WBCS Current Affairs 04/07/2015 to 17/07/2015

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1. Union Cabinet has given nod to introduce composite foreign investment cap in a bid to streamline the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) structure. Decision in this regard was taken during Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. This move will help government to club all forms of overseas investments such as FDI, Non-resident Indians (NRIs), foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and other foreign investments to define sectoral limits as a composite cap. Present policy has different caps for separate investment categories like FDI, FII and NRIs. The proposed sectors for composite foreign investment cap are agriculture, mining, tea, broadcasting, airports, media, retail (single brand and multi-brand), asset reconstruction companies, e-commerce, banking, insurance and commodity exchanges. Thus it will simplify the FDI policy with a view to attract foreign investments and also improving ease of doing business in India.

2. The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is considered as gateway for India to expand trade and investment links with Central Asia and Eurasia. Its importance was highlighted in India’s Foreign Trade Policy of India 2015-20. However, recently it gained importance in light of the evolving geopolitical developments of India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to 5 Central Asian Countries viz Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) It is a multi-modal trade transport network that includes strategic rail, road, and water transport connecting India with Central Asian and Eurasia Countries. Route: It will connect Mumbai (India) via Chabahar and Bandar Abbas ports of Iran with Baku (Azerbaijan) to Moscow (Russia) and other countries in Central and Eastern Europe via the Caspian Sea. Economic Integration: It will help in facilitating India’s economic integration with Eurasian economies and other countries in surrounding regions. If India partners with Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), it will further boost and expand its economic, trade and investment opportunities in more countries in this region. Shorter transport route: It will be a shorter route to transport goods to Eurasian and Central Asian regions compared to present route via Suez Canal and western European countries. Thus, reduce the cost of transporting goods from India to Eurasia. Natural resources access: It will help India to tap the abundant natural resources potential of Central Asian countries for its energy security. These countries are having rich deposits of petroleum, natural gas and uranium along with deposits of fertilizer inputs such as potash. Exports: Many sectors in this region are becoming increasingly service-oriented which can benefit India to export expertise in information technology and IT-enabled services.

3. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the creation of an Intra-state Transmission System (ISTS) in 7 states across the country. 7 States are: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.

4. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted a committee to prepare a 5 year action plan to spread the reach of financial services across country to unbanked population. The committee will be headed by RBI executive director Deepak Mohanty and comprise total of 14 members.
Terms of References of the committee It will review the existing policy of financial inclusion, including customer protection framework and supportive payment system. In this regard it will take into account the recommendations made by various committees set up earlier. Objective: Work out a medium-term or five-year measurable action plan for financial inclusion. Suggest a monitorable medium-term action plan for financial inclusion. It will cover various components including payments, credit, deposit, social security transfers, pension and insurance. Articulate the underlying institutional and policy framework for financial inclusion. Cover financial literacy and consumer protection, as well as delivery mechanism of financial inclusion. For this the committee will encompass both households and small businesses, with more emphasis on rural inclusion including group-based credit delivery mechanisms. It is expected that the Committee is expected to submit its report in four months from the date of its first meeting. It should be noted that, for promoting financial inclusion, Union government had launched Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan initiative (PMJDY) in August 2014.

5. Champions League Twenty 20 (CLT20) of Cricket has been scrapped with immediate effect. Decision in this regard was taken unanimously by Governing Council of CLT20, comprising Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Cricket South Africa and Cricket Australia. CLT20 was scrapped due to lack of interest or poor response of the fans and popularity of the tournament and difficulty in managing it. Its popularity was also poor in respect of other domestic T20 tournaments such as Indian Premier League (IPL), Big Bash League in Australia and South Africa’s Ram Slam T20. About Champions League Twenty 20 CLT20 was an international Twenty-20 cricket competition played between major domestic teams from cricketing nations. It was established in 2009 and was annual sporting event. The League is jointly owned by BCCI, Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa. 2014 edition of the league was won by Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

6. Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) and US-based aircraft maker Boeing have signed a strategic framework agreement for aerospace and defence manufacturing. The agreement was signed by Sukaran Singh, MD & CEO of TASL and Shelley Lavender, President of Boeing Military Aircraft in lines with Make in India in Hyderabad, Telangana.

7. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Bombay and Nehru Science Centre have launched a pilot project “Internet for All” in its Mobile Science Exhibition Bus in Mumbai. It was launched under the aegis of the Union Government’s flagship ‘Digital India’ campaign. The Mobile Science Exhibition Bus was launched with theme “Internet for All’ which aimed at creating awareness about the power of internet. It is basically science exhibitions on wheels in which 20 theme based exhibition models which are mounted on specially designed Buses.

8. Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has given nod to Chinese Telecom manufacturer Huawei to set up a manufacturing unit in Tamil Nadu for its components. The security clearance was given by MHA in subject to certain conditions which the company must fulfil. It also includes condition of appointing of Indian nationals at key positions of Company.

9. World’s largest religious congregation Sinhastha Kumbh Mela has begun at Trimbakeshwar, Nashik district of Maharashtra. The traditional religious ceremony began with flag hoisting ceremony and was followed by holy dip in Godavari River at Trimbakeshwar and Nashik by thousands of people. The ceremony was presided by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Trimbakeshwar while Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis presided over the ceremony at Nashik. Sinhastha Kumbh Mela is once-in-a-12 year event which is marked by participation of ‘sadhus’ from different denominations (known as akhadas) and lakhs of devotees.

