SNIPPETS

July 1-10

India on 1 July 2014 observed the National Doctors Day. The day is observed to honour legendary
physician, Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy whose birth and death anniversary falls on the same day. On 4
February 1961, he received the Bharat Ratna.

India has become the first country to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty to facilitate access to published works
for persons who are visually impaired, or otherwise print disabled.

The Rajasthan government declared the camel as the State animal. The decision aims to check the
dwindling number of camels.

Bor Wildlife Sanctuary, located in the valley of the Wardha river in the Wardha district of Maharashtra has
been given the status of a tiger reserve, making it the smallest such reserve in the country.

Stepping up its efforts to combat inflation, the Narendra Modi government imposed control orders
on onions and potatoes under the Essential Commodities Act of 1955, so anyone holding stocks of these
two food items beyond limits specified by states will be liable for prosecution and possibly, even
imprisonment.

The Reserve Bank Thursday relaxed norms for overseas investment by Indian corporates by raising their
borrowing limit. The financial commitment should be limited within 400 percent compared to earlier level
of 100 percent of the net worth as per the last audited balance sheet of the company.

Petra Kvitova won her second Wimbledon title with a brilliant 55-minute dismantling of Eugenie Bouchard.

India is set to become the third largest economy in the world by 2030, according to latest estimates by a
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report. The London-headquartered accountancy giant said the rapid rise of
the Indian economy with its young workforce would push it up from being the 10th largest economy in
2013 to the third largest by 2030, pushing the UK back into sixth place.

Three judges, the Chief Justices of Calcutta and Orissa High Courts, Arun Mishra and Adarsh Kumar Goel
respectively, and senior lawyer Rohinton Nariman have been elevated as judges of the Supreme Court.
With the appointment of these judges, the strength of judges in the court will increase to 28, as against
the sanctioned strength of 31.

The NDA government transferred Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal, who had a bitter relation with the then
state chief minister Narendra Modi, to Mizoram, while Rajasthan Governor Margaret Alva was given
additional responsibility to discharge the functions of Gujarat Governor as well.

Novak Djokovic buried his recent Grand Slam failures by beating Roger Federer to win his second
Wimbledon title and seventh major overall.

The Supreme Court ruled that Shariat courts have no legal sanction and no one is bound to accept a fatwa
or diktat pronounced by them.

A panel headed by former RBI governor C Rangarajan has dismissed the Tendulkar Committee report on
estimating poverty and said that the number of poor in India was much higher in 2011-12 at 29.5 per
cent of the population, which means that three out of 10 persons are poor. As per Rangarajan panel
estimates, a person spending less than Rs.1,407 a month (Rs. 47/day) would be considered poor in cities,
as against the Tendulkar Committee's suggestion of Rs. 1,000 a month (Rs. 33/day). In villages, those

spending less than Rs. 972 a month (Rs. 32/day) would be considered poor. This is much higher
than Rs. 816 a month (Rs. 27/day) recommended by Tendulkar Committee.

Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has vowed to eliminate kala-azar from Bihar and other parts of
the country by 2015. For this, the ministry will take a slew of steps including providing Ambisome
injection that cures the disease with a single shot.

British actress Emma Watson is the new Goodwill Ambassador for the U.N.s gender-equality arm, U.N.
Women.

Union Railway Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda presented his maiden Railway Budget in Parliament on
Tuesday. The highlights of this Budget are: No new increase in passenger fares and freight charges; Bullet
train in Mumbai-Ahmedabad sector; Diamond quadrilateral for high speed trains; Plan to hike speed of
trains to 160-200 km/hr in 9 sectors; Online booking to support 7,200 tickets per minute- to allow 1.2
lakh users log in simultaneously; Reservation system to be revamped, ticket-booking through mobile
phones, post offices to be popularized.

The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister
Jayalalithaa affirmed that the water storage level in Mullaperiyar dam will soon be raised up to 142 feet
in accordance with the Supreme Court judgment.

