October 1-10

� The Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan stayed put on the key policy rates in his fourth bi-

monthly credit policy review, but sounded caution as far as meeting the 2016 CPI target was concerned.

The RBI now believes that attaining the projected inflation target of 6 percent by January 2016 is at risk

due to expected "food price shocks as the full effects of the monsoon’s passage unfold, and from geo-

political developments that could materialise rapidly." Meanwhile, key policy rates were left unchanged,

which was on the expected lines. Repo rate or the rate at which RBI lends money to banks for short-term,

stayed at 8 percent while the cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks unchanged at 4.0 percent of

net demand and time liabilities. Consequently, the reverse repo rate remains unchanged at 7 percent, and

the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 9 percent. The RBI also kept the statutory

liquidity ratio (SLR) of scheduled commercial banks unchanged at 22 percent of their NDTL. As far as GDP

is concerned, the apex bank retained its growth projection for FY15 at 5.5 percent and forecasted FY16

growth at 6.3 percent.

� Competition Appellate Tribunal, empowered to hear appeals from the Competition Commission of India

has finally got its new Chairman. Justice G S Singhvi, who retired from the Supreme Court in December

2013, is the new Chairman of the Tribunal. The office of the Chairperson was vacant as Justice V S

Sirpurkar, the previous Chairperson had retired in August. However, the Competition Appellate is still

without its two members.

� The new Afghan government concluded crucial security pacts with the U.S. and the North Atlantic Treaty

Organization, paving the way for about 12,000 foreign troops to remain in the country after year's end

and ensuring that aid money keeps flowing to Kabul. The long-delayed agreements were signed a day

after President Ashraf Ghani took office, marking his administration's first major act and ushering in

improved ties with Afghanistan's international backers.

� Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US and his meeting with President Barack Obama was

successful, former National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon said, insisting that the outcome shows

the progress made in the bilateral ties during the last 10 years.

� Within hours of an announcement to that effect by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the US at the Madison

Square Garden, the Home Ministry notified new rules stipulating that all NRIs holding Persons of Indian

Origin (PIO) cards will now get lifelong entry to India. Earlier, foreigners of Indian Origin had PIO

cards with only 15 years validity for visa-free entry to India and they had to extend it for 10 years at a

time if desired. Now, PIO cards will have life-time validity and the process of extensions has been done

away with.

� India's woman Boxer Sarita Devi faced an AIBA (International Boxing Association) probe for returning her

bronze medal during the podium ceremony with the world governing body's supervisor describing her act

as "regretful". Sarita was robbed off a shot at the gold medal after losing the 60kg semifinal bout against

Korea's Jina Park. Out of frustration and exasperation, a crying Sarita returned the medal.

� Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced Rs 286 crore for Assam under National Disaster Response

Fund (NDRF) and asked the State government to spend Rs 386 crore released under NDRF.

� In a thrilling final, India got the better of Pakistan to win the Asian Games men's hockey gold after 16

years. The win ensures India a direct ticket to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. India had to struggle to

SNIPPETS

make the 2012 London Games where they finished last. This victory has been the best so far under

Australian coach Terry Walsh. India were playing an Asian Games final after a gap of 12 years.

� The government set up a Swachh Bharat Kosh to attract funds from corporates and individuals to improve

sanitation facilities, particularly in schools. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the country's biggest-

ever cleanliness drive Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan that is expected to cost over Rs 62,000 crore. The

objective of the mission is to achieve a Clean India (Swachh Bharat) by the year 2019, the 150th year of

the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. More than 2,47,000 gram panchayats across the country will

receive Rs. 20 lakh each per annum for the Clean India campaign of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

� Election Commission guidelines making it virtually mandatory for political parties to deposit their funds in

banks and not to exceed ceiling limits in financial assistance for candidates to ensure transparency and

accountability came into effect from 1 October 2014.

� Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered his first radio address with the objective to reach out to millions of

people with no access to television. He promised to make this a regular feature. Modi, among other

things, appealed to people to shed despondency and believe in their potential; extolled the virtues of

cleanliness, stressed the need for the society to help the specially-abled and asked people to use khadi.

� India’s unhindered supremacy in the Asian Games’ kabaddi competition continued after both the men’s

and women’s teams successfully defended their respective gold medals with hard-fought final triumphs

over Iran in Incheon Asian Games. Staging a fantastic second-half recovery, Indian men surged to their

seventh straight gold by defeating Iran 27—25 in a thrilling final. The country thus boosted its overall gold

tally to 11 on the final day of competitions.

� China flight tested an upgraded version of its 10,000-km range Dongfeng missile which can reach most of

the US and European cities, demonstrating its nuclear capability.

� Chennai Super Kings overwhelmed Kolkata Knight Riders by 8 wickets to clinch the Champions League

T20 title.

� For safety of women commuters in Delhi Metro, paramilitary CISF launched "Operation Kali" under which

it will deploy a special squad of undercover female commandos who can neutralise a threat with innocuous

objects like pen or hairpin.

� Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta became the first sitting president to appear before the International

Criminal Court in The Hague to charges of crimes against humanity. Kenyatta faces crimes against

humanity charges at The Hague-based court for allegations that he helped instigate violence that followed

Kenya's December 2007 presidential election, when more than 1,000 people were killed.

� The country will have state-of-the-art virology diagnostic laboratories operational in 120 districts by 2015,

the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced. The outbreak of the Ebola virus highlighted

the need for setting up testing facilities at various places to cope with the pressure exerted on the

systems.

� The Karnataka high court rejected the bail application of J Jayalalithaa, former Tamil Nadu chief minister,

in a disproportionate assets case, saying the Supreme Court has made it clear that corruption

cases should be fast-tracked.

� The Election Commission told the Bombay High Court that it would derecognise those political parties

which use children in election campaign or poll-related work.

� Famous Indian Modernist painter Tyeb Mehta's transitional work 'Blue Painting' was sold for a hefty Rs 11

crore at the Sothby's inaugural Indian and Islamic Week in London.

� Legendary cricketer and Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar attended the 82nd anniversary celebration of the

Indian Air Force at Hindon base on 8 October 2014. Tendulkar was the first to be given a Group Captain's

rank despite no aviation experience.

� The government announced a national-level skill development institute for minorities in Delhi, Maulana

Azad National Academy for Skills (MANAS), which will train people in those areas where demand is likely

to go up in the evolving economic conditions so as to help their employment prospects.

� The government deferred the country wide roll out of National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 for another

six months citing state governments’ inability to create requisite infrastructure. The new deadline for the

roll out of food security legislation is April 4th 2015. This is the second time, the government has given

extention for roll out of food security act which envisages providing highly subsidised foodgrains to 84

crore population. The food security legislation was passed in Parliament in July last year and states were

given one year time for complete roll out of act. However the deadline for roll out of food security act was

extended by three months till October 4 as many states could not put in place the necessary infrastructure

such as better grain storage facilities and identification of beneficiaries.

� The Ministry of Health celebrated the World Mental Health Day on 10 October 2014.The theme this year

“Living with Schizophrenia”, seeks to focus attention on Schizophrenia and the burden of stigma that

persons with this illness face.

October 11-20

� Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana on the occasion of birth anniversary

of Jai Prakash Narayan. Launching the ambitious scheme, Modi said that if nearly 800 MPs develop three

village each by 2019, around 2500 villages will be covered. Adarsh Gram aims to ensure 100 per cent

access to health, education, sanitation, schools, toilets, libraries and smart schools. It is an ambitious

village development project under which each MP will take the responsibility of developing physical and

institutional infrastructure in three villages by 2019. Inspired by the principles and values of Mahatma

Gandhi, the scheme places equal stress on nurturing values of national pride, patriotism, community

spirit, self-confidence and on developing infrastructure. All the Members of Parliament are to adopt a

village each and cater to its needs. Gram panchayat would be the basic unit for development. It will have

a population of 3000-5000 in plain areas and 1000-3000 in hilly, tribal and difficult areas. In districts

where this unit size is not available, gram panchayats approximating the desirable population size may be

chosen. If each MP adopts three villages, the scheme will be able to develop 2,379 gram panchayats over

the next five years.

� Third International Day of the Girl Child was observed across the world on 11 October 2014. The theme

was Empowering Adolescent Girls: Ending the Cycle of Violence.

� The Hero Indian Super League (ISL) was launched on October 12 in Kolkata. The ISL is a professional

Indian football league.

� India pledged USD four million in aid to rebuild Gaza Strip, devastated by its 50-day conflict with Israel.

The donation came in response to the National Early Recovery and Reconstruction Plan for Gaza presented

by the Palestinian Authority.

� Roger Federer won the Shanghai Masters title as he overcame unseeded Gilles Simon 7-6, 7-6 in a tight

final in China.

� Lewis Hamilton won the inaugural Russian Formula One Grand Prix and extended his championship lead to

17 points in a Mercedes one-two that clinched the team's first constructors' title.

� India and Norway signed nine memorandum of understandings (MoUs) to promote academic cooperation

between the two countries, during President Pranab Mukherjee's state visit to the Scandinavian nation.

� Global Handwashing Day (GHD) was celebrated on 15th of October to motivate and mobilize people around

the world to wash their hands with soap.

� British lawmakers voted in favour of recognising Palestine as a state in a move that will not alter the

government's stance on the issue, but that carries symbolic value for Palestinians in their pursuit of

statehood. Britain does not classify Palestine as a state, but says it could do so at any time if it believed it

would help peace efforts between the Palestinians and Israel.

� The World Standards Day was celebrated across the globe on 14 October. World Standards Day is

celebrated annually on 14th of October to mark the development of voluntary engineering and scientific

standards.

� India and Canada held a strategic dialogue in which they took stock of their cooperation in the areas of

security, defence, counter-terrorism, space and nuclear energy, education food security, among others.

India is currently the third largest source country of immigrants to Canada, and the population of the

Indo-Canadian community was estimated to be over one million. The fact makes Canada as one of the

countries which are high on the foreign policy priorities of India. This dialogue mechanism was agreed to

between India and Canada during the visit of Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2012. The first dialogue

was held last year in Toronto in September last year.

