Current Affairs English June 2015

June 2015
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Current Affairs
Current Affairs
June 2015
PREFACE
21
PICK OF THE MONTH
22
Urban Rejuvenation in India
22
India and Bangladesh relations@ zenith
28
WJP Rule of Law Index 2015
32
Bibek Debroy committee on railway restructuring submitted report
34
WADA published Anti-Doping Rule Violations Report for 2013
37
First International Day of Yoga observed globally
39
Renowned architect Charles Correa passed away
40
Greece became first developed nation to default on IMF debt
41
INTERNATIONAL
44
Three-drug lethal injection protocol use did not violate Constitution: US Supreme
Court
44
India, Thailand signed five MOUs during the 7th Meeting of India-Thailand Joint
Commission
45
US Supreme Court ruled against EPA limiting mercury emissions from power plants
46
50 countries signed Articles of Agreement for China-initiated Asian Infrastructure
Investment Bank
47
Sri Lankas President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved Parliament
49
US Supreme Court legalized Same-Sex Marriage Nationwide
49
India, US signed MoUs to enhance cooperation in areas of Health Sector
50
US Supreme Court gave nod to subsidies under US Health Care Law in States
without health exchanges
52
Union Cabinet approved signing of MoC between India and Japan on Industrial
Property
52
Austria to file complaint against UKs Hinkley Point C nuclear project in European
2
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June 2015
Current Affairs
Court of Justice
53
India to be the Partner Country for Russian Industrial Trade Fair Innoprom 2016
55
Nepal-India Treaty of Transit amended to facilitate import of vehicles into Nepal
56
EU launched Operation EU NAVFOR Med against migrant-traffickers
56
Pitcairn Island passed law to allow same-sex marriage
57
India placed at 61st position in terms of foreigners money in Swiss banks
58
Commemorations of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo concluded
59
France announced ban on earphones for Drivers and Cyclists
60
US Department of State released Country Reports on Terrorism 2014
61
India, Tanzania signed six MoUs to deepen bilateral relations
62
Blue Opposition Bloc led by Lars Loekke Rasmussen won Denmarks Parliamentary
Elections
63
Hong Kong lawmakers rejected Beijing-backed election reform package
65
China and Australia signed Free Trade Agreement
65
Japans Parliament passed a Bill to lower voting age from 20 to 18
66
Commission on GSJG released the Confronting the Crisis of Global Governance

report
67
India and Poland set trade target of 5 billion US dollars by 2018
69
RTA of UAE included four Indian languages into its driving tests
70
Israeli government approved bill to force feed prisoners
70
Spain passed law awarding citizenship to descendants of expelled Jews
71
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicle Agreement signed in
Thimpu
72
Moldovas Prime Minister Chiril Gaburuci resigned
73
African leaders signed Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) agreement
74
India, Japan and Australia held first ever trilateral dialogue
75
Nepal political parties reached agreement on proposed Constitution framework
76
Justice and Development Party won Turkeys parliamentary polls
78
Ameenah Gurib-Fakim sworn-in as first Woman President of Mauritius
79
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Current Affairs
June 2015
India-Netherlands signed agreements to deepen bilateral cooperation
79
WTOs Dispute Settlement Board ruled against Indias ban on poultry imports from
the US
80
India-US signed 2015 Framework for the India-US Defence Relationship
81
India and Belarus signed six Agreements
82
India joined MCAA on Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information
83
US President Barack Obama signed USA FREEDOM Act 2015 into law
84
South Korea and China signed bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
85
India, Sweden signed 6 agreements to restart the strategic dialogue
87
NATIONAL
89
Union Railway Ministry inaugurated Integrated Security System in Mumbai
89
Union Government approved a proposal for setting up second airport at Jewar in

NCR
90
Union Government asked Bihar, TN, Rajasthan to introduce milk in mid day meal
scheme
91
Union Cabinet approved to set up a National Memorial at birth place of Lok Nayak
JP Narayan in Bihar
91
Union Cabinet approved setting up of six Indian Institutes of Management (IIM)
92
Union Government launched Indias first Modernised Anganwadi Centre at Hasanpur village in Sonepat
93
Union Ministry of Home Affairs designated Agatti and Minicoy Islands as Immigration Check Posts
94
CCEA approved inclusion of Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh in National

Dairy Plan- I
95
Union Cabinet approved transfer of NILs land to DRDO for establishing a defence
research centre
96
Union Cabinet approved Bureau of Indian Standards Bill, 2015
97
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June 2015
Current Affairs
Election Commission of India (ECI) suspended recognition of National Peoples

Party (NPP)
98
Union Government launched website to connect employers, job seekers
99
Railway Ministry decided to run Suvidha Trains
100
Union Government scrapped import duties on AIDS drugs
100
Union Government launched Migrant Resource Centre in Chennai
101
Union Cabinet approved proposal to promulgate the Negotiable Instruments

(Amendment) Ordinance, 2015
102
Indian Army carried out cross-border operation against militants in Myanmar
104
Union Ministry of Water Resources launched Jal Kranti Abhiyan
105
Union Government launched Khoya Paya web portal
107
Union Government launched IAP HealthPhone programme
108
ECONOMY
110
Registrar General of India released Census data on disabled population
110
Literacy rate 71 percent in rural areas, 86 percent in urban areas: NSSO survey 111
Union Government hiked national floor-level minimum wage to 160 rupees per day
113
RBI extended deadline for exchanging pre-2005 currency notes by 6 months
114
RBI allowed AD Category-I Banks to borrow from International Financial Institutions

114
RBI released Financial Stability Report June 2015
116
UNCTAD released World Investment Report 2015
118
Union Cabinet approved renaming of SECI as Renewable Energy Corporation of

India
120
Union Ministry of Finance issued Draft Proposals for Facilitating Electronic Transactions
121
FBIL overnight Mumbai Inter-Bank Offer Rate (MIBOR) to become effective from
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Current Affairs
June 2015
July 22
123
SEBI relaxed the IPO norms for technological start-ups to raise funds from capital
market
124
EPFO made UAN mandatory for all employers under Employee Provident Fund Act,
1952
125
Overnight Liquid Transaction facility on NSEs Web-based Mutual Fund platform

began functioning
126
Union Ministry of Finance released Draft Outline of Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme
127
Union Ministry of Finance formed two committees for facilitating implementation of
GST
129
CCEA approved Minimum Support Prices for Kharif Crops of 2015-16 season
130
CCEA approved setting up of 2000 MW of Grid connected Solar PV Power Projects

under JNNSM
131
Union Government launched Cluster Development Programme for Pharma Sector

132
Union Government decided to increase number of work days under MGNREGA in
drought hit areas
134
Union Cabinet revised target of solar power under JNNSM to 100000 MW by 2022
135
Indias trade deficit in May 2015 narrowed to 10.4 billion US dollars
136
RBI issued final guidelines for 6-year and 13-year Interest Rate Futures
137
RBI issued Draft Framework on Issuance of Rupee linked Bonds Overseas
138
RBI announced Strategic Debt Restructuring Scheme
139
IREDA awarded Miniratna (Category-1) status
141
Second Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2015-16 announced
142
Union Government simplified defence rules to woo foreign companies
143
RBI permitted cross holding in infrastructure bonds
144
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June 2015
Current Affairs
Hike in Service Tax to 14 percent became operational
145
ENVIRONMENT | ECOLOGY
147
Elephant Census Report 2015 of Odisha released
147
First species of Yeti Crab in Antarctica named Kiwa tyleri discovered
148
Taygan Lions Park, Skazka Zoo, Thiruvananthapuram Zoo inked animal exchange
agreement
149
Bhuvan Ganga Mobile Application launched to aid National Mission for Clean
Ganga
150
Typhoon Kujira struck south Chinas Hainan Province
151
India, China can protect 1.4 million premature deaths by improving quality of Air:
Study
151
Critically endangered Sangai deer found in Manipurs Loktak Lake to be translocated
152
Illegal trapping of migratory songbird Yellow-Breasted Bunting leading to its extinction: Study
153
Mangrove vegetation of Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary witnessing denudation 154

NMCG, NYKS signed MoU for involvement of youth in restoring the health of Ganga River
155
Tier-I Oil Spill Response Centre for Mumbai Port Trust inaugurated
157
Northern Railway rolled out Indias first rail coach lit by solar panels
158
61-day fishing ban along the Western Coast became effective except in Kerala 159
CORPORATE
160
Bombay HC allowed Nestle India to export Maggi noodles
160
GFH Financial Group signed pact with Adani Group for developing Mumbai Economic Zone
160
Bajaj Allianz launched weather-based crop insurance scheme for three districts of
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Current Affairs
June 2015
Maharashtra
161
Ujjwal Batria appointed as CEO of Lafarge India
162
Carlyle Group committed up to 500 million US dollars to Magna Energy Ltd.
163
Maharashtra government decided to amend MPDA Act, 1981
164
SoftBank Corp, Bharti Enterprises Limited and Foxconn formed a JV named SBG
Cleantech Ltd.
164
GADL, Oman Airport Management Company signed MoU on Aviation Consultancy

Services
165
First-ever indigenously developed VRF ACs launched by Blue Star
166
Ricoh India Ltd. launched Picasso for improved access to medical images
166
Wealth-X released Worlds Wealthiest Self-Made Billionaires List
167
SoftBank teamed up with Alibaba, Foxconn to market Pepper robot
169
TCS launched Center of Excellence (CoE) for Next-Gen Technology Solutions in

Hyderabad
169
SunEdison Inc acquired Singapore-based Continuum Wind Energy Ltd
170
Bengaluru based Ganit labs developed 5000 rupees test for tongue cancer patients
171
Karbonn to set up its first mobile phone manufacturing facility in Hyderabad
171
Snapdeal.com acquired Letsgomo Labs
172
Aequs Pvt Ltd acquired Paris-based T&K Machine Inc
173
Dick Costolo resigned as CEO of Twitter Inc
173
Vinita Bali appointed as Chair of Board of Directors of GAIN
174
Ravi Garikipati appointed as Entrepreneur in Residence of Flipkart
175
Amazon opened its biggest Fulfilment Centre in Hyderabad
175
HDFC Bank launched PayZapp
176
PVR Ltd agreed to acquire DLFs DT Cinemas for 500 crore rupees
177
ICICI Bank appointed MK Sharma as Non-Executive Chairman
178
Anshu Jain, Juergen Fitschen resigned as Co-CEO of Deutsche Bank
178
R Seshasayee appointed as Non-Executive Chairman of Infosys Limited
179
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June 2015
Current Affairs
Fortune released 61st edition of list of top 500 companies
180
Volvo India appointed Tom von Bonsdorff as Managing Director
180
Stempeucel, a stem cell drug, received Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) in Europe
181
Punit Renjen appointed as CEO of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited
181
Harley-Davidson tied-up with Myntra for online merchandise sale
182
Emami Limited acquired hair care brand Kesh King
182
Pawan Munjal appointed as the CMD of Hero MotoCorp Ltd
183
Intel announced to buy Altera for 16.7 billion US dollars
183
Amit Jain appointed as President of Uber Incs India Operations
184
SCIENCE | TECHNOLOGY
185
30 June 2015 clocked one second longer
185
First-ever possible treatments for MERS Virus identified
188
Hilleman Laboratories developed affordable Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)

vaccine
189
ITU defined 5G network speed as 20 Gbps
190
Worlds first flexible and skin-like display developed
191
Scientists discovered a way to guide electric discharges using lasers
192
Keralas Trinity College of Engineering launched student satellite TASSAT project

193
WHOs IARC classified lindane, DDT, and 2,4-D as carcinogenic to humans
194
China launched worlds first electric passenger aircraft BX1E
196
Immunogen eOD-GT8 60mer can stimulate immune system to block HIV/AIDS infection in mice: Study
196
Brightest Galaxy in Early Universe named after Cristiano Ronaldo as CR7
198
Previously unknown extreme star formation Eye of Medusa observed 100 million
light years away
198
CSIR set up Indias first Micro Air Vehicle Aerodynamics Research Tunnel in Benwww.jagranjosh.com
Current Affairs
June 2015
galuru
199
Union Government launched Augmented Reality Application named Sakaar
201
Comet lander Philae woke up after seven months of hibernation
202
Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) launched India Nuclear Insurance Pool (INIP)
203
NASA scientist developed tool to predict destructive solar storms
204
Indian-origin scientist Manu Prakash developed Worlds first water-based computer

205
Scientists at CIMAP succeeded in whole genome sequencing of Holy basil or Tulsi
206
SPORTS
208
Nelson Piquet Jr won the inaugural FIA Formula E Championship
208
Satnam Singh Bhamara became first Indian basketball player to join NBA
209
Wei, Li won mens & womens singles of Canada Open Badminton tournament 2015
210
Gutta-Ponappa won womens doubles of Canada Open Badminton tournament
2015
210
International Cricket Council approved amendments to playing conditions in ODIs

and T20Is
211
Veselin Topalov won the Norway Chess Tournament 2015
211
Leander Paes became 47th player to join 100 partners club on ATP Circuit
212
Sachin Tendulkar named as greatest Test player of 21st century
213
Zaheer Abbas, former Captain of Pakistans Cricket team, named as President of

ICC
214
Bangladesh won 3-match ODI series against India 2-1
215
Inderjeet Singh, Jinson Johnson won gold at Asian Athletics Grand Prix
216
Steffi Graf appointed as Keralas Ayurveda brand ambassador
217
Indian Railway Team won World Railway Championship 2015 in Tennis and Volley10
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June 2015
Current Affairs
ball
217
Russia won European Team Athletics Championships 2015
218
Jordan Spieth of US won US Open of Golf
219
China won 2015 Nongfu Spring World Cup of Snooker
219
Andy Murray won the mens singles of Aegon Tennis Championships at the Queens
Club
220
Debendranath Sarangi elected as President of Squash Rackets Federation of India

221
Serbia won 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup by defeating Brazil 2-1
221
Roger Federer won Gerry Weber Open tennis title for eighth time
222
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg of Germany won Austrian Grand Prix of Formula
One
223
Indian paddlers won team titles at South Asian Junior and Cadet Table Tennis
Championships
223
Sharad Pawar re-elected as President of Mumbai Cricket Association
224
AIBA constituted Ad-hoc committee chaired by Kishan Narsi for boxing in India 224
Documentary on cricket titled Death of Gentleman screened at Sheffield
225
Sunil Chhetri became first Indian footballer to score 50 international goals
226
Harbhajan Singh became 9th highest wicket-taker in Test Cricket
226
Rafael Nadal won Stuttgart Open
227
Sir Wesley Winfield Hall inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of fame
228
Forbes released 2015 Worlds 100 Highest-Paid Athletes list
228
Englands cricketer Matt Prior retired from all forms of cricket
230
FC Barcelona won 2015 UEFA Champions League title
231
Indian Basketball Players Association launched in New Delhi
231
Shah Rukh Khan acquired CPL T20 team Trinidad & Tobago
232
Lewis Hamilton of Britain won 2015 Canada Grand Prix of Formula 1
232
Momota and Ratchanok won Indonesia Open Badminton titles
233
Manchester United FC became worlds most valuable brand
234
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11
Current Affairs
June 2015
Rahul Dravid named coach of India A, U-19 cricket teams
234
Stanislas Wawrinka won Mens single title of French Open
235
AIFF signed an agreement with French Football Federation
236
AB De Villiers conferred with South Africa Cricketer of the Year Award
237
S Ravi inducted into Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires for 2015-16
238
Inderjeet won gold in shot put at 21st Asian Athletics Championships
238
Ravi Shastri re-appointed as Director of Indian Cricket team
239
Tendulkar, Ganguly, Laxman inducted in BCCIs Cricket Advisory Committee
239
STATE
241
Delhi Budget 2015-16: Highlights
241
Jagmohan Yadav appointed as DGP of Uttar Pradesh
244
National Level Sikh museum to be constructed in Lakhnaur Sahib Village of Punjab

244
Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa launched first phase of Chennai Metro Rail Service
245
APMDC signed MoU with NSL Mining Resources India Pvt Ltd for iron ore mining
projects
246
BHEL commissioned first 250-MW unit of NTPCs Bongaigaon Thermal Power Project
246
Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee appointed as acting Chief Justice of Karnataka

High Court
247
Rajasthan topped the list of States commissioning grid connected Solar Power projects
247
Lucknow zoo renamed after last Nawab Wajid Ali Shah
248
Maharashtra declared Blue Mormon as State butterfly
249
Jharkhand Government banned sale of thermocol plates
250
WB State Assembly passed West Bengal Tea Plantation Employees Welfare Fund
Bill, 2015
12
250
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June 2015
Current Affairs
Madras HC made wearing of helmets for two-wheelers compulsory from 1 July

2015
251
Kapil Mishra appointed as Chairman of Delhi Jal Board
252
Telangana Government unveiled Telangana Industrial Policy 2015
252
Tamil Nadu and Adani Power Ltd signed PPA to set up 200 MW solar power plant in
Ramanathapuram
253
Kapil Mishra named as Delhi Law Minister
254
Bihar launched campaign Badh Chala Bihar to produce Bihar@2025 vision document
255
AMC launched USE and GET PAID scheme
255
Bombay High Court banned horse driven carriages in Mumbai
256
Haryanas Jind, Karnal & UPs Muzaffarnagar included in NCR
257
Union Environment Ministry approved Coastal Road Project of Mumbai
257
AP Postal Circle decided to sell River Godavari water as GOD-JAL during Pushkaram festival
258
HP High Court asked state government to establish separate homes for differentlyabled people
259
Union Government signed 400 million US dollars loan agreement with World Bank
for TNSUDP
260
Delhi Metro got its first driver-less train
260
Jharkhand Cabinet approved Jharkhand Special Courts Ordinance, 2015
261
Phase 1A of Jaipur Metro Rail Services inaugurated
262
Maharashtra Cabinet approved a Composite Renewable Energy Policy
263
NEWS CAPSULE
264
PERSON IN NEWS
264
Keith Vaz re-elected as chairman of UK Parliament committee
264
Beno Zephine became first 100% blind officer in IFS
264
UN elected Denmarks Mogens Lykketoft to head General Assembly
265
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Current Affairs
June 2015
Dr Bimal K Roy removed as Director of Indian Statistical Institute (ISI)
266
Harriette Thompson became oldest woman to complete a marathon
266
Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa sworn-in as Governor of Arunachal Pradesh
267
Person Visit
268
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Bangladesh
268
President Pranab Mukherjee concluded two-nation visit to Sweden and Belarus 269
Person Resigned
272
Justice Gian Parkash Mittal resigned from the Office of the Judge of Delhi High
Court
272
Said Djinnit, UN envoy to Burundi crisis, stepped down as mediator
272
Sepp Blatter resigned as FIFA president amid corruption scandal
273
Person Appointed
275
Anshula Kant appointed as CFO and Deputy Managing Director of SBI
275
Aakar Patel appointed as Executive Director of Amnesty International India
275
Antani, Joshi appointed to the board of Future Majority Project of US Republican

Party
276
Archana Ramasundaram appointed as Director of National Crime Records Bureau

276
G Gurucharan given additional charge as Director General of Bureau of Indian
Standards
277
Narendra Kumar Yadav took charge as Chairman and Managing Director of MTNL
278
Prof S Bandyopadhayay appointed as Director of Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) 278
Dr. Srivari Chandrasekhar appointed as Director of CSIR-IICT
279
RC Tayal appointed as Director General of National Security Guard
279
Vijai Sharma appointed as Chief Information Commissioner of India
280
14
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June 2015
Current Affairs
KV Chowdary appointed as Chief Vigilance Commissioner
281
Syed Asif Ibrahim appointed as PMs Special Envoy on Countering Terrorism and
Extremism
282
P Kunhikrishnan appointed as Director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC)

SHAR
282
K Sivan appointed as Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, ISRO
283
S Somanath appointed as Director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, ISRO 284

Person Died
285
Patrick Macnee, star of The Avengers, died
285
Veteran Journalist Praful Bidwai passed away
285
Titanic composer James Horner died
286
Sister Nirmala Joshi, former head of Missionaries of Charity, died
287
Former Indian womens hockey captain Shashi Bala died
287
Former Turkey President Suleyman Demirel died
288
Las Vegas casino tycoon Kirk Kerkorian died
288
Sheila Kaul, former Governor of Himachal Pradesh, died
289
Chandigarhs Rock Garden creator Nek Chand died
290
Veteran actor Sir Christopher Lee died at the age of 93
290
Former Indian Cricketer Hemant Kanitkar died
291
Telugu writer Dasaradhi Rangacharya died at 87
291
Hollywood actor Hiroshi Koizumi died
292
Wrestler Prem Nath passed away
292
Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry Irwin Rose passed away
293
Awards | Honours
294
Nadia district won the UN Public Service Award 2015 for eliminating open defecation
294
President conferred Punyabhushan Award on Prataprao Pawar
295
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Current Affairs
June 2015
Famous Writer Vishwanath Tripathi chosen for 28th Moorti Devi Award
296
Sahitya Akademi announced Bhasha Samman
296
Sahitya Akademi announced Bal Sahitya Puraskar for the year 2015
298
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar conferred with Columbias highest civilian award
299
UK-based philanthropist Benni Joseph Mavelil selected for VK Krishna Menon

Award 2015
299
Three Indians won inaugural Queens Young Leaders Award in UK
300
Sanjay Subrahmanyam selected for Sangitha Kalanidhi award for the year 2015 301
Hindi writers Babusha Kohli, Upasana won 10th Navlekhan Award of Bharatiya
Jnanpith
301
Sangeet Natak Akademi announced awardees for 2014 Akademi Awards and fellowships
302
Parkash Singh Badal conferred with 2015 Sant Namdev National Award
304
ISRO presented with 2015 Space Pioneer Award for Mars Orbiter Mission
304
International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards 2015
305
UK Author Ali Smith won 2015 Baileys Womens Prize for Fiction
306
Suresh Kalmadi conferred with Asian Athletics Association Presidents Award
307
McCullum, Hesson with Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit
308
Uttarakhands Health Minister SS Negi conferred with World No Tobacco Day

Award 2015
309
Inventions | Discoveries
310
3800-year-old statuettes of priestess and politicians discovered in Peru
310
17th Century Scottish pirate captain William Kidd treasure found in Madagascar 310
Places in News
312
Azhagankulam: Ancient trade centre located in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil

Nadu
312
The Great Wall: A series of fortifications built along the historical northern borders
16
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Current Affairs
June 2015
of China
313
Revdanda coast of Alibaug: 42-foot-long blue whale died
313
Nathu La pass in Sikkim: reopened for Kailash-Manasarovar pilgrims after 53 years

314
Bellandur Lake: Industrial effluents caused fire on its water
315
Tengnoupal, Manipur: 20 army personnel killed in militant ambush
315
Exhibition | Fair
317
30th India Carpet Expo to be held in Varanasi in October 2015
317
Books | Authors
318
Dealing with China: An Insider Unmasks the New Economic Superpower by Henry
M Paulson
318
Transcendence: My Spiritual Experiences with Pramukh Swamiji written by Abdul

Kalam
318 Red Tape to Red Carpet... and then some written by Gina Rinehart
released
319
Benazir Bhutto: A Multidimensional Portrait written by Dr Anna Suvorova
319
Beyond Doubt: A Dossier on Gandhis Assassination written by Teesta Setalvad 320

Book titled Bikhare Khyalat written by Abdul Haq presented to Vice-President
321
Book titled Recasting India written by Hindol Sengupta released
321
Book titled Modi - Incredible emergence of a star in Chinese language written by

Tarun Vijay
322
Sourav Ganguly: Cricket, Captaincy and Controversy written by Saptarshi Sarkar

323
Flood of fire written by Amitav Ghosh
323
Defence | Security
324
Indigenously built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant undocked in Kochi
324
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Current Affairs
June 2015
Report | Survey
325
IEP released Global Peace Index 2015
325
Indian Railways, Indian Army among worlds biggest employers: World Economic
Forum Study
329
Maharashtra topped the list of States and UTs in IPR filing in 2013-14: IBEF report
329
IAMAI released Social Media in India 2014 report
330
CBRE Research released Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs survey
331
UNHCR released Global Trends: World at War report on forced displacement
333
BCG released Global Wealth 2015 report
335
Summit | Conference
338
International Conference on Nepals Reconstruction concluded
338
41st G7 summit held in Germany
338
Committees | Commissions
340
FSSAI set up an Expert Group on Salt, Sugar and Fat in Indian Food Products 340
Union Ministry of Finance constituted a Task Force headed by D Swarup on Financial Redress Agency
340
Art | Culture
342
Assams Ambubachi Mela concluded
342
Two-day long annual Hemis festival of Ladakh
342
New series of Atithi Devo Bhava TV commercials launched
344
350th foundation day of Shri Anandpur Sahib celebrated
345
800-year-old Buddha statue with 1000 hands unveiled by China after 7 years of
restoration
18
345
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June 2015
Current Affairs
Abbreviations | Terms
347
K2K Economic Corridor: Kolkata (India) and Kunming (China) Economic Corridor
347
FARC-EP or FARC: A guerilla movement based in Columbia
348
Bharat Mala Project: Linking border and coastal areas with road network
349
Exercise Ajeya Warrior -2015: Joint exercise between the armies of India and UK
350
OROP Scheme: One Rank, One Pension scheme for ex-servicemen
350
Magna Carta: 800th anniversary celebrated in Britain
351
Buddhas of Bamiyan: Two 6th-century monumental statues of standing Buddha 352

ASHOBAA: A cyclonic storm over east central Arabian Sea
353
Jan Aushadhi Campaign
353
Section 12(1)(d) of Consumer Protection Act
354
MCOCA: Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act
354
MERS virus: Two patients died in South Korea
355
Accident | Incident
356
Military transport plane of Indonesia, Hercules C-130, crashed in Medan city
356
Malvani hooch tragedy: more than 90 people died
356
Chinese cruise ship Eastern Star capsized in the Yangtze River
357
Tornado struck northern city of Ciudad Acuna in Mexico
357
Science | Space
359
SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket broke apart in flames minutes after lifting off from Cape
Canaveral
359
Day | Week | Year
360
29 June: National Statistics Day
360
26 June: International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
360
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Current Affairs
June 2015
14 June: World Blood Donors Day
361
12 June: World Day Against Child Labour
361
8 June: World Ocean Day
362
5 June: World Environment Day
363
31 May: World No Tobacco Day
364
Miscellaneous
366
Union Government launched weather alert service NOWCAST
366
ASIC launched mobile app ASCIonline for consumer complaint
367
Indian Railways rechristened Haridwar Mail as Yoga Express
368
Union Government launched mobile app to locate nearest blood bank
368
WORLD DAIRY (JUNE 2015)
369
INDIA DAIRY (JUNE 2015)
378
ONE LINERS (JUNE 2015)
391
DESCRIPTIVE QUESTION (JUNE 2015)
399
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June 2015
Current Affairs
PREFACE
The Current Affairs June 2015 eBook covers the current events that happened in the month of June.
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
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exams. The sections covered namely are International, National, Economy, Ecology and Environment,
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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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June 2015
PICK OF THE MONTH

Urban Rejuvenation in India
By 2030, India will have 5 times the wealth it does now. 40% of the Indian population
(590 million people) will be living in cities and 70% of the employment will be going to
cities. We require a concentrated, deliberate effort to develop our cities in a way that
will be positive for humanity as well as the environment. We need urban rejuvenation
for a better quality of life.
In line with its election manifesto, which rightly recognises urbanisation and
infrastructure as key areas for development, the BJP led NDA government under
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched three new missions, namely Atal Mission for
Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Smart Cities Mission and Housing
for All (Urban) by 2022, on 25 June 2015.
These three schemes will entail an expected expenditure of 4 trillion rupees over the
next few years ans aims to meet the needs of around 40% of Indias population.
During the occasion, the Prime Minister also released logos and taglines for AMRUT
and Smart Cities Mission; and guidelines for AMRUT, Smart Cities Mission and
Housing for All (Urban).
Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)

The AMRUT Mission entails rejuvenation and transformation of 500 cities with an
outlay of 50000 crore rupees over the next five years (2015-16 to 2019-20).
The twin objectives of the mission is meeting the challenges of growing urbanization
in the country in a sustainable manner as well as ensuring the benefits of urban
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development to the poor through increased access to urban spaces and enhanced
employment opportunities.
Purpose: To develop civic infrastructure in 500 cities and towns having population of
one lakh and above. The mission also includes some cities situated on stems of main
rivers, a few capital cities, important cities located in hilly areas, islands and tourist
areas.
Implementation: Implementation is linked to promotion of urban reforms such as
e-governance, constitution of professional municipal cadre, credit rating of urban
local bodies, energy and water audit and citizen-centric urban planning among others.
Approach: The mission adopts a project based approach to ensure basic infrastructure
services relating to water supply, sewerage, transport and development of green
spaces among others.
States given more freedom: Under this Mission, States get the flexibility of designing
schemes based on the needs of identified cities and in their execution and monitoring.
Further in a significant departure from Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal
Mission (JNNURM), now the states will only submit State Annual Action Plans (SAAPs)
to the Union for broad concurrence based on which funds will be released. Under
JNNURM, Union Government used to appraise even individual projects.
Funding: 50000 crore rupees will be spent under the mission over next five years.
Central assistance will be to the extent of 50 percent of project cost for cities and
towns with a population of up to 10 lakh and one-third of the project cost for those
with a population of above 10 lakh.
Central assistance will be released in three installments in the ratio of 20:40:40 based
on achievement of milestones indicated in SAAPs.
10 percent of budget allocation will be given to States/Union Territories (UTs) as an
incentive based on achievement of reforms during the previous year.
Uncompleted projects under JNNURM: Central assistance will be extended under
AMRUT to the projects sanctioned under JNNURM but not completed. JNNURM
projects relating to urban development sanctioned during 2005 -2012 and achieved
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June 2015
physical progress of 50 percent availing 50 percent of central assistance released and

those sanctioned during 2012-2014 will be supported till March 2017. Accordingly,
102 and 296 projects respectively will get Central support for balance funding to
complete these projects.
Smart Cities Mission

Smart Cities Mission entails an outlay of 48000 crore rupees over the next five years
(2015-16 to 2019-20) with an aim to make urban areas more livable and inclusive
besides driving the economic growth.
Purpose: To build 100 smart cities across the country by promoting smart solutions
for efficient use of available assets, resources and infrastructure with the objective of
enhancing the quality of urban life and providing a clean and sustainable environment.
Focus: The focus of the mission will be on core infrastructure services like Adequate and
clean Water supply, Sanitation and Solid Waste Management, Efficient Urban Mobility
and Public Transportation, Affordable housing for the poor, power supply, robust IT
connectivity, Governance, especially e-governance and citizen participation, safety
and security of citizens, health and education and sustainable urban environment.
Selection Criteria: Smart City aspirants will be selected through a City Challenge
Competition intended to test the ability of the cities to achieve the mission objectives.
Each state will shortlist a certain number of smart city aspirants as per the norms to
be indicated by the Union Government and they will prepare smart city proposals for
further evaluation for extending Central support.
Funding: While, each selected city would get central assistance of 100 crore rupees
per year for five years a cumulative amount of 48000 crore rupees allocated for the
mission
Implementation: Smart City Action Plans will be implemented by Special Purpose
Vehicles (SPV) to be created for each city and state governments will ensure steady
stream of resources for SPVs.
Approach: The mission adopts area based approach consisting of retrofitting,
redevelopment, pan-city initiatives and development of new cities. Under Retrofitting,
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deficiencies in an identified area will be addressed through necessary interventions

as in the case of Local Area Plan for downtown Ahmedabad. Redevelopment enables
reconstruction of already built-up area that is not amenable for any interventions, to
make it smart, as in the case of Bhendi Bazar of Mumbai and West Kidwai Nagar
in New Delhi. Pan-city initiatives could be interventions like Intelligent Transport
Solutions which benefit residents by reducing commuting time.
How AMRUT differs from Smart Cities Mission?

Though the two missions are interrelated in the sense that AMRUT seeks to lay a
foundation to enable smaller cities and towns to eventually grow into smart cities,
they differ in the following ways:
While Smart Cities Mission focuses on a select larger urban areas, the AMRUT mission
is intended to improve infrastructure in small cities having population of one lakh and
above and towns of special importance only.
While Smart Cities Mission adopts area based approach focusing on improving
amenities in a specific area of a larger city, the AMRUT mission adopts functional
based approach focusing on improving the delivery of services in the designated
towns and smaller cities.
It is aimed at developing infrastructure in 500 cities and towns that are having a
population of one lakh and above with an outlay of 50000 crore rupees between
2015-16 and 2019-20.
Housing for All by 2022

Housing for All by 2022 mission aims at providing housing facilities to all eligible
people in urban areas by 2022 and it will be implemented as a Centrally Sponsored
Scheme and the States and Union Territories (UTs) are given greater autonomy in
execution of the mission.
In order to avoid duplicity, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation
issued an order on 19 May 2015 cancelling the existing Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY),
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June 2015
Rajiv Rinn Yojana (RRY) and Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP) schemes and
subsuming them under the new mission.
Broad Components of Housing for All

It has four components viz., slum rehabilitation, credit linked interest subsidy, affordable
housing and beneficiary-led individual house construction or enhancement. States
and Union Territories (UTs) can choose best options amongst four components of the
mission to meet the demand of housing in their states.
Under the Slum rehabilitation component Union Government will provide grant of
one lakh rupees per house. A State Government would have flexibility in deploying
this slum rehabilitation grant to any slum rehabilitation project taken for development
using land as a resource for providing houses to slum dwellers.
Under the Credit Linked Interest Subsidy component interest subsidy of 6.5 percent
on housing loans availed up to a tenure of 15 years will be provided to Economically
Weaker Sections/ Lower Income Group (EWS/LIG) categories, wherein the subsidy
pay-out on Net Present Value (NPV) basis would be about 2.3 lakh rupees per house
for both the categories.
Central assistance at the rate of 1.5 lakh rupees per house for EWS category will be
provided under Affordable housing component in partnership with public and private
sectors and Beneficiary-led individual house construction or enhancement.
State Government or their para statals like Housing Boards can take up project of
affordable housing to avail the Central Government grant.
General Highlights of the Mission

It will be implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme except the credit linked
subsidy component, which will be implemented as a Central Sector Scheme.
Houses constructed under the mission would be allotted in the name of the female
head of the households or in the joint name of the male head of the household and
his wife.
It will cover the entire urban area consisting of 4041 statutory towns with initial
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focus on 500 Class I cities and it will be implemented in three phases Phase-I
(April 2015 March 2017) to cover 100 Cities to be selected from States/UTs as
per their willingness, Phase II (April 2017 March 2019) to cover additional 200
Cities and Phase-III (April 2019 March 2022) to cover all other remaining Cities.
There will be flexibility in covering number of cities in various phases and inclusion
of additional cities may be considered by the Union Ministry of Housing & Urban
Poverty Alleviation in case there is demand from States and cities and have
capacity to include them in earlier phases.
Credit linked subsidy component of the scheme would be implemented across
the country in all statutory towns from the very beginning.
A Technology Sub-mission would be set up to facilitate adoption of modern,
innovative and green technologies and building material for faster and quality
construction of houses.
Best practices in terms of affordable housing policies of the States/UTs designs
and technologies adopted by States and Cities are compiled with an objective to
spread best practices across States and cities and foster cross learning.
A virtual platform will be developed to obtain suggestions and inputs on house
design, materials, technologies and other elements of urban housing.
Comment
Urban rejuvenation or renewal calls for re-organizing the urban clusters where the
infrastructure has far outlived its extent and is almost bursting at seams. The concept
of urban rejuvenation has been used in many of the leading cities of world like Hong
Kong, Singapore etc.
Urban rejuvenation or re-development or renewal, requires formation of authorities
to carry out the large-scale redevelopment of urban areas, rather than piecemeal
rebuilding of individual buildings or the provision of specific facilities. In other
words the buildings which were older than certain age were pulled down and new
infrastructure was created which catered to the needs of the changed time.
Politically sensitive and requiring extreme transparency along with faith of the
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June 2015
community in the system implementing it, it was repackaged in our context in

India 10 years back with the launch of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal
Mission (JNNURM) in December 2005 by the then United Progressive Alliance (UPA)
government.
However, JNNURM has not lived up to the outcome of urban renewal in any locality
in India. The only visible outcome of JNNURM has been its low-floor AC or Non-AC
buses plying in the city.
The High Powered Expert Committee for Investment in Urban Infrastructure found
in a 2011 report that the JNNURM had not delivered either the required investment
or service improvements. In 2012, the Comptroller Auditor General declared it a
failure, detailing under-used, unspent funding (particularly for the poorest wards),
unmet reforms (even on paper) and projects rarely completed (8.9 per cent overall).
It is to stem the loopholes in JNNURM, the BJP-led NDA government announced in
2014 to replace JNNURM with a new mission with a focus on GIS-based planning and
waste management. As a result, these three schemes were envisaged and launched.
Conceptually these schemes sound effective but these three different urban renewal
schemes need to be closely integrated in order to work well. Any city aspiring for
the fundamental aspects of urban infrastructure and living has to leverage all these
schemes in some way or the other. Besides, budgetary outlays are not adequate and
state governments need to contribute generously.
India and Bangladesh relations@ zenith

A new chapter was opened in the relationship between India and Bangladesh during
the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bangladesh from 6 June to 7 June 2015.
During the visit 22 bilateral documents were inked signed, exchanged, adopted and
handed over in Dhaka.
These agreements covered the entire gamut of political, economic and cultural
relations. Among these agreements, five issues that are part of the 60-point
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Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) stand out and promise an era of greater

cooperative relationship, best reflected in the title of the joint declaration - Notun
Projonmo-Nayi Disha (New Beginning-New Direction).
These agreements are related to connectivity and include grid interconnection and
generation of power, improving the balance of trade, better coordination among the
border guarding forces and people- to- people contact. While the first two issues
are to be advanced within a sub-regional framework, other issues are exclusively
bilateral in nature.
The most notable among these was the ratification and exchange of 1974 Land
Boundary Agreement between the two nations.
Land Boundary Agreement of 1974

The signing of historical 1974 Land Boundary Agreement (LBA), which would settle
the 4096-kilometre-long border (Indias longest border with neighbour country)
dispute between the two countries, was the landmark agreement India has signed
with any neighbouring country.
According to the agreement, Bangladesh took over 111 enclaves (17160 acres of
land) from Indias possession and India received 51 enclaves (7110 acres of land)
from Bangladesh. Enclaves are tiny landlocked territories that each country has
within the borders of the other nation. The enclaves in Assam, West Bengal, Tripura
and Meghalaya come under the bills ambit.
Effect of Land Boundary Agreement

It will allow over 50000 stateless people living in these enclaves to gain a national
identity after four decades of stateless limbo, as now they will be allowed to live
in India or Bangladesh with the option of being granted citizenship in the newly
designated territories
The enclaves would cease to exist
It will help India to fence its borders with Bangladesh
It will change the physical map of India and Bangladesh
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June 2015
It may also help in solving the dispute of water sharing from Teesta and Feni
Rivers which flow through both nations, which was not resolved during this visit
of Modi to Bangladesh.
The Constitution (100th Amendment) Act, 2015

The Constitution (100th Amendment) Act, 2015 which received the President Pranab
Mukherjee gave assent in May 2015, relates to the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA)
between India and Bangladesh.
The Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) Bill, 2013 also known as the 119th Constitution
(Amendment) Bill, 2013 was passed by both houses of Parliament in May 2015.
The first pillar of this bill was put by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 6
September 2011, the year when the two countries inked a historic protocol on land
boundary agreement following the talks between Prime Minister Mahmohan Singh
and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka.
List of documents signed

Exchange of Instruments of Ratification of 1974 Land Boundary Agreement and
its 2011 Protocol
Exchange of letters on Modalities for implementation of 1974 Land Boundary
Agreement and its 2011 Protocol
Renewal of Bilateral Trade Agreement
Agreement on Coastal Shipping between Bangladesh and India
Renewal of Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade
Bilateral Cooperation Agreement on Cooperation in the field of Standardization
was inked between Bangladesh Standards & Testing Institution (BSTI) and Bureau
of Indian Standards (BIS).
Agreement on Dhaka-Shillong-Guwahati Bus Service and its Protocol
Agreement on Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala Bus Service and its Protocol
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Memorandum of Understanding between Coast Guards

Memorandum of Understanding on Prevention of Human Trafficking
Memorandum of Understanding on Prevention of Smuggling and Circulation Fake
Currency Notes
Memorandum of Understanding between Bangladesh and India and for Extending
a New Line of Credit (LoC) of 2 billion US dollars by Government of India to
Government of Bangladesh
Memorandum of Understanding on Blue Economy and Maritime Cooperation in
the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean
Memorandum of Understanding on Use of Chittagong and Mongla Ports
Memorandum of Understanding for a Project under IECC (India Endowment for
Climate Change) of SAARC
Memorandum of Understanding on Indian Economic Zone
Cultural Exchange Programme for the years 2015-17
Statement of Intent on Bangladesh-India Education Cooperation (adoption)
Agreement between Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL)
and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) for leasing of international bandwidth
for internet at Akhaura
Memorandum of Understanding between University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India for Joint Research on
Oceanography of the Bay of Bengal
Memorandum of Understanding between University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh and
University of Jamia Milia Islamia, India
Handing over of Consent Letter by Insurance Development and Regulatory
Authority (IDRA), Bangladesh to Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), India to start
operations in Bangladesh
Besides, during this visit of Prime Minister Modi to Bangladesh, its government
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June 2015
conferred Award of Liberation Wa Honour on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari

Vajpayee. Vajpayee was awarded for his outstanding support for the countrys
independence from Pakistan in 1971 when he was a Lok Sabha member.
Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala bus service flagged off

Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala direct bus service was flagged off from Dhaka on 6 June
2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart, Sheikh
Hasina. PM Narendra Modi visited Bangladesh from 6 June to 7 June 2015.
With the launch of the Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala direct bus service, the time taken to
reach Agartala from Kolkata will be reduced to 17 hours. Earlier, the distance was
covered in three days.
Besides, India and Bangladesh also announced Dhaka-Shillong-Guwahati service.
Prior to this, the two Indian states were directly connected with Bangladesh through
two different bus services, that is, Dhaka-Kolkata Direct Bus Service that started in
1999 and Dhaka-Agartala Direct Bus Service that started in 2001.
WJP Rule of Law Index 2015

The US-based World Justice Project (WJP) on 2 June 2015 released the Rule of Law
Index 2015. The 2015 index, fifth in the series, provides data on how the rule of law
is experienced in 102 countries around the globe.
The index has been topped by Denmark followed by Norway, Sweden and Finland at
second, third and fourth place respectively. All the four countries have score above
0.85.
On the other hand, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Venezuela are placed at bottom of
the index with 100, 101 and 102 rank respectively. All these countries have score of
less than 0.37.
India with a score of 0.51 has been placed at 59th position and is ranked at third
place out of six countries in the South Asian region.
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Main highlights of Rule of Law Index

Denmark tops the index overall and also in the categories Constraints on
Government Power and Absence of Corruption.
In Open Government category, the index is topped by Sweden
Finland tops the index in the categories Fundamental Rights and Criminal Justice
In the category Order and Security, the index is topped by Japan
When it comes to category Regulatory Enforcement and Civil Justice, it has been
topped by Singapore and the Netherlands
Position of India in the Index

India with a score of 0.51 has been placed at 59th position
It is placed at 10th place out of 25 lower middle income countries.
Indias performance for criminal justice places it at 44th rank globally, top performer
in South Asia and at Number 4 among lower middle income countries.
In Civil Justice category, India is placed at 88th rank globally, third in South Asia
and 19th among lower middle income countries.
India is placed at 37th place in the category Open Government and at third place
among lower middle income countries
In the category Order and Security, India is placed at 90th position worldwide,
fourth in South Asia and 20 among lower middle income countries.
It is ranked at third place out of six countries in the South Asian region which is
topped by Nepal (48) followed by Sri Lanka (58), Bangladesh (92), Pakistan (98)
and Afghanistan (101).
India is placed at third place among the BRICS countries, which has been topped
by South Africa (36) followed by Brazil (46), China (71) and Russia (75).
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June 2015
About Rule of Law Index 2015

The Index is based on survey of over a 1000 respondents from three big cities, along
with local legal experts, in each country. The data, collected in 2013, measures how
the rule of law is experienced in practical, everyday situations using 47 indicators
across eight categories.
These eight categories are: constraints on government powers, absence of corruption,
open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement,
civil justice, and criminal justice.
The index ranks countries on a scale of 0 to 1 (with 1 indicating strongest adherence
to the Rule of Law).
Bibek Debroy committee on railway restructuring submitted

report
The High Level Committee (HLC) on railway restructuring headed by Dr Bibek Debroy
on 12 June 2015 submitted its final report to the Union Ministry of Railways.
The HLC known as the Committee for Mobilization of Resources for Major Railway
Projects and Restructuring of Railway Ministry and Railway Board was formed in
September 2014.
For implementing its recommendations the committee has given the following timetable
ImmediateLiberalization, or the allowing of private entry; changes in the
composition of the Railway Board.
0-2 yearsDecentralization to zones/divisions; cleaning up finances between
Union government and IR.
2 yearsReform of RPF, schools and medical services; transition to commercial
accounting, reform of production and construction units.
3 yearsChanges in the Railways Act and the Railway Board Act, setting up a
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Regulator; unified entry into the Railway services; resolution of social costs.
5 yearsBifurcation between Railway Infrastructure Corporation and rest of IR as
train operators; end of the Railway Budget.
7 yearsTransition of the IR that operates trains to a government-owned SPV.
Major recommendations of the HLC

Highlighting the need to split the roles of policy-making, regulation, and operations,
it recommended that the Ministry should only be responsible for policy for the
Railway sector and Parliamentary accountability while autonomy should be given
to the Indian Railways (IR).
Unbundling of Indian Railways (IR) into two independent organizations: one,
responsible for the track and infrastructure and another that will operate trains.
To enable proper decision making, the IR needs to adopt a commercial accrualbased double entry accounting system. This will help determine the precise extent
of subsidization.
The Railway Board should become like a corporate board for IR. The Chairman
of the Railway Board should thus be like a CEO. He/She is not first among equals
and should therefore have the powers of final decision-making and veto (in the
case of a divided view).
A Railway Infrastructure Company should be created as a government SPV (with
a possibility of disinvesting in the future) that owns the railway infrastructure,
delinked from IR.
A provision needs to be made for open access for any new operator who wishes
to enter the market for operating trains with non-discriminatory access to the
railway infrastructure and a level playing field.
Amendment in the Indian Railways Act will be required to allow the levy of tariffs by
private operators without administered tariff-determination and fares being left to
the market, with a qualification about passenger fares with guaranteed standard
of services to a particular passenger class, such as ordinary sitting class and
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June 2015
sleeper class.
Set up a Railway Regulatory Authority of India (RRAI) statutorily, with an independent
budget, so that it is truly independent of the Ministry of Railways. It will have the
powers and objectives of economic regulation, including, tariff regulation; safety
regulation, service standard regulation, etc.
RRAI should possess quasi judicial powers, with appointment and removal of
members distanced from the Union Ministry of Railways.
There should be an Appellate Tribunal which will hear appeals against the orders
of RRAI and further appeals against the orders of the Appellate Tribunal can be
directed to the Supreme Court.
Separation of rail track from rolling stock and unbundling the former and separation
and unbundling of non-core as well as peripheral activities.
Delink of Railway Protection Force (RPF) from the IR system and bring in private
security for protection of Railway property.
All the existing production units should be placed under a government SPV known
as the Indian Railway Manufacturing Company (IRMC) under the administrative
control of the Ministry of Railways. No privatization need be contemplated, at
least initially.
An ex-cadre post of a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) needs to be created; reporting
directly to the Chairman of the Board and all IT initiatives should be integrated
and brought under the umbrella of this directorate exclusive of any departmental
handling in Board.
There are too many Zones and Divisions and thus a rationalization exercise is
required.
The head of the Zone (GM) must be fully empowered to take all necessary decisions
without reference to Railway Board within the framework of policies.
There is a need to shift focus to business/customer units like freight business,
passenger business, suburban business, parcel business etc. which is essential
for IR to be competitive, for its long term-economic viability, customer satisfaction
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and for being an adaptive/flexible organization.

IR should consolidate and merge the existing eight organized Group A services
into two services i.e. the Indian Railway Technical Service (IRTechS) and the Indian
Railway Logistics Service (IRLogS), comprising the three non-technical services
(IRAS, IRPS and IRTS).
Subsidies should be targeted towards those who need them. Link Aadhaar numbers
for passenger when tickets are purchased. Subsidies on passenger fares to be
reimbursed directly into bank accounts, for those who are targeted BPL. Such
subsidies must be borne by the Union government.
IR must encourage on-board catering through large food chains and local
restaurants on the payment of a modest license fee. This can be enabled simply
through web booking and thus offer customers a wide choice of local cuisine,
delivered at his/her choice of station by the restaurant.
For raising resources for investments, an Investment Advisory Committee may be
set up, consisting of experts, investment bankers and representatives of SEBI,
RBI, IDFC and other institutions.
WADA published Anti-Doping Rule Violations Report for 2013

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on 15 June 2015 published the Anti-Doping
Rule Violations (ADRV) Report for 2013.
It is the first of its kind comprehensive report released by WADA on ADRVs and it
illustrates the incidence of doping in global sport during 2013.
Russia has maximum number of dope offenders with 212 testing positive while the
figures for Turkey and India were 155 and 91 respectively that stood at second and
third positions.
Highlights of ADRV Report

Globally, 1953 sanctions were levied for testing positive for banned substances
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June 2015
(ADRVs) committed during 2013.

The sanctions were handed out to athletes and athlete support personnel from
115 countries in 89 sports after testing 207513 samples.
Out of 1953 athletes, 1687 were actually caught for using banned substances
while 266 violated other rules (non-analytical ADRVs).
Non-Analytical ADRVs refer to violations related to Articles 2.2 to 2.8 of the World
Anti-Doping Code, that do not involve the detection of a prohibited substance
by a WADA-accredited laboratory but instances like failure to submit to a test,
possession, use or trafficking of a prohibited substance.
Non-Analytical ADRVs include athletes and athlete support personnel.
If non-analytical Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) are taken into account Russia
(225), Turkey (188) and France (108) stood at the top three positions.
Among sports disciplines, weightlifting (248), athletics (235), cycling (153), wrestling
(92) and football (74) were top five with large number of dope cases.
Report with respect to India

Indias National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) reported third largest ADRVs during
2013 with 91 instances just behind Russia and Turkey.
Out of the 91 Indians, 20 were women athletes.
When non-analytical ADRVs are considered, India had total 95 ADRVs and stood
fourth in the WADA list behind Russia, Turkey and France .
Among sports disciplines, track and field athletes lead the Indian dope cheats
with 30 (28 sanctioned after testing positive with two of them committing nonanalytical ADRVs) out of a global total of 280.
Weightlifting came second with 19 from the discipline caught for doping with nine
wrestlers committing Anti-Doping Rule violation.
Other sports involved in the doping are power lifters (8), bodybuilding (8), judo (7),
boxing (4), aquatics (2), cycling (2), kabaddi (2), cricket (1), football (1), taekwondo
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(1) and volleyball (1).

The report, when combined with the 2013 Annual Testing Figures (ATF) Report
released in 2014 will be of value to the anti-doping communitys efforts to protect
clean athletes in every country around the world.
The 2013 ATF Report disclosed the results of all the tests performed by WADAaccredited laboratories on urine and blood samples collected during 2013.

The first International Day of Yoga was on 21 June 2015 observed globally. The day
was celebrated across 192 nations including Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. Earlier on 3
June 2015, National Yoga Day was also celebrated in India.
The celebrations of first International Yoga Day at Rajpath in New Delhi saw setting of
two Guinness World Records (GWRs). These included participation of most individuals
and individuals from the largest number of nationalities performing asanas at a single
venue. Around 36 thousand participants performed asanas and 84 nationalities joined
the official observation.
The idea to celebrate 21 June, which is the Summer Solstice, as the International Day
of Yoga was mooted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 27 September 2014 during
his address to the UN General Assembly.
Following which, the United Nations General Assembly on 11 December 2014 adopted
the resolution to commemorate 21 June as the International Day of Yoga every year.
This resolution was adopted under the Global Health and Foreign Policy by the
General Assembly in order to provide a holistic approach to the people worldwide for
their health and well-being. More than 177 countries including USA, Canada, China
and Egypt supported this move including 175 nations co-sponsoring the resolution.
International Day of Yoga was adopted to fulfill the following objectives:

To let people know the amazing and natural benefits of yoga.
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To connect people to the nature by practicing yoga.

To reduce the rate of health challenging diseases all over the world.
To enhance growth, development and spread peace all through the world.
To help people in their bad situations themselves by getting relief from stress
through yoga.
To let people know their rights of good health and healthy life style to completely
enjoy the highest standard of physical and mental health.
To link between protection of health and sustainable health development.
Yoga is an Indian physical, mental, and spiritual practice or discipline. It finds mention
in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the author of the grammatical Mahabhasya.

Indias renowned contemporary architect Charles Correa on 16 June 2015 passed
away following a brief illness in Mumbai. He was 84. He led the creation of architecture
for post-Independence India.
He designed the famous monuments and buildings of the nation ranging from
Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Museum in Ahmedabad; Madhya Pradesh Legislative
Assembly in Bhopal; National Crafts Museum, New Delhi; Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal
and British Council, Delhi.
He also designed McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, Boston and
Champalimaud Centre for The Unknown in Lisbon, Portugal. He was the founder of
Mumbais Urban Design Research Institute that works to protect the environment
and improve lives of urban communities.
He was the Chief Architect behind the development of Navi Mumbai along with
Shirish Patel and Pravina Mehta. He also had served as Chairman of the National
Commission on Urbanization in 1985.
Correa was bestowed with various awards in his lifetime for his works including the
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Padma Shri award (1972), Padma Vibhushan (2006), Royal Gold Medal for Architecture
(1984) by the Royal Institute of British Architects, 7th Aga Khan Award for Architecture
(1998) by Praemium Imperiale of Japan.
Correa was born on 1 September 1930 in Secunderabad, Telangana.
Greece became first developed nation to default on IMF debt

Greece on 30 June 2015 became the first developed nation to default on International
Monetary Fund (IMF) debt. It became a defaulter after it missed the deadline for
payment of 1.7 billion dollar (1.5 billion euro) to IMF.
The Eurozone Finance Ministers refused to extend its bailout to Greece after it rejected
the proposal given by the troika viz., International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European
Commission (EC) and European Central Bank (ECB). The proposal said that Greece
needs to raise its primary surplus within two years in order to avail the 15.5 billion
Euros of funding, which in turn required pension and tax reforms for which the Syriza
government is reluctant to.
However, the ministers said that they will discuss a last-minute request from Greece
for a new two-year bailout on 1 July 2015. The last country to do so was Zimbabwe
in 2001.
Besides, IMF also announced that it had received a request from the Greek authorities
for an extension of their obligation and that it would go to the Executive Board in due
course.
Greece PM called for referendum on extension for bailout programme

Greek Prime Minister Alexia Tsipras on 27 June 2015 called a referendum on extension
to the bailout programme offered by the troika viz., International Monetary Fund (IMF),
the European Commission (EC) and European Central Bank (ECB).
The Greece Parliament is set to vote on 5 July 2015 on the referendum call.
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Tsipras called for referendum against the backdrop of austerity demands put forward
by the lenders as a pre-condition to extend the bailout programme for six months. It
is set to expire on 30 June 2015, the same day IMFs debt is due.
As per the troika, Greece needs to raise its primary surplus within two years in order to
avail the 15.5 billion euros of funding, which in turnrequires pension and tax reforms
for which the Syriza government is reluctant to.
The left-wing government came into power in January 2015 on apromise to end
austerity measures.
Without the bailout funds, Greece is set to default on the loans and will be closer to
imposing capital controls that will create chaos in the economy and financial markets.
If people vote for the extension of the bailout programme (Yes vote), a new government
may have to be formed to finalise talks with the lenders and implement reforms
agreed upon.
If people vote against the extension of the bailout programmes (No vote), it will pave
the way for the exit of Greece from the Eurozone and possibly European Union.
Greece, which has been facing financial crisis since 2009, has a total debt of 320
billion euros. This is 180 percent of Greece GDP and 2 percent of the sovereign debt
in the European Union.
Comment:
Greece, which is now in arrears, is at a risk of leaving Euro and shifting back to its old
currency Drachma. Euro replaced Drachma as a currency of Greece in 2001 (at the
rate of 340.750 drachma to the euro). This may have a major implication for Greece
economy and its exports.
The use of Drachma by Greece, which will be of lower value than Euro, will lead to
increase in the cost of imports raising the specter of inflation in the already battling
economy.
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Greece crisis and its Impact on India

Default by Greece on loans repayment to the IMF, would be first case by an advanced
economy which will have impact on both the world economy and Indian economy.
Though Indias economy is not Greece-centric, Greeces default on its payments and
expected weakening of the euro will have indirect effect on the countrys economy.
Europe is Indias largest trading partner with 129 billion US dollars of merchandise
trade registered in 2014-15. Of this the European Union accounted for 97 billion US
dollars with the UK, Germany, France and Italy being the leading partners.
India will earn less on its exports especially engineering goods for which is the Europe
is the largest destination.
Further, Europe is the second biggest outsourcing market for the Indian IT firms after
the US and any crisis in Europe will also have implications for the Indian exports
economy.
The biggest fear on account of Greece crisis would be on capital inflows as it may
trigger capital outflows from the India with interest rates set to rise in order to face
the volatile situation in the capital market.
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INTERNATIONAL
Three-drug lethal injection protocol use did not violate
Constitution: US Supreme Court
The US Supreme Court on 29 June 2015 upheld the use of three controversial drug
lethal injections protocol used in executions of inmates across the country. It said that
it does not violate the Constitution in terms of being cruel and unusual punishment.
While writing the opinion of the 5-4 majority Justice Samuel Alito along with Chief
Justice John Roberts, Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy and Clarence
Thomas rejected arguments presented by lawyers of inmates in Oklahoma.
Lawyers of the inmates argued that the first injection, a sedative called midazolam,
would not prevent their clients from feeling searing pain from the second and third
injections that caused paralysis and heart failure. Hence, it was contrary to the Eighth
Amendment of the US Constitution that forbids cruel and unusual punishments.
Further, a divided Supreme Court ruled that the inmates who challenged the use of
the sedative failed to establish that Oklahomas use of a massive dose of midazolam
entails a substantial risk of severe pain.
The Justices also noted that the plaintiffs did not identify an alternative method of
execution that significantly reduces that risk.
Background
Midazolam raised concerns after it was used in executions of three jail inmates, most
notably the execution of Clayton Lockett, in Oklahoma in April 2014 that took longer
time than usual.
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Following which and in lieu of shortage of midazolam in the US, the state legislature
of Oklahoma on 9 April 2015 passed a bill that allows use of nitrogen gas (nitrogeninduced hypoxia) as a method of execution.
Comment
The ruling clears the path for executions to continue in a number of states of the US
although a number of US states are facing shortage of midazolam sedative due to
European manufacturers opposing capital punishment refusing to sell the drugs to
them.
India, Thailand signed five MOUs during the 7th Meeting of IndiaThailand Joint Commission
India and Thailand on 29 June 2015 signed five Agreements/ Memorandum of
Understandings (MOUs) during the 7th Meeting of India-Thailand Joint Commission
in Bangkok.
The documents were signed by the External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand Gen Tanasak
Patimapragorn.
Swaraj was on a three-day (27-29 June 2015) visit to Thailand and during the travel
she co-chaired the 7th meet of the India-Thailand Joint Commission for Bilateral
Cooperation.
The signed Agreements/MOUs includes

Agreed Minutes of the Seventh Meeting of the Thailand-India Joint Commission for
Bilateral Cooperation: Record of decisions on the review of bilateral relationship at
Ministerial level.
Exchange of Instruments of Ratification of the Treaty on Extradition: The Treaty
provides the legal framework for seeking extradition of fugitive offenders, including
those involved in terrorism, transnational crimes, economic offences etc. This will
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help both the countries in expedited extradition of fugitives. This Treaty would further
strengthen the relationship between two law enforcement agencies by providing a
firm legal basis for their bilateral cooperation
Memorandum of Understanding on the Establishment of Nalanda University: By
signing this Agreement, Thailand joined other East Asian Summit (EAS) countries in
the establishment of Nalanda University
Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion
with respect to taxes on Income: The agreement provides the framework to avoid
double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income so
as to promote economic cooperation between two countries.
MoU on the Establishment of the Academic Chair in Ayurveda: the MoU was inked
between Ministry of AYUSH, India and Rangsit University, Thailand. Under the MoU,
the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences will set up a Chair at Rangsit
University, Thailand to undertake an academic and research activities in Ayurveda.
US Supreme Court ruled against EPA limiting mercury emissions

from power plants
The United States (US) Supreme Court on 29 June 2015 ruled against the rules of
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) limiting mercury and other toxic emissions
from power plants, undermining the Barack Obama administrations drive to cut
pollution from electricity generators.
The court ruled 5-4 in an opinion written by Justice Antonin Scalia. The case looked
at the EPAs regulation of mercury and other emissions from power plants under
the Clean Air Act, 1970. The Clean Air Act directs the EPA to regulate emissions
of hazardous air pollutants from certain stationary sources such as refineries and
factories.
The question before the court hinged on the interpretation of a line in the Clean Air
Act stating that the EPA shall regulate emissions from electric utilities if the agency
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finds that such regulation is appropriate and necessary.

The court assessed whether the EPAs interpretation of the word appropriate had to
include the costs of compliance. It said that EPA interpreted the law unreasonably
when it failed to consider the costs of compliance with the new regulations. Over
more than a decade, EPA took costs into account at multiple stages and through
multiple means as it set emissions limits for power plants.
The ruling puts the administration under pressure to redo the rules before President
Barack Obamas second term ends.
Background
The EPA adopted the mercury rules limiting the release of mercury, heavy metals and
acid gases from power plants in December 2011 and they went into effect in 2015.
While many newer power plants have technology to curb those hazardous releases,
the rules target plants that still do not capture those emissions.
The rules affected about 600 US power plants, the majority of which were fueled by
coal. Industry groups and 23 states challenged the rule, arguing that the EPA failed
to take into account the cost of compliance, which they put at 9.6 billion US dollars.
50 countries signed Articles of Agreement for China-initiated

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
Delegates of 50 countries on 29 June 2015 signed the 60-article agreement that will
lay the legal framework for the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
(AIIB).
Australia was first to sign the agreement at the Great Hall of the People in the Chinese
capital Beijing.
Out of the 57 founder-member countries, the remaining seven - Denmark, Kuwait,
Malaysia, Philippines, Holland and South Africa and Thailand could not sign the
agreement as it was not ratified by their respective domestic authorities.
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The agreement outlined the financial share of each member, policymaking, business
and operational systems and governance structure of the AIIB.
Key features of AIIB

It will have authorized capital of 100 billion US dollars and the initial subscribed
capital is expected to be around 50 billion US Dollar. The paid-in ratio will be 20
per cent.
Asian countries will contribute up to 75 percent of the total capital and be allocated
a share of the quota based on their economic size.
China will contribute 29.78 billion US dollars of the banks 100 billion US dollars
capital base, becoming its largest shareholder with a 30.34 percent stake.
India will be the second-biggest shareholder at 8.4 percent, followed by Russia,
which will have a 6.5 percent stake.
China, India and Russia will have a voting share of 26.06 percent, 7.5 percent and
5.92 percent, respectively.
It will start operations by the end of 2015 under two preconditions: At least 10
prospective members sign the agreement, and the initial subscribed capital is no
less than 50 percent of the authorized capital.
Member countries of AIIB

China, India, Russia, Britain, France, Australia, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland,
Austria, Singapore, South Korea, Qatar, Oman, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Denmark,
Kuwait, Malaysia, Philippines, Holland, South Africa, Thailand, Azerbaijan, Brunei,
Cambodia, Egypt, Finland, Georgia, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Jordan,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Maldives, Malta, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, The
Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sri Lanka,
Sweden, Tajikistan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Uzbekistan and Vietnam
The number of member countries in the bank is expected to increase to about 70,
exceeding the 67-member ADB.
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About Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)

Representatives from 21 Asian countries signed the Memorandum of Understanding
on Establishing Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) on 24 October 2014 in
Beijing.
It is designed to finance infrastructure building in Asia and is headquartered in Beijing.
It is expected to bridge the infrastructure deficit by playing a complimentary role
along with other financial institutions like Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the
International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Sri Lankan President, Maithripala Sirisena dissolved the Parliament on 26 June 2015.
Sirisena signed a gazette notification dissolving parliament in an effort to consolidate
power and push through political reforms.
Sirisena dissolved the parliament within 160 days after assuming his office in January
2015. This dissolution ends the term of the coalition government that was appointed
for a period of 100-days after the presidential election. The date of dissolution was
extended to implement Constitutional reforms.
To elect a new Parliament, elections will be held on 17 August 2015.

