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General Awareness Bullet- 2015 (Comprehensive summary of general awareness topics of August 2015)

Dear PaGaLGuY readers,

This General Awareness Bullet is a comprehensive summary of important news and events that occurred in August

2015. This bullet is relevant for Banking, SSC, Insurance and UPSC Exams. We intend to release PaGaLGuY Bul-

lets for various exams every month.

Do print out a hard copy of this for your regular use. Our goal is to ensure that you perform well in your exams and

that you have the necessary material readily available.

To receive all the material that we have, log on to http://www.pagalguy.com

Prepared by - Shraddha Kakade

(http://www.pagalguy.com/@shraddha141)

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in News

Current Policy Rates and Reserve Ratios:

Repo Rate 7.25%

Reserve Repo 6.25%

Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) 4%

Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) 21.5%

Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) 8.25%

Bank Rate 8.25%

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1. RBI permits banks to shift, merge or shut branches in urban areas: Banks can now

shift, merge or close all branches in urban areas without seeking RBI’s prior permission, the central bank stated in a notice released on August 6th. However, permission is required in case of rural and sole semi-urban branches. Further, banks do not have to report details of opening of new mobile branches, automated teller machines (ATMs) or call centres. Clo-sure, merger, shifting or conversion of any of the business establishments need not be re-ported except to the Department of Banking Statistics of RBI. This is the second major re-form in the banking sector post 2013 when RBI permitted banks to open branches in tier 1 to tier 6 cities without seeking its permission. 2. RBI clears 11 payments banks: The RBI granted 'in-principle' payments bank licences to 11 entities including top conglomerates, tech and finance companies, among others. Un-like the universal/regular banks, payments banks can accept deposits only up to Rs.1 lakh and cannot extend loans. Further, they can only issue debit cards. Besides maintaining CRR, they will have to invest atleast 75% of their demand deposits in SLR, eligible government securities or treasury bills having maturity up to one year. Names of the 11 entities: Aditya Birla Nuvo, Airtel M Commerce Services, Cholamanda-lam Distribution Services, Department of Posts, Fino PayTech, National Securities Deposi-tory, Reliance Industries, Dilip Shantilal Shanghvi, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Tech Mahindra and Vodafone M-Pesa. 3. RBI to announce small finance bank licences in September 2015: RBI Governor, Raghuram Rajan informed that the cen-tral bank has received 72 applications for small finance bank licences, out which eligible ones would be chosen and announced in September this year. He asserted that these banks would not be a competitive threat to universal banks and would rather serve as 'feeder' for them. Small finance banks would be able to accept deposits and lend credit to sections that fall outside the banking net including small farmers, micro and small industries and unorganised sector entities.

Financial/Banking News 1. Kotak Mahindra launches Kotak Bharat - With the view to create an inclusive banking app, Kotak Bank has developed a

mobile app called Kotak Bharat to help customers in underbanked and unbanked regions of the country. Some of the fea-

tures include access to savings account and credit cards from anywhere, linking Aadhar Card to the bank account, access

the government schemes, etc.

2. HDFC Bank launches Dhanchayat film - The HDFC Bank launched 'Dhanchayat', a film aimed at raising awareness

among people borrowing money from unorganised sources. The film has been launched under the idea of, "Swachh Bank-

ing"—HDFC's corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative. As part of this, the motor vans airing the movie would across

the country covering thousands of villagers across India.

3. HDFC, Snapdeal launch co-branded e-commerce credit card: Indian online market giant Snapdeal along with HDFC Bank launched a co-branded credit card in partnership with Visa earlier this August. The Snapdeal HDFC Bank credit card will help customers from tier 2 and 3 markets realise the power of technology and provide them with the convenience and flexibility of completing payments online, whenever they choose. Further, Snapdeal will also reward customers for making digital payments through the co-branded card.

4. Indian banks no longer need security clearance to open foreign branches: Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary announced in Lok Sabha on August 4 that Indian banks and multi system operators (MSOs) wanting to open foreign branches no longer require prior security clearance. With these changes, the aim is to balance national security necessities, promote investment and ease of conducting business in the country.

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5. Axis Bank launches multi-currency contactless card: On August 12, Axis Bank launched contactless multi-currency forex cards in partnership with Visa. It is the first bank to issue contactless cards or "tap and pay' cards that can be loaded in three

main currencies – the US dollar, euro and British pound besides 15 other currencies such as Swiss franc and Hong Kong dollar. Axis Bank will soon upgrade 50,000 of its point of sale (PoS) machines that will accept debit and credit card payments from contactless cards. 6. India, Israel to sign MoU on waste management: Ahead of President Pranab Mukherjee's visit to Tel Aviv in October 2015, the two countries are to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the fields of water conservation, water-use efficiency, waste water treatment and river rejuvenation. Experts from Israel visited India not only to promote Watec 2015, world's biggest Conference on Water Technologies and Environmental Control that will be held in October 2015 at Tel Aviv but also to promote investment of Indian companies in Israel.

7. Govt. announces 'Indradhanush' to revamp PSBs: The seven-pronged revival plan called 'Indradhanush' meant to revamp the functioning of public sector banks (PSBs) was launched by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on August 14. The plan has 7 ele-ments, namely - appointments, board of bureau, capitalisation, de-stressing, empowerment, framework of accountability and governance reforms. The government stated that it would infuse Rs.20,088 crore into 13 PSBs this year and the country's largest public sector lender, SBI, will get a hefty Rs.5,531 crore. 8. FM says digital banking will bring more money under tax net: Speaking at the launch of the State Bank of India's digital wallet, 'SBI Buddy' on August 18, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that more people coming into the banking fold makes ex-penditure easier and more importantly, accounting for the money much simpler. He stated that this may bring in a lot of money under the official net along with a change in consumer habits. He also asserted that the prevalence of unaccounted money will come down with increased penetration of banks and use of technology in payments.

9. Bandhan Bank begins operations: Bandhan Financial Services (BFS), a micro finance institution, which received universal banking licence from the RBI in April 2014, formally started banking operations on August 23. The bank opened doors with 501 branches, a loan book of Rs.10,500 crore, over 10 million customers and a net worth of Rs.2,570 crore. Over a third of its branches would be in unbanked areas. 10. Banks to be closed on 2nd and 4th Saturdays: The rule that all public sector and private sector banks would remain closed on 2nd and 4th Saturdays was implemented from September 1, 2015, a move that had lakhs of bank employees cheering. All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) General Secretary C H Venkatachalam opined that this is a welcome step. He felt that it may improve the productivity of employees. In a month with five Saturdays, only 2nd and 4th Saturday would be an off, as per the notice.

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Important Committees

Name of the Committee/Panel Objective of the committee

1. Seventh Pay Commission The Seventh Pay Commission is set up every 10 years to re-view pay, allowances and other benefits for Central govern-ment employees.

The Commission, which was supposed to submit its report and recommendations to the Finance Ministry on 31st August 2015, sought a month's extension and is expected to submit it by September-end.

2. SEBI Takeover Panel The Securities and Exchange board of India (SEBI) reconsti-tuted the Takeover Panel, which is responsible for looking at the applications seeking exemption from the mandatory open offer that an acquirer needs to make to minority shareholders. The newly instituted Takeover Panel is to be chaired by Jus-tice N K Sodhi, Former Chief Justice of the High Courts of Karnataka and Kerala and also the Former Presiding Officer of the Securities Appellate Tribunal.

