July 202-Current Affairs for UPSC, IAS, APPSC, IBPS & Bank PO Competitive Exams

INTERNATIONAL

Leung Chun-ying Sworn In As Hong Kong’s New Leader

Leung Chun-ying, a millionaire property consultant seen as close to China’s communist rulers, was sworn in as Hong Kong’s new chief executive on 1July 2012 .

Cyprus takes Over EU Presidency

Cyprus takes over the  European Union’s rotating presidency for the first time on 1 July 2012, amid concerns about the country’s ability to cope with its own economic problems and help steer Europe out of its financial crisis. Cyprus, which joined the European Union in 2004, is taking over the six-month rotating presidency from Denmark.

GSK to pay $3b For Health Fraud

Glaxo smith kline(GSK) would pay $3 billion and plead guilty to promoting two popular drugs for unapproved uses and to failing to report important safety data about a diabetes drug to the Food and Drug Administration, the justice department said on 2 July 2012. Government officials say it’s the largest health care fraud settlement in U.S history.

Mexico Declares National H7N3 (bird flu)Animal Health Emergency

The Mexican government declared a national animal health emergency on 2 July 2012 in the face of an aggressive bird flu epidemic that has infected nearly 1.7 million poultry. More than half the infected birds have died or been culled, the agriculture ministry said of an epidemic that was confirmed on 28 June 2012  by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). They activated a national animal health emergency… with the goal of diagnosing, preventing, controlling and eradicating the Type A, sub-type H7N3 bird flu virus.

PRI Leader Enrique Pena Nieto Elected as the New President of Mexico

The institutional Revolutionary Party leader Enrique Pena Nieto was elected as the new president of Mexico on 2 July 2012. In the presidential election held on 1 July 2012, Enrique Pena Nieto beat party of the Democratic Revolution candidate Andres Manual Lopez obrador of the total 98% votes counted , Pena Nieto bagged 38% votes, while former Mexico city Mayor Andres Manual Lopez obrador got 31% votes. Nieto succeeded felipe calderon on the top most position of the country.

Fukushima Was ‘Man-Made’ Diasater ;Japanese Probe

Last year’s Fukushima nuclear accident was a man made disaster just the tsunami that hit the plant, adamning parliamentary report said on 5 July 2012.Ingrained collusion between plant operator Tokyo Electric Power, the government and regulatory, combined with a lack of any effective oversight led directly to the worst nuclear accident in a generation, the report said.

Pak parliament passes bill to protect leaders from contempt

Pakistan President on Thursday signed into law a bill aimed at giving blanket immunity to top government leaders from contempt of court proceedings and countering the Supreme Court’s efforts to pressure the premier to revive graft cases against Asif Ali Zardari. Zardari gave his assent to the Contempt of Court Bill of 2012 after it was passed by the Senate and the National Assembly, the two houses of Parliament.

China, US Avoid Rocking The Boat On South China Sea

The United states  and China on 12 July pledged to ease strains in their relationship emerging amid renewed disputes over the south china sea and Chinese concerns over Washington’s “pivoy” to Asia . U.S.Secretary of state hillary clinton, who met chinese foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on the side lines of the ASEAN. Regional forum meeting in Phnom Penh on 12 July 2012.

United Nations Millennium Development Goal Report 2012 

United Nations Secretary General Ban ki-moon released, United Nations Millennium Development Goal 2012. Report on 2 July 2012. The report noted that three important targets on poverty, slums and water have already been met three years ahead of 2015, the target year. The target of providing clean drinking water to a substantial population of the world. In developing world the share of urban population living in slums came down to 33 per cent in 2000 from 39 per cent in 2000. The millennium development goal asserted that the developing countries. AIDS control, the developing countries have achieved tremendous fate as at the end of 2012 nearly 6.5 million people in the developing countries were receiving the antiretroviral therapy for HIV AIDS.

 Thomas Lubanga Imprisoned for 14 years 

International Criminal Court (ICC), located at The Hague has awarded Thomas Lubanga, a Congolese warlord, 14-year imprisonment on 10 July 2012. Lubanga had led the Union of Congolese Patriots, an ethnic militia in the violent struggle in the Ituri region and its main town of Bunia. The conflict, which began in 1999, claimed the life of about 60000 people in the country. Lubanga, who had used children as the soldiers during the violent struggle in Congo’s eastern Ituri region in 2002-2003 was convicted for war crime.

First Ever Resolution To Protect the Online Human Rights of Global Citizens.

 United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the Geneva based human rights wing of UN, on 5th July 2012, adopted a first ever resolution to protect the online human rights of global citizens. The resolution adopted by consensus, stated that citizens of the world are as much entitled to the human rights online as they are offline. The resolution noted that there can be no double standard with regard to people’s right of fundamental freedom and since internet makes a major part of present world’s communication process, all governments must endeavour to protect the online rights of its citizens. The landmark resolution was sponsored by Sweden and co-sponsored by over 80 countries, that includes United States, Brazil, Turkey, Nigeria, and Tunisia.

 Global CO2 Emission Increased by 3% in 2011

According to the report ” Trends in global CO2 emission”, global CO2 emission increased by 3% in 2011. The 3% increase in CO2 took the total amount if CO2 in air at an all time high of 34 billion tonnes. The report was released by the Europe commissions joint research centre (JSC) and the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. The United states with 17.3 tonnes per capita remains one of the top CO2 emitters, while china , the world’s most popular country, has 7.2 tones per capita.

 $650 m cut in U.S. military aid to Pakistan

Latest jab at Pakistan by the U.S., the House of Representatives has unanimously voted to cut American military aid to Islamabad by $650 million as Republicans sought to tamp down demands for deeper reductions. The amendment to cut the aid, which was proposed by Republican Congressman Ted Poe, passed on the floor in a voice vote. Mr. Poe had demanded a $1.3 billion cut, but settled for the $650 million cut. It will now go to Senate for approval. Pakistan is the ‘Benedict Arnold’ to America in the war on terror.

 Putin signs Russia Into WTO

President Vladimir Putin on 21 July 2012 singed the bill ratifying Russia’s entry to the world trade Organization after 18 years of often acrimonious negotiations , economists have long argued that Russia needed to join the WTO as it was the only major economy outside the body. The measure making Russia the 156th WTO member will become law within 30 days .

 Pakistan and US sign MoU for transporting supplies to Afghan

 Pakistan and the US on 31 July 2012  signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on transporting supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan through Pakistani territory after weeks of intense negotiations. The MoU states arms and ammunition for foreign troops in Afghanistan cannot be transported through Pakistan and that all cargo will be scanned in the port city of Karachi and at the border crossing points of Chaman and Torkham. The MOU will replace existing arrangements for transporting NATO supplies through Pakistani territory, which were reportedly based on a “verbal understanding”.

 Rajkeshwur Purryag is Mauritius Fifth President

 Rajkeshwur Purryag became the fifth president of Mauritius on 21 July. His predecessor Anerood Jugnauth resigned in March following open conflict with Prime Minister Navin Chandra Ramgoolam.

Mahama sworn  as Ghana’s new president

John Dramani Mahama was sworn as Ghana’s new president on 24 July 2012.After John Atta Mills, the country’s leader, unexpectedly died at  hospital in the capital, Accra. Mahama  was forever changed by his boyhood experiences during 1966 military coup.The 53-year-old who had been vice president was born in Bole Bamboi in northern Ghana and holds degrees in history and communications, according to Ghanian media.

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INDIA & WORLD

U.N.: India likely to miss MDG on maternal health

“With one maternal death reported every 10 minutes, India is likely to miss the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) related to maternal health, a latest United Nations report says. While there is an improvement from maternal death in every six minutes in 2010 to 10 minutes now, the MDG target in this respect is unlikely to be met, the report said. At present, the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) of India is 212 per one lakh live births, whereas the country’s target is 109 per one lakh live births by 2015.The MDG Report 2012 points out that an estimated 2,87,000 maternal deaths occurred in 2010 worldwide. This represents a decline of 47 per cent from 1990 when the MDGs were set.

Indo-Pak foreign secretary-level talks

Pakistan remains defiant on state actors behind the Mumbai terror attacks, but sought more information on the revelations made by 26/11 handler Abu Jundal. Speaking at a joint press conference after 4,5 July 2012 a  two-day talks that concluded at Hyderabad House in New Delhi , India’s Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai stressed that relations between two countries have to be normalized despite serious differences over the terror issue.

India 3rd Most Attractive , says UN Report

India emerged as the third most attractive investment destination after china & US for global companies , a UN report said on 5 July 2012 . Foreign direst Investment flows into India increased by 30% to $32 billion in 2011. While china attracted $124 billion last year. Brazil & Russia attracted $67 billion and $53 billion,

Mauritius Offers India 2 Islands In Its Bid To Preserve Tax Treaty

Mauritius foreign affairs and trade minister Arvin Boolell said  that it was up to India to use the Islands to its advantage. ‘Blue Economy’ had great potential . India could use north & South Agalega Islands(which are located 1.100 km north of Mauritius and have an official total area of 70 sq km, for setting up hotels and tourist resorts , for trade, marine studies , or for building strategic presence in the Indian ocean.

Sri Lanka, Indian navies hold maritime boundary talks

“India and Sri Lanka discussed maritime matters, including the issue of fishermen straying in each other’s territorial waters, as they held a crucial annual meeting aimed at strengthening naval relationship. The 21st International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) meeting between SriLanka and India was held onboard the Sri Lanka Naval Ship Sagara at the Indo-Sri Lanka Maritime Boundary Line off Kankasanthurai on 7 July 2012,

EU Carbon Tax: Us Invites India For Initiative To Create Global Consensus

India is among the 16 countries that have been invited to attend a US-led initiative to decide on what action should be taken at the global against the imposition of European Union-emission trading system. Under the system , which came into effect from January 1 , 27 – member. European Union asked all International airlines flying in and out of the region to meet specific carbon emission requirement , failing which they would have to pay tax.

India Aims To Double Trade with West Africa

Indian has set up a target of $40 billion trade turnover with the West African Nations from the present $20 billion. Mr.Sharma. along with Ghana’s trade & Industry Minister Hanna Tettch, inaugurated the ‘India show’ ACCRA (GHANA) on 9 July 2012. Mr.shrama said that India had also set a target of $90 billion trade with Africa by 2015.The total trade between India & Africa was around 450 billion till last year.

Singapore Prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong visited India

Singapore Prime Minister, Lee Loong visited India on a three day trip. India and Singapore signed three key bilateral agreements and a Memorandum of understanding(MOU) on 11 July. The two countries are working on deepening economic relations even outside south-east Asia, building linkages with companies where India and Singapore were associated. Singapore is not only an important trading partner in ASEAN but also a major source of FDI in flows in India. India is Singapore’s eight largest investor . India – Singapore bilateral trade accelerated to USD 17.44 billion from USD 14.04 in2009-10 . The holistic agreement turned out to be fruitful and both the countries expect to achieve better milestones together.

UK bans Indian Mujahideen

“The UK has banned Indian Mujahideen, citing the “”indiscriminate mass casualty attacks”" carried out by the Lashkar-e-Tayiba-linked terror group in India and the threat it posed to British nationals there.British MPs voted unanimously last night to ban IM, placing it on the list of 47 organisations that have been banned from functioning in the UK.”

