General Affairs
India Has Photos, Details of Pakistan Terrorist's Family, Friends
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NEW DELHI: Preparing to nail Pakistan's lie, India has gathered substantial evidence, including the phone number and photographs of close relatives of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Mohammad Naved Yakub who was caught during Udhampur attack and is expected to ask Islamabad to hold a probe on that basis.
24 pages of a 39-page dossier prepared by India are devoted to the photographs and Google Maps locations of Naved's residence, his relatives' houses and the three terror camps in Pakistan where he was trained till May 2015.
The information gathered includes a mobile number of Zong service provider used by Naved, names and phone numbers of his close relatives and friends and pictures of a red motorcycle used by Naved's elder brother Mohammad Nadeem.
Besides names and phone numbers of his parents and three siblings, the dossier also has names and addresses of three of Naved's uncles and names of all his 27 cousins in Pakistan as well as names of his four close friends - Tanveer, Afridi, Qasim and Shahad.
Indian agencies accessed the Facebook account of Naved's cousin Taheer to get photos of some of his family members.
It also carries a signage situated close to his maternal uncle Mohammad Ali's house in Kotha Shah Bhalol in Pakistan.
Security agencies are said have procured these photographs through their sources and claim that Naved identified these.
These details will be shared with Pakistan through a Letter Rogatory, asking for further investigation on Pakistan soil, official sources said.
A Letters Rogatory is a formal request made to a foreign court for judicial assistance, which also includes recording of evidence on foreign soil.
Pakistan has been denying that Naved, who was caught alive during the Udhampur attack on August 5, is its citizen.
All the information was in the dossier which was supposed to be given to Pakistan during the now-cancelled NSA talks.
Dismissing Pakistan's claim that Naved does not figure in its national database, India's dossier says an identity card was issued to Naved by the National Database and Registration Authority of Pakistan in 2014.
"Naved claims to have lost the card," the Indian dossier says, giving details of his family and even mentioning names of his three neighbours at Rafiq Colony in Faisalabad.
NEW DELHI: Preparing to nail Pakistan's lie, India has gathered substantial evidence, including the phone number and photographs of close relatives of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Mohammad Naved Yakub who was caught during Udhampur attack and is expected to ask Islamabad to hold a probe on that basis.24 pages of a 39-page dossier prepared by India are devoted to the photographs and Google Maps locations of Naved's residence, his relatives' houses and the three terror camps in Pakistan where he was trained till May 2015.
The information gathered includes a mobile number of Zong service provider used by Naved, names and phone numbers of his close relatives and friends and pictures of a red motorcycle used by Naved's elder brother Mohammad Nadeem.
Indian agencies accessed the Facebook account of Naved's cousin Taheer to get photos of some of his family members.
It also carries a signage situated close to his maternal uncle Mohammad Ali's house in Kotha Shah Bhalol in Pakistan.
Security agencies are said have procured these photographs through their sources and claim that Naved identified these.
These details will be shared with Pakistan through a Letter Rogatory, asking for further investigation on Pakistan soil, official sources said.
A Letters Rogatory is a formal request made to a foreign court for judicial assistance, which also includes recording of evidence on foreign soil.
Pakistan has been denying that Naved, who was caught alive during the Udhampur attack on August 5, is its citizen.
All the information was in the dossier which was supposed to be given to Pakistan during the now-cancelled NSA talks.
Dismissing Pakistan's claim that Naved does not figure in its national database, India's dossier says an identity card was issued to Naved by the National Database and Registration Authority of Pakistan in 2014.
"Naved claims to have lost the card," the Indian dossier says, giving details of his family and even mentioning names of his three neighbours at Rafiq Colony in Faisalabad.
Coal Scam: Manmohan Singh Knew Everything on Jindal Firm, Says Madhu Koda
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NEW DELHI: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was "aware of everything" in the process of allocating a coal block to Naveen Jindal group firm, ex-Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda told a special court today.
Mr Koda, who sought summoning of the former prime minister as an accused, said if there was any conspiracy in the allocation of Jharkhand's Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block, it could not have been done without the knowledge of Manmohan Singh who was also the coal minister then.
"The coal minister (Manmohan Singh) was aware of everything and if at all there was a conspiracy, it was not possible without his knowledge," Mr Koda's counsel told Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar.
He said that according to the CBI, then minister of state for coal Dasari Narayan Rao, who is also an accused in the case, wanted the coal block to be allocated to Jindal group, but "actually the man behind this was then prime minister who approved it ".
Public prosecutor V K Sharma would respond to the arguments of Mr Koda's counsel tomorrow.
Mr Koda, in his plea, has sought to summon Mr Singh as an accused along with Anand Swaroop, the then secretary (Energy) and Jai Shankar Tiwari, then secretary(Mines and Geology).
The case relates to alleged irregularities in allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block to two Jindal group companies, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd and Gagan Sponge Iron Pvt Ltd.
The CBI has chargesheeted Mr Koda, Congress leader and industrialist Naveen Jindal and 13 others in the case.
NEW DELHI: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was "aware of everything" in the process of allocating a coal block to Naveen Jindal group firm, ex-Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda told a special court today.Mr Koda, who sought summoning of the former prime minister as an accused, said if there was any conspiracy in the allocation of Jharkhand's Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block, it could not have been done without the knowledge of Manmohan Singh who was also the coal minister then.
"The coal minister (Manmohan Singh) was aware of everything and if at all there was a conspiracy, it was not possible without his knowledge," Mr Koda's counsel told Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar.
Public prosecutor V K Sharma would respond to the arguments of Mr Koda's counsel tomorrow.
Mr Koda, in his plea, has sought to summon Mr Singh as an accused along with Anand Swaroop, the then secretary (Energy) and Jai Shankar Tiwari, then secretary(Mines and Geology).
The case relates to alleged irregularities in allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block to two Jindal group companies, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd and Gagan Sponge Iron Pvt Ltd.
The CBI has chargesheeted Mr Koda, Congress leader and industrialist Naveen Jindal and 13 others in the case.
Shiv Sena Lawmaker to Help Farmers' Families in Maharashtra
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THANE: Shiv Sena lawmaker Pratap Sarnaik today said he will assist actor Nana Patekar in providing financial help to families of farmers who have committed suicide.
"Nana Patekar has undertaken a key programme to assist families of farmers who have committed suicide. To support him, I will donate Rs 15,000 to their (farmer's) families with Patekar's help," Mr Sarnaik, MLA from Ovala-Majiwada constituency in Thane said.
"I have spoken to Patekar in this regard. The exact number of families whom I will render assistance will be known shortly," he added.
On August 10, Patekar and Marathi actor Makrand Anaspure provided financial assistance of Rs 15,000 each to the families of 62 farmers from Vidarbha region, who had allegedly committed suicide.
Meanwhile, Mr Sarnaik also took a dig at NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad, who has decided to cancel his annual 'Dahi-Handi' event, saying, "I expect him to donate around Rs 5 to 6 crore (to farmers), which he otherwise spends on the festival."
Earlier in August, Mr Awhad had cancelled his 'Sangharsh' 'Dahi-Handi' event in Thane in view of the drought situation in Maharashtra and new 'restrictions' brought up by state government on celebration of the festival.
THANE: Shiv Sena lawmaker Pratap Sarnaik today said he will assist actor Nana Patekar in providing financial help to families of farmers who have committed suicide."Nana Patekar has undertaken a key programme to assist families of farmers who have committed suicide. To support him, I will donate Rs 15,000 to their (farmer's) families with Patekar's help," Mr Sarnaik, MLA from Ovala-Majiwada constituency in Thane said.
"I have spoken to Patekar in this regard. The exact number of families whom I will render assistance will be known shortly," he added.
On August 10, Patekar and Marathi actor Makrand Anaspure provided financial assistance of Rs 15,000 each to the families of 62 farmers from Vidarbha region, who had allegedly committed suicide.
Meanwhile, Mr Sarnaik also took a dig at NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad, who has decided to cancel his annual 'Dahi-Handi' event, saying, "I expect him to donate around Rs 5 to 6 crore (to farmers), which he otherwise spends on the festival."
Earlier in August, Mr Awhad had cancelled his 'Sangharsh' 'Dahi-Handi' event in Thane in view of the drought situation in Maharashtra and new 'restrictions' brought up by state government on celebration of the festival.
At RSS Review Meet, Top Ministers Make Presentations
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NEW DELHI: What the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS has described as a routine meeting, seemed anything but this morning as the Narendra Modi government's top generals trooped into Madhya Pradesh Bhawan in Delhi's Vasant Kunj.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh was there, as were Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Education Minister Smriti Irani and several others, for almost 10 hours.
Behind closed doors, with the media kept out, the ministers are making presentations at the three-day meeting, presided over by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
They also fielding questions, including some tough ones, from members of the RSS, the ruling BJP's ideological mentor and its 15 affiliates attending the meet.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend too, possibly tomorrow, said sources, and BJP chief Amit Shah will be there on all three days, over which the Modi government's performance in the last 15 months is being reviewed.
"All national and economic issues are on the agenda," said BJP general secretary Ram Madhav.
On the sidelines of the meeting, the RSS, said sources, conveyed to the government that it would like the One Rank One Pension demand of ex-servicemen, stuck in negotiations, to be resolved soon.
The RSS has reportedly suggested that points of agreement between the veterans and the government should be announced soon and a commission can be set up to resolve differences.
This was denied officially.
Some affiliates like the Swadeshi Jagram Manch have complained that key policies in the Narendra Modi government's reform drive are at odds with the Sangh's swadeshi agenda.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has long complained that the BJP has put demands like a Ram temple in Ayodhya on the backburner. It also wants a say in education and curriculum.
These organisations have been asked to provide feedback, which ministers are expected to refer to when tweaking policies, sources said.
NEW DELHI: What the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS has described as a routine meeting, seemed anything but this morning as the Narendra Modi government's top generals trooped into Madhya Pradesh Bhawan in Delhi's Vasant Kunj.Home Minister Rajnath Singh was there, as were Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Education Minister Smriti Irani and several others, for almost 10 hours.
Behind closed doors, with the media kept out, the ministers are making presentations at the three-day meeting, presided over by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend too, possibly tomorrow, said sources, and BJP chief Amit Shah will be there on all three days, over which the Modi government's performance in the last 15 months is being reviewed.
"All national and economic issues are on the agenda," said BJP general secretary Ram Madhav.
On the sidelines of the meeting, the RSS, said sources, conveyed to the government that it would like the One Rank One Pension demand of ex-servicemen, stuck in negotiations, to be resolved soon.
The RSS has reportedly suggested that points of agreement between the veterans and the government should be announced soon and a commission can be set up to resolve differences.
