May 2014 Current Affairs India Jagran Josh Magazine

MAY 2014
MAY 2014
PREFACE
17
PICK OF THE MONTH
18
Narendra Modi took oath as 15th Prime Minister of India
18
15th Lok Sabha dissolved by the President of India
23
16th Lok Sabha Elections 2014 results declared
24
Dhubri Constituency in Assam registered highest Voter Turnout in General Election 2014
28
Kasturirangan Task Force on Waste to Energy submitted its report to the Planning Commission
30
New Element 117 named Ununseptium set to join the periodic table
32
China set up 1.6 billion dollars fund to support maritime Silk Road development
34
Project Mobile Seva under DeitY won the 2014 United Nations Public Service Award
35
India won first-ever Bronze at Uber Badminton Cup 2014
36
N Srinivasan, the veteran nuclear scientist died
37
Union Cabinet constituted SIT on Black Money to comply with SC Judgement
38
Royal Thai Army announced military coup in Thailand
40
Thailand Army Chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha declared to impose martial law
41
SC banned Jallikattu and bullock cart races
43
Government approval not required to probe senior bureaucrats on corruption charges: SC

44
Singapore became the top source of FDI into India replacing Mauritius: DIPP
46
RBI directed all banks to install disabled friendly new ATMs
47
RhODIS, a DNA-based system, to be used to investigate poaching of Rhinos in Assam 48

14 New dancing frog species found in Western Ghats
50
MAY 2014
Palaeontologists discovered the fossil of worlds largest dinosaur in Patagonia, Argentina

51
CSIR and IMD signed an agreement to develop drishti system
52
Japan won AFC Womens Asian Football Cup 2014
54
WADA Foundation Board put Xenon & Argon gases in the prohibited list
55
Pre-1971 Bangladesh settlers should be treated as Indians: Meghalaya High Court
56
Google gave Europeans Right to be Forgotten
57
Google must amend search results on request: European Court
57
DGCA issued Guidelines to Operators for Real Time Tracking of Aircrafts
58
SC put an interim stay on iron ore mining operations by 26 firms in Odisha
59
Nripendra Misra appointed as Principal Secretary to PM Narendra Modi
60
Russi Mody, the former Tata Steels Chairman died
61
Vikaram Sunderam won Best Chef in the Mid-Atlantic of James Beard Awards 2014
62
INTERNATIONAL
63
US deployed two Global Hawk drones on Misawa airbase in Northern Japan
63
US President announced to keep US troops in Afghanistan till 2016
64
Dalia Grybauskaite won the Presidential election of Lithuania
65
One in Ten army soldiers in Britain are just 16 years old: UKs Ministry of Defence
65
Russia and China signed 30 year deal on natural gas worth of 400 billion dollars
67
PEMRA suspended three Geo TV Channels for leveling allegations against ISI
68
Swiss voters rejected the Minimum Wage Initiative that introduced highest minimum wage
in the World
69
Qatar decided to abolish Sponsorship System for foreign workers
69
Moldova & Georgia to sign EU Association Agreement on 27 June 2014
70
MAY 2014
Chinese premier Li Keqiang official visit to Africa concluded
71
Donetsk and Luhansk leaders declared independence from Ukraine
73
Imperial War Museum of UK launched online database of World War-I
75
Five Nuclear Powers signed a protocol on Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zone

Treaty
75
South Sudan Government and Rebel army signed a peace deal
78
Pakistan test-fired Hataf-III Ghaznavi missile
79
US to induct Chinese railroad workers into Hall of Honour
79
Constitutional Court of Thailand ordered PM Yingluck Shinawartra to step down
80
US approved Diplomatic Mission for Syrian opposition in Washington
81
Panama Vice President Juan Carlos Varela won the Presidential Election
82
US Government announced 1.2 million US dollar aid for Ukrainian Journalist
82
First Gurudwara to be built in Johannesburg
83
83
Senate Republican blocked increase in the minimum wage Bill
84
Worlds highest tunnel for high-speed train opened in China
85
85
India-made EVMs to be used in Namibias Presidential polls
86
NATIONAL
88
PM created a new Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
88
Union Government extended Ban on LTTE for five years
89
Candidates not disclosing information about assets can be disqualified: SC
90
SC Collegium recommended Gopal Subramaniam and RF Nariman to be appointed as SC

judges
91
MAY 2014
President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to Whistleblowers Protection Bill 2011
93
SC quashed Kerala law on Mullaperiyar dam and ordered water level can be raised
93
SC upheld validity of Right to Education Act
96
Union Cabinet approved the Polavaram Project
97
Election Queue Management System introduced in India
98
ECONOMY
99
CSO released Provisional and Quarterly Estimate of National Income for 2013-14
99
India signed loan agreement with World Bank for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan III
101
RBI tightened acquisition & merger rules for Non-Banking Financial Companies
102
Foreign Exchange Reserves increased by 15.5 billion US dollar in 2014: RBI
104
INR appreciated to 11-month high to become the best performing currency in Asia-Pacific
region
105
RBI permitted the banks to provide loans to exporters with 10 years tenure
106
Indian Stock Market entered trillion dollar club based on m-cap
107
AFD extended 100 million euro Line of Credit to IREDA
108
RBI eased gold import norms under 20:80 Scheme
109
Bharatiya Mahila Bank included in Second Schedule of RBI Act, 1934
110
Nayak Committee to Review Governance of Boards of Banks in India submitted its report
to RBI
111
Plastic currency notes to be launched in 2015
114
India to become the third largest oil consumer by 2025: US EIA
115
RBI allowed bank branches abroad to sell structured products
116
Indian companies are not permitted to raise External Commercial Borrowings: RBI
117
RBI allowed the minors of age above 10 years to open Savings bank accounts
118
MAY 2014
Deadline ended for non-CTS cheques
119
ENVIRONMENT | ECOLOGY
121
After 25 years Olive Ridley Conservation Programme resumed in Tamil Nadu
121
Revised NCR norms restrict tourism in Green zones
122
Chances of El Nino would exceed 65 percent this year: US Climate Prediction Center 122
Climate Change effecting nutrient content of staple crops: Study
123
New species of snake Himalayanus discovered in Himalayas
124
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
126
Space X unveiled Dragon V2 Capsule to take Astronauts to Low-Earth Orbit
126
NASA developed high-tech cages to carry rodents to ISS
127
Italian scientists designed kidney dialysis machine for newborn babies
128
Report on Health for the worlds adolescents released by WHO
129
131
Unique enzyme SOD discovered by CSIR to increase shelf life of fruits and vegetables 131
NASA Simulator successfully Recreated Space Dust
132
Worlds first Electric Plane E-Fan completed its first flight
133
Scientists created first living Organism that transmits added Letters in DNA
134
SPORTS
136
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg of Germany won Monaco Grand Prix of Formula One
136
Japan won the Thomas Cup 2014 of badminton
137
Real Madrid defeated Atletico Madrid 4-1 to win 10th UEFA Champions League Football
title
138
MAY 2014
Tadvi won Silver Medal in 3000m race in Youth Olympics Games Qualification event
139
Snooker Champion Chitra nominated for Arjuna Awards 2014
140
India won two medals in Archery World Cup Stage 2
141
Novak Djokovic won the Mens Italian Tennis Open 2014 for third time
141
Serena Williams won the Womens Italian Tennis Open 2014 for third time
142
Sir Jack Brabham, three-time F-1 champion died in Australia
143
Pankaj Advani won CCI Biliards title
144
Hockey India honoured heroes of 1975 World Cup team
145
SC directed Mudgal panel to probe IPL spot fixing scandal
145
Grant Flower named as Pakistan batting coach
146
AIBA approved Boxing India as the new provisional member to represent India
147
CISF inducted as associate member of HI
148
Manipur won Senior National Womens Football Champions title
149
Maria Sharapova defeated Simona Halep to win Madrid Open title
149
Dennis Lillee left Cricket Australia coaching post over pay hike
150
OSullivan named as Snookers Player of the Year
151
Waqar Younis appointed as head coach of Pakistan cricket team
152
Mark Selby won World Snooker Championship 2014
153
Virat Kohli ranked no 1 in ICC One Day International rankings
153
BCCI suspended RCA & appointed ad-hoc body to run its Cricket Affairs
154
Dipika Pallikal ranked 10 in Women Squash Association (WSA)
155
Martin Klizan won Munich ATP title
157
Sania Mirza and Cara Black won WTA Portugal Open 2014
157
Trap Shooter, Manavjit Sandhu ranked at third spot in ISSF World Ranking
158
India ranked no 1 in Twenty20 International Team ranking
159
MAY 2014
NBA banned Donald Sterling, team owner of Los Angeles Clippers for life after racist remark
162
CORPORATE
163
RIL announced to buy78 percent in Network18 for 4000 crore rupees
163
CCI approved Tescos plan to purchase 50% stake in Trent Hypermarket
164
OVL and Rosneft signed a deal to explore hydrocarbon in Arctic
165
ONGC began first-ever drilling in Palar basin off the coast of Chennai
167
DGCA for the first time issued Standards of Services Document
168
UK based Marks & Spencer announced to open 100 stores in India
169
Competition Appellate Tribunal upheld 630 crore rupees penalty on DLF
169
Sistema Shyam Teleservices launched messaging app MBuddy for feature phones
171
Amul to set up five lakh litres per day capacity dairy plant in Varanasi
171
Apple and Google settled Smartphone patent war
172
Sundaram BNP Paribas received ISAE recognition
173
MTS announced to provide free Wi-Fi in Gurgaon Rapid Metro Rail
174
Cipla announced to invest in Chase Pharmaceuticals to develop Alzheimers drug
174
Indsur Nevron acquired CDA Contracts in UK
175
BHEL commissions Gas Turbine Generating Unit in Oman
176
DGCA approved the Flying License of AAIPL
177
SEBI exempted Etihad from making open offer in Jet deal
177
Kuwait renewed crude supply contracts with BPCL
178
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
179
Ranbaxy recalled allergy-relief drug in US due to defective packaging
180
SC to NTPC and BSES: Sort out dispute over the payments
181
MAY 2014
Air India will join Star Alliance in July 2014
181
STATES
183
India signed a credit agreement of 24 million US $ with World Bank for URWSSP
183
Goa Day observed on 30 May 2014
185
9th Sikkim State Legislative Assembly constituted
187
Punjab government gave approval to set-up Mega Food Park in Ludhiana
187
Delhi government approved the Scheme of financial help to children of prisoners
189
SDMC signed a MoU with GeoSpatial Delhi to provide UPIC for South Delhi properties 189
Floating hotel AB Celestial unveiled in Mumbai
190
J&K government approved scrapping of New Recruitment Policy, 2011
191
Election Commission announced results of 2014 Sikkim Assembly Elections
192
Language Martyrs Day observed on 19 May in Barak Valley, Assam
193
Election Commission announced results of 2014 Odisha assembly elections
194
Results of Arunachal Pradesh assembly elections announced by ECI
194
Andhra Pradesh assembly election results declared by ECI
195
Meghalaya Government banned rat-hole coal mining & coal transportation in the State 197
Odisha government inked agreement with TiE Silicon Valley
197
Bombay High Court ordered Maharashtra government to revise the electoral rolls
198
UP government ordered magisterial inquiry into group clashes in Meerut
199
SC ordered CBI probe into Saradha chit fund scam
200
SIT formed to probe killings of people in Kokrajhar and Baska districts of Assam
200
Delhi got its first Dolby Atmos audio technology
201
NEWS CAPSULE
203
9
MAY 2014
PERSON IN NEWS
203
Ecuador court sentenced former President to jail for embezzlement
203
Sushma Swaraj became the first woman External Affairs Minister of India
204
Indian-American student Akhil Rekulapelli won National Geographic Bee Championship

205
Shah Rukh Khan featured on the cover page of magazine Forbes Middle East
205
Justice JS Khekar recused himself from hearing Sahara Case
206
Former Israel PM Olmert sentenced to imprisonment in corruption case
206
US Senate confirmed Indira Talwani as federal judge in Massachusetts
207
Hinduja Brothers emerged richest in UK
208
US Senate confirmed Manish Shah as federal judge in Illinois
210
Person Appointed
212
Ajit Doval appointed as new National Security Adviser
212
Mukul Rohatgi appointed as 14th Attorney-General of India
214
Hiroshi Naka appointed as Vice President and Auditor General of World Bank
215
Ahmed Maitiq sworn-in as the new Prime Minister of Libya
216
Indian management scholar Jitendra Vir Singh appointed Dean of Business School at
HKUST
217
Former IB chief Rajiv Mathur became new CIC
217
Anandiben sworn-in as first woman Chief Minister of Gujarat
219
K Rajendra Kumar appointed as new Director General of Police of Jammu and Kashmir
220
Narendra Kumar Verma selected as MD of ONGC Videsh Ltd
220
President appointed Narendra Modi as Prime Minister, Oath on May 26
221
10
MAY 2014
Naveen Patnaik sworn-in as Chief Minister of Odisha for fourth consecutive term
222
Pawan Chamling sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Sikkim for record 5th term
223
Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Resigned
223
Jitan Ram Manjhi took oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar
225
Nabam Tuki sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh
226
A.B. Pandya appointed as the Chairman of Central Water Commission
227
Justice B S Chauhan appointed as the Chairman of CWDT
228
VRV Sriprasad appointed as MD of Volvo Buses India
230
Constitutional Scholar Sujit Choudhry appointed as Dean of UC Berkeley Law school 230
Kristin Lund of Norway became first-ever woman to head a UN Peacekeeping Force
231
Royal Navy Submarine Service appointed first female submariners
233
Secretary of the DBT, K. VijayRaghavan elected a foreign associate of the USNAS
234
US Government appointed Indian-American Jawahar Kaliani to OCC, Department of

Treasury
235
India ranked 102 out of 132 countries on Social Progress Index
236
Person Resigned
237
BG Srinivas, President and Member of the Board of Infosys resigned
237
Narendra Modi resigned as Gujarat CM to take over as PM
238
PM Economic Advisory Council Chairman C Rangarajan resigned
238
PM Manmohan Singh tendered his resignation to President
239
Nitish Kumar resigned as Bihar Chief Minister
240
UN Envoy on Syria Lakhdar Brahimi resigned
241
Prime Minister of Slovenia resigned
242
CEO of Ford Motor Co Alan Mulally announced to resign on 1 July 2014
242
11
MAY 2014
Places in News
244
IAF Aircraft MIG-21 crashed in Anantnag district of South Kashmir
244
Six workers injured after Hot water Spill from a valve at Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant
244
President of Nigeria cancelled the visit to Chibok
245
Person Died
247
Azlan Shah-The Father of Malaysian hockey died at 86
247
Maya Angelou, the American author and poet died
247
Indologist and Sanskrit Scholar Sukumari Bhattacharji died
249
Donald Levine creator of Worlds first action figure died
249
Founder of Leela Group Hotels Krishnan Nair died
250
Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Janardhan Reddy died
251
Elena Baltacha, the former British Tennis player died due of liver cancer
252
Nobel Laureate economist Gary Becker died at 93
253
Awards | Honours
254
8 Indian Soldiers posthumously awarded with prestigious Dag Hammarskjold Medal of UN

254
Vishwanath Tripathi received Vyas Samman 2013
255
Two Indian-Americans Sriram and Ansun jointly won the Scripps National Spelling Bee 255
Vice President presented Malti Gyan Peeth Puraskar-2014
256
Edinburgh University awarded honorary degree to Former President APJ Abdul Kalam 257
Ravi Dhariwal, CEO of BCCL, awarded with Silver Shovel Award of INMA
12
258
MAY 2014
President conferred National Florence Nightingale Awards on 35 nursing personnel
259
Two Indian-Americans Manjusha P. Kulkarni and Ranjana P. selected for Champions of

Change
261
IAA received International Arch of Europe Award
263
Caparo Group won International Business of the Year award 2014
264
India honoured New Frontiers Award 2014
265
Ahmet Sik won UNESCO Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize 2014
266
Four Indians won Harvard Business School New Venture Competition awards
267
President conferred Gallantry Awards
268
Exhibition | Fare
270
Exhibition on 100 years of World War I started in Berlin
270
Books | Authors
271
The Political Economy of Energy and Growth edited by Najeeb Jung
271
The Marwaris: From Jagat Seth to the Birlas written by Thomas A. Timberg & Gurcharan
Das
271
Anticipating India - The Best of National Interest authored by Shekhar Gupta released 272
Indian Railways launched a book entitled India Junction A Window to the Nation
272
My Years with Rajiv and Sonia written by R.D. Pradhan
274
WHO declared outbreak of Polio as World Health Emergency
274
Book entitled A Stamp Is Born authored by C. R. Pakrashi released
275
Arctic Summer written by novelist Damon Galgut
276
Improve the Business Environment in India report released
276
13
MAY 2014
Defence | Security
279
Supersonic Akash air defence missiles successfully intercepted targets
279
Navies of India and Singapore started SIMBEX 14 in Andaman Sea
280
Lieutenant General Dalbir Singh Suhag appointed as 26th COAS
281
First indigenous air-to-air missile Astra successfully test fired over Arabian Sea
283
HAL handed over Dornier 228 light-weight aircraft Nabhrathna to DRDO
284
India successfully test-fired Akash missile from ITR Complex in Chandipur
285
Report | Survey
287
World Gold Council Gold Demand Trends Report released
287
Forbes Middle East released the second edition of the List of Tops Indians in the Arab
world 2014
288
6.5 Million Jobs globally provided by Renewable Energy in 2013: IRENA
289
Air quality in worlds cities deteriorating: WHO
291
Forbes 11th annual Global 2000 list released
294
Internet to have 3 billion users by end of 2014: ITU report
295
India dropped to 78 in latest Freedom of the press 2014
296
Antimicrobial resistance: global report on surveillance Report by WHO
298
UN study titled Violence against women in politics released
300
Committees | Commissions
303
SC reconstituted SIT headed by Justice MB Shah to probe into Black Money Cases
303
Accident | Incident
305
Gorakhdham Express derailed at Sant Kabirnagar district in Uttar Pradesh killing 20 peo-
14
MAY 2014
ple
305
Coal mine pit collapsed in Soma, Turkey
306
Abbreviations | Terms
307
Indian and Singapore Navy conducted SIMBEX 2014
307
Inventions | Discoveries
308
After 500 years, Christopher Columbuss ship the Santa Maria claimed to be found
308
Archaeologists discovered a granary at Rakhigarhi in Haryana
309
Art | Culture
311
Film Winter Sleep honoured with Palme dOr Award at 67th Cannes Film Festival
311
Spain suspended the 12th bull fight festival after matadors got injured by bulls
312
Gujarats monument Rani ki Vav to be digitally recreated in Scotland
313
Brazil honoured 100 years of Indian cinema by releasing two postage stamps
315
A documentary titled Gandhi in Mexico: A look at Non Violence screened at IIC
316
Kamal Haasan led Indian delegation at 67th Cannes International Film Festival
316
Largest diamond of World and Mughal necklace to be auctioned in Geneva
317
Indian documentary Silent Screams won three awards at US festival
318
Day | Week | Year
320
International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers observed across the world
320
Anti-Terrorism Day Observed across India on 21 May
321
World Turtle Day observed across the world on 23 May
321
15
MAY 2014
321
World Migratory Bird Day observed across the world
323
International Nurses Day 2014 observed across the world
324
World Press Freedom Day observed across the world
325
Miscellaneous
327
Malavath Poorna of Andhra became youngest woman to climb Mount Everest
327
Travel planning Portal Tripigator.com launched in Partnership with Incredible India
328
NEWS SNIPPETS MAY 2014
329
WORLD DAIRY MAY 2014
335
INDIA DAIRY MAY 2014
344
ONE LINER MAY 2014
355
DESCRIPTIVE QUESTIONS MAY 2014
361
16
MAY 2014
PREFACE
The Current Affairs May 2014 eBook covers the current events that happened in the month of May. Current
Affairs is a crucial component of any competitive exams including IAS|PCS, SSC, Banking, MBA. The lack
of preparation for current affairs by the aspirants and candidates often is a main cause of their failure. Even
though the candidates know it but they are often confused about how to prepare the current affairs section of
the different competitive exams. It is to clear such doubts and confusion, Jagranjosh.com has come up with
eBook concept. Although current affairs section per se is very wide to be covered, yet we have tried to cover
all the possible current affairs for the month of May 2014.
The May 2014 eBook is divided into different section keeping in mind the need of various exams. The sections
covered namely are International, National, Economy, Ecology and Environment, Science & Technology,
Corporate, Sports, States, and News Capsule. Every news item in each section is arranged date wise with the
most recent news being covered first and so on. Although there might be some deviations but that is solely to
give priority to the most important current affairs in each section.
Presentation of the given current affairs has been planned meticulously. It has been planned in such a way
that it remains in the minds of readers for a longer duration. Wherever necessary each news item is presented
along with a background and analysis so as to help candidates contemplate all the important current events at
the time of exam in an effective way.
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thoroughly cross-checked from various news websites and government and non-government websites. Our
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17
MAY 2014
PICK OF THE MONTH

Narendra Damodardas Modi
was sworn-in as the 15th
Prime Minister of India on 26
May 2014. Along with him,
45-member
Council
of
Ministers that includes 23
Ministers with Cabinet rank,
10 Ministers of State with
independent charges and 12
Ministers of State also took
oath of their offices. Oath to
the office and secrecy was
administered by the President Pranab Mukherjee in the forecourt of Rashtrapati
Bhawan. The Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers were appointed in
term of Article 75 of the Constitution of India.
With this swearing-in, 63-year-old Modi became the first Prime Minister of India
who was born in independent India i.e. post 15 August 1947. Of the 45 ministers
43 are also those who were born in independent India except two. The oldest
is Najma Heptulla (74) and the youngest is Smriti Irani (38). This is the first time
in three-decades that any party has emerged as the winner in elections with
absolute majority.
18
MAY 2014
Besides, this is the first time that, 25% of the Cabinet post has been allocated
to women. Out of 23 Cabinet post, 6 has been allocated to women. These 6
women are: Sushma Swaraj (first woman to be External Affairs Minister); Uma
Bharti; Dr. Najma A Heptullah; Maneka Gandhi; Smriti Zubin Irani; and Harsimrat
Kaur Badal.
The swearing-in ceremony of Modi and his cabinet was attended by a strong
gathering of 3000 people that included the heads of 8 SAARC nations, cinema
and religion, industry and politics. The representative from SAARC nations
included
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan
Prime Minister Sushil Koirala of Nepal
Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam of Mauritius
Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay of Bhutan
President Abdulla Yameen of Maldives
President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan
President Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka
Speaker of the Bangladesh National Parliament, Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury
Prime Minister
Narendra
Damodardas
Modi
Portfolio held
Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
Department of Atomic Energy Department of Space
All important policy issues and all other portfolios not allocated
to any Minister
19
MAY 2014
The 23 Cabinet Ministers to take oath were

Name of Ministers
Ministries Allotted
Rajnath Singh
Home Minster
Sushma Swaraj
External Affairs & Overseas Indian Affairs
Arun Jaitley
Finance, Corporate Affairs & Defence
M. Venkaiah Naidu
Urban Development Housing and Urban Poverty

Alleviation & Parliamentary Affairs
Nitin Jairam Gadkari
Road Transport and Highways Shipping
D.V. Sadananda Gowda
Railways
Uma Bharati
Water Resources, River Development and Ganga

Rejuvenation
Dr. Najma A. Heptulla
Minority Affairs
Gopinathrao Munde
Rural Development, Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water

and Sanitation
Ramvilas Paswan (LJP)
Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
Kalraj Mishra
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
Maneka Gandhi
Women and Child Development
Ananthkumar
Chemicals and Fertilizers
Ravi Shankar Prasad
Communications and Information Technology & Law

and Justice
Ashok Gajapathi Raju

(TDP)
Civil Aviation
Anant Geete
Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises
(Shiv Sena)
Harsimrat Kaur Badal
(Akali Dal)
Food Processing Industries
Narendra Singh Tomar
Mines & Steel Labour and Employment
Jual Oram
Tribal Affairs
Radha Mohan Singh
Agriculture
Thaawar Chand Gehlot
Social Justice and Empowerment
Smriti Zubin Irani
Human Resource Development
Dr. Harsh Vardhan
Health and Family Welfare

20
MAY 2014
Ten people who were inducted into the ministry as Ministers of State with
Independent Charge
Name of Ministers
Ministries Allotted
General (Retd.) V K
Singh
Development of North Eastern Region (Independent

Charge) & External Affairs Overseas Indian Affairs
Santosh Kumar
Gangwar
Textiles (Independent Charge), Parliamentary Affairs

Water Resources, River Development and Ganga
Rejuvenation
Sripad Yesso Naik
Culture (Independent Charge) & Tourism (Independent

Charge)
Inderjit Singh Rao
Planning (Independent Charge), Statistics and

Programme Implementation (Independent Charge) &
Defence
Dharmendra Pradhan
Petroleum and Natural Gas (Independent Charge)
Sarvanand Sonwal
Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, Youth Affairs and

Sports (Independent Charge)
Prakash Javadekar
Information and Broadcasting (Independent Charge),

Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Independent
Charge) & Parliamentary Affairs
Piyush Goel
Power (Independent Charge), Coal (Independent Charge)

& New and Renewable Energy (Independent Charge)
Dr. Jitendra Singh
Science and Technology (Independent Charge), Earth

Sciences (Independent Charge), Prime Minister Office
Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions Department of
Atomic Energy Department of Space
Nirmala Sitharaman
Commerce and Industry (Independent Charge), Finance

Corporate Affairs
21
MAY 2014
The twelve Ministers of State to take oath are

Name of Ministers
Ministries Allotted
G M Sidheswara
Civil Aviation
Raosaheb Danve
Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
Vishnu Deo Sai
Mines, Steel & Labour and Employment
Manoj Sinha
Railways
Upendra Kushwaha
Rural Development, Panchayati Raj & Drinking

Water and Sanitation
Radhakrishan P
Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises
Kiren Rijiju
Home Affairs
Krishna Pal
Road Transport and Highways Shipping
Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Baliyan
Agriculture & Food Processing Industries
Mansukhbhai Dhanjibhai Vasava Tribal Affairs

Sudarshan Bhagat
Social Justice and Empowerment
Nihal Chand
Chemicals and Fertilizers
Article 75 of the Constitution of India

The Article 75 (1) says that the Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President
and the other Ministers shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the
Prime Minister.
Article 75 (1A) says that the total number of Ministers, including the Prime Minister,
in the Council of Ministers shall not exceed 15% of the total number of members
of the House of the People. (This Clause was added by the 91st Amendment Act,
2003).
Article 75 (1B) says that a member of either House of Parliament belonging to
any political party who is disqualified for being a member of that House under
paragraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule (added by 52nd Amendment Act, 1985) shall
also be disqualified to be appointed as a Minister under clause (1) of the Article 75.
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MAY 2014
The member will be disqualified for duration of the period commencing from the
date of his disqualification till the date on which the term of his office would expire
or where he contests any election to either House of Parliament before the expiry
of such period, till the date on which he is declared elected, whichever is earlier.
(This Clause was also added by the 91st Amendment Act, 2003).
Article 75 (2) says that the Ministers shall hold office during the pleasure of the
President
Article 75(3) says that the Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to
the House of the People.
Article 75(4) says that before a Minister enters upon his office, the President shall
administer to him the oaths of office and of secrecy according to the forms set out
for the purpose in the Third Schedule.
Article 75(5) A Minister who for any period of six consecutive months is not a
member of either House of Parliament shall at the expiration of that period cease
to be a Minister.
Article 75(6) the salaries and allowances of Ministers shall be such as Parliament
may from time to time by law determine and, until Parliament so determines, shall
be as specified in the Second Schedule.

President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 18 May 2014
dissolved the 15th Lok Sabha. He dissolved the Lok
Sabha on the advice of the outgoing Union Cabinet led
by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who resigned on
17 May 2014.
Union Cabinet recommended the President to dissolve
the 15th Lok Sabha as a follow-up to the election results
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MAY 2014
of 16th Lok Sabha election. The dissolution of the Lower House of the Parliament will
pave the way for the formation of the 16th Lok Sabha.
To enable the President to form a new government, the Election Commission (EC)
headed by Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath submitted the list of newly 543
elected members of the 16th Lok Sabha to the President. The list was submitted in
accordance with the Section 73 of the Representation of the Peoples Act, 1951.
Dissolution of the Lok Sabha

President of India has the power to dissolve the Lok Sabha in accordance with the
Article 85 (2)(b) of the Constitution of India. In this matter, the President acts on the
advice of the outgoing Union Cabinet.
Article 85 of the Constitution relates to the Sessions of Parliament, prorogation and dissolution. It states that:
1. The President shall from time to time summon each House of Parliament to meet
at such time and place as he thinks fit, but six months shall not intervene between
its last sitting in one session and the date appointed for its first sitting in the next
session.
2. The President may from time to time3. Prorogue the House or either House
4. Dissolve the House of the People
16th Lok Sabha Elections 2014 results declared

16th Lok Sabha Election 2014 results were declared on 16 May 2014. The elections
were conducted in 543 constituencies across India.
In the Elections 2014, the main opposition party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won
the elections by securing 282 seats. On the other hand, the incumbent party the
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MAY 2014
Indian National Congress (INC) lost the elections by securing only 44 seats.
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by BJP was successful at securing 334 seats,
whereas, UPA led by INC was successful at securing only 60 seats.
Results of some important parties with largest share in the election are
Parties
Seats won
Bharatiya Janata Party
282
Indian National Congress
44
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
37
All India Trinamool Congress
34
Biju Janata Dal
20
Shivsena
18
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
Nationalist Congress Party
Samajwadi Party
Aam Aadmi Party
Others
84
The BJP for the first time has won the elections with majority since independence and
it is the only the second time that a non-congress party has succeeded at securing
this feat.
Percentage of votes garnered by some important parties
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MAY 2014
The 16th Lok Sabha elections were held from 7 April 2014 to 12 May 2014 in nine
different phases as the five year term of the 15th Lok Sabha was due to expire on 31
May 2014.
Apart from the Lok Sabha elections, the Assembly elections were also held in 4
states namely Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.
Voter Turnout in General Election 2014

General Election 2014 saw the total voter turnout of 66.48 percent. Out of this
the male voters turnout was 67.17 percent and female voters turnout was 65.71
percent.
Among the States and Union Territories, the highest voter turnout was for Nagaland
State at 87.82 percent followed by Lakshadweep (86.61 percent) and Tripura
(84.72 percent).
Among the States and Union Territories, the lowest voter turnout was for Jammu
& Kashmir State at 49.65 percent followed by Bihar (56.28 percent) and Uttar
Pradesh (58.39 percent).
In general, the voter turnout in General Election 2014 was higher than the voter
turnout in General Election 2009. In the General Election 2009, the total voter
turnout was 58.21 percent.

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MAY 2014
Some Important Facts about General Election 2014

In the General Election 2014, Photo Electoral Rolls were distributed in all the States
and Union Territories. Photo Electoral Rolls for the first time were distributed in
2009 across India except the State of Assam, Jammu & Kashmir and Nagaland.
Also, Elector Photo Identity Cards (EPICs) were not distributed to electors in
Assam and Nagaland.
The total electorate in the country for the General Elections 2014 was approximately
814.5 million compared to 713 million in 2009. This marks an increase of more
than 100 million electors.
Over 23 million electors were in the age group of 18 19 years. Electors in this age
group constituted 2.88% of total electors, against 0.75% in 2009.
For the first time, transgender persons were also able to exercise their vote in the
General Election 2014 since the Commission allowed enrollment of transgender
persons with gender written as Others in the electoral rolls since 2012.
Winning parties of the four states

Odisha - Biju Janata Dal (BJD) emerged as the winner party
Arunachal Pradesh Congress emerged as winner in the election
Sikkim - Ruling Democratic Front (SDF) won the elections
Andhra Pradesh Assembly elctions were held for two different states namely
Telangana and Seemandra
1. In Seemandra Telgu Desam Party (TDP) won the election
2. In Telangana Telangana Rastra Samithi (TRS) won the election
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MAY 2014
Dhubri Constituency in Assam registered highest Voter Turnout in General Election 2014
Dhubri Parliamentary constituency in Assam registered the highest voter turnout in
the General Election 2014 while Srinagar in Jammu & Kashmir saw the lowest voter
turnout in the Election 2014.
This was revealed by the Election Commission Statistics on voters turnout in
Parliamentary Constituencies in the third week of May 2014.
Dhubri constituency registered a voter turnout of 88.22 percent whereas Srinagar
registered a voter turnout of 25.86 percent.
Highlights
General Voter Turnout:
As many as 69 constituencies saw voter turnout in excess of 80 percent.
Among the 69 constituencies with 80 percent-plus turnout, 33 are in West Bengal
alone.
The other constituencies with 80 percent plus are 14 in Andhra Pradesh, 6 in
Assam, 4 in Tamil Nadu, 2 each in Kerala and Tripura and one each in Odisha
and Manipur, Puducherry, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Lakshadweep and Arunachal
Pradesh, Nagaland and Sikkim.
In Uttar Pradesh, the constituency-wise voter turnout ranged from the just 49.88
percent in Bansgaon to a high of 74.23 percent and 73.07 percent in communallysensitive Saharanpur and Kairana respectively.
Gender-based Voter Turnout:

Women outshone men in terms of electoral participation in as many as 165
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MAY 2014
constituencies across 25 states and Union Territories.

The highest female voter turnout was recorded in Tamluk constituency in West
Bengal, at 89.27 percent, which is better than the highest male voter turnout
witnessed in Dhubri at 88.86 percent.
As many as 26 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh saw higher turnouts among female
voters than among male, and the trend was no different across 25 constituencies
in Bihar, 19 in Tamil Nadu, 14 in Odisha and 9 in Kerala.
In contrast, none of the constituencies in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,
Haryana and NCT of Delhi saw a higher turnout among female electors as compared
to participation of men as a percentage of total male electors.
The gender gap, or the difference between female turnout and male turnout, was
the widest in Madhya Pradesh, with 66.12 percent male polling percentage against
56.58 percent female voter turnout.
In Sivaganga constituency in Tamil Nadu, the 77.98 percent female voter turnout
far surpassed the 67.43 percent male voter turnout.
Urban Voter Turnout:

Urban voter turnout, though better than in 2009, remained lower than state-wise
poll percentages. So while the average polling in Maharashtra was 60.89 percent,
the constituencies in Mumbai polled between 48.61 percent (Mumbai North
Central) and 53.14 percent (Mumbai South Central).
In Karnataka, which saw 67.17 percent turnout, Bangalore North recorded 56.5
percent, Bangalore Central 55.63 percent and Bangalore South 55.7 percent.
Delhi not only saw better state-wise turnout at 65.07 percent, but also constituencies
like Chandni Chowk polled a higher 67.84 percent votes.
Hyderabad and Secunderabad saw 53.27 percent and 53.01 percent turnout
respectively, as against 74.47 percent polling across Andhra Pradesh.
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MAY 2014
The poll percentage in Patna Sahib was just 45.33 percent, far lower than the
overall 56.28 percent turnout in Bihar.
Many constituencies in Gujarat bettered the state average. Vadodara, from where
Narendra Modi was in the fray, clocked 70.90 percent turnout, compared to 63.6
percent overall polling in Gujarat.
Kasturirangan Task Force on Waste to Energy submitted its

report to the Planning Commission
Kasturirangan Task Force on Waste to Energy submitted its report on 14 May 2014
to the Planning Commission. The report highlighted the need for an integrated
approach towards Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management, stressing reduction
and segregation of waste at source and also efficient utilization of various components
of the waste.
The Task Force was constituted under the Chairmanship of Dr. K. Kasturirangan
to identify technically feasible, financially affordable and environmentally sound
processing and disposal technologies for Municipal Solid Waste (MSW).
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MAY 2014
Main Highlights of the report

It emphasized the need for setting up centralised or decentralised waste processing
facilities keeping in view the quantity and quality of waste generated and financial
viability of the processing technology.
The report provides guidance for the selection of appropriate technology and
clearly indicates technologies that could be adopted by various classes of cities.
It emphasizes on converting the combustible waste into Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF)
to be used in power plants based on RDF.
Urban India currently generates 170000 tons of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)
each day. Only 19% of this waste is treated and rest goes to dump sites causing
serious problems to health and environment.
The thrust of the task force is therefore to minimize the quantum of waste for
disposal by optimal utilization of the potential of all components of MSW by adopting
the concept of 5-R Reduce, Reuse, Recover,Recycle and Remanufactureand
through integrated Municipal Solid Waste Management, derive energy and other
useful products and ensure safe disposal of residual waste.
The report strongly recommended Public Private Partnership (PPP) as a mode of
service delivery to achieve the target set for Sustainable Waste Management. A
model scheme was also detailed for setting up Waste to Energy projects through
PPP mode, including a viability gap funding up to 40%.
Considering the projected waste generation of 165 million tonnes by 2031, the
requirement of land for setting up landfill for 20 years could be as high as 66
thousand hectares of precious land, which our country cannot afford to waste.
The Task Force (TF) has taken a serious view and considers it imperative to
minimize the wastes going to landfill by at least 75% through processing of MSW
using appropriate technologies.
The report also guide Urban Local Bodies (ULB) for adopting an integrated
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MAY 2014
approach towards MSW management with a focus on W to E and to advise

Government of India and the State Governments to extend financial and technical
support to facilitate optimum utilization of municipal solid waste as a resource,
tapping unutilized energy potential of the MSW and ensuring proper collection,
transportation, processing and final disposal.
Background
Currently, of the estimated 62 million tones of MSW generated annually by 377 million
people in urban areas, more than 80% is disposed of indiscriminately at dump yards
in an unhygienic manner by the municipal authorities leading to problems of health
and environmental degradation.
The untapped waste has a potential of generating 439 MW of power from 32890 TPD
of combustible wastes including Refused Derived Fuel (RDF), 1.3 million cubic metre
of biogas per day or 72 MW of electricity from biogas and 5.4 million metric tonnes
of compost annually to support agriculture.
The existing policies, programmes and management structure do not adequately
address the imminent challenge of managing this waste which is projected to be 165
million tones by 2031 and 436 million tonnes by 2050.
Further, if the current 62 million tonnes annual generation of MSW continues to be
dumped without treatment; it will need 340000 cubic meter of landfill space everyday
(1240 hectare per year).
New Element 117 called Ununseptium with 117 protons is set to join periodic table.
It is the second-heaviest element ever created by humans after ununoctium, or
element 118. Elements beyond atomic number 104 are referred to as super-heavy
32
MAY 2014
elements. The latest instance

of the discovery of this element
was made by a team at the GSI
Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion
Research in Germany.
The
report was published in
Physical Review Letters.
Ununseptium will get an official
name soon and will be considered a Group VII element. It will be put into the same
family as fluorine, bromine and chlorine.
Ununseptium was produced by accelerating ions of calcium (which has 20 protons)
into a target of berkelium (which has 97).
The ununseptium was observed to have a half-life of 50 milliseconds, or one twentieth
of a second. It will gradually decay into lighter elements, emitting alpha particles (a
helium nuclei with two protons and two neutrons) in the process. And the lighter
elements formed have a greater half-life than ununseptium.
The newly created elements half-life was too short for it to be chemically studied, but
after examining the alpha particles, researchers concluded that the original element
indeed had an atomic number 117.
The element was discovered back in 2010 by a group of American and Russian
physicists with the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR).
Element 117 will join the periodic table once the International Union of Pure and
Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) confirmed its existence. After the confirmation, the body
will name the new element and it will be added to the periodic table.
33
MAY 2014
China set up 1.6 billion dollars fund to support maritime Silk

Road development
China on 19 May 2014 set up a 1.6 billion dollars (10 billion Yuan) fund that will
support projects related to maritime Silk Road development of China.
The agreement to set up the fund was signed by the city government of Fuzhou,
capital of Fujian Province of China with the China Africa Development Fund (CAD
Fund) and the Fujian branch of the China Development Bank.
The agreement was signed at the ongoing 16th Cross-Straits Fair for Economy and
Trade in Fuzhou.
Since ancient times, the sea route from ports in Fujian to overseas markets has
witnessed Chinas silk, ceramics and tea traded to the world. As such the signing of
the agreement in Fuzhou will boost Fuzhous role as a hub of the Silk Road.
About the maritime Silk Road development project

The project will prioritise building ports and infrastructure in strategically important
countries in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean region, which includes Bangladesh
and Sri Lanka. China has already started construction of port projects in Gwadar,
Hambantota and Chittagong respectively.
However, the map of the project published in May 2014 does not mention about
Gwadar port though it showed Kolkata and Colombo as cities with which China
wanted to build closer trade linkages.
As part of the initiative to revive the ancient maritime Silk Road, China also plans to
set up free trade zones linking Chinas coastal areas with Southeast Asian countries
and in the Indian Ocean. These are the regions with which China had trade relations
through ancient maritime Silk Road.
The re-establishment of maritime Silk Road was proposed by Chinese President Xi
Jinping during a trip to Indonesia in October 2013.
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MAY 2014
The Route of proposed Maritime Silk Road

The Maritime Silk Road will begin in Quanzhou in Fujian province, and also hit
Guangzhou (Guangdong province), Beihai (Guangxi), and Haikou (Hainan) before
heading south to the Malacca Strait.
From Kuala Lumpur, the Maritime Silk Road heads to Kolkata, India then crosses the
rest of the Indian Ocean to Nairobi, Kenya.
From Nairobi, the Maritime Silk Road goes north around the Horn of Africa and moves
through the Red Sea into the Mediterranean, with a stop in Athens before meeting
the land-based Silk Road in Venice.
Project Mobile Seva under DeitY won the 2014 United Nations Public Service Award
The project Mobile Seva under Department of Electronics and Information Technology
(DeitY) on 21 May 2014 won second rank in the 2014 United Nations Public Service
Award. Department of Electronics and Information Technology comes under Union
Ministry of Information and Technology
Mobile Seva won the Second place in the Asian and Pacific Region in the Category
3: PROMOTING WHOLE OF GOVERNMENT APPROACHES IN THE INFORMATION
AGE. It is the only project from India selected as the winner in 2014.
This award is very unique and first of its kind to have been received by C-DAC
Mumbai. The Mobile Seva initiative is lead by Dr. Rajendra Kumar, joint secretary
(e-Governance), DeitY.
The first rank was achieved by Republic of Korea for its initiative Social Security
Information System (SSIS) under Korea Health and Welfare Information Service.
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MAY 2014
About United Nations Public Service Awards

The United Nations Public Service Awards is the most prestigious international
recognition of excellence in public service. It rewards the creative achievements and
contributions of public service institutions that lead to a more effective and responsive
public administration in countries worldwide. Through an annual competition, the
UN Public Service Awards promotes the role, professionalism and visibility of public
service.
About Mobile Seva

Mobile Seva aimed to provide government services to the people through mobile
phones and tablets. It was developed as the core infrastructure for enabling the
availability of public services through mobile devices. It was launched in December
2013.
Mobile Seva enables the integration of the mobile platform with the common
e-Governance infrastructure consisting of State Data Centers (SDCs), State Wide
Area Networks (SWANs), State and National Service Delivery Gateways (SSDGs/
NSDG).
India won first-ever Bronze at Uber Badminton Cup 2014

India on 24 May 2014
won the first-ever
Bronze at Uber
Badminton
Cup
2014. The Uber
Cup 2014 was held
at
Siri
Fort
Complex,
New
Delhi.
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MAY 2014
In the semi-final, Indian team lost to Japan 2-3 to five time champions Japan after
putting up a valiant show. The Indian team comprised of Saina Nehwal, P V Sindhu,
P C Thulasi, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa.
Indian ace shuttlers Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu though won their opening singles
match against Japan to put India 2-0 ahead. However, India lost the third singles
match and two doubles match against Japan to lose the semi-final 2-3 and win
Bronze. The doubles teams of India comprised of Commonwealth Gold Medalists of
2010 Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa.
China won the Gold defeating Japan 3-1 in the final. With this, China won the Uber
Cup for the 13th time and it was Chinas eighth title from the last nine editions. China
has reached 16 successive finals.
About Uber Cup

The Uber Cup is the World Team Championships for Women and it was first held in
1956-7. It is held once in every three years. Since 1984, the Cup is held bi-ennially.
It was named after a former British womens badminton player, Betty Uber. She gave
the idea of hosting a womens event similar to that of the men (Thomas Cup).
China has won the cup for maximum number of times. It has won the cup 13 times
followed by Japan which has won it for five times. Indonesia and United States have
won the cup for three times each.

N Srinivasan, the veteran nuclear scientist and Padma Bhushan recipient died on 18
May 2014. He died due to cardiac arrest at the age of 84.
About N Srinivasan
He joined Department of Atomic Energy in 1953
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MAY 2014
He was the design engineer for the Plutonium (Pu) plant at Trombay
He established the indigenous technology for reprocessing spent fuels from
thermal reactors
Srinivasan was the first project director of the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic
Research (formerly called Reactor Research Centre) at Kalpakkam
Srinivasan helped India to attain self-sufficiency in Heavy Water Production as
Chief Executive of Heavy Water Board
He was a member of Atomic Energy Commission during 1982 to 87
He was awarded with Padma Bhusan in 2000
In 2009, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award of Department of Atomic
Energy for excellence in science and technology
Union Cabinet constituted SIT on Black Money to comply

with SC Judgement
The Union Cabinet headed by PM Narendra Modi on 27 May 2014 constituted Special
Investigating Team (SIT) on Black Money. The decision was taken to comply with the
Supreme Court Judgement on Black Money.
Former judge of Supreme Court Justice MB Shah will head the SIT as its Chairman
and Justice Arijit Pasayat will be its Vice Chairman. The other members of the SIT
will be
Secretary, Department of Revenue
Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India,
Director (IB)
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MAY 2014
Director, Enforcement
Director, CBI
Chairman, CBDT,
Director General, Narcotics Control Bureau
Director General, Revenue Intelligence
Director, Financial Intelligence Unit
Director, Research and Analysis Wing and
Joint Secretary (FT&IR-1), CBDT
Work Responsibility of SIT will be

Responsibility and duties of investigation
Initiation of proceedings and prosecution in cases of Hasan Ali and other matters
involving unaccounted money
It will have jurisdiction in cases where investigations have already commenced or
are pending or awaiting to be initiated or have been completed
It will be responsible for preparation of a comprehensive action plan which includes
creation of necessary institutional structure that could enable the country to fight
the battle against unaccounted money
SIT is also supposed to report the proceedings of the report to the Court the
status of work from time to time
Chronology of SC Judgement on Black Money

4 July 2011: SC directed the Union Government to set up SIT headed by a retired SC
Judge to probe the names of account holders in LGT Bank of Switzerland.
1 May 2014: SC dismissed review petition filed by UPA-II Government against 2011
order
39
MAY 2014
4 May 2014: SC directed Union Government to notify SIT headed by Justice (retd) M
B Shah within three weeks
16 May 2014: UPA-II Government once again files a petition seeking recall of order
to set up SIT

The Royal Thai Army led by Commander-in-Chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha in
fourth week of May 2014 announced military coup in Thailand. Earlier on 20 May
2014, the army declared imposition of martial law in Thailand.
All these actions of army happened after the caretaker government headed by Prime
Minister Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan refused to step down. He was appointed as
the caretaker PM on 7 May 2014 after the Constitutional Court of Thailand ordered
the then Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to step down for abuse of power.
General Prayuth assumed the powers to act as Prime Minister except Section 2
which acknowledges that the king is the head of state.
This is the second military coup in Thailand after the 2006 military coup in which
the then Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinatwara was toppled on account of
corruption charges.
Chronological events of some incidents after coup

26 May 2014: General Prayuth Chan-ocha warned people who are protesting
against the military rule by saying that he has received the royal endorsement by
King Bhumibol Adulyadej to run the politically unstable country. He urged people to
stop demonstrating, warning that they risk a stricter enforcement of martial law and
prosecution in military courts. In his declaration from Bangkok, he refused to give a
set time frame for end of military rule in the country.
24 May 2014: The Senate the Parliaments Upper House was dissolved by the Thai
40
MAY 2014
Army and total control was assumed. For time being, all the powers went in the
hands of National Peace and Order Maintaining Council (NPOMC) headed by the
Thai Army Chief, General Prayuth Chan-ocha.
22 May 2014: The army detained members of the political class at a place, shutdown the media and closed the borders on an off-and-on basis. The men in uniforms
were made in charge of government ministries. It has banned at least 150 people that
includes politicians and activists from leaving the country.
Thailand Army Chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha declared to

impose martial law
Commander-in-Chief of Royal Thai Army, General
Prayuth Chan-ocha declared to impose martial
law in Thailand on 20 May 2014.
The decision to impose martial law was taken after
caretaker government headed by Prime Minister
Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan refused to step
down.
The Army chief signed the military statement
imposing the martial law in accordance with the 1914 law that allowed military to
intervene during crisis time.
The martial law was imposed in the country amid political crisis to preserve law and
order in the country. The declaration also granted wide ranging powers to the army
to enforce its decision.
The army, which is seen by many as sympathetic to anti-government protesters, has
staged 11 coups since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932.
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MAY 2014
Background
Thailand has been gripped by off-and-on political turmoil since 2006 when the then
Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, was toppled by a military coup after being
accused of corruption, abuse of power and disrespect for King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
The latest round of unrest started in November 2013 when anti-government protesters
took to the streets to try to oust the then Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra,
Thaksins sister. She dissolved the lower house of parliament in December 2013 in
an attempt to ease the crisis, and then led a weakened, caretaker government with
limited powers.
In May 2014, the constitutional court ousted Yingluck and nine cabinet ministers for
abuse of power. But the move has done little to resolve the political conflict that pits
the rural poor majority, who support Yingluck, against her opponents who are largely
drawn from the urban middle and upper class.
Chronological events since 2007:

Dec 2007: Pro-Thaksin party wins election
Aug 2008: Thaksin flees Thailand
Dec 2008: Huge anti-Thaksin protests; court bans ruling party; Abhisit Vejjajiva comes
to power
Mar-May 2010: Huge pro-Thaksin protests; more than 90 killed over 10-week period
Jul 2011: Yingluck Shinawatra elected PM
Nov 2013: Anti-government protest
Feb 2014: Snap election held, but protesters disrupt polls; court rules polls invalid
May 2014: PM ordered to step down
May 2014: Army announces martial law
42
MAY 2014

Supreme Court of India on 7 May 2014 banned use of bulls for Jallikattu (bull-fighting)
events or bullock-cart races across the country.
The court in its verdict said that even bulls have rights against torture and hoped that
the parliament would elevate the rights of animals to that of constitutional rights. In
its observation the bench said that an animal also has honour and dignity and cannot
be arbitrarily deprived of its rights.
The bench of the apex court headed by Justice KS Radhakrishnan and included
Pinaki Chandra Misra has directed the governments and the Animal Welfare Board
of India to take steps to prevent the infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering on
animals.
The bench also termed that rights guaranteed to the bulls under the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act 1960 could not be taken away or curtailed. The use
of bulls in such events like Jallikattu, bullock-cart races and other similar events
violates, the PCA Act 1960. In its findings it held the events constitutionally void
being violative of Article 254(1) of the Constitution of India.
Previous Verdict of the Supreme Court on Jallikattu

Earlier, similar ban was imposed on the practice by the Supreme Court in January
2008. Further, order of ban was reversed after four days by stating that the sport could
be allowed if certain guidelines were followed. The order was reversed following the
appeal of the state government against the verdict in which it claimed that the ban
hurt the sentiments of the people and also assured the apex court that it would follow
the guidelines to make the events a safe sport.
As per the assurance, the state government in 2011 introduced a law to regulate
jallikattu to prevent deats and injuries to spectators during the sport.
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MAY 2014
Organises of the sport claims that the jallikattu is a sacred Indian tradition as mentioned
in ancient scriptures and had an integral part of the Tamil culture for more than 2000
years.
Jallikattu bull fights

Jallikattu bull fights are a centuries-old annual sport of Tamil Nadu played as a part
of Pongal celebrations on Mattu Pongal day. The sport is participated by thousands
of men, who chase the bulls to grab prizes tied to their horns.
Government approval not required to probe senior bureaucrats on corruption charges: SC

The Constitutional Bench of Supreme Court of India on 6 May 2014 held that prior
sanction is not required from the government to probe the senior bureaucrats on
corruption charges. The decision also included officers above the rank of Joint
Secretary. In its direction the apex court said that there cannot be any discrimination
at times when it comes to prosecuting a Criminal Act.
The apex court in its observation termed that there can be no protection to corrupt
public servants by terming Section 6A of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act
(DSPEA) as invalid and unconstitutional. The Section 6A provides prior sanction for
the CBI to prosecute senior bureaucrats in corruption cases.
The court in its findings said that the status of bureaucrats is of no relevance to the
offence under the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA). It also observed
that the protection of prior approval for probing graft charges against officers at level
of joint secretary and above has propensity of shielding corrupt.
The decision of the Supreme Court came on the petition of the BJP leader Subramanian
Swamy against the section 6A of the Delhi Police Act and argued that it discriminates
while investigating a senior or junior officer. He filed his first petition in this regard in
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MAY 2014
1997 and later in 2004 the similar petition was filed by an NGO, Centre for Public
Interest Litigation (CPIL).
The five-judge Constitutional Bench was headed by Chief Justice RM Lodha and
included Justice AK Patnaik, Justice SJ Mukhopadhaya, Justice Dipak Misra and
Justice FMI Kalifulla. They held that the Section 6A of Act is invalid and it violates
Article 14 of the Constitution of India.
The case was referred to the Constitutional bench of Supreme Court on 4 February
2005, when the petitions came up for consideration. The bench on that day thought
that the matter deserved to be heard by a larger bench.
Article 14 of Constitution of India

Article 14 is covered under Fundamental Rights and states Equality before the Law.
It says that the State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal
protection of the laws within the territory of India.
The Case
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 38 of 1997 Dr. Subramanian Swamy Vs. Director, Central
Bureau of Investigation & Anr.
Background of Section 6-A

Section 6-A was inserted in the DSPE Act. In 1993, Vineet Narain approached this
Court under Article 32 of the Constitution of India complaining inertia by the Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in matters where the accusation made was against high
dignitaries. The necessity of monitoring the investigation by this Court is indicated in
paragraph 1 of the judgment.
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Singapore became the top source of FDI into India replacing

Mauritius: DIPP
Singapore became the top source of foreign direct investment (FDI) into India.
Singapore replaced Mauritius to become the number one source of FDI. This was
revealed by the FDI data for March 2014 of the Department of Industrial Policy and
Promotion (DIPP) under the Union Ministry of Commerce Industry and Textiles.
As per the data, India attracted 5.98 billion US dollar FDI from Singapore in 2013-14
while Mauritius invested only 4.85 billion US dollar in India in 2013-14. The total FDI
flows from Singapore accounted for about 25 per cent of FDI inflows in 2013-14.
Overall FDI into India grew by 8 percent year-on-year to 24.3 billion US dollar in
2013-14. India needs about 1 trillion US dollar foreign investment by March 2017 to
overhaul infrastructure such as ports, airports and highways and boost growth.
Why Singapore became the largest source of FDI into India?