� In a major breakthrough in India's fight against black money allegedly stashed abroad, Switzerland said it

will examine Indian requests for banking information on a priority basis and provide requested details in a

time-bound manner. The Swiss authorities would also "assist in obtaining confirmation on genuineness of

bank documents on request by the Indian side and also swiftly provide information on requests related to

non-banking information".

� PM Modi announced interim relief of Rs. 1,000 cr for Andhra Pradesh as the state struggled to recover

from the disaster struck by cyclone “Hudhud”.

� Scripting yet another milestone in outer space, ISRO successfully launched IRNSS 1C, the third member

of the seven satellite constellation of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), from

Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

� 'Tithi Bhojan', a community participatory model followed by the Gujarat government in the midday meal

programme, would now be replicated across the country. Under this initiative, food is voluntarily served

among school children by villagers in several forms like sweet and namkeen with the regular midday meal

and supplementary nutritive items like sprouted beans. The objective is to inculcate the feeling of equity

and brotherhood among the children of all communities and reduction of the gap between the school

administration and the community.

� President Pranab Mukherjee returned home on 17 October after a five-day visit to Norway and Finland

during which he signed a number of agreements including one for peaceful use of nuclear energy and

pacts to step up cooperation in defence.

� India successfully test-fired its potent nuclear-capable cruise missile 'Nirbhay', a state-of-the-art missile

developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The test was conducted from

the Integrated Missile Test Range in Chandipur, Odisha. Nirbhay is very manoeuvrable and can fly at tree-

top level, making it difficult to detect on radar, and strikes targets more than 700 km away carrying

nuclear warheads, giving India the capability to strike deep into enemy territory.

� The SAARC Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation (Electricity) was finalized at the 5th SAARC

Energy Ministers Meeting and will be signed by all the parties at the upcoming SAARC Summit that is to be

held in November 2014 in Kathmandu, Nepal.

� In a first, the government has decided to import potato to increase its domestic availability and rein in

rising prices.

� Nigeria's military said that it agreed a ceasefire with Islamist militants Boko Haram - and that the

schoolgirls the group abducted will be released.The group has been fighting an insurgency since 2009,

with some 2,000 civilians reportedly killed this year.Boko Haram sparked global outrage six months ago

by abducting more than 200 schoolgirls.

� The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) created history in Haryana by securing a clear majority on its own for

the first time (winning 47 seats in the 90-member assembly with a 33.2% vote share) and finished as the

single largest party in a hung house in Maharashtra (winning 122 seats in the 288-member assembly,

falling well short of the 145 seats required for a simple majority), leaving former ally and runner up Shiv

Sena high and dry. The verdict placed BJP in pole position to rule Maharashtra as the Sharad Pawar-led

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) expressed willingness to offer outside support to its government.

Congress was humiliated in both Haryana and Maharashtra which it had been ruling for two and three

consecutive terms respectively.

� The Central Government issued an advisory asking that steps be taken so that 33% of the workforce

in police forces is constituted by women.

� US Open champion Marin Cilic of Croatia, seeded second, won the Kremlin Cup ATP title in Moscow

defeating fifth-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista-Agut in the final.

� India successfully defended its Sultan of Johor Cup (SOJC) U-21 hockey title, beating Great Britain 2-1 in

a keenly-contested final.

� Nigeria was declared officially free of Ebola after six weeks with no new cases, the World Health

Organization (WHO) said. The outbreak killed more than 4,500 people in West Africa, mostly in Liberia,

Guinea, and Sierra Leone. An estimated 70% of those infected died in those countries.

October 21 onwards

� The United Nations Human Rights Committee gave a boost to the Pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong

by calling on China to ensure universal suffrage in Hong Kong, including the right to stand for election as

well as the right to vote. Committee members voiced concerns about the right to stand without

unreasonable restrictions, chiming with protester demands for civil nominations for the 2017 poll.

� The 69th UN Day was celebrated around the World on October 24. This year the UN’s theme for United

Nations Day was “Global Citizenship and Youth”.

� Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a Rs 745-crore package for renovation of houses and six major

hospitals damaged by the recent unprecedented floods in Jammu and Kashmir.

� King of Indian cue sports Pankaj Advani added yet another jewel to his glowing crown, outplaying former

champion Peter Gilchrist in the 150 up points format World Billiards Championship final and pocket his

11th world title.

� A World Bank report titled ‘India Development Update’ has said that India’s GDP is likely to expand at

5.6% in the current fiscal year, 2014-15.The report also said that the GDP growth may rise further to

6.4% and 7% in 2015-16 and 2016-17.

� UK formally withdrew from Afghanistan, ending the 13 year war that it was a part of. The lowering of the

Union Flag in Camp Bastion marked the end of Britain’s campaign, which is believed to be its longest

involvement in a conflict in modern times. Initially, the goal of the British forces was to curb the trade in

illegal opium/poppy. However, that mission proved unsuccessful and the forces changed focus. At one

point of time, the British had 9,500 British military personnel active in Afghanistan. A total of 453 British

lives were lost in Afghanistan with thousands more who were injured. UK’s role in direct combat in

Afghanistan has officially ended, however, it will still maintain a presence there. UK will continue to play a

major role in training and advising Afghan forces.