This was denied officially.
Some affiliates like the Swadeshi Jagram Manch have complained that key policies in the Narendra Modi government's reform drive are at odds with the Sangh's swadeshi agenda.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has long complained that the BJP has put demands like a Ram temple in Ayodhya on the backburner. It also wants a say in education and curriculum.
These organisations have been asked to provide feedback, which ministers are expected to refer to when tweaking policies, sources said.
Business Affairs
Transport minister Nitin Gadkari promises to add 2 percentage points to growth
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The man Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tasked with launching a China-style infrastructure boom calls himself a "bulldozer" and promises to add two per centage points to India's economic growth in two years.
"I am a man of my word," Nitin Gadkari told Reuters on a trip to his home district in Maharashtra, the state where he made a reputation for getting the job done. "If I fail, fall short on any of the promises, you can change my name."
It was Gadkari's first interview to foreign media since taking office. Modi chose the 58-year-old former president of his Bharatiya Janata Party as transport and shipping minister after winning last year's general election on a promise of growth and jobs for aspiring Indians.
Fifteen months after taking power, Modi's credibility as an economic manager is on the line, with economic growth faltering and social tensions erupting in his home state of Gujarat over a lack of job opportunities.
That is increasing pressure on Gadkari to deliver results to back up Modi's promises to build 100 'smart' cities in India connected by a network of highways and high-speed rail links. He has money to play with: Spending on roads and bridges has been doubled this fiscal year.
"The intent has been there and the right kind of policies are being pursued," said Sandeep Upadhyay, managing director at the Centrum Infra Advisory Ltd. consultancy. "Still, you may never be able to see again the euphoria that we witnessed in 2008-09," he added, referring to a credit-fuelled infrastructure boom under the last government.
Modi and Gadkari are a study in contrasts - the premier an ascetic loner with a neatly trimmed beard; his minister a garrulous, paunchy figure with a pencil moustache and a penchant for offbeat comments, including saying he waters the plants in his garden with urine to make them grow faster.
In a cabinet crowded with first-time ministers who can barely stand up to the Indian leader, perhaps only Gadkari and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley are recognised in their own right.
As construction minister of Maharashtra state between 1995 and 1999, Gadkari built India's first high-speed concrete highway, from Mumbai to Pune, earning another nickname: 'flyover minister'.
AMBITIOUS AGENDA
In his current job, Gadkari inherited $57 billion in projects stalled by land and environmental disputes. The logjam has plunged developers into debt - 30 per cent of India's $100 billion in stressed bank loans are to the infrastructure sector.
The government has sought to unblock those projects and bridge the funding gap by hiking its own spending on infrastructure by nearly $11 billion this year. It has also put $3 billion of seed capital into a new infrastructure fund, and hopes to attract 10 times that in private backing.
Even after speedier clearances and a decision to bail out stressed schemes, road projects worth over $9 billion are mired in land shortages and red tape. "There are banks, there are court cases," Gadkari said on board a six-seater charter plane. "That's why it is very difficult and very complicated."
Adding to the challenge is the government's retreat on plans to make it easier for businesses to buy land. After failing to win support in parliament, Modi has given up on legislation that would cover the whole country.
Putting a brave face on the setback, Gadkari said that individual Indian states would take the lead in easing the law on land purchases. "There will be no difficulty in acquiring land for infrastructure projects," he said.
Gadkari wants to speed up the pace of road-building to over 30 km (18.6 miles) a day by next March from 14 km a day at present, and complete $75 billion worth of infrastructure projects over the next three years.
With the help of India's space agency, ISRO, he plans to run cars and buses on lithium batteries. He is also designing a "cash for clunkers" scheme to recycle old cars and encourage new purchases.
Responding to critics who accuse him of repackaging old policies as new, Gadkari said business have shed their reluctance to bid for road projects after his government decided that public tenders could only be held once all necessary approvals had been secured.
Nine projects have been awarded this year under the public-private partnership (PPP) model, compared with three a year ago. Buoyed by the response, Gadkari expects the tally to rise to 25 by next March.
Industrial group Larsen & Toubro (L&T), which had shied away from road building, is bidding again, Gadkari said, winning $2.3 billion in highway projects this year.
A company spokesman said, however, that L&T was still not interested in the PPP model and had never stopped bidding for projects under other schemes, a signal that Gadkari was perhaps being overly bullish.
India's slow-moving bureaucracy also remains a problem. There has been little progress, for example, on a proposal to restructure the way state-run ports are managed. Gadkari acknowledged problems with the administrative set-up and the need to overhaul it. "This is a very difficult task because there is a difference between my speed and their speed," he said. "I want them to be aggressive and on top of their speed. I believe in a do-or-die kind of strategy."
The man Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tasked with launching a China-style infrastructure boom calls himself a "bulldozer" and promises to add two per centage points to India's economic growth in two years.
"I am a man of my word," Nitin Gadkari told Reuters on a trip to his home district in Maharashtra, the state where he made a reputation for getting the job done. "If I fail, fall short on any of the promises, you can change my name."
It was Gadkari's first interview to foreign media since taking office. Modi chose the 58-year-old former president of his Bharatiya Janata Party as transport and shipping minister after winning last year's general election on a promise of growth and jobs for aspiring Indians.
Fifteen months after taking power, Modi's credibility as an economic manager is on the line, with economic growth faltering and social tensions erupting in his home state of Gujarat over a lack of job opportunities.
That is increasing pressure on Gadkari to deliver results to back up Modi's promises to build 100 'smart' cities in India connected by a network of highways and high-speed rail links. He has money to play with: Spending on roads and bridges has been doubled this fiscal year.
"The intent has been there and the right kind of policies are being pursued," said Sandeep Upadhyay, managing director at the Centrum Infra Advisory Ltd. consultancy. "Still, you may never be able to see again the euphoria that we witnessed in 2008-09," he added, referring to a credit-fuelled infrastructure boom under the last government.
Modi and Gadkari are a study in contrasts - the premier an ascetic loner with a neatly trimmed beard; his minister a garrulous, paunchy figure with a pencil moustache and a penchant for offbeat comments, including saying he waters the plants in his garden with urine to make them grow faster.
In a cabinet crowded with first-time ministers who can barely stand up to the Indian leader, perhaps only Gadkari and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley are recognised in their own right.
As construction minister of Maharashtra state between 1995 and 1999, Gadkari built India's first high-speed concrete highway, from Mumbai to Pune, earning another nickname: 'flyover minister'.
AMBITIOUS AGENDA
In his current job, Gadkari inherited $57 billion in projects stalled by land and environmental disputes. The logjam has plunged developers into debt - 30 per cent of India's $100 billion in stressed bank loans are to the infrastructure sector.
The government has sought to unblock those projects and bridge the funding gap by hiking its own spending on infrastructure by nearly $11 billion this year. It has also put $3 billion of seed capital into a new infrastructure fund, and hopes to attract 10 times that in private backing.
Even after speedier clearances and a decision to bail out stressed schemes, road projects worth over $9 billion are mired in land shortages and red tape. "There are banks, there are court cases," Gadkari said on board a six-seater charter plane. "That's why it is very difficult and very complicated."
Adding to the challenge is the government's retreat on plans to make it easier for businesses to buy land. After failing to win support in parliament, Modi has given up on legislation that would cover the whole country.
Putting a brave face on the setback, Gadkari said that individual Indian states would take the lead in easing the law on land purchases. "There will be no difficulty in acquiring land for infrastructure projects," he said.
Gadkari wants to speed up the pace of road-building to over 30 km (18.6 miles) a day by next March from 14 km a day at present, and complete $75 billion worth of infrastructure projects over the next three years.
With the help of India's space agency, ISRO, he plans to run cars and buses on lithium batteries. He is also designing a "cash for clunkers" scheme to recycle old cars and encourage new purchases.
Responding to critics who accuse him of repackaging old policies as new, Gadkari said business have shed their reluctance to bid for road projects after his government decided that public tenders could only be held once all necessary approvals had been secured.
Nine projects have been awarded this year under the public-private partnership (PPP) model, compared with three a year ago. Buoyed by the response, Gadkari expects the tally to rise to 25 by next March.
Industrial group Larsen & Toubro (L&T), which had shied away from road building, is bidding again, Gadkari said, winning $2.3 billion in highway projects this year.
A company spokesman said, however, that L&T was still not interested in the PPP model and had never stopped bidding for projects under other schemes, a signal that Gadkari was perhaps being overly bullish.
India's slow-moving bureaucracy also remains a problem. There has been little progress, for example, on a proposal to restructure the way state-run ports are managed. Gadkari acknowledged problems with the administrative set-up and the need to overhaul it. "This is a very difficult task because there is a difference between my speed and their speed," he said. "I want them to be aggressive and on top of their speed. I believe in a do-or-die kind of strategy."
Cabinet clears auction of 69 ONGC, Oil India fields
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The Cabinet on Wednesday approved auction of 69 small and marginal oil fields of state-owned ONGC and Oil India to private and foreign firms as a precursor to a full fledged licensing round.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved auctioning of the fields that state-owned firms are surrendering because they were uneconomical to develop due to government's subsidy sharing mechanism.The fields will be bid out on the basis of revenue share or the share of oil and gas a bidder offers to the government upfront, and work programme, an official said.
Companies offering the maximum revenue share or percentage of oil and gas to the government, and committing to do more work, will win the field.
The weight for revenue share will be 80 per cent while 20 per cent would be for work programme that may include drilling of exploratory and development wells and seismic studies.
So far, 254 blocks for exploration and production of oil and gas have been auctioned in nine rounds of New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) since 1999.
These have been on production sharing basis where profit is shared with the government after recovery of cost. ONGC has surrendered 63 discovered oil and gas fields which it had found uneconomical to develop considering small reserve size and high economic cost as it had to pay for fuel subsidies from the hydrocarbons produced from it.
Oil India Ltd (OIL) has surrendered six such fields. ONGC and OIL have to pay a part of their revenue they earn from selling oil produced from their fields to help subsidise kerosene. Earlier, they had to foot subsidy for domestic cooking gas (LPG) and diesel as well.
Sources said in case ONGC and OIL also decide to bid and end up winning the fields in the auction, they will not have to pay fuel subsidy on them. Of the 165 small and marginal fields, with total ultimate reserves of 340 million tonnes, operations are going on in 139 and work is yet to start on 26.
The Cabinet on Wednesday approved auction of 69 small and marginal oil fields of state-owned ONGC and Oil India to private and foreign firms as a precursor to a full fledged licensing round.
