subsequently the
department so that policy-making and operations are separated.
It has been asked to look into promoting exchange of officers between railways
and other government ministries and departments.
The panel will also suggest modalities for setting up the Rail Tariff Authority.
Background
The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget Speech on 10 July 2014 had
announced to restructure the railway board to infuse efficiency in the transport
behemoths top decision-making body and run it on professional lines.
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Indian Railways works on a top-down hierarchical model. A six-member Railway
Board creates, implement and monitor policies in this segment and takes all key
decisions.
The railways is categorised into 16 geographical zones, employing about 1.4 million
people. It operates on a cadre-based system (mechanical, engineering, electrical
departments, etc), with no separation of passenger and freight businesses.
The Railway Board was earlier restructured in 1988. At that time, an additional post
of member (electrical) was created, though the structure largely remained the same
as that during the British era.
Commentary
The constitution of Debroy Panel comes in addition to many other expert committees
formed in the past to restructure Indian Railways. All the previous committees had
suggested restructuring but faced stiff resistance from railway bureaucracy.
The past committees formed were Tandon Committee of 1990s, Rakesh Mohan
Committee of 2001, Anil Kakodkar Committee of 2011 and Sam Pitroda Committee
of 2012.
The Rakesh Mohan committee of 2001 sought corporatisation of the railways with
separate freight and passenger operations.
Sam Pitroda committee sought reorganisation of the Railway Board, with separate
members for passenger, freight, technology and business development. It called for
scrapping the position of chairman of the Railway Board and replacing it with a chief
executive officer.
Other key suggestions of the Pitroda panel included appointment of an ombudsman
for all private-public partnership projects.
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Google India on 22 September 2014 announced to launch a nationwide contest to
develop a mobile app for Prime Ministers office (PMO). The contest will be held in
collaboration with the citizen engagement platform of the government, MyGoV.
Google is working with the department of information technology and other state
governments to draft the outlay of the contest. The contest will showcase how Indians
can build a world class app.
Google will also work with the government to encourage digital literacy and internet
safety by introducing curriculums for schools, officials and elected representatives.
Benefit of the App

The mobile app will bring the PMO to every citizen.
Through this app, Google pledge to support and endorse the PMs digital India
programme.
The app will further help the Indian Government to realize the vision of a digitally
connected, knowledge economy.
The app will continue to build a vibrant language ecosystem online.
The app will help women and small and medium enterprises get online and
showcase Indias heritage and culture through the digital medium.
About Digital India Programme

The digital India programme is focused on increasing high-speed Internet connectivity,
introducing digital classrooms, building smart cities, providing online delivery of
services through the integration of government departments, and introducing online
visas.
The programme was approved by Union Cabinet in August 2014. The programme
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will be implemented in phases.
Digital penetration
India has the worlds third largest number of internet users with 245 million users as
of June 2014 and is on track to become the second largest user market by 2015. By
2016, India will have 500 million internet users.

Ancient Nalanda University (NU) was formally inaugurated after 800 years on 19
September 2014 by Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in Rajgir near
Nalanda, Bihar.
The 455-acre University campus was opened in the presence of Bihar Chief Minister
Jitan Ram Manjhi and NU Vice-Chancellor Gopa Sabharwal.
The University came into existence on 25 November 2010 when the Nalanda University
Act, 2010 was implemented and Noble Laureate Amartya Sen was appointed as the
Chancellor of the university in 2012.
Seven Schools of revived NU

The revived NU will have seven schools for post-graduate and doctoral students.
Courses in science, philosophy, spirituality and social sciences will be offered in this
refurbished university.
The seven schools will be Economics and Management, Information Sciences and
Technology, Linguistics and Literature, International Relations, Peace Studies and
Buddhist studies Philosophy and Comparative Religion besides Historical studies,
Ecology and Environment.
The classes in the School of Ecology and Environmental Studies and School of
Historical Studies began on 1 September 2014 with 15 students and 11 teachers at
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the under construction residential building of the university.
The fully-residential university is expected to be completed by 2020.
Funding of the NU
For setting up the University, Union government sanctioned 2727 crore rupees for
the construction of the high class campus of the University in 10 years.
The University also received foreign support through an initiative of the Indian
government and 18 East Asia Summit (EAS) countries. It received contributions from
countries like China who contributed one million US dollars, Singapore five million US
dollars and Australia one million Australian dollars. Meanwhile, Japan and Singapore
will be financing the construction work on the campus.
Nalanda University Act, 2010

On 28 March 2006, APJ Abdul Kalam, the President of India at that time, proposed
the idea for revival of Nalanda University. The Nalanda University Bill, 2010 was
passed on 21 August 2010 in Rajya Sabha and on 26 August 2010 it was passed
in Lok Sabha. The bill received Presidential assent on 21 September 2010 thereby
becoming an Act.
About ancient Nalanda University

The ancient Nalanda University was established in 427 AD during the reign of Gupta
king Sakraditya. It was destroyed in 1193 AD by the Turkish army of the Bakhtiyar
Khilji, the military general of the army of Qutb-ud-din Aibak.

Union Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry on 19 September 2014 launched
free news SMS service of All India Radio (AIR) in five Indian languages. These five
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languages are Hindi, Marathi, Sanskrit, Dogri and Nepali.
The SMS service is aimed at providing important news to the subscribers in their
preferred language on their mobile phones.
The SMS service initiated by AIR constitutes a critical component of Communicating
India which is an outreach mechanism to enable the flow of quality information to the
people across platforms.
The ministry suggested that AIR should broadcast news in other regional languages
through the SMS service and run a campaign through newspapers and Doordarshan
to create awareness of the service. This would help a large cross-section of society
to access news in real time.
Previously, AIR had launched SMS service in English on 9 September 2013 to provide
AIR news on mobile sets to its subscribers free of cost. The service has already
touched the database of over three lakh subscribers.

Supreme Court on 18 September 2014 asked Union Government to bring transparency
in appointment of Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC), Vigilance Commissioner
(VCs).
The SC bench comprising of Chief Justice R M Lodha, Justice Kurian Joseph and
Justice R F Nariman, said that Union Government should examine ways to broaden
its zone of consideration beyond civil servants. It also mentioned to make the process
transparent.
The Bench also asked about the criteria under which names are forwarded and
asked the Union to file its response by 9 October 2014. The case was posted for final
hearing on 14 October 2014.
Following this, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said that selection process would
take at least one month time to complete and assured the court that no final decision
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would be taken on appointment during the pendency of the case in the Apex Court.
Background
The SC bench gave the order on a PIL filed by an NGO, Centre for Integrity, Governance
and Training in Vigilance Administration. The PIL referred to the 21 July 2014 letter
issued by the Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), to Secretaries
in Government to suggest names for empanelment for the post of CVC and VC,
allegedly aimed at keeping away the common people.
The PIL sought to have similar procedure for making appointment of CVC and VCs
as is being done in the case of filling up one post of Chairperson and eight posts of
Members in the Lokpal under the provisions of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013.

The Union Cabinet on 15 September 2014 approved the launching of National AYUSH
Mission (NAM). The word AYUSH stands for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani,
Siddha and Homoeopathy.
NAM is aimed at addressing the gaps in health services particularly in vulnerable and
far-off areas.
Prospects of National AYUSH Mission

The improvement of AYUSH education through enhancement in the number of
upgraded educational institutions
Better access to AYUSH services through increase in number of AYUSH hospitals
and dispensaries, availability of drugs and manpower.
Sustained availability of quality raw material for AYUSH systems of medicine
Availability of quality Ayurvedic, Siddha, Unani and Homeopathy (ASU&H) drugs
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through increase in number of pharmacies, drug laboratories and improved
enforcement mechanism of ASU&H drugs.
Background
India owns an ancient systems of medicine like Ayurvedic, Siddha, Unani and
Homeopathy. These medicines are a treasure house of knowledge for preventive and
promotive healthcare.
These medicines have great potential to serve the medical needs of large sections of
Indian society as they are easily accessible, affordable and have growing economic
value.
Considering this, the Department of AYUSH in April 2012 planned to establish a
National AYUSH Mission with the motto of delivering health for all and to coordinate
different programmes related to the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) under
different streams of Indian medicine.
Department of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH)
Department of Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy (ISM&H) was created
in March 1995. In November 2013, it was re-named as Department of Ayurveda,
Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH). The department is
under Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
The aim of the department is to provide focussed attention to the development of
education and research in these systems of medicine. Moreover, the Department
laid emphasis on upgradation of AYUSH educational standards, quality control
and standardization of drugs, improving the availability of medicinal plant material,
research and development.
CCEA approved the scheme titled Enhancement of Competitiveness of the Capital Goods Sector
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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 15 September 2014 approved

the scheme titled Enhancement of Competitiveness of the Capital Goods Sector.
This scheme aims to make the Indian capital goods sector globally competitive. It
will mainly cover sectors such as machine tools, textile machinery, construction and
mining machinery and process plant machinery.
The scheme will be implemented during the 12th Five Year Plan period and spill over
to the 13th Plan with an estimated outlay of 930 crore rupees. The Gross Budgetary
Support (GBS) from the government for the scheme will be 581.22 crore rupees and
the balance 349.74 crore rupees will be contributed by the stakeholder industries.
Five components of the scheme to achieve the desired result:

1. Creation of Advanced Centres of Excellence for R&D and Technology Development
with the help of National Centres of Excellence in Education and Technology
such as the IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IIT Kharagpur and the Central
Manufacturing Technology Institute (CMTI) Bangalore.
2. Establishment of Machine Tool Parks for making the machine tool sector more
competitive by providing an ecosystem for production. The park will be established
by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) formed by local industries, industry associations,
financial institutions, Central or State Governments and R&D Institutions.
3. Setting up of a Common Engineering Facility Centre for Textile Machinery with
active participation of the local industry and the industry association. This will also
be established by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).
4. Testing and Certification Centre for earth moving machineries. The setting up of
Test and Certification Centre for Earthmoving Machinery will be done by the SPV
specifically created by the Department of Heavy Industry with the approval of the
Cabinet.
5. The creation of a Technology Acquisition Fund under the Technology Acquisition
Fund Programme (TAFP) in order to help the Capital Goods Industry to acquire and
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assimilate specific technologies for achieving global standards and competitiveness
within a short period of time.
Background
The Capital Goods sector contributes nearly constant proportion of 9-12 percent
of the total manufacturing sector. The apparent consumption of Capital Goods
constitutes a constant share of 17-21 percent of the total Gross Domestic investment
in the country.
However, the investments in the Capital Goods sector have declined with the decline
in the relative profitability of the Capital Goods sector with respect to other sectors.
The capital goods sector determines global competitiveness of the manufacturing
sector by being a vehicle of technology.
The Enhancement of Competitiveness of the Capital Goods Sector scheme will help
in reviving the capital goods sector.

Union Human Resource
Development Ministry on 11
September 2014 announced
to fund Swachh Vidyalaya
campaign.
Funding of the campaign
will be through Swachh
Bharat Kosh that the Union
Government has announced
to set up to fund the Swachh
Bharat Campaign.
Background
Swach Vidyalya Campaign is a part of Swachh
Bharat Campaign which is scheduled to be
launched on 2 October 2014. It was announced
by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the eve
of 68th Independence Day on 15 August 2014.
Swachh Bharat Campaign aims at to making
India clean by 2019 when the nation will be
celebrating 150th anniversary of Mahatma
Gandhi, the Father of the Nation.
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Also, HRD Ministry would initiate the process of drafting a new cohesive education
policy for the successful implementation of the campaign. The policy will be drafted
after conducting nationwide consultations from January 2015.
Earlier, Swach Vidyalya Campaign was anchored by Union Human Resource
Development Ministry as a part of Swachh Bharat Campaign. The campaign aims to
ensure the provision of toilets in all government schools by 15 August 2015.
As part of the campaign, public sector units under 25 Ministries on 10 September
2014, pledged 400 crore rupees for the campaign. Besides, private and public sector
companies would be encouraged to build toilet blocks in schools.
Earlier on 18 August 2014, Tata Consultancy Services and Bharti Enterprises pledged
100 crore rupees to build toilets in schools.
SC asked Union government to respond on Delhi Government

Formation by October 10
Supreme Court on 10 September 2014 asked the Union government to respond on
the process undertaken by Lt Governor Najeeb Jung on Delhi government formation
by 10 October 2014.
Setting a new time line the Supreme Court said that lack of clarity over the government
formation will lead to alleged horse-trading.
The decision was given by a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justicedesignate Justice H L Dattu on a plea filed by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) seeking
dissolution of the Delhi Legislative Assembly.
Fixing the next hearing on 10 October 2014, the apex court said that the matter
cannot be kept pending and it may take a view after the Centre informs it about the
decision of the President and subsequent political developments.
Earlier on 5 August 2014, SC had given five weeks time to the Union to take a
decision on dissolution of the Delhi Assembly one way or another and questioned it
for continuing to keep the House in suspended animation when no party was coming
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forward to form the government.
Background
In the Delhi Assembly elections held in December 2013, BJP had won 32 seats,
however, it fell short of 36 seats required to form the government in the 70-member
Assembly. As a result, AAP with 28 seats formed the government with the support of
Congress Party.
However, after a 49-day rule, AAP government headed by Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal resigned over Lokpal issue in February 2014. Since then, the Delhi Assembly
is in suspended animation and under President Rule.
On 4 September 2014, Lt Governor wrote a letter to President Pranab Mukherjee
seeking his response on the government formation by BJP as a single largest party.
The letter was written In accordance with the Constitutional convention and also
keeping in mind the law lay down by the Supreme Court that every effort must be
made to form a popular government before recommending dissolution.
PMO constituted committee to facilitate utilization of Mineral

resources in Meghalaya
Prime Ministers Office on 11 September 2014 constituted a six-member committee
to facilitate systemic, scientific and planned utilisation of mineral resources in
Meghalaya to prevent environmental degradation.
The Committee will be chaired by the cabinet secretary and other members are Home
secretary, Coal ministry secretary, Mines secretary and Meghalaya chief secretary.
The committee was constituted on the request of Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul
Sangma. In July 2014, Mukul Sangma has taken up the matter with Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and engaged a renowned Constitutional lawyer to advise the state
government on how to deal with the coal ban imposed by the NGT.
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Background
The Meghalaya government has approved the Meghalaya Mines and Minerals
Policy in 2012 but its rules are yet to come up and made operational affecting the
environment due to mining. In April 2014, the National Green Tribunal has put on
hold all coal mining activities pending operationalising of a scheme to meet statutory
requirement of environment protection and safety.
Union Government mandated scientists to undertake lectures

in Public schools & colleges
Union Government mandated the scientists to formally take classes in schools and
colleges in an academic year. It was announced by the Union Minister for Science
and Technology Jitendra Singh on 8 September 2014.
Scientists working in different central agencies including the Council for Scientific and
Industrial Research (CSIR) will undertake 12 hours of lecture classes in an academic
year in public-funded schools and colleges across the country.
This will be implemented in coordination with the Union Ministry of Human Resources
Development. This is a kind of engagement of free of any honorarium and it will be
part of the duty the scientists.
Besides, he also announced few initiatives taken by the Union Ministry of Science &
Technology. They are
KIRAN (Knowledge, Involvement, Research, Advancement through Nurturing) for
women scientists
KIRAN is a special promotion scheme to bring about, as far as possible, gender
parity in the field of science and technology.
The Department of Science and Technology got approval of Expenditure Finance
Committee for participating in Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project involving
astronomy research institutes in India, US, Canada, Japan and China.
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Three new vaccines including indigenously developed Rotavirus vaccine will be
provided to all Indian children as part of Indias Universal Immunisation Programme
(UIP).
Another vaccine for adults to protect against Japanese Encephalitis will be
introduced in high-priority districts.
Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT)

TMT will be the worlds largest telescope when it becomes operational in 2023. It will
be capable of peeping into the farthest corners of the Universe and address some of
the most fundamental scientific problems of this century.
Union Government approved 28 road projects in Ladakh region

in J & K
Union Government on 10 September 2014 approved 28 rural road projects worth
438 crores rupees for building roads in Leh and Kargil districts of Ladakh region in
Jammu and Kashmir. It was announced by Union Minister for Rural Development,
Sanitation, Drinking Water & Panchayat Raj, Nitin Gadkari.
The rural roads will be built under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY).
Under the proposal, a total of 350 km of rural road network will be built.
The projects cleared include six proposals in Leh District covering road length of 142
km to be constructed at a cost of 181.4 crores rupees. Another 22 projects in Kargil
district were approved to build 207 Kms of rural road at a cost of 256.6 crore rupees.
About Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY)

PMGSY was started in 2000 by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The
PMGSY is a fully-funded centrally sponsored scheme to provide all-weather road
connectivity in rural areas of the country.
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The main objective is to provide connectivity, by way of an all-weather Road to the
eligible unconnected Habitations in the rural areas with a population of 500 persons
and above in Plain areas.
In respect of the Hill States (North-East, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu &
Kashmir and Uttarakhand), the Desert Areas, the Tribal areas and Selected Tribal
and Backward districts, all weather roads will be constructed in habitations with a
population of 250 persons and above.
Union Health Minister Launched First National Anti-TB Drug Resistance Survey of India
Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan on 6 September 2014
launched the first anti-Tuberculosis Drug Resistance Survey of India for the year
2014-15.
This is the first of its kind of survey in India and is supported by the World Health
Organization (WHO).
Describing the TB as national emergency, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan called for
an email repository of doctors for better disease management.
Main features of the Survey

It will cover 5214 patients in 120 TB units in 24 states
It will test all first and most of second line anti-TB drugs
It will use liquid culture for culture and drug sensitivity tests
It will adopt genetic sequencing for better understanding of molecular epidemiology
of drug resistance
It will use real time monitoring of survey activities using a web-based ICT system,
which has been developed by National Tuberculosis Institute, Bangalore.
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It will provide statistical estimate of the prevalence of anti-tuberculosis drug
resistance among the new and already treated patients in the country.
It will also contribute to a more accurate estimate of anti-tuberculosis drug
resistance globally.
About Multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB)

Multi-drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) is resistant to two or more of the first-line drugs
used to treat the disease. If a person with MDR-TB spreads the disease to someone
else and that person comes down with active disease, it will be multi-drug-resistant
from the beginning.
The number of multi-drug resistant (MDR)-TB cases in the country had increased
five-fold between 2011 and 2013. Studies show one-third of the MDR-TB cases are
resistant to fluoroquinolones, which are critical for MDR-TB treatment.
MDR-TB if quickly identified can be cured successfully. Unfortunately, tests to
determine whether a particular strain is resistant usually take several weeks to
complete.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju on 9 September 2014
announced that the Union Government has identified five locations for development
of no-frills airports in India. The selected locations where the no-frills airports will be
developed are Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh, Kishangarh in Rajasthan, Jharsuguda in
Odisha, Hubli and Belgaum in Karnataka.
These no-frills airports (low cost model airports) will be developed to promote regional
and remote area connectivity with a focus on promoting tourism and other economic
activities.
The plan for creation of the no-frills airports has been made by Airports Authority of
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India (AAI) but final time for completion of the project was not revealed. But as per
the directive of new government led by Narendra Modi, the ministry has been asked
to prepare a plan for development of at least five no-frills airports by the end of the
fiscal. Further, the plan for creation of these airports would extend to fifty.
As per the information, these airports will be a new kind and will be developed at an
initial cost of 50 crore rupees with limited facilities for seating, lounges and air traffic
management.
Some more features of these no-frills airports

These will have airstrips that will be long enough to handle turboprops like Q-400
and ATR
The terminals will be single storied with simple structures
These airports will have mobile air traffic control units instead of big ATC towers
These airports will not have conveyor belts and aerobridges

Union Government on 8 September 2014 extended the deadline for Central
Government employees to file the details of their assets and liabilities till 31 December
2014. The previous date for filing the details was 15 September 2014.
As mandated in the Lokpal Act, 2013 the employee of the Central government needs
to file the details of assets of their spouses and dependent children.
The date was extended because some government officials highlighted difficulties
that were being faced by them in filing these returns.
The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) notified extension of the date
under the Public Servants (Furnishing of Information and Annual Return of Assets
and Liabilities and the Limits for Exemption of Assets in Filing Returns) Amendment
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Rules, 2014.
Public Servant (Furnishing of Asset Information) Amendment Rules, 2014

Public Servants (Furnishing of Information and Annual Return of Assets and Liabilities
and the Limits for Exemption of Assets in Filing Returns) Amendment Rules, 2014
was notified under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013.
As per the new rule, the employees of the Central government needs to mention
details like, cash in hand, bank deposits, investment in bonds, debentures, shares
and units in companies or mutual funds, provident fund, insurance policies, personal
loans and advance given to any person or entity and others.
MoU signed between NAWADCO and NBCC for the development

of WAQF Properties
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the National WAQF
Development Corporation (NAWADCO) and the National Building Construction
Corporation (NBCC) on 8 September 2014 for developing the WAQF properties.
NAWADCO identified several WAQF properties including one in Delhi, two in
Rajasthan, six in Madhya Pradesh and seven in Karnataka which would be developed
as institutional and commercial projects. Initially, properties that are lying vacant
would be taken up for easy and early development.
Two projects in Rajasthan are already under process. One is for a hospital in Jodhpur
and another for a school in Ajmer.
WAQF Properties in India

The largest number of Waqf properties in the world are in India.
There are more than 4.9 lakh registered Waqf properties (or Auqaf) and the current
annual income from these properties is about 163 crore rupees.
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If these properties are properly developed with a minimum return of 10%, they
would generate an income of 12000 crore rupees per annum.
The total area under Waqf properties all over India is estimated at about 6 lakh
acres and the market value of this land is about 1.20 lakh crore rupees.
National WAQF Development Corporation (NAWADCO)

The National WAQF Development Corporation (NAWADCO) was established in
January 2014 on the recommendation of Sachchar Committee with Authorized Share
Capital of 500 Crore rupees and paid up capital of 100 crore rupees.
NAWADCO facilitates and mobilizes financial resources for the development of WAQF
properties for community development purposes in a joint venture with the State or
Union Territory Waqf Boards and the Mutawallis.
National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC)

The National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) is a Navratna Central
Government public sector enterprise under the Union Ministry of Urban Development.
It has wide and varied business experience and expertise in the field of construction
and real estate development.
The employees also have to declare details of motor vehicles, aircraft, yachts or
ships, gold and silver jewellery and bullion possessed by them, their spouses and
dependent children.
The rules also says that the competent authority can/may exempt the public servant
from filing information in respect of any asset if its value of any asset of its value does
not exceed his or her four months basic pay or 2 lakh rupees, whichever is higher.
SC ordered to release undertrial prisoners who have completed

half of maximum term
The Supreme Court on 5 September 2014 ordered to release undertrial prisoners
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who have completed half their maximum term without the completion of trial.
However, prisoners serving life terms or charged with death penalty will not come
under the ambit of this new programme.
Supreme Court announced the two months deadline to examine such cases and to
order the release of undertrials. It will start from 1 October 2014.
A Supreme Court bench
headed by Chief Justice of
India (CJI) RM Lodha ordered
that prisons must comply
with the law and ordered local
judges and magistrates to
oversee the process.
The session judge and
judicial officers subordinate
to CJI will visit jails under
their jurisdiction and free all
such inmates by passing
appropriate orders in the jail
itself.
Comment
The move will decongest the overcrowded
Indian prisons. The landmark will benefit around
one lakh prisoners in jails across the country.
As per the Home Ministry, there were 2.55 lakh
undertrial prisoners at the end of 2012. Of this,
less than one lakh were charged with heinous
offences like rape and murder or booked under
terror charges and were, hence, facing life term
or the death penalty.
The judgement was based on Section 436A of the Criminal Procedure Code, which
prescribes release of prisoners by a court on a personal bond with or without sureties
if he or she has spent half the maximum period of sentence.
This provision, however, has remained ineffective because of lack of awareness and
because trial courts press for bail bonds for release.
Union Government approved Task Force to monitor Citizenship,

Long Term Visas
Union Home Ministry on 5 September 2014 approved setting up of a task force
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to monitor and expedite the processing of citizenship and Long Term Visa (LTV)
applications. The task force will be headed by a Joint Secretary level officer and will
start its operation in next two weeks.
The task force will review the matters relating to grant of citizenship that takes a long
time for completion of the entire process. This time schedule and other matters cause
hardships and difficulties to applicants, especially to minorities from neighboring
countries who are often of poor economic background.
Activities that will be performed by the Task Force would

Cases having complete documents will be expedited so that all processing is
completed within two months.
Where representations are received about specific pending cases in State
Governments, Ministry Home Affairs (MHA) will follow up with State Governments
concerned. MHA officials may also be sent to coordinate with State Home
Department and FRO officials.
Since the initial applications are filed online, the Task Force would monitor the
applications filed and keep track of progress.
For many applicants, the grant of LTV would have to be processed/considered
first. The Task Force will coordinate LTV related matters also.
State that would be benefitted with the work of the Task Force
The work of the task force will be beneficial at least for the people of Goa and will
help the state government to resolve the issue of dual citizenship of many residents
of the state (Goans) who registered their births in the Portuguese registry and in such
case their Indian citizenship seems to be in danger.
Reasons behind the births of residents of the state in Portuguese registry

Goa was a Portuguese territory from 1510 to 1961. It remained under Portuguese
territory of the Empire control even after independence of India in 1947 and the
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process of making Goa an integral part of India saw certain happenings like Operation
Vijay of December 1961 and United Nations resolution condemning the action of
India was proposed in the UNSC.
Further, under Indian control, Goa voted in a referendum to become an autonomous,
federally administered territory. Goa was admitted to Indian statehood in 1987.
SC upheld Uttar Pradesh Government decision to use Urdu as

second official language
Supreme Court on 4 September 2014 upheld the Uttar Pradesh government decision
to use Urdu as second official language in the State.
The judgement was given by a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice
of India, R M Lodha. The other judges were Justices Dipak Misra, Madan B. Lokur,
Kurien Joseph and S.A. Bobde.
The apex court while upholding the Uttar Pradesh Official Language (Amendment)
Act, 1989 said that language laws of the country are not rigid but accommodative to
secure the object of linguistic secularism.
Further it noted that nothing in Article 345 of the Constitution bars a state government
to declare one or more of languages used in the State, in addition to Hindi, as the
second official language. That is, State governments have the right to adopt any
language as the second language as long as it is in use in the state and figures in the
official languages listed in the Constitution.
The SC bench also noted that there are many States in India which have officially
adopted other languages in addition to Hindi. These States include Bihar, Haryana,
Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Delhi.
Moreover, it noted that National Capital Delhi has adopted Punjabi and Urdu as other
officially recognized languages in addition to Hindi. In fact, Bihar was the first state
to declare Urdu a second official language in November 1980.
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Background
The Uttar Pradesh government
in 1989 enacted Uttar
Pradesh Official Language
(Amendment) Act which
recognised Urdu as the
second official language of
the State.
However, it was challenged
by the UP Hindi Sahitya
Article 345 of the Constitution

Article 345 which empowers the State
Legislature to make law for adoption of one or
more of the languages in use in the State leaves
no manner of doubt that such power may be
exercised by the State Legislature from time to
time.
Sammelan in Allahabad High

Court in 1996. The Allahabad High Court upheld the UP governments decision to
amend the UP Official Language Act, 1951.
The Sahitya Sammelan then filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the
Allahabad High Courts decision claiming that the state government decision had no
rationale as there was not much Urdu speaking population in the state.
SC asked Union Government to clarify its stand on citizenship of

surrogate children
The Supreme Court of India on 4 September 2014 asked the Union Government to
clarify its stand on granting dual citizenship of children who are born in India via an
Indian surrogate mother, while the biological mother of children is a foreign national.
The Supreme Court bench led by Justice Ranajan Gogoi highlighted that under the
Constitution, a child born in India from a surrogate mother is entitled to an Indian
citizenship, but what happens when the biological mother is a foreign citizen and the
child applies for citizenship of that country. The Bench asked the Government after
looking into the larger issue as there is a need of a comprehensive legislation that
deals with all situations of a surrogate child that is created by the latest reproductive
technology.
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The bench asked the Government that whether it was open to consider dual
citizenship for surrogate children born under such situations. The dual citizenship
can give limited entitlements to such children
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Tushar Mehta in its reply to the SC informed that
a Bill - Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulation Bill - was introduced in the
parliament in 2010. He would get instruction on the status of the Bill.
After hearing the response of the ASG, the court adjourned the case for hearing after
6 weeks, so that it can to hear the reply from the government.
Background
First time the problem of citizenship of a surrogate child was highlighted in the case
of twin babies who were born to an Indian surrogate mother and a German father,
Jan Balaz in 2008. The twin boys named Balaz Nikolas and Balaz Leonard were
conceived in January 2008 by Indian women in Gujarats Anand district.
Citizenship as per Constitution of India

Part II, Citizenship of Constitution of India under Article 5 defines Citizenship at the
commencement of the Constitution, it says
At the commencement of this Constitution, every person who has his domicile in the
territory of India and1. Who was born in the territory of India; or
2. Either of whose parents was born in the territory of India; or
3. Who has been ordinarily resident in the territory of India for not less than five years
immediately preceding such commencement, shall be a citizen of India.
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Current Affairs
Union Government amended Rule 10 of Lokpal Search Committee Rules granting it more autonomy
The Union Government on 3 September 2014 notified Lokpal Search Committee
Rules with some amendment in Rule 10 of the Search Committee Rules. The new
rules gave freedom to the Lokpal search committee to shortlist and recommend
names of members of the Lokpal including Chairman from outside the list provided
by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
Norms under the new rules

The rules has omitted restrictions for the search committee to recommend the
names from the list provided by the DoPT
Composition of the search committee has been reduced to eight members
including Chairman from nine having special knowledge in anti-corruption, public
administration and vigilance among others
A deadline of 30 days has been provided to Search Committee to recommend
names for scrapping.
The candidates should be three times the number of vacancies available for the
Lokpal Search Committee
Earlier Provisions in the Lokpal Search Committee Rules

The Rule 10 said that the Lokpal Search Committee would select the nine-members
of the Lokpal including Chairman from among the list of persons provided by the
Union Government in the Department of Personnel and Training.
Search Committee recommends names for Chairman and members of Lokpal to
the Prime Minister who then draws up the final list.
The Prime Minister may or may not pick names suggested by the Search Committee
President of India, finally, appoints the Chairman and the eight members of the
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Lokpal
Reason for the Amendment in the Search Committee Rules

The amendment in the Rule 10 is a course correction after the former Supreme Court
judge Justice KT Thomas opted out from heading the search committee in March
2014. He opted out after citing lack of autonomy. He objected to the provisions that
empowered the search committee to shortlist candidates only from the list that was
provided to them by DoPT.
Even eminent jurist Fali Nariman had turned down the post of a member of the panel
citing the same reason.
Comment: This notification that highlights the changes in the search committee rules
will help the government to go ahead with the process of appointment of chairperson
and members of the Lokpal.

Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on 2 September 2014 approved diversion of
forest land to fight Maoists. The forest land under the Forest Conservation (FC) Act
of 1980 will be diverted to construct all categories of public roads.
The move is aimed at expediting the creation of road infrastructure in LWE affected
districts to enable the security forces to effectively combat Maoists.
These public roads will be constructed in all the forestland areas falling under 117
Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected districts of the country. However, the approval
will not be extended for the roads which were falls under the protected areas.
Further, relaxation under the FC Act has been extended for diversion of forestland
from the present one hectare to five hectares for execution of public utility projects of
15 specified categories in 117 LWE districts.
These categories are schools, dispensaries, hospitals, medical colleges, electrical
and telecommunication lines, drinking water, non-conventional sources of energy,
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skill upgradation, power sub-stations etc.
All categories of public roads, including communication posts, police establishments
like stations, outposts, border outposts, watch towers in sensitive areas underground
laying of optical fibre cables, telephone lines etc. are also included.
About LWE affected districts

117 LWE districts are spread over several States in India. These States include
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh,
Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
While, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Bihar are considered severely affected.
On the other hand, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh are considered
partially affected. Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are considered slightly affected.
Congress party secured chairmanship of five DRSCs of the Parliament

In a major boost to Indian National Congress party, five of its members secured
the chairmanship of Department Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) of the
Parliament.
These DRSCs are: Finance, External Affairs, Home Affairs, Science & Technology and Law & Personnel
The Committee on Finance will be headed by former Chairman of Administrative
Reforms Commission (ARC) M Veerappa Moily.
The Committee on External Affairs will be headed by Shashi Tharoor.
The Committee on Home Affairs will be headed by P Bhattacharya.
The Committee on Science & Technology will be headed by former Union Law
Minister Ashwani Kumar.
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The Committee on Law & Personnel will be headed by E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan.
BJP leaders who have got the chairmanship of DRSCs

Committee on Commerce: Chandan Mitra
Committee on Agriculture: Hukum Deo Narayan Yadav
Committee on Labour: Virendra Kumar
Committee on Petroleum: Prahlad Joshi
Committee on Water Resources: Hukum Singh
Committee on Coal: Hansraj Ahir
Committee on Social Justice: Ramesh Bais
Committee on Energy: Rajiv Pratap Rudy
Committee on Defence: Former General B C Khanduri
Committee on HRD & Sports: J P Nadda
Committee on Information Technology: Anurag Thakur
Other Non-BJP leaders who got the chairmanship of DRSCs

Committee on Transport: K D Singh (Trinamool Congress)
Committee on Railways: Dinesh Trivedi (Trinamool Congress)
Committee on Urban Development: Pinaki Mishra (Biju Janata Dal)
Committee on Rural Development: P Venugopal (AIADMK)
Committee on Health: Satish Chandra Misra (Bahujan Samaj Party)
Committee on Commerce & Industry: K C Tyagi (Janata Dal United)
Committee on Chemical & Fertiliser: Anandrao Adsul (Shiv Sena)
Committee on Food & Consumer Affairs: J C Divakar Reddy (Telugu Desam Party)
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Chairman of Finance Committees

Committee on Estimates: Murli Manohar Joshi (BJP)
Committee on Public sector Undertakings: Shanta Kumar (BJP)
Public Accounts Committee: K V Thomas (Congress)
About Parliamentary Standing Committees

Parliamentary Standing committees are committees consisting of Members of
Parliament. These Committees are permanent and regular committee which are
constituted from time to time according to the provisions of an Act of Parliament or
Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business.
The work done by the Indian Parliament is not only voluminous but also of a complex
nature, hence a good deal of its work is carried out in these Parliamentary Committees.
The Financial Committees, Department Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) and
some other Committees come under the category of Standing Committees. As of
August 2012, there are 24 DRSCs. Out of 24 Committees, 8 Committees are serviced
by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat and 16 Committees by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
Union Health Ministry launched revised strategy to eradicate

Kala azar by 2015 in Patna
Union Health Ministry launched the revised strategy to eradicate Kala azar from India
by 2015 on 2 September 2014.
The new strategy has been developed by a core group comprising experts and
officials of the Health Ministry. The roadmap document focused on efforts at the
national, state, district and sub-district levels.
The new strategy involves carrying out active searches for people with symptoms of
the disease in the 54 affected districts of the four states where the disease is known
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to strike the most. The four states are Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and the eastern
part of Uttar Pradesh.
Bihar accounts for 80 percent of the kala azar cases in India. Thirty three districts
in Bihar, eleven of West Bengal, four in Jharkhand and six districts of Eastern Uttar
Pradesh of Bihar are affected by Kala-azar.
Also, the kala Azar Rapid Diagnosis test kit was unveiled. The kit was developed by
the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). These tests are easy to conduct,
could be done at primary health centres also and can provide results in 10-15 minutes.
Highlights of the new strategy

The new strategy involves carrying out active searches for people with symptoms
of the disease in the affected districts.
Medical practioners, Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) and health workers
were being trained. ASHA workers would be given monetary incentives to identify
and send patients to hospitals.
The early diagnosis and treatment will be done by using a single dose called
Liposomal Amphoterecin B administered intravenously. It would help to reduce
the human reservoir of infection. World Health Organisation (WHO) will supply the
drug free.
As part of the new strategy, an insecticide, synthetic Pyrethroid, directed specifically
at the sand fly, which is known vector source of Kala Azar, would also be supplied
for spraying on the walls of homes in the endemic regions.
Kala Azar has been declared a notifiable disease, which means all doctors, whether
in government or private service, are henceforth required to alert the state health
authorities whenever they encounter a patient with the diseases symptoms.
About Kala azar

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), also known as kala-azar, black fever, and Dumdum fever
is the most severe form of leishmaniasis. Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by
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protozoan parasites of the Leishmania genus.
This disease is the second-largest parasitic killer in the world (after malaria), responsible
for an estimated 500000 infections each year worldwide.
The parasite migrates to the internal organs such as liver, spleen and bone marrow,
and, if left untreated, will almost always result in the death of the host.
Signs and symptoms include fever, weight loss, fatigue, anemia, and substantial
swelling of the liver and spleen.
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ECONOMY
RBI announced fourth Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement
2014-15
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced fourth Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy
Statement on 30 September 2014. RBI in its fourth bi-monthly monetary policy
statement has kept the policy rates unchanged at 8 percent.
Based on the assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation,the
following changes has been taken
The Repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 8.0 per
cent
The cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks unchanged at 4.0 per cent of net
demand and time liabilities (NDTL)
Reduced the Statutory Liquidity Ratio under the export credit refinance (ECR)
facility from 32 per cent of eligible export credit outstanding to 15 per cent with
effect from 10 October 2014
Continue to provide liquidity under overnight repos at 0.25 per cent of bank-wise
NDTL at the LAF repo rate and liquidity under 7-day and 14-day term repos of up
to 0.75 per cent of NDTL of the banking system through auctions
Continue with daily one-day term repos and reverse repos to smooth liquidity
The reverse repo rate under the LAF remained unchanged at 7.0 per cent and the
marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 9.0 per cent.
This is the fourth consecutive time that the RBI has kept key interest rates unchanged
despite clamours from the industry to cut rates to boost economy. RBI Governor
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Raghu Ramrajan cited WPI inflation as the rationale for the status quo policy.
Assessment of the macroeconomic situation in India

Since the third bi-monthly monetary policy statement of August 2014, global
activity has been recovering slowly from the setback in Q1 of 2014, on the back of
strengthening consumer spending and gradually improving labour market conditions
in advanced economies (AEs) like the United States.
Domestic activity appears to have come off somewhat after the stronger-thanexpected upturn in Q1 of 2014-15. In Q2, the growth of industrial production slumped in
July 2014, as capital goods production followed consumer durables into contraction.
Exports cushioned the fall in manufacturing output, with the Reserve Banks industrial
outlook survey indicating expansion in export orders.
Non-food credit growth decelerated in September 2014, the lowest level since
June 2001, despite liquidity conditions remaining comfortable and deposit growth
remaining normal.
With liquidity conditions easing, the recourse to ECR has fallen off substantially to
about 10 per cent of the outstanding export credit eligible for refinance.
The RBI retained the growth projection at 5.5 per cent for the current fiscal 2014-15.

Indias market regulator, SEBI on 26 September 2014 notified the final rules for setting
up of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) Regulations 2014 and Infrastructure
Investment Trusts (InvITs) Regulations 2014. The notifications would help in attracting
more funds in a transparent manner into the realty and infrastructure sectors.
The notification on REITs has been issued after SEBI in August 2014 said that the
REITs should operate with an asset pool of at least 5 billion rupees (81.8 million
dollars). It also said that the REITs should have an initial issue size of at least 2.5
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billion rupees for shareholders.
The SEBI (Real Estate Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014 (REIT Regulations)
have been notified, vide notification No. LAD-NRO/GN/2014-15/11/1576 and the
SEBI (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014 (InvIT Regulations) have
been notified, vide a notification No. LAD-NRO/GN/2014-15/10/1577. These two
regulations were issued by SEBI in exercise of the powers conferred to it by Section
30 with Section 11 and 12 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (15
of 1992), laying a framework for Real Estate Investment Trusts and registration and
regulation as well as Infrastructure Investment Trusts and registration and regulation.
About REITs and InvITs

The REITs and InvITs are listed entities that mainly invest in income-producing assets,
the earnings of which are mostly distributed to their shareholders. They generally get
special tax treatment.
Union Heavy Industry Ministry proposed to shut down six sick

CPSE to the Union Cabinet
Union Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises on 25 September 2014
proposed the Union Cabinet to shut down six sick Central Public Sector Undertakings
(CPSEs).
The sick CPSEs include HMT Watches, HMT Barings, HMT Chinar Watch, Hindustan
Photo Films, Hindustan Cables and Tungbhadra Steel.
Besides, the Ministry also proposed to revive 5 CPSEs. These CPSEs include HMT
Machine Tools, Heavy Engineering Corporation, NEPA, Nagaland Paper & Pulp Co;
and Triveni Structurals.
The proposal of Heavy Industry Ministry is based on the recommendations of the
Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSEs).
The six companies together have around 3603 workers. The Ministry has planned to
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spend 1080 crore rupees towards one-time settlement through a voluntary retirement
scheme for workers.
HMT Watches, which is a subsidiary of HMT Ltd, has already submitted a voluntary
retirement/voluntary separation scheme to the Government for downsizing its
manpower.
The Ministry also said that after the closures of these six CPSEs, the sale of assets
of these state holdings will be made to private companies. Also, it informed that
efforts were on to monetise vacant land available with 11 sick PSUs, which have an
estimated 8000 acres.
Public Sector Banks require 2637 billion US dollars to meet

Basel-III norms: Moody
Global rating agency Moody on 22 September 2014 released a report titled Indian
Banks Could Need 26-37 billion US dollar in External Capital for Basel III Compliance.
In the report it revealed that 11 Indian public sector banks (PSBs) need to raise 26 to
37 billion US dollar in external capital in the financial year 2015 in order to meet the
Basel-III capital adequacy norms by financial year 2019.
This projection of Moody is based on the assumption that there is a moderate
recovery in Indias GDP growth, and a gradual decline in nonperforming loans from
current levels.
Main highlights of the report

In rupee terms these banks will require additional 1.5 to 2.2 trillion rupees to fully
comply with the Basel-III norms.
A significant part of the required capital, around 800 - 900 billion rupees (or 13-15
billion US dollars) could be in the form of Additional Tier 1 (AT1) capital.
Moodys notes that these PSBs constitute 62 percent of the net loans in the Indian
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banking system but barely meet the current minimum capital requirements. As a
result PSBs will find it difficult to raise capital quickly in the current environment.
The report further said that weak asset quality has led to depressed profitability
and internal capital generation in PSBs. As a result, they have to rely on periodic
capital injections from the government.
It noted that PSBs could find it difficult to raise the required amount even if they
tap the equity markets because of low valuation of these banks. Even the recent
stock rally may not prove to be the saviour.
Basel-III Norms
Basel III raises the minimum required capital levels for both Tier 1 capital to 7.0
percent and Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital to 5.5 percent. Besides, the banks
will also need to meet a Capital Conservation Buffer in order to pay dividends. These
will be pressurizing the Indian public-sector banks due to low capital levels remain a
key credit weakness.

Airports Authority of India (AAI) on 23 September 2014 signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) agreement with the US Trade & Development Agency (USTDA).
The agreement was signed for the development of Aviation Security Equipment
Testing and Evaluation Programme. This will enable AAI and Bureau of Civil Aviation
Security (BCAS) to create clear standards, specifications and testing procedures in
accordance with the Indian standards of aviation security.
The whole procedure will be in alignment with international practices for three types
of aviation security equipment. These three equipment are designed to scan carry-on
luggage, checked baggage and passengers.
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US Trade & Development Agency (USTDA)

USTDA is an independent US Government foreign assistance agency that is
funded by the US Congress.
Its mission is to help companies create US jobs through the export of US goods
and services for priority development projects in emerging economies.
USTDA provides grant funding to overseas project sponsors for the planning
of projects that support the development of modern infrastructure and an open
trading system.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) on 23 September 2014 raised 100 million
US dollars (600 crore rupees) from international and domestic institutional investors
through its first onshore rupee bond named Maharaja Bonds.
This is the first international AAA issuance in India wherein HSBC, ICICI securities,
and SBI Caps are the lead- arrangers.
These bonds will be listed on the National Stock Exchange by September 2014.
Characteristic features of the Maharaja Bond

The Maharaja Bonds were issued under the 2.5 billion US dollars programme of
World Bank spread over five years.
These bonds will help develop infrastructure for the domestic capital markets.
These bonds offer an innovative structure to attract different types of investors to
the domestic capital markets.
There are four different tranches with different maturities under the same issuance:
(i) five-year bullet bond of 25 million US dollar; (ii) ten-year bullet bond of 25 million
US dollar; and (iii) two Separately Tradeable Redeemable Principal Parts (STRPPs)
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with maturities ranging from 13 to 20 years.
IFC can increase the size of issuance according to its funding needs under the
STRPP structure.
The bonds proceeds issued under STRPP structure will be used for infrastructure
investments in India.
Background
On the successful completion of the 2013 global rupee bond programme of the World
Bank in early 2014, IFC received a mandate to issue Maharaja Bonds, under the 2.5
billion US dollar programme, over the next five years. Under the programme, launched
in 2013, IFC raised 1 billion US dollar in rupee-denominated overseas bonds from
investor globally for infrastructure.
About International Finance Corporation

IFC is a member of the World Bank Group established in 1956. It is the largest global
development institution focused exclusively on the private sector in developing
countries.
IFC has 184 member countries. The aim of IFC is to allow the companies and financial
institutions in emerging markets to create jobs, generate tax revenues, improve
corporate governance and environmental performance, and contribute to their local
communities.
Union Textiles Ministry approved setting up of 13 textile parks

Union Textiles Ministry on 18 September 2014 approved setting up of 13 textile parks.
This move will help generate thousands of jobs in the country.
The investment proposal of minimum 100 crore rupees will be considered for each
park. However, the subsidy amount of 40 crore rupees for each park will be provided
by the Ministry.
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An industrial park will provide jobs to at least 2500 to 3000 people as the textile
industry generates maximum employment after agriculture.
Besides, the Textile Ministry also called a meeting of State Textile Ministers on 24
September 2014 to seek the inputs on new National Textile Policy.
Draft Vision, Strategy and Action plan of the new National Textile Policy
Seeing the changes in the textile industry on the domestic and international fronts,
the Textiles Ministry had initiated the process of reviewing the National Textile Policy
(NTP), 2000. Ministry in June 2013 appointed an Expert Committee headed by Ajay
Shankar to review the NTP, 2000 and recommend a new National Textile Policy.
According to the draft Vision, Strategy and Action plan of the new Textile Policy,
the overall aim of the new Textile policy would be to address concerns of adequate
skilled work force, labour reforms, attract investments in the textile sector and to
provide a future road map for the textile and clothing industry.
The key objectives of the new National Textiles Policy include developing a vision
statement of the textile sector for the next decade to treble market share from the
current 4 percent in the next decade.
About National Textile Policy, 2000

Government of India passed the National Textile Policy in 2000. The policy aimed at
developing a strong and vibrant Textile industry that can:
Achieve the target of textile and apparel exports from the present level of 11 billion
US dollar to 50 billion US dollars by 2010 of which the share of garments will be
25 billion US dollars.
Produce cloth of good quality at acceptable prices to meet the growing needs of
the people
Increasingly contribute to the provision of sustainable employment and the
economic growth of the nation
Compete with confidence for an increasing share of the global market.
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Achieve increase in cotton productivity by at least 50 percent and upgrade its
quality to international standards

Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation declined to 5-year low of 3.74 percent
in August 2014. This was revealed by the WPI data released on 15 September 2014
by the Office of the Economic Adviser under the Union Ministry of Commerce and
Industry.
The WPI inflation in August 2014 is the lowest since October 2009, when it stood at
1.8 percent. The inflation measured on WPI was at 5.19 percent in July 2014 and 6.99
percent in August 2013.
The decline in the WPI-based inflation was mainly on account of declining prices of
vegetable and other food articles.
Inflation in the food segment witnessed a significant decline to 5.15 percent in August
2014 as against 8.43 percent in July 2014. On the other hand, vegetable prices
contracted 4.88 percent, the third continuous month of decline.
Inflation in the fuel and power segment which include LPG, petrol and diesel declined
to 4.54 percent as compared to price rise of 7.40 percent seen in July.
Besides, the retail inflation measured by Consumer Price Index (CPI) also eased to
7.8 percent in August 2014 as compared to 7.96 percent in July 2014.
Meanwhile, wholesale inflation based on final index for June 2014 was revised
upwards to 5.66 per cent from the provisional estimate of 5.43 percent.
CCEA approved 4754 crore for power transmission scheme in

Arunachal and Sikkim
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 15 September 2014 approved
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4754.42 crore rupees Comprehensive Scheme for Strengthening of Transmission &
Distribution (T&D) Systems (CSST&DS) in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. Of the total
4754.42 crore rupees, 3199.45 crore rupees is for Arunachal Pradesh and 1544.99
crore rupees is for Sikkim. This decision will help in significantly reduce electricity
losses while being supplied.
As per the plan, the project
would be implemented by
Power Grid Corporation with
its consultancy fee of 12
percent of the execution cost.
The project is to be
implemented
within
48
months from the first fund
release to power Grid
Corporation. Further after
commissioning, the projects
will be owned and managed
by the state governments.
Background
The project is being financed under the
Passighat Declaration of 2007 that was decided
in the Summit of North Eastern Council.
The declaration aimed to provide adequate
transmission network in all the North Eastern
states & Sikkim so that the development of the
region can take place along with rest of the
country.
At present, the installed power capacity of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya,

Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Sikkim is 4,364.07 MW but the current
transmission and distribution (T&D) losses in these states are 50 percent of supply.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs was chaired by the Prime Minister
Narendra Modi.
FICCIs Economic Outlook Survey estimated Indias GDP growth

rate at 5.6 percent in 2014-15
Economic Outlook Survey of FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce
and Industry) was released on 13 September 2014. The Survey estimated that Indias
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to expand by 5.6 percent during financial
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year 2014-15.
The expected growth rate of 5.6 percent is an improvement over the 5.3 percent
estimate that was indicated in the June 2014 edition of Economic Outlook Survey.
The increase in GDPs expected growth rate reflects a clear return in optimism and the
economic activity which is expected to continue with this momentum in the second
half of 2014-15.
Highlights of the Economic Outlook Survey

The minimum and maximum range for GDP growth in the financial year 2014-15
was indicated at 5.3 percent and 6.0 percent respectively.
The agricultural growth is expected to remain steady despite a delay in the
monsoons.
The industrial sector seems to have improved considerably and is expected to
grow by 4.7 percent in financial year 2014-15, which is 1.6 percentage points
more than the growth estimated in June 2014.
The growth in the services sector is expected to remain pretty much at similar
levels as reported in June 2014. The sector is likely to grow by 6.9 percent in
2014-15.
Inflation is expected to ease somewhat compared to the last year and the annual
average CPI inflation rate is projected at 7.8 percent in 2014-15. However upside
pressures on inflation may still arise.
The household inflationary expectations remain high and the RBI will wait and
watch until there are definite signs of inflationary pressure abating then expect a
cut in the key policy rates.
The exports and current account deficit (CAD) reflected no imminent risks. The
CAD to GDP ratio for 2014-15 was projected at 1.9 percent.
The foreign institutional investment (FII) inflows will continue in the second part of
the year as well, although at a slower pace.
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Though some risk factors remain on account of -recent spate in geo political
tensions, US announcing next round of its tapering programme and withdrawal
of restrictions imposed on gold which might exert pressure on imports and these
will be counter balanced by positive factors which most likely are expected to
dominate.
Some of the priority areas identified included the need to build world class
infrastructure, assure provision of quality and uninterrupted power supply, resolving
labor issues, and working out an easy land acquisition process.
It was clearly highlighted where the Union Government should seek to get the
basics right to assure a more conducive environment for manufacturing activities
which needed to work on this with immediate effect.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 14 September 2014 closed down six Urban
Cooperative Banks (UCBs). These UCBs were suspected of being used to route
illegal money, but RBI did not disclose the names of these six UCBs.
Besides, the RBI also asked the state governments to take stringent action against
the erring UCBs.
RBI also directed its regional officers to seek compliance from UCBs and submit an
update that would be reviewed and any necessary action can be initiated. This will
help on the issue of risk categorization and compilation or updating profiles of all
their existing customers.
The issue of money laundering came into light during a meet of Economic Intelligence
Council (EIC) that was headed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. During the meet
misuse of UCBs with dual control of Central and State government was discussed.
Observed irregularities in the UCBs during the meet

It was observed that UCBs with 8100-plus branches and deposits worth 2 lakh 9
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thousand crore rupees were being used as conduits of money laundering.
UCBs were also found wanting on regulatory issues and has lax regulatory norms.
UCBs based in Gujarat accounted for 161 crore rupees of irregularities. In these
9166 forged saving accounts were opened in the name of deceased persons to
launder black money, which were deposited and withdrawn immediately.
The Uttar Pradesh based UCBs accounted for irregularities worth 17 crore and 57
lakh rupees
During the meet, EIC also directed RBI to block accounts of non-complying customers
while keeping the credit option open, so that customers would be able to credit
money into their accounts but the facility of withdrawal would be barred. The facility
of withdrawal would be activated after mandated information is furnished.
On the issue of dual control of UCBs, RBI informed the EIC that the problem is
being resolved through the mechanism of Task Force on Cooperative Urban Banks
(TAFCUB) and the banking related aspects of the UCBs are regulated by it.
Earlier, the Union Government had formed an inter-ministerial group headed by
the Director General of Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB) comprising
of members from CBI, Department of Revenue, Department of Financial Services,
Financial Intelligence Unit, RBI and Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
Money Laundering Act 2002

The Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) came into effect from 1 July
2005. The Act was brought with an aim to combat money laundering in India with
three main objectives. The three objectives were
To prevent and control money laundering
To confiscate and seize the property obtained from laundered money
To deal with any other issue connected with money laundering in India
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Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs)
The Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) are registered as cooperative societies under
the provisions of, either the State Cooperative Societies Act of the State concerned or
the Multi State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002. They are regulated and supervised
by the Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RCS) of State concerned or by the Central
Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS), as the case may be.
The applicability of banking laws to cooperatives societies since 1 March 1966
ushered in duality of control over UCBs between the Registrar of Cooperative
Societies/Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies and the Reserve Bank of India.
The Reserve Bank regulates and supervises the banking functions of UCBs under
the provisions of Banking regulation Act, 1949(AACS). Within the Reserve Bank, a
separate department, viz. Urban Banks Department, has been entrusted with these
functions. Urban Banks Department functions in close coordination with other
regulators viz., RCSs and CRCS. The functions of the department is broadly divided
into
Regulatory
Supervisory
Developmental

State Bank of India (SBI) on 13 September 2014 celebrated 150 years of its operations
in Sri Lanka.
SBI Managing Director Krishna Kumar reaffirmed the banks commitment to partner
in Sri Lankas efforts in developing its economy.
India has committed large resources for the progress of Sri Lanka. Indian assistance
to Sri Lanka is in tune of 1.6 billion US dollars and one fourth of this is in form of direct
grant assistance while the rest is soft long-term loans for development projects.
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About State Bank of India, Colombo

State Bank of India, Colombo is operational since 1864. It was earlier a branch of
Bank of Hindustan, which was taken over by Bank of Madras in 1867. In 1921, Bank
of Madras was merged with the Imperial Bank of India. Subsequently in 1955, Imperial
Bank of India became State Bank of India.
The branch was mainly opened to handle the business of export of coffee and the
Government business. The branch is the oldest bank in the country.
The branch is located in a heritage building in the Fort area of Colombo, which is the
financial hub of Sri Lanka.
The branch is fully equipped with modern technology and with modern communication
facilities such as SWIFT etc. All the Branches are networked with each other.
Its catering mainly to the Corporate and Retail clients and the product range from
all types of deposit accounts, financing working capital, term loans, vehicle loans,
housing loans and trade finance.
RBI fixed the upper age limit at 70 years for M.D. and CEO in
private sector banks
The Reserve Bank of India on 9 September 2014 decided to fix the upper age limit at
70 years for Managing Directors (M.D) and Chief Executive Officers (CEO) in private
sector banks.
As per the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 under Section 196(3), it prescribed
that no company shall appoint or continue the employment of any person as managing
director, whole-time director or manager who is below the age of 21 years or has
attained the age of 70 years.
However, individual banks boards are free to prescribe a lower retirement age for
WTDs, including MD & CEO, as an internal policy.
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Earlier, no maximum age was specified and decisions were taken case by case.
The P J Nayak committee recommended a maximum age of 65 for private bank
CEOs. The committee was set up to review governance of boards of banks. The
committee had submitted its report in May 2014.
Background
The issue emerged when the board of Induslnd Bank cleared the extension of tenure
of Sobti by another three years. Sobti is M.D. and CEO of Induslnd Bank.
However, the RBI allowed only a years extension. The move triggered speculation
that the RBI wanted to fix the retirement age at 65.
The issue of retirement applied only to private banks as all public sector employees
have a fixed retirement age of 60 years. In banking, the only exceptions are RBI deputy
governors who have a maximum age limit of 62 years and the office of governor
where the age limit is 65.
Union Government launched New Payment Gateway Integrated

to e-Filing System
Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry on 8 September 2014 launched a New
Payment Gateway Integrated to e-Filing System of the Intellectual Property Office
of India (IPOI). It was launched by Amitabh Kant, Secretary, Department of Industrial
Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
The new facility will enable payment using internet banking, credit cards or debit
cards of more than 70 Banks as against internet banking of 2 banks earlier. This
will lead to increase in online filing of forms for patent and trademarks by 25 to 75
percent. Earlier all Forms was made available by Intellectual Property Office (IPO).
Other initiatives with regard to IPOI launched by Secretary, DIPP

IP Expressions: First issue of IP Expressions released. It is a technical magazine that
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will provide a platform for the officials of IPO to share the knowledge and experience
gained in the field of intellectual property.
New office of IPOI: A new office building of IPOI in New Delhi inaugurated. The building
is dedicated to the functioning of the IPOI as International Searching Authority (ISA)
and International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA) under the Patent Cooperation
Treaty (PCT).
The ISA/IPEA building is constructed under plan scheme of Modernization and
Strengthening of Intellectual Property Offices at an expenditure of 30.2 crore rupees.
Stock and Flow: Stock and Flow is the latest innovation in transparency offered by
the IPOI. As a result, this facility now stands extended to patents also which was
earlier available for trademarks only. Through this facility the work happening in the
entire Patent office is being thrown open to the world.
The stock and flow in the Patent Offices at different locations is shown on a real
time basis on the official website and through this facility the work happening in the
entire Patent office is being thrown open to the world. Thus, IPOI is the first among
intellectual property offices across the world to achieve this ultimate transparency.

