06.GA JUNE-2014

CSB, Ch-17, Ph: 044-24333346 GA/June2014/Page-1

CURRENT AFFAIRS JUNE-2014

List of Important Days June 1 - Global Day of Parents June 5 - World Environment Day

(Theme: Small Islands and Climate Change.) June 12 - World Day against Child Labour

(Theme: Extend Social Protect Combat Child Labour) June 14 - World Blood Donor Day

(Theme: World Blood Day campaign is Safe Blood for Saving Mothers) June 17 - World Day to Combat Desertification June 20 - World Refugees Day June 21 - World Music Day June 23 - United Nations Public Service Day June 26 - International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking June 28 - Poors Day

Reserve Bank of India Second Bi-monthly monetary policy Statement - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced

second Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement on June 23, 3014. The RBI has kept the policy rates unchanged in this statement. Based on the assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation the following changes has been taken ) The repo rate under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) unchanged at 8.0%. ) The Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks unchanged at 4% of Net Demand and Time

Liabilities (NDTL). ) Reduced the Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR), of scheduled commercial banks by 50 basis points

from 23% to 22.5% of their NDTL with effect from June 14, 2014. ) Introduce a special term repo facility of 0.25% of NDTL to compensate fully of the reduction in

access to liquidity under the ECR with immediate effect. ) The policy is continued to provide liquidity under 7-day and 14-day term repos for up to 0.75%

of NDTL of the banking system. ) The reverse repo rate under the LAF remained unchanged at 7% and the Marginal Standing

Facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 9%.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on June 29, 2014 said that India and the US have agreed to implement Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), a US law that targets tax non-compliance by US taxpayers with foreign accounts.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed commercial banks to appoint Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) as Business Correspondents (BCs). As per the notification issued by the apex bank on June 24, 2014, only non-deposit taking NBFCs will be eligible to act as banks BCs.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) permitted all residents and non-residents (except citizens of Pakistan and Bangladesh and other travellers coming from and going to these two countries) to take out Indian currency notes up to Rs.25000 while leaving the country.

State Bank of India State Bank of India closed 2013-14 with a 22.8 per cent reduction in its annual profit mainly due to

high overheads and provisioning.


Other Banks NABARD Reduced Rates of Refinance - NABARD has reduced the rate of interest by 20 basis

points (bps) on their long term refinance facility to banks with an objective to promote investments in agriculture. The new rates will be applicable from June 6, 2014. Rates of refinance will now be 9.50% for 5 years and above and 9.70% for 3-5 years period, Banks availing more than Rs.500 crore in a single drawl will further be incentivised by 10 bps.

Bharatiya Mahila Bank Included in the Second Schedule to the RBI Act 1934 Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB), Indias first all-women bank, has been included in the second schedule to the RBI Act 1934. With the inclusion in the second schedule or commercial bank category, the bank has become eligible for loans from RBI on bank rate and also gets membership of clearing houses. To focus on the banking needs of women and promote economic empowerment is one of the main objectives of BMB. At present, the loan portfolio of the BMB is about Rs.80-90 crore. It offers loan to girl child at a concessional rate which is 1% lower than the normal rates.

Credit Suisse has agreed to pay a $2.5 billion fine to authorities in the United States for helping Americans evade taxes after becoming the largest bank in 20 years to plead guilty to a U.S. criminal charge.

The European Central Bank launched a raft of measures on June 5, 2014 to fight low inflation and boost the eurozone economy, cutting rates, imposing negative interest rates on its overnight depositors and offering banks new long-term funds. The ECB cut all its main rates to record lows in a drive to fight off the risk of Japan-like deflation and bring down the euros exchange rate. For the first time, it will charge banks 0.10 per cent for parking funds at the central bank overnight. Projections published by the ECB showed inflation would be just 0.7 per cent this year, 1.1 per

cent next year and 1.4 per cent in 2016, a downward revision and far below the ECBs target of below but close to 2 per cent. The ECB lowered the deposit rate to -0.1 per cent. It cut its main refinancing rate to 0.15 per cent, and the marginal lending rate or emergency borrowing rate to 0.40 per cent.

The funds held by Indians with banks in Switzerland rose by over 40% during 2013, from about 1.42 billion Swiss francs at the end of previous year, as per the latest data released on June 19, 2014 by the countrys central banking authority Swiss National Bank (SNB) Indians money is Swiss banks increased to over two billion Swiss francs (nearly Rs.14000 crore),

despite a global clampdown against the famed secrecy wall of Switerzland banking system.

Central Government Rapid Rail Corridors to Alwar, Meerut, Panipat got Delhi Nod The Delhi government approved

the alignments of the three Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridors on June 11, 2014. These corridors will connect the capital with Panipat, Meerut and Alwar. These three alignments were recommended by the National Capital Regional Planning Board (NCRPB).

Cabinet Raised Retirement Age to 60 years The State Cabinet approved enhancement in the prescribed age of retirement on superannuation in the case of government servants in service on June 1, 2014 or appointed on or after that date, from the present 58 years to 60 years.

After successfully connecting Kshipra river with Narmada, Madhya Pradesh government has approved Narmada-Malwa-Gambhir Link Project with an estimated cost of Rs.2143 crore on June 18, 2014. The project was approved during a meeting of Narmada Control Board chaired by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Pension Scheme for Farmers Approved Uttarakhand Cabinet approved two popular schemes including a pension scheme for farmers and a scheme to air-lift doctors to remote areas of the State on June 5, 2014. The pension scheme would benefit all those farmers doing farming on two hectare piece of land adding that farmers will get a monthly pension of Rs.800 under this scheme. Under the air-lift scheme, doctors and pharmacists along with medicines will be air-lifted to remote villages, where they will attend to patients for a month and then will be replaced by another group of doctors.


Uttar Pradesh Budget 2014-15 - Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akilesh Yadav, on June 20, 2014, presented a tax free budget of a size of Rs.274705 crore for financial year 2014-15, with a deficit estimated at Rs.4132 crore. With losses in Lok Sabha elections not far behind, the SP government has done a reassessment of its governance strategies in the state. Keen on bringing the focus back on development initiatives, no provision has been made for free laptop, Kanya Vidyadhan and unemployment allowance. Main features of Budget are: The budgetary provisions are higher by 24% as compared to the 2013-14. Government has given thrust on infrastructure facilities like roads, bridges, irrigation and power

sector, making a provision of Rs.49108 crore, about 82% more than last time. While a provision of Rs.41538 crore has been made for the Education Sector, the government has

raised allocation for the medical health and family welfare by 34% to Rs.14377 crore. Beside a provision of Rs.25522 crore has been made under the head of SC/ST, backward,

handicapped and minorities welfare. Rs.50 crore for a Scheme of rural road scheme named after the partys late leader Ram Saran Das. Rs.2424 crore for the governments ambitious Samajwadi Pension Scheme that targets 40 lakh

families. Rs.7625 crore for agriculture and associated services, 15% more than last time. It has an allocation of Rs.3250 crore for the six lane Lucknow-Agra 300 km long expressway. Besides a sum of Rs.1613 crore has been made available for old age and Kisan Pension Scheme. The Budget also has the provision of Rs.95 crore for the Lucknow Metro Project. The state government has also the provisions of Rs.12400 crore for modernisation of police force. Provision of Rs.23928 crore for improving power scenario. A provision of Rs.178 crore for the National Food Security Mission scheme. Rs.1838 crore for commencing the 11.11 km extension of Metro Rail Project in Ghaziabad.

The Union Government extends the tenure of Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth for six months. This is the second extension for the top bureaucrat.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi decides to discontinue four Standing Committees and reconstitute some crucial Cabinet Committee, including those on Security, Political Affairs, Economic Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs.

Pakistan hikes its defence budget by 11 percent from Rs.627 billion to Rs.700 billion with the Finance Minister Ishaq Dar saying the government cannot be oblivious to national security challenge amid a surge in Taliban insurgency.

The Indian Railways on June 20, 2014 effected the largest-ever hike in recent times by increasing the passenger fares by 14.2 per cent and freight charges by 6.5 per cent. The hike took effect from June 25, 2014.

The Omar Abduullah government in Jammu and Kashmir has proposed a Rs.5,800 crore Prime Ministers Reconstruction Programme aimed at incentivising Kashmir Pandits to return to the Valley. The rehabilitation package includes providing security and jobs for the returning Pandits and repair of their houses that were burnt or destroyed.

Rs.60234 Crore Overrun in Water Projects in Maharashtra The Maharashtra government has seen Rs.60,234 crore cost overrun in its irrigation projects, says a report by the Comptroller and Auditor-General. The report on the management of irrigation projects was submitted to the State Assembly on June 14, 2014 leaving the Water Resources Department red faced.

The Union government deferred the nationwide implementation of the food security law by three months. Food and Supplies Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on June 26, 2014 announced that the States and Union Territories have been given three months to implement the National Food Security Act (NFSA).


The Union government on June 24, 2014 announced to have 33% reservation for women in police forces in all seven Union Territories (UTs) including Delhi, a proposal that was initiated by the previous UPA regime. Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel also announced 33% reservation for women in the police force.

The Indian government in the third week of June, 2014 ratified an Additional Protocol with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a Vienna-based global nuclear watchdog. This ratification can be leveraged to boost energy security and lift international confidence but India will now also inform the watchdog about its nuclear exports.

