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General Awareness Bullet- 2016

(Comprehensive summary of current affairs for July 2016)
Dear PaGaLGuY readers,
This General Awareness Bullet is a comprehensive summary of important news and events that
occurred in July 2016. This bullet is relevant for Banking, SSC, Insurance and UPSC Exams. We
intend to release monthly bullets for various exams.
Do print out a hard copy of this for your regular use. Our goal is to ensure that you have the
necessary material readily available to prepare thoroughly and perform well in your exams.
To access all of the material that we provide, log on to http://www.pagalguy.com
Prepared by
Onkar Dichwalkar, Vaishnav Mudbhatkal, Priyank Pamkar

Edited by Elton Pinto

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in News

Repo rate

6.50%

Reverse repo rate

6%

Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR)

4%

Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR)

21.50%

Marginal Standing Facility (MSF)

7%

Bank Rate

7%

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1) RBI to study Blockchain technology to curtail paper currency

The Reserve Bank of India has decided to set up a committee to study the use of Blockchain
technology. This technology helps to reduce the use of paper currency. It is the technical
innovation of Bitcoin. It consists of blocks which holds the time stamped batches of valid
transactions. The blocks are then linked to form a chain with each additional block reinforcing
those before it, thus giving the technology its name.
2) RBI publishes Payment and Settlement Systems in India: Vision-2018
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the Payment and Settlement Systems in India: Vision2018 with a vision to build a less-cash society by encouraging greater use of electronic
payments by all sections. The RBI report says that it would also frame a policy that would increase
access to mobile banking services even to non-smartphone users in multiple languages. To
promote electronic transactions RBI would review guidelines relating to mobile banking, white
label ATM, National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT), and prepaid instruments which include mwallets, prepaid cards and paper vouchers. The RBI initiative stems from a sharp jump in electronic
transactions. Data released by RBI shows the value of mobile banking transactions rose four times
to Rs 4,02,204 crore in 2015-16 over the previous year, while the value of transactions through
mobile wallets stood at Rs 49,014 crore in 2015-16, more than double that of the previous year.
The broad contours of Vision-2018 revolve around 5Cs Coverage, Convenience, Confidence,
Convergence and Cost.
3) RBI sets up panel to study Fintech, digital banking
The Reserve Bank of India has set up an inter-regulatory Working Group to analyse a host of issues
pertaining to financial technology and digital banking. Headed by Sudharshan Sen, Executive
Director of the RBI, the group review and restructure the regulatory framework, based on the
dynamics fast-developing Fintech. It has 12 members, including AP Hota, MD and CEO, National
Payments Corporation of India; AS Ramasastri, Director, Institute for Development and Research
in Banking Technology, among others. Firstly, the Group will gain a broad understanding of major
Fintech innovations, entities, technology platforms involved, and how markets as well as the
financial sector are adopting new delivery channels, products and technologies. It will evaluate
opportunities and risks the financial system will face due to use of financial technology. It will also
analyse how Fintech can be used for optimising financial product innovation and delivery to the
benefit of users and other stakeholders. The panel will assess consequences and challenges with
respect to various financial sector functions such as intermediation, clearing, and payments, being
taken up by non-financial entities.

Financial and Banking News

1) SBI Digital Village launched
State run State Bank of India has recently launched a digital village with an aim to transform the
village into the cashless economy system. The scheme will work towards transforming villages into
safe, healthy and vibrant digital centres. SBI plans to bring 100 villages under this initiative across
the country by the end of FY 17.

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2) CBDT notifies rules for calculating fair market value of assets

The Finance ministry has recently notified the rules for calculating the fair market value of the
Indian and global assets of the foreign company or entity and determining the income attributable
to assets situated in the country. The indirect transfer rules come after draft guidelines issued
by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in May, also provide guidelines to compute the income
arising from transfer of any share or interest in a foreign company or entity that derives its value
substantially from the assets located in India. The FMV of all assets of a foreign company would
be determined based on the market capitalisation and book value of its liabilities in case of listed
firms or those of non-connected persons. In case of shares of an unlisted foreign company, the
FMV would be based on the value determined by a merchant banker or accountant along with the
value of its liabilities. These rules will be applicable from 28th June, 2016.
3) State Bank of India launches three new digital offerings
On the occasion of 61st State Bank Day on 1st July, SBI has launched 3 new digital offerings. With
Flipkart, SBI has launched the pre-approved EMI facility on purchase. SBI will provide overdraft
facility to pre-qualified set of customers for transacting on Flipkart for a minimum purchase of
Rs.5000.
4) SBI Card launches premium credit card 'Elite'
SBI Cards and Payment Services (SBI Card), the third-largest card issuer by number, has launched
a premium credit card called ELITE. Created on the MasterCard World platform, ELITE is built with
several privileges and benefits for high net worth individuals (HNIs). The card will come with a
joining fee of 4,999. All ELITE customers will receive a welcome gift of 5,000 in the form of
vouchers from popular travel and lifestyle brand. ELITE offers privileges such as 24x7 concierge
services, golf course reservations, spa, and limousine or movie ticket bookings which can be
availed with just one phone call. Also, ELITE offers lounge access through priority pass
programme at over 850 airports across the globe for frequent fliers.
5) IDFC Bank acquires micro lender Grama Vidiyal
Private sector lender IDFC Bank has acquired South India-based lender Grama Vidiyal
Microfinance for an undisclosed amount. It was acquired in an all cash deal to expand the
customer base of IFDC Bank. The IFDC Bank will also gain access to loan portfolios which enjoy
priority sector status. Grama Vidiyal Micro Finance started operations in 1997 & had 1.2 million
customers primarily in its home State, Puducherry and Kerala and in parts of Karnataka and
Maharashtra.
6) Union cabinet approves disinvestment of 15% in NBCC
The cabinet committee on Economic Affairs approved the disinvestment of 15% paid-up equity
in NBCC India Ltd. out of governments 90% share-holding. The disinvestment will be through
the offer for sale which is expected to raise Rs. 1,706 crores. It has also been decided to allot
additional shares to the eligible and willing NBCC employees at a discount of 5 per cent to the
issue/discovered (lowest cut off) price of OFS. Currently, the administrative ministry of Urban
Development controls NBCC India. NBCC has interests in construction, engineering and project
management consultancy services.

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Reports & Studies

1) Ozone layer in Antarctic is healing: Study
The hole in the Ozone over the Antarctica, first discovered in 1950s, has begun to shrink, as
discovered by the researchers. The gains in the protective layer can be credited to the long term
phasing out of ozone-destroying chemicals which were adopted in the 1989 Montreal Protocol.
The study discovered that the ozone hole has shrunk by 1.5 million square miles (four million
square kilometres) since 2000, an area about the size of India. This is considered to be a good
signalling for the future.
2) Ministry of Tourism releases data on domestic and foreign tourist visits to states and UTs
Ministry of Tourism has recently released a data on domestic and foreign tourists visit to states
and Union territories for the year 2015. There were 1,432 million domestic tourists visits to the
states and UTs. Tamil Nadu has topped in terms of state of highest domestic visits. Tamil Nadu
had 333.5 million domestic visits. Uttar Pradesh is at the 2nd position and Andhra Pradesh stands
at 3rd. In 2015, the number of foreign tourists visits have risen by 4.4% compared to the visits in
2014. The State that topped the list of the top ten States in terms of number of FTVs during 2015
is Tamil Nadu with 4.68 million visits. Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh secured second and third
place with 4.41 million visits and 3.1 million visits respectively.
3) India jumps 19 places on World Bank Logistics Performance Index; moves to 35th rank
The recently released, World Banks global logistics performance ranking placed India 19 above
that the countrys previous performance. India is at the 35th position against the 54th spot it
occupied in the previous 2014 report. This is due to the improvement in movement of goods inside
the country thus facilitating better trade. Other countries in top 10 are Belgium, Austria, United
Kingdom, Hong Kong and the United States. Japan is ranked 11. Syria is ranked lowest.
4) 30% of the land in India is getting degraded: ISRO study
As per a recent report released by ISRO, 30% of Indias geographical land is under land
degradation. The study was carried out using data from satellite images. The degrading area has
increased over 0.5 per cent to 29.3 million hectares during the period. There was high
desertification and degradation in Delhi, Tripura, Nagaland, Himachal Pradesh and Mizoram,
while Odisha, Telangana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh showed some improvement. ISROs
Space Applications Centre released the findings last month in the form of a Desertification and
Land Degradation Atlas, combining GIS and remote sensing data.
5) India ranks 91 in Networked Readiness Index 2016
India ranked 91 on the Networked Readiness Index (NRI) 2016, a key component of the World
Economic Forums The Global Information Technology Report 2016. The report assesses the state
of networked readiness of 139 economies using the NRI and examines the role of information and
communication technologies (ICTs) in driving innovation. India has slipped down two positions to
an overall rank of 91, despite improvements in its political and regulatory environment and in its
business and innovation environment. However, the drop can be attributed to the fact that other
countries are progressing at a faster pace.
6) Andhra Pradesh decided to conduct 'Smart Pulse Survey' of 1.48 crore households
Andhra Pradesh government has decided to conduct a 'Smart Pulse Survey' for collecting
socioeconomic data of 1.48 crore households in the state. The survey will be conducted between
8 July to 30 July 2016. The state Cabinet decided to conduct the survey to determine the socioeconomic status and collect all other relevant details of each household in the state. Revenue and
civic staff would go round the houses and collect the data during the above dates. Citizens can

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provide their details even over internet. The state government has appointed senior IAS officers,
who previously served as Collectors, as nodal officers for the 13 districts to oversee the survey.

Important Committees / Panels

Committee/Panel
head(s)

Objective of the Committee

Shankar Acharya
Arvind Subramanium

GOI - Desirability and feasibility of new FY

Committee to review the minimum support price (MSP)
and bonus for pulses
Committee to prepare Guidelines for Desiltation of River
Ganga

Madhav Chitale

Summits / Conferences around the world

1) SCO Summit 2016 concludes in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
The 2016 Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit was successfully concluded in Tashkent,
Uzbekistan. The 2-day summit was concluded under the leadership of Pakistan. During the
summit India & Pakistan have signed the Memorandum of Obligation to become full member of
SCO. India & Pakistan are expected to become full members by the next meeting at Astana, 2017.
2) BRICS meeting on energy conservation begins in Visakhapatnam
The first meeting of the BRICS Working Group on Energy Saving and Energy Efficiency commenced
on 4 July in Visakhapatnam and will conclude on 5 July 2016. Hosted by the Union power ministry,
it was attended by all 5 member nations, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
3) 2016 BRICS Youth Summit held with theme Youth as bridge for Intra-BRICS Exchanges
2016 BRICS Youth Summit was recently held in Guwahati Assam to bring together the youngsters
from five BRIC nations to empower them and strengthen their young minds. Over 50 youth from
Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa gathered in Guwahati for the event. The BRICS Youth
Summit was initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The last summit was held in Russia in
2015. Guwahati was chosen as the venue for the international summit to expose youth from the
remote northeast region to international platforms. The theme of this summit was 'Youth as
Bridge for Intra-BRICS Exchanges'. The summit focused on areas like skill development,
entrepreneurship, social inclusions, youth volunteerism and youth participation in governance.
4) NATO Summit concluded in Warsaw
The leaders of 28 NATO allies and many partner nations have started a meet for a landmark
Warsaw Summit. The agenda of the biannual summit included the situation in Eastern Europe, the
risks emanating from the Middle East, reform of NATO's partnership policy, question of
enlargement, debate about the future nuclear strategy of the Alliance. The leaders agreed to
deploy more troops along the eastern borders of Estonia and Poland. The leaders have also
supported Georgia's membership aspirations.

