genesis-september 2015 issue i.pdf

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Endeavor Careers Dream Endeavor Achieve

www.endeavorcareers.com September 2015-Issue-I THE GENESIS

2

The GenesisSeptember 2015-Issue-I

Current Affairs

NationalSportsAwards;GallantryAwards 3

India,States 5,11

World 12

Sports 16

Economy 19

Corporate 22

CyberBuzz 29

Science&Technology 31

People

Faces:DonaldTrump 15

BusinessBiography:OmPrakashMunjal 21

Knowledge Corners

RecentReleases:AlibabasWorld,TurningTheTide 32

GD:CanOneRankOnePensionschemebejustified? 33

Crossword 34

Sudoku 34

Doyou

remember?

35

CorporateKnowledgeQuiz 38

PointCounterpoint 41

National Awards: 3

Sania Mirza has been chosenfor the award given for the

spectacular and most

outstanding performance inthe field of sports by a

sportsperson over a period offour years

Group Discussion: 33

The government hasannounced theimplementation of the one-

rank, one-pension scheme,generally referred to asOROP. It will ensure that all

those retired members

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Bangalore: No. 23, 1st floor, Vasavi Plaza, Near Cool Joint, 11th main, 4th block Jayanagar, Bangalore 560011.:080-41310888/41550888

All that is human must retrograde if it does not advance. Edward Gibbon


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National Sports Awards conferred; Gallantry Awards announcedSania is the second tennis player after Leander Paes to bag the coveted Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

President Pranab Mukherjee presented the Rajiv Gandhi

Khel Ratna, Arjuna Awards and Dronacharya Awards tosportspersons and coaches on the National Sports Day on

August 29. The awards are given every year to recognize

and reward excellence in sports.

RajivGandhiKhelRatnaAward

Tennis player Sania Mirza has been chosen for the award

given for the spectacular and most outstanding

performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a

period of four years immediately preceding the year

during which award is to be given. She receives medal,

certificate and award money of Rs. 7.5 lakh.

Sania, currently ranked world number one in womensdoubles, scripted history by becoming the first Indian to

win a womens doubles Grand Slam title when she and

Martina Hingis clinched the 2015 Wimbledon trophy. She

is only the second tennis player after Leander Paes to be

named for the top award in 1996. The 28-year-old Sania

won three mixed doubles Grand Slams in her career.

ArjunaAward

This award is given for consistently outstanding

performance for four years preceding the year of award.

This year 17 sportspersons have been selected for the

award. Arjuna Awardees receive statuettes, certificates

and award money of Rs. five lakh each.

2015 winners: Naib Subedar Sandeep Kumar (archery),

M.R. Poovamma (athletics), Kidambi Srikanth

Nammalwar (badminton), Mandeep Jangra (boxing),

Rohit Sharma (cricket), Dipa Karmakar (gymnastic),

Sreejesh P.R. (hockey), Manjeet Chhillar (kabaddi),

Abhilasha Shashikant Mhatre (kabaddi), Sawarn Singh(rowing), Anup Kumar Yama (roller skating), Jitu Rai

(shooting), S. Sathish Kumar (weightlifting), Bajrang

(wrestling), Babita Kumari (wrestling), Yumnam

Sanathoi Devi (wushu) and Sharath M. Gayakwad (para-

swimming).

DronacharyaAward

This Award, instituted in 1985, are given to honour

eminent Coaches who have successfully trained

sportspersons or teams and enabled them to achieve

outstanding results in international competitions.

2015 winners are: Naval Singh (Athletics-Para-sports),Anoop Singh (Wrestling), Harbans Singh (Athletics-

Lifetime), Swatantar Raj Singh (Boxing- Lifetime), Nihar

Ameen (Swimming-Lifetime). Anoop has guided top

grapplers such as Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt,

Satyawart Kadian, Bajrang and Amit Dahiya.

Dronacharya Awardees receive statuettes, certificates and

award money of Rs.5 lakh each.

DhyanChandAward

The Award for Lifetime Achievements in Sports and

Games, instituted in the year 2002, is given to honour

those sportspersons who have contributed to sports by

their performance and continue to contribute to thepromotion of sports even after their retirement from

active sporting career. Dhyan Chand Awards 2015

winners are: Romeo James (Hockey), Shiv Prakash

Mishra (Tennis), T.P.P. Nair (Volleyball). Dhyan Chand


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Awardees receive statuettes, certificates and award money

of Rs.5 lakh each.

TenzingNorgayNationalAdventure Award

The 2014 winners are: Arunima Sinha: Land Adventure,Jot Singh: Land Adventure, Wg. Cdr. Paramvir Singh:

Water Adventure, Lt. Col. (Retd.) Satyendra Verma: Air

Adventure, Col. (Retd.) Satish Chander Sharma: Life

Time Achievement

MaulanaAbul KalmaAzad Trophy

The 2014-15 winner is Punjabi University, Patiala.

RashtriyaKhelProtsahanPuruskar

This award was introduced in 2009 and is given to

entities, both in public sector and private sector and non-

governmental organizations, with a view to recognizing

the contribution made to sports development. RashtriyaKhel Protsahan Puruskar has four categories. The 2015

winners are (categorywinner): Identification and

nurturing of budding/young talentDirectorate General of

Military Training; Encouragement to Sports through

Corporate Social ResponsibilityCoal India Limited;

Employment of Sportspersons and Sports Welfare

MeasuresHaryana Police; Sports for Development

Sports Coaching Foundation, Hyderabad.

GALLANTRYAWARDS

As many as 67 personnel

from Army, Navy, Air

Force, Coast Guard, Policeand Paramilitary forces were

announced as winners of the

Independence Day Gallantry

Awards by President Pranab

Mukherjee on August 14.

Besides two Kirti Chakras,

there were 10 Shaurya Chakras, one Bar to Sena Medal

(Gallantry), 49 Sena Medals (Gallantry), two Nao Sena

Medals (Gallantry) and three Vayu Sena Medals

(Gallantry).

KIRTI

CHAKRA

The Kirti Chakra is a military decoration awarded for

valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the

field of battle. It may be awarded to civilians as well as

military personnel, including posthumous awards. It is the

peacetime equivalent of the Maha Vir Chakra. It is second

in order of precedence of peacetime gallantry awards; it

comes after Ashoka Chakra and before Shaurya Chakra.

Lt Col Nectar Sanjenbam of the 21 Parachute Regiment

got the Kirti Chakra along with Naib Subedar RajeshKumar (posthumous) of Mahar Regiment, 30 Rashtriya

Rifles, who was killed in an operation against terrorists in

Jammu and Kashmir in October 2014.

SHOURYACHAKRA

10 personnel got the Shaurya Chakra.

Those from the Army are: Havildar Tanka Kumar Limbu

of the 21 Parachute Regiment; Col Munindra Rai, Gorkha

Rifles, 42 Rashtriya Rifles (Posthumous); Major Tanuj

Grover, ARMD, 22 RR; Captain Varun Kumar Singh,

Rajput, 44 RR and Havildar Man Bahadur Chhetri, 44

Assam Rifles (Posthumous).

From the Navy, Commodore Milind Mokashi won the

Shourya Chakra.

From the Air Force, Wing Commander Sandeep Singh

Flying (Pilot) won the Shourya Chakra.

CRPFs martyred Second-in-Command rank officer Hira

Kumar Jha became the lone paramilitary officer to have

been decorated with the Shaurya Chakra, a military

medal, for displaying gallant action in Bihar in 2014 to

eliminate some top Maoist leaders.

Two Jammu and Kashmir police constables Mohd Shafi

Sheikh and Reyaz Ahmed Lone have been decorated with

the Shaurya Chakra posthumously for undertaking

action against militants in the Valley.

VAYUSENAMEDAL

Squadron Leader S Selvakumar, Flight Lieutenant

Gandikota Jagan Mohan and Sergeant Mukesh Kumar

Tiwari got the Vayu Sena Medal for Gallantry.

SPECIALMENTION

The President has also awarded 20 Mention-in-

Despatches to Army and Para Military personnel for theirsignificant contributions in different military operations

which include three for Operation Meghdoot, 12 for

Operation Rakshak, one for Operation Orchid, one for

Operation Hifazat and three for Operation Rhino.


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Current Affairs: India

HAPPENINGS

SmartcitiesnominatedI: The list of 98 cities that will nowcompete for the second stage of the smart cities challenge to secure

funding from the Centre was released by Minister for Urban

Development M Venkaiah Naidu in August. Uttar Pradesh and Tamil

Nadu have bagged the lions share with 12 cities each, followed by

Maharashtra with 10. The government will release Rs. 2 crore for each

of these 98 cities for preparation of smart city proposals to compete in

the second stage. Proposals will be judged by the Centre on credibility

of implementation, city vision and strategy, economic and

environmental impacts, cost effectiveness, innovation and scalability

and processes followed, including citizen implementation.