� China warned that it will firmly oppose any exploration activity in South China Sea if it undermines its

"sovereignty and interests", hours after India inked a pact with Vietnam for exploration in two additional

oil and gas blocks in the resource-rich area. The oil exploration in the South China Sea is a sensitive issue

as China's efforts to explore oil in May this year resulted in massive showdown between China and

Vietnam with their ships colliding with each other for days. India and Vietnam signed seven agreements

after PM Modi met his counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung. The two also held talks on a wide range

of bilateral and regional issues, and called for ‘freedom of navigation and commerce, and peaceful

settlement of maritime disputes in the region’.

� Brazil's leftist President Dilma Rousseff narrowly won re-election after convincing voters that her party's

strong record of reducing poverty over the last 12 years was more important than an ongoing economic

slump. Dilma Rousseff’s Workers’ Party has been in power in Brazil since 2002. Rousseff has been in

power since 2010. With this year’s win, Rousseff will act as President for the next four years.

� Anirban Lahiri won the Venetian Macau Open (Golf), making it his second title of 2014 and fifth career win

on the Asian Tour. Anirban Lahiri’s Venetian Macau Open triumph has propelled him to the 69th position in

the world golf rankings — a jump of 21 places. Lahiri had achieved his career-best ranking of 64th, soon

after his win in Indonesia earlier this year. Lahiri is currently the highest ranked Indian in the world

followed by Shiv Kapur who is at 215th place. Jeev Milkha Singh is the only Indian golfer to have been

ranked higher than 69th. He had achieved his career-best ranking of 29th back in 2009.

� Underlining the plans of the Indian government to eliminate Tuberculosis from the country, Union Health

Minister Harsh Vardhan announced 'TB-Mission 2020'.

� India overwhelmingly won its re-election to the United Nations' body on economic and social issues -UN

Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). India's term at ECOSOC was scheduled to end this year and now

it has been re-elected for a three year term beginning Jan 1 2015.

� Protests erupted in Tamil Nadu after five Indian fishermen from the state were given death sentence by a

Sri Lankan court in alleged drugs smuggling case.

� With a view to uplift rural India, the government is set to launch a new programme — the Unnat Bharat

Abhiyan. The programme is being launched in collaboration with the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT)

and the National Institutes of Technology (NITs) across the country. Although the programme is an

initiative of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, it will be coordinated and steered by IIT Delhi.

Each IIT will identify 10 villages in its neighbourhood and work out technologies to solve the most

pressing issues of the region.

� India's cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar was inducted into the Bradman Hall of Fame. Tendulkar was

inducted alongside Steve Waugh, who statistically has been Australia's most successful captains.

� India was ranked 142nd among 189 nations in ease of doing business in a new World Bank Group report,

even as it found that the country set the pace for regulatory reform in South Asia in 2013-14. India's

overall ranking fell by two notches in "The Doing Business 2015: Going Beyond Efficiency" report rankings.

In ease of starting business too, it dropped two steps to 158 and one step in dealing with construction

permits to 184. With 20 measures, India, however, topped the reformers in South Asia, which saw the

lowest number of reforms. Singapore tops the list of business-friendly economies globally, while five of the

top 10 most improved countries are in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the rankings.

� Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as Chief Minister of the first BJP government in Maharashtra. 44-year-old

Fadnavis is a three time MLA and the second Brahmin to occupy the top post in the state.

A. Surya Prakash, journalist and distinguished fellow, Vivekananda International Foundation, was appointed

chairperson of the Prasar Bharti Board.

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani's twins, son Akash and daughter Isha, were inducted

into the boards of Reliance Retail and Reliance Jio Infocomm as directors at a board meeting of the two firms.Both

firms valued over Rs 75,000 crores are seen as the next big revenue drivers for RIL, as its revenues from its

upstream business have fallen and its entry into developing SEZs has failed to take off. RIL still drives most of its

revenues from its core refinery and petrochemicals businesses.

US-based economist Arvind Subramanian took charge as chief economic adviser in the finance ministry, two

months after finance minister Arun Jaitley recommended his name to the Prime Minister’s office. Before his current

assignment, Subramanian served as a senior fellow at Peterson Institute for International Economics as well as at

the Center for Global Development, both located in Washington DC. Like Reserve Bank of India governor

Raghuram Rajan, he too has worked at the International Monetary Fund, where he was an assistant director in the

research department. The post of chief economic advisor fell vacant after Rajan was appointed as governor of the

central bank in September last year.

