July 2013 Current Affairs Study Material INTERNATIONAL Croatia Joins The EU as 28th Member State On 1 July Croatia

became the 28th member of the European nion!"t is the first addition since #ul$aria and %omania &oined E in 200'!Croatia formally applied for E membership in 2003! International Assistance Force In Mali Transforme into UN Force On 1 July A ne( nited )ations peace*eepin$ mission for insur$ent+affected Mali (as launched on 1 July !,he pre-ious African+led "nternational Support Mission in Mali .A/"SMA0 has been transformed to the ) Multidimensional "nte$rated Stabili1ation Mission in Mali .M") SMA0!,he transfer of authority from the forces of the African+led "nternational Support Mission in Mali .A/"SMA0 to the ) Multidimensional "nte$rated Stabili1ation Mission in Mali .M") SMA0 too* place durin$ a ceremony in #ama*o2 capital of the 3est African country! !a"istan # China Si$ne 8 A$reements On 4 July 5a*istan and China si$ned ei$ht documents of cooperation in -arious areas of economy 2 for furtherin$ already stron$ economic and technical ties bet(een t(o friendly countries!,he first pact si$ned pertained to the buildin$ of a lon$ term pro&ect .5a*+China Economic Corridor0 a 2006M tunnel (hich (ill be built at a cost of 718 billion!,hese a$reements and Mo (ere si$ned in the presence of 5rime Minister )a(a1 Sharif and Chinese 5remier 8i 6e9ain$!/ederal Minister for 5lannin$ and :e-elopment Ahsan "9bal si$ned the pact from the 5a*istani side (hile Chairman )ational :e-elopment and %eforms Commission of 5%C2 ;u Shao Shi in*ed the pact from the Chinese side! %a&em El'(ebla)i Name As Ne) E$*+tian !rime Minister On < July =a1em el #ebla(i a liberal economist and E$ypt s former finance minister (as named as the ne( 5rime Minister of E$ypt by the "nterim 5resident Adly Mansour!El+#ebla(i is a foundin$ member of the E$yptian Social :emocratic 5arty2 Al Ahram!=e has also ser-ed as the undersecretary+$eneral at the nited )ations bet(een 1<<4 and 2000!

Tai)an an Ne) ,ealan Si$ne Free Tra e A$reement On 10 July )e( >ealand si$ned a free trade a$reement (ith ,ai(an!,(o+(ay trade is (orth 1!? billion )e( >ealand dollars . S71!2 billion0 annually2 (ith )e( >ealand e@portin$ mainly a$ricultural products li*e mil* and ,ai(an shippin$ lar$ely electronics!,ai(an is )e( >ealandAs 12th lar$est tradin$ partner2 (ith bilateral trade totallin$ about 7120!' million! France an S)it&erlan Si$ne Ne) Inheritance Ta- A$reement On 11 July /rance and S(it1erland ha-e si$ned an a$reement on inheritance ta@ as part of an amended double ta@ation a$reement! 5aris hopes (ill help it brin$ in more money! nder the a$reement inheritances (ould be ta@ed based on (here the recipient resides2 not (here the deceased li-ed2 as used to be the case! (h.tan/s O++osition !art* 0ins !arliamentar* Elections On 1B July #hutanAs Election Commission formally announced that the 5eopleAs :emocratic 5arty .5:50 (on the )ational Assembly elections by ha-in$ secured a ma&ority of thirty t(o seats!,he :ru* 5huensum ,sho$pa .:5,0 (on fifteen seats and (as elected as the opposition party!5:5 leader ,sherin$ ,ob$ay is li*ely to be named prime minister of the ne( $o-ernment! (an$la esh !asses Labo.r 1Amen ment2 (ill 2345 On 14 July the #an$ladesh 5arliament passed C#an$ladesh 8abour .Amendment0 #ill 2013D aimed to protect the interest and ri$hts of the (or*ers and ensurin$ their safety!,he ne( la( has seen amendments to a total of 8' sections of the 8abor Act 200?! (ritain/s 6.een Eli&abeth II Si$ne (ill Le$ali&in$ 7a* Marria$e On 1' July #ritain has le$ali1ed $ay marria$e after Eueen Eli1abeth "" $a-e her royal stamp of appro-al!,he 9ueenAs appro-al (as a formality!#ritain became the 14th country to le$ali1e $ay marria$e after a bill cleared 5arliament and Eueen Eli1abeth "" si$ned off on the la(! Iran an Ira8 Si$ne 7as E-+ort A$reement On 21 July "ran has si$ned an a$reement to e@port $as to "ra92 (orth 3!' billion dollars a year!,he a$reement (as si$ned in the "ra9i capital of #a$hdad by "ranAs Oil Minister %ostam Easemi and his "ra9i counterpart2 Abdul 6areem 8uaibi!

EU 9eclare %e&bollah/s Militar* 0in$ As Terrorist Or$ani&ation On 22 July ,he European nion .E 0 declared the military (in$ of =e1bollah a terrorist or$ani1ation!,he E As 28 forei$n ministers reached the decision unanimously at their meetin$!,he "ranian+bac*ed $roup plays a ma&or role in 8ebanese politics and has dominated the $o-ernment since 2011!,he blac*listin$ (ould mean imposin$ -isa bans on indi-iduals and asset free1es on or$ani1ations associated (ith the $roup! Thirt* Meter Telesco+e !artners Si$ne A$reement On 2? July ,he partners buildin$ the (orldAs lar$est and most ad-anced optical telescope at Mauna 6eaAs summit ha-e si$ned an a$reement layin$ the foundation for the telescopeAs operation!Mauna 6ea is a -olcano on the island of =a(aii!,he ,hirty Meter ,elescope pro&ect representati-es from partnerin$ institutions in the !S!2 Canada2 China2 "ndia and Japan si$ned the document!,he a$reement defines pro&ect $oals2 member party ri$hts2 obli$ations and benefits! "t also establishes a $o-ernance structure!,he telescope is a partnership of the Association of Canadian ni-ersities for %esearch in Astronomy2 the California "nstitute of ,echnolo$y2 the )ational Astronomical Obser-atory of Japan2 institutions in "ndia2 a consortium of Chinese institutions and the ni-ersity of California! Liberals: Smaller Tribes 0in Seats In ;.)ait/s !arliamentar* Elections On 2' July 8iberals and candidates from some of 6u(aitAs more mar$inalised tribes ha-e (on seats in a parliament !,he ballot (as the si@th since 200? in the ma&or oil producer2 (here political uphea-al and bureaucracy ha-e held up the -ast ma&ority of pro&ects in a 30+billion+dinar .?8 billion pounds0 economic de-elopment plan announced in 2010!6u(ait has the most open political system in the Fulf Arab re$ion but parliaments ha-e been repeatedly dissol-ed o-er procedural disputes or for challen$in$ the $o-ernment in (hich members of the rulin$ Al+Sabah family hold top posts!Shiites G estimated at 20+30 percent of the population G (on &ust ei$ht seats in the 40+member parliament compared to 1' in the last election in :ecember2 after Sunnis in their districts ramped up a campai$n to (in seats! M*anmar # China 7as !i+eline Starts To 9eli<er 7as To China On 28 July Myanmar+China natural $as pipeline .Myanmar section0 (as inau$urated in northern MyanmarAs Mandalay and started to deli-er $as to

China!,he $as pipeline stretches for '<3 *ilometers onshore (ithin MyanmarAs territory (ith si@ processin$ stations2 (hile the crude oil pipeline2 (hich is nearin$ completion2 starts from Made "sland and e@tends onshore for ''1 *ilometers! Re+.blican T.r"ish !art* 0ins T.r"ish C*+riot !arliamentar* Elections On 2< July the centre+left %epublican ,ur*ish 5arty .C,50 emer$ed as the (inner on in the ,ur*ish Cypriot parliamentary elections2 but came short of (innin$ an outri$ht ma&ority!,he C,5 (on 38!B< per cent of the -ote and 21 seats in the 40+ seat 5arliament of the brea*a(ay ,ur*ish %epublic of )orthern Cyprus2 results sho(ed!,he nationalist )ational nity 5arty . #50 (on 2'!1? per cent and 1B seats and the centre+ri$ht :emocratic 5arty .:50 too* 23!1 per cent of the -ote and 12 seats!,he centre+left Communal :emocracy 5arty .,:50 (on '!B1 per cent of the -ote and three seats!,he C,5 (ill no( need to form a coalition $o-ernment!,he election (as called a year early after the Fo-ernment of 5rime Minister "rsen 6ucu*2 in po(er since 200<!Cyprus has been di-ided into a ,ur*ish northern part and a Free* south since a ,ur*ish in-asion in July 1<'B! Mamnoon %.ssain Electe As !a"istan/s Ne) !resi ent On 30 July 5a*istan Muslim 8ea$ue+)a(a1As .5M8+)0 nominee Mamnoon =ussain (as elected as the 12th 5resident of 5a*istan!=ussain emer$ed as a clear (inner in the contest (ith e@+&ud$e 3a&ihuddin Ahmed of 5a*istan ,ehree*+i+ "nsaf party 2 headed by cric*eter+turned politician "mran 6han!Mamnoon =ussain has secured B32 -otes (hereas &ustice 3a&ihuddin .Ahmed0 secures '' -otes!,he presidential office of 5a*istan (ill be -acated on 8 September 2013 by the incumbent Asif Ali >ardari2 as his term of 4 years ended!Mamnoon =ussain (ill be administered the oath of the office on < September 2013! Mamnoon =ussain (as born on 2 March 1<B0 in A$ra2 "ndia!=e is the te@tile businessman as (ell as politician of 5a*istan!=e mi$rated to 5a*istan from "ndia in 1<4B! Irelan !resi ent Si$ne The Abortion (ill In To La) On 31 July "reland 5resident Michael :! =i$$ins has si$ned the abortion bill into la(! ,he bill2 o-er(helmin$ly passed by both houses of the "rish parliament on 12 July 20132 permits abortions only in cases (here doctors deem the (omanAs life at ris* from continued pre$nancy! IN9IA = 0ORL9

In ia Ran"s >>th On ?7lobal Inno<ation In e- ? On 2 July "ndia ran*ed ??th in the Flobal "nno-ation "nde@ 20132 published by Cornell ni-ersity2 ")SEA:2 3orld "ntellectual 5roperty Or$ani1ation .3"5O0 and Confederation of "ndian "ndustry .C""0 as a *no(led$e partner!S(it1erland and S(eden maintained ran* 1 and 2 respecti-ely ,he study ran*ed 1B2 economies across the (orld on their inno-ation capacity and efficiency! In ia an Ma.riti.s Si$ne @ MoUs On 4 July "ndia and Mauritius si$ned 4 Mo s .Memorandum of understandin$0!,he 4 Mo s are si$ned in the presence of the nion Minister of Commerce H "ndustry Shri Anand Sharma and Mr! Sayyad Abd+Al+Cader Sayed =ossen2 Minister of "ndustry2 Mauritius2 in 5ort 8ouis!/i-e institutional le-el Mo s (ere si$ned to ta*e the partnership for(ard! ,hese areI J Mo bet(een Apparel E@port 5romotion Council .AE5C0 and Enterprise Mauritius .EM0 J Mo bet(een )orthern "ndia ,e@tile %esearch Association .)",%A0 and Mauritius Standards #ureau J Mo bet(een )",%A and )ational 5roducti-ity and Competiti-e Council .)5CC0 of Mauritius J Mo bet(een Clothin$ Manufacturers Association of "ndia .CMA"0 and Mauritius E@port Association .ME;A0K and J Mo bet(een "nstitute of Apparel Mana$ement ."AM0 and /ashion and :esi$n "nstitute of Mauritius ./:"0 UN Millenni.m 9e<elo+ment 7oals Re+ort 2345 On 4 July Accordin$ to the ) Millennium :e-elopment Foals %eport 20132 the (orld has reached the po-erty reduction tar$et fi-e years ahead of schedule! "n de-elopin$ re$ions2 the proportion of people li-in$ on less than 71!24 a day fell from B' per cent in 1<<0 to 22 per cent in 2010! E@treme po-erty is also fallin$ in e-ery re$ion!)e-ertheless2 the $ender $ap in employment persists2 (ith a 2B!8 percenta$e point difference bet(een men and (omen in the employment+to+ population ratio in 2012! In ia: Albania Si$ne A$reement For A<oi ance Of 9o.ble Ta-ation On 8 July "ndia and Albania si$ned an a$reement for a-oidance of double ta@ation and the pre-ention of fiscal e-asion (ith respect to ta@es on income and on

capital!,he a$reement (as si$ned by Ms Sudha Sharma2 chairperson2 Central #oard of :irect ,a@es .C#:,02 and Mr /atos 6erci*u2 Ambassador2 %epublic of Albania! In ia: Ira8 Si$ne A$reement To Enhance Co'o+eration In Ener$* Sector On 8 July "ndia and "ra9 si$ned a a$reement to enhance co+operation in ener$y security2 bilateral trade H commerce2 infrastructure de-elopment amon$ others!,he a$reement (as si$ned bet(een the nion 5etroleum Minister Leerappa Moily and his counterpart from "ra92 Abdul 6arim 8uaibi at the end of the "ndia+"ra9 Joint Commission on technical co+operation in #a$hdad! In ia: SriLan"a = Mal i<es Si$ne Tri+artite Maritime Sec.rit* A$reement On 8 July "ndia2 Sri 8an*a and the Maldi-es ha-e entered into a tripartite a$reement on maritime cooperation to secure sea routes in the "ndian Ocean re$ion at the end of the Meetin$ on ,rilateral Cooperation on Maritime Security!,he a$reement (as reached by all on the importance of raisin$ the maritime cooperation bet(een the three countries in the current conte@t of maritime security en-ironment in the "ndian Ocean re$ion! In ia # Tan&ania Si$ne A$reements On (ilateral Coo+eration On < July "ndia and ,an1ania ha-e si$ned a$reements on bilateral cooperation in se-eral sectors2 includin$ a$riculture2 health and education2 mines and minerals!All the a$reements (ere si$ned bet(een the nion Minister of State for E@ternal Affairs2 5reneet 6aur and the ,an1anian Minister for /orei$n Affairs and "nternational Cooperation2 #ernard 6! Membe at :ar es Salaam! 4@th In ia # Aietnam Joint Commission Meetin$ On 11 July "ndia and Lietnam held 14th Joint commission meetin$ in )e( :elhi!,he meetin$ (as co+chaired on the LietnamAs side /orei$n Minister 5ham #inh Minh and on the "ndian side by "ndiaAs E@ternal Affairs Minister Salman 6hurshid !"n the meetin$ both nations discussed the stren$thenin$ of strate$ic partnership (hich included an e@chan$e of a co+operati-e a$enda on bilateral relations!At the end of the meetin$2 both nations si$ned the A$reed Minutes of the JCM and (itnessed the si$nin$ of an A$reement on the S71<!4 million 8OC for settin$ up )am ,rai+"L hydropo(er pro&ect and #inh #o 5umpin$ station by CM:2 E@im #an* and the Lietnam Lice Minister of /inance!

In ia: Ni$eria Si$ne Solar !o)er !lant A$reement On 22 July "ndia and )i$eria ha-e si$ned an a$reement to locate sites for solar po(er plants in )i$er state!,he a$reement (ill pro-ide additional ener$y for )i$eriaAs national $rid!,he a$reement (as si$ned bet(een )i$eriaAs permanent secretary in the Ministry of 5o(er Fod*no(s "$ali and the secretary to the Fo-ernment of "ndia2 Sutanu #ehuria! In ia: (elar.s Si$ne !rotocol To Enhance Tra e Ties On 2B July 2013 "ndia and #elarus si$ned a protocol to enhance trade ties durin$ the si@th session of the "nter+Fo-ernmental Commission on ,rade2 Economic2 Scientific2 ,echnolo$ical and Cultural Cooperation held in )e( :elhi!,he session (as co+chaired from the "ndian Side by :r! E!M! Sudarsana )atchiappan2 Minister of State for Commerce and "ndustry2 and :mitry S! 6aterinich2 Minister of "ndustry of the %epublic of #elarus! In ia an France %ol Tal"s On Militar* Coo+eration On 2? July "ndia and /rance discussed their on$oin$ military cooperation includin$ the pro$ress o-er %s 402000 crore 12? multirole combat aircraft deal durin$ the defence minister+le-el tal*s in )e(:elhi!,he t(o sides are also holdin$ ne$otiations for a %s 302000+crore pro&ect for co+de-elopin$ the Maitri surface+to+ air missile defence system!"n a &oint statement issued after the deliberations bet(een defence minister A 6 Antony and his /rench counterpart Jean+M-es 8e :rian2 they a$reed that such cooperation should continue to be pro$ressed to the mutual benefit of both countries2 includin$ in hi$h technolo$y areas in-ol-in$ &oint research and de-elopment and transfer of technolo$y! In ia an Af$hanistan Si$ne MoUs for S9! scheme +roBects On 30 July "ndia and Af$hanistan ha-e si$ned memoranda of understandin$ .Mo s0 in 6abul for implementin$ ?0 pro&ects in ten Af$han pro-inces under the Small :e-elopment 5ro&ects .S:50 scheme!,he Mo s si$ned by Af$han Minister of Economy Abdul =adi Ar$handi(al and "ndian Ambassador Amar Sinha in 6abul are related to the third phase of the S:5 scheme and (ill be completed in the ne@t four years! NATIONAL

7o<ernment Anno.nce National C*ber Sec.rit* !olic* On 2 July the nion Fo-ernment of "ndia announced the )ational Cyber Security 5olicy (ith an aim to protect information and build capabilities to pre-ent cyber attac*s! ,he )ational Cyber Security 5olicy 2013 to safe$uard both physical and business assets of the country!,his policy aims at facilitatin$ creation of secure computin$ en-ironment and enablin$ ade9uate trust and confidence in electronic transactions and also $uidin$ sta*eholdersA actions for protection of cyber space!,he )ational Cyber 5olicy in order to create a secure cyber ecosystem has planned to set+up a )ational )odal A$ency to coordinate all matters related to cyber security in the country! !resi ent !ranab M."herBee Si$ne Or inance On Foo Sec.rit* On 4 July 5resident 5ranab Mu*her&ee si$ned the ordinance on food security 2(hich see*s to $i-e le$al ri$hts to ?' per cent of the population o-er subsidised $rains e-ery month!)o(2 (ith the presidential consent2 the bill (ill be presented before the 5arliament (hen it con-enes for the Monsoon Session!,he Fo-ernment had issued the ordinance to $i-e nationAs t(o+third population the ri$ht to $et 4 *$s of food$rains e-ery month at hi$hly subsidised rates of 1+3 %upees per *$ amid political opposition! 9istrict R.ral 9e<elo+ment A$enc* 9isban e On < July the nion $o-ernment announced disbandin$ of the %ural :e-elopment A$ency .:%:A02 the body (hich loo*s after implementation of anti+po-erty pro$rammes of %ural :e-elopment Ministry!,he a$ency (ill no( be rechristened and it (ill perform its role under 1ila parishads2 the local elected bodies at the district le-el!,he :istrict %ural :e-elopment A$encies .:%:As0 (ere set up as independent societies in 1<80 and since then ha-e been principal or$ans at the district le-el to o-ersee the implementation of the ministryAs anti+po-erty pro$rammes! Cabinet A++ro<e For A<iation: 0omen Aarsities In Raebareli On 11 July the nion cabinet has appro-ed t(o uni-ersities for %aebareli2 the parliamentary constituency of Con$ress president Sonia Fandhi in ttar 5radesh!%aebareli (ill $et the first e-er all+(omen uni-ersity and first national a-iation uni-ersity in the country!)ational ni-ersity for 3omen in ttar 5radesh by the name of N,he "ndira Fandhi )ational ni-ersity for 3omenO!,his (ill be

the first uni-ersity of the country to be established e@clusi-ely for (omen!,he cost in-ol-ed is %s!400 crore!)ational A-iation ni-ersity .)A 0 in the name of N%a&i- Fandhi )ational A-iation ni-ersity O at the :istrict of %ae #areli in the State of !5! as a Central ni-ersity!,he C%a&i- Fandhi )ational A-iation ni-ersityC (ill be established as a Central ni-ersity and as an autonomous body under the administrati-e control of Ministry of Ci-il A-iation in %ae #areli :istrict of !5! (ith an estimated Central Fo-ernmentAs fundin$ of %s! 202 crore in 12th 5lan period!#oth uni-ersities bills (ill be introduced in the comin$ Monsoon Session of 5arliament! 7o<t A++ro<e To Re+lace 97CA 0ith Ci<il A<iation A.thorit* On 11 July ,he $o-ernment cleared a proposal to replace :irectorate Feneral of Ci-il A-iation.:FCA0 (ith a ne( a-iation re$ulator (ith full operational and financial autonomy!,he ne( re$ulatory body (ould be called the Ci-il A-iation Authority .CAA0 and it (ould replace the :FCA!,he estimated cost of establishin$ the ne( Authority (ould be o-er %s 110 crore! Free Me ical Treatment For !re$nant 0omen On 1? July nion =ealth Minister Fhulam )abi A1ad announced the $o-ernment (ill pro-ide free pre+natal health care and ambulance facilities to pre$nant (omen across the country ! nder the Janani Sura*sha Mo&na .JSM0 scheme2 pre$nant (omen are pro-ided free medical treatment durin$ the deli-ery and post natal care!5re$nant (omen (ill be $i-en Nfree medical and ambulance facilitiesO from conception to deli-ery! ,hey (ill also be able to a-ail free consultation from doctors at $o-ernment hospitals for B4 days from deli-ery and infants (ill be $i-en free treatment at the hospitals for one year! In ian Tele$ram Ser<ice Sto++e ,he 1?3+year old tele$ram ser-ice in the country ends on 1B July!Started in 1840 on an e@perimental basis bet(een 6o*lata and :iamond =arbour2 it (as opened for use by the #ritish East "ndia Company in 1841and it (as opened to the public in 184B!3ithin a short time of #S)8 handlin$ tele$ram ser-ices in 1<<0s2 the 5S had a rift (ith the :epartment of 5osts follo(in$ (hich tele$rams (ere accepted as phono$rams from -arious -illa$es and other centres from telephone consumers!

(en$al.r. International Air+ort Rename as C;em+e$o) a International Air+ortD On 1' July the nion Cabinet $a-e its appro-al for renamin$ #en$aluru "nternational Airport as N6empe$o(da "nternational AirportO to fulfill the lon$ pendin$ demand of the people of 6arnata*a2 as (ell as the State Fo-ernment of 6arnata*a!=iriya 6empe$o(da2 *no(n as 6empe$o(da (as a ruler under the Li&ayana$ar Empire2 (ho ruled most parts of 6arnata*a durin$ the si@teenth century! =e had the -ision of buildin$ a lar$e futuristic city and is (idely accepted as bein$ the founder of #en$aluru! 6empe$o(da built #en$aluru /ort and mo-ed his capital from Melahan*a to the ne( #en$aluru! !resi ent Of In ia !rom.l$ate The D Sec.rities La)s 1Amen ment2 Or inance 2345 C On 18 July 5ranab Mu*her&ee2 the 5resident of "ndia promul$ated the NSecurities 8a( Amendment Ordinance 2013P! ,he ordinance (ould $rant Securities and E@chan$e #oard of "ndia .SE#"02 the po(ers to re$ulate any poolin$ of funds under an in-estment contract in-ol-in$ a corpus of 100 crore rupees or more and attach assets in case of non+compliance!,he Chairman of SE#" (ould ha-e po(ers to authori1e the carryin$ out of search and sei1ure operations2 as part of its efforts to crac* do(n on pon1i schemes! Aci Attac"s On 0omen Non'bailable Offence On 18 July the Supreme Court o made acid attac* a non+bailable offence and ordered all state $o-ernments to pay %s 3 la*h compensation to acid attac* -ictims! ,he states (ere also directed to frame rules for re$ulatin$ sale of acid (ithin three months!,he material cannot be sold to a person (ho is belo( the a$e of 18 years!Foin$ throu$h the compensation schemes of 1' states and se-en nion ,erritories . ,s02 the bench found the amount bein$ paid to the -ictims as $rossly inade9uate!,he compensation for after+care and rehabilitation at present ran$es bet(een %s 42000 and %s 12402000! Union To.rism Minister La.nche CClean In ia Cam+ai$nD On 2B July nion ,ourism Minister 6! Chiran&ee-i launched the 5ro&ect NClean "ndia Campai$nO at ,a& Mahal!Clean "ndia Campai$n has been initiated by the Ministry of ,ourism (ith the ob&ecti-e to increase tourist arri-als to the country and to impro-e 9uality of ser-ices and pro-ide a hy$ienic en-ironment in and

around tourist destinations across the country!,a& Mahal is the second herita$e site to be co-ered under this pro&ect! ,he first bein$ Eutub Minar :elhi2 (hich has been adopted by "ndia ,ourism :e-elopment Corporation in June 2012!On the re9uest from the ,ourism Minister2 the Oil and )atural Fas Commission .O)FC0 has a$reed to adopt and up*eep the en-irons of ,a& Mahal Comple@ includin$ up $radation of tourist facilities in the monument!#esides ,a& Mahal2 the O)FC has also a$reed to adopt fi-e more monuments includin$ Ellora and Elephanta Ca-es in Maharashtra2 %ed /ort in the national capital2 Fol*onda /ort in =yderabad and Mahabalipuram in ,amil )adu! STATES %imachal !ra esh 9eclare First Smo"e # Free State In Co.ntr* On 2 July =imachal 5radesh has been declared the first Nsmo*e+freeO State in the country in compliance (ith Section B of the Ci$arettes and Other ,obacco 5roducts Act .CO,5A02 2003! ,he State has achie-ed 84!B4Q compliance (ith the rele-ant parameters! Uttar !ra esh 7rants 9istrict Stat.s To Amethi On 4 July the ttar 5radesh $o-ernment $ranted district status to Amethi 2(hich (ill include three tehsils of Sultanpur and one of %ae #areli! ,he district head9uarters of Amethi (ill be Fauri$an&!SultanpurAs Amethi2 Fauri$an& and Musafir*hana tehsils and %ae #areliAs ,iloi (ill be part of Amethi district!Some re-enue -illa$es of Mahara&$an& tehsil of %ae #areli (ere included in ,iloi tehsil of Amethi and in e@chan$e some -illa$es of ,iloi (ere included in Mahara&$an&! ;arnata"a La.nche D Anna (ha$*a D Scheme On 10 July 6arnata*a Chief Minister Siddaramaiah launched the ambitious CAnna #ha$yaA scheme in #an$alore!,he scheme under (hich 30 *$ of rice per month (ill be $i-en to #58 .belo( po-erty line0 families across the state at %e 1 per *$! Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had announced the scheme after ta*in$ oath on June 13!,he $o-ernment (ill spend %s B2300 crore e-ery year on the scheme! ;. an".lam N.clear !o)er !roBect Starts Fission On 13 July "ndiaAs 21st nuclear po(er reactor and the countryAs first pressurised (ater reactor under the li$ht (ater reactor cate$ory 26udan*ulam )uclear 5o(er

5ro&ect .6)550 in ,amil )adu be$an the nuclear fission process!"ndiaAs atomic po(er plant operator2 )5C"8 is settin$ up t(o 12000 M3 reactors (ith %ussian technolo$y and e9uipments at 6udan*ulam2 around ?40 *m from Chennai!,he o-er %s 1'2000 crore pro&ect2 (hich $enerated se-ere protests from the locals2 has started $eneratin$ heat and steam from the 1?3 uranium fuel bundles loaded in the reactor! Ni$ht !olicin$ Scheme La.nche In !.nBab On 1B July 5un&ab $o-ernment launched the )i$ht 5olicin$ Scheme .)5S0 (ith B000 police personnel and an independent cadre and command structure! ,he )5S is aimed at au$mentin$ and stren$thenin$ the deployment of police personnel2 throu$h the usa$e of modern technolo$y durin$ ni$ht hours in cities and to(ns of the state!,he )5S (ill also focus on the national and state hi$h(ays and ma&or roads crisscrossin$ the state2 mainly to instill a sense of security amon$ the citi1ens! U! La.nche Famil* %ealth Cam+ai$n On 14 July the Chief Minister of ttar 5radesh2 A*hilesh Mada-2 launched the C=auslaA a(areness state+(ide campai$n to impro-e family health in '4 districts of the State!,he campai$nAs t(in $oals include $al-ani1in$ state health systems to deli-er hi$h+9uality2 accessible health pro$rams and ser-ices2 (hile also increasin$ a(areness and utili1ation of ser-ices by families and communities across the stateAs '4 districts! ;erala 7o<tEA++ro<e Ta++in$ S)eet To * From Cocon.t On 1? July the 6erala Fo-ernment has $i-en its nod for tappin$ neera or unfermented sap from coconut across the State!)eera2 (hich is also called s(eet toddy2 is the non+alcoholic drin* (hich is e@tracted from immature inflorescence of coconut!,his decision (ould pro-e to be -ery beneficial for depressin$ coconut sector!)eera tappin$ (ill ta*e place in units of 1400 coconut trees in each and e-ery district all o-er 6erala2 in the be$innin$ as a part of the pilot pro&ect!lic content! Ma h*a !ra esh !olice %ealth Sec.rit* Scheme On 1' July Madhya 5radesh state cabinet has decided to implement Madhya 5radesh 5olice =ealth Security Scheme for police officers and employees! ,he

scheme (ill be applicable only to the police personnel (or*in$ in the state!,he scheme (ill not be applicable to "ndian 5olice Ser-ice officers! "t (ill be run by a re$istered trust2 (hose state+le-el mana$ement committee (ill be headed by the :irector Feneral of 5olice! Members and their dependents (ill be entitled for treatment of up to 8 la*h rupees in a financial year! ,hey can a-ail the treatment facility in hospitals reco$nised by the state $o-ernment! Maharashtra E-ten e (an On 7.t"ha an !aan Masala On 1< July Maharashtra state $o-ernment has announced a ban e@tension on nicotine+laced $ut*ha and paan masala for another year considerin$ health ha1ards of these products!"n July 20122 the $o-ernment had banned the sale2 stora$e and consumption of nicotine+laced $ut*ha and paan masala in any form for a year2 (hich (as to end on 1< July 2013! ,he $o-ernment mo-e (as prompted by the incidence of oral diseases2 includin$ cancer due to consumption of such $ut*ha and paan masala! Latest Statistics 9ata On To.rism In In ia Release (* Ministr* Of To.rism On 23 July Accordin$ to the latest statistics on tourism in "ndia released by Ministry of ,ourism durin$ the year 2012! J Andhra 5radesh has become the top tourist destination in the country recordin$ 20?!8 million domestic tourists last year! J ,amil )adu and ttar 5radesh stood at second and third positions respecti-ely (ith 18B!1 million and 1?8!B million domestic tourists! J Accordin$ to the data2 the top ten states in terms of number of domestic tourist -isits .in millions0 durin$ 2012 areI Andhra 5radesh .20?!802 ,amil )adu .18B!102 ttar 5radesh .1?8!B02 6arnata*a .<B!102 Maharashtra .??!302 Madhya 5radesh .43!202 %a&asthan .28!?02 ttara*hand .2?!802 Fu&arat .2B!B0 and 3est #en$al .22!'0!,he contribution of these States (as about 8B!4Q to the total number of domestic tourist -isits durin$ 2012! J ,he number of forei$n tourists -isitin$ the country too re$istered a $ro(th of ?!33 per cent durin$ the same year! J Maharashtra .4!1 la*h0 topped the list in number of forei$n tourist -isits2 follo(ed by ,amil )adu .3!? la*hs0 and )e( :elhi.2!3 la*hs0! J ,he top ten most sou$ht after states by forei$n tourists .in millions0 durin$ 2012 (ere I+ Maharashtra .4!102 ,amil )adu .3!?02 :elhi .2!302 ttar 5radesh .2!002