New Appointments - India and Abroad:

INDIA

1. O P Rawat -New Election Commissioner

2. Kishor P Kharat - MD and CEO of IDBI Bank

3. Viral Jani - Head of TV partnerships, Twitter India

4. Girish Sahni - Director General of Council for Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)

5. Ashwani Lohani - CMD Air India Limited

ABROAD

1. Sundar Pichai - Google CEO

2. Novak Djokovic- UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador

Summits/Conferences around the World:

1. India-Pacific Islands Cooperation Summit held in Jaipur: India hosted the second Forum for India-Pacific Islands Coop-eration (FIPIC) Summit in Jaipur on August 21. One of the issues high on agenda was - India's bid for permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). President Pranab Mukherjee, while addressing the heads of the Pacific Island nations said, "UNSC reform and expansion will be discussed and concrete proposals are expected to be considered in the forthcoming UNGA session in September 2015. An inter-governmental negotiating text is already on the table, for which India needs sup-port.” So far, 12 of the 14 Pacific Island nations have voted at the UN and India is positive about support from at least 10 of these countries. Of the two countries that are yet to support India's claim, one supports the G4 resolution, which indirectly sup-ports the Indian position, while the other is yet to announce its stand.

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Deaths Name of Personality and Origin Field of work

1. O P Munjal - India Chairman Emeritus of Hero Cycles

2. Suvra Mukherjee - India India’s First Lady - wife of President Pranab Mukherjee, who was an accomplished singer, painter and author

3. M M Kalburgi - India Kannada scholar and rationalist

4. Pranab Kumar Borah Veteran journalist

5. Chitranjan Swarup Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Samajwadi Party member

New Books & Authors Title of the Book Author

1. The Kumbh Mela: Mapping the Ephemeral Megacity Tarun Khanna

2. 105-year-old Urdu copy of Ramcharitmanas found Shiv Brat Lal

3. Mrs. Funnybones Twinkle Khanna

Persons in News 1. Sourav Ganguly - Coca-Cola India recently announced that it has signed cricketer and former Indian team captain Sourav

Ganguly as its social ambassador in a three-year deal ending in 2017. Presently, Ganguly is on the IPL panel, and also on the

working group set up by the BCCI to study recommendations of the Lodha Committee report. Ganguly had endorsed Coca-Cola

from 1997 - 2000.

2. Adam Gilchrist - As a result of the Australian government's efforts to strengthen educational ties with India, Minister for Education and Training Christopher Pyne announced the appointment of former cricketer Adam Gilchrist as the first education ambassador to India. Pyne was in Delhi to attend the Annual Ministerial Dialogue and the third Australia-India Education Coun-cil meeting on August 24.

Science, Technology and Environment

1. CNG-run vehicles emit cancer-causing nanocarbon says CSIR study: CSIR study finds that compressed natural gas (CNG)-run buses and autos can be harmful for humans as they emit cancer-causing ‘nanocarbon' particles. The study was con-ducted in Delhi on a limited sample but considering the likelihood of health hazards, CSIR alerted the Central government to initiate action.

2. Researchers discover evidence of ancient lakes on Mars: Researchers from the University of Colorado discovered evi-dence of lakes on planet Mars. They examined an 18-square-mile chloride salt deposit in the planet's Meridiani region, near the Mars Opportunity rover's landing site. Large scale salt deposits are considered to be evidence of evaporated water bodies. These findings were published in the science journal, Geology, on 5th August 2015.

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3. Intel releases Stephen Hawking's speech system to the public for free: Renowned

physicist Stephen Hawking developed a speech system known as the Assistive Context-

Aware Toolkit (ACAT), which enables him to communicate by translating his facial move-

ments into text. Hawking suffers from a condition called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

that left him almost completely paralysed and he relies on this software to not only com-

municate but also browse the Internet. Intel has released this speech system to the public for

free as an open source code. This development is expected to help ALS sufferers or differ-

ently-abled people with very little movement in using computers.

4. 'Drinkable Book' - an inexpensive way to sanitise water: Brainchild of Theresa Danko-

vich, a student at the Carnegie Mellon University in US, the Drinkable Book is a simple and

inexpensive way to sanitise water. She developed 'pAge drinking paper', which is a sturdy

sheet of paper loaded with silver and copper nanoparticles that can kill bacteria from water.

Each page can purify up to 100 litres of water and during trials the paper successfully re-

moved more than 99% of bacteria from the water being tested.

5. NASA researchers confirm presence of Neon gas in Moon's atmosphere: Researchers

of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre in Greenbelt, Maryland and the University of Mary-

land, confirmed the presence of neon gas in the Moon's thin atmosphere for the first time. The lead author of a paper

describing observations from Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE)'s Neutral Mass Spectrometer

(NMS) instrument published in Geophysical Research said, " We were very pleased to not only finally confirm its presence, but

to show that it is relatively abundant.”

6. For ISRO GSLV Mk-III is the next breakthrough: As per recent news, ISRO has started working for the mock trial of

GSLV Mark 3 - so far the biggest rocket made in India. The MK-III has the capacity to launch 4-tonne satellites into geosyn-

chronous orbit and its test flight will be conducted by mid-2016, before the first developmental flight scheduled for December

2016. ISRO hopes to have a triad of launch vehicles with GSLV Mk-III, which will enable it to capture a major share of the

commercial satellite launches market.

Title of Award Winner Details

1. Arjuna award Ravichandran Ashwin Indian Cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin was conferred with the Arjuna award on August 1st, 2015. Ashwin is a bowler in the Indian cricket team, who has to his achievements 124 wickets in 25 Tests, 139 wickets in 99 ODIs and 26 wickets in 25 T20 internationals.

2. Bharat Bharti Kashinath Singh Renowned Hindi litterateur Kashinath Singh was conferred Uttar Pradesh's highest literary award - Bharat Bharti. The award was presented by UP Hindi Sansthan with a cash prize of Rs.5 lakh.

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Title of Award Winner Details

3. Lohia Sahitya

4. Hindi Gaurav

5. Mahatama Gandhi Sahitya Samman

6. Deendayal Upadhaya Sahitya Samman

Mridula Garg

Vindo Kumar Shukla

Krishna Bihari Mishra

Abhiraj Rajendra Mishra

UP Hindi Sansthan honoured a number of prominent hindi writers in various categories.

7. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award Sania Mirza Tennis ace Sania Mirza was awarded the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award - on National Sports Day. She is the second tennis player to receive the honour. Before Mirza, this award was conferred on Leander Paes. Mirza is cur-rently ranked world number one in women's doubles after she lifted the Wimbledon trophy earlier this year with Martina Hingis.

8. Best Film - The Indian Film Fest of Melbourne 2015

9. Best Director - The Indian Film Fest of Melbourne 2015

10. Asian of the Year 2014 Award

Piku

Shoojit Sircar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

The Indian Film Fest of Melbourne (IFFM) 2015 held at the iconic Federa-tion Square Building ended on August 15 with Shoojit Sircar's Piku being de-clared the best film.

The 'Asian of the Year 2014' award was instituted in the year 2012 by leading Singapore daily, The Straits Times. It is conferred on individuals who contribute significantly to the progress of either their own nation or Asia.