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5) 2nd Anti-Drug Working Group meeting of Heads of Drug Control Agencies of BRICS concluded
The 2nd Anti-Drug Working Group meeting of Heads of Drug Control Agencies of BRICS countries
was concluded on 8 July 2016 in New Delhi and was attended by officials and policy makers from
the other BRICS nations Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa. The delegates resolved to
develop and enhance cooperation and collaboration among the Member States to monitor
current trends and drug trafficking routes, exchange of information among the drug law
enforcement agencies, share and exchange experiences, best practices and enhance capacity
building in order to prevent and counter illicit drug trafficking and related crimes.

Appointments India and Abroad

INDIA
D K Hota
Madhav Dhekene
R Thiruppathi Venkataswamy
Deepak Singhal
Sanjay Gupta
Tathagata Roy
Ashok Patnaik
Rajesh Kumar Chaturvedi
Buddha Rashmi Mani
Pema Khandu
ABROAD
Rodrigo Duterte
Theresa May
Poul Romer
Steve Elworthy
Malcolm Turnbull

BEML Chairman
Director of ISRO Inertial Systems Unit
Accountant General of Tamil Nadu
Chief Secretary Uttar Pradesh
CMD- Konkan Railways
Governor- Arunachal Pradesh
CEO- NARGRID
Chairman- CBSE
Director General National Museum
Chief Minister Arunachal Pradesh
President - Philippine
Prime Minister - UK
Chief Economist World Bank
MD ICC World Cup 2019
Prime Minister - Australia

Bill, Amendments and Acts

1) Union Cabinet approves The High Courts (Alteration of Names) Bill, 2016
Centre has given its approval to introduce 'The High Courts (Alteration of Names) Bill, 2016 in
Parliament. The High Courts (Alteration of Names) Bill, 2016 will facilitate the changing of the
names of Bombay High Court as Mumbai High Court, Madras High Court as Chennai High Court
and Calcutta High Court as Kolkata High Court respectively. The High Courts of Bombay, Madras
and Calcutta were named after the cities in which they were located. Currently, there is no central
law to serve this requirement of name change.
2) Centre notifies Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and
Services) Act, 2016
The Union government has notified the (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies,
Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 and operationalised some of its provisions, giving a legal shape
to UIDAI. The government has also notified that UDAI has received a legal standing to carry out
the appointment of its chairperson and members. A search-cum-selection committee headed by

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the cabinet secretary and comprising secretaries of DoPT, finance and DEITY, and two experts to
be nominated by the communications and IT minister, would recommend names for the
chairperson and members for selection by the Government of India.
3) Union Cabinet approves Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016
The Union Cabinet has approved The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016 to
protect transgenders from discrimination. The bill will benefit a large number of transgender
persons, mitigate the stigma, discrimination and abuse against this marginalized section and bring
them into the mainstream of society. The Bill will make all the stakeholders responsive and
accountable for upholding the principles underlying the Bill. It will bring greater accountability on
the part of the Central Government and State Governments/Union Territories Administrations for
issues concerning Transgender persons.
4) Parliament passes Regional Centre for Biotechnology Bill, 2016
The Regional Centre for Biotechnology Bill, 2016 seeking to establish a Regional Centre for
Biotechnology in Faridabad, Haryana has been passed by the Rajya Sabha. The bill provides for
establishing a regional biotechnology centre that will work on education, training and research,
under the auspices of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
in the National Capital Region and declare it to be an institution of national importance said an
official statement. This will help to create a hub of Biotechnology expertise and will facilitate
transfer of technology and knowledge in the SAARC region and generally Asia. It also intends to
promote cooperation at the international level.
5) Cabinet approves amendments to the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) (Amendment) Bill,
2015
The Cabinet has approved amendments to the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) (Amendment)
Bill, 2015 to strengthen the bill as regards legal and administrative procedure. The law also aims
to prohibit benami transactions and subsequently prevent evasion of law through unfair practices.
It enables the government to seize benami property by adhering to procedure and promote
equality.
6) Lok Sabha passes Bill to establish new NIT in Andhra Pradesh
Lok Sabha has recently passed the National Institute of Technology, Science, Education and
Research (Amendment) (NITSER) Bill, 2016 to establish a National Institute of Technology in
Andhra Pradesh with effect from August 2015. The bill provides a NIT for the Andhra Pradesh after
its bifurcation as the existing NIT went to Telangana. The Bill amends the NITSER Act 2007 so as
to establish an additional NIT in Andhra Pradesh.
7) Lok Sabha passes Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2016
The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2016 to amend the Child Labour
(Prohibition & Regulation) (CLPR) Act, 1986 has been approved by the Lok Sabha. The bill seeks to
prohibit the employment of children below 14 in all occupations and enterprises, except those
run by his or her own family. The bill seeks to make child labour a cognizable offence attracting a
jail term of up to three years and penalty up to fifty thousand rupees. Children below 14 will be
allowed to work only in family enterprises, that too after school hours. The bill also defines
children between 14 to 18 years as adolescents and bars their employment in any hazardous
occupations. The bill aims to restrict the employment of children below 14 years in factories
establishments.

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Government Policies and Schemes

1) Government launches web portal to monitor environmental approvals for mining of minerals
A new web portal has been launched for online submission and checking of environmental
approvals for mining of sand and minor minerals. The portal will ensure empowerment of the
project proponent, as it will not only improve transparency of the entire application process,
but also enable proponents to track their applications online. The web-based application
automates the entire tracking of proposals, which includes online submissions of a new
proposal, editing/updating the details of proposals at each stage of the workflow. The system
is based on web architecture. Some of the features of the application include- submission of all
projects in a single window interface; checking delays in the clearance process; a unique ID for
each proposal for future reference; On-the-fly generation of all required reports; automatic
mailer notification to take instant action; accessible from any PC having internet facility and
different types of privileges/roles for users as per their responsibilities.
2) India Post opens My Stamp' scheme for individuals and corporate
India Post has opened up the ongoing scheme of customized printing of My Stamp for
individuals and corporate also. Under the scheme, an individual or a corporate entity can get
their photo or logo printed inside the postage stamp at a price of 12 lakh rupees. As per
reports, this time there will be 5000 sheets comprising 60000 postage stamps. These stamps
can be used for general postal mail. The plan to go ahead with the scheme of My Stamp was
reached on specific demands of several like Western Union, SNDT Women's University,
Allahabad High Court and others. So far, My Stamp have been issued for Amazon India and
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. The scheme was first introduced in India during the World
Philatelic Exhibition, INDIPEX-2011
3) Railways Ministry launches NIVARAN portal for employees' grievance redressal
An online system for redressal of service related grievance of serving and former railway
employees, NIVARAN portal has been launched by the Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.
Developed by CRIS, this portal facilitates the employees to lodge their grievances and also
monitor their progress. The system would also provide facility for lodging appeal to the higher
authority in case the decision is not found satisfactory.
4) Union HRD Ministry launches teacher education portal Prashikshak
Union Human Resource Development Ministry has recently launched a teacher education
portal Prashikshak. It is launched to strengthen District Institutes of Education and Training
(DIETs) and bring quality teachers into the Indian school education system. Though the
Prashikshak has started only for DIETs, it will cover Block level institutes in the future and
identify gaps at the bottom of the pyramid. Prashikshak is thus, a first of its kind in the country,
a unique IT initiative which will contain a comprehensive database of all DIETs in the country
with all relevant performance indicators.
5) Radha Mohan Singh launches a web-based App CMRS
A web based app CERS was recently launched by The Union Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare
Minister, Radha Mohan Singh. CERS stands for Crop Manager Rice based Systems. This app is for
better crop and Nutrient management released for Bihar farmers in a program organised at
ICAR-RCER in Patna. The app will become part of Digital India programme and it will be linked
with Soil Health scheme for bringing access to new technologies to rural India. CMRS provides
irrigated and rainfed farmers with rice-based cropping systems in Bihar with a crop and nutrient
management guideline customized to the needs of an individual farmer.

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6) National Mineral Exploration Policy unveiled by Narendra singh Toma

Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has launched the National Mineral Exploration Policy
(NMEP) with an intent to explore the new mining areas across the country and raise
contribution of the sector in the country's GDP. The policy was revealed at the inaugural
function of the two-day national conclave on 'Mines and Minerals' at Raipur in Chhattisgarh.
The event witnessed a participation of over 300 delegates from the country. The policy will
help in will help in mapping of the mining areas across the country, thus creating a lot of
employment opportunities in mineral rich districts.
7) National Apprentice Promotion Scheme approved
Union Cabinet has given a green signal to the National Apprentice Promotion Scheme to
incentivise employers to engage apprentices. Under this scheme, 50 lakh youth of the country
will receive apprenticeship training by 2019-20 at an estimated cost of Rs. 10,000 crores. To be
implemented by the director general of training (DGT) under the Ministry of Skill Development
and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), the scheme will strengthen the employment sector. 25% of
total stipend will be given by government directly to the employer.
8) Union Cabinet approves Interest Subvention Scheme for farmers
The Union cabinet chaired by PM Narendra Modi has approved Interest Subvention Scheme for
farmers for 2016-17. The government has embarked sum of Rs. 18,276 for this scheme. The
scheme will prove beneficial to the farmers to get a short term crop loan payable within one
year up to Rs. 3 lakhs at only 4% per annum. Central govt will provide interest subvention of 5%
per annum to all farmers for short crop loan up to one year for loan upto Rs. 3 lakh borrowed by
them during 2016-17. To provide relief to the farmers affected by natural calamities, the interest
subvention of 2 per cent will be provided to banks for the first year on the restructured amount.
9) Union Government launched National Green Highways Mission
Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari has launched the
National Green Highways mission (NGHM) in New Delhi. This initiative launched the plantation
drive on 1,500 km of National Highways at a cost of about 300 crore rupees. This mission has
also launched initiatives like Guidelines for Implementation, Vision Document, Knowledge
Reports of the mission, Adopt a Green Highway Program, Kisan Harit Rajmarg Yojana, National
Green Highways Mission Mobile App. This mission is launched under the Green highways policy
to analyse the vision of developing eco-friendly and green National highways. This mission will
generate jobs as greening of 1 km of highway provides employment for 10 people. The
government has made it mandatory to set aside 1 percent of the total project cost of any NH
contract to a Green Fund corpus that will be used for plantation purposes.
10) 231 Projects under Namami Gange launched all over country
Union government has recently launched 231 different projects to give a major boost to Namami
Gange at various locations like Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal,
Haryana and Delhi. These projects involve modernisation and redevelopment of Ghats and
crematoriums, development of sewage infrastructure and treatment, afforestation, tree
plantation, pilot drain project, interceptor drain project, trash skimmers and conservation of
biodiversity. 400 villages along the river will be developed as Ganga Gram in Phase I under Ganga
Gram Yojna. Thirteen IITs have adopted five villages each for development as Ganga Grams.