%a&asthan .1!402 3est #en$al .1!202 #ihar .1!102 6erala .0!802 6arnata*a .0!?0 and =imachal 5radesh .0!40! First Te-tile !ar" Ina.$.rate at (a$r. near Jai+.r On 2B July /irst ,e@tile 5ar* dedicated to hand bloc* printin$ and craft (as inau$urated by the nion Minister of ,e@tile2 :r! 6a-uru Sambasi-a %ao at #a$ru near Jaipur! ,he te@tile par* (ould brin$ in ne( opportunities for e@porters and artisans2 as the te@tile sector holds -ast potential of employment! ,he par* has been named Jaipur "nte$rated ,e@craft 5ar* 5-t! 8td! .J",5580 and is also *no(n as is also *no(n as Jaipur #loc!#a$ru the place (here the par* is located is *no(n all o-er the (orld for its traditional te@tiles2 -arious styles of hand bloc* printin$ and related s*ills! ,his is the first par* in "ndia that (ill cater to the se$ment of hand bloc* printin$! ,he te@tile par* is e9uipped (ith state+of+the+art technolo$y to conser-e and preser-e (ater! 0IFS !ro$ramme La.nche In RaBasthan On 24 July the 3ee*ly "ron /olic Acid Supplementation .3"/S0 5ro$ramme for the State of %a&asthan (as launched by ShriFhulam)abi A1ad2 nion Minister of =ealth H /amily 3elfareat Jaipur!Adolescents form 22 Q of "ndiaAs total population (ho are the future of the country! #ut half of the adolescent population2 both $irls and boys2 suffers from anaemia!Anaemia results in poor physical $ro(th2 poor school performance and reduced concentration in daily tas*s!Anaemia contributes to poor maternal and child health2 resultin$ in increased morbidity and mortality!/or this reason2 the Ministry of =ealth H /amily 3elfare has ta*en upN3ee*ly "ron and /olic Acid Supplementation .3"/S0O pro$rammeO to pre-ent and control the anaemia situation in adolescents!,he pro$ramme (ill reach out to 13 crore boys and $irls of the country enrolled in $o-ernment2 $o-ernment aided and municipal schools as (ell as out+of+school $irls! %imachal 7o<ernment La.nche Ai eo Chat In !risons On 2? July =imachal 5radesh state $o-ernment launched -ideo chat facility in all si@ prisons of the state !,he -ideo conference facility2 first of its *ind in the country2 (ould help family and friends sa-e time and money on tra-ellin$ to prisons to meet the inmates! E-en forei$ners can a-ail this facility!,he $o-ernment has already amended the Criminal 5rocedure Code .Cr5C02 enablin$ the courts to utili1e the -ideo+conference facility bet(een the &ails and the courts! ,his (ould

also help sa-e time and money of the prison department in escortin$ the prisoners from &ails to courts! T)o Ne) Rail an Roa !roBects La.nche In %ar*ana On 28 July ,(o rail as (ell as road pro&ects (hich are (orth 1400 crore %upees (ere launched in =aryana!,he foundation stone of ?8 6ilometer rail line bet(een =ansi+Meham and %ohta* at =ansi (as laid do(n by nion %ail(ay Minister Malli*ar&un 6har$e! ,he cost of this pro&ect is 400 crore %upees! ,he rail route (ould include ei$ht rail(ay stations2 four halt stations as (ell as four crossin$ stations!,he pro&ected rail line (ill connect the crucial parts of =aryana2 i!e!2 /atehabad and Sirsa direct (ith :elhi! ,he nion ,ransport Minister Oscar /ernandes2 at =ansi laid the foundation of << 6ilometer lon$ =isar+%ohta* four lane )ational =i$h(ay! ,he cost of this pro&ect (ould be 1000 crore %upees! ,he road pro&ect (ould include t(o road+o-er brid$es2 under pass as (ell as 2<+bus bays at both the sides! 7o<ernment Of O isha Anno.nce Rice For Oli<e Ri le* Conser<ation Scheme ,he Fo-ernment of Odisha announced %ice for Oli-e %idley Conser-ation .%OrC0 scheme for the year 2013 in order to help the fishermen families affected by se-en+ month ban on marine fishin$ at Odisha coastal areas!,he identification of beneficiaries under %ice for Oli-e %idley Conser-ation .%OrC0 Scheme (as announced on 22 July 2013!,he main aim of the %OrC scheme is to help the fishermen families (ho are affected by se-en+month ban on marine fishin$ as an Oli-e %idley turtle protection measure! CONFERENCES First IOR'ARC Economic an (.siness Conference ."O%+A%C0 Economic and #usiness Conference held in 5ort 8ouis2 Mauritius on B G 4 July 2013!,he nion Minister of Commerce H "ndustry Shri Anand Sharma co+chaired the "ndian Ocean %im Association for %e$ional Cooperation ."O%+ A%C0 Economic and #usiness Conference!"ndia and Mauritius co+hosted the first economic and business conference under the theme of N:eepenin$ Economic 8in*a$es for #alanced2 "nclusi-e H Sustainable Fro(thO! ,he "O%A%C has 20 members2 of (hich "ndia and Australia are the lar$est economies!:urin$ the meet

G ,rade and industry ministers of member countries and dialo$ue partners of the "ndian Ocean %im Association for %e$ional Cooperation ."O%A%C0 a$reed to push trade (ithin the $roupin$ to promote economic cooperation and de-elopment in the strate$ic "ndian Ocean re$ion!,he "ndian Ocean %im+Association for %e$ional Cooperation ."O%+A%C02 initially *no(n as the "ndian Ocean %im "nitiati-e2 is an international or$ani1ation (ith 20 member states!"t (as first established in Mauritius on March 1<<4 and formally launched on ?G' March 1<<'! National Conference Of State To.rism Ministers %el In Ne) 9elhi ,he )ational ,ourism MinistersA Conference (as held in )e( :elhi on 18 July 2013!,he Conference (as chaired by nion ,ourism Minister Shri 6! Chiran&ee-i! State and nion ,erritory ,ourism Authorities (ere represented in the conference either throu$h their ,ourism Ministers andR or senior officials!,he ob&ecti-e of the conference (as discussion of the future strate$ies for realisin$ the complete tourism potential of "ndia!,he :epartments of ,ourism of all States and ,s (ill consider settin$ up of a special force such as a ,ourist 5olice2 (here it does not e@ist at present2 either by ta*in$ fe( companies on deputation from the 5olice :epartment or by en$a$in$ E@+Ser-icemen or =ome Fuards!:urin$ the conference2 a ne( campai$n *no(n as N" %espect 3omen O (as also launched!,he campai$n (as launched (ith Ministry of ,ourism issuin$ bad$es in =indi and ten international lan$ua$es! 723 Finance Ministers an Central (an" 7o<ernors Meetin$ %el in Mosco) ,he F20 /inance Ministers and Central #an* Fo-ernors Meetin$ (as held on 1<+ 20 July in Mosco(2%ussia!F20 Countries ministers 2Central #an* Fo-ernors and "ndian /inance minister 5!Chidambaram 2%#" $o-ernor : Subbarao attended the meetin$!"n the meetin$ dele$ates discussed traditional F20 a$enda includin$ the F20 /rame(or* a$reement for stron$2 sustainable and balanced $ro(th2 the financial re$ulation reforms2 and mar*et transparency! ,he final communi9ue contains the usual sentence ur$in$ con-er$ence stressin$ this time ho( con-er$ence can contribute to financial stabilityIAt the end of the meetin$ /inance Ministers and Central #an*s Fo-ernors appro-ed the Joint Communi9ue! A0AR9S = %ONOURS

2F In i<i .als Conferre 0ith National Go.th A)ar s 2344'42 )ational Mouth A(ard 2011+12 (as conferred by 5ranab Mu*her&ee2 the 5resident of "ndia on B July 2013 to 2' indi-iduals and an or$ani1ation at a function held at %ashtrapati #ha(an! "t is for the first time that the )ational Mouth a(ards (ere $i-en by the 5resident of "ndia!A total of 2' indi-iduals and one or$anisation recei-ed he a(ard this year!,he youth a(ard carries a Sil-er Medal2 a Certificate and a cash pri1e of B0000 rupees in cases of indi-idual a(ardees and 2la*h case pri1e for -oluntary or$ani1ations!,he selected indi-iduals are e@pected to possess leadership 9ualities and use them in carryin$ out -oluntary acti-ities in the field of youth de-elopment! IIFA A)ar s 2345 0inners ,he 1Bth ""/A a(ards held at Macau on ? July 2013! And this yearAs ""/A (ill al(ays be remembered for some outstandin$ performances by -eteran actresses Madhuri :i@it and Sride-i!%anbir 6apoor (on the #est Actor A(ard for #arfi2 (hile Lidya #alan too* the #est Actress A(ard home for Su&oy FhoshAs 6ahaani! 3innerAs 8ist I+ J #est ActorI %anbir 6apoor .#arfiS0 J #est /emale ActorI Lidya #alan .6ahaani0 J #est /ilmI #arfiS J #est :irectorI Anura$ #asu .#arfiS0 J #est Story I ,ani and Anura$ #asu .#arfiS0 J #est Supportin$ Actor .Male0I Annu 6apoor .Lic*y :onor0 J #est Supportin$ Actor ./emale0I Anush*a Sharma .Jab ,a* =ai Jaan0 J #est Music :irectorI 5ritam .#arfiS0 ,.bin Mehta Conferre Ta$ore A)ar 2345 On 10 July >ubin Mehta2 (estern classical music conductor of "ndian+5arsi ori$in2 has been a(arded 2nd ,a$ore A(ard /or Cultural =armony . for 20130!=e (as named for the a(ard because of his outstandin$ contribution to cultural harmony!,he first ,a$ore A(ard (as conferred on 5t! %a-i Shan*ar2 the "ndian Sitar Maestro in 2012 T)o In ians Amon$ F 7irls A)ar e On Malala 9a* On 12 July ,(o "ndians (ere amon$ the se-en youn$ $irls honoured (ith the ) Special En-oy for Flobal EducationAs Mouth Coura$e A(ard for Education as part

of 5a*istani teen acti-ist2 Malala Mousaf1ai2 NMalala :ayO celebrations at the (orld body!Amon$ them (ere t(o "ndians2Ash(ini from #an$alore and %a1ia from ttar 5radesh (ho (ere a(arded (ith ) Special En-oy for Flobal EducationAs Mouth Coura$e A(ard for Education! Ton$am Rina Selecte For 7erman Me ia !ri&e On 13 July Senior &ournalist of Arunachal 5radesh+,on$am %ina has been selected for the presti$ious N5ri1e for the /reedom and /uture of the Media G 2013P instituted by Media /oundation2 8eip1i$2 Fermany!#ri$itte Alfter and "des :ebruyne are the initiators of the NEuropean /und for "n-esti$ati-e JournalismO! "nstituted in 20012 the a(ard2 (hich carries a pri1e of 302000 Euros! %.man !o)ere %elico+ter 0ins US +ri&e On 13 July ,he (orldAs first human+po(ered helicopter by a Canadian en$ineer has become the first (inner of a decades+old S72402000 .S731?22440 en$ineerin$ pri1e 2after performin$ a minute+lon$ fli$ht at an altitude of 3!3 meters G fueled only by the pilotAs pedalin$ of a modified bicycle!,he (innin$ -ehicle is called the O Atlas O 2 and (as desi$ned by a team of about 20 students and youn$ professionals!,he aircraft is e@tremely li$ht T &ust 121!B pounds .44 *ilo$rams0 T but it spans a spra(lin$ 1?2 feet .B<!B meters0! Shalini Sin$h 0ins 2345 !rem (hatia A)ar Shalini Sin$h2 a deputy editor (ith ,he =indu2 has ba$$ed the presti$ious 5rem #hatia A(ard for 5olitical %eportin$ G 2013!She has been selected for her Ce@cellent co-era$e of se-eral *ey issues2A particularly her Creportin$ of the telecom and Coal$ate scandals!5re-ious a(ard+(inners include =arish 6hare2 5ra-een S(ami2 5! Sainath2 Far$i 5arsai2 )irupama Subramanian2 5alla-i Aiyar and Amit #aruah for their (or*s in ,he =indu! Amitabh (achchan Recei<e Maestro A)ar On 1' July Amitabh #achchan2 classical flautist =ariprasad Chaurasia and ace santoor e@ponent Shi-*umar Sharma (ere honoured (ith the 33" .3histlin$ 3oods "nternational0 Maestro A(ards!,he honour (as besto(ed on the trio by filmma*er Subhash FhaiAs film and media institute! 2345 Ramon Ma$sa*sa* A)ar 0inners On 2B July the %amon Ma$saysay A(ard /oundation announced the %amon

Ma$saysay A(ards for the year 2013!,hree indi-iduals and t(o or$ani1ations from Af$hanistan2 "ndonesia2 Myanmar2 )epal and the 5hilippines to recei-e the %amon Ma$saysay A(ard2 the AsiaAs premier pri1e!,he %amon Ma$saysay A(ard is an annual a(ard established to perpetuate former 5hilippine 5resident %amon Ma$saysayAs e@ample of inte$rity in $o-ernment2 coura$eous ser-ice to the people2 and pra$matic idealism (ithin a democratic society!,he pri1e (as established in April 1<4'! The A)ar ees areH' J =abiba sarabi Af$hanistanAs first (oman $o-ernor2 (as selected for helpin$ build a functionin$ local $o-ernment and pushin$ for education and (omenAs ri$hts in Af$hanistanAs #amyan pro-ince despite (or*in$ in a -iolent and impo-erished en-ironment in (hich discrimination is per-asi-e! J 8ahpai Sen$ %a( of Myanmanr honoured for helpin$ the rehabilitate (or* in dama$ed communities amid armed conflict! JErnesto :omin$o2 from the 5hilippines!=e is bein$ reco$ni1ed for his e@emplary embrace of the social mission of medical science and his profession2 his steadfast leadership in pursuin$ Chealth for allA as a shared moral responsibility of all sectors! J6omisi 5emberantasan 6orupsi .Corruption Eradication Commission02 from "ndonesia!,he or$ani1ation is bein$ reco$ni1ed for its fiercely independent and successful campai$n a$ainst corruption in "ndonesia! JSha*ti Samuha .N5o(er FroupO02 from )epal!,he or$ani1ationAs founders and members are bein$ reco$ni1ed for transformin$ their li-es in ser-ice to other human traffic*in$ sur-i-ors2 their passionate dedication to(ards rootin$ out a pernicious social e-il in )epal! A&im !remBi (a$s ?Asian (.siness Lea ers ? A)ar On 2B July 3ipro chairman A1im 5rem&i has been a(arded the Asian #usiness 8eaders A(ard 2013 for his impressi-e business credentials and ser-ice to society by 8ondon+based Asia =ouse!5ast recipients of the honour includes %atan ,ata2 chairman of the ,ata Froup2 and 8ord Stephen Freen2 6As minister of state for trade and in-estment and former $roup chairman of =S#C =oldin$s! Fo.r In ian Americans 0on Simons In<esti$ators A)ar s On 2' July /our "ndian+American 5rofessors 6annan Soundarara&an2 %a&ee- Alur2 Salil 5 Ladhan and Senthil ,odadri (on Simons "n-esti$ators A(ards 2013! Apart

from these2 < other mathematicians2 theoretical physicists and theoretical computer scientists (ere also selected for the Simons "n-esti$ators A(ards for their cuttin$ ed$e research!,he 2013 a(ards (ere announced by the )e( Mor*+based Simons /oundation2 (hich is a non+profit or$anisation! "ts mission is to ad-ance the lines of research in mathematics and basic sciences! ,he Simons "n-esti$ators pro$ram pro-ides a stable base of support for outstandin$ scientists2 enablin$ them to underta*e lon$+term study of fundamental 9uestions! ,he foundation (as incorporated in 1<<B by Jim and Marilyn Simons! CMetro ManD Sree haran Chosen For ? 2345 Lo"man*a Tila" ? A)ar On 2< July O Metro ManO E! Sreedharan has been selected for the presti$ious C 8o*manya ,ila* C a(ard for 2013 for his outstandin$ contribution to society!)ame of Sreedharan2 considered as the architect of the ambitious :elhi metro pro&ect2 (as announced by 8o*manya ,ila* ,rust!,he 5admashree laureate is also credited for pullin$ off the 6on*an %ail(ay pro&ect! AmBa Ali ;han To 7et RaBi< 7an hi National Sa hbha<na A)ar On 30 July Sarod maestro Am&ad Ali 6han (as chosen for the 21st %a&i- Fandhi )ational Sadhbha-na A(ard for his contribution to(ards promotion of communal harmony and peace! ,he a(ard (as instituted by All "ndia Con$ress Committee of the "ndian )ational Con$ress 5arty .")C0! S!ORTS = 7AMES Ne$i 0on Continental Chess O+en Title On 2 July "ndiaAs youn$ Frand Master 5arimar&an )e$i has (on the Continental Chess Association Open title in 3ashin$ton!,he second and third places are (on by the "nternational Master #indi Chen$ of Canada and American Frand Master 6onrad =olt from 6ansas respecti-ely! Chris Martin Anno.nce Retirement From All Cric"et On 3 July Chris Martin2 the fast #o(ler of )e( >ealand has announced his retirement from all forms of cric*et!Chris Martin is )e( >ealandAs third+hi$hest ,est (ic*et ta*er only after %ichard =adlee and :aniel Lettori! =e had ta*en 233 ,est (ic*ets (ith an a-era$e of 33!81!Martin played '1 ,ests2 20 O:"s and si@ ,(enty20s for his country in an international career!

0imble on Tennis To.rnament Title 2345 0inners 0omen/s Sin$les H' On ? July /ranceAs Marion #artoli (on the 3imbledon 2013 (omenAs title after defeated FermanyAs Sabine 8isic*i in the final!#artoli is the fifth oldest (oman to become a first+time Frand Slam (inner in the Open Era!#y finally (innin$ her maiden ma&or title in the B'th Frand Slam appearance of her career2 #artoli surpassed the pre-ious record set by Jana )o-otna2 (ho (on 3imbledon in 1<<8 after B4 appearances at the ma&ors! Men/s Sin$les H' On ' July Andy Murray .#ritain0 (on the MenAs Sin$les title after defeated )o-a* :&o*o-ic .Serbia0 in the final!Andy Murray became the #ritainAs first male (inner after almost ei$ht decades2 to (in the championship! Earlier he (as /red 5erry2 (ho (on his last Championship in 1<3?! 0omen/s 9o.bles H' =sieh Su+(ei .,ai(an0 and 5en$ Shuai .China0 (on the (omenAs doubles title after defeated Australian duo Ashlei$h #arty and Casey :ellac9ua in the final at 3imbledon! Men/s 9o.bles H' Americans #ob #ryan and Mi*e #ryan (on the 3imbledon menAs doubles title after defeated "-an :odi$ .Croatia 0and Marcelo Melo .#ra1il0 in the final! In ian 0omen 0on 7ol At Asian Athletics Cham+ionshi+ On ' July "ndia clinched a $old medal in (omenAs B00m relay in a sensational race to finish si@th o-erall as the curtains (ere dra(n on the 20th Asian Athletics Championships (ith China confirmin$ their supreme status in the continent!,he home team came up (ith a rich haul of ei$ht medals2 one $old2 t(o sil-ers and fi-e bron1es on the fifth and final day !"ndia ended the Championships (ith t(o $olds2 fi-e sil-ers and 10 bron1es2 a much impro-ed performance than the last edition in 2011 in 6obe!As e@pected2 China2 (ho had been rulin$ the Asian Championships for the last 14 editions2 finished at the top spot (ith 1? $olds2 si@ sil-ers and fi-e bron1es! Sebastian Aettel 0on 7erman 7ran !riOn ' July %ed #ullAs Sebastian Lettel (on the Ferman Frand 5ri@ title !6imi %ai**onen and %omain Fros&ean $ot second and third positions respecti-ely!"t (as LettelAs first -ictory in his home race and the 30th of his career! Shi<a Tha+a 0ins 7ol at Asian (o-in$ Cham+ionshi+s On 8 July )ineteen+year+old Shi-a ,hapa became the youn$est "ndian to (in a

$old medal at the Asian #o@in$ Championships in Amman2 Jordan!,hapa defeated local pu$ilist Obada Al*abeh2on a split decision to (in the $old in the 4?*$ class!,he nimble+footed bo@er2 (ho made his Olympic debut in 8ondon last year2 thus follo(ed Suran&oy Sin$h .200<0 and %a&*umar San$(an .1<<B0 into the history boo*s as a rare "ndian $old+medallist at the premier continental e-ent! LaBBa 7os)ami 0on Sil<er In Shootin$ 0orl C.+ On < July "ndian (oman shooter 8a&&a Fos(ami has (on sil-er medal in (omenAs 40+metre %ifle 3 5osition e-ent at the "SS/ 3orld Cup in Franada2 Spain!Faus(ami2 a sil-er medallist at the 2010 Common(ealth Fames2 shot B4B in the finals to ba$ the sil-er ahead of )or(ayAs Malin 3esterheim!5etra >ublasin$ of "taly (on the $old medal! Shane 0arne In .cte into the D ICC Cric"et %all of Fame C On 11 July "CC announced that Shane 3arne2 former Australian spinner (ould be inducted into the "CC cric*et hall of fame !On 1< July durin$ the tea inter-al of the second Ashes ,est bet(een En$land and Australia at 8ordAs2 Shane 3arne (as officially inducted into the "CC cric*et hall of fame!3arne becomes the ?<th male member of the =all of /ame2 and &oins fello( 2012+13 inductees #rian 8ara of the 3est "ndies2 En$landAs Enid #a*e(ell and former Australia team+mate Flenn McFrath in bein$ reco$nised by the "CC and the li-in$ members of the =all of /ame!=e played for Australia in 1B4 tests bet(een 1<<2 and 200'! =e claimed '08 test (ic*ets (ith a stri*e rate of 24!B1! =e (as the first bo(ler to ta*e '00 test (ic*ets!=e (as the part of the Australian cric*et team that (on the 3orld Cup in 1<<< at 8ordAs a$ainst 5a*istan! Martina %in$is In .cte In ? Tennis %all Of Fame ? On 13 July S(iss tennis le$end Martina =in$is (as inducted inA ,ennis =all of /ame!She became one of the youn$est members to be included in the one of the most elite clubs of tennis!=in$is (on three Australian Open titles .1<<'2 1<<82 1<<<02 one 3imbledon .1<<'0 and a S Open title .1<<'0!She also (on nine $rand slam doubles titles and a mi@ed doubles title! AbhiBeet 7.+ta 0on Common)ealth Chess Cham+ionshi+ On 1B July "ndian Frandmaster and former (orld &unior champion Abhi&eet Fupta has (on the Common(ealth Chess Championship 2after settled for a dra( (ith

"ndian national title+holder F! A*ash in the final round at 5ort Eli1abeth in South Africa! Nicolas Mah.t 0on %all Of Fame Cham+ionshi+ On 1B July /renchman )icolas Mahut has (on the title after defeated 8leyton =e(itt of Australia in the =all of /ame ,ennis Championships final!Mahut (on his second career A,5 title! Serena 0illiams 0on S)e ish O+en Title On 21 July Serena 3illiams . !S0 (on S(edish Open ,ennis title2 after defeated Johanna 8arsson.S(eden0 in the final of the S(edish Open at #astad in S(eden!,he (in is her 43rd 3,A title and 41st match (in of the year! In ian 0omen 0on Rec.r<e 7ol At Archer* 0orl C.+ On 21 July "ndian (omenAs archery team :eepi*a 6umari2 8aishram #ombayla :e-i and %imil #iruly (on Fold medal in the 3omenAs %ecur-e ,eam e-ent at the Archery 3orld Cup Sta$e+3 in Medellin2 Colombia!"n the final "ndian (omenAs archery team defeated China in the recur-e e-ent to claim the $old medal!"ndia claim their second medal of this 3orld Cup and their first 3orld Cup 3omenAs team $old since Shan$hai 2011! 9i<iB Sharan # !.ra< RaBa 0on First AT! Title On 21 July 5ura- %a&a and :i-i& Sharan of "ndia clinched their first e-er A,5 tour doubles title after defeated Edouard %o$er+Lasselin of /rance and "$or Si&slin$ of the )etherlands in the final match of Claro Open in #o$ota2 Colombia! 9e<en ra JhaBharia 0on 7ol In 0orl !aral*m+ic Cham+ionshi+s On 22 July "ndiaAs 5aralympian :e-endra Jha&haria has (on a $old medal in the Ja-elin ,hro( at "5C ."nternational 5aralympic Commitee0 athletics 3orld Championships in /rance!=e became the first differently+abled "ndian to (in $old at the "5C Athletics 3orld Championships!=e thre( the &a-elin to 4'!0B meters in /+B? cate$ory2 (hich is meant for one+armed athletes!=e (on a Fold medal at the 8th /ES5"C Fames in 6orea2 2002!"n March 20122 he recei-ed the 5adma Shree A(ard and became the first paralympian to (in the a(ard! 9h*an Chan Nominate For (harat Ratna ,he sports ministry has chosen hoc*ey le$end late :hyan Chand for "ndiaAs

hi$hest ci-ilian a(ard2 the #harat %atna!:hyan Chand2 (ho passed a(ay in 1<'<2 (on three $old medals at the Olympics G in 1<28 . Amsterdam02 1<32 . 8os An$eles0 and 1<3? . #erlin0! Jennitha 0ins 0orl Chess Title For 9isable On 2B July "ndiaAs 6! Jennitha Anto has became the 3orld Chess Champion for disabled2 after (on the 13th "5CA 3orld 3omenAs "ndi-idual Chess Championship in Lel*e 8osiny2 C1ech %epublic!=ailin$ from ,amil )adu2 Jennitha scored B!4 points in nine $ames after (innin$ three2 dra(in$ three and losin$ three $ames!She competed in a combined $roup (ith men and became the hi$hest scorer amon$ the (omen players!,he title came alon$ (ith the 3oman "nternational Master title! Le)is %amilton 0on %.n$arian 7ran !ri- Title On 28 July 8e(is =amilton of Freat #ritain and Mercedes (on the =un$arian Frand 5ri@ title 2013 held on #uadpest!%ai**onen and Lettle $ot second and third positions respecti-ely! Afri i (ecomes First (atsman To %it I33 Si-es 5a*istanAs Shahid Afridi became the first cric*eter to hit B00 si@es in an international career on 2? July!Afridi reached the landmar* in the 1?th o-er of 5a*istanAs reply to the 3est "ndiesA 142 for se-en in the first ,(enty20 international!Chris Fayle2 playin$ for the 3est "ndies2 is ne@t on the list ha-in$ hit 343 si@es in his ,est2 O:" and ,20 career! In ian 0restlers 0on 4@ Me als In Asian Ca et Cham+ionshi+ On 2' July "ndian (restlers finished the Cadet Asian Championships (ith a rich haul of three $olds2 nine sil-ers and three bron1e medals2 besides (innin$ the Champion ,rophy in the freestyle cate$ory in laanbaatar2 Mon$olia!,he $old came throu$h Amit 6umar .48*$02 Li*as .?3*$0 and 5ar-een .84*$0 of the freestyle cate$ory (hile sil-er medals (ere (on by %a-i 6umar .4B*$02 An*ur %athi .?<*$02 #alra& .'?*$0 and Furse(a* Sin$h .100*$0 in the same di-ision!,he freestyle team secured 8B points and finished ahead of "ran (ho (ere the runners+ up! A it*a Mehta 0on Snoo"er 7ol In 0orl 7ames On 30 July "ndiaAs numero uno snoo*er player2 Aditya Mehta (on the $old medal

in the 3orld Fames after defeated ChinaAs 8ian$ 3enbo in the final of the 9uadrennial e-ent at Cali2 Columbia! In ia 0on Un er'4> SAFF Cham+ionshi+ On 30 July "ndia (on the South Asian /ootball /ederation .SA//0 nder+1? Championships held at the :asharath Stadium in 6athmandu!"ndian boys defeated )epal 1+0 in final to lift the South Asian /ootball /ederation nder+1? Championship title! ,his is the first time that "ndia ha-e (on the championship! ECONOMG In ian Internet Econom* To To.ch US9 433 (illion (* 234@ On 3 July Accordin$ to the Economist "ntelli$ence nit CFood to Fro(I ,he En-ironment of AsiaAs "nternet #usinessA report 2"ndiaAs "nternet Economy that stands at 1!? per cent of F:5 is slated to touch S: 100 billion by 2014 !Online ad-ertisin$ in Asia (ill $ro( from 2B per cent of (orld(ide online ad-ertisin$ in 2010 to 2? per cent by 2014!=o(e-er2 AsiaAs mobile ad-ertisin$ mar*et is e@pected to account for one+third of the mobile ad-ertisin$ mar*et $lobally by 2014! Lat<ia 7ets EU A++ro<al To Join E.ro&one On < July European nion .E 0 states appro-ed the adoption of the euro by 8at-ia as of January 12 201B! ,he country (ill be the 18th member of the European Monetary nion!8at-ia is the second #altic republic to &oin the euro 1one! "n 20112 Estonia adopted the currency! 8ithuania plans to do so as (ell2 in 2014! In ia/s 7ro)th Forecast To @E>J For 2345'4I On < July the "nternational Monetary /und ."M/0 has scaled do(n "ndiaAs economic $ro(th forecast by 0!2 percenta$e points to 4!? per cent for 2013+1B from 4!8 per cent forecasted in April 2013 3orld Economic Outloo* .3EO0 pro&ections!,he $ro(th pro&ection for /M 201B+14 (as also scaled do(n by 0!1 percenta$e points to ?!3 per cent! In ians Amon$ To+ Fi<e (.*ers Of !ro+ert* In US On 10 July Accordin$ to the )ational Association of %ealtors sur-ey report 2#uyin$ property (orth nearly 73!4 billion !"ndians are amon$ top fi-e international real estate buyers in the S!"ndia alon$ (ith Canada2 China2 Me@ico