SmartcitiesnominatedII: Top 20 scoring cities in the first round of the second stage will be chosen byDecember and Rs. 200 crore per city will be provided by Centre in the first year, followed by Rs. 100 crore each year for

the next three years. The remaining cities will be asked to address deficiencies before participating in second and thirdrounds of the challenge. Naidu informed that two more cities would be announced in due course since J&K sought more

time to make up its choice while additional information was sought from UP regarding the 13 thsmart city slot allotted to

that State. Core elements of smart: Adequate water supply Assured electricity supply Efficient urban mobility and

public transport Affordable housing Robust IT connectivity and digitalisation Safety and security of citizens.

RGI releasesCensus2011dataonReligionI: The Registrar General and Census Commissioner ofIndia released the data on Population by Religious Communities of Census 2011 in August. The distribution is total

population by six major religious communities namely, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain besides Other

Religions and Persuasions and Religion not stated. Total Population in 2011 is 121.09 crores ; Hindu 96.63 crores

(79.8%); Muslim 17.22 crores (14.2%); Christian 2.78 crores (2.3%); Sikh 2.08 crores (1.7%); Buddhist 0.84 crores

(0.7%); Jain 0.45 crores (0.4%), Other Religions & Persuasions (ORP) 0.79 crores (0.7%) and Religion Not Stated 0.29

crores (0.2%).

RGIreleases

Census

2011

data

on

ReligionII: The growth rate of population in the decade 2001-2011

was 17.7 %. The growth rate of population of the different religious communities in the same period was as Hindus:

16.8%; Muslim: 24.6%; Christian: 15.5%; Sikh: 8.4%; Buddhist: 6.1% and Jain: 5.4%. Sex ratio: Sikhs have the worst

sex ratio while the Christians have the best with women outnumbering males in the community. Sikhs: 47.4 per cent,

Christians: 52.55 per cent, Hindus: 48.4 per cent, Muslims: 48.7 per cent, Buddhists: 49.11 per cent, Jains: 48.8 per cent

50thanniversaryof1965 IndoPakWarobserved: The President paid tribute at the Amar JawanJyoti, a memorial dedicated to martyred Indian soldiers at India Gate in Central Delhi, on August 28 to commemorate

50th anniversary of 1965 Indo-Pak War. The war started following Pakistans Operation Gibraltar, which was started to

infiltrate forces into Jammu and Kashmir to precipitate an insurgency. India retaliated by launching a full-scale military

attack on West Pakistan. The seventeen-day war caused thousands of casualties on both sides. The hostilities between the

two countries ended after a ceasefire was declared following diplomatic intervention by the Soviet Union and USA and

the subsequent issuance of the Tashkent Declaration.

PoliticalpartiescantbeunderRTIActCentretellsSC: Political parties should not be broughtunder the ambit of Right to Information (RTI) Act by terming them public authorities, government told the Supreme

Court in August. When the RTI Act was enacted, it was never visualised that political parties would be brought within

the ambit of the transparency law, the government said in an affidavit in the apex court. The affidavit said there were

provisions in Representation of the People Act (RPA) 1951 and the Income Tax Act which brought necessary

transparency about the financial aspects of a political party. The governments affidavit came in response to a notice


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issued to it on a plea to declare all national and regional political parties, including BJP, Congress and Left parties among

others, public authorities to bring them under the ambit of the RTI Act.

GSLV launches communication satellite GSAT6: ISROs GSLV-D6 (Geosynchronous SatelliteLaunch Vehicle-D6), equipped with the indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS), successfully launched the 2117 kg

GSAT-6, the countrys latest communication satellite, into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) on August 27. Thelaunch took place from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR (SDSC SHAR), Sriharikota.

TheGoogleCulturalInstituteunveiled: Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma unveiled new online contenton The Google Cultural Institute, an initiative to make Indias heritage accessible for global audiences and to preserve it

digitally for generations to come, in August. The collection of the Google Cultural Institute showcases a wide range of

treasures that embody the countrys unique heritage, from ancient architecture to modern day contemporary art.

NCRBreportreleased: The latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) titled Crime in India,2014 was released in August 2015. Murder, kidnapping, sexual harassments, dowry deaths, child rapes, dacoity and

cheating come under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) classification while explosive, gambling, immoral trafficking and

cybercrime are covered under Special and Local Laws (SLL) crime. Madhya Pradesh tops the cognisable crime chart

accounting for 9.6% of the total crimes reported in the country followed by Maharashtra. Crime against women across

the country increased by 9.16% in 2014 with Uttar Pradesh topping the list followed by West Bengal. The maximumnumber of sexual offence cases was registered in MP followed by Maharashtra. West Bengal leads in the number of

foreigners arrested in the country, accounting for 46% of such cases.

MonsoonSessionofParliamentconcludes: The Monsoon session of Parliament ended on August 13.The proceedings in both the Houses were drowned during the entire session in slogan-shouting by Congress members

who were pressing for resignation of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara

Raje over Lalit Modi controversy and ouster of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan over VYAPAM

scam. The confrontation escalated when Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on August 3 suspended 25 of the 44

Congress members for five days for continuously disrupting the House and displaying placards.

LowoutputmarksMonsoonSessionofParliament: No bill could either be introduced or passed inthe Rajya Sabha while 10 Bills were introduced and 8 passed in the Lok Sabha. Responding to a question on the tit-for-

tat strategy of disruption of Parliament as claimed by some parties, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stressed that the issues

that were chosen for disrupting this Monsoon session were not equivalent to the issues of corruption raised in Parliamentin recent years. He elaborated that issues relating to 2G Spectrum and coal blocks allocation were taken up in the past

further to submission of CAG Reports, Supreme Court Judgement and filing of FIRs etc., and the revenues generated

through auctioning of coal blocks proved that CAG estimates of loss of revenue were an under estimate.

LokSabhapassesBilltorepeal295obsoleteActs: A bill seeking to scrap a set of 295 obsolete Actsdealing with several issues including changes in marriage laws and cement hoarding was passed by Lok Sabha in August.

The Repealing and Amending (Fourth) Bill, 2015, pertains to annulling 295 Acts, several of them over 30 years old,

which have been declared as redundant by respective central ministries. The measures seek to repeal enactments which

have ceased to be in force or have become obsolete or their retention as separate Acts has become unnecessary. Such bills

are also used to correct defects or flaws detected in laws.

MysoretopsSwachhBharatrankings: Mysore in Karnataka has topped the Swachh Bharat Rankings of476 cities in the country with three more from the State figuring in the top 10. West Bengal does well with 25

cities/towns from the State finding a place in the top 100 cities. The rankings released by the Ministry of Urban

Development in August are based on the extent of open defecation and solid waste management practices in these cities.

Mysore leads the cities with minimal open defecation and extensive adoption of solid waste management practices.

Top&bottom10citiesinSwachhBharat: Mysore, Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu), Navi Mumbai, Kochi(Kerala), Hassan, Mandya and Bengaluru from Karnataka, Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala), Halisahar (West Bengal) and


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Gangtok (Sikkim) in that order. Damoh (Madhya Pradesh) came at the bottom of 476, preceded by Bhind (MP), Palwal

and Bhiwani, both in Haryana, Chittorgarh (Rajasthan), Bulandshahr (UP), Neemuch (MP), Rewari (Haryana), Hindaun

(Rajasthan) and Sambalpur in Odisha at 467th rank.

NaiManzil launched: The Minority Affairs Ministry launched a new Central Sector Scheme Nai Manzil in

August to address educational and livelihood needs of minority communities in general and Muslims. Nai Manzil willtarget out of school/dropped out students and those studying in Madrasas. Such students dont get formal Class XII and

Class X Certificates rendering them ineligible for employment in the organised sector. The scheme will provide distance

education courses enabling them to get these certificates. It will also provide them trade basis skill training in courses

such as manufacturing, engineering, services and soft skills. The scheme will cover people in between 17-35 age group.

Comicsongallantryawardwinners launched: Indian Army released a new series of Amar ChitraKatha and Aan Comics in August. The book on inspirational stories of 21 Param Vir Chakra Awardees is a tribute to the

recipients of the highest gallantry award in India. The all-colour illustrated comic tells the story of each heros life from

childhood to the battle in which they proved themselves victors over incredible odds. Four Aan Comics were also

released based on the heroics of four war heroes who fought in 1965 Indo Pak war and were awarded Maha Vir Chakra

which is the second highest gallantry award.

PM

launches

Start

Up

India: During his second Independence Day address to the nation on August 15,Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Start-Up India initiative, which would encourage entrepreneurshipamong the youth of India. He said, Start-up India; Stand up India will promote bank financing for start-ups and offer

incentives to enhance entrepreneurship and job creation. In another initiative, Modi said that the Agriculture Ministry

will be renamed as the Ministry for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare with a view to take care of farming community

needs, Modi announced during his speech.