10. Scientists at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have discovered a new class of exotic subatomic particles called the Pentaquarks. The discovery was made by the scientist’s after watching the decaying of a subatomic type particle known as the Lambda B baryon. Facts about Pentaquark Pentaquark was first predicted to exist in the 1960s and its name was coined by Israeli theoretical physicist Harry J. Lipkin. It is a particle consisting of five quarks (any of a group of subatomic particles carrying a fractional electric charge) bounded together. These qauarks are elementary particles that exist in six variations known as flavors having unusual names of up, down, top, bottom, strange and charm. These elementary particles bind together in different combinations to form a range of composite particles. Most commonly known combinations are neutrons and protons, consisting of three quarks each. Applications: This discovery will allow physicists to understand the quantum chromodynamics (i.e. study of strong fundamental force describing the interactions between quarks and gluons which make up proton, neutron and pion). In addition, it might help to shed light on the physics of neutron stars.

11. Krishnapatnam Port in Andhra Pradesh has been awarded Golden Peacock environment management award for its achievements and initiatives in the field of environment. The award was presented during the 17th World Congress on Environment Management to C Sasidhar, Managing Director of Krishnapatnam Port by Union Minister of State for Environment Prakash Javadekar in New Delhi. Green initiatives of Krishnapatnam Port Plantation of over 20 lakhs trees within the port and more than 50,000 trees in the surrounding villages. Installation of solar lights in the port and solar water heaters in the employee colony. Establishing gas connections for villagers so as to discourage them from cutting of mangroves as fuel wood. Adoption of Environment Health and Security program to encourage continuous improvement in environment protection. It includes waste management, pollution control, use of renewable resources, resource conservation etc. About Golden Peacock awards Instituted by the Institute of Directors (IoD) in 1991. They are presented annually under various categories. The awards comprise to sets Global Awards and National Awards.

12. Doyen music composer Manayangath Subramanian Viswanathan passed away in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He was 87. The veteran musician had composed music for over a thousand films in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam and was fondly called as the King of Light Music (Mellisai Mannar in Tamil).

13. Two major Indian Premier League teams Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals were suspended from the cricket league for two years. Decision in this regard was taken by a Supreme Court-appointed three-member committee headed by former Chief Justice of India R M Lodha. Both of the teams were banned in regards to betting activities of their key officials Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra during the 6th edition of i.e. 2013 season of IPL. This decision has put a spanner on the high-profile T20 league, which had begun in 2008. Background The IPL spot-fixing scandal had broken out in 2013 after the Delhi Police arrested Rajasthan Royals cricketers S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila. They were allegedly for indulging in betting and spot-fixing during then 6th edition of IPL. Later Supreme Court had constituted Committee headed by former Chief Justice of India R M Lodha to look into this matter. In January 2015, the Committee in its terms of reference being to announce the quantum of punishment against Meiyappan, Kundra and the two franchisees CSK and Rajasthan Royals.

14. Madhya Pradesh government has appointed Rakesh Sahni as the Chairman of Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA). He is IAS officer of 1972 batch and had retired after serving post of chief secretary of States. After his retirement he also served as the Chairman of MP Electricity Regulatory Commission.

15. Ajay Kumar Pandey was appointed as new Managing Director and Group CEO of Gandhinagar based Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City). He will succeed Ramakant Jha as he was appointed as CEO of Mumbai based IL&FS’s Smart City initiative. Jha was associated with GIFT City project since November 2009. Ajay Kumar Pandey has more than three decades of global and domestic experience in the field of telecommunications. He had worked in various senior management positions in Tata Telecommunications, Tata Teleservices and Neotel.

16. Noted artist Sayed Haider Raza was conferred with highest French Civilian Award Commandeur de la Lgion dHonneur (the Legion of Honour). Raza was bestowed with this award for his peerless achievements in transcending all boundaries, forging ties between France and India and for continuing artistic quest straddling nations, religions, cultures and philosophies. He was bestowed with this award on the occasion of the French National Day (14 July) celebrations by Ambassador of France to India Franois Richier on behalf of the French President.

17. Union Government has launched GPS-Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) system, for aviation navigation. It was launched by Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju in New Delhi. Facts about GAGAN system Jointly developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Airports Authority of India (AAI). It will provide augmentation service for GPS over the India, Bay of Bengal, South-east Asia and Middle East along with expansion up to Africa. The system with the help of reference and uplink station will provide corrections to the GPS signal in order to improve air traffic management. It is 10 times more precise compared to GPS and radio navigation aids used for precision landing. Presently, GAGAN Payload is already operational through GSAT-8 and GSAT-10 satellites. The 3rd payload will be carried onboard GSAT-15 satellite to be launched October 2015. Benefits: It will make airline operations more efficient by increasing fuel savings, direct routes, ease of search and rescue operations, reduced workload of flight crew and Air Traffic Controllers and cost savings due to withdrawal of ground aids. With this launch, India became the fourth nation in the world to have inter-operable Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) after US, Europe and Japan. It should be noted that GAGAN is the first SBAS system in the world to serve the equatorial region.

18. India and Tajikistan have inked 2 pacts to strengthen bilateral relations They were signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi visit to Tajikistan. It was his last leg of strategic tour to 5 Central Asian countries (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) and Russia.