and the nited 6in$dom accounted for appro@imately 43 percent of international transactions (orth 7?8!2 billion! 7o<ernment A++ro<e 433 +ercent F9I In Telecom Sector On 1? July the nion Fo-ernment of "ndia raised the /:" limit in ,elecom Sector from 'B percent to 100 percent! Fo-ernment also cleared that the /:" in the "nsurance and ,elecom sectors (ill be up to B< per cent throu$h automatic route!,he forei$n direct in-estment limit in insurance sector (ill be hi*ed to B< per cent from the e@istin$ 2? per cent!,he Fo-ernment also confirmed that the /:" in :efence 5roduction (ill continue to be 2? percent! Colombia Amon$ 0orl /s Most Corr.+t Nations On 1' July Accordin$ to the CFlobal Corruption #arometer 2013 C report 2 (as released by )FO ,ransparency "nternational .,"0 2Colombia is amon$ the countries (ith the hi$hest rate of corruption in the (orld!Colombia (as placed 4th amon$ the se-en countries (hose citi1ens reali1e that Con$ress is one of the most corrupt public bodies!,ransparency "nternational .,"0 (as /ounded in 1<<3 and based in #erlin2 Fermany2 the , has 100 branches and operates in '0 countries! In ia (ecomes Lar$est Ni$erian Cr. e Oil (.*er "ndia has o-erta*en the !S! as the top buyer of )i$erian crude oil!On the bilateral trade2the present fi$ure stands at 710 billion2 e-en as the total in-estment of "ndia in )i$erian economy could be -alued at 71?!? billion! !o<ert* In In ia 9ro+s To 24EK +ercent In 2344'42 On 23 July the 5lannin$ Commission of "ndia released its report on the 5o-erty Estimates for 2011+12! ,he report (as based on the 8ar$e Sample Sur-eys on =ousehold Consumer E@penditure conducted by the )ational Sample Sur-ey Office .)SSO0 of the Ministry of Statistics and 5ro$ramme "mplementation!=o(e-er2 since 200<+10 (as not a normal year because of a se-ere drou$ht2 the )SSO repeated the lar$e scale sur-ey in 2011+12 .)SS ?8thround0! ,he summary results of this sur-ey (ere released in June 2013!Since the data from the )SS ?8th round .2011+120 of =ousehold Consumer E@penditure Sur-ey is no( a-ailable !)o( the 5lannin$ Commission has updated the po-erty estimates for the year 2011+12 as per the methodolo$y recommended by ,endul*ar Committee!,he commission present 2released estimates of state (ise po-erty lines

for rural and urban areas for 2011+12 ! !o<ert* Estimates 2344'42 H' J 5o-erty ratio in the country has declined to 21!< per cent in 2011+12 from 3'!2 per cent in 200B+04 on account of increase in per capita consumption! J Accordin$ to the 5lannin$ Commission2 in 2011+12 for rural areas2 the national po-erty line by usin$ the ,endul*ar methodolo$y is estimated at %s! 81? per capita per month in -illa$es and %s! 12000 per capita per month in cities!,his (ould mean that the persons (hose consumption of $oods and ser-ices e@ceed %s! 33!33 in cities and %s! 2'!20 per capita per day in -illa$es are not poor! J /or a family of fi-e2 the all "ndia po-erty line in terms of consumption e@penditure (ould amount of %s! B2080 per month in rural areas and %s! 42000 per month in urban areas! ,he po-erty line2 ho(e-er2 (ill -ary from state to state! J ,he percenta$e of persons belo( po-erty line in 200B+04 (as B1!8 per cent in rural areas2 24!' per cent in cities and 3'!2 per cent in the country as a (hole!"n actual terms2 there (ere 2?!<3 crore people belo( po-erty line in 2011+12 as compared to B0!'1 crore in 200B+04! J State+(ise2 the Commission said 2hi$hest po-erty rate of 3<!<3Q (as recorded in Chhattis$arh .2011+120follo(ed by Jhar*hand .3?!<? per cent02 Manipur .3?!8< per cent02 Arunachal 5radesh .3B!?' per cent0 and #ihar .33!B' per cent0! J Amon$ the union territories2 the :adra and )a$ar =a-eli (as the hi$hest2 (ith 3<!31 per cent people li-in$ belo( po-erty line follo(ed by Chandi$arh at 21!81 per cent! J 8o(est po-erty rate of 4!0<Q (as recorded in Foa .2011+120 follo(ed by 6erala .'!04 per cent02 =imachal 5radesh .8!0? per cent02 Si**im .8!1< per cent02 5un&ab .8!2? per cent0 and Andhra 5radesh .<!20 per cent0! SCIENCE = TEC%NOLO7G ISRO # !SLA C22 S.ccessf.ll* La.nche D IRNSS 4A D Na<i$ation Satellite On 1 July "S%OAs 5olar Satellite 8aunch Lehicle2 5S8L+C222 has successfully launched "%)SS+1A2 the first satellite in the "ndian %e$ional )a-i$ation Satellite System ."%)SS0 from Satish :ha(an Space Centre2 Srihari*ota 2)ellore :istrict .Andhra 5radesh0,his is the 23rd consecuti-ely successful mission of 5S8L!,he "%)SS+1A (as launched on 1 July 2013 at 11!B1 p!m!"t (as the first near midni$ht satellite launch by the "ndian Space %esearch Or$anisation ."S%O0!,he satellite

has been desi$ned to pro-ide accurate position information ser-ices to users in "ndia as (ell as to the re$ions e@tendin$ up to 12400 *m from its boundary!"%)SS+ "A is amon$ the first se-en satellites that constitutes the "ndian %e$ional )a-i$ation Satellite System ."%)SS0 Space Se$ment! ,he mission has a life of 10 years! IRNSS )ill +ro<i e t)o t*+es of ser<ices H' standard positionin$ ser-ice usin$ si$nals in the 84+band to an accuracy of 20 meters for all users and an encrypted ser-ice in S+band pro-ided for authori1ed users! Abo.t !SLA'C22 H' J %oc*et =ei$ht G BB+metres J 3ei$ht G 320 tonnes J Satellite G "%)SS+1A J Satellite 3ei$ht G 1B24 *$ R.ssia/s !roton'M Roc"et Faile On 2 July %ussia has launched an unmanned 5roton+M 2 carryin$ three %ussian Flonass positionin$2 na-i$ation and timin$ satellites failed 1' seconds after liftoff 2 (ith the roc*et crashin$ some 2!4 *ilometers from the #ai*onur Cosmodrome launch pad in 6a1a*hstan! Scientists Create ? 59 (ionic Ear ? 0ith 59 !rinter On B July 5rinceton ni-ersity scientists 2 includin$ an "ndian+ori$in researcher )a-een Larma2ha-e created a 3:+printed CbionicA ear that can NhearO radio fre9uencies far beyond the ran$e of normal human capability! sin$ off+the+shelf printin$ tools2 the scientists at 5rinceton ni-ersity e@plored 3: printin$ of cells and nanoparticles follo(ed by cell culture to combine a small coil antenna (ith cartila$e2 creatin$ a CbionicA ear!,his is the first time that researchers ha-e demonstrated that 3: printin$ is a con-enient strate$y to inter(ea-e tissue (ith electronics! 0orl Ls First ? %.man Li<er ? Create From Stem Cells Japanese scientists ha-e $ro(n a functional human li-er tissue from stem cells for the first time!,a*anori ,a*ebe and =ide*i ,ani$uchi at Mo*ohama City ni-ersity sho(ed the $eneration of -ascularised and functional human li-er from human induced pluripotent stem cells .hi5SCs0 by transplantation of in -itro $ro(n li-er buds .rudimentary li-er0!

U; Ina.$.rates 0orl /s Lar$est Offshore 0in Farm On B July #ritish 5rime Minister :a-id Cameron has inau$urated 8ondon Array2 the (orldAs lar$est offshore (ind farm 2a ?30+me$a(att pro&ect capable of producin$ enou$h electricity to po(er 4002000 homes! ,he 72!3 billion pro&ect is located 12 miles offshore in the )orth Sea2 east of 8ondon !5o(ered by 1'4 Siemens (ind turbines! US Missile 9efense Test Fails O<er !acific On ? July AmericaAs missile defense system failed in a test o-er the 5acific2 (ith an interceptor failin$ to hit an incomin$ ballistic missile!,he testAs ob&ecti-e (as to ha-e an interceptor2 launched from Landenber$ air base in California2 *noc* out a lon$+ran$e ballistic missile fired from a S military test site at 6(a&alein atoll in the Marshall "slands! ISRO Rea ies To La.nch Orbiter To Mars On ' July "S%O Chairman 6 %adha*rishnan announced 2"S%O is readyin$ up for the B40+crore Mars Orbiter mission (hich is e@pected to be launched bet(een October and )o-ember this year!,he mission is aimed at searchin$ for possible si$ns of life as (ell as to find out (hy Mars lac*s atmosphere!,he Mars Orbiter (ill be launched aboard the 5olar Satellite 8aunch Lehicle from the Satish :ha(an Space Centre at Srihari*ota! ,he Mars orbiter (ill be carryin$ a total of fi-e payloads (ei$hin$ about 1B!B< *$! "t (ill carry a methane sensor to determine the presence of methane2 a si$n (hich su$$ests that life once e@isted on the Martian soil!,he Mars Orbiter (ill enter into a 3'2 *m by 802000 *m elliptical orbit around Mars!,he spacecraft (ill orbit the red planet once in e-ery three days! "t (ill study the surface and the minerals on Martian soil! Scientists 9isco<ere MRI Scan To 9etect Cancer Usin$ S.$ar Scientists from ni-ersity Colle$e 8ondon . C80 ha-e disco-ered a techni9ue they called C$lucose chemical e@chan$e saturation transfer .$lucoCES,0 C a ne( (ay of detectin$ cancer by $i-in$ patients an in&ection of su$ar before doin$ an M%" scan .ma$netic resonance ima$in$0!,he researchers found that (hen sensiti1in$ an M%" scanner to reco$ni1e $lucose2 tumors appeared as bri$ht ima$es on the M%" scans of mice! ,he tumors can be detected usin$ the same amount of su$ar found in half a standard chocolate bar!

Ec.a or Starts Usin$ Ne) A<iation Ra ar S*stem On 10 July Ecuador Starts ne( A-iation %adar System!Ecuadorian Lice 5resident Jor$e announced the Ecuadorian airspace (ill be co-ered in <4 percent by ei$ht radars that (ill be located nation(ide!,he de-ices that form the "nte$rated Sur-eillance System Ci-il %adar (ill be located in the pro-inces of Fuayas2 Manabi2 5ichincha2 Cotopa@i2 5asta1a2 A1uay2 8o&a and the island of San Cristobal2 in the Falapa$os archipela$o!Ecuadorian Lice 5resident started this system at the offices of the Ci-il A-iation Feneral Mana$ement .:AC0 in Fuaya9uil!,he in-estment to implement this hi$h+technolo$y e9uipment (as 720 million S:!,he ei$ht radars (ould be part of a sin$le system2 meanin$ that the air+traffic controller can see all the trace of a plane in a monitor!Fuerrero specified that it (ould be complicated to detect ille$al fli$hts of li$ht aircraft2 because for the cre( to cheat these controls turn off a de-ice that transmit data to the radars2 as altitude and speed of the fli$ht! China # R.ssia CJoint Sea'2345M Na<al 9rills Chinese and %ussian na-al forces NJoint Sea+2013P drills (as held from ?th to11th July in the Sea of Japan!"n the Joint e@ercises China used se-en (arships2 included a $uided+missile destroyer (ith Ae$is+type radars that trac* and $uide (eapons to destroy enemy tar$ets2 and missile fri$ates (ith antisubmarine abilities!,he %ussian lineup included the fla$ship of its 5acific fleet2 the $uided+missile cruiser Larya$2 and a 6ilo+class submarine!,he si@+day maneu-ers focused on &oint maritime air defense and the defense of marine traffic arteries2 (ith e@ercises in-ol-in$ &oint escorts2 marine search and rescue operations2 anti+submarine tactics and anti+hi&ac*in$ tactics!,hey (ere the ninth bilateral and multilateral &oint military e@ercises carried out by the Chinese and %ussian militaries! Iran Secret N.clear Site 9isco<ere (* ME; On 11 July the paris based militant $roup or$anisation of the 5eopleAs Mu&ahedin of "ran .ME60 has disco-ered credible e-idence of a secret ne( nuclear site2 $athered o-er a year by 40 sources in -arious parts of the re$ime!,he codename of the pro&ect is CMaAadan+e Shar9A .literally Cthe mine of the eastA0 or C5ro&ect 6ossarA!,his site is hidden in a series of tunnels under a mountain near the to(n of :ama-and!,he 5aris+based militant $roup ME6 alle$es that the site has e@isted since 200?2 (ith the first series of subterranean tunnels and four e@ternal depots recently completed!

US A.tonomo.s N'IF( 9rone S.ccessf.ll* Lan s On Aircraft Carrier On 11 July the S )a-yAs ne@t+$eneration autonomous drone2 the ;+B'#2 has successfully landed on the dec* of the SS Feor$e =!3! #ush2durin$ a milestone test run off the coast of Lir$inia!:e-eloped by aerospace contractor )orthrop Frumman2 the ;+B'# is the first AL desi$ned to refuel2 ta*e off2 and land (ithout any human inter-ention! UESE (ill For A National !ar" On Moon On 12 July 8a(ma*ers of S proposed a #ill in the S Con$ress for establishin$ a national par* on the Moon!,he ne( #ill see*s creation of the Apollo 8unar 8andin$ Sites as )ational =istorical 5ar* on the Moon!,he bill has been named as the Apollo 8unar 8andin$ 8e$acy Act2 the #ill and (as referred to the Committee on Science2 Space2 and ,echnolo$y in addition to the =ouse Committee on )atural %esources!"t calls for no later than one year2 after the date of enactment of the act2 the establishment of a Apollo 8unar 8andin$ Sites )ational =istorical 5ar*2 as a unit of the )ational 5ar* System! NASA/s %.bble 9isco<ere (l.e !lanet Scientists from )ASA ha-e disco-ered a blue planet that possibly rains $lass2 orbitin$ a star ?3 li$ht+years a(ay!,his is the first time an e@oplanetAs true colour has been determined! Astronomers has used )ASAAs =ubble Space ,elescope and made -isible li$ht obser-ation spottin$ the planet =: 18<'33b (hich is one of the closest e@oplanets that can be seen crossin$ the face of its star! Ne+t.ne/s 4Ith Moon 9isco<ere On 1? July the !S! space a$ency )ASA has announced the disco-ery of )eptuneAs 1Bth moon!,he =ubble Space ,elescope captured the moon as a (hite dot in photos of the planet on the outs*irts of our solar system!,he ne( moon2 )eptuneAs tiniest at &ust 1<!3 *m across2 is desi$nated SR200B )1! China S.ccessf.ll* La.nche Three E-+erimental Satellites In To S+ace On 20 July China successfully launched three satellites to carry out scientific e@periments into space!A 8on$ March+BC carrier roc*et carryin$ three satellites 2blasts off from the launch pad in the ,aiyuan Satellite 8aunch Center in ,aiyuan2 capital of north ChinaAs Shan@i 5ro-ince!,he three satellites for scientific e@periments2 namely the O Chuan$@in+3 N2 NShiyan+' O and NShi&ian+14 N!,he three

satellites (ill be used mainly for conductin$ scientific e@periments on space maintenance technolo$ies! 0orl /s Lar$est Air.s 9isco<ere (* French Researchers On 20 July /rench )ational Centre for Scientific %esearch Scientists ha-e disco-ered a hu$e -iruses in the (orld!,he -irus is one micrometre bi$ 2up to ten times the si1e of other -iruses2 and only si@ per cent of its $enes resemble anythin$ seen on Earth before!,he si1e of each -irus must be 2400 $enes!<3 percent of $enes in this -irus is ne( for the (orld!,he scientists named this -irus as a N5andora-irusesO!,en years bac* these Scienists found a ne( -irus called Nmimi-irusesO ! (iolo$ical E <accine !re8.alifie (* 0%O On 22 July #iolo$ical E .#ioE0 and European biotech company announced the 3orld =ealth Or$ani1ation .3=O0 has pre+9ualified its Japanese Encephalitis -accine for $lobal use in adults!#ioE has de-eloped the -accine based on the technolo$y of Lalne-a SE2 a /rench biotech company! A <ance 0eather Satellite ? INSAT'59 ? La.nche S.ccessf.ll* On 2? July ,he "ndian Space %esearch Or$anisation ."S%O0 has successfully launched its ad-anced (eather satellite C "nsat+3: C from the spaceport of 6ourou in /rench Fuiana2 usin$ a European launch -ehicle2 Ariane+4 !,he roc*et also launched CAlphasat C a co+passen$er of ")SA,+3: and EuropeAs lar$est telecommunication satellite+e-er manufactured!")SA,+3: (as placed in an elliptical Feosynchronous ,ransfer Orbit .F,O02-ery close to the intended one!3ith a lift+off mass of 20?0 *$2 ")SA,+3: carried four payloads T "ma$er2 Sounder2 :ata %elay ,ransponder .:%,0 and Satellite Aided Search H %escue payload!")SA,+3: (ill facilitate ne( dimension to the (eather monitorin$ because of its atmospheric soundin$ system! ,he atmospheric soundin$ system pro-ides the -ertical profiles of inte$rated o1one2 humidity as (ell as temperature2 from top of the atmosphere!,he ne( satellite2 ")SA,+3: (ill be operational for ne@t se-en years!,he satellite "nsat+3: (ill $i-e a push to the (eather forecastin$ as (ell as help in facilitatin$ disaster (arnin$ ser-ices! ISRO: Tata Motors 9e<elo+e In ia/s First F.el Cell (.s On 28 July ,ata Motors 8imited .,M80 and "ndian Space %esearch Or$anisation

."S%O02 in collaboration2 de-eloped the first =ydro$en+po(ered automobile bus of "ndia!,he hydro$en fuel+fitted bus (as demonstrated at 8i9uid 5ropulsion Systems Centre2 an "S%O facility in Mahendra$iri in ,amil )adu!Accordin$ to =onorary Ad-iser of "S%O L Fnana Fandhi2 (ho led the technical team in this pro&ect2 "S%O and ,M8 entered into an Mo in 200? to desi$n and de-elop an automobile bus usin$ hydro$en as a fuel throu$h fuel cell route! %AL 9eli<ers La"sh*a'4 To In ian Arm* On 2? July the first 8a*shya+12 a fully indi$enous nmanned Aerial Lehicle . AL0 de-eloped for the "ndian Army by =industan Aeronautics 8td! .=A80 (as deli-ered to #harat :ynamics 8td! .=yderabad0!8a*shya+1 has been desi$ned and de-eloped by the Aero En$ine %esearch H :e-elopment Centre2 a =A8 facility in #an$alore!"t is po(ered (ith 5,AE+' En$ine2 an aero $as turbine en$ine that (as also desi$ned and de-eloped by the Aero En$ine %esearch H :e-elopment Centre! !ERSONS IN NE0S A2 A!!OINTMENTS Ne) 7o<ernor/s an Lie.tenant 7o<ernor/s A++ointe J On 1 July Lice Chancellor of Jamia Milia ni-ersity )a&eeb Jun$ (as appointed as the 20th 8t Fo-ernor of :elhi!)&aeeb Jun$ has replaced ,e&endra 6hanna2 (ho (as the 1<?1 batch "ndian Administrati-e Ser-ice officer and the last 8t Fo-ernor of :elhi! J /ormer :elhi police commissioner 6!6! 5aul has been appointed the Me$halaya $o-ernor2 replaced %an&it She*har Mooshahary! J 8t! Feneral A!6! Sin$h .retd0 (as appointed as the 8t! Fo-ernor of Andaman and )icobar "slands2 replaced 8t! Feneral #hopinder Sin$h .retd0! J Lirendra 6ataria has been appointed as the ne( 8t! Fo-ernor of 5uducherry2 replaced "9bal Sin$h! J Senior parliamentarian Shrini(as :adasaheb 5atil has been appointed as the ne( $o-ernor of Si**im!=e is also a former "AS officer2 replaced incumbent # 5 Sin$h! S.Batha Sin$h Is Ne) Forei$n Secretar* Of In ia On 2 July Su&ata Sin$h has been appointed as "ndiaAs ne( forei$n secretary!She succeeds %an&an Mathai!!Sin$h is the third (oman to head the ser-ices after

Cho*ila "yer and )irupama %ao!5re-iously Sin$h (or*ed in Europe includin$ "taly 2/rance and Fermany! A li Manso.r S)orn In As E$*+t/s Interim !resi ent On B July the Chief Justice of E$yptAs Constitutional Court 2Adli Mansour has been s(orn in as E$yptAs interim president!Mansour (ill ser-e as E$yptAs head of state until a ne( president is elected!Earlier2 the first democratically elected 5resident of E$ypt2 Mohamed Morsi (as deposed from his office in a military coup! Ab o.la*e (athil* A++ointe As 9e+.t* %ea Of UN Mission In Mali On 8 July ) Secretary+Feneral #an 6i+moon announced the appointment of Abdoulaye #athily of Sene$al as his ne( :eputy Special %epresentati-e for the nited )ations Multidimensional "nte$rated Stabili1ation Mission in Mali .M") SMA0!Mr! #athily has been ser-in$ as Senior Minister in the office of the 5resident of Sene$al since 2012! Mr! #athily also ser-ed as a Member of the Economic Community of 3est African States .ECO3AS0 5arliament2 member of the African nion Contact Froup on the crisis in Mada$ascar! ;a.shi" A++ointe As The Coach Of In ian Men/s %oc"e* Team On 10 July =oc*ey "ndia .="0 appointed Olympic $old medallist Mahara& 6ishan 6aushi* as the menAs hoc*ey team coach!,he decision comes in the (a*e of Michael )obbsA remo-al as the teamAs head coach!6aushi* (as a member of the team (hen it (on the $old medal at the 1<80 Summer Olympics in Mosco(! nder the Coachin$ of M6 6aushi* 2 "ndia menAs hoc*ey team had (on their last ma&or international tournament2 the 1<<8 Asian Fames2 #an$*o*! "n 1<<82 he recei-ed the Ar&una A(ard! SE (E Maina" A++ointe LIC M9 On 8 July S # Maina* has been appointed as M: of 8ife "nsurance Corporation of "ndia .8"C0!=e (ill hold office from the date of assumin$ char$e till 2< /ebruary 201?! !h.m&ile Mlambo N$c."a A++ointe UN 0omen Chief On 10 July /ormer South African deputy president 5hum1ile Mlambo+)$cu*a has been appointed as the head of ) 3omen a$ency!Ms! Mlambo+)$cu*a replaces Michelle #achelet2 a former president of Chile (ho ser-ed as the first E@ecuti-e

:irector of the ) Entity for Fender E9uality and Empo(erment of 3omen . ) 3omen0!Mlambo (as the first (oman to hold the position of :eputy 5resident of South Africa from 2004 to 2008! %emant Soren S)orn in as Kth Jhar"han Chief Minister On 13 July Jhar*hand Mu*ti Morcha leader =emant Soren (as s(orn in as the ninth Chief Minister of Jhar*hand! Syed Ahmed2 the Fo-ernor of Jhar*hand administered the oath of the office to =emant Soren in the premises of %a& #ha-an in a s(earin$+in ceremony!=emant Soren2 (ho heads the ninth ministry in less than 13 years2 became the fifth tribal Chief Minister after #abulal Marandi2 Ar&un Munda2 Shibu Soren and Madhu 6oda since the state (as created on )o-ember 142 2000!Soren2 (ho $a-e the Fo-ernor a list of B3 M8As supportin$ him in the 82+member Assembly2 is e@pected to e@pand his ministry after ta*in$ the floor test! ,he alternati-e coalition comes nearly si@ months after the imposition of 5residentAs rule!,he 5residentAs %ule (as imposed on Jhar*hand on 18 January 2013 after the failure of the Constitutional Machinery in the state after JMM (ithdre( support to the #J5+led $o-ernment under Ar&un Munda on 8 January 2013! El(ara ei S)orn In As E$*+t/s Aice !resi ent On 1B July a former head of the ) nuclear (atchdo$ and a )obel peace laureate2 5rominent liberal E$yptian leader Mohamed El#aradei (as s(orn in as E$yptAs interim -ice president for forei$n relations! Moin ;han A++ointe !a" Cric"et Team/s Chief Selector On 14 July 5a*istan Cric*et #oard .5C#0 appointed former 5a*istan team captain Moin 6han as chief selector after the resi$nation of "9bal Easim!Moin2 is the youn$est person to be named to the chief selectorAs post by the cric*et board!6han played ?< ,ests and 21< one+day internationals for 5a*istan in 1<<0s and (as also a member of 3orld Cup (innin$ team in 1<<2! Santosh ( Na*ar is ne) CEO = M9 of IFCI On 14 July Santosh # )ayar has been appointed as Chief E@ecuti-e Officer and Mana$in$ :irector of the "ndustrial /inancial Corporation of "ndia!,he "/C" (as the 1st specialised financial institution setup in "ndia to pro-ide term finance to lar$e industries in "ndia!

Nisha 9esai (is)al Nominate For The !ost Of Assistant Secretar* Of State Of USA On 18 July )isha :esai #is(al2 an "ndian+American (oman (as nominated for the 5ost of Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia by S 5resident #arac* Obama !)isha :esai #is(al2 held the post of the Assistant Administrator for Asia at the !S! A$ency for "nternational :e-elopment . SA":0 at the time her of nomination to the post of Assistant Secretary of state!)isha :esai #is(al (ill o-ersee the S /orei$n 5olicy and relations at the State :epartment for "ndia2 #an$ladesh2 #hutan2 6a1a*hstan2 6ir$hi1stan2 Maldi-es2 )epal2 Sri 8an*a2 ,a&i*istan2 ,ur*menistan and 1be*istan!,his is the first time an "ndian+American is headin$ the South Asia #ureau2 a ne( milestone for the community!)isha :esai #is(al (or*ed at the American %ed Cross from 1<<3 to 1<<4 in the 3ashin$ton head9uarters2 and as an o-erseas dele$ate in Armenia2 Feor$ia and A1erbai&an!)isha :esai #is(al held the post of assistant administrator for Asia at the S A$ency for "nternational :e-elopment . SA":02 since September 2010! J.stice ! Sathasi<am S)orn In As The Ne) Chief J.stice Of In ia On 1< July Justice 5 Sathasi-am (as s(orn in as the B0th Chief Justice of "ndia .CJ"0 by 5resident 5ranab Mu*her&ee!Justice Sathasi-am is first CJ" from ,amil )adu !,he term of his office (ill be till 2? April 201B! Justice 5alanisamy Sathasi-am succeeded CJ" Altamas 6abir (ho left the office on 18 July 2013! Rana ;a+oor is ne) Assocham !resi ent On 20 July %ana 6apoor2 /ounder2 Mana$in$ :irector H CEO of Mes #an*2too* o-er as the ne( president of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and "ndustry of "ndia .Assocham0 at the end of the industry bodyAs <2nd annual $eneral meetin$ .AFM0 in :elhi!=e succeeds %a&*umar :hoot2 (ho is the mana$in$ director of Lideocon Froup! !hili++e'4 S)orn In As Se<enth ;in$ Of (el$i.m On 21 July 5rince 5hilippe +1 (as s(orn+in as the se-enth *in$ of #el$ium2after his father Albert "" abdicated as the head of this fractured nation!,he ceremony capped a day of transition (hich started (hen 5hilippeAs father2 the '<+year+old Albert2 si$ned a(ay his ri$hts as the *in$domAs lar$ely ceremonial ruler at the royal palace in the presence of 5rime Minister Elio :i %upo2 (ho holds the

political po(er in this 183+year+old parliamentary democracy!,he position of the *in$ in the country is nominal and total po(ers are ha-in$ the 5rime Minister! In ian'Ori$in !eer ABa* ;a""ar A++ointe To Lor s !ost On 23 July "ndian+ori$in peer A&ay 6a**ar has been made the chairman of the influential =ouse of 8ords Appointments Commission2 an ad-isory body (hich selects ne( independent members of 6As =ouse of 8ords!8ord 6a**ar is 5rofessor of Sur$ery at uni-ersity Colle$e 8ondon . C80 and Consultant Sur$eon ni-ersity Colle$e 8ondon =ospitals )=S /oundation ,rust since 2011! =is research interests focus on the pre-ention and treatment of -enous and arterial thromboembolic disease and cancer associated thrombosis! Fi<e Members From Tamil Na . S)orn In To RaB*a Sabha On 24 July Senior leaders L! Maitreyan of All "ndia Anna :ra-ida Munnetra 6a1ha$am .A"A:M60 and :! %a&a of Communist 5arty of "ndia .C5"0 (ere amon$ the fi-e ne(ly elected M5s from ,amil )adu (ho too* oath as members of %a&ya Sabha!3hile Maitreyan and %a&a (ere re+elected2 ,! %athina-el2 6!%! An&uman and 6! 8a*shmanan .all A"A:M60 ha-e been elected for the first time to the pper =ouse in the recent biennial elections!,he oath+ta*in$ ceremony (as held in the chamber of %a&ya Sabha chairman =amid Ansari in his presence!:M6 member 6animo1hi 2(ho has also been elected for a second term2 did not ta*e her oath !Maithreyan2 (ho is also the leader of his party in %a&ya Sabha2 has (on a third term (hile C5" secretary %a&a secured his second stint in the house (ith the e@tended support from the rulin$ party A"A:M6! (arac" Obama Nominates In ian'American Aince 7ir hari Chhabria To J. iciar* !ost On 2? July "ndian+American le$al luminary Lince Firdhari Chhabria has been nominated by S 5resident #arac* Obama to a *ey &udiciary post in California!!Chhabria2 nominated to be S district &ud$e for the )orthern :istrict of California2 is currently deputy city attorney for $o-ernment liti$ation and the co+ chief of appellate liti$ation at the San /rancisco city attorneyAs office!Obama announced his nomination alon$ (ith fi-e other &udicial posts2 all of (hich re9uires Senate confirmation!