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 11 September 2014 censured
Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) for its conduct in share sale of National Mineral
Development Corporation (NMDC) worth 6000 crore rupees through Offer for Sale
(OFS).
The censure was issued by SEBI after it found BSE guilty of lapses while conducting
share sale of 39.65 crores worth 6000 rupees offered by NMDC through OFC.
BSE in its order passed by Prashant Bhushan, the whole time member of the SEBI,
in Mumbai further asked BSE
To engage one or more independent consultants to review the entire sequence of
events in the matter, the process followed, checks in place, systems employed
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while accepting the OFS bids by BSE.
The Consultant should bring out the shortcomings, if any, and suggest remedial
measures within a period of three months.
BSE shall make a report to its Board, under intimation to SEBI within a further
period of three months as to how the recommendations of the Consultant have
been implemented including the action as directed.
Securities and Exchange Board of India is advised to conduct a detailed probe
into the confirmation of bids by Citibank N.A.
The Case
NMDC on 12 December 2014 offered 39.65 crore equity shares of the company
through the OFS mechanism of BSE and National Stock Exchange (NSE). After the
closure of issue, SEBI sought the bid data from BSE and NSE so as to ascertain the
final cumulative bid.
However, on receiving the final cumulative bid, SEBI found a difference of about 4.55
crore equity shares and sought a clarification from BSE on 13 December 2012.
In its reply to SEBI on 24 December 2012, BSE stated that the difference in the final
cumulative bid was due to the fact that it was not able to upload the bid of Citibank
for 4.55 crore equity shares worth 902 crore rupees on time.
The bids could not be uploaded on the exchange system in time, on account of an
inadvertent human error and due to large volume of bids received in the last half
an hour before the close of trading i.e. prior to 03.30 PM. Therefore, Citibank was
permitted to formally confirm the bid for 4.55 crore shares in the system between
06.22 PM to 06:30 PM.
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Union Government launched RVC service for smooth transportation of perishable goods
Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh on 11 September 2014 launched
the Reefer Vehicle Call-in-Centre (RVC) for smooth transportation of perishable
goods. The RVC will facilitate in creation of a database of bottlenecks and their types
experienced during the transportation of goods on the national highways.
The database that will be created on the basis of response generated from this
exercise will help in devising long term plans and policies to alleviate bottlenecks
and thus control inflation in prices of perishable goods in the country.
RVC is a joint initiative of the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, National
Centre for Cold-chain Development (NCCD) and Mahindra Logistics.
How RVCs will be helpful in dealing with bottlenecks?

With the launch of the RVCs, the vehicles (more than 30000) that carry perishable
goods like vegetables, fruits, dairy products, poultry, pharmaceuticals and others
can register their complaints related to the bottlenecks like extortion, transit delays,
harassment and others on toll free number 18002676223.
The information provided by the RVC would help transporters to en-route trips away
from critical zones and improve service options for refrigerated transport services.
Overall, the actions that will be taken on the basis of the complaints received would
help in minimizing wastage that occurs due to delay in transportation of perishable
goods. Thus in future it will also help in devising and developing other modes of long
haul transport of farm produce.
The toll free calls will be handled by Mumbai-based Reefer Vehicle Call-in-Centre
(RVC) that has been developed jointly by NCCD and Mahindra Logistics.
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Highest percentage of hired workers in India is in Arunachal
Pradesh: 6th Economic Census
Highest percentages of hired workers in India are present in Arunachal Pradesh. This
was revealed by the provisional results of the 6th Economic Census All India Report
2013 released on 9 September 2014.
According to the report, even in sectors like education and health, Arunachal Pradesh
has the highest percentage of hired workers among all States. The percentage of
female hired workers in Arunachal Pradesh is 30.3 percent.
Other highlights of 6th Economic Census related to Arunachal Pradesh

The total number of establishments in the state is 36602. Out of these, 19288 are
in rural areas and 17314 are in urban areas.
The growth rate of establishments at all India level was 41.73 per cent, while at the
state level it was 34.09 per cent.
The growth rate in the number of establishments over the fifth Economic Census
is 34.09 per cent and that of total employment is 17.73 per cent.
The average number of workers per establishments in Arunachal Pradesh was
found to be higher than the national average. This is despite the fact that the State
has the lowest population density and sparse workforce.
The growth rate of total number of persons employed at the State level was
recorded at 17.73 percent as against All India level of 34.73 percent over 5th
Economic Census 2005.
The number of establishments in urban areas in the State increased at 83.22
percent. This is more than three times the population growth in the State.
The growth in urban areas in the State between 5th Economic Census 2005 and
6th Economic Census 2013 is due to notifying of 10 districts or SDO headquarters
having concentration of establishment as urban areas.
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In rural areas, the increase in number of establishment in the State during 2005
to 2013 was 8.08 percent which is three times less than the population growth in
the State.
The average number of workers per establishments was found to be higher than
the national average in spite of the having the lowest population density and
sparse workforce.
About 6th Economic Census 2013

The 6th Economic Census has been a joint effort of Central Statistics Office (CSO)
and Directorates of Economics and Statistics (DES) of States and Union Territories.
It was conducted on All India basis during January 2013 to April 2014.
The activities covered in the Sixth Economic Census have a share of about 86%
in total GDP of the country.
The Economic Census (EC) enumerated all establishments engaged in various
agricultural and non-agricultural activities excluding crop production, plantation,
public administration, defence and compulsory social security.
Main Highlights:
Enumeration Blocks of Population Census, 2011 were used as the primary
geographical units for collection of data
Data for handicraft/handloom establishments were collected for the first time.
Total number of establishments counted is about 58.5 million.
Nearly 59.9 percent of the establishments belong to rural areas.
About 20.5 percent of the establishments operate from outside household without
fixed structure.
About 3.8 percent of the establishments are engaged in handicraft/ handloom
activities.
Growth rate in number of establishments over Fifth EC (2005) is 41.7 percent
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Total number of persons employed is about 128 million with rural share of 51.9
percent
Percentage of hired workers is about 45.7 percent
Percentage of female workers is 25.6 percent
Growth rate in total employment over Fifth EC (2005) is 34.4 percent
About Economic Census

Economic Census (EC) is the complete count of all establishments (i.e. units engaged
in production and/or distribution of goods and services not for the purpose of sole
consumption) located within the geographical boundaries of the country. In India five
Economic Censuses have been conducted in the past. These were conducted during
1977, 1980, 1990, 1998 and 2005.
CCEA approved stake sale in CIL, ONGC abd NHPC

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by the Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on 10 September 2014 approved the disinvestment of the stake of
Coal Indian Limited (CIL), Oil and Natural Gas Company (ONGC) and National Hydro
Power Corporation (NHPC). The stakes of the three organisations will be sold to
garner a combined 43 thousand crore rupees.
The CCEA has cleared disinvestment of 10 percent stake of CIL, 5 percent in ONGC
and 11.36 percent in NHPC.

Moodys Analytics released the report titled India Outlook: Prospects Brighten in the
second week of September 2014. In the report, it stated that Indias growth prospects
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brightened with growth rate expected to accelerate to 5.2 percent in 2014 and 6.5
percent by end of 2015.
The report also stated that the downside risks have receded around the external
sector and fiscal deficit but inflation remained high in the economy.
The above forecast came following the GDP growth touching a level of 5.7 percent in
April-June 2014 quarter. This growth rate was witnessed after two years.
Moreover, Moodys Analytics predicted that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will not
cut the interest rates in 2014. It foresees an initial interest rate cut in the second
quarter of 2015. However, it depends on the strength of the recovery, the monsoon
rainfall and the subsequent path of inflation.
Recommendations of Moodys Analytics in India Outlook: Prospects Brighten

The report by Moodys Analytics suggested that the policymakers should have their
eyes on the longer term gains rather than seeking short-term gains.
However, it recommended for more economic reforms in India. The reforms could
help the economy in achieving 7-8 percent annual GDP growth sustainably.
The approved disinvestment will be made from remaining percentage of government
shares in the organisation that are
Disinvestment of 10 percent paid-up equity capital in Coal India Ltd. (CIL) out
of the Government of Indias shareholding of 89.65 percent. At present market
prices, the 10 percent stakes would garner 23000 crore rupees.
The disinvestment of 5 percent paid-up capital in Oil & Natural Gas Corporation
Ltd. (ONGC) out of the Government of Indias shareholding of 68.94 percent. At
present market prices, the 10 percent stakes would garner 18000 crore rupees.
The disinvestment of 11.36 percent paid up equity capital of NHPC Ltd. out of the
Government of Indias shareholding of 85.96 percent. At present market prices,
the 10 percent stakes would garner 2800 crore rupees.
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Union Government on 4 September 2014 approved 7 percent hike in Dearness
Allowance (DA) to Central Government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to
pensioners. The notification of DA and DR will be effective from 1 July 2014.
This hike is an increase over the existing rate of 100 percent of the Basic Pay or Pension
to compensate for price rise. This means that the DA has reached to 107 percent of
the Basic Pay and the hike would benefit more than 30 lakh central employees and
about 50 lakh pensioners.
In the current financial year period of July 2014 till February 2015, the decision will
cost to the public exchequer around 12818 crore rupees. DA will be of approximately
7691 crore rupees per annum and that of the DR would be 5127 crore rupees.
The decision of hiking the Dearness Allowance was taken at the Cabinet meeting that
was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. The announced increase
is in accordance to the accepted formulae based on recommendations of the 6th
Central Pay Commission.
Other decisions taken during the Cabinet Meet

Nod for the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for co-operation in the field of
traditional systems of medicine and homoeopathy between India and Bangladesh
the nod will not have any additional financial implications, as the financial
resources to conduct research, training courses, conferences and meetings
will be met from the existing allocated budget and existing plan schemes of the
Department of AYUSH
Nod was given to a proposal for constituting a four member Ministerial panel to give
recommendations for setting up a green regulator in the Environment and Forest
Ministry - the proposed regulator will grant green clearances, appraise projects,
enforce environmental norms for approvals and impose penalties on polluters
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India slipped to 71st position out of 144 countries by losing 11 places in the global
competitiveness list of Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF) that came on 3
September 2014.
India stood at the lowest position among the BRICS countries. Among BRICS
countries, China stood at one place with 28th spot, Russia stood at 2nd place with
rank at 53rd position followed by South Africa (56th rank) and Brazil (57th rank).
The decline of 11 places poses challenge for the Indian government to improve
competitiveness and revive the economy. However, in Global Competitiveness Report
2013-2014, India ranked at 60th position.
India was ranked third globally only in one aspect- Market Size. A rank of 1-7 is
considered among best in the world.
Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) of India

India stood at 71st position in GCI with the score of 4.2 out of 7. The three basic
parameters that decide the rankings are:
Basic Requirements: India stood at 92nd position in Basic Requirements category
with the score of 4.2. The basic requirement is of 60 percent that includes institutions,
infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health and primary education.
Efficiency Enhancers: India stood at 61st position in efficiency enhancers scoring 4.2.
Efficiency Enhancers contribute 35 percent for the evaluation of the GCI. It includes
higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labour market efficiency,
financial market development, technological readiness and market size.
Innovation and Sophistication Factors: India stood at 52nd position in Innovation and
Sophistication Factors scoring 3.9. Innovation and Sophistication Factors contribute
5 percent for the evaluation of the GCI. It includes business sophistication and
innovation factors.
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The problematic factors behind the slide in Indias position are- Access to financing, Tax
rates, Foreign currency regulations, Corruption, Inadequate supply of infrastructure,
Policy Instability, Inefficient government bureaucracy, Inflation, Restrictive labour
regulations, Government instability, Inadequately educated workforce, Poor work
ethics, Crime and theft, Tax Regulations and Poor public health
Top ten rankings in the Global Competitiveness List

As per the Global Competitiveness Report 2014-15, Switzerland stood first in the list.
Other countries in the top ten are:
Singapore- 2nd rank
United States- 3rd rank
Finland- 4th rank
Germany- 5th rank
Japan- 6th rank
Hong Kong SAR- 7th rank
Netherlands- 8th rank
United Kingdom- 9th rank
Sweden- 10th rank
WEFs annual Global Competitiveness Index

Global Competitiveness Report was launched in 1979 by Klaus Schwab, Founder and
Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum. Initially, it covered 16 countries.
However, 144 countries were included in the Global Competitiveness Report 201415.
The Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) is an yearly report published by the World
Economic Forum. Since 2004, the Global Competitiveness Report ranked countries
based on the Global Competitiveness Index. The report assesses the ability of
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countries to provide high levels of prosperity to their citizens.
The rankings are based on scores covering 12 categories- institutions, infrastructure,
macroeconomic environment, health and primary education, higher education
and training, goods market efficiency, labour market efficiency, financial market
development, technological readiness, market size, business sophistication and
innovation.
CAD narrowed down to 1.7 per cent of GDP in Q1 of 2014-15:

RBI
Reserve Bank of India on 1 September 2014 released the data on Balance of Trade
and Balance of Payments.
According to the Balance of Trade data, Current Account Deficit (CAD) of India
narrowed down sharply to 1.7 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the
Quarter 1 (Q1) of the fiscal year 2014-15 as compared to 4.8 percent in the Q1 of
2013-14. Q1 refers to the period AprilJune.
In absolute terms, the CAD in Q1 of 2014-15 was US$ 7.8 billion as compared to US$
21.8 billion in Q1 of 2013-14.
However, CAD was higher than 0.2 percent of GDP (US$ 1.2 billion) in the Quarter 4
(January-March) of 2013-14.
Reasons for Narrowing of CAD

The narrowing down of CAD in Q1 of 2014-15 was mainly on account of reduction
in trade deficit (contributed by increase in exports and decline in imports), and a
steep decline in gold imports.
Decline in imports was primarily led by a steep 57.2 percent fall in gold imports,
which was significantly lower than US$ 16.5 billion in the April-June quarter of
2013-14.
Trade deficit contracted by about 31.4 per cent to US$ 34.6 billion in Q1 of 2014September 2014 | www.jagranjosh.com
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15, from US$ 50.5 billion in Q1 of 2013-14.
Exports increased by 10.6 percent in the first quarter of 2014-15 to US$ 81.7
billion. Imports moderated by 6.5 percent to US$ 116.4 billion.
The CAD had touched a record high of US$ 87.8 billion (4.8 percent) in 2012-13 fiscal
mainly on account of steep increase in gold imports. After government imposed
import restrictions on the precious metal, the CAD for the entire fiscal 2013-14 had
narrowed down to US$ 32.4 billion (1.7 percent).
RBI data on Balance of Payments

As per the Balance of Payments (BoP) data released on September 1, 2014, both net
foreign direct investment and net portfolio investment recorded inflows in the first
quarter of 2014-15.
While net inflow on account of portfolio investment was US$12.4 billion, net FDI
inflow was substantially higher at US $8.2 billion.
Net inflows of NRI deposits amounted to $2.4 billion in Q1 of 2014-15 as compared
to $5.5 billion in the Q1 of 2013-14.
This is the third straight quarter in which there has been a net addition to foreign
exchange reserve, reflecting an improvement in the BoP situation.
RBI issued guidelines on implementation of Basel III Capital

Regulations
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 1 September 2014 issued guidelines on
implementation of Basel III Capital Regulations. The issued guidelines are to facilitate
raising of non-equity regulatory capital instruments by banks under Basel III framework.
The guidelines are applicable with immediate effect from 1 September 2014.
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Guidelines
Banks can issue the instruments with the principal loss absorption through either
(i) conversion into common shares or (ii) write-down mechanism (temporary or
permanent) which allocates losses to the instruments.
Banks should ensure that the non-common equity capital instruments issued by
them meet all the eligibility criteria such as legal, accounting and operational etc.,
in order for such instruments to be recognised as regulatory capital instruments.
The Call option on Additional Tier 1 instrument Non-Cumulative Preference Shares
(PNCPS) and Perpetual Debt Instruments (PDI) will be permissible at the initiative
of the issuer after the instrument has run for at least five years. At present, the Call
option on the PNCPS and PDI respectively is permissible only after the instrument
has run for at least ten years.
Banks can issue Tier 2 capital instruments that are Redeemable Non-Cumulative
Preference Shares (RNCPS) and Redeemable Cumulative Preference Shares
(RCPS) with a minimum original maturity of at least five years compared to ten
years at present.
Banks can issue Tier 2 debt capital instruments (Perpetual Cumulative Preference
Shares / Redeemable Non-Cumulative Preference Shares / Redeemable
Cumulative Preference Shares) to retail investors, subject to the board approval.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 1 September 2014 asked banks to set a timeline
to process loans. The direction was issued to expedite credit decision. However, RBI
didnt set any particular time frame for it.
Apart from this, RBI also asked banks to make suitable disclosures about time
lines by conveying credit decisions through their websites and notice boards. In its
notification, the central bank said that Banks should clearly delineate the procedure
for disposal of loan proposals, with appropriate timelines, and institute a suitable
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monitoring mechanism for reviewing applications pending beyond the specified
period.
The decision was made by RBI after it noticed inordinate delays by banks in conveying
credit decisions, leading to delays in project implementation.
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ENVIRONMENT | ECOLOGY
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) on 30 September 2014 released the Living Planet Report
2014. The theme of the report is Species and Spaces, People and Places.
The report provides the data compiled on over 10000 vertebrate species populations
from 1970 to 2010 through the Living Planet Index - a database maintained by the
Zoological Society of London.
The report also includes WWFs One Plant Perspective with strategies to preserve,
produce and consume more wisely.
Main Highlights of the Report

Creatures across land, rivers and the seas has decimated due to human activities
like killing for food in unsustainable numbers and polluting or destroying their
habitants.
Populations of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles have declined by 52
percent since 1970
Freshwater species have declined by 76 percent. The decline is an average loss
thats nearly twice as that of land and saltwater marine species.
It says that human consumption of natural resources at the present rate would
require 1.5 Earths to produce the resources necessary to support our current
demand
It also highlighted the differences in consumption and biodiversity loss between
nations and regions. It stated that the low-income countries have the smallest
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footprint but suffer the greatest ecosystem losses
The wildlife decline was worst in the tropics with a 56 percent drop as compared
temperate regions that faced the drop by 36 percent
Latin America suffered the most drastic losses with an overall decline of 83 percent
It highlights the terrible situations for local populations due to increasing water
scarcity mainly in countries like India, Australia and the United States that has
highest water footprint of production and contains 8 of the top 10 most populous
river basins
The report finds that humans are cutting timber much more quickly than trees
regrow, pumping freshwater faster than groundwater restocks, and releasing
carbon dioxide into the atmosphere faster than nature can sequester it.
The 10 countries with the largest per capita Ecological Footprints are: Kuwait,
Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Denmark, Belgium, Trinidad and Tobago, Singapore,
United States of America, Bahrain and Sweden.
About Living Planet Report 2014

The Living Planet Report 2014 is the tenth edition of WWFs biennial flagship
publication. The partners of the Living Planet Report are Zoological Society of London,
Global Footprint Network and Water Footprint Network.
The reports measure of humanitys Ecological Footprint is provided by the Global
Footprint Network.

Volcano Mount Ontake in Japan erupted on 27 September 2014 killing more than 30
people and injuring as many people.
The volcano, which is a popular destination for religious pilgrimages, erupted when
many hikers were out enjoying the beautiful start to the weekend and the autumn
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hiking season.
The eruption led to pouring in of smoke and ash hundreds of meters into the sky. Ash
was found on cars as far as 80km away.
The volcano erupted despite showing no indication that it was about to erupt with
such force. An official at the volcano division of the meteorological agency said that
although there had been a rising number of small earthquakes detected at Ontake
since 10 September 2014, the eruption could not have been predicted easily.
There were no other signs of an imminent eruption, such as earth movements or
changes on the mountains surface.
Geoscience of the Ontake Eruption

Japan is at a triple-plate subduction boundary between the Eurasian continental
plate and the Philippine and Pacific oceanic plates.
As the denser oceanic plates dive below the low-density continental plate, water
from the saturated sediments lowers the melting point of surrounding rock. That
magma feeds a range of volcanoes mirroring the plate boundary.
History of Eruption of Mount Ontake

Last major eruption of Mount Ontake happened during October 1979 to April 1980.
Since then the volcano showed no signs of eruption, although a minor phreatic
eruption happened in 2007 and an unconfirmed similar eruption in 1991. Phreatic
eruptions are steam-driven explosions caused by magma heating groundwater.
The volcano has been placed under a Level 3 alert by Japanese Meteorological
Agency. The Level 3 alert warns everyone to stay away. It was put under Level 3
category in 1984 when the volcano had a major landslide which appeared to be
triggered by an earthquake independent of volcanic activity, although ash mixed in
the sediment likely increased the landslides mobility.
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About Mount Ontake
The mountain is popular with weekend hikers, particularly in September and October
when the autumn leaves are at their best. It is a popular site to view autumn foliage.
The mountain is located some 200 km west of Tokyo in between Nagano and Gifu
prefectures. Its peak is 3067m high and the mountain is a popular hiking route, dotted
with lodges, cabins and well-marked trails.
It is the second tallest volcano in the country second only to Mount Fuji. Mount
Ontake is also known as Ontakesan and Kiso-ontake.
Frequent Eruptions
Volcanoes erupt periodically in Japan. Japan is one of the worlds most seismically
active nations. There have been no fatalities since 1991, when 43 people died
in a pyroclastic flow, a superheated current of gas and rock, at Mount Unzen in
southwestern Japan.
Union government submitted Action Plan on Rejuvenation of

River Ganga to the SC
The Union Government on 22 September 2014 placed a blueprint of short, medium
and long term measures to restore the glory of the river Ganga before the Supreme
of India. The blueprint submitted in the court spreads over 18 years and investment
of thousands of crore rupees.
The affidavit of the blueprint for Ganga rejuvenation was submitted by the Union
Government after the Supreme Court of India on 13 August 2014 asked the Union
Government to come up with a stage-wise road-map to make river Ganga pollution
free.
Brief outline of the action plan on rejuvenation of River Ganga

The government in its affidavit of action plan envisages phase wise rejuvenation of
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the Ganga. It has divided the time line into terms and the terms are
Short term a period of three years
Medium term a period of next five years
Long term a period of next ten years and more
First, the Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga
Rejuvenation has identified seven river fronts namely Kedarnath, Haridwar, Varanasi,
Kanpur, Allahabad, Patna and Delhi for development of Ghats.
In medium term, Union Ministry of Urban Development has identified 118 urban
habitations to extend the coverage of sewage infrastructure. It also has plans to
make 1649 number of gram panchayat located on Ganga free from open defecation.
The total cost entailed to achieve these medium term goals has been kept at 51000
crore rupees.
The long term plan that would emerge from the Ganga River Basin Management
Plan would be prepared by consortium of seven IITs for restoring wholesomeness of
river Ganga in terms of defining concept of ensuring nirmal dhara, aviral dhara and
maintaining the geological and ecological integrity of the river.
The time line for completion of ongoing projects had been prepared in consultation
with five Ganga basin states which are primarily responsible for implementation of
projects for rejuvenation of the 2500 kilometer long Ganga.
Peoples Climate March organised worldwide against Climate

change
Peoples Climate March, a campaign to curb carbon emissions was organsied
on 21 September 2014 ahead of the United Nations climate summit. The climate
march attracted thousands of marchers in more than 2000 locations worldwide. The
participants were demanding urgent action on climate change.
UN chief Ban ki-moon also attended the march in Manhattan along with over 3 lakh
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other participants. The UN Secretary General was accompanied by primatologist
Jane Goodall and the French Ecology Minister, Segolene Royal. Hollywood actor
Leonardo DiCaprio also took part, having been appointed as a UN representative on
climate change on 16 September 2014.
Apart from this, the march witnessed huge demonstrations in Australia and Europe.
Whereas, the Climate march witnessed more than 2500 people from across India on
the streets of New Delhi making the march, this was the nations strongest ever call
for climate action.
About UN Climate Summit

UN Chief, Ban Ki-moon has invited world leaders, from government, finance, business,
and civil society to Climate Summit to galvanize and catalyze climate action. The
summit is supposed to be to be held on 23 September 2014 in New York.
At the United Nations climate summit in New York, the countries are supposed to
discuss and work toward reaching an international climate change accord at the end
of 2015 that would go into effect in 2020.
BNP Paribas on 18 September 2014 launched equity index linked green bond. It was
launched in collaboration with the World Bank which will help raise funds for products
seeking to mitigate climate change. It is the first equity index linked with green bond.
The details of the equity linked green bond

The 30 stock equity index will be linked to the World Bank Green Bond
It comprises of companies selected on the basis of their corporate sustainability
ratings.
The bond will have exposure to the performance of the Ethical Europe Equity
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Index.
The equity index-linked green bond is forward development of the green bond
market.
It will help expands the investor base to seeking to benefit from the financial
performance of a sustainable equity index, while supporting climate.
The stocks of equity index that are based on Environmental, Social and Governance
(ESG) performance, are selected from corporates analysed by Vigeo, a global ESG
rating agency.
About BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas is a French bank and financial services company with headquarters in
Paris, and a global headquarters in London.
BNP Paribas established its first branch in Kolkata in 1860 and is one of the leading
corporate banks in India. BNP Paribas Corporate and Investment business is an
active player in Fixed Income and Debt Capital Markets, Cash Management & Trade,
Corporate Finance and Institutional Equities.
Scientists warned Climate change will exacerbate the threat of

Megadroughts
Scientists warned that Climate change will exacerbate the threat of Megadroughts.
This was revealed in a report titled Assessing the risk of persistent drought using
climate model simulations and paleoclimate data published in September 2014 issue
of American Meterological Societys Journal of Climate. The lead author of the study
is Dr Toby Ault.
The report is the first to scientifically establish that climate change exacerbates the
threat of Megadroughts.
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Megadroughts
The term megadrought is generally used to describe the length of a drought, and not
its acute intensity. In scientific literature the term is used to describe decades-long
droughts or multi-decadal droughts.
They have historically been associated with prolonged La Nia conditions, which
create cooler than normal water temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean.
This reduces evaporation and, in turn, the amount of rainfall.
Threats of Megadroughts
Experts warned that the droughts could be even more severe than the prolonged
water shortage currently afflicting California. In California, residents have resorted to
stealing from fire hydrants amid mass crop failures and regular wildfires.
Megadroughts will become considerably more frequent as global warming increases
temperatures and reduces rainfall in regions already susceptible.
Without climate change, there would be a 5 to 15 per cent risk of a megadrought in
the south-west of the US this century. With it, the probability jumps to between 20
per cent and 50 per cent, with the southernmost part of the country particularly at
risk.
The threat megadroughts poses is so great that it could decimate the worlds economy
and food supply, inflicting a humanitarian crisis.
Effects of Megadroughts
Megadroughts have occurred periodically around the world in the past few thousand
years. In some cases it had caused civilisations to collapse, such as the ancient
Puebloan native-American tribes in the south-west of the US. They abandoned
their homes during a megadrought in the late 13th century and the Khmer empire of
Cambodia in the 14th century.
The fallout from future megadroughts will be even more severe because the global
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population is larger and the strain on water supplies is greater.
Global Warming susceptible to droughts

Global warming will make droughts evermore severe and devastating in the future.
The south-west of the US, southern Europe, much of Africa, India, Australia and
much of Central and South America could all have a drought that lasts decades.
Scientists warned that the continued global warming could lead to multiple regions
experiencing a hot megadroughts at the same time in the future. This could lead to
global economic, food and humanitarian shocks.
Union Government constituted a panel to review environment

laws
Union Government on 2 September 2014 constituted a high-level committee to
review five environment laws. The Cabinet Secretary T S R Subramanian will head
the committee comprising of four members.
The members of the committee are former Environment Ministry secretary Viswanath
Anand, Justice (Retd) A K Srivastav and senior advocate of Supreme Court K N Bhat.
The Environment Ministry asked the panel to submit its report regarding the
environment laws within two months.
Reasons behind setting up of the committee

The motive is to bring the environment laws in line with the current requirements
through amendments to achieve economic growth without compromising green
issues.
The panel will review 5 important green laws enacted between 1971 and 1986Environment (Protection) Act, 1986; Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980; Wildlife
(Protection) Act, 1972; The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974;
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The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
As per the Terms of Reference, the committee would evaluate the status of
implementation of each of the Acts with regard to the objectives.
It will also examine and take into account various court orders and judicial
pronouncements relating to these Acts.
Tea Board of India postponed the implementation of Plant Protection Code

The Tea Board of India decided on 31 August 2014 to postpone the full implementation
of the plant protection code (PPC) which was supposed to be effective from 1
September 2014.
The implementation of PPC has been postponed till January 2015, but some of other
provisions of the code will come into force from September 2014.
The decision to postpone the implementation of PPC was taken after the
representations made by the tea industry wherein they requested Tea Board to
postpone the three clauses of PPC notification for some more time because the
small tea growers needed more time.
The Plant Protection Code is a comprehensive document that lays down the manner
in which chemicals are going to be used safely, in tea cultivation.
The aim of PPC is to achieve sustainability through Good Agricultural Practices,
including integrated pest management by gradually reducing dependence on
chemicals.
The code was developed by the Tea Board to use safer, healthier and more environmentfriendly products.
Earlier in March 2014, the Tea Board issued a directive in this respect exercising its
powers under the Tea Marketing (Control) Order, 2003.
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SCIENCE | TECHNOLOGY
New Type of Brain Cell Discovered
Researchers discovered a strange new type of brain cell that sends signals by
bypassing the cell body altogether. The findings were published in journal Neuron on
17 September 2014.
The new cells were discovered in the hippocampus of a mouse. Humans have the
same general brain structure and types of hippocampus cells as mice.
Generally, in typical brain cell the branched dendrites receive electrical signals from
other neurons. These signals are passed onto other neurons along the axon once
they are processed.
Now, researchers discovered a brain cell shape where the axon arises directly from
one of the dendrites.
Research conducted by the neuroscientists

To study the effect of signals received at these axon-carrying dendrites, the team
injected a neurotransmitter called glutamate into the brain tissue of mice that can be
activated by light pulses. Using a high-resolution microscope, the team directed the
light beam directly to a specific dendrite and then activated the neurotransmitter to
simulate an input signal.
Resultantly, it was found that dendrites which are directly connected to the axon
actively propagate even small input stimuli and activate the neuron. This effect is
evident when the information flow from other dendrites to the axon is suppressed by
inhibitory input signals at the cell body.
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Information transmitted by this special dendrite influences the behaviour of the nerve
cell more than input from any other dendrite.
Unexpected findings
Neurons come in different shapes and sizes but the basic blueprint consists of a
cell body from which dendrites and axons protrude.
Dendrites are branchlike structures that receive signals from other nerve cells and
deliver them to the cell body. The neuron then processes the signals and moves
along information to the next cell via a long projection called the axon.
However , the newly discovered cells have a different unknown process. In these
cells, the signals skip the cell body altogether instead of travelling along an axon
that projects directly from one of the dendrites.
The team coloured the places of origin of axons of pyramidal cells in the
hippocampus, a brain region involved in memory. In more than half of the cells,
they found that the axon does not emerge from the cell body but originates at a
dendrite instead.
Unanswered question
However, after the discovery, a question loomed large that why these hippocampus
cells need these special bypasses that skip over the cell body. The unique shape
seems to make the cells stronger and less prone to situations when their responses
inhibit rather than neurons that operate on the traditional pathway.
However, it is still not yet clear which signals use this privileged channel and why.
Infosys Ltd signed agreements with Microsoft Corp, Hitachi

Data Systems and Huawei
Infosys Ltd on 18 September 2014 signed three partnership agreements with Microsoft
Corporation, Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) and China-based telecom vendor Huawei
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individually.
The agreement is signed for cloud, big data and Hitachi Data Systems. Infosys was
already in partnership with Microsoft Corporation and Hitachi Data Systems (HDS).
Highlights of the agreements:

Infosys expanded its decade-long partnership with Microsoft to help enterprises
in transforming their business. It will establish a global centre of excellence for
Microsoft Azure Machine Learning with capacity of training over 1000 engineers by
the end of 2014-15. With Hitachi Data Systems, Infosys will develop next-generation
infrastructure and data centre transformation solutions to enterprises. It will also
establish a centre of excellence to jointly create pay-per-use solutions with Hitachi
Data Systems.
The partnership between Infosys and Huawei will see a joint offering of cloud, Big
Data and communication solutions to enterprise customers with the help of Huaweis
Cloud infrastructure and Infosys global IT service expertise.
About Infosys Ltd

Established in 1981, Infosys is a NYSE listed global leader in consulting and IT
services. It is the first IT Company from India to be listed on NASDAQ.
It help enterprises to transform and thrive in a changing world through strategic
consulting, operational leadership, and the co-creation of breakthrough solutions.
It provides services in more than 30 countries.
On 22 May 2014, Infosys was awarded with the Gold Award for sustainable
buildings at the 2014 International Ashden Awards held in London.

A team of researchers from University of Colorado Cancer Center developed a new
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compound BQU57 to block protein Ral that aids in growth of cancers like pancreatic,
prostate, lung, colon and bladder cancers.
The study describing the development of this novel compound was published in the
journal Nature in the second week of September 2014. The lead author of the study
was Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD, professor of Urology and Pharmacology.
The Study
Firstly, the researchers set out to find what changes drove inactive Ral protein to
become active. They found that inactive Ral protein has a cavity that disappears
when the protein is activated. The team wanted a molecule that could act as a stick
to keep this cavity open.
Secondly, the team shortlisted 88 molecules out of 500000 potential compounds that
could have fit into this cavity. Thereafter, they conducted trials on human cancer cells
to find one molecule that could block the protein.
The Findings of the Study

The researchers found that some molecules reduced Ral activation in lung cancers.
One compound, namely RBC8 was the most successful in inactivating the protein in
metastasis form.
The team then refined their research and produced derivatives of RBC8. One such
derivative called BQU57 was more effective than the parent compound in blocking
the activity of Ral.
Importance of the Study

The study is a valuable first step in the development of a novel class of therapeutic
agents directed at Ral. The concept of targeting sites on proteins that collapse upon
activation, and whose collapse is required for activation, could in principle be used
to discover drugs aimed at other proteins driving human disease as well.
Scientists detected 13 lactic acid bacteria in raw honey with potential to fight wound
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Scientists from Sweden detected 13 lactic acid bacteria in raw honey with potential
to fight wound including Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
This was revealed by a study published in the International Wound Journal (IWJ)
in the second week of September 2014. The lead author of the study was Tobias
Olofsson, professor of Medical Microbiology at Lund University in Sweden.
The study found that these 13 lactic acid bacteria combined together are more
effective than conventional antibiotics in fighting deadly wound infections. The test
has already been effectively tested on horses and it may be a stepping stone towards
an alternative solution to antibiotics.
Scientists isolated 42 different pathogens in the open wounds of 22 patients like
Pseudomonas aeruginosa and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) as well as
MRSA and then treated them with the 13 lactic acid bacteria from honey. The results
are compared with antibiotics and may be even more effective against the growing
number of drug-resistant threads of common infections.
Antibiotics are mostly one active substance and effective against only a narrow
spectrum of bacteria. When used alive, these 13 lactic acid bacteria produce the
right kind of antimicrobial compounds as needed, depending on the threat.
Cambridge University scientists developed first graphene-based

flexible screen
Scientists at the Cavendish Laboratory of the Cambridge University for the first time
developed a graphene based flexible screen. The development will pave the way for
next generation of high-tech wearable and foldable electronic devices.
A flexible display incorporating graphene in its pixels electronics was successfully
demonstrated by Professor Andrea Ferrari, Director of the Cambridge Graphene
Centre and Plastic Logic.
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Graphene-based flexible screen
The new prototype is an active matrix electrophoretic display, similar to the screens
used in todays e-readers, except it is made of flexible plastic instead of glass.
In contrast to conventional displays, the pixel electronics, or backplane of this
display includes a solution-processed graphene electrode. It will replace the
sputtered metal electrode layer within Plastic Logics conventional devices which
will bring product and process benefits.
The new 150 pixel per inch backplane was made at low temperatures (less than
100 degrees Celsius) using Plastic Logics Organic Thin Film Transistor (OTFT)
technology.
The graphene electrode was deposited from solution and subsequently patterned
with micron-scale features to complete the backplane.
For this prototype, the backplane was combined with an electrophoretic imaging
film to create an ultra-low power and durable display.
Future demonstrations may incorporate liquid crystal (LCD) and organic light
emitting diodes (OLED) technology to achieve full colour and video functionality.
Importance of grapheme-based flexible screens

The prototype will accelerate the commercial development of graphene. It is a first
step towards the wider implementation of graphene and graphene-like materials
into flexible electronics.
The ultra-flexible graphene layer may enable a wide range of products, including
foldable electronics.
Lightweight flexible active-matrix backplanes may also be used for sensors, with
novel digital medical imaging and gesture recognition applications already in
development.
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About Graphene
Graphene is a two-dimensional material made up of sheets of carbon atoms. It is
among the strongest, most lightweight and flexible materials known, and has the
potential to revolutionise industries from health-care to electronics.
It is more flexible than conventional ceramic alternatives like indium-tin oxide (ITO)
and more transparent than metal films. It can also be processed from solution
bringing inherent benefits of using more efficient printed and roll-to-roll manufacturing
approaches.
In 2010, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov of Russia won the Nobel Prize for
research on graphene. Dr Novoselov is among the youngest winners of a prize that
normally goes to scientists with decades of experience.
The first evidence of water ice clouds was found on an object Brown Dwarf outside
the Solar System. The evidence was found by a team of scientists led by Jacqueline
K. Faherty and the findings were published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters dated
8 September 2014.
Faherty along with the team at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile used the
FourStar near-infrared camera to detect the coldest brown dwarf W0855. The findings
were the result of 151 images taken over three nights.
A comparison of the teams near-infrared images of W0855 with models for predicting
the atmospheric content of brown dwarfs showed the evidence of frozen clouds
of sulfide and water. Water ice clouds were seen around giant planets like Jupiter,
Saturn, Neptune and Uranus.
The object W0855 was first seen by NASAs Wide-Field Infrared Explorer mission.
However, it was the first time that it has been detected by Earth-based facilities.
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Brown dwarfs
Brown dwarfs fall between small stars and giant planets in size and mass. They
are too small to sustain the hydrogen fusion that fuels stars.
Moreover, the temperature of brown dwarfs can vary from being hot like a star to
cool as a planet.
Brown dwarfs offer clues to scientists about star-formation processes.
Brown dwarfs can be studied easily by scientists as they are generally found in
isolation.

A new solar power technology Electrodialysis unveiled in India in second week of
September 2014 that can turn undrinkable salty water into clean and filtered drinking
water.
The technology was unveiled by the researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT). The same technology can also be used for disaster relief and for
military use in remote locations.
About Electrodialysis
Electrodialysis works by passing a stream of water between two electrodes with
opposite charges.
The electrodes pull the ions out of the water as the salt dissolved in water consists
of positive and negative ions. It leaves fresher water at the center of the flow.
A series of membranes separate the freshwater stream from salty ones.
Unlike reverse-osmosis technology, the use of membranes in Electrodialysis is
exposed to lower pressures and can be cleared of salt by simply reversing the
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electrical polarity.
Reasons behind the need for desalinating drinking water

Approximately 60 percent of India contains salty water. Much of that area is
not served by an electric grid that could help run conventional reverse-osmosis
desalination plants.
Though moderately salty water is not directly toxic, but it can have long-term
effects on health. Its unpleasant taste can make people turn to other dirtier water
sources.
Many homes in India currently use home-based filtration systems to treat water.
But, the village-scale system will be more effective as it will become easy for
people to access filtered water.
By blending village-scale Electrodialysis systems with a simple set of solar panels,
enough water can be supplied to meet the needs of a village comprising 2000 to
5000 people.
Unit 5 of RAPS became second longest running nuclear reactor

of World
Unit 5 of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station on 6 September 2014 became the
second longest running reactor in the world.
The Unit 5 of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS) is a 220 MW Pressurised
Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR). The power station is in uninterrupted operation from
2 August 2012 and it has been operating at full power with a capacity factor of 105
per cent.
The unit 5 has been in operation for 765 days continuously. It has since then generated
around 4258 million units of electricity.
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Worlds first
Unit 7 of Canadas Pickering nuclear plant holds the world record of running the
largest operating plant that ran continuously for 894 days.
There are only 10 reactors in the world that have crossed 500 days of uninterrupted
operation.
About the plant

The plant was commissioned
in February 2010. It has been
running at the capacity of
98.5 per cent and until now
generated 8663 million units
of electricity.
RAPS
Unit
1
was
commissioned in August
1965 with a gross capacity of
100 MW.
Worlds first
Unit 7 of Canadas Pickering nuclear plant
holds the world record of running the largest
operating plant that ran continuously for 894
days.
There are only 10 reactors in the world that have
crossed 500 days of uninterrupted operation.
RAPS have 6 units of which five are in operation.

Work on units 7 and 8 are expected to be in operation by 2017-2018.
Massive 100 million year old ancient extinct volcano discovered

beneath Pacific Ocean
A massive 100 million-year-old ancient extinct volcano was discovered beneath the
Pacific Ocean.
Scientists discovered a new seamount near the Johnson Atoll in the Pacific Ocean
during a seafloor mapping mission.
The mapping mission aimed at helping delineate the outer limits of the US continental
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shelf.
About the seamount

The yet-unnamed sea-mount, located about 300 kilometres southeast of the
uninhabited Jarvis Island, lies in one of the least explored areas of the central Pacific
Ocean.
The summit of the seamount rises 1100 meters from the 5100 metre-deep ocean
floor.
Mr. Gardner and his team used multi-beam echo-sounder technology to create
detailed images of the seafloor. The team was able to map the conical seamount in
its entirety.
A seamount is typically formed from extinct volcanoes that rise abruptly and are
usually found rising from the seafloor.
About multi-beam echo-sounder technology

Multibeam sonar sounding systems is also known as swathe. It was originated for
military applications.
A multi-beam echo-sounder is a device typically used by hydrographic surveyors to
determine the depth of water and the nature of the seabed.
The Sonar Array Sounding System (SASS) was developed in the early 1960s by the
US Navy, in conjunction with General Instrument to map large swaths of the ocean
floor to assist the underwater navigation of its submarine force.
In order to determine the transmit and receive angle of each beam, a multi-beam
echo-sounder requires accurate measurement of the motion of the sonar relative to
a cartesian coordinate system. The measured values are typically heave, pitch, roll,
yaw, and heading.
To compensate for signal loss due to spreading and absorption a time-varied gain
circuit is designed into the receiver.
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For deep water systems a steerable transmit beam is required to compensate for
pitch, this can also be accomplished with beam forming.

Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) developed a rechargeable magnesium
metal battery. The discovery was announced by the ICCT under Council of Scientific
& Industrial Research (CSIR), Hyderabad on 3 September 2014.
The rechargeable Magnesium battery was developed by a team led by Vatsala
Rani. The battery is a substitute to lead acid battery and has advantages like ecofriendliness and is cost effectiveness as compared to conventional lead acid battery.
About Magnesium battery

The new battery utilizes eco-friendly materials such as modified natural graphite
(cathode), magnesium (anode), and ionic liquid electrolyte. These are both safe
and abundantly available.
The battery replaces highly toxic lead acid batteries with the eco-conscious
rechargeable magnesium battery.
The new battery with natural graphite cathode is safe, cost effective and best
applicable for stationary applications like UPS and inverter.
The Mg-ions from the anode diffuse into the graphite layers of the cathode during
discharge and while charging they revert to the anode.
The ionic liquid used as electrolyte was prepared in-house. The liquid was found
to be stable and non-corrosive at room temperature.
The electrode materials are reusable and also biodegradable.
The cycle life of the battery is established for 800 to 900 cycles and the shelf life
of the battery is estimated to be 2-3 years.
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About Lead acid battery
Lead compounds are extremely toxic and its long term exposure to even tiny amounts
of these compounds can cause problems like brain and kidney damage, hearing
impairment, and learning problems in children. Lead acid battery can be recycled
and it is possible to prevent lead emission.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on 5 September 2014 announced to use
the Ebola survivors blood to treat Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). The announcement
was done in Geneva. It is an experimental Ebola treatment as there is no licensed
treatment.
Experts opined that the antibodies in the blood of people who have survived Ebola
might help other patients stave off the virus long enough for their own immune
systems to respond. It was noted that survivors blood was first used to treat Ebola
patients in a 1995 outbreak in rural conditions of Africa.
But, the blood from survivors would have to be screened for HIV, malaria and other
diseases before being used as a treatment.
About Blood medicine

Studies on the 1995 outbreak of Ebola in Democratic Republic of Congo showed
seven out of eight people survived after being given the blood therapy.
People, who survived from Ebola produces antibodies in their blood to combat
Ebola infection. In theory, those antibodies can be transferred to a sick patient to
give a boost to their immune system.
About Ebola virus disease (EVD)

High fever, Internal or external bleeding and central nervous system damage are
the main symptoms of Ebola.
Infected to other through blood and saliva
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Virus takes two to 21 days to incubate.
There is no proven vaccine or cure
Fruit bats are considered to be viruss natural host.
Japan Researchers developed new method called RT-LAMP to

detect Ebola virus
Japan researchers at Nagasaki University on 2 September 2014 developed a new
method called RT-LAMP to detect the presence of the Ebola virus in 30 minutes. To
develop the method Japan researchers headed by Prof Jiro Yasuda collaborated
with Eiken Chemical.
The RT-LAMP (reverse transcription-loop-mediated isothermal amplification)
technique by synthesising and amplifying the DNA of the Ebola virus detected the
Ebola virus, as well as the viruses of Marburg hemorrhagic fever and Lassa fever.
The new method developed is cheap and simple and it can be used in places where
the testing equipments are expensive.
The need to develop the method was necessitated by the outbreak of Ebola virus
disease in the West African countries of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
The Ebola disease has so far engulfed more than 1400 lives.
How the Ebola was detected?

