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MAY 2015

KYA? Keep Yourself Ahead!

A Quest ChronicleCHRIST UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT



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Business

1. Kishore Biyani, CEO of Future group announced the acquisition of Bharati

Retail in all stock deal valued at Rs 500 crore.

The acquisition has marked the largest deal in retail segment. This deal has outshined the stock

market, with surging stock prices of Future group shares. Biyani played a wise game acquiring

Bharati retail, which will expand the presence of retail chains in India. Mittals are also benefitted

by the deal by getting an immediate stake of 9% each in BSE listed Future-Retail and also board

member seat in Future retail. Bharati Enterprises will also receive Rs.250 crore worth convertible

debentures.

Adding on the new set of stores in pan India, Future retail may out beat Reliance retail stores.

There are very high chances that Bharati Airtel and Future group may share platforms going

forward to develop e-wallets and payment gateways.

Also Future retail can start their operations in 77 cities in Bharati’s existing outlets and expand

their horizon of business. PwC was the transaction advisor and Edelweiss Financial Services was

the independent valuer for this deal between Bharati and Future group.



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2. IMF has declared India as a new Bright spot in Asia.

International Monetary Fund expects India to be the fastest growing economy in the world over

the medium term. IMF also has appreciated the reforms and missions undertaken by Mr. Narendra

Modi to develop India and attract investments worldwide. IMF expects Indian economy to expand

at the rate of 7.5% in 2015-2016, which will majorly exceed China’s growth rate.

Effective policies and resolution of political stability has increased capital flows into the

economy, and improved sentiments of investors. Also, IMF has identified supply-side bottlenecks,

which are leading to potential risks that would cause the economy downfall. The bank’s assets

quality and corporate vulnerability are causing risks to the growth of the economy. The Aadhar

benefits and LPG subsidies linked to Aadhar and many more have been applauded by IMF about

the Indian economy.

3.

NTPC plans to issue Rupee denominated Global INR bonds worth $1 Billion



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India’s largest power producer NTPC has planned to fund its capital expenditure by issuing the

global INR bonds. National Thermal and Power Corporation is a public sector undertaking under

Ministry of Power. NTPC board has approved for this proposal to raise $1 Billion from overseas

bonds markets.

NTPC requires funds mainly for expanding its power generation capacity. The renewable energy

is the major contributor of 28% to its capacity of 1,28,000 MW by 2032. The power generator

company plans to set up 3,000MW capacity solar power projects across the country this fiscal

year. The Government plans to have 1,60,000 MW renewable power generation capacity by 2022

for which, an investment of $250 billion would be required.

4. Private Banks like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank sell Government

bonds.

Indian government bonds have a negative view among FIIs and also caused the same impressions

among domestic players. The domestic players like ICICI, Axis banks have sold bonds worth

thousands of crores in the month of May. Banks bought benchmark bonds in the month of January

which had yielding rate around 7.85% to 7.90%.

The share of private banks selling government securities was higher than usual as they sold a net

8.3% of the daily volume while state-owned banks bought 11.50%, according to clearing house

sources.



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On the next day, private banks sold a net 7% against 14% net purchases by state-owned

lenders. Between April 27 and May 6, the share of government securities sales by private banks

was about 18%, net purchases 14%. This development has indirectly affected rates of these bonds.

RBI might come with quick actions to control the fluctuations in the bond market.

5. Spice Jet Promoter has planned to infuse another Rs 300 crore into the airline.

Spice Jet plans to raise Rs 300 crore of low cost debt as part of recapitalization. The debt will be

used to fund the airline’s expansion plans. It plans to expand its fleet by 40% to 50 planes by end

March 2016. Spice Jet currently has 17 Boeing 737s and 15 Bombardier Q400s in its fleet. Ajay

Singh, spice jet promoter has put in Rs 550crore into the airline, as he took over the Spice Jet from

Kalanithi Maran in February 2015. According to the revival plan, submitted to the civil aviation

ministry in January for its approval, the new promoter had to invest Rs 1,500 crore in three

tranches of Rs 500 crore each between February and April. The company has also increased the

number of its flights to 270 in the current summer schedule from 210 operated during the winter

period.



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6. Bank of Russia bought Forex reserves worth $200 Million.

The Russian central bank bought $200 Million of foreign currency in the market. The central bank

also said the purchases, which started on May 13 was to build up its reserves. Russia's gold and

forex reserves fell to around $385 billion in early 2015 from $ 510 billion a year earlier.

The central bank, which has sold billions of dollars of foreign currency to support the embattled

ruble over the past year, said last week it would buy $100 million to $200 million a day. In the

first three days of interventions it bought $581 million. This was mainly undertaken to replenish

its reserves, which have fallen substantially since early last year as the rouble slumped and global

oil prices collapsed.

7. Exim Bank extends two lines of credit worth $144.44 million to Congo.



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The Export-Import Bank of India has extended two lines of credit worth $144.44 million to Congo

for power distribution and transmission projects. The bank has given $34.50 million for financing

development of power distribution project in Bandundu Province in the country. The bank has

also extended another line of credit(LoC) worth $109.94 million for transmission and distribution

project in Kasai province of Congo for evacuation of electricity from Ketende Hydroelectric

Power project in the country. Exim Bank had earlier extended five LoCs aggregating to USD

350.50 million to Congo.

With the signing of these two LoC agreements, the bank has now in place 196 LoCs, covering 63

countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, Oceania and the CIS, with credit commitments

of over USD 12.02 billion, available for financing exports from the country.

8.

Ford has plans to invest Rs 5,000 crore in Chennai R&D centre.

As part of the “Make In India” mission, Ford has planned to invest around Rs 5,000crore in

the R&D plant. Ford motors, US automobile maker has again decided to invest in India after

investments in Gujurat plant. Ford India will be increasing its investment in the country by

almost 50% of its cumulative investment. They have narrowed in on Chennai location,

therefore Tamil nadu government is expected to intervene and furnish the requirements and

also the approval of the project.

The new Indian product development centre will be one of the largest R&D bases in the Asia-

Pacific region for the maker of the iconic Mustang and Lincoln cars and it is going to be

linked to Ford's Global Product Development Ecosystem, wherein engineers in India will offer



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key inputs for products not only meant for India but for global markets too. It is a good sign of

development to India.

9.