; 9 Sin$h is ne) In ian %oc"e* Fe eration !resi ent On 2< July ,rinamool M5 6: Sin$h (as ele-ated to the post of president of the "ndian =oc*ey /ederation ."=/0 after incumbent :inesh %eddy opted to resi$n from the position!,he decision to ele-ate Sin$h to the top post (as ta*en at a special e@ecuti-e council meetin$ of "=/ ! Shara ;.mar is ne) NIA chief On 30 July Senior "5S officer Sharad 6umar has been appointed as the ne( chief of the )ational "n-esti$ation A$ency .)"A0!,he 1<'<+batch "ndian 5olice Ser-ice ."5S0 officer (ill ta*e o-er from additional :F ) % 3asan2 (ho (as $i-en char$e of )"A in April follo(in$ appointment of Sinha as member of )ational =uman %i$hts Commission! Cher*l (oone Isaacs Electe !resi ent Of Oscars Aca em* On 30 July Cheryl #oone "saacs has been elected as the president of Oscars Academy!,he Sprin$field nati-e is the first (oman to hold the post in three decades and the first African+American president in the academyAs 8?+year history! ,he academy o-ersees the annual Academy A(ards and Oscars broadcast!"saacs is currently head of her o(n C#" Enterprises!

(2RESI7NS Ma h*a !ra esh Finance Minister Ra$ha<Bi Resi$ne On 4 July Madhya 5radesh /inance Minister %a$ha-&i resi$ned follo(in$ alle$ations that he sodomised his domestic help!%a$ha-&i had set a record by presentin$ the state bud$et for 10 years in succession from 200B to 2013!=e is the /inance Minister of Madhya 5radesh since last < years! S*ria Interim !rime Minister 7hassan %itto Resi$ne On 8 July SyriaAs rebel interim prime minister Fhassan =itto has announced his resi$nation 2 nearly four months after his appointment and ha-in$ failed to form a $o-ernment! L.-embo.r$/s !M Jean'Cla. e J.nc"er Resi$ne On 11 July 8u@embour$As lon$+ser-in$ 5rime Minister Jean+Claude Junc*er has resi$ned from his post 2follo(in$ a spyin$ scandal in-ol-in$ ille$al phone+taps and

other illicit acti-ities!Jean+Claude Junc*er is a 8u@embour$er politician2 23rd and current 5rime Minister of 8u@embour$ since 20 January 1<<4! ;.mar Man$alam (irla Resi$ne From R(I (oar On 23 July Aditya #irla )u-o Chairman 2 6umar Man$alam #irla resi$ned from the %eser-e #an* of "ndiaAs Central #oard !,he resi$nation is to a-oid the conflicts because Aditya #irla )u-o applied for the ban* license to %#"!6umar Man$alam #irla (as also nominated as the member of the :irectors of the Central #oard of the %#" in 200?! C29EAT%S 9o.$las En$elbart: In<entor Of Com+.ter Mo.se 9ie :ou$ En$elbart2 the !S in-entor of the computer mouse and de-eloper of early incarnations of email2 (ord processin$ pro$rams and the internet2 has died on 2 July in Atherton2 California! =e (as 88 years old!:ou$las En$elbart in-ented the mouse in 1<?3 (hen he (as (or*in$ at the Stanford %esearch "nstitute .no( S%" "nternational0 alon$ (ith his lead en$ineer #ill En$lish!Sadly En$elbart did not hold the patent for the mouse2 (hich (as held by S%" and the patent ran out in 1<8'2 before the mouse became popular! Reno)ne Foo Scientist 9rE %EAE(E !ar+ia 9ie :r! =!A!#! 5arpia2 reno(ed food scientist and the former :irector of the Central /ood ,echnolo$ical %esearch "nstitute .C/,%"0 died on < July !,here e@ist more than 2400 papers and documents published by the name of :r! 5arpia on food and technolo$y and ad-anced education!:r! 5arpia ser-ed /ood and A$riculture Or$ani1ation ./AO0 of the nited )ations at %ome and (as Assistant :irector in char$e of "nformation2 Statistics2 5rocess :e-elopment and /ood 5lant :esi$n at the C/,%"!"n 1<8'2 he recei-ed 3attumull /oundation A(ard from =onolulu2 =a(aii2 SA! Aeteran (oll*)oo Actor !ran 9ie On 12 July Leteran #olly(ood actor and the (inner of :adasaheb 5hal*e A(ard 25ran 6ishan Si*and died in Mumbai!5ran acted in more than 340 =indi mo-ies in a lon$2 prolific career datin$ bac* to the 1<B0s!=e (as one of the hi$hest+paid #olly(ood actors in the '0s and 80s!=e (as conferred (ith :ada Saheb 5hal*e A(ard in April 2013!"n 2001 he (as a(arded (ith "ndiaAs third

hi$hest ci-ilian a(ard 5adma #hushan!"n his career span2 he recei-ed four film fare a(ards! (ose A. io S*stem In<entor 7E(ose 9ie On 12 July Amar Fopal #ose2 "ndian+American entrepreneur and founder and chairman of #ose Corporation2 died at the a$e of 83 in 3ayland2 Massachusetts!#ose founded the company2 based in /ramin$ham2 &ust outside #oston2 in 1<?B!As company2 #ose focused relentlessly on acoustic en$ineerin$ inno-ation!,hou$h his first spea*ers fell short of e@pectations2 #ose *ept at it! "n 1<?82 he introduced the #ose <01 :irectR%eflectin$ spea*er system2 (hich became a best seller for more than 24 years and firmly entrenched #ose2 based in /ramin$ham2 Massachusetts2 as a leader in a hi$hly competiti-e audio components mar*etplace! (ofors Scam Acc.se Otta<io 6.attrocchi 9ie On 13 July "talian businessman Otta-io Euattrocchi2 (ho (as a accused in the #ofors scam2 has died in Milan2 "taly!,he #ofors char$esheet filed in 1<<< by C#" had named Euattrocchi2as one of the accused in the case re$ardin$ the %s ?B crore payoffs for supply of S(edish =o(it1er $uns to the "ndian Army! ,he %s 12?00 crore contract (as clinched in 1<8?! Aeteran C!I1M2 Lea er Samar M."herBee 9ie On 18 July /reedom fi$hter 2Leteran leader and the oldest member of the Communist 5arty of "ndia .Mar@ist0 Samar Mu*her&ee2 (hose 100th birthday (as celebrated by the party in )o-ember last year2 died in 6ol*ata!Mu*her&ee &oined the Communist 5arty of "ndia+Mar@ist in 1<?B!=e had &oined C5" in the year 1<B0!=e (as the representati-e of =o(rah in the 8o* Sabha for three years in a ro( bet(een 1<'1 and 1<8B!=e (as also elected to %a&ya Sabha in 1<8?!=is bio$raphy titled 100 Mears of Samar Mu*her&eeI A ,ribute (as released on his 100th #irthday in En$lish as (ell as #en$ali lan$ua$es! Aeteran Tamil Film L*ricist Aaali 9ie On 18 July /amous ,amil lyricist ,!S! %an$ara&an2 popularly *no(n as Laali2 has died in Chennai!Laali had penned more than 102000 son$s and (or*ed (ith three $enerations of music directors!=e has also acted in some mo-ies li*e NSathyaO2

N=ey %amO and others!"n 200'2 he (as a(arded the 5admashri by the "ndian $o-ernment! Former Union Minister ;h.rshe Alam ;han 9ie On 20 July 6hurshed Alam 6han2 a former nion minister and father of e@ternal affairs minister Salman 6hurshid died in )e(:elhi!=e ser-ed as the member of %a&ya Sabha from 1<'B+1<8B!Alam 6han ser-ed as the Minister if State in the Fo-ernments led by former 5rime Ministers of "ndia2 "ndira Fandhi and %a&iFandhi! As an nion Minister2 he had held portfolios of education2 te@tiles2 tourism2 transport besides e@ternal affairs!=e ser-ed as Fo-ernor of Foa and 6arnata*a in 1<8< and 1<<1 respecti-ely! !ioneer American 0omen Jo.rnalist %elen Thomas 9ie On 20 July 8e$endary American &ournalist =elen ,homas2 a pioneer for (omen in &ournalism (ho reported on ten S presidents from :(i$ht : Eisenho(er to #arac* Obama2died in 3ashin$ton!"n 1<'4+'?2 ,homas ser-ed as the first (oman president of the 3hite =ouse CorrespondentsA Association .3=CA0!She (as a columnist for =earst )e(spapers from 2000 to 20102 (ritin$ on national affairs and the 3hite =ouse!She retired on June '2 20102 follo(in$ contro-ersial comments she made about "srael2 "sraeli Je(s and the "sraeli+5alestinian conflict! Former Union Minister Ar.n Nehr. 9ie On 24 July Arun )ehru2 former nion minister and the cousin of %a&i- Fandhi as (ell as the Minister for "nternal Security durin$ his $o-ernment2 died in Fur$aon!Arun )ehru (as born in 8uc*no(!=e (as a three+time 8o* Sabha member!3hen %a&i- Fandhi became the prime minister in 1<8B2 he (as his close ad-iser and minister of state for internal security! Acclaime (iolo$ist Obai Si i8i 9ie On 2? July Obaid Siddi9i2 )ational %esearch 5rofessor at the )ational Centre for #iolo$ical Sciences2 ,ata "nstitute of /undamental %esearch .,"/%0 died in a #an$alore!Siddi9i2 born in 1<32 in ttar 5radesh2 recei-ed his early education at Ali$arh Muslim ni-ersity!=e established the Molecular #iolo$y nit at the ,ata "nstitute of /undamental %esearch in #ombay in 1<?2! Siddi9i (as honoured (ith se-eral a(ards2 includin$ 5adma Libhushan2 5adma #hushan2 #C %oy A(ard for #iomedical %esearch and /irodia A(ard for #asic Sciences!

92AISITORS In ian 9efence Minister A; Anton*/s Aisite China "ndian :efence Minister2 Mr A6 Antony -isited China from B+' July 2013!:urin$ the -isit Antony met China :efence Minister Feneral Chan$ 3an9uan and also called on 5remier 8i 6e9ian$ !#oth countries MinisterAs discussed an e@tensi-e e@chan$e of -ie(s on a (ide ran$e of defence and security issues!,he t(o sides also a$reed to hold tal*s on China "ndia #order :efence Cooperation A$reement .#:CA0!,he both countries :efence Ministers discussed on$oin$ and proposed bilateral e@chan$es and (elcomed the holdin$ of the counter+terrorism bilateral &oint e@ercise bet(een their armies in China in 2013!AntonyAs trip is the first by an "ndian defence minister since 200? and comes after a spat bet(een the t(o nuclear+armed nei$hbours in May o-er troop mo-ements in a disputed =imalayan border re$ion! In ia/s E-ternal Affairs Minister Salman ;h.rshi Aisite Ne+al "ndiaAs E@ternal Affairs Minister2 Salman 6hurshid2 -isited )epal on <th July!:urin$ the -isit Salman 6hurshid met )epalAs top leaders and discussed important bilateral issues2 includin$ the finalisation of an e@tradition treaty and controllin$ of criminal acti-ities alon$ the porous border!"n the -isit 6hurshid also called on 5resident :r %am #aran Mada- and Chairman of Council of Ministers 6hil %a& %e$mi 2 )epalese counterpart Madha- 5rasad Fhimire and both the nations held official tal*s co-erin$ all feature of bilateral relations and issues of mutual interests! US Aice !resi ent Joe (i en Aisite In ia S Lice 5resident Joe #iden -isited "ndia from 22 G 24 July !=e is the first !S! -ice+president -isited "ndia after three decades!On 22 July Joe #iden -isited Fandhi Smriti Museum in )e( :elhi!On 23 July #iden met 5resident 5ranab Mu*her&ee2 Lice 5resident =amid Ansari2 5rime Minister Manmohan Sin$h and discussed on a broad array of issues2 includeAs (ays to enhance economic $ro(th2 and cooperation in trade2 ener$y and climate chan$e2 security and strate$ic opportunities2 besides in-estments in inno-ation and education!On 2B G 24 July #iden -isited in Mumbai!#iden met business leaders and deli-ered a policy speech at the #ombay Stoc* E@chan$e!"t is #idenAs first trip to "ndia as -ice president! =e -isited )e( :elhi in 2008 as a senator!

France 9efence Minister G<es Le 9rianis Aisite In ia :efence Minister of /rance2 Mr M-es 8e :rianis -isited "ndia from 24+2' July!:urin$ the -isit M-es 8e :rianis met "ndian :efence Minister A!6! Antony and discussed on re$ional and international security challen$es of mutual interest!,he Ministers noted that defence cooperation is an important pillar of the strate$ic partnership bet(een both countries and that the on$oin$ dialo$ue and cooperation is mutually beneficial to both nations!,he Ministers a$reed that e@chan$es bet(een respecti-e defence institutions and armed forces should continue to be pro$ressed2 includin$ in the areas of military education and trainin$ and throu$h the conduct of military e@ercises! E2MISCELLANEOUS E$*+t !resi ent Mohame Morsi O.ste (* Militar* On 3 July Mohamed Morsi2 the "slamist president of E$ypt (hose rule spar*ed protests that had en$ulfed the country 2 (as remo-ed from po(er by the E$yptian military!After Morsi had re&ected the militaryAs ultimatum to surrender to public pressure and resi$n (ithin B8 hours!MorsiAs election as the first democratically elected 5resident (as a turnin$ point in the political history of E$ypt after the do(nfall of 30 years rei$n of =osni Mubara9! !o+e Francis Clears John !a.l II: John NNIII For Sainthoo On 4 July 5ope /rancis on /riday cleared t(o of the 20th centuryAs most influential popes to become saints2 appro-in$ a miracle needed to canoni1e 5ope John 5aul "" and (ai-in$ Latican rules to honour 5ope John ;;"""!,he announcement ceremony is e@pected before the end of the year! (an$la esh Islamist 7h.lam A&am Sentence To K3 Gears In !rison On 14 July #an$ladesh "slamist leader Fhulam A1am2 <1 has been sentenced to <0 years in prison on char$es of (ar crimes!A1am2 (as accused of settin$ up militia $roups that carried out mass *illin$s and rape durin$ #an$ladeshAs 1<'1 (ar of independence (ith 5a*istan! !a"istan/s 0omen !aratroo+ers Create %istor* On 14 July /emale officers of the 5a*istan Army ha-e &umped from military helicopters for the first time in the countryAs history!A total of 2B lady officers of the 5a*istan Army successfully completed a three+(ee* basic airborne course at

the 5arachute ,rainin$ School in the north(estern city of 5esha(ar!5a*istan Army2 in another landmar* achie-ement2 successfully completed the first e-er 8ady Officers 5ara ,roopin$ Course at 5ara ,rainin$ School!Captain Sadia (as the first (omen officer (ho &umped from an M"+1' helicopter2 (hile Captain 6iran Ashraf (as declared the best paratrooper of the batch! ?Che/ Man.scri+ts A e To UNESCO %erita$e !ro$ram On 20 July the (ritin$s of Cuban %e-olution leader Ernesto NCheO Fue-ara ha-e been added to )ESCOAs Memory of the 3orld %e$ister!,he documents include ori$inal manuscripts from NCheAsO youthful NMotorcycle :iariesO days2 to his diary from the mountains of #oli-ia (here he (as e@ecuted by that nationAs military in 1<?'!,hey are no( reco$ni1ed as (orld herita$e and (ill be protected and cared for (ith the help of the nited )ations Educational2 Scientific and Cultural Or$ani1ation! In ian 0oman Scientist S.netra 7.+ta Joins Fame U; Lea$.e On 22 July Sunetra Fupta2 an "ndia+born chemist and physicist has &oined the bi$ lea$ue of female scientists li*e Marie Curie in a first+of+its+*ind art e@hibition at the presti$ious %oyal Society!Fupta2 (ho (as born in 6ol*ata and is no( a professor at O@ford ni-ersity2 is amon$ an e@clusi-e $roup as part of the C3omen in Science 5ortrait E@hibitionA of the $reatest female /ello(s of the %oyal Society to$ether (ith ne(ly+commissioned dra(in$s featurin$ %oyal Society %esearch /ello(s!=er main area of interest is the e-olution of di-ersity in patho$ens2 (ith particular reference to the infectious disease a$ents that are responsible for malaria2 influen1a and bacterial menin$itis! 0i"ilea"s Fo.n er J.lian Assan$e La.nche !olitical !art* In A.stralia On 24 July 3i*ilea*s founder Julian Assan$e has launched his political party to contest Australian elections this year! As per Assan$e2 his party (hich he named O 3i*ilea*s 5arty O (ould be fieldin$ se-en candidates includin$ Assan$e for upper house Senate seats in the states of )e( South 3ales2 Lictoria and 3estern Australia!,(o "ndian+ori$in persons are amon$ the se-en candidates (ho (ill contest elections on a 3i*ilea*s 5arty tic*et in Senate polls in Australia! "ndian+ ori$in academician #inoy 6ampmar*2 (ho (as born in Malaysia and has #en$ali herita$e2 (ill stand for the pper =ouse election from Lictori (hereas Suresh %a&an2 (ho is based out of 6erala2 (ill stand for the party in 3estern Australia!

(ritain Ro*al (ab* Name ? 7eor$e Ale-an er Lo.is ? On 2B July #ritainAs ne( prince has been named CFeor$e Ale@ander 8ouis C!,he announcement from %oyal baby parents 5rince 3illiam and 6ate!"t (as declared that the third+in+line successor to the throne (ill be *no(n as his %oyal =i$hness 5rince Feor$e of Cambrid$e! Sal.stiano Sanche&'(la&8.e& Is 0orl /s Ol est Man On 24 July A man from the )ia$ara falls area in )e( Mor* has recei-ed the Fuinness 3orld %ecords title for N3orldAs oldest man!OSalustiano Sanche1+ #la19ue12 nic*named NShortyO is 112 years old2 and he (as a(arded the title after the demise of 11?+year+old Jiroemon 6imura of Japan! As documented2 the (orldAs oldest person is 114+year+old Misao O*a(a2 also a Japan resident!Sanche1+#la19ue1 (as born in El ,e&ado de #e&ar2 Spain on 8 June 1<01! Stanfor Ran"e To+ US .ni<ersit* On ? Forbes ? List On 24 July Accordin$ to the /orbes ma$a1ineAs annual ran*in$ of the top !S! colle$es list 2Stanford ni-ersity in )orthern CaliforniaAs Silicon Lalley ran*ed )o! 1 and much smaller 5omona Colle$e (as in second place!5rinceton ni-ersity in )e( Jersey slipped to third place2 follo(ed by Male ni-ersity in Connecticut in fourth place and Columbia ni-ersity in )e( Mor* City at )o! 4!/or the si@th year2 /orbes (or*ed (ith the Center for Colle$e Affordability and 5roducti-ity in 3ashin$ton to produce the list! !LACES IN NE0S ? Incheon ? Name 0orl (an" Ca+ital For 234@ On 1< July )ESCO announced South 6oreaAs (estern port city of "ncheon has been chosen to be the 3orld #oo* Capital for the year 2014!"ncheon became the 14th city to be desi$nated as the 3orld #oo* Capital follo(in$ the )i$erian city of 5ort =arcourt for 201B and #an$*o* for the year 2013! Stron$ Earth8.a"e %its China On 22 July a stron$ earth9ua*e in north(estern China 2measurin$ ?!? on %ichter scale2 that has *illed more than 8< people and in&ured B12!,he 9ua*e hit alon$ the border of t(o counties G Min and >han$!,he epicenter2 (ith a depth of 20 *m2 (as 1'0 *m a(ay from the pro-incial capital 8an1hou!,he earth9ua*e (as also felt in

,ianshui city and the pro-incial capital city of 8an1hou besides in the cities of ;iAan2 #ao&i and ;ianyan$ in nei$hborin$ Shaan@i 5ro-ince! A((REAIATIONS 5S8L T+ 5olar Satellite 8aunch Lehicle "%)SS T+ "ndian %e$ional )a-i$ation Satellite System 3"5O TG 3orld "ntellectual 5roperty Or$ani1ation CMA" T+ Clothin$ Manufacturers Association of "ndia AE5C TG Apparel E@port 5romotion Council C"S/ TT Central "ndustrial Security /orce C%5/ TG Central %eser-e 5olice /orce :FCA TG :irectorate Feneral of Ci-il A-iation CAA TG Ci-il A-iation Authority FS5A TG Fas Sale 5urchase A$reement MM%CA T+ Medium Multi %ole Combat Aircraft ESMA TG Essential Ser-ices Maintenance Act (OO;S IN NE0S CA (o.8.et Of Ai<e"anan a/s 0ritin$sD (oo" Release S(ami Li-e*ananda ,he boo* titled NA #ou9uet Of Li-e*anandaAs 3ritin$sA (as released on 10 July!,he boo* contains a number of hand+(ritten poetries2 essays and e-en letters (ritten by Li-e*ananda in #en$ali and En$lish!1<th century philosopher+mon* S(ami Li-e*ananda ha-e been compiled in a boo* as a facsimile copy of his ori$inal hand(ritin$! D An Uncertain 7lor*H In ia an its Contra ictions D (oo" Release O An ncertain FloryI "ndia and its Contradictions Nauthored by Jean :re1e2 the de-elopment economist and Amratya Sen2 an economist2 a philosopher and a )obel 5ri1e (inner!,he boo* (as released in month of July 2013!,he boo* has been published by 5en$uin #oo*s "ndia!"n the boo* authors ha-e presented a far reachin$ analysis of the conditions of contemporary "ndia (ith a compilation of the (ealth of illuminatin$ data!

D The Ne) (ihar # Re"in lin$ 7o<ernance an 9e<elo+ment C(oo" Release On 21 July N,he )e( #ihar G %e*indlin$ Fo-ernance and :e-elopment O (as released by )oble laureate Amartya Sen!5resident 5ranab Mu*her&ee recei-ed a copy of boo* from )obel 8aureate Amartya Sen .centre0 at %ashtrapati #ha-an !,he boo* has been edited by )!6! Sin$h! CAn A$en a for In ia/s 7ro)thH Essa*s in %ono.r of !E Chi ambaramD (oo" Release On 31 July ,he boo* entitled O An A$enda for "ndiaAs Fro(thI Essays in =onour of 5! Chidambaram N (as released in )e( :elhi by 5rime Minister of "ndia2 :r! Manmohan Sin$h!,he boo*2 (hich is edited by Sameer 6ochhar of the S*och /oundation2 encompasses -arious e@cellent essays by (ell *no(n distin$uished e@perts! "n the boo*2 all the authors dated their association (ith 5! Chidambaram from 1<<12 (hen he (as the Minister of Commerce as (ell as a *ey reformer initiatin$ trade policy reform! COMMITTEES %arsh<ar han !atil Committee On A$ric.lt.ral Mar"etin$ S.bmits Re+ort On 3 July ,he Committee of State Ministers "n+char$e of A$riculture Mar*etin$ to 5romote Mar*etin$ %eforms has submitted final report to the A$riculture Minister2 Shri Sharad 5a(ar!"t has called for an effecti-e implementation of Model A5MC Act in all the states! ,his committee (as constituted in March2 2010 under the Chairmanship of Shri =arsh-ardhan 5atil2 Minister for Cooperation and 5arliamentary Affairs2 Fo-t!of Maharashtra!,he committee has also recommended the settin$ up of multiple and competiti-e mar*etin$ channelsK independent re$ulatory authority to encoura$e pri-ate in-estorsK need for -iability $ap fundin$ to attract pri-ate sector in-estmentK hi$her in-estment in mar*etin$ infrastructure! IM!ORTANT 9AGS AN9 9ATES D Nelson Man ela International 9a* D Obser<e On 48 J.l* )elson Mandela "nternational :ay (as obser-ed across the (orld on 18 July 2013 to earmar* freedom2 &ustice and democracy! ,he o-erarchin$ ob&ecti-e of Mandela :ay is to inspire indi-iduals to ta*e action to help chan$e the (orld for the better2

and in doin$ so build a $lobal mo-ement for $ood! ltimately it see*s to empo(er communities e-ery(here! N,a*e ActionK "nspire Chan$eK Ma*e E-ery :ay a Mandela :ay!O"n )o-ember 200<2 the ) Feneral Assembly declared 18 July as the )elson Mandela "nternational :ay to reco$ni1e the former South African 5residentAs contribution to the culture of peace and freedom! D 0orl !o+.lation 9a* C Obser<e Across The 0orl On 44 J.l* 3orld 5opulation :ay (as obser-ed on 11 July 2013 across the (orld! ,he theme for the year 2013 is C/ocus is on Adolescent 5re$nancyA! "n 1<8<2 in its decision 8<RB?2 the Fo-ernin$ Council of the nited )ations :e-elopment 5ro$ramme . ):50 declared 11 July as the day that should be obser-ed as 3orld 5opulation :ay by the "nternational Community!,he ):5 recommended 11 July as (orld 5opulation :ay2 in order to focus attention on the ur$ency and importance of population issues in the conte@t of o-erall de-elopment plans and pro$rammes and the need to find solutions for these issues!,he 2013 3orld 5opulation :ay is bein$ obser-ed (ith an aim of raisin$ a(areness on the issue of adolescent pre$nancy (ith the hope of deli-erin$ a (orld (here e-ery pre$nancy is (anted and e-ery childbirth is safe2 and e-ery youn$ personAs potential is fulfilled! ,he 2013 aim has been proposed because as per reports about 1? million of $irls under 18 years of a$e $i-e birth to a child e-ery year! Apart from this about 3!2 million under$oes an unsafe abortion and about <0 percent of the pre$nant adolescents in the de-elopin$ (orld are married! D Malala 9a*D Obser<e Across The 0orl On 42 J.l* 12 July 2013 (as obser-ed as Malala :ay across the 3orld and by nited )ations! ,he day is bein$ obser-ed by the nited )ations to hi$hli$ht the fi$ht of education of the 5a*istani child acti-ist Malala Mousaf1ai! Seminars2 conferences and other ceremonies (ere held across 5a*istan (herein scholars2 educationists and analysts participated to pay tribute to Malala2 (ho fou$ht for $irlAs education in S(at -alley a$ainst the ,aliban! 12 July2 the day of MalalaAs #irth (as declared as Malala :ay by ) Feneral Secretary #an+6i+Moon on her 1?th #irthday!Malala is the $irl from 5a*istan2 (ho (as shot in head and nec* by the ,ehri*+i+,aliban 5a*istan .,,50 on < October 2012 for ad-ocatin$ $irls for their ri$ht to education and spea*in$ a$ainst ,aliban!

A.$.st 2345 C.rrent Affairs St. * Material

INTERNATIONAL (an$la esh Co.rt 9is8.alifies Jamaat'e'Islami !art* On 1 Au$ust a #an$ladesh court has dis9ualified the countryAs lar$est "slamic party from ta*in$ part in the ne@t $eneral election!,he =i$h Court panel ruled that the opposition #an$ladesh Jamaat+e+"slami partyAs re$ulations -iolate the constitutional pro-ision of secularism! Robert M.$abe Re'electe As !resi ent Of ,imbab)e On 3 Au$ust >anu+5/ .>imbab(e African )ational nion+5atriotic /ront02 the political party of the incumbent 5resident %obert Mu$abe has (on the 5residential election of >imbab(e !Mu$abe (on ?1 percent of the -ote a$ainst the 3B percent (on by the Mor$an ,s-an$irai2 the 5rime Minister of >imbab(e of Mo-ement for :emocratic Chan$e .M:C0 party!3ith this (in2 Mu$abe has (on his se-enth term to the office of the 5resident of >imbab(e !%obert Mu$abe is one of the leaders of the $uerrilla mo-ements a$ainst (hite+minority rule of >imbab(e and (as elected to po(er in 1<80! China (.ilt !ort Terminal O+ens In Sri Lan"a On 4 Au$ust Sri 8an*aAs 5resident2 Mahinda %a&apa*se declared open the ne( "nternational Container ,erminal of the Colombo harbour!,he 7400 million

Colombo "nternational Container ,erminal .C"C,0 (as built by China Merchants =oldin$s!,he ne( South 5ort is the only harbor in South Asia that can accommodate the ,riple+E Class -essels!84+pct of the in-estment is by C"C, and the remainin$ 14+pct has been funded by the by the Sri 8an*a 5orts Authority! Ibrahim (o.bacar ;eita Electe As Ne) !resi ent of Mali On 12 Au$ust /ormer 5rime Minister "brahim #oubacar 6eita (as elected as 5resident of Mali!=e (on the MaliAs 5residential elections 2 after his opponent and E@+/inance Minister SoumaUla Cisse2 conceded defeat! =e (as 5rime Minister of Mali from 1<<B to 2000 and 5resident of the )ational Assembly of Mali from 2002 to 200'! =e founded a political party2 %ally for Mali .%5M02 in 2001 and he has led the party since then! "n addition to ser-in$ in the )ational Assembly2 6eita (as a member of the 5arliament of the Economic Community of 3est African States! (ritain !arliament Aotes A$ainst !ossible Militar* Action In S*ria On 2< Au$ust the #ritain 5arliament re&ected a proposal for military action in Syria !#y a 284 to 2'2 mar$in #ritish M5s re&ected the $o-ernmentAs motion to support in principle military action a$ainst Syria! IN9IA = 0ORL9 In ia Si$ns 9TAC +rotocol )ith Morocco On 8 Au$ust "ndia si$ned a 5rotocol amendin$ the "ndia G Morocco :ouble ,a@ation A-oidance Con-ention .:,AC0 in )e( :elhi !,he 5rotocol (as si$ned by :r Sudha Sharma2 Chairperson2 Central #oard of :irect ,a@es on behalf of Fo-ernment of "ndia and =!E! Mr! 8arbi %effouh2 Ambassador of the 6in$dom of Morocco to "ndia on behalf of Fo-ernment of the 6in$dom of Morocco!,he 5rotocol is based on international standards of transparency and e@chan$e of information! "t pro-ides for effecti-e e@chan$e of information includin$ ban*in$ information bet(een ta@ authorities of the t(o countries! @th In ia # China Strate$ic 9ialo$.e %el In 9elhi ,he 4th "ndia+China Strate$ic :ialo$ue (as held at )e( :elhi on 20 Au$ust !,he "ndian side (as led by /orei$n Secretary Su&atha Sin$h and the Chinese side (as led by Lice /orei$n Minister 8iu >henmin!,he t(o sides discussed se-eral issues

includin$ enhancin$ understandin$ on the utili1ation of trans+border ri-er (aters2 e@pandin$ bilateral trade and in-estment (hile addressin$ problems of the lar$e and $ro(in$ deficit faced by "ndia2 (ays of maintainin$ peace and tran9uility alon$ the 8ine of Actual Control .8AC0 in the "ndia+China border areas2 methods of boostin$ cultural cooperation as (ell as people+to+people e@chan$es and e@pansion of scientific and technolo$ical cooperation! In ia Thir Lar$est Internet Usin$ Nation On 21 Au$ust Accordin$ to research firm com Score latest report titled N"ndia :i$ital /uture in /ocus 2013 O 2 "ndia (ith '3!< million )et users is the (orldAs third lar$est "nternet population2 o-erta*in$ Japan .Bth position0 but behind China ./irst position0 and the S! .Second position0 %idin$ on a 31 per cent year+on+year increase2 "ndiaAs online population $re( to '3!< million!3ith an e@tended online uni-erse in e@cess of 1B4 million the mar*et is at a tippin$ point for online businesses!"ndia o-ertoo* Japan by addin$ 1'!? million users in 2012! In ians Thir Lar$est Immi$rant 7ro.+ In US On 23 Au$ust Accordin$ to the Mi$ration 5olicy "nstitute latest study report 2 "ndians ha-e emer$ed as the third+lar$est immi$rant $roup in the S behind Me@icans and Chinese2 (ith nearly 1!< million of them li-in$ in the country!"ndian population in the S has $ro(n to o-er 140 times its si1e since 1<?02 (hen the sli$htly more than 122000 "ndian immi$rants represented less than 0!4 per cent of the total immi$rant population of <!' million immi$rants!,ill 20112 "ndian+born immi$rants accounted for almost fi-e per cent .1!8? million0 of AmericaAs B0!B million immi$rants!Almost one+third of all "ndian immi$rants resided in &ust t(o states+ California and )e( Jersey!More than a 9uarter of them li-ed in three ma&or metropolitan areas+ )e( Mor*2 Chica$o and San Jose!,(o per cent of all unauthorised immi$rants in the nited States (ere also from "ndia! In ia an Ira8 Si$ne Ener$* Coo+eration A$reement On 23 Au$ust "ndia and "ra9 si$ned an a$reement on ener$y cooperation to boost the bilateral ties!,he a$reement (as si$ned alon$ (ith three other a$reements after comprehensi-e tal*s bet(een 5rime Minister :r! Manmohan Sin$h and his "ra9 5rime Minister )ouri al+Mali*i on strate$ic bilateral2 re$ional and international issues! "ra9 is an important Fulf nation and has emer$ed as "ndiaAs second lar$est crude oil supplier after Saudi Arabia!