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Deaths

Name

Field of work & Nationality

Alvin Toffler

Author - USA

Bud Spencer

Actor - Italy

Ranchandra Dhere

Author - India

Elie Wiesel

Author - USA

Noel Neill

Actor - USA

Abdul Sattar Edhi

Philanthropist - Pakistan

Mubarak Begum

Singer - India

Joe Antic

Hockey - India

Syed Mubarak Raza

Painter - India

Arundhati Ghose

Diplomat - India

Neelam Rajun Ganga Prasad

Rao
Dominique Armoud

Scientist - India
Cyclist - France

Science, Technology and Environment

1) NASA tests rocket booster for space mission
NASA recently tested its most powerful rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), carrying 13
CubeSats and an unscrewed Orion Spacecraft will be launched in 2018. The booster was tested at
a cold motor conditioning target of 4.4 degrees Celsius the colder end of its accepted propellant
temperature range. When ignited it reached a temperature of 3,300 degree Celsius. SLS first
flight, referred to as Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), will provide the rare opportunity for these
small experiments to reach deep space destinations, as most launch opportunities for CubeSats
are limited to Low-Earth orbit.
2) Researcher develops non-invasive method to kill cancer cells in two hours
Researchers have recently developed a non-invasive method to destroy cancer cells in a span as
less as two hours which can prove beneficial in cases of inoperable or hard to reach tumour. The
process involves injecting of nitrobenzaldehyde, which diffuses in the cell. A beam of light is then
aimed at the tissue causing it to become acidic and essentially commit suicide. This process
destroys almost 90% of target cells. The research findings of this study were published in the
Journal of Clinical Oncology.
3) New species of ant-mimicking spider found in Kerala
A new species of spider, which mimics the characteristics of ants, has been discovered in the moist
deciduous forest of the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. This spider lives along with ants in the
corrugated bark of large trees and is difficult to differentiate from ants. This spider belongs to
Aetius genus of the ant-mimicking spider family Corinnidae. Researchers assert that while there
are over 200 variety of ant-mimicking spiders, a spider so much similar to an ant has been

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discovered for the first time. This spider has been jointly discovered by researchers of the Centre
for Animal Taxonomy and Ecology (CATE) of Christ College, Irinjalakuda, and the Oxford Museum
of Natural History, London.
4) NASA spacecraft on course for its date with Jupiter
Juno, an unmanned NASA spacecraft, is approaching Jupiter on a $1.1 billion mission to circle the
biggest planet in the solar system and provide more insights on the origin of our planetary
neighbourhood. This solar-powered spacecraft will fire its main rocket engine to slow itself down
from a speed of 150,000 mph and slip into poisonous atmosphere of Jupiter and orbit for two
years. Best known for its Great Red Spot, the planet is marked by cold, windy clouds of ammonia
and water that appear red, brown and in beige swirls.
5) First fossil facial tumour found in dinosaur jaw
First record of the fossil facial tumour in the jaw of a 69 million-year-old dwarf duck-billed dinosaur
is recently found by an international group of researchers, including Kate Acheson from the
University of Southampton in the U.K. The tumour is a type of non-cancerous facial tumour, which
is found in humans, mammals and some modern reptiles. The scientists claimed that the presence
of such a deformity early in their evolution provides us with further evidence that duck-billed
dinosaurs were more prone to tumours than other dinosaurs. The micro CT scans discovered that
the dinosaur suffered from a condition known as an ameloblastoma, a benign, non-cancerous
growth known to afflict the jaws of humans and other mammals, and some modern reptiles too.
6) Tarantula species named in honour of Garcia Marquez
Nobel literature laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez has been honoured and a Tarantula species has
been named after him. The newly researched "Kankuamos marquezi" is named for both Garcia
Marquez and the indigenous Kankuamo group who live in the area of Caribbean Colombia where
the writer was born. This tarantula species has a defence mechanism which includes releasing
stinging hairs that dig into predator's' eyes and people's skin.
7) Dabur signs MoU with DRDO to promote cultivation of rare medicinal plants
Dabur India has signed an MoU with the Defence Research and Development Organisation's
(DRDO) Defense Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR), The agreement is to promote
sustainable cultivation of rare medicinal plants Ladakh. Dabur and DIHAR will educate farmers in
the Leh-Ladakh about high-altitude medicinal plant species Farmers will be given free saplings of
rare medicinal plants and herbs. The initiative will focus on the creation of a self-sustainable
system by formation of a value chain for targeted endangered species. It will ensure biodiversity
conservation and focus on sustainable management of bio-resources by implementing scientific
agronomy practices.
8) IUCN declares Bornean Orangutan as critically endangered
According to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Bornean Orangutan has
been declared as critically endangered. Sharp decline in population has been observed due to
habitat destruction and illegal hunting which accounts for 86% population reduction between
1973 and 2025. Also, the IUCN also put the whale shark, the largest fish in the world, on the
Endangered list.
9) Kendrapara sheep gets registered breed status
The National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources has formally accorded registered breed status
on Kendrapara sheep, an indigenous variety mainly found in Kendrapara, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur,
Bhadrak and Jajpur districts of the State. The Kendrapara breed was identified as the second in
India and sixth in the world to carry FecB mutation gene responsible for multiple births such as

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twins and triplets. The research had recorded more than 80 per cent multiple births, 71 per cent
twinning, nine per cent triplet and one per cent quadruplets in a period of 12 months. It is the
42nd sheep breed to have been registered in India. In the past, four cattle and two buffalo breeds,
all native to Odisha, were registered.
10) Scientists decide to launch field trials of oil-degrading bacteria in Kochi
To launch field trials for three new strains of oil degrading bacteria in Kochi, The Malabar Botanical
Garden and Institute of Plant Sciences, Kozhikode, and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited
(BPCL) have joined hands. These bacteria will help the bio remediation techniques used for the
cleaning of petroleum pollutants from the environment. The three new strains including two
species of Burkholderia and one species of Pseudomonas have been sequenced and submitted to
the Genbank database on organisms.
11) Brazilian scientists discover another type of Zika-transmitting mosquito
Researchers from Brazil have discovered a different type of Zika transmitting mosquito named
'Culex quinquefasciatus' unlike the Aedes aegyptii species responsible for the transfer of Zika
virus. The current study is significant as the control measures of the vectors are different. Brazil
is currently in a state of health emergency due to the increase in detected microcephaly cases in
newborns, attributed to the Zika virus, even though the link between the disease and the virus is
yet to be scientifically confirmed.

Defence
1) India-Israel co-developed MR-SAM missile successfully test-fired
India successfully test fired a new surface-to-air missile, developed jointly with Israel, from a
defence base off Odisha coast. This medium range missile (MR-SAM) is a product of joint venture
between India and Israel and was successfully test launched from a mobile launcher in the
Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur. Named as Barak-8 missile, it was co-developed by the
Defence Research Development Laboratory (DRDL) of DRDO in partnership with the Israel
Aerospace Industries (IAI). Apart from the missile, the system includes a Multi-Functional
Surveillance and Threat Alert Radar (MF STAR) for detection, tracking and guidance of the missile.
2) Indias first integrated defence communication network launched
HCL infosystems has recently launched Indias first ever integrated defence communication
network. It is the first tri-service communication and IT network of armed forces. This network is
fully designed and developed in India which will prove beneficial for the defence forces during
both critical operations and rescue missions.
3) Indigenously built Tejas inducted into IAF
Indigenous Light combat aircraft Tejas next in Indian Air Force. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
handed over the first two Tejas aircraft to IAF which will make up the 'Flying Daggers' 45, the name
of the first squadron of the LCA. Tejas will replace the MiG-21 series.
4) Exercise RIPMAC 2016 begins
RIPMAC 2016 exercise has begun in the Hawaii with 26 nations participating in the war games.
These war games will be in the Hawaiian Islands and southern California. These exercises will run
till 4th August, 2016. It will include 45 ships, five submarines, more than 200 aircraft, and 25,000
military personnel. RIMPAC 2016 will include an advanced submarine rescue exercise, a harpoon
missile launch from a U.S. Navy littoral combat ship, disaster relief practices, maritime security

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operations, sea control, and complex war-fighting. Countries like Denmark, Italy and Germany are
taking part in RIPMAC for the first time ever. Other countries participating in the exercise are
Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico,
Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand,
Tonga, and the United Kingdom.
5) Admiral Sunil Lanba commissions Marine Commandos' base INS Karna
Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chief of Naval Staff, has commissioned the Marine Commandos (MARCOSEast) unit as 'INS Karna' at a function at INS Kalinga in the district. The MARCOS unit is mandated
to undertake special operations in the entire area of the Eastern Naval Command (ENC).
MARCOS East was raised on October 26, 1992 and since then it has been the primary special
operations unit in ENC. This includes Operation Zabardast (Sri Lanka February 1993), Operation
Tasha (1990-2009), Operation Leech (1998) and Operation Sagittarius (anti-piracy operations in
Malacca Strait) and the unit is at present involved in two major operations, including Rakshak
(counter terrorist operations in Jammu and Kashmir since 1997).

Awards and Honours

Award
Honoris Cousa

Recipient
Vishwanathan Anand

B C Roy National
Award

2008: Rajeshwar Dayal,

Mammen Chandy, Neelam
Mohan, Rohit V. Bhatt,
Mohan Kameswaran,
Harsha Jauhari, Gopal H.
Badlani and Yash Gulati.
2009: H. Sancheti, Renu
Saxena, Atul Kumar, A.K.
Kriplani, Kanan A. Yelikar,
H.S. Bhanushali, G.V. Rao,
Moti Lal Singh, C.N.
Purandare and C.V. Hari
Narayan.
2010: Nikhil C. Munshi,
O.P. Kalra, Tejinder Singh,
Subash Gupta, Amrinder Jit
Kanwar, Rajendra Prasad
and Glory Alexander.
Lidudumalingani
Mqombothi

2016 Caine Prize

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Details
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) has
conferred the Honoris Causa Doctor of
Science was conferred on 5 time world
champion Viswanathan Anand. He was
conferred with this honour during IITs 49th
convocation ceremony.
These awards are given annually in categories
like Statesmanship of the Highest Order in
India, Eminent Medical Person, Medical mancum-Statesman, Eminent person in
Philosophy, Eminent person in Arts and
Eminent person in Science.

South African author Lidudumalingani has

won the 2016 Caine prize for African writing
for his short story Memories We Lost,
published in Incredible Journey: Stories That
Move You .

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Mahanayak
Samman

Bappi Lahiri

Award for
Exceptional
Bravery at Sea

Radhika Menon

Sangita Kalanidhi
award

A Kanyakumari

Ramon Magsaysay
Award 2016

Bezwada Wilson, Thodur

Madabusi Krishna

Bharat Gaurav
Award

Milkha Singh

Pulitzer Prize

James Alan McPherson

Komla Dumor
Award

Didi Akinyelure

Mister World title

Rohit Khandelwal

UNESCO Artist for

Peace

Kudsi Erguner

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The Mahanayak Samman awards were

instituted in 2012 in the memory of Bengali
matinee idol Uttam Kumar who is revered in
this part of India as "Mahanayak (Great
hero)".
Captain Radhika Menon, the first ever woman
captain of Indian merchant Navy who has
received the IMO award for exceptional
Bravery at sea.
Renowned violinist A Kanyakumari has
conferred with 2016 Sangita Kalanidhi award.
With this award, she has become first female
violinist to receive this award.
The prestigious Ramon Magsaysay 2016
award will be conferred on social activist
Bezwada Wilson & musician Thodur
Madabusi Krishna.
East Bengal will confer its Bharat Gaurav
Award (Pride of India) upon the Legendary
athlete Milkha Singh.
First black writer to win the Pulitzer Prize in
fiction, James Alan McPherson has recently
passed away in Iowa city
Nigerian journalist Didi Akinyelure has won
the BBC World Service News Komla Dumor
Award for 2016. She is the second recipient of
this award which was established to honour
Ghanaian BBC World News presenter Komla
Dumor.
Rohit Khandelwal has become the first Indian
(as well as Asian) to clinch the Mister World
title. The grand finale of Mr. World 2016 was
held at the Southport Theatre & Convention
Centre in Southport, U.K.
Turkish musician Kudsi Erguner has been
named UNESCO Artist for Peace. His
responsibility as a holder of this post is to
work to revive the forgotten musical heritage.

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Important News India & World

1) Govt approves MoU with Tanzania for bilateral cooperation in water resources management
Union Cabinet has approved the signing of memorandum of understanding (MoU) between India
and Tanzania for bilateral co-operation in water resources management and development. The
areas of cooperation will include techniques in water harvesting, surface and groundwater
management and development and aquifer recharge. The collaboration and sharing of expertise
will mutually benefit both the countries. The Government will encourage the exchange of experts,
organisation of training programmes, study tours and other such activities including
demonstrative pilot studies, in order to build capacities in the areas mentioned above.
2) Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address 'Mann Ki Baat' to be broadcast in Bangladesh
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis Mann Ki Baat will soon be telecasted in Bangladesh. The
massage given by PM will be translated into the native tongue and the answers to the questions
invited from people of Bangladesh will also be incorporated. Mann Ki Baat will be broadcasted in
Bangladesh on All India Radio's upcoming Bangla language service channel Akashvani Maitree, for
which AIR has made arrangements to receive comments and voice messages from citizens of
Bangladesh.
3) World's largest charkha unveiled at IGI airport
Worlds largest spinning wheel (charkha) was unveiled at Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi
International Airport, Delhi. Union MSME minister has said that the charkha is a symbol of
Gandhian values and shows government's priority towards Khadi and Village Industries. The idea
behind the installation is to highlight India's quest to foster an egalitarian society as
demonstrated by Mahatma Gandhi.
4) India, Portugal decide to issue joint postage stamps
Department of Post of India and Portugal Post have decided to issue joint postage stamps on the
theme of folk dances. Department of Post of India has picked up Dandiya dance of Gujarat.
5) India gives SUVs to Mozambique, completes delivery of $4.5 mn grant
India handed over 30 SUVs to Mozambique, completing the delivery of US $4.5 million grant
assistance as part of supporting the institutions of Mozambique. Secretary of Economic relations
in the External Affairs ministry Amar Sinha handed over these vehicles.
6) Nirmala Sitharaman to lead business delegation to Russia
Union Commerce and Industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman will soon lead the delegation of over
110 companies. This delegation will showcase its engineering prowess at a trade fair in Russia.
India is the partner country for 'INNOPROM 2016', which is the largest annual international
industrial trade fair of Russia. This 4-day trade fair will start in Ekaterinburg. The theme of this
exhibition is 'Industrial Net'. The event means to bring together all important components to
improve efficacy under one roof. States like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Rajasthan,
Himachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh are also showcasing their strengths. Central government
departments including Heavy Industries, Electronics and IT, Ministries of Power, Tourism and
Renewable Energy, will also form part of the official delegation. INNOPROM will also offer india a
platform to showcase 'Brand India Engineering' & 'Make in India'.
7) Operation Sankat Mochan launched to evacuate Indian citizens from South Sudan
To evacuate over 300 people stranded in South Sudan, Indian government has started Operation
Sankat Mochan. India Minister of state for external affairs VK Singh is leading this rescue
operation. Till now, India has sent two C-17 military transport aircraft to South Sudan. The South

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Sudan is witnessing heavy military war between former rebels and government soldiers in
several parts of the city. According to the ministry, there are around 600 Indians in South Sudan,
of them 450 are in Juba and nearly 150 are outside the capital.
8) India, US discover major Natural Gas Reserve in Indian Ocean
Scientists from India, the United States and Japan have struck upon a large natural gas deposit in
the Bay of Bengal, the first potentially producible discovery of its kind in the Indian Ocean. The
Indian National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 02 is the second joint exploration for gas
hydrate potential in the Indian Ocean. It focused on the exploration and discovery of highly
concentrated gas hydrate occurrences in sand reservoirs. The gas hydrate is located in coarsegrained sand-rich depositional systems in the Krishna-Godavari Basin. A total of 42 holes were
completed in 147 days at water depths ranging from 1519 to 2815 meters with sub-seafloor
completion depths ranging from 239 to 567 meters below the seafloor.
9) India becomes first contributor to UN Trust Fund for sexual abuse victims
India has contributed $1,00,000 to a trust fund set up for victims of sexual exploitation and
abuse by peacekeepers, becoming the first country to make a contribution to the fund. India has
historically been one of the largest troop-contributing countries in peacekeeping operations and
is currently ranked as the second largest contributor of military and police personnel.
10) Union Cabinet approves signing of Air Services Agreement between India and Mozambique
The Union Cabinet has recently approved signing of the Air Services agreement between India
and Mozambique. Presently there is no Air Services Agreement between India and Mozambique.
Under the agreement, airlines of the two countries will be allowed to set up offices in each
other's country for the purpose of promotion and sale of air services. The airlines of India and
Mozambique can operate to multiple destinations in the other countries, an official statement
said. The two countries also signed an MoU on the prevention of illicit drug trafficking and
precursor chemicals that are used to make narcotic substances.
11) Netherlands-UP inks pact to set up skill development centre for farmers
The Netherlands and Uttar Pradesh signed an MoU to establish a skill development centre to
help farmers. The MoU is to ensure that farmers receive information on food processing along
with use of modern techniques to boost production of sugarcane, potato, dairy development
and flowers. Besides, under this agreement, the Dutch government would help the state in solid
waste management, urban development and infrastructure. It would help in cleaning the
Yamuna in Agra. Besides, the Netherlands would also provide assistance in land reclamation of
1500 acres in the Ganga basin in Kanpur and development of cultural heritage.
12) UNESCO declares Nalanda Mahavihara as 33rd World Heritage Site in India
Bihar's much awaited ancient site, the ruins of Nalanda Mahavihara - barely 98 km away from
Patna - has been declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The site comprises large number
of remains of stupas, shrines, viharas and important art works in stucco, stone and metal.
Nalanda stands out as the most ancient university of the Indian subcontinent. It engaged in
organised transmission of knowledge over an uninterrupted period of 800 years. The historical
development of the site testifies to the development of Buddhism into a religion and the
flourishing of monastic and educational traditions.
13) India, Bangladesh sign deal for construction of coal-fired power plant
India & Bangladesh recently signed a deal for the construction of a 1,320-megawatt coal-fired
power plant. The Rampal Power Station is the biggest project under bilateral cooperation. This is
the biggest project under India - Bangladesh cooperation and EXIM Bank of India will provide

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$1.49 billion for the project, scheduled to start generating power in 2019. The deal came amid
concerns by environmental groups that the plant could affect the delicate ecosystem of the
world's largest mangrove forest, spreading over both Bangladesh and India. The project is also
known as Maitree Super Thermal Power Project.
14) India, ADB sign $100 mn loan agreement for Cauvery Delta project
The Indian government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $100 million loan for
'Climate Adaptation in Vennar sub-basin of Cauvery Delta project' in Tamil Nadu. The agreement
aims to strengthen irrigation and drainage system and improve water management in the
Vennar sub-basin of the Cauvery delta, which is a major source of water for agriculture in Tamil
Nadu as well as neighbouring states. The funding will be used to reinforce embankments of six
major irrigation water channels in the Vennar system and rehabilitate 13 irrigation pumping
schemes.
15) Second phase of the Feed the Future-India Triangular Training Programme launched
Second phase of the Feed the Future-India Triangular Training Programme was launched on 25
July 2016 in New Delhi by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and the U.S Agency
for International Development (USAID). The programme will provide specialized agriculture
training to 1500 agricultural professional across Africa and Asia in following countries:
Afghanistan, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Mongolia, Vietnam, Kenya, Malawi, Liberia, Ghana,
Uganda, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Tanzania, Sudan, Botswana and
Ethiopia. Under this 32 Training programme of 15 day-duration will be conducted in India and 12
Training programs for a duration of 10 days will be conducted in selected African and Asian
Countries during 2016-20.

Important News World

1) Malaysia gets 2 women Shariah HC judges
Two women, Noor Huda Roslan, 40, and Nenney Syuhaidah Shamsuddin, 41, have been
appointed as the Judges of Malaysias Islamic Shariah High Court. Shariah High Court, also known
as Syriah High Court, refers to Sharia law in Islamic religious law and deals with exclusively
Islamic laws, having jurisdiction upon every Muslim in Malaysia. This is the first time in the
history of the judiciary of the Muslim-majority country where muslim women have been
appointed to the post and marks a positive development for the judiciary.
2) Taxidermists to work their magic on Napoleons last horse
The last horse ridden by Napoleon Bonaparte is being restored with stuffing by two taxidermists
at the Army Museum in Paris. The white Arabian stallion, Le Vizir, was gifted to Napoleon by an
Ottoman sultan in 1802. He sports a brand on his rump made up of an N topped with a crown.
One of the emperor's favourites achieved great victories at Jena and Eylau he accompanied
his master to exile in Elba after Napoleon's first forced abdication in 1814.
3) Linda Burney becomes first Indigenous woman elected to Australia's lower house
A former teacher, Linda Burney, 59, is the first female Aboriginal to get elected into Australias
lower house of parliament, winning a seat for the centre-left Labour party after national polls.
With this, she joins first Aboriginal MP Ken Wyatt of the conservative Liberal Party who was
elected in 2010. Olympian Nova Peris was the first indigenous woman in the upper house of the
Parliament. In December 2014, she became the interim leader of the opposition after the
resignation of John Roberson. She is an ambassador of the Australian Womens Education

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Foundation. She has been a pioneer in politics having been the first woman Aboriginal to enter
the New South Wales state parliament in 2003.
4) US sanctions North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un for human rights abuses
Citing notorious abuses of Human rights, US has sanctioned Kim Jong-Un, the infamous leader of
North Korea. The sanctions, for the first time target any North Koreans for rights abuse and also
affect property and other assets within the U.S. jurisdiction. The report from US notified many of
the abuses are in North Korea's prison camps, which hold between 80,000 and 120,000 people
including children.
5) China inducts largest home-grown Y-20 military transport plane
China has inducted its largest indigenously-built transport aircraft Y-20, a breakthrough in
military aviation technology for the PLA that allows the worlds largest force to transport cargo
and troops over long distances in diverse weather conditions. The Y-20 officially joined the PLA
Air Force in Chengdu, is ideal for transporting cargo and personnel over long distances in diverse
weather conditions and has a maximum weight limit of 200 tonnes. Besides manufacturing J-15,
China's first-generation multipurpose aircraft for the newly-built aircraft carrier, Chinese military
has testedJ-31, a fifth generation aircraft, and stealth fighter J-20, which PLA officials claim to be
comparable with US versions.
6) Sushila Karki confirmed as Nepal's first woman Chief Justice
Sushila Karki has been appointed as the first woman chief Justice with a unanimous decision by
the parliamentary panel. Karki (64), who has done her Masters in Political Science from Banaras
Hindu University, is famous for her zero-tolerance for corruption. Karki was recommended for
the top judicial post on April 10 this year by the Judicial Council but her appointment was pending
due to delay in the formation of the PHSC for some technical reasons. Currently, 11 nominees are
awaiting the PHSC hearing for their appointment as the SC judges.
7) Shinzo Abe's party attains majority in Upper House of National Diet
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abes ruling Liberal Democratic Party emerged victorious in an
election for the 121 seats in the upper house of parliament National Diet. Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe's ruling coalition already enjoys a two-thirds majority in the lower house and they needed a
supermajority in the House of Councilors to start a parliamentary motion for changing the
constitution. According to Abe, this victory is the result of his economic policies in Japan popularly
known as Abenomics. Abes LDP already enjoys majority in the lower house. With this win, the
LDP has also got a super majority in the upper house. This will facilitate the way for Abe to start a
parliamentary motion for changing the constitution.
8) Peru declares Zika emergency in 11 states
Perus government has declared a health emergency in 11 states of the country due to an
expanding outbreak of the Zika virus. Peru has 102 confirmed cases of Zika in the country, 34 of
which are pregnant women. At least 63 of the infections are located in the Jaen province of
Cajamarca, near Perus border with Ecuador. The states under emergency include Amazonas,
Cajamarca, Huanuco, La Libertad, Lambayeque, Loreto, Piura, San Martin, Tumbes, Ucayali and
metropolitan Lima. The Zika virus is carried by the same mosquito species which spreads
dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever. More than 20 countries in Latin America and the
Caribbean have registered cases of native Zika since 2014.
9) Facebook's Aquila Internet drone completes first test flight
Facebook Inc on 22 July 2016 announced the successful completion of test flight of a solarpowered drone named Aquila. The social media giant believes that Aquila will help to extend
Internet connectivity to every corner of the planet. Facebook has been working on the project as

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part of the many connectivity initiatives under Internet.org. Aquila is very similar to Google's
project Lion, which plans to use high flying balloons to beam internet signals down to remote
areas. Aquila's wingspan is bigger than that of a Boeing 737, and its wings and frame are made of
carbon fiber. It is solar-powered, so it runs on solar energy during the day and battery power at
night. The batteries can last for up to 13 or 14 hours.
10) Turkey declares three-month state of emergency after a failed military coup
A three-month state emergency was recently declared in Turkey by its president following a
botched coup attempt in the country. This measure was taken by the Turkish Prime Minister to
maintain the democracy in Turkey. Since loyalist security forces and protesters quashed the
rebellion, nearly 10,000 people who have been rounded up for security measures.
11) Quarter of a million children severely malnourished in Borno state, Nigeria: UNICEF
As per the recently released report by UNICEF, almost a quarter of a million children in parts of
Borno state, North-East Nigeria, are suffering from severe malnutrition and risk death. The
humanitarian crisis is caused due to Boko Haram that is controlling the state since 2013. UNICEF
said that out of the 244,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition in Borno this year,
around one in five will die if they do not receive treatment. Also, the agency stated that there
had been a large rise in the number of children suffering from this condition in Borno state, from
35,000 in 2013 and 57,500 in 2014. UNICEF is working with partners to screen and treat children
for malnutrition and improve access to water and sanitation. UNICEF's humanitarian response
also includes providing medical care, immunization, education and psychological support to the
children affected by the violence.
12) Russian PM suspends sports ministry official named in doping report
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has suspended Deputy Sports Minister Yury
Nagornykh, whose named recently cropped up in a report on the doping of Russian athletes at
the 2014 Sochi Olympics. The investigation was led by Canadian sports lawyer Richard McLaren,
who was present on the independent commission that exposed doping and corruption in
Russian track and field in 2015. The report stated that Nagornykh had been advised of every
positive test across all sports from 2011 onward and decided "who would benefit from a coverup and who would not be protected.
13) International court rules in favour of Philippines in South China Sea matter
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague has ruled in support of the Philippines in a
maritime dispute, ruling that China has no legal basis to claim historic rights to the bulk of the
South China Sea. Though the decision has been rejected by Chinese President Xi Jinping, it is
likely to have long-lasting implications for the resource-rich region, which sees $5 trillion worth
of shipborne trade pass through annually. Besides China and Philippines, the ruling affects other
countries having competing claims with the nation over large areas of the sea. This includes
Malaysia, Vietnam, and Indonesia, among others that have voiced concerns against China's
dominance in the region. As a result of China refusing to abide by the court ruling, the
Philippines has refused a Chinese proposal to start bilateral talks.

14) Forbes releases list of World's Highest-Paid Celebrities of 2016

Forbes magazine recently released a list of the World's Highest-Paid Celebrities of 2016.
American pop singer Taylor Swift is ranked 1st on this list whereas, One Direction (band) took
the No. 2 spot, followed by author James Patterson at the third place. Dr. Phil McGraw and Real
Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, are tied on No. 4. According to this list, The Rock aka Dwayne

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Johnson is the highest paid actor in the world. Shah Rukh Khan ranks 86th on the list with
earnings to the tune of $33 million, while Akshay Kumar comes in on the 94th spot with $31.5
million earnings.
15) World Health Organisation declares Brazil free of measles
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared Brazil free of measles, after no case of the
disease was registered in the year 2015. In the coming months, the WHO will issue a certification
for the eradication of measles to Brazil. The WHO had worked alongside the Pan-American
Health Organization (PAHO) to eradicate the disease, with a joint investment of 335000 US dollar
going towards measles control. The health agency also hired 165 dedicated nursing staff in
Brazil. Measles can be transmitted orally, through mucus or saliva and mainly affects children. It
can be spread rapidly through the air due to sneezing or a cough, and the first symptoms appear
after 10 days with red spots on the skin.

Important agreements and Deals: National & International

1) World Bank, ISA sign agreement for collaboration in solar energy
World Bank has signed an agreement worth $1bn to support Indias Solar mission. As a part of the
agreement, the World Bank Group will also collaborate with the 121-member International Solar
Alliance, headquartered in India, with the aim of attracting $1 trillion in investments by 2030 to
promote solar energy worldwide. The projects included under the support of World Bank are solar
rooftop technology, infrastructure for solar parks and bringing innovative solar and hybrid
technologies to market and transmission lines for solar-rich states. An agreement was signed for
a $625-million grid-connected rooftop solar programme. The project will finance the installation
of at least 400MW of solar photovoltaic installations that will provide clean, renewable energy
and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by displacing thermal generation.
2) ICMR signs agreement to provide healthcare through solar-based solutions
An MoU has been signed between Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Council on
Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), to provide healthcare to the most remote areas in the
country by reducing "uncertainty" in electricity supply through solar solutions. Under the initiative
'Initiative on Solar for Healthcare' signed between ICMR and Council on Energy, Environment and
Water (CEEW), solar systems will be installed on a pilot basis at select Primary Health Centres
(PHCs) to evaluate its impact on healthcare delivery. Nearly 35 million people in rural India rely on
un-electrified PHCs for basic health care. Thus, the basic aim of the collaboration is to create
resilient health systems in rural India which benefits such people especially women and children.
3) India signs MoU with Mauritius for rural development and poverty alleviation
The Union cabinet recently signed two MoU with Mauritius to create a framework for
cooperation between the National Development Unit, Prime Minister's Office of the Republic of
Mauritius and the Ministry of Rural Development of the Republic of India in the sphere of rural
development. The MoU will facilitate cooperation in the field of rural development and capacity
building on the basis of equality. Both countries have agreed to coordinate and facilitate
appropriate technical cooperation, exchange of relevant information and documents in the
sphere of rural development, & collaboration to strengthen their human resource capacity.

4) India to ink pacts with Mozambique

India has decided to enter into a government-to-government pact with the Government of
Mozambique to import pulses Mozambique, which has its eastern coast alongside the Indian

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Ocean, currently faces a shortage of 7.6 million of tonnes of pulses, a staple protein source for
many. India has decided to apply the cooperative model of farming to Mozambique to increase
production. Cabinet has approved the signing of an MoU between the two nations on drug
demand reduction and prevention of illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances
and precursor chemicals and related matters through enhanced cooperation.
5) NADA signs 2-year MoU with Australian agency
National Anti-Doping Agency has signed a 2-year MoU with its Australian counterpart and its
international parent body-WADA-to bolster its anti-doping programme. The project plan
established by these 3 agencies will ensure that India implements a more effective anti-doping
programme that is fully compliant with the WADA Code. WADAs role is to monitor the
partnership, including the timeline set for the project, and to assist with the implementation of
the work required. The MoU will prove beneficial in testing and results management structures,
more timely appeals processes, and a review of the agencys structure to confirm that the
current structures enable autonomous operational decision making.
6) India, S Africa sign MoUs in four areas of cooperation
India & South Africa have recently inked 4 MoU is major areas of cooperation like the information
and communication technology (ICT), grass root innovation and tourism, the Programme of
Cooperation will cover segments of arts and culture. These programmes were announced during
the meet of PM Narendra Modi and his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma in Johannesburg,
South Africa. During the meeting, both the leaders discussed a wide range of bilateral and
international issues including reform of the UN Security Council (UNSC).
7) Zydus, Medicines Patent Pool inks agreement for Bristol-Myers Squibb's daclatasvir tablets
Drug firm Zydus Cadila has inked a generic manufacturing pact with the Medicines Patent Pool
for manufacturing global pharma major Bristol-Myers Squibbs daclatasvir tablets used to treat
Hepatitis C. The company "has signed a non-exclusive, royalty free agreement with the
Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) for the generic production of Bristol-Myers Squibb's daclatasvir, a
novel direct-acting antiviral that is proven to help cure multiple genotypes of the Hepatitis-C
Virus said an official statement. The agreement sub-licences Zydus to produce and sell
daclatasvir in 112 low and middle income countries. Between 130 and 150 million people
worldwide are estimated to have HCV.
8) India, Mozambique sign MoUs on drug trafficking, pulse trading and sports
India and Mozambique have signed agreements in areas of drug trafficking, pulse trading and
sports. The MoU was signed in presence of PM of India Narendra Modi and President of
Mozambique Filipi Nyusi. The three Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on reduction of
drug trafficking and psychotropic substances and related materials, cooperation in the field of
youth affairs and sports, and long term agreement for purchase of pulses were signed
between Secretary of Economic Relations in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Amar Sinha
and Mozambique's Finance Minister. The agreements were made with an aim to at enhancing
mutual cooperation between the two countries in combating illicit trafficking in narcotics,
psychotropic substances and their precursors through an exchange of information, expertise and
capacity building.

9) India, Tanzania signed five agreements India and Tanzania have signed five agreements across
various sectors to strengthen their bilateral ties during in the third phase of PMs four-nation
visit to the country. The Indian Prime Minister and the Tanzanian President discussed a wide

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range of issues which also included agreements on trade between the two countries. They will
be looking forward to strengthen ties with each other.

