1.

Digital India huge opportunity for health, education: Anil Agarwal

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Digital India' drive will open up huge opportunities in
health and education for rural areas, creating a large number of jobs.
ii. The initiative aims to digitally deliver all the essential services to citizens and transform
India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy by leveraging IT.
iii. Agarwal, who heads the mining giant Vedanta Resources Plc, is the Non-Executive
Chairman of Sterlite Technologies Ltd which is involved majorly in laying the optical fibre
network to connect 2.5 lakh gram panchyats.
iv. It is undertaking Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) deployment in India to enable high speed
broadband connectivity and is developing several transmission infrastructure projects
spanning over 5,000 Circuit Kms across India.
2. World Bank approves $650 mn loan for Eastern Freight Corridor
i. The World Bank said on Wednesday it had cleared a $650 million loan for a huge Indian
freight rail corridor that will span 1,840 kms (1,140 miles) across the northern heartland of
the country.
ii. Construction of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor will help speed up the carrying of
goods between Ludhiana in the western region and Kolkata in the east, and is part of a
series of new freight lines the World Bank says India needs to ease congestion on its
network.
iii. The loan is the third from the World Bank to help fund the freight corridor. Last year the
bank approved a $1.1 billion outlay and in 2011 $975 million.
iv. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, banking on big investment in infrastructure
to boost the economy, approved a $137 billion investment plan for the railways in February.
3. BHEL commissions Sudan's largest power project
i. State-owned power equipment maker Bhel today said it has commissioned Sudan's largest
power plant.
ii. Bhel has executed this project on Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) basis.
It has designed, manufactured, supplied and installed the complete power project (4 units of
125 MW each) including associated civil works.
iii. The project uses crude oil from South Sudan as fuel, for which Bhel has designed special
boilers. All the major equipment for the project -- boilers, steam-turbines, generators,
Controls & Instrumentation (C&I), transformers -- have been manufactured in-house.
iv. The company has also constructed a canal from the White Nile River to supply water for
the project. The project is funded by the India's Line of Credit of USD 350 million.
v. The Kosti plant is Bhel's largest oil-fired thermal power plant in the overseas market. It is
also Bhel's first crude oil fired thermal power plant in Africa and comes on the heels of the
successful completion of Bhel's 28 MW Nyaborango Hydro project in Rwanda.
4. SBI partners with MakeMyTrip for travel biz
i. In its series of digital initiatives and tie-ups, State Bank of India, countrys largest bank,
partnered with online travel company MakeMyTrip.com to capitalise on the business
opportunities of the booming e-commerce and m-commerce ecosystem.
ii. The alliance includes partnership with personal banking unit for consumer facing
propositions including EMIs on purchase of holidays & international travel, customized
travel products like Forex cards and travel products that inspire SBI customers to travel.
iii. It also includes partnership with SME & Acquiring Business -- MMT suppliers, such as 2-3
star hotels, franchisees, Trade & Travel partners will get access to SBI products, loans, bank
guarantees, PoS payment instruments at preferential rates and partnership with cards for
promoting card usage which will help in pushing the agenda of a less cash economy.
iv. MakeMyTrip constitutes about 46% of the bookings in the online space and a lot of
product work is being done in the $22-23 billion travel industry ecosystem.

5. Shimla Rs 643 Cr water scheme cleared for World Bank funding

i. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh here disclosed that a Rs 643 crore project for augmenting
the water supply to the growing hill city had been approved by the union government.
ii. The project got the union finance ministry nod yesterday (29.6.2015) and it would be
placed before World Bank for funding purposes, said a government spokesman. PC Dhiman,
additional chief secretary, on behalf of the state attended the meeting.
iii. The loan component would be Rs 514 crore and the state government would be
contributing Rs 129 crore for funding the project.
iv. The new project involves lifting water from Kol Dam reservoir on River Satluj and it would
meet the water needs of Shimla municipal corporation as well suburban areas under the
special planning area.
6. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu Inaugurates Integrated Security System in
Mumbai
i. Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu inaugurated the Integrated Security System (ISS) at
6 railway stations in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The system was inaugurated Chhatrapati Shivaji
Terminus (CST), Dadar, Kurla and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT), Kalyan and Thane.
ii. The ISS is advanced security systems that aims at improving security on Railway premises
and also ensure safety of the people and avert terror attacks in extreme case. The system
has a total of 118 CCTV cameras. They will beam the live images of railway stations under
its coverage on six monitors.
iii. In the first of the project which was completed in June 2015 it covered four stations CST,
Dadar, Kurla and LTT.
iv. The second phase is expected to be completed by December 2016. Apart from this, he
also inaugurated a modified foot over bridge (FOB) to facilitate passenger movement at
Diva.
7. Matti Makkonen, Father of SMS technology passes away
i. Finnish telecom engineer and father of messaging service (SMS) technology Matti
Makkonen passed away following serious illness.
ii. He was 63. In 1984, he had pioneered the idea of sending messages via mobile networks
but failed to patent it was merely idea and was not actual implementation.
iii. Matti Makkonen was born on 16 April 1952 in Suomussalmi, Finland. He had graduated as
an electrical engineer from the Oulu technical college in 1976.
iv. He had served as vice president of PTL and was actively involved in the development of
the GSM-technology from 1984 to 1988. In 1989, he was appointed as President of the
mobile communication unit which was later renamed as Telecom Finland.
v. he was awarded The Economists Innovation Award in the computing and
telecommunications category.
8. Abhijeet Gupta wins 19th Commonwealth Chess Championship
i. Former world junior champion and Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta won the 19th
Commonwealth Chess Championship.
ii. He won the gold medal after settling for a quick draw with his opponent Arghyadip Das in
the ninth and final round played at Mumbai, Maharashtra.
iii. In this Chess Championship, Arghyadip Das came second winning the silver medal and M
R Lalith Babu won the bronze medal in mens section.
iv. In the womens section, Padmini Rout won the gold medal. While S Vijayalakshmi and S
Meenakshi won silver and bronze medal respectively. In this championship both
Vijayalakshmi and Meenakshi had won the last six games.
1. Union Government hiked national floor-level minimum wage to 160 rupees per
day

i. The Union Government in June 2015 increased the national floor-level minimum wage
(NFLMW) to 160 rupees per day from 137 rupees per day. The new rate will be effective from
1 July 2015.
ii. If states revise their minimum wages as per the new NFLMW, the decision is expected to
benefit millions of workers in the scheduled employments in the respective state
jurisdictions.
iii. It was implemented for the first time in 1996 on the basis of the recommendations of the
National Commission on Rural Labour (NCRL) under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.
iv. It is a non-statutory measure and after every revision, the State Governments are
persuaded to fix minimum wages such that in none of the scheduled employments, the
minimum wage is less than NFLMW.
2. Greece becomes first developed nation to default IMF debt
i. Greece has become the first developed nation to default on International Monetary Fund
(IMF) debt. It has defaulted on a 1.7 billion dollars payment to IMF.
ii. The deadline for debt payment was missed by Greece after Eurozone Finance Ministers
refused to extend its bailout. They had refused the bailout after Greece rejected the proposal
given International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Central Bank (ECB) and the European
Commission (EC). Apart from this, ECB also has frozen its liquidity lifeline to Greek banks.
iii. It should be noted that Greece is now formally in arrears and there are fears that this
could put Greece at risk of shifting back to its old currency Drachma by leaving the Euro.
This may increase in the cost of imports of Greece leading to increase inflation further
worsening its economic crisis.
iv. The Greece crisis may depreciate the value Euro which may led investors to invest in Gold
and Dollar to be on the safer side. In this case it may appreciate value of dollar and make it
stronger as compared to Indian rupees.
3. Prof. Sanjeev Galande selected for G D Birla Award for Scientific Research 2014
i. Prof. Sanjeev Galande has been selected for the prestigious G D Birla award for Scientific
Research 2014. He has been selected for his significant contribution and his pioneering
research in the field of Epigenetics and Molecular Cell Biology.
ii. Presently, he is a professor at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research
(IISER), Pune and also leading a team of scientists in studying various aspects of gene
iii. Galande had obtained doctorate in biochemistry from Indian Institute of Science (IISc),
Bangalore in 1996. He is also a postdoctoral fellow at the Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory in the US. He is pioneer for establishing the Centre of Excellence in Epigenetics
at IISER.
4. Cuba becomes first nation to eliminate mother-to-child HIV and syphilis: WHO
i. Cuba has become the first country in the world to eliminate mother-to-child transmission
of HIV and syphilis. It was announced by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
ii. Cuba was able to achieve this milestone with the help and efforts of WHO and the Pan
American Health Organisation (PAHO).
iii. Since 2010, WHO/PAHO are working with partners in Cuba and other American countries
to implement a regional initiative to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and
syphilis.
iv. Services under this initiative were provided as part of an equitable, accessible and
universal health system. It included services like maternal and child health programs and
integrated programs for HIV and sexually transmitted infections.
5. 'Mhara Gaon - Jagmag Gaon' scheme launched in Haryana
i. Haryana government today announced to launch a voluntary scheme 'Mhara Gaon Jagmag Gaon', aimed at providing 24-hour uninterrupted power supply to rural domestic

consumers and improving electricity bill collections in order to reduce "huge" accumulated
losses of power utilities.
ii. Announcing the scheme here, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said the state
has become first in the country to launch such an "innovative" scheme.
iii. Explaining the scheme, the Chief Minister said at present rural consumers were being
supplied electricity for only 12 hours daily.
iv. The consumers in these 310 villages falling under these 83 feeders would now be urged
to install their meters outside their houses and get their old electricity wires replaced with
insulated wires, the chief minister said.
6. Dr Anup K Pujari joins as Secretary, MSME
i. Dr Anup K Pujari has been appointed Secretary of Ministry of Small and Medium
Enterprises (MSME) here on Wednesday.
ii. He succeeds Shri Madhav Lal who superannuated on June 30, 2015. Before joining the
Ministry of MSME, Pujari was holding the charge of Secretary, Mines.
iii. Born in 1956, Pujari is a post-graduate from the University of Boston, and a Doctorate in
Economics. He has served the Central and Karnataka Government in various capacities.
iv. Shri Balvender Kumar took over the charge from Dr. Anup K Pujari IAS (KN: 1980) who is
now the Secretary Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises.
7. NASA unveils prototype of plane to fly on Mars
i. NASA has unveiled a boomerang-shaped aircraft that could be the first to take flight on
Mars to look for potential landing sites for future manned mission to the red planet.
ii. The Prandtlm will be released at about at 100,000 feet altitude, which will simulate the
flight conditions of the Martian atmosphere, said Al Bowers, NASA Armstrong chief scientist
and Prandtlm programme manager.
iii. The tests could validate how the aircraft works, leading to modifications that will allow it
to fold and deploy from a 3U CubeSat in the aeroshell of a future Mars rover.
Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/07/daily-gk-update-2nd-july2015.html#ixzz3gL0ab4uy
1. Govt releases socio-economic and caste census for better policy-making
i. The socio-economic and caste census (SECC) 2011 on Friday painted a grim picture of
rural India, indicating that one out of three families living in villages is landless and depends
on manual labour for livelihood.
ii. The SECC 2011, also the first paperless census conducted on hand-held electronic devices
by the government, said 23.52% rural families have no literate adult above 25 years,
suggesting a poor state of education among rural masses.
iii. The census, carried out in 640 districts under the aegis of the rural development ministry,
was released jointly by finance minister Arun Jaitley and rural development minister
Chaudhary Birendra Singh.
iv. According to the census, there are a total number of 24.39 crore households in the
country, of which 17.91 crore live in villages. Of these, 10.69 crore households are
considered as deprived.
2. Nationwide Mobile Number Portability goes live
i. The countrywide Mobile Number Portability (MNP) has become a reality today. This means
mobile subscribers can now keep their existing mobile phone numbers even while shifting
between states and circles.
ii. The move lays the first stone for the government's 'One nation, One number' plan and is
sure to benefit millions of people across the country.

iii. Earlier, the deadline to rollout full MNP was May 2, 2015. This was, however, extended by
two months after the Cellular Operators Association of India asked for an extension from the
telecom department.
iv. With about 3 million intra-circle MNP requests every month, more than 157 million
subscribers have ported to other operators as of April, according to Trai data.
3. Airbus to build military choppers in India with Mahindra
i. Europe's Airbus Group and India's Mahindra Group have struck a deal to build helicopters
jointly as they bid to win an expected wave of orders from the country's armed forces, the
companies said in a statement on Friday.
ii. The two groups will form a joint venture in the coming months, aiming to become the first
private manufacturer of helicopters in India, the statement said. It did not say how much the
two will invest.
iii. India is in the midst of a huge upgrade of its armed forces analysts forecast it will
spend $250 billion over the next decade and Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to
encourage more indigenous manufacturing to end India's position as the world's largest
arms importer.
iv. Airbus Helicopters, part of Airbus Group, is joining forces with Mahindra after talking to
several Indian companies that are investing hundreds of millions of dollars to capitalise on
the government's push to build arms at home.
4. SBI launches initiative to speed up home loan applications
i. Country's largest lender State Bank of India today launched an initiative to provide
doorstep services and expedite home loans application process.
ii. The initiative known as 'Project Tatkal' will help get the loan within 10 days after receipt of
application form and relevant supporting documents, the bank said in a release.
iii. The implementation will be done at large centres with sizable home loan business.
iv. The bank has also recently introduced an online customer acquisition solution (OCAS) for
instant e-approval of home loan applications.
5. Indian-American professor R Paul Singh named for 2015 World Agriculture Prize
laureate
i. R Paul Singh, Indian-American professor has been selected for 2015 World Agriculture Prize
laureate.
ii. The award was announced at the annual Global Confederation for Higher Education
Associations for Agriculture and Life Sciences (GCHERA) conference held at the Holy Spirit
University of Kaslik, Lebanon.
iii. Singh is known for niche research areas of agricultural sector such as freezing
preservation, energy conservation, post-harvest technology and mass transfer in food
processing.
iv. He had earned a bachelors degree in agricultural engineering form Punjab Agricultural
University. He had completed his doctorate from Michigan State University, US.
6. Indian-American teacher Darshan Jain receives US Presidential Award
i. Darshan Jain, an Indian-American teacher has been selected for prestigious Presidential
Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.
ii. He was named for the award by President Barack Obama along with 107 Mathematics and
Science teachers across US. All of them were chosen for shaping Americas success through
their passion for Math and Science.
iii. Presently Darshan Jain is director of mathematics at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in
Lincolnshire, Illinois. Previously, he had taught mathematics at this institute for eight years.
iv. US Presidential Award is awarded annually to outstanding science and mathematics
teachers from across US from K-12 (kindergarten through 12th grades). The award carries
monetary prize of US 10000 dollars.

7. Union Government launches web portal for issuing green clearance Category B
projects
i. Union Government has launched a web portal for online submission of applications for
environment clearance by State Environment Impact Assessment Authorities (SEIAA) for
Category B projects.
ii. It was launched by Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Prakash Javadekar in New Delhi on the occasion of Digital India Week. Soon after the launch
of the web portal, nineteen states instantly have joined it.
iii. The environment clearance web portal raises the levels of transparency and
accountability as the clearances will be monitored and carried out effectively on a real time
basis. It will also help to reduce pendency for maintaining the rigours of Environment
Clearance process.
iv. It should be noted that applications for Environment Clearances under Category B
projects under EIA notification, 2006 comes under State government for approval purpose.
Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/07/daily-gk-update-3rd-july2015.html#ixzz3gL15iUP2
1. Guinness Book Recognises Madhya Pradeshs World Record in Washing Hands
i. The Guinness Book of World Records has recognised a record created in Madhya Pradesh
on World Hand washing Day in 2014.
ii. The mega hand washing event was held on 15 October 2014 to create awareness about
hygiene by washing hands with soap.
iii. It was organised in all the 51 districts of Madhya Pradesh in over 13 thousand places. In it
more than 12 lakh 78 thousand students had washed their hand simultaneously.
iv. This record broke the earlier the world record which was jointly held by Argentina, Peru
and Mexico. The joint record in three countries was created on October 14, 2011 in which
7,40,870 people had washed their hands simultaneously at different locations.
2. President of India receives first copy of book 'Uniki'
i. The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee received the first copy of the book 'Uniki' in
Hyderabad today (July 3, 2015). The book has been written by Shri Ch Vidyasagar Rao,
Governor of Maharashtra. The President received the book from Shri K Chandrashekar Rao,
Chief Minister of Telangana who formally released it.
ii. Speaking on the occasion, the President appealed to the people of both the states of
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to work in close harmony, so as to ensure sustainable
development and betterment of the people of the country and help it earn its rightful place
in the comity of nations. He said that we all belong to India.
iii. He stated that we need to remember that we can choose our friends but cannot choose
our neighbours. Therefore, it is us for decide whether we should live in harmony and peace
with our neighbours.
iv. He stated that the title, 'Uniki', which means Existence, evokes a philosophical view of the
issues and events that have been written about in this book.
3. C D Balaji took charge as Director of the Aeronautical Development Agency
i. Commodore C D Balaji (Retd) on 3 July 2015 took charge as the Director of the
Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Programme Director of the Light Combat
Aircraft (LCA).
ii. He succeeded P S Subramanyam, Distinguished Scientist, who superannuated on 30 June
2015.

iii. Prior to this appointment, Balaji, an outsatnding scientists, was Project Director of the
LCAs naval version. He was commissioned into the Indian Navy's engineering branch in
September 1978 and since then, he has specialised in the Naval Aviation Arm.
iv. He served as an Air Engineer Officer of INAS 310 (Alize aircraft) for about 3 years
embarking the Aircraft Carrier Vikrant. He joined ADA on deputation in 2002 to work on the
development of a naval version of the light fighter. In December 2006, he left the Navy and
fully moved to ADA.
v. Based in Bengaluru, ADA is the premier multi-agency body spearheading the development
of combat aircraft for the Air Force and the Navy- among them is the LCA and the proposed
Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft AMCA.
4. BSNL rolls out pre-paid card linked mobile wallet
i. BSNL launched a pre-paid card linked mobile wallet service on Friday which allows
customers to transfer cash, pay for services as well as withdraw cash of up to Rs 1 lakh.
ii. The wallet service, Speed Pay, allows a customer to load money even if he does not have
a bank account. The money loaded in the wallet can be transferred to an account and even
withdrawn at branches or at BSNL outlets.
iii. Loading money into a mobile wallet from a bank account is an option. BSNL customers
who don't have bank accounts can also load money at any BSNL retail outlet and ask the
retailer to recharge their mobile wallet account and pay for various services.
iv. There will be one-per cent transaction charge if money from the wallet is transferred to
other bank accounts or a there is cash withdrawal.
5. 4 Indian-Americans honoured with Great Immigrants award 2015 in United
States
i. Four Indian-Americans have been honoured withprestigious Great Immigrants, The Pride of
America award 2015. They are among 38 distinguished personalities from more than 30
countries around the world who have been honoured with this years award.
ii. The award is given by New York-based Carnegie Corporation on the occasion of
Independence Day of United States i.e. 4th July.
Preet Bharara: US Attorney, Southern District of New York.
Rakesh Khurana: Dean of Harvard College and Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership and
Development.
Madhulika Sikka: Vice President and Executive Editor of .Mic.
Abraham Verghese: Physician, Professor and Author.
6.
Solar
Impulse
completes
epic
flight
to
Hawaii
i. Solar Impulse, the aeroplane that is powered only by the sun, has landed in Hawaii after
making a historic 7,200km flight across the Pacific from Japan.
ii. The distance covered and the time spent in the air - 118 hours - are records for manned,
solar-powered flight. The duration is also an absolute record for a solo, un-refuelled journey.
iii. Mr Borschberg's time betters that of the American adventurer Steve Fossett who spent 76
hours
aloft
in
a
single-seater
jet
in
2006.
iv. Solar Impulse's slow speed, light weight and 72m wingspan put significant constraints on
the type of weather the vehicle can handle, and that first sortie was aborted after just one
day in the air because of a fast developing cold front ahead of it.
7. Former CJI Y K Sabharwal passes away
i. Former Chief Justice of India Y K Sabharwal passed away here last evening. 73-year-old
Justice Sabharwal is survived by two sons Chetan and Nitin. The cremation will take place
today.
ii. Justice Sabharwal was CJI from November 1, 2005 to January 13, 2007.
iii. He was elevated as an additional judge of the Delhi High Court in 1986 and became its
permanent judge in April 1987.

iv. From Delhi High Court, he went to Bombay High Court as chief justice before being
appointed as a judge of the SC on January 28, 2001.
v. Justice Sabharwal delivered several important judgements including the verdict in January
2006, that held the dissolution of Bihar Assembly as illegal and unconstitutional.

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/07/daily-gk-update-4th-july2015.html#ixzz3gL1CkjjX

1. C-DOT launches solar powered, long distance WiFi hotspots
i. As part of the 'Digital India Week', Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) on
Monday launched four new products including solar powered Wi-Fi and long distance Wi-Fi.
ii. The solar powered Wi-Fi hotspots can be used for smart cities, rural schools or
panchayats, extending broadband connectivity remote/ unconnected places. It can also be
used in ship to ship communications in deep seas.
iii. The state-of-the-art telecommunication technology developer that launched long-distance
Wi-Fi, said such technology can be used for operator sharing, support to link redundancy in
case of failure of one radio/ link.
iv. Apart from these, C-DOT also launched Next Generation Network solution that will
address the needs of the changing telecom scenario and would enable smooth transition
from Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
2. Uttar Pradesh first to have vehicle tracking system
i. Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) has become the first State
transport corporation to have a vehicle tracking system for inter-city buses, which has led to
a reduction in accidents and deaths as drivers are wary of crossing the speed limits.
ii. In a passenger-friendly IT initiative, UPSRTC is also in talks with Delhi Transport
Corporation and State transport undertakings in Haryana, Rajasthan and Himachal to have a
common bus travel card, apart from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.
iii. This is to ensure that the smart cards used by UPSRTC passengers (issued by State Bank
of India and ICICI Bank) become interoperable with these Metro rail systems and buses, said
Meshram at a PHDCCI event here.
3. India womens hockey team arrive to grand welcome
i. Having all but booked a berth in next years Rio Olympics, Indian womens hockey team
arrived in New Delhi early morning to a grand welcome amidst beating of drums and loud
cheers.
ii. India womens teams lone Olympic appearance was at Moscow in 1980. Effectively,
Indias fifth spot should secure them an Olympic Games ticket when the countdown to
allocate spots takes place.
iii. Indian womens team skipper Ritu Rani said they will begin their preparations for the
Olympics instantly even though they still await an official confirmation from the International
Hockey Federation (FIH)
iv. Three teams The Netherlands, South Korea and Australia have secured their Rio de
Janeiro tickets, but South Korea have already earned an Olympic slot by winning the Asian
Games gold medal.
4. Tata Teleservices appoints Anuraag Srivastava as CFO

i. Telecom service provider Tata Teleservices today announced the appointment of Anuraag
Srivastava as its Chief Financial Officer with immediate effect. Prior to taking up the new
role, Srivastava served Indus Towers as Senior Vice-President of Internal Audit and
Assurance.
ii. He brings with him over 20 years of experience as a finance professional with leadership
roles in finance and consumer goods and telecom businesses across multiple geographies,
including India, the US and South Asia.
iii. Tata Teleservices has established itself as a trusted and one of the most relied upon
innovative telecom brands in the country and is rapidly scaling its businesses across the
markets, Srivastava said.
5. E-filing of ITR: Aadhaar can be linked for easier processing
i. Last week, the finance ministry announced the commencement of the electronic filing of
income tax returns for 2015-16. The department had notified the revised forms two weeks
back, after the earlier forms were criticised for seeking unwieldy additional details on
taxpayers' foreign travel and dormant bank accounts.
ii. starting this time, the ITR forms now have a space for Aadhaar card holders to provide
their Unique Identification Numbers.
iii. The tax department has also introduced the new three-page simplified form called ITR-2A
for those who may own more than one residential property , but do not have any capital
gains.
iv. Most of these sites have a freemium model, where the basic ITR-1 filing is free. However,
for the more complicated filings such as for small businesses and personal CA assistance,
you'll have to pay.
6. Lewis Hamilton wins 2015 Birtish Grand Prix of F1
i. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain won 2015 Birtish Grand Prix of Formula One (F1).
This was his fourth victory of the season and his second of Birtish Grand Prix.
ii. With this victory Hamilton became second British F1 driver to win Birtish Grand Prix two
times after David Coulthard.
iii. The drivers ranking after British Grand Prix 2015

Lewis Hamilton (Britain) of Mercedes.

Nico Rosberg (Germany) of Mercedes.

Sebastian Vettel (Germany) of Ferrari.

Felipe Massa (Brazil) of Williams.

7. US wins Womens FIFA World Cup for 3rd time

i. United States (US) won the 2015 FIFA Womens World Cup. It is overall third world cup title
of US. In the World Cup final match played at Vancouver, Canada US defeated Japan by 5-2
goals score.
ii. US captain and skipper Carli Lloyd scored three goals. Lauren Holiday and Tobin Heath
scored one goal each.
iii. The important awards in women world cup :
Golden Ball Award: Carli Lloyd (US), Amandine Henry (France), Aya Miyama (Japan).
Golden Boot Award: Celia Sasic (Germany), Carli Lloyd (US), Anja Mittag (Germany).
Golden Glove Award: Hope Solo (US).
8. Chile wins Copa America title 2015 of football for first time

i. Chile won South Americas most prestigious football trophy, the Copa America title 2015
for the first time. It is Chiles first ever international trophy in Football. In the final match
played at Santiago de Chile, the hosts defeated 14 times champion Argentina by 4-1 goals in
the penalty shootout as regular match had ended in a goal-less draw.
ii. In the penalty shootout Matas Fernndez, Arturo Vidal, Alexis Sanchez and Charles
Arnguiz of Chilean team scored 1 goal each. While from Argentina team only Lionel Messi
scored goal in the penalty shoot.
iii. The Copa America (means America Cup in Spanish and Portuguese) title is an annual
international football competition.It is played between the mens national football teams of
South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL).
Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/07/daily-gk-update-5th-and-6th-july2015.html#ixzz3gL1JEKpC
1. ICRISAT unveils $300 phablet for farmers
i. Farmers now can have customised tips on their phablet on the kind of agricultural inputs
they might require for their field.
ii. Based on the specific soil health of their small chunks of lands, scientists at the
International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and Government of
Telangana would send timely messages to the farmers through the phablet.
iii. The Hyderabad-headquartered ICRISAT launched the Green Phablet, priced at $300
(about Rs. 18,600), for farmers in Telangana. The institute would maintain servers to safe
keep the information. And even if a user loses his device, he would be able to get back the
information in no time.
iv. ICRISAT Director-General David Bergvinson signed a tripartite agreement on Tuesday with
the Departments of Agriculture and Information Technology to collaborate in transforming
agriculture using digital technologies.
v. Addressing a gathering later, Telangana IT Minister KT Rama Rao said that there was a
need to bring down the cost of the device to Rs. 10,000 to make it affordable for farmers.
2. Rajasthan might emulate Maharashtra's 'Jal Yukt Shivar Abhiyan'
i. Impressed with the progress of Maharashtra's 'Jal Yukt Shivar Abhiyan,' Rajashtan may also
adopt the state's flagship water conservation and Integrated water management scheme.
ii. Aiming to learn more about the state's water conservation programme, a delegation from
Rajasthan, comprising a minister and senior bureaucrats are on Maharashtra tour and will
visit a few sites where the project is currently underway.
iii. "Jalyukta Shivar Abhiyan is an ambitious program of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis
and he has toured almost each and every district to visit the project sites," Pankaja Munde,
minister for water conservation said.
iv. Meanwhile, after successfully involving people in implementing the scheme, Munde is
considering to organise a 'Jalchetana Yatra' across the state from 2nd October.
3. Inshore patrol vessel Rani Durgavati joins Indian Coast Guard
i. Inshore patrol vessel Rani Durgavati was inducted into the Coast Guard here on Friday at a
ceremony where the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command, ViceAdmiral Satish Soni, was the chief guest.
ii. Vice-Admiral Soni said coastal security had undergone a sea change after 26/11, and
added that all agencies were important partners in preparedness. However, the Coast Guard
was the most important one in coordinating with various agencies. He described Rani
Durgavati as "another arrow in the quiver of the Coast Guard.

iii. Rani Durgavati, the third in a series of five inshore patrol vessels of the Coast Guard, is
named after the legendary Gond Queen who defeated the army of Baz Bahadur of the
Mughal Army.
iv. Hindustan Shipyard Ltd which had built 174 ships and repaired 2,000 vessels across the
range, including submarines.
4. President Pranab Mukherjee Inaugurates 'Nakshatra Vatika'
i. President Pranab Mukherjee today inaugurated a 'Nakshatra Vatika' in the gardens of
Rashtrapati Nilayam in Hyderabad, one of the Presidential Retreats. He took a round of the
garden and watered a plant representing 'Surya' or the Sun God.
ii. He was accompanied by Governor of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh E S L Narasimhan
and Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mohammad Ali, an official release said.
iii. The garden will be open to public along with other gardens of the Nilayam in the first
week of January 2016. The layout of 'Nakshatra Vatika' has been developed in various
geometrical combinations corresponding to the Sree Chakra of Vedic astrology on a 0.91
acre plot.
iv. Each square is planted with a particular tree or plant variety that represents the
respective planet and is placed as per the astronomical direction. The first inner circular
band is divided in 12 small circles at parts of 30A each corresponding to the 12 Rashi (zodiac
sign). Each has a plant that represents the particular zodiac sign.
5. India skipper Mithali Raj completes 5000 runs in women's ODIs
i. Skipper Mithali Raj scripted a new chapter in the history of Indian women's cricket as she
became the first from the country and overall second to reach the 5000-run milestone in
one-day internationals.
ii. Her stylish unbeaten knock of 81 in Bengaluru on Monday guided the team to an eightwicket victory over New Zealand, thereby leveling the five-match series 2-2.
iii. With the help of her pivotal innings, India chased down the target of 220 only in 44.2
overs. Before Mithali, only English woman Charlotte Edwards had completed 5000 runs in
ODIs.
iv. Mithali fabulous innings was decorated with 10 well-timed boundaries. However,
Harmanpreet Kaur's fireworks of 32 runs in 25 balls, with the help of four boundaries and
two giant sixes, also entertained the crowd. Harmanpreet ended the match with a straight
six off spinner Leigh Kasperek.
6. IDBI signs refinance agreement with Mudra Bank
i. State-run IDBI Bank today said it has signed an agreement with Mudra Bank for refinancing
of loans given to small enterprises.
ii. As per the agreement, the Bank will offer credit facilities up to Rs 10 lakh to micro
enterprises, at a competitive interest rate under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) and
Mudra will be providing refinance assistance to the bank for eligible sanctioned loan cases.
iii. The refinance scheme will be implemented through all the branches of the lender.
iv. Last week, Bank of Maharashtra had also signed an agreement with Mudra Bank for
refinancing of loans given to new entrepreneurs and small businesses.
7. China nominated Jin Liqun, former Chinese Finance Minster, for the post of AIIB
President
i. Former Finance Minster of China Jin Liqun was in news as on 6 July 2015 he was nominated
by China to be the first president of the Beijing-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
(AIIB).
ii. At present, Jin (65) is Secretary General of AIIB's interim secretariat. Earlier, he has held
positions at the World Bank and was the first Chinese national to serve as a vice president at
the Japan-controlled Asian Development Bank (ADB).

iii. Before joining AIIB in 2014, Jin was chairman of China International Capital Corporation,
one of the mainland's largest investment banks. He holds a master's degree in English
Literature from the Beijing Foreign Studies University and was a Hubert Humphrey Fellow in
Boston University's economics graduate programme.
iv. The nominations for the post of president can be sent by the regional members by 31 July
2015 and the name of the president-designate will be finalised at the 6th Chief Negotiators'
Meeting of the AIIB founding members in August 2015.
8. Renowned Urdu novelist Abdullah Hussain passed away
i. Renowned Urdu novelist from Pakistan Abdullah Hussain died on 4 July 2015 in Lahore
after battling with blood cancer. He was 84.He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.
ii. He authored the bestseller and critically acclaimed novel Udas Naslain, it is considered as
a masterpiece of Urdu literature. His other famous novels are Baagh, Nadaar Loag and short
stories Faraib and Nashaib. Hussain was also awarded with the Prime Minister's Lifetime
Achievement Award in 2015 for his work.
iii. Hussai was born as Mohammad Khan on 14 August 1931 in Gujrat, Punjab Province of
Pakistan. He did his schooling and graduation from Zameendar College of Pakistan.
Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/07/daily-gk-update-7th-july2015.html#ixzz3gL1WT3iL
1. eMudhra launches eSign Services
i. eMudhra Limited, a leading certifying firm in the country for digital signatures launched
first of its kind eSign services in the country as part of the Digital India Vision.
ii. ESign is an online electronic signature service which can facilitate an Aadhaar holder to
digitally sign a document within seconds. The signatures generated by eSign are legally
valid and secure under the Information Technology Act, 2000
iii. As part of the Digital India Vision, Prime Minister launched eSign services in the country
on July 1st.
iv. ESign can "revolutionise" the way business and governance is conducted in the country
and pave the way for a digital transformation into a paperless environment, eMudhra said in
a statement.
v. By using eMlocker along with eSign, one can store documents such as PAN cards, Aadhaar
cards, electricity bills or any other documents electronically.
2. Satish Pillai, new MD & CEO of CIBIL
i. Credit Information Bureau India Ltd (CIBIL), Indias leader in credit information, has
appointed Satish Pillai as its new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer on Thursday.
ii. Pillai succeeds Arun Thukral who retires this year after a decade. Satish Pillai has been
serving CIBIL in the capacity of Chief Operating Officer for more than four years where he
was responsible for product development and bureau operations.
iii. Earlier, Pillai led TransUnions operations in India overlooking the creation of the solutions
team that supported generic and custom analytics and decisioning technologies, including
the launch of the CIBIL TransUnion Score- Indias first generic scoring model, CIBIL said in a
statement.
iv. CIBIL, Indias largest credit information bureau, maintains credit information on more than
406 million consumer accounts and 22 million business accounts and has a membership
base of over 1400 banks and credit institutions.
3. Lord Kamlesh Patel becomes first British-Asian appointee to ECB Director
i. Professor Lord Kamlesh Patel has become the first British Asian to be appointed as Director
of England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

ii. He succeeds Lord Morris of Handsworth, who had stepped down after 11 years as an ECB
Director. Lord Patel was born to Indian parents in Nairobi, Kenya. He later had moved to
United Kingdom. He hails from Bradford and is a leading voice on health, social care and
community cohesion in UK.
iii. Presently, he is Labour Peer in the House of Lords and professor at the University of East
London. He is also Chair of the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundations Trust and is a
former Chairman of the Mental Health Act Commission.
iv. He had played cricket for number of local clubs and was allrounder. He had retired in
1998 from cricket after taking all 10 wickets in a league game. He formerly had worked for
the Yorkshire Cricket Academy as a part-time coach.
4. Union Government appoints Sriram Kalyanaraman as MD and CEO of NHB
i. Union government has appointed Sriram Kalyanaraman as the Managing Director (MD) and
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of National Housing Bank (NHB) for a period of five years.
ii. With this he became the first person from private sector to be appointed as head of a
public sector financial institution.
iii. Presently, Kalyanaraman is director-business development Equifax Credit Information
Services. Prior to joining Equifax, he was Director, Business Clients and Asset Products at
Deutsche Bank India.
iv. NHB is apex regulator for housing finance sector and a wholly owned subsidiary of
Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
5. Indian Railways launches Mobile ticketing app for suburban commuters in
Mumbai
i. Indian Railways launched a mobile ticketing application for unreserved tickets for
commuters in Western Railway. It was launched by Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.
This mobile ticketing service will cover 35 stations between the 123 km long Churchgate
-Dhauroad and facilitate a hassle free travel for lakhs of daily passengers in Mumbai.
ii. The app is based for both Android and Windows platforms and it can be downloaded from
Google Play Store or Windows Store by the user.
iii. The app provides necessary on-screen alerts to guide the passenger during the booking
process. Payment for booking the ticket can be done through railway wallet feature in the
App. Passenger will get ticket confirmation screen after booking the ticket.
6. Sanjeev Nandan Sahai appointed as Delhi's new Home Secretary
i. Senior IAS officer Sanjeev Nandan Sahai was today appointed as the new Home Secretary
of Delhi, ending a bitter tussle between Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and the AAP
government.
ii. The order appointing Sahai, a 1986 batch Union Territory cadre officer, was issued by
Union Home Ministry, official sources said.
iii. Sahai's name was zeroed in as a compromise candidate for the high post after continuous
tussle between the LG and the Arvind Kejriwal-led government.
iv. Pal was removed by the AAP government after he signed a notification appointing Joint
Commissioner of Delhi Police M K Meena as new chief of Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB)
following Jung's order.
7.
Essar Oil signs pact to sell 49% stake to Russia's Rosneft
i. Russian oil firm Rosneft will buy 49 per cent stake in Essar Oil, the firm that owns India's
second biggest oil refinery, for an undisclosed amount, the Ruia-owned firm said on
Thursday.

ii. The proposed transaction is conditional upon various factors such as due diligence,
determination of the transaction price, execution of definitive transaction documents and
receipt of requisite approvals
iii. Also, a Long Term Crude Oil Supply Agreement by the two firms in was signed in Ufa,
Russia for import of 10 million tonnes a year of crude oil for a period of 10 years.
iv. This contract has been signed in pursuance to the Key Terms executed between the two
companies in December 2014 at New Delhi.
8. Indian athletes win more than 150 medals at World Police & Fire Games
i. Indian athletes put up an impressive show at the 2015 World Police & Fire Games which
concluded here on Sunday, winning more than 150 medals.
ii. Hosts United States won by far the most medals, 1,777, including nearly 700 golds.
Canada finished second with nearly 430 medals.
iii. The Indian athletess tally included 89 golds and 50 silvers. They competed in only seven
sporting categories: athletics, wrestling, boxing, judo, archery, swimming and shooting.
iv. Kaur, an assistant sub inspector with Punjab Police, earned 5 gold medals in the track and
field events, winning every event she competed in. CRPFs Mishra, who was taking part in
her fifth Police & Fire Games, won an impressive 6 golds and 2 silvers in swimming events.
Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/07/daily-gk-update-9th-july2015.html#ixzz3gL27t23U
1. India gets full membership of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
i. India today bagged the full membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)
along with Pakistan.
ii. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Pakistan on joining the SCO.
Modi is on a three-day visit to Russia to attend the BRICS and SCO summits
iii. Indian PM Narendra Modi has accepted an invitation from his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz
Sharif to attend a regional summit in Islamabad next year.
2. Bharat Electronics-made Akash inducted into Indian Air Force
i) Defence PSU Bharat Electronics made Akash inducted into Indian Air Force.
ii) BEL, the nodal agency and supplies major sub-systems, today at a ceremony held at Air
Force Station, Gwalior, handed over the missile system.
iii) Akash is a great success story of the Make in India initiative and Bharat Electronics
Limited is proud to be a part of it. Barring a few electronic components, every bit of Akash
has the Made in India' tag. Almost 92 per cent of the total cost of inputs is sourced within
India.
iv)The induction of Akash into the Indian Air Force was marked by the symbolic handing over
of the key of the weapon system by S K Sharma, Chairman and Managing Director, BEL, to
the Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar, who in turn handed over the key to Air Chief Marshal
Arup Raha, Chief of the Air Staff. S Christopher, Director General, DRDO, was present. The
ceremony was also attended by senior dignitaries of the Ministry of Defence, Indian Air
Force, DRDO and Defence PSUs.
3. Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka sets record for spending longest time in
space
i. Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka has set a Guinness World Record for spending
longest time in space with a total of 804 days as on July 2015. With this he broke the
previous record of 803 days, nine hours and 41 minutes set by Russian cosmonaut Sergei
Krikalev (now retired) across six missions from 1998 to 2005.
ii. Gennady Padalka was selected as a cosmonaut candidate at the Gagarin Cosmonaut
Training Center in 1989.
iii. Currently, he is the commander of the International Space Station (ISS) which is orbiting

the Earth. He is associated with ISS from 2000 and had taken part in various space
expeditions.
iv. Padalka is going to return to Earth in September 2015. When he will return to Earth, he
would have spent record total 877 days or around 2.5 years in space.
4. Uttarakhand gets Indias first earthquake early warning system
i. Uttarakhand became first Indian state to install a system to detect earthquakes and
disseminate warnings. The first system has been installed in its capital Dehradun which will
issue warnings 1-40 seconds before earthquakes of magnitude 5 or more occur.
ii. The system is designed and manufactured by Italian firm, Space Dynamics which already
has installed it in Japan, Italy and US.
iii. The system is incorporated with sensors which are capable to detect P (Primary) and S
(Secondary) waves generated during an earthquake. It is capable to detect the harmless P
wave, which travels faster than the S wave for advance warning.
iv. The second system will be established at Pithoragarh in the Kumaon region of
Uttarakhand. According to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Uttarakhand falls under
seismic zone V i.e. High-Risk Seismic Zone. Apart from it, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal
Pradesh, Rann of Kutch (Gujarat), Northern Bihar and Andaman & Nicobar Islands also fall
under this seismic zone.
5. State Bank of Travancore (SBT) has launched the SBT NRI Family Card'
i. State Bank of Travancore (SBT) has launched the SBT NRI Family Card, a prepaid card for
resident Indians family member/dependent/acquaintance of NRIs.
ii. The prepaid card can be used for cash withdrawals through ATM, online payments and
POS (point of sale) payments at merchant establishments. Jeevandas Narayan, Managing
Director, launched the card at a function held at the NRI Premium Banking Branch of the
bank here.
iii. A card holder in India can now easily receive remittances from an NRI by way of periodic
recharge through the NRIs internet banking account.
6. Exim Bank, BRICS member development banks ink MoU with New Development
Bank
i. Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) today said it has signed a multilateral agreement
to cooperate with New Development Bank (NDB) along with other member development
banks of BRICS nations.
ii. New Development Bank (NDB) is promoted by the BRICS nations -- Brazil, Russia, India,
China, and South Africa. The agreement was signed between Exim Bank Chairman and
Managing Director Yaduvendra Mathur and Chairpersons or Presidents of other member
development banks of BRICS in Ufa, Russia during the BRICS Summit 2015, a bank release
said.
iii. Exim Bank also signed a cooperation agreement with Brazilian Development Bank
(BNDES).This MoU is aimed at sharing of knowledge, information and best practices;
capacity building of personnel, including project development skills; promotion of joint
events, research and programmes; development of effective and sustainable financing
solutions for projects of mutual interest,
7. PM Modi proposes Das Kadam: Ten Steps for the Future for BRICS nations
The 10 steps (10 kadam) suggested by PM Modi are:
1. Trade fair
2. Railway Research Centre
3. Cooperation among supreme audit institutions
4. Digital Initiative
5. Agricultural Research Centre
6. State/Local Government's Forum
7. Cooperation amongst cities in field of Urbanisation
8. BRICS Sports Council

9. Annual Sports Meet

10. BRICS film festival
India will be hosting the 8th BRICS summit in 2016.

Literacy rate 71 percent in rural areas, 86 percent in urban areas: NSSO survey
According to NSSO survey, the literacy rate in rural areas is 71% while it is 86%
in urban areas.
Among the age group of seven years and above, male literacy rate was 83% while
the female literacy rate was 67%.
The survey conducted by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) covered entire
country with samples taken from 36,479 households in rural areas and 29,447 in
urban areas from 4,577 villages and 3,720 urban blocks.
Mobile portability number from July 3
In a great news for mobile phone users in the country, DoT (Department of
Telecommunications) has decided to implement nationwide mobile number
portability from July 3.
Presently, MNP has been partially implemented, it allows subscribers to change
mobile network while retaining their number in the same telecom circle. This has
also led to an inflated mobile subscriber base in the country, as a person is
forced to get a new number when they relocate.
From July 3, the full MNP will allow subscribers to retain their mobile number in any
part of the country even when they change their operator or state.
Union Minister for Telecommunications: Ravi Shankar Prasad
Automatic refund if trail cancels
Soon, passengers who book their railway tickets online will get automatic refund if
their train gets cancelled. Already waitlisted e-tickets gets cancelled and
passengers get refunded automatically.
There shall not be any requirement for cancellation/filing of ticket deposit receipt
(TDR) for refund of e-tickets in case of cancellation of trains.
For those who book tickets at the passenger reservation system (PRS) counters shall
continue to be refunded across the reservation counter as per the existing
provisions.
Presently the systems needed for this facility are under upgradation.
International Affairs

 Indian FM Sushma Swarajs visit to Thailand; Many agreements signed

Greece Crisis & IMF issue recent in News
116 die as plane crashes in Sumatra, Indonesia
An Indonesian military aeroplane, C-130 Hercules transporter has crashed in to the
side of a building, minutes after taking off from an air force base in Sumatra, killing
more than 116 people.
The crash killed all passengers on the plane (most of them are family members of
servicemen and women) and at least three people on the ground.
Just 6 months ago, an AirAsia plane crashed into the Java Sea in Indonesia, killing all
162 people on board. The crashed C-130 Hercules was 51 years old.
Acquisitions
Ratan Tata buys stake in Ola
Ratan Tata has bought a stake in online taxi-hiring firm Ola.
Ratan Tata had previously invested in start-ups like Snapdeal and Xiaomi.
Ola was founded in January 2011 by IIT Bombay alumni Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati. It
is operating in over a 100 cities across India with 1.5 lakh vehicles registered on its
platform.
Appointment

IDFC appoints former CAG Vinod Rai as independent director

Infrastructure Development Finance Company Ltd (IDFC) has appointed
former CAG Vinod Rai as independent director.
Vinod Rai was director on several boards including the State Bank of India, ICICI Bank,
IDBI Bank and Life Insurance Corporation of India.
He was instrumental in setting up the IDFC and was also on the board of that
company.
Housing.com fires CEO Rahul Yadav
Rahul Yadav, CEO and co-founder of Housing.com has been fired by the companys
board.

 He was removed with reference to his behaviour towards investors, ecosystem and
the media, company said in a statement.
He was sacked because of the alleged leaking of information about Quicker hiring
Housing.com to the media.
Banking
Core sector growth at 4.4% in May
Business
RIL to invest Rs. 2.5 lakh crore in digital space: Ambani
Reliance Industries will invest over Rs. 250,000 crore in the digital space,
including rollout of wireless broadband infrastructure and manufacturing of mobile
handsets.
Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries said Reliance will invest over Rs.
250,000 crore across the Digital India pillars and the firms investments in digital
space will create employment for over 5 lakh people.
Reliance Group to invest Rs 10k cr in tech space: Anil Ambani
Anil Ambanis Reliance Group will invest about Rs 10,000 crore over the next
few years to expand its presence across digital, cloud computing and telecom
space.
The company plans to achieve full deployment of next generation content and Cloud
Delivery Network by the end of the year.
Science & Technology
Cuba becomes first nation to eliminate mother-to-child HIV
Environment
Green Climate Fund to become operational soon
Sports
Messi sparkles as Argentina thrash Paraguay
Argentinas star footballer Lionel Messi produced an outstanding performance to
thrash Paraguay by 6-1 in the second semi-final of Copa America.
The Barcelona superstar mercilessly tore apart Paraguay and reached finals to face
Chile on Saturday.

Abhijeet Gupta wins 19th Commonwealth Chess Championship

Abhijeet Gupta, grandmaster and former world junior champion has won
the 19th Commonwealth Chess Championship.
He won seven games against Arghyadip Das and was able to draw last two games.
Kerala announces port development works worth Rs 850 crore
Kerala government has announced port development project worth Rs 850
crore.
K Babu, Minister for Ports and Fisheries, said that a bunkering service would be
introduced to enable refuelling, provide water and other items for big vessels
passing through the sea off Kerala coast.
There are also plans to set up a sand purification plant at the port at a cost of Rs 20
crore.
Mumbai to get first rail, road double-decker bridge at CST
Mumbai will get its first double-decker bridge on P DMello Road at CST that will
have railway tracks and a motorway.
Railway tracks will be constructed at an elevated level and cars will run above that as
the Eastern Freeway will be extended up from Orange Gate to GPO junction.
Platforms between CST and Dockyard Road station will be built at the elevated level
and will be equipped with escalators.
Govt launches mob app; Twitter handle of Panchayati Raj Min
Government has launched an online mobile application for better planning
of Panchayat assets and the official Twitter handle of the Ministry of
Panchayati Raj.
The mobile app m-asset can be used by citizens to capture photographs and
geographical coordinates of various assets available at Gram Panchayat level.
It will enable these assets to be seen on a map and will be useful for planning by the
Panchayats and the government.
The initiatives and programmes as well as important development of the ministry will
be communicated through the Twitter handle@MoPRInida.
International

BHEL commissions Sudans largest power plant

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has commissioned Sudans largest
power plant.
BHEL has executed this project on the basis of Engineering, Procurement and
Construction (EPC). It has designed, manufactured, supplied and installed the
complete power project which consists of 4 units of 125 MW each.
BHEL has commissioned the 500 MW Kosti Thermal Power Station (TPS) in
Sudan which is now Sudans largest power plant.
Awards

Indian-American professor R Paul Singh named for 2015 World Agriculture Prize
laureate
Indian-American professor R. Paul Singh has been named as the 2015 Global
Confederation for Higher Education Associations for Agriculture and Life
Sciences World Agriculture Prize laureate.
This award was announced last week and will be formally presented on September
20.
R. Paul Singh got his bachelors degree in agricultural engineering from Indias Punjab
Agricultural University, then a masters degree and Ph.D. from the University of
Wisconsin-Madison and Michigan State University, respectively.
UC Davis Chancellor Linda P B Katehi said, For over four decades, Professor Singhs
work as a pioneer in food engineering has been improving lives the world over.
His research group created food-processing equipment for a manned mission to Mars,
under a NASA contract.
Darshan Jain, an Indian-American teacher named for US Presidential Award
Darshan Jain, an Indian-American teacher from Illinois, US in July 2015 was named for
prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching
by President Barack Obama.
Along with Jain, President named 108 Mathematics and Science teachers as
recipients of the Award.
Jain has taught mathematics at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois
for eight years. Right now, he is serving the school as the director of mathematics.
He is a BA in mechanical engineering and a MS in secondary mathematics
education from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Indian student wins US fellowship for LGBT research

An Indian girl student in the US has received a LGBT scholarship from the prestigious
California University in Berkely to study how political issues brought new notions of
sexual identity in India.
Shakthi Nataraj, who grew up in Chennai has been awarded with The Philip Brett
LGBT Studies Fellowship that honours the memory of Philip Brett who is considered
a pioneer of lesbian and gay musicology.
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Fellowship will help Nataraj study
how political tensions brought new notions of sexual identity in Tamil Nadu.
Banking & Finance
RBI & Government in discussions for recapitalisation of banks
Business
TATAs JLR signs deal to manufacture cars in Austria
Tata Motors owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has signed a contract manufacturing
agreement with Austrian automotive firm Magna Steyr.
This collaboration is aimed at creating additional volumes needed to support the
companys plans to achieve further growth.
Science & Technology
India to become worlds second largest smartphone market
Buoyed by growing sales, India will overtake the U.S. to become worlds second
largest smartphone market by 2017.
According to international research firm Strategy Analytics, global smartphone sales
are forecast to grow from 1.5 billion units in 2015 to a record 1.7 billion by 2017.
India will soon overtake the U.S. to become the worlds second largest smartphone
market by 2017 behind China, selling an impressive 174 million units.
Sports
Sushil opts out of World Championships with injury
Olympic-medallist Sushil Kumar has opted out of the World Championships after
sustaining a shoulder injury.
The World championships which will be a ticket to Rio Olympics, is scheduled to be
held in Las Vegas from September 7-12.

Indian Womens Hockey team beats Italy, keep Olympic dreams alive
India kept their Olympic qualification dreams alive by beating Italy in the shoot-out
in the Womens Hockey World League Semi-finals.
The Indian hockey eves, ranked 13 in the world defeated Italy by 5-4 in the shoot-out
after both teams ended with one goal each in the designated 60 minutes.
BCCI Extends Best Wishes to Kanitkar, Ratra on Retirement
The BCCI today congratulated Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Ajay Ratra on their India
careers after the two announced retirement from the game.
Hrishikesh Kanitkar will be remembered for his contributions for India, at crucial
stages in several limited-overs matches and tournaments in the late 1990s. It was
under his captaincy that Rajasthan first won the Ranji Trophy, in 2010-11.
Ajay Ratra was a member of the under-19 team that brought us World Cup glory in
2000. His unbeaten 115 against the West Indies in Antigua in 2001-02 made him
the youngest wicketkeeper-batsman to score a Test hundred.
Obituary

Matti Makkonen, Father of SMS technology passes away

Matti Makkonen, known as the father of SMS has died. He is known for after
developing the idea of sending messages via mobile networks.
Makkonen was an engineer from Finland and had worked with Nokia.
Interesting facts
The first text message was sent via the Vodafone network from a computer to a mobile
device in December 1992. In 1994, Nokia became first mobile manufacturer to introduce
phone i.e. Nokia 2010 to write and send SMS.
Holocaust Hero Sir Nicholas Winton Dies Aged 106
Unassuming hero who to whom the second statue is dedicated died at the age of 106
in Slough on July 1, 2015,coincidently anniversary of the departure of a train in
1939 carrying the largest number of children-241.
Winton save more than 650 Jewish children from the Holocaust-Nazi tyranny and
slaughter in Czechoslovakia-himself the label Britains Schindler.
Sir Nicholas organised foster families for Jewish children in Britain, placing adverts in
newspapers.

 Nicholas Winton won an International Emmy Award in 2002 and knighted by the
British government in 2003 and also received the Order of the White Lion by the
Czech government in 2014.
Punjab CM Launched ePMS Portal On July2,2015
As a part of nationwide Digital India week, the Punjab Chief Minister Mr.Parkash
Singh Badal launched the state Portal ePMS(Electronic Projects Management
System) here at his official residence.
This portal was developed and managed by the Cabinet Secretariat Informatics
Division of National Informatics Centre (NIC),Rashtrapati Bhawan,New Delhi.
To fast track infrastructure investment stalled projects,both in the public and private
sectors, involving investment between Rs.100crores and Rs 1,000 crores.
This project was started to enhance efficiency, bring transparency, boost the investor
confidence, revive the investment cycle, eliminate the human interaction and
improve the communication between industries to Government (B2G),State to
Centre (G2G)or vice versa (G2B).
Airbus, Mahindra JV to make helicopters in India
Airbus has partnered with Mahindra Group to establish a joint venture for
manufacturing helicopters for the Indian Armed Forces.
The joint venture between Airbus Helicopters and Mahindra Defence aims to
become the first private Indian helicopter manufacturer under the Make in India
initiative.
This venture would produce helicopters to meet the countrys military requirements.
Airbus Helicopters President & CEO Guillaume Faury
Mahindra Defence Systems Chairman S P Shukla
International Affairs
UNHRC adopts resolution on Myanmars Rohingya Muslims
United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) adopted a resolution on
addressing the human rights situation of Rohingya Muslimsand other minorities
in Myanmar.
This came after a regional crisis erupted with hundreds of migrants from the nation
found adrift in the Bay of Bengal.
The resolution condemns the systematic gross violations of rights and abuses
committed against all, including Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State.

 In recent years, tens of thousands of persecuted Rohingya Muslims have fled on

boats across the Bay of Bengal in search of better prospects.
Appointments
Dr Anup K Pujari joins as Secretary, MSME
Dr Anup K Pujari has been appointed Secretary of Ministry of Small and Medium
Enterprises (MSME).
He succeeds Shri Madhav Lal whose tenure ended on 30 June 2015.
Previously Mr Pujari was holding the charge of Secretary, Mines.
He is an IAS of 1980 batch of Karnataka cadre. He is a post-graduate from the
University of Boston, and a Doctorate in Economics. He has served the Central and
Karnataka Government in various capacities.
Balaji appointed chief of ADA
Cmde C D Balaji (Retd), Project Director, Light Combat Aircraft (Navy), today took
over as the Director of Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADA) and
Programme Director of LCA.
He succeeds P S Subramanyam who superannuated on June 30.
Balaji, commissioned into the Indian Navy in September 1978 in the Engineering
Branch, has specialised in the Naval Aviation Arm, according to a Defence Research
and Development Organisation release.
Awards
Prof. Sanjeev Galande selected for G D Birla Award for Scientific Research
2014
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Conferred With Perus Highest Award
Fazle Hasan Abed, founder of Bangladesh-based poverty alleviation NGO wins
World Food Prize 2015

Fazle Hasan Abed who created a Bangladesh-based nonprofit organization

for poverty alleviation was named the winner of the 2015 World Food Prize
Abed founded BRAC- Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee which has
helped more than 150 million people out of poverty in Africa and Asia and is
expanding efforts to 10 additional countries.

 BRAC was created as a temporary relief organization to help with recovery from the
1970 typhoon and the subsequent war fought in 1971 to win independence from
Pakistan
World Food Prize
It is an international award recognizing the achievements of individuals who have
advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, or availability of
food in the world.
The winners receive $250,000
Banking & Finance
SBI launches initiative to speed up home loan applications
State Bank of India has launched an initiative Project Tatkal to
provide doorstep services and speed up home loans application process.
Project Tatkal will help get the loan within 10 days after receipt of application form
and relevant supporting documents.
This project will be implemented at large centres with sizable home loan business.
The bank has also introduced an online customer acquisition solution
(OCAS) for instant e-approval of home loan applications.
FIPB approves Kotak Mahindra Banks proposal to increase FDI to 55%
Kotak Mahindra Bank has got a go-ahead from the Foreign Investment Promotion
Board (FIPB) for its proposal to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) in the bank
to 55 per cent.
The FIPB, which takes up FDI proposals where approval is not automatic, gave a
green signal to Kotak Mahindras proposal in its meeting on Friday, following
approval from the Department of Financial Services and the Department of
Industrial Policy & Promotion. The proposal was deferred four times before.
Indias FDI policy allows 100 per cent foreign investment in banks. But Kotak
Mahindras plan of launching a general insurance venture had made the matter
complicated.
The Insurance Amendment Act passed in March 2015, which increased the FDI cap in
the sector to 49 per cent, stated that an Indian insurance company must be Indian
owned and controlled.
Books & Authors
President of India receives first copy of book Uniki

 The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee received the first copy of the
book Unikiin Hyderabad today (July 3, 2015). The book has been written by Shri
Ch Vidyasagar Rao, Governor of Maharashtra.
The President received the book from Shri K Chandrashekar Rao, Chief Minister of
Telangana who formally released it.
Important Days
NATIONAL DOCTORS DAY JULY 1
1st July is celebrated as doctors day across India, which is very special for every
medical practitioner.
This day is celebrating to honour the physician and the second Chief Minister of West
Bengal,Dr.Bidhan Chandra Roy.He was born on July 1, and died on the same
date,aged 80 years.
1st Doctors day in india celebrated in 1991. This day helps people get awareness
about precious care of Doctors.
Doctors Day is celebrated in the US and other western countries on March 30-the
day when Dr. Crawford W. Long first used ether anesthesia in surgery.
Obituary
Helsinki Olympics swimmer Adi Bharucha passes away
Former Indian Olympic swimmer Adi Bharucha has died. He was 85 years old.
He took part in Helsinki Olympics and had the distinction of representing Maharashtra
State for nearly three decades at the Senior Nationals.
He was the first recipient of the GMAAA Lifetime Achievement Award.
Keltron Founding Chairman K P P Nambiar Passed Away

Kunnathu Puthiyaveettil Padmanabhan Nambiar aka K.P.P. Nambiar, founding

chairman of Keltron,passed away on July 1st ,2015.
Nambiar was credited setting up Indias first state-run electronics venture Keltron and
Indias first IT park Technopark,in Kerala.
He served as Secretary to the Department of Electronics during late Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhis tenure.

 He started his career at Bharat Electronics, Nambiar worked with Texas Instruments
in England and Tata in Mumbai.
He was awarded Padma Bhushan by Government of India for his contributions to the
field of technology in 2006.
Adani Group to set up solar park in TN for Rs 4,536cr
Adani Group has proposed to set up a solar park in Tamil Nadu which is expected to
be among worlds largest at an investment of Rs 4,536 crore.
The proposal is to set up five solar power generation centres with a total
capacity of 648 MW in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu.
Adani Group MD Rajesh Adani said it will be one of the worlds largest solar parks
and will be set up in Kamudhi, Ramanathapuram district.
Army launched Operation Shiva to secure Amarnath Yatra
To provide security to those devotees taking part in the 59-day-long annual Amarnath
Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir, Indian Army in first week of July 2015 launched
Operation Shiva. The Yatra started on 2 July 2015.
The operation was launched on the basis of intelligence report suggesting that a
group of 15 terrorists are likely to attempt a strike.
The operation will include Rashtriya Rifles unit, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for
surveillance of Yatra route and cave shrine, combing of forests located along the
Yatra track, Infantry Unit of Army, companies of Paramilitary Forces, CRPF and BSF.
International Affairs
India abstains from UNHRC vote against Israel
India has abstained from a vote against Israel at the U.N. Human Rights
Council in Geneva.
The U.N. Human Rights Council report found evidence of alleged war
crimes committed by both Israel and Hamas during the Gaza conflict in
2014.
During the UNHRC resolution in July 2014, India had voted against Israel after
which this inquiry report was instituted for looking into the Gaza violence in which
more than 2,300 had been killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.
In the voting, 41 countries voted in favour of the resolution against Israel, while only
the U.S. voted against it.
Five countries including India abstained from voting.

Acquisitions & Mergers

ABCIL to merge with Grasim
Aditya Birla Chemicals (ABCIL) has received shareholders approval for merging
the company with Grasim Industries.
Both the companies are of Aditya Birla Group and are being merged in order to
consolidate similar businesses under one roof.
The Board of Grasim Industries had approved to give shareholders of ABCIL one share
of Rs 10 each of Grasim for every 16 shares of Rs 10 each they hold in ABCIL.
This would issue 14.62 lakh new shares for Grasim, which will increase its share
capital to Rs 93.31 crore.
Awards
4 Indian-Americans honoured with Great Immigrants award 2015 in United States

Four Indian-Americans have been honoured with this years prestigious Great
Immigrants: The Pride of America award.
There are 38 distinguished personalities from more than 30 countries who have been
honoured with this years award.
The four Indian-Americans are
Preet Bharara: US Attorney, Southern District of New York.
Rakesh Khurana: Dean of Harvard College and Marvin Bower Professor of
Leadership and Development.
Madhulika Sikka: Vice President and Executive Editor of .Mic.
Abraham Verghese: Physician, Professor and Author.
About the award
This award is given by New York-based Carnegie Corporation to the immigrants for their
significant contributions to the fabric of the nation and the strength of its democracy.
Guinness Book Recognises Madhya Pradeshs World Record in Washing Hands
The Guinness Book of World Records has acknowledged a record created
in Madhya Pradesh on World Hand washing Day on October 15, 2014.

 A new world record was made by 12,76,425 students by washing their hands
simultaneously at programmes held by panchayats and rural development
departments on the World Hand washing Day at 13,196 different
locations across 51 districts in Madhya Pradesh.
Previously this record was jointly held by Argentina, Peru and Mexico when 7,40,870
people washed their hands simultaneously at different locations on October 14,
2011.
Banking & Finance
Corp Bank launches MUDRA card on RuPay platform
Corporation Bank has launched the MUDRA card based on the RuPay platform.
The card facilitates the withdrawal and use of the working capital finance by micro
entrepreneurs.
The first MUDRA card was launched under the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana
(PMMY).
Under PMMY there are three schemes for providing loans
Shishu loan up to Rs50,000.
Kishore loan up to Rs 5 lakh.
Tarun loan up to Rs 10 lakh.
HDFC Bank launches watch banking

HDFC Bank became the first bank in India to launch Watch Banking for Apple
Watch.
Watch banking aims to provide banking services through all wearable devices across
platforms like iOS and Android.
HDFC Bank will provide a total of 10 banking transactions in the beginning like view
account information, bill payments, recharges, hot listing facilities, locate nearest
branch/ATM/offer, request statement and cheque book.
There is no need for customers to download a separate app, they can activate watch
banking from an upgraded version of HDFC Banks mobile banking app itself.
Science & Technology
Russia launches supply ship Soyuz-U rocket to International Space Station

 A Russian booster rocket today successfully launched an unmanned cargo ship to the
International Space Station, whose crew is anxiously awaiting it after the
successive failures of two previous supply missions.
A Soyuz-U rocket blasted off flawlessly from Russia-leased Baikonur launch pad in
Kazakhstan, placing the Progress M-28M ship into a designated orbit, safely en
route to the station.
The ship is carrying 2.4 metric tons of fuel, oxygen, water, food and other supplies for
the crew, the Russian space agency Roscosmos said.
The previous Progress launch in April ended in failure, and on Sunday a US supply
mission failed too when SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket broke apart shortly after liftoff.
Sports
Australia fast bowler Harris retires on eve of Ashes
Australia fast bowler Ryan Harris has announced his retirement from all forms of
cricket. This decision came 4 days ahead of the Ashes.
The 35 year old pacer is suffering from knee injury.
He made his debut in 2010 and took 113 wickets in 27 Tests.
Obiituary
Ex-CJI Sabharwal passes away
Former Chief Justice of India Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal has died. He was 73.
He was CJI from November 1, 2005 to January 13, 2007

Govt to convert 90,000 kms NH into green corridors

The government is planning to convert 90,000 kms of countrys national
highways into green corridors by creating 1000 contractors who will be
responsible for planting trees.
The government decided that 1% of cost in construction will be for tree plantation
and other things.
1,000 contractors in the country will be created and they will have their own
nurseries and will plant new trees and create a green area on national highways.

 The road network of India is 33 lakh kms which is the second largest in the
world and consists of 92,851 kms of National Highways, which constitute only 1.7
per cent of the road network but carry about 40 per cent of the total road traffic.
Digital Guddi-Gudda Board adopted as Best Practice under BBBP scheme
Digital Guddi-Gudda Board is innovation of Jalgaon district Maharashtra was adopted as a
best practice under Beti Bachao Beti Padhao(BBBP) scheme by the Union Ministry of
Women and Child Development.
Features
It is a scheme for spreading information education and communication material
related to BBBP.
It is used to update monthly birth statistics.
It also displays audio video material as well as still frames for spreading information.
Awards
Indian biologist Kamal Bawa elected to Royal Society
National Award for rag pickers
Now, rag pickers services will be recognised by the government which has decided
to give national award for their contribution to keep India clean.Rag pickers.
There are millions of rag pickers in the country. This informal sector has saved the
country. They are doing a good job and I have decided to recognise their efforts
In our country it generates 62 million tonnes of waste annually. This is expected to
increase to 165 million tonnes by 2030 and 450 million tonnes by 2050,
The national award, with a cash prize of Rs. 1.5 lakh, will be given to three best rag
pickers and three associations involved in innovation of best practices.
From All india Level these three Rag pickers will Be Selected for Award.
Lord Karan Bilimoria among 8 NRIs awarded in UK

Lord Karan Bilimoria, leading NRI entrepreneur, has been awarded as

the International Indian of the Year for 2014-15 for his outstanding
achievements in the fields of business and education.
Lord Bilimoria is the founder of Cobra Beer, Chairman of the Cobra Beer Partnership
Limited.

Other award recipients are:

Uma Wadhwani (International Indian Business Woman of the year)
Captain Nalin Pandey, Managing Director of Pentagon Marine Services (International
Indian Lifetime Services to Maritime Trade India and the World 2014-15)
Ravinder Singh Gidar, Founder Golden Care Homes (International Indian Promoting
Healthcare for elderly)
Pravinkant Amin (International Indian Promoting Community relations Worldwide)
Bajrang Bahadur Mathur, Architect and Town Planner (International Indian Promoting
Tourism through writing and art)
Sanjay Wadhwani, Managing Director, Wanis (International Indian Young entrepreneur
2014-15)
Business
Blumberg Grain plans to invest USD 250 mn in India
Blumberg Grain, US-based food storage technology provider is planning to
enter the Indian market by investing about USD 250 million over next 5 years.
Currently the company is looking for setting up plant to manufacture components for
scientific warehouses.
This proposed investment would be on manufacturing facility, upstream activities like
disseminating best farm practices to farmers and downstream infrastructure like
processing and packaging facilities.
Banking & Finance
Bandhan to start banking operations from Aug 23
Micro-finance institution Bandhan Financial Services will formally start operations
as a banker from August 23.
Bandhan chairman Chandra Sekhar Ghosh said We will start banking operations
under Bandhan Bank from August 23 with the inauguration of 600 branches in 27
states across the country along with 250 on-site ATMs.
West Bengal will have 247 branches while other states having good share of
branches are Odisha, Bihar and Assam.
65% of branches would be in rural areas while 35%would be opened in urban areas.

 Bandhan got the in-principle approval from RBI for starting universal banking
operations along with IDFC.
Sports
Netherlands beat South Korea 2-1 to win womens HWL
World and Olympic champions Netherlands lifted the Womens Hockey World
League trophy by defeating Asian games gold medallist South Korea by 2-1.
This was the semifinal round of the 201415 Womens FIH Hockey World
League and from here 7 highest placed teams apart from the five continental
champions will qualify for 2016 Summer Olympics.
Chile beat Argentina 4-1 on penalties to win countrys first Copa America

Chile finally won the Copa America for the first time in the countrys history by
defeating Argentina by 4-1 on penalties.
The match started off with both teams pushing the limits and creating chances.
Argentina came close in the opening minutes but couldnt convert it into a goal.
The game ended at 0-0 and the final result was decided by penalties in which Chile
triumphed with final score of 4-1.
Important Days
International Day of Cooperatives 4 July

Greeks overwhelmingly rejected conditions of a rescue package from creditors by

voting No in a referendum on austerity.
This could send Greece out of Eurozone.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet with French President Francois Hollande in Paris
on Monday to discuss the issue. Also European Union president Donald Tusk has called for
emergency eurozone summit on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said This is not a mandate of rupture with Europe, but a
mandate that bolsters our negotiating strength to achieve a viable deal.
The ECB, the EC and the IMF would have to talk about restructuring the massive, 240billion-euro ($267 billion) debt Greece owes them.

Last week Greece defaulted on a 1.5-billion euros repayment to the IMF and became the
first developed country to fall into debt to the institution. As a result, it is cut off from further
IMF financing until it settles the amount.
Effects
Without more emergency funding from the European Central Bank, Greeces banks could run
out of cash within days after a week of rising desperation as banks shut and cash machines
ran dry. That might force the government to issue another currency to pay pensions and
wages.
The daily withdraw limit from cash machines have been restricted to 60 euros and money
transfers abroad was stopped.
Impact on India
Greece crises might impact India indirectly. But the macro economic situation in India is
stable and we have forex reserves. So we are relatively insulated, said the Chief
Economic advisor Arvind Subramanian.
Japan joins US-Australian military exercise
The US and Australia started off a massive joint biyearly military exercise with
Japan taking part for the first time.
The two-week Talisman Sabre exercise in the Northern Territory and Queensland
involves 30,000 personnel from the US and Australia practising operations at sea,
in the air and on land.
About 40 personnel from Japans army will join the American contingent apart from
more than 500 troops from New Zealand involved in the exercise.
Champagne vineyards of France granted with World Heritage status by UNESCO

The Champagne Hillsides, Houses and Cellars of France were granted with the World
Heritage Status by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO).
The decision to grant the status was given during the 39th session of the World
Heritage Committee held in Bonn, Germany. The Committee was chaired by Maria
Bohmer, Minister of State at Germanys Federal Foreign Office
The Champagne World Heritage status covered the places where sparkling wine was
developed using a second fermentation method in the bottle from the beginning of
the 17th century until its early industrialisation in the 19th century.

 It mentioned the historic vineyards of Hautvillers where the monk Dom Perignon
invented the fermentation process that gives champagne its fizz.
Besides, another cultural site in France The Climats, terroirs of Burgundy was
declared as World Heritage Site.
Business
Chinese solar company Hareon enters India in tie-up with ReNew Power
Hareon Solar Technology Company based in Shanghai has tied up with ReNew
Power which one of the larger renewable energy companies in India to set up a 72
MW solar power project in Andhra Pradesh.
Banking & Finance
World Bank released revised classification of worlds economies based on
Gross National Income
RBI Banned FDI in manufacturing of tobacco products
MasterCard phone app to verify online payments via selfies
MasterCard is trying out a smartphone app which allows people to confirm their
identity and authenticate online transactions via a facial scan.
The users will have to download the MasterCard phone app and at checkout they will
be asked to hold up their phone to stare and blink at it.
MasterCard is also experimenting with finger print and voice recognition.
Science & Technology
ISRO is set to launch 5 UK Satellites in Orbit
Environment
Surveys says Pong Dam wildlife sanctuary is nesting to 12314 bird species
Sports
The Rio 2016 Olympic torch
Lewis Hamilton wins British F1 GP
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton won the British Grand Prix for
the second year in a row.

 His Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg finished second while Germanys Sebastian
Vettel ended up at third spot for Ferrari.
USA crowned FIFA Womens World Cup 2015 champions

USA has won the FIFA Womens World Cup 2015 by beating Japan by 5-2 in the
finals.
This is the third time USA has won the World Cup. The previous victories were in 1991
and 1999.
Carli Lloyd of USA broke multiple records by becoming the first player to score a
hat trick in a Womens World Cups Final, second in either mens or womens final
and the fastest in either mens or womens World Cup tournament.
Pakistan hockey captain resigns
Pakistan Hockey captain Muhammad Imran stepped down after the national teams
loss in the World Hockey League to France.
Due to this defeat Pakistan failed to qualify for next years Rio Olympics Games.
There is a string of resignations as Chief selector, Islahuddin Siddiqui and two other
selectors, Ayaz Mahmood and Khalid Bashir have also resigned after the teams lost
in World Hockey League.
India won 2015 South Asian Basketball Championship
India won the South Asian Basketball (SABA) Championship title. In the final played at
the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, Karanataka, India defeated Sri Lanka 93-44.
It was 4th edition of the championships. India was the winner of third SABA
Championship.
With this win, India qualified for the FIBA Asia Championship in China. FIBA Asia
Championship will be played in September 2015.
The winning team was given a cash prize of 35000 rupees as a personal gesture of
Basketball Federation of India President K Govindraj.
Top three teams of the championships were India (gold), Sri Lanka (silver) and Nepal
(bronze).
Obituary
Former Maharashtra Minister Patil passes away
Former Maharashtra Minister Pratapsinh Mohite-Patil passed away. He was 60.

 He was the Minister for Cooperation in the Shiv Sena-led state government in the
mid-90s.
Also he was a member of the 13th Lok Sabha.
Paks renowned Urdu novelist Abdullah Hussain dead
Well known Pakistani Urdu novelist Abdullah Hussain passed away. He was 84.
He authored the bestseller and critically acclaimed Udas Naslain.
His real name was Mohammad Khan.
His other noted works includes famous novels Baagh, Nadaar Loag and short
stories Faraib and Nashaib.
Hussain was honoured with this years Prime Ministers Lifetime Achievement Award.
UP to become first state transportation corporation to have vehicle tracking
system
Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) has become the first State
transport corporation to have a vehicle tracking system for inter-city buses.
This has reduced accidents and deaths as drivers are cautious of crossing the speed
limits.
UPSRTC is planning to introduce common bus travel card for passengers travelling to
Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.
President Inaugurated Nakshatra Vatika At Rashtrapati Nilayam Gardens

The President of India,Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated a 2nd specialized garden

Nakshatra Vatika on July 07,2015 at Rashtrapati Nilayam Gardens,Bolarum,
Secunderabad.
The layout of Nakshatra Vatika has been developed in various geometrical
combinations of Sree Chakra of Vedic astrology on a 0.91 acre plot.48 trees/plants
representing 09 Navgrahs,12 Rashi and 27 Nakshatra are present in the Garden.
The formation is square-shaped accommodating 9 squares to represent 9 Planets
First inner circular band is divided in 12 small circles at parts of 30 each
corresponding to the 12 Rashi (zodiac sign).
Outer circular band consists of 27 parts of 13- 20 each with small circles which
represents each a Nakshatra,

Bangalore ranks 12th in list of worlds top 20 tech-rich cities

Bangalore has been ranked 12th in the list of top 20 technology-rich cities in the
world, according to a survey conducted by global property consultant Jones Lang
LaSalle (JLL).
Bangalore has helped India debut on the City Momentum Index Top 20 list an
annual survey carried out by JLL globally. Reinforcing the citys status of being one
of Indias premier technology centres, Bangalore figures at No. 12 in the Top 20
technology-rich cities globally
London, San Jose and Beijing are top three cities on the list.
International Affairs
PM holds talks with Uzbekistan President
USA, Brazil Joint Statement on Climate Change
Chinese navy commissions anti-submarine patrol aircraft
The Chinese navy has got a four-engine Gaoxin-6, anti- submarine aircraft developed
and manufactured by Aviation Industry Corp of China based on the Y-8 transport
plane.
It is Chinas first large aircraft specifically designed for anti-submarine warfare,
making the country the sixth nation that has the development capability for such a
sophisticated plane till now developed by United States, Russia, Japan, the UK and
France.
Solar impulse lands in Hawaii after flight from Japan
Solar impulse, an aeroplane powered only by sun has landed in Hawaii after making
an epic 7,200km flight across the Pacific from Japan.
Solar impulse set records of manned solar powered flight for distance covered
(7200km) and time(118 hrs).
About Solar Impulse
Solar Impulse is a Swiss long-range experimental solar-powered aircraft project which will
circle the earth by a piloted fixed-wing aircraft using only solar power.
Meiji sites in Japan get world heritage status by UNESCO

 UNESCO has granted World Heritage status to more than 20 old industrial sites in
Japan. These sites are considered as representative of Japans industrial
revolution under Emperor Meiji (1868-1910).
This includes coalmines and shipyards that Japan says contributed to its
transformation.
South Korea had opposed the world heritage status unless clear reference was
made to the use of an estimated 60,000 labourers forced to work at seven of the
sites during Japans 1910-1945 colonial rule over the Korean peninsula.
Appointments
Chinese ex-FM to be AIIB chief
Awards
India leads submissions for Zayed Future Prize
Sports
Junior National Aquatics in Pune
Mayweather stripped of WBO welterweight belt
Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been stripped of the welterweight world title which he
won after beating Filipino Manny Pacquiao in May.
The 38-year-old failed to pay the WBO a $200,000 (128,000) fee to administer the
fight by the 3 July deadline.
The World Boxing Organisation said it is against rules for boxers to hold world titles in
multiple weight classes and that Mayweather had to indicate which weight division
he would retain.
India Wins More Than 150 Medals At World Police and Fire Games
India has won a record 156 medals, including 89 gold and 50 silvers, in the World
Police and Fire games held in the suburb of the American Capital.
Topping the tally Richa Mishra and Kulwinder Kaur bagged a combined 11 gold
medals at the 2015.50-member Indian delegation competed in 7 categories:
Athletics,Wrestling,Boxing,Judo,Archery,Swimming,Shooting.
This is for the first time that the Indian contingents medal tally has crossed 100 and
exceeding 3rd position holder Commonwealth Games. In 2013-India won 83 medals
at Belfast,Northern Ireland.
US won by 1,777(700 golds),Canada finished second 430 medals.

Important Days
World Zoonosis Day observed on 6th July
World Zoonoses Day is observed every year on July 6 to emphasize and bring the
problem awareness amongst people, and teach them to take right action
Zoonoses means an animal disease that can be transmitted to humans.
About 150 zoonotic diseases are known to exist.
Obituary
Actress Amanda Peterson dies at 43
Actress Amanda Peterson has died. She was 43.
She best known for her role in the romantic-comedy Cant Buy Me Love opposite
Patrick Dempsey in 1987.
She also appeared in films like Joe Dantes Explorers, The Lawless Land (1988),
and Listen to Me (1989).
Renowned Actress Diana Douglas passes away at 92
Veteran actress Diana Douglas has died. She was 92 years old.
She appeared in dozens of films and TV shows including Planes, Trains and
Automobiles, ER and The West Wing.
She was the mother of well-known actor Michael Douglas.
Tata Group to sign 3 MOUs with Tripura government
A delegation of Tata executives led by its Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata will sign
three Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Tripura government.
The three MOUs are:
First with the department of Industries and Commerce for providing higher
technological knowhow to two Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) in West Tripura
district and Dhalai district.
Second for setting up a dairy farm at Ambassa in Dhalai district.
Third for augmenting fish production in the state

MoU inked between ICRISAT and Telangana government to promote digital

agriculture
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics [ ICRISAT ] and
Telangana government have joined hands to implement Information and
Communication Technology-based knowledge sharing platforms for farmers.
The MoU aims at promoting agricultural innovation initiatives to improve productivity
and profitability of small-holder farmers.
The partnership will explore areas of collaboration in the field of digital agriculture
which will give Information that would be precisely targeted towards individual
farmers .This will help farmers to access agricultural-related and market-related
information, which gives them an opportunity to sell their produce at fair prices
The MoU will enable the government to create new economic opportunities for rural
populations through digital agriculture and enable consumers to create direct
linkages to farmers
Centre approves Rs 3,500 cr for road projects in J-K
The Centre has approved Rs 3,500 crore for two road projects in Jammu and
Kashmir in a bid to boost road development infrastructure in the state.
Jammu and Kashmir Roads and Buildings Minister Altaf Bukhari said the
accomplishment of these ambitious projects would go a long way towards
decongestion of traffic movement in these cities.
Worlds Oldest Active Aircraft Carrier INS Viraat Set to Be Museum Ship in India
The oldest active aircraft carrier in the world will be converted into a docked museum
when the ship, now in the Indian Navy, decommissions next year.
After 57 years of service life, the ship will decommission in 2016. Andhra Pradesh
Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) authorities received an in-principle
approval from the Ministry of Defence to convert the ship into a museum at the
Kakinada port in the Bay of Bengal.
NDDB launches mobile app for dairy farmers
The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) on 7 July 2015 launched a mobile
application named Pashu Poshan that will boost dairy farmers income by raising
milk yield and cutting feed cost. The app will recommend a balanced diet for cows
and buffaloes.
The mobile application was launched by the Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan
Singh.
The application will be available on both web and android platforms. It can be
accessed by registering on the INAPH portal http://inaph.Nddb.Coop.

International Affairs
PM Modi to attend BRICS and SCO summit in Ufa
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kazakhstan An Overview
India, Kazakhstan Launch First Drilling at Satpayev Oil Block
PMs gift to President of Uzbekistan
Oslo Education Summit 2015
PM Narendra Modi released first Uzbek-Hindi dictionary in Tashkent
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 7, 2015 released first Uzbek-Hindi dictionary in
Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
He released the dictionary along with his Uzbek counterpart and Prime Minster of
Uzbekistan Indologist Rakhmatov in the event in presence of Hindi language
students and Indian community members. It was launched during his visit to
central Asian Countries.
Banking & Finance
Union Bank takes digital initiatives with M-passbook & more
Business
Infosys bags multi-million euro deal with Deutsche Bank
Indian IT giant Infosys has signed a multi-million euro deal with Deutsche Bank.
According to the deal, Infosys will provide services like development, application
maintenance, digital and mobility, package implementation and testing services
across the Deutsche Bank Group.
Infosys will also be a strategic partner under Deutsche Banks Supplier Partnership
Programme which was launched in June 2014 to concentrate the most strategic
vendors based on business impact across all categories of the bank.
Appointments
Bharti Enterprises appoints Rahul Bhatnagar as MD

Bharti Enterprises has appointed Rahul Bhatnagar as its new Managing

Director and Chief Financial Officer.

 He takes over from Manoj Kohli, who has assumed the role of Executive Chairman,
SBG Cleantech a JV between SoftBank, Bharti and Foxconn for renewable energy.
Previously Rahul Bhatnagar has woked with PepsiCo, where he worked for over 19
years in various senior-level positions across geographies.
Govt appoints Kalyanaraman as MD and CEO of NHB
The government has appointed Sriram Kalyanaraman as Managing Director and
CEO of National Housing Bank.
He has become the first person form the private sector to head a public sector
financial institution.
Currently Kalyanaraman is Director-Business Development, Equifax Credit Information
Services.
He is appointed for five years from the date of taking over the charge.
Sanjeev Nandan Sahai appointed as Delhis new Home Secretary
Senior IAS officer S N Sahai is all set to be appointed as the new Home Secretary of
Delhi, a move aimed at ending the row between Lt Governor Najeeb Jung and Chief
Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the top post.
Mr. Kejriwal and Mr. Jung have agreed on Mr. Sahais name for the Home Secretarys
post following which a recommendation was sent to the Union Home Ministry.
Science & Technology
Rani Durgavati joins Indian Coast Guard as 3rd IPV
Environment
New Species of Songbird Evolving in Western Ghats
Sports
Inderjeet clinches gold in World Universiade
Star athlete Inderjeet Singh won the gold medal in shot put event for India in
the World University Games at Gwangju, South Korea.
This year has been phenomenal for Indrajeet as he won five gold medals in all five
international events he has participated so far in 2015.
Lord Patel Becomes First British-Asian to Join ECB Board of Directors

 Lord Patel of Bradford, who has been appointed by the England and Wales Cricket
Board (ECB) to its board of directors, has become the first British-Asian to be
included to the 14-member strong body.
Patel, who has worked for the Yorkshire Cricket Academy as a part-time coach, will be
replacing Lord Morris in the ECB.
Patel of Bradford, an OBE and a leading voice on health, social care and community
cohesion in the UK.
India to beat China again as fastest-growing in 2016: IMF
Union Government declares whole of Nagaland as disturbed area
The Union home ministry has declared whole of Nagaland as a disturbed area for a
further period of one year from June 30, 2015.
This declaration under Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 will
give the armed forces powers to search, raid and arrest without a warrant. Also, it
would allow use of force by the Army personnel even to the extent of causing
death, against one who puts law and order in a disturbed area, in peril.
MakeMyTrip, RBL Bank, IRCTC in Fortune India Next 500 list
MakeMyTrip, RBL Bank, Inox wind and IRCTC are among the firms that have made it to
the Fortune Next 500 list of Indian companies.
Redington India, iPhone distributor, has topped the list.
The companies featuring in the Next 500 list are mostly mid-sized and are capable of
breaking into the Fortune India 500, the magazine noted.
Fortune India 500
It is a ranking of the top 500 corporations in India compiled on the basis of latest sales and
gross revenue figures which is published by Fortune Magazine.
International Affairs
IMF ready to assist Greece if requested
Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka entered Guinness World Records for
spending 804 days on ISS
India, Russia sign MoU for funding of hydro-generation projects
UNESCO names 24 New World Heritage Sites

India in talks with Russia to lease new modern, world-class nuclear attack
submarine
India is in final talks with Russia to lease a newly built, customised submarine,
unlike in the past when older vessels were refurbished and handed over.
This will give a much needed boost to Indias depleting underwater fleet.
Talks are in advanced stages for leasing a new submarine under the Chakra 3
project.
India has Chakra 2 nuclear submarine which was refurbished and taken on lease for
10 years from Russia in 2012.
Acquisitions
Practo Technologies acquires Genii
Bengaluru based healthcare company Practo has acquired Mumbai based Genii
Technologies, a technology services startup.
Practo has an app and web service for scheduling appointments with doctors. It lists
over 8,000 hospitals on its platform aims to reach to 20,000 hospitals by the end of
this year.
Previously Practo has acquired FithoWellness, a web and app-based fitness
management platform, in April 2015.
Genii Technology is a services start-up focused on product design and development.
It was founded in 2011 and has launched 30 products across multiple domains
including retail, finance, real estate, travel and events over the last three years.
Banking
India to contribute $18 bn to BRICS forex reserves pool
Sports
Indian womens cricket team winning agains New Zealand series
Indian womens cricket team defeated New Zealand by 9 wickets and clinched the
ODI series by 3-2.
Batting first New Zealand collapsed for 118 in 41 overs. In reply India achieved the
target in 27.2 overs.
BCCI has announced a cash reward of Rs 21 Lakhs for the team.
Books & Authors

India Central Asia Relations authored by Amiya Chandra

Book titled India Central Asia Relations: The Economic Dimension authored by Amiya
Chandra came in news in second week of July 2015.
It came in news during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to central Asian
countries, namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
Bharat Electronics-made Akash inducted into Indian Air Force
Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) made Akash has been inducted into Indian Air
Force.
BEL which is the nodal agency and supplies major sub-systems handed over the
missile system at a ceremony held at Air Force Station, Gwalior.
About Akash Missile
Akash is an indigenously developed Surface to Air Missile (SAM).
It has been jointly developed by the Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO), Ordnance Factories Board and Bharat Electronics (BEL).
Range: 25km
BHEL commissions 500 MW unit of Tuticorin thermal power plant
BHEL has commissioned the second 500 MW unit at Tuticorin Thermal Power
Station (TPS) in Tamil Nadu.
The first 500 MW unit of the project was commissioned on March 10.
Tuticorin Thermal Power Station was set up by NLC Tamil Nadu Power Limited (NTPL),
a joint venture of Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) and Tamil Nadu Generation and
Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO).
Tata Motors bags order for 1,200 trucks from Indian Army
Tata Motors has bagged an order worth over Rs 900 crore to supply 1,200 multiaxle trucks to the Indian Army.
This is the single largest order by Indian Army to an Indian Company in land systems.
The order is for 1,200 units of high-mobility 6X6 multi-axle trucks which will be used
for loading-unloading and transportation of ammunition pallets, spares and other
operational equipment.
IAS topper to be brand ambassador for disability

 Ira Singhal, who topped this years UPSC examination, could be the brand
ambassador for the programmes of department of empowerment of persons with
disabilities.
Social justice minister Thaawar Chand Gehlot said the young topper would be an
appropriate brand ambassador for the disability department. Her achievement
shall inspire a whole generation of youth to come forward and achieve glorious
heights.
International Affairs
India, US sign FATCA to fight tax evasion
India gets full membership of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
Raising goverment tobacco taxes can have control over tobacco
Epidemic:WHO
Modi meets Afghan President Ghani; discusses bilateral ties
PMs Gift to President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan
The Prime Minister today presented President Nursultan Nazarbayev a set of books
relating to religions born in India. President Nazarbayev has held the Congress of
Leaders of World and Traditional Religions every three years at the Palace of Peace
and Accord in Astana since 2003.
The presentation set includes an English translation of Guru Granth Sahib, as also
specially commissioned reproductions from the manuscripts collection of National
Museum, Delhi.
The reproductions include one of Jainisms most revered texts, Bhadrabahus
Kalpasutra (15th century AD) in Prakrit; one of Buddhisms most important
scriptures Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita (12th century AD) in Sanskrit; and a
Persian translation of Valmikis Ramayana (18th century AD) in nastaliq script.
Appointments
CIBIL appoints Satish Pillai as MD and CEO
Housing.com appoints Rishabh Gupta as interim CEO
Housing.com has appointed Rishabh Gupta as interim CEO, after it fired cofounder and ex-CEO Rahul Yadav last week.
Rishabh Gupta is currently working as Chief Operating Officer (COO) in the
Housing.com.

 Last week the companys board sacked the CEO Rahul Yadav stating that his
behaviour towards investors and media was not befitting of a CEO.
Bandhan Bank appoints Ashok Lahiri as Chairman

Bandhan Bank, the first bank to be set up in West Bengal after Independence, plans
to go for an IPO in 2018,inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee on August 23,
2015.
Bandhan Bank has appointed former chief economic advisor to the finance ministry
Ashok Kumar Lahiri to head its 10-member board.
The bank would start its journey with a Rs 3200-crore strong loan book but now
nearly Rs.10000 core and company has 67 lakh micro finance borrowers.
The logo of the bank was designed by O&M and adding the number of branches
would go up to 1,000 in two years time.
Banking & Finance
RBI released Final Guidelines on PPI for Mass Transit System (PPI-MTS)
RBI issues Rs 100 notes with new numbering pattern
Exim, BRICS member development banks ink MoU with NDB
Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) has signed a multilateral agreement to
cooperate with New Development Bank (NDB) along with other member development
banks of BRICS nations.
Aims of the MoU:
Sharing of knowledge, information and best practices.
Capacity building of personnel, including project development skills.
Promotion of joint events, research and programmes.
Development of effective and sustainable financing solutions for projects of mutual
interest.
Exim Bank also signed a cooperation agreement with Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES).
Business
Essar Oil signs pact to sell 49% stake to Russias Rosneft

 Russian oil firm Rosneft will buy 49 per cent stake in Essar Oil, the firm that owns
Indias second biggest oil refinery, for an undisclosed amount, the Ruia-owned firm
said on Thursday.
The proposed transaction is conditional upon various factors such as due diligence,
determination of the transaction price, execution of definitive transaction
documents and receipt of requisite approvals
Also, a Long Term Crude Oil Supply Agreement by the two firms in was signed in Ufa,
Russia for import of 10 million tonnes a year of crude oil for a period of 10 years.
This contract has been signed in pursuance to the Key Terms executed between the
two companies in December 2014 at New Delhi.
Environment
1,000-year-old corn cobs, kernels found at US site
1000 year old corn, cobs ,kernels found near Thomsen Center Archeodome at the
Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village, which has been the place of research for
Archaeologists .
The place has been considered as National Register and National Historic Landmark
site.
Students from the University of Exeter in England and Augustana College in Sioux
Falls work on this site every year.
According to Augustana archaeology Professor Adrien Hannus research says people
belonging to this place werent exactly primitive. It was a successful village of
farmers, hunters and foragers and had a diverse diet.
The discovery was made through cache pits, which were large holes used to store
things like food and tools found inside soil.
Sports
India drop 15 spots to 156th in latest FIFA rankings
India dropped 15 places to be 156th in the latest FIFA rankings.
The list has been topped by Copa Americas runner up Argentina, followed by
Germany and Belgium.
After two consecutive defeats in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, India went down
from 141st to 156th position in the latest FIFA rankings.
Top 5 teams are:

1. Argentina
2. Germany
3. Belgium
4. Columbia
5. Netherlands
Obituary
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Poet James Tate Dies At 71

The poet and longtime English professor James Tate at the University of
Massachusetts-Amherst, has died at71.
Tate was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1992 for Selected Poems, National
Book Award for the 1994 Worshipful Company of Fletchers and a National Institute
of Arts and Letters award for poetry.
A celebration of Tates life and his poetry would be held in New York City in the fall,
said Jennifer Jacobson, associate director of the universitys MFA program
Indo Pak shayar Bashar Navaaz passes away
Noted Urdu poet and critic Bashar Navaaz passed away on 9 July 2015 Maharashtra.
He was 80. He was known as an Indo Pak shayar as his poetry is popular in India as
well as in Pakistan.
Books Rayagan, Ajanabee samandar were amazing and popular books.His famous
gazal is Jaane vafaa, Bazaar, Tere Shahar me and so on.
He received the following awards

Maharashtra State Urdu Academy Award.

Galib Award of Galib Academy New Delhi.

Iftekhaar E Adab Award.

Prestigious Pulotsav Samman for his amazing contribution to the Urdu literature.

Legendary Actor Omar Sharif Dies At 83

 Omar Sharif,Egyptian-born actor has died on July 11 at 83 due to heart attack in

Cairo.He soared to international stardom in two classics,Lawrence of Arabia and
Doctor Zhivago.
He won international fame and an Oscar-nomination for best supporting actor for his
role in the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia with Peter OToole.
Sharif became a Hollywood heartthrob and played a variety of roles, including a
Spanish priest in Behold a Pale Horse (1964), a Yugoslav wartime patriot in The
Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964) and the Mongolian conqueror in Genghis Khan (1965).
Telangana to set up power projects totalling 25,000 MW
Telangana government will set up power projects totalling 25,000 MW by
investing over Rs 90,000 crore in the next four years.
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao asserted that Telangana would become a power
surplus state and suffer no power cuts in future.
Countrys first community skill park opens in Kerala
Indias first Community Skill Park today opened at Chavara with Kerala Chief Minister
Oommen Chandy all praise for the new-generation approach to developing skills
and increasing the employability of the youth of the state.
Kaushal Kendra, set up at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore with world- -class facilities, works on
four fronts: the Assessment and Career Guidance Cell helps rural, educated youth
realise their career aptitude through the best global assessment tools and provides
guidelines to choose through the course that is best suited for them with regard to
their socio-economic and educational background.
International Affairs
PM Modi in Turkmenistan An Overview
India inks seven pacts with Turkmenistan
Greek lawmakers back bailout reform plan
Sunita Williams among four astronauts chosen by NASA to fly first commercial
space vehicle
Indian-origin Sunita Williams is among four veteran astronauts picked by NASAto
fly the first commercial space vehicles, a part of the space agencys ambitious plan
of human landing on Mars by 2030.
According to NASA, Williams, accompanied by Robert Behnken, Eric
Boe andDouglas Hurley, will train and prepare for commercial space flights that
will open up low-Earth orbit transportation to the private sector.

Appointments
Lord Bilimoria appointed as president of UKCISA

Lord Karan Bilimoria, a NRI entrepreneur, has been appointed as the President of
theUK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA).
He will replace Usha Prashar who stepped down after serving the maximum term of
nine years.
Who is Lord Bilmoria?
He is the founder of Cobra Beer and the Chancellor of the University of Birmingham.
Also he is a Member of the Advisory Boards of the Judge Business School at the
University of Cambridge as well as the Cranfield School of Management
About UKCISA
The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) is the UKs national advisory body
serving the interests of international students and those who work with them.
Environment
New horned dinosaur found in Canada
Scientists from the Royal Ontario Museum have discovered a striking new species
ofhorned dinosaur in southern Alberta, Canada.
Fossils were found of the dinosaur named Wendiceratops pinhornensis which is
about20-feet long and weighs more than a tonne.
The dinosaur lived about 79 million years ago, making it one of the oldest known
members of the family of large-bodied horned dinosaurs that includes the famous
Triceratops.
New butterfly species named Banded Tit found in Arunachal Pradesh
A new tiny butterfly species christened Banded Tit (Hypolycaena Narada) has been
discovered in Arunachal Pradesh.
It was discovered and is denizen of low-lying evergreen forests of the Changlang
district of the state which is part of the one of the biodiversity hotspot of World.
Interesting life cycle: The adult butterflies of this species live only for approximately 2
weeks in month of March every year. Remaining year, they spend in a dormant
state in the form of larval or pupal stages.

 It feed primarily on bird-droppings along cool streams in the forests. However, much
of its biology such as its larval host plants, breeding behaviour and precise habitat
requirements are still unknown.
Sports
Serena Williams Wins 6th Wimbledon Title
Obituary
Prince Saud al-Faisal, Worlds longest serving Foreign Minister passes away
Former Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal has died at the age of 75.
He was the worlds longest serving foreign minister for 40 years.
Prince Saud was appointed in 1975 and served under four Saudi kings, advancing the
kingdoms foreign policy.
Former TN minister Chendur Pandian passes away
Former Tamil Nadu minister and AIADMK MLA P Chendur Pandian died here today
following prolonged illness.
Pandian (64), representing Kadayanallur Assembly constituency.
Important Days
World Population Day July 11
Nabard aims Rs. 30,000 cr farm credit for irrigation
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has set a
target of providing Rs. 30,000 crore as credit to farmers for irrigation over the
next three years.
So far NABARD has already sanctioned Rs. 1,000 crore and intends to provide Rs
10,000 crore of loans in this year.
These funds will be additional to the recently launched Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai
Yojana (PMKSY) by the Government of India which will provide loans up to Rs
50,000 crore to the farmers.
Indias longest road tunnel to open for traffic next year
Indias longest road tunnel, being built on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, will be
opened for general traffic in July next year and would reduce the distance between
the two cities by 30 kms.

 The 9.2 km tunnel is part of 286 km-long four-laning project of the Jammu-Srinagar
national highway.
Once this tunnel becomes operational it will reduce the traffic jams on National
Highway-1A that occur due to snowfall and avalanche in winter at Patnitop.
FSSAI sets 12,000 standards for food additives, ingredients
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has finalised 12,000
standards for food additives and ingredients in line with global safety
standards Codex.
If food companies comply with these standards then they would not require to seek
product approval from FSSAI. This will save them from lengthy process of approval.
Presently, there are 375 FSSAI safety standards for food items but none for food
additives and ingredients.
The new FSSAI standards are compatible with the global food standards of Codex
Alimentarius Commission.
International Affairs
India and Kyrgyzstan signs four agreements
Euro zone summit aims to keep Greece in single currency
European Council President Donald Tusk has cancelled a planned summit of all 28
European Union leaders.
Euro zone leaders will try their best to keep the nearly bankrupt Greece in the euro
zone.
Many countries supported a German government paper that recommended Greece
take a five-year time-out from the euro zone unless it accepted and implemented
swiftly much tougher conditions, notably by locking state assets to be privatised in
an independent trust to pay down debt.
US confirms Tunisias Major Non-NATO ally status
United States has approved Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA) status of Tunisia.
This step will pave way for enhanced military cooperation between the two countries.
Tunisia is the 16th country to become a Major Non-NATO Ally of the United States.
About Major Non-NATO ally

Major non-NATO ally (MNNA) is a designation given by the US government to close allies who
have strategic working relationships with U.S. Armed Forces but are not members of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Members: Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait,
Morocco, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand and Tunisia
ISROs commercial arm Antrix website hacked
The website of Indian Space Research Organisations (ISRO) commercial arm Antrix
was hacked on Sunday.
The PRO of ISRO said there was some problem with the homepage of the Antrix
website.
Antrix Corporation Limited is the marketing arm of ISRO for promotion and
commercialization of space products, technical consultancy services and transfer of
technologies developed by ISRO.
Banking & Finance
Indirect tax collections pace up, grows 37.5%
Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramaniam revealed that Indirect tax collections
have grown up by 37.5% during the first quarter of current fiscal year, i.e. AprilJune 2015 as compared to the last corresponding period (April-June 2014).
These increases are across all three tax categoriescustoms, central excise, and
service tax.
He said Given that GDP growth is the tax base, what it suggests is that the
underlying nominal GDP growth is growing at a healthy pace.
Also Indirect tax collections increased by 10.8 percent in June 2015 over June 2014.
These increased collections indicate that the economy is improving across all
sectors, including manufacturing, reflected in healthy excise tax collections.
Business
BigBazaar ties up with MobiKwik for mobile wallet service
BigBazaar has tied up with MobiKwik to allow its customers to pay for purchases
using mobile wallet facility.
MobiKwik wallet users can pay through their mobile at any BigBazaar payment
counter by sharing their registered MobiKwik mobile number and an one-timepassword (OTP) for verification of the transaction.

 This facility will be extended to other Future Group entities like Central, Brand
Factory, Home Town and e-Zone in the coming quarter.
MobiKwik which is a mobile payments platform, claims to have over 17 million mobile
wallet users and 50,000 merchants on board.
Sports
Sania seals historic Wimbledon crown with Hingis
Paes wins 16th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon
Indian tennis star Leander Paes along with his Swiss partner Martina Hingis has won
the Wimbledon Mixed Doubles on 12 July 2015 at the Wimbledon Tennis
Championships in London.
The pair defeated Alexander Peya and Timea Babos (Austrian-Hungarian team) by 6-1
6-1.
It was Paes eighth mixed doubles title and second with Hingis.
After his remarkable win, Paes dedicated his trophy to India.
Djokovic beats Federer to win third Wimbledon title
Novak Djokovic from Serbia defeated Roger Federer from Switzerland for the second
successive year on 12 July 2015 at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in
London.
Djokovic defeated Roger Federer by 7-6 6-7 6-4 6-3.
With this win he captured his third Wimbledon title and ninth Grand Slam of his
career and also equaled the number of Wimbledon titles won by his current coach
Boris Becker.
Hartek Power commissions 3 substations worth Rs 220 cr
Hartek Power, an engineering firm, has commissioned three substations for solar
power projects worth about Rs 220 crore in Punjab and Chhattisgarh during
April-June this year.
Also, the company has so far been able to commission substations for 130-MW solar
power projects worth about Rs 700 crore.
Hartek Power is operating projects in 17 states across the country and have
constructed more than 100 substations in the past seven years.
International Affairs

 Greece accepts bailout plan to avoid euro exit

Miss Oklahoma Olivia Jordan crowned Miss USA 2015

Miss Oklahoma, Olivia Jordan, won big at the 2015 Miss USA pageant on Sunday, July
12, beating out 50 women to win the crown.
Jordan, 26, made it through the fierce rounds of the competition, sliding into the Top
15 after preliminary events and captivating viewers as she worked it in the live
shows bikini and evening gown rounds.
The Oklahoma native impressed during the question portion of the competition,
which was held in Baton Rouge, La. She spoke first on the issue of race relations in
the United States, stressing the need for improved dynamics, and later went on to
name Oprah and Harriet Tubman as two women she would like to see on the $10
bill.
Jordan was followed in the top five by first runner-up Miss Texas Ylianna Guerra,
second runner-up Miss Rhode Island Anea Garcia, third runner-up Miss Nevada
Brittany McGowan, and fourth runner-up Miss Maryland Mam Adjei.
Awards
Tata Steels West Bokaro Division conferred with Golden Peacock
Environment Management Award 2015
Buddha In A Traffic Jam wins best original screenplay award at the Madrid Film
Festival
Vivek Agnihotris political irony Buddha In A Traffic Jam won the Best Original
Screenplay in a foreign language award at the Madrid International Film
Festival.
This film was also nominated for two categories viz Best Foreign Language Film and
Best Lead Actress in a foreign language film for actress Mahie Gill.
Appointments
Viacom18 launches digital biz, appoints Gaurav Gandhi as COO
Viacom18 has launched its new digital business Viacom18 Digital Ventures.
This will bridge traditional broadcasting and digital innovation.
The company has named Gaurav Gandhi as its Chief Operating Officer. He has
earlier worked as Group Chief Operating Officer at IndiaCast Media Distribution (a
TV18 & Viacom18 venture).

Lt Gen MMS Rai to be next Vice-Chief of Army

Lt Gen Man Mohan Singh Rai has been appointed as the next Vice-Chief of the
Indian Army.
He is presently posted as the Eastern Army Commander at Kolkata.
He will replace Lt Gen Philip Campose who will retire on 31 July.
Banking & Finance
SBI partners with bankbazaar.com
State Bank of India (SBI), the largest bank in India, has partnered online financial
product aggregator bankbazaar.com along with the banks subsidiary SBI CAP
Securities.
Under this arrangement, the bank will be able to display its home loan products on
bankbazaar.com, generate leads and provide door-step delivery, thus improving the
response time. Bankbazaar.com offers end to end solutions to the home loan
seekers from getting the customised quotes, comparison of the offers and
submission of online application to SBI
This partnership will help the bank to provide yet another online platform to the
prospective tech savvy home loan borrowers to apply for SBI Home Loans online. iv.
The tie up with bankbazaar.com also highlights SBIs strategy to augment its Home
Loan portfolio by leveraging digital channels and increasing its presence in the
digital/online space, it added.
Science & Technology
Isros Gagan Satellite-Based Navigation System Launched
India has test-fired its indigenously developed anti-tank guided missile NAG
The test-fire of Indias indigenously developed Nag anti-tank guided missile was
successful from a helicopter at a firing range in Jaisalmer in Rajasthan.
Three-round trial of helicopter-launched Nag (HeliNa) missile were conducted at the
Chandhan firing range.
HeliNa is a helicopter-launched version of Nag and can hit a target up to 7 km.
It has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO) under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).
Sports
WBA offers membership to IBC

Indian wrestlers win 16 medals at Junior Asian championship

Indian wrestlers have won 16 medals, including 3 gold, at the Junior Asian Freestyle,
Greeco-Roman and Female Wrestling championshipat Nay Pyi Taw in Myanmar.
Mens Freestyle category: The Indians claimed a total of eight medals with bagging the
Gold: Ravi Kumar in 55kg division.
Silver: Bharat Patil (50kg) and Vikas (66kg)
Bronze: Amit (60kg), Dinesh (74kg), Parveen (84kg), Rubal Jeet (96kg) and Manjeet
(120kg)
Greco-Roman category:
Gold: Ravinder (60kg) and Mehar Singh (120kg)
Silver: Manish (55kg)
Bronze: Rahul (84kg)
Female Wrestling category:
Silver Sarita (59kg)
Bronze Manisha (63kg), Divya Kakran (67kg) and Pooja (72kg).
BCCI suspends Mumbai player Hiken Shah for corruption in IPL
BCCI has suspended Hiken Shah from playing cricket for violating the BCCIs AntiCorruption Code for participants.
The left hander has played 32 Ranji Trophy matches for Mumbai, four for Jammu &
Kashmir and one for West Zone.
Stating the reason for suspension, BCCI said that Hiken Shah made a corrupt
approach to one of his colleagues from first-class cricket, who is also a member of
one of the IPL teams.
Obituary
Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata dies

Japanese videogame maker Nintendo Co Ltds CEO and President, Satoru

Iwata has died. He was 55.

 Iwata has been a director at Nintendo since 2000, and was appointed president in
2002. He has also acted as CEO of the U.S. unit since 2013.
Government to set up Trade Facilitation Council to promote exports
India stands second on trust in national government: survey

India has secured second position amongst 40 countries in a survey of trust in

national governments for 2014 conducted by the Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD). Switzerland has emerged at the top with
Norway coming in third.
An impressive 73 per cent of Indians polled in the survey answered yes to the
question Do you have confidence in the national government?
For the purpose of the survey, trust represents the confidence of citizens and
businesses in government to do what is right and perceived as fair, according to
the OECD Government at a Glance 2015 report.
Centre to unveil programme to develop new highways
The central government will soon unveil a programme to develop new national
highways with focus likely to be on connecting border areas.
Union Minister for Transport, Roads and Highways Nitin Gadkari said,We are going to
announce Rashtriya Mahamarghs (national highways)under the Bharat
Mala programme soon.
Bharat Mala programme
Under the programme the government wants to connect each district of the country
with national highway besides the backward areas.
The focus is on the setting up roads in border districts.
There is 96000-km length of national highway in the country and there are 48000 kms of
other roads and government wants to add 30000 kms to this road length.
The government also wants to develop tourism and religious tourism related roads apart
from port connectivity.
12-day Godavari Maha Pushkaram was began in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh
Godavari Maha Pushkaram began on the banks of River Godavari in Telangana and
Andhra Pradesh. It is a 12 days long event so it will be going on till 25th July 2015.
Unique things about this is that it happens once in 144 years.

 Godavari Pushkaram, a 12-day festival of worshipping the river is held once in 12

years. Every 12th year Jupiters entry into the constellation Leo marks the
Pushkaram for Godavari. The celebrations include reverence of ancestors, spiritual
discourses, devotional music and cultural programmes.
India and Georgia Sign MoU on Electoral Cooperation
MoU was inked between India and Georgia for cooperation in the field of election
management and administration which was signed by Chief Election Commissioner of India
Nasim Zaidi and Tamar Zhvania, Chairperson, Central Election Commission, Georgia.
Major highlights of the MoU between India and Georgia:
Promotion of exchanges of knowledge and experience in electoral processes
Exchange of information, materials, expertise and training of personnel
Production and distribution of materials pertaining to electoral systems, voting technology,
voters education and awareness
Participation of women and minorities in electoral process
International Affairs
Iran, major powers strike historic nuclear deal
China sets up worlds largest cancer registry
China has established the worlds largest cancer registry system that will cover
over 300 million people.
In China at least 3 million people develop cancer each year, and the registry is
expected to expand to include 40 per cent of the nations population of 1.36 billion
by 2020.
Cancer Registry
A cancer registry is a systematic collection of data about cancer and tumour diseases.
Cancer registry records complete summary of patient history, diagnosis, treatment and
status of every cancer patient.
Awards and Recognition
Noted artist Sayed Haider Raza conferred with Frances de la Lgion
dHonneur
4 Indians among Young Leaders of Asia Society in NY

Four Indians-Mishi Choudhary, Manish Dahiya, Sanjay Vijayakumar and Aarti Wigwere figured in the Asia 21 Young Leaders Class of 2015 list that was released on 8
July 2015 in New York, the USA.

 The selected leaders will be part of the Asia 21 Network where they will find mentors,
potential collaborators, who are devoted to find solutions to most vexing socioeconomic problems in the Asia-Pacific region.
Four Indians who make to this list were :
Mishi Choudhary She is a technology lawyer and an online civil liberties activist, is the
founding executive director of SFLC.in, a pro-bono legal services organization based in New
Delhi.
Manish Dahiya He is the executive director and Global Head of Energy Complex at Noble
Group Limited.
Sanjay Vijayakumar He is the CEO of MobME Wireless Solutions, one of Indias most
exciting and innovative mobile value-added service companies.
Aarti Wig She is co-founder of the Indian arm of the Yunus Social Business (YSB), which
was founded by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus to create selfless businesses
that tackle social problems
Appointments
Rakesh Sahni appointed chairman of NVDA
Former Chief Secretary Rakesh Sahni has been appointed as the Chairman of
Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA) by Madhya Pradesh
government.
Rakesh Sahni is a 1972 batch IAS officer who has also served as the Chairman of MP
Electricity Regulatory Commission after his retirement from the post of chief
secretary.
Banking & Finance
YES Bank gets RBI nod to open unit in GIFT city
YES Bank has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India to set up IFSC
Banking Units (IBUs) in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT).
Setting up the IBU will propel YES Banks growth plans further by providing it access
to International financial markets.
It will also provide a comprehensive product suite to its corporate clients requiring
Foreign Currency (FCY) funding.
Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT)
GIFT city aspires to cater to Indias large financial services potential by offering global
firms a world-class infrastructure and facilities.
It aims to attract the top talent in the country by providing the finest quality of life all
with integrated townships, IFSC and multi-speciality special economic zone (SEZ).

 The site is 12 Km from the Ahmedabad International Airport and 8 KM from

Gandhinagar
Business
India-based firm wins Microsoft Country Partner of Year Award
An India-based software products and technology services company is among the
winners of the prestigious Microsoft Country Partner of the Year Award for 2015, a
recognition that honours the technology giants partner achievements across the
globe.
Comparex India Pvt. Ltd, headquartered in New Delhi, was honoured, along with 110
awardees in the category by Microsoft, at its Worldwide Partner Conference 2015.
Another India-based IT company Quadrasystems.net was the finalist in the Cloud
Productivity Partner of the Year category, Microsoft announced.
Sports
CSK, Royals suspended for two years from IPL
India beats Zimbabwe in 3rd ODI, completes 3-0 clean sweep
India thrashed Zimbabwe by 83 runs in the third and final cricket ODI to complete a
3-0 series whitewash.
Kedar Jhadavs maiden international hundred of 105 runs in 87 balls helped India to
post a score of 276/5 in 50 overs.
In return Zimbabwe collapsed for 193 in 42.4 overs.
Obituary
Legendary Music Composer MS Viswanathan dies at 87
Former BSFI president Pashupatinath Roy died
Former Billiards and Snooker Federation of India(BSFI) President Pashupatinath Roy
passed away. He was 76 years old.
He served BSFI in various capacities. Apart from this he was also the president of
West Bengal Badminton Association for more than five decades.
Indias first railway-line built under PPP model inaugurated in Gujarat
Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu inaugurated the broad-gauge railway-line
betweenGandhidham and Tuna-Tekra Port in Gujarat.

 This is Indias first railway-line built with private sector participation under
Non-Government Railway (NGR) Policy 2012 of Indian Railways.
Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Simhastha Kumbh Mela 2015 begins
It is a mega religious congregation, which is held every 12 years in Nashik on the
banks of the Godavari River. This year it will continue for over two months.
Kumbh Mela is known as one of the biggest peaceful gatherings on the Earth and is
held in Allahabad, Nashik, Haridwar & Ujjain.
Maharashtra assembly passed Guarantee of Public Services Bill, 2015
Maharashtra legislative assembly on 14 July 2015 passed the Maharashtra Guarantee
of Public Services Bill, 2015. The bill was unanimously passed by the assembly in
the absence of Congress and NCP members.
Features of the Bill
It empowers citizens to avail their rights in stipulated time with less efforts and
cost.
It will pave way for curbing corruption, bringing transparency and empowering
citizens.
It ensures essential services are delivered in a time-bound manner and at
nominal charges.
In case of failure in delivery in the stipulated time, the government employee will
be penalized for default, which ranges between 500 rupees to 5000 rupees.
It provides for three-tier Appellate Authorities with first two being Government
Officials or Designated Officers and third will be a Right to Service Commission.
Awards
Make in India wins the 2015- Economic Development Innovation Award
IOC bags top honour at Petrofed Awards
Jamia professor bags IEEE award for developing curriculum, lab
Dr Mini Shaji Thomas, Honorary Director, Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and
Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Jamia has been selected for IEEE
Educational Activities Board (EAB) Continuing Education Award.
Dr Thomas won this award for his design and development of curriculum and
laboratory facilities for professionals and students in the electric utility industry.
About IEEE Educational Activities Board (EAB) Continuing Education Award
This award recognize and honour individuals and companies for major contributions
to engineering and technical education.