The United States (US) Supreme Court on 26 June 2015 legalized same-sex marriage
across the nation in a closely divided ruling by a 5 to 4 vote. The 28-page ruling was
made by Justice Anthony Kennedy and was agreed by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg,
Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.
With this ruling, now the states cannot deny marriage rights enjoyed for thousands of
years by opposite-sex couples to gay men and lesbians. The decision is expected to
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trigger same-sex marriages in fourteen states that banned the practice.

The court ratified the Bill of Rights and added the Fourteenth Amendment that states
no state shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of
law.
The Fourteenth Amendment requires a State to license a marriage between two
people of the same sex and to recognize a marriage between two people of the same
sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-State.
The decision came exactly two years after Kennedys majority opinion in United
States v. Windsor struck down a federal law denying benefits to married same-sex
couples. In this decision, Justice Kennedy embraced a vision of a living Constitution
that evolves with societal changes.
According to the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, which
tracks the demographics of gay and lesbian Americans, there are an estimated
390000 married same-sex couples in the United States.
India, US signed MoUs to enhance cooperation in areas of Health

Sector
India and the United States (US) on 25 June 2015 signed a series of agreements on
health sector to enhance cooperation in areas such as cancer research, infrastructure
development, training, capacity building and better assessment and application of
new diagnostic technologies.
List of Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) signed by India and US:

MoU on cancer research, control, prevention and management: Both the countries
signed a MoU on collaboration in the areas for conducting research and training on
development of low-cost technologies, diagnostics of existing medications against
common cancers and development of existing therapies related to oncology.
This MoU was signed among the NCRI (AIIMS), ICMR (DHS), the Department of
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Biotechnology, (MoST), NCI (NIH) and the US Department of Health and Human
Services (DHHS).
MoU on collaboration in Environmental, occupational Health and Injury Prevention
and Control: They also signed an agreement to further the cooperation in education
and training, infrastructure development, and capacity-building for their reciprocal
and mutual benefit.
The cooperation under the MoU will cover:

Prevention of illness related to toxic chemicals and hazardous substances
Development and use of improved tools, technologies and methods for enhancing
environmental and occupational public health, and injury prevention efforts,
including surveillance
Focus on public health effects of indoor air pollution including a focus on exposures
associated with burning of solid fuels for cooking, prevention of illness and injury
related to hazards at the workplace.
Letter of Intent (LoI) on Anti-microbial Resistance Research: A Letter of Intent (LoI)
on anti-microbial resistance research was signed between the ICMR, Department of
Biotechnology (MoST) and USs National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases,
National Institutes of Health and DHHS.
This includes setting up of mechanism of antimicrobial resistance, application of
systems biology, comparative testing and assisting the validation of new diagnostics
and explore possible patterns of AMR in neonatal intensive care units as observed in
India and the US.
The MoUs and LoI were signed by B P Sharma, Secretary Health; K Vijay Raghavan,
Secretary Department of Biotechnology under Union Ministry of Science and
Technology and Richard Verma, US Ambassador to India.
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US Supreme Court gave nod to subsidies under US Health Care

Law in States without health exchanges
The US Supreme Court on 25 June 2015 ruled that federal subsidies under the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), 2010 could be made available to individual
States, even if those States did not set up their own insurance exchanges.
The judgment was delivered by a 9-judge bench in the King v. Burwell case with 6-3
division. The bench was headed by the Chief Justice John Robert.
The verdict will benefit 6.4 million people in the 34 states as they are eligible to
receive health-insurance subsidies even though those States did not create insurance
marketplaces to purchase their policies.
Health insurance marketplaces or health exchanges are organizations set up to
facilitate the purchase of health insurance in each state in accordance with the ACA,
2010 or Obamacare.
Union Cabinet approved signing of MoC between India and

Japan on Industrial Property
The Union Cabinet on 24 June 2015 gave its approval for signing of a Memorandum
of Cooperation (MoC) between the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion
(DIPP) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO), Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
of Japan.
The MoC is aimed at establishing a framework for bilateral cooperation in the field
of industrial property (IP) with emphasis on capacity building, human resource
development and awareness generation.
Under the MoC, both the countries will implement a biennial action plancomprising
cooperation projects and activities. Some of them are
Information sharing on IP Protection Systems and Practices
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Cooperation in the area of examination, including utilization of the examinerexchange program

Cooperation in the scheme of the Patent Cooperation Treaty
Assistance in developing IP infrastructure
Capacity building in the use of IT infrastructure
Information provision and awareness building for the general public
Austria to file complaint against UKs Hinkley Point C nuclear

project in European Court of Justice
Austria on 23 June 2015 decided to file a legal complaint against the European
Commission (EU)s approval to the Hinkley Point C nuclear power project in the
European Court of Justice (ECJ).
The petition is expected to be filed on 29 June 2015.
In October 2014, the EC gave the approval for UK Governments around 17 billion
British pounds subsidy for construction and operation of the project over a period of
35 years.
Austria, a non-nuclear power state, opposing the ECs decision on the

following grounds
The ECs approval is based on procedural flaws as it has not considered all the
things which it should have considered before giving its nod, hence, it UKs aid is
illegal.
Nuclear power is not a sustainable form of technology neither in environmental
nor in economic terms.
Any form of direct or indirect subsidies to nuclear power should not be encouraged
and there should be complete internalization of all external costs based on the
polluter pays principle.
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Austria doesnt consider nuclear power to be eligible for the European Fund for
Strategic Investments [EFSI].
The decision of Austria is expected to be supported by Luxemburg, another nuclearfree state in the European Union (EU).
Features of Hinkley Point C nuclear project

Under the project two nuclear power plants will be established at Somerset in
south-west England.
The two reactors will produce in total 3.3 GW of electricity - the largest output
produced by a single plant in the UK representing 7 percent of total UK electricity
generation.
It will be built by French energy firm EDF, and two Chinese companies- CGN and
CNNC with an estimated 24.5 billion US dollars.
It will use the European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) technology which is not yet
operational anywhere in the world. There are only three projects currently under
construction in France, Finland and China which will rely on this technology.
Under the contract for difference agreement between the UK Government and the
nuclear operators the Government will pay the difference between the strike price
(government fixed price to sell nuclear power) and the market price.
The operator will also benefit from a State guarantee covering any debt which the
operator will seek to obtain on financial markets to fund the construction of the
plant.
For implementing the contract for difference agreement, the credit guarantee and
planned level of public support, the government is expected to doll out 17 billion
British pounds as a form of subsidy to the project operators.
It will be the first one in Western Europe ever since the Fukushima nuclear plant
disaster in Japan in 2011 and the first nuclear plant of UK in over two decades.
Start of operations is scheduled for 2023 with an expected operational lifetime of
60 years.
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India to be the Partner Country for Russian Industrial Trade Fair

Innoprom 2016
India on 22 June 2015 decided to be a partner country in the major Industrial Fair
named INNOPROM 2016 to be held at Yekaterinburg, Russia in July 2016. India
accepted the invitation extended by the Russian Government in December 2014.
This acceptance of invitation was conveyed to Minister of Industry and Trade of
Russian Federation Denis Manturov by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge),
Commerce & Industry Nirmala Sitharaman during a bilateral meeting held at St.
Petersburg on 19 June 2015. Nirmala Sitharaman was on a three day visit to Russia
to participate in annual St. Petersburg International and Economic Forum (SPIEF)
held from 18-20 June 2015 at St Petersburg, Russia. She led a strong delegation of
30-member from Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
During the visit, the minister held bilateral discussions with Viktor Khristenko,
Chairman of the Eurasian Economic Union; Denis Manturov, Minister of Industry and
Trade and Mandrey Slepnev, Member (Trade), Eurasian Economic Union.
Major points discussed during the meet includes

Issue of renewal of Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement
(BIPPA) between India and Russia
It was agreed to take all necessary steps to ensure that the target of bilateral
investment of 15 billion US dollars each way by the year 2025 signed during the
last Annual Summit is achieved.
Both sides agreed that the present level of investment and trade between the two
countries which is presently in the range of 11 billion US dollars and 13 billion US
dollar is very low.
She also participated in the panel discussion on The Eurasian Economic Union: A
new Compass in Global Economic Relations.
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Nepal-India Treaty of Transit amended to facilitate import of

vehicles into Nepal
Nepal-India Treaty of Transit of 1999 was amended on 22 June 2015 to allow the
movement of vehicles imported from a third country into Nepal through four border
points.
The four border points are Raxaul-Birgunj, Jogbani-Biratnagar, Sunauli-Bhairahawa
and Nepalgunj Road-Nepalgunj border points.
The amendment was done after Nepal requested India to allow movement of vehicles
on their own citing the requirements of additional handling facilities, special carriers
and equipment needed, which added to the cost and time of clearance of vehicles
from Kolkata port into Nepal.
To this effect, a Letter of Exchange was finalised between India and Nepal though
the two governments had discussed the matter during the third meet of Nepal-India
Joint Commission held on 25 July and 26 July 2014.
Earlier, there was no provision under Nepal-India Treaty of Transit that allowed import
of third country motor vehicles transiting India to be moved on their own power.
Before this agreement such vehicles were allowed only by railway wagons and trucks
or trailers after proper sealing by Indian Customs.
EU launched Operation EU NAVFOR Med against migranttraffickers

To stop human traffickers from bringing migrants across the Mediterranean to Europe,
the European Union (EU) on 22 June 2015 launched a three-phase naval operation
named EU NAVFOR Med (European Union Naval Force Mediterranean Sea).
The first phase of the naval operation was officially launched by EU foreign ministers
meeting in Luxembourg.
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Phase 1 involves Information gathering on whereabouts of traffickers, patrolling

of high seas and monitoring of smuggle networks. It will see participation of about
10 countries which include among others Italy, France, Germany, the UK, Spain,
Lithuania and probably also Finland.
The two follow-up phases of the operation which requires United Nations Security
Council (UNSC) and Libyas approval would see
Phase 2: Active intervention to board and disable smuggler vessels and arrest
the traffickers
Phase 3: Extend the actions into Libyan territorial waters and possibly inside the
country itself
The operation will not target the migrants but it will target those who are making
money on their lives and too often on their deaths. It also wants to dismantle the
business model of the traffickers by destroying their boats.
The operation was launched in backdrop of death of 800 migrants in April 2015 when
their rickety boat sank in the Mediterranean Sea. In 2015, about one lakh migrants
have entered Europe most of them landing in Italy, Greece and Malta.
So far in 2015 alone, 2000 migrants have died.
Pitcairn Island passed law to allow same-sex marriage

Pitcairn Island, the worlds smallest country by population, legalised same-sex
marriage. The law change was unanimously approved by the local council.
Although the news was made public on 22 June 2015 but it had come into effect
on 15 May 2015. The new law wasnt published online by the Island, as its website
encountered some technical issues.
Pitcairn Island, a tiny speck in the Pacific with a small population of 48 people, passed
the law on suggestion of British authorities. The law was passed after England, Wales
and Scotland legalised the same-sex marriage in 2014.
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Pitcairn Islands
The Pitcairn Islands, officially named the Pitcairn Group of Islands, are a group of
four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the last British Overseas
Territory in the Pacific. It was settled by mutineers of the British navy vessel Bounty
and their Tahitian companions in 1790.
The four islands Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno are spread over several
hundred miles of ocean and have a total land area of about 47 square kilometres (18
sq mi). Only Pitcairn, the second largest island measuring about 3.6 kilometres (2.2
mi) from east to west, is inhabited.
The United Nations Committee on Decolonization includes the Pitcairn Islands on the
United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.
India placed at 61st position in terms of foreigners money in

Swiss banks
India was placed at 61st position in terms of foreigners money in Swiss banks. This
was revealed by latest data released by Swiss National Bank (SNB), the central bank
of Switzerland, in the fourth week of June 2015.
As per the data, India now accounts for a meagre 0.123 per cent of the total global
wealth worth 1.6 trillion US dollars in Switzerlands banking system.
Indians money in Swiss banks declined by over 10 percent to about 1.8 billion Swiss
francs (1.98 billion US dollars or 12615 crore rupees) in 2014.
This is the second lowest level of Indian money in Swiss banks, after an increase of
over 40 percent in 2013. Further, the decline comes amid an enhanced clampdown
against the famed secrecy wall of Switzerlands banking system.
The big banks accounted for 1.48 billion Swiss francs of Indians money which was
up from 1.36 billion Swiss francs in 2013.
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Other highlights
The countries to top the list are the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States
(US) who holds the largest shares of the foreign clients money with Swiss banks.
The UK and the US are followed by West Indies, Guernsey, Germany, Bahamas,
Luxembourg, France, Jersey and Hong Kong
The UK alone accounts for 22 percent of total global funds in Swiss banks.
Top four nation together account for over half of all foreigners wealth in Swiss
banks, which rose to 1.47 trillion Swiss francs (about 102 lakh crore rupees or 1.6
trillion US dollars) in 2014.
Just two big banks, UBS and Credit Suisse, account for nearly two-third of the
total money kept by foreigners in Swiss banks while in case of Indians it is even
higher at about 82 percent.
Pakistan in the list is placed at 73rd position with their share almost doubling to
472 million Swiss francs. This accounts for 36 percent of the total amount of 1.3
billion Swiss francs held in all Swiss banks by their clients.
Commemorations of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of

Waterloo concluded
200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo concluded on 20 June 2015. The anniversary
that began on 18 June 2015 concluded with a re-enactment of the moment when the
news of the allied victory reached London.
A horse-drawn chaise post retracted the route taken in 1815 from Old Royal Naval
College, in Greenwich, to St Jamess Square, where news from Belgium was delivered
to the Prince Regent.
The anniversary was celebrated to remember the June 1815 battle in which Napoleons
French army was defeated by Duke of Wellingtons allied forces of British, Dutch,
Belgian and German soldiers. The news of victory in the battlefield was carried on
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by Major Harry Percy at Broadstairs in Kent from where it was carried on the Prince
Regent in London.
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day
Belgium, the then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. The battle was
fought between the French army under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte and
armies of the Seventh Coalition, comprising an Anglo-allied army under the command
of the Duke of Wellington and Prussian army under the command of Gebhard von
Blucher.
Napoleons French army was defeated in the war and this defeat helped in bringing
an end to the Napoleonic era of European history.
After the war, Napoleon was sent into exile to Saint Helena, a remote island in the
Atlantic off the coast of Africa. He lived quietly in Helena for six years and later died
on 5 May 1821, likely due to stomach cancer.

France on 18 June 2015 announced a ban on wearing earphones while driving a
vehicle and riding a cycle. The ban will come into effect from 1 July 2015.
The ban was announced with an aim to reduce deaths due to accidents.
Those found using earphones while driving a vehicle or riding a cycle will be fined
135 Euro (214 US dollar) and lose three license points. However, use of phone while
having the caller on loud speaker will be allowed.
The announced ban was initially proposed in January 2015 to cut down death toll on
the roads in France and to improve drivers attention while driving. The officials said
that one in 10 deaths was linked to mobile phone use while driving.
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US Department of State released Country Reports on Terrorism

2014
The Department of State of USA on 19 June 2015 released a report titled Country
Reports on Terrorism 2014. The report delineated violence caused by terrorist
activities across the world during 2014.
According to the report, in 2014, nearly 33000 people were killed in almost 13500
terrorist attacks around the world. Thats up from just over18000 deaths in nearly
10000 attacks in 2013.
Main highlights of the report

Rise in attacks in 2014 were due to increased terror activity in Iraq, Afghanistan
and Nigeria.
Attacks were largely at the hands of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)
group.
Boko Haram, militant group based in Nigeria, raised the number of terror acts
by more than a third, nearly doubled the number of deaths and nearly tripled the
number of kidnappings.
There were 20 attacks that killed more than 100 people each in 2014, compared
to just two in 2013.
Among the 20 mass casualty attacks in 2014 were the December attack by the
Pakistani Taliban on a school in Peshawar that killed at least 150 people, and the
June attack by ISIL fighters on a prison in Mosul, Iraq, in which 670 Shia prisoners
died.
Terror attacks took place in 95 countries in 2014, but were concentrated in the
Middle East, South Asia, and West Africa.
Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, and Nigeria accounted for more than 60 percent
of the attacks and, if Syria is included, they accounted for 80 percent of the
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fatalities.
There has been rise in the number of so-called lone wolf attacks in the West and
the use of more extreme methods of violence by fighters to repress and frighten
communities under their control.
Report with respect to India

India continued to be a major target for a range of terrorist groups; in 2014, around
400 people were killed as a result of terrorist attacks in India.
Ineffective implementation of anti-money laundering (AML) and counterterrorist
financing (CFT) laws, especially with regard to criminal convictions.
India is restricting its enforcement of anti-hawala prosecutions to non-financial
businesses only.
United States investigators have had limited success in coordinating the seizure
of illegal proceeds with their Indian counterparts.
India, Tanzania signed six MoUs to deepen bilateral relations

India and Tanzania on 19 June 2015 signed six MoUs in the field of tourism, education
and hydrography to deepen bilateral cooperation.
The agreement was inked in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President
of Tanzania Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete. President of Tanzania is on a five-day tour to
India from 17 June to 21 June 2015.
List of inked MOU/Project signed/Exchanged with Tanzania

MOU on establishing a collaborative program in official statistics:It was inked
between the East Africa Statistical Training Center (EASTC) in Tanzania and the
National Statistical System Training Academy (NSSTA) in India and will include
capacity building for Staff of EASTC and other African Countries in Official
Statistics.
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MOU on cooperation in Agricultural Statistics, Computer Applications and Bioinformatics: It was inked between EASTC and Indian Council of Agricultural
Research (ICAR), Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute (IASRI) for
capacity building of Staff
MOU on Cooperation in the field of Tourism: To enhance bilateral cooperation in
Tourism and hospitality sectors.
Loan agreement to operationalise the LoC: The agreement was signed between
Exim Bank and Government of Tanzania on LOC for 268.35 million US dollar for
extension of Lake Victoria pipeline project.
Agreement for appointing the former as PMC: The agreement was signed between
WAPCOS (PSU under M/o Water) and Government of Tanzania for preparation of
DPR for Lake Victoria pipeline project
MOU for Cooperation in the field of Hydrography & Protocol on exchange of
Hydrographic Data: To promote development and cooperation in the field of
Hydrography through conducting surveys, exchange of data, capacity building
and infrastructure strengthening.
Besides, the President of Tanzania Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete held delegation level talks
with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and agreed to set up a joint working group to
combat terrorism. Kikwete also sought Indian investment for his country and assured
Indian investors of investment friendly environment in his country.
Blue Opposition Bloc led by Lars Loekke Rasmussen won

Denmarks Parliamentary Elections
Blue Opposition Bloc led by Lars Loekke Rasmussen of right-wing Venstre party on
19 June 2015 won the parliamentary elections of Denmark. Blue opposition bloc,
also called Centre-Right coalition, won 90 seats in the 179-member parliament.
Red Bloc or Centre-Left ruling coalition led by incumbent Prime Minister Helle
Thorning-Schmidt of Social Democratic Party won 85 seats. Thorning-Schmidt, the
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first woman Prime Minister of Denmark, conceding defeat quit as the head of Social
Democrat Party.
The final results are as follows

Red bloc
The Social Democrats 47
Radikale, the Danish Social Liberal party 8
Socialist Peoples party 7
Red-Green Alliance 14
The Alternative 9
Blue bloc
Venstre 34
Danish Peoples party 37
The Liberal Alliance 13
The Conservative Peoples party 6
Former Prime Minister Lars Lkke Rasmussen is set to become Denmarks next
Prime Minister. He took over as the countrys youngest-ever prime minister in 2009
but was ousted by the leftist coalition in 2011 after voters rejected his governments
austerity policies.
Comment
Although incumbent prime ministers Social Democratic party is still the single largest
party but right-wing, anti-immigrant Danish Peoples Party of Blue bloc emerged as
the biggest force in 2015 elections. It won over 21 percent of the vote to become the
second largest party in parliament.
The decision to call early elections by incumbent PM Thorning-Schmidt in a hope
to capitalize on an economic recovery boomeranged. On the other hand, Danish
Peoples Party win means a tougher immigration laws.
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Hong Kong lawmakers rejected Beijing-backed election reform

package
Hong Kong lawmakers on 18 June 2015 rejected Beijing-backed election reform
package. The proposal was voted down by 28 votes to eight in the Legislative Council
(known as legco) of 70 members.
The proposal labeled as a package of fake democracy required support from twothirds of the assembly to pass. The package would have granted all Hong Kong
citizens the right to vote for their Chief Executive for the first time in 2017 and elect
him directly. But they would only be able to vote for candidates that had been vetted
by a pro-Beijing committee.
Rejection of the package means that the next chief executive of city in 2017 will be
chosen by 1200 members of the pro-Beijing committee who will select their leader.
Present System
The Executive Council of Hong Kong is headed by the Chief Executive (CE) who
is elected by the Election Committee and then appointed by the Central Peoples
Government. The Election Committee is a Hong Kong electoral college whose
members are elected by People.

China and Australia on 17 June 2015 signed the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement
(ChAFTA) at Canberra in Australia.
The agreement was signed by Chinas Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng and
Australias Trade Minister Andrew Robb.
The chAFTA will ensure 85 percent of all exports of Australia to China tariff-free that
will rise to 93 percent by 2019.
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Features of China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA)

It gives Australian dairy farmers, wine-makers and other sectors tariff-free access
to the huge market of China within a few years.
It will put eventual removal of tariffs on dairy products, live animal exports,
resources and energy products.
Tariffs on all resources and energy products will be removed by 2017.
Beef and sheep farmers will benefit from the abolition of tariffs ranging from 12-25
percent.
Lock in zero tariffs on major exports like iron ore, gold, crude petroleum oil and
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).
All tariffs on horticulture and live animal exports will be eliminated, while tariff on
wine will be cut up to 14-30 percent.
Wool producers will be able to export another 30000 tonnes of clean wool on top
of existing quotas.
Cotton, wheat, sugar, rice and oilseeds industries were kept out of the agreement.
Comment
The chAFTA will open up markets worth billions of dollars and create jobs for both
the countries. With this agreement Australian farmers will enjoy the same benefits
possessed by New Zealand, Chile and ASEAN competitors who have similar free
trade agreements with China.
Japans Parliament passed a Bill to lower voting age from 20 to

18
Parliament of Japan (Diet) on 17 June 2015 passed a bill to lower the voting age from
20 to 18. The bill that seeks revision of the public office election law was passed
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by the House of Councilors (upper house) after being approved in the House of
Representatives (lower house).
The legislation will come into effect during the 2016 Upper House Election and will
add about 2.4 million new potential voters to Japans current voting population of
104 million.
The passage of the bill follows a law passed in 2014 that sought to lower the voting
age to 18 years in 2018 for national referendums on the Constitution.
Last time, Japan lowered the age of voting from 25 to 20 and gave voting rights to
women in 1945 after the World War II.
Commission on GSJG released the Confronting the Crisis of

Global Governance report
The Commission on Global Security, Justice & Governance (GSJG) on 16 June 2015
released the Confronting the Crisis of Global Governance report at the Peace Palace
in The Hague. The report put forwards a series of proposals aimed at reforming the
United Nations (UN).
The commission was co-chaired by former US Secretary of State and Ambassador
to the United Nations Madeleine K. Albright and former Nigerian Foreign Minister and
UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim A. Gambari.
The report says that the United Nations and other global institutions arent equipped
to tackle todays global challenges ranging from massive violence in fragile states to
runaway climate change and global economic shocks. Much more is needed from
the UN and other global institutions.
The UN requires more capable tools of global governance, with different kinds of
public, private, and mixed institutions designed for twenty-first-century challenges. To
address these challenges, the report provides reforms to transcend national borders.
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Recommendations of the Commission

Create next-generation conflict mediation and peace operations capacity: The
commission calls for building responsive capacity to provide experienced mediators,
including a greater proportion of women for crisis and conflict prevention and peacebuilding; building capacity to deploy civilian, police, and military personnel to meet
urgent peacekeeping requirements.
Strengthen the responsibility to prevent, protect, and rebuild: It suggests investing
in capabilities and responsibility to protect action plans for an approach to atrocities
prevention that involves all UN agencies and programs.
Innovate climate governance: There should be facilitation of new kinds of engagement
between the UN and other international regimes, sub-national authorities, and civil
society and business groups; establishing an international carbon monitoring entity,
a global climate action clearinghouse; and define a global goal for climate adaption.
Develop a green technology licensing facility within the green climate fund: The
commission suggests harnessing of private-sector innovation for climate mitigation
and adaptation, especially in support of vulnerable populations in developing
countries.
Create a G20+ for economic stability and sustainable development:Enhance
G20-UN-Bretton Woods institutional coordination to prevent the spread of crossborder financial shocks, promote inclusive economic reform, and foster the equitable
growth.
Promote safe Internet access for everyone, everywhere: Bolster global capacity to
fend off cyber attacks involves developing a global network of cybercrime centers
through INTERPOL and national Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs).
Build an inclusive UN Global Partnership: Give a greater voice to under-represented
policy issues such as womens rights, migration, and training a modern workforce
through new social compacts and a new hub whereby the entire UN system can tap
into the expertise of civil and business community.
Expand UN Security Council engagement: Create more opportunities for countries,
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regional organizations, local authorities to contribute to peacemaking and peacebuilding, while increasing the councils representative legitimacy.
Establish UN peace-building council: Transform the peace-building commission into
a council with new coordination authorities, new financial and knowledge resources
and a new focus on prevention, including through peace-building audits.
Make full use of the International Court of Justice: Expand acceptance of the
International Court of Justices jurisdiction and more active use of its authoritative
advisory opinions in innovative ways.
Create a UN Parliamentary Network: The Commission recommends establishing a
parliamentary advisory body for the UN General Assembly to raise greater awareness
by strengthening voices in global institutions.

India and Poland set trade target of 5 billion US dollars by 2018. The decision was
taken on 15 June 2015 at the fourth session of the bilateral Joint Commission on
Economic Cooperation, held in Warsaw, capital city of Poland.
The commission also identified a series of actions to raise trade from the2014 level
of 2.3 billion US dollars to 5 billion US dollars by the year 2018.
The meeting of the commission was co-chaired by Amitabh Kant, Secretary,
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and Jerzy Pietreiwicz, Secretary
of State, Ministry of Economy of Poland.
On the sidelines of the commission meeting, the three co-chairs of the newly created
Joint Working Groups on Coal, Information Technology and Food Processing held
their first meetings and presented the outcomes to the commission.
In the coal and steel sector, both sides have drawn a roadmap to strengthen
cooperation in areas such as thick seam underground coal mining, exploitation of
highly gassy seams, developing clean coal technologies and transfer of technologies
in deep coal mining from Poland to India.
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In the IT sector, both the countries have identified areas to strengthen cooperation
in entrepreneurship development and support; research and development and
innovation in cloud computing; big data analysis; cyber-security, data protection,
smart cities projects and accreditation of each others courses.
In the food processing sector, experts discussed market access, food processing
technologies and research and development between scientific institutions. Poland
showed interest in exporting the latest food processing machinery and technology
to India.
The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) of United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the second
week of June 2015 decided to include four Indian languages to offer knowledge tests
and lectures to aspirants who appear for driving test in the country.
The four Indian languages included along with three other languages are Hindi,
Malayalam, Tamil and Bengali. The other three are Chinese, Russian and Persian.
At present, RTA of UAE conducts tests in three languages - English, Urdu and Arabic.
While appearing for driving tests, an aspiring driver will be allowed to opt for any one
of these languages for both theory tests as well as eight mandatory lectures from
September 2015.
The mandatory lectures and knowledge test are required to obtain a driving licence
in UAE. To move to the practical driving classes, an aspirant also needs to pass a
computer-based knowledge test.
Israeli government approved bill to force feed prisoners

The Israeli government on 14 June 2015 approved a bill that will allow the forcefeeding of prisoners that are on hunger strike, if their lives are in danger. The Bill is
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called as Law to Prevent Harm Caused by Hunger Strikes.

The bill is scheduled to be presented before Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, for first
and second readings before it becomes law.
However, Israels Medical Association opposed the bill and urged local doctors not
to participate in force-feedings if the law comes into force. The association considers
force-feeding as a form of torture.
Under current Israeli law, it is impossible to treat a patient against his or her own will,
but an ethics committee can get involved.
The bill was initially approved in June 2014 when the mass hunger strike of Palestinian
prisoners was at its height during which 80 were hospitalised as well. But, it was put
on hold as the Knesset was dissolved before it could start deliberating.
The majority of prisoners who go on hunger strike in Israeli jails are Palestinians in
administrative detention, under which they are held for renewable six-month periods
without charge. According to Israels Prison Service, there are about 5000 Palestinian
prisoners currently and out of them four refused to eat.
Spain passed law awarding citizenship to descendants of

expelled Jews
Spains Lower House of Parliament (Congreso) on 11 June 2015 approved a law
that eases the path to citizenship for descendants of Jews who were forced to flee
the country five centuries ago. Several Jews flee away from the country during the
Spanish Inquisition.
Tens of thousands of Jews were expelled in 1492 during the Spanish Inquisition, who
were forced to convert them to Catholicism or were burnt at the stake.
The new law will allow holding dual citizenship rights for Jews with Spanish ancestry
those whose can trace their roots to the expelled Jewish community, also known as
Sephardic Jews. This means that such Jews with Spanish ancestry can apply for a
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Spanish passport from October 2015.

The new law that will grant a right to hold dual citizenship to Sephardic Jews is
presently granted to people from its former colonies and neighbouring Portugal and
Andorra.
Spanish Inquisition
The Inquisition was a Roman Catholic tribunal for discovery and punishment of
heresy, which was marked by the severity of questioning and punishment and lack of
rights afforded to the accused.
Spanish Inquisition started in 1481 after Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand wrote
a petition to the Pope asking permission to start the process in the country as they
felt that Jews are influencing the Spanish peoples. During the inquisition Conversos
(Secret Jews) and New Christians were targeted because of their close relations to
the Jewish community, many of whom were Jews in all but their name.
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicle

Agreement signed in Thimpu
India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal on 15 June 2015 signed the BBIN (Bangladesh,
Bhutan, India and Nepal) Motor Vehicle Agreement in the Bhutanese capital Thimphu.
The transport ministers of four countries including the Union Minister of Road
Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari signed the agreement.
Key Features of BBIN Motor Vehicle Pact

The regional motor vehicle pact is aimed at regulation of passenger, personal and
cargo vehicular traffic amongst four SAARC member countries.
It would promote safe, economical, efficient and environmentally sound road
transport in the region.
It would help each country in creating an institutional mechanism for regional
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integration.
Each party will bear its own costs arising from implementation of this agreement.
It is similar to the SAARC Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA) draft with minor changes.
Comment
The Union Cabinet had approved a proposal to sign the South Asian Association
for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) MVA during the SAARC Summit in Kathmandu
in November 2014. However, it could not be signed due to reservations of Pakistan.
The SAARC declaration at the Kathmandu Summit in November 2014 also encouraged
Member States to initiate regional and sub-regional measures to enhance connectivity.
Accordingly, it was considered appropriate that a sub-regional Motor Vehicle
Agreement among Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) may be pursued.

Moldovas Prime Minister Chiril Gaburuci on 12 June 2015 resigned from his post after
he was questioned about the authenticity of his high school and university degrees.
Gaburuci became the Prime Minister of Moldova in February 2015. He headed a proEuropean government that relies on the Communist Party of Moldova. Earlier, he had
been Chief Executive Officer of Azerbaijans mobile telecom company Moldcell until
January 2015.
Gaburuci has earlier also expressed his will to resign, saying that he lacked the tools
to reform financial and judicial institutes such as the central bank and prosecutors
office.
Moldovas political scenario

Moldova is a small country of 3.5 million people, lying between Ukraine and Romania.
It has been ruled since 2009 by pro-Western parties which have negotiated a political
and free trade deal with the European Union to take the country into mainstream
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Europe. However, the economic mismanagement and trade pressure from Russia
and the failure of successive governments to tackle corruption remains high among
large sections of the population.
Moldova came more into focus since Russia seized neighbouring Ukraines Crimea
peninsula in 2014. Russian troops are stationed in a strip of Moldova since the
breakup of the Soviet Union, protecting a self-proclaimed independent state-let
called Transdniestria.
African leaders signed Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA)

agreement
African leaders on 10 June 2015 signed the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) pact
paving the way for creating Africas largest free-trade zone.
The pact was signed by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, President Robert
Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn of Ethiopia and
Mohamed Bilal, Vice-President of Tanzania at the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite
Summit 2015 held at the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt.
Key Features of Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA)

It is intended to create a common market among 26 nations spanning half the
continent from Cairo (Egypt) in the North to Cape Town (South Africa) in the South.
It will be created by integrating three existing trade blocs viz., the Common Market
for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC)
and the Southern African Development Community (SADCT).
It will operationalise a framework for preferential tariffs easing the movement of
goods across member countries.
The pact needs ratification in national parliaments by 2017 for implementation.
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Importance of TFTA
The Tripartite FTA popularly known as the Grand Free Trade Area represents around
58 percent of the continents Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with 1.2 trillion US
dollars.
It is expected to benefit 625 million people living in 26 member countries of the
pact.
The launching of the TFTA is the first phase of implementing a developmental
regional integration strategy that places high priority on infrastructure development,
industrialization and free movement of business persons.
It offers significant opportunities for business and investment and will act as a
magnet for attracting foreign direct investment into the region.
The business community, in particular, will benefit from an improved and harmonized
trade regime which reduces the cost of doing business as a result of elimination of
overlapping trade regimes due to multiple memberships.
It is expected to stimulate 1trillion US dollars worth of economic activity across
the region.
It will be the largest economic bloc on the continent and the launching pad for the
establishment of the Continental Free Trade Are (CFTA) in 2017 covering the entire
Africa.

India, Japan and Australia on 9 June 2015 held their first ever high-level trilateral
dialogue in New Delhi.
The talks were attended by Indian foreign secretary S Jaishankar, Japanese vice
foreign minister Akitaka Saiki and Australian secretary of the Department of Foreign
Affairs and Trade Peter Varghese.
The representatives of three countries discussed prospects of cooperation in the
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fields of economy and security with special emphasis on maritime security.

The three countries agreed to hold their next round of talks in Tokyo, Japan.
Comment
The first ever trilateral dialogue among the three major countries in the Asia-Pacific
region assumes significance against the backdrop of growing assertiveness of China
in the South China sea of Pacific Ocean.
India accords greater importance to Japan and Australia that is evident from the fact
that Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a visit to both the countries within six months
of coming to the office in order to operationalise his Act East Policy.
Indian naval officials recently were in Perth for talks on their first ever bilateral maritime
exercises with Australia scheduled for September 2015 off the east coast of India.
Separately, India is also considering including Japan for 2015 Malabar Exercises in
October 2015, which has usually been an U.S.-India bilateral engagement. Japan
participated in the Malabar exercises in 2014 as well. This is in addition to the Japan
India Maritime Exercise (JIMEX) held annually between the two countries.
In 2007, Indias involvement in the informal Quadrilateral Security Dialogue with
Japan, Australia and the United States with all four participating the 2007 Malabar
Exercises along with Singapore provoked a strong backlash from China due to fears
of encirclement.
Nepal political parties reached agreement on proposed

Constitution framework
Major political parties of Nepal on 9 June 2015 reached an agreement on the
proposed framework of national Constitution providing for federal structure, form of
governance, electoral and judicial systems.
The agreement was signed in the capital Kathmandu by the leaders of the ruling
Nepali Congress (NC), the main opposition Unified Communist Party of Nepal (UCPN)
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Maoist and two other major political parties in the Constituent Assembly.
Key Features of the Agreement

Nepal will be divided into eight federal states whose names and boundaries will
be decided by separate bodies.
A new federal commission will be tasked with drawing up internal borders and
submit a proposal for approval in the Parliament.
Nepal will continue with its current system of national governance which includes
executive Prime Minister and ceremonial President.
The parties agreed to conduct elections to local bodies which were held for the
last time in 1997.
The final draft of the constitution, which must be approved by a two-thirds parliamentary
majority, is expected to be ready by July 2015.
Comment
The political parties were compelled to show unity and expedite the process of writing
a new constitution after the April 25 earthquake as the lack of legitimate political and
administrative structures at the National and Local level has been hampering the
relief operations. April 25 earthquake killed an estimated 8500 people and affected
some 10 million people (about half of the population).
The end of deadlock since 2008 on a new Constitutional framework, however, leaves
the crucial issue of the provincial borders unresolved. This could give rise to problem
in future as for long time UCPN (Maoist) had been pushing for new provinces to be
created along lines that could favour historically marginalised communities, and other
parties like NC argues that the move would be divisive and a threat to national unity.
Nepal started the work on a new national Constitution in 2008 following a decadelong Maoist insurgency that left an estimated 16000 people dead and brought down
the monarchy.
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The Justice and Development Party (AKP) of Turkey led by President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan on 7 June 2015 won Turkeys parliamentary polls.
According to preliminary results, AKP lost its single-party government and for the
first time in 13 years, the party lost the majority in the 550-member Parliament.
On the other hand, the pro-Kurdish left-wing Peoples Democracy Party (HDP) which
crossed the 10 percent threshold entered the Parliament for the first time.
Percentage of votes (based on 99.9 percent of votes counted) won by different parties
AKP: 41 percent (258 seats, which is 18 less than it requires for a majority)
Republican Peoples Party (CHP): 25 percent (132 seats)
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP): 16.5 percent (81 seats)
Peoples Democratic Party (HDP): 13 percent (79 seats)
Effect of the parliamentary polls result

The results speak of change in Turkeys culture towards more inclusive society as
highlighted by the win of pro-Kurdish HDP.
Further, the government in Turkey would now become more pluralist with AKP now
not in majority there will be race for coalition.
But if no working coalition can be formed within 45 days, the Constitution empowers
Erdogan to call an early parliamentary election. That election would have to be held
90 days later.
Comment
Erdogan who became the first directly elected President in 2014 after remaining as
Prime Minister for three terms since 2003 was seeking a two-thirds majority to turn
Turkey into a presidential republic. However, this win for AKP may not allow him to
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turn Turkey into a presidential republic.

On the other hand, the entry of pro-Kurdish HDP into the Parliament marks a
significant departure from the one-party ruled government. It speaks for change in
Turkeys culture towards more inclusive society. For instance, the number of women
in the 550-seat parliament will increase to 98 up from 79. All thanks to HDP which is
the first party to introduce a quota of 50% female politicians.
Ameenah Gurib-Fakim sworn-in as first Woman President of

Mauritius
Prominent scientist Ameenah Gurib-Fakim was on 5 June 2015 sworn in as President
of Mauritius. With this, Gurib-Fakim became the first female president of Mauritius,
which gained independence from Britain in 1968 and replaced Britains Queen
Elizabeth II as its head of state in 1992.
Ameenah, an internationally-renowned scientist and biologist, succeeded Kailash
Purryag who stepped down from his post on 29 May 2015.
At the time of her appointment as President, Gurib-Fakim was director of Centre for
Phytotherapy Research (CEPHYR) in Mauritius, which carries out research on plants
for use in cosmetics, nutrition and therapy.
An alumnus of the universities of Exeter and Surrey in Britain, she also serves as the
chairman of organic chemistry at Mauritius University. She has also worked with the
World Bank and other international institutions as well.
India-Netherlands signed agreements to deepen bilateral

cooperation
India and the Netherlands on 5 June 2015 signed several agreements to deepen
bilateral cooperation.
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The agreements were signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
Prime Minister of Netherland Mark Rutte in New Delhi after the two leaders held
discussions on various issues related to the region and the world.
Mark Rutte is on a two day visit to India on 5-6 June 2015.
List of Agreements signed between India and Netherlands

Agreement on setting up Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism , which will
hold its first meeting on 19 June 2015.
Agreement on manufacturing of dredgers at the Cochin Shipyard.
Agreement on manufacturing of Measles, and Rubella Vaccine in India, with
transfer of technology from Netherlands.
Agreement on developing coastal roads and metro lines in India.
Agreement on setting up a Joint Working Group on Skill Development.
Agreement on developing joint pilot projects for an electric vehicle ecosystem in
India.
Agreement on setting up centres of excellence in areas like horticulture and animal
husbandry in India.
Comment
The Netherlands is a key partner in Indias economic development as it hosts the
second largest Indian community in Europe and several Dutch companies have a
long presence in India.
WTOs Dispute Settlement Board ruled against Indias ban on

poultry imports from the US
The Dispute Settlement Board of World Trade Organisation (WTO) on 4 June 2015
ruled against the Indias ban on import of meats from the United States (US). The ban
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on imports of meat covered poultry meat, eggs and live pigs.

The appellate body upheld the October 2014 ruling of three-member dispute
settlement panel of WTO, which ruled that Indias avian influenza-related measures
were inconsistent with the international norms.
It further ruled that Indias measures were arbitrary and unjustifiably discriminated
between members where identical or similar conditions prevailed. In essence, these
measures constituted trade-restrictive measures.
Further, Indias measures violated Article 3.1, 6.1 and 6.2 of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement of WTO as they were not based on international standards.
Now, India will have 12 to 18 months time to implement the ruling after which US will
be able to export its product to India.
India-US signed 2015 Framework for the India-US Defence

Relationship
India and the United States (US) on 3 June 2015 signed the 2015 Framework for the
India-US Defence Relationship. The framework was signed by the Manohar Parrikar,
Indias Defence Minister and Ashton Carter, US Secretary of Defence.
The framework was signed during the three-day official visit of the Dr. Carter to India
from 2 June to 4 June 2015.
Main highlights of the 2015 India-US Defence Framework

It builds upon the previous framework and successes to guide the bilateral defence
and strategic partnership for the next ten years.
It provides avenues for high level strategic discussions, continued exchanges
between armed forces of both countries, and strengthening of defence capabilities.
It also recognises the transformative nature of the Defence Technology and Trade
Initiative (DTTI).
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Apart from this, both India and the United States also finalized two project agreements
for joint development of Mobile Electric Hybrid Power Sources and the Next Generation
Protective Ensembles.
Further, both the leaders also agreed to expedite discussions to take forward
cooperation on jet engines, aircraft carrier design and construction, and other areas.
The two also agreed to pursue co-development and co-production projects that
will offer tangible opportunities for American defence industries to build defence
partnership with the Indian industries including in manufacturing under Make in
India.
India and Belarus signed six Agreements

India and Belarus on 3 June 2015 inked six agreements to boost ties and relationship
based on friendship and mutual benefit. The agreements were inked in presence of
President Pranab Mukherjee, who is on a two-day state visit to Belarus, viz., from 3
June 4 June 2015.
The two-day visit to Belarus is part of Mukherjees five-day visit to Belarus and
Sweden that started on 31 May 2015.
List of agreements and MoUs

Agreement on roadmap for India-Belarus Cooperation
Agreement on Protocol amending the agreement between the India and Belarus
for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with
respect to Taxes on Income and on Property (Capital) of the 27 September 1997
MoU on Cooperation in the field of Standardization and Information Support
signed between Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the State Committee for
Standardization, Belarus
MoU for cooperation on Broadcasting between Prasar Bharati (PB) and the
National State Television and Radio Company, Belarus (Belteleradiocompany)
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MoU on Bilateral Cooperation between the Securities and Exchange Board of

India (SEBI) and the Ministry of Finance, Belarus
MoU for Manufacturing and Marketing of Light Industry Goods (concern
Bellegprom) between the Ministry of Textiles of India and the Belarusian State
concern.
India joined MCAA on Automatic Exchange of Financial Account

Information
India on 3 June 2015 joined the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA)
on Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (AEOI).
The declaration to comply with the provisions of the MCAA was signed in Paris by
Mohan Kumar, the Indian ambassador to France.
The participation in the agreement will help India in curbing financial crimes especially
instances of tax evasion.
Under the agreement, all the signatory countries, including India, are bound to collect
and automatically exchange tax information as prescribed by the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Developments (OECD) Common Reporting Standard
(CRS).
To be able to comply with the agreement, amendments have been made to section
285BA of the Income Tax Act, 1961 as incorporated in the Finance Act, 2014.
Key Features of Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA)

It is based on Article 6 of the OECDs Multilateral Convention on Mutual
Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (Multilateral Convention) which states
that two or more parties can mutually agree to exchange information automatically.
It implements the OECDs Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Information
(AEOI).
It requires the Competent Authorities of participating jurisdictions to collect and
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automatically exchange tax information as prescribed by the OECDs Common

Reporting Standard (CRS). Under the agreement, bulk taxpayer information will
periodically be sent by the source country of income to the country of residence
of the taxpayer.
It is very wide in scope and obliges the treaty partners to exchange a wide range
of financial information, including that about the ultimate controlling persons and
beneficial owners of entities. Previously, information was exchanged between
countries on the basis of specific requests only.
Even though it is signed on a multilateral basis, the actual exchange of information
will occur in a bilateral manner.
It has been developed by the OECD in cooperation with G20 and the European
Union (EU).
So far, 60 countries, including India, joined the agreement and it is set to become
operational in 2017, by which about 94 countries are expected to sign it.
US President Barack Obama signed USA FREEDOM Act 2015

into law
US President Barack Obama on 2 June 2015 signed the USA FREEDOM Act 2015 in
law. The USA FREEDOM stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling
Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2015.
With this, the National Security Agency (NSA) lost its authority to collect the phone
records of millions of Americans.
The Act was approved by the Senate on 1 June 2015 by 67-32 votes and was passed
by the House of Representatives on 13 May 2015. The Act will remain in effect until
15 December 2019.
Main Highlights of the Act

It reauthorizes USA PATRIOT Act 2001 that expired on 1 June 2015.
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It require the government obtain a targeted warrant to collect phone metadata

from telecommunications companies
It amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA) Act of 1978 to establish a
new process so as to make the process of submitting of warrant by the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to a FISA court more transparent. FISA Court reviews
the warrant requests submitted by the FBI for an order requiring the production of
business records or other tangible things for an investigation.
It amends the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 to
require the Inspector General of the Department of Justice to audit the effectiveness
and use of FISA authority to obtain production of tangible things from 2012 to
2014, so that the constitutional rights of U.S. persons is adequately protected.
Comment
It is the first piece of legislation to reform post 9/11 surveillance measure known by
the name USA PATRIOT Act which was adopted in October 2001, six weeks after the
9/11 terrorist attack. The USA PATRIOT stands for Uniting and Strengthening America
by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.
The Act is the culmination of efforts to reform the NSA that blossomed out of NSA
leaker Edward Snowdens 2013 revelations. Snowden is the former NSA contractor
who released secret information about U.S. spying in June of 2013
South Korea and China signed bilateral Free Trade Agreement

(FTA)
South Korea and China on 1 June 2015 signed the Korea-China Free Trade Agreement
(FTA) in Seoul, South Korea. The agreement was signed by the South Koreas Minister
of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick and Chinese Commerce Minister Gao
Hucheng.
The negotiations for the agreement that began in May 2012 formally concluded in
November 2014.
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Features of Korea-China FTA

It aims to gradually remove tariffs on more than 90 percent of traded goods
between both the countries within 20 years.
China will remove tariffs on 71 percent of South Korean exports in 10 years and
91 percent in 20 years.
South Korea will remove tariffs on 79 percent of Chinese imports in 10 years and
92 percent in 20 years.
Many of South Koreas major farming and fisheries goods like rice, beef, pork,
pepper and squid are excluded from the agreement. This decision taken was
taken in the backdrop of protests against the inclusion of these products by the
agricultural community of South Korea.
China excluded or delayed the opening of its relatively less-developed
manufacturing segments such as the auto sector and display panel production.
It would recognize products made in Kaesong Industrial Region (KIR) of North Korea
as South Korean products for the purpose of trade between the two countries.
However, final modalities for operationalisation of this provision are still underway.
Significance of the Korea-China FTA

The FTA is expected to augment trade between China and South Korea, Asias
largest and fourth-largest economies respectively.
It will allow small and medium-sized South Korean firms, especially in consumer
goods in fashion, cosmetics, home appliances and high-end food products,
greater access to Chinas vast consumer market and help create more than 50000
jobs in South Korea.
It would provide momentum not only to efforts to expand trade and investment
between the two nations but also to help enhance bilateral cooperation in a wide
range of areas, including industries, culture and energy.
The FTA is expected to create a large-scale regional economic community worth
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12 trillion US dollars by removing trade barriers, going beyond a simple increase

in trade.
The pact will also greatly contribute to the economic integration of East Asia,
the Asia-Pacific region and the development of the world economy. For this,
negotiations for a trilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) among China, South Korea
and Japan were launched in November 2012.
Comment
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992, the trade volume of both
countries increased over the past 23 years from 5 billion US dollars to 235.3 billion US
dollars in 2014. The volume of mutual investment also multiplied, from 0.11 billion US
dollars to 61.64 US billion dollars. China is already Koreas largest trade partner and
its largest destination for investment which stood at 1.6 billion US dollars between
January-March 2015. South Korea is China`s third largest trade partner and is the
fifth largest investment destination.
India, Sweden signed 6 agreements to restart the strategic

dialogue
India and Sweden on 1 June 2015 signed six agreements to boost ties and restart
the bilateral strategic dialogue. The agreements were inked in presence of President
Pranab Mukherjee, who is on a state visit to Sweden.
Mukherjee is the first ever Indian head of state to visit Sweden and will be in the
country from 31 May to 2 June 2015.
At present, he is on a five-day long visit to Sweden and Belarus between 31 May and
4 June 2015.
List of agreements/MoUs signed

MoU on Cooperation in the field of Sustainable Urban Development: It aims to
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develop close and long term cooperation in the field of sustainable development
and protection of the environment through dialogue and interaction on global
sustainable urban development issues, exchange of knowledge, institutional
cooperation and commercial relations.
MoU on cooperation in the field of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises: It aims
at promoting partnership projects, institution to institution and enterprise to
enterprise cooperation related to MSMEs.
Agreement on Visa Exemption for diplomatic passports: It will facilitate entry of
citizens of India and Sweden who are holders of diplomatic passports into their
respective countries with the aim to strengthen the friendly relations
Letter of Intent on Collaboration in Polar and Ocean Research: It was signed to
encourage collaboration in the areas of Polar (Antarctic and Arctic) and Ocean
Research by enhancing scientific capabilities, conducting joint research and
survey activities, exchange of informational material on education, training and
research matters, etc.
Memorandum of Intent (MoI) on cooperation in ageing research and health: It was
signed between the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Swedish
Research Council for Health Working Life and Welfare (FORTE).
MoI between the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), India
and the Swedish Medical Products Agency (MPA): It is complimentary to the
ongoing cooperation between India and Sweden covering the area of health and
is for increasing bilateral cooperation in the fields of pharmacovigilance, electronic
submissions in related matter and clinical trials among others.
Apart from this, Sweden also expressed their support for Indias claim to permanent
membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and membership of the
Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). MTCR established in 1987 is an informal
and voluntary association of 34 countries favouring non-proliferation of unmanned
delivery systems capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction and seek to
coordinate national export licensing efforts aimed at preventing their proliferation.
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NATIONAL
Union Railway Ministry inaugurated Integrated Security System
in Mumbai
Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on 29 June 2015 inaugurated the Integrated
Security System (ISS) at four railway stations in Mumbai comprising Chhatrapati
Shivaji Terminus (CST), Dadar, Kurla and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT).
The ISS was installed with a total cost of 21.72 crore rupees. The ISS is aimed at
improving security on Railway premises, ensuring safety of the people and averting
terror attacks.
The system will monitor passenger activities through a network of CCTV cameras at
six railway stations comprising CST, Dadar, Kurla, LTT, Kalyan and Thane. It has a
total of 118 CCTV cameras that will beam the live images of railway stations under
its coverage on six monitors.
The ministry also inaugurated a modified foot over bridge (FOB) to facilitate passenger
movement at Diva and another FOB at Vithalwadi apart from laying the foundation
stone of a multi-level two-wheeler parking at Thane.
Once completed, the project will take up the parking area to 3000 sq meter from
700 sq meter. While the work of the first phase of the project was completed in June
2015, the second phase is expected to be completed by December 2016.
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Union Government approved a proposal for setting up second

airport at Jewar in NCR
The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation on 25 June 2015 approved a proposal for setting
up a second international airport at Jewar in the National Capital Region. The proposal
would soon be sent to the Union Cabinet for approval
Once the project gets the required approvals, the civil aviation ministry will offer the
contract for building and running the proposed Jewar airport in Greater Noida to the
GMR Group where the government acquired 2378 acres of land for the project.
Under RoFR norms, GMR Group has the Right of First Refusal (RoFR) for any airport
that is built within a 150-km radius of the existing airport in Delhi. According to the
rules, GMRs bid will be accepted only if it is equal to or less than 10 percent of the
bid offered by the lowest bidder. It will be asked to match the lowest bid arrived at
after the bidding process for the proposed Jewar airport.
According to norms in the Policy on Airport Infrastructure of India, the Union
Government will need to amend certain regulations to enable development of the
new project as the establishment of greenfield airports in places where an existing
one is unable to meet the projected requirements of traffic or in case a new focal
point of traffic emerges with sufficient viability.
The current policy states, No greenfield airport will normally be allowed within an
aerial distance of 150 km of an existing airport. Where it is allowed as a second
airport in the same city or close vicinity, the parameters for distribution of traffic
between the two airports will be clearly spelt out.
The airport in Jewar was proposed by the erstwhile Mayawati-led Government in
Uttar Pradesh and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had formed a
Group of Ministers (GoM) to decide on the issue.
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Union Government asked Bihar, TN, Rajasthan to introduce milk

in mid day meal scheme
Union Government on 25 June 2015 requested the Chief Ministers of Bihar, Tamil
Nadu and Rajasthan to encourage supply of free milk in the Mid Day Meal to school
children.
Milk Products will be provided with an aim to increase the nutritional level in the Mid
Day Meal for school children.
The decision was made in a review meeting in which it was found that the State Milk
Federations of these states have surplus stock of skimmed milk powder.
In relation to supply of free milk products to students, Union Agriculture Minister
Radha Mohan Singh has written a letter to these states.
At present, two states Karnataka (under project Ksheerabhagya started in 2012-13)
and Madhya Pradesh provides free milk products to school children under the Mid
Day Meal scheme.
Comment
The serving of milk under mid day meal scheme would help the milk producers and
cooperatives because milk contributes close to a third of the gross income of rural
households. On the one hand, it will lead to increase in the purchase of milk and on
other hand, it will financially empower the rural folks residing in these states.
Union Cabinet approved to set up a National Memorial at birth

place of Lok Nayak JP Narayan in Bihar
The Union Cabinet on 24 June 2015 approved the setting up of a National Memorial
at the birth place of Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan. Lok Nayak was born at Lala Ka
Tola, Sitab, Diara in Chhapra (Saran) district of Bihar on 11 October 1902.
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The memorial will contribute in furthering the vision of Lok Nayak who was an
exemplary leader of Indian independence movement, a freedom fighter and a social
reformer.
The memorial will house a virtual museum, an institute and the Lok Nayak Khadi
Gaurav Samvardhan Kendra.
The institute will undertake study and research on (a) democracy, (b) enhancing the
role of Panchayats in nation building, (c) Gandhian thoughts, and (d) centre for Khadi
and constructive work keeping in view the thoughts of Lok Nayak.
On other hand, Lok Nayak Khadi Gaurav Samvardhan Kendra will be used in making
national flags by women cluster(s).
The proposal for National Memorial was made by the Union Ministry of Culture.
About Jayaprakash Narayan

Jayaprakash Narayan popularly called as JP or Lok Nayak is remembered especially
for leading the opposition against Emergency imposed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
on 25 June 1975 for which he was arrested and kept as a detenu at Chandigarh.
He called for a Sampoorna Kranti (Total Revolution) for upholding and defending civil
liberties during emergency and ushered a new democratic movement for India and
contributed to strengthen the roots of democracy.
He was posthumously awarded Bharat Ratna, Indias highest civilian award, in 1999.
His biography, Jayaprakash, was written Ramavriksha Benipuri.
Union Cabinet approved setting up of six Indian Institutes of

Management (IIM)
The Union Cabinet on 24 June 2015 approved setting up of six new Indian Institutes
of Management (IIMs) in the country. The cabinet meet was chaired by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi.
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These new IIMs will be located at Amritsar (Punjab), Bodh Gaya (Bihar), Nagpur
(Maharashtra), Sambalpur (Odisha), Sirmaur (Himachal Pradesh) and Vishakhapatnam
(Andhra Pradesh).
These IIMs are intended to commence their first academic session from 2015-16.
Each Institute will start with an intake of 140 students in the Post Graduate Programme
(PGP) courses.
These IIMs are being set up as part commitment made by the Union Government in
its Budget presentation of July 2014. In the July 2014 Budget, it was proposed to set
up five IIMs in Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Punjab.
With the bifurcation of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh state into two States of Andhra
Pradesh and Telangana the need for setting up of an IIM in Andhra Pradesh in
pursuance of the Andhra Pradesh Re-organization Act, 2014 was necessitated.
Union Government launched Indias first Modernised Anganwadi

Centre at Hasanpur village in Sonepat
Union Government on 24 June 2015 launched the first modernised Anganwadi centre
of India at Hasanpur village of Sonepat in Haryana. The centre was inaugurated by
Maneka Gandhi, the Union Minister for Women and Child Development (WCD).
The centre has been set up as part of Nand-Ghar Yojana of Union Government which
aims at transforming the anganwadi centres.
The anganwadi centre at Hasanpur has been built in partnership with private mining
firm Vedanta at a cost of 12 lakh rupees, while the land was provided by the Gram
Panchayat.
Further, the centre with singular design has been constructed by state-run National
Buildings Construction Corporation Limited (NBCC) as per the guidance of the
Ministry of Women and Child Development.
The centre involving an area of 780 square feet can accommodate around 50 children
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in daytime every day and are equipped with latest facilities.

The centre is based on the concept of Building as a Learning Aidpiloted by UNICEF
and will be in addition to the existing anganwadi model for efficient delivery of
Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS).
Under ICDS, supplementary nutrition is provided to children in the age group of 0-6
years and to pregnant/lactating mothers with main objective to fight the problem of
malnutrition.
Why the need for modernised centres?

Anganwadi centres were started by the Ministry of WCD in 1975 as part of the ICDS
programme to combat child hunger and malnutrition. As of now, a network of 13.4 lakh
anganwadis has been established in every village, town, city and other habitations.
As per the ICDS scheme guidelines, a modernised anganwadi centre must have a
separate sitting room for children/women, separate kitchen, store for food items and
dedicated space for children to play.
However, in a recent audit by the government it was found that most of the centres
lacked essential infrastructure for maintenance of hygiene and sanitation. Further,
many of them were also found working under trees, in open spaces, dilapidated
buildings and temporary structures.
Thus, the need for such modernized anganwadi centres, which will be opened across
the country at 4000 other places.
Union Ministry of Home Affairs designated Agatti and Minicoy

Islands as Immigration Check Posts
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on 22 June 2015 designated Agatti and
Minicoy islands of Lakshadweep as authorised Immigration Check Posts for entry
into or exit from India.
Both the islands will be used as transit points for all classes of passengers with valid
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travel documents from 30 June 2015.

While Agatti is spread over 3.84 square kms, Minicoy has an area over 4.80 sq kms.
Minicoy lies near one of the busiest shipping routes and is about 130 km from the
northern-most island of Maldives.
The two new immigration check points will help easy access to tourists, mainly
travelling by luxury cruises, to India.
At present, there are 82 Immigration Check Posts all over the country catering to
international traffic.
Out of these, 37 are functioning under the Bureau of Immigration, while the remaining
is being managed by the state governments concerned.
CCEA approved inclusion of Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and

Chhattisgarh in National Dairy Plan- I
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 17 June 2015 approved
inclusion of Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh in the list of States to be
covered under the National Dairy Plan- I (NDP-I).
It also extended the implementation period for two years up to 2018-19 to achieve
key outputs of National Dairy Plan- I.
Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh are newly formed States which are inhabited by tribal
population having substantial milch animal population and have the potential for
coverage under NDP-I.
Although Uttarakhand was not included for all the approved components under the
NDP-I, but the Project Implementation Plan document included sub projects of Animal
Breeding and Strengthening of Semen Stations for implementation in Uttarakhand.
Considering the potential for implementation of Ration Balancing Programme, Fodder
Development and Village Based Milk Procurement System, Uttarakhand has also
been included under NDP-I.
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About National Dairy Plan- I

NDP-I was approved for implementation in 14 milk potential States by National Dairy
Development Board (NDDB) with a total outlay of 2242 crore rupees for a period of
six years from 2011-12 to 2016-17.
NDP I is now being implemented in 15 States (after Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated
into Andhra Pradesh and Telangana). These 15 states are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar,
Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab,
Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
These states account for more than 90 percent of the countrys milk production, for
over 87 percent of the breedable cattle and buffalo population and 98 percent of
the countrys fodder resources. However, coverage of NDP I is across the country in
terms of benefits accruing from the project.
Union Cabinet approved transfer of NILs land to DRDO for

establishing a defence research centre
Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 17 June 2015 approved
the transfer of a portion of land of erstwhile National Instruments Limited (NIL) to
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The land will be transferred by Jadavpur University in West Bengal to DRDO on longterm lease for establishing a defence research centre namely the Jagadish Chandra
Bose Centre for Advanced Technology (JCBCAT).
This will be beneficial for India as Research and Development efforts will result in
reduction in import dependence in the strategic sector. The National Instruments
Limited (NIL) was a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under the administrative
control of the Department of Heavy Industry. As it became sick, its assets, liabilities
and manpower were transferred to Jadavpur University with effect from 1 January
2009 under the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) sanctioned
revival scheme (SRS).
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The Union Cabinet on 17 June 2015 gave its approval to introduce Bureau of Indian
Standards Bill, 2015 in the Parliament. It will repeal the Bureau of Indian Standards
(BIS) Act, 1986.
The bill is intended to improve the quality of goods, services and systems in the
country.
Objectives of Indian Standards Bill, 2015

To establish the Bureau of Indian standards (BIS) as the National Standards Body
of India. The BIS will perform its functions through a Governing Council, which will
consist of its President and other members
To include goods, services and systems, besides articles and processes under the
standardization regime
To enable the Government to bring under the mandatory certification regime such
article, process or service which it considers necessary from the point of view of
health, safety, environment, prevention of deceptive practices, security etc. This
will help consumers receive ISI certified products and will also help in prevention
of import of sub-standard products
To allow multiple types of simplified conformity assessment schemesincluding Self
Declaration of Conformity (SDOC) against any standard which will give multiple
simplified options to manufacturers to adhere to standards and get a certificate of
conformity, thus improving the ease of doing business
To enable the Union Government to appoint any authority, in addition to the BIS, to
verify the conformity of products and services to a standard and issue certificate
of conformity
To enable the Government to implement mandatory hallmarking of precious metal
articles
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To strengthen penal provisions for better and effective compliance and enable
compounding of offences for violations
To provide recall, including product liability of products bearing the Standard Mark,
but not conforming to relevant Indian Standards
Comment
The proposed Bureau of Indian Standards Bill, 2015 will empower the Union
Government and the BIS to promote a culture of quality of products and services
through mandatory or voluntary compliance with Indian standards through the
process of product certification and Certificate of Conformity with a broad objective
of consumers welfare.
Election Commission of India (ECI) suspended recognition of

National Peoples Party (NPP)
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on 16 June 2015 suspended the recognition
of National Peoples Party (NPP) as a state party in Meghalaya. The NPP is headed
by former Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangma.
The decision was taken in lieu of its failure in filing the election expenditure statement
related to 2014 Lok Sabha general elections within the prescribed limit of 90 days.
The ECI took this decision under the powers vested in it as per the 16A of the Election
Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. It states that the commission can
suspend or withdraw recognition of a recognised political party, either national or
state, for its failure to observe Model Code of Conduct or follow lawful directions and
instructions of the commission.
It is the first case that recognition of a party has been suspended by the commission
under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 for its failure to
follow the lawful directions of the commission.
Earlier, the ECI issued two reminders and most recently it issued a show cause notice
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in March 2015 to NPP in pursuance of the Supreme Court of Indias judgment in the
case of Common Cause Vs Union of India and others. The judgment directed all
political parties, to file their election expenditure statement within 75 days of assembly
elections and 90 days of Lok Sabha elections.
Since elections to 2014 Lok Sabha were completed on 28 May 2014, the political
parties were required to submit their election expenditure statements for these polls
by 26 August 2014.
NPP is a member of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and has one member
(PA Sangma for Tura in Meghalaya) in the Lok Sabha, 4 members in the Rajasthan
Legislative Assembly and 2 members in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly. It was
founded in January 2013.
Union Government launched website to connect employers, job

seekers
Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Kalraj Mishra on 15 June
2015 launched a digital Employment Exchange for Industries (EEX) portal eex.
dcmsme.gov.in which will connect employers and job seekers. The portal will help in
linking Make in India initiative with Skilled India one.
The employers and job seekers can now register at www.eex.dcmsme.gov.in. Nearly,
two lakh job seekers have already registered themselves with the EEX.
Why the need for such a portal?

