CURRENT AFFAIR AUGUST 2014 BY: www.gkupdate.com RBI/ BANKING/ BUSINESS NEWS THIS MONTH August 1: Betting big on the government‘s reforms agenda, overseas investors have poured in more than USD 5 billion in the Indian market so far this month taking the total inflow to over USD 25 billion since January 2014. August 1: The soon-to-be-turned private bank IDFC will be headed by its current Executive Chairman Rajiv Lall. Subject to RBI approval, Rajiv Lall will be the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of IDFC Bank, which is expected to be formed by October 2015. August 1: Large public companies can now appoint an individual as the Chairperson as well as Managing Director or chief executive officer at the same time. Note: This dispensation will be available for public companies with a paid-up capital of Rs. 100 crore or more and an annual turnover of Rs. 1000 crore or more, the corporate affairs ministry has said. August 1: The Federal Reserve is cutting its monthly purchases of Government-linked bonds to $25 billion, down from the $35 billion level set at the central bank‘s last meeting in June. August 1: Drugmaker Cipla has entered into a commercial collaboration with BioQuiddity Inc for BioQuiddity‘s OneDose ReadyfusOR anaesthetic applications for post-surgical pain management. Note: The agreement covers the European Union and other countries in the region, Cipla said. August 2: SBI Caps (the investment banking arm of State Bank of India) has been asked by the Finance Ministry to undertake a study on the merger and recapitalisation of banks August 3: The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case of alleged bribery against the Chairman & Managing Director of Syndicate Bank Sudhir Kumar Jain. August 8: Vidyo, Inc., a visual communications solutions provider has been selected by IndusInd Bank, one of the fastest growing new-generation private sector banks in India for Video Branch, a mobile and desktop-based banking service being deployed across the country. - August 9: The Reserve Bank of India has said that the proposed Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) will function as a tiered structure for operating the country‘s bill payment system. It will have a single brand image providing convenience of ‗anytime anywhere‘ payment to customers. August 11: The RBI said that it will transfer the surplus amount of Rs. 52,679 crore to the Government. The year before, the central bank said that it had transferred Rs. 33,010 crore to the Government. August 16: Coca-Cola has announced it will pay $2.15 billion for a 16.7 per cent stake in Monster Beverage, cementing a distribution-based link between the two that had added significantly to Coke‘s profits. August 20: Google confirmed it has bought the startup behind a Jetpac mobile application that creates insightful travel guides by analyzing pictures from social networks such as Instagram.Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. August 22: Five Indian companies, including Hindustan Unilever and Tata Consultancy Services, are among Forbes‘ list of the world‘s 100 most innovative companies that investors think are most likely to ―generate big, new growth ideas‖. August 22: People can now deposit up to Rs 1.5 lakh annually in their Public Provident Fund (PPF) with the government notifying changes in the popular savings scheme. The government has issued a notification raising the limit from annual PPF deposit limit from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh in pursuance of the announcement made by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. August 22: Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFC) with asset size of Rs. 100 crore and above have been forbidden to give more than 50 per cent of the value of shares pledged with them (capping the loan to value ratio at 50 per cent). This would be applicable only to loans of Rs. 5 lakh and above.This has been done to minimise volatility in the market. August 22: To provide a ―one-stop virtual shop‖ for all social welfare spending needs of companies, the Government plans to have a corporate social responsibility portal along with data analytics platform. August 30: The Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance is bringing out the twentieth issue of the annual publication ‗India‘s External Debt: A Status Report 2013-14‘. The Report presents a detailed analysis of India‘s external debt position at end-March 2014, based on the data released by the Reserve Bank of India on June 30, 2014. August 30: State-owned United Bank of India (UBI) has filed a caveat in the Supreme Court against Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) shortly after Calcutta High Court division bench‘s judgement was delivered. NATION THIS MONTH August 3: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address the United Nations General Assembly on September 27, giving his first global speech to an audience of nearly 200 world leaders and foreign ministers at the annual gathering of the world body‘s policymaking organ. August 3: The board of directors of India‘s largest milk federation, the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), has unanimously elected Jethabhai Patel, a cooperative leader from North Gujarat as the new Chairman. GCMMF sells milk products under the ‗Amul‘ brand. August 3: The Modi Government will give a decisive push to make the Ganga-Hooghly waterway navigable for freight movement by tying up for a World Bank loan that could be as much as $1 billion. August 4: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Nepal's Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and the three agreements signed between the two sides. This includes the 6.90 crore Nepali Rupees agreement to overcome the deficiency of iodine and to supply iodized salt to Nepal. August 4: Inspired by Gujarat government, the Centre has urged all the states to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in their police forces to effectively deal with cases of sexual violence and crime against women August 4: The Union Defence Ministry allowed armed forces to do business related to essential requirements with the Rolls Royce. August 4: Union Ministry of HRD has set up Hari Gautam Committee to review the status of UGC. August 4: 100 years of the outbreak of First World War (WW-1) was observed across the globe on 4 August 2014. August 5: Shri Jogen Chowdhary to be the first artist in-residence in Rashtrapati Bhavan. August 6: According to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, the Government of India has to establish