The government of Rajasthan on June 30, 2014 declared Camel as the State Animal. The step has been taken to check the diminishing number of camels in the State.

The Madhya Pradesh government on June 17, 2014 approved the Narmada-Malwa-Gambhir Link Project (NMGLP) and sanctioned an amount of Rs.2143 crore for the river linking project.

Narmada Control Authority (NCA) on June 12, 2014 gave its approval to Gujarat government to raise the height of Sardar Sarovar Dam on Narmada River in Kevadia to 138.68m from present 121.92m.

The Union Home Ministry on June 23, 2014 rejected the Ministry of External Affairs proposal to grant visa-on-arrival facility to Bangladeshi nationals and visa-free entry to citizens of that country under the age of 18 and over the age of 65.

The government on June 27, 2014 upgraded the National Industrial Classification (NIC) Code from NIC-1987 to NIC-2008 in effort to make the business climate in the country more investor friendly.

The Union government on June 26, 2014 fixed Minimum Export Price (MEP) of (4) 450 per tonne for potatoes, in a drive to boost local supplies to contain inflation.

States Maharashtra got its sixth tiger reserve on July 1, 2014 as the Ministry of Environment and Forests

(MoEF) approved the States proposal to notify Bor Wildlife Sanctuary in Wardha district as a Tiger Reserve.

Maharashtra state cabinet on June 25, 2014 cleared a proposal to grant 16% reservations to Marathas and 5% reservations to Muslims in jobs and educational institutions.

Delhi government on June 16, 2014 announced that Delhi has became the first kerosene-free city in the country. This feat was achieved after implementation of the Delhi. A Kerosene-Free Scheme launched in 2012 under which no subsidized kerosene were being issued in Delhi.

Shimla Twenty-four engineering students of the VNR Institute of Engineering and Technology in Hyderabad were feared drowned in river Beas in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh on June 8, 2014.

Place in News Militants captured Iraqs largest oil refinery Baiji refinery on June 17, 2014. The Baiji refinery is

located in Salaheddin province, north of Baghdad in Iraq. Three-day Uttarkhand Assembly session was held at Gairsain in Chamoli from June 9-11, 2014. The

assembly session of Uttarakhand was held for the first time outside the capital city, Dehradun, since its formation in 2000.

Bhilai (Chhattisgarh) - In the biggest industrial accident in recent years, at least six employees of Bhilai steel plant were killed and over 30 injured after a gas leak on June 12, 2014.

Mumbai (Maharashtra) Mumbai got the first Metro after a wait of seven years on June 8, 2014. The Metro links Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar or as it is called the VAG Corridor. Line 1 of the Mumbai Metro is operated by Mumbai Metro One Private Limited (MMOPL), a joint venture company formed by Reliance infrastructure, Veolia Transport and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).


Chinnapuliyur (Tamilnadu) The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) started drilling its first-ever well in the Palar basin at Chinnapuliyur village about 55km from Chennai.

Patan-based 11th century stepwell Rani-ki-Vav has been approved as a World Heritage site by UNESCO on June 22, 2014, while describing it as an exceptional example of technological development in utilizing ground water resources.

Surat become the first city in the country to have a modern, real-time CCTV surveillance network on June 11, 2014.

Gariphema village in Nagaland has been declared the countrys first tobacco-free village on May 31, 2014. The declaration was made by Principal Secretary R. Benchilo Thong on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day at the Gariphema Village Council hall near Kohima.

Buoyed by success of Amma Drinking Water and Amma Unavagamn, the government has come out with Amma Salt, an affordably priced quality common salt made by the Tamil Nadu Salt Corporation (TNSC) for the benefit of the weaker sections. Chief Minister Jayalalithaa launched the scheme on June 11, 2014.

West Bengal States 20th District is Born Aimed at expediting government services, West Bengals Jalpaiguri district is being bifurcated to create a new district of Alipurduar. The announcement was made by Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee on June 20, 2014. The States 20th district came into existence June 25, 2014.

The annual Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra (Chariot Festival) began on June 29, 2014 at Puri of Odisha. Ancient Pyu cities became the first site from Myanmar to be inscribed on the UNESCOs World

Heritage Site List.

Personalities Former captain of Bangladesh Mohammad Ashraful on June 18, 2014 was banned for eight years by

the disciplinary panel set-up by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). He was found guilty on four charges of fixing matches in Bangladesh Premier League of 2013.

International football governing body FIFA on June 25, 2014 suspended Uruguay footballer Luis Suarez for nine matches and also imposed a ban for four months from any football activity for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini. Suarez has also been fined 65700 for the incident.

Defence and National Security Akash Successfully Test-fired India successfully test-fired the medium-range surface-to-air

missile Akash from a defence base in Odisha on June 18, 2014. The indigenously developed missile, with a 27-km range and an effective ceiling of 15 km, was test-fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Balasore district, 230 km from Bhubaneswar.

INS-Vikramaditya Dedicated to the Nation Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated INS-Vikramaditya to the nation on June 14, 2014. With this, Indias largest warship, INS-Vikramaditya has been inducted into Indian Navy.

India test-fired the 290 km range BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise missile from the INS-Kolkata (a new warship) off the coast of Karwar in Karnataka on June 9, 2014. The INS-Kolkata is yet to be formally inducted into the Navy and will have capability to launch 16 BrahMos missiles in one go when it enters operational service.

Bilateral Exercise Garuda-V Performed The Indian Air Force (IAF) and French Air Force (FAF) commenced the bilateral exercise Garuda-V on June 2, 2014 at Jodhpur Airbase. The bilateral air exercise is fifth in the series that end on June 13, 2014. The aim of the exercise is to enhance operational co-operation and to validate capabilities.


The Indian Navy has embarked on an ambitious path of whole heartedly embracing Green Initiatives. Admiral RK Dhowan, Chief of the Naval Staff, has stressed on the need to implement measures which would cover all aspects operations, administration, maintenance, infrastructure and community living. To start with a framework to measure the energy consumption level has been initiated. Based upon its findings, future energy reduction goals would be identified.

Navy Gets Three Fast Attack Craft Adding strength to the Eastern Naval Commands mandate of maritime safety and security of the offshore development areas (ODAs) and coastal security, three fast attack craft were commissioned by Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command Vice Admiral Anil Chopra in Visakhapatnam on June 4, 2014. The three Immediate Support Vessels (ISVs) T-35, T-36 and T-37 constituting the 83rd Squadron are lightly-armed surface craft capable of operating at high seas as well as in coastal waters.

Terror Attack on Indian Consulate in Heart Heavily-armed terrorists attacked the Indian consulate in Herat on May 23, 2014 and were repulsed by the Indo-Tibetan Border police guards stationed at the diplomatic outpost in western Afghanistan.

India, on June 30, 2014, successfully launched five foreign satellites from four countries on board Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C23 (PSLV-C 23) rocket which placed them in orbit. ISROs PSLV-C23 was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh and carried five satellites belonging to four countries namely France, Germany, Canada and Singapore.

Committees/Commissions A panel headed by Parthasarathi Shome, on June 16, 2014, recommended abolishing the post of

Revenue Secretary as part of needed reforms in the tax administration. It is also said the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and the Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC) should be merged to achieve efficiencies.

The Reserve Bank of India will soon come up with Indias first payments bank, which will offer deposit and payment services but not provide loans. This idea is in line with the recommendations made by the Nachiket Mor Committee. The central bank sees huge potential for financial inclusion with focus on remittances by involving payment system product. As per the RBI, while full-service banks require an entry capital Rs.500 crore, payments banks can start operations with a capital of just Rs.50 crore since all their money will be invested in safe government securities. They will be required to comply with all RBI guidelines for commercial banks.

According to the recommendations of Nachiket Mor Committee Permission should be given to existing banks to create subsidiaries to operate payments banks. Payments banks may be created by converting prepaid payment issuers (PPIs). These companies

provide cards that customers can use to make payments with the money stored in them. There are 27 PPIs in the country, including Itz Cash Card Limited, Oxigen Services (India) Private Limited and Airtel M-Commerce Services Limited.

Former Indian Cricket captain Sourav Ganguly joined the Mudgal Committee on IPL spot-fixing as an expert on cricketing affairs on June 8, 2014.

Schemes/Initiatives Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict An international protocol for dealing with

rape and sexual violence in conflict was launched on June 11, 2014 at a historic London summit on the issue, providing guidelines on the investigation of sex crimes and the collection of evidence for future prosecutions.

Performance Ratings of Banks Customer Services to be made Public from 2015 - From 2015, performance ratings of Banks on customer services will be put in public domain by Banking Codes Standards Board of India (BCSBI). BCSBI is rating banks on customer services on 5 parameters

Information dissemination; Transparency; Customer centricity; Grievance redressal system; Customer feedback.


BCSBI rated 48 banks for customer service of which only 5 scored high ratings; 25 were rated above average; 17 average; and one below average. The ratings will be made public in 2015. However, banks are not allowed to use these ratings to solicit business.

Under the new visa scheme for jointly announced by the UK and Ireland, Indian and Chinese tourists will get a single visa to travel to these countries. The announcement was made by Irelands Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald on June 17, 2014.

