Current Affairs August 2013

Current Affairs eBook August 2013
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Table of Contents
Preface ......................................................................................................................................18 Pick of the Month......................................................................................................................19 Bangladesh Developed World's First Zinc-Enriched Rice Variety ........................................19 Nouri al-Maliki visited India ...............................................................................................20 India proposed to set-up JBWG with Myanmar .................................................................22 India-China Strategic Dialogue Held ...................................................................................23 Israel, Palestinians Peace Talks Resumed in Jerusalem ......................................................24 Banking Structure in India The Way Forward: Discussion ................................................25 National Food Security Bill 2013 passed in Lok Sabha ........................................................27 Water Detected in Mineral Grains of Moon .......................................................................29 Nuclear Reactor of INS Arihant achieved Criticality ............................................................30 Hyderabad Hotshots won the inaugural IBL .......................................................................32 Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill 2013 ......................................................................33 Proposal to scrap Collegium System of Appointing Judges .................................................34 RBI relaxed SLR to provide More Funds to Banks for Lending ............................................35 India's Foreign Exchange Reserves went down to 277.167 bn$..........................................36 RBI announced Weekly Sale of Government Bonds ...........................................................36 Tax Administration Reform Commission constituted .........................................................37 Malala won 2013 International Children's Peace Prize .......................................................38 Amitabh Bachchan joined UN Campaign the World Needs More .......................................38 Mugabe sworn in for 7th term as President of Zimbabwe .................................................39 Scientists identified risk of Earthquake in Uttarakhand ......................................................40 Loss of Arctic Sea Leading to Greening of the Arctic ..........................................................40 International | World ................................................................................................................41 Sri Lanka heading in an Authoritarian Direction .................................................................41 www.jagranjosh.com
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US has launched an Investigation into Indian Trade Policies ..............................................42 India announced an aid of 5000 crore rupees to Bhutan....................................................42 Egypt has Destroyed 10 Tunnels beneath Border with Gaza ..............................................43 Social Security Agreement between India & Canada Approved .........................................43 China & Pak to hold Joint Air Exercise called Shaheen (Eagle)-2 .........................................44 2nd ASEAN Defence Ministers Meet ..................................................................................44 UN failed to reach Agreement on Use of Military against Syria ..........................................45 China dismissed Japan's proposal to hold talks ..................................................................47 IBSA on the Middle East Peace Process..............................................................................47 Brazil Liberalised Issuing Short Term Work Visas ...............................................................48 Iran's Envoy to IAEA Resigned ............................................................................................49 Peace Ark, Chinese Goodwill Hospital Ship Reached Bangladesh .......................................49 Month-long State of Emergency in Egypt ...........................................................................50 IEA warned that Oil supplies from OPEC may decline ........................................................51 Royal Yacht Squadron Club lifted its 200-year ban on Women ...........................................52 Japan pledged Huge Spending Cuts amounting to 83 BN $ ................................................52 India announced Assistance to Afghan Bomb Attack Victims .............................................53 Japan unveiled its Biggest Warship called Izumo ...............................................................53 Life Term for Former Turkish Army Chief ...........................................................................53 Abu Salem's Plea to quash all Proceedings rejected ...........................................................54 Konkan Railway to scrap Skybus project ............................................................................55 Sri Lanka Opened New Harbour in Colombo ......................................................................56 Hassan Rouhani sworn in as the new President of Iran ......................................................56 China blocked import of Milk Powder from New Zealand ..................................................58 Zanu-PF party won Zimbabwe Parliamentary Election 2013 ..............................................59 US temporarily closed Diplomatic Missions .......................................................................60
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US announced Grant for Victims of Oak Creek Shootout ...................................................60 Runa Laila Visited India ......................................................................................................61 Russia Granted Asylum to Edward J. Snowden...................................................................61 USA and China held Discussions on Human Rights Issues ...................................................62 China agreed to set-up 4 Coal-Fired Power Plants at Gadani..............................................63 World Dairy ...............................................................................................................................64 National ....................................................................................................................................69 Fund Outlay for Technical Textile Sector ............................................................................69 President gave Assent to the Companies Bill 2013 .............................................................69 SC Cleared Dedicated Freight Corridor through National Park ...........................................70 Union Government Approved Three Projects under EMC Scheme .....................................71 Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill ......................................................72 CCP Met on Maternal Health .............................................................................................73 Rapist's offer to Marry can't save him from Punishment ...................................................74 Representation of People (Amendment & Validation) Bill 2013 .........................................74 Rajya Sabha passed The Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010 .......................................75 FSA Implementation needs 614.3 lakh tonnes of Food Grains ...........................................76 Initiative to provide Free Generic Medicines Approved .....................................................78 National Media Centre inaugurated at New Delhi .............................................................78 Fund for Compensating Crime Victims ...............................................................................80 Mental Health Care Bill, 2013 ............................................................................................80 Committee to Study Backlog in Vacancies .........................................................................82 Amendments to the Representation of the People Act, 1951 ............................................82 Hysterectomies to be included in NFHS-4 ..........................................................................83 Right to receive Pension cant be taken away ....................................................................84 Citizens can now File RTI Applications Online ....................................................................85
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Committee to assess Status of Scheduled Tribes ...............................................................85 RUSA proposed Ceiling of Maximum Number of Colleges ..................................................86 EC to use VVPAT System in Nagaland by-polls ...................................................................87 National Skill Certification and Monetary Reward Scheme ................................................88 Low Income Housing Finance Project ................................................................................89 The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2013 Introduced ...........................................91 Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2012 ................................................92 Hydro-Electric Projects in Uttarakhand Prohibited.............................................................92 Indias First Cyber Forensic Laboratory Inaugurated ..........................................................93 Janata Party merged with the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) .................................................93 New Media Wing in the I&B Ministry to be established .....................................................94 Two Non-Jurists in Judges Selection Panel .........................................................................95 MoU signed for development in Naxal Areas .....................................................................96 SC asked Centre to respond on the Drug Pricing Policy ......................................................97 MoU signed to Create NCRTC to Construct the RRTS .........................................................98 India Dairy ...............................................................................................................................100 Economy .................................................................................................................................107 RBI introduced Forex Swap Window for Oil Companies ...................................................107 Government approved denotification of six SEZ projects .................................................107 Indias GDP Dropped to 4.4 Percent ................................................................................107 premature encashment of Saving Bonds for Investor above 60 .......................................108 CCEA nod to Continuation of TUFS ..................................................................................108 CCI cleared stalled infra Projects worth 1.83 Lakh Crore ..................................................109 Number of Foreign Tourists in India increased in 2012 ....................................................110 RBI announced auction Cash Management Bills ..............................................................111 RBI imposed Monetary Penalty on 6 Banks ......................................................................112
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Government banned Duty-Free Import of Flat Screen TV ................................................113 Gold Prices hit Eight-Month High at 31760 Rupees ..........................................................113 Government imposed MEP of 650 US$ per Tonne on Onion ............................................114 Import Duty on Gold, Silver & Platinum hiked to 10 percent............................................114 Union Cabinet approved Setting up of TARC ....................................................................115 Indian Railways Carried 343 Mn Tonnes of Freight ..........................................................115 India's Exports during July 2013 were valued at 25834.46 mn$ .......................................116 Railway Revenue Earnings up by 10.74 PerCent...............................................................117 CCEA approved export of additional 2 million tonnes Wheat ...........................................118 FIPB cleared 12 FDI Proposals Worth 343 Crore Rupees ..................................................118 Government Slashed Customs Duty on Import of Rice Bran ............................................119 CCEA approved continuation of RGGVY in 12th Plan ........................................................119 Cabinet cleared Disinvestment of 10% in IOC ..................................................................120 CCEA approved Creation of Special National Investment Fund ........................................121 Government to continue Interest Subvention on Crop Loans ..........................................122 FDI to increase in Print Media from 26 Percent to 49 Percent .........................................123 Government eased the Norms for FDI in Multi-Brand Retail ............................................123 Rate of Interest Subvention Scheme for Exports Increased ..............................................126 Environment & Ecology ...........................................................................................................127 Grand Canyon discovered beneath Ice Sheet in Greenland ..............................................127 Need more study on CO2 effect on Marine Fauna ............................................................127 Australia's Unique Influence on Global Sea Level .............................................................129 Seagrass to Fight Climate Change ....................................................................................131 New Mammal Species discovered ...................................................................................131 Puerto Rican Parrot Made a Comeback ...........................................................................132 Exotic Insects Establishing their New Colonies .................................................................133
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Dolphins Have the Longest Social Memory ......................................................................134 Alipore Zoo Launched Adoption of Zoo Animals Scheme .................................................135 Increasing Human Violence Linked to Rising Temperatures .............................................136 Science & Technology .............................................................................................................138 New Super-Heavy Element with Atomic Number 115 ......................................................138 Sun Burn Response in Whales Can Give Clues to Anti Ageing ...........................................138 Pollution Warning Application for Swimmers and Surfers ................................................140 Facebook and Six other Tech Giants to Launch Internet.Org ............................................141 US Scientists Created the Most Precise Clock of the World ..............................................142 NASA Spacecraft, WISE to be reactivated to Hunt for Asteroids .......................................143 Scientists Discovered Strong Magnetic Field on Dying Star ..............................................144 New malaria vaccine PfSPZ developed .............................................................................145 Gene Causing Chronic Pancreatitis Discovered ................................................................145 Instant Noodles Can Help Fight World Hunger: Research.................................................146 Fossil of the Oldest Known Ancestor of Rats Unearthed ..................................................147 New App called FindMyStuff to Find Lost Things Developed ............................................148 Dromedary Camels could be Source of Mers Coronavirus ...............................................148 Autism Affects Males and Females Differently .................................................................150 Lowest-Mass Exoplanet Called GJ 504b Discovered .........................................................151 Scientists identified New Genes Responsible for Brain Cancer .........................................152 Scientists Unveiled Worlds First Lab -Grown Beef Burger ................................................152 Corporate................................................................................................................................155 HLL Biotech signed agreement with Inst of Immunology Crotia .......................................155 Airtel conducted field trials of 3G Phone Services ............................................................155 Federal Bank Launched Electronic Version of Passbook ...................................................156 Dinesh K Sarraf Recommended to be Next ONGC Chief ...................................................156
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Air India Launched Direct Flights to Australia after 22 Years ............................................157 Snapdeal entered into a Partnership with Hypercity Retail ..............................................157 MCX Chairman and Five Directors Resigned ....................................................................158 Apollo Hospitals Group signed MoU with Rochester Varsity US .......................................158 Bharat Biotech Int launched the Typhoid Vaccine, Typbar TCV ........................................159 ICSI Launched Placement Portal for Members and Corporate ..........................................161 Nokia launched Lumia 925 and 625 in India .....................................................................161 Apollo Tyres tied up with Manchester United ..................................................................161 Welspun Energy Ltd Unveiled 55-MW Solar Plant in Rajasthan ........................................162 NMDC Power Limited and IEDCL Signed MoU ..................................................................162 Reliance General Insurance Entered Agricultural Arena ...................................................163 Bharti Airtel launched 1 Rupee Entertainment Store .......................................................163 Idea became Aditya Birla Group's Most Valuable Company .............................................164 SAIL Operationalised Largest Blast Furnace of India, Durga .............................................164 Biocon launched ALZUMAb, a drug for treatment of Psoriasis .........................................165 WhatsApp introduced One-press Voice Texting ...............................................................166 Amazon to buy the Newspaper Assets of Washington Post .............................................167 Two projects of BHEL inaugurated in Tamil Nadu ............................................................167 Jet Airways launched Week-long Sale of Low-fare Tickets ...............................................168 Nokia India Teamed Up With PWD of Maharashtra .........................................................169 Sports......................................................................................................................................170 Bayern Munich won Super Cup 2013 after defeating Chelsea ..........................................170 SepakTakraw Super Series kicked off in Delhi ..................................................................170 Bhuvana Kalva won ITF Womens Tennis Tournament .....................................................171 BP Baishya Appointed As Chairman of the Ethics Commission .........................................171 43rd Institutional Table Tennis Championships................................................................171
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England Won Ashes 2013 Test Series ...............................................................................172 India won Asian Cricket Council Emerging Teams Cup .....................................................174 Sania Mirza - Jie Zheng pair won WTA New Haven Open Title .........................................174 Indian Womens Team won Gold in Archery World Cup Stage 4 ......................................175 Kush Won Gold in Mens Singles Squash at Asian Youth Games .......................................176 Usain Bolt equalled World Record of 8 Golds ..................................................................176 Dhoni among the Highest-Paid Athletes in Forbes List .....................................................177 S. Kadian won Bronze at World Jr. Wrestling Championships...........................................178 IOC rejected IOAs Objection on Election Process ............................................................178 Rafael Nadal Won Mens Singles Title in Rogers Cup 2013 ...............................................179 Marion Bartoli announced her Retirement from Lawn Tennis .........................................180 Sowjanya Bavisetti Won ITF Women's Tennis Tournament ..............................................180 Bolt won 100 metre sprint title at IAAF World Championships ........................................180 Ganeshan Chundan won the Nehru Trophy Boat Race 2013 held ....................................181 Indian Wrestlers won 5 gold in World Police and Fire Games ..........................................182 Maria Sharapova topped the Forbes List of Female Athletes ...........................................182 Grandmaster Parimarjan Negi won Denmark's Politiken Cup...........................................183 India won its first Bronze at Jr. Women Hockey World Cup .............................................184 India retained top Position in the in ICC ODI Rankings .....................................................185 IOC Sold Exclusive Broadcasting Rights for 2014, 2016 Olympics .....................................186 State .......................................................................................................................................187 Hoshiarpur & Kapurthala declared as Smoke-Free districts ..............................................187 Felicitation for Modi at Newly Formed Districts of Gujarat ..............................................188 Bharat Nirman Public Information Campaign Inaugurated ...............................................188 Kerala to have a World Class Life Sciences Park called Bio 360 ........................................189 Haryana to Conduct Survey of Manual Scavengers ..........................................................189
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Delhi NCR Chapter of Vigilance Study Circle Inaugurated .................................................190 Kerala to have a World Class Life Sciences Park called Bio 360 ........................................191 TMC Kolkata to Start Bio-Bank to Store Cancer Tissues ....................................................191 Panic Button to be Installed in Auto Rickshaws of Tamil Nadu .........................................192 Congress won the Mandya and Bangalore Rural Bypolls ..................................................193 SC asked Chhattisgarh to respond on breach of Courts Order .........................................193 Kerala High Court granted Bail to Shalu Menon & Tenny Jopan .......................................194 Colour Coded Strips for Autos in Delhi to Aid Passengers ................................................194 Foundation Stone for World's Largest Solar Park laid ......................................................195 Anti-Black Magic and Superstition Ordinance in Maharashtra .........................................196 Delhi Metro recorded Highest Ridership ..........................................................................198 Haryana Govt. notified Affordable Housing Policy, 2013 ..................................................198 NHRC issued notice to Odisha Govt in Kulda Dumpyard Mishap ......................................199 Goa Govt decided to withdraw suspension of Mining Leases ...........................................199 300M US $ additional ADB finance for State Highways in Bihar .......................................200 Himachal created Nat. Record by organizing a Half-Marathon .........................................200 Bhumi Sena Scheme launched in UP ................................................................................201 New Int. Terminal became operational at Chennai Airport ..............................................202 PACS in Andhra Pradesh to be linked with NCDEX Spot Exchange ....................................202 Delhi approved Draft Delhi Lifts and Escalators Bill, 2013 ................................................203 Two projects of BHEL inaugurated in Tamil Nadu ............................................................203 Jharkhand State Cabinet Expanded; Six New Ministers Inducted .....................................204 Chhattisgarh Plan for 2013-14 Finalised at 25250 Crore Rupees ......................................205 One Liners ...............................................................................................................................206 News Capsule ..........................................................................................................................208 Appointments of the Month ................................................................................................208
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Ashwani Kumar appointed as PMs Special Envoy to Japan ..............................................208 Nishi Vasudeva selected as the First Woman to Head HPCL .............................................208 Justice NV Ramana appointed Chief Justice of Delhi High Court ......................................209 Ratan Thiyam appointed as the Chairperson of the NSDS ................................................209 Ali Akbar Salehi appointed Head of AEO in Iran ...............................................................210 Dilip Trivedi appointed Director General of the CRPF.......................................................210 D.Bala Venkatesh appointed Ambassador to UNCD .........................................................211 Vinay Mittal appointed as the UPSC Member ..................................................................211 Rakesh Sethi took Charge as Executive Director of Union Bank........................................212 Raghuram Govind Rajan Appointed as 23rd Governor of RBI ...........................................212 Arundhati Bhattacharya appointed Managing Director of SBI ..........................................213 Rajeev Rishi took over as the CMD of Central Bank of India .............................................214 Bhim Sain Bassi became 20th Commissioner of Delhi Police ............................................214 Awards in the Month of August ...........................................................................................215 Nelson Mandela became First Recipient of Mahathir Award ...........................................215 National Photo Contest & Exhibition organized ...............................................................216 Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Arjuna Awards 2013 ...........................................................217 Tata Steel was adjudged the Best Performing Steel Plant ................................................221 Sir Edmund Hillary Mountain Legacy Medal 2013 ............................................................222 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award ..................................................................................222 Prime Minister's Shram Awards for the Year 2012 Announced ........................................223 UK Songwriting Contest 2013 Results Announced ...........................................................225 Indian-American Trio won World Geography Championship ...........................................227 Prem Bhatia Memorial Award presented to Shalini Singh ................................................228 Delhi conferred Lifetime Achievement Award 2013 .........................................................228 the Gujar Mal Modi Award for Science and Technology 2013 ..........................................228
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Sri Lankan President felicitated tribal community, the Veddas ........................................229 US Presidential Medal of Freedom to be conferred on Clinton ........................................230 Govt. announced Cash Prize for each Jr Women Hockey Player .......................................231 James Tait Black Prize for Drama .....................................................................................232 Sugathakumari won Saraswati Samman 2013..................................................................233 Indians won Silver & Bronze at Int. Mathematical Olympiad............................................234 Personality in News..............................................................................................................235 Nidal Malik Hasan sentenced to death for Fort Hood Shooting ........................................235 Sockalingam Elected Zonal Secretary/Treasurer of NCEES ...............................................236 Yasin Bhatkal, the Co-Founder of Indian Mujahideen, Arrested .......................................236 Kapil Parakh Selected for White House Fellowship 2013-14.............................................237 Bradley Manning announced Intention of Living like a Woman .......................................238 Pervez Musharraf indicted in Benazir Bhutto Assassination .............................................239 Statue of Dr. Norman Borlaug Unveiled at New Delhi ......................................................239 Abdul Karim Tunda, LeT's Bomb Expert arrested by Delhi Police......................................240 SC rejected the Review Petition of Devender Pal Singh Bhullar ........................................240 Ibrahim Boubacar Keita won Mali Presidential Elections..................................................241 CM Foale, the First British to Perform Space Walk, retired ..............................................241 Jalaj Shrivastva sworn in as Chairman of NDMC ...............................................................242 Hassan Rouhani sworn in as the new President of Iran ....................................................243 Samantha Power sworn in as the new US Ambassador to UN ..........................................244 Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar Retired ............................................................244 People Who left the World in August ...................................................................................246 Nobel Literature Laureate Seamus Heaney died ..............................................................246 Anatoly Onoprienko, the Serial Killer of Ukrain died ........................................................246 Former Indian Athlete Henry Rebello Died ......................................................................246
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Julie Harris, US actress known for record Tony Award, died.............................................247 Pandit Raghunath Panigrahi, the Indian Classical Singer died...........................................248 Telugu Novelist, Malathi Chandur died ............................................................................248 Dezso Gyarmati, the Water Polo legend from Hungary died ............................................249 Dr. Sheikh Jalal-ud-din, Cardiologist shot by Militants died ..............................................250 Marich Man Singh Shrestha, former PM of Nepal died ....................................................250 Former Cricketer Kalyan Mitter Died ...............................................................................251 Desh Prem Azad, Former Coach of Kapil Dev, Died ..........................................................251 Renowned Naturalist and Ornithologist Zafar Futehally died ...........................................252 Renowned Kamaicha player Sakar Khan Died ..................................................................252 Jasjit Singh, Indias Best Military Analyst, Died .................................................................253 Abraham Samuel, the Cigarette Snatcher died ................................................................254 Music Director V. Dakshinamoorthy died ........................................................................255 Hemendra Prasad Barooah, the Noted Assam Tea Planter died .......................................256 Defence and Security ...........................................................................................................257 GSAT7, India's first Defence Satellite launched successfully ...........................................257 Government announced to release National e-mail Policy ..............................................258 C-130J Super Hercules Plane landed in Daulat Beg Oldie sector .......................................258 India launched Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant in Kochi .........................................................259 India Test-Fired Surface-to-Surface Prithvi-II Missile ........................................................260 India Successfully Test-fired Pinaka Rockets from Chandipur ...........................................260 Agni-V to be inducted by 2015.........................................................................................261 Books/Author ......................................................................................................................262 Graphic Biography, Dhyan Chand-The Wizard of Hockey .................................................262 Book, Satyagraha: The Story Behind the Revolution released ..........................................262 Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru Second Series Released ..........................................262
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Hamid Ansari released Book entitled Ghalib & His Times .................................................263 My Journey: Transforming Dreams into Actions by Kalam ...............................................263 Gitanjali Collection of Poems released in 14 Languages ...................................................265 The Moonballer book by Nirupama Vaidyanathan launched............................................265 Agenda for Indias Growth ...............................................................................................266 Important Dates...................................................................................................................266 International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances ..........................................266 Earth Overshoot Day observed on 20 August 2013 ..........................................................268 World Photography Day Celebrated Across the Globe .....................................................268 International Youth Day- 12 August .................................................................................269 13 August Designated as the International Lefthanders Day ............................................270 International Day of the World's Indigenous People observed.........................................271 Dadra and Nagar Haveli Celebrated Its 60th Liberation Day .............................................272 World Breastfeeding Week observed ..............................................................................273 Reports and Surveys ............................................................................................................275 India became the World's Third Largest Internet User .....................................................275 Govt failed to spend a Single Penny from Rape Relief Fund .............................................275 83% Bihar households didn't get Employment under MGNREGS .....................................276 Language Use in the United States: 2011, Report Released .............................................277 Employment-Unemployment among Major Religions in India .........................................277 Committees and Commissions .............................................................................................279 One-man Commission appointed to probe Kishtwar Clashes ...........................................279 EGoM formed to ensure implementation of Power Projects............................................280 Committee on Illegal Sand Mining submitted its Report ..................................................280 Space and Science ................................................................................................................281 Memorial Spaceflight Services of the Elysium Space ........................................................281
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One Lakh People applied to go to Mars: Mars One Project ..............................................281 NASA to launch Next Mars Mission from Florida called MAVEN ......................................282 Curiosity Rover celebrated First Anniversary on Planet Mars ...........................................283 Micro-Satellite Pico Dragon to Int. Space Station launched..............................................284 World's First Talking Robot Kirobo sent into Space ..........................................................284 Places in News .....................................................................................................................284 Singapore to host Second South Asian Diaspora Convention ...........................................284 Abu Dhabi Month Launched in New Delhi .......................................................................285 Street in Winnipeg named after Mahatma Gandhi ..........................................................285 Melia Brand of Hotels in Spain Unveiled 1st Twitter Hotel ................................................286 XV World Police & Fire Games 2013 Organised in Belfast ................................................287 Terms and Abbreviation .......................................................................................................289 Typhoon Trami affected 3.61 Lakh People in China .........................................................289 Human to human Transmission of H7N9 Bird Flu Virus ....................................................290 Phubbing: the term that defines Anti-Social Act of Phone Use .........................................291 Special National Investment Fund approved by CCEA ......................................................292 Miscellaneous ......................................................................................................................293 Ahimsa Messenger Programme launched by Sonia Gandhi..............................................293 Tourist Visa on Arrival Facility extended on Airports ........................................................294 Foreign Minister of Nicaragua, Samuel Santos Lopez visited ............................................294 Beverly Singh to Help Build Fastest Car of the World in UK ..............................................295 Inquiry ordered into explosion at HPCL plant in AP ..........................................................295 Milind Soman launched a drive against Drunken Driving .................................................295 Queen of the Pacific was deported from US to Mexico ....................................................296 First vessel carrying LNG from Qatar reached Kochi Port .................................................296 King Penguin Missy, Oldest Penguin of the World Turned 36 ...........................................297
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National Book Trust of India unveiled a new Logo nbt.india ............................................297 Government inaugurated Data Portal of India .................................................................298 Resolution to remember Wisconcin Gurudwara Victims passed ......................................298 NAI Launched Quarterly Newsletter Entitled e-Abhilekh .................................................299 Pravasi Friend launched its Operations in Kochi ...............................................................299 Pilgrims Killed By Saharsa-Patna Rajyarani Express ..........................................................299 Submarine INS Sindhurakshak damaged in a Fire Incident ...............................................300 India and Pakistan exchanged fire in Chakan Da Bagh area ..............................................300 Suicide Attack took Place near the Indian Consulate........................................................301 Handwoven Pashmina Shawls accredited with GI Mark ...................................................302 Government announced to release National e-mail Policy ..............................................303 19th Delhi Book Fair Started Off At Pragati Maidan, New Delhi .......................................303 The Travel & Tourism Fair (TTF) 2013 Started off in Ahmadabad .....................................303 3000 Years Old Stone Shields Excavated by from Xinjiang................................................304 Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota Resigned ......................................................305 Egypt Clashes: Vice President Mohamed Elbaradei resigned ...........................................306 Jagan Reddy resigned as MP over split of Andhra Pradesh...............................................306 Afghan-Pak agreed to Expand Economic Cooperation .....................................................307 Taukelina Finikaso, Foreign Minister of Tuvalu visited India .............................................307 Foreign Minister of Republic of Chad visited India ...........................................................307 Special Envoy of India for Sudan visited South Sudan ......................................................308 WB Assisted National AIDS Control Support Project Launched ........................................308 Nat Skill Certification & Monetary Reward Scheme Unveiled...........................................309 DBTL Scheme to be extended to 35 More Districts ..........................................................311 Glimpses of the India Story: Second Phase Unveiled ........................................................311 NSDC to open Skill Development Council in Aerospace Aviation ......................................312
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Turkey completed a Trial Run of World's Deepest Rail Tunnel .........................................313 3rd Meeting of the WMCC on India-China Border Talks held ............................................314 Questions of the Month ..........................................................................................................315
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PREFACE
The Current Affairs eBook August 2013 is designed to provide latest updates of the events that occurred in the month of August 2013. The eBook contains each and every important happening of August that made news and carries any probability of being asked in different types of competitive exams like IAS|PCS, SSC, Banking, LIC, Railway and all other competitive exams. The happening in the sections like International (bilateral and Indias relation with the world), National, Economy, Science and Technology, Environment and Ecology, Corporate, State, Sports, Important Personalities, Books and Authors, Awards and Honours, Important Dates, Reports and Surveys and more all are covered in complete detail. Events like BRRI Dhan-62 the first zinc-enriched rice variety, Visit of Iranian Prime Minister to India, Proposal to set-up Joint Border Working Group with Myanmar, National Food Security Bill 2013, death of the Water Polo legend Dezso Gyarmati, Launch of GSAT-7 and landing of C130J Super Hercules Plane in Daulat Beg Oldi Sector and many more are precisely covered to allow you to identify the answers of the questions being asked in the exams. Representation of verified facts and figures along with fine-tuned analysis and comment makes the events easy to understand and perceive. The aspirants of competitive exams will definitely be benefitted by the content of the eBook.
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PICK OF THE MONTH

BANGLADESH DEVELOPED WORLD'S FIRST ZINC-ENRICHED RICE VARIETY
Bangladesh Government on 25 August 2013 released the world's first zinc-enriched rice variety capable of fighting diarrhoea and pneumonia-induced childhood deaths and stunted growth. The National Seed Board of Bangladesh gave its approval to the country's first biologically fortified rice variety, which will be available to farmers for cultivation in the next aman season beginning June - November 2014. Aman season is monsoon season of Bangladesh (June to November) and the major crop of Aman season is rice. The zinc-enriched variety developed in Bangladesh has the maximum zinc content ranging from 20-22 ppm as against the world average of 14-16 ppm in other varieties. It also has a shorter maturity period of 100 days against 110-120 days for other fortified varieties giving the advantage of releasing the land for growing vegetables. The zinc-enriched variety named BRRI Dhan-62 is developed by Dr. Alamgir Hossain from Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI). Alamgir Hossain, a principal scientific officer at the plant breeding division of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), led the long and arduous process of zinc biofortification in rice since 2003. The enriched zinc variety is expected to bring relief to an estimated 44 percent of Bangladeshi children under five who are at risk of zinc deficiency and consequent stunted growth.
ABOUT THE PROJECT

The BRRI breeders developed the hi-zinc rice with support from Harvest Plus, which is a global biofortification mission launched back in 2004 under the Washington-based global agro-science coordinating body- Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). The Harvest Plus programme, coordinated by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), provided assistance to both Bangladesh and India for pursuing the breeding work for developing zinc-enriched rice.
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IMPORTANCE OF ZINC

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Zinc, iron and vitamin-A are the three most vital micronutrients, deficiency of which hampers childrens natural growth and decreases their disease prevention capacity. Nearly half a million children die each year in the world due to zinc deficiency. Over 17 percent of the global population is at risk of inadequate zinc intake while the regional estimated prevalence of inadequate zinc intake ranges from 7.5 percent in high-income regions to 30 percent in South Asia. The role of zinc in human body includes helping normal growth and development, maintenance of body tissues, vision, sexual function, and the immune system. Zinc deficiency causes stunting while zinc supplementation can reduce the severity of morbidity from a number of common childhood diseases including diarrhoea and pneumonia.
Apart from this Zinc enriched rice variety, scientists have also developed GM Rice to fight Rotavirus. Details of the same are given below.
MUCORICE-ARP1 DEVELOPED TO FIGHT ROTAVIRUS

According to the Journal of Clinical Investigation, a new Genetically Modified (GM) rice variety MucoRice-ARP1 could protect children from Rotavirus; (the deadly diarrhoeal infection that kills over 600000 children worldwide) is developed by the research team of Japanese and British scientists. According to the researchers, this rice could be used as a supplement to the currently available vaccines against the infection to improve their efficacy, particularly in immuno-compromised children of Asia and Africa where the efficacy rates have been found to be significantly lower than in the developed regions of the world. To develop this transgenic rice, inserted genes from llamas to get the rice crops to develop a key (heavy-chain) fragment of the rotavirus antibody called MucoRice-ARP1. The rice crop, which used rice seeds using an over-expression system and RNA interference technology, was found to produce high levels of this antibody fragment.
NOURI AL-MALIKI VISITED INDIA

Nouri al-Maliki, the Prime Minister of Republic of Iraq was on a state visit to India from 22 to 25 August 2013. During his visit and stay in India, he met with the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh and President of Indian Union, Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President of India, Hamid Ansari and several other dignitaries.
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This was the first visit of Maliki to India. During his visit, he was accompanied by a high-level delegation that comprised ministers, senior officials and business leaders. Prime Minister Maliki was accorded a ceremonial welcome in the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan on 23 August. The Prime Ministers of both the nations exchanged views on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest and reached a broad consensus. The discussions enabled better understanding and appreciation of each others concerns and perspectives and helped in forging closer understanding at the highest political level. This was the first Head of Government-level visit between the two countries, since 1975. Before this, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi visited Iraq in 1975. During the state visit of al Maliki to India, several MoUs were inked between the two nations.
THE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDINGS (MOUS) SIGNED INCLUDE

1. MoU in the field of Energy between the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Oil of the Republic of Iraq. The MoU was signed between, Veerappa Moily, the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Abdul Kareem Luaibi Bahedh, Minister of Oil of Iraq. The MoU envisages cooperation in the areas of upstream and downstream oil & gas activities and related infrastructure. The areas includes are: Conclusion of contract of Exploration Block-8 awarded to ONGC Videsh Limited Offer of data of Middle Furat group of Fields for due diligence Natural Gas Petroleum Refineries Training
2. MoU between the Ministry of External Affairs of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Iraq on Foreign Office Consultations. The MoU was signed between, Ashok K. Kantha, Secretary (East), MEA and Nazar Al-Khairullah, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iraq. The signed MoU It enables high ranking officials from Foreign Ministries of both countries to discuss periodically bilateral and international relations of mutual interest. 3. MoU between the Foreign Service Institutes of MEA and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iraq for Structure and Content of Training Programmes for Diplomats. The MoU was
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signed between, Nengcha Lhouvum, Dean, Foreign Service Institute and Nazar AlKhairullah, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iraq. This MoU It enables exchange of information regarding structure and content of training programmes for diplomats. 4. MOU between the Ministry of Water Resources of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Water Resources of the Republic of Iraq on Bilateral Cooperation in Water Resources Development and Management. The MoU was signed between Alok Rawat, Secretary, Ministry of Water Resource Development and Ahmad Tahsin Ahmad Berwari, Ambassador of Iraq to India. The MOU envisages cooperation at the national, regional and international levels in the field of water resources management and development by collaboration and sharing of expertise in the following areas: Project hydrology, practicing hydrology and hydrological modeling, applications of remote sensing & GIS in hydrology and water resources, integrated water resources development and management, flood and drought management, irrigation and drainage surface and groundwater management and development minor irrigation, modernisation/renovation of old irrigation schemes, hydrometeorology, watershed, lakes and wetlands development dam safety and surveillance, reservoir regulation, training and capacity building ,micro irrigation, any other field related to water resources management and irrigation as may be agreed upon between the parties.
Apart from this, during his visit, the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, while addressing the gathering of Indian industrialists in Mumbai on 24 August 2013 called upon the Indian industries to invest in Iraq. He said that there existed huge investment opportunities in Iraq in the sector like energy, IT, refineries, fertilisers, infrastructure, health and education. Nouri al-Maliki also ensured that his government would speed up the visa procedures for investments and opening up of the branches of Indian Banks in Iraq and will provide all possible help to Indian industries willing to set up their projects in Iraq.
INDIA PROPOSED TO SET-UP JBWG WITH MYANMAR

India on 28 August 2013 suggested Myanmar to setup a Joint Border Working Group (JBWG) to address the issues of demarcation of border between the two countries. The decision was taken following the attempt of construction of a defence post near an undermarcated border pillar by Myanmars Army. The suggestion to set-up a JBWG was conveyed to Myanmar through India's embassy in Yangon.
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Earlier, the Myanmars Army tried to erect the post near pillar number 76 in Moreh, Manipur on the border in a bid to defend against Indian farmers who were allegedly trying to harvest land claimed by Myanmar. The construction activity being undertaken by the Myanmars army was stopped by the Indian border guarding forces following the understanding that there cannot be any construction within 10 metres of unverified border pillars.
GEOGRAPHICAL DEMARCATION OF INDIAN BORDER WITH MYANMAR

Myanmar shares its border with north-eastern Indian states namely Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland. Myanmar acts as a zone of only land passage from India to South East Asia.
BACKGROUND OF INDIA MYANMAR RELATIONS

India and Myanmar shares cordial bilateral relations as neighbors. The relationship between the defence forces of the two countries has been good and the armies of both sides have been substantive since 1990s. Indian also holds a relationship of supplying arms-equipment to Myanmar Armed Forces. Armed forces of Myanmar are officially known as Tatmadaw.
COMMENT
India as a country shares its border with eight countries, namely Pakistan, China, Myanmar, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. It keeps receiving threats from the neighbors like engagement of army from Pakistan to infiltrate insurgents into India and create disturbances; Chinese Army keeps intruding the borders across ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh, as it follows the policy of proactive aggressive expansion. Sri Lanka on the other hand has provided access to its ports to China, which acts as a threat of strategic defence on Indian part.
INDIA-CHINA STRATEGIC DIALOGUE HELD

The 5th India-China Strategic Dialogue was held in New Delhi on 20 August 2013. Maintaining peace and tranquility along the Line of Actual Control in the border areas figured prominently during the talks. India and China also discussed covered bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest. The two nations discussed several issues including enhancing understanding on the utilization of trans-border river waters, expanding bilateral trade and investment while addressing problems of the large and growing deficit faced by India, ways of maintaining peace and tranquility along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the India-China border areas, methods of
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boosting cultural cooperation as well as people-to-people exchanges and expansion of scientific and technological cooperation. India and China also discussed the possibility of a visit to China, later this year, by Prime Minster Dr. Manmohan Singh. The potential and prospect for BCIM economic cooperation was also touched upon. India and China took stock of developments in bilateral ties since the successful visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to India. Future cooperation in the BRICS framework, ways of ensuring an open, inclusive and transparent architecture in the Asia-Pacific region and the outlook for Afghanistan in 2014 and beyond were other areas of discussion between India and China. The 6th India-China Strategic Dialogue will be held at Beijing at a mutually convenient time.
ISRAEL, PALESTINIANS PEACE TALKS RESUMED IN JERUSALEM

Israel and the Palestinian Governments resumed their first direct peace talks in Jerusalem on 14 August 2013 after a three-year of gap for resolving the land and border disputes. The Palestinian Authority, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, made the release of 104 prisoners a condition for resuming the talks. In response Israel government on 13 August 2013 released 26 long-term Palestinian prisoners as part of the deal to reopen negotiations. The Palestinian team leaders Saeb Erekat and Muhammed Shtayyeh and Israeli team leaders Tzipi Livni and Isaac Molcho are participating in the present peace talks. US Middle East Peace Envoy Martin Indyk and his deputy, Frank Lowenstein are participating as US mediators in the talks. The Key issues in the talks are Status of Jerusalem, borders, security arrangements, settlements and possible land swaps, Palestinian refugees, recognition of Israel. Israel and the Palestinians returned to the negotiating table on 30 July 2013 in Washington after US mediation. They agreed to work towards an agreement within nine months for a twostate solution to end their decades-long conflict.
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The last round of direct peace negotiations collapsed in September 2010 because Israel refused to stop constructing settler homes on occupied Palestinian land. The Palestinians want their state to include land captured by Israel in 1967, but some 500000 Israelis now live in settlements built on the occupied territories. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.
BANKING STRUCTURE IN INDIA THE WAY FORWARD: DISCUSSION

The Reserve Bank of India on 27 August 2013 released the Discussion Paper on Bankin g Structure in India The Way Forward.
PRIMARY FEATURES OF THE DISCUSSION PAPER ON BANKING STRUCTUR E IN INDIA THE WAY FORWARD
The paper focuses on certain building blocks for the reorientation of the banking structure with a view to addressing various issues such as enhancing competition, financing higher growth, providing specialised services and furthering financial inclusion. The paper also emphasised the need to address the concerns arising out of such changes with a view to managing the trade off for ensuring financial stability. The paper discussed that the overall thrust of the reorientation is to impart dynamism and flexibility to the evolving banking structure, while ensuring that the structure remains resilient and promotes financial stability.
CRUCIAL ISSUES COVERED BY THE DISCUSSION PAPER ON BANKING ST RUCTURE IN INDIA THE WAY FORWARD
Small banks vs. large banks: The paper discussed how small local banks play an important role in the supply of credit to small enterprises and agriculture and banking services in unbanked and under-banked regions in India. However, while permitting large number of small banks, there are certain issues which need to be addressed suitably and these issues include their size, numbers, capital requirements, exposure norms, regulatory prescriptions, corporate governance and resolution.
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Universal Banking: The paper discussed that the universal banking model remains the dominant and preferred model in most of the post crisis world because of the failure of many investment banks during the crisis. In this banking model, the Financial Holding Company (FHC) structure offers a range of benefits and therefore becomes a preferred model. The paper discussed that there is a need of promoting investment banks as well as investment banking activities. Continuous Authorisation: The RBI, in its paper discussed that there is a case for reviewing the current Stop and Go licensing policy and consider adopting a continuous authorisation policy, as continuous authorisation keeps the competitive pressure on the existing banks and also does not strain the banking system as the block licensing may do. The entry norms should however be stringent in order to encourage the entry of only well-qualified entities. Conversion of UCBs into commercial banks: The RBI in its paper discussed the possibilities of converting the UCBs to commercial banks or small banks in order to help them reach the regions that are characterised by poor banking outreach. Consolidation: The RBI suggested, in its paper that taking into account the pros and cons of consolidation, it has to be taken into consideration that while consolidation of commercial banks with established synergies and on the basis of voluntary initiatives is welcome, it cannot be imposed on banks. A measured approach is to be made both on consolidation and global presence even if attaining global size is not imminent. Presence of Foreign Banks in India: The importance of the foreign banks in India has increased tremendously after the crisis. Domestic incorporation of these banks through the route of subsidiarisation has gained momentum. Presence of Indian Banks at International Locations: The RBI suggested local incorporation by large banks either individually or in joint venture mode with other banks or with overseas banks, at the international locations. This will enable the large Indian banks to engage in a much wider range of activities and have greater potential for growth. Eventually, this may facilitate banks increasing their global reach. Government Ownership: The Central Bank suggested that optimal ownership mix in the banking sector is required to promote a balance between efficiency, equity and financial stability. The Government of India may consider options from menu of choices available such as issue of non-voting equity shares or differential voting equity shares, adopting FHC structure or diluting stake in PSBs. Deposit Insurance and Resolution: The RBI, in its paper discussed that the existence of an effective resolution regime is essential for any type of banking structure India may pursue. The FSB key attributes could be the guiding principles for setting up a resolution framework in India.
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Indicative reorientation of the Banking Structure: THE RBI suggested that the reoriented banking structure would comprise four tiers. The first tier may consist of three or four large Indian banks with domestic and international presence along with branches of foreign banks in India. The second tier is likely to comprise several mid-sized banking institutions including niche banks with economy-wide presence. The third tier may encompass old private sector banks, Regional Rural Banks, and multi state Urban Cooperative Banks. The fourth tier may embrace many small privately owned local banks and cooperative banks.
THE NEED OF DISCUSSION PAPERS BY THE RESERVE BANK OF INDIA

The need of reviewing the banking systems has been taken up by various jurisdictions, primarily after the global meltdown. The motive of current exercise in reviewing the banking structure in India is to put forth various options to enable the banking system to cater to the needs of a growing and increasingly globalising economy. Various studies have been undertaken in order to examine whether the nature of the banking structure matters for the economic growth of a country. In the light of all this, the Reserve Bank of India issued guidelines for licensing of new banks in the private sector on 22 February 2013. In those guidelines, it was stated that there was a need for an explicit policy on banking structure in India, keeping in view the recommendations of the Narasimham Committee, Raghuram Rajan Committee and other viewpoints.
NATIONAL FOOD SECURITY BILL 2013 PASSED IN LOK SABHA

Lok Sabha on 26 August 2013 passed the National Food Security Bill 2013. The Bill was adopted by the House through a voice vote after a day-long debate. The Bill seeks to give legal rights to get subsidized grains every month to 67 percent of the overall population (of which 75 percent is rural and 50 percent is urban population). As per the provisions of the Bill, the responsibility to identify the beneficiaries and implement the program under the Targeted Public Distribution Scheme is the responsibility of the states. The passage of the Bill in Parliament will guarantee 5 kilograms of rice, wheat and coarse cereals per month per person at the highly subsidised rates of 1-3 rupees a Kg. During the passage of the Bill, an Amendment to Clause 8 of the Bill was suggested by the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj on which a revote was done. The amendment was declared null and void as the result of division displayed, 252 supports and 141 disagreements, making a total of 393 votes. Once the Bill gets its nod in the Rajya Sabha and Presidents accent, Ind ia will join the selected league of countries that guarantee food grants to a majority of its population.
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Article 79 of the Constitution of Indian mentions about the provisions of the Constitution of a Parliament in the country: There shall be a Parliament for the Union, which shall consist of the President and two Houses to be known respectively as the Council of States and the House of the People. Earlier, the Union Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister K.V. Thomas on 7 August 2013 introduced National Food Security Bill 2013 in Lok Sabha. This was done to replace the National Food Security Ordinance, 2013 which was promulgated by the order of the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 5 July 2013.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NATIONAL FOOD SECURITY BILL 2013

1. Coverage of two thirds population to get highly susidized foodgrains: Up to 75 percent of the rural population and 50 percent of the urban population will have uniform entitlement of 5 kg food grains per month at highly subsidized prices of Rs. 3, Rs. 2, Rs. 1 per kg for rice, wheat, coarse grains respectively. 2. Poorest of the poor continue to get 35 kg per household: The poorest of poor households would continue to receive 35 Kg food grains per household per month under Antyodaya Anna Yajna at subsidized prices of Rs 3, Rs 2 and Rs 1. 3. Eligible households to be identified by the States: Corresponding to the coverage of 75 percent rural and 50 percent of urban population at all India level, State wise coverage will be determined by the Planning Commission. The work of identification of eligible households is left to the States/UTs, which may frame their own criteria or use Social Economic and Caste Census data. 4. Special focus on nutritional support to women and children: There is a special focus on nutritional support to women and children. Pregnant women and lactating mothers, besides being entitled to nutritious meals as per the prescribed nutritional norms will also receive maternity benefit at least of 6000 rupees. Children in the age group of 6 months to 14 years will be entitled to take home ration or hot cooked food as per prescribed nutritional norms. 5. Food Security Allowance in case of non supply of foodgrains: The Central Government will provide funds to States/UTs in case of short supply of food grains from Central pool, In case of non-supply of food grains or meals to entitled persons, the concerned State/UT Governments will be required to provide such food security allowance as may be prescribed by the Central Government to the beneficiaries. 6. Grievance redressal mechanism at district level: There will be state and district level redressal mechanism with designated nodal officers. The States will be allowed to use
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the existing machinery for District Grievance Redressal Officer (DGRO), State Food Commission, if they so desire, to save expenditure on establishment of new redressal set up. Redressal mechanism may also include call centers, helpline etc. 7. Expenditure: At the proposed coverage of entitlement, total estimated annual foodgrains requirement is 612.3 lakh tons and corresponding estimated food subsidy for the Bill at 2013-14 costs is about 124724 crore rupees.
WATER DETECTED IN MINERAL GRAINS OF MOON

NASA-funded lunar research conducted by NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI) on 27 August 2013 unveiled about the evidence of water which was locked in the mineral grains on the surface of the moon from unknown source that was present beneath the surface of the Moon. The scientists remotely detected about the presence of magmatic water, using the data from NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) instrument aboard the Indian Space Research Organization's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft. Magmatic water is the water which has the source of origin from within the interior of the moon or on the surface of Moon. The findings represented the first detection of this form of water on the Moon. The previous studies had shown existence of the magmatic water in the lunar samples which were brought on the Earth by the Apollo program. M3 instrument imaged the lunar impact crater Bullialdus. The Bullialdus lies near lunar equator. The scientists wanted to study this particular area because it would have enabled them to quantify the amount of water in the rocks, in a better form. The craters location as well as the kinds of rocks on it enabled the scientists to get a better understanding about this. The central peak of Bullialdus is composed of the kind of rock which forms deep inside the lunar crust and mantle when magma is captured underground. Rachel Klima, a planetary geologist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md, explained that the rock which usually lives beneath the surface was excavated from the depths of the lunar surface. In comparison with its surroundings, it was found that central portion of Bullialdus contained considerable amount of hydroxyl - a molecule consisting of one oxygen atom and one hydrogen atom. This proved that the rocks in the Bullialdus contained water which had the source somewhere beneath the surface of the Moon. In the year 2009, M3 had provided the first mineralogical map of the lunar surface. It had also discovered the water molecules in polar areas of the Moon. The water found on the lunar surface is considered to be the thin layer formed from solar wind which hits the Moon. Bullialdus crater lies in the region with unfavorable environment for solar wind in order to produce huge amounts of water on lunar surface. The detection of water from lunar orbit will enable the scientists to test some other findings from sample studies in much broader sense. For years, scientists believed that rocks from the
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Moon were dry and that there was no water. The water detected in Apollo samples was thought to be contaminated from Earth.
WHO CONDUCTED THE RESEARCH?

APL or Applied Physics Laboratory is the non-profit division of Johns Hopkins University. The paper which described about the detected of water on the Moon was co-authored by Joshua Cahill and David Lawrence of APL and Justin Hagerty of the U.S. Geological Survey's Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona. The research was supported by NASA's Lunar Advanced Science and Engineering Program, the NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI) at Ames and the NASA Planetary Mission Data Analysis Program. NLSI is the virtual organization jointly funded by NASA's Science Mission Directorate and NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate in Washington.
NUCLEAR REACTOR OF INS ARIHANT ACHIEVED CRITICALITY

Nuclear Reactor of Indias indigenous nuclear-powered submarine, INS Arihant went critical on 10 August 2013 at 1.20 a.m. With this success, India became a member of the exclusive club of countries that have built their own nuclear powered submarines along with Russia, US, UK, China and France. The reactor of Arihant achieved criticality, when the boat was in the sea. Criticality is a technical term that is used to describe the first step, towards self-sustaining nuclear reaction for stable production of power.
ABOUT ARIHANT
Arihant means destroyer of enemies in Sanskrit is an Indian submarine, which is 111 meter long, 11 broad and 15 meter tall Arihant has won India a status of the nation that has blue water navy, who can travel far and wide into the sea after the nuclear reactor fitted to it went critical It has been engineered for being propelled by a Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR), which uses enriched uranium as fuel and generate 80 MW energy
A Pressurized Water Power Reactor that is a similar to that if the one used in Arihant reactor is being used to train the naval officers at Kalpakkam. Earlier India trained the naval officers with a nuclear powered submarine Chakra from 1988 to 1991 that was leased from Russia.
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CHALLENGES FACED BY SCIENTISTS IN CREATION OF THE NUCLEAR-POWERED SUBMARINE

As per the scientists, who worked on the project, the biggest challenge for them was to fit the reactor into the submarine by making it compact enough, as its necessary to maintain the stability of the reactor at the time, when the submarine accelerates into in the depths of the ocean. K-15 underwater fired missiles with nuclear warheads will be fitted with the submarine. Each missile will be 10 meter long and weigh 6.3 tonnes. These missiles can hit the targets at a distance of 700 kilometers when the submarine is 20 kilometers under the water.
CONSTRUCTION OF ARIHANT, THE NUCLEAR-POWERED SUBMARINE OF INDIA (DETAILS FROM THE SIDE OF HEAD TO TAIL)
The head of the submarine is fitted with SONAR (Sound Navigation and Ranging), it is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate and detect objects under and above water. It is used as a means of acoustic location. Just after the SONAR, a living room has been created followed by a space that will held the torpedoes and land attack missiles, followed by a Control Room, a Gallery Kitchen, Missile Tubes (this will act as a combat management system), a Periscope, Nuclear Reactor, Turbine, Electric Motor and Propeller shaft.
HISTORY BEHIND THE CREATION OF THE NUCLEAR SUBMARINE

For the first time, the former Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi in 1970 asked DRDO, BARC and others to create a Nuclear Submarine. But the first hush-hush Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) of India began in 1990s. On 26 July 2009, India launched its first ATV, INS Arihant in the water In 2012 India took on lease nuclear powered INS Chakra from Russia for 10 years. Due to international non-proliferation treaty, it didn't had nuclear tipped missiles
With the success of the technical aspects, the Arihant will be sent for extensive sea-based acceptance trials into the open waters. In next 18 months, the trials will include firing of K-15 missiles to a range of 700 kilometer. Indian DRDO has also designed a special group of underwater missiles named K-4 that can hit the targets at a distance of 3000 kilometers.
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FACT
A nuclear powered submarine can operate deep inside the sea for more than a month, whereas, the problem with the submarines powered with fuel like electricity or diesel can last for few days deep into the water. The electricity or diesel based submarines need to surface it, for recharging the batteries and to get oxygen. To shore up its second strike capability, India is developing three more nuclear-powered submarines at Vizag, Visakhapatnam. Brazil is a country that is working on the naval nuclear propulsion technology. The nuclear powered submarine, Arihant came up after making a 25 years long effort in the technically challenging area.
HYDERABAD HOTSHOTS W ON THE INAUGURAL IBL

The Hyderabad hotshots won the inaugural edition of the Indian Badminton league (IBL) 2013 played at Sardar Patel Stadium, Mumbai by defeating Awadh Warriors in the finals. Saina Nehwal helped Hyderabad hotshots on level terms after defeating PV Sindhu. Ajay Jayaram defeated Gurusai Dutt 10-21, 21-17, 11-7 in the third tie to secure the Mens singles title of IBL 2013. Saina Nehwal was awarded as the player of the tournament, because of her undefeated feat in the complete tournament. She received a prize amount of 1000 US dollars for being the player of the tournament. The winning team Hyderabad hotshots received 3 crore 25 lakh rupees, whereas, the runner up team Awadh Warriors received 1 crore 75 lakh rupees. Earlier, Hyderabad Hotshots defeated the Pune Pistons by 3-0 in the first semi-finals, while Mumbai Masters were defeated in the second semi-finals by the Awadh Warriors by 3-2.
INDIAN BADMINTON LEAGUE STARTED

The first season of the Indian Badminton League (IBL) started on 14 August 2013 at New Delhi. The IBL is the franchise league which is proposed by Badminton Association of India (BAI). The schedule of the IBL is 14 August 2013 to 31 August 2013. The league will include Indian as well as foreign badminton players.
IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT THE INDIAN BADMINTON LEAGUE (IBL)

Deepika Padukone and Aamir Khan are the brand ambassadors of the IBL.
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The franchise cities include Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Nagpur and Lucknow. The opening ceremony of the event took place at Delhi on 13 August 2013 and the final will be held at Mumbai on 31 August 2013. The semi-final matches will take place at Bangalore and Hyderabad. The six teams at the inaugural IBL are Krrish Delhi Smashers, Pune Pistons, Banga Beats (Bangalore), Awadhe Warriors (Lucknow), Hyderabad Hotshots and Mumbai Masters. Each franchise will consist of 11 players- 4 foreign, 6 Indians and 1 junior Indian. The overall prize money of the event is 1 million US dollar. This is the richest tournament of badminton in the world. Five matches will be played per tie which will include two men's singles, one each of women's singles, men's doubles and mixed doubles. Six icon players from India include Jwala Gutta (Krrish Delhi Smashers), Ashwini Ponnappa (Pune Pistons), Lee Chong Wei (Mumbai Masters), P Kashyap (Banga Beats), Saina Nehwal (Hyderabad Hotshots) and PV Sindhu (Awadhe Warriors).
WILD LIFE (PROTECTION) AMENDMENT BILL 2013

The Government on 5 August 2013 introduced the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2013 in the Rajya Sabha for stricter enforcement of laws to protect wildlife. The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2013 was introduced by Union Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan. The bill seeks to further amend the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE BILL

The Bill provides the legal framework for the protection of various species of wild animals, management of their habitat and also for the regulation and control of trade in the products derived from them. The Bill seeks to confer power of entry, search, arrest and detention on any officer authorised by the Management Authority or any customs officer not below the rank of an inspector or any officer of the coast guard not below the rank of an Assistant Commandant. The Bill seeks to deal with the serious wildlife crime, such as the offence related to any animal specified in Schedule I or Part II of Schedule II or the meat of such animal or animal article, trophy, or uncured trophy derived from such animal. If a crime of this sort is committed, the bill seeks to punish the culprits with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than five years, but may extend to
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seven years and also with fine which shall not be less than 1 lakh rupees but may extend to 25 lakh rupees. In the case of a second or subsequent offence of the same nature, the terms of imprisonment shall not be less than seven years and also with fine which shall not be less than 5 lakh rupees but may extend to 50 lakh rupees. It provides for prohibition on use of animal traps except under certain circumstances and provide for protection of hunting rights of the Scheduled Tribes in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The bill also has the provisions for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). CITES is an international agreement that aims to ensure that international trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
PROPOSAL TO SCRAP COLLEGIUM SYSTEM OF APPOINTING JUDGES

The Union Cabinet of India on 22 August 2013 cleared a proposal to scrap the Collegium System of Appointing Judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts. A Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) will be set up which will replace the collegium system of appointing judges to Supreme Court and High Courts. According to the proposal, the government will set up a panel headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) to appoint and transfer senior judges. The other members of the proposed Commission will comprise the Law Minister, two judges of the Supreme Court, two eminent persons as members and Secretary (Justice) in the Law Ministry as Member Secretary. Moreover, the Leader of the Opposition of either House of Parliament will be part of a committee which will be set up to nominate two eminent persons to the JAC. The committee will also include the CJI and the Prime Minister as other members. A constitutional amendment bill will be tabled in Parliament to approve the proposal. The move to set up JAC will require amendments to Articles 124, 217, 222 and 231 of the Constitution and insertion of Article 124A. The views and opinions of the governors, chief ministers and respective chief justices of the 24 high courts will be sought in writing for appointment of judges as per the procedure determined by the JAC. Bar associations, jurists and other bodies can also be asked to provide suggestions. The collegiums system had been set up in 1993 following Supreme Court judgement. However, it has no constitutional backing. The NDA government had introduced a Constitution Amendment Bill to replace the collegiums system in 2003 but the Lok Sabha was dissolved when the bill was before a Standing Committee. At present, the judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by a collegium which comprises the CJI and four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court.The appointment of judges of the 24 high
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courts is initiated by the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court after consulting two seniormost judges of that court. The Chief Minister and Governor of the state concerned are also consulted in the process. The recommendations are referred to the Chief Justice of India, who in turn consults two senior judges in the Supreme Court who have experience in that High Court. The recommendations of the collegium are then sent to the government for approval. The government can return the file only once, but cannot reject the recommendation. Article 124(2) of the Constitution of India: In appointing the Judges of the Supreme Court, the President shall consult the Chief Justice of India and such other Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts as he may deem necessary.
RBI RELAXED SLR TO PROVIDE MORE FUNDS TO BANKS FOR LENDING

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 20 August 2013 further relaxed the Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) to provide more funds to banks for lending. This was in view of the losses suffered by banks in their investment portfolio. Revising its earlier limit, asking banks to reduce their hold-tomaturity bond holdings gradually to 23 per cent of deposits, RBI has now allowed banks to retain those holdings at 24.5 percent. To further ease rupee volatility, RBI will conduct open market operations of long dated government securities worth 8000 crore rupees on 23 August 2013. RBI stated that depending on evolving market conditions, it will thereafter decide on the amount and frequency of OMOs (Open Market operations).
WHAT IS SLR?
SLR stands for Statutory Liquidity Ratio. This term is used by bankers and indicates the minimum percentage of deposits that the bank has to maintain in form of gold, cash or other approved securities. In other words, it is ratio of cash and some other approved securities to liabilities (deposits). It regulates the credit growth in India.
THE MAIN OBJECTIVES FOR MAINTAINING THE SLR RATIO ARE AS FOLLOWING
To control the expansion of bank credit. By changing the level of SLR, the Reserve Bank of India can increase or decrease bank credit expansion To ensure the solvency of commercial banks
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To compel the commercial banks to invest in government securities like government bonds
If any Indian bank fails to maintain the required level of Statutory Liquidity Ratio, then it becomes liable to pay penalty to Reserve Bank of India.
INDIA'S FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES WENT D OWN TO 277.167 bn$

The data released by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 9 August 2013 revealed that the Foreign exchange reserves of India have fallen by 2.995 billion US dollars to 277.167 billion US dollars in first week of August 2013. As per the data released, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the forex reserves, have dropped by 2.155 billion US Dollars to 249.895 billion US dollars, while gold reserves have dropped by 808.5 million dollars at 20.747 billion dollars in the first week of August 2013. The report also stated that the country's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also gone done by 10.7 million US dollars to 2.171 billion US dollars.
WHAT IS FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES?