Companies offering the maximum revenue share or percentage of oil and gas to the government, and committing to do more work, will win the field.
The weight for revenue share will be 80 per cent while 20 per cent would be for work programme that may include drilling of exploratory and development wells and seismic studies.
So far, 254 blocks for exploration and production of oil and gas have been auctioned in nine rounds of New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) since 1999.
These have been on production sharing basis where profit is shared with the government after recovery of cost. ONGC has surrendered 63 discovered oil and gas fields which it had found uneconomical to develop considering small reserve size and high economic cost as it had to pay for fuel subsidies from the hydrocarbons produced from it.
Oil India Ltd (OIL) has surrendered six such fields. ONGC and OIL have to pay a part of their revenue they earn from selling oil produced from their fields to help subsidise kerosene. Earlier, they had to foot subsidy for domestic cooking gas (LPG) and diesel as well.
Sources said in case ONGC and OIL also decide to bid and end up winning the fields in the auction, they will not have to pay fuel subsidy on them. Of the 165 small and marginal fields, with total ultimate reserves of 340 million tonnes, operations are going on in 139 and work is yet to start on 26.
Arvind Subramanian says 2015-16 growth still seen around 8 per cent
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The government on Wednesday flagged deflation as a new challenge for the economy but expressed hope that the growth will be close to 8 per cent in the current fiscal year, notwithstanding lower first quarter GDP number.
"Overall, economic growth is moving in the right direction, although its pace is still below what the economy needs... but at a pace that is expected to pick up in response to the ongoing reforms. And one real challenge that looms ahead appears not to be the price inflation but the possible price deflation," Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian said.Talking to the reporters on below-than-expected first quarter growth, he said the numbers suggest that economy is recovering and is consistent with the other more high-frequency indicators such as revenue collection and real credit growth. On growth forecast, he said, "The Economic Survey said 8-8.5 per cent. Certainly if GDP numbers are reaccessed, we are closer to 8 per cent than currently being forecast.
Several agencies including Fitch and other experts have lowered the growth forecast for the current fiscal in light of the global financial turmoil and the slowdown in pace of reforms. The first quarter GDP data released by the government on Monday revealed that the economic growth, measured by GVA slowed to 7.1 per cent as against 7.4 per cent in the corresponding period last fiscal. The GDP, though expanded at 7 per cent, up from 6.7 per cent. As regards to inflation, the wholesale price index has been in the negative zone since November 2014, while the retail inflation (CPI) too has fallen sharply.
Subramanian, however, evaded questions on the need to cut rates by RBI to bolster economy in wake of low inflation. RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, who had cut rates by 0.75 per cent in three tranches since January, maintained status quo in the last monetary policy review in August despite pressure from the industry and the government. The next policy is due on September 29.
The government on Wednesday flagged deflation as a new challenge for the economy but expressed hope that the growth will be close to 8 per cent in the current fiscal year, notwithstanding lower first quarter GDP number.
"Overall, economic growth is moving in the right direction, although its pace is still below what the economy needs... but at a pace that is expected to pick up in response to the ongoing reforms. And one real challenge that looms ahead appears not to be the price inflation but the possible price deflation," Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian said.Talking to the reporters on below-than-expected first quarter growth, he said the numbers suggest that economy is recovering and is consistent with the other more high-frequency indicators such as revenue collection and real credit growth. On growth forecast, he said, "The Economic Survey said 8-8.5 per cent. Certainly if GDP numbers are reaccessed, we are closer to 8 per cent than currently being forecast.
Several agencies including Fitch and other experts have lowered the growth forecast for the current fiscal in light of the global financial turmoil and the slowdown in pace of reforms. The first quarter GDP data released by the government on Monday revealed that the economic growth, measured by GVA slowed to 7.1 per cent as against 7.4 per cent in the corresponding period last fiscal. The GDP, though expanded at 7 per cent, up from 6.7 per cent. As regards to inflation, the wholesale price index has been in the negative zone since November 2014, while the retail inflation (CPI) too has fallen sharply.
Subramanian, however, evaded questions on the need to cut rates by RBI to bolster economy in wake of low inflation. RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, who had cut rates by 0.75 per cent in three tranches since January, maintained status quo in the last monetary policy review in August despite pressure from the industry and the government. The next policy is due on September 29.
Market Update: Sensex closes 243 points down on negative Asian cues
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Volatility prevailed in the equities markets on Wednesday with negative cues from the Asian exchanges continuing to dampen investor sentiment and leading the benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex to shed 243 points during the late-afternoon trade session.
The barometer 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) closed at 25453.56, 242.88 points or 0.85 per cent down.Bearish sentiments also dented investors' confidence at the wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The CNX Nifty closed at 7717.00, 68.85 points lower.
Analysts observed that the initial gains of over 240 points came on the back of the government's decision - announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday - that minimum alternate tax (MAT) will not be imposed on foreign portfolio and institutional investors.
"The Indian markets made initial gains after the government accepted Justice AP Shah Committee report ending the uncertainty on the applicability of MAT on foreign investors," Vaibhav Agrawal, vice president, research, Angel Broking told IANS.
"This helped soothe frayed nerves of FIIs and is positive for the markets", he said.
Notwithstaning the positive announcements on MAT, the initial gains receded on account of continued weakness in the Asian markets coupled with less-than-expected macro data.
"The high intra-day volatility was caused due to the bearish cues coming in from the Asian markets. Investors are nervous about the evolving situation in China," Anand James, co-head, technical research, Geojit BNP Paribas, told IANS.
As per James, volatility is also being flared-up due to expectations of new measures by the Chinese government and central bank to stabilise their markets. This in turn will further put pressure on the yuan and subsequently on the rupee value.
The massive implosion in the Chinese markets which has by some estimates eroded 40-45 per cent of the entire stock value coupled with yuan devaluation and lower factory out has spooked the world markets.
"Oil prices are also a cause of worry. As they rose exponentially by around $10 in the last 3 days or so. Sentiments are also dampened - as investors make sense of the slowdown in the growth, purchasing mangers index (PMI) and eight core industries (ECI)," James added.
The Q1 GDP came in at 7 per cent, showing signs of slowing vis-a-vis the 7.5 per cent expansion during the previous quarter.
The ECI for select factory output slowed to 1.1 per cent growth in July from an increase of 3 per cent in the previous month.
The Nikkei India Manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Manufacturers Index) for the last month stood at 52.3 which is marginally down from July's 52.7.
Sector-wise, S&P BSE banking, automobile, capital goods, consumer durables and oil and gas indices came under intense selling pressure.
The S&P BSE banking index plunged by 369.82 points, the capital goods index receded by 281.05 points, the automobile index contracted by 216.84 points, the consumer durables index declined by 128.79 points, the oil and gas index decreased by 104.55 points and healthcare index edged lower by 102.75 points.
However, information technology (IT) index augmented by 125.83 points, technology, entertainment and media (TECK) index gained by 54.83 points and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) index rose by 47.82 points.
Volatility prevailed in the equities markets on Wednesday with negative cues from the Asian exchanges continuing to dampen investor sentiment and leading the benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex to shed 243 points during the late-afternoon trade session.
The barometer 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) closed at 25453.56, 242.88 points or 0.85 per cent down.Bearish sentiments also dented investors' confidence at the wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The CNX Nifty closed at 7717.00, 68.85 points lower.
Analysts observed that the initial gains of over 240 points came on the back of the government's decision - announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday - that minimum alternate tax (MAT) will not be imposed on foreign portfolio and institutional investors.
"The Indian markets made initial gains after the government accepted Justice AP Shah Committee report ending the uncertainty on the applicability of MAT on foreign investors," Vaibhav Agrawal, vice president, research, Angel Broking told IANS.
"This helped soothe frayed nerves of FIIs and is positive for the markets", he said.
Notwithstaning the positive announcements on MAT, the initial gains receded on account of continued weakness in the Asian markets coupled with less-than-expected macro data.
"The high intra-day volatility was caused due to the bearish cues coming in from the Asian markets. Investors are nervous about the evolving situation in China," Anand James, co-head, technical research, Geojit BNP Paribas, told IANS.
As per James, volatility is also being flared-up due to expectations of new measures by the Chinese government and central bank to stabilise their markets. This in turn will further put pressure on the yuan and subsequently on the rupee value.
The massive implosion in the Chinese markets which has by some estimates eroded 40-45 per cent of the entire stock value coupled with yuan devaluation and lower factory out has spooked the world markets.
"Oil prices are also a cause of worry. As they rose exponentially by around $10 in the last 3 days or so. Sentiments are also dampened - as investors make sense of the slowdown in the growth, purchasing mangers index (PMI) and eight core industries (ECI)," James added.
The Q1 GDP came in at 7 per cent, showing signs of slowing vis-a-vis the 7.5 per cent expansion during the previous quarter.
The ECI for select factory output slowed to 1.1 per cent growth in July from an increase of 3 per cent in the previous month.
The Nikkei India Manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Manufacturers Index) for the last month stood at 52.3 which is marginally down from July's 52.7.
Sector-wise, S&P BSE banking, automobile, capital goods, consumer durables and oil and gas indices came under intense selling pressure.
The S&P BSE banking index plunged by 369.82 points, the capital goods index receded by 281.05 points, the automobile index contracted by 216.84 points, the consumer durables index declined by 128.79 points, the oil and gas index decreased by 104.55 points and healthcare index edged lower by 102.75 points.
However, information technology (IT) index augmented by 125.83 points, technology, entertainment and media (TECK) index gained by 54.83 points and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) index rose by 47.82 points.
FMC to be merged with Sebi from September 28
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The government on Wednesday notified the merger of commodities market regulator Forward Markets Commission (FMC) with Sebi with effect from September 28.
"Forward Contracts Regulation Act (FCRA) 1952 gets repealed and Regulation of Commodity Derivatives Market will shift to Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) under Securities Contracts Regulation Act (SCRA) 1956 with effect from 28th September, 2015," the Finance Ministry said in a statement.Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in his Budget speech, had announced the merger of FMC with the capital market regulator Sebi to strengthen the regulation of commodity futures market.
A unified regulator for commodities and capital markets will help streamline monitoring of commodity futures trading and curb wild speculations.
In the wake of a Rs 5,500-crore payment crisis at the National Spot Exchange Ltd, FMC was brought under Finance Ministry in 2013.
Enabling legislation, amending the Securities Contracts Regulation Act (SCRA) 1956 and FCRA 1952 were proposed in the Finance Act, 2015.
In the beginning, FMC was only regulating regional commodity exchanges and its role was expanded after the emergence of national electronic trading platform in early 2000.
Currently, there are three national and six regional bourses for commodity futures in the country.
The Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) had recommended that Sebi, IRDA, PFRDA and FMC should be merged into a single entity into a unified financial agency (UFA).
The government on Wednesday notified the merger of commodities market regulator Forward Markets Commission (FMC) with Sebi with effect from September 28.
"Forward Contracts Regulation Act (FCRA) 1952 gets repealed and Regulation of Commodity Derivatives Market will shift to Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) under Securities Contracts Regulation Act (SCRA) 1956 with effect from 28th September, 2015," the Finance Ministry said in a statement.Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in his Budget speech, had announced the merger of FMC with the capital market regulator Sebi to strengthen the regulation of commodity futures market.
A unified regulator for commodities and capital markets will help streamline monitoring of commodity futures trading and curb wild speculations.
In the wake of a Rs 5,500-crore payment crisis at the National Spot Exchange Ltd, FMC was brought under Finance Ministry in 2013.
Enabling legislation, amending the Securities Contracts Regulation Act (SCRA) 1956 and FCRA 1952 were proposed in the Finance Act, 2015.
In the beginning, FMC was only regulating regional commodity exchanges and its role was expanded after the emergence of national electronic trading platform in early 2000.
Currently, there are three national and six regional bourses for commodity futures in the country.
The Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) had recommended that Sebi, IRDA, PFRDA and FMC should be merged into a single entity into a unified financial agency (UFA).
General Awareness
Latest Current Affairs - August 2015
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- August 31 - Independence Day of Trinidad and Tobago. It marks independence from United Kingdom in 1962.
- August 31 - Independence Day of Malaysia. It marks independence from United Kingdom in 1957.
- August 31 - Independence Day of Kyrgyzstan. It marks independence from USSR in 1991.
- PM Narendra Modi released digital version of Ramcharitmanas as a set of digital CDs produced by All India Radio.
- Rajiv Mehrishi has been appointed as Union Home Secretary of India replacing L.C.Goyal.
- Sunil Arora has been appointed as Secretary in Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.
- Minister of Steel & Mines, Narendra Singh Tomar Visited Australia to Attend ‘AIMEX- 2015’ to Be Held During 1st to 4th September, 2015 at Sydney. AIMEX Stands for - Asia Pacific’s International Mining Exhibition.
- K. Vijay Raghavan is appointed as Secretary in Ministry of Earth Sciences.
- Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Harsh Vardhan launched web enabled project management information system for Department of Biotechnology (DBT) projects at URL http://dbtepromis.nic.in. It will help registration of new investigators, online submission of proposals and Online tracking of projects.
- United States International Trade Commission (USITC) extended the anti-dumping duty on preserved mushrooms from Chile, China, India, and Indonesia for another five years after it found that revoking anti-dumping duty orders would lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury.
- Mountaineer Jot Singh of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has been honoured with Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2014-15.
- Indian Bank launched IndPay mobile app service to enables its customers to operate bank accounts anytime from anywhere.
- Housing ministry identified 305 cities in nine states to build houses for poor in urban areas by 2022 for two crore families in economically weaker section (EWS).
- HDFC Bank slashed its base rate (the minimum rate at which banks lend) by 0.35 % to 9.35 %.
- 15th IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) World Championships in Athletics Beijing (China)
- 1933 Atheletes from 206 countries particpiated in 47 Events.
- Kenya topped the medal tally for the first time, Followed by Jamaica on second and USA at Third.
- Host China was 11th. Russia, the overall winner of 2013 ended at 9th place.
- India stayed at 65th place in overall medal tally with no medals won. However, India's Lalita Babar finished eighth in 3000m steeplechase (Obstacle) event and earned one point for India. This one point gave india 65th place in medal tally.
- India has won only 2 medals in all 15 Athletics world championships held so far. Both by long jumper Anju Bobby George. One bronze was won by her in 2003 championships in Paris and one gold medal in 2005 championships in Monaco.
- Usain Bolt (Jamaica) won 3 golds in 100m and 200m events and as a part of 4*400m relay.
- Next (16th) IAAF world Athletics Championships will be held in London in 2017.
- Medal Tally Top 10 Countries -
Country Gold Silver Bronze Total Kenya 7 6 3 16 Jamaica 7 2 3 12 USA 6 6 6 18 Great Britain 4 1 2 7 Ethiopia 3 3 2 8 Poland 3 1 4 8 Canada 2 3 3 8 Germany 2 3 3 8 Russia 2 1 1 4 Cuba 2 1 0 3
- Government launched a SAHAJ scheme for online release of new LPG connections.
- Indian wrestlers won Two medals at Cadet Wrestling World Championships at SARAJEVO (Bosnia and Herzegovina). Anil won gold medal in the 50 kg freestyle and Ankush won silver in 38 kg women freestyle.
- August 29 - India's National Sports Day - It marks birthday of Legendary Hockey Player Dhyan Chand who won Olympic gold medals for India in year 1928,1932 and 1936.
- National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) generated its highest single-day electricity generation of over 733 million units through its 18 coal-based, 8 solar and hydro and 7 gas-based power Plants.
- Indian women’s hockey team qualified for Rio Olympics 2016 after 36 years as India took the quota place on the basis of its fifth-place finish in women’s Hockey World League Semifinals in Belgium.
- Indian Navy Ships - Betwa and Beas Visited Iran while Trikand visited Spain.
- Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting - Rajyavardhan Rathore visited Zimbabwe.
- Law Commission of India (Headed by Ajit Prakash Shah) submitted its Report No. 261 on Need to Regulate Pet Shops and Dog and Aquarium Fish Breeding by stating that pet shops and breeders violate provisions of animal welfare laws with impunity, and it is necessary to regulate their practices.
- Government Launched first lecture award in honour of M.G.K. Menon, renowned Physicist who has contributed to development of science and technology in India. One of his contributions is nurturing the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (Mumbai) that his mentor Homi J. Bhabha founded in 1945.
- South African Cricketer AB de Villiers became fastest batsman to reach 8000 One Day International runs in 182 innings. He broke previous record of Indian Sourav Ganguly who took 200 innings for the same.
- NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya launched second version of India Energy Security Scenarios 2047 (IESS 2047) as an open source web based tool aims to explore range of potential future energy scenarios for India.
- Reliance Communications sigend an agreement with USA's Jasper Technologies to offer Internet of Things (IoT) services in India.
- IoT is a network of internet connected devices with electronic sensors like cars, power systems and even tooth brushes. Data from IOT Devices will be transmitted to other devices and data processing systems and information generated will be used by companies and individuals to make better decisions. There will be over 100 billion IoT based devices in world by 2025.
- Telangana Government appointed Kandakatla Manohar as Director of Nizams Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) (Hyderabad).
- Air India won Guru Tegh Bahadur Hockey title by defeating Army XI 3-1.
- Thiru Onam (Thiruvonam) festival celebrated acrossKerala, marking birthday of Sri Padmanabham, the presiding deity of Thiruvananthapuram.
- Vassiliki Thanou has been appointed as Greece's First female prime minister. She will lead the country till elections to be held on 20 September.
- NDMC (North Delhi Municipal Corporation) will rename Aurangzeb road in Delhi as APJ Abdul Kalam road.
- Rajiv Mangla has been appointed as Chief Technology Officer of e-Commerce firm Snapdeal.
- Government approved six 6 Special Economic Zones (SEZs) proposals including HCL IT City Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Loma IT Park in Mumbai (Maharashtra) and North Mumbai International Commodity Township in Thane (Maharashtra). SEZs do about 25 % of the Indias total exports.
- Indian agricultural scientist Modadugu Vijay Gupta has been chosen for inaugural Sunhak Peace Prize for his work in developing sustainable aquaculture as a solution to future food crisis (Blue revolution). He will share this awards with Kiribati's president Anote Tong.
- Government launched e-payment module to make payments into Compensatory Afforestation Management Planning Authority (CAMPA) Funds to make payments for diversion of forest land more transparent. The e-payment module has designated accounts for States in which forest land is to be diverted.
- Footballer Lionel Messi (Argentina) has been voted as UEFA's Best season Player in a Europe-wide poll.
- Maharashtra government bought Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar's house in London where he stayed in 1920s in 3.1 million pounds deal.
- India lost case against USA at World Trade Organisation 's Dispute Settlement Body related to Indias requirement of only domestic solar equipments for its Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. USA complained against India's JNNSM that favoured to use made in India solar equipments by stating that its is against trade norms as US Companies are looking at JNNSM as a big business potential. Earlier in June 2015, WTO ruled against Indias ban on import of poultry meat, eggs and live pigs from USA.
- President of Seychelles, James Alix Michel visited India.
- Ministry of Civil Aviation and ASSOCHAM organized 8th International Conference on Indian Civil Aviation & Tourism in New Delhi.
- Google developed The Google Cultural Institute as an initiative to make Indias heritage accessible for global audiences and to preserve it digitally for generations to come.
- DRDO has tied up with Patanjali Ayurved for marketing of highly nutritional Seabuckthorn based products created by Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR).
- 20th Law Commission of India (Headed by Ajit Prakash Shah) submitted its Reports Number - 258, 259 and 260.
- Report Number 258 - It is about Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials and Officials of Public International Organisations. It proposes to introduce Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials and Officials of Public International Organisations Bill, 2015 in the Parliament aimed at forming framework for offences against foreign Publis officials.
- Report Number 259 - It is about Early Childhood Development and Legal Entitlements. It suggests several constitutional amendments to make sure proper education and care for children under 6 years age.
- Article 24A be inserted to Part III of Constitution to make child’s right to basic care and assistance becomes an enforceable right.
- Article 21A of Constitution should be amended to extend right to education to children in under-6 age group as well.
- Article 51 A(k) should be amended so that fundamental duty of parents to provide education is placed on every citizen.
- Section 11 of Right to Education Act should be made mandatory that enforces Government to make arrangements for providing free pre-school education to children between age of 3 - 6 Years.
- Report Number 260 -It is about Analysis of the 2015 Draft Model Indian Bilateral Investment Treaty. It presents views to assist Government of India in achieving a balanced negotiating text that takes into consideration protection of Indian investors investing abroad and also safeguards regulatory powers of India.
- Government granted 800 crores under Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana to Karnataka for setting up feeder line to provide 24 hours quality power supply to farmers.
- Tennis star Novak Djokovic (Serbia) has been made new goodwill ambassador for United Nations Children's Fund, (UNICEF).
- Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) D6 that carried India's latest communication satellite GSAT-6. It is second for the ISRO scientists by using indigenously made cryogenic stage launch of GSLV-D5. ISRO is sixth space agency in world after US, Russia, Japan, China and France to have indigenous cryogenic engine crucial for launching heavier satellites of over two tonnes.