India Draws U.S Ire Over Nexavar Row

The U.S administration has accused India of violating WTO norms by allowing Hyderabad based Natco Pharma to make a generic version of cancer drug Nexavar, In march this year, for the first time India had invoked  a law permitting natco Pharma to manufacture and sell cancer – treatment drug Nexavar at a price, over 30 times lower than charged y its patent holder bayer corporation under compulsory licensing , the government had allowed . Natco to sell the drug at a price not exceeding Rs.8.880 for a pack of 120 tablets compared to the whopping Rs.2.80 lakh per month charged by Bayer for its patented Nexavar Drug.

 8 Indian companies in Fortune 500 List

Eight Indian companies have  made the cut in the list of the world’s 500 largest companies compiled by fortune Magazine, with Indian oil & Reliance Industries finding a place in the top 100.American companies have covered 132 places in the list, followed by china 73 seats and Japan 68 seats.

Australia to restart uranium supply to India

Months after reversing its policy of not selling uranium to India, Australia on 11th July, said it was in the process of working out internal arrangements to ensure supply of the yellowcake (Uranium) to New Delhi. In December last year, Australia’s ruling Labor led by Prime Minister Julia Gillard cleared the way for the Australian uranium to be exported to India after a strong debate on the floor of the party’s 46th national conference. Australia has the world’s largest reserves of uranium and its ores are considered to be of superior quality among those found elsewhere across the globe. Currently, Australia exports uranium to China, Japan, Taiwan and the United States. However, it had earlier declined sale to India citing a policy that barred nuclear trade with countries that were not signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Russia, china Votes resolution on Syria , India Votes in favour

Russia and China today vetoed a new UN Security Council resolution that would have slapped new sanctions against President Bashar Al Assad’s regime, while India was among the 11 countries that voted in favour. Pakistan and south Africa abstained.

India Fares Poorly In Child welfare

India fares poorly among middle-income countries when it comes to overall well-being of children even as the world witnessed significant progress in child health, education and nutrition during the last decade. India has slipped by 12 ranks since 1995 and is placed 112th in the global “Child Development Index” released by Save the Children, the world’s leading independent NGO that works for child rights. According to the report, Japan is at present the best place in the world for a child, followed by Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Canada, Switzerland, UK and Norway. The US is ranked 24 in the Index, while Australia is at 16th place and China is at 29th. Somalia is at the bottom.

 India bans US-sanctioned Iranian ships to enter its water

India has prohibited US-sanctioned Iranian ships from entering its water as it is hampering crude oil imports from Iran. In early July, the government had allowed crude oil import from Iran in ships arranged by Tehran after European sanctions evaporated insurance cover to domestic shippers. However, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) and other state refiners are allowed to import oil from Iran on cost, insurance and freight (CIF ) basis — wherein Tehran was to arrange for ships and insurance. “We were to import four tankers or cargoes of about 90,000 tonne each from Iran in July. But we could only get one as the CIF approval was withdrawn,” MRPL Managing Director PP Upadhya. US has sanctioned National Iranian Tanker Co and its 58 vessels — some of which have been reflagged in other nations to put off international sanctions.

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NATIONAL

Western Ghats Now In World Heritage List

The Western Ghats has made it to the coveted list of world Heritage sites. The world Heritage committee, meeting in st.Petersburg, Russia, late on Sunday  1 July 2012 , decided to inscribe 39 serial sites of the western Ghats of India on the world Heritage list. “The Western Ghats was inscribed under criteria 9 and 10 of the operational Guidelines of the world Heritage convention. “Vinod B. Mathur, Dean of the Wild Life institute of India told from Russia . To explain it  clearly, Western Ghats are those properties which contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding Universal value from the point of science conservations.

Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India 2011′

Every four minutes, one person takes his own life in this country and one in every five suicides is that of a housewife. This and other startling figures are part of a government report ‘Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India 2011′ released here recently. According to the report, the number of suicides have increased in 2011 by 0.7 per cent to touch 1,35,585 compared to 1,34,599 in the previous year. West Bengal has reported the highest number of suicides (16,492) accounting for 12.2 per cent followed by Tamil Nadu (15,963), Maharashtra (15,947), Andhra Pradesh (15,077) and Karnataka (12,622). These 5 States together accounted for 56.2 per cent of the total suicides reported in the country.

Cabinet clears Rs.25 Crore Plan To Airlift Bhopal Waste

Almost three decades after deadly gasses spread out of the Union carbide plant in Bhopal, the union cabinet has finally approved the proposal to airlift 350 tonnes of toxic waste from the defunct pesticide factory site to Germany for sale disposal. The central government will pay rs.25Lakh to German firm G12 to remove the waste.

Crime Report 2011 from NCRB

“National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) releases its data of crime happen in India for the year 2011. The report made public shows alarming situation of crime in India. Highlights of this reports given below. The report shows crimes under IPC has registered a 2.5%rise in 2011 over previous year; while crimes under special and local laws -such as Arms Act and Gambling Act – have declined by 7.4%.Total number of crimes reported in India in 2011 are 62.5 lakh. Delhi, Kanpur, Mumbai  and Bengaluru accounted for 9.9% , 7.3%, 6.7% and 6.3% of criminal activities, respectively. Andhra Pradesh accounting for nearly 7% of the population of the country recorded 12.4% of the total crimes against women in India.”

Free Medicines For All Scheme

Center’s $5.4 b  plan to benefit makers of generics. India has put in a place a 4 5.4 billion policy to provide. Free medicine to its people, a decision that could change the lives of hundreds of millions, but a ban on branded drugs stands to cut Big pharma out of the wind fall. This policy to be implemented by the end of 2012 and rolled out nation wide in 2 years, is expected to provide 52 percent of the population with free drugs by April 2017.

Union Government Of India Unveiled New Free Drug Policy

The Union Government of India unveiled the 5.4 billion dollar free drug to benefit country’s 120 crore population. Under the new policy, every citizen of the country will be provided free medicines in all public health centers spreaded across the country. As the Ministry of Health and Family welfare kept branded drugs out of this policy, the patients will be given only generic drugs. The policy which will remain effective over the next five years will provide a much needed support to nearly 40% people of the country, which spends 1.25 dollar or less a day on health.

States Advised To Give Preferences To Drinking Water & Irrigation Supply

An Alarming depletion in the water levels (at 57 percent of last year’s stage ) of important reservoirs, owing to the delayed and weak south west monsoon, has prompted the central government to issue an advisory to the states on 9 July 2012 to make “Judicious and regulated ” releases. The states have been told to enhance ground water use, Deficient storage in all major dams, expect those in central India.

Least UN-Employed States

India’s jobless rate stood at 3.8 percent last fiscal, with Daman & Diu and Gujarat topping the list of least un-employment among states and Union territories. India’s un-employment is better than other countries like US, Spain and South Africa. The latest report for the year 2011-12 released by the labour bureau . Daman & Diu and Gujarath had un-employment rates of 0.6% and 1% respectively. Chhhattisgardh stood at 3rd , Rajasthan stood at 4th and Punjab stood in 5th place.

Delhi is India’s most competitive city, Mumbai next

Delhi has emerged the most competitive city in the country for the third straight time with the commercial hub of Mumbai retaining the second spot, according to a report by an international think tank released on 11 July 2012.Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata, in that order, make up the top five in rankings of the India City Competitiveness Report-2012, compiled by the Institute for Competitiveness (IFC) that conducts studies in this area for use by businesses and governments.

Centre Ask States To Video Graph Gram sabha Proceedings

Aiming to strengthen the functioning if panchayat Raj institutions, center has advised state governments to video graph Gramsabha proceedings, besides introducing a slew of schemes for improving their set up. For strengthening Gramsabhas with the help of IT- enabled measures, four software including a web portal have been launches by the Ministry and states are ‘being encourages to adopt it’,

Union HRD Ministry Granted Two Central Universities In Bihar

Conceding to the demand of Bihar chief minster Nitish kumar, the Union human Resource Development Ministry agreed to set up two central Universities in the state. The Union Governments nod for two central universities also put an end to the 3-year long impasse over the location of the University . There are 41 central Universities functioning in India at present , with Delhi and up have a maximum of 4 Universities each.

Chandrayaan-II Awaits Government Nod

Indian Space Research Organization chairman k.Radha Krishna said chandrayaan-II , the country’s second mission to Moon, was in the last phase of security approval from the Government and a decision was likely to be announced soon. presenting an overview of the forthcoming missions, Dr,Radha Krishnan said chandrayaan-II was slated for 2012 launch.

LTTE’s Strong Anti-India Posture Continues; Govt Extends Ban

Government has extended the ban on LTTE declaring that it continues to adopt a strong anti- India posture and pose a grave threat to the security of its citizens. LTTE was banned in India in the aftermath of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.In a notification, the Home Ministry said the activities of LTTE are detrimental to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India and there is a continuing strong need to control all such separatist activities by all possible means. “LTTE continues to adopt a strong anti-India posture as also continues to pose a grave threat to the security of Indian nationals, it is necessary to declare LTTE as an ‘unlawful association’ with immediate effect,” Home minister said.

Tribal Reserve in Andaman and Nicobar Islands

The Supreme Court of India on 3 July 2012 declared the area within a five-kilometre radius around the Jarawa Tribal Reserve in Andaman and Nicobar Islands as “no go zone”. The Apex Court banned all commercial and tourism activities near the Jarawa habitat. The court’s verdict came following a news report which showed some tourists throwing money, food and bananas at the tribal people. The news report had forced the government to order an inquiry. Jarawas are one of the oldest living indigenous people in the world. The tribe has their home in the forests of the Andaman Islands in India. The present number of Jarawa tribe is estimated to be about 250-400. Jarawas have been living in the forests of the Andaman Islands for past thousands of years.

INS Sahyadri Adds Teeth To ‘Blue water’ Navy

In the salty sea breeze of an overcast Mumbai monsoon day, the country’s latest warship, the INS Sahyadri, joined the Indian Navy on 21 July 2012. The tricolour and the naval ensign were hoisted, the national anthem played, and AK Antony, the defence minister, formally commissioned the bristling 5,600-tonne warship, urging the crew to “promote peace and stability in the Indian Ocean Region.” the Sahyadri is the Indian Navy’s 134th ship. Another 46 vessels are under construction, 43 of these in India including three 6,800 tonne destroyers under Project 15A; four similar warships under Project 15B; four 2,500 tonne corvettes under Project 28; and six Scorpene submarine sunder Project 75.

Pranab Mukherjee  13th   President of India 

Pranab Kumar Mukherjee, 76, was declared elected the 13th president on 22 July 2012. The UPA nominee defeated the former Lok sabha speaker, P.A.Sangama, by 3,97,776 value voter. While Mr. Mukherjee polled 3,095 votes(value 7,13,763) Mr.Sangama got 1483 votes (3.15.987). Mr.Mukherjee who will be sworn in by chief justice of India S.H.Kapadia New Delhi on 23 July 2012. Secured 68.12% of the total 10,47,971 valued votes cast by 4.659 members of the state/Territorial Assemblies and parliament. Only the former president, K.R.Narayanan,secured the maximum value votes of 9,56,290(94.97%) When he won in the 1997 election against the former chief election commissioner, T.N.Seshan.