The researchers first developed a primer to amplify only those genes specific to the
Ebola virus. The primer was developed by selecting six sections of genes of five
types of the virus in which the difference in the base sequences was fewest.
Then to determine the presence of Ebola virus in the blood sample, the researchers
detoxified the blood to prevent infection. Thereafter, RNA was extracted from any
viruses present in the sample and used to synthesize DNA. The synthesised DNA
was then mixed with the primers and other substances and placed in a transparent
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plastic tube. Next, the liquid was heated to 60-65 degree Celsius.
If Ebola is present, DNA specific to the virus is amplified in about 30 minutes due
to the action of the primers. The by-products from this process cause the liquid to
become cloudy, providing visual confirmation of detection.
RT-LAMP technique versus PCR technique

RT-Lamp technique is far better than Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). In the
PCR method, which is currently used to detect Ebola virus, the DNA is amplified
by subsequently cooling and heating. The procedure takes one to two hours and
requires dedicated equipment and a stable supply of electricity, making it difficult to
use in regions with poor power infrastructure.
On the other hand, RT-LAMP method uses a small, battery-powered warmer to detect
the Ebola virus which can be used in Ebola-affected regions in developing countries.
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SPORTS
Europe on 28 September 2014 won the 40th Ryder Cup in Gleneagles, Scotland.
Europe defeated United States by 16 points to 11. The team captains were Paul
McGinley for Europe and Tom Watson for the USA.
Europe took 10-6 lead over the United States into final day of Ryder Cup.
Europe has now won eight of the last 10 Ryder Cups. Europe was the defending cup
holders, having defeated the USA in 2012 at Medinah.
The 40th Ryder Cup Matches were held from 2628 September 2014 on the PGA
Centenary Course at the Gleneagles Scotland.
This was the second time that Scotland hosted the Ryder Cup. First time, the
competition was held at Muirfield in 1973.
Leander Paes and Marcin Matkowski on 28 September 2014 won the ATP Malaysian
Open mens doubles title. The fourth seeded Indo-Polish duo defeated the second
seed Briton-Australian partner, Jamie Murray and John Peers 3-6, 7-6(5), 10-5 in the
summit clash played at Kuala Lumpur.
This was the first title of the season for Indias tennis ace Paes and 54th ATP title of
his career. The win gave 250 ranking points to Paes and 25065 US dollars as prize
money. For Matkopwski, this was second Malaysian Open crown. He first lifted the
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trophy in 2009 with Mariusz Fyrstenberg.
Matkowski is the 98th different doubles partner for Paes, who helped him to clinch
the 54th ATP title of his career.
BCCI extended tenure of Ravi Shastri as team India Director till

2015 World Cup
The Board of Cricket for Control in India (BCCI) Working Committee on 26 September
2014 extended Ravi Shastris tenure as Director of Indian Cricket team till end of
2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. The ICC Cricket World Cup is to be played in Australia
and New Zealand from 14 February to 29 March 2015.
The decision of retaining 52-year-old former India all-rounder Shastri as the Director
was made during the BCCI Working Committee meet.
Other decisions taken during the BCCI Working Committee meet were
The Committee decided to hold its Annual General Meeting in Chennai on 20
November 2014
It was decided to continue with the services of Coach Duncan Fletcher till the
World Cup
The committee rewarded the Indian support staff trio of Sanjay Bangar, Bharath
Arun and R Sridhar with contracts till the end of the World Cup.
Shastri was appointed as the Director of Indian Cricket team on 19 August 2014
during Indias tour to England after MS Dhoni led Indian cricket team lost the fivematch test-series, 1-3. Apart from Shastri, BCCI during Indias tour to England
appointed Sanjay Bangar, former all-rounder and Bharat Arun, former Indian pacer
as the assistant coaches of the Indian Cricket Team. Whereas, R Sridhar, a former
Ranji Trophy player for Hyderabad as the Fielding Coach of the Indian Cricket Team
for the ODI series.
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International Cricket Council (ICC) on 23 September 2014 announced that ICC World
Cricket League (WCL) Division 3 will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The World
Cricket League Division 3 will be held from 23 to 30 October 2014.
The ICC World Cricket League Division three 2014, forms part of the ICC World
Cricket League and qualification for the World Cup 2019. Bermuda, Malaysia, Nepal,
Singapore, Uganda and the USA are the six teams competing in World Cricket League.
Uganda was supposed to host the six-team competition from 26 October 2 November
2014 due to security reasons the event has been shifted from Uganda to the Malaysia.
In 2013, World Cricket League Division 3 was held in Bermuda, UK. The six teams
participated were Bermuda, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Uganda and the USA are
the six teams competing.
Marvan Atapattu appointed as head coach of Sri Lankan cricket

team
Sri Lankan Cricket Board on 24 September 2014 appointed the former national
cricket team captain Marvan Atapattu as the head coach of the national team with
immediate effect.
Atapattus name was unanimously approved for the post by the executive committee
of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). However, SLC doesnt disclose the terms and tenure of
his appointment.
With this appointment, Atapattu became Sri Lankas first full-time local coach in 15
years. The last Sri Lankan full-time coach of the national team was Roy Dias in 1999.
Apart from this, Atapattu is the seventh coach to be appointed by Sri Lanka in
past since 2010. The other six coaches were Trevor Bayliss, Stuart Law, Rumesh
Ratnayake, Geoff Marsh, Graham Ford and Farbrace.
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At the time of appointment, 43-year-old Atapattu was serving the Sri Lankan cricket
team as the interim coach after resignation of Englishman Paul Farbrace in April
2014. Under Attapattus guidance, the Sri Lankan won a test series in England and
test and one-day series at home against Pakistan.
On the other hand, Chief Selector Sanath Jayasuriya resigned from the committee
selecting the coach without citing any reason.
Union Ministry of Sports inaugurated National Academies for

Athletics & Golf in Thiruvananthapuram
Union Ministry of Sports inaugurated National Academy for Athletics and National
Golf Academy at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. It was inaugurated by the Union
Minister of State for Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, Youth Affairs and Sports,
Sarbananda Sonowal on 22 September 2014.
National Academy for Athletics

The National Academy for Athletics will give training for sub junior, junior and senior
athletes selected across the country by the expert coaches including foreign ones.
The Academy has been established as the first Academy in Sports in the country
under Public-Private Partnership with M/s. JSW.
National Golf Academy

Initially 20 children selected in the age group of 8 to 14 from various schools in Kerala
for National Gold Academy. This will be the first batch of Golfers in the Academy.
In India, golf has become an Olympic discipline and India will participate in next
Olympics in Rio in Brazil from 2016 onwards.
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Hockey India (HI) on 19 September 2014 inducted Hockey Village India (HVI) as an
Academy Member to reach out to underprivileged children who are keen to make a
career in the sport.
At present, Hockey India has 26 permanent Members, 23 associate Members, one
Member through State Olympic Associations, eight Academy Members and one
Hoc-Key Member.
Hockey India has always strived to reach the underprivileged children those who in
spite of having the talent cannot reach the big platform. Now the HVI on board will
strengthen work towards reaching out and identifying the talent.
About Hockey India

Hokey India is the governing body of field hockey in India. The objectives of HI are
to promote and encourage the game of hockey, organize and control the game of
hockey in India. It will affiliate with and adhere to and abide by the statues, Bye laws,
rules and regulations and jurisdiction of International Hockey Federation (FIH), Asian
Hockey Federation (AHF) and Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
About Hockey Village India

The Hockey Village India was established by Andrea Thumshirn of Germany at
Garh Himmat Singh, District Dausa in Rajasthan in 2010.
HVI works towards the better future of underprivileged children in rural India
in terms of sports and education. HVI creates the awareness of hockey in the
surrounding areas and started training boys and girls who are Under-14 and U-16
tournaments.
In 2013, HVI opened its own school to provide proper education and sporting
facilities to budding players. Some German hockey players are also volunteering
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to train young kids.
HVI adopted Bhusawal Railway Boys (Maharashtra) and two more schools in
South Goa in January 2014.
Sardar Singh became Indias flag bearer at 17th Asian Games

opening
Sardar Singh on 19 September 2014 became Indias flag bearer at 17th Asian Games
opening. Sardar Singh is the captain of Indian Hockey team.
Sardar singh lead the Indian Contingent of 130 Indian athletes as the organizers had
put the limitations of 130 persons from any country to be participated in the opening
ceremony.
The strength of Indian contingent was 679, which included 516 athletes.
About Sardar Singh

Sardar Singh is an Indian professional field hockey player. He is the current captain
of the Indian national team.
He usually played the center half position. He became the youngest player to captain
the Indian team when he led the side at the 2008 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
Chinas Grand Slam winner Li Na announced retirement

Chinas Grand Slam winner Li Na on 19 September 2014 announced her retirement
at the age of 32. She is Asias greatest and most influential tennis player.
The reason behind this decision is her over persistent knee injuries. She already
underwent four knee surgeries due to the injuries she got while playing tennis.
Moreover, Li was also hit by a heavy blow when her inspirational coach Carlos
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Rodriguez ended their partnership in July 2014.
About Li Na
Li Na was born on 26 February 1982 in Wuhan, China.
She became the first tennis player to represent an Asian country in a Grand Slam
singles final by appearing at the 2011 Australian Tennis Open.
Li won nine WTA singles titles in her entire sporting career including two Grand
Slam singles titles at the 2011 French Tennis Open and 2014 Australian Tennis
Open.
She won her first Womens Tennis Association (WTA) title in Guangzhou in July
2001.
She stood at the second place on the Forbes list of the highest paid female athletes
after Russias Maria Sharapova.
It is after her efforts that China witnessed rapid growth of tennis. Today, China
hosts 10 professional womens tournaments in comparison with only two in 2010.
Union Sports Ministry finally agreed to honour Boxer Manoj Kumar with Arjuna Award
Union Sports Ministry on 17 September 2014 finally agreed to honour Boxer Manoj
Kumar with Arjuna Award.
The decision to give Arjuna Award to Manoj Kumar came after Manoj Kumar
approached the Delhi High Court challenging the Arjuna Awards list prepared by the
Kapil Dev led Selection Committee. The Committee had instead nominated Boxer Jai
Bhagwan for the Award.
The Ministry admitted in the court that Manoj was initially not considered for the
award by the committee as they mistakenly believed that he was involved in a doping
case.
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About Manoj Kumar

Manoj Kumar is an Indian boxer. He won a gold medal in the light welterweight division
at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. In the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games he
was quarterfinalist.
AIBA permitted Indian boxers to take part in Asian Games under

Tricolour
International Boxing Association (AIBA) on 16 September 2014 permitted Indian
boxers (pugilists) to take part in the 17th Asian Games 2014 under the national
tricolor. This permission was given by AIBA after it gave provisional recognition to
Boxing India on 15 September.
This action of AIBA means that national anthem will be rendered during the medal
ceremony when an Indian wins a gold medal at the Asian Games (Asiad) that will be
played from 19 September to 4 October 2014 at Incheon, South Korea.
Apart from this, AIBA has also asked the newly-elected Boxing India body, headed
by industrialist Sandeep Jajodia, to apply for membership of the Indian Olympic
Association (IOA).
Apart from this, with recognition of Boxing India as a formal body to represent Boxing
in India, the world body declared that the six-member ad-hoc body appointed by IOA
to handle boxing affairs in India has ceased to exist. This ad-hoc body was controlling
the boxing affairs of India since December 2012, the year when the erstwhile Indian
Amateur Boxing Federation was terminated for alleged manipulation in elections.

The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) on 16 September 2014 allowed
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players to wear religious head coverings, such as hijabs or turbans, on a trial basis.
The permission was granted after FIBAs central board met over the weekend at
the Mens World Cup in Spain and voted to allow a two-year testing phase that let
players to wear head coverings.
FIBA has allowed the head coverings in its 3-on-3 competitions unless it presents a
direct threat to the safety of players on the court. Further, the rule will be evaluated
in 2015 and then it will be decided whether it will become a permanent rule change
post the 2016 Olympics.
Reason for allowing religious head covers

In July 2014, during the FIBA Asia Cup campaign in China, two Sikh players namely
Amjyot Singh and Amritpal Singh of the Indian team were asked to remove their
turbans before starting the game. The players were told by the match officials that
they were breaking the FIBA rules and thus were not allowed to play with turbans.
Earlier, FIBA under its rules allowed a player to wear a 5-centimeter headband to
control hair and sweat and this rule drew objections. The group that objected on
the rules termed it as a discrimination against Muslim and Sikh players, who had
head coverings for religious reasons. Many Sikh Organisations ran a social media
campaign named#LetSikhsPlay and urged the international basketball federation to
not bar Sikh players due to their religious head covering.
Similar kind of change was made in the football rules by FIIFA in 2012. FIFA allowed
female Muslim players to wear head scarves. The decision was made following a
campaign by executive committee member Prince Ali bib Al-Hussein of Jordan.
Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council organised 3rd

Ladakh Marathon at Leh
The third Ladakh Marathon was organised by Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development
Council (LAHDC) on 14 September 2014 at Leh in Jammu and Kashmir. Around 3000
people from across the world participated in the Marathon.
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The Ladakh Marathon was organised with an aim to foster National Spirit and
encourage Sports in Ladakh. The event had four categories namely
The Khardung La Challenge Ultra Marathon of 72 Kilometer
The Full Marathon of 42 Kilometer
The Half Marathon of 21 Kilometer
The 7 Kilometer-run in which maximum school children participated
The Ladakh Marathon is the Worlds Highest and Toughest Marathon that is held at
an altitude of 3534 meter (11562 feet). Towards smooth conduct of the Marathon, the
organisers were provided full administrative support of the Indian Army. Apart from
this, a team of Army Ladakh Scouts also participated in the Marathon.
Results of Army Ladakh Scouts who participated in the Marathon

Khardung La Challenge Ultra Marathon of 72 Kilometer - Rifleman Shabbir Hussain,
Rifleman Rigzin Nurboo and Rifleman Tsering Gyatso stood first, second and third
in the respectively
Full Marathon of 42 Kilometer - Recruit Shokat Ali and Recruit Fayaz Ali secured
first and third positions respectively
About Ladakh Marathon

The Ladakh Marathon is organised during the Ladakh Festival, which is a weeklong
celebration of sport, culture and tradition in the Buddhist high mountain desert region
that was a central stop on the historic Silk Route between Central Asia and India.
The marathon was started in 2012. The inaugural marathon saw 1500 participants
and the 2nd edition saw 2200 participants with runners from 12 different countries
besides India.
The first eco-friendly green marathon took place in 2012; two years after the devastating
flash floods tore through the region, leaving a trail of death and destruction. The
marathon was a way to say that Ladakh is back and running.
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AIBA Executive Committee Bureau on 15 September 2014 formally recognised
Boxing India as the provisional AIBA National Federation to represent the sport of
boxing in India.
The recognition of Boxing India was confirmed through an official letter of the President
of the International Boxing Association (AIBA), Dr Ching-Kuo Wu to the President of
Boxing India Sandeep Jajodia.
After AIBA Executive Committee unanimous approval of the Provisional Membership,
Boxing India waits final ratification by the 2014 AIBA Congress, which will be held in
Jeju Islands, Korea in November 2014.
With this recognition, the Ad Hoc Committee that was established by the Indian
Olympic Association will no longer represent boxing in India and manage all boxing
related matters including managing all level of competitions. Now, all these activities
will be undertaken by Boxing India in full cooperation with AIBA.
AIBA also asked Boxing India to apply for membership of IOA and receive its
recognition following the IOC Charter.
Background
AIBAs recognition to AIBA ended a one-and-a-half year long impasse of Indian boxing
after the new body headed by Sandeep Jajodia was elected in Mumbai in first week
of September 2014 for a four-year term in the elections that was conducted through
a secret ballot in presence of two AIBA observers.
The erstwhile Indian Amateur Boxing Federation was terminated in December 2012
for alleged manipulation in elections. Thereafter, AIBA Executive Committee decided
to terminate India in March 2014 due to serious violations of the AIBA Statutes and
Bylaws.
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USA on 14 September 2014 won FIBA Basketball World Cup 2014 by defeating
Serbia. The World Cup was held at Madrid, Spain.
The United States became the third country to win consecutive world titles and
extended its winning streak in international play to 63 games.
The win margin of 33 points through nine games with total score of 129-92 made the
team of USA world Leader.
With this, the American team became the first national team to win by more than 20
points in any previous FIBA championship event.
Also, the team became the first to repeat world champions since 2002.
The USA claimed their fifth world crown, pulling them even with Yugoslavia for the
most in history. Yugoslavia are also the last team to repeat as world champions in
1998 and 2002. Brazil also accomplished the feat in 1959 and 1963.
The bronze tittle was won by France after defeating Lithuania with 95-93.

HS Prannoy, the young Indian shuttler won Indonesian Badminton Masters Grand
Prix Gold on 14 September 2014. He defeated Indonesian Firman Abdul Kholik 21-11,
22-20 to grab his maiden Grand Prix (GP) title in the finals played at GOR Jakabaring
stadium, Indonesia.
With this win at 125000 US dollar Indonesian Masters Grand Prix, Prannoy became
the third Indian shuttler to win a GP Gold title in 2014 after Saina Nehwal and Arvind
Bhat. Saina Nehwal won the India GP Gold in January 2014 and Arvind Bhat win at
the German Open GP Gold in March 2014.
Earlier on 7 September 2014, Prannoy finished as runners-up at the Vietnam Grand
Prix in Hochiminch city. In 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, he secured a silver medal
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in Boys singles category.

Chitresh Tatha, 12, is the youngest sailor to represent India at the 2014 Asian Games
. He sails in the Optimist Dinghy category.
The 17th edition Asian Games will be held in Incheon, South Korea from 19 September
to 4 October 2014.
About Chitresh Tatha

Tatha is a student of Bhavans Rajaji Vidyashram (Kilpauk)
He is a sailor who has travelled widely across the world namely Ireland, France,
UK, Malaysia, Turkey, the Netherland, Bahrain and Malta
Sailing in Optimist Dinghy

The Optimist is a small, single-handed sailing dinghy that is intended for use by
children up to the age of 15. It is one of the most popular sailing dinghies in the world,
with over 150000 boats officially registered with the class. The Optimist is recognized
as an International Class by the International Sailing Federation.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on 9 September 2014 suspended Saeed Ajmal,
the off-spinner of Pakistan, from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect
for illegal bowling action.
ICC suspended Ajmal after the findings of an independent analysis by the Human
Movement Specialists team of ICC. The independent analysis was done at the
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National Cricket Center in Brisbane on 25 August 2014.
The analysis confirmed that the bowling action of Ajmal illegal as his deliveries
exceeded the 15 degrees level of tolerance (by which the arm is allowed to bend)
that is permitted under the regulations of ICC.
On the other hand, the Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Shaharyar Khan said that
the board would challenge the decision of ICC.
Saeed Ajmals bowling action was reported after the first cricket test match against
Sri Lanka in Galle in August 2014. As per the ICC statement, Ajmal can apply a reassessment after modifying his bowling action in accordance with the clause 2.4 of
the Regulations for the review of bowlers reported with Suspected Illegal bowling
Actions.
Saeed Ajmal in Cricket as a bowler

Test cricket he had played 35 Tests and grabbed 178 wickets at an average of
28.10
One Day International cricket he had played 111 matches and grabbed 183
wickets at an average of 22.18
Twenty20 cricket he had played 63 matches and grabbed 85 wickets at an
average of 17.54
Earlier, he was reported for his suspected action in 2009, the year of his debut for his
doosra (an action of bowling) but was cleared after tests at the University of Western
Australia in Perth.

Pankaj Advani on 5 September 2014 announced to retire from the professional
snooker tour. He decided to retire as he was finding it difficult to divide the time
between billiards and snooker. However, he will continue to participate in Billiards.
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He will retire after Indian Snooker Open which is scheduled to be held in Pune from 15
September to 19 September 2014 in which he will compete in the wild card qualifying
round. If he qualifies than he will compete in the tournament proper at Mumbai.
Besides, after he announced his retirement from pro snooker, Billiards and Snooker
Federation of India (BSFI) decided to propose his name for the Padma Bhushan, the
countrys third highest civilian award, for his contribution to Cue Sports.
About Pankaj Advani

In 2005, he set a world record by becoming the first player to pull off a double
whammy. He won both the points and time formats at the IBSF World Championship.
In 2012, Advani became the National, Asian and World Billiards Champion in the
same year. He also won the IBSF World six Red Snooker Championship.
He was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2004, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2006
and Padma Shri in 2009.
Mike and Bob Bryan won fifth U.S. Tennis Open mens doubles
title
American twin brothers Mike and Bob Bryan on 7 September 2014 won the mens
doubles titles of the US Tennis Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, USA.
They defeated 11th seed Spains Marc Lopez and Marcel Granollers 6-3 6-4 in the
final match of U.S. Open mens doubles.
With this, the world number one pair won their 5th US Tennis Open and 16th Grand
Slam title. Overall it was their 100th career title. They are the first pair in tennis world
to win 100 titles. Their 99th title came with Cincinnati Masters in August 2014.
The Bryan brothers have won at least One Grand Slam for the 10th consecutive year.
Before Bryan brothers in 1880 James Dwight and Richard Sears also won five US
Open titles in consecutive years.
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International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Interpol (International Police agency)
have increased their collaboration to combat match-fixing and illegal betting.
To enhance the cooperation between the two bodies, the IOC President Thomas Bach
on 9 September 2014 met with secretary general of the international police agency
Ronald Noble and discussed the issue. The discussion was focused on the risks
related to the manipulation of competitions, intelligence gathering, the conducting of
investigations and prosecution procedures.
The meet was based on the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that
was signed between Interpol and IOC. Apart from this in the recent past, IOC to
monitor any suspicious betting patterns during the Olympic or other sports events,
set up an Integrity Betting Intelligence System.

Union Government on 9 September 2014 cleared a 679-member squad to represent
India in the 17th edition of the Asian Games to be held in Incheon, South Korea from
19 September to 4 October 2014. The decided squad includes 516 athletes and
sportsmen and 163 coaches and supporting staff.
This selection is against the original list issued by the Indian Olympic Association
(IOA). The IOA on 21 August 2014 sent a list of total 942 participants that included
662 athletes and 280 officials
The decision on the squad was taken by Minister of State (Independent Charge) for
Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Youth Affairs & Sports Sarbananda Sonowal
in consultation with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In the 17th edition of Asian Games India will take part in 28 disciplines as compared
to the 35 in which Indian contingent participated in the last edition of 2010 Asian
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Games. In the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, India sent a contingent of
609 athletes plus 324 officials.
The 28 disciplines of the Asian Games for which the Indian squad has been cleared
are archery, athletics, aquatics (swimming), badminton, basketball, boxing, cycling,
canoeing and kayaking, equestrian, football, gymnastics, golf, handball, hockey, judo,
kabaddi, rowing, sepak takraw, shooting, squash, taekwondo, table tennis, tennis,
volleyball, wushu, weightlifting, wrestling, , and yachting.
About Asian Games

The Asian Games are also known as Asiad. Asian Games is the biggest multi-sport
games after Olympic Games and is organised by the Olympic Council of Asia. It
is a Pan-continental multi-sport event of Asia and is held in every four years. The
events participants are athletes from across Asia.Mascot of the 2014 Asian Games at
Incheon, South Korea are three seal siblings named Barame, Chumuro, and Vichuan.
The inaugural Asian Games took place in New Delhi, India, in 1951 with 11 countries
competing in six sports.

Croatias Marin Cilic on 8 September 2014 won the Mens Singles title of the US
Open of Tennis. To win his first Grand Slam title, the 14th seed Cilic defeated 10th
seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. The final match of the
title was played at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.
Cilic for whom this was the first appearance in a Grand Slam final is also the first
Croatian to win a major title since compatriot and coach Goran Ivanisevic who won
Wimbledon in 2001. Cilics previous best finish was a semifinal appearance at the
2010 Australian Open.
This was the first time since 2005 Australian Open, that the final of any major
tournament final had not witnessed any one of the big four (Roger Federer, Rafael
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Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray) of tennis.

Harika Dronavalli on 6 September 2014 won bronze at the women Grand Prix chess
at the Asian Games.
Chinese top seed Hou Yifan won the gold, while compatriot Zhao Xue got the silver.
Harika scored 6.5 points with five wins, three draws and one loss.
Grand Master Yifan won eight rounds and drew one to score 8.5 points. And Xue won
seven matches, drew one and lost one to finish with 7.5 points. She is also a grand
master.
Harika tied with Tuvshintugs Zhao Xue of China and Anna Ushenina of Ukraine on
points but came ahead on account of her superior tie-break score.
Meanwhile, another Indian womens player Tania Sachdev could earn only 5.5 points
with five wins, one draw and three losses, to finish on sixth position.

World number one Serena Williams on 7 September 2014 won her third consecutive
US Open trophy. To win her third consecutive title and to secure a record-equaling
sixth US Open title in US Open, Williams defeated Caroline Wozniazki of Denmark in
straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.
With this, Williams joined the Tennis greats Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova on
18 Grand Slam titles. This win also helped Williams to match with Everts total of six
championships at the US Open. Williams also became the first woman to win three
in a row since Everts four-title run from 1975-78
Apart from this, 32-year-old Serena Williams also became the second oldest Grand
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Slam winner after Navratilova, who had won Wimbledon at the age of 33 in 1990.
To be the second oldest old Grand slam winner, Williams surpassed overtook Briton
Virginia Wade.
In the Mens Doubles, Americas top seeded Bryan brothers, Bob and Mike clinched
their fifth US Open and 16th major title. They defeated the Spanish pair of Marcel
Granollers and Marc Lopez, 6-3, 6-4.
Sania Mirza & Brazilian teammate Bruno Soares won Mixed

Doubles trophy of US Open
Indias Sania Mirza and her Brazilian teammate Bruno Soares on 5 September 2014
won the Mixed Doubles trophy of the US Open Tennis. In the title clash, the top
seeded, Indo-Brazilian pair defeated the American-Mexican team of Abigail Spears
and Santiago Gonzalez, 6-1, 2-6, 11-9. The US Open is the fourth and final Grand
Slam of the season.
This win has helped Sania to claim her maiden US Open and careers third Mixed
Doubles Grand Slam title. Previous two mixed titles for Sania were with Mahesh
Bhupathi. The duo won the Australian Open in 2009 and French Open in 2012.
Whereas in the womens doubles, the third seeded Sania and her partner Cara Black
of Zimbabwe lost in the doubles semifinals on 4 September 2014 by the hands of
unseeded Swiss-Italian pair of Martina Hingis and Flavia Pennetta 6-2, 6-4.
On the other hand, this was the second US Open mixed doubles crown for Bruno
Soares, as in 2012, he won the title along with Russias Ekaterina Makarova.
The singles final of the US Open trophy will be played on 7 September 2014.
India won the 5-match One-Day International (ODI) series played against England
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by 3-1. The first match of the series was washed out due to rain without a ball being
bowled. However, India won the second, third and fourth matches of the series but
suffered a defeat by the hands of England in the fifth and the final match.
The last match of the series was played at Headingley, Leeds on 5 September 2014
in which India suffered a loss by 41 runs. Joe Roots century in the final match helped
England to win the match. While, chasing 295 for victory, team India was bundled out
for 253 in 48.4 over.
Man of the match of fifth match Joe Root
Man-of-the-Series Suresh Raina
Series report
India in England at County Ground, Nevil Road - 25 August 2014, was washed
away due to rain
India in England at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff - 27 August 2014, India won by 133
runs
India in England at Trent Bridge, Nottingham - 30 August 2014, India won by 6
wickets
India in England at Edgbaston, Birmingham - 2 September 2014, India won by 9
wickets
India in England at Headingley, Leeds 5 September 2014, England won by 41
runs
During the tour to England, Indian team earlier lost the 5-match Pataudi Trophy
test-series played against England by 3-12. Whereas before wrapping their tour to
England, India will play a Twenty-20 match on 7 September 2014 in Birmingham.
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Sudhakar Jayant won gold medal at IWF World Masters Weightlifting Championships
Indian Armys Lt Colonel Sudhakar Jayant on 5 September 2014 won the gold
medal for the third time at the IWF World Masters Weightlifting Championships in
Copenhagen, Denmark.
He being 45 years old lifted a total of 185kg while competing in 62kg weight category.
In snatch, Jayant lifted 85kg and finally in clean and jerk category, he showed his
best by lifting 100kg.
Silver medal was won by Finlands Huuskonen Jari who lifted a total of 170kg. While
Frederic Robert of France bagged the bronze medal by lifting 145kg.
Lt Colonel Sudhakar Jayant

Lt Col Sudhakar Jayant is an IIT Alumnus of 1990 batch of Electrical Engineering
from Nilgiri Hostel.
In September 2012, he bagged the Gold medal in the 56 Kg Category with a
Snatch of 75 Kg and Clean & Jerk of 95 Kg in 28th Mens and 19th Womens World
Masters Championship at Lviv, Ukraine.
In 2013 at Italy, Jayant won the gold medal with a lift of 192 kg. His lift of 87kg in
Snatch category made the Games record.
Ritu Rani to lead Indian Womens Hockey team in Asian Games

2014
Midfielder Ritu Rani was selected to lead Indian womens hockey team in Asian
Games 2014. It was announced by a panel comprising B P Govinda, Harbinder Singh
and Surinder Kaur along with Director High Performance Roelant Oltmans and chief
coach Neil Hawgood on 3 September 2014.
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Ritu Rani also led Indian Women hockey team in the Common Wealth Games 2014
that was held in Glasgow, Scotland from 23 July to 3 August 2014. India stood at fifth
place in CWG 2014.
Team for Asian Games 2014

Goalkeeper: Savita
Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka, Deepika , Sunita Lakra, Namita Toppo ,Jaspreet Kaur
, Sushila Chanu , Monika
Midfielders: Ritu Rani, Lilima Minz, Amandeep Kaur, Chanchan Devi Thokchom.
Forwards: Rani, Poonam Rani, Vandana Katariya, Navjot Kaur.
Capitan: Ritu Rani
Vice Capitan: Deepika
2014 Incheon Asian Games

2014 Incheon Asian Games is the 17th Asian Games and will be held will be held in
Incheon, South Korea from 19 September -4 October 2014. Incheon is the third city
in South Korea where Asian Games will be held after Seoul (1986) and Busan (2002).
Asian Games is governed by Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

Saina Nehwal on 1 September 2014 decided to train under new Coach Vimal Kumar.
She decided to split with the national head coach Pullela Gopichand.
She confirmed that her loss of form and the rise of other players like PV Sindhu and
K Srikanth had made her rethink her coaching options as Gopi was forced to split his
time between these top shuttlers
Incidentally, this is not the first split of their partnership. In 2011, Saina decided to
train under Baskar Babu but returned to Gopichand within three months. She later
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regretted that decision and praised Gopi for helping her win the Olympic bronze.
Gopichand became the national Coach in 2006. Saina Nehwal became Indian girl
to win the Grand Prix Gold, Super Series and Super Series Premier titles under the
training of Gopichand.
About Sania Nehwal

Saina Nehwal is an Indian badminton player who attained a career best ranking in
2010 by Badminton World Federation. She belongs to Haryana.
She is the first Indian to win the World Junior Badminton Championships.
She is the first Indian to win a medal in Badminton at the Olympics and was also the
first Indian to win a Super Series tournament, by clinching the Indonesia Open in
2009.
World Badminton championships 2014

World Badminton Championships was held in Copenhagen, Denmark from 25 - 31
August 2014. China topped the Championship with a total of 7 medals which includes
3 Gold, 3 Silver and Bronze medal. South Korea and Spain occupied second and
third place respectively.
Mens Singles
Gold Medal: Chen LongChina
Silver Medal: Lee Chong Wei-Malaysia
Bronze Medal: Viktor Axelsen-Denmark and Tommy Sugiarto-Indonesia
Womens Singles
Gold Medal: Carolina Marn-Spain
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Silver Medal: Li Xuerui-China
Bronze Medal: Minatsu Mitani-Japan and P V Sindhu-India
Mens Doubles
Gold Medal: Ko Sung-hyun and Shin Baek-cheol from South Korea
Silver Medal: Lee Yong-dae and Yoo Yeon-seong from South Korea
Bronze Medal: Kim Ki-jung and Kim Sa-rang from South Korea
Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen from Denmark
Womens Doubles
Gold Medal: Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei from China
Silver Medal: Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang China
Bronze Medal: Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan from South Korea
Reika Kakiiwa and Miyuki Maeda Japan
Mixed Doubles
Gold Medal: Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei from China
Silver Medal: Xu Chen and Ma Jin from China
Bronze Medal: Liu Cheng and Bao Yixin from China
Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen from Denmark
About World Badminton championships

The World Badminton championship was first held in 1977 for every two years
once, since 2003 it is held every year.
It contains individuals in five events, Mens singles, Womens singles, Mens and
Womens doubles and Mixed doubles.
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Denmark has hosted the World Badminton Championship event thrice in 1983,
1991 and 1999 in Copenhagen.
Zimbabwe defeated Australia in one-day cricket match for first time in 31 years
Zimbabwe on 31 August 2014 defeated Australia for the first time in 31 years in the
one-day match played at the Harare Sports Club. This was the first win for Zimbabwe
since 1983 World Cup of Cricket in Trent Bridge.
It defeated Australia by 3 wickets in the fourth match of the tri-nation series that also
features South Africa.
in the match, Australia batted first and posted 209 runs for 9 in 50 over. In reply, the
Zimbabwe overhauled the target with 2 overs to spare and 3 wickets in hand.
Man of the match was given to Zimbabwean captain Elton Chigumbura who scored
52 not out and helped the team to win the match.
Zimbabwes international record against Australia

Match
Games Australia Zimbabwe Draws/
No result
Format
won
won
ties
Tests
ODIs
30
27
Twenty20
Zimbabwe won the Twenty20 internationals against Australia at the inaugural ICC
World T20 in 2007.
Carolina Marin became the first Spaniard to win World Badminton Championship
Carolina Marin on 31 August 2014 became the first Spaniard to win World Badminton
Championship. The World Badminton Championship was held in Copenhagen,
Denmark.
Carolina won womens singles titles by defeating world number one Li Xuerui of
china. Chinas Chen Long won the mens singles titles of the World Badminton
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Championships.
This victory had earned Spain first major title in the sport. Carolina ninth seed
recovered from dropping the opening game to the top seed and Olympic champion
to complete an incredible 17-21, 21-17, 21-18 victory.
Earlier, China extended their dominance in womens doubles as Tian Qing and Zhao
Yunlei claimed won the countrys 12th straight gold medal in the event.
Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland set world record in womens hammer throw

Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland on 31 August 2014 set world record in the womens
hammer throw at the Internationales Stadionfest (ISTAF) Berlin Athletics meet at
Berlins Olympic stadium in Germany.
With a throw of 79.58 meters she improved the world record by 16 centimetres.
She broke the three year old world record of 79.42 meters set by Betty Heidler of
Germany in May 2011 in Halle, Germany.
About Anita Wlodarczyk

Anita Wlodarczyk is a two-time European champion. She had won silver medal in
2012 Olympic Games.
Wodarczyk won her first national U-23 championships in 2007 at the European
Athletics U23 Championships Wodarczyk qualified for the 2008 World Athletics Final
and won a bronze medal.
In 2009, she took part in the European Team Championships, winning her first gold
medal at a major international competition. On 22 August 2009 during the World
Championships in Athletics in Berlin, Wodarczyk set a world record with a throw of
77.96 metres
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About Internationales Stadionfest (ISTAF) Berlin Athletics meet
ISTAF is an annual track and field athletics meet at the Olympic Sadium in Berlin,
Germany. It was first organised on 3 July 1921 at the Deutsches Stadium, which was
replaced after the 1936 Munich Summer Olympics by the current stadium in 1937.
Since 2010 it has been part of the IAAF World Challenge meetings, the second tier of
global one day athletics events.
Jaipur Pink Panthers won the inaugural title of Pro Kabaddi

League
Jaipur Pink Panther (JPP) owned by Abhisek Bachchan on 31 August 2014 won
the inaugural title of the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League. To win its first title of the
tournament, Jaipur Pink Panther defeated U Mumba 35-24 at the NSCI Stadium in
Mumbai.
U Mumba that emerged as the runner up of the tournament is owned by Unilazer
Sports.
Captain of Jaipur Pink Panther - Navneet Gautam
Captain of U Mumba - Anup Kumar
About Pro Kabaddi League

Pro Kabaddi League was launched on 14 March 2014 jointly by Marshal Sports Pvt.
Ltd. and the International Kabbadi Federation. It was launched at the National Sports
Club of India, Mumbai with an aim to revive the indigenous sport of Kabaddi to levels
of new professionalism. The inaugural tournament saw participation of eight teams
owned by different people or organisations.
The teams that participated in the tournament and their owners were
Bengal Warriors - owned by Future Group and was captained by Nilesh Shinde
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Bengaluru Bulls - owned by Kosmik Global Media and was captained by Manjit
Chillar
Dabang Delhi - owned by Do It Sports Management and was captained by Jasmer
Singh
Jaipur Pink Panther - owned by Abhishek Bachchan and was captained by Navneet
Gautam
Patna Pirates - owned by Rajesh Shah and was captained by Rakesh Kumar
Puneri Paltan - owned byt Insurekot Sports and was captained by Wazir Singh
Telugu Titans - owned by Veera Sports and was captained by Rajguru Subramanian
U Mumba - owned by Unilazer Sports and was captained by Anup Kumar
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CORPORATE
Tata motors Limited appointed Mayank Pareek as president of
Passenger Vehicle Division
Tata Motors Limited on 29 September 2014 appointed Mayank Pareek as president
of Passenger Vehicle Division.
Mayank Pareek will join the company on 1 October 2014. He succeeded Ranjit Yadav.
Ranjit Yadav will now head the international business for passenger and commercial
vehicles.
Also, Pareek will be part of the steering committee formed by the Cyprus Mistry to
run the operations in the absence of a managing director. Cyprus Mistry is the CEO
of Tata Motors.
Mayank Pareek is a former Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Maruti Suzuki India
Limited. He quit the company on 26 September 2014.
He is entrusted with the task of reviving the fortunes of Tata Motors beleaguered car
business. Tata motors is the largest vehicle maker of India.
Challenges Ahead
Pareek is joining Tata Motors at a time when the company has been ceding ground
to rival car makers.
In the last five months to August 2013, Tata Motors passenger vehicle sales declined
33% to 58697 units from 88709 units a year ago. Its market share dropped to 5%
from 9% a year ago in the same period.
Pareek would have to prove his capability in a very short span of time. The 20-year
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Maruti veteran is credited with making the company a household name across the
India.
Auto Portal Cardekho acquired Gaadi.com for 11 million US dollar

Auto Portal Cardekho on 29 September 2014 acquired Gaadi.com. Cardekho is
expected to have paid 11 million US dollar for Gaadi.com.
However, both the companies will continue to run independently and operate as
separate businesses in order to drive focus, especially in the pre-owned car business.
The combined Cardekho and Gaadi entity is expected to become the largest online
auto classifieds play by revenue and traffic.
The combined entity will compete with the rivals Cartrade.com and Carwale.com
Real estate, jobs and auto hold the biggest chunk of the online classifieds market in
India. The online auto classifieds market in India is expected to see an uptick on the
back of increased transactions of used cars.
About Cardekho
Jaipur-based GirnarSoftware founded internet portals Cardekho, Bikedekho and
Pricedekho in 2007.
The company had received 15 million US dollar in funds from Sequoia in November
2013. Amit Jain is the founder & CEO of Cardekho.
About Gaadi.com
Gaadi.com is the arm of the Ibibo Group. With the deal, the company aimed to focus
on the online travel sector across its assets: Goibibo.com, TBOGroup, Redbus.in
and YourBus. The group also runs online marketplace Tradus in India.
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State Bank of India (SBI), the countrys largest lender on 26 September 2014
announced that it has signed a Line of Credit (LoC) of 500 million dollar with ExportImport Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank).
The LoC will be utilised to provide finance to SBIs clients in India and neighbouring
countries that have business relationships either by way of equity participation or
regular trade with Korean companies globally, as well as joint ventures or subsidiaries
of Korean companies.
SBIs regional head (East Asia), C Venkat Nageswar and Korea Eximbanks member
of Board of Directors, Young Whan Sul signed the agreement at Seoul. The entire
process was facilitated by SBIs subsidiary, SBI Capital Markets and the signing of
the pact for LoC is being seen as a step towards further strengthening of Korea-India
strategic partnership.
As per the announcement, this LoC will be in addition of the 200 million dollar LoC
that was signed between the two institutions on 16 January 2014 to support Indian
companies importing goods and services from Korea.

Emami biotech on 25 September 2014 acquired Vanaspati brand Rasoi. Emami
biotech is the edible oil and bio-diesel arm of the Emami Group of Companies.
The deal is estimated to be worth around 20 crore rupees. This is Emamis second
acquisition in three months and with this deal Emami makes entry into vanaspati
segment.
The acquisition will be an addition to the Companys existing portfolio of edible oil
brands such as Emami Healthy & Tasty and Himani Best Choice.
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With a sales turnover of around 150 crore rupees, The production of vanaspati
contributes about 90% of Rasois portfolio, the rest being other varieties of cooking
oil such as mustard oil, soya refined oil and palm oil.
About Vanaspati
India produces around 10-12 lakh tonnes per annum of vanaspati, out of which the
premium branded vanaspati segment is about 4 lakh tonnes per annum.
Vanaspati is an affordable variety of cooking medium which is used in households,
restaurants, sweet shops as an economical alternative to ghee. It is also a popular
cooking medium in household segment, especially in regions like UP, Bihar, North
East, and Jharkhand, etc.
About Rasoi
Kolkata based Rasoi limited is the brand of the 50 year old Vanaspati. Rasoi is one of
the most trusted brands of Vanaspati and edible oil in India. Rasoi, as a major player
in the vanaspati market, has a strong base in the eastern region and is the leading
vanaspati brand in West Bengal. As an age-old brand, Rasoi enjoys huge consumer
trust.
EAC under Union MoEF gave CRZ clearance for Bay of Bengal
Gateway Submarine Cable System
Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) under the Union Ministry of Environment and
Forests (MoEF) on 24 September 2014 granted Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)
clearance for Bay of Bengal Gateway Submarine Cable System.
The EAC cleared the Indian part of the 100 Gigabit-per-second (100G) Bay of Bengal
Gateway submarine cable system project at Mumbai and Chennai. However, the EAC
asked the proponents of the project to follow the strict compliance of CRZ (Coastal
Regulation Zone) clearance conditions.
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Vodafone Group has already under taken the work at the cable landing point in
Mumbai while Infotel Telecom Ltd, a Mukesh Ambanis Reliance Company is carrying
out the works at Santhome Beach, Chennai.
About Bay of Bengal Gateway Submarine Cable System (BBGCS)

The Bay of Bengal Gateway cable system (BBGCS) that navigate over 8000 km is
expected to enhance robustness and reliability of international connectivity in the six
countries via landing points in Barka (Oman), Fujairah (UAE), Mumbai and Chennai
(India), Ratmalana (Sri Lanka), Penang (Malaysia) and Singapore.
The project is being carried out by a conglomerate that includes Alcatel-Lucent,
a Euronext and NYSE-listed company, Vodafone Group, Omantel, Emirates
Telecommunications Corporation, Reliance Infocom, Dialog and Telekom Malaysia.
It was started in May 2013 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2014.
The Cable system will create a high-speed bridge between Europe, Middle East,
Central Asia and the Far East, with Singapore being a major cable hub with connection
into to the Far East and Barka in Oman with submarine and terrestrial connections to
Europe, Africa and the GCC.

Alliance Air on 24 September 2014 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
with the North East Council for flight operations in the North East.
The MoU was signed in the presence of the Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok
Gajapathi Raju Pusapati and Minister of State for Development of North East Regions
VK Singh.
Highlights of the MoU

Alliance Air will provide air services to Shillong, Tezpur, Lilabari, Silchar and
Guwahati with ATR 42 type of aircraft till 31 March 2016.
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North East Council will assist Alliance Air in obtaining concessions on Aviation
Turbine Fuel, landing and Route Navigation Facility Charges.
The actual cost of operations shall be reviewed every three months based on the
proposed cost.
Background
Alliance Air has been operating flights to the North East since January 2003 under
Viability Gap Funding (VGF). VGF is a cost minus revenue formula which is used to
cover losses on the operations in the North East.
Alliance Air provided its services in the North East Council till 31 December 2012
when it was operating 65 flights per week to the North East. In January 2013, due to
outstanding VGF the airline restructured its ATR operations in the North East.
The NEC and Alliance Air had some issues with the fund and initially NEC refused to
pay the outstanding bill stating that Alliance Air was operating flights after expiry of
the agreement in December 2012. Subsequently, the agreement was put on hold and
ATR services were discontinued on some routes since then.
In the meantime, Alliance Air continued its operations between Kolkata-Silchar,
Kolkata-Guwahati and Silchar-Imphal with ATR aircraft. It also restored five times
weekly flights on the Kolkata-Shillong route in july 2013.
Merck KGaA announced to acquire US based Sigma-Aldrich for

17 billion US dollar
Drugs and chemicals maker Merck KGaA on 22 September 2014 announced to
acquire U.S. based Sigma-Aldrich Company for 17 billion US dollar in cash to boost
its lab supplies business.
The deal is the biggest ever takeover in the German groups history. The deal will
help Merck to focus on supplying major pharmaceutical companies and academic
institutions with chemicals and services.
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The deal will see Merck acquire all shares for 140 US dollar a piece in cash. Further,
the deal was approved by Sigma-Aldrichs management and needed approval from
more than 50 percent of the targets shareholders.
Sigma is the worlds largest supplier of biochemicals and organic chemicals to
research laboratories.
Sigma provides big pharma groups including Pfizer and Novartis with lab substances
such as cell culture substrates.
It also makes high-purity inorganic chemicals for the high-tech sector and food and
beverage testing products.
Comment
Mercks new Merck Millipore lab supplies business would gain more exposure in
North America, which accounts for half of the worlds life science market, and to
Asias emerging markets, taking on global players such as Thermo Fisher.

Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited on 22 September 2014 signed a Master Services
Agreement (MSA) with Indus Towers for tower infrastructure sharing.
With this latest tie-up with Indus Towers, Reliance Jio will have access to over 288000
towers countrywide. Earlier in 2013, it tied up with major infrastructure providers and
telecom companies that own towers Reliance Communications, Viom Networks and
Bharti Infratel.
Highlights of the Master Services Agreement

Under the agreement, Reliance Jio will utilize the telecom tower infrastructure services
being provided by Indus Towers to launch its services across the country. It will utilize
around 113490 towers of Indus. The pricing will be based on prevailing market rates.
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The agreement will help in avoiding duplication of infrastructure and preserving the
environment. It will ensure seamless services to Reliance Jio customers through
world class tower infrastructure of Indus Towers.
About Indus Towers

Founded in 2007, Indus is headquartered in the National Capital Region, New
Delhi.
Indus Towers Limited is an independently managed company offering passive
infrastructure services to all telecom operators.
Indus Towers is a three-way joint venture between Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India
and Idea Cellular where the first two own 42 percent each.
Indus has a presence in the 15 major telecom circles of India and has achieved
237562 tenancies, the first in the telecom tower industry globally.
Indus Towers is honoured and is the winner of the coveted, most prestigious the
Gallup Great Workplace Award 2014.
Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. (RJIL)

Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL) is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited
(RIL).
RJIL is the first telecom operator to get a unified licence for all 22 service areas
in India. This licence allows RJIL to offer all telecom services including voice
telephony.
RJIL won radiowaves in the 1800 Mhz band also known as 2G spectrum which is
presently used for 4G services worldwide.
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Union Government removed three independent directors from

the ONGC board
Union Government on 21 September 2014 removed three independent directors
from the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) board.
The three directors P Umashankar, S Ravi and RK Singh have ceased to be independent
directors with effect from 19 September 2014.
P Uma Shankar along with S Ravi and R K Singh were appointed on ONGC board on
29 November 2013.
P Umashankar is a former bureaucrat who retired from the position of Power Secretary
in 2013. R.K.Singh is former Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Petroleum
Corp (BPCL). S.Ravi is a chartered accountant.
Other independent directors, Samir Kumar Barua and former State Bank of India
(SBI) Chairman OP Bhatt were continued to be directors on its board. They were
appointed on 13 December 2011.
Background
In the second week of September 2014, independent directors of other PSUs like
ONGC, HPCL, MRPL, IOC and EIL were also removed.
These removals follow sacking of all the previous government appointed independent
directors on board.
However, the directors removed from boards of ONGC, HPCL, MRPL, IOC and EIL
were appointed after the last shareholders meeting and their appointment was to be
ratified at the respective AGMs of shareholders.
In absence of the company moving a resolution seeking confirmation of their
appointments, the five ceased to be directors on the company board.
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RBI approved the appointment of V.G. Mathew as MD and CEO
of South Indian Bank
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 22 September 2014 approved the appointment of
V.G. Mathew as Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Keralabased South Indian Bank Ltd.
V.G. Mathew is appointed for a period of three years with effect from 1 October 2014.
He will replace V.A. Joseph who will retire on 30 September 2014 after serving the
bank for 12 years.
His appointment was made under the Section 35B of the Banking Regulation Act
1949.
V.G. Mathew
V. G. Mathew served as an Executive Vice President of The South Indian Bank Ltd
since 2 January 2014.
Before joining the South Indian Bank Ltd, Mathew served as Chief General Manager
of Corporate Accounts Group at State Bank of India.
Shri Govindraja Textiles of TN announced to relocate its operations in North Carolina
Shri Govindaraja Textiles (SGT) on 22 September 2014 announced its plan to set up
a spinning unit worth of 40 million US dollars in Eden, North Carolina. The unit will
have 16 spinning machines with production capacity of 35 tonnes of yarn a day. The
production will start by December 2014.
The three major reasons for decision to invest in the US were

North Carolina was a cotton growing area and hence contamination free cotton is
available locally.
The cost of power is one third as compared to India and quality power supply is
also assured 24*7.
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The cost of capital investment in creation of the unit is one-third of that in India.
Shri Govindaraja Textiles

SGT is a Tamil Nadu-based textile company and is a part of the Jayavilas Group.
SGT has 14 manufacturing units spread across two states in Southern India.
The company has a capacity of 400000 spindles installed with latest modern
machineries.

Amit Mathew on 22 September 2014 was unanimously elected as Chairman of Audit
Bureau of Circulations (ABC) for the year 2014-15. He is the resident editor and
director of Malyala Manorama.
In addition to Mathews, Shashidhar Sinha was elected as the deputy chairman of the
ABC for the 2014-15. Shashidhar Sinha is the CEO (India) of IPG Mediabrands and
represents the advertising agencies of the Council.
The other members of the Bureaus Council of Management for the year 2014-2015
are: Shailesh Gupta (Jagran Prakashan Ltd), Aritra Sarkar (ABP Pvt. Ltd), I Venkat
(Ushodaya Enterprises Ltd.), Hormusji N Cama (The Bombay Samachar Pvt Ltd),
Devendra V Darda (Lokmat Media Pvt Ltd), Sanjeev Vohra (Bennett, Coleman & Co
Ltd) and Benoy Roychowdhury (HT Media Ltd).
Also, Hormuzd Masani would be the Secretary General of the ABC.
About Audit Bureau of Circulations

The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) of India is a non-profit circulation-auditing
organization. The ABC is a not for profit organization. It was founded in 1948.
It certifies and audits the circulations of major publications, including newspapers
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and magazines in India.
The organisation consists of Publishers, Advertisers and Advertising Agencies. It
has done pioneering work in developing audit procedures to verify the circulation
data published by those newspapers and periodicals which have earned the right to
display its emblem.

Internet major Yahoo! Inc. on 21 September 2014 acquired Bangalore-based startup firm BookPad Inc for over 8 million US dollars. This is Yahoos first technology
deal for an Indian start-up company.
The acquisition involved the integration of technology and the team. After the complete
acquisition, the team will relocate to the Silicon Valley.
This has been the fourth acquisition of an Indian start-up based in Bangalore by a
global Internet company. Earlier, Facebook Inc. acquired Little Eye labs Pvt. Ltd in
January 2014. In 2013, Google Inc. acquired Impermium and Naspers Ltd acquired
online bus ticketing company redBus.in.
BookPad Inc
Founded in 2013, the company has offices in California and Bangalore with less
than 10 employees.
It was founded by three Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati alumni Aditya
Bandi, Niketh Sabbineni and Ashwik Battu with their own funds.
The company was incubated at the Startup Warehouse of Nasscom and was also
a part of the fourth batch of the Microsoft Accelerator programme.
Bookpads software product DocsPad allows users to view any document like
PDF, Word, Powerpoint and also edit and annotate it within a website or app.
DocsPad works across devices and does not require downloading of plug-ins or
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desktop software.
For Yahoo, DocsPad technology can potentially be embedded in many of its
services.
Yahoo! Inc.
Yahoo was founded by Jerry Yang and David Filo in January 1994 and was
incorporated on 1 March 1995.
Yahoo is an American multinational Internet corporation headquartered in
Sunnyvale, California.
It is globally known for its Web portal, search engine Yahoo Search, Yahoo Mail
and its social media website.
Till today, Yahoo has so far acquired over 100 companies.
China fined British drug maker firm GSK Plc 489 million US dollars for paying bribes
China on 19 September 2014 fined GlaxoSmithKline Placement (GSK Plc) a record
489 million US dollars (3 billion Yuan) for paying bribes to doctors to use its drugs.
The fine was imposed by Changsha Intermediate Peoples Court of China.
Along with fine, Chinese Court also sanctioned jail sentence to former head of GSK
Mark Reilly and 4 other GSK executives Zhang Guowei, Liang Hong, Zhao Hongyan
and Huang Hong for two to four years.
The fine is equivalent to around 4 percent of GSKs 2013 operating profits. GSK will
pay the penalty from existing cash resources. However, the sentence has not put any
embargo on the deals of GSK with China.
However, it also offered GSK a potential way forward in the fast-growing Chinese
pharmaceutical market. It is estimated that Chinese pharmaceutical market will hit 1
trillion US dollars by 2020.
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Under Chinese criminal law, bribery by a corporate unit can lead to a large fine and
jail sentence for the units head.
The verdict highlights how Chinese regulators are increasingly cracking down on
corporate malpractice.
Comment
The GSK case is the biggest corruption scandal to hit a foreign company in China
since the Rio Tinto affair in 2009 in which four executives, including an Australian,
were jailed for between seven and 14 years.
Also, GSK is being investigated under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in the United
States. The Act prohibits bribery of public officials.
In addition to the high-profile Chinese case, GSK has been accused of corrupt
practices, on a smaller scale, in Poland, Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon.
Infosys BPO Poland signed largest office lease deal with Skanska Property in Poland
Infosys BPO Poland on 19 September 2014 signed a contract with commercial real
estate developer Skanska Property in Poland for leasing its office space for 10 years.
This agreement is the largest deal in the office market of Lodz so far and the biggest
lease transaction in Poland in 2014.
Highlights of the deal

Infosys is planning to expand the workforce at Lodz delivery centre in Poland by
500 people. For this purpose, it signed the agreement for leasing over 21000 square
meter land of Infosys Green Horizon office complex in Lodz city in the European
nation.
The agreement covers new lease terms for the area already occupied by Infosys
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beside an additional 3800 square meter of office space.
The new lease agreement extends the lease period to 2024.
Infosys Lodz delivery centre in Poland

Lodz delivery centre was established after Infosys BPO took over Philips Shared
Service Centre (SSC) in 2007.
It is the largest Infosys location outside India that offers BPO and ITO services
across 48 geographies in 24 languages.
It is also among the largest international investors in the Lodz region.
The company was awarded with the Best Company award of the Lodz Region by
BCC in 2011 and Company of the Year award 2013 by Central Bureau of National
Certification.