19. India and Georgia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the field of election management and administration. The MoU was signed by Dr. Nasim Zaidi, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India and Ms. Tamar Zhvania, Chairperson, Central Election Commission of Georgia in New Delhi.

20. Lt Gen Man Mohan Singh Rai has been appointed as new Vice-Chief of the Indian Army. He is presently the Eastern Army Commander and will succeed Lt Gen Philip Campose who superannuates on 31 July 2015. Rai is from the Indian Army’s Corps of Engineers. It should be noted that Army General Dalbir Singh Suhag too was the Eastern Army Commander before taking over the top post.

21. China has set up the world’s largest cancer registry system in a bid to fight the cancer diseases with more-targeted and evidence-based intervention programmes. The cancer registry system is a systematic collection of data about cancer and tumor diseases of Chinese people. The registry records complete summary of cancer patient history including diagnosis, treatment and status of every cancer patient. However the registry excludes the medical costs. This registry system seeks to cover over 300 million people of China and expand to include 40 per cent of the nation’s population of 1.36 billion by 2020. In China, at least 3 million people develop cancer each year and it claims 2.2 million lives in China and costs at least US 16 billion dollars each year.

22. The 2015 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament held from 29 June to 12 July 2015. The tournament had taken place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. It was the 129th edition of the championships and the 48th edition in the Open Era. Men’s Singles Title: Defending Champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia won the 2015 Men’s Singles Wimbledon Title. In the final match, he defeated Roger Federer of Switzerland by 7-6(7-1), 6-7(10-12), 6–4, 6-3 score. It is Djokovic’s 3rd Wimbledon Title (2011, 2014 and 2015) overall 12th men’s single Grand Slam title. Women’s Singles Title: Serena Williams of United States has won Women’s Singles Wimbledon title at 2015. In the final match played she defeated Garbine Muguruza of Spain by 6-4, 6-4 score. It is Williams’ sixth Women’s Singles Wimbledon title (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2015) and overall 21th Grand Slam title. Women’s Doubles Title: Sania Mirza (India) and Martina Hingis (Switzerland) pair won the 2015 women’s Doubles Wimbledon Title. In the final match, they defeated Russian pair of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina by 5–7, 7–6 (7–4), 7–5 score. Men’s Doubles Title: Jean-Julien Rojer (Netherlands) and Horia Tecău (Romania) pair won the 2015 men’s Doubles Wimbledon Title. In the final match they defeated Jamie Murray (UK) and John Peers (Australia) pair by 7–5, 6–4, 6–4 score. Mixed Doubles Title: Leander Paes (India) and Martina Hingis (Switzerland) pair won the 2015 Mixed Doubles Wimbledon Title. In the final match, they defeated Alexander Peya (Austria) and Tímea Babos (Hungary) pair by 6-1, 6-1 score. Boys’ Doubles Title: Sumit Nagal (India) and Lý Hoàng Nam (Vietnam) pair won the 2015 Boy’s Doubles Wimbledon Title. In the final match they defeated Reilly Opelka (US) and Akira Santillan (Japan) pair by 7–6(7–4), 6-4 score.

23. ‘Buddha In A Traffic Jam’ film has won the best original screenplay in a Foreign Language award at the Madrid International Film Festival. The film is a political satire directed by filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri. It stars Arunoday Singh and Mahi Gill in a lead role along with Anupam Kher, Pallavi Joshi and introduces Anchal Dwivedi.

24. India and Kyrgyzstan have signed 4 pacts/ agreements to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two nations. These agreements were inked during the two-day visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Kyrgystan as part of his official visit to 5 Central Asian countries and Russia.

25. State-run National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has set a target of providing 30,000 crore rupees as credit to farmers for irrigational purpose. It was announced by Bank’s Chairman and Managing Director Dr. Harsh Kumar Bhanwala in Mumbai on the occasion of 34th Foundation Day of NABARD. This credit will be provided over the next three years i.e. till 2018 and for this NABARD already has sanctioned 1,000 crore rupees. This funding will be in addition to the government’s 50,000 crore rupees of loans to farmers over the next five years (till 2020) under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY). Besides, it was also announced that NABARD has been accredited as the national implementation agency for climate change at the rural level by the Green Climate Fund (GCF). It should be noted that, NABARD is only the banking entity from South Asia to be shortlisted for the purpose by GEF. The World Bank and Asian Development Bank among others are the 20 such entities which have already been shortlisted.

26. India and Turkmenistan have signed 7 pacts/ agreements to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two nations. These agreements were inked during the two-day visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Turkmenistan as part of his official visit to 5 Central Asian countries and Russia.

27. United States has approved major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA) status to Tunisia. Decision in this regard was taken by US State Department. With this Tunisia became the 16th country to become a MNNA of US. Background In May 2015, US President Barack Obama had declared Tunisia as its non-NATO ally while hosting his Tunisian counterpart Beji Caid Essebsi at the White House. This decision was taken by US to support for Tunisia’s decision to join the world’s democracies. US is hoping to strengthen democracy in Tunisia especially after Beji Caid Essebsi became the first democratically elected President in 60-year history of Tunisia. Comment By granting the MNNA status, both countries will enhance military cooperation between them. The strong relations between both democracies will help to maintain peace and security in Tunisia as it was the birthplace of Arab Spring (Jasmine revolution) revolts across the Middle East in 2011. It will also help Tunisia to counter the rising threat of jihadist groups especially ISIS in the region.

