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EVENTS OF NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL IMPORTANCE

Content
NOVEMBER 2014

-2

DECEMBER 2014

- 15

JANUARY 2015

- 34

FEBRUARY 2015

- 62

MARCH 2015

- 103

APRIL 2015

- 151

MAY 2015

- 211

JUNE 2015

- 246

JULY 2015

- 273

AUGUST

- 306

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EVENTS OF NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL IMPORTANCE

November, 2014
NATIONAL
PM Modi to focus on trade relations, logistics at India-ASEAN summit
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In a bid to step up Indias engagement with the 10-nation ASEAN bloc.

Modi is slated to leave for Myanmar on Tuesday to attend the 12th ASEAN-India summit on
November 12.
The 9th East Asian summit on November 13 on the first leg of his three-nation foreign tour that will
also take him to Australia and Fiji.

PM's address at the Valedictory Function of the 6th World Ayurveda

Congress
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He called upon practitioners of Ayurveda to be dedicated to Ayurveda not just as a profession.

He was speaking at the valedictory function of the 6th World Ayurveda Congress.

19th century railway section in Assam hills yearns for heritage status
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Even as the railways are currently engaged in replacing the 111-year old meter-gauge LumdingBadarpur Hill Section into a broad-gauge track.

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The 47-km stretch of the historic line, literally forming a garland around Haflong, Assams only hill
station, is waiting to be conferred heritage status.

3.

The Assam government meanwhile has written to the railways asking them not to dismantle it, so
that it could be promoted as a tourist attraction.

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The 225-km Lumding-Badarpur Hill Section often described as the most spectacular mountain line
of Indian Railways.

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It is currently in its last phase of gauge conversion to be completed by April 2015 .

Kerala has become the first major State to declare banking coverage to all
households under the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojna.
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The Yojna is a comprehensive financial inclusion programme launched by the Prime Minister on
Independence Day.
All banks in the State together have opened over 12.8 lakh accounts to achieve full coverage in rural
and urban areas.
They have issued 5.25 lakh RuPay debit cards till date. A toll free number 1800-425-11222 has been
set up for providing information on the scheme and redressal of grievances.
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EVENTS OF NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL IMPORTANCE

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The State now has more than 6,000 bank branches. Every village has a banking channel. This apart,
848 Akshaya e-kiosks in the State are serving as banking kiosks.
The State has also achieved the milestone of opening financial literacy centers.

Govt launches Maulana Azad National Academy for Skills

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The Minorities Affairs ministry launched the Maulana Azad National Academy for Skills
(MANAS) to impart training to youths in light of the stress laid by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi on skill development.
It was launched on a pilot basis on the 125th birth anniversary of first Education Minister
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.
MANAS also saw two MoUs being signed under it for the training of youths in the health
and security sectors.
"To increase coverage of the programme under MANAS, the ministry has recently
increased the income eligibility criterion for trainees from Rs 1.03 lakh to Rs 6 lakh (annual)
to facilitate provision of training and concessional credit.
This change of base is likely to benefit 12 to 13 crore people," said Minorities Affairs
minister Najma Heptullah.
The training programmes will ensure 100 per cent employment for trainees.

Highlights of Prime ministers visit to Myanmar1.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked off his 11-day foreign tour on Tuesday afternoon
with his first stop at Nay Pyi Taw, the capital of Myanmar ,where he held bilateral talks
with President U Thein Sein.
The focus was on beefing up engagement in the areas of culture and commerce and
made a strong push for improving regional connectivity as a booster to trade and
increased people-to-people contact.
The best example of this co-operation and this co-operative spirit is the decision taken by
the two governments to implement the Kaladan project.
"The interest level of Indian industry - India Inc. in Myanmar - has really increased.... say
since 2011-2012 after the process of review of sanctions took place.
India and Myanmar share a long land border of over 1600 kilometres and a maritime
boundary in the Bay of Bengal.

Modi arrives in Brisbane for G20 summit

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Brisbane for G20 summit.

