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INTERNATIONAL

Croatia Joins The EU as 28th Member State
On 1 July Croatia became the 28th member of the European Union.It is the first addition since Bulgaria and Romania joined EU in 2007.Croatia formally applied for EU membership in 2003.

International Assistance Force In Mali Transformed into UN Force
On 1 July A new United Nations peacekeeping mission for insurgent-affected Mali was launched on 1 July .The previous African-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA) has been transformed to the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).The transfer of authority from the forces of the African-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA) to the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) took place during a ceremony in Bamako, capital of the West African country.

Pakistan – China Signed 8 Agreements
On 5 July Pakistan and China signed eight documents of cooperation in various areas of economy , for furthering already strong economic and technical ties between two friendly countries.The first pact signed pertained to the building of a long term project (Pak-China Economic Corridor) a 200KM tunnel which will be built at a cost of $18 billion.These agreements and MoU were signed in the presence of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chinese Premier Li Keqaing.Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal signed the pact from the Pakistani side while Chairman National Development and Reforms Commission of PRC, Xu Shao Shi inked the pact from the Chinese side.

Hazem El-Beblawi Named As New Egyptian Prime Minister
On 9 July Hazem el Beblawi a liberal economist and Egypt s former finance minister was named as the new Prime Minister of Egypt by the Interim President Adly Mansour.El-Beblawi is a founding member of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, Al Ahram.He has also served as the undersecretary-general at the United Nations between 1995 and 2000.

Taiwan and New Zealand Signed Free Trade Agreement
On 10 July New Zealand signed a free trade agreement with Taiwan.Two-way trade is worth 1.6 billion New Zealand dollars (US$1.2 billion) annually, with New Zealand exporting mainly agricultural products like milk and Taiwan shipping largely electronics.Taiwan is New Zealand’s 12th largest trading partner, with bilateral trade totalling about $120.7 million.

France and Switzerland Signed New Inheritance Tax Agreement
On 11 July France and Switzerland have signed an agreement on inheritance tax as part of an amended double taxation agreement. Paris hopes will help it bring in more money.Under the agreement inheritances would be taxed based on where the recipient resides, not where the deceased lived, as used to be the case.

Bhutan’s Opposition Party Wins Parliamentary Elections
On 14 July Bhutan’s Election Commission formally announced that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won the National Assembly elections by having secured a majority of thirty two seats.The Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) won fifteen seats and was elected as the opposition party.PDP leader Tshering Tobgay is likely to be named prime minister of the new government.

Bangladesh Passes Labour (Amendment) Bill 2013
On 15 July the Bangladesh Parliament passed ‘Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Bill 2013’ aimed to protect the interest and rights of the workers and ensuring their safety.The new law has seen amendments to a total of 87 sections of the Labor Act 2006.

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II Signed Bill Legalizing Gay Marriage
On 17 July Britain has legalized gay marriage after Queen Elizabeth II gave her royal stamp of approval.The queen’s approval was a formality.Britain became the 15th country to legalize gay marriage after a bill cleared Parliament and Queen Elizabeth II signed off on the law.

Iran and Iraq Signed Gas Export Agreement
On 21 July Iran has signed an agreement to export gas to Iraq, worth 3.7 billion dollars a year.The agreement was signed in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad by Iran’s Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi and his Iraqi counterpart, Abdul Kareem Luaibi.

EU Declared Hezbollah’s Military Wing As Terrorist Organization
On 22 July The European Union (EU) declared the military wing of Hezbollah a terrorist organization.The EU’s 28 foreign ministers reached the decision unanimously at their meeting.The Iranian-backed group plays a major role in Lebanese politics and has dominated the government since 2011.The blacklisting would mean imposing visa bans on individuals and asset freezes on organizations associated with the group.

Thirty Meter Telescope Partners Signed Agreement
On 26 July The partners building the world’s largest and most advanced optical telescope at Mauna Kea’s summit have signed an agreement laying the foundation for the telescope’s operation.Mauna Kea is a volcano on the island of Hawaii.The Thirty Meter Telescope project representatives from partnering institutions in the U.S., Canada, China, India and Japan signed the document.The agreement defines project goals, member party rights, obligations and benefits. It also establishes a governance structure.The telescope is a partnership of the Association of Canadian Universities for Research in Astronomy, the California Institute of Technology, the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, institutions in India, a consortium of Chinese institutions and the University of California.

Liberals, Smaller Tribes Win Seats In Kuwait’s Parliamentary Elections
On 27 July Liberals and candidates from some of Kuwait’s more marginalised tribes have won seats in a parliament .The ballot was the sixth since 2006 in the major oil producer, where political upheaval and bureaucracy have held up the vast majority of projects in a 30-billion-dinar (68 billion pounds) economic development plan announced in 2010.Kuwait has the most open political system in the Gulf Arab region but parliaments have been repeatedly dissolved over procedural disputes or for challenging the government in which members of the ruling Al-Sabah family hold top posts.Shiites – estimated at 20-30 percent of the population – won just eight seats in the 50-member parliament compared to 17 in the last election in December, after Sunnis in their districts ramped up a campaign to win seats.

Myanmar – China Gas Pipeline Starts To Deliver Gas To China
On 28 July Myanmar-China natural gas pipeline (Myanmar section) was inaugurated in northern Myanmar’s Mandalay and started to deliver gas to China.The gas pipeline stretches for 793 kilometers onshore within Myanmar’s territory with six processing stations, while the crude oil pipeline, which is nearing completion, starts from Made Island and extends onshore for 771 kilometers.

Republican Turkish Party Wins Turkish Cypriot Parliamentary Elections
On 29 July the centre-left Republican Turkish Party (CTP) emerged as the winner on in the Turkish Cypriot parliamentary elections, but came short of winning an outright majority.The CTP won 38.49 per cent of the vote and 21 seats in the 50-seat Parliament of the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, results showed.The nationalist National Unity Party (UBP) won 27.16 per cent and 14 seats and the centre-right Democratic Party (DP) took 23.1 per cent of the vote and 12 seats.The centre-left Communal Democracy Party (TDP) won 7.41 per cent of the vote and three seats.The CTP will now need to form a coalition government.The election was called a year early after the Government of Prime Minister Irsen Kucuk, in power since 2009.Cyprus has been divided into a Turkish northern part and a Greek south since a Turkish invasion in July 1974.

Mamnoon Hussain Elected As Pakistan’s New President
On 30 July Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) nominee Mamnoon Hussain was elected as the 12th President of Pakistan.Hussain emerged as a clear winner in the contest with ex-judge Wajihuddin Ahmed of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party , headed by cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan.Mamnoon Hussain has secured 432 votes whereas justice Wajihuddin (Ahmed) secures 77 votes.The presidential office of Pakistan will be vacated on 8 September 2013 by the incumbent Asif Ali Zardari, as his term of 5 years ended.Mamnoon Hussain will be administered the oath of the office on 9 September 2013. Mamnoon Hussain was born on 2 March 1940 in Agra, India.He is the textile businessman as well as politician of Pakistan.He migrated to Pakistan from India in 1954.

Ireland President Signed The Abortion Bill In To Law
On 31 July  Ireland President Michael D. Higgins has signed the abortion bill into law. The bill, overwhelmingly passed by both houses of the Irish parliament on 12 July 2013, permits abortions only in cases where doctors deem the woman’s life at risk from continued pregnancy.

INDIA & WORLD

India Ranks 66th On ‘Global Innovation Index ‘
On 2 July India ranked 66th in the Global Innovation Index 2013, published by Cornell University, INSEAD, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as a knowledge partner.Switzerland and Sweden maintained rank 1 and 2 respectively The study ranked 142 economies across the world on their innovation capacity and efficiency.

India and Mauritius Signed 5 MoUs
On 5 July India and Mauritius signed 5 MoUs (Memorandum of understanding).The 5 MoUs are signed in the presence of the Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Shri Anand Sharma and Mr. Sayyad Abd-Al-Cader Sayed Hossen, Minister of Industry, Mauritius, in Port Louis.Five institutional level MoUs were signed to take the partnership forward. These are:
* MoU between Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) and Enterprise Mauritius (EM)
* MoU between Northern India Textile Research Association (NITRA) and Mauritius Standards Bureau
* MoU between NITRA and National Productivity and Competitive Council (NPCC) of Mauritius
* MoU between Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) and Mauritius Export Association (MEXA); and
* MoU between Institute of Apparel Management (IAM) and Fashion and Design Institute of Mauritius (FDI)

UN Millennium Development Goals Report 2013
On 5 July According to the UN Millennium Development Goals Report 2013, the world has reached the poverty reduction target five years ahead of schedule. In developing regions, the proportion of people living on less than $1.25 a day fell from 47 per cent in 1990 to 22 per cent in 2010. Extreme poverty is also falling in every region.Nevertheless, the gender gap in employment persists, with a 24.8 percentage point difference between men and women in the employment-to-population ratio in 2012.

India, Albania Signed Agreement For Avoidance Of Double Taxation
On 8 July India and Albania signed an agreement for avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and on capital.The agreement was signed by Ms Sudha Sharma, chairperson, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), and Mr Fatos Kerciku, Ambassador, Republic of Albania.

India, Iraq Signed Agreement To Enhance Co-operation In Energy Sector
On 8 July India and Iraq signed a agreement to enhance co-operation in energy security, bilateral trade & commerce, infrastructure development among others.The agreement was signed between the Union Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily and his counterpart from Iraq, Abdul Karim Luaibi at the end of the India-Iraq Joint Commission on technical co-operation in Baghdad.

India, SriLanka & Maldives Signed Tripartite Maritime Security Agreement
On 8 July India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives have entered into a tripartite agreement on maritime cooperation to secure sea routes in the Indian Ocean region at the end of the Meeting on Trilateral Cooperation on Maritime Security.The agreement was reached by all on the importance of raising the maritime cooperation between the three countries in the current context of maritime security environment in the Indian Ocean region.

India – Tanzania Signed Agreements On Bilateral Cooperation
On 9 July India and Tanzania have signed agreements on bilateral cooperation in several sectors, including agriculture, health and education, mines and minerals.All the agreements were signed between the Union Minister of State for External Affairs, Preneet Kaur and the Tanzanian Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Bernard K. Membe at Dar es Salaam.

15th India – Vietnam Joint Commission Meeting
On 11 July India and Vietnam held 15th Joint commission meeting in New Delhi.The meeting was co-chaired on the Vietnam’s side Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and on the Indian side by India’s External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid .In the meeting both nations discussed the strengthening of strategic partnership which included an exchange of a co-operative agenda on bilateral relations.At the end of the meeting, both nations signed the Agreed Minutes of the JCM and witnessed the signing of an Agreement on the US$19.5 million LOC for setting up Nam Trai-IV hydropower project and Binh Bo Pumping station by CMD, Exim Bank and the Vietnam Vice Minister of Finance.

India, Nigeria Signed Solar Power Plant Agreement
On 22 July India and Nigeria have signed an agreement to locate sites for solar power plants in Niger state.The agreement will provide additional energy for Nigeria’s national grid.The agreement was signed between Nigeria’s permanent secretary in the Ministry of Power Godknows Igali and the secretary to the Government of India, Sutanu Behuria.

India, Belarus Signed Protocol To Enhance Trade Ties
On 24 July 2013  India and Belarus signed a protocol to enhance trade ties during the sixth session of the Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation held in New Delhi.The session was co-chaired from the Indian Side by Dr. E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, and Dmitry S. Katerinich, Minister of Industry of the Republic of Belarus.

India and France Hold Talks On Military Cooperation
On 26 July India and France discussed their ongoing military cooperation including the progress over Rs 50,000 crore 126 multirole combat aircraft deal during the defence minister-level talks in NewDelhi.The two sides are also holding negotiations for a Rs 30,000-crore project for co-developing the Maitri surface-to-air missile defence system.In a joint statement issued after the deliberations between defence minister A K Antony and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian, they agreed that such cooperation should continue to be progressed to the mutual benefit of both countries, including in high technology areas involving joint research and development and transfer of technology.

India and Afghanistan Signed MoUs for SDP scheme projects
On 30 July India and Afghanistan have signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) in Kabul for implementing 60 projects in ten Afghan provinces under the Small Development Projects (SDP) scheme.The MoUs signed by Afghan Minister of Economy Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal and Indian Ambassador Amar Sinha in Kabul are related to the third phase of the SDP scheme and will be completed in the next four years.

NATIONAL

Government Announced National Cyber Security Policy
On 2 July the Union Government of India announced the National Cyber Security Policy with an aim to protect information and build capabilities to prevent cyber attacks. The National Cyber Security Policy 2013 to safeguard both physical and business assets of the country.This policy aims at facilitating creation of secure computing environment and enabling adequate trust and confidence in electronic transactions and also guiding stakeholders’ actions for protection of cyber space.The National Cyber Policy in order to create a secure cyber ecosystem has planned to set-up a National Nodal Agency to coordinate all matters related to cyber security in the country.

President Pranab Mukherjee Signed Ordinance On Food Security
On 5 July President Pranab Mukherjee signed the ordinance on food security ,which seeks to give legal rights to 67 per cent of the population over subsidised grains every month.Now, with the presidential consent, the bill will be presented before the Parliament when it convenes for the Monsoon Session.The Government had issued the ordinance to give nation’s two-third population the right to get 5 kgs of foodgrains every month at highly subsidised rates of 1-3 Rupees per kg amid political opposition.

District Rural Development Agency Disbanded
On 9 July the Union government announced disbanding of the Rural Development Agency (DRDA), the body which looks after implementation of anti-poverty programmes of Rural Development Ministry.The agency will now be rechristened and it will perform its role under zila parishads, the local elected bodies at the district level.The District Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs) were set up as independent societies in 1980 and since then have been principal organs at the district level to oversee the implementation of the ministry’s anti-poverty programmes.

Cabinet Approved For Aviation, Women Varsities In Raebareli
On 11 July the Union cabinet has approved two universities for Raebareli, the parliamentary constituency of Congress president Sonia Gandhi in Uttar Pradesh.Raebareli will get the first ever all-women university and first national aviation university in the country.National University for Women in Uttar Pradesh by the name of “The Indira Gandhi National University for Women”.This will be the first university of the country to be established exclusively for women.The cost involved is Rs.500 crore.National Aviation University (NAU) in the name of “Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University ” at the District of Rae Bareli in the State of U.P. as a Central University.The ‘Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University‘ will be established as a Central University and as an autonomous body under the administrative control of Ministry of Civil Aviation in Rae Bareli District of U.P. with an estimated Central Government’s funding of Rs. 202 crore in 12th Plan period.Both universities bills will be introduced in the coming Monsoon Session of Parliament.

Govt Approved To Replace DGCA With Civil Aviation Authority
On 11 July The government cleared a proposal to replace Directorate General of Civil Aviation(DGCA) with a new aviation regulator with full operational and financial autonomy.The new regulatory body would be called the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and it would replace the DGCA.The estimated cost of establishing the new Authority would be over Rs 110 crore.

Free Medical Treatment For Pregnant Women
On 16 July Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad announced the government will provide free pre-natal health care and ambulance facilities to pregnant women across the country .Under the Janani Suraksha Yojna (JSY) scheme, pregnant women are provided free medical treatment during the delivery and post natal care.Pregnant women will be given “free medical and ambulance facilities” from conception to delivery. They will also be able to avail free consultation from doctors at government hospitals for 45 days from delivery and infants will be given free treatment at the hospitals for one year.

Indian Telegram Service Stopped
The 163-year old telegram service in the country ends on 14 July.Started in 1850 on an experimental basis between Koklata and Diamond Harbour, it was opened for use by the British East India Company in 1851and it was opened to the public in 1854.Within a short time of BSNL handling telegram services in 1990s, the PSU had a rift with the Department of Posts following which telegrams were accepted as phonograms from various villages and other centres from telephone consumers.

Bengaluru International Airport Renamed as “Kempegowda International Airport”
On 17 July the Union Cabinet gave its approval for renaming Bengaluru International Airport as “Kempegowda International Airport” to fulfill the long pending demand of the people of Karnataka, as well as the State Government of Karnataka.Hiriya Kempegowda, known as Kempegowda was a ruler under the Vijayanagar Empire, who ruled most parts of Karnataka during the sixteenth century.  He had the vision of building a large futuristic city and is widely accepted as being the founder of Bengaluru.  Kempegowda built Bengaluru Fort and moved his capital from Yelahanka to the new Bengaluru.

President Of India Promulgated The ” Securities Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2013 “
On 18 July Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India promulgated the “Securities Law Amendment Ordinance 2013”. The ordinance would grant Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the powers to regulate any pooling of funds under an investment contract involving a corpus of 100 crore rupees or more and attach assets in case of non-compliance.The Chairman of SEBI would have powers to authorize the carrying out of search and seizure operations, as part of its efforts to crack down on ponzi schemes.

Acid Attacks On Women Non-bailable Offence
On 18 July the Supreme Court o made acid attack a non-bailable offence and ordered all state governments to pay Rs 3 lakh compensation to acid attack victims. The states were also directed to frame rules for regulating sale of acid within three months.The material cannot be sold to a person who is below the age of 18 years.Going through the compensation schemes of 17 states and seven Union Territories (UTs), the bench found the amount being paid to the victims as grossly inadequate.The compensation for after-care and rehabilitation at present ranges between Rs 5,000 and Rs 1,50,000.

Union Tourism Minister Launched “Clean India Campaign”
On 24 July Union Tourism Minister K. Chiranjeevi launched the Project “Clean India Campaign” at Taj Mahal.Clean India Campaign has been initiated by the Ministry of Tourism with the objective to increase tourist arrivals to the country and to improve quality of services and provide a hygienic environment in and around tourist destinations across the country.Taj Mahal is the second heritage site to be covered under this project. The first being Qutub Minar Delhi, which has been adopted by India Tourism Development Corporation in June 2012.On the request from the Tourism Minister, the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) has agreed to adopt and upkeep the environs of Taj Mahal Complex including up gradation of tourist facilities in the monument.Besides Taj Mahal, the ONGC has also agreed to adopt five more monuments including Ellora and Elephanta Caves in Maharashtra, Red Fort in the national capital, Golkonda Fort in Hyderabad and Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu.

STATES

Himachal Pradesh Declared First Smoke – Free State In Country
On 2 July Himachal Pradesh has been declared the first “smoke-free” State in the country in compliance with Section 4 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003. The State has achieved 85.45% compliance with the relevant parameters.

Uttar Pradesh Grants District Status To Amethi
On 5 July the Uttar Pradesh government granted district status to Amethi ,which will include three tehsils of Sultanpur and one of Rae Bareli. The district headquarters of Amethi will be Gauriganj.Sultanpur’s Amethi, Gauriganj and Musafirkhana tehsils and Rae Bareli’s Tiloi will be part of Amethi district.Some revenue villages of Maharajganj tehsil of Rae Bareli were included in Tiloi tehsil of Amethi and in exchange some villages of Tiloi were included in Maharajganj.

Karnataka Launched ” Anna Bhagya ” Scheme
On 10 July Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah launched the ambitious ‘Anna Bhagya’ scheme in Bangalore.The scheme under which 30 kg of rice per month will be given to BPL (below poverty line) families across the state at Re 1 per kg. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had announced the scheme after taking oath on June 13.The government will spend Rs 4,300 crore every year on the scheme.

Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project Starts Fission
On 13 July India’s 21st nuclear power reactor and the country’s first pressurised water reactor under the light water reactor category ,Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) in Tamil Nadu began the nuclear fission process.India’s atomic power plant operator, NPCIL is setting up two 1,000 MW reactors with Russian technology and equipments at Kudankulam, around 650 km from Chennai.The over Rs 17,000 crore project, which generated severe protests from the locals, has started generating heat and steam from the 163 uranium fuel bundles loaded in the reactor.

Night Policing Scheme Launched In Punjab
On 14 July Punjab government launched the Night Policing Scheme (NPS) with 4000 police personnel and an independent cadre and command structure. The NPS is aimed at augmenting and strengthening the deployment of police personnel, through the usage of modern technology during night hours in cities and towns of the state.The NPS will also focus on the national and state highways and major roads crisscrossing the state, mainly to instill a sense of security among the citizens.

UP Launched Family Health Campaign
On 15 July the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav, launched the ‘Hausla’ awareness state-wide campaign to improve family health in 75 districts of the State.The campaign’s twin goals include galvanizing state health systems to deliver high-quality, accessible health programs and services, while also increasing awareness and utilization of services by families and communities across the state’s 75 districts.

Kerala Govt.Approved Tapping Sweet Toddy From Coconut
On 16 July the Kerala Government has given its nod for tapping neera or unfermented sap from coconut across the State.Neera, which is also called sweet toddy, is the non-alcoholic drink which is extracted from immature inflorescence of coconut.This decision would prove to be very beneficial for depressing coconut sector.Neera tapping will take place in units of 1500 coconut trees in each and every district all over Kerala, in the beginning as a part of the pilot project.lic content.

Madhya Pradesh Police Health Security Scheme
On 17 July Madhya Pradesh  state cabinet has decided to implement Madhya Pradesh Police Health Security Scheme for police officers and employees. The scheme will be applicable only to the police personnel working in the state.The scheme will not be applicable to Indian Police Service officers. It will be run by a registered trust, whose state-level management committee will be headed by the Director General of Police. Members and their dependents will be entitled for treatment of up to 8 lakh rupees in a financial year. They can avail the treatment facility in hospitals recognised by the state government.

Maharashtra Extended Ban On Gutkha and Paan Masala
On 19 July Maharashtra state government has announced a ban extension on nicotine-laced gutkha and paan masala for another year considering health hazards of these products.In July 2012, the government had banned the sale, storage and consumption of nicotine-laced gutkha and paan masala in any form for a year, which was to end on 19 July 2013. The government move was prompted by the incidence of oral diseases, including cancer due to consumption of such gutkha and paan masala.

Latest Statistics Data On Tourism In India Released By Ministry Of Tourism
On 23 July According to the latest statistics on tourism in India released by Ministry of Tourism during the year 2012.
*  Andhra Pradesh has become the top tourist destination in the country recording 206.8 million domestic tourists last year.
* Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh stood at second and third positions respectively with 184.1 million and 168.4 million domestic tourists.
* According to the data, the top ten states in terms of number of domestic tourist visits (in millions) during 2012 are: Andhra Pradesh (206.8), Tamil Nadu (184.1), Uttar Pradesh (168.4), Karnataka (94.1), Maharashtra (66.3), Madhya Pradesh (53.2), Rajasthan (28.6), Uttarakhand (26.8), Gujarat (24.4) and West Bengal (22.7).The contribution of these States was about 84.5% to the total number of domestic tourist visits during 2012.
* The number of foreign tourists visiting the country too registered a growth of 6.33 per cent during the same year.
* Maharashtra (5.1 lakh) topped the list in number of foreign tourist visits, followed by Tamil Nadu (3.6 lakhs) and New Delhi(2.3 lakhs).
* The top ten most sought after states by foreign tourists (in millions) during 2012 were :- Maharashtra (5.1), Tamil Nadu (3.6), Delhi (2.3), Uttar Pradesh (2.0), Rajasthan (1.5), West Bengal (1.2), Bihar (1.1), Kerala (0.8), Karnataka (0.6) and Himachal Pradesh (0.5).

First Textile Park Inaugurated at Bagru near Jaipur
On 24 July First Textile Park dedicated to hand block printing and craft was inaugurated by the Union Minister of Textile, Dr. Kavuru Sambasiva Rao at Bagru near Jaipur. The textile park would bring in new opportunities for exporters and artisans, as the textile sector holds vast potential of employment. The park has been named Jaipur Integrated Texcraft Park Pvt. Ltd. (JITPPL) and is also known as is also known as Jaipur Bloc.Bagru the place where the park is located is known all over the world for its traditional textiles, various styles of hand block printing and related skills. This is the first park in India that will cater to the segment of hand block printing. The textile park is equipped with state-of-the-art technology to conserve and preserve water.

WIFS Programme Launched In Rajasthan
On 25 July the Weekly Iron Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFS) Programme for the State of Rajasthan was launched by ShriGhulamNabi Azad, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfareat Jaipur.Adolescents form 22 % of India’s total population who are the future of the country. But half of the adolescent population, both girls and boys, suffers from anaemia.Anaemia results in poor physical growth, poor school performance and reduced concentration in daily tasks.Anaemia contributes to poor maternal and child health, resulting in increased morbidity and mortality.For this reason, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has taken up“Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFS)” programme” to prevent and control the anaemia situation in adolescents.The programme will reach out to 13 crore boys and girls of the country enrolled in government, government aided and municipal schools as well as out-of-school girls.

Himachal Government Launched Video Chat In Prisons
On 26 July Himachal Pradesh state government launched video chat facility in all six prisons of the state .The video conference facility, first of its kind in the country, would help family and friends save time and money on travelling to prisons to meet the inmates. Even foreigners can avail this facility.The government has already amended the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), enabling the courts to utilize the video-conference facility between the jails and the courts. This would also help save time and money of the prison department in escorting the prisoners from jails to courts.

Two New Rail and Road Projects Launched In Haryana
On 28 July Two rail as well as road projects which are worth 1500 crore Rupees were launched in Haryana.The foundation stone of 68 Kilometer rail line between Hansi-Meham and Rohtak at Hansi was laid down by Union Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge. The cost of this project is 500 crore Rupees. The rail route would include eight railway stations, four halt stations as well as four crossing stations.The projected rail line will connect the crucial parts of Haryana, i.e., Fatehabad and Sirsa direct with Delhi. The Union Transport Minister Oscar Fernandes, at Hansi laid the foundation of 99 Kilometer long Hisar-Rohtak four lane National Highway. The cost of this project would be 1000 crore Rupees. The road project would include two road-over bridges, under pass as well as 29-bus bays at both the sides.

Government Of Odisha Announced Rice For Olive Ridley Conservation Scheme
The Government of Odisha announced Rice for Olive Ridley Conservation (ROrC) scheme for the year 2013 in order to help the fishermen families affected by seven-month ban on marine fishing at Odisha coastal areas.The identification of beneficiaries under Rice for Olive Ridley Conservation (ROrC) Scheme was announced on 22 July 2013.The main aim of the ROrC scheme is to help the fishermen families who are affected by seven-month ban on marine fishing as an Olive Ridley turtle protection measure.

CONFERENCES

First IOR-ARC Economic and Business Conference
(IOR-ARC) Economic and Business Conference held in Port Louis, Mauritius on 4 – 5  July 2013.The Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Shri Anand Sharma co-chaired the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) Economic and Business Conference.India and Mauritius co-hosted the first economic and business conference under the theme of “Deepening Economic Linkages for Balanced, Inclusive & Sustainable Growth”. The IORARC has 20 members, of which India and Australia are the largest economies.During the meet – Trade and industry ministers of member countries and dialogue partners of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IORARC) agreed to push trade within the grouping to promote economic cooperation and development in the strategic Indian Ocean region.The Indian Ocean Rim-Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC), initially known as the Indian Ocean Rim Initiative, is an international organization with 20 member states.It was first established in Mauritius on March 1995 and formally launched on 6–7 March 1997.

National Conference Of State Tourism Ministers Held In New Delhi
The National Tourism Ministers’ Conference was held in New Delhi on 18 July 2013.The Conference was chaired by Union Tourism Minister Shri K. Chiranjeevi. State and Union Territory Tourism Authorities were represented in the conference either through their Tourism Ministers and/ or senior officials.The objective of the conference was discussion of the future strategies for realising the complete tourism potential of India.The Departments of Tourism of all States and UTs will consider setting up of a special force such as a Tourist Police, where it does not exist at present, either by taking few companies on deputation from the Police Department or by engaging Ex-Servicemen or Home Guards.During the conference, a new campaign known as “I Respect Women ” was also launched.The campaign was launched with Ministry of Tourism issuing badges in Hindi and ten international languages.

G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting Held in Moscow
The G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting was held on 19-20 July in Moscow,Russia.G20 Countries ministers ,Central Bank Governors and Indian Finance minister P.Chidambaram ,RBI governor D Subbarao attended the meeting.In the meeting delegates discussed traditional G20 agenda including the G20 Framework agreement for strong, sustainable and balanced growth, the financial regulation reforms, and market transparency. The final communique contains the usual sentence urging convergence stressing this time how convergence can contribute to financial stability:At the end of the meeting Finance Ministers and Central Banks Governors approved the Joint Communique.

AWARDS & HONOURS

27 Individuals Conferred With National Youth Awards 2011-12
National Youth Award 2011-12 was conferred by Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India on 4 July 2013 to 27 individuals and an organization at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhawan. It is for the first time that the National Youth awards were given by the President of India.A total of 27 individuals and one organisation received he award this year.The youth award carries a Silver Medal, a Certificate and a cash prize of 40000 rupees in cases of individual awardees and 2lakh case prize for voluntary organizations.The selected individuals are expected to possess leadership qualities and use them in carrying out voluntary activities in the field of youth development.

IIFA Awards 2013 Winners
The 14th IIFA awards held at Macau on 6 July 2013. And this year’s IIFA will always be remembered for some outstanding performances by veteran actresses Madhuri Dixit and Sridevi.Ranbir Kapoor won the Best Actor Award for Barfi, while Vidya Balan took the Best Actress Award home for Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani.
Winner’s List :-
* Best Actor: Ranbir Kapoor (Barfi!)
* Best Female Actor: Vidya Balan (Kahaani)
* Best Film: Barfi!
* Best Director: Anurag Basu (Barfi!)
* Best Story : Tani and Anurag Basu (Barfi!)
* Best Supporting Actor (Male): Annu Kapoor (Vicky Donor)
* Best Supporting Actor (Female): Anushka Sharma (Jab Tak Hai Jaan)
* Best Music Director: Pritam (Barfi!)

Zubin Mehta Conferred Tagore Award 2013
On 10 July Zubin Mehta, western classical music conductor of Indian-Parsi origin, has been awarded 2nd Tagore Award For Cultural Harmony ( for 2013).He was named for the award because of his outstanding contribution to cultural harmony.The first Tagore Award was conferred on Pt. Ravi Shankar, the Indian Sitar Maestro in 2012

Two Indians Among 7 Girls Awarded On Malala Day
On 12 July Two Indians were among the seven young girls honoured with the UN Special Envoy for Global Education’s Youth Courage Award for Education as part of Pakistani teen activist, Malala Yousafzai, “Malala Day” celebrations at the world body.Among them were two Indians,Ashwini from Bangalore and Razia from Uttar Pradesh who were awarded with UN Special Envoy for Global Education’s Youth Courage Award for Education.

Tongam Rina Selected For German Media Prize
On 13 July Senior journalist of Arunachal Pradesh-Tongam Rina has been selected for the prestigious “Prize for the Freedom and Future of the Media – 2013” instituted by Media Foundation, Leipzig, Germany.Brigitte Alfter and Ides Debruyne are the initiators of the “European Fund for Investigative Journalism”. Instituted in 2001, the award, which carries a prize of 30,000 Euros.

Human Powered Helicopter Wins US prize
On 13 July The world’s first human-powered helicopter by a Canadian engineer has become the first winner of a decades-old US$250,000 (S$316,255) engineering prize ,after performing a minute-long flight at an altitude of 3.3 meters – fueled only by the pilot’s pedaling of a modified bicycle.The winning vehicle is called the ” Atlas ” , and was designed by a team of about 20 students and young professionals.The aircraft is extremely light — just 121.4 pounds (55 kilograms) — but it spans a sprawling 162 feet (49.4 meters).

Shalini Singh Wins 2013 Prem Bhatia Award
Shalini Singh, a deputy editor with The Hindu, has bagged the prestigious Prem Bhatia Award for Political Reporting – 2013.She has been selected for her ‘excellent coverage of several key issues,’ particularly her ‘reporting of the telecom and Coalgate scandals.Previous award-winners include Harish Khare, Praveen Swami, P. Sainath, Gargi Parsai, Nirupama Subramanian, Pallavi Aiyar and Amit Baruah for their works in The Hindu.

Amitabh Bachchan Received Maestro Award
On 17 July Amitabh Bachchan, classical flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia and ace santoor exponent Shivkumar Sharma were honoured with the WWI (Whistling Woods International) Maestro Awards.The honour was bestowed on the trio by filmmaker Subhash Ghai’s film and media institute.

2013 Ramon Magsaysay Award Winners
On 24 July the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation announced the Ramon Magsaysay Awards for the year 2013.Three individuals and two organizations from Afghanistan, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal and the Philippines to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Asia’s premier prize.The Ramon Magsaysay Award is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay’s example of integrity in government, courageous service to the people, and pragmatic idealism within a democratic society.The prize was established in April 1957.
The Awardees are:-
* Habiba sarabi Afghanistan’s first woman governor, was selected for helping build a functioning local government and pushing for education and women’s rights in Afghanistan’s Bamyan province despite working in a violent and impoverished environment in which discrimination is pervasive.
* Lahpai Seng Raw of Myanmanr honoured for helping the rehabilitate work in damaged communities amid armed conflict.
*Ernesto Domingo, from the Philippines.He is being recognized for his exemplary embrace of the social mission of medical science and his profession, his steadfast leadership in pursuing ‘health for all’ as a shared moral responsibility of all sectors.
*Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (Corruption Eradication Commission), from Indonesia.The organization is being recognized for its fiercely independent and successful campaign against corruption in Indonesia.
*Shakti Samuha (“Power Group”), from Nepal.The organization’s founders and members are being recognized for transforming their lives in service to other human trafficking survivors, their passionate dedication towards rooting out a pernicious social evil in Nepal.

Azim Premji Bags ‘Asian Business Leaders ‘ Award
On 24 July Wipro chairman Azim Premji has been awarded the Asian Business Leaders Award 2013 for his impressive business credentials and service to society by London-based Asia House.Past recipients of the honour includes Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Group, and Lord Stephen Green, UK’s minister of state for trade and investment and former group chairman of HSBC Holdings.

Four Indian Americans Won Simons Investigators Awards
On 27 July Four Indian-American Professors Kannan Soundararajan, Rajeev Alur, Salil P Vadhan and Senthil Todadri won Simons Investigators Awards 2013. Apart from these, 9 other mathematicians, theoretical physicists and theoretical computer scientists were also selected for the Simons Investigators Awards for their cutting edge research.The 2013 awards were announced by the New York-based Simons Foundation, which is a non-profit organisation. Its mission is to advance the lines of research in mathematics and basic sciences. The Simons Investigators program provides a stable base of support for outstanding scientists, enabling them to undertake long-term study of fundamental questions. The foundation was incorporated in 1994 by Jim and Marilyn Simons.

“Metro Man” Sreedharan Chosen For ‘ 2013 Lokmanya Tilak ‘ Award
On 29 July ” Metro Man” E. Sreedharan has been selected for the prestigious ‘ Lokmanya Tilak ‘ award for 2013 for his outstanding contribution to society.Name of Sreedharan, considered as the architect of the ambitious Delhi metro project, was announced by Lokmanya Tilak Trust.The Padmashree laureate is also credited for pulling off the Konkan Railway project.

Amjad Ali Khan To Get Rajiv Gandhi National Sadhbhavna Award
On 30 July Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan was chosen for the 21st Rajiv Gandhi National Sadhbhavna Award for his contribution towards promotion of communal harmony and peace.  The award was instituted by All India Congress Committee of the Indian National Congress Party (INC).

SPORTS & GAMES

Negi Won Continental Chess Open Title
On 2 July India’s young Grand Master Parimarjan Negi has won the Continental Chess Association Open title in Washington.The second and third places are won by the International Master Bindi Cheng of Canada and American Grand Master Konrad Holt from Kansas respectively.

Chris Martin Announced Retirement From All Cricket
On 3 July Chris Martin, the fast Bowler of New Zealand has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.Chris Martin is New Zealand’s third-highest Test wicket taker only after Richard Hadlee and Daniel Vettori. He had taken 233 Test wickets with an average of 33.81.Martin played 71 Tests, 20 ODIs and six Twenty20s for his country in an international career.

Wimbledon Tennis Tournament Title 2013 Winners
Women’s Singles :- On 6 July France’s Marion Bartoli won the Wimbledon 2013 women’s title after defeated Germany’s Sabine Lisicki in the final.Bartoli is the fifth oldest woman to become a first-time Grand Slam winner in the Open Era.By finally winning her maiden major title in the 47th Grand Slam appearance of her career, Bartoli surpassed the previous record set by Jana Novotna, who won Wimbledon in 1998 after 45 appearances at the majors.
Men’s Singles :- On 7 July Andy Murray (Britain) won the Men’s Singles title after defeated Novak Djokovic (Serbia) in the final.Andy Murray became the Britain’s first male winner after almost eight decades, to win the championship. Earlier he was Fred Perry, who won his last Championship in 1936.
Women’s Doubles :- Hsieh Su-wei (Taiwan) and Peng Shuai (China) won the women’s doubles title after defeated Australian duo Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua in the final at Wimbledon.
Men’s Doubles :- Americans Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan won the Wimbledon men’s doubles title after defeated Ivan Dodig (Croatia )and Marcelo Melo (Brazil) in the final.

Indian Women Won Gold At Asian Athletics Championship
On 7 July India clinched a gold medal in women’s 400m relay in a sensational race to finish sixth overall as the curtains were drawn on the 20th Asian Athletics Championships with China confirming their supreme status in the continent.The home team came up with a rich haul of eight medals, one gold, two silvers and five bronzes on the fifth and final day .India ended the Championships with two golds, five silvers and 10 bronzes, a much improved performance than the last edition in 2011 in Kobe.As expected, China, who had been ruling the Asian Championships for the last 15 editions, finished at the top spot with 16 golds, six silvers and five bronzes.

Sebastian Vettel Won German Grand Prix
On 7 July Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel won the German Grand Prix title .Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean got second and third positions respectively.It was Vettel’s first victory in his home race and the 30th of his career.

Shiva Thapa Wins Gold at Asian Boxing Championships
On 8 July Nineteen-year-old Shiva Thapa became the youngest Indian to win a gold medal at the Asian Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan.Thapa defeated local pugilist Obada Alkabeh,on a split decision to win the gold in the 56kg class.The nimble-footed boxer, who made his Olympic debut in London last year, thus followed Suranjoy Singh (2009) and Rajkumar Sangwan (1994) into the history books as a rare Indian gold-medallist at the premier continental event.

Lajja Goswami Won Silver In Shooting World Cup
On 9 July Indian woman shooter Lajja Goswami has won silver medal in women’s 50-metre Rifle 3 Position event at the ISSF World Cup in Granada, Spain.Gauswami, a silver medallist at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, shot 454 in the finals to bag the silver ahead of Norway’s Malin Westerheim.Petra Zublasing of Italy won the gold medal.

Shane Warne Inducted into the ” ICC Cricket Hall of Fame “
On 11 July ICC announced that Shane Warne, former Australian spinner would be inducted into the ICC cricket hall of fame .On 19 July during the tea interval of the second Ashes Test between England and Australia at Lord’s, Shane Warne was officially inducted into the ICC cricket hall of fame.Warne becomes the 69th male member of the Hall of Fame, and joins fellow 2012-13 inductees Brian Lara of the West Indies, England’s Enid Bakewell and former Australia team-mate Glenn McGrath in being recognised by the ICC and the living members of the Hall of Fame.He played for Australia in 145 tests between 1992 and 2007. He claimed 708 test wickets with a strike rate of 25.41. He was the first bowler to take 700 test wickets.He was the part of the Australian cricket team that won the World Cup in 1999 at Lord’s against Pakistan.

Martina Hingis Inducted In ‘ Tennis Hall Of Fame ‘
On 13 July Swiss tennis legend Martina Hingis was inducted in’ Tennis Hall of Fame.She became one of the youngest members to be included in the one of the most elite clubs of tennis.Hingis won three Australian Open titles (1997, 1998, 1999), one Wimbledon (1997) and a US Open title (1997).She also won nine grand slam doubles titles and a mixed doubles title.

Abhijeet Gupta Won Commonwealth Chess Championship
On 14 July Indian Grandmaster and former world junior champion Abhijeet Gupta has won the Commonwealth Chess Championship ,after settled for a draw with Indian national title-holder G. Akash in the final round at Port Elizabeth in South Africa.

Nicolas Mahut Won Hall Of Fame Championship
On 14 July Frenchman Nicolas Mahut has won the title after defeated Lleyton Hewitt of Australia in the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships final.Mahut won his second career ATP title.

Serena Williams Won Swedish Open Title
On 21 July Serena Williams (U.S) won Swedish Open Tennis title, after defeated Johanna Larsson(Sweden) in the final of the Swedish Open at Bastad in Sweden.The win is her 53rd WTA title and 51st match win of the year.

Indian Women Won Recurve Gold At Archery World Cup
On 21 July  Indian women’s archery team Deepika Kumari, Laishram Bombayla Devi and Rimil Biruly won Gold medal in the Women’s Recurve Team event at the Archery World Cup Stage-3 in Medellin, Colombia.In the final Indian women’s archery team defeated China in the recurve event to claim the gold medal.India claim their second medal of this World Cup and their first World Cup Women’s team gold since Shanghai 2011.

Divij Sharan – Purav Raja Won First ATP Title
On 21 July  Purav Raja and Divij Sharan of India  clinched their first ever ATP tour doubles title after defeated Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France and Igor Sijsling of the Netherlands in the final match of Claro Open in Bogota, Colombia.

Devendra Jhajharia Won Gold In World Paralympic Championships
On 22 July India’s Paralympian Devendra Jhajharia has won a gold medal in the Javelin Throw at  IPC (International Paralympic Commitee) athletics World Championships in France.He became the first differently-abled Indian to win gold at the IPC Athletics World Championships.He threw the javelin to 57.04 meters in F-46 category, which is meant for one-armed athletes.He won a Gold medal at the 8th FESPIC Games in Korea, 2002.In March 2012, he received the Padma Shree Award and became the first paralympian to win the award.

Dhyan Chand Nominated For Bharat Ratna
The sports ministry has chosen hockey legend late Dhyan Chand for India’s highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna.Dhyan Chand, who passed away in 1979, won three gold medals at the Olympics – in 1928 ( Amsterdam), 1932 ( Los Angeles) and 1936 ( Berlin).

Jennitha Wins World Chess Title For Disabled
On 24 July India’s K. Jennitha Anto has became the World Chess Champion for disabled, after won the 13th IPCA World Women’s Individual Chess Championship in Velke Losiny, Czech Republic.Hailing from Tamil Nadu, Jennitha scored 4.5 points in nine games after winning three, drawing three and losing three games.She competed in a combined group with men and became the highest scorer among the women players.The title came along with the Woman International Master title.

Lewis Hamilton Won Hungarian Grand Prix Title
On 28 July Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes  won the Hungarian Grand Prix title 2013 held on Buadpest.Raikkonen and Vettle got second and third positions respectively.

Afridi Becomes First Batsman To Hit 400 Sixes
Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi became the first cricketer to hit 400 sixes in an international career on 26 July.Afridi reached the landmark in the 16th over of Pakistan’s reply to the West Indies’ 152 for seven in the first Twenty20 international.Chris Gayle, playing for the West Indies, is next on the list having hit 353 sixes in his Test, ODI and T20 career.

Indian Wrestlers Won 15 Medals In Asian Cadet Championship
On 27 July Indian wrestlers finished the Cadet Asian Championships with a rich haul of three golds, nine silvers and three bronze medals, besides winning the Champion Trophy in the freestyle category in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.The gold came through Amit Kumar (58kg), Vikas (63kg) and Parveen (85kg) of the freestyle category while silver medals were won by Ravi Kumar (54kg), Ankur Rathi (69kg), Balraj (76kg) and Gursewak Singh (100kg) in the same division.The freestyle team secured 84 points and finished ahead of Iran who were the runners-up.

Aditya Mehta Won Snooker Gold In World Games
On 30 July India’s numero uno snooker player, Aditya Mehta won the gold medal in the World Games after defeated China’s Liang Wenbo in the final of the quadrennial event at Cali, Columbia.

India Won Under-16 SAFF Championship
On 30 July India won the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Under-16 Championships held at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu.Indian boys defeated Nepal 1-0 in final to lift the South Asian Football Federation Under-16 Championship title. This is the first time that India have won the championship.

ECONOMY

Indian Internet Economy To Touch USD 100 Billion By 2015
On 3 July According to the Economist Intelligence Unit ‘Good to Grow: The Environment of Asia’s Internet Business’ report ,India’s Internet Economy that stands at 1.6 per cent of GDP is slated to touch USD 100 billion by 2015 .Online advertising in Asia will grow from 24 per cent of worldwide online advertising in 2010 to 26 per cent by 2015.However, Asia’s mobile advertising market is expected to account for one-third of the mobile advertising market globally by 2015.

Latvia Gets EU Approval To Join Eurozone
On 9 July European Union (EU) states approved the adoption of the euro by Latvia as of January 1, 2014. The country will be the 18th member of the European Monetary Union.Latvia is the second Baltic republic to join the euro zone. In 2011, Estonia adopted the currency. Lithuania plans to do so as well, in 2015.

India’s Growth Forecast To 5.6% For 2013-14
On 9 July the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has scaled down India’s economic growth forecast by 0.2 percentage points to 5.6 per cent for 2013-14 from 5.8 per cent forecasted in April 2013 World Economic Outlook (WEO) projections.The growth projection for FY 2014-15 was also scaled down by 0.1 percentage points to 6.3 per cent.

Indians Among Top Five Buyers Of Property In US
On 10 July According to the National Association of Realtors survey report ,Buying property worth nearly $3.5 billion .Indians are among top five international real estate buyers in the US.India along with Canada, China, Mexico and the United Kingdom accounted for approximately 53 percent of international transactions worth $68.2 billion.

Government Approved 100 percent FDI In Telecom Sector
On 16 July the Union Government of India raised the FDI limit in Telecom Sector from 74 percent to 100 percent. Government also cleared that the FDI in the Insurance and Telecom sectors will be up to 49 per cent through automatic route.The foreign direct investment limit in insurance sector will be hiked to 49 per cent from the existing 26 per cent.The Government also confirmed that the FDI in Defence Production will continue to be 26 percent.

Colombia Among World’s Most Corrupt Nations
On 17 July According to the  ‘Global Corruption Barometer 2013 ‘ report , was released by NGO Transparency International (TI) ,Colombia is among the countries with the highest rate of corruption in the world.Colombia was placed 5th among the seven countries whose citizens realize that Congress is one of the most corrupt public bodies.Transparency International (TI) was Founded in 1993 and based in Berlin, Germany, the T has 100 branches and operates in 70 countries.

India Becomes Largest Nigerian Crude Oil Buyer
India has overtaken the U.S. as the top buyer of Nigerian crude oil.On the bilateral trade,the present figure stands at $10 billion, even as the total investment of India in Nigerian economy could be valued at $16.6 billion.

Poverty In India Drops To 21.9 percent In 2011-12
On 23 July the Planning Commission of India released its report on the Poverty Estimates for 2011-12. The report was based on the Large Sample Surveys on Household Consumer Expenditure conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.However, since 2009-10 was not a normal year because of a severe drought, the NSSO repeated the large scale survey in 2011-12 (NSS 68thround). The summary results of this survey were released in June 2013.Since the data from the NSS 68th round (2011-12) of Household Consumer Expenditure Survey is now available .Now the Planning Commission has updated the poverty estimates for the year 2011-12 as per the methodology recommended by Tendulkar Committee.The commission present ,released estimates of state wise poverty lines for rural and urban areas for 2011-12 .
Poverty Estimates 2011-12 :-
* Poverty ratio in the country has declined to 21.9 per cent in 2011-12 from 37.2 per cent in 2004-05 on account of increase in per capita consumption.
* According to the Planning Commission, in 2011-12 for rural areas, the national poverty line by using the Tendulkar methodology is estimated at Rs. 816 per capita per month in villages and Rs. 1,000 per capita per month in cities.This would mean that the persons whose consumption of goods and services exceed Rs. 33.33 in cities and Rs. 27.20 per capita per day in villages are not poor.
* For a family of five, the all India poverty line in terms of consumption expenditure would amount of Rs. 4,080 per month in rural areas and Rs. 5,000 per month in urban areas. The poverty line, however, will vary from state to state.
* The percentage of persons below poverty line in 2004-05 was 41.8 per cent in rural areas, 25.7 per cent in cities and 37.2 per cent in the country as a whole.In actual terms, there were 26.93 crore people below poverty line in 2011-12 as compared to 40.71 crore in 2004-05.
* State-wise, the Commission said ,highest poverty rate of 39.93% was recorded in Chhattisgarh (2011-12)followed by Jharkhand (36.96 per cent), Manipur (36.89 per cent), Arunachal Pradesh (34.67 per cent) and Bihar (33.47 per cent).
* Among the union territories, the Dadra and Nagar Haveli was the highest, with 39.31 per cent people living below poverty line followed by Chandigarh at 21.81 per cent.
* Lowest poverty rate of 5.09% was recorded in Goa (2011-12) followed by Kerala (7.05 per cent), Himachal Pradesh (8.06 per cent), Sikkim (8.19 per cent), Punjab (8.26 per cent) and Andhra Pradesh (9.20 per cent).

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

ISRO – PSLV C22 Successfully Launched ” IRNSS 1A ” Navigation Satellite
On 1 July ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C22, has successfully launched IRNSS-1A, the first satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota ,Nellore District (Andhra Pradesh)This is the 23rd consecutively successful mission of PSLV.The IRNSS-1A was launched on 1 July 2013 at 11.41 p.m.It was the first near midnight satellite launch by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).The satellite has been designed to provide accurate position information services to users in India as well as to the regions extending up to 1,500 km from its boundary.IRNSS-IA is among the first seven satellites that constitutes the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) Space Segment. The mission has a life of 10 years.
IRNSS will provide two types of services :- standard positioning service using signals in the L5-band to an accuracy of 20 meters for all users and an encrypted service in S-band provided for authorized users.
About PSLV-C22 :-
* Rocket Height – 44-metres
* Weight – 320 tonnes
* Satellite – IRNSS-1A
* Satellite Weight – 1425 kg

Russia’s Proton-M Rocket Failed
On 2 July Russia has launched an unmanned Proton-M , carrying three Russian Glonass positioning, navigation and timing satellites failed 17 seconds after liftoff , with the rocket crashing some 2.5 kilometers from the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad in Kazakhstan.

Scientists Created ‘ 3D Bionic Ear ‘ With 3D Printer
On 4 July Princeton University scientists , including an Indian-origin researcher Naveen Varma,have created a 3D-printed ‘bionic’ ear that can “hear” radio frequencies far beyond the range of normal human capability.Using off-the-shelf printing tools, the scientists at Princeton University explored 3D printing of cells and nanoparticles followed by cell culture to combine a small coil antenna with cartilage, creating a ‘bionic’ ear.This is the first time that researchers have demonstrated that 3D printing is a convenient strategy to interweave tissue with electronics.

World`s First ‘ Human Liver ‘ Created From Stem Cells
Japanese scientists have grown a functional human liver tissue from stem cells for the first time.Takanori Takebe and Hideki Taniguchi at Yokohama City University showed the generation of vascularised and functional human liver from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) by transplantation of in vitro grown liver buds (rudimentary liver).

UK Inaugurates World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm
On 4 July British Prime Minister David Cameron has inaugurated London Array, the world’s largest offshore wind farm ,a 630-megawatt project capable of producing enough electricity to power 500,000 homes. The $2.3 billion project is located 12 miles offshore in the North Sea, east of London .Powered by 175 Siemens wind turbines.

US Missile Defense Test Fails Over Pacific
On 6 July America’s missile defense system failed in a test over the Pacific, with an interceptor failing to hit an incoming ballistic missile.The test’s objective was to have an interceptor, launched from Vandenberg air base in California, knock out a long-range ballistic missile fired from a US military test site at Kwajalein atoll in the Marshall Islands.

ISRO Readies To Launch Orbiter To Mars
On 7 July ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan announced ,ISRO is readying up for the 450-crore Mars Orbiter mission which is expected to be launched between October and November this year.The mission is aimed at searching for possible signs of life as well as to find out why Mars lacks atmosphere.The Mars Orbiter will be launched aboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. The Mars orbiter will be carrying a total of five payloads weighing about 14.49 kg. It will carry a methane sensor to determine the presence of methane, a sign which suggests that life once existed on the Martian soil.The Mars Orbiter will enter into a 372 km by 80,000 km elliptical orbit around Mars.The spacecraft will orbit the red planet once in every three days. It will study the surface and the minerals on Martian soil.

Scientists Discovered MRI Scan To Detect Cancer Using Sugar
Scientists from University College London (UCL) have discovered a technique they called ‘glucose chemical exchange saturation transfer (glucoCEST) ‘ a new way of detecting cancer by giving patients an injection of sugar before doing an MRI scan (magnetic resonance imaging).The researchers found that when sensitizing an MRI scanner to recognize glucose, tumors appeared as bright images on the MRI scans of mice. The tumors can be detected using the same amount of sugar found in half a standard chocolate bar.

Ecuador Starts Using New Aviation Radar System
On 10 July Ecuador Starts new Aviation Radar System.Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge announced the Ecuadorian airspace will be covered in 95 percent by eight radars that will be located nationwide.The devices that form the Integrated Surveillance System Civil Radar will be located in the provinces of Guayas, Manabi, Pichincha, Cotopaxi, Pastaza, Azuay, Loja and the island of San Cristobal, in the Galapagos archipelago.Ecuadorian Vice President started this system at the offices of the Civil Aviation General Management (DAC) in Guayaquil.The investment to implement this high-technology equipment was $20 million USD.The eight radars would be part of a single system, meaning that the air-traffic controller can see all the trace of a plane in a monitor.Guerrero specified that it would be complicated to detect illegal flights of light aircraft, because for the crew to cheat these controls turn off a device that transmit data to the radars, as altitude and speed of the flight.

China – Russia “Joint Sea-2013” Naval Drills
Chinese and Russian naval forces “Joint Sea-2013” drills was held from 6th to11th July in the Sea of Japan.In the Joint exercises China used seven warships, included a guided-missile destroyer with Aegis-type radars that track and guide weapons to destroy enemy targets, and missile frigates with antisubmarine abilities.The Russian lineup included the flagship of its Pacific fleet, the guided-missile cruiser Varyag, and a Kilo-class submarine.The six-day maneuvers focused on joint maritime air defense and the defense of marine traffic arteries, with exercises involving joint escorts, marine search and rescue operations, anti-submarine tactics and anti-hijacking tactics.They were the ninth bilateral and multilateral joint military exercises carried out by the Chinese and Russian militaries.

Iran Secret Nuclear Site Discovered By MEK
On 11 July the paris based militant group organisation of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) has discovered credible evidence of a secret new nuclear site, gathered over a year by 50 sources in various parts of the regime.The codename of the project is ‘Ma’adan-e Sharq’ (literally ‘the mine of the east’) or ‘Project Kossar’.This site is hidden in a series of tunnels under a mountain near the town of Damavand.The Paris-based militant group MEK alleges that the site has existed since 2006, with the first series of subterranean tunnels and four external depots recently completed.

US Autonomous X-47B Drone Successfully Lands On Aircraft Carrier
On 11 July the US Navy’s next-generation autonomous drone, the X-47B, has successfully landed on the deck of the USS George H.W. Bush,during a milestone test run off the coast of Virginia.Developed by aerospace contractor Northrop Grumman, the X-47B is the first UAV designed to refuel, take off, and land without any human intervention.

U.S. Bill For A National Park On Moon
On 12 July Lawmakers of US proposed a Bill in the US Congress for establishing a national park on the Moon.The new Bill seeks creation of the Apollo Lunar Landing Sites as National Historical Park on the Moon.The bill has been named as the Apollo Lunar Landing Legacy Act, the Bill and was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology in addition to the House Committee on Natural Resources.It calls for no later than one year, after the date of enactment of the act, the establishment of a Apollo Lunar Landing Sites National Historical Park, as a unit of the National Park System.

NASA’s Hubble Discovered Blue Planet
Scientists from NASA have discovered a blue planet that possibly rains glass, orbiting a star 63 light-years away.This is the first time an exoplanet’s true colour has been determined. Astronomers has used NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and made visible light observation spotting the planet HD 189733b which is one of the closest exoplanets that can be seen crossing the face of its star.

Neptune’s 14th Moon Discovered
On 16 July the U.S. space agency NASA has announced the discovery of Neptune’s 14th moon.The Hubble Space Telescope captured the moon as a white dot in photos of the planet on the outskirts of our solar system.The new moon, Neptune’s tiniest at just 19.3 km across, is designated S/2004 N1.

China Successfully Launched Three Experimental Satellites In To Space
On 20 July China successfully launched three satellites to carry out scientific experiments into space.A Long March-4C carrier rocket carrying three satellites ,blasts off from the launch pad in the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Taiyuan, capital of north China’s Shanxi Province.The three satellites for scientific experiments, namely the ” Chuangxin-3 “, “Shiyan-7 ” and “Shijian-15 “.The three satellites will be used mainly for conducting scientific experiments on space maintenance technologies.

World’s Largest Virus Discovered By French Researchers
On 20 July French National Centre for Scientific Research Scientists have discovered a huge viruses in the world.The virus is one micrometre big ,up to ten times the size of other viruses, and only six per cent of its genes resemble anything seen on Earth before.The size of each virus must be 2500 genes.93 percent of genes in this virus is new for the world.The scientists named this virus as a  “Pandoraviruses”.Ten years back these Scienists found  a new virus called “mimiviruses” .

Biological E vaccine Prequalified By WHO
On 22 July Biological E (BioE) and European biotech company announced the World Health Organization (WHO) has pre-qualified its Japanese Encephalitis vaccine for global use in adults.BioE has developed the vaccine based on the technology of Valneva SE, a French biotech company.

Advanced Weather Satellite ‘ INSAT-3D ‘ Launched Successfully
On 26 July The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully launched its advanced weather satellite ‘ Insat-3D ‘ from the spaceport of Kourou in French Guiana, using a European launch vehicle, Ariane-5 .The rocket also launched ‘Alphasat ‘ a co-passenger of INSAT-3D and Europe’s largest telecommunication satellite-ever manufactured.INSAT-3D was placed in an elliptical Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO),very close to the intended one.With a lift-off mass of 2060 kg, INSAT-3D carried four payloads — Imager, Sounder, Data Relay Transponder (DRT) and Satellite Aided Search & Rescue payload.INSAT-3D will facilitate new dimension to the weather monitoring because of its atmospheric sounding system. The atmospheric sounding system provides the vertical profiles of integrated ozone, humidity as well as temperature, from top of the atmosphere.The new satellite, INSAT-3D will be operational for next seven years.The satellite  Insat-3D will give a push to the weather forecasting as well as help in facilitating disaster warning services.

ISRO, Tata Motors Developed India’s First Fuel Cell Bus  
On 28 July Tata Motors Limited (TML) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), in collaboration, developed the first Hydrogen-powered automobile bus of India.The hydrogen fuel-fitted bus was demonstrated at Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, an ISRO facility in Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu.According to Honorary Adviser of ISRO V Gnana Gandhi, who led the technical team in this project, ISRO and TML entered into an MoU in 2006 to design and develop an automobile bus using hydrogen as a fuel through fuel cell route.

HAL Delivers Lakshya-1 To Indian Army
On 26 July the first Lakshya-1, a fully indigenous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) developed for the Indian Army by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) was delivered to Bharat Dynamics Ltd. (Hyderabad).Lakshya-1 has been designed and developed by the Aero Engine Research & Development Centre, a HAL facility in Bangalore.It is powered with PTAE-7 Engine, an aero gas turbine engine that was also designed and developed by the Aero Engine Research & Development Centre.

 PERSONS IN NEWS

 A) APPOINTMENTS

 New Governor’s and Lieutenant Governor’s Appointed
* On 1 July Vice Chancellor of Jamia Milia University Najeeb Jung was appointed as the 20th Lt Governor of Delhi.Njaeeb Jung has replaced Tejendra Khanna, who was the 1961 batch Indian Administrative Service officer and the last Lt Governor of Delhi.
* Former Delhi police commissioner K.K. Paul has been appointed the Meghalaya governor, replaced Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary.
* Lt. General A.K. Singh (retd) was appointed as the Lt. Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, replaced Lt. General Bhopinder Singh (retd).
* Virendra Kataria has been appointed as the new Lt. Governor of Puducherry, replaced Iqbal Singh.
* Senior parliamentarian Shriniwas Dadasaheb Patil has been appointed as the new governor of Sikkim.He is also a former IAS officer, replaced incumbent B P Singh.

Sujatha Singh Is New Foreign Secretary Of India
On 2 July Sujata Singh has been appointed as India’s new foreign secretary.She succeeds Ranjan Mathai..Singh is the third woman to head the services after Chokila Iyer and Nirupama Rao.Previously Singh worked in Europe including Italy ,France and Germany.

Adli Mansour Sworn In As Egypt’s Interim President
On 4 July the Chief Justice of Egypt’s Constitutional Court ,Adli Mansour has been sworn in as Egypt’s interim president.Mansour will serve as Egypt’s head of state until a new president is elected.Earlier, the first democratically elected President of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi was deposed from his office in a military coup.

Abdoulaye Bathily Appointed As Deputy Head Of UN Mission In Mali
On 8 July UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the appointment of Abdoulaye Bathily of Senegal as his new Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).Mr. Bathily has been serving as Senior Minister in the office of the President of Senegal since 2012. Mr. Bathily also served as a Member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, member of the African Union Contact Group on the crisis in Madagascar.

Kaushik Appointed As The Coach Of Indian Men’s Hockey Team
On 10 July Hockey India (HI) appointed Olympic gold medallist Maharaj Kishan Kaushik as the men’s hockey team coach.The decision comes in the wake of Michael Nobbs’ removal as the team’s head coach.Kaushik was a member of the team when it won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.Under the Coaching of MK Kaushik , India men’s hockey team had won their last major international tournament, the 1998 Asian Games, Bangkok. In 1998, he received the Arjuna Award.

S. B. Mainak Appointed LIC MD
On 8 July S B Mainak has been appointed as MD of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).He will hold office from the date of assuming charge till 29 February 2016.

Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka Appointed UN Women Chief
On 10 July Former South African deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka has been appointed as the head of UN Women agency.Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka replaces Michelle Bachelet, a former president of Chile who served as the first Executive Director of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (UN Women).Mlambo was the first woman to hold the position of Deputy President of South Africa from 2005 to 2008.

Hemant Soren Sworn in as 9th Jharkhand Chief Minister
On 13 July Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Hemant Soren was sworn in as the ninth Chief Minister of Jharkhand. Syed Ahmed, the Governor of Jharkhand administered the oath of the office to Hemant Soren in the premises of Raj Bhavan in a swearing-in ceremony.Hemant Soren, who heads the ninth ministry in less than 13 years, became the fifth tribal Chief Minister after Babulal Marandi, Arjun Munda, Shibu Soren and Madhu Koda since the state was created on November 15, 2000.Soren, who gave the Governor a list of 43 MLAs supporting him in the 82-member Assembly, is expected to expand his ministry after taking the floor test. The alternative coalition comes nearly six months after the imposition of President’s rule.The President’s Rule was imposed on Jharkhand on 18 January 2013 after the failure of the Constitutional Machinery in the state after JMM withdrew support to the BJP-led government under Arjun Munda on 8 January 2013.

ElBaradei Sworn In As Egypt’s Vice President
On 14 July a former head of the UN nuclear watchdog and a Nobel peace laureate, Prominent liberal Egyptian leader Mohamed ElBaradei was sworn in as Egypt’s interim vice president for foreign relations.

Moin Khan Appointed Pak Cricket Team’s Chief Selector
On 15 July Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) appointed former Pakistan team captain Moin Khan as chief selector after the resignation of Iqbal Qasim.Moin, is the youngest person to be named to the chief selector’s post by the cricket board.Khan played 69 Tests and 219 one-day internationals for Pakistan in 1990s and was also a member of World Cup winning team in 1992.

Santosh B Nayar is new CEO & MD of IFCI
On 15 July Santosh B Nayar has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the Industrial Financial Corporation of India.The IFCI was the 1st specialised financial institution setup in India to provide term finance to large industries in India.

Nisha Desai Biswal Nominated For The Post Of Assistant Secretary Of State Of USA
On 18 July Nisha Desai Biswal, an Indian-American woman was nominated for the Post of Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia by US President Barack Obama .Nisha Desai Biswal, held the post of the Assistant Administrator for Asia at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) at the time her of nomination to the post of Assistant Secretary of state.Nisha Desai Biswal will oversee the US Foreign Policy and relations at the State Department for India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.This is the first time an Indian-American is heading the South Asia Bureau, a new milestone for the community.Nisha Desai Biswal worked at the American Red Cross from 1993 to 1995 in the Washington headquarters, and as an overseas delegate in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan.Nisha Desai Biswal held the post of assistant administrator for Asia at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), since September 2010.

Justice P Sathasivam Sworn In As The New Chief Justice Of India
On 19 July Justice P Sathasivam was sworn in as the 40th Chief Justice of India (CJI) by President Pranab Mukherjee.Justice Sathasivam is first CJI from Tamil Nadu .The term of his office will be till 26 April 2014. Justice Palanisamy Sathasivam succeeded CJI Altamas Kabir who left the office on 18 July 2013.

Rana Kapoor is new Assocham President
On 20 July Rana Kapoor, Founder, Managing Director & CEO of Yes Bank,took over as the new president of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) at the end of the industry body’s 92nd annual general meeting (AGM) in Delhi.He succeeds Rajkumar Dhoot, who is the managing director of Videocon Group.

Philippe-1 Sworn In As Seventh King Of Belgium
On 21 July Prince Philippe -1 was sworn-in as the seventh king of Belgium,after his father Albert II abdicated as the head of this fractured nation.The ceremony capped a day of transition which started when Philippe’s father, the 79-year-old Albert, signed away his rights as the kingdom’s largely ceremonial ruler at the royal palace in the presence of Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo, who holds the political power in this 183-year-old parliamentary democracy.The position of the king in the country is nominal and total powers are having the Prime Minister.

Indian-Origin Peer Ajay Kakkar Appointed To Lords Post
On 23 July Indian-origin peer Ajay Kakkar has been made the chairman of the influential House of Lords Appointments Commission, an advisory body which selects new independent members of UK’s House of Lords.Lord Kakkar is Professor of Surgery at university College London (UCL) and Consultant Surgeon University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust since 2011. His research interests focus on the prevention and treatment of venous and arterial thromboembolic disease and cancer associated thrombosis.

Five Members From Tamil Nadu Sworn In To Rajya Sabha
On 25 July Senior leaders V. Maitreyan of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and D. Raja of Communist Party of India (CPI) were among the five newly elected MPs from Tamil Nadu who took oath as members of Rajya Sabha.While Maitreyan and Raja were re-elected, T. Rathinavel, K.R. Anjuman and K. Lakshmanan (all AIADMK) have been elected for the first time to the Upper House in the recent biennial elections.The oath-taking ceremony was held in the chamber of Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari in his presence.DMK member Kanimozhi ,who has also been elected for a second term, did not take her oath .Maithreyan, who is also the leader of his party in Rajya Sabha, has won a third term while CPI secretary Raja secured his second stint in the house with the extended support from the ruling party AIADMK.

Barack Obama Nominates Indian-American Vince Girdhari Chhabria To Judiciary Post
On 26 July Indian-American legal luminary Vince Girdhari Chhabria has been nominated by US President Barack Obama to a key judiciary post in California..Chhabria, nominated to be US district judge for the Northern District of California, is currently deputy city attorney for government litigation and the co-chief of appellate litigation at the San Francisco city attorney’s office.Obama announced his nomination along with five other judicial posts, all of which requires Senate confirmation.

K D Singh is new Indian Hockey Federation President
On 29 July Trinamool MP KD Singh was elevated to the post of president of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) after incumbent Dinesh Reddy opted to resign from the position.The decision to elevate Singh to the top post was taken at a special executive council meeting of IHF .

Sharad Kumar is new NIA chief
On 30 July Senior IPS officer Sharad Kumar has been appointed as the new chief of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).The 1979-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer will take over from additional DG N R Wasan, who was given charge of NIA in April following appointment of Sinha as member of National Human Rights Commission.

Cheryl Boone Isaacs Elected President Of Oscars Academy
On 30 July Cheryl Boone Isaacs has been elected as the president of Oscars Academy.The Springfield native is the first woman to hold the post in three decades and the first African-American president in the academy’s 86-year history. The academy oversees the annual Academy Awards and Oscars broadcast.Isaacs is currently head of her own CBI Enterprises.

 B)RESIGNS

 Madhya Pradesh Finance Minister Raghavji Resigned
On 5 July Madhya Pradesh Finance Minister Raghavji resigned following allegations that he sodomised his domestic help.Raghavji had set a record by presenting the state budget for 10 years in succession from 2004 to 2013.He is the Finance Minister of Madhya Pradesh since last 9 years.

Syria Interim Prime Minister Ghassan Hitto Resigned
On 8 July Syria’s rebel interim prime minister Ghassan Hitto has announced his resignation , nearly four months after his appointment and having failed to form a government.

Luxembourg’s PM Jean-Claude Juncker Resigned
On 11 July Luxembourg’s long-serving Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker has resigned from his post ,following a spying scandal involving illegal phone-taps and other illicit activities.Jean-Claude Juncker is a Luxembourger politician, 23rd and current Prime Minister of Luxembourg since 20 January 1995.

Kumar Mangalam Birla Resigned From RBI Board
On 23 July Aditya Birla Nuvo Chairman , Kumar Mangalam Birla resigned from the Reserve Bank of India’s Central Board .The resignation is to avoid the conflicts because Aditya Birla Nuvo applied for the bank license to RBI.Kumar Mangalam Birla was also nominated as the member of the Directors of the Central Board of the RBI in 2006.

 C)DEATHS

 Douglas Engelbart, Inventor Of Computer Mouse Died
Doug Engelbart, the U.S inventor of the computer mouse and developer of early incarnations of email, word processing programs and the internet, has died on 2 July in Atherton, California. He was 88 years old.Douglas Engelbart invented the mouse in 1963 when he was working at the Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International) along with his lead engineer Bill English.Sadly Engelbart did not hold the patent for the mouse, which was held by SRI and the patent ran out in 1987, before the mouse became popular.

Renowned Food Scientist Dr. H.A.B. Parpia Died
Dr. H.A.B. Parpia, renowed food scientist and the former Director of the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) died on 9 July .There exist more than 2500 papers and documents published by the name of Dr. Parpia on food and technology and advanced education.Dr. Parpia served Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations at Rome and was Assistant Director in charge of Information, Statistics, Process Development and Food Plant Design at the CFTRI.In 1987, he received Wattumull Foundation Award from Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.

Veteran Bollywood Actor Pran Died
On 12 July Veteran Bollywood actor and the winner of Dadasaheb Phalke Award ,Pran Kishan Sikand died in Mumbai.Pran acted in more than 350 Hindi movies in a long, prolific career dating back to the 1940s.He was one of the highest-paid Bollywood actors in the 70s and 80s.He was conferred with Dada Saheb Phalke Award in April 2013.In 2001 he was awarded with India’s third highest civilian award Padma Bhushan.In his career span, he received four film fare awards.

Bose Audio System Inventor G.Bose Died
On 12 July Amar Gopal Bose, Indian-American entrepreneur and founder and chairman of Bose Corporation, died at the age of 83 in Wayland, Massachusetts.Bose founded the company, based in Framingham, just outside Boston, in 1964.As company, Bose focused relentlessly on acoustic engineering innovation.Though his first speakers fell short of expectations, Bose kept at it. In 1968, he introduced the Bose 901 Direct/Reflecting speaker system, which became a best seller for more than 25 years and firmly entrenched Bose, based in Framingham, Massachusetts, as a leader in a highly competitive audio components marketplace.

Bofors Scam Accused Ottavio Quattrocchi Died
On 13 July Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, who was a accused in the Bofors scam, has died in Milan, Italy.The Bofors chargesheet filed in 1999 by CBI had named Quattrocchi,as one of the accused in the case regarding the Rs 64 crore payoffs for supply of Swedish Howitzer guns to the Indian Army. The Rs 1,600 crore contract was clinched in 1986.

Veteran CPI(M) Leader Samar Mukherjee Died
On 18 July Freedom fighter ,Veteran leader and the oldest member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Samar Mukherjee, whose 100th birthday was celebrated by the party in November last year, died  in Kolkata.Mukherjee joined the Communist Party of India-Marxist in 1964.He had joined CPI in the year 1940.He was the representative of Howrah in the Lok Sabha for three years in a row between 1971 and 1984.He was also elected to Rajya Sabha in 1986.His biography titled 100 Years of Samar Mukherjee: A Tribute was released on his 100th Birthday in English as well as Bengali languages.