28. India has in imposed definitive anti-dumping duty of 342.76 dollars per tonne on all phenol imports on imports of Phenol from South Africa. This anti-dumping duty will be valid for a period of five years. The duty was imposed by Union Finance Ministry based on the recommendations of the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping Duty (DGAD) under the aegis of Union Commerce Ministry. This decision was taken by DGAD on the petition filed by Hindustan Organic Chemicals Limited and S I Group Limited seeking continuation of anti-dumping duty on Phenol imports from South Africa. It should be noted the above mentioned two companies are the only producers of Phenol in the country.
Phenol Phenol is a basic organic chemical characterized by a hydroxyl (−OH) group attached to a carbon atom. Its specific name for its simplest member is monohydroxybenzene (C6H5OH) is also known as benzenol or carbolic acid. It is widely used in particle boards, pharmaceuticals, plywoods, laminates and phenyl formaldehyde resins etc. What is Anti-Dumping Duty? It is a trade duty imposed by any government on imported products which have prices less than their normal values in their domestic market. Usually countries initiate anti-dumping probes to check if domestic industry has been hurt because of a surge in below-cost imports. Anti-Dumping Duty is imposed under the multilateral WTO regime and varies from product to product and from country to country. In India, anti-dumping duty is recommended by the Union Ministry of Commerce (i.e. Directorate General of Anti-Dumping Duty-DGAD), while the Union Finance Ministry imposes it.

29. Indian-origin Sunita Williams is among four veteran astronauts chosen by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to fly the first commercial space vehicles. Other three astronauts are Robert Behnken Eric Boe Douglas Hurley They will be trained and prepared for commercial space flights of Boeing Company and SpaceX to provide low-Earth orbit transportation services to and from the International Space Station (ISS). Thus it will open up low-Earth orbit transportation to the private sector and help US be once again self-reliant in space travel, as they are currently dependent on Russia. They will also be part of NASA’s ambitious plan of human landing on Mars by 2030. About Sunita Willams NASA had chosen Williams for the astronaut programme in 1998. Prior to this she was a US Navy captain and was a helicopter pilot with more than 3,000 flight hours experience in more than 30 different aircraft. Presently, she ranks 6th on the all-time US endurance list and 2nd all-time for a female astronaut. She holds the world records for most spacewalk time by a woman astronaut (50 hours, 40 minutes) and most spacewalks by a woman astronaut (seven times).

30. India has been accorded full membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) along with Pakistan at its Ufa summit held in Russia. Technically, India and Pakistan will become the members of SCO by 2016 after completion of certain procedures. This membership will help India to work with the 6 members grouping to enhance connectivity, combat terror and create an environment for boosting trade by easing barriers. About Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) SCO is a Eurasian economic, political and military organisation. Headquarters: Beijing, China Established: 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders 6 countries viz. China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. It is an outcome of The Shanghai Five grouping established in 1996 by Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. SCO’s first enlargement was in 2001 with addition of Uzbekistan and second enlargement was in July 2015 with addition of 2 new members India and Pakistan. Presently it as four observers Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Since 2005, India was having an Observer status of SCO and had applied for full membership in 2014. Analysis SCO membership to India will have significant benefits in Economic view: Open up trade, energy sector and strategic transit routes for India between Russia, Central Asia and China. As Iran has observer status in the SCO, it will serve as a platform for India to boost trade through the Iranian ports of Bandar Abbas and Chabahar. These ports are considered as India’s gateway to Central Asia through International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). Security grouping: SCO will provide platform for the security grouping for India and Pakistan especially on issue to counter terrorism. Provide a valuable interface to engage with security concern of Afghanistan especially its members including India due to pullout international troops. SCO may also serve as guarantor for projects such as the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) and Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) pipelines, which are held by India due to security concerns. Balance in International Politics: In this politically polarised world, SCO will play an important role in counter-balancing India’s perceived tilt on security issues towards US and its allies. Thus, it can help to maintain full balance of India’s relations with the great powers globally.

31. ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C-28 has successfully put five satellites of United Kingdom into designated orbits. They were successfully put designated into orbit after its lift off from first launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikotta, Andhra Pradesh. For this mission, ISRO had used high-end XL version of PSLV as it was its biggest and heaviest commercial launch with overall lift-off mass of all 5 satellites was 1,440 kg . Five satellites are: Constellation of 3 identical DMC3 Satellites: Three satellites comprised of DMC3-1, DMC3-2 and DMC3-3, all weighing around 447-kg. They are designed for simultaneous high temporal and high spatial resolution optical Earth observation. Application: Surveying the resources on earth, urban infrastructure management and monitoring of disasters. CBNT-1: It is an optical Earth Observation technology demonstration micro satellite, weighing around 91 kg. . De-OrbitSail: It is an experimental nano satellite. It will be used for the demonstration of large thin membrane sail and drag deorbiting using this sail. All of the five satellites belonged to UK’s Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL). They were launched as part commercial launch arrangement between SSTL and ANTRIX, the commercial arm of ISRO. PSLV C-28 XL For this mission four-stage PSLV-C28 was used as launch vechile, which is high-end ‘XL’ version of PSLV. It comprised of new designs consisting of circular launcher adaptor i.e. L-adaptor and a triangular deck called Multiple Satellite Adapter-Version 2 (MSA-V2). It was specially designed by ISRO to overcome the tough task of mounting the three DMC3 satellites in launch vehicle as each was having height of about 3m. It was PSLV’s overall 30th flight and 29th consecutive successful launch and 9th flight of PSLV in ‘XL’ configuration. Note: With this, India has successfully launched 45 satellites of 18 different foreign countries successfully in space since 1999. These countries are Germany, South Korea, Indonesia, Belgium, Italy, Israel, Argentina, Canada, Japan, Denmark, Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey, Algeria, Singapore, Luxembourg, France and Austria. It was ISRO’s second launch in year 2015, the previous launch was of navigation satellite, IRNSS-1D in March, 2015.

