THE LATEST JULY 2014 • INTERNATIONAL 1. Japan Eased Sanctions Against North Korea-.The decision was taken in response to North Korea reopening the investigation to probe decades-old kidnappings of Japanese nationals. 2. U.S and E.U Announced Tougher Sanctions Against Russia The United States and the European Union (EU) have significantly strengthened sanctions on Russia over Ukraine, with Washington for the first time directly targeting Russia’s banking, military, and energy sectors. 3. Bolivia Becomes First Nation To Legalise Child Labour 4. The e-commerce company which has raised a funding of 1 billion dollars from Tiger Global Management LLC, Accel Partners, Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Singapore sovereign-wealth fund GIC - Flipkart 5. The African nation which has declared a public health emergency after efforts to control the ebola disease have not proved successful - Sierra Leone 6. The South African all-rounder who has announced retirement from all forms of cricket - Jacques Kallis 7. The South East-Asian country which crossed the 100 million (10 crores) mark in population on 27 July 2014 becoming the 12th nation in the world to do so (Its 100 millionth citizen Chonalyn was born at the Jose Fabella hospital in Manila)- Philippines 8. The country in which representatives of Indian Air Force and Indian Navy have taken office for the first time (making it the fourth country after United Kingdom, USA and Russia to have Indian attaches from the 3 services) - China • INDIA & WORLD 1. India and Canada have signed an India-Canada Audiovisual Co-production Treaty that aims to create jobs in both countries and boost tourism.This audiovisual treaty is the first of its kind for India and was signed in Delhi.The treaty came into force on 1 July 2014. 2. India Becomes World’s Largest Consumer of Antibiotics 3. India slipped 10 notches on the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2014. India fell from the 66th position to the 76th on the index. Switzerland topped the GII rankings like 2013 while the UK took the second position. 4. India Ranked 135 In Human Development Index – 2014 The United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) 2014 Human Development Report was released on 24 July in Tokyo. A UN study ranked India at 135 out of 187 countries in terms of Human Development Index (HDI). India’s HDI value for 2013 is 0.586 .. • NATIONAL 1. CCEA Approved Inclusion Of Onion and Potato Under Essential Commodities Act, 1955 2. Number of Child Labourers In India Has Declined - The Union government on 7 July announced that the number of working children in the age group of 5-14 has declined in the country. The total number of working children in the country has declined from 1.26 crore as per Census 2001 to 43.53 lakh as per Census 2011. 3. The new Chief of Army Staff (initially from Gorkha Rifles) who has taken over from outgoing COAS, General Bikram Singh - General Dalbir Singh Suhag 4. The mission launched by Government of India to promote conservation and development of indigenous breeds of cows in a focussed and scientific manner is named - Rashtriya Gokul Mission • STATES 1. PM Narendra Modi Inaugurates 240 MW Uri-II Hydropower Project In J&K 2. Assam decided to Implement National Food Security Act 3. CMSA Scheme Launched In Meghalaya For Widows and Pensioners- Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma on 23 July launched a mass enrolment drive under the Chief Minister’s Social Assistance (CMSA) Scheme for widows and persons with disabilities. Each beneficiary shall be given a financial assistance of 500 rupees per month under the scheme. 4. Tamil Nadu Govt To Issue Industrial Licences Online • CONFERENCES : Sixth BRICS Summit – 2014 Held In Brazil • AWARDS & HONOURS 1. Shah Rukh Khan Received ‘Knight Of The Legion Of Honor’- Bollywood Actor Shah Rukh Khan was conferred with top French civilian award “Knight of the Legion of Honor” (National Order of the Legion of Honour) on 1 July for his outstanding contribution to cultural diversity across the world. 2. Nikhil Srivastava, a young Indian mathematician, on 10 July became the first joint winner of the prestigious ‘ 2014 George Polya Prize ‘ for finding a solution to a problem that had eluded mathematicians for more than half a century. 3. Environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhatt Received Gandhi Peace Prize – 2013 4. 2014 Ramon Magsaysay Awards Announced- The prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Awards for year 2014 were announced on 31 July and it included six winners: i) Saur Marlina Manurung (Indonesia) ii) Randy Halasan (The Philippines) iii) Hu Shuli (China) iv) Omara Khan Masoudi (Afghanistan) v) Wang Canfa (China) vi) The Citizen Foundation (Pakistan) • SPORTS & GAMES 1. Russian Federation Friendship Order Awards To Anand and Gelfand - Chess greats Viswanathan Anand (India) and Boris Gelfand (Israel) have been selected for the Russian Federation’s ‘Order of Friendship’ award, according to a FIDE release on 4 July. 2. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of British has won the British Grand Prix 2014 title on 6 July.This was Hamilton’s 27th career victory, his fifth of the season. 3. Germany created history by winning the FIFA World Cup 2014 on 13 July 2014 at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Germany defeated Argentina by 1-0. With this win, Germany lifted the trophy for the fourth time in the history of FIFA world Cup and first since 1990. The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament :- * Golden Ball – Lionel Messi of Argentina * Golden Boot – James Rodriguez of Colombia * Golden Glove – Manuel Neuer of Germany * Best Young Player – Paul Pogba of France * FIFA Fair Play Trophy – Colombia 4. Daniel Ricciardo Won 2014 Hungarian F1 Grand Prix – 2014Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo of Australia won the Hungarian Formula One (F1) Grand Prix on 27 July. Fernando Alonso (Spain) claimed the second spot for his Ferrari team while Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain) won the third place. 5. Wimbledon 2014 Event Winner Nationality Runner-up Nationality Gentlemens Singles Novak Djokovic Serbia Roger Federer Switzerland Ladies Singles Petra Kvitova Czech Republic Eugenie Bouchard Canada Mens Doubles Vasek Pospisil Jack Sock Canada USA Bob Bryan Mike Bryan USA Womens Doubles Sara Errani Roberta Vinci Italy Timea Babos Kristina Mladenovic Hungary France Mixed Doubles Nenad Zimonjic Samantha Stosur Serbia Australia Max Mirnyi Chan Hao-ching Belarus Taiwan • ECONOMY 1. Bill Gates Is Wealthiest Living US Entrepreneur 2. Union Railway Budget 2014-15 Union Railway Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda on 8 July 2014 presented his first Railway Budget in Parliament.This is the first rail budget presented by any Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister and it is also Sadanand Gowda’s first rail budget. Highlights From Railway Budget 2014-15 :- * No new increase in passenger fares and freight charges. * Next generation e-Ticketing system, capable of supporting 7200 tickets per minute as against 2000 tickets per minute and allow 1,20,000 simultaneous users at any point in time, will help in the revamp of railway reservation System. * Railway Ministry will develop 10 major stations in the country to global standards.It will provide Wi-Fi in A-1 and A category stations and in select trains. * Office-on-wheels: Internet and workstation facilities on select trains * Paperless office of Indian railways in 5 years. Digital reservation charts at stations * Women RPF Constables to escort ladies coaches; 4,000 women constables to be inducted * 17000 Railway Protection Force (RPF) constables to provide safety to passengers * Setting up of Railway University for technical and non-technical subjects, tie-up with technical institutions * Indian Railways need around Rs 40,000 crore improving rail safety. Rs 1785 crore will be provided for road under bridges and over bridges.Ultra sonic devices to detect rail fractures and automatic closing of doors both in mainline & suburban coaches are being considered. * Cleanliness budget up by 40 pc over last year * Private investment in Rail Infrastructure through Domestic and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) * FDI in railway projects, except in operations * FDI, domestic investments in rail infrastructure * Per capita contribution to Staff Benefit Fund increased from Rs.500 to Rs.800. * Loss per passenger per kilometre up from 10% in 2000-01 to 23% in 2012-13 High Speed Rail Network and Bullet Trains:- * Bullet trains will be introduced in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad sector. * Diamond Quadrilateral network of high speed rail linking major metros and growth centres is being worked out. * Increasing train speeds between several cities to 160-200 km/hour. Railways will spend Rs 100 crore for high speed trains between metros.The government needs Rs 9 lakh crore for funding Diamond Quadrilateral. New Trains In Rail Budget:- 5 Jansadharan Trains, 5 Premium Trains, 6 AC express trains, 27 express trains, 8 passenger trains, 2 MEMU services and 5 DEMU will be introduced this year. Special trains to meet the holiday and festival rush would continue to operate. Economic Survey of India 2013-14 Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely on 9 July presented Economic Survey of India 2013-14 in the Lok Sabha. Following are the highlights of the Economic Survey Report 2013-14 :- * Economy to grow in the range of 5.4 – 5.9 per cent in 2014-15 overcoming sub-5 percent growth. * Aided by favourable monsoons, agricultural and allied sector registered a growth of 4.7 per cent in 2013-14. * The India’s balance-of-payments position improved dramatically in 2013-14 with current account deficit at US $ 32.4 billion as against US$ 88.2 billion in 2012-13. * India’s foreign exchange reserves increased from US$ 292.0 billion at end March 2013 to US$ 304.2 billion at end march 2014. * World trade volume which decelerated to 2.8 per cent in 2012 has shown signs of recovery in 2013, albeit slow with a 3.0 per cent