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RBI/ BANKING/ BUSINESS NEWS THIS MONTH

August 1:Betting big on the governments reforms agenda, overseas investors have poured in more than USD 5 billion in

the Indian market so far this month taking the total inflow to over USD 25 billion since January 2014.

August 1:The soon-to-be-turned private bank IDFC will be headed by its current Executive Chairman Rajiv Lall. Subject

RBI approval, Rajiv Lall will be the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of IDFC Bank, which is expected to

formed by October 2015.

August 1:Large public companies can now appoint an individual as the Chairperson as well as Managing Director or chie

executive officer at the same time.

Note:This dispensation will be available for public companies with a paid-up capital of Rs. 100 crore or more and an ann

turnover of Rs. 1000 crore or more, the corporate affairs ministry has said.

August 1:The Federal Reserve is cutting its monthly purchases of Government-linked bonds to $25 billion, down from th

$35 billion level set at the central banks last meeting in June.

August 1:Drugmaker Cipla has entered into a commercial collaboration with BioQuiddity Inc for BioQuidditys OneDos

ReadyfusOR anaesthetic applications for post-surgical pain management.

Note:The agreement covers the European Union and other countries in the region, Cipla said.

August 2:SBI Caps (the investment banking arm of State Bank of India) has been asked by the Finance Ministry to

undertake a study on the merger and recapitalisation of banks

August 3:The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case of alleged bribery against the Chairman & Managing

Director of Syndicate Bank Sudhir Kumar Jain.

August 8:Vidyo, Inc., a visual communications solutions provider has been selected by IndusInd Bank, one of the fastest

growing new-generation private sector banks in India for Video Branch, a mobile and desktop-based banking service bein

deployed across the country.


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August 9:The Reserve Bank of India has said that the proposed Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) will function as a

tiered structure for operating the countrys bill payment system. It will have a single brand image providing convenience o

anytime anywhere payment to customers.

August 11:The RBI said that it will transfer the surplus amount of Rs. 52,679 crore to the Government. The year before,

central bank said that it had transferred Rs. 33,010 crore to the Government.

August 16:Coca-Cola has announced it will pay $2.15 billion for a 16.7 per cent stake in Monster Beverage, cementing a

distribution-based link between the two that had added significantly to Cokes profits.

August 20:Google confirmed it has bought the startup behind a Jetpac mobile application that creates insightful travel

guides by analyzing pictures from social networks such as Instagram.Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

August 22:Five Indian companies, including Hindustan Unilever and Tata Consultancy Services, are among Forbes list o

the worlds 100 most innovative companies that investors think are most likely to generate big, new growth ideas.

August 22:People can now deposit up to Rs 1.5 lakh annually in their Public Provident Fund (PPF) with the government

notifying changes in the popular savings scheme. The government has issued a notification raising the limit from annual P

deposit limit from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh in pursuance of the announcement made by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

August 22:Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFC) with asset size of Rs. 100 crore and above have been forbidden to

give more than 50 per cent of the value of shares pledged with them (capping the loan to value ratio at 50 per cent). This

would be applicable only to loans of Rs. 5 lakh and above.This has been done to minimise volatility in the market.

August 22:To provide a one-stop virtual shop for all social welfare spending needs of companies, the Government plan

to have a corporate social responsibility portal along with data analytics platform.

August 30:The Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance is bringing out the twentieth issue of the annual

publication Indias External Debt: A Status Report 2013-14. The Report presents a detailed analysis of Indias external d

position at end-March 2014, based on the data released by the Reserve Bank of India on June 30, 2014.

August 30:State-owned United Bank of India (UBI) has filed a caveat in the Supreme Court against Kingfisher Airlines

(KFA) shortly after Calcutta High Court division benchs judgement was delivered.

NATION THIS MONTH

August 3:Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address the United Nations General Assembly on September 27,

giving his first global speech to an audience of nearly 200 world leaders and foreign ministers at the annual gathering of th

world bodys policymaking organ.


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August 3:The board of directors of Indias largest milk federation, the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation

(GCMMF), has unanimously elected Jethabhai Patel, a cooperative leader from North Gujarat as the new Chairman.

GCMMF sells milk products under the Amul brand.

August 3:The Modi Government will give a decisive push to make the Ganga-Hooghly waterway navigable for freight

movement by tying up for a World Bank loan that could be as much as $1 billion.

August 4:Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Nepal's Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and the three agreements signed

between the two sides. This includes the 6.90 crore Nepali Rupees agreement to overcome the deficiency of iodine and to

supply iodized salt to Nepal.

August 4:Inspired by Gujarat government, the Centre has urged all the states to provide 33 per cent reservation for wome

in their police forces to effectively deal with cases of sexual violence and crime against women

August 4:The Union Defence Ministry allowed armed forces to do business related to essential requirements with the Ro

Royce.

August 4:Union Ministry of HRD has set up Hari Gautam Committee to review the status of UGC.

August 4:100 years of the outbreak of First World War (WW-1) was observed across the globe on 4 August 2014.

August 5:Shri Jogen Chowdhary to be the first artist in-residence in Rashtrapati Bhavan.

August 6:According to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, the Government of India has to establish the Natio

Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) in the Successor State of Andhra Pradesh within a period of 10 years.

August 7:Union Minister for the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Shri Jual Oram said that the Union Government in the curre

financial year 2014-15, has introduced Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojna (VKY) as Central Sector Scheme with an allocation of R

100 crore with special focus on the qualitative and sustainable employment for tribal families; bridging infrastructure gaps

with focus on quality; improving the quality of education and health and improving the quality of life in tribal areas.