Webbased portal for education loans launched: A web-based portal, Vidya Lakshmi(www.vidyalakshmi.co.in) has been launched by the government for the benefit of students seeking educational loans.

The portal has been developed and maintained by NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Limited (NSDL e-Gov). In Budget

2015-16, the Finance Minister had proposed to set-up a fully IT-based Student Financial Aid Authority to administer and

monitor scholarship as well as educational loan schemes, through the Pradhan Mantri Vidya Lakshmi Karyakram

(PMVLK). The Portal is a first of its kind portal providing single window for students to access information and make

application for educational loans provided by banks as also government scholarships.

Aadhaarshallremainoptional:SC: Leaving the decision to sign up for Aadhaar entirely to citizens, theSupreme Court ordered in August that balance of interest was better served if obtaining the unique identity number was

made optional and not mandatory. The court said that production of an Aadhaar card would not be a condition for

obtaining any benefits otherwise due to a citizen. It also directed the government that an Aadhaar card would not be used

for any purpose other than the PDS Scheme, particularly for distribution of foodgrains and cooking fuel such as kerosene.

It should also be used for the LPG distribution scheme.

FilmbasedonTagoresnovel ShesherKobitareleased: Rabindranath Tagores Bengali novelShesher Kobita, a love story adapted into a feature film jointly produced by National Film Development Corporation of

India (NFDC) and the Culture Ministry to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of the Nobel Laureate, was screened

in New Delhi in August marking its commercial release. Directed by Suman Mukhopadhyay, the Bengali film Shesher

Kobita (The Last Poem) is an iconic love story set in Shillong.

Govtreviews

blocking

of

websites;

lifts

ban

on

non

porn

sites: Facing flak over blocking of

857 websites, the government decided to lift ban on those sites which did not contain pornographic material in August.

The decision follows a review of the earlier order, wherein the Department of Telecom had asked Internet service

providers (ISPs) to block a total of 857 websites, although some websites were later found to be hosting jokes, memes

and other humorous content without any pornography. The directive has sparked a raging debate on social media and

other platforms with the government being accused of indulging into Internet censorship.


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AWARDS

MaharshiVedVyasaward: Anand Kumar, founder of Bihar-based Super 30 educational programme, washonoured with the Maharishi Ved Vyas national award by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in

Bhopal in August. The award is given annually by state government for outstanding contribution and creativity in the

field of education. Under Kumars innovative educational programme, 30 meritorious students from the economically-backward sections of the society are selected every year and are trained to crack the countrys prestigious IIT exams.

The students are offered free coaching, food and lodging facilities under Super 30.

P.N.BhagwatiAward: C. Raj Kumar, the founding vice chancellor of the O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU)was conferred the Capital Foundation Justice P.N. Bhagwati Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to

human rights, legal education and institution building in New Delhi in August. Kumars recent book on Corruption and

Human Rights published by Oxford University Press got excellent reviews in the Yale Journal of International Law.

RamanujanPrize: The Ramanujan Prize for 2015 has been won by mathematician Amalendu Krishna of the TataInstitute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. The prize is awarded jointly by Italy-based International Centre for

Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Indias Department of Science and Technology, and the International Mathematical Union

(IMU) to a person under 45 working in a developing country. Instituted in 2005, the Ramanujan Prize carries a citation

and a cash of $15,000. The winner is invited to give a talk at the ICTP.

SunhakPeacePrize: Noted Indian agriculture scientist Dr Modadugu Vijay Gupta, who has done pioneeringwork in aquaculture in India and several other countries, was awarded the first Sunhak Peace Prize which he shared with

the President of Kiribati Islands in South Korea in August. Gupta, 76, shared the USD 1 million prize with President

Anote Tong in Seoul. Tong, 63, the head of the Pacific Ocean island nation which is facing dire prospects of being

engulfed by rising sea waters, was chosen for the award for his dogged fight to end the carbon emissions which are

spelling doom for small island nations.

ElectionCommissionsaward: Reaching out to remote areas and convincing people, especially women, toplay their role in democracy has fetched former Jalore Electoral Officer Rajan Vishal, the Election Commissions Zonal

award under the Best Electoral Practices Award 2014. Vishal, who is now District Collector of Nagaur, was the District

Electoral Officer of Jalore during the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and had taken initiatives to increase voters

participation through education and awareness campaign which resulted in about 22 per cent increase in voters.

GujarMalModiAward: The Gujar Mal Modi Award For Innovative Science And Technology was presented toProfessor Mustansir Barma, a distinguished Professor and former Director, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research,

Mumbai in August for his immense contribution in the field of Statistical Physics in India. The award is given by the

Gujar Mal Modi Foundation.

KuvempuNationalAward: The 2015 Kuvempu Rashtriya Puraskar, the national award instituted in memory ofthe famous poet Kuvempu, was awarded to Marathi writer Prof Shyam Manohar in August. The award was announced

by the Kuvempu Pratishtana at the Karnataka Sangha in New Delhi in August. Meanwhile noted Urdu litterateur Shamim

Hanfi was chosen for the first Jnangarima Manad Alankaran award, instituted by the Bharatiya Jnanpith.

PremBhatiaAwards: Suhasini Haidar, Diplomatic and Strategic Affairs Editor at The Hindu, was awarded thePrem Bhatia Memorial Award for Excellence in Political Reporting and Analysis in New Delhi in August.

PERSONSIN

NEWS

OmPrakashRawat: Om Prakash Rawat, a former Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer who till recently wasSecretary at the Centre, was appointed as the new Election Commissioner in August. An EC or a CEC has a tenure of six

years in office or till he or she attains the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. With Rawats appointment, the sole

vacancy in the three-member poll body has been filled. While Naseem Zaidi is the Chief Election Commissioner, Achal

Kumar Joti is the other Election Commissioner.


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RamNathKovind,AcharyaDevVrat: Senior BJP leader Ram Nath Kovind and educationist Acharya DevVrat were appointed as Governors of poll-bound Bihar and Himachal Pradesh, respectively in August. Also in the same

month, Dr. Girish Sahni assumed charge as the next Director General of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research

(CSIR) and Secretary, Department of Scientific & Industrial Research (DSIR), Ministry of Science & Technology.

ChetanBhagat: Topics related to disruptions in Parliament, democratic deadlock and poignant questions of what

can be done to make the country become better marked the launch of the second non fiction by Chetan Bhagat in New

Delhi in August. In Making India Awesome the eight book so far by Bhagat, the author attempts to analyse and

provides inspired solutions to the countrys most intractable problems - poverty, unemployment, corruption, violence

against women, communal violence, religious fundamentalism and illiteracy.

RaniGaidinliu: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated an event to mark the hundredth birth anniversary ofNaga freedom fighter Rani Gaidinliu in New Delhi on August 24. Gaidinliu, who was born in 1915 and died in 1993 in

Manipur, led an armed uprising against the British in the state as well as in neighbouring districts in Nagaland and

Assam. She was imprisoned from 1932 to 1947 in several jails across the Northeast. Modi released coins of

denominations of Rs. 100 and Rs. 5 with Gaidinlius image at the event.

DrBRAmbedkarwill be the first Indian to have an entire home dedicated to his memory in London after India

sealed a 3.1-million deal to acquire a bungalow where the Dalit icon and architect of Indian Constitution lived as astudent in the 1920s. In August, the Maharashtra government completed the formalities to acquire the 10 King Henrys

Road townhouse in north London, where he lived in 1921-22 when he was studying at London School of Economics

(LSE). The three-storey home will now be transformed into a memorial. Ambedkar, who died in 1956 aged 65 was

posthumously conferred with the Bharat Ratna, Indias highest civilian award, in 1990.

AdnanSami: Famous Pakistani singer Adnan Sami has been allowed to stay in India on humanitarian grounds by thegovernment from August. The singer was exempted from deportation proceedings under the Foreigners Act. Sami, who

came to India on a visitors visa, had been staying in India since March 2001. His visa was extended from time to time,

but as his passport expired in May this year and the Pakistani government refused to renew it, he was forced to request

the Indian authorities to legalise his stay in the country on humanitarian grounds.

OBITUARIES

President Pranab Mukherjees wife Suvra

Mukherjeepassed away in New Delhi on August 18 at the age of 74. Shefounded the Geetanjali Troupe, whose mission is to propagate Rabindranath Tagores philosophy as expressed through

his songs and dance-dramas. Eminent Urdu writer HamidaSalimpassed away in New Delhi on August 16 at the age of

93. Eminent painter SunilDas, awarded Padma Shri in 2004, passed away in Kolkata on August 10 at the age of 76.

Veteran photo-journalist ManojitChandapassed away in Kolkata on August 13 at the age of 87. Ghaziabad Mayor and

BJP leader TeluramKambojpassed away in Ghaziabad on August 9 at the age of 76.