32. Prince Saud al-Faisal, former foreign minister of Saudi Arabia passed away in United States. He was 75. He was the Saudi kingdom’s foreign minister for 4 decades (from 1975 to 2015). He had retired in April 2015 and was succeeded by Adel al-Jubeir. He had served under four Saudi kings and had advanced the kingdom’s foreign policy, especially after the 9/11 attacks in US. It should be noted that he was world’s longest-serving foreign minister.

33. Legendary Egyptian actor Omar Sharif passed away due to a heart attack in Cairo. He was 83. He was best known for his roles in classic films Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and Doctor Zhivago (1965). These movies had soared him international stardom.

34.Indigenously developed supersonic surface-to-air Akash Missile has been inducted in Indian Air Force (IAF). The Akash missile was inducted by Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar at a function held at Maharajpur Airbase in Gwalior after he handed over the symbolic key of Akash defence system (ADS) to Air chief Marshal Arup Raha. It should be noted that Akash missile already has been included in Indian Army. It was inducted in Army in May 2015. Facts about Akash Missile Indigenously developed by the DRDO and Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) as part of Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) of 1980’s. Manufactured using 92 per cent of indigenous machinery and can be transported anywhere via road, water or air transport. It is a potent supersonic mobile multi-target point, multi-directional missile, capable to engage multiple air targets simultaneously using sophisticated multi-function phased array radars. Capabile to neutralise aerial targets like cruise missiles, fighter jets and air-to-surface missiles with strike range of 25km. It can destroy aerial target upto 30 km away at altitudes upto 18,000 m. It has supersonic speed i.e. it is three times faster than that of sound and capable to carry conventional warhead of 60 kg. Initially, 8 squadrons of ADS will be inducted in IAF as per the contract. Each squadron will have 2 firing units and 4 launchers. Each launcher has a capacity to 3 three missiles in quick succession.

35. Uttarakhand became first Indian state to install a system to detect earthquakes and disseminate warnings. The first system has been installed in its capital Dehradun which will issue warnings 1-40 seconds before earthquakes of magnitude 5 or more occur. The system is designed and manufactured by Italian firm, Space Dynamics which already has installed it in Japan, Italy and US. Features of earthquake early warning The system is incorporated with sensors which are capable to detect P (Primary) and S (Secondary) waves generated during an earthquake. It is capable to detect the harmless P wave, which travels faster than the S wave for advance warning. The system has the earliest detection among those currently in use worldwide. The second system will be established at Pithoragarh in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand. According to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Uttarakhand falls under seismic zone V i.e. High-Risk Seismic Zone. Apart from it, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Rann of Kutch (Gujarat), Northern Bihar and Andaman & Nicobar Islands also fall under this seismic zone.

36. Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka has set a Guinness World Record for spending longest time in space with a total of 804 days as on July 2015. With this he broke the previous record of 803 days, nine hours and 41 minutes set by Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev (now retired) across six missions from 1998 to 2005.

37. Healthcare firm Practo has acquired Mumbai based Genii, a technology services start-up focused on product design and development. With this acquisition, Genii’s founders Varun Vohra and Aditya Anand and their 11 member team will join Bengaluru based Practo.

38. Rahul Bhatnagar was named as new Managing Director (MD) and chief financial officer (CFO) of Bharti Enterprises. He succeeds Manoj Kohli, who was recently appointed as executive chairman, SBG Cleantech a Joint Venture (JV) between Bharti Enterprises, Japan’s telecom major SoftBank and Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group.

39. India and United States have signed inter-governmental agreement to implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). It was signed by Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das and US Ambassador to India Richard Verma in New Delhi. The agreement will promote transparency on tax matters and curb offshore tax evasion by exchange of information between the two countries. It is obligatory on signatories to exchange a wide range of financial information among themselves automatically and periodically. Henceforth, Indian financial institutions will have to reveal information about US tax payers to the revenue department. This information will be further passed on to the US tax authorities. In turn, the US will also share similar kind of financial information with India. Under the provisions of FATCA, it is mandatory for all financial institutions outside of the US to periodically transmit information on financial accounts held by US citizens to its US Internal Revenue Service. If they failed to do so they will face a 30 percent withholding tax on payments made from the US.