Uttar Pradesh Government renames  Eight Districts in the State

Uttar Pradesh government on 23 July 2012 rechristened eight districts in the state, which had been given a new name by erstwhile BSP government. The UP government’s decision to restore the early name of the districts, which were named after the dalit and OBC icons by the previous Mayawati led government, was taken in a cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Nagar was rechristened as Amethi, while Rambai Nagar was named Kanpur Dehat. The districts namely Bheem Nagar, Prabuddha Nagar and Panchseel Nagar will now be known as Sambhal, Shamli and Hapur respectively. Similarly, Kanshiram Nagar, Mahamaya Nagar and JP Nagar will be known as Kasganj, Hathras and Amroha respectively.

Supreme Court allowed Tamil Nadu to carry out Small Maintenance Works on the Mullaperiyar Dam

The Supreme Court of India on 23 July 2012 allowed Tamil Nadu government to carry out repair and maintenance works on the Mullaperiyar dam. However, the court instructed that the repairing and maintenance work is to be carried out in the presence of the Superintending Engineer of Kerala and an independent member nominated by the Chairman of the Central Water Commission.

 Changes in Union Cabinet

Congress on 31 July 2012  saw as natural the changes in the Union Cabinet that has witnessed P Chidambaram moving to Finance and Sushilkumar Shinde to Home.

This is Prime Minister’s prerogative after Pranab Mukherjee’s election as President. Naturally there was a vacancy in the Finance Ministry. Chidambaram was today made the Finance Minister as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh effected a minor reshuffle in portfolios in the Union Cabinet, Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde is the new Home Minister in place of Chidambaram, Corporate Affairs Minister M Veerappa Moily was given the additional charge of Power Ministry.

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STATES

Jandhyala In Now Chief I-T Commissioner

 Suresh jandhyala took charge as chief income -tax commissioner Hyderabad. An IPS officer of 1979 batch, he will also hold the additional charge of chief commissioner of I-T III , Hyderabad . Bibadh Dutta , an IRS officer of 1978 batch, assumed charge as director general (Investigation),Hyderabad. J.K.Hota , an IPS officer of 1970 batch charge as chief commissioner I-T II, Hyderabad.

Madhya Pradesh Stood Firsts at Implementing “Employment Guarantee Scheme”

Madhya pradesh has been performing excellent in the implementation of center’s flagship Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, MNREGA. According to Union government’s latest delivery monitoring unit (DMU) report, M.P has performed better than several other states and stood first in implementing MNREGA scheme among other states.

Goa Scheme To Empower Women

With an aim to curb female foelicide in Goa, chief minister, Mr . Manohar parrikar launched the ‘Ladli LaxmI’ scheme on  6 July 2012, under which women can avail Rs.1 lakh to meet wedding expenses. The Government has set aside Rs.150crore for the scheme, which was first announced in the state Budget.

Highest crime against women in West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh

West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh have earned the dubious distinction of leading a list of states where crime against women in 2011 was highest.With 7.5 percent share of the country’s population, West Bengal accounted for nearly 12.7 percent of total crime against women by reporting 29,133 cases.The National Crime Records Bureau figures show that Andhra Pradesh, accounting for nearly 7 percent of the country’s population, recorded 12.4 percent of total crime against women with 28,246 cases.

Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project among most innovative projects in world

The Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project to develop the Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmedabad, is named among the most innovative projects in the world. According to KPMG, world’s top advisory firm, the project is an urban regeneration and environmental improvement initiative.

Jagadish Shettar , Sworn As CM of karnataka

Jagadish shettar , a Lingayat leader backed by BJP leader B.S.Yedyurappa , was on 11 July 2012 sworn in as CM of Karnataka , along with a full- fledged 33 –member ministerial team that included 11 new faces and two Deputy chief minister,state unit BJP President K.S.Eshwarappa and R.Ashoka, who were members of the D.V.sadananda Gowda cabinet,were sworn in as deputy CM by governor H.R.Bharadwaj who administered the oath of office to the new ministers at a ceremony at the Raj Bhavan.

50% Quota For Women In Orissa Local Bodies

Orissa chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on 13 July 2012 announced increase  in the representation of women in Urban Local Bodies (ULBS) from 33 percent to 50 percent, this claiming credit one of the first states in the country to give 50 percent seats to female folk.

U.P , Bihar , Rajastan has a high Total Fertility  rate(TER)

Even as the Total Fertility rate (TER) the average number of children born to a woman during her reproductive years has gone down substantially in the country, the recent survey revealed that Uttar pradesh, Bihar , Rajasthan and Jharkhand have high TFR on an average a woman gives birth to move than 3 children. The highest of 5.9 children has been reported in shrawasti district of U.P. The TFR is 3.6 for U.P and 3.7 for Bihar.

Delhi Government Decided To Increase the Number of Districts in Delhi from 9 to11

To Facilitate the speedy justice and efficient administration, the Delhi government decide in- principle to divide into 11 sessions and revenue districts. The existing number of districts in 9 that includes, Central, North, South , East, Northeast, South west, New Delhi, Northwest and west Delhi. Five new districts namely seelampur, Gandhinagar, saraswati vihar, Najafgarh and kalkaji will come into existence.

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CONFERENCES

7th ASEAN Education Minister Meeting(ASED) in Indonesia

7th ASEAN education Ministers meeting on July 4 with the 1st Asean plus three education Minister Meeting and the 1st East Asia Summit Education Minister meeting from July4-5 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The 1st East Asia Meeting was attended by delegates from Asean member countries Australia, china ,India ,Japan, republic of South Korea , New zealand and the United states of America.India’s Representative is Educational  Minister puradareswari .

Tokyo Conference Pledges $16 billion to Afghanistan

International donors on 8 July 2012 pledged $16 billion in badly needed development aid for Afghanistan over the next 4 years. The major donor’s conference, attended by about 70 countries and organizations, is aimed at setting aid levels for the crucial period through and beyond 2014,when most NATO led foreign troops will leave and the wartorn country will assume responsibility for most of its own security. Afghanistan president  Humid Karzai urged the international community not to abandon his country.

South Africa to host first World Hindi Conference

The first World Hindi Conference (WHC) will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa from September 22-24. The first World Hindi Conference in September will see experts hold a range of serious scholarly discussions. Jointly organized by the Indian Government, the Hindi Shiksha Sangh of South Africa (HSS) and the Indian Cultural Centre here, the event will be held from September 22 to 24. A large delegation from India comprising around 500 to 600 participants, in addition to about 300 from South Africa will join various other international delegates.

 NASA Includes Two Indian Innovators On Waste Management

NASA, the US space agency has included two Indian innovates for its conference on waste management. Nitin Gupta from ‘Attero Recycling’ and Anshu Gonj from ‘Goonj’ are among nine innovators from across the globe that made it to the NASA conference on waste management, which started on 20 July 2012. Gupta from’ Attero Recycling’ is India’s leading provider of end to end electronic and electrical goods e-waste management services, while Goonj is a grass roots NGO focused on transforming and revaluing clothing and textiles waste by working on these issues directly at the community level.

US hosts 19th International AIDS Conference

The world’s largest meeting on HIV/AIDS opened on 22nd July in Washington with calls to speed up the global response to the three-decade-long epidemic that killed 1.5 million people last year.The 19th International AIDS Conference drew around 25,000 people, including politicians, scientists and activists, as well as some of the estimated 34 million people living with HIV who will tell their stories.

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AWARDS & HONOURS

Nayudamma Award for TCS Rajanna

V.Rajanna , President of the IT and ITES Industry Association of AP(ITsAP) and global head of TCS’s Telecom Technology Business unit , Hyderabad , has been chosen for the Nayudamma Award for the year 2012 .The Nellore based Nayudamma centre for development Alternatives (NCDA) Chosen MR.Rajanna in recognition of his outstanding contribution in ITA communications.

Award for Golden Rock Railway workshop

The Golden Rock Railway workshop at Trichi over hauls diesel locomotives and coaches , manufactures steam locomotives and wagons and also exports locomotives. During 2011-12, the workshop released 138 diesel locomotives from periodical over hauling against the target of 79 set by the Railway Board. In recognition of this achievement, the chief Mechanical engineer, southern Railway, Mr s.J.sood , awarded a shield to the workshop, as Railway week celebrations.

Samsung Announces cash  Award for Olympic medal

Samsung India announced cash award of rs.20 lakh to any of the county’s sports persons winning a gold medal in the forth coming Olympic games to be held in London.

Osmania University Awards Doctorate To APCC Secretary

Srungarapati Ananda Babu, APCC Secretary and Babu Jagjivan ram All India’s samta movement president , has been awarded doctorate by Osmania University.

Manipal University Was The “Golden Peacock Environment Management Award 2012 “

Manipal University won the “Golden Peacock Environment management Award 2012 “. The main theme of this meet was ” driving sustainable business through economy”. The Award was given by karan singh on the 14th world congress meet an Environment Management . The ceremony was held in the Le Meridian Hotel, New Delhi.

Major Award for TMI Chairman

The Hyderabad Management Association has awarded T.Muralidaran, the fonder and chairman the TMI Group the “Entrepreneur of the year Award 2012″. small scale for his exemplary contribution in the field of human resources and skill management on 11 July 2012.

Dr. Kutikuppala Surya Rao Selected for Award of FRCP (London)

Dr. Kutikuppala Surya Rao has been selected for the award of Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP) (London). FRCP is given in recognition of particular professional merit. The President of India awarded Padma Sri, the prestigious civilian award in India to Dr. Kutikuppala Surya Rao in 2008 for his contribution in the field of medicine and medical service to the people at large.

Lanco Infratech Bags Award

Lanco Infratech Ltd (LITL) has won the In house communication excellence award 2012, where their journal was adjudges the best in ‘cover design’ category. Lanco won the award where in 685 entries from various public and private sector organizations were assessed.

NMDC Director Gets ” Mining Engineer Award “

Narendra kumar nanda, director of the country’s largest iron ore producer NMDC , was conferred with Abheraj Baldota Memorial Award “Mining Engineer of the year ” for 2012-11 by the Mining engineers Association of India. The Award is given every year in recognition of meritorious contribution to the mining industry by a mining engineer.

Golden Peacock Award

‘Lanco Kondapalli Power Ltd’, a subsidiary of the power and infrastructure company Lanco Infra tech Ltd, has won ‘ Golden Peacock Award”  for its environment, health and safety management . The Golden peacock awards is instituted by the ‘ World Environment foundation’. It also won the  ‘Green tech safety award: in the golden category for the plant’s priority to work place health and safety philosophy.

Sundarsham Patnaik Won Gold medal in World Sand Sculpture Championship 2012

Indian Sand Artist Saundaram sham patnaik won ‘People’s Choice Medal Award’ in Moscow . It was the second world sand sculpture championship.  Artists from 11 countries took part in the championship. Sundarsham Sculpted the copy of the face of ” The showman of the millennium” Raj Kapoor. His interpretation of the Raj kapoor was highly praised by the visitors. His Sculpture symbolizes Indo- Russian Friendship. Sundarsham Patnaik has also won’ Berlin World championship 2008″. His sand sculpture was based on the awareness about global warming.

