genesis-august 2015 issue ii.pdf

Endeavor Careers – Dream … Endeavor… Achieve

www.endeavorcareers.com August 2015-Issue-II THE GENESIS

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The Genesis August 2015-Issue-II

Current Affairs

India 5

States 9

World 10

Sports 13

Economy 15

Corporate 16

Cyber Buzz 23

Science & Technology 25

People

Business Biography: Sundararajan Pichai 3

Faces: Serena Williams 12

Knowledge Corners

Recent Releases: The Footprints of Partition, The Farthest Field 26

GD: VYAPAM scam has no impact on BJP’s fortunes 27

Crossword 28

Sudoku 37

Do you remember? 29

Corporate Knowledge Quiz 33

Point‐Counterpoint 36

Biz Biography: 3

Pichai’s life story is remarkable, and his rise to the top of Google is a glowing endorsement of India’s standing in the global tech …

Group Discussion: 27

In the aftermath of BJP victories in eight out of 10 civic bodies in Madhya Pradesh, BJP leaders in Delhi and Bhopal have tried

Ahmedabad CO & Centre: 101, Suyojan Towers, Nr. Hotel President, Off. C.G. Road Ahmedabad– 09 ☎:079 – 26464053/26420509 Vallabh Vidya Nagar: 3rd Floor, Diwaliba Chambers, Near ICICI Bank, Bhaikaka Statue VV Nagar – 388120 ☎:02692-326065/230826 Baroda: 316, Atlantis, Opp Vadodara Central, Sarabhai Road, Vadodara – 390016 ☎:0265-2341992, 9033100222 Mumbai: Vashi: ☎:022-65652221/7666587770; Vile Parle (W): ☎:022-65568888/65567788; Borivali: ☎:022-65354535/65354515 Rajkot: 3rd floor, Kings, Opp Punjab Honda, Near G T Seth School, Kalawad Road, Rajkot, ☎:02813051475 Gandhi Nagar: 302, Swagat Rain Forest - I, Block A ,Nr. City Pulse, Gandhinagar – 382007 ☎:079 - 23600050/32449313 Surat: UL/45-48, Pooja Abhishek, Opp S.P.B. College, Athwa Lines ☎:0261 - 313 4418/3992675 Bhopal: RMJ Educational Services, 174, Modi Complex, M P Nagar Zone II, Bhopal – 462011; ☎:0755 - 4009501 Jaipur: 302, Ganga Heights, Opp. Apex Mall, Lal Kothi, Tonk Road, Jaipur ☎:01414044315 Kanpur: 117/H-1/368, Ist Floor, Above SBI Bank, Pandu Nagar, Near Neer Ksheer Chouraha, Kakadeo, Kanpur – 208025; ☎:8808017100, 8808011100 Thane: 501, 5th Floor, “Thakor Niwas”, Opp. Thane Station (West), Near Thane Post Office, Thane (W) – 400 601 ☎: 022-25444600/41009898 Rajahmundry: 46-7-26/1,Sri Sai Venkateswara Complex, Opp: Green Park Restaurant, Danavaipet, Rajahmundry – 533101 ☎: 0883 - 6557777 Bangalore: No. 23, 1st floor, Vasavi Plaza, Near Cool Joint, 11th main, 4th block Jayanagar, Bangalore – 560011.☎:080-41310888/41550888

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” – Maria Robinson



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Business Biography Sundar Pichai: Search accomplished Pichai’s life story is remarkable, and his rise to the top of Google is a glowing endorsement of India’s standing in the global technology industry, and equally, a reminder of the so-called “American Dream”

Sundar Pichai has been appointed the new CEO of Google amid a structural overhaul by the tech giant. ThebirthofAlphabetGoogle has created a holding company called Alphabet Inc which will directly own several companies that were owned by or tied to Google, including Google itself. Some of Alphabet’s subsidiaries will include Google, Calico, Google Ventures, Google Capital, Google X, and Nest Labs (see graphic on next page).

The establishment of Alphabet as a conglomerate of Google companies was motivated by its executives, who felt that Google had to become “cleaner and more accountable” while allowing greater control of companies whose core business was unrelated to it. TheriseofSundarLarry Page is now chief executive of Alphabet. Sergey Brin is its president. And moving up to be in charge of Google is 43-year-old Sundar Pichai. Great news for Pichai, and good news too for India - his appointment makes him the latest Indian to earn a massively high-profile job in the US technology industry. Microsoft’s Satya Nadella is the other notable example. Sundararajan was born and schooled in Chennai in 1972. He captained his school’s cricket team, leading it to win

regional competitions. His upbringing was humble. His family lived in a two room apartment. Sundar didn’t have a room - he slept on the living room floor, as did his younger brother. His family did not possess a telephone until Sundar was 12 years old and didn’t own a TV or a car. His mother worked as a stenographer while his father was an electrical engineer. Sundar’s father planted the seeds of technology into his boy’s mind, partly thanks to his job at British conglomerate General Electric Company (not to be confused with the American General Electric). “I used to come home and talk to him a lot about my work day and the challenges I faced,” Regunatha Pichai says, adding that Sundar had a remarkable talent for remembering telephone numbers. He studied Metallurgical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur). He pursued a course in electronics even when it was not a part of the curriculum. A silver medallist at IIT-Kharagpur, Pichai went to Stanford on a scholarship after his graduation in 1993. The plane ticket to America cost more than his father’s annual salary. He did his Masters in engineering and materials science at Stanford University and MBA from the Wharton School of Business. He joined Google in 2004 after a stint at Applied Material and McKinsey. At Google, Sundar has evidently used his talent to great effect. Products under his watch include Google’s web browser, Chrome, as well as the Android mobile operating system. Today Android is by far the world’s most popular mobile OS. His remit is best summed up as Google’s core products - the bits that make the real money. That includes things like search, advertising, maps and YouTube. Pichai is soft-spoken and well liked. He is also very popular among developers - he runs Google’s annual developer event, I/O. Pichai has challenges to navigate, like YouTube’s increasingly intense battle with Facebook in the video space. The social network has dramatically increased the amount of video being watched on its site even though YouTube remains the most popular.

“Sundar has been saying the things I would have said (and sometimes better!) for quite some time now, and I’ve



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been tremendously enjoying our work together,” wrote Larry Page in his blogpost announcing all the big changes. Larry Page and Sergey Brin have been hands-off with Google’s day-to-day running for sometime, and so, in Pichai’s life, the CEO appointment is simply making it official: he’s in charge. Rumours also suggest Sundar had a lucrative offer for the top job at Twitter when CEO Dick Costolo resigned in June.

Think!Pichai is not the first Indian-origin executive to head a major global enterprise. But even in this roster of remarkable achievements, his success is noteworthy. The first is that Pichai, like many other successful India-born executives in global leadership positions, is a product of the humble public education system. The new Google CEO was a student of Jawahar Vidyalaya and Vana Vani schools in Chennai — good schools no doubt, but not ones which figure in any listing of ‘star’ schools.

Pichai is only the latest to join an emerging galaxy of Indian-born leaders helming global giants - like Adobe, Diageo, Microsoft, Mastercard, Nokia, PepsiCo and Softbank. Answers to explain this rise range across how Indian culture inculcates hunger, high achievement drive, intellectual flexibility, comfort with diversity, all that’s essential for businesses in a fast-changing world. While that feels good, what’s not so good is that these qualities get less than their due at home. If meritocracy ruled here

instead of mediocrity - punctuated by a few islands of excellence - India would have boasted a home-grown Google instead of just a home-grown Google CEO.

In India the discourse of excellence remains hostage to a false egalitarianism, where political mobilisation of caste and political micromanagement of education only worsens the scandalous state of educational outcomes in our schools and colleges. And India remains at bottom of global indices in terms of ease of doing business, even as within organisations seniority, age and connections matter for more than merit. When individual excellence in the shape of a Pichai or a Nadella shines in the wider world despite all these drawbacks, it’s testimony to a raw and underexploited talent pool. What’s needed today is a mass-scale politics of equality that’s committed to merit rather than mediocrity.

India Inc, especially the family-led ones, also needs to learn a lesson — but it is not from Pichai, but Sergei Bin and Larry Paige, the founder-promoters of Google. They, like the leadership of so many successful global mega enterprises before them, have demonstrated not only the ability to spot talent, but the acumen and, dare one say, largeness of spirit, to allow that talent to flower. How many Indian enterprises can we stack up against Google or Microsoft, where ownership or ancestry has not been allowed to trump talent and ability? If Indian enterprises are to transform into global players, they need to first and foremost transform their mindsets.



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Current Affairs: India HAPPENINGSGovtsignspeaceaccordwithNSCN(I‐M): With an aim of ending insurgency in Nagaland, government

signed an accord with key outfit NSCN (I-M) in August which Prime Minister Narendra Modi described as a “historic” step to usher in peace in the state. The pact was signed by the outfit’s leader T. Muivah and government’s interlocutor R N Ravi at the PM’s residence in New Delhi. While the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isaac-Muivah) is the biggest Naga rebel group which has been maintaining the ceasefire, another faction led by S.S. Khaplang continues to indulge in violence and was believed to be behind the deadly attack on army in Manipur in June that left 18 soldiers dead. It was not disclosed clear whether the agreement meets the main demand of NSCN(IM) for integration of all Naga-

inhabited areas in the North East across Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. TerroristattackinGurdaspurdistrictof Punjab: In a major terror attack, three fidayeen, believed to have come from Pakistan, on July 27 attacked passengers in a moving bus and stormed a police station, killing seven persons, including an SP, in Dinanagar town of Punjab’s Gurdaspur district. All the three militants were killed in the 12-hour-long gun battle with the police and elite commandos of the Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT). Chinese-made weapons and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) were recovered from them. NationremembersmartyrsofKargilWar: The sixteenth anniversary of the Indian victory in the 1999 Kargil war was celebrated on July 25. Army chief General Dalbir Singh paid tributes to the martyrs at the war memorial in Dras. July 26, 1999, was a fateful day when the Indian Army repulsed Pakistan in the unforgiving heights of the Kargil and the Batalik sectors. Victory was achieved with the sacrifice of 537 soldiers; 86 gallantry awards were given for bravery during the course of the war. The success of the war is commemorated as the “Kargil Vijay Diwas.” PM launchesnew scheme forpower reforms in rural areas: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ‘Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana’ for power sector reforms in rural areas in Patna on July 25 with a view to ensuring round the clock electricity supply to farmers and rural households. The scheme is one of the flagship programmes of the Power Ministry and will facilitate 24x7 supply of electricity. The earlier scheme for rural electrification, Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY), which was launched by previous UPA government, has been subsumed in the new scheme as its rural electrification component. FirstNationalHandloomDay observed: Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled “India Handloom” brand for better market positioning of quality handloom products on August 7, 2015 at a mega event to mark the first-ever National Handloom Day in Chennai. August 7 was the day in 1905 when the day Swadeshi Movement was launched. Besides, Sant Kabir awards and National awards were presented to distinguished handloom workers for the years 2012, 2013 and 2014 at the function. WorldHepatitisDayobserved: World Hepatitis Day 2015 was observed on July 28. The day marks the birth anniversary of Nobel Laureate Professor Baruch Samuel Blumberg – the scientist who discovered the hepatitis B virus and its first vaccine. The theme for this year’s Day ‘Prevent Hepatitis: Act Now’ focuses on hepatitis B and C, which together cause approximately 80% of all liver cancer deaths and kill close to 1.4 million people every year. WHO has announced a new Global Injection Safety Initiative in three pilot countries -- Egypt, Uganda and India – to combat what the UN health agency calls the “silent epidemic.” Indian Labour Conference organised: The two-day Indian Labour Conference was organised in New Delhi in July. The event also marked the launch of the National Career Service Portal. The ILC suggested to the



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government that all amendments to labour laws should be discussed at the tripartite forum which has representatives of trade unions, employers and government. The Prime Minister launched National Career Service (NCS), a job portal that integrates the network of employment exchanges in the country. The NCS portal makes available a repository of career content on over 3,000 occupations across 53 sectors and its services are available online and can be accessed directly. About Indian Labour Conference: The Indian Labour Conference (ILC) is the apex level tripartite consultative committee in the Ministry of Labour & Employment to advise the Government on the issues concerning working class of the country. All the 12 Central Trade Union Organisations, Central Organisations of employers, all State Governments and Union Territories and Central Ministries/Departments concerned with the agenda items, are the members of the ILC. Parity in number of representatives is maintained between the Employers’ and Workers’ Groups by allocation of equal number of seats to each Group. Right toPrivacy cannotbe invoked to scrapAadhar‐AG: The Supreme Court was told by the Centre that Right to Privacy is not a fundamental right under the Constitution, adding it cannot be invoked to scrap the Aadhar scheme. The Centre said that it would be too late to scrap the Aadhar scheme and a “fool proof” system would be in place for the implementation of this welfare programme. “There is no fundamental right to privacy so these petitions under Article 32 should be dismissed,” said Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi. He was countering the contention that the scheme of Aadhar based on collecting personal data violates the citizens’ right to privacy. The court was hearing a batch of pleas against decisions of some states to make Aadhaar cards compulsory for a range of activities including salary, PF disbursements and marriage and property registration. Govt approves extending CCTNSdeadline: The deadline for implementation of an ambitious online system, which will help in police verification for issuing passport, among others, was extended till March 2017 by the government in July. The Crime and Criminals Tracking network and Systems (CCTNS) project is being implemented to improve police citizen interface and speed up delivery of public services through police across the country. The project would lead access to crime and criminal related database by investigating officers throughout the country. The project will also streamline the criminal justice system by computerising the functioning of police stations, prisons, prosecution directorates and forensic laboratories. Centreformscommitteetoreviewrecruitmentofteachers: The government initiated a process in July to review the selection process for recruitment of teachers in view of large number of vacancies in centrally funded colleges and universities. A committee has been set up under former UGC chairman Arun Nigavekar to evaluate qualifications for appointment of teachers and to accordingly suggest a policy for selections. The committee will take into consideration the problems and issues related to ad-hoc and contractual appointments in central universities. The objective is to attract and retain talented and quality manpower in the teaching profession. Govtbansentryof journalists,NGOs into jails: The government has banned the entry of journalists and filmmakers into jails. “No private individual/press/ NGO/company should ordinarily be allowed entry into the prison for doing research, making documentaries, writing articles or interviews etc,” said a government advisory sent to all States and UTs in July. However, State governments can allow visits if they feel that a particular documentary/article/research would have a positive social impact or is related to prison reforms. The move comes in the wake of the controversy over British filmmaker Leslee Udwin’s documentary ‘India’s Daughter’, shot in Delhi’s Tihar Jail, where she interviewed one of the convicts of the December 16 gang-rape victim. CompulsoryyogaforCBSEstudentsofClassesXI,XII: Yoga has been made compulsory in CBSE curricula for Classes XI and XII while for students of other classes it should be held “at least” twice a week as part of their physical activity programme, the government said in July. AYUSH Minister Shripad Yasso Naik said yoga education has also been made a compulsory part of study and practice by National Council for Teacher Education. Govt’sNOFN project renamed as ‘BharatNet’: Government’s ambitious National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) project has been rechristened as ‘BharatNet’, which aims to connect 2.5 lakh village panchayats with broadband



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by 2016. “The government has proposed to provide broadband connectivity to 2,50,000 gram (village) panchayats under NOFN (renamed now BharatNet) project,” Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in July. FoodMinistry launchesSurakshitKhadyaAbhiyan: Ram Vilas Paswan, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution launched the Surakshit Khadya Abhiyan, a countrywide campaign in New Delhi in July to create mass awareness and capacity building for safe and hygienic food. The campaign planned by CII, Consumer Organization VOICE, and National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI), is an effort towards building a culture of food safety in the country. Under the campaign, nationwide sensitisation sessions on cleaning, hygiene & sanitation for safe food, will be organized across the country. Speaker’sResearch Initiative launched: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated an initiative in July to help MPs get expert advise from domain experts to develop a better perspective on issues and subjects under consideration of the Parliament. The programme has been christened as the ‘Speaker’s Research Initiative’ and it will be a platform where the MPs will interact with the experts. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan feels that The initiative is likely to provide high-quality research inputs on important matters of diverse nature to Members for proper understanding of the issues under consideration. EnvironmentMinistrylaunchesTEEG–India: The Government launched The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity TEEB-India Initiative (TII) in July to highlight the economic consequences of the loss of biological diversity and the associated decline in ecosystem services. The Initiative focussed on three ecosystems, namely forests, inland wetlands and coastal and marine ecosystems. TII has been implemented under the Indo-German Biodiversity Programme in technical cooperation with GIZ. PunjabKesaricontributesRs2.40crretoPMNRF: Punjab Kesari Group of newspapers, which has strong presence in north India, contributed Rs 2.40 crore to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) in July. Vijay Kumar Chopra is the Editor-in-Chief of the Group. Newspapers owned by the group include Punjab Kesari (Hindi), Hind Samachar (Urdu), Jagbani (Punjabi) and Navodaya Times (Hindi). Punjab Kesari was set up by Lala Jagat Narain. AWARDSAgricultural JournalismAwards: Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented The Hindu journalist Gargi Parsai and five others with Chaudhary Charan Singh Award for Excellence in Journalism in Agricultural Research and Development, 2014 at Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s 87th foundation day celebrations held in Patna on July 25. The ICAR citation said she has brought to light various issues related to farm research and development, environment and food sector that have made a difference. Other journalists who received the award are Rajya Sabha TV Assistant Editor Arvind Kumar Singh, Economic Times Special Correspondent Madhvi Sally, ETV senior producer Jai Prakash Singh, Dainik Jagran Deputy Bureau Chief (national bureau) Surendra Prasad Singh and Hindustan Principal Correspondent Arvind Kumar Singh. Bagri Foundation Awards: Acclaimed Indian film director Mani Ratnam, known for his films like “Roja”, “Bombay” and “Dil Se”, has won the Icon award at the Bagri Foundation London Film Festival for his outstanding contribution to cinema in July. Actress Manisha Koirala won the Spirit of Inspiration award from Sun Mark Ltd for her outstanding work in supporting the earthquake appeal in Nepal. Delhi-born actor Suraj Sharma, noticed for his performance in film “Umrika”, was the recipient of the festival’s Outstanding Young Talent award. Satyajit Ray Short Film Award in association with the Bagri Foundation went to “Khargosh” (Rabbit). India NGO awards: Three NGOs were have been awarded for adopting good standards and practices while implementing their programmes. Centre for Unfolding Learning Potentials (CULP) and Technology Informatics Design Endeavour (TIDE), SAATH Charitable Trust, Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM), were awarded with “India NGO awards” by the Resource Alliance India, an affiliate of international not-for-profit organisation, in New Delhi in July. As many as 300 applications were received for awards this year in three categories-Small, Medium, large based on their annual budget.



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PERSONSINNEWSAPPOINTED/NOMINATED: The Government appointed IT Secretary RamSewakSharma as new Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India in July after the post fell vacant due to retirement of incumbent Rahul Khullar in May. Former bureaucrat Ashish Bahuguna was appointed as the Chairman of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India or FSSAI in July. IAS Officer AlkaPanda assumed charge as Director General of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in July. Assamese actor GeorgeBaker, who had unsuccessfully contested the 2014 Lok Sabha polls as a BJP candidate from West Bengal, and RichardHay, a professor of economics from Kerala, were nominated as members of the Anglo-Indian Community in the Lok Sabha in July. The Indian Federation of Working Journalists (IFWJ), a trade union of media persons, reelected KVikramRao as its President for 2016-18 in July. SACKED/CONVICTED: Climate scientist R.K.Pachauri was removed as the Director-General of TERI by its governing council (GC) in July following completion of probe into a sexual harassment charge levelled against him by a junior colleague and Ajay Mathur, currently the Director-General of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency of the Central Government, appointed in is place. Former Union Minister and Arunachal Chief Minister PKThungon was sentenced to four and half years’ jail term in a graft case by a Delhi court in July in a case pertaining to misappropriation of Rs 2 crore funds released by the Centre for public welfare of Nagaland in 1990s. OBITUARIESI.Dr.SunitiSolomon, who was the President of the AIDS Society of India and played a major role in HIV research, prevention, care and support, died in Chennai on July 28 at the age of 76. VasundharaKomkali, renowned vocalist and wife of eminent Hindustani classical singer late Pandit Kumar Gandharv, passed away in Dewas (MP) on July 30 at the age of 85. ProfessorP.R.Chari, ex-IAS officer and co-founder of the New Delhi-based Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, passed away in New Delhi on July 25. Noted Bharatanatyam dancer Jayalakshmi Alva died in Mangaluru on July 22 at the age of 81. Eminent physicist P.Hariharan died in USA at the age of 89 on July 26. II. Congress Lok Sabha member from Assam, BijoyKrishnaHandique passed away at the age of 82 in Jorhat on July 26. KalpataruDas, Rajya Sabha MP from Odisha, passed away in New Delhi on July 25 at the age of 65. Former Bihar and Kerala Governor and senior Republican Party of India (RPI) leader R.S.Gavai died in Nagpur on July 25 at the age of 86. Over 22 years after the 1993 Mumbai blasts, YakubMemon, the sole convict on death row, was hanged on his 53rd birthday at the Nagpur Central Jail on July 30 at the age of 53. EXTERNALRELATIONSUSA: Centre unblocks funds for Ford Foundation: Months after its clampdown on the U.S.-based Ford Foundation, the Centre has unblocked foreign funds worth $150,000 to be released to the foreign donor’s bank accounts in July. The Home Ministry put the foundation under the “prior permission” category in April in the interest of “national security”. The Ministry gave it the go-ahead to release funds as the organisation made a plea to the government after exhausting its options even to pay salaries. The NGO was put on the government’s watch list after the Gujarat government complained that it funded “anti-India” activities of Teesta Setalvad’s two NGOs — Citizens for Justice and Peace and Sabrang Trust. BRITAIN: A group of Indian Air Force personnel on July 31 successfully completed an India-UK air and ground Exercise Indradhanush (Rainbow) that saw Indian Sukhoi Su-30s pitted against their Royal Air Force counterparts flying Eurofighter Typhoon. British Indian MP Keith Vaz on July 28 called for the world-famous ‘Koh-i-Noor’ diamond, today a part of the Crown of Queen Elizabeth II, to be returned to India during PM Modi’s UK visit in November. FRANCE: French film showcases Anand Kumar’s Super 30 success: Mathematician Anand Kumar’s Super 30, acclaimed for helping students of deprived section to crack the prestigious IIT entrance examination, now features in a film made by famous French director Pascal Plisson. The 90-minute film “The Big Day” is ready and its clips are already being shown to TV and YouTube. The movie released in August comprises four special stories from across the globe. One of them is on a girl, Nidhi Jha, a student of Super 30 and now studying at ISM, Dhanbad. Daughter of poor auto-rickshaw driver in Varanasi, she cleared JEE (advance) in 2014.



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Current Affairs: States

GUJARAT: Surat became the first city of the country to launch a picture intelligence unit, comprising real time facial recognition, number plate recognition and vehicle speed violation system after CM Anandiben Patel dedicated the Rs 38-crore project to police in July. A sportsperson from Gujarat winning a gold medal in the Olympic Games will be rewarded with Rs 5 crore cash prize, CM Patel announced on July 26. The state govt. announced in July that it was going to bring an ordinance to make voting compulsory for elected representatives in local body elections with provision of penal action if they fail to vote MAHARASHTRA: The state increased the annual income limit for scholarships to students belonging to minority communities from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 6 lakh from July. The state banned sale, purchase and storage of manufactured chewable tobacco, and extended the ban on other tobacco variants for a period of one year from July 20. DELHI: The state government has decided to implement the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) order asking every household to pay a minimum environment compensation of Rs 100 for generating sewage in the national capital from August. Lt Governor Najeeb Jung approved the appointment of Swati Maliwal as chief of Delhi Commission for Women, days after her “unilateral” nomination by AAP government was struck down by him, triggering a fresh round of confrontation between the two sides. UTTARPRADESH: The Centre approved Rs 2,801 crore for relief of hailstorm-affected farmers in Uttar Pradesh in July. The state government fixed the maximum land acquisition limit of agricultural land for various projects in any district at five per cent of the total crop sowing area there from July. BIHAR: The state government has decided to give tax exemption to the film ‘Manjhi — The Mountain Man’ which is based on the life of late Dasrath Manjhi of Gaya district who had carved a path through the mountain using only a hammer and chisel for 22 years. The state govt has decided to rename the Kishanganj Agriculture University after former president Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. HIMACHALPRADESH: The Himachal Pradesh High Court has imposed a complete ban on all types of buffalo and bull fights during the village fairs in the hill State, stating that it is against the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960. PUNJAB: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar inaugurated the Mai Bhago Armed Forces Preparatory Institute at Mohali that will impart specialised training to girls aspiring to join the National Defence Academy (NDA) on July 25. CM Parkash Singh Badal enhanced the one time grant for the recipient of gallantry awards in the armed forces such as Param Vir Chakra from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 2 crore, Mahavir Chakra from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 1 crore and Vir Chakra from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 50 lakh in July. TAMILNADU: The Supreme Court lifted its year-old embargo on State governments from releasing life convicts on remission in July but ruled that the relief does not extend to those serving life terms in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case as demanded by the government of Tamil Nadu. The state has decided to start an award in the name of former President A P J Abdul Kalam for persons who strive towards promoting scientific growth, humanities and students’ welfare and celebrate his birthday (October 15) as “Youth Renaissance Day.” ANDHRAPRADESH: With the Japan government agencies and private companies showing interest in investing in Andhra Pradesh and joining the development of the state’s capital, Japanese language courses are being introduced in three major universities in the state, the Telugu Desam government announced in July. The 12-day-long Godavari ‘Maha Pushkaram’ religious festival was organised at Rajahmundry concluded on July 25. ASSAM: Assam government announced to set up a dedicated fund for prevention, rescue and rehabilitation of trafficked children in July in partnership with Kailash Satyarthi Childhood Foundation.



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Current Affairs: World HAPPENINGSUNstatessetgoaltoendpoverty,hungerinnext15years: The 193 member states of the United

Nations have reached agreement on a new development agenda for the next 15 years that calls for eradicating poverty and hunger, achieving gender equality, improving living standards and taking urgent action to combat climate change. The draft agreement reached in August outlines 17 goals with 169 specific targets on issues ranging from ending poverty to ensuring quality education and affordable and reliable energy, and protecting the environment. The document called “Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” will be adopted at a UN summit in late September. The 17 new,

non-binding goals will succeed the eight Millennium Development Goals adopted by world leaders 15 years ago. UN endorses Iran nuclear deal, paves way to lift sanctions: The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution in July that endorses the landmark nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers and paves the way for lifting the crippling sanctions imposed by the world body against Tehran. With the adoption of the resolution in New York, the 15-nation body endorsed the landmark nuclear deal entered into between Iran and P5+1 nations of China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, plus Germany recently. The agreement launches a progressive and conditional lifting of sanctions, in exchange for guarantees that the Islamic republic will not develop a nuclear bomb. The resolution, however, has the provision of snapping back the sanctions if Iran does not abide by its commitments. MH370debrisfoundonReunionIsland: Malaysia confirmed in August that a piece of a wing washed up on an Indian Ocean island beach recently was from the Malaysian Airlines jet MH370, the first trace of the Boeing plane found since it vanished on March 8, 2014 with 239 people on board. Prime Minister Najib Razak said this in a televised statement. The announcement, by providing clear evidence that the plane crashed in the ocean, closes one chapter in one of the biggest mysteries in aviation history, but still leaves unanswered questions about precisely why it disappeared. Flight MH370 went missing while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Boeing declined to comment. Kyrgyzstan joinsEEU: Kyrgyzstan became the fifth member of a Moscow-backed economic bloc of former Soviet countries in August. The impoverished nation of six million people had signed accession papers for the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) in December. The bloc’s four other members are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia. Union membership may ease bureaucratic troubles for up to a million Kyrgyz migrants living and working in Russia, whose remittances hold the key to social stability in the politically fragile nation. Maldivespasseslawallowingforeignerstopurchaseland: Parliament of Maldives passed a new law in July which will, for the first time, allow foreigners to purchase land. Some have criticised the new bill as it’s feared a power struggle will be sparked between India and China as the Chinese look to gain a foothold in the Indian Ocean. The new law states that investors must spend at least $1 billion to own land on one of the 1,200 islands in perpetuity. This would be considered small change for many Chinese companies, with the Maldives located on a vital east-west international shipping route. China also has considerable expertise in reclamation technology - meaning the obligation of reclaiming 70% of the land from the sea would not put companies off. Greekbanksreopenbutcashlimitsremainandtaxessoar: Greek banks opened their doors in the third week of July for the first time after remaining shut for over three weeks, a move the government hopes will help the economy get back to normal. Strict controls on the amounts individuals can withdraw remain, however, and new austerity taxes demanded by the country’s European creditors came into effect, making most everyday items more expensive. The higher taxes were a key plank of the recent bailout agreement between Greek PM Alexis Tsipras and European creditors. Other austerity measures included cuts to pensions.