There are large units in the country which are dependent on MSMEs, but the absence
of skilled manpower results in non-competitiveness of MSMEs and Indian industry
as a whole.
Until and unless, the skilled hands do not find the appropriate jobs and the appropriate
employer, it will lead to frustration and skepticism to the entire skilling program of this
country.
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Therefore, it is utmost important that these skilled hands get a platform where they
can find livelihoods for themselves. This online portal will enable industrial units in
finding suitable manpower and will help job seekers in finding suitable jobs.

Ministry of Railways on 12 June 2015 decided to run Suvidha trains with dynamic
fares from July 2015. The decision to run Suvidha trains was taken to address the
rush during peak travel seasons.
These trains will have dynamic fare system and there will not be any downward
movement of the fare. Also, these trains may be run during peak seasons like winter
rush, summer rush, Dussehra rush, Holi rush and on other occasions.
These trains will have no First AC or Fist Class or Executive class or general class or
2nd sitting coach. Three types of trains to be run under the Suvidha Trains services
are as follows:
Fully air-conditioned services with or without stoppages: Base Price: (Rajdhani
base fare + Tatkal charges).
Mixed services having no enroute commercial stoppages on mixed Duronto
pattern: Base price: (Mixed Duronto base fare + Tatkal charges).
For mixed services having some stoppages enroute and running as Mail/
Express: Base price: (Mail/Express base fare + Tatkal charges).
Union Government scrapped import duties on AIDS drugs

Union Government on 11 June 2015 scrapped customs import duties on drugs and
test kits used to treat AIDS. The exemption will remain in effect until March 2016.
The exemption would apply to certain first-line and second-line antiretroviral drugs
(ARV) used to treat adults and children, as well as to certain diagnostic kits and
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equipment that are used by National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) to fight the
HIV/AIDS under the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP).
The decision is an effort to cut the prices so as to cope up with the ongoing shortage
of drugs and test kits to fight HIV/AIDS at home.
Further, it would help in importing raw materials that are used in making ARVs under
the NACP at cheaper rates.
At present, Mylan Inc, a firm of US and Aurobindo Pharma of India supply ARV under
the NACP.
More than a third of Indias 2.1 million HIV/AIDS patients depend on getting their daily
ARV for free from state-run distribution centers, which have been facing shortages.
Moreover, the drugs under exemption make up roughly 95 percent of the ARVs used
by Indias AIDS patients under the NACP.
About National AIDS Control Programme (NACP)

In 1986 Union Government set up National Aids Committee under the aegis of Union
Ministry of Health and Family Affairs after the detection of first case of AIDS in India.
Then in 1992, the first phase of the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) was
launched that covered the period 1992-1999 and NACO was constituted to implement
the programme.
At present, the fourth phase of NACP is being implemented that aims to reduce new
infections by 50% (2007 Baseline of NACP III). NACP-IV will cover the period 2012
-2017.

The Union Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) along with the Tamil Nadu
Government on 11 June 2015 launched the Migrant Resource Centre (MRC) in
Chennai. The MRC in Chennai is the fourth such MRC in India set-up by MOIA.
The MRC will provide information, guidance, advise and counselling on all aspects
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of overseas employment including legal and regulatory requirements; documentation

and procedures; policies; and problems faced while working aboard to intending
migrants and overseas Indian workers.
Functions of the MRC

The MRC will disseminate information on safe and legal migration.
It will disseminate information about status of Recruiting Agents and other service
providers.
It will register and respond to complaints and grievances within the redressal
forum of MOIA.
It will also offer counselling support (walk in or telephone and email support).
The first Migrant Resource Centre (MRC) was established by MOIA in 2008 in Kochi,
Kerala, followed by fully functional MRCs in Hyderabad (Telengana & Andhra Pradesh),
Gurgaon (Haryana) and Chennai (Tamil Nadu).
Union Cabinet approved proposal to promulgate the Negotiable

Instruments (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 10 June 2015 gave
its approval for the proposal to promulgate the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment)
Ordinance, 2015.
The intended ordinance will amend the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (The NI Act)
that is focused on clarifying the jurisdiction related issues for filing cases for offence
committed under section 138 of the NI Act.
Earlier on 13 May 2015, the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2015 was
passed in Lok Sabha with a voice vote, but was not introduced in the Rajya Sabha.
Key Features of Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2015

Cases of bouncing of cheques can be filed only in a court in whose jurisdiction the
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bank branch of the payee (person who receives the cheque) lies.
If a complaint against a person issuing a cheque has been filed in the court with
the appropriate jurisdiction, then all subsequent complaints against that person
will be filed in the same court, irrespective of the relevant jurisdiction area.
If more than one case is filed against the same person before different courts, the
cases will be transferred to the court with the appropriate jurisdiction.
It seeks to amend the definition of cheque in the electronic form. While the parent
act defines it as a cheque containing the exact mirror image of a paper cheque
and generated in a secure system using a digital signature, the amendment bill redefines it as a cheque drawn in electronic medium using any computer resource
and which is signed in a secure system with a digital signature, or electronic
system.
Necessity for Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2015

The Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 defines promissory notes, bills of exchange,
cheques and creates penalties for issues such as bouncing of cheques. Though, the
act specifies circumstances under which complaints for cheque bouncing can be
filed (Section 138) but does not specify the territorial jurisdiction of the courts where
such a complaint is to be filed.
In a bid to overcome the legal lacunae, the Supreme Court of India (SC) in August 2014
issued an order stating that cases against those having defaulted on their cheque
payments could only be filed in courts under which jurisdiction of the bank account
of the accused fell. However, since this order is not Payee-friendly (who happens to
be the victim) the government has brought the present amendment bill to by-pass
the courts order.
The new law is also intended to help consolidate the cases and aid the judicial system,
which is currently dealing with 21 lakh cheque-bounce cases with 259 courts hearing
them, exclusively.
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Indian Army carried out cross-border operation against militants

in Myanmar
Special Forces of the Indian Army in coordination with the Air Force on 9 June 2015
carried out surgical operations (cross-border operation) inside Myanmar to target
militant groups.
In this one of the first-of-its-kind cross-border operation about 50 militants of groups
namely NSCN (K) and KYKL were killed. They were hiding along the NagalandMyanmar and Manipur-Myanmar border.
The move for such a surgical operation was taken after militant groups killed 18
jawans of 6 Dogra Regiment of Indian Army in an ambush in Chandel district of
Manipur on 4 June 2015.
The operation was guided by specific and precise intelligence input. The strike was
carried out inside Myanmar with the coordination of local authorities.
The preparedness and finesse of the operation could be gauged from the fact that
Indian Army did not suffer any sort of casualty.
How this move is different from past operations?

This cross-border operation is not new for Indian Army as in past it has carried out
such operations. In April-May 1995, Operation Golden Bird was launched as an IndiaMyanmar joint operation along the Mizoram border which killed almost 40 militants.
In December 2003, Operation All Clear was launched in partnership with Royal
Bhutan Army (RBA) which neutralized (either killed or caught) 650 militants belonging
to ULFA, NDFB and KLO.
In 2001 and January 2006, Indian and Myanmar reportedly conducted some smallscale joint military operations inside Myanmar to flush out militants from the NSCN
(Khaplang) group.
However, in all the previous operations Indian Army involvement was limited to
logistics and medical cover only and it was a joint operation.
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In this operation, the manpower or artillery support was all of Indian Army and in
no way was a joint operation. In fact, India, as per reports, seemed to have let the
Myanmar government known about this operation after it had concluded.
Further, with this operation, India has tried to shred its image of Soft State and let the
world known that India under the new regime is ready to go to any extent to protect
its sovereign interests and security.
Also, this operation was a fine example of coordination between different ministries
and departments of Indian government, viz., Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of
Home Affairs and Ministry of Defence, National Security Adviser (NSA) and intelligence
agencies.
Union Ministry of Water Resources launched Jal Kranti Abhiyan

Union Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejunivetion
Uma Bharti on 5 June 2015 launched nationwide Jal Kranti Abhiyan (campaign) from
Jaipur, Rajasthan.
The aim is to consolidate water conservation and management in the country
through a holistic and integrated approach involving all stakeholders, making it a
mass movement.
Objective of the campaign

To strengthen grass root involvement of all stake holders including Panchyati raj
institutions and local bodies in the water security and development schemes like
participatory Irrigation Management (PIM).
To encourage the adoption of traditional knowledge in water resource conservation
and its management
To utilize sector-level expertise from different levels in government, NGOs, citizen,
etc
Enhancing livelihood security through water security in rural areas Strategies for
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implementation of campaign.
On the broad level, the campaign envisages following strategies

Use of modern techniques coupled with traditional wisdom for devising area/
region specific innovative measures for increasing water security
Revival of traditional knowledge and sources for water conservation and utilization
Encouraging conjuctive use of surface and groundwater
Rainwater harvesting for recharge to be made mandatory for residential, commercial
and industrial buildings/premises
Promotion social regulation for meeting the demand as well as for optimizing the
use efficiency of water for various purposed especially industry, agriculture and
domestic
Activities under the campaign

The scheme also provides for a Sujalam Card with the logo Water Saved, Water
Produced. These cards will provide annual status and information about the quality
of drinking water available for a Jal Gram, a village with acute water scarcity.
Further, the campaign also provides for Jal Mitra, a cadre of local water
professionals, which will be created by imparting them suitable training to create
mass awareness about water scarcity.
The campaign also envisages a Model Command Area (MCA) of about 1000 hectare
in a State that shall be identified and selected from an ongoing irrigation project in
the State. The selection of MCA will be done by Ministry of Water Resources, River
Development and Ganga Rejunivetion in consultation with State Governments.
It also envisages Dedicated Programme for construction of Arsenic Free Wells
in selected areas and capacity building of the officers of the State Water Supply
Agencies and other stakeholders particularly W.U.As and farmers.
Tailor made awareness campaigns designed to address problems and suggest
solutions to meet the requirements of each segment of the society under the
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continuing scheme of Information, Education and Communication.

On the pilot basis, the project will run in one water stressed village in each 672
districts of the country. Success of the campaign will be reviewed after one or one
and a half year. The project will be implemented till the objective of solving water
problems in every house and farm is achieved.
Union Government launched Khoya Paya web portal

The Union Government on 2 June 2015 launched the Khoya Paya web portal
Khoyapaya.gov.in, the first-of-its-kind citizen based website to exchange information
on missing and found children.
It was jointly launched by Maneka Gandhi, Union Minister of Women & Child
Development and Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister of Communication &
Information Technology.
The web portal has been jointly developed by the Union Ministry of Women and Child
Development and the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY).
Khoya Paya web portal will establish citizen to citizen contact and will allow India to
take part in search for missing children.
The citizens can aid in missing childrens search by reporting the whereabouts of
the children through text, photographs, videos and other means of transmitting and
uploading information on the site. Through this portal, parents or families are also
advised to inform about their missing child to the nearest police station.
Khoya Paya portal is different from another portal named Track Child run by Union
Ministry of Home Affairs which has limitation as only police communicates with the
police and citizens are nowhere involved.
Comment
The missing children are a cause of deep concern not only for the Government but
also for the child protection institutions, society and above all for the parents. These
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children are vulnerable to the mental and physical assault which leads to mental
trauma for these children.
Further, most of the missing children are trafficked for labour, for sexual exploitation,
abducted, or kidnapped, or due to crimes against children which is prohibited by the
Article 23 (1) of the Constitution.
As per the information provided by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB),
number of missing children is about 70000 every year. Total recovered children since
January 2012 up to April 2015 is 73597 as per the data available on Track Child portal
of Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
Union Government launched IAP HealthPhone programme

The Union Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi on 2 June
2015 launched the IAP HealthPhone programme in New Delhi. The IAP HealthPhone
programme is the worlds largest digital mass education programme for addressing
the malnutrition in women and children.
This programme was developed by the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) in
partnership with the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, UNICEF and
is supported by Vodafone India.
Highlights of the IAP HealthPhone programme

IAP HealthPhone programme aims to tackle the challenge of malnutrition in
mothers and children across India.
It is a public-partnership initiative that leverages the increasing penetration of
mobile phones in the country to educate over 6 million girls and women between
13 and 35 years of age and their families on better health and nutrition practices
by 2018.
The programme will achieve its objectives by widely promoting and distributing
four re-edited videos from the Poshan videos in 18 Indian languages. The Poshan
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videos address issues of the care of pregnant women and children, breastfeeding
and the importance of balanced diet.
Vodafone will enable its customers to view/download the videos free of data
charges and on viewing the 4 videos, the user will receive a talk time incentive of
10 rupees.
Vodafone will send out approximately 300 million text messages to its subscribers
every year to promote the viewing of the four videos.
IAP HealthPhone partners will also equip AWW, ASHAs and ANMs with a
HealthPhone microSD card, containing a library of videos, to enable them to share
health and nutrition knowledge with women, families and the communities they
serve.
They will partner with social media giants such as Facebook, Twitter and Google
to use their exponentially growing channels to reach more-rural and urbancaregivers.
This three-year campaign (2015-18) is expected to benefit the health of 60 million
children in India born by 2025 and will be transformative for Indias fight against
malnutrition.
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ECONOMY
Registrar General of India released Census data on disabled
population
The Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India on 30 June 2015
released the data on disabled population by type of disability, type of households
and sex 2011.
The data gives the number of households having disabled persons by type of
households including normal, institutional and houseless households.
The disabled persons living in different type of households are further cross-classified
into eight different disabilities i.e. seeing, hearing, speech, movement, mental
retardation, mental illness, any other and multiple disability for India/States/UTs.
Main Highlights
There are 207.8 lakh households having disabled persons in the country constituting
8.3 percent of the total households.
Out of the total households having disabled persons, about 99 percent households
are normal households, 0.4 percent are institutional and 0.2 percent are houseless
households.
Total households having disabled persons show an increase of 20.5 lakhs, from
187.3 lakhs in 2001 to 207.8 lakhs in 2011 (6.2 lakhs in rural and 14.3 lakhs in
urban).
Normal households increased by 2024495 institutional households by 8370 and
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houseless households by 13560 during the decade 2001-11.

Disabled persons in normal households increased by 4819382 institutional
households by 65895 and houseless households by 22948 during the said decade.
The State/Union Territory with maximum disabled population is Uttar Pradesh and
is followed by Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
The State/Union Territory with minimum disabled population is Lakshadweep and
is preceded by Daman and Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.
Literacy rate 71 percent in rural areas, 86 percent in urban areas: NSSO survey
National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) on 30 June 2015 released the 71st Round
of its survey on Social Consumption: Education. The survey was conducted for the
period of January to June 2014 and portrays the salient features relating to prime
indicators on education as on 31 March 2014.
The survey covered entire country with samples taken from 36479 households in
rural areas and 29447 in urban areas from 4577 villages and 3720 urban blocks. It
was conducted on the basis of having any student aged between 5 and 29 years
receiving technical/professional or general education.
Major findings of the Survey

Adult literacy (age 15 years and above) rate in India was around 70.5 percent in
2014
Among the age group 7 years and above, the male literacy rate was registered at
83.2 percent vis-a-vis the female literacy rate of 67.1 percent.
Literacy rate (age 5 and above) in the rural areas was pegged at 71.4 percent in
2014, compared to 86.1 percent in the urban areas.
The rural population in India for the age-group 5-29 years was estimated to be a
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little over 36 crores (47 percent) and the same for urban was approximately 14.5
crores (44 percent).
For the country as a whole, 84 percent male and 83 percent female children in
the age-group 6-10, the official age-group for Classes I-V, were reported to be
attending primary classes. This symbolized no major rural-urban or male-female
disparity in the country.
Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Kerala, Goa, Delhi, Chandigarh and Lakshadweep
had more than 90 percent of literates in 7+ age groups.
Rural female literacy rates (for 7+ age) in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar,
Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh were still low in
comparison to all-India average.
In terms of physical access to primary schooling within less than 1 km, more
than 12 percent of rural households in India did not have any secondary schools
within 5 kilometers whereas in urban areas such cases are insignificant (less than
1 percent).
No major differences were observed between male and female persons in urban
areas up to the level of higher secondary but such differences are noticeable in
rural areas. The rural-urban and male-female disparities accentuate at higher
education levels of graduation and above.
In the rural areas nearly 4.5 percent of males and 2.2 percent of females completed
education level of graduation and above, while in urban areas 17 percent of males
and 13 percent of females completed this level of education.
The adult literate females of the country was about 61 percent compared to 80
percent males and about 25 percent of adult females among the female literates
had completed at least higher secondary (excluding diploma). For males it was
about 27 percent.
There was no noticeable rural-urban disparity observed among the persons
currently attending educational institutions, but gender disparity can be observed
in rural areas with 58.7 percent of males and 53 percent of females in the 5-29
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age- group reported to be attending education.

National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) functions under the Ministry of Statistics and
Programme Implementation.
Union Government hiked national floor-level minimum wage to

160 rupees per day
The Union Government in June 2015 increased the national floor-level minimum
wage (NFLMW) to 160 rupees per day from 137 rupees per day. The new rate will be
effective from 1 July 2015.
If states revise their minimum wages as per the new NFLMW, the decision is expected
to benefit millions of workers in the scheduled employments in the respective state
jurisdictions.
About national floor-level minimum wage (NFLMW)

It was implemented for the first time in 1996 on the basis of the recommendations
of the National Commission on Rural Labour (NCRL) under the Minimum Wages
Act, 1948.
Its purpose is to have a uniform wage structure and to reduce the disparity in
minimum wages across the country.
It is a non-statutory measure and after every revision, the State Governments are
persuaded to fix minimum wages such that in none of the scheduled employments,
the minimum wage is less than NFLMW.
List of scheduled employment differs from state to state and covers a wide
spectrum of employment-creating sectors ranging from industry, construction,
agriculture and services sectors.
It was fixed at 35 rupees per day in 1996 and has since been revised almost
regularly every two years taking into account the increase in the CPI (IW).
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It was last raised in July 2013 from 115 rupees a day fixed in 2011.
RBI extended deadline for exchanging pre-2005 currency notes

by 6 months
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 25 June 2015 extended the date to exchange
pre-2005 bank notes till 31 December 2015. RBI in an official statement said that the
notes can be exchanged for their full value. It has also clarified that all such notes
continue to remain legal tender.
Soliciting cooperation from members of public in withdrawing these banknotes, it also
urged them to deposit the old design notes in their bank accounts or exchange them
at a bank branch convenient to them. Earlier on 23 December 2014, it extended the
deadline for exchanging pre-2005 of various denominations by another six months
till 30 June 2015 from previous 31 December 2015.
How to identify the pre-2005 currency notes?

As per RBI, the currency notes which were issued before 2005 do not have the year
of printing on the reverse side, whereas, notes issued post 2005 have the year of
printing at the bottom of the reverse side.
Why this exchange is essential?

According to RBI, the post-2005 notes have added security features and will help in
curbing the menace of fake currency.
RBI allowed AD Category-I Banks to borrow from International

Financial Institutions
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to allow Authorised Dealer Category I
(AD Category-I) Banks to borrow foreign currency from International/Multinational
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Financial Institutions (IFIs/MFIs).

In this regard, a notification was issued by the RBI on 25 June 2015.
Earlier, AD Cat-I Banks were allowed to borrow from IFIs/MFIs for a short period in
2013 with prior permission from the RBI on a case-by-case basis.
In contrast, as per the recent notification, the banks can borrow without any such
prior approvals from the RBI.
However, these shall include only those IFIs in which the Government of India is a
shareholding member or which have been established by more than one government
or have shareholding by more than one government and other international
organizations.
Further, such borrowings should be for the purpose of general banking business and
not for capital augmentation.
The decision was taken by the RBI in order to provide greater flexibility in seeking
access to overseas funds by the banks.
About AD Category-I Banks

Authorised Dealer Category -I Banks (AD CategoryI Banks) is one of the three types
of Authorised Money Changers (AMCs) approved by the RBI under Section 10 of the
Foreign Exchange Management (FEMA) Act, 1999.
An AMC is a Full Fledged Money Changer (FFMC) permitted to deal in foreign
exchange for specified purposes.
Other two AMCs are: Authorised Dealers Category - II (ADs CategoryII) and Full
Fledged Money Changers (FFMCs).
At present 102 entities are recognised as AD CategoryI Banksincluding State Bank
of India, Canara Bank and Axis Bank Ltd.
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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 25 June 2015 released the Financial Stability
Report (FSR) June 2015. It is the eleventh issue of its half yearly publication.
The FSR reflected the collective assessment of the Sub-Committee of the Financial
Stability and Development Council (FSDC) on risks to financial stability, as also the
resilience of the financial system. Besides, the report discussed issues relating to
development and regulation of the financial sector.
Highlights of Financial Stability Report (FSR) June 2015

Macro-Financial Risks
Global Economy and Markets: Global economic recovery still seems to be far from
being self-sustaining even as spillovers from large-scale monetary accommodation
in advanced economies (AEs) are increasing the challenges for emerging market and
developing economies (EMDEs).
Developments on the Greek debt crisis front and uncertainty over the timing of rate
increases by the US Federal Reserve remain immediate possible triggers for global
financial market volatility.
Domestic Economy and Markets: There has been a significant improvement in the
macroeconomic environment and economic performance is expected to be better
in near future. However, price pressures arising from possible sub-normal monsoon
remains a significant risk to food and headline inflation.
While foreign portfolio flows to India have been strong during past year, unexpected
changes in AE monetary policy stances may lead to slowdown/reversal of such flows
with implications for segments of financial markets.
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Financial Institutions: Soundness and Resilience

Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs): The performance of SCBs in terms of
growth in business has moderated further during the period September 2014-March
2015. The public sector banks (PSBs) continued to record the lowest capital to riskweighted assets ratio (CRAR) among the bank-groups.
The maximum decline in CRAR was registered by PSB with 1.8 percentage points
between March 2011 and March 2015 followed by foreign banks (FBs) at 1.5
percentage points and private sector banks (PVBs) at 1.1 percentage points.
PSBs recorded the highest level of stressed assets at 13.5 per cent of total advances
as of March 2015, compared to 4.6 per cent in the case of PVBs.
Net non-performing advances (NNPAs) ratio of PSBs increased from 3.1 per cent to
3.2 per cent and in the case of PVBs, it increase from 0.8 per cent to 0.9 per cent
While risks to the banking sector, as reflected by the Banking Stability Map, have
moderated marginally since September 2014, concerns remain over the continued
weakness in asset quality and profitability.
Urban Co-operative Banks and Non-Bank Financial Companies: The asset quality
of scheduled urban co-operative banks (UCBs) improved, whereas, asset quality of
non-bank financial companies (NBFCs) continued to deteriorate.
Financial Sector Regulation

The financial sector regulatory reforms in India are being driven by the domestic
priorities, within the spirit of the global regulatory standards, even as the challenges
in uniform implementation of the reforms are coming to the fore, in many jurisdictions.
Considering that risk taking is inherent and essential in financial markets, the current
Indian regulatory stance envisions a balanced, predictable, cycle-proof, institutionneutral, ownership-neutral and technology neutral regulatory regime for the entire
financial system.
Banking sector: The policy initiatives for improving the governance and management
processes at PSBs, along with a reorientation of business strategy will help improve
the performance of PSBs in the long run, even as they presently look to clean their
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balance sheets in the wake of regulatory impetus.

Securities market: The concerns emanating from rapid rise in algorithm trading in
recent years highlights the need for caution for Indias securities markets. Significant
regulatory steps have been taken with regard to illegal money-raising activities,
insider trading and strengthening the risk management systems at depositories.
Insurance sector: The agricultural insurance needs urgent focus in the wake of
frequent episodes of weather related calamities and their impact, particularly on
small and marginal farmers.
Commodity derivative markets: There is a need for harmonising the regulation
of the physical commodities market and strengthening the linkages between the
derivatives markets and physical (cash) markets, mainly in agricultural commodities.
Pension sector: The expected shifts in demography in coming decades call for attention
on old age income security in particular for the unorganised sector for which a new
scheme (Atal Pension Yojana) has been announced by the Union Government.
Conclusion: Overall, Indias relatively stronger macroeconomic fundamentals in
terms of growth, inflation, current account and fiscal deficits provide a reasonable
degree of resilience to Indian financial system in the event of spillover effects from
global factors. However, with the continued uncertainty over global growth and in
the absence of international monetary policy coordination, there can be no room for
complacency.

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on 24 June 2015
released the World Investment Report 2015 (WIR15) titledReforming International
Investment Governance.
The WIR15 delineated the investment trends at the global, regional and country level
during 2014 and offered a comparative perspective across the space and time.
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Highlights of World Investment Report 2015

In 2014, Global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows fell by 16 per cent to 1.23
trillion US dollars mostly because of the fragility of the global economy, policy
uncertainty for investors and elevated geopolitical risks. However, they are
projected to grow by 11 per cent to 1.4 trillion US dollars in 2015.
Inward FDI flows to developing economies reached their highest level at 681 billion
US dollars with a 2 per cent rise. China became the worlds largest recipient of FDI
and among the top 10 FDI recipients in the world, 5 are developing economies.
Despite a revival in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As), 399 billion US
dollars during 2014, overall FDI flows to developed countries declined by 28 per
cent to 499 billion US dollars. They were significantly affected by a single large
scale divestment from the USA.
Investments by developing-country multinational enterprises (MNEs)also reached
a record level. They now invest abroad more than any other MNEs.
Nine of the 20 largest investor countries were from developing or transition
economies. MNEs of developing countries continued to acquire developed country
foreign affiliates in the developing world.
The groups of countries negotiating the Transatlantic Trade and Investment
Partnership (TTIP) and Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) saw their combined share
of global FDI inflows decline. However, ASEAN (up 5 per cent to 133 billion US
dollars) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) (up 4 per
cent to 363 billion US dollars) bucked the trend.
In 2012, services accounted for 63 per cent of global FDI stock, more than twice
the share of manufacturing. The primary sector represented less than 10 per cent
of the total.
In 2014, announced Greenfield investment declined by 2 per cent to 696 billion
US dollars. Developing countries continued to attract two thirds of announced
Greenfield investment.
International production, production by MNEs, rose in 2014 generating value
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added of approximately 7.9 trillion US dollars.

Developing Asia (up 9 per cent) saw FDI inflows grow to historically high levels.
They reached nearly half a trillion dollars in 2014, further consolidating the regions
position as the largest recipient in the world.
In South Asia (up 16 per cent to 41 billion US dollars), FDI has increased in
manufacturing, including in the automotive industry.
Investment scenario in India during 2014

FDI flows: While inward FDI was pegged at 34.4 billion US dollars, outward FDI was
9.8 billion US dollars. There was an increase of 6.3 billion US dollars and 10.3 billion
US dollars in inward inflows when compared to that of 2013 and 2014 respectively.
As a percentage of gross fixed capital formation, inward flows and outward flows
stood at 5.9 percent and 1.7 percent respectively.
Though India attracted around 80 percent of total inward FDI inflows of South Asia
(41.1 billion US dollars), it was way behind 128.5 billion US dollars attracted by China.
FDI stock: While total inward FDI stock was 252.3 billion US dollars (12.3 percent of
GDP), outward FDI stock was 129.5 billion US dollars (6.3 percent of GDP) during
2014. Cross border M&As: While, net sales were pegged at 5.8 billion US dollars, net
purchases were 1 billion US dollars during 2014.
Greenfield investment: While India attracted 24.9 billion US dollars, out of 26.3
billion US dollars in South Asia, as a source it invested 13.2 billion dollars abroad in
Greenfield projects during 2014. However, India was way behind China that attracted
77.4 billion US dollars during the same period.
Union Cabinet approved renaming of SECI as Renewable Energy

Corporation of India
The Union Cabinet on 24 June 2015 approved renaming of Solar Energy Corporation
of India (SECI) as Renewable Energy Corporation of India (RECI).
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Besides, the Cabinet also gave its nod to the SECI to apply to the Registrar of
Companies (ROC) for converting it into a Section 3 company from a Section 8
company under the Companies Act, 2013.
These decisions will benefit SECI in following ways

SECI will become a self-sustaining and self-generating organization.
SECI will be able to engage itself in owning solar power plants generating and selling
power and in other segments of solar sector activities, including manufacturing of
solar products and materials.
SECI will become RECI after change of its name and then will take up development
of all segments of renewable energy namely, geo-thermal, off-shore wind, tidal
etc. apart from solar energy.
Difference between Section 3 and Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013

Section 3 is mainly for those companies having commercial activities for the sake of
profits.
In contrast, a company under Section 8 can only engage in charitable activities like
promotion of commerce, art, science, sports, education, research, social welfare,
religion, charity, etc. and should not have commercial aspect.
About SECI
SECI was established as a registered company under the Section 25 of the Companies
Act, 1956 (now under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013) in September 2011 for
the promotion and commercialization of solar energy technologies.
Union Ministry of Finance issued Draft Proposals for Facilitating Electronic Transactions
Union Ministry of Finance on 22 June 2015 issued draft proposals for facilitating
electronic transactions in the country. E-transactions mean authorization of transfer
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of money through electronic means and flow of funds directly from one account to
another.
The goal of the proposed policy is to provide the necessary incentives to use
E-transactions to replace the use of cash - either in government transactions, or in
regular commerce over a period of time through policy intervention.
Key highlights of the Draft Proposal

It aims to build a transactions history to enable improved credit access and
financial inclusion
It seeks to encourage Government, Corporates, Institutions and merchant
establishments to facilitate non cash payments
Utility service providers could be advised to give a discount to users for small ticket
payments through E-payments, on the lines of BSNL, which provides an incentive
of 1 percent of the billed amount if the payment is done through electronic mode
It envisages adoption national E-payment gateway PayGov India for collection of
revenue, fee, penalties etc.
Tax benefits could be provided to merchants for accepting electronic payments,
e.g. an appropriate tax rebate can be extended to a merchant if at least say 50%
value of the transactions is through electronic means.
It proposes to levy a nominal cash handling charge on transactions greater than a
specified level.
It also proposes to mandate that settling of high value transactions of, say, more
than 1 lakh rupees could only be done through electronic means.
To facilitate high value transactions by a credit cardholder, the ceiling of 2 lakhs
rupees could be increased to say 5 lakhs rupees or more.
It proposes to improve broad band connectivity to enable mobile based payments
on a wider scale
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech for the Union Budget 2015
- 16 had called for incentivizing credit or debit card transactions and disincentivizing
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cash transaction so as to curb the flow of black money.
FBIL overnight Mumbai Inter-Bank Offer Rate (MIBOR) to become

effective from July 22
The Board of Financial Benchmarks India Private Limited (FBIL) on 22 June 2015
decided to adopt FBIL overnight Mumbai Inter-Bank Offer Rate (MIBOR) from 22 July
2015.
FBIL overnight MIBOR is a new method to set the overnight interest rate benchmark
that will be based on traded levels instead of contributions from market participants.
Key characteristics of FBIL overnight MIBOR

The new overnight MIBOR will be administered by the FBIL Board which will
replace National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Thomson Reuters in administering
the overnight rate benchmark.
The new benchmark rate will replace the current MIBOR benchmark interest rate
administered by FIMMDA-NSE (Fixed Income Money Market and Derivatives
Association of India National Stock Exchange).
It will be based on trade-weighted call money transactions conducted on Clearing
Corporation of Indias (CCIL) trading platform between 9 am 10 am.
Clearing Corporation of India (CCIL) will be the calculating agent for the new
benchmark rate.
It will be in contrast to the current MIBOR, which is compiled by polling market
participants and is used to benchmark overnight pricing of call money rate in India.
It reflects Reserve Bank of Indias (RBI) response to the rigging controversy that
affected the London interbank offered rate (LIBOR) in 2014.
Background
In the wake of developments involving misconduct relating to financial benchmarks in
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international financial markets, the RBI set up theCommittee on Financial Benchmarks

headed by P Vijaya Bhaskar in June 2013. The Committee reviewed the process
of computation and dissemination of major financial benchmarks in India and gave
recommendations on the governance framework.
As part of the measures to initiate reforms in the area of benchmark setting, FBIL was
jointly formed by FIMMDA, Foreign Exchange Dealers Association of India (FEDAI)
and Indian Banks Association (IBA).
FBIL was incorporated in December 2014 and has commenced operations in
February 2015. The Board of Directors of FBIL is headed by Usha Thorat, former
Deputy Governor RBI, with CES Azariah, DG Patwardhan, Dr. NR Prabhala, DVSSV
Prasad and Sangeet Shukla as the other directors.
SEBI relaxed the IPO norms for technological start-ups to raise

funds from capital market
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 23 June 2015 relaxed the
norms for technological start-ups to raise funds from the capital market while easing
the norms for issuance of Initial Public Offering (IPO) by companies.
It reduced the post-listing lock-in period for tech start-up promoters to six months,
instead of three years for other IPOs.
Moreover, the exchanges will have a separate platform for the start-ups that is
Institutional Trading Platform (ITP) and it will facilitate capital raising as well for
start-ups. This platform is accessible to companies which are intensive in their use
of technology, information technology, intellectual property, data analytics, biotechnology and nano-technology.
This will offer products, services or business platforms with the substantial value
addition and with at least 25 percent of the pre-issue capital being held by QIBs
(Qualified Institutional Buyers), or any other company in which at least 50 percent of
the pre-issue capital is held by QIBs.
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However, no person in such a company shall hold 25 percent or more of the postissue share capital.
SEBI also reduced the requirement of market capitalisation of public shareholding
of the issuer for Fast Track Issues (FTI) from 3000 crore rupees to 1000 crore rupees
in case of Follow on Public Offering (FPO) and to 250 crore rupees in case of Rights
issue.
It also rationalised the framework for reclassification of promoters as public. This
framework will bring in consistency and also enable investors to take informed
decisions based on any such move by the company/promoters.
While streamlining the process of IPOs, SEBI allowed Registrar and Share Transfer
Agents (RTAs) and Depository Participants (DPs) to accept application forms and
make bids on the stock exchange platform.
EPFO made UAN mandatory for all employers under Employee

Provident Fund Act, 1952
Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on 22 June 2015 notified an order to
make Universal Account Number (UAN) mandatory for all employers covered under
the Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.
The UAN facility that remains portable throughout the lifetime of an employee was
launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1 October 2014. The deadline for
completing the formalities of UAN is August 2015.
Till date, EPFO has issued more than four crore UANs to employers across the nation
and more than 56 lakh workers have activated their portable PF account numbers.
Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952

The Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 came into
effect on 4 March 1952. The Act was enacted as per Directive Principles of State
Policy mentioned in the Constitution of India. It provides that the State shall within
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the limits of its economic capacity make effective provision for securing the right
to work, to education and to public assistance in cases of unemployment, old-age,
sickness & disablement and undeserved want.
Presently, the following three schemes are in operation under the Act:
Employees Provident Fund Scheme, 1952
Employees Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme, 1976
Employees Pension Scheme, 1995 (replacing the Employees Family Pension
Scheme, 1971)
Overnight Liquid Transaction facility on NSEs Web-based Mutual

Fund platform began functioning
National Stock Exchange (NSE) on 22 June 2015 operationalised the Overnight Liquid
Transaction facility on its web-based Mutual Fund Service System (MFSS) platform.
The platform was launched on 19 June 2015.
The facility allows the participants to place purchase and redemption orders
simultaneously in liquid schemes. This facility will only be available on MFSS Web
based platform and in Physical mode only.
Further, all liquid schemes allowed by respective asset management companies will
be available for placing orders.
MFSS is an online order collection system provided by the NSE to its eligible members
for placing subscription or redemption orders.
Earlier in May 2015, a similar product was introduced by Bombay Stock Exchange
(BSE) which has so far seen daily transactions of worth 400-500 crore rupees.
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Union Ministry of Finance released Draft Outline of Sovereign

Gold Bond Scheme
The Union Government on 19 June 2015 released the Draft Outline of Sovereign
Gold Bond Scheme. The government invited comments till 2 July 2015 on it.
The scheme is aimed at reducing the demand for physical gold and to shift part of the
estimated 300 tons of physical bars and coins purchased every year for investment
into demat gold bonds.
Features of Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme

Bonds will be issued on payment of money and would be linked to the price of
gold.
The sell would be restricted to resident Indian entities and each entity cannot buy
more than 500 grams per person per year.
The bonds will be issued in denominations of 2, 5 and 10 grams of gold or other
denominations.
The bonds will be issued with a nominal rate of interest (which will be linked to
international rate for gold borrowing).
The rate of interest on the bonds will be payable in terms of grams of gold. The
interest will be calculated on 10000 at a certain per cent say 2 or 3 percent.
On maturity, the investor receives the equivalent of the face value of gold in rupee
terms.
Bonds will be issued on behalf of the Government of India by the Reserve Bank
of India (RBI).
The bond will be marketed through post offices and by various brokers/agents
who may need to be paid a commission (like for Kisan Vikas Patra).
The price of gold may be taken from National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange
(NCDEX) / London Bullion Market Association/RBI and the rupee equivalent
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amount may be converted at the RBI reference rate on issue and redemption.
Banks/ Non-bank financial companies (NBFCs)/Post Offices may collect money
/ redeem bonds on behalf of government (for a fee, the amount would be as
decided).
Capital gains tax treatment will be the same as for physical gold. This will ensure
that an investor is indifferent in terms of investing in these bonds and in physical
gold- as far as the tax treatment is concerned.
The tenor of the bond could be for a minimum of 5 to 7 years so that it would
protect investors from medium term volatility in the gold prices.
These Bonds will be easily sold and traded on commodity exchanges
Bonds can be used as collateral for loans. The Loan to Value ratio can be set equal
to ordinary gold loan mandated by RBI from time to time.
During 2015-16 financial year gold bonds equivalent of 50 tonnes of gold would
be issued. Since the amount, around 13500 crore rupees, is not very high, it can
be accommodated within the market borrowing programme for 2015-16.
Since these bonds are part of the sovereign borrowing, these would need to be
within the fiscal deficit target for 2015-16 and onwards.
Comment
The announcement of Draft Outline of Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme is in tune with
the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitleys 2015-16 budget speech.
Jaitley, on 28 Februay 2015, announced three major initiatives viz., Gold Monetisation
Scheme, Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme and Indian Gold Coin to curb demand for
physical gold there by reducing dependence on gold imports.
Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS), for which the draft outline was released on 19
June 2015, is intended to replace both the gold deposit and gold metal loan scheme
and to allow depositors to earn interest on their gold metal accounts jewelers to
obtain loans.
Indian Gold Coin, which will carry the Ashok Chakra on its face, would help reduce
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the demand for gold coins and also help recycle the gold available in the country.
Union Ministry of Finance formed two committees for facilitating

implementation of GST
Union Ministry of Finance on 17 June 2015 formed two committees for facilitating
implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) from 1 April 2016.
These committees are intended to speed up the process of establishing necessary
administrative infrastructure to implement the GST.
Terms of Reference of Committee on GST rate:

It will recommend possible tax rates under GST that would be consistent with the
present level of revenue collection of the Union and States.
It will be headed by the Chief Economic Advisor (CEA), Ministry of Finance. The
present CEA is Arvind Subramanian.
While making recommendations, it would take into account expected levels of
growth of economy, different levels of compliance and broadening of tax base
under GST.
It would also analyse the Sector-wise and State-wise impact of GST on the
economy.
It is expected to give its report within two months.
Terms of Reference of Steering Committee on GST

It will monitor the progress of IT preparedness of Goods and Services Tax Network
(GSTN)/ the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC)/Tax authorities.
It will monitor the finalisation of reports of all the Sub-Committees constituted on
different aspects relating to the mechanics of GST and drafting of Central GST,
Interstate GST and State GST laws/rules.
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It will monitor the progress on consultations with various stakeholders like trade
and industry and training of officers.
It will be Co-Chaired by Additional Secretary, Department of Revenue and Member
Secretary, Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers.
It has members from Department of Revenue, Central Board of Excise &
Customs, Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) and representatives of State
Governments.
About Goods and Services Tax (GST)

GST will subsume present indirect taxes like excise, services tax, sales tax, octroi,
etc. and is touted as the biggest tax reform since the Constitution of India came into
force.
The Constitution (122nd Amendment) (GST) Bill, 2014 was approved by the Lok
Sabha and is pending with the Rajya Sabha.
CCEA approved Minimum Support Prices for Kharif Crops of

2015-16 season
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, on 17 June 2015 gave its approval for the Minimum Support Prices
(MSPs) for Kharif Crops of 2015-16 season.
All the approved MSPs were based on recommendations of the Commission for
Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) for the Price Policy for Kharif Crops for the
Marketing Season 2015-16 except for pulses.
The CCEA decided to give a bonus of 200 rupees per quintal for pulses over and
above the recommendations of the CACP in view of a huge deficit of pulses in the
country.
The approved MSPs of pulses per quintal, inclusive of bonus, are: Tur (Arhar) 4625
rupees against 4350 rupees during the 2014-15 season; Moong- 4850 rupees against
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4600 rupees; and Urad 4625 rupees against 4350 rupees during the previous season.
The increase in prices expected to give a strong price signal to farmers to increase
acreage and invest for increase in productivity of pulses.
The prices of pulses have increased by over 50 per cent during the 2014-15 season
due to inclement weather that subsequently resulted in import of 5000 quintals of
imports by the government.
The MSPs for the common variety of paddy was increased to 1410 rupees per quintal
against 1360 rupees during 2014-15 season and for Grade A variety the MSP was
fixed at 1450 (increase of 50 rupees).
Hybrid and Maldandi varieties of jowar were raised by 40 rupees per quintal to 1530
and 1550 respectively.
CCEA approved setting up of 2000 MW of Grid connected Solar

PV Power Projects under JNNSM
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 17 June 2015 approved setting
up of over 2000 MW of Grid-Connected Solar PV Power Projects under Batch-III of
Phase-II of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM). The project will
be developed on Build, Own and Operate basis by Solar Power Developers (SPDs)
with Viability Gap Funding (VGF). The total investments expected under this scheme
is about 12000 crore rupees and the VGF is estimated at 2100 crore rupees. The
requisite funds for provision of the VGF support will be made available to MNRE from
the National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF).
The VGF scheme will be implemented by solar power developers through transparent
competitive bidding to provide solar power at a pre-defined tariff of 5.43 rupees
per kWh for the first year, with escalation of 5 paisa per kWh each year till the tariff
reaches the level of 6.43 rupees per kWh.
The VGF is to be disbursed in six trenches; 50 percent after commissioning and
balance 50 percent at the rate of 10 percent at the end of each year subsequently for
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the next 5 years

The overall effort is to continuously reduce Government financial support for grid
connected solar power as the prices of solar power comes down.
This project will result in:

Creation of additional 2000 MW capacity of Grid-connected solar PV power
generation projects
Generation of about 3320 million units per year, which will cater power to almost
one million Households
Employment generation of about 12000 people in rural and urban areas
Reduction of about 3.41 Million tonnes of CO2 emissions into the environment
every year
Implementation of Scheme
The Scheme will be implemented by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) as
per the guidelines of Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
SECI will prepare necessary bidding documents for inviting the proposals for
setting up of projects on a competitive bidding through e-bidding and will enter
into Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the selected developers and the Power
Sale Agreement (PSA) with the buying entities.
The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) was launched in January 2010
by the Union Government with a target to setup 20000 MW of grid connected solar
power by 2022, which was revised to 100000 MW on 17 June 2015.
Union Government launched Cluster Development Programme

for Pharma Sector
The Union Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers Ananth Kumar on 17 June 2015 launched
the Cluster Development Programme for Pharma Sector (CDP-PS) in New Delhi.
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The scheme is intended to enhance quality, productivity and innovative capabilities

of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the pharmacy sector.
Objectives of the programme

Increase the competitiveness, easy access to standard testing facilities and value
addition in the domestic pharma industry especially to SMEs through creation of
common world class facilities.
Strengthening the existing infrastructure facilities in order to make Indian
pharmaceutical industry a global leader in pharmaceutical exports
Reducing the cost of production by 20 percent in the clusters leading to better
availability and affordability medicines in domestic market and thereby ensuring
health security of the country
To help industry meet the requirements of standards of environment at a reduced
cost through innovative methods of common waste management system
Features of CDP-PS
It is intended for setting up of new cluster as well as up gradation of existing
clusters. At present such clusters already exist in Baddi of Himachal Pradesh,
Hardwar of Uttarkhand, Gurgaon in Haryana, Pattancheru of Telangana, Nashik of
Maharashtra among others.
It is a Central Sector Scheme and will be implemented with an investment of 125
crore rupees.
It will be operational till March 2017 (end of the 12th five year plan period) and 6
clusters will be developed by March 2016 of which 3 will be green fields.
It will be implemented on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) format, including state
governments, through a Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV) formed for this purpose
at the cluster level.
The government will provide one time grant-in-aid to SPVs for creation of identified
infrastructure and common facilities.
Common Facilities under the scheme will consist of creation of tangible assets like
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Common Testing Facilities (CFCs), training centre, effluent treatment Plant, etc.
While the maximum limit for the grant-in-aid would be 20 crore rupees per cluster
or 70 percent of the cost of project whichever is less, 90 percent of the cost will
provided as grant for difficult and backward regions like North East. The balance
amount would be mobilised through equities in SPVs.
State Governments are envisaged to play a pro-active role in the implementation
of the scheme by providing requisite land, roads, power and other infrastructure
facilities.
Comment
The scheme is in tune with the Make in India campaign of the Union Government
that is intended to augment production and productivity of the Indian pharmaceutical
industry.
At present, the Indian pharmaceutical industry is the worlds third-largest in terms of
volume. It is growing at 14 to 15 percent per annum and is likely to touch the figure
of 4 lakh crore rupees by 2020.
Union Government decided to increase number of work days

under MGNREGA in drought hit areas
The Union Government on 17 June 2015 decided to increase the number of workdays
under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) from
100 days to 150 days in drought-affected areas of the country.
MGNREGA launched in 2009 annually provides 100 days work to rural household of
India.
The cost of providing 50 more days of work to the rural households will be borne
by the Union Government and it will be applicable to those households only that
complete its 100 days work.
The decision to increase the wage days in drought-affected areas was taken as
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Government is expecting an increase in demand for wage-based employment due

to drought affecting regular agricultural activities in some places.
Earlier in February 2014, previous government led by Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh, the number of workdays under MNREGA was increased from 100 days to 150
days for tribal areas who have received land rights under the Forest Rights Act, 2006.
Union Cabinet revised target of solar power under JNNSM to

100000 MW by 2022
The Union Cabinet on 17 June 2015 gave its approval for stepping up of solar power
capacity target under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) by five
times to 100000 MW (100 GW).The target to be achieved by 2022.
The earlier target was producing solar power of 20000 MW by 2022.
With this target, India will become one of the largest green energy producers in the
world, surpassing several developed countries.
The target will principally comprise of 40 GW rooftop and 60 GW through large and
medium scale grid connected solar power projects.
The total investment in setting up 100 GW will be around 6 lakh crore rupees.
In the first phase, the Union Government will be providing 15050 crore rupees as
capital subsidy to promote solar capacity addition in the country. This capital subsidy
will be provided for rooftop solar projects in various cities and towns, for Viability Gap
Funding (VGF) based projects to be developed through the Solar Energy Corporation
of India (SECI) and for decentralized generation through small solar projects.
Apart from this, solar power projects with investment of about 90000 crore rupees
would be developed using Bundling mechanism with thermal power.
Significance of the revised target to 100000 MW

It will contribute to the long term energy security of India, and reduce dependence
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on fossil fuels that put a strain on foreign reserves and the ecology as well.
The solar manufacturing sector will get a boost as the revised target will help in
creation of technology hubs for manufacturing.
The increased manufacturing capacity and installation are expected to pave way
for direct and indirect employment opportunities in both the skilled and unskilled
sector.
It is expected to abate over 170 million tonnes of CO2 over its life cycle.
Indias trade deficit in May 2015 narrowed to 10.4 billion US

dollars
The data of Indias foreign trade (merchandise) for the month May 2015 was released
on 16 June 2015 by the Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry. According to it,
Indias trade deficit in May 2015 declined to 10.4 billion US dollars from 11.2 billion
US dollars recorded in May 2014.
The trade deficit for April-May 2015 was estimated at 21.39 billion US dollars which
was higher than the deficit of 21.32 billion US dollars during April-May 2014.
The decline in trade deficit came along with decline in exports and imports in May
2015 to 20.19 percent and 16.52 percent respectively.
Value of Exports
Exports during May 2015 were valued at 22.34 billion US dollars which was 20.19
percent lower than the level of 27.99 billion US dollars during May 2014.
In Rupee terms, export during May 2015 stood at 142572.92 crore rupees which was
14.14 percent lower than the level of 166045.09 crore rupees in May 2014.
Cumulative value of exports for the period April-May 2015 was 44.40 billion US dollars
as against 53.63 billion US dollars in Apr-May 2014, thus registering a negative growth
of 17.21 percent in Dollar terms.
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In Rupee terms, the value of cumulative exports for the period April May 2015
stood at 280973.36 crore rupees as against 320763.69 crore rupees in April May
2014, thus registering a 12.40 percent decline.
The decline in exports continuously for sixth month was on account of slowdown in
China adding fuel to already slowing global economy. This was further accelerated
by fall in global crude oil prices that caused the exports of petroleum products to fall
by 59.10 percent to 2.42 billion US dollars.
Value of Imports
Imports during May 2015 were valued at 32.75 billion US dollars which was 16.52
percent lower than the level of 39.23 billion US dollars during May 2014.
In Rupee terms, imports during May 2015 stood at 208965.06 crore rupees which
was 10.19 percent lower than the level of 232672.72 crore rupees in May 2014.
Cumulative value of imports for the period April-May 2015 was 65.80 billion US dollars
as against 74.95 billion US dollars in Apr-May 2014, thus registering a negative growth
of 12.21 percent in Dollar terms.
In Rupee terms, the value of cumulative imports for the period April May 2015
stood at 416345.69 crore rupees as against 448266.65 crore rupees in April May
2014, thus registering a 7.12 percent decline.
The decline in imports was caused by decline in oil imports that fell by 40.97 percent
to 8.93 billion US dollars in May 2015 from 14.4 billion US dollars in May 2014.
However, the gold imports increased by 10.47 percent in May 2015 to 2.4 billion US
dollars due to easing of import restrictions on it by the Union Government.
RBI issued final guidelines for 6-year and 13-year Interest Rate
Futures
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 12 June 2015 issued the final guidelines for the
6-year and 13-year cash settled Interest Rate Futures (IRF) on government securities
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with residual maturity of 4-8 years and 11-15 years respectively under the Interest
Rate Futures (Reserve Bank) (Amendment) Directions, 2015.
For this purpose, RBI amended the Interest Rate Futures (Reserve Bank) Directions,
2013 dated 5 December 2013.
For the 6-year cash settled IRF contracts, the underlying shall be a coupon bearing
government security of face value of 100 rupees and the residual maturity of 6-year
IRF is between 4 and 8 years on the expiry of futures contract.
For the 13-year cash settled IRF contracts, the underlying can be a coupon bearing
government security of face value of 100 rupees and residual maturity will be between
11 and 15 years on the expiry of futures contract.
Moreover, the RBI also expanded the residual maturity for the existing 10-year cash
settled IRF from 9-11 years to 8-11 years to provide market participants a greater
choice and flexibility to hedge their interest rate risk across different tenors.
RBI issued Draft Framework on Issuance of Rupee linked Bonds

Overseas
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 9 June 2015 issued Draft Framework on Issuance
of Rupee linked Bonds Overseas.
It is intended to permit Indian corporate and International Financial Institutions (IFIs)
to issue rupee-linked bonds overseas.
Key Features
Indian corporates eligible to raise external commercial borrowings (ECBs) are
permitted to issue Rupee linked bonds overseas.
The corporates which, at present, are permitted to access ECB under the approval
route will require prior permission of the RBI to issue such bonds and those coming
under the automatic route can do so without prior permission.
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The bonds may be floated in any jurisdiction that is Financial Action Task Force
(FATF) compliant.
The subscription, coupon payments and redemption may be settled in foreign
currency. The proceeds of the bonds can be parked as per the extant provisions
on parking of ECB proceeds.
Banks incorporated in India will not have access to these bonds in any manner
whatsoever.
International Financial Institutions, of which India is a shareholding member
intending to deploy the entire proceeds of the issuance in India, would not be
requiring any prior permission for the issuance of rupee bonds overseas irrespective
of amount of issuance.
In other cases, where an International Financial Institution (of which India is a
member) wishes to retain the freedom to deploy the issue proceeds in any
member country would require prior permission from the Reserve Bank / Union
Government.
For dollar-Indian rupee conversion, the Reserve Banks reference rate on date of
issue would be applicable.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 8 June 2015 announced Strategic Debt
Restructuring (SDR) Scheme which allows banks and non-banking lending institutions
to convert their loans into equity stake.
The scheme will benefit all Scheduled Commercial Banks, excluding Regional
Rural Banks (RRBs), all-India term-lending and Refinancing Institutions including
Export-Import (EXIM) Bank and National Housing Bank (NHB) and National Bank for
Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
Key Features of Strategic Debt Restructuring (SDR) Scheme

Lenders will have the right to convert their outstanding loans into a majority equity
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stake if the borrower fails to meet conditions stipulated under the restructuring
package.
Lenders must stipulate in the debt restructuring deal itself that if the borrower fails
to meet certain milestones in terms of performance, they would have the option to
convert part or whole of the debt into equity.
A decision on invoking the SDR should be taken within 30 days after a review of
the account of borrowers. It should be approved by 75 percent of the creditors by
value and 60 percent of creditors by number.
The lenders must approve the SDR conversion package within 90 days after taking
such a decision.
Post conversion, all lenders should together own 51 percent or moreof the
companys equity.
A joint lenders forum (JLF) should closely monitor a companys performance and
appoint a suitable professional management.
Lenders should divest equity holdings of the company to new promoters as soon
as possible.
New promoter should not be a person/entity/subsidiary/associate, etc (domestic
as well as overseas), from the existing promoter/promoter group.
The new promoter has to acquire the entire 51 percent. However, if foreign
investment is limited to less than 51 percent, the new promoter should own at least
26 percent of the paid-up equity capital or up to the applicable foreign investment
limit.
On divestment of banks holding in favour of a new promoter, the asset classification
of the account may be upgraded to standard.
The formula for conversion of debt into equity will be different from existing norms
laid down by the Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for banks.
The price of debt to equity conversion will be capped either at the market value of
the borrowing company (if it is listed) or the book value as per the latest balance
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sheet (for unlisted firms). Share conversion cannot happen at below par that is
less than the face value of 10 rupees.
Conversion of debt into equity will also be exempted from regulatory ceilings on
capital market exposures, investment in para-banking activities and intra-group
exposure.
Comment
RBI announced the scheme against the backdrop of huge surge in bad loans or Non
Performing Assets (NPAs) in the banking system. As per an estimate, the Gross NPAs
may rise to 5.9 percent of total advances during 2015-16 against 4.4 percent during
2014-15.
NPAs are those assets, where Interest and/or installment of principal remain overdue
for a period of more than 90 days in respect of a term loan.
IREDA awarded Miniratna (Category-1) status

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) was on 2 June 2015
awarded the Miniratna (Cateogry -1) status by the Department of Public Enterprises
under the Union Ministry of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises.
The proposal for conferring Miniratna status for IREDA was recommended by the
Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
Grant of status allows IREDA to make capital expenditure on new projects,
modernization, purchase of equipment, etc. without Government approval up to 500
crores rupees, or equal to their net worth, whichever is lower.
For IREDA, now the ceiling on equity investment to establish joint ventures and
subsidiaries in India will be 15% of its net worth in one project limited to 500 crore
rupees. The overall ceiling on such investment in all projects put together shall be
30% of the net worth IREDA.
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The Scheme of Maharatna/Navratna/Miniratna

The scheme of awarding Navratna, Miniratna (Category-1 and 2) status to public
sector undertakings (PSUs) was started by the Union Government vide a notification
dated 22 July 1997 so as to grant greater autonomy to PSUs to become global giants.
Later on 4 February 2010, the scheme of Maharatna for PSUs was started.
At present, there are 55 Public Limited Companies in Mini Ratna (Cateogry -1) and
17 are in Mini Ratna (Cateogry-2). Besides, there are 7 Maharatna Companies and
17 Navratnas companies.
Eligibility for Miniratna Category-I PSEs

They should have made profit in the last three years continuously, the pre-tax profit
should have been 30 crores rupees or more in at least one of the three years and
should have a positive net worth.
About IREDA
IREDA was established as Public Limited Government Company in 1987 to promote,
develop and extend financial assistance for renewable energy and energy efficiency
/conservation projects with the Motto Energy for Ever.
It was created as Non-Banking Financial Institution (NBFI) in Schedule C of the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and was upgraded as Schedule B in 2010.
The Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of IREDA is KS Popli.
Second Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2015-16

announced
Second bi-monthly monetary policy statement 2015-16 was announced on 2 June
2015 by Raghuram Rajan, the Governor of Reserve Bank of India.
The monetary policy cut the repo rate, the rate at which RBI lends to commercial
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bank, by 0.25 percent from 7.5 percent to 7.25 percent with immediate effect.
As a result, the reverse repo rate, the rate at which RBI borrows from commercial
banks, stands adjusted to 6.25 percent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate
and the Bank Rate to 8.25 per cent.
However, the cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks was kept unchanged at 4
percent of net demand and time liabilities (NDTL).
Further, RBI will continue to provide liquidity under overnight repos at 0.25 percent of
bank-wise NDTL at the LAF repo rate and liquidity under 14-day term repos as well
as longer term repos of up to 0.75 percent of NDTL of the banking system through
auctions; and continue with overnight/term variable rate repos and reverse repos to
smooth liquidity.
Comment
The cut in repo rate by RBI suggests that all is not well with the Indian economy and
on a serious note it highlights that growth numbers brought out by Central Statistics
Office (CSO) is not trustworthy. This is because if Indian economy is predicted to
grow at 7.3 percent in 2014-15 (provisional estimate) and is expected to surpass the
Chinas growth, then what is the need for a rate cut?
The very fact RBI chose to cut rates, while simultaneously raising the retail inflation
forecast from 5.8 percent to 6 percent by January 2016 (highlighting the risk factors
from a deficient monsoon), proves that from the RBIs point of view, the growth is
faltering and is certainly a bigger risk than inflation at this stage.
Union Government simplified defence rules to woo foreign

companies
The Union Government on 1 June 2015 simplified the defence rules to boost defence
manufacturing in the country and encourage foreign players to explore business in
India.
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In order to provide a level-playing field to private players, the government withdrew

excise and Customs duty exemptions enjoyed by the Ordinance Factory Board and
defence Public Sector Undertakings.
It will encourage more private sector firms to collaborate with foreign partners such as
Boeing, Airbus and Lockheed Martin and enter the defence equipment manufacturing
business.
Defence manufacturing is one of the key sectors among the 25 sectors identified
under the Union Governments Make-in-India campaign. The Indian aerospace and
defence market is among the most attractive as the country is the highest importer
of defence items in the world.
The Government has recently opened up this sector for private investment by
increasing FDI cap in defence to 49 percent and rationalizing conditions. Almost 60
percent items required for industrial licence have now been de-reserved.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 1 June 2015 allowed cross holding in long-term
infrastructure bonds. With this, now banks would be able to cross hold these bonds
among themselves for financing infrastructure and affordable housing loans, which
earlier was not permitted.
The move was taken amidst the concerns that such prohibition on cross-holding
was inhibiting the liquidity and tradability of these bonds, as banks are the major
participants in the debt market.
However, to preserve the primary objective of allowing regulatory exemptions on
CRR and SLR requirements as well as priority sector lending and to prevent double
counting of regulatory exemptions allowed, such investments will be subject to
following conditions:
Banks investment in such bonds will not be treated as assets with the banking
system in India for the purpose of calculation of Net Demand and Time Liability
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(NDTL).
Such investments will not be held under Held to Maturity (HTM) category.
An investing banks investment in a specific issue of such bonds will be capped
at 2 percent of the investing banks Tier 1 Capital or at 5 percent of the issue size,
whichever is lower.
An investing banks aggregate holding in such bonds will be capped at 10 percent
of its total Non-SLR investments.
Not more than 20 percent of the primary issue size of such bond issuance can be
allotted to banks.
Banks cannot hold their own bonds.
RBIs relevant extant prudential norms will be applicable on such issuances and
investments.
All other terms and conditions as mentioned in circulars dated 15 July 2014 and 27
November 2014 will remain unchanged.
Background
RBI in its circular dated 15 July 2014 allowed banks to issue long term bonds for their
financing of infrastructure and affordable housing loans. However, banks were not
permitted to cross-hold such bonds among themselves.
Moreover, in order to provide liquidity to retail investors in such bonds, RBI in its
circular dated 27 November 2014 also allowed banks to extend loans to individuals
against such long-term bonds issued by them.