- Government extended tenure of 7th Central Pay Commission headed by Justice Ashok Kumar Mathur for 4 months extension (up to 31 December 2015).
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Kazakhstan signed an agreement to create world's first internationally-controlled bank of low-enriched uranium to ensure fuel supplies IAEA Member nations and prevent nuclear proliferation.
- Former Crieketer Dilip Vengsarkar has been elected as president of Association of Indian Statisticians and scorers of India.
- Wealth-X report on Top 20 Wealthiest People Under 35 -
- Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is wealthiest under 35 with personal worth 41.6 billion USD.
- Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz is second with net worth of 9.3 billion USD. Huiyan Yang (China) is third with net worth 5.9 billion USD.
- 11 of world’s top 20 wealthiest individuals under 35 are from USA, 3 from China and 3 from Switzerland.
- Youngest individual on list is Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel (25 years) with net worth 1.9 billion USD.
- No Indian is featured on the list.
- The top 10 are -
Rank
Individual
Company
Net Worth
1
Mark Zuckerberg
Facebook Inc
41.6 billion USD
2
Dustin Moskovitz
Asana
9.3 billion USD
3
Huiyan Yang
Country Garden Holdings
5.9 billion USD
4
Eduardo Saverin
99
5.3 billion USD
5
Scott Daniel Duncan
Enterprise Products Partners
5.0 billion USD
6
Elizabeth A Holmes
Theranos
4.5 billion USD
7
Nathan Blecharczyk
AIRBNB
3 billion USD
8
Brian Chesky
AIRBNB
3 billion USD
9
Joe Gebbia
AIRBNB
3 billion USD
10
Thomas Persson
Hennes & Mauritz
2.7 billion USD
- Kolkata Port Trust has been named as Major Port of Year 2014-15 at the Gateway Awards 2015 for its growth rate in volumes, capacity utilization and customer satisfaction. Kolkata Dock System and Haldia Dock System under Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) together achieved traffic growth of 23 %, while all other major ports together recorded growth of 5.8 %.
- Three Indians - Pradeep Goyal, Vivekanand Kain, and Gankidi Madhusudhan Reddy and Three Indian Origin Persons - Pranesh Aswath, Suveen Mathaudhu and Muthukumarasamy Sadayappan have been named among 29 Fellows of American Society for Metals (ASM) 2015.
- Rajendra Singh (Quoted as Waterman of India) has been conferred with 2015 Stockholm Water Prize for his water restoration efforts to defeat drought and empowering communities of Rajasthan through his organisation Tarun Bharat Sangh (India Youth Association).
- Government Included Sipai, Patni Jamat, Turk Jamat categories in Gujarat and Kahar and Tanwar SinghariyaCatergories in Uttarakhand in Central List of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) as per advices from National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC).
- Kosovo and Serbia agreed to implement 2013 Brussels Agreement to normalize relations between both the countries. Key Features of Agreement are -
- Serbains in northern Kosovo will enjoy greater rights over issues like local economy and education.
- Kosovo will have a separate international dialing code to end inconvenience of Kosovo's mobile phone users of using Monaco or Slovenian international codes.
- Two sides will share the Mitrovica Bridge (on Ibar River) that separates Albanian and Serbs in north.
- Bharti Airtel acquired Augere Wireless Broadband to expand its 4G operations to nine circles.
- Minister of Urban development M Venkaiah Naidu announced list of 98 cities selected under smart cities mission.
- August 26 - Independence day of Moldova. It marks declaration of independence from Soviet Union in 1991.
- Make In India Awards for Excellence – 2015 -
- Total 46 Companies have been awarded in 46 Categories.
- Lewis Hamilton (England) won Belgian Grand Prix 2015 -
- 2015 Formula One season -
- Total 19 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2015. Calendar is -
-
Grand Prix Date Winner Australia 15 March Lewis Hamilton (UK) Malaysia 29 March Sebastian Vettel (Germany) China 12 April Lewis Hamilton (UK) Baharain 19 April Lewis Hamilton (UK) Spain 10 May Nico Rosberg (Germany) Monaco 24 May Nico Rosberg (Germany) Canada 7 June Lewis Hamilton (UK) Austria 21 June Nico Rosberg (Germany) Britain 5 July Lewis Hamilton (UK) Hungary 26 July Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Belgium 23 August Lewis Hamilton (UK) Italy 6 September Singapore 20 September Japan 27 September Russia 11 October USA 25 October Mexico 1 November Brazil 15 November Abu Dhabi 29 November
- Trick for remembering recent F1 Races Winners so far (Based on data till Belgian Grand Prix held onAugust 25, 2015) -
- All countries starting with A, B and C except Austria WON by Lewis Hamilton (England)
- Hungary and Malaysian Races have been Won by Sebastian Vettel (Germany) (remember - Sabastian was HUNGRY in MALAYSIA) :)
- All other races including Austria have been won by Nico Rosberg (Germany).
- Andhra Pradesh Government will open call centres for verification and monitoring of claims To increase efficiency of claim settlement process for unorganised workers.
- Sri Lanka appointed former Cricketer Kumar Sangakkara as Sri Lankas ambassador to UK.
- PM Narendra Modi inaugurated birth centenary (100 years) celebrations of Nagaland's freedom fighter Rani Gaidinliu by issuing Commemorative coin of 100 rupees and circulation coin of 5 rupees.
- Rajasthan government launched a Three month Arogya Rajasthan campaign for collection and compilation of health data of rural population in Rajasthan by issuing health cards based on spot diagnoses.
- Russia and China Joint naval exercise called Joint Sea II held in Sea of Japan and off the coast of Russias Primorsky territory.
- Scientists in a study led by CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad identified THSD7A Gene as primarily responsible for obesity (Excessive Body Fat) in Indians.
- Indian-American Vince Chhabria has been appointed as full-time federal judge of California court in USA.
- Chhattisgarh capital Raipur will host 2015 Final of second edition of FIH World Hockey League to be held November - 6 December 2015.
- Rajasthan High Court Banned Santhara - Jain practice of facing death voluntarily at the end of one's life, terming it as a criminal offence under Section 306 of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
- Noted Journalist Pranab Kumar Borah passed away.
- Fortune's First Change the World List of 51 companies making significant progress in major social problems as a part of their business strategies.
- UK based Vodafone and Kenya based safaricom are jointly ranked no.1. Joint service of Vodafone and Safaraicom lets people without bank accounts to transfer money by phones. 42 % of Kenyas GDP is transacted through it.
- Search engine Google (Alphabet) is econd in List, Toyota automobile is third while retail giant Walmart is at fourth.
- In Asia, Bangladesh based Grameen Bank is at 12th position.
- Ancient Urdu Copy of Shri Ramcharitmansa written by Shiv Brat Lal in 1904 found in delhi.
- Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RGI) released Population by Religious Communities data on Census 2011.
- As per the Census 2011, Total Population in 2011 was 121.09 crores.
Religion
Population
Hindu
96.63 crores (79.8%)
Muslim
17.22 crores (14.2%)
Christian
2.78 crores (2.3%)
Sikh
2.08 crores (1.7%)
Buddhist
0.84 crores (0.7%)
Jain
0.45 crores (0.4%)
Other Religions & Persuasions
0.79 crores (0.7%)
Religion Not Stated
0.29 crores (0.2%)
- Growth Rate -
- Growth rate of population in the decade 2001-2011 was 17.7 %. Break up is Hindus - 16.8 %; Muslims 24.6 % Christians 15.5 %, Sikhs 8.4 %.
- Muslim population grew at a faster rate than the Hindu population, but gap between the two growth rates is narrowing fast. The Growth rate difference in 2001 - 2011 was 7.84% (24.6-16.8) while in 1991-2001, the difference in growth rate was 9.6% (29.52 - 19.92).
- Washington-based Center for Global Development (CGD) released report on future of tropical deforestation from 2016-2050.
- Study says that if no proper forestration policies are imlemented then by 2050, 14 % (289 million hectares) tropical forests (size equal to India) will be deforested. It will add 169 billion tons of carbon dioxide into atmosphere by 2050, equivalent to running 44000 coal-fired power plants for a year.
- August 25 - Uruguay's Independence Day. It marks Independence from Brazil in 1825.
- India signed an Agreement with Afghanistan on judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters for service of summons, judicial documents, execution of judgements and arbitral awards.
- Government approved signing an agreement with Oman for mutual legal and judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters.
- Neerja Mathur has been appointed as a Member of Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) for Goa & Union Terrirtories.
- Girish Sahni has been appointed as Director General of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR).
- Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad released a commemorative Rs. 5 postal stamp on Indian emperor Ashoka.
- Madanlal Laxmandas Tahaliyani is appointed as Lokayukta of Maharashtra.
- Rana Kapoor has been re-appointmented as MD and CEO of Yes bank for 3 years.
- External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited Egypt. India and egypt signed Memorandum of Co-operation in Tourism and technical Cooperation.
- NITI Aayog decided to set up an experts committee to prepare a model land leasing law to be adopted by states as per their local needs. States agreed that land leasing, updating of land records and land titling would be win-win steps for all affected parties.
- Indias High Commissioner to Singapore- Vijay Singh Thakur received Asian of the Year 2014 award by leading Singapore daily The Straits Times.
- Yasutaro Koide of Japan received Guinness World Records certificate as he is formally recognized as the worlds oldest man alive at 112 years.
- Gujarat became first Indian state to launch Agro-solar policy. Under this, farmers will tap energy from the sun by installing solar power equipments in their fields. This will help farmers earn additional income from power generation companies. Farmers and power generation companies will both gain by such innoative generation of solar energy in agricultural fields.
- UK's Minister of State for International Development Desmond Swayned Visited India.
- He called for closer ties with India and announced United Kingdom's funding a capacity building programme for making Kolkata a low carbon city under UK-Kolkata Municipal Corporation joint programme.
- He also called for strengthening ties with Other states specially Odisha.
- Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) signed a memorandum of understanding with Gift Special Economic Zone of Gujarat International Finance Tec-City for setting up an electronic platform for trading in different asset classes for international investors.
- Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju announced to implement Sendai framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 at a workshop on Enhancing Private Sector Partnership for Disaster Risk Reduction in New Delhi. Sendai Framework was adopted at World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan in March 2015.
- War museums inaugerated at military stations of Jaisalmer and Longewala in Rajasthan to showcase bravery of Indian Army.
- Battle of Longewala (4–7 December 1971) was one of first engagements in Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. 120 Indian Soldiers defeated over 2000 Pakistani Soldiers alng with destroying over 1000 Tanks, Marking a new milestone in traditional bravery of Indian Army.