40. 39th session World Heritage Committee (WHC) of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, (UNESCO) has inscribed 24 new sites into the World Heritage List. Decision in this regard was taken at WHC’s annual meeting held in Bonn, Germany. In this meeting total 36 sites were examined and 24 sites were granted world heritage status. With this the total number of world heritage sites has increased to 1,031. 24 new sites are Blue and John Crow Mountains (Jamaica). Tusi sites (China), Christiansfeld, a Moravian Church Settlement (Denmark). Par Force Hunting Landscape in North Zealand (Denmark). Climats, terroirs of Burgundy (France). Champagne Hillsides, Houses and Cellars (France). Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District with Chilehaus (Germany). Susa (Iran). Cultural Landscape of Maymand (Iran). Necropolis of Beth She’arim—a Landmark of Jewish Revival (Israel). Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalú and Monreale (Italy) Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining (Japan). Baptism Site “Bethany Beyond the Jordan” (Al-Maghtas) (Jordan). Baekje Historic Areas (South Korea) Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque Hydraulic System (Mexico) Great Burkhan Khaldun Mountain and its surrounding sacred landscape (Mongolia) Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage Site (Norway) Rock Art in the Hail Region (Saudi Arabia). Singapore Botanical Gardens (Singapore). Ephesus (Turkey). Diyarbakir Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape (Turkey). Fray Bentos Cultural-Industrial Landscape (Uruguay). The Forth Bridge (United Kingdom). San Antonio Missions (United States).

41. eMudhra Limited, a leading certifying firm in the country for digital signatures launched first of its kind eSign services in the country as part of the Digital India Vision. eSign is an online electronic signature service legally valid and secure under the Information Technology Act, 2000. It will facilitate an Aadhaar holder to digitally sign a document within seconds.

42. Union government has appointed Sriram Kalyanaraman as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of National Housing Bank (NHB) for a period of five years. With this he became the first person from private sector to be appointed as head of a public sector financial institution. Presently, Kalyanaraman is director-business development Equifax Credit Information Services. Prior to joining Equifax, he was Director, Business Clients and Asset Products at Deutsche Bank India. About National Housing Bank (NHB) NHB is apex regulator for housing finance sector and a wholly owned subsidiary of Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Established: in 1988 under the National Housing Bank Act, 1987. It is a principal agency to promote housing finance institutions at local and regional levels. It also provides financial and other support to institutions related to this sector. Function: Register, regulate and supervise Housing Finance Company (HFCs) and keep surveillance on them through On-site & Off-site Mechanisms. It also co-ordinates with other Regulators.

43. Vadodara district of Gujarat and China’s Xinjinag province has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the development of twin cities. It was signed between Vadodara Municipal Corporation and Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture of Xinjinag Uygur Autonomous Region in Mumbai. The MoU aims to enhance Infrastructure growth and development between the two regions. Mutual cooperation in economic, technological, scientific and cultural strengths between both cities. People-to-people exchanges fostering greater mutual understanding. The MoU was signed in the presence of Mayor of Vadodara and the Governor of Changji state Ma Xiongcheng along with five ministers.

44. India and Kazakhstan have signed five agreements in various sectors focusing on strategic, economic and trade cooperation between both nations. The agreements were signed in Astana after delegation level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Kazakh President Nur Sultan Nazar. Signed agreements are Agreement on Defence and Military: Both nations will form joint working group (JWG) on counter terrorism, defence training, exercise and production of defence equipment. MoU on Cooperation on Physical Cultural and Sports: It was signed between India’s Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Culture and Sports. MoU on Technical Cooperation in the field of Railways: It was signed between India’s Ministry of Railways and Kazakhstan Temir Zholy. Agreement on Transfer of Sentenced Persons: It will facilitate swapping to prisoners from both countries to serve their remaining sentence in home country. Agreement on supply of Uranium to India: Kazakhstan the world’s largest producer of uranium will supply a total of 5,000 tonnes of the natural uranium to India during the 2015-19. Thus it will play important role in India’s energy requirement and energy security. Apart from signing these agreements, India has also shown interest in Fertilizer sector in Kazakhstan due to abundance availability of Natural Gas. Hydro carbon sectors of Kazakhstan for drilling and production of crude oil.

45. Union home ministry has declared entire Nagaland state as a ‘disturbed area’ for one year period with an immediate effect from June 30, 2015. The state was declared as “disturbed” area under Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958. With this declaration the armed forces get powers to search, raid and arrest anyone without a warrant. This decision was taken after Naga rebel outfit, Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland- Khaplang (NSCN-K) had ambushed on Indian Army convoy killing 18 Army personnel in in Chandel district of Manipur in June 2015. Indian Army had retaliated this attack with cross-border surgical strikes against NSCN(K) and allied outfits in Myanmar region near Indian border. Union government also has initiated the process to reimpose ban on NSCN(K) under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967. This ban will help the security establishment to crack down upon the outlawed elements and also freeze their assets and properties.