Summit/Conference Organisation for security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Japan Conference was held in

Tokyo from June 16-17, 2014. This was for the fourth time that Japan had hosted the OSCE Conference since 2000 when annual conferences with the Asian partners started. The theme of the Conference was creating a safer, more interconnected and fairer world in the face of emerging challenges in the larger OSCE area.

A two-day meeting involving members of Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and its Asian partners for cooperation was held on June 16-17 in Japans capital Tokyo. The theme of the Conference was creating a safer, more interconnected and fairer world in the face of emerging challenges in the larger OSCE area.

The 40th G-7 Summit 2014 was held in Belgiums capital Brussels at the Council of the European Union (EU) from June 4-5, 2014.

Agreement/Deal/Sign/Talk Last US Prisoner of War in Afghanistan Bowe Bergadahl was freed in swap deal with Taliban on

June 1, 2014.

6th International Nuclear Energy Forum ATOMEXPO-2014 was held from June 9-11, 2014 in Moscow. The ATOMEXPO-2014 forum saw signing of international agreements and memorandums by the nuclear sector companies.

G-7 Warned Russia President Obama and Group of Seven allies stated that Russia must meet new conditions or face the prospect of new sanctions over its aggression in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin must recognize President-elect Petro Poroshenko as the new leader of Ukraine, stop shipping arms across the Ukraine Russia border and stop supporting pro-Russian separatists in his neighbouring country. Obama stated that if Russiss provocations continue, then the G-7 nations are ready to impose

additional costs on Russia in the form of more sanctions. The G-7 will help Ukraine and other nations reduce their dependence on Russia energy supplies. The allies further vowed to work together to address climate change.

India became the 17th Member of the Washington Accord A long wait for India ended on June 13, 2014 when the country became a permanent member of the Washington Accord (WA), an esteemed international treaty on engineering studies and mobility of engineers across signatory countries including the US, the UK and Australia. Permanent membership reflects on the countrys stature in the technical education space.

CSIR & IMD Collaborated for Joint Production of Drishti System In a major development in the field of aviation safety CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR - NAL), Bangalore and India Meteorological Department (IMD) inked a partnership pact for joint production of Drishti System; a sophisticated instrument for assessment of Runway visual range, which is a vital parameter for safe landing and take-off of aircraft in poor visibility.

General Framework Agreement Signed Russia has in-principle agreed on the Indian nuclear liability law on June 11, 2014 which had been impeding progress in the Unit-3 and 4 of Kudankulam nuclear power plant. India and Russia signed a General Framework Agreement on Unit-3 and 4 in April, 2014 after crossing the initial hurdles of the Civil Liability Nuclear Damage Act, 2010.


IICA Signed MoU on CSR Implementation The Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) and Grant Thornton India have signed a Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) to develop capacity of Indian companies to implement their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) effectively.

Asom Agriculture University and ICAR Signed MoU 638th Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) of the country has come into existence under the aegis of Asom Agricultural University, Johart with the signing of Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) between Asom Agriculture University and ICAR on June 5, 2014. The Krishi Vigyan Kendra will function for promoting agricultural and allied sectors in the district Baksa of Asom.

Credit Agreement with World Bank for MRWSSP Union government of India signed a credit agreement of $ 165 million with World Bank for Maharashtra Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Programme (MRWSSP) on May 30, 2014. Objective To improve the performance of Maharashtras sector institutions in planning,

implementation and monitoring of its Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Program. To improve access to quality and sustainable services in peri-urban villages and in water-stressed and water quality-affected areas.

West Bengal, Maharashtra Ink Pact on Victims of Trafficking The governments of West Bengal and Maharashtra have signed a Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) to ensure identification and repatriation of women and children who are victims of trafficking on June 3, 2014.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraininan President elect Petro Poroshenko hold their first talks since Moscow annexed Crimea, discussing ways to end their four-month conflict in a brief encounter during commemorations in France of the World War II D-Day landings.

The Union Cabinet on June 25, 2014 approved an in principle memorandum of understanding (MoU) between India and China for setting up industrial parks in the country.

The Uttar Pradesh government signed Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) worth Rs.54606 crore on June 12, 2014, including a Rs.220-crore project for a personal rapid transit (pod taxi) system in Noida.

Sri Lanka and Seychelles on June 28, 2014 signed six agreements of bilateral importance. The agreements were signed in capital Victoria between Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his counterpart James Michael during the formers two-day visit to the country.

India and China on June 30, 2014 signed three Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs), in the fields of commerce, water resources and human resources development.

These agreements were signed after delegation level talks between Hamid Ansari, the Vice-President of India and his Chinese counterpart Li Yuanchao at Chinese Parliament called Great Hall of People in Beijing.

Ukraines President Petro Poroshenko, signed a landmark economic trade pact with the European Union (EU) on June 26, 2014 at a ceremony in Brussels.

India and Pakistan agreed to allow the use of the trade gate at Attari Integrated Check Post in Amirtsar district of Punjab, for medical emergencies during the daily retreat ceremony in the evening at Wagah border. The decision was taken during the Customs Liaison Border Committee meeting held between the customs officials of both nations in Pakistan in the third week of June, 2014.

Engineers India Limited (EIL), a public-sector undertaking of the government of India, on June 18, 2014, inked a $ 139 million consultancy deal for a 20 million tonne refinery and polypropylene plant being built in Nigeria by Dangote Group.


Meet/Visit The African Unions Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) unanimously restored the membership

of Egypt into the apex body of African nations on June 18, 2014. The decision was reached at the meeting of the 15-member states of AUPSC in Addis Ababa, Egypt. With this restoration, Egypt became eligible to participate in the PSC and African Summit to be held later in June, 2014 in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea.

Chinas Foreign Minister Visited India Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was on a two-day visit to India from June 8-9, 2014. This was the first contact between the two governments after the election in India. In the first high-level interaction with the new dispensation here, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on June 8, 2014 held talks with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj and discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in key areas including trade and investment.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius was on a two-day official visit to India from June 30, 2014 to establish the first high-level contact with the new government. On July 1, 2014 he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Singapores Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam arrived in New Delhi on June 30, 2014 for a five-day trip aimed to strengthen bilateral cooperation.

Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj concluded her three-day goodwill visit to Bangladesh on June 27, 2014.

Dmitry O Rogozin, the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, was on a two-day visit to India from June 18 to 19, 2014. During the visit, he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and held talks on crucial bilateral issues including trade and energy security.

Prime Minster Narendra Modi was on a two-day official visit to Bhutan from June 15-16, 2014. The visit reinforced the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries as the two sides exchanged views and held discussions on bilateral relations and economic cooperation as well, as cooperation in regional and multilateral forums.

The Prime Minister unveiled the Foundation Stone of the 600 MW Kholongchu Hydropower Project. He also inaugurated the Supreme Court Complex in Bhutan.

The African Unions Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) on June 18, 2014 unanimously restored the membership of Egypt into the apex body of African nations. The decision was reached at the meeting of the 15-member states of AUPSC in Addis Ababa, Egypt.

Bills Britain published the worlds first Modern Slavery Bill on June 11, 2014 under which perpetrators

of the heinous crime will be jailed for life. The Modern Slavery Bill is the first of its kind in Europe, and one of the first in the world, to specifically address slavery and trafficking in the 21st century. India is among the Top-10 countries of origin for poor people who are trafficked into Britain.

Quebec became First Province to Adopt Right-to-Die In a historic vote in the National Assembly, Quebec has become the first province to legalise doctor-assisted death as part of comprehensive end-of-life legislation on June 5, 2014. Bill 52, An Act respecting end-of-life care, received broad support from nearly 80% of MNAs. Other countries where Euthanasia is legal are 1. The Netherlands 2. Belgium 3. Luxembourg. Assisted suicide is allowed in some countries like 1. Switzerland 2. Oregon, Washington and Vermont (USA)

Bill to put Complete Ban on Dance Bars Maharashtra Assembly approved the Bill to amend the Dance Bar Prohibition Act on June 13, 2014. This amendment has prohibited dance performances in three-star and five-star hotels by terming that licenses of the dance bars stand cancelled and will be withdrawn within 30 days.


Economy/Business Indias Economic Growth Projections - Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development

(OECD) report released on June 11, 2014 stated that India is poised to return to a high growth path while its BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) peers. Brazil, China and Russia are expected to record below-trend growth rates. In the current financial year ending March, 2015, the Reserve Bank of India expects the economy

to pick-up and grow at over 5.5%. Moreover, the formation of a new government with a sufficient majority has revived investor sentiment. For the OECD as a whole, and for the US and Canada, Composite Leading Indicators (CLIs) point to stable growth momentum.

The World Bank released Global Economic Prospects (GEP) report on June 11, 2014 and revised down the economic growth forecasts for developing world in 2014 to 4.8% from 5.3% estimated in January, 2014. It also highlighted that the growth in 2015 and 2016 at 5.4 and 5.5% respectively. The forecast has highlighted that the developing nations are heading forward to third

consecutive year of growth below 5%. In its forecast, the World Bank also claimed that developing nations should make economic reforms to promote growth.