Important News - India & Abroad

1. India, UK conclude bilateral Air Exercise: Indo - UK bilateral Air Exercise - Indradhanush concluded between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and British Royal Air Force (RAF). The 10-day exercise began in Britain on 21st July 2015, with the IAF contingent operating from separate RAF bases. The objective of this exercise was to enhance mutual operational under-standing between the two forces.

2. BHEL signs three MoUs with Kazakhstan for power projects: BHEL has signed MOUs with Kazakh companies during PM Modi's recent visit to Kazakhstan. The MoUs were signed with three companies namely, JSC Samruk Energy, the national power utility of Kazakhstan, KUS, and Kaznex Invest. Kazakstan remains the important

player in BHEL’s Central Asian operations with its regional office being located in Almaty.

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3. Animal sacrifice event to end in Nepal: The world's biggest animal sacrifice event held at the Nepal's Gadhimai Temple, every five years, has been banned. The decision was taken by the temple trust. 4. China sets up mosquito factory: China has set up the world's largest mosquito factory to fight dengue in the northwestern Guangzhou province. One million sterilised mosquitoes would be released into the wild every week with the objective of dilut-ing the population of infected mosquitoes. China is experimenting innovative ways to combat dengue. The first trial test con-ducted proved to be very successful, helping to reduce the mosquito population by almost 90%. 5. Myanmar declared emergency due to floods: Tens and thousands of homes were washed away and 27 people were report-edly killed in the Myanmar floods in early August. The state declared emergency as authorities struggled to rescue people in flood-hit areas. Myanmar's President visited the worst-hit areas. 6. Obama unveils clean power plan to tackle greenhouse gas emissions: In what is reported as one of the strongest actions taken by the Unites States of America to tackle climate change, President Barack Obama unveiled environmental regulations

aimed at sharply cutting greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants and eventually transform US’s electricity indus-try. The plan aims to slash carbon emissions from the power sector by 32 percent by year 2030 from 2005 levels and it shows a 9 percent increase over a previous proposal. These strict changes are aimed at encouraging a shift towards renewable energy. 7. Nigerian troops rescue 178 people from Boko Haram: The Nigerian troops, in one of its successful operations rescued 178 Nigerian civilians from the captivity of Boko Haram, one of the brutal jihadi extremist groups based out of northeastern Nigeria. Of the three civilians, 101 were children, along with 67 women and 10 men. In addition to the rescue operation, the Nigerian Air Force destroyed the camps of the group in Maiduguri village, killing a large number of militants on August 3rd, 2015. 8. Russia bids for vast Arctic territories: Russia recently attempted to lay claim on vast territories in the Arctic. The nation submitted a bid to the UN, claiming 1.2 million square km of Arctic sea shelf extending more than 650 km off the shore. Russia was the first country to submit its claim in 2002, which was rejected by the UN for lack of evidence. The Arctic is believed to hold a quarter of the planet's undiscovered reserves of oil and gas. Several countries including Russia, US, Canada, Denmark, among others have been claiming jurisdiction over parts of it. 9. Australian court rescinds environmental nod for Adani's coal mine project: Australia’s Federal Court formally set aside the approval of the Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail Project. Adani took over this project in 2010 to develop a coal mine and connecting rail link and port to transport the coal to India. Approval for the proposed mine, which is one of the biggest in the world, was opposed by environmentalists for posing a threat to the Great Barrier Reef. 10. Indian diplomat spearheads UAE's first blood donor registry initiative: Tiju Thomas, Consul for Economic & Educa-tion, Press & Information spearheaded an initiative in the UAE to make blood from rare blood groups accessible to those who need it, making his registry the nation's first and biggest donor registry. Though Thomas's website www.blooddonors.ae was started on World Blood Donor Day (June 14), it was formally launched on June 21 coinciding with the International Day of Yoga. Thomas decided to open the registry as he observed that blood shortage was a major problem in the nation where close to 42 per cent of the units of blood collected is required by Thalassaemia patients. 11. Hiroshima Day observed the world over: On August 6, 2015, the 70th anniversary of Hiroshima bombing, special vigils and peace marches were organised across the world to commemorate the day. On August 6th and 9th, 1945, the US bombed the Japanese city of Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively, killing tens of thousands of people, annihilating a major chunk of the

cities’ total population. What is worse, thousands of people still continue to suffer with aftereffects of the nuclear radiation, a result of the bombing. 12. Kyrgyzstan joins Russia-backed economic bloc: Kyrgyzstan on August 6th became the fifth member of the Moscow-backed economic bloc - Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). Though the Central Asian nation had signed the accession papers for the EEU in December 2014, it had to wait for ratification by four other members, namely Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia. This move links Central Asian economies with Russia reducing the influence of China in the region.

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13. India and Mozambique sign MoU on cooperation in renewable energy: On August 6, India and Mozambique signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at improving cooperation in new and renewable energy. For Mozambique, India is an important destination for higher education and quality health care. 14. India commits to boost engagement with ASEAN: At the ASEAN- India ministerial meeting held on August 5th, in Kuala Lampur, India affirmed its commitment to bring more momentum to its engagement with the ASEAN, as the 10 member states agreed on a new plan to push progress in areas like IT and healthcare. "The meeting agreed on the new programme of ac-tion for the period 2016-2020, listing events and programmes to be held during that period mainly in the development side in areas like IT, healthcare with focus on malaria and diabetes, English language training centres by India, etc.” 15. TurkmenGaz to steer TAPI gas pipeline consortium: Construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline has got the go-ahead and state-owned TurmenGaz will lead the multinational consortium with majority in-vestment. It has been planned as a peace pipeline to bring together nations that share complex relations. The Asian Development Bank is the lead partner in the project, which is expected to have a capacity of 90 million standard cubic meters per day (mscmd) gas from Turkmenistan, of which 38 mscmd is to be supplied to India. 16. Three Indian firms figure among the world's most innovative companies: Forbes magazine's annual list of The World's Most Innovative Companies includes names of three Indian firms namely, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Sun Pharma Industries. Hindustan Unilever has been ranked 41st on the list, followed by TCS at the 64th spot and Sun Pharma at the 71st. The list is topped by California-based Tesla Motors known for making wholly electric vehicles. It is headed by Elon Musk. 17. India intensifies measures to tackle climate change: On August 6th, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Environ-ment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar said that the government has been implementing the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) to support domestic actions for adaptation and mitigation. NAPCC has 8 national missions in-cluding, among others the National Solar Mission, National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency and National Mission on Sustainable Habitat, which focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the country. Further, 27 states and the 5 UTs have prepared their respective State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) at par with the NAPCC's objectives while considering state-specific climate change issues. Though India has no legal binding to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNCCC), the government has voluntarily announced to reduce emission intensity of Gross Domestic Product by 20-25 percent by 2020 from the 2005 level, not counting the emissions from agriculture sector. 18. Global satellite to be named after Abdul Kalam: A global satellite for earth observation and disaster risk reduction (DRR) proposed under the UN framework is to be named after former Indian president and noted rocket scientist Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. The GlobalSat for DRR is an initiative undertaken by the UN for sharing space technology with a view to reduce disasters. The idea for this was mooted at the 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held at Sendai, Japan in March 2015. 19. Typhoon Soudelor batters Taiwan: Typhoon Soudelor thrashed Taiwan with fierce winds and rains in early August leav-ing four people dead and causing wide spread devastation before heading to mainland China. The typhoon left homes without power, rooting out trees and snapping the wind turbines leaving some regions waist-deep under water.