August 7: India and Bhutan agree to strengthen the strategic cooperation in the field of Agriculture & allied sectors betw

the two countries.

August 8: The Tamil Nadu Government has introduced the Tamil Nadu Entry into Public Places (Removal of restriction

dress) Act, 2014, seeking to remove the ban on wearing dhoti and other traditional Indian attire imposed by recreational cl

and others. The Bill provides for cancellation of licence and punishment of one year imprisonment for any violation of the

legislation.

August 9: The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh launched the Web application of Delhi Police for issuing Police

Clearance Certificate (PCC) to the people of Delhi who require the PCC for emigration, employment etc.


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August 9:Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has announced a series of integrated drinking water schemes and also

proposed a Tamil Nadu Innovative Initiative to promote innovation in the State.

August 10:12th India-ASEAN meeting was held in Naypyitaw (Myanmar).

August 10:The second and final report of justice MB Shah Commission of inquiry into illegal mining in Orissa has strongrecommended the Centre to order a CBI probe against 14 mining leaseholders including Aditya Birla-owned Essel Mining

because of the involvement of state and Central government officials in the matter.

August 10:The Ministry of Rural Development launched its flagship Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission, which is

aimed at providing urban amenities in rural areas.

August 13:Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, laid the foundation stone for Leh-Kargil-Srinagar transmission system. He al

dedicated the 45 MW Nimoo Bazgo Hydroelectric Project to the nation.

August 13:India successfully conducted trials of its indigenously developed surface-to-air Akash missile, which has a

strike range of 25 kms, as part of a user trial by the Air Force from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur.

August 16:The Lok Sabha passed the National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill and Constitution (121st

Amendment) Bill meant to replace the collegium system with a commission, where the executive too would have a say in

selection of judges to the higher judiciary.

August 17:The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation of a Port- Based Multi-product Special Economic

Zone (SEZ) at the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) at Sheva, Navi Mumbai.

August 17:The Honble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, commissioned INS Kolkata into the Indian Navy.

August 17:Andhra Pradesh Government decided to make Vijayawada its ad hoc capital. Vijayawada will be an ad hoc

capital until the needed infrastructure and other projects for the new capital are completed.

August 17:India ranked fifth amongst top ten wind power producers in the world by adding 1,700 MW capacity in 2013,

report said. China was the leading wind power producer by adding 16,100 MW capacity in 2013, followed by USA,

Germany and Spain, Renewables 2014 Global Status Report said.

August 18:In a function at Solapur, the Prime Minister dedicated to the nation 765 kV Solapur - Raichur transmission lin

and four laning of Pune - Solapur section of NH-9.

August 19:Assuring financial independence to the poorest of the poor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana to provide bank accounts along with a debit card and an insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh t

all.


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August 20:The CBI arrested Rakesh Kumar, CEO of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), three days after it arre

two persons associated with the board and seized from them Rs 70,000 which was to be paid to Kumar allegedly as a bribe

clear a regional movie.

August 20:A sessions court in Manipur ordered the immediate release of civil rights activist Irom Sharmila, who has bee

on an indefinite hunger strike demanding repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act for the past 13 years.

August 21- Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, dedicated the 1000MW ( 2X500 MW) stage I of Mouda Super Thermal

Power Project to the nation in Mouda in Nagpur district of Maharashtra.

August 21:A Hindu temple, claimed to be the worlds first eco-temple featuring solar panels and a rainwater harvesting

system, has been opened in northwest London in the UK. The ornate 20 million pounds Shree Swaminarayan Mandir temp

in Kingsbury combines traditional Indian architecture and carvings with green technology.

August 21:The year 2015-2016 will be observed as water conservation year. A public movement will launched througho

the country for this purpose and at least one official of the Union Water Resources Ministry will be present in every distric

of the country during this period.

August 22:The Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Shri Prakash Javadekar inaugurated the 13th International AB

Asia-Pacific Robot Contest (ABU-ROBOCON) on 24th August, 2014. ABU-ROBOCON 2014 is being organized by

Doordarshan at the Badminton Hall, Balewadi Sports Complex, Pune from 22-26th August, 2014.

August 23:Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar opened the first edition of northeast film festiva

the capital and said the government is committed to mainstream new initiatives in the region.

August 24:The first indigenously built stealth anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kamorta was commissioned by

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley at the Naval dockyard, Vishakapatnam.

August 26:With the aim to bolster ties between the Indian Air Force and Russian Federation Air Force (RFAF), Ex Avia

Indra-2014 commenced at Astrakhan region, near the Caspian Sea in Russia. The Exercise will go on till 05 September

2014.

August 26:Ministry of Textiles announced that Ministry through DC (Handlooms) has signed a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) with Flipkart India Pvt. Ltd. to provide online marketing platform to handloom weavers to boost the

handloom sector, empower the weavers and boost manufacturing in the country.

August 26:India and Vietnam agreed to deepen cooperation in defence and oil sectors among others as External Affairs

Minister Sushma Swaraj reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral ties with the strategically-important country.

August 27:The Union Minister for Tourism Shri Shripad Naik launched the Comprehensive Sustainable Tourism Criteria

for India (STCI) for Accommodation, Tour Operators and Beaches, Backwaters, Lakes & Rivers Sectors.


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August 28:Prime Minister has approved the constitution of a Committee to carry out a review to identify obsolete laws. T

Committee will be chaired by Shri R. Ramanujam, Secretary PMO. Shri V.K. Bhasin, former Secretary, Legislative

Department, will be its other member.

August 28:The Union Minister of Communications & Information Technology and Law & Justice, Shri Ravi Shankar

Prasad chaired a conference of IT Ministers and IT Secretaries of States / UTs to discuss the Digital India programme.

August 29:The Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has signed Memorandum of Understanding for two more

pilot projects for Cashless Treatment Road Accident Victimsone on Vadodara-Mumbai stretch of NH-8 and the other o

Ranchi-Rargaon-Mahulia (Jamshedpur) stretch of NH-33.

August 30:A Credit Agreement for World Bank (IDA) assistance of US$ 107 million for Second Mizoram State Roads

Project (MSRP II) has been signed between the Government of India and the World Bank.

August 30:Beginning September 1, 2014 the doors of 20 Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) wellness centres in

Delhi will be thrown open to senior citizens from among the public for free consultation. Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Health

Minister, unveiled a pilot project with wide ramifications for the future of public health care.

INDIAN ECONOMY THIS MONTH

August 8:The Tata Group has retained its place as the countrys most valuable brand at USD 21 billion, while the total

worth of top-100 Indian brands now stands at USD 92.6 billion.

August 9:The growth of asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) in India will moderate to 30 per cent in the next 12 mont

according to credit rating agency Crisil.

August 10:The Indian Cotton Federation (ICF) organised the second All India Cotton Conference on August 12 and 13 a

The Residency in Coimbtore. The theme of the conference is Indian Cotton Scenario in the current context 2014-15.

August 10:The Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (Credai) has decided to work towards the

theme Homes For All by 2022. The meeting of the apex body representing private real estate developers in the country tha

was held during August 6-8 laid special thrust on the mission of pucca housing for all by 2022.

August 10:Expanding the scope of the work of Prime Ministers Rural Development Fellows (PMRDFs), the rural

development ministry has asked states to involve the fellows in the crucial exercise of the process of preparing the labour

budget for MGNREGA for 2015-16 in 2,500 backward blocks across the nation.

August 11:To help attract greater foreign and domestic investments into real estate and infrastructure, markets regulator

Sebi has cleared final guidelines for creation and listing of business trusts for these key sectors.

August 12:Keen to restore investor confidence, the finance ministry is likely to whittle down the scope of the General An

Avoidance Rules (GAARs) so that genuine tax planning isnt impacted by these dreaded rules.

August 12:The Ken-Betwa Link Project, benefiting Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, has been taken up for the

implementation. The estimated cost of the Phase-I and Phase-II of the Ken-Betwa Link project is Rs.9393 Crore (2008 pric

level) and Rs.2283 Crore (2012-13 price level) respectively.


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August 12:As per the original provisions under the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Act, 2005 and Rules, 2006, exempti

from Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) in the case of SEZ Developers and Units as also the exemption from Dividend

Distribution Tax (DDT) for SEZ Developers were granted.

August 16:Reserve Bank will issue Rs 1,000 new bank notes under the Mahatma Gandhi Series-2005 with the rupee mar

'R' in inset.

August 16:Rapid financial inclusion envisaged by the Government under the Jan Dhan Yojana will lead to a decline in

usage of cash in India in line with developed countries, according to State Bank of India Chairman Arundhati Bhattachary

August 19:India and Singapore decided to scale up ties in key areas of investment and trade which has witnessed a huge

surge from $4.2 billion to about $19.4 billion in the last one decade.

August 20:Days after Prime MinisterNarendra Modis call to corporate houses to join the cause of rural sanitation, softw

major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Bharti Foundation, the development arm of Bharti Enterprises, announced tha

they will both earmark Rs. 100 crore each to be spent on building toilets in rural India.

August 22:The Ministry of Environment and Forests has given environment clearance to Cairn India to raise crude oil

production from its prolific Rajasthan block by 50 per cent to 300,000 barrels per day.

August 22:Falling prices of crude oil, thermal coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) are huge positive for India as energy

imports account for 36 per cent of its total imports last fiscal, research firm Crisil Research said.

August 22:Construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) said it has bagged new orders worth Rs 1,283 crore in water

infrastructure and renewable energy sectors in the country in July and August. The orders were bagged by Water and

Renewable Energy business segment of L&T Construction.

August 23:In order to comply with the insurance regulators norm on dematerialisation digitisationof life insuranc

policies, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) tied up with all five insurance repositories.

August 26:The government will spend Rs 20,000 crore to provide mobile connectivity in 55,000 villages, which are still

untouched by wireless telephony, in the next five years, Telecom Secretary Rakesh Garg said.August 27:Tata Value Homes has partnered with e-commerce major Snapdeal to sell houses through the online marketpl

model. Home buyers can now register with the e-commerce portal and look for options from 1,000 apartments spread acro

seven citiesMumbai, Talegaon, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata for a booking amount of Rs

30,000.

August 28:Rating agency Moodys expects the GDP to grow at 5.1 per cent in the first quarter (April-June) of current fis

better than 4.7 per cent clocked a year ago.

August 29:The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police filed 10 first information reports (FIRs) against

several officials of state-run banks and individuals for an alleged fixed deposit fraud of more than Rs 1,000 crore.

August 29:The retirement fund body also has also fixed the minimum monthly pension for EPFO schemes at Rs. 1,000. Tmove will immediately benefit 28 lakh pensioners who get less than this amount at present. Mr Jaitley in the Budget had

allocated Rs. 250 crore in the current financial year for this purpose.

August 29:Odisha government launched Rs. 3,200 crore economic corridor between Jagdalpur and Rourkela.