Amit Shah, a close and controversial aide of Prime Minister Modi, was appointed to the top post in BJP at a
meeting of Parliamentary Board where incumbent Rajnath Singh resigned after a tenure of one-and-a-half
years. The former Minister of State for Home in Gujarat and who faces charges in the Sohrabuddin fake
encounter case is largely credited for BJPs stunning performance in Uttar Pradesh where the BJP won 71
out of 80 Lok Sabha seats. Amit Shah has become the 10th President of BJP since it was founded in
December 1980.

Government has approved minimum monthly pension of Rs 1,000 under Employees Pension Scheme 1995
(EPS-95) run by the retirement body Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).. The decision of the
government would immediately benefit 28 lakh pensioners including 5 lakh widows getting less than Rs
1000 as pension every month. In all, there are 44 lakh pensioners under the EPS-95 scheme.

The Union Budget of India for 20142015 was presented by Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley on 10 July
2014. This was the first budget of Narendra Modi led NDA government.

Iraq notified the United Nations that Sunni militants seized nuclear material from a university in the
northern city of Mosul as they advanced toward Baghdad.

Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Romero saved two penalties in a shootout with the Netherlands to take his
country through to the World Cup final for the first time since 1990.

July 11-20

Nikhil Srivastava, a young Indian mathematician, became the first joint winner of the prestigious 2014
George Polya Prize for finding a solution to a problem that had eluded mathematicians for more than half
a century.

Delhi has become the world's second most populous city in 2014 after Tokyo, more than doubling its
population since 1990 to 25 million, according to a UN report. The report further said that India is
projected to add the highest number of people to its urban population by 2050, ahead of China.

Tokyo topped UN's ranking of the most populous cities in 2014 with 38 million inhabitants and while its
population is projected to decline, it will remain the world's largest city in 2030 with 37 million people.

Amateur Raksha Phadke took the honours in the Hero-KGA womens pro golf championship. The 19-yearold Raksha clinched her first professional title in just her second tournament by two strokes.

Governor of Rajasthan and Gujarat Margaret Alva was sworn in as Governor of Goa. B. V. Wanchoo
recently resigned as Governor of Goa hours after he was quizzed by CBI as witness in the AgustaWestland
chopper case.

South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 82 runs to win the third and final ODI in Sri Lanka, taking the series 2-1.

Germany beat Argentina to clinch their fourth World Cup title, their first since 1990.

President Mr. Pranab Mukherjee appoints Governors of five States: Mr. Ram Naik (Uttar Pradesh), Mr. Om
Prakash Kohli (Gujarat), Mr. Balramji Dass Tandon (Chhattisgarh), Mr. Keshari Nath Tripathi (West
Bengal) and Mr. Padmanabha Acharya (Nagland).

The Church of England overcame bitter divisions to vote in favour of allowing female bishops for the first
time in its nearly 500-year history.

Sri Lankan batsman, Mahela Jayawardene announced his retirement from Test cricket after the home
series against Pakistan in August 2014.

Eminent scientist Dr Raghunath Mashelkar was conferred the Dr Mohan Dharia Nation Building Award.

Eminent agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan and ace shuttler Saina Nehwal were presented with the
'Ambassadors of Goodwill' award by International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
(ICRISAT).

The Reserve Bank of India exempts long-term bonds from the mandatory regulatory norms such as CRR,
SLR and PSL, if the money raised is used for funding of such projects.

India became the first country to successfully challenge the US at WTO, after a World Trade Organization
(WTO) Dispute Panel ruled that imposition of Countervailing Duty by the US Department of Commerce on
India's exports of hot-rolled carbon steel flat products was inconsistent with the law on subsidies.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended his first multi-lateral meet in the form of sixth BRICS Summit held
in Brazil. Narendra Modi in his two-day meet, met the International leaders President of Brazil Dilma
Rousseff, President of Russia Vladimir Putin, President of China Xi Jinping and President of South Africa
Jacob Zuma.

Environmentalist and social activist Chandi Prasad Bhatt was awarded with the prestigious Gandhi Peace
prize for 2013.

India is home to the largest number of poor with one-third of the world's 1.2 billion extreme poor living
here. It also had the highest number of under-five deaths in the world in 2012, with 1.4 million children
dying before reaching their fifth birthday, according to the UN Millennium Development Goals report 2014.