growth. * The sharp fall in imports and moderate export growth in 2013-14 resulted in a sharp fall in India`s trade deficit by 27.8 per cent. * Record food grains and oilseeds production of 264.4 million tonnes (mt) and 32.4 mt is estimated in 2013-14. * The latest gross domestic product (GDP) estimates show that industry grew by just 1.0 per cent in 2012-13 and slowed further in 2013-14, posting a modest increase of 0.4 per cent. * India ranked 12th in terms of services GDP in 2012 among the world’s top 15 countries in terms of GDP (at current prices). * In 2013-14, FDI inflows to the services sector (top five sectors including construction) declined sharply by 37.6 per cent to US$ 6.4 billion compared to an overall growth in FDI inflows at 6.1 per cent resulting in the share of the top five services in total FDI falling to nearly one-sixth. * According to HDR 2013, India has slipped down in HDI with its overall global ranking at 136 (out of the 186 countries) as against 134 (out of 187 countries) as per HDR 2012. It is still in the medium human development category. 3. Union Budget 2014-15 Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley on 10 July 2014 presented Union Budget 2014-15. Highlights of the Union Budget 2014-15:- * The tax bracket has been increased to 2.5 lakh rupees from previous 2 lakh rupees, whereas, for senior citizen it has been raised to 3 lakh rupees from previous 2.5 lakh rupees * Tax relief for interest on housing loan rose from 1.5 lakh rupees to 2 lakh rupees * Deduction under 80C increased from 1 lakh rupees to 1.5 lakh rupees * 1000 crore rupees proposed for Pradhanmantri Krishi Seechai Yojana to improve irrigation facility * 14389 crore rupees announced for Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna, PMGSY * 100 crore rupees allotted for Beti bachao-beti padhao yojna * Minimum pension of 1000 rupees to meet the expenditure to all subscribers of EPFO scheme * 50000 crore rupees for SC/ST schemes * FDI cap in Defence sector has been raised to 49 percent * The finance minister in the budget announced steps for sustained growth of 7-8 percent within the next three-four years * PSU 247944 crore capex to create industrial cycle * Shyama Prassad Mukherjee Rozgar mission to be launched * Excise duty on footwear reduced from 12 percent to 6 percent * Excise duty concessions to continue till 31 December 2014 * No change in surcharge * No change in Direct Tax rates * War Memorial will be set up at Princess Park, New Delhi * Composite cap on FDI in insurance proposed to be raised to 49 percent from 26 percent * 15 Model Rural Health Research centers for rural health issues. Programme Aim Allocation Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojna Assured irrigation Rs. 1000 crore Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission Integrated project based infrastructure in rural areas - Neeranchal To give impetus to watershed development Rs. 2142 crores Safety for Women on Public Road Transport Safety of women in buses etc Rs. 50 crores Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana To help in improving the efficiency of delivery of welfare services meant for women Rs. 100 crores Swachh Bharat Abhiyan To provide sanitation facility to every household by 2019 - Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya New Teachers Training Programme To infuse new training tools and motivate teachers Rs. 500 crores Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana To augment power supply to the rural areas Rs. 500 crores Statue of Unity To erect a Statue of Sardar Patel as the symbol of the unity of the country Rs. 200 crores Skill India To skill the youth with an emphasis on employability and entrepreneur skills - Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana To improve accessibility for rural population Rs. 14,389 crores Communication Linked Interface for Cultivating Knowledge (CLICK) and online courses. Setting up of virtual classrooms Rs. 100 crores Digital India To bridge the divide between digital haves and have-nots and ensure Broad band connectivity at village level Rs. 500 crores Jal Marg Vikas Project on River Ganges to enable commercial navigation of at least 1500 tonne vessels between Allahabad and Haldia Rs. 4,200 crores One Rank One Pension Equity in pension among retired personnel of armed forces Rs. 1,000 crores War Memorial Princes Park, Delhi Rs. 100 crores Namami Gange Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission Rs. 2,037 crores Arun Prabha 24x7 channel for the North-East India - 4. The sector in which Cabinet Committee has approved raising of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap from 26 percent to 49 percent through the Foreign Investment Promotion Board route - Insurance 5. Indian techonological company which has become the first in the country to cross a market capitalisation of Rs. 5 lakh crores (exceeding the combined market capitalisation of Infosys, Wipro Ltd, HCL Technologies Ltd and Tech Mahindra Ltd) - TCS 6. The minimum floor capital which has been prescribed by Reserve Bank of India for setting up of small banks in India - Rs. 100 crores • SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY:1. U.S. space agency NASA on 2 July launched Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2),a satellite designed to track carbon dioxide (CO2) which is responsible for global warming. The satellite was launched aboard Delta 2 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.OCO-2 is the first of its kind mission of NASA dedicated to study the atmospheric carbon dioxide over several seasons. 