20. India can save $1.7 billion by 10% blending of ethanol with petrol, says McKinsey:

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Global consultancy firm McKinsey, released a report on the Rs.80,000 crore Indian sugar industry pointing out that the industry is facing its "worst crisis in 30 years" and suggested various short and long-term steps to financially rescue millers, one of which was increasing production of sugarcane byproducts like ethanol. As per the report, India can annually save $1.7 billion of forex spent on imports by 10 per cent mandatory blending of ethanol with petrol.

21. US, Russia and China oppose UNSC reforms upsetting India's bid for a permanent seat: US, China and Russia, three permanent members of the United Nation's Security Council (UNSC), have opposed negotiations to reform the UN body, which included India's bid for a permanent seat in the UNSC. India was of the view that as this year is the 70th an-niversary of the UN, it would be the opportune time to usher in the reform process. India has support from the other two permanent members of the body, i.e. France and UK. Be-sides India, the negotiating text proposed that Brazil, Germany, Japan and an African repre-sentation also be included among the permanent members of a reformed UNSC. 22. Cabinet approves petroleum products pipeline between India, Nepal: On August 12, the Union Cabinet, approved the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) be-tween India and Nepal for construction of a petroleum products pipeline from the region of Raxaul in India to Amlekhgunj in Nepal. The MoU will promote bilateral co-operation in the oil and the gas sector and secure long term supply of petrol products to Nepal. 23. Taj Mahal first monument to get a twitter handle: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav launched an official twitter account of the world famous monument Taj Mahal on August 15. Within an hour of its launch, the Taj Mahal account had over 2000 followers. Taj Mahal is the first historical monument in the world to get a twitter handle. 24. UAE supports India's bid for permanent seat in UN: On August 17, UAE extended support to India's bid for a permanent seat in the UNSC as both the countries called for expeditious reforms in the UN body. PM Modi was at UAE for a two-day trip starting from August 16, with a view to boost India -UAE ties in trade and key areas of security including combating terrorism. 25. USAID to mobilise $41 million in India for clean energy projects: The US Ambassador to India Richard R Verma de-clared on August 19 that United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will mobilise $41 million (about Rs.268 crores) to fund clean energy projects in India, making off-grid power accessible to one million people. Verma, who visited India to attend the India Off-Grid Energy Summit, also launched $8 million PACESetter Fund to accelerate commercialisation of in-novation in off-grid clean energy solutions. The two countries have decided to set up the fund on 50:50 sharing basis. The fund is a part of President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's commitment to strengthen and expand the US-India Partnership to Advance Clean Energy (PACE). 26. Ranil Wickremesinghe sworn in as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka: Following the results of the Sri Lankan parliamentary elections, Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the Prime Minister on August 21. A day before, Sri Lankan President Maithi-ripala Sirisena initiated the process to strike a deal between his Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and Ranil Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) for forming a national government. Mahinda Rajapaksa announced that he would not serve as a leader of opposition but that a senior party member would take up the position. 27. Women in Saudi Arabia will be allowed to vote: For the first time women in Saudi Arabia will able to vote and run for office at the Municipal Elections that are to be held in December 2015. As per the report, around 70 women are looking to run as candidates while around 80 have registered as campaign managers. This change in rule was approved in 2011 by late Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud and is to be implemented in the 2015 election. Amnesty International said, "We can only hope that this announcement on voting will be the first in a long line of reforms that guarantee Saudi women the rights that they have been demanding for so long." 28. China to build $10 billion nuclear plant in Pakistan: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif inaugurated the construction work of the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant II (Kanupp II), for which the estimated cost is $10 billion. The plant will be built with the assistance of China. This project has the capacity to produce 1,100 MW electricity.

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29. Bangladesh first country to get UN funds for solar home systems: On August 20th, Bangladesh became the first country to receive funds from the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) for its fast-growing solar home systems. The systems enable people to cut carbon emissions by reducing use of kerosene, especially in rural areas. Use of these systems is widespread in Bangladesh. Around 6 million systems have been installed in the country covering over 10% of its 160 million population. This initiative is being supported by various international organisations like the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and World Bank. 30. India to host World Hindi Conference in September 2015: India will host the 10th edition of World Hindi Conference in Bhopal after 32 years. The event will be organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and will be held from September 10-12.The conference will feature a dozen sessions. The main theme this year is 'Hindi Jagat: Vistar avm sambhavnai (the world of Hindi: expansion and possibilities), indicating a variation from the past editions that centered on literature. 31. WTO rules against India on the US solar power programme: The World Trade Organisation (WTO) in August 2015, ruled against India over the dispute India had with the United States over its solar power programme. As per the panel, India violated global trade rules by imposing local content requirements for solar cells and solar modules. An unnamed official from the Ministry of Commerce Ministry said that India will appeal the decision. 32. India to develop Chabahar port in Iran: India has agreed to lease and develop the strategically important Chabahar port in Iran post the talks between Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif's and the Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari. This move is set to enhance India's presence in Chabahar and offset Chinese presence in that Pakistani port of Gwadar as a multi- purpose cargo and container terminal is to be developed at the port, as per reports. Under the Memorandum of Un-derstanding, Chabahar port will be used to ship crude oil and urea, greatly reducing transportation costs for importing these two commodities. The port is to be developed via a special purpose vehicle, which will be owned by the two sides with an invest-ment of around $85 million. 33. Greek Prime Minister resigns: Alexis Tsipras stepped down as Greece's Prime Minister on August 20 and called for early elections. Tsipras had lost his majority in the 300-seat Greek parliament as some members of his party disagreed over the multi-billion euro bailout his government agreed to from international lenders. About his early resignation Tsipras said that the present parliament cannot offer a majority government or a national unity government. 34. Typhoon Goni strikes Japan after Philippines: Philippines was struck with typhoon Goni, resulting in death of 10 people. Heavy rain led to landslides and floods in the northern region of the country. On 25th August, Typhoon Goni lashed the south-ern Japanese islands of Okinawa and record wind-gusts of 256 kph (159 mph) overturned cars and knocked down utility polls on the remote Japanese island of Ishigaki, near Taiwan. Typhoon Goni, has been tagged as one of the major 20 typhoons and storms, which are expected to strike Philippines and areas around it this year. 35. India seals deal to acquire Ambedkar's house in London: India recently finalised the deal to acquire ownership of a three-storey bungalow where Dr B R Ambedkar lived as a student in 1920s in London and it is will soon be developed into an international memorial. The deal was signed by Maharashtra's Minister for Social Justice and Special Assistance Raj Kumar-Badole. The house is to be used as educational and cultural centre. 36. India - France to seal the deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets: The Rafale fighter jet deal between India and France has been given the 'go ahead' after issues pertaining to pricing were resolved. Negotiations on supply of 36 jets will continue between the countries, post which French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will visit India in September for a formal agreement. As per reports, Indian and France may sign an inter-governmental agreement for 36 fighter jets, thereby concluding the contact. Unoffi-cial calculations show that 36 jets could cost the exchequer 8-9 billion dollars. 37. 'You Stink' campaign shakes Lebanese government - On 30th August, thousands of Lebanese citizens participated in a mass rally in capital city Beirut against a government accused of corruption and failure in providing basic services to its people. The campaign 'You Stink' saw a record participation of people and was organised without the aid of sectarian parties that domi-nate politics. It was a crisis that erupted owing to the Lebanese government's inability give a solution to the garbage problem, after the main landfill that used to take garbage from Beirut, shut down on July 17 after exceeding its capacity.