The execution of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with Singapore with
Limit-of-Benefit (LoB) clause has provided the comfort to foreign investors due to
which the FDI inflows increased.
On the other hand, FDI inflows from Mauritius have started drying up on fears of the
impact of General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) and possible re-negotiation of the
tax avoidance treaty.
The India-Mauritius DTAA is being revised amid concerns that Mauritius is being used
for round-tripping of funds into India even though that country has always maintained
that there have been no concrete evidence of any such misuse.
Top ten countries investing in India

1. Singapore
2. Mauritius
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MAY 2014
3. United Kingdom
4. Netherlands
5. Japan
6. Germany
7. U.S.A
8. Cyprus
9. Switzerland
10. France
What is GAAR?
GAAR stands for General Anti Avoidance Rules. The controversial GAAR will come
into effect from April 2016 in India. GAAR seeks to check tax avoidance by investors
routing their funds through tax havens.
The GAAR provision will apply to entities availing tax benefit of at least 3 crore. It will
apply to Foreign Institutional Investors that have claimed benefits under any DTAA.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 21 May 2014 directed all banks to install disabled
friendly new Automated Teller Machines (ATMs). All the new ATMs that are to be
installed after 1 July 2014 needs to provide audible instructions and Braille keypads
to customers.
Besides, it also directed banks to lay down a road map for converting all the existing
ATMs as talking ATMs with Braille keypads.
Earlier in 2009, RBI had issued a circular titled Need for Bank Branches / ATMs to be
made accessible to persons with disabilities.
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The main highlights were

All banks need to make bank branches and ATMs accessible to people with
disabilities and make at least one-third of the new ATMs installed as talking ATMs
with Braille keypads.
Place all the existing/new ATMs strategically in consultation with other banks to
ensure that at least one talking ATM with Braille keypad is generally available in
each locality for catering to needs of visually impaired persons.
Banks may also take appropriate steps including providing ramps at the entrance
of the bank branches so as not to create an impediment in their use by wheelchair
users.
Banks need to provide the facilities of magnifying glasses at all bank branches for
the use of persons with low vision.
The branches should display at a prominent place notice about the availability of
magnifying glasses and other facilities available for persons with disabilities.
RhODIS, a DNA-based system, to be used to investigate

poaching of Rhinos in Assam
Rhino DNA Indexing System (RhODIS) was demonstrated to forest officials of Assam
on 27 May 2014 to help them prevent poaching of Rhinos in Assam. The demonstration
was given by South African wildlife experts namely, Cindy Harper and Rod Potter at
Assam State Zoo.
Besides, Harper and Potter will visit Kaziranga National Park and educate its forest
officials on the RhODIS and its utility in crime-scene investigation.
Process of use of RhODIS

RhODIS is a tool that involves collection of unique DNA profile of each individual rhino
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into a database. This database can be presented by the zoo officials and government
as legal evidence in cases of rhino poaching in the state.
RhODIS will be used to present as a legal evidence document for punishment of the
poachers because in maximum number of cases, they remain unpunished due to the
unavailability of evidence to prove them as poachers.
Plan of implementation of RhODIS in Assam

The State government of Assam plans to introduce RhODIS in the State in near
future. To build a database of the DNA profiles of translocated, poached or naturally
dead rhinos, the State will introduce RhODIS in collaboration with the World Wide
Fund for Nature India.
In 2013, about 41 rhinos were poached and dehorned in Assam while in 2014 about
16 rhinos have been killed till date.
Main reason for poaching is use of rhino horn for various purposes like medicinal
use and due to this the activity of poaching has emerged as the major threat to rhino
conservation efforts. According to Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Chief
Wildlife Warden in Assam, RP Agarwalla, the horn has its market majorly in China and
Vietnam.
As per the estimates about 2553 rhinos are present in Assam of which
Kaziranga National Park has 2329
Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park has 100
Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary has 93
Manas National Park has 31
About RhODIS
Rhino DNA Indexing System (RhODIS) was developed in South Africa to investigate
and prosecute suspects in cases of rhino poaching.
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Introduction of RhODIS has helped officials of South Africa to crack down rhino
poaching by international gangs. Effective prosecution of punishment have also been
taken against the gang
DNA database of about 5000 rhinos collected by Veterinary Science of the University
of Pretorias Veterinary Genetics Laboratory has contributed in more than 400 probes
in South and Eastern African region.
14 New dancing frog species found in Western Ghats

14 new species of dancing frogs
were discovered in the Western
Ghats of southern India by the
scientists/biologists. These tiny
acrobatic amphibians (frogs) were
found by Indian biologists. The
Indian
Dancing
frogs
are
scientifically known as Micrixalidae
and their family comprises a single
genus Micrixalus. Name of the species has been derived by their style of unusual
kicks used to attract the mates.
The species of other dancing frogs are found in Central America and Southeast Asia.
The Indian family evolved about 85 million years ago.
They were identified by using molecular DNA markers and morphological descriptions.
As per the biologists, they breed after the yearly monsoon in fast-rushing streams.
Their size is a reason that breeding happens only when the level of stream drops down.
The case is vice-versa in case when the streams dry out early, in such conditions they
get caught without the right conditions to breed. These frogs are tiny in shape and are
not bigger than a walnut and they can be swept away easily in the mountain stream.
The biologists also identified that their habitat appears to becoming increasingly dry.
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Listing of these new species of the study was published in the Ceylon Journal of
Science on 8 May 2014. This discovery has brought the number of known Indian
dancing frog species to 24.
Some facts about the new species

Dance is done only by males: dancing is a part of their unique behavior for breeding
and is called foot-flagging. In the process of the dance, they stretch, extend and
whip their legs out to the side and this activity is performed to attract attention of
the females. The biologists suggests that the dance is performed because might be
possible that the females have trouble in hearing mating croaks over the sound of
water flowing through perennial hill streams.
The biologists also suggested that dance depends upon the size of the frogs, bigger
one dance more.
The species of other dancing frogs are found in Central America and Southeast
Asia. The Indian family evolved about 85 million years ago. The Indian Dancing frogs
are scientifically known as Micrixalidae and their family comprises a single genus
Micrixalus.
About the discovery

The species were discovered after 12 years of extensive field studies that was
conducted across the mountains of Western Ghats in states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu,
Karnataka and Maharashtra.
Projects lead scientist: Sathyabhama Das Biju, professor of University of Delhi
Palaeontologists discovered the fossil of worlds largest dinosaur in Patagonia, Argentina

Palaeontologists on 16 May 2014 discovered the fossil of the world largest dinosaur
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MAY 2014
fossils. It was found near a desert in La Flecha, situated 125-km west of Trelew in
Patagonia, Argentina.
The fossil of the dinosaur was excavated by the palaeontologists from Argentinas
Museum of Palaeontology Egidio Feruglio, headed by Dr Jose Luis Carballido and Dr
Diego Pol.
The fossils of the worlds largest dinosaur measured 40 metres in length, 30 metres in
height and weighed 77 tonnes. The fossil remains included bones from the dinosaur
neck and back, along with pieces of the tail and legs.
This plant-eating dinosaur belonged to species of Titanosaurs from the family of
Sauropod dinosaurs that were characterized by their enormous stature and long
necks and tails. It lived around 95 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period.
The discovered fossils of Titanosaurs were larger than the previous record holder,
Argentinosaurus, also found in Patagonia, Argentina in 1987.
About Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs first appeared about 228 million years ago during the Triassic period,
achieved stunning dimensions during the ensuing Jurassic Period and then
disappeared at the end of the Cretaceous Period about 65 million years ago.
A sparrow-sized bird called Qiliania, which lived about 120 million years ago in China,
was the smallest dinosaur, weighing a mere 15 grams.

Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) and India Meteorological Department
(IMD) signed a partnership agreement on 22 May 2014 for joint production of Drishti
system.
The agreement was signed by Dr Shyam Chetty, Director, CSIR-NAL and Dr LS
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MAY 2014
Rathore, Director General of Meteorology, IMD. The agreement encompassed a

wide range of research & development activities for further development of various
meteorological sensors.
The agreement paves the way for operational deployment of Drishti system at different
airports where IMD provides aeronautical meteorological services. A mega project
for installing nearly 70 such systems at various Airports of the India is being jointly
undertaken by the two organisations.
Seven Drishti systems are working in three international airports. Out of seven, one
each has been installed at Choudhary Charan Singh International Airport, Lucknow,
(for the last 3 years) and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata
(for the last 1 years). Five systems are working in countrys most stringent CAT IIIB
airport, viz., Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, for the last two years.
This cost-effective product is a mandatory system required at all airports as per
International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and World Meteorological Organisation
(WMO). The system is extremely robust with high mean time between failures.
About Drishti System

Drishti system is a sophisticated instrument for assessment of Runway visual range,
which is a critical parameter for safe landing and takeoff of aircraft in poor visibility.
Drishti Transmissometer, a visibility measuring system is an innovative, indigenous
product first of its kind, designed and developed by CSIR-NAL to cover the wide
span of lowest to highest visibility (< 25 to > 2000 meters) aiding pilots for safe
landing and take-off.
Web enabled health monitoring, remote control of the system from any location in the
country for accessing the data and for maintenance are the other important features
of this state of the art system. Servicing is made user friendly and cost-effective by
modular electronics and virtual instrumentation concepts in the design.
Drishti has also received several prestigious awards during 2013-14 from National
Research Development Corporation (NRDC), Institution of Electronics and
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MAY 2014
Telecommunication Engineers (IETE), India, and Indian Electronics & Semiconductor

Association (IESA) as the most innovative, meritorious product of the year.

Japan won the AFC Womens Asian Football Cup 2014 on 25 May 2014. In the final
held in Vietnam, Japan football team defeated defending champion Australia 1-0.
This is Japans first-ever AFC Womens Asian Cup since it started competing in the
event in 1977.
In the final, the winning and the only goal was scored by Japanese Azusa Iwashimizu.
With this win, Japan became the first country to simultaneously hold both the FIFA
Womens World Cup (2011) and AFC Womens Asian Football Cup (2014).
Aya Miyama, the captain of Japan, was awarded the tournaments Most Valuable
Player (MVP) award for her efforts.
Team captain of Japan: Aya Miyama
Team captain of Australia: Melissa Barbieri
Japan, Australia, China, South Korea and Thailand have qualified for the 2015
Womens Football World Cup to be held in Canada.
The last AFC Asian Women Football cup was held in China in 2010 and the title was
won by the Australia.
About AFC
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of Asian football and
one of the six Confederations making up FIFA. The AFC is responsible for running
football in Asia.
The AFC was formed in 1954 in Manila and is now headquartered in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia.
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MAY 2014
It consists of 46 Member Associations and one Associate Member Association (The

Northern Mariana Islands).
AFC President: Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain
WADA Foundation Board put Xenon & Argon gases in the prohibited list
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on 18 May 2014 added two noble gases
Xenon (Xe) and Argon (Ar) in the list of banned/prohibited substances list. Xenon and
Argon gases were banned after claims that athletes can use it through inhalation to
enhance their performance, illegally.
As per the scientific studies, the gas has the power to artificially increase the levels of
hormone Erythropoietin (EPO) in the blood that is forbidden under the WADAs rules.
Modification of WADA prohibited list

The executive committee of the WADA approved the modification of its 2014 prohibited
list on 18 May 2014. The amendment to the 2014 Prohibited List will come into effect
in next three-months (90-days) after the UNESCO will appropriately communicate
the amendment to all States Parties.
About WADA
WADA was established in 1999 as an international independent agency composed
and funded equally by the sport movement and governments of the world.
Its seat is in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its headquarters are in Montreal, Canada.
Its key activities include scientific research, education, development of anti-doping
capacities, and monitoring of the World Anti Doping Code (Code) the document
harmonizing anti-doping policies in all sports and all countries.
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WADA is a Swiss private law Foundation.

President of WADA Sir Craig Reedie
Pre-1971 Bangladesh settlers should be treated as Indians:

Meghalaya High Court
Meghalaya High Court on 15 May 2014 in its historic judgement in Shillong said that
the nationals of Bangladesh, who settled in the state before 24 March 1971 should
be treated as Indians. The Court also ordered that they should be enrolled in the
voters list.
Justice Sudip Ranjan Sen passed the judgement on the basis of a petition filed
by 40 refugees from Bangladesh. These petitioners were denied enrolment in the
electoral roll by the district administration citing that their citizenship was doubtful.
The refugees from Amjong village near Assam-Meghalaya border in Ri-Bhoi district
moved to High Court after their citizenship certificates were seized by the district
deputy commissioner.
Justice Sen also directed the deputy commissioner to return their certificates within
1 week from the date of receipt of the order. The court also directed to enroll them
in voter list before the next election. In his judgement, he said that earlier, the two
countries have agreed that who should be allowed to stay and who should be
deported back to Bangladesh.
Justice Sen also termed that the forefathers of the petitioners entered India much
before 24 March 1971 and thus, there is no question of deporting them to Bangladesh
at the time, when they have acquired the right of permanent rehabilitation. Court has
also directed the State and the Centre government to give them proper rehabilitation.
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MAY 2014
Google gave Europeans Right to be Forgotten

Google on 29 May 2014 launched a service for Europeans named Right to be
Forgotten. Through the service, Europeans can request the web pages to remove
links that contains material related to their personal lives.
Google launched the service following the direction of European Union Court of
Justice of 13 May 2014 that said that irrelevant links and outdated data on search
engines should be erased on request.
With launch of this service, the citizens of European Union can now fill a web form
requesting removal of information related to them. But will have to provide the links
related to the information that they want to be removed, with reason for the request.
They also need to provide the detail of the country of their origin and an attached
digital copy of an official identification.
Google must amend search results on request: European

Court
The European Court on 13 May 2014 ruled that Google must amend some of its
search results at the request of ordinary people when they show links to outdated,
irrelevant information.
The court decision will allow individuals the right to ask internet search engines to
remove links to information about them that they do not want to be known. This is
because such availability of irrelevant and outdated information would be an attack
on free speech and right to privacy.
The Court said that Google and other search engines do have control of private
information of individual, given that they sometimes compile and present links to it in
a systematic way.
Under European law, the individuals have a right to control over their private data
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(especially if they are not public figures). If the individual want to remove irrelevant
or wrong personal information about them forgotten from search engine results, they
have the right to request to remove from the search engines even if the information
was legally published.
The case was referred to the European court by appeal court of Spain, Audiencia
Nacional, which has fielded 200 such complaints.
The leading case was from Mario Costeja from Spain. He argued that on searching
his name on Google he found an auction notice related to his home which was used
to settle the Social Welfare Debt. Although he has settled the debt long back and
hence the reference should be removed.
DGCA issued Guidelines to Operators for Real Time Tracking

of Aircrafts
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on 7 May 2014 issued guidelines to
operastors for Real Time Tracking of Aircrafts.
The new rule is applicable for both the passenger and cargo aircraft. DGCA has
made it mandatory for all its planes to be tracked from departure to arrival.
Guidelines were released to set standards in view of the difficulties faced in search
and rescue operations after an aircraft goes missing or meets with an accident.
The air transport operators were ordered to use onboard Aircraft Communications
Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) /Automatic Dependent Surveillance
Broadcast (ADS-B).
Every operator has to ensure their serviceability before every departure. Operators
have also been advised to devise a procedure for effective tracking of the aircraft
while flying over areas where there is no coverage of ACARS/ADS-B.
During the last five years, there have been two occasions when large commercial
transport aircrafts went missing and their last position was not accurately known.
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While commercial air transport aircrafts spend considerable amount of time operating
over remote areas, there is currently no international requirement for real time tracking
of the aircraft.
This uncertainty resulted in significant difficulty in locating the aircraft in a timely
manner in both the cases. Such incidences as well as the recent Malaysian tragedy
have prompted the DGCA to take necessary action.
SC put an interim stay on iron ore mining operations by 26

firms in Odisha
Supreme Court of India on 16 May 2014 put an interim stay on iron ore mining by 26
firms in Odisha. The interim stay is put on those companies whose lease agreements
have expired and not renewed by the State government.
The order was passed by a bench of Supreme Court headed by Justice AK Patnaik.
The bench said that the mining operation of 26 leases would remain suspended till
the companies get their agreement renewed by the state government.
The interim order of stay on mining was passed by the apex court after considering
the report of the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) and submissions on behalf of
the parties. The court said that 26 firms leases would be not allowed to operate until
the state government passes an express order in terms of section 8(3) of the Mines
and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 1957.
Apart from this, the apex court also directed 102 mining leases to be suspended
that do not have requisite environmental clearances and approvals, till they are not
cleared by the authorities.
Odisha has a total of 56 iron ore mines of which 16 have all the lease renewals
in place and thus can function normally. Of the remaining 40 mines, 14 are under
deemed extension and 26 mines cannot mine and thus would have to apply for fresh
lease extensions.
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In its order the apex court also asked the Odisha government to consider and dispose
off all renewal applications within six months.

Nripendra Misra, a retired IAS officer and former Chairman of Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India (TRAI) was appointed as the Principal Secretary to the Prime
Minister, Narendra Modi on 28 May 2014.
Earlier on 27 May 2014 Union Cabinet passed an Ordinance to amend Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Act, 1997 to enable Misras appointment as
Principal Secretary to the PM. The Ordinance was promulgated by the President,
Pranab Mukherjee under Article 123 of the Constitution of India on 28 May 2014. The
Ordinance will be ratified during the Budget Session.
The Ordinance promulgated on 28 May 2014 amended the Section 5 (8)(a) of the TRAI
Act, 1997. Section 5 (8) states that the chairperson or any other member ceasing to
hold office as such, shall (a) be ineligible for further employment under the central
government or any state government, or (b) not accept any commercial employment,
for a period of two years from the date he ceases to hold such office.
About Principal Secretary to PM
A Principal Secretary to the PM is the head of the Prime Minister Office (PMO). He is
a person who plays an important role as a link between the head of government and
the top bureaucrats.
About Nripendra Misra

He is an IAS officer of 1967 batch from Uttar Pradesh cadre
Before retiring as TRAI Chairman in March 2009, he has served various ministries
like telecom, commerce and fertilizers.
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He served TRAI as its Chairman from March 2006

In 1978, he served as the Special Secretary, finance in UP
From 1984-85, he was a Joint Secretary in Fund Bank division
He was Director in World-Bank-IMF division in the Department of Economic Affairs,
Ministry of Finance from 1981-84
He has a Masters degree in Public Administration from John F. Kennedy School of
Government, Harvard University
He has also pursued another Masters degree in political science, public
administration and chemistry from Allahabad University

Russi Mody the former Chairman of Tata Steels (formerly called TISCO) died on 16
May 2014 in Alipore in South Kolkata. He was 96. Fondly called the Grand Old Man
of Steel, he was known for his man management.
Born to Sir Homi Mody and Lady Jerbhai on 17 January 1918, Mody did his schooling
from Harrow School in England and college from Christ Church College, Oxford.
He joined TISCO in 1939 and became a director at Tata Iron & Steel Company (TISCO)
at the age of 35. He became a Managing Director of the steel company in 1974. In
1984, he succeeded JRD Tata as the Chairman and Managing Director of the Tata
Steels.
In 1993, at the age of 75 he was forced to resign due to conflict with JRD Tata
successor Ratan Tata with whom he later made peace. After resigning from Tata
Steels, he tried to start a global trading house called Mobar with less success. Later
he was appointed as the Joint Chairman of the Air India and Indian Airlines by then P
V Narasimha Rao Government.
He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1989 by the Government of India for his
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contribution to the Indian Industry.
Vikaram Sunderam won Best Chef in the Mid-Atlantic of

James Beard Awards 2014
Indian-American chef, Vikaram Sunderam won the prestigious James Beard Awards
2014. Vikaram Sunderam was awarded as the Best Chef in the Mid-Atlantic. The
awards are considered as the Oscars of the US food and beverage industry. The
award was presented in New York on 5 May 2014.
Sunderam (47) has opened restaurant Rasika in Washington in 2005. He was a
native of Mumbai, joined the Taj Mahal Hotel group in 1985. He was in London for 14
years at the award winning Bombay Brasserie.
Another Indian-American, Vishwesh Bhatt was nominated for the category of Best
Chef: South. Finally, Ryan Prewitt and Sue Zemanick won the Best Chef: South. Rayan
is chef and partner of Peche Seafood Grill in the New Orleans and Sue Zemanick is
chef in Gautreau in New Orleans.
There are different categories in Best Chef of James Beard Awards 2014 and it
includes Best Chef: Great Lakes; Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic; Best Chef: Midwest; Best
Chef: New York City; Best Chef: Northeast; Best Chef: Northwest; Best Chef: South.
About James Beard Food Awards

The James Beard Food Awards are considered as the top honours in American
cooking. The awards are annually presented by the James Beard Foundation and
the first awards were given in 1991. The award is cashless in nature.
The awards will covers the all aspects of the culinary industry includes chefs and
restaurateurs to cookbook authors and food journalists to restaurant designers and
architects.
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INTERNATIONAL
US deployed two Global Hawk drones on Misawa airbase in
Northern Japan
The US Air Force on 30 May 2014 deployed two Global Hawks on Misawa airbase
in Northern Japan. Global Hawk is an advanced long-distance surveillance drones.
Global Hawks drones will remain at Misawa Air Base, located some 590 kilometers
northeast of Tokyo, until October 2014. They will remain here until the typhoon season
at the drones home, Andersen Air Force Base, on the Guam islands in the western
Pacific gets over.
The first Global Hawk flew to Japan from its home base on 24 May 2014, while the
second arrived in Misawa on 28 May 2014. The two vehicles are expected to start
operating in the Asia-Pacific region in early June 2014.
Japans government is now planning to buy three US Global Hawk drones, because
deployment of these vehicles will help the country to familiarize itself with the aircraft.
Analysis
The deployment of two drones is seen as US commitment to provide security to Asia
as part of its rebalancing of forces to the Pacific. This will enhance the ability of USA
Air Force to monitor nuclear activities in North Korea and Chinese naval operations.
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About Global Hawk

The Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)
surveillance aircraft. It was initially designed by Ryan Aeronautical and known as Tier
II+ during development.
In role and operational design, the Global Hawk is similar to the Lockheed U-2.
It is able to fly at a maximum height of 18.3 km and can fly continuously for 24 hours.
The Global Hawk is operated by the United States Air Force and U.S. Navy. It is
used as a high-altitude platform for surveillance and security. Missions for the Global
Hawk cover the spectrum of intelligence collection capability to support forces in
worldwide military operations.
US President announced to keep US troops in Afghanistan

till 2016
US President Barack Obama announced on 27 May 2014 to keep 9800 troops in
Afghanistan till the end of 2016. The announcement was made in Washington. The
final withdrawal of US combat forces was to take place in December 2014 but US
extended it for two years to withdraw the troops from Afghanistan fully.
The US till then will only focus on supporting counter-terrorism operations and training
Afghan security forces, and will not be engaged in combat missions.
At present, there are 32000 US troops in Afghanistan and over the course the number
of troops will be draw down to half about 4900 troops by 2015. The troops are
consolidated in the Kabul and Bagram Air Field, the main US base in Afghanisthan.
The US will leave only enough troops for security for the American Embassy after
2016.
The post-war plan is contingent on the Afghan government signing a bilateral security
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MAY 2014
agreement with the US. Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai had refused to sign the
agreement.

Dalia Grybauskaite, the Iron Lady of Lithuania, on 25 May 2014 won the Presidential
elections of Lithuania. As a result she became the first person to serve as the President
of Lithuania for consecutive second term. She served the first term as President from
2009 to 2014 as the term of President of Lithuania is five years.
In the second round of counting of votes, she emerged victorious by winning 58
percent of votes over her rival Zigmantas Balcytis of Social Democrat who garnered
42 percent votes.
She fought the Presidential election as an independent candidate and focused her
campaign on national security. She is a former EU Budget Chief
She fought the elections amid the concerns in the Baltic nations like Lithuania, Latvia
and Estonia that the annexation of Crimea by Russia is a symbol of vortex of threats
of being destabilized. All these three nations are the members of NATO and European
Union with Russian speaking minorities.
One in Ten army soldiers in Britain are just 16 years old: UKs
Ministry of Defence
More than One-in-Ten new Army recruits in Britain are boy soldiers of just 16 years
and more than one in four of all new Army recruits are under 18. This was revealed by
the figures released by United Kingdoms Ministry of Defence (MoD) in the last week
of May 2014.
There are more than 1700 teenagers in the armed forces below voting age. The
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proportion of Army recruits aged just 16 has increased from 10 per cent in 2012-13
to 13 per cent in 2013-14.
British army had amended its rules after an opposition over the deployment of 17 year
olds to the Gulf War in 1991 and to Kosovo in 1999. The amendment had stopped
the recruitment of soldiers under 18 from being sent on operations where there was
a possibility of fighting.
Critics claimed that military recruitment crisis in the armed forces is one reason
behind the increases of the recruitment in armed forces.
Research has shown that 16 year-old recruits are much more likely than adults to
suffer bullying and harassment, to develop serious mental health problems, to be
injured in training, and to be killed once they reach deployable age.
Besides UK, some 20 countries around the world recruit teenagers in the Army.
Among these countries are North Korea and Iran.
International Scenario
International Law on military use of children had made a law in 2002. The Optional
protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict to the Convention provides
that its State Parties, shall take all feasible measures to ensure that persons below
the age of 18 do not take a direct part in hostilities and that they are not compulsorily
recruited into their armed forces.
International labor law provides that forced or compulsory recruitment of anyone
under the age of 18 for use in armed conflict is one of the predefined worst forms
of child labour. It will deem as a form of slavery in terms of the International Labour
Organisations Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999. The convention was
adopted in 1999.
The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution under the heading Children
in armed conflict. The first resolution on the issue, Resolution 1261, was passed in
1999.
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Stand of India
In India, students can join the Navy from the age of 16 1/2 and the Air Force from the
age of 17. These soldiers are not deployed until after training by which time they are
18 years or older.
Russia and China signed 30 year deal on natural gas worth

of 400 billion dollars
China on 21 May 2014 signed a 30-year deal to buy Russian natural gas worth 400
billion US dollars in a financial year. The deal was signed during the Russian President
Vladimir Putin visit to China.
Gasport firm of Russia and China National Petroleum Corp signed the agreement.
As per the agreement, Gasport will supply 38 billion cubic metres of gas annually
to China National Petroleum Corp. The contract is worth a total of 400 billion US
dollars.
Besides, Russian President Putin also received the support from Chinese President
Xi Jinping over Ukraine crisis. Russia and China issued a statement calling for the
de-escalation of tensions in Ukraine and for peaceful and political ways to resolve
the existing problems. The two countries referred to the crisis as domestic.
Analysis
This has come as big relief for Russia which had been facing flak of the Western
powers over the Ukraine Crisis since its annexation of Crimea peninsula in March
2014. Besides, this was the only issue on which China hesitated to support Russia
in UN Security Council.
The signing of gas deal also has come as a big respite for Russia. The signing of
agreement means that now Russia will not have to depend on European countries for
selling its gas much and will help Russia overcome the impact of economic sanctions
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imposed by the US and European countries over the Ukraine crisis.

Chinese support to Russia over Ukraine crisis might be an outcome of the recent
conciliatory steps taken by Putin. These steps includes ordering Russian forces
massed on the Ukraine border to return to bases and welcomed the initial contacts
between the Ukraine government and those calling for more power for largely Russianspeaking regions in the east.
Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on 20 May 2014 suspended
three television channels of Geo TV network. Geo TV network is the countrys largest
and most influential.
These were suspended for leveling allegations against the Inter Service Intelligence
(ISI) and showing blasphemous morning show on its entertainment channel.
The three channels that have been suspended by the five-member Pakistani electronic
media watchdog are Geo News, Geo Entertainment and Geo Tez.
The committee that suspended the channels with immediate effect included Syed
Ismail Shah, Israr Abbasi and Pervez Rathore. Other two members of the Committee
did not participate.
As per the committee, the suspension will stay in effect until 28 May 2014. By then
another session of the committee will be called in to make a final call in relation to
cancellation of the licenses.
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Swiss voters rejected the Minimum Wage Initiative that introduced highest minimum wage in the World
Swiss voters rejected the Minimum Wage Initiative on 18 May 2014. The initiative
was rejected by 77 percent of the Swiss voters.
The Minimum Wage Initiative, if passed, would have introduced highest minimum
wage in the world at 25 US dollars for an hour (or 22 francs an hour). The Initiative
was proposed by the Swiss Trade Unions backed by Socialist and Green parties in
light of the growing income inequality in Switzerland.
The growing income inequality has become a major concern in the developed world.
It has led to increasing demand for increasing the minimum wages for lower-income
worker. For instance President Barack Obama proposed a minimum wage of 10.10
US dollars an hour for American workers. On the other hand, Germen Chancellor
Angela Merkel pushed for a minimum wage of 11.64 US dollars an hour from 2017
onwards.
Currently Switzerland does not have a national wide minimum wage while France
and Germany do have minimum wage. The pay in Swiss is determined by individual
employment contracts or via collective bargaining agreements and industry-specific
minimum wages.
The Federal Council (Swiss cabinet) and both houses of Parliament argued that the
measure did not take into account regional and sector differences that might merit
different pay. The setting of minimum wage at such a high wage would have made
difficult for low and unskilled job seekers to find work.
Qatar decided to abolish Sponsorship System for foreign

workers
Qatar on 14 May 2014 decided to abolish it controversial sponsorship system for
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foreign workers. The sponsorship system (Kafala system) will be replaced with a
system based on employment contracts as part of a package of labour reforms.
Under the new system, the foreign workers will not have to obtain their employers
consent before leaving the country as is prevalent at present.
Now this process will be replaced with an automated system through the ministry of
interior. Under this automated system, the exit permit will be granted to an employee
after a 72-hour grace period prior to departure.
Background
The sponsor system for the foreign workers practiced by Qatar has been under
international criticism by the human rights activists on account of its unfair treatment
to the foreign workers.
About 90 percent of total population of Qatar is expatriate of which around 1.3
millions are from Asian countries, mainly from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal
and Philippines. Maximum number of migrant workers and residents of Qatar are
under the sponsorship system.
Moldova & Georgia to sign EU Association Agreement on 27

June 2014
Moldova and Georgia on 13 May 2014 agreed to sign European Union (EU) Association
Agreement on 27 June 2014. The President of the European Council Herman Van
Rompuy revealed this in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia.
The signing of the Association Agreement will help strengthen the trade and political
ties between the EU and the two countries.
Besides, it will also help expedite the process of full membership for Moldova and
Georgia to the 28-EU bloc which is the original foreign policy objective of both the
countries.
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The accord will also help defend the former Soviet republic countries from threats by
Russia which opposes the EUs eastward expansion.
Although the Agreement was to be signed at the end of the year 2014 but EU expedited
the process after the Russian annexation of Crimea in March 2014. EU fears that the
crisis in Ukraine may snowball to other regions of the erstwhile USSR and Russia
may annex these regions also.
In November 2013, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia agreed to sign the EU Association
Agreement. However, Ukraine under pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych
backed away from signing the Agreement triggering the protests in Ukraine.
The end result of the whole episode was the ouster of pro-Russian President in
December 2013; annexation of Crimea by Russia in March 2014 and Ukraine signing
the Association Agreement with EU in April 2014.
Chinese premier Li Keqiang official visit to Africa concluded

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang eight day official
visits to four nations of African continent starting
on 4 May 2014 concluded on 11 May 2014.
These nations were Ethiopia, Nigeria, Angola
and Kenya. This was the first time that Li visited
Africa since taking office in 2013.
During the visit dozens of deal were signed
between China and four African nations covering
areas as diverse as finance, trade and culture.
The visit also included the China Railway and
Aviation Show and a light railway construction project.
Besides, China also agreed to work with Africa in building 3 networks: with highspeed railways, high speed roads and civil aviation.
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Agreement on Building Railway Line in East Africa

The eight day visit concluded with the signing of an agreement with to build a 610km railway line linking Kenyas capital Nairobi with the Eastern port Mombasa.
China signed the agreement with the leaders of East Africa to build a new railway line
in East Africa. The railway line will link the Kenyan port of Mombasa to Nairobi and
will run on to Rwanda and South Sudan.
The agreement was signed in Nairobi (Kenya) by visiting Chinese premier Li Keqiang
and witnessed by the presidents of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan.
Construction work on the standard gauge line will start from October 2014. The 610
km (380-mile) stretch from the coast to Nairobi is due to be completed by 2018.
The new standard gauge line will supplement a slower narrow gauge network that
now only runs to Uganda whereas the new line is designed to go on to Rwanda and
South Sudan.
China Road and Bridge Corporation, a subsidiary of China Communications
Construction Company was appointed to construct the railway line.
The total estimated cost of production is 3.8 billion US Dollar. According to the terms
of the agreement, The Eximbank of China will finance 90 percent of the cost of the
first stage while the remaining 10 percent will be financed by Kenya.
The new railway will cut freight costs to 8 U.S. cents a metric ton (1.1023 tons) per
km from 20 cents now.
Construction of the original line began in Mombasa 1895 and the railway reached
Nairobi in 1899. It reached the shore of Lake Victoria in December 1901.
Analysis
The Li visit to Africa was made to further cement the comprehensive cooperation
partnership and take bilateral ties between China and African countries to a new
high. Trade and development were on top of the agenda as Li sought to establish his
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vision of a new type of strategic partnership with African nations.

The timing of the visit is significant. 50 years ago former Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai
made a landmark trip to Africa. The visit proved to be a major milestone in building a
long and fruitful relationship.
As of now the trade between African and China is worth over 210 billion US dollars.
This is over 2000 times what it was in 1960. And, for 5 years now, China has been
Africas largest trading partner. Moreover, Beijing has also supported over 270
infrastructure programs across the continent.
Infrastructure, like the Tanzara Railway connecting Tanzania and Zambia, the project
is a major symbol of Chinas commitment to the region.
Donetsk and Luhansk leaders declared independence from

Ukraine
Leaders of Donetsk and Luhansk on 12 May 2014 declared Donetsk and Luhansk
region in the Eastern Ukraine as sovereign and independent State.
The declaration was made after the referendum in Donetsk and Luhansk which was
held on 11 May 2014. The result of the referendum in Donestk and Luhansk region
showed that 89 percent and 96.2 percent people in the region respectively supported
independence from Ukraine.
The self-proclaimed head of the Peoples Republic of Donetsk Denis Pushilin in
eastern Ukraine has declared the region a sovereign state and asked Russia to
consider allowing it to accede.
Aleksandr Malykhin, head of Luhansk election commission asked Russia to accept
integration of Luhansk into the Russian Federation.
Both the region now plans to ask the United Nations to recognize its independence. It
was also announced that both the region will not participate in Ukraines presidential
election, which is expected to be held on 25 May 2014.
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Analysis
Russia annexed Ukraines southern autonomous republic of Crimea after a disputed
referendum in March 2014 and Ukraine now fears that Russia may repeat the same
in Donetsk, Luhansk and parts of southern Ukraine.
However, Russia signalled that it had no intention of annexing eastern Ukraine the
way it annexed Crimea in March.
Instead, Moscow wants to include eastern regions in negotiations on Ukraines future.
In other words, Russia is indicating that it prefers a political, not military, solution to
its worst standoff with the West since the Cold War.
Negotiations on Ukraines future are central to a potential path towards peace outlined
on 12 May 2014 by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
The plan laid out by Swiss President Didier Burkhalter calls on all sides to refrain from
violence and urges immediate amnesty, talks on decentralisation and the status of
the Russian language.
About Donestk
Donestk is an industrial city in Eastern Ukraine on the Kalmius River. Administratively,
it is a centre of Donetsk Oblast.
Donetsk is a major economic, industrial and scientific centre of Ukraine with a high
concentration of companies and a skilled workforce.
According to the 2001 Ukrainian Census, Donetsk is the fifth-largest city in Ukraine.
About Luhansk
Luhansk is the administrative center in the easternmost Ukraine. The city itself is also
designated as its own separate municipality within the oblast. The current estimated
population is around 425848.
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Imperial War Museum of UK launched online database of

World War-I
Imperial War Museum of the United Kingdom (UK) on 11 May 2014 launched an
ambitious online database of the World War-I (WW-I). The website was launched to
mark the 100th anniversary of WW-I. The online database will help remember the
lives of the millions of men and women who served in WW-I.
The online database titled Lives of the First World War so far features records for
4.5 million people who served with Britains army overseas. The records have been
pulled together from existing archives and family collections.
The museum aims to add millions more records over the next months to include
people who served with forces from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and India, as
well as conscientious objectors and home front workers.
Five Nuclear Powers signed a protocol on Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zone Treaty

The Five Nuclear Powers and UN Security Council members (United States, Russia,
China, Britain and France) on 6 May 2014 signed a new protocol on existing Central
Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zone (CANWFZ) Treaty in New York. The agenda of
singing the protocol was creation of a nuclear free zone in five central Asian countries
namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
The UN Security Council five members have also agreed to put a ban on production,
purchase and placement of nuclear weapons on the territory of these Central Asian
countries. But the agreement doesnt include a ban on peaceful nuclear energy.
Apart from this, the Protocol legally-binds the Nuclear Powers from using nuclear
weapons or threaten them to use nuclear weapons against CANWFZ Treaty parties
(Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan). The term given
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to the guarantees of non-use of nuclear weapons against the parties to the treaty is
negative guarantees.
The United States is not eligible to be a party to the CANWFZ Treaty, but as an NPT
nuclear weapons state is eligible to join the Treatys Protocol. The agreement occurred
on the sidelines of the two-week preparatory meeting for the Nuclear Nonproliferation
Treaty review conference in 2015.
Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zone (CANWFZ) Treaty

The CANWFZ treaty is a legally binding commitment of Central Asian states
(Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) that demands not
to manufacture, acquire, test, or possess nuclear weapons.
The treaty was signed on 8 September 2006 at Semipalatinsk (a major Soviet nuclear
site), Kazakhstan. Hence it is also known as Treaty of Semipalatinsk, Treaty of Semei
or Treaty of Semey. The treaty included Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan,
Tajikistan and Kazakhstan and came into force on 21 March 20009. This is the worlds
first nuclear free zone located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere.
The Treaty and its Protocol will promote regional cooperation, security, stability and
peace in the region with a view to create the necessary conditions for the development
and prosperity of their peoples.
The CANWFZ Treaty complements the NPT and enhances the international
nonproliferation regime by prohibiting, among other things, the development and
testing of nuclear weapons within Central Asia.
Under the Treaty, the five Central Asian zone states will not allow the stationing of
nuclear weapons within their territories. These states are also required to adopt the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Additional Protocol. This protocol provides
the IAEA with expanded access and authorities to ensure that all nuclear activities
are used only for peaceful purposes.
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There are four other treaties on nuclear-weapons-free zones in

Treaties of Tlatelolco Latin America and the Caribbean
Treaty of Rarotonga South Pacific
Treaty of Bangkok Southeast Asia
Treaty of Pelindaba Africa (yet not entered into force but only required two more
ratifications for it)
The CANWFZ also requires its members to comply with the Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty (CTBT).
Mongolias self-declared nuclear-free status has also been recognised through a
United Nations General Assembly resolution.
About Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)

The Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons also referred to as the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty (NPT) was opened for signature on 1 July 1968. The United States,
the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and 59 other countries signed the treaty in
1968.
The NPT is the most widely accepted arms control agreement. Israel, India, and
Pakistan have never been signatories of the NPT and North Korea withdrew from the
Treaty in 2003.
The treaty obligates the five acknowledged nuclear-weapon states (the United States,
Russian Federation, United Kingdom, France, and China).
Not to transfer nuclear weapons
Other nuclear explosive devices
Their technology to any non-nuclear-weapon state
Under the treaty, Non-nuclear-weapon States Parties undertake not to acquire or
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produce nuclear weapons or nuclear explosive devices. The review of the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty aimed at stopping the spread of nuclear arms.
South Sudan Government and Rebel army signed a peace

deal
The South Sudan President Salva Kiir and rebel army leader Riek Machar on 9 May
2014 signed a peace deal in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The deal calls for immediate peace and end of the ongoing conflict in Jonglei state
between the two parties. The deal also calls for the formation of a transitional
government ahead of the drafting of a new constitution and new elections.
The general principles agreed by the parties were that will be in line with the constitution
of South Sudan includes
Creation of joint military technical committee,
Establishment of Greater Pibor administrative areas
Funds for Greater Pibor areas
Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn hosted the talks and he also signed
the deal. Bishop Paride Taban is the chief mediator of the peace process between
the government and rebels.
Background
The violence began when President Kiir accused the sacked Vice President, Machar,
of plotting a coup. Machar denied the allegation, but then marshalled a rebel army
named South Sudan Democrativ Movement/ Army (SSDM) Cobra faction to fight the
government.
In the new independent South Sudan, the conflict in Jonglei state left thousands
dead and nearly five million people in need of aids according to the UN estimation.
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The United Nations (UN) has accused both the South Sudanese government and the
rebels of crimes against humanity, including mass killings and gang-rape.
The UN report released on 8 May 2014 revealed that widespread and systematic
atrocities has been carried out by the both parties in different public places like
homes, hospitals, mosques, churches and UN compounds.
In January 2014, a cessation of hostilities deal was signed by both sides but failed to
bring an end to the violence.

Pakistan on 8 May 2014 successfully test-fired Hataf-III Ghaznavi missile during war
exercises of Armys Strategic Force Command. Hataf-III Ghaznavi missile is a short
range surface-to-surface Ballistic Missile and is capable of carrying nuclear and
conventional weapons up to 290 kilometers.
The field training exercise was performed with an aim to test the operational readiness
of a Strategic Missile Group besides up gradation of various capabilities of Weapon
Systems.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) of Pakistan is General Raheel Sharif.

US on 7 May 2014 announced that it will induct about 12000 Chinese workers into Hall
of Honour. The honour came in the wake of building trans-pacific railroad between
1865 and 1869. This will be the first time for the Asian-Americans to receive such a
tribute since the Hall was established in 1988.
US President Barack Obama designated May 2014 as Asian-American and Pacific
Islander Heritage Month. May was choosen as the month because the Trans-
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continental Railroad was completed on 10 May 1869.

The national theme of AAPI Heritage Month 2014 is I Am Beyond.
About Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Community

AAPIs represent a vast array of cultures and hundreds of languages and dialects.
Asian Americans refer to Americans with origins from one or more of the 28 Asian
nations. Pacific Islanders refer Native Hawaiians and other natives living in the US
protectorates of Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern
Marianas, or Americans with origins from one or more of the 19 Pacific island nations.
Today, there are approximately 12 million AAPIs living in the US, or about 5% of the
total population. By 2020, the AAPI population is projected to reach 20 million, and
by 2050, approximately one out of every 10 Americans will be of Asian or Pacific
Islander descent (38 million).
Up to 70% of AAPIs are recent (first generation) immigrants and/or refugees. The
Philippines, China, and Vietnam were among the 10 leading countries of birth of
Americas foreign-born population. An estimated 40-50% of AAPIs are limited-English
proficient.

Constitutional Court of Thailand on 7 May 2014 ruled that the Prime Minister Yingluck
Shinawartra must step down over abuse of power charges.
In its direction, the Court ruled the Yingluck acted illegally and abused her power by
transferring her National Security Chief, a civil servant to another post about three
years ago in 2011. The court termed that the transfer was carried out to benefit her
politically powerful family and thats why it violated the Constitution. This accusation
was denied by her.
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The Court in its judgment has ordered her to step down immediately along with all
members (nine members) of her Cabinet, who were in the office at the time of the
transfer.
Leaders of Yinglucks party have declared that deputy Prime Minister Niwattumrong
Boonsongpaisan would become an acting Prime Minister.
Apart from this the Yinglucks party has also called this decision of the court as new
form of coup detat.
This ruling came after months of political deadlock in the country as since November
2013 anti-government protesters have been demanding oust of Yingluck.
US approved Diplomatic Mission for Syrian opposition in

Washington
The Obama administration on 5 May 2014 gave approval to the Syrian opposition to
open its formal diplomatic mission in Washington. This office will not be an embassy
but will be considered as a foreign mission under the US law.
Apart from this, the administration also announced an increase in the non-lethal
assistance for them by 27 million US dollar. Earlier in December 2012, it recognised
the council as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.
This announcement of the State Department has upgraded the status of the Syrian
Opposition Council that previously was represented by an informal liaison office. The
announcement came a week ahead of a meeting between the senior US officials and
Ahmad al-Jarba, the visiting president of the opposition council.
Earlier, in March 2014 the State Department suspended operations of the Syrian
Embassy in Washington that represented the Assad government.
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Panamanian vice-president Juan Carlos Varela on 4 May 2014 won the presidential
election. Varela will assume the office on 1 July 2014.
Varela won with 39percent of the votes, compared to 32percent for former housing
minister Jose Domingo Arias. Juan Carlos Navarro, a former mayor of the capital,
was running third in the seven-candidate field with 27percent.
Varela, a 50-year-old engineer, is the scion of one of Panamas richest families and
owner of a namesake rum distillery. He left the 2009 presidential race to throw his
conservative Panamenista partys support behind Martinelli in exchange for the vice
presidency.
Before breaking with Martinelli in 2011, he was the architect of the governments
popular 100 for 70 program that provides a 100 US dollar monthly stipend to
Panamanians over age 70 without a pension or retirement benefits.
About Panama
Panama is the southernmost country of Central America and the whole of North
America. It is situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America.
Panama is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the
Caribbean to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The capital is Panama
City.
US Government announced 1.2 million US dollar aid for

Ukrainian Journalist
The United States on 2 May 2014 announced 1.2 million US dollar aid package for
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Ukrainian Journalists.
US Agency for International Development (USAID) will fund the aid. The aid aimed to
protect vulnerable journalists and domestic governance in Ukraine.
As per the US Government, more than 500 journalists have been harassed, beaten or
abducted since November 2013, and one reportedly has been killed. Members of the
media in Ukraine have faced serious challenges and dangers over the past several
months.
Moreover, the Presidential Elections are due in Ukraine on 25 May 2014. The
presidential elections are seen as crucial for installing a new leadership in Kiev to
replace the interim government.
First Gurudwara to be built in Johannesburg

City of Johannesburg on 1 May 2014 agreed to
allow construction of a place of worship in form
of a full-fledged Gurudwara in the city. With this
agreement, this Gurudwara will be the first one
in Johannesburg, South Africa
The Gurudwara will be constructed on a land that
was donated by African-born Sikh businessman
Harbinder Singh Sethi.
This decision was made following an eight-year long battle with mainly white South
African residents of an upmarket suburb. Due to the demand and battle, the Gurudwara
was run on a temporary basis so far. Till date the Parkmore Residents Association
had objection on development of the Gurudwara in the city. They alleged that initially
Sethi initially claimed that he would build a house on the land but later tried to use it
for temple facilities.
With this agreement of the city, the construction of the 15-million-rand Gurudwara
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Sahib would start within next two months.
Background
This process of refrain has been in existence in many areas of South Africa since
a long time that was formerly reserved by the white community only. After the first
democratic elections in 1994, Indian South Africans started moving into these areas
and had attempted to build mosques and temples there.
Senate Republican blocked increase in the minimum wage

Bill
US Senate Republicans on 30 April 2014 blocked a Bill to increase the federal
minimum wage for the first time since 2009.
The Bill comprised to raise the minimum hourly wage from its current 7.25 US dollar
to 10.10 US dollar per hour during the next three years, and then index for inflation
in the future.
The Bill aimed to give rise to wages of 28 million Americans.
On a nearly party-line vote of 54-42, the bill failed to attain the 60 votes needed to
proceed to final passage.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill would raise the
wages of 16.5 million Americans and lift 900000 of them out of poverty.
But it also estimated the bill could cost up to 1 million Americans their jobs because
businesses may simply be unable to afford to pay them.
Republicans asserted that it would be unaffordable for employers. The Bill raised the
incomes of 16.5 million Americans while eliminating 500000 jobs.
In response, Democrats argued that an increase in the minimum wage would boost
the economy overall by getting more money into it.
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The worlds highest tunnel for
high-speed train in northwest
China at an altitude of 3607.4
metres became operational
on 1 May 2014. The 16.3 km
long tunnel links Gansu
province
and
Xinjiang
provinces. The tunnel passes
through the Qilian Mountains with two sections and bridge.
The construction of the highest tunnel started in 2009. This rail line through the tunnel
has solved the most difficult part of the Lanxin high-speed railway. The 1776 km
high-speed railway links Lanzhou, capital of Gansu, with Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang
and runs across Gansu and Qinghai provinces to Xinjiang, traversing the Gobi Desert.
The line is designed for trains at over 200 km per hour and will cut the train travel time
between Lanzhou and Urumqi is eight hours from 20 hours. The line will be used at
end of 2014.
Taihang tunnel (27.8 km long) and Wushaoling tunnel (21.05km long) is the fifth and
ninth longest rail tunnel in the world respectively located in China.
List of other tunnels

1. The Seikan tunnel in Japan is the longest (53.85km) and deepest rail tunnel in
the world. It passes through Tsugaru Strait connecting the Hokkaido and Honshu
islands.
2. The Channel tunnel (50.5km long), located on the English Channel in the UK
and France borders is the longest undersea rail tunnel in the world. It connects
Folkestone in Kent, UK, to Coquelles in Pas-de-Calais, France.
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3. The railway tunnel (11 km long) through Pir Panjal mountain range on the BanihalQazigund railway line in Jammu and Kashmir is longest in India.
India-made EVMs to be used in Namibias Presidential polls

Namibian government on 30 April 2014 purchased 3400 India-made Electronic
Voting Machines (EVMs) for use in the countries Presidential Election, scheduled
in November 2014. With this Namibia became the first African country that will use
such machines in any of its Polls.
The 3400 EVMs were purchased by Namibia at a cost of Namibian 10 million dollar
(Dh3.4 million/approx $948,000) from a public sector unit, Bharat Electronic Limited
(BEL) based in Bangaluru.
Before ordering the India-made EVMs, the seven-member delegation from the
Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) visited polling stations in Karnataka including
Bengaluru, when the Lok Sabha polls were held on April 17 and were impressed by
the system
Reason for which officials of the Namibias Electoral Commission are keen on
purchasing the India-made EVMs
Faster results
Reduction in the number of spoilt ballots
Low expenses in conducting the polls
Elimination of potential avenues of manipulation avenues
Features like the None of the Above (NOTA) button in order to vote against all the
contesting candidates in a constituency
In-built clocks and Braille markings for the visually impaired
As it eliminates the possibility of vote tempering by displaying the time when the
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vote was cast along with recording the ballot

It also gives hourly polling updates
The India-made EVMs has already been used by other Asian countries to conduct
smooth and fair polls, like 3000 such machines in Bhutan.
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NATIONAL
PM Narendra Modi on 27 May 2014 created a new Ministry of Skill development and
Entrepreneurship. It was created recognizing the importance of skill development in
India.
Sarbananda Sonowal (MP from the Lakhimpur constituency of Assam) was made
Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (independent charge).
The immediate mandate of new Ministry is to ensure that India meet its target of
skilling and upskilling 500 million people in India by 2022. At the same time create an
ecosystem that eliminates bottlenecks which makes business easier and encourage
entrepreneurship.
This is the first time a separate ministry for skill development has been created.
Previously, various departments and agencies were tasked with development of skill
and entrepreneurship in the country.
The Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) worked around
entrepreneurship, while the National Skill Development Agency (NSDA) was
involved in skill development.
Sam Pitroda as the advisor to Prime Minister on public information infrastructure
and innovations was also involved in entrepreneurship development.
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About National Skill Development Mission

National Skill Development Mission was launched by the Union Government in 2010.
The mission consists of three institutions.
National Council on Skill Development: It is responsible for policy direction and
review of spectrum of skill development efforts in country. It is headed by the
Prime Minister.
National Skill Development Coordination Board: It is under the chairmanship of
Dy. Chairman Planning Commission to enumerate strategies to implement the
decisions of PMs council.
National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC): It is a non-profit company under
the Companies Act, 1956. The corporation is being funded by trust National Skill
Development Fund.
National Policy on Skill Development (NPSD) approved by the Union Government
and has set a target for skilling 500 million persons by the year 2022.