4India-American Scientists Receive US Presidential Award

US President barrack Obama has named four Indian American scientists among 96 researchers as recipients of the prestigious  presidential early career Awards for scientists and Engineers. The four researchers are sridevi Vedula sarma, pawan sinha, Parag A Pathak, and Biju Parekkadan. This is the highest honour given by the Us Government to science & Engineering professional in the early stages of their independent  research career.

Fukuoka Prize for Vadana shiva

Well Known Environment activist vadana Shiva has been named the winner of the prestigious Fukuoka prize awarded by the Fukuoka city government in Japan to people who contributes to academia , arts , and culture in Asia. And Shiva was presented with official notification of the award at a ceremony held in Delhi on 23 July 2012.

ONGC was awarded Gold Trophy in Safety Management Award 2012

Greentech Foundation awarded Gold Trophy in Safety Management Award 2012 on 24 July 2012 to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). The conference was held in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. The Application of the Company was short listed by the award committee. ONGC was selected in Corporate Category for the gold trophy of safety management award. A.K.Hazarika and Anoop Kumar are the Director and ED-Chief HSE of ONGC.

Kulandei francis Got Magsaysay Award

Kulandei francis has been chosen for the Ramon Magsaysay Award for the year2012, for economic empowerment of thousands of women and their families in rural India. Mr.Francis is a director of the krishnagiri based BGO integrated village development Program(IVD). He was invited by Foundation to receive the award at Manila on august 31.

 Jeet Thayil, Long Listed for Booker Prize

Jeet Thayil, noted kerala- born post and novelist, has been long -listed for the 2012. Man Booker Prize for his debut novel “Narcopolis” Mr.Thayil is among 12 writers long-listed for the ₤50,000 Prize. A Short list of six will be announced in September, and the winner at London’s Guildhall on October 16. If Mr.Thayil goes on to win, he will join a select band of India or India-born writer such as salman Rushdie, kiran desai and Aravind Adiga who have won a Booker.

NMDC Director(finance ) bags Award

Mrs. Thiagarajan, National Mineral Development cooperation’s Director(finance),received the ‘Icon of the Accounting Profession’ award for the Institute of public enterprises of Hyderabad. The award is in recognition of his contributes to NMDC’s recent acquisition of Legancy Iron ore Mine & on-going setting up of a steel plant.

Innovation Awards For Gigachi, Yegna Manohanvam

Innovation award for MSME’s, Promoted by the foundation for MSME clusters in association with the commissionerate of Industries, were bagged by sigachi & Yegna manojavaram Drugs & Chemicals Ltd, for 2011.

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SPORTS & GAMES

Asia Cup Final ends In A Thrilling Tie

Indian colts lost wickets in a heap towards the end of the innings as the under -19. Asia cup final against Pakistan ended in a thrilling tie, with both countries sharing honours at the Kinrara Academy oval, Kulalumpur on 1 July 2012.

Sandeep wins 1500m Gold

sandeep Karan singh won the 1500metres in the Asian all stars meet that concluded in Almaty, Kazakhstan on 1 July 2012.

Clinical West Indies Win T20 series

Chris Gayle smashed his second successive fifty and spinner sunil Narine claimed 4-12 as west Inides to a  61-run victory over new zealand to win2-0 in the twenty series in Florida.

Woods Triumphs AT&T Golf  Tournament

Tiger Woods won the storm hit AT & t National on 1 July 2012 for his 74th career title to pass Jack Nicklaus for second place all -time on the PGA Tour list.

Spain Won “UEFA Euro Cup FootBall Championship 2012″

Spain beat Italy 4-0 in the final to win UEFA (Union of European football Associations) Euro cup Football championship 2012 at the Olympic stadium in kiev, Ukraine , on 1July 2012. Spain has set up a record by becoming the first team to claim two consecutive titles in tournaments 52-year long history  Iker casillas was the captain of Spain team.The four goals hit by David Silva, Jordi Alba, fermando Torres and Jvan Mata hed the Spain team to a remarkable victory. Spain midfielder andres Inierta of Spain was declared as the mass of the match given the golden boot as he scored three goals in the Spain’s title winning campaign.Torres also became to score in two separate European championship finals.

Kolkata To Host Richest Domestic Golf

Kolkata will host the richest domestic event in the country with the inaugural Rs.1.25 Crore Russel Tour championship Race to RCGC , in December.

Abhijeet wins US Event , GM title for Venkatesh

National Champion Abhijeet Gupta beat IM dean Ippolito of United states to won the Philadelphia International chess Tournament, while MR Venkatesh became India’s 28th grand Master at the event,Philadelphia(USA).

Ayaz Wins Title

Asia’s highest ranked match racing skipper Ayaz shaik, who is also the reigning national champion and top seed at the on going Monsoon Regatta, won the title in the omega class match racing championship at the , Hussain sagar lake in Hyderabad.

Ex-England Batsman Mark Ramprakash Announced Retirement From Cricket

Previous England Batsman Mark Ramparakash on 5 July 2012 announced his retirement from cricket after being told by survey that he was not figured in the selection plans. He was the most prolific and stylish batsman in the England Cricket team.He scored 13000 runs in limited – over cricket and 35689 runs in 461 first class matches. He is one in 25 players in the history of the sport who have scored 100 first class centuries.

Sindhu Bags Asian Youth Title

PV  sindhu created history by becoming the first Indian to win girl’s singles Badminton title in the Asian Youth under-10 championship at Gimcheon, korea .In the final on 7 July 2012, sindhu rallied to beat okuhura nozomi of Japan.

 Wimbledon 2012

Wimbledon 2012 was a 14 day sporting even commenced on 25 June 2012 & concluded on 8 July 2012.

Women’s single won by Serena

 Srena Williams of US beat Agnieszka Radwanka of poland to claim ‘Ladies Singles Title’.it was her fifth Wimbledon and 14th Grand Slam Single’s Title.

Roger Federer Won Wimbledon Title 2012

Roger Federer regained the Wimbledon crown when he beat Andy Murray in four sets in the final on 1 July 2012. The victory was his 17th major title. He had won 7 Wimbledon titles yet and equaled the pete sampra’s record. The master also equaled the Americans’s record of 286 weeks at the top, starting on 9 July 2012.

Women’s doubles won by serena and venus williams

In Ladies doubles, Serena Williams and Venus Williams emerged victorious as they defeated Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka.

Mixed doubles won by Brayan and Lisa

The mixed doubles Title was grabbed by Mike Brayan and Lisa Raymond by defeating Leander Paes and Eleba vesnina.

Men’s Doubles won by Marry and Nielson

The Men’s Doubles title was grabbed by Jonatham Marray and Frederick Nielson.

Webber pips Alonso In British Grand Prix

Mark webber claimed the ninth win of his career on 8 July 2012. when he swept to dramatic and perfectly -judged victory in an incident filled British Grand Prix

Sarvanan Takes The Honours

National champion Vishu sravanan of CESC won the title in the optimist category with eight wins from ten races as the Monsoon Regatta sailing championship which concluded at the Hussain sagar lake Hyderabad 8 July 2012 .

Title High For Choi At US Open

South Korea’s Na Yeon Choi won the US Women’s open on 8 July 2012, showing a champion’s resolve in the face of adversity  to claim her first major title. Choi 24, fired a one over 73 at Black Wolf run for a seven- under. Total of 281 and a four shot victory over another south Korean, amy yang.

Indian Wrestlers Win 19 Medals

Indian Wrestlers Won 19 medals , Including five golds in the Asian cadet championships at Bishkek(Kygyzkan), Besides five gold , the Indian also won four silver & 10 Bronze medals.

Mark Boucher Announces Retirement

 South Africa wicket keeper Mark Boucher had retires from international cricket after suffering server eye injury during his country’s tour match against somerset.Boucher had to undergo 3 hrs surgery. Boucher has been a mainstay of the south Africa side for 15 years, appearing in 147 tests and becoming the first wicket keeper to take 500 catches in Test Cricket, where he has also scored five hundred.

London Olympic Games would Be The Most Dope Tested In History : WADA

The London Olympics is all set to go down in history as the most dope tested games with more than 6,000 Agency(WADA) said.

Brett Lee Retired From International Cricket

Cricket Australia paid rich tribute to pace man Brett Lee, who announced his International retirement. The 35 year old Lee retired after a 13-year international career that included 76 tests, 221 ODIs and 25 twenty – twenty internationals .He is the second Highest ODI wicket- taker (380) for Australia behind Glenn Mc Grat ch ( seventh all-time ) and one of only four Australians to take more than 300 test wickets.

Two women athletes represent Saudi Arabia in London Olympics

The London Olympics will be the first ever to include women athletes from every competing nation after Saudi Arabia agreed to send female athletes. According to The Guardian, “Wodjan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani” in judo and 800-metre runner “Sarah Attar” will take part in the Olympics.

Jayaveena sets Yet Another National Record

A.V,Jayaveena set her second National record in as many days as she won the 50m break stroke event in 35.42 seconds in 39th Junior aquatics championships, Chennai on 12 July 2012

Sushil Kumar Named India’s Flag -Bearer

World Champion and Olympic Bronze medalist . wrestler Sushil kumar , was chosen as the flag – bearer of the Indian contingent at the opening ceremony of the Olympics in London on July 27.

David Ferrer wins Swedish Open

David Ferrer won his second Swedish Open title after defeating fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 6-2, 6-2. The No. 5-ranked Ferrer was never challenged during the clay-court match, which was his 11th career victory over Almagro. It was his second Swedish Open tennis  title.

Windies Clinch ODI series Against New zealand

West Indies to a 24 run win over N\ew Zealand in the fourth one-day international which clinched the five match series.

China won the junior women hockey championship

China won the junior women hockey championship by defeating India, The tournaments final was held in Bangkok on 7 July.

Second Straight Win Humpy

Koneru Humpy posted her second straight win in the FIDE women’s Grand prix  chess tournament at Jermuk (Armenia) on 18 July 2012.

Amla Scores Triple

Hashim Amla became the first South Africa batsman to score 300 in a test match when he reached the landmark against on the fourth day of the first test at ‘The oval’ on 22 July 2012. Amla was on 311 not out. The triple century scored by Amla in tests is a record in South Africa cricket.

Alson Wins Controversial german Grand Prix

Fernando Alonsa led from pole position to chequered flag to win the German Grand Prix  Ferrari on 22 July 2012 while Geman’s world champion Sebastian vettal was stripped of second place for an overtaking infringement.

Dramatic Win For Els After Late Scott Collapse

South African Erine Els won the British golf open by one stroke from Adanscott on 21 July 2012, after the Australian suffered an extraordinary late collapse in an incident packed final day .

Bradley Wiggins won the 99th Edition of Tour de France Bicycle Race

Bradley Wiggins of Britain became the first cyclist of the country, to win the coveted Tour de France Cycling race on 22 July 2012. Team Sky rider Wiggins is the first cyclist to have won both the Tour and an Olympic track cycling gold. His Sky teammate and fellow Briton, Froom Christopher came second. Their teammate and fellow country man Mark Cavendish was declared the day’s winner as he won the final stage of the race.

Dinda named Bengal’s Player of the year

The Cricket association of Bengal on 23 July 2012 honoured ex- India foot ball captain chuni Goswami with the kartrick Bose lifetime achievement award, while Laxmi Ratna Shukla and Ashok Dinda were jointly given the best players of the season 2011-12 honours.