Important News - India and States

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1. Youth Renaissance Day to be observed on Abdul Kalam’’’’s birthday: The Tamil Nadu government announced that an award would be constituted in the name of former President A P J Abdul Kalam and his birthday would be observed as, Youth Renaissance Day, in the state. In addition, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J Jayalalithaa said that an award would be constituted as the 'Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Award', which will be conferred every Independence Day on those individuals who strive towards promoting scientific growth, humanities and students' welfare.

2. Mumbai -Nagpur expressway to be completed by 2019: Maharashtra's Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that the state government will construct the expressway connecting Mumbai with Nagpur by September 2019. With the completion of this expressway the distance between Mumbai and Nagpur will be reduced to a mere 10 hours - almost half the time it takes at present. This will be the second expressway in Maharashtra, first being the Mumbai-Pune expressway. The new expressway is to connect four major cities of Maharashtra, namely-Mumbai, Nashik, Aurangabad, and Nagpur. 3. Kochi gets India's first integrated Underwater Harbour Defence and Surveillance System: The Naval Harbour of Kochi has become India's first to get top grade defence system-the Integrated Underwater Harbour Defence and Surveillance System (IUHDSS). This system will help detect, identify, track underwater threats and generate warning from surface. Other than Kochi, the naval harbours of Mumbai, Visakhapatnam and Port Blair are set to be equipped with the system as a force protection measure. 4. Punjab government to take initiative to conserve Gharials: With the view to protect the natural habitats of Gharials, which have been listed as critically endangered under the criterion A2 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Punjab government has announced the creation of Beas belt near Harike Patan to conserve the habitats of Gharials. 5. Govt. signs historic peace accord with Naga rebels: The Centre and National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) signed a historic peace agreement with the view to develop the Northeast region and usher in peace. The accord was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval by the outfit's leader Thuingaleng Muivah and government's interlocutor RN Ravi. The accord is a culmination of 80 rounds of negotiations stretched over a period of 16 years. 6. Govt. sanctions rooftop solar power plants: Minister of State for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy enumerated steps to encourage installation of grid-connected solar rooftop systems and said that low-cost financing is an important factor of its promotion. Under the, 'Grid-Connected Rooftop and Small Solar Power Plants Programme', 360 mega-watt peak (MWp) pro-jects have been sanctioned and 54 MWp aggregate capacity of projects have been installed in the country. Other steps include: * Target set for installation of 40,000 MWp by year 2022. * 15% government subsidy for non-commercial and non-industrial usage of domestic solar panels. * Accelerated depreciation benefits for industrial and commercial buildings. * Custom duty concessions and excise duty exemptions. * 10-year tax holiday. * Loans available under priority sector lending up to Rs.10 lakhs for individuals. * Provision of bank loans as a part of home loans/ home improvement loans. * Loans for system aggregators from Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) at concessional interest rate (9.9% to 10.75% per annum) * Electricity Regulatory Commissions of 19 States/UTs have notified regulations for grid connectivity, net-metering/feed-in-tariff mechanism.

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7. Mobile app to fight plant diseases: Increasing usage of smartphones by farmers has encouraged agricultural scientists to develop an Android application to help farmers. Reddi Kumar, Plant Pathologist at the Regional Agricultural Research Station's (RARS) Institute of Frontier Technology has developed an android application named 'Greeshma' that highlights various diseases affecting crops and measures to control them. Kumar said, "We have included information about 5 major crops in Andhra Pradesh such as groundnut, paddy, sugarcane, sunflower and maize. Besides, we have also incorporated details about 'mushroom cultiva-tion' as several farmers are growing them on a small scale.” 8. Airtel launches 4G services in 296 towns across India: India’s No. 1 telecom service provider Bharti Airtel commercially

launched high-speed 4G services in 296 towns across India on August 5, post the successful trial and positive feedback from its

users. Competitors like Idea Cellular, Vodafone India and Reliance Communications have also announced plans of launching

4G services later this year or next year.

9. Punjab gets first-of-its-kind mechanised cleanliness system: Punjab’s Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal inaugu-rated a first-of-its-kind mechanised cleanliness project in the state and announced that it will be replicated in less than two months in Jalandhar, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Bathinda and Patiala. Inaugurated at Mohali, this is a step to make Punjab the cleanest state. Badal added that the cleanliness project will also be gradually be replicated at the tehsil level. 10. Mysore tops the list of Swacch Bharat rankings: Swacch Bharat rankings were released on August 9th, after a survey of 476 cities. As per the findings, top three clean cities are Mysore (Karnataka), Tiruchirapalli or Trichy (Tamil Nadu) and Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra).The ranking is based on the extent of open defecation and solid waste management in cities. The survey was commissioned by the Ministry of Urban Development as required under the National Sanitation Policy of 2008.

11. Amitabh Bachchan declared Khadi’’’’s brand ambassador: The Khadi and Village Industries Commission's (KVIC) CEO Arun Kumar Jha confirmed that actor Amitabh Bachchan has agreed to be the brand ambassador of Khadi fabric without fee. Jha said that there are about 7,000 government-recognised Khadi outlets in the country and that the aim is increase the figure to 20,000 by 2017 through franchise agreements. KVIC, a statutory body under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, plans and implements programmes for the development of Khadi and other village industries in the rural areas. 12. India's biggest AYUSH hospital to come up in Delhi soon: On August 14, Union Minister of State for Ministry of Ayur-veda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH), Shripad Naik announced that the biggest AYUSH hospital, along the lines of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) will come up in Delhi in the next 6 months. The hos-pital will have the capacity to cater to 500 patients. He asserted that the government plans to take the traditional healing prac-tices of Yoga and Ayurveda to every village and will post Ayurvedic doctors at primary health centres in rural areas.

13. Bengaluru highest in cyber crimes: Bengaluru has recorded the highest number of cyber crime cases in 2014. A total of 675 cases were registered. Hyderabad ranks second with 384 cases. 14. Future Group to manage ration shops in Rajasthan: Kishore Biyani's Future Group, India's largest retailer, is set to man-age the public distribution system (PDS) and ration shops in Rajasthan, which will then be rebranded as Annapurna Bhandar. An agreement between the Rajasthan State Food & Civil Supplies Corp (RSFCSC) and Future Group was signed in the presence of Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje on August 20. 15. Sex crimes highest in Delhi - According National Crime Records Bureau's (NCRB) data for 2014, Delhi had the largest number of reported rape cases, i.e. 1,813 for every 100,000 citizens. Mumbai figured second with 607 reported cases and Hyder-abad is third with 126 cases. In addition, almost all of India's custodial rape - 189 of 197 cases - was reported in Uttar Pradesh, whereas Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh recorded highest number of alleged gang rapes. For the first time, NCRB also tabulated data on crime against senior citizens, according to which the most number of elderly citizens were killed in UP (174), followed by Tamil Nadu (173) and Maharashtra (170). 16. Government approves plan for 50 solar cities in India: On August 23, the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy approved a master plan to develop 50 solar cities, including three in the National Capital Region (NCR). Out of the proposed 60 solar cities, sanctions have been issued for 50 cities including New Delhi, Agra, Chandigarh, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Amritsar, New Town (Kolkata), Howrah, Madhyamgram, Kochi and Bhopal.