46. Union Government has decided to develop all villages located within 10 kilometres vicinity of the international border on a priority basis. It was decided by the Union Home Ministry in consultation with Ministries of Rural Development, Sports, Health and Human Resources Development. These villages will be developed under the Border Area Development Programme (BADP) with special emphasis on promotion of sports activities and rural tourism. Key facts The funds under BADP for this initiative will be provided to the states as a 100 per cent non-lapsable special central assistance. It will be supplemented from the budgetary allocation of Rs. 990 crore for the financial year 2015-16. The development of villages under BADP will include schemes such as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Promotion of sports activities in border areas. Skill Development Programmes along with promotion of rural tourism (i.e. border tourism) and protection of heritage sites. It will also cover construction of helipads in remote and inaccessible hilly areas, which do not have road connectivity, skill development training to farmers for use of modern or scientific technique in farming, organic farming etc. Border Area Development Programme (BADP) It has been implemented in 367 border blocks of 104 border districts in 17 states. Objective: To meet special developmental needs and well-being of the people living in remote and inaccessible areas situated near the IB. It also seeks to saturate the border areas with the entire essential infrastructure through convergence of Union, state, BADP, local schemes and participatory approach.

47. World Bank has ranked the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act (MGNREGA) as the world’s largest public works programme. It was revealed in recently released World Bank Group’s report titled ‘The State of Social Safety Nets 2015‘. Report Highlights MGNREGA (under Ministry of Rural Development) provides social security net to 182 million beneficiaries i.e. almost 15 per cent of the India’s population. Mid-day meal scheme (under Ministry of Human Resource Development) has been classified as biggest school feeding programme. It benefits around 105 million beneficiaries. Janani Suraksha Yojna (Under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) is top-most social security programme with conditional cash transfers. It has 78 million beneficiaries. Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (under Ministry of Rural Development) is the second-largest unconditional cash transfer social security progamme in the world. Five middle-income countries running the world’s largest social safety net programmes are India, China, South Africa and Ethiopia. The combined spending of 120 developing countries on social safety nets amounted to about 329 billion dollars from 2010 to 2014. There is need to improve the efficiency of social safety net programmes such as social and beneficiary registries by strengthening individual countries capacity to target, administer, integrate and evaluate social protection programmes.

48. India and Kazakhstan launched the first exploratory drilling at Satpayev oil block owned by India’s ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) and Kazakhstan company KazMunaiGaz. It was jointly launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kazakhstan premier Karim Massimov in Astana, Kazakh capital.

49. Union Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MoEFCC) held a meeting with 6 states in New Delhi to review the progress of demarcation of Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESA) along the Western Ghats region. The crucial meeting discussed the progress made by states to physically demarcate ESA in this region in order to decide the further course of action in the ambit of recommendations made by Kasturirangan Committee report (2013). The meeting was chaired by Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar and was attained by environment Ministers of six States viz. Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat. Key facts of meeting

50. Pune’s prestigious Fergusson College, has been accorded the special heritage status by the University Grants Commission (UGC). With the status, UGC will provide financial assistance for its upkeep. Now the college is among the 19 institutions in the country to get the heritage status.

51. Supreme Court issued notices to the Union Government, Election Commission of India (ECI) on a plea to bring all political parties under the ambit of Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005. The notice was also issued to six National Political Parties viz. BJP, Congress, CPI, BSP, CPI (M) and NCP. It was issued by 3 member SC bench headed by Chief Justice HL Dattu on the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by an NGO, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The bench comprised of Justice Arun Kumar Mishra and Justice Amitava Roy . In the PIL, the NGO had sought Transparency and accountability in functioning of political parties. Political parties should be more transparent in their working and accountable towards citizens as they play an important role in the formation of government, policy decisions and enactment of laws. Compulsion on the political parties to declare all donations below 20,000 rupees. The petition was filed in SC after the Central Information Commission (CIC) failed to bring the National Political Parties as Public Authority under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act. Earlier. CIC in its detailed order had declared that the Political Parties are public authorities and hence should disclose the information under RTI Act.

52. World Boxing Organization (WBO) has stripped of the Welterweight World title 2015 won by Floyd Mayweather in May 2015. Decision in this regard was taken by WBO after Mayweather failed to pay the 200,000 dollar sanctioning fee to WBO prior to the deadline of 3 July 2015. As per WBO rules, boxers are required to pay 3 per cent of their purse to fight for a world title which at maximum accounts for 200,000 dollars. The rules also prohibit WBO champions to hold any belts in any other weight divisions.

53. Eminent Ecologist Kamal Bawa has been elected as Fellow to the London based prestigious Royal Society. He was chosen in recognition of his pioneering contributions in the field of conservation science. With this, he joins former and current eminent fellows of Royal Society such as Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, Stephen Hawking etc.

54. United States (US) won the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. It is overall third world cup title of US. In the World Cup final match played at Vancouver, Canada US defeated Japan by 5-2 goals score. US captain and skipper Carli Lloyd scored three goals. Lauren Holiday and Tobin Heath scored one goal each. 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Awards Golden Ball Award: Carli Lloyd (US), Amandine Henry (France), Aya Miyama (Japan). Golden Boot Award: Celia Sasic (Germany), Carli Lloyd (US), Anja Mittag (Germany). Golden Glove Award: Hope Solo (US). Young Player Award: Kadeisha Buchanan (Canada). Fair Play Award: France. About Women’s FIFA World Cup Established: 1991 (61 years after the men’s first FIFA World Cup held in 1930). Played every 4 years amongst women’s national football teams of the member states of FIFA. After it establishment it was known as Women’s World Cup tournament. Most wins: United States for 3 times (1991, 1999 and 2015), followed by Germany 2 times (2003, 2007).

55. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) prohibited the foreign direct investment (FDI) in manufacturing of tobacco products. In this regard, RBI has issued a notification which prohibits the manufacturing of tobacco products activities such as wholesale cash and carry, retail trading as they fall under the sectoral restrictions. This prohibition will be in case of manufacturing of cigars, cigarillos, cheroots and cigarettes of tobacco or of tobacco substitutes. Henceforth with this FDI restriction, other activities related to these products will be governed by the sectoral restrictions laid down in the FDI policy. It should be noted that the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), under the aegis of Union Commerce Ministry has framed these guidelines on this sectoral restrictions.

56. Defending champions India have retained the South Asian Basketball Championship (SABA) title. It was the 4th edition of the Championships. In the final match of played at Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, Karnataka they defeated Sri Lanka by 93-44 score. With this win India qualified for the FIBA Asia Championship which will be hosted by China in September 2015. Results of SABA title 2015: India (gold), Sri Lanka (silver) and Nepal (bronze). About SABA Championship It is basketball tournaments organized by the South Asia Basketball Association (SABA) in which national teams of 6 countries participate. Established: 2002 This tournament serves as a qualifier for various International Basketball Federation (FIBA) events such as the FIBA Asia Championship and the FIBA Asia Cup. Most wins: India has won it 3 times in 2002, 2014 and 2015.

57. Union Government released the first ever Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) after 80 years on the lines of the 1931 census. It was released by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi. The SECC findings reflect the state of poverty and deprivation as well as crucial social trends in rural India such as ownership of assets, marital status, gender dynamics educational and employment in rural India. According to the census There are 24.39 crore total number of households in the country, of which 17.91 crore live in villages. Of these, 10.69 crore households are considered as deprived. 50 percent or 5.37 crore deprived households in rural areas are landless and depends on manual labour for livelihood. House hold size: Average size of a rural Indian household is 4.93. Highest in Uttar Pradesh at 6.26. Lowest in Andhra Pradesh at 3.86. Male dominance: majority of 87 per cent households is male-headed. Nearly 13 per cent do have a female head. In rural areas of Rajasthan, around 91 per cent households are headed by men. In Kerala 26 per cent are women-headed households (highest among the states). Literacy: Over one-third of population living in rural areas is illiterate. Higher literacy in terms of percentage is in Kerala (88.62), Delhi (86.42), Goa (84.58), Sikkim (79.88) and Himachal Pradesh (77.95). Lowest literacy is in Rajasthan (58), Madhya Pradesh (44.19), Bihar (43.85), Telangana (40.42) and Chattisgarh (39.59). SC and ST Population:Large proportion of the households across the country belong to the SC and ST category i.e. about 30 per cent of rural households. Employment: Rural India is largely self-employed or employed in the unorganised sector. Around 10 per cent households are on salaried jobs of which the majority are in government jobs.

58. Mahindra Defence Systems Limited, a subsidiary of Mahindra Group and Airbus Helicopter have inked pact to form a joint venture (JV) company to produce helicopters in India. In this regard, both entities have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to form a joint venture. The tie-up will bid for defence contracts in India under the Union government’s flagship ‘Make in India’ programme. It will also help to develop an indigenous industrial ecosystem dedicated to helicopters especially for defence purpose.

59. Nationwide mobile number portability (MNP) has become operational from 3 July 2015. It became operational after major private mobile operators like Vodafone, RCom, Airtel, Uninor and Idea Cellular along with state-run BSNL and MTNL issued statements to launch MNP. The operationalisation of nationwide MNP will allow customers to keep their existing mobile phone numbers while shifting between States and circles by changing operators. Prior to this, customers were only able to change their operator by retaining the same number only in the same state or telecom circle. Thus this move lays the first foundation stone for the Union government’s ambitious ‘One nation, One number’ plan. Background In November 2014, Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had approved the national MNP recommendations of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). TRAI had set the deadline to rollout full MNP on May 2, 2015. However it was extended on the request Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) by two months till July. Fact: MNP within a circle or state was first launched in Haryana in November 2010 and later was expanded to other circles. At present India is divided into 22 telecom service areas or circles.

60. The Guinness Book of World Records has recognised a record created in Madhya Pradesh on ‘World Hand washing Day’ in 2014. The mega hand washing event was held on 15 October 2014 to create awareness about hygiene by washing hands with soap. It was organised in all the 51 districts of Madhya Pradesh in over 13 thousand places. In it more than 12 lakh 78 thousand students had washed their hand simultaneously. This record broke the earlier the world record which was jointly held by Argentina, Peru and Mexico. The joint record in three countries was created on October 14, 2011 in which 7,40,870 people had washed their hands simultaneously at different locations.

61. State run telecom giant Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) launched pre-paid card linked mobile wallet service ‘Speed Pay’. It was launched by Union Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in New Delhi. This service was launched by BSNL has launched the service in partnership with IT company Pyro. Features of Speed Pay Allows BSNL customer to transfer money, pay for services and withdraw cash of up to 1 lakh rupees. It also allows its customers to load money even if they are not having a bank account. Money loaded in this wallet can be transferred to a bank account and can be withdrawn at any BSNL outlets or bank branches. BSNL Buzz serive BSNL also launched another entertainment service named BSNL Buzz in partnership with Celltick. Under this service, BSNL customer can subscribe to various contents like news, jokes, contest using smartphone. It will be delivered on basis of location information services in seven languages. They are Hindi, Bengali, English, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu.