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InternatIonal events

angladesh has ordered three international charities to stop providing aid

to Rohingya refugees who cross

the border to flee violence in

Myanmar. France's Doctors without

Borders (MSF) and Action Against Hunger

(ACF) as well as Britain's Muslim Aid UK

have been told to suspend their services in

the Cox's Bazaar district bordering Myanmar.

he former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan quit as international peace

envoy to Syria on 3 August,

complaining that his initiative to end

the bloodshed there never received

the support it deserved. As Syria's

government deployed fighter jets

against rebels armed with tanks

around the commercial capital

Aleppo, the outgoing UN-Arab

League envoy voiced regret at the "increasing militarisation" of the nearly 17-month

conflict.

he 193 member U.N. General Assembly on 3 August, overwhelmingly

adopted a Saudi-drafted resolution on Syria that expressed “grave

concern” at the escalating violence but India was among the 31 nations that

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abstained. The General Assembly passed the resolution that denounced Syria’s

crackdown on its people and demanded that the country lockdown its chemical and

biological weapons. The resolution also deplored “the failure of the Security Council to

agree on measures to ensure the compliance of Syrian authorities with its decisions”.

The resolution got 133 votes in favour, while 12 countries voted against. Thirty-one

countries, including India, abstained.

n outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus

has killed at least 13 people in

Uganda. The outbreak began in late June. Ebola

is spread by close personal contact, and kills up to

90 percent of those infected. There is no vaccine

for the virus. Symptoms include sudden onset of

fever, weakness, headache, vomiting and impaired

kidneys.

omalia’s Constituent Assembly on 1 August , endorsed a draft

constitution billed as a key step to ending decades of civil war

during. The Horn of Africa country’s outgoing government hailed the end of an eight-

year interim period. Prime

Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali

expressed happy and announced

that Somalia has from now, left

the transitional period. The

special assembly chosen by

traditional elders in a U.N.-backed

process took eight days to debate

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and vote on the new Constitution, as the graft-riddled government approaches the end

of its mandate on August 20.Key steps in the fragile political process remain, including a

new Parliament to be selected by traditional elders, with that Parliament to

subsequently elect a new President.

akistan’s Supreme Court on 8 August 2012 ordered the Prime Minister Raja

Pervez Ashraf to appear before judges for he failed to write Swiss

authorities to reopen corruption cases against the president Asif Ali Zardari. The

court asked the PM to appear before judges

on 27 August 2012 to explain his

actions.Earlier on 3 August 2012 the

Supreme Court had nullified a legislation

that sought to protect elected legislators

from contempt charges. It was believed

that the legislation was meant to prevent

court from disqualifying current Prime

Minister from the office under contempt charges.Earlier,the Supreme Court of Pakistan

had removed Yousuf Raza Gilani from his post on 19 June 2012 after he failed to follow

court’s order to write a letter to Swiss authorities asking them to reopen corruption case

against President Asif Ali Zardari.

n Sudan, the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) handed over

power to the newly elected National Assembly on 8 August 2012 in a

ceremony in Tripoli. NTC Chairman, Mustafa Abdel Jalil passed on the responsibility to

the oldest member of the new two hundred member assembly, Mohammed Ali Salim.

The new assembly will appoint a new interim Prime Minister to form the government

and a sixty-member panel to draft the new constitution of Libya. The ceremony marked

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the first peaceful government transition of the country post Gadhafi seized power in

Libya.

he US government on 2 August 2012 announced to impose some fresh

sanctions on Iran. These sanctions, imposed under Comprehensive Iran

Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (CISADA), put punitive

regulation on those who continued to maintain ties with Iran.Under the sanction Bank

of Kunlun in China and Elaf Islamic Bank in Iraq faced cut off from transactions with

US institutions. The two banks were punished for facilitating transactions worth

millions of dollars on behalf of sanctioned Iranian banks. Experts say that the new

sanctions categorically target the Iranian energy and petrochemical sectors. Earlier this

year India, China and a host of other nations had opposed US’ dictate to cut down their

oil imports from Iran. US and European Union have come down heavily on Iran’s

nuclear programme seeking all possible diplomatic methods to stop the belligerent

nation to carry on its nuclear programme. Though the heavy sanctions imposed by the

US and EU over Iran have not yielded them the desired result as Iran has thus far not

gave up its plan to build nuclear armaments.

udan and South Sudan have come

into an agreement in Adis ababa on 5

August, on a deal over oil, resolving a key part

of a bitter dispute that brought the rivals to the

brink of all-out war earlier this year. African

Union mediator Thabo Mbeki said that the

parties have agreed on all of the financial

arrangements regarding oil. Landlocked South

Sudan said it had agreed to pay a pipeline

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transit fee of $9.48 per oil barrel to transport its crude through Sudan, a significant drop

from Sudan’s initial demands of up to $36 a barrel in fees. In addition, South Sudan

agreed to make a "one-off payment" to Khartoum of some $3 billion to cover the

massive financial gap created by the South's independence last year, a fractious divorce

that left a raft of issues unresolved. Mutrif Siddiq, a Sudanese delegate to the talks in the

Ethiopian capital, said the deal was "reasonable", although it did not meet the

expectations of either side. U.S. President Barack Obama welcomed the deal, saying it

opened the door to better prosperity for both countries. He also praised the mediation

efforts of the African Union led by Thabo Mbeki, a former South African president.

aiwan proposed for a peace proposal on 5 August aimed at easing mounting

tensions in a territorial dispute over an island chain in the East China Sea also

claimed by China and Japan. The proposal, put forth by President Ma Ying-jeou, came

after Japanese Defence Minister Satoshi Morimoto warned recently, Tokyo could send

troops to the island chain.

t least six persons were killed and several injured, on 5 August, by a gunmen, at

the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, a Gurdwara, in what appeared to be a hate

crime in Oak Creek, a quiet suburb of Milwaukee. Reports also quoted an unnamed

member of the Sikh community as saying a Sikh priest visiting from New Delhi was said

to have been shot at. One police officer was injured in an exchange of fire. India said its

embassy in Washington was in touch with the U.S. National Security Council on the

tragic incident. Indian Ambassador Nirupama Rao said an official was rushed to the site

to ascertain the situation.

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ussia will build a string of naval bases along its northern coast as it

prepares to claim a vast swath of the energy-rich Arctic. Security Council chief

Nikolay Patrushev said on 7 August, that a list of naval infrastructure hubs along the

Northern Sea Route has

been drawn up to serve as

resupply bases for

Russian warships and

border guard vessels. By

2020, Russia is to deploy

a combined-arms force of

naval, border and coastal

guard units to protect its

economic and political

interests in the

Arctic.President Vladimir

Putin last month said that Russia would build dozens of warships by 2020 to better

protect its natural resources in the Arctic. Russia, which is entitled to a 200-mile

Exclusive Economic Zone in the Arctic, plans to submit next year its claim for a 150-mile

additional territory on the grounds that the seabed is continuation of its continental

shelf. This claim is disputed by other Arctic powers — Norway, the United States,

Canada and Denmark.Russia also plans to open year-round navigation along the

Northern Sea Route, which stretches for 5,600 km along Russia’s Arctic coast from

Murmansk in the Barents Sea to the Bering Strait in the Far East.

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he United Nations on 17 August, has announced that Algerian diplomat

Lakhdar Brahimi will replace Kofi Annan as peace envoy to Syria. The

78- year-old Brahimi has worked in several high-profile positions at the UN, gaining a

reputation as a tough, independent

negotiator as envoy to Afghanistan,

Iraq and Haiti. He helped negotiate the

end of Lebanon’s civil war. Mr.

Brahimi is a member of the Elders, a

group of former world leaders working

for global peace. Mr. Annan

announced his resignation earlier this

month after failing to achieve a temporary ceasefire during six- month tenure. The

Security Council announced on 16 august, it would end the UN military observer

mission in Syria

n a high intensity political act, Ecuador on 16 August, granted asylum to

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, ignoring a threat from the British

government to strip it of its

diplomatic status and storm

its embassy in London to

arrest Mr. Assange for

breaching his bail

conditions. He has been

holed up at the embassy

since seeking refuge there in

June to avoid extradition to

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Sweden over allegations of sexual assault. British Foreign Secretary William Hague

made clear that Mr. Assange would not be given safe passage out of the country and

indicated that the diplomatic stand-off could drag on for some “considerable” time.

Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said the decision to grant asylum to Mr.

Assange was prompted by a concern for Mr. Assange’s human rights as his government

believed that his fears of “political persecution’’ were “legitimate.” Mr. Assange fears

that if extradited to Sweden he could be handed to the American government that wants

to prosecute him for publishing secret official documents. Britain said it was

“disappointed” by the decision and stressed its “obligation” to extradite Mr. Assange to

Sweden pointing out that he had exhausted all legal options in Britain.

oted Indian-American journalist and author Fareed Zakaria(48) has been

suspended by his employers CNN and Time magazine after he admitted

to plagiarism and apologized for the

ethical lapse. Mr Zakaria, was suspended

by CNN and Time magazine after he

admitted that he had plagiarised portions

of an article he wrote on gun control for

Time, from the New Yorker magazine. He

issued an apology saying he had made a

“terrible mistake” and his lifting a

paragraph from the article by Harvard University professor of American history Jill

Lepore was an “ethical lapse“. Mr Zakaria, a Yale and Harvard graduate, had written the

column on gun control that appeared in the August 20 issue of Time magazine. Born on

20 January 1964 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, Fareed Zakaria obtained his Bachelors

degree in Arts from Yale University. Later he received Doctorate in Political Science

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from Harvard University in 1993. In a career spanning more than two decades in

journalism, Zakaria worked with numerous global media organizations such as News

Week, Time, CNN.

hina's commerce ministry announced on 14 August, China will develop two

economic zones in North Korea. Both sides met in Beijing to discuss the

setting up of Rason Economic and Trade Zone and Hwanggumphyong and Wihwa

Islands Economic Zone.Sources said , a joint mechanism will be set up to train

personnel, for compiling plans and regulations, customs clearance and telecom links .

he Organization of Islamic Cooperation suspended Syria on 16 August ,

citing President Bashar al-Assad's suppression of the Syrian revolt, but there was

little support for direct military involvement in Syria at a summit of Muslim leaders in

Mecca.Summit host Saudi Arabia has led Arab efforts to isolate Syria diplomatically.

nti-Japanese protests rocked Chinese cities on 19 August, as nationalists

from Japan landed on an East China Sea island at the heart of a territorial dispute

between the two nations. In several Chinese cities, thousands took to the streets shouted

slogans agaist Japan’s claim

over the islands. Tokyo

and Beijing have been

feuding for decades over

the island chain, known

as the Senkaku in Japan

and the Diaoyu in

China, near potentially

huge maritime gas fields. On 19 August, 10 Japanese made an unauthorised landing

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on Uotsuri island, the largest in a small archipelago known in Japan as the Senkaku

Islands and in China as the Diaoyu Islands. Of the 10 who visited the island, five were

conservative local assembly members.

yanmar abolished direct media censorship on 20 August, the latest

dramatic reform by its quasi-civilian regime, but journalists face other

formidable restrictions including

a ban on private daily

newspapers and a pervasive

culture of self-censorship. Under

the new rules, journalists no

longer have to submit reports to

state censors before publication,

ending a practice strictly

enforced during nearly half a

century of military rule that ended in March last year. Previously, every song, book,

cartoon, news report and planned piece of art required approval by teams of censors

rooting out political messages and criticisms of one of Asia’s most repressive

governments. Privately run daily newspapers are still not permitted, leaving a monopoly

to state-run papers

eles Zenawi (57), Ethiopia’s Prime Minister since 1995, died on 20

August, in a hospital in Brussels. Sources

said, Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn

would head a transitional government while the ruling

party chooses Mr. Meles successor, adding that the

Constitution allowed his government to appoint a

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successor without holding elections. Mr. Meles’s Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary

Democratic Front seized power in 1991 following the collapse of the dictatorship of

Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam. He headed the transitional government and won

elections in 1995, 2000, 2005 and most recently in 2010, in a landslide election whose

validity was questioned by Western observers and human rights groups. Mr. Meles is

credited with resurrecting the ruined economy he inherited in 1991. In the last seven

years, the economy has grown by an average 11 per cent annually due to investments in

agriculture and infrastructure. Adis Ababa is the capital for Ethiopia.

iss China , Wenxia Yu, was crowned the 62nd Miss World with Miss

Wales Sophie Elizabeth Moulds as the 1st runner-up and

Miss Australia Jessica Michele Kahawaty

as the 2nd runner-up. This event was

held at Ordos, in China on 18

august.Miss India Vanya Mishra stood at

sixth place. While Vanyamishra got the

coveted titles of Miss World Beauty

with a Purpose and also went on to

win the Multimedia Award at the Miss

World pageant. Miss china was also awarded Miss Talent 2012, Miss World 2012

Beach Beauty was Miss Wales. While South Sudan took away the Miss World 2012 Top

Model award.Finally, Miss World Sports Woman 2012 was awarded to Miss Sweden.

ussia became the 156th member of the World Trade Organization on 21

August, following nearly two decades of negotiations. Russia was one of the

world's last major economies to join the Geneva-based institution, having

previously expressed concerns about the potential influx of Western goods and services.

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As part of its membership, Russia has agreed to lower import tariffs to less than 8

percent from a current average of around 10 percent. As part of the agreement, Russia

has also made commitments to open trade in several

sectors, including the banking, automotive

and insurance industries. Some

analysts expect this will be to the

benefit of Russian consumers by

making it cheaper for them to

purchase imported products

while allowing them to save more and invest back

into the local economy. Russia joins the South Pacific island

nation of Vanuatu, which will become the WTO s 157th member on 21 August.

Pascal Lamy is the present Director-General of WTO.

NatioNal EvENts nion Government, Shipping Minister

G K Vasan, as part of efforts to

enhance maritime security, on 3

August launched the Rs 132 crore

National Automatic Identification

System (NAIS), which will ensure

effective search and co-ordination besides

broadcasting warnings to merchant ships. Authorities describing the project as the most

important component of coastal surveillance, and it will enhance safe navigation along

the 7,500—km long Indian coastline.

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he Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA), headed by Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh, on 3 August, approved the longstanding demand of the

people of Karnataka to provide special status, under Article 371-D of the

Constitution, to develop six backward districts of the Hyderabad Karnataka region in

the State. This will be on the lines of special status given to the Telangana region of

Andhra Pradesh. The six districts that will benefit in Karnataka are Bidar, Gulbarga,

Yadgir, Koppal, Raichur and Bellary.

he Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) has swept the first-ever elections to the

Gorkhaland Territorial

Administration (GTA) winning all 45

seats in the regional autonomous body.

The GJM had gained control of the body

with its candidates winning from 28

constituencies unopposed. Elections to

the remaining 17 constituencies were

held on July 29 and the results were

announced on 2 August. West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress

chairperson Mamata Banerjee announced on July 21 the withdrawal of her party

candidates from the fray, making things easier for the GJM.

ndian filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s 1955

classic ’Pather Panchali’ has featured

in the 50 greatest films of all time

list, which was dominated by Alfred Hichcock’s

thriller ’Vertigo’. ‘Pather Panchali’ (Song of the

Road) was made on a budget of Rs. 1,50,000.

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With 31 votes ‘Pather Panchali’ came 42nd in the Sight & Sound poll. The film is a

lyrical, closely observed story of a peasant family in 1920s rural India.

top official of ONGC said, Tripura will emerge as the biggest on—land

natural gas producing state in the country by 2014 with the capacity of

producing 50 lakh cubic meter

natural gas (5 MMSCMD) per day,

Now 18 lakh cubic meter gas (1.83

MMSCMD) is produced daily from

the operational wells in Tripura.

Sources said, 15 wells have been

drilled across the state and there are

plans to drill 15 more wells during

2012-13.The 726 MW gas based thermal power project at Palatana in Gomati district

would start producing power this year. It was set up by ONGC Tripura Power

Corporation (OTPC) .The Prime Minister had laid the foundation stone for the project at

Palatana, 60 km from Agartala in 2005.

he Centre has decided to frame a new National Water Framework Act

with guiding principles on water laws the States may adopt, which will have

far-reaching implications. States that adopt and reform will be incentivised for water

projects. That such a law would be made is buried in the pages of the draft new national

water policy that is yet to be considered by the National Water Council, the supreme

policy body chaired by the Prime Minister.

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nti-corruption activist Anna

Hazare, ending his "indefinite"

hunger strike after six days,

announced the launch of a new

political party. The 75-year-old broke

his fast with a glass of juice offered by

former army chief Gen. V. K. Singh.His

team said, candidates for the party would

be chosen by the people.His campaign also

demanded a special probe into possible graft allegations against 15 ministers, including

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

he Union Cabinet on 3 August, fixed a reserve (minimum) price of Rs.

14,000 crore for 5 MHz of pan-India 2G spectrum in the 1800-MHz

GSM band for auctioning spectrum to be vacated by companies whose 122 licences

were cancelled by the Supreme Court on February 2, 2012. The reserve price for 5 MHz

of CDMA spectrum has been put at Rs. 18,200 crore, 1.3 times the price of GSM

spectrum. Only two slots of 5 MHz each will be put on the block, though spectrum will

be available for bidding in multiple blocks of 1.25 MHz. Taking a bold political decision,

the government shaved $750 million, or roughly Rs. 4,100 crore, off the roughly Rs

18,000-crore reserve price recommended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

(TRAI).

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rime Minister Manmohan Singh on 2 August, approved relaxations in

the land transfer policy by Clearing bottlenecks in transfer of

Government land, which would also remove any delays in awarding concessions for

infrastructure projects. The decision to relax the ban imposed on all transfer of

government owned land for certain categories would speed up the award of PPP projects

from this month onwards significantly. Early last year, a ban had been imposed on all

transfer of government owned land to any entity except in cases where land was to be

transferred from one

government department to

another. With this decision, all

cases of land transfer from

Ministries to statutory

authorities or PSUs will be

allowed as also development and

use of railway land by the Rail

Land Development Authority

(RLDA). All PPP infrastructure projects — roads, railways, ports, civil aviation and

metros have some element of land alienation as the projects are often built on

government owned land. The government continues to own the land that is leased or

licensed out.

aresh Chandra Committee, a 14-member task force on national security,

submitted its report to the government on 8 August 2012. The committee was set

up by the Union government on 21 June 2012 to suggest ways to revamp of defence

management in the country. Naresh Chandra, a former bureaucrat, headed the

committee which members included former military officers, intelligence chiefs,

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diplomats and strategic analysts. The main objective behind the constitution of the

committee was to contemporarise the Kargil Review Committee’s recommendations,

which was tabled in the Parliament on 23 February 2000. Besides, the task force was

also asked to examine the state of country's border management and restructuring

system.

ormer Chief Minister of Gujarat, Keshubhai Patel launched Gujarat

Parivartan (GPP) Party on 6 August 2012.

Keshubhai Patel and the former union textile minister

Kanshiram Rana resigned from Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP)

on 4 August 2012. This Party would contest all the 182 seats

in Gujarat assembly elections which will be held by the end of

2012.

parliamentary panel on agriculture asked the government to ban all

field trials of GM crops until it develops a better system of monitoring and

oversight. In the 389-page report submitted in the parliament on 9 August 2012, the

panel also demanded a complete probe into how permission was granted in 2009 for the

commercialisation of Bt brinjal (also known as

aubergine, or eggplant). Experts say that, it will be a

major setback to the production of genetically

modified (GM) foods in the country.Bt Brinjal was

developed by Pune-based Mahyco (Maharashtra

Hybrid Company) in a joint venture with US seed

giant Monsanto. The Genetic Engeneering Appraisal

Committee had cleared the commercialization of Bt Brinjal on 14 October 2009, though

soon after its clearance it was caught amidst bitter controversies ranging from its

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environmental impacts to ethical concerns such as corporate control of the food supply

and intellectual property rights. Bt cotton was the only GM crop before Bt Brinjal which

had got clearance for commercialization.

he re-designed website of the President of India was launched at

Rashtrapati Bhavan on 3 August. The re-designed website has some new features,

which include direct connectivity from the website to social networking media of the

President i.e. Facebook and You-Tube. These two features have been initiated after

assumption of charge by the President

Pranab Mukherjee. The new website also has

a Video Gallery. Citizens can connect to the

President directly by clicking the button

‘Write to the President’, which will take them

directly to the helpline portal. Moreover,

visuals have been conceptualized and made

user friendly. Launching the website,

Secretary to the President, Ms. Omita Paul expressed the hope that it would be a step

forward to bring the President of India closer to the people. She also said that efforts

would be made to ensure that the website is in line with the best global practices.

embers of Parliament, cutting across party lines, on 18 august, sent out a strong

message to the northeast people that the whole country was for them and

with them and that, they need not have any apprehension about their safety. Like any

other citizen, they have every right to study, work and reside in any part of India.Prime

Minister Manmohan Singh intervened in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha when

the Houses took up for discussion, by suspending question hour, attacks on the

northeast people and their exodus. He said the growing sense of insecurity among the

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northeast people was “more reprehensible”. Union Home Secretary R.K. Singh said that

to check rumours, bulk SMSs and MMSs have been banned for 15 dayswith

immediate effect. No one would be allowed to send more than 5 SMSs at a time and

more than 20 KB of data through mobile phones.

overnment has given an ultimatum on 21 August, to social networking

site Twitter to block nearly 30 of its webpages which continue to host

morphed and inflammatory contents or face

punitive action.The move comes after Union Home

Secretary RK Singh asked the Department of Electronics and

Information Technology (DEIT) to serve the ultimatum on

Twitter as it failed to comply with the government order to

block 28 WebPages in its site. Government had already

ordered blocking of 310 webpages where morphed and

inflammatory contents were uploaded with the aim to incite

Muslims in India leading to the mass exodus of people of the northeastern region from

places in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.

ndia's ruling United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi has been

ranked sixth, in the Forbes

magazine list of 100 powerful women.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is

ranked the most powerful in the

world for the second year in a row. US

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is placed

second, followed by Brazilian President

Dilma Rousseff, making the top three spots

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unchanged from that of last year. US first lady Michelle Obama, who had topped the list

in 2010, was ranked No.7. Also in the top five were Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill

and Melinda Gates Foundation and wife of Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates, and

Jill Abramson, executive editor of the New York Times. Besides Sonia Gandhi, the list

released on 21 august features three other Indians. Padmasree Warrior, chief technology

and strategy officer, Cisco Systems, and Chanda Kochhar, managing director and CEO,

ICICI Bank, are ranked 58th and 59th, while Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, founder and chair,

Biocon Ltd, is placed 80th. PepsiCo's Indian-American chairperson and CEO Indra

Nooyi is ranked 12th. The list named women involved in policymaking, entertainment,

technology and nonprofit organisations, among other fields. They were ranked

according to influence, the amount of money they control or earn, and media presence.

Bilateral issues ndia, on 2 August, invited Belgium to invest in the upcoming national

manufacturing and investments zones (NMIZs) with a focused approach in

energy, water disposal as well as treatment, and

research and training. This was conveyed to the

visiting Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and

European Affairs, Didier Reynders, by Commerce

and Industry Minister, Anand Sharma, during his

meeting in New Delhi. An official statement issued

after the meeting said the visiting Belgian Minister offered expertise in water treatment,

waste disposal and energy sector which would be useful in NMIZs .NMIZs will be mega

industrial zones with world-class supporting infrastructure.The government is offering

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incentives such as exemption from capital gains tax and a liberalised labour and

environment norms to promote these zones.

ndia and Israel on 2 August, entered into a memorandum of

understanding (MoU) for launching a programme that would promote

collaborative research across a wide range of disciplines from medical and

information technology to social sciences, humanities and arts. The

programme, which will run for five years, will

provide support up to $1,00,000 a research project

for three years. The MoU was signed by Professor

Geiger Chairman of the Israel Science Foundation

and Chairman of University Grants Commission Ved

Prakash. After the signing ceremony, Israeli

Ambassador Alon Ushpiz noted that both nations

hosted some of the best academic institutions. “The

linking of our researchers together comes only

naturally,” he said. The programme was initiated

during a recent visit of Minister for Human

Resource Development Kapil Sibal to Israel, when he met with Israel’s Finance Minister

Yuval Steinitz, Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Chairman of Planning and

Budgeting Committee Manuel Trajtenberg.

iving a big boost to trade and bilateral relations with Pakistan, the

Government of India on 1 August , notified law permitting

investments by citizens and companies, under the government route, in

sectors/activities other than defence, space and atomic energy, of the neighbouring

country. The move is likely to give new direction to South Asian economic integration.

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Pakistan was the only country in the negative list under the Foreign Exchange

Management Act (FEMA), which prohibits investments in India. Sri Lanka was removed

from the list in 2006 and Bangladesh in 2007. The initiative is part of a road map drawn

by Trade Ministers and leading chambers of commerce of the two countries to give a

fillip to trade and economic engagement. Officials in the Industry Ministry said that to

address security concerns over investments from Pakistan, FDI proposals from

Islamabad would be routed through the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB),

which is headed by the Economic Affairs Secretary in the Finance Ministry.

he first meeting of the India-CELAC (The Community of Latin American and

Caribbean States) Troika foreign ministers was held in New Delhi on 7 August

2012. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile Alfredo Moreno Charme, the pro-tempore

President of CELAC, led the CELAC Troika. The Foreign Minister of Venezuela Nicolas

Maduro and the Vice Foreign Minister of Cuba, Rogelio Sierra participated in the

meeting as members of the Troika. The External

Affairs Minister of India, SM Krishna, led the

Indian delegation. The meeting was held with the

objective of strengthening India-CELAC

relationship India and the Community of Latin

American and Caribbean countries (CELAC) agreed

to work for raising their relationship to the level of

Strategic Partnership and having regular Summit Level Meetings in the near future.

Pending an agreement on full-fledged Strategic Partnership, both sides agreed to

cooperate in diverse sectors like trade and investment, energy, minerals, agriculture,

science and technology, culture, education and people-to-people contacts. They agreed

to work together on common global challenges in the interest of developing countries by

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maintaining coordinated approach on UN reforms, financial crisis, climate change and

international terrorism. They urged the international community to adopt a

Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the earliest. Both sides

acknowledged the efforts of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20)

for a renewed political commitment towards Sustainable Development to achieve

poverty eradication through a balanced integration of economic, social and

environmental aspects.

n the sidelines of the First India-CELAC Foreign Ministers Troika

Meeting in New Delhi on August 7, 2012, Vice Foreign Minister of Cuba ,Mr.

Rogelio Sierra Diaz, met with External Affairs of India, S.M. Krishna. During the

meeting, both sides reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations and expressed

satisfaction. Both sides reiterated their desire to sustain and consolidate these relations.

Both sides noted that the total bilateral trade of US$ 40 million between India and Cuba

did not correspond to the excellent bilateral ties. They emphasized that the trade

turnover should be enhanced through concerted efforts and underlined that new

opportunities for cooperation existed in the area of trade and investment. The Cuban

side appreciated the importance of the role played by the Indian Company OVL (ONGC

Videsh Ltd.) in the field of petroleum exploration in Cuba and sought OVL’s continued

engagement in Cuba in this area. The Indian side reiterated its offer of Lines of Credit

announced during the visit of its Minister of External Affairs to Cuba in June 2012.

India and Cuba agreed on the need for the reform of the United Nations Organisation.

The Indian side appreciated Cuba’s expression of support to India’s candidature for

permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council. Both sides emphasised

the continued relevance of the Non-Aligned Movement in the current context of global

relations and agreed to work towards the success of the forthcoming NAM Summit in

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Tehran. India and Cuba expressed appreciation over the importance and significance of

the First India-CELAC Troika Ministerial Dialogue and recalled the considerable

opportunities available for mutually beneficial cooperation between India and CELAC

both in a multilateral manner and bilaterally.

ndia and Belgium on 8 August decided to cooperate in the railway sector. A

MoU was signed for this purpose in the presence of visiting Deputy Prime Minister

Didier Reynders, who also holds the portfolio of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and

European Affairs. Speaking on the occasion, Minister of External Affairs SM Krishna

said India wanted to collaborate with Belgium in newer areas, particularly in

infrastructure and energy sector, including port development, renewable energy, both

solar and wind power. He said his discussions with Mr Reyders touched the entire

gamut of their bilateral relations and touched on their cooperation in further

strengthening the strategic partnership with the European Union. They took note of the

fact that despite global economic slowdown, there was substantial increase in their

bilateral trade, which has now crossed the 13 billion Euro mark in 2011. Belgium has

now emerged as the second largest trading partner in goods sector within the European

Union.

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Economy ndian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma

said in Colombo on 3 August, India will

help Sri Lanka establish a special

economic zone to manufacture auto

components in Trincomalee. The SEZ

would promote exports to the production

chains in India.A Joint Task Force on the SEZ

would be set up and submit its report within

90 days. Anand Sharma also announced the setting up of a pharmaceutical manufacturing hub

in Sri Lanka.

he Reserve Bank of India, on 1 August, constituted a committee to suggest ways

to strengthen the rural co-operative credit structure. The panel, headed by

Nabard Chairman Prakash Bakshi, will review the existing short-term co-operative credit

structure (STCCS), focussing on

structural constraints in the rural credit

delivery system. It will also explore ways

to strengthen the rural co-operative

credit architecture. The seven-member

panel will make an in-depth analysis of

the STCCS, and examine various

alternatives with a view to reducing the

cost of credit. It will also look at the

feasibility of setting up of a two-tier

STCCS as against the existing three-tier

structure. The STCCS targets the credit requirement of the small and marginal farmers in the

country. The panel will submit its report within three months from the date of its first meeting.

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It will mainly assess the role played by State and district cooperative banks in fulfilling the

requirement of agriculture credit.

he Reserve Bank of India (RBI) permitted banks to lend to telecom companies

for the upcoming auction for spectrum, subject to conditions such as mortgaging the

spectrum to the lenders. The RBI had laid down a few pre-conditions for financing of telecom

firms for the auction of airwaves to protect banks against potential defaults. The Union cabinet

on 3 August 2012 approved a proposal that allows telecom companies bidding for airwaves to

mortgage spectrum to raise funds from banks. The government set a reserve or base price of Rs

14000 crore for the auction.

ndia Post on 9 August has chosen Infosys as its technology and consulting

partnerto integrate its delivery of financial products across its network of 1.5 lakh post

offices in the country. The “transformational” project, part of the “India Post 2012” initiative,

would cost the postal service Rs.700 crore.

oody's Analytics cut India's growth forecast to 5.5 percent for the fiscal year

2012-13. It blamed the government and RBI of inaction despite slowing economy, as

well as a poor monsoon. The research unit of

ratings agency Moody's Investors Service

becomes the latest to cut India's growth

forecasts this week. Earlier CLSA and Citigroup

had cut their growth outlooks for India to 5.4

percent and 5.5 percent, respectively for the

fiscal year ending in March 2013.

s per the latest global ranking compiled and published by the World Federation of

Exchanges (WFE) in August 2012, the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE)

became the world’s largest bourse in terms of the number of trades in

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equity segment for the first six months of 2012. A total of 735474 trades took place in the equity

segment of NSE in the January-June period of 2012, making it the world’s largest exchange on

this parameter. NSE was followed by NYSE Euronext and Nasdaq OMX at the second and the

third positions. NSE is the second largest exchange globally after Korea Exchange for index

options. Eurex was the third largest exchange worldwide in terms of total number of index

options traded during the first six months of 2012.BSE recorded 187824 trades during this

period in its equity segment. The total number of listed companies is much larger in case of the

BSE, the exchange however lags behind NSE significantly in terms of volume and value of

trades.

ecurities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) inaugurated their local office in

Jaipur on 4 August. It was inaugurated by Rajeev Kumar Agarwal, the member of SEBI.

The office will be responsible to look after all the regulatory aspects of investor protection,

investor education and all the other responsibilities within Rajasthan state.

he Andhra Pradesh government has decided to extend equity support up to

Rs.4,000 crore to AP Genco during the next four years to facilitate early completion of

its upcoming power projects. This government response followed consistent Opposition

criticism that the Genco is being neglected by it vis-à-vis private developers. The undertaking

which meets over 40 per cent of the power demand in the State through its various thermal,

hydel and other stations, has taken up new projects with installed capacity of 21,000 MW at a

huge cost of over Rs.36,000 crore. The Chief Minister of A.P ,N. Kiran Kumar Reddy cleared a

slew of measures to improve the electricity availability to consumers in the State and ensure

seven-hour supply to farmers. These included a decision to give boost to renewable energy

sources by facilitating establishment/completion of new projects based on wind and solar

energy on fast track mode as they were expected to add 1,000 MW to the grid (over 20 million

units).

n yet another indication of slowdown, the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory

Council(PMEAC) on 18 August, revised downwards its economic growth

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projections for the current fiscal to 6.7% from an earlier 7.5-8%. The PMEAC also raised

its inflation forecast to 6.5-7% from an earlier estimate of 5-6% for the current fiscal. PMEAC

Chairman C Rangarajan said , Food inflation is expected to remain high in the coming months.

he United States administration has announced setting up of an institute for

manufacturing innovations, which will help prevent jobs going to India and China.

President Barack Obama said in a statement that,this institute would help make sure that

manufacturing jobs of tomorrow take root not in places such as China or India, but right here in

the United States of America. The National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute

(NAMII), which will be based in Ohio, will be a public-private partnership initiative and has

received $70 million as initial financial assistance.On March 9, Mr. Obama had announced

plans to invest $1 billion to catalyze a network of up to 15 manufacturing innovation institutes

around the country that would serve as regional hubs of manufacturing excellence and help to

make manufacturers more competitive and encourage investment in the U.S. According to the

White House, the NAMII will provide the innovation infrastructure needed to support new

additive manufacturing technology and products to become a global centre of excellence in this

field. Additive manufacturing, often referred to as 3D printing, is a new way of making products

and components from a digital model, and will have implications in a wide range of industries,

including defence, aerospace, automotive, and metals manufacturing.

ndia’s leading car maker Maruti Suzuki India, on 16 august, announced

termination of services of 500 regular workers and resumption of normal operations

from August 21 at its violence-hit plant at Manesar, Haryana. Maruti Suzuki India (MSI)

Chairman R. C. Bhargava told that, they had issued termination notices to 500 regular worker

and they had plan to lift the lock-out from August 21 and resume operations at the facility in

phases. The company said termination notices had been issued to regular workers who were

allegedly involved in the July 18 violent incidents that led to the death of a senior MSI executive,

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Ashwani Kumar, and left nearly 100 others injured. Maruti Suzuki India had declared a lockout

at the Manesar plant on July 21, stating the safety and well-being of its employees were

paramount to the company.

he Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India in its audit report noted that India’s

exchequer suffered a massive loss of 1.86 lakh crore due to the distribution of

coal blocks without bidding. The CAG report was tabled in the parliament on 17 August

2012.The CAG in its report stated that 57 coal blocks that were allocated to private companies

during 2004-2009, extended them a windfall gain of 1.86 lakh crore rupees. The CAG report has

also brought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh under scrutiny as he was holding the charge of

Coal Ministry from 2006 to 2009. Besides, the CAG report also raised serious allegations

against the PMO which delayed the fair bidding process for coal blocks despite the clearance

from Law and Justice Ministry. Tata Group, Reliance Power, Jindal Power and Steel, Abhijit

Group, Bhushan Group, Electro Steel, OP Jindal Group were some of the major beneficiaries of

the coal blocks distribution. The government has distributed about 150 coal blocks over the past

eight years. During this period Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Shibu Soren and Prakash

Jaiswal have been charged the Coal Ministry. The 1.86 lakh rupees scam is the biggest in the

history of India as it surpassed the 1.7 lakh crore 2G spectrum scam.

arliament's Public Accounts Committee on 23 August 2012 decided to bring

the three latest CAG reports on coal allocations, GMR-run Delhi airport and

Reliance Power, onto its agenda for the year 2012. The Public Accounts Committee

(PAC) in its meeting on 23 August 2012 called for deterrent penal provisions against

units in Special Economic Zones which default duty payments to the

exchequer. PAC in a report adopted in the meeting recommended an oversight mechanism

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which would ensure no misuse of the SEZ policy. The PAC panel based its findings on a sample

of 22 SEZ units. The panel found that out of an overall export of Rs 7149.23 crore made by 22

SEZ units, the actual export content was only Rs 1999.27 crore (28%) and the remaining Rs

5149.96 crores (72%) related to Domestic Tariff Area earnings. The committee recommended

that all SEZs undertake physical export of at least 51% of their product, and even import tax

waivers raw material for goods falling under the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) is to be considered

on the credit account of the SEZ firms. It was noted that SEZ units could sell their goods,

including by products, and services in DTA on payment of applicable duty including at nil rate

with no requirement to payback the duty foregone on inputs used in the clearance of products.

This policy will put SEZ units at a distinctly advantageous position compared to similar units in

the DTA.

he Finance Ministry has approved foreign direct investment in insurance and

pension sectors up to 49%. The Insurance and Pension Bills will now need Cabinet

approval before coming up before Parliament. These Bills have already made one trip to the

Cabinet, but at the time it was for 26% FDI. When Pranab Mukherjee was the Finance Minister,

they had gone to the Cabinet but they had deferred the decision. With P Chidambaram now

headed the finance portfolio, these bills were relooked and now the FDI limit stands at 49%.

Whether the bills will come up for Cabinet approval or not, or what decision the Cabinet takes

will be a political decision. Both these bills have seen strong opposition from the Mamata

Banerjee led Trinamool Congress. But if the Cabinet clears these two bills, they will be

introduced in the winter session of Parliament.

inance Minister P. Chidambaram has been appointed as India's Governor on

the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank and African

Development Fund in place of Pranab Mukherjee.Likewise, Department of Economic Affairs

Secretary Arvind Mayaram has been appointed as India's alternate Governor.

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ndia on 26 August, extended the ban

on milk and milk products from

China for another year till June

2013. The Directorate General of Foreign

Trade (DGFT) said in a notification that,

Prohibition on import of milk and milk

products (including chocolates and chocolate

products and candies/confectionary/ food

preparations with milk or milk solids as an

ingredient) from China is further extended till

June 2013, or until further orders. The ban

had ended on June 24 this year. Imports of milk and milk products from China have been

prohibited since September 24, 2008. Though the DGFT has not cited any reason for the ban, it

is understood it was over fears of Chinese milk containing melamine, a deadly

chemical.

EBI has allowed seven Alternative Investment Funds (AIF) to set up shop in

the country under a newly formulated route, which allows pooling of funds for

investments in areas such as real estate, private equity and hedge funds. The approval has been

given to all the seven AIFs by the Securities and Exchange Board of India in a period of less than

one month, as per the information available with the market regulator. SEBI had notified its

guidelines in May for AIFs, which are funds established or incorporated in India for the purpose

of pooling in of capital from Indian and foreign investors for investing as per a pre-decided

policy. As per SEBI data, six AIFs registered with the regulator during August 2012, while one

was granted registration on July 23.

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Scienceand Technology

cientists at the Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS) in Pilani have

developed a new bio-sensor device to detect arsenic content in drinking

water. The device can be operated by a layman and is based on a rare combination of bio-

engineering and electronics. The hand-held device, the size of a

mobile phone and presently undergoing field testing, promises to

be immensely useful for millions of people inhabiting the river

basins of the Ganga, Brahmaputra and Meghna in India and

Bangladesh reported to be affected by arsenic contamination.

Nearly 50 crore people are estimated to be at risk across Utttar

Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Bangladesh due to high arsenic

content in drinking water. High intake of arsenic along with

malnourishment and lack of medical care worsens the life of people, especially children, in the

arsenic-affected regions.

ussian Ecologists said, Heavy forest fires spurred by hot and dry weather have

vanished vast areas of Siberia, and ruined the region’s ecosystem. Fires have

destroyed 100,000 sq km of forests across Russia , an area bigger than Bihar since the start of

the summer season this year, The situation is worst in central Siberia, where fires have ravaged

50,000 sq km of forests. More than 6,000 fire-fighters; a dozen aircraft; and hundreds of

volunteers are fighting the fires in Siberia, but have so far failed to contain the calamity.

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group of researchers in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh has claimed to have found

traces of a paleo-river near Narmada. A paleo-

channel or paleo-river is an inactive river or water stream buried

under sediment. Vishal Verma of the Mangal Panchayatam

Parishad said, due to geological activities, the nearly 65 million

year-old river might have been covered under basaltic lava. The

current course of the Narmada is about 10 km from the site of

the paleo-river, parallel to it.

he Union Cabinet on 3 August, cleared the Indian Space Research

Organisation’s mission to Mars next year. The project, which comes on the heels of

the Chandrayaan mission to the moon, envisages putting a spacecraft in the red planet’s orbit to

study its atmosphere, with the help of the Polar Satellite

Launch Vehicle (PSLV).India joins the United States,

Russia, Europe, Japan and China in undertaking such an

effort. The launch is slated for November next year from

Sriharikota. The Space Commission gave its clearance in

December last. The spacecraft will have a scientific

payload of 25 kg and is proposed to be placed in an orbit

of 500x80,000 km around the planet. Sources in the ISRO said November was chosen, as the

planet would be closest to the earth that time. The next such opportunity will come only in the

summer of 2018. NASA is also said to be working on a Mars mission for November next year.

The mission is estimated to cost about Rs.450 crore.

cientists for the first time found evidence of another oxidant named X, which plays

an important role in the formation of gaseous sulphuric acid in the atmosphere. Until now

there was a misconception that the combination of OH(hydroxyl radical) oxidant with sulphur

dioxide was the reason behind the formation of gaseous sulphuric acid is formed in the

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atmosphere. The results are published on 9 August 2012 in Nature. The new oxidant is capable

of oxidizing suphur dioxide. Experiments done by Scientists showed that the concentration of ‘X’

also does not remain constant during the day.

newly discovered Australian spider measuring little more than a millimeter in length

has been named after celebrated British scientist and

broadcaster David Attenborough. The minuscule arachnid, which

is found only on Horn Island, in Australia's Torres Strait, was named

prethopalpus attenboroughi by its discoverers. Sources said,

Prethopalpus is commonly known as a goblin spider, making this

species Attenborough's goblin spider. Attenborough was presented

with the honour at a ceremony in Perth where he was given a framed

picture of the spider. Attenborough, 86, was chosen for his love of

nature and renowned ability to make science accessible over a career

spanning six decades. It is not the first time the naturalist has received

such an honour -- a 380-million-year-old fossil found in Western

Australia in 2008 of a prehistoric mother fish giving birth was named

materpiscis attenboroughi.

ndia on 9 August 2012 successfully test-fired domestically built nuclear capable

surface- to-surface two stage Agni-II ballistic missile. The missile was launched

from a test range at Wheeler Island off Odisha coast. It has a strike range of 2000 km and the

missile was inducted in the Army on 17 May 2010.The missile was launched by the strategic

force command of Indian Army as a routine users’ trial. Agni-II is 20 metres long and capable of

carrying a nuclear warhead weighing one ton. Agni-II was developed under the joint work of

advanced systems laboratory, the missile development laboratory of the DRDO, Defence

Research Development Laboratory and Research Centre Imarat, while it was integrated by

Bharat Dynamics Limited, Hyderabad. The Agni-II missile belongs to the genre of medium

range ballistic missiles developed by India under the Integrated Guided Missile Development

Program.

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he US space agency NASA landed Curiosity, a huge new robot rover on Mars on 5

August 2012. The one-tonne vehicle touched the surface of Mars after a 345-million-mile

expedition. The robot rover will now conduct a study to find out whether the planet was ever

hospitable to life. The robot rover is set to spend nearly

two years for the mission. NASA undertook the mission

with an objective to determine whether Mars has ever

had the conditions to support life. The ambitious

project costed the US overnment about 2.5 billion

dollar. The 900 kg rover has the top speed of about

4cm/s. Plutonium generators installed on the rover will

deliver heat and electricity for at least 14 years. It is

equipped with tools to brush and drill into rocks, to

scoop up, sort and sieve samples. Rover is equipped with 17 cameras, which will identify

particular targets, and a laser will zap those rocks to probe their chemistry.The findings of the

mission will be delivered to Earth through antennas on the rover deck.

he Indian Institute of Soil Science developed a web-based system for advising

farmers the right quantity of fertilizers that they should use in their soils for a

particular type of crop. The software takes into account the soil type in different districts of the

country and available nutrient in the soil. It takes into consideration the crop and cropping

season in calculating the nutrient requirement. This system is presently available for all the

districts in 11 states- Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh,

Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

ndia on 17 august, made a major breakthrough in mounting an electronic eye in the sky,

taking delivery in Sao Jose dos Campos in Brazil, of the first Embraer 145

Airborne Early Warning and Control Aircraft, built with Indian

technology. The first of the three AEW&C aircraft comes equipped with India’s first-ever

airborne Active Electronic Scanned Array (AESA) radar, giving it the capability to detect missiles

and hostile fighters at all angles.The aircraft was delivered at an official ceremony held

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at Embraer’s headquarters in Sao Jose dos Campos in Brazil in the presence of top

Indian and Brazilian defence officials. The new aircraft

would give the Indian Air Force capability of operating

both the longer range Israeli-made IL-76 Phalcon

AWACS as well as the shorter range Brazilian EMB

145. India already has acquired three Israeli AWACS

and is in the process of getting two more.India and

Brazil signed a deal reportedly worth $ 210 million for

the supply of three aircraft by 2014. This includes a

comprehensive logistic package that entails training,

technical support, supply of spare parts and ground support equipment. Embraer is the world’s

third largest commercial aircraft manufacturer, behind American Boeing and Europe’s Airbus.

The Indian Air Force already operates four Embraer Legacy 600 jets to transport government

officials and foreign dignitaries. A fifth one is operated by India’s Border Security Force.

ndia’s indigenously developed, micro-light pilot-less target aircraft ‘Lakshya-1’

was successfully test flown from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur,Odisha on 23

August. The test was carried out to check the validity of its engine and duration enhancement.

The aircraft is remote-controlled from the ground and designed to provide training to both

airborne and air defence pilots. Lakshya-1, fitted with an advanced digitally controlled engine

and is a sub-sonic, re-usable aerial target system.

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AwArds And Honors

ndia born internationally acclaimed NRI Heart Surgeon

and Research Scientist from the famed Harvard

University, Dr Mukesh Hariawala, has been unanimously

selected by the National Healthcare jury to be honored with

the prestigious 'India's Most Admired Surgeon 2012

Award'. The glittering ceremony to be held at Mumbai's

Hilton Hotel on 21st September, will have in attendance top

dignitaries from government, celluloid personalities,

industrialists and eminent public figures, led by Maharashtra

Governor Shri K. Sankaranarayanan,

enowned social worker D.R. Mehta was selected for the 20th Rajiv Gandhi

National Sadbhavna Award on 4 August. Congress treasurer Motilal Vora, who is

member secretary of Rajiv Gandhi National

Sadbhavana Award Committee, said in a

statement that the award was given to Mehta for

"his outstanding contribution towards the

promotion of communal harmony, peace and

goodwill". The award, given on the birth

anniversary of former prime minister Rajiv

Gandhi, carries a citation and a cash award of

Rs.5 lakh. Mehta is founder of Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS), a Jaipur-

based NGO that helps the physically challenged, particularly the poor, by providing devices such

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as artificial limbs and callipers. Former recipients of the award include Mother Teresa, Ustad

Bismillah Khan, Lata Mangeshkar, Sunil Dutt, S.N. Subbarao and Dilip Kumar.

Chennai-based development organisation, Hand in Hand India, is among the five

winners of this year’s World Environment Day

Challenge organised by the UN for inspiring environmental action.

Hand in Hand India brought together over 500 volunteers to create a

colourful 10,000 square foot rangoli carpet depicting 10

environmental themes. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP)

had challenged people across the world to pledge an environmental

activity in connection with this year’s World Environment Day, which was observed on June 5.

shok Sen, an Indian physicist currently on the faculty of an Allahabad-based research

institute has become a proud recipient of USD three million (about Rs 16.75 crore) cash

prize instituted by Russian entrepreneur Yuri Milner for researchers in the discipline.

Ashoke Sen, a professor in Physics faculty of the

Harishchandra Research Institute, situated at the city

outskirts and funded by the Department of Atomic

Energy (DAE), received the news on, that he was selected

for the inaugural group of nine recipients of the

Fundamental Physics Prize this year when he was abroad

last week. Sen, 56, who is known for his research on the

'String Theory', is an alumni of the prestigious Presidency

College at Kolkata and IIT- Kanpur. He has been associated with premier US-based institutes

like Fermilab and Stanford Linear Accelerator Centre, besides the Tata Institute of Fundamental

Research at Mumbai. Sen had received the Padma Shri in 2001, besides being honoured with a

number of prizes like the International Centre for Theoretical Physics Prize (1989), S S

Bhatnagar Award (1994). He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1998. Yuri Milner is said

to have himself studied Physics at the under-graduate level before dropping out of college and

making billions by investing in companies like Facebook. According to the Fundamental Physics

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Prize Foundation's website, Sen was chosen "for uncovering striking evidence of strong-weak

duality in certain super- symmetric string theories and gauge theories, opening the path for the

realisation that all string theories are different limits of the same underlying theory".

n a rare honour, eminent Urdu litterateur, Padmabhushan award winner, Professor Gopi

Chand Narang’s(81) name figured in the list of civilian

honours announced by Pakistan on the eve of its Independence

Day. Prof. Narang has been conferred Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Star of

Excellence), the third highest civilian honour bestowed by the

nation.The legendary writer Saadat Hasan Manto ( Nishan-i-Imtiaz ),

ghazal maestro Mehdi Hassan ( Nishan-i- Imtiaz ) and eminent poet

Josh Malihabadi ( Hilal-i-Imtiaz ) are also figured in the list of award

winners. In the past, former Prime Minister Morarji Desai and

matinee idol Dilip Kumar have been bestowed Pakistan's highest

civilian honour, Nishan-i-Imtiaz .The investiture ceremony will take place in Pakistan on March

23, 2013, Pakistan's Republic Day.

r PKB Patnaik has bagged the Damien-Dutton Award for

2012. He is now working as the State Leprosy Officer , Odisha. Dr

Patnaik has been selected for the award in recognition of his more than 25

years of concern and dedication to the victims of leprosy in India and for

his direct involvement in making the multi-drug therapy available to the

people affected by leprosy and goal to eliminate leprosy from the State,

which has been achieved. The Damien-Dutton Society for Leprosy AID

INC was founded in the year 1944 by the Staff Sgt Howard E Crouch, Medical Corps US Army.Dr

Patnaik is also Honorary Secretary, Hind Kustha Nivaran Sangh, Odisha State Branch appointed

by the Governor since 1996.

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hysics professor of Johns Hopkins University, Charles L Bennett, was awarded with

the Gruber Cosmology Prize 2012 in Beijing at the opening ceremony

of the 28th Conference of the International Astronomical Union on 22 August

2012. This award was given to him acknowledging his immense contribution to

the world of physics. Bennett, a prominent physicist, led a 26-member team that

worked on NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe. The findings of the

study helped astronomers refine their understanding of the age, shape and

makeup of the universe.

SportS

he U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) erased 14 years of Lance

Armstrong’s career on 24 august,

including his record seven Tour de France

titles, and banned him for life from the

sport that made him the hero of millions of cancer

survivors, after concluding he used banned

substances. The USADA said it expected cycling’s

governing body to take similar action, but the International Cycling

Union (ICU) was measured in its response, saying it first wanted a full explanation on

why Armstrong should relinquish the Tour de France titles he won between 1999 and

2005.Armstrong, who retired a year ago, said on that he would no longer challenge

USADA and declined to exercise his option of entering arbitration. While announcing

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the decision, he again denied taking banned substances during his career and called the

USADA’s investigation a “witch hunt” .The International Olympic Committee said it

would await the USADA’s and the ICU’s decisions before taking any step against

Armstrong, who won a bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Games.

eteran Indian batsman VVS Laxman announced on 18 August that he

would be retiring from international cricket with

immediate effect."It's been 16 years since I have made my

international debut for India and I think it is the right time to

move on," said an emotional Laxman after announcing his

retirement in Hyderabad. Laxman was also picked for the

forthcoming India-New Zealand two-Test series but the stylish

Hyderabadi stunned the cricket fraternity by calling it quits with

immediate effect. Laxman has played 134 Tests, amassing 8,781

runs at an average of 45.97 and hitting 17 hundreds. The

Hyderabadi has pouched 135 Test catches too.