Freedom fighter, politician and a veteran of Subhas Chandra Bose's Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army),

Captain Abbas Ali, died of cardiac arrest at 95. Ali's political awakening happened early. As an 11-year-old, he

was inspired by the ideas of Shaheed Bhagat Singh. An Aligarh Muslim University alumnus, Ali joined the British

Indian Army in 1939, shortly before the outbreak of World War II. When Subhas Chandra Bose set up the INA in

1945, Ali left the British army and joined it. In 1948, Ali began his political career and joined the Socialist Party. In

1966, he was appointed state general secretary of Sanyukt Socialist Party. Ali played a key role in the formation of

the first non-Congress government in Uttar Pradesh - the Samyukta Vidhayak Dal led by Chaudhary Charan Singh

in 1967. Ali was arrested again during Emergency and remained behind bars during the entire duration. When

Emergency was lifted in 1977, his party merged with the Janata Party, and Ali was elected to UP Legislative

Council, subsequently becoming the first president of the Uttar Pradesh unit of the Janata Party.

Veteran legislator Ganpatrao Deshmukh created history by winning his 11th Assembly election and becoming

the longest serving MLA in India. Deshmukh, 88, who represented Sangola seat in Solapur district, had in 2009

become the second legislator in India after DMK Chief M Karunanidhi to have won 10 elections. The Peasants and

Workers Party (PWP) politician, who has represented Sangola for a record 54 years, defeated Shahajibapu Patil of

Shiv Sena by 25,224 votes. Deshmukh, who has worked in his drought-prone constituency, is also a former

minister and the October 15 polls were his 13th Assembly election.

A five year and 11 month old Indian boy, Harshit Saumitra, claimed to have set a new world record by

successfully climbing Kalapatthar peak, some 200 metre above the base camp of Mount Everest in Nepal. Harshit

Saumitra, the son a famous mountaineer from India, reached 5,554 m high Kalapatthar on October 17.

The former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh has been designated to chair a global research platform panel on

sustainable development —‘Future Earth Engagement Committee’— instituted by an alliance of organisations

including the UNEP, the UNESCO and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). The Science and Technology

Alliance for Global Sustainability has announced that “Future Earth” will be a global research platform offering

knowledge and support to accelerate the transformations to a sustainable world.

Noted freedom fighter Jagdish Sharan Pande who had worked for Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's Azad Hind Fauz

died after prolonged illness. Pande who worked for Netaji's Azad Hind Force had even been jailed for two years in

Burma in 1943-44. He also did active social work after Independence.

PEOPLE IN NEWS

Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar was elected vice-president of Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) in Macau.

ABU is a non-profit, non-government professional association of broadcasters. India is a founder member since

1964 and All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan have been associated with it.

The Nobel Prize for Economics was awarded to Jean Tirole “for his analysis of market power and regulation”. The

award carries a prize money of 8 mn Swedish krona. Jean Tirole is the second Frenchman to have been awarded

a Nobel Prize this year.

Justice G S Singhvi, a former Supreme Court judge who retired in December 2013, was appointed as the

chairman of the Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT). He succeeds former Supreme Court judge V S

Sirpurkar, who retired in August. COMPATwas also established under the Competition Act of 2002. It was set up by

the Centre in 2009.

The International Boxing Association or AIBA suspended pugilist Laishram Sarita Devi and two others for

protesting against the controversial loss to a South Korean competitor at the Incheon Asian Games.The AIBA

Executive Committee Bureau in a statement said it has provisionally suspended Indian women pugilist Laishram

Sarita Devi, her coaches Gurbakhsh Singh Sandhu, Blas Iglesias Fernandez and Sagar Mal Dhayal, as well as

India's chef-de-mission to the Incheon Asian Games Adille J. Sumariwalla.

Lewis Hamilton won the inaugural Russian Formula One Grand Prix and extended his championship lead to 17

points in a Mercedes one-two that clinched the team's first constructors' title. Hamilton, the 2008 world champion,

also became only the fourth driver in F1 history to win nine races in a single season and equalled Nigel Mansell's

British record of 31 career victories.

Founder and CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, was in New Delhi on a two day visit to India. He launched the

global internet project, “Internet.org” in Delhi. While in India, Zuckerberg met PM Modi and later spoke of Digital

India initiative and hailed it as a positive development.

After first proving his mettle as an IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre and then as the Chief Election Commissioner,

N. Gopalaswami will now wear a new hat: that of chairman of the Chennai-based ‘Kalakshetra,’ the institution

founded by Rukmini Devi Arundale to nurture India’s artistic traditions.

Oscar de la Renta, one of the most sought-after fashion designers of the last half century, dressing American

first ladies and Hollywood stars in his classic silhouettes, died at the age of 82. He made his name in the 1960s

dressing one of the major fashion icons of the day, first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, and established his company in

New York in 1965. De la Renta was known as one of the industry's classic creators, famous for elegantly feminine

designs marked by flattering silhouettes with full skirts and cinched waists, often rendered in soft hues and floral

patterns.

South African athlete Oscar Pistorius was given five years in jail for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Judge

Thokozile Masipa also gave Pistorius a three-year suspended sentence for a firearms charge. Pistorius was

convicted of culpable homicide but cleared of murder.