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17. NITI Aayog to set up expert group to develop an ideal framework for land leasing laws: NITI Aayog's Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya, on August 24 announced that a committee of experts will be formed to develop a model 'land leasing law' that can be adopted by states as per their needs. The Aayog said that most states enacted land leasing laws post-independence. However, these laws discouraged leasing or subleasing of land, thereby adversely impacting both land owners and tenants. The NITI Aayog in consultation with the Department of Land Resources will also assist interested states with updating and digitising land records in accordance with the best practices. 18. Sports Authority of India launches School Sports Promotion Foundation: The Sporting Authority of India launched the School Sports Promotion Foundation with the objective organising sports tournaments across the country to identify and nurture talent and take the students through city, district, state, zonal and national level of competitive sport after which the talent youth would be trained. It has decided to roll out football and cricket in the first year of its operations while other sports like tennis, basketball and athletics will be introduced from the second year onward. 19. ASI excavates one of the biggest human habitations dating back to Sangam Age: The Archaeological Survey of India

(ASI) in a small hamlet near Madhurai, Tamil Nadu uncovered and excavated one of the "biggest human habitations of Sangam

Age known so far." The excavation for the project at Keezhadi began in February 2015 and has been a great success till date.

Historians are speculating that it could belong to the Pandyan era of the Sangam Age.

20. Telangana seeks share of Krishna river waters: Telangana government led by Justice Dipak Misra said previous dispute

proceedings and orders of the Krishna Water Tribunals should be set aside in light of the bifurcation of the State of Andhra Pra-

desh and formation of the new State of Telangana. As per reports, Telangana sought the issuance of a mandamus writ to the Un-

ion government for setting up of a fresh tribunal under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act of 1956 to decide on the issue

of sharing of river water among the four neighbouring states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, AP and Telangana. The bench is to

hear the matter in September 2015, but previously the Supreme Court likened the plight of Telangana to that of an "unborn

child" whose interests were not represented before the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal - II.

21. Census 2011 data on Population by Religious Communities released: On August 25, the Registrar-General and Census

Commissioner of India released data on Population by Religious Communities of Census 2011. The data reveals information of

the total population by six major religions, namely, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain besides "Other Religions and

Persuasions" and "Religions not stated". The data revealed that the rate of growth of population from 2001 - 2011 was 17.7%.

Population of religious communities: Total Population in 2011 stood at 121.09 crores with Hindu - 96.63 crores (79.8%) Muslim - 17.22 crores (14.2%) Christian - 2.78 crores (2.3%) Sikh - 2.08 crores (1.7%) Buddhist - 0.84 crores (0.7%) Jain - 0.45 crores (0.4%) Other Religions & Persuasions (ORP) - 0.79 crores (0.7%) Religion Not Stated - 0.29 crores (0.2%) 22. Govt. announces names of 98 smart cities: On August 27, the government declared names of 98 smart cities. In Uttar Pra-desh 13 cities have qualified for smart cities, 12 in Tamil Nadu, 10 in Maharashtra, 7 in Madhya Pradesh, 3 each in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. Nine cities including Bengaluru, Kolkata, Shimla, Puducherry, Daman, Patna, Itanagar, Thiruvananthapuram and Gangtok did not qualify. 23. Law commission report recommends abolition of death penalty except in terror cases: A new report by the Law Com-mission of India, has recommended abolition of death penalty in all cases except when the convict is accused of orchestrating

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terror attacks. This is a reversal of the commission's earlier stand. The commission chaired by Justice (Retd) A P Shah submitted

its recommendations in the report titled ‘The Death Penalty’. As per the report, India is one of the 59 countries in the world that still has the death penalty. 24. NTPC records highest single-day electricity generation: On 27 August, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), India's largest power generator, recorded the highest single-day electricity generation of 733.12 million units. As per the compa-ny's statement, the record power generation came from NTPC's 18 coal-based power plants, 7 gas-based units and 8 solar and hydro power stations. During FY14-15, NTPC contributed 25 per cent of total electricity generated in India.

Important Agreements/Deals - India and Abroad

A. Agreements

1. DIPP gives nod to ADB and JICA proposed industrial corridors: The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion

(DIPP) has approved the Asian Development Bank's conceptual development plan report on Vizag Chennai Industrial Cor-

ridor (VCIC). Commerce & Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman further added that the master plan report on the Chen-

nai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC), developed in partnership with the Japan International Cooperation Agency

(JICA), has also been accepted. The construction of CBIC is expected to augment development and industrial growth in

Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Furthermore, the East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC) is planned from

Kolkata (in West Bengal) to Tuticorin (in Tamil Nadu), the first phase of which focuses on Vizag- Chennai section.

2. Cabinet approves release of wages directly into bank accounts: On August 5, Union Cabinet approved direct release of

wages to workers' accounts under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employee Guarantee Act (MNREGA). This move

is believed to improve efficiency and benefit all stakeholders of the scheme. Workers would now get their wages on the

second day of the pay order generation and the gram panchayats would be empowered to take up work according to their

labour budget without struggling for release of funds.

3. India, Russia tie up for Kamov 226T choppers: Taking 'Make in India' forward, Russia will ink a partnership with Reliance Defence for manufacture of Kamov 226T choppers locally. This is a part of the Rs.6000 crore project for military helicopters. This joint venture is likely to be named 'Reliance Helicopters'. Another option is to partner with the defence public sector unit Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The final approval will be based on the Indian government's decision.

B. Business Acquisitions/Mergers/Launches/Investments

1. Japan’s Nikkei buys Financial Times: Japanese media agency Nikkei bought the Fi-

nancial Times from Britain’s Pearson Group in a $1.3bn deal, one of the biggest acqui-

sitions by a Japanese media company.

2. Facebook unveils internet drone named Aquila: On August 3, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, unveiled Aquila, a fully solar-powered drone that can beam Internet into the most remote regions across the globe. The drone has the wingspan of a 'Boeing 737' and is said to be lighter than a car. It was developed in the company's connectivity lab. With the launch of Internet.org, Facebook targets to provide basic internet services to people even in the most remote region, with the help of mobile service providers.

3. Thomas Cook acquires Kuoni Group's travel businesses in India and Hong Kong: Tour operator Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. has signed an agreement with Kuoni Group to ac-quire its travel business in India and Hong Kong for Rs.535 crore. With this agreement all other brands of Kuoni such as SOTC, SITA and Distant Frontiers are to be transferred.

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4. Essel Group to launch global news channel with an Indian standpoint: Essel Group chairman Subhash Chandra plans to launch a global news channel with an Indian point of view. The group aims to launch a news channel along the lines of CNN - IBN, Al Jazeera, said Chandra. The Essel group owns English newspaper Daily News & Analysis (DNA) and runs news televi-sion channels under the ZEE brand. 5. iPad-manufacturer Foxconn invests in Maharashtra: Terry Gou, Chairman of Foxconn, which is the world's largest manu-facturer of contract electronics, has announced his plans to set up factories across India over the next decade in the spirit of the 'Make in India' campaign. The company also declared a $5 billion investment in Maharashtra over the next 5 years. The unit will be somewhere between Mumbai and Pune for which the government has identified around 1,500 acres. This factory will initially provide about 50,000 jobs.