the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) in the Successor State of Andhra Pradesh within a period of 10 years. August 7: Union Minister for the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Shri Jual Oram said that the Union Government in the current financial year 2014-15, has introduced Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojna (VKY) as Central Sector Scheme with an allocation of Rs. 100 crore with special focus on the qualitative and sustainable employment for tribal families; bridging infrastructure gaps with focus on quality; improving the quality of education and health and improving the quality of life in tribal areas. August 7: India and Bhutan agree to strengthen the strategic cooperation in the field of Agriculture & allied sectors between the two countries. August 8: The Tamil Nadu Government has introduced the Tamil Nadu Entry into Public Places (Removal of restriction of dress) Act, 2014, seeking to remove the ban on wearing dhoti and other traditional Indian attire imposed by recreational clubs and others. The Bill provides for cancellation of licence and punishment of one year imprisonment for any violation of the legislation. August 9: The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh launched the Web application of Delhi Police for issuing Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) to the people of Delhi who require the PCC for emigration, employment etc. August 9: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has announced a series of integrated drinking water schemes and also proposed a ‗Tamil Nadu Innovative Initiative‘ to promote innovation in the State. August 10: 12th India-ASEAN meeting was held in Naypyitaw (Myanmar). August 10: The second and final report of justice MB Shah Commission of inquiry into illegal mining in Orissa has strongly recommended the Centre to order a CBI probe against 14 mining leaseholders including Aditya Birla-owned Essel Mining because of the involvement of state and Central government officials in the matter. August 10: The Ministry of Rural Development launched its flagship Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission, which is aimed at providing urban amenities in rural areas. August 13: Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, laid the foundation stone for Leh-Kargil-Srinagar transmission system. He also dedicated the 45 MW Nimoo Bazgo Hydroelectric Project to the nation. August 13: India successfully conducted trials of its indigenously developed surface-to-air ‗Akash‘ missile, which has a strike range of 25 kms, as part of a user trial by the Air Force from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur. August 16: The Lok Sabha passed the National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill and Constitution (121st Amendment) Bill meant to replace the collegium system with a commission, where the executive too would have a say in selection of judges to the higher judiciary. August 17: The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation of a Port- Based Multi-product Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) at Sheva, Navi Mumbai. August 17: The Hon‘ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, commissioned INS Kolkata into the Indian Navy. August 17: Andhra Pradesh Government decided to make Vijayawada its ad hoc capital. Vijayawada will be an ad hoc capital until the needed infrastructure and other projects for the new capital are completed. August 17: India ranked fifth amongst top ten wind power producers in the world by adding 1,700 MW capacity in 2013, a report said. ―China was the leading wind power producer by adding 16,100 MW capacity in 2013, followed by USA, Germany and Spain,‖ Renewables 2014 Global Status Report said. August 18: In a function at Solapur, the Prime Minister dedicated to the nation 765 kV Solapur - Raichur transmission lines, and four laning of Pune - Solapur section of NH-9. August 19: Assuring financial independence to the poorest of the poor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ‗Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana‘ to provide bank accounts along with a debit card and an insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh to all. August 20: The CBI arrested Rakesh Kumar, CEO of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), three days after it arrested two persons associated with the board and seized from them Rs 70,000 which was to be paid to Kumar allegedly as a bribe to clear a regional movie. August 20: A sessions court in Manipur ordered the immediate release of civil rights activist Irom Sharmila, who has been on an indefinite hunger strike demanding repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act for the past 13 years. August 21- Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, dedicated the 1000MW ( 2X500 MW) stage I of Mouda Super Thermal Power Project to the nation in Mouda in Nagpur district of Maharashtra. August 21: A Hindu temple, claimed to be the world‘s first ‗eco-temple‘ featuring solar panels and a rainwater harvesting system, has been opened in northwest London in the UK. The ornate 20 million pounds Shree Swaminarayan Mandir temple in Kingsbury combines traditional Indian architecture and carvings with ―green‖ technology. August 21: The year 2015-2016 will be observed as water conservation year. A public movement will launched throughout the country for this purpose and at least one official of the Union Water Resources Ministry will be present in every district of the country during this period. August 22: The Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Shri Prakash Javadekar inaugurated the 13th International ABU Asia-Pacific Robot Contest (ABU-ROBOCON) on 24th August, 2014. ABU-ROBOCON 2014 is being organized by Doordarshan at the Badminton Hall, Balewadi Sports Complex, Pune from 22-26th August, 2014. August 23: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar opened the first edition of northeast film festival in the capital and said the government is committed to mainstream new initiatives in the region. August 24: The first indigenously built stealth anti-submarine warfare corvette ‗INS Kamorta‘ was commissioned by Defence Minister Arun Jaitley at the Naval dockyard, Vishakapatnam. August 26: With the aim to bolster ties between the Indian Air Force and Russian Federation Air Force (RFAF), Ex Avia Indra-2014 commenced at Astrakhan region, near the Caspian Sea in Russia. The Exercise will go on till 05 September 2014. August 26: Ministry of Textiles announced that Ministry through DC (Handlooms) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Flipkart India Pvt. Ltd. to provide online marketing platform to handloom weavers to boost the handloom sector, empower the weavers and boost manufacturing in the country. August 26: India and Vietnam agreed to deepen cooperation in defence and oil sectors among others as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral ties with the strategically-important country. August 27: The Union Minister for Tourism Shri Shripad Naik launched the Comprehensive Sustainable Tourism Criteria for India (STCI) for Accommodation, Tour Operators and Beaches, Backwaters, Lakes & Rivers Sectors. August 28: Prime Minister has approved the constitution of a Committee to carry out a review to identify obsolete laws. The Committee will be chaired by Shri R. Ramanujam, Secretary PMO. Shri V.K. Bhasin, former Secretary, Legislative Department, will be its other member. August 28: The Union Minister of Communications & Information Technology and Law & Justice, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad chaired a conference of IT Ministers and IT Secretaries of States / UTs to discuss the ‗Digital India‘ programme. August 29: The Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has signed Memorandum of Understanding for two more pilot projects for Cashless Treatment Road Accident Victims – one on Vadodara-Mumbai stretch of NH-8 and the other on Ranchi-Rargaon-Mahulia (Jamshedpur) stretch of NH-33. August 30: A Credit Agreement for World Bank (IDA) assistance of US$ 107 million for Second Mizoram State Roads Project (MSRP II) has been signed between the Government of India and the World Bank. August 30: Beginning September 1, 2014 the doors of 20 Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) wellness centres in Delhi will be thrown open to senior citizens from among the public for free consultation. Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Health Minister, unveiled a pilot project with wide ramifications for the future of public health care. INDIAN ECONOMY THIS MONTH August 8: The Tata Group has retained its place as the country‘s most valuable brand at USD 21 billion, while the total worth of top-100 Indian brands now stands at USD 92.6 billion. August 9: The growth of asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) in India will moderate to 30 per cent in the next 12 months, according to credit rating agency Crisil. August 10: The Indian Cotton Federation (ICF) organised the second All India Cotton Conference on August 12 and 13 at The Residency in Coimbtore. The theme of the conference is ‗Indian Cotton Scenario in the current context 2014-15‘. August 10: The Confederation of Real Estate Developers‘ Associations of India (Credai) has decided to work towards the theme Homes For All by 2022. The meeting of the apex body representing private real estate developers in the country that was held during August 6-8 laid special thrust on the mission of pucca housing for all by 2022. August 10: Expanding the scope of the work of Prime Minister‘s Rural Development Fellows (PMRDFs), the rural development ministry has asked states to involve the fellows in the crucial exercise of the process of preparing the labour budget for MGNREGA for 2015-16 in 2,500 backward blocks across the nation. August 11: To help attract greater foreign and domestic investments into real estate and infrastructure, markets regulator Sebi has cleared final guidelines for creation and listing of business trusts for these key sectors. August 12: Keen to restore investor confidence, the finance ministry is likely to whittle down the scope of the General AntiAvoidance Rules (GAARs) so that genuine tax planning isn‘t impacted by these dreaded rules. August 12: The Ken-Betwa Link Project, benefiting Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, has been taken up for the implementation. The estimated cost of the Phase-I and Phase-II of the Ken-Betwa Link project is Rs.9393 Crore (2008 price level) and Rs.2283 Crore (2012-13 price level) respectively. August 12: As per the original provisions under the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Act, 2005 and Rules, 2006, exemption from Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) in the case of SEZ Developers and Units as also the exemption from Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) for SEZ Developers were granted. August 16: Reserve Bank will issue Rs 1,000 new bank notes under the Mahatma Gandhi Series-2005 with the rupee mark 'R' in inset. August 16: Rapid financial inclusion envisaged by the Government under the ‗Jan Dhan Yojana‘ will lead to a decline in the usage of cash in India in line with developed countries, according to State Bank of India Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya. August 19: India and Singapore decided to scale up ties in key areas of investment and trade which has witnessed a huge surge from $4.2 billion to about $19.4 billion in the last one decade. August 20: Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s call to corporate houses to join the cause of rural sanitation, software major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Bharti Foundation, the development arm of Bharti Enterprises, announced that they will both earmark Rs. 100 crore each to be spent on building toilets in rural India. August 22: The Ministry of Environment and Forests has given environment clearance to Cairn India to raise crude oil production from its prolific Rajasthan block by 50 per cent to 300,000 barrels per day. August 22: Falling prices of crude oil, thermal coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) are huge positive for India as energy imports account for 36 per cent of its total imports last fiscal, research firm Crisil Research said. August 22: Construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) said it has bagged new orders worth Rs 1,283 crore in water infrastructure and renewable energy sectors in the country in July and August. The orders were bagged by Water and Renewable Energy business segment of L&T Construction. August 23: In order to comply with the insurance regulator‘s norm on dematerialisation — digitisation — of life insurance policies, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) tied up with all five insurance repositories. August 26: The government will spend Rs 20,000 crore to provide mobile connectivity in 55,000 villages, which are still untouched by wireless telephony, in the next five years, Telecom Secretary Rakesh Garg said. August 27: Tata Value Homes has partnered with e-commerce major Snapdeal to sell houses through the online marketplace