RBI allows NBFCs to cut forward deals in corporate debt securities bonds

The Reserve Bank of India has permitted non-banking finance companies to cut ready forward

contract deals in corporate debt securities, a mechanism aimed at expanding the reach of non-

sovereign bond market. But those companies including the government-owned ones should be

registered with the central bank under Companies Act, 2013. It has now been decided to permit

NBFCs registered with RBI including Government companies as defined in sub-section (45) of

section 2 of the Companies Act, 2013 which adhere to the prudential norms prescribed for NBFCs

by the Department of Non Banking Regulation, Reserve Bank of India, to undertake ready

forward contracts in corporate debt securities. The forward contract will serve as an instrument for

hedging against such investment.

10. JP Morgan chase has decided to cut 5,000 jobs



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US banking giant JPMorgan Chase will cut thousands of jobs in a cost-saving program aimed at

saving $5 billion through 2017. The largest US bank will eliminate more than 5,000 jobs by next

year. The layoffs will affect all four of the bank's major business units.

The goal is to cut two percent of the workforce, which was 241,145 employees at the end of

December. Last year, JPMorgan slashed nearly 8,000 jobs, mainly in the mortgage loan business.

It aims to reduce annual expenses to $57 billion this year, compared with $58.4 billion in

2014. About $2 billion of that is to come from cost-cutting in retail banking, with the bank

planning to close 300 of its 5,570 branches by the end of 2016. At the same t ime, it is boosting

investment in online banking and digital technology.



9

National

1. Union Cabinet cleared 119th Constitutional Amendment Bill on LBA between

India and Bangladesh

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 5th May 2015 approved the

119th Constitutional Amendment Bill on Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) between India and

Bangladesh. Under the land boundary agreement, India and Bangladesh will exchange several

enclaves, which are under each other's adverse possession. The bill also includes the territories inAssam in addition to territories of West Bengal, Tripura and Meghalaya.

The bill will need ratification by the Parliament and would also require ratification of at least 50

percent of the state legislatures before it comes into effect.

Earlier in 2013, the bill in regard to this was placed in the Rajya Sabha and subsequently was

referred to a select committee, which was headed by Shashi Tharoor of Congress. Later, the

committee unanimously recommended implementation of the deal.

The historic protocol on the Land Boundary Agreement was inked between India and Bangladesh

on 6th September 2011 during the visit of the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to

Bangladesh. It was inked following the talks between Manmohan Singh and Bangladesh Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka. Later, Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during

her visit to Bangladesh on 27th June 2014 discussed the Land Boundary Agreement with the

leaders of the nation.



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2. Lok Sabha passed the Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2014

Lok Sabha on 6th May 2015 passed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, 2014. The bill also

called Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill seeks to introduce GST regime in India.

The bill will transform India into a common market, harmonizing myriads of state and central

levies into a national goods and services tax, which is expected to boost manufacturing and reduce

corruption.

Main Highlights of the Bill

• It provides for constitution of a Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council by inserting Article

279A in the Constitution. The Council will recommend to the Union and States on the inclusion

and exclusion of goods and services.

• It proposes an additional tax on supply of goods, not exceeding one percent, in the course of

inter-State trade and will be levied and collected by the Union for a period of two years and

apportioned to the States.

• the net proceeds of additional tax on supply of goods, except the proceeds from Union

Territories, will not form the part of Consolidated Fund of India.

• It provides for the compensation to the States for loss of revenue arising on account of

implementation of GST for a period of five years.

• It subsumes all the Central indirect taxes, Central sales tax, State value added tax and sales tax.

• It covers all goods and services except alcoholic liquor for human consumption for the levy of

GST.



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Now, the bill needs to be passed in Rajya Sabha after which more than a half of India's 29 states

must approve it before the central and state governments would get equal powers to tax goods and

services. With the passage of GST bill at every stage, the whole country, which is one-sixth of

world's population, would become a single market and would give a necessary fillip as far as the

trade is concerned.

3. World’s largest solar photovoltaic plant of 750 MW to be built in Rewa district

of Madhya Pradesh

The Madhya Pradesh Cabinet in the last week of April 2015 gave its approval to build 750

megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic (SPV) plant at Gurh tehsil in Rewa district. The plant, to be

developed in three phases of 250 MW, once completed will become the world’s largest solar

power plant. At present, the largest SPV plant is the Topaz Solar Farm (550 MW) in California’s

San Luis Obispo county, US, which was commissioned in 2014

Characteristic Feature of SPV plant:

The plant will use photovoltaic (PV) technology to generate electricity from the sun is

estimated to be completed by March 2017 at an estimated cost of 4500 crore rupees.

The loan for it will be provided by World Bank and New and Renewable Energy

Department of Madhya Pradesh government will provide land for the project. The state

government is also on the lookout for private land.



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The plant will provide power at a price as low as 5.50 rupees per unit as against the 6.86

rupees per unit, which is the benchmark for levelised tariff (tariff realized over the span of

the project) of SPV for 2015-16 announced by Central Electricity Regulatory Commission.

The project is being set up under the scheme for development of solar parks and ultra

mega solar power projects. The PV modules for the plant would be sourced from the

domestic market, which is not mandatory.

Once commissioned, Jabalpur-based Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company Limited will

buy 40 per cent of power. The solar project in Rewa would be one of the first of the 25 solar parks

planned in the country.

4. Nadia in West Bengal became the first open defecation-free (ODF) district of

India

Nadia district of West Bengal was on 30th April 2015 declared as the first open defecation-free

(ODF) district in India. Nadia district could achieve this feat due to its collaborative effort with

the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and World Bank, which is aimed at construction of

toilets across the district.



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Incidentally, in order to eliminate open defecation from the rural landscape of the state, the Chief

Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee formally launched the Mission Nirmal Bangla (MNB)

on 30th April 2015 and declared the day as Nirmal Bangla Diwas to mark the occasion.

The mission is akin to the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) in its objectives, which was launched

on 2nd October 2014 with the objective of ensuring cleanliness in all the 4041 statutory cities and

towns of the country by 2th October 2019, which marks the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma

Gandhi.

5.

Yogathon to be hosted in 100 US cities on First International Yoga Day

Yogathon is an event that will be celebrated in more than 100 US cities on 21 June 2015, the first

International Yoga Day. It is a type of campaign to spread the awareness about Yoga. The event is

being organized by about 50 major spiritual and Yoga organizations like Art of Living, Overseas

Volunteer for a Better India (OVBI) and others.

The United Nations (UN) on 11 December 2014 declared 21 June as the World Yoga Day

following a proposal of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He made a proposal and urged the

world community to celebrate Indian Yoga at the international level during his visit to the United

Nations in September 2014.