Cibulkova Triumphs

Dominika cibulkova beat to seeded Marion Bartoli on 22 July 2012 to win the WTA Carksbad Crown. This is second tennis title in her career.

London Olympics 2012

The London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony took place at 9pm on 27 July 2012. Titled ‘Isles of Wonder’, the Ceremony welcomed the finest athletes from more than 200 nations for the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games, marking an historic third time the capital has hosted the world’s biggest and most important sporting event.The Opening Ceremony reflected the key themes and priorities of the London 2012 Games, based on sport, inspiration, youth and urban transformation. It was a Ceremony ’for everyone’ and celebrated contributions the UK has made to the world through innovation and revolution, as well as the creativity and exuberance of British people. The spectacular finale of the event saw the Olympic Cauldron, formed of 205 copper petals representing the competing nations coming together in London for the Games, ignited by seven young Torchbearers nominated by Britain’s past and present Olympic and sporting greats.

Siling Shots Down First Gold

China’s world number one YI Siling won the first gold of the London Olympics in the women’s 10 air rifle competition at ‘London’s Royal Artilley Barracks on 28 July 2012.

Hungarian Grand Prix Won by Hamilton

Mc.laren’s lewis Hamilton delivered a flawless performance from the pole position to the chequered flag to win the Hungarian Grand Prix on 29 July 2012. Hamilton’s win was his second of the year and the 19th of his career.

Chinshanlo Won Gold in Olympics

kazakhstan’s zulfiya chinshanlo set a world record in clean & jerk as she powered to Olympic gold in the women’s 53 kg on 29 July 2012 and claimed a cash bonus from her country’s president.

Gagan Narang Fetches First Medal For India       

Shooter Gagan Narang provided the spark to India’s Olympic campaign by clinching the bronze medal in the men’s 10 m air rifle event on the fourth day of Olympics at he Royal Artilery London on 30 July 2012.Narang, 29, participating in his third Games, had a total score of 701.1 (598 qualifying, 103.1 final) to finish third at the Royal Artillery Barracks range, triggering celebrations among the Indian diaspora here and the countrymen back home. It was third time when Gagan Narang was participating in Olympics.

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ECONOMY

Tata AIG becomes Tata AIA life

Tata AIG life insurance has been rechistened as Tata AIA life Insurance company following the exit of amrican International group(AIG) from the Hong-kong based AIA Group.

 RBI Lunches Online Facilities For G-Secs Trading

The Reserve Bank of India has taken one more step to widen investor participation in secondary market,Trading in government securities. The RBI has introduced a web based system for online trading by gilt account holders. This facility is operational from June 29.

ICIC Bank Sells Its Debt In Kingfisher to Srei Arm

ICIC Bank sold its entire debt of Rs. 430crore in the crisis -ridden Kinfisher to Srei venture capital Ltd,a group company of srei infrastructure Finance Ltd. Kingfisher airlines owned by liquor baron vijay Mallaya was launched in 2005 and has not reported profits since.The airlines has a total debt of a round Rs.7500crore.Banks which had given loans to kingfisher Airlines include SBI(Rs.1400 crore),PNB(around 700 crore), Bank of Baroda (around Rs.500Crore) and ICICI bank(around Rs.450 crore).

Government To Setup Rs.2000 Crore venture Fund For R&d in Pharma

The central Government has decided to setup with a venture capital of Rs.2000 Crore which will promote research and development(R&D) in the pharmaceutical sector. India is the third largest producer of pharma products by volume, and the industry in growing at 15-20 percent annually.

India Emerged as the 3rd Most Preferred FDI Destination: UNCTAD report 2012

According to the world investment report 2012 released by united nations conference on trade & development(UNCTAD) on 5 July 2012, India emerged as the third most preferred Foreign Direct Investment(FDI)destination in the world. The first position was occupied by china followed by US. The report noted that FDI inflows to had increased by 33%in 2011 to 31.66 billion.

china Cuts Interest Rates Again

china’s Central Bank cut interest rates for the second time in 2 months on 5 July 2012 in the latest attempt to bolster slowing growth in the world’s second largest economy.

Rs.4,575 Plan To Revive Five PSUs

Plans to nurse bock five public sector units (PSUs) at a total investment of Rs.4575 crore are under active consideration of the government which will also revive Lucknow based scooters India without inducting any strategic partner. Old time blue chip PSUs-HMT, HMT bearings,HMT watches, news print maker NEPA and Nagaland pulp and paper will be revived through the induction of funds by the government.

 SEBI Permitted MCX Stock Exchange(MCX-SX) to Operate As A Full-Fledged Stock Exchange

 Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 10 July 2012 permitted MCX stock exchange (MCX-SX) to operate as a full -fledged stock exchange there by ending nearly four-year-long wait of the bourse. with the grant of the permission MCX-SX will from here on be able to offer additional asset classes such as equity and equity FAO, internet rate futures and whole sale debt segments.

ADB Gives $800m To Build 9,000 km Of Rural Roads

This is first tranche of $1.2 billion programme covering 5 stets. A Loan of $800 million from the Asia Development Bank(ADB) will held build 9,00 km of rural road in five states. The investment is part of a larger $1.2 billion programme to connect villages in Assam, chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa & West Bengal with all -weather by the end of 2017.

Coal India To Invest Rs 7,500 cr On Rail Infrastructure In 3 states

Public sector miner coal India Ltd has lined up on Investment of Rs 7,500 crore to development railway tracks and related infrastructure to evacuate coal from chattisgarh, Jarkhand and Odisha . This would help the company to evacuate around 100 million tonnes(mt) of additional coal from each of states.

IMF Lowers India’s Growth Forecast

The International Monetary Fund on 16 July 2012  lowered India’s growth forecast for 2012 calendar year, citing weakening domestic demand and difficult external environment, and said the country faced financial stability concerns because of the depreciating rupee and large fiscal deficit. The fund expects India’s economy to expand only 6.1% in 2012 against its April estimate of 6.8%. Moreover, it does not see any meaningful recovery in 2013, pegging  GDP growth at only 6.5%, down from 7.2% estimated earlier.

Planning Commission Sanctioned 57800 crore Rupees As  Annual Plan For UP

Making an increase of whopping 23% annual financial allocation for UP, the planning commission of India allocated 57800 crore rupees to the state for fiscal year 2012-13. Besides, it also approved a 20,crore rupees additional funding for centre – sponsored schemes in the state. The planning commission had sanctioned 47000 crore rupees to up during financial year 2011-12 . The decision over the financial allocation for the state came following the meeting held between up chief minister Akhilesh yadav and planning commission chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia in New Delhi on 18 July 2012.

Government Clears Dis Investment of 10.82 pc stake In SAIL

The government on 19 July 2012 approved the sale of 10.82 percent of its stake in steel authority of India (SAIL),Which may fetch the exchequer over Rs 4,000 crore. The cabinet committee on Economic affairs (CCEA), headed by PM Manmohan singh has cleared SAIL public offer. The government currently holds 85.82% stake in SAIL.

No need to file income tax returns if salary not exceeding Rs 5 lakh

Salaried employees earning up to Rs 5 lakh a year need nod file income tax returns from this year, the Finance Ministry said on 20 July 2012.The exemption from filing I-T returns is applicable only if “the total income of the employee does not exceed Rs 5 lakh … (and) the annual interest earned from savings bank account is less than Rs 10,000″ for assessment year 2012-13.At present, income of Rs 2-5 lakh attracts 10 percent tax, Rs 5-10 lakh 20 percent and above Rs 10 lakh, 30 percent.

£13 trillion stashed in offshore tax havens

A new report by tax researchers estimates the amount of black money deposited by a ‘global super-rich elite’ in offshore accounts at £13 trillion – equivalent of the combined GDP of the US and Japan. The report by Tax Justice Network released to The Observer is said to be the ‘most detailed estimates yet of the size of the offshore economy’. In the report, Mr James Henry, former chief economist at consultancy McKinsey and an expert on tax havens, shows that at least £13 trillion —perhaps up to £20 trillion — has leaked out of scores of countries into secretive jurisdictions such as Switzerland and the Cayman Islands with the help of private banks.

No Service Tax on remittances from abroad

Setting at rest concerns expressed in various quarters, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), on 10th July,, clarified that remittances from abroad would not attract service tax.

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

In Japan, First Reactor Is Restarted Since Quake

A two-month shutdown of Japan’s nuclear power plants ended on Sunday when officials at a western plant reactivated a reactor for the first time since the disaster last year in Fukushima.The restarting of reactor No. 3 at the Ohi nuclear plant was ordered by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, in a decision that has spurred growing public protests.

Zebra Fish Research Facility Opened at CCMB

A state of the art research facility on Zebrafish, an important animal model to study modern biology and human diseases, was inaugurated at the center for cellular and Molecular Biology(CCMB).The genome of Zebrafish was similar to the genome of humans and this has prompted CCMB to deal exclusively with their ti investigate development biology invertebrates.

UK To Test World’s first Pilotless Fighter By 2013

Pilotless fighter planes have come a step closer to reality as British Aerospace revealed that it would test such a new fighter jet next year.The company is set to unveil a new super-fighter which can fly on its own for 24 hours with no cockpit and no human on board, according to a media reported.If all goes as planned the artificial intelligence could mean the end of fighter pilots in the UK and bring down the curtain on conventional aircraft like the F-35.

Iran tests fires Missile, says Israel Target

Iran on 3 July 2012 said it had successfully tested medium rang missiles capable of hitting Israel in response to threats of military action against country.

World’s Smallest fly Discovered

Scientists have discovered what they say is the world’s smallest known fly which feeds on tiny ants, probably decapitating them and using their head casings as its home. with a length of Just 0.4mm. the fly called “Euryplatea nanaknihali”, is five times smaller than a fruit fly and tinier than a grain salt, the researcher said.

Amniotic fluid An Alternative stem Cell Source

Stem cells taken from amniotic fluid can be transformed into a move versatile state similar to embryonic stem cells and may offer an alternative to the medically valuable but controversial cells , scientists said on 3 July 2012.British researchers said . They had succeeded in reprogramming amniotic fluid cells without having to introduce extra genes. This suggests the possibility that stem cells derived from amniotic fluid could be stored in banks and used for medical therapies and i research.

God of all particles found !

British researches from the large Hadron collider at CERN(european organization for Nuclear research) said here on 4 July 2012 they have found a new subatomic particle consistent with the elusive Higgs boson, which is thought to give mass to elementary particles. These results mark a significant break through in our understanding of the fundamental  laws that govern the Universe”, said prof.john Womersley , CEO of the science & Technology facilities Council.  The particle was proposed in 1964 by three groups of physicists, including Britain’s peter Higgs, after whom it was  named. The results were labelled as preliminary, based on data collected in 2011 and 2012 data still under analysis. But scientists are 99.99% sure the new particle is Higgs Boson, or the “God Particle”as it better Known.

Home HIV Test Wins FDA Nod

After decades of controversy, the food and Drug administration, or FDA on 3July 2012 approved a new HIV test that for the first time maker it possible to learn in the privacy of their homes easy to use as a home pregnancy kit. The “OraQuick Test”,by Orasure Technologies, uses a mouth swab and gives results in 20-40 minutes.