model. Home buyers can now register with the e-commerce portal and look for options from 1,000 apartments spread across seven cities — Mumbai, Talegaon, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata — for a booking amount of Rs 30,000. August 28: Rating agency Moody‘s expects the GDP to grow at 5.1 per cent in the first quarter (April-June) of current fiscal, better than 4.7 per cent clocked a year ago. August 29: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police filed 10 first information reports (FIRs) against several officials of state-run banks and individuals for an alleged fixed deposit fraud of more than Rs 1,000 crore. August 29: The retirement fund body also has also fixed the minimum monthly pension for EPFO schemes at Rs. 1,000. This move will immediately benefit 28 lakh pensioners who get less than this amount at present. Mr Jaitley in the Budget had allocated Rs. 250 crore in the current financial year for this purpose. August 29: Odisha government launched Rs. 3,200 crore economic corridor between Jagdalpur and Rourkela. August 30: While probing manipulators in the capital markets space, some officials at regulator SEBI have got a specific job that they do very seriously — that is reading media reports to get leads on possible irregularities. GLOBE-TROT THIS MONTH August 1: The U.S. House approved a lawsuit against President Barack Obama over alleged abuse of executive power. August 1: The President of Sierra Leone has declared a public health emergency as the Ebola crisis deepens across West Africa. August 9: China successfully launched a remote-sensing satellite, Yaogan XX to carry out scientific experiments and provide early alerts about natural disasters. August 11: The 18th BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) ministerial meeting on climate change, which concluded in New Delhi. August 16: China has inaugurated its second railway line in Tibet, built at a cost of $2.16 billion, close to Indian border in Sikkim, enhancing mobility of its military in the remote and strategic Himalayan region. August 20: PriceWaterhouseCoopers will pay $25 million and face a two-year suspension from consulting for new bank clients under an agreement with New York regulators following an investigation that showed the company improperly altered a report about Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi laundering money. August 21: The first Director General levels talks between Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), India and Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB), Sri Lanka was held at New Delhi. August 23: An Indian-origin student, who scored a perfect five in his main subjects with 100 per cent marks across the board, is being hailed as the brightest student in Britain. Asanish Kalyanasundaram achieved the highest possible grades in maths, physics, chemistry, biology and critical thinking as part of the five main subjects required at A Levels in Britain. August 28: The three-day talks between India and Pakistan here over designs of Kishan Ganga Dam and four other hydroelectric power projects at the Jhelum and the Chenab rivers respectively has ended inconclusively. August 29: The US government has designated a Lahore based money exchange firm Asma Money Exchanges and its owner Muhammad Iqbal as global terrorists for ―providing financial support to Lashkar-e-Toiba‖. August 30: The Ambassador of Israel to India Mr. Daniel Carmon called on the Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath. The two sides have Agreement on Homeland and Public Security, Agreement on Protection of Classified Materials & Information and Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in Criminal Matters in the field of bilateral cooperation. August 30: Libya‘s toothless interim government, led by prime minister Abdullah al-Thani, announced it had tendered its resignation to the elected parliament, days after a rival Islamist administration was created. The interim government, operating in the east of the country to avoid the Islamist militias which have a strong presence in Tripoli. INDIAN LEADERS VISITING ABROAD/ FOREIGN COUNTRY NATIONALS VISITING INDIA August 1: US Secretary of State, John Kerry, called on Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, at the latter's North Block office. Kerry, who arrived in India for an official visit, has already pressed New Delhi to drop its opposition to global trade reforms. August 3: Prime Minister Narendra Modi sailed on a visit to the Himalayan nation. During the two-day visit to Nepal, Modi holded talks with his counterpart Sushil Koirala and meet with other political leaders. August 30: Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Japan amid "great expectations" that the five-day trip will open new vistas in bilateral ties and Strategic and Global Partnership to a higher level. APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS THIS MONTH August 3: Former UN peacekeeper in Congo Sudesh Kumar, has been handed over the command of the inspector general's offi ce of BSF Meghalaya Frontier. August 8: Arvind Gupta, former Indian Foreign Service offi cer, was appointed as Deputy National Security Advi ser (NSA). August 8: YES Bank has appointed retired IAS offi cer Radha Singh as Non -Executive Chairperson of the board of the bank. August 7: Justice Dr Manjula Chellur sworn in as the first woman Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court — the oldest high court in the countr y. August 9: IDFC appointed Ravi Shankar as the head of the proposed bank‘s financial inclusion and rural business initiative. August 11: Syria‘s state-run news agency is reporting that President Bashar Assad has reappointed premier Wael al-Halqi to form a new government. August 14: AIADMK leader M.Thnbidura unanimousl y elected Deput y Speaker of the Lok Sa bha. He is the first leader to hold the post for a second time. Earlier in 1985, also has the distinction of being elevated to the post. August 16: S.M. Swathi, General Manager of Corporation Bank, has been appointed as Executive Director of Bharatiya Mahila Bank. She had assumed offi ce on August 14. August 17: Rajni Razdan became the new Chairperson of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). She was appointed as Chairperson of UPSC by the President Pranab Mukherjee in accordance with the Article 316 (1) of the Constitution. August 19: Former captain Mahela Jaya wardene was given a fairytale sendoff in his last test match as Sri Lanka eased to a 105-run victory that completed a 2 -0 series sweep over Pakistan. August 26: Mr. Recep Ta yyip Erdogan, the Prime Minister of Republic of Turkey , now has been elected as the President of the Republic of Turkey. August 26: French Prime Minister Manuel Valls present ed his government‘s resignation. August 26: Thailand's army chief Gen Prayuth Chan -ocha, who seized power in a military coup three months ago, became the country's prime minister, the first serving army officer to assume the top office in 22 years. August 27: UPA appointed Governor Sheila Dikshit resigned. August 27: Modern -era ‗Don‘ Shah Rukh Khan has become the first Indian actor to be roped in as Ambassador of Interpol‘s initiative ‗Turn Back Crime‘ campaign, aimed at promoting greater awareness on how to prevent crime. The ‗Turn Back Crime‘ campaign is aimed at raising public awareness that organised crime is often involved in seemingly unrelated crimes. AWARDS/HONOURS/WORLD TITLES/NEW DISCOVERIES THIS MONTH August 4: Bharatiya Mahila Bank Ltd. bagged the Core Banking System Initiative Award for the year 2014 at the Asian Banking and Finance - Retail Banking Awards 2014. August 4: The 2014 Ramon Magsaysay Awards Awardees are Hu Shuli, Saur Marlina Manurung, Omara Khan Masoudi from Afghanistan, The Citizens Foundation (A Non Governmental Organization) from Pakistan, Wang Canfa from China, Randy Halasan from the Philippines August 8: Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, CMD of Bandhan, has received the ‗Entrepreneur of the Year‘ award from the All India Management Association (AIMA). August 13: Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus, Tata Sons Ltd, has been conferred the 18th MMA Amalgamations Business Leadership Award at a function in Chennai. August 14: Two Indian-origin academicians have won global prizes in the field of mathematics with one of them being awarded the Fields Medal — known as the ‗Nobel Prize of mathematics‘. Manjul Bhargava won the Fields Medal, while Subhash Khot won the Rolf Nevanlinna Prize, awarded by the International Mathematical Union, at the International Congress of Mathematicians 2014 held in Seoul. August 14: The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented Outstanding Parliamentarian Awards to Shri Arun Jaitley, Dr. Karan Singh and Shri Sharad Yadav for the years 2010, 2011 and 2012 respectively at a function organized by the Indian Parliamentary Group. August 21: Indian-origin South African academic Leila Patel has been named the African country‘s one of the top women researcher in the annual Women in Science Awards hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology. August 23: Seven books of stories, six of poetry, one of novel, one of essays and eight writers for their total contribution to children literature have won the Bal Sahitya Puraskar this year. August 27: Shri Ram Vilas Paswan, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has announced the annual awards and commendation certificates for the nineteenth prestigious Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Awards for the year 2012. The Best of All Award has been won by Rail Wheel factory (Ministry of Railways), Bangalore. SPORTS NEWS THIS MONTH August 2: In a huge jolt to Indian men hockey team‘s chances in the Commonwealth Games, captain Sardar Singh has been suspended for the semi-final match against New Zealand following his second dangerous offence of the tournament. August 4: Woman discus thrower Seema Punia, who won a silver for India at the 20th Commonwealth Games, was the flagbearer for the country during its closing ceremony. August 4: Lauding the performance of Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa, who won the squash doubles gold at the Commonwealth Games, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa announced a cash award of Rs.50 lakh each to the winnersJuly 8 : Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza has achieved a career-best rank of number five in the world as the new WTA Doubles. August 5: In Commonwealth Games 2014 India finished at fifth-place with 64 medals, including 15 yellow metals. August 17: Jammu and Kashmir to host Football Federation Cup in August 2015. August 18: World number three tennis player, Roger Federer of Switzerland won Cincinnati Tennis Open, also called Western & Southern Open. He defeated David Ferrer of Spain 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 in the final played in Cincinnati, US. This was sixth Cincinnati title for 33-year-old Federer and was the first Masters title for Federer since 2012. August 18: England won the 5-match Pataudi Trophy test-series played against India by 3-1. England achieved the feat after defeating India in the fifth and final Test at The Oval by an innings and 244 runs. August 20: Ravi Shastri has been appointed Director of the India cricket team for the ODI series against England. August 21: Hurdler Siddhanth Thingalaya, representing ONGC, secured his berth for the Asian Games by equaling his own national record in the 110m hurdles on the concluding day of the Federation Cup Senior National Athletics Championships at Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports, Patiala. August 23: Atletico Madrid striker Mario Mandzukic‘s early goal secured a 1-0 win over Real Madrid and a 2-1 aggregate success to clinch the Spanish Super Cup and gain some revenge for last season‘s Champions League final defeat. August 25: The President of India Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the 6th Edition of Kamada Kinkar Mukherjee Rural Football Tournament at Raghunathganj in Murshidabad district, West Bengal. August 26: In the doubles, Leander Paes continues to be India's top-ranked player at number 12, a loss of one position. In the women's rankings, Sania Mirza maintained her top-five rank as she was unchanged at number 5. August 28: Roger Federer has not won a Grand Slam title this year but the 17-time Grand Slam champion topped Forbes magazine‘s list of the 10 top tennis money-makers announced. August 28: Indian women cricket captain Mithali Raj has retained the top spot in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) women‘s rankings for batters. August 30: Mobile handset maker HTC Mobiles announced that it has become an official sponsor for Kings XI Punjab, one of the eight cricket teams of Indian Premier League (IPL). EULOGIES THIS MONTH August 1: Dick Wagner, the famous rock guitarist of Alice Cooper died due to respiratory failure at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Centre in Arizona. He was 71. August 3: Noted educationist, scholar and author Som Ranchan died at a hospital after a brief illness. He was 82 years old. August 7: Shri Pran Kumar Sharma, a versatile cartoonist who brought smiles to the faces of people through his cartoons of Chacha Chowdhary and Sabu passed away at the age of 75. August 9: Chairman of Saraswat Co-operative Bank and former Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha Member Eknath Keshav Thakur passed away after a prolonged battle with cancer. He was 73. August 12: Goalkeeping great Vladimir Beara of Croatia died in city Split of Croatia on 11 August 2014. He died after a series of strokes over the past year. He was 85. August 13: Oscar Winning veteran actor Robin Williams, 63, was found dead, Police has said. The apparent cause of the death was suicide, authorities said. August 13: Member of India‘s first Lok Sabha Reshamlal Jangde died due to age-related ailments at a local hospital. He was 89. August 13: US actress Lauren Bacall, 89, died of a stroke at her home in New York, according to multiple reports. August 13: Eduardo Campos, the Brazilian presidential candidate, died after his private jet crashed in São Paulo, Brazil. He was 49. August 23: Jnanpith award winning litterateur UR Ananthamurthy has passed away in a Bangalore hospital. He was 81. August 26: Acclaimed actor and Oscar-winning director Richard Attenborough, whose film career on both sides of the camera spanned 60 years, has died. He was 90. August 28: Famed violinist Kumar Dinesh passed away. Ailing for the last one month, the 86-year-old violinist from the Chhotanagpur Raj Gharana passed away at a hospital in Delhi. MISCELLANEOUS NEWS THIS MONTH August 1: Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE) will be a part of the Mars 2020 rover mission that was announced by NASA on 31 July 2014. MOXIE will be used by NASA to produce oxygen on MARS from the Martian atmospheric Carbon Dioxide (CO2). August 2: India continues to host the largest number of child labourers in the world, with more than half of Delhi‘s working children forced to work for over eight hours a day without a single day‘s rest. Note: This was found in a survey done and released in New Delhi by child rights non-government organisation Child Rights and You (CRY) in partnership with Philips. August 3: Facebook launched an app, that will give users in Zambia free access to its social network as well as other critical internet sites, in a boost to its plan to to extend web access to the 4.25 billion people who lack it. August 3: In a powerful blast in a Metal factory in Kunshan city in eastern China had killed 65 people, and injured more than 100. August 6: The Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari released a book entitled ―21st Century South Asia‖ written by Prof. Sanghmitra Sarkar. August 8: Horse-racing clubs in India have been declared to be ―shops‖ by the Supreme Court. August 8: Government is committed to endeavour to have housing for all by 2022 by extending additional tax incentive on home loans to encourage people, especially the young, to own houses. It has proposed to set up a Mission on Low Cost Affordable Housing to be anchored in the National Housing Bank. August 8: An Indian couple in Singapore has invented a first-of-its-kind robot to make chappatis which raked in about 5 million Singapore dollars in pre-sale orders from the US. Rishi Israni and his wife Pranoti, took six years to develop the robot, Rotimatic, which can produce about one baked chapati per minute. August 9: Philips India has roped in Alia Bhatt as its brand ambassador for its beauty business which includes a range of hair and depilation devices. August 9: Global food prices hit a six-month low in July led mainly by sharp declines in grains, oilseeds and dairy, which balanced out rising meat and firm sugar prices, the United Nations food agency said. August 11: The 44-day-long Amarnath Yatra to the holy cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas ended, with nearly four lakh pilgrims paying obeisance to the ice-Shivlingam this year. August 11: Territorial disputes in the South China Sea dominated the meetings of the East Asia Summit (EAS) as well as the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) at the 47th ASEAN Foreign Ministers meetings in Nay Pyi Taw. August 12: The Government will close a chink in the country‘s preparedness against cyber attacks and spying by making it mandatory for all telecom equipment to be tested in India from next year. August 12: Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct chemical conservation of the Mumbai's World Heritage monument, the Gateway of India. The 90-year-old monument was completed in 1924 to commemorate the visit of Britain‘s King George V and Queen Mary to India in 1911. August 13: The UN has named three experts as members of an independent inquiry commission that will probe possible human rights violations and war crimes committed, particularly in the Gaza Strip, during the recent conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. August 13: In the last three years, the US has taken over Russia as the largest supplier of weapon systems to India. August 13: Japanese scientists claim to have developed the world‘s fastest camera — a photo-device with a frame interval of 4.4 trillion frames per second. August 13: Scientists have developed a novel molecule that can cause cancer cells to self-destruct by ferrying sodium and chloride ions into the tumour cells. The advance could lead to new anticancer drugs while also benefiting patients with cystic fibrosis. August 16: According to EU Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos, the European Union has plans to buy up stocks of fruit and vegetables hit by a Russian ban on the bloc‘s agricultural products. August 17: India called-off the Foreign Secretary-level bilateral talks with Pakistan. The decision was taken by the Union government after Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit invited Kashmiri separatist Hurriyat leaders in Delhi for a meet. August 19: Chinese troops are reported to have entered 25 to 30 km deep into Indian territory in Burtse area in Ladakh where they had pitched their tents last year that had led to a tense three-week standoff. August 20: China has successfully launched the most advanced high-definition Earth observation satellite Gaofen-2 from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China‘s Shanxi Province, which could clearly show small objects with clarity in colour. August 23: The government has set up a four-member panel of secretaries from different ministries to work out a new gas pricing mechanism. August 24: An Indian, who has invented a machine that can be used to make cheap sanitary pads, hopes that the device would be available in 70 developing countries by next year. August 25: The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the first Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST) of the country at Shibpur, Howrah, West Bengal. August 26: Air Marshal HB Rajaram, Air Officer-in-charge Administration, Air HQs flagged in the ‗all women cycle expedition‘ team on their successful completion of the mission ‗Kshitij-Se-Pare‘. August 27: The government has planned 20 new advanced cancer treatment facilities across the country (one in each state) over the next few years to meet the rising burden of the disease. For Madhya Pradesh, the Centre has planned a new State Cancer Institute (SCI), along with two Tertiary Care Cancer Centres (TCCC). August 30: Notwithstanding a better gender balance in the southern part of the country, child marriage has been found to be on the rise in Kerala in recent years, according to UNICEF. RECURRING TERMS IN NEWSPAPER THIS MONTH CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: It refers to the system of structures, rights, duties, and obligations by which corporations are directed and controlled. The governance structure specifies the distribution of rights and responsibilities among different participants in the corporation (such as the board of directors, managers, shareholders, creditors, auditors, regulators, and other stakeholders) and specifies the rules and procedures for making decisions in corporate affairs. Governance is a mechanism for monitoring the actions, policies and decisions of corporations. Governance involves the alignment of interests among the stakeholders. PHISHING: It is the act of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit credentials (and sometimes, indirectly, money) by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT: It is a direct investment into production or business in a country by an individual or company of another country, either by buying a company in the target country or by expanding operations of an existing business in that country. BASIS POINTS (BPS): A basis point is a unit equal to 1/100th of a percentage point. i.e. 1 bps = 0.01%. Basis points are often used to measure changes in or differences between yields on fixed income securities, since these often change by very small amounts. BANCASSURANCE: It is the term used to describe the partnership or relationship between a bank and an insurance company whereby the insurance company uses the bank sales channel in order to sell insurance products. MARGINAL STANDING FACILITY: Under this scheme, banks will be able to borrow upto 1% of their respective net demand and time liabilities. The rate of interest on the amount accessed from this facility will be 100 basis points (i.e. 1%) above the repo rate. This scheme is likely to reduce volatility in the overnight rates and improve monetary transmission. FINANCIAL INCLUSION: financial inclusion or inclusive financing is the delivery of financial services at affordable costs to sections of disadvantaged and low-income segments of society, in contrast tofinancial exclusion where those services are not available or affordable. STATUTORY LIQUIDITY RATIO (SLR): Statutory liquidity ratio is the liquid assets commercial banks maintain with the RBI in the form of cash (book value), gold (current market value) and balances in unencumbered approved securities. The maximum limit of SLR is 40% and minimum limit of SLR is 23% In India. RBI can change SLR from time to time. Both CRR and SLR reduce or increase the capacity to expand credit to business and industry. Thus both of these are antiinflationary. PRIORITY SECTOR LENDING: Priority sector refers to those sectors of the economy which may not get timely and adequate credit in the absence of this special dispensation. Typically, these are small value loans to farmers for agriculture and allied activities, micro and small enterprises, poor people for housing, students for education and other low income groups and weaker sections. ABBREVIATIONS THIS MONTH REER: Real Effective Exchange Rate NEER: Nominal Effective Exchange Rate LIBOR: London Inter Bank Offer Rate MIBOR: Mumbai Inter Bank Offer Rate EFT: Electronic Fund Transfer NEFT: National Electronic Funds Transfer RTGS: Real Time Gross Settlement ATM: Automated Teller Machine CBS: Core Banking Solution NEFT: National Electronic Fund Transfer CAR: Capital Adequacy Ratio NPA: Non-Performing Asset IMPS: Inter-bank Mobile Payment Service BCBS: Basel Committee on Banking Supervision RSI: Relative Strength Index IFSC: Indian Financial System Code MSME: Micro Small and Medium Enterprises LIBOR: London Inter Bank Offered Rate LIBID: London Inter Bank Bid Rate ECGC: Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India SWIFT: Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication STRIPS: Separate Trading for Registered Interest & Principal Securities CIBIL: Credit Information Bureau of India Limited CRISIL: Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited AMFI: Association of Mutual Funds of India FCCB: Foreign Currency Convertible Bond CAC: Capital Account Convertibility IMPORTANT DAYS THIS MONTH 5 SEPTEMBER: Teacher’s Day (Birth Day of S. Radha krishnan) 8 SEPTEMBER: World Literacy Day 14 SEPTEMBER: World Fraternity and Apology Day 14 SEPTEMBER: Hindi Diwas ( Day) 15 SEPTEMBER: Engineer’s Day 16 SEPTEMBER: World Ozone Day 20 SEPTEMBER: Railway Police Force (RPF) Foundation Day 21 SEPTEMBER: Alzheimer’s Day 24 SEPTEMBER: World Deaf Day and World Heart Day 27 SEPTEMBER: World Tourism Day SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE MONTH COMMONWEALTH GAMES 2014 The Commonwealth Games 2014 or the XX Commonwealth Games as it is officially known took place in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom from July 23 to August 3, 2014. It is the largest multi-sport event ever held in Scotland with around 4,950 athletes from 71 different nations and territories competing in 18 different sports, although the country previously hosted the 1970 and 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh. There are total 17 sports. This is the 20th edition of the Commonwealth Games. MOTTO: The motto of Commonwealth Games 2014 is People, Place, Passion. LOGO: Keeping three factors time, data and measurement in mind, Marque Creative designed the official logo. The rings in the logo are proportioned to represent the 20th Commonwealth Games, across 17 sports, over 11 days in 1 city. MASCOT: Clyde, a cheeky wee thistle is the mascot of Commonwealth Games 2014. England finished top of the medal table for the first time since