In ia Anno.nce Rs @:333 crore For (h.tan On 31 Au$ust "ndia announced an aid of %s 42000 crore2 includin$ a special pac*a$e of %s 400 crore2 for #hutan as part of commitment to its continued socio+ economic de-elopment2 a mo-e that assumes si$nificance a$ainst the bac*drop of unease in the bilateral ties recently! "ndia (ill contribute %s B400 crore to(ards #hutanAs 11th 5lan2 as (ell as %s 400 crore to(ards an Economic Stimulus 5ac*a$e!,he decision (as announced after tal*s in )e(:elhi bet(een 5rime Minister Manmohan Sin$h and #hutan 5rime Minister ,sherin$ ,ob$ay! NATIONAL In ia Lost 223 Lan$.a$es In Last @3 Gears On < Au$ust A t(o+year sur-ey by #hasha %esearch and 5ublication Centre based in Ladodara has re-ealed that "ndia has lost around 20 per cent of its lan$ua$es o-er the last 40 years!Officials of the sur-ey2 called the 5eopleAs 8in$uistic Sur-ey of "ndia .58S"0 has held that the country had 12100 lan$ua$es in 1<?1 of (hich 220 ha-e -anished! ,he sur-ey has found '80 lan$ua$es and mi$ht ha-e missed another 1002 (hich ma*es it around 880!,he 1<?1 census had recorded that "ndia had 12?42 lan$ua$es in all but the number (as narro(ed do(n to 12100 later for -ariants of same lan$ua$es (ere also included in the list! ,he 1<'1 census re$istered only 108 lan$ua$es for it (as decided that only those lan$ua$es (ith o-er 102000 spea*ers (ill be included! RaB*a Sabha !asse The ?Re$istration of (irths an 9eaths 1Amen ment2 (ill: 2342 ? On 13 Au$ust %a&ya Sabha passed a bill to ma*e re$istration of marria$es mandatory!,he %e$istration of #irths and :eaths .Amendment0 #ill2 20122 (hich (as passed by %a&ya Sabha2 see*s to pro-ide compulsory re$istration of marria$es irrespecti-e of reli$ion! ,he re$istration of marria$es (ill not apply to those (ho ha-e re$istered their marria$e under any other la(!At present2 there is pro-ision for re$istration of only births and deaths! Lo" Sabha !asse ?National Foo Sec.rit* (ill: 2345O On 2? Au$ust 8o* Sabha passed the C)ational /ood Security #ill2 2013D!,he #ill see*s to $i-e le$al ri$hts to $et subsidi1ed $rains e-ery month to ?' percent of the o-erall population .of (hich '4 percent is rural and 40 percent is urban

population0!A beneficiary (ill be entitled to 4 *$ of rice2 (heat or coarse cereals at %s! 32 %s! 2 and %e! 1 per *$ a month2 respecti-ely!,he beneficiaries (ill be identified by the States based on parameters prescribed by the nion $o-ernment!Once the #ill $ets its nod in the %a&ya Sabha and 5residentAs accent2 "ndia (ill &oin the selected lea$ue of countries that $uarantee food $rants to a ma&ority of its population! RaB*a Sabha !asse ?The Marria$e La)s 1Amen ment2 (ill: 2343O On 2? Au$ust the %a&ya Sabha passed C,he Marria$e 8a(s .Amendment0 #ill2 2010 (as passed by -oice -ote !"t see*s to amend the =indu Marria$e Act 1<44 and the Special Marria$es Act2 1<4B (hich pro-ides for irretrie-able brea*do(n on marria$e as a $round for di-orce as (ell as $rants (omen the ri$ht to a share in the property of their husbands! nder the ne( bill2 a pro-ision has been made to restrict the $rant of decree of di-orce on the $round of irretrie-able brea*do(n of marria$e if the court is satisfied that ade9uate pro-ision for the maintenance of children born out of the marria$e has not been made consistently (ith the financial capacities of the parents! Lo" Sabha !asse ?Lan Ac8.isition (ill ? ,he 8o* Sabha passed the landmar* land ac9uisition and rehabilitation bill on 2< Au$ust 2013 that aims to pro-ide fair compensation to those (hose land is ta*en2 brin$s transparency to the process and details measures for rehabilitation of those displaced!,he bill2 (hich (ill no( be called2 ,he %i$ht to /air Compensation and ,ransparency in 8and Ac9uisition2 %ehabilitation and %esettlement #ill2 20122 replaced a nearly 120+year+old la( enacted durin$ #ritish rule in 18<B! Com+anies (ill 2345 Recei<es !resi ent/s Assent ,he ne( Companies #ill has recei-ed 5residentAs assent2 that (ill ma*e it into a la( replacin$ the nearly si@+decade old re$ulations that $o-ern corporates in the country!,he Companies #ill 2013 recei-ed assent from the 5resident 5ranab Mu*her&ee on 2< Au$ust 2013!,he Companies #ill 2012 (as passed in %a&ya Sabha on 8 Au$ust 2013 ! Earlier2 the bill (as passed by the 8o* Sabha on 18 :ecember 2012! 3ith the 5residentAs assent2 the Companies #ill 2012 became the Companies Act2 2013 .)e( Act0!,he ne( #ill2 pro-idin$ for s(eepin$ chan$es in the (ay companies operate and are re$ulated in the country2 recei-ed

5arliamentary appro-al earlier this month! "t (ould replace the Companies Act 1<4?! STATES ;arnata"a (ecomes First State To Establish Calamities Relief F.n On 4 Au$ust 6arnata*a Fo-ernment has become the first state in the country to establish State )atural Calamities %elief fund of %s! 124 crore!,he %elief /und (ill pro-ide for a natural calamities relief fund (hich (ould pro-ide for buildin$ capital assets and relief in respect of man+made disasters that are not co-ered under the state disaster response fund $uidelines of the Fo-ernment of "ndia! First !.blic Sector (reast Mil" (an" Ina.$.rate In ;ol"ata On ' Au$ust A modern and sophisticated breast mil* ban* (as inau$urated at the state+run Seth Su*hlal 6arnani Memorial =ospital .SS6M0 by 3est #en$al Chief Minister Mamata #aner&ee ! ,his no-el scheme (as launched to cater to the basic needs of a child (ho is &ust born2 but does not $et the mil* from the mother or (hen the mother dies after $i-in$ birth to the child!,he breast mil* ban* (ould help specially to non+lactatin$ mothers! ,he stored mil* can be used to feed babies (hose mothers fall ill durin$ the si@+month lactatin$ period after pre$nancy! In ia/s First C*ber Forensic Laborator* 1CFL2 Establishe In Tri+.ra ,he first Cyber /orensic 8aboratory .C/80 of "ndia (as established in ,ripura on 11 Au$ust !,he lab (as established at the ,ripura =i$h Court and the purpose of the lab is to facilitate information related to court cases! ,he C/8 (as inau$urated by Supreme Court &ud$e Justice Madan #! 8o*ur! ?A$ar'Mal)a/ (ecomes The @4st 9istrict Of Ma h*a !ra esh Madhya 5radesh $o-ernment $a-e nod to creation of the ne( district of A$ar+ Mal(a2 ta*in$ the number of districts in the state to 41!,he district (ill come into e@istence on 1? Au$ust!,he ne( district (ill be created by bifurcatin$ Sha&apur districtK it (ill comprise the tehsils of A$ar2 #adoud2 Susner and )al*heda! =ead9uarters (ould be at A$ar to(n!Spread o-er 22'84 s9uare *m2 A$ar+Mal(a (ill ha-e population of B!80 la*h! Sonia Sonia 7an hi La.nches ?Foo Sec.rit* Scheme/ In 9elhi On 20 Au$ust Con$ress president Sonia Fandhi launched the Centre+Sponsored C

/ood security scheme Con the occasion of former 5rime Minister %a&i- FandhiAs ?<th birth Anni-ersary!:elhi (as the first state to implement the scheme! nder the scheme2 a total of '3!4 la*h people (ill $et food$rain at hi$hly subsidised rates!,he food security pro$ramme (ould pro-ide subsidised $rains for ?' per cent of the population and (ould see $o-ernment spendin$ an estimated %s! 12242000 crore to supply ?2 million tonnes of $rains! nder the scheme2 beneficiaries (ould $et (heat at %s! 2 a *$2 rice at %s! 3 a *$ and coarse $rain at %s! 1 a *$!Con$ress party ruled northern states =aryana and ttara*hand ha-e also launched this scheme! Maharashtra Cabinet A++ro<e Anti'(lac" Ma$ic an S.+erstition Or inance On 21 Au$ust the Maharashtra Cabinet has appro-ed the NAnti+#lac* Ma$ic and Superstition OrdinanceO after the death of anti+superstition acti-ist )arendra :abhol*ar!,he decision (as ta*en by the state cabinet in (a*e up of the protests that follo(ed after the murder of :abho*ar in 5une on 20 Au$ust 2013!:abhol*ar (as at the forefront of a campai$n to persuade the Maharashtra $o-ernment to pass an anti+superstition and blac* ma$ic bill! RaBasthan 7o<ernment Lai Fo.n ation Stone For 0orl /s Lar$est Solar !ar" On 21 Au$ust State Fo-ernment of %a&asthan laid the foundation stone for (orldAs bi$$est solar par* at #hadla of Jodhpur :istrict of %a&asthan!,he solar par* (ith $eneration capacity of 3000 M3 (ould be commissioned in phased manner! "n its first phase the solar par* (ill $enerate 1000 M3!Solar 5ar* (ould be established in 10 thousand hectare land and Asian :e-elopment #an* .A:#0 (ill pro-ide 3000 crore rupees loan for de-elopment of transmission lines of this solar par*! CONFERENCES (RICS (.siness Co.ncil Meetin$ %el In Johannesb.r$ ,he first #%"CS #usiness Council Meetin$ (as held on 1< G 20 Au$ust 2013 in Johannesbur$ 2 South Africa!,he ob&ecti-e of the meet is aimin$ to increase the trade and in-estment ties bet(een participatin$ economies!,he t(o+day meetin$ (as attended by the Chairpersons of the respecti-e chapters of the #%"CS #usiness

Council that attended the meetin$ areI Jose %ubens de la %osa .#ra1il02 Ser$ey 6atyrin .%ussian /ederation02 On*ar 6an(ar ."ndia0 and MA >ehua .China0!,he meetin$ (as chaired by 5atrice Motsepe2 Chairman of the South African and #%"CS #usiness Council!"n a &oint statement follo(in$ the first #%"CS #usiness Council meetin$ 2the council made se-eral recommendations includeAs ur$in$ $o-ernments to facilitate con-enience in e@peditin$ multiple entry business -isas for lon$er periods2 as (ell as considerin$ a proposal to create a #%"CS business tra-el card K Enhancin$ connecti-ityK and G Creatin$ a #%"CS business portal2 (hich (ill be facilitated by the #%"CS #usiness Council Secretariat2 amon$ others!,he council has a$reed to (or* to$ether in areas such as infrastructure2 minin$ and mineral beneficiation2 -alue+added manufacturin$ de-elopment2 s*ills de-elopment and sustainable de-elopment!#%"CS an acronym for the #ra1il2 %ussia2 "ndia2 China and South Africa $roup of countries!,he #%"CS #usiness Council (as established durin$ the 2013 #%"CS Summit in :urban in March2 (ith South African businessman 5atrice Motsepe named chairman of the body! Secon ASEAN 9efence Ministers/ Meetin$ # !l.s %el In (r.nei ,he 2nd ASEA) :efense MinistersA Meetin$+5lus has concluded in #runei on 2< Au$ust !:efense ministers from ASEA) si$ned a declaration of commitment to enhance peace and security in the Asia+5acific re$ion!,hey committed to adhere to the principles of e9uality2 mutual respect2 mutual benefit and respect for international la(s in the handlin$ of disputes! ,he defense ministers also a$reed to promote better understandin$ and confidence+buildin$ measures amon$ defense establishments!ASEA) :efence ministerAs meetin$ firstly con-ened in LietnamAs capital =anoi on October 122 20102 the re$ional e-ent has in-ol-ed 18 member states2 includin$ ministers from the 10 ASEA) nations!ASEA) :efence MinistersA Meetin$ G 5lus (as established in 2010!,his forum is con-ened e-ery t(o years!,he third A:MM+5lus is scheduled to be held in Malaysia in 2014! A0AR9S = %ONOURS Mala*alam !oetess S.$atha".mari A)ar e 0ith ? Saras)ati Samman 2345 ? On 2 Au$ust %eno(ned Malayalam poetess and social acti-ist Su$atha*umari has been conferred (ith the presti$ious Saras(ati Samman 2012 for Manale1huthu

.the 3ritin$s on the Sand02 a collection of poems in Malayalam!Manale1huthu (as published in the year 200?!Saras(ati Samman A(ard (as instituted by 66 #irla /oundation in 1<<1!,his a(ard is $i-en e-ery year to the literary (or* in any "ndian lan$ua$e (hich is the part of Ei$hth Schedule of the Constitution! US !resi ential Me al To (ill Clinton an O+rah 0infre* On 8 Au$ust #arac* Obama2 the S 5resident (ould confer the 5residential Medal of /reedom on former S 5resident2 #ill Clinton and tal* sho( 9ueen2 Oprah 3infrey! "t is the hi$hest ci-ilian honour of America! In ian American !rofessor Recei<e To+ US En<ironmental A)ar On 1? Au$ust An "ndian American professor of biolo$ical and a$ricultural en$ineerin$ has been reco$nised by a top S en-ironmental and (ater resources institute for his pioneerin$ (or* in hydrolo$y! Li&ay 5 Sin$h2 professor and Caroline K 3illiam ) 8ehrer distin$uished chair in the department of biolo$ical and a$ricultural en$ineerin$ at ,e@as AHM ni-ersity2 (as named a recipient of the 2013 8ifetime Achie-ement A(ard by the American Society of Ci-il En$ineers En-ironmental and 3ater %esources "nstitute .ASCE+E3%"0!Sin$h is an internationally reco$nised and pre+eminent en$ineer specialisin$ in (ater resources en$ineerin$ and hydrolo$y! =is (or* has de-eloped the application of *inematic (a-e theory to the point (here it is (idely used throu$hout the (orld in hydrolo$ic models used for (ater resource modellin$2 flood plannin$ and hydrolo$ic desi$n! %arsh)anti (isht Selecte For CSir E m.n %illar* Mo.ntain Le$ac* Me al 2345 C On 12 Au$ust 5rofessor of economics2 and conser-ationist2 and mountaineer :r! =arsh(anti #isht has been selected to recei-e the NSir Edmund =illary Mountain 8e$acy Medal 2013P!,he a(ard is presented for remar*able ser-ice in the conser-ation of culture and nature in mountainous re$ions!"n 2003 the Sir Edmund =illary Mountain 8e$acy Medal (as initiated by unanimous resolution of the )amche ConferenceI 5ar*s2 5eople and Mountain ,ourism! Malala Go.saf&ai 0ins International Chil ren/s !eace !ri&e On 2' Au$ust 5a*istani school pupil and education acti-ist Malala Mousaf1ai (on the "nternational ChildrenAs 5eace 5ri1e 2013! ,he peace pri1e carries a cash -alue

of 100000 euros .133000 S dollars0 (hich is in-ested in pro&ects relatin$ to the (innerAs cause! ,he "nternational ChildrenAs 5eace 5ri1e is an initiati-e of the Amsterdem+based :utch 6ids%i$hts /oundation! "t (as launched in the year 2004 by former So-iet 5resident Mi*hail Forbache-2 (hen he chaired the Summit of )obel 5eace 8aureates in %ome! Since then2 the pri1e has been a(arded e-ery year by a )obel 5eace 5ri1e 8aureate! ,he pri1e is presented annually to an e@ceptional child2 (hose coura$eous or other(ise remar*able actions ha-e made a difference in counterin$ problems2 (hich affect children around the (orld! Man ela Is The First Reci+ient Of ?Mahathir A)ar ? For 7lobal !eace On 2' Au$ust /ormer South African 5resident )elson Mandela (as a(arded the first 8ifetime Campai$ner for 5eace and /reedom of the Mahathir A(ard for Flobal 5eace !Current South African 5resident Jacob >uma recei-ed the a(ard on behalf of Mandela2 (ho is in a critical condition in a hospital in 5retoria!,he Mahathir A(ard for Flobal 5eace is a peace a(ard instituted by the Mahathir Flobal 5eace /oundation! ,he foundation (as formed to contribute to (orld(ide peace efforts!Mahathir bin Mohamad is a Malaysian politician (ho (as the fourth 5rime Minister of Malaysia! =e held the post for 22 years from 1<81 to 20032 ma*in$ him MalaysiaAs lon$est ser-in$ 5rime Minister! S!ORTS = 7AMES In ia 0on (ron&e Me al at J.nior 0omen %oc"e* 0orl C.+ On B Au$ust "ndian Junior 3omen =oc*ey team (on its first e-er #ron1e medal in E%FO =oc*ey Junior 3orld Cup at Monchen$ladbac2 Fermany !"ndia defeated En$land by 3+2 in a penalty shoot+out!"ndian for(ard %ani (as declared the #est 5layer of the E%FO Junior 3omen =oc*ey 3orld Cup 2013!,he )etherland team (on the final a$ainst Ar$entina and clinched the trophy for a record third time! !arimarBan Ne$i 0on !oliti"en C.+ On B Au$ust "ndian Frandmaster 5arimar&an (on the :enmar*As 5oliti*en Cup at Copenha$en2 :enmar* by $ainin$ < out of the total possible 10 points! =e defeated the se-enth seed2 "talian Sabino #runello in &ust 31 mo-es of %uy 8ope1! Ja eBa First In ian After ;.mble To To+ O9I (o)lers/ List On B Au$ust 8eft+arm spinner %a-indra Jade&a became the first "ndian bo(ler to

top the bo(lersA chart in the latest "CC O:" 5layer %an*in$s after former captain Anil 6umble claimed the pole position (ay bac* in 1<<?!O-erall2 Jade&a is the fourth "ndia bo(ler after 6apil :e- .March 1<8<02 Maninder Sin$h .:ecember 1<8'+)o-ember 1<880 and 6umble to claim the number+one spot in O:"s! Fran"lin 0ins Recor > 7ol s at 0orl S)immin$ Cham+ionshi+s On 4 Au$ust American s(immer Missy /ran*lin became the first (oman to (in si@ $old medals at a (orld+championships!She claimed her record si@th $old medal of the (orld championships 2 s(immin$ the leadoff le$ for the Americans in the B00+meter medley relay in #arcelona2 Spain!Missy /ran*lin (on four $olds and a bron1e at the 2012 8ondon Fames2 &oins American men Michael 5helps and Mar* Spit1 as (ell as Ferman (oman 6ristin Otto (ith si@ $olds in either a (orld or Olympic competition!/ran*lin became the (innin$est female s(immer e-er at a (orld meet2 eclipsin$ the record that (as shared by ,racy Caul*ins2 (ho (on fi-e times in 1<'82 and 8ibby ,ric*ett2 (ho did it in 200'! !A Sin h. 0on (ron&e Me al at 0orl (a minton Cham+ionshi+s On 10 Au$ust "ndian shuttler 5 L Sindhu lost to the %atchano* "ntanon of ,hailand in the semi+final match at the 3orld #adminton Championships at Fuan$1hou2 China!5 L Sindhu no( became the only second "ndian sin$les player to (in a medal after 5ra*ash 5adu*one !J(ala Futta and Ash(ini 5onnappa had (on the doubles bron1e in 8ondon in 2011! 0orl (a minton Cham+ionshi+ 2345 0inners 0omen/s Sin$les H' ,hailandAs %atchano* "ntanon (on the (omenAs sin$les title 2after defeated 8i ;uerui .China0 in the final at the 3orld #adminton Championships at Fuan$1hou!,his is the first time any shuttler from ,hailand has (on a $old at the 3orlds in any cate$ory! Men/s Sin$les H' ChinaAs 8in :an reinforced his claim to bein$ the $reatest badminton player in history after he defeated arch ri-al Malaysian 8ee Chon$ 3ei in the 3orld Championship final to become the first man to (in fi-e (orld sin$les titles! Ro$ers C.+ Tennis To.rnament 2345 0inners 0omen/s Sin$les H' On 11 Au$ust Serena 3illiams . !S0 (on the %o$ers Cup ,ennis ,ournament 3omenAs sin$les title 2after defeated %omaniaAs Sorana

Cirstea in the final at Montreal .Canada0!Serena 3illiams (on the %o$ers Cup (omenAs title for the third time! Men/s Sin$les H' %afael )adal .Spain0 (on his third %o$ers Cup MenAs Sin$les title 2 after defeated CanadaAs Milos %aonic in the final! Marion (artoli Retires From Tennis On 1B Au$ust 3imbledon champion Marion #artoli of /rance announces her retirement from professional tennis!She announced the retirement after losin$ in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters to %omaniaAs Simona =alep! She is ran*ed se-enth in the (orld!#esides 3imbledon 20132 #artoli (on se-en other 3,A ,our titles2 the first one (as in Auc*land in 200?! %ecently she (on t(o tournaments both in 2011 at Eastbourne and Osa*a2 Japan2 prior to 3imbledon! 2345 0orl Cham+ionshi+s in Athletics 0inners ,he 1Bth 3orld Championships in Athletics are held in Mosco(2 %ussia from 10G 18 Au$ust 2013! %ussia .1' medals 0topped the medal table (ith se-en $old2 four sil-er2 and si@ bron1e medals!,he S .24 medals0 came in second place at the e-ent2 recei-in$ si@ $old2 13 sil-er2 and si@ bron1e medals! Jamaica .1< medals 0 placed third2 (ith its athletes earnin$ si@ $old2 t(o sil-er2 and one bron1e! 0inners Of The 2345 0orl Cham+ionshi+s in Athletics H' J JamaicaAs sain #olt and Shelly+Ann /raser+5ryce both (on three $old medals in the menAs and (omenAs 100 m2 200 m and B @ 100 m relay respecti-ely to become the most successful athletes at the e-ent! sain #olt mo-ed to the top of the all+time 3orld Championships medal table by (innin$ three $old medals!"t (as #oltAs second three $old performance at the 3orld Championships!3ith this -ictory sain #olt has &oined the club of hi$hest .80 $old medal (inners list alon$ (ith American (omenAs 200m specialist Allyson /eli@2 and retired S trac* stars Carl 8e(is and Michael Johnson includin$ relays! J Christina Ober$foll of Fermany (on the (omenAs &a-elin title (ith a thro( of ?<!04 metres ! J /rench athlete ,eddy ,am$ho claimed $old in the menAs triple &ump e-ent 22 (ith a &ump measurin$ 18!0Bm! J "n the MenAs 12 400 metres race 6enyan Asbel 6iprop . 3minI3?!2 sec0 (on the $old and Eunice Jep*oech Sum of 6enya (on $old in 3omenAs 800 metres race .1min I4'!38 sec0

J 3omenAs 102000 meters %ace I+ ,irunesh :ibaba .Ethiopia0 JMenAs 102000 meters %ace I+ :ouble Olympic champion Mo /arah of #ritain created history once a$ain in Mosco( as he became the first #ritish man to (in a 102000m (orld title!,he Somalia+born Mo /arah (ent do(n in the history boo*s as &ust the second man to (in the 4000 and 102000m races at the Olympics and the (orld championships! J MenAs 20 *ilometres 3al* I+ Ale*sandr "-ano- .%ussia0 J 3omenAs Marathon I+ 6enyaAs Edna )$erin$(ony 6ipla$at becomes the first (omen in history to defend her (orld championship marathon title! J Shot put I+ )e( >ealandAs Lalerie Adams has become the first (oman to (in four indi-idual (orld athletics titles in the same e-ent! J MenAs 110 metres =urdles I+ :a-id Oli-er . SA0 J MenAs B00metres =urdles I+ Jehu Fordon .,rinidad0 J 3omenAs B00 metres =urdles I+ >u1ana =e&no-a .C1ech %epublic 0 J %ussian pole -aulter Melena "sinbaye-a (on $old!!Melena "sinbaye-a is a t(o+ time Olympic $old medalist .200B and 200802 a three+time 3orld Champion .20042 200' and 201302 the current (orld record holder in the e-ent2 (ho is (idely considered the $reatest female pole+-aulter of all time! Cincinnati Tennis To.rnament 2345 0inners 0omen/s Sin$les H' On 18 Au$ust Lictoria A1aren*a of #elarus (on the Cincinnati ,ennis ,ournament (omenAs sin$les title!A1aren*a defeated Serena 3illiams of the !S in the final at Cincinnati . !S 0 Men/s Sin$les H' "n the MenAs cate$ory %afael )adal .Spain0 has (on the Cincinnati ,ennis ,ournament title for the first time!=e defeated John "sner . !S0 in the final!)adalAs fi-e Masters titles this season are a career best! =eAs tied (ith )o-a* :&o*o-ic for most Masters titles in a season since 1<<0! =eAs (on se-en of the nine Masters e-ents durin$ his career! Sania Mir&a # Jie ,hen$ +air 0on Ne) %a<en O+en Title On 2B Au$ust "ndiaAs Sania Mir1a (on the (omenAs doubles title at the )e( =a-en Open ,ennis tournament alon$ (ith her partner Jie >hen$ of China!Sania and Jie defeated the pair of Anabel Medina Farri$ues .Spain0 and 6atarina Srebotni* .Slo-enia0 in the final at Male!,his is Sania Mir1aAs 1'th 3,A doubles title and the third ,itle in 2013!

A.stralia/s Aaron Finch %its T23 0orl Recor Australian batsman Aaron /inch hit a ne( record in ,(enty20 "nternationals in Southampton .En$land02 (hen he scored 14? runs off ?3 balls a$ainst En$land at Southampton on 2< Au$ust!/inch mashed 1B si@es and 11 fours in his innin$s and surpassed the pre-ious international record of 1232 scored by )e( >ealandAs #rendon McCullum!"n the process he also became the first Australian to score a ,20 international century! ECONOMG Union Cabinet A++ro<e the Settin$ .+ of ?(harati*a Mahila (an" ? On 8 Au$ust the nion Cabinet appro-ed the proposal for settin$ up of C #haratiya Mahila #an* .#M#0 C (ith an initial corpus of %s 12000 crore!,he proposed ban* (ill be head9uartered in )e( :elhi!,he Mahila #an* (ill start (ith ? branches T one each in north2 south2 east2 (est2 central and north eastern part of the country!,he proposed ban* is li*ely to be$in operations by )o-ember this year! In ia Si$ne A$reement 0ith 0orl (an" For Lo) Income %o.sin$ Finance !roBect On 1B Au$ust the $o-ernment of "ndia and the 3orld #an* si$ned a 7100 million credit a$reement aimed at helpin$ lo(+income households in "ndian cities access loans to purchase2 build or up$rade their d(ellin$s!,he 8o( "ncome =ousin$ /inance 5ro&ect (ould be implemented by the )ational =ousin$ #an* .)=#0!,he credit a$reement for the 8o( "ncome =ousin$ /inance 5ro&ect (as si$ned bet(een the Fo-ernment of "ndia2 )ational =ousin$ #an* .)=#0 and 3orld #an* in )e( :elhi! M.slims %a<e Lo)est Li<in$ Stan ar In In ia Accordin$ to the )ational Sample Sur-ey Or$anisation .)SSO0 study titled CEmployment and nemployment Situation Amon$ Ma&or %eli$ious Froups in "ndiaA amon$ -arious reli$ious $roups2Muslims ha-e the lo(est li-in$ standard in the country J Accordin$ to the sur-ey data 2 Muslims a-era$e per capita e@penditure of &ust %s 32!?? in a day!At the other end of the spectrum2 Si*h community en&oys a much better lifestyle as the a-era$e per capita spendin$ amon$ them is %s 44!30 per day2

(hile the same for =indus is %s 3'!40! /or Christians it is %s 41!B3! J At all+"ndia le-el2 the a-era$e monthly per capita e@penditure .M5CE0 of a Si*h household (as %s 12?4< (hile that for a Muslim household (as %s <80 in 200<+ 10!,he a-era$e M5CE for =indus and Christians (ere %s 12124 and %s 124B32 respecti-ely!,he sur-ey said that a-era$e monthly per capita consumption at all+ "ndia le-el (as %s <01 in -illa$es and %s12''3 in cities! O-erall2 the a-era$e M5CE (as %s 12128! J Muslims (ere at the bottom in rural areas2 (ith an a-era$e M5CE of %s 8332 follo(ed by =indus at %s 8882 Christians at %s122<? and Si*hs 12B<8! J "n urban areas2 MuslimsA a-era$e M5CE (as also the lo(est at %s 122'2 follo(ed by =indus at %s 12'<'2 Christians %s 22043 and Si*hs at %s 22180! !er Ca+ita Income U+ >EFJ in 233I'42 On 24 Au$ust Accordin$ to official sources data 2the per capita income in the country increased ?!' per cent per annum durin$ 200B+04 to 2011+122 (hile the percenta$e of poor declined by 2!2 per cent o-er the period!/or 2011+122 the 5lannin$ Commission has estimated percenta$e of people li-in$ belo( the po-erty line at 21!< per cent!,he po-erty line in 2011+12 in terms of monthly per capita consumption e@penditure (as estimated at %s 81? in rural areas and %s 12000 in urban areas!State+(ise2 ttar 5radesh had hi$hest number of people li-in$ belo( po-erty line durin$ 2011+12 at 4<8!1< people belo( po-erty line out of e-ery la*h!"t (as follo(ed by #ihar at 348!14 people .per la*h02 Madhya 5radesh 23B!0B people2 Maharashtra 1<'!<2 people and 3est #en$al at 18B!<8 people li-in$ belo( the po-erty line! 2F crore !eo+le Li<e (elo) !o<ert* Line In In ia "ndiaAs population (as estimated at 123 crore as of March 12 20122 (hile as many as 2' crore people li-ed belo( the po-erty line in 2011+122 Minister of State for 5lannin$ %a&ee- Shu*la e@plained in a (ritten reply to %a&ya Sabha on 2< Au$ust!As per the 5opulation Census of 2011 conduced by the Office of %e$istrar Feneral of "ndia2 the population in the country (as estimated at 121 crore as of March 12 2011!,he po-erty ratio in the country has decreased to 21!< per cent in 2011+12 from 3'!2 per cent in 200B+04!,he rate of decline bet(een 200B+04 and 2011+12 is three times faster than e@perienced bet(een 1<<3+<B and 200B+04!As per the Millennium :e-elopment Foals %eport 20132 the po-erty rate in "ndia fell from B< per cent in 1<<B to B2 per cent in 2004 and 33 per cent in 2010!