August 30:While probing manipulators in the capital markets space, some officials at regulator SEBI have got a specific

that they do very seriouslythat is reading media reports to get leads on possible irregularities.


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GLOBE-TROT THIS MONTH

August 1:The U.S. House approved a lawsuit against President Barack Obama over alleged abuse of executive power.

August 1:The President of Sierra Leone has declared a public health emergency as the Ebola crisis deepens across West

Africa.

August 9:China successfully launched a remote-sensing satellite, Yaogan XX to carry out scientific experiments and

provide early alerts about natural disasters.

August 11:The 18th BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) ministerial meeting on climate change, which conclu

in New Delhi.

August 16:China has inaugurated its second railway line in Tibet, built at a cost of $2.16 billion, close to Indian border in

Sikkim, enhancing mobility of its military in the remote and strategic Himalayan region.

August 20:PriceWaterhouseCoopers will pay $25 million and face a two-year suspension from consulting for new bank

clients under an agreement with New York regulators following an investigation that showed the company improperly alte

a report about Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi laundering money.

August 21:The first Director General levels talks between Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), India and Police Narcotics

Bureau (PNB), Sri Lanka was held at New Delhi.

August 23:An Indian-origin student, who scored a perfect five in his main subjects with 100 per cent marks across the

board, is being hailed as the brightest student in Britain. Asanish Kalyanasundaram achieved the highest possible grades in

maths, physics, chemistry, biology and critical thinking as part of the five main subjects required at A Levels in Britain.

August 28:The three-day talks between India and Pakistan here over designs of Kishan Ganga Dam and four other

hydroelectric power projects at the Jhelum and the Chenab rivers respectively has ended inconclusively.

August 29:The US government has designated a Lahore based money exchange firm Asma Money Exchanges and its ow

Muhammad Iqbal as global terrorists for providing financial support to Lashkar-e-Toiba.

August 30:The Ambassador of Israel to India Mr. Daniel Carmon called on the Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath. The t

sides have Agreement on Homeland and Public Security, Agreement on Protection of Classified Materials & Information

Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in Criminal Matters in the field of bilateral cooperation.

August 30:Libyas toothless interim government, led by prime minister Abdullah al-Thani, announced it had tendered its

resignation to the elected parliament, days after a rival Islamist administration was created. The interim government,

operating in the east of the country to avoid the Islamist militias which have a strong presence in Tripoli.


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INDIAN LEADERS VISITING ABROAD/ FOREIGN COUNTRY NATIONALS VISITING INDIA

August 1:US Secretary of State, John Kerry, called on Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, at the latter's North Block office.

Kerry, who arrived in India for an official visit, has already pressed New Delhi to drop its opposition to global trade refor

August 3:Prime Minister Narendra Modi sailed on a visit to the Himalayan nation. During the two-day visit to Nepal, Mo

holded talks with his counterpart Sushil Koirala and meet with other political leaders.

August 30:Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Japan amid "great expectations" that the five-day trip will open new

vistas in bilateral ties and Strategic and Global Partnership to a higher level.

APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS THIS MONTH

August 3: Former UN peacekeeper in Congo Sudesh Kumar, has been handed over th e command of the

inspector general's office of BSF Meghalaya Frontier.

August 8:Arvind Gupta, former Indian Foreign Service officer, was appointed a s Deputy National

Security Adviser (NSA).

August 8:YES Bank has appointed retired IAS officer Radha Singh as Non -Executive Chairperson of t

boa rd of the bank.

August 7:Justice Dr Manjula Chellur sworn in as the first woman Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court

the oldest high court in the countr y.

August 9:IDFC appointed Ravi Shankar as the head of the proposed banks fin ancial inclusion and rur

busi ness in it ia ti ve .

August 11:Syrias state-run news agency is reporting that President Bashar Assad has reappoint ed

prem ier Wael al-Halq i to form a new go vernment.

August 14:AIADMK leader M.Thnbidura unanimously elected Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha. He i

the first leader to hold the post for a second time. Earlier in 1985 , also has the distinction of being

elevated to the post.

August 16:S.M. Swathi, General Manager of Corporation Bank, has been appointed as Executive

Director of Bharatiya Mahila Bank. She had assumed office on August 14.

August 17:Rajni Razdan became the new Chairperson of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC

She was appointed as Chairperson of UPSC by the President Pranab Mukherjee in accordance with the

Article 316 (1) of the Constitution.


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August 19:Former captain Mahela Jayawardene was given a fairytale sendoff in his last test match as S

Lanka eased to a 105-run victory that completed a 2-0 series sweep over Pakistan.

August 26:Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Prime Minister of Republic of Turkey , now has been electe

as the President of the Republic of Turkey.

August 26:French Prime Minister Manuel Valls presented his governments resignation.

August 26:Thailand's army chief Gen Prayuth Chan -ocha, who seized power in a military coup three

months ago, became the country's prime minister, the first serving army officer to assume the top offic

in 22 years.

August 27:UPA appointed Governor Sheila Dikshit resigned.

August 27:Modern-era Don Shah Rukh Khan has become the first Indian actor to be roped in as

Ambassador of Interpols initiative Turn Back Crime campaign, aimed at promoting greater awaren es

on how to prevent crime. The Turn Back Crime campaign is aimed at raising public awareness that

organised crime is often involved in seemingly unrelated crimes.

AWARDS/HONOURS/WORLD TITLES/NEW DISCOVERIES THIS MONTH

August 4:Bharatiya Mahila Bank Ltd. bagged the Core Banking System Initiative Award for the year 2014 at the Asian

Banking and Finance - Retail Banking Awards 2014.