EXTERNALRELATIONS

UAE: The UAE agreed to increase investments in India to $75 billion (about Rs 5 lakh crore) including through adedicated UAE-India Infrastructure Investment Fund, while the two nations will raise their bilateral trade to $100 billion

in five years. The two countries also agreed for strategic partnership in the energy sector, including through UAEs

participation in petroleum sectors in India and tie-ups in the third countries following talks between Prime Minister

Narendra Modi and Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Zayed AI Nahyan in Abu Dhabi in August. In UAE, Modi visited the

historic Sheikh Zayed Grand mosque in Abu Dhabi, and took a tour of the Masdar City, a hub of cleantech and scienceand technology innovation. The UAE decided to allot land for building a temple in Abu Dhabi, the first in the Emirati

capital during the visit.

PAKISTAN: Pakistan on August 20 announced the cancellation of Commonwealth Parliamentary Union meeting thatwas scheduled in September after a row with India over its refusal to invite the Speaker of Jammu & Kashmir Assembly

for the conference. India had threatened to boycott the event to be held in Islamabad from September 30 to October 8


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after Islamabad refused to invite J&K Assembly Speaker for the event. Meanwhile India called off the NSA level talks

with Pakistan after the latter decided to go ahead with talks with Kashmiri separatist leaders. National Security Advisers

Ajit Doval of India and Sartaj Aziz of Pakistan were to discuss terrorism related issues in New Delhi on August 23-24.

AFGHANISTAN : The almost complete Salma Dam in Afghanistans eastern Herat province will now be called the

Afghan-India Friendship Dam, President Ashraf Ghanis office declared in a statement after a cabinet meet in Kabul inAugust. The dam is Indias single biggest developmental project in the war-ravaged nation that is expected to irrigate

80,000 hectares. Rebuilt by India at a cost of Rs 1,800 crore, it is expected to produce 42MW power..

MALDIVES: The Sixth Joint Military Training Exercise between the Indian Army and the Maldives National DefenceForces called EXERCISE EKUVRIN VI was conducted in Kerala in August-September. The bilateral annual exercise,

which commenced in 2009, is alternately held in India and Maldives with the aim of enhancing military cooperation and

interoperability between the two countries and increased understanding between both armies.

SEYCHELLES: President of the Seychelles James Alix Michel came on an official visit to New Delhi in August. Thetwo nations exchanged five documents, including one on exchanging tax information and a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) for providing a Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft. During Modis visit to Seychelles in March

2015, both countries inked an agreement to develop infrastructure on Assumption Island, which lies 1,140 km southwest

of the mainland of Mahe. Seychelles, an archipelago of 115 islands, has a total land area of 455 square km spread over anexclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 1.3 million square km.

ITALY: The Supreme Court suspended all judicial proceedings against the two Italian marines accused of killing Indianfishermen off the Kerala coast in 2012 after the Indian and the Italian governments jointly informed it in August that an

international tribunal had asked for status quo till it cleared the air on which country had the jurisdiction to try the duo.

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) had on August 24 directed for a stay on the proceedings.

FIPIC: India hosted the second edition of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) in Jaipur on August21, with all 14 countries of the region participating. Indias increasing engagement with the 14 Pacific Islands underlines

their growing geo-strategic importance as the countries lie at the centre of a key maritime route rich in resources. The 14

island nations - Cook Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Nauru, Kiribati, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Niue, Palau,

Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Fiji and Papua New Guinea - although small, also have a vote each in international fora -

which holds immense strategic weight for New Delhi as it seeks to play a larger international role.

MOZAMBIQUE: India and Mozambique decided to ramp up economic engagement, particularly in the energy sectorwith Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying the African nation can be a large source of coal and natural gas to drive the

growth of Indian economy during his wide-ranging talks with President Filipe Nyusi in New Delhi in August.

USA: The US government extended the generalised system of preferences (GSP) for Indian exporters in August,enabling duty-free entry of 3,500 product lines till December 2017. The move is expected to benefit exporters of textiles,

engineering, gems and jewellery, and chemical products, among others, as their biggest market is the US. In the GSP a

wide range of industrial and agricultural products originating in certain developing countries are given preferential access

to American markets. This is given in the form of reduced or zero rates of customs duties.

CHINA: For the first time ever, the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) hosted an Indian Army delegation in theDaulat Beg Oldie (DBO) area along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh sector of Jammu & Kashmir in August.

The border personnel meeting (BPM) was organised on the occasion of PLA Day. Indian and Chinese troops were in late

2014 locked in an over three-week long stand-off in eastern Ladakh which was resolved by way of an understanding

reached between the two sides to carry out disengagement and redeployment of border troops to restore the status quo

ante.


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Current Affairs: States

MAHARASHTRA: The state has declared the 17 square km area along Thane Creek as Flamingo Sanctuary inAugust. The state has selected 40 youth for its unique Chief Minister Internship Programme to assist in effective

implementation of governments flagship programmes. Taking a cue from the Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana,

Maharashtra will have its own Amdar Adarsh Gram Yojana (MLA model village scheme) under which state legislatorswould adopt and develop a village of their choice, said Rural Development Minister Pankaja Munde in August. The state

has accorded the status of adventure sport to the human pyramids of Govindas which are formed during the Dahi

Handi festival but said those below 12 years wont be able to participate in it. A contingent of CISF took over the

security of RSS headquarters in Nagpur from August. Bachchan has agreed to become the states tiger ambassador.

GUJARAT:The state has decided to slap a fine of Rs 100 on registered electors who fail to cast their vote in the localbody polls in the state without providing a valid reason for missing out from August. BJP MLA from Choryasi assembly

constituency in Surat district, Rajendra Patel, passed away in Mumbai on August 5 at 60. The state government has

decided to convert 196 villages from forest area in the tribal belt of the state into revenue villages, enabling tribals to get

ownership rights of their land in August.

BIHAR: Union Food Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal laid the foundation stone of the Mega Food Park at Khagaria inAugust to reduce wastage of agriculture produce at each stage of supply chain with particular focus on fruits and

vegetables. 36 constituencies in Bihar will have Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) armed with the voter-verified paperaudit trail (VVPAT) during the forthcoming Assembly polls. In a move which will empower people to seek redressal of

their grievances in a time-bound manner by government officials, the state legislative Assembly passed the Bihar Public

Grievance Redressal Bill, 2015 in August 4. Fledgling Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) of former CM Jitan Ram

Manjhi has been allotted telephone as a symbol by the Election Commission.

DELHI: Delhi government launched Chief Ministers Super Talented Children Scholarship scheme in August underwhich students studying in Class 11 and 12 will be provided free coaching classes to crack various engineering and

medical entrance exams. A bill to reduce the workload of the Delhi High Court by enhancing the pecuniary jurisdiction

of civil suits from the existing Rs 20 lakh to Rs 2 crore was passed by Parliament in August. The Centre and the Delhi

Government agreed in August to setup a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to clean and rejuvenate river Yamuna.

HARYANA: To ensure transparency in disbursement of pension, the Haryana government launched the Thari PensionThare Pass of paperless transfer of pension into the accounts of beneficiaries from August. The state has decided to issue

photo identity cards (IDs) to people who had suffered during the days of the Emergency to enable them to travel free ofcost in Haryana Roadways buses.

KERALA: Kerala High Court quashed a government order forming new village panchayats by carving out parts of 84villages in August. Jawahar Thayankari, the snake boat owned by Kumarakom Vembanad Boat Club, lifted the 63rd

edition of the prestigious Nehru Trophy Boat Race at the Vembanad Lake in Alappuzha district in August. The state

Kerala government decided to name the gold trophy for the winners of the state school science festival Sasthrolsavam,

after former president late A P J Abdul Kalam in August.

TELANGANA: Ensuring a people friendly approach by enforcing officers towards traffic violators, the HyderabadTraffic Police launched Body Worn Cameras for the first time in the country in August to improve transparency and

accountability in Traffic Management.

TAMILNADU: CM Jayalalithaa inaugurated rooms in bus terminals across the state to help lactating mothers feed

their newborns and also inaugurated Mothers Milk Banks in seven government hospitals.

ASSAM: The State Assembly unanimously passed the Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection)Bill, 2015 in August making any offence under the Act as non-bailable, cognizable and non-compoundable with an aim

to eliminate the superstition from society. The National Green Tribunal restrained Numaligarh Refinery Limited from

carrying out any construction activity in the No-Development Zone in Kaziranga National Park in August.


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Current Affairs: World

HAPPENINGS

SwiftResponse15: The United States organised Swift Response 15 the biggest allied airborne drills in Europe

since the Cold War ended in August-September 2015. Nearly 5,000 soldiers from 11 NATO allies participated in fourweeks of simultaneous multinational airborne operations across Germany, Italy, Bulgaria and Romania. Swift

Response 15 is designed to help allied high-readiness forces act as one and demonstrate the alliances capacity to

rapidly deploy and operate in support of maintaining a strong and secure Europe.

BlastrocksBrahmatempleinBangkok: 27 people, including four foreigners, were killed and 117 othersinjured in a powerful bomb blast inside a hugely popular Lord Brahma temple in a crowded area in Bangkok on August

17 in the first such attack in the Thai capital. The blast occurred inside Erawan Shrine dedicated to Lord Brahma in the

downtown Chidlom district, creating panic as people fled the place where cars and motorcycles exploded in the impact.

Melbourne is worlds most liveable city: Melbourne, Australia, is the worlds most liveable city,according to the annual Liveability Ranking study of 140 cities, conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, ahead of

Austrian capital Vienna and Vancouver, Canada. The survey scores cities on five categories: stability; healthcare; culture

and environment; education and infrastructure. The study concluded that global centres such as London, New York, Parisand Tokyo suffered overstretched infrastructure and higher crime rates as a result of their size. Tokyo was ranked at 15,

Paris at 29, London at 53 and New York at 55.

USinstitutionsdominateChinarankingofuniversities: US universities ruled the top 10 spots in aglobal ranking conducted by a Chinese research centre with Harvard taking the crown while Stanford and MIT coming in

second and third. The Academic Ranking of World Universities were released by the Shanghai Jiaotong University in

August. University of Cambridge and University of Oxford, the only two non-American universities in the top 10, were

fifth and 10th. The Center of World-Class Universities of Jiaotong surveyed 1,200 universities.

Japanrestartsnuclearpowergeneration: Japan restarted its first nuclear reactor under new safety rulesfollowing the 2011 Fukushima disaster. All Japans nuclear plants were gradually shut down after a series of meltdowns

at the Fukushima plant sparked by the tsunami and earthquake. But after passing stringent new safety tests, Kyushu

Electric Power restarted the number one reactor at its nuclear plant at Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture in August. Prime

Minister Abe said on August 10 that the reactors had passed the worlds toughest safety screening.

Chinadevaluescurrency: Faced with sluggish economic growth and dwindling exports, China devalued itsrenminbi (yuan) currency twice in August, sending fresh shockwaves through global markets and fuelling fears of a

currency war as jittery Asian neighbours came under pressure to devalue as well. Meanwhile the Peoples Bank of China

(PBOC), the central bank, said the rate changes are normal, as it shows a more market-based system and the decisive role

that the supply-demand relationship plays in determining the exchange rate.

Nepalpartiesagreeonnewconstitution: Nepals four major parties CPN-UML, Nepali Congress,Unified CPN-Maoist and Madhesi Peoples Rights Forum Democratic (MPRFD) reached a landmark deal to divide the

country into six provinces, each sharing its border with India, resolving contentious issues of federalism under the new

constitution. The four major parties also agreed to incorporate in the citizenship clause the provision of allowing children

to acquire citizenship certificate in the name of either father or mother.

85dead

in

Tianjin

port

blasts

in

China: As many as 85 died from an inferno and huge explosions in the

Chinese port city of Tianjin. A rapid succession of explosions on August 12 one equal to 21 tons of TNT were

sparked by a fire at shipping containers containing hazardous material at a warehouse. Tianjin, with a population of about

15 million, is being promoted by the Chinese government as a center for finance and high-tech industry. Local officials

have been hard-pressed to explain why authorities permitted hazardous goods warehouses so close to residential

complexes and critical infrastructure.


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Russian expands food embargo to cover nonEU nations: Russia broadened a food embargoimposed in retaliation to Western sanctions over Ukraine to include Iceland, a significant fish importer, as well as

Montenegro, Albania and Liechtenstein. PM Dmitry Medvedev said Ukraine will be added to the embargo from January

1, 2016 when a landmark EU-Ukraine trade deal enters force. Moscow said the decision to extend its blacklist to include

the non-EU nations was due to the degree of involvement of these countries in the sanctions regime.

NZparliamentpasseslawtochangeflag: The New Zealand Parliament passed a law in August that willenable a referendum to be held on changing the nations flag. The first part of the referendum is expected to be held later

this year, when voters will pick their favourite of four proposed flag designs which will be announced by mid-September.

Kazakhstantohostnuclearfuelbank: Kazakhstan and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)signed a deal in capital Astana in August to create the first internationally-controlled uranium bank aimed at guaranteeing

supplies for power plants and curbing nuclear proliferation. The bank will contain low-enriched uranium (LEU). It would

provide IAEA member states with safe access to fuel for their nuclear power plants.

Ancient Syrian temple blown up by IS: Islamic State militants have destroyed ancient Temple ofBaalshamin in Palmyra, Syria. IS took control of Palmyra in May which is considered one of the ancient worlds most

important cultural centres. The ancient city, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, is famed for its well-preserved

Greco-Roman ruins, and the Baalshamin temple, built nearly 2,000 years ago, is one of the citys best-known buildings.

Nepalbanssurrogacyservices: Nepals Supreme Court ordered a halt to commercial surrogacy services inthe Himalayan nation in August until it rules on the legality of the practice. Nepal has become a destination for foreigners

seeking to have children through surrogate mothers. The practice is controversial, with critics saying it exploits the

poverty of women.

ExerciseKowariheld: China, Australia and the US conducted trilateral military Exercise Kowari in August-September in Darwin, Australia.

Pakistan becomes associatemember of CERN: Pakistan has become the associate member of theEuropean Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) in August, making it the first non-European country to achieve the

status. This will allow Pakistani industry to bid for CERN contracts, thus opening up opportunities for industrial

collaboration in areas of advanced technology.

PaktobuyhelicoptersfromRussia: Russia has agreed to sell four MI 35 attack helicopters to Pakistan, thegovernment said in Islamabad in August, the first major defence deal between the two Cold War-era adversaries. The

agreement comes amid improving ties between the two nations after the Cold War period and the Afghan war in 1980s

when Soviet Russia had banned the sale of military hardware to US-allied Pakistan.

MountainEchoesorganisedinBhutan: The sixth edition of Mountain Echoes literary festival in Bhutanscapital Thimphu was organised from August 19 to 22. The festival is an initiative of the India Bhutan Foundation in

association with Siyahi and supported by the government of Rajasthan.

IMPORTANTDAYS

Hiroshima Day: August 6, International Day of the Worlds Indigenous Peoples: August 10, World Bio Fuel Day: August

10, International Day of Youth: August 12, World Elephant Day: August 12, Earth Overshoot Day: August 13, World

Organ Donation Day: August 13, International Lefthanders Day: August 13, World Humanitarian Day: August 19,

World Photography Day: August 19, World Mosquito Day: August 20, International Day for the Remembrance of Slave

Trade and its Abolition: August 23, International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances: August 30, World

Coconut Day: September 2, International Literacy Day: September 8


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AWARDS

MacklerAward: A Syrian-based journalist who has trained citizen reporters in the war-ravaged country has beennamed the recipient of the 2015 Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism, in Washington in August.

The prize given by Reporters Without Borders and Agence France-Presse was awarded to Zaina Erhaim, who lives and

works in Aleppo, Syria. The award, named for the late Agence France-Presse journalist Peter Mackler, was created in2008 to honour the memory of Mackler, who died that year at the age of 58.

Alison DesForgesAward: Four advocates for human rights are the 2015 recipients of the Alison Des ForgesAward for Extraordinary Activism given by Human Rights Watch in August. The winners, leading voices for justice in

their countries, are Nisha Ayub of Malaysia, Yara Bader of Syria; Khadija Ismayilova of Azerbaijan and Nicholas Opiyo

of Uganda. The award is named for Dr. Alison Des Forges, senior adviser at Human Rights Watch, who died in 2009.

CabotPrize: Five journalists won this years Maria Moors Cabot Prize announced by the Columbia UniversitysGraduate School of Journalism in August. The awards, which recognize excellence in coverage of Latin America and the

Caribbean, have been won by Mark Stevenson of the AP, Simon Romero of The Times, Lucas Mendes of GloboNews

and Raul Penaranda of Pagina Siete. The Cabot Prize was founded in 1938.

SolidarityPrize: The journalist daughter of slain Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov received a million-euro (USD 1.1 million) Polish prize for championing democracy and human rights in August. Zhanna Nemtsova, 31,picked up the annual Solidarity Prize at a ceremony in Warsaw. Nemstov, a vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir

Putin, was gunned down on February 27 in Moscow in an assassination the opposition blamed on the Kremlin.

PERSONSINNEWS

RanilWickremesinghe, 66, of United National Party (UNP) was sworn as Sri Lankas Prime Minister asPresident Maithripala Sirisenas Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) backed his national unity government in Colombo in

August.

Akihito: Japans emperor Akihito, 81, said on August 15 that he felt profound remorse over World War II - aconflict that Tokyo fought in the name of his father Hirohito - on the 70 th anniversary of the wars end. Akihitos

comments come as Japan faces criticism from neighbours China and South Korea which said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

failed to properly apologise for Tokyos imperial march across Asia and wartime atrocities in a speech on August 14.

AlexisTsipras: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras resigned in August clearing the way for early elections onSeptember 20. Tsipras effectively lost his parliamentary majority after a rebellion by hardliners in his leftist Syriza party

who oppose a bailout agreement struck with international lenders. He decided seek early elections hoping to quell a

rebellion in his party and seal support to implement a tough bailout programme.

Anupam Kher: Veteran actor Anupam Kher was appointed a UN Ambassador for the HeforShe campaign forgender equality in August. The HeforShe campaign has been initiated by UN Women. Its goal is to engage men and

boys as agents of change for the achievement of gender equality and womens rights, by encouraging them to take action

against inequalities faced by women and girls.

OBITUARIES

Pakistans hardline Islamist general Hamid Gul, known for nurturing militants in Kashmir and Punjab and Afghanistan

during his stint as chief of the powerful Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) in the late 80s and early 90s, died at 78 onAugust 15. Julian Bond, a US civil rights activist and long-time board chairman of the NAACP, a group that fights

discrimination against black people, died at age 75 in Fort Walton Beach (US) on August 15. Gen Manuel Contreras,

who headed the Chilean governments feared spy agency during the military dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet in

1973-90, died in Santiago on August 8 at 86.


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Current Affairs: Sports

CRICKET

IndiawinLankaTestSeries21: India broke a 22-year-old jinx on Sri Lankan soil with a 117-run win over

the hosts in the third and final cricket Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo onSeptember 1. After setting a victory target of 386, India managed to dismiss Sri

Lankan for 268 despite a valiant century by captain Angelo Mathews. Cheteshwar

Pujara was Man of the Match for his 145 not out in first innings while Ravichandran

Ashwin was declared Man of the Series for his 21 wickets the highest in the series.

Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews was the best batsman in the series with 339 runs.

Scores: India 312 and 274; Sri Lanka 201 and 268 (85 overs, target: 386). Lanka had

won the first test played at the Galle International Stadium by 63 runs on August 15. India levelled the series 1-1 with a

278-run win in the second test at P. Sara Oval, Colombo on August 24. Indias previous series win in Sri Lanka was

under captaincy of Mohammed Azharuddin in 1993. It is also the first series win for new test captain Virat Kohli.

EnglandwinAshesSeries32: Michael Clarke-led Australia won the fifth and final test of the Ashes seriesagainst arch rival England by 46 runs at The Oval in London on August 23 but lost the series 2-3. The Alistair Cook-

captained England, following-on, were dismissed for 286 in their second innings. In the first test at Sophia Gardens,Cardiff, England beat Australia by 169 runs on July 11. Australia beat England by 405 runs in second Test at Lords to

level the 5-match series 1-1 on July 19. England won the fourth Test at Trent Bridge, Nottingham by an innings and 78

runs and regained the Ashes from Australia. Chris Rogers (Australia) and Joe Root (England) were Man of the Series.

Australias Steven Smith was the best batsman with 508 runs in five matches while Englands Stuart Broad was the best

bowler with 21 wickets in 5 tests.

KumarSangakkararetires: Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara retired from international cricket onAugust 24. Sangakkara was one of the leading cricketers in world cricket for the last 15 years during which played in 134

Tests (scoring 12,400 runs, 182 catches (131 catches as a wicket-keeper) as well as 20 stumpings), 404 ODIs (14,234

runs, 402 catches (383 as wicket-keeper) and 99 stumpings) and 56 T20Is (1,382 runs, 26 catches as wicket-keeper and

20 stumpings). He also led Sri Lanka in 15 Tests, 45 ODIs and 22 ODIs. Sangakkara won the prestigious Sir Garfield

Sobers Trophy for the ICC Cricketer of the Year in 2012. In 2014, he became just the second player (after Graham

Gooch) to score a triple century and a century in the same Test. The high esteem in which he is also held by his peers is

emphasised by the fact that he was invited to deliver the prestigious 2011 MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture atLords, becoming the first active player to do so.

MichaelClarkeretires: Australia sent captain Michael Clarke ended his test career with a win at The Oval onAugust 23. Clarke made 8643 runs at an average of 49.10 in his 115 tests. He made 28 centuries and 27 fifties with a top

score of 329 not-out. He also took 31 wickets. He captained Australia in 47 tests, won 24 and lost 16. In ODIs, Clarke

made 7981 runs in 245 matches at an average of 44 with 8 hundreds and 58 half centuries. He also took 57 wickets. He

captained Australia in 74 ODIs, won 50 and lost 21.

Rahanetakesrecord8catches: Indias Ajinkya Rahane became the first fielder in Test history to take eightcatches, achieving the feat in first cricket match against Sri Lanka in Galle on August 14. Rahane took three in first and

five in second inning to enter the record books after going past five players. Yajurvindra Singh (India), Greg Chappell

(Australia), Hashan Tillakaratne (Sri Lanka), Stephen Fleming (New Zealand) and Mathew Hayden (Australia), have

taken 7 catches in a match. Among wicket-keepers, Englands Jack Russell (1995) and South Africas AB de Villiers

(2013) have 11 dismissals each in a Test match.

Kaushalreportedforsuspectaction: Sri Lankan off-spinner Tharindu Kaushal has been reported with asuspected illegal bowling action after the conclusion of the test series against India in September. Kaushal, who has

played six Tests and one ODI international for Sri Lanka, claimed 13 wickets at an average of 38.15 in the series. The 22-


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year-old will be required to undergo a test on his action at an ICC-accredited facility within 14 days and, during this

period, Kaushal is permitted to continue bowling in international cricket until the results of the testing are known.

Ban on tainted Pak cricketers expires: The International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed that thesanctions against tainted Pakistani cricketers Mohammad Asif, Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir expired on September

1 and they are now eligible to return to competitive cricket. The three were found guilty of various offences of corruptbehaviour relating to the Lords Test between England and Pakistan in August 2010 by the independent Anti-Corruption

Tribunal in 2011. Amir delivered pre-arranged no balls at Lords in a plot that also saw Asif and captain Butt banned.

ExAussie batsmanArthurMorris dies: Former Australian opener Arthur Morris, a member of DonBradmans 1948 team, died aged 93, on August 22. Morris made his Test debut against England during their tour of

Australia in 1946-47. At his retirement, aged 34, the occasional Test captain had scored 3,533 runs at 46.48 in 46 Tests,

with a highest score of 206 against England in Adelaide in 1950-51.

IndiaAclinchODItriseries: India A beat Australia A by four wickets in the final to clinch the 50-over tri-series that also featured South Africa A. Chasing Australia As score of 226/9, India A overhauled the target with 39

balls to spare at the M.A. Chidambaram stadium in Chennai in August 14. Gurkeerat Singh top scored for the Indians

with an unbeaten knock of 87 while Ashton Agar bagged the best bowling figures for the tourists -- 2/39.

MISC: Opener Akhil Herwadkar and captain Aditya Tare shone with the bat as Mumbai beat TNCA Districts XI by sixwickets and clinched the BuchiBabuMemorialTrophyin the All India invitation cricket tournament in Chennai on

September 1. The BCCI and Cricket South Africa announced in August that they will title all future bilateral series

between the two countries as The MahatmaGandhiNelsonMandelaseries. Test series between the respective

countries will be played for the Freedom Trophy.

TENNIS

RogersCup: Belinda Bencic of Switzerland capped off her Rogers Cup debut with a 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 3-0 victory overSimona Halep of Romania in Toronto in August while in the Mens section of the tournament in Montreal, Andy Murray

defeated Novak Djokovic 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to win the title.

RoadtoWimbledon: Indias Mahak Jain and Sacchitt Sharma emerged champions at the Road to Wimbledon

event, winning the girls and boys titles respectively at the UKs national grass court championship in London in August.All India Tennis Association has tied up with the Wimbledon Foundation for the Road to Wimbledon programme.

CincinnatiMasters: Roger Federer won the Mens Singles title at the Cincinnati Masters with a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winover Novak Djokovic in the final in August while Serena Williams beat Romanias Simona Halep 6-3,7-6 (3) to win the

Womens Singles title at the same event.

UNICEFGoodwillAmbassador: Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic was appointed UNICEF GoodwillAmbassador in August and in his new role he will focus on childrens rights and access to early childhood care and

development. He joins other UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors such as ex-footballer David Beckham, actor Orlando

Bloom, singers Katy Perry and Shakira and tennis star Serena Williams.

WashingtonOpen: Japans Kei Nishikori has won the final of Washington Open by defeating American JohnIsner 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in Mens Singles in August.

RACING

ForceGurkhaRainforestChallenge: Malaysian driver Tan Eng Joo (co-driver Tan Choon Hong) clinchedthe Force Gurkha Rainforest Challenge (RFC) India title in Morlem (Goa) on July 31. The RFC is an off-road motorsport

event where drivers have to fight rain, manoeuvre through changing paths, mud, steep slippery slopes, deep ruts, gullies,


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flooded rivers and landslides in their modified 4X4 All-Terrain Vehicles (ATV). This is the second season of the event.

Cougar Motorsport was the event organiser.

MonsoonScooterRally: Experienced rider Shamim Khan of Nashik, atop a Mahindra Rodeo, overcame a strongfield that included a host of former champions and tough conditions, to emerge triumphant in the Gulf Monsoon Scooter

Rally, organised by Sportscraft for the fourth time in Mumbai on August 9. The Team Mahindra rider, rode judiciouslyover the dirt tracts of Navi Mumbai to win the gruelling 35-km race.

BelgianGrandPrix: Lewis Hamilton claimed a near-flawless victory ahead of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosbergin the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps on August 23.

HOCKEY

Spain,FranceTestSeries: Indian hockey team ended their European tour on a high as they comfortably beathosts Spain 4-2 in the final encounter to win the three-Test series by 2-1 margin, at Terrassa on August 13. India had won

the second match of the series 2-0 on August 12 after a 0-4 defeat in the first match on August 10. Before touring Spain,

India won a 2-test series in France 2-0.

GuruTeghBahadurHockey: Star-studded Air India regained the Guru Tegh Bahadur Hockey title after sevenyears when they prevailed over defending champions Army XI 3-1 via the penalty shoot-out after the two teams weredeadlocked goalless in regular play in the final in Mumbai in August.

ATHLETICS

SebastianCoeisnewIAAFPresident: Former British athlete Sebastian Coe, who won gold medals in 1500m in 1980 and 1984 Olympic Games, was elected President of the International Association of Athletics Federations

(IAAF) in Beijing in August. Sergey Bubka, the former pole vault champion from Ukraine, was re-elected as IAAF vice-

president along with Qatari Dahlan al-Hamad, Cameroons Hamad Kalkaba Malboum and Cuban Alberto Juantorena.

Indias former 100 m national champion Adille Sumariwalla was elected as Member of the Council of the IAAF.

DuteeChandallowed to run: Indian sprinter Dutee Chand, 19, who has been at the center of the gendercontroversy, has been allowed to race after International Association of Athletes Federations (IAAF) made a landmark

ruling questioning the validity of the gender tests around naturally high testosterone levels in female athletes.

BADMINTON

WorldBadmintonChampionships: China won three out of six titles at the 22nd BWF World BadmintonChampionships organised in Jakarta in August. Carolina Marin of Spain managed to defend her Womens Singles title by

beating Indias Saina Nehwal 21-16, 21-19 in the final. Chinas top seed Chen Long retained his Mens Singles crown

after beating Malaysias Lee Chong Wei in straight games 21-14, 21-17. Other title winners were: Mens Doubles:

Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan (Indonesia), Womens Doubles: Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei (China) and Mixed

Doubles: Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei (China)

MISC

U Mumba captained by Anup Kumar defeated Bengaluru Bulls led by Manjeet Chhillar 36-30 in the final to win Pro

KabaddiLeagueat the NSCI Stadium in Mumbai in August. Indias Surya Shekhar Ganguly won the silver medal in

theAsian

Continental

Chess

Championship in Al Ain (UAE) in August while the gold was won by AR SalemSaleh of UAE and in womens section, Mitra Hejazipour of Iran won the gold. Australian golfer Jason Day won the USPGAChampionshipat Whistling Straits while Indias Anirban Lahiri finished fifth in August. Indias Pankaj Advani

won the World6RedSnookerChampionship in Karachi by defeating Chinas Yan Bingtao 6-2 in the final played at

Karachi in August. FC Barcelonas striker Pedro Rodriguez scored an injury time winning goal to help the Spanish

football giants claim the EuropeanSuperCupin a thrilling 5-4 triumph against Sevilla at Tbilisi (Georgia) in August.


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Current Affairs: Economy

73kcommentsonnetneutralityreceived: As the deadline for comments on Net neutrality ended onAugust 20, as many as 73,326 people posted their views on the DoT report on mygov.in, The government had sought

public comments following a controversy on zero-rated plans that are seen to be discriminatory. It will firm up

regulations after taking into consideration the public opinion and regulator TRAIs suggestions. Most people who sharedtheir views have lent their support to Net neutrality, which means equal treatment for all Internet traffic, without

discrimination or priority for any person or company. DoT panel has proposed regulation of domestic calls through

Internet-based apps like Skype, Whatsapp and Viber by putting them on par with services offered by telecom operators.

However, it suggested a liberal approach to app-based international calls.

Foodgrainoutputfell4.66%in201415: Indias foodgrain production is estimated to have declined 4.66per cent to 252.68 million tonnes (MT) in 2014-15 crop year due to poor monsoon and unseasonal rains. The country had

registered a record foodgrain production of 265.04 MT in 2013-14 crop year (July-June). Production of kharif (summer-

sown) crops during 2014-15 suffered due to bad monsoon. Unseasonal rains and hailstorm during February-March 2015

had a significant impact on production of rabi (winter-sown) crops crops. India had received 12% deficient rains from the

South-West monsoon in 2014. This was disclosed in data released by the Agriculture Ministry on August 17.

PMJDYcompletes

one

year: The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), launched on August 28, 2014completed its first year. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that with close to 18 crore bank accounts have been opened

under the PMJDY. For nearly every household having a bank account, wage payments and subsidies were being directlyrouted to bank accounts. As a next step, the government plans to utilize these accounts for extending insurance, pensionand credit facilities to those who are currently excluded from these benefits. The scheme has been started with a target toprovide universal access to banking facilities starting with Basic Saving Bank Account with an overdraft uptoRs.5000 subject to satisfactory operation in the account for six months and RuPay Debit card with inbuilt accidentinsurance cover of Rs. 1 lakh and providing social security schemes i.e., Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana(PMSBY), Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) & Atal Pension Yojana (APY) .

Atal PensionYojanamademore attractive: Pension scheme Atal Pension Yojana (APY) has beenmodified in August to make it more viable and acceptable for informal sector workers with intermittent incomes. The

provision of mandatory monthly contributions and penal provisions for non-contribution towards the scheme by

subscribers have been removed and the new rules allow individual subscribers to make monthly, quarterly or half yearly

contributions instead. Premature exit from the scheme before 60 years of age has also been allowed. A subscriber canvoluntarily exit from the scheme and receive his contribution along with the interest earned on it after deduction of

account maintenance charges. However, the governments co-contribution along with the interest earned on it will not be

paid. Launched in May, the APY aims to provide a minimum monthly guaranteed pension to subscribers upto Rs.5,000.

Panel favourscashtransfer forkerosene, foodsubsidy: The government appointed ExpenditureManagement Commission headed by former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan is in favour of extending the cash transfer

scheme to kerosene and food in three years for directly helping beneficiaries. The Commission is making a case for

including food and kerosene in the DBT (Direct Benefits Transfer) scheme over the next three years. DBT is being used

to transfer subsidy on LPG cylinders and other welfare schemes into bank accounts of beneficiaries. Pruning of subsidies

is high on economic agenda of the government and it plans to cut the fiscal deficit to 3.9 per cent of the GDP in the

current year and further to 3 per cent by 2017-18. It was 4 per cent in the last fiscal.

Govtapprovesspectrumsharing: In a bid to ease telecom congestion, the government allowed companiesto share airwaves in the same band so as to reduce call drops from August but did not allow leasing of spectrum. At

present, telecom operators are allowed to share passive infrastructure like mobile towers only. Now they will be able to

share their unused spectrum thereby enhancing network quality and reducing operational costs.

PAHAL gets Guinness recognition: The Pahal (Pratyaksh Hanstantarit Labh) scheme has beenacknowledged by the Guinness Book of World Records for being the largest cash transfer program (households) in


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August. LPG consumers who join the PAHAL scheme will get the LPG cylinders at market price and receive LPG

subsidy (as per their entitlement) directly into their bank accounts. This scheme has enabled substantive savings in

subsidy.

AjitKumar Seth is new PSEB head: Former Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth was appointed as the

Chairman of the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB), the governments head-hunter in August. PESB is entrustedwith selection and placement of the posts of chairman, managing director or chairman-cum-managing director and

functional director in central public sector enterprises, among others.

TurkmengaztoleadTAPIgaspipelineconsortium: The four nations involved in the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline have decided to start the project with Turkmenistans state company

TurkmenGaz making majority investment. The work on the pipeline is yet to commence as the four nations have not

succeeded in finding a reputed international firm that could lead the consortium to construct and operate the 1,800-km

long pipeline. This was decided at the meeting of energy ministers of the TAPI nations in Ashgabat in August. The TAPI

pipeline will carry gas from Turkmenistans Galkynysh field and pass through Afghanistan and Pakistan before ending at

Fazilka (Punjab) in India.

SEBInotifiesfasttrackrouteforsharesales: To boost fund raising from markets, the Securities and

Exchange Board of India (SEBI), notified new norms in August, which will provide all listed companies a fast-trackroute for share sales. Under the fast-track route, a listed company would not be required to file any draft offer document

for its follow-on public offer (FPO) or rights issue and they can proceed with fund-raising programme without

necessarily getting observations from SEBI. As per the new norms, companies in which public shareholders own stocks

worth Rs.1,000 crore will now be able to access this route through a FPO. The minimum public holding requirement for a

rights offer is Rs.250 crore.

NationalRemoteSensingDayobserved: The government launched new application services of Bhuvan Geospatial platform of ISRO, in an event organized in New Delhi on August 12 on the occasion of National Remote

Sensing Day which is celebrated on the birth anniversary of Prof. Vikram Sarabhai. These include more than one million

satellite images for more than 300 cities in the country, a toll information system for NHAI, a national database of

national highways and Toll plazas and a countrywide groundwater maps, with state-wise access to the online services for

drinking water and recharge structures.

Indialoses

solar

case

at

WTO: India has lost a case against the US at WTO as the body ruled that Indias

domestic content requirements under its solar power programme were inconsistent with the international norms. India

will now appeal against the ruling of WTOs dispute panel. The US had dragged India to WTO on Jawaharlal Nehru

National Solar Mission. The US alleged that it discriminated against the US solar equipment by requiring solar energy

producers to use locally manufactured cells and by offering subsidies to those developers who use domestic equipment. It

also alleged that forced localisation requirements restricted US exports to Indian markets.

IndradhanushlaunchedforPSBs: The government announced a seven-point action plan, Indradhanush toinfuse professionalism and fresh capital in to public sector banks. It includes the infusion of Rs.70,000 crore capital into

banks over the next four years. High bad debts and lower profit margins of PSBs are a cause for concern, besides the

need for more support from the government.

SurakshaBandhan launched: In order to build on the response to insurance schemes, namely the PradhanMantri Suraksha Bima Yojana that provides accident and disability cover of up to Rs.2 lakh at an annual premium of

Rs.1 2 and the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana that gives a term life cover of Rs.2 lakh at an annual premium

of Rs.330, a special enrolment drive called Suraksha Bandhan was launched by participating Banks and Insurance

Companies in the months of August-September, in the backdrop of the forthcoming festival of Raksha Bandhan.


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Business BiographyOm Prakash Munjal: Moving IndiaHis visionary leadership made Hero Cycles the largest bicycle manufacturer by volume in the world

Industrialist Om Prakash Munjal, Chairman

Emeritus of Hero Cycles and one of thefounders of the Hero Group, passed away in

Ludhiana on August 13 at the age of 87. Munjal

had retired from active role in the business in

July 2015 and his son Pankaj Munjal succeeded

him as the Chairman and Managing Director of

the Hero Motors group.

Om Prakash Munjal along with his three

brothers Brijmohan Lall Munjal (owns two-

wheeler company Hero MotoCorp), Dayanand

Munjal and Satyanand Munjal started bicycle spare parts

business in Amritsar in 1944. Subsequently they moved

their base to Ludhiana naming the company Hero andset up Indias first bicycle manufacturing unit in 1956.

The story of Om Prakash and his three brothers was not

quite one of rags to riches their father was a wholesaler

in Kamalia in what is now Pakistan. But it is a tale of

dedication and salesmanship that helped the family to

overcome the chaos of Indias partition in 1947 as well as

the licence Raj that subsequently throttled entrepreneurs

with bureaucracy and protectionism.

Born on August 26 1928, Om Prakash was no ordinary

businessman obsessed by spreadsheets or profit margins.

Known as Chotte Bauji (literally little dad, because he

was the youngest of seven siblings) and more generallyjust as OP, he wrote poetry in Urdu and inspired

adoration for his generosity and hospitality.

Pankaj tells how his father once travelled to England in

the 1950s only to be insulted by the person he had gone to

see about acquiring bicycle technology. The man laughed

at the idea of Indians being able to manufacture cycles.

OP returned home determined that his family would do

the work themselves. That inspired him, says his son.

O.P Munjal has been truly a visionary and a first

generation entrepreneur. He has spearheaded the entire

initiative of transforming Hero Cycles from a local player

to an international brand.

Munjal started Hero Cycles with limited resources and no

technical qualification. He had migrated from Pakistan

and set up bicycle parts unit in

Ludhiana. He had before him theformidable challenge of providing a low

cost means of transportation at an

affordable cost for the common man. He

achieved that successfully.

The Hero Cycles factory was set up with

a capacity for producing 25 cycles a day.

It now produces nearly 19,000 cycles

daily. Listed in the Guinness Books of

World Records in 1986 as the largest

bicycle manufacturer in the world in 1986, Hero Cycles

commands nearly 48 percent of market share in the

countrys cycle market.

Inspite of rapid industrialization he maintained Hero

Cycles as a labour intensive unit since for him the

employees were an extended family. Most of them have

joined and retired from Hero Cycles.

The growth and prosperity of Hero Cycles was not just

restricted to the promoters but was shared with the

vendors, dealers and other associates. The loyalties

developed are mutual and everlasting. Today Ludhiana is

synonymous with Hero Cycles and a large population is

dependant either directly or indirectly on Hero Cycles.

As part of corporate social responsibility Munjal is knownfor his highest contribution to the exchequer of the Punjab

State Govt. He has been accredited with the Samman

Patra for his contribution made to the state for several

years.

Munjal has made significant contribution to the society by

establishing many schools, colleges/institutions and

hospitals benefiting the society at large. CSR activities of

his companies have nurtured schools and institutions in

and around Ludhiana - over 20,000 children get education

every year. There are concessions for students from

economically weaker sections and their employees.

He has set up a world class medical facility in the name of

Dayanand Medical College (DMC) where a dedicated

team of doctors to provide high quality treatment at an

affordable cost.


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Current Affairs: Corporate

HAPPENINGS

CCI fines Hyundai Rs.420 crore: The Competition

Commission of India (CCI) has levied a penalty of Rs.420.26 crore oncar manufacturer Hyundai Motor India Ltd for violating antitrust laws in

the supply of genuine spare parts and diagnostic tools. CCI also found

Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles, a subsidiary of Mahindra and

Mahindra Ltd, and Doshi Holding-promoted Premier in violation of

competition laws. Genuine spare parts of automobiles manufactured by

these companies were not made available in the open market, which

affected services of independent mechanics to compete with authorised

service stations. Hyundai and Reva earned a high mark-up on spare parts sourced from original equipment suppliers and

the price at which they were made available to consumers.

McCannwinsIncredibleIndiacontract: The Tourism Ministrys Incredible India advertising campaignhas been bagged by advertising agency McCann India for a period of three years. The incumbent agency is Ogilvy India.

The Ministry said McCann was chosen because of its unique consumer understanding, intrinsic reflection of the social

conscience cultural insight and superlative creative work. Prasoon Joshi is the Chairman, Asia Pacific, CEO and Chief

Creative Officer of McCann India. McCann has also been responsible for the set of four commercials on Atithi Devo

Bhava, from the Tourism Ministry, which is currently playing on air, and which feature superstar Aamir Khan.

India foilsMNCsbid topatentayurvedicmix: India has foiled an attempt by a foreign company totake patent on a medicinal composition for treating hair loss. India was successful in protecting its traditional knowledge

by preventing an attempt made by Europes Pangaea Laboratories to take patent on a medicinal composition containing

turmeric, pine bark and green tea for treating hair loss. Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), a unit of CSIR,

filed pre-grant opposition along with evidences proving that turmeric, pine bark and green tea, are being used as a

treatment for hair loss, since long in Indian systems of medicine like Ayurveda and Unani.

Reliance to launch telecomventurewith1,000+stores: Reliance Industries Ltd will launch itsambitious 4G telecoms venture in December through a direct physical presence in over 1,000 Jio Centers and will also

sell self-branded devices under its retail unit. The energy conglomerate run by the countrys richest man, MukeshAmbani, re-entered the telecoms sector in 2010 and has already invested over $15 billion in building the countrys largest

4G broadband network, with commercial operations expected to start in December.

KVB unveils new logo: Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) kick-started its centenary celebrations by unveiling acentenary logo recently followed by the rollout of new products and services such as KVB Centenary Prepaid Card,

Aadhar-enabled Rupay Card, KVB Rupay Kisan Card and KVB Mithra Health Card. Promoted by late A Venkataraman

Chettiar and late Adhi Krishna Chettiar, KVB had commenced operations in 1916, from the textile hub of Karur.

Raymond to cut outMakersbrand: Textile major Raymond is planning to put its mass market brandMakers on the back burner. In a bid to trim its losses over the past few quarters, the company has decided to let go of

Makers in favour of premium offerings in its portfolio to drive margins and profitabil

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