2.India’s first indigenous anti-submarine warship (ASW) Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kamorta was handed over to Indian Navy on 12 July. INS Kamrota is the first in its class of four ASW corvettes being built by GRSE under Project-28 for the Navy. 3.India’s first ever indigenously built research ship ‘Sindhu Sadhna’ was launched and dedicated to the nation on 13 July. Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh dedicated ‘Sindhu Sadhana’ to the nation at Marmugao Harbour of Goa. 4.In the month of July 2014 the world’s largest flying aquatic insect has been discovered in China.This was found in the the mountains of Chengdu in China’s Sichuan province.It boasts a wingspan of 8.3 inches.That breaks the previous record held by a species of South American helicopter damselfly, with a wingspan of 7.5 inches. • PERSONS IN NEWS: APPOINTMENTS 1. Sujit Choudhry, an international constitutional law expert, has become the first Indian- American Dean of the Berkeley School of Law of the University of California , one of the major law schools in the US. 2. New Governors of States a. Uttar Pradesh - Shri Ram Naik d.West Bengal - Keshari Nath Tripathi b. Gujarat - Om Prakash Kohli.. e.Nagaland - Padmanabha Acharya c. Chhattisgarh - Balramji Dass Tandon f.Haryana - Kaptan Singh Solanki B) RESIGNATIONS : 1.Goa Governor BV Wanchoo resigned his post on 4 July. He was questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as a witness in connection with alleged irregularities in the purchase of 12 helicopters meant for VVIP use from Agusta Westland, an Anglo-Indian defence manufacturer. C) DEATHS: 1.Veteran actor Zohra Sehgal, who acted in Bollywood classics and Doctor Who adventures, died on 10 July in New Delhi.She was called‘ the grand old lady ‘ of Bollywood. In 2010, Zohra was awarded with the Padma Vibhshan. She was also a recipient of other two of India’s four civilian awards Padma Shri (1998), Padma Bhushan (2002). D) VISITORS: 1.Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Brazil to attend the 6th BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil from 15 – 16 July 2014. During the visit , Prime Minister Narendra modi met with other leaders of BRICS nation. MISCELLANEOUS: 1.The first ever bust of Mahatma Gandhi, the apostle of non-violence, has been inaugurated in the South Korean metropolis of Busan on 21 July. PLACES IN NEWS: 1.Pakistan on 11 July declares the ancestral home of veteran Bollywood actor Dilip Kumar as National Heritage. The house, located in Peshawar’s Qisa Khawani Bazaar area, will be converted into a museum ABBREVIATIONS: BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China And South Africa NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration AIIMS – All India Institute of Medical Sciences CRAC – Cyber Regulation Advisory Council FIPB – Foreign Investment Promotion Board NABARD – National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development • BOOKS IN NEWS 1.A coffee-table book titled ” First Citizen: Pranab Mukherjee in Rashtrapati Bhavan ” was released on 2 July at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. The book’s first copy was received by Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India. The book has been published by The Week Magazine. • COMMITTEES 1.C Rangarajan, former chief of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC), has submitted a report on Tendulkar Committee methodology for estimating poverty to Planning Minister Rao Inderjit Singh on 1 July. According to an expert panel headed by C Rangarajan those spending over Rs 32 a day in rural areas and Rs 47 in towns and cities should not be considered poor. The panel’s recommendation, however results in an increase in the below poverty line population, which is estimated at 363 million in 2011-12, compared to the 270 million estimate based on the Tendulkar formula. This means 29.5% of the India population lives below the poverty line as defined by the panel against 21.9% according to Tendulkar. • IMPORTANT DAYS AND DATES 1.World Population Day was observed across the world on 11 July 2014. The theme of World Population Day 2014 was investing in Young People. 2.The World on 29 July 2014 observed the International Tiger Day. The day is celebrated as an awareness day. The goal of the Tiger Day is to promote protection and expansion of the wild tiger habitats and also to gain support awareness for tiger conservation.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 13:14:51 +0000
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