 It was instituted in 1984 by IEEE, recognizes academicians contribution to the

design, delivery, and support of continuing education courses and programs in the
fields of interest to IEEE members.
Krishnapatnam Port bags Golden Peacock award for environment management
Krishnapatnam Port in Andhra Pradesh has received the Golden Peacock environment
management award for its initiatives and achievements in the field of environment.
The award was presented by Union Minister of State for Environment Prakash
Javadekar to C Sasidhar, Managing Director (Krishnapatnam Port) on Saturday at
the17th World Congress on Environment Management.
Acquisitions
Andromeda acquires apnapaisa.com in stock and cash deal
Andromeda, loan distributor, has acquired the apnapaisa.com, an online loan
solutions space in a stock and cash deal.
Andromeda which is present in more than 30 cities across the country along with a
1,000-strong staff, is the largest loan distributor, distributing around 8,000 crore a
year.
Apnapaisa.com which was started 8 years ago, is an internet platform to help
customers find best possible loans.
Banking & Finance
Karnataka gets its first skin bank
Karnataka gets its first skin bank at Victoria Hospital, Bengaluru, the first in the
state.
It works like an eye bank.The skin bank team goes to a donors house when it
receives word that he has passed away, and harvests the skin within six hours of
death.
This skin taken out from thighs can enhance quality of life for those suffering with
50%-60% burns.
This will enable faster healing and help the burns patients.
Currently, there are skin banks in Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai.
Business
Boeing, Tata Advanced Systems ink aerospace partnership deal

 Boeing and Tata Advanced Systems Ltd have signed an aerospace and
defence manufacturing pact.
Both the companies will jointly manufacture aero-structures and collaborate on
developing integrated systems, including unmanned aerial vehicles.
TASL is already manufacturing aero-structures for Boeings CH-47 Chinook and AH-6i
helicopters.
Science & Technology
New Horizons space probe ready to make history at Pluto
Sports
IPL verdict effect, Champions League T20 discontinued
After the Supreme Court suspended CSK and and Rajasthan Royals for two years,
cricket authorities have decided to scrap the Champions League T20
tournament with immediate effect.
The Governing Council of the CLT20 which comprising representatives of the Board of
Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Cricket South Africa (CSA) and Cricket Australia
(CA) made the decision unanimously.
Bangladesh register historic ODI series win over SA
Bangladesh registered historic ODI series win by beating South Africa by nine wickets in
the third and final ODI to take the three-match series 2-1.
After whitewashing Pakistan and defeating India in the series, this is Bangladeshs
third continuous series victory over the world cricket heavyweights.
In a rain hit game, Bangladesh restricted proteas to 168/9 and in return with the help
of Soumya Sarkars 90 and Tamim Iqbals 61 they score 170 runs for the loss of 1
wicket only.
Obituary
Iconic musician Joan Sebastian passed away
Iconic musician Joan Sebastian from Mexico has died after battling bone cancer for
more than 15 years. He was 64.
He was a five-time Grammy Award winner and released more than 50 albums
during his career which spanned over 40 years.
He was best known for his sentimental love songs such as Secreto de Amor and
Tatuajes

Important Days
World Youth Skills Day July 15
Varanasi chosen as city of music by UNESCO

Varanasi has joined the list of UNESCO Cities of Music under the Creative
Cities Network.
It has been chosen in the music category under UNESCOs field of excellence plan.
The fields of excellence are classified into categories of literature, film, music, craft
and folk art, design, media arts and gastronomy.
About Creative Cities Network
The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) was created in 2004 to promote cooperation
with and among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable
urban development.
Nine cities under UNESCO Cities of Music are:
Glasgow in the UK, Hanover and Mannheim in Germany, Ghent in Belgium, Hamamatsu in
Japan, Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo, Bogota in Columbia, Seville in Spain and Bologna
in Italy.
FM Arun Jaitley launches HRIDAY for 12 cities in Amritsar
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley choose Amritsar to launch the National Heritage City
Development and Augmentation Yojana ( HRIDAY)for 12 cities in the country.
About HRIDAY
The National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) is a
scheme of Ministry of Urban Development.
The aim is to preserve and revitalise soul of the heritage city to reflect the citys
unique character by encouraging aesthetically appealing, accessible, informative &
secured environment.
The Scheme with an outlay of Rs 500 Crores is being implemented in 12 identified
Cities namely, Ajmer, Amaravati, Amritsar, Badami, Dwarka, Gaya, Kanchipuram,
Mathura, Puri, Varanasi, Velankanni and Warangal.
Union Agriculture Minister launched PGS-India, Soil Health Card and FQCS Web
Portals

Union Agriculture Minister, Radha Mohan Singh has launched 3 web portals namely, Soil
Health Card portal, Fertiliser Quality Control System portal and Participatory
Guarantee System.
Soil Health Card portal
It has been developed for registration of soil samples, recording test results of soil samples
and generation of Soil Health Card (SHC) along with fertilizer recommendations to create a
national database on soil health for future use in research.
Participatory Guarantee System portal
It will help small and marginal farmers engaged in organic farming to secure certification
after checks for compliance to standards are carried out.
Fertiliser Quality Control System portal
It will compare results of drawn samples of imported fertilisers helping both consumers and
importers with analysis reports.
Home Ministry gives nod to Huawei to set up unit in Tamil Nadu
The Home Ministry has given nod to the Chinese telecom giant Huawei to set up
a manufacturing unit in Tamil Nadu.
But the catch is that Huawei will have to appoint Indians in key posts like chief of
technical operations and chief security officer.
At a cost of Rs 25 crore, Huawei wants to set up a unit for electronics and telecom
hardware and support services, including trading and logistics activities, at the
Special Economic Zone, Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu.
Remnants of Indias one of the oldest port discovered in Goa
Scientists have discovered remnants of a historically important port on Goas Zuari
river which is expected to be one of the oldest port and may be contemporary to
Dwarka in Gujarat.
The discovered dockyard is similar in structure to Lothal dockyard which is 4500
years old and was discovered by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in Gujarat in
1954.
The old port is expected to be existed between 1,000 and 3,500 AD.
Awards
Four Indian scientists receive William Harvey Award 2015

 Four Indian scientists from the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim
University, have jointly been awarded the prestigious William Harvey Award for
2015.
Hasan Arif, Kafeel Akhtar, Shagufta Qadri and Suhailur Rahman are the recipients of
the prestigious award in the field of Hematology.
They have been awarded for their work in Hemoglobin C disease (Hb C) which is
predominant in West African and Mediterranean countries
About William Harvey Award
The award is named after scientist William Harvey (1578- 1657).
He developed the first accurate account of how the heart and circulatory system
operated.
It is given by the American Society of Hypertension
Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Churachandpur of Manipur won 18th National Youth
Parliament Competition
Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Churachandpur (Manipur) has won the 18th Youth Parliament
Competition for Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas.
About National Youth Parliament Competition
National Youth Parliament Competition for school children is organised by Ministry of
Parliamentary Affairs.
The aim of the competition is to inculcate the spirit of self-discipline, tolerance of
diverse opinion, righteous expression of views and other virtues of a democratic
way of life.
It covers 1200 schools in NCT of Delhi, 1200 Kendriya Vidyalayas, 600 Jawahar
Navodaya Vidyalays and 300 Universities/Colleges all over the country.
Banking & Finance
RBI constitutes committee on financial inclusion.
International Affairs
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Today (18th July) is International Nelson Mandela Day.

This is an annual international day in honour of Nelson Mandela.
Note : 18th July is Mandela's birthday
The day was officially declared by the United Nations in November 2009.
The first UN Mandela Day was held on 18 July 2010.

Muslims around the world are celebrating the three-day Eid al-Fitr festival, which
marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
o
The beginning and end of Islamic months are determined by the sighting of
the new moon.
US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet the Foreign Minister of Cuba
Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla at Washington on Monday.
o
On this day, the two countries would raise their national flags in Havana and
Washington to mark the historic reopening of their diplomatic ties after a five-decade
freeze.
The first meeting of India-Myanmar Joing Consultative Commission was held at New
Delhi.
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External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met U Wunna Maung

Lwin,Foreign Minister of Myanmar.
Ahead of Myanmars landmark first election under a military-backed
quasi-civilian government, India has offered the neighbouring country its armed
forces experience on working in a democracy.
India has reaffirmed its commitment to support the modernisation of the
Myanmar Armed Forces and would be happy to share its experience in functioning in
a democratic environment, cooperation in the field of IT, in dealing with emerging
security challenges, and military to military cooperation including in training.

National Affairs
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Rath Yatra of Lord Jagganath began in Puri, Odisa today.

This is Century's biggest Rath Yatra (about 67 km from state capital
Bhubaneshwar).
The event, this time, is coinciding with the Navakalevar (re-birth ceremony) of
the 12th century Puri Jagannath temple deities.

Deaths
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French Formula 1 driver Jules Bianchi has died, nine months after suffering severe
head injuries in a crash at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.
Uruguays soccer legend Alcides Ghiggia passed away.
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Note : He scored the winning goal in the final game of the 1950 World Cup to
give Uruguay a stunning 2-1 victory over Brazil (still recalled as Brazils greatest
defeat).

Business & Economy

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directed banks to ensure that their overall
direct lending to farmers should not fall below the average of last three years,
as government has expressed concerns over impact of recent adverse weather
conditions.
NITI Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya exuded confidence that the Indian
economy is going to grow up to 8-trillion US Dollar within next 15 years.

Sports
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Ethiopian middle- and long-distance runner Genzebe Dibaba shattered a 22-yearold record in the womens 1500 metres today.

Pakistan allrounder Mohammad Hafeez has been banned from bowling in

international cricket for 12 months after his action was found to be illegal for a second
time since November 2014.
National Affairs

The Government is going to spend over 90 thousand crore rupees for the
development of North Eastern region.
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This include construction of highways and developing rail networks.
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Amid a controversy over not releasing of caste census data, the government has set
up an Expert Group to collate caste count.
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This Expert Group will be headed by : Arvind Panagariya (Vice-Chairman
of NITI Ayog)
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The government has been criticised by parties, including Samajwadi Party,
JD(U), RJD and DMK for refraining from releasing the caste-based data in its first Socio
Economic and Caste Census (SECC).
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Note : The SECC data released on July 3 is first in eight decades after 1912.
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The 6 member government panel on Net neutrality has recommended that apps
offering domestic calling be brought under the regulatory framework prescribed for
telecom operators, but those providing messaging and international calling services over
the Internet be kept free from licensing requirements.
o
Head of this panel : A.K. Bhargava (Adviser, Technology, Department of
Telecommunication)
Note : The report suggests that plans such as Airtel Zero be allowed with prior clearance
from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, but opposes platforms such as
Internet.org of Facebook.
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The government of Nagaland has prohibited permanently the manufacture,
storage, sale and
distribution of all forms of processed sweet
flavored/scented/chewable tobacco whether going by the name or form of gutkha,
pan-masala, zarda etc., containing tobacco or nicotine as ingredients by whatsoever
name available in the market in Nagaland.
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Chief Minister of Nagaland : T. R. Zeliang
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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by the Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, has approved the creation of an intra state transmission systemin
7 states.
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Those states include,

Andhra Pradesh,

Gujarat,

Himachal Pradesh,

Karnataka,

Madhya Pradesh,

Maharashtra

Rajasthan
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Estimated cost of this project : Rs 8548.68 crore [Government of
India contribution from National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) of Rs 3419.47 crore (40
percent of the total estimated cost of project)].
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To address the issues of pollution, congestion and lack of housing for the poor and
middle class, the union government has approved the TOD Policy for Delhi.
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TOD : Transit Oriented Development
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Minister of urban development M.Venkaiah Naidu has cleared the
policy which is expected to recast Delhi's landscape as part of review of Master Plan
for Delhi - 2021.
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Note : The ministry almost doubled the floor area ratio for
constructions around mass rapid transit systems like the Metro, albeit with some
riders.
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MOUs
Adding more momentum in the area of defense product manufacturing under the
Make in India initiative, American aerospace and defense major Boeing has signed a
framework agreement with Tata Advanced Systems Ltd. (TASL), a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Tata Sons, to collaborate in aerospace and defence manufacturing.
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Both companies, as per this agreement, will jointly work on potential
integrated systems development opportunities, including unmanned aerial vehicles.
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The two companies plan to access markets jointly for products and platforms
developed together by them.
Science & Technology

Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai has joined hands with Techfest, IIT Bombay to launch
a pilot project Internet for All
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The internet for all project, which is being piloted at 26 rural schools in
Nashik district , will be a facility incorporated in Nehru Science Centres mobile
science exhibition bus and will cover a distance of 650 km.
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The aim is to literally take internet to the doorsteps of students studying in
remote parts of Maharashtra.
Business & Economy

The Greek parliament passed sweeping austerity measures demanded by lenders to

open talks on a new multibillion-euro bailout package to keep Greece in the euro.
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The legislation includes tax rises and an increase in the retirement age.
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In a bid to streamline the FDI structure, the government has introduced a composite
foreign investment cap by clubbing all forms of overseas investments to define
sectoral limits.
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The proposal is aimed at simplification of FDI policy with a view to attracting
foreign investments and also improving ease of doing business in India.
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"from now onwards, all FIIs, NRIs and other foreign investments... Will be
clubbed. It will be constituted as a composite cap", Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.
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Note : Under the existing policy, there are different caps for separate
investment categories like FDI, FII and NRIs.
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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted a committee with the objective of
working out a medium-term (five-year) measurable action plan for financial inclusion.
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The terms of reference will include reviewing the existing policy of financial
inclusion, including supportive payment system and customer protection framework,
taking into account the recommendations made by various committees set up earlier.
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Head of this Committee : Deepak Mohanty (RBI Executive Director).
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The Home Ministry has cleared a proposal of Chinese telecom giant Huawei to set up
a manufacturing unit in Tamil Nadu.
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The move came almost two months after Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit
to China where he affirmed his commitment to creating a business environment
suitable for both the countries.
Sports
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Bangladesh record 4th consecutive ODI series win by beating South Africa by 9
wickets to claim the series.
Today (15th July) is World Youth Skills Day.
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This is for the first time the world is celebrating this day.
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To raise awareness about the importance of investing in youth skills
development, the United Nations General Assembly has decided to celebrate the first
World Youth Skills Day (WYSD) on 15 July 2015.
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This years theme : Youth skills for work and life in the post-2015 agenda

National Affairs
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches the Skill India campaign on the occasion of
World Youth Skills Day.
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Highlights of this Campaign :

To mark the World Youth Skills Day, the government has set a target of
skilling 40.2 crore people by 2022, under the new National Policy for Skill
Development, in which 54 percent of people will be skilled in agriculture sector.

A number of initiatives are aimed at developing skills and promoting

entrepreneurship among youth, during the mega-launch of Skill India Mission.
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Initiatives launched for much-ambitious Skill India :

Model Skill Loan Scheme

Skill Card for persons certified under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas
Yojana (PMKVY)

National Policy for Skill Development.

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Note : National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) will converge,
coordinate, implement and monitor skilling activities across India.
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Maharashtra legislative assembly has passed the Maharashtra Guarantee of
Public Services Bill, 2015 empowering citizens to avail their rights in stipulated time
with less efforts and cost.
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Social activist Anna Hazare has announced that he is going for indefinite hunger
strike in New Delhi from 2nd October over Land Acquisition Bill and One Rank One
Pension issues.
Awards & Honors

Modern Indian artist Sayed Haider Raza, has been conferred with the highest
French civilian honour, the Commandeur de la Legion dHonneur (the Legion of
Honour) for his peerless achievements.
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Created in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, the award is given for outstanding
service to France, regardless of recipients nationality.
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Krishnapatnam Port in Andhra Pradesh has received the Golden Peacock
environment management award for its initiatives and achievements in the field of
environment.
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The award was presented by Union Minister of State for Environment
Prakash Javadekar to C Sasidhar, Managing Director (Krishnapatnam Port) at the
17th World Congress on Environment Management held in New Delhi.
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The Golden Peacock awards, instituted by the Institute of Directors, are
presented annually under various categories.
Business & Economy
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The Defense Acquisition Council has cleared purchases of over Rs 29,000

croreof equipment, including four maritime spy planes from Boeing worth Rs 4,380 crore
and hundreds of air defence guns.
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Note : The largest order approved was for 428 L-70 and ZU-23 air defence
guns worth around Rs 16,900 crore.

Defense Minister : Manohar Parrikar.

New Appointments

Global financial services hub Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT

City)has appointed Ajay Kumar Pandey as its new Managing Director and Group CEO.

He will replace the current head of GIFT, Ramakant Jha, who has been
associated with the project since November 2009. Jha will move to Mumbai as CEO of
IL&FS's Smart City initiative.
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Madhya Pradesh government has appointed former Chief Secretary Rakesh
Sahni as the Chairman of Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA).
Sports
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Champions League Twenty-20 tournament scrapped.

The Governing Council of the Champions League Twenty 20, CLT20, has
confirmed that the multi nation T-20 competition is discontinued with immediate
effect.
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The Governing Council of CLT20, comprising representatives of the Board of
Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Cricket South Africa (CSA) and Cricket Australia
(CA) made the decision unanimously.
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The Council determined that the discontinuation of the league was the most
appropriate decision due to the tournament's limited public following.
International Affairs

The United States, Iran and Five other world powers (UK, France, Germany,
Russia and China) have announced an understanding outlining limits on Irans nuclear
programme so it cannot lead to atomic weapons, directing negotiators toward achieving
a comprehensive agreement within three months.
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This agreement will lift sanctions on Iran but place strict limits on its nuclear
programme for more than a decade.
National Affairs

Ministry of Women and Child Development in collaboration with Facebook has

launched the 100 Women Initiative which aims to recognize and acknowledge women
who are making a difference in their communities across the country.
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The initiative involves a contest to select 100 women achievers of India
through public nominations via social media.
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Minister for Women & Child Development : Maneka Gandhi
People in News

Uttar Pradesh government has suspended senior IPS officer Amitabh Thakur on various
charges including violating official disciplinary norms.
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Former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda, ex-Coal Secretary H C Gupta and
seven other accused will be put on trial for alleged offences of criminal conspiracy and
corruption in a coal block allocation case.
Books and Authors
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Go Set a Watchman, the eagerly awaited a second book by the famous American
author Harper Lee has been published, almost 60 years after it was written.
o
Note : Harper Lee became famous for her classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird,
for which she won the Pulitzer Prize.

Science & Technology

o

China has set up the World's Largest Cancer Registry System that will cover
over 300 million people in a bid to fight the deadly disease with evidence-based and
more-targeted intervention programmes.

At least three million people develop cancer each year in China, and the
registry is expected to expand to include 40 per cent of the nation's population of
1.36 billion by 2020.

MOUs
o

India and Georgia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for

cooperation in the field of Election Management and Administration.
o
The MoU was signed by Chief Election Commissioner of India, Dr. Nasim
Zaidi, and Ms. Tamar Zhvania, Chairperson, Central Election Commission,
Georgia.

Deaths
Veteran music composer MS Viswanathan passes away.
He was popularly known as Mellisai Mannar (Tamil for "The King of Light
Music").
o
He composed songs in the languages Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, and
Hindi for over 1200 films.
o
The Tamil Nadu government conferred the Thirai Isai Chakravarthy title
(Tamil for "The Emperor of Cine Music") on him.
New Appointments

Lt Gen Man Mohan Singh Rai has been appointed as the next Vice-Chief of the
Indian Army.
o
Rai, at present the Eastern Army Commander, will replace Lt Gen Philip
Campose, who superannuates on July 31.
o
Lt General Praveen Bakshi, currently serving as Chief of Staff, Northern
Command, will be elevated as Army commander and moved to Eastern Command.

Sports
Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals suspended from IPL for two years for
betting and spot fixing scandals.
o
Key officials of the teams - Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra were banned
for life
o
The Lodha panel, which was appointed by the Supreme Court of India, has
made this landmark judgement.
International Affairs

o
o
o

o
o
o

Prime Minister Narendra Modi concludes his tour to Central Asia and Russia.
During
this Eight-day
visit,
he
visited Five
Central
Asian
countries (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan) and Russia.
He also attended the BRICS and SCO Summits.

BRICS : Brazil, Russia, India,China and South Africa

SCO : Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

On the last leg of his visit, he reached Tajikistan.
He held talks with Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon.
MOUs Signed between Indian and Tajikistan :

Programme of Cooperation (POC) between Ministries of Culture

of India and Tajikistan in the field of Culture for the years 2016-18 : The
POC envisages cooperation in the field of culture through exchange of expertise in
protection, preservation and promotion of cultural heritage in both countries,

exchange of information and experts and organization of cultural days in each

others countries for greater cultural understanding between the countries.

Exchange of Note Verbale (NV) on setting up of Computer Labs

in 37 Schools in Tajikistan : The Note Verbale conveys the intention of Indian
side to set up computer labs in 37 schools in Tajikistan for supporting Government
of Tajikistans human resource and skill development efforts. The NV also outlines
responsibilities of both sides in implementing the project.
National Affairs
Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has inaugurated India's
longest road tunnel at Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir today.
o
This will cut the Jammu to Srinagar distance by 30 kms visit
o
All preparations in place for Kumbh Mela which is going to begin in Nashik
tomorrow.
o
1st 'Shahi Snan' is scheduled on August 29 during mela which is being
organized after 12 years
o
Similar preparations on for 12-day Godavari Maha Pushkaralu in
Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states.
o
Surat became the first city in the country to have a modern, real-time CCTV
surveillance network.
o
In the first phase, 104 CCTV cameras were installed at 23 locations together
with a 280 square feet video wall, one of the largest in the country, at the city's police
control room.
o
CBI constituted a 40-member special team to probe Vyapam scam in Madhya
Pradesh.
o
On Thursday, a bench headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu had transferred the
probe of all cases related to the scam to the CBI asking the investigating agency to
file its report before the Apex Court on 24th of this month.
Science & Technology
o

India has test-fired its indigenously developed Nag anti-tank guided missile.
It can hit a target upto seven kilometres, from a helicopter.
Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju today formally launched GAGAN,
which would make airline operations more efficient and cut down costs as it reduces
separation between aircraft, increase air safety and fuel efficiency.
o
The new system will provide augmentation service for GPS over the country,
Bay of Bengal, south east Asia and Middle East expanding up to Africa.
o
GAGAN : GPS-Aided Geo Augmented Navigation
o

Sports
Indians have won Three Wimbledon titles in 24 Hours.
Sania Mirza along with Martina Hingis (Switzerland) has won Womens
Doubles title.
o
Leander Paes along with Martina Hingis (Switzerland) has won Mixed
Doubles title.
o
Sumit Nagal along with L Hong Nam (Vietnam)won Boys Doubles title .
o
BCCI suspends Mumbai Ranji cricketer Hiken Shah for making corrupt approach to a
fellow player during IPL.
People in News
o

Malala Yousafzai, the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, has
celebrated her 18th birthday in Lebanon on Sunday by opening a school for Syrian
refugee girls.
o
She called on world leaders to invest in books not bullets.
o
She became a symbol of defiance after she was shot in the head in Pakistan in
2012 by the Taliban for advocating girls rights to education.
o
She continued campaigning and won the Nobel in 2014.
o
The Malala Fund, a non-profit organisation that supports local education
projects, paid for the school in the Bekaa Valley, close to the Syrian border.
o
It can welcome up to 200 girls aged 14 to 18.
Business & Economy

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has pledged to work with Greece and its
European creditors to solve the countrys financial crisis after Mondays bailout
agreement.
o
The conditional agreement allows Greece to temporarily avert the prospect of
abandoning the euro and the global financial chaos that would cause.
Awards & Honors

o
o

o
o

Miss Oklahoma Olivia Jordan was crowned Miss USA on Sunday, beating out 50
other contestants to win the 64th annual pageant.
Four scientists from the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University,
have jointly been awarded the prestigious William Harvey Award for 2015 in the field
of Hematology.
o
They are,

Saeedul Hasan

Arif Kafeel Akhtar

Shagufta Qadri

Suhailur Rahman
Indian Director Vivek Agnihotri's political satire 'Buddha In A Traffic Jam' has won
the Best Original Screenplay award in a foreign language category at the Madrid
International Film Festival 2015.
On the last leg of his visit to five Central Asian countries and Russia, Prime Minister of
India Narendra Modi reaches Tajikistan.
o
He
was
received
by Tajikistan
Prime
Minister
Qohir
Rasulzodaand Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Aslov at Dushanbe International
Airport.
Tunisia's status as a "non-NATO ally" of the United States has been approved
today.
o
This move will pave the way for enhanced military cooperation between the
countries.
o
Note : Tunisia is the 16th country to become a Major Non-NATO Ally of the
United States.

MOUs
o

India and Kyrgyzstan today signed agreements in Four Key areas, including
defence cooperation and cultural preservation.
o
The agreements signed are
o
Agreement on Defence Cooperation : To deepen cooperation between
India and Kyrgyzstan in matters relating to defence security, military education and
training, conduct of joint military exercises , experience exchange, information
exchange, exchange of military instructors and observers etc

o
o

Memorandum of mutual understanding and corporation in the field of

elections :To deepen cooperation in matters relating to legislation on elections and
referendums , modern systems and technologies, rights of elections process and
stakeholders as well as other issues of election administration. Signing of this MoU
would build technical assistance and capacity support for the election commission in
electoral management and administration leading to a further strengthening of
bilateral ties between India and Kyrgyzstan
MoU between Ministry of Economy of Kyrgyzstan and Bureau of
Indian Standards (BIS) on cooperation in the sphere of standards
Agreement on cooperation in culture: To deepen cultural cooperation
between India and Kyrgyzstan in areas such as preservation of cultural heritage,
organisation of folk arts, theatre, youth festivals and cooperation in of publishing and
translation of literature, sports and physical culture, exchange of archival materials,
history, geography etc.

President of Kyrgyzstan : Atambaev

Business & Economy

NABARD is celebrating it's 34th Foundation Day today.

NABARD : National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development

NABARD is an apex development bank in India having headquarters based in
Mumbai.
o
It was established on 12 July 1982.
o
NABARD Chairman : Dr. Harsh Kumar Bhanwal
NABARD has announced that it is going to give Rs 30,000 crore rupees as credit to
farmers for irrigation over the next 3 years.
o
This funding will be in addition to the governments recent announcement of
providing Rs 50,000 crore of loans to farmers over the next 5 years under the Pradhan
Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana.
Government is working on a new agriculture insurance scheme that will cover all
the inputs put by a farmer into his farm as also the loans taken by him, Finance Minister
Arun Jaitley has announced today.
o
Note : The present crop insurance schemes cover only the loans which a
farmer has taken from banks.
The Finance Ministry has imposed definitive anti-dumping duty on Phenol
imports from South Africa.
o
Based on the recommendations of the Designated Authority in the Commerce
Ministry in its Sunset review investigations, the revenue department has imposed
this anti-dumping duty of $ 342.76 per tonne on all phenol imports from South
Africa.
o
This anti-dumping duty will be valid for a period of five years.
o
Note : Phenol is a basic organic chemical used in plywoods, laminates,
particle boards, pharmaceuticals and phenyl formaldehyde resins.
o
o

Sports
o
o
o

Sania Mirza creates history by winning Wimbledon women's doubles title with
Martina Hingis.
o
She became First Indian woman to win a Grass Court crown.
Novak Djokovic won the Wimbledon Men's singles title by beating Roger
Federer.
India beat Zimbabwe by 62 runs in 2nd ODI.

Daily Current Affairs updates of July 2105

International Affairs
Today is Independence Day of The Bahamas.
Note : Bahmas got freedom from British on 10th July 1973
Important Details about Bahmas

Capital : Nassau

Official language : English

Monarch : Elizabeth II

Governor-General : Marguerite Pindling

Prime Minister : Perry Christie

Currency : Bahamian dollar (BSD)

o
BRICS Summit 2015
o
The BRICS group denounces military interventions as well as imposing
economic sanctions that violate international law, the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India,
China and South Africa said in the Ufa Trade Union Declaration adopted.
o
Pitching for closer cooperation and coordination among BRICS
nations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proposed a 10-point initiative that
includes India hosting the first trade fair for the grouping and establishing research
centres for railways and agriculture.
o
Calling it Das Kadam: Ten Steps for the Future, Modi put forward new
initiatives for the BRICS grouping that is formed by major emerging economies.
o
Those 10 Steps are :

BRICS Trade Fair

BRICS Railway Research Centre

Cooperation Among Supreme Audit Institutions

BRICS Digital Initiative

BRICS Agricultural Research Centre

BRICS State / Local Government's Forum

Cooperation amongst Cities in field of Urbanization

BRICS Sports Council and Annual BRICS Sports Meet

First major project of NDB to be in field of Clean Energy

BRICS Film Festival

o
15th SCO Summit 2015
o
The 15th SCO Summit opened in Ufa, Russia
SCO : Shanghai Cooperation Organization
o
Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted the Summit.
o
Founded in 2001
o
Full Members of SCO : China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia,
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as its full members.
o
Observers : Afghanistan, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan
o
Dialogue Partners : Belarus, Turkey and Sri Lanka
o
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on
the sidelines of SCO Summit.
o
The bilateral meeting between both the leaders was held after a gap of
more than a year.
o
PM Modi & Nawaz Sharif met for the first time in May last year
o
Highlights of Modi-Nawaz bilateral meeting

Pakistan agreed to expedite 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case trial.

Condemning terrorism in all forms, India and Pakistan agree to cooperate to eliminate it from South Asia.
o

o
o

A meeting in New Delhi will be held between the two NSAs to discuss
all issues connected to terrorism.
Decision for release of fishermen in each other's custody, along with
their boats, within a period of 15 days.
Mechanism for facilitating religious tourism.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi accepted Nawaz Sharif's invitation to
visit Pakistan next year.

MOUs
o

In a strategic tie up to scale up skill development and entrepreneurship initiatives in

the country, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has
today joined hands with the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers (MCF).
o
The two Ministries entered into strategic partnership where three
Memorandum of Understanding were signed with the three departments under the
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers

Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals (DoC&P),

Department of Fertilizers (DoF)

Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP).

o
Note : The MOUs were signed in the presence of Union
Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Ananth Kumar and Minister of State
for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (Independent Charge) and
Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
India and the United States signed a tax information sharing agreement under
a new US law, FATCA, that will enable automatic exchange of financial information
between the two nations about tax evaders, from September 30.
o
The pact will cover automatic sharing of information on bank accounts
as well as financial products like equities, mutual funds and insurance and is aimed at
fighting the menace of black money stashed abroad.
o
Beginning September 30, banks, mutual funds, insurance, pension and
stock-broking firms will report their Indian client details to the United States which will
be shared with New Delhi.
o
FATCA : Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act

Business & Economy

o

Greece has submitted new bailout reform plans to Eurozone in a last-ditch effort to
save the country's collapsing economy and its fragile place in the single currency..
o
Note : Greece is seeking 53.5 billion euros ($59 billion) as part of a new
bailout package.
o
Under the proposal, Athens would receive the loans from the eurozone bailout
fund, the European Stability Mechanism, or ESM.

People in News
Russian Cosmonaut Gennady Padalka has achieved a landmark in NASA history by
becoming the first man to spend longest time on International Space Station
(ISS).
o
He has set the Guinness World record by spending 804 days by July 2015.
Science & Technology

Indigenously developed supersonic surface-to-air missile "Akash" was inducted

inIndian Air Force.

The missile system can target aircraft upto 30 km away, at altitudes upto
18,000 metres.
o
It has the capability to neutralise aerial targets like fighter jets, cruise missiles
and air-to-surface missiles.
o
Note : Indian Air Force has given an initial contract for eight squadrons of
Akash defence system.

Each squadron has two firing units with four launchers.

Each launcher has a capacity to fire three missiles in quick succession.

o
The Akash system has been developed by the Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO) and Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL).
o
Defence Minister : Manohar Parrikar.
o
Air Chief Marshal : Arup Raha
ISRO successfully launched PSLV-C28 carrying 5 UK satellites.
o
Note : This is the heaviest commercial vehicle launched by ISRO.
For the first time in India, a system to detect earthquakes and disseminate
warnings has been installed in Uttarakhand, where researchers have predicted an
earthquake of magnitude 8 or greater.
o
Note : It will issue warnings 1-40 seconds before earthquakes of
magnitude 5 occur.
o

o
o

Sports
o
o
o
o

Wimbledon 2015
Sania Mirza- Martina Hingis entered women's doubles final by beating Raquel
Kops-Jones - Abigail Spears.
India won it's first ODI against Zimbabwe by 4 runs.
Ambati Rayudu is the Man of the Match.

International Affairs
o
o

Pakistan has ruled out the possibility of banning Jamaat-ud Dawah led by Mumbai
attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, claiming that there is no evidence to link it with
terrorism and the outlawed Lashkar-e-Toiba.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kazakhstan premier Karim Massimovhave
launched the first exploratory drilling of the Satpayev oil block by India's OVL (ONGC
Videsh Ltd) and KazMunaiGaz.
o
The two leaders launched the drilling through live video conferencing.

MOUs
India and Kazakhstan today inkedFive key agreements including a defence pact to
enhance military cooperation and a contract for supply of uranium.
o
List of MOUs signed between India and Kazakhstan.

MOU on Cooperation on Physical Cultural and Sports.

MoU on Technical Cooperation in the field of Railways.

Agreement on Transfer of Sentenced Persons

Agreement on Defence and Military Technical Cooperation

Long term contract between Department of Atomic Energy, India and

KazAtomProm for sale and purchase of natural uranium concentrates
o
The Telangana government and the Hyderabad based ICRISAT today signed MOU to
implement Information and Communication Technology-based knowledge
sharing platforms and other agricultural innovation initiatives to improve productivity
and profitability of small-holder farmers.

National Affairs
o

The Government has raised Minimum Wages of workers throughout the country
by around 17%.
o
National Floor Level Minimum Wage has been hiked from Rs. 137 to Rs. 160
per day.
o
The new wage hike will be effective from first of this month.
The Labour Ministry of India has urged all states to ensure Social Security Benefits to
every Employee.
o
In a letter written to all the Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors, Labour
and Employment Minister Bandaru Dattatraya has asked to ensure all benefits
to outsourced staff in government departments, public sector undertakings and state
cooperatives and other bodies.
The Supreme Court today issued notices to the Central Government, Election
Commission of India and the six National Political Parties (BJP, Congress, BSP, CPI, CPI(M)
and NCP) on a plea to bring all political parties under the ambit of Right to
Information (RTI) Act, 2005.
Punes Fergusson College, founded in 1885, has been accorded the special
heritage status by the University Grants Commission (UGC). With the status comes
financial assistance for its upkeep.
o
Note : The college is among the 19 institutions in the country to get the
heritage status.

Business & Economy

o

Based on a report released by the World Bank, 'The State of Social Safety Nets
2015', the rural employment guarantee programme MGNREGA has been ranked as
the world's largest public works programme, providing social security net to almost
15 per cent of the country's population.
o
About MGNREGA :

MGNREGA : Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee

Act

Its been launched in 2006 as NREGA and renamed as MGNREGA on

2nd October 2009.

Its intended to provide 150 days of employment to rural adult

households as a right.
o
Note : The World Bank ranked the Janani Suraksha Yojna with 78
million beneficiaries as the top-most social security programme with conditional cash
transfers.

It also ranked the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension

Scheme as the second-largest unconditional cash transfer social security
progamme in the world.
Eurozone has given Greece until tomorrow to present new proposals to secure a
deal with creditors and has called a full EU summit for Sunday.
o
On Sunday, a meeting of all 28 members of the European Union will be
held.
o
The moves came after an emergency eurozone leaders summit in
Brussels yesterday.
o
Note : The eurozone had expected Greece to submit fresh plans
yesterday after its voters rejected a deal in a referendum, but no new proposals were
tabled.
o
European Council President : Donald Tusk

Sports
Ashes 2015
The oldest rivalry in Test cricket, Ashes begins in Cardiff today's afternoon.
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia.
The Ashes are regarded as being held by the team that most recently won the
Test series.
o
Current trophy holder is Australia. Last time, Australia had defeated England
in 2013-14 to claim the all-important urn.
o
Note : The Ashes urn (made of terracotta and about 15 cm (six inches) tall) is
reputed to contain a burnt cricket bail.
National Affairs

o
o
o

The Union home ministry has declared whole of Nagaland as a "disturbed area"
for a further period of one year from 30th June 2015.
o
Its notification in this regard states that the Central government is of the
opinion that the entire state is in such a "disturbed" and "dangerous" condition that
the use of armed forces in aid of civil power is "necessary".
o
This declaration came a month after the Naga rebel outfit, NSCN (Khaplang),
launched an ambush in adjoining Manipur, killing 18 Army personnel.
o
Note : Declaring whole of Nagaland as a "disturbed" area under Section 3 of
theArmed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 will give the armed forces powers to
search, raid and arrest without a warrant.

It would also allow use of force by the Army personnel even to the
extent of causing death, against one who puts law and order in a 'disturbed' area,
in peril.
o
Press Council of India (PCI) has asked the government to enact a special law to
deal with the cases of assault on journalists and it should be made cognizable and
non- bailable offence.
o
PCI chairman : Justice C K Prasad
International Affairs
o

7th BRICS summit started at Rusian city Ufa.

BRICS Summit is an annual diplomatic meeting of the BRICS countries, a
grouping of major emerging economies.
o
These countries includes Brazil,Russia, India, China and South Africa.
o
Note : Russia is hosting 7th BRICS Summit.

6th BRICS summit was hosted by Brazil.

o
Participants of BRICS Summit 2015

from Brazil : Dilma Rousseff (President)

from Russia : Vladimir Putin (President)

from India : Narendra Modi (Prime Minister)

from China : Xi Jinping (President)

from South Africa : Jacob Zuma (President)

o
Note : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proposed that the BRICS
nations host an annual trade fair.

He also added that India would be happy to host the first BRICS trade
fair.
Myanmar officials have announced that 8th November 2015 as the date for a
historic general election set to be the first contested by Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition in
a quarter of a century.
o

MOUs
India and the US signed an inter-governmental agreement to implement theForeign
Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) towards greater transparency between the two
countries on tax matters.
o
The agreement was signed by Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das
and US ambassador to India Richard Verma.
o
Vadodara and China's Xinjinag province has signed a Memorandum Of
Understanding (MoU) for the development of Twin Cities.
o
The
MoU,
signed
in
Mumbai
between Vadodara
Municipal
Corporation andChangji Hui Autonomous Prefecture of Xinjinag Uygur
Autonomous Region, aims to enhance infrastructure growth and development
between the two regions and for mutual cooperation in economic, scientific,
technological and cultural strength.
New Appointments
o

In a first, the government has appointed a private sector executive Sriram

Kalyanaraman as Managing Director and CEO of National Housing Bank.
o
Note : This is very important point to remember for Insurance Exams as he is
the first person form the private sector to head a public sector financial
institution.
o
At present, Kalyanaraman is Director-Business Development, Equifax Credit
Information Services.
o
Professor Lord Kamlesh Patel of Bradford, an OBE and a leading voice on health,
social care and community cohesion in the UK, has become the first British Asian to
join the England and Wales Cricket Board.
Deaths
o

Renowned Urdu poet, critic and orator Bashar Nawaz passed away.
He penned the immensely popular song 'Karoge yaad' in Hindi film
'Bazaar'.
o
He was honoured with prestigious "Pulotsav Samman" for his contribution to
Urdu literature.
Science & Technology

Indian space agency ISRO is all set to launch its heaviest commercial missionthat
would put five British satellites on board PSLV-C28 from the spaceport of Sriharikota
tomorrow.
Sports

o
o

India-Zimbabwe Cricket series will begin tomorrow with the first ODI at Harare.
Star athlete Inderjeet Singh has created history by becoming the first Indian to
clinch a gold in athletics in the World University Games by winning the men's shot
put
event
in
Gwangju,
Korea.

International Affairs
o

Today (7th July) is Global Forgiveness Day.

This day was created in 1994 by the Christian Embassy of Christ's
Ambassadors.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in Tashkent (capital of Uzbekistan) on the
first leg of his eight-day visit to Central Asia and Russia.
o
Highlights :
o

He was received at the airport by his counterpart Shavkat Miromonovich

Mirziyoyev.
o
He held talks with Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov on key bilateral
and regional issues including the situation in Afghanistan, and the two countries
inkedthree pacts to boost cooperation between their foreign offices and in the field
of culture and tourism.

List of Agreements signed between India and Uzbekistan

Intergovernmental Agreement on cooperation in the field of tourism.

Protocol on Cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,

Republic of Uzbekistan, and Ministry of External Affairs, Republic of India.

Intergovernmental Programme of Cultural Cooperation for 201517.

o
India and Uzbekistan released a Joint Statement (JS) to intensify
security cooperation and exchanges.
o
India and Uzbekistan agree to intensify security cooperation.
o
Uzbekistan supports India's permanent membership in UN security
council.
o
PM releases 1st Uzbek-Hindi dictionary with PM of Uzbekistan Shavkat
Miromonovich Mirziyoyev.
o
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is on 4 day visit to Russia to attend the inaugural
meeting of the BRICS-backed New Development Bank.
o
During this four-day visit, he will also be participating at the functions
on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit at Ufa which is being attended by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi.
o
Note : India is hoping to get more funds for infrastructure
development from BRICS bank, which will start with an initial paid-up capital of $50
billion with each BRICS country contributing $10 billion. Its authorised capital is $100
billion.
o
The BRICS nations account for nearly $16 trillion in GDP and 40 per
cent of the world's population.
National Affairs
o

Concerned over price rise in pulses and other commodities, the Centre today asked
state governments to take stringent action against hoarders and boost supply in
"vulnerable areas" prone to shortages.
o
The states have also been told to engage civil supplies corporations and
cooperatives for distribution of key commodities, besides augmenting storage
capacity.
o
On National Food Security law, the Centre warned that it will stop allocation of
additional foodgrains through ration shops to 24 states and UTs if they fail to roll out
the scheme by September.
o
Union Food and Civil Supply Minister : Ram Vilas Paswan
Business & Economy

The Adani Group has signed an agreement with the Tamil Nadu government for
setting up a 648 MW Solar Power plant in Ramanathapuram district.
o
The solar plant at Kamudhi in Ramanathapuram will be set up at a cost of Rs.
4,536 crore and the State will purchase the power generated at Rs. 7.01 per unit.
o
The agreement was signed in the presence of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.
Deaths

British Tamil batsman Bavalan Pathmanathan died after being struck in chest by
ball.

Note : In November 2014, Australian batsman Phillip Hughes died two days
after being struck on the top of the neck by a ball during a domestic match in Sydney.
Awards & Honors
o

Noted Indian conservation biologist Kamal Bawa will be formally admitted to

theprestigious Royal Society as a fellow on 10th July, for his "pioneering contributions
to understanding the population biology of tropical forest trees".
o
Bawa joins former and current fellows such as Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin,
Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, and about 80 Nobel laureates.
o
About Royal Society Fellowship :

Established in 1660, each year the Royal Society's existing fellowship

proposes about 700 candidates for election, and then elects up to 52 fellows from
England and the Commonwealth countries, and up to 10 foreign fellows.
o
UNESCO has decided to grant world heritage status to more than 20 old
industrial sites in Japan after officials from the country agreed to acknowledge that
some of them used Korean forced labourers before and during the second world war.
o
The
23
Meiji
period
(1868-1912)
sites
include coalmines and shipyards that Japan says contributed to its transformation
from feudalism into a successful modern economy.
o
UNESCO : United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization
Sports
o

Wimbledon 2015
Indo-Swiss pair of Leander Paes and Martina Hingis entered Mixed
Doubles quarter-finals by beating Kiwi-Aussie team of Artem Sitak and Anastasia
Rodionova.
Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. has lost his welterweight world title after failing to
meet a deadline to pay a US$200,000 "sanctioning" fee to the World Boxing Organization
(WBO) for his "fight of the century" against Manny Pacquiao.
o
The 38-year old American also failed to vacate his World Boxing Association
(WBA) and World Boxing Council (WBC) titles at junior middleweight -- an issue as
WBO rules state a boxer can only hold titles in one weight division.
o

International Affairs
o

Today (6th July) is World Zoonosis(also spelled zonosis and zoonoses)Day.

Zoonosis is an ailment that is transmitted from animals to human beings.
Zoonosis is derived from the Greek words zoon (animal)and nosos (ailment).
Approximately 150 zoonotic diseases are known to exist.
This day is observed every year to emphasize and bring the problem
awareness amongst people, and teach them to take right action.
o
Theme for the year 2015 : Vector-Borne Diseases With A Zoonotic Potential
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on Eight-day visit to Five Central Asian
countries and Russia.
o
The 5 central Asian nations he is going to visit are,

Uzbekistan,

Kazakhstan,

Turkmenistan,

Kyrgyzstan,

Tajikistan.
o
Aim of this visit is to enhance strategic, economic and energy ties
besides attending Summits of BRICS and SCO.
o
BRICS : Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa
o
o
o
o

o
o

SCO : Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

Schedule of the Visit :

The Prime Minister's visit will start with Uzbekistan from where he will
go toKazakhstan.

He will then travel to Russia on 8th July.

From there he will visit Turkmenistan on 10th July.

Kyrgyzstan on 11th July and Tajikistan on 12th July.

SCO Summit :

The SCO Summit, which will be held in Ufa in Russia, will see India
getting
the
membership
of
the
six-nation
grouping
comprising China, Russia,Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikista
n, which could be a major highlight of the visit.

Note : As of now, India has only an observer status.

BRICS Summit :

The Summit of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South

Africa), the important economies across the world, will focus on discussions on
enhancing cooperation in economic field, including the possibility of trade in local
currency.
During the visit to five Central Asian nations, the first by an Indian
Prime Minister to all of them together, the focus will be on enhancing trade,
which is "not impressive", and cooperation in energy and security.

National Affairs
In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court has ruled that an unwed mother can be
appointed as the sole legal guardian of her child without the consent of the father.
o
The court further held that it was not required of the mother to disclose the
identity of the father and include him as a party to the guardianship petition in certain
cases.
People in News
o

Greeces outspoken finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, resigned under pressure

from his government and his countrys creditors, who both identified him as an obstacle
to productive talks about a new bailout deal.

Business & Economy

o

Indian Railways rolled out its Fifty-Thousandth coach at Chennai.

This coach was manufactured by the Integrated Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai.
Railway Minister : Suresh Prabhu
The Central Government has approved a comprehensive developmental plan for
telephony network in the North East region at a cost of Rs 5336.18 crore.
o
This project will connect 8621 villages and will be commissioned by
September 2017.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has stated that the Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI) in manufacturing of tobacoo products is prohibited.
o
Note : Foreign direct investment (FDI) is prohibited in the manufacturing of
cigars, cheroots, cigarillos and cigarettes, of tobacco or of tobacco substitutes.
o
o

Sports

India won the SABA Championship 2015 by defeating Sri Lanka in final at
Bengaluru.
o
SABA : South Asian Basketball Championship
o
India has won SABA Championship for 3 times (2002, 2014 and 2015).
o
Note : This tournament serves as a qualifier for FIBA Asia Championship
o
Top 3 Medal Winners of SABA Championship 2015

India (Gold Medal)

Sri Lanka (Silver Medal)

Nepal (Bronze Medal)

o
Indian women's cricket team record a comfortable eight-wicket victory over New
Zealand in the fourth One Day International.
o
United States have lifted the FIFA Womens World Cup for the third time.
o
With this win, the USA became the first country to win the Cup
three times.
o
It won the cup first in 1991 and then in 1999.
o
FIFA Womens World Cup 2015 Award Winners

Golden Ball Award : Carli Lloyd (US), Amandine Henry (France), Aya
Miyama (Japan).

Golden Boot Award : Celia Sasic (Germany), Carli Lloyd (US), Anja
Mittag (Germany).

Golden Glove Award : Hope Solo (US).

Young Player Award : Kadeisha Buchanan (Canada).

Fair Play Award : France.

o
The Indo-Swiss tennis combine of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis enter the
women's doubles quarter-finals of Wimbledon by beating Medina Garrigues-Parra
Santonja .
National Affairs
o

UGC has asked all vice chancellors to ensure institutes display on their websites the
detailed fee structure and other expenses.
o
It has also asked them to display the profile of teachers and research output
of the institution.
o
UGC : University Grants Commission

Science & Technology

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) along with Antrix - its commercial arm, will
be launching five British Satellites that will be carried by Polar Satellite Launch
Vehicle (PSLV).
o
Altogether these five satellites will weigh nearly 1440 kg and will be launched
from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota on 10th July 2015.
Awards & Honors
o

Punjab government has announced that it will honour 3,726 players with a cash
prize worth Rs 15 crore for earning laurels to the state by bagging medals in national and
international sports events during 2011 to 2015.
o
This was decided in a departmental meeting held by the Punjab deputy
chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, who also holds sports portfolio.
o
After inviting applications from medallists in various international and national
sports events, sports department has selected 831 players in 2010-11, 518 in
2011-12, 745 in 2012-13 and 1,470 in 2013-14 and 2014-15 for cash prizes.

Note : Punjab government has decided to include Net

Kho game in sports policy from next year.

Ball and Kho-

Deaths
o
o
o
o
o
o

Eminent Pakistani Urdu novelist Abdullah Hussain passed away.

He was the author of the bestseller and critically- acclaimed 'Udas Naslain'.
Besides 'Udas Naslain' - considered a masterpiece of Urdu literature, he will be
remembered for his other famous novels - 'Baagh', 'Nadaar Loag' - and short
stories 'Faraib and Nashaib'.
Veteran actress Diana Douglas passed away.
She is the mother of actor Michael Douglas.
She appeared in dozens of films and TV shows including "Planes, Trains and
Automobiles", "ER" and "The West Wing".

Sports
Lewis Hamilton wins British Grand Prix 2015.
Chile has won Copa America Title for the first time by defeating 14 time winner
Argentina.
o
Copa Amrica formerly known as the South American Football
Championship is an international football competition of South America.
o
It is the oldest international continental football competition.
International Affairs

o
o

o
o

o
o
o

Today (4th July) is Independence Day of United States.

This day commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on
4th July 1776, by the Continental Congress declaring that the thirteen American
colonies regarded themselves as a new nation, the United States of America, and no
longer part of the British Empire.
Today (1st Saturday of July ) is International Day of Cooperatives.
This day celebrates the co-operative movement observed on the first
Saturday in July since 1923 by the International Co-operative Alliance.
Theme for the year 2015 : Equality (Choose co-operative, choose equality)

National Affairs
o

The government is going to convert 90,000 kms of country's national

highwaysinto green corridors, for this it is planning to create at least 1,000
contractors responsible for planting trees.
o
If the cost of road construction comes to around Rs 1 lakh crore, then Rs 1,000
crore will go for plantation.
o
Transport and Highways Minister : Nitin Gadkari.
The Uttar Pradesh Government has agreed to give in-principle approval to give
ownership rights to aasami pattedar or lease holders of agriculture lands.
o
The decision is expected to benefit lakhs of landless small farmers.
o
The present proposal will give them the ownership right as most of them are
totally landless.
o
The decision was taken on the basis of recommendations of the Revenue
committee that was set up by the government in 2012.

People in News

o
o

Vice Chancellor of Calcutta University Dr Suranjan Das removed from his post .
Prof. Sugata Marjit has been nominated for the post of Vice Chancellor of
the University.

Banking & Economy

BSNL launched its mobile wallet SpeedPay.
o
o
o
o
o
o

The service was launched by Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

It comes with a cash withdrawal option so you can use it to send money to
other people who can then use SpeedPay to withdraw cash from a bank even without
an account.
Customers will be charged a 1% transaction fee for transferring money to a
bank account of withdrawing it.
There will be no charges for wallet to wallet transfers and while the daily limit
for cash withdrawal is Rs 5,000 in the case of verified customers that can go up to Rs
1 lakh.
Currently BSNL has tied up with Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank to roll
out the service.
BSNL Chairman and Managing Director : Anupam Shrivastava

Deaths
o
o

Former Chief Justice of India Y K Sabharwal passed away.

He was the Chief Justice of India (CJI) from 1st November 2005 to 13th January
2007.

Awards & Honors

o

Four Indian Americans were honoured with the 2015 Great Immigrants: The Pride
of America award by Carnegie Corporation of New York.
o
They are :

Preet Bharara, United States Attorney, Southern District of New York

Rakesh Khurana, Professor, Dean, Harvard College

Madhulika Sikka, Vice President, Executive Editor, Mic

Abraham Verghese, Physician and Writer

Business & Economy

o

Airbus Helicopters and Mahindra Defence, a part of Mahindra Group, have signed
a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to form a joint venture to produce helicopters
in India and jointly bid for defence contracts in India under the government's Make in
India programme.

Sports
o

Indian Women's Hockey team has defeated Japan by 1-0 to achieve 5th place in
the World League semi-final at Antwerp, Belgium today.
o
This win has enhanced the hopes of Indian team to qualify for next year's Rio
Olympics.
Australia's injury-plagued paceman Ryan Harris announced his immediate
retirement from all forms of cricket, dealing a major setback to his team's defence of the
Ashes starting in England next week.

Careers
UPSC declares results of Civil Services Examination, 2014.
Women bag top four positions.
Ira Singhal tops the examination, while Renu Raj has secured the second
rank and Nidhi Gupta has got the third position.
o
A total of 1,236 candidates have been recommended for appointment into the
prestigious IAS, IPS, IFS and other central services.
International Affairs

o
o

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to visit five central Asian

nations andRussia from 6th July, where he will participate in the BRICS and SCO
Summits.
o
The 5 central Asian nations he is going to visit are,

Uzbekistan,

Kazakhstan,

Turkmenistan,

Kyrgyzstan,

Tajikistan.
National Affairs

Telecom operators like Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, RCom, and others including state-run BSNL
and MTNL have rolled out the Full Mobile Number Portability (MNP) from today (3rd
July).
o
The service will allow customers to retain their existing mobile number from
one telecom circle to another across the country and choose the operator of their
choice without changing their numbers.
o
Note : At present, mobile subscribers can switch their service provider within
the same telecom circle. The pan-India MNP will allow customers to keep their existing
mobile phone numbers while shifting between states and circles.
o
The Government releases First ever Socio-Economic and Caste Census in eight
decades.
o
Hilights of this Census :

This is the first-ever socio-economic caste census.

Rural Development Ministry began the exercise in 2011.

Rural Development Minister : Birender Singh

o
There are a total number of 24.39 crore households in the
country, of which 17.91 crore live in villages. Of these, 10.69 crore households are
considered as deprived.
o
21.53%, or 3.86 crore, families living in villages belong to SC/ST
categories.
o
4.6 per cent of all rural households in the country pay income
tax.
o
Percentage of Scheduled Caste (SC) households paying income
tax was 3.49 per cent.
o
Scheduled Tribe (ST) tax-paying rural households were mere
3.34 per cent.
o
Guinness Book of World Records has given recognition to the world record made on
World Hand Washing Day last year in Madhya Pradesh.
o
More than 12,78,000 students had washed their hands simultaneously
at over 13,000 places in all the 51 districts of the state on 15 October 2014.

Note : Earlier the world record was in the name of Argentina, Peru and
Mexico.
o
The Supreme Court issues notice to Kerala on Tamil Nadus plea that security
ofMullaperiyar Dam be handed over to CISF.
o
Tamil Nadu, in its one of the applications, has sought a direction from
the court that Kerala be restrained from conducting the environment impact
assessment for its new proposed dam at the site.
o
CISF : Central Industrial Security Force
o
Haryana government has launched a voluntary scheme 'Mhara Gaon - Jagmag
Gaon'.
o
This scheme aimed at providing 24-hour uninterrupted power supply to
rural domestic consumers and improving electricity bill collections in order to reduce
"huge" accumulated losses of power utilities.
People in News
o

France has rejected an appeal by the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to grant
him asylum.
o
The founder of the transparency website had appealed directly to French
President Francois Hollande, days after Wikileaks published documents showing
the United States had spied on successive French leaders, including Hollande himself.
Awards & Honors

The Government has decided to give National Award to best rag-pickers for their
contribution to keep India clean.
o
The national award, with a cash prize of Rs 1.5 lakh, will be given to three best
rag pickers and three associations involved in innovation of best practices.
o
Environment Minister : Prakash Javadekar
o
An Indian American teacher from Illinois, Darshan Jain, has been honoured with
thePresidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching by
the United States President, Barack Obama.
o
Note : Darshan Jain is one of the 108 teachers who shall receive the prize.
o
Indian American Professor Emeritus R. Paul Singh was named for the GCHERA
World Agriculture Prize 2015.
o
GCHERA : Global Confederation
for Higher Education Associations
for
Agriculture and Life Sciences.
New Appointments
o

C Ramakrishnan has been appointed as Tata Motors' Group Chief Financial

Officer.
Science & Technology

Microsoft is going to set up a "Digital Village" in Maharashtra and provide

technology support for health care services in remote tribal areas.
o
Maharashtra Chief
Minister Devendra
Fadnavis met India-born
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and informed that Microsoft will setup a pilot project
at Melghat in Amravati district in this regard.
Business & Economy

o
o
o
o

India's GDP crossed the $2-trillion mark

According to a World Bank report, India's GDP crossed the $2-trillion mark in
2014 and at present stands at $2.067 trillion.
In just seven years, India has added one trillion to its economy.
India's gross national income per person has risen to $1,610, which converts
to Rs 1,01,430 by present exchange rate.

)
August (81)
International Affairs
o

Today (2nd July) is International Sports Journalists Day.

This day is celebrated to urge members of the sporting media to strive for
excellence in their professional work.
The World Health Organization has announced that, Cuba has become thefirst
country in the world to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and
syphilis, the World Health Organisation has said.
o
WHO Director-General : Margaret Chan
o
About Cuba :

Capital : Havana

Official language : Spanish

President : Ral Castro

Prime Minister : Ral Castro

Currency
:
Peso
o

National Affairs
The Government gave three months time till September 30 for people to declare their
undisclosed foreign income and assets to escape prosecution under the new black
money law.
o
Tax and penalty on such funds can be paid till December 31.
o
Those availing the one-time 'compliance window' would be required to pay
a tax of 30 per cent and a penalty of a similar amount.
o
Note : Under the new Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and
Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, which has been passed by Parliament
and would come into force from April 1, 2016, the penalty would be much higher at
90 per cent, in addition to a 30 per cent tax on undisclosed foreign assets, while such
persons would also face criminal prosecution with a jail term of up to ten years.
o
The National Green Tribunal has imposed a complete ban on plastic bags in
the pilgrimage towns of Haridwar and Rishikesh, slamming the authorities for
lackadaisical attitude in keeping the Ganga clean, warning of action against those
violating the order.
o
Any person found using, bringing or in any way dealing with plastic material in
that area would be liable to pay Rs 5,000 per incident as compensation for
degradation of environment.
o
In a controversial decision, the Maharashtra government has decided
toderecognise madrasas, which do not teach primary subjects (English, Maths and
Science), as 'schools'.
o
Madrasas which do not teach primary subjects such as English, Maths and
Science would be considered as "non-schools" and children studying in them as "out
of school" students, state Minorities Affairs Minister Eknath Khadse announced.
o
1,400 primary teachers of Bihar have resigned from their service fearing government
action over possession of fake educational degrees.
o
The teachers have resigned after Patna High Court ordered directing those
who possess fake educational degrees to quit their job on their own in order avoid
legal action.
o
Note : The court has fixed a deadline of July 8 for this.
Awards & Honors

Noted scientist Sanjeev Galande has been selected for the prestigious G D Birla
award for 2014 for his pioneering research in the field of epigenetics and molecular
cell biology.
o
Galande is a professor at the Indian Institute of Science Education and
Research (IISER) in Pune and is widely respected for his works in genomics and
related areas.
o
The award, which is given to those below the age of 50, carries a cash prize of
Rs 2.5 lakh.
Science & Technology

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has launched a new automation

software,ARPAN 3.0 for the over 12 lakh soldiers of the Indian Army.
o
This software would provide the soldiers of Indian Army easy access to their
service records including pay and leave details and transfer and postings among
others.
o
The aim of this software is "digitisation of Indian Army's 45 Record Offices pan
India in one year time".
o
The software has been developed jointly by the Army Software
Development Centre (ASDC) and Tech Mahindra.
Business & Economy

Greece becomes first developed nation to default on IMF debt.

The last-minute overtures made by Greece to its international creditors for
financial aid could not save the country from becoming the first developed economy
to default on a loan with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Seafood exports from India touches an all time high of 33,441 crore
rupeesduring the last financial year.
o
Note : USA is the largest market for Indian seafood products with a share of
26.46 per cent
The World Bank has approved $650 million (about Rs 4,000 crore) worth of
loans for the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (a freight-only rail line) that will help
faster and more efficient movement of raw materials and finished goods between the
northern and eastern parts of India.
o

International Affairs
Today (1st July) is International Joke Day.
Six major powers and Iran have decided to extend an Interim Nuclear
Agreement until July 7 to allow more time for negotiations on a final deal, the United
States said on Tuesday the deadline for a long-term accord.
o
The six major powers are, Britain, China, France, Germany,Russia and the
United States.
National AffairsToday is National Doctors Day.

o
o

o
o
o
o
o

We celebrate this day to commemorate the birth anniversary of Bidhan

Chandra Roy, highly respected physician and renowned freedom fighter.
He is remembered till date for actively involving himself in starting many
institutions, hospitals and was fully dedicated to the upliftment of Indian society.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Digital India Week in New Delhi.
Aim : To empower people and transform country into a digitally empowered
knowledge economy.
13 launches made at Digital India Week:

Digital Locker :

It is aimed at minimising the usage of physical documents and

enabling sharing of e-documents across agencies and individuals.
National Scholarship Portal :
Unique log-in ID and password for all stakeholders. The
scholarship will be disbursed to the bank accounts of students. A status update
on mobile at every step of disbursement.
eHospital / Online Registration Services :
Citizens can avail of online services such as registration and
appointment, pay fees, view diagnostic reports and check blood availability.
eSign:
eSign offers the functionality to authenticate signers and
perform the digital signing of documents using Aadhaar eKYC service
(biometric or OTP) while submitting documents to agencies. Hardware tokens
are not required to be used.
Digitise India Platform :
This initiative would facilitate efficient delivery of services and
reduce piles of paper in record rooms of offices. The governments files and
documents, which are shareable and useful to citizens, would be digitised
through crowd sourcing and citizens can earn money by participating in it.
MyGov Mobile App :
Through this innovative platform, the government encourages
citizens to participate in policymaking by giving ideas and suggestions.
Swachh Bharat Mission App :
This mobile app will resolve the issues and challenges faced by
citizens and government organisations while taking swachhata (cleanliness)
pledge and uploading of responses (images or videos) in the Swachh Bharat
campaign
BharatNet :
It is the worlds largest rural broadband connectivity project
using optical fibre to connect each of 2.5 lakh gram panchayats with a
minimum of 100 Mbps bandwidth.
Bharatnet will serve as the infrastructure backbone of Digital
India, to facilitate delivery of e-Governance, e-Health, e-Education, e-Banking,
internet and various other services.
Wi-Fi Hotspots :
BSNL has launched Wi-Fi services at 78 hotspots over 17
locations across 6 cities to provide affordable, anywhere and anytime, highspeed broadband services while on the move.
About 2,500 hotspots are planned to be set up by BSNL in FY16.
These would essentially be in tourist destinations and government buildings
dealing with peoples issues.
Next Generation Network (NGN) :
NGN technology will converge public switched telephone
network, data network and wireless mobile network to enable high speed
broadband across the country.
This would provide for the first time value-added services such
as video chats, video conferencing and other services now available on mobile
phone on fixed line telephone at nominal prices.
Centre for Flexible Electronics :
The National Centre for Flexible Electronics is an initiative of the
Centre to promote research and innovation in the area of flexible electronics.
The electronics emerging from this technology can be
fabricated on substrates that are plastics, paper, textiles or metal foils.

Centre of Excellence for Internet of Things (IoT) :

IoT is the emerging technological advancement in IT/ITeS sector,
which is expected to swamp the connected digital world.

The Centre of Excellence for IoT is expected to promote a

vibrant IoT ecosystem, helping India attain a leadership role in the filed.
o
Electronics Development Fund Policy :

The objective of this policy is to create a self-sustaining ecosystem of venture funds that shall fill the gap currently seen in the domains of
early stage angel funding and venture funding in the technology areas of
electronics, nano-electronics and IT.

It will facilitate the flow of risk capital to both industry and

academia to undertake research and development in these technology areas.
Government directs Petro Chemicals, Oil refining and thermal power industries to
install 24X7 pollution monitoring devices to crack down on violation of environmental
norms.
o
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas : Dharmendra Pradhan
Supreme Court rules mediation (compromise) in rape cases as illegal.
o
The court stated that it is against dignity of women.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today approved
thePradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana, aimed at ensuring water supply to
farmers round the year, official sources said.
o
Note : The Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana is an irrigation scheme
in which the Central government has planned to provide irrigation to the entire
agricultural land in the country.
The government approved the setting up of an Online National Agriculture
Marketthat will provide more options to farmers for selling their produce.
o
Note : Currently, farmers are restricted to selling their produce at
mandis or market committees that charge various taxes on producers.
o
An online platform would be set up wherein farmers will be able to sell
and buy fruits, vegetables and other produce from across the country.
o
An agency would be set up to oversee online trading and to ensure
that transactions take place smoothly, they said.
o
It will also focus on creating godowns and facilitating transportation of
the farm produce after the online trade, sources added.
o
The move is expected to give choice to farmers to sell the farm
produce both in physical mandis or online platform.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has inaugurated the Integrated Security
System (ISS) installed with a total cost Rs. 21.72 crore at four railway stations in the
metropolis comprising CST, Dadar, Kurla and LTT.
o
The system will monitor passenger activities through a network of
CCTV cameras at six railway stations comprising CST, Dadar, Kurla, LTT, Kalyan and
Thane.
o
The ISS is aimed at improving security on Railway premises, ensuring
safety of the people and averting terror attacks.
o
He also inaugurated a modified foot over bridge (FOB) to facilitate
passenger movement at Diva, new FOB at Vithalwadi apart from laying the foundation
stone of a multi-level two-wheeler parking at Thane.
A survey conducted by NSSO stated that the Literacy rate in rural areas was pegged
at 71 per cent last year, compared to 86 per cent in urban areas, while among the age
group of seven years and above, male literacy rate was found higher than the female
literacy rate.
o
NSSO : National Sample Survey Office
o

o
o

Awards & Honors

o

Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar conferred with one of Peru's highest awards
'Grand Officer' for social work & mission to deliver peace.

Science & Technology

o

Byron Wake, a 15-year-old boy in the UK who used a hypodermic syringe to insert a
microchip under the skin on his hand have become Britain's youngest 'cyborg'
o
Cyborg : Part-human, Part Machine.
o
He can now unlock his mobile phone and operate some Bluetooth devices with
a wave of his hand.
o
The chip is the size of a grain of rice and is encased in 'bio-safe' glass.
Scientists have for the first time identified two promising drug candidates to prevent
and treat the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) disease.
o
The two antibodies, REGN3051 and REGN3048, showed an ability to
neutralise the virus

Deaths
o

Matti Makkonen, known as the Father of SMS after developing the idea of sending
messages via mobile networks, has passed away.

Sports
Grandmaster
and
former
world
junior
theCommonwealth Chess Championship.
International Affairs

champion Abhijeet

Gupta won

Today (17th July) is World Day for International Justice (International Justice Day).
This day is celebrated throughout the world as part of an effort to recognize
the emerging system of international criminal justice.
o
July 17 was chosen to celebrate this day, because it is the anniversary of the
adoption of the Rome Statute, the treaty that created the International Criminal Court
(ICC).
National Affairs

The joint survey between India and Bangladesh for exchanging 162 enclaves along
the North Bengal border came to an end after around 61 thousand people residing in
these enclaves put opinion to settle their citizenship.
o
The joint survey report is likely to be examined today.
o
o

The survey report will be reviewed by the officials of both the sides on next
Monday.
According to reports, around 1,100 people residing at the Indian enclaves
situated in Bangladesh have expressed their wish to come back to India, on the other
hand, no interest has been shown from the Bangladeshi enclave situated in India, to
go back to their native land.
Note : As per the land boundary agreement between the two nations, people
residing in Indian enclave in Bangladesh can return to India from 1st August to 30th
November 2015.

Indian Railways has started collecting feedback from the public from this month to
improve passenger amenities in running trains and stations.
o
The feedback is being collected by IRCTC through Interactive Voice Response
System with the number +91-139.
o
Under the system, traveling passengers are being contacted randomly on
their mobile phones to gather feedback about the facilities provided by the Railways.
o
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today paid tribute to late Congress leader Girdhari Lal
Dogra on his birth centenary (100 years) celebrations at General Zorawar Singh
auditorium of Jammu University.
o
A proposal to redevelop about 400 railways stations in metros and major
citiesbesides pilgrim centres and tourist spots was cleared by the government today.
o
The Union governments Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion
(DIPP)has approved a proposal from the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure
Development Corporation (Kinfra) to set up the countrys first defence industrial
park at Ottappalam.
o
The proposed park, which will be established as part of the Make in India,
Make in Kerala project, will have modern common infrastructure facilities aimed at
attracting component manufacturers in the defence industry.
o
The Union government has agreed to bring it under the Modified Industrial
Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme (MIIUS).
Awards & Honors
o

Sunita Viswanath, an Indian American woman is among 12 faith leaders to be

honoured as "Champions of Change" by the White House for their efforts in protecting
environment and communities from the effects of climate change.
o
She the only Indian American in this list.
o
She has been selected for her work to encourage Hindus to take care of the
environment.
MOUs

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has signed a special currency swap
agreement with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
o
Under this arrangement, the Sri Lankan bank can draw up to $1.1 billion for
a maximum period of six months.
o
Note : In March 2015, RBI had signed a Currency Swap Agreement with the
Central Bank of Sri Lanka for $400 million under the existing SAARC Currency Swap
Framework within the overall limit of $2 billion.
o
The Government of India, Andhra Pradesh and the World Bank have signed a
pact for $250-million financial assistance regarding Andhra Pradesh Disaster
Restoration Project which in turn will assist the state enrich its capacity to react promptly
and efficiently within times of disaster.
New Appointments
o

Prashant Pathrabe, a Maharashtra-based senior IIS officer has been given

additional charge as Director of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).
Business & Economy

The Government has extended the price caps to 39 more medicines including the
drugs to treat diabetes and digestive disorders as part of its efforts to make medicines
affordable in the country.
o
Note : The price control list now covers over 500 drugs.
o
At present, the government caps prices of essential drugs based on the simple
average of all medicines in a particular therapeutic segment with sales of more than 1
per cent.

In other cases, companies are allowed to hike prices by only up to 10 per cent
in a year.
o
European Union approves an emergency loan of 7.8 billion dollars for
Greeceto meet its urgent repayment obligations.
Science & Technology
o

'INS Astravahini', an indigenously built Torpedo launch and recovery vessel

(TLRV), was decommissioned today after almost 31 years in service.
o
An auxiliary vessel of TLRV class, the ship was commissioned on November 5,
1984 at Visakhapatnam, the headquarters of Eastern Naval Command.
o
The only one of its class, the ship was extensively used by NSTL (Naval
Science & Technological Laboratory) as a test platform to launch and recover
experimental torpedoes prior to their induction into the Navy.

1. July 18, 2015

1. INS Astravahini, indigenously built Torpedo launch and recovery vessel (TLRV)
has been decommissioned after 31 years of service.
2. Microsoft announced plans to introduce its White-Fi technology or TV White
Space Technology in India to provide better Internet connectivity and boost to
India's Digital India initiative.
1. According to Microsoft, this technology can provide free Wi-Fi
connectivity to one-billion Indians who don't have any net access. It
will start with International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT)
Bangalore.
2. Characteristics of White-Fi technology 1. White-Fi technology uses the unused spectrum in frequencies
utilised for broadcasting of television signals and use it for the
internet. These unused spectrum spaces are called White Space
and thus it is also called TV White Space technology.
2. The 200-300 MHz spectrum in the white space can reach up to
10 km as compared to current Wi-Fi technology that allows you
a range of about 100 metres. The 200-300 MHz spectrum
currently belongs to Doordarshan TV channel and isn't used at
all.
3. It can be run on solar power, thus overcome power factor
hindrance to internet connectivity.
3. How it would aid Digital India initiative 1. Under Digital India initiative, the government will use national
optic fibre network project to deliver e-services across country.
However, Reaching users will still require wireless technology,
mainly in far flung areas.

2. Generally 200-600 MHz frequency is used for TV channels

to carry data. however, In India, 93 % of this spectrum is not
utilised. White-Fi will use this vacant spectrum to provide
connectivity.
3. It can provide free connectivity to large Indian population
through wider coverage and economical deployment and
licence-free access.
4. It is best suited for low-income group segments that hesitate to
go for costly internet plans of commercial telecom providers.
3. Indian American Sunita Viswanath has been named among 12 people honored
as Champions of Change by White House of USA for their efforts in protecting
environment and communities from effects of climate change.
4. 2nd Sohra Marathon held in Meghalaya. It is named after Cherrapunjis
historical name Sohra.
5. Manufacturers Association for Information Technology (MAIT) and IMRB
International report about performance of the IT hardware market between
April 2014 - March 2015.
1. Sales of desktops and notebooks shrank 4 % and 15 % respectively in
urban India in 2014-15. In rural India, sales of desktops grew 33 % and
of notebooks 11 %.
2. For smart phones and tablets, revenue risen 88 % to more than 65815
crore rupees in 2014-15 from 34900 crores in 2013-14. Growth will
continue in 2015-16 with smartphones expected to grow 27 %,
phablets 65 % and tablets 16 %.
3. Overall size of Indian ICT hardware market was pegged at 15.87 billion
US dollars, up 23.98 % over 2013-14.
2. July 17, 2015
1. Prashant Pathrabe is appointed as Interim Director of Film and Television
Institute of India (FTII).
2. Rakesh Sahni is appointed as Chairman of Narmada Valley Development
Authority (NVDA).
3. Ministry of Urban Development approved Transit Oriented Development (TOD)
Policy for Delhi as part of Master Plan for Delhi - 2021. The policy aims to
address problems of pollution and shortage of homes for poor and middle
class in Delhi. TOD initiative is for low-carbon, high-density and compact living
spaces.

4. Manipur Legislative Assembly withdrawn the Manipur Regulation of Visitors,

Tenants and Migrant Workers (MRVTMW) Bill, 2015 in a one-day special
session as people were doubtful about effectiveness of the Bill to protect
indigenous communities in Manipur.
5. PetroFed Oil & Gas Industry Awards 2014 by Petroleum Federation of India. 12
awards were given in 11 categories for performance during 2013-141. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) won Leading Oil & Gas Corporate, Oil &
Gas Marketing Company and Human Resources Management Company
awards.
2. Bharat Petroleum won Best Innovator and Environmental Sustainability
Company of Year Awards.
3. Oil and Natural Gas Corp won Exploration & Production Company and
Project Management Company awards.
4. Hindustan Petroleum won Oil & Gas Pipeline Transportation Company.
5. Innovator of the Year (Individual category) was given to Gnana
Kumaraswamy Batta (Oil India Limited).
6. Lower House of Japans Parliament (Diet) approved 11 security-related bills to
change self-defence law that were being followed by Japan since World War -II.
The new Bill will enable Japanese military to potentially fight abroad for the
first time since World War II, termed as Collective self defense.
7. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directed banks to ensure that their overall direct
lending to farmers should not be less than average of last three years. It is
being done against concerns of government over adverse impact of any
reduction in direct credit to farmers due to adverse weather conditions.
8. A K Bhargava committee report on Net Neutrality has been submitted. It
recommended adherence of core principles of Net Neutrality, but also
suggested few exceptions in the interests of national security and businesses.
1. Traffic management practices may be allowed without any Improper
(Paid or otherwise) Prioritization.
2. India specific Net Neutrality approach should be made by considering
best international practices.
3. Main goal of public policy in context of Net Neutrality is achievement of
developmental aims of the country by facilitating Affordable Broadband
access for all Indians.
4. User rights on Internet need to be ensured so that Telecom or Internet
Service Providers do not restrict the ability of the user to engage in any
lawful activity.

9. Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Indian Council for
Research on International Economic relations (ICRIER) report - An Inquiry into
the Impact of Indias App Economy.
1. Mobile application industry in India will grow to 1964 crore rupees by
2016 from 974 crore rupees in 2014
2. Mobile applications currently employ approx 75000 people in India. It is
estimated that employment in this industry will be between 1.51 - 1.59
lakh by 2016.
10. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved creating an intra
state power transmission system in seven states (Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat,
Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan)
at a cost of 8548 crore rupees. Out of it, 40 % will be contributed by National
Clean Energy Fund, 40% by KfW (German Development Bank) loan and
remaining 20 % as contribution by States.
3. July 16, 2015
1. Former Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar has been appointed as Chief
Advisor of Security and anti corruption unit (ACSU) of BCCI for T20 World Cup
2016 to be hosted by India.
2. Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed a penalty of Rs 671 crore on
four public sector insurance companies - National Insurance, New India
Insurance, Oriental Insurance and United India insurance for indulging in anticompetitive practices by rigging a tender of Kerala Government in 2009 for
selecting insurance provider for 'Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna'.
3. Noted Telugu playback singer Vissamraju Ramakrishna passed away.
4. Indias first air freight station in private sector will be opened in
Irungattukottai near Chennai (Tamilnadu).
5. Reserve Bank of India signed currency swap agreement with Central Bank of
Sri Lanka (CBS) to strengthen economic ties with Sri Lanka. Under this
agreement, Sri Lankan bank can draw up to 1.1 billion dollars for maximum 6
months.
6. European Union approved a short-term loan of 7.16 billion euros to Greece
under European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM) to allow Greece to
pay its huge debt to European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary
Fund (IMF) till new bailout plan is ratified.
7. Hellenic Parliament of Greece approved European Union mandated austerity
related legislative measures to make way for Greece to tap into EU bailout
funds.

8. Indian Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri's Buddha in a Traffic Jam won Best Original
Screenplay award in Foreign Language Category at Madrid International Film
Festival (Spain).
9. 5th National Inter State Senior Athletics Championships (Chennai).
1. Kerala topped the table with combined team score (both male and
female) of 177.5 points among the 20 states participated. Tamil Nadu
and Haryana were second and third respectively.
10. Government at a Glance 2015 report by Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 1. India is second among 40 countries in terms of Confidence in National
Government in 2014. Switzerland is first and Norway third. Out of 1000
Indian citizens surveyed, 730 answered positively to the question
related to confidence of citizens and businesses in government to do.
11. Indians Mishi Choudhary, Manish Dahiya, Sanjay Vijayakumar and Aarti Wig
are figured in Asia 21 Young Leaders Class of 2015 list by Asia Society for
its Asia 21 Network leadership development programme.
12. NASA's New Horizons space probemade closest approach to Pluto planet as it
flew 12600 km from the surface of the dwarf planet at an average speed of
49750 kph. It is closest encounter of any space probe with pluto.
13. Indian-American biologist Kamal Bawa has been elected to prestigious Royal
Society of London for his work in field of conservation science.
1. Royal Society is a self-governing fellowship established in London, of
many of the worlds most distinguished scientists from all areas of
science, engineering, and medicine.
14. Government capped the subsidy payout on kerosene at 12 rupees per litre.
1. At present, kerosene is sold at 14.96 rupees per litre against actual
cost of 33.47 rupees. Difference of 18.51 rupees per litre is underrecovery or revenue loss.
2. Government has finalised the formula for meeting this under-recovery,
under which the Finance Ministry will pay 12 rupees per litre in cash to
state-owned fuel retailers from the Budget and any unbridged gap
between the retail selling price and cost of production will be borne by
upstream companies.
3. For domestic cooking gas LPG, government will fully bear the underrecovery.
4. Budget 2015-16 has provided 22000 crore rupees for LPG subsidy and
8000 crore rupees on kerosene.

15. Iran and P5+1 countries (United States, United Kingdom, Russia, China, France
and Germany) agreement on the Iran nuclear programme called Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA) or Vienna agreement.
1. Under the agreement, Iran will cut its stockpile of low-enriched
uranium by 98% and will reduce by about two-thirds the number of its
centrifuges for at least fifteen years.
2. For the next fifteen years, Iran will not enrich uranium over 3.67% or
build any new uranium-enriching or heavy-water facilities.
3. Uranium-enrichment activities will be limited to a single facility using
first-generation centrifuges for ten years.
4. To monitor and verify Iran's compliance with the agreement, the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will have regular access to
all Iranian nuclear facilities.
5. In return for verifiably abiding by its commitments, Iran will receive
relief from U.S., European Union, and United Nations Security Council
nuclear-related sanctions.
4. July 15, 2015
1. 15 July, 2015 - First UN World Youth Skills Day (WYSD) observed globally with
theme Youth skills for work and life in the post-2015 agenda.
1. In India, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE)
launched SKILL INDIA Campaign, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikash Yojana
(PMKVY), National Skill Development Mission and National Policy for
Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015. A Model Skill Loan
Scheme was also launched where loans from 5000 rupees to 1.5 lakh
rupees will be available to more than 34 lakh youth that seeks to
attend skill development programmes in the next five years.
2. Supreme Court Committee under R.M. Lodha suspended Indian Premier
League (IPL) teams Chennai Super Kings (CSK)and Rajasthan Royals (RR) from
the League for two years on grounds of fixing activities.
3. Legendary music composer MS Viswanathan passed away.
4. Indian artist Sayed Haider Raza has been conferred with highest French
Civilian Award Commandeur de la Lgion dHonneur (the Legion of Honour).
5. Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with Ministry of Defence for partnership on skill
development and entrepreneurship.
6. Man Mohan Singh Rai has been appointed as Vice-Chief of Indian Army. He will
replace Philip Campose.

7. Railways inaugurated broad-gauge railway-line between Gandhidham and

Tuna-Tekra Port in Gujarat . It is Indias first railway-line built at a cost of
approx 185 crore rupees with private sector participation under NonGovernment Railway (NGR) Policy 2012 of Indian Railways.
8. Maharashtra Government passed Guarantee of Public Services Bill, 2015 to
empowers citizens to avail their rights in stipulated time with less efforts and
cost. Aim is to reduce corruption and bring transparency and speed in
delievery of public services.
9. Loan distributor Andromeda has acquired apnapaisa.com, an online loan
solutions Portal in a stock and cash deal.
10. Reserve Bank of India constituted a committee under RBI executive director
Deepak Mohanty to prepare a 5 year action plan to spread the reach of
financial services across country.
11. Simhastha Kumbh Mela, noted as largest event of faith in the world, began in
Nashik (Maharashtra). Kumbh Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage of faith and
held every third year at one of the four places by rotation: Haridwar,
Allahabad (Prayaga), Nashik and Ujjain.
12. Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) has been included in UNESCO'ds Cities of
Music under Creative Cities Network. It has been chosen in the music category
under UNESCO's field of excellence plan.
13. India signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Canada in the field of
Civil Aviation for enhancing co-operation and technical knowledge in Civil
Aviation.
14. Haryana Government named Parineeti Chopra as brand ambassador for Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's pet 'Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao' campaign.
15. Government approved redevelopment of 400 major (A-1 and A category )
railway stations across the country.
5. July 14, 2015
1. 14 July - Republic day of Iraq.
2. 14 July - National Day of France (Also called Bastille Day). It marks beginning
of French Revolution with the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789.
3. Hideaki Ohmura, Governor of Aichi Prefecture of Japan visited India.
4. US-based growth partnership company, Frost and Sullivan presented AsiaPacific Economic Development Innovation: Policy and Program
Implementation Excellence Award 2015 in Manufacturing to India's
department of industrial policy and promotion for the 'Make in India' initiative.

5. Government launched National Heritage Development and Augmentation

Yojana (HRIDAY) to preserve and rejuvenate rich cultural heritage of the
country. In initial phase, 12 heritage cities have been identified to be
rejuvenated and developed at a cost of 500 crore rupees.
6. H. E. U Wunna Maung Lwin, Foreign Minister of Myanmar visited India.
7. Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh launched Soil Health Card portal,
Fertiliser Quality Control System (FQCS) portal and Participatory Guarantee
System (PGS) web Portals.
1. Soil Health Card : For registration of soil samples, recording test results
of soil samples and generation of Soil Health Card (SHC) along with
fertilizer recommendations.
2. Fertilizer Quality Control System Portal (FQCS) : This portal is
developed for processing of sample collection, testing and generation
of analysis reports. The system will automate most of manual activities
and help in online tracking the status of the sample.
3. Participatory Guarantee System - India Portal : This portal is a process
of certifying organic products which ensures agriculture production
process in accordance with the standards laid down for organic
products and that desired quality has been maintained.
8. Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) of Churachandpur in Manipur won 18th
National Youth Parliament Competition for Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas.
9. Government formed an expert group under Chairmanship of Arvind
Panagariya (Vice-Chairperson of NITI AAYOG) to classify the Caste names
returned in the Socio Economic and Caste Census, 2011 (SECC).
10. Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy introduced
solar energy pumping systems under Sub Mission on Agriculture
Mechanization (SMAM) implemented through State Governments to meet the
demands of solar pumping systems in irrigation.
1. Ministry of Agriculture introduced Sub Mission of Agricultural
mechanization (SMAM) in 2014-15 to accelerate growth of agricultural
mechanization in India. Financial Assistance for Procurement of
Agriculture Machinery and Equipment is provided under this scheme.
11. Government authorized Central Institute of Post Harvest Engineering and
Technology (CIPHET-ICAR), Ludhiana as 30th designated testing center for
testing all types of Post Harvesting Equipment and Machinery.
1. Testing of machines at any Farm Machinery Testing and Training
Institutes (FMTTIs) or 30 designated testing center is mandatory before
supplying them to Government assistance programmes.

12. World Bank approved US$ 250 million (Approx Rs. 1500 Crores) assistance to
India for Andhra Pradesh Disaster Recovery Project.
13. RailTel Corporation (A PSU Under Ministry of Railways) won 12th National
Awards for Excellence in Cost management 2014 by The Institute of Cost
Accounts of India.
14. Pushpa Kamal Dahal, former Prime Minister of Nepal visited India.
15. Minister of State for Home Affairs Shri Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary
launched Centralized Delhi Police Railway Helpline No.1512.
6. July 13, 2015
1. 13 July - National Day of Montenegro. It marks recognition as independent
state at Congress of Berlin in 1878.
2. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Commerce
and Industry visited Malaysia.
3. Minister of Civil Aviation P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju launched GAGAN system
(GPS AIDED GEO AUGMENTED NAVIGATION) as third SBAS (Satellite Based
Augmentation System) in world after WAAS of USA and EGNOS of Europe.
GAGAN is jointly developed by Airport Authority of India (AAI) and Indian
Space Research Organization. It will support more accurate air routes, reduce
costs and improve safety in aviation along with benefits to agriculture,
transportation, defence services and disaster recovery.
4. India signed Memorandum of understanding with Georgia for cooperation in
election management and administration during visit of Tamar Zhvania,
Chairperson of Central Election Commission of gerogia to India.
5. Tata Steel's West Bokaro division, GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd
and Krishnapatnam Port in Andhra have been declared as winners of Golden
Peacock Environment Management Award (GPEMA) 2015 for achievements in
the field of environment management at the 17th World Congress on
Environment Management in Delhi.
6. Miss Oklahoma, Olivia Jordan, won the 2015 Miss USA beauty pageant.
7. Green Signals: Ecology, Growth, and Democracy in India has been written by
Jairam Ramesh.
8. India successfully tested Nag anti-tank guided missile, which can hit a target
upto 7 kms, from a helicopter in Jaisalmer (Rajasthan).
9. Mumbai Ranji cricketer Hiken Shah has been suspended by the BCCI for being
found guilty of breaching Anti-Corruption Code.

10. Patnitop Tunnel (Chenani-Nashri Tunnel) in Udhampur district of Jammu and

Kashmir will be Indias longest road tunnel after its opening in 2016.
11. Government appointed international lawyer Rodrigo Oreamuno to arbitrate
with UK telecom major Vodafone's 20000 crore tax liability case.
12. United States of America (USA) designated Tunisia as 16th Major Non-NATO
Ally (MNNA).
1. MNNA status confers variety of military and financial advantages that
otherwise are not obtainable by non-NATO countries. It was created in
1989 with section 2350a (Nunn Amendment) added to Title 10 (Armed
Forces) of US Code.
2. MNNAs are Tunisia, Australia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Jordan,
New Zealand, Argentina, Bahrain, Philippines, Thailand, Kuwait,
Morocco, Pakistan, Afghanistan.
13. PM Narendra Modi Visited Tajikistan as last stop of his visit to five Central
Asian Countries and Russia.

S.No
1.

Agreement

Signatory

from

the

Indian

Side
Programme of Cooperation (POC) in CultureSecretary (West), MEA
for the years 2016-18

2.

Exchange of Note Verbale (NV) on setting up Ambassador, Dushanbe

of Computer Labs in 37 Schools in Tajikistan

1. PM Narendra Modi presented President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon,

a special miniature painting of tomb of the 17th century by Indian poet
Abdul Qadir Bedil who is regarded as one of greatest masters of
Persian poetry.
7. July 12 2015
1. 12 July - National Day of Sao Tome and Principe (island nation in Gulf of
Guinea). It marks Independence from Portugal in 1975.
2. 12 July - National Day of Kiribati (island nation in the central Pacific Ocean). It
marks Independence from UK in 1979.
3. Wimbeldon Tennis 2015 -

1. Men's Singles - Novak Djokovic (Serbia) won wimbledon title for third
time by defeating Roger Federer (Switzerland).
2. Female Singles - Serena Williams (USA) beat Spain's Garbine Muguruza
to win her Sixth Wimbledon Title.
3. Female Doubles - Sania Mirza (India) - Martina Hingis (Switzerland)
won by defeating Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina (Both from
Russia).
4. Male Doubles - Jean Julien Rojer (Netherlands) - Horia Tecau (Romania)
won by defeating Jamie Murray (Britain) - John Peers (Australia).
5. Mixed Doubles - Leander Paes (India) and Martina Hingis (Switzerland)
won by defeating Alexander Peya (Austria) and Timea Babos
(Hungary).
6. Boy's Doubles - Sumit Nagal (India) and Nam Hoang Ly (Vietnam) won
by defeating Reilly Opelka (USA) and Akira Santillan (Japan).
4. Indian Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha visited South Africa.
5. PM Narendra Modi Visited Kyrgyzstan during his visit to five Central Asian
Countries and Russia.
1. PM Narendra Modi presented Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek
Atambayev a hand-knotted carpet of very fine grade wool blended with
silk.
2. Agreements Signed between India and Kyrgyzstan 1.

S.N

Agreement

Signatory from

o.
1

Indian Side
Agreement

on

Defence Mr. Navtej Sarna,

Cooperation

Secretary
(West),MEA

Memorandum

of

Mutual Mr

V.

Understanding and Cooperation Deputy

in the field of Elections
3.

MoU

between

Ministry

Zutshi,
Election

Commissioner
of Mr.

Jayant

S.N

Agreement

Signatory from

o.

Indian Side
Economy
Bureau
(BIS)

of
of

on

Kyrgyzstan
Indian

and Khobragade,

Standards Indias

cooperation

in

sphere of Standards.
4.

the Ambassador

to

Kyrgyzstan

Agreement on Cooperation in Mr. Navtej Sarna,

Culture

Secretary
(West),MEA

8. July 11, 2015

1. 11 July - National Day of Mongolia. Also called Naadam Holiday, it marks
establishment of independence from China and Russia in 1921.
2. 11 July - World Population Day. Indian Population stood at over 127 Crores
(Approx 17.3 % of World's Population). Theme for 2015 is Vulnerable
Populations in Emergencies.
3. Indirect Tax Revenue collections hiked from Rs.1,12,094 crore in April-June
2014 to Rs 1,53,980 in April-June 2015 (Increase of 37.4 %). Indirect taxes are
Custom, Central Excise and Service Tax.
4. ISRO successfully launched Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C28 from
Satish Dhawan Space Centre Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) with 5 United
KingdomSatellites into a polar Sun Synchronous Orbit. These satellites
together weighed about 1440 kg at lift-off which is heaviest ever commercial
venture by ISRO.
5. QS BRICS Universities rankings 1. India's Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru attained fifth
position and 31 Indian institutions appeared in top 200 of the ranking.
2. Top 10 BRICS Universities Rank Overall Score

University

Loca

100.0

Tsinghua University

Chin

97.0

Peking University

Chin

93.4

Fudan University

Chin

92.9

Lomonosov Moscow State University

Russ

92.5

Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore

India

91.4

Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Chin

91.4

University of Science and Technology of China

Chin

87.6

Nanjing University

Chin

86.3

Universidade de So Paulo

Braz

10

85.4

Beijing Normal University

Chin

6. Prince Saud al-Faisal, former foreign minister of Saudi Arabia (1975-2015)

passed away. He was Longest ever serving Foreign Minister of any country.
7. A new species of tiny butterfly called Banded Tit discovered in Changlang
district in Arunachal Pradesh.
8. USA's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) selected four
astronauts for commercial spaceflights to and from International Space
Station. Astronauts are - Robert Behnken, Eric Boe, Douglas Hurley and Sunita
Williams.
9. July 10, 2015
1. 10 July - National Day of Bahamas. It marks Independence from the United
Kingdom in 1973.
2. India USA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Establishing
PACESetter Fund to support Promoting Energy Access Through Clean
Energy (PEACE) track of the USA-India Partnership to Advance Clean Energy
(PACE).
3. Made by BEL, Supersonic surface-to-air missile Akash with range of 30
Kilometres has been formally inducted into Indian Air Force
4. 7th BRICS Summit and SCO Meet 2015 (UFA(Russia)) 1. Theme for BRICS 7th Summit - BRICS Partnership a Powerful Factor of
Global Development.
2. Pakistan and India become permanent members of Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation. SCO Now has China, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and India as its full
members.
3. India will be hosting the 8th BRICS summit in 2016.
4. Pakistan PM Formally invited Indian PM Narendra Modi to attend SAARC
2016 Summit in Pakistan.

5. Indian PM Narendra Modi proposes Das Kadam as Ten Steps for Future
for BRICS nations
1. Trade fair
2. Railway Research Centre
3. Cooperation among supreme audit institutions
4. Digital Initiative
5. Agricultural Research Centre
6. State/Local Government's Forum
7. Cooperation amongst cities in field of Urbanisation
8. BRICS Sports Council
9. Annual Sports Meet
10. BRICS film festival
5. Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka has set Guinness World Record for
spending longest time in space with total 804 days. He broke previous record
of 803 days set by set by Russian Sergei Krikalev.
6. Uttarakhand became first Indian state to install earthquakes detection system
(in capital Dehradun) that can issue warnings 1-40 seconds before
earthquakes of magnitude 5 or more occur.
7. State Bank of Travancore launched SBT NRI Family Card,as a prepaid card for
Non resident Indians and their families.
8. Export-Import Bank of India signed an agreement to cooperate with New
Development Bank (NDB) along with other member development banks of
BRICS nations.
9. Noted Urdu poet and critic Bashar Navaaz passed away.
10. Conceptualised by P K Muralidharan Raja, Indian Boxing Council (IBC) has
been launched as professional boxing body to tap the potential of professional
boxing in India.
11. Kolkata (West Bengal) Based Bandhan Bank appointed Ashok Kumar Lahiri as
Chairman and Chandra Shekhar Ghosh as Managing Director and Chief
Executive Officer.It will go for an IPO (Initial Public Offreing) in 2018 and will
start banking operations in 2015 with 630 branches opened across 22 states
and 250 ATMs.

12. Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) launched two mobile
apps to help farmers get prices on shrimp and capture data on aquaculture
through mobile (mKrishi).
1. Shrimp price Information over SMS by a missed call - Throug this app,
Price related information of Vannamei shrimp(+91-8590100800) and
BT shrimp (+91-8590200800) to farmers over SMS on a missed call to
given predetermined numbers.
2. mKRISHI- Mobile App for Aquaculture Operations - It will be an easy
tool for book keeping, advisory services and weather informations.
10. July 09, 2015
1. Former President A.P.J Abdul Kalam launched Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan
focused on developing spirit of innovation and experimentation among
students.
2. Shaktikanta Das, Revenue Secretary of India and Richard Verma,
USA Ambassador to India signed Agreement to implement Foreign Account Tax
Compliance Act (FATCA) to promote tax matters related transparency.
3. Digital signatures certifying firm eMudhra launched eSign services as part of
Digital India Vision. eSign is an online electronic signature service to enable
Aadhaar holders to digitally sign a document. It will promote quick execution
off tasks in paperless environment and crucial documents can be kept safely
in electronic firm.
4. Satish Pillai is appointed as Chief of credit information agency Credit
Information Bureau India Ltd (CIBIL).
5. Kamlesh Patel has become first British Asian to be appointed as Director of
England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
6. Sanjeev Nandan Sahai is appointed as Home Secretary of Delhi.
7. Russian oil firm Rosneft will buy 49 % stake in Indian Company Essar Oil for
USD 3.2 Billion (Approx 20000 Crore).
8. World Police & Fire Games 2015 (USA) 1. USA first with 1,777 Medals, Canada second with 430 medals while
India performed well with over 150 Medals (89 golds and 50 silvers)
9. Electronic Nose (E-Nose) has been jointly developed by Nagpur-based National
Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) of CSIR and Centre for
Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). It will help monitor the
surrounding environment to sniff out dangerous gases.

10. Ministry of Home Affairs extended disturbed area status of Nagaland for one
more year (Till June 30, 2016).
11. Indian shot-put Player Inderjit Singh won Gold medal at the World University
Games in Gwangju (South Korea) with his throw of 20.27 meters. He become
first Indian to win a gold medal at the World University Games.
12. World Health organisation (WHO) Global Tobacco Epidemic Report 20151. Focus is on R of MPOWER measures which stands for Raise taxes on
tobacco
2. There has been notable progress in global tobacco control since 2013
Report.
3. Global population covered by at least one MPOWER measure has
increased from 2.3 billion to 2.8 billion.
4. More than 40% of global population have implemented at least one
MPOWER measure while 49 countries (20% global population) are
covered by 2 or more MPOWER measures.
5. MPOWER measure is a set of measures introduced in 2008 by WHO to
assist in meeting Conventions on Tobacco Control 1. M: Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies
2. P: Protect people from tobacco smoke
3. O: Offer help to quit tobacco use
4. W: Warn about the dangers of tobacco
5. E: Enforce bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and
sponsorship
6. R: Raise taxes on tobacco
11. July 8, 2015
1. Sriram Kalyanaraman is appointed as Managing Director and Chief Executive
Officer of National Housing Bank for five years.
2. Sports Ministry formed a Committee to study the status of SAI (Sports
Authority of India) training centers. Commitee is headed by Ashwini Nachappa
and has 7 other expert members.
3.

World Bank Report - The State of Social Safety Nets 2015 -

1. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act (MGNREGA)

is worlds largest public works programme with 18.2 Crore beneficiaries
2. Mid-day meal is largest school feeding programme with around 10.5
Crore beneficiaries.
3. Janani Suraksha Yojna is largest social security programme with
conditional cash transfers as its has 7.8 Crore beneficiaries.
4. Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme is the second-largest
unconditional cash transfer social security progamme in the world.
4. UGC (University Grants Commission) granted heritage status to 19 colleges
and will provide financial assistance to these colleges for conserving
campuses and specialised courses related to heritage.
5. Indian IT firm Infosys signed an agreement with Deutsche Bank (Germany) to
provide development, maintenance, mobility, and Other IT services to
Deutsche Bank Group.
6. India has overtaken US to become world's third largest steel producer after
China and Japan as stated by Steel & Mines Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar.
Target is to achieve 300 million tonnes (MT) steel production in 10 years.
12. July 7, 2015
1. National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) launched mobile application Pashu
Poshan to boost dairy farmers' income by raising milk yield and cutting feed
cost.
2. Film Society of Jodhpur has been given the Pritiman Sarkar Award 2014-15 for
being best film society in Northern Region for consequent fourth time by
raising awareness and film appreciation.
3. President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated Nakshatra Vatika at his official
Rashtrapati Nilayam Gardens in Secunderabad (Telangana).
13. July 6, 2015
1. 6 July - Independence Day of Comoros. It Marks Independence from France in
1975.
2. 6 July - Independence Day of Malawi. It Marks Independence from United
Kingdom in 1964.
3. 6 July - Birth Anniversary of politician and Freedom fighter Shyama Prasad
Mukherjee.
4. PM Narendra Modi Began His Official Visit to Five Central Asian Nations Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.

1. Uzbekistan Visit (July 6 -7, 2015)1. PM Narendra Modi presented President Islam Karimov a special
reproduction of Khamsa-i-Khusrau by the 13th century sufi poet
Amir Khusrau.
2. Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism to be made to
strengthen coordination between the law enforcement
agencies.
3. Co-operation to be promoted in defence, cyber-security,
transport & communication, telemedicine links connecting
medical institutions in Uzbekistan and India for medical
consultations, Tourism and Cultural Cooperation.
2. Kazakhstan Visit (July 8, 2015) 1. Agreements signed for co-operation in Transfer of Sentenced
Persons, Defence and Military Technical Cooperation, Physical
Cultural and Sports, MoU on Technical Cooperation in Railways
and Long term contract for sale and purchase of natural
uranium concentrates.
2. Indian PM Gifted a set of books relating to religions born in India
to Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
3. India and Kazakhstan launched first exploratory drilling at
Satpayev oil block owned by Indias ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL)
and Kazakhstan company. This Oil Block has reserves of 1.8
billion barrels crude oil and natural gas.
3. Russia Visit (July 9-10, 2015) 1. PM Narendra Modi will attend BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation summits in Russia. BRICS Meet will be held on July
8-9, 2015 in UFA.
4. Turkmenistan Visit (July 10-11, 2015)
1. PM Narendra Modi presented
TurkmenistanPresident Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov a
handcrafted horse saddle owing to Mr. Berdimuhamedov's
passion for horse riding.
2. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated Yoga Centre, unveils bust of
Mahatma Gandhi in Ashgabat (Capital).
3. 7 Memorandum of Understanding signed Between India and
Turkmenistan -

1. Supply of Chemical Products between India's Rashtriya

Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited and Turkmenistan's
Turkmenhimiya.
2. Foreign Service Institutes of India and Turkmenistan.
3. Concermned Ministries Of Youth Affairs And Sports of
India and Turkmenistan.
4. Science And Technology.
5. Yoga and Traditional Medicine.
6. Tourism.
7. Defence.
4. Kyrgyzstan (July 12, 2015)
1. PM Narendra Modi presented Kyrgyzstan
President Almazbek Atambayev a hand-knotted carpet of
very fine grade wool blended with silk.
2. Agreements Signed between India and Kyrgyzstan 1.

S.N

Agreement

Signatory from

o.
1

Indian Side
Agreement

on

Defence Mr. Navtej Sarna,

Cooperation

Secretary
(West),MEA

Memorandum

of

Understanding

Mutual Mr

V.

Zutshi,

and Deputy

Election

Cooperation in the field of Commissioner

Elections
3.

MoU between Ministry of Mr.

Economy
and

of

Bureau

Standards

Jayant

Kyrgyzstan Khobragade,
of
(BIS)

Indian Indias
on Ambassador

to

S.N

Agreement

Signatory from

o.

Indian Side
cooperation in the sphere Kyrgyzstan
of Standards.

4.

Agreement

on Mr. Navtej Sarna,

Cooperation in Culture

Secretary
(West),MEA

5. Tajikistan (July 13, 2015)

1. PM Narendra Modi presented President of Tajikistan
Emomali Rahmon, a special miniature painting of tomb
of the 17th century by Indian poet Abdul Qadir Bedil who
is regarded as one of greatest masters of Persian poetry.

S.No
1.

Agreement

Signatory

from

the

Side
Programme

of

Cooperation

(POC)

betweenSecretary (West), MEA

Ministries of Culture of India and Tajikistan in

the field of Culture for the years 2016-18

2.

Exchange of Note Verbale (NV) on setting up Ambassador, Dushanbe

of Computer Labs in 37 Schools in Tajikistan

14. Jul 5, 2015

1. 5 July - Independence Day of Algeria. It Marks Independence from France in
1962.
2. 5 July - Independence Day of Cape Verde. It Marks Independence from
Portugal in 1975.
3. 5 July - Independence Day of Venezuela. It Marks Declaration of independence
from Spain in 1811.
4. Former Indian cricketers Hrishikesh Kantikar and Ajay Ratra retired from all
forms of cricket.

Indian

5. Punjab government launched state Portal ePMS (Electronic Projects

Management System) to fast track infrastructural development.
6. National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned use of plastic bags in pilgrimage towns
of Haridwar and Rishikesh with of 5000 rupees for violations.
7. Fazle Hasan Abed of Bangladesh won World Food Prize2015 by World Food
Prize Foundation for his contributions towards reducing hunger in Bangladesh
and 10 other countries through his organisation BRAC. He created Bangladesh
Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) in 1972 after independence war with
Pakistan. BRAC is largest non-governmental organisation in world employing
over 1 Lakhpeople.
8. Indian Army Launched Operation Shiva To provide security to devotees taking
part in the 59-day-long annual Amarnath Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir.
9. Japan committed help of 6.1 billion US dollars (750 billion Japanese Yen)
Mekong Region countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam)
in next three years during the seventh Mekong-Japan Summit in Tokyo.
10. Book 37 Bridges and Other Stories has been authored by Pakistani author
Aamer Hussein.
11. India Central Asia Relations: The Economic Dimension has been written by
Amiya Chandra.
15. Jul 4, 2015
1. 4 July - Independence Day of USA. It marks adoption of Declaration of
Independence on July 4, 1776 from British Empire.
2. 4 July - Independence Day of Rwanda. It marks Independence from Belgium in
1962.
3. Inshore patrol vessel Rani Durgavati was inducted into the Indian Coast Guard.
4. India women cricket team captain Mithali Raj became first Indian and second
in world to complete 5000 runs in women's ODIs.
5. IDBI Bank and Mudra Bank signed an agreement for refinancing of loans given
to small enterprises. IDBI Bank will offer loans up to 10 lakh to micro
enterprises under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) and Mudra Bank will
provide refinance assistance to IDBI bank for eligible sanctioned loan cases.
6. China Nominated Former Finance Minster of China Jin Liqun for post of first
president of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
7. Renowned Urdu novelist from Pakistan Abdullah Hussain passed away.

8. PM Narendra Modi launched Digital India Week to encourage peoples

involvement and awareness about various initiatives launched under Digital
India Programme launched in August 2014. Some salient points are 1. Department of Electronics & Information Technology (DeitY) is
implementing Digital India Programme.
2. Digital Locker System will Minimize usage of physical documents by
enable sharing documents Online.
3. MyGov.in and its mobile app is a platform for citizen engagement in
governance.
4. Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) Mobile app would help achieving goals of
Swachh Bharat Mission.
5. eSign framework would allow citizens to digitally sign a document
online using Aadhaar authentication.
6. Online Registration System (ORS) under the eHospital application has
been introduced
7. National Scholarships Portal will simplify scholarship process of
submission, verification, and disbursal of amount to end beneficiary.
8. Bharat Net is a high speed digital highway to connect all 2.5 lakh Gram
Panchayats of country.
9. BSNL introduced Next Generation Network (NGN) to manage all types
of internet services efficiently.
10. Electronics Development Fund (EDF) Policy will promote Innovation and
Development to create a self-sustaining eco-system of Venture Funds.
11. National Centre for Flexible Electronics (NCFlexE) will promote research
in Flexible Electronics.
12. Centre of Excellence on Internet on Things (IoT) is an initiative by
Department of Electronics & Information Technology (DeitY), ERNET
and NASSCOM.
9. Food Standards Agency of United Kingdom (UK) approved India Made Nestle's
Maggi Noodles for Import in UK as amount of lead in the product were within
European Union permissible levels.
10. Software Firm Microsoft will in develop Smart MIDC (industrial colony) and
support Digital Village in Maharashtra.
11. India won 4th South Asian Basketball (SABA) Championship in Bengaluru by
defeating Sri Lanka.

12. Corporation Bank launched countrys first MUDRA (Micro Units Development
and Refinance Agency) card under Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) on
RuPay platform . The card will provide financing for micro entrepreneurs.
Shishu scheme provides loan up 50000 rupees, Kishore scheme will offer
amount up to 5 lakh rupees while Under Tarun scheme offers loan up to 10
lakh rupees.
13. Book titled Modis World: Expanding Indias Sphere of Influence has been
written by C Raja Mohan.
14. Annual meeting of World Heritage Committee held in Bonn (Germany). United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and UN
Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) signed an agreement to protect
cultural heritage sites with latest geo-spatial technologies on this occasion.
15. World Bank annual revised classification of countries based on gross national
income (GNI) per capita based on World Bank Atlas method 1. In 1994, 56.1 %of the worlds population (310 crore) lived in 64 lowincome countries, in 2014, this has come down to 8.5 %(61.3 crores)
people, living in 31 countries.
2. Classification of Income Groups of Economies based on GNI (Gross
National Income) Per Capita 1. Low-income => GNI per capita less than 1045 USD
2. Lower-middle income => GNI between 1045 - 4125 USD
3. Upper middle-income => GNI per capita between 4126 - 12735
USD.
4. High Income => GNI per capita between 4126 - 12736 USD
3. Bangladesh, Kenya, Myanmar and Tajikistan moved from low income
group to the lower-middle income group.
4. Mongolia and Paraguay moved from lower middle-income to Upper
Middle Income Group.
5. Argentina, Hungary, Seychelles and Venezuela moved from upper
middle to high income group
6. Malawi has worlds lowest reported GNI per capita at 250 USD
7. Monaco has highest GNI Per Capita of more than 100000 USD.
8. Indias position -

1. Indias GNI per capita increased to 1610 USD, it is still in lower

middle income category.
2. In the pas seven years, Indias GDP increased by 1 Trillion USD
to reach total 2 trillion USD.
16. Jul 3, 2015
1. 3 July - Independence Day of Belarus.
2. Book Uniki has been written by Ch Vidyasagar Rao (Governor of Maharashtra).
3. SK Jha, Chief Hydrographer to the Government of India Visited Mauritius and
atteneded Xth Indo Mauritius Joint Committee Meeting on Hydrography.
4. Minister of State (I/C) Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan
visited Canada.
5. Minister of State for Textiles (I/C), Santosh Kumar Gangwar laid foundation
stone for Apparel and Garment Making Centre in Aizawl (Capital of Mizoram).
6. C-DOT, the research and development institute under department of
telecommunications launched four broadband products under Digital India
initiative. The products are - long distance Wi-Fi system, solar-powered Wi-Fi
system, 100 Gbps optical fibre cable (OFC) link and C-DOTs next generation
network (NGN) in MTNL network.
7. Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) become first State
transport corporation to have a vehicle tracking system for inter-city buses to
reduce accidents.
8. India womens hockey team qualified for 2016 Rio Olympics after finishing 5th
in 12 teams Hockey World league championship.
9. Telecom services provider Tata Teleservices appointed Anuraag Srivastava as
Chief Financial Officer.
10. Finance ministry announced commencement of e-filing of income tax returns
for 2015-16. This time, need for additional details on taxpayers' foreign travel
and dormant bank accounts is abolished and ITR forms now have space for
Aadhaar card holders to provide their Unique Identification Numbers. A
simpler ITR-2A form is also introduced for those who own more than one
residential property, but do not have any capital gains.
11. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain won 2015 Birtish Grand Prix of
Formula One.
12. USA won 2015 FIFA Womens World Cup by defeating Japan in the final played
in Canada.

13. Chile won Copa America cup 2015 (South Americas most prestigious football
trophy) by defeating Argentina.
14. Hyderabad based ICRISAT launched Green Phablet with price at $300 (~ Rs.
18,000) for farmers in Telangana to send timely messages to the farmers.
ICRISAT will maintain servers and keep the information updated.
15. Rajasthan may implement Maharashtra's 'Jal Yukt Shivar Abhiyan for water
conservation and Integrated water management scheme.
17. Jul 2, 2015
1. Government approved Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana scheme with
outlay of Rs. 50,000 crore over five years (2015-16 to 2019-20). Allocation for
the current financial year is Rs. 5300 crore.
2. Government approved Scheme for Promotion of National Agricultural Market
through Agri-Tech Infrastructure Fund (ATIF)under Department of Agriculture &
Cooperation (DAC) . It will be set up through Small Farmers Agribusiness
Consortium (SFAC). Amount of Rs. 200 crore has been earmarked for this
scheme from 2015-16 to 2017-18.
3. Finland's Matti Makkonen, known as father of messaging service (SMS)
technology passed away.
4. Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta won 19th Commonwealth Chess Championship.
5. Government issued socio-economic and caste census (SECC) 2011 as a
picture of rural India.
1. One out of three families living in villages is landless and depends on
manual labour for livelihood.
2. State of education is poor in rural as 23.52% rural families have no
literate adult above 25 years.
3. There are total 24.39 crore households in the country, of which 17.91
crore live in villages. Of these, 10.69 crore households are considered
as deprived.
6. Europe's Airbus Group and India's Mahindra Group signed a deal to form a
joint venture and become india's first private manufacturer of helicopters.
7. State Bank of India launched an initiative to expedite home loans application
process as 'Project Tatkal'. It will enable processing of loan within 10 days of
receipt of application form and relevant documents.
8. Indian-American R Paul Singh has been selected for 2015 World Agriculture
Prize laureate at annual Global Confederation for Higher Education

Associations for Agriculture and Life Sciences (GCHERA) conference in Kaslik

(Lebanon).
9. Indian-American Darshan Jain has been selected for USA Presidential Award
for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.
10. Guinness Book of World Records recognised a record for Madhya Pradesh on
World Hand washing Day on 15 October 2014 when more than 12 lakh 78
thousand students washed hands simultaneously in 51 districts of Madhya
Pradesh.
11. C D Balaji is appointed as Director of Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA)
and Programme Director of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).
12. BSNL launched a pre-paid card linked mobile wallet service that allows
customers to transfer cash, pay for services as well as withdraw cash of up to
Rs 1 lakh.
13. Four Indian-Americans have been honoured with prestigious Great
Immigrants, Pride of America award 2015. These are - Preet Bharara, Rakesh
Khurana, Madhulika Sikka and Abraham Verghese.
14. Solar Impulse, the Solar powered aeroplane landed in Hawaii after making 118
Hours duration and 7,200 km long flight across the Pacific from Japan.
15. Former Chief Justice of India Y K Sabharwal passed away.
18. Jul 1, 2015
1. 1 Jul - Canada Day. It marks enactment of British North America Act, 1867
(Constitution Act) on July 1, 1867 that united three colonies into a single
country called Canada within the British Empire.
2. 1 Jul - National Doctors' Day. It marks the birth annversary of legendary
physician and the second Chief Minister of West Bengal, Dr Bidhan Chandra
Roy.
3. 1 Jul - National Chartered Accountants day and marks formation of Institute of
Chartered Accountants of India on July 1, 1946.
4. Alok Bhatnagar has been appointed as new Naval Officer-in-charge of Tamil
Nadu, Puducherry.
5. Government ruled 30th September, 2015 as last date for declaraing
undisclosed assets located outside India and any taxes in respect of these
foreign assets must be paid by 31st December, 2015 under the Black Money
(Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015.
6. Anup K Pujari has been appointed as secretary in Ministry of Micro. Small &
Medium Enterprises.

7. Balvender Kumar us appointed as Secretary in Ministry of Mines.

8. World Bank approved $650 million as third loan for India's 1840 KM Long
Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor that will help more efficient movement of
goods between northern and eastern parts (Ludhiana to Kolkata).
9. Sanjeev Galande, a professor at Indian Institute of Science Education and
Research (IISER), Pune has been selected for G D Birla award for Scientific
Research 2014 for his research in Epigenetics and Molecular Cell Biology.
10. Cuba become first country to successfully eliminate mother-to-child
transmission of HIV and syphilis.
11. Haryana government launched 'Mhara Gaon - Jagmag Gaon' scheme aimed at
providing 24-hour power supply to rural areas and improving electricity bill
collections to reduce losses of power utilities.
12. NASA unveiled a boomerang-shaped aircraft that could possibly be first to
take flight on Mars. Named as Prandtlm, it will be released at about 100,000
feet altitude to simulate flight conditions of the Martian atmosphere.
13. BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited) commissioned Sudan's largest power
plant (4 units of 125 MW each). The project uses crude oil from South Sudan
as fuel and canal from White Nile River is constructed to supply water. The
project is funded by the India's Credit of USD 350 million to Sudan.
14. State Bank of India partnered with online travel company MakeMyTrip.com to
capitalise on online travel Business and booming e-commerce ecosystems.
15. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu inaugurated Integrated Security System (ISS)
at 6 railway stations in Mumbai (Maharashtra) - Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus,
Dadar, Kurla, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Kalyan and Thane.