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6. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Doordarshan's farmer-centric Kisan

TV Channel

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Doordarshan’s farmer -centric channel named DD Kisan

from Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi. The 24-hour channel will air information on farmer related

issues.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has included DD Kisan channel under the genre

Infotainment (Hindi). With this, DD Kisan has become a must carry channel making it mandatory

for every cable and Direct to Home (DTH) operators to provide DD Kisan to their subscribers.

The channel programmes would be primarily for agriculture sector and rural India and would help

in revitalizing agriculture sector, which in turn would aid the development of rural India.

7. Environmental Democracy Index 2015 has India at 24th position

The Washington based World Resources Institute (WRI) and the Access Initiative on 20th

May

released the first Environmental Democracy Index (EDI) for the year 2015. The index evaluates

the environmental democracy in 70 countries based on recognized international standards. The

index evaluates whether Governments are enacting national laws to promote transparency,

accountability, and citizen engagement in environmental decision making. It is assessed and

analyzed by more than 140 international lawyers and experts. India was ranked at 24th position



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out of 70 countries in the first Environmental Democracy Index that is topped by Lithuania at the

first position, Latvia at the second and Russia at the third position.

Highlights of the Environmental Democracy Index:

• 79 percent of countries assessed earned only fair or poor ratings for public participation adding

that many nations lag on providing citizens basic environmental information.

• Nearly half (46 percent) of the countries do not provide any ambient air quality data online for

their capital cities.

• In 73 percent of the countries, courts hear environmental cases. But very few countries have

assistance for marginalized groups.

• Around 64 percent of countries with laws on the books do not release any information to the

public on emissions or wastewater discharges, pollutants that can impact human health and the

environment.

• Only 14 percent of the countries have legal mechanisms that help women access courts to obtain

redress when their environmental rights are violated.

• The index found that wealth is an important facilitator for environmental democracy, as is being

a signatory of a major treaty like the Kyoto Protocol or the Aarhus convention.

• Right to environmental information has been established in the 93 percent of the assessed

countries.



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8. President of India appointed four Governors and transferred two

President of India Pranab Mukherjee appointed four Governors and transferred two others. These

appointments and transfers were done in accordance with Article 155 of the Constitution of India

Appointed Governors

V Shanmuganathan was appointed as the Governor of Meghalaya. He is a member of BJP

national executive.

Draupadi Murmu was appointed as the Governor of Jharkhand. She is from BJP and was a

Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Odisha’s Rairangpur constituency in 2000.

Tathagata Roy was appointed as Governor of Tripura. Roy had unsuccessfully contested for BJP

seat from Kolkata Dakshina Lok Sabha constituency in 2014.

JP Rakkhowa was appointed as Governor of Arunachal Pradesh. He is a 1968-batch IAS officer.

He has been involved in issues related to Northeast after his retirement.

Transferred Governors

Syed Ahmed, Governor of Jharkhand was shifted to Manipur. He was appointed in September

2011. His tenure will end in September 2016.

Lt General (retd.) Nirbhay Sharma, who was serving as Governor of Arunachal Pradesh since

May, 2011, was transferred and appointed as Governor of Mizoram for the remainder of his term,

which ends in 2018. He is the eighth Governor of the state since 2014.



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9. Veteran Bollywood actor Shashi Kapoor bestowed with Dada Saheb Phalke

award

Veteran Bollywood actor Shashi Kapoor was honoured with the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalkeaward by Union Information and Broadcasting Minster Arun Jaitley at Prithvi Theatre, Mumbai.

With this, Shashi Kapoor became the 46th winner of the award. He was awarded for his

outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema. He began his career as

an actor as a child artist in the 1940s.

Shashi Kapoor is known for his performances in films like Jab Jab Phool Khile, Deewar and

Kabhi Kabhie. Earlier, he has got the National Award for best actor for the film New Delhi Times

in 1986, National Film Award – Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Feature Film) for Muhafiz

(1993).

He was also awarded with the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi (as Producer)

for Junoon in 1979. He has appeared in 160 movies all together, 12 being in English and the rest

in Hindi. He was also honoured with the Padma Bhushan Award by the Union Government in

2011.

10. Indian Army signed MoU with Bank of India on Defence Salary Package

Indian Army on 8th May 2015 signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bank of

India (BOI) on the Defence Salary Package. The first MoU between BOI and the Indian Army



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was signed in 2011 and was valid for a period of three years. This revised MoU is customized to

suit the requirements of serving soldiers, pensioners and families.

Highlights of the MoU

• This MoU will benefit a large number of serving and retired Army personnel who own their

accounts with BOI.

• It will also provide them an opportunity to access modern banking facilities.

• It includes the standard bundle of free/concessional services including free drafts, free cheque

books, free funds transfers to any bank in India through RTGS / NEFT, free ATM cards etc.

• Some additional features of this MoU are that the Personal Accident Insurance (PAI) cover is

extended up to 10 lakh rupees from 5 lakh rupees.

• It provides for Air insurance, Home Loan Insurance on Army Welfare housing Organization

(AWHO) for deaths on account of war/external aggression/ terrorist attack for up to 50 lakh

rupees.

• It provides applicability of PAI and overdraft facility to pensioners and waiver of merchant

service fee (MSF) for transaction on BOI POS Terminal installed at CSD Canteens for BOI Card

holders.

• It also has a provision for yearly review of specific features and requests.



19

International

1. 14th person dies of MERS in South Korea and 2 hospitals have been closed

Authorities in South Korea temporarily closed two hospitals amid persistent fears over the

MERS virus outbreak, which has killed 14 people so far, though health officials continue to

claim the outbreak has already peaked. Twelve new infections were reported, and a 67-year-old

woman became the latest fatality.

Nearly 140 people in South Korea have been diagnosed with Middle East respiratory syndrome

since the country reported its first case last month. The outbreak, the largest outside Saudi

Arabia, has been occurring only in hospitals, among patients, family members who visited

them and medical staff treating them. The Health Ministry claimed that the outbreak was

coming under control. However, 12 new cases were reported. About 3,680 people were isolated

after possible contacts with those infected.

Three MERS patients in their 70s died and they had suffered from conditions such as

pneumonia, asthma and lung diseases before they were confirmed as having MERS. The

woman who became the country's 14th fatality had been combating thyroid problems and high

blood pressure.



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2. Honda adds more money to air bag recall fund

Honda Motor Co. is setting aside another US$363 million to fund a growing recall of air bags

that can explode with too much force. The manufacturer said the additional costs would show up

in revised earnings for the fiscal year that ended March 31. But the costs won't affect the

company's dividend or earnings forecasts, it said in a statement.

Last month air bag maker Takata Corp. gave in to pressure from U.S. safety regulators and

agreed to double the size of an air bag inflator recall to a record 33.8 million. Takata's inflators

can explode with too much force, sending metal shrapnel into a car's passenger compartment. So

far the problem has caused at least six deaths and 105 injuries worldwide.

Louisiana. Honda is Takata's largest customer and so far has recalled about 20 million inflators

worldwide. Ten other manufacturers use Takata inflators and have had to expand their recalls as

well.

3. Protests bring pressure on Guatemala President amid scandals



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Every Saturday for nearly two months, Constitution Square outside Guatemala City's National

Palace has overflowed with thousands of protesters demanding an end to corruption and the

resignation of President Otto Perez Molina.

Most are from the young, middle-class, smartphone generation, and they organize the leaderless

demonstrations through social media. But there are also priests standing shoulder-to-shoulder with

businessmen, and students alongside homemakers, in what Guatemala analysts call an

unprecedented mass mobilization cutting across socio-economic, political, even class lines.

Angered by recent revelations of multimillion-dollar corruption scandals and emboldened by the

jailing of dozens of suspects and the resignation of the vice president, the protesters show no sign

of letting up. And they're bringing increasing pressure on the government, culminating in this

week's Supreme Court ruling green lighting a congressional inquiry that could lead toimpeachment proceedings against Perez Molina.

4. Haiti releases final list of Presidential candidates

Haiti's electoral council has released a final list of presidential candidates allowed to participate in

the upcoming general elections. Officials released the list of 58 names after rejecting 13

candidates. Excluded from the list is former Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe. A judicial panel

previously ruled

that he failed to receive a government document certifying that he handled public funds

appropriately while prime minister from 2012 until late 2014.



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Haiti is expected to hold local elections in August followed by the first round of presidential

elections in October and a final round in December.

5. Global news organizations agree to share climate change content

An unprecedented alliance of news publishers including the Guardian, El País, Le Monde and

China Daily have agreed to share climate change content to raise awareness in the run up to the

next UN summit. More than two-dozen publishers from around the world from the Sydney

Morning Herald to India Today and the Seattle Times have agreed to scrap licensing fees for

climate change content so that members of the alliance can freely republish articles.

The initiative, called the Climate Publishers Network, aims to create a global pool of content to

provide a resource for publishers to widen coverage ahead of the UN climate change summit inParis in December. The goal is to expand the network beyond its founding partners, brought

together with help from the Global Editors Network, until the initiative disbands on the last day of

the COP 21 summit on 11 December.

Guardian editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger, El Pais editor-in-chief Antonio Cano and Global

Editors Network president Ricardo Kirschbaum said: “We very much hope that publications

across the political spectrum will join us either in using some of our material or, ideally, offering

their own material as well.”

http://www.theguardian.com/media/le-monde

http://www.theguardian.com/media/le-monde



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6. Zimbabwe offers new exchange rate: $1 for 35,000,000,000,000,000 old dollars

Zimbabweans will start exchanging “quadrillions” of local dollars for a few US dollars next week

as President Robert Mugabe’s government discards its virtually worthless national currency. The

southern African country started using foreign currencies including the US dollar and South

African rand in 2009 after the Zimbabwean dollar was ruined by hyperinflation, which hit 500 billion per cent in 2008.

At the height of the country’s economic crisis, Zimbabweans had to carry plastic bags bulging

with banknotes to buy basic goods. Prices were rising at least twice a day. Customers who held

Zimbabwean dollar accounts before March 2009 can approach their banks to convert their balance

into US dollars, the governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, John Mangudya, said in a

statement. Zimbabweans have until September to turn in their old banknotes, which some people

sell as souvenirs to tourists. Bank accounts with balances of up to 175 quadrillion Zimbabwean

dollars will be paid $5. Those with balances above 175 quadrillion dollars will be paid at an

exchange rate of $1 for 35 quadrillion Zimbabwean dollars.

7. Shell sought to influence direction of Science Museum climate programme

http://www.theguardian.com/world/zimbabwe

http://www.theguardian.com/world/zimbabwe



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Shell tried to influence the presentation of a climate change programme it was sponsoring at the

Science Museum in London. The Anglo-Dutch oil group raised concerns with the museum that

one part of the project creates an opportunity for NGOs to talk about some of the issues that

concern them around Shell’s operations.

The company also wanted to know whether a particular symposium at the museum was “invite

only” as that would ensure “we do not proactively open up a debate on the topic of Shell’s

operations. The concerns are raised in a series of emails obtained under the Freedom of

Information Act and once again raise awkward questions about the influence of fossil fuel

companies over Britain’s most valued cultural institutions.

Shell is keen to present itself as a responsible company that is trying to tackle climate change but

critics say its commitment to tar sands, deep water wells and Arctic exploration are at odds with

this stance.

8. Greece running out of time to avoid default, leaders concede

Greece has less than a week to strike a deal with its Eurozone creditors to avoid defaulting on its

massive debts and perhaps being kicked out of the single currency area, with German leaders and

top European Union officials now conceding that default is the likeliest outcome.

Merkel was said to have resigned herself to a Greek default, and at a meeting in Bratislava,

eurocrats preparing for the Luxembourg talks included the default scenario in their discussions for

the first time. Standard & Poor’s lowered the rating of Greece’s biggest four banks, two days after

cutting its already deep-junk rating for Greek bonds.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/may/17/shell-climate-change-rhetoric-the-real-story


http://www.theguardian.com/world/eu

http://www.theguardian.com/world/eu





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Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutch finance minister who will chair next week’s Luxembourg

meeting, delivered an ultimatum to Athens, warning it would be left alone if it did not meet the

creditors terms for securing remaining bailout funds.

9. Drought-ravaged California orders record water cuts on farmers

Drought-stricken California has ordered the largest cuts on record to farmers holding some of the

state’s strongest water rights. State water officials announced the decision to tell more than a

hundred senior rights holders in California’s Sacramento, San Joaquin and delta watersheds to

stop pumping from those waterways.

Jay Lund, a professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of California, Davis,

said the order was both expected and necessary. It’s a very deep drought. One of the deepest in

history, particularly in the San Joaquin valley as it has suffered tremendously. The move is the

first time the state has forced large numbers of senior-water rights holders to curtail water use. It

will affect thousands of farmers.

“We are now at the point where demand in our system is outstripping supply f or even the most

senior water rights holders,” said Caren Trgovcich, chief deputy director of the

State Water Resources Control Board. The move shows California is sparing fewer and fewer

users in the push to cut back on water during the state’s four -year drought, and is the first

significant mandatory cut because of drought for senior water rights holders since the last major

drought, in the late 1970s.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/12/california-drought-shamer-tony-corcoran-los-angeles

http://faculty.engineering.ucdavis.edu/lund/

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/water

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/california

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/california

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/water

http://faculty.engineering.ucdavis.edu/lund/

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/12/california-drought-shamer-tony-corcoran-los-angeles



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10. Inside Skolkovo, Moscow's self-styled Silicon Valley

There’s a machine that can print a thyroid gland, a mechanized suit that is helping a paraplegic

play football and a lifelike bust of Alan Turing answering questions in a robotic drawl.

Skolkovo, a 400-hectare plot of land west of Moscow that is trying to style itself as Russia’scoming Silicon Valley. On a glorious day, surrounded by suitably named buildings like the

Hypercube, the Matrix and the Techno park, a cluster of prodigies that put the star into start-up are

showing off their ideas to a trickle of potential investors, venture capitalists from Russia and

abroad.

At face value, the innovation hub first conceived of five years ago, appears a promising, even

urgent, idea in a country so rich in scientific brilliance but so poor at bringing it to market. Even

now it is hard to think of a single Russian brand that has broken through internationally. The

country has long been chastised for over-relying on raw materials for its wealth.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/russia

http://www.theguardian.com/world/russia



Science & Technology

1.

Microsoft named its next Web Browser as EDGE

Microsoft announced Edge as its next Web Browser’s name at the Build Developer Conference

held at San Francisco in California, USA. Earlier, Microsoft had called it as Project Spartan, a code

name given by the company. The browser is intended to replace the Internet Explorer (IE) in future.

Key Features of Edge Web browser

• It will feature new inking function, which allows users to draw or scribble directly on a Web page.

It works with finger or stylus and offers pen as well as highlighter with option to choose the colorfor it.

• Microsoft’s personal assistant service Cortana will be integrated to the new browser in order to

enhance the user experience.

• It will allow users to save pages for offline reading. The reading lists thus created by a user will

get synced to be accessed across multiple devices.

• It will exhibit a new tab page that will show information on recently opened tabs, favorites, newapps, etc.



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2. NASA ended operations of MESSENGER mission to Mercury

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on 30 April 2015 ended the operations of

MESSENGER Mission. MESSENGER stands for Mercury Surface, Space Environment,

Geochemistry and Ranging and it was launched on 3 August 2004 to study Mercury’s atmosphere .

The journey of the spacecraft came to an end with Expected Impact (EI) on Mercury’s surface. It

plunged to the Mercury’s surface at around 14000 kmph, creating a crater up to 52 feet wide.

Although the mission completed its primary science objectives by March 2012, the spacecraft’s

mission was extended two times, allowing it to capture images and information about the planet in

unprecedented detail.

Among its many accomplishments, the mission determined Mercury’s surface composition,

revealed its geological history, discovered its internal magnetic field is offset from the planet’s

center and concluded its polar deposits are dominantly water ice. Johns Hopkins University’s

Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) at Laurel in Maryland, USA built and operated the spacecraft

and managed the mission for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.



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3. NASA’s Ten Engine Electric Plane GL-10 Prototype completed successful

Flight Test

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully developed and flight

tested the prototype of a ten-engine electric plane Greased Lightning (GL)-10.

Key Features of Greased Lightning (GL)-10

• The aircraf t was conceptualized by the NASA in order to enhance its capabilities in using

remotely piloted aircrafts in science investigations and to augment technology development for

aircraft, cubesats and other platforms.

• It is a battery-powered 10-engine remotely piloted aircraft having eight electric motors on the

wings and two electric motors on the tail.

• It weighs a maximum of 62 pounds (28.1 kilograms) at take off and has a 10-foot wingspan.

• It can take off like a helicopter and fly like an airplane. • It produces less noise in the sense that it is quieter than a neighbor mowing the lawn with a gas-

powered motor.

• At present it is in the design and testing phase and under the first phase. It will be an Unmanned

Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and could be used for small package delivery or vertical takeoff and landing,

long endurance surveillance for agriculture, mapping and other applications.

• In the later stage, a scaled up version that can accommodate up to four persons will be developed.



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4. Japanese Scientists discovered new state of matter called jahn-teller-metal

Japanese Scientists on 14 May 2015 discovered a new state of matter called the Jahn-Teller-metal. The

matter resembles an insulator, superconductor, metal and magnet all rolled into one. The study led byKosmas Prassides, Scientist at Tokohu University made the discovery by studying a superconductor

made from carbon-60 molecules or buckyballs.

The research was described in Science Advances. It involves caesium fulleride (Cs3C60) in a face-

centred-cubic lattice with a Cs3C60 molecule at each lattice site. The research could help develop new

molecular materials that are superconductors at even higher temperatures. The study shows that the

material has a rich combination of insulating, magnetic, metallic and superconducting phases

including the otherwise unknown state, dubbed as Jahn-Teller metal.

The research provides important clues about how the interplay between the electronic structure of the

molecules and their spacing within the lattice can strengthen interactions between electrons that cause

superconductivity. Superconductors are a large and diverse group of materials that offer zero

resistance to electrical currents when cooled below a critical temperature (TC). Superconducting

lattices of fullerides - C60 plus three alkali-metal atoms have been studied for more than two decades,

and provide an interesting test bed.

5. ISRO announced to launch ASTROSAT in October 2015

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) announced that ASTROSAT will be launched in

October 2015 by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C-34 from the Satish Dhawan Space



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Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

Features of ASTROSAT

• ASTROSAT is the first dedicated Indian space observatory mission aimed at studying distan t

celestial objects.

• The mission is capable of performing observations in Ultraviolet (UV), optical, low and high

energy X-ray wavebands at the same time.

• The satellite will be launched to a 650 km near equatorial orbit around the Earth.

• ASTROSAT carries four X-ray payloads, one UV telescope and a charge particle monitor.

• Apart from ISRO, four other Indian institutions, viz., Tata Institute of Fundamental Research

(TIFR), Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and

Astrophysics (IUCAA) and Raman Research Institute (RRI) are involved in the development of

payloads among which two of them were developed in collaboration with Canadian Space Agency

(CSA) and University of Leiscester (UoL), UK.

6. NASA's Spacecraft provided first direct measurement for Type 1a supernovae

caused by white dwarfs

Kepler and Swift spacecraft of NASA provided supporting evidence and the first direct

measurement of supernovae (stellar explosions) , which can enable scientists to understand what

causes supernovae. This was revealed by studies published in journal Nature on 20 May 2015.

The studies proved that Type Ia supernovae, which produce unprecedented brightness, can either be

caused by merging with another white dwarf or by pulling too much matter from a nearby

companion star. A white dwarf is the Earth-sized remnant of a star like the sun.

Kepler’s Study

The Kepler spacecraft, known for its planet-hunting prowess, has provided the data for three new

and distant supernovae, viz., KSN 2011b, KSN 2011c and KSN 2012a. The dataset includes



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measurements taken before the violent stellar explosions even happened and this is the first direct

measurement of supernova. These supernovae were identified as Type Ia supernovae with the aid of

powerful telescopes at the Gemini and the WM Keck Observatories atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii.

On the analysis of dataset, scientists led by Robert Olling, research associate at the University ofMaryland, found that shock wave generated in all directions by these explosions were not disrupted.

This proved that there was no evidence of a companion star nearby and concluded the cause to be

the collision and merger of two closely orbiting stars, most likely two white dwarfs.

Study of Swift dataset

Swift spacecraft captured the supernova designated iPTF14atg first in the galaxy IC 831, located

about 300 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. The Swift study led by

California Institute of Technology (Caltech) graduate student Yi Cao, proved that Type Ia

supernovae can also arise from single white dwarfs by pulling too much matter from a nearby

companion star.

According to the analysis of Cao, when the supernova debris slammed into and swept around its

companion star, it created a region of Ultra Violet (UV) emission and the peak temperature

exceeded 19000 degrees Fahrenheit (11000 degrees Celsius) or about twice the surface temperature

of the sun.

Conclusion

Type Ia supernovae are destructive explosions of carbon-oxygen white dwarfs and are used

empirically to measure cosmological distances. The first direct measurement of such supernovae

can help the scientists understand the mysteries of dark energy a mysterious force that appears to be

accelerating cosmic expansion.



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7. US Army developed Blast proof Wallpaper to protect soldiers from

explosions

The United States (US) Army developed Blast proof wallpaper to protect soldiers from explosions.

A prototype was displayed at an exhibition of army innovations held at the Pentagon on 21 May

2015.

The ballistic wallpaper was displayed at the Department of Defense Lab Day among 100

innovations from US Army engineers. Army engineers in the United States designed the prototype.

The new thing about this ballistic wallpaper is that non-specialized units at short notice can quickly

and easily apply it. This provides significant potential tactical advantages.

The prototype is lightweight sticky wallpaper lined with tough Kevlar fibres could be carried by

troops to reinforce the walls of temporary buildings. The special fabric acts as a net to stop shrapnel

flying around and injuring soldiers or civilians who are stuck inside. The idea is to coat the inside

of structures to reduce the danger of debris to occupants. The lining reduces the amount of debris

sent flying at the occupants of a building in the event of an explosion.

Small blast trials had been carried out near Fort Polk in Louisiana, while larger testing had been

conducted at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida

8.

GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) system fully operationalized

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on 25 May 2015 announced the complete

operationalization of the GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN). The final operational

phase of the system commenced on 19 May 2015 as it began broadcasting APV1 Certified signals.



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With this, India has become the fourth nation after the US, Europe and Japan to have inter-operable

Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS). Also, GAGAN is the first SBAS system in the

world to serve the equatorial region.

Earlier on 30 December 2013, Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) gave its nod forGAGAN for enroute operations (RNP 0.1) and subsequently on 21 April 2015 for precision

approach services (APV 1). While the GAGAN Payload is already operational through GSAT-8

and GSAT-10 satellites, the third payload will be carried onboard GSAT-15 satellite scheduled for

launch in October 2015.

Features of GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) System

• It is a Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) developed jointly by the Airports Authority

of India (AAI) and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

• Its primary objective is to establish, deploy and certify satellite based augmentation system for

safety-of-life civil aviation applications for the Indian air space.

• It plays an important role in safety of life applications in transport, sensitive commercial

applications and liability-critical applications needing legal course.

• It offers free enhanced satellite navigation signals by correcting deviancie s in GPS signals by

deploying ground based navigational infrastructure.

• The system is inter-operable with other international SBAS systems like US-WAAS, European

EGNOS, and Japanese MSAS etc.

• It has been developed at an estimated cost of 774 crore rupees.

• It will enable transition of the air traffic management system to satellite -based seamless

navigation across continents covering the airspace from Australia to Africa as well as west Asia to

China and Russia.



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9. NRI scientist Latha Venkataraman created first single-molecule device

NRI scientist Latha Venkataraman created the first single-molecule device. The electronic device

has a potential of real-world technological applications for Nano scale devices. The report was

published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. Under the direction of Venkataraman, researchers

created a single-molecule diode which performs 50 times better than all prior designs.

A team of Columbia Engineering researchers has constructed a device where the active element is

only a single molecule, has long been a tantalizing dream in Nano science. With electronic devices

becoming smaller every day, the field of molecular electronics has become more critical in solving

the problem of further miniaturization. Single molecule represents the limit of miniaturization.

The idea of creating a single-molecule diode was suggested by Arieh Aviram and Mark Ratner whotheorized in 1974 that a molecule could act as a rectifier, a one-way conductor of electric current.

The researchers are now working on understanding the fundamental physics behind their discovery

and trying to increase the rectification ratios they observed, using new molecular system.

10.

NRSC, DoLR signed MoU for development of Web Geo Portal Shrishti and

Mobile App Drishti

The Department of Space and Department of Land Resources (DoLR) signed a MoU with National

Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) for the development of Web Geo Portal Shrishti and Mobile



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App Drishti for monitoring the IWMP watersheds. Sandeep Dave, Joint Secretary of DoLR and VK

Dadhwal, Director of NRSC signed the MoU. The Department of Land Resources (DoLR) works

under Union Ministry of Rural Development while National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) works

under Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

As per the MoU, the NRSC, ISRO in partnership with DoLR will design and develop the required

technological interventions for monitoring and evaluation of Integrated Watershed Management

Programme (IWMP) watersheds through the Bhuvan Geo-Web portal - Shrishti.

The Mobile Application Drishti will integrate field level activities and their monitoring with

Bhuvan portal.

About Drishti System

Drishti system is a sophisticated instrument for assessment of Runway visual range, which is a

critical parameter for safe landing and takeoff of aircraft in poor visibility.

Web enabled health-monitoring, remote control of the system from any location in the country for

accessing the data and for maintenance are the other important features of this state of the art

system.



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Sports and Entertainment

1.

Mohun Bagan wins the I- League title

Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan clinched their maiden I-League title and their first domestic

championship in 13 years after managing a 1-1 draw against defending champions Bengaluru FC at

Kanteerva Stadium here today.

Bello Rasaq scored the equaliser to give Bagan the much-needed point and pocket their fourth

national title. The title also ended their five-year trophy drought. Incidentally, it was Nigeria's

Abdul Saliu, who scored the winning goal for Bagan in the 2001-02 National Football League title,

and this time too a Nigerian in Rasaq scored the much-needed goal.

Bengaluru's John Johnson drew first blood in the 41st minute as the hosts hung on to the lead into

the first half. Bagan fans were nearly lost for breath when Rasaq scored the equaliser in the 87th

minute to bring them back to life. Rasaq headed the ball past the resplendent Bengaluru goalkeeper

Ralte to start the celebrations back home in the City of Joy.

It took 82 minutes for Sen to make his first change as he introduced Jeje Lalpekhlua in place of the

listless Balwant. Ralte kept Bengaluru in the tie as he denied Dhanachandra from a Yusa corner-

kick. In the following flag kick by Norde, Rasaq headed home to score the elusive equaliser.

Bengaluru FC did string together a couple of attacks in the final minutes but Bagan held their fort

together to earn a well-deserved draw.



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2. Stanislas Wawrinka wins the Roland Garros

Stan Wawrinka has completed a magical fortnight of tennis with his finest performance of all,

stunning Novak Djokovic to win his first Roland-Garros title. Having beaten No.2-ranked RogerFederer in the quarterfinals, Wawrinka played with power, aggression and consistency - and used

his stellar one-handed backhand to devastating effect - to record a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory over the

world No.1 in the final. It is his second Grand Slam title, following his victory at Australian Open

2014. Djokovic, meanwhile, who earlier in the tournament had ousted nine-time champion Rafael

Nadal, fell in his third final in Paris, and remains without a French Open title to complete his career

slam set.

Djokovic was back to his usual speedy, elastic best, digging a backhand low at Wawrinka's feet on

the stretch and extracting a volley error to reach break point. He converted after an error from the

No.8 seed and jumped to 3-0 with some forcing play from the baseline. Yet the Swiss promptlyerased his advantage, coming out on top of a magnificent 30-stroke rally in the fifth game and

eventually breaking back for 2-3. A raft of Djokovic errors in the following game made it 3-3.

Djokovic looked done. Serving for the title, he showed no sign of nerves, even when Djokovic

played some inspired tennis to stave off a match point and bring up a break point - the latter

showing off his own backhand brilliance. But Wawrinka was irrepressible.

3. Barcelona wins the Champions League title

FC Barcelona rode goals from Ivan Rakitic and Luis Suárez, and an injury-time clincher by Neymar

Jr to claim the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League title on Saturday night at the Olympiastadion in



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Berlin, Germany.

The victory gives FC Barcelona their fourth Champions League title in the last 10 years — their

fifth in team history — and an unprecedented second treble, adding a layer of reinforced concrete to

the Catalans' already rock-solid status as a dynasty for the ages. While annual modifications to any

top-tier squad are inevitable, a steady core of players led by the Argentinian virtuoso Lionel Messi

has anchored the Catalan club during a run of footballing dominance the likes of which has never

been witnessed before. Over the past decade Barça have scooped up titles at a prolific pace with an

astounding haul of 24 major trophies in six different competitions.

Juventus reacted by promptly clamping down on their back line, while allowing the Catalans to

continue dominating possession. Other than one excellent scoring opportunity by blaugrana

defender Dani Alves on 12 minutes that was deftly palmed away by goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon,

neither side enjoyed much more than a scattering of innocuous chances.

Players from both teams started to feel the effects of having gone all-out in their last game at the

end of the long season. The final twenty minutes featured a paucity of truly menacing runs at either

goal. The few scares that materialized were all off target. Five minutes of injury time ticked away

with a pair of substitutions and a stray corner kick before one last Barça counterattack. With victory

assured and the final whistle inevitable, Neymar blew a shot past Buffon for the definitive 3 – 1

score, sending the FC Barcelona players, and their fans, into a state of euphoria.



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4. Indian Cricket team ready for Bangladesh tour

The only noise to come on the hot Monday afternoon from Milk Vita Road in Mirpur section 6 was

of the screaming and whistle-blowing policemen trying to keep vehicles from getting in the way of

the India team bus that chugged in slowly towards the Shere Bangla National Stadium's entrance. A

touring team's first training session in Bangladesh has been generally to get acclimatized to the heat

and humidity, and the pitches. India had originally scheduled only one day of training ahead of the

Fatullah Test but a few days before their arrival for their 18-day tour, they added the afternoon

session on Monday, a few hours after their plane landed at the Hazrat Shahjalal International

Airport in Dhaka.

The spinners Harbhajan Singh, Ashwin and Karn Sharma, bowled for nearly the entire session but

they had it slightly easier than the rest as they bowled mostly in the shade. Among the net bowlers

provided by the BCB, only one bowled some round-arm left-arm spin. It has usually been

Bangladesh's practice not to give touring sides the comfort of facing left-arm spinners in the nets.

Both India and Bangladesh will train in Fatullah on Tuesday. It is the first Test at the venue since

2006 when Bangladesh faced Australia with none in the current home squad having played in that

game. India played there in a few ODIs last year but a Test match remains an altogether different

proposition. As a result, one of the first questions in their pre-match post conference would

certainly be about the short preparation time in Bangladesh, and Fatullah in particular.



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5. India finish third at the Asian athletics Championships

Tintu Luka bagged her maiden gold in a major international event by winning the women's 800m

finals as India finished with five medals on the final day of competitions to sign off third in the 21st

Asian Athletics Championships on Sunday. India secured a medal haul of 4 gold, 5 silver and 4

bronzes in the championships to finish third behind China (15, 13, 13) and Qatar (7, 2, 1). Japan (4,

3, 11) and Bahrain (3, 3, 2) finished fourth and fifth respectively.

On the final day of the 21st Asian Athletics Championships being held in Wuhan, China, Tintu

Luka won India’s only gold of the day. India won four other medals on the day to finish th e

Championships in third place. China, with 15 gold medals, 13 silver and bronze medals, topped the

table while Qatar, 7 gold medals, 2 silver medals and a solitary bronze medal, edged out India to

the second place. Japan, 4 gold medals, 3 silver medals and 11 bronze medals, and Bahrain, with 3

gold and silver medals and 2 bronze medals, rounded off the top 5. In the 800m final, Tintu Luka

clocked 2:01.53, her season’s best timing, to win the gold ahead of China’s Zhao Jing (2:03.40) and

Sri Lankan Nimali Klarachchige (2:03.94).