- Sports Authority of India launched School Sports Promotion Foundation to tap sporting talent at the school level by reaching out to around 100000 schools. Foundation will organise sports tournaments across country to identify talent and will nurture them accordingly.
- Australias Minister for Education and Training Christopher Pyne Visited India -
- He attended Third Annual Australia-India Education Council (AIEC) meeting.
- Australia agreed to extend BRIDGE (Building Regional Intercultural Dialogue and Growing Engagement ) school partnerships project to include Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) in India.
- India and Australia signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in education, research and training.
- August 24 - Ukraine's Independence Day. It marks Independence from Soviet Union in 1991.
- Information Technology and Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad launched SEHAT Initiative in collaboratio with Apollo Hospitals to give rural citizens access to information, skills and other services in various sectors through digital technologies. Aim is to empower the vision of Digital India.
- Dronacharya Awards, Dhyan Chand Awards and Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar 2015 -
- Dronacharya Awards (Instituted in 1985) -
S.No
NAME OF THE COACH
DISCIPLINE
1
Shri Naval Singh
Athletics-Para-sports
2
Shri Anoop Singh
Wrestling
3
Shri Harbans Singh
Athletics- Lifetime
4
Shri Swatantar Raj Singh
Boxing- Lifetime
5
Shri Nihar Ameen
Swimming-Lifetime
- Dhyan Chand Awards 2015 (Instituted in 2002) -
S. No.
NAME OF THE SPORTSPERSON
DISCIPLINE
1
Mr. Romeo James
Hockey
2
Mr. Shiv Prakash Mishra
Tennis
3
Mr. T.P.P. Nair
Volleyball
- Rashtriya Khel Protsahana Purushkar 2015 (instituted in 2009)
Sl. No.
Category
Entity recommended for Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Purushkar, 2015
1.
Identification and nurturing of budding /young talent
Directorate General of Military Training
2.
Encouragement to sports through Corporate Social Responsibility
Coal India Limited
3.
Employment of sportspersons and sports welfare measures
Haryana Police
4.
Sports for Development
Sports Coaching Foundation, Hyderabad
- Delhi Jal Board commissioned Delhi's first Hydro-power plant at Chilla area of east Delhi. It can generate upto 20000 KWH of electricity per year.
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and India's Chennai based MS Swaminathan Research Foundation will work for conservation of coastal resources in Andhra Pradesh to overcome consequences of sea level rise and water inundation.
- Syrian journalist Zaina Erhaim won Peter Mackler Award 2015 for Courageous and Ethical Journalism for her efforts to train citizen reporters in syria - a war-ravaged country.
- Cincinnati Masters Tennis 2015 -
- Men's Singles - Serena Williams (USA) won second title after defeating Simona Halep of Romania.
- Women's Singles - Roger Federer (Switzerland) won for seventh time by defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia.
- U Mumba won the second version of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi by defeating Bengaluru Bulls.
- India's 17 year old Aditi Ashok became youngest ever and first Indian winner of Ladies British Amateur golf championship at Leeds (United Kingdom).
- Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkara retired from International Cricket.
- Amol Palekar has been appointed as chairman of India’s Oscar jury, which will select India's official entry in best foreign film category of 88th Academy Awards (Oscars).
- As per a recent statement by RBI Governor Raghuram G Rajan - India has about $380 Billion USD foreign exchange reserves to tackle the volatility in the currency market.
- Finance Minister Arun Jaitley inaugerated Bandhan Bank- first commercial bank from Eastern India to get RBI clearance since independence.
- Kolkata (West Bengal) Based Bandhan Bank appointed Ashok Kumar Lahiri as Chairman and Chandra Shekhar Ghosh as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. It started banking operations with 501 branches opened across 22 states and 250 ATMs.
- Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Petroleum & Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan visited Nepal.
- Eminent Sanskrit Scholar and Indologist NR Varhadpande passed away.
- Former Jammu University VC Amitabh Mattoo has been appointed Advisor to J&K CM Mufti Sayeed.
- Government issued norms for selection of MDs and CEOs for Public Sector Banks due to resistance arising after recent appointment of two private sector professionals as Chiefs of Canara Bank and Bank of Baroda.
- Top post in PSBs would be filled from existing executive directors / deputy managing directors in government banks.
- Selection will be done on the basis of Interview of 50 Marks and Annual Performance Appraisal Reports (APARs) of five years of 50 marks.
- Government will sell 10 % stake (24.27 crore shares) in Indian Oil Corporation worth INR 9,500 crore rupees.
- Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy launched Scheme to provide free laptops to students passing 12th from Government Higher Secondary Schools in 2013-14 and 2014-15.
- Bharti Airtel tied-up with Uber Cabs to allowing Uber riders to pay using Airtels mobile wallet service and be able to use free high-speed internet from Uber powered by Airtel 4G.
- To popularize India Handloom brand, Government has created a policy framework to promote e-marketing of handloom products through e-commerce firms.
- Indian Badminton player Saina Nehwal has been ranked No 1 in world, leaving behind Carolina Marin (Spain) by 2,180 points. She also signed a INR 25 Crore Deal with management company IOS Sports & Entertainment.
- Jamaica's Sprinter Usain Bolt won Gold in 100 Metre Race in World Championships in Athletics 2015 in Beijing (China).
- 21 Aug - World Senior Citizen's Day.
- Modern Thought Leaders- Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial Lectures (1997-2014)’ has been edited by Anil Shastri, (son of Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri).
- Forum for India-Pacific Island Countries (FIPIC)'s second Summit hosted by India in Jaipur (Rajasthan).
- Indian PM Narendra Modi announced plans to open a new space research and satellite monitoring station on the Fiji Islands to provide India with an independent satellite tracking capacity. India presently relies on US and Australia for monitoring its satellites over the Pacific.
- Second FIPIC summit was attended by leaders of all 14 Pacific Islands countries - Fiji, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
- India to establish information technology labs in each Pacific Island country.
- Ranil Wickremesinghe has been appointed as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka for fourth time following his party's
- August 31 - Independence Day of Trinidad and Tobago. It marks independence from United Kingdom in 1962.
- August 31 - Independence Day of Malaysia. It marks independence from United Kingdom in 1957.
- August 31 - Independence Day of Kyrgyzstan. It marks independence from USSR in 1991.
- PM Narendra Modi released digital version of Ramcharitmanas as a set of digital CDs produced by All India Radio.
- Rajiv Mehrishi has been appointed as Union Home Secretary of India replacing L.C.Goyal.
- Sunil Arora has been appointed as Secretary in Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.
- Minister of Steel & Mines, Narendra Singh Tomar Visited Australia to Attend ‘AIMEX- 2015’ to Be Held During 1st to 4th September, 2015 at Sydney. AIMEX Stands for - Asia Pacific’s International Mining Exhibition.
- K. Vijay Raghavan is appointed as Secretary in Ministry of Earth Sciences.
- Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Harsh Vardhan launched web enabled project management information system for Department of Biotechnology (DBT) projects at URL http://dbtepromis.nic.in. It will help registration of new investigators, online submission of proposals and Online tracking of projects.
- United States International Trade Commission (USITC) extended the anti-dumping duty on preserved mushrooms from Chile, China, India, and Indonesia for another five years after it found that revoking anti-dumping duty orders would lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury.
- Mountaineer Jot Singh of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has been honoured with Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2014-15.
- Indian Bank launched IndPay mobile app service to enables its customers to operate bank accounts anytime from anywhere.
- Housing ministry identified 305 cities in nine states to build houses for poor in urban areas by 2022 for two crore families in economically weaker section (EWS).
- HDFC Bank slashed its base rate (the minimum rate at which banks lend) by 0.35 % to 9.35 %.
- 15th IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) World Championships in Athletics Beijing (China)
- 1933 Atheletes from 206 countries particpiated in 47 Events.
- Kenya topped the medal tally for the first time, Followed by Jamaica on second and USA at Third.
- Host China was 11th. Russia, the overall winner of 2013 ended at 9th place.
- India stayed at 65th place in overall medal tally with no medals won. However, India's Lalita Babar finished eighth in 3000m steeplechase (Obstacle) event and earned one point for India. This one point gave india 65th place in medal tally.
- India has won only 2 medals in all 15 Athletics world championships held so far. Both by long jumper Anju Bobby George. One bronze was won by her in 2003 championships in Paris and one gold medal in 2005 championships in Monaco.
- Usain Bolt (Jamaica) won 3 golds in 100m and 200m events and as a part of 4*400m relay.
- Next (16th) IAAF world Athletics Championships will be held in London in 2017.
- Medal Tally Top 10 Countries -
Country Gold Silver Bronze Total Kenya 7 6 3 16 Jamaica 7 2 3 12 USA 6 6 6 18 Great Britain 4 1 2 7 Ethiopia 3 3 2 8 Poland 3 1 4 8 Canada 2 3 3 8 Germany 2 3 3 8 Russia 2 1 1 4 Cuba 2 1 0 3
- Government launched a SAHAJ scheme for online release of new LPG connections.
- Indian wrestlers won Two medals at Cadet Wrestling World Championships at SARAJEVO (Bosnia and Herzegovina). Anil won gold medal in the 50 kg freestyle and Ankush won silver in 38 kg women freestyle.
- August 29 - India's National Sports Day - It marks birthday of Legendary Hockey Player Dhyan Chand who won Olympic gold medals for India in year 1928,1932 and 1936.
- National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) generated its highest single-day electricity generation of over 733 million units through its 18 coal-based, 8 solar and hydro and 7 gas-based power Plants.
- Indian women’s hockey team qualified for Rio Olympics 2016 after 36 years as India took the quota place on the basis of its fifth-place finish in women’s Hockey World League Semifinals in Belgium.
- Indian Navy Ships - Betwa and Beas Visited Iran while Trikand visited Spain.
- Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting - Rajyavardhan Rathore visited Zimbabwe.
- Law Commission of India (Headed by Ajit Prakash Shah) submitted its Report No. 261 on Need to Regulate Pet Shops and Dog and Aquarium Fish Breeding by stating that pet shops and breeders violate provisions of animal welfare laws with impunity, and it is necessary to regulate their practices.
- Government Launched first lecture award in honour of M.G.K. Menon, renowned Physicist who has contributed to development of science and technology in India. One of his contributions is nurturing the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (Mumbai) that his mentor Homi J. Bhabha founded in 1945.
- South African Cricketer AB de Villiers became fastest batsman to reach 8000 One Day International runs in 182 innings. He broke previous record of Indian Sourav Ganguly who took 200 innings for the same.
- NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya launched second version of India Energy Security Scenarios 2047 (IESS 2047) as an open source web based tool aims to explore range of potential future energy scenarios for India.
- Reliance Communications sigend an agreement with USA's Jasper Technologies to offer Internet of Things (IoT) services in India.
- IoT is a network of internet connected devices with electronic sensors like cars, power systems and even tooth brushes. Data from IOT Devices will be transmitted to other devices and data processing systems and information generated will be used by companies and individuals to make better decisions. There will be over 100 billion IoT based devices in world by 2025.
- Telangana Government appointed Kandakatla Manohar as Director of Nizams Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) (Hyderabad).
- Air India won Guru Tegh Bahadur Hockey title by defeating Army XI 3-1.
- Thiru Onam (Thiruvonam) festival celebrated acrossKerala, marking birthday of Sri Padmanabham, the presiding deity of Thiruvananthapuram.
- Vassiliki Thanou has been appointed as Greece's First female prime minister. She will lead the country till elections to be held on 20 September.
- NDMC (North Delhi Municipal Corporation) will rename Aurangzeb road in Delhi as APJ Abdul Kalam road.
- Rajiv Mangla has been appointed as Chief Technology Officer of e-Commerce firm Snapdeal.
- Government approved six 6 Special Economic Zones (SEZs) proposals including HCL IT City Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Loma IT Park in Mumbai (Maharashtra) and North Mumbai International Commodity Township in Thane (Maharashtra). SEZs do about 25 % of the Indias total exports.
- Indian agricultural scientist Modadugu Vijay Gupta has been chosen for inaugural Sunhak Peace Prize for his work in developing sustainable aquaculture as a solution to future food crisis (Blue revolution). He will share this awards with Kiribati's president Anote Tong.
- Government launched e-payment module to make payments into Compensatory Afforestation Management Planning Authority (CAMPA) Funds to make payments for diversion of forest land more transparent. The e-payment module has designated accounts for States in which forest land is to be diverted.
- Footballer Lionel Messi (Argentina) has been voted as UEFA's Best season Player in a Europe-wide poll.
- Maharashtra government bought Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar's house in London where he stayed in 1920s in 3.1 million pounds deal.
- India lost case against USA at World Trade Organisation 's Dispute Settlement Body related to Indias requirement of only domestic solar equipments for its Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. USA complained against India's JNNSM that favoured to use made in India solar equipments by stating that its is against trade norms as US Companies are looking at JNNSM as a big business potential. Earlier in June 2015, WTO ruled against Indias ban on import of poultry meat, eggs and live pigs from USA.
- President of Seychelles, James Alix Michel visited India.
- Ministry of Civil Aviation and ASSOCHAM organized 8th International Conference on Indian Civil Aviation & Tourism in New Delhi.
- Google developed The Google Cultural Institute as an initiative to make Indias heritage accessible for global audiences and to preserve it digitally for generations to come.
- DRDO has tied up with Patanjali Ayurved for marketing of highly nutritional Seabuckthorn based products created by Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR).
- 20th Law Commission of India (Headed by Ajit Prakash Shah) submitted its Reports Number - 258, 259 and 260.
- Report Number 258 - It is about Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials and Officials of Public International Organisations. It proposes to introduce Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials and Officials of Public International Organisations Bill, 2015 in the Parliament aimed at forming framework for offences against foreign Publis officials.
- Report Number 259 - It is about Early Childhood Development and Legal Entitlements. It suggests several constitutional amendments to make sure proper education and care for children under 6 years age.
- Article 24A be inserted to Part III of Constitution to make child’s right to basic care and assistance becomes an enforceable right.
- Article 21A of Constitution should be amended to extend right to education to children in under-6 age group as well.
- Article 51 A(k) should be amended so that fundamental duty of parents to provide education is placed on every citizen.
- Section 11 of Right to Education Act should be made mandatory that enforces Government to make arrangements for providing free pre-school education to children between age of 3 - 6 Years.
- Report Number 260 -It is about Analysis of the 2015 Draft Model Indian Bilateral Investment Treaty. It presents views to assist Government of India in achieving a balanced negotiating text that takes into consideration protection of Indian investors investing abroad and also safeguards regulatory powers of India.
- Government granted 800 crores under Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana to Karnataka for setting up feeder line to provide 24 hours quality power supply to farmers.
- Tennis star Novak Djokovic (Serbia) has been made new goodwill ambassador for United Nations Children's Fund, (UNICEF).
- Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) D6 that carried India's latest communication satellite GSAT-6. It is second for the ISRO scientists by using indigenously made cryogenic stage launch of GSLV-D5. ISRO is sixth space agency in world after US, Russia, Japan, China and France to have indigenous cryogenic engine crucial for launching heavier satellites of over two tonnes.
- Government extended tenure of 7th Central Pay Commission headed by Justice Ashok Kumar Mathur for 4 months extension (up to 31 December 2015).
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Kazakhstan signed an agreement to create world's first internationally-controlled bank of low-enriched uranium to ensure fuel supplies IAEA Member nations and prevent nuclear proliferation.
- Former Crieketer Dilip Vengsarkar has been elected as president of Association of Indian Statisticians and scorers of India.
- Wealth-X report on Top 20 Wealthiest People Under 35 -
- Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is wealthiest under 35 with personal worth 41.6 billion USD.
- Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz is second with net worth of 9.3 billion USD. Huiyan Yang (China) is third with net worth 5.9 billion USD.
- 11 of world’s top 20 wealthiest individuals under 35 are from USA, 3 from China and 3 from Switzerland.
- Youngest individual on list is Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel (25 years) with net worth 1.9 billion USD.
- No Indian is featured on the list.
- The top 10 are -RankIndividualCompanyNet Worth1Mark ZuckerbergFacebook Inc41.6 billion USD2Dustin MoskovitzAsana9.3 billion USD3Huiyan YangCountry Garden Holdings5.9 billion USD4Eduardo Saverin995.3 billion USD5Scott Daniel DuncanEnterprise Products Partners5.0 billion USD6Elizabeth A HolmesTheranos4.5 billion USD7Nathan BlecharczykAIRBNB3 billion USD8Brian CheskyAIRBNB3 billion USD9Joe GebbiaAIRBNB3 billion USD10Thomas PerssonHennes & Mauritz2.7 billion USD
- Kolkata Port Trust has been named as Major Port of Year 2014-15 at the Gateway Awards 2015 for its growth rate in volumes, capacity utilization and customer satisfaction. Kolkata Dock System and Haldia Dock System under Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) together achieved traffic growth of 23 %, while all other major ports together recorded growth of 5.8 %.
- Three Indians - Pradeep Goyal, Vivekanand Kain, and Gankidi Madhusudhan Reddy and Three Indian Origin Persons - Pranesh Aswath, Suveen Mathaudhu and Muthukumarasamy Sadayappan have been named among 29 Fellows of American Society for Metals (ASM) 2015.
- Rajendra Singh (Quoted as Waterman of India) has been conferred with 2015 Stockholm Water Prize for his water restoration efforts to defeat drought and empowering communities of Rajasthan through his organisation Tarun Bharat Sangh (India Youth Association).
- Government Included Sipai, Patni Jamat, Turk Jamat categories in Gujarat and Kahar and Tanwar SinghariyaCatergories in Uttarakhand in Central List of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) as per advices from National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC).
- Kosovo and Serbia agreed to implement 2013 Brussels Agreement to normalize relations between both the countries. Key Features of Agreement are -
- Serbains in northern Kosovo will enjoy greater rights over issues like local economy and education.
- Kosovo will have a separate international dialing code to end inconvenience of Kosovo's mobile phone users of using Monaco or Slovenian international codes.
- Two sides will share the Mitrovica Bridge (on Ibar River) that separates Albanian and Serbs in north.
- Bharti Airtel acquired Augere Wireless Broadband to expand its 4G operations to nine circles.
- Minister of Urban development M Venkaiah Naidu announced list of 98 cities selected under smart cities mission.
- August 26 - Independence day of Moldova. It marks declaration of independence from Soviet Union in 1991.
- Make In India Awards for Excellence – 2015 -
- Total 46 Companies have been awarded in 46 Categories.
- Total 46 Companies have been awarded in 46 Categories.
- Lewis Hamilton (England) won Belgian Grand Prix 2015 -
- 2015 Formula One season -
- Total 19 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2015. Calendar is -
Grand Prix Date Winner Australia 15 March Lewis Hamilton (UK) Malaysia 29 March Sebastian Vettel (Germany) China 12 April Lewis Hamilton (UK) Baharain 19 April Lewis Hamilton (UK) Spain 10 May Nico Rosberg (Germany) Monaco 24 May Nico Rosberg (Germany) Canada 7 June Lewis Hamilton (UK) Austria 21 June Nico Rosberg (Germany) Britain 5 July Lewis Hamilton (UK) Hungary 26 July Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Belgium 23 August Lewis Hamilton (UK) Italy 6 September Singapore 20 September Japan 27 September Russia 11 October USA 25 October Mexico 1 November Brazil 15 November Abu Dhabi 29 November
- Trick for remembering recent F1 Races Winners so far (Based on data till Belgian Grand Prix held onAugust 25, 2015) -
- All countries starting with A, B and C except Austria WON by Lewis Hamilton (England)
- Hungary and Malaysian Races have been Won by Sebastian Vettel (Germany) (remember - Sabastian was HUNGRY in MALAYSIA) :)
- All other races including Austria have been won by Nico Rosberg (Germany).
- Total 19 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2015. Calendar is -
- 2015 Formula One season -
- Andhra Pradesh Government will open call centres for verification and monitoring of claims To increase efficiency of claim settlement process for unorganised workers.
- Sri Lanka appointed former Cricketer Kumar Sangakkara as Sri Lankas ambassador to UK.
- PM Narendra Modi inaugurated birth centenary (100 years) celebrations of Nagaland's freedom fighter Rani Gaidinliu by issuing Commemorative coin of 100 rupees and circulation coin of 5 rupees.
- Rajasthan government launched a Three month Arogya Rajasthan campaign for collection and compilation of health data of rural population in Rajasthan by issuing health cards based on spot diagnoses.
- Russia and China Joint naval exercise called Joint Sea II held in Sea of Japan and off the coast of Russias Primorsky territory.
- Scientists in a study led by CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad identified THSD7A Gene as primarily responsible for obesity (Excessive Body Fat) in Indians.
- Indian-American Vince Chhabria has been appointed as full-time federal judge of California court in USA.
- Chhattisgarh capital Raipur will host 2015 Final of second edition of FIH World Hockey League to be held November - 6 December 2015.