Yahoo! India RAD Sets Up Lab at IIT Madras

Yahoo ! India RAD has entered into an agreement with IIT, Madras, to support its faculty and students in closed computing research. Yahoo has setup a grid computing lab Madras on IIT Campus, consisting of a cluster of high-end server running its open source Hadoop software, which will provide the infrastructure necessary to conduct research on bid data and cloud computing systems. The lab, which costs over Rs.50 lakh to build. will be accessible to students who have cloud computing courses and doctoral candidates.

Dark Matter Found Between Galaxies

For the first time. astronomers have discovered a giant string of invisible dark matter across the universe between a  pair of galaxy clusters. The Universe is thought to be filled with such strings of dark matter, a mysterious substance that cannot be seen, only sensed through its gravitational pull.

DNS Changer Virus

Tens of Thousand of people around the world whose computers were infected with malware known as “DNS Changer” away lose their internet access on 9 July 2012 after the expiry of a US government fix. The virus was created by a gang of cyber criminals to redirect Internet traffic by hijacking the domain name systems of web browsers. The ring behind the DNS changer virus, discovered in 2007, was shut down last year by the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI): Estonian police and other law enforcement agencies. Because the virus controlled spo much internet traffic, authorities obtained a court order to allow the FBI to operate replacement servers which allow traffic to flow normally , even from infected computers.

 Hubble Discovers Fifth And Tiniest Pluto Moon

US astronomers using the Hubble space Telescope have discovered a fifth and tiniest moon yet orbiting the icy dwarf planet ‘Pluto’. The mini-moon is estimated to be irregular in shape and between 10km and 25 km across. It is visible as a speck of light in Hubble images, NASA said. The newly discovered moon, provisionally named s/2012[134340]1 until it gets a proper name, could help reveal more on how the Pluto system came into existence and evolved ever since. Pluto’s largest moon, charon,which is about 1000 Km across, was discovered in 1978. Hubble observations in 2006 uncovered two additional small moons, Nix and Hydra.

India Successfully Test – Fires nuclear Capable Agni-I Missile

India successfully test fired domestically Agni-I ballistic missile.The missile was launched from a test range at wheeler island off Odisha coast. Agni-I was developed under the join of work of advanced systems Laboratory, the missile development laboratory of the DRDO, DRDL and Research centre Imarat, while it was integrated by Bharat Dynamics Limited, Hyderabad.

Russian Soyuz Space Craft blasted -off From The Baikonour Cosmodrome In Kazakhstan

A Russian Soyuz TMA -o5 M Space craft carrying three astronauts including sunita Williams, the Indian – American astronaut, took off for the International space station on 15 July 2012 from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz launch marked that opened the door to US- Russian cooperation in space science.

Asian Space Powers gear For More Moon Missions

The three major Asian space powers China , Japan & india are entering the next phase of their lunar exploration. Now, all three want to send an orbiter that will circle. The Moon as ‘ well as lander that will gently settle on its surface and release, a rover that will roam about. Chinese space officials says that the ‘Chang’e-3′ could leave for the moon in 2012. India’s chandrayaan-2 mission could be on its way in 2014. Japan plans to send “selene-2′ landing mission to Mon by Tatasuaki okda. south korea plans an orbiter lander mission to Moon around 2023.

Iran on 3 July 2012, test-fired a medium range ballistic missile Shahab-3

The Shahab-3 has a range of up to 2000 kilometres. The Shahab-1 and Shahab-2, the two short-range missiles, with ranges of 300 to 500 kilometres, were also launched. The missile launch was the part of Iran’s Great Prophet 7 exercise. Great Prophet 7 exercise was announced by Iran on 1 July 2012 in the wake of latest European Union sanctions on Iran. The exercise, which involved test of dozens of missiles and domestically-built drones came following European Union’s decision to ban the purchase of Iranian crude oil. The EU’s decision is the clear repercussion of failed dialogue held between Iran and world powers on Iran’s ambitious nuclear programme.

Scientists identified First Radio Waves from Middleweight Black Hole HLX-1

A team of scientists at the University of Sydney on 10 July 2012 discovered the first radio emissions from the middle weight black hole HLX-1, that lies in a galaxy about 300 million light-years away. The research team had used Compact Array radio telescope from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). HLX-1 (hyper-luminous X-ray source 1), lies in a galaxy called ESO 243-49 about 300 million light-years away. As per the new study, the size of HLX-1 is around 20000 times the mass of our sun which makes it an intermediate mass black hole.

U.S Approves Anti – HIV Drug

The U. S Food and Drug administration(FDA) gave its first ever nod for an anti- HIV drug, Truvada , to pharmaceutical firm Gilead Sciences, Truvada is known chemically as fixed dose, daily intake combination of emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fume rate.

 India Set TO launch Astrosat Next Year

Astrosat along Journey for a national space observatory. Next year, India is to launch “Astrosat”, the country’s first satellite dedicated to astronomy, which will gaze out at the Universe in x-ray, U.V and visible light bands . The data its instruments supply help scientists to have better under standing of the ways of the cosmos. TIFR, Mumbai will be responsible for developing three of Astrosat’s five instruments .

India pitches for BrahMos induction in Russian naval fleet

India 17July 2012  asked Russia to induct the 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile in its Navy to strengthen the joint venture between two countries. This was conveyed to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin here by head of the BrahMos joint venture A Sivathanu Pillai. BrahMos missile has been inducted in all the three wings of the Indian armed forces but the Russian side has not yet done so.

Stephen Hawking Launches Supercomputer

Renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking has launched the most powerful shared-memory supercomputer in Europe. Hawking anticipates that the COSMOS supercomputer, manufactured by SGI and the first system of its kind, will open up new windows on the universe, a university. During the launch, which is part of the Numerical Cosmology 2012 workshop at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences at the University of Cambridge, “Cosmology is now a precision science, so we need machines like COSMOS to reach out and touch the real universe, to investigate whether our mathematical models are correct.

World’s smallest semiconductor laser created

 Scientists have developed the world’s smallest semiconductor laser, a breakthrough that they say will lead to the development of faster, smaller and lower energy photon-based technologies for treating and studying diseases. Physicists at The University of Texas in collaboration with colleagues in Taiwan and China, have developed the world’s smallest semiconductor laser, a technology for emerging photonic technology with applications from computing to medicine, according to a report published in the journal ‘Science’. The device is constructed of a gallium nitride nano rod that is partially filled with indium gallium nitride. Both alloys are semiconductors used commonly in LEDs. The nano laser is too small to be visible to the naked eye and when fired, it emits a green light.

Army Conducts Successful User Trail of Brahmos

Balasor ( Odisha) On July 29,2012.  India on 29 July 2012 successfully test fired Brahmos supersonic cruise missile from the integrated test range at chandipur of odisha coast. The missile with a flight range of up to 29 km is capable of carrying conventional war head if 300 kg. This is a surface to surface army version was test fixed as a part of user trial by the Army. This was test fired from ground mobile launcher from launch complex-3 of ITR.

 China Tests Career Rocket Engine

China on 29 July 2012. It has successfully tested a new 120 tones thrust liquid oxygen(LOX) and kerosene engine for its new generation carrier rocket, the Lon March-5 for future space launches. The LOX/Kerosene engine under went a test of a high rotational speed of nearly 20,000 revolutions per minute.

NASA’s Newest Mars Rover Faces a Tricky Landing

The US space agency’s most ambitious and expensive Mars mission yet, and it begins with the red planet arrival on 29 July 2012 of the smartest interplanetary rover ever built. NASA designed for the Curiosity rover is so risky it’s been described as “seven minutes of terror” — the time it takes to go from 13,000 mph (20,920 kph) to a complete stop. The future direction of Mars exploration is hanging on the outcome of this USD 2.5 billion science project to determine whether the environment was once suitable for microbes to live. Previous missions have found ice and signs that water once flowed. Curiosity will drill into rocks and soil in search of carbon and other elements.

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PERSONS IN NEWS

A) Appointments

Jawahar Thakur assumed the Charge as the controller General of Accounts

Jawahar Thakur, a 1979 batch Indian civil accounts service officer took over as the new controller General of Accounts (CGA) of India, the past earlier held by c.R.Sundaramurti, Prior to his appointment as the CGA,Thakur was the principal chief controller of Accounts in the central board of Direct Taxes(CBDT) under the department of Revenue in the Finance Ministry.

Chidambaram Appointed Head of EGOM

Home minister P.Chidambaram was on 6 July 2012 appointed the head of the Empowered Group of Minister(EGOM)on spectrum auction that was reconstituted after Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar declined the job fearing controversies.Chidambaram,will head the 7 member group that also includes Defense Minister A.K.Antony, Telecom Minister Kapil sibal, IAB minister Anbika soni, Law minister Salman Khurshid, Minister of state in PM’s office V.Narayana swamy and Planning commission deputy chairman Montek singh Ahluwalia.

Jayarama Bhat Gets Second Term as Karnataka Bank Chief

The RBI has approved the reappointment of Mr. P. Jayarama Bhat as MD and CEO of Karnataka Bank for the second term. Mr. Bhat  first term in office will be completed by  July 13.The RBI has conveyed its approval for the reappointment of R. Bhat for further period three years with effect from July 14.

SEBI Appoints Muralidhar Rao as ED

Mr. S.V. Muralidhar Rao has been appointed as executive Director with SEBI .The appointment of Mr Rao as ED comes after the vacancy created by the exit of Ms. Usha Narayanan.

Bhusan Now In Steel Ministry

Civil Aviation additional secretary and former DGCA E.K.Bharat Bhushan was shunted out of the civil aviation Ministry on 13 July 2012 and posted as additional secretary and financial adviser in the ministry of steel.

Seema Modi Named Heinz’s First Woman MD In India

US Food Company Heinz had appointed seema Modi as its India Managing director , helping has become the third woman to become the India head of a global consumer products firm in the last 2 years.

Yahoo! Names Google’s Mayer as New CEO

yahoo! named 37 year-old Marissa Mayer , a key Google ream member ,a s its chief executive making her among the most prominent women in Technology and corporate America. At Google. Mayer was responsible for local and geographical products including Google Maps, Google Earth, Zagat, Street view, and local search for desktop and mobile. she joined Google in 1999 as its 20 th employee and led efforts for many of Google’s most recognizable products, including the development of its flagship search product and iconic home page for over 10 years.

 Styam Retains Manoharan As Director

Stayam Services retained Mr. T. N Manoharan, the former President of Institute of charted Accountants of India , as a director of the company. Mr. T.N.Manoharan, the Government appointed director on the scam-hit firm. ceased to be the director two days ago long with Mr.Ashok Kacker, conforming  to the company Law Board’s 2009 order.

 Sachin Tendulkar, Rekha Included In Parliamentary Panels

“Rajya Sabha MP Sachin Tendulkar was made a member of a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information and Technology on 19 July 2012 The 31-member panel is currently examining the Cable Television Networks(Regulation) Second Amendment Bill, 2011. Bollywood actor and another Rajya Sabha member Rekha has been included in the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution. The panel, with 31 members, is examining the Bureau of Indian Standards (Amendment) Bill, 2012, the Consumer Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2011,the National Food Security Bill, 2011  and the Warehousing Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2011.