August 4:The 2014 Ramon Magsaysay Awards Awardees are Hu Shuli, Saur Marlina Manurung, Omara Khan Masoudi

from Afghanistan, The Citizens Foundation (A Non Governmental Organization) from Pakistan, Wang Canfa from China

Randy Halasan from the Philippines

August 8:Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, CMD of Bandhan, has received the Entrepreneur of the Year award from the All Ind

Management Association (AIMA).

August 13:Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus, Tata Sons Ltd, has been conferred the 18th MMA Amalgamations Business

Leadership Award at a function in Chennai.

August 14: Two Indian-origin academicians have won global prizes in the field of mathematics with one of them being

awarded the Fields Medalknown as the Nobel Prize of mathematics. Manjul Bhargava won the Fields Medal, while

Subhash Khot won the Rolf Nevanlinna Prize, awarded by the International Mathematical Union, at the International

Congress of Mathematicians 2014 held in Seoul.

August 14:The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented Outstanding Parliamentarian Awards to Shri Arun

Jaitley, Dr. Karan Singh and Shri Sharad Yadav for the years 2010, 2011 and 2012 respectively at a function organized by

Indian Parliamentary Group.

August 21:Indian-origin South African academic Leila Patel has been named the African countrys one of the top women

researcher in the annual Women in Science Awards hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology.


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August 23:Seven books of stories, six of poetry, one of novel, one of essays and eight writers for their total contribution t

children literature have won the Bal Sahitya Puraskar this year.

August 27: Shri Ram Vilas Paswan, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has announced the annu

awards and commendation certificates for the nineteenth prestigious Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Awards for the year

2012. The Best of All Award has been won by Rail Wheel factory (Ministry of Railways), Bangalore.

SPORTS NEWS THIS MONTH

August 2:In a huge jolt to Indian men hockey teams chances in the Commonwealth Games, captain Sardar Singh has be

suspended for the semi-final match against New Zealand following his second dangerous offence of the tournament.

August 4: Woman discus thrower Seema Punia, who won a silver for India at the 20th Commonwealth Games, was the f

bearer for the country during its closing ceremony.

August 4:Lauding the performance of Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa, who won the squash doubles gold at the

Commonwealth Games, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa announced a cash award of Rs.50 lakh each to the

winnersJuly 8 : Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza has achieved a career-best rank of number five in the world as the new WTA

Doubles.

August 5:In Commonwealth Games 2014 India finished at fifth-place with 64 medals, including 15 yellow metals.

August 17:Jammu and Kashmir to host Football Federation Cup in August 2015.

August 18: World number three tennis player, Roger Federer of Switzerland won Cincinnati Tennis Open, also called

Western & Southern Open. He defeated David Ferrer of Spain 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 in the final played in Cincinnati, US. This was

sixth Cincinnati title for 33-year-old Federer and was the first Masters title for Federer since 2012.

August 18:England won the 5-match Pataudi Trophy test-series played against India by 3-1. England achieved the feat af

defeating India in the fifth and final Test at The Oval by an innings and 244 runs.

August 20: Ravi Shastri has been appointed Director of the India cricket team for the ODI series against England.

August 21:Hurdler Siddhanth Thingalaya, representing ONGC, secured his berth for the Asian Games by equaling his ow

national record in the 110m hurdles on the concluding day of the Federation Cup Senior National Athletics Championship

Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports, Patiala.

August 23: Atletico Madrid striker Mario Mandzukics early goal secured a 1-0 win over Real Madrid and a 2-1 aggregat

success to clinch the Spanish Super Cup and gain some revenge for last seasons Champions League final defeat.

August 25:The President of India Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the 6th Edition of Kamada Kinkar Mukherjee Rural


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Football Tournament at Raghunathganj in Murshidabad district, West Bengal.

August 26: In the doubles, Leander Paes continues to be India's top-ranked player at number 12, a loss of one position. In

women's rankings, Sania Mirza maintained her top-five rank as she was unchanged at number 5.

August 28:Roger Federer has not won a Grand Slam title this year but the 17-time Grand Slam champion topped Forbesmagazines list of the 10 top tennis money-makers announced.

August 28: Indian women cricket captain Mithali Raj has retained the top spot in the latest International Cricket Council

(ICC) womens rankings for batters.

August 30:Mobile handset maker HTC Mobiles announced that it has become an official sponsor for Kings XI Punjab, o

of the eight cricket teams of Indian Premier League (IPL).

EULOGIES THIS MONTH

August 1:Dick Wagner, the famous rock guitarist of Alice Cooper died due to respiratory failure at Scottsdale Healthcare

Shea Medical Centre in Arizona. He was 71.

August 3:Noted educationist, scholar and author Som Ranchan died at a hospital after a brief illness. He was 82 years old

August 7:Shri Pran Kumar Sharma, a versatile cartoonist who brought smiles to the faces of people through his cartoons

Chacha Chowdhary and Sabu passed away at the age of 75.

August 9:Chairman of Saraswat Co-operative Bank and former Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha Member Eknath Keshav Thakur

passed away after a prolonged battle with cancer. He was 73.

August 12:Goalkeeping great Vladimir Beara of Croatia died in city Split of Croatia on 11 August 2014. He died after a

series of strokes over the past year. He was 85.

August 13: Oscar Winning veteran actor Robin Williams, 63, was found dead, Police has said. The apparent cause of the

death was suicide, authorities said.

August 13:Member of Indias first Lok Sabha Reshamlal Jangde died due to age-related ailments at a local hospital. He w

89.

August 13:US actress Lauren Bacall, 89, died of a stroke at her home in New York, according to multiple reports.

August 13:Eduardo Campos, the Brazilian presidential candidate, died after his private jet crashed in So Paulo, Brazil. H

was 49.


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August 23:Jnanpith award winning litterateur UR Ananthamurthy has passed away in a Bangalore hospital. He was 81.

August 26:Acclaimed actor and Oscar-winning director Richard Attenborough, whose film career on both sides of the

camera spanned 60 years, has died. He was 90.

August 28: Famed violinist Kumar Dinesh passed away. Ailing for the last one month, the 86-year-old violinist from theChhotanagpur Raj Gharana passed away at a hospital in Delhi.

MISCELLANEOUS NEWS THIS MONTH

August 1:Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE) will be a part of the Mars 2020 rover mission that was announced by

NASA on 31 July 2014. MOXIE will be used by NASA to produce oxygen on MARS from the Martian atmospheric Carb

Dioxide (CO2).

August 2:India continues to host the largest number of child labourers in the world, with more than half of Delhis worki

children forced to work for over eight hours a day without a single days rest.

Note:This was found in a survey done and released in New Delhi by child rights non-government organisation Child Rig

and You (CRY) in partnership with Philips.

August 3:Facebook launched an app, that will give users in Zambia free access to its social network as well as other criti

internet sites, in a boost to its plan to to extend web access to the 4.25 billion people who lack it.

August 3:In a powerful blast in a Metal factory in Kunshan city in eastern China had killed 65 people, and injured more t

100.

August 6:The Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari released a book entitled 21st Century South Asia written b

Prof. Sanghmitra Sarkar.

August 8:Horse-racing clubs in India have been declared to be shopsby the Supreme Court.

August 8:Government is committed to endeavour to have housing for all by 2022 by extending additional tax incentive o

home loans to encourage people, especially the young, to own houses. It has proposed to set up a Mission on Low Cost

Affordable Housing to be anchored in the National Housing Bank.

August 8:An Indian couple in Singapore has invented a first-of-its-kind robot to make chappatis which raked in about 5

million Singapore dollars in pre-sale orders from the US. Rishi Israni and his wife Pranoti, took six years to develop the

robot, Rotimatic, which can produce about one baked chapati per minute.

August 9:Philips India has roped in Alia Bhatt as its brand ambassador for its beauty business which includes a range of


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and depilation devices.

August 9:Global food prices hit a six-month low in July led mainly by sharp declines in grains, oilseeds and dairy, which

balanced out rising meat and firm sugar prices, the United Nations food agency said.

August 11:The 44-day-long Amarnath Yatra to the holy cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas ended, with nearly fourlakh pilgrims paying obeisance to the ice-Shivlingam this year.

August 11:Territorial disputes in the South China Sea dominated the meetings of the East Asia Summit (EAS) as well as

ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) at the 47th ASEAN Foreign Ministers meetings in Nay Pyi Taw.

August 12:The Government will close a chink in the countrys preparedness against cyber attacks and spying by making

mandatory for all telecom equipment to be tested in India from next year.

August 12: Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct chemical conservation of the Mumbai's World Heritage

monument, the Gateway of India. The 90-year-old monument was completed in 1924 to commemorate the visit of Britain

King George V and Queen Mary to India in 1911.

August 13:The UN has named three experts as members of an independent inquiry commission that will probe possible

human rights violations and war crimes committed, particularly in the Gaza Strip, during the recent conflict between the

Israelis and the Palestinians.

August 13:In the last three years, the US has taken over Russia as the largest supplier of weapon systems to India.

August 13:Japanese scientists claim to have developed the worlds fastest camera a photo-device with a frame interva

4.4 trillion frames per second.

August 13: Scientists have developed a novel molecule that can cause cancer cells to self-destruct by ferrying sodium an

chloride ions into the tumour cells. The advance could lead to new anticancer drugs while also benefiting patients with cy

fibrosis.

August 16:According to EU Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos, the European Union has plans to buy up stocks of

fruit and vegetables hit by a Russianban on the blocs agricultural products.

August 17: India called-off the Foreign Secretary-level bilateral talks with Pakistan. The decision was taken by the Union

government after Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit invited Kashmiri separatist Hurriyat leaders in Delhi for a me

August 19: Chinese troops are reported to have entered 25 to 30 km deep into Indian territory in Burtse area in Ladakh

where they had pitched their tents last year that had led to a tense three-week standoff.

August 20: China has successfully launched the most advanced high-definition Earth observation satellite Gaofen-2 from


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the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north Chinas Shanxi Province, which could clearly show small objects with clarity

colour.

August 23: The government has set up a four-member panel of secretaries from different ministries to work out a new ga

pricing mechanism.

August 24:An Indian, who has invented a machine that can be used to make cheap sanitary pads, hopes that the device

would be available in 70 developing countries by next year.

August 25:The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the first Indian Institute of Engineering Science an

Technology (IIEST) of the country at Shibpur, Howrah, West Bengal.

August 26: Air Marshal HB Rajaram, Air Officer-in-charge Administration, Air HQs flagged in the all women cycle

expedition team on their successful completion of the mission Kshitij-Se-Pare.

August 27: The government has planned 20 new advanced cancer treatment facilities across the country (one in each stat

over the next few years to meet the rising burden of the disease. For Madhya Pradesh, the Centre has planned a new State

Cancer Institute (SCI), along with two Tertiary Care Cancer Centres (TCCC).

August 30: Notwithstanding a better gender balance in the southern part of the country, child marriage has been found to

on the rise in Kerala in recent years, according to UNICEF.

