September-2015 [ Final]

8/17/2019 September-2015 [ Final]

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M EER PET

206B, 2nd Floor,

Pancom Business Centre,Opp. Chennai Shopping Mall,

Ameerpet, Hyd.–500 016

: 92468 88376

D. S. N. R .

Opp. Kalaniketan,

Beside Pulla Reddy Sweets,Near Sri Gayatri Jr. College,Dilsukhnagar, Hyd.–500 036

: 92468 88377

K . P. H. B .

Road No. 2, 3rd Floor,

Above Kotak Mahendra ATM,Near R.S. Brothers,

K. P. H. B., Hyd.–500 072

: 92468 88378

SECUNDERABAD

1st Floor, West Block,Archana Arcade,

Opp. Rethifile Bus station,

Sec-bad, Hyd. – 500 003

: 92468 88379

B I D S

Opp. Chermas,Lenaine Estate, 9/A-Block A,

3rd Floor, Next to SBH Office

Abids, Hyd. – 500 001

: 92468 88381

K U R N O O L

T.J. Shopping Mall,Opp. S.V. Complex,

2nd Floor, Near S.B.I. Circle

R.S. Road, Kurnool.

: 99087 65138


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INDIAN SCHOOL OF BANKING 2 GENERAL AWARENESS

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RBI relaxed Branch Authorisation Policy to allow banks to merge or close branches

in urban areas

On 6th August 2015, Section 23 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 – Relaxations inBranch Authorisation Policy was notified by Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This will givethe authority to banks at their own discretion to shift, merge or close branches, in urbanareas.The central bank said that “customers of the branch should be informed well intime before actual shifting, merger or closure of the office”.

India & World Bank signed agreement with NCRMP-II On 11th August 2015, to support the second phase of the National Cyclone Risk

Mitigation Program (NCRMP-II) an agreement of 308.40 million US dollar was signedbetween World Bank and Union Government. State Governments of Goa, Gujarat,Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, and West Bengal also signed the agreement. On behalfof the World Bank, John Blomquist, Program Leader and Acting Country Director inIndia and Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs on behalf of theUnion Government signed the agreement.

India imposed Anti-dumping duty on potassium carbonate imports from Taiwan, South

Korea

India has imposed definitive anti-dumping duty for period of five years on Potassium

Carbonate imports from Taiwan and South Korea. The duty was imposed by UnionFinance Ministry based on the recommendations of the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping Duty (DGAD) that works under the aegis of Union Commerce Ministry. Thismove was taken following the findings of Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC)which concluded that Potassium Carbonate imports from Taiwan are entering in theIndian market at dumped prices. The revenue department has imposed anti-dumpingduty of 153 US dollar per tonne on Potassium Carbonate imports from Taiwan and 9.45US dollar per tonne in case of imports from UNID Co Ltd, and 123.86 US dollar pertonne from all other exports from South Korea.

ICICI Bank launched ‘Smart Vault’ digital locker facility

ICICI Bank on 18 August 2015 launched a new digital initiative called Smart Vault. SmartVault is India’s first automated locker facility with high-end robotic technology. It waslaunched by Managing Director (MD) and CEO of ICICI Bank, Chanda Kochhar in NewDelhi. In this digital initiative, robotic technology is used to access the lockers from thesafe vault.

RBI grants approval to 11 applicants to set up payments bank

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted in-principle approval to 11 payment bankapplicants under the Guidelines for Licensing of Payments Banks. A payment bankdiffers from conventional banks as it cannot lend to its customers. It is allowed to takedeposits, allow remittances and provide simple financial products. RBI had received 41

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applications for payments banks of which 11 were given permissions., the applicantswho have been granted permission for payment banks include Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited,Airtel M Commerce Services Limited, Cholamandalam Distribution Services Limited,

Department of Posts, Fino PayTech Limited, National Securities Depository Limited,Reliance Industries Limited, Tech Mahindra Limited, Vodafone m-pesa Limited amongothers. The minimum capital needed to set up a payments bank is set at Rs 100 crore.The bank will be allowed to accept savings deposits of up to Rs 1 lakh from eachcustomer. RBI’s ‘in-principle’ nod will be valid for a period of 18 months. The paymentbank will need to invest 75 percent of its funds in government securities.

Bandhan, first micro finance company to start operation as a commercial bank

Bandhan Bank has become the first micro-finance company in India to start operationas full-fledged scheduled commercial bank. The banking system were inaugurated byUnion Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Kolkata on 23 August 2015.Bandhan along withIDFC (Infrastructure Development Finance Company) were granted banking licenses

in 2014 by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Indian Bank launched “IndPay” mobile app service

Indian Bank launched the IndPay mobile app on 30th August 2015 for their customers.Using this app their customers can operate their banking accounts anytime andanywhere. IndPay can be operated through smartphones compatible with Android,Windows and iOS mobile operating systems. Customers can do transactions likeenquiries, getting mini statements and transferring funds to any account.

Union Government signed historic peace accord with NSCN (I-M)

Union Government on 3 August 2015 signed a landmark peace accord with the NationalSocialist Council of Nagaland Isak-Muivah (NSCN (I-M)), putting an end to almost twodecades long pending peace talks. The signing of the pact is the end of over 80 roundsof negotiations that spanned 16 years with first breakthrough in 1997 when ceasefireagreement was sealed. The accord was signed at the Prime Minister’s official residence7 RCR, New Delhi in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home MinisterRajnath Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, the NSCN (IM) leader ThuingalengMuivah, and government’s interlocutor for Naga peace talks RN Ravi.RN Ravi inkedthe document on behalf of the Union government, while NSCN (IM) chairman Isak ChishiSwu and general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah were the signatories on behalf of theNaga organisation.

193 UN members reach agreement on New Sustainable Development Agenda

On 3 August 2015 United Nations 193 member states have reached an agreement onthe outcome document New Sustainable Development Agenda for the next 15 years i.e.till 2030. The new agenda draft document called “Transforming our World: The 2030Agenda for Sustainable Development” was built on the success of the MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs). The draft agreement outlines 17 non-binding goals with169 specific targets that comprise different socio-economic issues. These goals willsucceed 8 MDGs which was adopted in 2000. It has broader sustainability agendadealing with ‘five Ps’ people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership.

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Ministry of Rural Development launches SAMANVAY portal

Rural Development Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh launched SAMANVAY on 4August 2015.SAMANVAY will compile all schemes of both the Centre and state

governments at the gram panchayat level.It will help the MPs to utilise relevant schemesto plan and implement Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY).More than 1800 stateschemes across India have been documented in SAMANVAY.

Haryana Government launches Thari Pension, Thare Pass project

Haryana Government launched Thari Pension, Thare Pass project to directly transferpension into the bank accounts of beneficiaries. The project was launched by ChiefMinister Manohar Lal Khattar in Chandigarh. This project has been launched in the viewof bringing more transparency in disbursement of social security pensions for Old age,Handicapped and Widows. The programme provides facility to pensioner of tracing theiraccount online to know the balance in his or her account. It is being implemented bystate government’s Social Justice and Empowerment Department and has been under-

taken by Team Kalyankarini of the department. Delhi High Court Amendment Bill, 2015 approved by Parliament

On 5th August 2015, Delhi High Court Amendment Bill, 2015 was passed. It was passedin Lok Sabha by a voice vote on 5th June 2015 and in May 2015 it was passed in RajyaSabha.In order to minimize the workload of the Delhi High Court, the Bill seeks to modifythe Delhi High Court Act, 1966.

India and Myanmar inked agreement to set up CESDT in Myanmar

India and Myanmar on 6 August 2015 inked an agreement to set up Centre of Excellencein Software Development and Training (CESDT) in Myanmar. The project to be set upwith the financial support through ASEAN-India Cooperation fund will be implementedby C-DAC. The agreement was signed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia during the visit of

Minister of State for External Affairs of India Gen (Retd) VK Singh. Singh was in Malaysiato attend the ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers’ Meet. Under the chairmanship of Ministerof Foreign Affairs of Malaysia, Anifah Aman, the 48th ASEAN (Association of SoutheastAsian Nations) Foreign Ministers meet was held in Kuala Lumpur. “Our People, OurCommunity, Our Vision” was the theme for the meet.

Tripura assembly passes resolution against death penalty

Tripura Assembly passed a resolution on 7 August 2015 to request the Union Governmentto amend Section 302 of the IPC to abolish capital punishment. The resolution is apparentlyfallout of recent hanging of Yakub Memon, prime accused in Mumbai serial blasts. CongressMLA Jitendra Sarkar moved a motion in the assembly in its opening day on 7 August 2015against death penalty and asked to replace it with life sentence unto death.

Mysore tops in Swachh Bharat rankings

Mysore in Karnataka has topped the Swachh Bharat rankings of 476 cities in the countrybased on the extent of open defecation and solid waste management practices. Mysoreleads the pack with minimal open defecation and extensive adoption of solid wastemanagement practices, followed by Tiruchi (Tamil Nadu), Navi Mumbai, Kochi (Kerala),Hassan, Mandya and Bengaluru from Karnataka, Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala), Halisahar(West Bengal) and Gangtok (Sikkim) in that order. Among the top 100 cities, 39 citieswere from the South, 27 from the East, 15 from the West, 12 from the North and 7 fromthe North–Eastern States


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Union Government launched School Nursery Yojana

On 10 August 2015 Union Government launched the School Nursery Yojana, an initiativeto bring students closer to nature. The Yojana seeks to engage class VI to IX in raising

of saplings in nurseries created in schools. The Yojana was launched by UnionEnvironment Minister Prakash Javadekar in New Delhi. The underlying theme of theYojana is to plant a tree for sustainable future and to make the nation clean and green.

Kochi became first Indian city to join World Tourism Cities Federation Council

Kochi on 10 August 2015 became the first Indian city to be a member of Beijingheadquartered World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) Council and join its league ofleading tourism cities across the world. The invitation to Kochi to be the member of thecouncil was sent to Kerala Tourism Department by WTCF, which was formally acceptedby the department. The membership acceptance document was handed over to ChineseAmbassador to India Le Yucheng by the Kochi Mayor Tony Chammany.

Union Cabinet approves MoU between India, Nepal for construction of petroleum

pipeline The Union Cabinet has approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between

India and Nepal for construction of petroleum products pipeline from Raxaul (Bihar) inIndia to Amlekhgunj in Nepal. The MoU seeks to promote bilateral cooperation in the oiland gas sector between both neighbouring countries and secure long term supply ofpetroleum products to Nepal. Raxaul-Amlekhgunj petroleum pipeline: In the first phase itwill be constructed by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on behalf of Indian Government at acost of 200 crore rupees. IOC will be also engaged in re-engineering and construction ofthe Amlekhgunj Depot and allied facilities.

Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore has highest number of e-toilets

Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh has gained the unique distinction of becoming the

first district in the country with the highest number of e-toilets (461) in its schools. Kerala-based Eram Scientific Solutions, the sole manufacturers of e-toilets (electronic toilets)in the country, has deployed these automated and self-cleaning e-toilets in 411 schoolsin Nellore as part of the corporate social responsibility initiatives of Tata ConsultancyServices. The school model e-toilet “e-Lite143 has automatic floor wash system,automatic ceiling light, exhaust fan, in-built sensors to conserve electricity and water,and an overhead water tank. It works on both solar and electric grid and is priced atRs.1 lakh. It also has a one-year warranty and insurance coverage.

Kerala state govt declares state as Digital State

On 15th August 2015, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy during his IndependenceDay speech declared state totally digital, thus becoming first state in the country to

achieve this milestone. This declaration was made considering the rapid digital stridesof the state which has achieved 100 percent mobile connectivity, maximum digitalbanking, 75 percent e-literacy, broadband connectivity upto the Panchayat level, linkingbank accounts with Aadhar cards and e-district plan in all districts.

India, Bangladesh ink MoU to fight fake currency

India and Bangladesh have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for fullcooperation to tackle the menace of fake Indian currency notes (FICN) smuggling. TheMoU was signed at a maiden meeting of the Joint Task Force on Fake Currency Notes(JTFFC) in Dhaka held on 12 and 13 August, 2015.


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Government Approves Pact with Seychelles to Curb Black Money

To check black money generation, the government on 20 August 2015 approved signingand ratification of the agreement between India and Seychelles for exchange of information

with respect to taxes. The agreement will stimulate the information exchange betweenIndia and Seychelles for tax purposes, which will help curb tax evasion and avoidance.The decision was taken in the Cabinet meeting headed by Prime Minister NarendraModi. The agreement will enable the competent authorities of India and Seychelles toprovide assistance through the exchange of information that is foreseeably relevant tothe administration and enforcement of the domestic laws of two countries concerningtaxes. Information received under the agreement shall be treated as confidential andmay be disclosed only to persons or authorities (including courts or administrative bodies)concerned with assessment, collection, enforcement, prosecution or determination ofappeals, in relation to taxes covered under the agreement.

Gujarat to become 1st state to launch ‘agro-solar policy’

’Agro-solar policy’ is to be launched in Gujarat, making it the first state in India to do so.Under this policy, the farmers will have to tap energy from the sun. This will help themearn additional income from power generation companies. According to officials in GujaratEnergy Research and Management Institute, farmers and power generation companieswill be in a win-win situation with generation of solar energy in agricultural fields.

Union Government launched ‘Sehat’ to provide healthcare facilities in rural areas

In order to provide healthcare facilities in rural areas, government of India launched a

telemedicine initiative “Sehat” on 25 August 2015.It is to be conducted in collaboration

with Apollo Hospitals. The initiative was launched by Union Communication and IT

Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. Under this facility people can consult doctors through

video link and also order generic drugs. It will also help in providing quality and affordable

healthcare, which is one of the emerging need for citizens in rural areas.

India inks 5 pact with Seychelles

On 26 August 2015,India has inked an information exchange agreement on tax matters

with Seychelles in order to curb tax evasion and boost its efforts to fight against black

money. The other four agreements are:

• Air Services Agreement: It will enable more and easier connections between both

nations and help to expand cooperation in space, weather forecasting and disaster

management, marine resources and fisheries advisory.

• MoU to provide one Dornier Maritime Aircraft: India will gift Seychelles one Dornier

Maritime Aircraft for maritime security.

• MoU for Cooperation in agricultural research and education: It was signed betweenIndian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Seychelles Agricultural Agency.

• Protocol on framework of cooperation in the field of Blue Economy

India, Egypt ink two MoUs for Cooperation in Tourism, Scientific and TechnicalCooperation

India and Egypt have signed two Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) in the field of

Tourism, Scientific and Technical on 26 August 2015.These MoUs were signed during

the visit of Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to Egypt in Egypt.


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Delhi’s Aurangzeb Road to be renamed APJ Abdul Kalam Road

Aurangzeb Road in Lutyen’s Delhi will soon be known as APJ Abdul Kalam Road withthe New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) on 28 August 2015 giving its nod in this regard.

There were requests from certain sections of the society for changing the name of theroad as a tribute to the former President. The matter was placed before the council onAugust 28th which unanimously gave a go ahead for the same. NDMC is the final authorityand no further statutory clearance is required for the renaming.

Centre identifies 305 cities, towns for implementing ‘Housing for All’ scheme

Central government has identified 305 cities and towns across nine states forimplementation of its ambitious ‘Housing for All’ scheme.305 cities and towns have beenidentified in nine states for beginning of construction of houses for the urban poor underthe scheme. The selected cities and towns are in Chhattisgarh (36 cities/towns), Gujarat(30), Jammu and Kashmir (19), Jharkhand (15), Kerala (15), Madhya Pradesh (74),Odisha (42), Rajasthan (40) and Telangana (34).The government has set the target to

provide houses to two crore families belonging to the economically weaker section (EWS)in urban areas by 2022.

Union Cabinet approves proposal to sign agreement with UNESCO

Union Cabinet gave its nod to a proposal to sign an agreement with UNESCO forestablishment of a Centre for World Natural Heritage Management and Training for Asia-Pacific region. This centre will be established as a category-2 centre (C2C) of the UNbody at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. By signing thisagreement WII Dehradun will be first existing institute to be accorded recognition by

UNESCO. It will be also the first institute to get natural heritage recognition by UNESCOas currently there are 9 C2C institutes related to cultural heritage. It should be noted thatthis agreement has been mooted by the Union Environment Ministry.

UNP led UNFGG coalition won the Sri Lanka Parliamentary Elections 2015

United National Party (UNP) led United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG)coalition on 18 August 2015 won Parliamentary elections of Sri Lanka held on 17 August2015. It won 106 seats. But it failed to secure absolute majority in the Parliament of 225members. Leader of the UNFGG and UNP and current Prime Minister RanilWickremesinghe is expected to form a new government with the support of 95 MPs ofUnited People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) loyal to President Maithripala Sirisena.

Bangladesh became first country to receive funds from UN for Solar Home Systems

Bangladesh became the first country to receive funds from the United Nations (UN) forits fast growing solar home systems. The UN Framework Convention for Climate Change(UNFCCC) issued 395286 carbon credits worth 3.56 million US Dollar to two Bangladeshiorganisations. Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (IDCOL) and Grameen Shaktiare the two organisations that won the carbon credits. The UNFCCC has issued 212482carbon credits to the IDCOL and 182804 credits to Grameen Shakti.

South, North Korea reach agreement to defuse crisis

North Korea and South Korea reached an accord to diffuse military tensions betweenthe two countries on 25 August 2015. Further, both the countries also agreed to take

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measures to improve bilateral relations. The agreement was reached at the border villageof Panmunjom after the inter-Korean high-level meeting that took place between 22 Augustand 24 August 2015.Historically, Panmunjom assumed significance as the Koreas agreed

to the 1953 ceasefire at this village that stopped fighting in the Korean War. The tensionsbetween the two countries were trigged by land mining explosions on 4 August 2015along the South Korean part of the border that injured two South Korean military personnel.

The World Has a New Longest Tunnel

Switzerland is now officially home to the longest railway tunnel in the world: the 35-mile-long NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel. Construction has wrapped up, and passengers willsoon be able to travel from Zurich to Milan in just under three hours—an hour less thanthe previous travel time, according to a previous feature in the Telegraph. They’ll do sowhile riding at 150mph under the Swiss Alps. The tunnel is more than twice the length ofthe world’s previous longest tunnel: the 14.5-mile Seikan Tunnel in Japan, BusinessInsider notes. Construction on the $10.3 billion project started in 1996.

Vassiliki Thanou sworn in as first female Prime Minister of Greece Greece’s Supreme Court chief justice, Vassiliki Thanou, was sworn in as the nation’s

first female prime minister on 27 August 2015 and will head a caretaker governmentahead of early elections called for next month after leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsiprasresigned.

Pakistan’s nuclear stockpile could become world’s third largest by 2025

Pakistan is on course of having about 350 nuclear weapons in about a decade, theworld’s third-largest stockpile after the US and Russia and twice that of India, two majorAmerican think-tanks said on 27 August 2015.”In the next five to 10 years, Pakistancould have a nuclear arsenal not only twice the size of India’s but also larger than thoseof the United Kingdom, China, and France, giving it the third-largest arsenal behind the

United States and Russia,” said a report by two renowned scholars Tom Dalton andMichael Krepon.

Pakistan bans Islamic State militant group

Pakistan has banned the Islamic State militant group that has captured vast stretchesof Iraq and Syria although Pakistan has been repeatedly denying the dreaded outfit’spresence within its territory. The decision was taken on recommendation of the ForeignOffice, which regularly updates the Pakistan government about international militantgroups banned by the United Nations.

Ganga Ram Agarwal Appointed as new Railway Board Secretary

Ganga Ram Agarwal, an officer of Indian Railway Services of Electrical Engineering(IRSEE) has been appointed as the new Secretary of the Railway Board. He was anofficer of Indian Railway Services of Electrical Engineering (IRSEE).

Ram Kovind, Acharya Vrat appointed as Governors of Bihar, Himachal Pradesh

On 8 August 2015 senior BJP leader Ram Nath Kovind and Acharya Dev Vrat wereappointed as Governors of poll-bound Bihar and Himachal Pradesh respectively. 69-year-old Kovind, who had been a two-time Rajya Sabha member between 1994 and

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2006. West Bengal Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi was holding additional charge of Bihar.Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh was holding the additional charge of Himachal Pradesh.The appointments will take effect from the dates the incumbents assume charge of their

respective offices. India-born Sundar Pichai appointed the new CEO of Google

On 11 August 2015 Sundar Pichai was appointed chief executive of Google, after thecompany’s founders announced plans to restructure its operations under the Alphabetparent company. Google has announced a major restructuring, that will see the internetgiant separate its core business from its ambitious research divisions, and launch anew parent company called Alphabet. As part of the restructure, Larry Page will becomechief executive of Alphabet, Sergey Brin will become president, Eric Schmidt will becomeexecutive chairman, and Sundar Pichai, who previously oversaw many of the searchcompany’s core products, will become chief executive of Google – which will incorporatesearch, web advertising, Gmail, YouTube, Chrome and Android.

Acharya Dev Vrat sworn-in as Governor of Himachal Pradesh Acharya Dev Vrat was sworn-in as the Governor of the Himachal Pradesh on 12 August

2015 at the Raj Bhawan in Shimla. He is 27th Governor of this state. Chief Justice ofHimachal Pradesh High Court, Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir administered him the oathof office and secrecy. He replaced Kalyan Singh, who was given the additional chargeof Himachal Pradesh Governor on 28 January 2015 after Urmila Singh completed herterm as Governor in the state on 25 January 2015.Acharya Dev Vrat (55), a notededucationist, took his oath in Sanskrit language. Before being made the governor, hewas the Principal of Gurukul University Kurukshetra, Haryana.

Om Prakash Rawat appointed as the new Election Commissioner of India

President Pranab Mukherjee on 13 August 2015 appointed Om Prakash Rawat as the

Election Commissioner of India. Rawat is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officerof the 1977 batch from Madhya Pradesh cadre. He continued in this post till December

2018.In 1993, he had served as a Director in the Defence Ministry. He has also served

as Principal Secretary to then Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh to Babu Lal Gaur from

2004 and 2006. He also had served as Secretary at Department of Public Enterprises in

the Ministry of Heavy Industries from 2012 till December 2014 when he retired.

Ram Nath Kovind sworn in as new Governor of Bihar

Former Rajya Sabha member and a dalit leader Ram Nath Kovind was sworn in as new

governor of Bihar on 15 August 2015. Acting chief justice of Patna high court Iqbal

Ahmad Ansari administered oath to Kovind as the 36th governor of Bihar at a function at

Raj Bhawan. Kovind, two term Rajya Sabha member and chief of BJP SC&ST wingearlier from Uttar Pradesh.

Olympic champion Sebastian Coe elected IAAF president

Britain’s Sebastian Coe was elected as new International Association of Athletics

Federation (IAAF) president at the 50th IAAF Congress in Beijing on 19 August 2015.Coe,

a former Conservative Party lawmaker and a member of the House of Lords, a two-time

Olympic 1,500-metre champion and chief organiser of the 2012 London Olympics, beat

Ukrainian pole vault great Sergei Bubka and won the vote 115-92 in the IAAF election

held on the eve of the world championships in Beijing.


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Ranil Wickramasinghe sworn-in as new Prime Minister of Sri Lanka

National Leader of the United National Party Ranil Wickramasinghe was sworn-in as

new Prime Minister of Sri Lanka before President Maithripala Sirisena at the Presidential

Secretariat on 20 August 2015.A memorandum of understanding between the GeneralSecretary of SLFP, Duminda Dissanayake, and General Secretary of the UNP, Kabir

Hashim, was also signed to work together in the 8th Parliament. This was the fourth

time Wickramasinghe was sworn-in as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. The

Wickramasinghe-led coalition won 106 seats in the recently concluded general election,

just seven seats short of a simple majority in the 225-member Parliament.

Kumar Sangakkara appointed Sri Lanka’s ambassador to the UK

Sri Lankan Cricketer Kumar Sangakkara appointed Sri Lanka’s ambassador to the UK

on 24 August 2015. He played his last match against India as part of three match test

series held in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Sania Mirza gets Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, 17 Others Arjuna Awards

India’s ace Tennis player Sania Mirza has received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

2015, while 17 others were given the Arjuna Awards. Sania recently became the first

Indian woman to achieve the World No.1 spot in Doubles. She also won the Wimbledon

Open Women’s Doubles title along with Swiss Martina Hingis.

List of Arjuna Awardees:

P R Sreejesh (Hockey), Dipa Karmakar (Gymnastics), Jitu Rai (Shooting), Sandeep

Kumar (Archery), Mandeep Jangra (Boxing), Babita (Wrestling), Bajrang (Wrestling),Rohit Sharma (Cricket), K Srikanth (Badminton), Swarn Singh Virk (Rowing), Satish

Sivalingam (Weightlifting), Yumnam Santhoi Devi (Wushu), Sharath Gaekwad (Para-

sailing), M R Poovamma (Athletics), Manjeet Chhillar (Kabaddi), Abhilasha Mhatre

(Kabaddi), Anup Kumar Yama (Rollerskating).

Envoy to Singapore Receives ‘Asian of the Year 20142 Award on Behalf of PM Modi

India’s High Commissioner to Singapore, Vijay Singh Thakur on 21 August 2015 received

‘Asian of the Year 20142 award by leading Singapore daily The Straits Times, on behalf

of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr Modi was given the award in December last year

for putting focus on India’s development and getting the world “excited” about the

prospects of the country again.

Celkon Mobiles Get Make in India Award for Excellence – 2015

Celkon Mobiles is a leading Indian smart phone player, and in a major initiative from the

“Make in India” movement has inaugurated its first State-of-the- Art manufacturing facility

in Hyderabad on the 11th of June 2015 with four production lines and eventually enhanced

its capacity to higher levels. To appreciate commitment of Celkon Mobiles, Government

of India has honored this company with “Make in India Award for Excellence – 2015” in

Telecom Gadgets category. This award was received by Mr. Divya Gupta, Vice-

President of Celkon Mobiles.

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Syrian woman Journalist Zaina Erhaim wins 2015 Peter Mackler Award

A Syria-based woman journalist Zaina Erhaim has won the prestigious 2015 Peter MacklerAward for Courageous and Ethical Journalism. She was bestowed with this award for her efforts

to train citizen reporters in her war-ravaged country. She has trained about 100 citizen reporters(third of them are women) from inside Syria over the last two years. She also has helpedin establishing new, independent newspapers and magazines in the war-torn country.Presently, Erhaim lives and works in Aleppo, Syria and will be presented with this awardat a ceremony to be held at the National Press Club in Washington in late October 2015.

Government announced Dronacharya, Dhyan Chand, Rashtriya Khel Protsahan

Puruskar awards 2015

On 25 August 2015, Union Government announced the names of recipients of DronacharyaAwards, Dhyan Chand Awards and Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar for year the 2015.

Dronacharya Award 2015 :

• Naval Singh – Athletics Para-sports coach.

• Anoop Singh – Wrestling coach.

• Harbans Singh – Athletics coach.

• Swatantar Raj Singh – Boxing coach.

• Nihar Ameen – Swimming coach.

Dhyan Chand Award 2015 :

• Romeo James – Hockey.

• Shiv Prakash Mishra – Tennis.

• P.P Nair – Volleyball.

Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar 2015 :

• Directorate General of Military Training (DGMT) – for identifying and nurturing ofyoung talent in sports.

• Coal India Limited (CIL) – for encouraging sports through Corporate Social Responsibility.

• Haryana State Police – For employing sportspersons and sports welfare measures.

Sports Coaching Foundation (SCF) – For development of sports.

India’s First Harbour Defence System Commissioned In Kochi

India’s first Integrated Underwater Harbour Defence and Surveillance System (IUHDSS)was commissioned in Kochi, Kerala. First of its kind system in the country is part of

initiatives to strengthen and beef up coastal security in the western coastline. ISRO and NASA Jointly Working On NISAR mission

ISRO and NASA are jointly working on the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar(NISAR) mission to codevelop and launch a dual frequency synthetic aperture radarsatellite. The NISAR mission is a dual frequency (L & S Band) Radar Imaging Satellite.In this joint mission,JPL/ NASA will be responsible for design & development of L-bandSAR, 12m unfurlable antenna, GPS system and data recorder. ISRO will be responsiblefor design & development of S-band SAR, Spacecraft Bus, data transmission system,Spacecraft integration & testing, launch using GSLV and on-orbit operations.

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CERN formally confers its Associate Membership to Pakistan

Pakistan was formally conferred Associate Membership status by EuropeanOrganisation for Nuclear Research (also known as CERN). The membership was granted

after Pakistan formally completed the required internal ratification process. With this,Pakistan became the first Asian country to become member of CERN.

MAST operationalised at Udaipur Solar Observatory On 5th August 2015, a telescope for the detailed study of the solar activity including its

magnetic field, named as Multi Application Solar Telescope (MAST) was made operationalat the Udaipur Solar Observatory (USO) of Physical Research Laboratory (PRL).MASTis an off-axis Gregorian-Coude telescope with a 50 cm aperture. MAST, built by Mechanicaland Optical Systems (AMOS) of Belgium, was tested by USO for onsite acceptance.

A Global Satellite ‘GlobalSat’ for DRR Dedicated to APJ Abdul Kalam As a tribute to the vision of the celebrated rocket scientist and former Indian president

Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, “GlobalSat”, a global satellite for earth observation and disaster

risk reduction has been dedicated to the former Indian President. The global satellitehas been proposed under the UN framework. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has died on July27.This has been stated by Milind Pimprikar, Chairman of CANEUS (CANada-Europe-US-ASia) Organization on Space Technologies for Societal Applications headquarteredin Montreal, Canada. Founded in 1999, CANEUS serves to develop a common platformfor space technology solutions for natural and man-made disaster management.

NASA spacecraft finds neon gas in Moon’s atmosphere A NASA spacecraft has confirmed for the first time that the Moon’s thin atmosphere

contains neon, a gas commonly used in electric signs on Earth because of its intenseglow. This was published in the Geophysical Research Letters by Benna, lead author ofa paper describing observations from Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer(LADEE)’s Neutral Mass Spectrometer (NMS) instrument .

GSLV-D6 successfully launches communication satellite GSAT-6

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on 27 August 2015, successfullylaunched the Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) D6 which carried India’slatest communication satellite GSAT-6 .It was from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at thespaceport of Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

South Sudan becomes IOC 206th member South Sudan will compete at Rio 2016 Olympics after becoming the 206th member of

the International Olympic Committee. The IOC unanimously approved the inclusion of

the African republic, which became independent in 2011. And the country is now free tocompete at next year’s summer Olympics under its own flag.

Indian women’s team won silver in World Archery Championship Indian women’s recurve archery team of Deepika Kumari, Laxmirani Majhi and Rimil

Buriuly won silver at the World Archery Championships in Denmark on 2 August 2015.Inthe final match of World Championship they lost to Russia by 4-5 score. The winningRussian women’s team included trio of Ksenia Perova, Inna Stepanova and TuyanaDashidorzhieva. While, Indian archer Rajat Chauhan has won silver medal in the WorldArchery Championships in the compound category. It was India’s first-ever individualmedal in the World Archery Championships.

SPORTS


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Joshna Chinappa won squash title in Victorian Open WSA

Indian champion Joshna Chinappa won the women’s squash title in the 15000 US DollarVictorian Open WSA Event in Melbourne, Australia on 2 August 2015. In the final match,

Chinappa defeated second seed Line Hansen of Denmark 11-5, 11-4, 11-9. This wastenth WSA title for 28-year-old Joshna, the last being the Richmond Open title win inApril 2014.

The title in the men’s section went to Ryan Cuskelly of Australia who defeated GregLobban of Scotland 12-10, 13-11, 11-9.

FIFA World Rankings released for August Edition

On 6th August 2015, FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings was released for the Augustedition. Argentina got first rank and is followed by Belgium at second rank (moved up 1)and Germany at third rank (moved down 1).

In the August edition of the FIFA rankings is that for the first time Chile entered top tenbeing at the tenth rank whereas the Netherlands moved out of top ten being at the 12th

position. India is at 156th position with 161 points in FIFA World rankings. Badminton World Championship 2015: Saina Nehwal won silver medal

Defending champion Carolina Marin Martin of Spain on 16 August 2015 won the WorldBadminton Championship 2015 in women’s single category held at Jakarta, Indonesia.In the final match she defeated India’s Saina Nehwal. This is the second time CarolinaMarin had won this championship. Earlier she had won it in 2014 becoming first Spanishwomen player to win this prestigious title. Saina Nehwal is first Indian women badmintonplayer to reach finals of Badminton World Championship. In the semifinal match she haddefeated Indonesian player Lindaweni Fanetria.

Andy Murray won Rogers Cup Masters Tournament 2015

Men’s Section : Andy Murray of Great Britain won Rogers Cup Masters Tournament2015 also known as the Canada Masters. In the final match played at Montreal, Canadahe defeated world number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia by 6-4,4-6,6-3 score. It wasMurray’s overall 11th Masters Title and first victory against the world number 1 sinceWimbledon final of 2013.

Women’s Section : Belinda Bencic of Switzerland lifted her maiden Canadian OpenMasters title after world number two Simona Halep retired hurt. The match ended 7-6,6-7, 3-0. It was Belinda’s second career title. She had, in the semi-finals, outplayedworld number one Serena Williams.

Lewis Hamilton won the Belgian Grand Prix 2015

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the Belgian Grand Prix 2015.In the final matchheld on 23 August 2015,Lewis Hamilton got first place and Mercedes teammate NicoRosberg got 2nd place. In this race Force India driver Sergio Perez got 5th place.

Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkara retired from International Test Cricket

Former captain of Sri Lanaka cricket team, Kumar Sangakkara retired from Interna-tional Test Cricket on 24 August 2015. He played his last match against India as part ofthree match test series held in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Sangakkara had already takenretirement from One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty-20 cricket. In his Test matchcareer he scored 38 centuries and 52 half-centuries from 134 matches. He is the firstbatsman to score hundreds in three consecutive World Cup matches. He created thisrecord in 2015 ICC World Cup.


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Usain Bolt won 200 meter title at 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt won the 200 meter title at the 2015 World Championshipsin Athletics held on 27 August 2015 at Beijing in China. Bolt completed the race in 19.55

seconds surpassing his American rival Justin Gatlin who completed the race in 19.74seconds. This is the fourth consecutive title for Usain Bolt. Earlier, on 23 August 2015,he also won the 100 metre gold against the same rival Justin Gatlin.

Indian women’s hockey team qualifies for Rio Olympics 2016

The Indian women’s hockey team on 29 August 2015 qualified for the next OlympicGames, after a long gap of 36 years, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Itqualified after England defeated Spain in the semi-finals of the Euro HockeyChampionships in London, which means that the only teams which can now win theevent – Netherlands or England – have already qualified for Rio through the World LeagueSemi-Finals. The Indian team required these two teams to reach the final of the EuropeanChampionships in order to confirm their qualification. India took the quota place on the

basis of its fifth-place finish in the women’s Hockey World League Semifinals in Antwerp,Belgium last month. Indian women’s team now join nine other teams, who have alreadyqualified for 2016 Rio Games — Korea as Asian Games champions, Argentina as PanAm Games champions and Great Britain, China, Germany, Netherlands, Australia, NewZealand and the USA through the Hockey World League Semi-Finals.

Colonel Harwant Singh (Retd), World War-II hero passes away

Retired Colonel Harwant Singh, a World War-II veteran and hero passed away in Patiala,Punjab on 4 August 2015. He was 95. He was commissioned in 2nd battalion of the Sikh

Regiment of then British Army in September 1941. During the World War (WW)-II hehad served in Palestine, North Africa, Iraq, Cyprus and Italy for the British Army. In1944, he was awarded with the Military Cross (highest award of the British Army) forgallantry during an offensive against the German forces on the Gothic Line in Italy.During the first Independence Day celebration of 1947, he was officer in charge of theflag-hoisting ceremony held at Princess Park on August 15 and Red Fort on August 16.

Freedom fighter Kayyara Kinhanna Rai passed away

Eminent Kannada poet and freedom fighter Kayyara Kinhanna Rai passed away on 9August 2015 at Badiyadkka in Kasaragod district of Kerala. He was 101. He was anauthor, poet, journalist and Indian independence activist. He was forefront in the movementof merging the Kannada-speaking region of the Chandragiri river (Kasaragod district)

with Karnataka in order to fulfill its linguistic and development aspirations after the 1957States Re-organisation. For this cause, he had founded Kasaragod Vileenekarana KriyaSamiti.

Om Prakash Munjal, founder of Hero Cycles, dead

Om Prakash Munjal, Co-Chairman of Hero Cycles Ltd and a leading industrialist passedaway in Ludhiana on 13 August 2015.He also known as ‘Cycle Man’ of India. Om Prakashwas born on 26 August 1928 in Kamalia, Punjab (then British India). Later, he shifted toAmritsar in 1944 to start a bicycle spare parts business with his three brothers andbegan the complete manufacturing of bicycle under brand name Hero.

OBITUARIES


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First National Handloom Day To Be Celebrated On 7 August The Union government has decided to declare 7th August as National Handloom Day

every year beginning from this year 2015, throughout the country. The first NationalHandloom Day will be launched by the Prime Minister in Chennai on 7th August, 2015.The Sant Kabir Awards and National Awards for the years 2012, 2013 and 2014 will beawarded and a new ‘India Handloom’ brand for better market positioning of qualityhandloom products would be launched on this occasion. Observance of this day aimsat development of handloom weavers in the country. It also seeks to promote genuine,global quality handloom in international market. August 7 was chosen to mark launchday Swadeshi Movement which was officially proclaimed on 7 August, 1905. It wasproclaimed after the passage of Boycott Resolution in a massive meeting held in Calcutta

Town hall. Swadeshi movement was proclaimed to boycott British products and revivedomestic products and production processes.

India has 1866 registered political parties: EC

According to the Commission, as on July 24, there are 1866 political parties which areregistered with it. Out of these, 56 are recognised as registered national or state parties,while the rest are “unrecognised, registered” parties.

Amitabh Bachchan to become Maharashtra’s ‘Tiger Ambassador’

Actor Amitabh Bachchan has agreed to become the state ambassador for the ‘Save theTiger’ campaign and promote tiger tourism. The actor sent a formal letter to the stategovernment on 10 August 2015 accepting its proposal and invite, Forest Minister SudhirMungantiwar said. On July 29, Mungantiwar had written to Bachchan and cricketer

Sachin Tendulkar requesting them to act as brand ambassadors for the stategovernment’s ambitious tiger conservation projects.

Azim Premji and Shiv Nadar among the Top 20 Forbes’ tech billionaires list

According to Forbes’ tech billionaires list, there are just two Indians in the top 100. They areAzim Premji of Wipro and Shiv Nadar of HCL Technologies. The list is completely dominatedby the US, from where 51 names figure in the list. The list includes Mark Zuckerberg ofFacebook and Jeff Bezos of Amazon. China has 20 names in it. Bill Gates of Microsoft topsthe list with a net worth of $79.6 billion. Larry Ellison of Oracle with a fortune of $50 billioncomes the distant second and Bezos ($47.8 billion) of Amazon the third.

The Top Ten Tech Billionaires :

NameBill Gates

Larry Ellison

Mark Zuckerberg

Larry Page

Sergey Brin

Jack Ma

Steve Ballmer

Laurene Powell Jobs

Company Net WorthMicrosoft

Oracle

Facebook

Google

Google

Alibaba

Microsoft

Disney

Company Net Worth$79.6 Billion

$50 Billion

$41.2 Billion

$33.4 Billion

$32.8 Billion

$23.2 Billion

$21.5 Billion

$19.5 Billion

MISCELLANEOUS


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Taj Mahal becomes first monument in world to have Twitter account The iconic Mughal monument Taj Mahal became the first historical monuments in the

world to have a Twitter account of its own. The monument’s official Twitter handle@TajMahal was launched by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on eve of69th Independence Day in Lucknow on 15 August 2015.

Housing.com acquired HomeBuy360 Real estate listing portal Housing.com has acquired Bengaluru-based HomeBuy360, a

customer relationship management software company, for $2 million or Rs 13 crore.The cloud-based a sales lifecycle management platform connects developers, agentsand buyers and streamlines the entire sales lifecycle, by tracking inventory, managingcustomer relations and in effect drives efficiencies in their sale operations.

Summit of India-Pacific Island nations held on Aug 21 in Jaipur The 2nd Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) Summit, was hosted by

India in Jaipur on 21 August 2015.This was inagurated by Prime Minister NarendraModi. The objective of summit is to strengthen trade and bilateral relations betweenIndia and the Pacific countries. The island nations which taking part in the FIPIC summit

include Cook Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Nauru, Kiribati, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Samoa,Niue, Palau, Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

Japanese Yasutaro Koide received the Guinness World Records as a world’s oldest man Japanese Yasutaro Koide on 21st August 2015, received the Guinness World Records

certificate as he is formally recognized as the world’s oldest man. He was 112 years.He lives in a nursing home in Nagoya, in central Japan. He born in 13th March 1903.

Most Deaths Caused by Smokeless Tobacco in India More than a quarter of a million people in the world die each year from using smokeless

tobacco, and India bears three-fourths of the burden. In India, around 2.5 lakh people dieevery year due to consumption of smokeless tobacco. Nearly 85 percent of the totalburden attributable to smokeless tobacco (SLT) use was in South-East Asia, with Indiaalone accounting for 74 percent of the global burden, followed by Bangladesh (five percent).

Union Government released a Postal stamp on emperor Ashoka On 24th August 2015, Union Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad released acommemorative postal stamp of 5 rupees on emperor Ashoka during a Bharatiya JanataParty function to celebrate the birth anniversary of Ashoka.

National Sports Day observed on August 29th Every year August 29 is being observed as National Sports Day across the country.

The day marks the birth anniversary of Hockey Wizard, Major Dhyan Chand. On thisNational Sports awards including Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Awards andDronacharya Awards are bestowed upon sports personalities by the President of India.

August 6 : Anti-Nuclear Day / Hiroshima Day August 8 : World Senior Citizen’s Day

August 9 : Nagasaki Day and Quit India Day August 12 : International Youth Day August 15 : Indian Independence Day August 18 : International Day of the World’s Indigenous People. August 19 : World Humanitarian Day and World Photography Day August 20 : Sadbhavana Divas. August 29 : National Sports Day August 30 : Small Industry Day.

IMPORTANT DATES

September-2015 [ Final]

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