India and States

1) Maharashtra, Tata Power to ink pact for 1,000 MW for Mumbai
With an intent to fulfil power requirements and boost the transmission capacity for Mumbai
region, Maharashtra Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tata
Power for sourcing 1,000 MW from the upcoming Dherand Thermal Project. A series of power
subsidies have been announced for industries located in Vidarbha, Marathwada, Northern
Maharashtra and other areas of the State, which have been classified as D and D-plus industrial
areas. The subsidies were announced by a committee after a 13-month study of the power
situation in the State. The subsidies are applicable with retrospective effect from April 1, 2016.
The subsidies in the backward regions have been provided to make the areas viable.
2) Lesbians, gays and bisexuals are not third gender: Supreme Court
As per the recent judgement of the Supreme court, the lesbians, gays and bisexual persons does
not include under the category of transgender. A bench comprising Justices A.K. Sikri and N.V.
Ramana refused to modify the 2014 ruling on transgender rights. The bench notified that the
2014 ruling clearly mentions that the gays, lesbians and bisexuals are not third gender. Justices
K.S. Radhakrishnan and A.K. Sikri had granted legal recognition to transgenders or eunuchs as
third gender. The SC directed the Union Government and State Governments to treat them as
socially and educationally backward classes.
3) Cabinet clears pay hike for 1 cr. govt employees, pensioners
Cabinet has approved the implementation of seventh pay commission for its over 1 crore
employees recommending an overall hike of 23.5%. The new scales of pay provide for entrylevel basic pay going up from Rs. 7,000 per month to Rs 18,000, while at the highest level i.e.
Secretary, it would shoot up from Rs 90,000 to Rs 2.5 lakh. For Class 1 officers, the starting salary
will be Rs 56,100. The 7th Pay Commission examined a total of 196 existing Allowances and, by
way of rationalisation, recommended abolition of 51 Allowances and subsuming of 37
Allowances. The recommendations cover 47 lakh central government employees and 53 lakh
pensioners. This include 14 lakh serving employees and 18 lakh pensioners in defence forces.
4) Maharashtra target of planting 2 crore trees in state crossed
Maharashtra state has successfully crossed its ambitious target of planting 2 crore trees in state.
The state has crossed the mark of 2 crores and planted around 3 crores trees on 1st July, 2016. In
Maharashtra, the green cover is only 20% against the required 33.5%. Out of a total of 307 lakh
hectares, only 61.35 lakh hectares are under green cover.

5) Rapid Rural Police Response System launched in Punjab

To ensure a prompt and effective police response, Punjab state government has launched a rapid
rural police response system across the state. State has flagged off 400 new motorcycles and 220
new Bolero jeeps under the new system. Under this system, it is mandatory for the police
department to respond to any crime or law & order situation within 20 minutes of it being
reported. This service will insure the quick police service to the doorstep of a common man.

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6) Kerala government decided to ban 'electronic cigarettes'

Kerala state government has recently decided to ban the e-cigarettes in state. The decision came
in view of studies claiming that its use can cause various health issues, including cancer and
heart ailments. An expert committee appointed by the Centre to study the ill effects of ecigarette had recommended banning the device in the country in 2014 itself. Indian Medical
Association has also found out the same results. The states health department have also found
out that the device is used for smoking ganja, hashish and other narcotic substances.
7) Haryana to develop new Industrial Township at an expense of $5 billion
Haryana state government has decided to develop a new industrial township at a cost of $5
billion. This township will be over 1,500 acres in Sohna and Manesar in the Gurgaon district. For
this purpose, Haryana government has already signed a MoU with China Fortune Land
Development (CFLD). A joint venture of Haryana Industrial and Infrastructure Development
Corporation (HSIIDC) and CFLD will develop infrastructural facilities, industrial units and
residential and commercial projects in the township. These projects would be completed within
the next 10 years and would generate employment opportunities for lakhs of youth, besides
making available state-of-the-art health and education facilities.
8) JNPT becomes Indias first port to implement Logistics Data tagging of containers
Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust has become the first in India to implement Logistics Data tagging of
containers which will help importers and exporters track goods in transit through logistics data
bank service. The containers will be attached with a Radio Frequency Identification Tag (RFID)
and will be tracked through RFID readers installed at different locations. The tagging system
would improve visibility and transparency of EXIM container movement by covering the entire
movement through rail or road till the Inland Container Depot and Container Freight Station.
Also, it will help in reducing the overall lead time of the container movement across the western
corridor and lower the transaction costs incurred by shippers and consignees.
9) Indias first Commercial Court & Disputes Resolution Centre inaugurated in Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh CM has recently inaugurated Indias first Commercial Court and Disputes
Resolution Centre. Some facilities available for litigants through the new system includes videoconferencing, e-Court, e-Library, e-Filing and e-Summons. The court also acts as an arbitration
centre and meditation centre. These ultra-modern facilities available at the court will facilitate
the investors in their commercial dealings.
10) Union cabinet approves setting up of major port at Enayam in Tamil Nadu: The Union cabinet
has given a nod to set up a major port at Enayam in Tamil Nadu. The estimated cost of the
project is around Rs. 25,000 crores. A special purpose vehicle will be formed for development of
this project, with initial equity investment from three other major ports in Tamil Nadu namely
Chidambaranar Port Trust, Chennai Port Trust, and Kamarajar Port Limited. This port will act as a
major gateway container port for Indian cargo that is presently trans-shipped outside the
country, but also become a trans-shipment hub for the global East-West trade route.
11) Rajasthan becomes first state to introduce minimum wages for part-time workers: Rajasthan
has become Indias first state to introduce minimum wages for part time workers. As per the
official notification, it is mandatory to pay 50% of the prescribed a day minimum wage to a
person who works for less than four hours in a day. With this, part-time workers of Rajasthan
now come under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.
12) FTII to be converted into Digital Media University: The governing council of Film & Television
has given a nod to the conversion of FTII into Digital Media University with 22 new courses. The

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suggestions were given by the Academic Council of FTII headed by producer BP Singh. The Digital
Media University envisages setting up of nine different schools under the aegis of FTII, which
will offer 22 courses. The institute currently offers 11 courses seven on filmmaking and four on
television production.
13) Film festival on wildlife has begun in Shimla today: With an intent to highlight environmental
issues, Shimla will celebrate a three-day Woodpecker Environment and Wildlife Film Festival at
historic Gaiety Theatre. As many as 45 films, including several national Award winning films and
five films from Himachal Pradesh would be screened at the festival. Critical environment and
wildlife conservation issues like climate change, forest conservation, biodiversity and mananimal conflict and success stories would also be showcased.
14) Kerala Government imposes 14.5 per cent fat tax on Junk Food: The state government of Kerala
has announced the Fat Tax on junk food in the market of the state. This will make food items like
burgers, pizzas, pasta costlier. The announcement was done in the first budget of LDF government
on Friday. 'Fat tax' is something that is prevalent in certain foreign countries like France, Denmark
and Hungary but is largely an alien term in India. Kerala govt hopes to collect at least Rs. 10 crores
from 14.5% tax on fattening food products like burgers, pizzas, etc. sold in fast food restaurants.
The government has also imposed a 'Green tax' for vehicles over 10 years besides levies on various
items including packed wheat products like atta, rava and maida.
15) NASSCOM unveils Indias first Centre of Excellence on Internet of Things: National Association
of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) unveiled Indias first Centre of Excellence
focused on Internet of Things (CoE- IoT) at its Start-up Warehouse in Bengaluru. The centre is a
joint initiative between the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeITY),
Education and Research Network (ERNET) and NASSCOM and will function as an enabler of
funding, accelerating, and mentoring for start-ups in this area. It is also supported by Accenture,
Cisco, Intel, HCL Technologies, Qualcomm, TCS and L&T Technology Services, among others.
16) Supreme Court ordered restoration of Nabam Tuki government in Arunachal Pradesh: The fivejudge Constitutional bench of Supreme Court has unanimously restored the Congress
government in Arunachal Pradesh led by Nabam Tuki. The constitutional bench headed by
Justice JS Khehar termed removal of former chief minister Nabam Tuki as unconstitutional.
Other members of the bench were Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Madan B. Lokur, Justice P.C.
Ghose and Justice N.V. Ramana.
17) Union Cabinet approves revival of defunct fertilizer units in Gorakhpur, Sindri and Barauni:
The Union cabinet has approved the revival of closed urea units of the Fertilizer Corporation
India(FCIL) at Sindri in Jharkhand and Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, as well as the Barauni unit in
Bihar of Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation (HFCL). These units will provide fertilizers in the
mentioned regions and also help to save in subsidy on freight otherwise being incurred for
transporting urea from distant western and central regions. The fertiliser units were lying
defunct since their closure during 1990-2002.
18) India's first green rail corridor launched between Rameswaram and Manamadurai stretch: The
nation's first Green Rail Corridor, a 114-km long Rameswaram-Manamadurai stretch in Tamil
Nadu which ensures zero toilet discharge on rail tracks, was inaugurated recently by Railways
Minister Suresh Prabhu. Trains in the section have been equipped with bio-toilets ensuring zero
discharge of human waste on the rail tracks. A total of 35,104 bio-toilets had been provided
initially, 7,000 more new bio-toilets have been made operational now. Besides, Railway Minister
Prabhu also inaugurated high speed upgraded Wi-Fi facility, set up in association with Google, at

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Chennai Central Railway Station and a similar facility at Tiruchirappalli through video
conferencing. He also launched a traditional medicine centre under Ayush at Perambur Railway
Hospital.
19) Union Cabinet approves setting up of AIIMS in Bhatinda: Centre has approved the setting up of
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Punjab's Bhatinda district. The institution shall
have a hospital with capacity of 750 beds which will include emergency/trauma Beds and AYUSH
Beds, private beds and ICU Speciality and Super Speciality beds. In addition, there will be an
administration block, AYUSH block, auditorium, night shelter, hostels and residential facilities.
The project will be completed in a period of 48 months and cost of the project will be Rs. 925
crores.
20) ECI launched National Electoral Roll Purification 2016: The Election Commission of India (ECI)
on 20 July 2016 has launched the National Electoral Roll Purification (NERP) 2016 programme
across the country. "No voter to be left behind" is the motto of ECI for year 2016. The
programme will continue till August 31, 2016 and will ensure enrolment of all eligible citizens
and removal of repeated and multiple entries; entries of dead, shifted and absent voters,
correction of errors in EPIC and removal of other data errors. An award has also been instituted
for 100 % achievers at BLO, ERO and DEO levels in three categories of authentication, correction
and deletion of DSEs/REs may be incorporated in the State Award.
21) Union Government approves 1601 crore rupees for Himayat programme in J&K: Centre has
approved Rs 1601 crore for Jammu and Kashmir under skill development initiative Himayat to
train 1.24 lakh local youths in vocational courses. Under the reanimated Himayat programme,
1.24 lakh youths from both the rural and urban areas of the state would be imparted training in
various job-intensive vocational courses over the next three years. PIA would be selected by
State Level Project Appraisal Committee in which experts from National Institute of Rural
Development and DDU-GYK will participate along with the officers of the state government. The
state is establishing Himayat Mission Management Unit at the state level within one month
whereas the JKSRLM will oversee the overall implementation of the program in the state.
22) Kerala Assembly passes Legislative Assembly (Removal of Disqualifications) Amendment Bill
2016: Kerala Assembly has passed the Legislative Assembly (Removal of Disqualifications)
Amendment Bill, paving way for the appointment of CPI-M veteran VS Achuthanandan as
Chairman of the proposed Fourth Administrative Reforms Commission. The bill seeks to amend
the Section 2 of the 1951 Act by adding sub-section 2 which says that "No person shall be
disqualified from being the member of legislative assembly (MLA) on the grounds that he or she
holds the office of profit in term of being the Chairman of the Administrative Reforms
Commission." The section 2 in the 1951 Act was added to give effect to the sub-clause (angel) of
clause (1) of Article 191 of the Constitution. The Article says that an MLA shall be disqualified if
he or she holds any office of profit under the Union Government or any of the state
governments, other than an office declared by law.
23) Union Cabinet approves establishment of All India Institutes of Medical Sciences at Gorakhpur:
Centre has approved the establishment of All India Institutes of Medical Sciences at Gorakhpur
under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY). The cost of the project for
establishment of the new AIIMS in Gorakhpur shall be Rs 1011 crore. This recurring expenditure
will be met by the respective new AIIMS from their annual budgets through Grant-in-Aid to them
from Plan Budget Head of PMSSY of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The institution shall
have a hospital with capacity of 750 beds which will include Emergency/Trauma Beds, AYUSH
Beds, Private Beds and ICU Speciality & Super Speciality beds. In addition, there will be an