In context of India the report claimed that weakness will be due to subdued manufacturing activity and sharp slowing of investment in the country. Growth in India is projected at 5.5% in fiscal year 2014-15, accelerating to 6.3% in 2015-16 and 6.6% in 2016-17. The release claimed that growth of China would be 7.6% in 2014 but it depends on the success of rebalancing efforts of the country.

Singapore Replaced Mauritius as Top Source of FDI in India Singapore has replaced Mauritius as the top source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into India, accounting for about 25% of FDI inflows in 2013-14. During the last financial year, India attracted $5.98 billion in FDI from Singapore, whereas it was $4.85 billion from Mauritius, according to the data of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

Gold Import Declines The high import duty and supply curbs on gold had a telling effect on demand for the yellow metal gold in the first quarter of calendar 2014 when demand slid 26 per cent to 190.3 tonnes. Figures released by World Gold Councils (WGC) India demand statistics showed that in value terms, it slid 33 per cent to Rs.48,853 crore and 41 per cent in dollar terms to $7.9 billion. Total global jewellery demand rose 3 per cent to 571 tonnes while investment demand fell 2.5 per cent at 282 tonnes.

There has been a 48 percent increase in lending by the non-banking finance companies-micro finance institutions (NBFC-MFIs) during 2013-14.

Indias public debt decreased marginally to Rs.46.25 lakh crore at end-March, 2014, from Rs.46.30 lakh crore at end December, 2013. This represented a quarter-on-quarter decline of 0.1per cent compared with an increase of 3.1 per cent in the previous quarter (Q3 of 2012-13).

Helped by healthy growth in electricity, fertilizers, cement and coal, the output of eight core industries increased 4.2 per cent in April, 2014 up from 2.5 per cent in the previous month.

Despite adverse weather conditions earlier in 2014, the total foodgrain output for 2013-14 is estimated to reach a record level of 264.38 million tonnes as against 257.13 million tonnes achieved the previous year.

Companies/Industry Realty giant DLF has become the countrys first real estate developer to get ISO 9001 : 2008 quality

certification for development of housing and commercial projects.

BHEL Commissioned 68 MW Unit - State-owned power equipment maker Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) commissioned 68 MW unit at the Rampur Hydro Electric Project in Himachal Pradesh on June 13, 2014. The first three units of the Rampur project, which were commissioned earlier by BHEL in March, have been put into commercial operation in May.


Google Bought Satellite Maker Skybox for $500 Million - Google is bought Skybox Imaging in a deal that could serve as a launching pad for the Internet company to send its own fleet of satellite to take aerial pictures and provide online access to remote areas of the world. The $500 million acquisition announced on June 10, 2014 initially will provide Google with the means to improve the quality and immediacy of the satellite imagery used in its digital maps. Google Incorporation plans to use Skyboxs satellite already in orbit to supplement the material that it licenses from more than 1000 sources, including other satellite companies such as Digital Globe and Astrium.

Google Agreed to Provide Right to be Forgotten Google has launched a service to allow European to ask for personal data to be removed from online search results. It will now be possible for Europeans to request Google for the removal of their personal data from online search results. The move comes after a landmark European Union court judgement in May, 2014, which gave people the Right to be Forgotten.

Japans Meiji Holdings Ltd. on June 11, 2014 acquired Bangalore based pharmaceutical firm Medreich for $290 million.

Factory output Rebounds Raising hopes of an upturn, industrial production grew at 3.4 per cent in April, according to official data released on June 12, 2014. Factory output had contracted in the previous two months. The bounce-back came on the back of recovery in output of manufacturing, mining and electricity production and capital goods.

Ranbaxy Labs got an approval from the US food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to launch the first generic version of Diovan (Valsartan) in the US market.

Indian flag carrier airline, Air India received approval to join Star Alliance at a meeting of the alliances Chief Executive Board (CEB) in London on June 23, 2014.

The GMR group, whose agreement developing the Male international airport was unilaterally terminated by the Maldives government late in 2012, won the first round the arbitration proceedings in the matter in Singapore.

AirAsia India, on June 12, 2014, launched its operations in India with its maiden flight from Banglore to Goa. It became the fourth low-cost carrier in the country after IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir, as its first flight took off from the Kempegowda International Airport.

Stock Market SEBI Relaxed Norms to Revitalise IPO Market The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on June 19, 2014 announced to hike public

shareholding in all Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) to a minimum 25%. The move is expected to help the government raise close to Rs.60000 crore through sale of excess shares in 36 state-run firms.

Currently, the rule applies only to private sector companies. The previous minimum public float requirement for Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) was just 10%.

In order to encourage more promoters to tap the IPO market, the SEBI relaxed the minimum dilution criteria. The companies can now sell a minimum 25% stake or Rs.400 crore, whichever is more, in public offerings.

The SEBI also eased of the Offer For Sale (OFS) norms wherein retail investors would be provided with 10% reservation and sellers of shares may also give discounts to retail investors.

Earlier, only top 100 companies were allowed to use the OFS route for share sales other than those wanting to achieve MPS requirement

Exports/Imports Indias Current Account Deficit (CAD) narrowed sharply to 1.7% of GDP for 2013-14 due to decline

in gold imports, although, other non-oil imports also contracted with the weakening of domestic demand. India became the 2nd Largest Exporter of Global Textiles UN India became the second largest exporter of global textiles after China. This was revealed by a recent data released by the UN Comtrade. The apparel exports ranking also improved from 8th position in 2012 to 6th position in 2013.


Exports of leather and leather products increased by 19 per cent to $5.95 billion in 2013-14 from $4.95 billion in 2012-13. However, the Council for Leather Exports has reported exports of $5.90 billion for 2013-14 against $5 billion in the previous year.

Exports of marine products touched 9.84 lakh tones, valued at Rs.30,213.26 crore, in the last fiscal. This translates to $5 billion, which is an all-time record. Sea-food exports grew 5.98 per cent in terms of quantity and 60.23 per cent in terms of rupee value over the previous year.

Led by smart performance of engineering goods, petroleum products and ready made garments, export growth hit a six-month high of 12.4 per cent in May.

During 2013-14, India exported granite blocks worth Rs.12047 crore against Rs.9766 crore in the previous year.

Taxation/Trade Mauritius to Provide Automatic Tax Information Exchange for India - Mauritius Indian-origin

Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam has decided to provide automatic exchange of tax related information with India on May 27, 2014. Mauritius would not allow anybody to abuse or misuse its jurisdiction for any illicit activities.

Space SpaceX Unveiled Dragon V2 Spacecraft A company that has flown unmanned capsules to the

Space Station unveiled a spacecraft designed to ferry up to seven astronauts to low-Earth orbit on May 30, 2014. The cone-headed craft dubbed Dragon V2 featured landing legs and a propulsion system designed to land the manned craft anywhere on land with the accuracy of a helicopter.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has developed high-tech cages to carry rodents from Earth to the International Space Station (ISS) to allow researchers to study the long-term effects of microgravity on mammalian physiology. The Rodent Habitat modules will first fly in August aboard an unmanned SpaceX Dragon cargo ship.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully correct the trajectory of Mars Orbiter Mission it is called trajectory correction manoeuvre (TCM).

Science and Technology The scientists have developed a new biochip sensor that can measure concentrations of glucose in

complex solution similar to human saliva. The advance is an important step toward a device that would enable people with diabetes to test their glucose levels without drawing blood.

Earths Largest Water Reservoir - The researchers believe they have found the Earths largest water reservoir around 643 km underneath North America, inside mantle rock. Though not in the familiar liquid form-the ingredients for water are bound up in rock deep in the Earths mantle.

New System Uses GPS Signals to Measure Sea Level Change The scientists have developed instrument that measures sea level using signals from satellite navigation systems, such as GPS. The researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden found that sea level and its variation can easily be monitored using existing coastal Global Positioning System (GPS) stations.

TGCN Newly Created Graphene-type Material The scientists have created a new material-Triazine-based Graphitic Carbon Nitride (TGCN) similar to graphene, which has the potential to improve transistors used in electronic devices.

Research from the Institute of Bioinformatics (IOB), Bengaluru, as part of a 72-member team, have for the first time deciphered a near complete protein map of human beings. The finding, to be published in leading British Journal nature as a cover feature titled A Draft Map of the Human Proteome, could offer deeper insight into why humans suffer from diabetes, cancer and cardiac problems among other diseases.


NDRI, Karnal Cloned a Female Buffalo Lalima The researchers at the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal have cloned a female buffalo. The calf named Lalima is the worlds first clone to be produced using cells of an adult buffalo.

Light-Sensitive 3D Retina Created Using a type of human stem cell, researchers have now created a three-dimensional (3D) functional human retinal tissue in the laboratory for the first time. The retinal tissue created in the laboratory using human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) includes functioning photoreceptor cells capable of responding to light, the first step in the process of converting it into visual images.

Worlds Smallest, Fastest Nanometer Developed Scientists have developed the smallest, fastest and longest-running tiny synthetic motor to date that can fit inside a cell and spin as fast as a jet engine. The nanometer is an important step towards developing miniature machines that could one day move through the body to administer insulin for diabetics when needed, or target and treat cancer cells.

Japanese scientists, on June 24, 2014, unveiled the worlds first news-reading android at a Tokyo museum of Emerging Science and Innovation.