The decision of the Parliament to increase the rate of service tax from12.36 to 14
percent became operational on 1 June 2015.
Now, the new rate subsumes the education cess (2 percent on the service tax amount)
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which was earlier levied separately.

The decision to increase the rate was taken to facilitate smooth transition to the
Goods Service Tax (GST) regime which is proposed to be implemented from 1 April
2016. Once implemented, GST will subsume service tax, excise and other indirect
taxes.
Earlier, the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley proposed for the hike in his 2015-16
budget speech on 28 February 2015 which was subsequently approved by the Lok
Sabha in the form of the Finance bill, 2015 on 30 April 2015 and the President of India
on 14 May 2015.
About Service Tax

Service tax is an indirect tax levied by the government on service providers on all
service transactions such as education, insurance, transportation, communication,
hospitality, etc. However, few services mentioned in the negative list like services
relating to agriculture or agricultural produce, education up to higher secondary
school, etc. were exempted from the service tax net.
It came into existence under the Finance Act, 1994 as facilitated by thearticle 268A
of the Indian Constitution which states that the Service tax is levied by the Union and
collected and appropriated by the Union and the States.
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ENVIRONMENT | ECOLOGY
The Elephant Census Report 2015 of Odisha was released on 29 June 2015 by Forest
and Environment Minister Bikram Keshari Arukh. According to it, in 2015 the elephant
population in Odisha increased to 1954 from 1930 recorded in 2012 Census.
The highest number of elephants 487 was recorded in Similipal Tiger Reserve followed
by Satkosia Tiger Reserve with 234 elephants.
Major findings of the census

In three Elephant Reserves (ERs), that is, Mayurbhanj, Mahanadi and Sambalpur,
a total of 1450 elephants (74.21%) were recorded. These areas have eight
sanctuaries.
In 5 other sanctuaries: 102 elephants (5.22%).
Outside ERs and outside sanctuaries: 402 elephants (20.57%).
The proportion of
3.2:1:1.4, approx
Female:Male:Young elephants in 2015 is 1096:341:490, or
In 2015, there are 27 elephants the sex of which couldnt be identified compared to
46 in 2012 census.
Compared to 2012, the male population recorded is more by 7, female population
is more by 9, and the unknown sex recorded is less by 19 elephants and young
more by 27. The total population records an increase by 24 elephants in the present
census.
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STR Core Division recorded the highest number of elephants at 337 followed by
Dhenkanal Division, with 164 elephants
Mayurbhanj elephant reserve comprises of Similipal Tiger Reserve, Rairangpur,
Baripada, Balasore Wildlife and Keonjhar Wildlife Divisions.
Mahanadi elephant reserve comprises of Satkosia Wildlife, Mahanadi Wildlife, Angul,
Dhenkanal, Athgarh, Athmallik, Boudh, Nayagarh and Cuttack Divisions.
Sambalpur elephant reserve comprises of Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Bamra Willdife,
Bonai and Rairakhol Divisions.
First species of Yeti Crab in Antarctica named Kiwa tyleri

discovered
A team of British scientists led by Dr Sven Thatje on 24 June 2015 published the
discovery of the first species of Yeti Crab in Antarctica in the journal PLOS ONE.
The species has been named Kiwa tyleri after British deep-sea and polar biologist
Professor Paul Tyler from the University of Southampton.
The crab that belongs to an enigmatic group of squat lobsters, known as Kiwaidae,
was found from hydrothermal vent systems of the East Scotia Ridge in the Southern
Ocean, Antarctica.
Earlier when this hairy crab was first discovered in the Antarctic waters, it was
nicknamed as The Hoff, in reference to actor David Hasselhoff.
These crabs flourish in the hot waters surrounding the geothermally heated
hydrothermal vents and are dominant species at these sites occurring at extremely
high densities, exceeding 700 specimens per square metre.
Yeti crabs are famous for its body, which is densely covered by bristles, known as
setae, and bacteria that gives it a fur like appearance.
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Taygan Lions Park, Skazka Zoo, Thiruvananthapuram Zoo inked

animal exchange agreement
The Taygan Lions Park and Skazka zoo in Yalta, Crimea signed an animal exchange
agreement with Keralas Thiruvananthapuram zoo. This agreement signed in the
fourth week of June 2015 will allow them to exchange different animals with each
other.
Features of the agreement

In exchange for three elephants from India, the Thiruvananthapuram zoo will
receive two white lions, 15 coatis, two Siberian tigers, two llamas, and five squirrel
monkeys.
The elephants will be accompanied by mahouts (handlers/keepers), as it is a
requirement stipulated in the transport legislation of India.
Taygan Lions Park

Created in 2012 in Belogorsky region of Crimea on the shores of the Taygansky
reservoir, Taygan is the largest nursery in Europe for various breeds of lions and other
species. It is also the only one of its kind animal park in the continent.
The zoo contains more than 50 African lions and is free to roam in an area of over 30
hectares in the Crimean foothills.
Skazka zoo
Created in 1995 at Yalta, Ukraine, Skazka (fairy tale) zoo is a home of more than 700
creatures, representing over 120 species of birds, reptiles, mammals, amphibians
and fish. It was established by local businessman Oleg Zubkov.
Thiruvananthapuram zoo
Thiruvananthapuram zoo located in the city of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of
Kerala, was established in 1857. Spread over 55 acres (22 ha) of woodland, lakes,
and lawns, the zoo is one of the oldest in India and Asia. It is a home to around 75
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different species of animals not only from India but also from the world.
The zoo was created by Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma, who ruled Travancore between
1830 and 1847 as a menagerie where royal tigers, panthers, cheetahs, deer, boar,
and other wild animals were kept.
Later in 1857, the menagerie was converted into a zoo by his brother Uthram Thirunal
and British Resident William Cullen, as an annex to the Napier Museum.
Bhuvan Ganga Mobile Application launched to aid National

Mission for Clean Ganga
To aid National Mission for Clean Ganga, the Union Water Resources Minister Uma
Bharti on 23 June 2015 launched Bhuvan Ganga mobile application and a web portal.
The app will allow people to upload pictures of pollution sources of river Ganga for
further action by the concerned authorities.
The application and web portal was launched after a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) was signed between the National Mission for Clean Ganga and the National
Remote Sensing Centre (ISRO).
Purpose of the user-friendly Bhuvan Mobile App and Portal

The android based app will help in monitoring Union Governments flagship Clean
Ganga Mission.
It will be used as a tool to support decision making and planning for the Clean
Ganga Mission.
It will enable public to collect and report information on various pollution sources
that affects the water quality of river Ganga.
Bhuvan Ganga Portal is an exclusive web portal deployed in ISRO Bhuvans geoportal
with all geospatial layers related to river Ganga.
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Kujira: Typhoon that made landfall in south Chinas Hainan Province
Typhoon Kujira struck China on 22 June 2015. The typhoon made its landfall in south
Chinas Hainan province with heavy rain in the drought hit island. It also carried
packing winds of up to 90 kilometers per hour.
Typhoon Kujira is the eighth typhoon of 2015.
The National Meteorological Center yesterday issued a yellow alert, the third highest
ranking of its four-level warning system for Typhoon Kujira.
The typhoon led to evacuation of more than 40000 people and cancellation of 63
flights at the Meilan International Airport in the provincial capital. Haikou and Sanya
Phoenix International Airport has canceled 99 flights.
The typhoon weakened into a tropical storm one hour after its landfall in Hainan.
India, China can protect 1.4 million premature deaths by

improving quality of Air: Study
A study titled Addressing Global Mortality from Ambient PM2.5published on 16 June
2015 says that 1.4 million premature deaths per year in polluted countries such as
India and China can be prevented by improving air quality.
The study was led by Joshua S Apte of the Cockrell School of Engineering at The
University of Texas Austin and was published in the journal Environmental Science &
Technology.
The study assesses how regional and global improvements in ambient air quality
could reduce attributable mortality from Particulate Matter (PM2.5).
Main findings of the study

An aggressive global program of PM2.5 mitigation in line with WHO interim
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guidelines could avoid 750000 (23%) of the 3.2 million deaths per year currently
attributable to ambient PM2.5
Modest improvements in PM2.5 in relatively clean regions, viz., North America
and Europe would result in surprisingly large avoided mortality
Major improvements in air quality would be required to substantially reduce
mortality from PM2.5 in more polluted regions, such as China and India
In India and China, to keep PM2.5-attributable mortality rates, that is, deaths per
100000 people per year constant, average PM2.5 levels would need to decline by
2030% over the next 15 years merely to offset increases in PM2.5-attributable
mortality from aging populations.
An effective program to deliver clean air to the worlds most polluted regions could
avoid several hundred thousand premature deaths each year.
PM2.5 particles can enter deep into the lungs leading to increase in the risk of
heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular disease, respiratory illnesses such as
emphysema; and cancer.
Critically endangered Sangai deer found in Manipurs Loktak

Lake to be translocated
Manipur Forest Department in the third week of June 2015 decided to translocate
a section of rare and critically endangered species of Brow Antlered deer known as
Sangai. It will be shifted with an aim to save it from extinction.
The deer found only in Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP), a floating biomass in
Manipurs Loktak Lake, will be shifted to Pumlen Pat, which is close to Loktak. KLNP
is the only floating national park in the world.
Pumlen Pat was chosen for translocation as it is also a phumdi (floating biomass) and
comprises of small hillocks which will act as shelter place for Sangai.
Sangai which is the state animal of Manipur was once found across the Manipur
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Valley. At present it is only found in Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP) situated
inside the lake.
The conservation efforts have helped in reviving the population of the deer from less
than 100 in 2008 to 204 in 2013.
Illegal trapping of migratory songbird Yellow-Breasted Bunting

leading to its extinction: Study
A study titled Global population collapse in a superabundant migratory bird and
illegal trapping in China said that the population of the migratory songbird YellowBreasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola) has plunged by 90 percent since 1980. The bird
is disappearing from Eastern Europe, Japan and parts of Russia.
The study was published in Conservation Biology journal.
As per the study, the population of these species of birds declined by 84.3 percent
to 94.7 percent during 1980-2013 period and the species range contracted by 5000
km.
The reason for this decline in population, according to researchers, is the illegal
trapping of these birds by Chinese for eating. As a result, these birds are on the verge
of becoming extinct.
Million of the Yellow-Breasted Bunting also known as Rice Bird in China are being
hunted for food and sold on the black market. This is despite the fact that China in
1997 banned the hunting of these species following decline in its population.
Yellow-breasted bunting
The yellow-breasted bunting (Emberiza aureola) is a Eurasian passerine bird in the
bunting family (Emberizidae). It breeds across the northern Palaearctic from Finland,
Belarus and Ukraine in the west, through Kazakhstan, China and Mongolia, to far
eastern Russia, Korea and northern Japan.
It was formerly one of the most abundant breeding passerines across vast swathes
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of Siberia, but although there have been no systematic surveys, a severe decline has
been noted in most breeding areas and it has completely disappeared from parts of
its former breeding range since the early 1990s.
Until 2004, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) considered
the yellow-breasted bunting to be a species of least concern. In 2004, its status was
changed to near threatened, and four years later it was uplisted again to vulnerable
after new research has shown it to be rarer than had been believed.
Surveys in 2012 and 2013 suggest that the species has nearly or completely
disappeared from Tyumen province in Western Siberia.
Mangrove vegetation of Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary

witnessing denudation
The Mangrove Forest Division (MFD) of Bhitarkanika in first week of June 2015
revealed that Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary of Odisha is witnessing an alarming
denudation in large tracts of mangrove vegetation.
The Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary is one of Indias biggest estuarine crocodile
habitats and a major coastal eco-system.
According to MFD, the denudation or saline blank formations have been noticed in
Bhitarkanika forest block, which is measured at 1700 acre. It said that the denuded
patches, spotted in Mathadia, could be over 30 acres in this block area.
The denudation has been noted among the Avicennia and Excoecariaspecies,
popularly known as Bani and Guan.
The denudation (blank formations) of the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary is a cause
of worry for following reasons
As mangroves are just not a lifeline for the eco-system which is a home to a rich
flora and fauna but it also acts as an environment cushion for the coastlines.
The excessive salinity creates a blank formation over a period of time as the
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existing vegetation dies.

Most mangrove species have a salinity resistance that ranges from 5 ppt to 35
ppt. Only Avicennia marina species can tolerate up to 70 ppt salinity.
Earlier, the Forest Survey of India-2013 report highlighted a drop in mangrove cover in
the State by nine square km over 2011-from 222 sq km to 213 sq km. In Kendrapara
district alone, where most of Bhitarkanika is located, the drop was by 4 sq km while
in Bhadrak district, it was 2 sq km.
Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary

In April 1975, ex-zamindari forests of Kanika Raj were constituted and declared as
Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary by State Government of Odisha.
Later in 1998, it was declared as a National Park because of its ecological, faunal,
floral, geomorphological and zoological association and importance and for the
purpose of protection. In August 2002, it was designated as the second Ramsar site
(i.e. Wetland of International importance).
Salient features of Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary

This ecosystem harbours the largest number of saltwater crocodile population in
the Indian sub-continent.
Bhitarkanikas famous Gahirmatha coast finds a prominent place in the turtle map
of the world because of the distinction of having one of worlds largest nesting and
breeding congregation of Olive Ridley Sea turtles.
NMCG, NYKS signed MoU for involvement of youth in restoring

the health of Ganga River
The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan
(NYKS) on 8 June 2015 signed a 5-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to
establish a long-term partnership for the involvement of youth in the abatement of
pollution and conservation of the river Ganga.
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The MoU aims to involve youth in creating awareness and outreaching public by
carrying out afforestation drive for medicinal plants species, promoting sanitation
and construction of toilets and educating people for tackling throwing of wastes into
the river.
With the help of strong network of youths of NYKS, National Mission for Clean Ganga
seeks to implement activities at local level that will encourage public participation
and additionally, assist in restoring the health of Ganga River.
The MoU also aims to promote Bio Agriculture and clean village under Clean Ganga
Mission. Under the MoU, the youth will plant different kinds of saplings of medicinal
plants, trees and fodder crops from Gangotri up till Ganga Sagar.
About National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG)

NMCG is an autonomous society under Union Ministry of Water Resources, River
Development & Ganga Rejuvenation that works for the implementation of the
projects under National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA).
NMCG is the planning financing, monitoring and coordinating body at the Centre
and being supported by suitable State level Programme management groups
(SPMGs).
NMCG is empowered to take all necessary actions that may be necessary or
incidental for the achievement of the objectives.
About Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS)

Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) is an autonomous organization under Union
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, formed to oversee working of the Nehru Yuva
Kendras that provide rural youth avenues to take part in the process of nation
building.
NYKS channelizes the power of youth who are in the age group of 13-35 years on
the principles of voluntarism, self-help and community participation.
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Tier-I Oil Spill Response Centre for Mumbai Port Trust inaugurated
Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari on 5 June
2015 inaugurated Indias first-of-its-kind Tier-I Oil Spill Response Centre (OSRC) for
Mumbai Port Trust (MBT), Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and ONGCs facilities
at Nhava and Uran.
The objective behind setting up the centre is to develop appropriate and effective
systems for the detection and reporting of oil spillage in order to ensure adequate
protection to the marine environment and public health.
Highlights of the OSRC

The OSRC is equipped with State-of-the-Art equipment in operational readiness
for combating Tier-I oil spill up to 700 tones, ensuring adequate protection to the
public health and welfare and to the marine environment.
The facility is funded by Participating Oil Companies (POCs) and Mumbai Port
Trust will be responsible for monitoring the centre.
It will be monitored on 24/7 basis and is also equipped with skilled and trained
personnel and wireless communication facilities for immediately responding to
any oil spill.
This centre will also ensure prompt response technique to combat and prevent
oil pollution and dispose recovered waste material in an environmental friendly
manner.
It also includes various plans like Contingency Plan, Health Safety and Environment
Plan.
The Oil Spill Reponse facility will be handled by Sadhav Shipping.
The maximum response time soon after the alert is received would be 30-40
minutes.
The equipment has been supplied by Denmark based firm that is world leaders in
this field.
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It will cover around 400 sq kilometers of water front in and around Mumbais
harbour.
Background
Though the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOS-DCP) was prepared
by the Indian Coast guard and approved by the Government of India on 4 November
1993 but the urgency for such a response centre was felt after MV Chitra disaster in
2011.
In the disaster, it was found that there was no such OSR facility due to which 800
metric tonnes of oil spill took place extensively damaging the beach, marine life and
ecology.
Tier-1 Oil Spill

Tier-1 oil spill one of the three categorized levels of oil spills. These spills are the most
mild, causing localized damage usually near the companys own facilities. In most
cases, this type of spill occurs as a result of the companys own activities.
The Tier-1 Oil Spill Response Centres have pollution response equipment to respond
up to 700 tons oil spills.
Northern Railway rolled out Indias first rail coach lit by solar
panels
The Delhi division of the Northern Railway on 3 June 2015 rolled out a non-AC coach
lit by solar panels mounted on its roof.
The eco-friendly solar panels will save fossil fuel as it needs reduced external charging
of battery, thus reducing carbon foot print. The panels also require less maintenance
in comparison to existing equipments.
This is the first time in the history of Indian Railways, that a solar photovoltaic system
has been used for power requirements of light and fan in a broad gauge coach.
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The coach, on an experimental basis, was attached to a high speed Self PropelledAccident Relief Unit (SPART) that travelled from Delhi Cantonment to New Delhi
railway station.
61-day fishing ban along the Western Coast became effective

except in Kerala
Fishing ban along the Western Coast became effective from 1 June 2015. The ban
will be in place for 61 days till 31 July 2015 in all the western coast states except in
Kerala.
Kerala decided to stick to the 47-day ban, as in previous years, and allowed its
fishermen to continue operating till June 15.
Against the order of the Union Government, Kerala had sought some relaxation as it
would affect the livelihood of its fisherfolk along the 450-km coastal belt of the state.
Hence, as a special case, the Union Government has allowed only traditional
fishermen of Kerala to sail into the sea and that too up to a distance of 12 nautical
miles ( countrys territorial waters).
Earlier, the Union Government had issued a notification imposing uniform fishing ban
for 61 days in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which extends up to 200 nautical
miles from the coast, from 1 June to 31 July 2015 along the Countrys Western Coastal
Zone. The ban is intended to safeguard fish in their breeding season and increase the
fish catch.
Similarly, along the East Coast including Andaman & Nicobar Islands, the Union
Government imposed a 45-day ban on fishing by all fishing vessels in the EEZ
between 15 April and 31 May 2015.
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CORPORATE
High Court (HC) of Bombay on 30 June 2015 granted permission to Nestle India to
export its 2-minute Maggie noodles. It said that the ban on sale of the noodles within
the country will continue.
The direction was given while hearing petition filed by Nestle India against food safety
regulator FSSAIs country-wide ban of Maggi noodles. In its plea, Nestle demanded
revoking of the ban of the sale of Maggie in the country.
Earlier on 25 June 2015, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had
justified its 5 June 2015 ban on Nestle Indias 2-minute Maggi noodles in questioning
the companys safety claims.
It said that 30 out of 72 samples tested positive for dangerously high levels of lead
and even MSG (full form), despite the packets no added MSG claim. Further, it said
that the present situation has arisen because the petitioner had failed to adhere to its
own declared policy and principles.
The HC posted the next hearing of Nestles challenge to 14 July 2015.
GFH Financial Group signed pact with Adani Group for developing
Mumbai Economic Zone
Bahrain-based GFH Financial Group on 28 June 2015 signed an agreement with
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Indian conglomerate Adani Group for developing aMumbai Economic Development

Zone (MEDZ).
Under the agreement, the GFHs unit Energy City Navi Mumbai (ECNM) and Adani
Group will work together in creating the master plan for the lands of Phases II and
III of the project, which will offer world class business infrastructure for local and
international services including IT companies.
The financial groups two units ECNM and Mumbai IT and Telecom City (MITTC) are
two core components of the Mumbai Economic Development Zone (MEDZ). While,
Adani Group will develop core infrastructure on these lands and will also commence
the pre-sales and construction works on the site.
Investors will receive a 15 percent revenue share from sales made by Adani Group
on the development on these lands and less local taxes, if any. This agreement is a
part of GFHs exit strategy for the project where annual sales payments will be made
by Adani Group.
GFH is one of the most recognised financial groups in the gulf region that includes
asset management, wealth management, commercial banking and real estate
development. It is listed in Bahrain Bourse, Kuwait Stock Exchange and Dubai
Financial Market.
Bajaj Allianz launched weather-based crop insurance scheme

for three districts of Maharashtra
Private insurer Bajaj Allianz on 28 June 2015 launched a weather-based crop insurance
scheme for orange crops in Nagpur, Hingoli and Washim districts of Maharashtra.
This index-based insurance policy will cover losses incurred by orange fruit-growing
farmers due to deviation in weather conditions.
The losses will be assessed on the basis of pre-defined and government-approved
term sheets and actual weather data received from an approved automatic weather
station installed in each block of these districts.
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Farmers who have taken loan through the kissan credit card (KCC) will automatically
get insured under this scheme by their banks, while those who dont have KCC but
savings accounts need to visit the bank branches and authorize the banks to enroll
them in the scheme.
The company also launched a campaign to create awareness about the scheme in
these three districts. As part of the awareness campaign, a van will travel for 10 days
in the orange-growing belt of Katol, Narkheda and Kalmeshwar and educate farmers.
It will also use radio, hoardings, street plays mediums.
The company identified the need to offer the product in these areas looking at the
volumes of the produce and how unfavourable weather conditions had an impact on
produce. It will mitigate the losses incurred and ensure that farmers do not lose out
on their income because of uncertainties of nature.
Ujjwal Batria appointed as CEO of Lafarge India

Ujjwal Batria was on 25 June 2015 appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of
French cement maker Lafarges India operations.
Batria succeeded Martin Kriegner, who will now be Area Manager-Central Europe of
Lafarge Holcim, an entity to be formed by the proposed merger of the worlds top
two cement firms.
Prior to his appointment as the CEO of Lafarge India, Batria was the Managing
Director of Lafarge India Private Limited and was managing the cement business of
the company.
Ujjwal Batria has been working with Lafarge for the past 16 years. He joined Lafarge
in 1999 and since then he has held different positions across functions. He brings
with him rich and diverse experience in the construction material industry.
About Lafarge India

As a top-ranking player in its Cement, Aggregates and Concrete businesses,
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Lafarge contributes to the construction of cities around the world.

Lafarge started operations in India in 1999. Today, it has an established presence
across major cities and towns in India.
The company offers comprehensive solutions for housing, road and railroads,
infrastructure, and public/private buildings through its Cement, Aggregates and
Ready Mix Concrete businesses.
Carlyle Group committed up to 500 million US dollars to Magna

Energy Ltd.
The Carlyle Group, an American global alternative asset manager, on 22 June 2015
announced that it is committing an equity line up to 500 million US dollars in Magna
Energy Ltd.
Magna is a new upstream oil and gas company co-founded by two former Cairn
Energy officials.
Funding for the investment will come from Carlyle International Energy Partners
(CIEP), a fund that focuses on oil and gas exploration & production, midstream, and
refining and marketing in Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia.
The equity line will be invested in oil and gas opportunities across South Asia with
special focus on Indian sub continent and Myanmar.
The investment will also help Magna to achieve its objective of creating a full-cycle
oil & gas company through acquisitions and local licensing rounds.
Magnas primary focus will be development and production with a secondary focus
on exploration.
Magnas expertise combined with additional capital and significant industry knowledge
from Carlyle will help further develop the local oil and gas industry across the Indian
Subcontinent, leading to greater energy security, job creation and economic growth.
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Maharashtras state cabinet on 23 June 2015 approved the proposal to amend the
Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities (MPDA) Act, 1981. The amendment
will be done to include criminal activities related to sand mafia and black marketing
under its bracket.
This inclusion will help the state to act against those who are involved in black
marketing of essential commodities as well as sand mafia.
At present, the Act is applicable only for slumlords, bootleggers, drug offenders,
dangerous persons and video pirates.
The state government said that repeat offenders involved in illegal trafficking of sand
would also be booked under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999
(MCOCA).
Other approvals of the Cabinet include

Approval to setting up of Government Agriculture College at Muktainagar in
Jalgaon district
Nod to provide 1000 crore rupees for the 2505 crore rupees Wardha-YavatmalNanded new Railway line
SoftBank Corp, Bharti Enterprises Limited and Foxconn formed

a JV named SBG Cleantech Ltd.
Japan headquartered telecommunications and Internet major SoftBank Corp, Bharti
Enterprises Limited and Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group on 22 June 2015
formed a Joint Venture (JV) named SBG Cleantech Limited. This JV is aimed at
promoting the adoption of clean and safe energy in India.
SBG Cleantech will be a harbinger of solar and wind energy. The venture will invest in
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developing renewable energy plants across India. SBG Cleantech will be committed
to contribute to Union Governments mission of 24x7 power for all and achieving
100GW solar and 60GW wind target by 2022.
The company intends to participate in the 2015-16 round of solar power plant tenders
under the National Solar Mission (NSM) program and state-specific solar programs.
SBG Cleantech will not only work towards eliminating energy deficit but will also
provide clean environment.
SBG Cleantech will have Manoj Kohli, a Bharti Enterprises Limited veteran, as its
executive chairman and Raman Nanda will be the Chief Executive Officer of the
company. The company will be headquartered in Delhi.
GADL, Oman Airport Management Company signed MoU on

Aviation Consultancy Services
GMR Airport Developers Limited (GADL) on 17 June 2015 signed a Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) with Oman Airport Management Company (OAMC) for
providing aviation training and consultancy services.
The MoU is aimed at knowledge sharing and skills development for the OAMC staff
by the GADL.
GADL is a subsidiary of Bengaluru based GMR Infrastructure Limited.
Under the agreement GADL will provide

Consultancy services and support to OAMC for smooth take-over of the new
terminal at the Salalah Airport. The terminal is set to be operational in December
2015.
On-site support for six months at Salalah Airport, which will help OAMC team
to learn and adapt some of the best practices of Delhi and Hyderabad airports
developed by the GADL.
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Training to OAMC team at GMR Aviation Academy in Hyderabad.

GMR Group is the worlds 4th largest private airport developer with the completion
of four international projects and more in the pipeline in the Middle East and South
East Asia.
First-ever indigenously developed VRF ACs launched by Blue

Star
Blue Star, Indias largest central air-conditioning company, on 19 June 2015 launched
VRF (variable refrigerant flow) IV Plus air conditioning (AC) system. This is the firstever locally-developed-and-produced VRF ACs in India. This VRF IV Plus AC system
that is powered by inverter-driven compressor was designed after two years of
indigenous R&D work. Its development work was spearheaded by a Japanese expert
on VRF technology.
This new system of Blue Star will replace its existing VRF products, which were
sourced from global manufacturers A VRF AC system are used to cool large multizone spaces like hotels and restaurants, hospitals, educational institutions, residential
and official spaces with varying different cooling and heating needs through smart
controls.
About Blue Star

Blue Star is Indias largest central air-conditioning company with an annual turnover
of 2800 crore rupees. It works with a network of 32 offices, 7 modern manufacturing
facilities, over 2000 dealers and around 2500 employees.
Ricoh India Ltd. launched Picasso for improved access to medical

images
Ricoh India Ltd. on 18 June 2015 launched Picasso solution in Hyderabad. It is
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combination of healthcare and information technology and based on the Ricoh cloud.
Features of Picasso
It provides anytime anywhere access to medical images to doctors, diagnostic
centres and patients on mobile phones, laptops and tablets.
It is a web-based, cloud-enabled solution to help improve access to medical
images and user efficiency.
It is based upon PACS (picture archival and communication system) solution.
It is a subscription-based model targeted primarily at diagnostic centres and
hospitals in the country.
It use will reduce the turnaround time, minimise cost of clinical imaging (make
printed imaging redundant), optimise image compression and provide remote
access to doctors.
It can be integrated with any existing hospital information system or radiology
information system to ensure consolidated patient data.
Ricoh India Ltd is a part of the 18.5 billion US dollars Tokyo-headquartered Ricoh
Group.
Wealth-X released Worlds Wealthiest Self-Made Billionaires

List
Wealth-X on 17 June 2015 released the Worlds Wealthiest Self-Made Billionaires
List. It included worlds top 25 richest self-made billionaires.
The list was topped by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates with a personal fortune totaling
nearly 86 billion US dollars.
American entrepreneurs dominate the list claiming 14 of the 25 spots. The list features
numerous notable American billionaires who are responsible for building some of the
most successful companies in the world including Berkshire Hathaway, Oracle and
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Google.
The combined wealth of the 14 Americans on the Wealth-X list is 514.2 billion US
dollars, which is greater than the GDP of Norway.
The technology sector has proved yet again to be an incubator of great fortunes
with many on the list such as Oracles Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook
and Jack Ma, chairman of Alibaba, Chinas e-commerce giant, amassing significant
wealth by founding and building technology-based companies.
List of worlds top 10 self-made billionaires

Rank Name
Nationality
Estimated Net Worth (billion US dollars)
William Gates III United States
85.7
Warren Buffett
70.1
Amancio Ortega Spain
65.0
Lawrence Ellison United States
51.5
Ingvar Kamprad Sweden
48.1
Jeffrey Bezos
United States
39.8
Carlos Slim
Mexico
35.4
Mark
United States
35.3
United States
ZUckerberg
9
Wang Jianlin
China
35.2
10

Michael
Bloomberg
United States
33.7
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SoftBank teamed up with Alibaba, Foxconn to market Pepper

robot
Japans SoftBank Corp on 28 June 2015 announced that it has set up a joint venture
with Chinese online shopping giant Alibaba and electronics supplier Foxconn
Technology to sell its human-like robot Pepper around the world.
The company in its statement said that the robot will go on sale to general consumers
from 20 June 2015 for 198000 yen (1610.54 dollars) each plus monthly fee and
insurance. These waist-high peeper robots will serve as baby-shitters, medical
workers or even party companions.
At present, these robots which can learn and express human emotions are used in
stores including SoftBanks mobile phone shops.
SoftBank will have a 60 percent stake in the joint venture, while Alibaba and Foxconn
each will spend 14.5 billion Yen ($117.94 million) for 20 per cent stakes.
TCS launched Center of Excellence (CoE) for Next-Gen Technology

Solutions in Hyderabad
Indias largest IT services company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on 16 June
2015 launched a Next-Gen Technology Solutions Center of Excellence (CoE) at its
campus in Hyderabad.
Key Features of Next-Gen Technology Solutions CoE

It is dedicated to research and development of futuristic technologies and
creation of next-generation products and solutions for its global customers in the
Semiconductors, Devices and Networks space.
Its primary focus is on emerging communication technologies such as Software
Defined Networks (SDN), Network Function Virtualization (NFV), 5G and Wireless
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LAN (WLAN).
It will create innovative technology solutions for the connected world in areas such
as Man-Machine interface, Context-aware systems and resource constrained
devices.
It will participate in various industry forums and standards bodies in defining the
future standards.
It will collaborate with various partners such as leading Academic Institutes
and open source communities to shape up the evolution and adoption of nextgeneration technologies.
SunEdison Inc acquired Singapore-based Continuum Wind

Energy Ltd
SunEdison Inc, worlds largest renewable energy development company, on 16 June
2015 acquired Singapore-headquartered Continuum Wind Energy Limited for an
undisclosed sum.
With the acquisition of Continuum, SunEdison added significant assets and a skilled
wind development team to drive further growth in the renewable energy development
platform.
SunEdison intends to place the power plants acquired from Continuum on the
operational call rights list for TerraForm Global. Operation and maintenance of the
wind power plants will be performed by SunEdison Services.
About Continuum Wind Energy Limited

Started in 2009, Continuum Wind, majority owned by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure
Partners, owns and operates 242 MW of wind power facilities in Indias Maharashtra
and Gujarat states. The company has over 1000 MW of wind projects under
development across six Indian states.
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About SunEdison Inc

SunEdison is the worlds largest renewable energy development company and is
transforming the way energy is generated, distributed, and owned around the globe.
Its corporate headquarters are in the United States (US) with additional offices and
technology manufacturing around the world.
Bengaluru based Ganit labs developed 5000 rupees test for

tongue cancer patients
Genomics Applications and Information Technology (Ganit) Labs in the third week
of June announced that it developed a medical test that could predict the survival
chances of tongue cancer patients for as little as 5000 rupees.
The test is based on a detailed analysis of changing gene patterns in cancer patients
and helps doctors in managing the disease better, understand the chances of
recurrence and also help in the diagnosis of even other forms of oral cancer.
The low cost gene mapping based test assumes significance against the backdrop
of growing instances of tongue cancer cases across India.Around 1.2 lakh new
oral cancer cases are reported in India every year and most of them are caused by
chewing tobacco or smoking.
Ganit Labs was set up as a Genome Sequencing and Analysis, Translational Genomics
and Computational Biology Centre in 2011.
It was set up as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between Institute of Bioinformatics
and Applied Biotechnology of Government of Karnataka and Strand Life Sciences.
Karbonn to set up its first mobile phone manufacturing facility

in Hyderabad
Indian mobile handset maker Karbonn on 15 June 2015 announced that it is planning
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to set up its first mobile handset manufacturing facility in Hyderabad.

The facility will be established with an estimated cost of 450 crore rupeesas part of a
joint venture (JV) with a Chinese company.
It will have production capacity of two million phones per month that includes feature
(basic) as well as smart phones, which will be the focus of the facility.
The facility which is expected to be operational by December 2016 is in addition to
the already existing two assembly units located in Bengaluru and Noida.
At present, the New Delhi based company is Indias fourth largest smart phone player
with an annual turnover of 4300 crore rupees during the financial year 2014-15.
It has 85000 retail outlets and serves its customers through 900 service centres.
Snapdeal.com acquired Letsgomo Labs

Online marketplace Snapdeal.com on 15 June 2015 acquired Letsgomo Labs, a
mobility solutions company for an undisclosed sum. With this acquisition, Snapdeal
will strengthen its position in mobile commerce as online consumers in India are
increasingly choosing to shop over their phones.
After the acquisition, the 76-member team of Letsgomo will join Snapdeal and
strengthen the organisations mobile technology capabilities.
Earlier in May 2015, Snapdeal acquired Martmobi that enables seamless mobile
connectivity with customers existing back-end systems, in addition to a real-time
analytics engine to improve conversions and user engagement.
Letsgomo Labs
Letsgomo Labs was founded by Manav Kamboj and Vikas Banga. The company
works with leading e-commerce companies to help them strengthen their mobile
capabilities.
It provides mobile technology solutions, design and strategy, besides consulting
businesses in conceptualization of applications and mobile sites to implementation
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and hosting of the mobile platform.
Aequs Pvt Ltd acquired Paris-based T&K Machine Inc

Aequs Pvt Ltd, a Karnataka-based aerospace component manufacturer, on 14 June
2015 acquired Paris-based aerospace component maker T&K Machine Inc for an
undisclosed amount.
T&K acquisition will help Aequs to expand its footprint in North American market.
Aequs will now offer its global aerospace machining platform of over one million
hours to Boeing and its tier-1 suppliers across the world.
About T&K Machine Inc

T & K Machine was founded in 1968 by Tom and Frances Westbrooks. Beginning in
the 1970s, the company began production of major programs with Bell Helicopter,
Boeing, and Vought.
T&K is a US export control approved facility with 65 employees. It has been
supplying machined parts and assemblies to the aerospace industry since 1968
and has a wide range of manufacturing capabilities.
About Aequs Pvt Ltd

Aequs was founded in 1997 as an engineering services firm called QuEST Global
Manufacturing based out of the US.
It started manufacturing aerospace and defence components in 2006. It has a
presence in the aero structures (wings, air frames, etc.), aero systems (hydraulic
valve actuators, etc.) and landing-gear segments of aerospace manufacturing,
and supplies to all major aerospace and aviation companies.
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Dick Costolo on 11 June 2015 resigned as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Twitter
Inc after serving the company for five years. Costolo will demit the office of CEO on
1 July 2015.
Twitter co-founder and Square Incs CEO Jack Dorsey will take over as the Interim
CEO of the company on 1 July 2015 and will stay until a replacement is found.
Costolo joined the company in 2009 as its Chief Operating Officer. In 2013, he helped
the company to go public and recently he struggled to attract new users to the
service.
Under Costolo, Twitter evolved from a scrappy startup to a public company with
a market value of some 25 billion US dollars. At the same time, the 140-character
messaging service of Twitter gained cultural prominence, becoming a powerful
microphone for celebrities, activists and citizen journalists.
Vinita Bali appointed as Chair of Board of Directors of GAIN

Vinita Bali was on 4 June 2015 appointed as the Chair of Board of Directors of the
Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). Vinita succeeded Jay Naidoo, who led
GAIN in the global fight against malnutrition since its creation in 2002.
Vinita has been on the board of GAIN since 2010 and has led large companies in a
variety of marketing and general management roles in the India, UK, Nigeria, South
Africa, Chile and the US.
She also serves on the Advisory Board of The Division of Nutritional Science at
University of Cornell and is the Vice Chair of CARE India. She is among the 27 global
leaders appointed by the UN Secretary General to stand on the Lead Group of the
Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement. She also serves as a Non-Executive Director
on the Boards of several companies in India including CRISIL Ltd, Titan Industries Ltd,
and Kasturi & Sons Ltd; as well as, on the Advisory Board of The World Gold Council
and as a Member of the Board of Governors of Indian Institute of Management
Bangalore. She is also recognized in forums nationally and internationally and has
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won several awards for her various contributions to business.
Ravi Garikipati appointed as Entrepreneur in Residence of

Flipkart
Ravi Garikipati was on 11 June 2015 appointed as Entrepreneur in Residence of
online portal Flipkart.com.
In this position, he will work closely with Flipkart founders Sachin Bansal and Binny
Bansal and head of Flipkarts e-commerce platform Mukesh Bansal on new business
projects.
His first assignment will be to grow the online advertising division.
This is the first time such a role is being created in the organisation. Usually, position
of Entrepreneur in Residence is created when an organisation brings an accomplished
executive to work on a new project or start a new firm and is willing to back him
financially.
Before the present appointment, Ravi was president for innovation labs at Silicon
Valley-based [24]7 Inc. where he was responsible for overall strategy and development
of all products.
He worked also as the Senior Vice President at Vendio, a large third party e-commerce
service provider which was later acquired by Alibaba Group Holding Limited.
Flipkart is Indias largest online retailer in the 1 lakh crore rupees e-commerce market
and also considered as the most valuable internet company.

Amazon, the global e-commerce and cloud services firm, on 10 June 2015 opened a
Fulfilment Centre near Hyderabad in Telangana.
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It is the biggest such facility for Amazon in the country having previously established
10 Fulfilment Centres across seven states.
The present centre is spread across 2.80 lakh sq ft facility and is aimed at helping
small and medium businesses (SMBs) in utilizing the logistics and delivery capabilities
offered by Amazon.
At the centre, by using automated solutions, the firm segregates and packages the
goods before delivering them to customers.
In 2014, Amazon founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jeff Bezos during his
visit to India announced that the company would invest 2 billion US dollars in India in
order to leverage the huge potential in e-commerce and SMBs.
The firm is also planning to set up its biggest global campus outside of the US in
Hyderabad.
It is also considering a proposal to set up a datacenter in India to back its cloud
service business Amazon Web Services (AWS).

HDFC Bank on 10 June 2015 launched PayZapp, a complete digital payment and
purchase solution. The mobile app will allow customers to manage credit or debit
card details, recharge and pay bills, use virtual card, send money through a wallet
and shop.
Highlights of PayZapp
The app will be available for all customers of HDFC bank who will be allowed to
use both type of cards namely VISA and MasterCards
The application can be downloaded on any Android phone from the Google Play
Store from 15 June 2015 onwards.
To use the app, the customer will have to register himself/herself using the mobile
phone number, which is registered with the bank and fill certain details related to
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him like name, date of birth and others. Then he/she will have to create his/her
personal identification number (PIN).
The mobile phone number will be the login ID for the application
The application is different from applications launched by other banks which are
just prepaid wallets, but in case of PayZapp, a customer will be able to link his/her
debit or the credit card to the app
The application will allow a customer to apply for loans or purchase an insurance
plan Managing Director of HDFC Bank: Aditya Puri
PVR Ltd agreed to acquire DLFs DT Cinemas for 500 crore

rupees
PVR Ltd, Indias largest multiplex chain, on 9 June 2015 agreed to acquire DLFs DT
Cinemas for 500 crore rupees. The board of directors of the company at its meeting
approved the acquisition of the cinema exhibition business of DLF Utilities ltd.
This deal is part of DLFs strategy to exit non-core businesses and cut huge debt
of over 20000 crore rupees. On the other hand, it will help PVR Cinemas expand its
presence in North India.
DT Cinemas is the wholly-owned subsidiary of realty giant DLF. It has 29 screens with
a seating capacity of more than 6000, while PVR Cinemas has 467 screens in 105
properties in 43 cities.
Earlier in November 2009 DLF had signed an agreement with PVR to sell DT Cinemas,
but deal fell through in February 2010. Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. was
the legal adviser to PVR and EY India and Luthra & Luthra were financial and legal
advisers respectively to DLF.
The acquisition of DT Cinemas by PVR is a continuation of acquisitions being seen in
the entertainment industry. In December 2014, Carnival Group acquired Big Cinemas
from Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group for an estimated 700 crore rupees, the biggest
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ever in this sector.

In July 2014, Inox Leisure acquired Gurgaon-based rival Satyam Cineplexes in a
182-crore rupees deal to strengthen its presence in North India.
ICICI Bank appointed MK Sharma as Non-Executive Chairman

ICICI Bank, Indias largest private sector bank, on 9 June 2015 appointed Mahendra
Kumar Sharma as the non-executive chairman for a period of five years. Sharma, a
former vice chairman of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) succeeded KV Kamath.
Kamath who was nominated as the first president of the New Development Bank,
established by BRICS nations, would soon step down from the banks board.
Sharmas appointment is subject to the prior approval of Reserve Bank of India (RBI),
other regulatory approvals and would be effective from 1 July 2015 or the date of
receipt of RBI approval, whichever is later.
Sharma is an independent director of several leading companies and has been
a member of government committees relating to corporate law and corporate
governance. Currently, he is an independent director of two subsidiaries of the bank,
namely ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company and ICICI Prudential Asset
Management Company.
Earlier, Sharma was an independent director on the board of ICICI Bank for eight
years between 2003 and 2011.
Anshu Jain, Juergen Fitschen resigned as Co-CEO of Deutsche

Bank
Anshu Jain and Juergen Fitschen on 7 June 2015 resigned as Co-Chief Executive
Officer (CEO) of Germanys biggest bank Deutsche Bank following criticism from
investors.
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John Cryan was named as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Deutsche Bank. He will
take the responsibilities of the bank from 30 June 2015. He will be sole CEO.
He is the former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at UBS Group AG. He is also a member
of Deutsche Banks supervisory board.
He and Fitschen have replaced Josef Ackermann in 2012. The bank was fined 2.5
billion US dollar in April 2015 by regulators in the US and the UK for manipulating
interest-rate benchmarks LIBOR.
Anshuman Jain is an Indian business executive. He took over as Co-CEO of Deutsche
Bank to succeed Management Board Chairman Josef Ackermann. He belongs to
Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.
R Seshasayee appointed as Non-Executive Chairman of Infosys

Limited
R Seshasayee was on 5 June 2015 appointed as the Non-Executive Chairman of
Infosys Limited. He succeeded KV Kamath, who resigned to head the proposed
BRICS New Development Bank in China.
Seshasayee will assume his new role with immediate effect. He will lead the Infosys
board for three years until 2018, when he will turn 70 and retire, as per company rules.
The post of Chairman in Infosys was lying vacant since June 2014, when its cofounder NR Narayana Murthy resigned from the post.
Seshasayee joined Infosys board in January 2011. He has been an independent
director on the board since then and is the Chairperson of its audit committee.
Presently, Seshasayee also serves as Non-Executive Vice-Chairman of Ashok Leyland
and Chairman of IndusInd Bank.
A chartered accountant by profession, Seshasayee started his career with Hindustan
Lever Ltd in 1971. Later, he joined Chennai-based auto maker Ashok Leyland in
1976, where he became executive director in 1983 and managing director in 1998.
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Fortune on 4 June 2015 released the 61st edition of list of top 500 companies. These
Fortune 500 companies account for 12.5 trillion US dollar in revenues, 945 billion US
dollar in profits, 17 trillion US dollar in market value and employ 26.8 million people
worldwide.
The list was topped by retail behemoth Walmart with revenue of 485.6 billion US
dollar. It was followed by Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Berkshire Hathaway and Apple at
the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th position respectively. The top five of 2015 list remains
unchanged as compared to the 2014 list.
Further, Apple was the most profitable company with profit of 39.5 billion US dollars
followed by Exxon Mobil (32.5 billion US dollars).
Facebook saw the biggest jump in rankings from 341 to 242 while new entrants to
the list included emerging tech heavyweights Salesforce.com, Netflix and Expedia.
Microsoft, Google, IBM, Intel and Oracle are all placed in the top 20 in terms of profit;
however, they are placed outside the top 20 in terms of revenue. The revenue of the
Fortune 500 companies in 2015 increased by 2.6 percent from 2014 but the total
profits were down 12.6 per cent to 945 billion US dollar.

Volvo Auto India on 1 June 2015 appointed Tom von Bonsdorff as Managing Director.
He will take over with immediate effect. He succeeded Tomas Ernberg. Tomas Ernberg
is moving back to Sweden in a new role.
Bonsdorff has been working with Volvo Cars for 17 years in various operational and
managerial positions.
Earlier, Bonsdorff has worked in the US, Sweden, Finland, while in his current position
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as a Market Area Director of Asia. He is already based in Delhi.

The Volvo Group is a Swedish multinational manufacturing company headquartered
in Gothenburg. Its core activity is the production, distribution and sale of trucks,
buses and construction equipment.
Stempeucel, a stem cell drug, received Orphan Drug Designation

(ODD) in Europe
Stempeutics Research Pvt Ltd on 1 June 2015 announced that its stem cell drug,
Stempeucel, received Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) from the European Medicines
Agency (EMA).
By virture of being an ODD, it will have 10 years of market exclusivity from product
launch in the European Union (EU), fee reductions and access to the central
authorisation procedure. An orphan drug is a pharmaceutical agent that has been
developed specifically to treat a rare medical condition, the condition itself being
referred to as an orphan disease. Stempeucel, will offer new hope to patients suffering
from Thromboangiitis Obliterans (also known as Buergers Disease) a major unmet
medical need in Europe.
The Bengaluru-based Stempeutics Research Pvt Ltd was founded by Manipal
Education and Medical Group (MEMG) in 2006 and has been jointly owned along
with the Cipla Limited since the MEMG entered into a joint venture in 2009.
Cipla Limited is an Indian multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company,
headquartered in Mumbai.
Punit Renjen appointed as CEO of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu

Limited
Indian-American Punit Renjen was on 1 June 2015 appointed as Chief Executive
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Officer (CEO) of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (Deloitte Global) with immediate
effect. Renjen succeeded Barry Salzberg, who retired from Deloitte Global on 31 May
2015.
Renjen has a total of 28-year career with Deloitte. Prior to this appointment, Renjen
was working as Chairman of the Board of Deloitte United States. However, Renjen will
remain with the Deloitte U.S. firm until he transitions to the role of Deloitte Global CEO.
Moreover, Punit is a member of the Boards of Directors at United Way Worldwide and
at the US-India Business Council as well. He was named as an honoree to the 2012,
2013 and 2014 National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Directorship 100.
Harley-Davidson tied-up with Myntra for online merchandise

sale
Cult bike maker Harley-Davidson on 2 June 2015 tied up with fashion portal Myntra
to sell its casual merchandise through an exclusive online store.
Known for rebellious designs and bold urban styling, Harley-Davidson will now offer its
casual merchandise on an exclusive online store on Myntra. The online store will offer
Harley-Davidson jackets, denims, shirts, t-shirts, caps, wallets and other accessories.
With this partnership, Harley-Davidson merchandise will now be easily accessible to
over 12000 pin codes in India. Harley-Davidson merchandise and accessories are
also offered through the brands dealership network across 17 locations in India.
Harley-Davidson India is a subsidiary under Harley-Davidson Inc. that commenced
its operations in August 2009. Since early 2011, it has been assembling motorcycles
in India at its assembly unit at Bawal in Haryana.
Emami Limited acquired hair care brand Kesh King

FMCG player Emami Limited on 2 June 2015 acquired ayurvedic hair and scalp care
brand Kesh King for 1651 crore rupees. With this acquisition, Emami forays into the
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fast-growing haircare segment. Emamis current oil portfolio includes Navratna Cool
Oil and Emami 7 Oil in One Damage Control Hair Oil.
Under this acquisition, Kesh Kings business will be transferred to Emami and now
Emami will include brand portfolio of ayurvedic medicinal oil, herbal shampoo,
conditioner and ayurvedic capsules, along with its respective formulations and all
related assets.
Introduced in 2009 by Sanjeev Juneja, Kesh King brand offers products such as oil,
herbal shampoo and conditioner and ayurvedic capsules. The brand has presence in
5.4 lakh outlets across India and has a turnover of around 300 crore rupees in 201415.
Pawan Munjal appointed as the CMD of Hero MotoCorp Ltd

Pawan Munjal was on 1 June 2015 appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director
(CMD) & CEO of Hero MotoCorp Ltd (HMCL). He succeeded his father Brijmohan Lall
Munjal, who resigned on 1 June 2015.
However, Brijmohan Lall will continue to be the guide and mentor of the company
in the form of Chairman Emeritus. Brijmohan Lall had been the Chairman of Hero
MotoCorp since its inception in 1984.
Hero MotoCorp Ltd is the worlds largest manufacturer of two-wheelers in India.
In 2001, the company achieved the coveted position of being the World No.1 twowheeler company in terms of unit volume sales in a calendar year.
Intel announced to buy Altera for 16.7 billion US dollars

Intel Corporation on 1 June 2015 announced that it will acquire Altera Corporation
for 16.7 billion US dollars.
Intel, the worlds largest chipmaker, will pay 54 dollar a share in cash to Altera to
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complete the acquisition process.

Altera is an American based company and it manufactures Programmable Logic
Devices (PLDs).
The Altera purchase will add to Intels non-GAAP earnings per share and free cash
flow in the first year after it closes the deal, which is expected within six to nine
months.
Altera chips are used in a variety of markets, ranging from communications to
consumer electronics. While theyre sold in relatively small volumes, programmable
logic usually requires the latest in production technology because its some of the
largest chips in the industry.
The acquisition will couple Intels leading-edge products and manufacturing process
with Alteras leading field-programmable gate array (FPGA) technology.
The combination is expected to enable new classes of products that meet customer
needs in the data center and Internet of Things (IoT) market segments.
Amit Jain appointed as President of Uber Incs India Operations

Amit Jain was on 31 May 2015 appointed as the President of US-based taxi hailing
app Ubers India operations. In this role, Amit will be running all business strategy,
operations, and growth in a market of global strategic importance for Uber.
Prior to this appointment, Jain was president of Rent.com, a property portal in the
US. Jain is a B. Tech from IIT, Delhi.
About Uber
Uber cab service was launched in India in 2013 and today it has largest market in
India outside the United States. It is providing millions of consumers with a safe,
reliable and convenient mode of transport.
In India, Uber is helping create tens of thousands of new jobs, empowering drivers
with higher earnings potential and flexible working hours.
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SCIENCE | TECHNOLOGY
30 June 2015 clocked one second longer
30 June2015 clocked one second longer as an extra second or a leap second was
added to clocks worldwide after 23:59:59.
With the addition of 61st second to the 59th minute of the 23rd hour, clocks across
the world registered 23:59:60 before turning on to 00:00:00 on 1 July 2015.
In India, the extra minute was added by scientists at the Time and Frequency
Standards Laboratory (TFSL) to atomic clocks after 05:29:59 as the Indian Standard
Time (IST) is ahead of the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) by 5 and half hours.
TFSL is the nations official time keeper and located at the National Physical Laboratory
(NPL) in New Delhi.
The decision to add a leap second was taken by the International Earth Rotation and
Reference Systems Service (IERS), the global official time keeper, in December 2015
in order to synchronise the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) with the Universal
Time (UT).
Difference between UTC and UT

Though the two systems are meant to measure time to the accurate level possible
there is a primary difference between them with respect to their respective reference
points.
While the UTC relies on atomic clocks for its sustenance as overseen by the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UT is based on time taken by the
Earth to complete rotations around itself with respect to the Sun as observed by
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worldwide network of stations by employing Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI)

technique.
Why the difference?

Usually, any lag between the two time systems occurs due to regular fluctuations in
the earths rotation speeds as atomic clocks are foolproof and can only go wrong
once in 30 million years that too for nano seconds.
The Earth is a floating object in the space and its pace is disturbed by geological
events such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes and interplay of gravitational
forces among the Sun, the Earth and the Moon.
All these internal and external forces have an impact on the mass of the Earth and
ultimately the time taken by it to complete the rotation. For example, glacial rebound
shortens the solar day by 0.6 ms/century and the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake is
thought to have shortened it by 2.68 microseconds.
Usually, a positive leap second (PLS) is added to clocks when the earth takes more
than 86400 seconds to complete one rotation and a negative leap second (NLS) is
added when it moves faster in the space.
The practice of adding a PLS

So far, only PLS was put into practice and the Leap Second 2015 is the 26th in the
series since the system of leap second was introduced in 1972. The previous leap
second was added on 30 June 2012.
The concept of leap second is similar to leap year and Daylight Saving Time (DST)
mechanisms that are in practice to ensure our clocks show the right time and free us
from a future hypothetical situation where in, we go to bed while our wrist watch is
showing 9 am.
Usually, a leap second is added on 30 June or 31 December to give effect to the
notifications issued by the IERS prior to six months of its inclusion.
In accordance with the IERSs notification, atomic clocks are tinkered with by the
International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) that are maintained worldwide.
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Though the concept of leap second has been appreciated for its utility in showing
the time right, it has attracted severe criticism in recent times from business quarters.
They contend that frequent ad-hoc changes to international time systems will result
in harm to time-sensitive systems like computer programmes and trading platforms
that are at the core of the modern economy. The disturbance to the businesses was
evident from crashing of IT and airline services when a leap second was introduced
in 2012.
Though disturbances to businesses were not reported during the leap second 2015;
In view of the lingering opposition to the continuation of the sytem, the ITU will be
holding the World Radiocommunication Conference in Switzerland in November
2015 to decide its fate.
India is officially is in favour of redefining the leap second system along with the USA,
Japan and France.
How India handles its clocks?

Indian Standard Time (IST) is the time observed throughout India with a time offset
of UTC+05:30.
It is calculated on the basis of 82.5 E longitude, in Shankargarh Fort, Mirzapur
(25.15N 82.58E) in Allahabad district in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
In recent times, there have been proposals from different quarters to divide the country
into different time zones as the countrys eastwest distance is nearly 2933 kms.
The distance covers over 28 degrees of longitude or 112 minutes resulting in the sun
rising and setting almost two hours earlier on Indias eastern border than in the Rann
of Kutch in the far west.
A four member committee under the Ministry of Science and Technology to examine
the need for multiple time zones and daylight saving submitted its report in 2004 to
the Parliament.
The committee did not recommend changes to the unified time system in the country
as the prime meridian was chosen with reference to a central station and that the
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expanse of the Indian State was not large.
First-ever possible treatments for MERS Virus identified

The team of researchers from University of Maryland School of Medicine scientists
(UMSOM) identified two promising treatments to prevent and treat deadly epidemic
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). The findings were
published in journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on 29
June 2015.
The University of Maryland School of Medicine scientists and New York-based
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc have discovered and validated two therapeutics that
show early promise in preventing and treating the disease, which can cause severe
respiratory symptoms.
Findings of the Study

The two antibodies, REGN3051 and REGN3048, showed an ability to neutralize
the virus. Both antibodies exhibit tight binding to the recombinant Spike (S) protein,
suggesting that they have a high affinity for binding to MERS-CoV S protein.
REGN3051 and REGN3048 potently block entry of MERS-CoV into susceptible
cell lines and neutralize infectivity.
Moreover, these antibodies neutralize a broader range of MERS-CoV isolates with
improved potency compared with several antibodies isolated solely based on in
vitro biochemical properties.
How it happened?
This research used several proprietary technologies to search for and validate
effective antibodies targeting the virus.
This work relied on Regenerons VelociGene technology to create partially
humanized mice that can be infected with MERS.
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Mice were intraperitoneally injected with either REGN3051, REGN3048, or hIgG1

isotype control antibody 24 hours before intranasal infection of MERS-CoV.
REGN3051 and REGN3048 were able to significantly decrease MERS-CoV specific
RNA levels in the lungs by over 2 logs compared with the isotype control antibody.
REGN3051 was more effective at reducing MERS-CoV RNA levels compared with
REGN3048 at the same dose.
The development a novel strain of mice will help scientists understand the disease
and look for treatments. Mice are typically not susceptible to MERS.
About Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)

MERS was first discovered in 2012 in Saudi Arabia. It appears that the disease spread
to humans from camels, who may themselves been infected by bats. Research has
shown that it is similar to Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS); both are caused
by Coronaviruses, both cause respiratory problems, and both are often fatal.
The South Korean outbreak of MERS began in May 2015 when a traveler returned
from Saudi Arabia, and infected many people before officials realized he had the
disease. So far, around 180 people have been infected in South Korea, and nearly 30
have died. This South Korean epidemic has killed more than 400 people since it was
discovered.
Hilleman Laboratories developed affordable Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine

Hilleman Laboratories (HL), a global vaccine research and development organisation
on 24 June 2015 announced the success of a preclinical trial conducted for
Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine.
The research was published in the journal Vaccine.
The new vaccine formulation is expected to fill the immunization gap in the country as
it is more cost effective and immunogenic compared to existing available vaccines.
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The new vaccine was proved as 4 to 10 times more potent when compared to the
existing licensed vaccines.
Moreover, the Hib conjugate vaccine, which plays a vital role in national immunization
programmes and also forms a main part of several mono-or multivalent vaccines for
children, is the costliest component.
Hence, low cost of Hib makes a spectrum of vaccines more affordable and accessible
even to the poor people in the country.
Hib is a deadly bacterium. It causes severe diseases like pneumonia and meningitis
that are the leading causes of child deaths in India accounting for nearly 20 percent
of the global deaths among children.
New Delhi based Hilleman Laboratories operates on a not-for-profit principle. It was
formed as a partnership between global pharmaceutical organisation Merck & Co
and Wellcome Trust.
The UK based Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation dedicated to human
and animal health. In the field of medical research, it is the worlds second-largest
private funder after the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
ITU defined 5G network speed as 20 Gbps

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) defined the speed of 5G (Fifth
Generation) standard for mobile networking as 20 Gigabits per second (Gbps).
A decision was taken in this regard at an ITU conference on 5G standard held at San
Diego in California of USA between 10 June and 18 June 2015.
The final details for the 5G standard will be confirmed in October 2015, following
approval from the 193 ITU member countries.
Features of 5G technology
In terms of data speeds, data will be transferred at the rate of 20 Gbps that is 20
times faster than the 1Gbps specification for 4G.
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In terms of actual user speeds, customers should receive speeds in the region of
100 to 1000 Mbps under the 5G network compared to that of 10Mbps of 4G.
The technology is expected to open up access to higher resolution 4K video
content and holographic technology via mobile networks.
It will cater for future internet-of-things (IoT) technologies as 5G will have to be
able to provide more than 100 Mbps average data transmission to over 1 million
IoT devices within a 1 square kilometre radius.
It will be called IMT-2020. IMT-2000 was the name for 3G networks and IMTAdvanced for 4G.
International spectrum for the 5G network should begin distribution in 2019, with
commercialized implementations expected sometime in 2020.
Worlds first flexible and skin-like display developed

A team of scientists led by Indian-American Debashis Chanda from University of
Central Florida (UCF) developed a nature-inspired technique for creating the worlds
first full-colour, flexible thin-film reflective display. The findings were published in
Nature Communications journal on 11 June 2015.
This technology can help you switch your dress colour to a different colour in the blink
of an eye, if someone at a wedding reception is wearing the same dress as yours.
Characteristic features of the display

The use of Polarization-independent liquid crystals (LC)-plasmonic system makes
LC-plasmonic systems more attractive candidates for display, filter and other
actively tunable optical technologies.
It does not need its own light source. Rather, it reflects the ambient light around it.
Your camouflage, your clothing, your fashion items- all of that could change with
this innovation.
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This display is only about few microns thick, compared to a 100-micron-thick

human hair. Such an ultra-thin display can be applied to flexible materials like
plastics and synthetic fabrics.
How it was developed?

By using a specially designed nanostructured plasmonic surface in conjunction with
high birefringence liquid crystals, the team demonstrated a tunable polarizationindependent reflective surface where the colour of the surface is changed as a
function of applied voltage.
A large range of colour tunability was achieved by utilizing an engineered surface
which allows full liquid crystal reorientation while maximizing the overlap between
plasmonic fields and liquid crystal.
In combination with imprinted structures of varying periods, a full range of colours
spanning the entire visible spectrum was achieved, paving the way towards dynamic
pixels for reflective displays.
Importance of the development

The research has major implications for existing electronics like televisions, computers
and mobile devices that have displays considered thin by todays standards but
monstrously bulky in comparison.
Scientists discovered a way to guide electric discharges using

lasers
Scientists discovered a way to guide current or electric discharges by using lasers
(light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation).
The discovery was published on 19 June 2015 in an article by a team of researchers,
led by Professor Morandotti, titled Laser-assisted guiding of electric discharges
around objects in Science Advances of the international journal Science.
Researchers demonstrated that the ability of lasers in ionizing air can be used in
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directing and even steering electric discharges around obstacles. Thus, electric
discharges were made to follow a designated smooth path along a straight or
parabolic trajectory or even S-shaped trajectory.
To prove this, the researches placed an object between the two electrodes (located
few centimeters apart) and observed that the discharge leapt over the obstacle,
without damaging it, and returned to its laser guide on the other side.
Though electric arcs or lasers have long been used in technologies such as combustion
engines, pollution control applications, lighting, machining and micromachining the
present finding has many potential applications that includes the ability to control the
path of lightning.
Researchers conducted the experiments at the Advanced Laser Light Source facility
of the INRS nergie Matriaux Tlcommunications research centre in Varennes,
Canada.
It was funded by European Unions Seventh Framework Programme for Research and
Technological Development (FP7) and the United States Air Force Office of Scientific
Research among others.