6. Aditya Birla Group launches Bizlabs: With the aim of collaborating with innovative start-ups and providing them an op-portunity to scale up in the large operating business environment, the Aditya Birla Group has launched a new initiative - Bizlabs. Start-ups offering innovative solutions in the areas of retail, financial services and mobility will be considered. Candi-dates shortlisted for the 20-day programme will have an access to CEOs and other top leaders of the group besides the oppor-tunity to network with reputed industry experts. Dev Bhattacharya, Group Executive President, Aditya Birla Group said that the objective is to enable the combination of the technology and ingenuity of the start-up ecosystem with the power and reach of the group's businesses to create a platform that will foster growth. 7. Infosys launches new services collectively named Aikido: Infosys, the country's second-largest software services firm, an-nounced three new services under the name Aikido. The new services will centre on Artificial Intelligence, Knowledge-based IT, and Design Thinking. This initiative is a part of Infosys' effort to be back as the firm with high growth numbers in the IT industry. CEO and MD of Infosys Vishal Sikka, informed that work on a strategy about the duality of "renew and new" has been ongoing in the last thirteen months or so. The announcement of the new service coincides with the birthday of Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy.

8. Health exchange portal Zigy.com launched in Bengaluru: Former iGATE CEO Phaneesh Murthy announced the launch of website Zigy.com, which will serve as a patient controlled electronic health record system. According to Murthy, Zigy.com aims at connecting Indian consumers with doctors, clinics, hospitals, pharmacies, diagnostic labs, and providers of wellness products and services, insurance, home-care services, among others. Initially, the online services will be launched in five metropolitan cities-Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi. 9. Google, Twitter expand partnership: A few months back, Google and Twitter agreed to display tweets in Google mobile search results. In August 2015, the two tech firms have gone a step ahead by announcing that the partnership has been expanded to include desktop searches as well. This situation is a win-win situation for both companies as it is expected to increase engage-ment on Twitter and bring in fresh content in terms of tweets and comments on Google.

Important Schemes Launched by Union Government and State Governments 1. Ministry of Rural Development launches SAMANVAY portal: Rural Development Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh launched SAMANVAY in early August. SAMANVAY is a compilation of schemes of both the Centre and state govern-ments at the gram panchayat level. Singh said that this move will help the MPs to utilise relevant schemes to plan and im-plement the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY). He added that more than 1800 state schemes across India have been documented in SAMANVAY. The SAGY was launched in October 2014 under which the MPs are to develop three 'adarsh' gram panchayats (model villages) by 2019.

2. Government launches 3 websites for farmers: The government launched three web portals for farmers, including the Par-ticipatory Guarantee System-India (PGS-India), Fertiliser Quality Control System (FQCS) and Soil Health Card (SHC). (a) The Participatory Guarantee System-India (PGS-India) will ease the process of certifying organic products in accordance with set standards and ensure active participation of stakeholders including producers/farmers, traders and consumers in the cer-tification system. (b) The Fertiliser Quality Control System (FQCS) portal is an application developed for processing of fertiliser sample collec-tion, testing and generation of analysis reports. (c) The Soil Health Card (SHC) web portal will have the following modules in the interest of farmers (a) Soil Samples Regis-tration (b) Test Result Entry by Soil Testing Labs (c) Fertiliser Recommendations based on STCR and GFR among other things. (d) Soil Health Card generation. (e) MIS module for monitoring progress.

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3. Centre launches Nai Manzil for minorities: Dr. Najma Heptulla, the Union Minister for Minority Affairs launched a new scheme called Nai Manzil for minorities on 8th August 2015. The scheme aims to "bridge the academic and skill development gaps of the deeni Madrasa pass out with their mainstream counterparts." Training in 4 courses namely, manufacturing, engineer-ing, services and soft skills will be provided. It will help madrassa students write central board examinations, thereby equipping them to secure admission to universities. It will also provide bridge courses to people within 17-35 years of age to help them pass STD X and XII exams through distance learning.

4. Union govt. launches School Nursery Scheme: Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar launched the School Nursery Yojana on August 10th to make students care for and protect the environment, by involving them in planting saplings in nurseries created within the campus. As a part of this initiative students will conduct a tree census in their school and locality, sow seeds, and grow saplings. The activities will be part of the biology class and extra-curricular activities. The objective of the yojana is to help students form an everlasting bond with nature and care for the environment.

5. Press Information Bureau launches its blog: To mark the 69th Independence Day, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) un-der the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting launched its blog, https://pibindia.wordpress.com/ on August 15, 2015. The blog currently has posts and articles on various Union ministries with focus on key achievements of the Union government. This initiative aims to facilitate qualitative flow of information to the concerned stakeholders including citizens, journalists, among others and keep them engaged with the government. The blog is part of an attempt to effectively use social media platforms like- Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. 6. PAHAL enters Guinness World Records: Government of India’s PAHAL or Pratyaksh Hanstantarit Labh scheme is now in the Guinness World Records for being the largest cash benefit program (household) in the world. As on August 19th 2015, over 139 million consumers have joined the scheme and Rs 236.18 billion has already been transferred to their bank accounts. Bharat Petroleum had applied to the Guinness World Record authorities on behalf of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. 7. Union government launches web portal for students seeking education loan: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley an-nounced a web portal viz. www.vidyalakshmi.co.in/Students/ for poor and middle class students seeking higher education loans. Through this facility, students can apply to several banks by filling a single form. They can also check status of their applica-tions and learn about loan schemes. So far, 13 banks, including the State Bank of India, IDBI Bank, Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, Bank of India and Punjab National Bank, have registered with the portal to offer loans.

8. Himachal Pradesh CM launches RISHTA Scheme: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh launched an urban smart street lighting project called 'Rajiv Gandhi Illuminating Scheme for Hill Town Advancement (RISHTA) to make street lighting advanced. In this scheme, Energy Efficient Services Ltd. (EESL), a government venture, will invest all the capital up-front. The money invested will be paid back by the municipalities over a period of seven years from the energy and cost savings that come in due to installation of energy-efficient LED lights. Himachal Pradesh is the first state to introduce such a scheme in north India.

Sports

Cricket News

1. England crushes Australia to win Ashes 2015: England won against Australia by an innings and 78 runs in the fourth test

that took place at Trent Bridge on August 8. This put England in a 3-1 lead in the five-match Ashes test series. England dis-

missed Australia for 60 runs on the first day and made 391-9. Australia finished 241-7 on the second day, still trailing by 90

runs. England took the remaining three wickets for 12 runs and won the series on the third day without having to bat a second

time.

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2. Rahane becomes first fielder in test cricket history to take 8 catches: Ajinkya Rahane became the first fielder in test

cricket history to take eight catches in a match. He achieved the remarkable feat on Day 3 of the first test against Sri Lanka,

which was held on August 14 in Galle. Rahane made the record going past five international players including Yajurvindra

Singh (India), Greg Chappell (Australia), Hashan Tillakaratne (Sri Lanka), Stephen Fleming (New Zealand) and Mathew Hay-

den (Australia), all of whom took 7 catches in a match.

3. Kumar Sangakkara retires from his 15-year Test series career: Sri Lankan cricketer, Kumar Sangakkara played his final

Test innings in international cricket on August 23, 2015, wherein he was out for 18 in the second test against India, in Colombo.