It was India's best finish after 2007 in Amman, Jordan where the country was placed second on the

final day of the 21st Asian Athletics Championships. National record holder Luka clocked her

season's best timing of 2:01.53 to clinch the gold at Wuhan Sports Center. China's Zhao Jing

(2:03.40) took the silver while Sri Lankan Nimali Klarachchige (2:03.94) won the bronze. This was

26-year-old Luka's first individual title in a major international event after breaking into the scene

in 2008-09 with a lot of promise under the tutelage of the legendary P T Usha.



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6. Depression faced by stars in Bollywood

Deepika Padukone recently came out in open to disclose that she had suffered from depression

and how she dealt with the painful phase. However, the bold actress is not the first Bollywood

celebrity who has suffered from this ailment.

Dilip Kumar

One of the most revered actors of Bollywood, Dilip Kumar was deeply in love with his Mughal-e-

Azam co-actress Madhubala, but for some reasons the two couldn’t be together. After the death of

Madhubala he went into depression although he was married to Saira Banu.

Rajesh Khanna

India’s first superstar Rajesh Khanna’s rise to fame story is quite renowned. But the actor’s

downfall is no less dramatic. The Bollywood actor went into depression following his downfall in

nineties and never actually recovered from it. A failed marriage also contributed in his physical and

mental illness that led to his death at the age of 69.

Sanjay Dutt

Sanjay Dutt has been one actor who has evidently gone through a lot in his life. The actor saw his

mother’s death when he was very young. Later, his wife died because of cancer. The troubled actorspent 18 months in prison after his arrest following the Mumbai serial blasts of 1993. Sanjay Dutt

suffered from depression during his re-imprisonment in 2013. It was reported that the actor was

even unable to sleep.

Jiah Khan



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The British-Indian actress who made her Bollywood debut with Ram Gopal Verma’s ‘Nishabd’

suffered from the feeling of being alone and sick in 2013. She was not strong enough to fight the

battle with this ill phase and succumbed to depression, committing suicide on June 3 2013.

Parveen Babi

The beautiful actress of ‘Deewar’ and ‘Shaan’ Parveen Babi suffered a major depression during her

last days. It was reported that she did not get out of the house during her last days. She was found

dead in her home on January 2005 and the police suspected that she had been dead for 72 hours

before her body was found.

7. Vampire Diaries completes its 6th season

The Vampire Diaries will return for a seventh season, but without its leading lady. Series star Nina

Dobrev (Elena) is exiting the CW drama. Dobrev's exit comes in a year when the series has lost

several key players including her onscreen brother, Steven R. McQueen (Jeremy), as well as

Marguerite MacIntyre's Sheriff Forbes; Michael Trevino (Tyler) has booked ABC's The

Kingmakers pilot but the departure of the veteran drama's female lead is a particularly deep loss.

During The Vampire Diaries' six-season run, Dobrev also has played Elena's dopple gangers

Katherine, Amara and Tatia, in addition to serving as the central love interest for stars Paul Wesley

and Ian Somerhalder.

Meanwhile, co-star Trevino's role in Kingmakers puts the actor's future with The Vampire

Diaries in question as the role is in first position.



17

Dobrev, meanwhile, has become a fan favorite for her work on The Vampire Diaries. She has

earned numerous Teen Choice Awards as well as People's Choice Awards for favorite actress and

chemistry with Somerhalder. The series has helped make her a star and she has nearly 5.5 million

Twitter followers. She has also launched into a film career with feature roles, including in Let's Be

Cops, The Roommate and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Dobrev and Somerhalder dated for

three years and split in 2013. Somerhalder is now engaged to actress Nikki Reed, whom he's been

dating since 2014.

8. Altaf Raja is back!

Qawwali singer Altaf Raja is making a comeback with a new song "Dil Lagaana" from upcoming

film "Hunterrr". The singer-composer, best known for his debut album titled "Tum To Thehre

Pardesi" (1997), was last seen in his track "Jholu Ram" from Emraan Hashmi and Vidya Balan

starrer "Ghanchakkar" (2013).

While his previous songs received mixed reviews, Raja, with the new song "Dil Lagaana" hopes to

receive positive responses from music lovers. The singer has dedicated the song to bar dancers of

1990s, according to IANS. There are also reports that Raja is set to inject music lovers with the next

dose of "Tum To Thehre Pardesi". The singer is working on the part two of the popular album.

"There will be a minimum of four to five songs and the album will release before Diwali," he told

IANS.



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The makers of Hunterrr have come up with another song from the film called Dil lagaana. The film,

which stars Gulshan Deviah, Sai Tamhankar, Radhika Apte and others has brought back Altaf Raja

to the hearts and minds of people. Altaf Raja’s vocals haven’t changed. He still has the same pathos

in his voice, which he used to have in his past songs.

9.

16th

IIFA awards 2015

Vikas Bahl's coming-of-age drama 'Queen' and Vishal Bhardwaj's insurgency movie 'Haider', an

adaptation of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet', on Sunday scooped the major trophies at the 16th IIFA

awards, including the best actress honour for Kangana Ranaut and the best actor for Shahid Kapoor.

'Queen', a middle class girl's self-discovery journey after getting ditched by her fiance, and 'Haider',

a Kashmir set drama took home three honors each. Shahid, dedicated his award to Vishal for giving

him the opportunity and called the film a "scary one".

The Mohit Suri directed thriller won the best playback singing for Ankit Tiwari for Galliyan and

best lyrics. It was a big night for Riteish, who was accompanied by wife Genelia, as he was also

awarded in a new category introduced this time at IIFA, 'Outstanding contribution to a regional

film'. The couple's home production, Marathi film 'Lai Bhaari', won the honour.



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10. Jyothika’s comeback into Tamil cinema

The film "How Old Are You?" directed by Rosshan Andrrews, is the remake of the Malayalam

super hit, which starred Manju Warrier in the lead. The Tamil version of the movie will have

Rahman as the lead opposite Jyothika. The actor has posted the pictures from the shooting location,

which includes one taken at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan, where they are shooting the scenes of

Jyothika meeting the President of India.

However, things change as she is summoned to the IG's office and learns that the President of India

wants to meet her. What happens after the meeting forms the crux of the story. The unexpected

events in the plot make Jyothika rethink about her life. The story emphasizes on women

empowerment and shows how every woman should come out of her restrictions to fulfill her

dreams and reach heights.



Editor & Coordinator:

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Team:

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QUEST POCs:

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Himanshu Chauhan

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