Amartya Sen Appointed As  First Chancellor of Nalanda University

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen was on 19 July 2012 appointed as the first chancellor of the upcoming Nalanda International University in Bihar.

Pawar Heads GoM on Coal Minning

Agriculture Minister sharad Pawar has been named as head of the Group of Ministers on coal mining, position earlier held by pranab Mukherjee. The 12 member GoM on coal-mining was constituted by the prime minister in February 2011 to iron out issues impeding the sector, Which is vita; for meeting energy requirement if the economy.

Hesham Kandil Named Egypt Prime Minister By President Mohammed Morsi

Egypt’s newly-elected President Mohamed Mursi has appointed Hisham Kandil, irrigation minister, head of the new government, assigned to turn the nation’s economy and internal security around after 17 months of instability and protests.Kandil was born in 1962 which makes him Egypt’s youngest prime minister to date. He is also the country’s first bearded premier.

Ali Mamluk appointed as New Security Chief of Syria

General Ali Mamluk, who was appointed on 22 July 2012 as the new head of Syria’s National Security office, is a career intelligence officer. General Ali Mamluk, who was head of state security, is becoming the head of the Bureau of National Security, with the rank of minister, overseeing the entire security apparatus. Mamluk is a Sunni Muslim from Damascus, who has been a central figure of Syrian security for decades although most of the top echelons belong to the minority Alawite sect from which the Assads hail.

Pranab Mukherjee sworn as 13th President of India

Pranab Mukherjee was on 22 July 2012 sworn in as the country’s 13th President at an impressive ceremony in the packed and historic Central Hall of Parliament. a familiar place for the 76-year-old Congress veteran who has spent over four decades in politics, Mukherjee took the oath of office as President, in the name of God, to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and law.”

Omita  Paul is appointed as the secretary of the president

Appointment committee of the Cabinet (ACC) appointed Omita Paul as the secretary of the president. She was replaced christy L Fernadez. Omita is a retrieved officer from Indian Information service(IIS) from 1973 batch.She is the wife of K.K.Paul, the former Delhi police Commissioner.

Anil K. Agarawal is New ESIC Chief

Mr. Anil agarwal has taken over as the Director General of Employees’ state Insurance corporation (ESIC) under Ministry of Labour and employment. Mr. Agarwal is an IAS officer of the 1981 batch. before this he was serving as additional chief secretary , Animal Resources Development department, Government of west Bengal.

Nasir Ali as the new Joint Managing Director of Air India

Civil aviation Ministry on 11 July, appointed Nasir Ali as the new joint managing director. He was dealing with human resource issue related to the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines. He is the second managerial executive posted in airline by civil aviation ministry after Rohit Nandan who was appointed as the chairperson and managing director of the airline in 2011.

First Female Head of the AU Union Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma

African Union (AU) on 15 July 2012 elected South Africa’s home affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as its new head, making her the first female head of the union.Dlamini-Zuma beat incumbent Jean Ping of Gabon 37-17. Dlamini-Zuma, wife of the former South African President Jacob Zuma, African Union, the successor to Organization of African Unity, came into existence in 2002 at Durban summit in South Africa. The Union is headquartered at Addis Ababa Ethiopia. A pan-African organization, AU aims at promoting unity and cooperation among African nations. The association also strives to spread democracy and good governance in the continent. At present the African Union has a total of 54 members. Morocco is the only African country which is not the part of the Union.

The new President of Mexico is Enrique Pena Nieto

The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) leader, was elected as the new President of Mexico on 2 July 2012. The Institutional Revolutionary Party had ruled Mexico for nearly 71 years, before being voted out of power in 2000 presidential elections. Under the Mexican Constitution, the president is the head of both the state and the government. He is also the Supreme Commander of the Mexican armed forces.

B. Surender Mohan was appointed as the new Chairman of Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC)

B. Surender Mohan was appointed as the new Chairman and Managing Director of Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) on 1 July 2012.A R Ansari was the former Managing Director of Neyveli Lignite Corporation. Neyveli Lignite Corporation is the government organization and the leading company in mining, thermal power plants and innovative researches. Mohan is 56 years old. He served as the Mines Director in his earlier stage of life. He started his career from Rourkela Steel Plant and he was the Deputy General Manager at Rashtriya Ispat Nigam in the year 1998.

 B) Resigns

Pawar Quits as Tele – GOM

Within days of his appointments,Agriculture Mnister sharad pawar on 2 July 2012 rescued himself from heading the Empowered group of Minister(EGOM) on telecom. The Agriculture minister was named the head of the EGOM that was to decide on the pricing and auction of telecom spectrum after pranab mukharjee quit as Finance Minister to contest Presidential elections. “Attempts have been made in the past to unnecessarily drag me in the controversy on 2G spectrum. These allegations are false and ill -motivated which one have firmly refuted, “MR.Powar said in his letter to PM,” As such one thoughts it will be appropriate for me to rescue myself from the position of chairman of EGOM” Mr Powar added.

CEO Diamond Quits Barclays

Barclays chief executive diamond resigned on 3 June , followed a few hours later by the bank’s chief operating officer, in a deepening scandal over the rigging of a key global interest rate. The latest resignations took to three the number of senior Barclays executives have to quit in the last two days. Mr.diamond and COO Jerry del Missier stepped down the day after Barclays chairman Marcu Ahius resigned on 2 June 2012 and amid an intense London financial sector.

 Sadananda Gowda resigns as Karnataka CM

Ending his 11-month tenure, DV Sadananda Gowda on Wednesday resigned as Karnataka Chief Minister, paving the way for Jagadish Shettar to take over

Rehman Malik resigns from Pakistan Senate after SC order

In the wake of Pakistan Supreme Court’s order suspending his membership of Senate, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader and the country’s Interior Affairs in charge, Rehman Malik, on 10July 2012 tendered his resignation from Senate.

C)Deaths

Assamese Poet Hiren Bhattacharyya Died

Popular Assamese poet and Winner of the Sahitya Academy Award and several honours for  Hiren Bhattacharyya who passed away at a private hospital on 4 July 2012.He had been undergoing treatment for long and urinary infection since June 14. He was 80 . popularly known as Hiruda, Bhattacharyya was widely known for using single words in his poems.

Floral Tributes Paid To Jagjivan Ram on Death Anniversary

Floral Tributes were, on 6 July 2012 Paid to freedom fighter and former deputy PM Babu Jagjivan Ram at his memorial ‘santa sthal’ in New Delhi on the occasion of his 26th death anniversary

Darasingh Passed Away

Wrestler -turned -actor Dara Singh , who was battling for life since the last five days , passed away early on 12 July 2012. A childhood hero to may for his wrestling prowess, 83-year old singh , who played Hanuman in epic Teleserial Ramayan and also dabbled in politics, passed away at 7.30 Am on 12 July 2012 at his residence.

Tamil Languages Computing  Championship Anto Peter Passed away

Tamil Language computing champion Anto peter passed away on 12 July 2012.He was 45 year old. He was awarded with the “Best Author Award” in the year 2007 by the union government of India. He won ‘Best book government Award”in the year 2004. Anto peter was the member of “Tamil software development fund”,semmozeh conference,12th five year plan committee which was represented by the government of Tamilnadu.

Czech Drug Developer Dead

Czech scientist Antonin Holy, who played an important role in creating drugs to treat HIV and AIDS , died at the age of 75, the CZECH Academy of sciences said. Mr.  Holy died on 16 July 2012 the day U.S Health regulators for the first time approved using truvada, a drug that he helped develop, to prevent infection in people who face a high risk of contracting the virus that causes AIDS. Mr. Holy also helped develop the drug ” vestide”, used for the treatment of retinitis in AIDS patients, and “Heprera ” to treat hepatitis B.

Veteran socialist Mrinal Gore, the ‘Paniwali Bai’ passes away

Veteran socialist leader Mrinal Gore, who earned the sobriquet ‘Paniwali Bai’ for her efforts in bringing drinking water supply to Goregaon, a Mumbai suburb. passed away on 17 July 2012. She  died at 84 .Gore led a rally of hundreds of women brandishing rolling pins from Church gate to Azad Maidan in South Mumbai. The first time she held a similar protest on the issue was in 1972.

Rajesh Khanna Passed Away

Rajesh Khanna , India’s first superstar, died of liver failure at his home on 18 July 2012 . Rajesh Khanna , 69, was battling liver and kidney problems for a long time . He is survived by wife Dimple kapadia and daughters twinkle and Rinke. Announcing the death, his son-in-law,actor Akshay kumar expressed his condolences. His debut film was Aakhri khat (1966).His first superhit film was “Aaradhana” opposite Sharmila Tagore. The actor appeared in 163 films, including 15 consecutive super hits between 1962 and 1972, an unbroken record.

 Syrian Defence Minister Died

A suicide bomber struck the National Security building in the Syrian capital on Wednesday, killing the defence minister and President Bashar Assad’s brother-in-law — the harshest blow to the Syrian regime since the uprising began.Defence minister Dawoud Rajha, 65, a former army general, was the most senior government official to be killed in the Syrian civil war as rebels battle to oust Assad.

 Indira Gandhi’s Advisor P.N.Dhar Dead

Prithvi Nath Dhar, an eminent economist who served as principal secretary to the late M Indira Gandhi in the 1970s,died in new Delhi on 19 July 2012. He was 94 and died of age related problems. A Professor of economics in Delhi University for many years, Dhar was one of the founder of the Delhi school of Economics.

 Freedom Fighter, Doctor, comunist Lakshmik sehgal Passed Away

Lakshmi sehgal, who is a close aid of Subhash Chandra bose was passed away on 23 July 2012. She was part of subhash chandra bose’s Indian national Army. she took role as head of the women’s regiment of INA, which was called the ‘Rani of Tansi’ regiment. She contested the Presidential election as a left parties candidate in 2002 and defeated by A.P.J Abdul Kalam. She was the principle member of ” ALL India Democratic Women’s Association(AIDWA)”

 Sally Ride, First US Woman to travel into Space, passed away

Sally Ride, the first US woman to travel into space died in La Jolla, California on 23 July 2012. She was 61. She was suffering from pancreatic cancer.Ride set off for space in the US space shuttle Challenger in June 1983. Sally Ride was, however, not the first woman to travel into space, as Valentina Tereshkova of erstwhile USSR had visited space in June 1963.

President Of Ghana , John Atta Mills Passed Away

President of Ghana, John Atta Mills, who won international praise for a stable model democracy in Africa, he was passed away. He was a lawyers and taxation expert. John Dramani Mahama succeeded John Atta Mills, John Dramani Mahama sworn in as president of Ghana.

Kuchipudi Guru Vempati Passed Away

Renowned kuchipudi expert vempati chinna satyam , a dance guru of the stars, died at his home in Chennai on 29 July 2012. He was 83 and had been ailing for more than six months due to age related aliments.

D) Visitors

S.M.Krishna Visit to Tajikistan

Giving a push to India’s ‘connect central Asia policy’ external affairs minister S.M. Krishna visited  the Tajik capital to hold talks with the resource rich country’s top leadership on bilateral issues on trade.

Indian envoy in Tibet after 10 years

The Indian envoy to china, s.Jaishankar , is on a rare visit to Tibet where he is touring mount kailash and Manasarovar.