RECURRING TERMS IN NEWSPAPER THIS MONTH

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: It refers to the system of structures, rights, duties, and obligations by which corporatare directed and controlled. The governance structure specifies the distribution of rights and responsibilities among diffe

participants in the corporation (such as the board of directors, managers, shareholders, creditors, auditors, regulators,

other stakeholders) and specifies the rules and procedures for making decisions in corporate affairs. Governance

mechanism for monitoring the actions, policies and decisions of corporations. Governance involves the alignment of inter

among the stakeholders.

PHISHING: It is the act of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit creden

(and sometimes, indirectly, money) by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT: It is a direct investment into production or business in a country by an individua

company of another country, either by buying a company in the target country or by expanding operations of an exist

business in that country.

BASIS POINTS (BPS): A basis point is a unit equal to 1/100th of a percentage point. i.e. 1 bps = 0.01%. Basis points

often used to measure changes in or differences between yields on fixed income securities, since these often change by v

small amounts.


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BANCASSURANCE: It is the term used to describe the partnership or relationship between a bank and an insura

company whereby the insurance company uses the bank sales channel in order to sell insurance products.

MARGINAL STANDING FACILITY: Under this scheme, banks will be able to borrow upto 1% of their respective

demand and time liabilities. The rate of interest on the amount accessed from this facility will be 100 basis points (i.e.

above the repo rate. This scheme is likely to reduce volatility in the overnight rates and improve monetary transmission.

FINANCIAL INCLUSION: financial inclusion or inclusive financing is the delivery of financial services at affordable c

to sections of disadvantaged and low-income segments of society, in contrast tofinancial exclusion where those services

not available or affordable.

STATUTORY LIQUIDITY RATIO (SLR): Statutory liquidity ratio is the liquid assets commercial banks maintain w

the RBI in the form of cash (book value), gold (current market value) and balances in unencumbered approved securities.

maximum limit of SLR is 40% and minimum limit of SLR is 23% In India. RBI can change SLR from time to time. B

CRR and SLR reduce or increase the capacity to expand credit to business and industry. Thus both of these are a

inflationary.

PRIORITY SECTOR LENDING: Priority sector refers to those sectors of the economy which may not get timely

adequate credit in the absence of this special dispensation. Typically, these are small value loans to farmers for agricul

and allied activities, micro and small enterprises, poor people for housing, students for education and other low inco

groups and weaker sections.

ABBREVIATIONS THIS MONTH

REER: Real Effective Exchange Rate

NEER:Nominal Effective Exchange Rate

LIBOR: London Inter Bank Offer Rate

MIBOR: Mumbai Inter Bank Offer Rate

EFT: Electronic Fund Transfer

NEFT: National Electronic Funds Transfer

RTGS: Real Time Gross Settlement

ATM: Automated Teller Machine

CBS: Core Banking Solution

NEFT:National Electronic Fund Transfer


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CAR: Capital Adequacy Ratio

NPA:Non-Performing Asset

IMPS: Inter-bank Mobile Payment Service

BCBS: Basel Committee on Banking Supervision

RSI: Relative Strength Index

IFSC: Indian Financial System Code

MSME: Micro Small and Medium Enterprises

LIBOR: London Inter Bank Offered Rate

LIBID: London Inter Bank Bid Rate

ECGC: Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India

SWIFT: Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication

STRIPS: Separate Trading for Registered Interest & Principal Securities

CIBIL: Credit Information Bureau of India Limited

CRISIL: Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited

AMFI: Association of Mutual Funds of India

FCCB: Foreign Currency Convertible Bond

CAC: Capital Account Convertibility

IMPORTANT DAYS THIS MONTH

5 SEPTEMBER: Teachers Day (Birth Day of S. Radhakrishnan)

8 SEPTEMBER: World Literacy Day

14 SEPTEMBER: World Fraternity and Apology Day

14 SEPTEMBER: Hindi Diwas ( Day)

15 SEPTEMBER: Engineers Day


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16 SEPTEMBER: World Ozone Day

20 SEPTEMBER: Railway Police Force (RPF) Foundation Day

21 SEPTEMBER: Alzheimers Day

24 SEPTEMBER: World Deaf Day and World Heart Day

27 SEPTEMBER: World Tourism Day

SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE MONTH

COMMONWEALTH GAMES 2014

The Commonwealth Games 2014 or the XX Commonwealth Games as it is officially known took place in Glasg

Scotland, United Kingdom from July 23 to August 3, 2014.

It is the largest multi-sport event ever held in Scotland with around 4,950 athletes from 71 different nations and territocompeting in 18 different sports, although the country previously hosted the 1970 and 1986 Commonwealth Game

Edinburgh.

There are total 17 sports. This is the 20th edition of the Commonwealth Games.

MOTTO:The motto of Commonwealth Games 2014 is People, Place, Passion.

LOGO: Keeping three factors time, data and measurement in mind, Marque Creative designed the official logo. T

rings in the logo are proportioned to represent the 20th Commonwealth Games, across 17 sports, over 11 days i

city.

MASCOT: Clyde, a cheeky wee thistle is the mascot of Commonwealth Games 2014.

England finished top of the medal table for the first time since the 1986 Commonwealth Games, also held in Scotland.

MEDAL TALLY:

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total

1 England 58 59 57 174

2 Australia 49 42 46 137

3 Canada 32 16 34 82

4 Scotland 19 15 19 53

5 India 15 30 19 64


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INDIA IN THE 2014 COMMONWEALTH GAMES:

India who had finished second in the 2010 Commonwealth Games with an overall tally of 101 medals (38 gold, 27 silve

36 bronze medals), managed only 64 medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Gameswith the medals tally comprising 15 g

30 silver and 19 bronze. India kept occupying fifth spot on the medals table.