Test debut : vs South Africa at Ahmedabad, 1996 M - 134; Runs - 8,781; Avg - 45.97;

100s - 17; Top Score - 281

ODI debut : vs Zimbabwe at Cuttack, 1998 M - 81; Runs - 2,338; Avg - 30.76; 100s - 6;

Top Score – 131

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nion government announced the Arjuna awards on 19 August in New Delhi.25

sportsperson will be awarded Arjuna Awards this year, while Rajiv Gandhi

Khel Ratna will be jointly given to vijay kumar and yogeshwar dutt.President

of India will grant them awards at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on August 29. Selection

committee was headed by Rajyavardhan Singh

Rathore. Vijay Kumar won a silver in the 25m rapid

fire event and Yogeshwar won a bronze in 60kg free

style event. They both will be awarded with cash

prize of Rs. 7.5 lakh each along with medal and a

citation. Yuvraj Singh will be awarded with the

Arjuna Award.Arjuna Awardees will receive

statuettes, citations and cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh

each.Normally only 1 Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna

award is given every year to an individual

sportsperson and for the Arjuna Awards not more

than 15 awards are to be given in any calendar year.However in certain conditions the

rules can be relaxed. 25 sportsperson for Arjuna Awards 2012 are: Deepika

Kumari (Archery), Laishram Bombayla Devi (Archery), Sudha Singh (Athletics),Kavita

Ramdas Raut (Athletics), Ashwani Ponnappa (Badminton), Parupalli Kashyap

(Badminton), Aditya S Mehta (Billiards and Snooker), Vikas Krishan (Boxing), Yuvraj

Singh (cricket),Sardar Singh (Hockey), Yashpal Solanki (Judo), Anup Kumar (Kabaddi),

Samir Suhag (Polo), Annu Raj Singh (Shooting), Omkar Singh (Shooting), Joydeep

Karmakar (Shooting), Dipika Pallikal (Squash), Sandeep Sejwal (Swimming), Ng. Sonia

Chanu (Weightlifting), Narsingh Yadav (Wrestling), Rajinder Kumar (Wrestling), Geeta

Phogat (Wrestling), M. Bimoljit Singh (Wushu), Deepa Mallick (Athletics Paralympics),

Ramkaran Singh (Athletics Paralympics).

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ix sporting coaches were recommended for the Dronacharya Awards

2012. Wrestling coach Yashvir Singh, Boxing Coach BI

Fernandez, Athletics Coach Virender Poonia, Kabaddi Coach

Sunil Davas, Parathletics Coach Dr. Satyapaul and Hockey

Coach Harinder Singh are the six names who have been selected

for the coveted award.The Dronacharya Award was instituted

by the government of India in 1985. The award carries five lakh

rupees and a citation and is conferred to coaches of different

sports for their noteworthy contribution. The awards will be

presented by President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhawan on 29 August 2012,

the National Sports Day.

orld number one Roger Federer defeated Novak

Djokovic 6-0 7-6 to win his sixth ATP Cincinnati

Msters title of the year. In the women’s singles China's Li

Na defeated German Angelique Kerber 1-6 6-3 6-1 to win

the title.The sixth seeded Indian pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and

Rohan Bopanna lost in the finals by Sweden's Robert Lindstedt

and Romania's Horia Tecau 4-6, 4-6 in straight sets.

outh Africa stood as the World’s Number One Test Cricket team

replacing England. The feat was achieved after its 2-0 victory over England in

the three Test-match series, which ended at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London on 21

August 2012. Australia and Pakistan stood at third and forth positions. India stands on

fifth position.

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he London Olympics 2012 concluded in London on 12 August 2012.

The 30th summer Olympic event was inaugurated at Olympic Stadium at the

Olympic Park in East London on 27 July 2012. Nearly 10500 athletes were participated

in 26 sports events in this Olympics. At the end of the game US topped the medal tally

with a total of 104 medals (46 Gold+29 Silver+ 29 Silver) followed by China with 88

medals (38 Gold+27 Silver+23 Bronze). Great Britain with 65 medals (29 Gold+17

Silver+19 Bronze), Russia with 82 medals (24 Gold+26 Silver+32 Bronze) and South

Korea with 27 medals (13 Gold+8 Silver+6 Bronze) finished third, fourth and fifth

respectively. India with 6 medals (2 Silver+4Bronze) finished 55th on the medal tally.

he mascots of London Games-2012 were Wenlock and Mandeville.

While Wenlock is a mascot of Olympics, Mandeville is mascot for Paralympics.

These are two ultra-modern one- eyed creatures. Total 4700 medals ( Gold, Silver,

Bronze) were there at the

London Olympics 2012. The

Olympic medals weigh

between 375-400 grams. The

gold medals are not actually

made of solid gold. They are

in fact 92.5 percent silver

and 1.34 percent gold, while

the rest is copper. On every

medal there is the image of Nike, the Greek Goddess of victory. The 31st edition of

Summer Olympics will be held in Reo de Janeiro, Brazil in 2016.

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Some of the winners at London Olympics 2012:

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt won three gold in three separate events (100 meter race,

200 meter race and 4X100 meter relay team race). With a storming victory in both 100

and 200 meters race he became the only sprinter in the history to defend both Olympic

titles.

Dan Lin of China beat Malaysian Chong Wei Lee to clinch Badminton men’s singles

gold

Germany beat Netherlands 2-1 to win men’s hockey gold.

Mexico beat Brazil 2-1 to win Soccer gold

United States defeated Spain to win men’s Basketball gold

Andy Murray of Great Britain beat Roger Federer of Switzerland to win tennis men’s

singles gold

Michael Phelps bagged 6 medals(4 Gold+2 Silver) in swimming, becoming the most

decorated Olympian ever with 22 medals.

Russia defeated Brazil to win men’s volleyball gold.

India in the London Olympics 2012 :

here were total of 83 athletes participated from India for 13 Events. India has won 6 medals in London Olympics 2012 (2 silver and 4 bronze). Sushil Kumar was the

flag bearer in the opening ceremony and Mary Kom was the flag bearer at the closing ceremony. Gagan Narang won the first medal to India (bronze) in the men’s 10 metre air rifle event. Here is the List of the Winners from India.

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Gagan Narang (The First Medal Winner - Bronze - Air Rifle Event) :

Gagan Narang wins India's first medal (bronze) in 10m air rifle event in London Olympics. Gagan’s score in the final round — 10.7, 9.7, 10.6, 10.7, 10.4, 10.6, 9.9, 9.5, 10.3, 10.7 (no need to remember all these numbers, we are giving them for the information's sake). Narang, a two-time world record setter, had won four gold medals in the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games and followed that up with two silver in the Guangzhou Asian Games a month later.

Vijay Kumar (The Second Medal Winner - Silver - Pistol Event)

Vijay Kumar won 2nd Medal (Silver) in Pistol event. The Arjuna awardee of the year 2007, Vijay Kumar won Second Olympic medal (Silver) Medal for India in Men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Event on August 3 2012 (Friday). He was a Multiple Commonwealth Games Gold medallist and earned Olympic quota place when he clinched the silver medal at the shooting World Cup in Fort Benning, US in May, 2011. It was his second silver at the shooting World Cups after clinching it before at Beijing in 2009. He came to limelight after he won an impressive three gold medals and a silver at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

Saina Nehwal (The Third Medal Winner - Bronze - Badminton) Saina Nehwal won the 3rd Medal (Bronze) in Badminton. The Hyderabad badminton player Saina Nehwal won Bronze medal in Women's Singles Badminton event on today ie 4th August 2012 (Saturday). She won bronze medal after world No. 2 China's Wang Xin retires due to injury in the play off at London Olympics on Saturday.She is the first Indian shuttler to play in an Olympic semi-final.

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Mary Kom (The Fourth Medal Winner - Bronze - Boxing)

Mary Kom won the 4rd Medal (Bronze) in Boxing. The Manipuri based Indian boxer, took bronze at the London Olympics 2012 on Wednesday (Date : August 8th 2012) after bowing out in semi-finals. She went down to Great Britain's Nicola Adams (second seed) in the women's 51kg semi-finals and will receive a bronze medal. She is a five-time world champion and the only woman boxer to have won a medal in each one of the six world championships. She is the only Indian woman boxer to have qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics, competing in the 51 kg category, where she is currently ranked world no. 4 by AIBA.

Yougeshwar Dutt (The Fifth Medal Winner - Bronze - Boxing)

Yougeshwar Dutt won the 5th Medal (Bronze) in Wrestling. He is from Sonepat in Haryana. The 29-year-old experienced grappler showed tremendous fighting spirit and exhibited excellent technique against three very strong rivals in the repechage rounds to clinch India's Fifth Medal of the Games. Important Note : This is (bronze) India's third wrestling medal in the Olympic history after Khashaba Jadhav's bronze in 1952 at Helsinki and Sushil Kumar's similar feat four years ago in Beijing.

Sushil Kumar (The Sixth Medal Winner - Silver - Wrestling)

Sushil Kumar won the 6th Medal (Silver) in Wrestling. He has won Silver Medal in the Men's Wrestling - 66 kg Freestyle event of London Olympics on Sunday (Date : August 12 2012). He lost the Olympic gold to Japan's Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu. So, Kumar will come home with a silver Medal.

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PeoPle in news

aisenia Qarase- Former Fiji Prime Minister, the

last democratically elected leader in the coup-plagued

South Pacific nation, was sentenced to 12 months jail on

3 August after being found guilty of corruption. Mr. Qarase,

who became prime minister in 2000 and was ousted in a

military coup six years later, was convicted on nine charges

of abuse of office and failing to discharge his duty when he

was a public servant in the 1990s. The charges related to his

time as a director of a government investment company

called Fijian Holdings from 1992 to 1995, when prosecutors

said he put the interests of his family and home village before the public.

ushil Kumar Shinde(71)- the Union Home Minister on 3

august, will be the next Leader of the Lok Sabha, the first

Dalit to hold that job. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wrote to

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, informing him of

the nomination.Shinde is a seven time MLA and three time MP from

Maharashtra.

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yed Nasim Ahmad Zaidi(60)- a 1976 batch IAS officer of the

Uttar Pradesh cadre, is all set to become an Election

Commissioner. A formal notification is expected from President

Pranab Mukherjee. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has already

approved his appointment. The vacancy in the three-member Election

Commission arose after Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi

retired on June 10. V.S. Sampath was appointed in his place. H.S.

Brahma is the other Commissioner.

imal Gurung- president of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha

(GJM), was elected Chief Executive Officer of the

Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) on 3

august, by the elected and nominated members of the new regional

autonomous body.The members of the GTA, that replaces the

Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC), will be sworn in Darjiling

on 3 august.

enu Rajamony-A 1986 batch officer of the Indian Foreign

Service, assumed charge as Press Secretary to the President on 2

August. He took over from Archana Datta, who served as OSD to Pratibha Patil. A

career diplomat, Mr. Rajamony has served as Joint Secretary in the Department of

Economic Affairs in the Finance Ministry.

AGHURAM G RAJAN- Former IMF chief economist, has been appointed as the Chief

Economic Advisor in the Finance Ministry. The Appointments Committee of

Cabinet cleared the appointment of Mr Rajan as the new CEA on 10 august.Mr Rajan, known for

his frank views, was also honorary economic advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. At

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present, he is a professor in the University of Chicago’s Booth

School of Business. He is also highly acclaimed for predicting

the 2008 global financial crisis.An Alumni of IIM-Ahmedabad

and IIT-Delhi, Mr Rajan did his doctorate from Massachusetts

Institute of Technology.The position of the CEA has been lying

vacant since Kaushik Basu’s term ended on July 31. Mr Basu

would now return as a professor in Cornell University.Mr

Rajan was also involved with the report on Financial Sector

Reforms, which was authorised by the Planning Commission.

AKESH SINGH-The Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICAI)

has elected on 21 July Mr Rakesh Singh as its new President. He has

replaced Mr M. Gopalakrishnan. Earlier, Mr Singh was the Vice- President

of the institute. Meanwhile, Mr S.C. Mohanty has been elected as the Vice-

President of the institute. Both Mr Singh and Mr Mohanty will hold the

post for the year 2012-13.

shok Mehta(65)- One of India's most accomplished cinematographers, who had been

critically ill from lung cancer, passed away on 15 August. Mehta was an award-winning

lensman and had worked with prominent filmmakers like

Subhash Ghai, Rajiv Rai and MF Husain. He was the director of

photography in films like 36 Chowringhee Lane, Utsav, Trikal,

Khalnayak, Bandit Queen, Chalte Chalte, Gajgamini, Trimurti,

Khalnayak, Moksha and Ram Lakhan. He also launched model-

turned-actor Arjun Rampal in 'Moksha' opposite Manisha

Koirala. A true Renaissance Man, he even wrote and acted in

some movies.

ilasrao Deshmukh(67)- The Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth

Sciences died of multiple organ failure at the Global Health City Hospital in Chennai on 14

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August 2012. He was born on 26 May 1945 in Babhalgaon, Latur

district, in Maharashtra. He first became the Chief Minister of

Maharashtra after 1999 state assembly elections. He remained on the

position till 2003. Again he became the chief minister in the year 2004

but he resigned from the post following the Mumbai Terror Attack on 26

November 2008.In 2009, Deshmukh was elected to the Rajya Sabha

and was made the Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.

Later he became the Minister for Rural Development replacing Manishankar Aiyyar.

ayalar Ravi- assumed charge as the Union Minister for

Science and Technologyon 21 August 2012. He was allocated the

charge after Vilasrao Deshmukh, who was holding the portfolio passed

away on 14 August 2012.Vayalar Ravi is also holding the portfolio of Union

Ministry of Overseas Affairs. Besides he also holds the charge of Ministry

of Earth Sciences and Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

J Kurien- Congress leader, was unanimously elected as the

Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha. Kurien has been the M.P for the last three decades

representing Idukki, and Mavelikkara Lok Sabha constituencies. Since 2005 he is a member of

the Rajya Sabha.The Deputy Chairman is elected in the

meeting of the Rajya Sabha as decided by Chairman of

the Rajya Sabha from amongst the members of the

Rajya Sabha. He is supposed to resign from his original

party because as a Deputy Speaker, he has to remain

impartial.Deputy Chaiman of Rajya Sabha acts as the

Presiding Officer in case of leave or absence of the Chairman of

Rajya Sabha, the Vice-President of India.

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oonam Kishore Saxena –The Union Finanace Ministry appointed, P.K.Saxena, a 1975

batch IRS officer, as Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes

(CBDT) on 21 August 2012. Prior to her appointment as CBDT Chairman,

Saxena worked as Director General (Investigation) in Jaipur for three years.

CBDT is responsible for administration of direct tax laws through the Income

Tax Department and also provides essential inputs for policy and planning of

direct taxes.

arl Mehta- Indian-American entrepreneur has been selected among the 18

‘Presidential Innovation Fellows’ who will work on five ‘high-impact’ projects in the

US capital. Selected from an applicant pool of nearly 700 innovators from across the country,

the “Fellows” would spend six months in Washington DC to work on

five high-impact projects aimed at supporting entrepreneurs, small

businesses and the economy, while significantly improving how the

Federal Government serves the American people. Mr. Mehta, the

only Indian-American to be present in this list of 18 fellows, would

work on “The 20 per cent Initiative” programme. “The 20 per cent

Initiative will work to transition ‘the last mile’ of international development assistance payments

from cash to electronic methods - lowering administrative costs, promoting financial inclusion,

and reducing theft, fraud, and violence,” the White House said. A member of TiE Silicon Valley,

Mr Mehta is founder & CEO of PlaySpan, which was acquired by Visa in March 2011.He won the

‘Entrepreneur of the Year 2010’ Award from Ernst & Young for Northern California. The fellows

- the first of its kind initiative of the White House - was announced by the US Chief Technology

Officer, Todd Park.

apu Rajaiah(87)- Famous folklore artist,

passed away on 20 august, at his residence at

Siddipet,Medak dt, A.P. Rajaiah rose to fame by focusing

his paintings on the idiom of Telangana culture, pastoral

life and simple village folks. His works were often

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compared with those of Jamini Roy.He won several awards and these include Lalit Kala

Academy’s national award, Kala Vibhushana by All India Fine Arts and Crafts

Society, gold medal at All India Art Exhibition, Patna and Kerala Buddha Jayanthi

festival, first prize in Dussehara exhibition, Mysore and awards at All India Exhibitions

at Gwalior and Bangalore. The Andhra Pradesh Government felicitated him with “Rajata Patra”

in 1966.He also earned the title of “Chitra Kala Prapurna” in 1975. He received an honorary

doctorate from the JNTU, Hyderabad.Lalita Kala Samithi etablished by him in Siddipet trained

several budding artists.

ishiram Rana - Former Textile Minister Kashiram Rana, Who had who

had recently quit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and joined hands

with the former Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel in his tirade against

Chief Minister Narendra Modi, died here on 30 Aug by massive heart attack.He

was 74.

mir Khan - The most successful Tv show Satyamev Jayate made Amir Khan

features in the cover page of the Time Magazine. Aamir Khan is

featured on the cover of Time with the caption ‘Khan’s Quest’. Bollywood

actors who have featured before on Time cover are Aishwarya Rai

Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Parveen Babi. Parveen Babi became the

cover girl of Time’s July 1976 issue, after acting in super hit flick

Deewar. The cover story was titled ‘Asia’s Frenetic Film Scene’.On one of

2003 issues, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was called ‘New Face Of Film’.

The magazine mentioned: ‘Aishwarya Rai leads the invasion as

Bollywood goes global and becomes hip.’

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Authors’ Note

ell…… it’s nice to have people interested in something we do. We would like to listen when people saying “Those are

the people who helped me cracking my exam”. If you found this small book interesting and enlightening, we would appreciate if you tell your Friends, Family and Colleagues about Us. If you don’t like, then please mail us “Why you don’t like our effort… so that we will try to improve ourselves. Our mail id is [email protected] That’s all for now friends. Happy Reading……

Guide4BankExams Team

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