Sangakkara began his test series career in 2000 and ended it with his 134th match.

4. Steven Smith ranks first in the ICC's Test batsmen ranking 2015: Australian batsman Steven Smith regained the number

one spot in ICC's Test batsmen ranking. Steven Smith, held this title ahead of South Africa’s A B de Villiers and Joe Root of

England. He regained his spot after a strong performance at the fifth Ashes test, which concluded in August.

Football News

1. FIFA Rankings - The Indian Football team ranks 156th in the latest FIFA rankings. Argentina still holds on to the top spot.

India has come down 15 places post defeat in the matches against Oman and Guam in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. India

shares the 156th position with Central Asian nation Kyrgyzstan.

Hockey News

1. India defeat Spain 4 - 2 in European Hockey Tour: India outperformed Spain 4-2 in the third and last match of the Euro-

pean Hockey Tour to win the three-game series 2-1. India's Forward player Ramandeep Singh got two remarkable goals within a

minute's gap (50th and 51st min) to clinch the match. Further, drag-flicker Rupinder Pal Singh (24th min) and Akashdeep Singh

(45th minute) were others who scored.

2. Indian Women's Hockey Team qualifies for 2016 Rio Olympics: On 30th August

2015, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) announced that India has qualified for

the 2016 Rio Olympics after England defeated Spain in the semifinals of the Euro

Hockey Championships in London. The Indian women's team thus becomes the 10th

side to qualify for next year's Olympic Games. The last time Indian women's team

played at Olympics was in 1980. Nine other teams that have qualified are: Korea as

Asian Games champion, Argentina as Pan Am Games champion and Great Britain,

China, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand and the USA through the

Hockey World League Semifinals.

Tennis News

1. Federer and Serena win at Cincinnati Masters: Swiss tennis ace Roger Federer

won the Cincinnati Masters men's singles title 2015 by defeating Serbian player, Novak

Djokovic. Federer defeated the reigning world champion 7-6, 6-3 to win the title for a

record seventh time, having previously won in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2014.

The Cincinnati Masters women's singles title 2015 was won by World No. 1 Serena Wil-

liams who defeated Simona Halep of Romania. It was Serena's second consecutive Cin-

cinnati Masters title.

Badminton News

1. Saina Nehwal settles for a silver at World Badminton Championships: Saina Nehwal lost the women's singles final to

Spanish top seed Carolina Marin to take home a silver medal. Saina faced Marin, scoring 16-21 19-21 in the final match.

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Other Sports News

1. Indian women's recurve archery team win silver at world Archery Championship: Indian women's recurve archery team lost to Russia in the World Championship final at Copenhagen, Denmark with a 4-5 score, clinching a silver medal. The Russian team comprising Inna Stepanova, Ksenia Perova and Tuyana Dashidorzhieva won the contest in a nerve-wreck-ing tie-breaker against the Indian team of Deepika Kumari, Laxmirani Majhi and Rimil Buriuly, which ended 28-27 in Rus-sia's favour.

2. Prabhroop Sekhon bags two gold in Special Olympics: India's Prabhroop Sekhon won two gold medals in Special Olym-pics held at World Summer Games in Los Angeles, US. Prabhroop is an autistic player who won medals in 300 m and 500 m roller skating event. 3. Joshna Chinappa wins Victoria Open WSA event: Joshna Chinappa, the Indian champion won the women's squash title with USD 15,000 at Victoria Open WSA event becoming second seed in Melbourne, Australia. Joshna defeated Dane 1-5, 11-4, 11-9 in the finals. In the men's title, Australian Ryan Cuskelly defeated Greg Lobban of Scotland 12-10, 13-11, 11-9. 4. Indian Golfer Ranveer Saini creates history: Golfer Ranveer Singh Saini became the first Indian to have won gold at the Special Olympics game in Los Angeles. Saini, is an autistic golfer who achieved this feat in GF Golf - level 2 alternate shot team play event. Two years ago, Saini became the first Indian golfer to win two gold medals at the Asia Pacific World games. 5. Gymnast Dipa Karmakar wins bronze at Asian Championships: Indian artistic gymnast Dipa Karmakar clinched a bronze medal at the recently concluded Asian Championships in Hiroshima. Earlier in February, Karmakar excelled with a total of five gold medals for Tripura in the 35th National Games in Kerala. She also won a bronze in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. At the 2014 Asian Games, she finished fourth in the vault final. 6. Special Olympic World Summer Games 2015: The 275-member Indian contingent made the nation proud at the Special Olympic World Summer Games 2015 by winning 173 medals. The athletes competed under the banner Special Olympic Bharat and won 47 gold medals, 54 silver and 72 bronze across 14 disciplines during the nine-day event held at Los Angeles, US. 7. Swimmer Ryan Lochte wins fourth consecutive 200 m IM: The 31-year-old American swimmer, Ryan Lochte made his-tory at world swimming championships as the first man to win the 200 m individual medley four times in row. It was Lochte's 24th World Championship medal, second only to Michael Phelps' three titles in 2003, 2005 and 2007. 8. Pankaj Advani wins 13th World Snooker Championship: Indian sports star Pankaj Advani won his 13th world title with the World 6 - Red Snooker Championship. Advani defeated Yan Bingtao of China. 9. Dahihandi now an adventure sport: On August 12, the BJP-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra issued a Government Resolution (GR) making dahihandi an adventure sport. 10. Anirban Lahiri finishes fifth at PGA Championship: In what is seen as his best performance thus far, Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri on August 17 rose up to World No. 38 in his rankings as he finished fifth at the PGA championship. Lahiri is the only second Indian to make it to the top-50 of the world and has won seven titles in Asia, of which two - Malaysian Open and Hero Indian Open - were co-sanctioned with the European Tour.

11. Aditi Ashok first Indian to win Ladies British Amateur Golf Championship: On August 22, Bengaluru's Aditi Ashok became the first Indian to have won the Ladies British Amateur stroke-play golf championship at UK's Moortown Golf Club. She beat 39 players to emerge victorious, thereby claiming 'The Nicholls Trophy' and the 'Dinwiddy Trophy' as she secured the lowest score for an under-18 player. This feat also makes the youngest-ever winner of the tournament. Her previous records include her victory at the St. Rule Trophy at St. Andrews in July 2015 and she finished second at the 2015 European Women's Amateur Championship.

12. Bolt wins gold in 100 m at World Athletics Championships: Jamaican runner, Usain Bolt clinched gold by crossing the finishing line in 9.79 seconds, just .01 second ahead of his American rival Justin Gatlin at the World Athletics Championships in China, on August 23. However, his score is far from his fastest. The results of the 100 m men's final are 1. Usain Bolt (Jam) 9.79s, 2. Justin Gatlin (U.S.) 9.80.

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13. Eritrean teen wins first gold at Beijing World Championship: Ghirmay Ghebreslassie, 19-year-old Eritrean teen, claimed the first gold medal of the Beijing Worlds Championship in the men's marathon on August 22. This is his third mara-thon, and second ever medal after the 2009 worlds held in Berlin.

Important Days of the Month

Date The Significance of the day

1. 30th July World Day against Trafficking in Persons

2. 6th August Hiroshima Day

3. 7th August National Handloom Day

4. 9th August International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples

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