Health/Nutrition/Diseases/Drugs GE-Banana Developed A genetically-engineered banana to increase the levels of vitamin-A in the

body and improve the lives of millions of people in Africa has been developed by Australian researchers.

Energy/Gas/Oil Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL) has recorded a net profit of Rs.601.18 crore for

the year ended March 31, 2014 against a loss of Rs.756.91 crore it suffered in the previous financial year. For the quarter ended March 31, 2014 the company recorded a net profit of Rs.1,067.04 crore against a loss of Rs.61.90 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Environment Uma Bharti has launched a nationwide tree plantation drive and public awareness programme to

save our rivers on June 17, 2014. The Minister planted saplings on the banks of river Yamuna at Delhi in the memory of victims of Kedarnath tragedy.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) released the Red List of Threatened Species on June 12, 2014. The Japanese Eel has been listed as Endangered whereas the Brazilian Three-banded Armadillo (the mascot of the 2014 FIFA World Cup) remained Vulnerable.

Barack Obama, the US President announced the plans of creating the worlds biggest Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the middle of Pacific Ocean. The White House will extend an existing protected area, known as the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. Fishing and drilling would be banned from an area that could eventually cover 2 million sq.km. The extended zone would double the worlds fully protected marine reserves.

Japan killed 30 Minke whales during April-June, 2014 whaling season as part of its research hunts in the North-West Pacific Ocean. This action of Japan has been reported despite the International Court of Justice (ICJ) had ordered a ban on the country from hunting for such purposes.

Uttar Pradesh government has notified the Pilibhit Wildlife Sanctuary as a tiger reserve with effect from June 9, 2014. The upgrade in the status is expected to strengthen the ongoing tiger conservation efforts in the State.

Indian Navys ambitious naval infrastructure project Seabird in Karwar (Phase-II) has got environment clearance under the new government on June 10, 2014. Another project, setting-up a radar station at Narcondum Island off the Andaman coast, will get the governments green nod soon.


The government has decided to raise the height of the Narmada Dam (Sardar Sarovar Dam) by 17 metres (a longstanding demand of Gujarat) within 20 days of Narendra Modi becoming the Prime Minister, raising protests from activist Medha Patkar who drew attention to the resultant displacement of thousands of people. The Narmada Control Authority (NCA) approved the proposal to raise the dams height from 121.9m to 138.7m, making it the second highest dam in the world after Grand Coulee in the US.

Rhino DNA Indexing System, a DNA-based forensic tool has been developed. The RhODIS, used to investigate and prosecute suspects in cases of rhino poaching, has been on the Assam governments wish-list. The tool involves the collection of each individual rhinos unique DNA profile into a database which can be referenced when presenting legal evidence in cases of rhino poaching.

The United States President Barack Obama orders to curb carbon emission from power plants upto 30 percent by 2030 from 2005 levels.

New Species Discovered Across between a sleek cat and a wide-eyed teddy bear that lives in Andean cloud forests and an eyeless snail that lives in darkness 3,000 feet below ground in Croatia rank among the top 10 new species discovered in 2013. ]

The 2013 Top Ten ) Olinguito (Bassaricyonneblina) ) Kaweesaks Dragon Tree (Dracaena kaweesakii) ) Andrill Anemone (Edwardsiella andrillae) ) Skeleton Shrimp (Liropus minusculus) ) Orange Peniciluum (Penicillium vanoranjei) ) Leaf-tailed Gecko (Saltuarius eximius) ) Amoeboid Protist (Spiculosiphon oceana) ) Clean Room Microbes (Tersicoccus phoenicis) ) Tinkerbell Fairyfly (Tinkerbella nana) ) Domed Land Snail (Zospeum tholussum)

Plastic Tide Causes $ 13 Billion in Damage: UN The dumping of plastic waste into the worlds ocean is causing at least $ 13 billion a year of damage, threatening marine life, tourism and fisheries, the United Nations warned on June 23, 2014 at the launch of a global environment conference.

The number of African elephants slaughtered for their ivory fell in 2013, according to new official data, but the level of killing is still reducing populations and threatening the survival of the species.

Education Private Schools too come Under RTI Act In a significant order, the Central Information

Commission (CIC) has ordered that private schools, whether public authority or not, must provide information on service records and salaries. The order came on an RTI plea by an ex-employee of Jindal Public School with Directorate of Education seeking a certified copy of service book and other details from her past employer.

The Delhi University agreed to the University Grants Commissions call to roll back its controversial Four Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP). Vice-Chancellor Dinesh Singh, on June 27, 2014 issued a statement announcing that FYUP would be strapped.

Punes Fergusson College became the first institution of India to include the category of third gender in its application forms for admission to academic programs in 2014-15.

Transport/Cars/Scooters Solar-Powered Plane Solar Impulse-2, a sun-powered plane made a successful test flight in

Switzerland on June 2, 2014 lasting two hours and 15 minutes.


Films/Film Festival The 67th annual Cannes Film Festival was held from May 14-25, 2014. New Zealand film director

Jane Campion was the head of the jury for the main competition section. The Palms dOr was awarded to the Turkish film Winter Sleep directed by Nuri Bilge Ceyla. Best Director Bennett Miller Best Screenplay - Andrey Zvyacintsev and Oleg Negin Best Actress - Julianne Moore Best Actor - Timothy Spall

Cannes Film Festival Awards Grace Kelly melodrama Grace of Monaco kicked off the 67th May 14, 2014 with classic French Riviera glamour, behind the scenes controversy and emphatic boos from critics.

Awards at a Glance: ) Plame dOr: Winter Sleep, directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan ) Grand Prize: Le Meraviglie (The Wonders), directed by Alice Rohrwacher ) Best Director: Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher ) Jury Prize Tie: Mommy, directed by Xavier Dolan; Goodbye To Language, directed Jean Lue

Godard ) Best Screenplay: Andrey Zvyagintsev, Oleg Negin, Leviathan ) Best Actress: Julianne Moore, Maps To The Stars ) Best Actor: Timothy Spall, Mr Turner ) Camera dOr: Party Girl, directed by Marie Amachoukeli, Claire Burger and Samuel Theis ) Short Film: Leidi, directed by Simon Mesa Soto ) Special Mention: Aissa, directed by Clement Trehin-Lalanne Ja Vi Elsker, directed by Hallvar

Witzo

Media/Telecommunication/IT New gTLDs Made Available by ICANN Wide array of new gLTDs were made available by the

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The move will transform cyberspace. Traditional gTLDs like. com, .org, .net, and even country-specific domains like .in (for India) are likely to take a back seat as companies and individuals vie to get new domain names registered.

Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur unveiled a supercomputer, which ranks fifth in the country in terms of performance and is considered the best for educational institutions. The machine was assembled by a team headed by the IIT-Kanpurs deputy director SC Srivastava.

Expanding its X family of products, Microsoft Devices, which recently acquired Nokias handset business, on May 19, 2014 launched the Nokia XL in the Indian market for Rs.11,489.

Microsoft Unveils 12-Inch Tablet Microsoft Corp unveiled a larger but lighter version of its Surface tablet on May 20, 2014 hoping that the companys expertise in business software will help it take on Apple Inc in mobile devices.

Skype To Get Real Time Translator Microsoft has unveiled a real time language translation feature for its internet phone service Skype that will be available later this year.The demo showed near real time audio translation from English to German and vice versa, combining Skype voice and IM technologies with Microsoft Translator, and neural network-based speech recognition.

Apple Unveils New Tools Apple on June 2, 2014 unveiled tools for tracking health and controlling household appliances and new language for app developers. HealthKit works with a new built-in app on the iOS 8 that will store information above vital signs, fitness and diet. HomeKit can set up an iPhone or iPad to act as the remote control for all digital appliances in a house. Another feature unveiled was QuickType, a predictive text input that completes sentences based on a persons usage pattern.


Portonics announced the launch of its first Wi-Fi portable scanner Scanny 6 Wi-Fi. The device pairs with any mobile phone/Tablet or laptop having a Wi-Fi connection; using a browser or an Android/iOS App.

Reliance Jio Infocomm, a subsidiary of Mukesh Ambani owned Reliance Industries Limited, will launch its high-speed data and voice services on 4-G in India in 2015. This was announced by Chairman Mukesh Ambani on June 18, 2014.

Appointments/Election Political newcomer Andrej Kiska was appointed as Slovakias new president on June 15, 2014,

vowing continued cooperation with the European Union and NATO amid concerns about security in neighbouring Ukraine.

United Nations General Assembly approved the name of Zeid Raad Zeid al-Hussein to head the office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) of the United Nations on June 17, 2014.

Leader of the Telangana movement and president of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao was sworn in as the first Chief Minister of Telangana, as the 29th state of the Indian Union was born on June 2, ringing down the curtain on a 14-year political battle for a separate state.

Senior Missile scientist Sudhir Mishras name has been cleared by the government on June 16, 2014 to take over as the chief of Indo-Russian joint venture BrahMos Aerospace Corporation where he will replace A. Sivathanu Pillai.

Lieutenant General Amit Sharma has been promoted as Army Commander and appointed Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Forces Command, which looks after the nuclear arsenal of the country, on June 13, 2014.