Hillary Clinton’s surprise visit to Afghanistan before conference

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Kabul on 7 July 2012 on a previously unannounced visit. Clinton made the surprise visit a day before a key conference on the insurgency hit country to be held in Tokyo.

Pak PM Visit To Saudi Arabia

Pakistan Prime minister Raja parvez Ashraf on 15 July 2012 for a  two – day official visit to Saudi Arabia his first foreign trip since he assumed office in June.

Hillary Clinton’s 13 day Visit To Asia

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state , visited Israel on 16 July as the last halt of her 13 -day long visit of eight Asian countries including Afghanistan, Japan ,Mongolia , Vietnam , Laos , Combodia, Egypt and Israel.

Singaporean prime minister,Lee Hsien Loong visited India

Singaporean Prime Minister,Lee Hsien Loong visited India on a three day trip in July 2012. Where India and Singapore signed three key bilateral agreements and a Memorandum of Understanding(MOU) on 11 July 2012, New Delhi.

E)Miscellaneous

Ice Land Prez Wins Record 5th Term

Ice Land’s President Olafur Rognar Frinsson is set for a record Fifth term in office with 100 percent of votes counted from 30 June poll , the socialist Grimmson won 52.78%. While his main rival Thora Arnors dottir came in second with 33.16 percent.

Oldest Meteror Impact Crater Found

Scientist has discovered a giant crater in green land , which they believe might be the result of a massive asteroid or comet impact 3 billion years ago, i.e the oldest known impact crater on earth.

Philippine crocodile Is Largest In captivity

Guinness world Records has declared , that a huge crocodile blamed for deadly attacks in the southern Philippines is the largest in captivity in the world. the giant reptile has ought pride, fear, tourism revenues and attention to the previously little -known town where it was captured last year. Guinness spokesman Anne-lise Rouse says the salt water crocodile nicknamed ”Lolong’ measured 20.24 feet and weighed more than a ton.

Russia unveils world’s longest cable-stayed bridge

Russia on 2 July 2012  unveiled the world’s longest cable-stayed bridge as it put the finishing touches on a troubled multi-billion investment aimed at revitalising the country’s distant Far East.Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev opened the 1,104-metre (3,622-foot) link from Vladivostok to Russky Island.

Europe’s Tallest Building To Open With Laser Slow

Europe’s Tallest Building the Shard, officially unveiled on 5 July evening with a spectacular laser display performed to music by the Lon Philharmonic Orchestra.The Shard designed by Italian Architect Renzo Piano, is the tallest building in Britain at 310 meters (1.016 feet). It consists of 72 fully occupy-able floors and 15 extra levels of which six can be used and nine are just part of the design.

Kazakhstan unveils Central Asia’s largest mosque

The largest mosque in Central Asia has opened in Kazakhstan, just six months after the building was damaged in a fire during which a construction worker died.President Nursultan Nazarbayev attended the opening of the mosque in the capital, Astana, today timed to coincide with the 14th anniversary of the city’s foundation. The mosque spans an area of 17,500 square metres, and is topped by a 51-metre central dome and eight smaller domes.

Hillary Clinton sets record with 102 countries, 843,839 miles

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has broken all travel records by visiting more countries than any other U.S. Secretary of State did in the past. The former first lady completed an epic 13-day journey of 27,000 miles — about 2,000 miles more than the circumference of the Earth — through land over Europe to Asia and then doubling back to the Middle East. Since becoming secretary of state in 2009, Clinton has logged 351 days on the road, traveled to 102 countries and flown a whopping 843,839 miles, according to the State Department.

Derek O’Brain Became the First Anglo- Indian To Vote in Presidential Election

Derek O’Brain , the Rajya sabha MP from West Bengal became the first Anglo Indian to vote in Presidential elections in India. Brian, a trinamool congress MP, cast his vote in Kolkatta on 19 July 2012.

America‘s Oldest Store Shuts Down After 224 years

America’s oldest general store, opened one year before George Washington was sworn in as the first president of the United States, has shut down after serving the community for 224 years. Gray’s Store in the small village of Adamsville in Rhode Island opened in 1788, selling penny candy, cigars and a small selection of groceries, as well as antiques and collectible knick-knacks.

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PLACES IN NEWS

Strong 6.3Quake Strikes Off Vanuatu: USGS

A strong 6.3 magnitude quake struck off the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu on 6 July 2012, the US Geological survey said.The tremor hit about 358km northwest of the capital port vila at a depth of about 180km,USGS said.

Flood  in Southern Russia

Flash floods in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region have killed at least 78 people and affected nearly 13,000 in the area’s worst natural disaster in decades, officials said on 7 July 2012. Gelendzhik alone received five months’ worth of rain in 24 hours, a major blow to the resort at the height of the tourist season, the regional administration said.

5.8 earthquake In Afghanistan, Tremors Felt In Punjab, Kashmir

A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck northern India on Thursday evening. Tremors were felt in parts of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir reportedly. The epicentre of the quake was in Hindukush region.Press Trust of India (PTI) reported that the powerful earthquake also jolted parts of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces of Pakistan though there were no reports of casualties or damage to property.

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BOOKS IN NEWS

A Book on sachin

Sachin : Born to Bat by veterian Journalist Khalid A-H Ansari and edited by clayton Murzello ia a unique ade to contemporary cricket’s finest batsman. This book is about sachin how he entered in to the cricket e.t.c..

Rahul Dravid: The “Timeless Steel”

Legendary cricketer Rahul Dravid, together with Sanjay Manjrekar and Harsha Bhogle today launched a collection of stories about Dravid’s amazing playing and Test career in Mumbai. Titled “Timeless Steel”, the 256-page book portrays a cricketer who embodies the finest tradition and values of the game. “Disney Publishing has a long tradition of telling great stories and it is a pleasure to be launching this book on Rahul Dravid, together with ESPN cricinfo. “Timeless Steel”, is a celebration of a truly gifted cricketer and an Indian legend of sport,” said Roshini Bakshi,

A Book on P.V.Narsimha Rao

Contrary to the claims of veteran journalist Kuldeep Nayar in his soon-to-be published book ‘Beyond The Lines’, Kunal,who was the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Union Home Ministry on the Ayodhya issue, said, “the factual position is that Rao was neither worshiping nor sleeping at the time of demolition of the Babri Mosque on the fateful day.”

 A Book On Saina Nehwal’s Inspirational Story

“Saina Nehwal’s phenomenal success as an international badminton player is one of the most inspiring stories of Indian sports. Author TS Sudhir’s book, ‘Saina Nehwal: An Inspirational Biography’, is an account of her rise as a champion with the selfless support of her. parents Dr Harvir Singh, an agricultural scientist, and Usha Rani and the dedication of her coaches.

Book Written By Shashi Tharoor Released

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy released Pax Indica: India and the World of the 21st Century, the new book by Shashi Tharoor. Tharoor, a former UN diplomat, was speaking after the release of his 13th book “Pax Indica: India and the World of the 21st Century” which deals with India’s foreign policies and the country’s role in the multi-aligned 21st century world.This book was released on 16 July 2012.

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COMMITTEES

No Alternatives To dredging ram Sethu : Panchuripanel

The PM appointed R.K.Panchauri Expert committee on 2 July 2012 said the alternative route for sethu samudram shipping channel, suggest by the supreme court to avoid damage to Ram sethu. Which still has mythological significance to a large section of Indians, was both economically and ecologically unviable.

Cartoonists outraged By Throat Panel’s Suggestion to Remove cartoons from NCERT text Books

A six Member committee called throat committee has been appointed by  kapil sibal to analyse the cartoons in  NCERT text books. The throat committee’s report has come critical  for recommending the removal of many Government related cartoons. Cartoonists have been left outraged at they recommended removal of their works from NCERT text books. The S.K. Throat committees suggestions on the removal of the cartoons is nothing but a reflection of the growing intolerance among the country’s political class, the cartoonists says . These works have been deemed “Educationally in appropriate” for school students.

 Kris Gopalakrishna To Head Govt’s Cloud Computing Panel

The Government has set up a committee to recommended the framework for cloud  computing services under the chairmanship of Infosys’ executive co-chairman, Mr Kris Gopalakrishna. The committee has been set up following instructions from the IT and telecom Minister Kapil Sibal . Indian Computer emergency Response Team’s Director, Mr Gulshan Rai, also member of the committee.

 PM Panel To Take The Bite Out Of GAAR

In a bid to bring ‘great clarity’ on GAAR (General Anti- Avoiding Rules) and prepare its implementation, prime minister. constituted an expert committee to prepare and finalize guidelines for the hitherto controversial tax provision. The PM has approved the constitution of an expert committee on GAAR to undertake stake holder guidelines for GAAR. This committee would manage the consultation process and finalize the draft GAAR Guidelines.

Panel set up to look into pay- related issues defence personnel

Nearly a forth night after the new army chief , General Bikram singh, listed welfare of Ex. servicemen and war widows as his to priority, the government on 13 July 2012 announced the setting up a  5-member committee, to be headed by cabinet secretary Ajit seth, to look into pay  and  pension related issues of defense services personnel and ex-servicemen.

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ABBREVIATIONS

TFR                             – Total Fertility Rate
GAAR                         – General Anti Avoidance Rules
NABARD                   – National Bank for Agricultural And Rural Development
FAO                             – Food and Agricultural Organization
MNREGS                    – Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
DMU                            – Delivery Monitoring Unit
ISS                                – International Space Station
PCPNDT                      – Preconception Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques
ECBs                             – External Commercial Borrowings
NCERT                        – National council of Educational Research and Training
ICRISAT                    – International Crop Research Institute for semi- arid Tropics
NAC                             – National Advisory Council
TDSAT                         – Telecom Dispute Settlement  and Appellate Tribunal
NBFC                           – Non Banking finance Company
IFC                               – International Finance Corporation
DICCI                         – Dalit Indian Chamber Of Commerce and Industry
CCIL                            – Clearing Corporation of India
FCCB                           – Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds
CBFC                           – Central Board of Excise and Customs
FICCI                          – Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry
ECOWAS                    – Economic Community and West Africa States
IIP                               – Index of Industrial Production
WADA                        – World Anti Doping Agency
FBI                              – FEderal Bureau of Investigation
EGoM                         – Empowered Group ofMinister
FDI                              – Foreign Direct Investment
UNCTAD                   – United Nations Conference on Trade and  Development
CBDT                           – Central Board of Direct Taxes
CCMB                          – Cellular and Molecular Biology
UEFA                          – Union of European Foot Ball Association
SSTCG                         – Strategic Security Technology Coordination Group

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DAYS & DATES

 July 1 – International Jokes Day

July 1 – Doctors Day

July 1 – State Bank of India Foundation Day

July 2 – World Sports Journalists Day

July 3 – International Day of Cooperatives

July 4 – Independence Day of America

July 8- Writers Day

July 11 – World Population Day

July 20 – Special Olympics Day

July 25- Parents Day

July 26- Kargil Day

July 28 – World Nature conservation Day

July 28- World hepatitis Day

July 29 – International Tiger day

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Full credit to currentaffairs.freejobalert; the article is shared here for easy of reference to aspirants. 

(courtesy @ currentaffairs.freejobalert)

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