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NorthKorea introduces ‘PyongyangTime’: North Korea announced in August that it was moving its clocks backwards 30 minutes to create a new “Pyongyang Time” -- breaking from a time standard imposed by “wicked” Japanese imperialists more than a century ago. The change will put the standard time in North Korea at GMT+8:30, 30 minutes behind South Korea which, like Japan, is at GMT+9:00. North Korea said the time change, approved by its parliament, would come into effect from August 15, which this year marks the 70th anniversary of the Korean peninsula’s liberation from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule. Exportingnationstowaivedutieson200ITproducts: Nations exporting IT products have agreed to waive tariffs on about 200 of them, the World Trade Organisation said on July 24. “In all, 54 World Trade Organisation (WTO) members agreed to eliminate tariffs on 201 IT products, which accounts for 7% of the global trade,” the WTO said in a statement in Geneva. Products include new generation semi-conductors (chips), GPS navigation, medical equipment, as well as machine tools for manufacturing printed circuits, telecommunications satellites and touch screens. Under the terms of the agreement, the majority of tariffs will be eliminated on these products within three years, with reductions beginning in 2016. RussiavetoesUNresolutionforprobeintoMH17crash: Russia used its veto at the United Nations in July to block a draft resolution on setting up an international tribunal into the Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 crash in July 2014. Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine while travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, killing all 298 people on board. Ukraine and the West have been accusing pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine saying there is evidence it was hit by a Russian-supplied Buk anti-aircraft missile while Russia denies all allegations. US,Europeorganise JointEffort2015: Some 800 troops from Moldova, the US, Romania, Poland and Georgia participated in joint military exercises in Moldova, a former Soviet republic that borders Ukraine. The “Joint Effort 2015”exercises concluded on July 25 at a military base in Moldova’s second-largest city of Balti. International Nelson Mandela Day observed: South Africans honoured the 67 years of former president Nelson Mandela’s service to the country with 67 minutes of charity and community action around the country on his birthday on July 18. Established in 2009, the day is meant to encourage South Africans to emulate Mandela’s humanitarian legacy and recognize the decades he spent fighting apartheid. AWARDSAmericanBookAwards: Carlos Santana, Marlon James and Naomi Klein are among the winners of the 36th annual American Book Awards, which celebrate diversity in publishing, in July. Santana and co-authors Ashley Kahn and Hal Miller were cited for the memoir ‘The Universal Tone’. James won the award for his novel, ‘A Brief History of Seven Killings’, based in part on the attempted assassination of Bob Marley. Klein won for the environmental work ‘This Changes Everything — Capitalism vs. The Climate’. Poet Anne Waldman, whose books include ‘The Iovis Trilogy’, was honoured for lifetime achievement. The awards are presented by the NGO Before Columbus Foundation. PERSONSINNEWS

APPOINTMENTS: Burundian President PierreNkurunziza was re-elected for a third consecutive term in the results announced in capital Bujumbura in July. MullahAkhtarMansoor was named as the new chief of Taliban in July after the insurgent group confirmed the death of its longtime supremo Mullah Omar. OBITUARIESScholar and priest OwenChadwick, whose works explored the history of Christianity, has died at the age of 99 in Cambridge, southern England on July 17. Oscar nominated character actor TheodoreBikel, who originated the role of Captain von Trapp in “The Sound of Music” on Broadway and starred in “Fiddler on the Roof” on stage in thousands of performances, died at thee age of 91 in Los Angeles on July 21. AlexRocco, the US actor best known for his role as Moe Greene in crime drama ‘The Godfather’, died aged 79 on July 18.



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Faces Serna Williams: Ageless, matchless Even before Serena’s remarkable late-career surge, she was regarded as one of the best female tennis players ever to play and her combination of dominance and longevity is a rarity in today’s fiercely professional sporting world

No major sport worships youth like tennis. The best athletes in basketball, soccer, football, and baseball tend to reach their peak in their mid-20s, an age when

experience, physical strength, and wisdom converge. But the

arc of a typical professional tennis career tends to resemble that of a pop star: Ascendant at 17, dominant at 21, washed up and finished by 30. Serena Williams, too, was a teenage tennis prodigy, a precocious girl following her older sister Venus from Compton, California, to the sport’s greatest stage. In 1999, the 17-year-old Serena won her first Grand Slam title, defeating Martina Hingis at the U.S. Open. More championships would soon follow, and before long Serena was mentioned in the same breath as the sport’s greats. King. Navratilova. Evert. Graf. Williams. But Serena, unlike the others, has forgotten to go into decline. On July 11, the 33-year-old Williams defeated Garbine Muguruza 6-4, 6-4 to win her sixth Wimbledon title. To the casual fan, another Serena victory has ceased to have any shock value. But it’s worth pausing, if just for a moment, to consider just how remarkable Williams’ career has been. Richard Williams, former sharecropper from Louisiana, was determined to see his two youngest girls succeed. He used what he’d gleaned from tennis books and videos to instruct Serena and Venus on how to play the game. At the age of 3, practicing on a court not far from the family’s home in Compton, California, home, Serena withstood the rigors of daily two-hour practices from her father. On courts that were riddled with potholes and sometimes missing nets, Serena and Venus cut their teeth on the game of tennis and the requirements for persevering in a tough climate. In 1995, Serena turned pro. Two years later, she was already No. 99 in the world rankings. A year later, she

graduated high school, and almost immediately inked a $12 million shoe deal with Puma. In 1999, she captured the U.S. Open title. It set the stage for a run of high-powered, high-profile victories for both Williams sisters. With their signature style and play, Venus and Serena changed the look of their sport as well. Their sheer power and athletic ability overwhelmed opponents, and their sense of style and presence made them standout celebrities on the court. The 16-year gap between Serena’s 1999 U.S. Open win and July 2015 Wimbledon championship is the largest in women’s tennis history. Muguruza, her Spanish opponent in the final, was five years old when Serena won her first Grand Slam title. Serena’s 21 Grand Slam victories are now the second most of all time since the Open Era began in 1968. Only Steffi Graf, the great German player who won 22 Slams in the 1980s and 1990s, has more. Majorwins

Grand Slam Singles title wins: Australian Open – 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015; French Open – 2002, 2013, 2015; Wimbledon – 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and US Open – 1999, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014. Won gold medal in Singles at the 2012 Olympic Games.

Her Grand Slam Doubles title wins: AustralianOpen

– 2001, 2003, 2009, 2010; FrenchOpen – 1999, 2010; Wimbledon – 2000, 2002, 2008, 2009, 2012 and US Open – 1999, 2009. Won gold medal at the Olympic Games with sister Serena in 2000, 2008, 2012. Serena is the current champion of each of the four Grand Slam events: the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open.

At 33 years and nine months, Serena became the oldest women’s tennis player to ever win a Grand Slam title, eclipsing Martina Navratilova, who won Wimbledon in 1990 when she was a month younger than Williams is now. As she overcame some early jitters and dispatched Muguruza on July 11, it became clear that Serena has not lost an ounce of poise, strength, agility, or skill despite her relatively advanced age.



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Current Affairs: Sports CRICKET

Steyn bowls the least to reach 400 testwickets: South Africa’s Dale Steyn became the fastest bowler to bag 400 Test wickets in terms of balls bowled on July 30 during the second test of the series in Bangladesh . It took 16634 balls for him to collect 400 wickets - the least, by far, taken by any bowler. Richard Hadlee, who was the previous quickest to the milestone in terms of balls bowled, took at least 3600 deliveries more than those taken by Steyn. Both Steyn and Hadlee took 80 Tests to reach 400 wickets. Overall, Muttiah Muralitharan, who took 72 Tests, is the only bowler quicker to the landmark. As many as 13 bowlers have taken 400 wickets in Tests including Steyn.

StuartBroadequalsfastestfive‐wickethaulinTests: England paceman Stuart Broad equalled the fastest five-wicket haul in Test cricket on the first day of the fourth Ashes Test match at Nottingham on August 6. Broad walked away with bowling figures of 8/15 but had collected his first five wickets giving away just six runs in 19 deliveries. Australia’s Ernie Toshack also took 19 balls to claim five wickets against India at Brisbane in a Test match in 1947. Broad also became the fifth England bowler to reach 300 Test wickets. Dilshanreaches10,000runmilestoneinODIs: Sri Lankan batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan became the 11th cricketer and the fourth Sri Lankan to complete 10,000 runs in one-day international cricket during his 63 run knock against Pakistan in in the fifth and final ODI at Hambontota. Dilshan joined former Sri Lankan greats Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, and Mahela Jayawardene in the coveted list topped by Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar. Ex‐SouthAfricacaptainCliveRicedies: Former all-rounder Clive Rice, the first post-apartheid captain of South Africa, died on July 28 aged 66. He played most of his cricket during South Africa’s 20-year isolation from the international game and was appointed captain of the team which played three ODIs in India when South Africa returned to the international fold in November 1991. In an era of notable all-rounders, including Ian Botham, Imran Khan, Kapil Dev and Richard Hadlee, Rice’s exploits were limited to South African domestic cricket, the English county championship and Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket. OLYMPICSTokyo2020Olympicslogorevealed: Tokyo has unveiled the logo for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in July. The Olympic emblem is the letter T, with upended quote marks to represent equality. Designed by the Japanese artist Kenjiro Sato, the emblem “reflects the vibrant nature of the city and the welcoming spirit of its citizens”. Beijingtohost2022WinterGames: Beijing on July 31 narrowly won an IOC vote for hosting the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. The Chinese capital beat Almaty of Kazakhstan by just 44 votes to 40, with one abstention, to become the first city to host both the summer and winter Games. Beijing held the summer Olympics in 2008. SpecialOlympicsWorldGamesheld: The 2015 Special Olympics World Games were organised in Los Angeles from July 25 to August 2. In this year’s Special Olympics, there are 6,500 athletes from 165 countries and regions, competing in 25 different games. Special Olympics is an event for people with intellectual disabilities and it was created following the ideal of Olympics. It is held every two years, alternated between summer and winter. RACINGHungarianGrandPrix: Ferrari’s German driver Sebastian Vettel won the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest on July 26 to tie with late Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna for third place on the all-time wins list at 41. Vettel, a four-time world champion, was followed across the finish line by Red Bull driver Daniil Kvyat and his teammate, Australian Daniel Ricciardo in second and third places respectively.



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DakshinDarerally: Sandeep Sharma and Karan Arya of Team Maruti won the seventh edition of Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare, one of the popular rallies of South India, that concluded in Hyderabad on August 8, 2015. Sandeep and Karan were in a Maruti Suzuki Gypsy. A total of 105 teams with 170 participants participated in the rally that covered a distance of 2000 km and passed through Bangalore, Hampi, Bellary and Shimoga. In the bike category, Arvind KP secured the first spot. In the endurance category, Jagdeep Gill and Chandan Sen grabbed the first position by making it to the finishing line with the least amount of penalty. ChrisFroomewinsTourdeFrance: Britain’s Chris Froome of Team Sky has won the 2015 Tour de France cycling race. 3,360.3 km race started in Utrecht, the Netherlands, on July 4 and concluded in Paris on July 26. The second and third places were taken by the Movistar Team riders Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde, respectively. Froome became the first Briton to win the Tour de France twice, after his 2013 victory. FOOTBALLCONACACFGoldCup: Mexico continued their dominance in CONACACF Gold Cup as they defeated Jamaica 3-1 in the final of the 2015 edition of the tournament in Philadelphia on July 26. Mexico won the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONACACF) tournament for record seventh time. Andres Guardado, Jesus Corona and Oribe Peralta scored the goals for the winners while Darren Mattocks scored the lone goal for Jamaica. Panama outlasted the United States 3-2 on penalty kicks to capture third place after 1-1 at full time. Indiastaticat156thinFIFArankings: The Indian football team continued to languish at 156th in the latest FIFA rankings as world champions Germany dropped to number three, with beaten finalist Argentina still holding on to the numero uno spot in the latest FIFA rankings issued in August. Elsewhere, Belgium toppled Germany to climb to the number two spot. The top three is followed by Colombia, Brazil, Portugal and Romania. England, Wales and Copa America winner Chile complete the top-10, followed by Spain and the Netherlands. PlatinitorunforFIFApresidency: Michel Platini has confirmed that he will be running to replace Sepp Blatter as the FIFA president in next February’s election. The 60-year-old former French footballer, who is currently acting as the UEFA president, gained the backing of four continental confederations to succeed the Swiss as the president of football’s governing body. Platini was re-elected as the UEFA president for a third term in March. MISCHOCKEY: Following the unceremonious ouster of Dutchman Paul van Ass, his compatriot and Hockey India (HI) Director High Performance RoelantOltmans was confirmed as the chief coach of the Indian team in July. Meanwhile at Chennai, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) Mumbai came from behind to defend their title after edging past Army XI 3-2 in the final of the 89th All India MCCMurugappaHockey Tournament on July 26. TENNIS: Spain’s Rafael Nadal beat Italian Fabio Fognini in straight sets 7-5, 7-5 to lift the HamburgOpen title on August 2. Australia’s Bernard Tomic secured his third ATP title by retaining the ClaraOpen tennis title after defeating his French opponent Adrian Mannarino in Bogota 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 on July 27. Meanwhile at Zagreb, Austrian Dominic Thiem beat Portuguese Joao Sousa 6-4, 6-1 to win the KonzumCroatiaOpen on July 27. SQUASH: Joshana Chinappa beat Denmark’s Line Hansen in straight games 11-5, 11-4, 11-9 in the final to win the USD 15,000 VictorianOpen squash competition in Australia while the Men’s title was won by Australia’s Ryan Cuskelly who beat Greg Lobban of Scotland 12-10, 13-11, 11-9. India’s Saurav Ghosal lost to Alfredo Avila of Mexico 9-11 11-8, 4-11, 8-11 in the final of the AlbiertoColombiano Squash in Colombian capital Bogota in August. ATHLETICS: Women’s 1500m world record broken: Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba produced a stunning run in Monaco Diamond League athletics meeting in July to set a world record of three minutes 50.08 seconds in women’s 1500m. The 24-year-old took four seconds off her personal best to break Chinese athlete Yunxia Qu’s record of 3:50.46, which had stood since September 1993.