On closing ceremony, the Indian contingents flag bearer was Seema Punia, who won Silver in women's discus throw. Wh

the torch bearer in the opening ceremony was ace shooter Vijay Kumar, the 2012 London Olympics Silver medalist.

Dipa Karmakar scripts history, wins first gymnastic medal for India at Commonwealth Games. She bagged a bronze in

vault event.

15 INDIANS WHO WON GOLD AT 2014 COMMONWEALTH GAMES, GLASGOW

Yogeshwar Dutt:Men's wrestling, 65 kg freestyle

Babita Kumari:Women's wrestling, 55 kg freestyle

Sushil Kumar:Men's wrestling, 75kg

Amit Kumar:Men's wrestling, 57kg

Vinesh Phogat:Women's wrestling, 48kg

Satish Sivalingam:Men's weightlifting, 77 kg (broke the Commonwealth Games record for the snatch with a mark

149kg)

Vikas Gowda:Men's discus throw (first person to win a gold medal for India in 56 years in Men's Athletics after Mi

Singh in 1958)

Jitu Rai:Men's shooting, 50 m Pistol

Rahi Sarnobat:Women's shooting, 25 m Pistol

Apurvi Chandela:Women's shooting, 10 m Air Rifle

Abhinav Bindra:Men's 10m Air Rifle

K. Sanjita Chanu:Women's weightlifting 48 kg category (wins Indias first Gold medal at 2014 Commonwealth Game

Sukhen Dey:Men's weightlifting 56 kg category

Dipika Pallikal and Joshana Chinappa:Women's squash

Parupalli Kashyap:Men's Badminton (became first Indian man in 32 years to win badminton gold at the Games).


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The 21st Commonwealth Games will be held in Gold Coast in Australia in 2018.

Ramon Magsaysay Award 2014

The list of Awardees for the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Awards for year 2014 has been announced.

THE AWARDEES ARE:

1. Hu Shuli: An investigative journalist from China whose work was instrumental in the dismissal of corrupt officials. Sh

the founder and former editor of Caijing a business magazine widely-known for its groundbreaking investigative report

that has made a significant impact on China.

2. Saur Marlina Manurung: The Award recognizes her outstanding efforts to protect and improve the lives of Indones

forest people, and her kinetic leadership of volunteers in SOKOLAs customized educationprogram.

3. Omara Khan Masoudi: The award has been conferred upon him in recognition of his courage, labor, and leadershi

preserving Afghan cultural heritage. At great risk to his life, the deputy director of the National Museum of AfghanistaKabul led his colleagues in moving some of the museums most precious objects to safety during the Talibans attack on

countrys cultural treasures in the 1990s.

4. The Citizens Foundation from Pakistan: It is an NGO in Pakistan founded by six business leaders. It built 1,000 sch

over hundreds of cities and towns in the country which is home to the worlds second highest number of children who are

of school.

5. Wang Canfa: He is a Chinese Professor who founded the Center forLegal Assistance to Pollution Victims, which

provided free legal services to thousands of people and imparted environmental law training to lawyers and others.

6. Randy Halasan: The award is in recognition of his extraordinary leadership and service to the indigenous Matigsalug tr

He made huge efforts in teaching the children of the Matigsalug tribe in one of the remotest mountain villages in Mindan

Philippines.

RAMON MAGSAYSAY AWARD:

The Ramon Magsaysay Award is Asias highest honor and is also regarded as the regions equivalent of the Nobel Prize

commemorates the leadership example of the third Philippine president after whom the award is named. The award

conferred every year to individuals or organizations in Asia who manifest the same altruistic and philanthropic service

dominated the life of the late and highly respected Filipino leader.

PRADHAN MANTRI JAN DHAN YOJANA

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched his government's mega scheme 'Jan Dhan Yojana', declaring that it was aime

eradicating financial untouchability by providing bank accounts to the poor. On the inaugural day, a record 1.5 crore b

accounts were opened across the country, the largest such exercise on a single day possibly anywhere in the wo


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Unveiling the scheme within 100 days of forming the new government, Modi said, it will cover 7.5 crore peopl

January 26, 2015.

FIVE IMPORTANT FEATURES OF THE PM JAN DHAN YOJNA:

Under the scheme, account holders will be provided zero-balance bank account with RuPay debit card, in additio

accidental insurance cover of Rs. 1 lakh.

Those who open accounts by January 26, 2015 over and above the Rs1 lakh accident, they will be given life insurance c

of Rs 30,000.

Six months of opening of the bank account, holders can avail Rs 5,000 loan from the bank.

With the introduction of new technology introduced by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), a person can tran

funds, check balance through a normal phone which was earlier limited only to smart phones so far.

Mobile banking for the poor would be available through National Unified USSD Platform (NUUP) for which all banks

mobile companies have come together.

EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE (EVD)

Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal illness in humans. F

West African countries Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Guinea are struggling with the worst Ebola outbreak in hist

one that has begun to spread to other nations.

KEY FACTS

EVD outbreaks have a case fatality rate of up to 90%.

EVD outbreaks occur primarily in remote villages in Central and West Africa, near tropical rainforests.

The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-hu

transmission.

Fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are considered to be the natural host of the Ebola virus.

Severely ill patients require intensive supportive care. No licensed specific treatment or vaccine is available for use in peo

or animals.

competition booster august

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