Rajasthan chief secretary Rajiv Mehrishi was named economic affairs secretary replacing Arvind Mayaram, who

was both finance secretary and secretary, department of economic affairs, in the second significant shuffle of tops

bureaucrats in the country by the new government which took over in May this year. Mehrishi was named chief

secretary in Rajasthan in December 2013. Prior to that, he was secretary to government of India for overseas

Indian affairs.He has also been a special secretary to government in the department of agricultural research &

education, ministry of agriculture and has held many other roles in various sectors.

Australian author Richard Flanagan won the £50,000 Man Booker Prize for his wartime novel “The Narrow Road

to the Deep North”, a remarkable love story as well as a story about human suffering and comradeship. Flanagan's

novel is set during the construction of the Thailand-Burma Death Railway in World War Two.

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was presented with the Global Diversity Award 2014 for his outstanding

achievements in the field of cinema and his involvement in philanthropic endeavours. Receiving the coveted award

from Speaker of Britain's House of Commons, the Rt Hon John Bercow at a special ceremony held in the House of

Common, the 48-year-old actor described it as a "big honour."

Known for guarding treacherous terrains and the difficult Kargil heights in Ladakh region, Indian Army's 8 Garhwal

Rifles won gold medal in International Military Patrolling exercise in the Cambrian mountain in UK.

Australian writer, Richard Flanagan, was announced as the winner of the 2014 Man Booker Prize. The

Tasmanian-born writer is the third Australian to win the prize, and the first since the prize extended to include

writers from all countries and not just the Commonwealth. Describing the book as “a magnificent novel of love and

war,” AC Grayling, Chair of judges, who announced the award, said it was the book “Richard Flanagan was born to

write.” The book is Mr. Flanagan’s sixth, and is drawn from the experiences of Mr. Flanagan’s father, who was a

Japanese prisoner of war, who worked on the construction of the Thailand-Burma ‘Death’ Railway.

Each year the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet, the Swedish

Academy, and the Norwegian Nobel committee give a series of prizes established in the will of Swedish inventor

Alfred Nobel. Worth 8m kronor (£690,000) each, the Nobel prizes are always handed out on 10 December, the

anniversary of Nobel’s death in 1896. As well as the prize money, each laureate receives a diploma and a gold

medal. The physics, chemistry, physiology/medicine, literature and peace prizes were first awarded in 1901, while

the economics prize was created in 1968.Nobel, a wealthy Swedish industrialist who invented dynamite, provided

few directions for how to select winners, except that the prize committees should reward those who “have

conferred the greatest benefit to mankind”. Here are the 2014 winners:-

� Chemistry-US researchers Eric Betzig and William Moerner and Stefan Hell of Germany won the Nobel

Prize in chemistry for finding ways to make microscopes more powerful than previously thought possible,

allowing scientists to see how diseases develop inside the tiniest cells.

� Physics-Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano of Japan and Japanese-born US scientist Shuji Nakamura won

the Nobel Prize in physics for the invention of blue light-emitting diodes, which promises to revolutionize

the way the world lights its homes and offices _ and already helps create the glowing screens of mobile

phones, computers and TVs.

� Physiology/Medicine-US-British scientist John O'Keefe split the Nobel Prize in medicine with Norwegian

couple May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser for breakthroughs in brain cell research that could pave the way

for a better understanding of diseases like Alzheimer's.

� Literature-French writer Patrick Modiano won the Nobel Prize in literature for his lifelong study of the Nazi

occupation and its effect on his country. Among more than 40 works, Modiano wrote the Prix Goncourt-

winning 'Missing Person' and co-wrote the acclaimed movie 'Lacombe, Lucien'.

� Peace-The Nobel Peace Prize 2014 was awarded jointly to Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzay "for

their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to

education."

� Economics-French economist Jean Tirole won the 2014 Nobel Prize for economics for his work that has

shed light on how governments should regulate powerful companies that dominate markets.

AWARDS & HONOURS

The National Awards for Senior Citizens - Vayoshreshtha Samman 2014 - were presented by Smt. Sumitra

Mahajan, Speaker, Lok Sabha. The Ministry has been conferring “Vayoshrestha Samman” every year on

“International Day of Older Persons” (observed on 1 October) since 2005, to eminent citizens and institutions in

recognition of their outstanding services to the elderly people, especially indigent senior citizens. The

“Vayoshrestha Samman” was elevated to the level of national awards in 2013 under 13 categories and this is the

second year in which these national awards are being conferred. Awards were presented to Best Institution for

research in the field of Ageing to Department of Geriatric Medicine, AIIMS; Best Institution for providing services

to senior citizens and Awareness Generation to HelpAge India; Best District Panchayat in Providing Services and

Facilities to Senior Citizens to Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayath, Karnataka; Centenarian-to Brig. M.L. Kataria

(Retd.); Life time Achievement to Prof. (Dr.) P.K.B. Nayar; Creative Art to Ms. Sushma Seth; Sports and

Adventure (Female) to Ms. Chandra Prabha Aitwal from Uttarkashi.

China led 21 Asian nations, including India, in forming a multilateral financial front in the form of the Asian

Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), being seen as a challenger to the U.S.-backed Bretton Woods

institutions. India signed a memorandum of understanding, along with Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal

and others, as the founding member of the AIIB.

Remittances by non-resident Indians may become marginally costlier with the Central Board of Excise and

Customs clarifying that commission or fee charged by agent based in India from the overseas agent will attract

service tax. The apex indirect taxes body has issued a circular to clear the air regarding taxation of remittances

and services provided by intermediaries.

Arvind Subramanian, Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, was appointed as India’s

new chief economic adviser (CEA). The CEA, a post that has been lying vacant since September last year after

Raghuram Rajan took over as new Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor, is usually the main go-to person for

advice for the finance minister on macro-economic matters and primary responsibilities, among others, include

authoring the mid-year analysis and the Economic Survey. The CEA is the economic advisor to the Government

of India, and works directly under the Ministry of Finance. The CEA is the also the ex-officio cadre controlling

authority of the IES (Indian Economic Service). Also, the CEA enjoys rank and pay equivalent to that of a

Secretary to Government of India.

Indian generic drugmaker Cipla Ltd has agreed to set up a manufacturing plant in Iran, as part of its strategy to

boost its presence in the country's $4 billion pharmaceuticals market that is growing at about 13 percent annually.

Cipla, which will own 75 percent stake in the plant being set up in partnership with its local distributor, will invest

about 2.25 billion rupees ($36.65 million) over three years on areas including machinery and equipment for the

facility.

Widening the activities coming under CSR ambit, contributions made by corporates towards Narendra Modi-led

government's two key initiatives -- Swachh Bharat and Clean Ganga -- will now be considered as social welfare

spending work. Making amendments to the Companies Act, the Corporate Affairs Ministry has said that

contributions to 'Swachh Bharat Kosh' and 'Clean Ganga Fund' would come under CSR framework.

A high-level government committee on infrastructure, headed by Deepak Parekh, proposed a public-private

partnership (PPP) model for power distribution starting with cities, modernisation of public-sector discoms with

viability gap funding by the Centre and a unique model to privatise coal mining where Coal India or its arms retain

ownership of mines.

In a bid to boost domestic defence manufacturing, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion

(DIPP), cleared 33 proposals .Of the 33 proposals, 19 are of Reliance Aerospace Technologies, Bharat Forge,

Mahindra Telephonic Integrated Systems, Punj Lloyd Industries, Mahindra Aero Structure and Tata Advanced

Materials and others. DIPP said that 14 pending defence applicants do not require any further permission to

commence operations as a vast number of defence items have been delicensed.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

The government announced its biggest reform yet as it decontrolled diesel, which became cheaper by Rs 3.35 a

litre, raised gas prices to $5.61 a unit and said cooking gas customers in 54 districts will get subsidy in their bank

accounts from next month even if they do not have an Aadhaar card. The gas price is based on a new formula that

excludes costly LNG prices from the calculation, making the increase 75% lower than the price from the

Rangarajan formula, which would have doubled the rate to $8.4 per unit. The UPA regime had cleared the

Rangarajan price but the Election Commission had blocked it. The government also announced a premium, to be

calculated later, on the price of gas from future discoveries in challenging areas like deep-water, and high pressure

or high-temperature zones.

Providing relief to the thousands of e-rickshaw operators in the national capital, the Centre recognised the

vehicles as “special category three-wheeled vehicles with a maximum speed of 25 kilometres per hour.” The

ministry of road transport and highways notified e-rickshaws as “a special purpose battery-operated vehicle having

three wheels and intended to provide last mile connectivity for transport of passengers for hire or reward.”

The Centre cleared 20 FDI proposals, including six in the pharmaceutical sector, involving investment of

approximately Rs. 988.3 cr.

Madhya Pradesh held the Global Investors’ Summit in Indore, with the India Inc. responding to the call for the

Global Investors’ Summit by making online filing of an ‘Intent to Invest’ and committing a total investment of over

Rs 4 lakh crore over the next five years in the State.

India will retain its top spot with USD 71 billion in remittances this year as remittances to developing countries

are expected to reach USD 435 billion, an increase of five per cent over 2013, the World Bank has said. In its

latest issue of the Migration and Development Brief, the World Bank said India, with the world's largest emigrant

stock of 14 million people, will remain in the top spot this year, attracting about USD 71 billion in remittances.

India and Mexico signed an agreement for space cooperation during the Joint Commission Meeting (JCM)

between the two countries. As per MoU signed between ISRO and Mexican Space Agency on Space Cooperation for

Peaceful Purposes, both sides will work together in remote sensing, satellite communication and areas relating to

the peaceful use of outer space.

India's largest domestic airline, IndiGo, placed the single largest order ever for narrow body aircraft by signing an

agreement with Airbus for 250 A-320neo (new engine option) planes. The list price for each of these planes is

$102 million, putting the collective list price of IndiGo order at a whopping $25.5 billion. The low cost carrier (LCC)

had earlier placed orders for 280 A-320s and the new MoU is over and above the previous order.