- Rajasthan High Court Banned Santhara - Jain practice of facing death voluntarily at the end of one's life, terming it as a criminal offence under Section 306 of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
- Noted Journalist Pranab Kumar Borah passed away.
- Fortune's First Change the World List of 51 companies making significant progress in major social problems as a part of their business strategies.
- UK based Vodafone and Kenya based safaricom are jointly ranked no.1. Joint service of Vodafone and Safaraicom lets people without bank accounts to transfer money by phones. 42 % of Kenyas GDP is transacted through it.
- Search engine Google (Alphabet) is econd in List, Toyota automobile is third while retail giant Walmart is at fourth.
- In Asia, Bangladesh based Grameen Bank is at 12th position.
- Ancient Urdu Copy of Shri Ramcharitmansa written by Shiv Brat Lal in 1904 found in delhi.
- Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RGI) released Population by Religious Communities data on Census 2011.
- As per the Census 2011, Total Population in 2011 was 121.09 crores.ReligionPopulationHindu96.63 crores (79.8%)Muslim17.22 crores (14.2%)Christian2.78 crores (2.3%)Sikh2.08 crores (1.7%)Buddhist0.84 crores (0.7%)Jain0.45 crores (0.4%)Other Religions & Persuasions0.79 crores (0.7%)Religion Not Stated0.29 crores (0.2%)
- Growth Rate -
- Growth rate of population in the decade 2001-2011 was 17.7 %. Break up is Hindus - 16.8 %; Muslims 24.6 % Christians 15.5 %, Sikhs 8.4 %.
- Muslim population grew at a faster rate than the Hindu population, but gap between the two growth rates is narrowing fast. The Growth rate difference in 2001 - 2011 was 7.84% (24.6-16.8) while in 1991-2001, the difference in growth rate was 9.6% (29.52 - 19.92).
- As per the Census 2011, Total Population in 2011 was 121.09 crores.
- Washington-based Center for Global Development (CGD) released report on future of tropical deforestation from 2016-2050.
- Study says that if no proper forestration policies are imlemented then by 2050, 14 % (289 million hectares) tropical forests (size equal to India) will be deforested. It will add 169 billion tons of carbon dioxide into atmosphere by 2050, equivalent to running 44000 coal-fired power plants for a year.
- August 25 - Uruguay's Independence Day. It marks Independence from Brazil in 1825.
- India signed an Agreement with Afghanistan on judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters for service of summons, judicial documents, execution of judgements and arbitral awards.
- Government approved signing an agreement with Oman for mutual legal and judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters.
- Neerja Mathur has been appointed as a Member of Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) for Goa & Union Terrirtories.
- Girish Sahni has been appointed as Director General of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR).
- Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad released a commemorative Rs. 5 postal stamp on Indian emperor Ashoka.
- Madanlal Laxmandas Tahaliyani is appointed as Lokayukta of Maharashtra.
- Rana Kapoor has been re-appointmented as MD and CEO of Yes bank for 3 years.
- External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited Egypt. India and egypt signed Memorandum of Co-operation in Tourism and technical Cooperation.
- NITI Aayog decided to set up an experts committee to prepare a model land leasing law to be adopted by states as per their local needs. States agreed that land leasing, updating of land records and land titling would be win-win steps for all affected parties.
- Indias High Commissioner to Singapore- Vijay Singh Thakur received Asian of the Year 2014 award by leading Singapore daily The Straits Times.
- Yasutaro Koide of Japan received Guinness World Records certificate as he is formally recognized as the worlds oldest man alive at 112 years.
- Gujarat became first Indian state to launch Agro-solar policy. Under this, farmers will tap energy from the sun by installing solar power equipments in their fields. This will help farmers earn additional income from power generation companies. Farmers and power generation companies will both gain by such innoative generation of solar energy in agricultural fields.
- UK's Minister of State for International Development Desmond Swayned Visited India.
- He called for closer ties with India and announced United Kingdom's funding a capacity building programme for making Kolkata a low carbon city under UK-Kolkata Municipal Corporation joint programme.
- He also called for strengthening ties with Other states specially Odisha.
- Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) signed a memorandum of understanding with Gift Special Economic Zone of Gujarat International Finance Tec-City for setting up an electronic platform for trading in different asset classes for international investors.
- Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju announced to implement Sendai framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 at a workshop on Enhancing Private Sector Partnership for Disaster Risk Reduction in New Delhi. Sendai Framework was adopted at World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan in March 2015.
- War museums inaugerated at military stations of Jaisalmer and Longewala in Rajasthan to showcase bravery of Indian Army.
- Battle of Longewala (4–7 December 1971) was one of first engagements in Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. 120 Indian Soldiers defeated over 2000 Pakistani Soldiers alng with destroying over 1000 Tanks, Marking a new milestone in traditional bravery of Indian Army.
- Sports Authority of India launched School Sports Promotion Foundation to tap sporting talent at the school level by reaching out to around 100000 schools. Foundation will organise sports tournaments across country to identify talent and will nurture them accordingly.
- Australias Minister for Education and Training Christopher Pyne Visited India -
- He attended Third Annual Australia-India Education Council (AIEC) meeting.
- Australia agreed to extend BRIDGE (Building Regional Intercultural Dialogue and Growing Engagement ) school partnerships project to include Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) in India.
- India and Australia signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in education, research and training.
- August 24 - Ukraine's Independence Day. It marks Independence from Soviet Union in 1991.
- Information Technology and Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad launched SEHAT Initiative in collaboratio with Apollo Hospitals to give rural citizens access to information, skills and other services in various sectors through digital technologies. Aim is to empower the vision of Digital India.
- Dronacharya Awards, Dhyan Chand Awards and Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar 2015 -
- Dronacharya Awards (Instituted in 1985) -S.NoNAME OF THE COACHDISCIPLINE1Shri Naval SinghAthletics-Para-sports2Shri Anoop SinghWrestling3Shri Harbans SinghAthletics- Lifetime4Shri Swatantar Raj SinghBoxing- Lifetime5Shri Nihar AmeenSwimming-Lifetime
- Dhyan Chand Awards 2015 (Instituted in 2002) -S. No.NAME OF THE SPORTSPERSONDISCIPLINE1Mr. Romeo JamesHockey2Mr. Shiv Prakash MishraTennis3Mr. T.P.P. NairVolleyball
- Rashtriya Khel Protsahana Purushkar 2015 (instituted in 2009)Sl. No.CategoryEntity recommended for Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Purushkar, 20151.Identification and nurturing of budding /young talentDirectorate General of Military Training2.Encouragement to sports through Corporate Social ResponsibilityCoal India Limited3.Employment of sportspersons and sports welfare measuresHaryana Police4.Sports for DevelopmentSports Coaching Foundation, Hyderabad
- Dronacharya Awards (Instituted in 1985) -
- Delhi Jal Board commissioned Delhi's first Hydro-power plant at Chilla area of east Delhi. It can generate upto 20000 KWH of electricity per year.
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and India's Chennai based MS Swaminathan Research Foundation will work for conservation of coastal resources in Andhra Pradesh to overcome consequences of sea level rise and water inundation.
- Syrian journalist Zaina Erhaim won Peter Mackler Award 2015 for Courageous and Ethical Journalism for her efforts to train citizen reporters in syria - a war-ravaged country.
- Cincinnati Masters Tennis 2015 -
- Men's Singles - Serena Williams (USA) won second title after defeating Simona Halep of Romania.
- Women's Singles - Roger Federer (Switzerland) won for seventh time by defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia.
- U Mumba won the second version of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi by defeating Bengaluru Bulls.
- India's 17 year old Aditi Ashok became youngest ever and first Indian winner of Ladies British Amateur golf championship at Leeds (United Kingdom).
- Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkara retired from International Cricket.
- Amol Palekar has been appointed as chairman of India’s Oscar jury, which will select India's official entry in best foreign film category of 88th Academy Awards (Oscars).
- As per a recent statement by RBI Governor Raghuram G Rajan - India has about $380 Billion USD foreign exchange reserves to tackle the volatility in the currency market.
- Finance Minister Arun Jaitley inaugerated Bandhan Bank- first commercial bank from Eastern India to get RBI clearance since independence.
- Kolkata (West Bengal) Based Bandhan Bank appointed Ashok Kumar Lahiri as Chairman and Chandra Shekhar Ghosh as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. It started banking operations with 501 branches opened across 22 states and 250 ATMs.
- Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Petroleum & Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan visited Nepal.
- Eminent Sanskrit Scholar and Indologist NR Varhadpande passed away.
- Former Jammu University VC Amitabh Mattoo has been appointed Advisor to J&K CM Mufti Sayeed.
- Government issued norms for selection of MDs and CEOs for Public Sector Banks due to resistance arising after recent appointment of two private sector professionals as Chiefs of Canara Bank and Bank of Baroda.
- Top post in PSBs would be filled from existing executive directors / deputy managing directors in government banks.
- Selection will be done on the basis of Interview of 50 Marks and Annual Performance Appraisal Reports (APARs) of five years of 50 marks.
- Government will sell 10 % stake (24.27 crore shares) in Indian Oil Corporation worth INR 9,500 crore rupees.
- Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy launched Scheme to provide free laptops to students passing 12th from Government Higher Secondary Schools in 2013-14 and 2014-15.
- Bharti Airtel tied-up with Uber Cabs to allowing Uber riders to pay using Airtels mobile wallet service and be able to use free high-speed internet from Uber powered by Airtel 4G.
- To popularize India Handloom brand, Government has created a policy framework to promote e-marketing of handloom products through e-commerce firms.
- Indian Badminton player Saina Nehwal has been ranked No 1 in world, leaving behind Carolina Marin (Spain) by 2,180 points. She also signed a INR 25 Crore Deal with management company IOS Sports & Entertainment.
- Jamaica's Sprinter Usain Bolt won Gold in 100 Metre Race in World Championships in Athletics 2015 in Beijing (China).
- 21 Aug - World Senior Citizen's Day.
- Modern Thought Leaders- Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial Lectures (1997-2014)’ has been edited by Anil Shastri, (son of Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri).
- Forum for India-Pacific Island Countries (FIPIC)'s second Summit hosted by India in Jaipur (Rajasthan).
- Indian PM Narendra Modi announced plans to open a new space research and satellite monitoring station on the Fiji Islands to provide India with an independent satellite tracking capacity. India presently relies on US and Australia for monitoring its satellites over the Pacific.
- Second FIPIC summit was attended by leaders of all 14 Pacific Islands countries - Fiji, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
- India to establish information technology labs in each Pacific Island country.
- Ranil Wickremesinghe has been appointed as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka for fourth time following his party's
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