Indian origin scientist Rasik Ravindra has been elected as member of the UNs body that Centers on Oceans and Law of the Sea (UNCLCS), on June 12, 2014 during the 24th Meeting of States Parties of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Veteran legislator Kodela Sivaprasada Rao has been unanimously elected as the first Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh post bifurcation of the state on June 20, 2014.

Juan Manuel Santos from Social National Party was re-elected as the President of Colombia on June 15, 2014.

Ugandas Foreign Affairs Minister, Sam Kahamba Kutesa was elected as the President of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on June 11, 2014.

Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) MLA Sirikonda Madhusudhana Chary, who represents Bhupalapally in Warangal district, was elected unopposed as the first Speaker of the Telangana Legislative Assembly on June 10, 2014.

Petro Poroshenko was sworn-in as the President of Ukraine in Kiev on June 7, 2014. Vice-Admiral Anil Chopra, the second senior most officer of the Indian-Navy, took over as the Flag

Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command (WNC), at ceremonial parade at INS-Shikra on June 7, 2014.

Eight-term member Sumitra Mahajan was unanimously elected as the Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha, becoming the second woman presiding office of the lower house after her predecessor Meira Kumar on June 6, 2014.

Former intelligence Bureau (IB) chief Ajit Doval, considered one of the finest operational brains, was appointed as National Security Adviser on May 30, 2014 to assist Prime Minister Narendra Modi on national and international security issues.


Union Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari, on June 5, 2014, has been given additional charge of the ministries of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water and Sanitation-the portfolios, held by Gopinath Munde who died in road accident on June 3, 2014.

One of Indias top lawyers, Mukul Rohatgi, will be the new Attorney General while senior advocate Ranjit Kumar will be the Solicitor General on May 28, 2014. Mukul Rohatgi is the 14th Attorney General of India.

TR Zeliang of the Naga Peoples Front was appointed as the new Chief Minister of Nagaland on May 23, 3014 following the resignation of Neiphiu Rio.

Senior IAS officer Rajeev Topno has been appointed Private Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Vishal Sikka, a former SAP AG executive board member, was appointed as Infosys Chief Executive Officer and MD on June 12, 104.

Sunil Dutt was appointed as President of Reliance Jio Infocomm on June 10, 2014. Shefali Razdan Duggal, the top Indian-American fundraiser was appointed as the member of the

US Holocaust Memorial Council on June 3, 2014 by US President Barack Obama.

Abdel Fatah al-Sisi was officially confirmed as Egypts next President on June 3, 2014, after the countrys electoral commission announced that he had won 96.1% presidential runoff.

Former left wing rebel leader Salvador Sanchez Ceren was Sworn-in as the President of EL Salvador on June 1, 2014.

The Israeli Parliament elected Reuven Rivlin, a veteran Likud Party politician and former minister and Parliament speaker, as the countrys next President on June 10, 2014. He will succeed Shimon Peres, who ends his seven-year term in July, 2014.

Lithuanias incumbent President Dalia Grybauskaite has declared victorious following a second round of voting in the Baltic countrys presidential elections on May 25, 2014.

After being victorious in the recently held presidential polls in Malawi, Peter Mutharika was sworn-in as the new President of the southern African country on May 31, 2014.

The Palestinian National Unity Government of Hamas and Fatah was sworn-in on June 2, 2014 by the Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas in West Bank City of Ramallah.

President Bashar al-Assad of Syria won the Presidential election for the third time. The Presidential Election result was announced by the Parliament Speaker Jihad Laham on June 4, 2014.

Sunil Chopra, a Delhi-born Labour politician assumes charge as the Mayor of the London borough Southwark. He is the first Indian-origin Mayor of the borough.

Former journalist Moon Chang Keuk is appointed the Prime Minister of South Korea by the President Park Geun-Hye.

United States President Barack Obama appointed a top Indian-American fundraiser Shefali Razdan Duggal as the member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council in June 2014.

South African cricket broke new ground on June 3, 2014 with the appointment of Hashim Amla as Test captain, the first non-white cricketer to hold the post permanently in a sport long seen to be dominated by whites.

Jean-Claude Juncker on June 26, 2014 was named as the next President of the European Commission.

Andrej Kiska was sworn-in by chair of Constitutional Court Ivetta Macejkova as President of the Slovak Republic at a ceremonial parliamentary session in Bratislava on June 15, 2014.


The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on June 29, 2014 appointed former skipper Rahul Dravid as the consultant of the India team, ahead of the five-match Test series against England starting July 9 in Trent Bridge.

The suspended Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President N. Srinivasan was confirmed as Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in Melbourne on June 26, 2014.

Tamil Nadu Governor K. Rosaiah, who has been given the additional charge as Governor of Karnataka, was sworn-in at the Raj Bhavan on June 29, 2014.

Uttarakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi on June 23, 2014 took over additional charge as Governor of Uttar Pradesh.

Former EU minister, Alexander Stubb, was sworn-in as Finnish Prime Minister on June 24, 2014. Spain new king Felipe VI was officially sworn-in by Parliament Chairman Jesus Posada and Prime

Minister Mariano Rajoy (C) at the countrys lower house of parliament in Madrid on June 18, 2014.

INTERPOLs Executive Committee on June 17, 2014 selected Juergen Stock of Germany as its candidate to be the next Secretary General of the worlds largest international police organisation.

The Central government on June 17, 2014 appointed former Chief Justice of India RC Lahoti as arbitrator in the Rs.20000 crore tax dispute case with UK telecom major Vodafone.

Shaktikanta Das, a 1980 batch officer of the Indian Administrative Service, was on June 14, 2014 appointed as the Revenue Secretary.

VK Rajah, an Indian-origin judge, was appointed by Singapores President as the eighth Attorney-General and as a member of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights for a term of three years, with effect from June 25, 2014.

Nita Ambani appointed as the Director of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on June 18, 2014. Indian scientist Rasik Ravindra on June 12, 2014 was elected as a member of the UN Commission

on the Limits of Continental Shelf (UNCLCS), a body that centres on oceans and law of the sea. Ravindras tenure in the CLCS will be till June 15, 2017.

Resignation/Dismissed/Retired/Quit Uttar Pradesh governor BL Joshi resigned from his post on June 17, 2014. M.Shashidhar Reddy, the Vice-Chairman of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)

resigned from his post on June 17, 2014. The Governor of Chhattisgarh, Shekhar Dutt, tendered his resignation to the President of India on

June 18, 2014. The President and member of the board of Infosys, BG Sriniwas, resigned on May 28, 2014. Former India left-arm spinner Murali Kartik announced his retirement from all forms of cricket,

bringing down the curtains on a career that spanned more than 17 years on June 14, 2014. West Bengal Governor MK Narayanan tendered his resignation to the President of India, Pranab

Mukherjee on June 30, 2014 Nagaland Governor Ashwani Kumar resigned from his post on June 25, 2014. Arrests/Jailed/Released A former Nazi camp guard accused of aiding and abetting the killing of hundreds of thousands of

Jews, Johann Breyer, was arrested without bail in Philadelphia on June 17, 2014.

The Supreme Court stays the execution of the death sentence of Yakub Abdul Razak Memon, mastermind of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts.

Altaf Hussain, the leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement is arrested in northeast London on charges of money laundering.


Conoglese warlord Germain Katanga was sentenced to 12 years in prison on May 23, 2014 for his part in an attack on a village in northeast Congo more than a decade ago in which the victims were carved limb from limb.

A Chinese court on May 23, 2014 convicted, Liu Han, a mining billionaire, said to have links with former security tsar Zhou Youngkang to murder and sentenced him to death.

Deaths Prince Katsura, a cousin of Emperor Akihito and sixth in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne, died

on June 9, 2014 in Tokyo.

Chester Nez, one of the 29 original Navajo code talkers who worked for the US during second world war sending secret messages in their native language, died at Albuquerque, New Mexico on June 5, 2014.

Union Rural Development Minister, Gopinath Munde died in a road accident in Delhi on June 3, 2013.

International hockey suffered a big setback as the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah who is regarded as the Father of Malaysian Hockey passed away on May 28, 2014.

Madhav Mantri was Indias oldest living test cricketer who passed away at the age of 92 years on May 23, 2014.

Dhondutai Kulkarni, a noted singer of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana passes away at the age of 86. Swing bowling all rounder Gary Gilmour, who played 15 Cricket Tests for Australia between 1973

and 1977 and was one of the stars of the inaugural World Cup in 1975, passes away at the age of 62.

Eminent Bengali novelist Shaktipada Rajaguru, many of whose works were adapted into Hindi and Bengali films like Amanush, Megha Dhaka Tara and Barsat Ki Ek Raat, passed away on June 12, 2014 at the age of 92.

Assamese singer and musician Khagen Mahanta known as the King of Bihu- passed away at his Guwahati residence on June 12, 2014 at the age of 72.

Alexander Shulgin, the maverick chemist known as the godfather of Ecstasy for his role in developing the party drug died in June 2014 at the age of 88 from liver cancer in Los Angeles.

General Wojciech Jaruzelski, Polands last communist leader who imposed martial law to crush the Solidarity movement only to hand over power less than a decade later, died aged 90 on May 25, 2014 after a long illness.

Australian Formula One great Sir Jack Brabham, who claimed three world drivers titles and remains the only man to win the championship in a car he built himself, died on May 19, 2014 at the age of 88.

Alexander Imich, a Polish-born psychic researcher who was certified the oldest man on earth, died on June 8, 2014 in Manhattan.

Actor Meshach Taylor, the actor best known for his role in as the friendly colleague of four Southern women on the popular sitcom Designing Women, died aged 67 on June 28, 2014.

Ramanarayanan, Tamil film director and producer, passed away on June 22, 2014 in Singapore at the age of 65.

Former Haitian President Leslie Francois Manigat, who was ousted in a 1988 military coup after serving only a few months, died aged 83 on June 27, 2014 after a long battle with cancer.

Telugu cinemas popular actor Telangana Shakuntala passed away aged 63 on June 14, 2014 following a cardiac arrest.


Awards/Honours Acclaimed author of Midnights Children and The Satanic Verses, Sir Salman Rushdie, has been

named the recipient of 2014 Pen Pinter Prize on June 20, 2014.

Former Norwegian premier Gro Harlem Brundtland was named as the first recipient of the Tang Prize, touted as Asias version of the Nobels, for her work as the Godmother of sustainable development on June 18, 2014.

Kedarnath Singh has been chosen for the prestigious Jnanpith award for 2013 on June 20, 2014. He is the 10th Hindi writer to receive the honour.

Irish author Eimear McBride has won the Baileys Womens Prize for Fiction with her debut novel, A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing, on June 4, 2014. Aspiring novelist Maia Jenkins was named as the winner of the Baileys Womens Prize/Grazia First Chapter Competition for unpublished writers.

Eminent Malayalam scientist-turned-writer C. Radhakrishnan has been selected for the prestigious Moortidevi Award for 2013 for his novel Theekkadal Katanhu Thirumadhuram on June 13, 2014.

India-born plant scientist Dr.Sanjay Rajaram has been named the winner of the $250000 World Food Prize for his contribution in increasing global wheat production by more than 200 million tonnes in the years following the Green Revolution on June 18, 2014.

Hyderabads Rajiv Gandi International Airport (RGIA) has been honoured with the ACI Director Generals Roll of Excellence award by the Airport Council International (ACI), in recognition of the airport being among the top three airports in the world for five consecutive years on June 4, 2014.

Eminent Hindi writer Vishwanath Tripathi presented the prestigious Vyas Samman for the year 2013.

Indian-origin physicist, Professor Tejinder Virdee, best known for his work on the Large Hadron Collider, was accorded on honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution to the field of Science on June 4, 2014.

GMR won Arbitration Award Against Maldivian Government GMR, the Indian infrastructure giant won the Arbitration Award against Maldivian government for wrongful termination of Airport project contract on June 19, 2014.

Uday Kotak, executive vice-chairman and Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank, wins the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year 2014 Award in Monaco.

Miss Nevada Nia Sanchez, a fourth degree black belt in the Korean martial art of taekwondo, is crowned Miss USA 2014.

Patricia Rozario, a Mumbai-born soprano of Goan origin, was on May 21, 2014 conferred the prestigious Fellowship of the Royal College of Music (FRCM).

Portugal President Anival Cavaco Silva has announced one of its highest civilian honours to Percival Noronha, one of Goas foremost historians and chroniclers of its past ranging from the colonial times to the present. Noronha 90, has been honoured with the title of Commander of the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator.

State run companies National Buildings Construction Corporation (NCC) and Engineers India Limited (ELI) were conferred Navratna status by the Union government on June 24, 2014. The upgraded status will provide the company with enhanced operational and financial autonomy to work in domestic and overseas markets.

The Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP), part of the river Beas basin in Kullu valley of North India, was accorded the prestigious World Heritage Site status.

Britains premium luxury goods brand East India Company issued an exclusive legal tender gold coin worth 12000 in honour of Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. The rare coin was issued on June 23, 2014 in recognition of Tendulkars remarkable carrer spanning 24 years.


The United States on June 30, 2014 named a mountain in Antartica as Mt. Sinha to honour an eminent Indian-American scientist, Akhouri Sinha.

Indian sand artist Sudarsan Patnaik on June 27, 2014 won the peoples Choice Prize at the World Cup of Sand Sculpting-2014 held in the Atlantic City of the United States. He won Prize for his work Save Tree, Save the Future. This is first sand art world cup at USA 2014.

Former Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata was conferred an honorary doctor of laws degree by Ganadas prestigious York University for his achievements in promoting innovations, exemplary leadership and corporate social responsibility.

Actor Shahrukh Khan was conferred with Knight of the Legion of Honour, a top French civilian award, in Mumbai on July 1, 2014.

Kaafiron Ki Namazz, a movie directed by Ram ramesh Sharma and produced by Bhargav. Saikai won four awards, including one for the best feature film at the third Ladakh International Film Festival on June 29, 2014.

Leading NRI industrialist Lord Swaraj Paul was honoured with next piont a Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his work in promoting India-UK educational ties. Indian origin physicist Tejinder Virdee was accorded an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II for his achievement in science.

Bharatiya Janatha Party (BJP) leader Murli Manohar Joshi, on June 18, 2014 was conferred Russias highest civilian award for foreign nationals, Order of Friendship, for his championing role in fostering ties between the two countries.

Somasundaram, a member (Air Navigation Services), Airports Authority of India (AAI) was conferred upon the prestigious Bharat Ratna JRD Tata Award institute by Aeronautical Society of India (ASI) for the year 2013, on June 9, 2014.

Sports/Game French Open 2014 The 2014 French Open was a tennis tournament played at the Stade Roland

Garros from May 25 to June 8, 2014. Mens Singles Spaniard Rafael Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic (Serbia) in the mens single

final to win his 9th French Open title and his 14th Grand Slam title. The victory made Nadal the first tennis player to have won 5 consecutive French Open titles. With 14 grand slams titles, he is tied with Pete Sampras at No.2. Only Roger Federer (17) has won more.

Womens Singles Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova clinched her second womens single title at the French Open after defeating Simona Halep of Romania in the final played on June 7, 2014.

Mens Doubles French pair Julien Benneteau/Edouard Roger Vasselin defeated Spaniard duo Marcel Granollers/Marc Lopez.

Womens Doubles Hsieh Su-wei (Chinese Taipei)/ Peng Shuai (China) defeated Italian duo Sara Errani/Roberta Vinci.

Mixed Doubles Anna-Lena Gronefeld (Germany)/Jean-Julien Rojer (Netherlands) defeated Julia Gorges (Germany)/Nenad Zimonjic (Germany)

Aegon Classic Former world number one Ana lvanovic won her first-ever tournament on the grass court with a victory over Barbora ZahlavovaStrycova in the Aegon Classic final at Edgbaston on June 15, 2014. In womens doubales category, American duo Raquel Kops-Jones/Abigail Spears defeated Australian pair Ashleigh Barty/Casey Dellacqua.

India-Bangladesh ODI Series Indian cricket team won the three ODI series against Bangladesh 2-0 on June 19, 2014. The main highlight of the series was Stuart Binny taking six wickets for four runs in the second ODI, which is best bowling figures by any Indian in ODIs. Man of the series stuart Binny (India)


Indian Premier League-7 The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won the seventh edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) by defeating Kings XI Punjab in the final played at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore on May 1, 2014. Man of the Match Manish Pandey

Australia beat the hosts, the Netherlands, 6-1 to retain the mens field hockey World Cup in The Hague on June 15, 2014.The 2014 Mans Hockey World Cup was the 13th edition of the Hockey World Cup. It was held from May 31 to June 15, 2014 at the Kyocera Stadium in the Hague, the Netherlands.

The Netherlands won the tournament for a record seventh time after defeating Australia 2-0 in the final on June 14, 2014. The 2014 Womens Hockey World Cup was the 13th edition of the Womens Hockey World Cup. It was held from May 31 to June 14, 2014 at the Kyocera Stadion in The Hague, Netherlands.

Germanys Martin Kaymer completed US Open victory on June 15, 2014 to capture his second major golf title, grinding out a one-under par 69 to win by eight strokes at Pinehurst.

International Wrestling Competition Indian wrestling duo of Yogeshwar Dutt and Sushil Kumar sparkled on debut in new weight categories by winning a gold and silver medal respectively in the International Competition in Sassari city, Italy on June 1, 2014. London Olympics bronze-medallist Yogeshwar won the gold medal in the 65 kg category while two-time Olympic medalist Sushil won the silver in the 74 kg division.

Indias Jitu Rai won the silver medal in mens 10 m air pistol in the ISSF World Cup in Munich on June 11, 2014.

Indian chess ace Vishwanathan Anand came up with a thumping victory over reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen but had to settle for the bronze medal in the World Rapid Chess Championship. Carlson won gold. Anand, a five-time World Champion, had lost the crown to Carlsen last year.

Virat Kohli wins the Cricketer of the Year honours at the CEAT awards function in Mumbai while R Ashwin receives the Indian Player of the Year award.

AB de Villiers dominates the Cricket South Africa Awards banquet by bagging four awards, including Cricketer of the Year 2014.

Antonio Bailon of Spain wins gold medal in the mens trap in the Shooting World Cup in Munich. PC Thulasi of India beats Jiayuan Chen to win the womens single title in the Sri Lankan Open

International Badminton Challenge in Colombo. Hyan Lee of Korea beats Anand Pawar of India to win the mens singles title.