Sportswear retailer Puma India Pvt. Ltd on 19 September 2014 appointed sales and
retail head Abhishek Ganguly as the new Managing Director (MD).
His appointment came at a time when the brand is taking bold steps to be the fastest
brand in the world. The brand recently launched the Forever Faster campaign.
Ganguly replaced Rajiv Mehta who was managing director at Puma India since 2005.
Earlier in September 2014, Rajiv Mehta announced his exit from Puma India.
Abhishek Ganguly
Abhishek Ganguly joined Puma India right at its inception in 2005 as a founding
director. He spearheaded the sales and retail functions for the brand.
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Puma India Pvt. Ltd
Puma is estimated to be Indias second largest sportswear brand ahead of Nike
India and behind market leader Adidas.
The company opted for the hybrid retail model in India which is made up of
franchises as well as owned-and-operated stores. As much as 15 per cent of its
stores are owned-and-operated.
Around 12 percent of annual revenue of Puma India comes from online platforms
such as Myntra, Jabong and Flipkart.
Puma India now has around 300 stores in 100 cities and towns.
IndiGo signed agreement with ICBC to purchase over 30 A320

aircrafts
Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo on 17 September 2014 signed an agreement with
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) for purchasing 30 A320 aircrafts
worth 2.6 billion US dollars.
The agreement was signed at an India-China business meeting. The meeting was
organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) at
New Delhi.
Highlights of the agreement

ICBC will finance the no-frill airline plans of IndiGo to purchase over 30 aircrafts.
The Gurgaon-based carrier signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with
the ICBC Financial Leasing Company Ltd to execute the deal.
Through the MoU, ICBC will provide IndiGo financial solutions for the introduction
of A320 and the other family of aircraft to the fleet in the form of
sale and lease back or financial lease or commercial lending.
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IndiGo is one of the few profitable airlines in India. The airline already has a relationship
with ICBC and this new effort to further explore the collaboration will cement the
relationship for the longer term.
The no-frill carrier has 81 aircraft in its fleet at present.
Gilead gave voluntary licenses to Indian pharma companies to

make genetic version of Sofosbuvir
Gilead on 16 September 2014 gave voluntary licenses to Indian pharma companies
to make generic version of hepatitis C drug Sofosbuvir. US based pharma major
Gilead is the patent holder of Sofosbuvir drug.
Besides, Gilead also decided to provide the wonder drug Sofosbuvir in India at 1.1
lakh rupees compared to 50.4 lakh rupees for 24-week course in the US.
As per the deal, seven Indian companies will be allowed to sell the cheap drug in 91
developing countries. But these Indian companies will not be allowed to sell sofosbuvir
in Brazil, Russia, China, Thailand and many other middle-income countries.
The seven Indian pharma companies who have been given the voluntary license ar:
Cadila Healthcare, Cipla, Hetero Labs, Mylan Laboratories, Ranbaxy Laboratories,
Sequent Scientific and Strides Arcolab.
These companies have the right to develop and market generic versions of sofosbuvir
and a related drug, ledipasvir, in 91 developing countries.
Granting of voluntary licenses will foster competition between these companies
which in turn will bring down the price of the generic version of sofosbuvir and thus
this will help bring about better access to patients globally.
Comment
Although the deal would be beneficial to India as it is estimated to have approximately
18.2 million people living with Hepatitis C virus (HCV). However, China, with the
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largest HCV burden of 29.8 million infected, and Brazil and Ukraine with 2.6 million
and 1.9 million HCV burden respectively have been excluded as they are considered
commercial markets.
Many other countries with large HCV burden like Thailand, Malaysia, Peru, Argentina,
Ecuador and Colombia have also been left out of the agreement.
What are covered are typically poorer countries where the burden is not as high.
These countries would not have borne the burden of patent system as they have
been exempt from patent obligations.
About Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus. The virus can cause
both acute and chronic hepatitis infection, ranging in severity from a mild illness
lasting a few weeks to a serious, lifelong illness.
The hepatitis C virus is a bloodborne virus and the most common modes of
infection are through unsafe injection practices; inadequate sterilization of medical
equipment in some health-care settings; and unscreened blood and blood
products.
130150 million people globally have chronic hepatitis C infection.
A significant number of those who are chronically infected will develop liver
cirrhosis or liver cancer.
350 000 to 500 000 people die each year from hepatitis C-related liver diseases.
Antiviral medicines can cure hepatitis C infection, but access to diagnosis and
treatment is low.
Antiviral treatment is successful in 5090% of persons treated, depending on the
treatment used, and has also been shown to reduce the development of liver
cancer and cirrhosis.
There is currently no vaccine for hepatitis C, however research in this area is
ongoing.
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Nasdaq-listed Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp on 15 September 2014 acquired
healthcare IT services provider TriZetto Corp for 2.7 billion US dollars. The acquisition
is aimed at boosting the healthcare business of Cognizant.
Cognizant acquired TriZetto from London-based private equity firm Apax Partners
LLP. Apax Partners acquired TriZetto in 2008 and was exploring a sale of the company.
Cognizant is expected to have revenue synergies of 1.5 billion US dollars over the
next five years from this deal. Cognizant will fund the deal through a combination of
cash and debt.
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp provides services such as claims processing,
billing and call center operations to insurers, hospitals. It also provides state-run
healthcare exchange set up under President Barack Obamas Affordable Care Act
known as Obamacare.
Cognizants healthcare business accounted for about 26 percent of total revenue in
2013. However, it declined in the last three quarters.

Microsoft Corp on 15 September 2014 acquired the Swedish video game company
Mojang for 2.5 billion US dollars. With this acquisition, Microsoft aims to lure young
audience into its mobile world.
Microsoft is primarily known for business software like Word and Outlook. But the
acquisition of Mojang will help Microsoft expand its gaming division which also
includes game franchises such as the Halo shooter game and Forza racing game.
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Microsoft Corp
Microsoft Corp is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Washington.
It was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in April 1975. It is the worlds largest
software maker as measured by revenues.
In 2013, Microsoft bought the handset and devices division of Finnish mobile phone
firm Nokia for 7.2 billion US dollars. In 2011, it spent 8.5 billion US dollars in acquiring
Skype which has its roots in Scandinavia and the Baltics.
Mojang
Mojang is a Stockholm-based developer of the wildly popular Minecraft video game.
It is with the Minecraft that Mojang brought in287 million US dollars revenue for the
country in 2013.
Mojang was co-founded in 2009 by Markus Persson who developed the hit Minecraft
game. Markus Persson previously worked at Swedens King Digital Entertainment
Plc who made the Candy Crush Saga game.
However, with this acquisition Persson will be departing the Mojang.
Minecraft
Introduced in 2009, Minecraft has sold more than 50 million copies for PCs,
smartphones and videogame consoles like Microsofts Xbox. Minecraft is the top
paid game app on Apple Incs iOS and Google Incs Android systems.
It is a construction game in which players can build nearly anything imaginable in a
digital world.

Tata Group company Croma and Snapdeal.com on 16 September 2014 tied up to
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sell electronic goods online. This omni-channel retail association will enable Croma
and Snapdeal to leverage from each others strengths.
Croma and Snapdeal already launched Lenovo tablets exclusively on the platform
and announced special offers on the Karbonn Titanium S10 mobile phone.

Goods available at Croma stores will now also be made available for purchase
through Snapdeal.com.
Croma and Snapdeal.com will jointly work towards market development initiatives.
Both the firms will collaborate on customer and vendor outreach programmes and
category development.
Both brands will work together for the exclusive launching of the products.
Omni-channel retail concept

The omni-channel retail concept is getting popularized in the market. In the beginning
of September 2014, the Future Group announced an investment of 100 crore rupees
to roll out its own omni-channel retail strategy over the next 18 months.
Even Shoppers Stop Ltd is in the process of drafting its omni-channel strategy which
will be rolled out over the next 24 months. Omni-channel retail is undoubtedly the
way forward in the Indian retail industry.

Pharma major Lupin on 16 September 2014 tied up with Germany-based
biopharmaceutical firm Merck Serono. With this tie-up, Lupin aims to expand its
portfolio initiative in emerging markets.
The agreement could add up to 20 new products to the current portfolio of the
companies. The first launches are expected in 2016.
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The partnership will majorly focus on cardiovascular and diabetes diseases with the
perspective of covering markets such as Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, Philippines along
with countries in Africa and Central Eastern Europe as well as the emerging markets.

Lupin will develop products, provide dossiers and supply finished products to
Merck Serono.
Merck Serono will be the marketing authorization holder for the products.
Merck Serono will leverage its strong commercial and medical teams in emerging
markets to bring new medicines in its portfolio to customers.
Lupin will receive upfront and milestone-based licensing fee as part of the
agreement.
Merck Serono will expand its overall portfolio in core therapeutic areas of general
medicine and endocrinology franchise in selected countries in Latin America, Asia,
Central Eastern Europe, and Africa.
Lupin Limited
Headquartered in Mumbai, Lupin Limited was instituted in 1968 by Dr Desh Bandhu
Gupta who is now the chairman of the company.
Lupin is an innovation led transnational pharmaceutical company which produces a
wide range of quality, affordable generic and branded formulations.
SEBI extended deadline by six months to appoint atleast one

women director on board
Market regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 15 September 2014
extended deadline by six months to appoint atleast one women director on board.
SEBI has extended the deadline till 31 March 2015.
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Earlier, all the listed companies were to have at least one woman director on the
board by 1 October 2014.
SEBI has also simplified its norms dealing with related party transactions, which
are now aligned with the Companies Act, 2013 and also the prevailing accounting
standards.
As per the latest data, about half the companies listed on the National Stock Exchange
(NSE) are yet to appoint a woman director despite it being mandatory under the
Companies Act.
The revised SEBI norms also allowed audit committees of each company to have an
umbrella resolution under which any related party transaction with a value of up to
one crore rupees could be entered into without the audit committee approving it in a
meeting.
As per the experts, the revised SEBI norms have also made it easier for transactions
between the holding company and its wholly-owned companies, and also between
two government companies.
SC issued notice to Union and all State governments on wetland

conservation
The Supreme Court on 10 September 2014 issued notice to the Union and all State
governments on a plea to preserve wetland and to restrain construction on such land.
The notice was issued by a SC bench headed by Chief Justice R M Lodha on a Public
Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by M K Balakrishnan. In the petition it was mentioned
that one third of Indias wetland has been wiped out and 38 percent of which was
depleted in the last 10 years.
It was also added that in every state including Bihar, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Andhra
Pradesh, Gujarat and Kerala, massive development, dumping of waste and lack of
conservation has threatened some of the finest wetlands of India.
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About Wetlands
Wetlands are defined as lands transitional between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems where the water table is usually at or near the surface or the land is covered
by shallow water.
The Convention on Wetlands came into force for India on 1 February 1982. India
presently has 26 sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance, with a
surface area of 689131 hectares.
Wetlands contribute to a healthy environment in many ways like they retain water
during dry periods and during periods of flooding, they mitigate floods and trap
suspended solids and attached nutrients.
Raya Power to set up 50 MW solar park in Andhra Pradesh

Rays Power Experts on 11 September 2014 announced to set up 50 mw Solar Power
Generation Park in Andhra Pradesh. The total cost of the project is 300 crore ruppes
and it will be completed by January 2015.
The project includes the complete infrastructure designing of the project, its technical
and engineering ground work, installation and commissioning.
About Rays Power Experts

Rays Power Experts is a third largest company in solar power executed in India. It
was started in 2009 and since 2011, it is catering the nationwide demand for clean,
sustainable energy. It has built its presence pan India with solarparks across 6 states.

Union government on 11 September 2014 decided to wind up HMT Watches in a
phased manner. HMT Watches is a wholly owned subsidiary of HMT limited.
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The Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE) recommended
closing the unit as it has been incurring losses since 2000.
The companys net loss rose to 242.47 crore rupees in 2012-13 from 224.04 crore
rupees in 2011-12.
At the end of March 2012, it also had government loan, including budgetary support
for salary and statutory dues which amounts to 694.52 crore rupees.
As on March 31, 2013, the company had 1105 employees.
Background
In 2000, HMT Watch Business group was restructured as HMT Watches Ltd. However,
the company started making losses soon after, following which a revival plan was
mooted and approved by the BRPSE in 2006.
With the Finance Ministry and Planning Commission not supporting the proposal, the
government had asked the company to get the plan vetted by a consultant.
According to the Directors Report of HMT Ltd, the watch company could not show
significant improvement in performance in 2012-13 due to factors like paucity of
working capital, erosion of trade channel and high cost of borrowings.
About HMT
The first manufacturing Unit was set up at Bangalore in 1961 in collaboration with
Japans Citizen Watch.
In 1972, HMT expanded its watch manufacturing capacity with a set up alongside
the Bangalore Factory to manufacture additional watches. In 1975, Watch factory at
Bangalore was further expanded to manufacture Main Spring, Hair spring and Shock
absorber components.
HMT set up additional manufacturing facilities to produce watch components sets at
Tumkur and Ranibagh in the year 1978 and 1985 respectively. Watch factory at Tumkur
was partially converted to manufacture Quartz Analog Watches in collaboration with
M/S Citizen Watch Co, Japan. To cater to the Niche market, a specialized watch case
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manufacturing facility was set up at Bangalore in 1983.
HMT Watches claimed many firsts to its credit like the automatic day-date watch to
the first Braille and quartz watches.

Apple Inc unveiled its iWatch on 9 September 2014 in United States. This customisable
smartwatch is designed to work with the iPhone 6.
The watch allows you to connect and communicate directly from your wrist.
Apple iWatch
The iWatch is also a great health and fitness device motivating you to get active.
An Activity app tracks your daily activity, and stores that information over time,
while a Workout app shows real-time information such as calories burned and
distance travelled and it can set you goals.
The Digital Crown enables you to interact with the watch without obstructing the
screen. The crown also operates as the home button.
The Apple Watch also has an accelerometer to measure body movement and it
uses the Wi-Fi and GPS in your iPhone to track distance.
For charging the Apple Watch, you simply need to hold the back of the watch near
the charging connector and magnets pull it into place.
The Apple Watch lets you control music on your iPhone or computer, or music
stored on the Watch itself.
The iWatch supports Siri. You can receive and send messages from your wrist
itself.

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BlackBerry acquired a U.K-based mobile technology start-up Movirtu on 11

September 2014. Movirtus software allows users to have multiple phone numbers
on the same device.
The acquisition of Movirtu will help BlackBerry in ramping up its portfolio of services
to cater to the needs of its corporate and government clients.
The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Movirtu
Movirtus virtual SIM technology allows an individual to have both a personal and
business number on a single mobile device. There is a separate billing for voice, data
and messaging usage on each number.
This allows employees to switch between work and personal profiles easily without
carrying multiple devices or SIM cards.
Movirtus technology works on BlackBerry devices as well as Apples iPhone and
smartphones powered by Googles Android operating system.
BlackBerry
BlackBerry, which dominated the smartphone market in its early years lost its ground
to Apples iPhone and Googles Android operating system. Since then, it has been
reshaping itself to build its core strengths in areas like mobile data security and
mobile device management.
Under the leadership of its new CEO John Chen, BlackBerry has moved rapidly to
stabilize itself by selling certain assets and partnering to make its manufacturing and
supply chain more efficient. It managed to raise cash via the sale of its real estate
holdings.
In July, it acquired a privately held German firm Secusmart to show its credentials
with security-conscious clients like government agencies. Secusmart specializes in
voice and data encryption.
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Engineering and information technology company Tata Technologies Ltd on 9
September 2014 appointed Warren Harris as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and
Managing Director (MD) of the company.
Warren Harris replaced Patrick McGoldrick who has retired from his position as CEO
and Managing Director of Tata Technologies after 20 years in the company. However,
McGoldrick will continue to provide counsel to the company board in retirement.
Warren Harris
Harris has been a part of Tata Technologies for 26 years. He was president and
chief operating officer of Tata Technologies since 2005.
He managed a worldwide expansion for the company overseeing a merger that
established the company as a major force in the U.S.
In 2003, he launched a joint venture in Japan that became the foundation of Tata
Technologies expansion in the Asia-Pacific region.
Mr. Harris holds a Bachelor of Engineering Degree (Honours), earned in 1986 from
the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology.
He is currently the Chairman of the Tata Network Forum in North America.

ICICI (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India) launched a Cardless
Cash Withdrawal service on 10 September 2014. The service allows its customers
to transfer money from their account to anyone in India with a mobile number. The
recipient can withdraw without a debit card or even a bank account.
In case of transfer, recipient can withdraw money round the clock without using
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a debit card from over ten thousand ATMs of ICICI Bank across the country. The
recipient can withdraw even without having a bank account of any bank but the
sender needs to be an ICICI Bank savings account holder.
Procedure
Any ICICI Bank savings account customer (sender) can initiate the facility by
logging into internet banking of ICICI Bank website.
The sender first needs to register the recipients name, mobile number and
address. The sender will get a four digit verification code while the recipient a
6-digit reference code through SMS.
The recipient can withdraw cash from almost all ICICI Bank ATMs by entering
mobile number, cash amount along with the verification and reference code, within
two days of the transaction.
Intel launched new range of Processors Xeon E5-v3 for Data

Centres
California-based chipmaker Intel on 9 September 2014 launched a new range of
processors Xeon E5-v3 to speed up performance in data centres.
The new range of processors is Xeon E5-2600/1600 v3 product families.
New range of processors aimed at addressing the requirements of diverse workloads
and the rapidly evolving needs of data centres.
The processors will be used in servers, workstations, and storage and networking
infrastructure to power a broad set of workloads such as data analytics, highperformance computing, telecommunications and cloud-based services, as well as
back-end processing for the Internet of Things.
India sectors like telecom, financial services, government, e-commerce, manufacturing
and cloud-based service providers will be benefited from this new series of processors.
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About Intel Corporation

Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Santa
Clara, California.
Intel is one of the largest and highest valued semiconductor chip makers in the world.
It is the inventor of the x86 series of microprocessors, the processors found in most
personal computers.
The 2013 rankings of the worlds 100 most valuable brands published by Millward
Brown Optimor showed the companys brand value at number 61.
Bharti Airtel announced agreement with Eaton Towers to divest

3500 towers in Africa
Bharti Airtel on 8 September 2014 announced an agreement with Eaton Towers to
divest 3500 towers in 6 African nations. Under the agreement, Bharti Airel signed a
10-year contract to sell and lease back these towers to Eaton.
According to the sources, the agreement is worth somewhere between 600 million
US dollars to 800 million US dollars.
The six nations under the agreement include Ghana, Uganda and Kenya but not
Nigeria. Nigeria is Bharti Airtels biggest African market.
Background
The sale of 3500 towers to Eaton Towers is a part of Airtel plan to sell most of its more
than 15000 mobile phone towers in 20 African countries to cut costs of maintenance.
Maintenance is typically more expensive in Africa due to factors such as security
costs and electricity shortages.
Earlier in July 2014, Bharti Airtel signed an agreement with Helios Towers Africa, a
firm owned by a consortium of investors, to sell towers across four countries in Africa.
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Bharti Airtel since buying the loss-making mobile phone operations in Africa from
Kuwaits Zain in 2010 is yet to earn a profit because of high operational costs and a
heavy debt load.
Comment
The deal is a win-win situation for both the Bharti Airtel and Eaton Towers. On the one
hand, the sale of assets is positive for Bharti Airtel investors as it helps the company
repay part of its debt load. At the end of June 2014, Bharti Airtel had a net debt of 9.6
billion US dollar most of which was related to its 9 billion US dollar purchase of the
African telecoms operations.
On the other hand, the deal would enable Eaton Towers to expand its footprint to
seven countries in Africa and give it more than 5000 towers. Under the terms of the
deal, Eaton Towers will also lease the former Bharti towers to other carriers.

Indian pharmaceutical major Cipla on 8 September 2014 announced a commercial
collaboration with UK-based S&D Pharma to distribute its products in the Czech
Republic and Slovakia.
Details of the collaborative agreement

Under the collaboration, Cipla will be drive its respiratory product portfolio in both
Czech Republic and Slovakia through a Cipla owned sales force team, managed
by Cipla commercial head.
S&D Pharma will physically distribute all products including respiratory products.
Future Vision
After regulatory approvals, Cipla would launch the Salmeterol-Fluticasone fixed
combination inhaler in Czech Republic and Slovakia under the name Fullhale.
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The combination inhaler was already launched in Germany under the name Serroflo
as well as in Sweden where the combination was launched as Salmeterol-Fluticasone
Cipla.
Cipla
Cipla is one of the global leaders in respiratory medicines with its range of drugs and
devices sold in over 100 countries. It was incorporated in 1935.
Dr. Yusuf K. Hamied is the chairman of Cipla who was honoured with Padmabhushan
Award in the year 2005.
S&D Pharma
S&D Pharma represents global pharmaceutical companies and manages the
promotion and distribution of their products in Central Europe.
With its head office in United Kingdom, S&D Pharma operates in three other regions
including Czech Republic, Slovakia and Bulgaria.

The Swedish company Electrolux agreed to buy a home-appliances unit of General
Electric Company of Louisville for 3.3 billion US dollars in cash. The agreement was
done on 8 September 2014. This acquisition would enable Electrolux to compete
with Whirlpool in US Market.
The combination of Electrolux and GEs appliance businesses would represent
a combined market share of over 26% of the American major appliances market
according to data from consultancy Euromonitor. It will outdistance Whirlpool, which
commands over 25% of the US market.
Electrolux said it would continue to use the GE Appliances brand.
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About the GE-Electrolux Deal
GE is selling all the smaller businesses as it is concentrating on its heavy industrial
businesses such as jet engines, power turbines, and oil-sector services.
The deal comes amid a wave of consolidation among makers of home appliances
such as dish washers, washing machines, and cookers.
The GE deal gives the Swedish company a great market position in North America
with a combined market share of 40%, on par with that of market leader Whirlpool.
Electrolux gains economies of scale increasingly important in the appliance sector.
The purchase of GEs Appliances business - including cookers, refrigerators, air
conditioners and water heaters - will more than double Electroluxs sales in the US
market from the 31.9 billion crowns (4.5 billion US dollars) it had in 2013.
With this deal Electrolux will get access to both North and South America in a very
good way and will become very strong in all of the Americas.

Snapdeal on 4 September 2014 signed 50:50 Joint Venture with Den Networks. The
deal was aimed to extend its reach to television home shopping audiences.
The venture will leverage the robust distribution network of Den Networks and
Snapdeals wide product range and more than 30000 vendors.
Den Networks is the largest cable TV distribution company of India. The company
serves 13 million homes in more than 200 cities.
This deal would benefit both Snapdeal and Den Networks where Snapdeal gets direct
access to millions of households at one go while Den gains from the deep domain
expertise of the former to build up a strong revenue stream.
The deal creates an entity that could evolve into something similar to US based QVC,
the world largest home shopping company with annual sales of 8.6 billion US dollar.
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Bharti Airtel launched music streaming app Wynk for Android

and iOS
Bharti Airtel, the largest mobile operator in India, on 2 September 2014 launched
Wynk Music app for Android and iOS. The app is a carrier agnostic music streaming
mobile application.
Wynk is an innovative app that presents a whole new dimension to for music by
blending the technology and music.
With this, Airtel became the first operator to introduce an OTP (over-the-top) mobile
application in the Indian market.
Features of the Wynk app

The app users can access a library of more than 1.7 million regional and International
songs across 8 different languages such as; English, Hindi, Bhojpuri, Punjabi,
Telugu, Bengali, Tamil, and Kannada.
This advertisement-free app will make the money through subscriptions.
All users can stream the songs of their choice without any subscription and they
can also tune into ad-free internet radio.
Wynk Music is the only app with a vernacular User Iterface, and it also offers the
Hindi interface option.
User can choose between three preset sound qualities according to their needs,
with regular@32kbps, medium@64kbps and high@128kbps.
Streaming and download options are accessible with both via Wi-Fi connectivity
and mobile internet.
Currently, Airtel has more than 200 million customers, out of which 20 % customers
use smartphones and for the success of this paid app, company is company looking
forwar to the smartphone users.
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Bharti Enterprises is already promoting the instant messaging application Hike. With
the launch of Wynk, Airtel is directly competing with well established music app like;
Gaana and Saavn.

V Nagarajan on 4 September 2014 took over as Director (Commercial) of Indraprastha
Gas Ltd. (IGL).
Before joining the new assignment at IGL, he was serving as Senior Vice President
in-charge of Bina dispatch terminal at Bharat Oman Refineries Limited in Bina
About V Nagarajan
He is a post graduate in Organic Chemistry
He carries a diverse experience on over 32 years in operations, retail, industrial
and commercial sales and businesses. He gained this diverse experience during
his service in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited
About Indraprastha Gas Ltd. (IGL)

Indraprastha Gas Ltd. (IGL) is a joint venture company of GAIL (India) Ltd. and Bharat
Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) along with the Government of the National Capital
Territory of Delhi. It was incorporated in 1998, IGL took over Delhi City Gas Distribution
Project in 1999 from GAIL (India) Limited (Formerly Gas Authority of India Limited).
In Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) towns like Noida, Greater Noida and
Ghaziabad, IGL is the sole supplier of
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)
Piped Natural Gas (PNG)
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GMR Infrastructure on 2 September 2014 signed Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) for infrastructure sector.
The objective of this MoU is to provide low-cost, long-term financing for infrastructure
projects that involve Japanese companies. These could be for the development of
industrial parks, power, energy, ports, airports, highways and railway projects.
The MOU was signed by BVN Rao, Business Chairman, Urban-Infrastructure and
Highways, GMR.Over the next 12 months, GMR and JBIC will work on identifying
projects to attract Japanese investments.
The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) intended to promote opportunities
for Japanese companies to participate in infrastructure projects and also support
them to lay a foundation in India.
About GMR Group

The GMR Group is engaged in the development of infrastucture projects in the publicprivate partnership mode.
GMR Group is one of the fastest growing infrastructure enterprises in the country
with interests in Airports, Energy, Highways and Urban Infrastructure sectors.
GMR Infrastructure Limited is the infrastructure holding company formed to fund the
capital requirements of various infrastructure projects across the sectors. It undertakes
the development of the infrastructure projects through its various subsidiaries.
The Group also has a global presence with infrastructure operating assets and
projects in Turkey, Indonesia and Nepal.

United Bank of India on 1 September 2014 declared debt-ridden Kingfisher Airlines
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and its owner Vijay Mallya as wilful defaulters. Three Kingfisher Airlines Ltd directors
A.K. Ganguly, Subhash Gupte and Ravi Nedungadi were also declared as wilful
defaulters.
This declaration would cut off further bank finance for UB Group companies by
empowering banks to change course for managing firms who fail to pay. Banks
will now initiate criminal proceedings against Mallya and force him to quit company
boards.
Impact of wilful defaulter tag on Vijay Mallyas position

Mallya may have to quit as non-executive chairman of United Spirits Ltd. in which a
British company Diageo Plc holds nearly 55 percent of the shares.
Mallya will have to step down as Mangalore Chemicals chairman. On 22 April 2014,
Pune-based Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corp. Ltd launched a bid for
Mangalore Chemicals.
The banks had an exposure of Rs.350 crore to the Kingfisher Airlines. Kingfisher
owed 6521 crore rupees to a lender consortium led by State Bank of India and an
additional 403 crore rupees to United Bank. As per the RBI guidelines, banks can
take every possible step to recover their funds.
To recover the funds, banks in February 2013 decided to sell a portion of the security
with them which includes shares of UB group companies- United Spirits Ltd and
Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd, Mallyas Goa villa, Kingfisher House in Mumbai
and the Kingfisher brand. All these valued at over 4000 crore rupees at the time.
Wilful Default
A wilful default occurs when either a borrower has not repaid when he can do so,
or when sanctioned funds have been used for other purposes or when the borrower
disposes off the assets assured for availing of the loan without the banks knowledge.
According to the guidelines of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), once a wilful defaulter
notice is issued, the borrower has 15 days to defend himself in front of the bank. The
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wilful defaulter tag gives surety that the borrower and any firm on the board of which
he is a director will not get a loan from any financial institution in future.
The tag wilful defaulter entails serious consequences including penal consequences.
Thus, Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) and Vijay Mallya were deprived of an opportunity
to be represented by a trained legal professional. Even learned single judge and
the division bench of the Calcutta high court by orders dated 10 July 2014 and
28 August 2014 dismissed a writ petition and an appeal filed by KFA against the
arbitrary, unreasonable, untenable and unlawful denial of the right to be represented
by advocates of its choice at the hearing to be held before the Grievance Redressal
Committee set up by UBI.
Venus Remedies tied up with Israel-based generic drug maker

Teva
Pharmaceutical firm Venus Remedies tied up with Israel-based generic drug maker
Teva on 1 September 2014 for selling an anti- cancer drug in the Canadian market.
Details of the collaborative agreement

Initially, Venus Remedies would be manufacturing the anti- cancer drug at its
research unit Venus Medicine Research Centre for assisting Teva in registrations.
Thereafter, Venus will assist Teva in enhancing the business from this drug in the
Canadian market through its manufacturing capabilities.
Teva will use the infrastructure and regulatory competence of Venus for the
commercialization of this anti-cancer product in the Canadian market
This association will help Venus capture a sizeable market share for this product
in the first year of the agreement.
The anti-cancer drug

The high-potential drug is under patent protection till 2016. The drug is mainly used
for the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma and non-squamous non-small
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cell lung cancer.
The market size of this anti-cancer drug in Canada is 75-100 million US dollars.
USFDA granted QIDP status to Indian pharmaceutical firm Wockhardt

US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) on 31 August 2014 granted Qualified
Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) status to two drugs of Wockhardt, an Indian
firm. The two drugs that received the QIDP are WCK 771 and WCK 2349. With this,
Wockhardt became the first Indian Pharmaceutical company whose drugs have
received the QIDP status. WCK 771 is an intravenous (IV) drug while WCK 2349 is
a solid oral tablet. These two drugs act against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus
Aureus (MRSA), which causes a range of diseases from skin infection to severe
respiratory infections. Besides this these two drugs have also shown potential in
treatment of Hospital Acquired Pneumonia (HAP).
About QIDP status

QIDP status is granted to drug that acts against pathogens that have a high degree
of unmet need in their treatment. These drugs are identified by the Centre for Disease
Control, the US governments health and safety body. This status allows fast-track
review of drug applications by FDA, paving the way for an early launch.
About Wockhardt
Wockhardt is a highly technology intensive global pharmaceutical and biotechnology
company.
It is multi-disciplinary and innovative R&D programmes globally, are strongly
focused on creating Intellectual Properties.
It has 3 research centres globally and manufacturing facilities across India, USA,
UK and Ireland.
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STATE
Himachal Pradesh government in September 2014 introduced Cage Culture technique
of fish farming in water bodies created by the Himachal Pradesh Mid-Himalayan
Watershed Development Project.
The state government had introduced the cage culture scheme by constructing
earthen run-off dam at Kudini (Kudini Dam) in gram panchayat Dabat, Watershed
Development Division Naina Devi with an area of 1.43 hectare and pondage capacity
of 4.28 hectare. The technique has been adopted after studying it in small reservoirs
and ponds of Jharkhand, the state that is considered as a leading state in fish farming.
Introduction of the technique would help people in rural areas of the state among
whom fish farming is a profitable livelihood activity and also makes them economically
viable.
Cage Culture technique of fish farming

The Cage culture technique of fish farming is an Aquaculture Production System
where fish are reared in floating net cages. These fish cages can be placed in dams,
lakes, ponds and rivers with average depth of five meters to raise and protect the
fingerlings until they are harvested. Fishes that are stocked in cages are fed with
commercial feeds and harvested when they reach market size.
These cages are made up of nylon nets and the frame is made up of iron pipes joint
together through welding with plastic drums as floaters.
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AP Government signed MoU with Google India for Digital AP
project
The Andhra Pradesh (AP) Government on 29 September 2014 signed the
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement with Google India for Digital AP
project. The agreement was signed at the CEOs Conclave of Information Technology
(IT) companies in AP.
Under the memorandum, Google India will work with the AP government to get
women and small and medium businesses online and help them gain from the internet
economy. It will launch a series of initiatives to transform the State into digital AP in
a record time.
By improving accessibility to government websites and scaling the local language
web, Google will endeavour to make the Internet more meaningful to the users who
do not speak English.
Highlights of the MoU Agreement

Google will make websites mobile-ready and accessible in the local language.
It will promote Internet Safety amongst children and government officials.
Google will improve the online content as well as will get more local language
content online.
It will collaborate with AP government to scale initiatives to promote digital literacy
amongst women.
The initiatives will include developing Telugu font, keyboards and content.
Digital AP Project
The Government of Andhra Pradesh intends to develop Andhra Pradesh into a global
digital development hub with its Digital AP project. The vision laid out under the Digital
AP project is in tandem with the Digital India Initiative of Prime Minister Narendra
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Modi.
Important MoUs signed with other companies

The event also marked the launch of a Technology Research and Incubation Park
at Madhurawada IT Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The AP government signed
MoU with Kochi-based company Start-up Village for managing the incubation
park.
AP government also signed MoU with various IT companies for setting up their
facilities in and around Visakhapatnam. These include MoU with Tech Mahindra
for its facility over 10 acres of land. It is expected to provide 5000 jobs.
Another MoU was signed with Wipro to accord SEZ status to its existing campus
in the city. The facility will increase the number of jobs to 7000.
Under another agreement, the government allotted 13 acres at Gambheeram
IT SEZ to Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research
(SAMEER) to set up a research and development centre.
O Panneerselvam sworn-in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

AIADMK Treasurer O Panneerselvam was sworn-in as Chief Minister (CM) of Tamil
Nadu on 29 September 2014. He replaced the former AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa.
He is the 28th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu since 1920. Along with Panneerselvam,
the State Cabinet was also sworn-in by the Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah.
Background
O Panneerselvam was elected as the leader of the legislature party of AIADMK on 28
September 2014 following the resignation of AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa.
J Jayalalithaa was convicted in the 18 year old disproportionate assets case of over
66 crore rupees. Bangalore Special Court awarded a four year prison term to her
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after finding her guilty of amassing unaccounted wealth.
Following the conviction, she lost the position of being an elected member of the
legislative Assembly and also the Chief Ministership. After stepping-down from her
position, she named her loyalist O Panneerselvam for the post of Tamil Nadu Chief
Minister.
O Panneerselvam
Panneerselvam was born on 14 January 1951.
He is a member of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party of
Tamil Nadu.
Panneerselvam served as the chairman of Periakulam municipality in 1996.
He became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in September 2001 when then Chief
Minister Jayalalithaa was barred from holding office by the Supreme Court of
India. He served the office till 2002.
He also served as the Finance Minister of Tamil Nadu in the Jayalalithaa cabinet
from 2011 to 2014.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 24 September 2014 inaugurated India Food Park
at Tumkur in Karnataka. Through this park, Indian farmers will get access to global
markets.
The motive behind setting up the park is to empower the farmers by facilitating value
addition through creation of appropriate infrastructure including rural connectivity,
storage and warehousing.
Moreover, Food Processing Ministry will approve 17 such food parks across the
country over the next few months attracting investments of about 2100 crore rupees.
Each park is estimated to attract a minimum investment of about 125 crore rupees.
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About the India Food Park

The food park is a public private partnership programme of the Union ministry of
food processing industries.
The food park is an initiative of Future Group chief Kishore Biyani. The Future
Group invested 140 crore rupees for its construction and another 120 crore rupees
will be invested before it is fully commissioned.
Karnataka government has allotted the land under the Karnataka Industrial Areas
Development Board (KIADB).
The park will provide infrastructure facilities for food processing along the value
chain from the farm to the market.
This 110 acre park will be equipped with 60 medium-sized food processing units
that make ready-to-eat products. Moreover, there will also be in-house pulping,
milling, flouring, spice and dal units.
Tamil Nadu government announced Price Stabilization fund for

green tea leaf
Tamil Nadu Government on 26 September 2014 announced a Price Stabilisation
Fund for Green Tea Leaf with a corpus of 12 crore rupees.
Besides, the government announced a support price of 2 rupee per kg for green tea
leaf will be given to small tea growers from the fund.
The Tamil Nadu Government will contribute 8 crore rupees and Tamil Nadu Small
Tea Growers Industrial Cooperative Tea Factories Federation Ltd (INDCOSERVE) will
pitch in with 4 crore rupees towards the corpus for 2014-15 fiscal year.
Every year, INDCOSERVE will give 75 percent of its profits from the sale of Ooty tea
and the rest will be provided by the State government to price stabilisation fund.
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Government of Madhya Pradesh (MP) will host Global Investors Summit (GIS) 2014
in October at Indore to attract major investment in Madhya Pradesh. The summit is
scheduled to be held from 8 October 2014 to 10 October 2014.
The theme of the Global Investors Summit 2014 is Invest Madhya Pradesh.
Highlights of the Global Investors Summit 2014

The three-day summit will aim to showcase the strengths and industrial prowess
of Madhya Pradesh and provide global platform for interaction with the Indian
industry leaders, policy makers and other stakeholders.
The focus sectors will be agri-business and food processing, automobile and
engineering, healthcare, industrial infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, IT, renewable
energy, textile and handloom, technical education and skill development, tourism
and urban development.
Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation is tasked with the duty
to make special arrangements of recreational outings for domestic and foreign
participants of the GIS.
Australia, Mexico, Canada, Czech Republic, Republic of South Africa and Quebec
will participate in the summit as partner countries.
The ambassadors and high commissioners of Poland, Belgium, Bangladesh,
Bolivia, Sweden, Mexico, Canada, Czech Republic, South Africa, Malaysia and
Australia have also confirmed their participation.
Background
Madhya Pradesh first organised the Global Investors Summit (GIS) in 2007 when it
signed 102 Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) worth 1.20 trillion rupees. Every
summit is based on a particular theme and aimed at bringing together business
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leaders, investors, corporations, thought leaders, policy and opinion makers.
Last Global Investors Summit was held in 2012 which witnessed 15 Partner States,
1300 MSME Delegates, 850 MSMEs, 10 Sector Seminar as well as 2200 Delegates.
Specialty of Madhya Pradesh

MP is rich in natural resources including fuels, mineral agriculture and biodiversity.
It is the only diamond producing state in India.
The state has the coalfield with Asias thickest coal seam of 135 meters as well as
Indias largest opencast copper mine.
Around 14 percent of the cement is produced in Madhya Pradesh.
Madhya Pradesh has received three Krishi Karman award for three consecutive
years 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Madhya Pradesh has immense potential for wildlife tourism, adventure and ecotourism.
About 20,000 hectares of land is available for industrial development in Madhya
Pradesh.
AP Government on 23 September 2014 issued an order enhancing the upper age
limit for direct recruitment in government service from 34 to 40 years. This new order
will come in to force from 30 September 2016.
However, the concession in the upper age limit will not be applicable for direct
recruitment into uniformed services like police, excise, fire, prisons and forest
departments that have set physical standards.
The enhancement of age limit from 34 years to 40 years for direct recruitment is
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due to bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh that led to some gap in the conduct of direct
recruitment. The bifurcation of the Andhra Pradesh created the subsequent fall out,
shrinking opportunities to the educated employed youth in the Andhra Pradesh.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) observed World Green Building Week from 22
September 2014 to 27 September 2014. The week is simultaneously being observed
in over 100 countries.
The theme of the week is Get up, Green Up. The week aimed to promote construction
of environment-friendly buildings.
The DMRC has partnered with the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) of the
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
The Delhi Metro has decided to design all its phase-III stations as green buildings.
Benefit of Green Metro

In a green Metro, the energy consumption will come down by 20 per cent and fresh
water usage will come down by 30 per cent.
Green Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) Rating

Earlier, in September 2014, the DMRC launched the IGBC Green Mass Rapid Transit
System (MRTS) rating in association with the IGBC and other stakeholders.
The rating was launched at the 12th edition of the CII-IGBC Green Building Congress
meet at Hyderabad.
The rating is the worlds first comprehensive rating for rail-based MRTS networks.
MRTS projects will holistically apply this rating during design and construction, so as
to enhance environmental benefits.
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The Uttar Pradesh government on 19 September 2014 decided to open Nirbhaya
Centers in all districts of the state. These Nirbhaya Centers will provide prompt help
to the victims of crime against women and also facilitate lodging of FIRs.
The decision of opening Nirbhaya centers was taken during a high-level meet chaired
by Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan. As per the decision made during the meet, the
Nirbhaya centers will be set up in women hospitals or women police stations with the
view to provide immediate medical and other help to the victims of crime or violence
against women.
For running and overall monitoring of these centres at the state level, a committee
headed by the chief secretary would be set up. The nodal officers will be nominated
in home, medical, health and law departments for completing necessary works for
setting up these centers.
Apart from this, to bring all schemes meant for empowerment of women, under one
umbrella, the government directed the concerned officials to complete the formalities
for setting up Asha Jyoti Kendras in pilot districts. The officials have also been
asked to take up awareness drives for the schemes through the State Information
Department. The officials have been said that any laxity in providing relief to victims
and ensuring safety would not be tolerated.

The Sixth Delhi Economic Census 2013 was released on 19 September 2014. The
economic census was released by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics of
Delhi Government.
The field work for the Economic Census was conducted between February 2013 and
June 2013. It included all types of entrepreneurial activities in the field of agricultural
and non-agricultural activities (except crop-production and plantation).
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Highlights of the census

The average employment size per enterprise in Delhi is 3.34, which is higher than
the national average of 2.18.
Only 3.32 percent of all establishments in Delhi have employed eight or more
workers.
The total number of establishments operating in Delhi has increased from 7.55
lakh during the fifth Economic Census conducted in 2005 to 8.93 lakh in 2013,
indicating an 18.35 percent growth.
Of the 2984850 people working in the establishments, a majority are men,
constituting as much as 87.8 percent.
Women constitute a meager 12.2 percent while the composition of women in total
employment is 30.90 percent at the all-India level.
Interestingly, only 68.70 per cent of the total workers are hired indicating that the
remaining are often made up of family members or others helping the owners.
About 1.53 percent of the total establishments in the country are located in NCT
of Delhi. Of the establishments, 76.89 percent operate with a fixed structure and
the rest around 23.11 percent operate from households without a fixed structure.
The maximum number of establishment i.e.1.53 lakh is located in Central District
followed by West and North-East district.
In case of employment, the maximum number of 5.76 lakh persons is working in
Central District while, 19.3 percent followed by South-East and North District.
Assam Chief Minister launched Angel Fund for first generation

entrepreneurs
Chief Minister of Assam Tarun Gagoi on 19 September 2014 launched an Angel
Fund. The fund has been launched to help the first generation entrepreneurs and
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skilled youths to set up micro and small enterprises in Assam.
The fund was launched at a conference of general managers of District Industries
and Commerce Centres (DICCs).
Provisions of Angel Fund

Under the Fund plan, the first generation entrepreneurs can get a maximum loan
of 5 lakh rupees at 5 percent interest per annum
The loan will have a moratorium period of maximum 10 months, during which no
interest rates will be charged
Chief Minister also said that
the maximum loan amount
under the scheme would be
increased from the existing 5
lakh rupees in future for
allowing expansion of the
businesses of the young
entrepreneurs.
Background
The newly launched Angel Fund in Assam
was announced by Chief Minister Tarun Gagoi
in his 2013 budget speech. Earlier, the state
government earmarked a sum of 12 crore
rupees for the Angel Fund.
Earlier, for the purpose of operation of the Angel fund scheme a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) was signed between the State Government and Assam Gramin
Vikash Bank. The MoU was signed by the Commissioner and Secretary, Industries
and Commerce, Rajesh Prasad on behalf of the State Government and Chairman,
Assam Gramin Vikash Bank, Shio Shankar Singh in the presence of Chief Minister
Tarun Gogoi and State Minister for Industries and Commerce Pradyut Bordoloi.
About Angel Investors

Angel investors are people, group or financial group that provides financial backing
to entrepreneurs or small startups. These funds in form of financial backing could
be obtained from these investors at the time of start-up of the company or for the
ongoing projects during the difficult times.
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Unicode based mobile app launched in Kannada for android phones
The Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah on 19 September 2014 launched a
Unicode based mobile app in Kannada for android phones. The source code of the
app can be downloaded free of cost by the users from the website of the Kannada
and Culture Department.
The Unicode version was launched in a bid to improve the usage of Kannada on
mobile phones and tabs. Earlier, the app linked to the Kannada language was available
through private players but now the Government has officially introduced the app.
The Unicode Converter System that will enable the users to download any content
in Kannada from across the world in the Android phones has been developed by the
committee headed by Dr. K Chidananda Gowda, former Vice-Chancellor of Kuvempu
University, Shimoga.
Apart from the mobile based app, the Chief Minister also unveiled Kannada Braille
script for blinds. This version that will be available free of cost will accompany voice
mode which can be heard when the scripts key is touched on computer.

Goa on 17 September 2014 became a permanent venue for the International Film
Festival of India (IFFI).
To make Goa a permanent venue for IFFI, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
was signed between Information and Broadcasting Secretary Bimal Julka and Chief
Secretary of Goa State B. Vijayan. The MoU was signed in the presence of Union
Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar and Goa Chief Minister
Manohar Parrikar.
The 45th International Film Festival of India will be held from 20 November to 30
November 2014 in Goa. The years edition of the festival will have a new section of
Konkani and Marathi cinema, along with a separate section on northeastern cinema.
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Background
Goa became the venue for the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in 2004, the
year when the venue was shifted from New Delhi. Since 2004, Goa has been an adhoc arrangement between the state and the central authorities and was renewed
every year but was formalised on 17 September 2014.
Kotha Prabhakar Reddy of Telangana Rastra Samiti (TRS) Party won the by-election
for Medak Parliament constituency in Telangana on 16 September 2014. The election
for the constituency was held on 13 September 2014.
Prabhakar Reddy got 571810 votes while her nearest rival Suneetha Lakshma Reddy
of Indian National Congress got 210524 votes giving a majority of 361286 votes.
The Medak Parliamentary constituency seat was left vacant after TRS Chief K Chandra
Shekar Rao (KCR) resigned to become the Chief Minister of the State.
In the simultaneous elections held for Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha of Telangana in
May 2014, KCR contested from both Gajwel Assembly seat and Medak Parliament
constituency. He won both the seats with majority. However, he resigned from Medak
constituency and opted for Gajwel Assembly seat to become the Chief Minister of
the State.
NTPC and AP government signed MoU for development of 1000

MW Solar Power Projects
NTPC and state government of Andhra Pradesh on 16 September 2014 signed
a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for developing 1000 MW solar power(s)
in Andhra Pradesh. The MoU was inked in Hyderabad, the joint capital of Andhra
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Pradesh and Telangana.
As per the MoU, NTPC shall develop 1000 MW solar power Project(s) at sites identified
by Government of Andhra Pradesh on Build-Own-Operate (BOO) basis, in a phased
manner. The MoU was signed by Dr. Arup Roy Choudhury, Chairman & Managing
Director, NTPC and Shri Ajay Jain, Secretary to Government of Andhra Pradesh,
Department of Energy.
On the occasion, the documents for transfer of land for 4000 MW Pudipadaka Thermal
Power Project were also handed over to NTPC on the occasion.
Tangirala Sowmya of TDP won Nandigama Assembly by-poll of

AP
Tangirala Sowmya of Telugu
Desam Party won Nandigama
Assembly by-poll of Andhra
Pradesh on 16 September
2014. The election was held
on 13 September 2014. She
won by 74827 votes on her
rival Bodapati Babu Rao of
Indian National Congress.
Sowmya, a software engineer,
Background
The by-election was held in Nandigama
Assembly Constituency due to the vacancy
caused by the death of TDP MLA, Tangirala
Prabhakara Rao due to a cardiac arrest. He
died days after he was elected in the May
2014 General Election polls. The newly elected
MLA T.Sowmya is the daughter of Late MLA
T.Prabhakara Rao.
got 99748 votes while her

opponent got 24921 votes. She won the by-polls, riding on the sympathy wave of
her fathers death.
YSR Congress, the main Opposition Party of Andhra Pradesh didnt fielded candidate
after TDP requested other parties to make the election unanimous.
Indian National Congress, which lost the identity after AP bifurcation suffered the
loss yet again. However it lost without losing the deposit, this was the only thing to
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cheer up for the National Party.
Prime Minister launched Gujarat Governments 11 schemes under Swavalamban Abhiyan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 17 September 2014 launched 11 schemes under
Swavalamban Abhiyan, an initiative of the Gujarat Government. The schemes were
launched in a function held at the Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar in the presence
of Governor OP Kohli and Chief Minister Anandiben Patel.
The launched schemes includes

Financial support to women cattle breeders from the tribal communities to procure
milch cattle and equipment
Distribution of milking machines and chaff cutters assistance to women members
of the milk producing co-operative societies
Assistance to women milk producing co-operative societies and free allotment of
land for establishing Dairies, dudh ghar
Mukhyamantri Amrutam Maa Vatsalya Yojana, a health scheme for lower income
families
Assistance for health care to construction labors suffering from occupational
health diseases
Pandit Dindayal Upadhyaya young entrepreneurship scheme: Interest subsidy on
self-employment loans for ITI trainees
Tablet distribution to ITI trainees who have passed Computer Courses
Shri Nanaji Deshmukh housing scheme for construction workers
Interest benefit to farmers to build warehouse in farm, tablet distribution to ITI
apprentice studying computer courses
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Dattopant Thengadi Artisans Interest Subsidy Scheme
eMPEXb - Formation of a new apex organisation for employment facilitation and
extension services
Delhi Police on 16 September 2014 decided to launch its first e-police station to deal
exclusively with vehicle thefts.
The move comes as a part of its plan to record vehicle thefts online.
The Crime Branch will be the nodal unit for completing all the backhand tasks related
to the virtual police station.
Digitally signed FIRs

The digitally signed FIRs will be generated as soon as a victim fills in his details and
writes his complaint at the virtual or e-police station. The app will use the one-time
password system for verifying the complainants identity. Once the FIR is generated,
a copy will be sent to the victims email-address.
The FIR will also be automatically sent to the PCR and area Station House Officer
(SHO) concerned. Moreover, it will be subsequently sent to all SHOs of Delhi and all
district superintendents of police in the country for investigation purposes.
Comment
The initiative is seen a big relief to people most of whom never get the cars back after
these are stolen. However, they still have to run from pillar to post to get an untraced
report to claim insurance.
With this initiative in place, the victim will be able to report the loss of his vehicle from
home, get an updated status and even be informed automatically as soon as the car
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is traced. If not, they will automatically get an untraced report within a stipulated time
period, sources said.
With around 71500 cases registered overall in the same time period, data indicates
that every seventh case is that of a vehicle theft.
ASSOCHAM estimated J&K floods caused losses of 5700 crore

rupees to states economy
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) on 14
September 2014 estimated that floods in Jammu & Kashmir have caused losses of
5700 crore rupees to the States economy. The estimated loss is about 10 percent of
the States Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Further, the hardest hit industries by the floods include trade, hotels, restaurants,
horticulture, and handicrafts besides basic infrastructure of power, railways and
communication.
ASSOCHAM in its estimation distributed the states economic loss into two
parts, and they are
About 2630 crore rupees: due to the loss of hotels, trade, agriculture- horticulture,
roads and bridges in the Jammu and Kashmir regions
About 2700 to 3000 crore rupees: due to destruction of high-cost Railways, power
and communication in the hilly terrains
However, ASSOCHAM said that the real loss to the economy of Jammu and Kashmir
will be much higher, which would be seen in the later days.
Comment: One of the worst floods of Jammu and Kashmir in last 60 years has
not only disrupted the life of people and thrown out the infrastructure like railways,
communication and power, but it also raised a question that does the human
attitude and efforts to disturb nature to fulfill his/her desire is a challenge for the next
generation?S
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West Bengal cabinet cleared farmer-friendly project Sech-Bandhu Prakalpa to boost irrigation
The West Bengal cabinet on 12 September 2014 cleared a farmer-friendly project
Sech-Bandhu Prakalpa to boost irrigation.
The project aimed to offer 46000 new pump sets with power connectivity to the
farmers to boost irrigation.
The move will help the farmers in a big way and keep them away from illegal power
consumption. As a result, it would help reduce power theft and improve regularised
power supply in rural Bengal.
Colleges to have website

Along with this, the state cabinet also decided that all colleges have to launch its own
website for introduction of online admission process from the 2015-16 academic
year.
States higher Education Ministry has already sanctioned 1.5 lakh rupees to each
college for the purpose.
Also, the state cabinet upgraded 100 class-VIII standard schools in the state to
secondary standard and 400 secondary schools to Higher Secondary standard with
effect from the 2015-16 academic year.
Delhi Government to charge cess of one rupee on cigarette and

liquor to promote public tra
Delhi government on 12 September 2014 decided to charge cess of one rupee on
every packet of cigarette and every bottle of liquor to promote public transport.
Delhi government decided to establish an urban transport fund to promote public
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transport and its use in a bid to tackle the rising pollution levels in the national capital.
The decision was taken under the high powered committee meeting. The meeting
was held under the chairmanship of the Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung.
The committee was constituted in May 2014. The committee was formed to suggest
short-term and long-term measures to help check pollution levels.
Following are the decisions taken by the committee to curb rising Pollution
The government has also decided to introduce eight coaches in 129 metro trains
by March 2017. So far, only 58 metro trains run with 8 coaches.
The Pollution Under Control (PUC) norms for all vehicles plying in Delhi will be
regularised. Soon Delhi Traffic Police will make it mandatory for all vehicles to
display a valid PUC sticker on the vehicle.
The Public Works Department (PWD) and Unified Traffic and Transportation
Infrastructure (Planning and Engineering) Centre (UTTIPEC) will make provisions of
U-turns or underpasses at specific border locations so that entry of non-destined
vehicles in Delhi may be prohibited and they be turned back.
Also, to check the menace of overloading, the Transport Department has been
asked to prepare a plan to install weigh-in-motion systems at all entry points in
Delhi.
Delhi Traffic Police will take strict action against unauthorised, obstructive parking
and will carry out an exercise to enforce No Parking/No Stopping/No Tolerance
Zone in the city.
DMRC has selected three metro stations to provide the charging infrastructure
support for the pilot fleet of electric and hybrid vehicles.
In addition, the DMRC has operationalised 34 CNG Mini buses.
Meanwhile, Delhi government will carry out an awareness drive about air pollution
in the city and will sensitise the public about measures that they can adopt to help
check pollution.
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Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh on 11 September 2014 inaugurated the integration
of Border Security Force (BSF) with Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications
and Geo Informatics (BISAG) project of Gujarat Government at BSF Camp in Bhuj,
Gujarat.
On the occasion of inauguration, the Union Home Minister was briefed about the
details and utility of BISAG and need for dedicated, encrypted channel for Para
Military Forces. He also discussed the all issues concerning border areas, creek and
costal security.
Apart from this, the Union Home Minister also visited BSF Mooring Place (Satish)
Koteshwar, where he was briefed about Mooring Place.
Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geo Informatics (BISAG)

BISAG a State level nodal agency of Gujarat to facilitate the use of spatial and geospatial technologies for planning and developmental activities to agriculture, land
and water resource management, wasteland/watershed development, forestry,
disaster management, infrastructure and education. Formerly, BISAG was known as
Remote Sensing and Communication Centre (RESECO) but was renamed after the
great Indian Mathematician of the 12th century, Bhaskaracharya.
The Institute started its operations in April 1997 and was renamed as Bhaskaracharya
Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics in December 2003.
Border Security Force (BSF)

The Border Security Force (BSF) is a Border Guarding Force of India that was
established on 1 December 1965. It is a paramilitary force and is charged with
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guarding Indias land border during peace time and preventing transnational crime.
It is a Union Government Agency under the administrative control of Ministry of Home
Affairs. It is one of many law enforcement agencies of India and currently stands as
the worlds largest border guarding force.
Puducherry CM presented Tax free budget for 2014-15 financial

year
Puducherry Chief Minister N.Rangasamy on 11 September 2014 presented a tax free
budget for 2014-15 financial year. The total budget of 6100 crore rupees included the
plan outlay of 2400 crore rupees and non-plan outlay of 3700 crore rupees.
Till August 2014, Puducherry government mopped up revenue of 399 crore rupees
collected through Value Added Tax whereas it was 119 crore rupees under the Central
Sales Tax.
Highlights of the Tax Free Budget of Puducherry:

An amount of 177.05 crore rupees was allocated to Department of Women and Child
Development. This amount will be used for setting up Nirbhaya Centres in Puducherry,
Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam Regions with financial assistance of the Union Ministry of
Women and Child Development.
With an aim to upgrade the infrastructure facilities of Puducherry, Rangasamy
announced a 1510 crore rupees project that includes development of roads at 609
crore rupees across the Union Territory, a 600 crore rupees drinking water scheme,
an underground drainage scheme at 140 crore rupees and a storm water discharge
and flood control scheme at 161 crore rupees.
Rangasamy also announced the setting up of a modern tool room with infrastructure
facilities at 100 crore rupees with the help of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises.
Moreover, a rural Economic zone was planned on a 25 acre land at Polagam in
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Karaikal. A total sum of 38 crore rupees was allocated for the construction of a bridge
at Ariyapalayam.
The construction of two grade separators at Indira Gandhi Square and Rajiv Gandhi
Square Junctions was proposed at an estimated cost of 70 crore rupees and 50
crore rupees respectively.
Other announcements
Around 3.02 lakh households will be covered under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan
Yojana scheme by the end of September 2014.
Direct recruitment/ Limited Departmental Competitive Examination for the post of
Upper Division Clerk will be conducted soon.
The income ceiling limit for Economically Weaker Section families was increased
from 24000 rupees to 75000 rupees per annum.
In order to safeguard the interests of public against the stray dog menace, it was
proposed to implement Animal Birth Control (ABC) and administer Anti-Rabies
Vaccines to over 32000 stray dogs at an estimated cost of 1 crore rupees.
50 percent subsidies were granted to 10 fishermen for acquiring steel mechanized
boats to boost marine fish production.
Relief to 20400 fishermen will be provided during the lean season by increasing
the relief amount from 200 rupees to 1000 rupees per family.