SCIENCE = TEC%NOLO7G A.stralia/s Most !o)erf.l S.+er Com+.ter Un<eile On 1 Au$ust AustraliaAs most po(erful supercomputer NO%ai&in NO (as un-eiled in Canberra!%ai&in2 named after the Japanese Fod of thunder and rain2 has costed S: B4!2 million to build and (ill cost S: 10!84 million a year to run!,he super computer2 un-eiled at Australian )ational ni-ersity .A) 02and it is the 2'th most po(erful computer in the (orld! In ia/s 9R9O La.nches E-+losi<e 9etection ;it In US On 2 Au$ust the "ndia+de-eloped S+manufactured E@plosi-e :etection 6it .E:60 (as launched at the S Chamber of Commerce buildin$ in 3ashin$ton!"n a first of its *ind of re-erse technolo$y sharin$ bet(een "ndia and the S2 an inno-ati-e E@plosi-e :etection 6it de-eloped by "ndian scientists (ould be manufactured in America and sold $lobally for 9uic* detection and identification of combinations of e@plosi-es!,his (as probably for the first time that technolo$y de-eloped by :efence %esearch H :e-elopment Or$anisation .:%:O0 (as bein$ manufactured and mar*eted in the S! Ja+an Sen s 0orl /s First Tal"in$ Robot Into S+ace On B Au$ust Japan has successfully launched the (orldAs first tal*in$ humanoid robot called NO 6irobo NO in to space! ,he robot (as sent by =2# roc*et from the island of ,ane$ashima! ,he roc*et carried food2 (ater and other supplies! 6irobo (ill ser-e as a companion for Japanese astronauts!6irobo (as put throu$h a series of 1ero+$ra-ity and other safety tests prior to sendin$ him into space! 6irobo is 3B centimetres tall and can spea* Japanese! "t (ill pro-ide emotional support for people in space! 6irobo (ill tal* to JA;A astronaut 6oichi 3a*ata (hen he arri-es at the space station in )o-ember! ,he name of 6irobo is a mer$in$ of 6ibo and robot! 6irobo (as desi$ned by scientists and en$ineers at the ni-ersity of ,o*yo! "t is e9uipped (ith -oice+reco$nition and face+reco$nition technolo$y2 as (ell as a camera2 emotion reco$nition soft(are and natural lan$ua$e processin$! Ja+an Un<eils Lar$est 0arshi+ On ? Au$ust Japan has un-eiled its bi$$est (arship since the Second 3orld 3ar as part of a plan to bolster its defense of territorial claims in disputed (aters!,he ship2 named the N"1umoO2 is classified as a helicopter destroyer2 thou$h its flattop

desi$n ma*es it loo* li*e an aircraft carrier!,he ship is nearly 240 metres .820ft feet0 lon$ and is desi$ned to carry up to 1B helicopters!Japanese :efense Ministry announced the ship is not intended to be used as an aircraft carrier and (ill not be used to launch fi$hter &ets!"t (ill also be used to bolster the nationAs ability to transport personnel and supplies in response to lar$e+scale natural disasters! !ina"a Roc"ets S.ccessf.ll* Test Fire On ' Au$ust "ndia successfully test fired t(o rounds of indi$enously de-eloped N5ina*aO roc*ets from a multi+barrel roc*et launcher .M#%80 from a defence base in Chandipur+on+sea near #alasore2 off the Odisha coast!,he tests (ere routine trials conducted for trainin$ purpose! ,he tests (ere conducted by personnel from Armament %esearch and :e-elopment Establishment .A%:E02 5une unit at 5roof and E@perimental Establishment .5;E0 firin$ point+2! 5ina*a is an area (eapon system (ith a ran$e of B0 *m!5ina*a system can fire a sal-o of 12 roc*ets in BB seconds! ,en rounds of 5ina*a roc*ets (ere tested from the same base on 30 and 31 January and 28 /ebruary this year! ? INS Arihant ? N.clear Reactor Acti<ate On 10 Au$ust "ndia has acti-ated the reactor on board the C")S Arihant C nuclear submarine2 the first to be desi$ned and built in "ndia!3ith this success2 "ndia became a member of the e@clusi-e club of countries that ha-e built their o(n nuclear po(ered submarines alon$ (ith %ussia2 S2 62 China and /rance!After the nuclear reactor is acti-ated2 ")S Arihant has been under$oin$ trials at )a-yAs *ey submarine base in Lisha*hapatnam .Andhra 5radesh0 and (ould be launched for sea trials soon since the nuclear reactor has $one critical!)uclear triad has the ability to fire nuclear+tipped missiles from land2 air and sea!Arihant means destroyer of enemies in Sans*rit is an "ndian submarine2 (hich is 111 meter lon$2 11 broad and 14 meter tall!,he ?2000 tonne -essel (as built under the Ad-anced ,echnolo$y Lessel .A,L0 pro&ect at the Ship #uildin$ Centre in Lisa*hapatnam 2at a cost of around %s 142000 crore !")S Arihant2 (as introduced to the public on 2? July 200< at a symbolic launch ceremony by 5rime Minister Manmohan Sin$hAs (ife Fursharan 6aur!"ndia operates the ")S Cha*ra2 (hich is an A*ula "" class submarine leased from %ussia for ten years and has plans of buildin$ t(o more nuclear submarines indi$enously!

?IC7S RaB<eer ? Commissione On 10 Au$ust Se-enth in the series of ei$ht inshore patrol -essels ."5L02 "CFS %a&-eer (as commissioned at Lisa*hapatnam .Andhra 5radesh0 by defence secretary % 6 Mathur in the presence of -ice+admiral Anura$ F ,hapliyal2 director $eneral of "ndian Coast Fuard!,he "5L is e9uipped (ith the most ad-anced and sophisticated na-i$ational and communication sensors and e9uipment! ,he ship is propelled to a ma@imum speed of 31!4 *nots and has an endurance of 12400 nautical miles! ,he special feature include an inte$rated #rid$e System2 "nte$rated machinery control system and an indi$enously built 30mm $un mount (ith fire control system! In ia La.nche First In i$eno.s Aircraft Carrier ? INS Ai"rant ? "ndia launched its first indi$enous aircraft carrier C")S Li*rant C on 12 Au$ust !:efence Minister A 6 AntonyAs (ife Eli1abeth launched the 3'2400 tonne carrier C")S Li*rantA at 6ochi shipyard!,his (ill mar* "ndiaAs entry into a select club of countries capable of desi$nin$ and buildin$ a carrier of this si1e! Other countries capable of desi$nin$ and buildin$ an e9ui-alent si1e ship are the S2 the 62 %ussia and /rance!/i$hter aircraftGMi$+2<62 8i$ht Combat Aircraft and 6amo-+ 31 helicoptersG(ill deployed on board the carrier (hich (ill also carry an array of other (eapons systems!")S Li*rant has a len$th of 2?0 metres and it is ?0 metres (ide!"t is behind schedule by three years!,he carrier is e@pected to be deli-ered to the )a-y by the end of 2018! In ia S.ccessf.ll* Test Fire N.clear Ca+able ? !rith<i'II ? Missile On 12 Au$ust "ndia has successfully test+fired its indi$enously de-eloped nuclear capable C 5rith-i+"" C missile from a mobile launcher in sal-o mode from launch comple@+3 of the "nte$rated ,est %an$e .",%0 at .Odisha0 Chandipur!5rith-i+"" missile (as launched by the personnel of the Strate$ic /orce Command .S/C0 from ",%As 8aunch Comple@+""" as part of routine user trainin$! ,he missile scientists of the :efence %esearch and :e-elopment Or$anisation.:%:O0 monitored the launch operations!,he missile2 (ith a ran$e of 340 *m2 de-eloped by the :efence %esearch and :e-elopment Or$anisation .:%:O0 !,he missile2 < metres in hei$ht (ith a launch (ei$ht of B!? tonnes2 is capable of carryin$ a (arhead of more than 400 *$!,he last users trial of 5rith-i+"" (as successfully carried out from the same base on on :ecember 202 2012!

Ao*a$er (ecomes First Man'Ma e ObBect To Lea<e The Solar S*stem Accordin$ to the ne( research sho(s 2)ASAAs lon$+li-ed Loya$er probe crossed into interstellar space last year2 becomes the first man+made ob&ect to lea-e the solar system!Loya$er 1 space craft (as launched in 1<'' alon$ (ith a sister probe2 Loya$er 22 to obser-e the outer planets! Loya$er 1 is no( appro@imately 120 times farther a(ay from the sun than Earth! Loya$er 2 is headin$ out of the solar system in a different direction!,he probes are po(ered by the slo( decay of radioacti-e plutonium! Loya$er 1 (ill be$in runnin$ out of ener$y for its science instruments in 2020! #y 20242 it (ill be completely out of po(er! In ia/s S.+er %erc.les Lan s At %i$hest Airfiel On LAC ,he Super =ercules C 130 J transport plane landed at the (orldAs hi$hest and recently+acti-ated :aulat #e$ Oldie airstrip in 8ada*h area of Jammu and 6ashmir for the first time on 20 Au$ust !,he :aulat #e$ Oldie airstrip located at 1??1B feet .40?4 metres0 in the A*sai Chin area!!"n April2 the area sa( a 21+day stand+off bet(een "ndian and Chinese troops (ho came and pitched tents in the -icinity of the airfield and returned only after se-eral rounds of fla$ meetin$s bet(een both sides!,he achie-ement (ill enable the armed forces to use the hea-y+lift aircraft to induct troops2 supplies2 impro-e communication net(or* and also ser-e as a morale booster for maintenance of troops positioned there!C+130J is capable of liftin$ upto 20 tonnes of load! In ia/s First 9efence Satellite 7SAT'F La.nche S.ccessf.ll* "ndiaAs first e@clusi-e defence satellite FSA,+' (as successfully launched by European space consortium ArianespaceAs Ariane 4 roc*et from 6ourou spaceport in /rench Fuiana on 30 Au$ust!,his launch (ill push ahead "ndiaAs maritime security!FSA,G' has been built at an e@pense of 184 crore rupees and (ill act as the countryAs maiden dedicated spacecraft for defence applications!,he fre9uency bands of FSA,+' (ill help space+based marine communications! "t has co-era$e o-er "ndia landmass as (ell as surroundin$ seas!Earlier2 satellite communication in ships (as throu$h "nmarsat2 a ma&or pro-ider of $lobal mobile satellite communications ser-ices!,he state+of+the+art satellite carryin$ payloads operatin$ in =/2 S2 C and 6u bands2 had a lift+off mass of 2?24 *$ and is based on "S%OAs 2400 *$ satellite bus (ith some ne( technolo$ical elements2 includin$ the antennae!Accordin$ to "S%O2 FSA,+' is an ad-anced communication satellite to pro-ide (ide ran$e of ser-ice spectrum from lo( bit rate -oice to hi$h bit rate data

communication!5ayload of the FSA,G' is desi$ned to pro-ide communication capabilities to users in distant oceanic re$ions! "ts solar arrays $enerate 2<00 3 of electrical po(er! US Scientists Create the Most !recise Cloc" of the 0orl ,he )ational "nstitute of Standards and ,echnolo$y Scientist from !S 2 re-ealed in the month of Au$ust 2013 that they created the most precise cloc* of the (orld! ,he tic*in$ rate of this cloc* -aries less than t(o parts in one 9uintillion2 or ten times better than any cloc* in the (orld! ,he cloc* is made up of the element ytterbium! ,his element can be used for technolo$ical ad-ancements beyond the time*eepin$! ,he cloc* can be used for -arious purposes such as chec*in$ temperature2 na-i$ation systems as (ell as ma$netic fields!,he co+author of the study (hich re-ealed the cloc*2 Andre( 8udlo( e@plained that the stability of this ytterbium lattice cloc* pa-es (ay for other practical applications of hi$h+ performance time*eepin$! !ERSONS IN NE0S A2 A!!OINTMENTS RaBee< Rishi is ne) CM9 of Central (an" of In ia On 1 Au$ust %a&ee- %ishi too* o-er as the Chairman and Mana$in$ :irector of Central #an* of "ndia !=is appointment is for a period of fi-e years!5rior to the ne( appointment2 Mr! %ishi ser-ed as the E@ecuti-e :irector of "ndian #an*2 since October 2010! #efore &oinin$ "ndian #an*2 he (as the Feneral Mana$er of Oriental #an* of Commerce!%a&ee- %ishi2 (ho belon$s to Chandi$arh2 holds a #A and an 88# and an e@pert in #an*in$! Ar.n hati (hattachar*a A++ointe Mana$in$ 9irector Of S(I On 2 Au$ust Arundhati #hattacharya (as appointed the mana$in$ director and chief financial officer of the State #an* of "ndia.S#"0!She is the first mana$in$ director at S#"2 (hich is "ndiaAs lar$est ban*!Arundhati succeeded :i(a*ar Fupta! %assan Ro.hani S)orn In As Iran/s Ne) !resi ent On B Au$ust =assan %ohani (as s(orn in as the ne( 5resident of "ran in the ceremony held at the "ranian 5arliament in ,ehran!%ouhani is the se-enth .different0 5resident of "ran after the "slamic %e-olution of 1<'<!

Ra$h.ram RaBan A++ointe as the Ne) 7o<ernor of R(I On ? Au$ust Chief economic ad-iser %a$huram Fo-ind %a&an has been appointed as the Fo-ernor of the %eser-e #an* of "ndia .%#"0!%a&an (ill ha-e a term of three years!=e (ill be the 23rd Fo-ernor of %#"!=e is 40 years of a$e and so far2 he is the youn$est person to become the Fo-ernor of the %eser-e #an* of "ndia!=e (as appointed as the youn$est+e-er Economic Counselor and :irector of %esearch .chief economist0 at the "nternational Monetary /und ."M/0 from October 2003 to :ecember 200?!%a&an (as appointed as Chief Economic Ad-isor to the Ministry of /inance2 Fo-ernment of "ndia on 10 Au$ust 2012! 9ili+ Tri<e i is ne) CR!F chief On 1' Au$ust Senior "5S officer :ilip ,ri-edi has been appointed as the ne( chief of the countryAs lar$est paramilitary force C%5/ .Central %eser-e 5olice /orce0! ,ri-edi2 a 1<'8+batch officer of ttar 5radesh cadre has ser-ed in -arious positions in the state police and has also ser-ed in the Centre as A:F of the "ndo+,ibetan #order 5olice!=e succeeded 5ranay Sahay (ho retired on 31 July 2013! Michel 9Boto ia S)orn In As Central African Re+.blic !resi ent On 18 Au$ust /ormer rebel leader Michel :&otodia (as formally s(orn in as the Central African %epublicAs 5resident!:&otodia has been in char$e of the country durin$ the chaos that follo(ed the rebelsA sei1ure of control in March 20132 (hen they s(ept into po(er from their northern bases2 o-erpo(erin$ South African forces protectin$ former leader /rancois #o1i1e!:&otodia (as a leader of the Sele*a rebel coalition in the :ecember 2012 rebellionK follo(in$ a peace a$reement2 he (as appointed to the $o-ernment as /irst :eputy 5rime Minister for )ational :efense in /ebruary 2013! Robert M.$abe S)orn In As ,imbab)e !resi ent On 21 Au$ust %obert Mu$abe has been s(orn in for a ne( fi-e+year term as 5resident of >imbab(e!Mu$abe of >anu+5/ .>imbab(e African )ational nion+ 5atriotic /ront0 party (on the 5residential election .5arliamentary Election0 by (innin$ ?1 percent -otes in his fa-our on 3 Au$ust ! !arthasarathi Shome A++ointe As Chairman Of TARC On 2? Au$ust the nion Fo-ernment of "ndia set up a commission under the chairmanship of 5arthasarathy Shome to re-ie( ta@ la(s and su$$est (ays for a

stable and non+ad-ersarial ta@ administration!,he se-en+member ,a@ Administration %eform Commission .,A%C0 (ill ha-e a 18+month tenure to su$$est -arious measures includin$ an appropriate or$anisational structure for ta@ $o-ernance! J.stice N A Ramana A++ointe as Chief J.stice of 9elhi %i$h Co.rt On 30 Au$ust Justice )uthalapati Len*ata %amana2 Jud$e of the =i$h Court of Andhra 5radesh2(as appointed as the Chief Justice of the =i$h Court of :elhi!Justice %amana replaced Chief Justice :! Muru$esan2 (ho retired in June!Justice %amana (as appointed as a permanent &ud$e of the Andhra 5radesh =i$h Court on 2' June 2000!%amana had enrolled as an ad-ocate in /ebruary 1<83 and has practiced in the Andhra 5radesh =i$h Court2 central and state administrati-e tribunals and the Supreme Court!=e holds specialisation in constitutional2 criminal2 ser-ice and inter+state ri-er la(s!=e has speciali1ed in Constitutional2 criminal2 ser-ice and "nter+State %i-er la(s! =e has functioned as 5anel Counsel for -arious Fo-ernment or$ani1ations! (2RESI7NS E$*+t Aice !resi ent El(ara ei Resi$ne E$yptian -ice+president2 )obel laureate Mohamed El#aradei2 announced his resi$nation in a letter to the interim president on1B Au$ust !,he resi$nation comes after scores (ere *illed in a crac*do(n by security forces on loyalists of ousted "slamist president Mohamed Morsi! C29EAT%S Aeteran M.sic 9irector 9a"shinamoorth* 9ie Len*ates(aran :a*shinamoorthy2 the -eteran -eteran carnatic musician and music director died on 2 Au$ust in Mylapore2 Chennai!,he -eteran (as *no(n as S(amy in the music industry and $a-e music to son$s of more than 124 films in ,amil2 Malayalam and =indi!=e has to his credit about 84< son$s that (ere composed by him o-er se-en decades of his ser-ice to the (orld of Music! =e debuted as a Music composer in the a Malayalam mo-ie )alla ,han*a .)alla ,han*al in ,amil0 in 1<40!=e (as the proud recipient of 6erala State /ilm A(ard for best music director in 1<'1!"n 1<<82 he recei-ed the 6erala State /ilm A(ard for 8ifetime Achie-ement!

Former Air Commo ore JasBit Sin$h 9ie On B Au$ust )oted strate$ic analyst Air Commodore .retired0 Jas&it Sin$h died in )e(:elhi! =e (as conferred (ith the 5adma #hushan2 the second hi$hest ci-ilian a(ard2 in the year 200? by the former president A5J Abdul 6alam! Former Union minister 9e<en ra !rasa Ga a< 9ie On 11 Au$ust /ormer nion minister and senior Con$ress leader from #ihar2 :e-endra 5rasad Mada-2 died in )e(:elhi!Mada- (as a three+time Member of 5arliament from Mun$er parliamentary seat of #ihar and had ser-ed as Minister of State for Education bet(een 1<'1+'' in "ndira FandhiAs cabinet! Reno)ne Nat.ralist an Ornitholo$ist ,afar F.tehall* 9ie On 11 Au$ust >afar %ashid /utehally an "ndian naturalist2 ornitholo$ist and conser-ationist has died on 11 Au$ust at 6ihim in Maharashtra!>afar /utehally led the early years of the conser-ation mo-ement in "ndia and ser-ed as a lin* bet(een conser-ationists and corporate!=e (as conferred (ith se-eral national and international honours2 includin$ the 5adma Shri in 1<'0!=e also edited and published an antholo$y of (ritin$s by "ndian bird(atchers2 N"ndia throu$h its birdsO2 (hich (as published in 200'! Former Ne+al !rime Minister Man Sin$h Shrestha 9ie /ormer )epalese 5rime Minister Marich Man Sin$h Shrestha has died in 6athmandu on 14 Au$ust!=e had ser-ed as )epalAs 5rime Minister for about four years till April 1<<02 (hen the political parties launched an a$itation to restore democratic ri$hts! ;a+il 9e</s Former Coach 9esh !rem A&a 9ie On 1? Au$ust :esh 5rem A1ad2 the former coach of cric*eter 6apil :e- and :ronacharya a(ardee died in Mohali!=e trained cric*eters such as 6apil :e-2 Asho* Malhotra2 Chetan Sharma and Mo$ra& Sin$h in the late 1<'0s!:esh 5rem A1ad represented =aryana2 the Mahara&a of 5atialaAs ;" and Southern 5un&ab2 (hile playin$ 1< first+class matches! "n these matches2 he scored ?48 runs (hile $rabbed 8 (ic*ets in all! Crime No<elist Elmore Leonar 9ie Elmore 8eonard2 one of AmericaAs best *no(n crime no-elists2has died on 20 Au$ust !,(enty+si@ of his boo*s and short stories ha-e been adapted for the

screen2 includin$ N=ombre2O NFet Shorty2O NJac*ie #ro(n2O .based on 1<<2Ds N%um 5unchO0 and NJustified2O a ,L sho(s based on 1<<3Ds N5ronto2O 1<<4Ds N%idin$ the %apO and the 2001 short story C/ire in the =ole!O =is most recent no-el2 N%aylan2O (as released in 2012! Eminent Classical Sin$er Ra$h.nath !ani$rahi 9ie On 24 Au$ust Eminent "ndian classical sin$er and music director 5andit %a$hunath 5ani$rahi died in #hubanes(ar!5andit 5ani$rahiAs effort to popularise poet Jayade-aAs CFita Fo-indaA!5andit %a$hunath 5ani$rahi (as born at Funupur in OdishaAs %aya$a .earlier 6oraput0 district!5andit %a$hunath (as the first Odia sin$er to be honoured by the /rench $o-ernment for his CFita Fo-indaA composition (ay bac* in the '0s!=e (as also conferred (ith the 5admashri a(ard in the year 2010! Nobel Literat.re La.reate Seam.s %eane* 9ie On 30 Au$ust "rish (riter and poet Seamus =eaney2 (ho (on the 1<<4 )obel 5ri1e in 8iterature2 died in :ublin!Seamus =eaney (as born on 13 April 1<3< in )orthern "reland!)orthern "reland+born =eaney published his first ma&or collection of poems2 N:eath of a )aturalistO2 in 1<?? and (ent on to become one of the En$lish lan$ua$eAs leadin$ poets!=eaney (or*ed as the professor of poetry at O@ford ni-ersity bet(een 1<8< and 1<<B! 92AISITORS Af$hanistan Aice'!resi ent Mohamma ;arim ;halili Aisite In ia ,he -ice president of Af$hanistan2 Mohammad 6arim 6arim 6halili -isited "ndia from 20 G 22 Au$ust!:urin$ the -isit 6halili met 5rime Minister Manmohan Sin$h in )e( delhi !"n the meet both nations discussed security issues and trade amon$ other bilateral issues!6halili also meetAs "ndiaAs president 5ranab Mu*her&ee2 -ice+ president Mohammad =amid Ansari2 and e@ternal affairs minister Salman 6hurshid and discussed on both countries bilateral issues! Ira8/s !rime Minister No.ri al'Mali"i Aisite In ia )ouri Al+Mali*i2 5rime Minister of the %epublic of "ra9 -isited "ndia from 22 +24 Au$ust!:urin$ his four day -isit 2 Mali*i met (ith the 5rime Minister of "ndia2 Manmohan Sin$h and 5resident of "ndian nion2 5ranab Mu*her&ee2 Lice 5resident of "ndia2 =amid Ansari in )e( :elhi!#oth the nations e@chan$ed -ie(s

on bilateral2 re$ional and multilateral issues of mutual interest and reached a broad consensus! ,he discussions enabled better understandin$ and appreciation of each otherAs concerns and perspecti-es and helped in for$in$ closer understandin$ at the hi$hest political le-el and also se-eral Mo s (ere si$ned bet(een the t(o nations! ,his (as the first -isit of Mali*i to "ndia E2MISCELLANEOUS Ama&on Fo.n er = CEO Jeff (e&os (.*s 0ashin$ton !ost Ama1on /ounder H CEO Jeff #e1os has purchased the 3ashin$ton 5ost )e(spaper of S! Seattle+based Ama1on o(ner Jeffrey 5 #e1os has a$reed to buy the ne(spaper assets of ,he 3ashin$ton 5ost Company for S: 240 million!#e1os2 (hose entrepreneurship has made him one of the (orldAs richest men2 (ill pay 7240 million in cash for ,he 5ost and affiliated publications to ,he 3ashin$ton 5ost Co!2 (hich o(ns the ne(spaper and other businesses!,he 3ashin$ton 5ost .350 is an American daily ne(spaper! "t is the most (idely circulated ne(spaper published in 3ashin$ton2 :!C!2 and oldest e@tant in the area2 founded in 18''! 44'*ear'ol U; $irl has hi$her I6 than Einstein On 4 Au$ust An 11+year+old school$irl in the !6! has achie-ed the hi$hest possible score of 1?2 on a Mensa "E test2 ma*in$ her brainier than scientists Stephen =a(*in$ and Albert Einstein! Cerys Coo*sammy+5arnell2 a $rade si@ school$irl too* up the test (ith the aim of beatin$ her fatherAs score of 1B2! She also scored the hi$hest mar* possible in the test2 scorin$ 1?2 on the Cattell # scale! Shara+o<a To+s ? Forbes ? List of (est !ai Female Athletes On ? Au$ust %ussian tennis star Maria Sharapo-a has topped the C /orbes C list of hi$hest+earnin$ female athletes for the ninth+strai$ht year2 ra*in$ in 72< million o-er the last 12 months!American Serena 3illiams is second on the list (ith earnin$s of 20!4 million S dollars2 Chinese star 8i )a in third (ith 718!2 million and Lictoria A1aren*a of #elarus in fourth (ith 714!' million! In ian American St. ents 0ins National 7eo$ra+hic 0orl Cham+ionshi+ On < Au$ust A team of three youn$ "ndian American students defeated teams from 1' other re$ions to (in top honours at the 11th )ational Feo$raphic 3orld Championship in %ussiaAs St 5etersbur$!,he team (as made up of captain Fopi

%amanathan from Sartell2 MinnesotaK Asha Jain from Minoc9ua2 3isconsinK and )eelam 6aur Sandhu from #edford2 )e( =ampshire!"n the biennial competition2 teams of students ans(ered 9uestions on physical2 cultural and economic $eo$raphy!%amanathan2 already has (on his state $eo$raphy bee t(ice! =e had finished se-enth in the 2012 )ational #ee in 3ashin$ton2 :C! ,he competition (as sponsored by Foo$le2 and presented by the S )ational Feo$raphic Society in partnership (ith the %ussian Feo$raphical Society! Cana ian Street Name After Mahatma 7an hi On 14 Au$ust A street in CanadaAs 3innipe$ city has been named after Mahatma Fandhi on the occasion of "ndiaAs ?'th "ndependence :ay! ,he street leadin$ to the Canadian Museum for =uman %i$hts (ill no( be *no(n as =onorary Mahatma Fandhi 3ay! At a ceremony 2 the Mayor of 3innipe$ Sam 6at1 e@plained that the street (as named so after an indi-idual (ho is synonymous (ith the stru$$le for human ri$hts! 9honi (eats Rafael Na al # Usain (olt In ? Forbes ? List Of %i$hest # !ai Athletes On 20 Au$ust "ndian cric*et team captain Mahendra Sin$h :honi has been ran*ed 1?th in the latest C/orbesA list of hi$hest+paid athletes (ith an earnin$ of 731!4 million .around %s!180 crore0!"n the list2 he (as placed abo-e %afael )adal and sain #olt!As per the latest /orbes list of hi$hest+paid athletes in the (orld2 dhoni earned 731!4 million bet(een June 2012 and June 2013!8ist of places don abo-e /1 /ernando Alonso2 (ho is on the 1<th2 8e(is =amilton on the 2?th2 )o-a* :&o*o-ic on the 28th2 %afael )adal is in 30th place2 and sain #olt in the B0th $rade!:oni has risen 14 places in this yearAs list! "t too* 31 th ran* in the last year! Sachin ,endul*ar is the only "ndian athlete2 (ho is one of the ran* of 31 and a total annual re-enue of 7 22 million .%s 124 crore0!8ist is topped by $olfer ,i$er 3oods2 (ho made 7 '8!1 million last year2 follo(ed by %o$er /ederer2 (ho earned 7 '1!4 million2 bas*etball player 6obe #ryant (ith earnin$s of 7 ?1!< million!,he calculation is based on earnin$s estimates2 (hich includes salaries2 bonuses and cash pri1es from both the club and the national team2 as (ell as appro-al of re-enue! Ma onna To+s Forbes/ 2345 %i$hest'!ai Celebrities List On 2' Au$ust Accordin$ to /orbes A2013 list of hi$hest+paid celebrities CMadonna

(as the (orldAs hi$hest+earnin$ celebrity in 2012+13!Madonna made 7 S124 million bet(een June 2012 and June 2013!Leteran film director Ste-en Spielber$ too* second place in the list2 (hile musical talent sho( mo$ul Simon Co(ell tied for third (ith /ifty Shades of Frey author E8 James and disc &oc*ey =o(ard Stern! Most 0ante In ian M.Bahi een Terrorist Gasin (hat"a Arreste "ndian Mu&ahideen co+founder and one of "ndiaAs most (anted terrorists2 Masin #hat*al (as arrested on 30 Au$ust!Masin has been on the run since 2008! ,he "M leader is (anted in a strin$ of terror attac*s in Ahmedabad2 Surat2 #an$alore2 5une2 :elhi and =yderabad!Masin2 (ho co+founded "M in 2008 alon$ (ith brother %ia12 is also (anted in the Ferman #a*ery bomb blast in 5une on /ebruary 132 2010! !LACES IN NE0S Stron$ Earth8.a"e %itsChina On 1B Au$ust China hit by stron$ earth9ua*e (ith ma$nitude of ?!1!,he earth9ua*e occured in &olted parts of ,ibet!:ue to this earth9ua*e at least 8' people (ere in&ured and o-er B42000 homes dama$ed !,he epicenter of the earth9ua*e (as identified nearer to the %in$o to(n! S.bmarine ?INS Sin h.ra"sha" ? Sin"s After MaBor (last In M.mbai On 1B Au$ust in a hu$e setbac* to the "ndian )a-y2 a con-entional submarine C")S Sindhura*sha*A e@ploded after a fire on board and san* in the na-al doc*yard in Mumbai 2 in (hich 18 personnel2 includin$ three officers are feared *illed!A smaller intensity e@plosion (as follo(ed by t(o massi-e blasts2 causin$ a ma&or fire in the %ussian+made submarine!"n 20102 a fire bro*e out on board Sindhura*sha* lea-in$ a sailor dead and t(o others in&ured! ")S Sindhura*sha* (as a %ussian+made 6ilo+class 8''E6M.Sindhu$hosh+class0 diesel+electric submarine of the "ndian )a-y!Commissioned on 2B :ecember 1<<'2 it (as the ninth of the ten 6ilo+class submarines in the "ndian )a-y!On B June 20102 the "ndian :efence Ministry and >-e1doch*a shipyard si$ned a contract (orth S780 million to up$rade and o-erhaul the submarine! After the o-erhaul2 it returned to "ndia from %ussia in 2013!

