WBCS Current Affairs 18/07/2014 to 09/08/2014 Part 1

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1.The National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) has been shifted from the Ministry of Environment to the Ministry of Water Resources . Hereafter, all issues pertaining to conservation, development management and abatement of pollution in river Ganga and its tributaries will also be directed by the Ministry of Water Resources.
National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA)
The government of India gave River Ganga the status of a national river and constituted the NGRBA in February 2009, under Section 3(3) of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
NGRBA is a planning, financing, monitoring and coordinating body of the Centre and the states. The purpose of the NGRBA is to ensure effective abatement of pollution and conservation of the river Ganga by adopting a river basin approach for comprehensive planning and management.
The NDA-led central government has given priority for cleaning river Ganga for which Rs 2,037 crores was sanctioned in the Union Budget 2014-15 under the Ganga Conservation Mission named “Namami Gange”.

2.The Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa has emerged as a new medical challenge and poses a serious threat to the rest of the African region and the world at large. Researchers are still trying to ascertain the causes, key factors involved, and are also trying to forecast the future eruption and movement of the virus.

The outbreak of the Ebola triggered with Ebola cases that turned up in Guinea, and subsequently spread to the neighbouring countries of Liberia and Sierra Leone. This is particularly surprising as until now, none of these three West African countries had ever experienced an Ebola outbreak, let alone cases of a type of Ebola virus that had been detected only in distant Central Africa.

But, as per scientists, despite the image of Ebola as a virus that furtively and randomly emerges from the forest, the sites of the cases are far from random. Scientists are of the view that the outbreak has a connection with the travel patterns of bats across Africa and current weather patterns in the region, as well as other factors.

Researchers have narrowed down to five potential reasons why this outbreak is so severe:

Involvement of deadliest type of Ebola virus: The Ebola virus has 5 species, and each species has caused outbreaks in different regions. Surprisingly, instead of the Taï Forest Ebola virus, which is found near Guinea, it was the Zaire Ebola virus that is involved in the current outbreak. This virus was previously found only in three countries in Central Africa: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo and Gabon. Zaire Ebola virus is the deadliest type of Ebola virus — in previous outbreaks it showed a fatality rate of up to 90% which means it kills 90 out of 100 people it infects. Scientists suspect bats to be the carrier of the virus that migrated from Zaire to Guinea. It is also possible that the virus was actually in West Africa before the current eruption, circulating in bats — and possibly even infected people but so infrequently that it was never reported. Some preliminary investigation of blood samples gathered from patients with other diseases before the outbreak indicates people in this region were exposed to Ebola previously but the finding still needs more research.
Poorest countries getting affected: Guinea is one of the poorest countries in the world, which has been ranked as low as 178 out of 187 nations on the United Nations’ Human Development Index (HDI). Likewise, Liberia and Sierra Leone stand at 174th and 177th on the HDI respectively. Because of prevalent poverty, they are inadequately equipped to counter an outbreak and lack coordination to monitor people’s movements across regions.
Lack of good health care systems: A poor economy translates into weak health care systems that are not ready to respond to an outbreak and lack even basic health resources. The hospitals in the region do not have even basic medical needs like protective gloves, masks, clean needles and disinfectants.
Poverty forcing people to move towards forests: Normally the animals carrying or infected with the Ebola virus or other pathogens are not usually in the vicinity of humans, but rather deep in the forests with little possibility of coming into contact with people. However, poverty is pushing the people deeper into forest territories to search for resources.
Extremely dry season may have been the trigger: The first case of Ebola was reported in Guinea in December 2013, at the start of the dry season. In other countries, too, outbreaks often occur during the transition from the rainy to dry seasons, when conditions become drier sharply. It is likely that drier conditions one way or another affect the number or proportion of bats infected with the Ebola virus, or the frequency of human contact with them.

3.As per a report by an independent market research and consulting firm, CounterPoint Research, Micromax has overtaken Samsung to become the largest mobile phone supplier in India in Q2 2014.With a 10.9% shipments share, Nokia stood at the third spot followed by domestic brands Karbonn and Lava which had a 9.5% and 5.6% share, respectively.

4.Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to induct country’s largest indigenously-built combat vessel INS Kolkata in Mumbai in August 2014.
Key points about INS Kolkata:
Largest indigenously-built warship
Constructed by the Mazagon Dockyards Limited and designed by Navy’s design bureau.
The 6,800 tonne warship is a technology demonstrator and will mark India’s giant leap in shipbuilding technology.
To be a part of the Kolkata Class destroyers of the Indian Navy which will include follow-on ships by the name of INS Kochi and INS Chennai respectively.
It also test-fired a BrahMos missile off Karwar’s coast earlier in August 2014 as part of pre-induction weapon trials at sea.

5.A four-member Committee under the chairmanship of former UGC chairman Hari Gautam has been constituted by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) with a view to review the present status of Universities Grants Commission’s (UGC).