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Administration Block, AYUSH Block, Auditorium, Night Shelter, Hostels and residential facilities.
The establishment of new AIIMS will serve the dual purpose of providing super specialty
healthcare to the population while creating a large pool of doctors and other health workers in
this region that can be available for primary and secondary level institutions/facilities being
created under National Health Mission (NHM). This institute will also conduct research on
prevalent regional diseases and other health issues and provide for better control and cure of
such diseases.
24) Odisha govt. to celebrate bicentenary of 1817 Paika revolt: The Odisha government has
decided to celebrate the bicentenary (200 years) of the 1817 Paika revolt against the British
Empire in 2016. For this, the state will organise a series of events in Odisha and at national level.
25) NITI Aayog, Intel India join hands to start Atal Tinkering Lab initiative: NITI Aayog has signed a
Statement of Intent (SoI) with Intel India to start the Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATL) initiative
as a part of its flagship programme the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM). The SoI includes creation
of 10 laboratories, which aim to foster curiosity, creativity and imagination in youth; teaching
skills such as computational thinking, adaptive learning, physical computing; and developing a
design mind-set among students. It intends to build relevant skill set among youngsters and
provide access to technology to help create solutions for social impact. Intel will support Niti
Aayog in building capacities of mentors and developing linkages with maker ecosystem for
quality improvement of projects made by youth, facilitating ideation, design thinking and
prototyping workshops through industry experts and co-lead an innovation festival which
reaches out to 5,00,000 young innovators.
26) Country's first e-court opened at Hyderabad High Court: India's first e-court has opened at the
High Court of Judicature in Hyderabad, the common high court for the states of Telangana and
Andhra Pradesh. Besides, SC judge Justice Madan B Lokur has also announced the launch of
India's first Integrated Criminal Justice System (ICJS) in the High Court of Judicature at
Hyderabad. This system will integrate the courts, police stations, prosecution, forensic science
laboratories and jails.
27) Kudankulam power project's second unit attains criticality: Kudankulam nuclear power
project's second unit of 1,000 MW has attained first criticality. It is the 22nd nuclear power
reactor in India and second pressurised water reactor belonging to the light water reactor
category. Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) has said after the reactor begins to
generate 400 MW of power within 45 days from the date of criticality, it is likely to be connected
to the grid. Generation of power will be raised to 500 MW, 750 MW, 900 MW and 1,000 MW in
stages. With the addition of 1,000 MW from the Kudankulam's unit 2 to the southern grid, the
installed capacity of nuclear power will increase to 6,780 MW from the present 5,780 MW. The
Kudankulam's first unit of 1,000 MW, after attaining criticality in July 13, 2013, was synchronised
with the southern grid in October the same year. It has generated 5,777 million units of power
till May 2016.
28) MP becomes first state to get 'Happiness Department: Madhya Pradesh has become India's first
state to establish Happiness Department, which, in Chief Minister Shivraj Singh's words, will aim
to ensure "happiness in the lives of common people". he said that besides basic necessities of
life, people need something more to be happy in life. He stressed that this cannot be achieved
by materialistic possessions, but by spreading positivity in people's lives.
29) Union Cabinet approves incorporation of Sagarmala Development Company: Union Cabinet
has approved incorporation of Sagarmala Development Company under the Companies Act,

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2013, with an initial authorised share capital of Rs 1,000 crore and a subscribed share capital of
Rs 90 crore. The prime objective of Sagarmala project is to promote port-led direct and indirect
development and to provide infrastructure to transport goods to and from ports quickly,
efficiently and cost-effectively. Implementation of the identified projects will be done mainly
through private or PPP mode. It will provide equity support for the project Special Purpose
Vehicles (SPVs) set up by the Ports/State/Central Ministries window.
30) CCEA approves Ghatampur Thermal Power Project in Uttar Pradesh: The Cabinet Committee on
Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the installation of Ghatampur Thermal Power Project
(GTPS) of 1980 MW capacity through a Joint Venture Company. The project will be implemented
at an estimated cost of 17237.8 crore rupees. The commissioning of Unit I, II and III will be 52
months, 58 months and 64 months respectively from starting date. The benefits of this
generation will be available in the 13th Five Year Plan. The energy generated by the GTPS (about
14,000 MU/annum) will mainly be supplied to Uttar Pradesh said an official statement.
31) Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveils foundation stone for revival of fertilizer unit at
Gorakhpur: India's PM Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the revival of a sick fertiliser
plant here with an investment of Rs 6,000 crore. This centre will create up to 4,000 jobs and
ensure adequate supply of nutrients to farmers of Uttar Pradesh. The gas-based urea plant of
the state-run Fertiliser Corporation India Ltd (FCIL) will be revived by an equal joint venture
company between Coal India Ltd (CIL) and NTPC.

Corporate News
1) Royal Enfield announces collaboration with Flipkart to sell its accessories
E-Commerce giant has joined hands with bike maker Royal Enfield to sell its branded gears and
accessories. This is for the first time Royal Enfield has partnered with a third-party for sale of its
accessories. Earlier, it used to sell within its own authorised retail network and website.
2) RIL, SBI sign shareholder agreement for payments bank JV
State Bank of India & Reliance Industries have recently signed an agreement to set up a joint
venture for payments banks. In The Subscription & Shareholders agreement has 70% equity of
RIL and 30% equity of SBI.
3) Hero MotoCorp inks 3-year wage agreement with Gurgaon workers
Countrys largest two-wheeler maker, Hero MotoCorp, has signed a 3-year pact with its
permanent workers at their Gurgaon plant. The pact is regarding a hike of Rs. 12,500/- which is
spread over three years and will be effective from 1st August, 2015 to 31st July, 2018.
4) Aditya Birla Fashion acquires global clothing brand Forever 21
Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL) has acquired global clothing brand 'Forever 21' in the
Indian market for USD 26 million (around Rs 175.52 crore). Diana Retail is the franchisee of
Forever 21 brand in India. The transaction involved acquisition of the Forever 21 Undertaking of
Diana Retail with effect from July 1 through a business transfer agreement not share transfer.
Forever 21 is among the fastest growing fashion retailers in the world with a network of more
than 700 stores worldwide. Its India operations reported a turnover of Rs 262 crore in 2015-16.

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5) Google buys France-based startup Moodstocks

Search giant Google recently acquired a French start up called Moodstock. Moodstocks caught
the US technology giant's eye for its work in computer vision and machine learning, as well for
accomplishments in enabling smartphones or other mobile devices to recognize images and
objects. The Moodstocks team, described as a small group of researchers and engineers, will join
a Google research and development center in Paris. Financial terms of the deal were not
disclosed.
6) Utpal Bora appointed as Chairman of Oil India
Utpal Bora has been appointed as the full time Chairman of Oil India. The appointment was
recommended by a three-member search-cum-selection committee headed by Cabinet
Secretary P K Sinha. D Rajkumar has also been appointed as the Head to Oil India. His
appointment will be effective from 1 October 2016 after retirement of BPCL's current chief S
Varadarajan in September 2016.
7) SBI signs MoU with IIT Bombay to promote fintech start-ups
India's largest public sector bank, State Bank of India (SBI) has signed a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology Society for Innovation and
Entrepreneurship (SINE), which is IIT Bombay's technology business incubator. The aim was to
promote innovation by start-ups in the financial sector. The deal also aims to help evaluate startups operating out of SINE or those being promoted by SINE for early stage funding within the
bank's norms. As per the MoU, both the parties will identify fintech start-ups that have products
or applications to cater to the financial sector and can help SBI explore opportunities to enhance
synergy for their banking services. SBI will provide a platform for testing/ piloting such
products/applications.

8) Flipkart acquires online fashion portal Jabong

Leading e-commerce giant Flipkart has acquired fashion platform Jabong through its unit Myntra
for a sum of $70million. This acquisition will strengthen Flipkart Group's position in Fashion and
Lifestyle segment to compete with Amazon Fashion in India. Jabong reported an operating loss
of Rs.426 crores in FY15, slightly lower than in FY14. The revenue growth in FY15 inched up by
just 7 per cent to Rs 866 crore from Rs 811 crore in the previous year. In 2014, Amazon
reportedly wanted to acquire Jabong but it couldn't due to the price tag that was a steep 1.2
billion US dollars.
9) 2016 Fortune 500 list released: India's India Oil Corporation ranked at 161st
The 2016 Fortune Global 500 list of the world's biggest firms was released on 21 July 2016.
Seven Indian companies were featured in the list with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) ranking
highest at 161st rank with revenues worth 54.7 billion US dollars. The overall list was topped by
retail giant Walmart with revenue of 482.130 million US dollars. ONGC has been replaced by
gems and jewellery firm Rajesh Exports, which makes its Fortune 500 debut this year at 423rd
position.
10) Softbank to acquire ARM Holdings for $32 billion
Japan's Softbank on 18 July 2016 agreed to acquire ARM Holdings, the U.K. based semiconductor
firm, in a deal worth more than 32 billion US dollar. The deal is the first major cross-border
transaction in Britain since it voted to exit the European Union in June 2016. As part of its bid to
bolster its presence in the growing internet of things (IoT) sector, Softbank will pay about 22.50
US dollar per share for ARM.

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11) CCEA approves Rs1799 crore investment to augment Cochin Shipyard capability
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved construction of a new dry
dock within the existing premises of Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) at an estimated cost of Rs
1799 crore to enhance shipbuilding and repair capacity of India. The augmentation will enable
Cochin Shipyard to utilise the market potential of building specialised and technologicallyadvanced vessels such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels, indigenous higher capacity aircraft
carriers, jack up rigs, drill ships, large dredgers and repairing of offshore platforms and larger
vessels.

Sports News
Tennis
1) 2016 Wimbledon concludes
The 2016 Wimbledon Championships commenced on June 27 and concluded on July 10. This
was the 130th edition of the championships, the 49th in the Open Era and the third Grand
Slam tournament of the year.
Given below is the list of medal winners:
Women's singles: Serena Williams
Men's singles: Andy Murray
Women's doubles: Serena Williams and Venus Williams
Men's doubles: Pierre-Hugues Herbert / France Nicolas Mahut
Mixed doubles: Heather Watson / Finland Henri Kontinen
Girls' singles: Anastasia Potapova
Boys' singles: Denis Shapovalov
Girls' doubles: Usue Maitane Arconada / United States Claire Liu
Boys' doubles: Kenneth Raisma / Greece Stefanos Tsitsipas
Ladies' invitation doubles: Martina Navratilova / Tunisia Selima Sfar
Gentlemen's invitation doubles: Greg Rusedski / France Fabrice Santoro
Wheelchair women's singles: Jiske Griffioen
Wheelchair men's singles: Gordon Reid
Wheelchair women's doubles: Yui Kamiji / United Kingdom Jordanne Whiley
Wheelchair men's doubles: Alfie Hewett / United Kingdom Gordon Reid.

2) Feliciano Lopez wins 2016 Swiss Open Gstaad

By defeating Netherland's Robin Haase, veteran Spanish tennis player Feliciano Lopez has bagged
the 2016 Swiss Open Gstaad. He defeated Robin Haase by 6-4, 7-5. It is his first title on clay and
overall fifth title. Lopez has previously won 2004 Vienna Open, 2010 Johannesburg Open &
Eastbourne open in 2013 & 14.

Cricket

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1) ICC relaxes Decision Review System for LBWs

International Cricket Council has approved changes in the decision review system to overturn the
not out LBW decisions. Currently, half of the ball would need to be hitting a zone between the
centre of leg and off stumps. With these changes, half of the ball must be shown to be hitting any
part of the stumps. It will help to ease the LBW decision making. These changes will come into
effect from 1st October, 2016.
2) ICC releases Test, ODI, and T20 rankings
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has released the latest Test, ODI and T20 rankings. Australia
tops the Test rankings list with a rating of 118 for 32 matches. India comes second in the list with
112 for 20 matches. Pakistan, England and New Zealand are place third, fourth and fifth
respectively.
Australia also topped the ODI list with a rating of 123 for 42 matches. It was followed by New
Zealand (113), India (110), South Africa (110), England (106).
In T20 rankings, New Zealand topped the list with a rating of 132 for 20 matches. It was followed
by India (128), West Indies (122), South Africa (119) and England (116).
Australian captain Steven Smith was ranked first among Test batsmen with 925 ratings. Pakistan's
Yasir Shah topped the list among Test bowlers with 878 points.
AB de Villiers topped the ODI batsmen list with 887 points. India's Virat Kohli came a close second
with 813 points while compatriots Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan took the sixth and eighth
places with 750 and 737 points respectively. West Indies' Sunil Naraine has been ranked the best
ODI bowler with 759 points. Among best T20 batsmen and bowlers were Virat Kohli (837) and
West Indies' Samuel Badree (790) respectively.
3) Virat Kohli becomes first Indian captain to score double century outside India
Indian Test team captain Virat Kohli has become the first Indian captain to score a double century
outside India. He scored 200 runs against West Indies on day-two of the first Test at the Sir Vivian
Richards stadium. With this, Kohli becomes the fifth Indian captain to score a double century in a
Test match after Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi (2013 vs England), Sunil Gavaskar (205 vs West Indies),
Sachin Tendulkar (217 vs New Zealand) and MS Dhoni (224 vs Australia). Kohli also enters the elite
list of visiting captains with highest scores in West Indies - a list that includes the likes Sir Leonard
Hutton, Steve Waugh, Andrew Strauss and Ricky Ponting.

Formula One
1) Lewis Hamilton wins 2016 Austrian Grand Prix
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has won the 2016 Austrian Grand prix after a thrilling close
competition against his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg. Max Verstappen of Red Bull came 2nd
and Ferraris Kimi Raikkonen emerged 3rd.

Badminton
1) B Sai Praneeth wins mens single title at 2016 Canada Open Grand Prix Badminton
Indian shuttler B Sai Praneeth has won the Canada Open Grand Prix Badminton Mens Singles title
at Calgary. The fourth-seeded 23-year-old defeated Koreas Lee Hyun Il 21-12 21-10 in the singles
final. Top-seeded doubles pair Attri and Reddy defeated Adrian Liu and Toby Ng 21-8 21-14. The
pair of Attri and Reddy is the first Indian men's doubles pair to qualify for the Rio Olympics.

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Football
1) Gurpreet Singh Sandhu makes history again, becomes first Indian to feature in Europa League
Norwegian football club Stabaek FC has enlisted Indian goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu for
their Europa league qualifying match against Welsh Premier League side Connah's Quay Nomads
FC. He is the first player from the country to play in the continental competition. Sandhu
previously played for Stabaek in 2014 against IK Start in the Norwegian Tippeligaen.
2) Bengali actor Jeet acquires Kolkata team of PFL
Bengali film actor Jeet has acquired the Kolkata franchise of the first-ever multi-nation Premier
Futsal League (PFL). The team will be known as Kolkata 5s. The PFL will start from 15th July,
2016.
3) Portugal wins Euro 2016; defeats France 1-0
Portugal beat France 1-0 in Euro final to lift the championship trophy for the first time. der's
goal in the second period of extra time won them the cup. With this win, their run of 10
consecutive defeats to France, stretching back to 1978, was over.

Other sports
1) Amul is Indias official sponsor to the Olympics
Indias leading food product company, Amul, has declared to officially sponsor the Indian
contingent to the 2016 Rio Olympics. During the campaign, the company will launch a series of
advertising campaigns for milk and other dairy products. Also, it will sport special branding to
boost this association. Amul has embarked upon an Eat Milk with Every Meal campaign. It also
sponsored the Indian contingent at the London Olympics in 2012.
2) Dipika Pallikal Karthik, Saurav Ghosal win 73rd Senior National Squash Championship
Dipika Pallikal Karthik (world no. 19) overwhelmed defending champion Joshna Chinappa 4-11 116 11-2 11-8 to regain the women's title at the 73rd Senior National Squash Championship, which
was held in Maharashtra. Among men, top seed Saurav Ghosal defeated fourth seed Harinderpal
Singh Sandhu 11-7 7-11 3-11 11-8 14-12 to win the title. With this, he made history by winning the
title for the 11th time and went ahead of RK Narpat Singh's feat of 10 titles, won from 1946 to
1955.
3) Sameer emerges fastest athlete of 56th National Inter-State Athletics
Indias sprinter Sameer Mon emerged as the fastest male athlete in 100m dash in 10.60secs on
the third day of 56th National Inter State Senior Championship. Sameer has previously won the
inter-State titles in 2008 & 2011. He was also the member of the bronze winning Indian 4x100m
relay quartet in Delhi Commonwealth Games six years ago.
4) Vijender clinches WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight championship
Indian boxer Vijender Singh has won the WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight championship
defeating Australia's Kerry Hope, the former world number four. With this, Vijender climbed to
15th place in the world in his category. Meanwhile, British Asian boxer Sanjeev Sahota, won
against Vikas Lohan. In the Lightweight category, Kuldeep Dhanda of India beat Thailand's
Vichayan Khamon. A much-superior Siddhartha Verma pinned down Dilbagh Thakran to lift the
IBC Super Welterweight Championship Title fight and become the country's first-ever professional
boxing title holder.

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5) Javeline ace Annu Rani sets record at National Inter-State Athletics Championships
Javeline thrower Annu Rani has set a national record with a massive 59.87m throw at the recentlyconcluded 56th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships. The 23-year-old, who hails
from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, bettered her previous meet mark with her first round 59.06m at
G.M.C. Balayogi Stadium. However, her big throw of the day (59.87m) came in the fourth round
that erased her two-year-old Incheon performance of 59.53m. Teammate Suman Devi, who
scored with a season best 59.45m registered during her gold winning throw in South Asian Games
at Guwahati earlier this year, could only finish in the second place. Haryana girl Sharmila Kumari
stood third with 53.80m throw.
6) Para swimmer Niranjan Mukundan wins 8 medals at IWAS World Games
Bengaluru para swimmer Niranjan Mukundan has won eight medals, including three golds, at the
recently-concluded IWAS (International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports) U-23 World Games in
Prague, Czech Republic. Niranjan was born with a medical condition called Spina Bifida and has
clubbed feet. He competes in the S-8 category. He also had the honour of delivering the athletes'
oath on behalf of 35 competing countries. He was honoured as the Junior World Champion in
2015.
7) Dipa Karmakar named World Class Gymnast by International Gymnastics Federation
Karmakar, who recently became the first Indian female gymnast to qualify for the Olympics, has
been awarded the honour for her performances in the Gymnastics World Championships held in
Glasgow in October-November 2015. She is the first woman in the gymnast history to land the
Produnova, one of the most dangerous vaults. She won 10 gold medals at two national games.
She received the Arjuna Award in August 2015.
8) Harika Dronavalli wins Fide Womens Grand Prix trophy in China
Indian chess player Harika Dronavalli has won the Fide Womens Grand Prix in China by defeating
Russia's Olga Girya. Harika finished on seven points in the round robin tournament featuring the
world's top 12 players to be crowned the chess queen in Chengdu. It is her first-ever GP title in
her career.
9) Neeraj Chopra becomes first Indian to win gold in World Athletics championships
India's Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has won gold medal in the IAAF world under 20
championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Neeraj has set a new world record in under 20 categories by
throwing the javelin 86.48m far. It was country's first ever gold medal in any World Athletics
championship. South African Johan Grobler with 80.59m took the silver and Anderson Peters with
79.65m of Granada the bronze.
10) Wrestler Narsingh Yadav fails Dope Test
The olympic participation of India's veteran wrestler Narsingh Yadav is in serious doubt as he
recently failed in a dope test. On the basis of Narsingh bagging the 74 kg Olympic quota berth with
a World Championships bronze last year, the WFI had named him to represent India at the Rio
Games.
11) Parveen Rana to replace Narsingh Yadav for Rio Olympics
Indian wrestler Parveen Rana will soon replace veteran wrestler Narsingh Yadav in the Olympic
squad. Rana has been nominated by Wrestling Federation of India for the 74kg freestyle quota
place after Narsingh tested positive for a banned steroid.

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Important Days of the Month

Date
July 1

Name
National Doctors Day

July 11

World Population Day

July 15

World Youth Skills Day

July 18

Nelson Mandela Day

July 29

International Tiger Day

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Details
This day is observed to
commemorate the birth
anniversary of Dr. Bidhan Chandra
Roy. He was a highly respected
physician and freedom fighter. He
was also 2nd chief minister of
West Bengal.
The theme for this year is
Investing in Teenage girls and
focuses on the empowerment of
teenage girls. Teenage girls who
face a lack of school and early
marriage and motherhood which
leaves them vulnerable to illness,
injury and exploitation. They are
denied even their basic rights.
The day is celebrated to raise
awareness about the importance
of investing in skill development
among the youth. The United
Nations had organised an event
facilitated by the UN Envoy on
Youth Ahmad Alhendawi. The
event was co-organised with the
Permanent Missions of Portugal
and Sri Lanka to the United
Nations, UNESCO and the
International Labour Organization
(ILO)
The day is being observed as an
international occasion in order to
inspire people to contribute
toward some common good. It
recognises the former South
African President's efforts for
peace and freedom.
The goal of the day is to promote a
global system for protecting the
natural habitats of tigers and to
raise public awareness and
support for tiger conservation
issues. It was founded in 2010 at
the St. Petersburg Tiger Summit,
with the aim to double the big cat
population by 2022.

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July 30

International Day of Friendship

July 30

United Nations World Day against Trafficking

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he International Day of Friendship

was on 30 July 2016 observed
worldwide. The Day is aimed at
supporting the goals and
objectives of the Declaration and
Programme of Action on a Culture
of Peace and the International
Decade for a Culture of Peace and
Nonviolence for the Children of
the World (2001-2010).
The core objective of this day is to
raise awareness of the plight
human trafficking victims, and
promoting and protecting their
rights

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