The Union Home Ministry on
14 May 2014 extended the
ban imposed on the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in
India for five more years. The
five year ban extension came
into effect from the day of
notification. Earlier the ban
was imposed on LTTE in May
2012.
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India banned the terror outfit, LTTE after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, the former
Prime Minister of India in 1991. It declared LTTE an unlawful association under the
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. The terror outfit LTTE was banned because
India fears that the objective of LTTE for a separate homeland (Tamil Eelam) for all
Tamils threatened the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India as it has supporters
and sympathizers in India also.
About Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was a separatist militant organisation based
in northern part of Sri Lanka and was founded in 1976 by Velupillai Prabhakaran.
LTTE was formed with an aim to create an independent state in the north and east
of Sri Lanka for Tamil People. Later in 1983, the LTTE campaign evolved as the Sri
Lankan Civil war and lasted till 2009. The Eelam War IV came to an end after killing
of its chief Prabhakaran by Sri Lankan military on 18 May 2009.
Apart from Rajiv Gandhis assassination in 1991, LTTE also carried the assassination
of Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa in 1993.
Candidates not disclosing information about assets can be

disqualified: SC
The Supreme Court on 13
May 2014 held that
Candidates
fighting
elections can be disqualified
if they fail to disclose
information about assets
and liabilities of even their
spouse and dependent
children.
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A bench comprising of Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri and Justice Surinder Singh Nijjar
said those who are contesting elections are bind by law and it was binding on the
candidate to give details on their background and education. If any candidate during
the filling of nomination leaves any space blank that requires details about assets
and liabilities, education and background would result into rejection by the returning
officer at the scrutiny stage.
The court also said according to article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution it is the fundamental
right of the citizen to know about the candidates contesting the elections. This
is the primary reason for candidate to furnish information regarding the criminal
antecedents, educational qualifications and assets held by the candidate, his spouse
and dependent children.
CASE
The judgement came while dismissing an appeal filed by Kisan Shankar Kathore. He
was elected to Maharashtra assembly in the October 2004 elections from Ambernath
constituency in Thane District.
Kisan Shankar Kathores election was challenged by Arjun Dattatray Sawant, voter in
the constituency. In 2007, Bombay High Court allowed the plea for non disclosure of
outstanding electricity bills.
The apex court upheld the high court order saying that non-disclosure of outstanding
electricity dues was not a serious lapse, the non-disclosure of wife owning a flat and
vehicle and his interest/share in the partnership firm was a major and serious lapse.
SC Collegium recommended Gopal Subramaniam and RF Nariman to be appointed as SC judges

The Supreme Court Collegium on 13 May 2014 recommended the names of Gopal
ubramaniam and RF Nariman to be elevated as judges of the Supreme Court. The
recommendation has to be approved by the Union Government.
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The Collegium was headed by Chief Justice

of India RM Lodha and comprised of the
four most senior judges of the Supreme
Court.
The two lawyers Gopal Subramaniam
and Rohinton Fali Nariman have been the
Solicitor Generals in the past.
Along with the names of Subramaniam and
Nariman, the collegium also recommended appointment of Justice Arun Mishra,
Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court and Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, Chief Justice
of Orissa High Courts as judges of the Supreme Court.
Subramaniam enrolled as a lawyer in 1980 and practised in both SC and Delhi high
court. He was lead counsel for CBI in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case that led
to Kasabs conviction. He also represented the CBI in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts
case and was prosecution counsel in the Parliament terror attack case. Subramaniam
was an additional solicitor general from 2005 to 2009.
Nariman had succeeded Subramaniam as SG and resigned. Nariman, at 36, was
among the youngest lawyer to be designated as senior advocate by the SC.
Unprecedented Decision
This is an unprecedented decision as in Supreme Court judges are rarely appointed
from the bar. Usually, a former Chief Justice of a High Court is elevated to the position
of a SC judge, though lawyers from the bar are sometimes elevated to the position
of judges in High Court.
Constitution of India provides for three categories of persons to be appointed to the
Supreme Court bench i.e high court judges, lawyers and academics.
Out of total 210 Supreme Court judges appointment made since 1950, only four
appointments have been done out of the category of High Court judges. The first
such appointment was made in 1964 when Justice S M Sikri was appointed followed
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by the appointment of Justice S C Roy in 1971, Justice Kuldip Singh in 1988 and
Justice Santosh Hegde in 1999.
President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to Whistleblowers Protection Bill 2011
Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India on 12
May 2014 gave his assent to the Whistleblowers
Protection Bill 2011. With this assent, the
Whistleblowers Bill, 2011 became Whistleblowers
Protection Act, 2011. The Bill was passed by Lok
Sabha on 11 December 2011 and by Rajya Sabha
on 21 February 2014.
The Bill carries provisions for setting up regular
mechanism to encourage persons to disclose
information on corruption or willful misuse of power by public servants, which
includes Ministers. The Bill also demands adequate protection to persons who
reports corruption or willful misuse of discretion, which bring in a demonstrable loss
to the government.
The Bill was introduced in 2004 by the Union Government to empower the Central
Vigilance Commission for protecting whistle-blowers.
SC quashed Kerala law on Mullaperiyar dam and ordered water level can be raised
The Supreme Court of India on 7 May 2014 quashed the law passed by Kerala
Assembly on the Mullaperiyar dam. The Court also ruled that the water level of the
dam can be raised to 142 feet. Apart from this, the Apex Court has also appointed a
three-member Committee to supervise its safety aspects.
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The quashed law is Kerala Irrigation and Water Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2006.
The committee will be headed by a representative from the Central Water Commission
and will include one member each from the two states. It will also oversee the repair
works.
This verdict of the Court came following a suit filed by Tamil Nadu in which the
state questioned the law enacted by Kerala in 2006 to restrict the water level in the
Mullaperiyar dam at 136 feet though the Supreme Court had permitted Tamil Nadu
to raise the water level up to 142 feet.
This verdict of the court came eight months after the hearing was completed by a five
member Constitutional Bench of Supreme Court led by Chief Justice RM Lodha. The
bench said that the 2006 law framed by Kerala was unconstitutional as it violated the
doctrine of separation of power.
Mullaperiyar dam is a masonry gravity dam on the Periyar River in Kerala. It is located
881 meter above mean sea level, on the Cardamom Hills of the Western Ghats in
Thekkady district of Kerala, South India.
Background
The increase in the water level of the dam had been demanded by Tamil Nadu to
support its agricultural needs. This demand of the state was opposed by Kerala by
pointing out concerns about the safety of the more-than-a-century-old lime-surkhi
structure and demanded building a new dam at Mullaperiyar.
To go into the safety aspects of the dam, the Supreme Court Bench in 2010 appointed
an empowered committee headed by former Chief Justice of India AS Anand. The
report of the study was submitted by the committee in April 2012.
In its recommendation, the panel suggested that structurally and hydrologically the
dam was safe and Tamil Nadu can raise the water level of the dam from 136 feet to
142 feet after carrying out certain repairs.
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The constitutional bench comprised of

Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha, Justice H.L. Dattu, Justice Chandramauli Kr.
Prasad, Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice M.Y. Eqbal.
The Case -State of Tamil Nadu (Plaintiff) versus State of Kerala & another (Defendants)
Reference to the 5-Judge Constitution Bench

Initially, the matter was heard by a three-Judge Bench but the case was referred to the
Constitution Bench On 10 November 2009, as some of the issues framed in the suit
involved decision on certain substantial questions of law concerning interpretation of
the Constitution and in particular:
1. Articles 3 and 4 read with Article 246 of the Constitution;
2. Article 131 read with Article 32 of the Constitution (in the context of res-judicata)
3. Proviso to Article 131 read with Articles 295 and 363 of the Constitution and the
effect of the Constitution (26th Amendment) Act, 1971
4. The effect of decision of this Court in Mullaperiyar Environmental Protection Forum
in the context of afore-referred constitutional provisions
Mullaperiyar dam: 1886 Lease Agreement

The dam was constructed under the Periyar Lake Lease Agreement dated 29 Octobers
1886 (1886 Lease Agreement) across Periyar river. The lease was of granted on
lease for 999 years from 01 January 1886. Kereal defended itself by stating that the
1886 Lease Agreement for 999 years lapsed under the provisions of Section 7(1)(b) of
the Indian Independence Act, 1947 (Act of 1947). From 1947 to 26 January 1950,
the lease was continued as a temporary lease on annual basis. After 26 January
1950, even the temporary continuation of the lease came to an end. The possession
of the land held and continued by the then Government of Madras and now Tamil
Nadu, after 26.01.1950 has no juridical basis.
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The Constitution Bench of Supreme Court of India on 6 May 2014 upheld the
Constitutional validity of the Right to Education (RTE) Act. In its decision, the apex
court said that the Act is not applied to unaided minority institutions.
The five-judge Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court in its decision also upheld
the provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009
and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2010.
The Constitutional bench was headed by the Chief Justice of India, RM Lodha and
comprised of Justice AK Patnaik, Justice Dipak Misra, Justice SJ Mukhopadhaya
and Justice Ibrahim Kalifulla.
Earlier, the three-judge Bench of Supreme Court upheld the Constitutional validity
of the Act by a majority of 2:1 on 6 September 2010 in a case, Society for Unaided
Private Schools of Rajasthan vs Union of India & Anr. Following the decision of
the three-judge bench, the matter was sent to the Constitutional Bench to make a
decision on the validity of Clause (5) of Article 15 with effect from 20 January 2006
and the validity of Article 21A of the Constitution inserted by the Constitution (EightySixth Amendment) Act, 2002 with effect from 01 April 2010.
Background
Clause
(5)
was
inserted in Article 15
during
the
Constitution
93rd
Amendment
Act
2005. Under the Act,
the States were given
the power to make
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MAY 2014
special provisions for members of the SCs, STs and socially and educationally
backward classes to lay guidelines for admission to all educational institutions. The
institutions included private unaided institutions except the minority institutions.
The Parliament enacted the right to education in 2009 to provide free and compulsory
education to children between 6 and 14 years of age by inserting Article 21A.
The Act stated that any privately-managed unaided educational institutions have to
admit 25 percent students of weaker sections.

The Union Cabinet on 1 May 2014 approved the proposal for setting up of the
Polavaram Project Authority (PPA). It will be set up for the execution of the Polavaram
irrigation project.
The constitution of the Centrally-funded PPA and its governing body was in
accordance with the section 90 of AP Reorganization Act, 2014. The project cost
originally estimated at 10151 crore rupees rose to 16010 crore rupees.
The Polavaram Project Authority would be an autonomous body under the chairmanship
of a Chief Executive Officer. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) will be appointed by
the Centre. CEO will be of the rank of Additional Secretary to Government of India
(GoI) with a fixed tenure of three years.
The multipurpose Polavaram project is expected to irrigate 2.91 lakh hectares. It will
generate 960 mw of power and supply 23.4 tmc drinking water to Visakhapatnam
city and also to Vizag steel plant. It will also facilitate an inter-basin transfer of 80
tmcft annually to the Krishna river basin.
All the assets and liabilities of the Polavaram project will be transferred to the authority
and a separate PPA fund would also be created to which the funds released by the
Centre will be credited.
The Authority will clear apprehensions about the project and instill confidence in both
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the successor States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh as also other riparian States
of Odisha, Chhattisgarh and carry out the project in a transparent and equitable
manner.
Centre will fund and execute the project and obtain all the requisite clearances
including environmental, forests and rehabilitation.
Election Queue Management System introduced in India

The Election Queue Management
System, a first of its kind initiative
was introduced in India. It was
introduced by the District Election
Authority in Burdwan district, West
Bengal during Lok Sabha election
held on 30 April 2014.
The Election queue management
system helped voters to find out the level of crowd in the polling booths in Burdwan
district.
This system will help the voter in receiving information about the crowd in the queue by
sending an SMS with the Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number to 9230085005.
The information was also available on the website Burdwan.nic.in and PS Queue Info.
It received 22800 SMS queries, 1800 mobile queries, 44000 web request from the
voters to know the information about the number of people in queue at polling booth
of Burdwan-Durgapur and Burdwan Purba.
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ECONOMY
CSO released Provisional and Quarterly Estimate of National
Income for 2013-14
Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) on 30 May 2014 released the Provisional and
Quarterly Estimate of National Income for the financial year 2013-14. It pegged Indian
economys Gross Domestic Growth (GDP) growth rate at 4.7 percent in 2013-14.
Main highlights
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of India is estimated to grow at 4.7% for 2013-14
against 4.5% in 2012-13. This is the first time in 26 years after 1987-88 that GDP
has grown at sub-5% in two successive years.
The per capita net national income in real terms during 2013-14 is estimated at
39904 rupees as compared to the 38856 rupees in 2012-13.
The growth rate in per capita income is estimated at 2.7 percent during 2013-14
as against 2.1 percent during 2012-13.
The rates of GFCF at current and constant (2004-05) prices during 2013-14 are
estimated at 28.3 percent and 32.3 percent, respectively. In 2012-13 it was 30.4
percent and 33.9 percent respectively.
The GDP growth rate in Quarter 4 of the financial year is estimated to be 4.6%.
The Q4s weak growth was mostly due to weakness in investment, slow credit
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MAY 2014
growth and due to declining growth in Manufacturing and mining sector.

In Quarter 4, the growth in manufacturing sector declined at 1.4% as against the
growth of 1.6% in Q4 of 2012-13.
Sector wise growth for 2012-13 and 2013-14

Sectors 2012-13 (in percent)
2013-14 (in percent)
Sectors
2012-13
(in percent)
2013-14
(in percent)
Agriculture, forestry & fishing
1.4
4.7
Mining & quarrying
-2.2
-1.4
Manufacturing
1.1
-0.7
Electricity, gas & water

supply
2.3
5.9
Construction
1.1
1.6
5.1
3.0
Financing, insurance, real

estate & business services
10.9
12.9
services
5.3
5.6
Trade, hotels, transport and

communication
Sectors
2012-13
(in percent)
2013-14
(in percent)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing
6.3
Mining and quarrying
-0.4
-1.4
1.1
(-)1.6
7.2
7.6
Manufacturing
Electricity, gas and water
supply
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Analysis
Indian economys growth rate from last two years has been par below the potential.
The main reasons are policy logjam, high inflation, business pessimism, inadequate
investment, lack of governance and host of other issues. If India have to achieve the
pre-crisis growth rate of 8 percent and above, then it has to act on five very urgent
issues.
These are listed below

1. Direct Tax code: One of the surest ways to revive a dwelling economy is to prompt
people to spend more through tax breaks. A timeline for introducing Direct Tax
Code can be a good first step.
2. Reforms in Agriculture: Government of India should pay the focus to introduce
reforms in agriculture. At least, 25% more farmland can be irrigated if infrastructure,
such as feeder canal is built.
3. Goods and Services Tax: A pan India goods and services tax could save billions
of dollars, cut corruption and boost economic growth.
4. Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor: The Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor and other
such projects should be accorded priority as they can potentially spin millions of
jobs.
5. Roads and Projects: Roads and railways projects can create jobs. Households can
be financiers to build infrastructure if investment norms are eased for insurance.
Union Government of India and the World Bank on 29 May 2014 signed the Loan
Agreement for World Bank (IDA) assistance of 1006.20 million US dollar for Sarva
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Shiksha Abhiyan III, the largest ongoing Education for All programme in the world.
The assistance from the World Bank will be in form of Credit under IDA 16 at a
concessional rate from the International Development Assistance (IDA).
The project is to be implemented in 3 years and the Union Ministry of Human Resource
Development is the implementing agency.
On behalf of India the agreement was signed by Nilaya Mitash, the Joint Secretary,
Department of Economic Affairs and Michael Haney, World Banks Operations
Advisor in India signed it on behalf of the World Bank.
About Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is a flagship programme of Government of India for
achievement of Universalization of Elementary Education (UEE) in a time bound
manner. It was mandated by 86th amendment to the Constitution of India in which free
and compulsory Education to the Children of 6-14 years age group, a Fundamental
Right was made compulsory.
SSA is being implemented in partnership with State Governments to cover the entire
country and address the needs of 192 million children in 1.1 million habitations.
SSA seeks to provide quality elementary education including life skills. SSA has a
special focus on girls education and children with special needs and reduction of
gender and social category gaps in elementary education. SSA also seeks to provide
computer education to bridge the digital divide.
RBI tightened acquisition & merger rules for Non-Banking

Financial Companies
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI,) tightened merger rules for non-bank finance
companies (NBFCs) to ensure fit and proper character of the management of NBFC.
The RBI on 26 May 2014 notified the Non-Banking Financial Companies (Approval
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of Acquisition or Transfer of Control) Directions, 2014. The directions will come into
force with immediate effect.
The direction includes the prior written permission of the Reserve Bank of India
shall be required for any takeover or acquisition or control of an NBFC, whether by
acquisition of shares or otherwise.
Previously, only deposit-taking NBFCs required approval of RBI for a takeover or
merger.
Besides, any merger or amalgamation of an NBFC with another entity or any merger
or amalgamation of an entity with an NBFC which will result in acquisition or transfer
of shareholding in excess of 10 percent of the paid up capital of the NBFC will also
need approval of RBI.
The written approval of RBI will be required before approaching the court or tribunal
seeking order for mergers or amalgamations with other companies or NBFCs.
About Non-Banking Financial Companies

Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) is a company registered under the
Companies Act, 1956 NBFCs perform similar activities of banks like deposits and
make lends.
But NBFC cannot accept demand deposits, cannot issue cheques drawn on itself,
deposit insurance facility of Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation
is not available to depositors of NBFCs, unlike in case of banks.
NBFC does not include any institution whose principal business is that of agriculture
activity, industrial activity.
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Foreign exchange reserves increased by USD 15.5 billion in the financial year ended
March 2014. This was revealed by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data on the sources
of variation in foreign exchange reserves during 2013-14 released on 26 May 2014.
As per the release, the foreign exchange reserves stood at 303.67 billion US dollar in
the financial year ended on March 2014.
The foreign exchange reserves on nominal terms, increased by 12.2 billion US dollar
in 2014 as against a decline of 2.4 billion US dollar in the same period of the 2013.
The valuation loss, reflecting the cross currency movements and the decline in gold
prices, amounted to 3.3 billion US dollar in 2014 as compared to a valuation loss of
6.2 billion US dollar in 2013.
The current account balance in the reporting fiscal moderated to 32.4 billion US
dollar compared to 88.2 billion US dollar in 2013.
However, capital account balance halved to 47.9 billion US dollar in 2014 from 92
billion US dollar in 2013, mainly on account of drastic drop in portfolio investment.
During the year in 2014, portfolio investment dropped to 4.8 billion US dollar as
against 26.9 billion US dollar in 2013.
In terms of total foreign investments, foreign direct investment marginally increased
by 21.6 billion US dollar in 2014 as against 19.8 billion US dollar in the 2013.
Investment from foreign institutional investors (FII) dropped to 5 billion US dollar as
compared to 27.6 billion US dollar in 2012-13.
In terms of banking capital, NRI deposits more than doubled to 38.9 billion US dollar
from 14.8 billion US dollar in the 2013.
During 2014, external commercial borrowings increased to 11.8 billion US dollar
compared with 8.5 billion US dollar.
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INR appreciated to 11-month high to become the best performing currency in Asia-Pacific region
Indian Rupee (INR) appreciated to 11-month high to become the best performing
currency in Asia-Pacific region against US dollar in 2014. The Rupee on 23 May 2014
closed at 11-month high of 58.52 against the US dollar.
In the past one month, the Indian Rupee has gained 5.3 percent in value vis--vis the
US dollar.
The 5.3 percent increase in the value of Indian rupee vis--vis US dollar was ahead
of other Asia-Pacific peers like Indonesian Rupiah and New Zealand dollar.
The Indian Rupee stood at 61.80 against the US dollar at the start of 2014 and since
then it has recorded a gain of 327 paise in less than six months partly due to foreign
fund inflows. The gain is a major turnaround since August 2013 when Rupee touched
its life time low of 68.80.
The main reason for the appreciation of rupees is due to increase of Capital inflows
and formation of new government which raises the hopes of big-bang reforms to
revive the economy.
In Asia-Pacific, Indian Rupee is followed by the Rupiah (Indonesia) which has
appreciated 4.6 percent, New Zealand dollar (3.75 percent) and Australian dollar
(3.55 percent).
The Yen (Japan), the Won (South Korea) and the Ringgit (Malaysia) has gained between
2 to 3 percent in 2014 so far.
Philippiness Peso has appreciated 1.6 percent against the US dollar, and a small
increase of 0.5 percent in Baht of Thailand and Singaporean dollar.
Hong Kong dollar is almost unchanged whereas Taiwan dollar and Chinese Yuan
have lost the value.
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Appreciation of Currency
Appreciation of Currency means increase in the value of one currency in terms of other
currencies. Currencies appreciate against each other for various reasons, including
capital inflows and the state of a countrys current account.
Effects of Appreciation
The international trade of country (exports and imports), a weaker currency will
stimulate exports and make imports more expensive, which decreases the trade
deficit of the country (or increasing surplus) over a period of time.
Foreign capital will flow into countries that have strong governments, dynamic
economies and stable currencies. That is stable currency to will attract investment
capital from foreign investors.
The Inflation of the country may increase because devalued currency can result in
imported inflation for countries that are substantial importers.
RBI permitted the banks to provide loans to exporters with

10 years tenure
The Reserve Bank of India on 21 May 2014 allowed banks to provide loans to exporters
with tenures of up to 10 years.
RBI gave the permission to banks to allow only those exporters who have a minimum
of three years satisfactory track record to receive long term export advance up to
a maximum tenure of ten years. It will be utilized for execution of long-term supply
contracts for export of goods.
Conditions for availing the loan

An interest rate limit of 200 basis points above the London interbank offered rate
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(Libor), a global benchmark, is put for availing the loan.

RBI should be reported if exporter receives loans of 100 million US dollars or
above transaction.
The contract of overseas party or buyer should be inspected and must clearly
specify the nature, amount and delivery time-lines of products over the years and
the penalty in case of non-performance or contract cancellation.
These exports advances cannot be used to liquidate rupee loans, which are
classified as non-performing assets as per RBI norms.
The exporters should have the capacity, systems and processes in place to ensure
that orders over the duration of the tenure can be executed.
This direction will help the exporters and ensure capital flows to fulfill long-term
contracts.
Indian Stock Market entered trillion dollar club based on mcap

Indian Stock Market entered trillion dollar club on 20 May 2014. The combined market
cap (m-cap) of Sensex and Nifty rose to 1.42 trillion US dollar. As a result, in term
of m-cap, Indian stock market became the tenth largest in the world leaving behind
Australia and South Korea.
Indian stock market now form 2.2 per cent of the world market cap compared with
1.8 per cent at the beginning of the year 2014.
The Nifty gained 15 per cent since the beginning of the year 2014. On the contrary,
China, Indias biggest emerging market rival, has fallen 4.30 per cent year-to-date,
while Canada has risen by 7.10 per cent, UK by 0.87 per cent and the US by 1.94
per cent.
Indian markets have contributed close to 50 per cent in the recent 572 billion US
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dollar increase in global market capitalisation. Indias contribution of 282 billion US

dollar is equivalent to total GDP of Philippines.
The US dominated the world with a market cap of 22.31 trillion US dollar followed
by Japan and UK at second and third place. The other economies in the top ten are:
Hong Kong, China, France, Canada, Germany, Switzerland and India.
Earlier in August 2013, India had dropped out of top ten stock markets of the world
due to flight of capital from the Indian economy on account of policy logjam.

The Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD) on 22 May 2014 extended Line of
Credit (LoC) of 100 million euro to Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd.
(IREDA). The line of credit was offered by AFD for utilizing the financing of Renewable
Energy and Energy Efficiency projects in India. It was extended for a tenure of 15
years and without any guarantee from Government of India.
The agreement for receiving the LoC of 100 million euro was signed by KS Popli,
Chairman and Managing Director of IREDA and Aude Flogny, the Director of AFDs
Regional Office in New Delhi.
Benefits of the agreement of Line of Credit

The development of renewable energy sources will help India to address its
environmental concerns by improving energy security
It will spur regional development
It will support the Indian government focus on a low carbon growth strategy for
power generation in India
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About Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA)

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) is a financing institution
under the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) for renewable energy
projects. Till date it has financed 14550 crore rupees for the different renewable
energy projects and has a loan portfolio if over 8200 crore rupee.
Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD)

The Agence Franaise de Dveloppement (French Agency for Development - AFD) is
a public development finance institution that has been working to fight poverty and
foster economic growth in developing countries and the French Overseas Provinces
for seventy years.
Line of Credit - LOC

Line of Credit (LOC) is an arrangement between a financial institution and a customer,
which establishes a maximum loan balance that the bank permits the borrower to
maintain. The line of credit can be drawn at any time by the borrower as long as
he/she doesnt exceed the maximum set in the agreement. Usually, the financial
institution is bank. Benefit of the Line of Credit over the direct loan is that in usual
cases the borrower is not charged over the unused credit.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 21 May 2014 eased the gold import norms under
the 20: 80 Scheme.
Under the 20:80 Scheme, Star trading houses and premier trading houses, which
are registered as nominated agencies by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade
(DGFT) now can import gold.
With this move the number of institutions which imports gold will go up and will
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increase supply of gold. Besides, it will also lead to fall in the prices of gold.
The RBI had imposed severe restrictions on gold imports to combat the Current
Account Deficit (CAD) and sliding rupee in July 2014. RBI prescribed a 20:80 formula,
which tied imports with exports of gold.
Under the 20:80 Scheme, an importer has to ensure that at least 20 percent of every
lot of imported gold is exclusively made available for exports as finished good and
the balance for domestic use. The facility was available to the selected banks only
and other entities were barred from imports of gold.
Bharatiya Mahila Bank included in Second Schedule of RBI

Act, 1934
Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) was included in the second schedule of the Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) Act, 1934. The inclusion of the BMB in the second schedule was
announced by RBI in a notification issued in Mumbai on 21 May 2014.
With the inclusion of BMB, total number of scheduled commercial banks in India now
stands at 90. As on 2 May 2014, there were 89 Scheduled commercial banks in India.
The inclusion of BMB in the second schedule of the RBI Act, 1934 means that now
it will be eligible for loans from RBI on bank rate and also acquired membership of
clearing houses.
About Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB)

Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) is the first all-women bank of India. It started functioning
on 19 November 2013 with a capital of 1000 crore rupees. Key objectives are to focus
on the banking needs of women and promote economic empowerment. The current
loan portfolio of the bank is about 80 to 90 crore rupees. It is a bank that provides
loan to the girl child at a concessional rate, which is 1% lower than the normal rates.
The bank was incorporated under the Companies Act 1956 on 5 August 2013 and
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received the certificate of commencement of Business on 22 August 2013 and

Banking License from RBI on 25 September 2013. Its Corporate Office is at the IFCI
Towers of Nehru Place in New Delhi.
The Bank at present has 23 branches across the country and is aimed to add 55 - 60
branches in the financial year 2014-15. For girl child it has BMB Nanhi Kali Recurring
Deposit Scheme.
Chairman and Managing Director - Usha Ananthasubramanian
Nayak Committee to Review Governance of Boards of Banks

in India submitted its report to RBI
The committee to review Governance of Boards of Banks in India on 13 May 2014
submitted its report to Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The committee was constituted
under the chairmanship of P. J. Nayak. He is a former Chairman and CEO of Axis
Bank.
Committee has submitted list of recommendations:

The Report projected the capital requirements till March 2018 in order that provisions
are prudent, there is adequate balance sheet growth to support the needs of the
economy, and capital is in line with the more demanding requirements of Basel 3.
The financial position of public sector banks is fragile, partly masked by regulatory
forbearance. Forbearance delays, but does not extinguish, the recognition of this
fragility. Capital is significantly eroded with the proportion of stressed assets rising
rapidly.
The boards are disempowered, and the selection process for directors is
increasingly compromised. Board governance is consequently weak. It is unclear
that the boards of most of these banks have the required sense of purpose, in
terms of their focus on business strategy and risk management, in being able to
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provide oversight to steer the banks through their present difficult position.
The onus of remedying this situation through radical reform lies primarily with
the Central Government. In the absence of such reform, or if reform is piecemeal
and non-substantive, it is unlikely that there will be material improvement in the
governance of these banks. This could impede the Governments objective of
fiscal consolidation. The fiscal cost of inadequate reform will therefore be steep.
The Report proposed that the Government distances itself from several bank
governance functions which it presently discharges. For this purpose it recommends
that the Bank Nationalisation Acts of 1970 and 1980, together with the SBI Act
and the SBI (Subsidiary Banks) Act, be repealed, all banks be incorporated under
the Companies Act, and a Bank Investment Company (BIC) be constituted to
which the Government transfers its holdings in banks. The Governments powers
in relation to the governance of banks should also be transferred to BIC.
The process of board appointments, including appointments of whole-time
directors, needs to be professionalised and a three-phase process is envisaged.
Governance difficulties in public sector banks arise from several externally imposed
constraints. These include dual regulation, board constitution, wherein it is difficult
to categorise any director as independent; significant and widening compensation
differences with private sector banks, leading to the erosion of specialist skills;
external vigilance enforcement though the CVC and CBI; and limited applicability
of the RTI Act.
The Report proposed the need for wide-ranging human resource policy changes.
These would encompass getting younger people into top management, for which
a demographic opportunity has now arisen, and which would thereby lead to
longer tenures; and succession planning.
There is also a need to envision afresh the process of countering corruption through
a redesign of the existing process of vigilance enforcement. The Report argues that
present modalities are damaging and erode the ability of the banks to compete
strategically, besides being only weakly effective in combating corruption.
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Governance issues in private sector banks originate from an altogether different set
of concerns. There are issues which arise from ownership constraints stipulated
by RBI, which could misalign the interests of shareholders with those of the
management. In several other jurisdictions, these constraints are less rigid.
In order to permit certain kinds of investors to take larger stakes, it is proposed
that a category of Authorised Bank Investors (ABIs) be created, comprising all
diversified funds which are discretionally managed by fund managers and which
are deemed fit and proper.
It is proposed that an ABI be permitted a 20 per cent equity stake without regulatory
approval, or 15 per cent if it also has a seat on the bank board. All other financial
investors should be permitted upto 10 per cent.
The Report proposes increasing the continual stake ceiling to 25 per cent. It also
proposes that for distressed banks, private equity funds - including sovereign
wealth funds - be permitted to take a controlling stake of upto 40 per cent.
The Report also proposed that the principle of proportionate voting rights should
constitute part of the regulatory bedrock that fosters good governance.
RBI should attempt to diversify boards in banks where independence is not visible,
by mandating prior RBI approval for directors in such banks. RBI should also
mandate a separation between board oversight and executive autonomy.
Terms of reference of the committee

The terms of reference of the committee include to analyse the representation on
banks boards to see whether the boards have the appropriate mix of capabilities and
the necessary independence to govern the institution, and to investigate possible
conflicts of interest in board representation, including among owner representatives
and regulators.
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Plastic currency notes to be launched in 2015

Raghuram Rajan, the Governor of the Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) on 15 May 2014 announced
that plastic currency notes will be launched in
2015 after field trials. He said it after the Central
Board of Directors of the RBI Meet in Shimla,
Himachal Pradesh.
Earlier in February 2013, Union Government
had informed Parliament that it will introduce
one billion plastic currency notes in five cities in
later half of 2014 on a pilot basis. The five selected cities for pilot testing are Shimla,
Kochi, Mysore, Jaipur, and Bhubaneswar.
The introduction of Plastic currency notes would help stop counterfeiting of Indian
rupees as they are difficult to imitate. Also, Plastic currency notes with an average life
span of about five years are cleaner than paper notes.
About Plastic Currency Notes

Modern plastic currency notes were first developed by the Reserve Bank of Australia
(RBA), CSIRO and The University of Melbourne to safeguard counterfeiting the
currency.
They were first issued as currency in Australia in 1988. In 1996 Australia switched
completely to plastic currency notes.
Countries that have since switched completely to plastic currency notes include
Brunei, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Romania, Vietnam, Fiji, Mauritius (printed
by De La Rue), Canada and Israel.
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India to become the third largest oil consumer by 2025: US

EIA
India will become the worlds third largest oil consumer by 2025 according to the US
Energy Information Administration (EIA). The US Energy Information Administration
(EIA) released its annual Energy Outlook on 7 May 2014.
At present, India is the fourth largest oil consumer in the world behind the US, China
and Japan.
According to the Energy Outlook

India will overtake Japan to
become the third largest oil
consumer behind the US and
China by 2025.
Indias oil consumption growth
rate will be the highest in the world
with a 3 percent compounded
annual growth rate from 2012 to
2040.
The oil consumption of India will reach 6.11 million bpd in 2030 and 8.33 million
bpd in 2040.
In 2013, India overtook Japan to become the worlds third-biggest crude oil
importer. India imported 3.86 million bpd of crude oil which was nearly 6 percent
higher than Japans imports of 3648372 bpd.
Besides, the Energy Outlook has projected that the US oil consumption will rise from
18.21 million bpd of oil in 2012 to 19.23 million bpd in 2020.
However, beyond 2020 the oil consumption in the US is projected to fall to 18.97
million bpd in 2025 and to 18.42 million bpd in 2040. At present, the US is the world
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largest oil consumer but with almost no demand growth.

Chinas oil consumption is projected to rise from 10.36 million bpd in 2012 to 15.70
million bpd in 2025 and 20.48 million bpd in 2040 with a compounded annual growth
rate of 2.5 percent.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 12 May 2014
notified that foreign branches or subsidiaries of
Indian banks are allowed to offer structured financial
and derivative products that are not specifically
permitted by it in the domestic market.
These activities are permitted only at the established
financial centers outside India like New York,
London, Singapore, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, Dubai
and others.
It also notified to the banks dealing with such products will have to ensure that their
foreign branches or subsidiaries that will deal with these products in foreign jurisdiction
have an adequate knowledge, understanding, and risk management capability for
handling such products. At other centers, banks may offer only those products that
are specifically permitted in India.
In its notification, RBI also asked the Indian banks with branches and subsidiaries in
foreign countries to make sure that the products being provided in overseas location
should be in compliance with host country regulations, with prior approval from their
Board and appropriate authority in these foreign jurisdictions.
In its notification, RBI has also asked the banks to get necessary permission under
Section 6(1)(m) or 19 (1)(c) of the Banking Regulations Act 1949 (depending on the
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case) from the RBI or Government of India which are not permitted under the Banking
Regulations Act, 1949 / respective Statute of the Public Sector Banks
By easing the norms for functioning of overseas branches of Indian Bank, the RBI has
revised the rules passed on 1 December 2008 that mandated domestic lenders to
consult with RBI before offering complex derivative products, which are not allowed
at home to overseas customers.
The step of RBI to allow domestic banks to offer structure derivatives through overseas
branches is a move that would help in improvement of their income.
Indian companies are not permitted to raise External Commercial Borrowings: RBI
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 9 May 2014 barred Indian companies from raising the
External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) from overseas branches and subsidiaries of
Indian banks for refinance or repayment of the Rupee loans raised from domestic
banking system. The notification of the central bank for changes in the ECB policy
comes into force with immediate effect.
As per RBIs notification, the restrictions are applicable in cases like take-out financing,
infrastructure financing and spectrum allocation and other repayments. The direction
of RBI was issued under sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management
Act, 1999 (42 of 1999).
The ECB loans are much cheaper than the domestic loans and thats why some
companies use the arbitrage available to their advantage.
Earlier in April 2014, the RBI also restricted the banks from issuing guarantees to
offshore joint ventures and subsidiaries of Indian companies to avail foreign currency
loans to repay rupee credit.
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Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 6 May 2014 issued the guidelines to allow the minors
of age above 10 years to independently open and operate savings bank accounts
and use other facilities like ATM and cheque books.
Till now, banks allowed minors to operate bank accounts only along with a parent
or a guardian. All children and teenagers below the age of 18 are considered minors
under current rules.
RBI took this initiative to promote the objective of financial inclusion and also to bring
uniformity among banks in opening and operating minors accounts.
Highlights of the guidelines:

All minors can now open a savings/fixed/recurring bank deposit account through
either his/her natural guardian or legally appointed guardian.
Banks may keeping in view their risk management systems, fix limits in terms
of age and amount up to which minors may be allowed to operate the deposit
accounts independently.
The banks can also decide on the minimum documents which are required for
opening of accounts by minors.
Banks are free to offer additional banking facilities like Internet banking, ATM/debit
card, cheque book facility, etc, subject to the safeguards that minor accounts are
not allowed to be overdrawn and that these always remain in credit.
On attaining majority, the minor would be required to confirm the balance in his/
her account.
If the account was operated by the natural/legal guardian, fresh operating
instructions and specimen signature of the minor should be obtained and kept on
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record for all operational purposes.
Deadline ended for non-CTS cheques

The deadline for switching to new format bank
cheques under the Cheque Truncation System
(CTS) ended on 30 April 2014. The Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) started the process of
migration to CTS cheques in New Delhi and
Chennai from 24 September 2011.
Transactions with cheques that have Magnetic
Ink Character Recognition (MICR) and not CTS
technology will be delayed from 1 May 2014.
Now, the non- CTS cheques will be likely to take four days or more from the date of
deposit to credit the amount. Banks will now clear non-CTS cheques on Mondays
and Fridays only.
Significance of CTS cheques

The CTS system will take transactions online. In the bank where a deposit is made
will scan cheque image data and bank will make an instant electronic transmission
of the money to the recipient.
The truncation in CTS puts a stop to physical transfer of cheques from one branch to
another. Banks will truncate the physical instrument and instead of dispatching the
cheque itself, will send an electronic image of the cheque to the banks where they
are to be credited.
The system will reduce transaction time from a few days to a few minutes.
Also, CTS system will enhance security and reduce the cost of transferring and
processing cheques.
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Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR)

Magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) is a character-recognition technology used
mainly by the banking industry to ease the processing and clearance of cheques and
other documents.
The MICR encoding known as the MICR line is at the bottom of cheques which
includes bank code, bank account number, cheque number, cheque amount, and a
control indicator.
The technology allowed MICR readers to scan and read the information directly into
a data-collection device. The MICR E-13B font has been adopted as the international
standard in ISO 1004:1995.
Future Aspect
RBI has decided to extend the adoption of CTS cheques countrywide in phases.
Tamil Nadu, Kerala,Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and the Union territory of Puducherry
will implement the system under the Chennai grid.
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ENVIRONMENT | ECOLOGY
After 25 years, Olive Ridley Conservation Programme was resumed on 23 May 2014
in Tamil Nadu by Wildlife wing of the Forest Department. Department has set up a
hatchery at Besant Nagar.
Further, the department has built a concrete tomb near the hatchery to create
awareness of Olive Ridley turtle conservation. As per the data of the department, this
season had witnessed more than 700 Olive Ridley deaths along the coast between
Chennai and Marakkanam.
In the current egg-laying season (between January and March), the groups identified
85 nests with 9784 eggs. All of them were collected and deposited in the hatchery.
Of the total, only 8834 eggs have hatched.
On an average, there were more than 150 eggs in each nest, and it would take 45
days for them to hatch.
On the eve of World Turtle Day the foresters reviewed the hatching rate and the
mortality rate of the young ones that were released into the sea between Neelangarai
and Marina beach.
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Revised norms of NCR Planning Board on 14 May 2014 restricted tourism in green
zones in NCR. Tourism activities wont be allowed in the Natural Conservation Zones
(NCZs) in NCR.
The board also decided that the sacred Mangar Bani and a 500-metre buffer radius
around it will be earmarked as a no-construction zone.
Earlier, the board members agreed to limit construction in NCZs such as Aravalis,
riverbeds and major water bodies. It was also decided that only regional recreation
activities will be permitted with no construction exceeding 0.5% of the area with the
prior permission from competent authorities.
Delhi government and Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) had objected
to Haryanas proposal to allow more construction in these sensitive zones. MoEF
mentioned that both the revised regional plan and Haryana sub-regional plan should
not be finalized till mapping of forest areas by members was completed.
According to the MoEF, the geo-referenced maps of Haryanas 19 districts were
incomplete and not compatible to the directions of Supreme Court.
Chances of El Nino would exceed 65 percent this year: US

Climate Prediction Center
The US Climate Prediction Center on 5 May 2014 said that the chances of weatheraltering El Nino will develop in Pacific Ocean. In its forecast it highlighted that El Nino
would exceed from 50 percent to 65 percent.
El Nino is one part of Southern Oscillation and is caused due to an abnormal
warming of surface ocean waters in the eastern tropical Pacific. On the other hand,
the Australian Bureau of Meteorology in the second week of May 2014 also updated
that El Nino development would be up to 70 percent.
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According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), El

Nino effects are
El Nino affects the atmosphere above it and changes the weather patterns around
the globe
El Nino effects leads to less rain in India, Australia and Central America in the
summer
Mild conditions across the northern US in the winter and a cooler summer
More rain across the South
The last El Nino to form was in 2009 to 2010.
About El Nino and La Nina

El Nino is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the Equatorial
Pacific. La Nina is characterized by unusually cold ocean temperatures in the
Equatorial Pacific.
El Nino is an oscillation of the ocean-atmosphere system in the tropical Pacific having
important consequences for weather around the globe. These are increased rainfall
across the southern tier of the US and in Peru, which has caused destructive flooding
and drought in the West Pacific, and sometimes associated with devastating brush
fires in Australia.
Climate Change effecting nutrient content of staple crops:

Study
Scientists on 7 May 2014 warned that rise in the level of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) will
badly hit the nutritional value of key cereals like wheat and rice. The warning was
issued after conducting experiments by simulating conditions expected by midcentury.
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Researchers at Harvard University in their findings, reported decline of two important

nutrients namely Zinc (Zn) and Iron (Fe) in wheat, rice, soybeans and field peas,
which were grown in open-air fields where the scientists created CO2 concentrations
at the level as forecasted for the Earth by roughly 2050 about 550 parts per million.
Zinc and Iron are two nutrients, received by almost two million people globally eating
crops. At present the Earths atmospheric CO2 concentration is about 400 parts per
million and is increasing at a fast pace.
In their exercise, they grew 40 varieties of six different grains and legumes including
sorghum and corn at seven different locations across three continents namely the
United States, Australia and Japan.
In their findings, scientists found a decline of 9 percent in level of Zinc and 5 percent
in the level of Iron, when compared to the levels of these two nutrients in the wheat
compared under normal conditions. Whereas, the rice grown with elevated CO2
levels had a loss of 3 percent zinc content and 5 percent in iron.
In their findings they also claimed that in case of corn and sorghum, the nutrient
content seemed to be stable because these crops use a kind of photosynthesis that
concentrates CO2 in their leaves.
Concentration of CO2 level in open-air fields was increased by the use of a system
known as Free Air Concentration Enrichment (FACE). The FACE system pumps outs,
monitors and adjusts ground-level CO2 in the air to stimulate future conditions.
Overall, the researchers and scientists had linked the findings to be one of the most
health threats linked with the climate change.
The study was led by Dr. Samuel Myers of the Harvard School of Public Health and
was published in journal Nature published on 7 May 2014.

A new species of brownish pit viper, Himalayanus was discovered by the Chinese
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scientists.
The
genetic
analysis
identified
Protobothrops himalayanus
as new species of snake. The
discovery was published in
Asian
Herpetological
Research.
It was first spotted at Jilong
valley in Southern Tibet Autonomous Region in 2012. It was named Himalayanus in
honour of its home Himalayas. The local people called the snake as the holy region
of the Himalayas.
The himalayanus with a round head and copper-coloured eyes is about 1.5 metres
in length, is fierce and aggressive reptile. Himalayanus is mostly found on the south
flank of the Himalayas.
Currently, there are 12 valid species in the genus Protobothrops, of which seven are
known to inhabit China and many of them prefer at high elevations of mountain areas.
About Research Team

Chinese Scientists carried the largest scientific study since the 1970 on wild life
at Mount Everest in Tibet. As part of study, the research team led by Hu Huijian
and researchers of the South China Institute of Endangered Animals started their
expedition in October 2010.
The team has travelled an area of 32000 sq km and has so far discovered and
identified 499 species of vertebrates, including eight species of fish.
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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Space X unveiled Dragon V2 Capsule to take Astronauts to
Low-Earth Orbit
The private space travel firm Space X on 30 May 2014 unveiled its new manned
Dragon V2 Capsule to take astronauts into Low-Earth orbit and beyond. SpaceX
stands for Short for Space Exploration Technologies Corp.
Characteristic Features of the Dragon V2

It has revolutionary launch escape system, the first of its kind, will provide escape
capability from the time the crew enters the vehicle all the way to orbit.
It comprises of eight SuperDraco engines which will produce up to 120000 pounds
of axial thrust to carry astronauts to safety should an emergency occur during
launch.
It can land propulsively on Earth or another planet with the precision of a helicopter,
making possible inter-planetary trips that would otherwise be constrained by
ocean landings.
It holds seats for 7 passengers, and includes an Environmental Control and
Life Support System (ECLSS) that provides a comfortable environment for
crewmembers.
It has minimal number of stage separations with all-liquid rocket engines that can
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be throttled and turned off in an emergency and launch escape capability all the
way to orbit.
It also includes a SpaceX-designed and built ISS docking adapter, impact attenuating
landing legs, and a more advanced version of the PICA-X (Phenolic Impregnated
Carbon Ablator-X) heat shield for improved durability and performance.
Its robust thermal protection system is capable of lunar missions, in addition to
flights to and from Earth orbit.
Background
The Dragon V2 was shown for the first time at a press conference in Hawthorne,
California. SpaceXs Dragon capsule in 2012 became the first private spacecraft to
carry supplies to the ISS and back. The Dragon spacecraft currently resupplies the
space station under a 1.6 billion dollars Cargo Resupply Services contract with NASA.
SpaceX is competing with other companies like Boeing, Sierra Nevada and Blue
Origin, to be the first commercial outfit to take astronauts to space, possibly as early
as 2017.

NASA has developed high-tech cages to carry rodents to the International Space
Station (ISS) from Earth. The rodents carried by the cages will allow the researchers
to study the long-term effects of microgravity on mammalian physiology.
The first flight of the Rodent Habitat modules will be carried out in August 2014
aboard an unmanned SpaceX Dragon cargo ship.
The high-tech cages have been developed by NASAs Ames Research Centre in
Moffett Field, California and the new habitats are designed to transport the animals
to space station as part of their long-term accommodation.
The design of the transport module can fit into the racks in the pressurised cargo
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section of the Dragon spacecraft. It has an access module for moving the rodents
from the transporter to the stations rodent habitat without having the mice escape
and take up residence behind the control panels. Every habitat module provides as
many as 10 mice or six rats with all of the basics like water, food, fresh air and lighting
needed by them to live comfortably aboard the station.
The habitat modules include data downlink capability that enables monitoring of
environmental conditions such as temperature. The crew in space and scientists and
veterinarians on the ground will be able to monitor behavior and overall health of the
rodents on a daily basis through the visible light and infrared video system.
Overall, these rodents will help in studying the genetic strains of rodents and roles
played by specific genes in gravity sensing and responses.

Italian scientists designed kidney dialysis machine for newborn babies. The study
was published in the medical journal The Lancet on 23 May 2014.
Prof Claudio Ronco, from the International Renal Research Institute at San Bortolo
Hospital in Vicenza, designed and developed the new machine to treat babies and
small infants weighing between 2kg and 10kg.
The machine is capable to safely treat a newborn baby with multiple organ failure.
Existing dialysis machines are only designed for adults and have to be adapted for
use in newborns. Dialysis machines for adults can cause complications when used
in very young children.
The new continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) machine named CARPEDIEM
(Cardio-Renal Pediatric Dialysis Emergency Machine) was created to overcome the
problems of existing dialysis machines.
The new machine replaces the lost function of the kidney by removing excess fluid
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and urine from the body through blood vessels.

It allows the use of a much smaller-sized catheter than normal which could prevent
damage to blood vessels in babies.
It is estimated that 18% of low-birth weight infants are affected by acute kidney injury
and it is increasingly common in children admitted to hospital with an incidence of
almost 20% in children admitted to intensive care.
Report on Health for the worlds adolescents released by

WHO
Report on Health for the worlds
adolescents was released on 14 May 2014
by World Health Organisation (WHO). The
report revealed that depression is the
predominant cause of illness and disability
for both boys and girls aged 10 to 19
years.
According to the Report, the top 3
causes of adolescent deaths globally are road traffic injuries, HIV/AIDS, and suicide.
Worldwide, an estimated 1.3 million adolescents died in 2012.
Main Highlights of the Report

Road traffic injuries top cause of death: Road traffic injuries are the number 1 cause of
adolescent deaths globally, and the number 2 cause of illness and disability. Boys
are disproportionately affected, with more than three times the rate of deaths than
that of girls.
Increasing access to reliable and safe public transport can reduce road traffic
injuries among adolescents. Road safety regulations (e.g. alcohol and speed limits),
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establishing safe pedestrian areas around schools, and graduated licensing schemes
where drivers privileges are phased in over time, can all reduce risks.
Mental health problems take a big toll: Globally, depression is the number 1 cause of
illness and disability in this age group, and suicide ranks number 3 among causes of
death. Some studies show that half of all people who develop mental disorders have
their first symptoms by the age of 14.
Adolescents with mental health problems need to be given the care they need. This
can prevent deaths and avoid suffering throughout life.
Pregnancy and childbirth-related deaths have fallen: Deaths due to complications of
pregnancy and childbirth among adolescents have dropped significantly since 2000,
particularly in regions where maternal mortality rates are highest. WHOs South-East
Asia, Eastern Mediterranean and African Regions have seen estimated declines of
57%, 50% and 37%, respectively. Despite these improvements, maternal mortality
still ranks second among causes of death among 15 to 19-year-old girls globally,
exceeded only by suicide.
Deaths due to HIV rising: Estimates suggest that the number of HIV-related deaths
among adolescents is rising. The increase is predominantly in the African Region, at
a time when HIV-related deaths are decreasing in all other population groups. HIV
now ranks as the second cause of deaths in adolescents globally.
Some other infectious diseases still major causes of death: Due to childhood vaccination,
adolescent deaths and disability from measles have fallen markedly, by 90% in the
African Region between 2000 and 2012. However, common infectious diseases that
have been a focus for action in young children are still killing adolescents
New data on adolescent health behaviours: The survey had showed that less than 1 in
every 4 adolescents does enough exercise and in some countries as many as 1 in 3
is obese. But some trends in adolescent health-related behaviours are improving. For
example, rates of cigarette smoking are decreasing among younger adolescents in
most high-income countries and in some middle- and low-income countries as well.
Critical period for preventing chronic disease: Adolescence is an important time for laying
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the foundations of good health in adulthood. Many health-related behaviours and

conditions that underlie the major non-communicable diseases start during this
period of life.
Top five causes of deaths Top five causes of illness

in adolescents
and disability
Road traffic injuries
Depression
HIV/AIDS
Road traffic injuries
Suicide
Anaemia
Lower respiratory infections
HIV/AIDS
Violence
Self-harm
Unique enzyme SOD discovered by CSIR to increase shelf life

of fruits and vegetables
A Unique enzyme Super Oxide Dismutase (SOD) was discovered by Council of
Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The enzyme will help increase shelf life of
fruits and vegetables.
The enzyme was discovered by CSIR-IHBT during a survey at an altitude of over
10000 feet in the Western Himalayan region from Potentilaastrosangunia plant
growing under snow cover.
The characteristic features of this SOD lies in its stability and functionality ranging
from sub-zero to high temperature (above 40C) with varying specific activity.
The CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bio-resource Technology (CSIR-IHBT), Palampur
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with its industry partner Phyto
Biotech, Kolkata. The MoU was signed to formalize technology transfer for production
of unique enzyme.
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This unique enzyme will also be useful during cryosurgery and preservation of
organelles (specialized sub-unit within cell that has a specific function). The cryosurgery
is an application of extreme cold to destroy diseased tissue.
Owing to its high antioxidant properties and multiple uses, the SOD enjoys high
demand and price in the global market.

Scientists of NASAs Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California have
reproduced the processes that occur in the atmosphere of the red giant star and
lead to the formation of planet-forming interstellar dust. The complete work was
performed on Earth itself and the information of reproduction of the process was
notified by NASA in its release of 7 May 2014.
The processes that occur in the atmosphere of the red giant star were reproduced
by using a specialized facility called the Cosmic Simulation Chamber (COSmIC). The
facility COSmIC has been designed and built at Ames and it allows scientists to
recreate and study dust grains similar to the grains that form in the outer layers of
dying stars in the laboratory.
With this facility the Scientists have planned to use the dust to gather clues to better
understand the composition and the evolution of the universe.
Scientists in their study found the materials which make up the building blocks of the
universe are much more complicated than it was originally anticipated.
Steps of the experimental work

The team of scientists the process of work started with small hydrocarbon molecules
which were expanded in the cold jet spray in COSmIC and then exposed them to
high energy in an electric discharge. Further, they detected and characterized the
large molecules that were formed in the gas phase from these precursor molecules
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with highly sensitive detectors. Then these precursor molecules were collected the
individual solid grains formed from these complex molecules and imaged using
Ames Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM).
Worlds first Electric Plane E-Fan completed its first flight

The Worlds first Electric plane named
E-Fan on 9 May 2014 successfully
completed its first flight. The first flight
was carried in Bordeaux, France.
E-Fan was manufactured by the
Toulouse-based Airbus. It is a small
experimental aircraft and is powered
by 120 lithium-ion polymer batteries and can fly with speed of 220kmph. The length of
the E-Fan is little more than 19 metres and makes a noise lightly more than hairdryer
and is co-friendly profile.
An hour flight with the E-Fan will cost only 16 US dollar as compare to 55 US dollar
for a flight in a petrol powered plane of the same size. E-Fan will bring the cost
of travel down by more than a third and reduces the carbon emission. It is a step
towards greener, quieter and cheaper.
Some of the obstacles of E-Fan when compare to larger aircrafts

Relatively low speed
Small size
Flight duration is restricted to a few hours
The manufacturers may further develop the technology to make larger aircrafts that
would be powered by a hybrid system.
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The manufacturer plans for two versions of the E-Fan

Two-seater E-Fan 2.0 will be a fully electric training aircraft
Four-seater E-Fan 4.0 will be used for both training and general flight purposes
and will be powered by a hybrid system
About Solar Plane

First prototype Solar Plane named HB-SIA successfully completed its first flight
on 7 April 2010. The plane was entirely powered by the solar energy by charging
its batteries. The flight was conducted for 87 minutes and it reached an altitude
of 1200m. The plane successfully fled across Europe, Mediterranean Sea and the
United States.
The plane was developed at the ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE
LAUSANNE-EPFL
Scientists created first living Organism that transmits added

Letters in DNA
Scientists
have
engineered
a
bacterium whose genetic material
includes an added pair of DNA letters
or bases that is not found in the
nature. Cells of this unique bacterium
can replicate the unnatural DNA bases
more or less normally for as long as
the molecular building blocks are
supplied to it.
This bacterium has been engineered by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute
(TSRI).
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Generally two pairs of DNA bases namely A-T and C-G encodes the life on Earth
in all its diversity, while the newly engineered bacterium is an organism that stably
contains these two bases along with the third, unnatural pair of bases.
Conclusion of Scientists with this newly created DNA letters

As per the scientists this solution shows, that other solution for storage of information
is possible and it also took them closer to expanded-DNA biology. This expansion will
lead them to many applications from new medicines to new kinds of nanotechnology.
Research team was led by TSRI Associate Professor, Floyd E. Romesberg
Lead author of the new report - Denis A Malyshev, he is a member of the Romesberg
laboratory
The team led by Romesberg has been working since 1990 to find the pairs of
molecules that could serve a new fundtional DNA bases - and, in principle, could
code for proteins and organisms that have never existed before.
This report was published on 7 May 2014 in an advance online publication of the
journal Nature.
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SPORTS
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg of Germany won Monaco
Grand Prix of Formula One
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg of Germany on 25 May 2014 won Monaco Grand Prix
of Formula One. This was his second victory of the season and fifth of his career.
The Mercedes, with this win, finished at first and second position for the fifth straight
time and has swept all six races this season.
Rosberg finished 9.2 seconds ahead of Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain
who came second. The third place was taken by Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo of
Australia. Ferraris Fernando Alonso of Spain finished at fourth.
The drivers standing after Monaco Grand Prix are as follows: (i) Nico Rosberg of
Germany; (ii) Lewis Hamilton of Britain; (iii) Fernando Alonso of Spain; (iv) Daniel
Ricciardo of Australia; and (v) Nico Hulkenberg of Germany
After the Monaco Grand Prix, the top five teams are as follows: (i) Mercedes; (ii) Red
Bull Racing; (iii) Ferrari; (iv) Force India; and (v) McLaren
Monaco Grand Prix

The Monaco Grand Prix is a Formula One motor race held each year in the month
of May since 1929 on the Circuit de Monaco and is the sixth race of the Formula
One season. It is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious
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automobile races in the world.

The track has tight and narrow 78-lap circuit which has the slowest average speed.
In spite of the relatively low average speeds, it is a dangerous place to race. It is the
only Grand Prix that does not adhere to the FIAs mandated 305 kilometres (190 mi)
minimum race distance.

Japan won the Thomas Cup 2014 of badminton on 25 May 2014. Japan team defeated
the Malaysian team 3-2 in the finals held at Siri Fort Complex in New Delhi. This was
Japans first maiden Thomas Cup.
Also, with this win, Japan became the fourth nation to win the Thomas Cup after
Indonesia, China and Malaysia.
Malaysia won the last of their five Thomas Cup titles in 1992 and was runner-up in
1994, 1998 and 2002. Besides, it won three Bronze medals at Thomas Cup in 2006,
2008 and 2010.
About Thomas Cup

The Thomas Cup or Mens World Team Championships was first staged in 1948-49
and the Uber Cup or Womens World Team Championships for the first time in 19567. Since 1984, both the events are held biennially.
The Thomas Cup takes place every three years and it was the Badminton World
Federations (BWF) first major international tournament.
The idea for the competition and the donation of the trophy was by the first President
of the BWF, Sir George Thomas, the legendary player who won 21 All England titles.
Of the twenty-eight Thomas Cup tournaments held since 19481949, only four
nations have won the title. Indonesia is the most successful team, having won the
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tournament thirteen times. China, which did not begin to compete until the 1982
series, follows Indonesia with nine titles, while Malaysia has won five titles.
Real Madrid defeated Atletico Madrid 4-1 to win 10th UEFA

Champions League Football title
Real Madrid on 24 May 2014 defeated Atletico Madrid 4-1 at Lisbon to win their 10th
UEFA Champions League Football title and first since 2002.
The highlight of the match was that all the three winning goals by Real Madrid was
done in the extra-time play after the match was tied 1-1 in the 90-minutes play.
The three goals in the extra-time on part of Real Madrid were done by Gareth Bale,
Marcelo goal, and Cristiano Ronaldo.
It was Madrids fourth win in as many finals and came in the clubs 200th match in the
competition a landmark previously reached by only one club, Manchester United.
The 4-1 score line was the second biggest win in a UEFA Champions League final
after AC Milans 4-0 victory over FC Barcelona in 1994.
Real Madrids victory was not only a record tenth triumph in the European Cup but
also a record fourth in the UEFA Champions League era, placing them one ahead of
Milan and Barcelona.
The win also meant that Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti became the second
coach to win the European Cup three times after Bob Paisley who led Liverpool to
glory in 1977, 1978 and 1981.
About UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League is the Europes premier club football tournament
organized by UEFA. It was launched one month after UEFAs first Congress, held
in Vienna on 2 March 1955.
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Real Madrid, Milan and FC Barcelona have been the most successful sides in the
UEFA Champions League, winning the competition three times.
Madrid are also the most successful side overall with nine triumphs, followed by
seven for Milan, five for Liverpool and Bayern, four for Ajax and Barcelona.
In 2013, the Champions League title was won by Bayern Munich for the fifth time.
Tadvi won Silver Medal in 3000m race in Youth Olympics

Games Qualification event
Kisan Tadvi on 22 May 2014 bagged Silver Medal in boys 3000 meter race in the
2014 Youth Olympics Games Qualification event for Asia region. This was the only
medal won by India on the second and concluding day of the event. Youth Olympic
Games Qualification event was held from 21 to 22 May 2014 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Tadvi clocked 8 minutes 27.87 seconds to finish the race and settle down for silver
behind Abdo Abdi Ibrahim of Bahrain, who clinched Gold by ending the race on
8minutes 26.39 seconds. The third position and bronze was won by Liu Hongliang of
China, who completed the race in 8 minutes and 33.46 seconds.
Earlier, India won four medals on the first day of the event on 21 May 2104. This
included gold won by Ajay Kumar Saroj in 1500 meter race.
The qualifiers of the event will participate in the Youth Olympics Game 2014 that will
be held from 16 to 28 August 2014 in Nanjing, China. The Nanjing 2014 will also be
the second Summer Youth Olympics Games.
Youth Olympic Game (YOG)

The Youth Olympic Game is an international multi-sport event organised by
International Olympic Committee. The games are held in two formats summer and
winter in every four year and are participated by youth in the age group of 14 to 18.
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First summer version of the game was held in Singapore in August 2010 and the
2014 version is scheduled to be held in Nanjing, China in August 2014
First winter version was held in Innsbruck, Austria in January 2012 and the 2016
version will be held in Lillehammer in from 12 February to 21 February 2016
The idea of such an event was given in 1998 by Johann Rosenzopf from Austria.
The idea was approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) members in
2007 at the 119th IOC session in Guatemala City and hence the youth version of the
Olympic Games was formed.

Snooker champion Chitra Magimairaj was nominated for Arjuna awards 2014
announced by the Billiards and Snooker Association of India (BSFI) on 21 May 2014.
Contemporary player Vidhya Pillai and upcoming player Brijesh Damani were also
nominated for the Arjuna awards 2014.
The BSFI nominated the players and coach based on the last four years performance
of the players and coach.
Chitra was born in Bangalore in 1973. She has bagged three gold, three silver and
three bronze medals in the World Ladies Billiards and Snooker Association event.
She won Gold medal in the World Womens Senior Snooker Championship 2014 held
in Leeds.
Chennai-born Vidya Pillai won a bronze medal in the World ladies IBSF Snooker
Championship 2010 and a national snooker champion in 2011.
Kolkata based Brijesh won the national snooker title in 2008 and currently he is ranked
No.4 in India.
National Snooker coach Manoj Kothari was nominated for the Dronacharya award
2014.
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India won two medals in Archery World Cup Stage 2

India on 18 May 2014 won two medals, viz., Silver
and Bronze medal, at the Archery World Cup
Stage 2 held at Medellin, US.
Mens Recurve Team

The Silver medal was won by India in the mens
recurve team. The Indian recurve team comprised
of Sanjay Boro, Atanu Das and Thupuvoyi Swuro.
The Gold was won by the world champions Korea. The Korean team comprised of
Kim Woojin, Ku Bonchan and Oh Jin Hyek.
The US men team defeated China to take the bronze medal.
Mixed Category
The Indian mixed team of Das and Laishram Bombayla Devi won the Bronze medal
against the Mexican team of Roman Aida and Vivas Alcala Pedro.
The Gold was won by Korea and Silver medal won by the Brazil.
Novak Djokovic won the Mens Italian Tennis Open 2014 for
third time
Novak Djokovic won the mens
Italian Tennis Open 2014 held in
Rome, Italy on 18 May 2014.
Novak of Serbia defeated Rafael
Nadal of Spain 4-6, 6-3 and 6-3 in
the final. This is Novaks third
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Italian Open and his 44th title overall.

The Italian Open won by Novaks was his 19th career Masters Title and his 19th win
against Nadal in 41 meetings.
Rafael Nadal had won the Rome Masters for the maximum number of seven times.
In the womens, Serena Williams of US won the Italian Open 2014 against Sara Errani
of Italy.
The Italian Open 2014 was held in Rome Italy from 11 May 2014 to 18 May 2014.
It is red clay tennis tournament after French Tournament. It is also known as Rome
Masters or Italians Championships.
Serena Williams won the Womens Italian Tennis Open 2014

for third time
Serena Williams of US won the Womens
Italian Tennis Open 2014 on 18 May 2014.
She defeated World No. 11 Sara Errani of
Italy 6-3, 6-0 in the final held in Rome,
Italy.
This was the third Italian Open won by
Serena. For the first time she won the
Italian Open in 2002 and the second Italian Open was won by her in 2013.
Also, the win gave Serena her 60th WTA titles and as a result she moved to Number
7 position on the all-time list for most WTA titles.
The six highest on the all-time list for most WTA titles are Martina Navratilova (who
won 167 WTA titles), Chris Evert (154), Steffi Graf (107), Margaret Court (92), Evonne
Goolagong Cawley (68) and Billie Jean King (67).
Besides, Errani is the first Italian to make to the final of Italian Open since 1985.
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In the mens section, Novak Djokovic of Serbia defeated Rafael Nadal of Spain to win
the Italian Open for the third time.
About Italian Open

The Italian Open is an annual red clay tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. The
event is also known as the Italian Championships and Rome Masters.
Rafael Nadal has won the title a record seven times and consecutively 3 titles in
mens.
In womens, Chris Evert from US won the title a record of five time and consecutive
titles won Conchita Martinez of Spain

Sir Jack Brabham, the three-time Formula One world champion died on 19 May 2014
at his home in Australia after a long illness. He was 88.
He won the F-1 titles in 1959, 1960 and 1966. In 1966, he won the F-1 title in his own
car named Brabham, which was built by him.
About Sir Jack Brabham

He was known as Black Jack
He was the first driver in the
history to be knighted for his
services to motorsport. He
received the honour in 1979
Till now, he is the only man,
who won a title in the F1
world championship in a car
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designed and built by him

His new car made debut in F1 racing in 1962, which needed to be changed in
1966 due to regulations that allowed a three-litre engine
He made first victory in his own car in 1966 French Grand Prix. The car was fitted
with V8 engine built by Austrlian Repco Company
Now, Brabham is survived by his wife, Lady Margaret, three sons Geoff, Gary and
David and their families.

Pankaj Advani on 14 May 2014 won Cricket
Club of India (CCI) Classic Billiards and
Snooker tournament. He defeated twotime world runner-up Dhruv Sitwala 1425447 in the final.
The Bangalore-based Eight-time world
champion Pankaj Advani also won the
Highest Break award for the 530, which
he scored against Devendra Joshi in the
quarterfinals.
At the halfway mark of the four-hour final, Sitwala was trailing 227-787 with the aid of
a 95 break. While, Advani had procured breaks of 243, 193, 98, 87 and 78.
About Pankaj Advani

Pankaj Advani is a 8-time World Champion. He won his first world title when he was
just 18. He is the only Asian to have ever won both the Billiards and Snooker World
Championships.
Pankaj Advani is one of the youngest Indian to be honoured with the Rajiv Gandhi
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Khel Ratna award. He has also been conferred with the Arjuna and Padmashree
awards.

Hockey India (HI) honoured heroes of 1975
World Cup team on 14 May 2014. Hockey
India (HI) felicitated 13 living members of the
1975 World Cup.
Hockey India honoured the team with a
cheque of 175000 rupees to each member.
Ajit Pal Singh was the captain of the 1975
team. Other members were Ashok Kumar, Aslam Sher Khan, Brigadier (retd) Harcharan
Singh, Leslie Fernandez, Varinder Singh, Ashok Diwan, Michael Kindo, BP Govinda,
Brigadier (retd) HJS Chimni, VJ Phillips, Onkar Singh and Kaliah PE.
The 1975 World Cup team was felicitated on the eve of announcement of the squad
for the World Cup. The Hockey World Cup will be held in The Hague in May 2014. Till
now, India had won the gold medal in Hockey world Cup only once in 1975.

The Supreme Court of India on 16 May 2014 appointed three-member panel headed
by Justice (retd) Mukul Mudgal to further probe the IPL spot fixing scandal involving
Narayanswamy Srinivasan and 12 others. The other members of the Panel are
additional Solicitor General L Nageshwar Rao and advocate Niloy Dutta.
The Supreme Court bench comprising of Justice AK Patnaik (head of the bench) and
Justice Ibrahim Kalifulla asked the panel to submit its report by the end of August
2014 and has posted the matter for further hearing to September 2014.
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Apart from the appointment of the Mudgal Panel, the bench also appointed Deputy
Director General of the Narcotics Control BB Misra to head the police investigation
wing attached to the panel. The police investigation wing has powers to conduct
search and seizures of relevant documents and record evidence but the cops would
have no power to arrest. The panel will be assisted by Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai
police.
In its directive the court also asked, Sunil Gavaskar and Shivlal Yadav to continue their
jobs till further orders. Gavaskar and Yadav were appointed as the interim President
of BCCI after Srinivasan stepped down from the post.
The apex court also said that maintenance of confidentiality of the further probe
is needed to be maintained by the Mudgal Committee. In its direction, the court
also claimed that the allegations would be known to other people if a fresh panel
comprised of new members is allowed to conduct the probe.

Grant Flower, the former Zimbabwe batsman on 15 May 2014 was named as the
batting coach of Pakistan cricket team for two years. He will join the Pakistan side on
1 August 2014 just before the Sri Lanka series of the team.
Grant Flower name was finalised on the recommendation of the coaching committee
comprised of
Moin Khan - Chief Selector
Intikhab Alam - director domestic cricket
operations
Haroon Rashid - director game development
This appointment of Grant Flower came a week
after Waqar Younis returned as the head coach of
Pakistan.
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Earlier, Grant Flower (43) has served as the batting coach of Zimbabwe for over three
years from October 2010. In cricketing he had a lengthy career which included 221
ODIs and 67 Tests.
The previous Coach of the Pakistani cricket team was Australian Trent Woodhill, who
decided to quit the job after Moin Khan was named as the head coach of the team.
AIBA approved Boxing India as the new provisional member

to represent India
The International Boxing Association (AIBA) Executive Committee on 15 May 2014
approved the application of Boxing India (The Bout outside the Ring) as the new
provisional member of AIBA to represent India.
The approval came after the AIBA Executive Committee was convinced that the new
vision and the initiatives proposed by Boxing India would help revive the sport of
boxing in the India in a professional and ethical manner.
Boxing India would be a provisional member of AIBA until the ratification by AIBA
congress. The ratification will be done on the basis of recommendations given by the
AIBA Evaluation Committee.
The newly selected Boxing India now should submit its plan to hold General Assembly
to conduct elections for its executives, which needs to be approved by AIBA. The
AIBA Member Federation in India will be officially launched after the elections and
will start governing the sport of boxing in India with the full recognition of AIBA.
Earlier on 3 March 2014, the AIBA Executive Committee had decided to end the official
relationship of AIBA with the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation and provisionally
exclude the national federation from AIBA membership. This action was taken due to
serious violations of the AIBA Statutes and Bylaws.
Following this, AIBA launched an Evaluation Committee to assess the applications
of potential groups/individuals to establish a new AIBA National Federation in India
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which would support the principles of AIBA in terms of ethics and fairness.

Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on 13 May 2014 was inducted as an associate
member of Hockey India (HI). The induction of the CISF will enable it to take part in
all the National championships.
Hockey India currently has 26 permanent member units, 20 associate members, 2
members through State Olympic Associations, 5 Academy Members and 1 Hoc-Key
Member.
About CISF
CISF came into existence in 1969 under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
It was formed to provide integrated security cover to the Public Sector Undertakings
(PSUs) which in 1960s occupied the commanding heights of the economy.
CISF currently provides security cover to nuclear installations, space establishments,
airports, seaports, power plants, sensitive Government buildings and ever heritage
monuments.
Among the important responsibilities recently entrusted to the CISF are the Delhi
Metro Rail Corporation, VIP Security, Disaster Management and establishment of a
Formed Police Unit (FPU) of the UN at Haiti.
After the Mumbai terrorist attack on November 2008, the mandate of the force has
been broadened to provide direct security cover to private sector also.
Its current Director-General is Arvind Ranjan, IPS.
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Manipur won Senior National Womens Football Champions

title
Manipur on 12 May 2014 won the 20th Senior
National Womens Football Championships title
at the Golaghat Stadium in Assam. To clinch the
title, Manipur defeated the defending champions
Orissa by 3-1.
Bala Devi of Manipur scored two goals and the
third was made by Oinam Benbem (the AIFF
Womens Player of the Year)
Sakina Nesa of Orissa reduced the margin of goals by scoring a goal in the last
minutes
At the end of the tournament, Bala Devi was adjudged as the player of the tournament.
Last time, Manipur won the Championships in 2010.
Maria Sharapova defeated Simona Halep to win Madrid Open

title
Maria Sharapova of Russia on 11 May 2014 won the
Mutua Madrid Open Tennis title. To win her 1st Madrid
Open title, Sharapova defeated the Romanian Simona
Halep 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the finals.
With this win, Sharapova has captured 31st career title.
For Halep, this was first appearance in the finals at one
of the WTAs Premier tournament.
Earlier in 2013, Sharapova lost the finals of Madrid to
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Serena Williams. Since 2011, the eighth seed Sharapova has lost only three times on
the clay and all the defeats by the hand of world number one Serena Williams.
Rafael Nadal won Madrid Open Title

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal on 11 May 2014 won his 27th ATP World Tour Masters
1000 title at Mutua Madrid Tennis Open final. He won after Kei Nishikori of Japan was
forced to withdraw with a back injury when was trailing 2-6, 6-4, 3-0 in the final set.
With this win Nadal of Spain became the first player to win four Madrid open tennis
titles.
His previous victories were

In 2005 against Ljugicic
In 2010 against Federer
In 2013 against Wawrinka
The Madrid open title is the third ATP World Tour trophy for Nadal of the season.
The first two includes his win in Doha against Monfils and in Rio de Janeiro against
Dolgopolov.
The win at Madrid Open has fetched 1000 Emirates ATP Rankings points to Nadal
and has also ensured that he remns World No.1 through the end of International BNL
dItalia.
Dennis Lillee left Cricket Australia coaching post over pay

hike
Dennis Lillee, the fast bowling mentor of Australian cricket team quit from his post at
Cricket Australia on 8 May 2014 after being refused a pay rise.
He was roped in to provide guidance and coaching advice to the national side on
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a part-time basis in 2013. His role in the team was instrumental in rejuvenating the
career of Mitchell Johnson. He also worked closely with Pat Cummins and James
Faulkner.
Under his guidance, the team Australia succeeded in whitewashing England cricket
team in Ashes Test series by 5-0. Apart from this the Australian team also defeated
South Africa by 2-1. In these two matches Johnson spearheaded the Australian side.
About Dennis Lillee in Cricket

Lillee is regarded as one of the greatest fasdt bowlers in cricket who claimed 355 Test
wickets in 70 Test matches (132 innings) for Australia.

Ronnie OSullivan on 8 may 2014 was crowned World
Snookers Player of the Year at the sports annual
awards ceremony in London. Apart from this, OSullivan
was also handed the Fans Player of the Year award
after being voted by snooker supporters.
During the 2013/14 season, he won four titles, which
included the Masters in January when he beat Mark Selby 10-4 in the final. He
triumphed in the Welsh Open in March 2014 by rounding off a 9-3 defeat of Ding
Junhui with a 147 break. This was 12th maximum of his career and a new record too.
Awards given in the ceremony are

World Snooker Player of the Year: Ronnie OSullivan
Snooker Writers Player of the Year: Ding Junhui
Fans Player of the Year: Ronnie OSullivan
Rookie of the Year: John Astley
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Performance of the Year: Mark Selby

Magic Moment of the Year: Mark Selby
Special award for 100 Centuries: Neil Robertson
147 Club (players making a 147 during the season): Neil Robertson, Judd Trump,
Mark Selby, Dechawat Poomjaeng, Gary Wilson, Shaun Murphy, Ronnie OSullivan
Hall of Fame inductees: Dennis Taylor and Cliff Thorburn
Waqar Younis appointed as head coach of Pakistan cricket

team
Waqar Younis, the former fast bowler of Pakistan on
6 May 2014 was appointed as the national coach of
the national cricket team of Pakistan for a period of
two years. His name was finally formalised by the
Pakistan Cricket Board after his name was declared
a week ago by Najam Sethi, the Chairman of the
Board.
His name was selected by a committee constituted by PCB that met in Lahore.
The committee included

Intikhab Alam - Director Domestic Cricket Operations
Haroon Rashid - Director Game Development
Moin Khan the Chief selector
His tenure as a coach will start from June, when he will join the team. Earlier, he had
served the Pakistan side as bowling coach on 2006-2007 and briefly in 2009. From
2010 to 11, he also served as the head coach of the team.
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Waqar will join the national side of Pakistan as a coach in June 2014 because at the
time of appointment, he was in India in connection with an IPL assignment. His first
assignment after joining the team will be a home series against Australia in UAE in
October 2014 that comprise comprising one-off Twenty20, three ODIs and two Tests.

Mark Selby of England won the World
Snooker Championship 2014 in Sheffield,
England on 6 May 2014. He won the title
against the defending champion Ronnie O
Sullivan with 18-14 in the final. This is his
first World title and he was runner-up in
2007. With this win he was ranked world no
1 in the Snooker.
Mark Selby, 30, won cash prize of 300000 pounds and he is the ninth player to win
Triple Crown (World Championship, the Masters and UK Championship).
Earlier he won three Master titles (2008, 2010 and 2013) and a UK Championship in
2012.
The other titles include the Welsh Open in 2008 and the Shanghai Masters in 2011.
Champion O Sullivan won the World title for five times, ranked 19 and this was the
first world final he lost.
Virat Kohli ranked no 1 in ICC One Day International rankings

Virat Kohli was ranked no 1 in ICC list of One Day International (ODI) rankings released
in Dubai on 4 May 2014. He remained on the top rank in batsmen list with 881 points
and is followed by the AB de Villiers with 872 points.
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The other two Indians under top 10 list are Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and
Shikhar Dhawan.
Jadeja remained at fifth position with 676 points and Ravichandran Ashwin (rank 14)
in the bowling list. Jadeja is ranked fourth in the list of the all-rounder.
Top ten ranking of ICC of ODI batsmen

Rank
Name
Point
V Kohli
India
A B de Villiers
South Africa
G J Bailey
Australia
H M Amla
South Africa
K C Sangakkara
Sri Lanka
M S Dhoni
India
S Dhawan
India
TM Dilshan
Sri Lanka
Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakistan
10
R L Taylor
Australia
BCCI suspended RCA & appointed ad-hoc body to run its

Cricket Affairs
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on 6 May 2014 indefinitely suspended
Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) and appointed an ad-hoc body to run the states
cricket affairs. The suspension came within hours of appointment of former IPL
commissioner Lalit Modi as the President of the RCA.
The action of indefinite suspension of RCA was taken as per the Constitution clause
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number 32, sub-clause 7. Under these

clauses, the President reserves the right to
suspend an association that doesnt confirm
the rules and regulations of the BCCI.
The election of the RCA was held on 19
December 2013. Following the order of the
Supreme Court, the results of the votes were
opened under the Court observation on 6 May
2014 from a sealed envelope.
As per the result, Modi won the election by a landslide margin. 24 of the 33 votes
supported Modi, while his opponent Rampal Sharma earned just five.
Background
The Supreme Court of India in the first week of May 2014 cleared the decks for the
announcement of RCA elections. In its direction, the court allowed BCCI to take any
action it wants in accordance with the rules, post declaration of results.
BCCI in September 2013 imposed a life-ban on Modi by accusing him for causing
financial irregularities during his tenure as the IPL commissioner. Since that
suspension, BCCI had always opposed the return of Modi to Indian cricket. Following
its opposition it moved to the apex court and challenged the Rajasthan Sports Act
2005 that enabled him to contest the December 2013 elections.
Dipika Pallikal ranked 10 in Women Squash Association

(WSA)
Dipika Pallikal was ranked No 10 in Womens Squash Association (WSA) rankings
released on 1 May 2014. She entered the top 10 ranks after winning the Texas Open
2014. Her previous rank was 12.
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Dipika won Texas Open 2014 against Rachel Grinham of Australia and it is her seventh
Womens Squash Association title. Pallikal is the highest ranked Indian in squash
history to reach no 10 in the world.
Malaysian Nicol David was ranked No 1 for 94th successive month. Another Indian
squasher, Joshana Chinappa remained in the 21st position though she won the
Richmond Open 2014.First time she was ranked 10 in world ranking in 2012.
Top 10 rankings of the list

Rank
Name of the player
Country
Nicol David
Malaysia
Laura Massaro
England
Raneem El Welily
Egypt
Joelle King
New Zealand
Camille Serme
France
Alison Waters
England
Nour El Sherbini
Egypt
Low Wee Wern
Malaysia
Madeline Perry
Ireland
10
Dipika Pallikal
India
About Women Squash Association

The International Squash Rackets Federation (ISRF) was formed in 1967 and its name
was changed to World Squash Association (WSF) in 1992. The purpose to establish
the WSF was to promote and coordinate the sport.
The WSF has 142 Members, all of whom are National Associations of squash,
recognised by their National Olympic Committee (NOC) or Ministry of Sport as the
sole and undisputed governing body for the sport in the country.
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Martin Kilzan on 4 May 2014 won the Munich ATP tournament to claim second title
of his career. In the final match, he defeated Fabio Fognini 2-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Martin Kilzan of Slovakia ranked 111th in the world after winning the tournament was
presented with a white BMW 420d Convertible car and winners cheque of 77315
Euros by the tournament organisers.
Kilzans only previous ATP tournament win was at St Petersburg in 2012 in which he
defeated Russian third-seed Mikhail Youzhny.
Sania Mirza and Cara Black won WTA Portugal Open 2014
Sania Mirza of India and Cara Black of Zimbabwe
on 3 May 2014 won womens doubles title at the
WTA Portugal Open 2014 held in Oeiras, Portugal.
Sania and Cara won the title by defeating the
Czech Russian team of Eva Hrdinova and Valeria
Solovyeva 6-4, 6-3 in the final. This is the first title
and third final of the season for Sania and Cara
who ended runners-up at Indian Wells in March 2014 and at Stuttgart event in April
2014. Sania and Cara shared 9919 euro as prize money and earned 280 ranking
points each for the title.
In 2013, Sania and Cara pair won the women doubles title at the China Open 2013
and the Toray Pan Pacific Open 2013.
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Trap Shooter, Manavjit Sandhu ranked at third spot in ISSF

World Ranking
Manavjit Singh Sandhu, the Indian veteran trap shooter on 2 May 2014 jumped to the
third spot in the world rankings. He achieved the rank after winning gold at the ISSF
World Cup in Tucson, USA, in March 2014. He jumped thirteen positions in the ISSF
ranking from his previous rank 16 in mens trap category.
The 37-year-old Manjeet from Amritsar India with 1228 rating points is behind
Russian Alexey Alipov (1437)
Italian Giovanni Pellielo (1298)
Other seven people under the top 10 are

Points
Name
Country
972
DIAMOND Michael
Australia
958
GLASNOVIC Anton
Croatia
780
VARGA Erik
Slovakia
717
FABBRIZI Massimo
Italy
626
FERNANDEZ Alberto
Spain
592
HEADING Aaron
England
575
GRAZINI Valerio
Italy
Low Wee Wern
Malaysia
Madeline Perry
Ireland
10
Dipika Pallikal
India
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On his way to win the World Cup, he defeated two time Olympic gold medalist Michael
Diamond of Austria and Alipov, also an Olympic gold winner from Russia.
The ISSF world ranking system

The ISSF world ranking system is based on two key factors of the shooting performance.
It includes beside the placing (rank) of the shooter also the result achieved by the
shooters in the 15 Olympic shooting events at ISSF supervised championships and
competitions.
The ISSF world rankings produce event rankings only. The event rankings evaluate
the shooters competing in a single event and determine the worlds best shooter in
a specific event.

India ranked no 1 in ICC Twenty20 International Team ranking announced in Dubai
on 1 May 2014. India replaced Sri Lanka from the top position. Sri Lanka earned the
top position on 8 April 2014 by replacing India after defeating it in the T20 world cup
2014 in Bangladesh.
In the past 12 months, India lost only one T20I match, whereas Sri Lanka lost four
matches. India lost only one match against Sri Lanka in the ICC World T20 final in
Bangladesh. The 2013-14 results are weighted at 100 percent whereas the results in
2011-12 and 2012-13 are now weighted at 50. Therefore, performances of Sri Lanka
in earlier two years now count for less.
The West Indies have slipped two places, Australia and New Zealand slipped by one
place each. Among 14 counties teams, three countries (Nepal, UAE and Hong Kong)
are unranked as they have not played 8 matches (the minimum number) during the
ranking period.
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ICC Twenty20 Championship Rankings

Team
Matches
Points
Rating
India
15
1963
131
Sri Lanka
22
2859
130
Pakistan
26
3194
123
South Africa
23
2785
121
Australia
22
2454
112
New Zealand
20
2196
110
West Indies
23
2520
110
England
23
2220
97
Ireland
12
1046
87
Bangladesh
16
1147
72
Netherlands
14
951
68
Afghanistan
12
743
62
Zimbabwe
11
573
52
Scotland
10
512
51
ICC ODI Championship Rankings

Team
Matches
Points
Rating
India
Sri Lanka
Pakistan
South Africa
Australia
New Zealand
West Indies
England
Ireland
Bangladesh
Netherlands
Afghanistan
Zimbabwe
15
22
26
23
22
20
23
23
12
16
14
12
11
1963
2859
3194
2785
2454
2196
2520
2220
1046
1147
951
743
573
131
130
123
121
112
110
110
97
87
72
68
62
52
10160
512
51
Scotland
MAY 2014
ICC Test Championship Rankings

Team
Matches
Points
Rating
India
15
1963
131
Sri Lanka
22
2859
130
Pakistan
26
3194
123
South Africa
23
2785
121
Australia
22
2454
112
New Zealand
20
2196
110
West Indies
23
2520
110
England
23
2220
97
Ireland
12
1046
87
Bangladesh
16
1147
72
Netherlands
14
951
68
Afghanistan
12
743
62
Zimbabwe
11
573
52
Scotland
10
512
51
ICC Test Championship Rankings

Team
Matches
Points
Rating
India
Sri Lanka
Pakistan
South Africa
Australia
New Zealand
West Indies
England
Ireland
Bangladesh
Netherlands
Afghanistan
15
22
26
23
22
20
23
23
12
16
14
12
1963
2859
3194
2785
2454
2196
2520
2220
1046
1147
951
743
131
130
123
121
112
110
110
97
87
72
68
62
Zimbabwe
11
573
52
Scotland
10 161
512
51
MAY 2014
NBA banned Donald Sterling, team owner of Los Angeles

Clippers for life after racist remark
National Basketball Association (NBA) on 1 May 2014 banned Los Angeles Clippers
owner Donald Sterling for life and fined him 2.5 million dollars. He was banned over
an alleged racist remark on African-American spectators in the stand. The association
also claimed that they will force Donald Sterling to sell his team.
The fine of 2.5 million dollar is the maximum amount allowed under the NBAs
unpublished constitution.
The ban was imposed after the inquiry established that Sterling expressed the
remarks. This remark was contrary to the principles of inclusion and respect that
form the foundation of our diverse, multicultural and multi-ethnic league.
Following the incident, Barack Obama, the US President commented that the United
States continues to wrestle with a legacy of race, slavery and segregation. Thats still
there, the vestiges of discrimination.
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CORPORATE
RIL announced to buy78 percent in Network18 for 4000
crore rupees
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) announced on 29 May 2014 to buy a majority stake
of about 78 percent in Network18 Media and Investments for 4000 crore rupees.
The deal will be done through the Independent Media Trust (IMT) set up by Reliance.
IMT will use the funds to acquire ownership of about 78 percent in Network18 and 9
percent in TV18.
The Reliance will make the tender offer to buy the remaining 21.96 percent in
Network18 for 9.4 billion rupees while it will offer to buy up to 26 percent each in
TV18 and Infomedia for a combined 17.4 billion rupees.
In January 2012, Network18 Group and Reliance Industries had joined hands for a
multi-layered deal, under which the RIL had sold part of its interest in ETV channels
and got access to content and distribution assets of the electronic media group.
Network18 was founded by entrepreneur Raghav Bahl.
Network18 group
include moneycontrol.com, In.com, IBNLive.com, Firstpost.com, Cricketnext.in,
Homeshop18.com, Bookmyshow.com while TV18 group includes CNBC-TV18,
CNN-IBN, Colors, IBN7 and CNBC Awaaz.
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CCI approved Tescos plan to purchase 50% stake in Trent

Hypermarket
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on 28 May 2014 approved the British retail
major, Tescos plan to purchase 50% stake in Tata Group firm Trent Hypermarket.
This is the first FDI transaction in multi-brand retail segment, since the sector was
opened up in September 2012.
CCI approval came after it found that Tesco purchasing of 50% stake in Trent would
not result into any horizontal overlapping of business activities and thence, it was not
an unfair competition. Further it found that annual revenue of Trent was 785 crore
rupees during 2012-13, which was insignificant when compared to the size of the
overall retail market in India.
Earlier in December 2013, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approved
the proposal of Tesco to invest 680 crore rupees in Karnataka and Maharashtra for a
50% stake in a joint venture with Trent Hypermarket.
Since the FDI policy regarding multi brand retailing has not been implemented in the
States like Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, Trent entered into a stores transfer agreement
with a subsidiary company Fiora hypermarket on 31March 2014.
About Trent Hypermarket (THL)

Trent Hypermarket is a firm that is engaged in the business of multi-format retail
trading in India. It has hypermarkets, supermarkets and smaller convenience stores
with retail stores across India. The company was established in 1998 and runs lifestyle
chain Westside, Star Bazaar, a hypermarket chain, Landmark, a books and music
chain and Fashion Yatra, a complete family fashion store.
About Tesco Overseas Investment Limited (TOIL)

Tesco Overseas Investment Limited as an organisation is a subsidiary of Tesco PLC.
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At present, it is not present in the retail market segment in India. It is the holding
company of several of the Tesco Groups overseas retail businesses across the
world. The Tesco group entered India in 2008 through one of its entities named Tesco
Hindustan Wholesaling Private Limited. In 2008, it entered into wholesale supply
agreement with THL to supply merchandise to its retail stores.
Some large players of retail markets in India are Reliance Retail, Spencers Retail,
Future Group, Aditya Birlas More, Bharti Retail, Shoppers Stop and others
Comment and Analysis

This approval by the CCI will be a point of political debate now for the newly appointed
Government under Narendra Modi. This government has been against the FDI in the
multi-brand sector. Also the Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union Commerce Minister after
assuming her office on 27 May 2014 termed that the FDI in multi-brand retail is best
if not allowed as it will impact the lives of medium and small-sized traders or small
farmers who has yet not been adequately empowered.

ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) and gas producer Rosneft signed a deal on 25 May
2014 to jointly explore hydrocarbons in the offshore Arctic. Rosneft is the largest oil
and gas producer of Russia.
Igor Sechin, President and Chairman of the Management Board of Rosneft and
Dinesh Kumar Sarraf, Chairman of OVL and Chairman & Managing Director, Oil and
Natural Gas Corp, signed a deal at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.
ONGC Videsh and Rosneft are already partners in Sakhalin-I project in the Far East.
OVL has a 20 per cent stake in the Sakhalin1 oil and gas field in the Russian Pacific
Ocean. Rosneft has a similar stake in the project, which is operated by Exxon Mobil.
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The deal provides the way for the companies cooperation in subsurface surveys,
exploration and appraisal activities and hydrocarbons production in Russias offshore
Arctic. The parties will jointly consider forming a consortium led by Rosneft and
involving other partners.
Rosneft had offered OVL a stake in nine offshore oil and gas blocks in the Barents
Sea and one in the Black Sea.
Of the blocks offered in the Barents Sea, OVL found five were not lucrative. It will
decide on the other two once Rosneft makes available data by June 2014.
Rosneft had previously offered ONGC a stake in the Magadan 2 and Magadan 3
exploration blocks in the northern part of the Sea of Okhotsk in eastern Russia,
which the Indian firm is studying.
Moscow is courting India to counter moves by the US and Europe to isolate it for
annexing Crimea from Ukraine.
Other Oil and Gas fields of OVL

OVL has stake in 32 oil and gas projects in 16 Countries, Viz. Vietnam (2 projects),
Russia (2 projects), Sudan (2 projects), South Sudan (2 projects), Iran (1 project), Iraq
(1 project), Libya (1 project), Myanmar (2 projects), Syria (2 projects), Cuba (1 project),
Brazil (2 projects), Nigeria (1 project), Colombia (8 projects), Venezuela (2 projects),
Kazakhstan (1 project) and Azerbaijan (2 projects).
Currently, OVL has oil and gas production from 11 Assets, namely, Russia (Sakhalin-I
and Imperial Energy), Syria (Al-Furat Petroleum Co.), Vietnam (Block 06.1), Colombia
(MECL), Sudan (Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company), South Sudan (Greater
Pioneer Operating Company and Sudd Petroleum Operating Company), Venezuela
(San Cristobal), Brazil (BC-10) and Azerbaijan (ACG). Imperial Energy, Russia (100%
PI) is one producing asset operated by OVL while five assets namely GNPOC, Sudan;
GPOC and SPOC, South Sudan; MECL, Colombia and Sancristobal, Venezuela are
jointly operated.
Five Assets where hydrocarbons have been discovered and are at various stages
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of development as on 31st March, 2013 Viz. Petro Carabobo-1 Venezuela, Block 24

Syria, Block A1 & Block A3 Myanmar and Farzad B Iran, of these, one is operated.
There are 14 Assets under various stages of Exploration out of which 8 exploration
acreages are operated by OVL, 2 are jointly operated and remaining 4 are nonoperated.
ONGC began first-ever drilling in Palar basin off the coast of

Chennai
The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on 25 May 2014 started drilling its firstever well in the Palar basin at Chinnapuliyur village about 55 kilometers from Chennai.
Till now, ONGC has explored six out of seven sedimentary basins in India and Palar
Basin is the seventh. The Palar basin covers an area of 1800 square kilometer and
lies between Krishna-Godavari and Cauvery basins.
The block in the Palar Basin called PR-ONN-2005/1, where Chinnapuliyur is located,
is a joint venture with the ONGC and Tata Petrodyne Limited (TPL). Twenty per cent
stake in the block belonged to the TPL
The plan to drill the Palar basin was made following the results of seismic surveys
that highlighted chances of significant columns of hydrocarbons over there.
At present, ONGC production stood at 52 million tonnes of oil and gas a year and is
aiming to double its production by 2030
Director (Exploration) of ONGC - Narendra K. Verma
Executive Director and Basin Manager, Cauvery, ONGC BS Josyulu
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Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) on 22 May 2014 for the first time issued the
Standards of Services Document. The document enlists services and transactions
offered by it to the public, operators and others.
DGCA released documents mentions concise detail of the work involved in processing
an application and request including the related rules and regulations. The document
provides details of fees charged for the service and also gives timelines for the
completion of an activity resulting in the issue of an approval, license, permit or a
certificate by DGCA.
The document has broadly divided the services and transactions for benefit of the
general public.
The division includes

Aircraft
Aircraft Operator
Foreign Airline Operating Authorisation
Aerodromes
Air Space and Air Traffic Management
Approval of Schedules
Individuals
Other services
Organisations
Directorate General of Civil Aviation is the regulatory body governing the safety
aspects of civil aviation in India. Its current Director General is Prabhat Kumar who is
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an IAS officer of 1985 Uttar Pradesh cadre
UK based Marks & Spencer announced to open 100 stores

in India
UK based Marks & Spencer on 20 May 2014 announced that the company will open
100 stores in India by 2016. Earlier it had planned to open 86 stores in India.
At present, Marks & Spencer (clothing retailer) operates 40 stores in India and it
same-store-sales grew 13 percent in the fiscal year 2013-14.
Same-stores-sales is a key performance metric for retailers and measures sales
growth at stores open for more than a year.
About Marks & Spencer

Mark & Spencer was founded in 1886 and is headquartered at Leeds.
Marks & Spencer operates in India as a joint venture with Reliance Retail, a unit of
Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Industries.
M&S faces tough competition in India from the worlds biggest fashion retailer
Inditex SA (ITX.MC) and its Zara brand.
Managing Director of Marks & Spencer Reliance India- Venu Nair

The Competition Appellate Tribunal (Compat) on 19 May 2014 upheld a penalty of
630 crore rupees imposed on real estate firm DLF by the Competition Commission
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of India (CCI). DLF, as a result, will have to pay the penalty of 630 crore rupees levied
by the CCI along with 9 per cent interest.
This is the first major ruling of CCI in which its order has been upheld by the Compat.
The Compat has given 60 days time to the company for the same.
Earlier on 12 August 2011, CCI had imposed the penalty on DLF for abusing its
dominant market position with regard to a residential society in Gurgaon. It slapped
the penalty on DLF for violating Section 4 of the Competition Act, 2002.
The CCI slapped the penalty following complaints of flat buyer association of two DLF
projects in Gurgaon namely DLF Park Palace and The Belaire. The buyers accused
DLF for delay in the possession of the apartments due to change in the plan to
accommodate more floors.
The order of Compat has sent a strong signal to builders across the country on
adhering to the rulebook on super-built and common areas in residential complexes.
Competition Appellate Tribunal (Compat)

The Competition Appellate Tribunal (Compat) is a statutory organization headquartered
in New Delhi was established under the provisions of the Competition Act, 2002. It
was constituted on 15 May 2009 to hear and dispose appeals against any direction
issued or decision made or order passed by the Competition Commission of India.
Dr. Justice Arijit Pasayat, former Judge of Supreme Court, has been appointed as the
First Chairperson of the Appellate Tribunal. Besides, the Chairperson, the Appellate
Tribunal shall consist of not more than two Members to be appointed by the Central
Government. The Chairperson of the Appellate Tribunal shall be a person, who is, or
has been a Judge of the Supreme Court or the Chief Justice of a High Court.
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Sistema Shyam Teleservices launched messaging app MBuddy for feature phones
Sistema Shyam Teleservices in the second week of May 2014 launched a messaging
app for low-end CDMA devices called MBuddy. The company will charge 15 rupees
per month for the service for MBuddy that is capable of sending unlimited messages.
MBUddy also can be used for sharing pictures and audio files.
MBuddy as a service can be used on a handset of 1000 rupees with basic features
for instant messaging, photo-sharing purposes and will also provide an access to
social media. It can be used on different platforms like CDMA phones, non-Android
dual-SIM headsets and 4G devices.
The app MBuddy has been developed by Sistema Shyam Teleservices in partnership
with Singapore-based Vocable Ptv Ltd. to serve people at the bottom of the pyramid.
Sistema Shyam Teleservices

Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd is a venture involving equity participation of Sistema
Joint Stock Financial Corporation or Russia (SISTEMA JSFC), the Russian Federation
and the Shyam Group of India. Sistema JSFC is the majority shareholder in the
Company. Approximately 2.5% equity stake is held by public.
The company is headquartered in Gurgaon, India and has made investment in
expanding telecom network across India.
Amul to set up five lakh litres per day capacity dairy plant in
Varanasi
Asias biggest milk brand Amul on 14 May 2014 announced to set up a dairy
processing plant in Varanasi. The plant will initially process five lakh litres per day
with the capacity to double the production.
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Palanpur based Banas Dairy will set up the plant with the investment of 200 crore
rupees. Banas Dairy is a member of the union of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk
Marketing Federation that markets Amul.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav offered Amul 30 acres land in Varanasi.
Besides Varanasi, Banas Dairy also acquired 40 acres land in Kanpur and another
20 acres land in Lucknow to set up dairy processing plants, each with Rs 200 crore
investments. Like the Varanasi plant, both Kanpur and Lucknow plants will have
the capacity to process five lakh litres per day, expandable to 10 Lakh Litre per day
(LLPD).
The setting up of dairy plants in these three places in Uttar Pradesh is a part of
Akhilesh government to develop dairy sector in UP.
Amul is the most preferred milk brand in all milk markets in UP including Varanasi,
which consumes 75000 litres milk per day. Since Banas Dairy began procuring milk
locally in UP based on Amul model of co-operatives, farmers in UP are getting better
remuneration for their milk.
Although UP is Indias largest milk producing state, the share of organized sector is
only one lakh litres milk per day while private players were exploiting the farmers.

Mobile phone industry giants Apple and
Google on 16 May 2014 agreed to settle
Smartphone Patent war. Both the
companies have agreed to work
together in some areas of patent reform.
However, the deal did not include
licensing their technology to each other.
The above agreement applies to all the litigation that Apple has with other smartphone
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MAY 2014
makers like Motorola, Samsung.

California-based Apple has been battling smartphone competitors in courts around
the world, accusing rivals using Googles Android software of copying features from
its popular mobile devices.
The legal truce between Apple and Google does not take the pressure off South
Korea-based Samsung, which has been a prime legal target for the maker of iPhones
and iPads.
Earlier, a jury in California ordered South Koreas Samsung firm to pay Apple
119.6million US dollar for infringing two of its patents. The court also ruled that Apple
infringed Samsungs patents and awarded 158000 in damage.

Sundaram BNP Paribas Fund Services in third week of May 2014 was awarded with
International Standards for Assurance Engagements (ISAE) Type II certification for
maintaining high quality operating model and having effective control systems.
With this Sundaram BNP Paribas became the only RTA (Registrar and Transfer Agent)
of the country to be awarded with the ISAE Type II certification.
Its assessment for ISAE Type I certificate was completed in 2013.
About Sundaram BNP Paribas Fund Services Ltd

Sundaram BNP Paribas Fund Services Ltd is a joint venture between Sundaram
Finance Limited and BNP Paribas Securities Services. In this joint venture 51 percent
is owned by Sundaram Finance Limited and rest 49 percent is with BNP Paribas
Securities Services.
It is headquartered in Chennai and provides full range of securities services including
fund accounting and transfer agency services in India.
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CEO of Sundaram BNP Paribas Fund Services Shridhar Iyer

MTS announced on 14 May 2014 that it will provide free Wi-Fi in Gurgaon Rapid
Metro Rail for six months. The service will be experienced by 30000 daily commuters.
Apart from the Rapid Metro trains, MTS will also provide free Wi-Fi access on four
stations including Sikanderpur, IndusInd Bank Cyber City, Phase 2 and Micromax
Moulsari Avenue.
Sistema Shyam Teleservices, which operates under MTS brand name, has partnered
with Rapid MetroRail Gurgaon Ltd. for providing this service.
MTS has set up five kiosks on four Rapid Metro stations where commuters can
procure Wi-Fi coupons. This service will enable commuters to access fast and
consistent data speeds of up to 9.8mbps on MTS 3G plus network.
The company had commissioned an internal research to gauge consumer interest in
using Wi-Fi services while travelling in Rapid Metro.
Cipla announced to invest in Chase Pharmaceuticals to develop Alzheimers drug

Indian Pharma major Cipla Limited on 11 May
2014 announced to invest in US based Chase
Pharmaceuticals to develop Alzheimers drug.
The investment of 21 million US dollar will be
made through Cipla (EU) Limited, a wholly owned
subsidiary of Cipla. Cipla will acquire 14.6 percent
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stake in Chase Pharmaceuticals.

The 21 million US dollar two-phase financing will support Phase 2a and Phase 2b
clinical trials for Chases lead drug CPC 201.
In addition to financing Chase, Cipla will collaborate with the company to develop the
drug. If successful, Cipla may provide low cost access to Chases lead drug in India
and South Africa.
Chase is focused on developing novel approaches to improve treatments for
Alzheimers disease. Chase has a unique patented approach and is focused on
improving the efficacy, safety and tolerability of existing Alzheimer medications.
In India, over 5 million patients suffer from dementia; most of them are afflicted with
Alzheimers. These numbers are expected to double by 2030.

Indsur Group based in Mumbai on 12 March 2014 announced acquisition of a leading
British thermal engineering company CDA Contracts Ltd. The process of acquisition
by Indsur Group was completed by its UK-headquartered Indsur Nevron Eurotherm
Ltd. The amount of acquisition was not declared.
CDA Contracts that specialized in industrial process, energy, chemical and other
sectors has served throughout the United Kingdom and overseas for over 15 years.
This acquisition of the CDA Contracts Ltd is the second acquisition of Indsur Group
in UK. Its first acquisition was of Nevron Eurotherm Insulation Ltd. in October 2012.
Nevron Eurotherm Insulation has been christened as Indusr Nevron Eurotherm Ltd.
Indsur Group of Companies

Indsur is a Global Business House with operations in more than 5 Countries. Indsur
has a strong position in Steel Tubular products, Steel Castings, Auto Components
and other businesses.
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Director of Indsur Group and Indsur Nevron - Ankur Lodha

The Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) on 8 May 2014 commissioned Gas
Turbine Generating unit at a power project in Oman. The 126 MW Gas Turbine
Generator was established at Qarn Alam-3 power project of Petroleum Development
Oman.
Completion of this project is the second successive project for BHEL in Oman. The
first unit was commissioned in 2012 and was 2x126 MW Petroleum Development
Oman Amal Gas Turbine Generating project.
Development process of the project

The Gas Turbine Generator units were engineered, manufactured and supplied by
BHELs Hyderabad Plant
The control system was supplied by the companys Bangalore works
BHEL in Oman
Oman is one of the key export territories of BHEL. Till date the public sector company
has secured and executed 14 major contracts which include
Supply of 16 Gas Turbine sets in Oman in the past nearly two decades
About Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited was established in 1964
and is an integrated power plant equipment manufacturer
and one of the largest engineering and manufacturing
companies in India in terms of turnover. At present BHEL is
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executing various power plant projects in 20 countries for installation of 7000 MW

power generating capacity worth over three Billion dollars.

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on 7 May 2014 approved the flying
license of AirAsia India Private Limited (AAIPL). AAIPL is a tripartite joint venture
between Tata Sons, Air Asia and telestra Tradeplace.
AAIPL will be the first Greenfield airline with a foreign investor. It will be first flight out
of Chennai. It will be flying to all metros excluding Mumbai.
However, this approval is subject to the judicial ruling. The high court is hearing a
public interest litigation which claimed the venture is a violation of the FDI guidelines
for the civil aviation sector. The case will be heard by a special bench on 11 July 2014.
The AirAsia India Pvt Ltd (AAIPL) will be Indias seventh airline. The joint venture will
start business by August 2014. The new low-cost carrier will offer 35% lower fares
from current fare levels.
The airline marks the re-entry of the Tatas into airline business after several decades.

The market regulator, Securities and Exchange
Board of India (SEBI) on 8 May 2014 exempted
Abu Dhabi based Etihad Airways from making an
open offer in the Jet deal. In its decision, the market
regulator termed that purchase of 24% stake of Jet
Airways by Etihad Airways doesnt amount to a
change in ownership in Jet Airways. Thus it doesnt
need to conduct a tender offer for shares in the
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domestic carrier.
The decision came after SEBI in February 2014 issued a show-cause notice to Etihad
to this effect under the takeover code. SEBI has cleared the deal as the agreement
between Jet and Etihad was modified and made compliant to the rules in existence.
This was done to prevent an open offer as the control remains with Jet even after its
stake acquisition by Etihad.
The decision was made as the existing promoters of Jet hold 51 percent shares and
thus the effective control of the Airlines remained with the Indian nationals and the
Jet board. The approval of SEBI has cleared the path for the Jet Airways and Etihad
Airways to appoint key personnel to carry on the business as usual.
The Jet-Etihad deal is the biggest merger and acquisition deal in Indias aviation
sector.

Kuwait on 7 May 2014 renewed the crude supply contracts with Indias Bharat
Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) worth up to 3.7 billion dollars a year.
In the process or renewal of the contract the State-owned Kuwait Petroleum Company
(KPC) has signed one contract with the BPCL and another with its subsidiary Bharat
Oman Refineries Ltd (BORL).
About Kuwait
Kuwait is a member state of OPEC and per day it produces 3 million barrels of oil of
which two thirds is exported by it.
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Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) was founded in Baghdad, Iraq,
with the signing of an agreement in September
1960 by five countries namely Islamic Republic of
Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
They were to become the Founder Members of the
Organization.
These countries were later joined by Qatar (1961),
Indonesia (1962), Libya (1962), the United Arab Emirates (1967), Algeria (1969),
Nigeria (1971), Ecuador (1973), Gabon (1975) and Angola (2007).
From December 1992 until October 2007, Ecuador suspended its membership.
Gabon terminated its membership in 1995. Indonesia suspended its membership
effective from January 2009.
About BPCL
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) is a fortune 500 oil refining, exploration
and marketing PSU with Navratna status. It was nationalized in 1976. BPCL has two
refineries namely Mumbai refinery in western India and Kochi refinery in the south of
the country. It has its majority stakes in the Numaligarh refinery in northeast India and
Bina Refinery in the Central India.
Productions of both the refineries

Mumbai refinery - 240000 barrels per day
Kochi refinery - 190000 barrels per day
Numaligarh refinery 60000 barrels per day
Bina refinery 120000 barrels per day
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The state-owned Oman Oil Company has a minority stake in the Bina refinery that is
operated by Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd.
Ranbaxy recalled allergy-relief drug in US due to defective

packaging
Ranbaxy recalled 29790 packs of an allergy-relief drug manufactured by Ohm Labs
plant of Ranbaxy in New Jersey in the US, due to defective packaging. Ranbaxys
decision was confirmed by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA)
on 2 May 2014 that the company started recalling the drugs in February 2014.
The loratadine and pseudoephedrine sulphate with expiry date of September 2015
manufactured by Ohm Labs plant is being recalled. Ohm Labs is the only facility of
the company making generics for the United States. In March 2014, Ranbaxy also
recalled more than 64000 bottles of its generic version of Pfizers Lipitor (atorvastatin)
from US pharmacies due to a potential dose mix-up.
The Ranbaxy voluntarily recalled the medicine on the back drop of USFDA has banned
all the four plants of Ranbaxy in India from exporting drugs to the US.
In 2008, USFDA banned the import of 30 generic drugs produced by Ranbaxy at the
Paonta Sahib in Himachal Pradesh and Dewas in Madhya Pradesh and as well as
from Mohali plant of Ranbaxy for violation of manufacturing norms.
In January 2014, the USFDA banned the import of products from Toansa plant of
Ranbaxy in Punjab, India. The ban was imposed on account of safety and quality
concerns. USFDA sighted eight lapses in maintaining standard that includes presence
of flies in sample storage room, un-calibrated instruments in laboratory and nonadherence to sample analysis procedure.
In April 2014, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd acquired 100 percent of Ranbaxy
in an all stock deal for 3.2 billion dollars. Sun Pharma may phase out the Ranbaxy
brand in the US, although the name could be retained in other markets.
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Supreme Court of India on 2 May
2014 asked the power generator
National
Thermal
Power
Corporation (NTPC) and private
sector distributor, BSES to sort
out their dispute over the payments
to ensure that people of Delhi
(national capital) do not suffer
power cuts due to it.
The direction to sort out the differences was given to the two companies by a bench
of Supreme Court headed by Justice SS Nijjar and included and Justice AK Sikri. In
its direction, the bench asked the two to sit together and find out a solution to the
problem that came due to non-payment of dues.
NTPC, the bulk power provider to Delhi sought the permission of the apex court
to begin regulated load shedding by accusing the major power suppliers Reliance
Group-led BSES of not paying for the power purchased by them for distribution.

Air India announced on 1 May 2014 to join largest global airlines network Star Alliance
in July 2014. Air India became the first airline from India to be part of a global chain
of carriers.
Air India had started the process of joining the grouping in 2007 but the alliance
suspended the process in 2011 on grounds that the airline would take more time to
meet the minimum joining conditions due to the merger.
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Air India would have one of its Boeing 787 Dreamliners and an Airbus A-320 painted
with the Star Alliance logo and livery for the launch. It will signify its international and
domestic operations.
The pact of Air India give immense benefits to Indian fliers from day one as they
would be able to earn-and-burn miles, gain access to over 1000 lounges at as many
airports and enjoy seamless connectivity to major cities across the globe.
Air India was working on a customer service improvement plan to improve its services.
This would be audited by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The 26-member Star Alliance currently operates over 18000 daily flights to 1269
airports in 193 countries. A total of 4338 aircraft of the group fly over 640 million
passengers a year.
Star Alliance would also launch the first mother hub of the airlines grouping at the
new Terminal-2 of London Heathrow Airport on 23 June 2014. It would become the
hub of operations of 26 member airlines like United, Singapore Airlines, Air China, Air
Canada, Swiss, Lufthansa and Turkish.
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STATE
India signed a credit agreement of 24 million US $ with World
Bank for URWSSP
Union Government of India on 30 May 2014 signed a credit agreement of 24 million
US dollar with World Bank for additional financing for Uttarakhand Rural Water Supply
and Sanitation Project (URWSSP).
The objective of the URWSSP is to improve effectiveness of rural water supply and
sanitation (RWSS) services through decentralization and restore service of damaged
schemes in the disaster affected areas of Uttarakhand.
The additional Component D on RWSS disaster Mitigation Activities will

comprise of the following sub components:
Component D1: RWSS Sector Development (0.50 million US dollar)
Component D2: Reconstruction and Restoration (18.79 million US dollar)
Component D3: RWSS Program Management Support and M&E (4.71 million US
dollar)
As per the plan, the project will be completed by 30 June 2015.
The signatories of the project were
Micheal Haney, Acting Director, New Delhi Office, World Bank
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Nilaya Mitash, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance

Sowjanya, Additional Secretary, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation,
Government of Uttarakhand
India signed credit agreement of 165 million $ with World Bank for MRWSSP
Union Government of India on 30 May 2014 signed a credit agreement of 165 million
US dollar with World Bank for Maharashtra Rural Water Supply and Sanitation
Programme (MRWSSP).
Objective of the programme

To improve the performance of Maharashtras sector institutions in planning,
implementation and monitoring of its Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Program
To improve access to quality and sustainable services in peri-urban villages and in
water-stressed and water quality-affected areas
Main components of the Programme are

Institutional capacity building for planning, implementation and monitoring of the
sector across the state
Water Supply and Sanitation Service Improvements in selected districts
As per the plan, the project will end on 31 March 2020.
Signatories of the agreement were

On behalf of World Bank - Micheal Haney, Acting Director, New Delhi Office, World
Bank
One behalf of Indian government Nilaya Mitash, Joint Secretary, Department of
Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance
On behalf of Maharashtra government - Kiran Kumar Dinkarrao Gitte, Deputy
Secretary, Water Supply and Sanitation Department on behalf of Government of
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Maharashtra
India signed credit agreement of 121.20 million $ with World Bank for UDWDP
The Union Government of India on 30 May 2014 signed a credit agreement of 121.20
million US dollar from the World Bank for the Uttarakhand Decentralized Watershed
Development Project (UDWDP).
Main objective of the project is to increase the efficiency of natural resource use and
productivity of rain fed agriculture by participating communities in selected micro
watersheds of Uttarakhand. It is expected that the UDWDP will be completed by
September 2021.
Four components of the Project include

Social Mobilization and Participatory Watershed Planning
Watershed Treatment and Rain fed Area Development
Enhancing Livelihood Opportunities
Knowledge Management and Project Coordination
Signatories of the agreement included

Michael Haney, World Banks Acting Director in New Delhi office
Nilaya Mitash, the Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs
MK Khan, Principal Secretary, Government of Uttarakhand and Chief Project
Director Watershed Management Directorate, Government of Uttarakhand
Goa Day observed on 30 May 2014

Goa on 30 May 2014 observed Goa Day and this was the 27th Statehood Day. Goa
became 25th State of the Indian Union on 30 May 1987.
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About Goa
Goa is a small state on the western coast of India. Goa is a state that has been a
major trade centre in Asia and has undergone continuous transformation, which has
left a mark on various aspects of its cultural and socio-economic development.
Governor of Goa - Bharat Ver Wanchoo
Chief Minister of Goa - Manohar Parrikar
How Goa became an integral part of India?
From 1510, it was a Portuguese territory of the Empire and remained under their
control even after independence of India in 1947. After Independence, India insisted
that Portuguese should handover Goa and few other holdings to India, which was
refused by Portugal.
In reference to Indian demand of Goa and other holdings of Portugal, they lodged
a complaint against India in the International Court of Justice at The Hague. The
judgement was given in 1960 by the court that Portugal has right to the enclaves but
that India equally had a right to deny Portugal access to the enclaves over Indian
Territory.
Further in December 1961, Indian troops launched Operation Vijay and crossed
into border of Goa as a result of which the Portuguese forces surrendered. United
Nations resolution condemning the action of India was proposed in the UNSC, which
was vetoed by USSR. Then, under Indian control, Goa voted in a referendum to
become an autonomous, federally administered territory. Goa was admitted to Indian
statehood in 1987.
Goa celebrates its Liberation Day on 19 December every year.
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9th State Legislative Assembly of Sikkim was constituted on 28 May 2014. Protem
Speaker Sonam Gyatso Lepcha administered oath to 31 newly elected members
during the first sitting of the House.
Leader of the House and Chief Minister of Sikkim, Pawan Chamling was the first
person to take the oath. Apart from this, the new MLAs unanimously elected Kedar
Nath Rai as the Speaker and Sonam Gyatso Lepcha as the Deputy Speaker of the
Sikkim Legislative Assembly.
Chamling is the leader of Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) that has also extended their
unconditional support to the NDA government that was formed on 26 May 2014.
Punjab government gave approval to set-up Mega Food Park

in Ludhiana
Punjab government on 28 May 2014 gave in-principle approval to set-up Mega Food
Park at Ladowal in Ludhiana. The proposal to set up Mega Food Park was floated by
the Punjab Agro Industries Corporation (PAIC).
The approval will help promote Crop Diversification Programme in Punjab and also
give a fillip to the food processing industry in the State.
The Mega Food Park will be set up in an area of 100 acres at a cost of 150 crore
rupees
Badal in this regard directed PAIC to finalise a Detailed Project Report (DPR). PAIC
has also been asked to submit the DPR at the earliest to the Union Food Processing
Ministry.
The Chief Minister asked the concerned authorities to complete the entire plan along
with getting requisite approvals simultaneously within three months. The authorities
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MAY 2014
have also been asked to finalise a policy for allotment of land sites in the mega food
park to companies that would make big investments in a time bound manner.
The scheme of Mega Food Park of Union aims at providing a mechanism to link the
production of agriculture to the market, envisages a one-time capital grant of 50
percent of the project cost that is subject to a maximum of 50 crore rupees in general
areas and 75 percent of project cost subject to a ceiling of 50 crore rupees in difficult
and hilly areas.
Apart from the approval of the Mega Food Park, the Chief Minister also gave approval
to establishment of new ultra modern fish markets at Amritsar and Bhatinda on the
pattern of already approved at Ludhiana. Also for establishment of maize processing
cluster, the Chief Minister asked the department to identify a large chunk of land
besides working out the comprehensive plan for it.
Mega Food Parks Scheme

The 10th Plan Scheme of Food Parks was revised during the 11th plan period
and was renamed as Mega Food Parks Scheme (MFPS). Further, the scheme
was approved by the Union Government in September 2008. Objectives of the
Scheme
Scheme formulated to accelerate growth of food processing industry in the country
Raising the processing of perishables in the country from the existing 6 percent
to 20 percent
Raining value addition from 20 percent to 35 percent
By the year 2015, raise in the share in global food trade from 1.5 percent to 3
percent
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Delhi government approved the Scheme of financial help to

children of prisoners
The government of Delhi on 26 May 2014 approved a scheme to provide a fixed
amount of money to children of imprisoned parents on a monthly basis. This amount
will be provided to the child till he or she attains the age of 18 or until the parents are
released from prison, whichever is earlier.
The scheme was approved by the Finance Department. The amount will be provided
by the Women and Child Development Department and will include
For the first child 3000 rupees
For the second child 2000 rupees
For the third child 1500 rupees
The financial assistance amount would be credited to the bank accounts of the
beneficiaries.
Director of Women and Child Development, Saumya Gupta
SDMC signed a MoU with GeoSpatial Delhi to provide UPIC

for South Delhi properties
South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) on 26 May 2014 signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with the GeoSpatial Delhi to give Unique Property Identification
Code (UPIC) to all properties in the civic bodys jurisdiction. This step will enable
SDMC to collect property tax easily.
The process of providing unique codes to each property is the responsibility of SDMC
under Section 125 of the Delhi Municipal Act.
The MoU was signed because the data of GeoSpatial Delhi claims that of 14.91 lakh
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MAY 2014
properties in South Delhi only 4.31 lakh were under the tax net in 2012-13. Whereas
the only 20 percent of the properties are non-taxable for various reasons and apart
from this about 12 lakh properties falls under the tax net.
Now the next step of SDMC is to survey the properties and then bring all those under
one electronic-based system.
About GeoSpatial Delhi Limited

Geospatial Delhi Limited is an organisation registered under companies Act, 1956
and its registered office is registered office is located in the National Capital Territory
of Delhi. Main objective of the organisation is to frame and implement policies for
issues related to geospatial data in the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCTD).

Floating hotel named, AB Celestial, unveiled in Mumbai on 22 May 2014. It will be
docked at Bandra under the iconic Bandra-Worli Sea Link.
The hotel was constructed by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation
(MTDC) in partnership with WB International Consultants and AB Hospitality.
AB Celestial is a 3-tier luxury dinning facility with a sky deck, two galleys. Its overall
capacity is 660 guests. It will have two multi-cuisine restaurants, including a club
lounge, equipped with a 24 hour coffee shop.
It will provide a 360-degree view of the city of Mumbai and the Sea Link. It will be
open to public from August 2014.
The entire investment for the project has been made by WB International and the
floatel will be managed by AB Hospitality. The MTDC has a 10 per cent profit share
arrangement, and will promote this project.
India already has several floatels in places like Kolkata, Goa, Kerala, but AB Celestial
will be first for Mumbai.
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MAY 2014
J&K government approved scrapping of New Recruitment

Policy, 2011
Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) government on 21 May 2014 scrapped the New Recruitment
Policy, 2011. Under the new policy for non-gazetted posts, the appointees were paid
a stipend instead of salary for the first five years.
The decision to scrap the policy was taken as a part of course correction by the J &
K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah after his party National Conferences debacle in the
Lok Sabha election 2014 in J&K.
Besides, the policy came in for huge criticism from the educated youth section. It
was criticized that with the implementation of the policy in 2011, the daily wage
labourers were earning more than what a new appointee in the government services
were entitled for.
Earlier in November 2013, High Court of Jammu & Kashmir had stayed the Policy on
a Public Interest Litigation filed before the Kashmir Wing of the High Court. However,
it cleared the implementation of the Policy in December 2013
About the New Recruitment Policy, 2011

The New Recruitment Policy, 2011 was approved by the State Cabinet in 2011.
According to this,
The new appointees for Class-III and Class-IV posts were paid fixed monthly
salary equivalent to 50 percent of the basic pay (Pay Band+Grade Pay) for first
two years.
For the next three years or during the remaining period out of the total five years
the employee was entitled to receive fixed salary of about 75 percent of the basic
pay.
The period during which such employee receives fixed monthly salary, shall count
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for the purpose of all service benefits including seniority and pension contribution
(under the New Pension Scheme).
For five years they would not get any Dearness Allowance, House Rent Allowance
and City Compensatory Allowance, etc.
Election Commission announced results of 2014 Sikkim Assembly Elections

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on 16 May 2014 announced the results of
the 2014 assembly elections of Sikkim. In a house of 32 assembly seats, Sikkim
Democratic Front (SDF) led by Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling emerged as
the largest party by winning 22 seats.
On the other hand, the newly formed party Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) that will
form opposition party won 10 assembly seats. SKM was formed as a political party in
the western city of Soreng in February 2013. The party is led by Prem Singh Tamang,
who is popularly known as PS Golay, the former minister in the SDF government.
Result of the assembly election 2014 in a house of 32 seats

Party
Seats won by the party
Sikkim Democratic Front
22
Sikkim Krantikari Morcha
10
The SDF was formed in 1993 and has been ruling Sikkim since 1994. The party in
2004 secured 31 seats and in 2009 Assembly Election it got the absolute majority.
About Sikkim
Sikkim is located in the landlocked North East state of India that is located in the
Himalayan Mountain. It is the second-smallest state (area wise) of the country after
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Goa. As a state it is bordered by Nepal, Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region, Bhutan

and West Bengal. The worlds third-highest peak, Kangchenjunga is located on
Sikkim border with Nepal and it is the only state with open land border between India
and China.
On 16 May 1975, Sikkim became the 22nd state of the Indian Union with the abolition
of Chogyal dynasty.
To enable the incorporation Sikkim as a new State, Indian Parliament first brought
the 35th Amendment Act and incorporated it as an Associate State. Later with 36th
Amendment Act, Sikkim was made a full State and added to the First Schedule of
the Constitution of India.
Language Martyrs Day observed on 19 May in Barak Valley,

Assam
Barak Valley of Assam on 19 May 2014 observed Bhasha Shahid Diwas or Language
Martyrs Day. The day was observed by the people of the area irrespective of their
linguistic identity.
Significance of Bhasha Shahid Diwas or Language Martyrs Day in Assam

Bhasha Shahid Diwas or Language Martyrs Day is observed in the Bengali-dominated
Barak Valley area of Assam in remembrance of the incident that happened on 19
May 1961. In the incident, eleven youth including one woman laid their lives down in
police firing at the Silchar railways station. They laid their life while protesting against
imposition of Assamese language on the Bengali-speaking populace of this valley.
The Sammilita Sanskritik Manch organised various programs at Silchar Railway
station, crematorium and Gandhi Bagh to mourn for the incident. People of the area
including some political leaders paid floral tributes to the language martyrs Column
in Silchar.
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Election Commission announced results of 2014 Odisha assembly elections

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on 16 May 2014 announced the results of the
2014 assembly elections of Odisha. In a house of 147 assembly seats, Biju Janata
Dal led by incumbent Chief Minister of the state, Naveen Patnaik emerged as the
largest party by winning 117 seats.
Bharatiya Janata Party that won 10 seats stood at the second position.

Party
Biju Janata Dal
117
10
16
Others including Independents
Results of Arunachal Pradesh assembly elections announced

by ECI
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on 16 May 2014 announced the results of the
2014 assembly elections of Arunachal Pradesh. By winning 42 seats in a house of
60, Indian National Congress (INC) led by the incumbent Chief Minister Nabam Tuki
emerged as the largest party.
Bharatiya Janata Party with 11 seats stood at the second position.
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Party

People's Party of Arunachal
Independent
11
42
5
2
About Arunachal Pradesh, the largest state of the North Eastern region of
India (area wise)
Arunachal Pradesh became a full-fledged State with effect from 20 February 1987. It
was created as a state on the demand of people of the state. The total membership
of the Legislative Assembly of the state was raised to 60 during the general election
in 1990, when the first legislative assembly of the state was constituted.
Background of how Arunachal Pradesh became a state

North East Frontier Agency (NEFA) on the day of Indias independence 15 August
1947 became an integral part of the Union of India. Earlier, it was administered by
the Ministry of External Affairs with the Governor of Assam, who was acting as agent
of President of India. At that time, the administrative head was the advisor to the
governor.
It became a Union Territory in 1972 and acquired its name as Arunachal Pradesh by
the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. It acquired a legislature in 1975 and finally
on 20 February 1987 it gained Statehood as the 25th State of the Union of India. It
became a state, when Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India.
Andhra Pradesh assembly election results declared by ECI

Election Commission of India (ECI) on 16 May 2014 announced the results of Assembly
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MAY 2014
elections of Andhra Pradesh. Telugu Desam Party led by Nara Chandra Babu Naidu
emerged as the largest party with 117 seats in a house of 294 seats.
Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) led by Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy
stood at the second position by winning the elections from 70 seats.
Result of the assembly elections 2014

Party
Telugu Desam
117
Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party
70
Telangana Rashtra Samithi
63
21
Others including independents
14
Andhra Pradesh as a state is at the verge of division and after being divided on 2
June 2014. After division, the two states will be named Telangana and Seemandhra
(coastal region of the remainder Andhra Pradesh). At present, the state comprises of
three regions namely Telangana, Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema. Its capital and
largest city is Hyderabad
After formation, Telangana will be the 29th state of the Republic of India and will be
carved out from 10 north-western districts of the erstwhile state Andhra Pradesh.
Hyderabad, the capital of Anhdra Pradesh will be the joint capital of both the Telangana
and remainder of Andhra Pradesh for initial 10 years.
2 June 2014 will also mark the constitution of new state assemblies and swearingin of new governments in both Telangana and residual Andhra Pradesh ending the
Presidents rule. President Rule was imposed after the resignation of chief minister
Kiran Kumar Reddy in February 2014.
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Meghalaya Government banned rat-hole coal mining & coal

transportation in the State
State Government of Meghalaya on 14 May 2014 banned rat-hole mining and
transportation of coal throughout the State. The order was issued by the State
government to comply with an order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
The Director General Police (DGP) of Meghalaya PJP Hanaman directed the
Superintendents of Police and the Deputy Commissioners to implement the order of
NGT in letter and spirit. Violators of the ban (if any) would be booked under Criminal
Procedure Code (CrPC) and Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Background
The NGT on 17 April 2014 passed an ex-parte interim order to ban primitive and
unscientific rat-hole coal mining and transportation of coal in the state. The order
was passed on an application filed by All Dimasa Students Union and Dima Hasao
District Committee from Assam on 2 April 2014.
Ex-parte interim order

Ex-parte interim order is a legal proceeding brought by one person in the absence of
and without representation or notification of other parties and is referred as improper
unilateral contracts with a court. These orders are granted for temporary or interim
custody or in extreme cases where order needs to be made right away for the safety
and protection of the child.

State government of Odisha on 14 May 2014 signed an agreement with the TiE
Silicon Valley. The agreement was signed as a part of states efforts to develop it an
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MAY 2014
IT hub and attract US investment. Under the agreement, Odisha government would
have a professional stationed at the headquarters of Silicon Valley in Santa Clara,
California.
With this agreement, Odisha became the first Indian State in India to sign such an
agreement.
Signatories of the agreement on behalf of Odisha Government were Vishal K Dev,
the Odisha Industries Secretary and G Mathi Vathanan, Chairman-cum-Managing
Director of Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha Limited.
The objective behind this agreement is to create awareness about the potential and
opportunities in existence for IT sector in India. The agreement also aims to creat
interest in the Silicon Valley for venture capital funding and outsourcing.
About TiE Silicon Valley

TiE is a not-for-profit global network of entrepreneurs and professionals, which was
founded in 1992 in Silicon Valley, California, USA. TiE stands for Talent, Ideas and
Enterprise. It has its presence in 17 countries across the world and main aim of
the institute is to cultivate and nurture the ecosystem of entrepreneurship and freemarket economies everywhere.
Bombay High Court ordered Maharashtra government to revise the electoral rolls
The Bombay High Court on 12 May 2014 ordered the Maharashtra government to
revise the electoral rolls in Mumbai and Pune. The bench of Justice Abhay Oka and
Justice M S Sonak gave the judgement by acknowledging the five Public Interest
Litigation (PILs) that challenged deletion of half a million names in the voters list in
Mumbai and Pune.
The Court in its direction also asked the state government to advertise the decision
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of revision of electoral rolls in three newspapers in Pune and Mumbai each to make
people aware and take a note of their suggestions or objections.
The Court also rejected the plea that demanded stay on the Lok Sabha 2014 polls
results and for appointment of an SIT headed by a retired Supreme Court or high
court judge to hold an inquiry into the deletion of voters.
The court made it clear that such revision shall have no nexus with the ongoing Lok
Sabha Elections 2014.
The court refused to grant any interim relief plead by the petitioners that supplementary
polls be held in these constituencies (Mumbai and Pune) where names of voters were
found deleted in the voters list and allow them to cast their vote.
The court further rejected the challenge to the validity of Section 23(3) of the
Representation of People Act, 1950 and Article 329 of the Constitution of India, which
imposes a bar on the court to interfere in electoral matters.

The State Government of Uttar Pradesh on 11 May 2014 ordered a magisterial inquiry
into the Meerut group clashes in which about twenty people were injured. The inquiry
will be conducted by the District Magistrate of Meerut, Randeep Rinwa.
Authorities have registered cases against 200 persons of the area after the clash
that happened in the area on 10 May 2014. The group clash broke over a dispute of
construction of a water kiosk near a mosque in the Teergaran area of the city.
Actions taken to culminate such incidences in the region

As part of the action to stop such clashes in the region the state government has
deployed Rapid Action Force and six companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary
(PAC). It has also initiated confidence-building measures in the area by beefing up
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security.
Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh is connected to Muzaffarnagar that witnessed a
communal violence in form of riots in December 2013. The area is yet in the mode of
recovery from the damages caused during the then riots.

The Supreme Court of India on 9 May 2014 ordered CBI inquiry into multi-crore
Saradha chit fund scam that happened in West Bengal, Odisha and Assam. The
court has also directed the CBI to investigate ponzi scheme scams of Odisha.
In its direction the Court has directed the state agencies to assist the CBI in its probe.
As per the order of the apex court, the CBI during the process of inquiry will probe
against Saradha Company in West Bengal along with 44 other firms of Odisha those
were allegedly involved in chit fund scams.
This order of investigation was ordered by the apex court, while hearing three petitions
(two from Bengal and one from Odhisa) in the Saradha scam case.
The order was passed by a bench of Supreme Court that was led by Justice TS Thakur.
The bench said that an in-depth probe is required by the premier investigative agency
in aspects of inter-state ramifications and also due to larger angle of conspiracy in
the case.
Government of Assam on 2 May 2014 formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to
investigate the killing of civilians in Kokrajhar and Baksa districts. The SIT would look
into the conspiracy and mastermind (if any) behind the killings.
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Background
Kokrajhar, Baksa and Chirang districts of Assams Bodoland area faced indefinite
curfew imposed on it after militants killed 20 persons and injured several others, since
1 May 2014. Following the killing, Chief Minister of the state, Tarun Gagoi announced
that the government will provide 3 lakh rupees as ex-gratia for the next kin of each
victim. Apart from this, the centre also pitched in with another 3 lakh rupees as exgratia amount.
About Kokrajhar
Kokrajhar as a place is the headquarters of the ethnically volatile areas that falls
under the Territorial Council (BTC). BTC is ruled by the Bodoland Peoples Front
(BPF), which is a constituent of the Congress-led government in Assam.

Delhi on 1 May 2014 received its first Dolby Atmos audio technology, in its one of the
oldest Cinema, named Delite Cinemas. It had upgraded its audio technology. Delite
Cinemas is a single screen theatre and also the first in northern India to have the
technology.
The up gradation of the audio technology of the Delite cinemas was announced by
Dolby Laboratories.
Dolby Atmos
Dolby Atmos is a positional sound system, with many more audio channels that
helps in creating a more life-like sound experience. It will create realistic and natural
sound experiences that envelop and involve you in the stories.
Dolby Atmos was introduced by the Dolby Laboratories in April 2012. The first theatre
to use Dolby Atmos technology in India was Sathyam multiplex in Chennai. Other
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cinemas using it include PVR Juhu in Mumbai.

Some of the Atoms technology featured movies are Brave, The Life of Pi, Star Trek:
Into Darkness, Dhoom 3, Madras Cafe and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.
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NEWS CAPSULE
PERSON IN NEWS
Jamil Mahuad, the former President of Ecuador was sentenced for 12 years in jail for
embezzlement by a court of Ecuador. The court rule for the exiled ex-President come
two-days after Interpol issued an international warrant for his arrest.
Jamil Mahuad fled to the United States in 2000 after a military coup. But the US has
no extradition treaty with Ecuador.
Mahuad was accused of ordering banks to close for several days and freezing the
accounts of ordinary citizens to protect the interests of bankers associated with him.
After which he had been in office for less than a year.
The order was passed in March 1999, the time when Ecuador was going through a
serious economic crisis. At that time, the country was struggling with high inflation,
devalued currency and historically low prices of oil, its main export.
Judge Ximena Vintimilla in her ruling termed that he crime committee by the accused
caused huge social turmoil and its consequences are still being felt by the Ecuadorean
society of the day.
Jamil Mahuad was elected as the President in 1998, the time when Ecuador was on
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the brink of a new war with Peru due to a brief border conflict at Tiwintza in 1995.
After his election, the country signed a peace treaty with Peru.
Sushma Swaraj became the first woman External Affairs

Minister of India
Sushma Swaraj became the first woman External Affairs Minister of India on 26 May
2014. She was also been given the charge of Overseas Indian Affairs.
Although, Indira Gandhi held the post of Union External Affairs Minister prior to
Sushma Swaraj, but it was in addition to the post of Prime Minister which she held
in 1967 and 1984.
The other firsts

She became the first woman Chief Minister of Delhi in October 1998
She became the first woman spokesperson for any political party in India
Apart from this, she also became the youngest cabinet minister in Haryana
government at the age of 25 in 1977.
About Sushma Swaraj

She is a law graduate who practised in the Supreme Court. She began her political
career with RSS student wing ABVP in the 1970s.
She served as a member of the Haryana Assembly from 1977 to 1982 from Ambala
Cantonment.
She had been elected seven times as a Member of Parliament and three times as
a Member of the Legislative Assembly.
She was Cabinet Minister for Information and Broadcasting during the 13-day Atal
Bihari Vajpayee Government in 1996
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Duirng UPA-II regime, she was the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
Indian-American student Akhil Rekulapelli won National Geographic Bee Championship

Indian-American student Akhil Rekulapelli on 21 May 2014 won the National
Geographic Bee championship in Washington, USA.
Ameya Mujumdar from Florida stood second, while Californias Tuvya BergsonMichelson finished third. Ameya Mujumdar is also an Indian American student.
Akhil won the 50000 US dollar college scholarship given to the winner of the National
Geographic Bee Championship. Akhil also received a trip to the Galapagos Islands
with National Geographics Lindblad Expeditions.
Eighth grade student Akhil Rekulapelli belongs to Virginia. He started with a School
Bee competition in Ashburn and advanced to the national championship after
excelling in both regional and state geography bees.
The National Geographic Bee is an annual geography contest sponsored by the
National Geographic Society. The bee, held every year since 1989, is open to students
in the fourth through eighth grade in participating American schools.
Shah Rukh Khan featured on the cover page of magazine

Forbes Middle East
Shah Rukh Khan on 13 May 2014 became the first Indian to feature on the cover
page of the business magazine Forbes Middle East. The magazine also included a
special feature story about his contribution to the entertainment industry and as an
entrepreneur.
The Forbes Middle East magazine of 2014 features 170 top Indians in the Arab World.
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Yusuf Ali MA, Managing Director of Lulu Group

International has topped the list of 170 Indians.
These 170 Indians are business owners, founders
and C-level executives including CEOs and CFOs,
based in the Arab region. Most of the ranked Indians
or Indian leaders, according to the Forbes Middle
East, are to be found in the Gulf of Cooperation
Council (GCC).
Justice JS Khekar recused himself from hearing Sahara Case

The Supreme Court judge Justice JS Khehar who was hearing the case of the Sahara
Chief Subrata Roy in chit fund scam recused himself from hearing the case further.
Now the hearing will be preceded by a newly constituted bench of Supreme Court.
A communication of Justice JS Khehar on 6 May 2014 stating that he rescues from
the case of Sahara was placed in front of the Chief Justice of India RM Lodha on 7
May 2014. Immediately the CJI constituted a new bench on the same matter. This
issue was said in a release by Registry office of the apex court on 15 May 2014.
Supreme Court bench comprising Justice KS Radhakrishnan (retired on 15 May
2014) and Justice JS Khehar on 6 May 2014 pronounced a 207-page judgment after
rejecting the plea of Sahara Chief to release him on bail. The court on the same day
also dismissed his petition that challenged 4 March 2014 order of sending him to
Tihar Jail.

The Tel Aviv District Court of Israel on 13 May 2014 sentenced former Prime Minister
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Ehud Olmert to six years in prison for corrupt practices in real estate projects. The
court also fined one million shekels (290000 US dollar) to Olmert for his role in the
Holyland project.
The Tel Aviv District Court of Israel on 13 May 2014 sentenced former Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert to six years in prison. He was sentenced for corrupt practices in real
estate projects. The court also fined Olmert one million shekels (290000 US dollar)
for his role in the Holyland project.
In its decision, Judge David Rosen convicted 68-year-old Olmert of two

charges of bribery and they are
Acceptance of 500000 shekels from developers of the Holyland project of
Jerusalem
For acceptance of 60000 shekels in a separate real estate deal
The Court has ordered Olmert to report in a prison on 1 September 2014. The time
gap has been given to Olmert to take the case to higher court.
Olmert in 1973 became the youngest person ever elected to Israels Parliament and
served as Prime Minister from 2006 to 2009.
Before this, the former Israeli President, Moshe Katsav was convicted on rape charges
and is serving a seven-year sentence.

US Senate on 13 May 2014 confirmed the name of Indian American Indira Talwani
as the federal judge in Massachusetts. The US Senate approved the name of Talwani
by 94-0 votes.
With this confirmation, Talwani became the first person of Asian descent to serve
as a Judge in Massachusetts and in the first circuit. The first circuit includes Maine,
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Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico and Rhode Island. She is also the
second female judge of South Asian descent nationwide.
About Indira Talwani

Born to the immigrants from India and Germany, she received her Bachelor of Arts
degree, cum laude from Harvard College in 1982
In 1988, she received Juris doctorate from University of California Berkeley School
of Law and graduating Order of the Coif.

Sunday Times Super-Rich List released on 11
May 2014 ranked London-based Hinduja Brothers
as the richest in UK. The two brothers, Srichand
and Gopichand Hinduja topped the list having a
fortune of 11.9 billion pounds, which is up by 1.3
billion pounds of 2013.
To emerge at the top position, the Hinduja Brothers
edged steel-tycoon Lakshmi Mittal and Russian
Alisher Usmanov.
Apart from this Lakshmi Mittal, the owner of Arcelor Mittal also edged one position
upwards to the third position with 10.25 billion pounds. Whereas, Usmanov who
topped the list till 2013 fell to second place after his estimated fortune dropped to
10.65 billion dollars.
In the earlier release of Super-Rich list, the Hinduja Brothers who run the Hinduja
Group conglomerate were placed at the third position in 2013. The Hinduja Group
conglomerate is a multinational company that works in diverse fields like automotive,
real estate and oil and others. It is in headquartered in London, United Kingdom.
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Apart from this, the study also claimed that number of billionaires in the UK for the
first time has exceeded 100 and London is now a home to highest number of superrich of any city in the world. At present in a total there are 104 billionaires based in
Britain with a combined wealth of more than 301 billion pounds. The list claimed that
the number has tripled in a decade.
Among the richest Britons, the list was topped by Duke of Westminster whose fortune
rose to 8.5 billion pounds.
Top 25 people, whose names were released includes

Sri and Gopi Hinduja, 11.9 billion pound, up by 1.3 billion pound
Alisher Usmanov, 10.65 billion pound, down by 2.65 billion pound
Lakshmi Mittal and family, 10.25 billion pound, up by 250 million pound
Len Blavatnik, 10 billion pound, down by 1 billion pound
Ernesto and Kirsty Bertarelli, 9.75 billion pound, up by 2.35 billion pound
John Fredriksen and family, 9.25 billion pound, up by 450 million pound
David and Simon Reuben, 9 billion pound, up by 719 million pound
Kirsten and Jorn Rausing, 8.8 billion pound, up by 3.69 billion pound
Roman Abramovich, 8.52 billion pound, down by 780 million pound
The Duke of Westminster, 8.5 billion pound, up by 700 million pound
Galen, Hilary and George Weston and family, 7.3 billion pound, up by 650 million
pound
Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken and Michel de Carvalho, 6.36 billion pound, down
by 635 million pound
Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber and family, 6.16 billion pound, up 1.65 billion pound
Carrie and Francois Perrodo and family, 6.14 billion pound, new entrant in the list
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German Khan, 6.08 billion pound, new entrant in the list

Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay, 6 billion pound, up by 3.65 billion pound
Hans Rausing and family 5.9 billion pound, up by 1.18 billion pound
Nicky Oppenheimer and family, 4.57 billion pound, up by 785 million pound
Earl Cadogan and family, 4.2 billion pound, up by 525 million pound
Joseph Lau and family, 4.03 billion pound, down by 570 million pound
Sir Philip and Lady Green 3.88 billion pound, no change
Denis OBrien, 3.85 billion pound, up by 486 million pound
Mike Ashley, 3.75 billion pound, up by 1.45 billion pound
Sir Richard Branson and family, 3.6 billion pound, up by 86 million pound
Idan Ofer, 3.43 billion pound, new entrant in the list

Indian-American Manish Shah on 2 May 2014 was confirmed as a federal judge in
Illinois by US senate. This confirmation made him the first South Asian federal judge
in the 5th most populous state of America.
His name was confirmed by the Senate by 95-0 votes. This confirmation is historic
because with this he will be the first Article III judge of South Asian descent to serve
in the state of Illinois
About Manish Shah

New York born, Manish Shah at time of confirmation was serving as the Chief of
the Criminal Division.
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Previously he had served as the Chief of Criminal Appeals from 2011 to 2012
Since 2001, he served as the assistant US Attorney in the Northern District of
Illinois
From 2008 to 2011, he had served as the Deputy Chief of the Financial Crimes &
Special Prosecutions Section
From 2007 to 2008 he was Deputy Chief of the General Crimes Section
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Person Appointed
Former Intelligence Bureau Chief Ajit Doval was appointed as the National Security
Adviser on 30 May 2014. He will assume the office on 31 May 2014.
According to the official order, this appointment of 69-year-old Doval will be coterminus with the term of the Prime Minister or till further orders, whichever is earlier.
During his tenure, he will provide deep insight about the threats faced by the country
from within and from outside.
Doval is the second key appointment made by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi
after he assumed charge of his office. The first appointment was of Nripendra Misra
as Principal Secretary of the Prime Minister.
About Ajit Doval

1968 Became IPS Officer of Kerala Cadre
1974 Awarded President Medal, first and only police officer to get the medal
within six years of his service.
1986 Propelled Mizo Accord of July 1986 which was signed after 20 years of
insurgency. The Accord was signed between Mizo National Front leader Laldenga
and Indian government.
1988 In Operation Black Thunder led the team of Intelligence Bureau officials
with National Security Guards and Punjab Police against terrorists from the Golden
Temple in Amritsar
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First police officer to be awarded Kirti Chakra, highest peacetime gallantry award
for his role in Operation Black Thunder
1991 Planned the rescue of Romanian diplomat Liviu Radu who was abducted
by Khalistan Liberation Front in 1991
1999 - He was the main negotiator of India with the hijackers of the Indian Airlines
plane IC-814 taken to Kandahar, Afghanistan
2004-2005 Served as Intelligence Bureau Chief
About National Security Adviser (NSA)

The National Security Advisor is the chief executive of the National Security Council
(NSC). He is the person who acts as the primary advisor to the Prime Minister of India
on national and international security. He is the person, to whom the intelligence
agencies like the Research and Analysis Wing and Intelligence Bureau reports, rather
directly to the Prime Minister.
Brajesh Mishra was the first National Security Adviser. The other three NSAs were
JN Dixit, MK Narayanan and Shivshankar Menon. Prior to the formation of the NSC,
these activities were overseen by the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister.
The KC Pant committee on national security was appointed by Vajpayee government.
The committee in its recommendation said creation of three National Security Adviser
posts in the PMO who will deal with internal security, defence and foreign affairs.
However, this suggestion was never implemented by either the Vajpayee government
or the subsequent Singh governments.
National Security Council (NSC) of India

The National Security Council (NSC) of India is the apex agency that looks into
the countrys political, economic, energy and strategic security concerns. It was
established on 19 November 1998 by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
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Mukul Rohatgi was appointed as the 14th Attorney-General of India on 28 May 2014.
He will succeed Gulam Vahanvati.
Rohatgi represented the Gujarat government in the Supreme Court in many cases
like 2002 Gujarat riots, Zahira Sheikh and Best Bakery cases.
Earlier, the 13th Attorney-General of India, Goolam Essaji Vahanvati and Solicitor
General Mohan Parasaran tendered their resignations after change of government in
India. They resigned as law officer because tenure of law officers is co-terminus with
the government.
About Mukul Rohatgi

He is a senior Supreme Court advocate and is among the top corporate lawyers
in the country
He was the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) under the NDA regime in 1999.
He has represented top companies in the 2G Scam trial.
He has also been representing the Italian Embassy in the Supreme Court in case
relating to two Italian marines involved in killing of two fishermen off the coast of
Kerala in 2012.
Constitutional Provision for Attorney-General of India

Article 76 of the Constitution of India says about Attorney-General of India. It states
that
1. The President shall appoint a person who is qualified to be appointed a Judge of
the Supreme Court to be Attorney-General for India.
2. It shall be the duty of the Attorney-General to give advice to the Government of
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India upon such legal matters, and to perform such other duties of a legal character,
as may from time to time be referred or assigned to him by the President, and to
discharge the functions conferred on him by or under this Constitution or any
other law for the time being in force.
3. In the performance of his duties the Attorney-General shall have right of audience
in all courts in the territory of India.
4. The Attorney-General shall hold office during the pleasure of the President, and
shall receive such remuneration as the President may determine.
MC Setalvad was the first and longest serving Attorney General for India (19501963).
Hiroshi Naka appointed as Vice President and Auditor General of World Bank
Japanese national, Hiroshi Naka was appointed as the Vice President and Auditor
General of World Bank. The appointment was announced by the World Bank President
Jim Yong Kim on 23 May 2014. He will take the charge as the Vice President in July
2014.
He will be responsible for providing leadership on evaluating and improving the
effectiveness of the banks risk management, control and governance processes.
Naka has worked for more than 25 years with the Japanese Ministry of Finance and
multilateral organisations. He is specialised in issues such as economic sanctions,
anti-money laundering and supervision of financial institutions.
He also has deep knowledge of controls and broad experience in policy coordination,
foreign exchange control, supervision of international and Japanese banks, and
managing complex relationships with multilateral organisations.
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Ahmed Maitiq was sworn-in as the new Prime Minister of Libiya on 26 May 2014.
Maitiq took oath of his office before Nuri Abu Sahmain, the President of the General
National Congress, Libyas transitional Parliament.
He became the Prime Minister after winning the confidence vote in the Parliament
on 25 May 2014. In the vote of confidence, he received 83 votes in favour of the 93
votes.
At 42, he is the youngest and the fifth Prime Minister of Libya since dictator Moammar
Gadhafi was toppled and killed in a 2011 revolution.
He will take over the charge after the acting Prime Minister Abdullah Thinni will hand
over his power. Thinni resigned from the post of Prime Minister in April 2014 and
since then the post has been lying vacant.
Maitiq who is a businessman and educated in Britain was challenged by some
politicians just after the votes claiming that the votes were meaningless. This was
because out of 200 lawmakers only 93 were present at the time of voting.
Apart from this, Ezzedine Awami, the first deputy President of the Parliament
announced on 26 May 2014 that Thinni will stay as the countrys Prime Minister as
the vote procedure was not legitimate. The statement was issued in accordance to
the Ministry of Justice that has termed the vote invalid.
Background
Since Libiyan former leader Muammar Gaddafi was toppled followed by popular
protests and eight-month long civil war in 2011, the countrys Parliament has been
stuck in a deadlock between the Islamists and secular groups. Since then the
countrys conditions has been plagued and is being controlled by powerful militias.
These challenges and the decision of Awami have created confusion that who will be
the Prime Minister of Libiya.
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Indian management scholar Jitendra Vir Singh appointed

Dean of Business School at HKUST
An Indian management scholar Jitendra Vir Singh on 25 May 2014 was appointed as
the Dean of the School of Business and Management at the Hong Kong University of
Science and Technology (HKUST).
The appointment was based on an open and competitive worldwide search. He will
take the charge on 1 September 2014.
About Jitendra Vir Singh

He is an Indian Institute Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) alumnus who completed
his MBA in 1975.
He received his PhD degree from Stanford University in 1983 and was awarded an
MA (honoris causa) degree by University of Pennsylvania.
He joined Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania as a faculty in 1987 to become
the Vice-Dean of International Academic Affairs in 1998.
As Whartons Vice-Dean, International Academic Affairs, from 1998 to 2001, Singh
contributed to the establishment of the Singapore Management University in
Singapore, the worldwide alliance between Wharton and INSEAD, and the foundation
of the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad.
He is currently the Saul P Steinberg Professor of Management at the Wharton School,
University of Pennsylvania in the US.

Rajiv Mathur, 64, the former Intelligence Bureau Chief on 22 May 2014 took over as the
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new Chief Information Commissioner (CIC). His oath to the office was administered
by Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
His name was recommended by a three-member selection panel headed by
Manmohan Singh, the outgoing Prime Minister of India.
Mathur succeeded Sushma Singh who demitted the post of CIC on 21 May 2014.
She was the fifth CIC of the Central Information Commission.
Tenure of Mathur as the Chief Information Commissioner of CIC will end on 23 August
2014, the date when he will attain 65 years of age. He joined CIC as information
commissioner in March 2013.
In addition to Mathur, the Central Information Commission at present have seven
Information Commissioners against the sanctioned strength of 10. These are
Vijai Sharma
Basant Seth
Yashovardhan Azad
Sharat Sabharwal
Manjula Prasher
M.A. Khan Yusufi
Prof Madabhushanam Sridhar Acharyulu
About Rajiv Mathur

Mathur is a retired IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre
He served Intelligence Bureau for two-year from 31 December 2008 and during the
tenure he revamped the intelligence set up and raised the quality of intelligence
gathering and sharing procedures
For meritorious service, he became a recipient of the Indian Police Medal and the
Presidents Police Medal for Distinguished Service.
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Anandiben Patel was sworn-in as the first woman Chief Minister of Gujarat on 22
May 2014. Kamla Beniwal, the Governor of Gujarat administered her oath to the
office and secrecy at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar.
Anandiben Patel was appointed as the new Chief Minister of Gujarat after Narendra
Modi resigned from the office on 21 May 2014 to take over the post of Prime Minister
of India. At the time of appointment, Anandiben was serving the state as the Gujarat
Revenue Minister.
Apart from Anandiben (73-years old) six cabinet ministers and 13 ministers of state
were sworn-in to their offices. Two ministers of state of Modi government were
dropped from the council, while four new faces were inducted in the new council of
ministers.
About Anandiben Patel

Being a strict administrator, she has served the state under Narendra Modi led
government in portfolios like roads and buildings and revenue
Anandiben was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1994
She represented India at the Fourth World womens Conference at Beijing
She contested her first assembly election in 1998 from Mandal and was the
minister of education in the Keshubhai Patel ministry
In 1987, she was awarded with state governments gallantry award for saving two
girls from drowning into Narmada dam
She has served Gujarat as a school teacher of Mohniba Vidyalaya in Ahmedabad
for 30 years from 1968
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K Rajendra Kumar appointed as new Director General of Police of Jammu and Kashmir
K Rajendra Kumar on 21 May 2014 was appointed as new Director General of Police
of Jammu and Kashmir. He succeeded Ashok Prasad.
K Rajendra Kumar belongs to Andhra Pradesh. He is a 1984 batch IPS officer of the
Jammu and Kashmir cadre.
Currently, he is working as special DG of Jammu and Kashmir.
Kumar has served in the state police in various capacities, including two crucial stints
as chief of police in the valley during the peak years of militancy.
Ashok Prasad was promoted to his new assignment as special director in the
Intelligence Bureau.

Narendra Kumar Verma was selected as Managing Director of ONGC Videsh Ltd
(OVL) by Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) on 21 May 2014.
He succeeded Dinesh K Sarraf who was elevated as Chairman and Managing Director
of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in March 2014.
At the time of selection, Verma (55) was serving the OVLs parent company, ONGC as
the director for exploration.
Holding a masters degree in applied geology and M Tech in petroleum exploration,
he played an important role in management of exploration activities in frontier basin,
Assam-Arakan basin and Mumbai offshore
He also holds a MBA degree in Finance and was involved in assessing the offshore
blocks in Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia, Qatar, North Caspian and Iran
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ONGC Videsh Limited

ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL) is a Miniratna Schedule A Central Public Sector Enterprise
(CPSE) of the Government of India under the administrative control of the Ministry of
Petroleum & Natural Gas. It is a wholly owned subsidiary and overseas arm of Oil and
Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), the flagship national oil company (NOC) of
India. The primary business of OVL is to prospect for oil and gas acreages outside
India, including exploration, development and production of oil and gas. It owns
participating Interests in 32 oil and gas assets in 16 countries and contributes to 12%
and 7 % of oil and natural gas production of India respectively. In terms of reserves
and production, OVL is the second largest petroleum Company of India, next only to
its parent ONGC.
President appointed Narendra Modi as Prime Minister, Oath

on May 26
Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India on 20 May 2014 appointed Narendra Modi
as the Prime Minister of India. Narendra Modi, the leader of the BJP Parliamentary
Party will take a formal oath of the office on 26 May 2014 at Rashtrapati Bhawan. His
oath will be administered by the President.
The President asked him to advise the names of others who will be appointed as
the Members of Council of Ministers. At the time of being appointed as the Prime
Minister of India, he was serving Gujarat as its Chief Minister. This was his third term
as the Chief Minister.
Narendra Modi is the first Prime Minister of India who has born in Independent India.
For the first time, he was sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Gujarat on 7 October 2001
and at present he is the longest serving Chief Minister of Gujarat.
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Naveen Patnaik sworn-in as Chief Minister of Odisha for

fourth consecutive term
Naveen Patnaik on 21 May 2014 was sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Odisha for
fourth consecutive term. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) President Patnaik was sworn-in
at the Raj Bhavan, Bhubaneswar.
Governor S C Jamir administered oath of office and secrecy to Naveen Patnaik and
21 other ministers.
The eleven ministers who took the oath as cabinet ministers were Pradip Kumar
Amat; Dr Damodar Rout; Debi Prasad Mishra; Pradip Maharathy; Bijayshree Routray;
Bikram Keshari Arukh; Usha Devi; Lal Behari Himirika; Jogendra Behera; Badri
Narayan Patra and Puspendra Singhdeo.
The ten ministers of state who took the oath were Prafulla Mallick; Ramesh Chandra
Majhi; Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak; Arun Kumar Sahu; Sanjay Kumar Dasburma; Sudam
Marandi; Ashok Kumar Panda; Pranab Prakash Das; Pradip Panigrahi and Snehangini
Chhuria.
In the recently concluded Assembly Election 2014, the BJD won 117 seats out of 147
seats in the Assembly. Whereas the Congress won 16 seats and BJP won 10 seats.
About Naveen Patnaik

Naveen Patnaik was born in 1946. He founded the Biju Janata Dal Party in 1997.
He was elected as a member to the 11th Lok Sabha in the by-election from Aska
Parliamentary Constituency in Odisha from Janata Dal Party.
He was the Union Minister for Mines from BJD party in the cabinet of A.B.Vajpayee.
He has been the Chief Minister of Odisha consecutively for four times since 2000.
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Pawan Chamling sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Sikkim for

record 5th term
Pawan Chamling was sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Sikkim on 21 May 2014 for
a record fifth consecutive time. Governor of Sikkim, Shriniwas Patil administered
the oath of office and secrecy to Chamling and his 11 ministers at Raj Bhawan in
Gangtok.
Chamling is the leader of Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) and has secured a twothird majority in the Assembly elections by winning 22 seats out of 32. The Sikkim
Krantikari Morcha will be the opposition party in the assembly as it has secured 10
seats.
He has been the Chief Minister of the State since 12 December 1994 and has
competed 20 years at the post till now. With this swearing-in, he is set to become the
longest-serving Chief Minister of any State of India, if he serves a complete tenure.
Till now the record has been held by the late communist leader Jyoti Basu, who
served West Bengal as a Chief Minister for 23 years from 1977 to 2000.
Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the Planning Commission Deputy

Chairman Resigned
Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission of India
resigned from his office on 17 May 2014. He submitted his resignation to the Prime
Minister, Manmohan Singh after the Union Cabinet meet held in New Delhi.
Apart from Ahluwalia, another member of the Planning Commission BK Chaturvedi
also submitted his resignation.
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Full-time members of the Planning Commission members apart from Montek Singh Ahluwalia were
BK Chaturvedi
Saumitra Chaudhuri
Syeda Hameed
Narendra Jadhav
Abhijit Sen
Mihir Shah
K Kasturirangan
Arun Maira
All members of the Planning Commission submit their resignation to the Prime
Minister who is also the Chairman of the Planning Commission. Since the term of the
Commission is co-terminus with the Union Government term, hence all the members
of Planning Commission resign as the term of the Union Government ends.
About Montek Singh Ahluwalia

Montek Singh Ahluwalia served Planning Chairman as its Deputy Chairman for nearly
10 years. He assumed the charge of Deputy Chairman on 6 July 2004. Under him,
the Planning Commission drafted 11th Five Year Plan (2007-12) titled Towards Faster
and More Inclusive Growth and 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) titled Faster, More
Inclusive and Sustainable Growth. Besides, a better half of the 10th Five Year Plan
was also implemented during his stewardship.
Prior to becoming Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, a position which carries
the rank of Cabinet Minister, he was the first Director of the Independent Evaluation
Office at the International Monetary Fund.
He was awarded Padma Bhushan for his contribution to the Indian economy.
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About Planning Commission

The Planning Commission was set up by a Resolution of the Government of India in
March 1950. It was constituted in pursuance of declared objectives of the Government
to promote a rapid rise in the standard of living of the people by efficient exploitation
of the resources of the country, increasing production and offering opportunities to
all for employment in the service of the community.
Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Chairman of the Planning Commission and first Deputy
Chairman was Gulzari Lal Nanda.

Jitan Ram Manjhi was sworn-in as the new Chief Minister of Bihar on 20 May 2014.
His oath of the office and secrecy was administered by the Governor of Bihar, DY
Patil at the Raj Bhavan in Patna.
He succeeded Janata Dal United (JD-U) leader, Nitish Kumar who resigned from
the post of Chief Minister on 17 May 2014 after the debacle of the party in the 16th
Lok Sabha election. Nitish Kumar served as Chief Minister of Bihar for two term from
2005 - 2009 and from 2009 - 2014.
Apart from Manjhi, Governor Patil also administered oath to 17 other ministers
including two independents. Of these 17 ministers, 15 ministers of the Nitish Kumar
government have retained their place in the newly formed Jitan Ram Manjhi ministry
and two new MLAs have been inducted. The newly inducted MLAs are Dular Chandra
Goswami and Vinay Bihari.
The newly formed government will seek a vote of confidence on 23 May 2014.
About Jitan Ram Manjhi

Manjhi is a native of Mahkar village of Gaya district and is the third Dalit Bihar
Chief Minister after Bhola Paswan Shastri and Ram Sundar Das.
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In the Nitish Kumar led Cabinet, Manjhi was SCST welfare minister
He is a legislator from the Makhdoompur assembly constituency in Jehanabad
district
Nabam Tuki sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Arunachal

Pradesh
Nabam Tuki on 18 May 2014 was sworn-in as the eighth
(seventh as person) Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh at
the Raj Bhavan in Itanagar. This is second consecutive
term for the veteran congress leader. His oath to the office
and secrecy was administered by the Governor Lt. Gen.
(Retd) Nirbhay Sharma.
He was sworn in as the seventh Chief Minister of Arunachal
Pradesh on 1 November 2011 as a successor of Jarbom
Gamlin. He was selected as the Chief Minister due to internal revolt within Congress
Party. In the internal revolt 42 Congress legislators in the 60-member house had
opposed Gamlin due to his authoritarian rule. Gamlin was made Chief Minister of the
State after the death of former Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu on 30 April 2011 in a
helicopter crash.
About Nabam Tuki

1. He got elected from the Sagalee constituency in Papum Pare district of Arunachal
Pradesh
2. He served as the deputy agriculture minister in the Gegong ministry after being
elected to the second legislative assembly in 1995
3. In 1988, he served the state as the Transport and Civil Aviation Minister
4. In 1996 he served the state as the Irrigation and Flood Control (IFCD) Minister
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5. In the Mukut Mithi Ministry, he was re-elected to the assembly in 1999 and became
a cabinet minister with the Environment and Forest portfolio
6. Under the Gegong Apang and Dorjee Khandu ministries in 2004 and 2009, he
served as the PWD and Urban Development Minister
7. He belongs to the Nyishi community
A.B. Pandya appointed as the Chairman of Central Water

Commission
Ashwin B. Pandya on 15 May 2014 was appointed as the Chairman of the Central
Water Commission & ex-officio Secretary of the Government of India. He was holding
the additional charge of the post since November 2013.
About Ashwin B. Pandya

Pandya joined the Central Water Engineering Service in CWC in October, 1977 as
Assistant Director
In his professional career of 36 year, Pandya has heed held various positions
in the Department and organisations under the Ministry of Water Resources like
WAPCOS, NWDA and NPCC
He has served few institutes and organisations as its President, they are
Indian Water Resources Society
Indian Association of Hydrologists
Indian Society of Rock Mechanics and Tunneling Technology
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About Central Water Commission (CWC)

Central Water Commission is a technical
organization of India in the field of water
resources. At present it is functioning as an
attached office of the Ministry of Water
Resources, Government of India. The
Commission is entrusted for some general
responsibilities like initiating, coordinating and
furthering in consultation of the State
Governments concerned, schemes for control,
conservation and utilization of water resources throughout the country, for purpose
of Flood Control, Irrigation, Navigation, Drinking Water Supply and Water Power
Development. It also undertakes the investigations, construction and execution of
any such schemes as required.
Mission statement of CWC is to promote integrated and sustainable development
and management of Indias water resources by using state-of-the-art technology and
competency and by coordinating all stakeholders.

Justice BS Chauhan, the Judge of the Supreme Court of India on 14 May 2014 was
appointed as the Chairman of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT). Justice
Chauhan will succeed Justice NP Singh.
Justice Chauhan, who is due to retire on 1 July 2014, was appointed as the Chairman
of the Tribunal on the recommendation of the former Chief Justice of India, Justice P
Sathasivam.
The post of Chairman of the Tribunal was lying vacant since April 2012, when Justice
NP Singh resigned from the tribunal on health grounds. Due to this, the Tribunal was
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not successful to take clarification petitions filed by all parties to the Cauvery dispute
against Tribunals final award that was delivered in 5 February 2007.
Final Award of 2007

The tribunal headed by Justice NP Singh gave its final award on Cauvery River
Dispute on 5 February 2007. According to the Final Award, the CWDT recommended
419 tmcft for Tamil Nadu (against the demand for 562 tmcft); 270 tmcft for Karnataka
(demanded 465 tmcft); 30 tmcft for Kerala; and 7 tmcft for Puducherry. The actual
release of water by Karnataka to Tamil Nadu will be 192 tmcft a year. From it, Tamil
Nadu will release 7 tmcft to Puducherry.
However, Tamil Nadu government filed an application seeking certain clarification
and directions on the award. This was done under Section (3) of the Inter-State River
Water Disputes Act, 1956.
Earlier on 25 June 1991, CWDT gave an interim award. As per the interim award
Karnataka was to release 205 tmcft each year to Tamil Nadu. Of this quantum, Tamil
Nadu was to release 6 tmcft to Puducherry.
About the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT)

The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal
(CWDT) was constituted by the
Government of India on 2 June 1990. It
was constituted with an aim to give its
ruling on the water dispute regarding
inter-state river Cauvery and the river
valley thereof.
The Tribunal was constituted under the chairmanship Justice N.P. Singh. The members
were N.S. Rao and Sudhir Narain.
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VRV Sriprasad was appointed as the new Managing Director (MD) of Volvo Buses
India on 14 May 2014 by Volvo Bus Corporation. He will succeed Manish Sahi, who
took the position as the Director-International business, Volvo Buses India.
He was appointed as the MD a week after he left Dailmer India Commercial vehicles
after serving it for six years. He has also served Eicher group.
Sriprasad will directly report to Akash Passey, senior VP, business region international,
Volvo Bus Corporation, and chairman of the board of Volvo Buses in India
About VRV Sriprasad in Automotive industry

Sriprasad has an experience of 28 years in Indian automotive industry at various
positions that include direct sales, retail sales, setting up of green field projects, new
brand and product introduction and manufacturing.
Constitutional Scholar Sujit Choudhry appointed as Dean of

UC Berkeley Law school
An Indian-American Sujit Choudhry on 14 May 2014 was appointed as the dean of
University of California Berkeley, School of Law. He will serve for five years. He will
take the charge from 1 July 2014.
He is currently working as the Cecelia Goetz professor at New York University School
of Law. He is the founder of its Centre for Constitutional Transitions.
About Sujit Choudhry

Sujit Choudhry is a member of the United Nations Mediation Roster. He has served as
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a consultant to the World Bank Institute and as an expert in support of constitutional

transitions in Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Tunisia, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
Choudhry had done his law degrees from Oxford, Toronto, and Harvard. In 2010, he
was one of four Canadians to receive the Trudeau Fellowship, Canadas equivalent
of the MacArthur awards.
He served as law clerk to Chief Justice Antonio Lamer of the Supreme Court of
Canada and was counsel of record in a number of major cases before the court.
Kristin Lund of Norway became first-ever woman to head a

UN Peacekeeping Force
Major General Kristin Lund of Norway became the first-ever woman to head a UN
Peacekeeping Force in its entire history. She was appointed as the Force Commander
of UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) on 12 May 2014 to mark its 50th
anniversary in 2014.
Major General Kristin Lund will assume the charge of Force Commander of UNFICYP
on 13 August 2014. She will succeed the outgoing Force Commander, Major General
Chao Liu of China who will retire on 13 August 2014.
Major General Kristin Lund previous assignment at UN includes

Service with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)
Service with the UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR)
She also has extensive experience in multinational operations which includes
Deployment to Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm in 1991
NATOs International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Headquarters in Afghanistan
About UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP)

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UNFICYP was established by the UN Security Council on 4 March 1964 with the
purpose to contribute to a return of normal conditions after violence and bloodshed
between the two communities on the island. The two communities involved in the
conflict in Cyprus were
Greek Cypriots, which was controlled by Republic of Cyprus
Turkish Cypriots, which was controlled by Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
The two Greek and Turkish Cypriots are recognised only by Turkey.
What is UN peacekeeping Force?

United Nations Peacekeeping Force helps countries torn by conflict to create
conditions for lasting peace. United Nations Peacekeeping began in 1948 when the
Security Council authorized the deployment of UN military observers to the Middle
East.
UN Peacekeeping is guided by three basic principles

Consent of the parties
Impartiality
Non-use of force except in self-defence and defence of the mandate
At present 17 UN peace operations are deployed in four continents of the world. The
police and military professionals of 122 countries are the part of the UN Peacekeeping
Force. Peacekeeping Force comprises civilian, police and military personnel.
International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers is observed every year on 29 May.
The first UN peacekeeping operations were

UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO)
UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP)
The largest contributors in UN Peacekeeping Forces are India, Bangladesh and
Pakistan.
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Royal Navy Submarine Service of United Kingdom for the first time appointed female
submariners.
Pioneering lieutenants Maxine Stiles, Alex Olsson and Penny Thackray on 5 May
2014 have become the first women to serve in the Royal Navy Submarine Service.The
move was taken for the first time in the 110-year history of the Submarine Service.
All the three have earned their Dolphins after months of training. During training,
all the 3 female officers conducted operations on HMS Vigilant, a Vanguard Class
submarine.
A ban on women submariners based on health fears was lifted in 2011.
A review of concerns that submarines higher levels of carbon dioxide could carry
risks to female health decided the fears were unfounded.
The role of women in the Royal Navy has changed drastically over the years. In 1994,
women began to serve at sea in surface ships. In 2011 UK Government lifted the ban
preventing women from serving on board submarines.
Women can now serve in all of the Royal Navys seagoing branches.
Following the arrival of woman officers, female ratings (non-commissioned personnel)
will start training in the end of 2014 with a view to serving on Vanguard submarines
in 2015.
Female personnel will also be able to serve on Astute-class submarines from around
2016.
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MAY 2014

The Secretary of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India,
Krishnaswamy VijayRaghavan on 4 May 2014 elected a foreign associate of the U.S.
National Academy of Sciences (USNAS).
Dr. VijayRaghavan is one of 21 new foreign associates elected in 2014. He had joined
a select group of Indians which includes the former NCBS Director, Obaid Siddiqi;
National Research Professor C.N.R. Rao, evolutionary biologists Raghavendra
Gadagkar and Madhav Gadgil, and aerospace engineer Roddam Narasimha.
Members are elected to the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of their
distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Membership is a
widely accepted mark of excellence in science and is considered one of the highest
honours a scientist can receive.
Dr. VijayRaghavan is a Distinguished Professor at the National Centre for Biological
Sciences,
Awards
In 1998, K. VijayRaghavan was conferred with the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize
for Science and Technology award by the Council of Scientific and Industrial
Research.
In 2006, he was awarded the J.C.Bose Fellowship
In 2012, he received the H K Firodia Award for his original contributions to the field
of life sciences, particularly to developmental biology, genetics and neurogenetics.
In 2012, he became Fellow of Royal Society.
In 2013, he was awarded with Padma shri by Government of India.
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Achievements
He set up a laboratory for Drosophila developmental genetics. He worked to establish
and develop the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), which is now one of
the leading laboratories for research in biology in India.
He worked on the brain-muscle interface and how cells and individuals make decisions
that lead to their merging their identities to achieve an effective system function.
US Government appointed Indian-American Jawahar Kaliani

to OCC, Department of Treasury
US Government on 2 May 2014 appointed Indian-American Jawahar Kaliani to the
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Department of Treasury.
Jawahar Kaliani will serve as Deputy Chief Information Officer (DCIO) for Application
Services Delivery (ASD) at the office of OCC. He takes the charge on 5 May 2014.
He will lead the development and implementation of complex applications to deliver
secure business solutions that meet organizational priorities and support the agencys
mission of ensuring the safety and soundness of national banks and federal savings
associations.
Earlier, he served as Vice president of Customer Operations Management at Amdocs
Ins. Amdocs Inc is a large-scale services and business IT solutions supporting major
telecommunication company which managed more than 30 billion US dollar in annual
billings.
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India ranked 102 out of 132 countries on Social Progress

Index
India was ranked 102 out of 132 countries on the Social Progress Index (SPI) published
by the US-based non-profit organisation Social Progress Imperative on 3 April 2014.
This is the second publication of the SPI. The first SPI was published in 2013 taking
into account the social progress in 50 countries.
The 2014 SPI has shed light on the current debates about inclusive growth and shared
prosperity. The SPI rates 132 countries on more than 50 indicators, including health,
sanitation, shelter, personal safety, access to information, sustainability, tolerance
and inclusion and access to education.
Main highlights of SPI

The top five countries are New Zealand, Switzerland, Iceland, Netherlands and
Norway. These countries, which are relatively small in terms of populations, score
strongly across all dimensions.
The lowest five countries are Sudan (128), Guinea (129), Burundi (130), Central
African Republic (131) and Chad (132).
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Person Resigned
BG Srinivas, President and Member of the Board of Infosys
resigned
BG Srinivas, the President and member of the board of Infosys resigned on 28 May
2014. The resignation will be effective from 10 June 2014. Srinivas has served Infosys
for 15-years and was appointed as the company President in January 2014 along
with UB Pravin Rao.
This resignation came at a time, when the company is on the search for the first-time
non-founder CEO for the company.
About Infosys Ltd

Infosys established in 1981 is a NYSE listed global leader in consulting and IT services.
Seven engineers started Infosys Limited with just 250 US dollar that had grown to
become 8.25 billion US dollar (FY14 revenues) company with a market capitalization
of approximately US$ 31 billion. It is the first IT Company from India to be listed on
NASDAQ.
It help enterprises to transform and thrive in a changing world through strategic
consulting, operational leadership, and the co-creation of breakthrough solutions,
including those in mobility, sustainability, big data, and cloud computing. It provides
services in more than 30 countries and on 22 May 2014 was awarded with the Gold
Award for sustainable buildings at the 2014 International Ashden Awards at the Royal
Geographical Society in London.
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Narendra Modi on 21 May 2014 resigned as the Gujarat Chief Minister to take over
as the Prime Minister of India. He handed his resignation to Kamla Beniwal, the
Governor of the State during a special session of the Gujarat Assembly.
Modi will be sworn-in as the Prime Minister on 26 May 2014 at Rashtrapati Bhawan
and his oath will be administered by the President. He served Gujarat as its Chief
Minister for consecutively three terms, which is nearly 14 years, from 7 October 2001
to 21 May 2014. He is the longest serving Chief Minister of the State.
With his resignation, he designated Gujarat Revenue Minister, Anandiben Patel as his
successor as the new Chief Minister of the State. After swearing-in, Anandiben will
be the first women Chief Minister of Gujarat.

Prime Ministers Economic Advisory Council
(PMEAC) Chairman Chakravarthi Rangarajan
resigned on 19 May 2014. He sent his
resignation to the Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh.
He resigned following the defeat of the
Congress-led UPA in the general elections
2014.
Since the term of the PMEAC was parallel to that of the Prime Minister, hence with
the resignation of the PM Manmohan Singh on 17 May 2014, the PMEAC also needs
to resign.
The PMEAC headed by C Rangrajan had Saumitra Chaudhuri, V.S. Vyas, Pulin B.
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Nayak and Dilip M. Nachane as members.
About PMEAC
Prime Minister Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) is a non-constitutional, nonpermanent and independent body constituted to give economic advice to the
Government of India, specifically the Prime Minister.
The council serves to highlight key economic issues facing the country to the
government of India from a neutral viewpoint. It advises the Prime Minister on a
whole host of economic issues like inflation, microfinance, industrial output, etc.
The PMEAC has been constituted several times since the independence of India.
Before C Rangrajan, the PMEAC was headed by Suresh Tendulkar which was
constituted on 29 December 2004 during UPA-I regime and its term ended with Union
governments term on 21 May 2009.
The PMEAC headed by C Rangrajan was constituted in August 2009 when UPA - II
came into power.

Prime Minister of India Manmohan
Singh on 17 May 2014 tendered his
resignation to the President of India
Pranab Mukherjee. His resignation was
accepted by the President.
After accepting his resignation, the
President has asked Singh to continue
as the caretaker Prime Minister till the new government takes charge of the office.
Before tendering his resignation to the President, Dr Singh chaired the last meeting
of the Union Cabinet, which recommended the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha.
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He served India as the Prime Minister for two consecutive terms from 2004 to 2009
and from 2009 to 2014.
Manmohan Singh is the third longest serving Prime Minister of India after Jawaharlal
Nehru and Indira Gandhi.

Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar resigned from his
office on 17 May 2014. He tendered his resignation to
the Governor of Bihar Dnyandeo Yashwantrao Patil after
his party Janata Dal United was able to win only two
seats of the 40 in the 16th Lok Sabha elections.
He also recommended dissolution of the Bihar Assembly
as his party is in minority and is dependent on the support of Congress, Communist
Party of India and Independent MLAs.
Number of seats won by different parties in Bihar

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 22 seats
Lok Janashakti Party (LJP) won six seats
Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) won three seats
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) won four seats
Indian National Congress (INC) won two seats
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won one seat
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UN Envoy on Syria Lakhdar
Brahimi on 13 May 2014
submitted his resignation to UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
in New York. He will relinquish
the office on 31 May 2014.
He was also the League of Arab
States Special Representative
on the Syrian crisis.
He was appointed as the peacefacilitator in Syria on 17 August 2012 to replace the former UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan.
He was also a long-time Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General and was the
Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) from October 2001 to
December 2004.
The resignation of the 80-year old Brahimi, who hails from Algeria, has left a vacuum
in the peaceful resolution to the three-year conflict in Syria.
Syrian Crisis
The Syrian conflict that began in March 2011 has so far led to 150000 deaths. The
number of deaths in the Syrian conflict has been described by UN aid agencies as
the worst humanitarian crisis since the 1994 Rwandan genocide. As per an estimate,
the crisis in Syria has displaced 6.5 million peoples inside Syria and 3 million peoples
have become refuges outside Syria.
Under Brahimi tactful diplomacy, the Geneva Conference on Syria got underway
resulting into Geneva Communique in 2012. The Communique was the first
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international conference on the conflict, which called for a transitional government to

lead to free and fair elections.
However, the first two rounds of talks, first in January 2014 and second in February
2014 yielded only modest results in the form of cooperation on a humanitarian issue
related to aid access in the long-besieged Old City of Homs.

Prime Minister of Slovenia, Alenka Bratusek resigned on 5 May 2014 and urged for
early elections in the country. Alenka Bratusek handed her resignation to the speaker
of Parliament and announced her resignation.
She resigned as Prime Minister after losing the leadership of her Positive Slovenia
party to Mayor Zoran Jankovic of Ljublijana.
Bratusek was the first women Prime Minister of Slovenia and occupied the post of
PM on 23 March 2013. Slovenia is member of European Union (EU) and she steered
the country through EU debt crisis.
Now the President will appoint a new prime minister within 30 days.
CEO of Ford Motor Co Alan Mulally announced to resign on 1

July 2014
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ford Motor Co Alan Mulally announced to retire on
1 July 2014. The announcement came on 1 May 2014.
Current Chief Operating Officer of Ford motor Co Mark Fields will take over the charge
as CEO from 1 July 2014.
Alan Mullay had joined the company in 2006. Earlier, he worked with Boeing Co. Alan
Mulally is credited with transforming the No. 2 U.S. automaker from a money-loser to
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MAY 2014
a company that expects to realize a pretax profit of up to 8 billion US dollar in 2014.
About Ford Motor Co

The Ford Motor Company is an American
multinational automaker headquartered in
Michigan, USA. It was founded by Henry
Ford and incorporated in June 1903.
The company sells automobiles and
commercial vehicles under the Ford brand
and most luxury cars under the Lincoln
brand.
Ford is the second-largest U.S.-based automaker and the fifth-largest in the world.
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Places in News
IAF Aircraft MIG-21 crashed in Anantnag district of South
Kashmir
Anantnag district of South Kashmir: IAF MIG-21 crashed
Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft MIG-21 crashed at Marhama Sangam on National
Highway in Bijbehara of Anantnag district in South Kashmir on 27 May 2014. The
pilot squadron leader Raghu Banshi died on board in the crash.
The body of the pilot was recovered and carried to an IAF base and the injured copilot has been rushed to the Military hospital in Srinagar. However, no civilian death
or loss of property was figured out in the crash as the plane crashed into the open
field.
The MIG plane took off from Quil Pulwama Airbase, 25 kilometer from the crash
point, for a routine daily exercise. Apart from this, a court of inquiry has been ordered
into the MIG-21 Aircraft crash.
Six workers injured after Hot water Spill from a valve at

Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant
Six workers injured on 14 May 2014
after Hot water Spill from a valve at
Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant.
The injured were carrying out
maintenance work in the turbine
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building when the incident took place. After being given first aid on the spot, they
were admitted to a hospital.
India started pumping electricity from the Russian-built power plant for the first time
in October 2013.
The plant has faced local opposition and witnessed violent protests in 2012 by
villagers who said it was a threat to their safety.
About Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant

Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power station in Kudankulam in the
Tirunelveli district of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
The plants first reactor is the first Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) which belongs
to the Light Water Reactor (LWR) category in India.
Construction on the plant began on 31 March 2002, but faced several delays.
The first reactor of the plant attained criticality on 13 July 2013. The plant was
commissioned six years after the scheduled date. Unit 1 was synchronized with the
southern power grid on 22 October 2013.
The original cost of the two units was 13171 crore rupees, but it was later revised to
17270 crore rupees. Russia advanced a credit of 6416 crore rupees to both the units.

Nigerias President Goodluck Jonathan
on 15 May 2014 cancelled the visit to
Chibok. The visit was cancelled due to
security reasons.
Chibok in the north-east of Nigeria is
the town from where more than 250
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schoolgirls were abducted by Boko Haram militants. The abduction of the Nigerian
schoolgirls had come in for international criticism.
US drones and surveillance aircraft have been deployed to assist in the search for
the schoolgirls, while the UK has sent a military team to the capital, Abuja, to work
alongside US, French and Israeli experts.
The lower house of Nigerias parliament, the House of Representatives, approved
an extension of the state of emergency in the north-east states of Yobe, Borno and
Adamawa.
Besides, a security summit will be held in Paris, France on 17 May 2014 to discuss
the Boko Haram threat to regional stability.
The summit will be attended by the leaders of Nigerias neighbours - Benin, Cameroon,
Niger and Chad. The summit will also include representatives from the UK, US and
EU.
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Person Died
Azlan Shah best known as The Father of Malaysian hockey died in Ipoh, Malaysia on
28 May 2014. He was 86.
Shah was the 34th ruler of the State of Perak and was a die-hard hockey player. He
was a former President of Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC).
About Azlan Shah

Raja Azlan Shah was born on 19 April 1928 in Perak.
He was a lawyer by profession and served as a judge and the Lord President of
the Federal Court.
He played for the Perak Malays and Perak State teams.
The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is also named after him.
He was elected as the vice president of the International Hockey Federation (FIH)
in 1992.
He was also elected as the president of the Asian Hockey Federation in 1997 and
remained till his death.

Maya Angelou, a renowned American author and poet died on 28 May 2014 at her
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home in Winston-Salem of North Carolina. She was 86.

She wrote her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in 1969. The book is
an illustration of the setbacks, she underwent as a child and teenager that includes
poverty, sexual abuse and guilt about a man who was murdered. The book became
a best seller and was nominated for a National Book Award.
In her lifetime, she published 36 books that included seven autobiographies, volumes
of poetry, essay collection, cookbooks and children books.
About Maya Angelou

During her extreme poverty she performed on stage and screen in 1950s and
1960s as singer, dancer and actor and also released an album of Calypso music
For former two Presidents of the US, George W Bush and Bill Clinton, she read
her poems titled Amazing Peace at the 2005 Christmas tree lighting ceremony at
the White House and in 1993 On the Pulse of the Morning during Clintons first
Presidential inauguration, respectively
She was the first African-American female street car conductor in San Francisco,
where she attended high school and studied dance and drama
She was born in 1928 as Marguerite Johnson and has led her life in several different
forms like as a newspaper editor in Egypt, a cook and a prostitute when she was
a poor single mother, wrote screenplays for movie and television
She has illustrated her nomadic and desperate life as a single mother, when she
worked as a prostitute in her book Gather Together in My Name that was published
in 1974
She was awarded with 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the countrys highest
civilian award by the President Barack Obama on February 2011
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Indologist and Sanskrit Scholar Sukumari Bhattacharji died

Indologist and Sanskrit scholar Sukumari Bhattacharji who had equal grasp over
English and Sanskrit language died on 24 May 2014. She was 92.
Born on 12 July 1921, she began her career as a lecturer in English at Lady Brabourne
College in Kolkata. She joined Jadavpur Universitys Comparative Literature
department and later shifted to the Sanskrit department.
Her command over Sanskrit helped her to dwelve deep into the Vedas and Bhagavad
Gita and unravels the societal patterns in ancient India and evolution of culture
and religion.
She wrote some 34 books such as The Gita Its Why and How, Human & Society
in Ancient India, Fatalism in Ancient India. Her book Legend of Devis in which she
analysed how the Goddess Lakshami in pre-Aryan agrarian society became alakshami
in the Aryan society became very popular.
Her other books include Bede Samsay O Nastikko, Bede Khuda O Khadya and
Balmikir Ram.
Donald Levine creator of Worlds first action figure died

Donald Levine creator of the worlds first action figure G.I. Joe died of cancer on 24
May 2014. He was 86. He was the Hasbro executive credited as the father of G.I. Joe.
Levine developed the toy when he was Hasbros head of research and development.
Levine had also served in the Army in Korea.
He and his team came up with an 11-inch articulated figure with 21 moving parts.
Since the companys employees included many military veterans, it was decided to
outfit the toy in the uniforms of the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force, with such
accessories as guns, helmets and vehicles.
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G.I. Joe hit the market during the 1964 Christmas shopping season and soon became
a big seller at 4 US dollar a piece.
About G.I.Joe
G.I. Joe is a line of action figures produced by the toy company Hasbro. The term G.I.
stands for Government Issued and after the First World War became a generic term
for U.S. soldiers.
G.I. Joe was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong in Rochester,
New York, in 2003.

Capitan Krishnan Nair, founder of Leela Group of Hotels died on 17 May 2014 in
Mumbai. He died at the age of 91. He received the Padma Bhushan award in 2010.
About Krishnan Nair

Nair was a war veteran was born in Kannur district of Kerala in 1922.
Nair joined the freedom movement at the age of 13 and joined Indian Army in
Bangalore. Later he joined as wireless officer in Abbottabad and he rose to the
rank of a captain in the Maratha Light Infantry.
He founded the Leela Hotel in Mumbai in 1987. He expanded the Leela Palaces,
Hotels and Resorts in a span of 25 years to eight luxury properties in New Delhi,
Mumbai, Bangalore, Gurgaon, Udaipur, Goa, Chennai and Kovalam.
The American Academy of Hospitality Sciences (AAHS) awarded him the Lifetime
Achievement Award.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) awarded him the Global 500
Roll of Honour award in 1999.
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Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Janardhan Reddy

died
Nedurumilli Janardhan Reddy, former
Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh died
in Hyderabad on 9 May 2014. Till his
death, Reddy was a sitting Rajya Sabha
member from Andhra Pradesh. He was
elected to Rajya Sabha in 2009.
About Nedurumilli Janardhan Reddy

Janardhan Reddy, 80, served as chief minister of Andhra Pradesh from December
1990 to October 1992.
He was born in Wakadu on 20 February 1935.
He became the AP Congress Committee president in 1988.
He was elected to the State Assembly from Venkatagiri in 1989.
He was replaced by Marri Channa Reddy as CM in 1990.
He also led the Congress party to regain power in AP after N T Rama Rao (Telugu
Desam Party) who ruled from 1983 to 1989.
He was elected to Lok Sabha from Bapatla, Narasaraopeta and Visakhapatnam
three times in 1998, 1999 and 2004.
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Elena Baltacha, the former British Tennis player died due of

liver cancer
Former British No 1 tennis player, Elena Baltacha died on 4 May 2014 due to liver
cancer at the age of 30. She was diagnosed of liver cancer in January 2014.
She fell ill, just two months after her retirement from the sports. Elena retired from
tennis in November 2013.
Elena Baltacha in Tennis

Earlier, she represented Britain at the 2012 London Olympics.
In 2010, she got her best ranking 49
She reached to the third round at the Grand Slam tournaments for three times
namely
1. At Wimbledon in 2002
2. The Australian Open in 2005 and 2010
She began her professional career in 1997 and won 11 single titles
Between 2009 and 2012, she remained British number one for 132 weeks
In 2010, she instituted Elena Baltacha Academy of Tennis to help children from all
backgrounds to learn and play tennis
Before her death, she announced to come up with a tennis charity event in June
2014 named Rally Against Cancer-Rally for Bally to raise money for a cancer hospital
(Royal Marsden Cancer Charity) and her tennis academy. The event which will be
held on 15 June 2014 as per the plan and will be participated by
Wimbledon champion Andy Murray
Martina Navratilova
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Tim Henman
Nobel Laureate economist Gary Becker died at 93

Nobel Laureate economist Gary Becker died at the
age of 93 due to illness in Chicago on 3 May 2014. He
was professor of economics and sociology at the
University of Chicago.
American economist, Becker received the Nobel Prize
in 1992 in economics for using economics to analyse
human behaviour and interaction topics such as
crime (why people commit it), discrimination against
minorities and family life. The other awards include
the Presidential Medal of Honor in 2007 and the John Bates Clark Medal in 1967.
His works include The Economics of Discrimination (1957), Human Capital (1964)
and A Treatise on the Family (1981).
About Gary Becker

Becker was born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania in 1930. He completed graduation in
mathematics at Princeton University and masters degree and a doctorate from the
University of Chicago. He did research at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
His method of analysis called as economic approach, assumed that people act
rationally that is in a calculated way, balancing varied motivations and employing
cost-benefit assessments rather than always in pursuit of personal gain.
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Awards | Honours
8 Indian Soldiers posthumously awarded with prestigious
Dag Hammarskjold Medal of UN
UN secretary General Ban Ki-moon on 29 May 2014 awarded the prestigious Dag
Hammarskjold medal to the eight Indian soldiers, who lost their lives in peacekeeping
operations in 2013. They were awarded along with the other 98 UN peacekeepers
who lost their lives during service in 2013.
It was awarded at the annual celebration of International Day of UN Peacekeepers
on 29 May 2014. The ceremony was attended by Indias Permanent Representative
to the UN Ambassador Asoke Kumar Mukerji and he accepted the medal on behalf
of the eight Indian soldiers.
The eight Indian soldiers are Lt Col Mahipal Singh; Lance Naik Nand Kishore Joshi;
Havildar Heera Lal; Naib Subedar Shiv Kumar Pal and Havildar Bharat Sasmal;
Subedar Dharmesh Sangwan; Subedar Kumar Pal Singh; Sepoy Rameshwar Singh.
About Dag Hammarskjold Medal
The Dag Hammarskjold Medal is named after the second UN secretary general and
is awarded annually on 29 May, which is commemorated as the International Day of
UN peacekeepers.
The Dag Hammarskjold Medal was established in December 2000 and is awarded
posthumously to members of peacekeeping operations who lost their lives during
service.
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Vishwanath Tripathi, eminent Hindi writer on 29 May 2014 was awarded with the
prestigious Vyas Samman for the year 2013. The literary prize carries a citation and
a cash amount of 2.5 lakh rupees and memento. He received the award for his work
Vyomkesh Darvesh at 23rd edition of the annual ceremony.
About the Vyas Samman

The award was instituted in 1991 by the K K Birla Foundation. It is presented for
an outstanding literary work in Hindi published during the last 10 years.
Ram Vilas Sharma was the first person to receive the award for his Bharat ke
Pracheen bhasha parivar aur Hindi in 1991.
Narendra Kohli received for his novel Na Bhooto Na Bhavishyati in 2012 and
Ramdarash Misra for his collection of poems Aam K Patte in 2011.
Two Indian-Americans Sriram and Ansun jointly won the

Scripps National Spelling Bee
Two Indian-Americans Sriram J Hathwar and Ansun Sujoe on 29 May 2014 jointly
won the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee. This was for the first time since
1962 that Scripps National Spelling Bee ended in a tie.
Sriram is an eighth class student from the Alternative School for Maths and Science,
New York while Ansun is a seventh class student from Texas.
In 2014 out of 12 finalists, six were of Indian origin. In addition to Sriram, Ansun and
Gokul, the other three Indians were Neha Konakalla from California, Tejas Muthusamy
from Virginia and Ashwin Veeramani from Ohio.
This was the fifth appearance for Sriram. He had previously competed in the Bee in
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2008, 2009, 2011 when he tied for 6th place, and 2013 when he placed 3rd.
Ansun is making his second trip to the Scripps National Spelling Bee. He had also
participated in 2013.
This is the seventh consecutive year that Indian-Americans have retained the Scripps
National Spelling Bee.
Indian-origin people have remained unchallenged in the Scripps National Spelling
Bee since 2008 with Sameer Mishra winning it in 2008, Kavya Shivashankar (2009),
Anamika Veeramani (2010), Sukanya Roy (2011), Snigdha Nandipati (2012) and Arvind
Mahankali (2013).

The Vice President of India Shri Hamid Ansari on 29 May 2014 presented the Malti
Devi Gyan Peeth Puraskar-2014. The award was given to fifteen outstanding teachers
from girls higher secondary schools in Punjab.
The awardees were facilitated with 1 lakh rupees cash, appreciation letter and a
Robe of Honour. The initiative was mainly taken to promote the quality teaching in
the schools besides encouraging the hundred percent attendance of girl students in
the government schools.
The Puraskar was organized by the Mohinder Singh Syngle Education and Research
Society, in cooperation with the Government of Punjab.
The teachers of government High and Senior Secondary Schools teaching Physics,
Chemistry, Maths, English and Social Sciences was considered for the award.
Moreover, the teachers already awarded with the National or State Awards was not
considered for this award.
Currently, 75% population is educated in India. Although it is higher in comparison
to the share of 12% in 1947 but it is very low in comparison to world average of 8085%.
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Edinburgh University awarded honorary degree to Former

President APJ Abdul Kalam
Former President APJ Abdul Kalam was awarded
with honorary degree by Edinburgh University
in Scotland. He was awarded for his contribution
to science and technology and his commitment
to helping transform India into a developed
nation by 2020.
The degree was presented at the inaugural
conference of the Universitys Edinburgh India
Institute on 15 May 2014. The Edinburgh India
Institute will help coordinate the work of Edinburgh academics who are working with
a wide range of partners across India. This university adds new dimensions in its
contributions which brings Scotland and India together, who share a rich past and a
glorious heritage of civilization.
The institute also aims to be a platform to bring together researchers from Scotland
and India for mutual benefit including joint PhD programmes in diverse areas such as
medicine or veterinary medicine, science and engineering and humanities and social
sciences.
Edinburgh University is biggest university in Scotland and is ranked as one of the top
20 universities of world.
About Abdul Kalam

Abdul Kalam, 82, is regarded as the father of Indias missile programme. He was
the President of India from 2002 to 2007.
He received the Bharat Ratna, highest civilian honour in 1997.
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He played a pivotal organizational, technical and political role in Pokhran-II nuclear

tests in 1998.
Ravi Dhariwal, CEO of BCCL, awarded with Silver Shovel

Award of INMA
Ravi Dhariwal, the CEO of Bennett, Coleman and Company Limited (BCCL) on 13
May 2014 was awarded with the Silver Shovel Award. The Silver Shovel Award is the
International News Media Associations (INMA) highest honour given for volunteer
service and lifetime achievement in the media industry.
The Award was given at the 84th Annual INMA World Congress at the Fairmont Hotel
in San Francisco, USA. The award was given by Michael Phelps, former CEO of the
Washington Examiner and the 2013 Silver Shovel Award recipient.
His Role in INMA

Dhariwal joined INMA in 2004 and founded the INMA South Asia Division. From 2007
to 2009 he served as the President of the Board of South Asia Division.
He joined the INMA International Board of Directors as global vice president from
2009 to 2011, and was global president of INMA in 2011-2013. As the President, he
saw the association as a bridge between Indian and South Asian publishers and the
broader publishing industry worldwide.
At present, he is serving on the INMA Board of Directors as its immediate past
president.
INMA and South Asia

INMA grew dramatically in South Asia during the past decade. In 2004, there
were three individual members in India. Today, there are 819 members, including
13 corporate members in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The INMA South Asia
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Conference annually draws more than 200 delegates from the leading newspapers
and magazines.
About International News Media Association (INMA)

The International News Media Association (INMA) is the leading provider of global
best practices to grow revenue, audience, and brand for news media companies. At
present it has nearly 7000 members in 80+ countries.
INMA provides media executives with unparalleled access to ideas and peers to help
grow their business in transformational times.
INMA is headquartered in Dallas and has offices in Antwerp, New Delhi, San Salvador,
and So Paulo.
President conferred National Florence Nightingale Awards

on 35 nursing personnel
AwPranab Mukherjee, the President of India on 12 May 2014 conferred National
Florence Nighangle Awards 2014 on 35 nursing personnel from across the country
for their meritorious services. The awards were conferred at Rashtrapati Bhawan,
New Delhi.
The award is conferred every year on 12 May as the world on this day observes
International Nurses Day. Theme chosen by the International Council of Nurses for
this year is Nurses: A force for change A vital resource for health.
The award was instituted in 1973 by the Union Health Ministry and carries a medal,
a certificate and cash prize of 50000 rupees. National Florence Nighangle Awards
is given every year to recognize the outstanding service of the nursing personnel
employed in Central, State, Union Territories, Non-Government and Voluntary
Organisations.
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The list of awardees for 2014 is as follows

Daizy Thomas from Andhra Pradesh
Major General Sunita Kapoor from Army Head Quarters
Dr. Sudhamani Amma. S from Kerala
A. Gnana Laxmi from Hyderabad
Rafiqa Bashir from Jammu & Kashmir
Dr. Punitha Vijaya Ezhilarasu from Tamil Nadu.
Dr. Sailaxmi Gandhi from Karnataka.
Sister Saumya from Andhra Pradesh.
Tapasi Pandit from Arunachal Pradesh
Annamma Varughese from Bihar
Kailash Radhid Masih from Chandigarh
Bhanumati Kantilal Popatani from Dadra & Nagar Haveli
Maria Conceicao Satos De Costa from Daman & Diu
Praveen F. Goravanakolla from Karnataka.
Sharmila. K from Kerala
Chhaya Pramod Lad from Maharashtra
Yumnam Soroja Devi from Manipur
Lallungmuani from Mizoram.
Baldev Singh from Rajasthan
Beula Indrani from Tamil Nadu
Suman R. Kashyap from New Delhi
Asha Khosla from New Delhi
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Kamla Sharma from New Delhi

Buluma Saikia from Guwahati
Laxmi Rongkali from Uttarakhand
Gyati Jailang from Arunachal Pradesh
Runu Bharali from Assam
Martha Dodray from Bihar
Manjulaben Keshavbhai Patel from Dadra & Nagar Haveli
Vaishali Vilas Ruikar from Maharashtra
Elistina Marbaniang from Meghalaya
Padmabati Mehar from Odisha
Supriti Kana Mandal from West Bengal
Sunita Sharma from Chandigarh
L. Chongnu Kom from Manipur
Two Indian-Americans Manjusha P. Kulkarni and Ranjana P.

selected for Champions of Change
Two Indian-Americans Manjusha P. Kulkarni and Ranjana Paintal on 7 May 2014 were
selected for Champions of Change by the White House.
The award was announced in recognition of their work to educate Asian Americans
and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) about President Barack Obamas signature healthcare
Act.
The award was honoured by the Department of Health & Human Services along with
nine other advocates and community leaders.
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Manjusha P. Kulkarni is executive director of South Asian Network (SAN) based in

California. SAN is a community-based organisation dedicated to advancing the
health, empowerment and solidarity of persons of South Asian origin in Southern
California.
Ms. Paintal serves as programme manager for the Asian Health Coalitions partnership
consortium around education, outreach and enrolment to underserved AAPIs
communities in Illinois.
About Champions of Change award

The White House Champions of Change program highlights the stories and examples
of citizens across the country, who are doing extraordinary work in their communities.
Selected Champions of Change will be individuals who have provided exemplary
leadership to ensure that transportation facilities, services, and jobs help individuals
and their communities connect to the 21st century opportunities.
Indian-American Mitul Kadakia won 2014 Gregory Bradeb Memorial Fellow of the
Year Award
Indian-American cardiologist Mitul Kadakia won the prestigious 2014 Gregory Bradeb
Memorial Fellow of the Year Award. The Prestigious award was given to him by the
Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) Foundation in US
in first week of May 2014.
Mitul Kadakia is currently a fellow in Interventional Cardiology at the Hospital of the
University of Pennsylvania. His clinical and research interests include new devices
and therapies for coronary and valvular heart disease and bleeding reduction in acute
coronary syndrome.
Kadakia is a graduate of Harvard College and his medical school degree from Harvard
Medical School. Later, he completed a residency in internal medicine at Brigham &
Womens Hospital.
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About the Award

The award is given to one graduating interventional cardiology fellow per year out of
the thousands in the US and is considered as a prestigious award in the cardiology
community.
Candidates for the award are evaluated based on their interventional skills in
multiple modalities, personal contribution to cardiovascular research, authorship in
cardiovascular research journals, promise for making contributions to cardiovascular
research, and dedication to patient care and well-being.

Indian Aviation Academy (IAA) on 8 May 214 was awarded with the International Arch
of Europe Award for quality and technology in Gold Category. IIA was selected for the
award by the Business Initiative Directives Group (BIDG), Madrid (Spain).
The award was received by Rajiv Goel, Director; IAA from Jose E. Prieto, President
& CEO, BID Group at a function held in Frankfurt, Germany. Later, this award was
presented to Alok Sinha, Chairman of Airports Authority of India.
The Award Criteria

Award criteria are based on concepts of Total Quality Management, such as the
Balanced Scorecard and Growth and Competitive Advantage Theory. The selection
committee chooses companies which demonstrate practices of quality, awareness
and excellence.
About the Indian Aviation Academy (IAA)

Indian Aviation Academy is a joint training academy of Airports Authority of India
(AAI), Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security
(BCAS). It was set up under the agis of NIAMAR-Society on 22 July 2010. It aims
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to provide education, training and research in the field of aviation management, in

ASIA-PACIFIC Region.
The Academy has collaboration with several international agencies such as ICAO,
IATA, ACI, FAA, European Union and CATC, Thailand.
Caparo Group won International Business of the Year award

2014
Caparo Group won the International Business of the Year award 2014 at the Asian
Business Awards Midlands in Birmingham on 9 May 2014.
About Caparo Group

The Caparo Group was founded in 1968. It is a diversified global association of
businesses with over a 1.5 billion Euro turnover. It was founded by Indian born
British Industrialist, Lord Paul.
The group involved in the design, manufacture and marketing of value added steel
and niche engineering products.
The group presence in India was first established in 1994 with a joint venture with
Maruti Suzuki. The Caparo India operates from over 25 sites, many of which are a
result of greenfield projects and contain state-of-the-art equipment.
About Lord Swraj Paul

Lord Swraj Paul is a leading NRI industrialist and educationist. He was born in
1931.
He was made the Life Peer is a member of the House of Lords in 1996 and donated
1 million pounds to prevent the London Zoo closure in 1994.
He became the first Indian-born Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords in 2008
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and was also appointed to the Privy Council in 2009.

He received the International Indian of the Decade award on 15 November 2013 for
his outstanding achievements in the fields of industry, education and philanthropy.
About Asian Business Awards Medlands

The second annual Asian Business Awards Medlands was hosted by the Asian Media
and Marketing Group (AMG) in London.
The different categories of the awards are:

Asian Business of the Year, Asian Businesswoman of the Year, Asian Business Young
Entrepreneur, Asian Business Fast Growth Company of the Year, Asian Business
International Company of the Year, Asian Business Community Champion of the Year
and Business Healthcare Business of the Year and Asian Business Food and Drink
Business of the Year.
India honoured New Frontiers Award 2014

Arabian travel Market (ATM) awarded India with New Frontiers Award 2014 on 8 May
2014. It was awarded at the special roundtable session at annual event of ATM in
Dubai.
It was awarded for its outstanding contribution to rebuild physical infrastructure and
its rural tourism economy in the wake of the June 2013 floods, landslides in the
northern state of Uttarakhand, the devastation wreaked by tropical Cyclone Phailin.
The award includes crystal trophy, the New Frontiers Award comprises ATM
exhibition space valued at 10000 US dollars along with additional marketing support
in promoting the outstanding tourism opportunities offered by the India.
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About Arabian Travel mart

Arabian Travel Mart on its ninth edition (2014), the award reinforced the overall focus
of the programme, under the theme Recover, Repair, Rebuild.
Philippines was honoured the New Frontiers Award in 2013.
Ahmet Sik won UNESCO Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize 2014
Turkish investigative journalist Ahmet Sik won 2014 UNESCO Guillermo Cano World
Press Freedom Prize. He received the award worth of 25000 US dollars by the
Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova in Paris on 2 May 2014.
Ahmet Sik, 46, is a freelance journalist who worked for several Turkish newspapers
such as Cumhuriyet, Radikal, Evrensel and Yeni Yuzyil between 1991 and 2011. He
has also worked as photo journalist for the magazine Nikta and Reuters news agency.
He is a member of the Turkish Journalists Union.
UNESCO-United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation

UNESCO was created in 1947. It strives to build networks among nations that strive
to establish the peace on the basis of humanity moral and intellectual solidarity. The
organisation enables solidarity by
Mobilizing for education
Building intercultural understanding
Pursuing scientific cooperation
Protecting freedom of expression
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About the UNESCO Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize

The award was created by UNESCOs Executive Board in 1997.
It is awarded annually on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day that is
celebrated on 3 May. It is funded by the Guillermo Cano Isaza Foundation and the
Helingin Sanomat Foundation.
The purpose of the Prize is to reward each year a person, organization or institution
that has made a notable contribution to the defence or promotion of press freedom
anywhere in the world, especially if risks have been involved.
Ethiopian journalist Reeyot Alemu won the UNESCO-Guillermo Cano World Press
Freedom Prize 2013.
Four Indians won the Harvard Business School New Venture Competition (NVC)
awards worth over 300000 dollars for new and innovative business and social impact
start-ups. It was announced on 1 May 2014 by the Harvard Business School (HBS).
This is 18th Harvard Business School New Venture Competition that supports both
students and alumni in launching new business and social impact ventures.
The four Indian are Amrita Saigal, Saurabh Mahajan, Mira Mehta and Pritar
Kumar.
Amrita Saigal and Kristin Kagetsu won the grand prize in the Social Enterprise
category for her Venture Saathi. Saathi provides affordable sanitary pads made
from waste banana tree fibre to women in rural India. They received a 50000 dollars
prize at the competition.
Saurabh Mahajan, Marcela Sapone and Jess Beck won the prize in the business
track category for Alferd venture. The Venture is a caretaker service individuals
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can us for their daily and weekly tasks like dry cleaning, house cleaning, groceries,
laundry, and more. They received 50000 dollars at the competition.
Mira Mehta and Mike Lawrence were the runner-up in the social enterprise track
for venture Tomato Jos. The venture is a vertically integrated tomato processing
company that helps small farmers in Nigeria grow tomatoes that can then be
made into tomato paste.
Pritar Kumar won the runner up awards in the business category for his Booya
Fitness, an on-demand video platform featuring workouts created by the industrys
best boutique gyms and instructors.

Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India on 2 May 2014 conferred Gallantry Awards on
55 personnel for their distinguished service and bravery. The awards were presented
during a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
The awards included three Kirti and nine Shaurya Chakras, three Uttam Yudh Seva
Medals, 13 Param Vishisht Seva Medals, four Bar to Ati Vishisht Seva and 23 Ari
Vishisht Seva medals.
Uttam Yudh Seva Medals were presented for a high degree of distinguished service
in an operational context that includes times of war, conflict or hostilities.
Param Vishisht Seva Medals Bar to Ati Vishisht Seva Medals and Ati Vishisht Seva
Medals are presented upon senior officers of the armed forces for distinguished
service of an exceptional order.
Two of the three Kirti Chakras were given posthumously. The three recipient
of the Kriti Chakras were
Constable Bhrigu Nandan Choudhary of 205 Cobra Battalion (posthumous)
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CRPF and Inspector Lohit Sonowal of Assam Police for valiantly gunning down
terrorists (posthumous)
Naib Subedar Bhupal Singh Chhantel Magar
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Exhibition | Fare
Exhibition on 100 years of World War I started at the German Historical Museum,
Berlin on 28 May 2014. The exhibition will run until the end of 2014.
The exhibition will take an overall look of the war like events leading up to the war, the
war itself and the aftermath (both from a European and a global perspective).
It displays around 500 objects of World War I, including paintings of soldiers, royalty of
Europe at the time and anti-war demonstrations. Weapons and historical documents
are available for outlook in the exhibition.
It also focuses on the escalation of violence through 14 major landmarks of World
War I, including famous battlefields like Verdun and Gallipoli. It also looks at the effect
of the modernisation of warfare during World War I, where poison gas was used for
the first time (in Ypres, Belgium), and its physical and mental effect on soldiers and
civilians.
The World War I began on 28 June 1914 and ended in 1918. In the war, about 9
million people lost their lives. It was during the World War I that the major ideologies
of the 20th century were born communism, fascism, Nazism, all these movements
were born during World War I.
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Books | Authors
The Political Economy of Energy and Growth edited by Najeeb Jung
The Political Economy of Energy and Growth edited by Najeeb Jung discusses
political-economic dimensions of the reforms in the energy sector; analyses Indias
national energy policy and provides empirical analysis of sector with help of latest
data.
The book illuminates the possible policies and measures to successfully meet the
long-term energy challenges. To derive these, the book combines theoretical and
empirical issues and draws its conclusions from rigorous methodologies and latest
data. It covers a wide range of issues on energy such as trends in oil markets, oil
diplomacy, political economy of reforms, environment issues, interaction between
macroeconomic policies and the energy sector, technology challenges, and
innovations in oil industry. The editor also analyses Indias national energy policy and
its broad long-term implications towards achieving energy security.
The Marwaris: From Jagat Seth to the Birlas written by Thomas A. Timberg & Gurcharan Das
The Marwaris: From Jagat Seth to the Birlas written by Thomas A. Timberg & Gurcharan
Das shows how the Marwaris rely on a centuries-old system for conserving and
growing capital which has stood them in good stead, alongside a strong sense of
business ethics which has earned them respect. Family businesses in general and
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the Marwaris in particular might have a vital role to play in shaping Indias economic
future. This book tells us why.
Anticipating India - The Best of National Interest authored by

Shekhar Gupta released
The Book entitled Anticipating India - The Best of National Interest written by Shekhar
Gupta, the editor-in-chief of The Indian Express was released on 24 May 2014.
The book has captured Indias political territory and trends of Shekhar Guptas 900odd columns spread through 19 years. The columns are a part of the column, National
Interest of Indian Express that was started by Shekhar Gupta in November 1997.
The collection of the columns covered myriads ways in which India has since 1997.
These columns and articles are a part of dilemmas, crisis and power plays of the
decade and more that have taken place in India. It has featured collection of columns
on topics like Ruchika Girhotra case of 1990 to the Delhi gang rape case of December
2012. It also speaks about the state affairs under the congress and rise of Narendra
Modi.
The book has questioned power, its use and abuse and within itself carries the ideas
of India that challenge conventional wisdom, shatter stereotypes and long-held
assumptions of who are as a nation and a people. Overall, the book is a compilation
of contemporary understanding of the history of India in new century.
Indian Railways launched a book entitled India Junction A

Window to the Nation
India Junction A Window to the Nation brought out by Public Relations Directorate
Railway Board
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Arunendra Kumar, the Chairman of Railway Board on 9 May 2014 released a book
entitled India Junction A Window to the Nation. The book has been brought out by
Public Relations Directorate Railway Board.
About the Book

The book features in-depth analytical essays of the rich history of Railways in India.
It contains delectable travel pieces along with some truly amazing and rare photo
features. It has examined that how railways has transformed the lives over time.
The book The Great Indian Railways includes 1853 the year when train travel began
in India and how it strengthened the British Rule in India. It also analyses the journey
of Mahatma Gandhi to start an effective freedom struggle after for the first time, he
was opposed to the Railways
The book also features award-winning and renowned authors including

Sir Mark Tully
Ruskin Bond
Gillian Wright
Ian J. Kerr
Jerry Pinto
Omair Ahmad
Kartik Iyengar
Shoba Narayan
Sandipan Deb
Sharmila Kantha
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My Years with Rajiv and Sonia written by R.D. Pradhan

A book My Years with Rajiv and Sonia written by R.D.Pradhan released on 27 March
2014. R.D.Pradhan has penned his work experiences with Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia
Gandhi in his book.
Pradhan who was associated with Rajiv after Indira Gandhis assassination shares
how Rajiv had tackled crucial situations like terrorism and the separatist movement
in the Punjab and festering insurgency in Mizoram. He also narrates his associations
with Sonia Gandhi and her career. He shreds light on how the Sonia emerged as a
formidable force to reckon with.
About the author

R.D.Pradhan has been the Union home-secretary and Governor of Arunachal Pradesh.
After retiring as home secretary, Pradhan worked as a close aide to Rajiv Gandhi
during his last election campaign in April-May 1991.
After Rajiv Gandhis brutal assassination (on 21 May 1991), the author recounts his
vital role in P.V. Narasimha Raos elevation as prime minister in late June 1991. Pradhan
legitimately asks, on the basis of certain facts, whether the assassination could have
been prevented. In the late 1990s and thereafter, the author was associated with
Sonia Gandhi and her career.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on 5 May 2014 declared outbreak of polio as
a World Health Emergency after detecting new cases of polio across borders from
countries like Syria and Pakistan.
WHO recommended citizens of affected countries travelling abroad to carry a
vaccination certificate. As per the WHO, the virus is considered endemic in only three
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countries: Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan.

Although, WHO has also listed Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Israel and Somalia
as countries among posing an ongoing risk for new wild poliovirus exportations in
2014.
As per WHO, Syria which was polio-free for 14 years was re-infected with the virus
from Pakistan.
It is only the second time in the WHOs history it has made such a declaration, the
first being during the swine flu pandemic of 2009.
WHO recorded 417 cases of polio worldwide in 2013, while till April 2014, it had already
recorded 68 cases. Between January 2014 and April 2014, three new importations of
the virus were detected, from Pakistan to Afghanistan, Syria to Iraq and Cameroon
to Equatorial Guinea.
Polio is a crippling and potentially fatal viral disease that mainly affects children under
the age of five.
The virus is transmitted through contaminated food and water, and multiplies in the
intestine. It can then invade the nervous system, causing paralysis in one in every
200 infections. It is capable of causing death within hours.
Book entitled A Stamp Is Born authored by C. R. Pakrashi

released
A Stamp is Born authored by C. R. Pakrashi
A book entitled A Stamp is Born authored by C. R. Pakrashi was released on 6 May
2014 by Vice President of India, M Hamid Ansari. The book gives a graphic account
of history and evolution of postage stamps.
The author Pakrashi, who is also a renowned Stamp designer in the book, has
described his first-hand experiences with all stages of production of the stamp right
from conception to final execution and printing. The book includes 56 commemorative
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stamps.
The author has focussed on designing which plays the most vital and important role
in the entire process.
Arctic Summer written by novelist Damon Galgut

Arctic Summer written by Novelist Damon Galgut was released on 6 March 2014.
Twice Booker shortlisted novelist Damon Galgut evokes the life and work of EM
Forster, his travels to India, and the freedom and inspiration he found there. The
novel is based on the journey of E M Forster.
The book talks about the complex, contradictory personality of E.M. Forster, his
inexplicable relationship with India and the South African literary scene.
About the Damon Galgut

Damon Galgut was born in Pretoria in 1963. He wrote his first novel, A Sinless
Season, when he was seventeen. His other books include Small Circle of Beings,
The Beautiful Screaming of Pigs, The Quarry, The Good Doctor, The Impostor and In
A Strange Room. So far he has written eight novels.
The Good Doctor was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, the Commonwealth
Writers Prize and the Dublin/IMPAC Award, The Impostor was also shortlisted for
the Commonwealth Writers Prize and In a Strange Room was shortlisted for the Man
Booker Prize.

Improving the Business Environment in India report was released on 6 May 2014.
The report on Best Practices to Improve Business Environment across States/Union
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Territories in India was prepared by consultancy firm Accenture on behalf of the

Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.
The report highlighted few facts and best practices adopted by some states
like
Gujarat - model of land acquisition was termed as the best in the country
Karnataka integrated and comprehensive system for VAT in
Maharashtra Labour Management solution and setting up Maharashtra Industry,
Trade and Investment Facilitation Cell
Rajasthan and Punjab single window clearance system
Background of the Study

The study Best Practices to Improve the Business Environment across states/
UTs in India was started following the reports of World Bank and World Economic
Forum. The reports of the two organisations ranked India poorly in terms of Business
Environment. Their report highlighted some the Problems and restrictions plague to
the business throughout its lifecycle, making it difficult, expensive and cumbersome
to start, grow or exit from a business.
In its suggestion the reports of the two organisations said that there is a clear need to
make it easier to do business in India. In its suggestion it said that the improvement
in the business environment would spur growth and generate employment to millions
across the country.
Following the reports, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has engaged
M/s Accenture to conduct a study on Improving the Business Environment in India.
Process of the study

An exhaustive study of the reports and interactions with various stakeholders and
helped identify the various parameters for measuring the state of doing business in
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India, the methodology to measure and collect information and the best practices being
followed by states/UTs. The following reports formed the foundation for Accentures
study of the Business Environment in India, World Banks Doing Business report,
World Economic Forums Global Competitiveness report, Bain-FICCIs Empowering
India report, CII-KPMGs Ease of Doing Business in India and Planning Commission.
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Defence | Security
Supersonic Akash air defence missiles on 28 May 2014 successfully intercepted the
targets. Indian Air Force (IAF) conducted the tests and it will be the first service to
induct the Akash missiles in their inventory.
The three Akash missiles were launched from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Balasore,
off the coast of Odisha. They were launched on tow body target of Lakshya (pilotless
target aircraft) moving at low altitude far boundary, and ripple mode missions. The
missiles intercepted the fast moving and maneuvering small RCS targets within small
interval of five seconds in ripple mode.
The missiles were developed by Defence Research and Development Laboratory
(DRDL) along with 13 other DRDO laboratories and manufactured by Bharat Dynamics
Limited (BDL). The launchers were developed by a DRDO lab and produced by Tata
Power and L&T.
About Akash Missile

Akash missiles were developed as part of Integrated Missile Development
Programme of the 1980.
It is an all weather area air defence weapon system for defending vulnerable areas
against medium range air targets penetrating from low, medium and high altitudes.
It is a Supersonic surface-to-air missile with a range of about 25 km and carries a
55 kg fragmentation warhead that is triggered by proximity fuze. It is autonomous
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and its operation is fully automated.

It uses state-of-art integral ram jet rocket propulsion system and the onboard
digital autopilot ensures stability and control.

The Indian Navy (IN) and Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) on 22 May 2014 started
the 2014 edition of annual bilateral naval exercises named SIMBEX 14 in Andaman
Sea. The exercise will end on 28 May 2014. SIMBEX is an acronym given to Singapore
Indian Maritime Bilateral Exercise.
SIMBEX 14 is hosted by Indian Navy and is 21st in the series. It has been designed
to enhance inter-operability and mutual understanding between the two navies.
Representations from the two sides in SIMBEX 14

Indian Navy has been represented by Indian Navy Ships Kuthar and Karmuk from
Eastern Naval Command. Apart from the ships, the Indian side is also represented
by a Maritime Patrol Aircraft and a Helicopter each from Andaman and Nicobar
Command.
Singapore Navy been represented has by Singapore missile Corvette, Valour
and the patrol vessel, Independence.
About the Bilateral Naval Cooperation between India and Singapore, SIMBEX
Bilateral Naval cooperation between the navies of the two countries, for the first time
was formalised in 1994, when RSN ships began training in Anti-Submarine Warfare
(ASW) with the Indian Navy.
Since inception in 1993, the SIMBEX has grown in tactical and operational complexity
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since then. It has transcended the traditional emphasis on Anti-Submarine Warfare

(ASW) to more complex maritime exercises of naval operations like Air Defence, Air
and Surface practice firing, Maritime Security and Search and Rescue Operations.
SIMBEX relationship between the Navies of India and Singapore

The Navies of the two nations, Indian and Singapore shares a long standing relationship
with regular professional interactions. SIMBEX is an outcome of a comprehensive
process of bilateral engagement through interactions. The two navys exchange
includes
Exchange programmes
Staff talks and cross-attendance at courses
The two navies continue to reinforce the strong maritime bridges of friendship that
connect the two nations.
Lieutenant General Dalbir Singh Suhag appointed as 26th

COAS
Union Government on 13 May 2014 appointed Lieutenant General Dalbir Singh Suhag
as the 26th Chief of Army Staff (COAS). Currently, he is serving as the Vice Chief of
Army Staff.
He will assume the charge on 31 July 2014 the date on which General Bikram Singh
retires. General Suhag will serve as the COAS for 29 month till 31 December 2016.
His name was cleared by the appointments committee of Cabinet (ACC) chaired by
PM Manmohan Singh.
The process of appointment gained momentum after the Union Defence Ministry got
a clearance from the Election Commission on 12 May 2014 and it recommended the
name of Suhag.
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Lieutenant General Suhag was commissioned into 4/5 Gorkha Rifles in June 1974.
He will be the second Gorkha Rifles officer to become the Army chief after late Field
Marshal Sam Manekshaw.
He took over as the Eastern Army Commander on 16 June 2012.
The Controversy
The process of appointing Army Chief got mired in a controversy because of Bhartiya
Janata Partys (BJP) opposition. The BJP opposed on the ground that former
COAS Gen VK Singh had imposed a discipline and vigilance (DV) promotion ban on
Lieutenant General Suhag in 2012.
He charged Lieutenant General Suhag with abdicating responsibility in handling a
botched operation by an intelligence and surveillance unit under him as the 3 Corps
commander in Dimapur.
But soon after Gen VK Singh retired in May 2012, Gen Bikram Singh had lifted the DV
ban on Lieutenant General Suhag.
The Tradition of Appointing Services Chief

As per tradition over the years, a new service chief is usually named two to three
months in advance, with the duration having ranged from 58 to 89 days. However,
the UPA government deviated from this practice when Bikram Singh was appointed
in 2012.
Lieutenant General Suhags name was announced 79 days in advance which is twoand-a-half months restoring the traditionally followed process.
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First indigenous air-to-air missile Astra successfully test fired

over Arabian Sea
First indigenously developed air-to-air

missile Astra successfully test fired on 4
May 2014 from a Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jet
over the Arabian Sea off Goa. Astra is
Indias first Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Airto-Air missile. It was designed and
developed indigenously by the DRDO.
India becomes the fifth country to have BVR missile. Only a few countries like the US,
Russia, France and Israel have managed to develop BVR missiles till now.
The 60-km plus range missile possesses high Single Shot Kill Probability (SSKP)
which makes it highly reliable.
Astra is an all-weather missile with active radar terminal guidance. Astra is a highly
advanced state of the art missile with excellent ECCM (electronic counter-counter
measures) features, smokeless propulsion and process improved effectiveness in
multi-target scenario.
The project was first sanctioned in March 2004 at an initial cost of 955 crore rupees.
While Astra is designed to take care of enemy aircraft, BrahMos will give surgical
land-strike capability against hostile targets. India is slated to begin testing the 290km supersonic BrahMos cruise missile from the heavy-duty Sukhoi-30MKIs by the
end of 2014.
Once fully operational, Astra will be much cheaper than contemporary BVR missiles.
DRDO is now confident it will be able to meet the revised project completion date
of December 2016. Astra is to initially have a 44-km range with high single-shot kill
probability.
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The current version of the Astra will be followed by a longer-range Astra Mark II,
which can be launched at enemy fighters 80 km away. The Mark II, which will have
a state-of-the-art ring-laser gyro, is expected to be flight tested at the end of 2014.
Key components of the Astra missile

The air launcher, a rail on which the missile hangs and from which it is launched, is a
Russian Vympel launcher that is being built in India. It will allow the Astra to be fired
from all four of Indias current generation fighters - the Su-30MKI, MiG-29, Mirage
2000 and the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft.
Moreover, the missile includes the data link between aircraft and missile, its on-board
computer, inertial navigation system, the radio proximity fuse and the fibre-optic
gyroscope. The seeker head was imported. A seeker is being developed, but will
take a decade to be usable.

State-run aerospace firm Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on 1 May 2014
handed over a Dornier light-weight aircraft to the Defence Research and Development
Organization (DRDO). The aircraft named as Nabhrathna signifying a jewel in the sky.
This aircraft is equipped with indigenous synthetic Aperture Radar and state-of-theart avionics and communication system.
The aircraft was designed to carry out testing of its under-development airborne
radar systems. The aircraft will be used by Bangalore based Electronics and Radar
Development Establishment (LRDE) as flying test bed (FTB) for evaluation of
performance of various radars being developed by LRDE.
HAL had signed the contract for Nabhratna Flying test bird aircraft in May 2013 and
completed the project in May 2014, six months before schedule time of November
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2014.
Significance of Nabhratna
Whenever LRDE needed to test any radar under development; they would approach
Indian Navy or Indian Coast Guard for loan allotment of DO-228 aircraft for limited
period. It was difficult to spare the aircraft because of operational needs resulting in
delay in the development of radars. In view of this LRDE decided to procure one DO228 aircraft on their own for testing of radar in air.
India successfully test-fired Akash missile from ITR Complex

in Chandipur
India on 2 May 2014 successfully test fired indigenously-developed surface-toair Akash missile from the launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at
Chandipur. Missile has a strike range of 25 km and capability to carry warhead of 60
kgs.
The trial was conducted by Indian Air Force personnel.
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Akash is a medium range surface-to-air anti-aircraft defence system developed by the

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as part of the Integrated
Guided Missile Development Programme. Akash Missile aimed at a para-barrel target
during the trial.
The missile has the capability to target aircraft up to 30 km away and is packed with
a battery that can track and attack several targets simultaneously. The missile was
last test fired from the same base on 26 April 2014.
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Report | Survey
World Gold Council Gold Demand Trends Report was released by the World Gold
Council on 20 May 2014. The Report covers the period from January 2014 March
2014 (or Quarter 1). According to the Report the demand for gold has returned to the
long-term quarterly average demand trends established over the past 5 years.
The Highlights of the Report

The demand in Quarter 1 of the year 2014
was 1074 tonnes, which remained
unchanged as compared to the same
period recorded in 2013.
The overall demand of gold rose by 3
percent in Quarter 1 of 2014 as compared
to the Quarter 1 of 2013.
Overall investment in gold has dipped
slightly to 282 tonnes in Quarter 1 of 2014
as compared to 288 tonnes in Quarter 1
of 2013.
The demand of coins and bars of gold went down by 39 percent as compared to
2013.
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Report with respect to India

There is a noticeable depreciation in demand of coins and bars in India as it dropped
by 54 percent to 45 tonnes. It means that the Gold demand in Indian declined by 26
percent. Factors that caused a decrease in India were duty and restrictions on gold
imports which was coupled with restrictions on free movement of cash and other
assets.
World Gold Council

The World Gold Council is a market development organisation for gold industry. The
organisation through its measures intervene the society to create new possibilities.
As the global authority on gold, it offers comprehensive analysis of the industry and
give unparalleled information and insight to the decision makers into the drivers of
gold demand.
Managing Director Investment Strategy at World Gold Council: Marcus Grubb
Forbes Middle East released the second edition of the List of

Tops Indians in the Arab world 2014
The business magazine Forbes Middle East on 5 May 2014 released the second
edition of the list of Top Indian leaders in the Arab world 2014. The second edition
was launched by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who features on the cover
page of the second edition, in Dubai.
The second edition ranks 170 Indians residing not only in the Emirates, but across
the Middle East as compared to the first edition that only covered prominent Indian
figures in the United Arab Emirates. The first edition of the Forbes Middle East Top
Indians in the Middle East was released in 2013.
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Rank
The list of Top 10 Indians in Middle East
Name
Company
Yusuffali MA
Lulu Group International
Mukesh Jagtiani
Landmark Group
BR Shetty
NMC Healthcare / UAE Exchange
Sunny Varkey
Global Education Management Systems (GEMS)
Tony Jashanmal
Jashanmal Group
Syed Salahuddin
ETA Ascon & Star Group
Rajen Kilachand
Dodsal Group
PNC Menon
Sobha Group
Harshad Mehta
Rosy Blue Group
10
Ravi Pillai
RP Group
Other highlights of the List

A total of 120 business owners and founders made it to the ranking, with 22
percent falling within the retail sector, 19 per cent of them in industrials and 7.5
percent in the diversified sector.
The UAE ranked first with 78 percent of business owners choosing to establish
their companies in the country.
Banking and finance was the most prevalent sector, with 13 CEOs. Sanjeev
Chadha, CEO of PepsiCo AMEA, topped the CEO.
Among the top 10 Indian CFOs 7 are based in the UAE, DP Worlds Yuvraj Narayan
topped the CFO category.
6.5 Million Jobs globally provided by Renewable Energy in

2013: IRENA
A new study Renewable Energy and Jobs Annual Review 2014 was released by the
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International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) on 11 May 2014.

The study revealed that approximately 6.5 million people were already employed in
the renewable energy industry worldwide in 2013 which increased from 5.7 million in
2012.
The study was presented at the Clean Energy Ministerial Level Meet in Seoul, South
Korea. The meet was attended by energy ministers and other high-level officials from
23 countries. The study highlights the important role that renewable energy continues
to play in employment creation and growth in the global economy.
Highlights of the study:

Renewable energy employment was shaped by regional shifts, industry realignments,
growing competition and advances in technologies and manufacturing processes
in 2013.
The largest employers by country are China, Brazil, the United States, India,
Germany, Spain and Bangladesh.
The largest employers by sector are solar photovoltaic, biofuels, wind, modern
biomass and biogas.
IRENA estimated a five-fold increase of solar PV installations in China from 2011
to 2013.
In the wind industry, China and Canada provided positive impulses while the outlook
for the United States remains somewhat mixed because of political uncertainty.
The offshore wind industry is still concentrated in Europe, particularly the United
Kingdom and Germany.
The biofuels value chain provides the second largest number of renewable energy
jobs after solar PV. The United States remains the largest biofuels producer, while
Brazil remains the largest employer.
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About the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA):

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is mandated as the global hub
for renewable energy cooperation and information exchange by 131 Members (130
States and the European Union).
The Agency promotes the widespread adoption and sustainable use of all forms
of renewable energy, including bioenergy, geothermal, hydropower, ocean, solar
and wind energy in the pursuit of sustainable development, energy access, energy
security and low-carbon economic growth and prosperity.

WHO (World Health Organization)
release on 7 May 2014 stated that the
quality of air in most cities worldwide
that monitor outdoor (ambient) air
pollution failed to meet the WHO
guidelines for safe levels. The report
2014 version of the Ambient Air
Pollution database also said that this
deterioration had put people at
additional risk of respiratory disease and other health problems.
In its study, WHOs urban air quality database covered 1600 cities across 91
countries, which are 500 more cities which were studied in previous database 2011.
This increase in the number of cities reveals a fact that more cities worldwide are
monitoring outdoor air quality, reflecting growing recognition of air pollutions health
risks.
In its findings, WHO discovered that about half of the urban population being monitored
is exposed to air pollution at about 2.5 times higher than the levels recommended
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by WHO. Hence these people are at an additional risk of serious, long-term health
problems.
Certain factors that contribute to increase the air pollution

Reliance on fossil fuels such as coal fired power plants
Dependence on private transport motor vehicles
Inefficient use of energy in buildings
Use of biomass for cooking and heating
In its findings WHO also noted that there are certain cities that have recorded notable
improvements by implementing policy measures such as
Banning the use of coal for space heating in buildings
Using renewable or clean fuels for electricity production
Improving efficiency of motor vehicle engines
Health risks caused by air pollution

WHOs latest available data has called in certain awareness against health risks
caused by air pollution, implementation of effective air pollution mitigation policies
and close monitoring of the situation in cities worldwide.
In its new information released in April 2014, it estimated that the outdoor air pollution
was responsible for the deaths of some 3.7 million people under the age of 60 in
2012.
Report conclusion in context of India

In terms of India, the release counted Delhi among one of the most polluted city in
the world in terms of air quality. It termed that the national capital has the highest
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concentration of particulate matters less than 2.5 microns, which is considered most
serious.
This form of concentration consists of tiny particles that put people at additional risk
of respiratory diseases and other health problems.
About the study

The study was a compilation of certain primary sources like official national/subnational reports, national/ sub-national web sites containing measurements of PM10
or PM2.5, and relevant national agencies. The measurement was based on the reports
of regional networks like
The Asian Clean Air Initiative for Asia
Airbase for Europe
In the absence of data from the previous sources, data from some other organisations
were compiled like
UN agencies
Development agencies
Articles from peer reviewed journals were used
WHO regions
Africa Region
Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkino Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde,
Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Cte dIvoire, Democratic Republic
of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea,
Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania,
Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe,
Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Swaziland, Togo,
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Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Eastern Mediterranean Region

Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait,
Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Occupied Palestinian territory, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates,
Yemen

Forbes 11th annual Global 2000 list was released on 7 May 2014. The Forbes Global
2000 is a comprehensive list of the worlds largest, most powerful public companies,
which was measured by revenues, profits, assets and market value.
The top three biggest public companies and five of the top 10 are from China and
added 25 firms to the list. The top 5 companies in the list are
1. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China Banking
2. China Construction Bank, China Banking
3. Agricultural Bank of China, China Banking
4. JPMorgan Chase, United States Banking
5. Berkshire Hathaway, United States Conglomerate
Technology giant Apple (15) followed by financial giant Citigroup (16), energy
corporation Chevron on rank 18 and Facebook (561).
Banks and diversified financials dominate the list (476 firms), the next three biggest
industries by membership are oil & gas (125 firms), insurance (114 firms) and utilities
(100 firms) provided their contributions through their outsize revenue and massive
assets.
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The Asia-Pacific region came out on top and produced the most names on the Global
2000 for the seventh year running (707 firms) and followed by Europe with 605. US
(564), Japan (225) and India (54). Africa has the least Global 2000 members, adding
seven companies to the list.
For the first time firms from Mauritius, Slovakia and Togo joined the Global 2000 list.
Indian Companies in the list

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (rank 135) leads the Indian list, followed by
State Bank of India (155). The other companies in the list are Oil and Natural Gas
ranked 176; ICICI Bank (304); Tata Motors (332); Indian Oil (416); HDFC Bank (422);
Coal India (428); Larsen & Toubro (500); Tata Consultancy Services (543); Bharti Airtel
(625); Axis Bank (630); Infosys (727); Bank of Baroda (801); Mahindra & Mahindra
(803); ITC (830); Wipro (849); Bharat Heavy Electricals (873); GAIL India (955); Tata
Steel (983) ;Power Grid of India (1011).
Wal-Mart took the No. 1 spot in sales; Fannie Mae tops in profits and also leads in
assets; and Apple is the company with the highest market value.

United Nations International Telecommunications Union (ITU) on 5 May 2014 released
the new statistics ICT [Information and Communications Technology]. The statistics
claimed that by the end of 2014 the world will have about 3 billion internet users
two-thirds of them will be from the developing world with mobile-broadband
penetration approaching 32 percent. The 3 billion people accounts for about 40
percent of worlds population.
The ICT figures also highlighted that by the end of 2014, the mobile-cellular will reach
7 billion of which over 75 percent users will be a part of developing countries.
Figurative details of for other countries and region by the end of 2014
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Africa about one fifth of the population will have an access to Internet
Americas nearly two-thirds of the population will be online
Europe highest Internet penetration rate of 75 percent
Asia-Pacific region the largest population of Internet users
The statistics also claimed that in case of the mobile-broadband penetration the
number of subscriptions will achieve 2.3 billion globally. Of this number 55 percent
would be a part of developing world.
ITU statistics suggested that the mobile-broadband will remain the fastest growing
market segment, which will be a continuous double-digit growth rates in 2014. In
addition, Africa takes the lead in its growth, from 2 percent in 2010 to almost 20
percent in 2014.
About the ITU Statistics

The ITU statistics is widely recognized as the worlds most reliable and impartial
global data on the state of the global ICT industry. They are used extensively by
leading intergovernmental agencies, financial institutions and private sector analysts
worldwide.
Director of ITUs Telecommunication Development Bureau -Brahima Sanou

India dropped to 78 in the latest Freedom of the press 2014. Press freedom score of
India declined by a point to 39 and dropped it in the list of countries with partially free
media. In 2013 Index, the rank of India was 20 with 38 points.
Sweden topped the list and belongs to the worlds most independent press.
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The worlds eight worst-rated countries remain Belarus, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea,
Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Highlights of the Global Findings

Of the 197 countries and territories assessed during 2013, a total of 63 (32 percent)
were rated Free, 68 (35 percent) were rated Partly Free, and 66 (33 percent) were
rated Not Free.
All regions except sub-Saharan Africa, whose average score leveled off, showed
declines, with the Middle East and North Africa suffering the worst deterioration.
Triggers for country declines included governments overt attempts to control
the newswhether through the physical harassment of journalists covering
protest movements or other sensitive stories, restrictions on foreign reporters, or
tightened constraints on online news outlets and social mediaas well as the role
of owners in shaping media content through directives on coverage or dismissals
of outspoken journalists.
Country improvements were largely driven by three factors: a growing ability of
private firms to operate television and radio outlets; greater access to a variety
of views via online media, social media, and international outlets; and improved
respect for legal protections for the press.
China and Russia maintained a tight grip on local media while also attempting
to control the more independent views provided either in the blogosphere or by
foreign news sources.
Chinas score stood at 84, Pakistan 64 and Sri Lanka 76. China, rated Not Free,
continued to crack down on online speech, particularly on microblogs, and also
ramped up pressure on foreign journalists.
Press freedom deteriorated in Hong Kong, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and several
Pacific Island states, including Nauru, which was downgraded to Partly Free.
Meanwhile, 44 percent of the world population lived in areas where the media was
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not free and 42 percent in places where press was partly free, around 63 countries
(32%) were rated free.
About Freedom of the press 2014

Total 197 countries were
assessed for the index
2014.
Each
country
received a numerical score
from 0 (the most free) to
100 (the least free) on the
basis of combined scores
from three subcategories:
the legal environment,
political environment and the economic environment.
For each category, a lower number of points is allotted for a more free situation, while
a higher number of points is allotted for a less free environment.
The report by Freedom House was conducting annual surveys since 1980. It found
that the share of the worlds population with media rated free remained at 14 per cent
in 2013, or only one in seven people.
Antimicrobial resistance: global report on surveillance Report by WHO

World Health Organisation (WHO) released a report Antimicrobial resistance: global
report on surveillance on 30 April 2014. WHO report provides the status of antibiotic
resistance with data from 114 countries.
Report showed that antibiotic resistance revealed serious and worldwide threat to
public health. Antibiotic resistance is a stage when bacteria change so antibiotics no
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longer work in people who need them to treat infections. Antibiotic resistance is now
a major threat to public health.
Antibiotic resistance causes people to be sick for longer and increases the risk of
death.
The report showed that resistance is occurring across many different infectious
agents but the report focuses on antibiotic resistance in seven different bacteria
responsible for common, serious diseases such as bloodstream infections (sepsis),
diarrhoea, pneumonia, urinary tract infections and gonorrhoea. The results are cause
for high concern, documenting resistance to antibiotics in all regions of the world.
Highlights of the report

Resistance to the treatment of last resort for life-threatening infections caused by
a common intestinal bacteria, Klebsiella pneumoniaecarbapenem antibioticshas
spread to all regions of the world.
K. pneumoniae is a major cause of hospital-acquired infections such as pneumonia,
bloodstream infections, infections in newborns and intensive-care unit patients. In
some countries, because of resistance, carbapenem antibiotics would not work in
more than half of people treated for K. pneumoniae infections.
In the 1980s, when these drugs were first introduced, resistance was virtually zero.
Today, there are countries in many parts of the world where this treatment is now
ineffective in more than half of patients.
Treatment failure to the last resort of treatment for gonorrhoeathird generation
cephalosporinshas been confirmed in Austria, Australia, Canada, France, Japan,
Norway, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden and the United Kingdom. More than 1 million
people are infected with gonorrhoea around the world every day.
The report reveals that key tools to tackle antibiotic resistancesuch as basic systems
to track and monitor the problemshow gaps or do not exist in many countries. While
some countries have taken important steps in addressing the problem, every country
and individual needs to do more.
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Other important actions include preventing infections from happening in the first
placethrough better hygiene, access to clean water, infection control in health-care
facilities, and vaccinationto reduce the need for antibiotics. WHO is also calling
attention to the need to develop new diagnostics, antibiotics and other tools to allow
healthcare professionals to stay ahead of emerging resistance.
This report is kick-starting a global effort led by WHO to address drug resistance.
This will involve the development of tools and standards and improved collaboration
around the world to track drug resistance, measure its health and economic impacts,
and design targeted solutions.
UN study titled Violence against women in politics released

The study titled Violence against women in politics was released on 30 April 2014
by the Centre for Social Research and UN Women. According to the study, Violence
against women in politics is rampant in South Asia due to insufficient implementation
of laws and lack of support from police and judiciary.
The study was conducted in India, Nepal and Pakistan and it analysed the incidents
of violence that occurred in these countries from 2003 to 2013. It was conducted to
address the nature, extent and reasons for violence that inhibits womens political
participation. Respondents included election commission officials, police, contestants
and families in urban and rural areas were interviewed.
Highlights
The study found that the percentage of female voters and women representatives
in national bodies has decreased in these countries. More than 60 percent of
women do not participate in politics due to fear of violence and almost 90 percent
of women in these countries feel that violence breaks their resolve to join politics.
South Asia contains one-fifth of world population and one-third of South Asian
women experienced violence throughout their lives, which is also a common
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feature of South Asian politics.

Women in politics face multiple types of violence, in different countries like
1. In case of India women they suffer from physical violence, verbal and threat of
violence as 45 percent of women candidates in India faced physical violence
and threats in comparison to only 21 percent (physical violence) and 16 percent
(threats) in Nepal respectively.
2. In case of Nepal and Pakistan the female suffers from character assassination (a
greater threat)
3. Other forms of violence are threats, kidnapping and killing
The women are denied from their rights to participate in politics at every stage (right
to vote, contest election, access resources and education. The denial of the right
to vote was commonly experienced by women voters while women candidates
were denied their right to join a political party or to contest elections.
The study recommended that urgent action should be taken at different levels like
1. Law-making
2. Political parties
3. Law-implementing agency
4. Law-influencing agency
These levels were chosen or selected to expand political reservations for women
with minimum 33 percent reservation.
It also suggested that political parties should include more women party members
in all committees, the election commission needs to take steps to recognize,
protect, promote and institutionalize womens participation in politics.
Several Latin American countries such as Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Mexico
are pushing legislation to prevent and punish all forms of persecution, harassment
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and violence against women.

The study revealed that the insufficient implementation of laws, lack of support
from police and judiciary, low awareness about politics and overall decline in moral
values are the major reasons for violence against women in politics.
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Committees | Commissions
SC reconstituted SIT headed by Justice MB Shah to probe
into Black Money Cases
The Supreme Court of India on 1 May 2014 reconstituted a Special Investigation
Team (SIT) to monitor the probe into the black money case. To provide guidance
and direction to the SIT in investigation of all cases of black money in the country
and abroad, the Court appointed retired judge MB Shah as its Chairman and retired
Judge Arijit Pasayat as the Vice Chairman.
The SITs Chairman and Vice Chairman were appointed by a bench of the Supreme
Court that comprised Justice H L Dattu, Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai and Justice
M B Lokur.
The apex court in its direction has ordered the Centre to furnish all documents
and information about the cases in which probe is complete in a sealed cover to
petitioners, within three days. It also asked the government to make public details of
all 26 cases of individuals probed for stashing black money into foreign tax havens.
Background
The central government on 29 April 2014 placed 26 names and documents of account
holders in Liechtenstein Bank (LST bank) in Germany in a sealed cover to the Supreme
Court. The Supreme Court ordered the centre to make public the names of account
holders in LGT bank that was received by it in 2009 from the authorities of German
tax.
The 26 names were placed by the centre to the Apex court after resisting for more
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than three years. In its finding the centre revealed names of 18 cases (of which one
tax payer has expired) with a claim that they stashed black money in the LST bank
and against whom prosecution have been launched by the Income Tax department.
It also placed names of other individuals with respect of eight other cases in a sealed
envelope claiming the no evidence of tax evasion was found. Centre also asked the
Supreme Court bench headed by Justice HL Dattu not to make public those names.
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Accident | Incident
Gorakhdham Express derailed at Sant Kabirnagar district in
Uttar Pradesh killing 20 people
Chureb railway station in Sant Kabirnagar district Gorakhpur Express accident
Gorakhdham Express going from Delhi to Gorakhpur rammed into a stationary goods
train near Khalilabad in Uttar Pradesh on 26 May 2014. In the accident, six bogies
were derailed and it is feared that at least 20 people have died and 70 were injured.
Cause of the accident

Gorakhdham express train came on the same track as the stationary freight train near
Chureb Railway Station at the Sant Kabirnagar district. Dead bodies were brought
out from the damaged coaches of the train. The damaged coaches in the accident
include four general coaches, one sleeper and one AC.
The Railways has ordered an inquiry into the region of the accident and announced
compensation for the dead and injured ones. As per the announcement, one lakh
rupees will be given to the families of deceased ones, whereas 50000 rupees will be
given to those who are seriously injured. People with simple injuries will be granted
10000 rupees each.
Chronology of some rail accidents in 2014

4 May 2014: six bogies of Diva-Sawantwadi passenger train derailed in the Konkan
Railway route in Raigad district of Maharashtra. In this accident at least 20 people
were killed and 120 were injured
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17 February 2014: ten coaches of Nizamuddin-Ernakulam Lakshadweep Mangala

Express train were derailed at Ghoti near Igatpuri in Nashik district. In this
derailment, at least three were killed and more than 37 wetter injured.
8 January 2014: three sleeper coaches of Bandra Dehradun Express were gutted
in fire between Dahanu Road and Gholvad station near Surat. At least five people
were killed in the incident.

Soma of Turkey: Coal pit collapsed
A coal pit in Soma of western Turkey collapsed after an explosion on 14 May 2014.
The collapse killed at least 274 miners and the rescuers are still hunting for the other
missing persons.
Dozens of miners escaped the collapse of Soma that is located 450 kilometers from
Ankara. As per the officials, about 100 more miners are unaccounted.
The rescue efforts were hampered due to fire and toxic carbon monoxide fumes at
the mine. As per the reports, 787 people were at work in the mine at the time of the
accident in the mine or which 363 have been rescued. The incident took place due
to electrical fault.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Prime Minister of Turkey announced three days of
mourning for one of the most deadly mining disaster in Turkey.
Previous such a big disaster of Turkey was reported in 1992 in which about 263
miners were killed near Zonguldak (a city on the western coast of the Black Sea).
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Abbreviations | Terms
SIMBEX - Singapore Indian Maritime Bilateral Exercise
Indian Navy and Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) conducted annual bilateral naval
exercises named SIMBEX 2014 in Andaman Sea. The 21st series of SIMBEX hosted
by India was conducted from 22 May to 28 May 2014.
SIMBEX 14 was designed to enhance inter-operability and mutual understanding
between the navies of the two nations.
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Inventions | Discoveries
After 500 years, Christopher Columbuss ship the Santa Maria claimed to be found
After 500 years, Christopher Columbuss ship the Santa Maria was claimed to be
found by archaeological investigators led by Barry Clifford. Christopher Columbuss
flagship, the Santa Maria, got wrecked in the Caribbean.
The vessels long-lost remains was claimed to be lying at the bottom of the sea off
the north coast of Haiti.
An expedition was mounted by team of Barry Clifford a decade ago. He had found
and photographed the wreck but had not realized its probable identity.
Tentatively identifying the wreck as the Santa Maria was made possible by quite
separate discoveries made by other archaeologists in 2003 suggesting that the
probable location of Columbus fort lied relatively nearby.
About The Santa Maria

Santa Maria was the largest of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus in his
first voyage. The ship was constructed in 1460 and was struck in 1492.
The ship was used by Columbus in 1492 to found a direct trade tour to India.
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Archaeologists have discovered a granary with walls of mud-bricks during justconcluded excavation at Rakhigarhi village a Harappan civilisation site, in Haryana.
The discovered granary that has rectangular and squarish chambers is in a remarkably
good condition. The excavation work was done from January to April 2014.
Some Important findings at the site of granary

Its floor is made of ramped earth and plastered with mud
Traces of lime, and its presence indicates that it was used in the storehouse as it
acts as insecticide
Decomposed grass have been found in the granary walls, might be possible it was
used to prevents moisture from entering the grains
The excavation process at Rakhigarhi was carried on by students and teachers of

the Department of Archaeology, Deccan College Post-Graduate & Research Institute
of Pune and Maharshi Dayanand University of Rohtak in Haryana. Director of the
excavation was Vasant Shinde, Vice-Chancellor/Director, Deccan College.
As per the archaeologists, the nature and structure suggests that the big structure
that extends on all sides of the granary didnt help them to make sure that was this
private or public granary. They concluded that all the discoveries inclusive, when
estimated would have a total area of 350 hectare.
Rakhigarhi is a site of mature Harappan phase from 2600 BCE to 2000 BCE. Across
three countries namely India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, there are about 2000
Harappan sites.
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Rakhigarhi as an Archaeological Site

The Rakhigarhi site belongs to the mature Harappan phase, which lasted from 2600
BCE to 2000 BCE and is located in Hisar district of Haryana. It is the largest Harappan
site ever found. The village was discovered to be a part of the Indus Valley Civilisation
including early Harappan settlements, in the year 1963. Its considered that the village
spans over the dry bed of Sarasvati River (believed to be disappeared by drying up
by 2000 BC).
Archaeological Survey of India started excavation work in the Rakhigarhi area in
1997. They have revealed that the lost city had an approximate area of at least 2.2
square kilometres. Till date, they have discovered several artifacts, which are found
to be about 5,000 years old.
At present, Rakhigarhi is situated in the confluence of two rivers Ghaggar and
Chautang (it is a seasonal river in the state). These two rivers once were the main
contributors to the Sarasvati River till Yamuna changed its course.
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Art | Culture
Film Winter Sleep honoured with Palme dOr Award at 67th
Cannes Film Festival
Film Winter Sleep was honoured with Palme dOr Award at the 67th Cannes Film
Festival held in Cannes from 16 May to 25 May 2014. The film has been directed by
Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan.
Winter Sleep is the second film by a Turkish director to win the highest honour of
Cannes Film festival. Earlier in 1982, the film The Way directed by Turkish Directors
Yilmaz Guney and Serif Goren won the Plame dOr Award.
Winter Sleep is a sprawling, character-rich portrait of a self-absorbed Anatolian
hotelier and his uneasy relationships with those around him.
Other awards at Cannes Film Festival are following

Palme dOr award - Winter Sleep by Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan
The Grand Prix - The Wonders directed by Italian director, Alice Rohrwacher
Best actress- Maps to the Stars stared by Julianne Moore.
Best Actor- Timothy Spall stared by the Mr Turner.
Best director- Foxcatcher directed by Bennett Miller.
Screenplay - Leviathan to Andrey Zvyagintsev and Oleg Negin
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Other Prizes:
Camera dOr - Party Girl to Marie Amachoukeli, Claire Burger, Samuel Theis
Short Films Palme d Or - Leidi to Simon Mesa Soto
Short Films Special Mention Aissa to Clement Trehin-Lalanne
Ecumenical Jury Prize: Timbuktu -Abderrahmane Sissako, Mauritania-France
Un Certain Regard Prize:

Un Certain Regard Prize- White God to Kornel Mundruczo
The jury prize- Mommy directed by Canadian director Xavier Dolan and Goodbye to
Language by French Jean-Luc Godard.
Special Prize- The Salt of the Earth to Wim Wenders and Juliano Ribeiro Salgado.
Ensemble- Party Girl for Marie Amachoukeli, Claire Burger, Samuel Theis
Actor - Charlies Country to David Gulpilil
Directors Fortjnight prizes:

Art Cinema Award- Les Combattants to Thomas Cailley
Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers Prize - Les Combattants
Europa Cinemas Label- Les Combattants
Spain suspended the 12th bull fight festival after matadors

got injured by bulls
Spain on 22 May 2014 suspended the 12th bull fight festival (called San Isidro festival
in Spain) after matadors got injured by bulls. The fight was suspended after the bulls
injured two matadors torero, David Mora and Antonio Nazare and tossed a third one,
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Jimenez Fortes, into the air.

It was for the first time that event had been suspended in 35 years.
The two bulls were Deslio, a 532-kilogram animal from the El Ventorrillo breeding
ranch, and the 537-kilogram Feten of the Los Chospes ranch.
About San Isidro (Bull fighting) Festival

Every year around 15 May, the famed San Isidro (bull fighting) Festival are held in
Madrid.
Approximately 2000 bullfights are held each year in Spain in a tradition that dates
back 4000 years.
Bull fighting (also known as Corrida) is still permitted in a majority of Spanish regions.
In 2013, it was granted the traditional cultural heritage status by the Spains Congress
to protect it from further bans.
Gujarats monument Rani ki Vav to be digitally recreated in

Scotland
One of the monuments in Gujarat Rani ki Vav (The Queens Stepwell) will be digitally
recreated in Scotland, United Kingdom under the project called The Scottish Ten.
Rani ki Vav is among five international heritage sites to be replicated digitally using
latest technology in Scotland.
The digital recreation of Rani ki Vav will help bring the site to a much wider audience
and raise both its national and international profile. Vav is not widely known outside
India and currently it is on the UNESCO tentative World Heritage List.
The other overseas sites which will be digitally recreated under The Scottish Ten
project are: the Presidential heads at Mount Rushmore National Memorial in USA,
Eastern Qing tombs in China and the Sydney Opera House in Australia. The fifth site
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will be selected and announced till June 2014.

Besides, the above international sites, the project also include five heritage sites
of Scotland. These are Neolithic Orkney, Antonine Wall, the Old and New Towns of
Edinburgh, New Lanark cotton mill complex and the island of St Kilda.
About Scottish Ten project

The Scottish Ten project is an ambitious five year programme to create accurate
digital models of Scotlands five UNESCO-designated World Heritage Sites and five
international heritage sites in order to better conserve and manage them.
The primary aims of the Scottish Ten project are to:

Digitally preserve important historical sites for the benefit of future generations in
Scotland and overseas.
Share and promote Scottish technical expertise in conservation and digital
visualisation.
Foster international collaboration and build lasting partnerships that capitalise on
cultural connections with Scotland.
Provide 3D digital models and data to site staff to better care for the heritage
asset.
Create digital documentation and accurate 3D surveys of the sites for future
development of innovative world class and innovative research, education and
management.
About Rani ki Vav

Rani ki Vav is a famous stepwell situated in Patan town in Gujarat in India.Patan was
called as Anhilpur Patan when King Siddharja Jaysingh was ruling & it was the capital
of Gujarat.
Rani ki Vav was built in between 1022-1063 AD. The site was only re-discovered
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in the 1950s as its many levels had been backfilled with silt over the centuries. As
a result the ornate carvings are excellently preserved. It has many unique features
which have rendered it one of the most important step wells in India.
Brazil honoured 100 years of Indian cinema by releasing two

postage stamps
To pay tribute to the 100 years of Indian cinema, Brazil on 5 May 2014 released two
postage stamps designed by an Indian graphic designer. The stamp was released in
Brasilia to mark the Indian Cinema Film Festival which is dedicated to contemporary
Indian cinemas.
The postage stamps have been designed by Kochi-based graphic designer Satya
Raj and were released by Indias Ambassador to Brazil, Ashok Tomar along with
Anand Jyothi and Carina Bini Palackapilly, the curators and directors of the festival.
About the Indian Cinema Film Festival in Brazil

The Indian cinema Film Festival is the first of its kind festival in South America. The
festival would later move to other cities of Brazil by the end of the 2014 FIFA World
Cup scheduled to be held from 12 June to 13 July 2014. Some cities where the
festival will move include
Rio De Janerio, Reife (Northern Brazil)
Porte Alegre (Southern Brazil)
Production house Tantri Arte has organised the film festival in collaboration with
the Cultural Ministry of Brazil and it focuses mainly on art and parallel movies. The
production house is run by film curator Indo-Brazilian couple Jyothi and his wife
Palackapilly. They have been organising Indian Cinema Film festival since 2011. The
2012 film festival witnessed screening of 35 Indian movies.
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Gandhi in Mexico: A Look at Non-Violence
A documentary titled Gandhi in Mexico: A Look at Non Violence was screened at the
India International Centre (IIC) in New Delhi on 17 May 2014. The documentary was
produced by OraWorldMadala and TV UNAM (TV channel of the National Autonomous
University of Mexico) and the Gujarat Vidyapith founded by Mahatma Gandhi.
The aim of the documentary is to bring forth a dialogue between India and Mexico on
various shades of violence they have both experienced in varying degrees.
The documentary film documents about a delegation that visited Mexico from India
under one of the last disciples of Gandhi. The delegation to Mexico encountered
Gandhian values in the effort of people to achieve a positive transformation of Mexico.
Actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan led the Indian delegation at the 67th Cannes
International Film Festival inaugurated in Cannes, France on 14 May 2014. The
Festival will be held from 14 to 25 May 2014.
Kamal Haasan is chairman of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and
Industry (FCCI) Media and Entertainment Committee-South.
Kamal Haasan inaugurated the Indian Pavilion. The India Pavilion will showcase
Indian cinema across linguistic, cultural and regional diversity.
The Indian Pavilion aim is to forge an increasing number of international partnerships
in the realms of distribution, production, filming in India, script development and
technology, and promoting film sales and syndication.
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The only Indian film in the festival is Titli by Love Sex Aur Dhokha writer Kanu Behl.
The film starred by Ranvir Shorey and it is screened in the Un Certain Regard section
of the festival.
About Kamal Haasan

Kamal Haasan is a Tamil film actor, screenwriter,
director,
producer,
playback
singer,
choreographer and lyricist. He won four
national awards and many film fare awards.
He has starred in the highest number of
films submitted by India for the Best Foreign
Language Film Oscar.
His tamil movie Nayagan, rated by Time
magazine as one of the best films in cinema
history.

The largest flawless blue diamond of
World and a rare Mughal necklace
were auctioned by Christie on 14
May 2014 in Geneva. The sale is
expected to fetch a total of 80 million
US dollar.
Dating back to 17th century, the
seven Mughal engraved spinel bead
necklace will be sold at Magnificent
Jewels sale. The pendent necklace engraved with names of Mughal emperors Akbar
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and Jahangir is expected to fetch well over 2000000 US dollar for Christie.
Following are some of the precious diamonds to be sold

Eleven Mughal spinel beads with a total weight of 877.23 carats kept at Museum
of Islamic Art in Qatar. Three of them engraved with names of Emperor Jahangir
and one with that of Emperor Shah Jahan.
The sale will also feature many important coloured and colourless diamonds such as
the 5.50 carat The Ocean Dream.
The Rajah Diamond a 26.14 carat old-mine brilliant-cut diamond is among 14
jewels that are being auctioned under A Passion for Jewels: Collection of an
European Gentleman.
Another section of the sale Noble Jewels features a natural pearl and diamond
necklace and was orginally in the personal jewellery casket of Queen Elizabeth of
Prussia.
Six months earlier, Christies Geneva sold The Orange the largest fancy vivid orange
diamond in the world for 35.5 million US dollar. It is a global record for an orange
diamond.
The introduction of diamonds to the Western world is attributed to celebrated French
traveller and gem-merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605-1689). During the 17th
century, he travelled to India and brought back a spellbinding stock of diamonds that
dazzled the French Court. These sparklers of extraordinary transparency came from
Golconda and a captivated King Louis XIV called them pools of crystal water.
Indian documentary Silent Screams won three awards at

US festival
kMay 2014 won three awards at the 2014 New York Festivals International TV and
Film Awards. The awards included
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Gold World Medal for Best Investigative Report

Two Bronze Gold Medals each in the Current Affairs and Human Concerns sections
respectively
The film is about politics of rape in India and was written by Manira A Pinto. The
documentary was produced by Miditech for Channel NewsAsia.
The documentary tells the story of the brutal Delhi gang-rape of the 23-year-old
paramedical student, Nirbhaya on 16 December 2012. Documentary also depicts
the subsequent rise up of the people across the country to express their shock and
outrage. Nirbahaya is the name was given to the girl by the media, who died few days
after the rape
Apart from this, the film also investigates the rape case of a 15-year old girl.
Earlier, the story has won the Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union Perspective Award
2013 in Hanoi. It has also been screened at the
Mumbai Womens International Film Festival 2013
Mountain Echos Festival in Bhutan
As well as in different colleges, NGOs and legal aid organisations across the world
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Day | Week | Year

International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers observed
across the world
29 May - International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers
The international Day of United Nations Peacekeepers was observed on 29 May
2014. The theme of year 2014: UN PEACEKEEPING: A Force for Peace. A Force for
Change. A Force for the Future.
The day celebrations include the honour of all peacekeepers who lost their lives
while serving under the UN flag. Besides, the Dag Hammarskjold Medal is awarded
posthumously to the peacekeepers who lost the lives while serving in the cause of
peace, during the preceding year.
About International Day of UN peacekeepers

The General Assembly adopted the resolution in 2003 and designated 29 May as the
International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.
The day was celebrated annually

To honour the memory of the UN peacekeepers who have lost their lives in the
cause of peace;
To pay tribute to all the men and women who have served and continue to serve
in UN peacekeeping operations for their high level of professionalism, dedication
and courage.
US Peacekeeping operation use the day to strengthen bonds with the local populations
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like holding sporting events, school and orphanage visits, art and essay competitions,
photo exhibits, neighbourhood clean ups, tree plantings, concerts, and conferences
and workshops on peace issues.

21 May 2014: Anti Terrorism Day/ Martyrdom of Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi
Anti-Terrorism Day observed Across India on 21 May 2014. The day is celebrated
as 23rd Death Anniversary of former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi.The day is
marked by a pledge taking ceremony among other activities.
Every Year Union Home Ministry administers the Anti-Terror pledge to Government
employees.
The staff of the Northeast Frontier Railway Construction Organisation observed Anti
Terrorism Day by pledging to work for promoting peace.
The objective behind the observance of Anti-Terrorism Day is to wean away the people
from terrorism and violence. On the occasion, debates, discussions, symposia,
seminars, lectures, etc. are held in schools, colleges and universities on the dangers
of terrorism and violence.
The Day is observed to generate awareness in the country among all sections of
people, about the danger of terrorism and violence and its effect on the people,
society and the country as a whole.

World Turtle Day: 23 May
World Turtle Day 2014 was observed across the world on 23 May 2014. The day is
observed to bring human attention towards turtle and tortoise and also to encourage
human efforts to help them survive.
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American Tortoise Rescue (ATR) started observing the World Turtle Day in 1990 and
since then the world is observing the day, annually.
About American Tortoise Rescue (ATR)

To protect the species of tortoise and turtle a nonprofit organisation named American
Tortoise Rescue (ATR) was established in 1990. The day was created as an observance
to help people to protect turtles and tortoise and their disappearing habitats around
the world. The organisation suggests some steps to be taken by young and adults to
protect turtles and tortoise and some of them are
On should never buy a turtle or tortoise from a pet shop as it increases demand
from the wild
Until and unless, the turtle or tortoise is not sick or injured, they should not be
removed from the wild
About Turtles
Turtles are considered to be the oldest living species (approx 200 million years old)
in the world and these ancient creatures evolved before the mammals, birds, snakes
or lizards. As per biologists, turtles managed to outlive many other species because
their shells, which provide protection to them.
These are available in almost every continent apart from Antarctica.
Bog turtle with measurement of about four inches in length are the smallest turtle
Leathery Turtle that weighs up to 1500 pounds are the largest among turtles
List of some critically endangered turtles and their scientific names

Hawksbill Turtle - Eretmochelys imbricate
Leatherback Turtle - Dermochelys coriacea
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Endangered turtles and scientific names

Green Turtle - Chelonia mydas
Loggerhead Turtle - Caretta caretta
Vulnerable turtles and scientific names

Olive Ridley Turtle - Lepidochelys olivacea
Giant Tortoise
World Migratory Bird Day observed across the world

10-11 May World Migratory Bird Day
World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) was observed
across the world on 10 11 May 2014. The
Theme of the WMBD 2014 was Destination
Flyways: Migratory Birds and Tourism.
The day was celebrated by the UN World
Tourism Organization (UNWTO) to promote
their new Destination Flyways Project. The
project aims to build local sustainable tourism
by linking together key migratory bird sites,
local communities and the global wildlife watching industry.
The WMBD 2014 highlighted the links between migratory bird conservation, local
community development and wildlife watching tourism around the world. The day is
celebrated by organising public events like bird festivals, education programmes and
bird watching excursions.
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About World Migratory Bird Day

The Day was initiated in 2006 and is an annual awareness-raising campaign highlighting
the need for the protection of migratory birds and their habitats.
The campaign is organized by two international wildlife treaties administered by the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) - the Convention on the Conservation
of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), and the African-Eurasian Migratory
Waterbird Agreement (AEWA).
About Destination Flyways

Destination Flyways aims to generate revenue for improved management of
biodiversity and spread the benefits of tourism to local communities, while creating
attractive experiences for tourists.
International Nurses Day 2014 observed across the world

International Nurses Day was observed across the world on 12 May 2014. The day is
observed every year on the 12 May on anniversary of birth of Florence Nightingales
birth. The day is observed to mark contributions of nurses towards peoples health.
On this day, the International Council of Nurses commemorates nurses by distributing
International Nurses Day (IND) Kit. This IND Kit 2014 contains educational and public
information materials for use by nurses everywhere.
IND theme for 2014 is Nurses: A Force for Change A vital resource for health.
International Nurses Day is celebration in India

On this day, the President of India presents National Florence Nightingale Awards to
selected nurses from across India. The award was instituted by Union Health Ministry
and carries a Medal, a citation certificate and a prize amount of 50000 rupees.
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Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale was born on 12 May 1820 and became an important figure in
nursing sector during the Crimean War of 1850s. At that time, she worked at the
Barrack Hospital at Scutari (now in Istanbul) and led a team of nurses who cared for
the injured British soldiers. She was appreciated for imposing strict standards of care
including keeping ward clear, well stocked food and medical supplies.

World Press Freedom Day
was observed on 3 May
2014 across the world.
The theme of 2014 year is:
Media Freedom for a
Better Future: Shaping the
post-2015 Development
Agenda.
The day is an opportunity to celebrate

the fundamental principles of press freedom
assess the state of press freedom throughout the world
defend the media from attacks on their independence
Pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty
The focus of 2014 year is on three inter-related themes

the medias importance in development
the safety of journalists and the rule of law
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MAY 2014
the sustainability and integrity of journalism

The annual UNESCO Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize was presented to
Turkish investigative journalist Ahmet Sik on 2 May 2014 as a part of celebration.
UNESCO General Conference held in Windhoek, Namibia on 3 May 1991 and endorsed
the principles of press freedom. It is known as Windhoek Declaration. Annually the
date is celebrated globally and serves as reminder to governments of the need to
respect their commitment to press freedom.
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Miscellaneous
Malavath Poorna of Andhra became youngest woman to
climb Mount Everest
Malavath Poorna, a 13-years and 11-month old girl of Andhra Pradesh on 25 May
2014 became the youngest woman to climb the Mount Everest, the highest peak
in the world. In this expedition, Poorna was accompanied by Sadhanapalli Anand
Kumar, a 16-year old from the same state. Anand became the first Dalit to conquer
the tallest peak.
Poorna is from Nizambad district of Andhra Pradesh and Anand is from Khammam
district. The two carried photographs of BR Ambedkar and former IAS officer SR
Sankaran to the top of the world. Both of them are the students of Andhra Pradesh
Social Welfare Educational Society.
Poorna and Anand in November 2013 were among a dozen of teenagers to become
the youngest group to climb Mount Renock at a height of 17000 feet in Kanchenjunga
after initially being denied for the training for being too young. During this expedition,
Poorna and Mohan Prasad were the youngest in the team.
Poorna and Anand were selected from the group of students who were sent for
training to Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling. These students were a
part of the more than 100 students, who were initially chosen for adventure sports as
an initiative of the society to promote excellence in the students of the society.
Fourth week of May 2014 is the week that marks the 61st anniversary of the conquest
of Mount Everest by New Zealands Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing
Norgay. Hillary and Norgay were the first to climb Mount Everest on 29 May 1953.
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Since then, more than 4000 people have climbed to the peak till now.
Himalayan Mountaineering Institute of Darjeeling

The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute is located in North Bengal at an altitude of
2150 meter (6800 feet). It borders with Sikkim in the North and Nepal on the west.
The institute was established on 4 November 1954 to promoted mountaineering as
an organised sport in India. It regularly conducts Adventure, basic and Advanced
Mountaineering comprehensive courses.
Travel planning Portal Tripigator.com launched in Partnership with Incredible India

Delhi Government on 5 May 2014 launched Travel planning Portal Tripigator.com in
Partnership with Incredible India.
Three IITians Mukul Garg, Piyush Grover and Karteek Narumanchi have come together
to help the Incredible India site of the tourism ministry through their own tripigator.
com.
Tripigator.com is a travel planning engine.
The website was selected as the official travel planner by the Ministry of Tourism and
will also be available on Incredible India website.
Tripigator will help both domestic and international travellers in planning their
trips seamlessly by asking basic inputs such as timeline, budget, areas of interest
(adventure, romantic, nature etc.) and destinations of choice.
Tripigator is designed to aggregate information about cities, tourist spots,
transportation, hotels, culture, weather and visa applications. It will cater to domestic
and global travellers.
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NEWS SNIPPETS
MAY 2014
Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Kings XI Punjab to win IPL for second time
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on 1 May 2014 won the seventh edition of Indian
Premier League 2014. In the final held at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, KKR
defeated Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) by three wickets. This is the second title triumph for
KKR after their maiden win back in 2012. Only Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has won
the title twice before KKR. CSK won the IPL in 2010 and 2011.
Kamal Nath appointed as pro-tem Speaker

Former Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath on 31 May 2014 was
appointed as the pro-tem Speaker for the 16th Lok Sabha.
He was appointed by the President Pranab Mukherjee on the advice of Council of
Ministers to perform the duties of the Speaker.
The pro-tem Speaker performs the duties of the office of the Speaker from the
commencement of the sitting of the Lok Sabha till the election of the Speaker.
Nath was Union Minister for Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs in the UPAII Government. In the General Election 2014, he won from Chhindwara in Madhya
Pradesh for the ninth term.
Government abolished all GoMs & EGoMs for greater accountability and
empowerment
Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India on 31 may 2014 abolished existing nine
Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoMs) and 21 Groups of Ministers (GoMs).
With the abolition of all GoMs and EGoMs now all the decisions related to critical
policy matters will be taken up by the Ministries and Departments. This will help in
infusing greater accountability and transparency.
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MAY 2014
In case of Ministries facing any difficulty they will be assisted by the Cabinet Secretariat
and the Prime Ministers office in decision making process.
Earlier during the UPA government led by Manmohan Singh, the GoMs and EGoMs
were a preferred route to decide on critical policies which led to delays in decisionmaking due to inter-ministerial tug-of-war. During the UPA-II tenure, there were 78
GoMs and 16 EGoMs, which was higher than of UPA-I period.
Peter Mutharika sworn-in as President of Malawi

Peter Mutharika was sworn-in as President of Malawi on 31 May 2014. He won the
presidential election of Malawi by defeating previous President Joyce Banda. The
result was announced by the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) on 30 May 2014.
Peter Mutharika, the leader of the Democratic Progressive Party obtained 36.4percent
of the vote, former preacher Lazarus Chakwera came second with 27.8 percent of
the vote and Banda obtained 20.2 percent of the vote.
Banda called for the whole election to be annulled, denouncing serious irregularities
and claiming the contest was null and void. The High Court rejected to block the
release of the results following which Chief Election commissioner declared Mutharika
as the winner.
Anand Mahindra became first Indian to receive Harvard Medal

Mahindra Group Chairman Anand G Mahindra on 29 May 2014 became the first
Indian to receive the prestigious Harvard Medal. The award was presented during
the Harvards 363rd Commencement at the annual meeting of the Harvard Alumni
Association.
He was chosen for this award for his dedication, generosity and service to the
university.
Anand Mahindra is an alumnus of Harvard University. He did his graduation from
Harvard in 1977.
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MAY 2014
Mahindra is also a founding member of the universitys South Asia Institute (SAI), the
HBS India Research Center, and the SAI field office in Mumbai, India. He is also a
long-time member of the Asia Center Advisory Committee.
Human Proteome Map deciphering 84% of human proteins published

Human Proteome Map (HPM) deciphering 84% of human proteins was published in
British Journal Nature on 28 May 2014. This is for the first time that a near complete
protein maps of human beings.
The draft map of human proteome was drawn by an international team of scientists
led by Akhilesh Pandey of the Johns Hopkins University in the U.S and Harsha Gowda
at the Institute of Bioinformatics in Bangalore.
The proteins deciphered have been derived from 30 histologically normal human
samples and have been encoded from 17294 genes. The identified proteins cover
more than 84% of the annotated protein-coding genes in humans. The number of
identified proteins, as per the study, stands at 30057.
The draft map of the human proteome was prepared using high-resolution Fouriertransform mass spectrometry.
The research could offer deeper insight into why humans suffer from diabetes, cancer
and cardiac problems among other diseases.
From bacteria to humans, genes are made up of units of DNA known as base pairs.
The sequence of base pairs in genes informed about a cells molecular machinery what
proteins to produce. Ultimately, it is the proteins that carry out a myriad processes
essential for life.
Angela Merkel topped Forbes Most Powerful Women List 2014

German Chancellor, Angela Merkel topped the Forbes annual list of Most Powerful
Women 2014 in the world. The annual list of Forbes was released on 28 May 2014.
Angela Merkel topped the list for fourth year in a row and nine times overall.
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MAY 2014
Five Indian women have also featured in Forbes 100 most powerful women List.
Chief of Pepsico, Indian born Indra Nooyi was ranked 13th and Chief Technology
and Strategy Officer of Cisco Padmasree Warrior is ranked 71st in the list.
Other Indians who made in to the list are State Bank of India Chairperson Arundhati
Bhattacharya (36th) ICICI Bank Managing Director Chanda Kochhar (43rd) and Biocon
founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (92nd).
The list of Top ten Most Powerful Women

Angela Merkel Chancellor of Germany
Janet Yellen Chairman of US Federal Reserve Bank
Melinda Gates Co-Chairperson of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Dilma Rouseff President of Brazil
Christine Lagarde Managing Director of IMF
Hillary Rodham Clinton Former US Secretary of State
Mary Barra CEO of General Motors
Michelle Obama US First Lady
Sheryl Sandberg COO of Facebook
Virginia Rometty CEO of IBM
Russia and China vetoed UN resolution on Syria for fourth time

Russia and China on 22 May 2014 vetoed United Nation (UN) resolution on Syria for
fourth time. The draft resolution S/2014/348 sponsored by France was backed by 66
other member-countries of the UN. The draft resolution called for referring both the
Assad Government and rival militants to International Criminal Court (ICC) for trial in
human rights violation in Syria.
Although the resolution was supported by 13 of the 15 member of UN Security Council
(UNSC), however, vetoing by Russia and China means that resolution is not passed.
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MAY 2014
This is because the passing of any resolution hinges on passing of any resolution by
the UNSCs Permanent Members who have the vetoing rights. The five permanent
members of the UNSC are USA, China, Russia, France and Britain.
The book titled Flight MH370: The Mystery written by Nigel Cawthrone released
The book titled Flight MH370: The Mystery written by Anglo-American journalist
Nigel Cawthrone was released in the third week of May 2014. The flight MH370
mysteriously disappeared with 239 people on board on 8 March 2014.
The book claims that the families of the planes passengers will most certainly never
know what happened to their loved ones and he supported the theory that the plane
was shot down during a joint Thai-U.S. military training exercise.
The book also claims that search parties were deliberately misled and sent to the
wrong locations as part of the cover-up. The book reportedly states that the failure to
find the flight data recorder (black box) is suspicious.
Besides, The Vanishing Act-the trailer of a film based on the missing plane was
unveiled at the Cannes Film Festival. It is directed by Rupesh Paul. The more than
one minute trailer portrays an onboard love affair and shows a passenger with a gun,
casting suspicion on a number of passengers and crew.
47 Nations including India endorsed Declaration on Automatic Exchange of

Information in Tax Matters
47 nations including India and Switzerland on 7 May 2014 endorsed the Declaration
on Automatic Exchange of Information in Tax Matters.
The declaration on automatic exchange of information in tax matters was endorsed
during the OECDs annual Ministerial Council Meeting in Paris by all 34 member
countries along with Argentina, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Indonesia,
Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and South Africa.
This will come as a boost for India which is stepping up pressure on Switzerland to
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MAY 2014
share details on alleged black money stashed away by Indians there.

The standard agreed upon by the 47 nations will help clamp down on bank secrecy
practices and ensure that they work towards full disclosure of information on tax
evaders and financial criminals pertaining to any national jurisdiction.
Switzerland, long perceived as a safe haven for stashing away untaxed money, is
an OECD member. Switzerland had signed the mutual exchange of tax information
protocol, which aims to end the long protected bank secrecy of suspect clients, late
last year while India has been onboard this convention for few years now.
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MAY 2014
WORLD DAIRY
MAY 2014
1 May 2014

NBA banned Donald Sterling, team owner of Los Angeles Clippers for life after
racist remark
Senate Republican blocked increase in the minimum wage Bill
2 May 2014

Ranbaxy recalled allergy-relief drug in US due to defective packaging
US Government appointed Indian-American Jawahar Kaliani to OCC, Department

of Treasury
US Government announced 1.2 million US dollar aid for Ukrainian Journalist
3 May 2014

4 May 2014

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5 May 2014

US approved Diplomatic Mission for Syrian opposition in Washington
6 May 2014

Waqar Younis appointed as head coach of Pakistan cricket team
Indias Punj Lloyd won Expressway project in Yemen
Vikaram Sunderam won Best Chef in the Mid-Atlantic of James Beard Awards
2014
Vietnam accused China to place an oil rig near Paracel island
7 May 2014

Scientists created first living Organism that transmits added Letters in DNA
Two Indian-Americans Manjusha P. Kulkarni and Ranjana P. selected for

Champions of Change
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MAY 2014
8 May 2014

Scientist created First realistic virtual universe called ILLUSTRIS
Dennis Lillee left Cricket Australia coaching post over pay hike
9 May 2014

Indian documentary Silent Screams won three awards at US festival
Caparo Group won International Business of the Year award 2014
10 May 2014

Indian-American Mitul Kadakia won 2014 Gregory Bradeb Memorial Fellow of

the Year Award
ANC won the South African Elections for the fifth successive term
11 May 2014

Chinese premier Li Keqiang official visit to Africa concluded6.5 Million Jobs

globally provided by Renewable Energy in 2013: IRENA
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MAY 2014
Rafael Nadal won Madrid Open Title
Maria Sharapova defeated Simona Halep to win Madrid Open title
Imperial War Museum of UK launched online database of World War-I
South Sudan Government and Rebel army signed a peace deal
12 May 2014

Kristin Lund of Norway became first-ever woman to head a UN Peacekeeping

Force
Donetsk and Luhansk leaders declared independence from Ukraine
13 May 2014

Forbes Middle East released the second edition of the List of Tops Indians in the
Arab world 2014
Moldova & Georgia to sign EU Association Agreement on 27 June 2014
Shah Rukh Khan featured on the cover page of magazine Forbes Middle East
Oscar winning Swedish Film Director Malik Bendjelloul died
Google must amend search results on request: European Court
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MAY 2014
14 May 2014

Constitutional Scholar Sujit Choudhry appointed as Dean of UC Berkeley Law

School
After 500 years, Christopher Columbuss ship the Santa Maria claimed to be
found
Qatar decided to abolish Sponsorship System for foreign workers
Report on Health for the worlds adolescents released by WHO
15 May 2014

AIBA approved Boxing India as the new provisional member to represent India
16 May 2014

Justice JS Khehar recused himself from hearing Sahara Case
Unique enzyme SOD discovered by CSIR to increase shelf life of fruits and
vegetables
17 May 2014


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18 May 2014

Swiss voters rejected the Minimum Wage Initiative that introduced highest
minimum wage in the World
Novak Djokovic won the Mens Italian Tennis Open 2014 for the third time
Serena Williams won the Womens Italian Tennis Open 2014 for the third time
19 May 2014

China set up 1.6 billion dollars fund to support maritime Silk Road development
Palaeontologists discovered the fossil of worlds largest dinosaur in Patagonia,

Argentina
20 May 2014

Brazil honoured 100 years of Indian cinema by releasing two postage stamps
Thailand Army Chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha declared to impose martial law
UK based Marks & Spencer announced to open 100 stores in India
Oxfam released the report titled Standing on the Sidelines
21 May 2014

Russia and China signed 30 year deal on natural gas worth of 400 billion dollars
340
MAY 2014
Flipkart bought Myntra for 300 million US dollar
22 May 2014

Spain suspended the 12th bull fight festival after matadors got injured by bulls
Gujarats monument Rani ki Vav to be digitally recreated in Scotland
International Day for Biological Diversity 2014 observed across the world
Russia and China vetoed UN resolution against Syria
23 May 2014

24 May 2014

Real Madrid defeated Atletico Madrid 4-1 to win 10th UEFA Champions League
Football title
China won Uber Cup 2014 of badminton
25 May 2014

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MAY 2014
Indian management scholar Jitendra Vir Singh appointed Dean of Business

School at HKUST
Film Winter Sleep honoured with Palme dOr Award at 67th Cannes Film Festival
TR Zeliang sworn-in as new Chief Minister of Nagaland
26 May 2014

8th European Parliamentary Election 2014
27 May 2014

European Drug Report 2014: Trends and developments released
US President announced to keep US troops in Afghanistan till 2016
Brazil announced measures to make FIFA World Cup 2014 eco-friendly
Brazuca balls to be used in FIFA World Cup 2014 to have six in-built HD cameras
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MAY 2014
28 May 2014

29 May 2014

Two Indian-Americans Sriram and Ansun jointly won the Scripps National Spelling
Bee
8 Indian Soldiers posthumously awarded with prestigious Dag Hammarskjold

Medal of UN
International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers observed across the world
Google gave Europeans right to be forgotten
30 May 2014

US deployed two Global Hawk drones on Misawa airbase in Northern Japan
Space X unveiled Dragon V2 Capsule to take Astronauts to Low-Earth Orbit
31 May 2014

Peter Mutharika sworn-in as President of Malawi
Hi-tech NASA sandals to collect data from Space
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MAY 2014
INDIA DAIRY
MAY 2014
1 May 2014

CEO of Ford Motor Co Alan Mulally announced to resign on 1 July 2014
SC reconstituted SIT headed by Justice MB Shah to probe into Black Money

Cases
2 May 2014

Trap Shooter, Manavjit Sandhu ranked at third spot in ISSF World Ranking
India successfully test-fired Akash missile from ITR Complex in Chandipur
3 May 2014

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MAY 2014
4 May 2014

First indigenous air-to-air missile Astra successfully test fired over Arabian Sea
5 May 2014

Chances of El Nino would exceed 65 percent this year: US Climate Prediction

Center
K Natarajan took over as 21st Command of Coast Guard Region (A&N)
Travel planning Portal Tripigator.com launched in Partnership with Incredible

India
6 May 2014

BCCI suspended RCA & appointed ad-hoc body to run its Cricket Affairs
Government approval not required to probe senior bureaucrats on corruption

charges: SC
Book entitled A Stamp Is Born authored by C. R. Pakrashi released
Five Nuclear Powers signed a protocol on Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-FreeZone Treaty
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MAY 2014
7 May 2014

Climate Change effecting nutrient content of staple crops: Study
DGCA issued Guidelines to Operators for Real Time Tracking of Aircrafts
SC quashed Kerala law on Mullaperiyar dam and ordered water level can be
raised
8 May 2014

New dancing frog species scientifically known as Micrixalidae found in Western

Ghats
Archana Ramasundaram appointed as first Woman Additional Director of CBI
President of India launched Indigenous Card payment System Rupay
India honoured with New Frontiers Award 2014
9 May 2014

Indian companies are not permitted to raise External Commercial Borrowings:

RBI
Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Janardhan Reddy died
Indian Railways launched a book entitled India Junction A Window to the Nation
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MAY 2014
10 May 2014

11 May 2014

Cipla announced to invest in Chase Pharmaceuticals to develop Alzheimers

drug
12 May 2014

EC nod to government for naming new Army chief
President conferred National Florence Nightingale Awards on 35 nursing

personnel
Manipur won Senior National Womens Football Champions title
Bombay High Court ordered Maharashtra government to revise the electoral

rolls
13 May 2014

Lieutenant General Dalbir Singh Suhag appointed as 28th COAS
Candidates not disclosing information about assets can be disqualified: SC
SC Collegium recommended Gopal Subramaniam and RF Nariman to be

appointed as SC judges
President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to Whistleblowers Protection Bill

2011
347
MAY 2014
Nayak Committee to Review Governance of Boards of Banks in India submitted

its report to RBI
Delhi L-G Najeeb Jung constituted High Powered Committee to look into DelhiNCR pollution
14 May 2014

Six workers injured after Hot water Spill from a valve at Kudankulam Nuclear
Power Plant
Kasturirangan Task Force on Waste to Energy submitted its report to the Planning
Commission
Amul to set up five lakh litres per day capacity dairy plant in Varanasi
Meghalaya Government banned rat-hole coal mining & coal transportation in the
State
15 May 2014

A.B. Pandya appointed as the Chairman of Central Water Commission
348
MAY 2014
Sistema Shyam Teleservices launched messaging app MBuddy for feature

phones
16 May 2014

16th Lok Sabha Election 2014: BJP won by securing 284 seats
SC put an interim stay on iron ore mining operations by 26 firms in Odisha
17 May 2014

18 May 2014

Nabam Tuki sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh
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MAY 2014
19 May 2014

Dhubri Constituency in Assam registered highest Voter Turnout in General

Election 2014
Language Martyrs Day observed on 19 May in Barak Valley, Assam
20 May 2014

President appointed Narendra Modi as Prime Minister, Oath on 26 May
Indian Stock Market entered trillion dollar club based on m-cap
21 May 2014

RBI permitted the banks to provide loans to exporters with 10 years tenure
Indian-American student Akhil Rekulapelli won National Geographic Bee

Championship
Project Mobile Seva under DeitY won the 2014 United Nations Public Service
Award
Naveen Patnaik sworn-in as Chief Minister of Odisha for fourth consecutive term
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MAY 2014
Pawan Chamling sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Sikkim for record 5th term
Bharatiya Mahila Bank included in Second Schedule of RBI Act, 1934
K Rajendra Kumar appointed as new Director General of Police of Jammu and

Kashmir
J&K government approved scrapping of New Recruitment Policy, 2011
22 May 2014

Tadvi won Silver Medal in 3000m race in Youth Olympics Games Qualification
event
23 May 2014

24 May 2014

Anticipating India - The Best of National Interest authored by Shekhar Gupta

released
TR Zeliang sworn-in as new Chief Minister of Nagaland

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MAY 2014
25 May 2014
Malavath Poorna of Andhra became youngest woman to climb Mount Everest
INR appreciated to 11-month high to become the best performing currency in

Asia-Pacific region
Singapore became the top source of FDI into India replacing Mauritius: DIPP
Hindustan Motors halted the production of Indias iconic car Ambassador
26 May 2014

SAARC Countries Leaders visited India as a part of swearing-in ceremony of

Narendra Modi as Prime Minister of India
Sushma Swaraj became the first woman External Affairs Minister of India
Gorakhdham Express derailed at Sant Kabirnagar district in Uttar Pradesh killing

20 people
RBI tightened acquisition & merger rules for Non-Banking Financial Companies
Delhi government approved the Scheme of financial help to children of prisoners
SDMC signed a MoU with GeoSpatial Delhi to provide UPIC for South Delhi
properties
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MAY 2014
27 May 2014

IAF Aircraft MIG-21 crashed in Anantnag district of South Kashmir
Union Cabinet constituted SIT on Black Money to comply with SC Judgement
Mauritius decided to provide automatic tax information exchange to India
PM of India Narendra Modi held talks with PM of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif
RhODIS, a DNA-based system, to be used to investigate poaching of Rhinos in

Assam
Chapter on Sachin Tendulkar added in schoolbooks of Maharashtra
Election Commission of Uttarakhand notified the dates of Panchayat elections
28 May 2014

BG Srinivas, President and Member of the Board of Infosys resigned
Sachin Tendulkar selected as goodwill ambassador for 35th National Games
CCI approved Tescos plan to purchase 50% stake in Trent Hypermarket
Chief Minister of Punjab gave approval to set-up Mega Food Park in Ludhiana
353
MAY 2014
29 May 2014

RIL announced to buy78 percent in Network18 for 4000 crore rupees
30 May 2014

CSO released Provisional and Quarterly Estimate of National Income for 201314
India signed a credit agreement of 24 million US $ with World Bank for URWSSP
India signed credit agreement of 165 million $ with World Bank for MRWSSP
India signed credit agreement of 121.20 million $ with World Bank for UDWDP
Goa Day was observed on 30 May 2014
31 May 2014

Narendra Modi scrapped GoMs and EGoMs
Vulture Conservation included on Gram Sabha agenda
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MAY 2014
ONE LINER
MAY 2014
SC appointed 3rd arbitrator to resolve dispute of Centre and Reliance Industries

Ltd (RIL) on KG basin - Hudson McHugh
SC re-constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to monitor the probe into the
black money case under the chairmanship of - retired judge MB Shah.
NBA banned Los Angeles Clippers owner for life and fined him 2.5 million dollars
over an alleged racist remark in the stand - Donald Sterling
3400 India-made EVMs purchased for use in the countries Presidential Election,
scheduled in November 2014 by - Government of Namibia
US senate by 95-0 votes confirmed Federal Judge in Illinois to name of - IndianAmerican Manish Shah
Granary with walls of mud-bricks discovered by archaeologists during excavation
at - Rakhigarhi village a Harappan civilisation site, in Haryana
South African city agreed to allow construction of a place of worship in form of a
full-fledged Gurudwara - Johannesburg
Tunisian lawmakers adopted a sweeping new electoral law that paves the way for
general elections later this year that requires party lists for legislative elections to
be - half women and half men
President of India conferred Gallantry Awards on 55 personnel for their
distinguished service and bravery in which - two of the three Kirti Chakras were
given posthumously
SIT formed in Assam to investigate and look into the conspiracy and mastermind
behind the killings in - killing of civilians in Kokrajhar and Baksa districts
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MAY 2014
The Obama administration gave approval for the Syrian opposition to open a formal diplomatic mission in the US
Former British No 1 tennis player died of liver cancer at the age of 30 - Elena
Baltacha
Constitutional Bench of SC held that prior sanction of government is not required
to probe the senior bureaucrats on corruption charges terming that - Section 6A
of DSPEA is invalid and it violates Article 14 of the Constitution of India.
SC upheld the constitutional validity of the Right to Education Act and said that
the Act will not apply to - unaided minority institutions
Constitution Bench of Supreme Court of India on 6 May 2014 upheld the
Constitutional validity of the Right to Education (RTE) Act provided in - Articles
15(5) and 21-A in the Constitution of India
BCCI suspended RCA and appointed an ad-hoc body to run the states cricket
affairs after - Lalit Modi was elected as the President of RCA
Kuwait has renewed two crude oil supply contracts with Indias - BPCL and BORL
Constitutional Court of Thailand ruled that the Prime Minister must step down
over abuse of her power - Yingluck Shinawartra
A book entitled A Stamp is Born was released by Vice President of India, M Hamid
Ansari is authored by - C. R. Pakrashi
Constitutional Bench of Supreme Court quashed law is Kerala Irrigation and Water
Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2006 and said - water level of the dam can be
raised to 142 feet
SC banned use of bulls for Jallikattu events or bullock-cart races across the country
terming that - rights guaranteed to the bulls under the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals (PCA) Act 1960 could not be taken away
Scientists claimed that increased level of CO2 emissions will affect the nutrient
content in some of the worlds staple food items like - Wheat and Rice
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MAY 2014
WHO claimed that quality of air in most cities worldwide that monitor outdoor
(ambient) air pollution failed to meet - WHO guidelines for safe levels
Pakistan Cricket Board has appointed the former fast bowler of Pakistan as the
national coach of the national team of Pakistan - Waqar Younis
India has been honoured with New Frontiers Award at the Arabian travel mart
in Dubai for its outstanding contribution to - tourism development in the face of
overwhelming adversity in Uttarakhand
Rat-hole mining and transportation of coal was banned following the ex-parte
interim order of NGT in Meghalaya
Coal pit collapsed after an explosion on 14 May 2014 in which about 274 miners
were killed - at Soma of Western Turkey
Technopark Technology Business Incubator (T-TBI) on 14 May 2014 was chosen
for the Special Commendation at the - Golden Peacock National Training Awards
2014
Qatar announced that sponsorship system for foreign workers will be replaced
by - new system of employment contracts, as part of a package of labour reforms
Justice BS Chauhan appointed as the Chairman of the Cauvery Water Disputes
Tribunal as a successor of - Justice NP Singh
Sistema Shyam Teleservices launched a messaging app for low-end CDMA
devices called - mBuddy
Ashwin B. Pandya on 15 May 2014 was appointed as the Chairman of the - Central
Water Commission
BJP emerged as the winner in the 16th Lok Sabha election by securing - 282 seats
of 543
Chief Minister of Bihar who tendered his resignation to the Governor taking
responsibility of debacle of the party in 16th Lok Sabha election - Nitish Kumar
Padma Bhusan awardee and management guru who headed Tata Steel died in
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MAY 2014
South Kolkata - Russi Mody

Bhasha Shahid Diwas or Language Martyrs Day was observed in Barak Valley of
Assam on 19 May in remembrance of - martyrs of language of the state
Three-time F1 world champion the only driver, who won a title by a car bearing his
name died - Sir Jack Brabham at the age of 88
Google has launched a service for Europeans in which they can request it to
remove links related to them, the service is named - Right to be forgotten
Brazil released two postage stamps to pay tribute to the 100 years of Indian cinema
designed by Indian graphic designer Satya Raj
Competition Appellate Tribunal (Compat) upheld a penalty of 630 crore rupees
imposed on real estate firm - DLF slapped by CCI
Martial law has been imposed in Thailand by its Army to - restore law and order in
the country
Governor DY Patil administered his oath of the office and secrecy to the new Chief
Minister of Bihar - Jitan Ram Manjhi
Government of India has extended the ban imposed on LTTE for five years under
the provisions of the - Unlawful Activities (Prevention Act 1967)
Sundaram BNP Paribas Fund Services for maintaining high quality operating
model and having effective control systems received - ISAE Type II certification
AIBA Executive Committee approved Boxing India as a provisional new - AIBA
member to represent India
SC constituted a new bench to hear the case of the Sahara Chief in chit fund scam
after Justice Khehar requested the CJI to - recuse him from the case
Former Zimbabwe batsman named as the batting coach of Pakistan cricket team
for two years - Grant Flower
A 13-years and 11-month old girl of Andhra Pradesh on 25 May 2014 became
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MAY 2014
the youngest woman to climb the highest peak of the world, Mount Everest Malavath Poorna
TR Zeliang appointed as the new Chief Minister of Nagaland as the successor of
- Neiphiu Rio
ONGC has started drilling its first-ever well in - Palar basin at Chinnapuliyur village
near Chennai
Book entitled Anticipating India - The best of national interest was released on 24
May 2014 is authored by - Shekhar Gupta
To carry rodents to ISS, NASA has developed high-tech cages that will help them
to study long-term effect of - microgravity on mammalian physiology
Narendra Modi on 26 May 2014 was sworn-in as the - 15th Prime Minister of India
SDMC signed a MoU with GeoSpatial Delhi to grant an Unique ID to properties in
the civic bodys jurisdiction to easier the process of property tax collection named
- Unique Property Identification Code (UPIC)
General Prayuth Chan-ocha led Royal Thai Army conducted a coup and imposed
a military rule in Thailand after imposition of - martial law in Thailand
IAF MIG-21 crashed at Marhama Sangam in Bijbehara of Anantnag district in
South Kashmir in which pilot squadron leader - Raghu Banshi died on board
Prime Minister of Libiya, Ahmed Maitiq and his cabinet was sworn-in, which has
been challenged by other politicians by terming it - non-legitimate
Dalia Grybauskaite won election for second term as the - President of Lithuania
Union Cabinet headed by PM Narendra Modi on 27 May 2014 constituted Special
Investigating Team (SIT) on Black Money with - Justice (retd.) MB Shah to head it
as its Chairman
Sachin Tendulkar has been appointed as the goodwill ambassador of - 35th
National Games, Kerala
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MAY 2014
To investigate the poachers of Rhino and prosecute them, the Assam government
will use RhODIS, a DNA-based forensic tool Rhino Indexing System
Maharashtra Government has included chapter on the name of master blaster
Sachin in -Marathi and English subject syllabus of class IV.
Football named as Brazuca to be used in FIFA World Cup Brazil will have six inbuilt HD cameras to capture - 360 degree view of the on-field action.
Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi - Nripendra Misra
14th Attorney-General of India appointed to succeed Gulam Vahanvati is - Mukul
Rohatgi
American poet and author, Maya Angelou died in North Carolina is known for her
first book - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
CCI approved proposal of purchase of 50% stake of Tata Group firm, Trent
Hypermarket by - British retail major, Tesco
To boost food processing Chief Minister of Punjab gave in-principle approval to
set-up a 150 crore rupees mega - Food Park at Ladowal in Ludhiana
Union Government and the World Bank signed a loan agreement for World Bank
(IDA) assistance of 1006.20 million US dollar for - Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan III
Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan signed a treaty in Kazakh capital of Astana to
form the - Eurasian Economic Union
National Security Adviser of India is - Ajit Doval
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MAY 2014
DESCRIPTIVE QUESTIONS
MAY 2014
1. Analyse the voters turnout of General Election 2014 and contrast it with past
elections.
2.
Write short notes on following in not more than 100 words
a)
French resolution on Syria in UN Security Council
b)
General Elections 2014
c)
Military Coup in Thailand
d)
RhODIS and its effectiveness in preventing poaching of Rhinos
e)
Human Proteome Map
3. Critically examine the SIT on Black Money constituted by the Union government.
How far, do you think, it will help in unearthing black money and how it will help
Indian economy?
4.
Comment on following
a)
Gas deal between Russia and China
b)
Maritime Silk Road Development Project
c)
Narendra Modi becoming 15th Prime Minister of India
d)
Kasturirangan report on Waste-to-Energy
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MAY 2014
5. Bring out the measures taken by Reserve Bank of India to make the use of ATMs
disabled friendly. What other measures you can suggest?
6.Briefly discuss about Drishti System and its importance in the Indian Aviation sector.
7.
Write on the following not more than 50 words
a)
Element 117
b)
Justice (retd) M B Shah
c)
Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal
d)
SIMBEX 2014
e)
Russi Mody
f)
James Beard Award 2014
g)
Uber Cup 2014
h)
Right to be Forgotten
i)
DGCA Guidelines on Real Time Tracking of Aircrafts
j)
Nripendra Misra
8. Critically analyse the move of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to invite the leaders
of the 8 SAARC nations during his swearing-in ceremony. Do you think this move will
help India realize Guzral Doctrine in its true sense and lead to strategic repositioning
of India in South Asia vis--vis China?
9. On the one hand World War-I led to mass destruction of lives and property but on
the other hand it also led to the rise of United States of America (USA) as a hegemon.
362
MAY 2014
Do you agree? Evaluate. Also bring out the role of India in World War-I.
10. Signing of protocol on Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zone Treaty is a step

towards nuclear free world. Discuss. Also discuss other treaties and conventions that
would help realize the dream of nuclear free world.
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MAY 2014
364
MAY 2014
365
MAY 2014
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MAY 2014

PICK OF THE MONTH

Narendra Modi took oath as 15th Prime Minister of India

15th Lok Sabha dissolved by the President of India

16th Lok Sabha Elections 2014 results declared

India won first-ever Bronze at Uber Badminton Cup 2014

N Srinivasan, the veteran nuclear scientist died

Union Cabinet constituted SIT on Black Money to comply with SC Judgement

Royal Thai Army announced military coup in Thailand

SC banned Jallikattu and bullock cart races

Government approval not required to probe senior bureaucrats on corruption charges: SC

RBI directed all banks to install disabled friendly new ATMs

RhODIS, a DNA-based system, to be used to investigate poaching of Rhinos in Assam 48

Palaeontologists discovered the fossil of worlds largest dinosaur in Patagonia, Argentina

Japan won AFC Womens Asian Football Cup 2014

Pre-1971 Bangladesh settlers should be treated as Indians: Meghalaya High Court

Google gave Europeans Right to be Forgotten

Google must amend search results on request: European Court

DGCA issued Guidelines to Operators for Real Time Tracking of Aircrafts

SC put an interim stay on iron ore mining operations by 26 firms in Odisha

Nripendra Misra appointed as Principal Secretary to PM Narendra Modi

Russi Mody, the former Tata Steels Chairman died

US deployed two Global Hawk drones on Misawa airbase in Northern Japan

US President announced to keep US troops in Afghanistan till 2016

Dalia Grybauskaite won the Presidential election of Lithuania

Qatar decided to abolish Sponsorship System for foreign workers

Moldova & Georgia to sign EU Association Agreement on 27 June 2014

Chinese premier Li Keqiang official visit to Africa concluded

Donetsk and Luhansk leaders declared independence from Ukraine

Imperial War Museum of UK launched online database of World War-I

Five Nuclear Powers signed a protocol on Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zone

South Sudan Government and Rebel army signed a peace deal

Pakistan test-fired Hataf-III Ghaznavi missile

US to induct Chinese railroad workers into Hall of Honour

Constitutional Court of Thailand ordered PM Yingluck Shinawartra to step down

US approved Diplomatic Mission for Syrian opposition in Washington

US Government announced 1.2 million US dollar aid for Ukrainian Journalist

First Gurudwara to be built in Johannesburg

Senate Republican blocked increase in the minimum wage Bill

Worlds highest tunnel for high-speed train opened in China

India-made EVMs to be used in Namibias Presidential polls

PM created a new Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship

Union Government extended Ban on LTTE for five years

Candidates not disclosing information about assets can be disqualified: SC

SC Collegium recommended Gopal Subramaniam and RF Nariman to be appointed as SC

SC upheld validity of Right to Education Act

Union Cabinet approved the Polavaram Project

Election Queue Management System introduced in India

Foreign Exchange Reserves increased by 15.5 billion US dollar in 2014: RBI

Indian Stock Market entered trillion dollar club based on m-cap

AFD extended 100 million euro Line of Credit to IREDA

RBI eased gold import norms under 20:80 Scheme

Bharatiya Mahila Bank included in Second Schedule of RBI Act, 1934

Plastic currency notes to be launched in 2015

India to become the third largest oil consumer by 2025: US EIA

RBI allowed bank branches abroad to sell structured products

Deadline ended for non-CTS cheques

After 25 years Olive Ridley Conservation Programme resumed in Tamil Nadu

Revised NCR norms restrict tourism in Green zones

New species of snake Himalayanus discovered in Himalayas

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Space X unveiled Dragon V2 Capsule to take Astronauts to Low-Earth Orbit

NASA developed high-tech cages to carry rodents to ISS

Italian scientists designed kidney dialysis machine for newborn babies