Industrial production growth slowed down to five-month low of 0.4 per cent in August 2014 mainly due to

contraction in manufacturing output and lower offtake of consumer goods. The factory output, as measured by the

Index of Industrial Production (IIP), had also grown at a meagre rate of 0.4 per cent in August, 2013.

Acting swiftly on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise, the industry ministry has set up a special management

team to “facilitate and fast track” investment proposals from Japan, which has committed to invest in India $35

billion in the next five years. Known as “Japan Plus”, the team will comprise representatives of the Indian

government and Japan’s METI ministry of economy, trade and industry (METI), and has been operationalised from

October 8 this year. It will be coordinated by Kenichiro Toyofuku from METI and will comprise four Indian and

Japanese officials. Following on the heels of Modi’s visit to Japan, the mandate of the “Japan Plus” team runs

through the entire spectrum of investment promotion – research, outreach, promotion, facilitation and aftercare. It

will support the Indian government in initiating, attracting, facilitating, fast tracking and hand holding Japanese

investments across sectors. The team will also be responsible for providing updated information on investment

opportunities across sectors, in specific projects and in industrial corridors in particular.In addition, the “Japan

Plus” team will identify prospective Japanese companies, including small and medium enterprises and facilitate

their investments in India, the statement said. The “Japan Plus” team will also provide assistance to the DIPP in

undertaking regular benchmarking studies, identifying bottlenecks and areas of concern in sectors of interest to

Japanese companies, and analysing their impact on industrial development production in India.

India announced a slew of austerity measures, including a 10% cut in certain types of government spending and

curbs on foreign travel and conferences, to meet its deficit-reduction goal amid slower-than-estimated revenue

growth and spiralling expenses. The government is aiming to narrow the nation’s fiscal deficit to 4.1% of gross

domestic product (GDP) for the current fiscal, a goal that has been termed as challenging by economists as well as

the government, prompting the expenditure-reduction measures.

Mitsubishi Aircraft rolled out Japan’s first commercial jet in half a century, amid doubts it can attain an ambition

to sell more than 2,000 aircraft in a competitive market segment. Developed by a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy

Industries that includes Toyota Corp as a shareholder, the $42-million regional jet, with just under 100 seats, is

Japan’s second bid to break into the commercial aircraft market.

To help investors and others hit by Rs 5,600-crore “fraud” at the National Spot Exchange Ltd get back their

money, the government ordered merger of the scam-hit firm with its holding company FTIL. The merger, pursuant

to which Jignesh Shah-led Financial Technologies group would need to absorb NSEL along with all its liabilities

including payments due to be paid to brokers, investors and others, has been ordered by the Corporate Affairs

Ministry through a rarely-used clause in the Companies Act to intervene in the affairs of private sector entities.

Shares of Financial Technologies (India) Ltd, the holding firm of Shah-led group, fell sharply by 20 per cent to hit

its lowest permissible level of Rs 169.65 a piece at the BSE following the government action.

In signs of succession planning at India's largest private firm, billionaire Mukesh Ambani's twin scions Isha and

Akash were appointed as directors on board of Reliance Industries' telecom and retail ventures. Isha and Akash

were appointed to the boards of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd and Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd.

In line with market expectations, Reserve Bank of India, in its fourth bi-monthly monetary policy statement

released on 30 September, kept the repo rate unchanged at 8%. The central bank also kept CRR, SLR unchanged.

The reverse repo rate was also maintained at status quo of 7%. However, it said it would cut the ceiling on bonds

that must be held-to-maturity from the current 24 percent to 22 percent in stages starting in the bi-weekly cycle

beginning in Jan. 10, 2015. It expects to complete the process by September 2015.

Telecom giant SoftBank pledged an investment of USD 10 billion (over Rs 60,000 crore) in India's IT and

communications space, one of the biggest investment commitments from a Japanese firm after Prime Minister

Narendra Modi's visit to that country. Softbank -- one of the major telecom and internet corporations of Japan--

will look for opportunities in telecom space and the fast-growing e-commerce sector in India. With a market cap of

USD 92 billion, SoftBank has operations in broadband, fixed line telecom, e-Commerce, finance, media and

marketing. SoftBank already has made investments in Indian companies including InMobi and Hike. Union

Cabinet approved Rs. 10,773 Crore for Phase-1 of Ahmedabad Metro Rail Project.

The World Bank Group created the Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF)—a global open platform—that will facilitate

the preparation and structuring of complex infrastructure PPPs to mobilize private sector and institutional investor

capital. It’s unique because of its partnership approach. The GIF platform offers governments, multilateral

development banks, private sector investors and financiers a new way to collaborate on complex projects that no

single institution could do on its own. From the start to the finish of a project, the GIF platform will provide

support, drawing on its array of technical and advisory partners, which will include private investors, to ensure

well-structured and bankable infrastructure projects are brought to market. Its unique collaborative approach has

already won strong support from institutional investors. Its aim is to provide integrated support—using the wide

range of skills and resources from within the World Bank Group and within the public and private sectors—to

unlock a credible pipeline of viable and bankable public private partnership projects in emerging markets and

developing economies to help meet the infrastructure challenge.