the 1986 Commonwealth Games, also held in Scotland. MEDAL TALLY: Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total 1 England 58 59 57 174 2 Australia 49 42 46 137 3 Canada 32 16 34 82 4 Scotland 19 15 19 53 5 India 15 30 19 64 INDIA IN THE 2014 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: India who had finished second in the 2010 Commonwealth Games with an overall tally of 101 medals (38 gold, 27 silver & 36 bronze medals), managed only 64 medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games – with the medals tally comprising 15 gold, 30 silver and 19 bronze. India kept occupying fifth spot on the medals table. On closing ceremony, the Indian contingent‘s flag bearer was Seema Punia, who won Silver in women's discus throw. While, the torch bearer in the opening ceremony was ace shooter Vijay Kumar, the 2012 London Olympics Silver medalist. Dipa Karmakar scripts history, wins first gymnastic medal for India at Commonwealth Games. She bagged a bronze in the vault event. 15 INDIANS WHO WON GOLD AT 2014 COMMONWEALTH GAMES, GLASGOW • Yogeshwar Dutt: Men's wrestling, 65 kg freestyle • Babita Kumari: Women's wrestling, 55 kg freestyle • Sushil Kumar: Men's wrestling, 75kg • Amit Kumar: Men's wrestling, 57kg • Vinesh Phogat: Women's wrestling, 48kg • Satish Sivalingam: Men's weightlifting, 77 kg (broke the Commonwealth Games record for the snatch with a mark of 149kg) • Vikas Gowda: Men's discus throw (first person to win a gold medal for India in 56 years in Men's Athletics after Milkha Singh in 1958) • Jitu Rai: Men's shooting, 50 m Pistol • Rahi Sarnobat: Women's shooting, 25 m Pistol • Apurvi Chandela: Women's shooting, 10 m Air Rifle • Abhinav Bindra: Men's 10m Air Rifle • K. Sanjita Chanu: Women's weightlifting 48 kg category (wins India‘s first Gold medal at 2014 Commonwealth Games). • Sukhen Dey: Men's weightlifting 56 kg category • Dipika Pallikal and Joshana Chinappa: Women's squash • Parupalli Kashyap: Men's Badminton (became first Indian man in 32 years to win badminton gold at the Games). Like us on- https://www.facebook.com/Emahendras The 21st Commonwealth Games will be held in Gold Coast in Australia in 2018. Ramon Magsaysay Award 2014 The list of Awardees for the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Awards for year 2014 has been announced. THE AWARDEES ARE: 1. Hu Shuli: An investigative journalist from China whose work was instrumental in the dismissal of corrupt officials. She is the founder and former editor of Caijing a business magazine widely-known for its groundbreaking investigative reporting that has made a significant impact on China. 2. Saur Marlina Manurung: The Award recognizes her outstanding efforts to protect and improve the lives of Indonesia‘s forest people, and her kinetic leadership of volunteers in SOKOLA‘s customized educationprogram. 3. Omara Khan Masoudi: The award has been conferred upon him in recognition of his courage, labor, and leadership in preserving Afghan cultural heritage. At great risk to his life, the deputy director of the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul led his colleagues in moving some of the museum‘s most precious objects to safety during the Taliban‘s attack on his country‘s cultural treasures in the 1990s. 4. The Citizens Foundation from Pakistan: It is an NGO in Pakistan founded by six business leaders. It built 1,000 schools over hundreds of cities and towns in the country which is home to the world‘s second highest number of children who are out of school. 5. Wang Canfa: He is a Chinese Professor who founded the Center forLegal Assistance to Pollution Victims, which has provided free legal services to thousands of people and imparted environmental law training to lawyers and others. 6. Randy Halasan: The award is in recognition of his extraordinary leadership and service to the indigenous Matigsalug tribe. He made huge efforts in teaching the children of the Matigsalug tribe in one of the remotest mountain villages in Mindanao, Philippines. RAMON MAGSAYSAY AWARD: The Ramon Magsaysay Award is Asia‘s highest honor and is also regarded as the region‘s equivalent of the Nobel Prize. It commemorates the leadership example of the third Philippine president after whom the award is named. The award is conferred every year to individuals or organizations in Asia who manifest the same altruistic and philanthropic service that dominated the life of the late and highly respected Filipino leader. PRADHAN MANTRI JAN DHAN YOJANA Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched his government's mega scheme 'Jan Dhan Yojana', declaring that it was aimed at eradicating financial untouchability by providing bank accounts to the poor. On the inaugural day, a record 1.5 crore bank accounts were opened across the country, the largest such exercise on a single day possibly anywhere in the world. Unveiling the scheme within 100 days of forming the new government, Modi said, it will cover 7.5 crore people by January 26, 2015. FIVE IMPORTANT FEATURES OF THE PM JAN DHAN YOJNA:  Under the scheme, account holders will be provided zero-balance bank account with RuPay debit card, in addition to accidental insurance cover of Rs. 1 lakh.  Those who open accounts by January 26, 2015 over and above the Rs1 lakh accident, they will be given life insurance cover of Rs 30,000.  Six months of opening of the bank account, holders can avail Rs 5,000 loan from the bank.  With the introduction of new technology introduced by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), a person can transfer funds, check balance through a normal phone which was earlier limited only to smart phones so far.  Mobile banking for the poor would be available through National Unified USSD Platform (NUUP) for which all banks and mobile companies have come together. EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE (EVD) Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal illness in humans. Four West African countries Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Guinea are struggling with the worst Ebola outbreak in history, one that has begun to spread to other nations. KEY FACTS  EVD outbreaks have a case fatality rate of up to 90%.  EVD outbreaks occur primarily in remote villages in Central and West Africa, near tropical rainforests.  The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission.  Fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are considered to be the natural host of the Ebola virus.  Severely ill patients require intensive supportive care. No licensed specific treatment or vaccine is available for use in people or animals.