Rajasthan High Court on 10 September 2014 ordered to stop discrimination on the
basis of caste in cremation at various crematoriums in Jaipur. The bench asked Jaipur
Municipal Corporation (JMC) to submit an action taken report within a week in this
regard.
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The decision was made by a High Court bench headed by Chief Justice Sunil
Ambawani and Justice VS Saradhana, while hearing a PIL that said that many time
people of SC and ST communities are not allowed to perform last rituals at other caste
crematoriums. The Court stated that it is unfortunate that Municipal Corporation is
maintaining crematoriums which are divided on the basis of caste.
The Court in its verdict said that it is the right of all communities to perform last
rituals at any crematorium and thus crematoriums could not be divided on the basis
of caste.

The Bihar government on 9 September 2014 recognised eunuch and transgender as
third gender. The cabinet accepted to declare eunuch and transgender as backward
class annexure II category which will provide them quota benefit for availing or getting
government jobs.
Eunuchs and transgender from upper castes will be treated as OBC annexure II and
get reservation benefits whereas transgender from scheduled castes and scheduled
tribes will remain in the same castes.
The Supreme Court delivered the judgement in April 2014 recognising hijras or
transgender as third gender and asked the Union Government to treat transgender
as socially and economically backward.
The court in its judgement said that the transgender should be allowed admission to
educational institutions and given employment on the basis that they belonged to the
third gender category. They should be considered as OBCs.

The Supreme Court of India on 10 September 2014 questioned logic behind the
Kerala state governments new policy for limiting bar licenses to only five-star hotels.
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The new policy is a part of a move to implement total prohibition in the State in 10
years.
The new liquor policy of Kerala will lead to shut down of around 70 bars attached to
hotels below five-star categories across the state by branding them as sub-standard
while five-star hotels will function without any restriction.
The question was raised by the Supreme Court bench of justice AR Dave and U
U Lalit on the plea of bar and hotel owners. The Court agreed to examine it. In
its direction, the Court ordered the state government not to take any coercive step
against the bars and owners, as the bar owners have been directed to shut down
from 12 September 2014.
The Bar owners approached the Supreme Court to stay the implementation of the
policy till High Court decides on its legality after the Division Bench of the Kerala
High Court agreed to hear the affected bar owners plea against the state policy on
18 September 2014.

The Police Department of Puducherry on 9 September 2014 established a Rape
Crisis Intervention Centre (RCIC) in the Union Territory. It is a one-stop centre to deal
with any rape case relating to women or child.
The RCIC will be a one-stop help centre where trained psychologists, legal experts,
women police officers and staffs of Women and Child and Social Welfare Departments
will extend all assistance to the victims and will manage the cases.
The multidisciplinary team will go to the place of the victim and render all assistance
when rape case reported. The centre will help the traumatised to avoid mental stress
reporting at police station.
Besides, an awareness programme to sensitise police was formulated with the
assistance of the Department of Woman and Child Welfare and courses in self-
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defences will be conducted at schools, colleges and University also on a regular
basis.
Tribal bodies in Tripura rejected demand for a separate state

Twipraland
Major tribal bodies in Tripura on 8 September 2014 rejected the demands for a
separate state called Twipraland. The separate State Twipraland was to be carved
out of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC).
The tribal bodies rejected the demand on the grounds that it was divisive and
communal and it would hamper the development in the State. Further, they said that
this is not the right time for a separate state as first the empowerment of the tribals
in the state is needed.
The major tribal bodies that rejected the demand for a separate state were the Tribal
Student Union (TSU) and the Tribal Youth Federation (TYF), which is the tribal youth
wing of ruling CPI-M Party, and Indigenous Youth Federation of Tripura (IYFT).
Background
The demand for a separate state Twipraland was recently demanded by the Indigenous
Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) which is a breakaway faction of Indigenous Nationalist
Party of Tripura (INPT). They want Twipraland to be carved out of Tripura Tribal Areas
Autonomous District Council (TTAADC).
The tribal council constitutes two third of the state territory and is the home to tribals
forming one third of the state population.
There have been attempts by the Union government for empowering the tribal council
and in this regard, Union government in 2013 had made some proposal. Besides,
Union government also enacted Forest Dwellers Act, 2006 for rehabilitation of the
tribals in the State.
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About Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC)
Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) was constituted under the
Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. It covers and have jurisdiction over the total areas
of all the four revenue districts. The Council was set up on 18 January 1982. Following
the 49th Amendment of the Constitution of India, the TTAADC was brought under the
provisions of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution with effect from 1.4.1985.
The principal objective of setting up the TTAADC is to empower the tribal people to
govern themselves bring all round development to them and protect and preserve
their culture, customs and traditions.
Uttarakhand Government declared 9 September as Himalaya

Diwas
Uttarakhand Government officially declared 9 September as Himalaya Diwas. The
state will celebrate Himalaya Diwas to spread the message of conservation of the
Himalayan ecosystems.
The Himalayan day was declared on 9 September 2014 by the Chief Minister of
Uttarakhand Harish Rawat on the proposal of a senior BJP leader Ajay Bhatt, who
is also the leader of the opposition in the state assembly. Rawat in his declaration
announced that from 2015 onwards, the state government would celebrate the day.
To mark the day, rallies and seminars were organised in various places across the
state.
Assam government withdrew Assamese as official language

from Barak Valley
The state government of Assam on 9 September 2014 withdrew the controversial
circular regarding the use of Assamese as official language in Barak Valley.
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However, a fresh circular was issued by the Government of Assam stating that Bengali
will continue to be the official language of Barak valley.
Background
The circular dated 30 November 2013 created widespread resentment among the
people of Barak Valley. Subsequently, the circular was withdrawn as it was not actually
meant for Barak valley.
Barak Valley
Barak Valley is located in the southern region of Assam.
The official language of Barak valley is Bengali. In fact, the Bengali speaking
population constituted a majority in the region.
It was in 1960-61 that Bengali was made the official language of Barak Valley
following the Bengali Language Movement.
The Bengali Language Movement was a protest against the decision of the
Government of Assam to make Assamese the only official language of the state.
Delhi Government unveiled need-based development plan for

villagers
Delhi Government on 7 September 2014 unveiled need-based development plan for
villagers. Under the plan, Delhi Government allotted 1.25 crore rupees per village for
the current financial year 2014-15. The amount of 1.25 crore rupees per village will
be earmarked to provide basic amenities to each villager.
The plan cleared by Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung aims to ensure balanced and
equitable development of all rural villages in the city. Total sanctioned budget for the
current financial year 2014-15 is 200 crore rupees.
The funds allocated will primarily be used in providing for integrated development of
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villages, with focus areas on providing roads, drinking water, streetlights, rejuvenation
of water bodies, drainage to prevent flooding, etc.
Deputy Commissioner will choose the appropriate scheme with the consultation of
the concerned Member of Parliament and Member of Legislative Asembly. Besides,
the monitoring of the scheme will be done by Deputy Commissioners who will send
a monthly report to the Divisional Commissioner.
As per the 2011 Census, 4.19 lakh people live in rural villages in Delhi.
WTI and TCL signed MoU to setup Indias first Coral Garden in
Gujarat
Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and Tata Chemicals Limited (TCL) in first week of September
2014 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up Indias first of its kind
Coral Garden in Gujarat. This Coral Garden will be set up at Mithapur coastal region
of Devbhoomi-Swarka district of Gujarat.
The funds for the project will be borne by Gujarat Forest Department, as WTI also
signed a broad MoU with the State also. As per the plan, the coral garden will be
helpful in conserving several coral species at one place and will also boost tourism
in the State.
The project was conceptualized by BC Choudhury after which the WTI conducted
initial experiments at the proposed site for conservation of the coral species that
succeeded. The success of the experiment at the proposed site signals that it is fit to
develop as coral garden.
The project will be developed at the Mithapur Coral Garden and in the process reeds
will be separated into various sections so that all coral species can be made available
at one place. The Mithapur Coral Garden will house nearly all coral species that are
found in Gulf of Kutch.
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Chief Minister of AP announced Vijayawada region as the new

capital of AP
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on 4 September 2014 formally
announced that the new capital of Andhra Pradesh would be located around
Vijayawada. Vijayawada is located at the centre of the Andhra Pradesh.
The decision was taken on 1 September 2014 in the States Cabinet meeting which
suggested for the decentralised development of the state with three mega cities and
14 smart cities. This would enable equal access to people from all regions of the
state.
Andhra Pradesh will share capital Hyderabad with Telangana for 10 years, after which
its capital will be around Vijayawada. The land for the capital would be acquired
through pooling system to be worked out by a cabinet sub-committee.
The decision made by Naidu bypassed the Sivaramakrishnan Committees
recommendation that opposed Vijayawada-Guntur region as the best location for the
capital area. The Sivaramakrishnan Committee was against the Vijayawada region
due to high land prices and agricultural land.
The committee strongly was of the view that locating several governmental offices
within the Vijayawada-Guntur-Tenali-Mangalagiri (VGTM) urban area is both unfeasible
for financial reasons and undesirable for decentralized development.
Other Decisions taken at States Cabinet meeting

Visakhapatnam, the biggest city in AP and one of the leading contenders for the
capital, would be transformed into a mega city.
A new international airport to be built at Visakhapatnam to attract information
technology firms, start-ups and the film industry.
Three metro rail projects have been proposed at Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and
Tirupati.
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Background
After the victory of Naidus Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in assembly elections in AprilMay 2014, the Vijayawada- Guntur-Tenali-Mangalagiri (VGTM) region was widely
expected to be named the new capital of AP.
After this fuelled speculations, the land prices around Vijayawada region have
skyrocketed to as much as 10 crore rupees per acre from about 50 lakh rupees per
acre in a few months.
Vijayawada
Vijayawada is the biggest town in Krishna district.
Vijayawada got its name from the Vijaya Kanaka Durga temple in the city.
Vijayawada has evolved as a trading town and has given rise to several wealthy
families due to its central location and the presence of a mercantile community.

Karnataka became the first State in the country to launch a Health Adalat. The Health
Adalat was launched by the State Health and Family Welfare Minister U T Khader in
Gulbarga, Karnataka on 2 September 2014.
It was launched to address health issues at the grassroots level and ensure that all
health facilities extended by the government reached all sections of society.
During Health Adalat the department will interact with public representatives and
general citizen and understand their problems and concern, grievance about the
health services and efforts would be made to provide solution then and there.
The adalat also aimed at narrowing the gap between the Health Department and
the elected representatives who function as a bridge between the government and
the people. It will also provide an opportunity to health officials to introspect on the
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implementation of government programmes.
Department of Health and Family Welfare of the State will address the problems and
will take necessary steps and conduct the workshops to create awareness about
government programmes and their benefits.
Jammu & Kashmir government formed panel for welfare of

transgenders
Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) government on 2 September 2014 formed a panel for welfare
of transgenders in the state.
The panel will be headed by the Chief Secretary of J&K and the convener of the
Committee will be secretary to the social welfare development.
The committee has been formed to formulate policies for the welfare of trangenders
with an aim to let transgenders live a decent life and enable their mainstreaming into
the society.
Terms of Reference of the Committee

The committee will suggest adequate measures which are required to be put in
place to ensure transgenders welfare.
It will also provide equal opportunities for productive and gainful employment and
self employment of the transgender community
It will also suggest measures to sensitise legal and law enforcement systems on
issues of transgender community and to empower them to take actions.
To take decisions for conducting survey of transgenders in the state through
designated agencies and district administration.
To mainstream transgenders within the general education system and inclusion of
contents on them in the curriculum of adolescent education in schools to sensitise
children.
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To frame policies on registration and admission of transgenders in the hospitals
besides training and sensitization of people
To improve access of gender transition related services for them
It will also initiate welfare programmes for the upliftment of the community
To frame schemes for providing stipend and scholarship to transgender children
pursuing studies at school and college level including professional and vocational
courses
Earlier on April 15, 2014, the honourable Supreme Court in a major judgment
recognised transgender as the third gender. It gave out 26 recommendations for
the welfare of transgender including formation of a National policy on transgenders
and inclusion of a section in Indian Penal Code (IPC) to deal with sexual assault and
crimes against transgenders.
Other States in India to have formed the policy for Transgenders

On August 28, 2014 Maharashtra government decided to form Transgender Welfare
Board.
On June 20, 2014 Karnataka government issued a draft titled State Policy for
transgenders. The policy calls for establishment of a dedicated cell to initiate welfare
programmes, acquire funds from the government, issue ID cards and conduct
awareness programmes for transgenders.
In 2008 Tamil Nadu became the first State in India to form a Welfare Board for
transgenders. In fact it is not only the first state in India to do so but also the first
in the world to do so. In additional effort to improve the education of transgender
people, Tamil Nadu government in May 2008 created a third gender for admissions
to government colleges.
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The High Court of Himachal Pradesh on 1 September 2014 banned animal sacrifice
to appease deities. It ruled that no person throughout the state shall sacrifice any
animal in any place of public religious worship.
As per the order the banned area also includes all lands and building near such
places of religious worship that are ordinarily connected for religious purposes or
in any ceremony/Yagya/congregation or procession connected with any religious
worship in a public street.
The High Court division bench comprised of Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice
Sureshwar Thakur issued its direction after hearing petitions seeking ban on inhuman
practice of animal sacrifice. It also directed all Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents
of Police, sub-divisional officers and station house officers to comply with these
directions punctually and faithfully.
The bench in its direction said that compassion is basic tenets in all the religions and
the practice of animal sacrifice is a social evil and is required to be curbed.
Andhra Pradesh Government Proposed Metro Rail Project for

Tirupati
State Government of Andhra Pradesh on 1 September 2014 proposed a Metro Rail
Project for Temple Town Tirupathi. It will be the third venture that the government
aimed to complete after completing the other two in three and half years.
The other two ventures were in Vishakhapatnam and Vijayawada-Mangalagiri lines.
The principal adviser of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), E Sreedharan was
appointed as the adviser for the AP government on the metro rail projects and the
state government assigned the construction of the projects to Delhi Metro Rail
Corporation (DMRC).
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Metro Rail Projects in India

Metro train was first started in Kolkata in 1984. But, The Modern Metro was started
first in Delhi.
The Mumbai Monorail is the first monorail in India and was opened on 7 February
2014, since the closing of the Patiala State Monorail Trainways in 1927.
It was planned that all Indian cities having population more that 2 million will have
metro rail system.
Metro rail lines in India are composed of both standard gauge and broad gauge.
Delhi Metro used broad gauge for its earliest lines but all new projects in India are
on standard gauge.
One exception is the Ahmadabad Metro, which will use Broad gauge, as there is
more space available inside the coach.
Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Gurgaon, Kolkata and Mumbai are the cities in which
Metro is running.
Jaipur, Chennai, Hyderabad, Navi Mumbai, Kochi and Lucknow are the cities in
which Metro is being constructed.
And it is planned to build in more than 15 cities throughout India.
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NEWS CAPSULE
PERSON IN NEWS
The 41st Chief Justice of India (CJI), Rajendra Mal Lodha retired on 27 September
2014. He retired after serving as the CJI for five months.
Rajendra Mal Lodha took charge of the office of the Chief Justice of India on 27
April 2014 after retirement of former CJI P Sathasivam. He was appointed as the
Chief Justice of India after his name was recommended as the next CJI by Justice
Sathasivam.
Justice Lodhas most powerful verdict during his tenure as CJI was decision in the
coal allocation scam. The Supreme Court bench headed by Lodha on 24 September
2014 scrapped 214 out of 218 coal blocks allocated between 1993 and 2010 by
terming those allocations as arbitrary and illegal.
Rajendra Mal Lodhas career in judicial field

He enrolled himself with the Bar Council of Rajasthan in February 1973
He practiced Law in Rajasthan High Court during which he dealt with all branches
of law like constitutional, civil, company, criminal, taxation and labour
In January 1994, he was elevated as a Permanent Judge of the Rajasthan High
Court after which he was transferred to Bombay High Court, where he assumed
the office in February 1994
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In 2007, he was transferred back to the Rajasthan High Court
He had been the Administrative Judge of the Rajasthan High Court and was
chairman of the State Judicial Academy
On 13 May 2008, he was sworn in as Chief Justice of the Patna High Court from
where he was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court on 17 December 2008
Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai sworn in as president of Afghanistan

Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai on 29 september 2014 was sworn in as president of
Afghanistan. The sworn in ceremony was held at the presidential palace in Kabul.
The event marked the countrys first democratic transfer of power since the fall of the
Taliban in 2001.
Nearly 1400 national and international dignitaries, including more than 200 delegates
from the US, China, Pakistan, India and other countries, participated in the ceremony.
Ghani suceeded Hamid Karzai. He was sworn in after a three month standoff over
disputed election results. The elections were held in Afghanistan on 14 June 2014.
After the mediation of US and UN, the tensions were strained away with the signing
of Unity deal between Ghani and his rival Abdul Abdullah.
Moreover, after an audit of nearly eight million ballot papers Ghani was declared
president.
About Ashraf Ghani

He was an academic in the US, and worked for the World Bank
Served as finance minister from 2002-2004 under President Hamid Karzai
He fell out with President Karzai in 2004 and became Chancellor of Kabul University,
where he was seen as an effective reformer
He has been a vocal critic of the way international aid money has been wasted in
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Afghanistan
He has a well-known reputation for having a quick temper.

J Jayalalithaa, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on 27 September 2014 was found
guilty in the disproportionate assets case by the Special Court in Bangalore. The
Court pronounced a jail term of 4 years and fined 100 crore rupees to her.
The judgment of the 18-year-old 66.65 crore rupees disproportionate assets case
against Jayalalitha was pronounced by the special court in Bangalore amid tight
security.
Apart from Jayalalithaa, the court also accused three others in the case, namely
Sasikala Natarajan, Ilavarasi and Jayalalithaas disowned foster son V N Sudhakaran.
With this conviction, she became the first incumbent chief minister in India to be
disqualified from holding office due to conviction in a disproportionate assets case.
SC judgement on tainted politicians

The Supreme Court on 10 July 2013 had held that chargesheeted Members of
Parliament and MLAs, on conviction for offences, will be immediately disqualified
from holding membership of the House without being given three months time for
appeal, as was the case before.
A Bench of Justices A.K. Patnaik and S J Mukhopadhaya struck down Section 8 (4)
of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 as unconstitutional. Section 8 (4) of the
RPA, 1951 allowed convicted lawmakers a three-month period for filing appeal to the
higher court and to get a stay of the conviction and sentence.
The Bench, however, made it clear that the ruling will be prospective and those who
had already filed appeals in various High Courts or the Supreme Court against their
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convictions would be exempt from it.
Reason for constitution of the Bangalores Special Court

The disproportionate assets case against Jayalalithaa was transferred to Bangalores
Special Court in 2003 by the Supreme Court on a petition filed by DMK leader K
Anbazhagan. The DMK leader expressed doubts over conduct of fair trial in Tamil
Nadu as Jayalalithaa ruled the state then.
The Case
The disproportionate assets case was filed in 1996 by the then DMK government led
by M. Karunanidhi. Also, the Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy in 1996 also
filed a petition against Jayalalithaa in the case.
The charge against her was that Jayalalithaas assets which was 3 crore rupees in
1991, grew to 66 crore rupees during her first tenure as chief minister from 1991 to
1996. Although, she announced that during her tenure she would take 1 rupee as her
salary.
In the political career of Jayalalithaa, this was not the first time that she was convicted
by a Court, earlier also in 2000, a trial court sentenced Jayalalithaa for three years
and two years imprisonment in two cases. After which in 2001, she stepped down as
the Chief Minister following a Supreme Court verdict that held that she cannot hold
the office being convicted for criminal offences.
About J Jayalalithaa
In 1980s, she was made the propaganda secretary of AIADMK by founder-leader
M.G. Ramachandran
She entered the Rajya Sabha in 1984
In 1989, she was elected to the Tamil Nadu assembly for the first time after which
she became the Chief Minister of the state in 1991
She is the second female chief minister of Tamil Nadu after Janaki Ramachandran
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She is called Amma (Mother) and Puratchi Thalaivi (Revolutionary Leader) by her
followers
Before starting her political career, she acted in over 100 movies mostly in Tamil,
Telugu and Kannada. She also acted in few Hindi and English films.
She made her debut in a Kannada movie at the age of 16.
Some of her films included Vennira Aadai (her first Tamil movie), Pattikada
Pattanama, Aayirathil Oruvan (for which she won Filmfare Award for Best Actress
in 1973) Sri Krishna Satya
Her last film was the Nadhiyai Thedi Vandha Kadal (1980)
She was born on 2 February 1948
Ex-Odisha AG Ashok Mohanty arrested by CBI in connection of

infamous chit fund scam
Ashok Mohanty, the former Advocate General of Odisha was arrested by the Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on 22 September 2014 from Cuttack, Odisha. He was
arrested within two weeks of his resignation in connection of the multi-crore chit fund
scam. He is alleged for misappropriating funds of Artha Tatwa group.
Mohanty is also accused of misusing his official position for personal benefits. Earlier
on 13 September 2014, the CBI quizzed him for his alleged links with the Artha Tatwa
Group Chief Pradip Sethy.
In 2013, he bought a house in Cuttack from Pradip Sethy for more than one crore
rupees. However, he reportedly failed to provide the details of the transaction to the
CBI.
The premier investigating agency is probing the chit fund scam on the direction of
the Supreme Court.
Mohanty served Odisha as its Advocate General since 2009. He tendered his
resignation from the post on 17 May 2014 following the state assembly election.
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However his resignation was accepted by the state government on 12 September
2014.
Padmini Prakash became the first transgender television news

anchor in India
Padmini Prakash became the first transgender television news anchor in India. On
the eve of Independence Day on 15 August 2014, she for the first time read out the
days headlines from a teleprompter for the Lotus News Channel Studios.
A month after she started, Padmini has become the face of the Coimbatore-based
Lotus News Channels daily 7pm special bulletin.
Earlier, Padmini had acted in a television serial. She also contributed herself as a
vocal social activist for transgender rights.
About Padmini Prakash

Padmini Prakash is a 31 year-old transgender from Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
She was a first-year B.Com student when she cut off all ties with her family and
dropped out of college because she could no longer take the stigma and pressure.
She travelled across the state and beyond and later returned to Tamil Nadu and
became a Bharathanatyam dance instructor.
Padmini also participated in and won several transgender beauty contests.
Pope Francis approved the cannonisation of Blessed Joseph Vaz

as Saint
Pope Francis on 17 September 2014 approved the cannonisation of Blessed Joseph
Vaz as Saint. Pope approved the vote by the Ordinary Session of Cardinals and
Bishops in favor of canonization of the Indian-born priest and decided to summon a
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Consistory shortly.
The sainthood will be given to Blessed Joseph Vaz, also called the Apostle of Sri
Lanka during Pope Francis visit to the Sri Lanka in January 2015.
In order to bestow sainthood on Joseph Vaz, Pope Francis bent the rules once again
and dispensed with a second miracle, a requirement for canonization. The Pope had
used the same process he used to canonize St. John XXIII without a second miracle
attributed to his intercession.
He is the first Goan to be named a saint and will be the third saint from India. St
Alphonsa was the first to be cannoised as saint from India. The second was Blessed
Kuriakose who will be canonized in November 2014.
Cause for Canonnisation of Blessed Joseph Vaz

A Diocesan Inquiry of a miracle attributed to Vaz took place in the month of October
2013. In November 2013, Patriarch Filipe Neri Ferrao stated that the cause for Vazs
canonnisation had reached a crucial stage. On the 17 September 2014, His Holiness
Pope Francis approved the decision of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, to
canonise Blessed Joseph Vaz.
About Joseph Vaz

Vaz is a 17th-century Goan missionary. Blessed Vaz is the patron of the Archdiocese
of Goa and Daman.
Vaz was born in Benaulim in 1651. He chose to work in Sri Lanka amid persecution
of Catholics by Dutch colonial rulers, who were Calvinists.
Miss Kira Kazantsev won the Miss America pageant

Miss Kira Kazantsev on 14 September 2014 won the Miss America pageant. She
belongs to New York.
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Kazantsev received the crown at Atlantic Citys Boardwalk Hall from outgoing Miss
America and Miss New York Nina Davuluri.
The first runner-up was Miss Virginia Courtney Paige Garrett.
Other top 5 finalists were Miss Arkansas Ashton Jo Campbell; Miss Florida Victoria
Cowen; and Miss Massachusetts Lauren Kuhn.
Miss North Dakota, Jacky Arness was chosen by her peers as Miss Congeniality.
Her victory marked the third year in a row that a contestant from New York has
walked away with the crown in the nationally televised pageant.
SC asked Union Government to reinstate Rajeshwar singh as

Deputy Director of ED
Supreme Court on 8 September 2014 asked the Union Government to reinstate
Rajeshwar singh as permanent Deputy Director of Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Rajeshwar Singh is an officer probing the money laundering cases in the 2G scam.
The two judges SC bench led by Justice H L Dattu censured the Union Government
for not complying with the directions of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT)
issued on 24 December 2013.
Now, SC ordered that the execution of his reinstatement must be done within the
timeline of three days.
Earlier, On 1 May 2014 the Supreme Court ordered to reinstate him into the investigation.
Background
Rajeshwar Singh was on deputation in ED with the money laundering investigation
in the 2G spectrum swindle. The ED bosses wanted him to be repatriated to UP
Police when his deputation came to an end, but Singh challenged the decision in the
Central Administrative Tribunal.
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Sensing EDs reluctance to give him a permanent perch, others took up cudgels
for him by petitioning the SC. Their effort was rewarded when the court expressed
concern over Singh being harassed and having to fight his own case of reinstatement
in the ED.
The court was perhaps impressed by the fact that Singh handled investigation into
virtually all important and politically sensitive cases with ED.
About Rajeshwar Singh

He is investigating Commonwealth Games, 2G spectrum allocations, Coalgate scam,
AgustaWestland helicopter deal and money laundering probes against Jaganmohan
Reddy, former Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda and former Haryana CM O P Chautala.
He is also the youngest gallantry award winner. He is famously known as encounter
specialist.

TN Suresh Kumar on 15 August 2014 became the first Indian to visit to the stratosphere,
the second layer of the Earths atmosphere. He traveled to an altitude of 17100 meters
in MIG-29 from Sokol Airbase near Nizhny Novgorod in Russia. During the travel to
reach the stratosphere in 48 minutes, the aircraft reached to a maximum speed of
1850 km per hour.
Kumar, a senior scientist working with the ISROs Master Control Facility in Hassan
paid a sum of 15 lakh rupees for the travel.
Apart from being the first Indian to reach the stratosphere, he is the 259th person of
the world to take the flight since an agency conducting space travel in Russia named
Country of Tourism Ltd. started the journey calledEdge of Space. The agency started
the journey six years ago.
Kumar is one of the four people, who were selected by ISRO in 1985 to travel to the
space, but the process of sending those four selected candidates didnt happened
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after an explosion occurred on the space shuttle Challenger in February 1986.

South Africa on 3 September 2014 denied visa to Dalai Lama for Nobel Summit.
He was scheduled to attend the 14th world summit of Nobel peace laureates in Cape
Town in October 2014.
Other Nobel laureates have warned that they will not attend the summit if the Dalai
Lama is not permitted into the country.
South Africa believed that the Tibetan spiritual leaders trip would jeopardize relations
with China.
In response, China highly appreciates South Africa for its respect and support for
Chinas sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The summit was an annual gathering. South Africa is holding this summit for the first
time.
This is the third time in five years the Dalai Lama has been refused a South African
visa.
For the first time visa was cancelled in 2009. A peace conference in Johannesburg
was arranged to highlight the World Cup in South Africa and again in 2011.
China South Africa

China is South Africas biggest single trading partner. The trade volume of two
countries in 2012 was worth 21 billion US dollar.
Both countries also cooperate in the BRICS grouping of emerging economies along
with Brazil, India and Russia.
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Tessy Thomas and V. Ravindranath became first Women directors in IIT council
Tessy Thomas and V. Ravindranath on 1 September 2014 became first Women
directors in IIT council. The appointment was confirmed by Union HRD Ministry.
About IIT Council

IIT Council is the apex body of 16 IITs. IIT council is headed by HRD minister and
consists of three members of Parliament, chairpersons and directors of all IITs,
chairperson of UGC, director general of CSIR, chairman and directors of IISc, nominee
of HRD ministry and three appointees each of the ministry and AICTE.
About Tessy Thomas

Tessy Thomas is the Project Director for Agni-IV missile in Defence Research and
Development Organisation. She is the first woman scientist to head a missile project
in India.
Tessy Thomas was conferred the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for her
outstanding contribution for making India self-reliant in the field of missile technology.
About Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath

She was the first to initiate newer areas of research to revitalize the growth of modern
neuroscience in India.
She became the first Director of NBRC (National Brain Research Centre). Her research
on neuro generative disorders can be used to develop disease-modifying therapies.
She became the Member of the Governing Council of International Brain Research
Organization and the Asia Pacific Regional Council.
She was awarded with Padma Shree award in 2010.
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Current Affairs
A Nageswara Rao became first Indian actor to be honoured by
US post service
Indian Telugu Actor, Akkineni Nageswara Rao became the first Indian actor to be
honoured with a postage stamp by the US Post Service (USPS). It was announced
by the Akkineni Foundation of America (AFA) on 30 August 2014.
The stamp will be issued on the birth anniversary of Nageshwara Rao that is on 20
September 2014 in Dallas Texas. The AFA is planning to release the stamp in India
on 17 December 2014 at the first International Akkineni Awards Ceremony being
planned at ANR College, Andhra Pradesh.
About Akkineni Nageswara Rao

Nageswara Rao popularly known as ANR was born in Rama Puram, Andhra
Pradesh on 20 September 1923 and died on 22 January 2014. He was also a film
producer with the name of the Annapurna Studios banner.
His first movie was Dharmapatni and last movie was Manam in Telugu. He acted
in 255 films in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi. He had 75 year acting career and he was
named as Nata Samrat.
His movies are Maya Bazaar, Chenchu Lakshmi, Laila Majnu, Missamma, Anarkali,
Batasari, Devadasu, Prem Nagar, Premabhishekam, and Meghasandesham.
He received Padma Bhushan (1988), Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1991) and Padma
Vibhushan (2011) for his contribution to Indian Cinema.
He also received many awards including Filmfares, Nandi Award and Kalaimamani.
ANR founded Annapurna International School of Film and Media in 2011 to
encourage talents in the acting field.
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PERSON APPOINTED
Bangladesh government appointed Syed Muazzem Ali as its new
Envoy to India
The Bangladesh government on 28 September 2014 appointed Syed Muazzem Ali
as the new Bangladesh High Commissioner to India.
Syed Muazzem Ali will replace Tariq A. Karim who served as the Bangladesh High
Commissioner to India from 2009 to 2014.
Syed Muazzem Ali

Born in July 1944 in Sylhet, Syed Muazzem Ali obtained Masters in Science from
Dhaka University in 1966.
Muazzem Ali joined erstwhile Pakistan Foreign Service in 1968 through Central
Superior Service Examination.
On 4 August 1971, while working in the Pakistan Embassy in Washington DC, he
declared his allegiance to the Bangladesh government in exile.
Later, he played a major role in setting up the embassy of independent Bangladesh
in the United States.
From 1972 to 1988, Syed Muazzem Ali served the Bangladesh Missions in
Washington, Warsaw, New York and New Delhi in different capacities.
He was Bangladesh Consul General in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from July 1988 to
December 1990 and Ambassador to Bhutan from January 1991 to April 1992.
He worked as the Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh from March 1999 till July 2001
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after which he took retirement.
High Commissioner
A High Commissioner is the ambassador of the diplomatic mission of one
Commonwealth government to another. He is appointed by the commonwealth
nations.

Justice Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu was sworn-in as the 42nd Chief
Justice of India on 28 September 2014. He was administered the oath of office by
President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhawan. He succeeded Chief Justice
RM Lodha who demitted office on 27 September 2014.
Dattu will have tenure of 14 months as the Chief Justice of India as he will retire from
his office on 2 December 2015.
His name for the appointment for the office of the Chief Justice of India was cleared
by President on 3 September 2014. Dattu will be the CJI with longest tenure in recent
years, as the previous two CJIs namely Justice S Sathasivam and Justice RM Lodha
retired from their office with a tenure of nine and five months respectively.
About Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu

HL Dattu is the head of the bench that monitored investigations into the 2G
spectrum scam
He joined Supreme Court of India as a Judge on 17 December 2008
In 1975, he started his practice as an advocate in Bangalore, where he dealt with
different types of cases that included civil, criminal, tax and Constitutional matters
From 1983 to 1990, he appeared as government counsel in the Karnataka High
court for the sales tax department
He was designated as the senior standing counsel for Income Tax department
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in 1995 after which on 18 December 1995, he was elevated as a judge of the
Karnataka high Court
He has served as a Chief Justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court on 12 February
2007 and shortly afterwards Dattu was transferred to the Kerala High Court on 18
May 2007
Some major cases that will be heard by Justice Dattu during his tenure include
pending review petition on the legality of Section 377 (the decriminalization of gay
sex), adjudication of the fate of Delhi Assembly, Black money and others.
Rajat Sharma appointed as the president of News Broadcasting

Association
India TV chairman and editor-in-chief Rajat Sharma on 24 September 2014 was
appointed as the new president of the News Broadcasting Association (NBA) for the
year 2014-2015.
Rajat Sharma will replace KVL Narayan Rao who was the president of NBA for four
consecutive years. However, Rao will remain a member of NBA board.
Anurradha Prasad was named as the new honorary treasurer of NBA. Meanwhile,
Ashok Venkatramani will continue to be the vice president of NBA.
News Broadcasters Association (NBA)

The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) is the apex body of the national news
broadcasters.
It is the collective voice of the news and current affairs broadcasters in India .It is
funded entirely by its members.
The NBA has presently 26 leading news and current affairs broadcasters as its
members. The NBA presents a unified and credible voice before the Government
on matters that affect the growing industry.
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Suresh Parbhu selected as PMs Sherpa for G-20 summit

Suresh Prabhu on 23 September 2014 was appointed as Prime Minister Narendra
Modis Sherpa for the Group of 20 annual Summit 2014. He was selected by the
Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The G-20 annual summit will be held in Brisbane from 15 November to 16 November
2014.
Suresh Prabhu will attend the G20 Sherpas meeting that is going to be held in
Canberra, Australia from 30 September to 1 October 2014. Sherpa is a senior official
responsible for preparing the agenda for leaders to consider during the summit.
About Suresh Prabhu

Prabhu is Member of Parliament of 14th Lok Sabha of India.
He served as cabinet minister of Industries, Environment and Forests, Fertilizers &
Chemicals and Power, Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises.
At present, he is the chairperson of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water
He is also a member of the Global Advisory Council of the World Economic Forum.

Lieutenant General Rizwan Akhtar on 22 September 2014 was appointed as the new
head of the Pakistans spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). He will replace LtGen Zaheerul Islam who is scheduled to retire in October 2014.
Rizwan Akhtar was promoted from major-general to lieutenant-general to assume
the new role. He is considered as an ally of Army chief General Raheel Sharif.
The Pakistan military also promoted five other officers to lieutenant general rank
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to replace outgoing personnel. Other generals who have been promoted to Lt Gen
ranks include Ghayyur Mehmood, Hidayat ur Rehman, Hilal Hussain, Navid Mukhtar,
and Nazir Butt.
Lt Gen Akhtar will take over ISI from 1 October 2014 along with four other Lieutenant
Generals.
Lieutenant General Rizwan Akhtar

Akhtar is a graduate of the Command and Staff College in Quetta, National Defense
University and the Army War College, USA.
He is from the Frontier Force Regiment and commanded the infantry brigade and
infantry division in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
He has served in a place like Karachi while remaining neutral and apolitical and
has extensive experience of counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism.
Being the head of the paramilitary Rangers force in the southern city of Karachi,
he launched a major operation against criminal gangs and Taliban militants.
Between 2007 and 2010, he was posted in the South Waziristan tribal region
where Pakistan Taliban militants are known to have sheltered.
Ex-Ambassador of India to UN Hardeep Singh Puri appointed as

Secretary General of ICM
Hardeep Singh Puri was appointed as Secretary General of Independent Commission
on Multilateralism (ICM) on 23 September 2014. He is a former Ambassador and
Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations.
Under the direction of the Secretary General, and in close cooperation with the chair
and co-chairs, the final report of the ICM will be finalized.
Independent Commission on Multilateralism (ICM)

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Independent Commission on Multilateralism (ICM) launched by International Peace
Institute (IPI) is aimed at identifying policy proposals to enhance the multilateral
systems ability to respond to evolving global challenges.
ICM will be chaired by former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and co-chaired
by Foreign Minister of Norway Borge Brende and Canadian Foreign Minister John
Baird.
The commission will be a comprehensive two-year programme and it will be funded
by the Canada and Norway governments.
The structure of ICM

The commission would have a three-tier structure.
Advisory council of eminent persons: It would meet at least once a year to provide
advice and serve as a sounding board for the commission
Ministerial-level board: It is expected to meet every six months with each minister
serving in his or her personal capacity
Ambassadorial-level board: It is expected to meet every six months. Each
ambassador will serve in his or her personal capacity.
About Hardeep Singh Puri

Singh served at various diplomatic posts in Brazil, Japan, Sri Lanka, and the United
Kingdom.
He was the Coordinator of the UNDP/UNCTAD Multilateral Trade Negotiations
Project to help Developing Countries in the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade
Negotiations.
He served as the chairman of the United Nations Security Council CounterTerrorism Committee from 2011 to 2013.
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US President Barack Obama nominated Richard Rahul Verma
as new US envoy to India
US President Barack Obama on 18 September 2014 nominated Indian-American
Richard Rahul Verma as the next US Ambassador to India. The US Embassy in New
Delhi is currently headed by a Charge daffaires Kathleen Stephens.
If confirmed by the US Senate, Richard Rahul Verma will be the first Indian-American
to serve the top US diplomatic position in India.
Richard Rahul Verma

Richard Rahul Verma was born in 1969. His parents hail from the state of Punjab
in India and moved from north India to USA in 1960s
He graduated from Georgetown University, Lehigh University and American
University.
Richard Rahul Verma served on active duty in the US Air Force from 1994 to 1998
and received the Meritorious Service Medal and Air Force Commendation Medal.
He was Senior National Security Advisor, Counsel and Foreign Policy Advisor to
the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid from 2002 to 2007.
He was partner at a private company Steptoe and Johnson LLP from 2007 to
2009.
He served on the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction,
Proliferation and Terrorism in 2008.
From 2009 to 2011, Verma served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative
Affairs at the Department of State.
Presently, he is the Senior Counsellor at Steptoe & Johnson LLP and Albright
Stonebridge Group. Moreover, he serves on the boards of Human Rights First, the
Clinton Foundation, and the National Democratic Institute.
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Lalitha Kumaramangalam appointed as chairperson of National
Commission for Women
Lalitha Kumaramangalam was appointed as chairperson of National Commission
for Women (NCW). She was appointed by the Union Minister of Women and Child
Development, Menaka Gandhi on 17 September 2014. She is the eighth chairperson
of NCW.
At the time of appointment, Lalitha Kumaramangalam was the National Spokesperson
and Member of National Executive of Bharatiya Janata Party.
About Lalitha Kumaramangalam

Lalitha runs Prakriti, an NGO and contested Lok Sabha elections in 2004 & 2009
but lost in both the elections.
She was born to Mohan Kumaramangalam a communist ideologues, politician
and trade union leader and Kalyani Mukherjee.
She is a graduate in economics from St. Stephens College, Delhi and an MBA
from Madras University.
About National Commission for Women

The National Commission for Women was set up as a statutory body in January
1992 under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990. It was set up to review
the Constitutional and legal safeguards for women, recommend remedial legislative
measures, facilitate redressal of grievances and advise the Government on all policy
matters affecting women.
Functions of NCW
Investigate and examine all matters relating to the safeguards provided for women
under the Constitution and legal safeguards for women, recommend remedial
legislative measures, facilitate redressal of grievances and advise the Government
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on all policy matters affecting women.
It will present report to the Central Government annually and at such other items
as the Commission may deem fit, reports upon the working of those safeguards.
The NCW constitutes Expert Committees for dealing with such special issues as
may be taken up by the Commission from time to time.
Some important issues taken up by the NCW include sexual harassment at
workplace, women in detention, anti-arrack movement, issues concerning
prostitution and political and technological empowerment of women in agriculture.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on 16 September 2014 appointed Le Yucheng as Chinas
new Ambassador to India. Le Yucheng replaced Wei Wei who previously served as
Chinas envoy to India.
Le Yuchen
Le Yucheng was born in Jiangsu Province of China in June 1963
He served as Counselor for the Permanent Mission of China to the UN from 19982001.
He served as Chinas Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2011-2013.
Prior to his appointment as Ambassador to India, he served as the Chinas
ambassador to Kazakhstan.

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio was appointed as United Nations Messenger of Peace with
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a special focus on climate change. He was appointed by the UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon on 16 September 2014.
Leonardo will join the other 11 UN Messengers of Peace and one Goodwill Ambassador
who have been advocating on behalf of the UN on a variety of priority issues for
the organisation. As a Messenger of Peace he will address the UN Climate Change
Summit in the US on 23 September 2014.
About UN Messengers of Peace

UN Messengers of Peace are individuals who possess widely recognized talents in the
fields of art, film, literature, music and sports, helping to raise worldwide awareness
of the Organizations ideals and activities.
Through their public appearances, contacts with the international media and
humanitarian work, they expand public understanding of how the United Nations
helps to improve the lives of people everywhere.
Some of the UN Messengers of Peace along with DiCaprio are George Clooney,
Edward Norton and pianist Lang Lang.
About Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo is a Hollywood actor and an environmental activist. He established the
Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in 1998 with the mission to protect the planets last
wild places and implementing solutions to build a harmonious relationship between
humanity and the natural world.
He had won two Golden Globe Awards for The Aviator and The Wolf of Wall Street
as Best Actor.
International Economic Association appointed Kaushik Basu as

President-Elect
The International Economic Association (IEA) on 16 September 2014 appointed
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Kaushik Basu as president-elect of the association beginning September 2014.
However, he will continue to serve as Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of
World Bank.
This will be the second time that an Indian will be heading this association that
produces a large number of research papers and books and organizes round tables
on topics of contemporary interest. Amartya Sen became the first Indian to join IEA.
Kaushik Basu
Kaushik Basu is Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of World Bank. He
was appointed as Chief Economist at the World Bank on 5 September 2012.
He is currently the fourth President of the Human Development and Capabilities
Association which was founded by Amartya Sen and a member of the Board of
Directors of the Exim Bank of India.
He is on leave from Cornell University where he is Professor of Economics and the
C. Marks Professor of International Studies.
In May 2008, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of Indias highest civilian
awards by the President of India.
From December 2009 to July 2012, he served as the Chief Economic Advisor
(CEA) to the Government of India at the Union Ministry of Finance.
Kaushik Basu is also a columnist for BBC News Online, the Hindustan Times,
Business Standard and is the author of several books on economics.
International Economic Association (IEA)

The IEA was founded in 1950 as a non-governmental organization at the instigation
of the Social Sciences Department of UNESCO. It aims to promote personal contacts
and mutual understanding among economists in different parts of the world.
The association has been influential in shaping global economic policy and research.
Nobel laureates like Robert Solow, Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz are among IEA
past presidents.
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IEA organizes World Congress after every three years. The event serves as one of the
largest gatherings of economists from around the world.
IEAs seventeenth World Congress was held at Dead Sea, Jordan in June 2014. The
16th World Congress of International Economic Association was hosted by China in
Beijing in 2011.

Meghalaya Governor, Dr. Krishna Kant Paul was swornin as the Governor of Manipur
on 15 September 2014. His oath of the office and secrecy was administered by the
Manipur High Court Chief Justice Laxmikant Mohapatra at the Raj Bhawan Durbar
Hall in Imphal.
Paul was given the additional charge of Manipur by the President on 11 September
2014 after resignation of Vinod Kumar Duggal as Governor of Manipur and Mizoram.
The President appointed him at the post to discharge the functions of the Governor
of Manipur and Mizoram, in addition to his own duties. He will be handling the
additional charge till a regular arrangement for the office of the Governor of Manipur
and Governor of Mizoram is made.
Antara Haldar of India became first non-European law lecturer

at Cambridge
Indian-origin Antara Haldar on 15 September 2014 became first non-European law
lecturer at Cambridge University. She belongs to Mumbai, Maharashtra.
She is the youngest and the only Indian to get the tenured position in the top-ranking
law faculty. She is 28 years old.
Before began her tenure in the UK, she is all set to study the Gujarat development
model. The focus would be on textiles as a case study.
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About Antara Haldar

She studied law degree at Cambridge University in 2006 and in 2010. She got a
doctorate in law.
She majored in economics from St Stephens College in Delhi in 2005. Her work has
been an overlap of development, law and economics with a focus on gender too.
About Cambridge University

The University of Cambridge is a collegiate public research university in Cambridge,
England. The University was founded in 1209.
Cambridge University is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world
and the worlds third-oldest surviving university.
Cambridge boasts of 90 Nobel laureates more than any other university in the
world. It gave 15 British Prime Ministers and had 23 heads of state, including Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru, as students.
Narendra Ambwani elected as chairman of the Advertising

Standards Council of India (ASCI)
Narendra Ambwani on 12 September 2014 elected as Chairman of the Advertising
Standards Council of India (ASCI).
He succeeded Partha Rakshit. Narendra Ambwani is the Director of Agro Tech Foods
Ltd.
He has been a member of the board of governors for seven years and provided
active support to self-regulation in the advertising market.
Moreover, Benoy Roy Chawdhuri was elected as Vice-Chairman and Shashidhar
Sinha was appointed Honorary Treasurer.
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About Advertising Standards Council of India
The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) was established in 1985. ASCI
has been committed to the cause of Self-Regulation in Advertising, ensuring the
protection of the interests of consumers.
ASCI was formed with the support of all four sectors connected with Advertising -Advertisers, Advertising Agencies, Media (including Broadcasters and the Press) and
others like PR Agencies and Market Research Companies.
The Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) is the agency of ASCI.
Achievements of ASCI
In a noteworthy achievement, ASCI issued guidelines on skin lightening & fairness
products which ensured that these advertisements do not depict people with dark
skin as somehow inferior to those who are fairer.
Also recently, the Government took notice of ASCIs efforts to curb teleshopping ads
that violate ASCI Code and ensured a strict compliance of the advertising code in the
Cable Television Networks Act (CTN).

Russian hackers on 11
September 2014 have leaked
around Five millions Gmail
Passwords.
The same Google account
password is used across all
Google products, such as
Gmail, Drive, Plus, YouTube,
Maps etc.
Comment
Some people who checked the list and found
their Gmail addresses there reported that it
contained an old password for them, and often
a password that they had reused on multiple
sites.
Theres speculation that the addresses may
hay been stolen from other sites where people
used their Gmail address as a log-in.
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The account details have been posted on bitcoin forum btcsec.com by a user named
Tvskit. Tvskit claimed that approximately 60% of the passwords are still active.
On the other hand, Google denied the claim and said that only 2% of the passwords
still work. It claimed that its automated anti-hijacking systems would have blocked
many of the login attempts.
While acknowledging the leak, Google said that this is not due to a breach in its own
systems.
Subhash Chandra Garg appointed as Executive Director of World

Bank
Senior IAS officer Subhash Chandra Garg was appointed as the Executive Director
(ED) of World Bank on 10 September 2014. An order issued by the Appointments
Committee of Cabinet (ACC) said that Garg will have tenure of three years from the
date of assuming charge of the post.
At the time of appointment, Garg, a 1983-batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre was
serving in Rajasthan. He has experience in different ministries under state and centre.
The ministries served by him are ministries of rural development, agriculture, finance,
human resource development, power, personnel and general administration and
Cabinet affairs.
Executive Directors of the World Bank are responsible for the conduct of the general
operations of the Bank. They also exercise all the powers delegated to them by the
Boards of Governors and select a President who serves as Chairman of the Boards.
Executive Directors are also responsible for International Bank for Reconstruction
and Developments loans, guarantees and policies that impact the World Banks
general operations among others.
Earlier in August 2014, the ACC extended the tenure of MN Prasad, a 1972 batch IAS
officer of Bihar cadre (retd.) as an Executive Director of World Bank till 31 October
2014. Prasad was appointed as an ED on 26 July 2011 and at the time of appointment
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he was working as Secretary to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Ravindra Nath on 4 September 2014 assumed the charge of Chairman and Managing
director (CMD) of National Small Industries Corporation Limited (NSIC).
He succeeded H P Kumar. He was appointed to the post on 15 July 2014.
The Public Enterprises Selection Board had interviewed nine applicants in July 2014.
Earlier, Nath was serving as the Director for Finance with NSIC.
About NSIC
National Small Industries Corporation Limited (NSIC) is a PSU established by the
Government of India in 1955.
NSIC works under Union Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises of India.
NSIC was established with the objective to provide help to small scale industries
(SSI).