6.The list of Awardees for the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Awards for year 2014 has been announced.
The Awardees are:
Hu Shuli: An investigative journalist from China whose work was instrumental in the dismissal of corrupt officials. She is the founder and former editor of Caijing a business magazine widely-known for its groundbreaking investigative reporting that has made a significant impact on China.
Saur Marlina Manurung: The Award recognizes her outstanding efforts to protect and improve the lives of Indonesia’s forest people, and her kinetic leadership of volunteers in SOKOLA’s customized education program.
Omara Khan Masoudi: The award has been conferred upon him in recognition of his courage, labor, and leadership in preserving Afghan cultural heritage. At great risk to his life, the deputy director of the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul led his colleagues in moving some of the museum’s most precious objects to safety during the Taliban’s attack on his country’s cultural treasures in the 1990s.
The Citizens Foundation from Pakistan: It is an NGO in Pakistan founded by six business leaders. It built 1,000 schools over hundreds of cities and towns in the country which is home to the world’s second highest number of children who are out of school.
Wang Canfa: He is a Chinese Professor who founded the Center for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims, which has provided free legal services to thousands of people and imparted environmental law training to lawyers and others.
Randy Halasan: The award is in recognition of his extraordinary leadership and service to the indigenous Matigsalug tribe. He made huge efforts in teaching the children of the Matigsalug tribe in one of the remotest mountain villages in Mindanao, Philippines.
Ramon Magsaysay Award
The Ramon Magsaysay Award is Asia’s highest honor and is also regarded as the region’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize. It commemorates the leadership example of the third Philippine president after whom the award is named. The award is conferred every year to individuals or organizations in Asia who manifest the same altruistic and philanthropic service that dominated the life of the late and highly respected Filipino leader.

7.With a view to exercise stern regulation on GM Crops, China’s Ministry of Agriculture has decided to regulate the sales and growth of Genetically Modified (GM) crops in the country. As per the Ministry of Agriculture, any firm or individual found transgressing regulations to grow or sell GM crops will be punished strictly.

8.As per a report by Bank of America- Merrill Lynch, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will continue to buy dollars to increase the foreign exchange reserves to further support the country’s import cover.
The forex reserves decreased to $ 320.564 billion in the week to July 25, 2014 significantly lesser than the all-time high of $ 321 billion in September 2011.

9.Parupalli Kashyap created history as he clinched Gold in the men’s singles badminton at 20th Commonwealth Games being held in Glasgow, Scotland. With his gold medal, the country earned a fifth-spot finish with 64 medals, including 15 gold. He created history by becoming the first Indian male shuttler in 32 years to win a gold in the Commonwealth Games. Kashyap put up brilliant show to register triumph over Derek Wong of Singapore in the final showdown. The shuttler from Hyderabad thus joined badminton legend Prakash Padukone and the late Syed Modi, who had won the title in the past. While Padukone had won the men’s singles gold medal at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Canada, Modi bagged it four years later. Commonwealth Toppers:
England
Australia
Canada
Scotland
India
The XXI Commonwealth Games will be held in Gold Coast City, Queensland, Australia between 4 to 15 April 2018. The Gold Coast’s creative concept in the Ceremony brought to life the three brand pillars of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games – ‘The Place’, ‘The Event’ and ‘The Sport’.

10.The two-day Nepal visit of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded on August 4, 2014.
Highlights of Mr. Modi’s Nepal visit:
Mr. Modi is the first Indian PM to Nepal in 17 years. He was welcomed by the guard of honour.
He addressed the Nepalese Parliament.
Aim was to forge a new relationship with Nepal and to begin a new chapter in bilateral ties that will serve as a model and catalyst for regional collaboration.
Mr. Modi gave a ‘HIT’ formula for Nepal expressing India’s willingness to help Nepal build Highways (H), Information highways (I) and Transways- transmission lines (T).
He promised to grant Nepal 10,000 crore Nepali rupee concessional line of credit, for its development.
He announced India’s keenness to double power supply to Nepal.
India would help Nepal in building pipelines to help transport oil to Nepal.
The scholarships to students from Nepal would be increased.
India extended help to Nepal to enable it to emerge as a major exporter of herbal medicines.
India would also help develop the tourism potential of Nepal, both as a spiritual, and adventure tourism destination.
Mr. Modi extended assistance to Nepal in the fields of organic farming, and soil health.

The 1950 India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship is a bilateral pact between the Government of Nepal and Government of India aimed at establishing a close strategic relationship between the two South Asian neighbors. The treaty was inked at Kathmandu on July 31, 1950 by then Prime Minister of Nepal Mohan Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana and the then Indian ambassador to Nepal, Chadreshwar Narayan Singh.

Some Nepalese criticize this treaty by calling it unequal. They claim that Nepalese law does not allow an open border and Indians cannot buy lands and properties in Nepal and carry out businesses in their names. They claim that the 1950 treaty was signed by undemocratic rulers of Nepal and can be revoked by a one year notice. Some segments of Nepal disagree with the treaty as they often regard it as a violation of its sovereignty.

11.With a view to support foreign-educated and trained Indian researchers to help them find suitable jobs, upon their return to the country, a group of researchers and academicians have launched the Right to Research (R2R) Foundation.
It has been observed that a significant number of Indian researchers are returning from overseas, after obtaining their MS, PhDs and post doctorate fellowships. And despite their high qualifications and training, many of them do not get suitable jobs or do not get absorbed in research.
The R2R Foundation calls it ‘Intelligent Reverse Brain Drain’. Therefore, to engage such researchers, the foundation has been established and has started operations near Pune’s Hinjewadi Biotech Park.

12.British parliament’s House of Commons has agreed to hold a special debate on the state of human rights in Kashmir.
British MP David Ward informed the backbench business committee that “ongoing Kashmir dispute a threat to regional and global peace” and that the new Indian government has been “quite aggressive in terms of its stance towards Kashmir” which was “opening up a whole new area of uncertainty”.

13.Researchers have found substantial evidence to explain why the Sun’s outer atmosphere is much hotter than its surface.
As per scientists, ‘Nanoflares’ – a continuous infusion of impulsive bursts of heating, none of which can be individually detected – is behind the production of the extra heat.
The photosphere, the visible surface of the Sun, is around 6,000 Kelvins, while the corona reaches temperatures which are 300 times more than the photosphere.
NASA’s EUNIS (Extreme Ultraviolet Normal Incidence Spectrograph) rocket, equipped with a very sensitive spectrograph gathered information about the Sun about how much material is present at a given temperature by recording different wavelengths of light.

14.Enhancing the reach of its fire-power, China’s has unveiled the sophisticated Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), which has a range of 12,000 kms, placing it among the world’s longest-range missiles.

15.Famous film director Muzaffar Ali (69), who had directed the Bollywood classic “Umrao Jaan”, has been chosen for Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award for his extraordinary contribution towards the promotion of communal harmony, peace and goodwill. The award carries a citation and cash award of Rs 5 lakh.
Ali also directed over one-and-a-half dozen movies including “Gaman” and “Khizan”. He was also conferred Padma Shri in 2005. The award was instituted to mark the contribution made by Rajiv Gandhi to promote peace, communal harmony and fight against violence.

16.As per Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), there are no conclusive data available on the issue of Health Hazards due to radiation emitted from cell phone and cell phone tower.
Some scientific evidences indicate some bio-effects and potential adverse health effects of Radio Frequency Radiation (RFR). As per ICMR, WHO/International Agency for research on Cancer has categorized radio frequency electromagnetic field as possible carcinogenic agent to humans. ICMR has initiated a multi-disciplinary cohort study in Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) to investigate adverse effects of Radio Frequency Radiation (RFR), if any, emitted from cell phone on adult Indian population.

17.The Punjab Government has agreed to the Ghana Government’s proposal offering land to Punjab farmers. As per the proposal, the government of Ghana would provide fertile farmland on a long-term lease to Punjab farmers for farm activities. Ghana has made this proposal to promote agriculture as a tool of progress in Ghana and if possible then by Punjab’s expertise in farming.

18.The World Bank has warned that excessive healthcare is emerging as a serious problem in India. As per the bank, people with private health insurance are two to three times more likely to be hospitalized than the national average.
The bank is of the view that many of these medical protection policies result in only marginal benefits and can actually harm the patients, leading to unnecessary suffering, especially among the weak and elderly.

19.S S Mundra (60) has taken charge as deputy governor Reserve Bank of India. As a deputy governor of the central bank, he will be responsible for banking supervision, currency management, financial stability and rural credit. The government has notified his appointment for a period of 3 years.
Now, RBI has four deputy governors– H R Khan, Urijit Patel, R Gandhi and S S Mundra.

20.General Dalbir Singh Suhag (59) took charge as the new Chief of the Army Staff of 1.3-million strong Indian Army. He succeeded out going General Bikram Singh whose tenure ended.General Dalbir Singh Suhag:
Belongs to a family of soldiers from a village in Jhajjar, Haryana.
He served as a Company Commander during Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka, led the 53 Infantry Brigade that was involved in counter-insurgency operations in the Kashmir Valley, and commanded the 8 Mountain Division in Jammu and Kashmir.
Second officer from the Gorkha Rifles to rise to the position of army chief after the late Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw.

21.An autobiography of the former External Affairs Minister and veteran Congress Party leader Natwar Singh was released. The book titled “One Life is Not Enough” is penned by Kunwar Natwar Singh.

22.European Space Agency (ESA) satellite ‘Gaia’, the billion star surveyor, launched in 2013, has reached its intended location 1.5 million kilometers from Earth and is ready to start operation.

23.Dipa Karmakar (20) scripted history as she clinched bronze in the vault event in the Commonwealth Games 2014 at Glasgow, Scotland, by becoming the first Indian woman gymnast and second person of the country to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games.
Karmakar, who belongs to Tripura, secured 14.366 points to finish third in the women’s vault final at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow.
First Indian male gymnast to win a medal at CWG was Ashish Kumar. He won a silver in vault and bronze in floor events in the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.

24.The government has said that a few wetlands in the country have reportedly been impacted due to various developmental activities and urbanization.
As per Environment Ministry, for conservation and management of wetlands, the centrally sponsored scheme – “National Wetland Conservation Programme (NWCP)” was implemented till 2012-13. However, for better synchronization and to avoid overlap the NWCP has been merged with another scheme “National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems (NPCA)” for holistic conservation of lakes and wetlands. Under NWCP, 115 wetlands in 24 states and two UTs have been identified for conservation and management. So far, the central government has released an amount of Rs 133.64 to the concerned states for undertaking various conservation programmes.
In order to regulate certain activities within the identified wetlands, the government notified the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules in December 2010. At the behest of Environment Ministry, the Space Applications Centre (SAC) Ahmedabad has prepared a National Wetland Inventory Atlas on 1:50,000 scale using Indian Remote Sensing Satellite III data of pre- and post-monsoon seasons during 2006-11.
As per the atlas, there are a total of 7, 57,060 wetlands covering an estimated area of 15.26 million hectare, that is around 4.63% of the geographic area of India.

25.President of Sierra Leone Ernest Bai Koroma proclaimed a public health emergency in Sierra Leone to control the deadly Ebola outbreak. Ebola has so far caused death of around 233 in Sierra Leone.

26.About deadly Ebola virus (EBOV)
Order: Mononegavirales.
Family: Filoviridae.
Genus: Ebolavirus.
Causes an extremely severe disease in humans and in nonhuman primates in the form of viral hemorrhagic fever.
Ebola haemorrhagic fever (EHF) is a viral haemorrhagic fever and one of the most virulent viral diseases known to humankind.
Distinct strains of the Ebola virus: Bundibugyo, Ivory Coast, Reston, Sudan and Zaire
Fruit bats are considered to be virus’ natural host. Transmission to humans can come from wild animals or from direct contact from infected human blood, feces or sweat, or by sexual contact and the unprotected handling of contaminated corpses
Signs and symptoms: Severe fever and muscle pain, weakness, vomiting and diarrhea. Then, organs shut down, causing unstoppable bleeding.
Between two and 21 days after becoming infected, patients begin to feel weak and experience headaches, muscle aches and chills. They lose their appetite and feel lethargic, suffering from stomach cramps, diarrhea and nausea. A so-called hemorrhagic fever sets in, accompanied by severe internal bleeding. This condition affects the gastrointestinal tract, spleen and lungs, eventually leading to the death.
The virus is called ‘a molecular shark’ in health publications.
According to the World Health Organization, the deadly fever has a fatality rate of up to 90 %.
No cure or vaccine for the virus.
Occurs mostly in remote villages in Central and West Africa, near tropical rain forests.

27.The world’s first malaria vaccine– RTS,S created by pharma company GSK, is expected to hit the markets by 2015. GSK has submitted a regulatory application to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for its malaria vaccine candidate, RTS,S.
How RTS,S works?
The vaccine triggers the body’s immune system to protect against the P falciparum malaria parasite when it first enters the human host’s bloodstream and/or when the parasite infects liver cells. The vaccine is developed to prevent the parasite from infecting, maturing and multiplying in the liver, after which time the parasite would re-enter the bloodstream and infect red blood cells, leading to disease symptoms.

28.Scientists have warned that increasing levels of water vapour in the upper troposphere – a key intensifier of global warming - owing to greenhouse gases will amplify climate change impacts over the next decades.
Scientists at University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science conducted the first study to confirm that human activities have increased water vapour in the upper troposphere. To find out the potential causes of a 30-year moistening trend in the upper troposphere, a region 3-7 miles above the earth’s surface, they measured water vapour in the upper troposphere collected by NOAA satellites. They showed that rising water vapour in the upper troposphere cannot be explained by natural forces such as volcanoes and changes in solar activity but by increased greenhouse gases.

29.The controversy over the efficacy of the collegium system for appointing Supreme Court judges has gained momentum with many leaders and even eminent jurists including well-known names such as Markandey Katju have been candid on the failure of the current collegium system. There are demands for overhaul of the existing provisions.
To address this issue the government has proposed Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) Bill as an alternative to the existing system.
Highlights of JAC Bill:
Establishment of a six-member Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) to make recommendations to the President on appointment and transfer of judges to the higher judiciary.
It will encourage collaborations between the judiciary and executive.
The Chief Justice of India, two other senior most judges of the Supreme Court, the Union Minister for Law and Justice, and two eminent persons to be nominated by the Prime Minister, and the Leader of Opposition of the Lok Sabha will be its members. Law Commission of India Chairman and former Delhi High Court Chief Justice AP Shah have suggested raising the strength of the body to seven.
JAC basic function: Making recommendations for appointments of the CJI, SC judges, Chief Justice and other High Court judges, and even the transfer of HC judges.
It would be empower the Parliament to pass a law providing for the composition, functions and procedures of the JAC.
Transparency will be the underlining feature of the entire process under the JAC. As per suggestions, the entire record of the process, starting from the nominations received up to the final recommendation made to the President, must be publicly disclosed.
As per Katju’s recommendation, JAC should hold a meeting and it should be televised so that all people in India can see it and there is total transparency. They should call the prospective candidate and ask him questions about his earlier functioning as a High Court judge and also his personal life, as is done in the United States.
Consensus will be criteria for arriving at decisions. In the case the consensus not clear, a simple majority may help decide, with all dissenting notes accompanied by reasons being recorded in writing.
The JAC will work in a stipulated time frame. It provides time periods within which vacancies will be filled up. Even the government has time limit of upto 2 months to intimate the Commission of the vacancy.
There are other suggestions to provide constitutional validation to the JAC, thus making it a permanent body and not an ad hoc measure. It is also suggested that its decision be made binding on the President and in case the President rejects any name, the same should be open to judicial review.
In December 2013, the Standing Committee report to Rajya Sabha noted that because of intrinsic deficiencies in the collegium, as many as approximately 275 posts of judges in various High Courts were lying vacant, which has direct impact upon justice delivery system and thereby affecting the 13 institutional credibility of judiciary.

30.In a sharp contrast to the 100,000 tigers that once lived in the wild a century ago, the number now has reduced to just 3,200. This was revealed by a latest report released by the World Wide Fund (WWF).
WWF has also expressed their willingness to assist the conservation efforts being made by the 13 tiger-range countries – India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand, and Vietnam – which in 2010 set the target of doubling of wild tiger population by 2022.

31.The RBI will revert to the Multiple Price method for bond auctions on August 1, 2014, a year after it adopted the present method of Uniform Price.
On August 1, 2014, the central bank will auction a 10-year bond with a coupon rate of 8.40% for a notified amount of Rs 9,000 crore using this method. Two more bond auctions for a total of Rs 5,000 crore will be conducted on the same day.
Bond auctions could be classified as either Uniform Price-based or Multiple Price-based.
In the Uniform Price-based, all successful bidders are required to pay for the allotted quantity of securities at the same rate, the auction cut-off one, irrespective of what they’d quoted.
In a Multiple price auction, the successful bidders are required to pay for the allotted quantity at the respective price or yield at which they bid.​
It was in June 2013 when RBI adopted the uniform price method, when bond yields were volatile, with foreign institutional investors leaving the domestic markets amid a dwindling currency. However, the macro fundamentals have improved since September 2013​, with the rupee stabilizing after recovering most of the losses. A new government at the Centre has reestablished hope among foreign investors. It is expected to speed up the opening to foreign investment and control the fiscal deficit. The fiscal deficit for the current financial year is targeted at 4.1% of GDP, as compared to 4.5% in 2013-14. The recent Union Budget set the target at 3.6% for 2015-16 and 3% for 2016-17.
Using a different method RBI would also be able to observe how the market reacts to different methods of auction.

32.Indian Air Force received its sixth C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at the Palam Airbase in New Delhi in the presence of the Union Defence Minister Arun Jaitley.
About C-17 Globemaster III
It has the potential to carry 75 tonnes of load which is almost double the capacity of Russian IL-76 in the IAF inventory which can carry only around 40 tonnes.
It will boost up IAF’s flexibility in terms of operational response and with the heavy lift capability it could easily move troops and heavy tanks to required locations.
It will have a greater strategic reach of up to 4000 kms and will also be very useful in relief operation with its capabilities of being operational under all conditions and abilities to take-off from short runways with heavy loads.

33.The third phase of Science Express Biodiversity Special (SEBS) was flagged off from Safdarjung Railway Station in Delhi.

34.Italian Vincenzo Nibali won the 101st edition of Tour de France, becoming the first Italian in 16 years to win the championship.

35.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) communicated the Andhra Pradesh government that there was no case for considering its request for restructuring of agricultural loans in the state.
A refused to consider the request even before the state government could prepare clarifications the apex bank had sought from it on crop yields for year 2013.
RBI, on its own, examined crop yields and bank savings patterns during the period the state government said farmers were under stress. The central bank found no parameter that justified a loan restructuring.

36.India’s home-grown e-retailer Flipkart announced that it has raised funds worth $1 billion (over Rs.6,000 crore), the largest-ever by an Indian e-commerce firm.
Flipkart has been raising fund aggressively as it raised $210 million in May 2014. This year the e-retailer also surpassed $1 billion in gross merchandise value in March 2014 and then went on to acquire rival Myntra.com in one of the biggest deals in the e-commerce space.
As per experts, with this the company is valuated between $6 billion and $7 billion.
Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal, described the deal inked last week as a milestone for the Indian Internet as a whole and said that the company hoped to become one of India’s first $100 billion company in the next five years or more.
Comparing Indian Internet business with that of Chinese both Bansals believed the Indian Internet is picking up with Internet speeds on the increase, more users connecting and with ascending mobile traffic. As per them, the Indian e-commerce is still at least nine years behind Chinese.

37.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the certificate of registration of six Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) based in Delhi. Now, these companies would not be able to do business as non-banking financial institution.
These companies are:
GE Strategic Investments India (GESII)
Profound Exports Private Limited
Two Brothers Holding Limited
Swank Services Private Limited
Praxis Consulting and Information Services Private Limited
Credible Microfinance Ltd.
However, RBI has not disclosed the reason for the cancellation of registration of these firms.

38.The “Rashtriya Gokul Mission” which aims to conserve and develop indigenous breeds in a focused and scientific manner will be allocated Rs 150.00 crores for 2014-15.
The Rashtriya Gokul Mission is a focused project under National Programme for Bovine Breeding and Dairy Development, with an outlay of Rs 500 crore during the 12th Five Year Plan.
The objectives of Rashtriya Gokul Mission:
Development and conservation of indigenous breeds
Undertake breed improvement programme for indigenous cattle breeds so as to improve the genetic makeup and increase the stock
Enhance milk production and productivity
Upgrade nondescript cattle using elite indigenous breeds like Gir, Sahiwal, Rathi, Deoni, Tharparkar, Red Sindhi
Distribute disease free high genetic merit bulls for natural service.
The Mission will be implemented through the “State Implementing Agency” (SIA viz Livestock Development Boards).

39.A new web platform – MyGov- launched by PM Narendra Modi will now make it much easier for the common man and experts from different fields to reach out to the government with their ideas and suggestions.
The web platform – www.mygov.nic.in- allows the citizens to discuss their ideas with experts within and outside the government and even earn “credit points” for the tasks which would eventually be approved for implementation by concerned departments\agencies.

40.Researchers have found a new species of mayfly in the southern Western Ghats of India.
As per scientists, this is the first time that any mayfly belonging to the genus Labiobaetis has been found in peninsular India. The new species, called Labiobaetis soldani, ” has been named after Dr T Soldan honoring his remarkable contribution to the understanding of the Ephemeroptera of Palaearctic and Oriental realms.

41.The President of India appointed veteran BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member Kaptan Singh Solanki (75) as the Governor of Haryana in place of Jagannath Pahadia whose tenure is over.
Solanki, a former professor, belongs to Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh and was renominated to Rajya Sabha in August, 2012.

42.The number of tigers Uttar Pradesh has improved in the core area of Dudhwa tiger reserve. The initial figures for two years, 2011 to 2013, have shown 72 to 80 tigers in the core area of the reserve.
As per tiger census 2010-11, there were 118 tigers in Dudhwa reserve. In all, 72 to 80 tigers have been estimated in these areas. Once figures for Katarniaghat wildlife sanctuary, North and South kheri forest division come, tiger numbers might increase up to 125.
UP has a major tiger population in Dudhwa tiger reserve comprising Dudhwa National Park (680 sq km), Kishenpur Sanctuary (204 sq km) and Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary (440 sq km); Pilibhit (720 sq km); North Kheri (350 sq km) and South Kheri (460 sq km).
Bijnor forests in west and Suhelwa (Gonda-Bahraich) and Sohagibarwa wildlife sanctuaries (Maharajganj) in east have smaller tiger populations.

43.Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan (71) has been appointed as the horticulture ambassador of the state of Maharashtra.
Big B, who is also the brand ambassador of Gujarat Tourism, would be promoting the horticulture sector in Maharashtra.

44.India’s Comptroller & Auditor General (C&AG) took charge as Member of the United Nations Board of Auditors for a six-year term upto June 2020. Mr. Shashi Kant Sharma assumed this prestigious office as he took over from Mr. Liu Jiayi, the Auditor General of the People’s Republic of China at the United Nations Headquarters at New York. Mr. Sharma was elected to this position defeating Philippines by a convincing margin of 62 votes in November 2013.

45.The Reserve Bank of India will designate at least six banks as Systemically Important Banks (SIBs), for the domestic financial market which will need to have higher capital than other banks to prevent the financial system from collapsing in the event of a crisis. The central bank would now work on identifying these banks which are too big to fail and would release a list of names in August 2015.
As per experts, the list may include State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Citibank, Standard Chartered Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank. Banks classified under SIB category will have to set aside more capital per loan than their peers. Size, interconnectedness, lack of readily available substitutes or financial institution infrastructure and complexity will determine the systemic importance of banks as determined by Basel global standards. But, as per RBI, in India, size would be given higher weightage than other factors.

46.Prime Minister Narendra Modi has introduced the concept of “zero hour” at Cabinet meetings.
The “zero hour” will be the free-wheeling discussions where ministers can bring up any issue they feel relevant for the Cabinet’s informal consideration.

47.Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has resigned from the office. This means that Ukraine will have fresh elections that would mirror the country’s changed political picture after the ouster of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014.
Yatsenyuk, an advocate of closer relationship with Europe and a key participant in the protests that ousted Yanukovych, made the announcement after two parties said they would withdraw their support to the governing coalition.
The newly elected President Petro Poroshenko, praised the withdrawal of the two parties. Poroshenko’s calls for political renewal indicate that the resignation and new polls are the result of planning and political maneuvering, not chaos.
Yatsenyuk had assumed the PM office just five months back supported by a coalition of pro-European parties. They took power after Yanukovych was driven from office by months of street protests on Kiev’s Independence Square, or Maidan.
The protests triggered over Yanukovych’s denial to sign a sweeping trade pact with the European Union, but aggravated to include wider grievances such as the government’s attempts to crush the protests with riot police, corruption, and lack of progress in modernizing the economy.
The current Parliament was originally dominated by Yanukovych supporters in the pro-Russian Party of Regions. That group has reduced through defections and its members face an uncertain future in fresh upcoming polls.
After assuming office, Yatsenyuk was to run a government almost insolvent and facing the likelihood of taking up unpopular measures to fulfill conditions to get loans sanctioned from the International Monetary Fund. It succeeded in getting the IMF bailout.
The government faces tensions with Russia which termed Yanukovych’s ouster a coup, seized Ukraine’s Crimea region and cut off natural gas supplies in a price dispute.
It has also combated a pro-Russian insurgency in which rebels armed with heavy weapons have seized public buildings and battled government troops. Russia denies supporting the rebels.
The nationalist Svoboda party and the Udar party led by former boxer Vitali Klitschko withdrew their support from Yatsenyuk’s coalition.

48.In the wake of the Malaysian Airplane MH-17 crash that happened over eastern Ukraine recently, European Union has extended the sanctions on Russia. The imposition of sanctions on Russia was started with the country’s annexation of Crimea in eastern Ukraine in February 2014.
The Committee of Permanent Representatives of the European Union (EU) approved the sanctions during a meeting held in Brussels, Belgium.

49.A new scheme named ‘Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojna’ for holistic development of tribals has been launched by the government. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs launched the scheme for holistic development of tribal people and Rs 100 crore has been allocated for the scheme during the year 2014-14. The Ministry has also started several other schemes which include hostels for ST girls and boys, scheme for establishment of ashram school in Tribal Sub Plan areas, post-matric scholarships and others.
Besides these schemes, the ministry administers two special area programmes namely grant under Article 275 (1) of Constitution and the Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub Plan for upliftment of tribal population including North Eastern states.
As per census 2011, 94.4% of the total population in Mizoram comprises Scheduled Tribes (STs) while the percentage of STs in Meghalaya and Nagaland is 86.1% and 86.5% respectively. As per figures, a total of Rs 2449.63 lakhs has been released in various states under the scheme of hostels for ST boys and girls in 2014-15 (as on 23.7.2014). In 2014-15 (as on July 14, 2014), Rs 82,10,620 has been released to state societies and NGOs under the scheme of strengthening education among ST girls in Low Literacy districts. The governments has also released Rs 25525.26 lakhs in 2014-15 under SCA to TSP.

50.The US has clarified that the annual India-US bilateral “Malabar” naval exercise which started in the Asia Pacific region is not aimed at containing China and that the exercise would strengthen the US naval presence in the Pacific Ocean region and maritime partnership with its allies.
The exercise this year has Japan as a special invitee. China had in the past raised objections over Japan’s taking part in the war-games held mainly between US and India. The last drill involving Japan was held in 2009. As per the US, the participating nations are working with specific training drills such as communication, search and rescue, helicopter cross deck evolutions and anti-submarine welfare.

51.According to the Reserve Bank of India, banks will not be permitted to trade bonds issued by other lenders for infrastructure lending that would be exempted from mandatory reserve requirements under the new guidelines issued by the RBI.
The RBI recently allowed banks to issue bonds for infrastructure lending, but forbade them from holding each other’s bonds. Now the central bank has clarified that the restrictions on cross holding also applies to trading. The RBI wants these bonds for infrastructure lending attract investors from outside the banking sector. The idea is funds to come from outside the banking system.

52.Upholding its earlier stance, India will not support a pact on Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) till its concerns related to subsidies given for food procurement and food aid is suitably addressed. WTO members are expected to sign the protocol for an agreement on trade facilitation by July 31, 2014 as per the consensus reached by WTO trade ministers in a meeting in Bali in December 2013.
What is the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA)?
The Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) targets to steadfast any drive of goods amongst nations by cutting down administrative compulsions. The Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), being pushed by several developed nations, will place commitments on all WTO members to modify their border infrastructure and procedures to facilitate movement of goods.
What is the problem with Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA)?
The difficulty with Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) runs in a clause that says farm subsidies cannot be more than 10% of the value of agricultural production. If the limit is violated, other participants can contest it and also go on to levy trade sanctions on the nation. The developing nations would have a difficulty with the solutions offered by the developed nations as without the subsidies the food security of the developing nations could be genuinely damaged.
Why is India opposed to Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA)?
India’s Food Security Act, by law is now obligatory on the government and provides that the government will deliver food to the weaker sections of the society at very low prices. Apart from offering subsidies to the consumers, via the PDS (Public Distribution System), it also offers subsidies to the producers of food grains. Thus, Government purchases food grains from farmers at a MSP (Minimum Support Price), and subsidizes inputs like Electricity, Fertiliser, etc.
Problem-1: The 10% cap on subsidies will not be feasible for India to accomplish. Also, the 10% cap is computed based on 1986-88 prices when the prices of food grains were much lower. Thus, the cap has to be revised on the basis of present prices of food-grains.
Problem-2: For offering subsidized food, India will have to open up its own stock stores to international supervision. Also, India will be unable to add protein/ heavy grains viz. say, lentils, etc. even if it wishes to, owing to riders in the peace clause.
Problem-3: It appears biased as US offers farm subsidies to its farmers to the tune of more than $20 billion per year. While the WTO is binding the developing nations to protocols, the issue of subsidies by developed nations like US appears to be kept off the table.
What does India want?
India now wants a permanent solution to the issue of public stock holding of food-grains. G33 members including China have supported India’s stand on the ability to subsidize agricultural production and distribute it to the poor at low cost. India settled to the TFA in Bali only under the condition that interim relief would be offered to the developing countries. India held that till 2017 no legal action/ sanction(s) would be imposed on the developing countries, by which time a solution would be chalked out amongst the nations.
Nevertheless, this interim relief would not be applicable if such subsidies would lead to trade distortions i.e. the prices of imports and exports cannot be affected by this. Recently, India clarified in a WTO meeting on trade facilitation that it may not be able to support Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) at present as there was not much progress on the issue of addressing concerns related to subsidies given for public procurement of food-grains and food aid.
The Bali Ministerial declaration had provided just a short-term relief to developing nations against action by other countries in case it surpassed the current cap on agriculture subsidies (10% of total production). It is worth recalling that in 2013 India decided not to agree to the ‘Peace Clause’ for agriculture subsidies that the World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Roberto Azevedo had proposed for Bali talks. India will not agree to any deal until it is clear that the proposed interim solution will be available till a permanent solution to the issue of India’s Minimum Support Prices (MSP) transgressing the WTO norms has been found and agreed to. India fears that fears that the temporary solution might be difficult to implement as it is riddled with numerous conditions including submission of various data related to production and subsidies.
What was the ‘Peace Clause’ offered by the WTO?
India wants to implement its Food Security Scheme by providing food entitlements at subsidized rates to 2/3rd of its population. To realize this, the government will have to procure a huge quantity of grains from farmers. The government procures grains at certain MSPs. However, WTO norms under the Agreement on Agriculture may hamper the plan as the rules set a subsidy cap of 10% of the value of production for developing countries. India is already inching closer to that limit. If India breaches that limit it would create dispute and may be dragged to the WTO Disputes Settlement Body. The ‘Peace Clause’ proposed by the WTO general-secretary offers an interim solution by allowing the developing countries to offer subsidies to farmers that are currently prohibited under WTO norms. The clause will restrict other WTO members from seeking penalties and facilitating the government to procure grains at MSPs and sell them at subsidized rates through Public Distribution System (PDS).
What is the problem with the “Peace Clause”?
There is catch in this ‘Peace Clause’: While developing countries can provide WTO-prohibited subsidies to farmers without inviting any dispute under the Agreement on Agriculture, developed countries will have the right to drag these countries to the WTO Disputes Settlement Body, under the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. This would render the peace clause null-and-void. There is also lack of clarity on when the proposed Peace Clause will expire and in case there arrives no solution or agreement at the eleventh Ministerial conference, the protection from the Peace Clause will end and its extension will be have to be renegotiated — a contingency India doesn’t want.
Why WTO has a problem with high subsidies offered by developing nations?
WTO contends that:-
If developing nations continue giving prices which are higher than the market prices, to their farmers, it might damage the poor farmers in other parts of the world.
The deal could add $1 trillion to global GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and 21 million jobs, by removing the red tapes.
The developed world wants the issue of food security to be dis-associated from the TFA.
What is Minimum Support Price?
The Minimum Support Price (MSP) Scheme is a scheme of the Government of India (GOI) to safeguard the interests of the farmers. Under this Scheme the GOI declares the minimum support Prices of various agricultural produces and assures the farmers that their agricultural produce will be purchased at the MSP, thereby preventing its distress sale. The Food Corporation of India (FCI) acts as the Nodal Agency of the GOI.

53.Jakarta (Indonesia) Governor Joko Widodo has been declared the winner of the Indonesian presidential polls. He received around 53% of the total valid votes cast in the election.

54.India’s largest software services exporter, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) became the first Indian company to achieve a market capitalization of Rs 5 lakh crore.
In terms of market capitalization, TCS is followed by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) at Rs 3.5 lakh crore and Reliance Industries at Rs 3.3 lakh crore.TCS is also currently the country’s most valued company in terms of market valuation.

55.Union government will appoint Suresh Prabhu Committee to review the gas pricing formula. Suresh Prabhu is a former Union Power Minister under National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The other members on the panel will be Pratap Bhanu Mehta, President and Chief Executive of Centre for Policy Research and Bibek Debroy of the same institute.
The decision to set up Suresh Prabhu Committee comes close on the heels of the Union government decision to put stay on the revision of natural gas price. The Union Cabinet had recently postponed the implementation of the C Rangarajan Committee’s pricing formula till September 30, 2014 for conducting a comprehensive review of the whole issue.
The implementation of the Rangrajan pricing formula would have doubled current gas rates to at least $8.4 dollars/mbtu resulting in increasing power cost by over Rs 2/unit, urea production cost by Rs 6,228/tonne and piped gas by Rs 8.50/kg.

56.The Union Cabinet approved the proposal of increasing the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) limit in the insurance sector to 49% from the existing 26%. The move is in sync with the proposal made by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his maiden Budget speech to raise the FDI cap in insurance sector from 26% to 49%.
However, the management control of insurance firms will be with the Indian companies only. The step to enhanced FDI limit is expected to benefit private sector insurance companies, which require a huge amount of capital.

57.The Council of Representatives of Iraq (Iraqi Parliament) in Baghdad elected Muhammad Fuad Masum of Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party as the seventh President of Iraq. He got 211 votes in his favor and 17 votes against.

58.Former Speaker of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly and five-time MLA Keshari Nath Tripathi was sworn-in as the Governor of West Bengal. Tripathi, was administered the oath of office by the acting Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court Asim Kumar Banerjee in the presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

59.The World Bank will provide financial support of $15-18 billion to India over the next 3 years to help speed up economic growth and reduce poverty.
As per World Bank group president Jim Yong Kim who was on a visit to India, the Indian government has laid out a comprehensive plan to reduce poverty and regain over 9% GDP growth. He was impressed by the Modi government’s commitment to speed up growth. He assured Indian government that the World Bank Group will bring to bear all possible knowledge and financing to assist them in achieving this goal. India is the largest beneficiary of the World Bank’s financial assistance with a current portfolio of 85 projects having a commitment of $24.12 billion. This includes $12.86 billion aid from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), $11.16 billion in active projects from the International Development Association (IDA).
India also accounts for the largest single portfolio exposure of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, with commitments over $4.5 billion.

60.Delhi High Court lambasted the Delhi government for its inability to regulate or check e-rickshaws plying unbridled on the roads.
HC, while hearing a plea, has said that it would not permit unregulated e-rickshaws without license, registration or insurance and directed the government to ensure that there was no unregulated traffic in Delhi.