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Current Affairs: Economy TRAI releases telecom consumersprotection regulations: Telecom regulator TRAI came out

with guidelines under the “Telecom Consumers Protection (Eighth Amendment) Regulations, 2015” in August which requires strict levels of disclosure of billing for mobile data and other services in a bid to protect the subscribers. Under the new guidelines, the telecom service providers would not only have to provide their subscribers with information regarding the mobile data used, but also information regarding various special data packs. The telecom operators have been given time till September 1 to implement these guidelines. While pre-paid users do get such notifications even now, these rules will extend the benefit to post-paid subscribers also.

Subscribers had also voiced concern about activation of internet service on mobile phones without their consent and deduction of charges for data usage. The new rules specify that dData services should be activated only with the explicit consent of the subscriber through a toll free short code 1925. The data services could also be deactivated through the same toll free code. EPFOchecks intoDalalStreet: The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on August 6 entered Dalal Street through exchange-traded fund route with an initial corpus of Rs 5,000 crore, which could go up to nearly Rs 15,000 crore next year. The first investment, announced in Mumbai by Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya in the presence of top market participants, would be made through SBI Mutual Fund’s two index-linked ETFs -- one to the BSE’s Sensex and the other to NSE’s Nifty. He ruled out the possibility of the Fund entering the capital markets through other ETFs or investing in equities, understanding well the stiff opposition from labour unions. Apr‐Jun fiscaldeficitat51.6%ofBudgetestimates: The fiscal deficit in the first three months of current fiscal stood at Rs 2.86 lakh crore or 51.6% of Budget estimates for 2015-16. This was an improvement over the corresponding period of 2014-15 when it was 56.1% of the Budget estimates. The fiscal deficit -- gap between expenditure and revenue -- for the entire current fiscal has been pegged at Rs 5.55 lakh crore. The fiscal deficit was Rs 5.01 lakh crore or 4% of GDP in 2014-15. The Finance Ministry on August 1 got Parliament’s nod to spend an additional Rs 25,500 crore in the current fiscal, nearly half of which will be spent on capital infusion into state-owned banks. 10%importdutyimposedonwheat: India will impose an import duty of 10 percent on wheat until March 31, 2016, reinstating tariffs after a gap of eight years following big overseas purchases in recent months. The objective is to curb imports at a time when domestic stocks are ample thanks to seven years of bumper harvests aided by government subsidies. In June private firms signed deals to import 500,000 tonnes of premium Australian wheat, the biggest such purchases in more than a decade, which led to criticism that the government was letting farmers down. Some flour millers in India’s port cities contracted to buy the wheat after rain and hailstorms earlier this year damaged crops, especially high-protein varieties used to make pasta and pizzas. DIPP laysdownnormsonuseof ‘Make in India’ logo: The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has come up with detailed guidelines for the use of ‘Make in India’ logo by various ministries, departments, states, private authorities and electronic media, among others. The use of the logo will be allowed without any permission for all central government ministries/departments and departments of state governments/UT administrations for use in programmes directly organised by them. Requests for use of the logo on publications, websites and portals will be taken up only if these are related to approved sectors under ‘Make in India’. Requests for use of the logo for programmes in electronic media such as debates and discussions will be considered on merit, going by the nature of the programme, profile and track record of producers and the target audience. India’sholdingofUSgovtbonds$114bn inMay: India increased its exposure to US government securities by USD 31 billion in the first five months of the year, taking the overall holdings to USD 114 billion in May. Latest data from the US Treasury Department shows that China continued to have the maximum exposure to American government securities with May holdings touching USD 1.27 trillion while Japan was second at USD 1.21 trillion.



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Current Affairs: Corporate RANKINGS&INDEXESFortune’sWorld’s500LargestCompanies

Seven Indian companies are among the world’s 500 largest companies, according to a list compiled by Fortune that has been topped by retail giant Walmart. Companies are ranked by total revenues for their respective fiscal years ended on or before March 31, 2015. Revenue figures include consolidated subsidiaries and reported revenues from discontinued operations, but exclude excise taxes. Top 10–Rank-Company-Country-Industry-Revenue: 1. Walmart (USA-Retail-$485.7 billion) 2. Sinopec (China-Petroleum-$446.8 bn) 3. Royal Dutch Shell (Netherlands-UK-Petroleum-$431.3 bn 4. China National Petroleum Corporation-China-Petroleum- $428.6 bn 5. ExxonMobil-USA-Petroleum-$382.6 bn 6. BP-UK-Petroleum-$358.7 bn 7. State Grid Corporation of China-China Power-$339.4 bn 8.

Volkswagen-Germany-Automobiles-$268.6 billion 9. Toyota-Japan-Automobiles-$247.7 bn 10. Glencore- Switzerland/UK-Commodities-$221.0 bn. Indian companies in the list are: Indian Oil (119th, $74 bn, Reliance Industries (158th, $ 62 bn, Tata Motors (254th , 42 bn), State Bank of India (260th, $42 bn), Bharat Petroleum (280th, $40 bn), Hindustan Petroleum (327th, $35 bn) and Oil and Natural Gas (449th, $26 bn) The US is home to 128 of the 500 global companies, including Apple (15), JP Morgan Chase (61), IBM (82), Microsoft (95), Google (124), Pepsi (141), Intel (182) and Goldman Sachs (278). China has close to 100 companies on the list, including Bank of China (45), China Railway Engineering (71) and China Development Bank (87). ForbesAsiaFabulous50: As many as 10 Indian companies, including Aurobindo Pharma, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, and HDFC Bank, have made it to the Forbes Asia Fabulous 50 list in July. The other Indian companies on the list include Lupin, Motherson Sumi Systems, Sun Pharma Industries, Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra and Titan. The list was dominated by Chinese companies as the country took over half of the spots in the coveted list of Asia-Pacific’s 50 best and big public companies. Moreover, China boasts the list’s most valuable company - Tencent, which is worth $176.5 billion - and its biggest, Lenovo, which generated $46.3 billion in revenue last year. The ‘Fab 50’ companies were chosen from a pool of 1,116 firms that have at least $3 billion in annual revenue or market cap. Forbes’World’sMostValuableSportingClubs: Spanish football side Real Madrid has become the most valuable sporting club in the world for the fourth consecutive year, according to Forbes. The magazine published its rankings of the most valuable sporting institutions in July with the Spanish football club topping the rankings again. Forbes estimated Real Madrid to be worth $3.26 billion. Second place in the list was occupied by American football club Dallas Cowboys and baseball team New York Yankees. They were both worth an estimated $3.20 billion. Real Madrid’s bitter rivals, FC Barcelona have fallen from second to fourth in the list with a value of $3.16 billion. English football club Manchester United dropped from third to fifth on the list with a value of $3.1 billion. HAPPENINGSGovt orders special audit ofmobile networks to check call drops: Expressing “serious concern” over the problem of frequent call drops, government ordered a special audit of mobile networks in July and said regulator TRAI has been asked to formulate a system of “incentives and disincentives” for their service quality. Coming down heavily on mobile operators, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said they have been provided “ample amount of spectrum” and it was their “job and responsibility” to upgrade the networks. However, he agreed that the limited availability of sites for putting up mobile towers on radiation and other concerns was affecting the service quality.



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Colgate‐PalmolivebidtopatentNutmegMouthwashfoiled: India foiled an attempt by consumer goods giant Colgate-Palmolive to patent a mouthwash formula containing herb extract by citing ancient texts that show it was traditionally used in ancient medicinal practices. Traditional Knowledge Digital Library of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR-TKDL) had submitted proof in the form of references from ancient books, which said the herb and its extracts of Myristica Fragrans were used for oral diseases in Indian systems of medicine. This was disclosed by by the Ministry of Science & Technology in July. Micromax acquires1.25thmn international trademark: Union Commerce & Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the final draft of the National IPR Policy focuses on stronger enforcement of IPR by increasing the manpower strength in IP offices and reducing the pendency of IPR filings. Most of the offices have done away with manual interface as all applications, queries and decisions are made online. She was speaking while inaugurating a seminar on ‘Protecting Brands Abroad with the Madrid System’ organized by FICCI, in association with World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and DIPP in New Delhi in July. The Minister presented a certificate of appreciation to Vineet Taneja, CEO of Micromax, on its acquisition of the 1.25th million international trademark under the Madrid System. The Madrid System allows an applicant to file one application, in one language and pay one set of fees to protect the Trademark in all WIPO member countries. Uninortopay forcalldrops: ‘Call Katega, Muft Call Milega’ has been the tagline of Uninor, which is the only telecom operator in India to compensate its users for ‘local’ call drops. The company now plans to extend the offer to outgoing STD calls and roaming across all networks. The Indian arm of Norway’s Telenor sends an SMS to a caller that one minute of extra talk time has been added in her account because a call dropped. The extra minute is valid for 24 hours. Uninor’s practice has prompted the Dot to ask TRAI to work out an incentive-disincentive structure for all telecom players over call drops. NewCERClogolaunched: Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy said that Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has played a parenting role in the regulatory set up in the country. While speaking at the function of CERC’s foundation day in New Delhi on July 24, Goyal unveiled new logo of CERC. The logo designed by National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad symbolises the changing face of CERC in the country from merely being a “tariff setter” to a “facilitator of development” of power sector and the market. FlipkartoffersRs50,000allowancetoemployeesforadoption: After relaxing maternity and paternity policies, eCommerce major Flipkart is now offering an allowance of Rs 50,000 to employees looking to adopt children. The “adoption allowance”, effective July, can be used towards legal, agency, regulatory costs or any other expenses that may arise during the adoption process. According to Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), 1,368 children found new homes in the January-March quarter of 2015. The adoption rates have been dismal in the country even though India has one of the largest population of children who are abandoned, deserted or are in institutional care. Airtel launchesdomesticallymanufacturedset‐topboxes: Bharti Enterprises’ DTH arm, Airtel Digital TV launched domestically manufactured set-top boxes (STBs) in July saying that in due course it will end dependence on imports. Foreign STB makers almost wiped out domestic players during cable TV digitalisation with around 95 per cent market share. The STBs are conceptualized and designed in India and will be manufactured by Hero Electronix in Pune. . Maseratitomakeacomeback inIndia: Italian luxury carmaker Maserati is set to re-enter India after a gap of over two years with its complete line up of products priced up to Rs 2.2 crore. The company now plans to sell four models -- Quattroporte, Ghibli, Gran Turismo and GranCabrio- all priced between Rs 1.14 crore to Rs 2.2 crore. The cars will be imported as a completely built unit into the country. Maserati, a part of the Fiat Group, will now operate out of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles India. Unhackable, unbreakable, waterproof smartphone developed: A new smartphone that is unhackable, waterproof and built from a special liquid metal alloy that is stronger than titanium and steel has been developed, its makers claim. The 5.5-inch smartphone is meant to be completely unhackable. End-to-end encryption is



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built into most of the core apps on the phone. The device, developed by Turing Robotic Industries based in San Francisco, California and Shenzhen, China, is made of a material called liquidmorphium. The phone is available for pre-order starting July 31, beginning at USD 610 for a 16GB model. Turing Robotic Industries CEO Steve Chao said in July the focus is on three features: privacy keys, liquid metal, nano-coating. USburgerchainCarl’sJr.entersIndia: Californian burger brand Carl’s Jr. opened shop in India in August with its first outlet in Delhi. Carl’s Jr. will introduce a specially designed menu dedicated to the Indian palate along with unique offerings such as beer on tap and an all-you-can-drink soft beverages bar. “We have made every effort to ensure that our Indian customers enjoy the same premium quality experience we are known for globally. We have developed a dedicated menu for India which includes an extensive vegetarian selection,” the US company said. Boeing, Tata Advanced Systems to jointly produce drones: US aerospace major Boeing and Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) signed an agreement in Hyderabad in July to jointly manufacture aerospace and defence products, including unmanned aerial vehicles or drones. TASL already has a contract to manufacture aerostructures for Boeing’s CH-47 Chinook and AH-6i helicopters. Tata group firms Tata Advanced Materials (TAML) and TAL Manufacturing Solutions, too, supply important components to Boeing. Japan’sMitsubishimakesprisonersofwarapology: Japan’s Mitsubishi corporation has made a landmark apology for using US prisoners of war as forced labour during World War Two. A senior executive expressed remorse at a ceremony in Los Angeles that prisoners had been put to work in mines operated by the firm. It is believed to be the first such apology by a Japanese company. One of the few surviving former US prisoners forced to work in Japan was present to accept the apology in July. James Murphy, 94, said this was “a glorious day... for 70 years we wanted this.”. PERSONSINNEWSBrett Lee: Hearing implant maker Cochlear appointed former Australian cricketer Brett Lee as its global brand ambassador in July. As Cochlear’s ambassador, Lee will spearhead the ‘Sounds of Cricket’ campaign to raise awareness of the significant medical, social and economic impacts hearing loss can have on individuals and their families. GinniRometty: Global IT major IBM’s CEO Ginni Rometty met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi in July. Rometty was on a three-day visit to India and has met senior leaders in the government as well as from the industry. IBM CEO has expressed optimism for India citing strong GDP growth, expanding base of startups and growing trend of new technologies like cloud in the country. Rometty also stressed on the importance of securing the massive amounts of data being generated every day through the millions of devices. LeonardoDiCaprio: Superstar Leonardo DiCaprio has donated USD 15 million to help save the planet in July. The beneficiaries include the Wildlife Conservation Society, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, Save the Elephants, the Conservation Land Trust, Tree People, Oceans 5, and the World Wildlife Fund. AmitabhBachchan: Baby and kids store FirstCry.com has announced Amitabh Bachchan as the face of the brand in July. Firstcry.com caters to customers on the lookout for baby and kids products with its online, mobile and over 125 offline stores. Bachchan has also signed a deal to be the brand ambassador of “Cycle Pure Agarbathies”, manufactured by the Mysore-based NR Ranga Rao & Sons in July. The association will witness the Bollywood icon endorsing the new brand positioning “Prarthana ki Shuddhata” across a multitude of platforms. VarunDhawan: Bollywood actor Varun Dhawan has been announced as the brand ambassador for Philips India’s shaving category. The “Badlapur” star unveiled a new electric shaving wizard Philips AquaTouch - Wet and Dry Electric Shaver in July. With Varun on board, Philips India’s personal care business will now have three Bollywood stars representing different product categories. Actor Arjun Kapoor will endorse the company’s trimming and body grooming business, while actress Alia Bhatt will endorse the beauty appliances range including haircare and depilation gadgets.



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Farhan Akhtar: Internet company Askme has roped in Bollywood actor Farhan Akhtar as its new brand ambassador for its online marketplace, Askmebazaar.Com in July. Meanwhile actress and brand ambassador Lisa Ray unveiled a special collection of diamond watches for Swiss watchmaker Rado in Jaipur in July. Actress Anushka Sharma was roped in as the brand ambassador of hair care brand Pantene in July replacing Shilpa Shetty who was the face of the shampoo so far. Kajaria Ceramics, India’s largest manufacturer of ceramic and vitrified tiles has entered into the segment of bathroom faucets under the Kerovit brand name endorsed by actress Nargis Fakhri. YuriMilner: Scientist Stephen Hawking announced the launch of “Breakthrough Listen” project that has been funded by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner in July. He has made an unprecedented commitment of $100 million in the search for intelligent extra-terrestrial life. This is a new massive endowment from Milner who also created the Breakthrough Fundamental Prizes, which make six annual awards of $3 million each to achievers in physics, life sciences and mathematics. Milner has persuaded luminaries like Sergey Brin, Jack Ma and Mark Zuckerberg to co-fund the prizes. PankajMunjal: Hero Motors Group, which includes flagship company Hero Cycles, elevated Pankaj Munjal as its Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) in July while his father Om Prakash Munjal has now been elevated to the position of Chairman Emeritus. The group comprises cycle major Hero Cycles, auto parts manufacturing companies -- Hero Motors Ltd, ZF Hero Chassis Systems and Munjal Kiriu Industries -- hospitality arm Munjal Hospitality and luxury home decor products company Oma Livings. SureshNarayanan, Chairman and CEO of Nestlé Philippines, replaced Nestlé India Managing Director (MD) Etienne Benet, who will step down from his post at the end of July and relocate to the Nestlé Group’s head office in Switzerland. The move comes amid India’s largest food company by revenue fighting the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in the Bombay High Court over the ban and recall of its Maggi noodles on June 5. Narayanan would replace Benet effective August 1. AnanthNarayanan: Fashion and lifestyle online portal, Myntra has appointed Ananth Narayanan as its chief executive officer in July. Mukesh Bansal, current CEO and co-founder of Myntra, will assume the position of the chairman of the board while continuing to lead Flipkart’s commerce platform. Myntra has recently moved to a mobile only platform and is planning to completely revamp its customer interface to make it more personal and mobile friendly. Sachin Bansal is Flipkart co-founder and CEO. DebjaniGhosh: Debjani Ghosh of Intel was appointed as the new President of Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology (MAIT) in July. The 32-year-old MAIT is the apex body of India’s IT hardware, training and research and development service sectors. She will be the first woman to hold the post. SuketDhir: Delhi-based garments designer Suket Dhir has won the just-announced 2015 International Woolmark Prize (IWP) regional final in Dubai in July. For the competition Dhir used Merino wool to stitch up ensembles incorporating the mango designs as embroidery and weaving techniques like the Ikat, to create the winning design of loose trousers and an indigo jacket. Dhir, will now represent the region -- India, Pakistan and Middle East and compete with five other regional winners in an international final scheduled to be held in Florence in January 2016. Elio Fiorucci: Italian fashion designer Elio Fiorucci, known for pioneering stretch jeans, died in July at 80. Fiorucci’s typical offerings, combining Italian taste and a London spirit, were made up of bright and fluorescent colors, T-shirts printed with angels, and plastic-based accessories. In 1990, Fiorucci sold his company to Japanese group Edwin International. In 2003, he launched the Love Therapy label. SatoruIwata, the president of Japanese video-game giant Nintendo, died in Kyoto on July 11. Iwata, 55, joined the Kyoto-based company in 2000 and was named president just two years later. Under Iwata’s direction, Nintendo developed the Nintendo DS and Wii video game consoles, helping the company to achieve financial success in the industry. As a self-stated gamer, he placed focus on making games to appeal to everyone, and is widely regarded as a major contributor in broadening video games’ appeal to new audiences



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LAUNCHES

OZO: Finnish telecoms equipment maker Nokia has unveiled its new virtual-reality camera named OZO for professional filmmakers and content creators. The ball-shaped gadget captures 3D footage for content creation for devices such as the increasingly popular headsets that let users immerse themselves in virtual games. Nokia was the world’s top mobile phone maker till 2011 but, after failing to respond to the rapid rise of smartphones, the Finnish company sold its handset unit to Microsoft in 2014. Since then the company has concentrated on its network infrastructure business. Livo,Saluto: Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) expanded its entry-level bike range by launching 110cc bike Livo priced up to Rs 55,489 in July. The company at present sells three Dream series models in the 110cc segment including Dream Yuga. Meanwhile, the company has stopped manufacturing its CB Twister model. Two-wheeler major Yamaha Motor India Sales launched a new variant of its 125 cc bike Saluto with disk brake, priced at Rs 54,500 (in July. ApolloSpectraHospitals: Apollo Hospitals Group subsidiary Apollo Health and Lifestyle Limited (AHLL) relaunched its acquisition Nova Specialty Hospitals as multi-specialty Apollo Spectra Hospitals in Bengaluru in July. Currently, the multi-specialty Apollo Spectra Hospitals -- formerly Nova Specialty hospitals -- exist in seven cities -- Delhi, Jaipur, Kanpur, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and Chennai. Founded by C. Pratap Reddy three decades ago, Apollo Group offers healthcare through Apollo Clinic, Sugar and Diagnostics under primary care, Apollo Cradle and Apollo Spectra Hospitals under secondary care and Apollo Hospitals under tertiary care. ChannelNine: Bhilwara based textile major Sangam (India) has launched women’s branded apparel category under the name of ‘Channel Nine’ in July. Sangam said that the seamless technology, imported from Italy, does away with the side seams in the apparel. The range consists of intimate wear, active wear, yoga wear, shape wear, casuals and fitness products. Additionally, it has also launched an ecommerce portal. NuPro: Mahindra & Mahindra is set to enter the branded oils and pulses category with NuPro brand. It would compete with established edible oil brands such as Adani Wilmar’s Fortune and Marico’s Saffola. Being the largest brand in farm tractors, the $19.9-billion Mahindra Group has been in the B2B space selling grapes, potato, pulses, oilseeds, and dairy products besides providing services to farmers with its 200-odd Samriddhi centres. UpGrad: U Education, an online education venture co-founded by producer Ronnie Screwvala, unveiled a new brand name ‘UpGrad’ for online courses for young professionals in July. UpGrad will have specialised programmes in entrepreneurship, data analytics and digital business management and will expand its programme portfolio soon. BizSparkPlus: Microsoft launched BizSpark Plus, its global programme that helps software startups succeed by giving them access to Microsoft software development tools and connecting them with key industry players, including investors, in India in July. As part of the programme, Microsoft will offer $120,000 a year of free Azure Cloud services to each of the qualified Indian startups. The programme, in addition to open source-friendly Azure, provides free software, developer tools, and technical support to help startups be successful. CODO: Haier, the Chinese home appliances and consumer electronics company, launched world’s smallest pocket washing machine - The Haier CODO, in India. Weighing just 200 grams, the handy washer is an ideal everyday companion for users to carry with them and not worry about getting embarrassing stains on the move or while eating. CODO is the world’ smallest washing machine and is all set to enter the prestigious Guinness Book of World records. CODO was launched online in July and is available exclusively Snapdeal at a price of MRP 3990/- Morph: Premium luggage brand Carlton, acquired by India’s VIP Industries in 2010, has launched a new range of luggage, Morph, designed exclusively for globe-trotters in July. With its ability to fold down to half its size, Morph is easy to carry around. It is easy to manoeuvre too, thanks to its single-stem trolley. Sainik: Century Ply, the leading brand of plywood, laminates and veneers in India has introduced a new plywood brand - Sainik, for the value segment in July along with a campaign, titled ‘Hamesha Taiyaar’. Plywood is a



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commoditized but complex category. Consumer involvement is very low, there are multiple products at different price points based on various technical parameters. A consumer does not understand those technicalities but knows his budget. The role of the brand in this category is limited to passive reassurance. Bandhan: Viacom18, the joint venture between Viacom and Network18, is planning to add a new channel to its bouquet. Bandhan, its new Hindi channel, will be a Hindi entertainment channel, the genre for which is not known yet. Viacom18 runs two channels in the Hindi GEC space - Colors and Rishtey. Mobilelaunches: Electronics giant Samsung expanded its range of Galaxy smartphones by launching two new 4G phones - J5 and J7 - in India in July. India’s IntexTechnologies has taken a leap into the wearable devices market with the launch of its new IRist smartwatch at the Mobile World Congress in Shanghai in July for Rs. 11,999. Chinese smartphone manufacturer ZTE unveiled its latest offering “Axon”, a hi-fi audio phone the company calls its “first phone made in the US, for the US” in July. LGElectronics launched the G4 Stylus smartphone in India at a price of Rs.24,990 in July. Home grown smartphone maker, ZenMobile, has launched a new smartphone, Sonic 1, which will be sold exclusively on eBay India from August for Rs 5,999. MERGERS&ACQUISITIONSBNPParibasacquiresSharekhan: French banking giant BNP Paribas acquired homegrown brokerage firm Sharekhan in an estimated Rs 2,000 crore deal in July, as it seeks to expand retail broking operations in India. The Mumbai-based Sharekhan began operations in 2000 and is one of the largest independent retail brokers with about 1.2 million clients. The deal to buy Sharekhan marks BNP’s second big play at retail broking in the country after its 2007 investment in the Kochi-based Geojit Securities. Following the BNP investment for 34%, Geojit was renamed BNP Geojit Paribas Financial Services and has now about 7,50,000 retail clients. BNP’s financial offerings in the country include corporate and retail banking, investment banking and wealth management. Viacom IncacquiresPrismTV: US-based media firm Viacom Inc acquired 50% stake in Prism TV -- an entity of Reliance Industries-owned Network18 Group – in July for Rs 940 crore. The remaining 50% stake will continue to be owned by Network18 Group, Viacom’s partner in the Viacom18 joint venture. Prism TV owns and operates regional entertainment channels including ETV Marathi, ETV Kannada, ETV Bangla, ETV Oriya and ETV Gujarati. All of them were recently rebranded under ‘COLORS’ umbrella. In July 2014, RIL had acquired Network 18 Media & Investments and its subsidiary TV18 Broadcast for Rs 4,000 crore. Viacom and Network18 Group have a joint venture -- Viacom18, which operates 10 channels including MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and COLORS, a leading Hindi general entertainment brand. TitagarhWagonsbuys Italy’sFiremaTrasporti: Titagarh Wagons Ltd concluded the acquisition of Firema Trasporti SpA, an Italian passenger and metro coach maker in July, gaining access to new technology and a robust manufacturing base. LockheedtobuySikorsky: Lockheed Martin Corp struck a deal to buy Sikorsky Aircraft, the helicopter unit of United Technologies Corp, for $9 billion in July. The deal cements Lockheed’s dominance in weapons making and opens key foreign markets for the company, which has annual revenues of $45 billion. It already dwarves its nearest competitors, the defense business of Boeing Co and Northrop Grumman Corp. MindtreeacquiresBluefinandRelational: Mid-tier IT services company Mindtree said in July it will UK-based Bluefin Solutions Limited (Bluefin) and US-based Relational Solutions Inc. in an all-cash transaction amounting to £42.3 million and $10 million, respectively. TimesGroup tobuyOye from IndiaTodayGroup: The Times Group-run Entertainment Network India (ENIL), which owns and operates Radio Mirchi FM channel, said in July that it has got the approval from the government to acquire TV Today Network’s radio station ‘Oye’ in 4 cities – Amritsar, Jodhpur, Patiala and Shimla. EINL has presence in 32 cities across the country.



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ZeebuysOdiachannelSarthak: The regional broadcasting segment is abuzz with merger and acquisition deals. Media firm Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) acquired Odia general entertainment channel Sarthak for Rs. 115 crore in July. This comes a few months after Star India acquired four Telugu channels of Maa Television network for an undisclosed sum. Post the deal to acquire Sarthak, Puneet Goenka, MD and CEO of ZEEL, said: “Sarthak will further add to our formidable bouquet of 33 channels in the domestic market.” Sitaram Agrawalla is the Founder-MD of Sarthak Group. AVAGroupacquiresMelambrand: Manufacturers of ‘Medimix’ brand of soaps and personal care products, AVA Group, announced its foray into the food business with acquisition of Kerala-based Melam Brand of masalas for an undisclosed sum in July. Melam Group established in 1992 has a presence both in domestic and export markets. Lupin toacquirespecialtyproductportfolioofTemmler: Pharma company Lupin, founded by Desh Bandhu Gupta, entered into an agreement with Temmler Pharma GmbH in July to acquire its specialty product portfolio, for an undisclosed sum. Germany-based Temmler is part of the Aenova Group, a large pharmaceutical contract manufacturer, and has a specialty portfolio of 13 products. They include Central Nervous System (CNS) products and specialty products that address rare disease areas like Myasthenia Gravis, Huntington disease as well as fast-growing dermatology products for anti-wart treatment. HealthinsurerAnthemtobuyCigna: Anthem Inc said in July it would buy Cigna Corp in a deal valued at $54.2 billion, creating the largest U.S. health insurer by membership. The deal comes three weeks after Aetna Inc agreed to buy Humana Inc for $37 billion and is part of an industry-wide consolidation following the roll-out of the Obama government’s healthcare reform law. The combined company will be led by Anthem Chief Executive Joseph Swedish. Cigna Chief Executive David Cordani will be president and chief operating officer. Samsungshareholdersback$8billionmerger: The Samsung conglomerate’s controlling Lee family scored a major victory in July over hedge funds, as shareholders approved an $8 billion merger of two Samsung affiliates designed to solidify the Lee family’s grip on the conglomerate’s crown jewel, Samsung Electronics. The merger between the Samsung conglomerate’s de facto holding company, Cheil Industries, and construction-and-trading arm Samsung C&T Corp was being opposed by US hedge funds who hold a sizeable stake in various Samsung Group companies. CAMPAIGNSLoveWhatYouDo: A recent survey conducted by Monster, a global leader in connecting people to jobs, revealed that 56 percent of the respondents could not find a job that meets their passion. It is surprising to see that only 13 percent of the respondents consider themselves fortunate to follow their passion in their current job. Understanding the current situation, Monster is launching ‘Love What You Do’ - a campaign that aims at provoking and inspiring people to love what they do and pursue their passion in July. The campaign is launched with the vision to take the next step towards more happiness in work and more integration of passion with work life. Hands of Hope: When it comes to health, there is no compromise, says Fortis Healthcare in its new brand campaign. In its first elaborate advertising campaign called ‘Hands of Hope’, Fortis tries to establish itself as the foremost player in the industry. The hospital chain has launched a campaign with the core idea of uncompromised excellence in July. The ad revolves around the theme of ‘uncompromised excellence’ and tries to tap the emotion of hope through its storytelling. BhajanseBhojanTak: The cooking oil brand is engaging with devotees taking part in the Jagannath Rath Yatra in Puri, through an OOH campaign called ‘Bhajan se Bhojan Tak’ in July. Pilgrimages in India attract huge crowds and are the perfect platforms for brands to engage with consumers. Like last year, Dalda Edible Oils, the cooking oil brand, has again come up with a unique out-of-home (OOH) campaign called ‘Bhajan se Bhojan Tak’. The campaign portrays the traditional aspect of the festival, whilst ensuring brand visibility in the Holy land of Puri.



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Cyber Buzz

Redditto ‘hide ‘abhorrent’content: It will be more difficult to find “abhorrent” content posted to community news site Reddit, the site has announced. It stopped short of banning the material outright and instead will require users to log-in to access it. The company reiterated its existing complete bans of illegal content, including child abuse images and so-called “revenge

porn”. This was disclosed by the new CEO and co-founder Steve Huffman in July . The hugely popular site allows users to share links on any

conceivable subject. Other users are then able to up- or down-vote links, meaning the most popular content surfaces to the top and is more prominent. Google buy button in shopping ads: Shoppers browsing on their smartphones can buy merchandise by tapping on a button included in the ads appearing in its search results. Google is introducing a way for shoppers browsing on their smartphones to buy merchandise by tapping on a button included in the ads appearing in its search results. The feature, called “Purchases on Google,” completes sales using financial information that has already been stored with Google.

Participating merchants can still gather information about customers using Google’s buying button. Facebook also has been testing a

similar buying button in ads appearing in its social network. About a dozen retailers are initially using Google’s buying button. Google is hoping to increase the number of merchants by the end of this year. FacebookMessenger launches globally:

Facebook announced in July that its Messenger is now globally available for users who want to sign up without a Facebook Account. People

without a Facebook account will be required to log in using a full name and phone number. Facebook still

suggests the users to sign up with their social account as this allows them to continue a conversation across various devices. Earlier in June, Facebook made a move to separate Messenger from the social network by allowing users in the US, Canada, Venezuela and Peru to sign up without a Facebook account. Snapdeal launchesShopo: E-commerce major Snapdeal re-launched Shopo, a mobile-based open marketplace which will allow small businesses to list

their products without paying any commission, in July. Snapdeal had acquired Shopo in mid-2013 for an undisclosed amount. Businesses can now list their products on Shopo without

submitting any document and long verification procedures and reach out to customers without paying Snapdeal any commission for the sale. “This will allow businesses as well as individuals to harness the power of Internet instantly and at zero cost,” said Snapdeal Co-founder and CEO Kunal Bahl. MakeMyTripbuysHoliday IQ: Online travel portal MakeMyTrip announced acquisition of 28 per cent stake in travel review and meta search website HolidayIQ for $15 million in July. MakeMyTrip aims to strengthen

its hotel and tour package business following this investment while Holiday IQ plans to use the funds to grow its

capabilities on content, mobile and product. “This capital gives us additional resources to expand quickly and strategically and accelerate pace of product innovation,” said Hari Nair, founder and chief executive of HolidayIQ. “This acquisition fits in our strategy to grow our hotels and package business,’’ MakeMyTrip’s co-founder and chief executive officer (India) Rajesh Magow stated. Ebay launches #SheMeansBusiness: To encourage women entrepreneurs to take advantage of the e-commerce growth in the country, online marketplace eBay India launched a campaign titled #SheMeansBusiness in July. The campaign, in partnership with Yourstory.Com, is a media platform for



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entrepreneurship and is inviting all online women entrepreneurs to share their success stories.

Aasaan Hai Badalna is new Quikr line: After going through an extensive re-branding exercise over six months, online classifieds firm Quikr revealed a new identity in July along with four sub-brands — QuikrHomes, QuikrCars, QuikrJobs and QuikrServices. ‘Aasaan Hai Badalna’ will replace the company’s current

tagline ‘No Fikar, Bech Quikr’ and the logo will be in a bolder font with strident shades of green and

blue. “We are launching these sub-brands because we are specialists in these categories and want consumers to know that. For instance, consumers don’t know we are the largest real-estate platform with three million active listings a month” said Pranay Chulet, founder CEO, Quikr. Royal Enfield sells all bikes in 26min: Niche bike maker Royal Enfield said in July it has sold its entire inventory of 200 units of limited edition motorcycles within 26 minutes of opening of online booking. Royal Enfield, the two—wheeler division of Eicher Motors had unveiled a range of limited edition bikes in May, inspired by the ‘despatch riders’ of the World Wars, which were be sold online only. The despatch motorcycle range is priced at Rs. 2.16 lakh (inroad Delhi). The Chennai-based two-wheeler maker currently sells popular bikes like Bullet, Classic, Thunderbird and Continental GT.

Windows 10 future starts now: Microsoft has released its first Windows 10 ads on Youtube with the

message, “the future starts now” in July. The company has produced 5 ads, each using footage of children from across the globe as a voice over that explains that they will have an easier life

because these kids will grow up with Windows 10. Windows is shown with a quick montage of Hello, the Start menu, the Edge browser and Cortana. The voice

overs say “Imagine, these kids won’t have to remember passwords or obsess about security.” Sorting Hat to motivate engineers: Rohit Bansal, Co-Founder and COO of India’s leading

consumer internet company Snapdeal, is on a mission to create about 1,000 “rockstar” engineers in the company by letting them work on projects based on their interest. Bansal plans to do this through a

unique initiative called ‘Sorting Hat’ launched in August, wherein the engineers will chose a project of their liking. While no other Indian technology company has ever come up with such ideas, search engine giant Google had launched an initiative called 20/80 policy. Known for its unique approach to innovation and open culture, Google had created some path-breaking and successful products such as Gmail, AdSense and Google Talk through this policy, wherein it allowed it’s engineers to spend ‘20%’ of their time on personal projects. The policy was discontinued later on.

Flipkart Growth Capital Initiative: E-commerce major Flipkart launched a financial assistance programme in July for its merchants to help them secure capital to expand their business online. Under the ‘Growth Capital Initiative’, Flipkart has partnered Bajaj Finserv, Axis bank, NeoGrowth, Lendingkart and Capital First to enable entrepreneurs fulfill their business aspirations. The company has already helped SMEs secure loans totalling about Rs 4 crore in the pilot phase. Under Flipkart’s initiative, SMEs can secure loans between Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1 crore with interest rates as low as 12% per annum.

AkosharenamedHelpChat: Online complaints redressal company

Akosha re-branded itself as HelpChat in

July. The company launched a messenger-based personal assistant platform ‘Helpchat’ that will be free for the end user and provide information across 18 categories. HelpChat, founded by Ankur Singla, has brands like Aircel, Voltas, Eureka Forbes, MakeMyTrip, Bookmyshow, and HDFC Life as its customers.



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Science & Technology

WorldBioFuelDaycelebratedThe Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas celebrated “World Bio Fuel Day” on August 10. On this occasion, Ministry announced marketing of High Speed Diesel blended with Bio-diesel in selected retail outlets of oil marketing companies in New Delhi & Vishakhapatnam (by HPCL), Haldia (by BPCL) and Vijayawada (by IOCL). Its a path breaking step in India’s retail sector for launching Bio-diesel B5 blend to diesel consumers. Recently, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural gas has permitted direct sale of Bio-Diesel (B100) to bulk consumers like Railways, shipping and State Road Transport Corporations etc. Also, Ethanol Blended Petrol program (EBP) is being promoted, where ethanol blending in petrol is going from 5 to 10 % based on the availability of ethanol. Promoting and encouraging Biofuels will not only reduce the import of fossil fuel but also save foreign exchange. Biofuels are renewable, biodegradable, sustainable and environmental friendly. More importantly, these programmes will connect agrarian community with direct cash flow. Internationally, 10th August is observed as “World Bio Diesel Day” in Germany and many other countries to mark the demonstration of Diesel Engine by Rudolf Diesel on various vegetable oils way back in 1893. In 1900 when he demonstrated the engine running on Ground nut oil in Paris he made a prophetic statement which reads like “ My Engine today is running on Diesel but a day will come when all the fossil fuels be over, but my engine will continue to run”.

10%ethanolblendingcansave$1.7bnIndia could save USD 1.7 billion of foreign exchange annually by 10 per cent mandatory ethanol blending with petrol, global consultancy firm McKinsey said in August while advocating promotion of the sugarcane bye-product to boost revenues of the cash-starved sugar mills. Releasing a report on the Rs 80,000 crore Indian sugar industry, McKinsey said the sector is facing “worst-crisis in 30 years” and suggested various short and long term measures to bail-out millers such as boosting export and raising production of cane bye-products including ethanol. Sugar mills currently owes about Rs 65,000 crore to banks and sugarcane farmers. Cane arrears to farmers are about Rs 14,500 crore, at present.

To balance supply-demand situation, 4-6 million tonnes of surplus sugar need to be pulled out from the system through exports or some other measures. Options could include considering removal of some restrictions on bye-product, increasing ethanol blending norms and setting up distilleries and co-generation units. Sugar sector is facing a huge cash crunch as output has exceeded the domestic demand for the last five years. The trend is expected to continue in the next sugar marketing year (October-September). CERNdiscoversnewparticlesScientists at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider has announced the discovery of a new class of exotic subatomic particles called the pentaquarks. Pentaquark was first predicted to exist in the 1960s but, much like the Higgs boson particle before it, the particle eluded science for decades until its detection at the LHC. Researchers said that the pentaquark represents a way to aggregate quarks, namely the fundamental constituents of ordinary protons and neutrons, in a pattern that has never been observed before in over 50 years of experimental searches. They added that studying the properties of pentaquark would enable them to understand better how ordinary matter, the protons and neutrons from which we’re all made, is constituted. Understanding of the structure of matter was revolutionised in 1964 when US physicist Murray Gell-Mann proposed that a category of particles known as baryons, which includes protons and neutrons, comprised three fractionally charged objects called quarks, and that another category, mesons, are formed of quark-antiquark pairs. Gell-Mann was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for this work in 1969. This quark model also allows the existence of other quark composite states, such as pentaquarks composed of four quarks and an antiquark. Earlier experiments that have searched for pentaquarks have proved inconclusive. Where the LHC experiment differs is that it has been able to look for pentaquarks from many perspectives, with all pointing to the same conclusion. The next step in the analysis will be to study how the quarks are bound together within the pentaquarks. The findings appear in the journal Physical Review Letters in July 2015.



26

RECENT RELEASES

TheFootprintsofPartitionThe Partition of British India and the subsequent creation of two antagonist countries is a phenomenon that we are still trying to comprehend. Millions displaced, thousands slaughtered, families divided and redefined, as home became alien land and the unknown became home. So much has been said about it but there is still no writer, storyteller or poet who has been able to explain the madness of Partition. Using the

oral narratives of four generations of people - mainly Pakistanis but also some Indians - Anam Zakaria, a Pakistani researcher, attempts to understand how the perception of Partition and the ‘other’ has evolved over the years. Common sense dictates that the bitter memories of Partition would now be forgotten and new relationships would have been forged over the years, but that is not always the case. The memories of Partition have been repackaged through state narratives, and attitudes have only hardened over the years. Post-Partition events - wars, religious extremism, terrorism - have left new imprints on 1947. This book documents the journey of Partition itself - after Partition. TheFarthestFieldThe photographs of three young men had stood in his

grandmother’s house for as long as he could remember, ‘beheld but not noticed, as angels are in a frieze of mortal strugglers’. They had all fought in the Second World War, a fact that surprised him. Indians had never figured in his idea of the war, nor the war in his idea of India. One of them, Bobby, even looked a bit like him, but Raghu Karnad had not noticed until he

was the same age as they were in their photo-frames. Then he learned about the Parsi boy from the sleepy south Indian coast, so eager to follow his brothers-in-law into the colonial forces and onto the front line. Manek,

dashing and confident, was a pilot with India’s fledgling air force; gentle Ganny became an army doctor in the arid North-West Frontier. Bobby’s pursuit would carry him as far as the deserts of Iraq and the green hell of the Burma battlefront. The years 1939-45 might be the most revered, deplored and replayed in modern history. Yet India’s extraordinary role has been concealed, from itself and from the world. In riveting prose, Karnad retrieves the story of a family - a story of love, rebellion, loyalty and uncertainty - and with it, the greater revelation that is India’s Second World War. Farthest Field narrates the lost epic of India’s war, in which the largest volunteer army in history fought for the British Empire, even as its countrymen fought to be free of it. It carries us from Madras to Peshawar, Egypt to Burma - unfolding the saga of a young family amazed by their swiftly changing world, and swept up in its violence.

TheViewFromKollamIn his debut book, ‘On a Clear Day You Can See India’,

C. Balagopal gave an anecdotal account of his early years as a young IAS officer in Manipur. While the stories were about ordinary people, often amusing and sometimes sombre, they also dealt with the underlying issues of identity in the North East. In The View from Kollam, Balagopal continues to regale us with his skills as a raconteur,

with his ability to see a story even in the most mundane occurrences in a small district office. He recounts stories that dwell on the events that defined his work as a district official in Kollam, Kerala, in the early 1980s. Amid the rough and tumble of daily work, there are engrossing tales that illustrate the skill, dexterity and sincerity that a district official needs to overcome hurdles and keep the administration moving. What shines through in this worm’s-eye view of administration is Balagopal’s earnest belief that given the space for original thought and action, it is the district that holds the key to improving governance in a large and diverse country like India. C. Balagopal joined the IAS in 1977 and worked in Manipur and Kerala before resigning in 1983 to set up a pioneering venture to make hi-tech medical products.



27

Group Discussion VYAPAM scam has no impact on BJP’s fortunes In the aftermath of BJP victories in eight out of 10 civic bodies in Madhya Pradesh, BJP leaders in Delhi and Bhopal have tried to paint the results as the people’s verdict on the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in general and on its involvement in the admission and recruitment scam called Vyapam, specifically

FOR

The Congress’s humiliating defeat in the civic elections in Madhya Pradesh has a grim message for the party. The results came at a time when the party, that had been out in the wilderness since the last general elections, appeared to be reclaiming some ground. Aided by its allies, the party succeeded in stalling business during the entire monsoon session of Parliament. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi put up belligerent fronts that they had rarely shown before. The resignation of Shivraj Singh Chouhan was one of the demands on which the party disrupted parliamentary business. The civic poll results suggest that the people in MP were not exactly won over by the Congress campaign. The people’s mandates at lower-level elections generally reflect their concerns over local issues. But these elections in MP were fought in a very different context. Chouhan’s government faced a major embarrassment over the big scandal involving admissions and recruitments in state-run educational institutions. The state government was forced to hand over the inquiry to the CBI. The Congress tried everything to make the Vyapam scandal, as it came to be known, a major issue in national politics. The results should make the party ask itself why its campaign fails to impress the people - in MP or elsewhere. For the BJP, these results would be some comfort at a time of mounting political pressures. They are not really unexpected, given the fact that the party commands an almost unassailable position in MP’s politics at the moment. While its strong highlighting of the Lalitgate episode and Vyapam scam had merit, the Congress Party’s maximalist position of demanding the resignations of foreign minister Sushma Swaraj and BJP CMs Vasundhara Raje and Chouhan to allow for normal functioning of Parliament had few takers. The BJP’s MP triumphs are remarkable. They are an indication that the party that has won three successive assembly victories in the state under the leadership of Chouhan has still not lost its winning touch. The party would be justified in seeing the results as a morale booster on the eve of the crucial assembly polls in Bihar.

AGAINST

The BJP would like to project the results as proof of the people’s rejection of the charges against the government in the Vyapam scandal. But the poll verdict does not necessarily reflect what the people think about the scam. The eight local bodies that the BJP has captured account of barely 0.1% of the state’s population. It would be morally wrong for a government to see an election result as evidence of guilt or innocence in a corruption case. In fact, it could harm the investigation if the government used the results in order to undermine it. This attempt to read a larger mandate — and a larger exoneration — into the municipal poll outcomes is predictable. It is also misguided. Local body polls cannot always be taken to be accurate or adequate predictors of the electorate’s inclinations in larger poll arenas at the assembly or parliamentary levels, or as a mandate on all the major issues in the fray. Incompetence of the opposition is the major reason for voter apathy over VYAPAM scam and the verdict should not been seen as a clean chit for the Chahuan administration. For all the noise and fury it made on Vyapam in Delhi and Bhopal, the Congress was unable to sharply frame the issue for the voter in Madhya Pradesh and for that the reasons are not far to seek. Out of power for 12 years now, the Congress in Madhya Pradesh is a demoralised force, bruised by the BJP’s serial victories and battered by chronic factionalism and infighting. Those are not the only reasons, however, why the BJP’s attempts to eke out a larger message from its civic poll victories in Madhya Pradesh appear ill-judged and inappropriate. Over the years, politicians and political regimes facing allegations of corruption have tried to seize upon poll verdicts, at whatever level, to claim vindication from the “people’s court”. This is a disturbing phenomenon in a constitutional democracy where if one kind of legitimacy comes from the people’s mandate, another kind depends on the rule of law, and where attempts to paint an antagonism between the two misunderstand the nature of, and are disrespectful to, both domains.



28

Crossword: (Solution on page No: 37)

ACROSS: 1. One of hundred to a rupee? (5) 4. Get something useful from waste material, in a way? (7) 8. United Nations Org. (3) 10. Natal or Jo’burg locale (3) 11. Dried poppy juice (5) 12. Offspring; send out (5) 13. Placed in or brought into a line (7) 15. Put out of possession? (5) 16. Euripides tragedy (7) 17. Air _: an attack by enemy aircraft? (4) 20. “Rat I” change for a girl (4) 23. Joyous, happy (4) 24. ___ muster: was found to be acceptable? (6) 26. Capable of being put to death (8) 27. Fall or crumple down like a house of cards? (8) 28. Savoury appetiser (6) 31. Sacred painting, mosaic, etc. in an orthodox church (4) 32. Excitedly expectant (4) 34. Nothing is written in this type of exam (4) 35. From that cause or origin (7) 36. Subarctic forest - “a gait” anagram? (5) 38. Famous city in Uttar Pradesh (7) 41. Ennoble (5) 42. Tutor or educate (5) 43. Alien visitor? (3) 44. ___ off: start off on a round of golf? (3) 45. Everlasting, invariable or unchanging (7) 46. They are taken by those who are venturesome? (5)

DOWN 1. Establish as true (5) 2. First alphabets of one’s name? (8) 3. Wire wound core of dynamo or electrical motor (8) 4. Mohammad ___: one of the greatest singers for Indian movie world? (4) 5. Elder son of Adam and Eve (4) 6. Tolerated (6) 7. Sent by post? (6) 8. Cause agitation (8) 9. I’ve told you __ __ __ again! (4,3,4) 14. City in Uttar Pradesh (9) 18. He is dogged by ______: he is more often than not sick? (3,6) 19. Meeting; interview or engagement (11)

DOWN 21. Short pictorial poem (5) 22. Polo (5) 23. A narrow valley in the mountains (4) 25. In a short time (4) 27. Arrive behind time (4,4) 29. Mixing device (8) 30. Skilled workmen or craftsmen (8) 33. Water-boiling vessel (6) 34. Out of sight, out __ ___? (2,4) 37. Aussies and Pommies fight for them on cricket field? (5) 39. Current, spate (4) 40. Extinct ox (4)



29

Do you remember? (All questions based on content of previous issue; Answers on page No: 32)

1. Which three Bharat Ratna recipients got the award

before becoming President of India? 2. A.P.J Abdul Kalam began his career with which

government research organisation? 3. Which was the first satellite put into orbit by India in

1980 and which was the launch vehicle used? 4. Which major Programme was started at DRDO under

the leadership of A.P.J Abdul Kalam in 1982? 5. Which book by A.P.J Abdul Kalam is considered his

autobiography? 6. Which book by A.P.J Abdul Kalam is a collection of

poems? 7. Which was the last book by A.P.J Abdul Kalam

published in July 2015? 8. Which is the forthcoming book by A.P.J Abdul Kalam

and who is the co-author? 9. Which awards given to school children by the National

Innovation Foundation (NIF) have been renamed after A.P.J Abdul Kalam? The award is inspired by the title of one of his books.

10. What is APJ Abdul Kalam’s birthday (October 15) celebrated in schools as?

11. Which science promotion campaign of HRD Ministry has been renamed after A.P.J Abdul Kalam? Under this campaign, government schools will be mentored by Institutes like IITs and IIMs to develop a passion towards learning of Science and Maths among children.

12. What is the Twitter account of APJ Abdul Kalam renamed as?

13. How many Indian sites were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in latest update in the Session held in Bonn in June-July?

14. How many Indian sites were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in the update in 2014?

15. Which social network has launched the “#100Women Initiative” in collaboration with the government in July? It aims to recognize and acknowledge women who are making a difference in their communities, across the country.

16. Expand the abbreviation NCRMP in context of disaster management?

17. Expand the abbreviation GAGAN? 18. What is the tagline of the Skill India mission launched

by the Prime Minister in July? 19. Expand the abbreviation PMKVY in context of the

Skill India mission launched by the PM in July?

20. Which initiative under Skill India mission launched in July seeks to assess and certify youth for the skills that they already possess?

21. When was the first World Youth Skills Day (WYSD) was observed in July?

22. Expand the abbreviation IVRS on context of customer support/feedback programmes?

23. Which subsidiary of Railways redevelops stations across the country?

24. Expand the abbreviations PMKSY, AIBP, IWMP and OFWM in context of government’s initiatives in agriculture and irrigation?

25. Which city in Gujarat has been selected under the HRIDAY (Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana) tourism development initiative of the government?

26. When was the World Population Day observed in July and what was the theme?

27. Endangered wildlife Sangai found in Manipur is a species of (jackal/fox/deer/bear) ________.

28. Expand the abbreviation CAMPA in context of environmental conservation?

29. July 15 was celebrated by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute as ______ (orange/mango/coconut/apple) day.

30. Which are the two aircraft carriers of Indian Navy in service currently? Which one of them will be decommissioned next year?

31. Which under-construction aircraft carrier will join the Indian Navy in 2018?

32. Which surface-to-air missile was formally inducted in the Indian Air Force at Gwalior (MP) by the Defence Minister in July?

33. Black box of which aircraft belonging to the Indian Coast Guard that went missing off coastal Tamil Nadu on June 8 was found on July 10?

34. Which is the first university in the country to launch a formal post-graduation course in North-East studies in July?

35. Who received the ‘Leadership in Animal Welfare Award 2015’ of the Humane Society International in July for preventing smuggling of cattle for animal sacrifice in Nepal?

36. Which 93-year old Indian artiste was the Legion of Honour at the French Embassy in New Delhi in July? This award was started by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802.



30

37. Which Heritage Project of Kerala Tourism this year’s prestigious Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold Award in July?

38. For which initiative/programme has government’s DIPP won the Policy & Program Implementation Excellence Award from Frost & Sullivan of USA in July?

39. Who will head the government-appointed Expert Group set up in July to classify the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) data?

40. Who was appointed Director of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in July?

41. Who was appointed MD & CEO of Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City)?

42. Who was appointed CMD of Indian Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) in July?

43. Actress Pallavi Joshi and Assamese Director Jahnu Barua resigned from the management society of which government institution in July?

44. Which Urdu poet known for the song ‘Karoge yaad to har baat yaad aayegi’ in the Hindi film ‘Bazaar’ died on July 9 at age of 79?

45. Which poet and Padma Bhushan awardee, known for TV serial “Goongi Tarikh” (1990), died on July 9 at the age of 73?

46. What first in Indian football was achieved by Sushil Bhattacharya who died on July 18 at the age of 90?

47. Who are the Presidents of Brazil and South Africa? 48. Which city in Russia hosted the BRICS Summit in

July? 49. What is CRA launched at the BRICS Summit in

Russia in July? 50. Where is the New Development Bank launched by

BRICS based and who is its first President? 51. India and Pakistan were inducted into which

organisation in July that has China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan as its members?

52. Satpayev oil field in the North Caspian Sea is owned by which Central Asian nation? India’s ONGC Videsh has a stake in it.

53. In which capital in Central Asia is the National Monument of Independence and Humanism located?

54. In which capital in Central Asia is the Ismaili Somoni Monument at Dusti Square located?

55. In which capital in Central Asia is the Victory Monument located?

56. Who are the Presidents of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan?

57. Which Central Asian leader was gifted the “Khamsa-i-Khusrau” of Sufi poet Amir Khusrau by the Indian PM in July?

58. Which are the capitals of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan?

59. Which Central Asian nation signed a deal to supply uranium for India’s nuclear power reactors during PM Modi’s visit in July?

60. In which central Asian capital was the Traditional Medicine and Yoga Centre inaugurated by PM Modi’s visit in July?

61. In which central Asian capital was the Mountain Biomedical Research Centre set up with Indian assistance in July?

62. Who is the President of Iran and which port in that country’s Sistan-Balochistan Province is being developed with Indian assistance? The port will give India sea-land access route to Afghanistan bypassing Pakistan.

63. Which company was ordered to pay $20 million compensation in July for defrauding Indian workers in a labour trafficking case in USA?

64. Where is the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services based?

65. What is CATS in context of assistance for road accident victims?

66. Which state received certificate for hand washing world record it had created on World Hand washing Day (October 15, 2014) from Guinness in July 2015?

67. Hussainiwala in Punjab is famous as the village of which martyr?

68. Which state has Parineeti Chopra as brand ambassador of its ‘Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao’ campaign?

69. India’s longest road tunnel of 9.2 km length connects Chenani with Nashri in which state?

70. Who was the first non-Congress Prime Minister of the country and which is his hometown where a museum dedicated to him was announced by the CM in July?

71. In which state was India’s first Community Skill Park inaugurated in July and what is it called?

72. Where was a garden called ‘Nakshatra Vatika’ inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee in July?

73. Which is the governing party in Greece and who is the Prime Minister?

74. Which is the World Book Capital for 2017 named by UNESCO in July 2015?

75. What was the USA-Australia biennial military exercise in July named?

76. Which are the Mekong Five countries? 77. Which famous religious festival in Nepal has decided

to ban animal sacrifice from the next edition? 78. Which central Asian nation became the newest

member of World Trade Organization (WTO) in July? 79. Who is the Director General of World Trade

Organization?



31

80. When was the International Day of Cooperatives observed in July and who is the Director General of ILO?

81. Who are the two Indian winners of 2015 Ramon Magsaysay Award and which country’s government gives this award?

82. Who was named as the new Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund in July?

83. Who gifted his Academy Award (Oscar) to Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in July? He is the Producer of the film Schindler’s List.

84. Which American author, known for novels such as “Ragtime” and “The March”, died in July at the age of 84?

85. Tom Moore died in USA at the age of 86 in July. He was famous for drawing which cartoon character?

86. Name the Hollywood producer, best known for films like the “Ocean’s” trilogy, “Nashville” and the “Karate Kid”, who died at 77 in California in July?

87. Saudi Arabia’s Prince Saud Al Faisal died in July at 75. He became famous as the world’s longest serving ____ Minister.

88. Alcides Edgardo Ghiggia died in Uruguay at the age of 88 in July. He was famous for which sport?

89. Who are the winners of Singles titles at Wimbledon in July?

90. Who were the losing finalists in Singles finals at Wimbledon in July?

91. Who was partner of Sania Mirza in Women’s Doubles title win at Wimbledon in July?

92. Who was partner of Leander Paes in Mixed Doubles title win at Wimbledon in July?

93. Who won matches for India against New Zealand in the Asia/Oceania Group I Davis Cup tie in Christchurch in July?

94. Who was sacked as coach of India’s Men’s Hockey team in July?

95. Motorsports’ world governing body FIA decided to retire the number 17 for Formula One cars as an “appropriate gesture” for which late driver in July?

96. Phil Knight started Nike in partnership with which Oregon (USA)-based athletics coach?

97. Who designed swoosh logo for Nike for just $35? 98. Nike founder Phil Knight graduated from the Oregon

University in which subject (Law/Medicine/Commerce/Journalism)?

99. Which Japanese company’s Tiger brand shoes inspired Phil Knight to start a company of his own?

100. What was renamed as Nike in 1964? 101. Who suggested the name Nike to Phil Knight? 102. Whose complaint was behind Twitter’s move to delete

tweets from people who steal others’ jokes and tweet them in July?

103. Which DTH service launched a mobile application in July to enable its subscribers watch TV programmes on their smartphones?

104. Which pharma company has developed world’s first malaria vaccine called Mosquirix that started clinical trials in July?

105. Which economist is the author of ‘Hubris - Why Economists Failed to Predict the Crisis and How to Avoid’ released in July?

106. Which Tamil Nadu-based party is led by S. Ramadoss?

Answers on next page



32

Do you remember? Answers

1. A.P.J Abdul Kalam (1998), Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1954), Zakir Hussain (1963)

2. DRDO 3. Rohini I, SLV-III 4. Integrated Guided Missile

Development Programme 5. Wings of Fire (1999) 6. ‘The Life Tree’ (2005) 7. Transcendence–My Spiritual

Experiences 8. Advantage India, Srijan Pal

Singh 9. IGNITE Awards

10. Children’s Creativity and Innovation Day

11. APJ Abdul Kalam Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan

12. In Memory of Dr Kalam 13. None 14. 2–Rani Ki Vav (Patan), Great

Himalayan National Park 15. Facebook 16. National Cyclone Risk

Mitigation Project 17. GPS-Aided Geo-Augmented

Navigation 18. Kaushal Bharat, Kushal

Bharat 19. PMKVY 20. Recognition of Prior Learning 21. July 15 22. Interactive Voice Response

System 23. Indian Stations Development

Corporation Ltd. (IRSDC) 24. Pradhan Mantri Krishi

Sinchayee Yojana, Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme

25. Dwarka 26. July 11, Vulnerable

Populations in Emergencies 27. Deer 28. Compensatory Afforestation

Fund Management and Planning Authority

29. mango 30. INS Vikramaditya, INS

Viraat (to be decommissioned in 2016)

31. INS Vikrant 32. Akash 33. Dornier 34. Jamia Millia lslamia 35. Sashastra Seema Bal Director

General B D Sharma 36. Sayed Haider Raza 37. Muziris Heritage Project 38. Make in India 39. Arvind Panagariya 40. Prashant Pathrabe 41. Ajay Kumar Pandey 42. Ajay Kumar Bhalla 43. FTII 44. Bashar Nawaz 45. Sardar Anjum 46. First coach of the Indian

women’s football team 47. Dilma Rousseff, Jacob Zuma 48. Ufa 49. Currency Reserve

Arrangement 50. Shanghai, KV Kamath 51. Shanghai Cooperation

Organisation 52. Kazakhstan 53. Tashkent 54. Dushanbe 55. Ashgabat 56. Islam Karimov, Nursultan

Nazarbayev, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, Almazbek Atambayev & Emomali Rahmon

57. Islam Karimov 58. Tashkent, Astana, Ashgabat,

Bishkek, Dushanbe 59. Kazakhstan 60. Ashgabat 61. Bishkek 62. Hassan Rouhani, Chabahar 63. Signet International 64. Hyderabad

65. Centralized Accident & Trauma Services

66. Madhya Pradesh 67. Shaheed Sardar Bhagat Singh 68. Haryana 69. Jammu and Kashmir 70. Morarji Desai, Valsad 71. Kerala, Kaushal Kendra 72. Secunderabad 73. Syriza, Alexis Tsipras 74. Conakry (capital of Guinea) 75. Talisman Sabre 76. Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar,

Thailand and Vietnam 77. Gadhimai festival 78. Kazakhstan 79. Robert Azevedo 80. July 4, Guy Ryder 81. Anshu Gupta, Sanjiv

Chaturvedi 82. Maurice Obstfeld 83. Branko Lustig 84. Edgar Lawrence Doctorow 85. Archie 86. Jerry Weintraub 87. Foreign 88. Soccer 89. Djokovic and Williams 90. Roger Federer, Garbine

Muguruza 91. Martina Hingis 92. Martina Hingis 93. Yuki Bhambri and Somdev

Devvarman 94. Paul van Ass 95. Jules Bianchi 96. Bob Bowerman 97. Carolyn Davidson 98. Journalism 99. Onitsuka

100. Blue Ribbon Sports 101. Jeff Johnson 102. Writer Olga Lexell 103. Videocon d2h 104. gsk (GlaxoSmithKline) 105. Meghnad Desai 106. Paattali Makkal Katchi



33

Corporate Knowledge Quiz (All questions based on content in this issue & previous issue)

(Answers Key on Page No: 37) 1. Which of the following launched 110cc motorcycle Livo priced at Rs 55,500 in July? a) Yamaha Motor India b) Hero MotoCorp c) Suzuki Motorcycle India d) Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India 2. Which corporate group said it was entering the oils and pulses category with NuPro brand in July? a) Dabur b) Mahindra c) L&T d) Godrej 3. Which of the following appointed its co-founder Steve Huffman as the new CEO in July? a) Instagram b) LinkedIn c) Craigslist d) Reddit 4. India foiled a bid to patent Nutmeg Mouthwash by which of the following FMCG companies in July? a) Johnson & Johnson b) Proctor & Gamble c) Unilever d) Colgate Palmolive 5. Cheil Industries Inc. is the holding company of which South Korean conglomerate? a) Hyundai b) Daewoo c) LG d) Samsung 6. Which Indian IT company announced the acquisition of Bluefin of UK and Relational of USA in July? a) Tech Mahindra b) Happiest Minds c) Mindtree d) Polaris 7. Which Indian e-commerce company launched the ‘Growth Capital Initiative’ for its merchants in July to help them secure capital to expand their business online? a) Snapdeal b) Jabong c) Flipkart

d) Yatra.com 8. San Francisco-based Turing Robotic Industries was in news for developing a totally unhackable, unbreakable and waterproof version of which of the following? a) PC b) Laptop c) Tablet d) Smartphone 9. Which Californian burger brand opened its first outlet in India in August? a) Carl’s Jr. b) Freddy’s c) Shake Shack d) Wendy’s 10. Which of the following relaunched Nova Specialty Hospitals as Spectra Hospitals in July? a) Apollo Hospitals b) Fortis Healthcare c) Max Healthcare d) Narayana Hrudalaya Group 11. Puneet Goenka is the MD and CEO of which media group? a) Sahara One b) NDTV c) Star d) Zee 12. Which domestic mobile handset company launched IRist smartwatch in July? a) Micromax b) Karbonn c) Spice d) Intex 13. Which of the following has tied up with Boeing to manufacture unmanned aerial vehicles or drones in India in July? a) Mahindra & Mahindra b) Tata Advanced Systems d) Larsen & Toubro c) Hindustan Aeronautics 14. Indian online complaints redressal company Akosha re-branded itself as which of the following in July?



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a) SpotChat b) AskChat c) HelpChat d) NowChat 15. Which Indian e-commerce company launched Shopo, a mobile-based open marketplace which will allow small businesses to list their products without paying any commission, in July? a) Snapdeal b) Jabong c) Flipkart d) Infibeam 16. Which former Australian cricketer was appointed as its global brand ambassador by hearing implant maker Cochlear in July? a) Brett Lee b) Ricky Ponting c) Steve Waugh d) Shane Warne 17. Ginni Rometty is the CEO of which IT company? a) Cisco b) Oracle c) Intel d) IBM 18. Who announced plans in July to launch four models -- Quattroporte, Ghibli, Gran Turismo and GranCabrio- all priced between Rs 1.14 crore to Rs 2.2 crore in India? a) Lamborghini b) Bentley c) Ferrari d) Maserati 19. Which of the following owns the ‘Medimix’ brand of soaps and personal care products? a) Hamdard b) Patanjali c) GMR Group d) AVA Group 20. Which of the following has Varun Dhawan, Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt endorsing its various products? a) Videocon b) Onida c) Philips d) Micromax 21. Who launched its BizSpark Plus global programme in India in July? It helps software startups by giving them

access to software development tools and connecting them with key industry players, including investors. a) Apple b) IBM c) Microsoft d) Google 22. Which of the following Indian online ventures introduced a new tagline ‘Aasaan Hai Badalna’ in July? a) Quikr b) Olx c) Justdial d) Sulekha 23. Which Indian e-commerce company has announced an allowance of Rs 50,000 to employees looking to adopt children? a) Snapdeal b) Jabong c) Flipkart d) Yatra.com 24. Satoru Iwata, who died at 55 on July 11, is credited with turning the fortunes of which gaming company? a) Rovio b) Zynga c) Sega d) Nintendo 25. Which of the following launched 125 cc motorcycle Saluto priced at Rs 54,500 in July? a) Yamaha Motor India b) Hero MotoCorp c) Suzuki Motorcycle India d) Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India 26. Which of the following has topped Fortune’s list of World’s 500 Largest Companies in July? a) Walmart b) Exxon c) Microsoft d) Berkshire Hathaway 27. Which company was in news for acquiring its 1.25th million international trademark in July? a) Hindustan Unilever b) Infosys c) L&T d) Micromax 28. Which internet venture signed Farhan Akhtar as brand ambassador in July?



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a) Olx b) Quikr c) Askme d) Naaptol 29. Which of the following Indian pharmaceutical companies was founded by Desh Bandhu Gupta? a) Lupin b) Alembic c) Aurobindo Pharma d) Elder Pharmaceuticals 30. Suresh Narayanan took charge as the Managing Director of which MNC’s India subsidiary in August? a) Microsoft b) Mondelez c) Kellogg’s d) Nestle 31. Who among the following is associated with the online education venture U Education that unveiled a new brand name ‘UpGrad’ for online courses for young professionals in July? a) Ashvini Yardi b) Uday Shankar c) Shobhana Bhartia d) Ronnie Screwvala 32. Anthem and Cigna are among the top companies in USA in which sector? a) Advertising b) Pharmaceuticals c) Insurance d) Hotels 33. ‘Call Katega, Muft Call Milega’ has been the tagline of which of the following? a) Vodafone b) Idea c) Uninor d) Aircel 34. Which travel & tourism portal acquired travel review and search website HolidayIQ in July? a) Yatra.com b) MakeMyTrip.com c) Goibibo.com d) Cleartrip.com 35. Which regulatory body got a new logo in July 2015? a) Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority b) Central Electricity Regulatory Commission

c) Airports Economic Regulatory Authority d) Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority 36. Which of the following was in news in July for launching world’s first pocket washing machine named CODO? a) Haier b) Electrolux c) Whirlpool d) Groupe SEB 37. Which of the following is the watch brand endorsed by Lisa Ray? a) Rado b) Longines c) Omega d) Tissot 38. Owner of which of the following announced a deal to acquire FM radio station ‘Oye’ in four cities in July? a) Radio Mid-Day b) Radio Mirchi c) Radio Today d) Radio City 39. Which brand signed Anushka Sharma as its new ambassador in July? a) Heads & Shoulders b) Garnier c) Vatika d) Pantene 40. Which of the following has launched #SheMeansBusiness campaign to encourage women entrepreneurs in July? a) Amazon India b) ebay India c) Flipkart d) Snapdeal 41. Latest version of which of the following was launched with the message “the future starts now”? a) iOS b) Windows c) Mozilla d) Android 42. Who among the following was promoted as the CMD of Hero Motors Group in July? a) Sunil Kant Munjal b) Pawan Munjal c) Vijay Munjal



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d) Pankaj Munjal 43. Which of the following announced a deal to sell its Sikorsky helicopter unit to Lockheed Martin in July? a) Airbus b) Boeing c) United Technologies d) Finmeccanica

44. Which of the following launched the luggage brand Morph in India in July? a) Wildcraft b) Carlton c) Samsonite d) Victorinox 45. Which cooking oil brand launched a advertising campaign titled ‘Bhajan se Bhojan Tak’ in July? a) Dalda b) Dhara c) Saffola d) Fortune 46. Which of the following was in news for its ‘Hands of Hope’ campaign in July? a) Apollo Hospitals b) Fortis Healthcare c) Max Healthcare d) Narayana Hrudalaya Group

47. Which plywood company launched a new plywood brand Sainik for the value segment in July? a) Kitply b) Donear c) Century d) Greenply 48. Which of the following announced plans to launch a new general entertainment channel (GEC) Bandhan in July? a) Viacom b) Star c) Zee d) Sony 49. Which of the following job search portals launched the campaign ‘Love What You Do; in July? a) Naukri.com b) Monster.com c) Shine.com d) Jobsahead.com 50. Which Japanese company was in news in July for issuing a landmark apology for using US prisoners of war as forced labour during World War II? a) Hitachi b) Toshiba c) Mitsubishi d) Panasonic

Point-Counterpoint

“We are actually shocked. The Prime Minister did not even take chief ministers into confidence, Manipur CM, Assam CM and Arunachal CM, who are directly affected. Here is another show of arrogance of this government.”

– Sonia Gandhi, Congress President, lashing out at the Centre for not consulting the chief ministers of north-eastern states before signing the Naga Peace accord

“On political issues, you are opposing the government. On economic issues, you are opposing. Today on an issue of national security, you are opposing. Whose interest are you serving?.”

– Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce Minister, adding that initial statements by the Congress chief ministers of north east states welcomed the accord

“Sushmaji should tell the country how much money her family, her daughter and husband got from Lalit Modi to keep him out of jail?.”

– Rahul Gandhi, Congress Vice President, on Lalit Modi issue

“On your next vacation, when you are alone, read the history of your family and come back and ask ‘Mamma, how much money did we get in the Quattrocchi incident?”

– Sushma Swaraj, External Affairs Minister, launching a strong attack on Rahul for the statements that he has been making against her outside the parliament



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Corporate Knowledge Quiz: Answer Key

1. d 2. b 3. d 4. d 5. d 6. c 7. c 8. d 9. a 10. a

11. d 12. d 13. b 14. c 15. a 16. a 17. d 18. d 19. d 20. c

21. c 22. b 23. c 24. d 25. a 26. a 27. d 28. c 29. a 30. d

31. d 32. c 33. c 34. b 35. b 36. a 37. a 38. b 39. d 40. b

41. b 42. d 43. c 44. b 45. a 46. b 47. c 48. a 49. b 50. c

Sudoku (Solution below)

SUDOKU I

SUDOKU II

Solutions:

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU I

SUDOKU II

genesis-august 2015 issue ii.pdf

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