4533 !eo+le ;ille In Chemical Attac" On S*ria On 21 Au$ust nearly 1300 people2 includin$ children (ere *illed in in :amascus2 the capital of Syria!!,his (as one of the deadliest chemical attac*s in the ci-il (ar of Syria! ,o@ic $as (as fired from the roc*ets! A((REAIATIONS :%:O TG :efence %esearch and :e-elopment Or$anisation

SAA%C TG South Asian Association for %e$ional Cooperation AFOC TT Asian Fames Or$anisation Committee C:%" TT+ Central :ru$ %esearch "nstitute /EMA TG /orei$n E@chan$e Mana$ement Act /"5# TT+ /orei$n "n-estment 5romotion #oard "/, TT "nternational /ederation of ,rade nions "%:A TG "nsurance %e$ulatory :e-elopment Authority )A#A%: T+ )ational #an* for A$ricultural and %ural :e-elopment SE#" TT+ Security E@chan$e #oard of "ndia )=C% TT nited )ations =i$h Commission for %efu$ees 3MO TG 3orld Meteorolo$ical Or$anisation (OO;S IN NE0S ?The Moon (aller/ (oo" Release On 4 Au$ust /ormer "ndia )o!1 and tennis ace )irupama LaidyanathanAs autobio$raphical account C,he Moon #allerA (as released at a function held at the Madras Cric*et Club!,he boo*2 (hich $oes bac* in time to chronicle the times (hen professional tennis for "ndian (omen (as 9uite unheard of2 (as launched by tennis le$end Li&ay Amritra&!

D M* Jo.rne*H Transformin$ 9reams into Actions D b* Ab .l ;alam Release "n the month of Au$ust O My JourneyI ,ransformin$ :reams into ActionsO by former 5resident of "ndia2 :r! A5J Abdul 6alam (as launched by the %upa 5ublication!"n his ne( boo* 6alam shares the inspiration and the lessons he learned from personal stories of his life! ,he boo* describes the lesser *no(n e-ents from his life! ?9h*an Chan # The 0i&ar of %oc"e*/ (oo" Release ,he first+of+its+*ind $raphic bio$raphy on former "ndian =oc*ey player :hyan Chand titled O :hyan Chand+,he 3i1ard of =oc*ey O (as launched at :hyanchand Stadium in )e( :elhi on 2< Au$ust !,he bio$raphy (as launched on the )ational Sports :ay to commemorate the 108th birth anni-ersary of the le$end!,he boo* has been (ritten by 8uis /ernandes2 (ho researched e@tensi-ely on the sub&ect!,he boo* is bein$ printed by comic+series publication Amar Chitra 6atha!,he boo* focussed on :hyan ChandAs achie-ements and $oal+scorin$ feats at 1<282 1<32 and 1<3? Olympics that $ot him the title ,he 3i1ard! COMMITTEES Air$ini.s Na-a Committee To Asses Stat.s Of Sche .le Tribes On 1' Au$ust On the pattern of Sachar Committee for Muslims2 5rime Minister Manmohan Sin$h has set up a committee to assess the status of scheduled tribes (ith an aim of ensurin$ their uplift2 particularly in socio+economic2 health and education fields!5rof! Lir$inius ;a@a (as appointed as the chairman of the se-en+ member committee!,he committee (ill finalise and present its report (ithin nine months from the date of this notification!,he 5rime MinisterAs decision of settin$ up a committee came after the $o-ernment found that the S,s2 (ho form '!4 percent of the countryAs population2 are not $ettin$ enou$h dues despite the special status in the constitution! IM!ORTANT 9AGS AN9 9ATES International 9a* of the Aictims of Enforce 9isa++earances ,he nited )ations . )0 obser-es the "nternational :ay of the Lictims of

Enforced :isappearances on Au$ust 30 each year!,he ) Feneral Assembly declared this day by its resolution ?4R20<2 on 21 :ecember 2010! ,he ) Feneral Assembly2 by this same resolution also (elcomed the adoption of the "nternational Con-ention for the 5rotection of All 5ersons from Enforced :isappearance! ,he in-oluntary or enforced disappearances are a result of abduction2 detention or arrest or other factors or reasons! Also2 there are $ro(in$ numbers of reports (hich include ill+treatment2 harassment as (ell as intimidation of the (itnesses of these disappearances or of the persons or the relati-es (ho ha-e disappeared! National S+orts 9a* Is Obser<e On 2K A.$.st )ational Sports :ay in "ndia is obser-ed on 2< Au$ust of e-ery year to commemorate the birth anni-ersary of "ndian hoc*ey le$end :hyan Chand!)ational sports day celebrated e-ery year on 2< Au$ust to brin$ a(areness about sports in public!,his year2 e-ents li*e (al*athon and football tournaments (ere held across the country for the first time as part of the )ational Sports :ay celebrations! On the occasion of )ational Sports :ay2 a scheme *no(n as Come and 5lay has been launched for $eneral public to ma*e optimal use of Sports Authority of "ndia stadia! Ma&or :hyan Chand is an iconic "ndian hoc*ey player (ho is remembered as a ma$ician of "ndian hoc*ey! =e (as the prime member of "ndian hoc*ey team (hich brou$ht three Olympic $old medals in field of =oc*ey G in 1<28 .Amsterdam02 1<32 .8os An$eles0 and 1<3? .#erlin0!=e (as honored (ith 5adma #hushan by the Fo-ernment of "ndia in 1<4? for his outstandin$ contribution to "ndian =oc*ey!Ma&or :hyan ChandAs birthday2 2< Au$ust is celebrated as )ational Sports :ay in "ndia! Ma&or sports a(ards li*e %a&i- Fandhi 6hel %atna2 Ar&una2 :ronacharya a(ards are presented on this occasion to the sportsperson (ho has sho(n tremendous commitment to(ards the $ame and made the Country proud!

Se+tember 2345 C.rrent Affairs St. * Material

INTERNATIONAL Ton* Abbott is A.stralia/s ne) !rime Minister ,ony Abbott 2 8eader of the 8iberal 5arty elected as the 5rime Minister of Australia on 8 October!8iberal 5arty (on the BBth 5arliamentary elections! 8iberal 5arty defeated the in+po(er 8abor 5arty in the $eneral elections held on ' September 2013 to return bac* in po(er as the 8iberal+)ational coalition for the first time in si@ years!3ith this (in2 ,ony Abbott the leader of the 8iberal+)ational Coalition (ill become the 5rime Minister of the Country and successor of 6e-in %udd of the 8abor 5arty!,he coalition (on 88 seats in the 140 seat 5arliament! ,he rulin$ 8abor 5arty (as successful in (innin$ 4' seats! US an R.ssia A$reement on Remo<in$ Chemical 0ea+ons on S*ria ,he nited States and %ussia ha-e on 1B September a$reed on a frame(or* for remo-in$ chemical (eapons from Syria !,he brea*+ throu$h (as announced after three day tal*s bet(een the S Secretary of State John 6erry and %ussian /orei$n Minister Ser$ei 8a-ro- in Fene-a!,he SA and %ussia ha-e a$reed that SyriaAs chemical (eapons must be destroyed or remo-ed by mid+201B! SA outlined a si@+point frame(or* under (hich Syria must hand o-er a full list of its stoc*pile (ithin a (ee*! E.ro+ean Union !le $es >@3 million e.ros To Somalia ,he European nion has pled$ed ?40 million euros .78?8 million0 in aid to Somalia to bac* a three+year reconstruction plan aimed at buildin$ on fra$ile security $ains in the country!"nternational donors met in #russels on 1? September to appro-e SomaliaAs N)e( :eal!O"nternational donors pled$ed 1!8 billion euros for Somalia!

252 Million 7lobal Mi$rants Li<in$ Abroa 0orl 0i e On 12 September Accordin$ to the ne( fi$ures from the ) :epartment of Economic and Social Affairs . )+:ESA0 sho(ed that 232 million people2 or 3!2 percent of the (orldAs population2 li-e abroad (orld(ide2 compared (ith 1'4 million in 2000 and 14B million in 1<<0!3ith more people than e-er li-in$ abroad2 Asia sees the lar$est increase of international mi$rants in the past decade2 and the S remains the most popular destination!)e( fi$ures from the ) :epartment of Economic and Social Affairs . )+:ESA0 sho(ed that 232 million people2 or 3!2 percent of the (orldAs population2 li-e abroad (orld(ide2 compared (ith 1'4 million in 2000 and 14B million in 1<<0!,he ne( estimates include brea*do(ns by re$ion and country of destination and ori$in2 and by se@ and a$e! ,he north2 or de-eloped countries2 is home to 13? million international mi$rants2 compared (ith <? million in the south2 or de-elopin$ countries! E$*+tian Co.rt (ans M.slim (rotherhoo ,he E$ypt court on 23 September has banned the Muslim #rotherhood from carryin$ out any acti-ities in the country!,he court also ordered the sei1ure of any assets held by the #rotherhood2 estimated by the interim military+bac*ed $o-ernment to ha-e more than a million members!,he administrati-e court $a-e the rulin$ after a la(suit (as filed by the leftist ,a$ammu 5arty to re-ie( the "slamist $roupAs status as a non+$o-ernmental or$anisation! IN9IA = 0ORL9 5r In ia # Re+.blic of ;orea Forei$n !olic* an Sec.rit* 9ialo$.e %el In Seo.l ,he 3rd "ndia G %epublic of 6orea .%O60 /orei$n 5olicy and Security :ialo$ue ./5S:0 (as held in Seoul on 2 September !,he "ndian side (as led by Mr! Asho* 6! 6antha2 Secretary .East02 Ministry of E@ternal Affairs .MEA0 and the %epublic of 6orea .%O60 side (as led by /irst Lice Minister for /orei$n Affairs Mr! 6im 6you+hyun!#oth nations discussed (ays to further e@pand and deepen their Strate$ic 5artnership! ,hey undertoo* a comprehensi-e re-ie( of bilateral ties2 includin$ in the fields of economic collaboration2 defense and security cooperation2 cultural e@chan$es and people+to+people contacts!,hey a$reed to step up cooperation in the spheres of maritime and cyber security!"t (as a$reed that the Bth

"ndia+%O6 /orei$n 5olicy and Security :ialo$ue (ill be held at )e( :elhi at a mutually con-enient time in 201B! 7o<ernment A++ro<es In ia'Ab. 9habi Air Ser<ices A$reement ,he "ndia+Abu :habi bilateral air ser-ices a$reement2 (hich ran into contro-ersy follo(in$ the Jet+Etihad deal2 (as appro-ed by the Fo-ernment of "ndia on 2 September enablin$ their airlines to fly 402000 seats each (ee*2 up from the current le-el of 132'00!,he a$reement recei-ed post+facto appro-al of the nion Cabinet at a meetin$ chaired by 5rime Minister Manmohan Sin$h in )e(:elhi Fth In ia'Laos Joint Commission Meetin$ %el In Aientiane ,he 'th "ndia+8ao Joint Commission Meetin$ on bilateral cooperation (as held in Lientiane on < September!"n the meetin$ "ndian side (as led by E@ternal Affairs Minister Salman 6hurshid and the 8aos side (as led by :r! ,hon$loun Sisoulith2 :eputy 5rime Minister and Minister of /orei$n Affairs!An A$reement under 8ine of Credit for four "rri$ation 5ro&ects in three pro-inces in the 8ao 5:% for 30!<B million S dollars (as si$ned and con-ersion of another 8ine of Credit to substitute the )am #oun+2 hydro po(er plant by the e@tension of transmission lines to ,hasala+8a*sao amountin$ to 34!24 million S dollars (as appro-ed! ,he pro&ects (ill contribute to socio+economic de-elopment in 8ao 5:%!,he t(o nations identified a$riculture2 defence2 "C,2 culture2 education2 health2 trade and in-estment promotion2 minin$ as priority areas of cooperation bet(een the t(o countries that (ould $i-e further impetus to bilateral relations! In ia: Ja+an Si$ne Statement To St. * LN7 !ricin$ "ndia and Japan on < September si$ned a statement on conductin$ a &oint study on the pricin$ of 8i9uefied )atural Fas .8)F0 (ith an aim to form a transparent and $lobally competiti-e 8)F price in the Asia 5acific mar*et!"ndiaAs Minister for 5etroleum and )atural Fas2 Leerappa Moily and Japanese Minister for Economy2 ,rade and "ndustry ,oshimitsu Mote$i si$ned the &oint statement in ,o*yo! In ia # China A$ree To Enhance Coo+eration In Me ia Sector "ndia and China on 1? September ha-e a$reed to initiate steps to include media cooperation as part of 201B celebrations bein$ obser-ed to commemorate N/riendly E@chan$esO bet(een the t(o countries!,he a$reement (as a part of the first meetin$ of the "ndia+China Media /orum bein$ held in )e( :elhi! ,he

meetin$ too* place bet(een Manish ,e(ari2 Minister for "nformation H #roadcastin$ of "ndia and Cai Min$ >hao2 Minister of State Council "nformation Office of China! In ia an US si$ne First Commercial A$reement Un er N.clear 9eal /i-e years after "ndia and the S si$ned a landmar* ci-il nuclear deal2 the t(o countries ha-e clinched the first commercial a$reement on ci-ilian nuclear po(er cooperation!5resident #arac* Obama announced the a$reement on 2' September after his meetin$ (ith 5rime Minister Manmohan Sin$h at the 3hite =ouse O-al Office!"ndiaAs nuclear operator )5C"8 .)uclear 5o(er Corporation of "ndia 8imited0 and S firm 3estin$house ha-e si$ned an a$reement that (ill pa-e the (ay for settin$ up an atomic plant in "ndia! NATIONAL !rime Minister Manmohan Sin$h La.nche ? 7an hi %erita$e !ortal ? In Ne)9elhi 5rime Minister Manmohan Sin$h on 2 September launched the C Fandhi =erita$e 5ortal C in )e( :elhi!,he Fandhi herita$e 5ortal is set up to preser-e2 protect and disseminate ori$inal (ritin$s of Fandhi&i!,he Fandhi =erita$e 5ortal is a technolo$y+dri-en initiati-e aimed at ma*in$ Fandhi&i accessible all o-er the (orld on an electronic platform! "t (ould be one of the most authentic open source archi-es on the life and (or* and thou$ht of Mahatma Fandhi! 5r All In ia S.r<e* on %i$her E .cation La.nche On 3 September Minister of State for =uman %esource :e-elopment Jitin 5rasada launched the third All "ndia Sur-ey on =i$her Education .A"S=E0+2012+13 !,he sur-ey (as initiated in the year 2011 to prepare a robust data+base on hi$her education!:ata for the year 2010+11 (as collected durin$ the first year of the sur-ey!6eepin$ in -ie( the usefulness of data collected durin$ the -ery first year2 Ministry has decided to ma*e this sur-ey an annual e@ercise of data collection in hi$her education sector! ,he sur-ey co-ers all the =i$her Education .=E0 "nstitutions of the country includin$ ni-ersities2 Colle$es2 and Stand+Alone "nstitutions!,he main items of data collection under sur-ey are #asic details2 5ro$ramme details2 ,eachin$ H )on+,eachin$ Staff2 Student Enrolment2 E@amination %esults and Scholarships!

J. icial A++ointments Commission (ill !asse In RaB*a Sabha ,he %a&ya Sabha on 4 September passed the Judicial Appointments Commission #ill2 (hich see*s to scrap the colle$ium system of appointin$ &ud$es to hi$her courts!,he bill2 (hich entails Constitutional amendment2 see*s to set up a Judicial Appointments Commission .JAC0 to recommend appointment and transfer of Supreme Court and =i$h Court &ud$es! Lo" Sabha !asse (ill To Set U+ First National A<iation Uni<ersit* %a&i- Fandhi )ational A-iation ni-ersity #ill2 2013 (as passed by the 8o* Sabha on ? September!,he purpose of the bill is to establish the first+e-er national a-iation uni-ersity in "ndia2 called %a&i- Fandhi )ational A-iation ni-ersity2 (hich is named after %a&i- Fandhi! ,he ni-ersity (ould train the cabin cre(2 pilots as (ell as aircraft en$ineers!,he proposed uni-ersity (ould come up at Sonia FandhiAs constituency of %ae #areli in ttar 5radesh! Cabinet Committee On Economic Affairs A++ro<e !ro+osal For Restr.ct.rin$ SJSRG ,he Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on 3 September appro-ed the proposal for restructurin$ of the centrally sponsored Scheme of S(arna Jayanti Shahari %o1$ar Mo&ana .SJS%M0 in the 12th 5lan and as the )ational rban 8i-elihoods Mission .) 8M0 (ith an allocation of appro@imately %s! ?2B04 crore!,he mission of )ational rban 8i-elihoods Mission .) 8M0 is reduction of po-erty and -ulnerability of the urban poor households by enablin$ them to access $ainful self+employment and s*illed (a$e employment opportunities!,he mission (ill also aim at pro-idin$ shelter e9uipped (ith essential ser-ices to the urban homeless in a phased manner! !resi ent 7a<e Assent To Lan Ac8.isition (ill ,he %i$ht to /air Compensation and ,ransparency in 8and Ac9uisition2 %ehabilitation and %esettlement #ill 20132has recei-ed the assent of the 5resident of "ndia on 2' Septmeber!,he bill has no( become la(!,he 8o* Sabha passed the bill on 2< Au$ust 2013 and %a&ya Sabha passed the bill on B September 2013!,he %i$ht to /air Compensation and ,ransparency in 8and Ac9uisition2 %ehabilitation and %esettlement 8a(2 20132 replaces a #ritish+era la( of 18<B! "t pro-ides for fair compensation to o(ners (hose land is ta*en o-er2 brin$s transparency to the process and lays do(n measures for rehabilitation of those displaced!

STATES Union Minister of %ealth = Famil* 0elfare La.nche Ne) %ealth Initiati<es For Assam nion Minister of =ealth and /amily 3elfare Fhulam )abi A1ad on 1 September launched se-eral ne( health initiati-es (orth %s!400 crores under the )ational %ural =ealth Mission .)%=M0 for the stren$thenin$ of healthcare ser-ices in Assam!,he ne( initiati-es are G /ree Feneric :ru$ Ser-ice2 %ashtriya #al S(asthya *arya*ram .%#S602 )ational "ron 5lus "nitiati-e2 /leet of 34< )e( Ambulances for )ational Ambulance Ser-ice!Fhulam )abi A1ad also inau$urated Mother and Child ,rac*in$ System Call Centre and ,ele+%adiolo$y 5ro&ect under )%=M! %imachal !ra esh Scra++e !alchan'Rohtan$ Ro+e)a* !roBect =imachal 5radesh cabinet on B September decided to cancel construction of 5alchan+%ohtan$ rope(ay pro&ect in 6ullu district! ,he proposed pro&ect (as planned to transport around <000 -isitors bet(een 5alchan and %ohtan$ daily to decon$est the Manali+8eh road! ,here is a hu$e rush of tourists bet(een May and July e-ery year! ;erala 7o<ernment La.nche ? E'!a*ment ? Facilit* ,he 6erala Fo-ernment has launched on 4 September an Ne+payment facilityO system enablin$ people to pay -arious utility bills and access Fo-ernment department ser-ices online!,he payment of tility bills of 6erala State Electricity #oard2 6erala 3ater Authority2 #S)8 and uni-ersity fees could be done throu$h the $ate(ay usin$ credit and debit cards of ?? ban*s identified for the scheme!One can a-ail the ser-ice at all A*shaya e+centers of the $o-ernment (hich (ould act as decentrali1ed information hubs and ser-ice deli-ery points! M! 7o<ernment 9eci e To Constit.te State 9isaster Emer$enc* Res+onse Force ,he Madhya 5radesh Fo-ernment on 10 September decided to constitute a State :isaster Emer$ency %esponse /orce to deal (ith any calamity more effecti-ely and pro-ide immediate relief to affected persons!"nitially2 the State :isaster Emer$ency %esponse /orce (ill be set up in #hopal2 "ndore2 F(alior and Jabalpur districts!100 &a(ans (ill be deployed in each of these districts!

Union 7o<ernment A++ro<e 4333 crore !ro+osal To 9e<elo+ J=; s+orts ,he nion Fo-ernment of "ndia on 1? September appro-ed a special pac*a$e 1000 crore %upees to stren$then sports infrastructure in Jammu and 6ashmir !,he ob&ecti-e of the special pac*a$e is construction of ne( stadiums and sports fields across the state!,he Jammu and 6ashmir Fo-ernment made a policy under (hich e-ery bloc* in the state (ill be pro-ided (ith both indoor and outdoor sports comple@es! E-ery panchayat in the state (ill be pro-ided (ith a sports field2 and the $o-ernment (ill also up$rade the already a-ailable sports e9uipments! !rime Minister Manmohan Lai The Fo.n ation Stone For Ne) Air+ort In RaBasthan 5rime Minister Manmohan Sin$h on 21 September laid the foundation stone for a ne( airport at 6ishan$arh to(n in A&mer :istrict2 %a&asthan!5rime Minister :r! Manmohan Sin$hon also announced that small destinations in the country (ill ha-e air connecti-ity (ith a net(or* of more than 100 airports2 planned to meet the e@pected passen$er load capacity of 30 crore2 by 2020!,he first such airport (ill come up in 6ishan$arh to(n in %a&asthanAs A&mer district2 the airport (hich is scheduled to $et operational by 201?! CONFERENCES 8th 7'23 S.mmit %el In Saint !etersb.r$ ,he ei$hth F20 Summit (as held at St! 5etersbur$ 2 %ussia on 4 G ? September 2013!,he F20 nations discussed (ays to ensure economic $ro(th and financial stability2 create &obs and combat unemployment2 stimulate in-estment and promote multilateral trade2 international de-elopment and anti+corruption! ,he members of the Froup of ,(enty .F+200 areI Australia2 Ar$entina2 #ra1il2 Freat #ritain2 Fermany2 European nion2 "ndia2 "ndonesia2 "taly2 Canada2 China2 Me@ico2 %ussian /ederation2 Saudi Arabia2 SA2 ,ur*ey2 /rance2 South Africa2 %epublic of 6orea2 and Japan! ,he presidency of the F20 rotates annually amon$ its members!:urin$ the summit2 "ndian 5rime Minister Manmohan Sin$h focused on the on$oin$ economic crisis and ur$ed the F+20 nations to pay more attention to their monetary policies!,he 201B F+20 Australia summit (ill be the ninth meetin$ of the F+20 heads of $o-ernment!"t (ill be held in #risbane2 the capital city of Eueensland2 Australia2 on 14+1? )o-ember 201B !"n a 2'+pa$e declaration adopted

at the end of the t(o+day Summit 2 the $roup of 20 industrialised and ma&or emer$in$ economies also reaffirmed its commitment to roll bac* ne( protectionist measures! Im+ortant !oints of 7'23 Lea ers/ 9eclaration H' J %eco$nisin$ the ris* of economic slo(do(n and (ea*enin$ trade posed by protectionism2 the F20 has decided to e@tend until the end of 201? its standstill commitment to further pro$ress in remo-in$ barriers and impediments to $lobal trade and in-estment! J F+20 8eaders endorsed an ambitious action plan to chan$e national ta@ rules that encoura$e multinational companies to shift their profits to lo(+ or no+ta@ &urisdictions2 allo(in$ them not to pay ta@ on much of their income! J ,he declaration committed itself to cooperate to ensure that policies implemented to support domestic $ro(th also support $lobal $ro(th and financial stability and to mana$e their spillo-ers other countries! J "t noted that the most ur$ent need is to increase the momentum of the $lobal reco-ery2 $enerate hi$her $ro(th and better &obs (hile stren$thenin$ the foundations for lon$ term $ro(th and a-oidin$ policies that could cause the reco-ery to falter or promote $ro(th at other countriesA e@pense! J A$reein$ on the Action 5lan2 the leaders said cross+border ta@ e-asion and a-oidance undermine public finances and trust in the fairness of the ta@ system! J ,he Summit also shared 5rime Minister Manmohan Sin$hAs -ie(s on the need for orderly e@it from the monetary stimulus underta*en in the conte@t of 2008 economic crisis! A0AR9S = %ONOURS ,.bin Mehta Recei<e Ta$ore A)ar 3orld acclaimed orchestra conductor >ubin Mehta (as conferred the presti$ious ,a$ore A(ard for Cultural =armony on ? September by 5resident 5ranab Mu*her&ee in )e( :elhi!,he a(ard carries an amount of One Crore %upees2 a citation in a scroll2 a pla9ue as (ell as an e@9uisite traditional handicraftRhandloom item!=e is the second recipient after sitar maestro 5andit %a-i Shan*ar! Amitabh (achchan %ono.re 0ith ? 2345 7lobal 9i<ersit*/ A)ar Leteran #olly(ood actor Amitabh #achchan (as conferred (ith the C 2013 Flobal