Syrias President Bashar al-Assad was sworn in for a new seven-year term in a red carpet ceremony in
Damascus, after an election his opponents had slammed as a farce.

Karnataka bagged the overall championships with 591 points in the 41st junior national aquatics
championship. Thirty seven new meet records were created in the five-day meet.

After days of uncertainty and speculation, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) officially confirmed that
sprinter Dutee Chand would be unable to participate as a female athlete in competitions.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set a minimum paid-up capital of Rs.100 crore for those who wish to
set up payments and small banks.

A suspected missile strike over eastern Ukraine downed Malaysian Boeing 777 plane, MH-17, killing all
295 people on board.

Proposing no new taxes in the Budget for Delhi, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced subsidy of
Rs 0.80 to Rs 1.20 per unit to small power consumers as also a slew of measures like low floor buses,
sanitation and multi-speciality hospital in Rohini. The Rs 36,776 crore budget for Delhi was presented in
Parliament as the state is currently under the President's rule.

Bolivia on 18 July 2014 passed a law to legalize child labour for kids from age 10. The bill was approved
by Bolivian Congress in June 2014. By this Bolivia became first nation to legalize child labour from age 10.

Germany captain Philipp Lahm stunned his homeland by quitting international soccer at the age of 30, five
days after leading his side to World Cup victory in Brazil.

S.L. Narayanan of Thiruvananthapuram and Chennais J. Saranya registered victories in the final round to
emerge the national junior chess champions at Pune. For Narayanan, it was his first national title, while
Saranya added another title to her big collection.

With 45 deaths due to encephalitis reported in the districts of north Bengal, the West Bengal government
issued red- alert in seven districts of the region.

At least 87 Gaza Palestinians and 13 Israeli troops are killed as Israel ramped up a major military
offensive in a bloodiest single day in the enclave in five years.

Overtaking Sergio Garcia of Spain by two-stroke, Northern Irish Golfer Rory Mcllroy lifted his first British
Open title.

Mercedes' Nico Rosberg coasted to his first home German Grand Prix win at Hockenheim to extend his
lead over teammate Lewis Hamilton in theFormula One championship.

Eminent Carnatic musician and acclaimed mridangam exponent T V Gopalakrishnan has been chosen for
the Sangita Kalanidhi award of the Music Academy for 2014. His other honours include Sangeet Natak
Akademi and Padma Bhushan awards.

Smita Gupta, Associate Editor with The Hindu, has been selected for the prestigious Prem Bhatia Award
for political reporting.

July 21 onwards

A report by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) that closely examined 27 cases of high-profile domestic
terrorism plots in the U.S. since 9/11 has found direct involvement of government agents or informants,
via sting operations, and this borders on entrapment, according to the organisation. In its 214-page
study titled Illusion of Justice, the HRW said the U.S. government had failed to meet its international
legal obligations with respect to its investigations and prosecutions of terrorism suspects.

Ishant Sharma's seven for 74 helped India claim 95-run victory over England in the second Test at Lord's,
UK. India recorded its first overseas Test win in over three years and emerged victorious at Lord's after
28 years.

As per a global consumer confidence index study by Nielsen, India which was ranked second in the first
quarter of 2013 is now the most optimistic country, followed by Indonesia and the Philippines. Consumer
confidence level in India jumped by seven points during the second quarter of this year bringing India at
the top position globally with the change in government at the Centre.

The Australian rider Michael Rogers won the 16th stage of the Tour de France. Vincenzo Nibali retained
the yellow jersey as the overall leader.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's biggest software services exporter, crossed the Rs 5 lakh crore
mark in market capitalisation on July 23. It is the first Indian company to achieve the feat. TCS has also
become the second most valuable IT services company in the world ahead of Ireland's Accenture but
behind the US-based IBM. The company's market valuation reached Rs 5,03,148 crore (about $84 billion).
It is the highest since its listing l0 years ago. The software services firm's record market capitalisation is
bigger than the combined market cap of the other four domestic IT players in the pecking order like
Infosys ($31.7 billion), Wipro ($23.3 billion), HCL Technologies ($17.9 billion) and Tech Mahindra ($8.5
billion).

India voted in favour of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) resolution for a probe on
Israel's offensive in Gaza.

At least 47 people were feared dead when a TransAsia Airways aircraft crash-landed on an island off
Taiwan's west coast due to adverse weather.

The 20th Commonwealth Games kicked off to a spectacular opening ceremony at Celtic Park in Glasgow,
Scotland. In the event, 71 nations will compete across 17 sports over 11 days.

Initiating first major reform of NDA, Cabinet gave nod for 2008 proposal to raise Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI) cap in insurance from 26% to 49%.

Mr. Fuad Masum, who also served as the first Prime Minister of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region more
than two decades ago, was appointed as the new ' President of Iraq after he won an overwhelming
majority of 211 votes to 17 in Parliament.

In a third airplane tragedy in a week, Algerian airliner Boeing MD-83, crashed in Mali in Africa, killing all
116 on board.

England's triathlete Jodie Stimpson won the opening Gold of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow,
Scotland. Indian weightlifters Sukhen Dey and K. Sanjita Chanu bagged first medals for India in the event
by winning a Gold medal each. In all, India won seven medals on the first day of Games.

Ace Indian shooter Abhinav Bindra won the 10m air rifle Gold in the Commonwealth Games at Glasgow,
Scotland.

In women's 10m air pistol event, Malaika Goel of India finished second behind Singapore's

Shun Xie Teo.

A high level environment protection panel reported that illegal mining in Aravallis, despite the Supreme
Court ban, has ruined the relic mountain range in Haryana and Rajasthan.

Indian shooters continued to impress on the third day of the XX Commonwealth Games as, after Apurvi
Chandela and Ayonika Paul, Rahi Sarnobat and Anisa Sayyed, too, grabbed the gold and silver medals
respectively in womens 25m pistol event.

Canadas Patricia Bezzoubenko was crowned queen of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, completing
a five gold medal haul in rhythmic gymnastics.

Australian Daniel Ricciardo won the Hungarian Formula One Grand Prix for Red Bull in Budapest.

Vincenzo Nibali of Italy won the 101st edition of the Tour de France in cycling. Nibali led the race for 18
days out of 21 and won the race by more than seven minutes, the biggest winning margin since 1997.

The Indian mission in Tripoli asked all Indians to leave Libya, in the wake of ongoing violent clashes
between armed militia.

Jitu Rai and Sathish Kumar Sivalingam helped India win one Gold each in men's 50m pistol event and
77kg weightlifting category, respectively at the

Commonwealth

Games, Glasgow, Scotland. Gagan

Narang bagged Silver in 50m rifle event.

In a letter to Russian President Mr. Vladimir Putin, the US President Mr. Barack Obama accused Russia of
violating a 1987 arms control treaty when it allegedly ground-launched a cruise missile.

Indian wrestlers excelled at Commonwealth

Games,

Glasgow bagging three Gold medals. Sushil Kumar

and Amit Kumar won one Gold each in 74 kg and 57 kg freestyle, respectively and Vinesh Phogat won the
48 kg freestyle Gold in women's section.

The US Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry, arrived in New Delhi for the Indo-US Strategic Dialogue to
boost ties ahead of Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi's visit to the US in September 2014.

A massive landslide flattened Malin village in Pune, Maharashtra, leaving more than 38 people dead and
over 160 missing.

South Africa's Jacques Kallis (38), one of the greatest all-rounders, announced retirement from all formats
of international Cricket.

German Sabine Lisicki created a record of fastest serve in the women's tennis by serving at 131 miles per
hour, in the Bank of the West Classic Stanford, USA.

Chinese journalist, Ms. Hu Shuli; Chinese lawyer, Mr. Wang Canfa; Indonesian anthropologist, Ms. Saur
Marlina Manurung; Afghanistan's Mr. Omara Khan Masoudi; Filipino teacher, Mr. Randy Halasan and the
Pakistani non-government group, The Citizens foundation are the winners of Magsaysay Awards 2014.

Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag (59) took over as the 26th Chief of 1.3-million-strong Indian Army, succeeding
Gen. Bikram Singh.

In an emergency regional summit, West Africas Ebola-hit nations imposed stringent new rules to tackle
the worlds worst-ever outbreak of the tropical virus and agreed to launch a $100-million response plan.

England beat India by 266 runs in the third Test in Southampton. James Anderson won the Man of the
Match title.

Dipa Karmakar won a Bronze to become the first Indian woman and the second person from the country
to clinch a historic Commonwealth Games medal in artistic gymnastic. Vikas Gowda became the first
person to win a Gold medal for India in Men's Athletics in Commonwealth Games after Milkha Singh. Also,
Babita Kumari in women's freestyle 55 kg category and Yogeshwar Dutt in men's 65 kg won Gold medals
for India.

Renowned film-maker, social worker and sufi poet, Mr. Muzaffar Ali has been chosen for the 22nd Rajiv
Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award.

PEOPLE IN NEWS
Abhinav Bindra
Olympic Gold medallist Mr. Abhinav Bindra on July 25, 2014 won the Gold medal in Men's 10-m Air Rifle event at
the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. He shot 205.3 points to win the Gold. This was Mr. Bindra's
first individual Gold medal in Commonwealth Games. Earlier, he had won Gold medal in pairs in Manchester
(2002), Melbourne (2006) and Delhi (2010).
Akhouri Sinha
The United States has named a mountain in Antarctica in the honour of this eminent Indian-American scientist
whose pioneering biological research expedition has provided critical data about animal populations.
Amit Shah
The man behind spectacular victory of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh in the recent Lok Sabha elections, Mr. Amit Shah,
took over from Mr. Rajnath Singh on July 9, 2014 as the next party president. At 50, he is the youngest president
of the BJP to date.
Amitabh Bachchan
Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has been appointed as Maharashtras horticulture ambassador. The 71-year-old actor,
who is also the face of Gujarat tourism, would be promoting the horticulture sector in Maharashtra.
Arup Raha
Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha took over as the Chairman of the Chief of Staff Committee (COSC)
on July 30, 2014. He received the baton of Chairman from outgoing Chief of Army Staff General Bikram Singh.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk announced his resignation following turmoil in government. Yatsenyuk
made the announcement from the dais of the parliament after two parties said they would pull out of the
governing coalition.
Balramji Dass Tandon
Senior BJP, leader and former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Balramji Dass Tandon was sworn in as the new
Governor of Chhattisgarh on July 252014.
Bashar al-Assad
Syria's President Mr. Bashar al-Assad was sworn in on July 16, 2014 for a third consecutive term. Mr Assad won
88.7% votes in the first multi-candidate election of the country in June 2014.
Chandi Prasad Bhatt
Environmentalist and social activist Mr. Chandi Prasad Bhatt on July 15, 2014 was awarded the prestigious Gandhi
Peace Prize for 2013. 80-year-old Mr. Bhatt fought against government's wrong policies on forests through nonviolent means.
Dalbir Singh Suhag
Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag (59) succeeded Gen. Bikram Singh as the 26the Chief of 1.3-million-strong Indian Army
on July 31, 2014. An alumnus of Sainik School, Chittorgarh, he joined National Defence Academy in 1970 and was
commissioned into 4.5 GR (FF) in June 1974. He will have tenure of 30 months.

Dick Smith
Oscar-winning make-up artist Dick Smith passed away on July 31, 2014 at the age of 92. Smith was the first
makeup artist to win an Academy Award for lifetime achievement. His list of credits included "The Godfather", "The
Exorcist", "Amadous" and "Taxi Driver".
Emma Watson
British actress, Emma Watson, has been appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador of UN Women, a UN organization
dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women.
Fuad Masum
Mr. Fuad Masum became the seventh President of Iraq on July 24, 2014, winning an overwhelming majority of 211
votes to 17 in the Parliament. Mr. Masum earlier served as the first Prime Minister of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish
region more than two decades ago.
Granville Austin
Granville Austin, a biographer of India's Constitution and a Padma Shri, died in Washington at the age of 87.
Austin, an author of two celebrated political histories of the Indian Constitution -- The Indian Constitution: A
Cornerstone of A Nation and Working A Democratic Republic: The Indian Experience, was awarded Padma Shri,
the fourth highest civilian award in India, in 2011.
Hashmat Karzai
A suicide attacker killed Hashmat Karzai, an influential cousin of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai on July 29,
2014. Hashmat Karzai was a campaign manager in the southern province of Kandahar for Ashraf Ghani, one of the
two presidential candidates" involved in a bitter stand-off that threatens to trigger worsening ethnic instability.
James Rodriguez
Colombian footballer James Rodriguez was in the limelight when he won the Golden Boot award on July 13, 2014
as the top goal scorer in the'2014 FIFA World Cup.
Jim Yong Kim
The World Bank President, Mr. Jim Yong Kim, arrived in New Delhi on July 21, 2014 on his three-day visit. During
his visit, he met Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi to understand development priorities in India.
John Kerry
US Secretary of State Mr. John Kerry attracted the global media attention when he visited India to co-chair the 5th
US-India Strategic Dialogue on July 31, 2014. His visit was thought to be very important, as it was in the wake of
India's tough stand at the World Trade Organization. India was opposed to signing any agreement unless it was
accompanied by an agreement that allows the developing countries to subsidize food grains.
Johnny Winter
Texas blue legend Johnny Winter passed away on July 16, 2014 in Zurich at the age of 70.
Winter was known for his lightning-fast blues guitar riffs and his collaborations with Jimi Hendrix. He was a leading
light among the white blues guitar players, including Eric Clapton and the late Stevie Ray Vaughan, who followed
in the footsteps of the earlier Chicago blues masters.

Joko Widodo
Reform-minded Mr. Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, was declared on July 22, 2014 the winner of
Indonesia's presidential election. Going to head world's third-biggest democracy, Mr. Widodo is currently the
Governor of Jakarta.
Kamla Beniwal
Kamla Beniwal, who had less than four more months in office, has been removed as Governor of Mizoram. Vinod
Kumar Duggal, Governor of Manipur, has been directed to discharge the functions of the Governor of Mizoram
Kaptan Singh Solanki
Hon'ble President Mr. Pranab Mukherjee appointed veteran BJP leader Mr. Kaptan Singh Solanki as the Governor of
Haryana on July 25, 2014. He has succeeded Mr. Jagannath Pahadia.
Keshari Nath Tripathi
Mr. Keshari Nath Tripathi was sworn in as the 22nd Governor of West Bengal on July 24, 2014. Mr Tripathi, a
veteran BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh, is an advocate by profession.
Lionel Messi
Captain of Argentina Football team, Lionel Messi, made the headlines when he won the Golden Ball award on July
13, 2014 after being adjudged the Best Player of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Madhukar Singh
Eminent Hindi litterateur Madhukar Singh, who led 'Samantar Kahani Andolan' in story writing in the 1970s, died
at 87. Singh was a recipient of the Soviet Land Nehru Award, Bihar government's prestigious Jannayak Karpoori
Thakur Sahitya Puraskar, Udayraj Puraskar and many other awards. A prolific writer, Singh has at least 35 books,
including 13 novels and 17 collections of stories, to his credit. His creativity covered almost all aspects of
literature, including poetry, plays, novels, stories, translated works, folk songs and children's literature.
Mahela Jayawardene
Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene will retire from test cricket following the home series against South
Africa and Pakistan, the countrys cricket board announced. The stylish right-handed batsman is the most capped
test player for Sri Lanka with 145 appearances and his 11,493 runs shares sixth spot, along with compatriot
Kumar Sangakkara, on the list of highest scorers in the longest format of the game. One of the most elegant
batsmen of his generation, Jayawardene has scored 33 test centuries since his debut against India in 1997 and
enjoys a batting average of a little more than 50 runs per innings. Jayawardene will, however, continue playing
the 50-over format for Sri Lanka, making himself available for next years World Cup in Australia and New
Zealand.
Manuel Neuer
German footballer Manuel Neuer hogged the limelight when he won the Golden Glove award on July 13, 2014 for
being best goalkeeper of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Margaret Alva
Ms Margaret Alva, Governor of Rajasthan, was sworn in on July 12, 2014 as Governor of Goa. Ms. Alva, an
advocate by profession, has been a Member of Parliament for around 30 years.

Muzaffar Ali
Noted film-maker, sufi poet and social worker, Mr. Muzaffar Ali was in news after he was selected for Rajiv Gandhi
Sadbhavna Award 2014 on July 31, 2014. The award recognises the contribution of the 69-year-old director of
classic "Umrao Jaan" towards communal harmony and peace.
Nadine Gordimer
Nadine Gordimer, the Nobel Prize winning South African author and anti-apartheid activist, died at 90. She was
awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1991. Her literary works, including "A Guest of Honour" (1970), the
Booker Prize-winning "The Conservationist" (1974) and "July's People" (1981) were cited by the Nobel committee
as "giving profound insights into the historical process (and) help(ing) to shape this process."
Narendra Modi
Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi visited Brazil to attend the 6th BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil on July 15-16,
2014. During the visit, many decisions were taken and, on the sidelines of the summit, Mr. Modi also met with
other leaders of BRICS nations.
Nikhil Chandwani
Nikhil Chandwani, 20-year old noted Indian author and documentary filmmaker, has become the first Asian to win
the prestigious author of the year award from the American Library Forum Society for his novel. Chandwani
bagged the Conspiracy Novel of the Year Award for his book 'Coded Conspiracy in August 2014'.
Nikhil Srivastava
Indian-American mathematician of Microsoft Research, Mr. Nikhil Srivastava, made headlines on July 10, 2014
after he was jointly awarded the prestigious George Polya Award 2014, for solving the Kadison Singer problem.
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic (Serbia) beat Roger Federer (Switzerland) in the final of 2014 mens Wimbledon championship in a
challenging contest. It was the first time since 2007 that Federer and Djokovic had met for a Grand Slam title.
Djokovic, who had 6 major titles before this match had last won Wimbledon in 2011.
OM Prakash Kohli
Veteran Bharatiya Janta Party leader, Mr. OM Prakash Kohli was sworn in on July 16, 2014 as the Governor of
Gujarat.
Padmanabha Balkrishna Acharya
Mr. Padmanabha Balkrishna Acharya was sworn in as the 18th Governor of Nagaland on July 19, 2014. Mr Acharya
has also been given the additional charge of Tripura.
Paul Pogba
French footballer Paul Pogba stole the limelight when he was adjudged Best Young Player of the 2014 FIFA World
Cup.
Petra Kvitova
Petra Kvitova stormed to her second Wimbledon title in the shortest women's final since 1983 as the Czech sixth
seed crushed Canada's Eugenie Bouchard 6-3, 6-0 on 5 July 2014. Kvitova, who first won Wimbledon in 2011,
took just 55 minutes to end her three-year wait for a second Grand Slam crown, leaving shell-shocked world
number 13 Bouchard helpless.

Ram Naik
Former Union Minister and BJP leader from Maharashtra, Mr. Ram Naik was sworn in as the 27th Governor of Uttar
Pradesh on July 22, 2014.
Reuven Rivlin
Right-wing legislator, Mr. Reuven Rivlin, who opposed the creation of the Palestinian state, took over as Israel's
10the President on July 24, 2014. He has succeeded Mr. Shimon Peres.
R.K Pachauri
Noted meliorist and, Director General of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) R K Pachauri termed looking
malls as energy guzzlers and aforementioned they're not suited to the Indian setting.
Shashi Kant Sharma
Mr. Shashi Kant Sharma, the comptroller and Auditor-General of India, assumed office on July 25, 2014 as the
Member of the United Nations Board of Auditors for a term of six years.
Sim Bhullar
Sim Bhullar (21) has become the first player of Indian origin to join the National Basketball Association (NBA) after
he inked a summer contract with theSacramento Kings, a professional basketball team in the US.
Subhash Sheoratan Mudra
Mr. Subhash Sheoratan Mudra took Charge on July 31, 2014 as the fourth Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank
of India (RBI). He will have three-year tenure.
Theodore Van Kirk
Theodore Van Kirk, the last surviving crewman of the Enola Gay the U.S. plane that dropped the first atomic
bomb on Japan near the end of World War II died at the age of 93. Theodore Van Kirk, also known as Dutch,
was the navigator on the Enola Gay, a B-29 Superfortress, one of a crew of 12 airmen. The plane dropped Little
Boy on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, killing 140,000 people, more than half the population of the city.
T.V. Gopalakrishnan
Eminent vocalist and mridhangam exponent Mr. T.V. Gopalakrishnan was in news for being selected on July 20,
2014 for the Sangita Kalanidhi award of the Music Academy for the year 2014.
Zohra Sehgal
Legendary actress Zohra Sehgal, who essayed character roles with aplomb in a career spanning both theatre and
cinema, died at the age of 102. A Padma Vibhushan awardee and a vivacious personality, she started her career
as a dancer with Uday Shankar in 1935. She had appeared in many Bollywood films as a character actor as well as
in English language films besides television series and plays. She acted in nearly 52 films, with her maiden film
being Dharti Ke Lal, in 1946, and her last appearance in Saawariya, in 2007. A vivacious woman with an incredible
zest for life, she had also worked in various English films, TV shows, and plays.

AWARDS & HONOURS

Booker Long List:
British lndian author Neel Mukherjee has been long-listed for the Man Booker 2014, which has allowed novels
written in English from across the globe for the first time, for his second book, The -Lives of Others. The Lives of
Others is set in Calcutta in the 1960s and revolves around the dysfunctional but wealthy Ghosh family and their
internal strife and the protagonist, Supratik, who gets drawn into extremist political activity.
Karen Joy Fowler and Joshua Ferris are among four American novelists who made it to the long list. It also
included six books written by Britons, two by Irish authors and one by the Australian Richard Flanagan.
Gandhi Peace Prize
Environmentalist and social activist Chandi Prasad Bhatt was presented the Gandhi Peace Prize by President
Pranab Mukherjee at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan . The prize is an expression of Indias belief that the ideals
Mahatma Gandhi espoused are part of Indias collective living heritage.
Magsaysay Awards
The 2014 Magsaysay Awards were announced on July 30, 2014.
Among this year's six awardees is Hu Shuli, 61, founder and editor of Caijing, a business magazine famed for its
groundbreaking investigative reporting that has had a profound impact on China. Its reports on illegal trading,
"government cover-up of the true extent of the 2003 SARS epidemic", and corporate fraud led to the ousting of
high public officials, prosecution of business leaders, and stock market reforms.
Another winner was Chinese lawyer Wang Canfa, 55, founder of the Centre for Legal Assistance to Pollution
Victims, which has handled thousands of environmental complaints and beaten powerful industrialists in court.
Also honoured were Indonesian anthropologist Saur Marlina Manurung, National Museum of Afghanistan director
Omara Khan Masoudi, Filipino teacher Randy Halasan, and the Pakistani non-government group The Citizen's
Foundation. Manurung, 42, was cited for "her ennobling passion to protect and improve the lives of Indonesia's
forest people" through jungle schools put up by her organisation. Masoudi, 66, was honoured for saving some of
the museum's most precious objects from the "bombings, looting, and wilful destruction by the Taliban" insurgents
of what they considered Afghanistan's non-Muslim heritage. Halasan, 31, was recognised for teaching the children
of the Matigsalug tribe in one of the remotest mountain villages in the Philippines. The Citizens Foundation,
organised by Pakistani business leaders, was honoured for putting up schools that gave equal opportunities to girls
in a country where education for women is anathema to some religious extremists.
Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award
The Advisory Committee of the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award decided on July 31, 2014 to confer the
22nd award in the series oh famous film-maker, social activist and Sufi poet Muzaffar Ali for his outstanding
contribution towards promotion of communal harmony, peace and good will. The award-which carries a citation
and a cash award of Rs. 5 lakh - is given on the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Sangita Kalakidhi Award
Eminent vocalist and mridhangem exponent TV Gopalakrishnan, popularly known as TVG, who also made a mark
in the film music world as singer, was on July 20, 2014 selected for the" 2014 Sangita Kalanidhi Award of the
Music Academy.