Chandrakala Padia was on 4
September 2014 appointed
as first women chairperson of
Indian Institute of Advanced
Study (IIAS).
She succeeded the former
West
Bengal
Governor
Gopalkrishna Gandhi.
About Indian Institute of Advanced Study

(IIAS)
The Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) is
a prestigious research institute based in Shimla,
India.
It was set up by the Union Ministry of Education
in 1964.
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Currently, she is working as Vice-Chancellor of Maharaja Ganga Singh University in
Bikaner.
She was a visiting associate of IIAS. She was National Fellow at the Indian Institute
of Advanced Studies in 2003-04.
Professor Padias areas of specialisation include political theory, Indian and Western
political thought, womens studies, Gandhian studies and human rights.
In 2002, she edited Feminism, Tradition and Modernity, published by the IIAS, which
questions the western understanding of feminism.
President cleared the appointment of Justice H.L. Dattu as 42nd

CJI
President Pranab Mukherjee on 3 September 2014 cleared the appointment of Justice
Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu as the 42nd Chief Justice of India.
Justice Dattu will become the Chief Justice of India after the retirement of CJI R.M.
Lodha on 27 September 2014. He would hold the post until his retirement on 2
December 2015.
Justice Dattu could be the last Chief Justice of India who would be appointed through
the collegium system of judicial appointments. As if the states approve the National
Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, the collegium system will come to an end.
Justice H.L. Dattu

Born on 13 December 1950, he joined up as an advocate in 1975 and began the
practise in Bangalore.
Justice Dattu was elevated as a judge of the Karnataka High Court after his
appointment as a senior standing counsel for Income Tax department in 1995.
In 2007, Justice Dattu became the Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh high court and
shortly afterwards in the same year he was appointed as the Chief Justice of
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Kerala high court.
Justice Dattu joined the Supreme Court as a judge in 2008.
Former CJI P Sathasivam appointed as Governor of Kerala

Former Chief Justice of India, Palaniswamy Sathasivam was appointed as the new
Governor of Kerala on 3 September 2014. His appointment to the office will come
into effect from the date, he will assume the charge of his office.
Sathasivam was appointed to the post after President Pranab Mukherjee accepted
the resignation of Sheila Dikshit as the Governor of Kerala.
With this appointment, 65-year-old Sathasivam became the first Chief Justice of India
to be appointed to the post of a Governor of a State, which is lower in warrant of
precedence to the CJI. Apart from this, Sathasivam who was the 40th chief justice of
India holding office from July 2013 to April 2014 is also the first non-political person
to be appointed for a gubernatorial post by the new NDA government.
Sathasivams appointment is the tenth appointment of Governors in different states
after the NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi came into power at
the centre.
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SCIENCE | SPACE
World Bank approved 105 million US dollars grant for Ebola
Emergency Response Project
The World Bank Group (WBG) on 16 September 2014 approved 105 million US dollars
grant for Ebola Emergency Response project to fight Ebola in Guinea, Liberia and
Sierra Leone. The new grant is part of the 200 million US dollars Ebola emergency
mobilization announced by the WBG in August 2014. The grant will be financed by
WBGs International Development Association (IDA).
The Ebola Emergency Response project will mobilize 52 million US dollars for Liberia,
28 million US dollars for Sierra Leone and 25 million US dollars for Guinea.
The allocations were calculated according to the World Health Organizations
Roadmap and assessments of the relative severity of Ebola in each country.
Key priorities of the Ebola Emergency Response project

Implement Outbreak Response Plans and provide essential health services to the
countries during the outbreak.
Help the countries in securing sufficient numbers of national and international
health workers for their outbreak response and the provision of essential health
services.
Provide essential food and water to quarantined families and communities and
other Ebola-affected households in the quarantined areas and other hot zones in
Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
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Spaceship Earth Grants (SEG) on 15 September 2014 launched a new program
Global Crowdfunding Spaceflight Contest. The contest aims to send 1 of every 50000
applicants to space.
About the Contest

The contest was presented by Star Harbor Space Training Academy. SEG will initially
award one space flight for each 50000 applications, but will increase the number of
awards given per 50000 applications as the number of applicants grows.
This unique approach of offering ever-increasing odds will encourage applicants to
share the contest opportunity enthusiastically among their family members, friends
and communities worldwide, knowing their own chances of being selected increase
as the more people apply.
About Spaceship Earth Grants

Spaceship Earth Grants Corp. (SEG) is a Public Benefit Corporation. SEG is
committed to make the space experience accessible to as many people as possible.
SEG offers applicants a chance to travel to space while helping to fund efforts and
organizations that are making a significant positive impact on planet Earth. SEG will
provide grants to individuals and organizations that are likewise committed to better
their communities.
About Star Harbor Space Training Academy

Star Harbor Space Training Academy is the first-in-the-world publicly accessible, fully
comprehensive and environmentally immersive space training academy. The Star
Harbor team is led by CEO Maraia Hoffman and includes former NASA Astronauts
Leland Melvin and Ron Garan.
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PERSON RESIGNED
Prithviraj Chavan on 26 September 2014 resigned as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra
after his government was reduced to a minority. Chavan submitted his resignation
to governor of the state C Vidyasagar Rao. His resignation came in the backdrop of
withdrawal of the support of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) that supported
Congress for the last 15 years. NCP withdrew its support from Congress on 25
September 2014 on the issue of Seat sharing for Vidhan Sabha elections that is
supposed to happen in next three weeks.
About Prithviraj Chavan

Pritviraj a representative of Indian National Congress was the 22nd Chief Minister
of Maharashtra
He has served as the Minister of State in the Prime Ministers Office in the Ministry of
Parliamentary Affairs and Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions
He has been a General Secretary of the All-India Congress Committee (AICC),
in-charge of many states, including Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Haryana,
Gujarat, Tripura, and Arunachal Pradesh
He is a graduate of Birla Institute of Technology and Science and University of
California in mechanical engineering
He has worked in the field of aircraft instrumentation and designing audio recorders
for anti-submarine warfare in the US after which he returned to India and become
an entrepreneur in 1974
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PLACES IN NEWS
First mobile phone sidewalks lane was created in Chinese city Chongqing on 15
September 2014. The city authorities designated a 100ft cellphone lane for men and
women who use their phones while walking.
The source of this approach was supposed to be copied from Washington version.
In July 2014, a section of a sidewalk on 18th street in Washington DC was painted
with separate lanes for those wanting to look at their cell phones, while another lane
was for quicker walkers.
It was part of a behavior experiment by National Geographic Television.
In 2013, a study at the Ohio State University found that distracted walking injuries
in the US are rising rapidly, with 1506 recorded in US emergency rooms in 2010, up
from 256 in 2005.
Other Solutions
Stanford University has displayed warning posters around campus.
In 2012, the Utah Transit Authority put a heavy fine of 50 dollar for distracted
walking.
Also, some authorities proposed a campaign of deliberate near misses a sort
of passive-aggressive resistance movement on the component of the properly
behaved.
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Chinese Army stopped water supply for Indians from T-Point in
Demchock, Ladakh
T-Point in Demchok area of Ladakh: Chinese army stopped Indians from using water
supply
T-Point of Demchok area of Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir was in news
in September 2014 due to incursion by China. During the incursion, Chinese army
stopped Indians from using water supply and construction work at T-Point in Demchok
area. Demchock area is about 300 kilometer from Leh.
As per reports, the Chinese army and civilians from across the border came near the
T-point and didnt allowed Indian labourers and contractors to complete the water
supply project near the river.
The water supply project is being developed under the Mahatma Gandhi National
Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) by the Leh district administration.
The water of this river is also used by Chinese civilians.

Delft Island: 9 fishermen arrested
Deft Island in the Indian Ocean was in news on 2 September 2014 when Sri Lankan
Navy arrested 9 fishermen and remanded them on custody till 16 September 2014 as
per the orders of Kankesanthurai magistrate.
Sri Lankan Navy claimed that arrest was made inside the Sri Lankan territory and all
fishermen were handed over to the fisheries authorities of Kankesanthurai for legal
action before the local magistrate.
Further it was claimed by the Sri Lankan Navy that the boat was unregistered and
owned by Sakthivel, who recently bought this boat when his registered boat sunk at
Talaimannar.
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The action of Sri Lankan Navy comes after the break down of the official talks between
the two countries in New Delhi in last week of August 2014.
About Delft Island

Called Pas uthivu or Nedunthivu (the island of cows) by natives, it was thus named
Illha das Vaka by the Portuguese and renamed Delft by the Dutch, after the town in
the Netherlands. It covers approximately 4700 hectares and is situated in Palk Strait.
The sparsely populated island is a coral reef island where the houses are fenced by
coral-stones piled up.
Its barren plains are populated with wild horses which were introduced by the
Portuguese in the 1600s and these horses are forbidden by law to leave the island.
Ukraine pulled back troops from Luhansk Airport

Luhansk airport: Ukraine troops pulled back
Luhansk airport in eastern
Ukraine was in news because
of Ukrainian troops pulling
back from the airport on 1
September 2014.
About Luhansk
Luhansk is formerly known as Voroshilovgrad.
It is the administrative center of Luhansk Oblast
in easternmost Ukraine.
The Ukrainian troops pulled

The city itself is also designated as its own
back after a coloumn of
separate municipality within the oblast. The
Russian
tanks
entered
current estimated population is around 425848.
the airfield which was
described by President Petro
Poroshenko as direct and open aggression by Russia.
However, Russia denied helping the rebels in the Russian-speaking east of Ukraine
who want to be part of Russia ather than Ukraine which seeks integration into
mainstream Europe.
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The pulling back from the airport is strategically a big loss to Ukraine because it was
being held by Ukrainian paratroopers who could have been easily be supplied by the
air anywhere.
Libyan Government lost its control over state offices in Tripoli to

Militants
Libyan Government on 1 September 2014 lost its control over state offices in Tripoli
to Militants. Tripoli is the capital of Libya.
Energy-rich Libya has slipped ever deeper into chaos since veteran dictator Moammar
Gadhafi was overthrown and killed in 2011.
Gunmen surrounded government offices, threatened ministers with assassination
and prevented employees from entering their workplaces.
Comment
Libya now has two competing parliaments, with each declaring the other illegitimate.
The Tobruk-based House of Representatives on 1 September 2014 reappointed
Abdullah Thinni as prime minister and asked him to form a new government.
Abdullah Thinni was originally named prime minister in March 2014, but that was
challenged by the Islamist-dominated General National Congress, the rival parliament
that has refused to disband.
Iraqi forces broke siege of Amerli town of Iraq from ISIS

Iraqi forces backed by US air strikes on 31 August 2014 broke the siege of Amerli
town of Iraq which was under ISIS militant groups.
The operation to reach Amerli began on 30 August 2014 when an alliance of Iraq
government forces, Shia militias and Kurdish Peshmerga began a two-front attack
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on ISIS positions. The Amerli operation was the first major offensive success for the
federal government since the conflict began.
The town was under siege of ISIS group since June 2014. Thousands of Iraqis were
trapped by jihadists.
The UK, France and Australia joined the US in dropping humanitarian aid.
Moreover, US military confirmed it had carried out two further air strikes on 31 August
2014. One was near the Mosul Dam and had destroyed an IS armed vehicle. The
other was near Amerli, where an IS tank was damaged.
About Amerli
Amirli is a town in the Tooz District of Salah ad Din Governorate. The town is located
near the border with Diyala Governorate, in northern Iraq, about 100 km from the
Iranian border.
It has a population of 26000, mainly from Iraqs Turkoman ethnic minority. It is the
centre of a farming region.
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PERSON ON VISIT
Germanys Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited India
Foreign Minister of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited India from 6 to 7
September 2014. During his visit he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union
External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj. He also had discussions on trade,
investment, high tech cooperation and renewable energy collaboration.
During his visit, both the countries agreed to prepare a road map for cooperation in
skill development, solid waste management and cleaning of rivers. He conveyed that
Germany has strong desire to work with India to further expand and deepen bilateral
relations.
He also visited the Hauz Khas Metro Station where the tunnelling process is
underway. He visited and surveyed the process because Tunnel Boring Machines
(TBM) was provided to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) by a German company,
Herrenknecht.
Prime Minister Modi described the two nations as made for each otherdue to
complementary skills and resources to power the next generation of industrial
development through partnering in manufacturing and infrastructure development.

Sushma Swaraj, the Union Minister of External Affairs and Minister for Overseas Indian
Affairs visited Bahrain. She was on a two day visit to the country from 6 September
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Current Affairs
to 7 September 2014. This was Swarajs first official visit to Bahrain and to the Gulf
region.
During the official-tour, she met with His Majesty the King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of
the Kingdom of Bahrain and also interacted with the top Bahraini leadership. A range
of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest were discussed during the
meet with the leaders.
Apart from this, she also attended the inaugural Indian Diaspora Engagement meet
for Indian businesses in Bahrain. The meet was organised by Overseas Indian
Facilitation Center (OIFC) and was held in Manama. Aim of the meet was to acquaint
the Indian Business group with the various investment opportunities in India and also
seek investments from the nationals of Bahrain.
The OIFC is a publicprivate initiative of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and
Confederation of Indian Industry for promotion of
Overseas investments into India
Facilitation of business partnerships
For assisting States in India to project investment opportunities to overseas Indians
India and Bahrain relationIndia and Bahrain shares a cordial and friendly relation
that is marked by close people to people contacts and regular high-level political
exchanges. His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa paid his first State visit to India
in February 2014. Bahrain as a Gulf nation is a home for 350000 Indian nationals,
who work there and contributes to the development of the country.
In the Gulf region, Bahrain is an important partner of India and its bilateral trade in
2013-14 exceeded 1.3 billion US dollar.

Prime Minister of Australia, Tony Abbott visited India from 4 to 5 September 2014.
Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Abbott held talks on bilateral, regional and
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multilateral issues.
During the visit of Prime Minister of Australia to India, four Memoranda of Understanding
(MoUs) were signed. The following are
Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy
MOU on cooperation in Sport
Renewal of MOU on cooperation in the field of Water Resources Management
MoU on Cooperation in Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET)
During his visit, Prime Minister of Australia, Tony Abbott described India as an
emerging democratic superpower and found the most of the abundant opportunities
for business India. He launched the New Colombo Plan at a programme at the
Mumbai University.
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PERSON DIED
Former International cricket umpire Mohammad Ghouse died on 29 September 2014
following a brief illness. He was 83.
He was survived by his wife, son and three daughters.
Mohammad Ghouse
Mohammad Ghouse made his debut as an umpire in a Ranji Trophy match in
1968-69 and went on to officiate over its 18 seasons.
His first Test as an official was in 1975-76 in the match between India and New
Zealand.
As a BCCI Test and ODI panel umpire, he performed official duties in eight Test
matches in 1970s and two One-Day Internationals in 1980s.
After Ghouse retired as an umpire, he served as the chairman of the Tamil Nadu
Cricket Associations umpires sub-committee and as a BCCI match referee.

Bibi Prakash Kaur, the last surviving real sister of martyr Bhagat Singh died on 28
September 2014 in Canada. She was 94.
She was paralysed and bed ridden since 2008. Coincidently, she passed away on
the 107th birth anniversary of the martyr Bhagat Singh which falls on 28 September
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every year.
Bibi Prakash Kaur

Bibi Prakash Kaur was born in 1921 and was only 12 years old when Bhagat Singh
was hanged to death by British rulers on 23 March 1931.
Prakash Kaur was settled in Canada since 1980 and was residing there with her
elder son Rupinder Singh Malhi.
She was known as Sumitra in her family.

The veteran cricket historian and statistician Anandji Dossa died on 22 September
2014 in New York, US. He was 98. Dossa in 2013 moved to the US along with his wife
to be with their daughter.
The doyen of the Indian crickets scoring and statistics started collecting the
newspaper cuttings of every India match since first test in 1932 to 1990s in form of
a scrapbook. His scrapbook had minor details that evolved into an integral part of
cricketing scoring. This scrapbook is an encyclopedia of Indian cricket in itself.
His collections are preserved by BCCI under the name Anandji Dossa Library on
the premises of the club. The preservation work was done under the stewardship of
former CCI and BCCI president Raj Singh Dungarpur to whom Anandji donated his
collections.
About Anandji Dossa

He was a former cricketer who remained as a reserve in Mumbais Ranji Trophy
but never succeeded to break into the side
He introduced the culture of cricket scoring and stats and also helped in grooming
several cricket statisticians and scorers.
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For the first three decades of independent India, he did live scoring for all major
cricket matches of India for the All India Radio.
He also authored some books and they were

Duleep - the Man and his Game, the book was co-authored with Vasant Raiji
Cricket Ties: India-Pakistan and Art of Scoring (in Gujarati)

Music Maestro Mandolin player Uppalapu Srinivas died on 19 September 2014 in
Chennai. He died following a failed liver transplant at the age of 45. He is now survived
by his father, mother, a sister and brother Rajesh, who is also a mandolin player.
He started performing at the early age of nine and as a child prodigy of Mandolin was
a phenomenal player. He was known for fusing western instrument Mandolin with
Carnatic music so as to render gamaka form of the music.
About Uppalapu Srinivas

He was born in Palakol of Andhra Pradesh on 28 February 1969 and was the son
of clarinet player Sathyanarayana.
He was declared as the musician of the Tamil Nadu government at the age of 15
by late Chief Minister MG Ramachandran in 1984.
As a musician he won several accolades that included Padma Shri (1998) and the
Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (2010).
He was also the recipient of the prestigious Sangeeta Ratna award.
He was known for adapting the difficult western instrument to the Carnatic stage.
His familiarity with cross over genres rendered a platform for merging his music
with other traditional musical arts.
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He released Samjanitha in 2008 that featured Debashish Bhattacharya, John
McLaughlin, Zakir Hussain, Sivamani, Vikku Vinaykram, Dominique Piazza George
Brook, U Rajesh, Anil Srinivasan and others.
He also recorded CD of Carnatic composition by Ilaiyataaja called Ilaiyaraajas
Classics in Mandolin.
In his career as a mandolin musician, he also performed along with several
international artists like Michael Brook, John McLaughlin, Trey Gunn and Nigel
Kennedy.
Pakistans Liberal religious scholar Dr. Shakeel Auj shot dead in

Karachi
Dr. Shakeel Auj, a liberal religious scholar and professor and a dean of Islamic Studies
at Karachi University was shot dead on 18 September 2014 in Karachi, Pakistan. He
was shot down by unknown assailants. He was accused of blasphemy for a speech
given by him during his visit to the United States in 2012.
Earlier, a madrassa in Karachi issued a fatwa (religious decree) relating to his alleged
blasphemy and called for his death. The fatwa that declared the professor as wajibul
qatl (liable to be killed) was made public via SMS messages.
About Dr. Shakeel Auj

He was a person with unorthodox and liberal views and thus had frequent run-ins
with the conservative ulemas
As a professor, he is known for his statements such as a Muslim woman could
marry non-Muslim and Muslim women can say their prayers without removing
their lipsticks
He had written 15 books about Islam and was a regular participant of television
debates about religious issues
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For his contributions in the fields of education and research, he was awarded a
Presidential medal of distinction by the Pakistan government in August 2014
Comment
Death of Auj in an attack is not the first incident in Pakistan, but in recent few years,
liberal scholars of the country has seen hundred of such attacks as documented in
Scholars at Risk Network. Apart from this, Pakistan was ranked sixth most heavily
affected countries for violence against schools and universities in the report Education
under Attack 2014 released by the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack.
Ex-Assam DGP Shankar Baruah accused in Saradha chit fund

scam died
Former Director General of Police of Assam, Sanker Baruah committed suicide on
17 September 2014. He shot himself down with his .32 licensed-revolver at his Uzan
Bazar residence in Guwahati.
His suicide came after CBI raided his residence during the course of investigation of
multi-crore Saradha chit fund case. CBI raided his house on 28 August 2014.
Sanker Baruah was a 1974 batch IPS officer and became DGP of Assam on 31 July
2009. He served the state as the head of Assam police till January 2012.
Japan actress Yoshiko Yamaguchi died

Yoshiko Yamaguchi, the film actress of Japan died due to heart failure on 7 September
2014. She was 94. She was known as Rikoran and Shirley Yamaguchi in the US.
Yamaguchi was one of biggest Japanese film stars during and after World War II.
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About Yoshiko Yamaguchi
She was born to Japanese parents in northern China in 1920 and was adopted by
a Chinese friend of her father and was renamed Xianglan or Fragrant Orchid. She
was a star in China, Japan, Hong Kong and the US.
She debuted as a Chinese singer Li Xianglan Rikoran in Japanese and starred in
Chinese-language films made by Japanese-run Manchurian Cinema Association,
most of them was propaganda movies.
Yue Lai Xiang is one of her best known songs and in Song of the White Orchid film
she depicted a young Chinese woman who falls in love with a Japanese man after
her family is killed by the Japanese.
She also appeared in two Hollywood films namely Japanese War Bride and House
of Bamboo during the 1950s.
She was elected to Upper House of Japanese Parliament as a member of the
governing Liberal Democratic Party till 1992.

Educationist Kireet Joshi died on 14 September 2014. He was 83. He was a former
education adviser to the Union government in 1976.
Joshi played an important role in developing and spreading the message of Integral
education both in India and abroad.
About Kireet Joshi

Joshi was a philosopher
He studied law at the Bombay University
He was selected for the Indian Administrative Services in 1955 but resigned in
1956
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In 1958, he was appointed as Registrar of Sri Aurobindo International Centre of
Education of the Ashram at Pondicherry.
In 1976, he was appointed as education adviser by the then Prime Minister of
India, Indira Gandhi.
He also served as the chairman of the Indian Council of Philosophical Research.
He was appointed as special secretary to the Government of India in 1983. He
was also the vice-chairman of the UNESCO Institute of Education, Hamburg from
1987 to 1989.
He was also formally Educational Advisor to the Chief Minister of Gujarat from
2008 to 2010.
ISIS beheaded British Citizen, David Haines; David Cameron

vows to hunt down killers
The British aid worker, David Haines was in news as he was beheaded byIslamic
State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants. He was kept as a hostage by the militant
group in Syria and his beheading was confirmed after the group released a video of
beheading Haines on 13 September 2014.
Haines, 44-year-old and a father of two was working for a French aid agency when he
was kidnapped in Syria in March 2013. In the video, the militants have also threatened
to kill the second Briton named Alan Henning, 47. The video also states that Haines
execution is retribution for Cameron who is working to arm Iraqi forces in fighting
against ISIS and also for recent airstrikes that targeted the groups position near
Haditha Dam of Iraq.
The central figure the masked person who has beheaded all these three has been
nicknamed as Jihadi John.
Haines was the first Briton and third Western hostage of the ISIS militants who were
beheaded in 2014. The other two were Journalists and they were James Foley (first
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American citizen was an American freelance journalist and photojournalist of the
Syrian Civil War) and Steven Sotloff(was an Israeli-American journalist for TIME
magazine and The Jerusalem Post). Video of beheading Foley was released on 19
August 2014, whereas, the video of beheading Sotloff was released on 2 September
2014.
Reactions on beheading of David Haines

British Prime Minister David Cameron defined this beheading and murder of David
Haines as an act of pure evil. He also said that the UK will take whatever steps are
necessary to defeat the militants of ISIS group.
The US President Obama condemned the act and termed it as the barbaric murder.
The UN Security Council has condemned the heinous and cowardly murder of
David Haines and said this crime is a tragic reminder of the increasing dangers
humanitarian personnel face every day in Syria. UNSC also stressed that the ISIS
must be defeated and that the intolerance, violence and hatred it espouses must
be stamped out. It urged all states to cooperate actively with Britains efforts to
bring the perpetrators of Haines execution to justice.

Freedom fighter and veteran journalist Jitendra Chandra Paul died on 11 September
2014 at B.R. Ambedkar Medical College in Agartala, Tripura. He was 101.
Jitendra Chandra Paul

Paul participated in Indias freedom struggle and was imprisoned for many years
during British Raj.
Jitendra Chandra Paul brought out Tripuras first Bengali daily Jagaran in 1954.
He authored as many as 12 books.
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He played a crucial role in ethnic riots that took place in Tripura in 1980.
He also helped the refugees who migrated to Tripura from the then East Pakistan
(now Bangladesh).

Prominent Bangladeshi Nazrul Sangeet singer Firoza Begum died on 9 September
2014 in Dhaka due to heart and kidney problems. She was 84.
She was best known for singing Nazrul Sangeet, a musical work composed by
Bengali poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.
Firoza Begum
Born in 1930, Firoza Begum was educated in Calcutta in undivided India.
She was closely linked with poet Kazi Nazrul Islam who is now Bangladeshs
national poet.
She recorded her first Islamic song by Gramophone record company in 1942.
In 1949, Firoza and ghazal exponent Talat Mahmud together inaugurated the
Dhaka Radio.
Firoza Begum was honoured with the Independence Day Award in 1979 and the
Sheltech Award in 2000.
Firoza sang Rabindra Sangeet, Adhunik Bangla songs, Gazhal, Kawali and Bhajan
for her audience.

Actor Richard Kiel who played steel-toothed villain role in two James Bond films
died on 10 September 2014 in California. He was 74.
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Kiel made his name as intimidating henchman and steel toothed villain against Roger
Moore, the James Bond.
Richard Kiel
Born in Michigan in 1939, Kiel had the hormonal condition Acromegaly, which
contributed to his height.
His first break came in 1959 when he played the alien Kanamit in Twilight Zone.
From 1963 to 1965 Kiel worked as a night school math instructor in Burbank,
California.
The towering American star appeared in The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977 and
Moonraker in 1979.
The 7ft 2in actor also appeared in the sports comedy Happy Gilmore starring
Adam Sandler in 1996.
He published an autobiography named Making It Big In The Movies in 2002.
He reprised the character of Jaws for several James Bond video games and voiced
the thug Vlad in the animated Disney film Tangled.

Habib wali Mohammad on 4 september 2014 died. He was 90. He was residing in
Los Angeles at the time of his death.
He was best known for his film ghazal Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo that catapulted him
to widespread recognition.
Habib Wali received classical music lessons from Ustad Latafath Husain, nephew of
Ustad Fayyaz Khan.
In college, he became active in the musical functions of Ismail Yusuf College gaining
the nickname Taan sain. He completed a bachelors degree in Bombay.
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In 1941, Habib Wali was awarded first prize in a Bombay music competition with 1200
contestants, including the singer Mukesh Chand Muthur. His winning performance
was singing the ghazal of the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, Lagta Nahin
Hai Jee Mera Ujray Diyar Mein.
After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, his family migrated to Pakistan.
List of some Orizzonti Awards

The Orizzonti Award for Best Director: Naji Abu Nowar for Theeb
The Special Orizzonti Jury Prize: Belluscone, Una Storia Siciliana by Franco
Maresco
The Special Orizzonti Award for Best Actor or Actress: Emir Hadihafizbegovic in
the film Takva Su Pravila (These are the Rules) by Ognjen Svilicic
The Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film: Maryam by Sidi Saleh (Indonesia)
The Venice Short Film Nomination for the European Film Awards 2014: Pat Lehem
(Daily Bread) by Idan Hubel
Other Indian film at the 71st Venice Film Festival was Labour of Love by Aditya Vikram
Sengupta that returned back without any award. On the other hand, in 2013 Venice
Film Festival, Kush of Shubhashish Bhutiani won the best short.

A former NASA chief scientist Dr. Noel W. Hinners died on 5 September 2014 due to
brain tumor. He was 78.
He was involved in the scientific exploration of the moon for the Apollo program and
later oversaw projects such as the Mars Surveyor Program.
About Noel Hinner

Hinners began his meteoric space career in 1963 by helping plan the lunar exploration
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and was just 33 when Apollo 11 landed on the moon. He worked on the Apollo
program until 1972, when he became the space agencys director of lunar programs.
He later served as the director of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington
and the director of the Goddard Space Flight Center. He retired from NASA as its
third-ranking executive.
At Lockheed Martin, Hinners was vice president of flight systems whose responsibilities
included NASAs Mars Surveyor Program and Stardust, the first program dedicated
to exploring a comet.
He was a member of the NRC Space Studies Board (1981-1982 & 1989-1996) and
chaired its Committee on Human Exploration.
US comedian and talk-show host Joan Rivers died

Legendary US comedian and talk-show host Joan Rivers died on 4 September
following a cardiac arrest on 28 August 2014. She was 81.
Joan Rivers was an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, television host
and was best known for her stand-up comedy.
Joan Rivers
She was born as Joan Alexandra Molinsky to a family of Jewish immigrants who
had fled the Russian Revolution in Brooklyn, New York.
She got her big break in 1965 when she appeared on The Tonight Show Starring
Johnny Carson.
Rivers hosted a morning talk show on NBC in 1968.
In 1978, she wrote, directed and co-starred in the movie Rabbit Test.
She launched The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers on Fox in 1986 but the venture
lasted just a season
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She faced true crisis in the mid-1980s when her husband Edgar Rosenberg
committed suicide in 1987 after which she was fired from her Fox talk show.
She won Daytime Emmy Award for The Joan Rivers Show as an Outstanding Talk
Show Host.
Rivers slammed actors at the Oscars, Emmys and Golden Globes on their worst
appearance on the red carpet while hosting the E! networks Fashion Police.
In 2010, she was featured in the documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work.
Sri Lankas trade unionist, Bala Thampoe died

Trade Unionist Bala Thampoe died on 1 September 2014 in Sri Lanka. He was 92. He
played a major role in Sri Lankas labour movement for nearly seven decades.
He was a general secretary of the Ceylon Mercantile Union (CMU) for the last 65
years. He was considered as one of the most powerful private sector unions in Sri
Lanka.
About Bala Thampo

Bala Tampoe was born in May 1922 and was a lawyer and a trade unionist in Sri
Lanka
He was educated at the prestigious Royal College Colombo and gained a BSc
degree from the newly established University of Ceylon in 1943 and the University
of London in 1944
He also studied law at the Colombo Law College and became an advocate,
practicing criminal law.
He joined the Trotskyist faction of the Leftist and then underground Lanka Sama
Samaja Party (LSSP) in 1941. He joined the CMU in 1948 as its general secretary
and served in the capacity till he died.
He opposed the LSSP joining the ruling coalition in the 1960s due to uncompromising
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leadership.
Ceylon Mercantile Union came under the influence of the Lanka Sama Samaja
Party (LSSP).
Worlds Oldest Test cricketer Norman Gordon died

The world`s oldest test cricketer Norman Gordon died in Johannesburg on 2 September
2014. He was 103. He was a former South African international fast bowler.
Norman Gordon was the oldest living international cricketer and was the last man
alive to have played Test cricket before World War II. Now, the former South African
Lindsay Tuckett is the oldest living international cricketer.
Norman Gordon
Gordon became the oldest-ever Test cricketer on 23 March 2011 when he
surpassed New Zealander Eric Tindill who died on 1 August 2010.
He was Nicknamed Mobil for the way he greased down his hair with hair gel.
He made his Test debut against England in Durban in December 1938
Gordon played first-class cricket for Transvaal as a right-handed fast bowler from
193334.
He was born in oksburg, Transvaal on 6 August 1911
Former Attorney General of India Goolam Essaji Vahanvati died

Former Attorney General of India Goolam Essaji Vahanvati died of a heart attack in
Mumbai on 2 September 2014. He was 65.
He was the first Muslim to become Indias Attorney General.
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Goolam Essaji Vahanvati
Born on 7 May 1949, Goolam Essaji Vahanvati obtained a law degree from
Government Law College in Mumbai after graduating from St Xaviers College.
He began his practice as an advocate in his fathers chambers in 1972.
He became the advocate general of Maharashtra in 1999.
He served as the solicitor general of India from 2004 to 2009.
In 2004, he was appointed by the International Cricket Council to probe the
allegations of racism in Zimbabwe.
He became Indias 13th Attorney General in 2009 under UPA-2 regime.
He resigned from the position of Attorney General on 27 May 2014 following the
regime change at the Centre.
Former Foreign Secretary A.P. Venkateswaran died

Former foreign secretary and a member of the Indian Foreign Service AP
Venkateshwaran died on 2 September 2014. He was 84.
He is survived by wife Usha Venkateshwaran and daughter Kalpana who is a wellknown choreographer settled in the US.
AP Venkateshwaran
Venkateshwaran was born to a Palakkad Iyer family settled in Orissa.
From 1962 to 1964 he was Deputy Secretary of External affairs, Government of
India.
He became an IFS officer at the age of 22.
He represented the Indian Government at the United Nations Office in Geneva
from May 1980 to August 1982.
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On 1 April 1986, he became State Secretary in the Foreign Ministry. He resigned
from the post in January 1987 after he was offended by then Prime Minister Rajiv
Gandhi for reportedly issuing contradictory statements on his visit to Pakistan.
He was chairman of the Asia Centre that seeks to promote political, economic,
cultural and social exchanges among Asian countries.
Renowned Kathak dancer Maya Rao died

Veteran Kathak dancer Maya Rao died on 1 September 2014 following a massive
cardiac arrest on 31 August 2014. She was 86.
Known for her mastery over abhinaya and dance ballet, Maya Rao helped the dance
form Kathak to gain popularity in South India.
Maya Rao
Born in 1928 in Bangalore, Maya Rao practised the Lucknow and Jaipur gharana
of Kathak from Shambhu Maharaj and Sunder Prasad.
She studied Masters in Choreography from the USSR in 1964.
Mayas ground-breaking work in choreography helped thousands of dancers in
learning the composition and arrangement of dances.
She trained over 4000 students across the globe in about eight decades of her
career.
She had set up the Natya Institute of Dance and Choreography in 1987 at
Malleswaram.
Some of her dance ballets such as Amir Khusro, Krishnadevaraya, Vijayanagara
Vaibhava, and Mastis Kaamana Billu are regarded as her masterpiece productions
in dance.
She initiated National Performing Arts Festivals at heritage monuments such as
Somanathpura, Pattadakkal and Halebid during her tenure as the chairperson of
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the Karnataka Sangeet Nritya Academy from 1987 to 1990.
Maya Rao was a recipient of the prestigious Karnataka Rajyotsava awards (1986)
and Shantala Awards(2000).
Renowned Telugu filmmaker Sattiraju Lakshminarayana died

Renowned Telugu filmmaker Sattiraju Lakshminarayana nicknamed Bapu died on 31
August 2014 in Chennai. He passed away due to a cardiology-related ailment. He
was 80.
Bapu was also an acclaimed artist, painter, cartoonist and illustrator. Now, he is
survived by two sons and a daughter.
About Sattiraju Lakshminarayana alias Bapu

He was born on 15 December 1933
He started his career as a cartoonist for Telugu newspaper Andhra Patrika
Bapu begun his film career as a director in 1967 with Sakshi, the film that was
screened at the international film festival at Tashkent in 1968
His film Seeta Kalyanam was screened at the BFI London Film Festival, Chicago
International Film Festival, San Reno and Denver International Film Festivals in
1978, and is part of the course at the British Film Institute
He directed his last film Sri Rama Rajyam in 2011 and had a special screening at
International Film Festival of India on 18 November 2011
He was an ardent devotee of Lord Ram and thats why most of his stories were
inspired from Ramayana and some of those films were Sampoorna Ramayanam,
Ramanjeneya Yuddham and Seetha Kalyanam
He also directed few Hindi and Tamil language. His Hindi films included Ham
Paanch and Seeta Swayamvar, Woh Saat Din and Mera Dharam
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As a filmmaker, he directed about 50 films in his career
His film of 1981, Tyagayya was showcased at the Indian Panorama of International
Film Festival of India in 1982
He has appeared in the Doordarshan Documentary Eminent Cartoonists of India.
He gained international recognition through his art works viz., Bapu Bomma,
The Navarasas, and the Indian Dances etc., which were held at the National Film
Theatre, London, in 1978 and at the innumerable Telugu Conferences in the United
States.
He has worked as a graphic artist for J Walter Thomson, Efficient Publicities and
FD Stewarts, Chennai
In 1960s he served as art Consultant for Ford Foundation sponsored The Southern
Language Book Trust
Awards and Honours conferred on Bapu

In 2013, he won the Padma Shri award
He was the winner of five Nandi Award of Andhra Pradesh government
Apart from this, Bapu received several coveted honours like two National Film
Awards, two Filmfare Awards South, and a Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award
South for the year 2012
a) National Film Awards were given for

Best Feature Film in Telugu Mutyala Muggu
Best Feature Film in Telugu Mister Pellam
b) Filmfare Awards South were given as

Best Director Award (Telugu) Seeta Kalyanam (1976)
Best Director Award (Telugu) Vamsa Vruksham (1980)
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Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award South - (2012)
Some National honours were

Life Time Achievement Award from Indian Institute of Cartoonists 2001
President of India Rashtrapati Award from the Academy of Fine Arts, Tirupati
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INVENTIONS | DISCOVERIES
Ancient nomadic campsite belonging to Liao Dynasty unearthed
in China
An ancient nomadic campsite was unearthed by Chinese archeologists in Qianan
county in north-east Jilin province of China on 24 September 2014. The unearthed
campsite was supposed to be used by the nomadic emperors from the Liao Dynasty
(907 AD 1125 AD).
Though archaeologists did not disclose the overall size of the campsite, but it is
believed to be the largest ever campsite found in China.
The head of the Jilin Provincial Bureau of Cultural Heritage Jin Xudong is planning to
make this campsite appear in the World Heritage list.
Findings about the campsite

The campsite unearthed consists of four parts overall. The biggest part of three
kilometers width is about one-third the size of the entire campsite. It contains as
many as 900 bases for camping.
The ancient campsite served as an administrative centre during the reign of the
nomadic Khitans, although their capital city was in Inner Mongolia in China.
Emperors of the Liao dynasty usually had four campsites where they lived during the
four seasons. In spring and summer, they moved to the north while in autumn and
winter they settled in the south.
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Background
In 2009, the ruins of the spring campsite were discovered and have undergone
archaeological excavation in August 2014. Since then, archaeologists unearthed
more than 100 cultural relics including tiles, pottery, porcelain, copper coins and
Buddha statues.
1846 Northwest Passage expedition ship found in Canadian

Arctic
Sir John Franklins doomed 1846 Northwest Passage expedition ship was found in
Canadian Arctic on 9 September 2014. The ship belonged to former governor of
Tasmania Sir John Franklin.
The ship was among the two ships that disappeared during Northwest Passage
expedition. The two ships were HMS Erebus and HMS Terror.
The Sonar images released by Parks Canada showed the remains of the ship. The
underwater video showed shattered timbers and other wreckage lying on the bottom
of the seabed.
However, it is still unclear that which of the two ships had actually been discovered.
Background
Sir John Franklin owned two ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror. These two ships
disappeared on an expedition to find the Northwest Passage, a sea route connecting
the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic.
Under the command of Franklin and Captain Francis Crozier, the two ships left
England on 19 May 1845 to discover the Northwest Passage. There were 134 people
on the ship.
Since then, the circumstances surrounding the fate of the Franklin Expedition didnt
become clear. However in 1859, a vessel chartered by Franklins widow Lady Jane
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Franklin came across a message on King William Island.
The message revealed that Franklin and 23 crew members died on 11 June 1847 in
uncertain circumstances. On 22 April 1848, 105 survivors left the ships in an attempt
to reach solid ground on foot, but none of them survived. Subsequently, all sailors
died. The two vessels were ultimately engulfed by ice.
Sir John Franklin

Sir John Franklin was a Royal Navy officer.
He undertook several Arctic expeditions before 1837.
In 1837, he became lieutenant-governor of Van Diemens Land, now known as
Tasmania. He served there until 1843.
The states Franklin River is named after him.
Franklins ships were an important part of Canadian history. He laid the foundations
of Canadas Arctic sovereignty through his expeditions that took place nearly 200
years ago.
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AWARDS | HONOURS
CSIR on 26 September 2014 announced the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awards 2014
for ten scientists in recognition of their work. The awards were announced by Director
General of Council for Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) Dr. Paramvir Singh
Ahuja during the CSIRs 72nd Foundation day celebrations in New Delhi.
The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology consists of a citation,
a plaque and a cash prize of 5 lakh rupees. The selected awardees in different fields
are
Biological Sciences: Dr. Roop Mallik of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research,
Mumbai
Chemical Sciences: Dr. Kavirayani Ramakrishna Prasad of Indian Institute of
Science, Bengaluru and Dr. Souvik Maiti of Institute of Genomics and Integrative
Biology (CSIR-IGIB), New Delhi
Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean and Planetary Sciences: Dr. Sachchida Nand Tripathi
of Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
Engineering Sciences: Dr. S Venkata Mohan of Indian Institute of Chemical
Technology (CSIR-IICT), Hyderabad and Dr. Soumen Chakrabarti of Indian Institute
of Technology, Mumbai
Mathematical Sciences: Dr. Kaushal Kumar Verma of Indian Institute of Science,
Bengaluru
Medical Sciences: Dr. Anurag Agrawal of Institute of Genomics and Integrative
Biology (CSIR-IGIB), New Delhi
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Physical Sciences: Dr. Pratap Raychaudhuri, Tata Institute of Fundamental
Research of Mumbai and Dr. Sadiqali Abbas Rangwala of Raman Research
Institute, Bengaluru
Apart from this, the CSIR Awards for S&T Innovations for Rural Development 2013
and CSIR Diamond Jubilee Technology Award 2014 were also announced. The two
awards were conferred on
CSIR Awards for S&T Innovations for Rural Development 2013: was conferred
upon CSIR-Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB), Hyderabad and
Directorate of Rice Research, ICAR, Hyderabad for development and deployment
of an improved Samba Mahsuri ricevariety which is bacterial blight resistant, high
yielding and possesses fine-grains.
CSIR Diamond Jubilee Technology Award 2014: was conferred upon Avra
Laboratories Pvt. Limited, Hyderabad for Development and Commercialization of
Irinotecan a unique drug for colorectal cancer.
Edward Snowden and Alan Rusbridger won Right Livelihood

Award 2014
Former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden and Alan Rusbridger, editor of
The Guardian on 24 September 2014 won Right Livelihood Award. The award was
shared between the two.
The Right Livelihood Award is also known as Alternative Nobel prize of Sweden.
Edward Snowden was awarded for his courage and skill in revealing the unprecedented
extent of state surveillance violating basic democratic processes and constitutional
rights. While, Alan Rusbridger, was awarded for writing extensively on government
surveillance, based on leaks of Edward Snowden.
Cash prizes went to three activists from Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the US.
About Edward Snowden

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Edward Snowden fled to Hong Kong and then Moscow in 2013. He is believed to
have taken 1.7 million computerised documents. Those published so far revealed
massive programmes run by the NSA that gathered information on emails, phone
calls and Internet use by hundreds of millions of Americans.
In 2013, he was charged in the United States with theft of government property,
unauthorised communication of national defence information and wilful communication
of classified intelligence to an unauthorised person.
About Alan Rusbridger

Alan Rusbridger is the editorin-chief of the UK based newspaper The Guardian.
In 2013, Rusbridger gave evidence before a Home Affairs Select Committee hearing
on counterterrorism at the UK Parliament with regard to the publication of information
leaked by Snowden.
About Right Livelihood Award

The Right Livelihood Award was established in 1980.
The award was given to honour and support those offering practical and exemplary
answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today.
The prize money is shared among the winners, usually numbering four, and is EUR
200000. Very often one of the four laureates receives an honorary award, which
means that the other three share the prize money.
Sukinda Chromite Mine of the Tata Steel in Odisha won Asian

CSR Leadership Award
Sukinda Chromite Mine of the Tata Steel in Odisha on 24 September 2014 won the
Asian Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Leadership Award. The Sukinda mine of
Tata Steels won the award for Community Development. The award was presented
by World CSR Congress at Dubai, UAE.
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Sumit Ghoshal, Regional Commercial Manager of Tata Steel in Middle East received
the award on behalf of the company.
The award recognised the voluntary action of several officers of Sukinda Chromite
Mine who have been sponsoring orphan tribal girls of nearby schools of Sukinda.
Malayalam filmmaker MT Vasudevan Nair selected for 2013 JC

Daniel Award of Kerala Government
Noted writer and filmmaker Madathil Thekkepaattu (MT) Vasudevan Nair on 23
September 2014 was selected for the JC Daniel Award for lifetime achievement for
the year 2013. The award given by the Kerala government recognises the overall
contribution of MT to the Malayalam film industry.
He will be presented with the award at a function on 17 October 2014 at Kanakakunnu
Palace in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
He was selected for the award by a jury headed by noted writer and Malayalam
University Vice-Chancellor K Jayakumar.
Madathil Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Nair

MT Vasudevan Nair debuted as scriptwriter with the 1965 film Murappennu.
His debut novel Naalukettu (The Legacy) won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award
in 1958.
MT Vasudevan Nair is the winner of the Jnanpith award in 1995 for his overall
contribution to Malayalam literature.
He also received Padma Bhushan award in 2005.
He has directed seven films so far and written the screenplay for around 54 films.
He also won the National Award for best screenplay four times in his career.
His debut film as director Nirmalyam won the national award for best film in 1974.
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J C Daniel Award
The Department of Cultural Affairs under Government of Kerala instituted the
award in honour of JC Daniel in 1992.
Daniel was considered as the father of Malayalam cinema for producing, directing,
writing, photographing, editing and acting in the Vigathakumaran in 1928. It was
the first film made in Kerala.
The award is a part of the Kerala State Film Awards and honours lifetime
achievements and outstanding contributions to Malayalam cinema.
The award comprises of a cash prize of 1 lakh rupees, statuette and a citation.
The first J C Daniel Award in 1992 was presented to the producer T. E. Vasudevan.
Cricketers Sachin Tendulkar & Steve Waugh selected as 2014

Bradman Honouree
Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and Steve Waugh of Australia were selected as Bradman
Honouree 2014. It was announced by The Bradman Foundation. They will be honoured
at the Gala Dinner of the Bradman Foundation on 29 October 2014 in Sydney.It was
announced by the Bradman Foundation on 22 September 2014.It was announced by
the Bradman Foundation on 22 September 2014.
Sachin Tendulkar was selected for Bradman Honouree because he has scored more
Test runs than any other cricketer in history and bestrode the international cricket
stage for 24 years.
Tendulkar was identified by Sir Donald Bradman early in his career as the batsman
whose technique most closely resembled to Sir Donald Bradman.
Steve Waugh was selected because he was the most successful captain of Australia
and also embodies values of Bradman like courage, honour and determination.
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About Bradman Honourees
The Bradman Foundation, a non profitable organisation was established in 1987
with the support of Sir Donald Bradman. It was established to promote cricket as a
valuable cultural and sporting force within the community.
Every year two Bradman Honourees were selected for their significant contribution
to international cricket as exemplified by Sir Donald Bradman. The Award is issued
specifically with regard to how much the cricketer reflect Sir Donalds expressed
values including courage, honour, integrity, humility and determination.
Govind Mishra received Saraswati Samman 2013 for novel Dhool

Paudhon Par
Govind Mishra, the renowned Hindi author was given the Saraswati Samman in New
Delhi on 23 September 2014. He was given the Samman by Union Home Minister
Rajnath Singh for his novel Dhool Paudhon Par that was published in 2008.
Govind Mishra is the second Hindi author to be conferred with this honour after
Harivansh Rai Bachchan in 1991 for his autobiography in four volumes in Hindi.
About novel Dhoop Paudhon Par

The novel illustrates the struggle of modern Indian women and carries an artistic
blend of reality and romance. It is a novel that can be read both for the realistic
portrayal of the plight of Indian women in modern times and for a love story also.
About Govind Mishra

Mishra was born on 1 August 1939 in Atarra of Banda, Uttar Pradesh
He completed his BA and MA (English) at the University of Allahabad
In 1962, he was selected for the Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) where he
attained the post of Chairman, Central Board of direct taxes and retired from his
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office in 1997
Post retirement, he dedicated himself solely for the literary pursuits in Bhopal
Published works of Mishra includes

11 novels
14 short story collections that contains 100 stories
Five travelogues
Five collections of literary essays
One poem collection
2 story books for children
His first novel was Wo Apna Chehra and was published in 1969 and the much talked
novel was Lal Peeli Zameen published in 1976.
Govind Mishra is a recipient of several awards that includes

Vyas Samman (1998)
Sahitya Akademi Award (2008)
Bharat-Bharti Samman (2011)
About Saraswati Samman

Saraswati Samman is an annual award that is given in recognition of outstanding
prose or poetry literary works in Indian languages that are listed in Schedule VIII of
the constitution of India. This Samman is given for the literary works of last 10 years.
The award was established in 1991 by K. K. Birla Foundation and carries a prize
amount of 10 lakh rupees along with a certificate.
The KK Birla Foundation has instituted three awards in the field of literature. These
are Saraswati Samman, Vyas Samman (for Hindi) and Bihari Puraskar (for Hindi and
Rajasthani writers of Rajasthan).
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On 2 August 2013 the Saraswati Samman 2012 was given to Sugathakumari, the
Malayalam poetess for Manalezhuthu (the Writings on the Sand), a collection of
poems in Malayalam.
Geethu Mohandas film Liars Dice to be Indias official entry for

Oscar Awards 2015
Hindi-language feature film Liars Dice on 23 September 2014 was selected for Indias
official entry in the 2015 Oscars Awards. The film is directed by Geethu Mohandas.
The 87th Oscar Awards event will take place in the US on 22 February 2015.
The movie was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film category. Out of 30
entries, this movie was chosen unanimously by 12-member jury headed by eminent
filmmaker T. Hariharan.
Liars Dice
Liars Dice was released in Thiruvananthapuram on 19 September2014 and will
open in Pune on 26 September 2014. It will be exhibited across the country in
November 2014 by PVR Pictures.
The movie stars national award winning actors Geetanjali Thapa and Nawazuddin
Siddiqui.
The movie is set along the Himachal-Tibet border. It deals with distress migration.
Liars Dice is about the adventures of Kamala, her daughter and a mysterious man
who meet them during their travels. Looking for her missing husband, Kamala is
both intrigued and frightened by brooding character of Siddiqui.
Liars Dice won the best cinematography honour for Rajeev Ravi and best actress
title for Geetanjali at the 61st National Film Awards in 2014.
Moreover, it was screened at the Sundance Film Festival and International Film
Festival Rotterdam.
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The film was also premiered at the Mumbai Film Festival (MFF) in 2013.
India and Oscar Awards

India has never won an Oscar in the best foreign film category. The last Indian film
that made it to the final five nominees at the Oscar Awards was Ashutosh Gowarikers
Lagaan.
Mother India and Salaam Bombay were the other two Indian films that managed to
make it to the top five nominees at the Oscar Awards.