Australian Daniel Ricciardo wins the Canadian Grand Prix Formula One motor race for Red Bull ahead of Nico Rosberg of Mercedes.

Guo Wenjun of China wins gold medal in the womens 10-metre air pistol in the shooting World Cup in Munich.

Jan Sychra of the Czech Republic wins gold medal in the mens skeet in the shooting World Cup in Munich, Germany.

Saurav Kothari wins his maiden Asian billiards title, defeating compatriot Alok Kumar in the final. In the under 21 snooker championship, Thailand claims his maiden title, defeating Siyavosh Mozayani of Iran 6-1.

Geoffrey Kamworer and Lucy Kabuu, both of Kenya registered two new world TCS 10 K course records in Bangalore on May 18, 2014. To set course records under constraints was a tremendous effort. Kamworor (formerly Kipsang) clocked 27:44s, taking seven second off the record set by Eritreas Zersenay Tadese in 2008, while Lucy (31:48s) took a whole 10 seconds off Ethiopias Ayalew Wudes time set in the 2010 edition.


IAAF World Relays - Yohan Blake, the worlds second fastest 200 metres runner behind Usain Bolt, anchored Jamaica to a world record one minute, 18.63 seconds in the 4200 metres relay at the inaugural IAAF World Relays in the Bahamea on May 25, 2014.

Men: 4200m: 1. Jamaica (Nickel Ashmeade, Warren Weir, Jermaine Brown, Yohan Blake) (WR). 2. St Kitts and Nevis, 3. France

4800m: 1. Kenya (Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich; Sammy Kibet Kirongo, Job Koech Kinyor, Alfred Kipketer) 7:08.40, 2. Poland, 3. United States

Women: 4100m: 1. USA (Tianna Bartlotta, Alexandria Anderson, Jeneba Tarmoh, Lakeisha Lawson) 2. Jamaica 3. Trinidad and Tobago 41500m: 1. Kenya (Mercy Cherono, Faith Kipyegon, Irene Jelagat, Heilen Obiri (WR) 2. USA 3. Australia

Rome Diamond League American Justin Gatline outclassed the mens 100-metre field at the Rome

Diamond League on June 5, 2014. Result at Glance: Men 100m: Justin Gatlin, USA 200m: Alonso Edward, Panama 400m: LaShawn Merritt, USA 800m: Mohammed Aman, Ethiopia 1500m: Silas kiplagat, Kenya 3000m Steeplechase: Jairus Kipchoge Birech, Kenya High Jump: Mutaz Essa Barshim, Qatar Triple Jump: Will Claye USA Discus: Robert Harting, Germany Woman 100m: Tori Bowie, USA 800m: Eunice Jepkoech Sum, Kenya 500m: Genzebe Dibaba, Ethiopia 100m Hurdles: Brianna Rollins, USA 400m hurdles: Kaliese Spencer, Jamaica Pole Vault: Yarisley Silva, Cuba Triple Jump: Caterine Ibargueen, Colombia Shot Put: Valerie Adams, New Zealand Javelin: Barbora Spotakova, Czech Republic

Shanghai Diamond League American Justin Gatlin cruised to victory in the 100 metres in 9.92 seconds at the Shanghai Diamond League meet on May 18, 2014.


Result at a Glance: Men 100m: Justin Gatlin, USA 800m: Robert Biwott, Kenya 5000m: Yenew Alamirew, Ethiopia 110m Hurdles: Xie Wenjun, China 400m Hurdles: Michael Tinsley, USA Pole Vault: Renaud Lavillenie, France Triple Jump: Lyukman Adams, Russia Shot put: Christian Cantwell, USA Javelin Ihab Abdelrahaman EL Sayed, Egypt

Women 200m: Blessing Okagbare, Nigeria 400m: Novlene Williams Mills, Jamaica 1500m: Abeba Aregawi, Sweden 3000m: Steeplechase: Emma Coburn, USA High Jump: Ana Simic, Croatia Long Jump: Blessing Okagbare, Nigeria Discus Throw: Sandra Perkovic, Croatia

Punjab regained the boys title while the Chhattisgarh girls completed a hat-trick of triumphs in the 65th National junior basket ball championship in Kochi on June 1, 2014.

England-Sri Lanka ODI Series - Sri Lanka proved too strong with both ball and bat as it beat England by six wickets in the fifth and final One-Day International at Edg-baston on June 3, 2014 to clinch a 3-2 series victory. Man of the match Lahiru Tirimanne

Lewis Hamilton won the Spanish Grand Prix motor racing for Mercedes on May 11, 2014 to chalk up his fourth victory in a row and wrest the Formula One championship lead from German teammate Nico Rosberg.

International Junior Cup Pavlo Korostylov of Ukraine won the gold medal in the junior mens 50m free pistol event of the International Junior Cup shooting championship in Suhl, Germany on May 29, 2014. Neeraj Kumar of India won the silver medal in the junior mens 25m standard pistol event on May 31, 2014. The championship was concluded on May 31, 2014.

The winners: Men 25m rapid fire pistol: Jean Quiqumpoix of France 50m free pistol: Pavlo Koro stylov of Ukraine Rifle Prone: Christoph Kaulich of Germany 50m-Rifle 3-position: Vladimir Maslennikov of Russia (Also air rifle) 25-m sports pistol: Pavio Korostylov of Ukraine Trap: Luca Miotto of Italy Skeet: Gabriele Rosseti of Italy The winners: Women Air rifle: Nina Laura Kreutzer of Germany 25m sport pistol: Mathilde Lamolle of France 50m rifle prone: Ines Niewada of France

Sri Lanka-England Test Series Sri Lanka won the two-match Test series against England as it defeated England by 100 runs to win the second Test at Headingley on June 24, 2014. Srilankan Skipper Angelo Mathews Man of the Series.

Roger Federer (Switzerland) won his seventh Gerry Weber Open in Halle (Germany) on June 15, 2014, beating Alejandro Falla of Columbia in the singles final. In the doubles category, Germain-Austrain duo of Andre Begemann and Julian Knowle defeated the Swiss pair of Marco Chiudinelli and Roger Federer in the final to claim title.


India ace shuttler Sania Nehwal clinched the Australian Open Super Series womens single title by defeating Carolina Marin of Spain in final played at Sydney on June 29, 2014.

PGA Tour English professional golfer Justin Rose won the 2014 Quicken Loans National after edging out Shawn Stefani of United States in a play-off on June 29, 2014. Rose is ranked 10th in the world.

German racing driver for Mercedes Nico Rosberg won the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix on June 22, 2014 while his teammate Lewis Hamilton from England raced to the second spot.

World chess champion, Magnus Carlsen from Norway, won the World Blitz championship in Dubai on June 20, 2014.

India bagged their second title at the tri-nation squash doubles tournament here on June 19, 2014 when Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa emerged winners in the womens doubles final.

Pankaj Advani, the Indian cueist on June 29, 2014 won his maiden IBSF 6-Red World snooker title by defeating Kacper Filpiak of Poland in the final at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt.

India won 12 medals overall to finish 5th in final medal tally at the 16th Asian Junior Athletics Championship held in Taipei City, China from June 12-15, 2014.

Former New Zealand batsman Lou Vincent received a life ban from cricket on July 1, 2014 for his involvement in match-fixing.

The 20th edition of FIFA World Cup kicked off on June 12, 2014 in Brazil. In the opening game of the tournament, played at Arena de Sao Paulo, hosts Brazil defeated Croatia 3-1. The final of the tournament will be played on July 13, in Rio de Janeiro.

Indias women football team moved one place up to grab the 50th spot among 175 nations in the latest FIFA ranking released on June 20, 2014. The team also grabbed 11th position in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) ranking, moved up one spot.

Report India ranks 143 out of 162 countries in 2014 Global Peace Index (GPI) released on June 18, 2014. Iceland tops the Global Peace Index 2014. It is followed by Denmark, Austria, New Zealand,

Switzerland, Finland, Canada, Japan, Belgium and Norway.

Globally, Pakistan is ranked 154th, while Afghanistan is at 161st position in this years list. TERI Annual Environmental Survey 2014 Half of the respondents recently surveyed by non-for-

profit research institute. The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) feel that the air quality in the Capital has worsened, and 40% are of the view that air pollution policies have not been implemented properly.

India Slips Three Spots in Doing Business India continues to rank lowest in the World Banks ranking on the ease of Doing Business for 2014. India is now ranked at 134 against 131 in 2013. It is now placed lower than Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa.

The recently released International Comparison Program (ICP) data have provided an independent, international validation of the poverty line fixed by the Suresh Tendulkar committee, which is being reviewed by the C. Rangarajan committee for a likely revision. The ICP is a worldwide statistical operation involving 199 countries and agencies such as the

World Bank. It produces internationally comparable price and volume measure for the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of countries. It had ranked Indias GDP behind only that of the U.S. and China. But in terms of per capita GDP, India was ranked 129th.

A recent study conducted by PHD Chamber of Commerce revealed that China has emerged as biggest trading partner in the current fiscal for India. It has replaced UAE. Trade between India and China has reached $49.5 billion with 8.7% share in Indias total trade.


According to data from the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), of the over 50 Indian cities which reported the maximum cases

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