He is the first Prime Minister to visit Australia since Rajiv Gandhi in 1986.
Mr Modi arrived here from Myanmar, where he attended the ASEAN India and East Asia Summit.
While addressing East Asia Summit in the Myanmars capital Nay Pyi Taw, he said look east policy
now turned into act east policy.
Look east was introduced in the early 1990s when PV Narasimha Rao was prime minister.
It was indorsed by former prime ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh.
ASEAN comprises of 10 countries Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

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India, UK announce 'Newton-Bhabha Fund' to boost research and innovation
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India and the United Kingdom (UK) on Wednesday agreed to scale-up their bilateral research and
innovation relationship to a greater level.
This new initiative was decided upon during a meeting between Union Minister for Science and
Technology Dr. Harsh Vardhan and the UK Minister for Universities, Science and Cities Greg Clark,
who co-chaired the fourth UK-India Science and Innovation Council (SIC) .
Harsh Vardhan and Clark also noted that the UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) have
been successful in building new scientific partnerships through joint research projects and
networking.

The President of India inaugurates 34th India International Trade Fair

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The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the 34th India International Trade Fair
2014 on (November 14, 2014) at New Delhi.
The IITF is a celebration of Indias intrinsic strength, especially when the country is striving to become
a manufacturing hub of the world.
Since inception, this event has been showcasing Indias socio-economic progress.
It has also played a significant role in catalysing commercial convergence of technology with social
and economic issues of the South-Asian region.
It has been a successful launching pad for a large number of consumer products such as cars,
electronics and electrical appliances.
Fair is visited by around 2 million people every year including domestic visitors from across the
country and all over the world.
He also complimented ITPO for selecting Women Entrepreneurs as the theme of this fair and
earmarking an exclusive area at concessional rates for highlighting the achievements of women
entrepreneurs.

Modified DBTL scheme for LPG to be launched in 54 districts spread across 11

states
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In the modified DBTL scheme, LPG consumers in 54 districts of 11 states will be able to get cash
subsidy to buy the cooking fuel at market price.

India successfully test-fires Dhanush ballistic missile

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India has successfully test-fires nuclear-capable Dhanush ballistic missile from a naval ship off the
Odisha coast.
The surface-to-surface Dhanush was test fired from a ship in the Bay of Bengal at about 7.40 Friday
night by the Strategic Force Command (SFC) of the defence force.
Dhanush is a naval variant of India's indigenously developed 'Prithvi' missile.

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Boxing India granted permanent membership by International Boxing
Association, AIBA
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Completing India's rehabilitation into the international boxing fold.

AIBA Friday unanimously gave permanent membership to the recently elected Boxing India during its
quadrennial congress in Jeju Islands, Korea.
India was provisionally suspended in December 2012 for alleged manipulation in the erstwhile Indian
Amateur Boxing Federation's elections.
Boxing India was earlier granted provisional recognition by AIBA after the elections but is still to get
the approval from the Sports Ministry and the Indian Olympic Association.

Universities should assume greater responsibility for mitigation of problems:

President Pranab Mukherjee
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Universities are the integral part of the society and they have to assume greater responsibility for
overall development and mitigation of problems concerning the society at large.
Universities should undertake outreach activities for successful implementation of various
government programmes.
Education is a potent vehicle for social emancipation and economic rejuvenation. He said, economic
growth in the future will depend more on efficient use of resources and deployment of better
technology.
The President also asked the students to contribute to the society whatever the field they choose to
work.

Kisan Vikas Patra scheme relaunched; Aims to encourage small savings

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The Government today re-launched Kisan Vikas Patra scheme in New Delhi to encourage the habit of
small savings among the citizens.

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The scheme will provide facility of unlimited investment by way of purchase of certificate from post
office in various denominations.
It will soon be made available through designated branches of nationalized banks all across the
country.

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The re-launched KVP will be available to the investors in the denomination of 1000, 5,000, 10,000 and
50,000 rupees with no upper ceiling on investment.
The certificates can also be issued in single or joint names and can be transferred from one person to
any other person.

Fishermen on death row freed

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The five Indian fishermen on death row in Sri Lanka on drug-trafficking charges, walked free.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa used his executive powers to commute their death penalty.
The gesture, described by the Indian High Commission here as humanitarian, ended three weeks of
uncertainty over their fate.
Colombo High Court sentenced them to death on October 30.

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Cabinet clears 3 projects to end power outages; Also approves pacts with
SAARC
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The Cabinet has approved three big power projects of worth 81,000 crore rupees to strengthen the
power distribution and transmission in the Urban and rural areas in the country.
These projects are aimed at to provide 24x7 electricity across India by 2019.
These projects are the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana, Integrated Power Development
Scheme and the North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project.
The Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana, which is targeted at the rural areas, entails a total
investment of 43,033 crore rupees.
The Cabinet also approved signing and ratifying SAARC pacts on Railway, Motor Vehicles and Energy
during the forthcoming 18th SAARC summit scheduled to be held at Kathmandu, Nepal on 26-27
November.

3-million-year-old canyon discovered under the Brahmaputra in Tibet

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A huge 3-million-year-old canyon, thousands of feet deep in places, has been discovered buried under
a major river in Tibet.
The canyon buried along the Yarlung Tsangpo (called the Brahmaputra in India) in south Tibet was
discovered by a team of researchers from California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the China
Earthquake Administration.
The geologists say that the ancient canyon thousands of feet deep in places effectively rules out
a popular model used to explain how the massive and picturesque gorges of the Himalayas became so
steep, so fast

PM leaves for Nepal tomorrow to attend SAARC summit

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The Prime Minister is left for Kathamandu to attend the 18th South Asian Association of Regional
Countries.
2. SAARC, Summit on 26th and 27th. Mr Narendra Modi's delegation consists of the External Affairs
Minister Mrs Sushma Swaraj, National Security Advisor Mr Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Mrs
Sujatha Singh.
3. The Summit will focus on enhancement of connectivity and people to people contacts.
4. During the two-day Summit, all the heads of the States will make their policy statements.
5. Agreements on transport, energy and electricity sector are also expected to be signed.

Upcoming events at SAARC summit

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There will be signing of a slew of agreements between India & Nepal, which include roadways and
railways ties.
It will also include project development agreement and power trading agreement for the 900MW
Upper Karnali hydro electric power project.
On Monday night, the Nepali Cabinet also cleared the agreement for another 900mw hydel project,
called Arun-III, to be signed with Indias Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam.
The $1-billion line of credit announced by India in August will also be actualised, with a full detail of
projects that it will be used for in Nepal.
In addition, the two countries will sign MoUs on traditional medicine and youth exchanges.

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Assembly polls, Phase-I: J&K records over 70% voting; Over 62% voter
turnouts in Jharkhand
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Polling for the first phase of assembly elections for 13 seats in Jharkhand and 15 segments in Jammu
and Kashmir ended peacefully today.
2. Over 70 per cent polling was recorded in the first phase of assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir
today.
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Deputy Election Commissioner Vinod Zutshi said, the final figure is likely to go up.

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Separatist groups like all factions of Hurriyat Conference and JKLF have called for a boycott of the
polls.
In Jharkhand also, the polling was by and large peaceful. Enthusiasm for polling in the naxal affected
areas of Jharkhand was evident since seven in the morning when the poll started

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LS passes amendment bill on appointment of CBI Chief

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The Lok Sabha today passed the Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill, 2014 by voice
vote.
As per the new provisions, CBI director will be selected by a panel which will comprise of Prime
Minister, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha or the leader of the Single largest party in the House
and Chief Justice of India or any Supreme Court Judge.
Earlier, there was no provision of the leader of the single largest party in the panel.
The Bill also makes a provision that no appointment will be invalid merely because of vacancy or
absence of a member of the panel.

U.S concerns over Indian IPR regime

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At the first round in four years of joint trade talks, India and the United States agreed to explore the
possibility of enhanced market access to identified agricultural products.
At the talks, the U.S. raised concern over the level of protection India affords to its companies and the
intellectual property rights (IPR) regime in India.
U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman made a pitch for lower tariffs for import of offpatent drugs to India.
He also pitches for access US companies to Indias public solar energy and health insurance
programmes.
They also raised the issue of whether the Make in India policy would be one of encouraging globally
competitive manufacturing or a less competitive industry behind a wall of protection.

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According to the joint India-US statement issued after the eighth ministerial-level meeting of the
India-United States Trade Policy Forum (TPF).

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The two countries agreed to establish a new technical dialogue for cooperation on plant health,
animal health, and food safety issues in a manner that facilitates movement of agricultural goods
between the two countries.

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SAARC nations sign energy pact, Next summit in Pakistan
1. With the issuing of Kathamandu Declaration, the 18th SAARC Summit concludes at
Kathamandu.
2. Chairperson of the Summit and Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala declared the Summit
closed.
3. The 19th SAARC Summit will be held at Islamabad in 2016.
4. SAARC Framework Agreement on Energy (Electricity) Cooperation was signed among the
SAARC member countries.
5. This pact will enable SAARC member nations to trade electricity among themselves.
6. The theme of the Summit was Deeper Integration for Peace and Prosperity

40 Indian prisoners released from Karachi jail

1. The release of the prisoners from Karachis district jail Malir comes a day after Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif warmly shook hands
and exchanged pleasantries at the 18th SAARC Summit in Nepal.
2. India and Pakistan regularly arrest fishermen who venture into unmarked territorial waters
of the two countries.

Community can help mentally ill

1. The Mental Health Care Bill is expected to be introduced in the winter session of Parliament.
2. Though psychiatrists have reservations about the aims of the Bill, they are looking forward
to a framework to provide a starting point.
3. They place the onus on the State governments of coming up with workable models that
would include community participation with the focus on ensuring that the patient does not
suffer for want of treatment.
4. National Mental Health Programme is aimed at integrating mental health into general
health.
5. But that could not be achieved as psychiatric disorders were positioned in low priority over
other national programmes in view of incentives and accountability.
6. Even if the State manages to get funds from the Central pool, they will be a one-time
investment, usually for five years.
7. This could be used to set up smaller centres with trained manpower to offer medical care
and help family manage patients.

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PM flags off first train from Mendhipathar in Meghalaya to Guwahati;
stresses upon development of North Eastern states1. Development of infrastructure is a major issue for overall development of the country.
2. The Prime Minister was speaking at the flagging off ceremony of the first train from
Mendipathar in Meghalaya to Guwahati.
3. Mr Modi also laid foundation stone for new rail line from Bhairabi to Salrang in Mizoram.
4. The Prime Minister said that government has decided to privatize railway stations to earn
revenue.
5. The government has allowed 100 percent FDI in railways for better infrastructure.
6. He also announced that four Railways Universities will be set up in the country for
specialized railway courses.
7. Proper connectivity with neighbouring countries would provide better job opportunities for
the youths of North-East.

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INTERNATIONAL
High-level talks underway on Iran nuclear programme
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Talks are underway in high-level negotiations to limit Irans nuclear program in exchange for easing
crippling sanctions on the Islamic republics economy.
Facing a November 24 deadline before negotiations expire, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met on
Sunday with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and European Union adviser Catherine Ashton.
Negotiators from Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia are expected to join the final round of
talks starting November 18 in Vienna.

India pushes presidential pardon for fishermen

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India is making a strong diplomatic push for a presidential pardon of the five Indian fishermen .
They were recently sentenced to death by the Colombo High Court.
Sri Lanka is more inclined to consider a commutation of the sentence to enable the transfer of the five
men to serve out a life sentence in an Indian jail.
India wants Sri Lanka to take a political rather than a legalistic view of the case of the five Indian
fishermen sentenced to death by a court in that country.

Google signs 60-year, $ 1 billion NASA lease

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Google has signed a long-term lease for part of a historic Navy air base
It plans to renovate three massive hangars (A large structure at an airport where aircraft
can be stored and maintained), and use them for projects involving
a)
The Aviation,
b)
Space exploration
c)
Robotics
Giant Internet Company will pay $ 1.16 billion in rent over 60 years for the property
(which also includes a working air field, golf course and other buildings)
The 1,000-acre (400-hectare) site is part of the former Moffett Field Naval Air Station on
the San Francisco Peninsula.

China Offers $20 Billion in Loans to ASEAN

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang was in Myanmar for the China-ASEAN Summit, the East Asia Summit, and
the ASEAN Plus Three (China, Japan, and Korea) meetings.
Li pledged $20 billion in loans to Southeast Asia for regional infrastructure development. Thats in
addition to $3 billion for the China-ASEAN Investment Cooperation Fund.
This funds infrastructure and energy investments in ASEAN member countries, and $480 million to
help fight poverty in Southeast Asia.
China also promised preferential treatment to ASEAN investors under an expanded China-ASEAN free
trade agreement.

Motive of China
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The financial push is part of a plan to reassure ASEAN member states that Chinas rise is beneficial for
its neighbors and for the region as a whole.

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