Ma Ying-jeou, The President of Taiwan presented the Tang Prizes in Taiwans capital
Taipei on 18 September 2014. This award honours the outstanding contributions to
the environment, human rights, medicine and Sinology. The Tang Prize is treated as
Asias version of the Nobels.
Tang Prize 2014 Recipients

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.
Gro Harlem Brundtland is called as the godmother of sustainable development.
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
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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.
About Tang Priz

The prize was founded in 2012 with the donation of 3 billion Taiwan dollars by
Samuel Yin. Yin was one of the richest men in Taiwan.
Yin had promised to donate 95 percent of his wealth to charity during his lifetime
and according to Forbes magazines estimation, His net assets are 4.5 billion
dollars.
The prize is named after a Chinese Dynasty Tang of 618-907 AD.
Each winner of the prize gets 50 million Taiwan dollars (107 million US dollars). The
prize will be 40 million Taiwan dollars in cash and the remainder in a grant
The Award is given in environment, human rights, medicine and Sinology categories.
President of India presented Indira Gandhi Rajbhasa Awards

The President of India Pranab Mukherjee on 14 September 2014 presented Indira
Gandhi Rajbhasa awards on the occasion of National Hindi Divas at Rashtrapati
Bhavan, New Delhi.
Indira Gandhi Rajbhasa awards also known as Indira Gandhi Official Language
Awards are celebrated every year on 14 September.
Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) CMD Madhusudan was one of the awardees
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who was honoured with the prestigious Indira Gandhi Rajbhasha Shield for the Best
Hindi Implementation in the organisation.
List of Indira Gandhi Rajbhasa Awardees

Indira Gandhi Official Language Awards Scheme
Indira Gandhi Official Language Awards scheme was instituted by the Rajbhasha
Vibhag or Department of Official Language under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
The award recognizes the excellent contribution of Ministries, Departments and
Nationalized Banks in promoting the Official Language Hindi.
Under the Indira Gandhi Official Language Awards scheme, following awards
are given:
Indira Gandhi Rajbhasha Shield for Ministries/Departments of the Government of
India.
The Indira Gandhi Rajbhasha Shield for Nationalized Banks and other Financial
Institutions.
The Indira Gandhi Rajbhasha Shield for Public Sector Undertakings of the
Government of India.
The Indira Gandhi Rajbhasha Cash Award for writing original books in Hindi by the
Employees/Officers of the Central Government.
The Indira Gandhi Rajbhasha Shield for Boards, Autonomous Bodies, Trusts,
Societies etc.
The Indira Gandhi Rajbhasha Shield for Town Official Language Implementation
Committees.
Indira Gandhi Rajbhasa Awards were first held in 1988 for the year 1986-1987.
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WHO honoured Bangladesh and Timor-Leste for Excellence in
Public Health
The World Health Organisation (WHO) honoured Bangladesh and Timor-Leste with
South East Asia Regional Award for Excellence in Public Health. The newly instituted
awards were presented to Saima Hossain of Bangladesh and National Malaria Control
Programme of Timor-Leste in Dhaka on 10 September 2014.
Saima Hossain was conferred the Award in the individual category for leadership in
advancing the cause of Autism in South East Asia and worldwide. She is a chairperson
of National Advisory Committee on Neuro development and Autism in the Ministry of
Health & Family Welfare of Bangladesh.
The National Malaria Control Programme of Timor-Leste was conferred the Award in
the region category for its aggressive anti-malaria effort which has drastically reduced
malaria cases in Timor-Leste.
Indian institutions IARI and NAAS awarded Doctor Honoris Causa

to FAO Director-General
Indian institutions Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) and National Academy
of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) on 9 September 2014 awarded Doctor Honoris Causa
to FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva.
The award was given in recognition of his efforts to promote food security in Brazil
through the Zero Hunger Programme.
He was on his official visit to India. During the visit, he was scheduled to meet with
senior government representatives, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
About the award

Graziano da Silva is the 15th person to receive an IARI Doctor Honoris Causa award.
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Earlier, Norman Borlaug and MS Swaminathan had received the award.
They were instrumental in launching the Green Revolution in India in the late 1960s.
Norman Borlaug is the Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Union Ministry for Information & Broadcasting on 9 September 2014 conferred the
Bhartendu Harishchandra Awards for the years 2011 and 2012.
The Bharatendu Harishchandra awards were implemented by the Publications
Division annually since 1983.
For the year 2011

Journalism and Mass Communication category:
First Prize: Vijay Dutt Shridhar for his manuscript Pehla Sampadakiya
Second prize: Harish Chandra Barnwal for his book Television ki Bhasha
Third prize: Santosh Kumar Nirmal for his book Filmein aur Prachar: Tab se ab tak.
Womens Issues category:

Gitashri for her manuscript Aurat ki Boli
National Integration category:

Dr. Navratan Kapoor for the book Tyoharon Tatha Melon ki Vichitratain, Jansanchar
Maadhyam aur Rashtriya Ekta.
Childrens Literature category:

First prize: Bano Sartaj for her book Pakya aur Parichham and
Second prize: Shri Rajiv Saxena for Professor Khurana ka Clone
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For 2012:
Journalism and Mass Communication category
First prize: Vijaya Lakshmi Sinha for her book Maine Awaaz ko Dekha
Second Prize: Madhav Hada for his book Seedhiyaan Chadhta Media
Third prize: Suresh Kumar for his book Online Media
Womens Issues category:

irst Prize: Urmila Kumari for her book Jaar Jaar Taar Taar
Second prize: Sanjula Thanvi for her book Manavaadhikar, Panchayati Raj Se Sashakt
Naari
Childrens Literature category

First Prize: Dr. Mohammed Arshad Khan for his book Mickey Mouse
Second Prize: Pavitra Agrawal for her book Phoolon se Pyar
About the award

The awards were initially given in Journalism and Mass Communication. The other
three categories, viz., National Integration, Womens Issues and Childrens Literature
were added in 1992.
Original writing in Hindi by Indian authors is the eligibility criteria for the award.
The awards were given to encourage original and creative writing in Hindi on Mass
Communication i.e. Journalism, Publicity, Advertisement, Radio, Television, Film,
Printing, Publications etc.
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President Pranab Mukherjee presented Saakshar Bharat Awards
2014
President Pranab Mukherjee on 8 September 2014 presented the Saakshar Bharat
Awards 2014 at International Literacy Day Celebrations. The function was organized
by Union Ministry of Human Resource Development at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.
He gave away 11 Saakshar Bharat Awards 2014 to State, Districts, Blocks, Gram
Panchayats, State Resource Centre (SRC) and Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) for their
best performance in the field of adult education.
One of the recipient of Saakshar Bharat National Award 2014 was G.S.R. K.R.
Vijaykumar, the District collector of Prakasam District, Andhra Pradesh. He received
the award for turning 4.75 lakh non literates into literates within nine months in the
total literacy programme.
Saakshar Bharat Awards 2014 were given in following categories:

1. State- State Literacy Mission Authorities (SLMAs)
2. District- Zilla Lok Shiksha Samitis (ZLSSs)
3. Gram Panchayat- Gram Lok Shiksha Samitis (GLSSs)
4. Resource Support Organisations like University Dept. of Adult & Continuing
Education, SRCs,
JSSs, NGOs and other organisations.
Saakshar Bharat Awards

Saakshar Bharat Awards were instituted by the National Literacy Mission Authority,
Government of India to encourage institutions working in the field of literacy and skill
development. The awards are presented on the occasion of International Literacy
Day every year on 8 September 2014.
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About Saakshar Bharat
Saakshar Bharat is a centrally sponsored scheme of Department of School Education
and Literacy (DSEL) and Union Ministry of Human Resource Development. It was
launched on 8 September 2009.
Achievements under Saakshar Bharat are:

Programme was rolled out in rural areas of 383 Low Female Literacy Districts in
25 States and one
Union Territory since 2009.
28.39 million learners (including 20.38 million females) successfully passed the
basic literacy
assessments conducted from 2010 by National Institute for Open Schooling upto
March 2014.
Certified learners also include 6.66 million Scheduled Castes (23%), 3.58 million
Scheduled Tribes
(12.6%) and 2.33 million Minorities (8.2%).

Dr. Kamal Bawa, an Indian Scientist, on 8 September 2014 won the MIDORI Prize in
Biodiversity 2014. Bawa was honoured for his research that included climate change
in the Himalayas.
The name of the winners along with Kamal Bawa was announced in Tokyo, Japan
and Montreal, Canada by the AEON Environmental Foundation and Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat.
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Other Awardees of 2014 Midori Prize in Biodiversity
Dr. Alfred Oteng-Yeboah, Chair, Ghana National Biodiversity Committee, Ghana
Dr. Bibiana Vila, Principal Researcher, National Research Council (CONICET) and
Director, Vicunas, Camelids and Environment (VICAM), Argentina
To support their work in safeguarding biodiversity, the recipients of the award will be
given a wooden plaque, a commemorative gift and a monetary prize of 100000 US
dollars.
The award ceremony will be held on 15 October 2014 in Pyeongchang, South Korea
in conjunction with the high-level segment of the 12th meeting of the Conference of
the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 12).
At present, India chairs, COP-11 but will pass the baton to Korea at the COP-12 in
South Korea and theme of the years COP-12 meet is Biodiversity for Sustainable
Development.
MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity

The MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity is a biennial international prize which was established
in 2010 at the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the AEON Environmental
Foundation. The date of its establishment coincided with the celebration of the
International Year of Biodiversity.
The MIDORI Prize are given to three individuals for their outstanding contributions
for conservation and sustainable use at local and global levels and who have
developmentally influenced various biodiversity-related efforts, as well as raising
awareness about biodiversity.
The MIDORI Prize is co-hosted by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological
Diversity and will be a key instrument at the service of the objectives of the United
Nations Decade on Biodiversity 2011-2020.
Winners of MIDORI Prize 2012: Dr. Juan Carlos Castilla, Dr. Rodrigo Gamez-Lobo
and Dr. Vo Quy
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Winners of MIDORI Prize 2010: Jean Lemire, Gretchen C. Daily and Dr. Emil Salim
Angela Merkel received the Special MIDORI Prize for the International Year of
Biodiversity 2010.
About Dr. Kamal Bawa

He is a professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts in Boston
He also is the President of Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the
Environment (ATREE)
In February 2012, Bawa received International Recognition as the recipient of the
first Gunnerus Award in Sustainability Science, a major international prize
Court, an Indian movie written and directed by Indian writer Chaitanya Tamhane, on
7 September 2014 won the Lion of the Future Luigi De Laurentiis award for a Debut
Feature at the 71st Venice Film Festival. The film that is a multilingual courtroom
drama, won the award for its striking narrative style.
With this award, the film won a monetary prize of 100000 US dollars that was donated
by Filmauro di Aurelio e Luigi De Laurentiis. This amount should be divided between
director and producer.
Court was also was awarded with the Orizzonti award for best film.
Apart from this several other films also won other awards and they were
Golden Lion for Best Film: A Pigeon sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (en
duva satt p en gren och funderade p tillvaron) by Roy Andersson
Silver Lion for Best Director: Andrej Koncalovskij for the film the Postmans White
Nights (Belye Nochi Pochtalona Alekseya Tryapitsyna)
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Grand Jury Prize: The Look of Silence by Joshua Oppenheimer
Coppa Volpi for Best Actor: Adam Driver in the film Hungry Hearts by Saverio
Costanzo
Coppa Volpi for Best Actress: Alba Rohrwacher in the film Hungry Hearts by
Saverio Costanzo (Italy)
Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor or Actress: Romain Paul in the
film Le Dernier Coup De Marteau by Alix Delaporte
Award for Best Screenplay: Rakhshan Banietemad and Farid Mostafavi for the
film Ghesseha (Tales) by Rakhshan Banietemad
Special Jury Prize: Sivas by Kaan Mujdeci
China awarded China Book Award to JNU professor Priyadarsi

Mukherji
China on 5 September 2014 awarded China Book Award to JNU professor Priyadarsi
Mukherji.
Priyadarsi Mukherji was honoured in recognition of his long-term contribution to the
translation and publication of Chinese works.
China Book Award is a special award to commend those who have made great and
long lasting contributions to introducing Chinese books overseas. The award was
presented at a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Priyadarsi Mukherji was awarded along with ten other winners.It include David R.
Knechtges from the US, translator Federico Masini from Italy, writer Bernard Brizay
and also publishers from different countries were selected as the top winners.
About Priyadarsi Mukherji

Prof. Mukherji is currently working under the Chinese and Sinological Studies
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department of JNU.
He has translated a number of literary works from Chinese into Bengali, Hindi and
English, and monographed books on Chinese culture and language over the last 25
years.
About China Book Award

The event was organised by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio,
Film, and Television of the Peoples Republic of China. The award was conferred by
the Chinese Vice-Premier, Ms. Liu Yandong.
The award was first launched in 2005 by the Publicity Department of the Communist
Party of China as a State-level award.
The award aims to promote Chinese culture and literature abroad. Awards usually
go to foreign sinologists, translators, writers and publishers who have made great
strides introducing Chinese culture to the world.
Vinod Mehta selected for G K Reddy Memorial Award 2014

Vinod Mehta, eminent journalist and Editorial Chairman of Outlook group, was
selected for G K Reddy Memorial Award 2014. The award was announced by the
TSR Foundation on 2 September 2014 and the award will be presented in New Delhi
in December 2014.
He was selected for this award for his outstanding contribution in the field of Journalism.
He is one the popular editors in India, who launched successful publications including
The Sunday Observer, The Independent and The Pioneer. He also authored the
biographies of actress Meena Kumari and politician Sanjay Gandhi.
About GK Reddy Award

T Subbarami Reddy established the award in the memory of G K Reddy
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It is presented annually for outstanding contribution in journalism.
The Award carries a cash award of 5 lakh rupees, a gold medal and a citation.
The New Indian Express Editorial Director Prabhu Chawla, The Hindu Editor-inChief N. Ravi and The Indian Express former Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta are
some of the recipients of the award.
Hockey Player Manpreet Singh named Junior Men Player of the

Year by AHF
Hockey Player Manpreet Singh on 31 August 2014 named Junior Men Player of the
Year by Asian Hockey Federation.
The announcement was made at Asian Hockey Federation in the Congress held at
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Indian midfielder Manptreet Singh has played 103 international matches and captained
junior mens team in the Hero FIH Hockey Junior Mens World Cup 2013, and the 3rd
Sultan of Johor Cup in 2013 in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
Manpreet Singh belonged to Jalandhar. He made his international debut in 2011. He
is in the current national squad and also the captain of India Junior Hockey Team.
At present, Manpreet is a part of senior mens core probable team for the 2014 Asian
Games.
About Manpreet Singh

Manpreet Singh is a field hockey player for India National Team. Manpreet Singh is
the only player to be listed in the Azlan Shah XI team.
He was a part of the Silver medal winning Indian team at the XX Commonwealth
Games 2014 in Scotland.
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He has represented India at the FIH Mens World Cup 2014 (Netherlands), Hero FIH
Hockey World League Final 2014 (India), FIH Hockey World League Semi-final 2013
(Netherlands), FIH Hockey World League Round 2, 2013 (India), Mens Asia Cup 2013
(Malaysia), FIH Champions Trophy 2012 (Australia), Asian Champions Trophy 2012
(Qatar), Olympic Games 2012 (London) and FIH Champions Challenge 2011 (South
Africa).
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BOOKS | AUTHORS
Naseeruddin Shah released his autobiography And then One
Day: A Memoir
And then One Day: A Memoir by Naseeruddin Shah
Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah on 12 September 2014 released his autobiography
And then One Day: A Memoir.
And Then One Day is the poignant and inspiring memoir of the acclaimed Indian
actor Naseeruddin Shah.
Summary of the Book

The autobiography depicts his extraordinary journey from a feudal village near
Meerut, to Catholic schools in Nainital and Ajmer, and finally to stage and film fame
in Mumbai.
Along the way, he narrates his passages through Aligarh University, the National
School of Drama and the Film and Television Institute of India, where his life actually
started to change. And Then One Day is a compelling tale, written with uncommon
honesty and elegance, infused with tongue-in-cheek humour.
About Naseeruddin Shah

Naseeruddin Shah has been an actor-director-teacher in theatre, having played
the lead in more than two hundred feature films and over sixty professional theatre
productions, both in India and abroad.
He is also passionate about playing and watching tennis, cricket and movies, and in
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that order.
Awards
Among the list of National Film awards, he was given the Padma Shri in 1987 and
Padma Bhushan in 2003.
In 2000, he won Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and International Indian Film Academy
Award.
50 years of man in space: authoured by Garik Israelien, Brian

May and David J Eicher
50 years of man in space was authoured by Garik Israelien, Brian May and
David J Eicher
Starmus is a book about the first Starmus festival that took place in 2011. The authors
of the book was Garik Israelien, Brian May and David J Eicher. The author of the
foreword of the Starmus was Stephen Hawking a theoretical physicist, cosmologist.
The Starmus book is a historical document, because it contains the last lecture by
Neil Armstrong and talks by the Soviet and Apollo astronauts, as well as the rest of
the festival material.
The book was in news because Stephen Hawking wrote that the Higgs potential has
the worrisome feature that it might become metastable at energies above 100bn
gigaelectronvolts (GeV) in foreword of the book.
Grandmaster Repertoire -1.e4 vs The French, Caro-Kann and

Philidor written by Parimarja
Grandmaster Repertoire 1e4 vs The French, Caro-Bar and Philidor : Parimarjan Negi
The book tittled Grandmaster Repertoire - 1.e4 vs The French, Caro-Kann and Philidor
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written by Parimarjan Negi was launched in India on 5 September 2014.
The book was launched by the Union Minister of Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju.
The book was already released in Europe and the US in August 2014.
About the book

In the Grandmaster Repertoire 1.e4 series, author presents his own world-class
repertoire.
Building on a foundation of tried-and-tested main lines, the author shares a wealth of
his innovative analysis to chart a course towards an advantage for White.
He has authored a book, first of a five-part series. Volume One covers the French,
Caro-Kann and Philidor.
About Parimarjan Negi

Parimarjan Negi is a chess Grandmaster from India. At the age of 13 years, he became
the second-youngest Grand Master ever.
In July 2005, he earned his third and final International Master norm at the Sort
International open chess tournament in Sort, Spain.
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DEFENCE | SECURITY
The second Board of Inquiry (BOI) in September 2014 recommended decommissioning
of INS Sindhurakshak, in its report. The second BOI was constituted by the Union
Defence Ministry to probe the feasibility of reusing INS Sindhurakshak.
The BOI has also found out that the massive fire on the submarine caused by its
missiles and torpedoes would have damaged the hull of the submarine making it
unfit for the sea.
The BOI has recommended that the submarine INS Sindhurakshak is not seaworthy,
hence not fit to sail again thus it should be decommissioned.
Background
In August 2013, a massive fire broke out on INS Sindhurakshak followed by a
series of explosions, killing 18 Navy personnel, including three officers, aboard. The
3000-tonne submarine sank in the South Breakwater in naval dockyard of Mumbai
within hours of the incident.
In January 2014, the Navy entered into a contract with the Indian arm of the US-based
firm Resolve Marine to conduct salvage operations of the submarine. In June 2014,
the submarine was retrieved from the water and anchored at the Naval Dockyard in
Mumbai. In April 2014 the first BOI submitted a report detailing six probable causes
of the accident.
Thereafter two set of tests were performed on the Submarine one to ascertain the
cause of the accident and the other to decide the scope of the work needed to make
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it seaworthy.
Indian Air Force gifted vintage Dakota aircraft to Bangladesh

Air Force
Indian Air Force on 18 September 2014 gifted a vintage Dakota aircraft from its
museum to Bangladesh Air Force. The Dakota aircraft was given on a formal request
from Bangladesh Air Force to review and revive the historic ties between the two
countries.
The aircraft was handed over to Air Marshal Muhammad Enamul Bari, Chief of
Bangladesh Air Force by Air Marshal SS Soman, Air Officer Commanding in Chief
(AOC-in-C), Western Air Command of Indian Air Force in a ceremony at Air Force
Station Palam, New Delhi.
About Dakota aircraft

The Dakota aircraft played a crucial role in liberation of Bangladesh and formation
of Bangladesh Air Force. The aircraft was used for air dropping Army troops in
Bangladeshs Tangail during the 1971 war. It was also used for transporting troops
in Srinagar during the 1947-48 war with Pakistan for protecting Kashmir Valley from
raiders from across the border.
Dakota was the first transport aircraft to be landed at the heights of 11500 feet in Leh
by legendary pilot Wing Commander Mehar Singh.
Strategic Force Command of India successfully test-fired Agni-1

missile
Strategic Force Command (SFC) of India on 11 September 2014 successfully testfired nuclear weapons capable ballistic missile Agni-1.
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The missile was launched from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Wheeler Island, off
the Odisha Coast. Having the range capability of over 700-km, Agni-1 was propelled
by a solid rocket propellant system.
This surface-to-surface missile carrying a total payload mass of 1100 kg zeroed in on
the pre-designated target in the Bay of Bengal with two-digit accuracy. The route of
the missile was tracked by a battery of sophisticated radars, telemetry observation
stations, electro-optic instruments and naval ships.
Agni-1 missile
The Agni-1 missile was developed by DRDO in a short span of 15 months after
the Kargil conflict to meet the requirements of the armed forces for such a class
of missile.
Agni-I was first tested at the Interim Test Range in Chandipur in 1989.
It is capable of carrying a conventional payload of 1000 kg or a nuclear warhead.
The recent user trials involved the test firing of upgraded version of Agni-I with
better re-entry technology and manoeuvrability.
Indias 1st Air Veteran Rally inaugurated by IAF Chief

Indias first Air Veteran Rally was held on 7 September 2014 at the Air Force Auditorium,
Subroto Park in New Delhi. The event was inaugurated by the Indian Air Force Chief
Marshal Arup Raha. It organised by the Directorate of Air Veterans, Air Headquarters.
This event was organised to resolve pension anomalies of the air veterans.
The programme commenced with the lighting of the lamp by Air Chief Marshal Arup
Raha, Chief of the Air Staff (CAS). The inaugural address was given by Air Commodore
AK Patra, Principal Director, Directorate of Air Veterans, Air HQs. The event was
inaugurated in presence of Air Veterans and four retired Chief of the Air Staff.
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Indo-Nepal joint military exercise Surya Kiran-VII concluded at
Pithoragarh
Indo-Nepal joint military
exercise Surya Kiran-VII
concluded on 31 August
2014 at Pithoragarh. The
exercise was seventh in the
series.
Background
The First series of Surya Kiran exercise
between India and Nepal armies started in
2011 at Vairangate in Mizoram. The decision
to start such an exercise was taken following
an agreement reached during the 7th IndiaNepal Bilateral Consultative Group on Security
in 2011.
The 14-day exercise was

based on to practice counter
insurgency, jungle warfare
and disaster management
under the aegis of the Indian
Armys GARUD division. The exercise has also boosted bilateral ties between the two
countries.
Surya Kiran aimed to create a greater understanding between the Indian and Nepalese
armies and develop expertise in jungle warfare and counter-terrorism operations in
mountainous terrains.
The exercise also focused on the basics of disaster management with special reference
to pandemic/epidemic control. The current combined army training exercise marked
the growing military cooperation between the two countries.
Indias largest offshore patrol vessel INS Sumitra commissioned

into Indian Navy
Indias largest naval offshore patrol vessel (NOPV) INS Sumitra was commissioned
into Indian Navy on 4 September 2014. It was commissioned by Admiral RK Dhowan
at Chennai Port Trust. Admiral RK Dhowan is the chief of the Naval Staff of India.
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INS Sumitra would join the Eastern Naval Command fleet for maritime surveillance
and coastal security. Moreover, the vessel would further the coastal surveillance,
anti-piracy and counter maritime terrorism operations of the Indian Navy.
The vessel is the fourth in the series of indigenous NOPV developed for Indian Navy.
Earlier, the first, second and third of the series of 105 meter class of NOPV- INS Saryu,
INS Sunayna and INS Sumedha were handed over to the Navy by Goa Shipyard
Limited.
The ship is commanded by Commander Milind Mohan Mokashi, a Communication
Specialist who is an alumnus of the 53rd Naval Academy Course and the prestigious
67th Defence Services Staff Course at Wellington. The ship is manned by nine officers
and 105 sailors.
INS Sumitra
INS Sumitra will have a major role to play in patrolling Indias eastern seaboard
and will be an important component under the NOIC (Tamil Nadu & Puducherry)
and the Eastern Naval Command
INS Sumitra is the first major ship being based at Chennai in recognition of the
growing importance of the region and enhanced surveillance needs.
The primary role of the ship is to undertake surveillance of the countrys Exclusive
Economic Zone (EEZ) including operations like anti-piracy patrols, fleet support
operations and maritime security of off-shore assets.
Designed and built by Goa Shipyard Limited, INS Sumitra demonstrates the
immense potential of the countrys indigenous design and ship building capability.
It measures about 105 meters in length, 13 meters in breadth and displacing 2200
tons. The ship can achieve speed of 25 knots with an endurance of 6000 nautical
miles.
The ships weapon and sensor outfit include a 76.2 mm gun (Super Rapid Gun
Mount), Close in Weapon Systems (CWS), Electronic Support System Sanket Mk
III and Communication Intelligence System ELK 7036.
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The vessel is also equipped with two Rigid Inflatable Fast Motor Boats. In addition,
the ship is also capable of carrying a helicopter onboard.
The entire propulsion and power management of the ship is controlled electronically
by means of a remote control system.
The ship is equipped with a fully integrated LAN system along with a CCTV
management system which enables optimal utilisation of onboard equipment and
optimisation of manpower.
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REPORT | SURVEY
The Forbes India magazine releasedThe 100 Richest Indian List 2014 on 25 September
2014. As per the list, the top 100 richest tycoons in India are all billionaires for the first
time. The combined net worth of 100 richest tycoons in India is 346 billion US dollars
in 2014 up more than a third from 259 billion US dollars in 2013.
According to the Forbes India List, the Top 10 Richest people of India: 1. Mukesh
Ambani; 2. Dilip Shanghvi; 3. Azim Premji; 4. Pallonji Mistry; 5. Lakshmi Mittal; 6.
Hinduja brothers; 7. Shiv Nadar; 8. Godrej family; 9. Kumar Birla; 10. Sunil Mittal
Highlights of the Forbes India Rich List 2014

Mukesh Ambani topped the list for the eighth consecutive year with a net worth
of 23.6 billion US dollars.
Dilip Shanghvi, founder of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, is at the second position
on the list. He overtook steel baron Lakshmi Mittal who slipped to fifth place.
Azim Premji whose net wealth increased to 16.4 billion US dollars from 13.8 billion
US dollars is at third position.
The biggest dollar gainer is Gautam Adani who jumped 11 spots to eleventh
position adding nearly 4.5 billion US dollars to his wealth which reached 7.1 billion
US dollars.
As many as 85 people out of 89 who returned to the top 100 from 2013 are wealthier
and several are billionaires for the first time.
There are eight newcomers on 2014 list: Amalgamations Group family (No. 47),
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brothers Dilip & Anand Surana (No. 73), Hasmukh Chudgar (No. 80), real estate
tycoon Surendra Hiranandani (No. 83), jeweller T.S. Kalyanaraman (No. 87), Macleod
Pharmaceuticals Rajendra Agarwal (No. 90), Dubai-based Aster DM Healthcares
Azad Moopen (No. 95), and stock market veteran Radhakishan Damani (No. 100).
The biggest loser this year is Indus Gas founder Ajay Kalsi who lost 1 billion US
dollars after the government stalled an increase in the natural gas prices. He is at
85th position.
Eleven tycoons fell off from the list this year including tycoons Brij Bhushan Singal
and Vijay Mallya.
About the Forbes India Rich List 2014

The minimum amount required to be on the list was 1 billion US dollars. It was 635
million US dollars in 2013.
This list was compiled using shareholding and financial information obtained from
the families and individuals, stock exchanges, analysts and Indias regulatory
agencies.
The ranking lists family fortunes including those shared among extended families
such as the Godrej and Bajaj families.
Public fortunes were calculated based on stock prices and exchange rates as of
12 September 2014.
Private companies were valued based on similar companies that are publicly
traded.
World population to reach 11 billion by 2100: UN study

World population will reach 11 billion by 2100 and it was highly unlikely that global
population will stabilize by the end of 2100. This was revealed by a UN study titled
World population stabilization unlikely this century. The study was published in the
online edition of Journal Science on 18 September 2014.
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The UN study projected the population growth on basis of data until 2012 and a
Bayesian probabilistic methodology. Analysis of these data reveals that, there is an
80 percent probability that world population, now 7.2 billion, will increase to between
9.6 and 12.3 billion in 2100.
Main Highlights
The World will have 2 billion more people on Earth than expected due to high birth
rates in Africa.
Sub-saharan Africa is anticipated to be the fastest growing region, with population
to rise from one billion in 2014 to four billion by 2100.
There is an 80 percent chance that the population in Africa will be between 3.5
and 5.1 billion people by 2100.
In Asia the population is projected to peak at around 5 billion people in 2050 and
then start decline.
The North America, Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean are all expected
to be under one billion each.
The issue of ageing population will also affect countries whose populations are
very young today. Brazil, for example, currently has 8.6 people of working age for
every person over 65, but that will fall to 1.5 by 2100, well below the current level
in Japan. China and India will face the same issue as Brazil.
Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census 2014 released

The Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census 2014 was released on 17 September 2014.
The census looked at the global billionaire population from July 2013 to June 2014.
The Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census 2014 is the only comprehensive global
study on the composition and dynamics of the top-tier of the global ultra high net
worth (UHNW) population.
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It examined the top-tier wealth segment by geographical location, gender, sources of
wealth and personal traits.
Findings of the Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census 2014

155 new billionaires joined the billionaires group in 2014 pushing the global
billionaire population to 2325 which is a 7 percent rise from 2013.
The combined wealth of all the billionaires increased by 12 percent to 7.3 trillion US
dollars. This is higher than the combined market capitalisation of all the companies
that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Europe with 775 billionaires is the region with the most billionaires earning wealth
of 2.37 trillion US dollars. In 2013, North America was the region with the most
billionaire wealth.
Asia shows the largest billionaire wealth increase with the billionaires wealth
growing by 18.7 percent over 2013. Billionaire population in Asia grew by 10
percent in 2014 with 52 new entrants into the billionaire club, out of which 33 are
from China.
The United States maintained its position as the worlds top billionaire country
with a population of 571 billionaires in 2014.
China was listed on the second position with 190 billionaires in 2014 and the
United Kingdom is the third topmost billionaire country with 130 billionaires in
2014.
Latin America and the Caribbean region saw the most significant growth in terms
of the size of its billionaire population that grew to 37.8 percent in 2014.
The billionaire population in the Middle East region shrank by 1.9 percent. However,
total billionaire wealth in the region increased by 16.7 percent.
The billionaire population of Africa decreased by 4.8 percent but its billionaire
wealth increased by 12.9 percent.
Pacific region witnessed no change in the billionaire population but the its total
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billionaire wealth dropped by 2 percent.
Around 35 percent of the billionaires are concentrated in 20 cities. Moreover, only
5 percent of all the billionaires are worth more than 10 billion US dollars.
The average wealth of billionaire rose by 4.4 percent in 2014 and the average age
of the typical billionaire came out to be 63 which is one year older than it was in
2013.
There are 2039 male billionaires accounting for 87.7 percent of the worlds total
billionaire wealth of 7.3 trillion US dollars in 2014. Besides, there are 286 female
billionaires accounting for a 12.3 percent share of global billionaire wealth in 2014.
Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census 2014 on India
As per the census, India retained its sixth position in terms of 100 number of
billionaires possessing wealth of 175 billion US dollars in networth. Moreover,
India has more number of billionaires than Switzerland, Hong Kong and France.
However, the number of billionaires decreased over last year as there were 103
billionaires in 2013.
The financial capital Mumbai comprises of 28 billionaires. Mumbai is among the
top 20 billionaire cities globally. New York topped the list of 20 billionaire cities
which is home to 103 billionaires.
About Wealth-X
Headquartered in Singapore, Wealth-X has 13 offices across five continents.
Wealth-X is the authoritative source of intelligence on the ultra wealthy people with
the largest collection of research on ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals. UHNW
individuals are those who possess assets of 30 million US dollars and above.
The Wealth-X Professional solution is the standard for banking, luxury marketing and
not-for-profit professionals working with the ultra prosperous people.
About UBS
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Headquartered in Zurich and Basel, UBS is a global firm providing financial services
to private, corporate and institutional clients. UBS is present in all major financial
centers and has offices in over 50 countries. UBS celebrated its 150th anniversary in
2012.
UBS is the largest and strongest universal bank in Switzerland. Switzerland is the only
country where UBS operates in retail, corporate and institutional banking, wealth and
asset management as well as investment banking.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on 4 September 2014 released its first global
report on suicide prevention. The report is aimed to increase awareness of suicide and
suicide attempts among the people and urge governments to develop comprehensive
suicide prevention strategies.
The report was launched just a week before World Suicide Prevention Day that is
observed every year on 10 September. The Day provides an opportunity to raise
awareness about suicide and suicide prevention around the world.
Highlights of the WHOs first global report on suicide prevention

More than 800000 people die by suicide every year and around one person dies
every 40 seconds.
Around 75 percent of suicides occur in low and middle income countries.
Usually, people use pesticide poisoning, hanging and firearms to commit suicide.
The key to reduce deaths by suicide is a commitment by national governments to
the coordinated plan of action.
Presently, only 28 countries have implemented national suicide prevention
strategies.
Suicide occurs all over the world and can take place at almost any age. However,
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suicide rates are highest in people who are 70 years old and above.
Notably, suicide is the second leading cause of death for 15-29 year-olds.
In low- and middle-income countries, adults and elderly women have higher rates
of suicide than in high-income countries where more men die by suicide than
women.
Women over 70 years old are more likely to die by suicide than women aging
between 15-29 years.
Ways to prevent suicide as suggested in the report

One way to reduce deaths by suicide is to limit the access to means of suicide.
Other effective measures include responsible reporting of suicide in the media by
avoiding the language that sensationalizes suicide.
Early identification and management of mental disorders in communities and by
health workers in particular can help in reducing the deaths.
A proper follow-up care by health workers through regular contact of people who
have attempted suicide is essential as people who already attempted suicide are
at the greater risk of trying it again.
WHO recommended countries to involve government departments in developing
a comprehensive coordinated response. High-level commitment is needed in
the health sector as well in education, employment, social welfare and judicial
departments.
The global target

WHO Member States have committed themselves to achieve the global target of
reducing the suicide rate in countries by 10% by 2020 as states in the WHO Mental
Health Action Plan 2013-2020.
WHOs Mental Health Gap Action Programme was launched in 2008. It prioritized
suicide prevention and provided evidence-based technical guidance to expand
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service provision in countries.
Suicide in the WHO region

In the WHO African Region, the estimated suicide rate was close to the global average
of 11.4 per 100000 in 2012. The most common method of committing suicide is the
intentional pesticide ingestion.
In the WHO Region of the Americas, estimated suicide rates are generally lower.
Guyana is the country with the highest estimated suicide rate for 2012 globally and
Suriname has the sixth highest.
In the WHO European Region, the estimated suicide rate is somewhat above the
global average of 11.4 per 100000 in 2012. Six European countries are among the
top 20 countries with the highest estimated suicide rates globally. Lithuania has the
fifth highest and Kazakhstan has the tenth highest globally.
In the WHO Western Pacific Region, the estimated suicide rate in low and middle
income countries is lower than the global average of 11.4 per 100000 in 2012. The
Republic of Korea is the country with the third highest estimated suicide rate and
China accounted for the second highest estimated number of suicides in 2012
globally.
Suicide in the WHO South-East Asia Region

In the WHO South-East Asia Region, the estimated suicide rate is the highest as
compared to other WHO regions. Mostly, suicides in the world occur in the SouthEast Asia Region with 39 percent of those in low and middle income countries.
India accounted for the highest estimated number of suicides in 2012. Suicide by
intentional pesticide ingestion is one of the most common methods of suicide globally
and particularly in rural agricultural areas of the South-East Asia Region.
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KPMG-FICCI study ranked India among top three medical tourism destinations in Asia
KPMG-FICCI on 1 September 2014 released a study on medical tourism destinations
titled Medical Value Travel in India. The study has ranked India among top three
medical tourism destinations in Asia. The other two countries within Asia that receive
maximum medical tourists are Thailand and Singapore. As per the report, these three
countries together accounted for about 60 percent of the total Asian revenue in 2012.
In its report it also highlighted low cost of treatment, quality health care infrastructure
and availability of highly-skilled doctors as the reason for being among the top
three. The report pointed out that Asian countries have introduced various marketing
strategies to attract medical tourists.
The report says that in past few years, Asia has taken the lead as one of the most
preferred destination for medical value travel.
In context of India, the report said that India is known mostly for its cost-effective
medical treatments along with high standards in cardiology, orthopaedics, nephrology,
oncology and neuro surgery. The country is also known for its alternative treatment
options such as yoga and ayurveda.
The study is based on the research that was conducted in India and other Asian
countries. The study found that the sector has emerged as one of the largest sectors
in India and in 2012 it earned an estimated 78.6 billion dollar. It poises to grow at an
annual rate of 15 percent to reach 158.2 billion dollars by 2017.
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SUMMIT | CONFERENCE
3rd Meeting of SAARC Ministers of Culture held in New Delhi
The third meeting of Culture Ministers from the SAARC countries was held in New
Delhi on 25 September 2014. It was held under the chairmanship of Shripad Naik, the
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Culture.
The Culture Ministers of SAARC member-states wholeheartedly approved of greater
co-operation and collaboration in the diverse fields that are clubbed under culture.
The SAARC Culture Ministers also appraised the meeting on national initiatives on
conservation, preservation and promotion of cultural heritage.
They also commended the work done by the SAARC Cultural Centre in Colombo in
implementation of the SAARC agenda for culture.
The Ministers recognising the financing requirements of cultural development
programs proposed a joint meeting of SAARC Culture Ministers with SAARC Ministers
of Finance.
The SAARC Culture Ministers unanimously adopted the report of the SAARC Senior
Officers meeting and endorsed the recommendations with regard to revisions in the
SAARC agenda for culture, SAARC Festivals in Member Countries, Declaration of
2016 as SAARC year for Cultural Heritage.
They adopted the Delhi Resolution as a roadmap for cultural relations in the SAARC
region for the period 201417.
About Meeting of SAARC Ministers of Culture

The Tenth Summit recognized the profound cultural continuum of South Asia as a
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historical basis for sustaining harmonious relations among the peoples of the region
and welcomed the offer of Sri Lanka to host a meeting of Ministers of Cultural Affairs
with the objective, inter alia, of establishing a South Asian Cultural Centre.
The first meeting of the Cultural Affairs Ministers was held in Colombo in February
2003. It approved measures for protection, conservation and maintenance of South
Asian Cultural Heritage, and cooperation among Member States in promoting
contemporary arts and culture.
The second meeting of Culture Ministers of SAARC countries was held in Dhaka in
March 2004.

UN Climate Change Summit 2014 was held at UN headquarters in New York on 23
September 2014 to put the planet on course towards reversing global warming.
The purpose of the 2014 Climate Summit was to raise political momentum for a
meaningful universal climate agreement in Paris in 2015. Moreover, it aimed to galvanize
transformative action in all countries to reduce emissions and build resilience to the
adverse impacts of climate change.
It is the largest gathering of world leaders on climate change after the Copenhagen
conference on climate change that ended in disarray in 2009. However, absence of
leaders of China and India puts the cloud over the event.
Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio was also present on the UN summit on climate
change. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon hosted the summit of all 120 leaders.
Contributions announced by the world leaders in the summit

A new coalition of governments, business, finance, multilateral development
banks and civil society leaders announced their intent to mobilise over 200 billion
US dollars for financing low-carbon and climate-resilient development.
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Countries strongly reaffirmed their support for mobilising public and private finance
to meet the 100 billion US dollar goal per annum by 2020.
Leaders expressed strong support for the Green Climate Fund and many called
for the Funds initial capitalization at an amount no less than 10 billion US dollars.
Six others committed to allocate contributions by November 2014.
The European Union committed 3 billion US dollars for mitigation efforts in
developing countries between 2014 and 2020.
The International Development Finance Club (IDFC) announced that it is on track
to increase direct green/climate financing to 100 billion US dollars a year for new
climate finance activities by the end of 2015.
Leading commercial banks announced their plans to issue 30 billion US dollars
of Green Bonds by 2015, and announced their intention to increase the amount
placed in climate-smart development to 10 times of the current amount by 2020.
A coalition of institutional investors committed to decarbonizing 100 billion US
dollars by December 2015.
The insurance industry committed to double its green investments to 84 billion US
dollars by the end of 2015.
Three major pension funds from North America and Europe announced plans to
accelerate their investments in low-carbon investments across asset classes up
to more than 31 billion US dollars by 2020.
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
The summit talks are separate from the negotiations held under the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to negotiate 1997 Kyoto Protocol.
UNFCCC will culminate with the Paris conference in December 2015.
Sixth SAARC Home Ministers Meet held in Kathmandu

Sixth meeting of the SAARC Home Ministers concluded successfully in Kathmandu
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on 19 September 2014. The meet was inaugurated by Prime Minister of Nepal Sushil
Koirala.
The Sixth Home Ministers Meet was attended by Home/Interior Ministers of
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan and Pakistan
were represented by the representatives of each countries Home/Interior Ministry
respectively.
India was represented by Union Minister for Home Affairs Rajnath Singh.
At the meet, the Ministers discussed extensively on matters related to combating
terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, collective responses to fighting
transnational organized crime, drug abuse, cyber crimes, corruption, maritime
security and piracy, trafficking in women and children and operationalisation of the
SAARC Terrorism Offences Monitoring Desk (STOMD) and the SAARC Drug Offences
Monitoring Desk (SDOMD) located in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Meeting of the SAARC Interior/Home Ministers

At the Thirteenth SAARC Summit held in Dhaka in November 2005, the Heads of SAARC
member countries condemned terrorist violence in all its forms and manifestations
and agreed to hold the SAARC Interior/Home Ministers meet annually.
The First Meeting of SAARC Interior/Home Ministers was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh
in 2006. The Second meet was held in New Delhi in 2007 and the Third meet was
held in Islamabad in 2010. The fourth meet was held in Thimpu in 2011 and the Fifth
meet was held in Maldives in 2012.
G-20 Labour and Employment Ministerial meet

The G-20 Labour and Employment Ministerial meet was held at Melbourne, Australia
on 10 September 2014 to 11 September 2014.
The meet was called to put forward recommendations to G20 Leaders. During the
meet, discussions were held on how to increase job growth across the G20 to help
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address disadvantage, improve productivity and drive growth.
They also reflected on the high cost to business and national economies caused by
poor workplace health and safety.
Female labour force participation rates and high youth unemployment are two key
issues faced by G20 economies, and both topics were a focus on the agenda for the
ministerial meeting.
At the completion of the meeting, the ministers released a Declaration outlining
their commitments to address the labour, employment and social challenges faced,
nationally and globally.
These included:
promoting greater participation by women in the labour market, and closing gender
gaps in labour market outcomes.
taking concrete actions to place young people in education, training or jobs
taking further steps to reduce the substantial economic costs associated with
unsafe workplaces and work-related illness
sets of policy priorities to prevent unemployment and underemployment from
becoming structural, and create better jobs
taking forward strategies to support the transition of workers employed informally
into the formal economy
The International Labour Organization, International Monetary Fund, Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Bank prepared a series of
reports to inform the ministers discussions and declaration.
G20 members will finalise their Employment Plans and contributions to the Growth
Strategies ahead of the G20 Leaders Summit in Brisbane. The summit is scheduled
to be held in November 2014.
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COMMITTEES | COMMISSIONS
SC formed 5-member committee to evaluate damage caused by
floods in J&K
The Supreme Court of India on 24 September 2014 formed a five member committee
to evaluate the damage caused by devastating floods in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)
in September 2014.
The 5-member committee will comprise a senior Registrar of J & K High Court posted
at Srinagar, Secretary of the J&K Department of Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation,
a nominee of the central government and the presidents of the bar associations of
Sringar and Jammu regions.
The committee will assess the ground situation in J&K after floods and submit the
report to the SC within two weeks. The interim report of the committee will also be
submitted to the J&K High Court
The committee was formed by SC bench headed by Chief Justice RM Lodha while
hearing the J&K governments counsel on J&K floods.
Earlier, the court in its hearing said that such a huge a calamity and disaster witnessed
by Jammu and Kashmir during floods deserves national response.
Justice Dharmadhikari Committee recommended complete ban

on dance bars
State-appointed, Justice CS Dharmadhikari Committee on 1 September 2014 asked
Maharashtra Government to enforce a complete ban on dance bars in hotels and
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restaurants to curb attacks on women and reduce crime rate.
Besides, asking for the ban on dance bars, the Dharmadhikari Committee also gave
its view on social media and Jat Panchayats (caste council) and their effect on woman.
The Main Recommendations of the Dharmadhikari Committee

It asked the state government to frame a policy to check vulgarity on social
networking sites such as Facebook, twitter and other social media.
Social media sites are responsible for harassing women and also develops violent
tendencies among the youth as such there is increase in cases of crime against
women.
Further the Committee also said that these sites have been responsible for increase
in divorce cases.
It advised that at the time of registration of marriage, the bride must be asked to
disclose on oath whether dowry was demanded and that all the laws for protection
of women were followed.
The committee also said that the bride must declare that whether all gifts and
cash received by her were kept by her name by the family. These measures would
go a long way in making the anti-dowry law more effective, the panel, which was
set up in 2010.
The committee also asked the state government to frame a policy to deal with
Jat Panchayats (caste councils) that bars or punish the couples for inter-caste
marriages.
The committee also asked the state government to look after the children of unwed
minor tribal girls and sex workers, who are deprived of education and do not go
to schools as they have to disclose their fathers name. Thus they are kept away
from the schools although Right to Education is their Constitutional right.
The committee recommended the steps in its fourth and fifth interim reports that
were submitted to the Bombay High Court. The panel gave 22 recommendations in
its fourth interim report and six suggestions in its fifth report.
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The interim report was submitted on the PIL filed by Help Mumbai Foundation,
seeking measures to ensure safety and security of women.
Background
In 2005, dance performances
in the bars in the Maharashtra
were
banned
but
performances in three-star
and higher-standard hotels
were exempted. This was
challenged in the Supreme
Court on the grounds of
discrimination in 2012. The
Supreme Court had termed
the ban as discriminatory.
Justice Chandrashekhar Dharmadhikari

committee
Justice (Retd.) Chandrashekhar Dharmadhikari
committee was constituted by the Maharashtra
government in 2010 to suggest measures to
curb atrocities against women. The committee
comprises of senior women political leaders,
social activists and bureaucrats.
In order to end the protracted legal battle over the issue, on 13 June 2014, the
Maharashtra Assembly passed a Bill to extend the ban on dance performances at
high-end hotels and a host of other public premises.
H Devaraj Committee reported most deemed universities not fit

for being a university
H Devaraj Committee on 8 September 2014 reported that most of the deemed
universities are not fit for being a university. It said that out of 41 C category deemed
universities only 10 universities are found to be fit for being a university. Rest of the
university does not fulfil the criteria to become the university.
Main findings of the Committee

Many institutions were accorded deemed university status on certain conditions,
against the Union Grants Commission (UGC) Act, 1956 which does not allow
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conditional notification.
The UGC or Union Human Resource Development Ministry failed to check whether
the institutions with conditional notification have fulfilled the specified criteria after
a certain time period or not.
Serious discrepancies were noted in upgradation of 8 B category institutions to A
category institutions.
Many of the institutions landed into A category list of high-performing deemed
universities drawn by the Tandon Committee.
If a college got the deemed university status, its sister institutions were
automatically considered to be under its ambit without separate assessment of
their infrastructure etc.
Background
The H Devaraj Committee was formed at the behest of Supreme Court in January
2014 after 44 institutions, which were declared unfit by the Tandon Committee in
2009, went to the Supreme Court.In 2009, the Tandon committee, while reviewing
deemed universities, had put 44 of them under the C category and declared them
unfit to be a university.
Union Finance Ministry constituted H R Khan panel to evaluate

unclaimed PPF
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 3 September 2014 constituted H R Khan
panel to assess the amount of unclaimed deposits in the PPF accounts and Post
Office saving schemes. H R Khan is the Deputy Governor of RBI.
The members of the Committee would include Secretary, Department of Posts, Joint
Secretaries in the Union Ministry of Law and Budget Division of the Finance Ministry,
Deputy Managing Director of State Bank of India and Executive Director, Punjab
National Bank.
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The panel will suggest steps for utilisation of unclaimed funds for the benefit of senior
citizens. The panel will also suggest the changes required in the legal framework
to recover these funds and whether the unclaimed deposit should come to the
government or to be kept in a separate account.
The panel has been asked to submit its report by 31 December

2014.
The panel was constituted in the light of the fact that there is no official estimate to
ascertain the unclaimed amounts in PPF and small saving schemes. However, it is
believed that the amount could run into hundreds of crores of rupees.
Moreover, in the postal department, a post office saving account is declared silent or
inoperative when there is no transaction for three years.
Public Provident Fund (PPF)

A PPF is a 15-year investment scheme that attracts tax exemption. The minimum
annual investment in PPF is 500 rupees.
The Union Budget 2014-2015 announced increase in the maximum annual investment
limit in PPF by 50000 rupees. the maximum annual investment limit will now be 1.5
lakh rupees.
Bombay High Court set up V V Daga Committee to conduct forensic audit of NSEL
Bombay High Court on 2 September 2014 set up V V Daga Committee to conduct
forensic audit of NSEL and liquidate the assets of its defaulting borrowers in the
over 5500 crore rupees payments scam. V V Daga is a retired judge of Bombay High
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Court.
The V V Daga headed committee will be a three member committee and will also
have a solicitor and a chartered accountant.
The committee will discover the liability that is outstanding against the defaulting
borrowers of NSEL, conduct a forensic audit, and monetise the assets. The Committee
has been empowered to distribute the assets to the duped investors but distribution
of funds will require the courts permission.
However, the Court ordered the committee will have to seek separate directions from
the court to access the assets that have been attached by the Economic Offences
Wing of Mumbai police and the Income Tax Department in the NSEL fraud. Sale of
assets attached by the Enforcement Directorate is excluded.
The court further ordered that in case of any mutual settlement between NSEL and
the borrowers, the committee will give a notice to the Forward Markets Commission
(FMC) of such a settlement, and also should inform the court about the mutual
settlement.
The Court ordered setting up of the committee while hearing a representative suit
filed by Modern India Ltd., one of the major investors in the bourse, against NSEL
and its promoters.
Background
NSEL was promoted as a spot commodity exchange by Financial Technologies (India)
Limited (FTIL) and a token 100 share were given to National Agricultural Cooperative
Marketing Federation (NAFED).
In July 2013, it was discovered that underlying commodities did not exist and the
buying and the selling of commodities was being conducted only on paper. Jignesh
Shah and Shreekant Javalgekar who were believed to be masterminds of the scam
were arrested.
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ABBREVIATIONS | TERMS
5/20 rule likely to be scrapped by Union government
5/20 Rule: On the verge of being scrapped
5/20 rule prevailing in the Indian aviation industry was in news recently Union
government is thinking to scrap the rule fulfilling the demand of few private airlines
who were asking to relax the rule.
As per the 5/20 rule, a carrier must be five-year-old and have at least 20 aircraft in its
fleet before being allowed to fly abroad.
The UPA-II Government had initiated the process of scrapping 5/20 rule but could
not finish the task. Now, the new government called a meet of CEO of all the Indian
Airlines to look into the issue.
During the Meeting, the four airlines i.e. Air India, Jet, IndiGo and SpiceJet sought
retention of the 5/20 rule whereas the new airlines of Tatas, one with Malaysian lowcost carrier AirAsia and other with Singapore Airlines, sought removal of this rule.
German Embassy organised Ehsaas-e-Kashmir concert to raise

funds for the Valley
Ehsaas-e-Kashmir: a concert organised by German Embassy to raise funds for the
Valley
German Embassy of India on 23 September 2014 organised a concert for Kashmir
named Ehsaas-e-Kashmir to show solidarity with the people of Kashmir and raise
funds for rehabilitation and relief work of Kashmirs who were affected by the floods.
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The concert was organsied at the residence of German Ambassador to India, Michael
Steiner. The performers of the concert were Kashmiri musicians Bhajan Sopori and
Abhay Sopori along with their team. The music presented had Sufi elements and was
mixed with a bit of folk.
Apart from this, the German Embassy had given 25 lakh rupees for basic healthcare
in Kashmir in cooperation with German doctors, who are working in the region as a
part of an NGO. The Embassy has also set up a special bank account for those who
wish to donate.
US foreign policy on the edge of Mission Creep

Mission Creep: Haunts US foreign policy
Mission Creep was in news recently due to remarks made by General Martin Dempsey,
Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, before the US Senate Armed Services
Committee on 16 September 2014.
Mission Creep is a term that has come to describe a gradual shift in objectives during
the course of a military campaign, often resulting in unplanned long-term commitment.
The term came into the American lexicon during the Somali civil war in the 1990s.
The phrase first appeared in articles concerning the United Nations peacekeeping
mission during the Somali Civil War in the Washington Post on 15 April 1993, and in
the New York Times on 10 October 1993.
The term was originally applied exclusively to military operations, but has recently
been applied to many different fields.

The al-Khansaa Brigade is an all-female branch of ISIS. It was established in Raqqa
city of Syria. ISIS militants took over the city in August 2014.
Up to 60 women are believed to have joined the Al-Khansaa brigade
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As per the TRAC, it said the group was set up to expose people suspected of spying
on ISIL by disguising themselves in womens clothing.
Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium (TRAC) is a US based think tank.
Most of the women in the Al-Khansaa brigade are between 18-24 years. Some of
them are supposed to join the main military ranks of the ISIL terrorists.
The privately-educated Aqsa Mahmood from Glasgow, Scotland was one among the
women militants. She traveled to Syria in November 2013.
About Al Khansaa
Al Khansaa was a 7th-century Arabic poet. She was born and raised in the Najd
region. Najd is the central region of modern-day Saudi Arabia.
She was a contemporary of Muhammad, and eventually converted to Islam.
Fertile Crescent under threat from violent turmoil in the Middle

East
Fertile Crescent : ancient area of fertile soil and vital rivers in Middle East
Fertile Crescent was in news recently due to the new initiative by the UNs Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) and University of Birminghams School of Biosciences.
The initiative revealed that millions of people could in future face starvation as an
indirect result of the violent turmoil in the Middle East.
Middle East has the highest concentration of wild crop plants needed to produce
new food varieties. Many of these plants are endangered as a result of the civil strife.
Civil wars raging in Syria and Iraq threaten future food resources because of the
crucial role the region plays as the home of the wild plants continually needed to
improve genetic quality of domesticated crops.
The area is the stretching arc from the Nile to the Tigris and Euphrates encompassing
Iraq, Syria and the Lebanon. The area has the greatest diversity of wild crop relatives
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in the world.
The two sites with the richest concentrations of wild crop relatives anywhere in the
world lie within Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel. The inventory indicates that,
globally, about 21% of wild crop relatives face extinction.

Operation Megh Rahat a rescue operation undertaken by Indian Army during Jammu
and Kashmir floods
Indian Army on 19 September 2014 completed rescue Operation Megh Rahat in
Jammu and Kashmir. The operation Megh Rahat that lasted for about two weeks was
launched by Indian Army to protect people of the state from effects of flood.
However, the activities of Operation Sadbhavna will continue and the troops of
Northern Command will remain there to provide support in close synergy with the
civil administration and the police.
PM Narendra Modi described India-China ties as Inch towards

Miles
Inch towards Miles: Inch (India and China) towards Miles (Millennium of Exceptional
Synergy)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi described India-China ties as Inch towards Miles.
He explained the term during the visit of President of China Xi Jinping to India. He
summarised India and China bilateral ties moving ahead as Inch (India and China)
towards Miles (Millennium of Exceptional Synergy).
He hoped that every inch that India and China cover can rewrite history of humanity
and every mile they cross will go a long way in making this planet a better place. He
also hoped that together India and China cover several miles and these several miles
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takes not only the two countries forward but also all of Asia and humankind towards
the path of progress and harmony.