:i-ersity A(ard C at the =ouse of Commons in the 5alace of 3estminster2 #ritain on 11 September!Spea*er of the =ouse of Commons2 %t =on John #erco( M52 presented the a(ard to Amitabh #achchan!#achchan2 (ho has acted in more than 180 films2 (as -oted the $reatest star of the millennium in a 1<<< ##C poll!/ranceAs hi$hest ci-ilian honour2 the 6ni$ht of the 8e$ion of =onour2 (as conferred upon him by the /rench Fo-ernment in 200' for his e@ceptional career in the (orld of cinema and beyond! In ian Free om Fi$hter 7ets ? %o.se of Commons A)ar ? On 11 September An "ndian freedom fi$hter (as posthumously conferred a C8ifetime Achie-ement A(ardA at 6As =ouse of Commons for his contribution durin$ "ndiaAs independence mo-ement and its &ourney after(ards!#ritainAs Minister for #usiness En$a$ement (ith "ndia Fre$ory #ar*er and Lirendra Sharma2 Chair of the "ndo+#ritish All 5arty 5arliamentary Froup &ointly presented the a(ard to late Ja(aharlal :ardaAs son2 Li&ay Ja(aharlal :arda2 M5 and Chairman and Editor+in+Chief of 8o*mat2 the most (idely circulated Marathi lan$ua$e ne(spaper! John Abraham %ono.re 0ith ? !ri e of the Nation A)ar ? #olly(ood actor John Abraham has been conferred (ith the 5ride of the )ation a(ard on 1? September for his attempt to raise the sensiti-e issue of former prime minister %a&i- FandhiAs assassination throu$h his role as a %A3 a$ent in Madras Cafe!,he a(ard (as presented by Anti ,errorist /ront chairman Maninder&eet Sin$h in )e( :elhi! All+"ndia Anti+,errorist /ront .A"A,/0 is an anti+terrorist or$anisation led by Maninder&eet Sin$h #itta!"n Madras Cafe film John Abraham made a coura$eous attempt to unra-el the conspiracy behind the assassination of %a&i- Fandhi! ,he film NMadras CafeO is set in the late 80s and early 1<<0s2 durin$ the time of Sri 8an*an ci-il (ar and the assassination of then 5rime Minister %a&iFandhi! Malala Go.saf&ai Recei<e ?Amnest* ? International A)ar 5a*istani education ri$hts acti-ist2 Malala Mousaf1ai has been named as the recipient of 2013 Amnesty "nternationalAs hi$hest a(ard!Malala recei-ed Amnesty "nternationalAs Ambassador of Conscience A(ard alon$ (ith American sin$er and human ri$hts acti-ist =arry #elafonte at ceremony on 1' September in :ublin2 "reland!,he Ambassador of Conscience A(ard is the human ri$hts $roupAs hi$hest

honour2 reco$ni1in$ indi-iduals (ho ha-e promoted and enhanced the cause of human ri$hts throu$h their life and by e@ample!She made her first public appearance on 12 July 20132 her 1?th birthday2 (hen she deli-ered a speech at the nited )ations Feneral Assembly in )e( Mor*! !resi ent of In ia !resente National Comm.nal %armon* A)ar s For The Gear 2344 = 2342 ,he 5resident of "ndia 5ranab Mu*her&ee presented the )ational Communal =armony A(ards for the year 2011 and 2012 at a function in )e( :elhi! National Comm.nal %armon* A)ar for 2344H ' OdishaAs M: Janab =a&i Abdul #ari and Mi1oramAs 6hamliana &ointly a(arded for the year 2011 indi-idual cate$ory! #oth are social acti-ists! National Comm.nal %armon* A)ar for 2342H' ,he /oundation for Amity and )ational Solidarity2 :elhi a(arded for Or$anisational cate$ory! ,he foundation formed in 1<8B!,he /oundation (or*s for spreadin$ amity and communal harmony! (.n"er Ro* an Malala Go.saf&ai Recei<e Clinton 7lobal Citi&ens A)ar s "ndia en-ironmentalist #un*er %oy and 5a*istanAs teena$e education acti-ist Malala Mousaf1ai on 23 September 2013 declared as (inners of the Clinton Flobal Citi1ens A(ards for the year 2013! %oy is the founder of the #arefoot Colle$e2 (hich has been pro-idin$ solutions to problems in rural communities for more than B0 years!Malala Mousuf1ai has co+founded Malala /und (ith the intension to continue support for uni-ersal access to education!,hey recei-ed these a(ards durin$ Clinton Flobal "nitiati-e Annual Meetin$ on 2B September in )e( Mor* City!,he Clinton Flobal Citi1en A(ards (ere launched in 200' to honour outstandin$ indi-iduals for their -isionary leadership2 demonstrated impact2 and sustainable and scalable (or* in sol-in$ $lobal issues! S!ORTS = 7AMES US O+en Tennis To.rnament 2345 0inners 0omen/s Sin$les H' On 8 September Serena 3illiams . !S0 (on the S Open ,ennis ,ournament 2013 3omenAs sin$les title after defeated Lictoria A1aren*a of #elarus in the final at Arthur Ashe Stadium in )e( Mor*!3ith this (in Serena 3illiams secured her fifth S Open title and 1'th Frand Slam title of the o-erall

career! Men/s Sin$les H' %afael )adal .Spain0 (on the 2013 menAs sin$les !S! Open title after defeated )o-a* :&o*o-ic .Serbia0 in the final!"t is )adalAs second S Open title2 and his 13th Frand Slam! 0omen/s 9o.bles H' C1ech duo Andrea =la-ac*o-a and 8ucie =radec*a (on the !S! Open (omenAs doubles title after defeated AustraliaAs Ashlei$h #arty and Casey :ellac9ua in the final! Men/s 9o.bles H' ,he pair of 8eander 5aes of "ndia and %ade* Stepane* of the C1ech %epublic (on the doubles title after defeated Ale@ander 5eya of Austria2 and #runo Soares of #ra1il in the final !8eander 5aes has earlier (on the S open title t(o times !)o( 5aes has 1B ma&or titles in his cupboard2 includin$ si@ mi@ed doubles trophies! To"*o To %ost 2323 S.mmer Ol*m+ics On ' September ,o*yo has been chosen to host the 2020 summer Olympic Fames by the e-entAs or$anisin$ committee2 beatin$ out "stanbul and Madrid in the final -ote tally!Japan (on the ri$ht to host Olympic Fames for the second time! "t had pre-iously hosted the Fames in 1<?B! 0restlin$ Selecte for 2323 Ol*m+ic 7ames 3restlin$ re$ained entry into the Olympic Fames pro$ram on 8 September after the "nternational Olympic Committee selected the sport for inclusion in the 2020 and 202B Fames o-er bids from s9uash2 baseball and softball!"OC at its 124th session held in #uenos Aires2 Ar$entina decided to include (restlin$ in the 2020 Olympics in addition to the 24 core sports!3restlin$2 s9uash and baseballRsoftball (ere in contention for bein$ included as an additional sport in the 2020 Olympics! Af$hanistan 0on SAFF Cham+ionshi+ 2345 Af$hanistan2 for the first time in its history2 (on the trophy of South Asian /ootball /ederation .SA//0 Championship 2013 defeated "ndia 2+0 in the final held at :asharath Stadium in 6athmandu on 11 September! "ndia has (on the championship si@ times .1<<32 1<<'2 1<<<2 20042 200<2 20110!,he ne@t edition of the SA// Championship (ill be held in "ndia in 2014! Mohame an S+ortin$ 0on 9.ran Foot (all C.+ 6ol*ataAs Mohammedan Sportin$ club (on the 12?th :urand /oot ball

tournament on 1< September as it defeated O)FC 2+1 in the final at the Ambed*ar Stadium in )e( :elhi!,hey ha-e lifted the cup after '3 years ha-in$ (on it bac* in 1<B0!,he :urand /ootball ,ournament (as started at Simla in the year 1888 by Sir =enry Mortimer :urand2 (ho (as then2 the /orei$n Secretary to Fo-ernment of "ndia! :urand is the third oldest football tournament in the (orld and oldest in Asia and "ndia! Sania Mir&a 0ins !an !acific O+en 9o.bles Title Sania Mir1a of "ndia and Cara #lac* of >imbab(e (on the ,oray 5an 5acific Open tennis championship (omenAs doubles title after defeated =ao+Chin$ Chan .Chinese ,aipei0 and 8ie1el =uber . SA0 in the final at ,o*yo on 28 September !,his (as SaniaAs fourth title of the season! In ia 0on S.ltan of Johor C.+ %oc"e* To.rnament 2345 "ndia defeated Malaysia 3+0 to (in 3rd nder+21 Sultan of Johor Cup hoc*ey tournament in Johor #ahru on 2< September !,he $oals from the "ndian side (ere scored by Amon Mirash ,ir*ey .22nd02 Affan Mousuf .42nd0 and Manpreet Sin$h .?Bth0! ECONOMG Microsoft 9eci e To (.* No"ia/s Mobile !hone Unit an Ser<ices Microsoft Corporation and )o*ia Corporation on 3 September announced that both companies ha-e decided to enter into a transaction (hereby Microsoft (ill purchase substantially all of )o*iaAs :e-ices H Ser-ices business2 license )o*iaAs patents2 and license and use )o*iaAs mappin$ ser-ices! nder the terms of the a$reement2 Microsoft (ill pay 3!'< billion Euros to purchase substantially all of )o*iaAs :e-ices H Ser-ices business2 and 1!?4 billion Euros to license )o*iaAs patents2 for a total transaction price of 4!BB billion Euros in cash!)o*ia Corporation is a /innish multinational communications and information technolo$y corporation .ori$inally a paper production plant0 that is head9uartered in Espoo2 /inland!"ts principal products are mobile telephones and portable ", de-ices!)o*ia o(ns a company named )o*ia Solutions and )et(or*s2 (hich pro-ides telecommunications net(or* e9uipment and ser-ices!

In ia No) %as F8@3 Ultra 0ealth* In i<i .als On 11 September Accordin$ to the O 2013 3ealth+; report N2 "ndia has '840 =)3 . ltra+=i$h+)et+3orth0 indi-iduals in 2013 compared to ''30 in 2012 an increased of 1!? percent! Out of these2 103 indi-iduals ha-e (ealth of o-er S: 1 #illion dollars! ,he billionaire club has shrun* from 10< people in 2012 to 103 in 2013!,otal combined (ealth of billionaires also fell by 4!3 per cent 7180 billion .71<0 bn in 20120!A city+(ise analysis sho(s that more than <0 per cent of "ndiaAs =)3 population li-e in top 10 cities includin$ Mumbai2 :elhi2 #an$alore2 6ol*ata2 =yderabad2 Chennai2 Ahmedabad2 5une2 Fur$aon and Jaipur!Mumbai and :elhi2 ho(e-er2 dominate (ith more than 40 per cent of the countryAs =)3 population based in one of these t(o cities! Cabinet A++ro<e (.*in$ P IE5 billion 0orl (an" (on s ,he nion Cabinet on 12 September $a-e the $o+ahead to the %eser-e #an* of "ndia .%#"0 to in-est 7B!3 billion in special bonds of the 3orld #an* as it (ould help in securin$ additional fundin$ from the multilateral lendin$ a$ency for infrastructure de-elopment pro&ects! nder the arran$ement2 the %eser-e #an* of "ndia (ill subscribe to special pri-ate placement of bonds by the "#%:2 a lendin$ arm of the 3orld #an*! In ian Econom* To 7ro) At @E5J In 2345'4I ,he Economic Ad-isory Council to the 5rime Minister .of "ndia0 on 13 September 2013 released the report N Economic Outloo* 2013+1B N in )e( :elhi!,he economic $ro(th forecast of "ndia for the current fiscal 2013+1B (as lo(ered to 4!3 percent from ?!B percent pro&ected earlier! ,he 5MEAC had in April 2013 pro&ected ?!B percent $ro(th for "ndian economy for current financial year!%#" too had earlier lo(ered its $ro(th pro&ection for this fiscal to 4!4 percent from 4!' percent! %i$hli$hts of the of Economic O.tloo" In ia are as follo)in$ H ' J ,he 5MEAC e@pects the a$riculture sector to $ro( by B!8 percent in the current fiscal up from 1!< percent2 (hile the industrial $ro(th has been pe$$ed at 2!' percent as a$ainst 2!1 percent in 2012+13! J Ser-ices pro&ected to $ro( at ?!?Qin 2013+1B as a$ainst '!1Q in 2012+13! J %eferrin$ to the e@ternal sector2 the ad-isory council e@pressed hope that the Current Account :eficit .CA:0 in 2013+1B (ill come do(n to '0 billion S dollars or 3!8 percent of F:52 from 88!2 billion S dollars or B!8 percent a year

a$o! J ,he trade deficit 2(ould come do(n to around S: 184 billion in 2013+1B2 a$ainst an estimated S: 1<4!' billion in 2012+13! J #et(een 2010+11 and 2012+132 the combined impact of hi$her net oil and net $old imports on the CA: .Current Account :eficit0 (as almost 4' billion S dollars or 3 percent of F:5! J ,he CA: may $o e-en belo( 7 '0 billion in 2013+1B if the recent trends in e@ports and imports are maintained throu$h the year! J )et Capital flo(s are pro&ected to fall to S: ?1!B billion in 2013+1B a$ainst an estimated S: 8<!B billion in 2012+13 puttin$ pressure on the countryAs fore@ reser-es! R(I Increases Re+o Rate (* 2@ (asis !oints ,he %eser-e #an* of "ndia .%#"0 on 20 September increased the repo rate or the short term lendin$ rate by 24 basis points to '!4 per cent from '!24 per cent (ith immediate effect! ,his means that the %epo rate has been increased by 0!24 percent!,he cash reser-e ratio .C%%0 remained unchan$ed at B percent!,he %#" pre-iously raised the repo rate in October 2011 by 0!24 per cent to 8!4 per cent! ? In ia Entertainment = Me ia O.tloo" 2345 ? Re+ort Release Accordin$ to the Confederation of "ndian "ndustry .C""0 G 5rice(aterhouseCoopers .5(C0 Cs latest report titled2 C"ndia Entertainment H Media Outloo* 2013 C (as released on 13 September in )e( :elhi! %i$hli$hts of the ?In ia Entertainment = Me ia O.tloo" 2345 ? Re+ort H' J "ndiaAs entertainment and media industry to cloc* o-er ")% 22B2 400 crore by 201'I C""+5(C study forecast CAF% of 18Q o-er 2012+1' J )o( the si1e of the "ndian MHE sector increased from about 804 billion ")% in 2011 to almost <?4 billion ")% in 2012 representin$ an year+on+year $ro(th of 20Q! J ,he tele-ision and print sectors dominate the industry (ith about B0Q and 22Q contribution to industry re-enues respecti-ely in 2012! J "nternet access no( commands about 18Q share and films 12Q of industry re-enues! J "nternet access no( commands about 18Q share and films 12Q of industry re-enues! J ,he print sector re-enues are e@pected to increase at o-er <Q CAF% to reach

331 billion ")% in 201' from 212 billion ")% in 2012! J Mear+on+year sectors such as internet access .30Q02 internet ad-ertisin$ .2<Q02 $amin$ .1<Q02 and music .14Q0 are e@pected to continue on their hi$h $ro(th tra&ectory! J ,he radio sector is also e@pected to recei-e a fillip (ith the successful conclusion of 5hase """ licence auctions and it is e@pected to $ro( at a robust CAF% of about 1?Q! SCIENCE = TEC%NOLO7G In ian Air Force in .cts its (i$$est Trans+ort Aircraft ? C'4F 7lobemaster III ? nion :efence Minister A6 Antony on 2 September formally inducted "A/As bi$$est '0+tonne hea-y+lift transport aircraft C C+1' Flobemaster """ C into ser-ice at the =indon Air #ase near :elhi!,he C+1' Flobemaster """ aircraft has been procured from the S under a deal e@pected to be o-er %s!202000 crore!,he C+1'2 (ith a capability to carry around '0 tonnes of load and around 140 fully $eared troops2 (ill replace the %ussian "l+'? as the bi$$est aircraft in the "A/ in-entory till no(!,he "8+'? has the capability to carry loads upto around B0 tonnes!,he "A/ has placed orders (ith the S for ten C+1' aircraft under the deal si$ned in 2011 and three of them ha-e already been deli-ered!,he S Air /orce is scheduled to complete the deli-ery of all the 10 planes by the end of 201B! NASA La.nches S+acecraft To St. * Moon Atmos+here )ASAAs 8unar Atmosphere and :ust En-ironment E@plorer .8A:EE0 mission (as successfully launched by a Minotaur 4 .spin stabilised deli-ery -ersion0 roc*et on ' September from )ASAAs 3allops /li$ht /acility in Lir$inia!8A:EE is a robotic mission that (ill orbit the moon to $ather detailed information about the lunar atmosphere2 conditions near the surface2 and en-ironmental influences on lunar dust! 0orl /s Lar$est Aolcano 9isco<ere Un er !acific Ocean ,he (orldAs lar$est -olcano has been disco-ered on 4 September by ni-ersity of =ouston researchers on the floor of the 5acific Ocean! ,he -olcano2 12?00 *ilometres east of Japan and called the ,amu Massif2 is the si1e of the #ritish "sles!At 3102000 s9 *m .11<2000 s9 mi0 ,amu Massif is comparable in si1e to

MarsA -ast Olympus Mons -olcano G the lar$est in the solar system!!,he -olcano consists of a -ast sin$le rounded dome in the shape of a shield2 (hich is belie-ed to ha-e been formed 1BB million years a$o (hen it last erupted!"ts top lies about ?2400 feet belo( the ocean surface! Ja+an La.nches Ne) E+silon Roc"et JapanAs Epsilon+1 roc*et T the first in a ne( $eneration of space roc*ets and the countryAs first roc*et in 12 years T lifted off on 1B September from a space center on JapanAs southern main island of 6yushu!,he roc*et2 2B meters in hei$ht and <0 tons in (ei$ht2 placed the Spectroscopic 5lanet Obser-atory for %eco$nition of "nteraction of Atmosphere2 or S5%"),+A2 into its orbit about an hour after the launch! ,he telescope (ill be used to obser-e planets includin$ Lenus2 Mars and Jupiter from its Earth orbit!,he Epsilon is the first ne( roc*et desi$n for Japan since the =2A (as introduced in 2001! ,he =2A remains JapanAs primary roc*et but officials hope the Epsilon (ill lead to impro-ements in the more costly =2A pro$ram! Japan hopes to be more competiti-e in the international roc*et+launchin$ business! In ia S.ccessf.ll* Test Fire N.clear # Ca+able ? A$ni A ? Lon$ Ran$e Missile "ndiaAs most deterrent nuclear capable ballistic missile2 A$ni+4 (as successfully test fired on 14 September from Chandipur ,est %an$e in #alasore district off Odisha coast!:e-eloped by the :efence %esearch and :e-elopment Or$anisation .:%:O02 the A$ni+4 can carry a sin$le nuclear (arhead of o-er 1000 *$ and can stri*e (ith precision tar$ets in China and Europe!,he indi$enously de-eloped missile A$ni+L is capable of stri*in$ a ran$e of more than 4000 *m! "t is about 1' meter lon$ and 2 metres (ide (ith launch (ei$ht of around 40 tonnes!,he first test fli$ht of the A$ni+4 on 1< April 2012 (as a phenomenal success after (hich "ndia &oined the select club of the nited States2 %ussia2 /rance2 #ritain and China (ho ha-e such capabilities! A$ni+4 (ill $i-e "ndia the ability hit bac* or ha-e second+ stri*e capability e-en after a nuclear attac*! ,he missile is "ndiaAs fastest+tra-ellin$ ob&ect and the first one to cross the E9uator (hen launched from "ndia!"n the A$ni series2 "ndia at present has A$ni+1 (ith '00 *m ran$e2 A$ni+2 (ith 2000 *m ran$e2 A$ni+3 and A$ni+B (ith 2400 *m to more than 3400 ran$e!

US La.nches Unmanne C*$n.s Car$o Shi+ To ISS Orbital Sciences Corp launched the first fli$ht of its unmanned Cy$nus car$o ship on 18 September to the "nternational Space Station2 as )ASA for$es ahead (ith its plan to pri-atise S space missions!,he Cy$nus capsule2 hitched to Orbital ScienceAs Antares roc*et2 blasted off from )ASAAs 3allops /li$ht /acility off Lir$iniaAs eastern coast!Cy$nus (ill ferry about 12300 pounds .4<0 *ilo$rams0 of food2 clothin$ and other car$o for the cre( aboard the space station! Iran 9is+la*s 53 Missiles 0ith 2333 "m Ran$e "ran paraded 30 missiles (ith a nominal ran$e of 22000 *m on 22 September2 the first time it had displayed so many (ith a stated capacity to hit "sraeli tar$ets!"ran displayed 12 Se&il and 18 Fhadr missiles at the annual parade mar*in$ the anni-ersary of the outbrea* of the 1<80+88 "ran+"ra9 (ar!,he stated ran$e of both missiles (ould put not only "srael but also S bases in the Fulf (ithin reach! !ERSONS IN NE0S A2 A!!OINTMENTS Ra"esh Soo A++ointe as !M/s S+ecial En<o* on 9isarment an Non' !roliferation On 1 September 5rime Minister Manmohan Sin$h has appointed %a*esh Sood2 "ndiaAs former Ambassador to )epal2 Af$hanistan and /rance and the countryAs first Ambassador in char$e of :isarmament in Fene-a2 as his ne( Special En-oy for :isarmament and )on+5roliferation!%a*esh Sood is a reco$nised e@pert in his field and (ill be able to ma*e a -aluable contribution to the countryAs forei$n policy on security2 non+proliferation and disarmament issues! 9ee+a" San h. (ecomes The First 0oman Chief Information Commissioner On 4 September :eepa* Sandhu became the first (oman Chief "nformation Commissioner of the country!She (as administered the oath of the office by the 5resident of "ndia2 5ranab Mu*her&ee!Sandhu ser-ed in many *ey positions li*e 5rincipal :irector Feneral .Media and Communications0 in the 5ress "nformation #ureau2 :irector Feneral of :: .)e(s02 :irector Feneral .)e(s0 All "ndia %adio before ta*in$ o-er as "nformation Commissioner in 200<!

;.l"arni (ecomes First In ian American State J. $e In Northern California On ? September A leadin$ "ndian American la(yer2 Sunil % 6ul*arni2 has become the first South Asian American state &ud$e in )orthern California (ith his appointment to Santa Clara County Superior Court!"n 20102 "ndian American 5aul Sin$h Fre(al (as appointed a ma$istrate &ud$e in S :istrict Court for the )orthern :istrict of California! Thomas (ach is ne) IOC +resi ent ,homas #ach of Fermany on 10 September has been elected as the ne( president of the "nternational Olympic Committee ."OC0!#ach succeeds Jac9ues %o$$e2 the #el$ian (ho is steppin$ do(n after 12 years!#ach is also the first $old medalist to become "OC president! =e (on $old in team fencin$ for 3est Fermany in the 1<'? Montreal Olympics! J.stice !raf.lla Chan ra !ant A++ointe First Chief J.stice of Me$hala*a %i$h Co.rt On 1< September Justice 5rafulla Chandra 5ant has been appointed as the first Chief Justice of the ne(ly established Me$halaya =i$h Court!Justice 5ant (ill succeed Justice , Meena 6umari (hose term as the Me$halaya Chief Justice (as o-er t(o months a$o!Justice 5ant is a &ud$e of the ttara*hand =i$h Court!#orn in 5ithora$arh district of then undi-ided ttar 5radesh2 he &oined the 5 Judicial Ser-ice in 1<'? and held different posts! After the creation of ttara*hand2 he (as the first Secretary2 Judicial2 of the state! Srini<asan Re'Electe As (CCI !resi ent For The Thir Term )arayanas(amy Srini-asan has been re+elected as the 5resident of the #oard of Control for Cric*et in "ndia .#CC"0 for a third term at its 8Bth annual $eneral meetin$ .AFM0 held at Chennai on 2< September! =e (as unanimously re+elected as the president of #CC" for the term of 2013+1B! RanBib (is)al A++ointe as ne) I!L chairman /ormer national selector %an&ib #is(al on 2< September has been appointed as chairman of the "ndian 5remier 8ea$ue ."580 durin$ the Annual Feneral Meetin$ of the #oard of Control for Cric*et in "ndia .#CC"0 at Chennai!5rior to this appointment %an&ib #is(al (as mana$er of the "ndian Cric*et team durin$ the

"CC 3orld Cup 2011 and the "CC Champions ,rophy 2013! =e is also the head of Orissa Cric*et Association! (2RESI7NS RaBasthan Minister (ab.lal Na$ar Resi$ne Minister of State for /ood and Ci-il Supplies #abulal )a$ar on 1< September resi$ned from the %a&asthan cabinet after bein$ accused of rapin$ a (oman! C29EAT%S A. io !ioneer Ra* 9olb* of fame So.n S*stem 9ie %ay :olby2 the en$ineer (ho pioneered the noise reduction in audio recordin$s that produced clearer sound for music and cinema2 died on 12 September in San /rancisco!=e (as the founder of :olby 8aboratories!=is (or*s in noise reduction and surround sound has been appreciated across the (orld and ha-e (on reco$nitions too!:olby mo-ed his company to San /rancisco in 1<'? and in 1<8< (as a(arded an Oscar for his contributions to cinema2 (hich he shared (ith :olby e@ecuti-e "oan Allen!:olby also (as $i-en musicAs Frammy a(ard 1<<4 and tele-isionAs Emmys in 1<8< and 2004! 0orl /s Ol est Man Sal.stiano Sanche&'(la&8.e& 9ie ,he (orldAs oldest man2 a former musician and coal miner2 Salustiano Sanche1+ #la19ue1 has died at the a$e of 112 in Frand "sland2 )e( Mor* on 13 September!Salustiano Sanche1+#la19ue1 (as officially certified by Fuinness 3orld %ecords as the (orldAs oldest man!=e (as born on 8 June 1<01 in Spain! 92AISITORS Liberia !resi ent Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Aisite In ia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf2 5resident of the %epublic of 8iberia2 -isited "ndia from < G 13 September 2013 !:urin$ this -isit25resident Sirleaf met 5rime Minister Manmohan Sin$h in )e(:elhi and held dele$ation le-el discussions on bilateral2 re$ional and international issues!#oth sides noted that there still remained considerable potential for cooperation and a$reed to enhance the partnership bet(een the t(o countries in all areas of mutual interest!On 12 September 20132 the "ndira Fandhi 5ri1e for 5eace2 :isarmament and :e-elopment for the year 2012 (as conferred upon 5resident Sirleaf!

E2MISCELLANEOUS Malala Go.saf&ai Ina.$.rates E.ro+e/s Lar$est Librar* In U; Malala Mousaf1ai2 the 5a*istani school$irl shot in the head in a failed assassination attempt by the ,aliban2 on 3 September inau$urated EuropeAs bi$$est public library in her ne(ly adopted home of #irmin$ham in 6!,he library of #rimin$ham (as built (ith cost of 18<+million pound 2(hile it has more than 200 public access computers2theatres 2an e@hibition $allery and music rooms! ,ar ari (ecomes First !a"istani !resi ent To Ser<e F.ll Term 5a*istanAs president stepped do(n on 8 September 20132 after finishin$ his fi-e+ year term !Asif Ali >ardari is the first president in the history of 5a*istani democracy to be democratically elected2 ser-e his full term2 and then step do(n!=e ser-ed as the 11th 5resident of 5a*istan from 2008 to 2013! 9iana (ecame First 0oman to S)im Across Flori a Straits )itho.t Shar" Ca$e :iana )yad2 ?B+year old American lon$+distance s(immer became the first person to cross /lorida Straits from Cuba (ithout any shar* ca$e on 2 September 2013! ,his (as her fifth attempt to cross the 110+mile .1''+*m0 distance!:iana )yad completed the 110+mile or 1''+*m distance! Nina 9a<.l.ri 0ins ? Miss America ? 234I Title )ina :a-uluri2 Miss )e( Mor*2 (as cro(ned the ne( Miss America on 14 September in Atlantic City2 )e( Jersey!Miss )e( Mor*2 )ina :a-uluri2 became the first contestant of "ndian herita$e and the second consecuti-e contestant from )e( Mor* to (in the Miss America pa$eant!She succeeds another Miss )e( Mor*2 Mallory =a$an2 (hose tenure (as cut short (hen the pa$eant mo-ed bac* to Atlantic City after a si@+year stint in 8as Le$as2 (here (inners (ere chosen in January!)ina :a-uluri from Syracuse2 sashayed off (ith the tiara and the 7402000 scholarship cash!She is the first Miss America (inner of "ndian descent! Me$an Go.n$ Cro)ne Miss 0orl 2345 Me$an Moun$ of 5hilippines (as cro(ned Miss 3orld 2013 at the #ali )asa :ua Con-ention Center in #ali2 "ndonesia on 28 September!Miss /rance2 Marine 8orphelin too* second place2 (hile Miss Fhana2 Carran1ar )aa O*ailey Shooter

2came in third! Miss "ndia 3orld )a-neet 6aur :hillon finished amon$ the top 20 finalists but couldnAt reach final ten! She (on the title of Miss Multimedia! !LACES IN NE0S China Ina.$.rate 0orl /s %i$hest 9aochen$ Ga in$ Ci<ilian Air+ort China has opened the (orldAs hi$hest ci-ilian airport named O :aochen$ Madin$O on 1? September in a resti-e and remote ,ibetan re$ion of south(estern Sichuan pro-ince!,he :aochen$ Madin$ airport in Fan1i prefecture in south(estern China is the (orldAs hi$hest ci-ilian airport!,he re$ion is a $ate(ay to ,ibet!:aochen$ airport in Far1i2 a hea-ily ethnic ,ibetan part of Sichuan2 is BB11 metres abo-e sea le-el2 and o-erta*es Eamdo airport in ,ibet2 (hich sits at B33B metres abo-e sea le-el2 for the title of (orldAs hi$hest! Stron$ Earth8.a"e %its !a"istan A ma&or '!8+ma$nitude earth9ua*e hit south(estern 5a*istan on 2B September2 *illed more than 340 people and dama$ed se-eral houses near the epicentre in a remote part of #alochistan pro-ince! ,he 9ua*e2 (ith its epicentre ?< *m from A(aran2 (as ori$inally measured at '!B on the %ichter Scale by the S Feolo$ical Sur-ey (hich later it re-ised to '!8! 5a*istanAs meteorolo$ical office $a-e the ma$nitude as '!'!,he '!? ma$nitude 9ua*e in 2004 *illed at least '32000 people and left se-eral million homeless in one of the (orst natural disasters to hit 5a*istan! A((REAIATIONS )C%# G )ational Crime %ecords #ureau A"S=E G All "ndia Sur-ey on =i$her Education M)"C + Multi+purpose )ational "dentity Card "#%: + "nternational #an* for %econstruction and :e-elopment "CAO G "nternational Ci-il A-iation Or$anisation =:" + =uman :e-elopment "nde@

ESMA G Essential Ser-ices Maintenance Act :%:O G :efence %esearch and :e-elopment Or$anisation C,#, G Comprehensi-e ,est #an ,reaty (OO;S IN NE0S D In ia an Mala*sia H Inter)ine Stran sD (oo" Release (* Aice !resi ent of In ia ,he Lice 5resident of "ndia M! =amid Ansari on < September released a boo* entitled O "ndia and MalaysiaI "ntert(ined Strands O at )e( :elhi ! ,he boo* is authored by former :iplomat Leena Si*ri! ,he boo* is (ritten for the "nstitute of South East Asian Studies ."SEAS02 Sin$apore! "t is a comprehensi-e boo* on a -ery useful sub&ect of relationship bet(een "ndia and Malaysia! COMMITTEES Nachi"et Mor Committee To Frame Aision For Financial Incl.sion ,he %eser-e #an* of "ndia .%#"0 on 23 September announced a 13+member committee2 includin$ former Citiban* CEO Li*ram 5andit and A@is #an* chief Shi*ha Sharma2 to frame a clear and detailed -ision for financial inclusionRdeepenin$ across the country!,he Committee is headed by )achi*et Mor2 Member on the %#"As Central #oard of :irectors! ,he committee2 (hich (ill submit its final report by :ecember 31!Committee is to lay do(n a set of desi$n principles that (ill $uide the de-elopment of institutional frame(or*s and re$ulation for achie-in$ financial inclusion and financial deepenin$ in "ndia! IM!ORTANT 9AGS AN9 9ATES International 9a* of !eace Obser<e on 24 Se+tember "nternational :ay of 5eace obser-ed on 21 September 2013 across the (orld to reco$nise the efforts of those (ho ha-e (or*ed hard to end conflict and promote peace! ,he "nternational :ay of 5eace is also a day of ceasefire!,he theme for the year 2013 is Education for 5eace!Each year the "nternational :ay of 5eace is obser-ed around the (orld on 21 September! ,he ) Feneral Assembly has

declared this as a day de-oted to stren$thenin$ the ideals of peace2 both (ithin and amon$ all nations and peoples!,he "nternational :ay of 5eace (as established in 1<81 by resolution 3?R?' of the nited )ations Feneral Assembly to coincide (ith its openin$ session2 (hich (as held annually on the third ,uesday of September! 0orl Rabies 9a* Obser<e on 28 Se+tember 3orld %abies :ay obser-ed on 28 September 2013 across the (orld to raise a(areness about the impact of rabies disease and to deli-er the messa$e that rabies is pre-entable!,he theme for the year 2013 is %abiesI nderstand it to defeat it!3orld %abies :ay is an initiati-e of Flobal Alliance for %abies Control and the day started it in 200' to create a $lobal opportunity for people to focus on rabies pre-ention!,he 3orld %abies :ay is obser-ed each year on 28 September+ on the death anni-ersary of 8ouis 5asteur (ho de-eloped the first efficacious rabies -accine (ith his collea$ues!