Trinity College of Engineering in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala in the fourth week of
June 2015 launched the Trinity Adrak Student Satellite (TASSAT) building project. The
student satellite project is scheduled for completion by 2018.
The satellite was named so because the funding for the ambitious initiative came
from an Oman-based company called Al Adrak.
As part of the TASSAT project CubeSats and NanoSats at a regular pace will be built.
The former is a small satellite with a mass of less than 1.33 kilograms and a volume
of 1 liter. It is crafted using off-the-shelf materials. The latter is a satellite featuring a
mass ratio anywhere between 1 to 10 kilograms.
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WHOs IARC classified lindane, DDT, and 2,4-D as carcinogenic

to humans
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) on 23 June 2015 classified
lindane, DDT and 2,4-D as carcinogenic to humans. IARC is the specialized cancer
agency of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The decision was taken in this regard after the conclusion of mandatory eight day
meeting by a working group of 26 experts from 13 countries in Lyon (France). The
group was set up by the IARC, as part of Monographs Programme, to evaluate the
carcinogenicity of the three agents.
Gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane (Lindane): IARC classified the pesticide as
carcinogenic to humans (Group 1) based on sufficient evidence in humans for the
carcinogenicity for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).
It has been used extensively for insect control, including in agriculture and for treatment
of human lice and scabies. High exposures have occurred among agricultural workers
and pesticide applicators; however, the use of it is now banned or restricted in most
countries.
Large epidemiological studies of agricultural exposures in the USA and Canada
showed a 60 percent increased risk of NHL in those exposed to lindane.
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT): IARC classified the pesticide as probably
carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A) based on sufficient evidence in experimental
animals and limited evidence of its carcinogenicity in humans. Epidemiological
studies found positive associations between exposure to DDT and NHL, testicular
cancer, and liver cancer.
There was also strong experimental evidence that DDT can suppress the immune
system and disrupt sex hormones.
Although most uses of DDT were banned (under the Stockholm Convention) from the
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1970s, DDT and its breakdown products are highly persistent and can be found in
the environment and in animal and human tissues throughout the world. Exposure to
DDT still occurs, mainly through diet.
2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D): IARC classified the herbicide as possibly
carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B), based on inadequate evidence in humans and
limited evidence in experimental animals. There is strong evidence that 2,4-D induces
oxidative stress, a mechanism that can operate in humans, and moderate evidence
that 2,4-D causes immunosuppression, based on in vivo and in vitro studies.
Since its introduction in 1945, 2,4-D has been widely used to control weeds in
agriculture, forestry, and urban and residential settings. Occupational exposures to
2,4-D can occur during manufacturing and application, and the general population
can be exposed through food, water, dust, or residential application, and during
spraying.
About IARC Monographs Programme

It identifies and evaluates environmental causes of cancer in humans.
It evaluates chemicals (e.g. formaldehyde), complex mixtures (e.g. air pollution),
occupational exposures (e.g. work in coke production), physical agents (e.g.
solar radiation), biological agents (e.g. hepatitis B virus), and personal habits (e.g.
tobacco smoking).
After evaluation, IARC classifies carcinogens in five categories ranging from
carcinogenic to humans (Group 1) to probably not carcinogenic to humans (Group
4).
Since 1971, more than 900 agents have been evaluated, of which more than
400 have been identified as carcinogenic, probably carcinogenic, or possibly
carcinogenic to humans.
IARC only classify the agents and does not recommend regulations, legislation,
or public health interventions, which remain the responsibility of individual
governments and other international organizations.
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China on 19 June 2015 launched the worlds first electric passenger aircraft named
BX1E that could be used in pilot training, tourism, meteorology and rescue operations.
The aircraft was designed together by Shenyang Aerospace University and Liaoning
General Aviation Academy located in the northeastern Liaoning Province of China.
The first two BX1E aircrafts were handed over to Liaoning Ruixiang General Aviation
Co. Ltd. Each aircraft is priced at about 163000 US dollars. They will be used for
training the pilots.
The plane participated in the 10th China International Aviation and Aerospace
Exhibition in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province in November 2015.
Highlights of the BX1E

BX1E Electric Passenger aircraft has a 14.5-meter wingspan and a maximum
payload of 230 kg.
It can fly at an altitude of 3000 meters.
If fully charged, the aircraft can have flight time of 45 minutes to 1 hour with a
maximum speed of 160 km per hour. It can charge within two hours.
Immunogen eOD-GT8 60mer can stimulate immune system to

block HIV/AIDS infection in mice: Study
Scientists have shown that immunogen (virus protein) eOD-GT8 60mercan successfully
stimulate immune system to block HIV/AIDS infection in mice. The new results were
published on 18 June 2015 in concurrent studies in Cell and Science.
The research was led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI),
International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and The Rockefeller University.
The immunogen eOD-GT8 60mer, essentially a protein nanoparticle, has the potential
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to inform immunization strategies against AIDS for humans.

In their study, scientists tested the immunogen eOD-GT8 60mer, which was developed
in the Schief lab and tested in mouse models engineered by the Nemazee lab to
produce human-like antibodies. The immunogen was designed to mimic a critical part
of the HIV envelope protein and to bind and activate B cells to produce antibodies
needed to fight HIV.
The results showed that immunization with eOD-GT8 60mer produced antibody
precursors with some of the traits necessary to recognize and block HIV infection,
suggesting that eOD-GT8 60mer could be a good first step in a series of immunizations
against HIV.
The researchers are now investigating other immunogens that could work in
conjunction with eOD-GT8 60mer.
Meanwhile in an another study published in journal Science by researchers from
Amsterdam University, Weill Cornell Medical College, TSRI and IAVI, showed
engineered immunogens also triggered broadly neutralizing antibody immune
responses in rabbit and monkey models.
The researchers long-term goal is to design a vaccine that prompts the body to
produce antibodies that bind to HIV and prevent infection by many if not all of the
virus variants.
Why the findings are important?

So far the effort to develop a vaccine against HIV to elicit antibodies that can
effectively fight off different strains of the fast and extensively mutating virus has been
unsuccessful. The reason is HIV mutates more rapidly into new strains than most
other viruses and has an unprecedented ability to evade detection by the immune
system.
According to the researchers, a successful AIDS vaccine needs to comprise of a series
of related, but slightly different immunogens to train the body to produce broadly
neutralizing antibodies against HIV. It is different from the traditional HIV vaccination
schemes, in which a person was exposed to the same immunogen multiple times.
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Brightest Galaxy in Early Universe named after Cristiano Ronaldo

as CR7
Scientists in third week of June 2015 named a newly discovered galaxy after
Portuguese football player Cristiano Ronaldo. The galaxy was labeled as CR7
(COSMOS Redshift 7).
30-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo is also known as CR7 after his initials and jersey
number.
CR7 is three times brighter than the brightest distant galaxy known till now, called
Himiko. This brightest galaxy was discovered in the early universe that contains the
first generation of stars.
First generation of stars, known as Population III stars, which were born out of
the primoridial material from the Big Bang has been theorised by astronomers but
physical proof of their existence had been inconclusive.
According to theories, these Population III stars would have been enormous, several
hundred or even a thousand times more massive than the Sun, blazing hot, and
transient, exploding as supernovae after only about two million years.
The Galaxy in the ancient Universe (period known as reionization), which existed 800
million years after the Big Bang was discovered by a team led by David Sobral from
the University of Lisbon in Portugal, and Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands. For
this discovery, they used ESOs Very Large Telescope (VLT).
Previously unknown extreme star formation Eye of Medusa

observed 100 million light years away
A team of astronomers on 16 June 2015 observed a previously unknown extreme
star formation Eye of Medusa in Medusa merger, a luminous collision of two galaxies
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at more than 100 million light years away from Earth.

The observations were conducted by Institut de Radioastronomie Millimtrique (IRAM)
using the NOEMA (Northern Extended Millimeter Array), the most powerful millimeter
radio telescope of the Northern Hemisphere. NOEMA unveiled the astronomical
image showing a unique and spectacular view the Medusa merger.
The observations reveal a giant region (about 500 light years across) of recently
formed massive stars at the center of the Eye of Medusa, the central gas-rich region
of the Medusa merger. The IRAM team, led by Sabine Koenig, tried a new way by
tuning the NOEMA antennas to detect hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and formylium (HCO+)
molecules.
The discovery demonstrates that star development can be probed in stages of
formation, which are currently undetectable by tracing carbon monoxide. The extreme
star formation observed in the Eye demonstrates the existence of more complex
chemical formulations than previously thought.
Previous observatories have mapped the Medusa merger but none had detected the
existence of this region of high-density gas in the Eye until now. This new discovery
has not only proven its existence, but also has implications for our understanding of
the origins of the Universe.
The Medusa (NGC 4194) is a well-studied nearby galaxy with the disturbed appearance
of a merger and evidence for ongoing star formation. It is an ideal object to study the
merger-induced star formation contribution from the small galaxy of a minor merger.
CSIR set up Indias first Micro Air Vehicle Aerodynamics Research

Tunnel in Bengaluru
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in June 2015 set up a Micro
Air Vehicle Aerodynamics Research Tunnel (MART) at the CSIR-National Aerospace
Laboratories (NAL) campus, Bengaluru.
The tunnel, first of its kind in India, will be used to test the fixed-wing, flapping-wing
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and rotary-wing MAVs in the 500 mm wingspan category.

The tunnel was set up under the National Programme on Micro Air Vehicles (NP-MICAV).
The project is jointly coordinated by CSIR, the Defence Research & Development
Organization (DRDO) and the Department of Science & Technology.
The state-of-the-art tunnel would address all the aerodynamic, propulsion and aeroelastic issues related to MAVs. It has also a provision for either closed test section for
the study of aerofoil sections/3D wing-body models or open jet test section for the
flapping and rotary wing studies.
The National Programme-Micro Air Vehicles (NP-MICAV)

Micro air vehicles (MICAV) are small and lightweight flying platforms with a maximum
wingspan of 300 mm, all-up weight of 350 grams and payload capacity of 40-60
grams. Micro air vehicles (MICAV) can be deployed for numerous applications,
spanning both civilian and military roles.
Research and development activity in mini and micro air vehicles was first suggested
in 1998 at a seminar of The Aeronautical Society of India in Hyderabad.
In August 2010, the NP-MICAV was launched with an aim to develop Micro Air Vehicle
and their related technologies. The duration of this ambitious joint project is five years
and entails a cost of 1.15 crores rupees.
Progress So Far
So far, fixed wing MAVs of Black Kite, Golden Hawk and Pushpak with a 300-450 mm
span, 300 g weight, 2 km range and endurance of 30 minutes have been developed.
These MAVs have been demonstrated for ITBP, CRPF, Punjab Police, NDRF, IDS,
Artillery Training School and others.
Also, a high altitude mini UAV named Slybird with1.6 m wing span, 1.3 m length
and 2 kg weight with an operational range of 10 km and endurance of 1 hr has been
developed successfully and flight tested at Leh-Ladak (12000 ft above sea level).
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Union Government launched Augmented Reality Application

named Sakaar
The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern
Region (DoNER) Jitendra Singh on 15 June 2015 launched an Augmented Reality
(AR) application named Sakaar to highlight the achievements of the Department of
Space.
The application has been developed by Development and Educational Communication
Unit (DECU) of ISRO for Android devices.
Sakaar consists of 3D models of MOM, RISAT, rockets (PSLV, GSLV Mk-III); videos
of INSAT 3D-predicting cyclones, GSLV D5/Cryo, Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) orbit
insertion, launch video of MOM, 360 degree animated view of MOM; Anaglyph of
Mars surface.
The Multimedia content of the Sakaar app is generated with the support of multimedia
& editing facilities of DECU-ISRO.
About Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality is a live direct view of a physical, real-world environment whose
elements are augmented by computer-generated 3D models, animations, videos,
etc.
Augmentation is in real time and the information is overlaid on the live view of the
devices camera. Essentially, AR requires three elements:
Android device with back camera
AR application
AR Markers.
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Rosettas lander Philae woke up after seven months in hibernation on the surface of
Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It is the first spacecraft in the space history to
land on a comet.
The signals from the spacecraft were received at the European Space Operations
Centre in Darmstadt, Germany on 13 June 2015.
This is the first time it came into contact after it was forced to shut down on 15
November 2014 as the spacecrafts battery got exhausted and its location on the
comet could not allow it to use sun radiation to produce power supply from the solar
panels mounted on it.
About Philae
Its aim is to understand the elemental, isotopic, molecular and mineralogical
composition of the cometary material.
It was developed and launched as part of the European Space Agencys (ESA)
Rosetta mission.
It was landed on the surface of Comet 67P/ ChuryumovGerasimenko on 12
November 2014.
The landing site has been named as Agilkia and is located on the head of the
bizarre double-lobed object.
The lander name has been kept after Philae Island in the Nile, where an obelisk (a
tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument) that was found and used, along with
the Rosetta stone, to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics.
The 1 billion pound (1.58 billion US dollars) Rosetta was launched on 2 March
2004 from Kourou spaceport in French Guiana.
It travelled 6.4 billion kilometers through the Solar System before reaching the
Comet 67P.
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It reached the icy and dusty surface of the comet that orbits sun at speed up to
135000 km/hr on 6 August 2014.
Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) launched India Nuclear

Insurance Pool (INIP)
The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) on 12 June 2015 launched the India Nuclear
Insurance Pool (INIP).
The INIP has become the 27th such insurance pool in the world as countries such as
France, Russia, South Africa and the U.S. have put in place such similar risk transfer
mechanisms.
Features of India Nuclear Insurance Pool (INIP)

It will cover the risks of liability of nuclear operators and suppliers under Section
6(2) and Section 17 of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages (CLND) Act, 2010
respectively.
It provides three types of policies viz., tier 1 policy for operators, tier 2 policy for
turn key suppliers and tier 3 policy for suppliers other than turn key suppliers.
The pricing of premiums will depend on factors such as risk probability, possible
severity of damage and exposure to people and property around nuclear
installations.
It will be administered by the General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re), the
sole reinsurance company in the Indian insurance market.
Out of the total fund amount of 1500 crore rupees the GIC Re and other four
Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) including New India, Oriental Insurance,
National Insurance and United India Insurance invested 750 crore rupees. The
British Nuclear Insurance Pool has also invested 500 crore rupees in the pool.
The amount is in accordance with the act that prescribes that the operators
maximum liability shall be 1500 crore rupees.
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It will provide insurance cover for both hot zones (radiation and nuclear reactors)
and cold zones (outside the reactor areas). At present, nuclear plants in India only
have insurance cover for zones that are outside the area of radiation and reactors.
Comment
The creation of the Pool has become necessary due to the reluctance of the foreign
nuclear equipment suppliers to participate in the nuclear trade with India as the CNLD
Act, 2010 has provided for Right to Recourse for nuclear plant operators which allows
them to sue suppliers in case of nuclear accidents.

NASA scientists on 10 June 2015 developed tool to predict destructive solar storms.
The model will help predict solar geomagnetic storms 24 hours in advance.
The storm can cause telecommunication disruptions and power outages. Solar
geomagnetic storms may be caused by a giant cloud of solar particles, called a
coronal mass ejection (CME), aligned in the opposite direction of the Earths magnetic
field.
How model works

The model is now undergoing testing, but if its robust, then scientists might finally have
a tool to predict a CMEs magnetic configuration from afar. This means forecasters
could give utility grid and satellite operators a full 24-hour advance warning to protect
their systems crucial time to protect their assets.
If a CME is aligned in the same direction as Earths that is, pointing from south to
north the CME will slide by without much effect.
Currently, scientists dont have much advance notice of how a CMEs magnetic fields
are arranged. They can only measure the fields as the CME passes over satellites
close to Earth. Savani made use of NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory to observe
the magnetic fields of the initial eruption on the Sun.
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In the past, using such data to predict which direction the CMEs magnetic fields
point has not been very successful. There are no tools to measure the magnetic
fields once a CME has moved away from the Sun, but scientists do have ways of
watching how the clouds expand, twist and grow as they race into space.
Ultimately, the model can describe how the CME will be configured as it approaches
Earth, and even which parts of the CME will have magnetic fields pointed in which
direction.
Indian-origin scientist Manu Prakash developed Worlds first

water-based computer
Indian-origin scientist Manu Prakash along with his team on 10 June 2015 developed
Worlds first water-based computer. The results were published in the journal Nature
Physics. Manu Prakash is an Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at Stanford
University.
They have built a synchronous computer that operates using the unique physics of
moving water droplets.
The work combines Prakashs expertise in manipulating droplet fluid dynamics with
a fundamental element of computer science - an operating clock.
How the computer was made?

The first step towards making a computer based on water droplet was to develop an
operating computer clock which is responsible for nearly every modern convenience.
A clock makes sure that these operations start and stop at the same times, thus
ensuring that the information synchronizes.
Further, the clock needed to be easy to manipulate, and also able to influence multiple
droplets at a time. The system also needed to be scalable so that in the future, a large
number of droplets could communicate amongst each other without skipping a beat.
This was realized through developing a rotating magnetic field.
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Katsikis and Prakash built arrays of tiny iron bars on glass slides that look something
like a Pac-Man maze. They laid a blank glass slide on top and sandwiched a layer of
oil in between. Then they carefully injected into the mix individual water droplets that
had been infused with tiny magnetic nanoparticles.
Next, they turned on the magnetic field. Every time the field flips, the polarity of the
bars reverses, drawing the magnetized droplets in a new, predetermined direction,
like slot cars on a track. Every rotation of the field counts as one clock cycle, like a
second hand making a full circle on a clock face, and every drop marches exactly
one step forward with each cycle.
A camera records the interactions between individual droplets, allowing observation
of computation as it occurs in real time. The presence or absence of a droplet
represents the 1s and 0s of binary code, and the clock ensures that all the droplets
move in perfect synchrony, and thus the system can run virtually forever without any
errors.
Its application
Because of its universal nature, the droplet computer can theoretically perform any
operation that a conventional electronic computer can crunch, although at significantly
slower rates.
The ability to precisely control droplets using fluidic computation could have a number
of applications in high-end biology and chemistry and scalable digital manufacturing.
Scientists at CIMAP succeeded in whole genome sequencing of

Holy basil or Tulsi
Scientists at Central Institute of Medicinal & Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), Lucknow
succeeded in whole genome sequencing of Holy basil or Tulsi(Ocimum sanctum).
CIMAP is a frontier plant research laboratory of Council of Scientific and Industrial
Research (CSIR).
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Scientists published the whole genome sequence of Tulsi on 28 May 2015 in BMC
Genomics.
This is the first report of complete genome sequence of Tulsi, which is both used
as an essential medicinal plant and revered as Vishnupriya and worshipped for over
3000 years in India.
The availability of whole genome sequence is the first step to understand and unravel
the secrets of this mother of all herbs and to provide scientific validity to the traditional
claims of its utility in diverse medicinal usage.
Tulsi is rich in phenylpropanoids, terpenoids and their derivatives, and many of these
are implicated for different therapeutic activities. The availability of the genome
sequence now opens the possibility to identify genes involved in producing therapeutic
molecules and to produce them in vitro.
The nuclear genome of Holy basil is the smallest (386 Mb) in the family Lamiaceae
while the chloroplast genome (142,245 bp) is the smallest in the order Lamiales.
According to the chloroplast genome similarity, O. sanctum shows maximum
evolutionary closeness to Salvia miltiorrhiza, a plant of Chinese system of traditional
medicine
This will also facilitate identification of not yet identified genes involved in the synthesis
of important secondary metabolites in this plant. Specific pathway related genes
identified or mined in this genome could be used for the production of secondary
metabolites following synthetic biology approaches. The development of molecular
tools and genomic resources will accelerate molecular breeding and ultimately the
utility of Holy basil in medical community.
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SPORTS
Nelson Piquet Jr won the inaugural FIA Formula E Championship
Brazilian racer Nelson Piquet Jr on 28 June 2015 won the FIA Formula E Championship
title of the 2014-15 season. He won the title after finishing seventh in the final race
held at Battersea Park in London, the UK.
Piquet drove for Chinese team Nextev.
It is the first such championship held by FIA, the global governing body for auto
racing events. The first race was held in the Chinese capital Beijing in September
2014 and the championship included 11 races held in 10 different host cities.
About Formula E Championship

It is the highest class of competition for one-make, single-seater, electrically
powered racing cars and was conceived in 2012.
It was created in order to attract a new audience to the sport and help develop
electric technology for the automotive industry.
Racing circuits are held in cities, and are approximately 2 to 3.4 km long.
Cars accelerate from 0100 km/h in 3 seconds, with a maximum speed of 225
km/h.
Noise decibel levels are approximately 80 dB compared to that of ordinary car that
makes70 dB and old Formula1 car on track with 130 dB noise.
The generators used to re-charge the batteries are powered by Glycerine, a byproduct of bio-diesel production.
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Satnam Singh Bhamara became first Indian basketball player

to join NBA
Satnam Singh Bhamara on 25 June 2015 became the first Indian national to join
National Basketball Association (NBA) of USA. He is 19 years old.
The Punjab-born player was the 52nd overall pick at the 2015 draft by the Dallas
Mavericks. He will represent the team during the upcoming 2015-16 season.
Earlier, in July 2014, Sim Bhullar became the first basketball player of Indian origin to
join the NBA. He hails from Canada and his parents are from Punjab. He played for a
brief period for the Sacramento Kingsduring the 2014-15 season.
Also, in 2013, the Sacramento Kings became the NBAs first team to have an Indianorigin majority owner -- Vivek Ranadive.
About Satnam Singh Bhamara

He was born at Ballo Ke near Ludhiana in Punjab. He is 7 ft 2 in tall and weighs
110 kg.
He represented the Indian national basketball team at the 2011 FIBA Asia
Championship and the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship.
In 2010, he moved to Florida in USA as part of a scholarship program between
IMG and Reliance for training. Since then, he has been training at the IMG Reliance
Academy.
With the inclusion in the Dallas Mavericks, he became the first player since the 2005
NBA draft to enter the draft without playing in college, overseas professionally, or
in the NBA Development League.
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Wei, Li won mens & womens singles of Canada Open Badminton

tournament 2015
Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia and Michelle Li of Canada on 28 June 2015 won the mens
and womens singles title of the Canada Open Badminton tournament respectively.
In the finals played at Calgary, Wei defeated Ng Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong 17-21
13-21 and Li defeated Kaori Imabeppu of Japan 21-17 25-23.
This was second back to back title for the former World Number One following an
eight-month doping ban. On 22 June 2015, he won the US Open.
The mixed doubles event was won by Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen (China). They defeated
Kaixiang Huang and Sijie Wang (China) 17-21 21-12 21-18.
The womens doubles title was won by Indian pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwni
Ponappa. They defeated Dutch pair of Eefje Muskens and Selena Piek in straight
games of 21-19, 21-16.
Canada Open Badminton tournament was held between 23 June 2015 and 28 June
2015.
Gutta-Ponappa won womens doubles of Canada Open Badminton tournament 2015

Indian pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwni Ponappa on 28 June 2015 won the womens
doubles of Canada Open Badminton tournament 2015. In the final played at Calgary,
the third seeded Indian pair defeated top Dutch pair of Eefje Muskens and Selena
Piek in straight games of 21-19, 21-16.
This was first title of the 2015 season for Gutta and Ponappa.
Other Results
Mens Singles: Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia) defeated Ng Ka Long Angus (Hong Kong)
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Womens singles: Michelle Li (Canada) defeated Kaori Imabeppu (Japan)

Mixed Doubles: Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen (China) defeated Kaixiang Huang and Sijie
Wang (China)
Canada Open Badminton tournament was held between 23 June 2015 and 28 June
2015.
International Cricket Council approved amendments to playing

conditions in ODIs and T20Is
The International Cricket Council (ICC) Chief Executives Committee on 23 June 2015
approved amendments to the ICC playing conditions.
The approvals were given during the ICC Annual Conference held in Barbados.
The key changes were

In One Day Internationals (ODIs), there will be no compulsory catchers from the
first to the 10th over.
In ODIs, no batting powerplays will be allowed between the 15th and 40th over.
In ODIs, five fielders will be allowed outside the 30-yard circle between the 41st
and 50th over, rather than the current four.
In ODIs and T20Is, all no-balls, not just foot faults, will lead to a free hit.
These playing conditions will come into effect for series starting on or after 5 July
2015.

Veselin Topalov on 25 June 2015 won the Norway Chess tournament 2015 by leaving
behind Viswanathan Anand into a quick draw. Topalov secured 6 points while Anand
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ended the tournament in second place with 6 points.
Results of the Norway Chess tournament 2015

Hikaru Nakamura showed excellent technique and won by 6 points and stood at
third place by leaving behind Levon Aronian with 3 points.
Magnus Carlsen played very poorly again losing to Jon Ludwig Hammer who got
3 points.
On the other hand, Grischuk ended on 3 points (-2) and Vachier-Lagrave got 4
points (-1).
Caruana got 4 points on -1 and Giri acquired 5 points and stood at fourth position.
Norway Chess Tournament 2015

Topalov, Veselin
- Anand, Viswanathan
Caruana, Fabiano
- Giri, Anish
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime
- Grischuk, Alexander
Aronian, Levon
- Nakamura, Hikaru
0-1
Hammer, Jon Ludvig
- Carlsen, Magnus
1-0
Leander Paes became 47th player to join 100 partners club on

ATP Circuit
Indias tennis player Leander Paes on 24 June 2015 became the 47th player to play
with 100 different partners on ATP Circuit.
The 42-year-old achieved this land mark feat when he joined Marcel Granollers of Spain
in a match against Treat Huey and Scott Lipsky at the Aegon Open in Nottingham,
the UK.
Of these 100 partners, While 71 played with him on the tour level, 29 at the Challenger
level.
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Among all the partners, Paes had been most successful with his Indian partner
Mahesh Bhuapthi with whom he won three of his eight mens doubles Grand Slam
titles.
He won two each with Radek Stepanek and Lukas Dlouhy and one with Martin Damm.
Incidentally, all of them are from Czech Republic.
In a career spanning 25 years, he also won seven mixed doubles Grand Slam titles
three with Cara Black (Zimbabwe), two with Martina Navratilova (Czech Republic
& USA) and one each with Lisa Raymond (USA) and Martina Hingis (Switzerland).
He also became eighth player to register 700 match wins with victory in the Roland
Garros first round in May 2015 and the first member of the club to have amassed
more than 50 titles and 700 match victories.
Paes, a former World No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles rankings, is the sixth active
member of the 100 Partners Club, with Frank Moser (144), Andre Sa (119), Olivier
Marach (109), Carlos Berlocq (104) and James Cerretani (104).

Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was voted as the Best Test Player of the
21st century in an online poll titled Top-100 Test players list since 2000. The result
of poll conducted by Cricket Australias website, cricket.com.au was released in the
fourth week of June 2015.
Sachin received highest number of votes (23 percent votes) to emerge on the top of
list of 100 best Test players since 2000. The survey was participated by more than
16000 fans.
Top ten in the Ranking chart

1st Position: Sachin Tendulkar of India with 23 percent votes
2nd position: Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka with 14 percent votes
3rd position: Adam Gilchrist of Australia
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4th position: Ricky Ponting of Australia with 11 percent votes

5th position: Jacques Kallis of South Africa with 11 percent votes
6th position: AB de Villiers of South Africa with 10 percent votes
7th position: Shane Warne of Australia with 9 percent votes
8th position: Glenn McGrath of Australia with 5 percent votes
9th position: Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka with 3 percent votes
10th position: Dale Steyn of South Africa with 1 percent votes
Zaheer Abbas, former Captain of Pakistans Cricket team,

named as President of ICC
Zaheer Abbas was named as the President of International Cricket Council (ICC) on
24 June 2015 during the ICC Annual Conference in Barbados. He assumed the role
of ICC President with immediate effect for one-year term.
He succeeded Mustafa Kamal of Bangladesh as the 13th ICC President. Kamal
resigned from the post of ICC President on 1 April 2015.
The former Captain of Pakistan Cricket team is the only Asian batsman to score a
series of first-class centuries with 108 first-class hundreds who finished his 22-year
career with 34843 runs.
From 1969 to 1985 he played for Pakistan in 78 Tests and 62 ODIs scoring 5062 and
2572 runs respectively.
Zaheer was also an ICC match referee in the 1993 series between Sri Lanka and the
West Indies in Sri Lanka.
Besides, the ICC Council also approved the admission of the Serbia Cricket Federation
(SCF) as the 58th Affiliate Member of the ICC while Brunei was removed as an Affiliate
Member. The Council also suspended the Affiliate Memberships of Morocco and
Turkey.
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The ICC has 105 members and the ICC Council includes 37 associate members, five
affiliate member representatives and 10 full members. The ICC Chairman and ICC
Chief Executive are also part of the Full Council but dont have voting rights.
The Chairman of the ICC is N Srinivasan.

Bangladesh on 24 June 2015 won the three-match One Day International (ODI) Series
against India 2-1 played in Dhaka. This was Bangladeshs first series win against
India.
India batting first in the third match of series scored 317 runs at a loss of six wickets
and in reply to the target Bangladesh was bowled out at a score of 240 in 47 over.
This series win helped Bangladesh to enter into the Champions Trophy.
Series Report
1st Match: Played at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka on 18 June 2015,
Bangladesh won by 79 runs, and Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh was declared
as the Man of the Match.
2nd Match: Played at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka on 21 June 2015,
Bangladesh won by 6 wkts (D/L method), and Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh
was declared as the Man of the Match.
3rd Match: Played at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka on 24 June 2015, India
won by 77 runs, and Suresh Raina of India was declared as the Man of the Match.
Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh claimed the Man of the Series Award for his
outstanding bowling performance. He picked up 13 wickets in the three matches.
Earlier, the two nations played a test match from 10 June to 14 June at Khan Shaheb
Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah. The match ended in a draw and Shikhar Dhawan of
India was declared as the man of the match.
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Inderjeet Singh, Jinson Johnson won gold at Asian Athletics

Grand Prix
Inderjit Singh and Jinson Johnson of India on 23 June 2015 bagged gold at the first
leg of the Asian Athletics Grand Prix in Bangkok, Thailand.
Inderjit won the gold in Shot Put by throwing 19.83 meters while Johnson won the
gold in 800 meter event with a time of 1:48.52.
This was Inderjeets second gold in an international event in June 2015, having won
the shot put event at the Asian Championships in Wuhan, China on 3 June 2015.
In the first leg, India won a total of eight medals which included 2 Gold, 1 Silver and
5 Bronze medals. The list is as follows:

Athlete Medal Event
Inderjit Singh
Gold
Shot Put (men)
Jinson Johnson
Gold
800 meter (men)
Ankit Sharma
Silver
Long Jump (men)
M Gomathi
Bronze
800 meter (women)
Rajiv Arokya
Bronze
400 meter (men)
MR Poovamma
Bronze
400 meter (women)
Sarbani Nanda
Bronze
100 meter (women)
Gayathry Govindraj
Bronze
110 meter hurdles (women)
The gold medallist of an individual event will get 1500 US dollars while the silver and
bronze winners will pocket 800 US dollars and 500 US dollars, respectively.
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To promote Keralas tourism departments Visit Kerala Scheme, Kerala government
on 23 June 2015 appointed tennis legend Steffi Graf as Ayurveda brand ambassador.
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that the decision to appoint Graf as
Brand Ambassador was taken by the state Cabinet.
An agreement in this regard was reached between the states tourism department
and former World number one tennis player of Germany, who had bagged 22 Grand
slam single titles, which is second only to 24 singles titles won by Margaret Court of
Australia.
Her 22 singles titles also marks the record for most Major wins by a tennis player
(male or female) since the introduction of the Open Era in 1968.
In 1988, she became the first and only tennis player (male or female) to achieve the
Calendar Year Golden Slam by winning all four Grand Slam singles titles and the
Olympic gold medal in the same calendar year.
She retired from professional tennis in 1999, and married to former World No. 1 mens
tennis player Andre Agassi in October 2001.
Indian Railway Team won World Railway Championship 2015 in

Tennis and Volleyball
The Indian Railway Team on 23 June 2015 won the World Railway Championship
2015 in Tennis and Volleyball.
In the Tennis (World Railways) Championship 2015, Indian Railway Team defeated
France by a margin of 3-1 in the finals and won USIC Tennis Championship 2015. It
was held at Nuremberg, Germany from 31 May 2015 to 6 June 2015.
In the Volleyball (World Railways) Championship 2015, Indian Railway Team defeated
Russian team in the finals and won USIC Volleyball Championship 2015. It was held
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at Gomel, Belarus from 10 June 2015 to 17 June 2015.

In 2011, the Indian Railway Tennis Team won Silver Medal during last USIC Tennis
Championship and it won Bronze Medal during the USIC Volleyball Championship.
About USIC
USIC (Union Sportive Internationale des Cheminots) is an international railways
sporting association with members from various countries. The purpose of USIC is
to encourage the practice of amateur sports among railway employees in all over the
world.
It encourages a spirit of comradeship in accordance with the Olympic ideal and
develops a spirit of loyalty, tolerance and democracy among them.

Russia on 21 June 2015 won the European Team Athletics Championships by winning
10 of the 40 events on the program. The championships were held in Cheboksary,
Russia.
This is the fourth time that Russia won the title since the inception of games in 2009.
In totality, Russia won the 368.5 points, 22 points ahead of Germany which secured
second place. France had their best finish at the championships, coming third by
winning 319.5 points.
However, Sweden, Finland and Norway finished at the bottom of the table and
these countries will now drop to the second tier of the championships for 2016. The
Czech Republic, Greece and the Netherlands will replace them after they all earned
promotion at the second-tier competition in Heraklion, Greece.
The top four teams of 2015 league competition including Czech Republic, Greece,
Netherlands and Belgium will be promoted to the super league.
Some of the winners of the European Team Athletics Championships 2015:

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Renaud Lavillenie of France: Olympic pole vault champion won with a leap of 5.85
meters
Christophe Lemaitre of France: Won 100 meters in 10.26 seconds
Darya Klishina of Russia: Two-time European indoor long jump champion jumped
6.95 meters to win
Kuchina of Russia: Won High jump event by clearing 1.99 meters
Sergey Shubenkov of Russia: World bronze medallist won 110m hurdles
Anna Shchagina of Russia: Won the 1500m event

Jordan Spieth won the US Open at Chambers Bay on 21 June 2015. The win was his
second straight major title of 2015 after he won the Masters Tournament at Augusta
National, US in April 2015.
He closed with a 69 for a five-under total of 275, one shot ahead of fellow American
Dustin Johnson (70) and South African Louis Oosthuizen (67).
With this win, Spieth became the first man since Tiger Woods in 2002 to win the
Masters and the US Open in the same year.
He is also the youngest champion of the US Open since the legendary Bobby Jones
in 1923 and the youngest player to win two career majors since Gene Sarazen in
1922. Overall, he is the fourth-youngest player to win two majors and the sixth to win
the Masters and US Open in the same year.

China won the 2015 Nongfu Spring Snookers World Cup on 21 June 2015 by defeating
Scotland 4-1 in the final match held at Wuxi near Shanghai in China.
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The winners of the snooker championship collected 120000 pound sterling prize
money.
In the final, Chinas B team pairing of 17-year-old Zhou Yuelong and 15-year-old Yan
Bingtao defeated Scotlands pairing of John Higgins and Stephen Maguire.
The previous competition that was held in Thailand in 2011 was also won by China
by defeating Ireland.
India stood at the third position in the competition, the best finish so far for India.
Indian team comprising of Pankaj Advani and Aditya Mehta was defeated by Scotland
4-3 in the semi final match.
The Snooker World Cup, a non ranking event, is conducted by the World Professional
Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA).
Andy Murray won the mens singles of Aegon Tennis

Championships at the Queens Club
Britains Andy Murray on 21 June 2015 won the mens singles of the Aegon
Championships at the Queens Club in West Kensington, England. In the final clash,
Murray defeated South African Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-4.
This was his fourth Queens title and the previous were won in alternate years, that
is, 2009, 2011 and 2013.
With this win, Murray joined an illustrious list of champions including John McEnroe,
Lleyton Hewitt, Boris Becker and Andy Roddick, the winners of four Queens Club
Championships.
Most Queens titles

John McEnroe: 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1984
Boris Becker: 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1996
Lleyton Hewitt: 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2006
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Andy Roddick: 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007

Andy Murray: 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015
Besides, the French duo Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut won the Aegon
Championships mens doubles title at The Queens Club. They defeated Marcin
Matkowski of Poland & Serbias Nenad Zimonjic 6-2, 6-2.
Debendranath Sarangi elected as President of Squash Rackets

Federation of India
Debendranath Sarangi was on 21 June 2015 elected as the President of Squash
Rackets Federation of India (SRFI).
The election took place at the Federations Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) that
was called specifically to elect a set of new office bearers for the period 2015 to 2019.
The elections were held in the presence of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) observer
J M Fernando and Government Observer Shyam Sundar, Regional Director, Sports
Authority of India (SAI) Bangalore.
The Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) oversees the promotion and
development of squash in India. It has more than 20 State Associations and affiliated
units.
It is headquartered in Chennai.
Serbia won the FIFA U-20 World Cup by defeating Brazil on 21 June 2015 at the final
match held at the North Harbour Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand.
Nemanja Maksimovic scored a 118th minute goal to give Serbia a 2-1 victory over
Brazil in extra time.
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It is Serbias first title since it became an independent nation in 2006.

While Pereira scored the goal for Brazil at the 73rd minute, Mandic (70th minute) and
Maksimovic scored the goals for Serbia.
France won the 2013 FIFA U-20 World cup held in Turkey.
Swiss tennis ace Roger Federer won the 2015 Gerry Weber Open tennis title on 21
June 2015 at the Gerry Weber Stadium in Halle, Germany.
In the summit clash, he defeated Andreas Seppi of Italy 7-6 (1), 6-4 to claim the title
for record eighth time. With this, Seppi became the first Italian to play the final at
Halle since the tournament began in 1993.
In the Mens doubles category, Indo-Romanian pair Rohan Bopanna and Florin
Mergea was the runners up.
For Federer, it is the 10th Halle final and his most victories at a single event in his
career. He won the Wimbledon and Dubai Open tennis titles 7 times each.
Its Federers fourth title of the 2015 season having won the titles at Brisbane, Dubai
and Istanbul.
For the 17-time Grand Slam winner, the present win is 15th title from 20 finals on
grass and 86th career title from 130 finals overall.
Federer is the third player in the Open era to win at least eight titles at a single
tournament. While Rafael Nadal has nine Roland Garros titles (French Open) and
eight from Monte Carlo and Barcelona, Guillermo Vilas of Argentina has eight titles
from Buenos Aires.
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Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg of Germany won Austrian Grand

Prix of Formula One
Mercedes racing driver Nico Rosberg of Germany on 21 June 2015 won the Austrian
Grand Prix Formula 1 World Championship title. He won the final race held at the
Spielberg circuit in Styria, Monaco.
While his teammate Lewis Hamilton of Britain stood at the second position, Felipe
Massa of Brazil representing the Williams team was at the third position.
Sebastian Vettel (Germany) of the Ferrari team stood at the fourth position.
It is the eleventh overall championship title for Rosberg and the second title in Austria
having won the 2014 title too.
It is also the third title in the 2015 season. He won the Championships in Monaco and
Spanish in early 2015.
Nico Hulkenberg (Germany) and Sergio Perez (Mexico) of Force India stood at the 8th
and 9th positions respectively in the final race.
Indian paddlers won team titles at South Asian Junior and Cadet
Table Tennis Championships
Indias junior boys and cadet girls on 18 June 2015 won the team championship titles
at the South Asian Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships at the Talkatora
Stadium in New Delhi.
To retain the title in junior boys section, the Indian paddlers won all the four matches
without dropping a set. Similarly, cadet girls won all their matches without a hiccup.
Silver and Bronze medals in the two categories
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In Junior Boys category

Sri Lankas Junior Boys won Silver
Pakistan, who finished third and Maldives behind them, got the bronze
In Cadet Girls category won silver

Sri Lankas Cadet Girls won Silver
Nepal, who finished third and Pakistan behind them, got the bronze
Sharad Pawar re-elected as President of Mumbai Cricket

Association
Veteran leader of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Sharad Pawar was on 17 June
2015 re-elected as the President of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA).
In the biennial polls held for the post, Pawar defeated Vijay Patil by 34 votes to retain
the presidents post. Former Indian cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar along with Ashish
Shelar was elected as Vice-President of the MCA. He defeated Pratap Sarnaik who
got 124 votes compared to 195 seats secured by Vengsarkar.
Nitin Dalal was elected as Treasurer who defeated Mayank Khandwala for the post.
The polls saw the Pawar-Mahaddalkar panel winning 15 of the 17 managing committee
posts whereas Patils Cricket First panel, which was formed in 2013, suffered as
severe blow by winning just two seats.
AIBA constituted Ad-hoc committee chaired by Kishan Narsi for

boxing in India
The International Boxing Association (AIBA) on 16 June 2015 constituted a fivemember ad-hoc committee to manage the process of finding a group to organise
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and run boxing in India. Kishan Narsi, an international referee who officiated in four
Olympics was appointed as the Chairman of the committee. He has been the ViceChairman of Executive Committee of AIBA.
Other members of the committee include Jay Kowli, Manisha Malhotra and Injeti
Srinivas. The fifth member of the committee will be appointed by AIBA on the
recommendation of the ad hoc committee and would be a national coach.
Besides, AIBA also appointed senior IOC member and former IOA Secretary General,
Randhir Singh as an advisor of the ad-hoc committee. He will assist the committee in
the important task that would benefit the game of boxing in India.
AIBA in its notification didnt specified any time-frame for the ad-hoc committee but
asked that preparation for the Rio Olympics 2016 has to start.
AIBA President: Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu
Documentary on cricket titled Death of Gentleman screened at

Sheffield
Documentary film titled, Death of a Gentleman directed by Sam Collins and Jarrod
Kimber was premiered at the Sheffield International Documentary Festival on 8 June
2015. The film will also be screened in London in the fourth week of June 2015.
The documentary made in four years came into news as it raised questions on
existence of Tests Cricket in 21st century.
It shows the decline of five day game which is the purest form of the second most
popular sport on earth, representative of tradition, history and identity. It narrates a
story about greed, power, the endless pursuit of more and the precious things that
are lost along the way.
Further, it raises the question whether the game is losing its identity due to a tough
competition from commerce-driven Twenty20 cricket.
Death of a Gentleman shows interviews of ICC chairman N. Srinivasan, ECB chief
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Giles Clarke, and former cricketers Kevin Pietersen, Rahul Dravid, Ravi Shastri, Tony
Greig and Lord Woolf among others.

Sunil Chhetri on 16 June 2015 became the first Indian footballer to score 50
international goals. He achieved the fete during Indias second match of the second
round of qualifiers for 2018 football World Cup qualifying group match against Guam
at the Guam National Football Stadium.
In the match, Guam defeated India 2-1. Earlier, India lost their first match of the group
1-2 against Oman.
List of International goals scored by Indian footballer

Sunil Chhetri: 50 goals in 87 matches
Bhaichung Bhutia: 42 goals in 107 matches
IM Vijayan: 40 goals from 79 games

Indian off-spin cricketer Harbhajan Singh on 14 July 2015 became the ninth all-time
highest Test wicket-takers by claiming 416 wickets in 102 matches.
In this process, he surpassed Pakistani legend Wasim Akram who stood at the ninth
position with 414 wickets in 104 matches. He achieved the landmark quicker than
Akram.
He achieved the feat after dismissing Imrul Kayes for 72 to reach 415 Test victims,
one more than Akram.
Now, Harbhajan nicknamed as Turbanator is just 20 wickets short of equalling Kapil
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Devs 434 Test wickets record, the second highest wicket-taker in history of Indian
Test Cricket after Anil Kumbles 619 wickets.
List of top 10 wicket-takers in Test matches

1. Muttiah Muralitharan: 800 wickets in 133 matches
2. Shane Warne: 708 wickets in 145 matches
3. Anil Kumble: 619 wickets 132 in matches
4. Glenn McGrath: 563 wickets in 124 matches
5. Courtney Walsh: 519 wickets in 132 matches
6. Kapil Dev: 434 wickets in 131 matches
7. Sir Richard Hadlee: 431 wickets in 86 matches
8. Shaun Pollock: 421 wickets in 108 matches
9. Harbhajan Singh: 416 wickets in 102 matches
10. Wasim Akram: 414 wickets in 104 matches

Spaniard Rafael Nadal on 14 June 2015 won the singles final of the ATPs Stuttgart
Open. In the final match in Germany, Nadal defeated Serbian Viktor Troicki 7-6, 6-3.
It was Rafael Nadals third Stuttgart Mens single title; the previous two were won in
2005 and 2007 respectively. With this victory he also became first tennis player to
win titles at the event on both clay and grass surface.
Stuttgart made the switch to grass starting with this edition as part of the new
Wimbledon pre-season.
Apart from this, Indias tennis player Rohan Bopanna along with his Romanian partner
Florin Mergea won the Stuttgart Mens Double Open title 2015. The Indo-Romanian
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pair defeated Austrian-Brazilian pair of Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares 5-7, 6-2,
10-7. This was fourth title for Bopanna.
Sir Wesley Winfield Hall inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of
fame
Veteran West Indies fast bowler Sir Wesley Winfield Hall was on 12 June 2015
inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. With this, he becomes 80th cricketer to
be inducted in the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame and 18th from West Indies itself.
Sir Wesley Hall had played a total of 48 Tests in his one decade career spanning from
1958 to 1969. In his Test career, he took 192 wickets which included five wickets in
an innings for 9 times and 10 wickets in a match on one occasion.
In 170 first-class matches, Hall claimed 546 wickets at an average of 26.14. In 196465, his 16 wickets were instrumental in guiding the West Indies to its first series win
over Australia. In 1968-69, Hall took retirement at the end of the tour of Australia and
New Zealand.
After retiring from cricket, he entered into politics and served in Barbados Senate and
also as Minister of Tourism in 1987. He had also served as President of West Indies
Cricket Board from 2001 to 2003.
In year 2012, Hall was knighted with the Knight Bachelor for his services to sports
community.

Forbes on 10 June 2015 released the list of 2015 Worlds 100 Highest-Paid Athletes.
The list has been topped by Floyd Mayweather and the only Indian to figure in the list
is Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
The earnings were calculated based on athletes salaries, bonuses, prize money,
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appearance fees, as well as licensing and endorsement income between 1 June

2014 and 1 June 2015.
The list only includes athletes active during the given period.
Highlights of the list

Floyd Mayweather tops the list for the second year in a row and third time in four
years with 300 million US dollars. His win over Manny Pacquiao, in the historic
match held on 3 May 2015 helped him to top the list. Mayweather earned 240
million US dollars through the match.
Manny Pacquiao of Philippines stood at the second position in the list with earnings
up to 160 million US dollars.
Pacquiao is followed by Real Madrids soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo at the 3rd
position with 79.6 million US dollars and Barcelonas soccer player Leonal Messi
stood at the fourth position with 73.8 million US dollars.
Switzerlands Roger Federer became the highest earned tennis player with earnings
up to 67 million US dollars.
Brazilian soccer player Neymar (23 years) was the youngest player in the list with
31 million US dollars.
Golf player Phil Mickelson (44 years) of USA was the oldest player in the list with
50.8 million US dollars.
Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams were the only women athletes in the list
who stood at 26th and 47th position respectively in the list.
The top 100 athletes earned a total of 3.2 billion US dollars over the last 12 months,
which is a 17 percent increase from the previous year.
The list consists of players from ten different sports. While, baseball players
occupied 27 percent of the list, cricket and track and field both placed one athlete
on the list.
There are no hockey players on the list for a fourth straight year.
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The cutoff for the top 100 keeps rising and is now 18.8 million US dollars, up from
17.3 US million US dollars in 2014 and 16.4 million US dollars in 2013.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the sole Indian and only cricketer in the list with earnings
of 31 million US dollars. It includes 4 million US dollars from salary/winnings and 27
million US dollars from endorsements. Dhoni shared the 23rd position with Neymar
in the list dropping a notch from his ranking of 22 in 2014.

Matt Prior, the English cricketer, on 11 June 2015 retired from all forms of cricket.
The 33-year-old, wicketkeeper-batsman helped England to win three Ashes series
between 2009 and 2013.
He was the first English wicketkeeper to score a century on debut match against
West Indies in 2007. He scored an unbeaten 126 at Lords. He played his One Day
International (ODI) debut match against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo on 5 December 2004.
Matt Prior played his last test match against India at Lords from 17 to 21 July 2014
and his last ODI match was against Sri Lanka at Colombo (RPS), on 26 March 2011.
Details of his cricket career

Test: Batted in 123 innings of 79 matches and scored 4099 runs of which 131 not
out was his highest score.
ODI: Batted in 62 of 68 matches and scored 1282 runs of which 87 was his highest
score.
T20Is: Batted in 8 of 10 matches and scored 127 runs of which 32 was his highest
score.
He left cricket with a Test batting average of 40.18, the highest for any England
wicketkeeper to claim more than 100 dismissals. He was the fourth best wicketkeeper of all-time behind only Kumar Sangakkara, Andy Flower and Adam Gilchrist.
In 2013, the South African born cricketer was named as Englands best player of the
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year. In December 2014, he co-founded the new professional One Pro Cycling team.
FC Barcelona won 2015 UEFA Champions League title

FC Barcelona won the 2015 Champions League title on 6 June 2015 by defeating
Juventus FC 3-1 in the final match held at the Berlins Olympic Stadium in Germany.
While, Ivan Rakitic, Luis Suarez and Neymar scored goals for Barcelona, Alvaro
Morato scored the lone goal for Juventus.
In the summit clash, Barcelona, a Spanish club, was led by Andres Iniesta and
Juventus, an Italian club was led by Gianluigi Buffon.
This was the fifth time Barcelona has been crowned with the title and their fourth in
the last decade after their victories in 2006, 2009 and 2011.
With the present win, Barcelona became the first Spanish club to win the European
treble in a single season for two times having won the Europa League and Spanish
League titles in the 2014-15 season. Earlier, the team won all the three titles in the
2008-09 season.
Following their 2009 treble, Barcelona joined Celtic, Ajax, PSV Eindhoven, Manchester
United, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich on the exclusive list of teams to have won the
treble.

Indian Basketball Players Association (IBPA) started functioning with the official
launch of it on 8 June 2015 at Indian Medical Association, New Delhi.
The launching ceremony also saw the nomination of President and other members of
the IBPA. Following is the organizational strucuture of IBPA:
President: Sajjan Singh Cheema (Arjuna Awardee)
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General Secretary: Jayasankar Menon (Former Asian All Star Basketball player)
Treasurer: Ashok Sharma (National player and FIBA Commissioner)
Chairman: Abbas Moontaisar
Vice-Chairmen: Manmohan Singh and Suman Sharma
The IBPA is proposed to be incorporated as a society under the Societies Registration
Act, 1860.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) co-owner Shah Rukh Khan on 9 June 2015 acquired
Carribean Premier League (CPL) T20 team Trinidad & Tobago (T&T).
Shah Rukh Khan is the first owner of an Indian Premier League team to own an
overseas cricket franchise. Khans company Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd along
with KKR co-owners Juhi Chawla and her husband Jay Mehta invested in the T&T
franchise.
Hollywood stars Mark Wahlberg and Gerard Butler already own CPL franchises.
Wahlberg owns reigning champions Barbados Tridents, led by Kieron Pollard, while
Butler owns Jamaica Tallawahs, captained by Chris Gayle.
The next edition of the tournament is scheduled to run from 20 June 2015 to 26 July
2015. KKR, IPL champions in 2012 and 2014, have been ranked the most valuable
IPL team with a brand value of 86 million US dollar (over 500 crore rupees).
Lewis Hamilton of Britain won 2015 Canada Grand Prix of

Formula 1
Mercedes racing driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain on 7 June 2015 won the 2015
Formula 1 Canada Grand Prix title by winning the final race held in Montreal, Canada.
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In the final race, while, his team mate Nico Rosberg of Germany stood at the second
position, Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany was at the third position.
Sergio Perez (Mexico) and Nico Hulkenberg (Germany) of Force India stood at the
11th and 12nd positions respectively.
For Hamilton, it was the fourth victory at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Montreals
Isle Notre-Dame, where he earned his first Grand Prix win in 2007.
Earlier in 2015, he won the Australian, Chineese and Bahrain Gran Prix titles.
Hamilton has won more races compared to any other British driver in the history of
Formula One and is currently 5th on the all-time list, with 37 wins.

Japanese rising star shuttler Kento Momota and Thailands Ratchanok Intanon
won the mens and womens singles respectively of the Indonesia Open Badminton
tournament. Indonesia Open Badminton tournament was held at the Gelora Bung
Karno Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia. The total prize money at stake was 800000 US
dollars.
Kento Momota defeated Denmarks defending champion and third seed Jan O.
Jorgensen 16-21, 21-19, 21-7. Kento Momota is World No.9. This was the 20-yearolds second victory in a Super series event. In the womens singles final, former world
champion and world No.6 Ratchanok defeated Japans world No.35 Yui Hashimoto
21-12, 21-10. Meanwhile South Koreas Ko Sung Hyun and Shin Baek Choel beat
Chinas Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan 21-16, 16-21, 21-19 in 53 minutes to win the
mens double title.
In the womens singles final, Chinas Tang Jinhua and Tian Qing defeated Indonesias
Nitya Krishinda Maheswari and Grysia Polii 21-11, 21-10. The mixed doubles title
went to Xu Chen and Ma Jin, who beat Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei 21-17, 21-16.
Indias campaign ended following Parupalli Kashyaps loss to Momota in the semifinal.
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Manchester United FC became worlds most valuable brand

The Manchester United became the Worlds most valuable brand in the World football
with 1.2 billion US dollars. Also, it became the first club to pass the 1 billion US dollar
mark.
It was revealed on 8 June 2015 in the study titled Football 50 2015 released by the
Brand Finance, a leading brand valuation and strategy consultancy.
The United has beaten Bayern Munich and Real Madrid to reclaim their position as
the biggest brand in world football.
The Clubs record-breaking deals drive up the brand value which includes UK
broadcast deal for Premier League rights commencing from the 2016-17 season
worth 7.8 billion US dollars.
Manchester United Football Club is a professional football club based at Old Trafford
in Greater Manchester, England. It was founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club
in 1878 and the name was changed to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old
Trafford in 1910.

Former Captain of Indian cricket team Rahul Dravid on 6 June 2015 was named as
coach of India A and Under-19 cricket teams. Rahul Dravids name for coaching
Indias junior team was confirmed by BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur in his press
conference in Kolkata.
The decision to appoint Dravid as coach was taken at the first meeting of BCCIs
Advisory Committee in Kolkata. The advisory committee includes Sachin Tendulkar,
Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman as its member.
The 42-year-old Dravid, a veteran of 164 Tests (13288 runs) and 344 ODIs (10889
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runs), is presently working with the IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals as mentor.
Hailed as The Wall, Dravid is the fourth-highest run scorer in Test cricket, after Sachin
Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis, and is only the second Indian cricketer,
after Tendulkar to score 10000 runs both in Tests and in ODIs.
As a coach, Dravids first assignment would be to prepare the U-19 team for 2016
Under-19 World Cup to be held in Bangladesh.

Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland on 7 June 2015 won his first French Open title of
Tennis. In the final clash played at Roland Garros in Paris, Wawrinka defeated Novak
Djokovic of Serbia 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.
The victory makes him only the second Swiss to win at Roland Garros after Roger
Federer, the man he beat in the quarter-finals. This was second grand slam title for
Wawrinka after Australian Open 2014. He also brought an end to Djokovics 28-match
winning streak.
Besides, Serena Williams of US on 6 June 2015 defeated Lucie Safarova of
Czechoslovakia 6-3 6-7 (2) 6-2 to win the womens title of French Open. This was her
third French Open title and 20th Grand Slam title.
Mens Doubles
Ivan Dodig (Croatia) and Marcelo Melo (Brazil) defeated Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan
of the US 6-7, 7-6, 7-5
Womens Doubles
Bethanie Mattek-Sands (US) and Lucie Safarova (Czech Rep) defeated Casey
Dellacqua (Australia) and Yaroslava Shvedova (Kazakhstan) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
Mixed Doubles
Bethanie Mattek-Sands (US) and Mike Bryan (US) defeated Lucie Hradecka (Czech
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Rep) and Marcin Matkowski (Poland) 7-6, 6-1

The 2015 French Open was the 114th edition of the French Open and the second
Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros from 24 May
to 7 June 2015.

All India Football Federation (AIFF) on 2 June 2015 signed an agreement with French
Football Federation (FFF) in Zurich. The agreement was signed by Praful Patel,
President, AIFF in the presence of Kushal Das, General Secretary of AIFF.
Highlights of the agreement

The parties agreed to cooperate with each other in order to develop strong ties
between their respective associations for the mutual benefit of each association
and for the promotion, growth and continued success of football in each country.
It was also agreed to exchange training of technical personnel and organisational
procedures;
Availability of sports centres or installations for competition, training and camps
as and where possible in accordance with availability and suitability was also
been agreed upon.
Besides, support for the preparation of the Indian U-17 World Cup Team which
will be participating in the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 to be hosted by India in
terms of exposure trips for matches with French teams and participation in youth
tournaments in France have also been considered.
This is the third agreement AIFF had signed with other country, after Federation
entered into a partnership with the German Football Association (DFB) in May 2015
and a MoU with the Japan Football Association in February 2015.
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AB De Villiers conferred with South Africa Cricketer of the Year

Award
AB De Villiers was on 3 June 2015 conferred with the South Africa (SA) Cricketer of
the Year Award for 2015.
The award was presented to him at the 2015 Cricket South Africa Awards presentation
ceremony held at Midrand in South Africa.
Having received the annual award for 2014 also, he joined Makhaya Ntini who received
the award in successive years- 2005 and 2006.
Till now, only eight players have received the most prestigious award of Cricket South
Africa (CSA) including Jacques Kallis (2004 and 2011) and Hashim Amla (2010 and
2013) who received the award twice.
AB De Villiers won following awards for 2015

SA Cricketer of the Year Award
Castle Lager ODI Cricketer of the Year
SA Players Player of the Year
SA Fans Player of the Year
KFC So Good Award
Thus, he equated the performance of Hashim Amla who won five awards in 2010.
The other major awards went to Hashim Amla as Test Cricketer of the Year, Morne
van Wyk as Ticketpro T20 Cricketer of the Year and Dale Steyn won the RAM Delivery
of the Year Award.
AB De Villiers is considered as one of the best all-round cricketer and placed at the
No. 2 spot in Test match cricket and at No. 1 in ODI cricket rankings.
He now holds the world records for the fastest 50, 100 and 150 in ODI cricket.
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June 2015
S Ravi inducted into Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires for

2015-16
Eminent Indian umpire Sundaram Ravi, along with Chris Gaffaney of New Zealand,
was on 4 June 2015 inducted into the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires for 201516.
Both of them were promoted from the Emirates International Panel of ICC Umpires
and replaced New Zealand veteran Billy Bowden and Steve Davis of Australia.
The decision was taken in this regard by the International Cricket Council (ICC)
Umpires Selection Panel consisting of Chairman Geoff Allardice and others members
including S Venkataraghavan, the former India captain and an international umpire,
following an annual review and selection process.
The Elite Panel of Umpires for 2015-2016 will be: Aleem Dar, Kumar Dharmasena,
Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough,
Nigel Llong, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker and Bruce Oxenford.
With the present appointment, Sundaram Ravi has become the first Indian after S
Venkataraghavan who was inducted into the elite panel in 2004.
Ravi has umpired in six Tests, 24 ODIs and 12 T20Is, since making his international
debut in Visakhapatnam in December 2011 in an ODI between India and the West
Indies.
He also umpired in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 earlier this year in Australia and
New Zealand.
Inderjeet won gold in shot put at 21st Asian Athletics

Championships
Inderjeet Singh won gold medal in mens shot put event in the 21st Asian Athletics
Championships on 3 June 2015. The 21st Asian Athletics Championships is being
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held from 3 June to 7 June 2015 at Wuhan, China.

The 27-year-old Up and coming track and field star Inderjeet heaved the iron ball to
a new championship record of 20.41meter, which he achieved in his fourth attempt.
With this, he became the eighth Indian shot putter to win a gold medal in the history
of Asian championships.
Chang Ming-Huang of Chinese Taipei won the silver with a throw of 19.56meter, while
Tian Zizhong of the home country bagged the bronze with a throw of 1925meter.

Ravi Shastri, the former cricket captain of Indian team, was on 2 June 2015 reappointed as the Director of Indian cricket team for the Bangladesh tour. His
appointment was made by BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India).
Team Indias tour to Bangladesh will start from 10 June 2015. During the tour, India
will play one Test and three One-Day Internationals matches.
His appointment is a stop-gap arrangement for the short tour as the BCCI is yet to
decide on a full-time coach. The post had been lying vacant since 2013 when Duncan
Fletcher vacated the office.
Shastri was appointed as Director of Indian team for the first time during Indias tour
to Australia and in the subsequent 2015 World Cup. Till now, Shastri represented
India in 80 Tests and 150 ODIs and was part of the side, which lifted the 1983 World
Cup.
Tendulkar, Ganguly, Laxman inducted in BCCIs Cricket Advisory

Committee
Former cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman on 1 June
2015 were inducted into the BCCIs newly-constituted cricket advisory committee.
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The President of the BCCI, Jagmohan Dalmiya nominated the trio as esteemed
members of the Cricket Advisory Committee of the BCCI, with immediate effect. Their
inclusion in the panel was announced by BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur through a
tweet.
This Cricket Advisory Committee will advise the BCCI on various progressive steps
needed to enable Indian Cricket to be better prepared for the challenges of the
future. It will also guide the Indian team to enhance their performance ob overseas
engagements, as well as direction to improve their talent.
Gurpreet Singh became 5th Indian to get quota place in shooting for 2016 Rio
Olympics
Gurpreet Singh on 31 May 2015 won a quota place in shooting for the 2016 Rio
Olympics by finishing fourth in the Mens 10 meter Air pistol final at the ISSF Shooting
World Cup in Munich.
Singh succeeded in getting quota place in shooting for Rio Olympics after scoring
154 points in the finals.
With this, he became the fifth Indian shooter to win a quota place for the Rio Olympics
after Gagan Narang, Jitu Rai, Apurvi Chandela and Abhinav Bindra. He is also the
second Indian to secure an Olympic berth at the ongoing World Cup after Bindra.
Each country can win a maximum of 30 quota places from a total of 15 shooting
disciplines including shotgun events, two each from each discipline.
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STATE
Delhi Budget 2015-16: Highlights
Delhi Budget 2015-16 was presented by the Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia
on 25 June 2015 in the Vidhan Sabha. The budget has been termed as firstSwaraj
Budget and is the first participatory budget of India.
Main Highlights
The 41129 crore rupees budget comprises of 19000 crore rupees Plan Budget
and 22129 crore rupees as Non-Plan Buget
A Swaraj Fund of 253 crore rupees is proposed to be created with an aim to
prioritize implementation of the programmes selected by the citizens for the
development of their area.
Proposes to set up a new agency Delhi Urban Development Agency (DUDA) in
each revenue district to execute the works recommended by the citizens under
the Swaraj Fund and Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Fund
Proposes to provide a total financial support of 5908 crore rupees to local bodies
in 2015-16 which is 14.4 percent of the total budget
Proposes 1690 crore rupees as subsidy for measures like reduction of electricity
bill and supplying free water up to 20000 litres per month
Creation of buffer stock of onion and potato to be released during the scarcity
period
Proposes to launch free Wi-Fi services in all colleges and rural areas during 201516
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Doubling the outlay on education by a whopping 106 percent, the budget proposes
to spend 4570 crore rupees on education
50 schools to be developed as Model Schools with modern facilities and
infrastructure and 236 new schools have been planned
Proposes to launch a Higher Education and Skill Development Guarantee Scheme
wherein students can get loan up to 10 lakh rupees without any collateral or margin
money
Proposes 310 crore rupees for promotion of Vocational education and for setting
up a Skill University for skill development diploma/degree courses
Proposes to open three new ITIs in Rahola, Chhatarpur and Bakkarwala, five new
polytechnics one each in North, North East, Central, New Delhi and West Districts
of Delhi
Proposes to upgrade Netaji Subhash Institute of Technology into a University and
increasing its strength from 3000 to 12000 over five years
Proposes to set up three new hospitals with total bed capacity of 1800 at Nangloi,
Siraspur and Madipur
Proposes to set up 500 Mohalla Clinics in all parts of Delhi in 2015-16
Proposes to set up an Advance Trauma Care Centre in LN Hospital for sports
injury rehabilitation with 100 trauma beds including ICU and OT facilities
Proposes to provide 1500 rupees subsidy on purchase of e-rickshaw so as to
provide last mile connectivity
Proposes to bring 10000 buses of different specifications to meet the differentiate
need of the commuters from the private sector under the PPP Cluster Scheme
Proposes to introduce Passenger Information System to provide the real-time
information
Proposes to launch a mobile app for Self Meter Reading and Bill Generation to
provide water and sewer services to citizens in efficient and friendly manner
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Proposes to create a Energy Conservation Fund in 2015-16 to finance energy

efficient projects and street lighting, etc
A new scheme Jan Jal Prabandhan Yojana will be launched to involve the community
in management of water and sewerage services in a decentralized manner
A new Water Treatment Plant is proposed to be set up at Iradatnagar and existing
water treatment plants at Chandrawal and Wazirabad will be rehabilitated to
increase the water production to meet the demand
Assam entrepreneurs signed pact on waste management

Two local entrepreneurs, namely Satyaki Saikia and Pulak Roy, in fourth week of
June 2015 signed agreements with several civic bodies in Assam to do away with the
plastic hazards under a solid-waste management project.
Basic objective of the project is to save society from hazards and pollution created
by the huge amount of increasing municipality solid waste.
Features of the project

These would minimise the waste produced in the urban areas and convert them
to useful products like bio-manure and bricks.
Plastic part of waste will be converted and used to manufacture Reinforced
Thermoplastic Composite Board (RTCB), which is a perfect replacement for wood
and largely used for making shutters, furniture and doors
The biodegradable part will be converted into bio-manure, which has a great
demand in agricultural sector
To manage wastes, they have acquired technology from Calcutta-based SKC Group
of Companies. At present, the technology is being used in states like Odisha, Bengal
and Bihar.
Each of these project will cost around 20 30 crore rupees which would be sponsored
by the Union Government.
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Jagmohan Yadav appointed as DGP of Uttar Pradesh

1983 batch Indian Police Service officer Jagmohan Yadav was on 30 June 2015
appointed as the Director General of Police (DGP) of Uttar Pradesh. He is the 8th
police chief of Uttar Pradesh in the last three-and-a-half years of the Samajwadi
Party (SP) rule.
He succeeded AK Jain who retired as DGP on 30 June 2015. Jain, in reality, retired
on 31 March 2015 but was given three months extension by the state government.
The 1983 batch IPS officer will have tenure of six months before his retirement. Yadav
was earlier posted as Director General, Criminal Investigation Department (CBCID).
He was made Additional Director General (ADG), Law and order in 2012.

A national level museum of Sikh heritage will be setup in Lakhnaur Sahib village close
to Ambala City, Punjab. This announcement was made by Ratan Lal Kataria, MP
from Ambala on 29 June 2015.
Lakhnaur Sahib is a historical village as the mother of tenth Sikh guru Guru Gobind
Singh, Mata Gujari belonged to the place. Guru Gobind Singh had also spent a few
years of his childhood in the village.
Around 17 acres of land belonging to Maharaja Ranjit Singh had been lying vacant in
the village, which would now be utilized for the museum. Some articles belonging to
Guru Gobind Singh and his mother Mata Gujari will also be kept in the museum and
it would be developed on the lines of Anandpur Sahib Museum.
Kataria also announced a contribution of 11 lakh rupees for the gurudwara from
Member of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) funds.
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Gurudwara Lakhnaur Sahib

Gurudwara Lakhnaur Sahib is located on the Ambala Barola Road in village Lakhnaur,
about twelve km from Ambala City. It is associated with the Tenth Guru, Guru Gobind
Singh Ji. Lakhnaur was the ancestral home of Mata Gujari, the mother of Guru Gobind
Singh and wife of Guru Tegh Bahadur.
The Gurudwara building is called Mata Gujari da Khuh (Mother Gujaris Well). Mata
Gujaris well, sarovar and Baoli are remnants of the visit of Guru Gobind Singh Ji
to this village. Among the other articles associated with the Guru and his family on
display here include the Gurus bed, Mata Gujaris bed, weapons and utensils used
in the langar.
Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa launched first phase of Chennai

Metro Rail Service
The first phase of Chennai Metro Rail service was on 29 June 2015 launched by Tamil
Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. The first phase of Metro service covers the 10-km
elevated stretch. It connects Alandur in south Chennai to Koyabedu in the north.
The whole project is implemented by Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL). The project
was approved by then Congress-led UPA government in 2009.
With launching of this Metro service, Chennai became seventh city in India to have
metro service including Delhi, Mumbai, Gurgaon, Bangalore, Kolkata and Jaipur.
Highlights of the first phase of Chennai Metro Rail Service

The 10-km overhead stretch, from Alandur in south Chennai to Koyabedu in the
north, will be covered in 18 minutes.
The metro will bear four coaches with a capacity of 1276 passengers.
It will cover seven stations in the stretch- Koyambedu, Arumbakkam, Vadapalani,
Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus, Ashok Nagar, Ekkattuthangal.
The two corridors of Phase-1 of Chennai Metro Rail cost 16500 rupees to the
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state and will cover a 45-km stretch in the city.

Designed as half underground and the rest elevated, corridor 1 is between
Washermanpet and the airport. While, corridor 2 is from Chennai Central to St
Thomas Mount and is likely to be ready by the 2015 end.
APMDC signed MoU with NSL Mining Resources India Pvt Ltd
for iron ore mining projects
The Andhra Pradesh Mining Development Corporation (APMDC) 24 June 2015
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with an Australian firm NSL Mining
Resources India Pvt Ltd for beneficiation of low-grade iron ore in Kurnool and Kadapa
districts.
The beneficiation of low-grade iron ore process includes separation of the required
mineral from extracted ore and removal of the unusable part.
The MoU was signed during AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidus meeting
with an Australian delegation led by Steven Ciobo, Parliamentary Secretary to the
Australian Trade and Investment Minister.
NSL Mining Resources India Pvt Ltd is a subsidiary of Australian NSL Consolidated
Ltd while APMDC works under the Andhra Pradesh Government.
BHEL commissioned first 250-MW unit of NTPCs Bongaigaon

Thermal Power Project
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) on 24 June 2015 commissioned the first
unit of 250-MW of Bongaigaon thermal power project of National Thermal Power
Corporation (NTPC) in Assam.
The project is located at Kumguri village of Salakati near Bongaigaon in Kokrajhar
district. It is spread over an area of 964 acres.
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Fuel for the plant will be sourced from the mines in Margherita area in Assam under
North-Eastern Coal Fields LTD (NECL) and Raniganj coal sources in West Bengal
under Eastern Coal Fields Ltd (ECL).
BHEL is executing the NTPCs project for setting up three units of 250 MW (750 MW
in total) each as coal-based project which will be completed by 2016. On completion,
this will become the highest rating coal based power plant in North East India.
The beneficiary states of the project are seven states of North East and adjoining
Eastern region states along with the Union Territories.
Known as the gateway to Lower Assam, Bongaigoan is one of the industrial towns of
the state, which also has a major petrochemical industry.
Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee appointed as acting Chief

Justice of Karnataka High Court
Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee on 24 June 2015 was appointed as the acting Chief
Justice of Karnataka High Court. He was the senior-most Judge of the High Court.
He was appointed by the President Pranab Mukherjee as per the powers vested in
him under theArticle 223 of the Indian Constitution.
He will assume the charge from the date Justice Dhirendra Hiralal Waghela relinquishes
the office consequent upon his transfer as the Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court.
As per article 223 of the Indian Constitution, the President of India can appoint one of
the other judges of a High Court as acting Chief Justice of High Court when the office
of Chief Justice of High Court is vacant or when any such Chief Justice is, by reason
of absence or otherwise, unable to perform the duties of his office.
Rajasthan topped the list of States commissioning grid

connected Solar Power projects
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Rajasthan topped the list of states commissioning grid connected solar power
projects in the country with an installed capacity of 1147 megawatt. The list was
released by the Union ministry of New and Renewable Energy on 4 June 2015.
Gujarat, which remained the undisputed leader in solar energy generation till 2014,
came second with an installed capacity of 1000MW.
Top 5 states commissioning grid connected Solar Power Projects

States Installed Capacity (Megawatt)
Rajasthan 1147
Gujarat 1000

Madhya Pradesh
563.58
Maharashtra
363.7
Andhra Pradesh
248.4
In the last one year, Rajasthan government has inked agreements with private players
to develop solar parks with a cumulative capacity of 26000 MW. Once fully operational,
these parks can attract investments worth more than 1.50 lakh crore rupees.
The state has also signed MoUs with power developers like SunEdison, Adani
Enterprises, Reliance Power and Azure Power that will generate 14000 MW solar
power. National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) is already in the process of
commissioning 680 MW in the state.

Uttar Pradesh Government on 23 June 2015 renamed the Lucknow Prani Udyan,
popularly known as Lucknow zoo, asNawab Wajid Ali Shah Prani Udyan, Lucknow.
Shah was the last Nawab of Oudh under whom the province was annexed by the
British under the policy of Doctrine of Lapse in 1856. Later, Shah was exiled to Matia
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Birj in Bengal.
Lucknow Zoo established in 1921 and named after Englands Prince of Wales as
Prince of Wales Zoological Gardens was renamed as Lucknow Prani Udyan on 4
June 2001.
Since independence, it is the first incident in which a monument was named after a
Nawab of Oudh or Avadh.
Besides, the state government also renamed Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary of Unnao
district as Shaheed Chandra Shekhar Azad Pakshi Vihar, Nawabganj. The sanctuary
was named after revolutionary freedom fighter Chandra Shekhar Azad because of
Azads parental ties with Unnao district.
Azad was born on 23 July 1906 in Alirajpur district in Madhya Pradesh but his father
Sitaram Tiwari, belonged to Badarka village in Unnao district.
The decisions of renaming the zoo and bird sanctuary were taken at a cabinet meet
chaired by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

Maharashtra Government on 23 June 2015 declared the Blue Mormon (Papilio
polymnestor) as the State butterfly. Blue Mormom is the second largest butterfly
found in India after the southern birdwing.
With this, Maharashtra became Indias first state to have a State butterfly.
The decision to declare Blue Mormom as the state butterfly was taken at a meet of
the State Wildlife Board in Mumbai.
Blue Mormom
It is a large, swallowtail black coloured velvet winged butterfly. They carry bright blue
spots on wings and red spot in the body.
The species of butterfly is primarily found in Sri Lanka and South India (mainly restricted
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to the Western Ghats of Maharashtra, South India and coastal belts). Occasionally
it is also spotted in the mainland of Maharashtra between Vidarbha and Western
Maharashtra.
Earlier, the state government has declared Yellow-footed Green Pigeon as state bird,
Giant Squirrel as state animal, Mango as state tree and Jarul as the state flower.
Jharkhand Government banned sale of thermocol plates

Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghuvar Das on 19 June 2015 imposed a ban on sale of
thermocol plates in entire state. The decision was taken with an aim to promote leaf
plates and generate employment for the poor and tribal people of the state, who are
engaged in making leaf plates.
The Chief Minister, who is on a two-day visit to West Singhbhum district including
naxal-affected Saranda, also announced one lakh rupees to the villages which will
become liquor-free.
Besides, the Chief Minister also directed officials to provide electricity in the Saranda
area through solar power.
WB State Assembly passed West Bengal Tea Plantation

Employees Welfare Fund Bill, 2015
The West Bengal (WB) State Assembly on 18 June 2015 passed West Bengal Tea
Plantation Employees Welfare Fund Bill, 2015. The bill is aimed at ensuring welfare
and provision of basic amenities for tea plantation workers in the state.
Provisions of the Bill

It will provide interest subvention and matching grants to the employers of tea
gardens as soft loan which they may take for undertaking social welfare schemes,
medical facilities, housing, primary education, potable water supply, sanitation
and child care.
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It will provide other basic amenities for the families of tea plantations employees.
It will provide scholarships to the children of tea garden employees for undergoing
training in technical institutes and polytechnics.
It creates a 100 crore rupees corpus aimed at prodding owners to modernise
closed and sick tea gardens.
It will have representations from trade unions and will ensure compliance of welfare
measures by the estates.
West Bengal is the second largest Indian tea-growing State after Assam, accounting
for a quarter of Indias 1100 million kg tea output. There are 283 registered gardens in
Darjeeling, Dooars and Terai. Several Central and state-sponsored welfare schemes
are now being run in these gardens.
Madras HC made wearing of helmets for two-wheelers compulsory

from 1 July 2015
The Madras High Court (HC) on 17 June 2015 directed the Tamil Nadu Government
to make wearing of helmets for two-wheelers compulsory from 1 July 2015 onwards.
This direction was given with concern over the increasing number of people losing
their lives in road accidents.
The order was passed by Justice N Kirubakaran who directed the State Home
Secretary to make the public aware of the happening through media under Section
129 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
The high court also told officials to install CCTV cameras in all junctions and roads
for monitoring the implementation of the respective order. If the rider fails to comply
with the rule, then his/her documents like driving licence will be impounded by the
concerned authorities.
The Surface Transport Ministry was told to look into the design of helmets to provide
adequate visibility on the front and on the sides as well.
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Background
Tamil Nadu has always been careless regarding the rule despite the various judgments
given by the Supreme Court and various other High Courts regarding the same rule.
Over the last 10 years in Tamil Nadu, a total of 41330 people lost their lives in accidents
as they were not wearing helmets and some 4253038 cases of non-compliance of
the same were registered. Also, a total of 62413 cases pertaining to head injuries
were filed in the last 10 years.

Delhi Law Minister Kapil Mishra was on 15 June 2015 appointed as the Chairman of
the Delhi Jal Board (DJB). He succeeded Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
Earlier, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung administered oath of office and
secrecy to Kapil Mishra as a Law Minister in Delhi Cabinet. Mishra was inducted in
the Cabinet following the resignation of Jitender Singh Tomar as Law Minister.
Tomar resignation came following his arrest by Delhi Police in connection with his
fake degree case.
Mishra is an AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) MLA from Karawal Nagar who won by a margin
of over 44000 votes in 2014 Delhi Elections.
Telangana Government unveiled Telangana Industrial Policy

2015
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on 12 June 2015 unveiled the
Telangana Industrial Policy 2015 in Hyderabad. The policy is intended to boost
industrial activity and employment opportunities in the state.
Highlights of Telangana Industrial Policy 2015

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Industrialists are accorded with Right to timely clearances from the state
government in order to set up industries.
Clearances will be given in 2 weeks for mega projects.
A system of self certification has been put in place for industrialists backed by
the Telangana State Industrial Project Approval and Self Certification System (TSiPASS) Act, 2014.
A single window clearance system will be established.
Entrepreneurs need to fill only a single common online application form.
Industries categorized as Green (non- hazardous), Orange (less hazardous) and
Red (more hazardous) will be accorded approval within 15 days, 21 days and 30
days respectively.
Fifteen sectors were identified as focus areas including Life Sciences, Automobiles,
Gems and Jewellery and IT & Hardware.
All the industries will be given power supply round the clock.
A Chasing cell will be set up in the Chief Ministers Office (CMO).
A nodal officer will be appointed to oversee matters related to industrial approval
and establishment under the policy.
Tamil Nadu and Adani Power Ltd signed PPA to set up 200 MW
solar power plant in Ramanathapuram
Tamil Nadu Government and Adani Power Ltd in the second week of June signed
a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to set up a 200 MW solar power plant in
Ramanathapuram district.
The plant will be constructed with an investment of nearly 1400 crore rupees.
The district was chosen by the group because of the fact that it is one of the two
districts along with Thoothukudi that receive highest solar radiation in the state.
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In March 2015, Adani Power Ltd applied to Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution
Corporation (TANGDECO) for a load flow study to establish 1000 MW solar plant at
Kamuthi in the district.
In 2012, the State government unveiled Solar Energy Policy (SEP) that envisaged
generation of 1000 MW every year for three years through utility scale projects,
rooftops and Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) schemes.
However, the plan did not fructified with the states total grid connected solar power
achieving a mere 5 percent of its goal due to high capital cost (7 crore rupees per
MW) and land requirements (5 acres for 1 MW) involved in setting up solar power
plants.
As per data released by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Tamil
Nadu ranks seventh in terms of total commissioned solar capacity till May 2015,
contributing just about 3.8 percent of the total capacity of 3.88 GW.
In India, Rajasthan and Gujarat lead among the states and Union Territories (UTs) in
terms of solar power generation because of the fact that both the states receive high
solar radiation and have lot of arid land that is available at low cost.

Delhi Jal Board vice-chairman Kapil Mishra was on 10 June 2015 named as the new
Law Minister of Delhi.
34-year-old Mishra, who represents Karawal Nagar Assembly seat, will succeed
Jitendra Singh Tomar who resigned on 9 June 2015 following his arrest in fake degree
case.
Mishra has been associated with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal since the days of
India Against Corruption (IAC).
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Bihar launched campaign Badh Chala Bihar to produce

Bihar@2025 vision document
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on 9 June 2015 launched a campaign called Badh
Chala Bihar in Patna to collate ideas from the public to produce Bihar@2025. It is a
vision document on states development between 2015 and 2025.
Features of the campaign

Its purpose is to ensure public participation in policy making.
It will elicit views of people; encourage them to tell about their issues, and what
they want in health, electricity, education, employment and other sectors of
development.
It aims to reach out to four crore people residing in 40000 villages in the state,
including 10000 government and civil society members over the next eight to 10
weeks.
Views will also be sought from people hailing from nonresident Biharis, as well as
from specialists in different fields.
It is touted as worlds largest campaign for participatory agenda through massive
engagement of citizens.
All the views and opinions collected as part of the campaign will be documented
and included to prepare Bihar@2025.
AMC launched USE and GET PAID scheme

Ahmadabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) on 9 June 2015 announced USE and GET
PAID scheme, under which people will be paid one rupees for using public toilets.
The announced scheme aims to eradicate the practice of open defecation and will
help to keep the city clean.
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The scheme was recently approved by the standing committee of the AMC. According
to the health officer of AMC, every user will not be paid but the corporation will
identify people who defecate in open and sensitise them to use public toilets. The
scheme will be implemented in next few days.
AMC has turned around its previous scheme PAY and USE, under which people were
supposed to pay for using the public toilets.
The scheme was launched after the corporation indentified 120 spots in the city
where people used to defecate in the open. Now, these places will be provided with
lavatory facilities.

The Bombay High Court on 8 June 2015 banned horse driven carriages in Mumbai.
The judgment was delivered by the Division Bench of Justices A S Oka and A K Menon
on a petition by the Animals and Birds Charitable Trust. The petitioners contended
that the horses were forced to overwork.
The bench termed that the use of horse carriages for joyrides is illegal and granted
one year to the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) to implement the
complete ban.
In Mumbai, the decorated horse-driven carriages are used for joyrides at Marine
Drive and other beaches.
The court also directed the state government to identify the number of families whose
livelihoods were connected with the running of horse carriages and come up with
schemes for their rehabilitation by December 2015. The government would also have
to formulate schemes for rehabilitation of the animals.
After the expiry of the one-year period, the MCGM would have to close down all
the stables meant for horses and ponies and take action under the provisions of the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
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Jind and Karnal districts of Haryana and Muzaffarnagar of Uttar Pradesh were
included in National Capital Region on 9 June 2015.
This inclusion was announced by Urban Development minister M Venkaiah Naidu
after a meet of National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) meeting in New
Delhi.
The meeting was attended by Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and
representatives and government officials of other member states. Delhi Health
Minister Satyender Jain was representing Delhi government.
Earlier on 1 July 2013, Bhiwani and Mahendragarh districts of Haryana and Bharatpur
district of Rajasthan were included in the National Capital Region.
National Capital Region

National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) came into being in 1985, with
enactment of the National Capital Region Planning Board Act, 1985 of Government
of India. The aim of the concept was to develop a metropolitan area around Delhi, so
as to divert increasing pressure of population from the region.
The concept was essential in order to protect Delhis infrastructure from excessive
pressure and a planned development of the region.
Union Environment Ministry approved Coastal Road Project of

Mumbai
Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) Prakash
Javadekar on 8 June 2015 cleared the Coastal Road Project of Mumbai, Maharashtra.
This 12000-crore project will cover 35.6 km between Nariman Point and Kandivali,
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along the western seafront. The project will begin in mid-August 2015. The project
will help in decongesting Mumbai roads and will also create 91 hectares of green
space.
The Environment Ministry wanted to ensure three things before approving

the project. These things were:
Reclamation of land should be minimal
No commercial activity should be carried out on reclaimed land
The land will be open to public
The project was conceived by the previous Congress-NCP government after it
decided to drop the extension of Bandra-Worli sea link project up to Haji Ali.
Earlier on 6 June 2015, Maharashtra government signed a Memorandum of
Understanding with the Government of the Netherlands for obtaining technical advice
on feasibility of building Metro track along the proposed coastal road connecting
north and south Mumbai.
AP Postal Circle decided to sell River Godavari water as GODJAL during Pushkaram festival
Andhra Pradesh (AP) circle of India Post in the first week of June 2015 decided to
sell River Godavari water as GOD-JAL (Godavari Pushkaram Jal) during Pushkaram
festival season between 14 July and 25 July 2015.
The GOD-JAL will be sold at post offices across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and
will be available for citizens who will not be able to take a dip in the river during the
Pushkaram festival.
500 ml of purified GOD-JAL will be duly bottled and purified as per ISI standards and
will be delivered at door step for as low a cost as 20 rupees per bottle.
The GOD-JAL will be sold through 95 post offices, 2360 sub post offices and 13611
branch post offices of the two states.
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The water can also be ordered online at www.appost/in/eshop by devotees till 14

July 2015. Even the abroad orders will be delivered through WorldNet Express, while
domestic orders will be delivered through EMS Speed Post.
The decision to sell the waters of River Godavari in the two states by AP Postal circle
was taken in lieu of the fact that most of the river length lies in both the states where
the Pushkaram festival is taking place.
Godavari Mahapushkaram is a unique event which happens once in 144 years. It is
once in a life time opportunity for believers to dip in the river and get purified.
HP High Court asked state government to establish separate

homes for differently-abled people
The High Court of Himachal Pradesh on 5 June 2015 asked the state government to
establish separate homes for differently-abled, shelter less, destitute and mentality
challenged people. The state government was asked to complete the work within a
year.
The court also directed the Principal Secretary (Social Justice and Empowerment) to
release adequate funds for the purpose within eight weeks. In order to ascertain that
people in old age homes are provided with the basic amenities or not, the court also
asked the Director Welfare to visit the old age homes.
It directed that if the amenities are not being provided then, the same should be
made available to them within two weeks after visiting the homes.
A division bench comprising Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan
passed these orders, taking cognizance of a letter written by Chairman, Umang
Foundation, Ajai Srivastava, wherein he had raised questions on the pathetic living
conditions provided to the inmates at the Old Age Home, Basantpur near Shimla.
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Union Government signed 400 million US dollars loan agreement

with World Bank for TNSUDP
The Union Government on 4 June 2015 signed Loan and Project Agreements with
the World Bank for assistance of 400 million US dollars for Tamil Nadu Sustainable
Urban Development Project (TNSUDP).
The objective of the project is to improve urban services in participating Urban
Local Bodies (ULBs) in a financially sustainable manner and to pilot improved urban
management practices in selected cities. The total project size is 600 million US
dollars
Three main components of the Project

Investment in Urban Services: The project will support improvement in range of urban
services including water, sewerage, municipal solid waste, urban transportation,
sewerage management and storm water drainage. The project includes creation of a
reserve fund to provide credit enhancements for municipal bonds and other market
based Loan instruments issued by ULBs.
Result Based Grants for Urban Governance: The project will provide results-based
grants to eligible ULBs to implement new urban-management models that strengthen
governance and financial sustainability.
Urban Sector Technical Assistance: The project will support strengthening the
capacity of ULBs and urban sector officials.

Delhi Metro on 4 June 2015 received its first driver-less train from Korea-based
manufacturer. The train is equipped with several advanced features and will be
operational on sections of Phase-III of the network, set to be operational by December
2016.
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Features of these trains

Manufactured at Changwan in South Korea, the new train has undergone significant
technological as well as eco-friendly upgrades. Many additional features have
been added to increase passenger comfort.
The train will be more energy efficient because of improved design features such
as better regeneration of energy during braking, energy efficient sub systems like
LED lighting and air conditioning systems.
The train is are designed for a maximum speed of 95 kmph and operational speed
of 85 kmph
Due to the absence of cabin for the operator, these train will be able to accommodate
2280 passengers, which is 240 more than the regular six-coach Metro train
This six-coach train was ferried to India by sea to Gujarats Mundhra port and then
was brought to Delhi by road on specially made trailers.
These trains would run on the over 58 km-long Majlish Park-Shiv Vihar and the over
38 km-long Janakpuri (West)-Botanical Garden corridors of the Phase-III.
According to DMRC, a total of 20 such train sets of Hyundai Rotem will be manufactured
in South Koreas Changwan by the end of 2015 while the remaining 61 are being
manufactured at the Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) plant in Bengaluru.
Jharkhand Cabinet approved Jharkhand Special Courts

Ordinance, 2015
Jharkhand Cabinet on 3 June 2015 approved Jharkhand Special Courts Ordinance,
2015. The decision was taken during a Cabinet meet chaired by Chief Minister
Raghubar Das.
These Special Courts will be established for speedy trail of corruption cases and will
help in creating a corruption-free state.
Further these courts will enable prosecution of individuals responsible for hoarding
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black money and confiscate the illegal acquired property of the guilty.
The step to create such Special Courts was taken in light of increasing number of
corruption cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 which resulted in
delay in disposal of cases by the vigilance courts.
In this light, the Cabinet requested the Governor of Jharkhand Draupadi Murmu to
provide clearance to the Jharkhand Special Court Ordinance, 2015 under Article 213
of the Constitution of India, which deals with the power of Governor to promulgate
ordinances during recess of Legislature.
Phase 1A of Jaipur Metro Rail Services inaugurated

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on 3 June 2015 inaugurated phase 1A of
metro rail services in Jaipur. With this, the pink city became the sixth city in the country
to have metro service; other five cities are Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Bangalore, and
Kolkata.
In the first phase, the metro will run on 9.6 kilometer stretch covering nine stations
from residential area Mansarovar to business hub in Chandpole.
Jaipur Metro has added three unique features in its service, and they are
Passenger will enjoy jerk free journey because of Wheel Mounted Disk Braking
System.
Each Coach is equipped with LCD which will continuously display information for
the passengers.
It also carries facilities for special challenged people and senior citizens.
The Jaipur metro work is publicized as one of the fastest-built metros in the country
as it has been developed in a time period of four-and-a-half years.
One most important fact of Jaipur metro service is that six out of 24 Metro train
operators, that is, 25 percent of metro drivers, are women.
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Jaipur Metro Rail Project has been developed by Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation Ltd
(JMRCL) which was set up as a wholly owned subsidiary by the Government of
Rajasthan.
Maharashtra Cabinet approved a Composite Renewable Energy

Policy
Maharashtra Cabinet on 2 June 2015 approved a Composite Renewable Energy
Policy worth 4156.43 crore rupees which would help attract investment of 1 lakh
crore rupees. The policy was approved at a cabinet meet chaired by Chief Minister
Devendra Fadnavis.
The policy aims at achieving 14400 MW of installed capacity from the present 6700
MW over a period of five years, that is, till 2020. In terms of percentage, the policy
targets to increase the share of renewable energy in total electricity production in the
state to 15 percent from present 9 percent.
Out of the total 14400 MW installed capacity 7500 MW would come from solar energy,
5000 MW from wind energy, 1000 MW from bagasse based co-generation, 400 MW
from small hydro, 200 MW from industrial waste and 300 MW from agriculture wastebased products.
Apart from this, in order to promote installation of new renewable projects, the state
government also decided to simplify the consent norms and reduce the number of
clearances.
Further, the procurement process would be by way of competitive bidding so as to
benefit consumers in terms of affordable tariff.
In terms of financial incentives, the state government decided to provide an exemption
on electricity duty for ten years apart from various other capital subsidies.
The current installed capacity of renewable energy in the state is 6700 MW. Currently,
the share of renewable energy is around nine per cent and we are targetting 15
percent.
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NEWS CAPSULE
PERSON IN NEWS
Britains longest-serving Indian-origin MP, Keith Vaz on 18 June 2015 was re-elected
as chairman of Parliaments Home Affairs Select Committee for the third time.
Vaz, a senior leader of Labour Party was elected as the chairman after receiving 412
votes in a secret ballot to all of the 25 select committees of the commons.
Keith Vaz born on 26 November 1956 is a British Labour Party politician who has
been Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester East since the 1987 election. He has
been the Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee since July 2007.
He was appointed as a member of the Privy Council in June 2006.
Between October 1999 and June 2001 he served as a Minister for Europe, Foreign
and Commonwealth Office.
Beno Zephine became first 100% blind officer in IFS

Chennais NL Beno Zephine on 12 June 2015 became the first 100 percent visuallychallenged person to be inducted into the Indian Foreign Services (IFS).
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The 25-year-old, Beno was informed about her induction into the Indian Foreign
Services by the External Affairs Ministry.
At the time of being named as IFS officer, Beno was serving the State Bank of India
as a probationary officer. She is a postgraduate in English from Madras University.
Beno cleared her civil service examinations conducted in 2013. While preparing for
the exam, she took help of software named Job Access with Speech (JAWS), which
was a replacement of Brialle. The software allows visually challenged to read from a
computer screen, and can scan Tamil and English books.
This progressive development can be seen against the Supreme Court of Indias
order of October 2014. In its order, it had directed the Department of Personnel
& Training (DoPT) to calculate backlog vacancies for the differently-abled and then
accommodate them under the Persons with Disabilities Act 1995.
Earlier on 11 October 2013, Supreme Court also directed the Union Government to
identify the posts for disabled persons within a period of three months and implement
it without default.
UN elected Denmarks Mogens Lykketoft to head General

Assembly
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 15 June 2015 elected Denmarks
Mogens Lykketoft as its President for its upcoming 70th session in September 2015.
He will have tenure of one year and succeeds Ugandas Sam Kutesa to preside over
the 193-member body.
Lykketoft presently is the speaker of Danish Parliament since 2011 and is a member
of the Social Democrats party.
Earlier from 1993 to 2001, Lykketoft served Denmark as its Foreign and Finance
Ministers.
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Dr Bimal K Roy removed as Director of Indian Statistical Institute

(ISI)
Dr Bimal K Roy was on 10 June 2015 removed as the Director of Indian Statistical
Institute (ISI) by the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
(MOSPI).
He was removed from the position one-and-a-half months before the end of his term.
He was replaced by director-designate Prof S Bandyopadhayay who was set to
assume the office on 1 August 2015 on Roys superannuation.
The ministry accused him of indiscipline and removed him on a reasonable
apprehension that he may indulge in propagation of indiscipline and mischief,
including acts of administrative and financial impropriety in the interregnum up to 31
July 2015 when he is set to demit the office.
Roy was appointed to the position in August 2010.
Roy, a renowned cryptologist, was conferred with Padma Shri Award, Indias fourth
highest civilian honour in the discipline of literature and education.
Harriette Thompson became oldest woman to complete a

marathon
Harriette Thompson at 92 year 65 days became the oldest woman to complete a
marathon race on 31 May 2015.
She achieved this feat at San Diegos Rock n Roll Marathon of 26.2 miles (42.2
kilometers) by completing the race in 7 hours, 24 minutes, 36 seconds. This was her
16th Rock n Roll Marathon and by far, the hardest.
With this, Harriette Thompson of Charlotte, North Carolina got her name inscribed
into the record books. The previous record holder was Gladys Burrill. She made the
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record at the age of 92 years and 19 days at the 2010 Honolulu Marathon.
Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa sworn-in as Governor of Arunachal

Pradesh
Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa was sworn-in as Governor of Arunachal Pradesh on 1 June
2015. He became the 19th Governor of the state.
His oath of the office and secrecy was administered by the Chief Justice of Guahati
High Court (Acting), Justice K Sreedhar Rao in the Darbar Hall of Raj Bhawan.
His appointment was necessitated after Lt General (Retired) Nirbhay Sharma was
transferred to Mizoram in second week of May 2015. President Pranab Mukherjee on
12 May 2015 appointed Rajkhowa as the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh.
Rajkhowa was the former Chief Secretary of Assam and is a retired Indian Administrative
Service officer from 1968 batch.
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June 2015
PERSON VISIT
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a two-day visit to Bangladesh from 6 June to
7 June 2015.
During his first-ever visit to Bangladesh since becoming the Prime Minister, Modi was
received at the Shahjalal International airport by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina. He also received a 21-gun salute and a joint services guard of Honour in a
red carpet reception.
Events that happened during the visit include

The two nations signed, exchanged, adopted and handed 22 bilateral documents
in Dhaka, including historical 1974 Land Boundary Agreement which would settle
the 4096-kilometre-long border dispute
Modi along with her Bangladeshi Counterpart Sheikh Hasina and West Bengal
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee flagged off the Dhaka-Shillong-Guwahati and
Kolkata-Dhaka-Tripura bus services
Modi received the Award of Liberation of War Honour on behalf of former Prime
Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who emphasized on strong ties with the neighboring
country.
The Prime Minister Modi paid homage to martyrs of the 1971 Liberation War
against Pakistan at the National Martyrs War Memorial in Savar, about 20 kms
from Dhaka, where he planted a sapling.
He visited the Father of Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Memorial Museum
in Dhanmudi, the site of the assassination of Bangabandhu and his family in 1975
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He offered floral tributes at the Memorial Museum on behalf of people of India

He visited famous Dhakeshwari Kali temple in Lalbagh, Dhaka. The Dhakeshwari
temple was built in the 12th century by Ballal Sen, a King of Sena dynasty.
Dhakeshwari means Goddess of Dhaka and it was given the status of national
temple in 1996.
He also visited the Ramakrishna Mission (RKM)
President Pranab Mukherjee concluded two-nation visit to

Sweden and Belarus
The President of India Pranab Mukherjee concluded his two-nation visit to Sweden
and Belarus.
He visited Sweden from 31 May to 2 June and Belarus from 2 June to 4 June 2015
and these visits were first ever by an Indian President to either country.
During the visit, the President held discussions with his counterparts of both the
countries, admistrators and business leaders and concluded many agreements.
Takeaways from Sweden visit

The focus of the visit was to strengthen bilateral economic ties and to provide
impetus to cooperation in specific areas of priority.
Six intergovernmental agreements were concluded, covering cooperation in the
fields of urban development, medium and small-scale enterprises, polar research,
civil nuclear research and medicine.
17 Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) were signed between educational
institutions, think tanks and the Chambers of Commerce of the two countries.
Sweden expressed its support for Indias claim for permanent membership of the
UN Security Council (UNSC).
Sweden expressed its support to Indias membership of the Missile Technology
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Control Regime (MTCR).

India formally conveyed its decision to grant Swedish nationals e-tourist visa.
This, along with signature of an Agreement on Diplomatic visa waiver took place.
Sweden expressed its support to Indias membership of the Missile Technology
Control Regime (MTCR).
Both the countries agreed to enhance bilateral trade to 5 billion US dollars by
2018.
The President delivered a public lecture on the contemporary relevance to global
peace of Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi at Uppsala University, one of the oldest
universities of Europe founded in 1477.
Takeaways from Belarus visit

Both the countries agreed to engage on a four-fold framework for enhanced
cooperation comprising regular political and institutional dialogue, rapid increase
in commercial and economic interaction, a paradigm shift in defence cooperation
towards joint research, design and manufacturing as well as wide-ranging
expansion of our S&T, educational, cultural and people-to-people exchanges.
Belarus expressed its support for Indias claim for permanent membership of the
UN Security Council (UNSC).
Five agreements and MOUs were signed, covering cooperation in textiles,
standardization, capital markets and broadcasting. A focused and substantive
Roadmap for India-Belarus Cooperation was also agreed, which identifies specific
areas for closer interaction in future.
The President formally conveyed the decision of Government of India to grant
Market Economy Status to Belarus, which had been a long-standing request of
the Belarus side. This decision would open up new avenues for bilateral trade as
well as facilitate the integration of Belarus in international trade structures.
Agricultural machinery, mining equipment, heavy construction equipment and
defence were identified as potential areas for manufacturing ventures in India.
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Both countries agreed to increase the bilateral trade 1 billion US dollars by 2020.
India agreed to extend a new Line of Credit of 100 million US dollars to Belarus for
implementation of mutually agreed joint projects, thereby further deepening the
economic ties.
Seven MOUs were signed between Indian and Belarusian Universities and
Institutes.
The President, unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at the prestigious Belarus State
University campus. The University conferred upon him Professor Honoris Causa.
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June 2015
PERSON RESIGNED
Justice Gian Parkash Mittal resigned from the Office of the Judge
of Delhi High Court
Justice Gian Parkash Mittal on 19 June 2015 resigned from the Office of the Judge of
Delhi High Court with effect from the afternoon of 8 July 2015. However, the reason
behind his resignation was not disclosed
Mittal tendered his resignation from the office of the Judge of Delhi High Court, in
pursuance of provision (a) to clause (1) of article 217 of the Indian Constitution.
Article 217 of the Constitution of India

Article 217 of Indian Constitution states appointment and conditions of the office
of a Judge of a High Court. As per clause (1) of article 217, every Judge of a High
Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal after
consultation with the Chief Justice of India, the Governor of the State.
And as per provision (a) to clause (1) of Article 217 of the Indian Constitution, a Judge
may, by writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign his office.
Said Djinnit, UN envoy to Burundi crisis, stepped down as

mediator
Said Djinnit, the United Nations (UN) envoy to Burundi crisis, stepped down from his
role as mediator of the crisis on 11 June 2015.
He stepped down following requests of the opposition parties, who accused him of
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being biased and demanded a new UN mediator for the crisis.

The Burundi crisis was triggered after President Pierre Nkurunziza bid for a thirdterm.
However, Djinit will remain engaged with Burundi as part of his role of UN special
envoy to the Great Lakes region. The region comprises of nations surrounding African
Great Lakes namely Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda,
Tanzania and Uganda.
Burundi crisis
Burundis political crisis started on 25 April 2015 after President Nkurunziza (in power
since 2005) announced that he will run for a third term in the upcoming elections.
He announced his willingness to run for the elections, despite warnings at home and
abroad.
This bid for election led to clashes between protestors and police leading to death of
at least 30 people.
According to opponents, Nkurunzizas decision violates the constitution that limits
the president to two terms in office.
On the other hand, supporters say that first term of Nkurunziza doesnt counts as he
was not elected by people, but was appointed by the Parliament.

Sepp Blatter resigned as President of FIFA on 2 June 2015 amid the corruption
scandal that has engulfed the footballs governing body. Blatter has been serving as
president of world soccer governing body FIFA since 1998.
79-year-old Blatter who was re-elected as FIFA president on 29 May 2015 said that
soon a special congress would be called to elect his successor. He will exercise his
functions as FIFA president until an election is held.
His resignation came within a week after Swiss police arrested seven FIFA officials,
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June 2015
including two vice presidents, at a hotel in Zurich. The arrests were called out on behalf
of US prosecutors who accuse the seven and eight other suspects of involvement in
150 million US dollars bribe.
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PERSON APPOINTED
Anshula Kant appointed as CFO and Deputy Managing Director
of SBI
Anshula Kant was on 25 June 2015 appointed as the Deputy Managing Director and
Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of State Bank of India (SBI). She succeeded P K Gupta,
who was promoted as Chief Executive Officer of SBI Capital.
Till recently, Kant headed Bombay Circle of SBI as the Chief General Manager. She
joined State Bank of India as a Probationary Officer in 1983. Since then, she has
handled many crucial assignments in Retail Banking, Corporate Credit, Cross-Border
Trade and Banking in Developed Markets.
Earlier, she headed Network 2 of Mumbai Circle, which spans the State of Goa
and the Districts of Pune, Solapur, Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Nashik, Ahmadnagar,
Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri in the State of Maharashtra.
She has been a Certified Associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers since 1990.
Aakar Patel appointed as Executive Director of Amnesty

International India
Journalist and writer Aakar Patel appointed as Executive Director of Amnesty
International (AI) India on 18 June 2015. He will head AI Indias operations and its
efforts to end human rights abuses in India and worldwide.
Patel as the organizations chief political advisor, strategist and spokesperson will give
direction to its goal of being an independent, effective, and deep-rooted organization
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June 2015
in India.
Patels previous work includes

India: Low Trust Society (2015)
Rights and Wrongs, a report on the 2002 Gujarat riots which he co-authored
Worked as a columnist with publications in India and Pakistan
Television and radio work as an independent expert
Antani, Joshi appointed to the board of Future Majority Project

of US Republican Party
Two Indian-Americans Niraj Antani, an Ohio State legislature and Janak Joshi, a
Colorado State legislature, were on 18 June 2015 appointed to the board of the
2015-2016 Future Majority Project of the United States (US) Republican Party.
Niraj Antani is a student at the University Of Dayton School Of Law, having previously
graduated from Ohio State University with Bachelors degree in political science. He
became the youngest member of the House of Representatives in 2014 at the tender
age of 23.
While on the other hand, Joshi has been serving as a member of the Colorado House
of Representatives since 2011. He practiced internal medicine, nephrology, and
occupational medicine from Gujarat University in India.
The Board of FMP is chaired by TW Shannon, Chairman and former Speaker of the
Oklahoma House of Representatives.
Archana Ramasundaram appointed as Director of National

Crime Records Bureau
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Archana Ramasundaram was on 17 June 2015 appointed as the Director of National

Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), New Delhi. Ramasundram is an IPS officer of
1980-batch of Tamil Nadu cadre.
Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet on 17 June 2015 approved her posting
to NCRB by curtailing her tenure as Additional Director of the CBI, New Delhi.
Ramasundaram joined the CBI as its Additional Director in May 2014. Prior to her
appointment in CBI, she was serving in Tamil Nadu as the DGP and Chairperson of
Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board.
The Department of Personnel and Training has temporarily upgraded the post of
Director of NCRB to that of Director-General of Police for a period of two years.
G Gurucharan given additional charge as Director General of

Bureau of Indian Standards
Senior IAS officer G Gurucharan was on 17 June 2015 given additional charge as
Director General, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for three months. He will hold the
additional charge till the appointment of a regular incumbent or until further orders.
Gurucharan is a 1982-batch IAS officer of Karnataka cadre. Presently, he is serving
as an Additional Secretary in Department of Food and Public Distribution.
The post of Director General has been lying vacant since MJ Joseph resigned and
assumed the charge of Director of Controller General of Accounts on 15 May 2015.
Joseph was appointed as DG of BIS on 6 January 2015.
On the other hand, Anoop Kumar Srivastava was given additional charge of Secretary,
Inter State Council Secretariat under Union Home Ministry for three months. Srivastava,
a 1981-batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre, is working as Secretary (Border
Management).
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June 2015
Narendra Kumar Yadav took charge as Chairman and Managing

Director of MTNL
Narendra Kumar Yadav took charge as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD)
of the state-run telecom operator Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) with
effect from 8 June 2015.
This was informed by MTNL on 16 June 2015 in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange
(BSE).
Yadav succeeded PK Purwar, who was given additional charge of the post after
companys CMD AK Garg retired on 30 May 2014.
Setup on 1 April 1986 by the Union Government, MTNL is the principal provider
of fixed-line telecommunication service in the two Metropolitan Cities of Delhi and
Mumbai.
MTNL has also been given Navratna status in 1997 and was listed in New York Stock
Exchange in 2001.
Prof S Bandyopadhayay appointed as Director of Indian Statistical

Institute (ISI)
Prof Sanghmitra Bandyopadhayay was on 10 June 2015 appointed as the Director
of Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) by the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation (MOSPI).
She is the first woman to lead the institute and replaced Dr Bimal K Roy who was
removed on charges of indiscipline.
Earlier on 8 June 2015, she was appointed as director-designate of the institute and
was set to assume the office on 1 August 2015 on Roys superannuation.
She is a computer scientist specializing in computational biology. Her research is
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mainly in the areas of evolutionary computation, pattern recognition, machine learning

and bioinformatics. She received Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Award in 2010 for her
contributions to engineering sciences.

Dr. Srivari Chandrasekhar on 9 June 2015 was appointed as the Director of Hyderabadbased CSIR-Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT). The appointment was made by
the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is President of the CSIR (Council of Scientific
and Industrial Research).
He is currently working as Chief Scientist at the IICT to which he was appointed
in 2010. He has made significant contributions in the field of organic chemistry,
synthesis of active natural products and pharmaceutical products.
He has more than 250 publications under his name along with 5000 citations.
He is also the fellow of all the three science academies of the country including
National Academy of Sciences, Indian Academy of Sciences and Indian National
Science Academy. Moreover, he developed PEG (polyethylene glycol) which has
many applications from industrial manufacturing to medicines. He also invented
technologies for anti-depressive compound, sertraline, Asenapine, anti-tuberculosis
drug, etc.
For his contributions, Dr. Chandrasekhar was also awarded the Infosys Prize in 2014
in Physical Sciences, thus becoming the first synthetic chemist to be honoured with
the Infosys science award.
RC Tayal appointed as Director General of National Security

Guard
Senior IPS Officer RC Tayal was on 8 June 2015 appointed as the Director General
(DG) of National Security Guard (NSG). He succeeded JN Choudhury who retired
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on 31 May 2015. He will serve the office till August 2016 when he is scheduled for
superannuation.
Prior to this appointment, Tayal was serving as the Special Director General (DG) in
paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and was heading its formation in
Jammu and Kashmir. Tayal is a 1980-batch Assam-Meghalaya cadre IPS officer.
He had earlier served as an Additional DG in the Sashastra Seema Bal.
About National Security Guard (NSG)

NSG was raised in 1984 as a federal contingency force with an aim to undertake
counter-terror and counter-hijack operations and it was later tasked to protect
high-risk VVIPs.
It operates under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and is headed by the Director
General of the Indian Police Service (IPS).
The NSG members are also known as Black Cats because of the black drill cotton
coveralls and for the black helmets that they wear.
Vijai Sharma appointed as Chief Information Commissioner of

India
Vijai Sharma was on 8 June 2015 appointed as the Chief Information Commissioner
in the Central Information Commission (CIC), New Delhi. He will have tenure of 5
years or till he attain the age of 65, whichever is earlier.
Prior to this appointment, he was serving as an Information Commissioner in Central
Information Commission since 2012. Vijai Sharma is a 1974 batch IAS officer of Uttar
Pradesh Cadre.
Vijai Sharmas name for post of Chief Information Commissioner was finalized on 1
June 2015 by Selection Committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His
appointment was further approved by President Pranab Mukherjee.
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About Chief Information Commissioner

The Chief Information Commissioner is appointed by the President of India on
the recommendation of a selection committee comprising of Prime Minister, the
leader of single largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha and a Union Cabinet
Minister.
He holds the office for a term of 5 years or till he attains the age of 65 years. He is
not eligible for reappointment.
He enjoys complete financial and administrative powers of a Department of
the Union Government except in matters relating to the creation of posts, reappropriation and writing-off losses.
The Office of Central and State Information Commission was established under
the Right To Information (RTI) Act, 2005 as a designated statutory authority to
receive and inquire into a complaint from any person.

1978-batch IRS officer KV Chowdary was on 8 June 2015 appointed as the Central
Vigilance Commissioner (CVC). He was appointed by President Pranab Mukherjee
on the recommendation of Selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi.
With this appointment, Chowdary became first non-IAS officer to head the CVC since
it was formed in 1964. He is a 1978-batch IRS officer of the Income Tax cadre.
About Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)

CVC was set up by the Union Government in February 1964 on the recommendations
of the K. Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption.
It has the status of statutory autonomous body and is free of control from any
executive authority as per the provisions of Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)
Act, 2003.
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The CVC is headed by a Central Vigilance Commissioner and has two Vigilance
Commissioners. They are appointed by President on the recommendations of
Selection Committee comprising of Prime Minister, Union Minister of Home Affairs
and Leader of the second largest party in the Lok Sabha.
Syed Asif Ibrahim appointed as PMs Special Envoy on Countering

Terrorism and Extremism
Syed Asif Ibrahim was on 3 June 2015 appointed as the Prime Ministers Special
Envoy on Countering Terrorism and Extremism. He is a former Director of Intelligence
Bureau (DIB).
In this new capacity, he will liaise with governments in West Asia, Afghanistan,
Pakistan and South East Asia, among others, in setting up channels for the exchange
of intelligence and information on terror groups.
The appointment took place in the back drop of growing concern over probable
poaching of some Indian youth by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) and
other militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq.
He will report to National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and work out of the National
Security Council (NSC) Secretariat in New Delhi.
Syed Asif Ibrahim was a 1977 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of Madhya
Pradesh cadre and retired in December 2014.
He held the position of DIB from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2014.
P Kunhikrishnan appointed as Director of Satish Dhawan Space

Centre (SDSC) SHAR
P Kunhikrishnan was on 1 June 2015 appointed as the Director of Satish Dhawan
Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR with immediate effect. He succeeded MYS Prasad, who
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superannuated in May 2015.

Before the present appointment, he was the Deputy Director at Vikram Sarabhai
Space Centre (VSSC). He has made significant contributions in the area of System
level Quality Assurance of Avionics, Electrical Integration and Checkout Systems for
various Launch Vehicles of ISRO in the career spanning over three decades.
He was also the Project Director of PSLV Project in June 2010 and has successfully
accomplished 13 PSLV Missions as Mission Director. These PSLV Missions include
PSLV-C19 that carried RISAT-1, the heaviest Indian remote sensing satellite launched
by PSLV to Sun Synchronous Orbit so far; PSLV-C25 that launched Indias Mars
Orbiter Spacecraft and the four PSLV missions that launched first four satellites of
the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS).
He is the recipient of Astronautical society of India (ASI) award for the year 2011 and
ISRO Individual Merit Award for the year 2010.
SDSC SHAR works under the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and is
located on an island off Sullurupeta, a small town in Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh.
K Sivan appointed as Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre,

ISRO
K Sivan was on 1 June 2015 appointed as the Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space
Centre (VSSC), an organisation that works under Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO), in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
He took the charge on the day of his appointment and succeded M Chandradathan,
who superannuated in May 2015. Before this appointment, he was the
Distinguished Scientist and Director at Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC),
Thiruvananthapuram.
Sivan joined ISRO in 1982 for Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) Project which
has become the foundation for ISRO launch vehicles like Geosynchronous Satellite
Launch Vehicle (GSLV), GSLV Mk-III, as well as Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology
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Demonstrator (RLV-TD).
He is the chief architect of 6D trajectory simulation software SITARA which is the
backbone of the real time and non real time trajectory simulations of all ISRO launch
vehicles.
He joined GSLV Project in April 2011 as Project Director. Under his leadership, GSLV
with indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage achieved historical success on 5 January
2014. For his contributions to the Indian space sector, he has received many awards,
which include Dr Biren Roy space science award for the year 2011, ISRO merit award
for the year 2007 and Shri Hari Om Ashram Prerit Dr. Vikram Sarabhai Research
award for the year 1999.
Person Appointed
S Somanath appointed as Director of Liquid Propulsion Systems

Centre, ISRO
S Somanath was on 1 June 2015 appointed as the Director of Liquid Propulsion
Systems Centre (LPSC) with immediate effect. LPSC works under the Indian Space
Research Organisation (ISRO) and is located at Trivandrum, Kerala.
He succeeded K Sivan, who took over as the Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space
Centre (VSSC). Before the present appointment, he was an Associate Director
(Projects), VSSC as well as Project Director of GSLV Mk-III. He joined VSSC in 1985.
He is an expert in a host of disciplines including designing of launch vehicle and has
specialised in launch vehicle systems.
As a convenor, Somanath authored the Project report of GSLV Mk-III (also known as
LVM3) during 2000-2002 and joined GSLV Mk-III Project in 2003. Later, he became
the Project Director of GSLV Mk-III in 2010.
He received the Performance Excellence award from ISRO in the year 2009 and
Team excellence award for GSLV Mk-III realisation.
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PERSON DIED
Patrick Macnee, star of the legendary Avengers TV series, died on 25 June 2015 at
his home in Rancho Mirage in California. He was 93. Macnee was known for playing
the role of secret agent John Steed in the 1960s television series The Avengers.
During his schooling, he acted in a production of Henry V with his classmate
Christopher Lee. After completing his education from Eton College, he served in
the Royal Navy during World War Two by working on torpedo boats in the English
Channel and the North Sea.
He also appeared in a few London stage productions and films including his role as
Marley in the Alastair Sims A Christmas Carol.
He was born as Daniel Patrick Macnee on 6 February 1922 in London and grew up
in Lambourn.

Veteran journalist, columnist and peace activist Praful Bidwai was on 23 June 2015
passed away in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He was 65.
Born in Nagpur, he worked in the Times of India for many years as a Senior Assistant
Editor before embarking on a freelance career that made his byline a household
name across India.
He wrote a regular column for Frontline and Hindustan Times for several years besides
other magazines and newspapers published across India and the World.
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He was also an anti-nuclear activist and a founding member of Coalition for Nuclear
Disarmament and Peace that was set up after the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests.
He authored several books, including South Asia on a Short Fuse: Nuclear Politics
and the Future of Global Disarmament (1999), New Nukes: India, Pakistan and Global
Nuclear Disarmament (co-authored with Achin Vanaik in 2002) and the Politics of
Climate Change and Global Crisis: Mortgaging Our Future (2012).
He had been a Professorial Fellow at the Centre for Social Development, New Delhi
and also a Senior Fellow at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library.
He had also served as a member of the Indian Council for Social Science Research
(ICSSR), the Central Advisory Board on Education (CABE) and the National Book
Trust (NBT).
He was a long-time Fellow of the Transnational Institute, the Amsterdam-based
organisation of international scholar-activists including Susan George and Walden
Bello.
In 2000, Bidwai and Vanaik were awarded the Sean McBride International Peace
Prize by the International Peace Bureau in recognition of their work opposing nuclear
weapons development in South Asia.

James Horner, the two-time Oscar-winning composer, died on 23 June 2015 in a
plane crash in California, United States. He was 61. He was an accomplished concert
hall composer and later he moved into writing film scores.
His first major movie score was in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) film. He
had also composed for the Avatar and Titanic, both are highest-grossing films of all
time. Till date, he has 95 soundtrack and 158 composes to his credits which includes
music of over 100 films.
He was recognised for his work on two other Best Pictures- Braveheart and A Beautiful
Mind. He also received nominations for An American Tail, Field of Dreams, Apollo 13
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and House of Sand and Fog.

In 1997, Horner won two Oscars (Academy Awards) for Best Original Score and
along with Best Original Song for My Heart Will Go On in the biggest Hollywood hit
movie Titanic directed by James Cameron. He had also won 2 Golden Globe Awards,
3 Satellite Awards, 3 Saturn Awards and was also nominated for 3 British Academy
Film Awards.
James Horner was born on 14 August 1953 in Los Angeles, United States.

Sister Nirmala Joshi, who succeeded Mother Teresa as the head of Missionaries of
Charity, died on 22 June 2015 following a prolonged illness in Kolkata. She was 81.
Sister Nirmalas life was devoted to service, caring for poor and underprivileged.
On 13 March 1997, six months before Mother Teresas death in 1997, Sister Nirmala
was selected as the Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity. In April 2009,
Sister Mary Prema was elected to succeed Sister Nirmala during a general chapter
held in Calcutta.
Sister Nirmala was born in Ranchi on 23 July 1934 to a Brahmin soldier who came
from Nepal. She had joined the Order at the age of 17.

Former Indian women hockey captain Shashi Bala and her son Agrim Thakur died in
a road accident at the Ropar-Nawanshahr-Phagwara area of National Highway 344A in Punjab on 21 June 2015.
45-year-old Bala made her international debut in 1987 and captained national hockey
team during the 1997 FIH Women World Cup Qualifier held in Harare, Zimbabwe.
She was a member of the national team in the 1998 FIH World Cup in the Netherlands.
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After retirement, she coached Indian Railways hockey team and later became a
selector of Hockey Punjab.

Former Turkish President Suleyman Demirel died on 17 June 2015 following a heart
failure and a respiratory tract infection. He was 90. Demirel was one of the dominant
figures in Turkeys politics for over half a century.
He served as the President of Turkey from 1993 to 2000, but before that he also held
the post of Prime Minister of the country several times in the 1960s and 1970s.
Demirel launched his political career in the aftermath of the 1960 military coup that
deposed the Government of Prime Minister Adnan Menderes. He came to power
with a landslide win in 1965 as the Prime Minister of Turkey.
However, when the ideological conflict started to turn violent in the Turkey, Demirel
was forced out of office in 1971 through a military coup. Demirel was back in power
in 1975, but his Coalition Government including Islamists and nationalists again failed
to halt Turkeys slide into chaos.
As president, Demirel fostered ties with the Turkic republics of the former Soviet
Union and took credit for brokering the removal of an Islamist government from power
under pressure from the secular-minded military in 1997.
Demirel was a trained civil engineer. He oversaw many hydroelectric projects and
became Director General of the State Hydraulic Works where he looked after the
construction of dams. He was born to a farming family in the western Turkish province
of Isparta in November 1924.

Las Vegas multibillionaire Kirk Kerkorian on 16 June 2015 passed away after a brief
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illness. He was 98. He was famously known as a casino tycoon, Hollywood mogul,
airline owner and auto industry investor.
Kerkorian founded MGM Resorts International (MGM.N) and was its largest
shareholder. He built the worlds biggest hotel in Las Vegas, the desert gambling
capital, where he first made his fortune in the 1950s and 1960s.
He was also a player in the automobile industry, losing a battle for control of Chrysler
in the 1990s before taking stakes in General Motors and Ford in the 2000s.
In May 2015, Forbes magazine estimated Kerkorians wealth at 4.2 billion US dollars
after taking a hit on his investments during the financial crisis in 2008.
He was a skilled aviator who flew dangerous missions delivering warplanes from
Canada to Britain during World War Two and later opened a charter flight business
serving gamblers wanting to get from Los Angeles to Las Vegas more quickly than a
10-hour drive.
He was born as Kerkor Kerkorian in Fresno, California, on 6 June 1917.

Former Governor of Himachal Pradesh, ex-Union Minister and Congress leader
Sheila Kaul died after a brief illness on 14 June 2015. She was 100.
She is now survived by sons Gautam Kaul, a retired IPS officer, and Vikram Kaul, an
international sports administrator, besides daughter Deepa Kaul, a former Information
Minister in UP.
She was married to renowned botanist Kailash Nath Kaul, who established the
National Botanical Research Institute in Lucknow. Kaul, sister-in-law of Jawaharlal
Nehru, was oldest surviving former Parliamentarian.
She was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for five times in 1971, 1980 and
1984 (from Lucknow) and in 1989, 1991 (from Rae Bareli).
From 1980 to 84 in Indira Gandhi Government, she served as Minister of State
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(MoS) for culture, Education and Social Welfare (Independent Charge).

From 1992 to 1995 in Narasimha Rao Government, she served as Union Minister
for Housing and Urban Development and was accused of making out-of-turn
allotment of government accommodations in return for monetary gain.
From 1995 to 1996, she served as the Governor of Himachal Pradesh.

The creator of Chandigarhs Rock Garden Nek Chand Saini died in Chandigarh on 12
June 2015. He was 90.
His creation Rock Garden of Chandigarh was opened for public on 24 January 1976.
The garden is maintained by the Nek Chand Foundation, formed in 1996. He was
awarded the Padma Shri in 1984
The Padma awardee Nek died few days before his 40 figurative mosaic sculptures
were to be put on display for the first time in the UK Pallant House Gallery in the
setting of historic Chichester (West Sussex) from 13 June to 25 October 2015. The
works are on loan from the Nek Chand Foundation in London.
Born on 15 December 1924 in Shakargarh region, now in Pakistan, Chand immigrated
to India with his family and settled in Chandigarh in 1950.
Veteran actor Sir Christopher Lee died at the age of 93

Veteran actor Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, famous as the master of horror,
died on 7 June 2015 at Londons Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. He was 93.
Lee was famous for his role as Count Dracula in a sequence of Hammer Horror films.
He also appeared in Lord of the Rings trilogy (as Saruman), the James Bond film
The Man with the Golden Gun (as Francisco Scaramanga), The Hobbit film trilogy
Count Dooku, Stars Wars prequel trilogy Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Jinnah (biopic
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of Pakistans founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah), The Wicker Man and others.
The actor was knighted in 2009 for services to drama and charity. In 2011 and 2013,
he was awarded with the BAFTA fellowship and BFI Fellowship, respectively.

Former Indian cricketer Hemant Kanitkar died after a prolonged illness on 9 June
2015 at his residence in Pune, Maharashtra. He was 72.
He is survived by his wife and sons Hrishikesh, also a former Indian batsman, and
Aditya.
Kanitkar, a stalwart of domestic cricket, played two Tests as a wicketkeeper-batsman
in the home series against West Indies cricket team led by Clive Lloyd in 1974-75. He
started his first class career in 1963 for cricket team of Maharashtra and kept playing
for it till 1978, the year of retirement.
In his first class career, he scored 5006 runs at an average of 42.78 with 13 centuries
and 23 half-centuries.
After retiring from first-class cricket, he served as a coach and selector for Maharashtra,
and chaired the Board of Control for Cricket in Indias (BCCI) All-India Junior Selection
Committee from 1996-97 and 1998-99.

Legendary Telugu writer Dasaradhi Rangacharya died in Hyderabad on 8 June 2015,
after a brief illness. He was 87.
Rangacharya, born on 24 August 1928 in a village in Khammam district, now in
Telangana, took part in the armed struggle against the erstwhile Nizam ruler.
Inspired by Marxism and socialism, Rangacharya wrote several books that highlighted
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the life and agony of the people at the grass roots level especially in the then Telangana
region. His novels Moduga Poolu (Fire flowers), Chillara Devullu (The Lesser Deities)
and Janapadam are well known for their inspiring role in influencing Telugu people
against oppression by the rulers.
He received Central Sahitya Academy award for Chillara Devullu written in 1969. He
translated all four Vedas into Telugu besides Ramayana and Mahabharata. He also
wrote Jeevanayanam as his autobiography.
Srimadramayanam and Sri Mahabharatam are also his works in Telugu.
Hollywood actor Hiroshi Koizumi died

Actor Hiroshi Koizumi passed away on 31 May 2015 following pneumonia. He was
88.
Making debut in 1951 on silver screen, Koizumi appeared in a string of monster films
including Mothra vs Godzilla, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster and Dogara, the
Space Monster. In 1955, Koizumi appeared as a pilot in movie Godzilla Raids Again.
Koizumi also acted in numerous non-monster productions, including the 47 Samurai
in 1962, alongside the legendary Toshiro Mifune. During 1970s, he became the
presenter of Fuji TVs popular Quiz Grand Prix.
Later, he appeared in The Return of Godzilla in 1984 and in 2003s Godzilla: Tokyo
SOS.
Born in 1926, Koizumi graduated from Tokyos Keio University, Japans oldest, and
joined public broadcaster NHK as an announcer.

Wrestler Prem Nath, a gold medallist at the 1974 Christchurch Commonwealth
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Games, passed away on 1 June 2015. He was 64. He is survived by his wife, two
sons and a daughter.
Prem Nath, a Presidents Medal-winning retired Delhi Police official, was known for
his efforts to popularise wrestling in Delhi.
In 1976, he took over an akhara established by Guru Baijnath in the Kamla Nagar
area of New Delhi. Today, the akhara is known as the Guru Prem Nath akhara.
In 1974, he bagged the 57kg Commonwealth Games title in New Zealand. He got the
Arjuna Award for the year 1972.

Irwin Rose, a biochemist who won the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, died on 2 June
2015 in his sleep in Deerfield, Massachusetts. He was 88.
Rose won the Nobel Prize for discovering a way that cells destroy unwanted proteins
for developing new therapies for diseases such as cervical cancer and cystic fibrosis.
Rose was born in Brooklyn, New York on 16 July 1926.
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AWARDS | HONOURS
Nadia district won the UN Public Service Award 2015 for
eliminating open defecation
The district administration of Nadia, West Bengal was on 26 June 2015 conferred
with the United Nations Public Service Award 2015 for eliminating open defecation
in the district.
The award was presented by acting Secretary General of the UN Lenni Montiel along
with Head UN Women Stefani Senese to District Magistrate of Nadia and Sabhapati
of Nadia Zilla Parishad on conclusion of United Nations Day Celebrations 2015 held
at Medellin, Columbia.
Nadia district could achieve this feat due to its collaborative effort with the United
Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) and World Bank aimed at construction of toilets
across the district.
Till October 2013, half of the districts population was defecating in open spaces.
However, the situation was improved under the Sabar Souchagar (Toilets for All)
programme that was launched on 2 October 2013 by the district administration.
Under this programme, around 356000 toilets were built that resulted in decline in the
number of people continuing with the practice to meager 0.2 percent.
Earlier, on 30 April 2015, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declared
Nadia as the first open defecation-free (ODF) district in Indiaand launched Mission
Nirmal Bangla (MNB) aimed at making the state open defecation free.
She also declared 30 April as Nirmal Bangla Diwas, to be observed across the state,
to mark the occasion.
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About United Nations Public Service Awards

It 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.
In 2014, the project Mobile Seva under Department of Electronics and Information
Technology (DeitY) had won the second rank in the 2014 United Nations Public
Service Award.
It won the second place in the Asian and Pacific Region in the Category 3: PROMOTING
WHOLE OF GOVERNMENT APPROACHES IN THE INFORMATION AGE.

President Pranab Mukharjee on 26 June 2015 conferred Punyabhushan Award on
Prataprao Pawar, Chairman of Sakal Media Group (SMG) at Balgandharva Auditorium
in Pune.
Pawar is the 27th recipient of the Punyabhushan award and his name was selected
for the award by a committee led by scientist Raghunath Mashelkar.
Besides, President also felicitated five veteran freedom fighters in the function.
Punyabhushan Award
The Punyabhushan (Pride of Pune) award constituted by Tridal, Puneis annually
announced by the Punyabhushan Foundation on 23 March with a view to commemorate
the memory of Indian revolutionary martyrs Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru.
It is awarded to an eminent personality from the field of art, music, culture, science,
industry, social service, or sports in the city of Pune Maharashtra, India. The award
carries a memento and cash prize of 1 lakh rupees.
26th Punyabhushan Award was presented to Dr Cyrus Poonawalla for his contribution
to the field of Medicine & Research.
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Famous Writer Vishwanath Tripathi chosen for 28th Moorti Devi

Award
Veteran Writer Vishwanath Tripathi was on 27 June 2015 selected for the 28th Moorti
Devi Award for the year 2014 for his book Vyomkesh Darvesh. Vyomkesh Darvesh is
a lifetime story of Acharya Hazari Prasad Dwivedi.
Born on 16 February 1931 in Bishkohar village of district Basti in Uttar Pradesh,
Tripathi was a student of the Banaras Hindu University and Punjab University.
His other works include Lokwadi Tulsidas, Meera Ka Kavya, Desh ke is Daur Main,
Kuch Kahaniyan Kuch Vichar, Ped Ka Hath, Jaisa Kaha Saka and Nagatlai Ka Gaon.
About Moorti Devi Award

Moorti Devi award was founded by Bharatiya Jnanpith and is given away to the
authors who have contributed in the field of contemporary creative writing in
modern Indian languages.
It is presented annually for a contemplative and perceptive work which expresses,
underlines and illumines human values rooted in the broad vision of Indian
philosophy and cultural heritage.
Books written in English and all Indian languages are considered for the Prize,
which comprises a cash award of four lakhs rupees, a statue and a citation plaque.

Sahitya Akademi on 24 June 2015 announced Bhasha Samman. Four scholars were
selected for the award for their contribution to classical and medieval literature in
various languages.
K Meenakshi Sundaram was selected for contributions to Classical and Medieval
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Literature (Southern) for year 2013. She has written scholarly essays on Tirukkural
and made rich contribution to medieval Tamil literature. His work on Kambar and in
Cilappatikarm minor characters has won laurels for him.
Acharya Munishwar Jha has been recognised for Classical and Medieval Literature
(Eastern) for the year 2014. He has made valuable contribution in the area of Sanskrit
literature for which he was honoured with the Presidential Award in 2006. His chief
works include Vidyapati Vanmaya (Maithili), Tapasa Kavi Vidyapati (Maithili), BhuParikramanam (Sanskrit) among others.
Charu Chandra Pande and Mathuradutt Mathpal have been jointly recognised for
their work towards the enrichment of Kumauni.
Pande has worked extensively on Kumauni language and has published Sej Gumani,
Eco Farms Hills (in English), Chhodo Gulami Khitab and Angwal. On the other hand,
Mathpal is a poet, teacher and Kumauni scholar and published Aang-Aang Chichail
Haigo (poetry), Mook Geet (a book based on famous Kumauni poet Pandit Kripal
Dutt Joshi) along with translation of many poems in Hindi.
Bhasha Samman
Bhasha Samman instituted in 1996 by Sahitya Akademi is an annual award and
is given to books of outstanding merit and for outstanding translations in the 24
languages recognised by it. The award is given for considerable contribution to the
propagation, modernization or enrichment of the languages concerned.
Every year 3-4 persons are awarded in different languages on the basis of
recommendation of experts committees constituted for the purpose.
The Samman carries a cash prize of 1 lakh rupees, an inscribed copper plaque and
a citation.
The first Bhasha Sammans were awarded to Dharikshan Mishra for Bhojpuri, Bansi
Ram Sharma and MR Thakur for Pahari (Himachali), K Jathappa Rai and Mandara
Keshava Bhat for Tulu and Chandra Kanta Mura Singh for Kokborok. They were
awarded for their contribution to the development of their respective languages.
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Sahitya Akademi announced Bal Sahitya Puraskar for the year

2015
Sahitya Akademi on 24 June 2015 announced Bal Sahitya Puraskar for the year 2015.
The awards were conferred on five novelists, four writers of short stories and three
authors of poetries, one book of one-act play and eleven writers for their contribution
to childrens literature.
The awarded books were published between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2013
and the awards will be presented to the awardees on 14 November 2015 at Mumbai.
Awardees in Novel section: Tiren Boro (Bodo), Sowmya Rajendran, Niveditha
Subramaniam (English), Ramnath G Gawade (Konkani), Ramdeo Jha (Maithili) and
Mukti Upadhyay Baral (Nepali).
Awardees in short stories Section: Nayeem Kashmiri (Kashmiri), Thockchom
Thouyangba Meitei (Manipuri), Krishna Kumar Ashu (Rajasthani) and Janardan
Hegde (Sanskrit).
Awardees for collection of Poetry: Tara Chand Kalandri (Dogri), Srikanta Saren (Santali)
and Sella Ganpathi (Tamil), Bano Sartaj (Urdu).
Total Contribution To Children Literature: Eli Ahmed (Assamese), Kartik Ghose
(Bengali), Dhiruben Patel (Gujarati), T S Nagraja Shetty (Kannada), Sivadas (Malayalam),
Leeladhar Hegde (Marathi), Snehlata Mohanty (Odia), Sukhdev Madpuri (Punjab),
JethoLalwani (Sindhi) and Chokappu Venkataramana (Telugu).
Instituted by the Sahitya Akademi, the Bal Sahitya Puraskar comprises 50000 rupees
and a casket containing an engraved copper plaque and a citation.
The awards were recommended by Jury members representing 24 Indian languages
and approved by the Executive Board of Sahitya Akademi that met under the
chairmanship of President of Sahitya Akademi Dr. Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari.
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Sri Sri Ravi Shankar conferred with Columbias highest civilian

award
The spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was conferred with the Columbias highest
civilian award Orden de la Democracia Simon Bolivar en el grado de cruz Caballero
(Order of the Democracy Simon Bolivar) by Columbia.
For this, he was congratulated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 25 June 2015.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar founded the Art of Living Foundation in 1981, which aims to
relieve individual stress, societal problems, and violence.
In 1997, he also founded the International Association for Human Values (IAHV) to
coordinate sustainable development projects, nurture human values and coordinate
conflict resolution in association with The Art of Living.
The Order of the Democracy Simon Bolivar was created in 1980 to honour the
outstanding citizens for their service to the nation in any field. It is granted by the
House of Representatives of Columbia.
The order was established to highlight the efforts, loyalty and virtues of citizens or
institutions for democracy.
UK-based philanthropist Benni Joseph Mavelil selected for VK

Krishna Menon Award 2015
Benni Joseph Mavelil, a UK-based philanthropist, was on 21 June 2015 selected
for the VK Krishna Menon Award in recognition of his outstanding professional and
altruistic achievements, contributions and services to the community and wider
multicultural society.
Mavelil, President of the UK Knanaya Catholic Community, will receive the award at
a function hosted by the VK Krishna Menon Institute in 2015.
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At present, Mavelil is a registered Manager and Director for the Ideal Fostering in
Birmingham, United Kingdom. He is originally from Koodalloor, Kerala and has been
living and working in the UK for over a decade. He graduated from St. Stephens
College of Delhi.
About V K Krishna Menon Award

The VK Krishna Menon award is given to outstanding Indian patriots who served in the
Diaspora and have been distinguished in various fields including science, literature,
business, politics, diplomacy and philanthropy.
The VK Krishna Menon Institute was established in 2006 to commemorate and
facilitate the life, times and achievements of VK Menon. It awards people from India
and diaspora from Asia for significant accomplishments in various fields.
Three Indians won inaugural Queens Young Leaders Award in

UK
Three Indians on 22 June 2015 won the inaugural Queens Young Leaders Award in
the UK for taking the lead in transforming the lives of others and making a lasting
difference in their communities. These winners are Ashwini Angadi, Devika Malik and
Akshay Jadhao.
These three Indians are among 60 others who received the Queens Young Leaders
award from the British monarch at a gala ceremony in Buckingham Palace. The first
60 recipients of the Queens Young Leaders Award will meet the Queen Elizabeth II
and David Cameron.
Ashwini Angadi was awarded for using her own experiences as a visually impaired
student to lobby for more braille and audio books. She runs Belaku Academy in
Bengaluru, offering education to disabled students from rural areas.
Akshay Jadhao won for his efforts in launching education and skills courses in the
rural farming region of Vidarbha, Maharashtra. While, Devika Malik was chosen for her
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Wheeling Happiness Foundation which promotes inclusion, raises funds for disabled
people and promotes equality for those with disabilities.
The award does not come with any cash incentive, but offers each of the winners a
year-long mentoring opportunity through an online course. The award will run for a
period of 4 years and the search is already on for the next round of 60 with a vision
to cover each Commonwealth country by 2018.
About Queens Young Leaders Award

Queens Young Leaders Award was set up by Queen Elizabeth II to recognise
exceptional young people from across the Commonwealth. It was launched by her
grandchildren Prince William and Prince Harry in 2015.
Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust presents this award to recognise young
people from across the 53 countries of the Commonwealth who are taking the lead
in transforming the lives of others.
Sanjay Subrahmanyam selected for Sangitha Kalanidhi award

for the year 2015
Renowned carnatic vocalist Sanjay Subrahmanyam was on 21 June 2015 selected
for the Sangitha Kalanidhi award of the Madras Music Academy.
The decision to award Subrahmanyam was taken at a meet of the Executive Committee.
Vocalist Subrahmanyam, one of the foremost south Indian classical vocalists, will
receive the award on 1 January 2016. Subrahmanyan, 47, will also preside over the
89th Annual Conference of the Academy slated between 15 December 2015 and 1
January 2015. With this award, Subrahmanyan joined the league of stalwarts like
Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, ML Vasanthakumari and
M Balamuralikrishna, Musiri Subramania Iyer, Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer and
others who received the award before turning 50.
Hindi writers Babusha Kohli, Upasana won 10th Navlekhan

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Award of Bharatiya Jnanpith

10th Navlekhan Award of Bharatiya Jnanpith was awarded to Hindi writers Babusha
Kohli and Upasana on 16 June 2015. They were awarded for poem Prem Gilhari Dil
Akhrot and novel Ek Zindagi Ek Ek Script Bharrespectively.
The awards ceremony held at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi saw discussion on
Contemporary Modern Poetry and Fiction Writing by writers Upasana & Jitendra
Biseria and poetry recital by Babusha Kohli & Dilip Shakya.
Navlekhan Award was instituted with an objective to award young authors writing in
Hindi.
Sangeet Natak Akademi announced awardees for 2014 Akademi

Awards and fellowships
Sangeet Natak Akademi on 12 June 2015 announced the names of recipients of
Sangeet Natak Akademi fellowships (Akademi Ratna) 2014 and Sangeet Natak
Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar) 2014.
The list of names selected for Sangeet Akademi Fellowships:

R. Janakiraman (Musicologist)
S. Sathyu (film-maker)
Vijay Kichlu (Classical singer)
Tulsidas Borkar (Musician)
The Fellowship of the Akademi carries a cash prize of 3 lakh rupees and is the most
prestigious and rare honour which is restricted to a very limited number at a given
time. Presently there are only 40 Fellows of the Sangeet Natak Akademi.
Recipients of Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards for the year 2014:

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In the field of music For Hindustani vocal- Ashwini Bhide Deshpande Nath Narelkar,
Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan
Hindustani instrumental music- Pandit Nayan Ghosh (tabla) and Ronu Majumdar
(flute)
Carnatic instrumental music- Neyveli Santhanagopalan (Carnatic vocal), TA
Kaliyamurthy (Thavil), Sukanya Ramgopal (Ghatam) and Dwaram Durga Prasad
Rao (violin)
In the field of dance- Adayar Janardanan, Amusana Devi, Uma Dogra, Sudhakar
Sahoo, Vedantam Radhesyam, Jagru Mahto, Anita Sharma, Varanasi Vishnu
Namboothiri and Navtej Singh Johar
In the field of drama- Asgar Wajahat, Surya Mohan Kulshreshtha, Chidambar Rao
Jambe, Debshankar Haldar, Ramdas Kamath, Amod Bhatt, Manjunath Bhagwat
Hostota and Amardas Manikpuri.
In the field of Traditional/tribal music/folk/theatre/dance and puppetry- Puran
Shah Koti, KKalamandalam Ram Mohan, Kesavasamy, Abdul Rashid Hafiz, Reba
Kanta Mohanta, Ramdayal Sharma, K. Shanathoiba Sharma and Thanga Darlong
The award recognizes sustained individual work and contribution to the practice and
appreciation of the arts through award prize of 100000 rupees along with Tamrapatra
and Angavastram.
About Sangeet Natak Akademi

Established in 1953, the Akademi is responsible for preservation and promotion of
the performing arts in India.
It recognizes the contribution of outstanding musicians, dancers and theatre
artists by bestowing them the Fellowships and Awards on yearly basis. Its aim is
to create benchmarks in the practice of the performing arts.
It has been bestowing Akademi Fellowship since 1954 and Akademi Award since
1952.
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Parkash Singh Badal conferred with 2015 Sant Namdev National

Award
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was on 10 June 2015 conferred with the
prestigious 14th Sant Namdev National Award at a function in Pune, Maharashtra. He
was awarded for promoting peace, communal harmony and universal brotherhood.
The award was given by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on behalf of
the Sarhad Foundation.
Badal was honoured with a citation, a prize amount of 101000 rupees and a memento
by the foundation. As a goodwill gesture, the Chief Minister returned the award
money to the foundation and urged to utilise it towards the ongoing socio-cultural
programmes and other development activities.
ISRO presented with 2015 Space Pioneer Award for Mars Orbiter
Mission
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was presented with the Space
Pioneer award for the year 2015 in the Science and Engineering category during the
34th Annual International Space Development Conference held at Toronto in Canada
during 20 May- 24 May 2015.
The information was published on the ISROs website on 8 June 2015. The award
was presented by National Space Society (NSS) of USA in recognition of ISROs
efforts in accomplishing Mars Orbiter Mission in its very first attempt.
The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) was launched on 5 November 2013 and was
designed with five scientific payloads within a record time of 18 months. Presently,
the spacecraft is under solar conjunction at Mars, which means the spacecraft, which
is orbiting Mars, is behind the sun as viewed from the Earth.
The Space Pioneer Award consists of a silvery pewter Moon globe cast by the Baker
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Art Foundry in Placerville, California, from a sculpture originally created by Don Davis,
space and astronomical artist.

The 16th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards or 2015 IIFA Awards were
presented in the first week of June 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The awards were presented by the IIFA honouring the best Hindi films of 2014.
List of 2015 IIFA Awards

Best Film Queen
Best Director Rajkumar Hirani (PK)
Best Actor-Shahid Kapoor (Haider)
Best Actress-Kangana Ranaut (Queen)
Best Supporting Actor- Riteish Deshmukh (Ek Villain)
Best Supporting Actress- Tabu (Haider)
Star Debut of the Year (Male)-Tiger Shroff (Heropanti)
Star Debut of the Year (Female)-Kriti sanon (Heropanti)
Best Comedian-Varun Dhawan (Main Tera Hero)
Best Villain Award-Kay Kay Menon (Haider)
Best Story-Queen (Vikas Bahl)
Debutant Director-Sajid Nadiadwala (Kick)
Best Music Director-Shankar, Ehsaan & Loy (2 States)
Best Lyrics-Manoj Muntashir for Galliyan (Ek Villain)
Best Male Playback Award-Ankit Tiwari for Galliyan (Ek Villain)
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Best Female Playback Award-Kanika Kapoor for Baby Doll (Raginin MMS2)
Best Sound Design-Shajith Koyeri (Haider)
Best Background Score-Vishal Bharadwaj (Haider)
Award for Outstanding Achievment in International cinema-Subhash Ghai
Entertainer of the year - Deepika Padukone
About IIFA Awards

The awards are presented by the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) every year.
These are presented to both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in
Bollywood. The awards have categories like popular awards, technical awards and
special awards.
UK Author Ali Smith on 3 June 2015 won the 2015 Baileys Womens Prize for Fiction
for her novel How to be Both.
Other nominees for the award were English author Laline Paull, Canadian author
Rachel Cusk, Pakistani author Kamila Shamsie and Welsh author Sarah Waters.
Ali Smith, a Scottish author, has also won the 2014 Goldsmiths Prize and the Novel
Award in the 2014 Costa Book Awards for the same book.
Earlier, the book was shortlisted for the 2014 Man Booker Prize and the 2015 Folio
Prize.
About Baileys Womens Prize for Fiction

Baileys Prize was set up in 1996 with an aim to celebrate and promote international
fiction by women throughout the world. Earlier it was known as the Orange Prize.
This prize is awarded annually and it celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility
in womens writing.
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The winner of the prize receives a cheque for 30000 pounds and a limited edition
bronze known as a Bessie, created by the artist Grizel Niven.
Previous winners of the award include Eimear McBride for A Girl is a Half-Formed
Thing (2014) and AM Homes for May We Be Forgiven(2013).
Suresh Kalmadi conferred with Asian Athletics Association

Presidents Award
Suresh Kalmadi on 2 June 2015 was conferred with the Asian Athletics Association
(AAA) Presidents award. He was awarded for his contribution towards the development
of athletics in Asian continent.
Adille Sumariwala, the President of Athletics Federation of India received the award
on behalf of Kalmadi at the function held in Wuhan, China ahead of the start of Asian
Athletics Championships.
He is credited with the introduction of top events like Asian Grand Prix series, Asian
Indoor Championships and Asian All Star Meet and others during his tenure as the
president of AAA for 13 years from 2000 to 2013. He was defeated by Dahlan AlHamad of Qatar in the presidential election of the AAA held in 2013 at Pune.
Earlier in March 2015, he was named as the Life President of AAA for his contribution
for Asian athletics. The decision was taken during the council meet of AAA in Jakarta,
Indonesia.
He has served as the President of Indian Olympic Association from 1996 to 2012.
Asian Athletics Association
Asian Athletics Association is the governing body of athletics in Asia. It is headquartered
in Singapore. It organises the Asian Championships in Athletics and other continental
competitions.
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McCullum, Hesson with Officers of the New Zealand Order of

Merit
New Zealand cricket captain Brendon McCullum and Coach Mike Hesson were
honoured with Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM). Their names were
listed in the honours list that was released on 1 June 2015 to mark the annual Queen
Elizabeth II Birthday public holiday.
They were awarded for their part in leading New Zealand to the final of 2015 Cricket
World Cup for the first time. Both have been the captain and head coach, respectively,
of New Zealand since 2012.
Moreover, the head of the New Zealand World Cup organizing committee, Therese
Walsh was made a Dame Companion of the NZOM.
About the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM)

The New Zealand Order of Merit award was instituted in 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen
of New Zealand. The honour is conferred to recognise outstanding service of people
that they did to the Crown and people of New Zealand in a civil or military capacity.
The New Zealand Order of Merit has five levels and they are
Knight or Dame Grand Companion (GNZM)
Knight or Dame Companion (KNZM / DNZM)
Companion (CNZM)
Officer (ONZM)
Member (MNZM)
Those appointed to the highest two levels are entitled to use the titles Sir or Dame.
Prior to the creation of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 1996, the Order of the British
Empire was the most common honour awarded to New Zealand military personnel.
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Uttarakhands Health Minister SS Negi conferred with World No

Tobacco Day Award 2015
Uttarakhands Medical, Health and Family Welfare Minister Surendra Singh Negi on
31 May 2015 was conferred with the World No Tobacco Day Award 2015 by the
World Health Organsiation (WHO).
He was one of the six awardees from the WHO South-East Asia Region.
In addition, the WHO Director-General Special awards were presented to

Marcelo Fisch, Head of the Fiscal Special Control Division, Federal Revenue
Secretariat, Ministry of Finance, Brazil
Kenya Revenue Authority
WHO Director-Generals Special Recognition Certificates were presented to
Luk Joossens of Belgium, one of the rapporteurs of the WHO expert group on
illicit tobacco trade
Saira Afzal Tarar, Minister of State for National Health Services, Regulations and
Coordination of Pakistan.
Every year, the WHO recognizes individuals or organizations in each of the six WHO
Regions for their accomplishments in the area of tobacco control.
This recognition takes the form of WHO Director-General Special Recognition Awards
and World No Tobacco Day Awards. The prestigious awards are presented to mark
the occasion of the World No Tobacco Day (WNTD).
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INVENTIONS | DISCOVERIES
3800-year-old statuettes of priestess and politicians discovered
in Peru
Researchers discovered a trio of mud statuettes inside a reed basket in a building, an
important archaeological site, in the ancient city of Vichama in northern Peru. They
believe that it was created about 3800 years ago by the ancient Caral civilization.
The information of the discovery of figurines measuring no more than 80 cm was
given by Ministry of Culture of Peru on 9 June 2015.
Two of the three figures, who were a man and woman, were painted in white, black
and red. It is believed that they represented political authorities. The third, a woman
with 28 fingers and red dots on her white face, is believed to represent a priestess.
The figures had been arranged to be looking at one another.
Apart from this, the research team, also unearthed two mud statuettes of womens
faces which are wrapped in cloth and covered with yellow, blue and orange feathers.
Caral Civilisation
The Caral civilisation first emerged some 5000-year-ago and lived in Perus Supe Valley.
The civillisation covered an area of over 60 hectares, with around 3000 inhabitants
and left an impressive architecture including pyramids and sunken amphitheaters.
It was abandoned around 1800 BC for unknown reasons.
17th Century Scottish pirate captain William Kidd treasure

found in Madagascar
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Underwater explorers in Madagascar on 7 May 2015 said that they have discovered
treasure belonging to the notorious 17th Century Scottish pirate captain William Kidd.
The explorers, which were a joint team of UK and US archaeological research mission,
brought a 50-kg silver bar to shore on the island of Sainte Marie, from wreckage of
the Adventure Galley, the ship of Captain Kidd.
The bar was presented to Madagascars President at a special ceremony.
Captain Kidd was first appointed by the British authorities to tackle piracy but later
became a ruthless criminal. He was executed in 1701 for piracy after returning from
a voyage to the Indian Ocean.
Besides, the US explorer Barry Clifford said that he believes there are many more
such bars still in the wreck.
Earlier, a team led by Barry Clifford in 2000 during underwater investigation discovered
some remains of William Kidds ship, Adventure Galley, including a metal oarlock,
shards of Ming porcelain and bottles of rum three centuries old.
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PLACES IN NEWS
Azhagankulam: Ancient trade centre located in Ramanathapuram
district of Tamil Nadu
Azhagnakulam village in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu was in news on 29
June 2015 as archaeologists discovered fresh evidence that proves it had been an
important trading post between the Sangam Pandyas and the Romans from circa 50
BCE to circa 500 CE.
Azhagankulam is located about three km from the sea, near the area where the Vaigai
River enters the Bay of Bengal. Madurai was the capital of the Pandya country and
Ramanathapuram came under the Madurai region.
As part of the excavations under way since May 2015, Archaeologists from the Tamil
Nadu Department of Archaeology discovered broken Roman Amphora jars (used
for storing wine), Mediterranean pottery, embossed Roman potsherds, copper
coins, Chinese Celadon ware, rouletted ware, potsherds with Tamil Brahmi letters, a
potsherd with a swastika symbol among others.
Earlier in 1986-87 and again for five seasons in the 1990s excavations were made at
the place that revealed that Azhagankulam was a part of the troika of trade centres
between Rome and the Tamil country during the Tamil Sangam age. Other two were
Arikkamedu (Puducherry) and Pattanam aka Muziris (Kerala).
As per historians, Azhagankulam, Arikkamedu and Korkai (Tamil Nadu) in the
Tamiraparani basin on the east coast and Muziris on the west coast saw flourishing
trade between the ancient Tamil country and the Romans for more than five centauries
till circa 500 CE.
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The Great Wall: A series of fortifications built along the historical northern borders of China
The Great Wall of China, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was in news in the fourth
week of June 2015 as Beijing Times published a survey report stating that around 30
percent of the Wall disappeared overtime and around 1185 km of the fortification are
in poor condition.
The survey was conducted by the Great Wall of China Society in 2014.
As per the survey, the disappearance of over 1962 kms length of the wall, out of the
total length varying between 9000 km to 21000 km, was caused by numerous factors
over many centuries.
Some of them are perennial exposure to wind and rain, tourism, growth of plants in
the walls and reckless human activities like stealing the bricks to build houses, etc.
The Great Wall is a series of fortifications made of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood,
and other materials built along an east-to-west line across the northern borders of
China. It is considered as the longest human construction in the world.
It stretches from Shanhaiguan on the east coast to Jiayuguan on the edge of the
Gobi desert.
Its purpose was to protect the Chinese states and empires against the raids and
invasions of the various nomadic groups of the Eurasian Steppe.
Though the construction of the UNESCO World Heritage site was first begun in the
third century BC, nearly 6300 kms were built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
Revdanda coast of Alibaug: 42-foot-long blue whale died

Revdanda coast of Alibaug, Maharashtra was in news on 24 June 2015. The coast
came in news after a 42-foot-long blue whale weighing 20 tonnes died after being
washed ashore at the Revdanda coast, 17-km south of Alibaug.
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This was the first time that such a big blue whale was spotted on the shores of
Maharashtra.
The incident happened few days after two blue whales (mother-calf pair) and
four Brydes whales were sighted near Kunkeshwar off the Sindhudurg coast in
Maharashtra. They were sighted on the Maharashtra coast after almost a century
by a group of researchers from the Konkan Cetacean Population Study (CPS) team
between March and May 2015.
The previous sighting of the mammal off the Maharashtra coast was in 1914, records
say.
Almost 20 types of whales are found in the Arabian Sea. There are two basic types of
whales - toothed and baleen. Baleen whales have a specialised filter in their mouths
that blocks out dirt and other sea trash while these mammals drink the water.
Blue whales and Humpback whales, which were washed ashore in and around
Mumbai coast earlier, belong to the baleen whale category.
Nathu La pass in Sikkim: reopened for Kailash-Manasarovar

pilgrims after 53 years
Nathu La pass was in news on 16 June 2015 as External Affairs Minister Sushma
Swaraj flagged off the first batch of pilgrims for Kailash-Manasarovar yatra that will
travel through the pass.
During the yatra, piligrims visit Mount Kailash, which Hindus believe as the abode
of Lord Shiva, and the Manasarovar Lake located in the south-western corner of
Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) of China.
The pass was reopened after China agreed to open the route following a bilateral
agreement signed in September 2014 during Chinese President Xi Jinpings visit to
India.
Nathua La pass is located on the Sikkim-Tibet border. The pass was closed by
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Chinese authorities in 1962 following a war between the two countries.

The pass is located 54 km away from Sikkims capital Gangtok and was part of the
ancient silk route.
After a decade of talks between both the countries the pass was reopened for trade
purposes in 2006.
Nathu La Pass connects Sikkim to the Chumbi Valley in the Tibetan Autonomous
Region (TAR) of China.
The valley, hence the Nathu La pass, has geo strategic importance as it is located at
the intersection of India (Sikkim), China (TAR) and Bhutan in the Himalayas.
Bellandur Lake: Industrial effluents caused fire on its water

Bellandur Lake, the largest lake of Bengaluru, was in the news in first week of June
2015. It was in news as a team of researchers from Indian Institute of Science (IISc)
found that the fire on the water of Bellandur Lake on 16 May 2015 was caused due
to industrial effluents in the water.
The group in the study found that the foam was formed due to phosphorous present
in detergents.
The study conducted on Bellandur Lake along with Varthur Lake suggested that the
water of these lakes were harmful for domestic and irrigation purposes and it may
contaminate groundwater. It also suggested that the foam may cause an environmental
problem and can be a great threat for the wetlands of Bengaluru.
Tengnoupal, Manipur: 20 army personnel killed in militant

ambush
The place Tengnoupal in Manipur was in news on 4 June 2015 as at least 20 Army
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personnel were killed and 16 others injured after a group of militants ambushed 6
Dogra Infantry Regiment.
Tengnoupal, a Kuki-ethnic village, falls in the Moltuk valley of Chandel district of
Manipur and lie 15-km from away from Indo-Myanmar border.
The ambush took place on Tengnoupal-New Samtal road when the convoy of 46
jawans belonging to the Dogra Infantry was returning to their headquarters in Dimapur,
Nagaland.
The responsibility of the attack was jointly claimed by three militant organizations,
namely National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K), Kanglei Yawol
Kanna Lup (KYKL) and Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP).
The Union government has ordered an all-out counter-insurgency and combing
operations against the insurgents in the surrounding areas.
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EXHIBITION | FAIR
30th India Carpet Expo to be held in Varanasi in October 2015
Union Ministry of Textiles on 31 May 2015 announced to hold 30th India Carpet Expo
in Varanasi in October 2015. It would be held from 11 October to 14 October 2015 at
Sampurnanand Sanskrit University Ground.
The Expo will be organized by Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC) set up by
Union Ministry of Textiles.
This would be the 11th edition of the Expo. The prime motive in holding the Expo
in the major carpet producing belt Varanasi is to provide unique pick and choose
business opportunity to all overseas carpet buyers.
The Expo is one of the largest Handmade Carpet Fairs in Asia, which provides a
unique platform under one roof, for buyers to source the best handmade carpets,
rugs and floor coverings.
It has become a popular destination worldwide for handmade carpets. Indias
unique capability in adapting to any type of design, colour, quality & size as per the
specifications of carpet buyers has made it a household name in the international
market.
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BOOKS | AUTHORS
Dealing with China: An Insider Unmasks the New Economic
Superpower by Henry M Paulson
Book titled Dealing with China: An Insider Unmasks the New Economic Superpower
authored by Henry M. Paulson was released on 14 April 2015.
The book takes the reader behind closed doors to witness the creation and evolution
and future of Chinas state-controlled capitalism.
The book draws an unprecedented access to modern Chinas political and business
elite and answers several key questions like how so quickly China become an
economic superpower, the process in which business is done in the country, best
ways for Western business and political leaders to work with, compete with, and
benefit from China and how can the U.S. negotiate with and influence China given
its authoritarian rule, its massive environmental concerns, and its huge populations
unrelenting demands for economic growth and security.
Transcendence: My Spiritual Experiences with Pramukh Swamiji

written by Abdul Kalam
Book titled Transcendence: My Spiritual Experiences with Pramukh Swamiji authored
by former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and Arun Tiwari was released on 15 June
2015.
In Transcendence, the authors Dr Kalam and Arun Tiwari have mapped a journey of
self-realization reflected in the eyes of Pramukh Swamiji, painting a delightful fusion
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of spirituality, science and leadership. His candid vignettes (literature) from life on the
centre stage of Indian technology and societal missions, Indian politics and world
affairs are interwoven with revelations of a profound connection with Swamiji.
Through the life of Pramukh Swamiji and the history of the Swaminarayan mission, Dr
Kalam traces the great rise of the Indian diaspora across the world. Drawing from the
lives of great scientists and creative leaders, Transcendence captures the spiritual
essence of all religions and is as much a fountain of inspiration and a treasury of
wisdom as it is a tribute to the multi-faith Indian society.
Pramukh Swamiji Maharaj, one of the most inspiring spiritual figures of modern times
and the fifth spiritual successor of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, is the inheritor of a
legacy of Gunatit gurus hearkening to the early nineteenth century. Pramukh Swamiji
became a friend of the eleventh president of India, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. Together
they created an unparalleled spirituality-science fellowship.
Red Tape to Red Carpet... and then some written by Gina Rinehart
released
Book titled Red Tape to Red Carpet... and then some authored by Gina Rinehart was
released on 23 June 2015. Rinehart is Chairperson of the Australian mining company
Hancock Prospecting Group.
The book highlights the industry of Red Tape which thrives on doubt and Red Carpet
which is built on trust.
The book was released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi in presence
of Australian Minister for trade and investment, Andrew Robb, and former Australian
Prime Minister Paul Keating.
Benazir Bhutto: A Multidimensional Portrait written by Dr Anna

Suvorova
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The book Benazir Bhutto: A Multidimensional Portrait was released on 26 May 2015.
It was written by Dr Anna Suvorova of Russia.
The book is devoted to the life and work of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir
Bhutto (1953-2007). She was the first female head of government in a Muslim state.
The book is based on Bhuttos own books, articles and speeches and on the authors
interviews with her close friends and colleagues.
It makes a study of emergence of Bhutto as a political leader, her journey and her
assassination by terrorists.
It was published by Oxford University Press. It is intended for a wide readership.
Dr Anna Suvorov, Professor of Indo-Islamic Culture, is currently Head of Department
of Asian Literatures at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of
Sciencesin Moscow, Russia.
For her contribution to the research of Pakistani literature and cultural heritage she
was conferred with one of the highest state awards of Pakistan Sitara-i-Imtiaz.
Beyond Doubt: A Dossier on Gandhis Assassination written by

Teesta Setalvad
The book Beyond Doubt: A Dossier on Gandhis Assassination was in news in the
third week of June 2015.
It was compiled and introduced by Indian civil rights activist Teesta Setalvad and
published by Tulika Books.
It is a collection of archival documents of the government and translation of works in
Marathi, Guajarati and Hindi related to assassination of Mahatma Gandhi on 30 June
1948.
In the book, the author tried to de-construct the ideology responsible for the killing.
As per the author, the assassination was the first act of terror committed in
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independent India. Further, it was also a statement of Hindu right wing asserting their
ideology against idea of composite culture and inclusive nationhood advocated by
the Mahatma.
However, as per Teesta Setalvad, the subsequent events including the adoption of
the Indian Constitution on 26 November 1949, in which fundamental rights were
given primary importance, defeated the ideology of the assassin-Nathuram Godse.
In the book, the author also covered the controversy that erupted in July 2014 over
the destruction of classified files by the Union Government related to Gandhis
assassination.
Book titled Bikhare Khyalat written by Abdul Haq presented to

Vice-President
Book titled Bikhare Khyalat written by Prof Abdul Haq was presented to the VicePresident M Hamid Ansari on 18 June 2015. The book is an Urdu translation of
Mohammed Iqbals writing in English tilted Stray Reflections.
The book contains old jottings based on Iqbals impressions of the books he was
reading at that time, his thoughts and feelings about the environment in which he
lived, and reminiscences of his student days.
According to this book, Iqbal started writing it on 27 April 1910 but stopped writing
after several months for some unknown reason.
Prof Abdul Haq is the former head of the Department of Urdu at Delhi University.

Recasting India: How Entrepreneurship is changing the Worlds Largest Democracy:
Hindol Sengupta
The book Recasting India: How Entrepreneurship is changing the worlds Largest
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Democracy written by Hindol Sengupta was in news in June 2015.

In the book the author explains emergence of new class of entrepreneurs in India, in
recent times, especially from geographically and socially disadvantage spaces.
He traces the implementation of the New Economic Policy (NEP) of 1991 and
subsequent economic reforms in last two and half decades as the reason for this
phenomenon.
In February 2015, the book was shortlisted for one of the worlds most renowned
prizes in economic writing, the Hayek Book Prize, given by the USA based Manhattan
Institute.
He became the youngest writer ever, at 34, to be nominated for the prize and the first
ever from India.
Hindol Sengupta is an Indian journalist, writer and entrepreneur. At present, he is
Editor-at-Large at Fortune India.
Book titled Modi - Incredible emergence of a star in Chinese

language written by Tarun Vijay
A book on Prime Minister Narendra Modi titled Modi Incredible emergence of a
star written in Chinese language by Tarun Vijay was in news on 16 June 2015 as one
copy of the book was given to Vice-President M Hamid Ansari. Tarun Vijay is a BJP
Member of Parliament and a journalist.
The book was published in July 2014 by Sichuan Universitys South Asia Study
Centre.
The book is a biography based on the life and economic vision of Narendra Modi.
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Sourav Ganguly: Cricket, Captaincy and Controversy written by

Saptarshi Sarkar
The book Sourav Ganguly: Cricket, Captaincy and Controversy was written by
Saptarshi Sarkar and was published in April 2015 by HarperCollins India.
The biography of former Indian Cricket Captain Sourav Ganguly deals with his
cricketing career.
In the book, the author throws light on some of the issues related to Gangulys career
like underrated all-rounder, Lord of the left handers, relation with Aussies, brand
Ganguly, etc.
Earlier, two books were published on Ganguly - Sourav Ganguly by Vinod Tiwari and
Sourav Ganguly, the maharaja of cricket by Debashish Datta which were published
in 2005 and 2007 respectively.

Booker Prize awardee Amitav Ghosh on 7 June 2015 released his new novel Flood
of fire. With the novel, he has concluded the Ibis trilogy, his fictional recreation of the
events leading up to the first opium war of 1839-42.
The Ibis trilogy is a work of historical fiction by Amitav Ghosh. It comprises Sea of
Poppies (2008), River of Smoke (2011), and Flood of Fire (2015). The story is set in
the first half of the 19th century. It deals with the trade of opium between India and
China run by the East India Company and the trafficking of coolies to Mauritius.
With all the verve of the first two novels in the trilogy, Flood of Fire completes Ghoshs
unprecedented reenvisioning of the nineteenth-century war on drugs.
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DEFENCE | SECURITY
Indias maiden indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant was on 10 June 2015 undocked
at the Cochin Shipyard in Kochi, Kerala.
The structural work of the ship was completed and undocking was part of the second
phase of work on the carrier, which is expected to be complete by 2017.
Key Features of INS Vikrant

It is Indias largest and first indigenous aircraft carrier.
Its basic design was done by the Indian Navys Directorate of Naval Design, which
was developed into detailed design by the design team of the Cochin Shipyard
Limited (CSL).
On the completion, it weighs around 40000 metric tonne and will have a length of
over 260 metres and breadth of 60 metres.
It has two take-off runways and a landing strip with three arrester wires, capable
of operating STOBAR aircraft including the indigenous LCA, as well as a range of
helicopters with hangar facilities.
It will undergo basin trials in 2017 and is expected to be inducted into the Navy
by 2018 end.
Upon its induction, the aircraft carrier puts India in the elite group of four countries
in the world viz., USA, Russia, the UK and France that are capable of designing and
constructing aircraft carriers.
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REPORT | SURVEY
IEP released Global Peace Index 2015
Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) on 16 June 2015 released the Global Peace
Index (GPI) 2015. The GPI 2015 measured peace, its causes and its economic value
during 2014.
The GPI 2015 ranked the nations according to their level of peacefulness. It measured
peace for 162 countries constituting 99.6 of the world population. Among these 162
countries, India was placed at the 143rd position, the same as 2014.
The index gauged global peace using three broad themes: the level of safety and
security in society, the extent of domestic and international conflict and the degree
of militarisation.
Highlights of GPI in terms of three broad themes

Societal safety and security: The Index analysed the effects of urbanisation on
violence, and finds that peace generally increases with higher levels of urbanisation.
However, countries that have weak rule of law, high levels of intergroup grievances
and high levels of inequality are more likely to experience deteriorations in peace as
urbanisation increases.
This domain improved slightly during 2014, driven by falls in the homicide rate and
the likelihood of violent demonstrations.
However, this improvement was counterbalanced by deteriorations in the ongoing
conflict and militarisation domains, owing to increases in deaths from internal conflict,
non-payment of UN peacekeeping dues, and a continuing deterioration in the impact
of terrorism indicator.
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Ongoing domestic and international conflicts: The Index identified drivers of six
major Middle East and North Africa (MENA) conflicts occurring in Syria, Iraq, Yemen,
Libya, Israel and Lebanon, which include challenges to government legitimacy,
deepening sectarian divides, the destabilising presence of ISIL and the cross-cutting
proxy conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
The most substantial changes in the Index occurred in the MENA where several
countries suffered from an upsurge in violence related to sectarian strife and civil
conflicts, resulting in the region being ranked as the least peaceful in the world,
overtaking South Asia from last years GPI.
Militarisation: Since 1990, there has been a slow and steady decrease in measures of
global militarisation, with large changes in militarisation occurring rarely and usually
associated with larger, globally driven geopolitical and economic shifts. Further,
countries with weak Positive Peace factors are more likely to use the military for
internal suppression.
General Highlights of GPI 2015

In 2014, the global GPI score remained stable. However, while the average level
of global peacefulness was stable, a number of indicators and countries did
deteriorate while others improved.
Over the past eight years, the average country score deteriorated by 2.4 percent
highlighting that on average the world has become slightly less peaceful.
Iceland is the most peaceful country, followed by Denmark and Austria at second
and third positions, respectively.
Others in the top 10 include New Zealand, Switzerland, Finland, Canada, Japan,
Australia, and Czech Republic. All the ten highest ranking nations in the GPI are
stable democracies.
Guinea-Bissau had the largest improvement in peace, resulting in a rise of 24
places in the rankings to 120th. The next four largest improvements occurred in
Cote dIvoire, Egypt, Tajikistan and Benin.
A common theme among the largest improvers was a fall in the level of organised
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conflict, which occurred in all of the four aforementioned African nations.

Cancelling out its strong improvement in the 2014 edition of the GPI, Libya
experienced the largest deterioration this year. Its score deteriorated substantially
and consequently it fell 13 places down to 149th to become the 14th least peaceful
country.
The second biggest decline was recorded for the Ukraine, due to the conflict
between Russian separatists and the Ukrainian government as well as the instability
caused by Russias annexation of Crimea.
Terrorism has grown steadily over the last decade, a trend that shows no sign
of abating. Deaths caused by terrorism increased by 61 per cent in 2013, which
resulted in almost 18000 people being killed in terrorist attacks. Of those deaths,
82 per cent occurred in just five countries: Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and
Syria.
The threat of terrorism has also affected many of the worlds most peaceful
countries, with terrorist attacks occurring in France, Denmark and Australia in the
last year.
The economic impact of violence on the global economy in 2014 was substantial
and is estimated at 14.3 trillion US dollars or 13.4 per cent of world GDP.
This is equivalent to the combined economies of Brazil, Canada, France, Germany,
Spain and the United Kingdom. Since 2008, the total economic impact on global
GDP has increased by 15.3 per cent, from 12.4 US trillion dollars to 14.3 US trillion
dollars.
The major expenditure categories are military spending at 43 per cent, homicide
and violent crime at 27 per cent and internal security officers, including police, at
18 per cent.
While the cost of UN peacekeeping has more than doubled since 2008, it still only
accounts for less than 0.17 per cent of violence containment expenditure.
The report outlines new findings on Positive Peace, highlighting its impact on
peace, development and other important societal goals.
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Positive Peace is also statistically associated with many other outcomes considered
desirable: stronger business environments, better performance on well-being
measures, gender equality and better performance on ecological measures.
India and GPI 2014

India is ranked 143rd out of 162 countries and maintained the same position
compared to the GPI 2014.
The number of casualties from internal conflict rose where a Maoist insurgency
stills runs rife.
The downgrade in Indias score is tempered by an improvement in political stability.
The worlds second most populous country witnessed an historic election in 2014
as the Bharatiya Janata Party secured Indias first one-party majority since the
mid-1980s.
Rankings of Indias neighbours: Bhutan (18), Nepal (52), Bangladesh (84), Sri Lanka
(114), Pakistan (154) and Afghanistan (160).
India spent fourth largest violence containment expenditure during 2014 with 342
billion US dollars on PPP basis only behind USA, China, Russia. This is equivalent
to 4.7 per cent of Indias GDP, or 273 US dollars per person.
About Global Peace Index (GPI)

GPI as a measure of world peace was launched in 2007. The 2015 release was 9th
in the series.
It is the worlds leading measure of global peacefulness produced by the Institute
for Economics and Peace. The Index is composed of 23 indicators, ranging from a
nations level of military expenditure to its relations with neighbouring countries and
the percentage of prison population in 162 countries.
The IEP is a Sydney-based international and independent think tank dedicated to
shifting the worlds focus to peace as a positive, achievable, and tangible measure of
human well-being and progress.
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Indian Railways, Indian Army among worlds biggest employers:

World Economic Forum Study
Two Indian organizations Indian Army and Indian Railways are among theworlds
biggest employers, together employing around 2.7 million people, as per a research
published by the World Economic Forum on 17 June 2015.
Indian Railways was ranked at the eighth place in the list of worlds biggest employers
with 1.4 million staff. Immediately after Indian Railways is the Indian Armed Forces
with 1.3 million people.
Highlights of the Report

The US department of defense is the worlds biggest employer which claims over
3.2 million employees on its roster.
On the second position is Peoples Liberation Army (the Chinese military) with 2.3
million and in third is the US supermarket giant Walmart with 2.1 million workers.
McDonalds is the 4th biggest employer with 1.9 million employees, however, as
the majority of its restaurants are franchises.
UKs National Health Service was ranked at the 5th place with 1.7 million
employees, followed by state-run China National Petroleum Corporation with 1.6
million employees in sixth place.
Another Chinese company, the State Grid Corporation of China was ranked at 7th
place with 1.5 million employees.
Hon Hai Precision Factory (Foxconn) came at 10th place with 1.2 million people.
Maharashtra topped the list of States and UTs in IPR filing in

2013-14: IBEF report
India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) in the third week of June 2015 released a report
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on Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) filing in India during 2013-14.

While Maharashtra topped the list of states and Union Territories (UTs), Bengaluru
was the top city in IPR filing.
The top five states and UTs: Maharashtra (2892), Karnataka (1639), Tamil Nadu (1436),
Delhi (1009) and Andhra Pradesh (879).
Bengaluru lead patent hunt as Samsung R&D Institute (84); Infosys (83); Wipro Ltd (59);
Samsung India Software Operations Pvt. Ltd. (66) top filers from among technology
companies.
Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Siddaganga Institute of Technology, Tumakuru and
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) figured in the top 10 scientific bodies
and institutions with 32, 24 and 12 filings respectively.
About India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF)

It is a trust established by the Department of Commerce, Union Ministry of Commerce
and Industry.
Its primary objective is to promote and create international awareness of the Made in
India label in markets overseas and to facilitate dissemination of knowledge of Indian
products and services.

The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) in collaboration with IMRB
International on 17 June 2015 released the Social Media in India 2014 report.
The report analysed the trends in using social media across the country between
March 2014 and April 2015.
Highlights of Social Media in India 2014 report

There are 143 million social media users in India as on April 2015.
For many people accessing the Internet for the first time, social media was the
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reason they embraced Internet.

Usage of social media in rural India has grown by an impressive 100 percent to
reach 25 million users during April 2014 and March 2015.
Urban India registered a relatively lower growth of 35 percent with the total number
of users at 118 million as on April 2015.
The top 4 metros continue to account for almost half of the social media users in
urban India.
College going students and young men still form the 60 percent of the social
media users in urban India.
Facebook was leading social media website with 96 per cent of users in urban
areas accessing it, followed by Google Plus (61 per cent), Twitter (43 per cent) and
LinkedIn (24 per cent).
The largest segment accessing social media consists of the college going students
with 34 percent followed by young men at 27 percent.
School going children constitute 12 percent of the social media users.
61 percent of users access social media on their mobile device.
Maintaining a profile on social networking sites are a top activity of users followed
by updating status.
Commenting on a blog site is the third most popular activity among users in social
networking sites.
CBRE Research released Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs

survey
The CB Richard Ellis Group (CBRE) Research on 18 June 2015 released the Global
Prime Office Occupancy Costs survey. CBRE is an American commercial real estate
company based in Seattle.
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The survey listed out top 50 expensive office market spaces by surveying 127 markets
around the globe.
In the survey, while Londons West End continued to be the worlds highest-priced
office market, Connaught Place (CP) Central Business District (CBD) in New Delhi
was the fifth costliest office market in the world.
The cost of office space represents office rents and occupancy costs that include
rent, plus local taxes and service charges per square feet per year as of 31 March
2015.
Highlights of Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs survey

London West Ends overall prime occupancy costs of 267 US dollars per sq. ft.
per year topped the most expensive list.
Hong Kong (Central) followed with total prime occupancy costs of 254 US dollars
per sq. ft., Beijing (Finance Street) (196 US dollars per sq. ft.), Beijing (Central
Business District (CBD)) (188 US dollars per sq. ft.) and New Delhi(Connaught
Place CBD) (157 US dollars per sq. ft.) rounded out the top five.
Hong Kong (Central) remained the only market in the worldother than Londons
West Endwith a prime occupancy cost exceeding 200 US dollars per sq. ft per
year.
Of the top 50 most expensive markets, 19 were in EMEA, 20 were in Asia Pacific
and 11 were in the Americas.
Global prime office occupancy costs rose 2.0 percent year-over-year, with the
Americas up 2.9 percent, Europe Middle East & Africa (EMEA) rising 1.5 percent and
Asia Pacific up 1.4 percent. The report said the change in prime office occupancy
costs mirrored the gradual recovery of the global economy.
Asia dominated the list accounting for four of the top five markets
Asia Pacific had 20 markets ranked in the top 50 most expensive, including six of
the top 10Hong Kong (Central), Beijing (Finance Street), Beijing (CBD), New Delhi
(Connaught Place - CBD), Hong Kong (West Kowloon) and Tokyo (Marunouchi
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Otemachi).
Indian cities in the Survey

Connaught Place (CP) Central Business District (CBD) in New Delhi was the fifth
costliest office market in the world.
CP-CBD moved up a spot in the rankings due to rupee depreciation when
compared to the previous list of semiannual survey.
Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), the alternative business district in Mumbai, was at
the 15th position with a cost of 102 US dollars per sq. ft per annum) and Mumbais
CBD of Nariman Point (76 US dollars per sq. ft per annum) was at 30th position.
UNHCR released Global Trends: World at War report on forced

displacement
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on 18
June 2015 released a report titled Global Trends: World at War. It delineates worldwide
trends in forced displacement by the end of 2014.
The report declared that ongoing refugee crisis due to wars, conflicts and persecution
is the worst in recorded history and over half of the worlds refugees are children.
Highlights of Global Trends: World at War report

The number of people forcibly displaced at the end of 2014 had risen to a staggering
59.5 million compared to 51.2 million by 2013 and 37.5 million by 2005.
The increase represents the biggest leap ever seen in a single yearand the situation
is likely to worsen in future.
Globally, one in every 122 humans is now either a refugee, internally displaced, or
seeking asylum. If this were the population of a country, it would be the worlds
24th biggest.
Since early 2011, the main reason for the acceleration has been the war in Syria,
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June 2015
now the worlds single-largest driver of displacement.

Every day in 2014, on average 42500 people became refugees, asylum seekers,
or internally displaced, a four-fold increase in just four years.
In the past five years, at least 15 conflicts have erupted or reignited: eight in
Africa (Cte dIvoire, Central African Republic, Libya, Mali, northeastern Nigeria,
Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Burundi); three in the Middle
East (Syria, Iraq, and Yemen); one inEurope (Ukraine) and three in Asia (Kyrgyzstan,
Myanmar and Pakistan).
In 2014, only 126800 refugees were able to return to their home countries -- the
lowest number in 31 years.
There has been dramatic growth in the numbers of refugees seeking safety through
dangerous sea journeys, including on the Mediterranean, in the Gulf of Aden and
Red Sea, and in Southeast Asia.
In 2014 alone 13.9 million people became newly displaced four times the number
of the previous year.
Syria is the worlds biggest producer of both internally displaced people (7.6
million) and refugees (3.88 million) at the end of 2014. Afghanistan (2.59 million)
and Somalia (1.1 million) are the next biggest refugee source countries.
Almost nine out of every 10 refugees (86 per cent) are in regions and countries
considered economically less developed.
Forced displacement numbers in Europe totaled 6.7 million at the end of the year,
compared to 4.4 million at the end of 2013, and with the largest proportion of this
being Syrians in Turkey and Ukrainians in the Russian Federation.
Syrias ongoing war, with 7.6 million people displaced internally, and 3.88 million
people displaced into the surrounding region and beyond as refugees, has alone
made the Middle East the worlds largest producer and host of forced displacement.
Sub-Saharan Africa saw 3.7 million refugees and 11.4 million internally displaced
people, 4.5 million of whom were newly displaced in 2014.
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Ethiopia replaced Kenya as the largest refugee-hosting country in Africa and the
fifth largest worldwide.
The number of refugees and internally displaced people in Asia grew by 31 per
cent in 2014 to 9 million people.
Continuing displacement was also seen in and from Myanmar in 2014,including of
Rohingya from Rakhine state and in the Kachin and Northern Shan regions.
Iran and Pakistan remained two of the worlds top four refugee hosting countries.
In Americas, the number of Colombian refugees dropped by 36300 to 360300 in
2014.
With more people fleeing gang violence or other forms of persecution in Central
America, the United States saw 36800 more asylum claims than in 2013,
representing growth of 44 per cent.
India as a country of origin had 10433 refugees and 16709 asylum seekers with
pending cases in 2014; and 199937 refugees and 5074 pending cases of asylum
seekers as country of asylum for 2014.
BCG released Global Wealth 2015 report

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) on 3 June 2015 released the Global Wealth
2015: Winning the Growth Game report.
The annual report listed out the status of generation and distribution of private wealth
in 2014. It also estimated the future prospects of global private financial wealth.
According to the report, India is home to fourth largest ultra-high-net worth households.
Highlights of Global Wealth 2015 report

Global private financial wealth grew by nearly 12 percent in 2014 to reach a total
of 164 trillion US dollars. The rise was in line with 2013, when global wealth also
grew by just over 12 percent.
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Over the next five years, total private wealth globally is projected to post a
compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6 percent to reach an estimated 222
trillion US dollars in 2019.
North America with 51 trillion US dollars in private wealth remained the worlds
wealthiest region in 2014 with the USA representing 28 percent of the global total.
It has also remained the wealthiest individual country ahead of China and Japan.
Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) remained the fastest-growing region in 2014 with
private wealth expanding by 29 percent. Continued economic expansion in India
along with China contributed to this performance.
The region overtook Europe (Eastern and Western Europe combined) to become
the worlds second wealthiest region in the world and projected to hold 34 percent
of global wealth in 2019. At such a pace, the region is expected to overtake North
America as the worlds richest region in 2016.
Western Europes 7 percent growth rate brought private wealth to nearly 40 trillion
US dollars in 2014 and is projected to reach an estimated 49 trillion US dollars in
2019. In the region Sweden recorded highest growth rate (13 percent).
Private wealth in Eastern Europe grew by 19 percent to 3 trillion US dollars in 2014
driven mainly by Russias 25 percent growth to 2 trillion US dollars.
Japans private wealth achieved comparatively low growth of about 2 percent in
2014 to reach 14 trillion US dollars.
Private wealth in Latin America achieved double-digit growth in 2014, by rising
more than 10 percent to nearly 4 trillion US dollars. Strong growth was observed
in Mexico (15 percent) and Columbia (10 percent).
Private wealth in Middle East and Africa (MEA) region increased by more than 9
percent to reach nearly 6 trillion US dollars in 2014 in which Saudi Arabia occupied
the major share.
Private wealth held by ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) households(those with above
100 million US dollars) grew by 11 percent in 2014 possessing 6 percent of global
private wealth.
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USA remained the country with the largest number of UHNW households with
5201, followed by China (1037) and the UK (1019).
USA had the highest density of millionaire households in 2014 (7 million US dollars)
followed by China (4 million US dollars) which showed highest number of new
millionaires (1 million US dollars).
The highest density of millionaires was in Switzerland, where 135 out of every
1000 households were millionaires.
Indias position in the report

Private wealth in India showed solid gain driven mainly by investments in local
equities. In 2014, Indias equity market rose by 23 percent.
India had fourth largest UHNW households (928) after USA, China and the UK. India
had only 284 UHNW households in 2013.
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June 2015
SUMMIT | CONFERENCE
The one-day International Conference on Nepals Reconstruction (ICNR) concluded
on 25 June 2015 in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.
The Conference was organised by the Government of Nepal to raise funds for carrying
out rebuilding of areas devastated by the April 25 earthquake of magnitude 7.8 on
Richter scale, which claimed nearly 9000 lives.
The Conference was attended by at least 35 countries, including China, Britain,
Norway, Japan, Sri Lanka, the European Union besides the UN, World Bank and
Asian Development Bank.
India was represented by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj who pledged
1 billion US dollars in assistance to Nepal for its reconstruction programme. The
assistance is over and above Indias existing bilateral developmental assistance of
another 1 billion US dollars over the next five years which takes the total assistance
to 2 billion US dollars.

G7 Summit 2015 was held at Schloss Elmau in Bavaria, Germany from 7 June to 8
June 2015. This was the 41st G7 summit and the theme for the summit was Think
Ahead. Act Together.
The Summit focused on the global economy as well as on key issues regarding
foreign, security, environment and development policy. Further, the UN conferences
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to be held in 2015 as well as the post-2015 agenda and the issues of sanctions
against Russia were also discussed.
The G7 Summit 2015 deliberated on following issues

Protection of the marine environment and resources and marine governance.
Antibiotic resistance, neglected and poverty-related diseases and Ebola.
Retail and supply chain standards.
Empowerment of women by giving vocational training.
After the talks, the leaders of the G7 committed to raising a 100 billion US dollars
fund through public and private sources to combat the rising global temperatures and
agreed to implement international mechanisms to bolster global healthcare security
by creating a financial instrument at the World Bank to react better to pandemics.
The Summit was attended by all the seven members viz., Canada, France, Germany,
Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States and the European Commission
(EC). EC is a permanently welcome participant in all meetings and decision-making
since 1981.
The guest invitees for the event included Ethiopia, Iraq, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal,
Tunisia and the UN.
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COMMITTEES | COMMISSIONS
FSSAI set up an Expert Group on Salt, Sugar and Fat in Indian
Food Products
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on 12 June 2015 set up an
Expert Group on Salt, Sugar and Fat in Indian Food Products. The 11-member Expert
Group will be headed by Dr. D Prabhakaran, Director, Centre for Chronic Conditions
and Injuries and Vice-President, Public Health Foundation of India.
The Group will examine Foods with High in Fat, Sugar and Salt (HFSS), also called
Junk Food, on the health of consumers, especially on school going children. The
decision to set up the group was taken after the Delhi High Court asked the FSSAI to
issue guidelines in this regard.
The Expert Group will advise FSSAI on potential health risks to vulnerable groups
from consumption of Foods products with HFSS.
Further, it will also recommend FSSAI on prescription of regulations for display of fat,
sugar and salt on food products sold and served in eating joints or catering facilities
besides labelling requirements for packaged food.
Union Ministry of Finance constituted a Task Force headed by D

Swarup on Financial Redress Agency
Union Ministry of Finance on 5 June 2015 constituted a Task Force on Financial
Redress Agency (FRA). The 10-member task force will be headed by Dhirendra Swarup
who served as the first chairman of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development
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Authority (PFRDA) in 2004.

The Task Force was set up to begin the preparatory work for FRA that was
recommended by the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC).
FRA would act as a unified redress agency for financial consumers across the country.
Terms of Reference of the Task Force

Review the international best practices in consumer grievance redress, including
ombudsman and other dispute resolution mechanisms, with a focus on the
financial sector.
Review the present practices of management of financial consumer redress in
India.
Support the Ministry of Finance in procuring the services of competent consultants
to operationalise the FRA.
To undertake cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of alternatives/options while making
recommendations.
The expenditure related to Task Force activities would be met from the budget of
NIPFP-DEA research programme, which also will provide appropriate research
assistance to the Task Force
The Task Force will complete its task in one year.
About Financial Redress Agency (FRA)

FRA was envisaged in the draft Indian Financial Code (IFC) and was recommended by
the FSLRC. It would act as the first forum of independent grievance redress which a
financial consumer can access. It will entertain grievance against all financial service
providers. It would also handle a large number of relatively low value complaints on
a pan-India basis and run a large scale, customer-centric process to deliver efficient
and effective outcomes.
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ART | CULTURE
The four-day long Ambubachi Mela at Kamakhaya Devi temple at Guwahati, Assam
concluded on 26 June 2015. With this, the door of the Shakti shrine at Nilachal hillock
was re-opened for devotees.
The Ambubachi Mela also known as Ambubachi Festival that started on 23 June
2015 was visited by around 7 lakh 50 thousand pilgrims from various parts of the
world.
Ambubachi Mela (Ambubachi Festival)

This yearly mela is celebrated during the monsoon season that happens to fall during
the Assamese month Ahaar, around the middle of June, when the Brahmaputra River
is in spate. It is related to the Tantric cult and is also known as Kamkhya Devi Puja.
The doors of the temple remains closed for three days during the festival as it is
believed that Goddess Kamakhya goes through her menstrual cycle.

Two-day long annual Hemis festival dedicated to the Guru Padmasambhava began
on 26 June 2015 in largest monastery of Ladakh Hemis Gompa (monastery) of Jammu
and Kashmir.
Hemis festival is celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of Guru Padmasambhava.
During this festive season, Lamas called chhams, perform masked dances and
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sacred plays to the accompaniment of cymbals, drums and long horns. The head
lama presides over the function.
The festival takes an auspicious turn every 12 years in the Tibetan Year of the Monkey,
when the two-storey high Thanka depicting Padmasambhava is displayed.
List of festivals of Ladakh and venue for celebrations

Name of Festival
Venue
Spituk Gustor Spituk

Dosmochey
Leh & Likir Monastery
Yargon Tungshak
Nubra (Yarma)
Stok Guru Tsechu
Stok Monastery
Matho Nagrang
Matho Monastery
Saka Dawa All over Ladakh

Yuru Kabgyat
Lamayuru Monastery
Hemis Tsechu
Hemis Monastery
Stongday Gustor Zanskar

Karsha Gustor
Zanskar
Phyang Tsesdup
Phyang Monastery
Sachukul Gustor
Sachukul Monastery
Korzok Gustor
Tsomoriri
Dakthok Tseschu
Dak thok Monastery
Sani Nasjal
Zanskar
Deskit Gustor
Nubra
Thiksay Gustor Thiksay

Chemday Wangchok / Padum
Chemray Monastery
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Galden Namchot
All over Ladakh
Ladakhi Losar
All over Ladakh

The Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge), Culture (Independent Charge)
and Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma on 19 June 2015 launched the new edition of Atithi
Devo Bhava television (TV) commercials starring Aamir Khan as brand ambassador.
The four films, made on the theme of Atithi Devo Bhava, will spread awareness about
ways to extend hospitality to tourists visiting India by adopting an honest and helpful
attitude, as well as maintaining cleanliness and hygiene.
Veteran actor Aamir Khan is the brand ambassador for these impressive films and
these films have been directed by the eminent ad maker Prasoon Joshi. These four
films will be telecasted on various television channels to spread the message of Atithi
Devo Bhava across the country.
Other announcements:
Launched a brochure titled India- The Land of Yoga, that gives details of Yoga
destinations and will help to promote Yoga as a tourism product.
Setting up of a National Medical and Wellness Tourism Board to boost medical
tourism. The Board will help to bring together the various streams of medicine
available in India including Ayurveda, Yoga, naturopathy, Unani and low cost
allopathic treatments.
Development of four new tourist circuits on the themes of Wildlife, Spiritual, Desert
and Ramayana under the Swadesh Darshan scheme. These four circuits will be
in addition to the five circuits already being developed by the Union Ministry of
Tourism.
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Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) celebrated the 350th foundation
day of Shri Anandpur Sahib from 17 June to 19 June 2015 at Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib
located in Anandpur Sahib in Punjab. The holy city was founded by the 9th Guru of
the Sikhs, Guru Tegh Bahadur in 1665.
Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib situated amid Shivalik hills on the bank of River Satluj is the
birthplace of the Khalsa. It is the place that commemorates the miracle of celebrating
the scum of humanity and a wonder of the divine and transcendent guru-disciple
matrix.
Guru Teg Bahadar was father of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, who was the 10th Guru of
Sikhs. Later, Guru Gobind Singh in 1699 created Khalsa Panth.
Anandpur Sahib is the new name of Chak Nanki, the name designated by Guru Tegh
Bahadur after he purchased land of Makhowal.
800-year-old Buddha statue with 1000 hands unveiled by China

after 7 years of restoration
China on 12 June 2015 unveiled the 800-year-old Buddha statue (Qianshou Guanyin)
famous for its 1000 hands in Dazu County in Sichun province. The statue is listed as
World Heritage sites by UNESCO in 1999.
The statue was unveiled after it was restored by Chinese experts in seven years at an
expense of 60 million yuan (9.8 million US dollar).
The restoration work of the statue, one integral part of the Dazu Rock Carvings, was
started on 18 April 2008.
Restoration project
During the restoration project, the workers restored 830 hands and 227 instruments
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of the statue by using one million gold foils. The 7.7 metres high and 12.5 metres
wide statue was carved during the Southern Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD). However,
the initial cravings date back to Tang Dynasty (618 to 907 AD).
Zhan Changfa, a researcher of the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage, was the
in charge of the project.
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ABBREVIATIONS | TERMS
K2K Economic Corridor: Kolkata (India) and Kunming (China)
Economic Corridor
The term K2K Economic Corridor was in news in the fourth week of June 2015 as
China announced that the main artery of the corridor is nearly completed.
The 2800 km long corridor is at the core of the Bangladesh, India, China and MyanmarEconomic Corridor (BCIM-EC) initiated by four countries in 2014.
Objective of the Corridor

At the macro level, the corridor is aimed at deepening friendly cooperation among
the four member nations.
The primary focus of the economic corridor is to facilitate trade and connectivity
between the landlocked and underdeveloped southwestern parts of China and
the North Eastern region of India.
It will link South Asia with Southeast and East Asia by building multi-modal
connectivity, harnessing economic complementaries and enhancing people-topeople relations.
Route map of the Corridor

From Kolkata, the corridor will head towards Benapole, a border town in Bangladesh.
After passing through Dhaka and Sylhet, it will re-enter the Indian territory near
Silchar in Assam.
From Assam, the passage will be connected with Imphal and then pass through
the India-built Tamu-Kalewa friendship road in Myanmar before passing through a
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small stretch in Arunachal Pradesh.

In Myanmar, the corridor will pass through Lahiso and Muse prior to Mandalay.
The Chinese stretch extends from Ruili before reaching Kunming, capital of Yunnan
province, through Longling and Dali.
China also wants to include Mizoram as part of the corridor so that the K2K corridor
will be connected with the Kaladan Project.
How addition of Kaladan project will be beneficial to India?

Under the Kaladan Multi-modal Transit Transport Project, initiated in 2008, Mizoram
will be connected with Myanmars port of Sittwe, through the Kaladan River.
Addition of Kaladan project will facilitate northeastern states in India to get easier
access to Kolkata, compared with the land route, located just 539 km away.
It will also reduce reliance of China on the Straits of Malacca (to reach the Indian
Ocean) that is militarily dominated by the USA.
FARC-EP or FARC: A guerilla movement based in Columbia

FARC was in news on 17 June 2015 as the militant organisation blew up a major oil
pipeline in the municipality of Catatumbo in northern Colombia.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of ColombiaPeoples Army (FARC-EP) is a left
wing militant organization established in 1964.
It is Colombias largest rebel group and Latin Americas oldest left-wing insurgency.
It is active in Colombia, Venezuela, Panama and Ecuador.
Like any left-wing militant organisation, its aim is to overthrow the government in
power.
It was established as a communist-inspired peasant army fighting for land reform
and to reduce the gulf dividing rich and poor in the Andean country.
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However, in recent times, the FARC has been criticized for eschewing its beliefs in
favor of illegal drug trade, kidnapping and extortion activities.
Now, Colombia is one of the worlds top cocaine producers and the FARC is estimated
to make around 500 million US dollars from the illicit drug trade per annum.
FARC has been engaged in peacetalks with the Columbian government, since
November 2012, aimed at ending more than 50 years of conflict.
There has been agreement on several points and the negotiations continue to be
held in the Cuban capital, Havana.
There has been a spike in attacks on army and public infrastructure by FARC since it
suspended unilateral ceasefire on 22 May 2015 which it declared in December 2014.
Bharat Mala Project: Linking border and coastal areas with road
network
Bharat Mala project of India was in news in the fourth week of June 2015 as NHAI
(National Highways Authority of India) has started inviting bids for preparing the
Detailed Project Reports (DRPs) of over 3500km of roads along the border and coast
lines.
Bharat Mala project is an ambitious plan of Union Ministry of Roads Transport &
Highways which contemplated building about 5000 km of road networks in the
country and link border and coastal areas with road network. The overall investment
is estimated around 50000 crore rupees.
The entire network will stretch across 15 states with Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu &
Puducherry, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Gujarat and Punjab getting substantial portion of
this network.
Further, under the project it has been assumed that in each stretch 80 percent of road
shall be two-lane with paved shoulders (two and half lanes) and 20 percent of length
may be four-laned.
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Bharat Mala probably takes a cue from Sagar Mala, the project to construct a string
of ports in the Indian Ocean to protect maritime interests and Golden Quadrilateral,
the highway network connecting Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata.
Exercise Ajeya Warrior -2015: Joint exercise between the armies

of India and UK
The term Exercise Ajeya Warrior was in news on 17 June 2015 as few soldiers of the
Indian Army sustained injuries that were in UK to participate in the military exercise.
The soldiers belong to the Kumaon Regiment.
Exercise Ajeya Warrior is a joint exercise between the armies of India and UK.
Its aim is to build and promote positive military relations between Indian and UK Army
and to enhance their ability to undertake joint tactical level operations in Counter
Insurgency/Counter Terrorism Environment under the United Nations Charter.
It is held biannually in both the countries, alternatively.
In 2015, the 16 day exercise began on 13 June 2015 at Westdown Camp in Salisbury
Plains Training Area, UK.
OROP Scheme: One Rank, One Pension scheme for ex-servicemen

The One Rank, One Pension (OROP) scheme for ex-servicemen was recently in news
on 16 June 2015 as the scheme is likely to be rolled out ahead of the Bihar Assembly
polls 2015.
The One Rank, One Pension is a scheme that lays down that the retired soldiers of
the same rank and length of service will receive the same pension, regardless of
when they retire. The scheme was laid out in 2014, but has not been implemented
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yet due to some technical calculations and interpretations.

Under OROP, a soldier who retired in 1995 would get the same amount of pension as
the one who retired in 1996. The scheme will benefit ex-servicemen drawing pensions
from the OROP scheme, especially those who retired before 2006 as at present,
pensioners who retired before 2006 draw fewer pensions than their counterparts and
even their juniors.
The scheme will benefit all three services- Air Force, Navy and Army. The NDA
Government in its 2015 Budget announcement allotted 1000 crore rupees for the
scheme.
Reason behind delay in implementing OROP

Some of the officials within the Union Ministry of Defence (MoD) have been against
the implementation of OROP citing financial, administrative and legal impediments.
In 2011, the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare of the MoD pointed out to a
parliamentary committee that OROP was not feasible to be implemented since
documents of military personnel are removed after 25 years, which is not true.
In reality, the Pension Payment Orders of pensioners, which contain all relevant details
such as the rank last held and the length of service are retained during the lifetime of
each pensioner. All these details are available in a document called Long Roll which
is maintained in perpetuity in terms of Regulation 592 of the Regulations for the Army.
Magna Carta: 800th anniversary celebrated in Britain

The term Magna Carta was in news on 15 June 2015 as the Queen Elizabeth II of the
UK inaugurated a ceremony to mark the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta.
The ceremony took place at Runnymede near London where King John II sealed the
original accord on 15 June 1215.
The most important principle that Magna Carta laid down was that Englishmen
should be governed by definite laws and not by the whims or the will of a despotic
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June 2015
ruler which had been the practice prior to the charter.

It promised the protection of church rights, protection for the barons (feudal lords)
from illegal imprisonment, access to swift justice, and limitations on feudal payments
to the Crown among others.
The Great Charter, as it is often called, was said to be the foundation stone of the
rights and liberties of the English people that gradually paved way for principle of
Rule of Law across the world.
Buddhas of Bamiyan: Two 6th-century monumental statues of

standing Buddha
The Buddhas of Bamiyan were recently in news on 7 June 2015 as they were
resurrected in Bamiyan Valley, Afghanistan via 3D light projection technology.
The project was undertaken by a Chinese couple Janson Yu and Liyan Hu, who used
3D laser light projection technology to fill the empty cavities in the cliff in the Bamiyan
Valley in Hazarajat with Buddhas virtual images.
The two statues of Standing Buddhas of Bamiyan, 115 ft and 174 ft tall respectively,
were carved out of sandstone cliffs and stood at one point painted and gilded. They
managed to survive for more than 1500 years.
The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies
of statues were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modeled in
mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco to enhance the expressions of the faces,
hands and folds of the robes.
The statues were among the most famous cultural landmarks of the region, and
the site was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site along with the surrounding
cultural landscape and archaeological remains of the Bamiyan Valley.
These statues were destroyed in March 2001 by Taliban declaring it as false idols.
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ASHOBAA: A cyclonic storm over east central Arabian Sea

Cyclonic storm ASHOBAA was in news on 8 June 2015 after it developed into a
cyclonic storm from only a depression that formed over the Arabian Sea.
The cyclone is centered at 17.9N and 67.2E and is lying about 590 km westsouthwest of Mumbai and 470 km southwest of Veraval, Gujarat.
According to Skymet Meteorology Division in India, the cyclone would carry heavy
rainfall at most places over coastal Karnataka, Konkan and Goa as well as south
Gujarat. It will also carry strong winds ranging 70 to 120 kilometers per hour.
ASHOBAA is the first tropical storm of the pre-monsoon season in the Indian seas
which developed into a cyclone after sustaining strength.
Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) categorises cyclones in various degrees,
starting with depression and deep depression, followed by a cyclonic storm.
ASHOBAA is expected to affect the Indian monsoon as in 2014 cyclonic storm Nanauk
in Arabian Sea affected the progress of monsoon. It was supposed to hit Mumbai by
10 June 2014 but finally arrived on 15 June 2014.
Jan Aushadhi Campaign

Jan Aushadhi Campaign was in news as Indian Medical Associations (IMA) first-ever
Jan Aushadhi Generic Drug (JAGD) Store under the campaign was inaugurated on 5
June 2015 at its headquarters in IP Estate, New Delhi.
The Campaign was launched on 23 April 2008 by the Union Ministry of Chemicals
& Fertilizers and Steel to ensure access to quality Medicines and Health Care for all.
The first Jan Aushadhi Store with the active participation of the CPSUs namely, IDPL,
HAL, BPC was opened on 25 November 2008 at Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi.
The stores offers commonly used drugs at a 10 to 20 percent lesser price than market
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value.
All medicines offered at JAGD store are approved and quality controlled by the Bureau
of Pharma Public Sector Undertakings of India (BPPI) under the aegis of Department
of Pharmaceuticals.
Section 12(1)(d) of Consumer Protection Act

The Section 12(1)(d) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was in news as the Union
Government filed a complaint under it for the first time in nearly three decades since
the enactment of the act.
The Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution on 3 June
2015 filed a complaint with the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
(NCDRC) against Maggi, the brand of instant soups and noodles owned by Nestle.
The government took this decision against the backdrop of alleged lapses related to
food safety standards in Maggi noodles containing high levels of lead and Monosodium
Glutamate (MSG).
The Section 12(1)(d) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 says that a complaint
in relation to any goods sold or delivered or agreed to be sold or delivered or any
service provided or agreed to be provided may be filed with a District Forum by the
Central Government or the State Government.
They may file the complaint, as the case may be, either in its individual capacity or as
a representative of interests of the consumers in general.
MCOCA: Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act

The abbreviation MCOCA was in news in first week of June 2015. It came in news
after the state government of Maharashtra on 3 June 2015 invoked its stringent
provisions against five persons from Nashik for allegedly being part of ration mafia.
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This ration mafia was involved in the pilferage (theft of part of the contents of a
package) of foodgrains meant for public distribution.
This is the first time that MCOCA was applied against ration mafia and was done with
an aim of weeding out the widespread corruption in public distribution system.
Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) was enacted in 1999 to
combat organised crime and terrorism. It is a special law with stringent and deterrent
provisions including certain circumstances power to intercept wire, electronic or oral
communication to control the menace of organised crimes.
MERS virus: Two patients died in South Korea

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus was in news in the first week of June
2015 as for the first time two patients infected by MERS virus died in South Korea.
So far, there have been 25 confirmed cases of MERS since a man tested positive
following a trip to Saudi Arabia and became the countrys first MERS patient in May
2015.
MERS was discovered in 2012 and has mostly been centred in Saudi Arabia. It
belongs to the family of coronaviruses that includes the common cold and SARS,
and can cause fever, breathing problems, pneumonia and kidney failure.
The virus is thought to be primarily acquired through contact with camels, but it can
also spread from human fluids and droplets.
There have been 1167 cases of the virus worldwide and 479 of the patients have
died, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
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ACCIDENT | INCIDENT
Military transport plane of Indonesia, Hercules C-130, crashed
in Medan city
In Indonesia, a military transport plane Hercules C130 on 30 June 2015 crashed
in a residential city of Medan, on the northern island of Sumatra. The plane hit two
houses and a hotel before bursting into flames.
It is believed that all 113 people on board were killed. Many of the passengers are
thought to have been relatives of servicemen and women.
The accident occurred when the Hercules transport plane was on its way from an air
force base in Medan to Tanjung Pinang in Sumatra.
Medan, with about 3.4 million people, is the third most populous city in Indonesia
after the capital Jakarta and Surabaya.

More than 90 people died and 120 are critical after consuming spurious liquor at the
Laxmi Nagar slum in Malads Malwani area of Mumbai in the incident occurred that
occurred on 17 June 2015.
The incident has led to suspension of eight police officials and arrest of five persons
so far.
This incident was the second biggest hooch tragedy in over a decade in the State.
Earlier in 2004, about 87 people were killed after consuming spurious liquor in
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suburban Vikhroli.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered an inquiry into the Malwani hooch
tragedy.
Chinese cruise ship Eastern Star capsized in the Yangtze River

Chinese cruise ship Eastern Star or Dongfangzhixing capsized in the Jianli section of
the Yangtze River in Hubei province on 1 June 2015.
The four-storey and 76-metre ship carrying 405 passengers, five tour guides, and 46
crew members capsized after it got caught in a cyclone.
The ship was headed from the eastern city of Nanjing to the southwestern city of
Chongqing. Most of the passengers had retired for the night when the incident
happened.
More than 30 boats have been pressed into rescue operations and more than 10
relief ships have also been dispatched to the area.
Tornado struck northern city of Ciudad Acuna in Mexico

Ciudad Acuna in Mexico was in news as on 25 May 2015 it was hit by a tornado
killing at least 13 people and injuring several.
It was the first tornado to hit Acuna since the citys foundation, more than 100 years
ago. The city Acuna lies on US-Mexico border.
The tornado that attained the speed of 270-300 kilometer per hour at one point also
damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes of the city.
Rescue work is being carried out by digging through the rubble of damaged homes
in a race to find victims.
On the other hand, in the United States (US), the tornado that stretched from the
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Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes dumped record rainfall on parts of the Plains
and Midwest causing major flooding and forcing at least 2000 Texans to leave their
homes.
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SCIENCE | SPACE
SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket broke apart in flames minutes after
lifting off from Cape Canaveral
An unmanned American SpaceX rocket dubbed Falcon-9 broke apart in flames
minutes after lifting off from Cape Canaveral in Florida on 28 June 2015. The accident
occurred in only two and half minutes after the launch.
According to Elon Musk, SpaceX founder and chief, pressurization in the liquidoxygen tank of the rocket was the main cause of the blast.
The rocket, which had 18 straight successes prior to this accident, was in the process
of sending a cargo ship to the International Space Station (ISS). The rocket was
heading to ISS to bring food and supplies, including a robotic Dragin cargo capsule.
The US space agency NASA said that important supplies have been lost but the
orbiting labs crew (astronauts), who rely on food, water and equipment for their
operations in space have enough stock that will last till October 2015.
This incident is the third failure to send supplies to the ISS in the last eight months.
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DAY | WEEK | YEAR

29 June: National Statistics Day
India on 29 June 2015 observed its ninth National Statistics Day. Theme for the 9th
Statistics Day was Social Development.
The day organised by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI)
commemorates the birth anniversary of late Prof. Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis.
PC Mahalanobis born on 29 June 1893 was an Indian Bengali scientist and applied
statistician. He is best remembered for the Mahalanobis distance, a statistical
measure. He made pioneering studies in anthropometry in India. He founded the
Indian Statistical Institute in 1932 and contributed to the design of large-scale sample
surveys.
Later in his life, as a member of Planning Commission, he gave the Two-sector Inputoutput model for the Second Five Year Plan (1956-61) which became famous as
Nehru-Mahalanobis model or Basic Industry strategy of economic growth.
26 June: International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking

The International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking was on 26 June 2015
observed globally with the theme Lets Develop our Lives, our Communities, our
identities without Drugs.
This important day was created by the United Nations General Assembly on 7
December 1987 to help create a society free of illegal drugs and drug abuse. Each
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year the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) selects a theme for the
day.
The day is observed internationally by various countries by spreading awareness
about Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking through events and programmes.
14 June: World Blood Donors Day

World Blood Donors Day (WBDD) was observed on 14 June 2015. The theme of the
2015 World Blood Donor Day campaign is Thank you for saving my life.
The theme focuses on thanking blood donors who save lives every day through
their blood donation and encourages more people across the earth to donate blood
voluntarily and regularly with the sloganGive freely, give often. Blood donation
matters.
The campaign aims to highlight stories from people whose lives have been saved
through blood donation, as a way of motivating regular blood donors to continue
giving blood and people in good health who have never given blood to begin doing
so. The World Blood Donors Day (WBDD) was established in 2004 to raise awareness
of the need for safe bold and blood products, and to thank donors for their voluntary,
life-saving gifts of blood.
WBDD is one of the eight official global public health campaigns marked by the World
Health Organization (WHO) along with World Tuberculosis Day (24 March), World
Health Day (7 April), World Immunization Week (last week of April), World Malaria Day
(25 April), World No Tobacco Day (31 May), World Hepatitis Day (28 July), and World
AIDS Day (1 December).
12 June: World Day Against Child Labour

The World Day Against Child Labour was on 12 June 2015 observed globally with the
theme NO to child labour YES to quality education!The day is the United Nations
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observance to bring awareness against child labour.
World Day Against Child Labour 2015 calls for:

Free, compulsory and quality education for all children at least to the minimum age
for admission to employment and action to reach those presently in child labour;
New efforts to ensure that national policies on child labour and education are
consistent and effective;
Policies that ensure access to quality education and investment in the teaching
profession.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) launched the World Day Against Child
Labour in 2002 to focus attention on the global extent of child labour and on the
action and efforts needed to eliminate it.
The latest surveys suggest that more than 215 million children work instead of
attending school. In India, the labour law allows children under the age of 14 to work
in non-hazardous industries, and has even fewer restrictions on children working
between the ages of 15 and 18.
8 June: World Ocean Day

World Ocean Day 2015 was celebrated across the world on 8 June 2015 with the
theme Healthy oceans, Healthy planet.
To mark the occasion, various events were organised across the globe to spread
awareness about the importance of oceans in economic, Security and biological
spheres and need to protect them from vulnerabilities.
For the first time, World Ocean day was introduced in 1992 at Rio de Janeiro with
a motive of raising awareness of people towards the crucial role that sea plays in
our lives. The official designation of World Oceans Day is an opportunity to raise
global awareness of the current challenges faced by the international community
in connection with the oceans. In the year 2008, United Nations General Assembly
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decided to designate 8 June as the World Oceans Day from 2009 onwards with its
resolution number 63/111, Paragraph 171.
Oceans are a critical part of our biosphere and are essential for food security, health
and survival of all lives and are responsible to power the climate of the world.
The theme for the World Ocean Day 2014 was Together, we have the Power to Protect
the Oceans.
5 June: World Environment Day

World Environment Day (WED) was observed globally on 5 June 2015 with theme
Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care.
The host country for the WED 2015 is Italy and the celebrations will be organized
by Expo Milano 2015 that will run from 1 May to 31 October 2015 and will see the
participation of 140 plus countries.
The day is observed to raise global awareness to take positive environmental action
to protect nature and the planet Earth. It is run by the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP).
What does theme highlights?

The theme focuses on the need to respect the carrying capacity of the planet and to
manage natural resources efficiently to ensure prosperity and wellbeing globally.
As per an estimate, if current consumption and production patterns remain the same
then by 2050 to sustain the same we will need three planets, as the population is
expected to rise to reach 9.6 billion.
Further, the last part of the theme, Consuming with Care highlights the need to live
within planetary boundaries to ensure a healthy future where our dreams can be
realized. Human prosperity need not cost the earth.
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June 2015
WED 2015 celebrations in India

On this day to create awareness for environment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will
inaugurate a tree plantation campaign across India. Apart from this, several other
renowned personalities of the nation will also plant saplings at different places across
India.
Background
The day was established by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on the
day when Stockholms United Nations Conference on the Human Environment 1972
began. The first World Environment Day was hosted in 1973 and since then it is being
held every year with a different theme in different cities.
The theme for 2014 World Environment Day celebrations was Raise Your Voice Not
the Sea Level and the host country was Barbados.
31 May: World No Tobacco Day

The World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) 2015 was observed globally on 31 May 2015. To
mark this occasion, the World Health Organisation (WHO) launched a campaign to
stop illicit trade of tobacco products.
Every year, on 31 May, the WHO and its partners in close collaboration with the
governmental and non governmental agencies organize events, workshops, seminars,
etc to raise awareness about the ill effects of tobacco processing, trade and usage
among the masses and the policy makers.
On 15 May 1987, the WHO passed a resolution, calling for 7 April 1988, to be the
first WNTD. This date was chosen because it was the 40th anniversary of the WHO.
However, On 17 May 1989, the WHO passed another resolution calling for 31 May
to be annually known as WNTD. Thus, this event has been observed each year since
1989.
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Deaths caused by Tobacco

The global tobacco epidemic kills nearly 6 million people each year, of which more
than 600000 are non-smokers dying from breathing second-hand smoke. If the similar
conditions persist, the epidemic is estimated to kill more than 8 million people every
year by 2030. Also, more than 80 percent of these preventable deaths will be among
people living in low-and middle-income countries.
Why the campaign against illicit trade of tobacco products launched?

From many angles, the illicit trade of tobacco products is a major global concern
especially in high-income countries, including health, legal and economic, governance
and corruption.
The illicit tobacco market may account for as much as one in every 10 cigarettes
consumed globally, according to studies, including information supplied by the
global customs community. The European Commission estimates that illicit trade in
cigarettes costs the EU and their Member States over 10 billion euros annually in lost
tax and customs revenue.
WHO FCTC
In response to the threat posed by illicit tobacco trade, the international community
negotiated and adopted in November 2012 the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in
Tobacco Products, the first protocol to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco
Control (WHO FCTC). India ratified the convention in February 2004 and has become
the seventh country to do so.
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MISCELLANEOUS
Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh on 18 June 2015 launched a weather
alert service named NOWCAST.
NOWCAST will be used to send SMS alerts on extreme weather data like hailstorm,
thunderstorm and squall originated by India Meteorological Department (IMD) to over
one crore farmers whose mobile numbers are registered on governments mKisan
portal.
Further, the mKisan portal will send warning SMSs to farmers located in affected
district/blocks. These warnings will help the farmers to take precautionary measures
as needed and feasible. The SMS will be sent in English, Hindi and regional languages
as per farmers request.
This technological break-through is a collaborative effort between mKisan Portal
developed by DAC, weather technologies adopted by IMD and GIS Portal of NIC.
Besides, Radha Mohan Singh also launched Insurance Web-Portals for Farmers
(www.farmer.gov.in/insurance) that will enable farmers to insure their crops under
three schemes.
Prevailing provisions under which farmers can insure their crops are
National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (NAIS)
Modified National Insurance Scheme (MNAIS)
Weather based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS)
Besides, Coconut Palm Insurance Scheme (CPIS) also is applicable in some parts of
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the country.
The portal available in English will be used to create awareness and encourage more
farmers to insure their crops by taking advantage of existing schemes.

Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), the self regulatory body for content in
Indian advertising, on 17 June 2015 launched the countrys first consumer complaint
mobile app named ASCIonline.
ASCI launched this consumer friendly app with an aim to address the issue of
misleading advertisements.
Features of the app ASCIonline

It will allow consumers to raise their voice against misleading advertisements and
register their complaint in an easy manner by providing advertisement details and
the objection.
It will allow users to attach files like image or video or YouTube link of the
advertisement.
It will allow a consumer to track the status of the complaints which he or she has
registered on the portal with the help of the App.
The mobile app can be downloaded on android and iOS phone for free.
Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI)

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), established in 1985, is committed
to the cause of Self-Regulation in Advertising, ensuring the protection of the interests
of consumers. ASCI was formed with the support of all four sectors connected with
Advertising, viz. Advertisers, Advertising Agencies, Media (including Broadcasters
and the Press) and others like PR Agencies, Market Research Companies etc.
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June 2015

Indian Railways on 15 June 2015 rechristened train No 19031/19032 AhmedabadHaridwar Mail Express also known as Haridwar Mail as Yoga Express. The name
was changed with immediate effect.
However, there will be no change in the train timings and its composition.
Union Government is observing International Yoga Day on 21 June 2015.
Union Government launched mobile app to locate nearest blood

bank
Union Government on 14 June 2015 launched Mobile Blood Bank Locator App. The
app was launched on the occasion of World Blood Donors Day with an aim to ease
access of information regarding the nearest blood bank in the country.
Ministry of Health said that the National Blood Transfusion Council (NBTC) has made
available directory of all 2760 licensed blood banks at National Health Portal.
It also said that data of all 76 blood banks in Delhi NCR and 524 blood banks from
across the country has been made available. The process of uploading data of
remaining licensed blood banks in the country is under process and will be made
available soon.
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June 2015
WORLD DAIRY (JUNE 2015)

1 June 2015
92-year-old Harriette Thompson became oldest woman to complete a marathon
Two patients died from MERS virus in South Korea
Mauritius designated Ameenah Gurib-Fakim as its first woman President
Stempeucel, a stem cell drug, received Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) in Europe
2 June 2015
US President Barack Obama signed USA FREEDOM Act 2015 into law
South Korea and China signed bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
Trial run of Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala bus service began
India, Sweden signed 6 agreements during visit of Pranab Mukherjee to Sweden
WJP Rule of Law Index 2015 released; India placed 59th out of 102 countries
Harley-Davidson tied-up with Myntra for online merchandise sale
3 June 2015
India and the US signed 2015 Framework for the India-US Defence Relationship
India joined MCAA on Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (AEOI)
India and Belarus signed six Agreements during the visit of President to Belarus
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June 2015
AB De Villiers conferred with South Africa Cricketer of the Year Award for 2015
4 June 2015
WTOs Dispute Settlement Board ruled against Indias ban on poultry imports from
the US
President Pranab Mukherjee concluded two-nation visit to Sweden and Belarus
Justin Gatlin finished 100m race at Rome Diamond League in record time
5 June 2015
India and the Netherlands signed agreements to enhance bilateral cooperation
Prominent scientist Ameenah Gurib-Fakim sworn-in as President of Mauritius
World Environment Day observed globally
6 June 2015
India, Bangladesh signed Land Boundary Agreement of 1974
India and Bangladesh signed 22 bilateral documents
Eleven Indo-Canadians honoured with ICCC Annual Awards 2015
7 June 2015
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain won 2015 Canada Grand Prix of Formula
1
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8 June 2015
Manchester United Football Club became Worlds most valuable brand with 1.2
billion US dollars
Illegal trapping of migratory songbird Yellow-Breasted Bunting leading to its
extinction: Study
Documentary on cricket titled Death of Gentleman screened at Sheffield
World famous Buddhas of Bamiyan resurrected in Afghanistan
3800-year-old statuettes of priestess and politicians discovered in Peru
World Ocean Day observed with theme Healthy oceans, Healthy planet
9 June 2015
Dromedary camels are key source of MERS Virus: Study
Nepal political parties reached agreement on proposed Constitution framework
Big Band Leader James Last passed away
10 June 2015
African leaders signed 26-nation Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) agreement
11 June 2015
Australia applied holding order to Maggi Noodles from India
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June 2015

Spain passed law awarding citizenship to descendants of expelled Jews
Said Djinnit, UN envoy to Burundi crisis, stepped down as mediator
12 June 2015
800-year-old Buddha statue with 1000 hands unveiled by China after 7 years of
restoration
World Day Against Child Labour observed globally
13 June 2015
14 June 2015
World Blood Donors Day observed with theme Thank you for saving my life
15 June 2015
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicle Agreement signed in
Thimpu
UN elected Denmarks Mogens Lykketoft to head General Assembly
Britain celebrated 800th anniversary of Magna Carta
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16 June 2015
Commission on GSJG released the Confronting the Crisis of Global Governance
report
Previously unknown extreme star formation Eye of Medusa observed 100 million
light years away
India, China can protect 1.4 million premature deaths by improving quality of Air:
Study
17 June 2015
Columbias FARC blew up oil pipeline in Catatumbo
Chinese Version of Bhagavad Gita launched in China
Union Cabinet approved agreement with Spain on abolishing visa requirements
for diplomatic passports
Japans Parliament passed a Bill to lower voting age from 20 to 18
GADL, Oman Airport Management Company signed MoU on Aviation Consultancy
Services
18 June 2015
Hong Kong lawmakers rejected Beijing-backed election reform package
CBRE Research released Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs survey
Antani, Joshi appointed to the board of Future Majority Project of US Republican
Party
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June 2015
UNHCR released Global Trends: World at War report on forced displacement

Immunogen eOD-GT8 60mer can stimulate immune system to block HIV/AIDS
infection in mice: Study
Anti-Malarial compound DDD107498 that inhibits protein synthesis discovered
19 June 2015
Department of State of USA released Country Reports on Terrorism 2014
India, Tanzania signed six MoUs during the visit of President of Tanzania to India
Blue Opposition Bloc led by Lars Loekke Rasmussen won Denmarks Parliamentary
Elections
20 June 2015
Brightest Galaxy in Early Universe named after Cristiano Ronaldo as CR7
21 June 2015
Commemorations of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo concluded
Andy Murray won the mens singles of Aegon Tennis Championships at the Queens
Club
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg of Germany won Austrian Grand Prix of Formula
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One
22 June
India to be the Partner Country for Russian Industrial Trade Fair Innoprom 2016
Nepal-India Treaty of Transit amended to facilitate import of vehicles into Nepal
EU launched Operation EU NAVFOR Med against migrant-traffickers
Main artery of 2800-km K2K Economic Corridor nearly ready: China
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar conferred with Columbias highest civilian award
Three Indians won inaugural Queens Young Leaders Award in UK
23 June
International Cricket Council approved amendments to playing conditions in ODIs
and T20Is
WHOs IARC classified lindane, DDT, and 2,4-D as carcinogenic to humans
24 June
Australia decided to join China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
Zaheer Abbas, former Captain of Pakistans Cricket team, named as President of
ICC
First species of Yeti Crab in Antarctica named Kiwa tyleri discovered
25 June
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June 2015
India, US signed MoUs to enhance cooperation in areas of Health Sector

US Supreme Court gave nod to subsidies under US Health Care Law in States
without health exchanges
Satnam Singh Bhamara became first Indian basketball player to join NBA
26 June
International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking observed globally
27 June
Greece PM called for referendum on extension for bailout programme
Rock Band Yes Guitarist Chris Squire died
28 June
Nelson Piquet Jr won the inaugural FIA Formula E Championship title
Wei, Li won mens & womens singles of Canada Open Badminton tournament
2015
SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket broke apart in flames minutes after lifting off from Cape
Canaveral
29 June
50 countries signed Articles of Agreement for China-initiated Asian Infrastructure
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Investment Bank (AIIB)

India, Thailand signed five MOUs during the 7th Meeting of India-Thailand Joint
Commission
US Supreme Court ruled against EPA limiting mercury emissions from power plants
Three-drug lethal injection protocol use did not violate Constitution: US Supreme
Court
30 June
More than 100 feared dead in Indonesia transport plane crash in Medan city
Finnish SMS pioneer Matti Makkonen died
First-ever potential treatment for MERS identified
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June 2015
INDIA DAIRY (JUNE 2015)

1 June 2015
Union Government simplified defence rules to woo foreign companies
Tendulkar, Ganguly, Laxman inducted in BCCIs Cricket Advisory Committee
Fishing ban of 61 days along the Western Coast became effective except in Kerala
P Kunhikrishnan appointed as Director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC)
SHAR
Meena Hemchandra appointed as Executive Director of RBI
Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa sworn-in as Governor of Arunachal Pradesh
S Somanath appointed as Director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, ISRO
K Sivan appointed as Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), ISRO
2 June 2015
Union Government launched Khoya Paya web portal to exchange information on
missing children
Union Ministry of Women and Child Development launched IAP HealthPhone
programme
IREDA awarded Miniratna (Category-1) status by Department of Public Enterprises
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Second Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2015-16 announced; Repo rate

cut by 0.25 percent
3 June 2015
Inderjeet won gold in shot put at 21st Asian Athletics Championships
Denudation in mangrove vegetation of Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary
Northern Railway rolled out Indias first rail coach lit by solar panels
Jharkhand Cabinet approved Jharkhand Special Courts Ordinance, 2015
Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje inaugurated Phase 1A of Jaipur Metro Rail Services
Union Government filed complaint against Maggi under Section 12(1)(d) of
Consumer Protection Act
Syed Asif Ibrahim appointed as PMs Special Envoy on Countering Terrorism and
Extremism
4 June 2015
Sundaram Ravi inducted into Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires for 2015-16
AP Postal Circle decided to sell River Godavari water as GOD-JAL during
Pushkaram festival
Delhi Government introduced mechanical road sweepers
Union Government signed 400 million US dollars loan agreement with World Bank
for TNSUDP
20 soldiers killed in militant ambush at Tengnoupal, Manipur
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June 2015
5 June 2015
Union Ministry of Water Resources launched nationwide Jal Kranti Abhiyan from
Jaipur
Union Government inaugurated Tier-I Oil Spill Response Centre for Mumbai and
JNPT Harbour
HP High Court asked state government to establish separate homes for differentlyabled people
Industrial effluents caused fire on water of Bellandur Lake
IMAs first Jan Aushadhi medical store launched in Delhi
R Seshasayee appointed as Non-Executive Chairman of Infosys Limited
6 June 2015
7 June 2015
Maharashtra Government invoked MCOCA against ration mafia
Anshu Jain, Juergen Fitschen resigned as Co-CEO of Deutsche Bank
8 June 2015
Denudation in mangrove vegetation of Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary
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NMCG, NYKS signed MoU for involvement of youth in restoring the health of
Ganga river
Union Environment Ministry approved Coastal Road Project of Mumbai
ISRO presented with 2015 Space Pioneer Award for Mars Orbiter Mission
Vijai Sharma appointed as Chief Information Commissioner of India
Cyclone ASHOBAA intensified into severe cyclonic storm
RC Tayal appointed as Director General of National Security Guard
9 June 2015
Indian Army carried out cross-border operation against militants in Myanmar
RBI issued Draft Framework on Issuance of Rupee linked Bonds Overseas
Bihar launched campaign Badh Chala Bihar to produce Bihar@2025 vision
document
AMC launched USE and GET PAID scheme; Public Toilet Users to be paid 1 rupee
PVR Ltd agreed to acquire DLFs DT Cinemas for 500 crore rupees
India-born Padmasree Warrior resigned as Chief Technology Officer of Cisco
ICICI Bank appointed MK Sharma as non-executive chairman
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June 2015
10 June 2015
Union Cabinet approved proposal to promulgate the Negotiable Instruments
(Amendment) Ordinance
CCEA approved 4721 crore rupees road projects in Madhya Pradesh, Telangana
Prof S Bandyopadhayay appointed as Director of Indian Statistical Institute (ISI)
Dr Bimal K Roy removed as Director of Indian Statistical Institute (ISI)
Parkash Singh Badal conferred with 2015 Sant Namdev National Award
11 June 2015
12 June 2015
Bibek Debroy committee on railway restructuring submitted report to Union
Ministry of Railways
RBI issued final guidelines for 6-year and 13-year Interest Rate Futures
Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) launched India Nuclear Insurance Pool (INIP)
Telangana Government unveiled Telangana Industrial Policy 2015
Sangeet Natak Akademi announced awardees for 2014 Akademi Awards and
fellowships
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13 June 2015
CSIR set up Indias first Micro Air Vehicle Aerodynamics Research Tunnel in
Bengaluru
14 June 2015
Tamil Nadu and Adani Power Ltd signed PPA to set up 200 MW solar power plant
in Ramanathapuram
Union Government launched mobile app to locate nearest blood bank
15 June 2015
Union Government launched website to connect employers, job seekers
PM Narendra Modi launched book titled Education of Muslims by Professor JS
Rajput
Union Government launched Augmented Reality Application named Sakaar
Critically endangered Sangai deer found in Manipurs Loktak Lake to be translocated
16 June 2015
Election Commission of India (ECI) suspended recognition of National Peoples
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June 2015
Party (NPP)
Indias trade deficit in May 2015 narrowed to 10.4 billion US dollars
Hindi writers Babusha Kohli, Upasana won 10th Navlekhan Award of Bharatiya
Jnanpith
One Rank, One Pension scheme for ex-servicemen
Narendra Kumar Yadav took charge as Chairman and Managing Director of MTNL
Book titled Modi - Incredible emergence of a star in Chinese language written by
Tarun Vijay
AIBA constituted Ad-hoc committee chaired by Kishan Narsi for boxing in India
17 June 2015
Union Ministry of Finance formed two committees for facilitating implementation
of GST
CCEA approved Minimum Support Prices for Kharif Crops of 2015-16 season
CCEA approved setting up of 2000 MW of Grid connected Solar PV Power Projects
under JNNSM
Union Government launched Cluster Development Programme for Pharma Sector
Union Government decided to increase number of work days under MGNREGA in
drought hit areas
Union Cabinet revised target of solar power under JNNSM to 100000 MW by 2022
NHAI invited bids for Bharat Mala Project
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CCEA approved inclusion of Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh in National

Dairy Plan- I
Union Cabinet approved transfer of NILs land to DRDO for establishing a defence
research centre
Union Cabinet approved Housing for All by 2022 Mission
G Gurucharan given additional charge as Director General of Bureau of Indian
Standards
Archana Ramasundaram appointed as Director of National Crime Records Bureau
Sharad Pawar re-elected as President of Mumbai Cricket Association
Madras HC made wearing of helmets for two-wheelers compulsory from 1 July
2015
18 June 2015
Maharashtra topped the list of States and UTs in IPR filing in 2013-14: IBEF report
India placed at 61st position in terms of foreigners money in Swiss banks
Aakar Patel appointed as Executive Director of Amnesty International India
Book titled Bikhare Khyalat written by Abdul Haq presented to Vice-President
Indian paddlers won team titles at South Asian Junior and Cadet Table Tennis
Championships
WB State Assembly passed West Bengal Tea Plantation Employees Welfare Fund
Bill, 2015
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June 2015
19 June 2015
Union Ministry of Finance released Draft Outline of Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme
Justice Gian Parkash Mittal resigned from the Office of the Judge of Delhi High
Court
20 June 2015
First-ever indigenously developed VRF ACs launched by Blue Star
21 June 2015
Sanjay Subrahmanyam selected for Sangitha Kalanidhi award for the year 2015
International Yoga Day celebration at Rajpath sets two world records
Debendranath Sarangi elected as President of Squash Rackets Federation of India
22 June
Union Ministry of Home Affairs designated Agatti and Minicoy Islands as Immigration
Check Posts
Task Force report on enabling the Private Sector to grow pharmaceutical sector
released
Union Ministry of Finance issued Draft Proposals for Facilitating Electronic
Transactions
FBIL overnight Mumbai Inter-Bank Offer Rate (MIBOR) to become effective from
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July 22
EPFO made UAN mandatory for all employers under Employee Provident Fund
Act, 1952
23 June
SEBI relaxed the IPO norms for technological start-ups to raise funds from capital
market
Inderjeet Singh, Jinson Johnson won gold at Asian Athletics Grand Prix
Indian Railway Team won World Railway Championship 2015 in Tennis and
Volleyball
Taygan Lions Park, Skazka Zoo, Thiruvananthapuram Zoo inked animal exchange
agreement
Bhuvan Ganga Mobile Application launched to aid National Mission for Clean
Ganga
Red Tape to Red Carpet... and then some written by Gina Rinehart released
24 June
Union Cabinet approved setting up of six Indian Institutes of Management (IIM)
Union Government launched Indias first Modernised Anganwadi Centre at
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June 2015
Hasanpur village in Sonepat

Union Cabinet approved to set up a National Memorial at birth place of Lok Nayak
JP Narayan in Bihar
Union Cabinet approved renaming of SECI as Renewable Energy Corporation of
India
Union Cabinet approved signing of MoC between India and Japan on Industrial
Property
Leander Paes became 47th player to join 100 partners club on ATP Circuit
APMDC signed MoU with NSL Mining Resources India Pvt Ltd for iron ore mining
projects
BHEL commissioned first 250-MW unit of NTPCs Bongaigaon Thermal Power
Project
Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee appointed as acting Chief Justice of Karnataka
High Court
42-footlong blue whale washed ashore at Revdanda coast in Maharashtra died
Sahitya Akademi announced Bal Sahitya Puraskar for the year 2015
25 June
Union Government approved a proposal for setting up second airport at Jewar in
NCR
Union Government asked Bihar, TN, Rajasthan to introduce milk in mid day meal
scheme
PM launched AMRUT, Smart Cities Mission and Housing for All (Urban)
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RBI extended deadline for exchanging pre-2005 currency notes by 6 months

RBI allowed AD Category-I Banks to borrow from International Financial Institutions
Delhi Budget 2015-16 presented
Anshula Kant appointed as CFO and Deputy Managing Director of SBI
26 June
Assam entrepreneurs signed pact on waste management
Famous Writer Vishwanath Tripathi chosen for 28th Moorti Devi Award
Nadia district won the UN Public Service Award 2015 for eliminating open
defecation
27 June
Haryana government revised the Dearness Relief from 212 per cent to 223 per
cent
28 June
Gutta-Ponappa won womens doubles of Canada Open Badminton tournament
2015
29 June
9th National Statistics Day observed with theme Social Development
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June 2015
Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa launched first phase of Chennai Metro Rail Service
30 June
Literacy rate 71% in rural areas, 86% in urban areas: NSSO survey
Jagmohan Yadav Appointed Director General of Police of Uttar Pradesh
390
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June 2015
ONE LINERS (JUNE 2015)

Winner of three Wimbledon titles in a day, who died on 29 May 2015 at the age of
89 - Doris Hart
Person who was sworn-in as 19th Governor of Arunachal Pradesh on 1 June 2015
- Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa
Former cricketers who were inducted into the BCCIs newly-constituted cricket
advisory committee on 1 June 2015 - Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS
Laxman
Football club that on 30 May 2015 won Copa del Rey also known as Spanish
Kings Cup by defeating Athletic Bilbao, 3-1 - Barcelona
Person who was appointed as the new Chancellor of the Nalanda University, Bihar
on 30 May 2015 - George Yeo, the former Foreign Minister of Singapore
The women, who on 1 June 2015 was designated as the new President of the
Indian Ocean island nation, Mauritius by its government - Ameenah Gurib-Fakim
India and Sweden on 1 June 2015 signed 6 agreements to boost ties and restart
the bilateral strategic dialogue in presence of - President Pranab Mukherjee, who
was on a state visit to Sweden
One of the founders of Indias Information Technology (IT) industry and chairman
of Hinditron Group who died on 1 June 2015 - Hemant Sonawala
92 year 65 days old cancer survivor, who on 31 May 2015 became the oldest
woman to finish a marathon at San Diegos Rock n Roll Marathon of 26.2 miles
(42.2 kilometers) - Harriette Thompson
President of FIFA who resigned on 2 June 2015 amid the corruption scandal that
has engulfed the footballs governing body - Sepp Blatter
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June 2015
To attract investment of 1 lakh crore rupees Maharashtra Cabinet on 2 June 2015

approved - a Composite Renewable Energy Policy worth 4156.43 crore rupees
Scientists claimed that some female members of a critically endangered species
of sawfish are reproducing in the wild without sex, that is, by - Parthenogenesis
US President Barack Obama on 2 June 2015 signed the USA FREEDOM Act 2015
in law for Uniting and Strengthening America by - Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring
Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2015.
The former cricket captain of Indian team, who was on 2 June 2015 re-appointed
as the Director of Indian cricket team for the Bangladesh tour - Ravi Shastri
Sixth city in the country to have metro services; other cities are Delhi, Gurgaon,
Mumbai, Bangalore, and Kolkata is Jaipur
Indian shot putter who on 3 June 2015 won gold medal in mens shot put event in
the 21st Asian Athletics Championships - Inderjeet Singh
India and Belarus on 3 June 2015 inked six agreements to boost ties and relationship
based on - friendship and mutual benefit
Jharkhand Cabinet on 3 June 2015 approved Jharkhand Special Courts Ordinance,
2015 to make Jharkhand - rid of corruption
Person who for his contribution towards the development of athletics in Asian
continent was was conferred with the Asian Athletics Association (AAA) Presidents
award on 2 June 2015 - Suresh Kalmadi
World Bank Board approved $250 Million support to Jammu and Kashmir for Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project
Name the legendary Telugu writer who died in Hyderabad on 8 June 2015, after a
brief illness - Dasaradhi Rangacharya
Name the Cyclonic storm that was developed over the Arabian Sea on 8 June
2015 - ASHOBAA
Three districts of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh that were included in National Capital
Region on 9 June 2015 are - Jind, Karnal and Muzaffarnagar
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ICICI Bank, Indias largest private sector bank, on 9 June 2015 appointed a person
as the non-executive chairman for a period of five years is - Mahendra Kumar
Sharma
City that whos Municipal Corporation (AMC) on 9 June 2015 announced USE and
GET PAID scheme, under which people will be paid one rupees for using public
toilets Ahmadabad
Person who was on 10 June 2015 conferred with the prestigious 14th Sant Namdev
National Award 2015 at a function in Pune, Maharashtra - Punjab Chief Minister
Parkash Singh Badal
Former Indian cricketer who died after a prolonged illness on 9 June 2015 at his
residence in Pune, Maharashtra - Hemant Kanitkar
Delhi Jal Board vice-chairman who was on 10 June 2015 named as the new Law
Minister of Delhi - Kapil Mishra
Researchers discovered a trio of mud statuettes inside a reed basket in a building,
an important archaeological site, in the ancient city of Vichama in northern Peru
is believed to be created about 3800 years ago by - the ancient Caral civilization.
HDFC Bank on 10 June 2015 launched a mobile app as a complete digital payment
and purchase solution PayZapp
The United Nations (UN) envoy in Burundi crisis, who stepped down from his role
as mediator of the crisis on 11 June 2015 after being accused of being biased Said Djinnit
Union Government on 11 June 2015 scrapped customs import duties for drugs
and test kits used to treat AIDS
Four Indian languages included in the books of Roads and Transport Authority
(RTA) of UAE which can be chosen while appearing for driving tests here in the
UAE from September 2015 includes - Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and Bengali
Cricketer who on 14 July 2015 became the ninth all-time highest Test wicket-takers
by claiming 416 wickets in 102 matches is - Indian off-spin cricketer Harbhajan
Singh
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June 2015
Person elected as the President of United Nations General Assemblys 70th

session - Mogens Lykketoft of Denmark
China on 12 June 2015 unveiled 800-year-old Buddha statue (Qianshou Guanyin)
famous for its 1000 hands in - Dazu County in Sichun province
First Indian footballer to score 50 international goals - Sunil Chhetri
Indias first 100 percent visually-challenged person to be inducted into the Indian
Foreign Services (IFS) is - Beno Zephine
The International Boxing Association (AIBA) on 16 June 2015 constituted a fivemember ad-hoc committee to manage the process of finding a group to organise
and run boxing in India will be chaired by - Kishan Narsi
It is a documentary film on Test Cricket that was premiered at the Sheffield
International Documentary Festival on 8 June 2015 - Death of a Gentleman
Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) that on 17 June 2015 launched
the countrys first consumer complaint mobile app named ASCIonline is a - self
regulatory body for content in Indian advertising
IPS officer of 1980-batch of Tamil Nadu cadre who was appointed as the Director
of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) - Archana Ramasundaram
The Union Government on 17 June 2015 decided to increase the number of
workdays under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
(MGNREGA) from 100 days to 150 days in - Drought-hit areas
Parliament of Japan (Diet) on 17 June 2015 passed a bill to lower the voting age
from - 20 to 18.
Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh on 18 June 2015 launched a
weather alert service named - NOWCAST.
Journalist and writer Aakar Patel appointed as Executive Director of Amnesty
International (AI) India on 18 June 2015 and see its India operations and its efforts
to end human rights abuses - India and worldwide.
Legislators of Legislative Council Hong Kong on 18 June 2015 rejected - Beijing394
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June 2015
Current Affairs
backed election reform package.

Keith Vaz who on 18 June 2015 was re-elected as chairman of Parliaments Home
Affairs Select Committee for the third time is - Britains longest-serving Indianorigin MP
France on 18 June 2015 announced a ban on wearing earphones while driving a
vehicle and riding a cycle with an aim - to reduce deaths due to accidents
Name the state whos Chief Minister on 19 June 2015 banned sale of thermocol
plates in complete state with an aim to promote leaf plates and generate
employment Jharkhand
India and Tanzania on 19 June 2015 signed six MoUs in the field of tourism,
education and hydrography to deepen bilateral cooperation during India visit of President of Tanzania Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete.
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) celebrated the 350th
foundation day of Shri Anandpur Sahib at - Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib located in
Anandpur Sahib in Punjab.
Indias largest central air-conditioning company that on 20 June 2015 launched
first-ever locally-developed-and-produced VRF (variable refrigerant flow) ACs in
India - Blue Star
Scientists in third week of June 2015 named a newly discovered galaxy after
Portuguese football player Cristiano Ronald and labeled is as - CR7 (COSMOS
Redshift 7).
Former Indian women hockey captain who died along with her son in a road
accident at the Ropar-Nawanshahr-Phagwara area of National Highway 344-A in
Punjab on 21 June 2015 - Shashi Bala
First International Yoga Day celebration in Rajpath, New Delhi on 21 June
2015 helped India to create two Guinness World Records (GWRs) and they are
- participation of most individuals and individuals from the largest number of
nationalities performing asanas at a single venue.
Andy Murray who won his fourth title at the Queens Club joined an illustrious list
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June 2015
of champions - John McEnroe, Lleyton Hewitt, Boris Becker and Andy Roddick
Sanjay Subrahmanyam who was selected for the Sangitha Kalanidhi award of
the Madras Music Academy for the year 2015 on 21 June 2015 is a renowned
carnatic vocalist
The Ministry that will implement Bharat Mala project of linking borders and coastal
areas with road network Union Ministry of Roads Transport & Highways
Pitcairn Island, the worlds smallest country by population of 48 people was in
news as it legalised - same-sex marriage
The European Union (EU) on 22 June 2015 launched a naval operation to stop
human traffickers from bringing migrants across - the Mediterranean to Europe
The European Union (EU) on 22 June 2015 launched a naval operation to stop
human traffickers from bringing migrants across the Mediterranean to Europe
EU NAVFOR Med
The four border points through which India will allow the movement of vehicles
imported from a third country into Nepal after amending the bilateral Treaty
of Transit are - Raxaul-Birgunj, Jogbani-Biratnagar, Sunauli-Bhairahawa and
Nepalgunj Road-Nepalgunj border
India will be the partner country for Russian Industrial Trade Fair INNOPROM 2016
to be held in - Yekaterinburg
Blue Mormon (Papilio polymnestor) was declared as the state butterfly by
Maharashtra Government
Bhuvan Ganga app was launched by Union Government on 23 June 2015 to aid
- National Mission for Clean Ganga
Zoo that was renamed as Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Prani Udyan, Lucknow on 23
June 2015 was - Lucknow Prani Udyan, popularly known as Lucknow zoo,
Bird Sanctuary of Unnao district was named as Shaheed Chandra Shekhar Azad
Pakshi Vihar, Nawabganj was - Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary
Scientific name of Snake bird after which Kerala Government announced 22 June
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June 2015
Current Affairs
as a Snake Bird Day - darter-Anhinga melanogaster

Maharashtras state cabinet on 23 June 2015 approved the proposal to amend
the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities (MPDA) Act, 1981 to include
criminal activities related to - sand mafia and black marketing
German Tennis legend Steffi Graf was appointed as Keralas Ayurveda brand
ambassador to promote - Visit Kerala Scheme
National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) on 24 June 2015 commissioned the
first 250 MW unit of Bongaigaon project of which state - Assam.
Australia on 24 June 2015 decided to join China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment
Bank (AIIB) as a founding member with an investment of - 930 million Australian
dollars (718.5million US dollars)
Four scholars selected for the Bhasha Samman on 24 June 2015 for their
contribution to classical and medieval literature in various languages Acharya
Munishwar Jha, K Meenakshi Sundaram, Charu Chandra Pande, Mathuradutt
Mathpal
Mustafizur Rahman was awarded Man of the Series award in 3-day ODI series
against India
The online poll in which Sachin Tendulkar was voted as the Best Test Player of the
21st century - Top-100 Test players list since 2000
Hemis festival is celebrated in largest monastery of Ladakh Hemis Gompa
(monastery) of Jammu and Kashmir is celebrated to mark the birth anniversary
of - Guru Padmasambhava
Union Government on 25 June 2015 requested the Chief Ministers of Bihar, Tamil
Nadu and Rajasthan to encourage supply of free milk in - the Mid-Day Meal scheme
Revdanda coast of Alibaug, Maharashtra came into news on 24 June 2015 after
death of - a 42-foot-long blue whale weighing 20 tonnes
The four-day long Mela at Kamakhaya Devi temple at Guwahati, Assam that
concluded on 26 June 2015 is known as Ambubachi Mela
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Current Affairs
June 2015
Two local entrepreneurs, who in fourth week of June 2015 signed agreements with
several civic bodies in Assam to do away with the plastic hazards under a solidwaste management project, are - Satyaki Saikia and Pulak Roy
President Pranab Mukharjee on 26 June 2015 conferred Punyabhushan Award on
- Prataprao Pawar, Chairman of Sakal Media Group (SMG)
The place where first species of Yeti Crab named Kiwa tyleri was found - Antarctica
Indian pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponappa on 28 June 2015 won the first title
of the 2015 season Canada Open Badminton tournament
An unmanned American SpaceX rocket that broke apart in flames minutes after
lifting off from Cape Canaveral in Florida on 29 June 2015 was dubbed as - Falcon-9
Authors of the book Transcendence: My Spiritual Experiences with Pramukh
Swamiji are - Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam & Arun Tiwari
Book titled Dealing with China: An Insider Unmasks the New Economic Superpower
is authored by - Henry M. Paulson
The place where first species of Yeti Crab named Kiwa tyleri was found - Antarctica
Indian pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponappa on 28 June 2015 won the first title
of the 2015 season Canada Open Badminton tournament
The district to win the prestigious United Nations Public Service Award 2015 in
June 2015Nadia of West Bengal
The prestigious professional basketball league of North America in which Satnam
Singh Bhamara of Punjab became the first Indian national to join-- National
Basketball Association (NBA)
The 10-km stretch of Chennai Metro Rail service launched on 29 June 2015 will
cover the distance between Alandur to Koyabedu
The Chinese-initiated multilateral lending bank established in June 2015-- Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)

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June 2015
DESCRIPTIVE QUESTION (JUNE 2015)

1.
Answer the following in not more than 50 words
(i)
EU NAVFOR Med
(ii) BBIN Motor Vehicle Agreement

(iii) FARC
(iv) Bharat Mala Project
(v) One Rank, One Pension
(vi) Magna Carta
(vii) Buddhas of Bamiyan
(viii) Section 12 (1)(d) of Consumer Protection Act, 1986
(ix) Ajeya Warrior 2015
(x) Yogapath
2.
Critically examine the Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Bangladesh and
how the implementation of Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) between the two
nations will help in improving the ties between the two nations.
3.
To plug black money in India, government needs to bring down the physical
demand for gold. Examine the statement in light of Gold Sovereign Bond
Scheme and other measures to control the demand for gold in India.
4.
Migration is a big problem facing EU nations and not controlling it may endanger
EU security and economy. In this light bring out the problem of migration being
faced by the EU nations and what measures have been taken to control it.
5.
Answer on the following developments in not more than 100 words
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Current Affairs
(i)
June 2015
DDD107498
(ii) 5G Network
(iii) TASSAT project
(iv) e0D-GT8 60mer
(v) Galaxy CR7
(vi) Micro Air Vehicle Aerodynamics Research Tunnel
(vii) Sakaar
(viii) India Nuclear Insurance Pool
(ix) Comet lander Philae
(x) Haemophilus Influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine
6.
Bring out the main highlights of Global Peace Index 2015 and how does India
fares in terms of fostering peace in the country?
7.
Jal Kranti Abhiyaan tries to conserve water through a holistic and integrated
approach involving all stakeholders. Discuss the statement in light of Jal Kranti
Abhiyaan launched by the Union Water Resource Ministry. What other measures
can be suggested to conserve water?
8.
Bring out the main features of Elephant Census Report 2015 released by the
Odisha government.
9.
Greece crisis can have negative impact on Indian economy and world economy,
thus its integration with Euro Zone is must. Critically examine the statement in
light of the latest developments.
10. Urban rejuvenation in India requires addressing the socio-economic problems

in urban areas arising from excessive internal migration happening in India.
Examine the statement in light of three schemes namely AMRUT, Smart City
Mission and Housing for All by 2022 launched by the Union Government.
400
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Current Affairs English June 2015

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June 2015

PICK OF THE MONTH

Urban Rejuvenation in India

India and Bangladesh relations@ zenith

WJP Rule of Law Index 2015

Bibek Debroy committee on railway restructuring submitted report

WADA published Anti-Doping Rule Violations Report for 2013

First International Day of Yoga observed globally

Renowned architect Charles Correa passed away

Greece became first developed nation to default on IMF debt

Sri Lankas President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved Parliament

US Supreme Court legalized Same-Sex Marriage Nationwide

India, US signed MoUs to enhance cooperation in areas of Health Sector

Nepal-India Treaty of Transit amended to facilitate import of vehicles into Nepal

EU launched Operation EU NAVFOR Med against migrant-traffickers

Pitcairn Island passed law to allow same-sex marriage

India placed at 61st position in terms of foreigners money in Swiss banks

Commemorations of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo concluded

France announced ban on earphones for Drivers and Cyclists

US Department of State released Country Reports on Terrorism 2014

India, Tanzania signed six MoUs to deepen bilateral relations

Hong Kong lawmakers rejected Beijing-backed election reform package

China and Australia signed Free Trade Agreement

Japans Parliament passed a Bill to lower voting age from 20 to 18

Commission on GSJG released the Confronting the Crisis of Global Governance

India and Poland set trade target of 5 billion US dollars by 2018

Israeli government approved bill to force feed prisoners

Spain passed law awarding citizenship to descendants of expelled Jews

Moldovas Prime Minister Chiril Gaburuci resigned

African leaders signed Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) agreement

India, Japan and Australia held first ever trilateral dialogue

Nepal political parties reached agreement on proposed Constitution framework

Justice and Development Party won Turkeys parliamentary polls

Ameenah Gurib-Fakim sworn-in as first Woman President of Mauritius

India-Netherlands signed agreements to deepen bilateral cooperation

India-US signed 2015 Framework for the India-US Defence Relationship

India and Belarus signed six Agreements

India joined MCAA on Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information

India, Sweden signed 6 agreements to restart the strategic dialogue

Union Railway Ministry inaugurated Integrated Security System in Mumbai

Union Government approved a proposal for setting up second airport at Jewar in

Union Cabinet approved setting up of six Indian Institutes of Management (IIM)

CCEA approved inclusion of Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh in National

Union Cabinet approved Bureau of Indian Standards Bill, 2015

Election Commission of India (ECI) suspended recognition of National Peoples

Union Government launched website to connect employers, job seekers

Railway Ministry decided to run Suvidha Trains

Union Government scrapped import duties on AIDS drugs

Union Government launched Migrant Resource Centre in Chennai

Union Cabinet approved proposal to promulgate the Negotiable Instruments

Indian Army carried out cross-border operation against militants in Myanmar

Union Ministry of Water Resources launched Jal Kranti Abhiyan

Union Government launched Khoya Paya web portal

Union Government launched IAP HealthPhone programme

Registrar General of India released Census data on disabled population

RBI allowed AD Category-I Banks to borrow from International Financial Institutions

UNCTAD released World Investment Report 2015

Union Cabinet approved renaming of SECI as Renewable Energy Corporation of

Overnight Liquid Transaction facility on NSEs Web-based Mutual Fund platform

CCEA approved setting up of 2000 MW of Grid connected Solar PV Power Projects

Union Government launched Cluster Development Programme for Pharma Sector

RBI issued Draft Framework on Issuance of Rupee linked Bonds Overseas

RBI announced Strategic Debt Restructuring Scheme

IREDA awarded Miniratna (Category-1) status