Foreign Exchange Reserves that is also called forex reserves or FX reserves are the assets that a central bank and other monetary authorities of a country hold. Usually these assets are in form of different reserve currencies, which mainly is an US dollar as well as euro, the pound sterling of United Kingdom, yen of Japan and others. These are used to back its liabilities, like, the local currency issued, and the various bank reserves deposited with the central bank, by the government or financial institutions.
RBI ANNOUNCED WEEKLY SALE OF GOVERNMENT BONDS

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 8 August 2013 announced that it will sell the Government Bonds every Monday to check upon the volatility in the foreign exchange market. The government bonds notified for being sold worth 22000 crore rupees. The Reserve bank has taken several steps since June 2013 to contain the volatility in the foreign exchange market. The decision of selling the bonds is also a part of the measures taken by the RBI to arrest the weakening of rupees. The duration of the auction will be announced one day prior to the date of auction.
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Current Affairs eBook August 2013 TAX ADMINISTRATION REFORM COMMISSION CONSTITUTED
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The Union Government of India on 26 August 2013 set up a commission under the Chairmanship of Parthasarathy Shome to review tax laws and suggest ways for a stable and non-adversarial tax administration. The seven-member Tax Administration Reform Commission (TARC) will have 18-month tenure to suggest various measures including an appropriate organisational structure for tax governance.
COMMISSION MEMBERS
Chairman: Parthasarathy Shome. Full-time members: Y G Parande and Sunita Kaila Part-time members: M K Zutshi, S S N Moorhty, M R Diwakar and S Mahalingam
THE TERMS OF REFERENCE OF THE COMMISSION

The Commission will review the existing mechanism and business processes of tax governance and recommend appropriate measures. It will also suggest measures for deepening and widening of the tax base and enforce better tax compliance. The Commission will review the existing mechanism of dispute resolution covering time and compliance cost and recommended measures for strengthening the same. This includes domestic and international taxation. The Commission will also look into enhancing the predictive analysis to detect and prevent tax and economic offences. The Commission will recommend measures to strengthen inter-agency information sharing between CBDT, CBEC, FIU, Enforcement Directorate, and also with the banking and financial sector. The Commission would also look at mechanism for grievance redressal, timely disbursal of tax refunds and duty drawbacks.
The Committee, which was proposed by the Finance Minister P Chidambaram in Budget 201314 seeks to review the application of tax policies and tax laws and submit periodic reports that can be implemented to strengthen the capacity of the tax system.
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Current Affairs eBook August 2013 MALALA WON 2013 INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN'S PEACE PRIZE
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Malala Yousafzai on 27 August 2013 won the International Childrens Peace Prize 2013. She will receive the award from 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winner and women's rights campaigner Tawakkol Karman at a ceremony in The Hague on 6 September 2013. The peace prize carries a cash value of 100000 euros (133000 US dollars) which is invested in projects relating to the winner's cause. The International Children's Peace Prize is an initiative of the Amsterdem-based Dutch Kids Rights Foundation. It was launched in the year 2005 by former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, when he chaired the Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Rome. Since then, the prize has been awarded every year by a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. The prize is presented annually to an exceptional child, whose courageous or otherwise remarkable actions have made a difference in countering problems, which affect children around the world. The motivation behind the prize is to provide a platform to children to express their ideas and personal involvement in childrens rights. KidsRights feels that children should be recognized, awarded and motivated in their fierce efforts to improve their own situation and that of the children in their environment and even the world. The International Children's Peace Prize is sponsored by ABN AMRO and AkzoNobel. ABN AMRO is the main sponsor of the Childrens Peace Prize and AkzoNobel provides the project fund; the AkzoNobel Childrens Peace Fund. This fund supports local initiatives in the theme and country of the Childrens Peace Prize winner. Teenage activist Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by a Taliban militant in October 2012 after she campaigned for girls' right to education. She was treated in Britain where she lives now. Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani school pupil and education activist from the town of Mingora in the Swat District of Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. 2012 International Childrens Peace Prizes winner was 13-year-old Cris Kesz Valdez for his work with street children of Philippines while he himself was destitute. Cris had received the prize from South African peace icon and Nobel Peace laureate Desmond Tutu.
AMITABH BACHCHAN JOINED UN CAMPAIGN THE WORLD NEEDS MORE

Bollywood actor and UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund) Goodwill Ambassador, Amitabh Bachchan on 23 August 2013 joined the UN and its humanitarian partners to promote The World Needs More global campaign. The campaign seeks to turn words into real assistance for communities affected by humanitarian crises. It was launched on 19 August 2013.
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Besides Amitabh Bachchan, international celebrities who have supported the campaign, includes Beyonce, Kid President, Susan Sarandon, Jennifer Lopez, LL Cool J, Geena Davis, Trey Songz and Christina Applegate. The World Needs More campaign was produced in collaboration with Leo Burnett New York. It allows brands and the public to sponsor a word (such as Education, Inclusion, Strength, Empowerment or Dialogue) they believe the world could use more of. Gucci, Intel, Western Union, Barclays Bank, and Crescent Enterprises have already sponsored words. Amitabh Bachchan was appointed a Goodwill ambassador of UNICEF April 2005. Since 2002 he has supported UNICEFs efforts in collaboration with partners to boost immunizations against polio especially in India.
MUGABE SWORN IN FOR 7th TERM AS PRESIDENT OF ZIMBABWE

Robert Mugabe, the incumbent President of Zimbabwe on 21 August 2013 sworn in for his seventh term as the President of the country. He took oath to the office in the main sports stadium in Harare. Earlier, the 89 year old Mugabe of Zanu-PF (Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front) party won the Presidential election (Parliamentary Election) by winning 61 percent votes in his favour on 3 August 2013. Presidential election of Zimbabwe was held on 2 August 2013. The swearing-in ceremony of Mugabe was delayed due after his rival; Morgan Tsvangirai (won 34 percent votes) filed a petiotion against Mugabe in the court alleging widespread electoral fraud. The petition was dismissed by the Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe by declaring Mugabe's re-election free, fair and credible. Mugabe has headed the country ever since its independence from United Kingdom in 1980.
ROBERT MUGABE
Robert Mugabe is one of the leaders of the guerrilla movements against white-minority rule of Zimbabwe and was elected to power in 1980. He served as Prime Minister from 1980 to 1987 and as the first executive head of state since 1987. He was born on 21 February 1924 Mugabe was a political prisoner in Rhodesia for more than 10 years from 1964 and 1974
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He is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces
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SCIENTISTS IDENTIFIED RISK OF EARTHQUAKE IN UTTARAKHAND

Scientists from the National Geophysical Research Institute in last week of August 2013 discovered a significantly different structural feature in Uttarakhand hills, which may lead to major earthquake in the region. As per the reports from the disaster management division of the Home Ministry, the geography of the region may hold a strain (energy) that can be released in form of a major quake as it is one among the many possibilities of released a stored energy. The details of the feature were presented after a detailed seismological investigation of the Uttarakhand region that was conducted by a team of scientists from Geophysical Research Institute, as a part of research project from Department of Science and Technology over a period of over three years. The project aimed at providing a detailed structural framework for the region with reference to earthquake genesis. The aim of the project was to provide a detailed structural framework for the region with reference to earthquake genesis.
LOSS OF ARCTIC SEA LEADING TO GREENING OF THE ARCTIC

Researchers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks's Geophysical Institute, in the last week of August 2013 revealed that loss of the Arctic sea was leading to greening of the Arctic. Researchers revealed that declining sea ice as well as warming trends are the factors leading to change of vegetation in the Arctic coastal areas. Uma Bhatt, an associate professor with University of Alaska Fairbanks's Geophysical Institute explained that the researchers wanted to find out if the depleting sea ice was the factor contributing to greening of the tundra along the coastal areas. This was relatively the new idea. The team of researchers analysed 10 years of data as well as research on this subject in order to reinstate the fact. The findings of the study revealed that the loss of sea ice was changing the terrestrial food chain as well as marine food chain. It is also important to note that the disappearance of the sea ice also means that there was a loss of sea ice algae, which in turn meant that there was underpinning of the marine food web. The researchers also explained that the larger planktons were flourishing and that these were more nutrient dense planktons. Above the water level, the loss of sea ice has also destroyed the old ways of animal migration all across the sea. In the meanwhile, it has also opened the new pathways for the marine animals in the other seas. The researchers explained that the depleting sea ice will cause more isolation to the plants and the animals. In case of the farthest north and coldest parts of the Arctic, all of the biomes would be lost without the presence of cooling effects of disappearing summer sea ice.
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INTERNATIONAL | WORLD
SRI LANKA HEADING IN AN AUTHORITARIAN DIRECTION
Navi Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, who is on a seven-day fact finding mission Sri Lanka stated that the country was heading in the authoritarian direction. Pillay in her conclusion revealed that although Sri Lanka has an opportunity to develop into a complete new vibrant state after the end of the civil war was displaying complete different signs of authoritarianism. During her visit to the nation, she visited to Jaffana, Kilinochchi, Mullivaika and some districts of Trincomalee region. Pillay called on for a need of investigation into allegations of civilian causalities and summary execution. She also highlighted a need to the question the disappearances and the extent of militarization. To prove her point about Sri Lanka heading towards authoritarianism, she presented the examples of impeachment of the Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Sri Lanka that shook the independence of judiciary in the country and was controversial. She also pointed out the regular and increased attacks on religious minorities in the country.
UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS VISITED JAFFNA

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on 27 August 2013 visited those parts of Sri Lanka's northern region which were badly worn out because of 30 years of civil war between the military and the Tamil Tigers. She visited the areas which included Mullivaika as well as Jaffna, two places where maximum numbers of civilians were killed during the war. Navi Pillay explained that she would report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka. Looking at the human rights situation in Sri Lanka was the primary aim of her visit to Sri Lanka. Also, the aim of her visit was to look into the role of the Government of Sri Lanka in complying with the human rights standards which are set for the whole world.
BACKGROUND
Sri Lanka's northern region was badly worn out because of 30 years of civil war between the military and the Tamil Tigers.
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ABOUT THE SRI LANKAN CIVIL WAR
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Sri Lankan Civil War was a civil war fought on the island of Sri Lanka. It started on 23 July 1983. The war was actually the movement of insurgency against the Government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (the LTTE, also known as the Tamil Tigers). LTTE was a separatist militant organisation which fought for the creation of Tamil Eelam, the independent Tamil state. The civil war continued for almost 30 years and after years-long military campaign, the Tamil Tigers were defeated by the military of Sri Lanka in May 2009. The civil war in Sri Lanka caused hardships not just for the population, but also for the economy and environment of Sri Lanka. Around 80000 to 100000 people were killed during the war.
US HAS LAUNCHED AN INVESTIGATION INTO INDIAN TRADE POLICIES

A Federal Agency of United States in last week of August 2013 launched an investigation into the trade policies of India. The federal agency has alleged that the Indian trade policies discriminate against the American trade and investment. A joint Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committee on ways and means requested for the investigation named Trade, Investment and Industrial Policies in India: Effects on the U.S. Economy. An investigation report on recent policies and measures in India that affects the U.S. exports and investment would be presented by the United States International Trade Commission (USITC). The USITC will also evaluate the effects of such barriers on U.S. firms and the economy. While examining the Indian policies, the USITC will also produce details of restrictive trade and investment policies maintained or adopted by India in recent past to figure out the sectors that have been affected the most out of the policies. It will also provide the case studies of US firms that have seen the impact of Indian policies in forms of restrictions.
THE PROCESS OF INVESTIGATION

A sample of US firms would be surveyed by the USITC for measurement of the sensitivity if Indian policies and its impact on US firms. The results of the survey would be based on the quantitative analysis trade policy effects, investment and US economy.
INDIA ANNOUNCED AN AID OF 5000 CRORE RUPEES TO BHUTAN

India on 31 August 2013 announced an aid of 5000 crore rupees to Bhutan. The aid includes economic stimulus package of 500 crore rupees. The decision to provide an aid to Bhutan was taken by the Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India after his talk with his Bhutanese counterpart Tshering Tobgay at New Delhi.
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The Butanese Prime Minister is on six day visit to India and during this visit issues related to political security, developmental assistance and matters of mutual concern was also discussed between the two nations to strengthen bilateral relations. During the meet, the India also ensured the Bhutanese Prime Minister about its commitment to install an additional 10000 Mega Watt of power generating capacity in Bhutan. At present three Indian projects are under process in Bhutan.
EGYPT HAS DESTROYED 10 TUNNELS BENEATH BORDER WITH GAZA

The authorities of Egypt on 31 August 2013 destroyed 10 tunnels located in Rafah town's alBarazeel neighborhood beneath Gazas Southern Border with Egypt. The tunnels were destroyed as a part of an ongoing security campaign of Egypt. The Egyptian Security Forces has been carrying out a large security campaign against the tunnels. The campaign started after the protests that surface on 30 June 2013 after Mohamed Morsi, the Egyptian Islamic President was ousted from his office in a Military Coup conducted by Army Chief Abdel Fateh Al Sissi. Morsi was accused of collaborating with Hamas.
COMMENT
The tunnels has been targeted for security reasons as these were used for smuggling food, fuel and medicine into Gaza since Israel imposed a tight blockade on the enclave in 2007.
SOCIAL SECURITY AGREEMENT BETWEEN INDIA & CANADA APPROVED

The Union Cabinet of India on 29 August 2013 approved the Social Security Agreement between India and Canada. The agreement will benefit 40 thousand Persons of Indian Origin in Quebec province. India has similar agreements with countries including Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Malaysia and Belgium. The Social Security totalization agreement between India and Canada was signed on 6 November 2012. The Social Security Agreement between Canada and India is expected to enter into force in 2014, once both nations have completed their legislative procedures. Once the agreement comes into force, it will also make it easier for people who lived and worked in both India and Canada to qualify for public pension benefits from either, or both, countries.
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CHINA & PAK TO HOLD JOINT AIR EXERCISE CALLED SHAHEEN (EAGLE)-2
The Chinese and Pakistani air forces on 28 August 2013 decided to hold a joint exercise in a region bordering Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The joint drill will be held during September 2013 in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The exercise, code-named Shaheen (Eagle)-2, is another cooperative project between the two air forces after the Shaheen-1 drill in Pakistan in March 2011. The drill between the two close allies is being held ahead of an India-China military exercise planned for November 2013. The exercise, codenamed Hand-in-Hand, is scheduled to be held in China's Chengdu Military Command area from November 4 to 14 2013. India and China are expected to field about 150 troops each for the exercise, which is likely to focus on anti-terrorism manoeuvres.
2nd ASEAN DEFENCE MINISTERS MEET

The second ADMM (ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting) Plus meeting was held in Brunei on 29 August 2013. The Ministers issued a joint Declaration at the end of the meeting in which it has been decided that the ADMM Plus countries will establish practical measures that reduce vulnerability to miscalculation and avoid misunderstanding and undesirable incidents at sea. Among other decisions taken at the meeting of the ADMM Plus, was the establishment of an additional (sixth) Expert Working Group on Humanitarian Mine Action which will be co-chaired by India with Vietnam. ADMM Plus was established in 2010. It was built with the objective of developing synergy and cooperative frameworks to enable nations to address the complex security challenges. This forum is convened every two years. The Minister of State for Defence Shri Jitendra Singh represented India at the meeting.
INDIAS STANCE AT AD MM PLUS MEETING

India stated that terrorism represents a major threat to the peace, stability and security of the entire region. India urged that the global regime against terrorism needs to be strengthened through the early adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the UN. India stressed on to combine efforts to ensure that terrorist sanctuaries, safe havens and the networks for financing to terrorist groups are dismantled.
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India supported that the reconciliation process must be Afghan- led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled, within the framework of the Afghan constitution and internationally accepted redlines.The recent attack against our Consulate in Jalalabad will not deter us in our efforts to assist Afghanistan in the reconstruction and development efforts. India supported calls for stopping of violence and commencement of an inclusive national dialogue to resolve the conflict through peaceful political means in Syria. India expressed deep concern about the nuclear test conducted by North Korea in February 2013. India also stressed on the need to discuss maritime security in this region.
UN FAILED TO REACH AGREEMENT ON USE OF MILITARY AGAINST SYRIA

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council on 28 August 2013 failed to reach an agreement on a resolution that could authorise the use of military force against Syria. Britain put forth a resolution at the UN Security Council, seeking authorisation of necessary measures to protect civilians in Syria. Russia reiterated its objections to international intervention in the Syrian crisis during the discussions. USA charged the Assad government of using deadly chemical weapons near Damascus last week. Russia, however, reiterated its objections to international intervention in the Syrian crisis. Chapter 7 of the UN Charter allows action with respect to threats to the peace, breaches of the peace, and acts of aggression.
UN TO PROBE OVER THE USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS IN SYRIA

Earlier, the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon on 22 August 2013 called for a thorough and prompt investigation into the allegations of the Chemical Weapons use in Syria. Ban KI-moon has asked Syrian Government to allow United Nation to investigate the allegations without any delay. The Security Council also made on announcement that it needs clarity on the latest allegations of use of chemical weapons in Syria. UN has also decided to send Angela Kane, Disarmament Chief of UN to Damascus to initiate investigations into the allegations. Claiming use of chemical weapons anywhere, by anyone, under any circumstance as violation of international law and a crime against humanity, United Nations warned Bashar al-Assad's government of serious consequences if use of chemical weapons was proved
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THOUSANDS KILLED IN TOXIC GAS ATTACK ON SYRIAN CAPITAL, DAMASCUS

Thousands of people, including children were killed in the toxic gas attack on 21 August 2013 on the eastern suburbs of Damascus, the capital of Syria. Rocket barrages and intense artillery took place on 21 August 2013 and killed at least 100 people. The death tool, which is rising continuously, made it the deadliest alleged chemical attack in the civil war of Syria. The death toll ranged from 100 to 1300. The shelling started off in the eastern suburbs of Zamalka, Arbeen and Ein Tarma. The bombardment as well as sounds of fighter jets was observed on 21 August 2013. Toxic gas was fired from the rockets. The White House declared that the Obama administration was working in order to gather the information about the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government against the civilians. The US, in the meanwhile, also demanded UN to investigate the matter and start off the Security Council debate.
THE USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS IN SYRIA

Syria in March 2013 asked UN to investigate the use of chemical weapons by the rebels in the village of al-Assal. Whereas, United Nations declared that it wanted to investigate all the reports related to the use of chemical weapons in Syria not only the one that the government claimed to be used by the rebels.
WHAT IS CHEMICAL WARFARE?

Chemical warfare (CW) means use of the toxic properties of chemical substances like the weapons. The CW is very much different from the biological warfare and nuclear warfare, all of which together make up NBC, the military acronym for nuclear, biological, and chemical (warfare or weapons). All these are considered as WMD or the Weapons of Mass Destruction. In the CW, the chemical agent is weaponised. A fatal agent is designed for injuring or incapacitating enemy.
1993 CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION

The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (the 'CWC', or the 'Convention') aims to eliminate an entire category of weapons of mass destruction by prohibiting the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retention, transfer or use of chemical weapons by States Parties. The International treaty prohibits the use of biological and chemical weapons in the warfare. The Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases, and the Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, or the Geneva Convention is this International www.jagranjosh.com
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Treaty. This was signed into an International Law at Geneva on 17 June 1925. This came into force on 8 February 1928. The treaty states that the biological and chemical weapons are justly condemned by the general opinion of the civilised world. Apart from United Nations, US President Barack Obama has also ordered intelligence of US to probe into the chemical weapon attack on civilians by Syrian forces.
INDIAN STAND
India has put forward grave concerns towards the allegations of use of chemical weapons in Syria stressing upon the adhering international norms against the use of chemical weapons. Union Government has called on for complete destruction and elimination of chemical weapons across the world and said pending their elimination, it is vitally important to ensure safe and secured custody of chemical stockpiles and prevent their access to terrorists and nonstate actors.
CHINA DISMISSED JAPAN'S PROPOSAL TO HOLD TALKS

Li Baodong, the Deputy Foreign Minister of China on 26 August 2013 dismissed Japans proposal to hold talks on the ownership of the group of disputed Islands in the East China Sea. China claimed that it had no reason to hold talks over the ownership of the islands. Earlier, Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan in July 2013 called on for high-level talks with China. The relations between the two nations got strained over a dispute on uninhabited East China Sea islands namely, Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.
COMMENT
The decision from the Chinese side came about a week ahead of the G20 Leaders' Summit, to be held in St. Petersburg on 5 and 6 September 2013, this will be the main G20 event of 2013. During the sidelines of the summit, it was expected that the China and Japan would held talks to improve the strained relations.
IBSA ON THE MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS

The Foreign Ministers of India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) on 23 August 2013 after consultations agreed on the following statement: IBSA reaffirms that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains an urgent and key issue for the international community, the resolution of which is a prerequisite for building a sustainable and lasting peace in the Middle East region.
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They support the mediation efforts undertaken by the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and welcome the announcement of the resumption of direct final status negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis. This is an encouraging development, one that has the potential for reverting the deadlock and paralysis that have plagued the peace process in recent years. They hope this renewed effort will lead to the full and overdue realization of a two-state solution based on 1967 borders. IBSA has noted with satisfaction the decision of Israel to release 104 Palestinian prisoners, which is a gesture that contributes to the spirit of cooperation surrounding the negotiations. IBSA is also pleased with the announcement made on 30 July by John Kerry indicating that the Palestinian and Israeli negotiators are committed to reaching a comprehensive peace agreement within nine months. Such an agreement should culminate in the full realization of an independent Palestinian State. IBSA call on the parties to adhere strictly to this timetable. As IBSA reiterates its call for the Security Council to fully exercise its functions under the UN Charter, with regard to the Palestinian Question, we express our firm belief that the Council should provide sustained support to the peace process and work towards its full and satisfactory completion.
BRAZIL LIBERALISED ISSUING SHORT TERM WORK VISAS

The Government of Brazil liberalised issuing short term work visas. This move from Brazil Government will enable the IT professionals from India to take up their work assignments in Brazil. The Government of Brazil announced that anyone who applies for the short term work visas will no longer be required to get clearance from Brazil Labour Ministry. Initially, the person who wanted to work in Brazil for short term had to apply for short-term work visa, which in turn allows a person to remain in Brazil for up to 90 days. This short term work visa had to get a nod from Brazilian Labour Ministry before being processed. The clearances from this ministry eventually required two months time. With the formation of this new law for short-term visa, a person can get it in around 10 days in case all the documents are perfect. It is important to note that the Brazilian Embassy in India as well as the Consulate in Mumbai had issued around 11000 visas in the year 2012, an increase from 7600 visas issued in the year 2010. It was also estimated that more than 60 percent of 625 people applying for work visas that were issued in Delhi in the year 2012, will benefit with this new law.
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Current Affairs eBook August 2013 IRAN'S ENVOY TO IAEA RESIGNED
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Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Irans representative to the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since 2005, announced his resignation on 22 August 2013. Ali Asghar Soltanieh holds a doctorate in nuclear science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and headed Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation between 2009 and 2010. Ali Asghar Soltanieh has played a key role in defending Iran's nuclear program as peaceful and denying allegations that Tehran wants to possess atomic arms. However, during his time as representative there have been fruitless negotiations with the International Atomic Energy agency. Western countries and Israel suspect Iran's nuclear program is a cover for developing atomic weapons, which Tehran strongly denies. The IAEA has been investigating Irans program for the past decade. Iran has faced several international sanctions for its refusal to stop enriching uranium, a process key to creating a nuclear weapon.
PEACE ARK, CHINESE GOODWILL HOSPITAL SHIP REACHED BANGLADESH

Peace Ark, the Chinese navy hospital ship reached Chittagong city of Bangladesh on 19 August 2013. The ship is on a week-long goodwill visit to Bangladesh to provide free medical services to its people and conduct academic exchanges with the country's military hospitals. Peace Ark has 300 beds and a medical crew of 102. The ship is equipped with CT, Doppler Ultrasound, automatic biochemical analyzer, operation theatres, and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) facilities. This is the second visit of the ship to Bangladesh. On its first visit to the nation in November 2010, it treated more than 3200 patients and provided health check-ups to 173 persons and 23 persons underwent surgical procedures. This years visit is the part of the Mission Harmony 2013 of Chinese navy to advocate Chinas philosophy of harmonious world and harmonious ocean. According to the Chinese embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh would be the only country among the eight Asian countries under the mission that the hospital ship visited twice.
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Bangladesh Navy will coordinate the Peace Arks mission and doctors onboard will see at least 300 patients every day. The ship will also send medical team to local Navy Patenga Hospital, Ash Alor and Navy Primary School for medical services. The Peace Ark began its four-month mission on 10 June 2013 and came to Bangladesh after sailing in Brunei, the Gulf of Aden, Maldives, Pakistan and India. The ship will leave Bangladesh on 25 August 2013 and sail to Indonesia and Cambodia before wrapping up the mission on 6 October 2013. The hospital ship Peace Ark commissioned in December 2008.
ABOUT MISSION HARMONY 2013

Mission-Harmony is an initiative of Chinas Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) N avy to advocate China's philosophy of Harmonious World and Harmonious Ocean. Peace Ark is on four-month-long trip to Asia starting from 10 June 2013 to 6 October 2013. The Chinese hospital ship has an emergency medical support system. Its tasks include treatment and evacuation of injured and sick personnel on the sea, and medical support for troops stationed at islands and atolls. In Mission Harmony 2013, the ship is visiting eight Asian countries. Bruei, Myanmar, Indonesia, Cambodia, Maldives, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.
MONTH-LONG STATE OF EMERGENCY IN EGYPT

Egypt on 14 August 2013 declared a state of emergency after many people were killed in a bloodbath when security forces, stormed two camps occupied by supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi in Cairo. The protesters were camping outside the eastern Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque and at Nahda Square. The emergency will be in place for one month. The state of emergency enables the army to take all necessary measures to impose and retrieve security. Protesters had camped in Cairo demanding the reinstatement of Morsi, who was country's first democratically elected President and his Freedom and Justice Party was the largest political group in the now dissolved parliament.
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Current Affairs eBook August 2013 IEA WARNED THAT OIL SUPPLIES FROM OPEC MAY DECLINE
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The International Energy Agency (IEA) on 9 August 2013 in its monthly oil market report issued a warning that oil supplies from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) may decline because of the conditions prevalent in Libya and Iraq. Apart from this IEA also gave its forecast that the global oil demand by end of 2013 reach up to 29.8 million barrels per day. The estimation was made based on the expectation that the oil demand will increase by around 200000 barrels per day in 2013. The report of the agency also made a prediction that in 2014, the growth in demand of the Iraqi and Libyan oil will go down by around 100000 barrels per day and would reach a mark of 1.11 million barrels a day. The report has highlighted that the protests in Libya has helped the production of oil to fall by 400000 barrels per day in the first week of August 2013, as compared to 1 million barrels per day in July 2013. Whereas, for the first time the oil supply in Iraq has gone down below 3 million barrels per day over a period of five months in July 2013. This happened following the attacks on the major pipelines. The report also stated that the infrastructure development works being undertaken in Iraq may hit the output production and allow it to fall by another 500000 barrels per day in September 2013. Apart from all this, the report from the agency also highlighted that the oil output of Saudi Arabia has also gone up to its highest point in a year. It says that strong supply growth from non-OPEC producers could lessen the supply issues forced from the OPEC supply issues.
ORGANIZATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES (OPEC)

OPEC is a permanent intergovernmental organization of 12 oil-exporting developing nations that coordinates and unifies the petroleum policies of its Member Countries. The OPEC Secretariat is the executive organ of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Located in Vienna, it also functions as the Headquarters of the Organization, in accordance with the provisions of the OPEC Statute. OPEC) was founded in Baghdad, Iraq, with the signing of an agreement in September 1960 by five countries namely Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. They were the Founder Members of the Organization and later the group was joined by Qatar (1961), Indonesia (1962), Libya (1962), the United Arab Emirates (1967), Algeria (1969), Nigeria (1971), Ecuador (1973), Gabon (1975) and Angola (2007).
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These countries were later joined by Qatar (1961), Indonesia (1962), Libya (1962), the United Arab Emirates (1967), Algeria (1969), Nigeria (1971), Ecuador (1973), Gabon (1975) and Angola (2007). At present Gabon and Indonesia is not the member of the group as they terminated their membership in 1995 and 2009 respectively.
ROYAL YACHT SQUADRON CLUB LIFTED ITS 200-YEAR BAN ON WOMEN

The men-only Royal Yacht Squadron, a prestigious sailing club in Britain, in the first week of August 2013 lifted its 200 years ban on women becoming member of the club. Earlier, entrance of the queen, its patron, was not allowed into the club. The ban was lifted after the agenda of change in club rules was voted. The Duke of Edinburgh (husband of the Queen himself) is the Admiral of the club and the Queen Elizabeth II herself is a patron of the club. But officially, she isn't the member of the Yacht club.
ABOUT THE ROYAL YACHT SQUADRON CLUB

Founded in 1815, the Royal Yacht Squadron is the most prestigious yacht club in the United Kingdom and arguably the world. Its clubhouse is located in the 16th Century Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. The clubs patron is Queen Elizabeth II and the clubs Admiral is Prince Philip. In 1833 William IV renamed the club, The Royal Yacht Squadron.
JAPAN PLEDGED HUGE SPENDING CUTS AMOUNTING TO 83 BN $

Japan on 8 August 2013 pledged huge spending cuts amounting to 83 billion US dollars over two years as it works to bring down its debt. The cuts amounting to an average reduction of more than 4.0 percent of current annual spending comes days after the International Monetary Fund warned again over Tokyo's borrowings. The moves were outlined in the government's mid-term fiscal plan which called for cuts of 83 billion US dollars between April 2014 and March 2016. Japan's annual budget is about 93 trillion yen, with about 40 percent of that spending coming from borrowing which has created a debt pile that is more than twice as big as Japan's economy, the worst among industrialized nations. India has not faced a public debt crisis like the kind seen across the euro zone, largely because most of its low interest rate debt is held domestically rather than by international creditors.However, the IMF and others have warned that Japan must follow through on key fiscal and structural reforms to the economy, another key plank of Abe's plan but a difficult sell to many of Japan's cosseted industries.
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INDIA ANNOUNCED ASSISTANCE TO AFGHAN BOMB ATTACK VICTIMS

India on 6 August 2013 announced 150 thousand dollar assistance to the victims of unsuccessful suicide bomb attack on the Indian consulate in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. The suicide bomb attack was carried out on 3 August 2013. India also announced 10000 dollars for the repair of the mosque damaged during the blast near the Indian consulate in Jalalabad. The families of the victims would each receive a compensation of 10000 dollars from the Indian government. Moreover, the relative of the Afghan security personnel, who were on duty at the time of the attack, would get 20000 dollars each. India also announced a separate award of 2000 dollars to the Afghan policeman, who gunned down one of the suicide bombers and managed to foil the terrorist attack. The Indian government will give 20000 US dollars to the Nangrahar provincial government towards the treatment of the 21 persons, who sustained injuries in the terror strike.
JAPAN UNVEILED ITS B IGGEST WARSHIP CALLED IZUMO

Japan on 6 August 2013 unveiled its biggest warship since World War II called Izumo. Izomo is a flat top destroyer and it bears a strong resemblance to a conventional aircraft carrier. The ship has a flight deck that is nearly 250 metres (820 feet) long, is designed to carry up to 14 helicopters. It will be used particularly in anti-submarine warfare and border-area surveillance missions. Moreover, it can enhance Japans ability to transport personnel and supplies in response to large-scale natural disasters, like the devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011. Its unveiling comes as Japan and China are having a dispute over several small islands located between southern Japan and Taiwan. For months, ships from both nations are conducting patrols around the isles, called the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.
LIFE TERM FOR FORMER TURKISH ARMY CHIEF

Istanbuls 13th High Criminal Court on 5 August 2013 announced life terms in jail to 19 high profile people in the Ergenekon Coup Plot Trial. 19 people, against whom the court passed its verdict, include General Ilker Basbug along with 10 retired military officers and Dogu Perincek, leader of the left-wing and nationalist Workers Party as well as some lawyers and journalists. At least 64 other defendants received sentences ranging from a year to 47 years. In total, 275 people were accused of having their role in the Ergenekon plot.
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The coup was led by the former Army Chief, General lker Basbug to overthrow, the Islamist leaning AKP Government that came to power in 2002. The Government at that time was led by Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. lker Basbug was the Chief of Turkish Army between 2008 and 2010. The verdict was passed by the Istanbuls 13th High Criminal Court (that was developed in the high-security Silivri prison complex) after a trial that lasted for five years. The court found 254 of the 275 defendants in the Ergenekon case guilty, of one or more of the 23 charges listed in the case. The reason for the judgment would be provided by the court in detail in September 2013. The courts trial is considered as one of the most important legal battles in the recent history of Turkey.
ERGENEKON COUP INVESTIGATION

The Ergenekon coup investigation dates back to 2007 case came to the limelight after a manhunt was launched following the discovery 27 hand grenades in an Istanbul house. The convicts were charged with attempt to overthrow the AKP Government and links with shadowy terrorist organizations. Ergenekon is the mythical name located somewhere in the inaccessible valleys of the Altay Mountains, whereas in Turkey it is the name given to an alleged secularist ultra-nationalist organization that had people from security and military forces, business leaders, secularists and arch-nationalists as its member. The Ergenekon is also termed as the deep state.
ABU SALEM'S PLEA TO QUASH ALL PROCEEDINGS REJECTED

The Supreme Court of India on 5 August 2013 rejected Gangster Abu Salem's plea for quashing all proceedings against him after Portugal court terminated his extradition to India for violation of deportation rules by authorities. The court ruled that the verdict of Portugal's constitutional court is not binding on India. It ruled that the extradition of Abu Salem is still valid in the eyes of law. The Supreme Court allowed CBI to drop additional charges slapped on Salem under TADA and Explosives Substances Act. On 9 July 2013, a Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam, had reserved the verdict saying it will pass the order after considering CBI's submission that the agency is ready to drop certain charges against 45-year-old Salem under TADA and Explosive Substances Act in view of its commitment to the Portuguese government at the time of his extradition that he shall not be awarded death penalty or detained in custody for more than 25-years if found guilty.
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WHAT IS EXTRADITION?
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Extradition is the official process whereby one country transfers a suspected or convicted criminal to another country. Between countries, extradition is normally regulated by treaties.
EXTRADITION IN INDIA
In India, the extradition of a fugitive from India to a foreign country or vice-versa is governed by the provisions of Indian Extradition Act, 1962. The basis of extradition could be a treaty between India and a foreign country. Under section 3 of this Act, a notification could be issued by the Government of India extending the provisions of the Act to the country/countries notified.
INDIA AND PORTUGAL EXTRADITION TREATY

India and Portugal signed extradition treaty in January 2007 in New Delhi. The treaty had been signed after talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and visiting Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva.
KONKAN RAILWAY TO SCRAP SKYBUS PROJECT

The Konkan Railway on 4 August 2013 decided to scrap Skybus project due to the absence of qualified bidders and financial constraints. The decision was taken at a Konkan Railway board meet. The Konkan Railway invited global expression of interest for the project twice but did not get any favorable response. The board also decided that the 1.6-km-long test track structure built at a cost of 50 crore rupees at Madgaon in Goa would also be dismantled and sold off.
ABOUT THE SKYBUS PROJECT

The Skybus project, the first-of-its-kind in India, is a modified rail with overhead tracks on the underside of a concrete structure at a height of about 10 m from the ground. The Skybus project was announced by former Prime Minister of India, A B Vajpayee, as New Year gift to Goa in 2003. The pilot project was to connect Mapusa to Panaji. It was supposed to be a 10.5 km route in the first phase. The Skybus trial runs were conducted at a 1.6 km long test-track at Madagaon. However, a mishap occurred on 25 September 2004 during its trial at Goa. This accident raised serious concerns about passenger safety, forcing the authorities to re-evaluate the system.
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Though the Konkan Railway had tried to revive the project on its own after the global expression of interests failed to evoke the desired response so that it could not be materialised due to financial constraint.
The Konkan Railway line runs along the Konkan coast (West coast) between Indias commercial capital, Mumbai and Mangalore. The 741-kilometre line connects Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka States.
SRI LANKA OPENED NEW HARBOUR IN COLOMBO

Sri Lankas President, Mahinda Rajapakse on 5 August 2013 declared open the new International Container Terminal of the Colombo harbour. This new facility would help Sri Lanka to attract re-shipment traffic. The harbor will also compete with Singapore and Dubai for Indian business. The Colombo International Container Terminal is located mid-way on the lucrative east-west sea route and has facilities on a par with Singapore and Dubai and this new port would boost Asia Europe trade.
ABOUT THE COLOMBO INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL (CICT)

The Colombo International Container Terminal, built with a partnership between the Government of Srilanka and China Merchant Holdings International is designed to handle mega ships over 18000 and 20-foot container capacity. The new South Port is the only harbor in South Asia that can accommodate the Triple-E Class vessels. CICT, US 500 million dollar project was launched in 2006 to cater for the increasing demands of services in the international shipping industry. According to the Sri Lanka Port Authority, this project is the largest ever megainfrastructure development project undertaken by Sri Lanka.
HASSAN ROUHANI SWORN IN AS THE NEW PRESIDENT OF IRAN

Hassan Rouhani on 4 August 2013 took oath as the new President of Iran in the ceremony held at the Iranian Parliament in Tehran. The 64 year old Rouhani kissed the Quran and took his oath to the office before the countries senior politicians, foreign dignitaries and MPs. The newly elected, Iranian President began his four-year mandate to the office from 3 August 2013 after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Irans Supreme leader certified his victory in the Presidential election that was conducted on 15 June 2013.
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Rouhani is the seventh (different) President of Iran after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. He secured a little over 50 percent votes to win the election and has succeeded Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the President. Earlier, he defeated Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf of Islamic Society of Engineers party. The Presidential elections in Iran took place on 14 June 2013.
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Vice-President of India, Hamid Ansari attended the swering-in ceremony of Rouhani at Tehran.
ABOUT HASSAN ROHANI

Hassan Rohani was born on 12 November 1948 and started his political activities during beginning of Iranian Islamic movement by following Ayatollah Khomeini. Since 1999, he remained a member of Assembly of Experts also known as Council of Experts. It is the deliberative body of Islamic theologians, also called Mujtahids. The Assembly of Experts is the body that has charge of electing as well as removing Supreme Leader of Iran as well as supervising his activities. He also remained a member of Expediency Council since 1991. Expediency Council or Expediency Discernment Council of the System is the administrative assembly which is appointed by Supreme Leader of Iran. Originally, Expediency Council was established to resolve differences between Council of Guardians and the Majlis. Apart from this, he was the member of the Supreme National Security Council since 1989. In the book titled, National Security and Nuclear Diplomacy, there is an autobiography of Hassan Rohani which describes about his experience as in-charge of Iran's nuclear case as well as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. Hassan Rohani has remained the deputy speaker of the 4th and 5th terms of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majlis) and secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from 1989 to 2005. He was the head of the Center for Strategic Research since 1992. He was the head of former nuclear negotiating team of Iran and was among the top negotiators of Iran with the three nations of European Union namely, Germany, UK and France, on the nuclear program of Iran.
IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT THE ELECTION OF PRESIDENT OF IRAN, ACCORDING TO THE CONSTITUTION OF IRAN
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According to Article 117 of the Constitution of Iran, the President is elected by an absolute majority of votes polled by the voters. According to Article 115 of the Constitution of Iran, the President must be elected from among religious and political personalities. According to Article 114 of the Constitution of Iran, the President is elected for a fouryear term by the direct vote of the people. His re-election for a successive term is permissible only once.
CHINA BLOCKED IMPORT OF MILK POWDER FROM NEW ZEALAND

China in the first week of August 2013 blocked the import of milk powder from New Zealand after it discovered bacteria that can lead to botulism in some of its dairy products. Global dairy giant Fonterra revealed that three batches of whey products contained Clostridium botulinum, a toxic bacteria, which can cause Botulism. Yet the ban on the import of the products was not imposed by China as it has asked New Zealand to take effective measures to prevent products from being supplied to China, which could have an adverse impact on the health of Chinese Consumers. China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has ordered the importers for withdrawal of all types of contaminated products and quarantine officials have been ordered to step-up the inspections of dairy products, which were being imported from New Zealand. The ban issued from China was termed as an appropriate stand by Tim Groser, the Trade Minister of New Zealand, as some of the exported whey products (also infant formula) available with global dairy giant Fonterra contained bacteria, which could have affected the health and lead to fatal illness. China is a major market for New Zealand infant formula products. Botulism: Botulism is a rare but sometimes fatal paralytic illness that is found in human beings. The cause of the illness is a toxin (poison) that is made by a bacterium that is known as Clostridium Botulinum. It occurs naturally in soil. There exist different types of Botulism. Botulism is a deadly disease and is a form of medical emergency.
FEW OF THE MOST COMMON FORM OF BOTULISM ARE

Foodborne Botulism: it is caused due to the intake of foods contaminated with the toxin Infant Botulism: it happens, when an infant or a baby consumes the bacteria from soil or honey Wound Botulism: it is caused, when a wound gets affected with the bacteria and it starts releasing the toxin. It spreads easily among the heroine users
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ZANU-PF PARTY WON ZIMBABWE PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION 2013

Zimbabwe Electoral Commission on 3 August 2013 declared Zanu-PF party has won the Parliamentary Election (Presidential Election). MDC secured 49 seats as compared to 158 seats won by the ZANU-PF party of the total 210 seats. ZANU-PF (Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front), the political party of the incumbent President Robert Mugabe on 3 August 2013 won the Presidential election of Zimbabwe that was held on 2 August 2013. The 89 year old Mugabe won 61 percent of the vote against the 34 percent won by the Morgan Tsvangirai, the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe. Morgan is the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party. With this win, Mugabe has won his seventh term to the office of the President of Zimbabwe and is heading Zimbabwe, since 1980, the year when the country got its independence. The symbol of the party is a black cockerel that is crowing loud and hard. The Electoral Process: Zimbabwe Electoral Commission conducts the electoral processes in the country by putting in all the necessary logistics in place to ensure that the process runs smoothly. A number of seats in the Senate, the National Assembly and the Provincial Councils of the country are allocated on the basis of a party-list system of proportional representation.
ROBERT MUGABE
Robert Mugabe is one of the leaders of the guerrilla movements against white-minority rule of Zimbabwe and was elected to power in 1980. He served as Prime Minister from 1980 to 1987 and as the first executive head of state since 1987. He was born on 21 February 1924 Mugabe was a political prisoner in Rhodesia for more than 10 years from 1964 and 1974 He is also the and commander-in-chief of the armed forces
ABOUT ZIMBABWE
Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in southern Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. Zambia lies to the northwest with the Zambezi River and its Victoria Falls forming the border. Mozambique lies to the northeast with its border formed by the Eastern Highlands. Botswana lies to the southwest and South Africa to www.jagranjosh.com
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the south (its border formed by the Limpopo River). Zimbabwe achieved its freedom (de jure sovereignty) from United Kingdom in April 1980. It remained as an unrecognised state under the conservative white minority government of Rhodesia for 14 years from 1965. Zimbabwe has 16 official languages, with English, Shona and Ndebele being most common.
US TEMPORARILY CLOSED DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS

The US temporarily closed certain embassies and consulates in the Middle East and North Africa from 4 August 2013 to 10 August 2013 as a precaution after it intercepted al-Qaeda's serious threats in recent years to target its embassies. An instruction was passed to US embassies and consulates by the Department of State to remain closed or to suspend operations on 4 August 2013. The United States initially closed 22 diplomatic posts for the day on 4 August 2013. The State Department last week issued a worldwide travel alert warning Americans that al-Qaeda may be planning attacks in August, particularly in the Middle East. The State Department asserted that this was not an indication of a new threat stream, but merely an indication of US commitment to exercise caution and take appropriate steps to protect its employees and visitors to its facilities. The US missions in Abu Dhabi, Amman, Cairo, Riyadh, Dhahran, Jeddah, Doha, Dubai, Kuwait, Manama, Muscat, Sanaa, Tripoli, Antanarivo, Bujumbura, Djibouti, Khartoum, Kigali, and Port Louis have been asked to close for normal operations from 5 August to 10 August 2013. However, the posts in Dhaka, Algiers, Nouakchott, Kabul, Herat, Mazar el Sharif, Baghdad, Basrah and Erbil were closed on 4 August 2013 and are authorised to reopen for normal operations on 5 August 2013.
US ANNOUNCED GRANT F OR VICTIMS OF OAK CREEK SHOOTOUT

A grant of more than half million dollars was announced by Obama Administration on 2 August 2013 for the victims of the shootout that took place at the Oak Creek Gurdwara on 5 August 2012. The grant was announced by Eric Holder, the US Attorney General by a blog. The attack on the Gurudwara was termed as a jarring incident, because the incident occurred at the place of worship, felloship and above all of peace. In his announcement, the Attorney General of US, Eric Holder also cleared that the crimes committed against the Hindus, Sikhs, Arabs, Buddhists, and three other minority religions would now be considered as the hate crime by law enforcement
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agencies and the FBI. The recommendation sent by the Advisory Policy Board to FBI Director was accepted by him.
ABOUT THE INCIDENCE

A gunman killed 6 worshipers at a Sikh Gurudwara at Oak Creek in Wisconsin on 5 August 2012. The temple in Oak Creek was founded in October 1997 and has a congregation of 350 to 400 people. Oak Creek is a city in Milwaukee County of Wisconsin state in United States that is located in north-central part of the country.
RUNA LAILA VISITED INDIA

Runa Laila, the SAARC Goodwill Ambassador for HIV/AIDS visited India from 31 July 2013 to 2 August 2013. The objective of the visit was to extend support to the cause of HIV/AIDS especially on the issues of Stigma and Discrimination related to People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV). Runa Laila from Bangladesh has been conferred the honorary title of SAARC Goodwill Ambassador by SAARC Secretariat till 2015. Apart from her, Ajay Devgan from India as well as Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy from Pakistan have also been conferred with this title.
POINTS DISCUSSED DURING THE MEETING

During her meeting, different issues associated with HIV/AIDS for the benefit of marginalised people of the SAARC region were discussed. Apart from this, the need for enhanced scale of care, support and treatment services for eligible HIV infected persons and requirement of initiating Regional action to tackle cross border issues on HIV/AIDS and TB/HIV co-infection, was also discussed. She had visited the Department of AIDS Control (DAC). During the visit, the DAC also made a presentation to Runa Laila on the HIV/AIDS programme in India, highlighting the different interventions being implemented for reversing AIDS.
RUSSIA GRANTED ASYLUM TO EDWARD J. SNOWDEN

Russia on 1 August 2013 granted one year Asylum to Edward J. Snowden, the National Security Agency leaker. Snowden, who was staying at the Moscows Sheremetyevo Airport for more than a month has shifted to an undisclosed location.
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Earlier, the United States wanted Russia to hand over Snowden to it for facing the criminal charges that included espionage for disclosure of secret American internet and telephone surveillance programmes in June 2013. The disclosures made by Snowden, triggered uproar against the US Spy programme, across the world.
ABOUT EDWARD J SNOWDEN

Edward Joseph Snowden is an American resident, who in June 2013 leaked several details of the mass surveillance programme of US and British Government like PRISM, XKeyscore, and Tempora to Glenn Greenwald of London's The Guardian He was a technical contractor for the United States National Security Agency (NSA) and an employee of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) He was born on 21 June 1983
ANALYSIS
Russian decision of awarding a temporary asylum to Snowden and allowed him to walk free out from the Moscow Airport Transit Zone, may have harsh impacts on its relations with United States. The decision would also have an impact on the Barack Obamas visit to Moscow to meet the Russian President, Vladimir V. Putin that is scheduled to be conducted in September 2013, after the summit meeting of the Group of 20 nations in St. Petersburg.
USA AND CHINA HELD D ISCUSSIONS ON HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES

USA and China held in-depth and frank discussions at Kunming in China on the rule of law, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of association, and other human rights issues, including specific cases of concern. The US-China Human Rights dialogue was held in the second week of July 2013 by interagency delegations led by Uzra Zeya, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department of International Organizations and Conferences Director-General Li Junhua. The Human Rights Dialogue is an opportunity to reinforce the messages, including on specific cases that we consistently deliver at the highest levels on these issues. This is a continuous conversation, it is important to continue having it, because obviously human rights form a key tenet of US foreign policy.
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CHINA AGREED TO SET-UP 4 COAL-FIRED POWER PLANTS AT GADANI

The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif on 1 August 2013 announced that China has agreed to set-up four coal-fired power plants at Gadani Power Corridor in Balochistan, Pakistan. He also made an announcement that the corridor would be renamed as Gadani Power Park. The first plant in the park would be established to attract local and foreign investors. Nawaz Sharif also confired that the park envisages establishment of eight coal fired power plants with an aggregate capacity of 5200 MW. The Project is being developed with an aim of creating economic and employment opportunities in the far-flung and backward region of Balochistan and Sindh.
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WORLD DAIRY
1 August 2013 IOC sold exclusive broadcasting rights for 2014, 2016 Olympics to STAR India.
2 August 2013 China agreed to set-up 4 coal-fired power plants at Gadani, Balochistan. USA and China held discussions on Human Rights issues. Russia granted asylum to Edward J. Snowden. Angelina Jolie declared as the highest paid actress of Hollywood by Forbes.
3 August 2013 Runa Laila, the SAARC Goodwill Ambassador for HIV/AIDS visited India. US announced grant for victims of Oak Creek shootout.
4 August 2013 US temporarily closed Diplomatic Missions after intercepting al-Qaeda threats. Zimbabwe Parliamentary Election 2013: Zanu-PF, the party of Robert Mugabe declared winner.
5 August 2013 US temporarily closed diplomatic missions after intercepting al-Qaeda threats. Zimbabwe parliamentary election 2013: Zanu-PF, the party of Robert Mugabe declared winner. China blocked import of milk powder from New Zealand. Hassan Rouhani sworn in as the new president of Iran.
6 August 2013 Colombo South Harbour declared open by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse. Konkan Railway to scrap Skybus project. Supreme Court rejected Abu Salem's plea for quashing all proceedings against him. Former Turkish army chief among 19 people handed life term for coup plot.
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7 August 2013 Japan unveiled its biggest warship called Izumo.
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8 August 2013 India announced 150 thousand Dollar assistance to Afghan bomb attack victims. Japan pledged huge spending cuts amounting to 83 Billion US Dollars.
9 August 2013 Royal Yacht Squadron Club lifted its 200-year ban on women members. US Presidential Medal of Freedom to be conferred on Bill Clinton & Oprah Winfrey. International Day of the World's Indigenous People observed on 9 August.
10 August 2013 IEA warned that oil supplies from OPEC may decline. Sri Lankan President felicitated tribal community, the Veddas on World Indigenous Peoples Day.
11 August 2013 One lakh people applied to go on one-way trip to Mars under Mars One Project.
12 August 2013 Colin Michael Foale, the first British to perform a space walk, retired from NASA. India launched Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant in Kochi. International Youth Day celebrated across the world.
13 August 2013 13 August designated as the International Lefthanders Day by the Left-Handers Club. Elysium Space introduced sending remains of deceased to space through Memorial Spaceflight. Melia Brand of Hotels in Spain unveiled the first Twitter hotel of the world. Renowned naturalist and ornithologist Zafar Futehally passed away. Indian-American trio won World Geography Championship.
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Ibrahim Boubacar Keita won Mali presidential elections.
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UK Songwriting Contest 2013 results announced; Indian-origin winners included. King Penguin Missy, the oldest penguin of the world, turned 36 years old.
14 August 2013 Special Envoy of India for Sudan and South Sudan, PS Raghavan visited South Sudan.
15 August 2013 Egypt Clashes: Vice President Mohamed Elbaradei resigned in protest. Foreign Minister of Republic of Chad visited India. Egypt declared month-long state of emergency after deadly clashes.
16 August 2013 Israel, Palestinians peace talks resumed in Jerusalem.
17 August 2013 Street Leading to Canadian Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg named after Mahatma Gandhi. Abdul Karim Tunda,Lashkar-e-Taiba's bomb expert arrested by Delhi Police. The Travel & Tourism Fair (TTF) 2013 started off in Ahmadabad. D.Bala Venkatesh Varma appointed Ambassador to UN Conference on Disarmament from India. The Third Meeting of the WMCC on India-China Border talks held in New Delhi.
18 August 2013 Ali Akbar Salehi appointed Head of Atomic Energy Organisation in Iran. 19 August 2013 World Photography Day celebrated across the globe to unite the photographers. Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture authority launched Abu Dhabi month in New Delhi. 3000 years old stone shields excavated by archeologists from Xinjiang. Olinguito, a new mammal species discovered.
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Statue of Nobel Laureate Dr. Norman Borlaug unveiled at New Delhi. Earth Overshoot Day observed on 20 August 2013. Seagrass can be used for fighting climate change: Study.
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21 August 2013 C-130J Super Hercules Transport Plane of Indian Air Force landed at Daulat Beg Oldie Airstrip. Pervez Musharraf indicted in Benazir Bhutto assassination case. Mexican drug smuggler called Queen of the Pacific was deported from US to Mexico. Peace Ark, the Chinese Goodwill Hospital Ship Reached Bangladesh. 5th India-China strategic dialogue held in New Delhi.
22 August 2013 Singapore to host the second South Asian Diaspora Convention. Robert Mugabe sworn in for 7th term as President of Zimbabwe. NCAR Report: Australia's Unique Influence on Global Sea Level in 20102011. Thousands killed in toxic gas attack on Syrian capital, Damascus.
23 August 2013 Ashwani Kumar Appointed as Prime Ministers Special Envoy to Japan. US scientists created the most precise clock of the world. Facebook and six other tech giants to launch 'Internet.Org. UN called on for a probe over the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's Envoy to the UN International Atomic Energy Agency resigned. Bhutan and China held 21st Round of Boundary Talks in Thimphu.
24 August 2013 India became the world's third largest Internet user. Typhoon Trami affected 3.61 lakh people in China.
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Amitabh Bachchan joined UN Campaign The World Needs more. World Bank Assisted National AIDS Control Support Project launched.
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25 August 2013 Taukelina Finikaso, the Foreign Minister of Tuvalu visited India. India and Iraq singed MoUs during the visit of Nouri al-Maliki to India.
26 August 2013 The Government of Brazil liberalised issuing short term work visas. Bangladesh developed world's first zinc-enriched rice variety.
27 August 2013 IBSA issued statement on the Middle East peace process.
28 August 2013 UN High Commissioner for Human Rights visited Jaffna and other war-affected Sri Lankan areas.
29 August 2013 India proposed to set-up JBWG with Myanmar to address border demarcation issue. China dismissed Japan's proposal to hold talks over disputed islands. UN Security Council failed to reach an agreement on the use of military force against Syria. Second ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (Plus) issued the Joint Declaration. China and Pakistan to hold joint air exercise called Shaheen (Eagle)-2.
30 August 2013 The Social Security Agreement between India and Canada approved.
31 August 2013 Nobel Literature Laureate Seamus Heaney died.
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NATIONAL
FUND OUTLAY FOR TECHNICAL TEXTILE SECTOR
The Union Government of India on 31 August 2013 planned to enhance the fund outlay for different schemes related to technical textile sector to more than 700 crore Rupees during the 12th Plan. The Increase in the fund outlay was aimed at promotion of the technical textile sector. It is important to note that the market size of the technical textiles in India has grown to 91236 crore Rupees approximately in 2013-14 fiscal year from around 42000 crore Rupees in 2007-08. This depicted an annual growth rate of 11 percent. The sector is estimated to reach the potential of 1.58 lakh crore Rupees by 2016-17 fiscal year. With the projected growth of this amount, the employment in this industry is also estimated to increase at 13 percent annually to 26 lakh by 2016-17. It is also important to note that the export target which is set for technical textile sector in 2013-14 fiscal year was 50 billion US dollar. For the purpose of overall development of textile sector, 11952 crore Rupees was sanctioned under the 12th Plan, out of which 2400 crore Rupees will be given in 2013-14 financial year only.
PRESIDENT GAVE ASSENT TO THE COMPANIES BILL 2013

The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 29 August 2013 gave his assent to the Companies Bill 2013. With this, the Companies Bill will now become the law and replace the 60-years-old regulations which governed the country till now. The new bill provides changes to the functioning of the companies operation. The Companies Bill 2013 will replace the Companies Act 1956. The Companies Act of 1956 replaced the first Companies Act that was created in 1919 (the preindependent India). The Act of 1956 has been amended 25 times in all these years since its formation.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE COMPANIES BILL THAT WAS PRESENTED IN THE PARLIAMENT

The new legislation, which would replace the nearly 57-year-old Companies Act of 1956 and would encourage the companies to undertake social welfare voluntarily instead of imposing the social responsibility. The proposed legislation would ensure setting up of special courts for speedy trial and stronger steps for transparent corporate governance practices and curb corporate misdoings.
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The new law would require companies that meet certain set of criteria, to spend at least two percent of their average profits in the last three years towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. In case, entities are unable to comply with the CSR rules, they would be needed to give explanations. Otherwise, they would face action, including penalty. The amended legislation also limits the number of companies an auditor can serve to 20 besides bringing more clarity on criminal liability of auditors.
The Companies Act of 1956 replaced the first Companies Act that was created in 1919 (the preindependent India). The Act of 1956 has been amended 25 times in all these years since its formation.
LAWMAKING PROCEDURE IN INDIA

The legislative proposals are brought before either the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha in the form of a bill. The bill is actually a draft of the legislative proposal. After being passed by both the Houses of the Parliament, the Bill is sent to the President of India for assent. After receiving the assent from the President of India, a bill becomes an Act of the Parliament. Earlier, the Companies Bill 2012 was passed in Rajya Sabha on 8 August 2013 (during the monsoon session of the parliament). Earlier, the bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on 18 December 2012. The legislation will replace the 57-year old Companies Act, 1956 after getting the final consent from Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India.
SC CLEARED DEDICATED FREIGHT CORRIDOR THROUGH NATIONAL PARK

The Supreme Court of India, in the last week of August 2013, cleared the project of Indian Railways, Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) Project passing through Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) after hearing under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. With this clearance, the construction of Phase II of Dedicated Freight Corridor from Vadodara to JNPT has been cleared. Other crucial clearances are also in line for this project. This has been possible because of sensitivity and full commitment of project authorities.
WHAT IS DEDICATED FREIGHT CORRIDOR (DFC) PROJECT?

Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) Project is the part of Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL), which is a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Railways. DFCCIL made efforts for minimum disturbance to the ecologically and environmentally sensitive www.jagranjosh.com
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areas by taking detours as much as possible and further by its sensitivity, resolve and commitment towards protection of Environment and its surroundings wherever the corridor has to pass. The Dedicated Freight Corridor approached all possible authorities in order to receive the final nod from the Apex Court of India. The aim of DFC was to get approvals from the office of Principle Chief Conservator of Forest, Maharashtra, the State Board of Wildlife (SBWL), followed by clearance from the National Board of Wildlife (NBWL). For this purpose, it also incorporated all the stipulations suggesting measures to minimise threat and disturbance to wildlife before submitting the application to the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), constituted by the Supreme Court of India. CEC had recommended the proposal of Freight Corridor to pass through the National Park after conducting a detailed inspection of the site with the project and the state forest officials. CEC, while making recommendation about the proposal, also added a few stipulations as mitigation measures, which were accepted by the DFCCIL. DFCCIL, in the meanwhile, will also facilitate free movement of wild animals, chain link fencing for protection, and as a contribution towards the environment and wildlife protection, funds for the upkeep and improvement of SGNP apart from compensatory afforestation in the region.
UNION GOVERNMENT APPROVED THREE PROJECTS UNDER EMC SCHEME

The Union Government of India on 30 August 2013 gave its approval to three projects under the Electronic Manufacturing Clusters (EMC) scheme. The total value of these three projects is 200 crore Rupees. The proposals for approval of the Government were sent by the Madhya Pradesh State Electronics Corporation (MPSEDC) and the Electronic Industries Association of India (ELCINA). The Electronic Industries Association of India (ELCINA) had sent its proposal for the greenfield cluster, the cost of which was 104.48 crore Rupees. This cluster is aimed at a location of Khushkhera in Bhiwadi (Rajasthan). The Madhya Pradesh State Electronics Corporation (MPSEDC), on the other hand, submitted its proposal for two projects at Bhopal and Jabalpur at the approximate cost of 46.46 crore Rupees and 42.92 crore Rupees respectively.
ASSISTANCE UNDER THE ELECTRONIC MANUFACTURING CLUSTERS (EMC) SCHEME

According to the Electronic Manufacturing Clusters (EMC) scheme, the financial aid will be limited to 50 percent of the overall cost of the project with the condition of ceiling of 50 crore Rupees for every 100 acres of land. According to this condition of the scheme, ELCINA sought the financial aid of 47.41 crore Rupees over the area of 100.7 acre of land. This project is backed by Rajasthan Government through Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation. The ELCINA
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project will finish off by March 2015. Its commercial operations will begin from April 2015. The project will employ 14000 people as well as 19700 people indirectly. MPSEDC, which is the MP Government undertaking, proposed to develop the green field EMC in Badwai, Bhopal on the coverage area of 50 acres at the approximate cost of 46.46 crore Rupees. It received the financial aid of 22.26 crore Rupees from the Union Government of India. Apart from this, it received the grant of 24.63 crore Rupees from the Central Government for its green field EMC in Purva village, Jabalpur, which will be developed on the area of 40 acres of land. The timeline for MPSEDC project is to start in 3 months after final approval. Both the projects will give employment to 4500 people as well as 13000 people indirectly. Electronic Manufacturing Clusters (EMC) Scheme is the part of Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme under the National Policy on Electronics (NPE) 2012. The most important objective of NPE is achieving the turnover of approximately 400 billion US dollar by the year 2020, which also involves the investment of approximately 100 billion US dollar as well as employment of approximately 28 million people by the year 2020.
LAND ACQUISITION, REHABILITATION AND RESETTLEMENT BILL

The Lok Sabha on 29 August 2013 passed the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, also called the Land Acquisition Bill. The bill was passed by a majority of 216 votes out of 235 votes. 19 members voted against the bill.
AIM OF THE BILL

The aim of the bill is providing fair compensation to people whose land has been taken away for setting up the buildings or factories. The aim of the bill is to bring in more transparency to the process of land acquisition, thereby bringing assurance of rehabilitation to the affected people. Primary Features of the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011. The Bill established new rules and regulations for compensation of the land acquired for industry as well as infrastructure projects. The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011 stipulates mandatory consent of minimum 70 percent for acquisition of land for the Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects, as well as 80 percent for acquisition of land for the private companies. The Bill seeks for compensation of around 4 times the market value of the land in rural areas as well as two times the value in the urban areas.
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The Bill includes a total of 107 clauses.
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The Bill will provide protection to the farmers as well as the rights of the farmers. The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011 replaced the centuryold India's Land Acquisition Act of 1894 which had various shortcomings. The new Land Acquisition Bill will apply when Government will acquire the land for its own control, hold or use; or when the Government will acquire the land for transferring it to use of private companies for stated public purpose. The bill will also apply in case the Government acquires the land for the purpose of immediate and declared use by private companies for public purpose. The Bill, after being enacted into law, will affect the rural Indian families who have farms as their primary source of livelihood. The Bill will also have an effect on the urban households where land is acquired for industrialisation and urbanisation. The Bill however, exempts the land acquisition for the linear projects like ports, railways, irrigation canals as well as highways. In order to safeguard the food security as well as for preventing the arbitrary acquisition, the Bill also directs all the states for imposing the limits on those areas which are under the agricultural cultivation and can still be acquired. In the case where the land is not utilised even after acquisition, the Bill empowers all the states to return such a land either to the State Land Bank or to the owner. The Bill also proposed that no land can be acquired in the Scheduled Areas without Gram Sabhas consent. The Bill proposed that no person shall be dispossessed unless all the payments have been made as well as alternative sites for purpose of rehabilitation and resettlement have been prepared. The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011 proposed several benefits such as land for employment, land, housing as well as annuities, which will accrue apart from one-time cash payments to people whose land has been acquired. Under the law of this new Bill, Wakf land will not be acquired.
CCP MET ON MATERNAL HEALTH

Meeting of the Consultative Committee of Parliament (CCP) attached to the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare on Maternal Health was held in New Delhi on 29 August 2013. The meeting was presided over by the Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Ghulam Nabi Azad. The objective of the meeting was discussion of the issues on maternal health.
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Issues such as implementation of a number of strategies and interventions for improved maternal health outcomes were discussed during the meeting. Reduction in the Maternal Mortality in India was also discussed. It is important to note that the Maternal Mortality Rate declined from 301 per 100000 live births in 2001-03 to 254 in 2004-05. It further dropped down to 212 in 2007-09. The rate of this decline has also shown an increasing trend from 4.1 percent annual rate of decline during 2001-03 to 5.55 percent in 2004-06 and further to 5.8 percent in 2007-09.
RAPIST'S OFFER TO MARRY CAN'T SAVE HIM FROM PUNISHMENT

The Supreme Court of India on 27 August 2013 ruled that a rapists offer to marry the rape victim could never be a basis for letting off the guilty. The court ruled that no kind of compromise between rapists and rape survivors could mitigate the offence. Some courts impose lighter sentences on rape convicts after they offer to marry the survivor. The apex court warned that to impose a sentence lesser than that prescribed in law would reflect stark insensitivity to the rape survivors. The court added that the punishment should always be proportionate and commensurate to the gravity of offence. The court reasoned that it would encourage the convicts to pressurize rape survivors to reach a compromise and rape was always a crime against society. The court clarified that compromise with rape survivors could not be cited as ground for leniency to those found guilty in gang-rape cases.
REPRESENTATION OF PEOPLE (AMENDMENT & VALIDATION) BILL 2013

The Rajya Sabha on 27 August 2013 unanimously passed the Representation of the People (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2013 to amend the Representation of the People (RP) Act, 1951. The bill will turn over the order of Supreme Court to ban the people in custody or jail from contesting the elections. The amendment, after being approved by the Lok Sabha, will maintain rights of people in jail to contest polls. The Representation of the People (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2013 being passed by the Rajya Sabha seeks to add the provision to sub-section (2) of section 62 of the Representation of the People (RP) Act, 1951. The sub-section (2) of section 62 states that a person is not ceased to be a voter while being in detention because his/her rights are only temporarily suspended. www.jagranjosh.com
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It is important to note that on 10 July 2013, the Supreme Court of India upheld the decision of Patna High Court that people in police custody cannot contest the polls.
WHAT IS THE REPRESENTATION OF PEOPLE ACT, 1951?

The Representation of People Act, 1951 is the Act of Parliament of India, which explains about the conduct of the elections of both the Houses of the Parliament. The Act also explains about the qualifications and disqualifications for the membership of these houses, offences or the corrupt practices. The Act came into force by the provisional parliament under Article 379 of Indian Constitution. The Representation of People Act, 1951 was amended various times. The most notable amendment was the one which abolished election tribunals. The election petitions were thus transferred to the High Courts of India, the orders of which could be appealed to the Supreme Court of India.
RULINGS OF THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA AND THE REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE (AMENDMENT AND VALIDATION) BILL, 2013
The Supreme Court of India, in the case of Chief Election Commissioner vs Jan Chowkidar, on 10 July 2013 upheld the decision of the Patna High Court that any person confined in prison or lawful police custody is not entitled to vote under the Section 62 of The Representation of the People Act (RPA), 1951. Also, the Apex Court gave its verdict that the imprisoned person is not entitled to contest the elections to the Parliament of India or the State Legislatures. The Supreme Court of India in the case of Lily Thomas vs Union of India, held the decision that Section 8(4) of the RPA that enables the MPs and MLAs who are convicted of any crime or illegal offence while serving the term as the members, to continue in the office until the appeal has been disposed off against the conviction, is absolutely unconstitutional.
RAJYA SABHA PASSED THE MARRIAGE LAWS (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2010

The Rajya Sabha on 26 August 2013 passed the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010 by voice vote. It seeks to amend the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 and the Special Marriages Act, 1954, which provides for irretrievable breakdown on marriage as a ground for divorce as well as grants women the right to a share in the property of their husbands. Under the new Bill, a provision has been made to restrict the grant of decree of divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage, if the court is satisfied that adequate provision for the maintenance of children born out of the marriage has not been made consistently with the financial capacities of the parents.
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The bill allows wife to oppose grant of divorce on the basis that dissolution of marriage will lead to grave financial hardships. The Court can also restrict grant of divorce if it is not satisfied about adequate provision for maintenance of children born of marriage. The bill also has provisions that the Court shall not hold marriage to have broken down irretrievably unless it is satisfied that the parties to the marriage have lived apart for a continuous period of not less than three years before filing petition for divorce. The Bill would provide safeguards to parties to marriage who file petition for grant of divorce by consent from the harassment in court if any of the party does not come to the court or willfully avoids the court to keep the divorce proceedings inconclusive. At present, various grounds for dissolution of marriage by a decree of divorce are laid down in Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The grounds inter alia include adultery, cruelty, desertion, conversion to another religion, unsoundness of mind, virulent and incurable form of leprosy, venereal disease in a communicable form, renouncement of the world and not heard as being alive for a period of seven years or more. Section 27 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 also lays down similar grounds. However,Section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act and Section 28 of the Special Marriage Act provide for divorce by mutual consent as a ground for presenting a petition for dissolution of marriage. The said sections inter alia provide that a petition for dissolution of marriage by mutual consent, if not withdrawn before six months after its presentation or not later than 18 months, then, the court may, on being satisfied after making inquiry, grant decree of divorce by mutual consent. However, it has been observed that the parties who have filed petition for mutual consent suffer in case one of the parties abstains, himself or herself from court proceedings and keeps the divorce proceedings inconclusive. This has been causing considerable hardship to the party in dire need of divorce. The Law Commission in its 71st report submitted in 1978 had recommended amendments to Hindu Marriage Act to make of irretrievable breakdown of marriage as a new ground for divorce. A report of Law Commission in 2009 had also made similar recommendation. On 23 March 2012, the Union Cabinet of India approved the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010, by which irretrievable breakdown of marriage was included as a ground for dissolving a marriage under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and the Special Marriage Act, 1954.
FSA IMPLEMENTATION NEEDS 614.3 LAKH TONNES OF FOOD GRAINS

The Union Government of India on 25 August 2013 announced that an estimated 614.3 lakh tonnes of food grains would be required to ensure successful implementation of the proposed Food Security Act (FSA) as against the existing requirement of 563.7 lakh tonnes for Targeted Public Distribution System.
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The Government has also stated that the procurement will be done after ensuring that the farmers get more for their produce. The current MSP (Minimum Support Price) decided for wheat is 12.85 rupees per kilogram. For paddy the MSP has been decided at 12.50 rupees per kilogram. The Government has also announced that for proper implementation of the Food Security Act, procurement operations would be further extended. The implementation of the proposed act will ensure food grains at highly subsidized prices to about 75 percent of village population. This Act will allow the Government to provide wheat available at 2 rupees per kilogram and rice at the rate of 3 rupees per kilogram. Access to highly subsidized food grains to small farmers under proposed Food Security Act and assured MSP for their produce will ease the burden on their earnings and allow them the option to spend the money so saved on other necessities. Hence it will help to improve their quality of life. Therefore, contrary to dissuading farmers from producing more, the Act will in fact encourage them to produce more.
BENEFITS OF THE ACT

The Act will benefit about two-third of Indian Population by making them legally entitled to get highly subsidized food grains. Every person entitled under the act would receive 5 kg of food grains per month i.e. wheat or coarse grains at 3 rupees, 2 rupees and 1 rupees per kg respectively. The act has also retained the availability of 35 kilograms of food grains per household to the poorest or the poor under AAY scheme. The bill has provision of making the eldest women of the household above 18 years of age to be the head of the household and the ration cards would be issued by her name. The bill has marked that the children below 14 years of age would be entitled for higher nutritional norms. Pregnant women and lactating mothers will get maternity benefit of Rs. 6000 besides nutritious food.
CCEA CLEARED 3.1 MN TONNES OF EXTRA FOODGRAIN FOR STATES UNDER FSA
Earlier, the Union Government of India on 22 August 2013 announced that it will provide an extra 3.1 million tonnes of foodgrains to the states under the Food Security Programme at Above Poverty Line (APL) rates. The APL rates for extra foodgrains are rupees and 30 paise per kilogram for rice and 6 rupees and 10 paise per kilogram for wheat to 18 states (including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, www.jagranjosh.com
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Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir). The supply of extra foodgrains will cost the exchequer nearly 5100 crore rupees annually. The decision to provide extra food grains at APL rates was decided in a meeting of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) at New Delhi.
INITIATIVE TO PROVID E FREE GENERIC MEDICINES APPROVED

The Union Government of India on 24 August 2013 approved the initiative for free supply of essential medicines to the patients availing treatments under 12th five year plan. Under this initiative, rational use of medicines would be promoted by reducing the consumption of inessential medicines. The initiative is aimed towards making affordable health care available to the people and to reduce the out of pocket expenses on medicines. 16000 crore rupees has been provided as an outlay of the initiative. The scheme is based on the Tamil Nadu model, where free medicines are procured in bulk directly from the manufacturers and are supplied through an IT enabled management system to the public.
NATIONAL MEDIA CENTR E INAUGURATED AT NEW DELHI

National Media Center was inaugurated at New Delhi by the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh and Chairperson of UPA, Sonia Gandhi on 24 August 2013.
FOLLOWING ARE THE FACTS REGARDING THE NATIONAL MEDIA CENTRE

The National Media Centre (NMC) was initially conceptualized by the Press Information Bureau (PIB), Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India in 1989 to facilitate greater interaction between the Government and the media with a state-ofthe-art equipped media centre. The National Media Centre has been planned on the model of media centres in some of the capitals of the world such as Washington and Tokyo. It will have offices of the PIB as well as special facilities for the media to enable the Government to interact closely with the media. The National Media Centre located at 7-E, Raisina Road is in the centre of the city with proximity to Rashtrapati Bhawan, Government offices, Vigyan Bhavan and Parliament House - the news hub of Government activities. The location will cut distance and travel time between events for dignitaries and the media personnel.
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The National Media Centre has a Press Conference Hall for 283 media persons, a briefing room for about 60 persons, 24 Work stations for the media, a library, media lounge and cafeteria. The press conference hall and media lounge are wi-fi enabled. The project is aimed at further improving the dissemination of information about Governments policies and programmes. The effort is to meet the requirements of the international and Indian media for their professional and communication needs within the overall Government of India framework of information dissemination. The facilities provided will dovetail with current technological advancement in visual and print media.
MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS
World Class Media Center Ground + 4 Floors + 2 basements Press Conference Hall with seating capacity for 283 persons. Media Lounge - Work area facilities for media personnel Committee Room with video conferencing facilities Library Cafeteria IT and AV Infrastructure in NMC
FACILITIES PROVIDED
Optic fibre internet backbone with redundancy Mini Data Centre for application development and hosting Webcast, including live webcast Video feed to TV channels outside the building Network with redundancy and expandability to 500 nodes IT facilities to media persons in work area/Lounge Internet Telephony AV Video Wall
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The NMC has been constructed by the National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) over a period of three years with a total covered area of 13867 sqm. The plot size is 7787.46 sqm (1.95 acres).
FUND FOR COMPENSATING CRIME VICTIMS

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) asked all the State Governments in India for establishing the fund as well as formulating the scheme for the purpose of providing compensation to the crime victims. The compensation would be given to the crime victims who suffered injury or loss due to crime. The Ministry of Home Affairs declared that the action was aimed for providing help to victims of all sorts of crimes, especially acid attack victims. The MHA Advisory declared that all the state governments as well as UT administration was required to prepare the scheme for facilitating funds for providing compensation to the victims or dependents of the victims. For the purpose of finalising the scheme, the consultation of Union Government of India could be taken. MHA, in the meanwhile, also declared that draft scheme need to be prepared within a time period of just 4 weeks. It is important to note that in the month of March 2013, the Supreme Court of India has also directed all the courts of India to ensure the decisions on the aspects of compensation in the criminal cases. The MHA explained that in assault cases primarily, the offender remains untraced. Therefore, it was necessary that the victim or the family should receive the award of compensation by applying to the State or District Legal Service Authority (DLSA). The DLSA thereafter will complete the process of inquiry within the time period of just 2 months and then award the compensation. The DLSA or the state legal service authority will decide the amount of compensation once the recommendation of the compensation is made by the court.
MENTAL HEALTH CARE B ILL, 2013

The Mental Health Care Bill, 2013 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in the third week of August 2013. The new Bill seeks to decriminalise suicide, while at the same time, making affordable mental health care a right for everyone. It is important to note that this is the first time in history of criminal law reforms in India that the Mental Health Care Bill, 2013 offers to decriminalise acts of suicide by associating it with the state of mental health of a person who attempts suicide.
FEATURES OF THE MENTAL HEALTH CARE BILL, 2013

The Mental Health Care Bill, 2013 was moved by the Ministry of Health.
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The Mental Health Care Bill, 2013 states that the acts of suicide will not be criminalized. All those who attempt suicide will be considered as mentally ill until and unless proven otherwise. Therefore, people who attempt suicide will be exempted from the present provisions of Section 309 of Indian Penal Code. In the Section 124 of the Mental Health Care Bill, 2013, it is stated that, Notwithstanding anything contained in Section 309 of the IPC, any person who attempts suicide shall be presumed, unless proved otherwise, to be suffering from mental illness at the time of the bid and shall not be liable to punishment under the said Section. The bill makes it clear that act of suicide as well as mental health of a person who commits suicide, are inseparably linked and so these two should be seen in unison. The bill lays down organised provision for treatment of people who commit suicide. The bill seeks to offer proper mental care for people with mental illness. It also seeks to protect, promote as well as fulfill rights of people attempting suicide, during the delivery of healthcare services related to mental health. It is for the first time that the Union Government of India came up with the rights based on the approach in mental health law. The amendment to Criminal Law would be moved separately by the Law Commission and this would eventually be affected by the Home Ministry. After it is passed in the Lok Sabha and assented by the President of India, it will replace the Mental Health Act of 1987. The new bill ensures various rights to the mentally ill people, which range from right to privacy and right to dignity. The bill also prohibits inhuman practices such as electro convulsive therapy without anesthesia, chaining and tonsuring of heads as well as sterilisation as a treatment for illness. Stringent penalties are proposed for the ones found running unregistered mental health care establishments. The fine ranges from 50000 Rupees to 5 lakh Rupees depending on the frequency of the offence. The bill seeks to regulate private as well as public mental healthcare sectors as well as establish a mental health system integrated into various levels of general healthcare. The bill provides for Advance Directive to be furnished in writing by the person, without the basis of mental illness.
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The bill also provides for registration of the Mental Board to be set up by the government at both central and state levels. The bill provides for Central Mental Health Authority and State Mental Health Authority together with the Mental Health Review Commission for regulating the sector and registering the institutions.
It is important to note that the Mental Health Care Bill, 2013 completed the gap in mental health law in India after it ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which requires it to harmonise the laws with the ones present across the world. This convention was signed on 1 October 2007 and came into force on 3 May 2008.
WHAT WAS THE MENTAL HEALTH ACT OF 1987?

The aim of the Mental Health Act of 1987 is to consolidate and amend the law relating to the treatment and care of mentally ill person, to make better provisions with respect to their property and affairs and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
COMMITTEE TO STUDY B ACKLOG IN VACANCIES

The Union Government on 21 August 2013 decided to set up a committee to analyse the reasons behind the huge backlog in vacancies under reserved categories. A 20-member committee headed by the Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, will suggest steps to enhance the employability of reserved category candidates. The committee members are from various Central Government Ministries, including Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of Personnel & Training, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Ministry of Railways, and the Union Public Service Commission and the Railway Recruitment Board. The committee will submit its report within three months. An analysis of data and consultation with various Ministries indicated that lack of finishing skills or interview skills, less availability of professionally qualified persons, less identification of posts for persons with disabilities, dearth of professionally qualified persons, especially in hearingimpaired category of disability, were some of the reasons for less number of SCs, STs, OBCs and persons with disabilities in the Government sector.
AMENDMENTS TO THE REPRESENTATION OF TH E PEOPLE ACT, 1951

The Union Cabinet of India on 22 August 2013 approved the amendments to the Representation of the People Act, 1951. This is to negate the recent Supreme Court verdict on disqualification of convicted legislators. The amendmentas were proposed by Ministry of Law and Justice.
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A proviso added to sub-section (4) of section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 states that the convicted member shall continue to take part in proceedings of Parliament or Legislature of a state but he or she shall neither be entitled to vote nor draw salary and allowances till the appeal or revision is finally decided by the court. As per the amendment, a lawmaker would not lose his right to vote if under arrest even for a short duration and thereby would retain his right to contest a poll. A public representative will get 90 days time to seek revision but on condition that a higher court-stay is obtained against the conviction. The Supreme Court of India in its verdict in July 2013 had struck down a provision in the electoral law that protects a convicted lawmaker from disqualification on the ground of pendency of appeal in higher courts. The Supreme Court had ruled that MPs or legislators will stand disqualified from the membership of the house from the date of conviction in a trial court for a period of over two years. It had held Section 8 (4)which allows a convicted lawmaker to remain in office till the pendency of appeal - of the Representation of the Peoples Act as ultra vires. This ruling could see several lawmakers in both parliament and state assemblies lose their seats. Politicians had feared registration of false cases by their rivals especially on the eve of an election. At an all-party meeting held earlier, the parties had united in expressing their dissent over the Supreme Court's ruling.
HYSTERECTOMIES TO BE INCLUDED IN NFHS-4

The Government of India on 19 August 2013 decided to include Hysterectomies as a component in the fourth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), which will begin in January 2014.
The data generated during the NFHS could be used for formulating guidelines to conduct surgeries for removal of uterus. The inclusion of Hysterectomies in NFHS came in the wake of a demand from the health activists and medical practitioners following reports of rising cases of hysterectomies across the country. www.jagranjosh.com
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The decision to include hysterectomies as a component in the NFHS-4 was taken at the steering group meeting on NFHS on 19 August 2013. It was pointed out that unscrupulous doctors were performing hysterectomies on pre-menopausal and even women younger than 30 years for monetary gains.
ABOUT HYSTERECTOMY
Hysterectomy is the complete or partial removal of the uterus, and sometimes ovaries, cervix and fallopian tubes. Ethically, a doctor should suggest this operation in case of certain medical conditions, or when all other treatment options fail.
ABOUT NATIONAL FAMILY HEALTH SURVEY (NFHS)

The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in a representative sample of households throughout India. Three rounds of the survey have been conducted so far. NFHS-1 (1992-93) NFHS-2 (1998-99) NFHS-3 (2005-06)
The survey provides State and National information for India on fertility, infant and child mortality, the practice of family planning, maternal and child health, reproductive health, nutrition, anaemia, utilization and quality of health and family planning services.
COMMENT
Presently, there are no exact statistics to show the prevalence rate of Hysterectomy operations, largely believed that they are the second most common surgeries performed on women, second only to caesarean sections. The rising concern is not just about the high expenditure and medical ethics, but also about the complications and troubles that follow. Hysterectomy may have a significant impact on womans health.
RIGHT TO RECEIVE PEN SION CANT BE TAKEN AWAY

The Supreme Court of India on 20 August 2013 ruled that the right to receive pension cannot be taken away from a government employee pending departmental or criminal proceedings. A bench of justices K S Radhakrishnan and A K Sikri observed that gratuity and pension are hard earned benefits of an employee and right to receive pension is in the nature of property.
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The Supreme Court gave the judgement while dismissing the appeal of Jharkhand government against the state's High court order. The High court order had directed the state government to release the withheld dues of its retired employee Jitendra Kumar Srivastava, who had criminal cases pending against him. Supreme Court opined that the right of the petitioner to receive pension is property under Article 31(1) of the Constitution of India and the state had no power to withhold the same by an executive order.
CITIZENS CAN NOW FILE RTI APPLICATIONS ONLINE

Citizens can now file RTI applications online in all central government ministries and departments through a portal. This facility was launched by the Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, V Narayanasamy in New Delhi on 21 August 2013.The web address of the portal is www.rtionline.gov.in. The portal is a step towards ushering in greater transparency in governance through the Right to Information Act which mandates timely response to citizens requests for government information. It will enable tech savvy people to file applications at the click of a button. An information seeker can submit a fee of ten rupees via Internet banking through State Bank of India (SBI) and its associate banks using the website. One can also use credit or debit cards. Presently, the text of an application that can be uploaded in the prescribed column on the portal while filing application is confined to 500 words only. In case an application contains more than 500 words, it can be uploaded as an attachment. An applicant will get an alert on the mobile phone about movement of the application. Answers to queries related to the portal can be sought on the telephone number 011- 24622461 during normal office hours.
COMMITTEE TO ASSESS STATUS OF SCHEDULED TRIBES

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 17 August 2013 set up High Level Committee to assess the status of Scheduled Tribes (STs) to ensure their upliftment, particularly in socio-economic, health and education fields. Prof. Virginius Xaxa was appointed as the chairman of the seven-member committee. The committee will submit its report within nine months from 17 August 2013.
THE COMMITTEE WILL WORK UPON THE FOLLOWING ISSUES

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1. The Committee will prepare a report on the overall socio-economic, health and educational status of the tribal communities of the country. The report will give an idea about the areas requiring Government intervention to support the tribal communities. 2. The committee will also suggest policy initiatives as well as effective outcome-oriented measures to improve development indicators and strengthen public service delivery to STs and other tribal populations. 3. The Committee will also look into the geographical pattern of their economic activity and explore what newer avenues of employment and livelihood are available to them. 4. The committee will assess whether the safeguards guaranteed under the Constitution are being effectively implemented and if there are adequate safeguards and structures for implementation of protective legislations such as Prevention of Atrocities Act and Forest Rights Act.
THE HIGH LEVEL COMMITTEE

Prof. Virginius Xaxa - Chairman Dr. Usha Ramanathan - Member Dr. Joseph Bara - Member Dr. K.K. Misra Member Dr. Abhay Bang - Member Ms. Sunila Basant - Member Secretary, Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs - Member Secretary
The committee head Prof. Virginius Xaxa is a sociologist, and a member of the National Advisory Council (NAC). NAC headed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The Prime Ministers decision of setting up a committee came after the government found that the STs, who form 7.5 percent of the countrys population, are not getting enough dues despite the special status in the constitution.
RUSA PROPOSED CEILING OF MAXIMUM NUMBER OF COLLEGES

The Rashtriya Uchattar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) on 16 August 2013 proposed to put a ceiling of maximum number of colleges to be affiliated to any university at two hundred.The proposal has been submitted following several State Universities having a large number of colleges affiliated to a single university. For example Osmania University has 901 colleges affiliated to it while 811 colleges are attached to Pune University.
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Rashtrusant Tukadoji Maharaj University Nagpur has 800 colleges with it and Rajasthan as well as Mumbai University have 735 and 711 colleges attached to them. The average number of affiliated colleges per university is 300. This phenomenon negatively affects the academic quality of the University. It is imperative that States create more universities so that affiliation does not result in large number of colleges being tied academically to one university. The one lakh crore rupees scheme when implemented will lead to setting up and upgradation of new colleges and universities. The scheme may also facilitate increased number of students from secondary to higher education. The Rashtriya Uchchatar Flagship Abhiyan is a new centrally sponsored flagship umbrella scheme aimed at providing strategic funding to State higher and technical institutions. States will develop comprehensive state higher education plans that utilize an interconnected strategy to address issues of expansion, equity and excellence together. Central funding will be linked to academic, administrative and financial reforms of state higher education.
EC TO USE VVPAT SYSTEM IN NAGALAND BY-POLLS

The Election Commission of India for the first time decided to use Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) in the 4 September 2013 by-poll to the Noksen Assembly constituency in Nagaland. Chief Election Commissioner V.S. Sampath is personally supervising the pilot project. 42 VVPAT Systems would be used in the 21 election stations during the by-election. About 12000 registered voters in the constituency would cast their votes by VVPAT enabled Electronic Voting Machines (EVM). To allow VVPAT system with the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) in the by-election, Government of India on 14 August 2013 amended the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.
VOTER VERIFIABLE PAPER AUDIT TRAIL SYSTEM (VVPAT)

The VVPAT system is a new initiative of the Election Commission to ensure free and fair elections. The VVPT will enable electors to see a printout of their ballot -displaying the name, election symbol and serial number of the chosen candidate. However the voter cannot take the printout home. In case there is a dispute about the voting and a petition is filed, the votes can be tallied electronically and physically with the ballot slips that fall into the compartment.
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The cost of each VVPAT, manufactured by Bharat Electronic Ltd and Electronics Corporation of India (ECIL) is estimated at about 12000 rupees. At present, EVMs are used for voting and counting is based on the results in the machines. In comparison the VVPAT will print a voters selection, thus also allowing for physically verification of the vote.
Election Commission of India with an objective of free and fair polls, the VVPAT System is introduced. This new voting system is a step towards winning the public trust in election process. VVPAT system will also help to resolve the election disputes by providing physical verification of the votes in EVMs. EC would take the decision depending on feedback from the by-polls of Nagaland and it will expand the VVPAT System in a graded and phased manner throughout the country. For introducing VVPAT systems throughout the country would cost around 2000 to 3000 crore rupees.
ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA

Under article 324, the Constitution of India has vested in the Election Commission of India the superintendence, direction and control of the entire process for conduct of elections to Parliament and Legislature of every State and to the offices of President and Vice-President of India. Election Commission of India is a permanent Constitutional Body. The Election Commission was established in accordance with the Constitution on 25 January 1950.
NATIONAL SKILL CERTIFICATION AND MONETAR Y REWARD SCHEME

The Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on 16 August 2013 unveiled the National Skill Certification and Monetary Reward Scheme that will be implemented on pan-India basis, in New Delhi. The objective of the scheme is to motivate the youth for acquiring vocational skills. This is the first such kind of a scheme launched in India. The scheme was proposed by the Union Finance Minister in 2012-13 Union Budget in order to allocate 1000 crore Rupees. In the first year of implementation, the scheme would facilitate benefit to around a million people. The
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scheme is branded as STAR (Standard Training Assessment and Reward) and is meant for promotional purposes which envisage the monetary reward, which in turn will in essence financially help those who wish to acquire a new skill or upgrade their skills to a higher level.
THE MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SCHEME ARE AS FOLLOW

A 1000 crore Rupees pan-India scheme launched by the Ministry of Finance Branded as STAR Standard Training Assessment and Reward Objective is to benefit 1 million people Scheme to be implemented by National Skill Development Corporation Each tested and certified trainee to get an average of 10000 Rupees in order to cover training costs
ABOUT NATIONAL SKILL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

National Skill Development Corporation is a body under the Ministry of Finance. It is one of its kinds public private partnership endeavour with 51 percent equity held by private sector and 49 percent by the Union Government. Formed in 2010, NSDC is a professionally run not-for-profit company that includes 22 Sector Skill Councils and 87 training partners with over 2500 training centres spread across 352 districts in the country.
LOW INCOME HOUSING FINANCE PROJECT

The Government of India and the World Bank on 14 August 2013 signed a 100 million US dollars credit agreement aimed at helping low-income households to secure loans to purchase, build or upgrade their dwellings. The Low Income Housing Finance (LIHF) Project would be implemented by the National Housing Bank (NHB). The credit agreement for the Low Income Housing Finance Project was signed between the Government of India, National Housing Bank (NHB) and World Bank in New Delhi on 14 August 2013.The project aims at reaching a higher proportion of lower income households while maintaining portfolio quality standards.
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ABOUT THE LOW INCOME HOUSING FINANCE (LIHF) PROJECT

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The objective of the project is to provide access to sustainable housing finance for lowincome households to purchase, build or upgrade their dwellings. The project will support the governments agenda for financial inclusion by making it easier for low-income households in urban areas to access housing finance. The project will also support financial institutions which target low-income households and build their capacity to scale up sustainable housing finance. This project will allow low-income households to switch from informal finance to longerterm, formal sources for their housing needs. The project funding is a financial intermediary loan for an implementation period of 5 years. The project will be financed by a credit from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Banks concessionary lending arm which provides interest -free loans with 25 years to maturity and a grace period of five years.
COMMENT
Indias urban population is expanding at a rapid pace and is expected to rise to 600 million by 2031, more than double that in 2001. Housing shortages in India are also acute with more than 90 percent of the shortage being faced by low-income households. In 2012 the urban housing shortage was estimated at 19 million. In India housing shortages are a result of several challenges facing the housing sector. Current land use policies and building norms restrict the availability of housing and developers tend to refrain from entering the low-income market due to perceived risks associated with buyers who lack access to formal finance. The bulk of the low-income population works in the informal sector, with no documentation of income is also worsening the problem. Most banks in India do not have the tools or the capacity to assess and manage credit risk for this market. And most non-bank financial institutions lack access to the long-term funding necessary to make housing finance affordable to low income household.
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THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2013 INTRODUCED

The Union Minister of State for Personnel and Training V Narayanasamy on 12 August 2013 introduced The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill 2013 in Lok Sabha. The Union Cabinet approved the amendments to the RTI Act 2005 on 2 August 2013. The Bill was introduced to amend the Right to Information Act, 2005, to exclude the political parties from the definition of Public authority for the purpose of the Act.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE RTI (AMENDMENT) BILL 2013

The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2013 seeks to insert an explanation in Section 2 of the Act which states that any association or body of individuals registered or recognised as political party under the Representation of the People Act, 1951 will not be considered a public authority. Referring to the CIC order of June, the bill also makes it clear that anything contained in any judgement, decree or order of any court or commission will not affect the status of political parties recognised under the Representation of the People Act. With a view to remove the adverse effects of the Central Information Commission decision, the bill states that it is necessary to give retrospective effect to the proposed amendment. The Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill, states that the government considers that the CIC has made a liberal interpretation of Section 2 (h) of the said (RTI) Act in its decision. The Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill also points that there are already provisions in the RP Act as well as the Income Tax Act which deal with transparency in the financial aspects of political parties and their candidates.
BACKGROUND
The issue of amending the Right to Information Act 2005 came to limelight after a 3 June 2013 Central Information Commission (CIC) order. In its order CIC stated that six national political parties namely, INC, BJP, CPI(M), CPI, NCP, and BSP would be brought under the RTI Act as they were public authorities, receiving significant funding from the government. The order of the CIC had evoked sharp reactions from political parties, especially Congress which has been credited with bringing in the transparency law. www.jagranjosh.com
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REGISTRATION OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2012

The Rajya Sabha on 13 August 2013 passed Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2012, under which marriages solemnized in India irrespective of the religion of the persons getting married will have to be compulsorily registered. The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2012, was passed by a voice vote after a brief discussion. Through this bill, the Union government is providing a platform to the states, which are free to frame their own rules in accordance with their requirements. The government does not favour compulsory registration in cases of live-in relations. The Bill is set to protect the women from unnecessary harassment in matrimonial and maintenance cases. It also seeks to provide evidentiary value in the matters of custody of children, right of children born from the wedlock of the two persons whose marriage is registered and the age of the parties to the marriage.
HYDRO-ELECTRIC PROJECTS IN UTTARAKHAND PROHIBITED

The Supreme Court of India on 13 August 2013 directed the Union Government of India and the Government of Uttarakhand to not grant any environmental clearances to the hydro-electric projects in Uttarakhand. The two-judge bench headed by Justice KS Radhakrishnan and comprising of comprising Justice Dipak Misra passed the judgement in relation to the Alaknanda Hydro Power Project. The Apex Court ordered the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) for establishing the expert body in order to study the environmental degradation taking place by the power projects. Also, the court directed that the study should focus on the recent tragedy which claimed thousands of lives in Uttarakhand. The expert body should consist of representatives from the state government of Uttarakhand, Central Water Commission, Central Electricity Authority, WII (Wild Life Institute of India) as well as certain other bodies. The expert body to be established, in the meanwhile, will also analyse and examine the effect of 24 new hydro-electric projects which were proposed on biodiversity of Bhagirathi and Alaknanda river basins. Also, the Apex Court directed the Disaster Management Authority of Uttarakhand to submit a detailed report on the plan of disaster management in the state. The central as well as the state agencies were asked to submit their detailed reports by November 2013. Uttrakhand in the third week of June 2013 was stuck by flash floods and landslides. During this natural disaster in the state, thousands of people lost their life and various remained stranded. Rescue operations by Indian Army were carried out in the state. The worst affected region of Uttarakhand was Kedarnath, which is a popular Hindu shrine and receives lakhs of tourists every year during June and July.
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Current Affairs eBook August 2013 INDIAS FIRST CYBER FORENSIC LABORATORY INAUGURATED
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The first Cyber Forensic Laboratory (CFL) of India was established in Tripura on 11 August 2013. The lab was established at the Tripura High Court and the purpose of the lab is to facilitate information related to court cases. The CFL was inaugurated by Supreme Court judge Justice Madan B. Lokur.
FEATURES OF THE CYBER FORENSIC LABORATORY (CFL)

The CFL would offer automatic SMS alert to not just the lawyers, but also the litigants regarding the details of the court case. In case, the petitioner or the lawyer is absent on the day of trial, SMS alert would go to the concerned parties through the CFL. CFL would facilitate decentralisation of the legal services in India. As a part of CFL, the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) will also be developed under the supervision of the Supreme Court. The information related to the legal services, judicial actions as well as the court cases will be available through NJDG. NJDG would be operationalised by January 2014. CFL is the part of e-court programme.
The training regarding this new system would be given to thousands of judicial officials. As of now, 13000 judicial officers, which also include the judges, have already been trained about ecourt system. As a part of the modernisation, video conferencing systems are also being expanded in India. Under the video conferencing system, any lawyer or judge will be able to talk to the accused, who is lodged in a jail. The e-court programme in India was first introduced in the year 2007 when Justice Madan B. Lokur pioneered video conferencing systems between the Tihar jail and Delhi High Court. Also, 140 district courts in India out of 620 have their own websites for providing information related to the cases. E-court schemes of all kinds facilitate faster disposal of pending cases in the courts. It is important to know that the states of Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura got their individual high courts in March 2013. All the seven northeastern states- Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura and Assam were formerly under the Gauhati High Court with benches in the state capitals. Sikkim had its own separate high court.
JANATA PARTY MERGED WITH THE BHARTIYA JANATA PARTY (BJP)

Janata Party was merged with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on 11 August 2013 following a meeting of Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy and BJP President Rajnath Singh. Subramanian Swamy had served as member of the Planning Commission of India. He was also former Cabinet Minister at the Centre and has been a five-time MP. He has been an ardent www.jagranjosh.com
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proponent of Hindutva philosophy outside and was active in exposing the 2G Spectrum scam. He was a former member of the Janshangha. The Janata Party was an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the State of Emergency that was imposed between 1975 and 1977 by the government of India under the Prime Ministership of late Indira Gandhi and her party, the Indian National Congress. In the general election held after the state of emergency ended in 1977, the Janata party defeated Congress to form the first non-Congress government in the history of the Republic of India. The Janata party was officially launched on 23 January 1977 when the Janata Morcha, Charan Singh's Bharatiya Lok Dal, Swatantra Party, the Socialist Party of India of Raj Narain and George Fernandes, and the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) came together, merging their separate identities. Morarji Desai was elected the first party chairman. Ramakrishna Hegde was appointed the party general secretary, and Jana Sangh politician Lal Krishna Advani became the party spokesperson. Janta party won the 1977 parliamentary elections but started disintegrating after coming to power and lost the 1980 mid-term election. Slowly and gradually it faded away from the limelight and continued its small existence in the politics of the state of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Chandigarh, Delhi and at the national stage under the chairmanship of Subramanian Swamy.
NEW MEDIA WING IN THE I&B MINISTRY TO BE ESTABLISHED

The Union Cabinet on 9 August 2013 approved the proposal for establishment of a New Media Wing in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The new wing would be responsible for publicizing Governments Initiatives through Multiple Social Media platforms and address the communication and dissemination requirements of the Government on social media platforms. It will also integrate the communication tools vertically and horizontally via these platforms. The proposal for establishment of New Media Wing has been drawn on the basis of the experience of the initiative undertaken by the Ministry on a pilot basis to position itself on the social media platforms such as Youtube, facebook and Twitter. A senior officer of Joint Secretary Level will be the head of this New Media Wing and it will be operational under his overall supervision, direction and guidance. The wing will be provided with the administrative and operational support from the Media Unit under the Ministry and i.e. Research Reference & Training Division. The new wing will be developed would cost the exchequer an amount of 22.5 crore rupees during the 12th Five Year Plan (1012-17). The proposal was approved by the CCEA under Development Communication & Information Dissemination plan scheme of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
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Current Affairs eBook August 2013 TWO NON-JURISTS IN JUDGES SELECTION PANEL
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The Government on 3 August 2013 proposed inclusion of two eminent persons in the sixmember Judicial Appointments Commission instead of the two jurists. The decision was made to create a balance and avoid the extra weightage to judiciary in the body. The decision on the proposed changes was made by the Union Law Ministry in a separate note to the Cabinet Secretariat. The cabinet note says "Constitution uses consultation but interpreting it as concurrence in the face of clear language to establish primacy of the opinion of the Chief Justice of India is contrary to constitutional scheme. Also, in the constitutional scheme there is no hierarchy among consultees. As per the new proposal the six members Judicial Appointments Commission would comprise of the Chief Justice of India, two Supreme Court judges, Union Law Minister and two eminent persons, instead of two jurists. The inclusion of the two jurists was proposed earlier. The previous proposal also mentioned that the leader of opposition would not be the member of the commission. To appoint the two eminent persons for the appointments commission would be done by the collegium that will include the Prime Minister of India, the Leader of Opposition and the Chief Justice of India. The secretary of the Law Ministry will act as the convenor of the Judicial Appointment Commissions but not the member of the commission.
IMPACT OF THE CHANGES

The proposed changes will allow non-jurists to be the part of the judicial appointments commission as its member surpassing the limitation of the membership of the person from judicial background only As per the Cabinet note, the Judicial Appointments Commission will be responsible for recommending the name of the Chief Justice of India, Judges of Supreme Court and Chief justices of high courts as well as Judges at other levels. Transfer of judges would also be recommended by the Appointments Commission based on the persons ability integrity and standing in the legal pr ofession.
The UPA Governments proposal would seek an approval for the amendment of Article 124, 217, 222 and 231 of the Constitution of India. Apart from this, it proposes the insertion of Article 124 (A) in the Constitution. It also seeks introduction of the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill in the Parliament. The decision has been taken to do away the Collegiums System of Appointment of Judges that allows Judges to make their own appointments.
ABOUT THE COLLEGIUMS SYSTEM OF APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES
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Two judgments of the Supreme Court resulted in the formation of the Collegium System. The Judgment in support of the system was delivered on 6 October 1993 by a nine Judge Bench. Justice M N Venkatachaliah the then Chief Justice of India was not the member of the nine Judge Bench. The collegium system of appointment of Judges in the Supreme Court and High Courts of the country was introduced by a Judicial Legislation by a majority Judgment in the Second Judges Case. The first judgment interpreted Article 124 of the Constitution in a manner in which consultation process with the judiciary by the President was deemed concurrence. The Judgment held: in matters relating to appointments in the Supreme Court, the opinion given by the Chief Justice of India in the consultative process has to be formed taking into account the views of the two senior most judges of the Supreme Court.
The system for the first time came into attack, since its formation after, Justice Bhaskara Bhattacharya the Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court (appointed on 21 July 2012) took on the system openly after he was not elevated to the Supreme Court. He alleged that his elevation was barred from elevation because he opposed the elevation of Justice Altamas Kabirs sister in Calcutta High Court.
MOU SIGNED FOR DEVELOPMENT IN NAXAL AREAS

The Ministry of Rural Development on 6 August 2013 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pradan, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). The NGO will serve as a resource and support organisation for the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), with specially focusing on Naxal-affected districts. The scheme will be implemented in some of the Naxal-affected districts of Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha in the first phase. Rural development ministry identified three goals in order to help women farmers groups under the Mahila Krishak Sashaktikaran Yojana: Increase their earnings by reducing input costs Training SHGs by focusing on issues such as sanitation and setting up community kitchens to tackle malnutrition Putting an end to trafficking of tribal women by providing them with livelihoods
In the first project, 18000 families will get help through production and marketing of Tasar silk in Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal in the next three years with a budget of 50 crore rupees. The second project will be Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana and it will be implemented in Rajasthan, Odisha and MP with a budget of 20 crore rupees. The project is likely to be availed by 18000 families, where sustainable agriculture will be promoted through women headed
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households and it is calculated that there should be an increase of the income of the self help groups by 15 to 20 per cent after reducing the use of harmful chemicals and pesticides. Third component of the programme will be training of the girls for alternative sources of livelihood. Pradans help is needed in these areas since government agencies often find the in implementation of developmental projects because of threats from Naxals. Pradan, is funded by the Ford Foundation and Gates Foundation. It will extend its support and expertise in the field of livelihood generation. It will be called the NSO or the NRLM Support Organisation. NRLM is a programme aimed at reducing poverty by promoting livelihood opportunities for the poor so that their access to financial services could be improved. NRLM preside over 25 lakh women Self Help Groups (SHGs). It aims at creating nearly 60 lakh SHGs over the next five years. The NSO will support State and Central NRLM missions to guide these SHGs.
SC ASKED CENTRE TO RESPOND ON THE DRUG PRICING POLICY

The Supreme Court of India on 6 August 2013 sought the response from the Union Government on the PIL that challenged the fixing of the ceiling price of essential drugs on basis of the market rates, following provisions of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy. The Supreme Court bench of two Judges, Justice GS Singhvi and Justice V Gopala Gowda agreed for examining the validity of the new policy set by the Government. The PIL filed against the policy has alleged that the new policy will result in price hike of the essential and non-essential drugs, as under the new policy, the margin of profit for drug manufacturer and dealer has become 10-1300 per cent. The PIL also contended that National List of Essential Drugs consists of only 348 drugs and left out many essential medicines from price control. The PIL also mentioned to bring in the medicines specially used in HIV AIDS, cancer, mental health, chronic non-communicable diseases like asthma and rheumatoid arthritis, under price control mechanism. The Union Government has delayed the issue of price fixation for past 10 years, although several committees that include a parliamentary committee were working on it. The Government has also failed in controlling the prices of the drugs in past 18 years. The Government was also pulled for its failure in taking any decision to bring more drugs under the price control after 1999. The Apex Court also pulled the Government by saying the any formula for price fixation which goes against common man should be quashed.
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NATIONAL PHARMACEUTICAL PRICING (NPP) POLICY
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The Union Cabinet of India on 22 November 2012 passed the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy (NPPA). As per the new pricing policy declared by the Union Government, 348 essential drugs would come under price control policy of the nation, which would lead to price reduction of the same. The policy was approved with an objective to put in place a regulatory framework for pricing of drugs to ensure availability of the required medicines essential medicines at reasonable prices even while providing sufficient opportunity for innovation and competition to support the growth of the industry, thereby meeting the goals of employment and shared economic well being for all.
CEILING PRICE
Ceiling price means a price fixed by the Government for Scheduled formulations in accordance with the provisions of this order in DPCO 2013. Formulae for fixing the ceiling price of the scheduled formulation set by the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers (Department of Pharmaceuticals) via notification issued on15 May 2013, in DPCO 2013. Step I. Average Price to Retailer, P(s) = (Sum of prices to retailer of all the brands and generic versions of the medicine having market share more than or equal to one percent of the total market turnover on the basis of moving annual turnover of that medicine) / (Total number of such brands and generic versions of the medicine having market share more than or equal to one percent of total market turnover on the basis of moving annual turnover for that medicine.) Step II. P(c) = P(s).(1+M/100) Where, P(s) = Average Price to Retailer for the same strength and dosage of the medicine as calculated in step1 above. M = % Margin to retailer and its value = 16
MOU SIGNED TO CREATE NCRTC TO CONSTRUCT THE RRTS

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on 1 August 2013 to set up a new company, named the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) to construct the Regional Rapid Transport System (RRTS). The Union Ministry of Railways, Union Ministry of Urban Development and the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) and the state Governments of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh agreed for the creation of a company the National Capital Region Transport
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Corporation (NCRTC). RRTS is the high Speed rail network to connect the cities of National Capital Region. The Union Cabinet cleared the creation of NCRTC on 11 July 2013. NCRTC will implement individual RRTS corridors either through separate Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) or on Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. The NCRTC will also design, develop, implement, finance, operate and maintain the Regional Rapid Transport System (RRTS) in the National Capital Region to provide comfortable and fast transit to NCR towns, and meet the high growth in transport demand. The Corporation will have a initial capital of 100 crore rupees on a 50:50 ownership pattern with 50 per cent owned by the Centre and 50 per cent by the State Governments. Union Ministry of Urban Development and Ministry of Railways will have 22.5 percent equity each in the project, with 5percent equity of NCRPB and four State Governments will have equity of 12.5 percent each.
NCRPB had envisioned setting up of eight rapid transport corridors connecting NCR to nearby areas in its functional plan of 2023.
REGIONAL RAPID TRANSPORT SYSTEM (RRTS)

The RRTS will be built on the lines of Delhi Metro in order develop the Northern plains and reduce the congestion in Delhi and making travel easier for people in cities and towns within a 100-200 km radius of Delhi to commute to and from the NCR.
IN THE FIRST PHASE, THE RRTS WILL COVER

A 111 km stretch between Delhi-Soniapat-Panipat with an estimated cost of 18755 crore rupees A 180 km stretch between Delhi-Gurgaon-Alwar at an estimated cost of 32141 crore rupees A 90 km stretch between Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut at an estimated cost of 21274 crore rupees. The total length of the three corridors will be 381 km and estimated cost of will be 72000 crore Rupees and The first phase RRTS is expected to completed in five years from the time of land acquired A total of 48 stations will be built on these corridors, with an expected ridership between four to seven lakh
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The government would raise the fund for the developing RRTS through innovative financing mechanism like property development along the transit corridors and stations, and through increased property tax collections and increased floor area ratios The rapid transport system is expected to boost real estate and other development prospects in the expanding NCR region
INDIA DAIRY
1 August 2013 Cabinet approved Amendment to put Political Parties out from the ambit of RTI ACT Book Titled an Agenda for Indias Growth: Essays in Honour of P. Chidambaram, Released Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar Retired and Bhim Sain Bassi succeeded him as the 20th Delhi Police Commissioner Petroleum Ministry and Delhi Government launched IGL Suraksha Yojana Pravasi Friend launched its Operations in Kochi Rajeev Rishi took over as the CMD of Central Bank of India
2 August 2013 National Archives of India Launched Quarterly Newsletter Entitled e-Abhilekh Dadra and Nagar Haveli Celebrated Its 60th Liberation Day Hemendra Prasad Barooah, the Noted Assam Tea Planter Passed Away at 87
3 August 2013 MoU signed to create NCRTC to Construct the Regional Rapid Transport System Sugathakumari, the Malayalam Poetess won Saraswati Samman 2013 for Manalezhuthu Agni-V to be inducted by 2015 with two or Three Successful Test Firings in 2013
4 August 2013 Arundhati Bhattacharya appointed Managing Director of SBI Special National Investment Fund (SNIF) approved by CCEA Current Affairs eBook August 2013
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5 August 2013 Delhi State Cabinet approved Draft Delhi Lifts and Escalators Bill, 2013 Two projects of BHEL inaugurated by Manmohan Singh in Tamil Nadu
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6 August 2013 Handwoven Pashmina Shawls of Kashmir Accredited With the Geographical Indication Mark Employment-Unemployment Situation among Major Religions in India Studied by NSSO
7 August 2013 SC asked Centre to respond on the Drug Pricing Policy under NPP Policy Ministry of Rural Development signed MoU with NGO Pradan for development in Naxal Areas NSDC to open Skill Development Council in Aerospace Aviation in Bangalore Raghuram Govind Rajan Appointed as the 23rd Governor of RBI
8 August 2013 UPA Government proposed inclusion of two Non-Jurists in Judges Selection Panel Companies Bill 2012 introduced in Rajya Sabha Sports Ministry announced 50 Thousand Cash Prize for Each Junior Women Hockey Player Rakesh Sethi took Charge as Executive Director of Union Bank of India Ministry of Communications and IT inaugurated Data Portal of India
9 August 2013 Companies Bill 2012 passed in Rajya Sabha CAG Report: 83% households in Bihar didn't get Complete Employment under MGNREGS
10 August 2013 Proposal to establish New Media Wing in the I&B Ministry approved Current Affairs eBook August 2013
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VP Sharma won the Gujar Mal Modi Award for Science and Technology 2013 Committee Constituted by MoEF on Illegal Sand Mining submitted its Report
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11 August 2013 National Food Security Bill 2013 introduced in Lok Sabha Jagan Reddy resigned as MP over split of Andhra Pradesh
12 August 2013 Janata Party merged with the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) India successfully Test-Fired Surface-to-Surface Prithvi-II Missile Delhi conferred Lifetime Achievement Award 2013 on Abdul Rashid Khan and Anjolie Ela Menon India launched Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant in Kochi
13 August 2013 Indias First Cyber Forensic Laboratory (CFL) Inaugurated at Tripura High Court The Prem Bhatia Memorial award presented to Shalini Singh of the Hindu Renowned Naturalist and Ornithologist Zafar Futehally passed away
14 August 2013 Supreme Court Prohibited Environmental Clearances to Hydro-Electric Projects in Uttarakhand Rajya Sabha passed the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2012 Vinay Mittal appointed as Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) member Submarine INS Sindhurakshak damaged in a Fire Incident in Mumbai Glimpses of the India Story:Second Phase Unveiled
15 August 2013 Prime Minister's Shram Awards for the Year 2012 Announced SC rejected the Review Petition of Devender Pal Singh Bhullar Current Affairs eBook August 2013
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16 August 2013 The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2013 Introduced in Lok Sabha
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World Bank and India signed Agreement for Low income Housing Finance Project Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG (DBTL) Scheme to be extended to 35 More Districts
17 August 2013 P Chidambaram Unveiled the National Skill Certification and Monetary Reward Scheme EC to use Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) System in Nagaland by-polls Abdul Karim Tunda,Lashkar-e-Taiba's Bomb Expert arrested by Delhi Police Former Cricketer Kalyan Mitter Died Dilip Trivedi appointed Director General of the CRPF
18 August 2013 RUSA Proposed to put a Ceiling of Maximum Number of Colleges to be affiliated at Two Hundred Finance Ministry Unveiled National Skill Certification and Monetary Reward Scheme Vijay Singh was named a Recipient of the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award
19 August 2013 Prime Minister of India Set up Committee to assess Status of Scheduled Tribes My Journey: Transforming Dreams into Actions by Dr. APJ Kalam Launched Statue of Nobel Laureate Dr. Norman Borlaug Unveiled at New Delhi
20 August 2013 Delhi, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana and Uttarakhand rolled out Food Security Scheme Government failed to spend a Single Penny from Rape Relief Fund: CAG C-130J Super Hercules Transport Plane of Air Force landed at Daulat Beg Oldie Airstrip
21 August 2013
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Citizens can Now File RTI Applications Online in All Government Ministries SC: Right to receive Pension cant be taken away Pending Proceedings
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22 August 2013 Hysterectomies to be included in National Family Health Survey-4 Tata Steel was adjudged the Best Performing Steel Plant Government constituted an EGoM to ensure speedy implementation of Power Projects Milind Soman launched a drive against Drunken Driving in Delhi 24th National Photo Contest & Exhibition organized by Photo Division
23 August 2013 CCEA cleared 3.1 million tonnes of extra Food grain for States under Food Security Scheme Union Cabinet approved Amendments to the Representation of the People Act, 1951 Act Union Government to set up a Committee to Study Backlog in Vacancies of Reserved Category The Mental Health Care Bill, 2013 Introduced in the Rajya Sabha; Decriminalizes Suicide MHA Asked State Governments to Establish Fund for Compensating Crime Victims Union Cabinet cleared a Proposal to scrap the Collegium System of Appointing Judges Nishi Vasudeva Selected As the First Woman to Head the Oil Company, HPCL Union Government announced to release National e-mail Policy
24 August 2013 J&K Government appointed One-man Commission to probe Kishtwar Communal Clashes Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Arjuna Awards 2013 announced by the Government India became the World's Third Largest Internet User Amitabh Bachchan joined UN Campaign the World Needs More
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World Bank Assisted National AIDS Control Support Project Launched Congress won the Mandya and Bangalore rural Bypolls
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25 August 2013 Initiative to provide Free Generic Medicines in Government Hospitals Approved Prime Minister and UPA Chairperson inaugurated National Media Centre at New Delhi Hamid Ansari released Book entitled Ghalib & His Times Inquiry ordered into explosion at HPCL plant in Visakhapatnam
26 August 2013 Implementation of Food Security Act needs over 614 lakh tonnes of Food Grains: Government Union Government set up Tax Administration Reform Commission under Parthasarathy Shome Pandit Raghunath Panigrahi, the Eminent Indian Classical Singer Passed Away Tata Medical Centre of Kolkata to Start Bio-Bank to Store Cancer Tissues
27 August 2013 National Food Security Bill passed in Lok Sabha Rajya Sabha passed The Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010 National Sports Day Observed on 29 August
28 August 2013 Rajya Sabha Passed the Representation of the People (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2013 SC: Rapist's offer to Marry can't be a Ground for Letting off the Guilty
29 August 2013 RTE Anthem launched by Union Minister for HRD Pallam Raju Tourist Visa on Arrival Facility extended at Four More Airports
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Book entitled Satyagraha: The Story Behind the Revolution released National Sports Day Observed on 29 August
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30 August 2013 Meeting of Consultative Committee of Parliament on Maternal Health Held Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011 Passed By the Lok Sabha GSAT7, India's first Defence Satellite launched Successfully Yasin Bhatkal, the Co-Founder of Indian Mujahideen, Arrested From Bihar
31 August 2013 Supreme Court of India Cleared Dedicated Freight Corridor Project through National Park Government approved denotification of six SEZs projects The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee Gave Assent to the Companies Bill Union Government of India Approved Three Projects under EMC Scheme
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ECONOMY
RBI INTRODUCED FOREX SWAP WINDOW FOR OIL COMPANIES
Reserve Bank of India on 28 August 2013 has decided to open a forex swap window to meet the entire daily dollar requirements of three public sector oil marketing companies (IOC, HPCL and BPCL). The decision was taken based on the assessment of current market conditions. Under this Forex Swap Facility Reserve Bank will undertake sell/buy of USD-INR forex swaps for fixed tenor with the oil marketing companies through a designated bank. The swap facility gets operationalized with immediate effect and will remain in place until further notice. The decision will help in reducing the volatility in the rupee market that has continuously fallen weak against dollar in past few months, reaching to the market value of 68.82 against US dollar.
GOVERNMENT APPROVED DENOTIFICATION OF SIX SEZ PROJECTS

The Union Government of India on 30 August 2013 approved denotification of six Special Economic Zones (SEZs) projects, including one textile sector and five IT SEZs. The decision was taken during a meet of the Board of Approval, BoA, headed by Commerce Secretary SR Rao. The decision of denotification was taken after the companies approached the Government to surrender their projects in different parts of the country. The BoA also considered four new proposals for establishing SEZ with a total investment of over 6451 crore rupees after they approached the Government to develop new zones. Out of the four, only two proposals were cleared, while the other two were deferred for the next meeting pending certain clarifications.
INDIAS GDP DROPPED TO 4.4 PERCENT

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of India decelerated even more to 4.4 percent, the slowest rate of expansion in 4 years, i.e., since 2008 economic meltdown. The GDP growth stood at 4. 4 percent in the first quarter (April-June) of the fiscal year 2013-14. The reason for this drop is poor performance of the manufacturing as well as mining sector. In the first quarter of 2012-13, the economic growth resulted out of GDP expansion of 5.4 percent. In the fourth quarter (January-March) of 2012-13, the GDP growth again fell down to 4.8 percent. In the first quarter of 2013-14 fiscal year, the actual performance of the economy
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came out to be much lower than anticipated. A total of seven out of eight sectors displayed contraction in growth or the lower rate of expansion. As a result, there is a need for combined action by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Union Government of India. The GDP data released by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) revealed that mainly mining sector was responsible for bringing down the economic growth of India. In this sector, the rate of growth was 2.8 percent in April-June quarter in comparison to 0.4 percent in same period during 2012-13 fiscal year. The manufacturing sector also brought down the growth. This was seen at 1.2 percent from 1 percent in same quarter during 2012-13 financial year. Significant decrease was also observed in other sectors such as transport and hotels, power generation as well as construction.
PREMATURE ENCASHMENT OF SAVING BONDS FOR INVESTOR ABOVE 60

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 30 August 2013 permitted the premature encashment of 8 percent savings (Taxable) Bonds for individual investors who are 60 years and above in age. The facility would be available after a minimum lock-in period of three years from the date of issue of the bond. In case of joint holders, any one of the holders should fulfill the conditions of eligibility. RBI in its notification also clarified that partial encashment of amount invested on a single application will not be permitted. It also directed the Urban Co-Operative Banks to stop giving donations to trusts and institutions where the banks directors or their relatives hold positions or have interests.
CCEA NOD TO CONTINUATION OF TUFS

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on 29 August 2013 gave its approval for continuing the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) during the 12th Plan period with a major focus on power-looms in accordance with the Budget announcement for the financial year 2013-14. The total budget outlay for continuation of the scheme will be about 11900 crore rupees, out of which 2400 crore rupees have been allocated for the financial year 2013-14.
THE MAJOR FEATURES OF THE SCHEME ARE AS FOLLOWING

To promote indigenous manufacturing of the textile machinery, Interest Reimbursement (IR) on second hand imported shuttleless looms shall be reduced from 5 percent to 2 percent. On the other hand, for new shuttleless looms capital subsidy would be raised from 10 percent to 15 percent, IR from 5 percent to 6 percent, Capital Subsidy from 10
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percent to 15 percent and margin money subsidy from 20 percent to 30 percent with an increase in subsidy cap from Rs. 1 crore to Rs. 1.5 crore. Capital subsidy for handloom and silk sectors would be increased from 25 percent to 30 percent. In addition to this, margin money subsidy cap would be increased from Rs.45 lakh to Rs. 75 lakh in respect of MSME and Jute sectors. Sectoral cap of 26 percent will be applicable only for the spinning segment and sectoral caps for all other segments have been removed to enable balanced growth across the value chain. A pilot project for Hire-Purchase of new shuttleless looms shall be introduced with a plan outlay of Rs.300 crore within TUFS to enable poor powerloom weavers, having limited capacity to make capital investments, to upgrade their looms through payment of easy installments. These features will help induce capital investment in the textile sector to achieve growth in the fibre, yarn, fabric and garment production chain.
It will generate 11.5 percent annual growth in volume terms in cloth production and 15 percent in value exports by increasing domestic value addition and technological depth and by enhancing the global competitiveness of textiles products to generate an additional employment to 15.81 million workers. Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme(TUFS) is one of the flagship schemes of the Ministry of Textiles and has helped the industry to garner investments of Rs. 2.43 thousand crore. The scheme was launched in 1999 and has been instrumental in helping India achieve new heights in the development of the textile sector and particularly in the spinning segment. The Finance Minister in his Budget Speech of February, 2013, had announced continuation of TUFS in the 12th Plan with a major focus on modernisation of the powerloom sector. Higher subsidies for weaving / powerloom sector have accordingly been planned in the continued TUFS.
CCI CLEARED STALLED INFRA PROJECTS WORTH 1.83 LAKH CRORE

The Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI) on 26 August 2013 cleared 36 projects worth 1.83 lakh crore rupees in power and other infrastructure sectors which were stalled on account of regulatory hurdles. The projects were cleared to boost Investment and accelerate growth in the country. The projects are across five key infrastructure sectors of power, roads, ports, cement and petroleum. The projects approved by the CCI include 18 power projects with an investment of 83772 crore rupees and nine other non-power projects with a total outlay of over 14084 crore rupees.
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Nine other infrastructure projects reviewed by the CCI involved an investment of over 85000 crore rupees. The big projects that have been cleared by the CCI include Reliance Powers 4000 MW Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) at Sasan in Madhya Pradesh, L&Ts Metro Rail project, Hindalco Industries project and Essar Powers Jharkhand project. GMR Kishangarg Express way, JAS Infra and Power, Utkal Alumina, Athena Chhattisgarh Power and Essar Powers Tori-I power plant were the other projects which were reviewed. The Cabinet Committee on Investment The Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI), headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, was set up to fast-track clearances to infrastructure projects involving investments of over 1000 crore rupees. The CCI also monitors investment proposals as well as projects under implementation, including stalled projects, and guides decision-making in order to remove bottlenecks and quicken the pace of implementation.
NUMBER OF FOREIGN TOURISTS IN INDIA INCREASED IN 2012

As per the data released by Ministry of Tourism on 26 August 2013, the number of foreign tourists visiting India has shown a steady increase in the past three years. The number of foreign tourist visits has increased to 207.31 lakh in 2012 as compared to 194.97 lakh in 2011 and 179.10 lakh during 2010. This shows an increase of almost 16 per cent in the past two years. The highest number of foreign tourists inflow was recorded in Maharashtra at 51.20 lakh followed by Tamilnadu at 35.62 lakh and Delhi at 23.46 lakh in the year 2012. The Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) from tourism has also shown a significant growth rising to 94487 crores rupees in 2012 as compared to 77591 crores rupees in 2011 and 64889 crores rupees in 2010. This marks an increase of around 46 per cent in the three year period from 2010 to 2012. The Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) is estimated as 50448 crores rupees in the period January to June 2013. The number of Domestic Tourist Visits (DTVs) to States/UTs has also shown an impressive growth of around 39 per cent in the past three years. The number of DTVs in 2012 is estimated at 103.64 crores as compared to 74.77 crores in the year 2010.
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Current Affairs eBook August 2013 RBI ANNOUNCED AUCTION CASH MANAGEMENT BILLS
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The Reserve Bank of India on 23 August 2013 announced the auction of two 48-days Government of India Cash Management Bills. As per the notification issued by the Reserve Bank of India, the auctions will be conducted using Multiple Price Auction method. The decision was taken to hold the fall of rupee value in comparison to dollar. The Reserve Bank has also cleared that the competitive bids for the auction should be submitted in electronic format on the Reserve Bank of India Core Banking Solution (E-Kuber). Result of the auctions will be announced on the same day. The Cash Management Bills will have the generic character of Treasury Bills and their sale will be subject to the terms and conditions specified in the General Notification No. F.2 (12)W&M/97 dated March 31, 1998 issued by Government of India and as amended from time to time.
DETAILS OF THE CASH MANAGEMENT BILL ARE GIVEN BELOW

Auction Date Settlement/Issue Date Date of Maturity Notified Amount 11000 crore
1 26 August 27August 2013 2013 2 27 August 28 August 2013 2013
14 October 2013
15 October 2013
11000 crore
Total
22000 crore
CASH MANAGEMENT BILLS (CMBS)

The Government of India, in consultation with the RBI, took a decision of issuing a short-term instrument, known as Cash Management Bills (CMBs). The CMB allows the Central Bank to meet the temporary cash flow mismatches of the Government. CMBs in India are non-standard, discounted instruments issued for maturities less than 91 days. CMBs have the generic character of Treasury Bills. CMB is a flexible instrument for a Central Bank as it is issued at times of requirement. It allows the Central Bank to have lower cash balances and issue fewer long-term notes. CMBs tend to pay higher yields than bills with fixed maturities, but their shorter maturities lead to lower overall interest expense.
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Current Affairs eBook August 2013 RBI IMPOSED MONETARY PENALTY ON 6 BANKS
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The Reserve Bank of India on 24 August 2013 imposed monetary penalty of 6 crore 50 lakh rupees on six banks for violation of the Know Your Customer (KYC)/Anti Money Laundering guidelines.
DETAILS OF PENALTY ISSUED

Sl. No. Name of the bank 1 2 3 4 5 6 Allahabad Bank Bank of Maharashtra Corporation Bank Dena Bank IDBI Bank Ltd. Indian Bank Penalty Amount (in ` Crore) 0.50 0.501 1.50 2.00 1.00 1.00
The RBI has imposed penalties in exercise of powers vested in the Reserve Bank under the provisions of Section 47(A)(1)(C) read with Section 46(4)(i) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
BACKGROUND
The Reserve Bank of India carried out a scrutiny of books of accounts, internal control, compliance systems and processes of these banks at their offices during April and May 2013. The scrutiny of these banks revealed violation of certain regulations and instructions issued by Reserve Bank of India, namely, Non-adherence to certain aspects of Know Your Customer (KYC) norms and Anti Money Laundering (AML) guidelines like customer identification procedure, risk categorisation, periodical review of risk profiling of account holders and periodical KYC updation Non-adherence of KYC norms for walk in customers including for sale of third party products, omission in filing of cash transaction reports (CTRs) in respect of some cash transactions Current Affairs eBook August 2013
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Non-adherence to instructions on monitoring of transactions in customer accounts including walk-in-customers Non-adherence to instructions which prohibit acceptance of cash above ` 50,000 from customers for sale of gold coins and issue of Demand Drafts etc Non-adherence to instructions on import of gold on consignment basis Non-adherence to instructions on permitted credits to Non-resident accounts
The Apex Bank has however clarified that till now there is no prima facie evidence of money laundering.
GOVERNMENT BANNED DUTY-FREE IMPORT OF FLAT SCREEN TV

The Union Government of India on 19 August 2013 banned duty-free import of flat screen televisions by people who travel through air. This move came after the Rupees fell below 63 levels against the US Dollar. The Government issued a notification according to which the import of flat panel (LCD/LED/Plasma) televisions as part of free baggage allowance would be disallowed with effect from 26 August 2013. As of now, air travellers were allowed to bring the flatpanel televisions as part of their baggage. From 26 August 2013 onwards, the travellers will have to pay the customs duty on these TVs. It is important to note that for containing the Current Account Deficit (CAD) as well as for arresting the rupee depreciation, the Government increased the duty on platinum, silver and gold to 10 percent. The Union Finance Minister, in the meanwhile, also explained that in order to compress the import of non-essential goods, certain other steps would also be taken. Certain other items which cannot be imported duty free include specified quantity of tobacco and liquor, firearms, specified numbers of cigarettes and cigars, gold or silver as well as cartridges of fire arms.
GOLD PRICES HIT EIGHT-MONTH HIGH AT 31760 RUPEES

Gold price on 17 August 2013 jumped by 700 rupees in Kolkata after stocks and money markets melted. It touched 31760 rupees per 10 gram to an eight-month high. In Delhi, it gained 515 rupees to 31525 rupees per ten gram. In Chennai, the yellow metal climbed by 695 to 31505 rupees and in Mumbai by 640 rupees to 31,470 rupees per ten grams.
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Silver price further shot up by 1365 rupees to 50685 rupees per kilogram on increased demand from industrial units and coin makers. The rally in gold prices sparked after rupee plunged to all-time low of 61.65 against dollar. Globally, gold price increased to two-month high to 1379.20 dollar an ounce because of higher physical demand for precious metals.
GOVERNMENT IMPOSED MEP OF 650 US$ PER TONNE ON ONION

The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry on 17 August 2013 notified imposition of a Minimum Export Price (MEP) of 650 US dollars per tonne on onion to curb shipments and control rising prices. Export of onion shall be permitted subject to a MEP of 650 US dollars per Metric Ton FOB (Free On Board) or as notified by DGFT (Directorate General of Foreign Trade) from time-to-time. In May 2012, the Union government had scrapped fixing MEP, which is a benchmark price below which onion cannot be exported. Onion prices have soared to 80 rupees per kg in the major cities of the country. India has exported 6.39 lakh tonnes during April-July period of this fiscal compared with 6.94 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period. Production stood at 16.6 million tonnes in 2012-13. Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat are the main producing regions of the kitchen staple.
IMPORT DUTY ON GOLD, SILVER & PLATINUM HIKED TO 10 PERCENT

The Central Government on 13 August 2013 raised customs duty on gold, silver and platinum to 10 percent in a bid to curb the surging imports and burgeoning Current Account Deficit. According to the notification of the Central Board of Excise and Customs, the duty on gold and platinum was raised from 8 percent to 10 percent and the levy on silver was raised from 6 percent to 10 percent. This step would also collect an additional 4830 crore rupees to the exchequer. This is the third time that the Government has raised the duty on gold in 2013 with a view to containing its imports, mainly responsible for spurt in CAD which touched at a record high of 4.8 percent in 2012-13. Import of gold went up by a huge 87 per cent from 205 tonnes in April-July 2012 to 383 tonnes during the corresponding period of 2013. In value terms, the increase was 68 per cent from 56488 crore rupees to 95092 crore rupees.
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In the case of silver, import during April-July 2013 was valued at 12789 crore rupees in comparison with 4281 crore rupees during the corresponding period of 2012, registering a 200 per cent increase. The Government is also planning to announce more measures to curb other non-essential imports, including luxury items, in order to contain the Current Account Deficit to 3.7 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2013-14 compared with 4.8 percent of GDP in the last fiscal year (2012-13). The basic purpose of enhancing the import duty was to curb the import of the precious metals to check the Current Account Deficit (CAD). CAD is the difference between inflow and outflow of foreign currency. A high Current Account Deficit impacts the value of currency which in turn makes imports expensive and adds to the fiscal deficit.
UNION CABINET APPROVED SETTING UP OF TARC

The Union Cabinet on 13 August 2013 approved the proposal for setting up of the Tax Administration Reform Commission (TARC) to remove ambiguity and establish a stable and non-adversarial tax administration.
ABOUT THE TAX ADMINISTRATION REFORM COMMISSION (TARC)

The Commission will consist of a Chairman, two full time members and four part-time members, of which at least two part-time members will be from the private sector. The Chairman will be an eminent person having wide experience of tax administration and policy making. The two full-time members will be with a background in revenue service pertaining to Income Tax and Central Excise and Customs respectively. The term of the Commission will be 18 months. The Commission will review the application of tax policies and tax laws in India in the context of global best practices and recommend measures to strengthen the capacity of the tax system in India that would reflect best global practices. The Commission will help in removing ambiguity in application of tax policy and tax laws, thereby establishing a stable tax regime and a non-adversarial tax administration. The Commission will facilitate an efficient tax administrative system that would enhance the tax base as well as tax payer base.
INDIAN RAILWAYS CARR IED 343 MN TONNES OF FREIGHT
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As per the data released by Ministry of Railways on 13 August 2013, Indian Railways carried 343 million tonnes of revenue earning freight traffic during 1 April to 31 July 2013. The freight carried shows an increase of 15.98 million tonnes over the freight traffic of 327.02 million tonnes actually carried during the corresponding period last year, registering an increase of 4.89 per cent. During the month of July 2013, the revenue earning freight traffic carried by Indian Railways was 86.21 million tonnes. There is an increase of 4.00 million tonnes over the actual freight traffic of 82.21 million tonnes carried by the Indian Railways during the same period last year, showing an increase of 4.87 per cent.
INDIA'S EXPORTS DURING JULY 2013 WERE VALUED AT 25834.46 mn$

As per the data released by Ministry of Commerce and Industry on 12 August 2013, India's exports in July 2013 were valued at 25834.46 million US dollars.
EXPORTS (INCLUDING RE-EXPORTS)

Exports during July, 2013 were valued at 25834.46 million US dollars (154426.51 crore rupees) which was 11.64 per cent higher in Dollar terms (20.25 per cent higher in Rupee terms) than the level of 23140.43 million US dollars (128417.33 crore rupees) during July, 2012. Cumulative value of exports for the period April-July 2013 -14 was 98290.13 million US dollars (559531.29 crore rupees) as against US $ 96632.20 million US dollars (526301.34 crore rupees) registering a growth of 1.72 per cent in Dollar terms and growth of 6.31 per cent in Rupee terms over the same period last year.
IMPORTS
Imports during July, 2013 were valued at 38102.56 million US dollars (227759.60 crore rupees) representing a negative growth of 6.20 per cent in Dollar terms and growth of 1.04 per cent in Rupee terms over the level of imports valued at 40619.45 million US dollars (225416.80 crore rupees) in July, 2012. Cumulative value of imports for the period April-July, 2013-14 was 160738.29 million US dollars ( 911927.33 crore rupees) as against 156327.95 million US dollars (851289.60 crore rupees) registering a growth of 2.82 per cent in Dollar terms and growth of 7.12 per cent in Rupee terms over the same period last year.
CRUDE OIL AND NON-OIL IMPORTS

Oil imports during July, 2013 were valued at 12709.4 million US dollars which was 8.02 per cent lower than oil imports valued at 13816.9 million US dollars in the corresponding period last year. Oil imports during April-July, 2013-14 were valued at 54584.3 million US dollars which was 2.65 per cent higher than the oil imports of 53174.3 million US dollars in the corresponding period last year.
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Non-oil imports during July, 2013 were estimated at 25393.2 million US dollars which was 5.26 per cent lower than non-oil imports of 26802.6 million US dollars in July, 2012. Non-oil imports during April-July, 2013-14 were valued at 106154.0 million US dollars which was 2.9 per cent higher than the level of such imports valued at 103153.6 million US dollars in April-July, 201213.
TRADE BALANCE
The trade deficit for April-July, 2013-14 was estimated at 62448.16 million US dollars which was higher than the deficit of 59695.75 million US dollars during April-July, 2012-13.
RAILWAY REVENUE EARNINGS UP BY 10.74 PERCENT

As per the data released by Ministry of Railways on 12 August 2013, the total approximate earnings of Indian Railways on originating basis during 1 April to 31 July 2013 were 44260.16 crore rupees compared to 39969.24 crore rupees during the same period in 2012, registering an increase of 10.74 per cent.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS OF RAILWAY REVENUE ARE AS FOLLOWING

The total goods earnings have gone up from 27924.26 crore rupees during 1 April 31 July 2012 to 30492.06 crore rupees during 1 April 31 July 2013, registering an increase of 9.20 per cent. The total passenger revenue earnings during 1st April 31st July 2013 were 11631.28 crore rupees compared to 10320.40 crore rupees during the same period last year, registering an increase of 12.70 per cent. The approximate revenue earnings from other coaching amounted to 1307.87 crore rupees during April - July 2013 compared to 1017.27 crore rupees during the same period last year, an increase of 28.56 per cent. The total approximate numbers of passengers booked during 1st April 31st July 2013 were 2810.33 million compared to 2843.39 million during the same period last year, showing a decrease of 1.16 per cent. In the suburban and non-suburban sectors, the numbers of passengers booked during April-July 2013 were 1495.84 million and 1314.49 million compared to 1459.48 million and 1383.91 million during the same period last year, showing an increase of 2.49 per cent and a decrease of 5.02 per cent, respectively.
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CCEA APPROVED EXPORT OF ADDITIONAL 2 MILLION TONNES WHEAT

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 8 August 2013 approved the export of additional 2 million tonnes wheat from its godowns. The additional wheat would be traded through public sector trading firms. The proposal for additional export of wheat was proposed by the Union Food Ministry. The decision was taken for clearing the surplus stock and to ease the storage crunch. The additional export is allowed as there is a huge stock of 40 million tonnes of wheat. The overflowing stocks in Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns have also put pressure on storage availability.
FIPB CLEARED 12 FDI PROPOSALS WORTH 343 CRORE RUPEES

The Union Government of India, in the first week of August 2013, cleared 12 FDI proposals worth 343 crore rupees. In the meanwhile, it did not give approval to the US-based Mylan Inc's proposal for acquiring the Indian Pharma company. The decision on Mylan was kept on hold. The approval was given by the Union Government based on the recommendations of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) on 5 July 2013. 12 proposals amounting to 343.39 crore Rupees were approved. However, The Government kept the decision on Mylan Incs 5168 crore Rupees proposa l for acquiring Agila Specialities Pvt Ltd -- a subsidiary of pharma firm Strides Arcolabm, in abeyance. The decision on Mylan was kept on hold till formulation of revised FDI policy by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). DIPP is working on finalising the FDI policy on the brown field pharma projects, where the transfer of control is involved. As per the Share Purchase Agreement, Mylan decided to acquire overall issue as well as outstanding share capital of Agila Specialities Pvt Ltd. Agila would be acquired by Mylan either directly or through one of the subsidiaries. Mylan and Strides Acrolab entered into the agreement in February 2013. Out of the 12 FDI proposals cleared by FIPB, some of these include Sutures (I) Pvt Ltd to increase FDI holding in the company by additional 26 percent, from 35.28 percent at present. This is worth 160 crore Rupees. Apart from this, other proposal includes that of BNP Paribas, Total Prosthetics & Onthotics, Imperial Cancer Hospital and Research, and Life Positive Pvt Ltd. In the meeting, FIPB deferred 4 proposals while rejected three. 6 proposals were kept in
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abeyance which also include Franklin Templeton Asset Managements proposal for setting up Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) in India.
GOVERNMENT SLASHED CUSTOMS DUTY ON IMPORT OF RICE BRAN

Customs Duty on the import of rice bran and rice bran oil cake was scraped by the Union Government of India through notification in the month of August 2013. The customs duty on import of rice bran and rice bran oil cake will be exempted completely with effect from 1 October 2013, against the present customs duty of 15 percent. This will help in promotion of import of rice bran from neighbouring countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan. It is expected that an estimate of 50000 to 1 lakh tonnes of rice bran can now be imported from the neighbouring countries. Rice bran oil is extracted from the bran by making use of the solvent extraction method. Bran is primarily is the brown layer on the rice grain. It has 10-25 percent of oil content. After this oil is extracted, the rice bran oil cake is then used in the form of cattle feed. It is important to note that at present, importing rice bran was an absolutely unviable option because of high customs duty. Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEAI) had therefore urged the Union Government of India to bring down the customs duty on rice bran in order to make its import more attractive. The domestic demand for this oil is rising considerably in India. The rice bran oil production of India is estimated to be somewhere around 9 lakh tonnes per year. Out of this, around 3 lakh tonnes is used directly as edible oil. The rest of it, i.e., 6 lakh tonnes is used for blending with other kinds of edible oils as well as in vanaspati. Rice bran oil is considered as an affordable and healthy cooking medium.
CCEA APPROVED CONTINUATION OF RGGVY IN 12TH PLAN

The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs on 2 August 2013 approved the proposal of the Ministry of Power for continuation of the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) in the 12th year Plan.
THE RAJIV GANDHI GRAMEEN VIDYUTIKARAN YOJANA WILL BE CARRIED ON FOR

Completion of the spillover works of projects those were sanctioned during the 10th and 11th five year plan For continuing the scheme for covering all remaining census villages and habitations with population of above 100 Current Affairs eBook August 2013
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To provide free electricity connections to BPL households at the rate of 3000 rupees per connection in villages and habitations with population of above 100 Extension of the DDG to grid connected areas to supplement the availability of power in areas where power supply is less than six hours a day
The capital subsidy that will be required for completion of the taks will be 35447 crore rupees, it will also include the 12849 crore rupees towards spillover works. Of the total requirement of the subsidy, 23397 crore rupees would be met through GBS for 12th Plan and remaining 12050 crore rupees would spill over to 13th Plan. During the 10th and 11th plan period, 648 projects were sanctioned (it included 72 phase 2 projects were sanctioned during the year 2011-12) and it covered 112795 un-electrified villages, 402364 partially electrified villages and 275.69 lakh BPL households with a total project estimation of 420760.44 crore rupee. Of the total project sanctioned, electrification works of 104496 un-electrified villages with intensive electrification in 248553 partially electrified villages were completed by 31 March 2012. Free electricity connections of 19425 lakh BPL households were also released and 26151 crore rupee capital subsidies were utilized under various schemes till 31 March 2012.
ABOUT RAJIV GANDHI GRAMEEN VIDYUTIKARAN YOJANA

Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) was launched in April-05 by merging all ongoing schemes. Under the programme 90% grant is provided by Govt. of India and 10% as loan by REC to the State Governments. REC is the nodal agency for the programme.
THE RGGVY AIMS AT

Electrifying all villages and habitations as per new definition Providing access to electricity to all rural households Providing electricity Connection to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families free of charge
Initially, the scheme was approved with the capital subsidy of 5000 crore rupees to be completed during the last two years of the 10th Plan period that ended in March 2007. RGGVY continued in 11th Plan with capital subsidy of 28000 crore rupees. During 2011-12, the Planning Commission approved additional capital subsidy of 6000 crore rupees.
CABINET CLEARED DISINVESTMENT OF 10% IN IOC

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 1 August 2013 approved the proposal for the sale of 10 percent Government stake in Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). The proposal is expected to collect 3840 crore rupees to the exchequer at the current market price.
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The decision was taken at CCEA meeting headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. At present the Government holds 78.92 percent stake in IOC. IOC has a market capitalisation of 54519 crore rupees. The stake sale would happen through the offer for sale route (OFS). The OFS route was introduced by SEBI in 2012 and it allows the companies to sell shares in a simplified process on the stock market platform through one-day bidding. The Disinvestment Department has selected five merchant bankers Citibank, HSBC, UBS Securities, SBI Capital and J M Financial to manage the sale of stake.
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Indian Oil Corporation is Indias largest refiner and it posted a net profit of 5005 crore rupees in 2012-13, up from 3954 crore rupees in the previous year. The disinvestment target through the stake sale of public sector undertakings in the current financial year (2013-14) is 40000 crore Rupees. So far, it has raised 929 crore rupees through stake sale in MMTC, Hindustan Copper and National Fertiliser.
FEATURES OF THE DISINVESTMENT POLICY

Citizens have every right to own part of the shares of Public Sector Undertakings Public Sector Undertakings are the wealth of the Nation and this wealth should rest in the hands of the people While pursuing disinvestment, Government has to retain majority shareholding, i.e. at least 51 percent and management control of the Public Sector Undertakings
CCEA APPROVED CREATION OF SPECIAL NATIONAL INVESTMENT FUND

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 2 August 2013 approved the creation of the Special National Investment Fund (SNIF) with the specific objective of meeting the minimum public shareholding of 10 percent requirement in the six Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs).
THE CPSES INCLUDE

Andrew Yule & Company Ltd. Fertilizers & Chemicals (Travancore) Ltd. Scooters India Ltd.
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HMT Ltd. Hindustan Photo Films Manufacturing Co. Ltd. ITI Ltd.
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SALIENT FEATURES OF THE SPECIAL NATIONAL INVESTMENT FUND ARE

Under the provision of the Fund, the number of shares that is required to make the six Companies compliant with the minimum public shareholding will be transferred to the Special National Investment Fund out of Government of India shareholding on irrevocable basis without any consideration Independent professional Fund Managers will be responsible towards managing the fund The shares of the six CPSEs would be sold by the Fund within a period of five years The funds generated from the sale of the shares would be used for social sector schemes of the Government The modalities of the sale of shares in the Fund would be decided by the existing EGoM
Vide Securities Contracts, (Regulations) (Second Amendment) Rules, 2010 dated 9 August 2010 all the Government Companies are required to have at least 10 percent public shareholding and where public shareholding is less than 10 percent, the Companies were required to comply with this condition within a period of 3 years by following methods permitted by SEBI for this purpose.
GOVERNMENT TO CONTINUE INTEREST SUBVENTION ON CROP LOANS

The Union Cabinet of India on 2 August 2013 decided to continue the interest subvention of three per cent on crop loans to farmers. The scheme will be available on crop loans taken from scheduled commercial banks and also those in the private sector. The estimated budgetary implication of the scheme for current financial year is 15 thousand 385 crore rupees.
THE OTHER MAJOR DECISIONS TAKEN BY THE CABINET ARE AS FOLLOWING

The Cabinet also approved a Centrally-sponsored scheme for marketing of nonnationalized, non-monopolized minor forest produce fixing Minimum Support Price for marketing of 12 minor forest products. The Cabinet also decided in the meeting to designate vigilance officers posted in different ministries and departments to receive complaints from whistleblowers on allegations of corruption or misuse of office. An amendment to the relevant resolution
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of Public Interest Disclosure and Protection of Informers law was approved by the Cabinet on 1 August 2013. The decision was taken to reduce the workload on the Central Vigilance Commission. The proposed amendment will enable speedy disposal of the complaints and make the public servants more responsible and accountable in combating and eradicating corruption. In a related move, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved setting up of Special National Investment Fund (SNIF), to help six sick Public Sector Undertakings, PSUs. They include Hindustan Machine Tools, Indian Telephone Industries and Scooters India Limited. This will enable the PSUs to become compliant with the 10 per cent minimum public holding norm of market regulator, SEBI. The CCEA also approved the proposal for continuing Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) in the 12th plan to cover the remaining unelectrified villages and habitations with a population of 100 people and provide free electricity connection to BPL households. The total capital subsidy requirement for the scheme would be 35 thousand 447 crore rupees. In yet another decision, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its nod to a proposal for infrastructure development at various establishments in the Border Security Force. This is estimated to cost 3664 crore rupees to the Government.
FDI TO INCREASE IN PRINT MEDIA FROM 26 PERCENT TO 49 PERCENT

The executive committee of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) on 2 August 2013 approved a proposal to increase Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from 26 percent to 49 percent in print media. The INS will recommend of 49 percent FDI in print through the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) route to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. The government will now require the proposal of the Press Council of India to give its go-ahead. In the last few decades, the print media business in India has grown exponentially and the prospects of future growth in the upcoming years appear bright. To maintain this growth, the print media companies require an inflow of funds to expand and reach every corner of India.
GOVERNMENT EASED THE NORMS FOR FDI IN MULTI-BRAND RETAIL

The Union Government of India on 1 August 2013 relaxed the norms for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the multi-brand retail. The government also raised the FDI caps in different sectors increasing the cap in telecom sector to 100 percent. The decision was taken to attract more investments in retail and provide more clarity and space to the investors.
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As per the decision made on the FDI, the government has made it mandatory for the multibrand retailers like Tesco and Walmart to source 30 percent of their products from the small and medium enterprises of India only at the time of starting the business. The norm of 50 percent investment in the back-end infrastructure for the retailers will be applicable, only during the first tranche of investments (within three years) of up to 100 million dollars. The Government also decided to put FDI up to 49 percent in the single retail-brand under the automatic route, beyond which the investments would be routed through Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). In single-brand retail, FDI up to 49 per cent will be under the automatic route and beyond that through the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, FIPB route. In basic and cellular services, FDI has been raised to 100 per cent. No decision was made on FDI cap in defence sector as it remained unchanged at 26 percent, higher limits of foreign investments in state-of-the-art technology manufacturing would be considered by the Cabinet Committee on Security. The Government also allowed the global chains to come up with their stores in smaller cities by lifting up the restriction that the supermarkets can be developed in 53 urban centers with a minimum population of 1 million people. The Government has also widened the definition of small by modifying the units with investments on plant and machinery of up to 12 crore rupees (2 million dollar) against 1 million that was defined earlier. The widened definition will now also include the medium enterprises and co-operatives from which it will be mandatory for the foreign multi-brand retailers to purchase 30% of what they sell in India. The decision has also marked that the condition of retailers engagement with the supplier will be applied only during the first time engagement, ensuring that it is able to retain its vendors that exceed the $2-million threshold.
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AMENDMENTS DONE
Sector Norms mentioned in Norms mentioned in August September 2012 2013 Amendment notification
Back-end Infrastructure
50% investment three years
within Investment of 50% of the funds they bring in back-end infrastructure only in respect of the mandatory 100 million dollar that they bring in for the first time.
Sourcing from Indian SMEs
Purchase 30% of the Mandatorily purchase 30% of production of their total what they sell in India. products by the small-scale industries.
Access to cities
53 urban centers with a Right to grant permission for minimum population of 1 FDI in any city transferred in million people. the hands of State Government.
It was also decided that the goods procured from the agri and farmer cooperatives that will be counted as small firms for meeting mandatory-sourcing conditions, would also be counted towards the 30 percent compulsory local sourcing requirements. During the same meet at New Delhi, the Union Government also cleared 10 percent disinvestment of the Indian Oil Corporation that would fetch about 3750 crore rupees to the exchequer. A comprehensive definition of the term control for corporate deals involving foreign companies was also approved by the Government during the same meet. Earlier, the definitions were
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approved by an inter-ministerial meet that was chaired by the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh on 16 July 2013 following the recommendation of the Arvind Mayaram Committee.
RATE OF INTEREST SUB VENTION SCHEME FOR EXPORTS INCREASED

The Union government of India on 31 July 2013 decided to enhance the rate of interest subvention scheme for exports to three per cent, to reverse the declining trend in exports. The scheme will cover the entire MSME besides some other sectors. The rate of interest subvention was raised to 3 per cent from 2 per cent with immediate effect and that the scheme would now include more businesses.
THE SALIENT FEATURES OF THE SCHEME ARE AS FOLLOWING

State-run banks give loans to exporters of select goods, and micro, small and medium enterprises at a discount to the existing rate of interest. The government will reimburse the difference to those banks. The scheme is expected to cover toys, carpets, handlooms, handicraft, sports goods, processed foods and readymade garments in addition to 235 tariff lines in engineering and six tariff lines in textile sectors. India at present is facing a sharp decline in exports despite a steep fall in its currency, which has resulted in further widening of its current account deficit.
Exports declined 4.6 per cent to 23.79 billion US dollars in June 2013, the second straight month of decline. India's current account deficit widened to an all-time high of 4.8 per cent of the GDP in 2012-13, exports need to be boosted to solve this problem. The government has set an export target of 325 billion US dollars for the fiscal year 2013-14.
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ENVIRONMENT & ECOLOGY

GRAND CANYON DISCOVERED BENEATH ICE SHEET IN GREENLAND
Scientists in last week of August 2013 unveiled that they have discovered a vast canyon under the ice sheet of Greenland, which was previously unknown. The latest discovered canyon stretches in an area of over 750 kilometers and it up to 800 meters deep. The canyon was discovered by the scientists using an air borne radar data, which was collected over a period of several decades to piece together the landscape beneath the ice. The hidden valley is longer than the Grand Canyon in Arizona. The canyon spreads from the centre of Greenland up to the northern coastline. Scientists claim that before formation of the ice sheet it would have contained a river gushing into the Arctic Ocean, which was buried due to encroaching ice about 3.5 million years ago. The findings were reveled in journal Science.
ABOUT GREENLAND
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Although it is a part of the continent of North America, but politically and culturally it has been associated with Europe (specifically Norway and later Denmark) for more than a millennium. Greenland is a home of one of the Earths two major ice sheets, the other one lies in Antarctica. A three-dimensional picture of the bedrock of Greenland was developed by the glaciologists until 2001, but the resolution of the same was quite poor.
ABOUT GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA

The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the Colorado Plateau of the United States in the State of Arizona. The Grand Canyon is 446 km long and up to 29 km wide and attains a depth of over 1800 meters.
NEED MORE STUDY ON CO 2 EFFECT ON MARINE FAUNA

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Researchers in the last week of August 2013 highlighted the need of conducting more research on the response of ocean and ocean fauna to the anthropogenic climate change. The need for the research was highlighted in three different studies published in the Nature Climate Change on 25 August 2013. As per the research studies, oceans acting as a carbon dioxide sink absorbs a quarter of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, resulting in the formation of Carbonic Acid (H 2CO3). The amount of CO2 observed by the ocean is directly proportional to the increase in the amount of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, leading to formation of more H2CO3, which in turn results in acidification of the ocean.
THE THREE STUDY REPORTS

1. Study from the scientists of Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research The study from the scientists of Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research has highlighted the level of adaptability in different organisms and reported that corals and echinoderms (like starfish) faces fear of extinction over a period of time, may be by 2100. Finds of the scientists from Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research is more applicable because these are based on the emission scenarios used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for drafting the fifth assessment report (to be released in September 2013). Effects on About Corals Corals that spend their complete life at one place lacks necessary physiological mechanism as a result of which it may not pay off to the higher acidity of ocean water. Calcium Carbonate secreted by these corals helps in creation of the coral reefs (most productive ecosystem). Higher acidification of the ocean and regular warming of climate may harm the formation of the reefs, leading to its extinction over a period of time. 2. Study from Researchers from Plymouth University, England The study from the researchers and marine biologists from Plymouth University, England claimed that the ocean worms have developed genetic responses against the climatic change. Response of polychaete worms was studied, which lives around the carbon dioxide-rich volcanic vents off the southern coast of Italy. The study displayed a different genotype (this is the first time that the genetic adaptation of a complex animal species has been figured following its response to climate change). 3. Study of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg The study figured out that acidification of Ocean reduced the amount of biogenic emissions of Sulphur compounds like dimethylsulphide. Dimethylsulphide generally plays a major role in
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cooling the atmosphere as it reduces the amount of solar energy that reaches to earths surface and its reduction would increase ocean acidification directly.
ABOUT CARBONIC ACID (H 2 CO 3 ) AND ITS ROLE IN OCEAN CHEMISTRY

Carbonic acid is the chemical compound with the formula H 2CO3. It is also a name sometimes given to solutions of carbon dioxide in water (carbonated water). H 2CO3 plays an important role in acidification of the ocean water and has lead to shift the pH value of the ocean by about 0.1 units from the pre-industrial levels.
FORMATION OF CARBONIC ACID

CO2 + H2O H2CO3
Carbonic acid, which is a weak acid, forms two kinds of salts, the carbonates and the bicarbonates.
AUSTRALIA'S UNIQUE INFLUENCE ON GLOBAL SEA LEVEL

A study titled Australia's Unique Influence on Global Sea Level in 20102011 conducted by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) revealed that the worlds ocean level has dropped measurably, due to the excessive precipitation over Australia in 2010 and 2011. The excessive perspiration was the result coming together of the three atmospheric patterns over the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Whereas, the soil and topographical conditions of Australia prevents running off of almost all perspiration into the ocean. As per the report, the long term trend of rise in the sea-levels due to rise in temperature resulting in melting of ice sheets at poles was temporarily halted during 2010-11. The process continued for over a period of 18 months from 2010 during which the level of oceans dropped by 7 millimeters (which is more that annual rise of water i.e. 3 millimeters). Apart from this, at present more rain is falling over the tropical oceans as a result of which the seas are rising and this has happened due to the snapping back of the atmospheric patterns.
RECENT TREND OF RISE IN OCEAN WATER

As per the latest reports, the warming of earth has caused rise in the level of ocean water by 3 millimeter annually in past few decades. The rise in the level of sea was caused due to two reasons (a) heat causes water to expand, and (b) water runoff from retreating glaciers and ice sheets. A research paper published in 2012 prepared by Fasullo and his co-authors demonstrated the reason for increased rainfall over the tropical continents. They credited La Nina, an atmospheric oscillation as a reason for suppressed rainfall. La Nia cooled tropical surface waters in the
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eastern Pacific and suppressed rainfall in the region. It also enhanced it over other portions of the tropical Pacific, Africa, South America, and Australia. To prove transformation in the landscape of Australia due to heavy rains, scientists used two different NASA satellite images of floodplains in Southwestern Queensland. The two images provide a clue towards the fall of the ocean level globally (for time being). The two images were taken on different dates, September 2009 and March 2011 respectively. Earlier, La Nina played a role of cooling the surface waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean and pushing moisture towards the west. Southern Annular Mode (a climate pattern) coaxed the moisture into interiors of Australia, which caused widespread flooding across the continent. Further more moisture was pushed into the interiors of Australia from the Indian Ocean Dipole that collided with La Nia-borne moisture in the Pacific to increase the moisture content of Australia resulting in one of the wettest periods in the history of the continent. The basic region identified in the study for the fall in sea level resulted because maximum rainfall during 2010-11 periods in the vast interiors of Australia called Outback remained inland rather than flowing back to oceans. This happened due to the dry environment of Outback and lack of river runoff. Remaining water got evaporated or sank into the granular dry soil of western plateau and filled Lake Eyre basin in the east.
TO MEASURE THE DIFFERENCE THE RESEARCHERS USED THREE STATE-OF-THEART INSTRUMENTS FOR OBSERVATION, THOSE WERE:
NASAs Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites: it helped in making detailed measurements of the Earths gravitational field and enabled them to monitor changes in the mass of continents. To measure the temperature and salinity of the upper 6000 feet of ocean the Argo global array of 3000 free-drifting floats was used To subtract the seasonal variations and estimate the sea level changes globally, satellitebased altimeters were used. These altimeters are calibrated against a network of tide gauges.
COMMENT
As per the scientists, Australia, the smallest continent of the world has affected the sea level of earth and its effect has been successful in overcoming the recent trend rise in the level of sea due to change in climatic conditions. The study was authored by John T. Fasullo, Carmen Boening, Felix W. Landerer and R. Steven Nerem. The study was co-authored from Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of Colorado at Boulder and was funded by Science Foundation, the sponsor of NCAR, and by NASA.
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Current Affairs eBook August 2013 SEAGRASS TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE
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Scientists from the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) explained that seagrass can play a crucial role in fighting against the climate change because the plant is 35 times better in locking the carbon than the rainforests. It is important to note that seagrass meadows used to wrap the coastline of Australia at some point of time. The seagrass also served as food for turtles and dugongs, habitat for the fish to breed as well as various other ecosystem services like sediment stabilisation and nutrient recycling. Dr Peter Macreadie of University of Technology, Sydney explained that the atmospheric carbon dioxide levels reached sky high and so they hurt the ecological life support systems. Seagrass can play a vital role in reversing the warming trend of Earth. He also explained that in case the amount of carbon dioxide in atmosphere reach 450 parts per million, then there will only be 50 percent chance for human beings to avoid drought, widespread species extinction as well as famine. Seagrass helps by capturing and storing the carbon by the process of photosynthesis. Seagrass also traps the particles in the water column. This ability of seagrass to absorb carbon dioxide is estimated to be somewhere around 45 billion US dollar, based on the present carbon price of around 23 US dollar per tonne. This is the consecutive estimate on the basis of just one seagrass species- Posidonia australis. This is the reason why it is important to protect the seagrass meadows across the world. Seagrass is under threat because of nutrient runoff as well as coastal development. New South Wales alone lost 50 percent of the seagrass, which can cause repercussions for the climate. The danger of destroying seagrass comes in the form of less carbon pull-out from the atmosphere.
NEW MAMMAL SPECIES D ISCOVERED

Scientists of Smithsonian Institution of US have announced a rare discovery of a new species of mammal called the Olinguito on 15 August 2013. Olinguito is a reddish-brown animal and is about 14-inches long with an equally long tail and weighs about 2 pounds (0.9 Kg). Scientists of Smithsonian Institution discovered this new animal in the cloud forests of Colombia and Ecuador. It has been named olinguito and it is the first new species of carnivore to be identified in the Western hemisphere in 35 years. It has taken more than a decade to identify the mammal.
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The olinguito is a carnivore - that group of mammals that includes cats, dogs and bears and their relatives. This is a new carnivore - the first to be found on the American continent for more than three decades.
PUERTO RICAN PARROT MADE A COMEBACK

Researchers working in the Rio Abajo Nature Preserve in western Puerto Rico, on 15 August 2013, revealed that one of the most endangered bird species of the world, Puerto Rican parrot, made a comeback in the Puerto Rico territory of the US. The researchers revealed that there were 400 parrots in captivity as well as over 100 tracked in the forests across the island. Earlier, the population of these parrots dropped down to merely 13. The counting took place under the Rio Abajo parrot reintroduction program. The researchers found the wild nest with the eggs of Puerto Rican parrot, the first discovery of this kind in 42 years. Though the eggs did not hatch, but it was nothing unusual and it indicated that the captive parrots were procreating in the wild and building nests. It is important to note that the Puerto Rican parrot is the only remaining native parrot as well as one of the 30 species of Amazon parrots that are found in America.
CHARACTERISTICS OF PUERTO RICAN PARROTS

The Puerto Rican parrots have red foreheads and turquoise feathers under the wings. These parrots can grow to around one foot in length. These parrots are known for their secrecy and mate usually for the life, thereby reproducing just once in a year.
In the year 2013, record 51 baby Puerto Rican parrots were born in the captivity in Rio Abajo forest. Earlier, in the year 2011, there was a record of 34 new born Puerto Rican parrots. The goal of the researchers is to release these parrots in the forests with attached temporary radio collars. However, some of these parrots are either very weak or very aggressive, which is why they are kept in the captivity.
WHY DID THE NUMBER DECLINE?

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number of these parrots declined considerably. The habitat was destroyed because of clearing of the forests in the 1800s for the purpose of plantation of sugarcane, coffee and citrus. By the 1950s, there were merely 200 parrots left in the forest and in 1975, this number reached to record low, i.e., just 13. It is worth noticing that very few species of the world have reached so close to extinction. It was in the year 1989 that the number of Puerto Rican parrots grew to around 50. However, the Hurricane Hugo killed half of these parrots again and thus the second reserve was created in order to make them less vulnerable. The third reserve is under plan in the Western Puerto Rico. The captive breeding programme was started off in the year 1972. The first baby Puerto Rican parrot was born in the year 1979 as a result of this. Since then, the success rate of this programme has grown. Nevertheless, the Puerto Rican parrots are still in the list of engendered species of birds.
EXOTIC INSECTS ESTABLISHING THEIR NEW COLONIES

A team of researchers from the University of Gerona in Spain found that huge numbers of insects are shipped across the world unwittingly. The researchers also warned that a lot of insects were establishing the colonies in new habitats, which in turn could be disadvantageous for the human health, infrastructure and environment. The lead author of the study Veronica Miravete explained that because of the small size, a lot of ants were transported involuntarily in the boxes and containers along with ornamental plants, wood, fruits and soil via the airplanes and the ships. The research team found out about the numbers of exotic ants in New Zealand, the US and the Netherlands. A lot of these ants were discovered than what had been reported earlier. It was estimated that 768 exotic ant species were introduced in the world through the trade routes. Out of these, around 600 species have already established their own new colonies in the different places of the world. Veronica Miravete, in the meanwhile, also explained that the number of ants which were arriving was very huge and around 85 percent of the newly introduced species of the ants were establishing themselves very successfully. The research indicated towards the fact that a lot of newly introduced species were living around the humans and that these were still undetected. It is important to note that all the animals which move to the new regions are not a threat to the environment and the human health, but some of these animals pose serious threats and wreak havoc. Invasive ants are among those animals which pose a threat. The aggressive Argentina ants have built their own mega-colonies in Europe and they are also out-competing the population of local ants. This in turn can ripple the entire ecosystem. In the
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meanwhile, in the US, there is an invasion of the South America's Rasberry crazy ants, which in turn causes a lot of problems because these insects swarm inside the electrical equipment. Another concern is that of the spread of fire ants. The researchers explained that there was a need of halting the spread of the pests like these because in case the exotic ants establish their colonies in new regions, it becomes difficult to eradicate them. In order to curb this, there are certain methods such as black lists, quarantine inspections and pre-border risk assessments. However, the major focus needs to be done on the shipping routes from the regions where there is higher probability of introduction of these exotic species of ants.
DOLPHINS HAVE THE LONGEST SOCIAL MEMORY

Researchers from the University of Chicago, in the first week of August 2013, revealed that dolphins had the longest memories among the non-human species. Researchers declared that even if these dolphins were separated for more than 20 years, they were capable of recalling the whistles of their former companions. The researchers believed that the long-term memories of dolphins were a product of complex social connections from which they have evolved. During the study, the researchers used the information on relationships between 56 captive bottlenose dolphins. These dolphins moved for the purpose of breeding between six diverse aquariums and zoos in Bermuda as well as the US. The records which dated back to decades were used to find out which dolphins were housed together. Thereafter, the researchers played the recordings to these dolphins on the underwater speakers. The recordings were the signature whistles of dolphins, with which they had once lived. Their responses were then measured. The lead researcher of the study, Dr Jason Bruck from the University of Chicago explained that these dolphins approached the speakers for longer duration in case they recognised the call. They maintained contact with the speaker for a longer time. On the other hand, when they were unfamiliar with the call, they ignored these recordings from the speaker. It is unique to find such behaviour in non-human species. Dr. Jason Bruck explained that the response of this kind was very typical. In comparison to the unfamiliar calls, there was absolutely clear pattern in data where dolphins reacted primarily more to whistles of those dolphins with whom they had once lived and had not seen or heard since decades. www.jagranjosh.com
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The researchers, in the meanwhile, believed that the complex nature of social systems of dolphin was responsible for long term memory effect. In the ocean, the dolphins have fluid social arrangement which is scientifically called fission-fusion model. According to this model, the dolphins can exit one group and enter others, several times during their lifetime. Therefore, it becomes important for them to recall calls of those dolphins with which they had previous encounters. This was important so that they could decide whether they should approach or not the dolphin of which they heard the whistle. The researchers explained that the ability of the dolphins to recall events hinted towards the fact that the cetaceans have a level of cognitive complexity in comparison to the humans, elephants and chimpanzees. Elephants also have the capability of long memory of up to 20 years. But, there is very limited evidence of their abilities beyond the family relations. It is important to note that in a recent study, it was also found out that dolphins had the capacity of recognising the whistles of other dolphins, absolutely accurately.
ALIPORE ZOO LAUNCHED ADOPTION OF ZOO ANIMALS SCHEME

The Alipore Zoological Garden of Kolkata on 5 August 2013 launched Adoption of Zoo Animals Scheme with an aim to create awareness and love for the wildlife among general public. The scheme was inaugurated by the West Bengal State Forest Minister, Hiten Barman.
ADOPTION OF ZOO ANIMALS SCHEME

Under the scheme anyone willing to adopt an animal will have to pay specific amount for a year, which will be spent for the upkeep of chosen animal including its seeding and healthcare needs. Names of the adoptive individuals will be engraved on a plaque of the animal's enclosure. They will be allowed to capture candid shots of their respective animal wards on film and photographs. The sponsorship of each elephant, tiger, lion, and chimpanzee is annually 150000 rupees while bears, leopards, rhinoceros, kangaroo, jaguar and zebra will each cost 50000 rupees per annum. The Alipore Zoological Gardens (also called Kolkata Zoo) is India's oldest formally stated zoological park and a big tourist attraction in Kolkata, West Bengal. It has been open as a zoo since 1875 and covers 18.81 hectars.
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INCREASING HUMAN VIOLENCE LINKED TO RISING TEMPERATURES

The economists from Environmental and Resource Economics, University of California, Berkeley explained about the inter-relation between human conflict and climate change. A recent study released on 1 August 2013 revealed that there was a strong and positive correlation between the human violence and rising temperatures of Earth because of climate change. The study was published in Science. The study tracked human conflicts, climate change and the relationship between the two since 8000 BC. The economists conducting the study explained that there was no explanation of this relation, but it was speculated that the factors which associate climate to the well being of humans, could be responsible for more aggression, which comes out in the form of more violent kinds of rapes and blaring horns. Edward Miguel, Oxfam Professor of Environmental and Resource Economics, University of California, Berkeley, one among the authors of the study, gave an example that when the climate gets hotter, the neurophysiology of the humans, changes and this inclines them further to violence. The findings are important for analysing the impact of climate change in future, on the societies. It is important to note that various global climate models forecast the increase in temperatures of at least 2 degrees Celsius over the time period of next 50 years. The study explained that, for every 1 standard deviation change in climate toward warmer temperatures or more extreme rainfall, median estimates indicate that the frequency of interpersonal violence rises 4 per cent and the frequency of intergroup conflict rises 14 per cent. This indicated that an increase in the world temperature by 2 degrees Celsius would also increase the rate of intergroup conflicts like civil wars, by more than 50 percent in different parts of the world. The tropical regions are the ones where conflicts like these will become more common, by the year 2050. This was the comprehensive study which showed that there was strong evidence about link between more violence and climate change. The economists concluded that there was a robust connection between the violence and the climate, at the different scales and time periods, all over the world. In the study, the data from various regions of the world were studied, and similar kind of patterns of conflicts was associated with the climate changes such as higher than the average yearly temperature and enhanced drought. Economists explained that this scenario could also be linked to agriculture, where the economies are primarily agrarian. In less developed countries, where major portion of the population is dependent upon their farms for food, extreme rainfall or high temperatures can hamper their crops and lead to considerable drop in income, thereby leading to violence.
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Certain examples of these are more number of murders and assaults in Tanzania and US, domestic violence in Australia and India, land invasions in Brazil, ethnic violence in South Asia and Europe, collapse of Chinese and Mayan empires, civil conflicts in tropics as well as increased use of police force in Holland. The study made use of 45 datasets (from the 60 studies) in order to examine things. The datasets were based on various subjects such as psychology, political science, history, geography, economics, criminology and archeology. These datasets were subjected to rigorous statistical method known as regression framework. This accounted for time as well as space in the systematic way, which explained the correlation between climate variables and conflicts. Considering the study, the environmentalists explained that this was another reason why serious steps should be taken for dealing with future climate change.
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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

NEW SUPER-HEAVY ELEMENT WITH ATOMIC NUMBER 115
Scientists from Lund University, Sweden in the last week of August 2013 discovered a new super-heavy chemical element, which can be a part of the periodic table in the coming future. The atomic number of the super-heavy element is 115 and is made by combining atoms of calcium americium. The scientists have not named it yet but for time being it will be referred as, Ununpentium. The element was discovered by an international team of researchers, who conducted an experiment at GSI Research facility in Germany for confirmation of the earlier measurements done by the Russian research group.
PROCESS OF CREATION
Scientists shot a beam of calcium (with 20 protons) into a thin strip of americium (with 95 protons), for creation of the element. Till the time it doesnt get a name, scientists will refer it as Ununpentium (a Greek and Latin combination of the words that represents atomic number of an element, one-one-five). Ununpentium belongs to the group of manmade elements. Before being acknowledged, the findings of the research of the newly discovered super-heavy element will be reviewed by a committee that comprises members of international unions of pure and applied physics and chemistry. The researchers have also identified the structure as well as the properties of the super-heavy elements atomic nuclei. In 2011, scientists approved three new elements for being added into the Periodic Table with their atomic numbers 110, 111 and 112 and were named Darmstadtium (Ds), Roentgenium (Rg) and Copernicium (Cn), respectively.
SUN BURN RESPONSE IN WHALES CAN GIVE CLUES TO ANTI AGEING

Researchers from the Newcastle University, UK revealed in the month of August 2013 that the way whales reacted to sunlight explained about the ageing process of humans. Some of the whale species reacted to the sunlight by getting darker in UV exposure, a process which is similar to the way Humans Tan. Other whales have the capability of protecting themselves from getting tanned by turning their genes on and off.
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The research can help in the creation of new anti-ageing treatments in humans. For various years, the marine biologists in Mexico had noticed that a large number of whales in that region had skin which was sun-burnt because of exposure to UV light. For conducting the research, the researchers took the skin samples from three diverse species of the whales. This was done over three years time period. The samples were collected during the annual spring migration when they had migrated to the sunnier waters of Gulf of California.
RESEARCH ON THE BLUE WHALES

The researchers found that the different species of whales reacted in a different way to the increase in sunlight. Blue Whales are biggest creatures that have lived on the Earth. They react to the Sun by enhancing quantity of pigment in the skin, in the same way like humans do. Therefore, the blue whales get tanned in a same way like the human beings do. It is this tan that gives them protection from the sun-burnt DNA. Prof Mark Birch-Machin from Newcastle University explained that after being exposed to the ultra-violet rays of the Sun, not just the skin, but also the DNA in mitochondria can be damaged. The blue whales ability to tan when exposed to UV rays, might be connected to the historic migratory patterns because every year they move from high latitudes to lower ones that have higher amount of sunlight.
RESEARCH ON THE SPERM WHALES

In yet another kind of species, the Sperm Whales, there is an altogether different kind of behaviour towards the Sun. The sperm whales have the ability to spend around six hours at a stretch on the oceans surface and have much higher exposure to the UV light. The sperm whales can thus be compared with the people who go for lobster approach. Therefore, the changes in their pigment do not help them a lot because the UV light becomes overpowering in the system. Instead of the alterations to the pigment, the Sun can lead to stress response in genes of the sperm whales, which is again like the protective mechanism of humans against the sun damage. It is for the first time that the evidences of genotoxic pathways being activated in whales cells have been seen. It is absolutely similar to the damage response which is caused because of free radicals in human skin.
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RESEARCH ON THE FIN WHALES
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The third kind of species is the Fin Whales on which research was conducted. The deeply pigmented animals were more resistant to the sun damage. They had lower prevalence of the sunburn lesions.
CONCLUSION OF THE RESEARCH

The researchers, after conducting study on these three kinds of whale species explained that this could be helpful in finding the changes in genes as well as pigment. The whales can thus shed light on the process of ageing in the human beings. The sun-burnt DNA in the whales was the same kind of sun-burnt DNA which was found in the humans and this was linked to the process of ageing. The study depicted the interaction of these systems which can be examined even more in the human research. It can thus be used for studying the anti-ageing process as well as skin cancer approaches. The research can prove to be beneficial to the pharmaceutical companies. The researchers however explained that further work needed to be done in order to see whether sun burn in whales can lead to skin cancer. The researchers also wanted to know whether early warning system for animals can be developed or not.
POLLUTION WARNING APPLICATION FOR SWIMMERS AND SURFERS

Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), the charity organisation, with the financial aid of the Environment Agency of UK created an application which allows the surfers and the bathers to get real-time warnings regarding the pollution incidents on the beaches. This is the free service which enables the user to get the text messages or the alerts regarding the discharge of the storm or the sewage water at around 250 beaches of Wales and England. The application was created in the backdrop of rising concerns about the sewage spills which can be the major cause of illness for the beach-goers. It is important to note that in the year 2012, the UK beaches failed to meet the basic norms for water quality. The application is available for free download on the Android smartphones as well as iPhone. The application works by accessing data from the water companies on the combined sewer overflows, which in turn allows for untreated sewage and storm water in sea during heavy rains in order to prevent the sewers backing up.
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The application service works by sending to its users, the alerts or the text messages when the pollution reaches dangerous levels. The information about this is posted online. Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) expressed hopes that the application will enable the beach-goers to bathe at the favourite places safely without the fear of stomach bugs, chest or eye infections, sore throats, hepatitis as well as skin infections. The alert service application was also tested on three beaches of Cornwall. A poll conducted by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on 591 people found that 94 percent of people receiving information about these short-term spills also took actions for avoiding the pollution. The Director of SAS explained that the application was an innovative concept and was a campaign against the secretive combine sewer overflow sewage discharges from water companies. The application would enable the beach-goers to decide where to swim.
FACEBOOK AND SIX OTHER TECH GIANTS TO LAUNCH INTERNET.ORG

Social networking giant Facebook on 21 August 2013 joined forces with six other technology giants to launch Internet.org with an aim to make Internet access affordable for people across the globe. Internet.org is an initiative of Facebook and six other technology giants, namely Ericsson, MediaTek, Nokia, Opera, Qualcomm and Samsung. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook Founder and CEO, will head the partnership that aims to make Internet access available to the next 5 billion people.
ABOUT INTERNET.ORG
The inititiave will see the partners collaborate on developing lower-cost, higher-quality smartphones and deploying Internet access in underserved communities. Internet.org brings together a global partnership that will work to overcome current challenges, including making internet access available to those who cannot currently afford it. The founding members of Internet.org will develop joint projects, share knowledge, and mobilise industry and governments to bring the world online. The partners will focus on developing technologies that make mobile connectivity more affordable and decrease the cost of delivering data to people worldwide. The partners will also work on ways to use less data by improving the efficiency of the apps built and how they can help businesses drive internet access to get people online.
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The partners will also invest in tools to dramatically reduce the amount of data required to use most apps and internet experiences. Potential projects include developing data compression tools, enhancing network capabilities to more efficiently handle data, building systems to cache data efficiently and creating frameworks for apps to reduce data usage.
US SCIENTISTS CREATED THE MOST PRECISE CLOCK OF THE WORLD

The scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology revealed in the third week of August 2013 that they created the most precise clock of the world. The ticking rate of this clock varies less than two parts in one quintillion, or ten times better than any clock in the world.
FEATURES OF THE MOST PRECISE CLOCK OF THE WORLD

The clock is made up of the element ytterbium. This element can be used for technological advancements beyond the timekeeping. The clock can be used for various purposes such as checking temperature, navigation systems as well as magnetic fields. The co-author of the study which revealed the clock, Andrew Ludlow explained that the stability of this ytterbium lattice clock paves way for other practical applications of highperformance timekeeping.
MECHANISM OF THE CLOCK

The mechanical clocks make use of the pendulum movement in order to keep the time. The atomic clocks, on the other hand, make use of an electromagnetic signal of light which is emitted at exact frequency, which in turn moves the electrons in cesium atoms. The scientists built the ytterbium clocks by making use of around 10000 rare-earth atoms which were cooled to 10 microkelvin (10 millionths of a degree above absolute zero). These atoms were then trapped in the optical lattice made out of laser light. Yet another laser ticks 518 trillion times per second and triggers the transition between two energy levels in the atoms. The higher level of stability and precision of the clock is because of the presence of larger numbers of atoms. In order to extract best performance of any clock, the technicians need to average the current US civilian time standard, the NIST-F1 cesium fountain clock, for about 400,000 seconds (about five days). However, in case of ytterbium clocks, the same result can be achieved in around one second of averaging time.
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NASA SPACECRAFT, WISE TO BE REACTIVATED TO HUNT FOR ASTEROIDS

NASA on 21 August 2013 announced that its Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) will return back to service for three more years in September 2013. WISE is the same spacecraft of NASA, which was placed in hibernation after discovering and characterizing tens of thousands of asteroids throughout the solar system. WISE will be brought back to service to help the agency in its efforts to identify the population of potentially hazardous Near-Earth objects (NEOs), those suitable for asteroid exploration missions as well as space rocks that can be found orbiting within 45 million kilometers (28 million miles) from Earth's path around the Sun.
AIM BEHIND REACTIVATION OF WISE

As per the agency a 16 inch telescope along with infrared cameras will be fixed to WISE, which will allow it to study the 150 previously unknown NEOs and characterize their size, albedo and thermal properties of about 2000 others including some of which could be candidates for the agency's recently announced asteroid initiative. Earlier, WISE mission achieved its mission goals and as NEOWISE extended the science even further in its survey of asteroids. NASA is now extending that record of success, which will enhance our ability to find potentially hazardous asteroids, and support the new asteroid initiative. NASA's asteroid initiative will be the first mission to identify, capture and relocate an asteroid. It represents an unprecedented technological feat that will lead to new scientific discoveries and technological capabilities that will help protect our home planet. The asteroid initiative brings together the best of NASA's science, technology and human exploration efforts to achieve President Obama's goal of sending humans to an asteroid by 2025.
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HISTORY OF WISE
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WISE was launched for the first time in December 2009 to look for the glow of celestial heat sources from asteroids, stars and galaxies. During its mission, WISE made about 7500 images every day during its primary mission from January 2010 to February 2011. As part of a project called NEOWISE, the spacecraft made the most accurate survey to date of NEOs. NASA turned most of WISE's electronics off when it completed its primary mission. During 2010, NEOWISE observed about 158000 rocky bodies out of approximately 600000 known objects. Discoveries included 21 comets, more than 34000 asteroids in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter, and 135 near-Earth objects. The WISE prime mission was to scan the entire celestial sky in infrared light. It captured more than 2.7 million images in multiple infrared wavelengths and cataloged more than 560 million objects in space, ranging from galaxies faraway to asteroids and comets much closer to Earth. JPL manages WISE for NASA's Science Mission Directorate at the agency's headquarters in Washington. The mission is part of NASA's Explorers Program, which NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages. The Space Dynamics Laboratory in Logan, Utah, built the science instrument. Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. of Boulder, Colo., built the spacecraft. Science operations and data processing take place at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
SCIENTISTS DISCOVERED STRONG MAGNETIC FIELD ON DYING STAR

Scientists from the European Space Agencys discovered that a curious dead star named -SGR 0418 has one of the strongest magnetic fields in the universe. With the help of XMM-Newton space telescope scientists discovered the object. The object, known as SGR 0418+5729, is a magnetar, a particular kind of neutron star, located in the Milky Way about 6500 light years from the earth. A neutron star is the dead core of a once massive star that collapsed in on itself after burning up all its fuel and exploding in a dramatic supernova event. A small fraction of neutron stars become magnetars, named for their extremely intense magnetic fields, billions to trillions of times greater than those in MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machines. These fields cause magnetars to erupt sporadically with bursts of highenergy radiation. SGR 0418 was first detected in June 2009 by space telescopes the National Aeronautics and Space Administrations (NASA) Fermi and Roscosmos Koronas -Photon.
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Current Affairs eBook August 2013 NEW MALARIA VACCINE PFSPZ DEVELOPED
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The Malaria vaccine, known as PfSPZ Vaccine, was developed by scientists at Sanaria Inc. in Rockville, Maryland. According to the results of an early-stage clinical trial published in the journal Science - an investigational malaria vaccine has been found to be safe to generate an immune system response and to offer protection against malaria infection in healthy adults. Vaccine named PfSPZ is composed of live but weakened sporozoites of the species Plasmodium falciparum, the most deadly of malaria-causing parasites. On the basis of trial experiments with the vaccine, researchers found that participants who received a higher total dosage of PfSPZ Vaccine generated more antibodies against malaria and more T-cellsa type of immune system cellspecific to the vaccine.
GENE CAUSING CHRONIC PANCREATITIS DISCOVERED

Scientists from the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology (AIG) in India, together discovered a new gene-association which will help in early detection of chronic pancreatitis. The group of scientists also included some from abroad. The scientists discovered that certain mutations in the gene known as CPA1, which make the enzyme called carboxipeptidase-A1, were linked with disease pancreatitis. It is because of these mutations that the enzymes fold falsely and the improperly folded proteins lose the activity. Additionally, the unfolded or improperly folded proteins can lead to stress in the cells. The cells, in turn, can respond to this by producing various molecules, in order to either help the proteins to fold or degrade it. The responses of cells like these can cause damage to the pancreas which in turn leads to pancreatitis. Pancreas is the small human body organ which produces insulin in order to maintain the sugar level. Apart from this, pancreas is responsible for producing the enzymes that in turn help in food digestion. Inflammation in the pancreas (pancreatitis) leads to severe complications. It can also lead to pancreatic cancer, if left untreated.
WHAT IS CHRONIC PANCREATITIS?

Chronic pancreatitis mainly refers to repeated inflammation of the pancreas. Chronic pancreatitis can be found more prominently in South India. The primary causes of this ailment are gall stones and alcohol. The research revealed that this disease can occur because of gene mutation.
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Current Affairs eBook August 2013 INSTANT NOODLES CAN HELP FIGHT WORLD HUNGER: RESEARCH
Researchers from different universities, in the last week of August 2013, claimed that the instant noodles can prove to be very helpful for satiating the world hunger all over the world. Deborah Gewertz, the G. Henry Whitcomb 1874 Professor of Anthropology at Amherst along with her co-workers examined history, marketing, manufacturing as well as consumption of the foodstuff and revealed that the instant noodles will play a significant global role in the years to come.
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Deborah Gewertz explained that as the protean food designed for quotidian consumption, instant noodles already proved to be the great source to ease the hunger. She also explained that as the food will become scarcer in near future, tasty, cheap, shelf-stable and convenient instant noodles will become all the more important. Deborah Gewertz and her co-authors of the research, Frederick Errington, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, Emeritus, at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., and Tatsuro Fujikura, professor at the Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies at Kyoto University and a member of Amherst's Class of 1991, after the study, explained about the biophysiology of human taste. This biophysiology of human taste provided an insight into the mechanism of marketers for penetrating into new markets with their industrial foods. The study also analysed the thing required for feeding billions of people. In order to understand the impact of the instant noodles on diverse populations of the world, the authors studied three markets. The first market was Japan. The instant noodles were invented in the year 1958 in Japan and have been accepted widely since then. During World War II, these noodles were considered as the sign of modernity, but at present, they are treated as a convenient snack. The market of Papua New Guinea was also studied, where the instant noodles arrived in 1980s. The market analysis showed how the instant noodles served as a source of intriguing as well as cheap food options, especially for the urban poor. The instant noodles, in this market, were eaten not just as the snacks but also as the proper meals. The study concluded that instant noodles could be very well established as the source of ending world hunger in the future.
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WHAT ARE INSTANT NOODLES?
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Instant noodles, also called Ramen are the precooked or dried noodles which are sold with the packets of flavouring. The dried noodles are cooked after soaking in boiling water. The precooked noodles can be eaten directly from the packet or can be simply reheated. Momofuku Ando of Nissin Foods, Japan was the first one to invent instant noodles. These noodles were first marketed by Ando's company Nissin on 25 August 1958 under the brand name of Chikin Ramen. Ando was the first one to develop the production method of flash frying of these noodles after they were made, thereby creating instant noodles.
FOSSIL OF THE OLDEST KNOWN ANCESTOR OF RATS UNEARTHED

Scientists from the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences in Beijing and the University of Chicago revealed on 15 August 2013 that a fossil of the oldest known ancestor of modern rats was unearthed in China. The newly named species is called Rugosodon eurasiaticus. The recent fossil was found in Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation in eastern China.
FACTS ABOUT RUGOSODON EURASIATICUS

Rugosodon eurasiaticus is a responsive creature with ability to climb, burrow as well as eat anything. The species had flexible ankles which helped it for tree-climbing. It also had sharp teeth which were used to gnaw not just plants, but also the animals. The creature had the body mass of about 65 to 80 grams (2.3-2.8 ounces). The newly discovered species is one of the oldest ancestors in the multituberculate family. The adaptations like these enabled the ancient rat-like rodents known as multituberculates become one of the longest living mammals in the history. The multituberculate are believed to have originated 160 million years ago, i.e., during the Jurassic Period. It is believed that they lived for around 100 million years during the dinosaurs age and then the modern rodents overcame. The abilities of this species led to their diversification as well as evolution in the range of tree-dwelling and plant-eating mammals which followed thereafter.
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The name of this fossil came from Latin rugosus for wrinkles and odon for tooth. Eurasiaticus meant its widespread territory. The fossil is quite like the ones found in Portugal, which indicated towards the fact that the relatives of the species were found across the entire Eurasian continent.
NEW APP CALLED FINDMYSTUFF TO FIND LOST THINGS DEVELOPED

Scientists at the Ulm University in Germany developed a new technology which facilitates tracing the lost items such as keys and wallets in just a few seconds. The new technology makes use of the special search engine on the computer or the smartphone. The new technology is used in the app called FindMyStuff. Florian Schaub is the creator of this application. FindMyStuff allows a user to just type the name of the thing that they have lost in the app which is just like Google.
HOW DOES THE APPLICATION WORK?

The network of tiny sensors is placed on the valuables, around the home or within the furniture. The application will work owing to these sensors. Therefore, in case a user asks where the keys are, the app will answer, behind the sofa cushions. Florian Schaub explained that the world is moving towards the digital homes because of the availability of smaller and cheaper chips, transmitters and sensors. The system of this new technology can be retrospectively fitted for the use on key chains and wallets. The manufacturers of the phones can integrate this new technology into the phones as well. The German team of scientists will launch the FindMyStuff system in September 2013. The technology will become commercially available in case the electronic companies as well as the furniture makers allowed building as well as marketing this product. The overall cost of this system will be around 43 pounds.
DROMEDARY CAMELS COULD BE SOURCE OF MERS CORONAVIRUS

The team of researchers from the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment and Erasmus University in The Netherlands revealed that dromedary camels might be the source of deadly Mers coronavirus which emerged in the year 2012. The tests conducted during the research found that the MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) virus or the closely related viruses were circulating in animals and these could be the route for spread of the virus. The researchers however explained that further research was required for establishing this study.
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The Mers coronavirus emerged for the first time in the year 2012 in the Middle East. More and more cases of this virus spreading among the humans have been reported and most of these are a result of contact with the animals. In order to conduct the study, the international team investigated the blood samples of livestock animals, which included cows, goats, sheep and camel. These samples were collected from various countries. These were then tested for antibodies, which can remain in blood for a long time even after the virus has gone. Professor Marion Koopmans, from the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment and Erasmus University in the Netherlands explained that there was the presence of antibodies in dromedary camels which were specifically related with Mers coronavirus or a virus which were similar to Mers coronavirus. The team of researchers found that there was low level of the antibodies in 15 out of 105 camels from Canary Islands. High levels of antibodies were found in all the 50 camels tested in Oman, which indicated that virus was circulating in the camels more recently. It is important to note that human cases of Mers virus have not been reported till now in Canary Islands or Oman. The researchers explained that more tests needed to be conducted widely in order to find out whether infection was found anywhere else or not. In next tests, the researchers will take the samples from Saudi Arabia, where this virus was more prevalent. It is yet to be found out how human beings get infected because of this virus. The study about this was published in Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.
WHAT IS MERS (MIDDLE EAST RESPIRATORY SYNDROME)?

MERS: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome is a New Respiratory Virus related to SARS spread in Saudi Arabia a new respiratory virus related to SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) has killed 39 people in Saudi Arabia. Scientists have named this respiratory virus as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). The new virus is related to the respiratory virus SARS that killed more than 800 people across the world in 2003. It belongs to a family of viruses that most often cause the common cold. SARS emerged in China. As per the data released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) the MERS coronavirus that emerged in 2012 has killed 45 deaths across the world. The identified symptoms of MERS include fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath and muscle pain, gastrointestinal symptoms, including diarrhoea and vomiting. The cases of MERS have been identified in the Middle East - with patients in Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Few cases related to it were also seen in France, Italy, Germany, Tunisia and the United Kingdom.
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Current Affairs eBook August 2013 AUTISM AFFECTS MALES AND FEMALES DIFFERENTLY
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A recent study conducted by researchers from the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge revealed that autism affected the brains of males and females in a different way. In the study, the researchers studied the brain scans of 120 males as well as females and half of these people were suffering from autism. The differences in their brain scans revealed that further research was required in order to understand how autism affected the females. Research revealed that females suffering from autism could be stigmatised more than the males and also, it was difficult to diagnose autism among females. The researchers made use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in order to find out how autism affected males as well as females. It is important to note that the brains of males and females are generally different because the tissue volume is more in the males. In the study, the differences between brains of males with and without autism as well as females with and without autism were studied. The research revealed that it was possible that autism effects manifest differently in relation to o nes gender. Autism affects one percent of the general population, but is found mostly among the males. It is because of this reason that most of the studies associated with autism concentrate on maledominant samples, which in turn leads to gender bias in understanding of the autism-related neuroscience. The lead author of the study, Dr Meng-Chuan Lai explained that this study was one of the largest brain imaging studies of sex/gender differences yet conducted in autism. The autism among the females has been under-recognised till now and is also misunderstood. The findings of the study indicated towards the fact that one should not assume that everything associated with male-autism is also true for the female-autism. The research paper of the study was entitled Biological sex affects the neurobiology of autism. This paper was published in the journal called Brain.
WHAT IS AUTISM?
Autism is also called autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It is the brain-related biological difference which impairs social skills as well as communication among the humans. The signs of autism include aloofness of an individual, absence of the eye contact, avoiding physical contact with the family also and lack of interest in activities.
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Current Affairs eBook August 2013 LOWEST-MASS EXOPLANET CALLED GJ 504B DISCOVERED
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The international team of astronomers, in the first week of August 2013, captured the image of a huge planet around the bright Sun-like star- GJ 504. The image of the exoplanet was captured by making use of the infrared data from the Subaru Telescope in Hawaii. The newly captured exoplanet was dubbed as GJ 504b. It is the lowest-mass planet ever detected around the star, by making use of the direct imaging techniques.
UNIQUE FEATURES OF THE NEW EXOPLANET- GJ 504B

GJ 504b has the dark cherry blossom, a dull magenta colour. This planet orbits around its star at approximately 9 times the distance Jupiter orbits around the Sun. This led to the challenge of finding out how giant planets are formed. GJ 504b lies at the projected distance of 43.5 AU from its star. The scientists explained that GJ 504b is one of the most complicated planets to explain on the basis of usual planet-formation framework. The discovery of this planet explains why scientists need to consider the alternative planet-formation theories as well. The astronomers found that GJ 504b is around four times more massive than Jupiter. The planet has an effective temperature of about 460 degrees Fahrenheit (237 Celsius). GJ 504b orbits around the G0-type star GJ 504. This star is a bit hotter than the Sun and very faintly visible to naked eyes in the constellation Virgo. The star around which this planet orbits is 57 light years away.
It is interesting to know that the young star systems are the best targets for directly imaging the exoplanets. This is so because the planets of such stars havent existed longer to lose heat from their formation, which leads to increased infrared brightness.
THE SEEDS PROJECT

This discovery is the part of Strategic Explorations of Exoplanets and Disks with Subaru (SEEDS) project. It is a project which directly captures the images of extrasolar planets and protoplanetary disks around thousands of nearby stars, by making use of Subaru Telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. SEEDS is a 5-year project which started off in the year 2009. SEEDS is led by Motohide Tamura at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). Current Affairs eBook August 2013
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Imaging done under this project provides an insight into the orbit, atmosphere, temperature and luminosity of the planet. However, the planets are very faint and extremely close to their host stars, which is why it is extremely difficult to capture them. The SEEDS project captures the images at near-infrared wavelengths by making use of the novel adaptive optics system of telescope and two instruments: the High Contrast Instrument for the Subaru Next Generation Adaptive Optics and the InfraRed Camera and Spectrograph. The combination of these enables the team to capture the direct images towards fainter planets.
SCIENTISTS IDENTIFIED NEW GENES RESPONSIBLE FOR BRAIN CANCER

Scientists identified 18 new genes responsible for driving glioblastoma multiforme, the most common and most aggressive form of brain cancer in adults. The team of scientists from Columbia used a combination of high throughput DNA sequencing and a new method of statistical analysis to generate a short list of driver candidates. The massive study of nearly 140 brain tumours sequenced the DNA and RNA of every gene in the tumours to identify all the mutations in each tumour. A statistical algorithm was then used to identify the mutations most likely to be driver mutations. The algorithm differs from other techniques to distinguish drivers from other mutations in that it considers not only how often the gene is mutated in different tumours, but also the manner in which it is mutated. The analysis identified 15 driver genes that had been previously identified in other studies confirming the accuracy of the technique - and 18 new driver genes that had never been implicated in glioblastoma. Significantly, some of the most important candidates among the 18 new genes, such as LZTR1 and delta catenin, were confirmed to be driver genes in laboratory studies involving cancer stem cells taken from human tumours and examined in culture, as well as after they had been implanted into mice. The study found that half of about 15 percent of patients have tumours driven by a fusion between the gene EGFR and one of several other genes. The fusion makes EGFR - a growth factor already implicated in cancer - hyperactive; hyperactive EGFR drives tumour growth in these glioblastomas.
SCIENTISTS UNVEILED WORLDS FIRST LAB -GROWN BEEF BURGER

Scientists from the Maastricht University in the Netherlands, on 5 August 2013, unveiled the first lab-grown beef burger of the world, depicting the food revolution. The worlds first lab grown beef burger was served to the volunteers in London.
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FEATURES OF THE WORL DS FIRST LAB -GROWN BEEF BURGER PROJECT

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The worlds first lab-grown beef burger has the 140g or around 5 ounce patty. The cost of production of this patty is 250000 Euros or 330000 US dollar. The patty is made by making use of the strands of meat grown from the stem cells extracted from a living cow. The scientists claimed that when mixed with breadcrumbs, egg powder and salt, for improving its taste; as well as coloured with red beetroot juice and saffron; it will taste very much like a usual burger. The meat for the burger was developed in the lab of Professor Mark Post of Maastricht University in the Netherlands. The burger is absolutely safe. It also has the capability of replacing the normal meat in diets of people. One of the founders of Google- Sergey Brin is one of the financial backers of this project. 50 people in all were involved in the research across the world, but primarily in North America and Netherlands.
The patty was served to Austrian food researcher Hanni Ruetzler and US-based food author Josh Schonwald, who were the volunteers. There have been rising concerns about the increasing demand of meat, which in turn puts pressure on the Earth. The cultured beef can therefore be used for solving this problem.
HOW WAS THE BURGER PRODUCED?

The team of scientists in Maastricht took out the cells from organic cows. These cells were then placed in the nutrient solution in order to create the muscle tissue. These were then grown into small strands of meat. 20000 of these strands of meat were used for making the burger.
FUTURE OF CULTURED BEEF

At present, the cost of cultured beef is 250000 Euros or 330000 US dollar, which is very high. Nevertheless, the team of scientists claimed that costs of cultured beef would drop down with more production. It is expected to be in the markets in next one or two decades.
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ADVANTAGES OF TEST TUBE MEAT
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There are a lot of reasons why test tube meat should be supported. The reasons range from environment protection to public health and animal welfare. Also, the lab-produced meat does not carry any risk of disease. It also does not need to be treated with the antibiotics. A study found that the lab-grown beef makes use of 45 percent less energy than average global representative figure for farming cattle. At the same time, it also produces 96 percent less greenhouse gas emissions. It requires 99 percent less land as well. It is also important to note that the animal rights group called PETA, funded research in the United States so far and had also offered one million US dollar or 750000 euros prize for that lab which is capable to produce and bring out in-vitro chicken meat to the market.
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CORPORATE
HLL BIOTECH SIGNED AGREEMENT WITH INST OF IMMUNOLOGY CROTIA
HLL Biotech Limited on 31 August 2013 entered into a long-term supply and technology transfer agreement with the Institute of Immunology, Zagreb, Croatia. The agreement was made to initiate mass production of measles vaccine in India. Under the newly signed agreement, HLL Lifecare Limited will produce 80 million doses of measles vaccine, for the Indian market, which will meet a major share of the Government requirements. This partnership would also result in development of the next generation vaccines. To house the technical support and bring it into use, the HLL Lifecare has begun the construction work on Hindustan Biotechs Integrated Vaccine Complex at Chengalpet in Tamil Nadu at an investment of 594 crore rupees. It is predicted that the new Vaccine Complex would become fully operative by the end of 2016. HLL Biotech Limited is a subsidiary of Central Public Sector Miniratna Company, HLL Lifecare Limited.
HLL LIFECARE LIMITED

HLL Lifecare Limited is a Government of India enterprise and is generally known as a condo and contraceptives manufacturing company. After completing about than 30 years of consistent quality performance, HLL Lifecare has now tmoved on to take bigger responsibilities like vaccine security of the nation.
AIRTEL CONDUCTED FIELD TRIALS OF 3G PHONE SERVICES

Bharti Airtel on 29 August 2013 together with SoftBank Mobile successfully conducted field trials of a technology which provides cost-efficient 3G phone services using a communications satellite as a transmission line. The field trial was conducted in Kenya. This technology is vital for the development of mobile phone networks in rural areas in Africa and other areas where commercialisation of such operations is tough.
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The field trial in Kenya by Bharti Airtel and SoftBank Mobile confirmed technologies and methods for providing communication services using a communications satellite in rural areas at a low cost.
FEDERAL BANK LAUNCHED ELECTRONIC VERSION OF PASSBOOK

Kerala based Federal Bank Limited launched the electronic version of conventional passbook, called FedBook, on 30 August 2013. FedBook allows the customers to download it easily as well as also install this application on the smart devices such as smartphones.
FEATURES OF FEDBOOK
FedBook is easily downloadable. It can also be carried on the tablet computers or the smartphones. It enables the customers to easily view the transactions in various bank accounts online or offline for 24 hours a day. At present, the FedBook is only available on the Android operating system. The Federal Bank Limited unveiled that FedBook will also be available for other platforms. The FedBook application is very secure, user friendly as well as enables real-time access to the transactions, thereby freeing the customers from restrictions of the bank holidays or the business hours. The application FedBook also has the filter called Search, which enables the certain transactions or facility to tag the personalised remarks to their transactions. FedBook will enable banking become easier and handier and will also add the new dimension to net banking
ABOUT THE FEDERAL BANK LIMITED

Federal Bank Limited is the major commercial bank of India in the private sector The headquarters of Federal Bank Limited are based at Aluva, Kochi, Kerala It is the fourth largest commercial bank of India in terms of its capital base
DINESH K SARRAF RECOMMENDED TO BE NEXT ONGC CHIEF

The Public Enterprises Selection Board on 30 August 2013 recommended Dinesh K Sarraf as the next head of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). He will succeed Sudhir Vasudeva, who superannuates in February 2014. Dinesh K Sarraf is 56-year-old.
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Dinesh K Sarraf was director (finance) in ONGC prior to taking over the reins of the company's overseas investment arm ONGC Videsh. He is a post-graduate in commerce from Delhi's Shri Ram College of Commerce. He has experience of almost three decades in the oil and gas industry. As the head of ONGC Videsh, he played a major role in acquisitions worth over 11 billion US dollars in the past one year alone against the company's 17-billion US dollars investments made in 32 assets in 15 countries till 2011. Sarraf's main job as ONGC chairman would be to increase oil and gas production from domestic fields and to start production in new finds. He also needs to find tangible oil and gas reserves.
AIR INDIA LAUNCHED DIRECT FLIGHTS TO AUSTRALIA AFTER 22 YEARS

Air India launched its direct flights to Sydney and Melbourne on 29 August 2013, after a wide gap of 22 years. The flight had more than 60 domestic transfer passengers as well as over 40 international transit passengers, out of which 20 were from London. With the launch of this flight, Delhi became the premier hub airport of South Asia, which offers convenient connections to travellers on the long Europe-Australia sectors. Delhi International Airport limited (DIAL) announced that Delhi's Indira Gandhi International airport was connected to Australia now, with the launch of daily flights of Air India to Melbourne and Sydney. With this, Air India connected the two continents. It is important to note that Sydney has ranked amongst the top 5 potential destinations and therefore there was a need of better connectivity to this place. The daily flight service of Air India is operational with the 256-seater Boeing 787-800 Dreamliner. In the year 2012, 1.40 lakh passengers travelled between Delhi and Sydney through the Asia hubs.
SNAPDEAL ENTERED INTO A PARTNERSHIP WITH HYPERCITY RETAIL

E-commerce firm Snapdeal.com on 29 August 2013 entered into a strategic partnership with Hypercity Retail to sell Hypercity's products on its portal. Hypercity is a part of the K Raheja Group. This partnership will leverage strengths of both the companies and will deliver greater assortment to a much wider consumer base. It will lead to increased market access and higher sales for both partners. A large variety of Hypercity merchandise as well as the various domestic and international brands across categories such as personal care, sports & fitness, home furnishing and
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kitchenware, among others, which are sold in Hypercity stores, will now be available on Snapdeal.com.
MCX CHAIRMAN AND FIVE DIRECTORS RESIGNED

MCX Chairman Venkat Chary and five other directors on the commodity exchange board resigned on 30 August 2013 following the implementation of new guidelines, including those that bar any person over 70 years of age to hold a board position. Chairman Venkat Chary and C M Maniar, who was a Forward Market Commission, quit due to the age guideline, the exchanges former managing director Lambertus Rutten resigned citing pre-occupations. P R Barpande too resigned due to pre-occupation. FMC nominated independent director Prakash Apte has also resigned with effect from 31 August. Shareholder Director Shvetal Vakil resigned from the Board due to the term criteria prescribed in the guidelines. The development comes on the heels of NSEL defaulting on the second payout for settling 5600 crore rupees dues after it suspended trade on 31 July following Government's direction in the wake of violation of certain rules.
ABOUT MCX
The Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited (MCX), Indias first listed exchange, is a state of-the-art, commodity futures exchange that facilitates online trading, and clearing and settlement of commodity futures transactions, thereby providing a platform for risk management. The Exchange, which started operations in November 2003, operates within the regulatory framework of the Forward Contracts Regulation Act, 1952 (FCRA, 1952) and regulations there under.
APOLLO HOSPITALS GROUP SIGNED MOU WITH ROCHESTER VARSITY US

The Apollo Hospitals Group on 27 August 2013 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of Rochester Medical Centre (URMC), New York, USA, for academic collaboration and patient care. As part of the MoU the Rochester University and Apollo Hospitals under -graduate medical college will have faculty and student exchange programme. The University of Rochester will provide its expertise in designing special curriculum, which will be taught in India in addition to the syllabus prescribed by the Medical Council of India.
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The two institutions would also share expertise, in-clinical care and research across multiple specialities such as gastroenterology, emergency medicine and Neurosciences.
HEALTHY SCHOOLS PROGRAM

On the occasion of 25th anniversary of Apollo Hospital Group (AHG) of Hyderabad, the AHG announced an emergency health care scheme Healthy Schools for school children on 27 August 2013. This programme is offered at 200 rupees per student per year, covering screening, maintenance of health record and health education. A fifty thousand worth treatment will be provided for accidents (students and parents).
ABOUT APOLLO HOSPITALS GROUP

The Apollo Hospitals Group was founded by Dr. Prathap C Reddy in 1983. The first hospital of Apollo Hospitals Group was established at Chennai. Apollo Hospitals Group is an integrated private healthcare organization which owns hospitals, diagnostic clinics, dispensing pharmacies and consultancy services. The Government of India honoured the pioneering spirit of the Apollo Hospitals Group with the release of a commemorative Postage Stamp on 3 November 2009. Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Founder Chairman of the Apollo Hospitals Group was conferred with second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan in March 2010 in Trade and Industry discipline for his contribution to the private health care sector.
BHARAT BIOTECH INT LAUNCHED THE TYPHOID VACCINE, TYPBAR TCV

Bharat Biotech International Ltd on 26 August 2013 launched the typhoid vaccine called Typbar TCV, which is capable of providing higher efficacy and longer immunity against typhoid.
PRIMARY FEATURES OF THE NEW TYPHOID VACCINE

The new typhoid vaccine is called Typbar TCV. The new vaccine will be available in pre-filled syringe. The vaccine has the capability of providing immunity for a minimum of ten years.
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The vaccine was tested clinically since 2005 and was evaluated on 1200 subjects at nine different sites. The vaccine proved to be absolutely safe as well as acceptable in all the age groups that were tested. The vaccine showed 98 percent seroconversion (a measure of checking vaccine efficacy), in the infants between age 6 months to 12 months. It also showed 99 percent seroconversion in the children between 2 years to 15 years age group and 92 percent in the age group 15 years to 45 years. The present typhoid vaccine has the seroconversion rates of merely 60-70 percent. Also, the present vaccine is effective only on the children above 2 years of age and provides immunity for merely three years. The Typbar TCV vaccine is the first typhoid conjugate vaccine which got a licence after undergoing complete full-scale clinical trial process.
Bharat Biotech invested 65 crore Rupees on this vaccine. The vaccine is expected to add the revenues of 40-50 crore Rupees annually. The company also decided to apply for World Health Organisation (WHO) prequalification for this new vaccine. It is worth noticing that WHO prequalification is a prerequisite for participating in the tenders to supply any vaccine for global immunization programmes. Bharat Biotech had earlier launched a third-generation polysaccharide typhoid vaccine in 2003. This vaccine is exported in huge numbers for not just civilian requirements but also the army requirements. The company also decided to follow the dual-pricing model, where one will be for public health, while the other one will be for private label market. The new vaccine will have a higher price than the present one. The present vaccine has the price of 180 Rupees per dose. The only other company apart from Bharat Biotech to launch a typhoid conjugate vaccine in India is Bio Med Pvt. Ltd. Typhoid is the kind of fever which is lifethreatening. It is caused by bacterium Salmonella typhi, which can be transmitted through water or food contaminated by faeces or urine of infected people. Around 20 million cases of typhoid are reported annually and primarily in the developing countries. In developing countries, around 250000 to 60000 people die because of typhoid. The World Health Organisation revealed that the maximum numbers of typhoid cases are reported from India and Pakistan. Indian Academy of Pediatrics also advised the Union Government of India to include the typhoid vaccine in national immunisation programme. Bharat Biotech also announced its plan to launch a Japanese encephalitis vaccine.
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ICSI LAUNCHED PLACEM ENT PORTAL FOR MEMBERS AND CORPORATE

The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) launched the Placement Portal for its Members and the Corporate on 23 August 2013. The President of the Institute S.N. Ananthasubramanian launched this Placement Portal. The primary feature of this portal is that it provides free of cost online platform for Corporate and Members of ICSI seeking jobs. The corporate who are looking forward to Company Secretaries can register themselves. It also allows them to post their requirements whereas Members searching for jobs can apply directly to the employers. In order to provide benefits to the Corporates and Members of the Institute, the portal will function 24*7.
NOKIA LAUNCHED LUMIA 925 AND 625 IN INDIA

Finnish handset maker Nokia on 22 August 2013 launched Lumia 925 and 625 in India. The new product is considered biggest smartphone to date. It targets people in the age group of 18-25 years. Lumia 625 is priced at 19999 rupees, while Lumia 925 is available in the market for 33499 rupees. Lumia 625 is a smart and affordable device which has the advance Lumia features and a large screen where users can have entertainment. Lumia 625 features a 4.7 inch LCD screen, which is viewable in direct sunlight and offers a super sensitive touch technology for operation with gloves or nails. The Lumia 925 was launched in May 2013 in London. It is lighter than the earlier model and has a metal design. Nokia is facing tough competition from iOS and Android- based phones in smartphone category. Nokia was leading the Indian market for over a decade. However, it was replaced by Korean handset maker Samsung as per the latest Voice&Data Survey. Samsung became the market leader with a 31.5 percent market share while Nokia slipped to number two in the survey with a 27.2 percent market share.
APOLLO TYRES TIED UP WITH MANCHESTER UNITED

India's second largest tyre maker Apollo Tyres on 21 August 2013 announced a tie-up with Manchester United to become its official tyre partner in UK and India. The tie-up with Manchester United will help Apollo produce football based play zones constructed from used tyres. These rubber-based pitches will be based by young people from local communities in the UK and India to encourage them to take up soccer as sport. It will encourage healthy lifestyles and develop sporting skills in young people.
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A Nielsen survey in 2010 found that 47 percent of India's 1.2 billion populations can be described as football fans. This partnership will help Apollo promote its brand and encourage sporting activities among people.
WELSPUN ENERGY LTD UNVEILED 55-MW SOLAR PLANT IN RAJASTHAN

Welspun Energy Ltd on 21 August 2013 unveiled the 55-MW solar plant in Rajasthan. This is the 500 crore Rupees project and is the largest single-location solar plant of Asia. The solar plant was inaugurated by the Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, Farooq Abdullah, and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. Welspun declared that it targeted to invest 15000 crore Rupees for establishing the 1750 MW of renewable energy projects by 2016. Currently, the operating capacity is 150 MW and it will increase to 400 MW by the end of 2013-14 fiscal year. For financing the expansion plans, Welspun Energy Ltd would raise money through the domestic loans. The project build-up plan of Welspun Energy Ltd includes 850 MW wind as well as 550 MW solar plants in Karnataka. The company also planned to develop the wind capacity of around 300 MW in the state of Rajasthan. Apart from this, the Welspun Energy Ltd also signed the MoUs with Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh for establishing 500 MW as well as 100 MW solar plants.
NMDC POWER LIMITED AND IEDCL SIGNED MOU

An MoU was signed between the NMDC Power Limited (NPL) and IEDCL on 21 August 2013 in order to set up the joint venture power plant of 500 MW at Gonda, Uttar Pradesh. The MoU was signed in the presence of Union Minister of Steel, Beni Prasad Verma and Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Jyotiraditya Scindia, at New Delhi.
MAJOR POINTS OF THE MOU

The MoU was signed between Hari Sankaran, Vice Chairman and MD IL&FS and N.K. Nanda, Chairman, NMDC Power Limited. The MoU was signed for setting up 2x250 Mw Thermal Power Plant under Joint Venture at Gonda, Uttar Pradesh. The establishment of this power plant will encourage potential agro based industries, while also helping in ensuring better living and industrial growth in the region.
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The new project will facilitate faster development of the area and opening of newer avenues of employment for the people of Gonda. It is important to note that in Uttar Pradesh. There is 13.6 percent power deficit and various steps such as linking of different grids is under the way. The project would be completed by 2016. The approximate cost of this project is around 3000 crore Rupees.
RELIANCE GENERAL INSURANCE ENTERED AGRICULTURAL ARENA

Reliance General Insurance, in the third week of August 2013 entered into the agriculture area by launching the weather- and yield-based crop insurance schemes in five different states of India. These schemes will focus on the farmers in the five states Uttarakhand, Haryana, Assam, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Reliance General Insurance planned to include around one lakh farmers in 10 India states by 2013-14 fiscal year end. The company has been empanelled by the Union Government of India in order to implement the Weather-Based Crop Insurance (WBCI) scheme in 21 states of India. The company also received the authorisation from the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) for offering yield-based crop protection to farmers in 50 identified districts of India. The scheme of yield-based crop insurance will include losses due to natural calamities, postharvest as well as pre-sowing, diseases and pests. The weather-related risks will include excess rainfall or shortage of rainfall, variations in temperature as well as fluctuations in humidity. For the Kharif crops, the rainfall parameter will be included. Similarly, for the rabi crops, rainfall, temperature humidity as well as combination of other parameters will be included. It is important to note that domestic agriculture insurance premium market costs around 5000 crore Rupees. Weather insurance schemes will help in immediate compensation on the basis of objective data which will be sourced by the Indian Meteorological department. This insurance scheme will also help the farmers in providing flexibility for taking up the insurance for particular critical stage of the growth of crops or for overall crop cycle. There is also the Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme which provides insurance to the farmers from the yield-based risks along with other risks during the crop cycle. The Union Government as well as the State Government subsidise the premiums which are paid by the farmers, while the insurer bears the claims.
BHARTI AIRTEL LAUNCHED 1 RUPEE ENTERTAINMENT STORE

Bharti Airtel on 16 August 2013 stated that it launched 1 rupee entertainment store which will allow users to download services such as music, games, videos and photos for one rupee.
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Virtual 1 rupees Entertainment Store offers a wide range of exciting mobile content (including music, videos, games and photos) and Internet browsing offers all at 1 rupee only. The store is compatible with over 5500 mobile devices including feature phones. Airtel has recently launched a video service for 1 rupee. The company explained that with such initiatives it continues to leverage the affordable 1 rupee tag to simplify data services for its customers and encourage the mobile internet experience among first-time users across India.
IDEA BECAME ADITYA BIRLA GROUP'S MOST VALUABLE COMPANY

Idea Cellular became Aditya Birla groups most valuable company overtaking its flagship commodity business. The market cap of the telecom business overtook UltraTech BSE, Indias largest cement company. Idea's shareholder valuation increased to 52916 crore rupees while UltraTech's was calculated at 50820 crore rupees as on 25 July 2013. The gap between Idea and Ultra Tech has been estimated at 7856 crore rupees. Idea Cellular, which was known earlier as Birla AT&T, has made rapid progress. It started as an alliance with the Tata group, before the Tatas deciding to use CDMA technology. After initial hustle, the Birlas paid a hefty ransom of 4400 crore to buy out the Tata stake. Idea Cellular made a series of acquisitions, which included the purchase of BK Modi's Spice Telecom.
SAIL OPERATIONALISED LARGEST BLAST FURNACE OF INDIA, DURGA

The Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), on 10 August 2013, operationalised the largest blast furnace of India, called Durga, at the SAIL Rourkela Steel Plant. The blast furnace will help in increasing the hot metal capacity of SAIL by 2.5 million tonnes in a year. The hot metal capacity will become 4.5 million tonnes per annum. Durga is built at the approximate cost of 1600 crore Rupees. The volume of the furnace is 4060 cubic metres. The blast furnace is absolutely environment-friendly and ensures minimum emissions. It also has the capability of recovering waste energy to the complete potential. It also has the closed-loop cooling system which leads to zero water discharge. At the same time, the Director of SAIL, C.S. Verma also inaugurated the new slab caster at Steel Melting Shop-II of the plant. The new slab caster, in the meanwhile, was set up at the approximate cost of 500 crore Rupees. It incorporates the state-of-the-art technologies. It has the capability of casting the slabs of width up to 2500 mm with thickness of 220 mm, 250 mm and 300 mm. This new slab caster will also facilitate the slabs to new 4.3 metre wide plate mill, which will be installed as the part of Rourkela plants modernisation and expansion plan.
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ABOUT STEEL AUTHORITY OF INDIA LTD (SAIL)

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Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) is the largest steel producing company of India. It has the turnover of 49350 crore Rupees. It is also among the Maharatna companies of Indias Central Public Sector Enterprises. SAIL has five integrated steel plants, three special plants, and one subsidiary in different parts of India.
BIOCON LAUNCHED ALZUMAB, A DRUG FOR TREATMENT OF PSORIASIS

Biocon on 10 August 2013 announced that it has launched its first biologic drug ALZUMAb for Psoriasis. The newly launched drug will be sold in the market at about half the price of the similar drugs of multi-national companies available in the market. A vial of the drug from Biocon will be available in India at 7950 rupees. As per the announcement made by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, the Chairman and Managing Director of Biocon this is the worlds first novel anti-CD6 antibody to treat psoriasis. The drug ALZUMAb has been made using cells and doesn't include artificial chemicals. It took about 10 years for Biocon to develop the drug.
ABOUT PSORIASIS
Psoriasis is immune-mediated disease that affects the skin. The Disease on an average affects about 10-20 million Indians and it attacks the immune system of human beings. In generally occurs, when the immune system mistakes a normal skin cell for a pathogen, and sends out faulty signals that cause overproduction of new skin cells.
ABOUT BIOCON
Biocon is an India biotech company and is focused on delivering affordable innovation. It is committed to reduce therapy costs of chronic diseases like diabetes, cancer and autoimmune diseases by leveraging India's cost advantage to deliver affordable healthcare solutions to patients, partners and healthcare systems across the globe.
SOME OF ITS KEY INNOVATIONS INCLUDE

World's first Pichia based recombinant human Insulin, Insugen Insulin analogue Glargine, BASALOG
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India's first indigenously produced monoclonal antibody BioMAb-EGFR, for head & neck cancer
ARISE INDIA LTD LAUNCHED LED TELEVISIONS

Arise India Ltd, a leading manufacturer in electronic goods on 7 August 2013 opened up a new vista in a television viewing with the launch of its LED television range. These televisions will be available in markets from 15 August 2013.The company has especially targeted the emerging consumers in Tier II and Tier III of the country with this launch. Among the key features of these TVs is Eye Protection Technology (EPT) which safeguards eyes from growing irritation due to longer television viewing. Arise India Ltd, after servicing the electrical needs of the country over the past 25 years with a trustworthy range of products, the company now looks to redefine its consumers television viewing experience with our new LED range. The company has set a target of selling 1 lakh LEDs in 2013-14 and wants to raise the slab up to 2 lakh in the coming years. The LED range of Arise includes a total of eight models in various television sizes ranging from 16 to 50. The MRP of these televisions will be in the range of 7490 rupees to 79990 rupees.
WHATSAPP INTRODUCED ONE-PRESS VOICE TEXTING

Instant messaging service WhatsApp introduced a new feature which enables sending of voice texts by just pressing one button. The company hit the 300 million monthly active users mark. They garnered a whopping 50 million new active users in just 2 months. With this new feature, the user can record and send voice clips with one press of the mic icon. WhatsApp users now send 11 billion messages and receive 20 billion messages per day - up from 27 billion total in June 2013. WhatsApp has started rolling out voice messaging for all of its apps, on iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows Phone and Nokia.
THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE FEATURE

The user just presses the record button to record his message. If the user decides not to send the message then he just needs to swipe to the left to delete the recording.
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There is no time length limit while recording a message therefore users can get as creative as they want. One more interesting feature is that the playback of a voice text will automatically switch from handset's speakers to its earpiece when the device is held to your ear. The mic icon turns blue when recipients have listened to the message. Facebook and WeChat already have the voice texting feature but what's interesting about Whatsapp is its one press voice text feature.
AMAZON TO BUY THE NEWSPAPER ASSETS OF WASHINGTON POST

Jeffrey P Bezos, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Amazon on 5 August agreed to buy the newspaper assets of the Washington Post Company for 250 million US dollar. The decision to sell the assets was made following the fall in revenue and decline in the circulation of its copies. The Washington Post has been owned by the Graham family for 80 years. Donald E. Graham is the Chairman and Chief Executive of Washington Post at present. Apart from this, the Boston Globe, one of the most prestigious newspapers in US was sold by New York Times Company to John Henry, the American billionaire owner of Liverpool Football Club for 70 million US dollar. Globe was launched in 1993 and broke the records of highest price ever paid to the American newspaper. One of the important reasons behind the sale was fall of the newspapers circulation to nearly half over a decade from 438621 copies to 230351 in September 2012.
COMMENT
Sale of the Washington Post and the Boston Globe is an indication towards the fall in circulation of the print copies of the news and the threat that is posed to the traditional medium from the internet world.
TWO PROJECTS OF BHEL INAUGURATED IN TAMIL NADU

Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India on 2 August 2013 inaugurated two projects of PSU BHEL in Thirumayam at Puthukottai district of Tamil Nadu. The two projects of BHEL are a High Pressure Boiler Plant Unit-II, a Greenfield Initiative and the Power Plant Piping Unit. Both would provide employment to about 8000 people.
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HIGH PRESSURE BOILER PLANT (UNIT-II) HIGHLIGHTS

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A Greenfield expansion project with combined capacity of 800000 metric tonnes for 20000 MW annual capacities. Total shop floor area of around 120000 sq meter Total project outlay of over 1000 crore rupees. Manufacture of supercritical technology boilers and components up to 1000 mw unit rating 5 direct and indirect employments of over 5000 persons with supporting ancillary industries
POWER PLANT PIPING UNIT HIGHLIGHTS

The unit is spread over 40 acres of land in Thirumayam, Pudukottai district Tamil Nadu Capacity of 80000 metric tonnes per annum Investment of 300 crore rupees with annual turnover of 2500 crore rupees Piping systems for thermal power plants, steam piping lines for nuclear power plants, and piping systems for process industries. Direct and indirect employment of around 3000 persons with support industries to contribute to overall economic development of the region.
With the operationalisation of the two units, BHEL has achieved an annual manufacturing capacity of 20000 MW.
JET AIRWAYS LAUNCHED WEEK-LONG SALE OF LOW-FARE TICKETS

Jet Airways launched week-long sale of low-fare domestic tickets.The one-way economy fares would be 1777 rupees, 2777 rupees and 3777 rupees for sectors less than 750 km, between 750-1,000 km and over 1000 km respectively. Fuel surcharge would be part of the ticket cost but the passenger would have to pay the applicable taxes. The tickets would be non-refundable and a date change would be permitted at a charge of 1200 rupees per sector, as per the existing practice. The Jet move is a limited-period bonanza to attract more passengers during the lean season when air traffic is low. In spite of financial trouble, the Indian airline industry has been experiencing, the low-fare war between airlines has never abated in the past months, with the latest initiator being SpiceJet earlier this year with other airlines following suit. Jet's decision to offer low fares indicated an improvement in its cash flow following its stake sale deal with Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways. www.jagranjosh.com
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Though the Jet-Etihad deal is yet to get the nod of the Union Cabinet, Jet in February concluded sale and leaseback of three pairs of its slots at London Heathrow airport to Etihad at a price of around 70 million US dollars.
NOKIA INDIA TEAMED UP WITH PWD OF MAHARASHTRA

Nokia India team, in the month of July 2013, teamed up with the Public Works Department of Maharashtra in order to raise awareness regarding the safety of pedestrians. For this purpose, Nokia India proposed to colour 12 black-and-white zebra crossings of Mumbai, with the vibrant colours. Nokia India decided to paint these crossings in order to remind constantly to the road users, about these crossings. The inauguration of this campaign was done by the Managing Director, Nokia India- P. Balaji. P. Balaji painted the zebra crossing outside Sahara Star Hotel. This was the first crossing to be painted with colours, among 12 others across Mumbai. These crossings will be maintained by Nokia till August 2014. It is important to note that around 12000 people are killed in the road accidents in Maharashtra. The initiative of Nokia will help in raising awareness for driving responsibly and for the purpose of road safety. This is the citizen movement, which would help in encouraging people towards pedestrian safety. Nokia, at present, has the digital initiative called #colourisin. The campaign undertaken by Nokia will help people in reminding more about the colours, which in turn, will also serve as Nokias corporate responsibility. After Mumbai, Nokia has the same plans for other cities like Bangalore, Kolkata and Delhi.
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SPORTS
BAYERN MUNICH WON SUPER CUP 2013 AFTER DEFEATING CHELSEA
Bayern Munich defeated Chelsea in the final at the Eden stadium in Prague on 30 August 2013 to win UEFA Super Cup 2013. The final was decided through a 5-4 penalty shoot-out which went in the favour of Bayern Munich. The match was evenly poised at 2-2 even after extra time. Bayern Munich had lost their 2012 Champions League final to Chelsea. Fernando Torres had given Chelsea the lead before Franck Ribery equalised. Eden Hazard restored Chelsea's lead. Bayern's Javi Martinez scored a dramatic 121st-minute equaliser to take the game to penalties. David Alaba, Toni Kroos, Philipp Lahm, Franck Ribry and Xherdan Shaqiri scored penalties on behalf of Bayern Munich. Romelu Lukaku's failed to turn penalty into goal for Chelsea.
SEPAKTAKRAW SUPER SERIES KICKED OFF IN DELHI

The International Sepaktakraw Super Series 2013 kicked off in New Delhi on 29 August 2013. The tournament will be held from 29 August to 1 September 2013. In the Men's section, India is placed in Group-D alongside Singapore. Thailand, Japan, Korea, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, USA and Iran are the other teams participating in the Men's section. In the Women's section, India has been given a slot in Pool-A, alongside Indonesia, Korea and Vietnam, while the other Pool comprises of Japan, Thailand and Malaysia. Sepaktakraw is a popular sport in South East Asia, and in general terms is called, kick volleyball. The sport differs from volleyball, as players are not allowed to touch the ball with hands, but can only use their feet, knee, chest and head to kick the ball.
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Current Affairs eBook August 2013 BHUVANA KALVA WON IT F WOMENS TENNIS TOU RNAMENT
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India's Bhuvana Kalva won her maiden 10000 US dollars ITF singles title on 31 August 2013 after she registered an impressive 6-4, 7-5 victory over sixth-seeded Akari Inoue of Japan at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association complex. Bhuvana Kalva is from Andhra Pradesh. She is 18-year-old. She also defeated top seed Ankita Raina and third seed Keren Shlomo of Israel en route final. Her title win fetched her 12 ranking points while Akari, won 8 ranking points. Akari had won the doubles title along with Hua-Chen Lee on 30 August 2013.
BP BAISHYA APPOINTED AS CHAIRMAN OF THE ETHICS COMMISSION

Indian Weightlifting Federation President Birendra Prasad Baishya was appointed as the chairman of the Ethics Commission of the International Weightlifting Federation in Beijing in the executive board meeting. His term will be of four years. Birendra Prasad Baishya is also the Member of Parliament and senior member of Indian Olympic Association Executive Council. During the meeting of IWF Executive Board, heads of various Commissions as well as the Chairpersons of three elected committees -- technical, medical, coaching and research were also appointed. It was decided that according to the new constitution, fully independent Anti-Doping Commission will also be established. Apart from this, approval was given to the Development Program of a very large scale for providing support to the Member Federations, Continental Federations and Regional Federations.
WHO IS BIRENDRA PRASAD BAISHYA?

Birendra Prasad Baishya was born on 29 January 1956. He belongs to the Asom Gana Parishad Party. He is a Member of Rajya Sabha from Assam.
43RD INSTITUTIONAL TABLE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Soumyajit Ghosh, the table tennis national champion defeated Anthony Amalraj 4-1 to retain his men's singles title at the Institutional Table Tennis Championships, which concluded in Dharwad on 27 August 2013. In the womens category, the singles title was won by women's national champion K Shamini who defeated Poulomi Ghatak 4-0. Both men and women titles were thus retained by the Petroleum Sports Promotion Board. Soumyajit Ghosh won the cash prize of 75000 Rupees, while K Shamini grabbed 58000 Rupees. www.jagranjosh.com
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In the doubles category, the men's doubles title was grabbed by Sourav Saha and G Sathiyan, while the womens doubles was grabbed by Shamini and Patkar.
FINAL RESULTS WERE AS FOLLOWS

Men (Final): Soumyajit Ghosh bt Anthony Amalraj 4-1 (11-9, 5-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-6); Doubles (Final): Sourav Saha/G Sathiyan bt Jubin Kumar/ A Amalraj 3-1 (8-11, 11-8, 12-10, 12-10). Women (Final): K Shamini bt Poulomi Ghatak 4-0 (11-7, 11-1, 11-8, 11-2); Doubles (Final): K Shamini/Madhurika Patkar bt Ankita Das/Reeth Rishya 3-0 (11-9, 11-5, 11-5).
ABOUT THE INSTITUTIONAL TABLE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Institutional Table Tennis Championships are organised by the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI). This was the 43rd Institutional Table Tennis Championships, which was held from 22 August 2013 to 27 August 2013. TTFI was established in 1926 and is also the founder member of International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). TTFI has affiliation of 32 units as well as 37 institutions.
ENGLAND WON ASHES 2013 TEST SERIES

England cricket team won Ashes Test Series-2013 by 3-0 against Australia on 25 August 2013 at England. England and Australia drew the fifth Test as the Ashes series ended in a dramatic draw on the final day at The Oval on 25 August 2013. With this fifth test match draw England finished the five-match contest as 3-0 winners having triumphed in three successive Test series against Australia for the first time since the 1950s. (England won ashes series in 2009, 2011, 2013). England retained the Ashes after the third Test match was drawn to give them an unassailable 20 lead in the series. England took an unbeatable 30 lead in the series with a 74-run win in the fourth Test at Chester-le-Street. Alastair Cook captained the England Side in the tournament, whereas, Michael Clarke captained the Australian team.
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FIVE TEST MATCH SERIES
1st Test: 10-14 July England won by 14 runs, at Trent Bridge Player of the match: James Anderson (Eng)
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2nd Test: 18-22 July England won by 347 runs, at Lord's Player of the match: Joe Root (Eng)
3rd Test: 1-5 August Match drawn, at Old Trafford Player of the match: Michael Clarke (Aus)
4th Test: 9-13 August England won by 74 runs, at Chester-le-Street Player of the match: Stuart Broad (Eng)
5th Test: 21-25 August Match drawn, at Oval Player of the match: Shane Watson (Aus)
Players of the series Ian Bell (England) and RJ Harris (Australia)
Leading run-scorers 562 Ian Bell (Eng) - average 62.44 418 Shane Watson (Aus) - average 41.80 388 Kevin Pietersen (Eng) - average 38.80
Leading wicket-takers 26 Graeme Swann (Eng) - average 29.03 24 Ryan Harris (Aus) - average 19.58 22 Stuart Broad (Eng) - average 27.45
HISTORY OF ASHES SERIES

The Ashes is a Test cricket series which has been played between England and Australia since 1882. The Ashes is played biennially between England and Australia taking turns to host it. The Ashes series consists of five Test matches; if a series is drawn, the country holding the Ashes retains series.
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The Ashes series is named after a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, The Sporting Times, in 1882 after a match at the Oval in which Australia beat England on an English ground for the first time. The obituary stated that English cricket had died, and the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia. The English media dubbed the next English tour to Australia (188283) as the quest to regain the Ashes.
INDIA WON ASIAN CRICKET COUNCIL EMERGING TEAMS CUP

Indias under-23 cricket team won the Asian Cricket Council Emerging Teams Cup in Singapore on 25 August 2013, beating Pakistan by nine wickets in the final match. After winning the toss and choosing to bat, Pakistans under-23 team was all out for 159 in 47 overs and India chased down Pakistans total in 33.4 overs. India U-23 had earlier beaten UAE in semi-finals. Indias opening batsman Lokesh Rahul was awarded man-of-the-match for his 93 not out in the final. The U.A.E.s Shaiman Anwar was named as player of the tournament for his two centuries, against Bangladesh and Singapore, as well as a half-century against Sri Lanka. Suryakumar Yadav captained the Indian Side in the tournament, whereas, Hammad Azam captained the Pakistan team.
ABOUT THE ACC EMERGING TEAMS CUP

The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Emerging Teams Cup has been created by the Asian Cricket Council for the specific cause of developing the talents of the most prominent young cricketers of Asia. The Emerging Teams Cup 2013 featured under-23 teams from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and the senior teams from Afghanistan, the U.A.E., Nepal and Singapore, which hosted the event. This was its inaugural edition.
SANIA MIRZA - JIE ZHENG PAIR WON WTA NEW HAVEN OPEN TITLE
Indian tennis player Sania Mirza lifted the womens doubles trophy at the WTA New Haven Open along with her partner Jie Zheng of China on 24 August 2013. Third seeded Sania and Jie defeated the second-seeded pair of Anabel Medina Garrigues and Katarina Srebotnik 6-3, 6-4 in the summit clash.
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This is Sania Mirza's 17th WTA doubles title and the third Title in 2013 and Jie Zheng's 15th WTA doubles title and the first in last two years. Each player had won New Haven once previously: Sania with Mara Santangelo in 2007 and Zheng with Yan Zi in 2006.
ABOUT NEW HAVEN OPEN

The New Haven Open at Yale presented by First Niagara is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is a Premier tournament on the WTA Tour. Until 2010 the tournament was a part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the ATP Tour. It is held annually at the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center in New Haven, Connecticut, United States, just before the fourth and last Grand Slam tournament of the year, the US Open.
INDIAN WOMENS TEAM WON GOLD IN ARCHERY WORLD CUP STAGE 4

Indian women's Recurve team defeated the South Korean team to win gold medal in the World Cup Archery Stage- 4 at Wroclaw, Poland on 25 August 2013. In the Women's Recurve Team final, the sixth seeded Indian team of Deepika Kumari, Laishram Bombayla Devi and Rimil Buriuly defeated the top seeded South Korean team of Yun Ok-Hee, Ki Bo Bae, and Joo Hyun Jung, 219-215 to clinch the Gold. Before setting up a final with South Korea, India had defeated Indonesia (217-216), Mexico (211-202) and Denmark (214-206). This is the Indian trio's second successive Gold. They had brought success to the country in July 2013, after winning the Stage 3 meet at Medellin, Colombia. Deepika concluded the four World Stages with two golds (Medellin, Wroclaw) and two silvers (both Shanghai) and one bronze (Medellin). Deepika had returned emptyhanded from Stage 2 in Antalya. Based on her performances in the four World Stages, Deepika finished inside top seven to qualify for the World Cup Finals to be held on 21 to 22 September 2013 in Paris. Deepika qualified for the Finals for second year in a row. In her maiden appearance in Tokyo in 2012, Deepika had returned with a silver medal. Based on their rankings after four stages of the World Cup, top seven archers in men's and women's sections make the cut for the Finals, while the host country (France) get a quota berth. Dola Banerjee is the only Indian to have won gold in the 2007 World Finals.
ANJANA DHAVALU THAMKE WON THE GIRL'S 800M RACE
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Anjana Dhavalu Thamake won the third gold for India by winning the girl's 800m race on the concluding day of the track and field events in the second Asian Youth Games held at Nanjing. Thamake clocked a personal best of two minutes 11.47 seconds to bag the gold ahead of Savinder Kaur of Malaysia and Sri Lanka's K Dilhani Fernando. Anjana Thamake, who was participating as an Independent Olympic Athlete as India is serving a ban, led the eight-athlete field all through and won the race comfortably.
KUSH WON GOLD IN MEN S SINGLES SQUASH AT ASIAN YOUTH GAMES

Kush Kumar of India won gold in Mens Singles Squash at the second Asian Youth Games in Nanjing, China on 19 August 2013. This is the Indias first gold in and overall fourth medal at the second Asian Youth Games. In the Men's Singles finals, Kush defeated Malaysia's Mohammad Syafiq Mohd by 11-9, 5-11, 11-9, and 11-7 to win the Gold. In Asian Youth Games Indian athletes were participating as Independent Olympic Athletes, as India has been suspended from the Olympic Movement by the International Olympic Committee on 4 December 2012, owing to Government interference.
ABOUT ASIAN YOUTH GAMES (AYG)

Asian Youth Games is a multi-sports event subordinate to Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and is held every four years. Olympic Council of Asia was founded on 26 November 1981. OCA headquarter is located in Kuwait. OCA is the sole organization that administrates Asian Olympic Games comprehensively. OCA has 5 flagship events, namely Asian Games, Asian Winter Games, Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games, Asian Beach Games and Asian Youth Games.
USAIN BOLT EQUALLED WORLD RECORD OF 8 GOLDS

Usain Bolt of Jamaica equalled the world record of highest golds after winning the 4x100m relay at the World Athletics Championships on 18 August 2013 at Moscow, Russia. By winning the 4x100m gold medal Usain Bolts secured his eighth gold. This was his third gold medal at World Athletics Championships 2013 Moscow. Usain Bolt won the 100m and 200m sprint at Berlin in 2009, 200m in Daegu in 2011, the 100m and 200m in Moscow 2013, as well as golds as part of the winning Jamaican 4x100m relay squads in 2009, 2011 and 2013. With this victory Usain Bolt has joined the club of highest
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(8) gold medal winners list along with American women's 200m specialist Allyson Felix, and retired US track stars Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson including relays.
USAIN BOLT IN WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2013

Usain Bolt reclaimed his world 100m title in Moscow in emphatic style, clocking a season's best 9.77 sec in heavy rain. He also won 200m title, by finishing in 19.66 sec. In the 4x100m relay Bolt along with Nesta Carter, Kemar Bailey-Cole, Nickel Ashmeade, clocked 37.36sec in the race at the Luzhniki Stadium.
Usain Bolt (26) holds the world record in the 100m and 200m with record times of 9.58 seconds and 19.19seconds respectively at the World Championships in Berlin 2009. Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt is generally called as the fastest man on Earth.
USAIN BOLT'S GOLD MEDALS

100m: 2008, 2012 Olympics; 2009, 2013 World Championships 200m: 2008, 2012 Olympics; 2009, 2011, 2013 World Championships 4x100m: 2008, 2012 Olympics; 2009, 2011, 2013 World Championships
ALL-TIME LEADING WORLD MEDALISTS

Allyson Felix (USA): 8 gold, one silver, one bronze - total 10 Carl Lewis (USA): 8 gold, one silver, one bronze 10 Michael Johnson (USA): 8 gold 8 Usain Bolt (Jamaica): 8 gold, two silver -10
DHONI AMONG THE HIGHEST-PAID ATHLETES IN FORBES LIST

The captain of the Indian Cricket Team, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, 31, was ranked at the 16th position in the recent Forbes list of highest-paid athletes. Dhonis earning stood at 31.5 million US dollar or 180 crore Rupees. The values were calculated between June 2012 and June 2013. In the list, he was placed above Rafael Nadal and Usain Bolt. He was also placed above the F1 racer Fernando Alonso, whose rank was 19th. Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand was placed at 26th place, Novak Djokovic at 28th place, Rafael Nadal at 30th and Usain Bolt at 40th rank. In the year 2012, Dhonis position was 31st. It is important to note that the only other Indian
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sportsperson to feature in this list was Sachin Tendulkar at the 31st position and total annual earnings of 22 million US dollar or 125 crore Rupees. The basis of the calculation is earnings estimates which include bonuses, salaries and prize money from the national teams and club along with the endorsement income.
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At the first position was golfer Tiger Woods with the annual income of 78.1 million US dollar. He was followed by the tennis player Roger Federer with the earnings of 71.5 million US dollar. Thereafter, it was basketball player Kobe Bryant with the earning of 61.9 million US dollar. In the list of highest-paid female athletes, Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova topped the list. She topped the list for the ninth year in the row with the earnings of 29 million US dollar between June 2012 and June 2013. The second on the list was American Serena Williams with the earnings of 20.5 million US dollar, followed by Li Na, the Chinese tennis player with the earning of 18.2 million US dollar and Belarusian Victoria Azarenka with 15.7 million US dollar earnings.
S. KADIAN WON BRONZE AT WORLD JR. WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Satywart Kadian of India won a bronze medal in the 96-kg freestyle category at the World Junior Wrestling Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria on 17 August 2013.
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Satyawart Kadian produced a clinical display of freestyle combat to get the better of Turkey's Ali Bonceoglu to open India's account at the championships. Satyawart's march was halted by Armenia' Viktor Kazishvili in the semifinals, as he lost the bout in the first period itself. Satywart Kadian Hails from Haryana's Majra village in Jhajjar district and he was trained with Olympic medallists Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt at the senior national wrestling camp in Sonepat. Satywart Kadian has also won a bronze medal at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games.
IOC REJECTED IOA s OBJECTION ON ELECTION PROCESS

International Olympic Committee on 17 August 2013 refused to change its stance on barring charge-sheeted persons from contesting Indian Olympic Association elections, saying that entertaining IOA's objections would amount to undermining the Olympic charter. IOC had sent the revised draft Constitution of the IOA which envisaged barring of corruption-tainted persons
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from contesting IOA elections. IOA had objected to this provision saying that Indian law would prevail on these matters. However, IOC stuck to its stand. It also issued a veiled threat of possible action to the IOA, reminding it that it has been under suspension and so should act responsibly to meet the conditions requested by the world body. The IOC has never questioned the principle that till one is convicted one is innocent. However the IOC Code of Ethics clearly states that the Olympic parties (which include the NOCs) must undertake to respect and ensure the respect of the IOC Code of Ethics which says in particular that they must not act in a manner likely to tarnish the reputation of the Olympic Movement. The IOA (still suspended) must therefore act responsibly and must adopt a clear wording in its revised Constitution," IOC stated in its letter. The wording of the proposed provision which reads The Law of the land will prevail in all the affairs concerning Indian Olympic Association cannot be accepted since this would leave aside and undermine the Olympic Charter and the IOA Constitution. As per the IOC provision, the constitution would prevent any person charged by a Court in India for any serious criminal/corruption offense (whose situation would therefore tarnish the reputation of the Olympic Movement) from being eligible for election within the IOA.
RAFAEL NADAL WON MEN S SINGLES TITLE IN ROGERS CUP 2013

Rafael Nadal of Spain defeated Canada's Milos Raonic 6-2 6-2 in the final of the men's Rogers Cup on 11 August 2013 in Montreal, Canada. This is the Nadals third Rog ers Cup title. He was also won Rogers cup in 2005 and 2008.
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With this victory Rafael Nadal completed his 25th ATP World Tour Masters title and lifted his eighth tour-level trophy of the season. According to the new ATP world rankings which were released on 12 August 2013, Rafael Nadal is raised to third rank and Milos Raonic rose to tenth rank and also became the first Canadian to be ranked in the top 10 on the ATP Tour.
ABOUT THE ROGERS CUP

Rogers Cup presented by National Bank is a prestigious professional annual tennis tournament organized by Tennis Canada. This Tournament has been conducting since 1881 for the men and 1892 for the women.
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The men's competition is a Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tour. The women's competition is a Premier 5 tournament on the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tour. The competition is played on hard courts.
MARION BARTOLI ANNOUNCED HER RETIREMENT FROM LAWN TENNIS

French Lawn Tennis Player and Wimbledon 2013 (Womens Singles) winner Marion B artoli announced her retirement on 14 August 2013, during the Western & Southern Open at Lindner Family Tennis Centre in Cincinnati, Ohio. She announced the retirement after losing in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters to Romania's Simona Halep. Bartoli is 28-years-old. Bartoli, won over 11 million US dollars in prize money during her 13-year career. She is ranked seventh in the world. Bartoli, turned professional in the year 2000 and was coached most of her career by her father, Walter, who is a doctor. Besides Wimbledon 2013, Bartoli won seven other WTA Tour titles, the first one was in Auckland in 2006. Recently she won two tournaments both in 2011 at Eastbourne and Osaka, Japan, prior to Wimbledon.
SOWJANYA BAVISETTI WON ITF WOMEN'S TENNIS TOURNAMENT

Indian player Sowjanya Bavisetti has won 10000 dollar the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Women's Tennis Tournament in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt on 11 August 2013. The unseeded Indian player defeated Anastasia Kharchenko of Ukraine, who was seeded third, in straight sets. Sowjanya had an easy going in the first set which she won by dropping just one game (6-1) in the singles final. The six-all of second set deadlock was resolved in tie-breaker and the Indian player managed to win at 7-6 (1).
ABOUT ITF WOMEN'S CIRCUIT

The ITF Women's Circuit is a series of professional tennis tournaments run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) for female professional tennis players. The ITF Womens Circuit provides entry level tournaments enabling players to eventually reach the WTA Tour. The ITF Womens Circuit offers some 400 tournaments in 60 countries worldwide and has six prize money levels: 10000, 15000, 25000, 50000, 75000 and 100000 US dollars.
BOLT WON 100 METRE SPRINT TITLE AT IAAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt won the 100 metre sprint title at the 14th IAAF World Championships 2013, Moscow on 11 August 2013.
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Olympic champion, Usain Bolt clocked a season's best 9.77 seconds at the Luzhniki Stadium Moscow, with American Justin Gatlin claiming silver and Nesta Carter of Jamaica, taking bronze. Earlier Usain Bolt won 100 metre title in World championship at Berlin in 2009. In 2011s World Championship at South Korea, he was disqualified due to a false start and Yohan Blake of Jamaica won the gold in the 100 metre sprint event. This gold medal is a fourth individual World Championship title for Usain Bolt. Usain Bolt also won the gold medals in 100 metre sprint at Beijing-2008 and London- 2012 Olympics. Position 1 Gold 2 Silver Athlete Usain Bolt Justin Gatlin Country Mark Sec Jamaica USA 9.77 9.85 9.95
3 Bronze Nesta Carter Jamaica
GANESHAN CHUNDAN WON THE NEHRU TROPHY BOAT RACE 2013 HELD
Shree Ganeshan Chundan, the snake boat of the St Francis Boat Club, Harippad won the 61st edition of the Nehru Trophy Boat Race 2013 on 9 August 2013 that was held in Punnamada Lake in Alleppey (Alappuzha), Southern Kerala. This is the second consecutive win of Shree Ganeshan that was captained by Arunkumar, Karthikapally. In 2012, it was captained by Jiji Jacob Pollayil under Freedom Boat Club, Kainakary. Jawahar Thayankeri and Anari Chundan were placed at the second and third positions, respectively. After the win, Ganeshan was honoured with the silver trophy that was donated by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1952 with his signature embossed on it. A total of 22 chundans (snake boats) and 41 other country boats participated in the race. The race was inaugurated by Governor of Kerala, Nikhil Kumar and Union Tourism Minister K. Chiranjeevi was the Chief Guest on the occasion.
ABOUT THE NEHRU TROPHY BOAT RACE

The Nehru Trophy Boat Race is conducted every year on the second Saturday of August. The tradition of the boat race started in 1952 after the first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru visited the area. During his visit, the villagers held an unprepared boat race to honour his visit in the area. Nehru donated a silver trophy to the winners of the race and since then the competition has been named by his name.
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The central attraction of the contest remains the snake boats, which are locally known as Chundan Vallam, which means Beaked Boat. Snake boats have been named following its structure that is long and narrow in shape and 36 to 42 meter in its length. The best thing about the boat is that one hundred oarsmen pull the boat in water. The vessel is steered by four key helmsmen and it also has a team of musicians that fulfill the role of floating cheerleaders, as they sing boat songs that are set on the rhythm of the stroke and drumbeats. For the first time, women participated in the race with four men rowing support in the 2012, Nehru Trophy Boat Race.
INDIAN WRESTLERS WON 5 GOLD IN WORLD POLICE AND FIRE GAMES

Indian Police Wrestlers won five gold medals on 5 August 2013 (the fifth day) in the World Police and Fire Games in Belfast, England. Apart from this the Wrestling team that comprise of seven members also secured four silver and three bronze medals in the game. The World Police and Fire Games started on 1 August 2013 and will end on 10 August 2013.
WINNERS IN DIFFERENT CATEGORIES

In the free-style category Laxmi Narayan of Border Security Force won a gold medal in the 60kg category and Manoj Kumar from CRPF won silver in the same class Haryana Police's Naveen Mor won a gold in 96 kg category Jitender Kumar bagged a silver medal in 74 kg category In the 84 kg free-style, Surajbeer Singh of Punjab police won a bronze Vikramjit Singh of CRPF took the bronze in the 96 kg category
MARIA SHARAPOVA TOPPED THE FORBES LIST OF FEMALE ATHLETES

Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova topped the Forbes list of highest-paid female athletes for the ninth straight year. According to Forbes, Sharapova earned 29 million US dollars between June 2012 and June 2013. The 26year-old's earnings came from prize money and endorsement deals. The Forbes list was released on 6 August 2013. American Serena Williams is second on the list with earnings of 20.5 million US dollars, followed by Chinese tennis player Li Na on 18.2 million US dollars and
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Belarusian Victoria Azarenka on 15.7 million US dollars. Besides being a successful athlete, Sharapova also launched a candy business in 2012 and looks forward to expand into fashion, accessories and make-up. She has also launched her own brand of sweets, Sugarpova. Sharapova, number 22 in the top 100 list, earned more than the current men's number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia (26.9 million US dollars) and Spain's Rafael Nadal (26.4 million US dollars).
GRANDMASTER PARIMARJAN NEGI WON DENMARK'S POLITIKEN CUP

Grandmaster Parimarjan Negi, the chess player from India won the Denmark's Politiken Cup on 5 July 2013 at Copenhagen, Denmark by gaining 9 out of the total possible 10 points. He defeated the seventh seed, Italian Sabino Brunello in just 31 moves of Ruy Lopez. Earlier, he won the same tournament in 2009. Parimarjan was the only Indian participant to the Denmark Politiken Cup that featured about 600 players from across the world. He scored eight wins and two draws (with Cheparinov and David Bekker Jensen) in the Open tournament. This was the second title won by Parimarjan in last three outings, which includes DC International Open and he tied for the top place in the World Open. The performance rating of Parimarjan Negi was 2769 and this would help him to gain about 16-18 valuable ELO points and move past 2660. Further, he will participate in the World Cup 2013 scheduled to begin on 10 August 2013 at Tromso in Norway.
ABOUT THE PARIMARJAN NEGI

He is a chess grandmaster from India He won his international master at the Sort International open chess tournament in Sort, Spain At the age of 13, in 2006, he became the second-youngest GM ever, second only to Sergey Karjakin, when he earned his third and final GM norm at the Chelyabinsk Region Superfinal Championship at Satka in Russia At the Hastings Chess Congress in January 2006, he won his second grand master norm He became the youngest Grandmaster in India in July 2006 after drawing with Russian Grandmaster Ruslan Sherbakov and finished with six points from nine rounds of the Chelyabinsk Region Superfinal chess tournament in Satka. He replaced Pendyala Harikrishna as India's youngest ever Grand Master
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RUY LOPEZ
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Ruy Lopez is the Spanish Opening in the game of chess that is characterized by the moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 The term Ruy Lopez in chess is associated with the name of the Spanish priest Ruy Lopez de Segura of 16th Century. Being one among the few most popular openings, it includes a vast number of variations in the encyclopedia of Chess Openings with all codes from C60 to C99, which is assigned to it.
INDIA WON ITS FIRST BRONZE AT JR. WOMEN HOCKEY WORLD CUP
Indian Junior Women Hockey team won its first ever Bronze medal in ERGO Hockey Junior World Cup at Monchengladbac, Germany on 4 August 2013. India beat England by 3-2 in a penalty shoot-out. The tournament was played at Mnchengladbach, Germany from 27 July to 4 August 2013. India ended at third position in the tournament. In the third-fourth place playoff match, both the teams India and England had scored 1-1 in regualtion time of 70 minutes. Defender Sushila Chanu captained the Indian side and Shona McCallin captained the English side. Indian forward Rani was declared the Best Player of the ERGO Junior Women Hockey World Cup 2013. The Vice-Captain and forward Rani scored India's only goal in the regulation time. Navneet Kaur's strike helped India a 3-2 lead in the shoot-out. Earlier, India lost to defending champions the Netherlands in second semi-final match on 2 August 2013. The Netherland team won the final against Argentina 4-2 in the shoot-out and clinched the trophy for a record third time.
TOP FOUR PLACES WON BY

Netherland: Gold Medal was captained by Renske Siersema Argentina: Silver Medal was captained by Florencia Habif India: Bronze Medal England: The coach for the Indian team was Neil Hawgood.
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After this win, Hockey India announced a cash prize of one lakh rupees for the each member of India's junior women hockey team and coach. 50000 rupees was announced for the support staff.
INDIA RETAINED TOP POSITION IN THE IN ICC ODI RANKINGS

India retained the top position in the ODI rankings released by ICC (International Cricket Council) on 3 August 2013 in Dubai. With 123 rating points, India is the number one team followed by Australia with 114 and England with 112 points. Indias stand on the rankings chart has strengthened after it won the ODI series in Zimbabwe 5-0. India has been at the top of the ranking list since February 2013. In the rankings of the T-20 format, India has been placed at the third position below Sri Lanka and Pakistan. As per the latest rankings, Hashim Amla retained his top position in the batting category followed by AB Devilliers at 2nd and Kumar Sangakkara at 3rd Position. Virat Kohli stood at 4th and Mahendra Singh Dhoni at 6th Position. ICC ODI Rankings released on 3 August 2013
Team India Australia England Sri Lanka South Africa Pakistan New Zealand West Indies
Matches 48 34 38 49 34 42 29 41
Points 5906 3861 4257 5435 3584 4294 2593 3639
Rating 123 114 112 111 105 102 89 89
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Bangladesh Zimbabwe Ireland Netherlands Kenya 23 23 10 7 4 1754 1205 394 88 40 76 52 39 13 10
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IOC SOLD EXCLUSIVE BROADCASTING RIGHTS FOR 2014, 2016 OLYMPICS

The International Olympic Committee sold the broadcasting rights for the 2014 and 2016 Olympics to STAR India. It is important to note that this move is crucial because India is suspended from the Olympic movement. The IOC suspended India from Olympic in December 2012 because of disputed elections. The IOC announced that STAR India was given the exclusive rights of the 2014 and 2016 Olympics in India, as well as Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Though the value was not disclosed, but the overall package includes the 2014 Youth Olympics in Nanjing in China, 2014 Sochi Winter Games and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. Through the IOC deal with the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, the Indian public broadcaster Doordarshan has the rights for 2012 London Games. The pay-television rights were held by ESPN. STAR India acquired the exclusive rights for all kinds of media platforms, which also include free-to-air television, mobile and the Internet as well as subscription television. The exclusive rights were made for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
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STATE
HOSHIARPUR & KAPURTHALA DECLARED AS SMOKE-FREE DISTRICTS
Punjab Government on 31 August 2013 declared Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala as smoke-free districts in the state. The declaration was made based on the study conducted by PGIMER, which revealed the absence of active smoking in more than 96.4 percent of public places in Kapurthala and 91.3 percent in Hoshiarpur districts. The PGIMER was entrusted with the task of conducting a compliance survey and opinion poll to verify the compliance of Cigarettes & Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003. Punjab Government also announced that the Ferozepur, Fazilka, Faridkot, Tarn Taran and Jalandhar districts will be declared "smoke-free" in the next phase. Before these two districts, Ajitgarh, Mansa, Amritsar, Roopnagar, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Gurdaspur, Sangrur, Bathinda and Sri Muktsar Sahib districts were declared as smoke-free districts of Punjab.
CIGARETTES AND OTHER TOBACCO PRODUCTS ACT (COTPA) 2003

The Union Government armed itself with a comprehensive Act named the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA, 2003) to control tobacco industry, which is responsible for the deaths of thousands annually in India and worldwide. The Act is applicable to all products containing tobacco in any form and it extends to whole of India. The act is comprehensive however there are a few loopholes that have been discussed below.
PROHIBITION ON SMOKING IN PUBLIC PLACES - SECTION 4 OF TOBACCO CONTROL ACT, 2003

Smoking in all Public Places is Prohibited - The term public place is vaguely defined and refers to any place, where public have access, whether as of right or not, and includes auditorium, hospital buildings, railway waiting room, amusement centers, restaurants, public offices, court buildings, educational institutions, libraries, public conveyances and like which are visited by general public but does not include any open space. Creation of Smoking Areas - In restaurants, hotels and airports smoking areas are to be physically segregated in such a manner that the air from these areas does not circulate to the non- smoking areas. Another very loosely implemented provision. Display of Prominent Non Smoking Signs e.g. Smoking here is strictly prohibited is mandatory at all public places.
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FELICITATION FOR MODI AT NEWLY FORMED DISTRICTS OF GUJARAT

Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi was felicitated by people of newly-formed 28th district of Gujarat, Chhota Udaipur as well as other new district- Mahi Sagar, on 30 August 2013. Grand felicitation functions were held at Chhota Udaipur and Mahi Sagar districts in Central Gujarat. Chhota Udaipur district has a total of 897 villages and the total population of 909799, while the Mahi Sagar district has 707 villages and a population of 966540. The Government of Gujarat created seven new districts, which took the number of districts in Gujarat to 33 from 26. The seven new districts were Aravalli, Botad, Chota Udeipur, Morbi, Mahisagar, Gir-Somnath and Dwarka and these came into effect on 15 August 2013. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi announced the creation of districts as well as talukas in the year 2012 during the Vivekananda Yuva Vikas Yatra (VYVY) prior to Gujarat state elections. Though the formation of districts was done, but talukas formation is yet to be done. At present, there are eight districts in Saurashtra, seven districts in South Gujarat, six in North Gujarat and five in Central Gujarat. The district Aravalli is carved out of Sabarkantha district in North Gujarat. The district headquarters are in Madosa. Gir-Somnath was carved out of Junagadh district. Its headquarters are at Veraval. Botad was carved out of Ahmedabad and Bhavnagar districts. Chhota Udaipur is the tribal belt and it was carved out of Vadodara. Mahisagar district was carved out of Panchmahal and Kheda districts with headquarters in Lunavada. Morbi was carved out of Rajkot, Surendranagar and Jamnagar. Dwarka was carved out of Jamnagar district with the headquarters in Khambhalia.
BHARAT NIRMAN PUBLIC INFORMATION CAMPAIGN INAUGURATED

Minister of State V Narayanasamy of Puducherry inaugurated the Bharat Nirman Public Information Campaign at Karaikkal, Puducherry on 1 September 2013. The Bharat Nirman Public Information Campaign is the three-day information- cum- interactive sessions and exhibition. Apart from inauguration of this campaign, the minister also released a set of twelve booklets in Tamil depicting the various Bharat Nirnman schemes in simple Tamil. As a prelude to the inaugural function, colourful rallies were organised. Students from NSS, Junior Red Cross, Scouts and Guides took part in the rally. The exhibition being organised under the campaign is by Press Information Bureau in association with media units of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting along with Karaikal administration. The focus of the exhibition is on different issues such as rural development, Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, NRHM, Janani Shishu Suraksha, women empowerment, PMs 15 -point www.jagranjosh.com
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programme for minorities welfare. During the exhibition, other focuses include initiatives like Unique Identification Card Aadhar, land acquisition, Direct Benefit Transfer scheme and many more. This is the 47th Public Information Campaign conducted in Tamil Nadu. The objective of the campaign is to highlight the various developmental and welfare programmes of the Union Government of India.
KERALA TO HAVE A WORLD CLASS LIFE SCIENCES PARK CALLED BIO 360
Kerala state government on 22 August 2013 laid the foundation store of Bio 360, a Life Sciences Park. It was initiated by state owned Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) in the outskirts of the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram. The first phase of Bio 360 will come up in 75 acres of land and the project would be ready in two years. KSIDC, the premier investment promotion agency of the Kerala government, was entrusted with the task of developing life sciences as a top destination in the country for life sciences based industries and R&D institutions. The park will be positioned as a knowledge centre of life sciences industries research institutions and is expected to attract investments (both domestic and foreign) in related areas. The park will have state of the art office space, incubation centre and ready to occupy lab modules with support infrastructure facilities. Besides, the park would also provide developed plots for large and integrated bio companies to set up their campuses and ready-to-use modular officers, wet and dry lab space for intermediate, small and start-up companies. Kerala is designated as one of the 34 biodiversity spots in the world. It is the land of rich biodiversity highlighted by forest and mountain ranges, numerous rivers, splendid flora and fauna, and all-enveloping verdant vegetation. Coupled with the geographical richness, institutions like the Sree Chitra Centre for Science & Technology, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Regional Research Laboratory, Tropical Botanical Gardens and Research Institute, Central Marine Fisheries Institute, Regional Cancer Centre, Hindustan Life Care Limited and many more, make Kerala an enormously potent life sciences hub of the country.
HARYANA TO CONDUCT SURVEY OF MANUAL SCAVENGERS

The Haryana Government on 27 August 2013 decided to conduct a survey of Manual Scavengers in 76 towns of the State by 30 September 2013, and the data collected would be compiled by 31 October 2013. Haryana Government would conduct a survey to know the number of Manual Scavengers in 76 towns of the State. The survey would be carried out by Local Bodies in the area falling under
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municipal limits and in case of area outside municipal limits the survey would be carried by Panchayat and Development Department. National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC) would provide funds for this activity. Notably, Haryana is among eleven States where the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India has nominated NSFDC as nodal agency to co-ordinate in the activity of survey.
PROHIBITION OF EMPLOYMENT REHABILITATION BILL 2012
AS
MANUAL
v
SCAVENGERS
AND
THEIR
The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Bill, 2012 is still pending in the Parliament. (The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 3 September, 2012 by the then Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Mukul Wasnik). The Bill prohibits the employment of manual scavengers, the manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks without protective equipment, and the construction of insanitary latrines. It seeks to rehabilitate manual scavengers and provide for their alternative employment. According to the Bill, a manual scavenger is a person who manually cleans or disposes of human excreta in an insanitary latrine, an open drain, or a railway track. An insanitary latrine requires human excreta to be cleaned manually.
DELHI NCR CHAPTER OF VIGILANCE STUDY CIRCLE INAUGURATED

Pradeep Kumar, Central Vigilance Commissioner inaugurated the Delhi NCR chapter of Vigilance Study Circle in New Delhi on 27 August 2013. The Central Vigilance Commissioner asked the organisations as well as the institutions working in this vigilance sector to collaborate with likeminded people and organisations for strengthening of vigilance administration. It is important to note that accountability Institutions like CAG and CVC play an important role in containing corruption in the administration. For the purpose of strengthening the Vigilance Administration across government and to combat corruption more effectively, the idea of Vigilance Study Circle was introduced.
ROLE OF THE VIGILANCE STUDY CIRCLE

The role of Vigilance Study Circle is very important in fighting against corruption, promoting ethics within the government and achieving transparency and efficiency in their transactions. The first Vigilance Study Circle was formed in Hyderabad in the year 2003. Thereafter, other places such as Kerala, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore were added to its chapters. The mission www.jagranjosh.com
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of the Vigilance Study Circle is to spread vigilance and promote public integrity. Its aim is also to develop skills of vigilance professionals in the fight against corruption and impart knowledge and skills to vigilance functionaries. It also aims at undertaking the activities for wider dissemination of anti-corruption and accountability tools and techniques.
KERALA TO HAVE A WORLD CLASS LIFE SCIENCES PARK CALLED BIO 360
Kerala state government on 22 August 2013 laid the foundation store of Bio 360, a Life Sciences Park. It was initiated by state owned Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) in the outskirts of the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram. The first phase of Bio 360 will come up in 75 acres of land and the project would be ready in two years. KSIDC, the premier investment promotion agency of the Kerala government, was entrusted with the task of developing life sciences as a top destination in the country for life sciences based industries and R&D institutions. The park will be positioned as a knowledge centre of life sciences industries research institutions and is expected to attract investments (both domestic and foreign) in related areas. The park will have state of the art office space, incubation centre and ready to occupy lab modules with support infrastructure facilities. Besides, the park would also provide developed plots for large and integrated bio companies to set up their campuses and ready-to-use modular officers, wet and dry lab space for intermediate, small and start-up companies. Kerala is designated as one of the 34 biodiversity spots in the world. It is the land of rich biodiversity highlighted by forest and mountain ranges, numerous rivers, splendid flora and fauna, and all-enveloping verdant vegetation. Coupled with the geographical richness, institutions like the Sree Chitra Centre for Science & Technology, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Regional Research Laboratory, Tropical Botanical Gardens and Research Institute, Central Marine Fisheries Institute, Regional Cancer Centre, Hindustan Life Care Limited and many more, make Kerala an enormously potent life sciences hub of the country.
TMC KOLKATA TO START BIO-BANK TO STORE CANCER TISSUES

Tata Medical Centre (TMC) of Kolkata on 24 August 2013 announced the setting up of a biobank that will store tissues of cancer patients for furthering research in the discipline. The Tata Translational Cancer Research Centre (TTCRC) will be set up near the existing Tata Medical Centre-Cancer Hospital in Kolkata. The TTCRC will facilitate the bio-bank with an estimated cost of 60 crore rupees. This bio-bank will be the eastern Indias first bio-bank. The hospital has also planned to involve about 20 scientists in the new research facility where emphasis will also be on preventive oncology along with the bio-bank.
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ABOUT BIO BANK

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The Bio-bank will store cancer tissues for further research with the consent of the patients of course. The tissues which have been surgically removed will be preserved. A Bio-bank is a repository that houses and stores biological samples for future research and diagnostic purposes. The centre will target application oriented research and provide a crucial link between scientific data collated and how clinicians could use the inferences in their treatment of cancer patients. Bio-bank will bridge the translational gap that lies between scientific research and the solutions to these questions in the laboratory.
ABOUT TATA MEDICAL CENTRE

Tata Medical Center (TMC), Kolkata is a philanthropic initiative from the House of Tata. Its mission is to promote Prevention, Early Diagnosis, Treatment, Rehabilitation and Palliation and Research for cancer patients. The Tata Medical Centre treating cancer patients from all over the country and also from neighbouring countries. 70 percent of patients are from West Bengal, 15 percent from neighbouring states like Odisha, Jharkhand and Bihar and about 5 percent from Bangladesh and one to two percent from Pakistan. The cancer hospital holds the unique distinction of being the official referral hospital for cancer for the Government of Bhutan.
PANIC BUTTON TO BE INSTALLED IN AUTO RICKSHAWS OF TAMIL NADU

The Government of Tamil Nadu decided to install the GPS connected panic button in all the auto rickshaws in Chennai in order to regulate this mode of transport. The step was decided upon in the light of rising number of crimes against women in all the Indian cities. All the auto rickshaws plying in Chennai will have the electronic digital printer meter with GPS that will not just give the details of the fare and distance travelled by the passenger, but also will include the panic button which when pressed, will enable the police to assist the passenger. The movement of all these vehicles will be monitored by the police control room. It is important to note that supplying the metres like these for around 71470 auto rickshaws in Chennai for free will cost the Government of Tamil Nadu 80 crore Rupees.
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CONGRESS WON THE MANDYA AND BANGALORE RURAL BYPOLLS

Congress won the Rural Lok Sabha seats of both the Mandya and Bangalore on 24 August 2013 in the bypolls held on 21 August 2013. Ramya and D.K. Suresh of Congress Party won over Mandya and Bangalore seats respectively.
MANDYA SEAT
Ramya (Divya Spandana) of Congress party won the seat by a margin of 67611 votes, Ramya contested into the election against the Janata Dal (Secular) opponent C.S. Puttaraju. Ramya on 26 August 20134 took oath as the Member of Parliament from Mandya Lok Sabha seat. She is the second person (and first actress) from Kannad film industry to do so, after MH Ambareesh. Both of them won the Lok Sabha seat from the same constituency. With this win, she became the youngest MP from Karnataka.
BANGALORE SEAT
D.K. Suresh of Congress party won the Bangalore Rural seat and he fought against Anitha Kumaraswamy.
SC ASKED CHHATTISGARH TO RESPOND ON BREA CH OF COURTS ORDER

The Supreme Court of India on 22 August 2013 asked the State Government of Chhattisgarh to answer the court that why a contempt proceeding should not be initiated against it, as the state government failed to carry on the directions of the court that banned Salwa Judum by its order in July 2011. The Court in its order asked the authorities to vacate the schools and ashrams, which were occupied by the Security Forces in the state. A Supreme Court Bench of two Judges, Justice S.S. Nijjar and Justice Ibrahim Kalifulla, issued notice on the contempt petition filed filed by social anthropologist Nandini Sundar, Ram Guha, Swami Agnivesh, Kartam Joga, which complained failure of the state in following many directions of the court. Earlier on 5 July 2011, the Supreme Court of India gave a series of directions to the Central as well as the state Governments seeking a compliance report from both. The petition mentioned that the Court in its decision ordered closure of all types of support to Salwa Judum, but the state government failed to acknowledge or punished the civilian militia www.jagranjosh.com
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(mercenaries). On the courts order of registering the FIRs to investigate the criminal cases were given a negligible importance (cited by NHRC). It also mentioned failure in offering compensations to anyone, for their property losses. Even, the victims of Salwa Judum, who lost their lives in the attack (except the ones died in Naxal Voilence), were not compensated by the state government.
ABOUT SALWA JUDUM

Salwa Judum was a civilian militia mobilised and deployed as part of anti-insurgency operations in Chhattisgarh with an aim to counter the naxalite violence in the region. The militia consisted of the local tribal youths, who received support and training from the Chhattisgarh state government. It was founded by Mahendra Karma, who was killed in a naxalite attack on 25 May 2013 in Darbha Valley of Chhattisgarh. SC in July 2011 declared Salwa Judum as unconstitutional and ordered the state government disband it and take away all the ammunition and accessories from the members.
KERALA HIGH COURT GRANTED BAIL TO SHALU MENON & TENNY JOPAN
The Kerala High Court on 23 August 2013 granted bail to actor Shalu Menon and Tenny Jopan, arrested in connection with the Solar Scam. Justice SS Satheesachandran directed actor Shalu Menon to furnish a bond for one lakh rupees and two solvent sureties for the like sum. The Court asked Tenny Jopan to furnish a bond for 50000 rupees and two solvent sureties. The duo has been asked not to leave the state for six months. Actor Shalu Menon is accused of abetting the key accused in the solar scam, Biju Radhakrishnan, for defrauding 20 lakh rupees from a Thiruvananthapuram resident. Kerala solar panel scam 2013 involved a fraudulent solar energy company, Team Solar, in Kerala, India, which used two women to develop political contacts with links even to the Chief Minister's office. It duped several people of crores of rupees, by offering to install solar power units for them and receiving advance payments for the installation. The Team Solar Energy Company (Team Solar) was floated by the main accused Saritha Nair, an actress and director of the company.
COLOUR CODED STRIPS FOR AUTOS IN DELHI TO AID PASSENGERS

State Government of Delhi on 21 August 2013 decided to introduce 11 different coloured strips for the three-wheelers based on the zones. Introduction of coloured strips will solve the major problem of refusal by auto drivers at night as they will not be able to refuse to take passengers to the area or zone they belong to.
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The decision was taken by State Governmnet with various concerned departments and agencies including Delhi Police and Delhi Integrated Multi Modal Transit System. Once the colour coding comes into effect, autos of a particular zone will not be able to turn away passengers wishing to travel to the area in the night. State Government also requested Delhi Traffic Police to evolve a mechanism to ensure safety of passengers and address complaints of overcharging and misbehaviour by auto-rickshaw drivers in the capital.
FOUNDATION STONE FOR WORLD'S LARGEST SOLAR PARK LAID

State Government of Rajasthan on 21 August 2013 laid the foundation stone for world's biggest solar park at Bhadla of Jodhpur District of Rajasthan. The solar park with generation capacity of 3000 MW would be commissioned in phased manner. In its first phase the solar park will generate 1000 MW. Solar Park would be established in 10 thousand hectare land and Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide 3000 crore rupees loan for development of transmission lines of this solar park. The technical assistance for the solar park will be provided by Clinton Foundation as per the agreement between State government of Rajasthan and Clinton foundation in 2010. Three more solar parks will come in Jaisalemer, Barmer and Bikner Districts with the help of Clinton Foundation.
KEY FEATURES OF SOLAR PARK

10000 hectares of land identified for the park. 3000 MW capacity of solar power plants to be set up. Manufacturing zones, research and development and training centers zone and other amenities zones are proposed. 58 cusec water reserved from Indira Gandhi canal. Construction of 400 KV GSS under progress. Work for setting up of 7 solar power projects of 75 MW has started. Construction of road from Nure ki Bhurj to Bhandla has started.
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Rajasthan currently has 660 MW of solar power generation capacity and 2700 MW of wind power. The other solar park in the country is based in Gujarat with a current capacity of 214 MW and is expected to generate 500 MW by 2014.
STEPS TAKEN BY RAJASTHAN IN THE FIELD OF SOLAR POWER

Solar Power Policy issued in April, 2011 Provision of land allotment at concessional rates of 10 percent of the DLC rates. 91 projects of 609 MW capacity already established in the state. Work in progress for commissioning of 37 projects of 684 MW capacity. 5900 solar pump sets already commissioned in the State 63000 households lightened up in last 4.5 years through solar domestic lighting system. Jaipur, Ajmer and Jodhpur are to be developed as solar cities under Roof-top Power Generation Scheme. First 50 MW capacity solar thermal plants in India setup at Nokh, in Jaisalmer District of Rajasthan.
ABOUT JAWAHARLAL NEHRU NATIONAL SOLAR MISSION

The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission was launched on 11 January 2010 by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Mission has set the ambitious target of deploying 20000 MW of grid connected solar power by 2022 is aimed at reducing the cost of solar power generation in the country through (i) long term policy; (ii) large scale deployment goals; (iii) aggressive R&D; and (iv) domestic production of critical raw materials, components and products, as a result to achieve grid tariff parity by 2022. Mission will create an enabling policy framework to achieve this objective and make India a global leader in solar energy.
ANTI-BLACK MAGIC AND SUPERSTITION ORDINANCE IN MAHARASHTRA

The State Government of Maharashtra on 21 August 2013 adopted an Anti-Black Magic and Superstition Ordinance. The ordinance was adopted by the state cabinet after the death of antisuperstition activist Narendra Dabholkar. The decision was taken by the cabinet in wake up of the protests that followed after the murder of Dabhokar in Pune on 20 August 2013.
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The ordinance was signed by the Prithviraj Chavan, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and forwarded to the Governor K Sankaranarayanan, for further approval. The ordinance once passed will replace the draft Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Bill, 2011, which is pending before the state assembly, ever since it was introduced on 10 August 2011.
FEATURES OF THE BLACK MAGIC LAW

The Black Magic Law prohibits the practice, promotion and propagation of human sacrifice, other inhuman, evil and Aghori practices and black magic, unauthorized, illegal practices of medicine or healing or curing by quacks, conmen etc. The law mentions an imprisonment term of six months that can be extended up to seven years along with a fine amount that ranges between 5000 rupees and 50000 rupees in cases of such practices, as the law considers it as a punishable and non-bailable offence. A vigilance officer with powers of detection and prevention of contravention, evidence collection, as well as can conduct search raid and prosecution will monitor the implementation of the law.
BLACK MAGIC CONSTITUTES

Giving chilli smoke Beating a person by stick Forcing him to perform sexual acts Display miracles to cheat Create impression that divine spirit has possessed a person Parading a person naked in the name of jaran-maran
ABOUT NARENDRA DABHOLKAR

Narendra Dabholkar drafted the Anti-Superstition and Black Magic Bill He was the founder President of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (Committee for the Eradication of Blind Faith) that criticized the superstition
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He was a doctor by profession
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DELHI METRO RECORDED HIGHEST RIDERSHIP

Delhi Metro recorded the highest ridership on 19 August 2013 with over 26 lakh commuters. The earlier ridership record achieved by DMRC was 2504900 on 8 August 2013. DMRC carried 2606364 passengers thus setting a new ridership record and establishing itself as a major mass transit facility in the national capital region. The highest passenger footfall- 983397 was reported on Line 3 Dwarka Sec-21 to Noida City Centre/Vaishali. The second highest footfall was recorded on Jahangirpuri to HUDA City Centre metro line with 933431 passengers. While the metro line from Dilshad Garden to Rithala recorded 391162 passengers, Central Secretariat to Badarpur had 197122 commuters and 101252 passengers used Inderlok/Kirti Nagar to Mundka throughout the day. In view of the increasing ridership, DMRC has inducted the first eight-coach train on Line. It plans to induct a total of 68 eight-coach trains on Line 2and 3, out of which 31 trains will run on line 3 and 37 on line 2.
HARYANA GOVT. NOTIFIED AFFORDABLE HOUSING POLICY, 2013

Haryana Governments Department of Town and Country Planning on 21 August 2012 notified an affordable housing policy, 2013 to facilitate additional affordable houses in urban areas of the state. The policy would help to encourage planning and completion of Group Housing Projects. All such projects would be required to be completed within four years from the approval of the building plans or grant of environmental clearance whichever is earlier. As per policy, the projects would be allowed in residential zones of notified development plans of various towns and cities. The license for such housing projects would be given on a first come first serve basis. Under the Policy, the size of apartments to be constructed will be in the range of 28sqm to 60 sqm carpet area. The project is estimated to be completed within 4 years period from the date of approval. Through this policy, the state government plans to make available close to 1 25000 affordable dwelling units which have carpet area of approx. 500 sqft carpet area each in the urban centres
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of Haryana. It will benefit lower and lower-middle class population of approximately six lakhs in the urban centres of Haryana in the next five years period. The State Government has offered several incentives to the private companies in the form of exemption from license fees and Infrastructure Development charges.
NHRC ISSUED NOTICE TO ODISHA GOVT IN KULDA DUMPYARD MISHAP

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on 20 August 2013 issued notice to State Government of Odisha to file its reply on an application that has called for an inquiry into the Kulda Mine Dumpyard Mishap. NHRC has asked the Chief Secretary of Odisha to file the reply on the application. Eleven persons were killed when a coal dump of the Mahanadi Coalfields Limited caved in near an open cast mine in Sundargarh district on 10 August 2013. As per the reports available, the incident took place, when some people were digging the dumpyard in search of coal. The application has alleged human rights violation in Public Sector Unit and claimed that the unit had not taken adequate preventive measures for the safety of the people.
GOA GOVT DECIDED TO WITHDRAW SUSPENSION OF MINING LEASES

The Chief Minister of Goa, Manohar Parrikar on 20 July 2013 announced that the State Government has decided to withdraw the suspension order of mining leases in the state. The suspension order would be withdrawn in a phased manner on a case-to-case basis.
The Chief Minister also cleared that the even though the state government withdraws the suspension order of mining activities, the mines will become operational only after the Supreme Court lifts the ban and Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) provides environmental clearance for the mining leases. Although, he also informed that the Directorate of Mines and Geology (DoM&G) had verified the documents of 24 to 30 mines and decided to withdraw the suspension order. The suspension order of all mining activities was issued by Goa government on 9 September 2013 following the report of the Justice (retired) M B Shah commission that exposed illegal mining and irregularities in the renewal of mining leases in the state. The commission recommended the action www.jagranjosh.com
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The Supreme Court also imposed a temporary ban on the extraction and export of the ore from the state after the State Government and asked a central empowered committee to probe the charges of illegality into the mining activities.
300M US $ ADDITIONAL ADB FINANCE FOR STATE HIGHWAYS IN BIHAR

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Government of India on 12 August 2013 signed an agreement for 300 million US dollars in additional loan to upgrade 254 kilometers of severely deteriorated highways in northern and southern Bihar. The additional financing for the Bihar State Highways-II Project, which is already under implementation, will widen existing sections of four highways to two lanes, build and maintain bridges, and strengthen pavement. This should optimize access to the state highway network for beneficiaries living in remote villages. Better roads built under the project will help more people access social and health services as well as production centres and markets, and therefore will promote better life and inclusive growth for the people of Bihar. This project will also use a 1 million US dollars grant to prepare a 20-year road master plan for Bihar state. This should help the national and state governments achieve their vision of improving the lives of its people by providing an efficient transport system. ADB has supported Bihars State Highway Development Program through assistance to Bihar State Highways Project-I (420 million US dollars, closed in July, 2012) followed by Project-II (300 million US dollars, signed in December, 2010). Together the projects are rehabilitating 1209 km of state highways. The project will also focus on improving the road design that will help address future flooding. To offset carbon emissions, the project will plant 10 trees for every individual tree cut for road widening. Solar panels will be used at construction sites to sequester carbon and reduce carbon emissions. Those living near the roads will also receive road safety training. Women will be actively involved. The total cost of the project due to be completed by October, 2017 is 375 million US dollars, with the Government of Bihar providing75 million US dollars. TA 8170-IND: Road Master Plan for Bihars State Highway Development is associated to this project. The TA will support the state governments sector development initiatives, especially for preparing of a 20-year strategic master plan for developing Bihars state highways, including long-term vision and goals, an action program, a financing plan, and a monitoring and evaluation system with performance indicators and targets. The TA is closing in December, 2014.
HIMACHAL CREATED NAT. RECORD BY ORGANIZING A HALF-MARATHON

Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh on 10 August 2013 created a national record by organizing a 21 kilometer long Half Marathon at the height of 10050 feet at Keylong. A total of 261 sportsmen from Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Army participated in www.jagranjosh.com
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the event. The event was orgainsed with an aim of providing an exposure and platform at the national level to the youth living at high altitude. The 21 kilometer long Half Marathon was won by Baljinder Singh from Punjab, who covered the distance in 19 minute and 26 seconds. Whereas, in the women's category Reeta Kumari was declared winner, who covered the distance in one hour 36 minutes and 2 seconds. The two districts have planned to make the Half Marathon an annual event and will be organised during, the Tribal Festival.
KEYLONG
Keylong is the administrative centre of the Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh. It is located at a distance of 126 km from Manali and 120 km from the Indo-Tibetan border on Manali-Leh Highway. It lies on the banks of Bhaga River.
BHUMI SENA SCHEME LAUNCHED IN UP

Bhumi Sena Scheme was launched in Uttar Pradesh on 8 August 2013 by the Chief Minister of the State, Akhilesh Yadav. The scheme was launched in a function held at 5, Kalidas Marg, Lucknow for reclamation of the barren, usar (alkaline soils) and ravenous land. The scheme would help in increasing cultivation area in the state. The scheme was launched for the 2013-14 fiscal with an aim of recovering about 44000 hectares of barren, usar and ravenous land for being fit for use by making a cluster approach in 10 selected districts. During the 2012-13 fiscal about 35000 hectares of flood-affected, rugged, barren and ravenous land were repaired for being fit for use and restored for farm purpose. It benefitted about 70000 marginal and average farmers at an investment of 50 crore.
ABOUT BHUMI SENA YOJNA

Uttar Pradesh Bhumi Sudhar Nigam (UPBSN) a body that is a U.P. Government Undertaking is executing the scheme in 17 districts of the state. Under this, banjar land development, rehabilitation of ponds and treatment of water logged area through proper drainage development is being undertaken. For the first time it was launched in 1990 by the former Chief Minister of the state, Mulayam Singh Yadav.
THE SCHEME INVOLVES FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES

Treatment of Sodic, Wasteland, Barren and waterlogged land of selected allottees, small and marginal farmers under the scheme of Bhumi Sena to increase the productivity of their land as well as increase in income and availability of food grain of their family
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Treatment of cultivable waste land through Bhumi Sainiks to increase the area coverage of forestry/agricultural forestry, horticulture etc. Remodeling of ponds for water agriculture i.e. fishery and singhara cultivation and also improvement in ground water level through water harvesting. Formation of Bhumi Sena as an organized, disciplined, and active force by giving desired training as and when required and deploy this force for land and water management, water harvesting, minor irrigation, cleaning of silt, disaster management, forestry to ensure provision for minimum 100 days employment to every household in a year.
NEW INT. TERMINAL BECAME OPER ATIONAL AT CHENNAI AIRPORT

The New International Terminal constructed at Chennai airport started its operation on 7 August 2013. An investment of about 2000 crore rupees was made on the construction of the new terminal. International departure operations through New International Terminal commenced in a phased manner with the departure of a flight bound for Singapore on 7 August 2013. Now onwards, all international flights of Indigo, Spice Jet, Jet Airways and Air Austral will operate through New International Terminal.
PACS IN ANDHRA PRADESH TO BE LINKED WITH NCDEX SPOT EXCHANGE

The warehouses of Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS) in Mahabubnagar and Kurnool districts of Andhra Pradesh were linked with the National Commodities Exchange (NCDEX) spot exchange on 5 August 2013. As a part of this initiative eight PACS had received the membership certification, which would help the farmers to sell their goods on exchange platform. This is the first of its kind initiative in the country and was initiated by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
HOW THIS INITIATIVE HELP FARMERS?

The initiative will help in providing seamless access of national markets to farmers, whereby they can sell their produce through a computer-linked method. The computer-linked trading will ensure that farmers will get the best available price at the national level. The trading will ensure that sale of the commodity at a particular price is at the discretion of farmers helping them get the best price prevailing on the particular day. The spot exchange will support the farmers by helping them reach the buyers or processors directly, which will result in better price realization and also help in lowering the supply chain costs in the agricultural commodities gamut. www.jagranjosh.com
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This initiative is expected to change dynamics of the trade and supply chain of agricultural commodities with respect to the storage, commodity financing, trade facilitation, and other value added services that could make farmers a key point in entire value chain of agricultural commodities. NCDEX Spot platform will also enable the PACS in creating price transparency for farmers. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) joined hands with the Cooperative Central Banks (CCBs) of the two districts, AP State Cooperative Bank and NCDEX to make the linking a reality. The new facility would ensure speedy payment of money to farmers, through the CCBs with core banking solutions, once the sale was completed.
NATIONAL COMMODITY & DERIVATIVES EXCHANGE LIMITED (NCDEX)

National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX) is a nation-level, technology driven on-line commodity Exchange. NCDEX is a public limited company registered under The Companies Act, 1956 with the Registrar of Companies, Maharashtra in Mumbai on 23 April 2003.
DELHI APPROVED DRAFT DELHI LIFTS AND ESCALATORS BILL, 2013

The Delhi state government on 5 August 2013 approved draft of the Delhi Lifts and Escalators Bill, 2013 which would transfer grant of licences for their registration from the Union government to it. The new legislation is aimed at ensuring better safety compliance in installation and maintenance of lifts, escalators and walk ways in the national capital. Moreover, the legislation provides for stricter norms for their testing and certification and penalty for the violators. The decision was taken in a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. The draft bill will be sent to the Union government for approval and then placed in the state assembly. With this legislation in place, people will have to obtain licenses for running lifts from a department of the Delhi state government which was earlier granted by the Union government of India. The state government will also periodically inspect the lifts in the capital.
TWO PROJECTS OF BHEL INAUGURATED IN TAMIL NADU

Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India on 2 August 2013 inaugurated two projects of PSU BHEL in Thirumayam at Puthukottai district of Tamil Nadu. The two projects of BHEL are a High Pressure Boiler Plant Unit-II, a Greenfield Initiative and the Power Plant Piping Unit. Both would provide employment to about 8000 people.
HIGH PRESSURE BOILER PLANT (UNIT-II) HIGHLIGHTS

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A Greenfield expansion project with combined capacity of 800000 metric tonnes for 20000 MW annual capacities. Total shop floor area of around 120000 sq.m Total project outlay of over 1000 crore rupees. Manufacture of supercritical technology boilers and components upto 1000 mw unit rating 5 direct and indirect employments of over 5000 persons with supporting ancillary industries
POWER PLANT PIPING UNIT HIGHLIGHTS

The unit is spread over 40 acres of land in Thirumayam, Pudukottai district Tamil Nadu Capacity of 80000 metric tonnes per annum Investment of 300 crore rupees with annual turnover of 2500 crore rupees Piping systems for thermal power plants, steam piping lines for nuclear power plants, and piping systems for process industries. Direct and indirect employment of around 3000 persons with support industries to contribute to overall economic development of the region.
With the operationalisation of the two units, BHEL has achieved an annual manufacturing capacity of 20000 MW.
JHARKHAND STATE CABINET EXPANDED; SIX NEW MINISTERS INDUCTED

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on 4 August 2013 expanded his cabinet by inducting six new ministers. Governor Syed Ahmed administered the oath to all the new ministers at Raj Bhavan in Ranchi. The newly inducted ministers are Champai Soren, Simon Marandi, Hazi Hussan Ansari, Jaiprakash Bhai Patel (all JMM), Suresh Paswan (RJD) and Geetashree Oraon (Congress). With today's expansion, the Chief Minister now has nine ministers in his council. As per the constitutional provision he can have a maximum of 12 ministers including him. As per the ruling coalition understanding, the JMM and the Congress will each get five berths in the cabinet while two will go to the RJD. Hence the remaining three more Cabinet vacancies are likely to be filled from the Congress party once their names are cleared from the party High Command. JMM leader Hemant Soren became Chief Minister on 13 July 2013 and won the trust vote on 18 July 2013.
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CHHATTISGARH PLAN FOR 2013-14 FINALISED AT 25250 CRORE RUPEES

The Annual Plan for 2013-14 for the State of Chhattisgarh was finalised on 31 July 2013 at a meeting between Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission and Raman Singh, Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh. The Plan size was agreed at 25250crore rupees which includes the central assistance to the State Plan of about 2574 crore rupees. In addition, an amount of about 6000crore rupees is likely to flow from the Centre to Chhattisgarh through various Centrally Sponsored Schemes. Thus, Plan funding from the Central Government to the State of Chhattisgarh, from all sources, is expected to be over 8574crore rupees during 201314. Chhattisgarh state is following right policy of inclusive development with focus on private participation in infrastructure development. While appreciating the State Governments effort in improving human development index, it was pointed out that health indicators have shown substantial improvement but deterioration in child sex ratio is a matter of concern. The Planning Commission also appreciated the State Government for focusing on the creation of appropriate industrial infrastructure and development of cluster based industrial units. Industrial investment should be encouraged in the mineral sector as the State has rich mineral endowment. Public private partnership in development of industrial infrastructure needs to be encouraged. The Twelfth Five Year Plan, which aims for faster, more inclusive and sustainable growth, will require continued work in several areas of development. It is widely recognized that adequate investment in the development of infrastructure is a prerequisite for higher growth. In this context, steps have been taken by the government to create an enabling environment to promote investment in infrastructure. The strategy for the Twelfth plan encourages private sector participation directly as well as through various forms of PPPs, wherever desirable. Therefore, resources have to be mobilized from the private sector also to ensure that targets, in physical and financial terms, are met by the end of the Twelfth Plan period. The Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh stated that during 12th plan period State would be following a policy of faster and more inclusive growth with 10 per cent growth target. Higher investments would be made in agriculture to improve productivity and income. Social sector spending would be further enhanced to reduce disparity inhuman development indicators and achieve millennium development goals. Chhattisgarh is targeting a growth of nine per cent in 2013 with higher investment in agriculture to improve farm productivity and income. Physical infrastructure is being upgraded with efficient and judicious use of natural resources. Use of renewable sources of energy is being promoted.
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ONE LINERS
The first Britisher to perform a space walk, who retired from NASA in the second week of August 2013: Colin Michael Foale Name of the largest blast furnace of India which was operationalised by SAIL on 10 August 2013: Durga Female tennis player to win The Rogers Cup 2013 and capture her 54th WTA singles title: Serena Williams Technology used by the researchers to find that autism affected the brains of males and females in a different way: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Name the captain of the 18-member hockey squad of India in the Asia Cup hockey tournament 2013: Sardar Singh Date on which International Lefthanders Day is celebrated across the world: 13 August Name of the First Twitter Hotel opened in Spain by the Melia brand of hotels: Social Wave House Name of the oldest Penguin who on 12 August 2013 turned 36 years old: King Penguin Missy Body which proposed first season of the Indian Badminton League (IBL): Badminton Association of India (BAI) Name of the host country of 7th Asian Junior Wushu Championships: Philippines Name the fossil of the oldest known ancestor of modern rats recently unearthed in China: Rugosodon eurasiaticus Name of one of the most endangered bird species of the world that made a comeback in the US: Puerto Rican parrot Place at which The Travel & Tourism Fair (TTF) 2013, the biggest travel trade show of India started: Ahmadabad, Gujarat The former Prime Minister of Nepal who died on 15 August 2013 after battling with lung cancer: Marich Man Singh Shrestha Name the person who was termed as the Beast of Ukraine. He was the serial killer who recently died in prison: Anatoly Onoprienko Name of the US actress who passed away on 25 August 2013 at the age of 87 years and holds the record of most Tony awards win: Julie Harris Current Affairs eBook August 2013
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Indias under-23 cricket team won the Asian Cricket Council Emerging Teams Cup in Singapore on 25 August 2013, after defeating: Pakistan Indian tennis player who lifted the womens doubles trophy at the WTA New Haven Open along with her partner Jie Zheng of China: Sania Mirza Gujar Mal Modi Award for Science and Technology 2013 awarded to: Vinod Prakash Sharma Name the tribal community of Sri Lanka that was felicitated on 9 August 2013 by Mahinda Rajapaksa on the occasion of the World Indigenous Peoples Day: Veddas The eminent Indian classical singer and music director known as the vocalist of Jayadevas Gita Govind, who passed away in Bhubaneswar: Pandit Raghunath Panigrahi Nelson Mandela on 27 August 2013 was honoured with the first Lifetime Campaigner for Peace and Freedom of: the Mahathir award for Global Peace Prem Bhatia Award for Best Political Reporting of the Year (2013) was won by: Shalini Singh, a Deputy Editor of The Hindu Indian women's Recurve team defeated this team to win gold medal in the World Cup Archery Stage- 4 at Wroclaw, Poland: South Korean Team Person who coined the term BRIC in 2001. He is the Chief Economist of Goldman Sachs: Jim O Neil The soccer team to win UEFA Super Cup 2013 on 30 August 2013:Bayern Munich The person to be recommended as next ONGC chief by the Public Enterprises Selection Board: Dinesh K Sarraf The Joint Air force exercise to be held by China and Pakistan: Shaheen-2 The 21st round of Boundary talks between Bhutan and China held in the city: Thimphu 5th India-China Strategic Dialogue held in the City: New Delhi The person to be sworn in as the new President of Iran: Hassan Rouhani
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NEWS CAPSULE
APPOINTMENTS OF THE MONTH
ASHWANI KUMAR APPOINTED AS PM S SPECIAL ENVOY TO JAPAN
Former Law Minister Ashwani Kumar has been appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as his Special Envoy to visit Japan in the rank of a Cabinet Minister on 22 August 2013.
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The Prime Minister has nominated Ashani Kumar to visit for up to seven days as PM's Special Envoy to maintain the momentum of high-level exchanges with Japan and to prepare for the upcoming visit of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan and the Prime Minister of Japan to India. Ashwani Kumar resigned as Union Law Minister on 10 May 2013 for allegedly interfering in a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe in coal blocks allocation. The Supreme Court had come down heavily on the CBI for allowing the Law Ministry to vet the draft of its probe report on the coal allocation.
NISHI VASUDEVA SELECTED AS THE FIRST WOMAN TO HEAD HPCL

Nishi Vasudeva on 22 August 2013 became the first woman to be selected as the head of the Navratna public sector unit (PSU), Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL). She became the head of the state-owned oil company HPCL. At present, she is the Director, Marketing, HPCL and will take over as the chairman and managing director of the company. She will replace Subir Roy Choudhury, who will retire on 28 February 2014. However, the recommendation of her name as the head of Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd will be given to Oil Ministry now. After the consent of the Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily, her name will be clearance by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and the Central Bureau of India (CBI). Thereafter, her candidature will be forwarded to Cabinet Committee on Appointments (ACC).
LIFE SKETCH OF NISHI VASUDEVA

Nishi Vasudeva was selected after interview of seven shortlisted candidates, which also included PK Joshi, Director (HR), HPCL In the year 2007, she also became the first woman to reach the Board of Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. Current Affairs eBook August 2013
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She is an alumnus of IIM-Kolkata
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She started off with her career in the oil industry with the Engineers India Ltd. Her experience stretches along 36 long years in different streams such as information system, planning and information, corporate as well as marketing Earlier, she also served as the executive director of LPG at HPCL She was also the chairperson of Bhagyanagar Gas Ltd.
JUSTICE NV RAMANA APPOINTED CHIEF JUSTICE OF DELHI HIGH COURT

Justice Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana, judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court was on 30 August 2013 appointed as the new Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court. He was appointed by the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee. Justice Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana took over from Justice Badar Durrez Ahmad, who is the Acting Chief Justice of the Delhi High court since June 2013. Justice Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana will take over the office in the first week of September 2013.
LIFE SKETCH OF JUSTICE NUTHALAPATI VENKATA RAMANA

Justice Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana is 56 years old. He enrolled in as the advocate in the year 1983. He practiced in Andhra Pradesh High Court, Central and AP Administrative Tribunals and the Supreme Court in civil, criminal, constitutional, labour, service and election matters. He has specialisation in Constitutional, Criminal, Service and Inter-State River laws. He has credited to his name, the encouragement of use of Telugu as language of proceedings in Andhra Pradesh High Court. He also remained the president of the Andhra Pradesh Judicial Academy. He also served as the executive chairman of the AP Legal Services Authority.
RATAN THIYAM APPOINTED AS THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE NSDS

Ratan Thiyam, the renowned theatre personality from Manipur, was appointed as the Chairperson of the National School of Drama Society (NSDS) on 19 August 2013 by the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee. His term will be of 4 years, according to the relevant Rules and Regulations of the Society. He replaced Amal Allana, who served two consecutive terms at the National School of Drama Society.
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LIFE SKETCH OF RATAN THIYAM
Ratan Thiyam was born on 20 January 1948. He is 65 years of age.
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He is an alumnus of National School of Drama. He graduated from this institute in New Delhi in the year 1974. He is a painter-playwright-actor-director by profession. In the year 1987, he won the Sangeet Natak Akademi award. He also won Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama, and the Padma Shri given by Government of India in 1989. He is the founder director of Chorus Repertory Theatre in Imphal. He is the theatre director of some of the renowned plays such as Chakravyuh and Urubhangam. He is the man behind theatre of roots movement in the Indian theatre which started off in 1970s. He is also known as Thiyam Nemai and makes use of ancient Indian theater traditions as well as forms in contemporary styles. He was also honoured with the 2012 Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, which is the highest honour in performing arts conferred by the Sangeet Natak Akademi.
ALI AKBAR SALEHI APPOINTED HEAD OF AEO IN IRAN

Iranian President on 16 August 2013 appointed outgoing Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi to head the Atomic Energy Organisation (AEO). Although Salehi is not directly involved in nuclear negotiations with world powers, he will be in charge of operating Irans nuclear facilities. He will represent Tehran at the annual member state gatherings of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna each September. Salehi succeeded Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani. Western nations opine that Iran's atomic energy programme is in fact an attempt to attain a nuclear weapons capability while Iran denies the charge saying that it only wants the technology to generate electricity and for medical research.
DILIP TRIVEDI APPOINTED DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE CRPF

Senior IPS officer Dilip Trivedi on 17 August 2013 was appointed the Director General of CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. He succeeded Pranay Sahay who retired on 31 July 2013. CRPF is Indias largest paramilitary force.
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Dilip Trivedi is a 1978-batch officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre. He is currently serving as the Special Director General of the Border Security Force at its headquarters in Delhi. He has served in various positions in the state police and has also served in the Union government as ADG of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. CRPF has three-lakh police personnel at present. It carries out a variety of internal security duties and is the mainstay for anti-Naxal operations in India.
CENTRAL RESERVE POLICE FORCE (CRPF)

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) came into existence as Crown Representatives Police on 27 July 1939. It became the Central Reserve Police Force on enactment of the CRPF Act on 28th December 1949. It has completed 60 years of glorious history. The Force has grown into a big organization with 207 Bn, (including 181 Executive Bns, 2 Mahila Bns, 10 RAF Bns, 6 CoBRA Bns, 2 DM (NDRF) Bns, 5 Signal Bns and 1 Special Duty Group), 37 Group Centres, 11 Training Institutions, 2 CWS, 7 AWS, 3 SWS, 4 Composite Hospitals of 100 bed and 17 Composite Hospitals of 50 bed.
D.BALA VENKATESH APPOINTED AMBASSADOR TO UNCD

D.Bala Venkatesh Varma on 26 July 2013 was appointed as the next Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the UN Conference on Disarmament (UNCD), Geneva. Bala Venkatesh Verma is an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of the 1988 batch. D Bala Venkatesh Verma, Joint Secretary Disarmament in the Ministry of External Affairs was conferred with the first S K Singh Award for excellence in the Indian Foreign Service on 6 January 2012. The award was presented to him by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi in recognition of his extra-ordinary efforts to strengthen India's position during the Indo-US nuclear deal. Senior Indian diplomat D. Bala Venkatesh Varma was an important member of the negotiating team that saw the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal through from the first agreement of July 2005 to the Additional Protocol in 2010. Bala Venkatesh Varma is an expert in nuclear matters. He had earlier worked in India's Permanent Mission in Geneva and in the Prime Minister's Office.
VINAY MITTAL APPOINTED AS THE UPSC MEMBER

Vinay Mittal, a former Indian Railway Traffic Service officer was appointed as a member of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on 8 August 2013. He is the eighth members in the Commission. Vinay Mittal has worked as chairman of Railway Board for two years from 30 June 2011 to 30 June 2013.
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Vinay Mittal is an officer of Indian Railway Traffic Service (1975 batch). He was worked in various capacities in the Railways including as General Manager of South Eastern Railway, Additional General Manager, Central Railway, Divisional Railway Manager-Bilaspur, Chief Passenger Transportation Manager, Chief Freight Transportation Manager and Executive Director, Traffic Transportation (Movement) in Railway Board among others.
ABOUT THE UPSC

The Union Public Service Commission has been established under Article 315 of the Constitution of India. The Commission consists of a Chairman and ten Members. Appointment of the UPSC member is for a period of six years or until he/she attains the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. UPSC is responsible for conducting examinations for appointment to the higher civil services and civil posts under the Union Government; including recruitment to the All India Services. The present Union Public Service Commission headed by D P Agrawal, and members of UPSC are Rajni Razdan, Venkatarami Reddy Y, Alka Sirohi, David R Syiemlieh, Manbir Singh, former CBI director Amar Pratap Singh and Former Navy Vice Chief D K Dewan. The Department of Personnel & Training (Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions) is responsible for appointing the chairman and members to the UPSC.
RAKESH SETHI TOOK CHARGE AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF UNION BANK

Rakesh Sethi on 5 August 2013 took charge as the Executive Director of the Union Bank of India. Before being appointed as the executive director of the Union Bank of India, Rakesh Sethi was the General Manager with Bank of India and headed the National Banking position in Southern India. He also headed the Retail Banking Division as well as the Marketing Department at its head office.
RAGHURAM GOVIND RAJAN APPOINTED AS 23RD GOVERNOR OF RBI

Raghuram Govind Rajan, the Chief Economic Adviser was on 6 August 2013, appointed as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a time period of three years, i.e. till 2016. He succeeds D. Subbarao who demits the office on 4 September 2013. He will be the 23rd Governor of RBI.
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ABOUT RAGHURAM GOVIND RAJAN
Raghuram Govind Rajan was born on 3 February 1963.
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He is 50 years of age and so far, he is the youngest person to become the Governor of the Central Bank of India. He is known for predicting the economic crisis of 2008. He is an alumnus of IIT-Delhi and IIM-Ahmedabad. He received his Doctorate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He also remained Eric J. Gleacher Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. He is the visiting professor for Swedish Parliamentary Commission, World Bank and Federal Reserve Board. Formerly, he also served as the president of the American Finance Association. He remained a chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
ARUNDHATI BHATTACHARYA APPOINTED MANAGING DIRECTOR OF SBI

Arundhati Bhattacharya on 2 August 2013 was appointed the managing director and chief financial officer of the State Bank of India (SBI). She is the first managing director at SBI which is India's largest bank. Arundhati succeeded Diwakar Gupta who retired a couple of days ago. The SBI has four managing directors, five deputy managing directors and 18 chief general managers apart from its chairman. Its other managing directors are A. Krishna Kumar, Hemant G. Contractor and S Visvanathan. SBI chairman Pratip Chaudhuri will be retiring in September 2012. There are several other women who have made it to the top in domestic banking and financial services.
LIST OF WOMEN OCCUPYING MAJOR POSTS IN DOMESTIC BANKING AND FINANCIAL SERVICES
Chanda Kochhar is the managing director & CEO of ICICI Bank Shikha Sharma heads Axis Bank while Naina Lal Kidwai is the country head of HSBC India Kalpana Morparia is the chief executive officer at JP Morgan India Pvt. Ltd The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also had women occupying top posts
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Shyamala Gopinath, K.J. Udeshi and Usha Thorat have all been deputy governors Vijayalakshmi R. Iyer is the chairperson and managing director of Bank of India Archana Bhargava is the chairperson & managing director of United Bank of India and S.A. Panse heads Allahabad Bank
RAJEEV RISHI TOOK OVER AS THE CMD OF CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA

Rajeev Rishi took over as the Chairman and Managing Director of Central Bank of India on 1 August 2013. His appointment is for a period of five years. Prior to the new appointment, Mr. Rishi served as the Executive Director of Indian Bank, since October 2010. Before joining Indian Bank, he was the General Manager of Oriental Bank of Commerce. Rajeev Rishi, who belongs to Chandigarh, holds a BA and an LLB and an expert in Banking.
BHIM SAIN BASSI BECAME 20TH COMMISSIONER OF DELHI POLICE

Bhim Sain Bassi, the 1977-batch IPS officer of AGMU (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram-Union Territories) cadre took over the charge as the next Delhi Police Commissioner on 31 July 2013. He succeeded Neeraj Kumar. Bhim Sain Bassi is 57 years of age. As of now, he was serving as the Special Commissioner of Police (Administration). Bhim Sain Bassi is the 20th Commissioner of Delhi Police. He will remain in the office till February 2016. Apart from him, Tihar Director General Vimla Mehra and Director General (Investigation) at the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Kanwaljit Deol were in contention for this post.
LIFE SKETCH OF BHIM SAIN BASSI

Bhim Sain Bassi served in the Delhi Police in different capabilities which include Special Commissioner (Traffic), Joint Commissioner (Southern Range), Special Commissioner (Vigilance) as well as Additional Commissioner (Northern Range) He also remained the Director General of Goa Police He was awarded with the Police Medal for Meritorious Service in the year 1996 He also received President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service in the year 2002
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He is a commerce-cum-law graduate
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AWARDS IN THE MONTH OF AUGUST

NELSON MANDELA BECAM E FIRST RECIPIENT OF MAHATHIR AWARD
The former South African President Nelson Mandela on 27 August 2013 was honoured with the first Lifetime Campaigner for Peace and Freedom of the Mahathir award for Global Peace while former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir received the Lifetime Campaigner for Gloabal Peace award from the Mahathir Global Peace Foundation.The awards were presented at Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC), Putrajaya, Malaysia for their contribution to world peace. Current South African President Jacob Zuma acc epted the award on behalf of Mandela from Tun Dr Mahathir. Nelson Mandela is in a critical condition in a hospital in Pretoria. He struggled for peace in the South Africa after the apartheid and also struggled for peace in the world.
MAHATHIR AWARD
The Mahathir Award for Global Peace The Mahathir Award for Global Peace is a peace award instituted by the Mahathir Global Peace Foundation. The foundation was formed to contribute to worldwide peace efforts. The Mahathir Award for Global Peace will be given annually to recognise those who have made considerable efforts in promoting peace. It aims to inspire and motivate individuals and organisations to work towards the continual attainment of peace for mankind. Tan Sri Dato Sri Paduka Dr Lim Kok Wing is the Initiator and Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Mahathir Award for Global Peace Foundation. He has several campaigns for global peace to his credit. Mahathir bin Mohamad is a Malaysian politician who was the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the post for 22 years from 1981 to 2003, making him Malaysia's longest serving Prime Minister. He was the world's longest-serving elected leader when he retired. He was succeeded by Abdullah Badawi.
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Current Affairs eBook August 2013 NATIONAL PHOTO CONTEST & EXHIBITION ORGANIZED
Theme of the Contest: Sustainable Energy for All
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24th National Photo Contest was organised by the Photo Division, a Media Unit of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting on the theme Sustainable Energy for All on 22 August 2013 at All India Fine Arts & Crafts Society complex. A prize distribution ceremony was orgainsed to give away the prizes to the winners in the various categories. A Photo exhibition was also inaugurated on this occasion.
WINNERS OF THE PHOTO CONTEST INCLUDE

Winners of Colour Section Chinmoy Bhattacharjee of Kolkata won 1st Prize Santosh Kumar Jana of Midnapur (E) won 2nd Prize Rishabh Mittal of Indore bagged first won 3rd Prize
Commendation Awards in Colour Section Seshadri Moitra from Udaipur Cretan Soni from Dhar Shib Narayan Acharya from Jammu Piyush Rangnekar from Indore Banwari R. Rajput from Ahmedabad Prachi Tiwari from Indore Somnath Mukhopadhyay from Birbhum Devendra Sharma and Puranjit Gangopadhyay from Kolkata Prasanta Biswas from Kolkata
The jury of the photo contest included Bhupesh C. Little of EFIAP from Lucknow, Sunil Malhotra, an eminent news photo journalist from New Delhi, Hemendra A. Shah, an eminent photographer from Ahmedabad, Govind Bhattacharjee, Director General, CAG & a noted photographer and Debatosh Sengupta, Director, Photo Division. The jury met on 1-2 June 2013 to screen all the entries and selected three prize winning entries and ten for commendation prizes in colour section as well as two commendation prizes in Black & White section. Apart
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from this the Jury also selected 77 photographs (7 Black & White and 70 colour) for exhibition keeping in view the theme of the contest SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FOR ALL. A total number of 439 photographs were received from 105 entrants from 13 States and UTs. The first prize carries cash of. 25000 Rupees, second prize 20000 Rupees and third prize 15,000 Rupees and commendation award 5000 Rupees along with a plaque and citation.
RAJIV GANDHI KHEL RATNA AND ARJUNA AWARDS 2013

The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 31 August 2013 conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, Dronacharya Awards, Arjuna Awards, Dhyan Chand Awards, Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy and Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar at a function organised at Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi. Among the awards, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award was given to Ronjon Sodhi for shooting. Earlier, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on 22 August 2013 announced the National Sports Awards-2013 for the following sportspersons/coaches/organizations after approving the same as recommended by the Selection Committees. List of other awards and awardees:
ARJUNA AWARDS
Sl. No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Name Chekrovolu Swuro Kavita Chahal Rupesh Shah Virat Kohli Abhijeet Gupta Discipline Archery Boxing Billiards & Snooker Cricket Chess
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6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. Gagan Jeet Bhullar Saba Anjum Rajkumari Rathore Joshna Chinnappa Mouma Das Neha Rathi Dharmender Dalal Amit Kumar Saroha Golf Hockey Shooting Squash
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Table Tennis Wrestling Wrestling Athletics (Para)
DRONACHARYA AWARDS FOR 2013

Sl.No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. * Lifetime contribution in coaching Name Poornima Mahato Mahavir Singh Narinder Singh Saini K.P. Thomas Raj Singh Discipline Archery Boxing Hockey Athletics* Wrestling*
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DHYAN CHAND AWARDS
Sl.No. 1. 2. 3. 4. Name Mary Dsouza Sequeira Syed Ali Anil Mann Girraj Singh Discipline Athletics Hockey Wrestling
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Para Sports (Athletics)
TENZING NORGAY NATIONAL ADVENTURE AWARDS-2012

S. No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Name Basant Singh Roy Major Ranveer Singh Jamwal Lt. Cdr. Abhilash Tomy Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh Siddhu Prem Singh Hari Ram Discipline Mountaineering Mountaineering Sailing Hang Gliding Mountaineering Mountaineering
RASHTRIYA KHEL PROTSAHAN PURUSKAR

Sl. No. Category Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar, 2013
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1. Community Sports Identification and Nurturing of Budding Young Talent
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Dr. U.K. Mishra, Founder and President, National Sports Academy, Allahabad Services Sports Control Board Pullela Gopichand Academy of Badminton, Hyderabad Petroleum Sports Promotion Board
2. 3.
Financial Support for Sports Excellence Establishment and Management of Sports Academies of Excellence Employment of Sportspersons and sports welfare measures.
4.
MAULANA ABUL KALAM AZAD TROPHY

Sl. No. 1. Guru Nanak Dev Vishwavidyalay, Amritsar Punjabi Vishwavidyalay, Patiala Punjabi Vishwavidyalay, Patiala Year 2010-11
2. 3.
2011-12 2012-13
P.V. Sindhu, Badminton who was declared a winner of Arjuna Award 2013 was not present at the award ceremony. The nominations received for various categories of awards were considered by the select panels of eminent sportspersons and sports administrators of impeccable integrity. The Selection Committee for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Arjuna Awards was headed by Shri Michael Ferreira and other members of the Committee from the sports fraternity were Shri Limba Ram, Shri V. Devarajan, Shri Zafar Iqbal, Ms. Vandana Rao, Ms. Anjali M. Bhagwat, Ms. Indu Puri, Shri Shakti Singh, Shri Ravi Shastri, Shri Kripa Shankar Patel and Shri Surinder Khanna..Similarly, the Committees for other awards too comprised of men and women of eminence in the field of sports. The different Committees made their recommendations after duly considering all the nominations.
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ABOUT THE AWARDS
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National Sports Awards are given every year to recognize and reward excellence in sports. This not being an Olympic year, the Government has decided not to increase the number of awards so that the stature of the awards is maintained. While doing so, the Government is conscious that there were other individuals of outstanding sporting achievements who have a claim on these awards. The Government has looked into the various news reports and grievances of different sportspersons. It has also consulted the Chairpersons of the Committees. A separate enquiry has also been conducted by Secretary, Sports. After due consideration, the Government has decided to accept the recommendations of the Committees. The Government wishes them all the best and hopes that they too will be part of the pantheon of winners in the coming years. Apart from a medal and a citation, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardee will receive a cash prize of 7.5 lakh rupees. Arjuna, Dronacharya and Dhyan Chand Awardees will receive statuettes, citations and cash prize of Rs.5 lakh each. Recipients of Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar will be given Trophies. The awardees will receive their awards from the President of India at a specially organized function at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on 31 August 2013.
TATA STEEL WAS ADJUDGED THE BEST PERFORMING STEEL PLANT

Tata Steel on 22 August 2013 was adjudged the Best Performing Integrated Steel Plant in the country for the year 2011-12 based on the recommendations made by a Panel of Judges that selected companies for the Prime Minister`s Trophy awards for the year 2011-12.The date of the award function for 2011-12 will be announced by the Union Ministry of Steel later.
The Government of India decided to award the Certificate of Excellence to Tata Steel as per the scheme for the Prime Minister's Trophy for 2011-12. Tata Steel has scored maximum marks in overall performance for the fourth consecutive year. Tata Steel had won the Prime Ministers trophy twice for 2008 -09 and 2010-2011 while the Certificate of Excellence in 2009-10 and 2011-12. The Prime Ministers Trophy was instituted in 1992 by former Prime Minister Late P V Narsimha Rao for excellence in the performance of integrated steel companies with an objective to give recognition for outstanding performance in the vital sector of the national economy which draws heavily on national resources of capital and skilled manpower.
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Current Affairs eBook August 2013 SIR EDMUND HILLARY MOUNTAIN LEGACY MEDAL 2013
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Professor of economics, conservationist and mountaineer Harshwanti Bisht was selected on 12 August 2013 to receive the Sir Edmund Hillary Mountain Legacy Medal. The award is presented for remarkable service in the conservation of culture and nature in mountainous regions. The medal both recognizes Sir Edmund Hillary's own service on behalf of mountain people and their environment and also encourages the continuing emulation of his example. In 2003 the Sir Edmund Hillary Mountain Legacy Medal was initiated by unanimous resolution of the Namche Conference: Parks, People and Mountain Tourism.
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Harshwanti Bisht, Rekha Sharma and Chandra Prabha Aitwal were the first three women to summit the main peak of Nanda Devi (7816m) in 1981. Bisht was also a part of the Indian expedition to Mt. Everest, in 1984. Since 1989, Dr. Harshwanti Bisht has worked hard to improve conditions in the Gangotri area of Uttarakhand, at the headwaters of the Ganges in northern India. Her Save Gangotri project has planted tens of thousands of saplings, organized eco-awareness campaigns, propagated endangered medicinal herbs, and introduced ecotourism standards to an area that had been ravaged by climate change and unregulated pilgrimage. Bisht has had remarkable success in restoring the birch forests around Gau Mukh (Cow Snout), the terminal area of Gangotri Glacier, ravaged by the double-whammy of unmanaged pilgrimage and mass-market tourism as well as climatic change. As the forests take hold, they have an increasingly significant impact in increasing humidity and lowering local temperatures.
2013 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Vijay Singh was named a recipient of the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Society of Civil Engineers Environmental and Water Resources Institute (ASCE-EWRI) on 16 August 2013. He is a professor and a distinguished chair in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at Texas A&M University. Vijay Singh is an engineer specialising in water resources engineering and hydrology. He is internationally recognized. He made several advances in hydrologic and environmental modeling and received the most prestigious awards for hydrology from numerous professional societies.
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FACT-SHEET ON VIJAY SINGH

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He is a professor in the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering. He joined the Texas A&M faculty in 2006. He got his B.S.E. from the U.P. Agricultural University in India, his M.S.E. from the University of Guelph in Ontario and his Ph.D. from Colorado State University. He also earned a D.Sc. from The University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.
Vijay Singh has authored many journal articles and books on hydrology. His work has developed the application of kinematic wave theory to the point where it is widely used throughout the world in hydrologic models used for water resource modeling, flood planning and hydrologic design. His work on entropy theory has created a new branch of hydrology, called entropic hydrology. At present, he serves as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Hydrologic Engineering and Water Science and Engineering, two of the premier journals in hydrology and continues on the editorial boards of 27 different journals.
PRIME MINISTER'S SHRAM AWARDS FOR THE YEAR 2012 ANNOUNCED

The Union Government on 14 August 2013 announced the Prime Ministers Shram Awards for the year 2012 to be awarded to 70 workers employed in the Departmental Undertakings & Public Sector Undertakings of the Central and State Governments and Private Sector Units employing 500 or more workers in recognition of their distinguished performances, innovative abilities, outstanding contribution in the field of productivity and exhibition of exceptional courage and presence of mind. This year, one nomination for the prestigious Shram Ratna Award, eight nominations for the Shram Bhushan Award, twenty nominations for Shram Vir/Shram Veerangana and forty one nominations for Shram Shree/Shram Devi Awards have been selected. Even though, the total number of Shram Awards is 33, the number of workers receiving the Awards is 70 (Including 3 women), as some of the Awards have been shared by workers and/or teams of workers consisting of more than one worker. These include 48 workers from the public sector and 22 workers from the private sector.
SHRAM RATNA
This is the highest Award (one in number) among the Shram Awards and carries a cash award of 200000 rupees along with a Sanad. For the year 2012, the prestigious Shram Ratna Award has been awarded to Subrata Kumar from Tata Steel Ltd., Jameshedpur.
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SHRAM BHUSHAN
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Total number of Shram Bhushan Awardees is Eight. It carries a cash award of 100000 rupees and a Sanad. Eight nominations were found suitable for the Shram Bhushan Award for the year 2012 in respect of Public Sector Undertaking and Private Sector are given to Subhash Muralidhar Wadkar from Naval Dockyard, Mumbai, Sanjay Kumar from DRDO, Dewendra Kumar Dikshit, Abhijit Das Gupta, Pravas Chandra Panda, Yogesh Kumar Verma and Bijay Kishore Mishra (Jointly) all from Tata Steel Ltd., Jameshedpur and Annie Antony from Tata Steel Ltd., Jameshedpur.
SHRAM VIR/VEERANGANA
Total number of Shram Vir/Shram Veerangana Awardees is twenty. It carries a cash award of 60000 rupees and a Sanad. No female worker from Privte Sector, for the Shram Bhushan Award for the year 2012 The Shram Veer/Veerangana Shtam Awards in respect of Public Sector Undertaking and Private Sector are given to Smt. K. Uma from Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd. Bangaluru Shri Shantanu Suresh Shinde from Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd, S/Shri Guleshwar Prasad Sahu, Gulab Chaturvedi, Liladhar Prasad and Shri Anil Kumar (Jointly) all from Bhilai Steel Plant, Bhilai, Shri Gokada Udaya Bhaskar from Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, B. Selvam from Southern Railway, Chennai, S/Shri Lallu Prasad, R. Vasudeo Rao, Mohammad Aftab Alam, Arun Kumar Soni and Krishna Kumar Deshmukh (Jointly) all from Bhilai Steel Plant, Shri Biju Mathew from Tata Steel Ltd., Jamshedpur, Shri Salat Ghanshyam Gopichand from Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Surat (Gujrat), Shri Vasant Gangadhar Bhandurge from Tata Motors Ltd., Pune, Malay kumar Pathak and Ramesh Chandra Jain (Jointly) both from Reliance Industries Ltd., Mumbai, Shri Shrinivas Kondiba Kalamkar from Bajaj Auto Ltd., Aurangabad and Shri Pramod Harichandra Nagdeve from Ashok Leyland Ltd., Godegaon (Maharashtra)
SHRAM SHREE/DEVI
Total number of Shram Shree/Shram Devi Awardees is forty one. It carries a cash award of 40000 rupees and a Sanad. One female workers from Public sector have been selected for Shram Devi Awards for this year. The Shram Shree/Shram Devi awardees in respect of Public Sector Undertakings and Private Sector are Shri Ranjeet Singh Katiyar from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. Kanpur, S/Shri Ashok Kumar Dabas, Devraj and Lakshmi Chand (Jointly) all from NTPC, Badarpur, New Delhi, S/Shri Pushkar Singh Adhikari, Narayan Prasad Bajpai, Devinder Pal Singh Brar, Gopi Chand Barmate, Sanjay Kumar Tiwari, Murchanju and Roop Singh (Jointly) all from Bhilai Steel Plant, Smt. K. UdayaKumari from Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd., Bangaluru, Shri Gajanan N. Malusare from Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd., Mumbai, S/Shri Bhagabata Pradhan, Prakash Kumar Nath, Ramesh Chandra Raula, Arakshita Adak, Chandra Bhanu Munda, Basanta Kumar Das, Bhabani Shankar Pati, Bidhan Chandra Naik and Ananta Kumar Sethi (Jointly) all from Rourkela Steel Plant, S/Shri Pramod Shrivastava, Liladhar Dadwe, Shailesh Kumar Chhandrakar, Bansilal and Kamal Tayade (Jointly) all from Bhilai Steel Plant, S/Shri Shivnandan Prasad Naik, Dibyendu Mitra, Ashok Kumar Soni, Bhupendra Kumar Dhruw and Sanju Lal Goel (Jointly) all from Bhilai Steel Plant, Shri Raja Ram Yadav from Hindalco Industries www.jagranjosh.com
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Ltd, Renukoot (UP), S/Shri Manoj Kumar Sahoo and Pradeep Kumar Pani (Jointly) from Tata Steel Ltd., Jamshedpur, Shri Dharmendra Nath Mishra from Hindalco Industres Ltd, Sonebhadhra (UP), Shri Ramesh Kishanprasad Tiwari from Bajaj Auto Ltd., Aurangabad, Shri Deshmukh Rakesh Bhaskar Rao from Tata Motors Ltd., Pune, Shri Harekrushna Kamila from Tata Steel Ltd., Jamshedpur, Shri Harindra Prasad Srivastava from Hindalco industries Ltd., Renukoot, Sonebhadra (UP) and Shri Erachari from L&T Komatsu Ltd, Bangaluru.
UK SONGWRITING CONTEST 2013 RESULTS ANNOUNCED

The winners of the UK Songwriting Contest were announced on 8 August 2013. Afra Naushad, 27, the Indian doctor-turned-writer based in Saudi Arabia reached the semi-final round for the song Run into the Wild. Other Indian origin winners included Shelly Bhushan in the adult contemporary category and Akshay Chowdhary and Sumant Balakrishnan in the rock category.
ABOUT THE UK SONGWRITING CONTEST

The UK Songwriting Contest is the longest running as well as the most popular international songwriting events of the world. It was launched in the year 2002 along with The BRIT Trust. The aim of the UK Songwriting Contest is to discover and encourage the new songwriting talent as well as promote the art of songwriting. Ever since the launch of UK Songwriting Contest, more than 50000 songs took part in the competition. UK Songwriting Contest is one of the best songwriting events of the world and is known to be the important platform for launching new talent. There are 15 song categories in all which include Open, Christmas Songs, Electronic/Dance/Ambient, Adult Contemporary, Pop, Love Songs, Rock, Lyrics Only, Acoustic & Folk, Jazz/Blues, Country, R&B/Urban, Christian/Faith, among others. The 2013 judging panel included Grammy, Emmy, CMA and BRIT Award winning Gold and Platinum Album producers and artists including Sting's producer Kipper Eldridge, Elton John's producer Stuart Epps and Britney Spears' Musical Director Simon Ellis among others.
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THE COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS AND FINALISTS IS AS FOLLOWS
Category Name of the Winner Song
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Singer/Songwriter
Bonnie Piesse
Ariella
Singer/Songwriter
Lisa Nelson
Butterfly
Country
Rob Cariddi
I'm So Blue
Pop
Jaron Natoli
Running Away
Christmas Songs
Leigh Haggerwood
My Favourite Time Of Year
Christmas Songs
Rob Cariddi
Jingle Jangle Christmas
Love Songs
Natalie Hiong
Unravelling
Acoustic/Folk
Scott Cook
Pass It Along
Adult Contemporary
Lucy Mason
Sirens
RnB/Urban
Napoleon Maddox / Brian Greer / Elliott Riggins
Meant Somethin'
Jazz/Blues
Billy D (Blues Winner)
Somethin's Wrong
Jazz/Blues
Phil Danter (Jazz Winner)
Nietzsche Tonight
Rock
Jaron Natoli
Down The Road
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Electronic/Dance Lindsay Hawkins (eoslinz)
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Vortex Of Life
Instrumental
Jason Cullimore
The Sparrow and the Hawk
Instrumental
Ed Henderson
Corazon
Faith/Christian
Martin D Bills
Rhythms Of Joy
Open Category
Michael Ward, Steve Hemsley & Caterina Polla
Tu Amore
Lyrics
Susan Muranty
Morining Star Gently
INDIAN-AMERICAN TRIO WON WORLD GEOGRAPHY CHAMPIONSHIP

A team of three Indian-American students defeated teams from 17 other regions to win top honours at the 11th National Geographic World Championship in Russia's St. Petersburg city. The team included Captain Gopi Ramanathan, 15, from Sartell, Minnesota, Asha Jain, 13, from Minocqua, Wisconsin, and Neelam Kaur Sandhu, 14, from Bedford, New Hampshire. In the biennial competition, teams of the students were asked questions on physical, cultural and economic geography. The Indian-American trio won by correctly identifying a countrys flag which had six small stars representing the mainland and its five offshore islands. The answer was Equatorial Guinea. Ramanathan already has won his state geography bee twice. He had finished seventh in the 2012 National Bee in Washington, DC. Students around the world earned the chance to be part of the World Championship competition by winning or being a top finisher in the national competitions of their home regions. The 15 other teams competing were from Australia, Bulgaria, China, Chinese Taipei, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Mexico, Mongolia, Nigeria, Poland, Russia, Slovakia and Britain. Indonesia and Mongolia participated for the first time this year. The competition was sponsored by Google, and presented by the US National Geographic Society in partnership with the Russian Geographical Society.
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PREM BHATIA MEMORIAL AWARD PRESENTED TO SHALINI SINGH

Shalini Singh, a Deputy Editor of The Hindu on 11 August 2013 presented with the Prem Bhatia Award for Best Political Reporting of the Year (2013). Shalini Singh has been selected for her excellent coverage of several key issues, particularly her reporting of the telecom and Coalgate scandals. Jaideep Hardikar, a Special Correspondent of The Telegraph, bagged the Prem Bhatia award for excellence in environmental reporting, particularly related to rural and agrarian issues. Former diplomat M.K. Rasgotra presented the awards on the occasion of the Annual Prem Bhatia Memorial Lecture in New Delhi on 11 August 2013. The Prem Bhatia Memorial Trust was set up in October 1995. The Trust seeks to promote excellence in journalism in India by raising public consciousness and giving annual awards for achievement in the field.
DELHI CONFERRED LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 2013

Delhi state government on 11 August 2013 conferred Lifetime Achievement Award-2013 to two veteran artists, Abdul Rashid Khan and Anjolie Ela Menon. Abdul Rashid Khan and Anjolie Ela Menon were given awards for their contribution in the field of music and visual arts. Award carries a cheque of 11 lakh rupees and a citation. The Award ceremony was organised by the Sahitya Kala Parishad. Abdul Rashid Khan is a Hindustani classical vocalist of Gwalior gharana. He turned 106 this year. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2013 and is the oldest person to have received this honour. He was earlier conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi award. Anjolie Ela Menon is Indias renowned contemporary artist whose work is recognized globally. She is considered as one of the foremost Indian artists of her generation. She was awarded Padma Shri in recognition of her distinguished contribution in the sphere of arts.
THE GUJAR MAL MODI AWARD FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 2013
Vinod Prakash Sharma an eminent scientist on 9 August 2013 won the Gujar Mal Modi Award for Science and Technology 2013. He received the award for his contribution in the field of basic and applied research of Malaria and Vector Biology. Vinod Prakash Sharma was presented with a scroll of honour, a silver shield and a cash prize of 2.01 lakh rupees. It was given away by physicist M G K Menon.
ABOUT THE GUJAR MAL MODI INNOVATIVE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AWARD
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The award was instituted by the G.M. Modi Foundation in the memory of industrialist Rai Bahadur Gujar Mal Modi in 1988. The award is presented on 9 August every year to a scientist of eminence, who has made outstanding contribution to science & technology. 9 August is the birth anniversary of the Founder of the Modi Group, Rai Bahadur Gujar Mal Modi. The award carries a cash prize of 2.01 lakh rupees, a scroll of honour and a silver shield Prof. Satish Dhawan was the first recipient of the award in the 1988 for his contribution in the field of space and Remote Sensing Technology.
WINNERS OF PREVIOUS THREE AWARDS

In 2010 Prof. Palle Rama Rao won the award for his contribution in the field of Metal Science & Technology In 2011 Prof. Asis Datta won the award for his contribution in the field of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology In 2012 Prof. K.S. Valdiya and Prof. A.K. Sood won the award for his contribution in the field of Neotectonics & Environmental Geology and Physics respectively
SRI LANKAN PRESIDENT FELICITATED TRIBAL COMMUNITY, THE VEDDAS

Veddas, the tribal community of Sri Lanka was felicitated on 9 August 2013 by Mahinda Rajapaksa, the President of Sri Lanka on the occasion of the World Indigenous Peoples Day. The President felicitated them in the Adhivaasi Commemoration Ceremony held in Dehiatta Kandiya of Ampara District in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka.
ABOUT VEDDA COMMUNITY

Adhivaasi culture of the aboriginal people of Sri Lanka is traditionally called as the Vedda community. It is a small community in the country that is under threat of losing its identity and faces challenges of coping with a modernizing world. Their original language is also called Vedda.
ABOUT INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE WORLD'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

The International Day of the World's Indigenous People (9 August) was first proclaimed by the General Assembly in December 1994, to be celebrated every year during the first International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (1995 2004).
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US PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM TO BE CONFERRED ON CLINTON

Barack Obama, the US President would confer the Presidential Medal of Freedom on former US President, Bill Clinton and talk show queen, Oprah Winfrey. It is the highest civilian honour of America. The announcement of the Freedom Honorees was done on 8 August 2013. Clinton and Winfrey are among the 16 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom for the year 2013. The award was created by John F Kennedy and this year it marks its 50th Anniversary of the executive order signed by him. Since the day of its formation, the Presidential medal has been awarded to more than 500 exceptional individuals from different sections of society.
OTHER RECIPIENTS OF THE AWARD INCLUDE

Ernie Banks a baseball players Ben Bradlee, he as a newsmen of his generation Daniel Kahneman a scholar of psychology Richard Lugar a former Senator Loretta Lynn legend of country music Patricia Wald, an appellate judge of her generation Mario Molina, a visionary chemist and environmental scientist Cordy Tindell C T Vivian, a distinguished minister, author, and organiser Arturo Sandoval, celebrated jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer Dean Smith, head coach of the University of North Carolina basketball team between 1961 and 1997 Gloria Steinem, a renowned writer and activist for women's equality Three were honoured posthumously and they are Sally Ride (first American astronaut to travel to space), Daniel Inouye (a public servant) and Bayard Rustin (an activist for civil rights, dignity, and equality for all).
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ABOUT PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM
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The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and isalong with the comparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congressthe highest civilian award in the United States. Individuals, who have made some meritorious contribution for the national security and national interest of US, Cultural/Public/Private endeavors and World Peace, are recognized by this award. Being a civilian award, it can be awarded to a military person and can be worn along with the uniform. It can also be awarded even to non-US residents. It was established in 1963 and replaced the earlier Medal of Freedom that was established by President Harry S. Truman in 1945.
ABOUT BILL CLINTON

Clinton was the 42nd President of US and held the presidency from 1993 to 2001 and has since focused on his philanthropic foundation. He was the third youngest President of US.
ABOUT OPRAH WINFREY

Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. She is often seen topping lists of most powerful celebrities. She is famous worldwide for her multi-award-winning talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show which was the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011. In the year 2012, recipient of the award were John Glenn an astronaut, Bob Dylan and Shiman Peres (President of Israel).
GOVT. ANNOUNCED CASH PRIZE FOR EACH JR WOMEN HOCKEY PLAYER

Ministry of Sports & Youth Affairs on 7 August 2013 announced 50 thousand rupees cash prize for each player of the Indian Junior Women Hockey team, which won bronze at the recently concluded World Cup in Monchengladbach, Germany. Each coach of the team will be given 25 thousand rupees. The team created history by winning first ever bronze medal for India after beating England 3-2 in penalty shoot-out. The winning Indian Junior women hockey team was the 18-member squad led by Captain Sushila Chanu. At present, Jitender Singh is the Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports.
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Current Affairs eBook August 2013 JAMES TAIT BLACK PRIZE FOR DRAMA
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A play called The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning by Tim Price became the first play to win the James Tait Black prize for drama, the new theatre category of the oldest literary awards of Britain. The play is about Bradley Manning, an American soldier who was convicted of discharging the US state secrets to Wikileaks. There were over 180 plays that were considered for the purpose of this new drama prize, which is worth 10000. The decision was taken by the James Tait Black judging panel. It is important to note that the play has contemporary nature and focuses on an important subject. It has special features such as exceptional theatrical voice as well as inventive use of the structure. The prize of the drama was adjudged by academics as well as students from University of Edinburgh, along with National Theatre of Scotlands representatives.
WHO IS BRADLEY MANNING?

Bradley Manning was arrested in May 2010. He was behind the bars for three years before his trial began. Eventually, in July 2013, he was convicted of maximum number of charges. He now faces life imprisonment for leaking official secrets to Wikileaks, which is an anti-secrecy organisation.
ABOUT THE PLAY- THE RADICALISATION OF BRADLEY MANNING

The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning was performed originally across all schools in Wales in April 2012. The play is opened at the Tasker Milward School, Haverfordwest. The script by Tim Price revolves around the story of Bradley Mannings life. The play focuses on his life from teenage years to incarceration in the US. The play at present is being performed by National Theatre Wales as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2013.
Other plays included in the award were In Water I'm Weightless by Kaite O'Reilly; The Hundred Flowers Project by Christopher Chen; The Effect by Lucy Prebble and Foxfinder by Dawn King. The awards will be conferred upon the winners at Edinburgh International Book Festival on 24 August 2013.
ABOUT JAMES TAIT BLACK PRIZE

The James Tait Black Prize is the literary prize, which is awarded for that literature which is written in English language. This is the oldest literary prize of Britain.
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The prize was found in the year 1919 by Janet Coutts Black in memory of her late husband, James Tait Black and is based at University of Edinburgh in Scotland, United Kingdom. In the year 2012, the category for Drama was also announced. In August 2013, The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning by Tim Price became the first winner of the award in this category.
SUGATHAKUMARI WON SARASWATI SAMMAN 2013

Sugathakumari, the Malayalam poetess on 2 August 2013 won the prestigious Saraswati Samman 2012 for Manalezhuthu (the Writings on the Sand), a collection of poems in Malayalam. Manalezhuthu was published in the year 2006. The award was instituted by KK Birla Foundation. This is the 22nd Samman, conferred in the history of the Award. Manalezhuthu, the poetry collection for which she was chosen for the samman in March 2013 is actually a collection of 27 different poems. The poetry collection is said to be a representation of best of contemporary Malayalam poetry.
ABOUT SUGATHAKUMARI
Sugathakumari has 15 volumes of poetry credited to her. She also has six collections of prose. Her career spans over a duration of five decades. The themes of her poems revolve around moral alertness, emotional empathy as well as humanist sensitivity. Her poems also include social themes such as women oppression, failures of the ideals which inspired India as well as ecological crisis. Sugathakumari is also the passionate environmentalist. She was also the head of Keralas State Womens Commission.
ABOUT THE AWARD SARASWATI SAMMAN

Saraswati Samman was constituted by K. K. Birla Foundation in 1991. The award carries cash prize of 10 lakh Rupees, a plaque as well as a citation. This award is given every year to the literary work in any Indian language which is the part of Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
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Apart from this award, K. K. Birla Foundation also constituted other two awards that include Bihari Puraskar for Hindi and Rajasthani writers and Vyas Samman for Hindi. Saraswati Samman is awarded annually for outstanding literary work in any Indian language in past 10 years. The Samman is recognised as the most prestigious and the highest literary honour in the country.
Earlier, in March 2013 a 13-member jury selected, the 79-year-old Sugathakumari for Saraswati Samman. The jury was headed by the former Chief Justice of India, R. C. Lahoti. She was chosen for the award after the jury considered works of the artists published in 22 different languages from 2002 to 2011. The first recipient of the Samman was Ismat Chughtai. He won the award for his work in Urdu Literature.
RECIPIENTS OF THE SARASWATI SAMMAN FOR LAST THREE YEARS INCLUDE

In 2009, Surjit Paatar won the samman for Lafzan Di Dargah In 2010, S. L. Bhyrappa won the samman for Mandra In 2011, A.A. Manavalan won the samman for Irama Kathaiyum Iramayakalum Sugathakumari, the Malayalam Poetess Selected For Saraswati Samman 2012
INDIANS WON SILVER & BRONZE AT INT. MATHEMATICAL OLYMPIAD

The six-member team of the students from India won Two Silver & Three Bronze Medals at the 54th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) 2013 held at Santa Marta, Colombia during 18 July 2013-28 July 2013. These students were chosen from across the country schools, which were sponsored by the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE), an Institution under the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai. 54th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) was the world event in which 528 students participated in all. The winners from India were facilitated on 1 August 2013 in Mumbai at the HBCSE. The Silver Medal winners include Shubham Sinha (New Delhi) and Sangik Saha (Kolkata West Bengal). The winners of Bronze Medal include Anish Prasad Sevekari (Pune-Maharashtra), Pallav Goyal (Chattisgarh) and Pranab Nuti (Hyderabad-Andhra Pradesh). The Indian team was led by Prof. C.R. Pranesachar, Mathematical Olympiad Cell, HBCSE, TFIR Bengaluru Dr. Aditi Phadke, Norrowsjee Wadia College Pune and deputy Leader, Prof. C.R. Pranesachar Leader, Dr. V.V.Acharya, Ferguson Coolege Pune (Observer).
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ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL MATHEMATICAL OLYMPIAD (IMO)

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The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is the World Championship Mathematics Competition meant for the High School students. It is held every year in different countries. First International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) was organised in the year 1959 in Romania, where 7 countries participated in all. At present, the IMO has expanded to more than 100 countries from 5 continents in all. It is the responsibility of IMO Advisory Board to make sure that this competition is organised every year and that the host country follows the rules and regulations as well as traditions of IMO.
PERSONALITY IN NEWS
NIDAL MALIK HASAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR FORT HOOD SHOOTING
Maj Nidal Malik Hasan (42) was sentenced to death by a military jury on 28 August 2013 in connection with the mass shooting at Central Texas Army Post (Fort Hood shooting) in November 2009 in which 13 people were killed and more than 30 were injured. Hasan an Army psychiatrist by profession was convicted for 13 premeditated murders by a jury of 13 officers, all of them were of Hasans rank or above him. The sentence was announced by the President of the jury and the highest ranking Juror. The jurys vote for death was unanimous. The decision of the Jury came after Hasan admitted for the shooting and confessed that after getting disillusioned with the military he became a Muslim guerrilla fighter. He admitted for the killings on 6 August 2013 at the time of his Court Martial. The decision will put to an action only after being approved by the general at Ft. Hood who convened the court martial. But his sentence will be appealed in the Higher Courts automatically. History: Since 1961 due to lengthy appeal process no military row inmate has been executed in Texas.
ABOUT FORT HOOD SHOOTING
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The Fort Hood shooting was a Jihadist mass murder that took place on 5 November 2009, at Fort Hood near Killeen, Texas. Although termed as a Terrorist attack by many, the shooting was classified as an act of workplace violence by the Department of Defense and federal law enforcement agencies.
SOCKALINGAM ELECTED ZONAL SECRETARY/TREASURER OF NCEES

The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) elected Sockalingam Sam Kannappan, Chairman of Enforcement Committee of Texas PE Board as its zonal Secretary/treasurer. Sockalingam Sam Kannappan is an Indian-American. Sockalingam Sam Kannappan was elected as the Secretary and Treasurer of Southern Zone (SZ), which has a total of 18 boards under its control. National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) is an American National Professional Engineers (PE) Board which co-ordinates 50 national PE Boards, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands. Different engineering organisations from Japan, Mexico, Canada and other nations work along with NCEES. NCEES has the role of conducting examination for fundamental (FE) and Professional Examination (PE) the four zones.
WHO IS SOCKALINGAM SAM KANNAPPAN?

Sockalingam Sam Kannappan is the registered Professional Engineer in Texas. He has 25 years of experience in different areas such as software development, analysis and design for pipeline industries, refinery and petrochemical. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering. He is a native of Nattarasankottai in Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu.
YASIN BHATKAL, THE CO-FOUNDER OF INDIAN MUJAHIDEEN, ARRESTED

Yasin Bhatkal, the primary conspirator in various bomb blasts in India as well as the co-founder of the Indian Mujahideen (IM), was arrested from the India-Nepal border in Bihars Raxaul town on 29 August 2013. Apart from Yasin Bhatkal, IM operative Asadullah Akhtar was also arrested from the same place. The Original name of Yasin Bhatkal is Mohammad Ahmed Zarar Siddibappa. He was on the Indias list of 12 most-wanted terror suspects. He was involved in various bomb blasts in India including the ones which took place in Punes German Bakery, as well as in Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi and Hyderabad. He was detained near Nahar Chowk in Raxaul, East Champaran district,
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which is situated around 1 km from the international border of Nepal. He was detained by the Bihar Police. The official arrest was made by National Investigation Agency. The police in the meanwhile also revealed that he had planned to carry out the blasts during the season of Diwali and Dussehra.
WHO IS YASIN BHATKAL?

Yasin Bhatkal or Mohammed Ahmed Sidibapa is the alledged founder of terrorist organization Indian Mujahideen (IM). He was listed on the National Investigation Agencys Most Wanted. He was born in the year 1983. He studied till class 10th at Bhatkal. Thereafter, he went to Dubai in the year 2005. In January 2007, he disappeared from Dubai.
INDIAN MUJAHIDEEN
Indian Mujahideen (IM) is the Islamist militant group which is based in India. It carried out various attacks against civilians in the country. The group is said to be the front for the Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taiba. On 4 June 2010, IM was declared as a terrorist organisation by the Union Government of India. IM was also banned in the year 2010. On 22 October 2010, another country- New Zealand also declared it as the terrorist organisation. In September 2011, the United States also placed IM on the list of terrorist organisations. - See more at: http://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/yasin-bhatkal-the-cofounder-of-indianmujahideen-arrested-from-bihar-1377839356-1#sthash.1on4DXWO.dpuf
KAPIL PARAKH SELECTED FOR WHITE HOUSE FELLOWSHIP 2013-14

Kapil Parakh (Person of Indian Origin), a cardiologist at Johns Hopkins has been selected for the prestigious White House Fellowship for the year 2013-14 along with 11 others. Kapil Parakh is a co-founder of Health for America, a non-profit organisation that mobilises youth to improve the health of communities through innovation while shaping the next generation of leaders. He was selected in a national competition based on a record of professional achievement, evidence of leadership potential, and a proved commitment to public service.
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Kapil Parakh is the Director of Heart Failure Programs at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Centre and holds Assistant Professor's post in the Departments of Medicine, Epidemiology, and Health Behaviour & Society at the Johns Hopkins.
ABOUT THE FELLOWSHIP

The White House Fellows Program is one of America's most prestigious programs for leadership and public service. Founded in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson, the program offers exceptional young men and women first-hand experience working at the highest levels of the Federal government. Selected individuals typically spend a year working as a full-time, paid Fellow to senior White House Staff, Cabinet Secretaries and other top-ranking government officials. Fellows also participate in an Education Program consisting of roundtable discussions with renowned leaders from the private and public sectors, and trips to study U.S. policy in action both domestically and internationally.
BRADLEY MANNING ANNOUNCED INTENTION OF LIVING LIKE A WOMAN

Chelsea Elizabeth Manning, also known as Bradley Edward Manning, convicted as well as sentenced to the military prison for leaking important classified documents in Wikileaks case, announced the intention of living the life as a woman. He was diagnosed of gender-identity disorder by an Army psychiatrist. The Army Prison refused to provide hormone therapy to him.
WHO IS CHELSEA MANNING OR BRADLEY MANNING?

Chelsea Elizabeth Manning was born as Bradley Edward Manning on 17 December 1987. He is the former United States Army soldier. He was convicted in July 2013 for violating the Espionage Act as well as many other offences, after he released largest set of official documents to the public through Wikileaks. He was therefore sentenced to 35 years of imprisonment on 21 August 2013.
BACKGROUND OF THE CASE

In the year 2009, he was assigned the role of intelligence analyst to an Army unit which was based near Baghdad. He had access to the databases which were used by the United States government in order to transmit the classified information. www.jagranjosh.com
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In May 2010, he was arrested in Iraq after a hacker named Adrian Lamo informed Army Counterintelligence about Manning leaking the official documents to Wikileaks. The material leaked included 2009 Granai airstrike in Afghanistan, 2007 Baghdad airstrike and much more. The material was published by Wikileaks between April and November 2010. Eventually, Bradley Manning was charged with 22 offences in all, in which, the most serious charge was that of aiding the enemy. He was held at Marine Corps Brig, Quantico, Virginia, from July 2010 to April 2011 under Prevention of Injury status, which led to solitary confinement along with other restrictions. He was then transferred to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He pleaded guilty, therefore bringing down his number of charges to ten. The trial of the remaining charges began on 3 June 2013 and on 30 July 2013, he was convicted finally of 17 of original charges as well as amended versions of other four. Bradley Manning is serving his sentence at Fort Leavenworth.
PERVEZ MUSHARRAF IND ICTED IN BENAZIR BHUTTO ASSASSINATION

Former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf was indicted by an anti-terrorism court on 20 August 2013 in the 2007 assassination of ex-premier Benazir Bhutto. Musharraf was charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder and facilitation of murder. If convicted, Musharraf can be sentenced to death or life imprisonment. Bhutto was killed in suicide attack in 2007 in Rawalpindi when Musharraf was president of the country. In fact, Pervez Musharradf is the first ex army general to be so indicted. He returned to Pakistan in March for the general elections, ending a four year exile.
STATUE OF DR. NORMAN BORLAUG UNVEILED AT NEW DELHI

Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on 19 August 2013 unveiled the statue of Nobel Laureate Dr. Norman Borlaug at New Delhi. Dr. Norman Borlaug contributed towards wheat production in India. Dr. Borlaug addressed the challenges as well as complexities of the food requirements of the world. He dedicated his life towards agricultural development. The statue was unveiled at the 50th anniversary of Dr. Borlaugs introduction of high -yielding wheat varieties to India. The function to commemorate 50th anniversary of Dr. Borlaugs introduction of high-yielding wheat varieties to India was organised jointly by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI).
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ABOUT NORMAN ERNEST BORLAUG
Norman Ernest Borlaug was born on 25 March 1914.
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He was an American agronomist, humanitarian and Nobel laureate, who is called the Father of Green Revolution. He was honoured with a range of laurels such as the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honor, the Nobel Peace Prize, the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his contributions towards word food supply.
ABDUL KARIM TUNDA, LeT's BOMB EXPERT ARRESTED BY DELHI POLICE

The Delhi Police on 16 August 2013 arrested one of India's 20 most wanted terrorists, Abdul Karim Tunda, from Indo-Nepal border. 70-year-old Tunda, a bomb expert of Lashkar-e-Taiba outfit, was wanted in 21 terror cases. Tunda was arrested by the Special Cell of Delhi police and produced in a Delhi court. Born in western UP and allegedly indoctrinated into the terrorist activities of Pakistan's ISI in the eighties, Tunda was trained in making improvised explosive devices and ranks number 15 in the dossier India handed over to Pakistan after the Mumbai attacks. After the serial blasts, Tunda allegedly fled to Bangladesh where he came under direct command of Lashkar chief Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi and soon became LeT's top bomb maker under the guidance of Lakhvi.
SC REJECTED THE REVIEW PETITION OF DEVENDER PAL SINGH BHULLAR

The Supreme Court of India on 14 August 2013 rejected the review petition of 1993 Delhi blast accused, Devender Pal Singh Bhullar. Bhullar, a Khalistani terrorist and death row convict was sentenced to death by a trial court on August 25, 2001, for plotting terror attacks on Punjab SSP Sumedh Singh Saini in 1991 and the then Youth Congress head M S Bitta in 1993 that left nine people dead. A bench headed by Justice G S Singhvi refused to review its 12 April 2013 verdict by which it had rejected his plea for commuting the death sentence to life imprisonment. President Pranab Mukherjee had earlier rejected Bhullar's mercy plea.
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Current Affairs eBook August 2013 IBRAHIM BOUBACAR KEITA WON MALI PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
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Ibrahim Boubacar Keita won Mali's Presidential elections on 12 August 2013 after his opponent Soumalia Cisse conceded defeat before official results were announced. Soumalia Cisse's concession allows Mali to avoid a protracted election fight and to move ahead with establishing a democratically elected government, one of the international community's caveats for unlocking some 4 billion US dollars in promised aid. Keita had been expected to win easily, having pulled nearly 40 percent of the vote in the first round. Most of the other candidates from the first round also had given their endorsements to Keita, who is a former Prime Minister. However, earlier some of Cisse's supporters had raised allegations of ballot stuffing against Keita's party, raising the specter of a legal battle. Not long after Cisse's concession became known, the former finance minister tweeted about his decision to concede. Ibrahim Boubacar Keita is a Malian politician and the country's president-elect. He was Prime Minister of Mali from 1994 to 2000 and President of the National Assembly of Mali from 2002 to 2007. He founded a political party, Rally for Mali (RPM), in 2001 and he has led the party since then. In addition to serving in the National Assembly, Keita was a member of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States. Ibrahim Boubacar Keita is popularly known as IBK.
CM FOALE, THE FIRST BRITISH TO PERFORM SPACE WALK, RETIRED

Colin Michael Foale, the first British to perform a space walk, retired from NASA in the second week of August 2013. He is said to be the most experienced British-born astronaut in human spaceflight history.
LIFE HISTORY OF COLIN MICHAEL FOALE

Colin Michael Foale was born on 6 January 1957. He is the British-American astrophysicist and former NASA astronaut. He belonged to 1987 NASA Group. He remained the veteran of six space shuttle missions. He extended the stays on Mir as well as International Space Station (ISS). He commanded the ISS in the year 2003.
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He was the first British who performed the space walk. Till 17 April 2008, he had the record of most time spent in space by a US citizen. His record was 374 days, 11 hours 19 minutes. He also performed services of the Hubble telescope. After retirement, Michael Foale decided to work on advancing green aviation technology. Michael Foale made six trips to space in all. His missions included STS-45, STS-56, STS-63, STS84, Mir NASA-4 (Mir EO-23 and 24), STS-86, STS103, Soyuz TMA-3, Expedition 8. He was awarded with the honorary degree from the University of Lincolnshire and Humberside in July 2000.
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He was also honoured with the Doctor of Science degree from the University of Kent in September 2000. In December 2004, he was named as the Commander in the Order of the British Empire in the diplomatic list of the New Year Honours.
JALAJ SHRIVASTVA SWORN IN AS CHAIRMAN OF NDMC

Jalaj Shrivastva took oath of the office as the Chairman of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) on 5 August 2013. Jalaj Shrivastva is an Indian Administrative Officer of 1984 batch AGMU cadre. Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit administered the oath of faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India to Shrivastva in a special meeting of the Council. Sheila Dikshit serves as the presiding officer of the civic body. The AGMU Cadre of IAS/IPS, earlier known as the UT Cadre, caters to the needs of four units, the three States of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram & Goa, and Union Territories: Andaman & Nicober Islands; Chandigarh; Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli; Delhi; Lakshadweep and Puducherry. New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) is the municipal corporation of the city of New Delhi and the area under its administration is referred to as the New Delhi Municipal Council area. New
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Delhi Municipal Council covers an area of 43.7 km square and is governed by a council with a Chairperson appointed by the Central Government and includes the Chief Minister of Delhi.
HASSAN ROUHANI SWORN IN AS THE NEW PRESIDENT OF IRAN

Hassan Rouhani on 4 August 2013 took oath as the new President of Iran in the ceremony held at the Iranian Parliament in Tehran. The 64 year old Rouhani, kissed the Quran and took his oath to the office before the countries senior politicians, foreign dignitaries and MPs. The newly elected, Iranian President began his four-year mandate to the office from 3 August 2013 after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Irans Supreme leader certified his victory in the Presidential election that was conducted on 15 June 2013. Rouhani is the seventh (different) President of Iran after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. He secured a little over 50 percent votes to win the election and has succeeded Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the President. Earlier, he defeated Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf of Islamic Society of Engineers party. The Presidential elections in Iran took place on 14 June 2013. Vice-President of India, Hamid Ansari attended the swering-in ceremony of Rouhani at Tehran.
ABOUT HASSAN ROHANI

Hassan Rohani was born on 12 November 1948 and started his political activities during beginning of Iranian Islamic movement by following Ayatollah Khomeini. Since 1999, he remained a member of Assembly of Experts also known as Council of Experts. It is the deliberative body of Islamic theologians, also called Mujtahids. The Assembly of Experts is the body that has charge of electing as well as removing Supreme Leader of Iran as well as supervising his activities. He also remained a member of Expediency Council since 1991. Expediency Council or Expediency Discernment Council of the System is the administrative assembly which is appointed by Supreme Leader of Iran. Originally, Expediency Council was established to resolve differences between Council of Guardians and the Majlis. Apart from this, he was the member of the Supreme National Security Council since 1989. In the book titled, National Security and Nuclear Diplomacy, there is an autobiography of Hassan Rohani which describes about his experience as in-charge of Iran's nuclear case as well as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.
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Hassan Rohani has remained the deputy speaker of the 4th and 5th terms of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majlis) and secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from 1989 to 2005. He was the head of the Center for Strategic Research since 1992. He was the head of former nuclear negotiating team of Iran and was among the top negotiators of Iran with the three nations of European Union namely, Germany, UK and France, on the nuclear program of Iran.
IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT THE ELECTION OF PRESIDENT OF IRAN, ACCORDING TO THE CONSTITUTION OF IRAN
According to Article 117 of the Constitution of Iran, the President is elected by an absolute majority of votes polled by the voters. According to Article 115 of the Constitution of Iran, the President must be elected from among religious and political personalities. According to Article 114 of the Constitution of Iran, the President is elected for a fouryear term by the direct vote of the people. His re-election for a successive term is permissible only once.
SAMANTHA POWER SWORN IN AS THE NEW US AMBASSADOR TO UN

Samantha Power on 2 August 2013 took oath to the office of US ambassador to United Nations. Vice-President, Joe Biden administered her, the oath to the office in a ceremony at the White House. Samantha Power succeeded Susan Rice, now the President Barack Obamas National Security Adviser. Earlier, Samantha Power served as the Foreign Policy Adviser to Obama during his 2008 election campaign, and subsequently worked as an adviser in the White House. Samantha Power started her career as a journalist and won a Pulitzer Prize for her book A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide in 2003.
DELHI POLICE COMMISSIONER NEERAJ KUMAR RETIRED

The Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar retired from his office on 31 July 2013. He served to the police force for 37 years. His tenure as the Delhi Police commissioner was 13 months. He will be succeeded by Bhim Sain Bassi.
ABOUT NEERAJ KUMAR

Neeraj Kumar is a 1976 batch IPS officer of the AGMU cadre.
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He succeeded BK Gupta as the Deli Police Commissioner on 1 July 2012. He was the Director General (Prisons) and in charge of Tihar Jail. He had served almost all the branches of police, such as the Prisons, CBI, Traffic, districts, Special Cell as well as Crime Branch. He is originally from the state of Bihar. He received the MSc degree from St Stephen's College in the year 1975. During 1990s, he was posted in the Police department as the DCP (Traffic). In 1993, he served as the DCP of Crime Branch and South district. He was then promoted as well as sent to CBI on deputation as the DGP. Neeraj Kumar was criticised severely after the gang rape of a paramedical student on 16 December 2012. He also came under criticism after the rape of a five-year-old girl in Gandhi Nagar in North East Delhi in April 2013. However, Neeraj Kumar and his police force were praised for exposing the scam of spot fixing in Indian Premier League (IPL).
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PEOPLE WHO LEFT THE WORLD IN AUGUST

NOBEL LITERATURE LAUREATE SEAMUS HEANEY DIED
Irish writer Seamus Heaney died at the age of 74 on 29 August 2013. He had won the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature. Seamus Heaney was born in Northern Ireland. He published his first collection of poems, Death of a Naturalist in 1966. He went on to become one of the English languages leading poets. Heaney worked as the professor of poetry at Oxford University between 1989 and 1994. He is survived by his wife Marie and three children. Heaney was known for works of lyrical beauty and ethical depth, which paid tribute to everyday miracles and the living past.
ANATOLY ONOPRIENKO, THE SERIAL KILLER OF UKRAIN DIED

Anatoly Onoprienko, the Serial Killer of Ukrain died in prison on 27 August 2013 at the age of 54. He was accused of killing 52 people within six years (the reign of terror) between, 1989 to April 1996. He used hunting rifle, shotgun or axe to kill people while trying to rob them.
ABOUT ANATOLY ONOPRIENKO

As a serial killer, he was nicknamed as the Beast of Ukraine, the Terminator, and Citizen O He was arrested by police on 16 April 1996 at the age of 37
FORMER INDIAN ATHLETE HENRY REBELLO DIED

Former athlete Henry Rebello died in Gurgaon on 27 August 2013 after a long illness. He had represented India in the 1948 Olympic Games in London. He was 84 years old and is survived by a daughter and two sons. Rebello was a triple jumper of the highest quality. He won the top spot in a pre-Olympic event for foreign athletes in London and was a top performer in the preliminary rounds of the main event. However, he pulled a muscle in his first jump in the finals, and had to withdraw. Rebello was born in Bangalore and was a self-made athlete. He used to racer against cars during his training. Rebello was commissioned into the Indian Air Force, and retired as a Group Captain after the London Olympics. Later on he served as a Director in the Sports Authority of India.
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JULIE HARRIS, US ACTRESS KNOWN FOR RECORD TONY AWARD, DIED

Julie Harris, the US actress known for stage and screen, passed away on 25 August 2013 at the age of 87 years at West Chatham, Massachusetts, United States. She was most popular for her roles in the Broadway, for which she has the record of most Tony Award Wins. She died because of heart failure.
LIFE HISTORY OF JULIE HARRIS

Julie Harris was born on 2 December 1925 at Grosse Pointe, Michigan, United States. She made her debut in the year 1945 to the Broadway. She held the record of winning five Tony Awards. Only other performers who have won five competitive Tony Awards include Angela Lansbury and Audra McDonald. For her 1950 play The Member of the Wedding, she was nominated for an Oscar. The play was adapted for big screen in the year 1953. She won her first Tony Award in the year 1952 for playing the role of Sally Bowles in I Am a Camera, adapted from Christopher Isherwood's book Berlin Stories. Other works for which she won Tony awards included playing Joan of Arc in The Lark in 1956, for Forty Carats in 1969, role as Abraham Lincoln's wife Mary Todd Lincoln in 1973's The Last of Mrs Lincoln. Final Tony Award came for portraying poet Emily Dickinson in her one-woman show The Belle of Amherst in 1977. This performance also won her the Grammy Award for best spoken word recording. She received a special lifetime achievement Tony in the year 2002. She appeared in over 30 films including playing James Dean's love interest in East of Eden, on the Silver Screen. For the Television, she won three Emmy Awards between 1959 and 2000 as well as playing country music singer Lilimae Clements in Knot's Landing in the 1980s. In the year 1994, she was also awarded the National Medal of Arts. She was the member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame.
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PANDIT RAGHUNATH PANIGRAHI, THE INDIAN CLASSICAL SINGER DIED

The Indian classical singer and music director, Pandit Raghunath Panigrahi passed away on 25 August 2013 in Bhubaneswar. He was 80 years of age. He is known as the vocalist of Jayadevas Gita Govind. He died because of cardiac arrest. He is survived by two sons.
LIFE SKETCH OF PANDIT RAGHUNATH PANIGRAHI

Pandit Raghunath Panigrahi was born on 10 August 1934 at Gunupur in Odishas R ayaga (earlier Koraput) district. He is known for his way of classical singing of Gita Govinda that describes unique relationship between Lord Krishna and the Gopis. He had left his mark on the Odissi light classicals such as Na Jaa Radhika and contemporary songs such as Nali Nali Ei, Krushnachuda or Nupoor Bajaai Kie. He was the first Odiya singer to be honoured by the French Government for compositions of Gita Govinda. He was also conferred with the Padmashri award in the year 2010. He established the Sanjukta Panigrahi Memorial Trust, with the purpose of spotting and encouraging Odissi singer as well as dancers. Since the year 2001, this Trust has been giving the scholarships to budding dancers. Also, the Trust gives excellence awards in Orissi dance forms to people. Other awards won by him include Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship as well as Jayadeva Samman in the year 2008. Vanikavi Dr. Manomohan Acharya wrote a Sanskrit Verse on Padmashri Pandit Raghunath Panigrahi.
TELUGU NOVELIST, MALATHI CHANDUR DIED

Telugu writer, novelist and columnist, Malathi Chandur, died following prolonged illness in Chennai on 21 August 2013. She was 84 years of age.
ABOUT MALATI CHANDUR
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Malati Chandur was born in 1930 in Nuzvidu in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh. She married Chnadur Nageswar Rao in 1947 after which they moved to Chennai. Malati Chandur wrote more than 25 novels and had more than 300 translations into Telugu to her credit. Her more famous novels are Champakam, Cheedapurugulu, Aalochinchu, and Sadyogam. She was also a prolific short story writer and published several of stories in weekly magazines. Malati Chandurs novels offered practical solutions to the problems women encounter in daily life. Most of her novels had a feminist slant.
AWARDS
She was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1992 for her novel Hrudaya Netri, and the Kalaprapoornam by the Padmavathi Womens University. She was the recipient of Andhra Pradesh Sahitya Academy Award.
DEZSO GYARMATI, THE WATER POLO LEGEND FROM HUNGARY DIED

Dezso Gyarmati, the water polo legend from Hungry died on 18 August 2013. He was 85. Dezso Gyarmati was the winner of three Olympic gold medals and overall tally of five Olympic medals between 1948 and 1964. He received gold in 1952 in Helsinki (Finland), 1956 in Melbourne (Australia) and 1964 in Tokyo (Japan).
ABOUT DEZSO GYARMATI

He is considered as one of the greatest water polo players of all times In 1976, Gyarmati was inducted in the International Swimming Hall of Fame During his active career, he played 108 matches for the Hungarian national team (his era was the era without World Championships, World League and World Cup) In 1956 Olympic tournament he was a the member of the famous Blood in Water match against the Soviet Union, this made him a part of Hungarian history
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He holds a personal record of 58.5 seconds on 100 meters In European Championships he won two gold medals in 1954 and 1962
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He coached the Hungarian national team during, 19731980 and 19851988, and as a coach he led Hungary to win their sixth Olympic gold medal at the 1976 Games in Montreal at Canada He was married with Eva Szekely (former swimmer and 1952 Olympic champion on 200 metres breaststroke) His daughter Andrea Gyarmati is a former backstroke and butterfly swimmer who received two Olympic medals in 1972 and a former World record holder on 100 metres butterfly
DR. SHEIKH JALAL-UD-DIN, CARDIOLOGIST SHOT BY MILITANTS DIED

Dr. Sheikh Jalal-ud-din the eminent cardiologist from Kashmir, who sustained injuries in an attack by militants a month ago died on 17 August 2013 at AIIMS (All-India Institute of Medical Sciences), New Delhi. He was shot by militants near his residence at Namblabal in Pampore on 18 July 2013. Sheikh Jalal-ud-din (64) was the former director of the Shere-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS).
MARICH MAN SINGH SHRESTHA, FORMER PM OF NEPAL DIED

Marich Man Singh Shrestha, the former Prime Minister of Nepal, died on 15 August 2013 after battling with lung cancer. He was 72.
ABOUT MARICH MAN SINGH SHRESTHA

Marich Man Singh Shrestha served as Prime Minister of Nepal from 1986 to 1990 He was the last minister before protests led to the country's first democratic elections He was the Speaker of the National Assembly of Nepal He was a member of the Newar community and was the first member of that ethnic group to become prime minister
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Current Affairs eBook August 2013 FORMER CRICKETER KALYAN MITTER DIED
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Former Bengal Cricketer and Coach Kalyan Mitter passed away on 16 August 2013 in Kolkata. He was 79. Kalyan Mitter's first class career spanned from 1953 to 1969 during which he played 51 matches for Bengal and Bihar during which he scored 1698 runs and also took 50 wickets. Kalyan Mitter was also associated with women's cricket and its development in the West Bengal. An aggressive right-hand batsman and an off-spinner, Kalyan Mitter coached Bengal (1992-94) and during his last season (1993-94). Kalyan Mitter also served as a curator for Bengal in the mid-90s, and in the first season of the IPL. He was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award by the Cricket Association of Bengal in 2011.
DESH PREM AZAD, FORMER COACH OF KAPIL DEV, DIED

Desh Prem Azad, the former coach of cricketer Kapil Dev, died on 16 August 2013 at a hospital in Mohali, near Chandigarh. He was 75 years of age. He died because of cardiac arrest. He is survived by his wife and two sons.
LIFE SKETCH OF DESH PREM AZAD

Desh Prem Azad was lately at the post of director at the Punjab Cricket Association's non-residential academies. He trained cricketers such as Kapil Dev, Ashok Malhotra, Chetan Sharma and Yograj Singh in the late 70s. He also won the Dronacharya award - the highest national honour for a coach. He ran his own cricket academy at St Stephen's School in Chandigarh from 2006 to 2012. He was associated with the Pace Academy at Sector 17 Stadium in 1990s. He also played a role in developing cricketers such as Harbhajan Singh and Venugopal Rao. He was among the founders of the Chandigarh Golf Association. Desh Prem Azad represented Haryana, the Maharaja of Patiala's XI and Southern Punjab, while playing 19 first-class matches. In these matches, he scored 658 runs while grabbed 8 wickets in all.
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He served as the match referee in two Under-19 matches between India and Australia in the year 2005.
RENOWNED NATURALIST AND ORNITHOLOGIST ZAFAR FUTEHALLY DIED

Zafar Futehally, (93 years) Indias best known naturalist and ornithologist passed away on 11 August 2013 at Kihim in Maharashtra. Zafar Futehally led the early years of the conservation movement in India and served as a link between conservationists and corporate. He was founder editor of the Newsletter for Birdwatchers and this publication helped the birdwatchers to document observations at a time when there was no digital documentation and there were few scientific studies on wildlife in the country. Zafar Futehally was associated for 60 years with the Bombay Natural History Society, of which he was honorary secretary for 16 years. He also served as a member in project Tiger in 1973-83.
AWARDS
Padmashri, 1971 (Government of India) Order of the Golden Ark, 1981 (Prince of the Netherlands) Rajyotseva Award, 1983 (Karnataka) Member of Honour World Wildlife Fund, 1994 Salim Ali International Award for Nature Conservation, 1997
RENOWNED KAMAICHA PLAYER SAKAR KHAN DIED

Noted Rajasthani folk musician Sakar Khan, an exponent of the melodious bow and string instrument Kamaicha, passed away in Jaisalmer on 10 August 2013. Sakar Khan, resident of Hamira village of Jaisalmer, was suffering from a respiratory illness for some time.
ABOUT SAKAR KHAN

Sakar Khan, belonging to the traditional Manganiyar folk musician community of Rajasthan, was honoured with the Padma Shri in April 2012, the Tulsi Samman by the Madhya Pradesh government in 1990 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1991.
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Sakar Khan had performed with renowned American violinist Yehudi Menuhin and George Harrison of The Beatles, and also performed at major international festivals in the US, France, Japan and USSR. His performances of Raga Bhairavi and Raga Kalyan on the Kamaicha have found place in the ethnomusicology archives of Smithsonian Folkways, the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution, the national museum of the United States. Sakar Khan learned to play the Kamaicha from his father Chunar Khan, considered a legend among the folk musicians of the state. His sons Ghewar Khan and Dara Khan are also accomplished exponents of the instrument. His last studio recorded album, At Home: Sakar Khan was released in September 2012.
ABOUT THE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT KAMAICHA

The Kamaicha, also known as the Kamancha and Kamancheh, is one of the oldest bowed instruments of the world and is found across the globe with several regional variations. In Kashmir, it is known as saaz-i-kashmir and is often likened to the middle-eastern instrument Raba'ab. It has a goat skin spherical sound box with three or four strings (made either with silk or metal) and 14 sympathetic metal strings, which are played with a bow to produce sweet, haunting melodies that are now synonymous with the desert landscape of Western Rajasthan the world over.
JASJIT SINGH, INDIA s BEST MILITARY ANALYST, DIED

Jasjit Singh, Air Commodore (retd.) and one of the leading strategic thinkers of India, died on 4 August 2013. He was 79 years of age. He died after a fight against pneumonia.
LIFE SKETCH OF JASJIT SINGH

Jasjit Singh was born 8 July 1934. He is known as a passionate professional, who taught flying to various top air force officers. He retired as the air commodore in the year 1987. He became the head of Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) in the year 1987, for 14 long years. He succeeded K Subrahmanyam.
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After retiring from IDSA, he set up Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS). CAPS carried out a range of useful studies on subjects such as air power strategic issues for the Indian Air Force (IAF). He was the author and editor of various books. He contributed in an optimistic way towards India's 1998 nuclear explosion. For displaying gallantry during the war of 1971, he was also awarded with the Vir Chakra. He was conferred with the Padma Bhushan, the second highest civilian award, in the year 2006 by the former president APJ Abdul Kalam. He is known as one of the best military analyst of India.
ABRAHAM SAMUEL, THE CIGARETTE SNATCHER DIED

Abraham Samuel, 53, who was popularly called the cigarette snatcher passed away on 28 July 2013 in Dubai. He was suffering from lung cancer. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT ABRAHAM SAMUEL

Abraham Samuel was an Indian cancer patient. He was popularly called the cigarette snatcher. He campaigned against smoking in his own unusual ways. He confronted the strangers at public places and requested them to quit smoking. In order to warn people, he showed his radiation marks on the body to make people aware about the ill effects of smoking. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in the year 2010 because of his habit of smoking two packets of cigarettes for 35 years. He is known for converting the smokers into non-smokers, after being diagnosed with lung cancer. Abraham Samuel worked at the stationary company for 3500 dirhams or 57700 Rupees per month.
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FACTS ABOUT SMOKING
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Around half of the cancers in males in India, are those related to tobacco. It is important to note that more than 60 percent of people suffering from heart diseases below 40 years of age are smokers. India also has the highest rate of oral cancer in the entire world and 90 percent of patients are the tobacco chewers. In the year 2010, it was estimated that 930000 adults died in India because of smoking. Out of these 70 percent were between the age group of 30 to 69 years. Cigarettes are composed of high poisonous content, which include nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide as well as certain other kinds of poisons.
MUSIC DIRECTOR V. DAKSHINAMOORTHY DIED

V Dakshinamoorthy, the veteran Music Director died on 2 August 2013 at his residence in Mylapore, Chennai. He was 94. The veteran was known as Swamy in the music industry and gave music to songs of more than 125 films in Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi. He served the industry for a period of over six decades during this period; more than 50 singers of three generations sang tunes set by him. His songs are known for the classical touch. He was a person, who nurtured both the Carnatic as well as Malayalam music. He has to his credit about 859 songs that were composed by him over seven decades of his service to the world of Music. Few of the films in which he composed music include Navalokam, Seetha, Viyarppinte Vila, Sri Guruvayoorappan, Kadamattathachan and Indulekha.
ABOUT VENKATESWARAN DAKSHINAMOORTHY

He debuted as a Music composer in the a Malayalam movie Nalla Thanka (Nalla Thankal in Tamil) in 1950 He was born in Alappuzha district of Kerala on 22 December 1919 He was the guru to singers and music directors like P. Leela, P. Susheela (he introduced her in Malayalam films in 1960 in film Seetha), Kalyani Menon and Ilayaraja He was the proud recipient of Kerala State Film Award for best music director in 1971 In 1998, he received the Kerala State Film Award for Lifetime Achievement
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HEMENDRA PRASAD BAROOAH, THE NOTED ASSAM TEA PLANTER DIED

Hemendra Prasad Barooah, the noted Assam tea planter passed away on 31 July 2013 in Bangkok. He was 87 years of age. He is survived by two daughters. He was predeceased by his wife and son earlier. He died due to cardiac arrest.
LIFE SKETCH OF HEMENDRA PRASAD BAROOAH

Hemendra Prasad Barooah was born on 1 April 1926. He did his MBA from the Harvard University, US. He was also a Padmashree awardee. He was the owner of B&A Limited, Assam Tea Brokers Private Limited, B&A Multiwall Packaging, Heritage North East Pvt Ltd and Kaziranga Golf Club Limited. The flagship company B&A Limited, at presents, owns nine tea gardens that have an average production of 57 lakh kg of tea. This group is also the owner of B&A Multiwall Packaging, Assam Tea Brokers Private Limited, Kaziranga Golf Club Limited as well as Heritage North East Pvt Ltd. His ancestral home, located at Jalukonibari, 15km from Jorhat, was opened to the tourists in the year 2000. This was called Thengal Manor. Apart from this, two other colonial era managers bungalows of his gardens in the district at Gotonga and Sangsua were opened to the tourists. It is important to note that he was the single support of the veteran tea garden owners during the peak of ULFA insurgency in Assam. Hemendra Prasad Barooahwas had also remained the President of Bengal Club in Calcutta. He was also the head of Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry during 80s. He was also the first Assamese tea entrepreneur to bring out an IPO. He was the renowned philanthropist as well as the collector of contemporary Indian art, especially those of M.F. Hussain. During his lifetime, he collected 600 works of contemporary art, which included both Indian and European. Wasbir Hussain wrote his biographyLife and Times: Story of an Assamese Tea Baron.
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DEFENCE AND SECURITY

GSAT 7, INDIA'S FIRST DEFENCE SATELLITE LAUNCHED SUCCESSFULLY
GSAT7, the first Indian exclusive defence satellite was successfully launched on 29 August 2013 by the European space consortium Arianespaces Ariane 5 Rocket from the Kourou Spaceport of French Guiana. This launch will push ahead Indias maritime security. Indian Navy will use the multi-band home-built communication spacecraft that is expected to become operational by September 2013. GSAT7 has been built at an expense of 185 crore rupees and will act as the countrys maiden dedicated spacecraft for defence applications. It was launched during 50-minute launch window that started at 2 am and was injected into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit of 249 km perigee (nearest point to earth), 35,929 km apogee (farthest point to earth) and an inclination of 3.5 degree with respect to the equator after completing a flight of 34 minutes. Its frequency bands will enable space based marine communications and will cover the Indian landmass as well as surrounding seas. From 31 August to 4 September 2013, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will perform three orbit-raising operations for placement of the satellite into the geostationary orbit of 36000 km above the equator. Further, it would be positioned in its orbital slot of 74 degree East Longitude by 14 September 2013 and the communication transponders of the satellite will be switched on. The frequency bands of GSAT7 will help space-based marine communications and cover the Indian landmass as well as surrounding seas. Earlier, Inmarsat provided satellite communication to ships. Inmarsat is a major global satellite communication service provider.
ABOUT GSAT 7
It is an advanced communication satellite that will help by providing low bit rate voice to high bit rate data communication Payload of the GSAT7 is designed to provide communication capabilities to users in distant oceanic regions Its solar arrays generate 2900 W of electrical power
Lift-off mass of GSAT7 was 2625 kilogram and technological elements fixed with the ISROs 2500 kilogram satellite bus included an antenna. To keep the satellite functional during the www.jagranjosh.com
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periods of eclipse, satellite carries A108 Ampere-Hour Lithium-Ion battery. 440 Newton Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) and thrusters has been used in the propulsion subsystem. ISRO uses the Spaceport of French Guiana for heavy launches because its GSLV rocket with the indigenous cryogenic stage is under its development phase and before being used for heavy launches and declared operational, it requires two successful flights. ISRO cant launch heavy satellites like GSAT-7 as its home-grown GSLV rocket, with indigenous cryogenic stage, is still in works and needs two successful flights before its declared operational. French Guiana is an overseas region of France on the North Atlantic coast of South America.
GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED TO RELEASE NATIONAL E-MAIL POLICY

The government on 23 August 2013 announced to release a national e-mail policy to protect privacy of email users in India. In the proposed policy all government departments and Indian embassies are being asked to use NIC server for their email correspondence. NIC server is located in India and it cannot be accessed by any foreign agency. The government is working to enhance its capacity to protect data and information flows by building better cyber and telephony infrastructure and by evolving new cyber and telecom security practices. The government is also promoting Indian players in the information technology sector to develop and offer Internet services by their servers located in India.
C-130J SUPER HERCULES PLANE LANDED IN DAULAT BEG OLDIE SECTOR

The Indian Air Force (IAF) on 20 August 2013 landed its C-130J Super Hercules Transport Plane at the recently-activated airstrip of Daulat Beg Oldie Sector in Ladakh. Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) airstrip located at 16614 feet in the Aksai Chin area is the Worlds highest airstrip and lies in the area across the Line of Actual Control (LAC), where Indian and Chinese army troops faced a stand-off of about 21 days in April 2013. Commanding Officer for the C-130J Super Hercules that landed at Daulat Beg Oldie airstrip was Group Captain Tejbir Singh. The team also included a crew of the Veiled Vipers. This achievement of the Indian Air Force has qualified for the world record for the highest landing by an aircraft of this class. With this landing of the C-130J Super Hercules Transport Plane, the IAF has demonstrated its abilities of using a heavy heavy-lift aircraft at such heights in Ladakh region. This action will help
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the Air Force in inducting troops and supplies by improving communication network and maintenance of troops at such heights.
C-130J SUPER HERCULES TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT

C-130J Super Hercules Transport aircraft is capable of undertaking quick deployment of troops at great heights under all weather conditions including airdrops. It can also fit for landing on unprepared and semi-prepared surfaces and lift load up to 20 tonnes. Earlier, the aircraft was used in Dharasu region at the time of Uttarakhand Flood relief in Operation Rahat.
ABOUT THE DAULAT BEG OLDIE (DBO) AIR FIELD

Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) Air field was reactivated by the Indian Air Force in 2008, when Antonov32 was landed over there after a gap of 43 years from Chandigarh. Before 2008 landing, the airstrip was last used in 1965, during the war with Pakistan. With this operationalisation of the airstrip, the strategic base of the Northern Himalayas got reactivated and gained importance.
INDIA LAUNCHED AIRCR AFT CARRIER INS VIKRANT IN KOCHI

India on 12 August 2013 launched its first ever indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant in Kochi. As per the ship launching tradition, the ship was launched by Elizabeth Antony, the wife of Defence Minister, A.K. Antony. A strong and vigilant Navy is needed to keep the coast line, island territories and sea lanes of communication open in the interest of the nation. Indian Navy must continue to maintain high operational readiness at all times, to ward off any likely misadventures against our national interests. It should have the capability and technology, to match the best in the world. It was truly a historic moment for both the country's ship building industry and the Indian Navy as the first indigenously built Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant was launched at the Cochin Shipyard. The launch has catapulted the country into a select group of nations with the capability to design and build such massive aircraft carriers. Major outfitting work of the vessel is scheduled to be completed by 2016. INS Vikrant has a length of 260 metres and it is 60 metres wide.It is behind schedule by three years. Vikrant is scheduled for extensive trials in 2016 before being inducted into the Navy by 2018 end.
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Current Affairs eBook August 2013 INDIA TEST-FIRED SURFACE-TO-SURFACE PRITHVI-II MISSILE
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India on 12 August 2013 successfully test-fired indigenously-developed nuclear-capable surface-to-surface Prithvi-II missile from a military base in Odisha. The ballistic missile with a range of 350 km was fired from launch complex number three of the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur-on-sea in Balasore district off Odisha coast. Prithvi-II missile was launched by the personnel of the Strategic Force Command (SFC) from ITRs Launch Complex-III as part of routine user training. The missile scientists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) monitored the launch operations. The missile was tracked by the radars, telemetry stations and electro-optical systems along the East Coast. All the systems incorporated in the missile worked to perfection and it zeroed in on the pre-designated target in the Bay of Bengal. The Prithvi-II missile is already inducted into the Indian Armed forces. It has been developed by the DRDO.
FACT-SHEET ON PRITHVI-II MISSILE

Prithvi is the first missile to be developed under India's prestigious Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). It is capable of carrying 500 kg to 1000 kg of warheads. It is thrusted by liquid propulsion twin engines, uses advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory. The last users trial of Prithvi-II was successfully carried out from the same base on 20 December 2012.
INDIA SUCCESSFULLY TEST-FIRED PINAKA ROCKETS FROM CHANDIPUR

India on 7 August 2013 successfully test-fired two rounds of indigenously developed Pinaka rockets from a multi-barrel rocket launcher (MBRL) from a base at Chandipur-on-sea near Balasore, off the Odisha coast.The tests were routine trials conducted for training purpose. The tests were conducted by personnel from Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), Pune unit at Proof and Experimental Establishment (PXE) firing point-2. Earlier IN 2013, ten rounds of Pinaka rockets were tested from the same base. More advanced and second generation Pinaka Mark II Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher System had undergone successful firing trials at Chandhan area in Pokhran field firing ranges in western Rajasthan during July 2013. www.jagranjosh.com
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MAIN FEATURES OF PINAKA ROCKETS
Pinaka is an area weapon system with a range of 40 km. The quick reaction time and high rate of fire of Pinaka will give an edge to the Army during a minor conflict situation. Pinaka system can fire a salvo of 12 rockets in 44 seconds. The battery of six launchers can neutralise at a time a target area of 3.9 sq km.
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Pinaka is capable to incorporate several types of warheads which make the weapon deadly for the enemy as it can even destroy solid structures and bunkers.
AGNI-V TO BE INDUCTED BY 2015

The Director of Agni Missile Project, Defence Research and Development Organisation - Tessy Thomas announced on 2 August 2013 that the Agni V missile would become operational by 2015, with two or three successful test firings. The announcement was made at the National Conference on Systems, Energy and Environment organised by the Government College of Engineering at Mangattuparamba. This is the project, which in turn will carry out multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles that can be used for delivering multiple warheads at various targets. Agni V missile is one of the biggest achievements of India. The ballistic missile has a range of 5000 km. It is also important to note that there are more than 2000 institutions, which have link up with DRDO for this project. The plans like this were also underway for two-stage Agni-IV, which had the 3500 km strike range. This missile is ready for induction by the end of 2014. The armed forces inducted Pakistan-specific Agni-I (700-km) and Agni-II (over 2000-km) and 3000 -km Agni-III. However, Agni-IV and Agni-V missiles have a different kind of class because they have the capability to deal against China in times of crisis. China has the massive nuclear arsenal as well as missiles such as 11200-km Dong Feng-31A, which is capable of attacking any Indian city.
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BOOKS/AUTHOR
GRAPHIC BIOGRAPHY, DHYAN CHAND-THE WIZARD OF HOCKEY
Dhyan Chand-The Wizard of Hockey: Luis Fernandes The graphic biography on former Indian Hockey player Dhyan Chand titled Dhyan Chand-The Wizard of Hockey was launched at Dhyanchand Stadium in New Delhi on 29 August 2013. The biography was launched on the National Sports Day to commemorate the 108th birth anniversary of the legend. The graphic biography is the first-of-its-kind book on a sportsman. The book has been written by Luis Fernandes, who researched extensively on the subject. It is available for 100 rupees at all leading book stores. The book is being printed by comic-series publication Amar Chitra Katha. The book focussed on Dhyan Chands achievements and goal-scoring feats at 1928, 1932 and 1936 Olympics that got him the title The Wizard. The book was launched in the presence of Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor. There is also an autobiography of Dhyanchand called Goal.
BOOK, SATYAGRAHA: THE STORY BEHIND THE REVOLUTION RELEASED

Satyagraha: The Story Behind the Revolution Prakash Jha, the veteran film maker of bollywood on 28 August 2013 released a book titled Satyagraha: The Story Behind the Revolution. The book has been published by Om Book International in association with Prakash Jha Productions. The book highlights the efforts of every person associated in the making of the film and its cinematic venture, as the work done by the actors, technicians is covered in the book. The book was released to promote his film Satyagraha: The Revolution has Begun.
SELECTED WORKS OF JAWAHARLAL NEHRU SECOND SERIES RELEASED

The Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru edited by historian Prof Madhavan Palat Papers of Jawaharlal Nehru from 1959, edited by historian Prof Madhavan Palat, under the sponsorship of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, were released in the month of July 2013. There are three volumes of these papers and more volumes were planned to be released every month. The released material is known as Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru. The Selected Works include letters, notes and accounts of the conversations as well as open press conferences. The series of volumes reveal about Nehru as well as his compositions. It also includes the exchange of letters between Dehradun MP Mahavir Tyagi and Jawaharlal Nehru www.jagranjosh.com
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just prior to Indira Gandhi's election. In the Selected Works, there is also a description about reactions on proposal of Indira Gandhis name. Just one day after this letter, i.e. on 2 February 1959, Indira Gandhi was declared as elected after S Nijlingappa withdrew from the race and Kumbha Ram Arya's nomination became invalid. The Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru (1 January - 28 February 1959), Second Series, Volume 46 is edited by Prof Madhavan Palat, who is the Trustee of Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund. The book is the collection of archival documents and primary sources about Nehru. This book is a Part of the Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru series.
HAMID ANSARI RELEASED BOOK ENTITLED GHALIB & HIS TIMES

Ghalib & His Times by Ghalib Institute Book entitled Ghalib & His Times was released by the Vice President of India M. Hamid Ansari on 23 August 2013 at a function organised in New Delhi. The book has been brought out by the Ghalib Institute. The book portrays history through photographs and is a very valuable book for all to know the contemporary history.
ABOUT GHALIB INSTITUTE

Ghalib Institute was established in the year 1969 at New Delhi. Since establishment, the institute has endeavored to acquire and preserve illustrations about Ghalibs life and times and his eminent contemporaries. The Ghalib Institute is housed in the Aiwan-e-Ghalib and has had a two-pronged approach in popularising and promoting Ghalib's works in the literary spheres as well as in the cultural arena. The Institute publishes the well-known six-month research journal Ghalib Nama and a large number of research publications on Ghalib and his other eminent contemporaries. The library of the Institute contains rare manuscripts and important publications.
MY JOURNEY: TRANSFORMING DREAMS INTO ACTIONS BY KALAM

My Journey: Transforming Dreams into Actions by former President of India, Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam My Journey: Transforming Dreams into Actions by former President of India, Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (APJ Abdul Kalam, for short) was launched in the month of August 2013 by the Rupa Publication.
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WHAT DOES THE BOOK INCLUDE?
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The book focuses on series of anecdotes and profiles of determination, courage as well as desire to excel of APJ Abdul Kalam. In his book, Dr. Kalam talked about lessons which he learnt from interaction with the people. The book describes about accounts of Dr. Kalam in the small town nearby the Bay of Bengal. It also focuses on the struggles of the former president in becoming the scientist and then the President of India. In his book, Dr. Kalam wrote about his dejection as well as failures and that how he overcame these failures.
KEY FEATURES OF MY JOURNEY: TRANSFORMING DREAMS INTO ACTIONS

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam is among the most respected public figures of India. He authored various best-selling titles in India. My Journey: Transforming Dreams into Actions is yet another book written by him. My Journey: Transforming Dreams into Actions is first book authored by him which draws inspiration from the personal stories of his own life. The book describes about those events of his life which are not known to a lot of people. The book has an appeal for not just the old readers, but also the younger ones. The target audience is also the youth and students. The book primarily also describes that he wanted to be a part of Indian Air Force, but could not pursue his dream in flying career.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR- DR. APJ ABDUL KALAM

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was born on 15 October 1931 at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu. He specialised in Aeronautical Engineering from Madras Institute of Technology. He is one among the most distinguished scientists of India. He is a recipient of numerous awards such as the Padma Bhushan (1981), the Padma Vibhushan (1990) and India's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna (1997). He became the 11th President of India on 25 July 2002.
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Current Affairs eBook August 2013 GITANJALI COLLECTION OF POEMS RELEASED IN 14 LANGUAGES
Gitanjali: Collection of poems (song offerings) by Rabindranath Tagore
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Gitanjali, the collection of poems (song offerings) by Rabindranath Tagore was released in 14 different languages at Kolkata by Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal on 8 August 2013.
ABOUT GITANJALI
Gitanjali for the first time was published in 1913 and is a collection of 157 poems The English version of Gitanjali that is known as the Song Offerings is a collection of 103 English poems. These were self translated by Tagore and was published by the Indian Society of London. The English version contained translations of 53 poems from the original Bengali Gitanjali, as well as 50 other poems from Tagore's drama Achalayatan and eight other books of poetry 17 poems were taken from Gitimalya, 15 from Naivedya and 11 from Kheya. Gitanjali is composed from two words Git that means song and Anjali that means offering, thus as a whole it means an offering of songs.
In 1913, Tagore became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, largely for the English Gitanjali.
THE MOONBALLER BOOK BY NIRUPAMA VAIDYANATHAN LAUNCHED

The Moonballer: Nirupama Vaidyanathan Nirupama Sanjeev (Vaidyanathan), the former Tennis Player from India on 5 August 2013 released her book, The Moonballer. The book was launched by the tennis ace Vijay Amritraj in Chennai. The book elaborates her story in a crisp manner and has tried to expose people and their selfcentred approach.
ABOUT NIRUPAMA VAIDYANATHAN

At present she is based on US and runs a Tennis Academy in Bay Area, California. Nirupama Vaidyanathan (36) represented the country in SAF Games, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and the Sydney Olympics apart from the Fed Cup She turned professional at the age of 18 and started playing mainly in Europe
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She has also won the Bronze Medal at the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games in Mixed Doubles, partnering Mahesh Bhupathi Nirupama has been on the expert commentary team along with Indian tennis legend Vijay Amritraj for the four Grand Slams She represented India to play in the Commonwealth Games 2010 and in Asian games in Guangzhou
AGENDA FOR I NDIAS GROWTH

An Agenda for Indias Growth: Essays Essays in Honour of P. Ch idambaram The book entitled An Agenda for Indias Growth: Essays in Honour of P. Chidambaram, was released in New Delhi on 31 July 2013 by Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh. The book, which is edited by Sameer Kochhar of the Skoch Foundation, encompasses various excellent essays by well known distinguished experts. In the book, all the authors dated their association with P. Chidambaram from 1991, when he was the Minister of Commerce as well as a key reformer initiating trade policy reform. In one essay of this book, Montek Ahluwalia gave detailed account of P. Chidambarams role in trade policy reforms of 1991. During that time, he was the Commerce Secretary of Chidambaram.
IMPORTANT DATES
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE VICTIMS OF ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
30 August: International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances 30 August was declared as the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances by the UN General Assembly expressing its concern by the increase in the number of involuntary or enforced disappearances in different parts of the world. The UN General Assembly declared this day by its resolution 65/209, on 21 December 2010. The UN General Assembly, by this same resolution also welcomed the adoption of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. The involuntary or enforced disappearances are a result of abduction, detention or arrest or other factors or reasons. Also, there are growing numbers of reports which include ill-
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treatment, harassment as well as intimidation of the witnesses of these disappearances or of the persons or the relatives who have disappeared.
WHAT IS ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE?

Enforced disappearance has been used a lot in order to spread the terror in the societies. This gives the feeling of insecurity within a society. Enforced disappearance not just affects the disappeared person or the relatives and witnesses, but also the cumulative society. Enforced disappearance is a global-level issue and is not restricted to a few areas of the world. Initially, enforced disappearance was a product of the military dictatorship but now it has also entered into situations of internal conflict, primarily the political repression of the opponents.
MAJOR CONCERNS OF ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE

The major concerns of enforced disappearance include: Ongoing harassment of the relatives of the victims, legal counsel, witnesses as well as human rights defenders Use by the States of counter-terrorist activities as excuse of breaching the obligation Widespread impunity of the enforced disappearances Target groups include people with disabilities as well as children
WHAT IS DONE ON THE DAY?

Every year on 30 August, the organisations like Amnesty International and United Nations play a pivotal role in creating awareness about enforced disappearance. Awareness is raised regarding enforced disappearance as a crime. It is explained to the people that enforced disappearance should not be used as tool for dealing with the situations of conflicts. On this day, at various places, the activists share the personal stories as well as experiences about enforced disappearance through the public event as well as media. The victims of enforced disappearance are brought out openly to share their stories and experiences.
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Current Affairs eBook August 2013 EARTH OVERSHOOT DAY OBSERVED ON 20 AUGUST 2013
20 August: Earth Overshoot Day 2013
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The Earth Overshoot Day for the year 2013 was observed on 20 August 2013. The day is an approximate calendar date on which humanity exhausted nature's budget for the year. The date changes every year according to the consumption of resources. The Earth Overshoot Day marks the approximate date our resource consumption for a given year exceeds the planets ability to replenish. From this day on, it would mean that humanity has exhausted the natures budget for the year and we are operating in overdraft. The concept of Earth Overshoot Day was originally developed by Global Footprint Network partner and U.K. think tank New Economics Foundation. It is the annual marker of when we begin living beyond our means in a given year. Earth Overshoot Day helps to measure the gap between our demand for ecological resources and services, and how much the planet can provide. Earth Overshoot Day is calculated from 2007 data (the most recent year for which data are available) and projections based on historical rates of growth in population and consumption, as well as the historical link between world GDP and resource demand.
WHAT IS OVERSHOOT?
For most of human history, humanity has been able to live off of natures interest - consuming resources and producing carbon dioxide at a rate lower than what the planet was able to regenerate and reabsorb each year. Earth Overshoot Day is an estimate, not an exact date. Its not possible to det ermine with 100 percent accuracy the day we bust our ecological budget. Adjustments of the date that we go into overshoot are due to revised calculations, not ecological advances on the part of humanity. Based on current assumptions, Global Footprint Network data now suggests that since 2001, Earth Overshoot Day has been moving three days earlier each year.
WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY DAY CELEBRATED ACROSS THE GLOBE

19 August: World Photography Day The French government announced 19 August as the World Photography Day. The World Photography Day originated from invention of the Daguerreotype, a photographic process which was developed by Joseph Nicphore Nipce and Louis Daguerre.
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The French Academy of Sciences on 9 January 1839 announced about the process of Daguerreotype. On 19 August 1839, the Government of France declared this invention as a gift which was Free to the World. Apart from this process, another process called Calotype was also invented in the year 1839 by William Fox Talbot. Invention of Daguerreotype and Calotype therefore marked 1839 as year in which photography was invented. The date 19 August was chosen to celebrate photography.
FOUNDING OF THE WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY DAY

In the year 2009, Korske Ara, a passionate Australian photographer launched the World Photography Day Project. On 19 August 2010, the first global online gallery of World Photography Day was hosted. The day is celebrated in order to unite global as well as local communities of the photographers.
HISTORY OF THE WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY DAY

The inventor of the first practical process of photography is Louis Daguerre. He presented this process of photography to the public on 19 August 1839 at French Academy of Science in Paris. The process was accepted widely and also gained a lot of popularity, which is why 19 August was declared as the World Photography Day.
INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY- 12 AUGUST

International Youth Day is an awareness day designated by the United Nations to be observed on 12th August every year. This years observance of International Youth Day focuses on the issue of youth migration. The theme for 2013 is Youth Migration: Moving Development Forward. The United Nations General Assembly on 17 December 1999 declared the 12 August as the International Youth Day by endorsing UN resolution 54/120.
ABOUT THE THEME

Young people make up a significant share of the global number of international migrants. In 2010, there were an estimated 27 million international young migrants. While migration can often offer valuable opportunities and contribute to the development of communities and society at large, it can also pose risks and lead to unacceptable situations, including discrimination and exploitation. www.jagranjosh.com
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The 2013 observance of International Youth Day will raise awareness of the opportunities and risks associated with youth migration, share knowledge and information stemming from recent research and analysis on this topic, and engage young people in discussions on their migration experiences.
13 AUGUST DESIGNATED AS THE INTERNATIONAL LEFTHANDERS DAY

13 August: International Lefthanders Day 13 August was designated as the International Lefthanders Day by The Left-Handers Club. First International Lefthanders Day annual event was observed on 13 August 1992.
OBJECTIVE OF THE DAY

The objective of this day is promotion of the awareness regarding the inconveniences faced by left-handers in a largely right-handed world. On this day, the uniqueness as well as differences of Lefthanders is celebrated. It is important to note that Lefthanders comprise of seven to ten percent of the world's population. Lefthanders are discriminated by a lot of people in the world. They are also forced to drive on right side of road as well as use right handed tools. International Lefthanders Day is meant to put an end to discrimination against the Lefthanders. It is very crucial to understand that this day is also targeted towards the left-handed kids. Left-handed people have greater chances of developing schizophrenia than right-handers.
HISTORY OF THE INTERNATIONAL LEFTHANDERS DAY

The Left-Handers Club launched the first annual event of this day on 13 August 1992. The aim of the event was to allow left-handers to celebrate their difference as well as increase the awareness of public towards advantages and disadvantages of being the lefties. The event is now celebrated across the world. In UK alone, there are more than 20 regional events for marking the day.
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HOW IS THE INTERNATIONAL LEFTHANDERS DAY CELEBRATED?
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On this day activities such as, left-handed tea parties, left-v-right sports matches, pubs using left-handed corkscrews as well as pub games with the left hand only are performed. The events like these help in creating awareness about the difficulties faced by the left-handers.
ABOUT THE LEFT-HANDERS CLUB

Formation of the Left-Handers Club took place in the year 1990. The aim of the club was to remain in contact with left-handers and allow the members of the club to know about the developments related to them. The club helped in providing advice as well as help to them by acting as a bridge between them and the manufacturers of the products. The club promoted research in development of new left-handed items as well as development of such items.
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE WORLD'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OBSERVED

9 August: International Day of the World's Indigenous People The world observed the International Day of the World's Indigenous People on 9 August 2013. The theme selected for the year 2013 is Indigenous peoples building alliances: Honouring treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements. The theme aims to highlight the importance of honouring arrangements between States, their citizens and indigenous peoples that were designed to recognize indigenous peoples' rights to their lands and establish a framework for living in proximity and entering into economic relationships. Agreements also outline a political vision of different sovereign peoples living together on the same land, according to the principles of friendship, cooperation and peace.
ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE WORLD'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

In 1994, the General Assembly of United Nations for the first time proclaimed that the International Day of the World's Indigenous People will be celebrated every year during the first International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (1995 2004). In 2004, the second international decade was announced from 2005-2014 and the theme opted for the second decade was A Decade for Action and Dignity. The focus of this year's International Day is Indigenous peoples building alliances: Honouring treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements.
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INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE WORLD'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLE 2013
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The UN Headquarters in New York hosted a special event on this day 9 August 2013 feauring the UN Secretary-General, the Chairperson of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, a delegate of Panama, a representative of the Office of the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, and an indigenous representative that started at 3 pm. On the same day hundreds of indigenous and non-indigenous rowers arrived at Pier 96 at 57th Street in Manhattan. These rowers have travelled thousands of miles on rivers and horsebacks collectively to honour the first treaty the Two Row Wampum concluded between Dutch immigrants and the Haudenosaunee. The Two Row Wampum is a confederacy of six nations, with capital in the Onondaga nation, in NY State that was made 400 years ago, in 1613. Sri Lankan President felicitated tribal community, Veddas on World Indigenous Peoples Day.
DADRA AND NAGAR HAVELI CELEBRATED ITS 60TH LIBERATION DAY

2 August: Liberation Day of Dadra and Nagar Haveli Dadra and Nagar Haveli celebrated its 60th Liberation Day on 2 August 2013. The Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli were liberated from the Portuguese rule.
ABOUT DADRA AND NAGAR HAVELI

Dadra and Nagar Haveli, the Union Territory of India, is situated between or surrounded by Gujarat and Maharashtra. 500 sq kilometer small area that is mostly under forest cover is celebrated the 60th Liberation Day, the day on which it was freed from the Portuguese rule in 1954. Indian Nationalist volunteers had librated Dadra and Nagar Havel and it became centrally administered Union territory from 11 August 1961.
LIBERATION OF DADRA AND NAGAR HAVELI

Dadra and Nagar Haveli were the Portuguese overseas territories, which remained a part of the Portuguese India from 1779 until 1954.These territories remained enclaves, without having accessibility to sea. These were administered by the Portuguese Governor of the Daman district. After India got its independence in the year 1947, the residents of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, along with assistance from volunteers of Azad Gomantak Dal, National Movement Liberation Organisation (NMLO), United Front of Goans (UFG) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, subtracted these territories from the Portuguese India in 1954.
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INTEGRATION OF DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI INTO INDIA
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Despite enjoying the de facto independence, Dadra and Nagar Haveli territories were recognised all over the world as the possessions of the Portuguese. Thereafter, the territory was administered by Varishta Panchayat of Free Dadra and Nagar Haveli from 1954 to 1961. Finally, on 31 December 1974 an official treaty was signed between India and Portugal, which recognised the sovereignty of India over Goa, Daman, Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK OBSERVED

1 to 7 August 2013: World Breastfeeding Week World Breastfeeding week was observed to encourage breastfeeding as the best source of nourishment for babies. The week organised by the WHO and UNICEF is celebrated every year from 1 to 7 August 2013. This year's theme is Breastfeeding Support: Close to Mothers. The World Health Organisation recommends exclusive breastfeeding till a baby is six months old and continue breastfeeding with nutritious complementary foods up to two years or beyond. Across the globe only an estimated 38 per cent of babies are exclusively breastfed for six months. The trend of faltering growth in children begins in critical first two years and a major cause is inappropriate infant and young child feeding practices. Apart from preventing infections in babies, breastfeeding has a protective effect against child obesity and lowers the risk of several chronic conditions including asthma, diabetes and heart diseases in adult life. The National Rural Health Mission is promoting infant and young child feeding practices at the health facility, community outreach and household levels. Although, almost all mothers are physically able to breastfeed, but in many cases, they are misled to believe that they can give their children a better health by commercial substitutes. Efforts continue across the world to eliminate all breast milk substitutes and promote breastfeeding for the well being of newborns and mothers. The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) was formed in 1991 to act on the Innocenti Declaration (1990) to protect, promote and support breastfeeding. This has become to be known as World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) celebrated every 1-7 August to commemorate the Innocenti Declaration. WBW was first celebrated in 1992. Now it involves over 170 countries and is endorsed by UNICEF, WHO, FAO and IPA.
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CIRCLES OF SUPPORT FOR MOTHERS AND CHILDREN
The Five Circles of Support
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Support for breastfeeding illustrates the potential influences on a mother's decision to breastfeed and to have a positive breastfeeding experience. Previously featured during World Breastfeeding Week 2008, the Circles of Support continue to be a vital foundation for mothers to breastfeed their babies, and more. The Circles of Support are: Family and Social Network, Healthcare, Workplace and Employment, Government/ Legislation and Response to Crisis or Emergency, all surrounding women in the center circle. Women in the center circle
Women are in the center because the presence or absence of support impacts them directly. Women also have an important role in securing support and in providing it to others. Within the Global Initiative for Mother Support (GIMS) for Breastfeeding Statement (2007) we noted, 'Mothers are considered active participants in the support dynamic, being both providers and recipients of information and support. Family and Social Network
Husbands/partners/fathers, family and friends compose the mother's immediate and continuous support network. Social support includes community support - at the market place, within a religious context, at a neighbourhood park, etc. Support during pregnancy reduces stress. Support during labour and birth empowers the mother. Societal support increases the mother's confidence in her ability to breastfeed beyond the early weeks and months. Health Care Systems
This includes a multitude of opportunities to support breast feeding. These opportunities range from mother friendly prenatal care and supportive labor and delivery services to postpartum and postnatal care that facilitates bonding and optimal infant feeding. Health workers trained in counseling skills support mothers before and after birth. Workplace and Employment
Employed women face challenges and need support to succeed at working and breastfeeding. The opportunities for mother support are as varied as the work women do, but usually involve facilitating mother-baby contact or expression and storage of breast milk. Government/Legislation
Women who plan to breastfeed or who are already breastfeeding benefit from the support of international documents, protections for optimal infant feeding, plus active and well funded national commissions. Legislation that combats aggressive marketing of breast milk substitutes and enacts paid maternity leave also benefits breastfeeding women.
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Response to Crisis or Emergency
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This Circle of Support represents the need for support IF a woman finds herself in an unexpected and / or serious situation, with little control. Situations that require special planning and support are: natural disasters, refugee camps, and divorce proceedings, critical illness of mother or baby, or living in an area of high HIV/AIDS prevalence with no support for breastfeeding.
REPORTS AND SURVEYS

INDIA BECAME THE WORLD'S THIRD LARGEST INTERNET USER
Global digital measurement and analytics comScore stated in its report that India is the worlds third largest Internet user after China and USA. At present, India has almost 74 million Internet users which is a 31 percent increase over March 2012. Significantly, three-fourths of its online population is under 35. The numbers are lower than other recent estimates, possibly reflecting comScores methodology that only factors in PC and laptop-based Internet usage.The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) registered the number of Internet subscribers in India at 164.81 million on 31 March 2013. Seven out of eight users were accessing the Internet from their mobile phones. While the comScore report puts mobile and tabled-based Internet traffic at just 14 percent of the total. Mobile phone based Internet usage is a major component of Indian Internet usage.
GOVT FAILED TO SPEND A SINGLE PENNY FROM RAPE RELIEF FUND

A CAG report tabled in the Parliament on 13 August 2013 concluded that the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) failed to spend a single rupee between 2009 and 2012 from the Relief to and Rehabilitation of Rape Victims. The CAG report stated that the entire provision of 239.02 crore rupees allocated during 20092012 remained unutilized because the Planning Commission of India (PCI) withheld its formal approval to the new scheme. Earlier, the Committee of Secretaries approved the Relief to and Rehabilitation of Rape Victims Scheme in March 2006. The scheme was approved following the direction of Supreme Court of India to constitute a board to compensate financial losses suffered by rape victims. The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development for the first time circulated the draft note for the Expenditure Finance Committee approval in July 2010 delaying it by four years. A budget allocation of 59 crore rupees, 40 crore rupees and 140 crore rupees were earmarked by the Union Finance Ministry for the years 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12, respectively. But the use of the allocated budget fall a prey to the blockage between the Union Ministry of www.jagranjosh.com
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Women and Child Development and the plan panel. The blockage between the WCD and Commission was created to make a decision on the nature of the scheme. The WCD wanted it to be a central scheme with states and the Centre contributing equally, whereas, the Planning Commission wanted the disbursement to be done to the states as assistance from the centre. Failure in spending a single rupee allocated for the Relief to and Rehabilitation of Rape Victims was among the three other women-oriented schemes, where the Government has failed in spending. The other two schemes highlighted by the CAG, where zero investments were made were Swayamsidha scheme for formation of self-help groups and the Rashtriya Mahila Kosh for creating a national credit fund to finance self-help groups. The Swayamsidha Scheme was allocated 28 crore rupees, whereas, Rashtriya Mahila Kosh scheme received 115 crore rupees.
83% BIHAR HOUSEHOLDS DIDN'T GET EMPLOYMENT UNDER MGNREGS

A special report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in Bihar has revealed that a total of 83 percent households in the state did not get the employment of 100 days under the scheme. CAG studied 15 districts as sample out of 38 districts of Bihar and found that maximum 17 percent households were provided with 100 day jobs during 2007-2012 (period of 11th Five Year Plan). Of the fifteen sample districts, Madhubani stood at the last position with employment generation rate of below one percent and Begusarai topped in the list with seven percent employment. The agency also recorded a decreasing trend in job offering from a sharp drop from 75 percent in 2007-08 to 20 percent in 2011-12. It also noted that of all the registered population for the scheme just one to seven percent were provided 100 days employment. The agency also noted that 76.42 man-days of work could not be created in Bihar because of certain irregularities, which included non-release or delay in release of funds, non-payment of wages, unspent amount of grant, excess consumption of material over wages and few problems at local level. There were several loopholes and weaknesses on part of project implementation starting from planning, execution, fund management, monitoring and training in implementation of MGNREGS and grievance redressal mechanism in the State. In the survey a sample of 1997 beneficiaries, there existed problems at different levels like fixation of photographs on job cards. About 37 percent job cards had no photographs, apart from this multiple job cards were issued to the same household. In about 26 percent cases, the payment of wages that was entered on the job cards didn't matched with the amount credited to their accounts. Also, wages were deposited in the personal accounts of the working agencies first and further given via cheques which were dropped due to lack of balance in the accounts of the agencies.
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LANGUAGE USE IN THE UNITED STATES: 2011, REPORT RELEASED

The US Census Bureau Report released on 6 August 2013 revealed that 6.5 lakh people in the US speak Hindi, while over 8 lakh people speak various regional Indian languages. The report, titled Language Use in the United States: 2011, details the number of people speaking languages other than English at home and their ability to speak English, by selected social and demographic characteristics. The report shows South Asian languages have registered a substantial growth rate in the past decade. The report revealed that South Asian languages in particular experienced high levels of growth. The South Asian languages, Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil grew by 115 per cent, and Hindi grew by 105 per cent. Punjabi, Bengali, and Marathi grew by 86 percent. The slowest growing South Asian languages were Gujarati (52 per cent) and Urdu (42 per cent) In addition to English and Spanish, there were six languages in 2011 spoken at home by at least one million people. They are Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, French, German and Korean. According to the census, as many as 648983 residents of the United States speak Hindi, with Urdu and Gujarati being spoken by 373851 and 358422 people respectively. As many as 815345 Americans speak other Indic languages. The data, taken from the American Community Survey, shows that more than half (58 per cent) of US residents older than 5 years who speak a language other than English at home, also speak English very well.
This study provides evidence of the growing role of languages other than English in the US national fabric.
EMPLOYMENT-UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG MAJOR RELIGIONS IN INDIA

A National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) study revealed in July 2013 that the Christians from the rural areas as well as the Sikhs from urban areas faced highest level of unemployment during 2009-2010, just a year after the global economic crisis. The study was conducted for a period from July 2009 to June 2010. This was the 66th round of National Sample Survey in order to find out about the employment and unemployment situation among major religious groups in India.
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The survey studied the Unemployment Rate. The Rate of Unemployment, also known as Unemployment Rate is defined as the number of persons unemployed per 1000 in labour force. The survey covered 7402 villages as well as 5252 urban areas, thereby including 100957 households and 4.59 lakh people.
MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SURVEY

The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) study unveiled that the rate of unemployment in rural India from July 2009 to June 2010 was less than that in the urban areas. This trend indicated that the economic crisis had major impact on the organised sector of urban areas than the rural areas. The 8th quinquennial survey on employment revealed that the rate of unemployment in rural areas was the highest among Christians (3 percent among men and 6 percent among women). In the urban areas, this rate of unemployment was highest among the Sikhs (6 percent among men and 8 percent among women). Among four categories of the workers, i.e., rural females, rural males, urban females and urban males; the urban females were the worst affected with 6 percent unemployment rate. The survey also revealed that maximum number of employed in the rural areas was those who were self-employed. 54 percent of males as well as 56 percent of females were found in this category of unemployed. As far as the rural male workers were concerned, the level of self employment was highest for the Sikhs (55 percent), followed by the Hindus (54 percent). Among the Christians in rural areas, 17 percent of male and 11 percent of female workers were regular wage or salaried employed. In the urban areas, most of the workers were almost equally involved in regular wage or salaried employed as well as in the category of self employment. The proportion of the workers in self employment category was highest among Muslims, followed by the Sikhs. In case of urban Christians, major portion of male workers (45 percent) and female workers (61 percent) were involved in regular wage or salaried employment. Among the urban Hindus, 44 percent of males as well as 40 percent of females belonged to regular wage or salaried employment category. The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) was higher among the male workers than among the female workers in all the religions. The difference was greater in the urban areas.
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The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) is the number of persons employed per 1000. The male-female differential in WPR was at its lowest among the Christians. WPR was highest among Christians in all categories covered by the survey, except among the urban males. Among the Urban Males, WPR of Hindus was higher. The survey also found that in the rural areas, majority of the male workers were from not literate category (28 percent) or the literate and up to primary category (28 percent). Majority of the female workers were from not literate category (59 percent). Proportion of the male workers with the general education level, i.e., secondary and above was highest among the Christians (32 percent) followed by the Sikhs (30 percent).
ABOUT THE NATIONAL SAMPLE SURVEY

The National Sample Survey is an all-India quinqueiinial survey on employment and unemployment in India, which was carried out during the period July 2009 to June 2010 as a part or the 66th round of the National Sample Survey (NSS). In the National Sample Survey, information on various facets of employment and unemployment in India, as well as the individual characteristics associated with household members such as age, level of general and technical education attained, current attendance in educational institutions as well as vocational training received was collected at the national and state level. Based on the entire data collected, estimates pertaining to employment and unemployment situation of people belonging to different religious groups in India with different characteristics were studied. The religions included Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism and Others (Jainism, Buddhism and Zoroastrians)
COMMITTEES AND COMMISSIONS

ONE-MAN COMMISSION APPOINTED TO PROBE KISHTWAR CLASHES
The Jammu and Kashmir government on 24 August 2013 appointed a one-man commission of inquiry headed by Justice (retired) RC Gandhi, J&K High court to probe the Kishtwar communal clashes. The clashes had occurred on 9 August 2013 in which three persons died and dozens others were injured. The commission was appointed in exercise of the powers conferred by section 3 of the Jammu & Kashmir Commission of Inquiry Act, 1962. The terms of reference for the commission include enquiring into the circumstances which led to the violence and arson and the consequent loss of life and property in district Kishtwar.
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The commission will do enquiry into the administrative lapses which led to communal clashes and find the culprits responsible for acts of violence, arson and the loss of life and property.The commission shall perform all the necessary functions and submit its report to the Government within a period of one month from the date of issue of this notification. The government also issued a separate order disbanding the one-man commission of inquiry which was headed by divisional commissioner Jammu Shantmanu.
EGOM FORMED TO ENSURE IMPLEMENTATION OF POWER PROJECTS

The Union Government of India on 21 August 2013 constituted an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) to quickly resolve the infrastructural issues and to ensure speedy implementation of power projects in the northeastern states. The information about the constitution of the EGoM was stated by Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Jyotiraditya Scindia while he addressed the Consultative Committee of Members of Parliament for the Ministry of Power in New Delhi. At present 94 power projects are pending in the country for clearance from Environment and other ministries. According to Power Ministry, clearance of all these projects from different ministries will help in adding another 37000 MW power in the country. Jyotiraditya Scindia also informed that the Power Ministry has been conducting frequent meetings with different ministries like Coal, Environment and Water Resources for speedy execution of these projects.
COMMITTEE ON ILLEGAL SAND MINING SUBMITTED ITS REPORT

The three member committee that was constituted by the Union Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) ) to enquire into the Adverse Environmental impact of the alleged illegal sand mining in Gautam Budh Nagar of Uttar Pradesh submitted its report to the Government on 9 August 2013. The constituted three member committee was headed by Dr. Saroj the director of MoEF. The other two members were K K Garg, Director of the MoEF's regional office in Lucknow and G C Meena, Deputy Collector of Mines at the Dehradun-based Indian Bureau of Mines. Earlier, a three-member committee to enquire into the allegations of illegal sand mining in Gautam Buddh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh was constituted by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest on 6 August 2013. The committee was asked to submit its report by 9 August 2013. Comment: The formation of the committee by MoEF and enquiry everything happened following the actions of Durga Sakthi Nagpal, the IAS officer against illegal sand miners who were allegedly involved in such activities under political support. Nagpal was suspended by the Uttar Pradesh Government on 27 July 2013 although the State Government cleared that her suspension was a result of her orders for demolition of wall of an under-construction mosque.
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SPACE AND SCIENCE

MEMORIAL SPACEFLIGHT SERVICES OF THE ELYSIUM SPACE
Elysium Space, the new San Francisco-based company founded by Thomas Civeit, the former NASA engineer, offered to send the cremated remains of deceased into the space. Thomas Civeit worked with the Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope and the Huygens interplanetary probe on the NASA mission. The Elysium Space will enable the clients to place certain portion of deceaseds ashes in the special capsule, which in turn would be sent into the orbit through Elysium spacecraft for a Memorial Spaceflight. The specially designed application will even enable the people to see the remains of deceased by following the progress of the rocket. The remains would be visible to people even after the capsule has been sent to the space. The Elysium flight is booked online and is the cheapest available space flight till now. The cost of this flight is 1995 US dollar. At present, the booking is open only for the US.
ABOUT THE MEMORIAL SPACEFLIGHT SERVICES OF THE ELYSIUM SPACE

Elysium Space memorial spaceflights launch the portion of departed peoples ashes into the space. The launch is scheduled for 2014. This launch will take place at the Cape Canaveral launch facility in Florida. The services offered under Memorial Spaceflight include: Collection as well as launch of the cremated remains samples in the space Printing of the initials on the capsule which will contain the remains Personal messages will be printed on the memorial spacecraft Elysium Space will invite people to the launch viewing event The certificate which attests the completion of the memorial spaceflight will be offered
ONE LAKH PEOPLE APPL IED TO GO TO MARS: MARS ONE PROJECT

Mars one in the first week of August 2013 announced that more than one lakh people have applied for a one-way trip the Mars (the red planet). The applications have been filed by people as part of the multi-million dollar project that aims at creation of colonies on Mars. The Mars One Project is scheduled to be started in 2022. Bas Lansdorp is the CEO and co-founder of Mars One.
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ABOUT APPLICATION PROCESS
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A person who is 18 years in age or more can apply for the tour to the Red Planet. The fees for the travel depend upon the nationality of the applicants. The price for applicants from different nationality is being decided on the basis of the gross domestic product per capita of each nation, for US citizens its 38 US dollars.
ABOUT THE MISSION

Mars One is a not-for-profit foundation that will establish a permanent human settlement on Mars in 2023. Human settlement on Mars is possible today with existing technologies. Mars One mission plan integrates components that are well tested and readily available from industry leaders worldwide. The first footprint on Mars and lives of the crew thereon will captivate and inspire generations; it is this public interest that will help finance his human mission to Mars. The mission design takes into account the expansion of the human colony where a new crew arrives every two years.
EXPENSES TO BE MADE BY
The Mars One mission will cost about 6 billion US dollars. As per the company the cost of travel has been kept low because they want the funds to be collected by the sponsors and media that will take away its broadcasting rights and movies that will document almost everything from the astronauts and their training on earth and about the deployment and colonisation of Mars. As far as the first crew is concerned, the mission will cost USD 6 billion, Lansdorp said. Mars one Project is set to select a group of 40 astronauts from different continents by the end of 2013. Four astronauts from the group that will comprise of two men and two women will leave for mars in September 2022. They will land on Mars in April 2023. In 2025, one more group will be sent, but as per the plan none of the people sent to Mars will return back. Before sending the astronauts to Mars, they will have to undergo an eight year training in which they will be taught how to repair habitat structures, grow vegetables in confined spaces and address "both routine and serious medical issues such as dental upkeep, muscle tears and bone fractures. With every lander of the mission, 5511 pounds of useful loads will be sent on
NASA TO LAUNCH NEXT MARS MISSION FROM FLORIDA CALLED MAVEN

NASA is all set to launch its next mission to Mars in November 2013 and the spacecraft has already arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A US Air Force C-17 cargo plane delivered the Lockheed Martin Corp. built Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft from the Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colorado on 2 August 2013. Over the weekend, the (MAVEN project) team confirmed the spacecraft arrived in good condition. They www.jagranjosh.com
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removed the spacecraft from the shipping container and secured it to a rotation fixture in the clean room. In the next week, the team will re-assemble components previously removed for transport. Further checks prior to launch will include software tests, spin balance tests, and test deployments of the spacecraft's solar panels and booms. According to NASA, the mission will be dedicated to surveying the upper atmosphere of Mars in an effort to understand the role that the loss of atmospheric gas to space played in changing the climate of Mars. MAVEN is scheduled to lift off in November to begin a 10-month voyage to Mars. It has a 20day launch period that opens on 18 November 2013.
CURIOSITY ROVER CELEBRATED FIRST ANNIVERSARY ON PLANET MARS

NASAs Curiosity rover celebrated its first anniversary on Mars on 6 August 2013. Curiosity rover had landed on Mars one year ago o this date. It has already achieved its mission aim by discovering that Mars could have supported life.
THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF CURIOSITY ROVER ARE AS FOLLOWING

Curiosity has travelled one mile and it has provided more than 190 gigabits of data and returned more than 36700 full images since the time of landing on Mars. Curiosity is about the size of a small car. It is also sending back information about its surroundings to inform future missions to Mars. The rover has travelled almost 700 metres in the past month since leaving an area of Mars where it has been analysing rocks for around six months.
It is now rolling along to its final destination, Mount Sharp where it will observe the lower layers of the mountain that towers over the centre of Gale Crater by almost three and a half miles. Mount Sharp is important for scientists because its layers of rock can reveal information about the planet's changing environment over time.
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MICRO-SATELLITE PICO DRAGON TO INT. SPACE STATION LAUNCHED

Vietnam's micro-satellite Pico Dragon, together with three other such US satellites, was sent to ISS (International Space Station) by Japan's Kounotori-4 (HTV-4) cargo spacecraft .The two-stage H-2B rocket carrying the HTV-4 ship lifted on 3 August 2013, initiating a five-day journey to the habitable artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. Pico Dragon is programmed to capture images of the earth, collect space environment data and test communication systems, said the report, quoting sources from the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology. The satellite is planned to stay at the ISS for two-three months before going into space. In May this year, Vietnam's first remote sensing satellite - VNREDSat-1 - was launched into orbit from the Kourou launch pad in French Guiana.
WORLD'S FIRST TALKING ROBOT KIROBO SENT INTO SPACE

Worlds first talking robot Kirobo was successfully sent into space on 4 August 2013 by Japanese Scientists. The robot was sent by H2B rocket from the island of Tanegashima. The rocket carried food, water and other supplies. Kirobo will serve as a companion for Japanese astronauts. Kirobo was put through a series of zero-gravity and other safety tests prior to sending him into space. Kirobo is 34 centimetres tall and can speak Japanese. It will provide emotional support for people in space.
THE MAIN FEATURES OF KIROBO ARE AS FOLLOWING

Kirobo will talk to JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata when he arrives at the space station in November 2012. The name of Kirobo is a merging of Kibo and robot. Kirobo was designed by scientists and engineers at the University of Tokyo. It is equipped with voice-recognition and face-recognition technology, as well as a camera, emotion recognition software and natural language processing.
PLACES IN NEWS
SINGAPORE TO HOST SECOND SOUTH ASIAN DIASPORA CONVENTION
Singapore: The second South Asian Diaspora Convention will be hosted here. The second South Asian Diaspora Convention (SADC) will be hosted by Singapore. The event will be organised by The Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) on 21-23 November 2013 and it will be on the theme of Connecting Global South Asians.
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The institute is part of the National University of Singapore. During the convention prominent personalities will discuss critical issues that will shape South Asia's future and its role in global geopolitics in the 21st century. The inaugural SADC event in 2011 was very well received with close to 1000 delegates. This year we expect to welcome over 1500 delegates from around the globe. Besides business and politics, the sessions will also delve into the fields of journalism, arts, culture, and sports. Singapore's President Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam will be the Guest-of-Honour at the SADC gala dinner.
ABU DHABI MONTH LAUNCHED IN NEW DELHI

Select Citywalk Mall, New Delhi: Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority along with TUI, the leading leisure travel companies of the world, teamed up for staging one-month long destination campaign called Abu Dhabi Month, in New Delhi in order to boost the number of Indian visitors to UAE.
PRIMARY FEATURES OF ABU DHABI MONTH CAMPAIGN

This is the first large-scale consumer focused activation campaign in order to rope in overseas guests to the Emirate. The campaign will run throughout August 2013 in dedicated TUI flagship store at Select Citywalk Mall, New Delhi. There will be a range of marketing as well as online activations staged, which will also include in-store branding and Abu Dhabi banners on TUI website.
TOURISM SCENARIO OF INDIANS IN ABU DHABI

The most important development in this regard has been enhanced air access from India to Abu Dhabi after the Jet-Etihad deal. Abu Dhabi is seen as a preferred holiday destination by the Indians.
In first six months of the year 2013, around 80179 Indians stayed in 145 hotels as well as hotel apartments of Abu Dhabi. This was an increase of 22 percent from 2012. These Indians accounted for a total of 334238 guest nights, which is an increase of 43 percent from 2012. They stayed on an average of 4.17 nights, which is an increase of 17 percent.
STREET IN WINNIPEG NAMED AFTER MAHATMA GANDHI

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2013. The street was named Honorary Mahatma Gandhi Way, after the name of Mahatma Gandhi. The street was named so on the occasion of Indias 67th Independence Day. The Mayor of Winnipeg Sam Katz explained that the street was named so after an individual who is synonymous with the struggle for human rights. He explained that Mahatma Gandhi was a symbolic figure and so the street was named after him. It is worth noticing here that the name of Mahatma Gandhi was initially set aside for a street in Transcona. However the request from the Mahatma Gandhi Centre asked for the naming of street near the museum
MELIA BRAND OF HOTELS IN SPAIN UNVEILED 1 ST TWITTER HOTEL

Majorca, Spain: The Melia brand of hotels of Spain, in the third week of August 2013 unveiled the new Social Wave House (also called new Sol Wave House) in vacation resort island of Majorca as the first Twitter Hotel of the world. The unique feature of the hotel is that it amalgamates the real as well as virtual worlds for creating a completely new experience.
SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE SOCIAL WAVE HOUSE (THE TWITTER HOTEL)

The Social Wave House allows everyone in the hotel to connect to their own social community for meeting, interacting, having fun, experiencing, flirting, tweeting as well as much more. The hotel also has the dedicated Twitter Party Suite and Twitter concierge which include concierge assistance during visitors stay in the hotel. The guests can communicate with the check-in desk as well as hotel staff through #SocialWave hashtag. The room service, drink by pool or other services can be requested by making use of the hashtag (#). The official Twitter account of the hotel, @SolWaveHouse, at present has 950 followers. The guests are allowed to register by making use of their Twitter accounts. The Wi-Fi network of the hotel can be accessed by making use of the mobile devices. The rooms of the hotel have been designed in blue-and-white dcor in order to match the Twitters colour scheme. The minibar fridges in the rooms of the hotel can be restocked by tweeting #FillMyFridge request to the Twitter concierge.
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Guests checking into one of the four suites are greeted with blue balloons, liquorice in the shape of the hash symbol and champagne. The target audience of the hotel is primarily youth. The services of the hotel are geared around mobile telephony, beach and music.
XV WORLD POLICE & FIRE GAMES 2013 ORGANISED IN BELFAST

Belfast, Northern Ireland: XV World Police & Fire Games 2013 ongoing from 1 August 2013 to 10 August 2013. XV World Police & Fire Games 2013 started from 1 August 2013 at Belfast, Northern Ireland. These games will be held till 10 August 2013. At these games, Indian Police Team displayed strong performance and won 8 Gold, 4 Silver and 4 Bronze medals.
THE WINNERS WERE

Name of the Event Athletics Name of the Player Ravinder Rautela, Uttarakhand Police S.Sini, Kerala Police Medal Won Gold medal in 1500 meters run for Men Gold Medal in 200 meters run for Women Silver Medal in 5000 meters run for Men Silver Medal in 1500 metres run for Men Silver Medal in 5000 meters race-walk for Women Bronze Medal in 100 meters sprint for Men Bronze Medal in Hammer throw for women
Athletics
Athletics
Mukesh Rawat, Uttarakhand Police Chinchu Jose, Kerala Police
Athletics
Athletics
Anuradhapura Singh
Athletics
Rahul G. Pillai, Kerala Police
Athletics
Neha Singh, CISF
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Athletics Tajinder of Punjab Police
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Silver Medal in hammer throw for Men Gold Medal in 1500 meters freestyle for Men Gold medal in the Mens 400 metres free style Gold medal in the Mens 200 metres individual medley Gold Medal in 100 meters freestyle swim for Men Gold Medal in 4 x 50 meters Mens Medley Relay
Swimming
Mandar A Divase, BSF
Swimming
Mandar A Divase, BSF
Swimming
Mandar A Divase , BSF
Swimming
M Tulasi Chaitanya, AP Police
Swimming
Mandar A Divase, M Tulasi Chaitanya, Rajbir Singh and Rohit Kumar M Tulasi Chaitanya, AP Police
Swimming
Silver Medal in Mens100 meters backstroke Bronze Medal in 100 meters back-stroke event Gold medal in Mens 4 x 50 metres free style relay
Swimming
Rajbir Singh, Punjab Police
Swimming
Mandar Anand Divase of BSF, Rohit Kumar of CRPF, Rajvir Singh of Punjab Police and Tulse Chetanya of Andhra Pradesh Police Rajvir Singh
Swimming
Silver Medal in Mens 50 metres butterfly Gold Medal in Under 52 Kgs Category Gold Medal in 63 Kgs
Judo
T.H.Kalpana Devi, ITBP
Judo
L. Nirupama, CRPF
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Category Judo C.H. Jina Devi, SSB
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Gold Medal in 78 Kgs category Bronze Medal in 90 Kgs weight category
Judo
Avatar Singh, Punjab Police
ABOUT THE WORLD POLICE AND FIRE GAMES

The World Police and Fire Games are 3rd largest International multi sport event in the world. These events are held in European continent for first time. These games are organised by the World Police and Fire Games Federation since 1989. The games are open to all working and retired Police and Fire Department personnel from all over the world. Over 7400 athletes as well as sportspersons are participating at the ongoing Belfast Games. From the Indian contingent side, 24 men as well as 15 women police sports persons are taking part in various events such as athletics, archery, boxing, judo, swimming and wrestling.
TERMS AND ABBREVIATION

TYPHOON TRAMI AFFECTED 3.61 LAKH PEOPLE IN CHINA
Typhoon Trami affected 3.61 lakh people in central Hunan Province of China. Trami made landfall in Fuqing City, Fujian Province on 22 august 2013 and weakened to a tropical depression in neighboring Jiangxi Province. It is the 12th typhoon hitting China. The typhoon brought rainstorms mainly to the southeastern and eastern parts of Hunan, with a township in the city of Zixing receiving the largest rainfall of 281.6 mm. The rains caused destruction in 14 counties, cities and districts, affecting 3. Meanwhile, 13,350 hectares of crops were damaged and 150 houses were damaged. Affecting 3.61 lakh local residents and forcing 30,900 of them to evacuate.
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Current Affairs eBook August 2013 HUMAN TO HUMAN TRANSMISSION OF H7N9 BIRD FLU VIRUS
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The Chinese researchers on 6 August 2013 reported about the first case of the human-tohuman transmission of the H7N9 bird flu that has emerged in China. A 32 year-old-woman was infected with while caring for her father, who was suffering from the virus. The genetic test of the virus samples of the two patients conducted to identify the type of virus also revealed that they were almost identical. This is the first reported case of the humanto-human transmission of the H7N9 virus, other than its transmission via bird. Until June 2013, 133 cases of H7N9 bird flu were reported in eastern China along with 43 deaths caused due to the virus. Scientists and researchers feared for a long time that the virus may mutate itself to a level, where it can create an ability of being transmitted from human-to-human. The report was published in a British Medical Journal. A report published in the US Journal, Science in its May 2013 edition stated that the H7N9 strain can spread among the mammals, generally ferrets and can also affect the humans under same conditions. The H7 influenza virus generally comprises of a group that circulates among birds and H7N9 forms a subgroup that was never found in Humans, before the Chinese outbreak. Other bird flu viruses that have resulted in human-to-human transmission include H5N1 and H7N7. None of the two viruses were able to mutate itself into an easily spreadable form.
ABOUT H7N9 BIRD FLU VIRUS

H7N9 is a serotype of the species Influenza virus A (Avian Influenza Virus also known as Bird Flu Virus). Avian influenza A H7 viruses normally circulate amongst avian populations with some variants known to occasionally infect humans. An outbreak of human infections with a New Avian Influenza A (H7N9) virus for the first time was reported in China by the World Health Organization on 1 April 2013. The virus was detected in poultry in China as well. Many of the people infected with H7N9 reported contact with poultry.
WHAT IS SEROTYPE?
Serotype or serovar is a distinct variation within a species of bacteria or viruses or among immune cells of different individuals.
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PHUBBING: THE TERM THAT DEFINES ANTI-SOCIAL ACT OF PHONE USE

Phubbing: the act of snubbing someone in a social setting by looking at your phone instead of paying attention. Phubbing is the new term coined to highlight the anti-social phone use. Phubbing is defined as the act of snubbing someone in a social setting by looking at your phone instead of paying attention. The term was coined by the internationalStop Phubbing Campaign Group. The Stop Phubbing Campaign was started by Alex Haigh (23) from Melbourne. The campaign has also mentioned the Disturbing Phubbing Stats and they are: If Phubbing were a Plague it would decimate 6 Chinas On an average a restaurant will see 36 cases of phubbing per dinner session (which is eual to spending 570 days alone, while in company of others) 97 percent of people claim that their food tasted worse while being a victim of Phubbing 92 percent of repeat phubbers go on to become politicians 87 percent of teens can communicate via text, than face-to-face The majority of Phubbers use their phone to a) Make a status update b) Text someone better than you c) Purchase music d) Google chuch Norris e) Play games f) Search for a laundramat g) LOL at a joke when that isnt yours
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Current Affairs eBook August 2013 SPECIAL NATIONAL INVESTMENT FUND APPROVED BY CCEA
SNIF: Special National Investment Fund
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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 2 August 2013 approved creation of the Special National Investment Fund (SNIF) for the specific objective of meeting the minimum public shareholding of 10 percent requirement in the following six Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs). i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. Andrew Yule & Company Ltd. Fertilizers & Chemicals (Travancore) Ltd. Hindustan Photo Films Manufacturing Co. Ltd. HMT Ltd. ITI Ltd. Scooters India Ltd.
Since these Companies were not financially sound, it was found difficult to meet the minimum public shareholding by following SEBI approved methods. However, Government was keen to comply with the requirement in all Government Companies. The Department of Disinvestment discussed the matter with SEBI and has proposed to meet the minimum public shareholding in the above six Companies.
THE SALIENT FEATURES OF THE FUND ARE

i. The number of shares that is required to make the six Companies compliant with the minimum public shareholding will be transferred to the Special National Investment Fund out of Government of India shareholding on irrevocable basis without any consideration. The Fund will be managed by independent professional Fund Managers. The Fund will sell the shares within a period of 5 years. The funds realized from the sale of shares would be used for social sector schemes of the Government. The modalities of the sale of shares in the Fund would be decided by the existing EGoM.
ii. iii. iv. v.
Vide Securities Contracts.(Regulations) (Second Amendment) Rules, 2010 dated 09th August, 2010 all Government Companies are required to have at least 10% public shareholding and where public shareholding is less than 10%, the Companies were required to comply with this condition within a period of 3 years by following methods permitted by SEBI for this purpose.
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MISCELLANEOUS
AHIMSA MESSENGER PROGRAMME LAUNCHED BY SONIA GANDHI
UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi launched Ahimsa Messenger Programme - an initiative to curb violence against women on 31 August 2013 at Delhi. Ahimsa Messenger is the initiative of the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development to address the violence against women in all forms through a mass movement by creating numerous Ahimsa Messengers in various parts of the country. The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development has conceptualised this programme for empowering women against violence named Ahimsa Messenger.
ABOUT AHIMSA MESSENGER PROGRAMME

The Ahimsa Messenger programme aims at preventing violence against women and children and generating awareness about basic legal rights, procedures and provisions amongst women and children at the grassroots. The programme involves both men and women including youths to address and eliminate all forms of violence against women and children at grassroots and facilitate social or community mobilization to fight social evils. Ahimsa Messengers would also serve as link workers in case of any violence and also facilitate the women to approach the concerned authorities in case of incidences of violence for suitable redressal and follow up on the case. The programme envisages generating awareness amongst the community and giving intensive training to the various cadres of grass root level workers under various programmes across the country, besides generating awareness amongst the community especially adolescent girls and boys about their civic responsibilities and duties. The Ahimsa messengers will facilitate an enabling environment for safety and security of women and children in the community. They will also create women and child friendly environment in villages through community participation, especially of local leaders, adolescent boys and men, opinion makers, village elders etc. This programme will be implemented through all Anganwadi Centres, all Panchayati Raj Institutions, Sabla Girls (in the age group of 16-18 years) and Poorna Shakti Kendras (PSK) coordinators under the National Mission for Empowerment of Women (NMEW) will be trained as Ahimsa Messengers.
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TOURIST VISA ON ARRIVAL FACILITY EXTENDED ON AIRPORTS

The Union government of India on 28 August 2013 decided to extend Tourist Visa on Arrival facility at four more airports of the country. They are Trivandrum, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kochi. Presently, such facility is available at four International airports - Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. The facility of visa on arrival can be availed by citizens of 11 countries in these airports. Citizens of Japan, Cambodia, Singapore, Finland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines, Myanmar and Indonesia can avail the facility in the eight airports. The visa on arrival facility would also be extended to Goa airport as soon as infrastructure and manpower requirements are in place.
WHAT IS TVOA?
TVOA is allowed for a maximum validity of 30 days with single entry facility by the Immigration Officers on payment of a fee of 60 US dollars or equivalent amount in Indian rupees per passenger. TOVA is allowed for a maximum of two times in a calendar year to a foreigner with a minimum gap of two months between two visits. TVOA shall be non-extendable and non-convertible.
FOREIGN MINISTER OF NICARAGUA, SAMUEL SANTOS LOPEZ VISITED

The Foreign Minister of Nicaragua, Samuel Santos Lopez paid an official visit to India since 19 August to 23 August 2013. Earlier, he had visited India in June 2008 to participate in the IndiaSICA (Central American Integration System) Foreign Ministers' meeting. Nicaragua is an important member of SICA with which India has an institutionalised dialogue mechanism at the Foreign minister level. During his visit, India and Nicaragua discussed bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest. India and Nicaragua enjoy warm and friendly relations and both countries share common perspectives on a wide variety of international issues. Bilateral trade between the two countries for the year 2012-13 was 60.12 million US dollars. Foreign Minister Lopez also interacted with a number of high representatives from business and industry for promoting trade and investment linkages.
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BEVERLY SINGH TO HELP BUILD FASTEST CAR OF THE WORLD IN UK

Indian-Origin Beverly Singh (29), a mechanical engineer from Port Elizabeth, became a part of the team of specialist engineers building the fastest car of the world in the UK. The fastest car of the world will be called the Bloodhound supersonic car. The role of Beverly Singh will be to design the Bloodhound supersonic car which is being created by the team of around 30 engineers in the high-tech centre near Bristol. The Bloodhound supersonic car is the rocket-powered car which will come to South Africa first in the year 2015 for test runs that will be conducted for several months. The car will break the sound barrier and current land speed record of 1228 km/h. In the year 2016, this car will also try to set the record of 30 percent faster than 1228km/h record, 1609 km/h. Beverly Singh won the Bloodhound Chevening Scholarship for her masters in mechanical engineering at the University of West of England. She will become the part of this team in September 2013. She will work along with the engineers from world-established companies such as Rolls-Royce and Boeing, who have the responsibility of assembling this car. Beverly Singh explained that the engineers who are working on the Bloodhound supersonic car are the best ones in the world. She however, also explained that she did not know exactly her work area on the Bloodhound supersonic car project. The test runs as well as record attempts will happen at the Hakskeenpan in the Northern Cape Province.
INQUIRY ORDERED INTO EXPLOSION AT HPCL PLANT IN AP

The Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry on 24 August 2013 ordered a high-level inquiry into the explosion that took place at Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, HPCL plant in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Background: A major blast took place at the HPCL Vikash Refinery on 23 August 2013 leading to the collapse of the under construction cooling tower of the ongoing diesel hydro desulphurisation expansion project. The reason for the blast that caused massive fire is yet not known.
MILIND SOMAN LAUNCHED A DRIVE AGAINST DRUNKEN DRIVING

Milind Soman on 20 August 2013 launched a Change Campaign by Community Against Drunken Driving. The campaign is a youth engagement programme to make people sensitive about the dangers of drunken driving. The campaign was launched in New Delhi by unveiling awareness stickers. On the occasion, Milind Soman informed that to spread the message he will become a part of all school and college activities as well as he is planning to run for the cause. Milind Soman is known as the marathon man of Bollywood.
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Current Affairs eBook August 2013 QUEEN OF THE PACIFIC WAS DEPORTED FROM US TO MEXICO
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The United States on 20 August 2013 deported Sandra Avila Beltran (52), a Mexican drug smuggler also known as Queen of the Pacific to the Mexican authorities after completion of her jail term in the country. She has been deported to Mexico, where she was taken into custody to face separate charges of money laundering. By now she, has served prison terms in Mexico and US.
ABOUT SANDRA AVILA BELTRAN

Sandra Avila Beltran was arrested in 2007 at Mexico and extradited to US in August 2012. She was sentenced for 70 months in prison by a Florida Judge after she admitted that she provided money to a former Colombian drug lord to help him in avoiding the arrest. She is the niece of the godfather of the Mexican drug trade, Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, who is serving a 40-year sentence in a Mexican prison for the murder of a US drug-enforcement agent. She has been accused of creating routes for drug smuggling in the Pacific coast into California. The Mexican prosecutors have also accused her for playing major role creation of Sinaloa Cartel country's most powerful criminal organisations in the 1990s.
FIRST VESSEL CARRYING LNG FROM QATAR REACHED KOCHI PORT

The first cargo vessel carrying liquefied gas from RasGas in Qatar arrived at the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Terminal at Puthuvype near south Indian port city of Kochi on 20 August 2013. The vessel Wilenergy carrying around one lakh cubic metres of LNG. The vessel has arrived in accordance with the supply arrangement as per an agreement signed between Petronet LNG Limited and RasGas, the natural gas supplier based in Qatar. The natual gas, which is in liquefied state, at a temperature of about minus 160 degree Celsius, will be converted into gas at the terminal and regasified LNG will be supplied to end-users. In the initial stage Petronet LNG will supply gas to Bharat Petroleum's Kochi refinery and Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Limited (FACT).
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KING PENGUIN MISSY, OLDEST PENGUIN OF THE WORLD TURNED 36

The oldest penguin of the world named King Penguin Missy turned 36 years old on 12 August 2013. 36 years old for penguins is equal to 108 years old in humans. King Penguin Missy was brought to Birdland Wildlife Park in Gloucestershire, UK in the year 1982 at the age of 5 years. The Birdland wildlife park in Gloucestershires staff planned to send the penguins name to Guinness World Records to prove her title. It is important to note that the King penguins Aptenodytes patagonicus are expected to live till 26 years only in captivity. King Penguin Missy spends her time with the partner named Seth, who is 34 years old and was also a part of the 1992 movie- Batman Returns.
FACTS ABOUT KING PENGUINS - APTENODYTES PATAGONICUS

The King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) is second largest species of Penguin. The weight of this penguin is 11 to 16 kg, which is second only to the Emperor Penguin. There are two sub-species of the King Penguins- AP Patagonicus and AP Halli. AP Patagonicus are found in the South Atlantic while the AP Halli is found at other places. King Penguins rely on small fish, primarily lanternfish as well as squid for their food. On their foraging trips, they dive to more than 330 feet and have also been recorded at the depths greater than 980 feet. The breeding place of King Penguins is Sub-Antarctic Islands at the northern reaches of Antarctica, South Georgia as well as other temperate islands of this region. King Penguins have the orange patches on either side of their head. King Penguin is also the emblem of the Edinburgh Zoo.
NATIONAL BOOK TRUST OF INDIA UNVEILED A NEW LOGO NBT.INDIA

National Book Trust (NBT) in first week of August 2013 unveiled its new logo nbt.india to mark completion of 56 Years of its Operations. Union Human Resource Development Minister M. M. Pallam Raju unveiled the new logo at a function organised at New Delhi. The Logo carries a Banyan Tree, which symbolizes stability and knowledge, the flying leaves reveals an open book through a contemporary visual. The combination of red with earthy brown colour portrays the rootedness to Indian soil as well as the passionate urge for knowledge. The stylistic representation of nbt.india indicates the modernistic commitment of the organization engaged in preparing the readers for a future world. The typography is bold slab-serif, which provides a strong base to the idea. www.jagranjosh.com
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The new logo of NBT has been designed by a Prof. Tarun Deep Girdher a faculty of Graphic design at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad and his team. This Logo of National Book Trust, India is a harmony of tradition and innovation, earthiness and imagination. The motto, Ekah Soote Saklam ( : ), taken from Kalidasa's Meghdutam, signifies the purpose of NBT for striving to give everything desired in the world of books.
ABOUT NATIONAL BOOK TRUST

The National Book Trust, India, is an apex body established by the Government of India (Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development) in the year 1957 to develop reading habits and creation of book culture in the country. To achieve its objectives, Trust is publishing good quality books at reasonable price, organizing Book Fairs and Exhibitions in all parts of the country to provide an opportunity for interaction among authors, publishers, librarians and book lovers. The Trust publishes books in 18 major Indian languages, which includes Asamiya, Bangla, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Manipuri, Maithili, Marathi, Nepali, Odiya, Punjabi, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. In addition to this, the Trust has also published books in Bhojpuri, Himachali, Kokborok, Khasi, Garo, Lepcha, Bhutia, Mising Limboo, Mizo, Newari, Bodo, among others.
GOVERNMENT INAUGURATED DATA PORTAL OF INDIA

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology inaugurated Data portal of India in New Delhi on 8 August 2013. It is aimed at sharing more and more data as it empowers and connects to policy making. It will also help in bringing more transparency in the system and continuing the information revolution which started with the RTI act. The information revolution that started with the Right to Information act has brought us to a stage where government is now willing to share data with everybody because we realised that is the absence of data you cannot yet appropriate decision making. Open Data Application and Data portal is a part of Manmohan-Obama Initiative which allows plugging in all type of Data.
RESOLUTION TO REMEMBER WISCONCIN GURUDWARA VICTIMS PASSED

US Senate on 2 August 2013 unanimously passed a resolution to remember victims of Wisconcin Gurudwara killed in shooting on the occasion of the first anniversary of the tragic incident. Wisconcin Gurudwara is located at the Oak Greek.The resolution was sponsored by the two Senators from Wisconsin, Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson, honored the victims who were shot dead by a white supremacist called Wade Michael Page. The resolution offered
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condolences to the friends and loved ones of victims of Gurudwara shooting. It condemned hatred and acts of violence towards racial and religious groups. The resolution approved by the senate commended the heroism of the first responders and members of the community who courageously and selflessly put their lives in danger to prevent the death of more innocent people. The resolution plans to memeorialise the lives lost in the shooting from 2 August to 5 August 2013. The tragic shooting had taken place on 5 August 2012 at the Gurudwara of Wisconsin in Oak Creek.
NAI LAUNCHED QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER ENTITLED E-ABHILEKH

National Archives of India (NAI) launched the quarterly newsletter entitled e-Abhilekh in New Delhi on 1 August 2013. The newsletter e-Abhilekh was launched by the Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Ravindra Singh. The inaugural issue of e-Abhilekh gives the information on activities of National Archives of India, States/Union Territories Archives, Archives of Business and other learned institutions for the period April-June 2013. The newsletter e-Abhilekh will focus on special features such as International Archives Day and International Archival Organisations. The latest newsletter is also available on the official website of National Archives of India (www.nationalarchives.nic.in).
PRAVASI FRIEND LAUNCHED ITS OPERATIONS IN KOCHI

Pravasi Friend launched its operations in Kochi, Kerala on 1 August 2013. Pravasi Friend will help NRIs and NRKs to complete a large list of mandatory tasks such as legal services, medical services, spiritual needs and government departmental services. Under Pravasi Friend, Assistance is given in buying, renting out and maintaining their properties, providing property documentation, investigation, home security services, besides securing admissions for their children in schools and colleges in the state. Getting medical consultations of doctors and undertaking customised healthcare and treatment requests are also taken care of. S Manoj and P R Ganesh, began the organisation recently. S Manoj is a former Ranji Trophy cricket player and selector of the Kerala cricket team.
PILGRIMS KILLED BY SAHARSA-PATNA RAJYARANI EXPR ESS

Thirty-Seven pilgrims which included women as well as children were killed when the SaharsaPatna Rajyarani Express ploughed on them at the speed of 80 kmph on 19 August 2013. The accident took place at Bihar's Khagaria district.
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The devotees of Lord Shiva were walking alongside the tracks at Dhamara Ghat station after landing from the Samastipur-Saharsa passenger. Khagaria is situated 160 km away from Patna. The victims hailed from Naughachia, Munger, Sahrsa and Khagaria. The pilgrims were going to Katyani Sthan temple on the fourth and final Monday of holy Hindu month Shrawan.
SUBMARINE INS SINDHURAKSHAK DAMAGED IN A FIRE INCIDENT

A major fire broke out on board INS Sindhurakshak at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai on 14 August 2013. An explosion on board damaged the submarine. The fire was doused in time and prevented from spreading to other vessels docked in the vicinity. INS Sindhurakshak is the ninth of the ten Sindhughosh-class diesel-electric submarines of the Indian Navy. On 4 June 2010, the Indian Defence Ministry and Zvezdochka shipyard signed a contract worth 80 million US dollars to upgrade and improve the submarine. The submarine suffered two fire incidents, a minor one in 2010 and a major one on 14 August 2013, which led to in its sinking at Mumbai's naval dockyards. Sindhurakshak was constructed in Admiralty Shipyard, St. Petersburg. Construction of the submarine started in 1995. It was launched in June 1997 and delivered in December 1997. A fire broke out aboard Sindhurakshak while the vessel was in Visakhapatnam in February 2010.
INDIA AND PAKISTAN EXCHANGED FIRE IN CHAKAN DA BAGH AREA

India and Pakistan exchanged fire in the Chakan Da Bagh area of Poonch Sector of Jammu and Kashmir on 6 August 2013. Five Indian Soldiers were killed leaving one injured on the Line of Control (LoC) in the Chakan Da Bagh area of Poonch Sector in Jammu and Kashmir on 6 August 2013. The Indian army was attacked and ambushed by a group of 20 men dressed in uniforms of Pakistani Army, while they were patrolling along the border. The ambush took place 450 meters inside the Indian side of the LoC. Earlier, Pakistan expressed its desire to resume the peace talks with India after the new Prime Minister of Pakistan; Nawaz Sharif took charge of his office.
CHAKAN-DA-BAGH
Chakan-Da-Bagh is the point of distinction on the global map for trade across LOC and crossing point in Poonch area. Poonch is one of the remote and border district of Jammu and Kashmir state situated at Line of Control.
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HISTORY OF POONCH SECTOR
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Until November 1947, Poonch was sieged by the Pakistani side. But it became the part of India after Indian army conducted an offensive operation named as Operation Easy that ended on 20 November 1948. After the end of operations easy, the eastern Part of Poonch district became part of India, whereas the western part went to Pakistan.
ABOUT LINE OF CONTROL

The area of military control line between India and Pakistan controlled parts of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir is termed as the Line of Control, it is also known as the Asias Berlin Wall. Till date, the line doesnt mention a legally recognized international boundary but it acts as a de facto border between the two sides. Earlier, the Line of Control was termed as the Cease-fire Line, but was termed as the Line of Control after the Shimla Agreement (signed on 3 July 1972). The Indian side of the princely state is called the State of Jammu and Kashmir and the two parts under the control of Pakistan is known as GilgitBaltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). Its northernmost point is known as the NJ9842. Apart from this, the cease-fire line that separates Indian-controlled state of Jammu and Kashmir from the Chinese-controlled area known as Aksai Chin is called as the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The Aksai Chin belt is known as one of the most dangerous places of the world. The Aksai Chin region is administered as part of the Hotan County in the Hotan Prefecture of Xinjiang Autonomous Region by China. But, India claims it as a part of the Ladakh district of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
SUICIDE ATTACK TOOK PLACE NEAR THE INDIAN CONSULATE

A suicide attack took place near the Indian Consulate in Jalalabad city (Afghnaistan) bordering Pakistan on 3 August 2013. The dead include several children who were passing by to attend a madrasa inside the mosque. All the three attackers were also killed either during the blast or in firing by Afghan security forces. The suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden vehicle close to the Indian Consulate in Jalalabad, the capital city of Nangarhar province of Afghanistan. The attackers were trying to move towards the Indian consulate but could not proceed further as there was barricade near the mosque. The attack on Indian Consulate in Nangarhar took place a few days after India and Afghanistan signed memoranda of understanding for implementing 60 small development projects costing 100 million dollar. India has condemned the suicide attacks on the Indian Consulate General in Jalalabad, Afghanistan in the strongest possible terms. The attack has once again highlighted that the
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main threat to Afghanistans security and stability stems from terrorism and the terror machine that continues to operate from beyond its borders.
HANDWOVEN PASHMINA SH AWLS ACCREDITED WITH GI MARK

The handwoven Pashmina shawls of Kashmir were accredited with the Geographical Indication (GI) mark. The Chief Minister of Kashmir Omar Abdullah, on 5 August 2013 launched the Kashmir Pashmina GI mark, which will now be imprinted on all handwoven Kashmiri Pashmina Shawls, in the form of label. This GI Mark will be imprinted at Testing and Quality Certification Centre. The Centre was inaugurated on 5 August 2013 by Omar Abdullah at Craft Development Centre. The GI Mark labels will be attached to Kashmiri Pashmina shawl after it has been tested on weaving technology, spinning method, originality of fabric as well as fineness of thread. The mark of Kashmir Pashmina will also provide details of the manufacturer as well as quality of shawl. The label will also carry a number, which will be verifiable from official website. This move will help in restoring the handicrafts of Kashmir. It will also help in economic prosperity of the artisans. At the same time, it will also help in removing the fake handicrafts sold in the name of Kashmir. As an initial action, fake Pashmina shawls would be replaced by Kashmir patent hand woven original Pashmina shawls. In order to stop fake as well as unscrupulous trade in handicrafts sector, the testing lab at Craft Development Institute (CDI) at Nowshera will be used. The Government of Kashmir has already achieved the GI for six handicrafts, which will have same testing facilities.
WHAT IS GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION (GI)?

Geographical Indication of any good is defined as aspect of the industrial property that refers to geographical indication referring to any country or a particular place situated therein. It is basically a sign or a name which is used on certain products which relate specifically to a geographical location or the origin, which can be a town, region or the country. Using GI can act as the certification of the product and that it holds certain qualities and enjoys certain reputation because of its geographical origin. India, which is also a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), enacted Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999 and it came into force from 15 September 2003.
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GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED TO RELEASE NATIONAL e-MAIL POLICY

The government on 23 August 2013 announced to release a national e-mail policy to protect privacy of email users in India. In the proposed policy all government departments and Indian embassies are being asked to use NIC server for their email correspondence. NIC server is located in India and it cannot be accessed by any foreign agency. The government is working to enhance its capacity to protect data and information flows by building better cyber and telephony infrastructure and by evolving new cyber and telecom security practices. The government is also promoting Indian players in the information technology sector to develop and offer Internet services by their servers located in India.
19TH DELHI BOOK FAIR STARTED OFF AT PRAGATI MAIDAN, NEW DELHI
The 19th Delhi Book Fair started off on 23 August 2013 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. The theme of the 19th Delhi Book Fair is Libraries and Readership. The theme will focus on the role of libraries on the Indian society. The book fair will take place till 31 August 2013. In the nine-day event, around 250 participants will be there, which will also include the overseas publishers. The Delhi Book Fair is organised every year by the Federation of Indian Publishers in collaboration with India Trade Promotion Organisation. Various publishers from across the country including those from Delhi, Maharashtra, Kerala, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and international participants from the US and China will take part in the event. In the fair, apart from book display, various discussions, book releases events, seminars and conferences will take place. The fair is open for public from 11.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m.
ABOUT DELHI BOOK FAIR

Delhi Book Fair established itself as a door to the Indian book publishing industry. The fair offers a platform for all the bookseller authors, publishers, translators and book lovers. It is important to note that India is the only country which publishes books in more than 24 languages. In the official languages of India, around 90000 titles are published with over 16000 publishing houses. Delhi Book Fair started off in the year 1995. It is the annual cultural event and depicts the performance of the Indian Publishing Industry.
THE TRAVEL & TOURISM FAIR (TTF) 2013 STARTED OFF IN AHMADABAD
The Travel & Tourism Fair (TTF) 2013, the biggest travel trade show of India, started off on 16 August 2013 in Ahmadabad. Six countries as well as 26 states across India participated in the event. The TTF 2013 is the three-day event, inaugurated by Gujarat Tourism Minister Saurabh Patel. The event is organised by Fairfest Media Limited. www.jagranjosh.com
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The feature countries in the event are Thailand and Malaysia. Other participating countries include UAE, Maldives, Turkey and Nepal. The event brings together over 400 exhibitors from across India as well as six countries. The destination partner of the TTF Ahmadabad 2013 is Lavasa.
THE FOCUS OF TTF 2013

The primary focus of TTF 2013 is on B2B segment together with the prevailing trends at international travel trade shows such as Dubai, ATM, Berlin and ITB. This would help in leveraging the classic dual marketing strategy of trade push via the B2B hours as well as consumer polls.
ABOUT TRAVEL & TOURISM FAIR (TTF)

TTF is the leading travel trade show in India. It started off in the year 1989. It covers nine top-most domestic as well as outbound tourism markets in India, which include New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Surat, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmadabad and Pune. TTF receives more than 186000 visitors as well as 2500 exhibitors from around 70 countries of the world as well as 35 states and union territories of India. The event facilitates annual opportunity for the organisers from India as well as the world to put on podium, their products as well as services to people of travel trade as well as consumers from major markets across the country.
3000 YEARS OLD STONE SHIELDS EXCAVATED BY FROM XINJIANG

Archeologists from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the cultural relic bureaus of Altay Prefecture and Qinghe County excavated a set of stone shields which were used in the sacrifices by nomads in China around 3000 years ago. These shields were excavated in the northwest Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The researchers believe that this is a breakthrough for researching the life of ancient nomads. The shields were excavated from Huahaizi (sea of flowers) Lake in the Altai Mountains that border the Mognolia. These appear like pentagonal stones. They have the circle in the centre and are surrounded by the herringbone pattern. The shields are believed to date back to the late Bronze Age, i.e., somewhere around 3000 years ago. The experts from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the cultural relic bureaus of Altay Prefecture and Qinghe County kicked off the excavation project in July 2013 in order to discover ways of protecting the relics in a better way. Archeologists compared the patterns on www.jagranjosh.com
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the shields to the ones on deer stones. The patterns of herringbone and pentagons are found on a lot of deer stones on Eurasian steppe. Deer stones are actually the ancient the megaliths which are engraved with symbols that are found across the world, but are mainly concentrated in Mongolia and Siberia. The patterns at the site are similar to the ones at the deer stones found at Mongolia's Khovsgol Province which are around 2000 km away to the East. The experts believed that stone shields were used for the sacrifices and not for combat. These were the ritual objects for the high-level sacrifices for driving out the evil spirits. Modern Shaman wear the small shields as the ritual objects. The discovery of objects like these indicated towards the fact that practices like these dated back to around 1000 years ago.
BRAZILIAN FOREIGN MINISTER ANTONIO PATRIOTA RESIGNED

Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota resigned on 26 August 2013 in the backdrop of accusations of helping the Bolivian senator, Roger Pinto to cross border into Brazil. Roger Pinto in turn was accused of corruption. His resignation was accepted by the President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff. However, Antonio Patriota was in the meanwhile, appointed as the Brazil's envoy to the United Nations. The present Brazilian UN ambassador, Luiz Alberto Figueiredo will now take over as the Brazilian Foreign Minister. Roger Pinto had accused the Government of Bolivia for having their links to the drug traffickers. Pinto escaped his arrest by taking a haven in the Brazilian embassy in La Paz. It is important to note that Antonio Patriota is the first cabinet minister to resign from the office since a range of ministers left the President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff in her first year of office in the year 2011.
ABOUT ANTONIO PATRIOTA

Antonio Patriota is the Brazilian diplomat and former Minister of External Relations, born on 27 April 1954. He had succeeded Chancellor Celso Amorim. He took over as the Minister of External Relations in Brazil on 1 January 2011. He is a graduate in philosophy from the University of Geneva. He also studied international relations by the Rio Branco Institute. Between 2007 and 2009, he held the position of Brazil's ambassador to the United States. He also held the positions of Deputy Secretary General for Political Affairs of the Ministry of External Relations, Cabinet Chief of Foreign Minister Chancellor Celso Amorim and Secretary General of the Ministry of External Relations.
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EGYPT CLASHES: VICE PRESIDENT MOHAMED ELBARADEI RESIGNED

Egypts Vice President Mohamed Elbaradei resigned in protest over the attacks on pro Mohamed Morsi supporters in Cairo on 14 August 2013. The Egyptian police stormed the two sit in protest sites to disperse them following which 281 people were killed. United States, European Union and United Nations condemned the violent dispersal of protesters while the Prime Minister of Egypt Hezam Beblawi justified the act saying it was necessary since it had become a threat to national security. Emergency was declared in Egypt for a month and night curfew was clamped in 14 Governorates. Mohamed ElBaradei had given political support to the ousting of Egypt's first freely elected President Mohamed Morsi. However, he resigned in protest at the use of force instead of a negotiated end to the stand-off between the government and protesters. It should be noted that Mohamed ElBaradei is a Nobel Peace Prize winner.
JAGAN REDDY RESIGNED AS MP OVER SPLIT OF ANDHRA PRADESH

YS Jaganmohan (Jagan) Reddy, the President of YSR Congress Party and a Lok Sabha MP from Kadapa on 10 August 2013 resigned as a member of the Parliament. He resigned to mark his protest against the unilateral and arrogant posturing of the Congress on the proposed division of Andhra Pradesh. Jaganmohan Reddy who is lodged in Hyderabad Jail in connection with disproportionate assets case, has sent his resignation to the Lok Sabha Speaker through the jail authorities. On the same day, YS Jaganmohan's mother and honorary President of the YSR Congress YS Vijaya also resigned from the State Assembly citing the issue.
ABOUT YS JAGANMOHAN REDDY

He started his political career by campaigning for Congress party in 2004 elections in Kadapa District In 2009 elections he was elected as Member of Parliament from Kadapa constituency as a member of the Indian National Congress He conducted the odarpu Yatra (condolence tour), after six months of his father's death to meet with the families of the people who either committed suicide or suffered due to health ailments after hearing the news of YS Rajasekhara Reddy's death. This yatra resulted as an end of his relationship with the congress party YS Jaganmohan Reddy is the son of the former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, YS Rajasekhara Reddy
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Current Affairs eBook August 2013 AFGHAN-PAK AGREED TO EXPAND ECONOMIC COOPERATION
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During Afghan President Hamid Karzai's visit to Pakistan on 26 August 2013, the two countries agreed to deepen the bilateral relationship, with a particular focus on expanded trade, economic cooperation, and trans-regional projects for connectivity. Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed to construct a dam over Kunar River in Afghanistan which will supply electricity to both the countries. The two nations also held talks on contentious issues particularly the on the issue of crossing of Taliban militants from Pakistan into Afghanistan. This is President Karzais first visit since the democratic transition in Pakistan and the formation of the new government in June 2013. The visit reflects the readiness on both sides to work together for the furtherance of shared objectives of peace, stability and prosperity in the region and beyond.
TAUKELINA FINIKASO, FOREIGN MINISTER OF TUVALU VISITED INDIA

Taukelina Finikaso, the Foreign Minister of Tuvalu was on an official visit to India from 21 to 25 August 2013. This was the first visit of Finikaso to India after taking charge as the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade, Tourism, Environment, and Labour, Government of Tuvalu. During his visit, Finikaso discussed issues of mutual interest related to bilateral, regional and international importance with Preneet Kaur, Minister of State for External Affairs of India. He also inaugurated the newly constituted Honorary Consulate of Tuvalu, which will provide both the countries, an opportunity to expand the bilateral relations of mutual benefits.
BACKGROUND OF INDIA-TUVALU RELATIONS

India and Tuvalu share cordial relations at international/bilateral level. Tuvalu has supported Indias candidature at international forum, whereas, India has provided project assistance under its Grant- in Aid Scheme for Pacific Island countries in areas such as health, water management, development projects and training as well as humanitarian assistance in times of need to Tuvalu.
FOREIGN MINISTER OF REPUBLIC OF CHAD VISITED INDIA

Moussa Faki Mahamat, Minister for Foreign Affairs and African Integration of Republic of Chad, paid an official visit to India on 12-13 August 2013. During his visit he met Salman Khurshid, external affairs of India. The visit was aimed at increasing bilateral cooperation between the India and Chad. Relations between India and Chad remain cordial and there is considerable goodwill and admiration for India. There is large scope for mutually beneficial co-operation in hydrocarbon, infrastructure and capacity building sectors. Chad is a member of TEAM-9 (Techno-Economic Approach for African Movement) initiative comprising of eight West and Central African countries seeking to benefit in technical and economic spheres through
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cooperation with India. Chad has been a beneficiary of India Line of Credit of US$ 50 million for five projects which they highly appreciate.
SPECIAL ENVOY OF INDIA FOR SUDAN VISITED SOUTH SUDAN

Special Envoy of India for Sudan and South Sudan and Special Secretary (Development Partnership Administration), Ministry of External Affairs, PS Raghavan, paid an official visit to Juba, South Sudan on 08-09 August 2013. The visit came only a day after the swearing in of the new 18-member South Sudanese Cabinet, reflective of Indias strong commitment in partnering South Sudan, which gained independence only in July 2011, in its political transition process. In fact, Raghavan was the first foreign dignitary to interact with the new South Sudanese leadership. Raghavan had detailed discussions with the President of South Sudan H.E. Gen Salva Kiir, as well as with the key Ministers of Foreign Affairs; Electricity; Health; Agriculture and Rural Development; Petroleum, Mining and Industry as well as high level officials of the Ministry of Finance. He also interacted with key members of the Indian community based in Juba as well as representatives of the Indian contingent of the peacekeepers attached to the United Nations Mission for South Sudan (UNMISS). India has two battalions of 2200 personnel in UNMISS, deployed in two of the largest states in South Sudan, Jonglei and Upper Nile, since 2011. The visit was useful for identifying Indias development projects for South Sudan. The programme has two main components of capacity building and infrastructure development in key areas of health, education, solar electrification, mining, agriculture, fisheries, food processing, electoral management and hydrocarbons. Additionally, an offer was made to the South Sudanese side for granting concessional lines of credit (LOC) for undertaking other sustainable development projects, in alignment with its socio-economic priorities. Raghavan stressed the importance of Indias energy security in bilateral cooperation. ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL) has made substantial investments in the hydrocarbon sector in South Sudan over the last ten years, and has expressed interest in further expanding its operations, when conditions permit. The visit was also undertaken in preparation for the forthcoming visit of the South Sudanese President to India, scheduled from 26-28 August 2013. President Kiir will be accompanied by a high level delegation of Ministers, senior officials and business leaders.
WB ASSISTED NATIONAL AIDS CONTROL SUPPORT PROJECT LAUNCHED

The World Bank (WB) assisted National AIDS Control Support Project was launched by the Department of AIDS Control, Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare in New Delhi on 24 August 2013. Over 99.5 percent of Indias population is free from HIV now. Accordingly the focus of the programme has been on prevention of spread of HIV, while ensuring access to treatment and care for all HIV infected persons.
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The cost of the project is 2550 crore rupees. National AIDS Control Support Project has been launched to help and accelerate the countrys AIDS prevention programme by targetin g high risk groups (Female Sex Workers - FSW, Men who have Sex with Men - MSM, Injecting Drug Users IDU), and vulnerable population (Migrants and Truckers) who are at high risk of getting HIV infection in New Delhi today. The World Bank is supporting this project with an interestfree loan of 1275 crore rupees. The formulation of NACSP was a consultative process where in Civil Society Organizations, community groups, donor partners and international organizations contributed. The groups met in June-July, 2011 where in all the strategies were chalked out. NACSP will contribute to three of the five strategies of the National AIDS Control Programme IV: (i) the prevention component, (ii) the behaviour change component, and (iii) the institutional strengthening component. The two other components, namely, the provision of care, treatment and support to people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) and strategic information management systems (SIMS), including disease surveillance, will be supported by the national budget, with technical and financial support from other donors. The main support of the Project will be provided for the scaling up of HIV prevention interventions, with a focus on the high impact and cost-effective targeted interventions for population groups at high risk, and part of Information Education and Communication (IEC) including behavior change and demand generation. The Project will also support further strengthening of its project management including human resource support and technical support for TIs. By scaling up targeted interventions and prevention services, it is estimated that the project will cover about 90 percent of the high risk groups and avert about 3 million new infections by 2017. The project will also support the Department of AIDS Control in undertaking prevention programmes as well as expand communication and advocacy programmes that promote safe behaviour and discourage stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV and AIDS. Of the total project cost of 510 million US dollars, 255 million US dollars will be financed by the World Bank through a credit from the International Development Association (IDA).
NAT SKILL CERTIFICATION & MONETARY REWARD SCHEME UNVEILED

Union Ministry of Finance on 16 August 2013 unveiled the National Skill Certification and Monetary Reward Scheme that will be implemented on pan-India basis, in New Delhi. This is a first of its kind scheme to be launched in the country. The scheme was first proposed by the Finance Minister in the last Union Budget to allocate 1000 rupees crore for a scheme that will motivate the youth of this country to acquire a vocational skill. The scheme is expected to benefit a million people in the first year of its implementation. The scheme that is branded as STAR (Standard Training Assessment and Reward) for promotional purposes envisages that a monetary reward that will in essence financially help those who wish to acquire a new skill or upgrade their skills to a higher level.
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The Union government is committed to improving the skills of the youth in the country. The STAR scheme that is being launched today is yet another proof of this governments commitment to leaving no stone unturned in achieving the National Skilling Mission target. Chidambaram said that during 2004-05 and 2009-10, 20 million jobs were created in the country and unemployment rate declined from 8.3 percent to 6.6 percent. With the advancement of technology, the youth need to upgrade their skills for better opportunities. The National Skilling Mission envisages adding 500 million skilled Indians by the year 2022. While 150 million are expected to be contributed by the private sector working under National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), 350 million will be contributed by 18odd ministries at the Centre. The scheme is contemplated to skill atleast one youth from each family which had availed of 100 day employment under the under MNREGA scheme.The scheme itself has been created as an inclusive mechanism to benefit people in all walks of life, NSDC has defined skills in the right perspective and delivery of skills is now through an open architecture. While the scheme envisages covering a million skilled people under this scheme, sufficient processes have also been pre-defined to ensure that the quality of the skill imparted is worldclass. The monetary reward is strictly depended on obtaining a certificate that will be issued by qualified assessors after necessary tests have been passed. The skills are also benchmarked to National Occupational Standards that have been developed by NSDC with the support of the Sector Skill Councils.
THE MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SCHEME ARE

A1000 crore rupees pan-India scheme launched by the Ministry of Finance Branded as STAR Standard Training Assessment and Reward To benefit 1 million people Scheme to be implemented by National Skill Development Corporation Each tested and certified trainee to get an average of 10000 rupees to cover training costs.
NATIONAL SKILL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

National Skill Development Corporation, a body under the Ministry of Finance, is one of its kind public private partnership endeavour with 51 per cent equity held by private sector and 49 per cent by the Union Government. Formed in 2010, NSDC is a professionally run not-for-profit company that includes 22 Sector Skill Councils and 87 training partners with over 2500 training centers spread across 352 districts in the country.
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DBTL SCHEME TO BE EXTENDED TO 35 MORE DISTRICTS

The Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry on 13 August 2013 decided to extend Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG (DBTL) scheme to 35 more districts from 1 September 2013. With this extension the total districts covered under this scheme would go up to 55 districts. The new districts which will be covered under the scheme include 12 in Kerala, seven in Andhra Pradesh, seven in Himachal Pradesh, five in Punjab, two in Madhya Pradesh and one each in Maharashtra and Goa. The decision to include 35 more districts would add about 1.4 crore consumers to the 2.12 crore existing consumers. Under this scheme consumers will get an advance of 435 rupees in their bank accounts. They can then use this to buy gas cylinders at the market price which is double the subsidised rate. Since its launch on 1 June 2013, about four million direct cash transfers have taken place to consumers bank accounts. So far, 150.6 crore rupees has been transferred to consumers in 20 districts of phase one.
ABOUT THE SCHEME

The Union Government on 1 June 2013 launched the Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG (DBTL) scheme with the aim of curbing leakages, preventing black-marketing and sending gas subsidy to the consumers bank accounts. All Aadhaar-linked domestic LPG consumers get an advance of 435 rupees an LPG cylinder in their bank account as soon as they book the first subsidised unit before delivery. When the first subsidised cylinder is delivered to such consumers, the next subsidy will be credited to their bank account, which can then be used for the purchase of the next subsidised cylinder at the market rate.
GLIMPSES OF THE INDIA STORY: SECOND PHASE UNVEILED

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on 14 August 2013 unveiled the second phase of comprehensive multi-media initiative Glimpses of the India Story. The initiative captures the journey of the countrys development through various programmes and policies launched by the UPA government during the last ten years. The programmes of the UPA include Direct Benefits Transfer, Aadhar, Food Security, Real Estate regulation and Land Acquisition Bill. The content of the initiative reiterates the commitment of the government to the people. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has taken an initiative www.jagranjosh.com
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to inform the people about the measures taken by the UPA Government during last 10 years which empowered them, brought a silent resolution and developed a basic structure based on rights.
NSDC TO OPEN SKILL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL IN AEROSPACE AVIATION

The National Skill Development Council (NDSC) on 5 August 2013 announced about its plans to open a Skill Development Council for the National Aerospace and Aviation Industry at Bangalore. The council would be formed by September 2013. The basic objective behind the creation of the SSC is to bridge the quantitative and qualitative skill gap.
ABOUT THE SKILL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL

The Skill Development Council will be an autonomous body and oversee the design, development and certification of occupational standards for the aerospace and aviation industry. The aerospace council would be the 20th such body formed under the NSD Cs aegis. The council, which has access to funds to the tune of 1000 crore rupees, has been mandated to generate skills for one million people in the country in 2013. The formation of the aerospace council is expected to result in the certification of more than 18000 trainers in 90 trades within the next three years. The council would not only result in certification but also the generation of a labour market information system for the industry. The council would conduct productivity analysis and track technology trends so that skills can be upgraded. The formation of the council would enable the identification of institutions in the country that were equipped to deliver courses suited to the needs of the industry. Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram, in his 2013-14 budget speech, had proposed an allocation of 1000 crore rupees for a skill development scheme that would offer an incentive of 10000 rupees to every individual, who undergoes training.
ABOUT NATIONAL SKILL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (NSDC)

The NSDC was set up by the Union Ministry of Finance, under Section 25 of the Companies Act as a part of the National Skill Development Mission. NSDC is aimed to fulfill the growing need of skilled manpower across various sectors by narrowing the existing gap between the demand and supply of skills across India.
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NSDC is a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in India and a large part of its efforts are directed at skill development programmes in the unorganised sector. NSDC acts as a catalyst in skill development by providing funding to enterprises, companies and organisations that provide skill training. It will also develop appropriate models to enhance, support and coordinate private sector initiatives. The NSDC is also involved in constituting Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) that would establish quality standards for the segments they represent. NSDCs objective is to contribute significantly (about 30 percent) to the overall target of skilling/upskilling 500 million people in India by 2022.
TURKEY COMPLETED A TRIAL RUN OF WORLD'S DEEPEST RAIL TUNNEL

Turkey on 6 August 2013 successfully completed a trial run of a rail tunnel under the Bosphorus Strait connecting Istanbul's European and Asian sides, the first of several planned mega projects in the country's largest city to see the light of day. The 13.6 km (8.5 mile) tunnel, including a 1.4 km immersed tube tunnel is the deepest of its kind in the world at 56 metres. It passes under Turkey's Bosphorus Strait, the busy shipping channel linking the Marmara Sea to the Black Sea. The tunnel is part of a larger 5 billion US dollars Marmaray project which also includes an upgrade of existing suburban rail lines to create a 76 km line that according to the government will carry 1.5 million people a day across the city's two sides. Construction on the tunnel began in 2004 by a Japanese-Turkish consortium, with funding coming from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The Marmaray, which has been beset by long delays, is now slated to open to the public on Oct. 29, the anniversary of modern Turkey's founding, making it the first of Istanbul's planned mega projects to be completed. Erdogan has proposed several major construction projects for Istanbul, some of them facing stiff public opposition, including a canal parallel to the Bosphorus to ease shipping traffic, one of the world's largest airports, a third bridge spanning the Bosphorus and a large mosque overlooking the city. The most controversial project put forward by the Turkish leader was the redevelopment of a central Istanbul park, which included the construction of an Ottoman-era military barracks and a mosque. The plans sparked weeks of countrywide demonstrations when diggers moved in to uproot the park's trees. The protests mushroomed into a wider opposition to Erdogan and what protesters said was his increasingly authoritarian rule.
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3 RD MEETING OF THE WMCC ON INDIA-CHINA BORDER TALKS HELD

The 3rd meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs was held in New Delhi on 23-24 July 2013. The Indian delegation was led by Gautam Bambawale, Joint Secretary (East Asia) and comprised of representatives of the Ministries of External Affairs, Defence and Home Affairs as well as members of the Indian Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. The Chinese delegation was led by Ouyang Yujing, Director General, Department of Boundary and Oceanic Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and comprised of representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and National Defence of the Peoples Republic of China. The talks were held in a constructive and forward-looking atmosphere. The two delegations reviewed recent developments in the India-China border areas with the objective of enhancing peace and tranquility between the two countries. They discussed additional confidence building measures between the two sides. They also consulted on measures to improve the functioning of the Working Mechanism and make it more efficient. The two delegations further discussed the possibility of introducing an additional route for the Kailash-Manasarovar Yatra. The 4th meeting of the Working Mechanism will be held in China at a mutually convenient time.
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QUESTIONS OF THE MONTH

1. 5th India-China Strategic Dialogue was held in New Delhi on 20 August 2013. What was the outcome of the dialogue? What is the purpose of this dialogue? How far the IndiaChina startegic dialogue has helped stablising India-China relations? 2. Write short notes on the following: A) Malala Yousafzai D) Yasin Bhatkal B) Amitabh Bachchan E) Robert Mugabe C) Seamus Heaney F) Ibrahim Boubacar Keita
3. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 2 August 2013 approved the creation of the Special National Investment Fund. What is the objective of the fund? Enlist the salient features of the fund. 4. Nouri al-Maliki, the Prime Minister of Republic of Iraq was on a state visit to India from 22 to 25 August 2013. How will this visit pave Indias way to fulfill its energy requirements? Discuss. 5. Thousands of people were killed in the toxic gas attack on 21 August 2013 on the eastern suburbs of Damascus, the capital of Syria. UN and the western nations have threatened Syria of actions in case the use of Chemical Weapons, if proved. Discuss, what is chemical warfare and chemical weapons treaty and 6. Do you agree that the US opposition to the ruling regime of Syria have economic motives or are they supporting the rebels on humanitarian grounds? Justify your answer with perfect examples. 7. The Lok Sabha on 29 August 2013 passed the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, also called the Land Acquisition Bill. Discuss the pros and cons of Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011? 8. 30 August was declared as the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances by the UN General Assembly. What do you mean by Enforced Disappearance and what are the major concerns associated with this day? 9. The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 29 August 2013 gave his assent to the Companies Bill 2013. How will the Companies Act 2013 replace the Companies Act 1956? What all new features have been included in the new Act?
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