SRPF: Special Rhino Protection Force
SRPF is to be setup to protect Rhinos from poaching in Assam. It will be created in
Assam with the help of Central funds. The plan to setup the SRPF was announced by
the Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar
on 6 September 2014 during his visit to Kaziranga National Park.
The Special Rhino Protection Force will be raised by recruiting local youth to bring
down the number of incidents of rhino poaching in Kaziranga National Park and other
areas.
The Centre endorsed a zero-tolerance stand towards rhino poaching and to be more
proactive. In 2014, 22 rhinos had been killed while 24 poachers were arrested and 20
others lost their lives in encounters with security forces in 2014.
Apart from this, the Government would also setup a task force to enquire into
encroachment of forest land in Assam.
Qaedat al-Jihad, a terrorist outfit created by Al-Qaeda

Qaedat al-Jihad: A Terrorist Outfit to spread jihad in South Asia
Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri on 3 September 2014 announced creation of a
new branch of the terrorist outfit named Qaedat al-Jihad. The new outfit has been
formed to carry out militancy to spread Islamic rule and to raise the flag of jihad in
South Asia.
The new branch Qaedat al-Jihad will take the fight to India, Myanmar and Bangladesh.
With the creation of this terrorist outfit Zawahari renewed the pledge of loyalty to
Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar. Zawahri described creation of the Al Qaeda wing
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in the Indian Subcontinent as good news for Muslims in Burma, Bangladesh, Assam,
Gujarat, Ahmedabad, and Kashmir and termed that the new wing would rescue
Muslims there from injustice and oppression.
Reason behind creation of the outfit Qaedat al-Jihad

Reason for creation of Qaedat al-Jihad militant outfit is a move to snub ISIS militant
outfit that has created problems in Iraq and Syria in past few months. It is seen as
challenging Al-Qaeda to lead Islamist militancy worldwide.
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PLAN | PROGRAMME
Union Government to launch ETC programme under the brand
name FASTag
Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways on 16 September 2014 decided to roll
out Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) programme in the country under the brand name
FASTag.
ETC is a programme of electronically making the payment on highway tolls without
stopping the vehicle at the toll plazas.
Characteristic features of the FASTag programme

The vehicles will be provided a unique number of the RFID Tag that should be
affixed on the wind shield of the vehicle.
The RFID Tag on windshield will be read by the readers fitted in the dedicated ETC
lanes of plazas, which will deduct an appropriate amount depending upon the
class of vehicle from the account of the user.
The complete process of payment will be automated.
The dedicated ETC lanes will have colour coding for distinct identity recognized
as FASTag lanes.
The RFID based FASTag will be provided by ICICI Bank and Axis Bank. They will
provide Central Clearing house (CHH) services through their franchises or agents
and at point of sales near the toll plazas.
Road users can enroll and get FASTag affixed on their vehicles at designated toll
plaza locations or Point of Sale (POS) stations of Axis bank and ICICI bank.
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Similar highway tag brands are available in developed countries with different names
like Eazee Pass, SunPass in the US, e-Passin Australia, Salik in Dubai and others.
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ART | CULTURE
Year-Long Centenary Commemoration of Komagata Maru Incident Inaugurated
The year-long centenary commemoration of 1914 Komagata Maru Incident was
inaugurated on 29 September 2014 by Union Ministry of Culture on completion of
100 years after the incident.
The event was organised to pay tribute to the heroic struggle of 376 Indian immigrants
on board the ship the Komagata Maru against discriminatory immigration laws of
Canada in the early years of twentieth century. A set of commemorative coins of
denominations of 100 rupees and 5 rupees was released to mark the occasion.
Union Culture Minister Shri Shripad Naik honored three granddaughters of Baba
Gurdit Singh: Harbhajan Kaur, Satwant Kaur and Balbir Kaur on the occasion. Baba
Gurdit Singh was the hero of the Komagata Maru episode.
Background
The National Implementation Committee in its first meeting on 8 July 2014 decided
to hold the inaugural function to commemorate centenary of the Komagata Maru
incident on 29 September 2014 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
National Implementation Committee

The Union Government constituted National Implementation Committee on 5 May
2014 to chalk out programmes for creating awareness about the heroic struggle
of Indian migrants. These programmes will be taken up during the period from 29
September 2014 to 29 September 2015.
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The programmes include national and international conferences, publications,
development of digital archives and preparation of films and documentaries.
The National Implementation Committee also approved a proposal from Punjabi
University, Patiala for the production of a play titled Komagata Maru 1914.
It has also decided to hold a week-long function at Vancouver from 23 May 2015
to 30 May 2015 which would include cultural events, seminars and exhibitions
besides honouring the descendants of the Komagata Maru passengers as well as
non-Indians including Canadians who rendered assistance both to the cause of
Komagata Maru passengers.
Komagata Maru Incident

The Komagata Maru incident was about a Japanese steamship named the Komagata
Maru that sailed from Hong Kong, Shanghai, China to Yokohama, Japan and then to
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in 1914.
It carried 376 passengers from Punjab, India. Among them 24 were admitted to
Canada, but the 352 other passengers were not allowed to land in Canada and
the ship was forced to return to India. The passengers consisted of 340 Sikhs, 24
Muslims, and 12 Hindus and all of them were British subjects.
The Komagata Maru arrived in Calcutta in September 1914. The British Imperial
Government saw the men on Komagata Maru as dangerous political agitators. The
police went aboard the ship on 29 September 1914 to arrest Baba Gurdit Singh and
other leaders.
The arrest was resisted by the passengers which led to police firing in which 19
passengers were killed. However, Baba Gurdit Singh escaped along with many
others. The rest of the passengers were sent to Punjab.
Third Global Citizen Festival held in New York

Third Global Citizen Festival was held at the Central Park in New York on 27 September
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2014. The annual festival is aimed at raising the consciousness of a generation to
make change inevitable.
The festival was attended by world leaders like United Nations Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of Norway Erna
Solberg and President of the World Bank Jim Yong Kim. At the festival, the leaders
raised their commitment on the issues of sustainable development, poverty and
climate change.
The festival was featured by the artists

Jay Z, an American rapper
No Doubt, American rock band
Carrie Underwood and Beyonce, they are American singers
Fun, American indie pop band
The Roots, American hip hop/neo soul band
Tiesto, Dutch DJ
About Global Citizen

Global Citizen is an initiative of Global Poverty Project, an international education
and advocacy organization of Australia working to catalyze the movement to end
extreme poverty by 2030.
The Global Poverty Project creates campaigns with the purpose of increasing the
number of people taking action to end extreme poverty, with the vision of a world
without extreme poverty by 2030.
About Global Citizen Festival

Global citizen festival aims to secure new commitments to health, education, equality
of women and global partnerships.
The festival is an incredible tool to promote activism through something people love
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live musical entertainment which in turn, give world leaders a clear and compelling
mandate to commit to end extreme poverty.
Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy released Unicode version of

Tulu Script
Tulu script Unicode version was released by the Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy on
15 September 2014. The release of the Unicode version will bring the Tulu script on
the world language platform.
The software for Tulu script, so that it can be rendered into Unicode, was prepared
by keyboard and font specialist K.P. Rao and M.J. Thomas of Manipal.
The Unicode version was developed on the basis of the recommendation of the Dr.
Radhakrishna Committee constituted by the Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy. The
other members of the committee were Venkataraja Punanchittaya, who demonstrated
that Tulu had its own script, and S.A. Krishnaiah.
Finalisation of the Tulu script was largely influenced by Anjali script of Malayalam.
About Tulu script

Tulu script belongs to the Dravidian family of languages and is spoken in Tulu Nadu
(coastal districts of Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Kasaragod districts).
Apart from Tulu Nadu, a significant emigrant population of Tuluva people is found in
Maharashtra, Bangalore, Anglosphere, United States, and the Gulf countries.
At present, most Tulu works are written in Kannada. Tulu script is almost similar to
Malayalam script and the font specialist prepared the software for Tulu to be rendered
in Unicode.
Tulu literature available is translations works in Tulu from Sanskrit. They are
Mahabharata called as Tulu Mahabharato
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Sri Bhagavata
Kaveri
Devi Mahatmyam
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EXHIBITION | FARE
Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani Inaugurated KRITI Exhibition 2014
KRITI Exhibition 2014: organised as part of International Literacy Day-2014 celebration
The Union Minister of Human Resource Development Smriti Irani on 6 September
2014 inaugurated KRITI Exhibition 2014. The exhibition was open for public from 6
September to 8 September 2014 at Dilli Haat in New Delhi.
The exhibition has been created and organised as a part of International Literacy Day
2014 celebrations that is observed annually on 8 September and its theme for 2014
is Literacy and Sustainable Development. Around 250 JSSs from different parts of
India participated in the exhibition. Some of them also displayed the products made
by their beneficiaries.
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DAY | WEEK | YEAR

World Heart Day observed globally on 29 September
29 September: World Heart Day
World Heart Day was observed across the world on 29 September 2014. The objective
of the day is to inform people around the world of the danger of heart disease and
stroke.
2014 theme for World Heart Days is Heart Choices NOT Hard Choices. The World
Health Organization on the occasion said that there is a need to reduce the consumption
of salt that is linked to death of people from cardiovascular diseases.
On the other hand, the World Heart Federation members spread the news that at
least 80 percent of premature deaths from cardiovascular disease could be avoided
of major four risk factors is controlled. The four major risk factors are
Tobacco use
Unhealthy diet
Physical inactivity
Harmful use of alcohol
World Heart Day in India

On the occasion of the World Heart Day, the Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan
appealed the doctors, health workers and NGO activists to work harder to aware
people on the dangers of cardiovascular diseases. He said that social mobilization is
essential for making public health work.
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World Heart Day
World Heart Day was founded in 2000 to inform people around the globe that heart
disease and stroke are the worlds leading causes of death, claiming 17.3 million lives
annually.
Heart Day is part of an international campaign to spread awareness about heart
disease and stroke prevention.

Gunners Day- 28 September
Gunners Day was observed on 28 September 2014. This is the 187th Gunners Day.
Gunners Day is also called as Raising Day is observed to mark the raising of the first
Indian Artillery unit, 5 (Bombay) Mountain Battery that was equipped with 2.5 inch
Rifled Muzzle-Loading (RML) guns. It was raised on 28 September in 1827.
During the celebration, all ranks of the Regiment have resolved to dedicate themselves
to the service of the Army and the Nation.
Artillery used by Indian Army

Tunguska M1 Air Defence System
Strela-10M3 Air Defence System
ZRK-SD Kvadrat Air Defence System
OSA-AKM Air Defence System
ZSU-23-4 Shilka Air Defence System
ZSU-23-4 Shilka Air Defence System
214mm Pinaka MBRL
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25 September: Antyodya Diwas
Union Government declared 25 September as Antyodya Diwas. Antyodya diwas was
observed to mark the 98th birth anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay.
Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay was the noted philosopher, historian and political activist.
Several activities including blood donation camps, seminar, symposia were organised
across the country.
About Pandeet Deendayal Upadhyay

Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya (1916 1968) was an eminent political personality and
a profound philosopher. He was an organizer par excellence and a prominent leader
of Jan Sangh.
He established the publishing house Rashtra Dharma Prakashan in Lucknow and
launched the monthly magazine Rashtra Dharma to propound the principles he held
sacred.
Later he launched the weekly Panchjanya and the daily Swadesh.
In Hindi, Panditji wrote a drama Chandragupta Maurya, and later wrote a biography
of Shankaracharya. He translated a Marathi biography of Dr.K.B. Hedgewar, the
founder of RSS.

World Tourism Day (WTD) was observed across the world on 27 September 2014.
The theme for the WTD 2014 was Tourism and Community Development. The 2014
WTD is focused to highlight the ability of tourism to empower people and provide
them with skills to achieve change in their local communities.
The focus is in line with the global transition to the Sustainable Development Goals as
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the guiding principle that is promoted by the United Nations from 2015 and beyond.
About World Tourism Day

World Tourism Day is held annually on 27 September with purpose to foster
awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism and
its social, cultural, political and economic value.
The first World Tourism Day was celebrated in 1980 after decision made by the
United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly in 1979.
The event seeks to address global challenges outlined in the United Nations
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to highlight the contribution that the
tourism sector can make in reaching these goals.
International Day for preservation of Ozone Layer observed on

16 September
16 September: International Day for the preservation of the Ozone Layer
The International Day for the preservation of the Ozone Layer was observed on 16
September 2014. The day marks the commemoration of the date of signing of the
Montreal Protocol in 1987 on substances that deplete the Ozone layer. The theme for
2014 is Ozone Layer Protection: The Mission Goes On.
On the occasion of the day, countries were invited by UN to devote a Day to promote
activities in accordance with the objectives of the Protocol and its amendments.
About International Day for preservation of Ozone Layer

The UN General Assembly in 1994 proclaimed 16 September as the International Day
for preservation of Ozone Layer and commemorated the date of the signing of 1987
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (resolution 49/114).
The actions taken according to the Montreal Protocol to phase out use of the
ozone depleting substances has helped in reducing and protecting the ozone
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layer and its result has helped in addressing the climate change. Gases which are
considered as Ozone depleting substances include Chlorofluorocarbons, halons,
Carbontetrachloride.
About Ozone Layer

The ozone layer is fragile shield of gas that protects the Earth from the harmful
portion of the rays of the sun. The layer helps in preserving life on the planet. It
protects human health and ecosystems by limiting the harmful ultraviolet radiation
from reaching to earth.
The ozone layer contains high concentrations of Ozone (O3) relative to other parts of
the atmosphere, although it is still very small relative to other gases in the stratosphere.
This layer is mainly found in the lower portion of stratosphere at a height of 20 to 30
kilometer above Earth. Thickness of the layer varies seasonally and geographically.
Ozone layer was discovered by the French physicists Charles Fabry and Henri Buisson
in 1913. While, its properties were explored in detail by the British meteorologist
GMB Dobson who developed a simple spectrophotometer (the Dobsonmeter) that
could be used to measure stratospheric ozone from the ground. Between 1928 and
1958 Dobson established a worldwide network of ozone monitoring stations, which
continue to operate to this day. The Dobson unit, a convenient measure of the amount
of ozone overhead, is named in his honor.

National Hindi Divas (Hindi Day) was observed across India on 14 September 2014.
The day was observed to promote the Matra Bhasha the mother tongue of India
and show its importance as a language in the country.
On the occasion of Hindi Divas, the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee presented
Rajbhasa awards in various at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan. These awards
were instituted by the Rajbhasha Vibhag, Ministry of Home Affairs to recognize the
excellent contribution of Ministries, Departments and Nationalized Banks and others
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in the field of Hindi.
About National Hindi Divas

National Hindi Divas is observed annually in India. Hindi Day is observed because
on 14 September 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India adopted Hindi written in
Devanagari script as the Official Language of the Union. The International forms of
Indian numerals were also accepted as numerals
About Hindi
Hindi as a language is the fourth most spoken language of the world. In India Hindi
is used as a mother tongue by around 258 million people and is a native language
for most people living in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Himachal
Pradesh, Chandigarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan.
Outside Asia, Hindi is an official language in Fiji. The Constitution of Fiji states 3
official languages, namely English, Fijian, and Hindi. The dialect of Hindi spoken
there is known as Fiji Baat or Fiji Hindi.
Constitutional Provisional of Hindi

Official Language policy of the Union has been explained in detail under Article 120
(Part-5), Article 210 (Part-6), Article 343, 344 and from 348 to 351. In Part - 17 (Article
343 to 351) of the Constitution, the Official Language of the Union and States has
been prescribed.

World Literacy Day-8 August
World Literacy Day was observed across the world on 8 August 2014. The theme of
International Literacy Day 2014 is Literacy and Sustainable Development. The aim is
to highlight the importance of literacy to individual, communities and societies. On
this day, UNESCO reminds the international community of status of literacy and adult
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learning.
On this day, International Conference on Girls and womens literacy and education:
Foundations for sustainable development and the awarding of UNESCO Literacy
Prizes was held in Dhaka with cooperation of Bangladesh.
About World Literacy Day

First World Literacy Day was celebrated on 8 September 1966 and it was proclaimed
by UNESCO in 1965.
UNESCO observed the United Nations Literacy Decade (2003-2012) which envisions
Literacy for All. Throughout the Decade UNESCO takes actions to increase the
absolute numbers of those who are literate. The Literacy Initiative for Empowerment
(LIFE) is the main mechanism for reaching this objective.
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MISCELLANEOUS
Narula Brothers won 7 crore rupees in Season 8 of Kaun Banega
Crorepati
The Narula brothers of Delhi on 20 September 2014 became the first ever contestants
to win 7 crore rupees in the television show, Kaun Banega Crorepati, hosted by
Amitabh Bachchan. The two brothers, Achin and Sarthak Narula emerged victorious
in Season 8 of the show after answering 14 questions correctly, with help of four
lifelines.
The megastar and the host of the show, Amitabh Bachchan termed the win of the
two brothers as exemplary.
The tagline for the season 8 of the show is Yahan Sirf Paise Nahi, Dil Bhi Jeete Jate
Hain.
About Kaun Banega Crorepati

The show, Kaun Banega Crorepati, popularly known as KBC is an Indian television
game show of Sony Television based on the UK game showWho Wants to Be a
Millionaire? The show was initially started in 2000 by Star Plus with Amitabh Bachchan
as its host. The prize money was 1 crore rupees.
It was once again started after a gap of four years with 2 crore rupees as prize money
and Amitabh Bachchan as host.
The KBC-3 was however hosted by Shah Rukh Khan in 2007.
Since 2010, the show is being hosted every year but on Sony Television instead of
Star Plus with Amitabh Bachchan as host and prize money was 5 crore rupees.
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The skeleton of a giant water-living Dinosaur was unveiled in Morocco. This 50-foot
Dinosaur belonged to Spinosaurus aegyptiacus group and was the biggest carnivorous
dinosaur. The findings were published in the journal Science on 11 September 2014.
The skeleton was brought at the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C.
where scientists studied the creature. It is after 70 years that a new skeleton of
Spinosaurus aegyptiacus was found in Morocco.
German palaeontologist Ernst Stromer first discovered Spinosaurus bones in Egypt
in 1912. The bones went back to Europe. But in 1944, most of the bones were
destroyed in the bombing of Munich in World War II.
Highlights of the study

The Dinosaur was far more aquatic than originally thought.
Spinosaurus had a long neck, strong clawed forearms, powerful jaws and the
dense bones of a penguin.
It propelled itself in water with flat feet that were probably webbed.
The beast sported a spiny sail on its back that was 7 feet tall when it lived in North
Africa some 95 million years ago.
This new skeleton showed clear evidence of river and lake living with hip bones
like a whales, dense bones that allowed it to dive for food, and nostrils positioned
high on the skull allowing it to submerge.
It could walk on land, but on land it moved more awkwardly than in water.
It lumbered on its two hind feet because its powerful forelegs with sharp curved
claws were designed more for killing than walking.
Australian PM Tony Abbott returned 11th century stolen idols to

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India
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on 5 September 2014 returned two stolen
antique statues of Hindu deities to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
One of the idol is a Nataraja, the dancing Shiva. Nataraja statue belonged to the
Chola dynasty of 11th-12th century. The other sculpture is of Ardhanariswara which
represents Shiva in half-female form. It belonged to the 10th century. Both the statues
were allegedly stolen from temples in Tamil Nadu before being bought to India by art
galleries in Australia.
Background
The Nataraja statue was purchased by the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) in
February 2008 at a price of 5.1 million US Dollars from art and antiquities dealer
Subhash Kapoor, owner of the Art of the Past gallery in New York. While, the
Ardhanariswara statue was purchased by the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 2004
at a price of approximately 300000 Australian dollar.
In 2012, Subhash Kapoor was arrested in Germany and subsequently brought to
India for trial. He was accused of committing burglary and smuggling antique idols of
Hindu deities belonging to Chola dynasty.
This case is currently at the prosecution stage in Tamil Nadu. Moreover, Australian
authorities also assisted India in conducting investigations in Australia.
In March 2014, the ministry of external affairs made a formal proposal to the Australian
department of attorney general for the return of the two idols.
President released a Set of Eight Commemorative Postage

Stamps on Indian Musicians
The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 3 September 2014 released a set of
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eight Commemorative Postage Stamps on Indian Musicians. The postage stamps
were released at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The set of stamps has been brought out by the Department of Posts and it features
luminaries in the field of classical Indian music and they are
Pandit Ravi Shankar was the best-known exponents of the Sitar of the 20th
century and was also a composer of Hindustani classical music
Pandit Bhimsen Joshi was an Indian vocalist in the Hindustani classical tradition
and is known for the khayal form of singing. He was also popular for renditions of
devotional music (bhajans and abhangs)
D.K. Pattammal was a prominent Carnatic musician and a playback singer for
film songs in many Indian languages
Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur was an Indian classical singer of the khyal style in the
Jaipur-Atrauli gharana of Hindustani classical music
Gangubai Hangal was an Indian singer of the khyal genre of Hindustani classical
music and was from to the Kirana gharana. She was known for her deep and
powerful voice
Pandit Kumar Gandharva was a Hindustani classical singer and was well known
for his unique vocal style and his refusal to be bound by the tradition of any gharana
Ustad Vilayat Khan was one of Indias well known sitar maestros and was one
of the great pioneers of his generation to introduce Indian Classical Music to the
West, along with Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan, Nikhil Banerjee and his younger
brother Imrat Khan
Ustad Ali Akbar Khan was a Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar gharana,
known for his virtuosity in playing the Sarod. He was instrumental in popularising
Indian classical music in the West, both as a performer (often in conjunction with
Sitar maestro Ravi Shankar) and as a teacher
All these Indian Musicians on whom a set of Commemorative Postage Stamps has
been released are eight greatest music maestros of contemporary India.
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WORLD DAIRY
September 2014
1 September 2014
2 September 2014
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated TCS Japan Technology and Culture
Academy in Japan
Japan Researchers developed new method called RT-LAMP to detect Ebola virus
3 September 2014
India-Japan Annual Summit 2014
Japan PM named five women for his new cabinet
4 September 2014
NATO Summit 2014 was held in Wales, UK from 4 to 5 September 2014
Tony Abbott, the Prime Minister of Australia launched New Colombo Plan
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Enormous species of Dinosaur that weighs nearly 60 tons discovered in Argentina
5 September 2014
Sania Mirza & Brazilian teammate Bruno Soares won Mixed Doubles trophy of US
Open
Grandmaster Repertoire -1.e4 vs The French, Caro-Kann and Philidor written by
Parimarja
6 September 2014
7 September 2014
Mike and Bob Bryan won fifth U.S. Tennis Open mens doubles title
50 years of man in space: authoured by Garik Israelien, Brian May and David J
Eicher
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8 September 2014
Chinese Army stopped water supply for Indians from T-Point in Demchock, Ladakh
Fertile Crescent under threat from violent turmoil in the Middle East
India and Germany agreed to cooperate in skill development and solid waste
management
Massive 100 million year old ancient extinct volcano discovered beneath Pacific
Ocean
Bharti Airtel announced agreement with Eaton Towers to divest 3500 towers in
Africa
9 September 2014
International Labour Organisation released a report titled G20 labour markets:
Outlook
1846 Northwest Passage expedition ship found in Canadian Arctic
India and Bangladesh signed MoU in the field of traditional medicines
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Intel launched new range of Processors Xeon E5-v3 for Data Centres
10 September 2014
WHO honoured Bangladesh and Timor-Leste for Excellence in Public Health
JNRA gave safety approval to restart two reactors of Sendai nuclear plant
Report titled Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion 2014 released by UNEP
and WMO
11 September 2014
Barack Obama authorised air strikes against ISIS militants in Syria
45 Fijian UN peacekeepers released in Syria
12 September 2014
EU imposed new economic sanctions on Russia over Ukraine
13 September 2014
ISIS beheaded British Citizen, David Haines; David Cameron vows to hunt down
killers
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14 September 2014
Hurricane Odile hit Mexicos Baja California resort
15 September 2014
Cambridge University scientists developed first graphene-based flexible screen
Antara Haldar of India became first non-European law lecturer at Cambridge
16 September 2014
International Day for preservation of Ozone Layer observed on 16 September
French Parliament approved Anti-terror Bill aimed at travel ban of jihadists
Scientists detected 13 lactic acid bacteria in raw honey with potential to fight
wound
International Economic Association appointed Kaushik Basu as President-Elect
World Bank approved 105 million US dollars grant for Ebola Emergency Response
Project
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17 September 2014
Scientists warned Climate change will exacerbate the threat of Megadroughts
18 September 2014
India-China signed sixteen agreements during the visit of Chinese President Xi
Jingping to India
India-China established Joint Working Group on Films to promote co-production
of films
19 September 2014
UNSC passed a resolution backing new Government in Iraq in its fight against
ISIS militants
US Senate passed resolution declaring September 30 as US-India Partnership
Day
Infosys BPO Poland signed largest office lease deal with Skanska Property in
Poland
China fined British drug maker firm GSK Plc 489 million US dollars for paying
bribes
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20 September 2014
Third India-Bangladesh Joint Consultative Commission meet held in New Delhi
UN Secretary-General announced to establish UN Mission for Ebola Emergency
Response
Lockdown in Sierra Leone to fight Ebola
21 September 2014
John Key re-elected as the Prime Minister of New Zealand for a third term
Post election win, New Zealand PM John Key called for referendum on national
flag
Peoples Climate March organised worldwide against Climate change
22 September 2014
Royal Mint of Britain launched its own online trading service for gold coins
The US and partners began air strikes in Syria
Cricketers Sachin Tendulkar & Steve Waugh selected as 2014 Bradman Honouree
23 September 2014
16000 people demonstrated against Japan Government decision to restart Nuclear
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Reactor
Ancient nomadic campsite belonging to Liao Dynasty unearthed in China
24 September 2014
Union Cabinet approved agreement on grid connectivity with Nepal
US agreed to pay 500 million US dollar in compensation to Native American Navajo
tribe
UNSC adopted resolution to prevent citizens of other nations from joining militants
like ISIS
Marvan Atapattu appointed as head coach of Sri Lankan cricket team
Edward Snowden and Alan Rusbridger won Right Livelihood Award 2014
25 September 2014
India announced to contribute 12 million US dollar to UN to fight Ebola virus
Hamas and Fatah agreed to allow Palestinian Authority Government in Gaza Strip
26 September 2014
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27 September 2014
President of Catalonia signed decree to hold independence referendum on 9
November
Turkish Government imposed ban on tattoos and piercings in all schools
28 September 2014
Bangladesh government appointed Syed Muazzem Ali as its new Envoy to India
29 September
India and the US issued Vision Statement to boost strategic ties
30 September
India, US vow to push strategic ties to new levels and committed to fight terrorism
together
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INDIA DAIRY
September 2014
1 September 2014
Andhra Pradesh Government Proposed Metro Rail Project for Tirupati
CAD narrowed down to 1.7 per cent of GDP in Q1 of 2014-15: RBI
RBI issued guidelines on implementation of Basel III Capital Regulations
Union Government relaxed onion import norms
Venus Remedies tied up with Israel-based generic drug maker Teva
Union Government to SC: It wants re-auction of all 218 coal blocks
2 September 2014
Union Government constituted a panel to review environment laws
Jammu & Kashmir government formed panel for welfare of transgenders
Bharti Airtel launched music streaming app Wynk for Android and iOS
442
Current Affairs
Union Health Ministry launched revised strategy to eradicate Kala azar by 2015 in
Patna
3 September 2014
WTI and TCL signed MoU to setup Indias first Coral Garden in Gujarat
Ritu Rani to lead Indian Womens Hockey team in Asian Games 2014
Union Government amended Rule 10 of Lokpal Search Committee Rules granting
it more autonomy
4 September 2014
Chief Minister of AP announced Vijayawada region as the new capital of AP
SC upheld Uttar Pradesh Government decision to use Urdu as second official
language
SC asked Union Government to clarify its stand on citizenship of surrogate children
5 September 2014
Find land to rehabilitate Pandits: Union Home Minister to Chief Minister of J&K
443
Current Affairs
Sudhakar Jayant won gold medal at IWF World Masters Weightlifting Championships
Union Government approved Task Force to monitor Citizenship, Long Term Visas
SC ordered to release undertrial prisoners who have completed half of maximum
term
China awarded China Book Award to JNU professor Priyadarsi Mukherji
Australian PM Tony Abbott returned 11th century stolen idols to India
6 September 2014
Union Health Minister Launched First National Anti-TB Drug Resistance Survey of
India
Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani Inaugurated KRITI Exhibition - 2014
7 September 2014
Delhi Government unveiled need-based development plan for villagers
Unit 5 of RAPS became second longest running nuclear reactor of World
8 September 2014
Union Government mandated scientists to undertake lectures in Public schools &
colleges
444
Current Affairs
MoU signed between NAWADCO and NBCC for the development of WAQF
Properties
SC asked Union Government to reinstate Rajeshwar singh as Deputy Director of
ED
H Devaraj Committee reported most deemed universities not fit for being a
university
Tribal bodies in Tripura rejected demand for a separate state Twipraland
9 September 2014
Uttarakhand Government declared 9 September as Himalaya Diwas
Union Civil Aviation Ministry launched Know Your Rights Portal
Indian institutions IARI and NAAS awarded Doctor Honoris Causa to FAO DirectorGeneral
RBI fixed the upper age limit at 70 years for M.D. and CEO in private sector banks
Highest percentage of hired workers in India is in Arunachal Pradesh: 6th Economic
Census
Assam government withdrew Assamese as official language from Barak Valley
445
Current Affairs
10 September 2014
SC asked Union government to respond on Delhi Government Formation by
October 10
SC issued notice to Union and all State governments on wetland conservation
CCEA approved implementation of ICDP scheme in 12th Five Year Plan
Union Government approved 28 road projects in Ladakh region in J & K
Subhash Chandra Garg appointed as Executive Director of World Bank
President Pranab Mukherjee presented Saakshar Bharat Awards 2014
CCEA approved stake sale in CIL, ONGC and NHPC
HP government signed MoU with GVK-EMRI for free ambulance drop-back service
scheme
11 September 2014
Union government sought clarification from SC on its verdict on transgender
PMO constituted committee to facilitate utilization of Mineral resources in
Meghalaya
Strategic Force Command of India successfully test-fired Agni-I missil
446
Current Affairs
Union Government launched RVC service for smooth transportation of perishable
goods
Raya Power to set up 50 MW solar parks in Andhra Pradesh
Puducherry CM presented Tax free budget for 2014-15 financial year
12 September 2014
West Bengal cabinet cleared farmer-friendly project Sech-Bandhu Prakalpa to
boost irrigation
SC ruled 3 percent quota for disabled persons in all government jobs
Narendra Ambwani elected as chairman of the Advertising Standards Council of
India
Delhi Government to charge one rupee cess on cigarette and liquor to promote
public transport
13 September 2014
FICCIs Economic Outlook Survey estimated Indias GDP growth rate at 5.6 percent
in 2014-15
14 September 2014
ASSOCHAM estimated J&K floods caused losses of 5700 crore rupees to states
447
Current Affairs
economy
15 September 2014
CCEA approved the scheme titled Enhancement of Competitiveness of the Capital
Goods Sector
CCEA approved 4754 crore for power transmission scheme in Arunachal and
Sikkim
SEBI extended deadline by six months to appoint atleast one women director on
board
Auto rickshaw drivers to display off-duty boards after completion of work
16 September 2014
AIBA permitted Indian boxers to take part in Asian Games under Tricolour
Gilead gave voluntary licenses to Indian pharma companies to make genetic
448
Current Affairs
version of Sofosbuvir
NTPC and AP government signed MoU for development of 1000 MW Solar Power
Projects
Tangirala Sowmya of TDP won Nandigama Assembly by-poll of AP
Union Government to launch ETC programme under the brand name FASTag
17 September 2014
Prime Minister launched Gujarat Governments 11 schemes under Swavalamban
Abhiyan
Ex-Assam DGP Shankar Baruah accused in Saradha chit fund scam died
Lalitha Kumaramangalam appointed as chairperson of National Commission for
Women
18 September 2014
19 September 2014
449
Current Affairs
Sardar Singh became Indias flag bearer at 17th Asian Games opening
Assam Chief Minister launched Angel Fund for first generation entrepreneurs
Unicode based mobile app launched in Kannada for android phones
20 September 2014
Narula Brothers won 7 crore rupees in Season 8 of Kaun Banega Crorepati
Chinese Army pitched seven tents at Point 30R post of Chumar, Ladakh
21 September 2014
22 September 2014
Union government submitted Action Plan on Rejuvenation of River Ganga to the
SC
Public Sector Banks require 2637 billion US dollars to meet Basel-III norms:
450
Current Affairs
Moody
RBI approved the appointment of V.G. Mathew as MD and CEO of South Indian
Bank
Shri Govindraja Textiles of TN announced to relocate its operations in North
Carolina
Union Ministry of Sports inaugurated National Academies for Athletics & Golf in
Thiruvananthapuram
ISRO successfully conducted the crucial test fire of Liquid Apogee Motor of MOM
Ex-Odisha AG Ashok Mohanty arrested by CBI in connection of infamous chit
fund scam
23 September 2014
Union Government appointed Debroy Panel to suggest ways for restructuring the
Railway Board
Suresh Prabhu selected as PMs Sherpa for G-20 summit
Malayalam filmmaker MT Vasudevan Nair selected for 2013 JC Daniel Award of
Kerala Government
451
Current Affairs
Geethu Mohandas film Liars Dice to be Indias official entry for Oscar Awards
2015
German Embassy organised Ehsaas-e-Kashmir concert to raise funds for the
Valley
Govind Mishra received Saraswati Samman 2013 for novel Dhool Paudhon Par
Ex-Ambassador of India to UN Hardeep Singh Puri appointed as Secretary General
of ICM
24 September 2014
Indian space programme created history as Mangalyaan entered Mars orbit
successfully
SBI, ICICI allowed kids to operate bank accounts independently
RBI released Gopalakrishna Committee report on Capacity Building in Banks and
non-Banks
EAC under Union MoEF gave CRZ clearance for Bay of Bengal Gateway Submarine
Cable System
Sukinda Chromite Mine of the Tata Steel in Odisha won Asian CSR Leadership
Award
Rajat Sharma appointed as the president of News Broadcasting Association
SC formed 5-member committee to evaluate damage caused by floods in J&K
452
Current Affairs
25 September 2014
Union Government launched Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana for urban
and rural poor
Union Government launched Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana
PM launched Make In India Campaign to make India a manufacturing hub
Union Heavy Industry Ministry proposed to shut down six sick CPSE to the Union
Cabinet
26 September 2014
BCCI extended tenure of Ravi Shastri as team India Director till 2015 World Cup
Muthuraman, Vice Chairman of Tata Steel retired
Tamil Nadu government announced Price Stabilization fund for green tea leaf
27 September 2014
453
Current Affairs
28 September 2014
29 September
Tata motors Limited appointed Mayank Pareek as president of Passenger Vehicle
Division
Union Commerce Ministry cancelled approvals of nine SEZs
30 September
President Pranab Mukherjee authorised Vigilance Commissioner Rajiv to act as
CVC
Union MNRE announced the organisation of the first RE-INVEST Promotion Meet
& Expo
Krishak Express and Lucknow-Barauni express collided near Gorakhpur station
Indo-US Combined military exercise Yudh Abhyas 2014 concluded in Uttarakhand
RBI announced fourth Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2014-15
AP Government signed MoU with Google India for Digital AP project
454
Current Affairs
ONE LINERS
September 2014
Jaipur Pink Panther owned by Abhisek Bachchan won the inaugural title of the
Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League after defeated - U Mumba owned by Unilazer
Sports
The revived Nalanda University started its first session with 15 students in its
makeshift campus at - the Buddhist pilgrim town of Rajgir
Zimbabwe for the first time in 31 years defeated Australia in the one-day match
played at - the Harare Sports Club
India-Japan Annual Summit 2014 was held at Tokyo, Japan during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Himachal Pradesh High Court banned animal sacrifice throughout the state in any
place of public religious worship - to appease deities
Union Government relaxed the import norms of Onion by allowing - fumigation in
India up to 30 November 2014
Former CJI P Sathasivam is the first Chief Justice of India to be appointed as - the
Governor of a sate
Former CJI P Sathasivam appointed as the new Governor of - Kerala
To grant more autonomy to the Lokpal search committee, the Union Government
amended - Rule 10 of Lokpal Search Committee Rules
A Terrorist Outfit created by Al-Qaeda to spread jihad in South Asia is - Qaedat
al-Jihad
President of India, Pranab Mukherjee released a set of eight Commemorative
Postage Stamps on Indian Musicians brought out by - the Department of Posts
Mrunalinidevi Puar, Chancellor of Maharaja Sayajirao University was conferred
with the Best Manager award at - the Oxford Summit of Leaders (Science and
455
Current Affairs
Education) in UK
in Maharashtra
Multiple entry visa (X Visa) for staying in India for one-year has been granted to Taslima Nasreen, the controversial writer of Bangladesh
Union Government approved 7 percent hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) and
Dearness Relief (DR) to - Central Government employees and pensioners,
respectively
The Supreme Court of India asked the Union Government to clarify its stand on
granting dual citizenship of children who are born in India via - an Indian surrogate
mother, while the biological mother of children is a foreign national
Australian Governments New Colombo Plan for India was launched at Mumbai
University on 4 September 2014 by - Prime Minister of Australia, Tony Abbott
Teachers Day was observed across India on - 5 September 2014
Union Home Ministry on 5 September 2014 approved setting up of a task force
to monitor and expedite - the processing of citizenship and Long Term Visa (LTV)
applications
India and Australia signed a pact on civil nuclear energy deal and opened decks
for - the sale of Australian uranium to India
A group of researchers announced that they have discovered fossilized remains
of an enormous species of a long-necked, long-tailed dinosaur that weighs nearly
60 tons in - the Patagonian hills of Argentina
India won the 5-match One-Day International (ODI) series played against - England
by 3-1
Sania Mirza and Bruno Soares lifted Mixed Doubles trophy of the US Open after
defeating a team of - Abigail Spears and Santiago Gonzalez
Union Home Minister has directed the Jammu and Kashmir government to identify
land for the rehabilitation of - Kashmiri migrants
456
Current Affairs
World number one Serena Williams won her third consecutive - US Open trophy
Indian Air Force Chief Marshal Arup Raha at the Air Force Auditorium, Subroto
Park in New Delhi inaugurated - Indias first Air Veteran Rally
Sushma Swaraj was on a two day visit to Bahrain where she attended - the Indian
Diaspora Engagement meet for Indian businesses
WTI and TCL signed a MoU to set up Indias first of its kind Coral Garden in Gujarat
at - Mithapur coastal region of Devbhoomi-Swarka district
The 22-nation Arab League agreed to join the global coalition to counter the threat
of jihadist militants from - the Islamic State Group.
The Union Minister of Human Resource Development Smriti Irani as a part of
International Literacy Day 2014 celebrations inaugurated - KRITI Exhibition 2014
Marin Cilic of Croatia won the Mens Singles title at the US Open after defeating
- Kei Nishikori of Japan
2014 Midori Prize in Biodiversity winners are - Dr. Kamal Bawa (India), Dr. Alfred
Oteng-Yeboah (Ghana) and Dr. Bibiana Vila (Argentina)
A film Court that won best debut award at 71st Venice Film Festival is a Debut
film of Chaitanya Tamhane
Union Government cleared a 679-member squad to represent India in - the 17th
edition of the Asian Games to be held in Incheon, South Korea
To spread the message of conservation of the Himalayan ecosystems, the Chief
Minister of Uttarakhand officially declared 9 September as - Himalaya Diwas
First Indian to visit to the stratosphere, the second layer of the Earths atmosphere
TN Suresh Kumar
Scientists at IISc have developed two electron-rich fluorescent polymers that can
detect - commonly-used explosives
Union Government has identified five locations for development of - no-frills
airports in four states of India
457
Current Affairs
Senior IAS officer Subhash Chandra Garg was appointed as - the Executive
Director (ED) of World Bank
National Hindi Divas (Hindi Day) was observed across India on - 14 September
2014
Japan Nuclear Regulation Authority gave its final safety approval to restart two
reactors of - Sendai nuclear plant located in south-west Kyushu, Japan
ICC suspended Pakistani off-spinner from bowling in international cricket with
immediate effect for illegal bowling action - Saeed Ajmal
SC questioned logic behind the Kerala state governments new policy for limiting
- bar licenses to only five-star hotels.
CCEA approved the disinvestment of the stake of - Coal Indian Limited (CIL),
Oil and Natural Gas Company (ONGC) and National Hydro Power Corporation
(NHPC).
Rajasthan High Court ordered to stop discrimination on basis of caste in cremation
at various crematoriums in Jaipur and asked - Jaipur Municipal Corporation to
submit an action taken report
Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh launched the Reefer Vehicle Callin-Centre (RVC) for - smooth transportation of perishable goods
Al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front released 45 captured Fijian UN peacekeepers
that were captured from - the Syrian Golan Heights
The International Day for the preservation of the Ozone Layer was observed on
16 September 2014 with a theme - Ozone Layer Protection: The Mission Goes On
Rajnath Singh inaugurated the integration of BSF with BISAG project of Gujarat
Government at BSF Camp in - Bhuj, Gujarat
Youngest Indian sailor of Optimist Dinghy category who represented India at the
Asian Games - 12-year-old Chitresh Tatha
Barack Obama authorised US air strikes against ISIS militants for the first time in
Syria and escalate it in Iraq on the eve of - the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attack
458
Current Affairs
Indian shuttler HS Prannoy won - Indonesian Masters Grand Prix Gold
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) closed down six Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs)
who were suspected of being used - to route illegal money
The British aid worker, who was beheaded by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)
militants - David Haines
Chinese Army stopped Indians from using water supply and construction work at
- the T-Point of Demchok area of Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir
An International Conference to help Iraq in fighting the Islamic State militants and
accelerate the humanitarian relief operations was held in Paris, France
AIBA Executive Committee Bureau formally recognised Boxing India as the
provisional AIBA National Federation to represent - the sport of boxing in India
India and Vietnam on signed seven pacts to further strengthen their - strategic
partnership in key sector
CCEA approved 4754 crore for power transmission scheme in - Arunachal and
Sikkim
Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation in August 2014 declined to - 5-year
low of 3.74 percent
The Worlds Highest and Toughest Marathon to be held at an altitude of 3534
meter (11562 feet) is - Ladakh Marathon
Ukraines Parliament ratified the historic EU pact that is an Association Agreement
and placed - Ukraine on the path to EU membership
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 11 schemes under - Swavalamban
Abhiyan, an initiative of the Gujarat Government
Supreme Court asked Government, why departmental action cannot be initiated
for misconduct against top ranking army officers for involvement in - illegal sale
of arms
SC directed Union and state governments to give details of action taken to
459
Current Affairs
implement the pre-conception and pre-natal diagnostic techniques (PNDT) Act
that prohibits - pre-natal sex determination
The 17th Asian Games also known as XVII Asiad commenced at - Asiad Main
Stadium in Incheon, South Korea
NTPC and Andhra Pradesh government signed a MoU for developing - 1000 MW
solar power(s) in Andhra Pradesh
The Union Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry approved financial assistance
to Delhi government for survey on - mapping and estimating the size of street
children
Goa became a permanent venue for - the International Film Festival of India (IFFI)
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) allowed players to wear - religious
head coverings, such as hijabs or turbans, on a trial basis
Former DGP of Assam, Sanker Baruah committed suicide in Guwahati after his
residence was raided by CBI in connection to - Saradha chit fund case
International Boxing Association (AIBA) permitted Indian boxers (pugilists) to take
part in the 17th Asian Games 2014 under - the national tricolor
Rajasthan became the first Indian state to ratify - the National Judicial Appointments
Commission (NJAC) Bill 2014
President Barack Obamas plan to train and arm the moderate Syrian opposition
taking on ISIS was approved by - the US House of Representatives and Senate
Indian Air Force on 18 September 2014 gifted a vintage Dakota aircraft from its
museum to - Bangladesh Air Force
India and China signed sixteen agreements to strengthen the strategic and bilateral
relations between the two countries during the three-day state visit of - President
of China Xi Jingping
Bangladesh Parliament unanimously passed the 16th Constitutional Amendment
Bill that reinstates - Article 96 of Constitution and empowers Parliament to impeach
Supreme Court Judges
460
Current Affairs
Scotland has rejected independence and decided to stay with - United Kingdom
Music Maestro Mandolin player who died in Chennai following a failed liver
transplant at the age of 45 is - Uppalapu Srinivas
The Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah launched a Unicode based mobile
app in - Kannada for android phones
To help the first generation entrepreneurs and skilled youths to set up micro and
small enterprises in Assam, Chief Minister Tarun Gagoi launched - an Angel Fund
India and China agreed to establish a Joint Working Group to promote facilitation
in - the film sector
The Supreme Court asked the Union Government to make its stand clear on
fixation of the price for gas from - Krishna-Godavri basin
All India Radio News started free SMS service to provide news in - Hindi, Marathi,
Sanskrit, Dogri and Nepali
The CBI will investigate the circumstances of the FIPB approval given by the then
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in - the Aircel-Maxis deal in 2006
Union Urban Development Ministry and International organisation Bill and Milinda
Gates Foundation agreed on a partnership to promote - user friendly toilets to
improve sanitation system in India
The Prime Minister has called for making Mission Swacch Bharat a mass movement
so that the aim of creating a clean India can be achieved by - 2019
In Punjab, veteran Akali leader and former president of the Shiromani Akali Dal
and Shiromani Gurudwara Parbhandhak Committee - Jagdev Singh Talwandi died
at Ludhiana
Rescue operation undertaken by Indian Army during Jammu and Kashmir floods
- Operation Megh Rahat
President Barack Obamas plan to train and arm the moderate Syrian opposition
taking on ISIS was approved by the US House of Representatives
461
Current Affairs
The state to be the first Indian state to ratify the National Judicial Appointments
Commission Bill 2014 that was passed by the Parliament in August 2014 is
Rajasthan
Indian boxers (pugilists) has been permitted by International Boxing Association
(AIBA) to participate in the 17th Asian Games 2014 under the national tricolor after
Hockey India got provisional recognition of AIBA
Prithviraj Chavan resigned as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra after his government
was - reduced to a minority
Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has decided to roll out Electronic
Toll Collection (ETC) programme in the country under the brand name FASTag
FIBA allowed players to wear religious head coverings, such as hijabs or turbans,
on a trial basis of 2-year
The Delhis Narula brothers who became the first ever contestants to win 7 crore
rupees in Kaun Banega Crorepati show, hosted by Amitabh Bachchan are - Achin
and Sarthak Narula
To provide prompt help to the victims of crime against women, the Uttar Pradesh
Government has decided to open - Nirbhaya Centers in all districts of the state
To put an end to the violence in the country and replace the government in power,
the Yemen President signed a peace deal with - Shiite Houthi rebels
The UK Parliament backed the resolution that seeks British participation in the
US-led air strikes against - militants of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Iraq
Chinese Peoples Liberation Army pitched seven tents within the Indian Territory
at - Point 30R Post in Chumar area of Ladakh
The annual Indo-US combined military exercise that was held at Ranikhet in
Uttarakhand - Yudh Abhyas 2014
The BCCI Working Committee extended Ravi Shastris tenure as Director of Indian
Cricket team till end of - 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup
Leander Paes and Marcin Matkowski won - the ATP Malaysian Open mens
462
Current Affairs
doubles title
Justice Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu was sworn-in as - the 42nd Chief
Justice of India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 69th session of United Nations
General Assembly (UNGA) in New York in - Hindi
Special Court in Bangalore found Jayalalithaa guilty in the disproportionate assets
case and jailed her for - 4 years with a fine of 100 crore rupees
United Nation Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
estimated that the Indian economy will grow - at 5.5 percent in the current fiscal
CSIR on 26 September 2014 announced the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awards
2014 for - ten scientists in recognition of their work
SBI, the countrys largest lender announced that it has signed a Line of Credit
(LoC) of 500 million dollar with - Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank)
Indias market regulator, SEBI notified the final rules for setting up of - the Real
Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) Regulations 2014 and Infrastructure Investment
Trusts (InvITs) Regulations 2014
World Heart Day was observed across the world on 29 September 2014 with its
theme - Heart Choices NOT Hard Choices
Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and Steve Waugh of Australia were selected as Bradman Honouree 2014
The year-long centenary commemoration of 1914 Komagata Maru Incident was
inaugurated by - Union Ministry of Culture on completion of 100 years after the
incident
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) released the Living Planet Report 2014 and suggested
that wildlife numbers have plunged by - at least 50 percent in just 40 years
Pro-democracy protesters of Hong Kong demanding free elections took streets
and warned - for a new civil disobedience plans.
463
Current Affairs
Himachal Pradesh government introduced Cage Culture technique of fish farming
in water bodies created by - the HP mid-Himalayan Watershed Development
Project
464
Current Affairs
DESCRIPTIVE QUESTIONS
September 2014
1. Answer the following in not more than 100 words

a) MOM
b) MAVEN
c) EVD
d) UNMEER
e) INCH towards MILES
2. The month of September 2014 saw a host of bilateral document signed between
India and other countries like Japan, China and the US. In this light bring out
the importance of these documents and how it will help India in repositioning its
foreign policy towards major powers of the world.
3. Trace the journey of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) since 1975
and critically evaluate how the various missions of ISRO helped India to raise its
stature in the comity of nations?
4. Write on the following in not more than 200 words

a) Floods in Jammu & Kashmir and its impact on State economy
b) The impact of Supreme Court cancelling 214 coal blocks allocation
c) Mission creep and US airstrike on ISIS militant group
d) Importance of Make in India campaign in rejuvenating manufacturing sector
e) Global Competitiveness Index
465
Current Affairs
5. The bilateral relation between India and China is aptly termed as Cold Peace.
In this light critically trace the history of bilateral relation between India and China
and suggest ways for an enduring relation between these two Asian giants.
6. Discuss the Supreme Court judgement on National Tax Tribunal Act, 2005 and
how the judgement will impact other tribunals that have been constituted in the
country?
466
Current Affairs
467
Current Affairs
468
Current Affairs
469
Current Affairs
Disclaimer
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contents. If any miss-happening, ill result, mass depletion or any similar incident occurs due to any information cited or referenced
in this e-book, Editor, Director/s, employees of Jagranjosh.com cant be held liable/responsible in any matter whatsoever. No
responsibilities lie as well in case of the advertisements, advertorials, and external contents.
470

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September 2014 | www.jagranjosh.com

PICK OF THE MONTH

India-Vietnam signed 7 pacts to strengthen Strategic Partnership

India, Australia signed pact on Civil Nuclear Energy deal

India-Japan issued Joint Statement for enhancing cooperation

Afghanistan signed Bilateral Security Agreement with the US

PM Narendra Modi addressed 69th session of UNGA in Hindi

President of Catalonia signed decree to hold independence referendum on 9 November 52

UK Parliament approved Airstrikes in Iraq against ISIS

US and partners began air strikes in Syria

September 2014 | www.jagranjosh.com

France joined US air strikes against ISIS in Iraq

Barack Obama authorised air strikes against ISIS militants in Syria

Arab League agreed to join global coalition to counter IS militants

China launched Made in China campaign to retain its manufacturing prowess

India announced to contribute 12 million US dollar to UN to fight Ebola virus

Pakistan test fired short range nuclear capable missile Hatf IX

3rd Meeting of SAARC Culture Ministers adopted Delhi Resolution

Union Cabinet approved agreement on grid connectivity with Nepal

US Federal Jury found Arab Bank liable for backing terrorism

UN Secretary-General announced to establish UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response

Post-unity deal, Ashraf Ghani named as President-elect of Afghanistan

Yemen Government and Houthi rebels signed peace deal

Scotland rejected the referendum for independence

US Senate passed resolution declaring September 30 as US-India Partnership Day

India-China agreed to set up Joint Working group on films

Bangladesh Parliament regained the power to impeach Supreme Court judges

French Parliament approved Anti-terror Bill aimed at travel ban of jihadists

India and Bangladesh signed MoU in the field of traditional medicines

Wales Declaration of NATO Summit 2014

September 2014 | www.jagranjosh.com

Libyan parliament reappointed Abdullah al-Thinni as Prime Minister

Lesotho Prime Minister Tom Thabane deposed by Coup Leader Kamoli

SC struck down National Tax Tribunal Act, 2005 terming it unconstitutional

Union Government launched Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana

Union Cabinet approved Swachh Bharat Mission for Urban Areas

SC quashed allocation of 214 coal blocks allocated since 1993

P.M. launched Make In India Campaign to make India a manufacturing hub

Ancient Nalanda University inaugurated after 800 years

Union I&B Ministry launched News SMS Service in 5 Indian languages

SC asked Union Government to bring transparency in appointment of CVC, VCs

Union Cabinet approved the launching of National AYUSH Mission

Union Government announced to fund Swachh Vidyalaya campaign

SC asked Union government to respond on Delhi Government Formation by October 10

September 2014 | www.jagranjosh.com

Union Government extended deadline for employees to file details of assets

Union MHA approved forest land diversion to fight Maoists

Congress party secured chairmanship of five DRSCs of the Parliament

RBI announced fourth Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2014-15

SEBI notified final rules for REITs and InvITs

IFC raised 100 million US dollars through Maharaja Bonds

Union Textiles Ministry approved setting up of 13 textile parks

WPI-based Inflation declined to 5-year low of 3.74 percent

September 2014 | www.jagranjosh.com

RBI closed six UCBs suspected of money laundering

SBI celebrated 150 years of its operations in Sri Lanka

Union Government launched New Payment Gateway Integrated to e-Filing System

SEBI censured BSE for guilty of lapses in share sale of NMDC

CCEA approved stake sale in CIL, ONGC abd NHPC

Moodys Analytics released a report titled India outlook: Prospects Brighten

Government approved 7% hike in Dearness Allowance

CAD narrowed down to 1.7 per cent of GDP in Q1 of 2014-15: RBI