Veteran Tamil Film Lyricist Vaali Died
On  18 July Famous Tamil lyricist T.S. Rangarajan, popularly known as Vaali, has died in Chennai.Vaali had penned more than 10,000 songs and worked with three generations of music directors.He has also acted in some movies like “Sathya”, “Hey Ram” and others.In 2007, he was awarded the Padmashri by the Indian government.

Former Union Minister Khurshed Alam Khan Died
On 20 July Khurshed Alam Khan, a former Union minister and father of external affairs minister Salman Khurshid died in NewDelhi.He served as the member of Rajya Sabha from 1974-1984.Alam Khan served as the Minister if State in the Governments led by former Prime Ministers of India, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. As an Union Minister, he had held portfolios of education, textiles, tourism, transport besides external affairs.He served as Governor of Goa and Karnataka in 1989 and 1991 respectively.

Pioneer American Women Journalist Helen Thomas Died
On 20 July Legendary American journalist Helen Thomas, a pioneer for women in journalism who reported on ten US presidents from Dwight D Eisenhower to Barack Obama,died in Washington.In 1975-76, Thomas served as the first woman president of the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA).She was a columnist for Hearst Newspapers from 2000 to 2010, writing on national affairs and the White House.She retired on June 7, 2010, following controversial comments she made about Israel, Israeli Jews and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Former Union Minister Arun Nehru Died
On 25 July Arun Nehru, former Union minister and the cousin of Rajiv Gandhi as well as the Minister for Internal Security during his government, died in Gurgaon.Arun Nehru was born in Lucknow.He was a three-time Lok Sabha member.When Rajiv Gandhi became the prime minister in 1984, he was his close adviser and minister of state for internal security.

Acclaimed Biologist Obaid Siddiqi Died
On 26 July Obaid Siddiqi, National Research Professor at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) died in a Bangalore.Siddiqi, born in 1932 in Uttar Pradesh, received his early education at Aligarh Muslim University.He established the Molecular Biology Unit at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Bombay in 1962. Siddiqi was honoured with several awards, including Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, BC Roy Award for Biomedical Research and Firodia Award for Basic Sciences.

 D)VISITORS

 Indian Defence Minister AK Antony’s Visited China
Indian Defence Minister, Mr AK Antony visited China from 4-7 July 2013.During the visit Antony met China Defence Minister General Chang Wanquan and also called on Premier Li Keqiang .Both countries Minister’s discussed an extensive exchange of views on a wide range of defence and security issues.The two sides also agreed to hold talks on China India Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA).The both countries Defence Ministers discussed ongoing and proposed bilateral exchanges and welcomed the holding of the counter-terrorism bilateral joint exercise between their armies in China in 2013.Antony’s trip is the first by an Indian defence minister since 2006 and comes after a spat between the two nuclear-armed neighbours in May over troop movements in a disputed Himalayan border region.

India’s External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid Visited Nepal
India’s External Affairs Minister, Salman Khurshid, visited Nepal on 9th July.During the visit Salman Khurshid met Nepal’s top leaders and discussed important bilateral issues, including the finalisation of an extradition treaty and controlling of criminal activities along the porous border.In the visit Khurshid also called on President Dr Ram Baran Yadav and Chairman of Council of Ministers Khil Raj Regmi , Nepalese counterpart Madhav Prasad Ghimire and both the nations held official talks covering all feature of bilateral relations and issues of mutual interests.

US Vice President Joe Biden Visited India
US Vice President Joe Biden visited India from 22 – 25 July .He is the first U.S. vice-president visited India after three decades.On 22 July Joe Biden visited Gandhi Smriti Museum in New Delhi.On 23 July Biden met President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and discussed  on a broad array of issues, include’s ways to enhance economic growth, and cooperation in trade, energy and climate change, security and strategic opportunities, besides investments in innovation and education.On 24 – 25 July Biden visited in Mumbai.Biden met business leaders and delivered a policy speech at the Bombay Stock Exchange.It is Biden’s first trip to India as vice president. He visited New Delhi in 2008 as a senator.

France Defence Minister Yves Le Drianis Visited India
Defence Minister of France, Mr Yves Le Drianis visited India from 25-27 July.During the visit Yves Le Drianis met Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony and discussed on regional and international security challenges of mutual interest.The Ministers noted that defence cooperation is an important pillar of the strategic partnership between both countries and that the ongoing dialogue and cooperation is mutually beneficial to both nations.The Ministers agreed that exchanges between respective defence institutions and armed forces should continue to be progressed, including in the areas of military education and training and through the conduct of military exercises.

 E)MISCELLANEOUS

Egypt President Mohamed Morsi Ousted By Military
On 3 July Mohamed Morsi, the Islamist president of Egypt whose rule sparked protests that had engulfed the country , was removed from power by the Egyptian military.After Morsi had rejected the military’s ultimatum to surrender to public pressure and resign within 48 hours.Morsi’s election as the first democratically elected President was a turning point in the political history of Egypt after the downfall of 30 years reign of Hosni Mubaraq.

Pope Francis Clears John Paul II, John XXIII For Sainthood
On 5 July Pope Francis on Friday cleared two of the 20th century’s most influential popes to become saints, approving a miracle needed to canonize Pope John Paul II and waiving Vatican rules to honour Pope John XXIII.The announcement ceremony is expected before the end of the year.

Bangladesh Islamist Ghulam Azam Sentenced To 90 Years In Prison
On 15 July Bangladesh Islamist leader Ghulam Azam, 91 has been sentenced to 90 years in prison on charges of war crimes.Azam, was accused of setting up militia groups that carried out mass killings and rape during Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence with Pakistan.

Pakistan’s Women Paratroopers Create History
On 15 July Female officers of the Pakistan Army have jumped from military helicopters for the first time in the country’s history.A total of 24 lady officers of the Pakistan Army successfully completed a three-week basic airborne course at the Parachute Training School in the northwestern city of Peshawar.Pakistan Army, in another landmark achievement, successfully completed the first ever Lady Officers Para Trooping Course at Para Training School.Captain Sadia was the first women officer who jumped from an MI-17 helicopter, while Captain Kiran Ashraf was declared the best paratrooper of the batch.

‘Che’ Manuscripts Added To UNESCO Heritage Program
On 20 July the writings of Cuban Revolution leader Ernesto “Che” Guevara have been added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register.The documents include original manuscripts from “Che’s” youthful “Motorcycle Diaries” days, to his diary from the mountains of Bolivia where he was executed by that nation’s military in 1967.They are now recognized as world heritage and will be protected and cared for with the help of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Indian Woman Scientist Sunetra Gupta Joins Famed UK League
On 22 July Sunetra Gupta, an India-born chemist and physicist has joined the big league of female scientists like Marie Curie in a first-of-its-kind art exhibition at the prestigious Royal Society.Gupta, who was born in Kolkata and is now a professor at Oxford University, is among an exclusive group as part of the ‘Women in Science Portrait Exhibition’ of the greatest female Fellows of the Royal Society together with newly-commissioned drawings featuring Royal Society Research Fellows.Her main area of interest is the evolution of diversity in pathogens, with particular reference to the infectious disease agents that are responsible for malaria, influenza and bacterial meningitis.

Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange Launched Political Party In Australia
On 25 July Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has launched his political party to contest Australian elections this year. As per Assange, his party which he named ” Wikileaks Party ” would be fielding seven candidates including Assange for upper house Senate seats in the states of New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia.Two Indian-origin persons are among the seven candidates who will contest elections on a Wikileaks Party ticket in Senate polls in Australia. Indian-origin academician Binoy Kampmark, who was born in Malaysia and has Bengali heritage, will stand for the Upper House election from Victori whereas Suresh Rajan, who is based out of Kerala, will stand for the party in Western Australia.

Britain Royal Baby Named ‘ George Alexander Louis ‘
On 24 July Britain’s new prince has been named ‘George Alexander Louis ‘.The announcement from Royal baby parents Prince William and Kate.It was declared that the third-in-line successor to the throne will be known as his Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge.

Salustiano Sanchez-Blazquez Is World’s Oldest Man
On 25 July A man from the Niagara falls area in New York has received the Guinness World Records title for “World’s oldest man.”Salustiano Sanchez-Blazquez, nicknamed “Shorty” is 112 years old, and he was awarded the title after the demise of 116-year-old Jiroemon Kimura of Japan. As  documented, the world’s oldest person is 115-year-old Misao Okawa, also a Japan resident.Sanchez-Blazquez was born in El Tejado de Bejar, Spain on 8 June  1901.

Stanford Ranked Top US university On ‘ Forbes ‘ List
On 25 July According to the Forbes magazine’s annual ranking of the top U.S. colleges list ,Stanford University in Northern California’s Silicon Valley ranked No. 1  and much smaller Pomona College was in second place.Princeton University in New Jersey slipped to third place, followed by Yale University in Connecticut in fourth place and Columbia University in New York City at No. 5.For the sixth year, Forbes worked with the Center for College Affordability and Productivity in Washington to produce the list.

PLACES  IN  NEWS

‘ Incheon ‘ Named World Bank Capital For 2015
On 19 July UNESCO announced South Korea’s western port city of Incheon has been chosen to be the World Book Capital for the year 2015.Incheon became the 15th city to be designated as the World Book Capital following the Nigerian city of Port Harcourt for 2014 and Bangkok for the year 2013.

Strong Earthquake Hits China
On 22 July a strong earthquake in northwestern China ,measuring 6.6 on Richter scale, that has killed more than 89 people and injured 412.The quake hit along the border of two counties – Min and Zhang.The epicenter, with a depth of 20 km, was 170 km away from the provincial capital Lanzhou.The earthquake was also felt in Tianshui city and the provincial capital city of Lanzhou besides in the cities of Xi’an, Baoji and Xianyang in neighboring Shaanxi Province.

ABBREVIATIONS

PSLV   —-   Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle
IRNSS  —-  Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System
WIPO  —– World Intellectual Property Organization
CMAI —-  Clothing Manufacturers Association of India
AEPC —–  Apparel Export Promotion Council
CISF ——  Central Industrial Security Force
CRPF —–  Central Reserve Police Force
DGCA —– Directorate General of Civil Aviation
CAA —–  Civil Aviation Authority
GSPA —– Gas Sale Purchase Agreement
MMRCA —- Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft
ESMA   —– Essential Services Maintenance Act

BOOKS IN NEWS

“A Bouquet Of Vivekananda’s Writings” Book Released
Swami Vivekananda The book titled “A Bouquet Of Vivekananda’s Writings’ was released on 10 July.The book contains a number of hand-written poetries, essays and even letters written by Vivekananda in Bengali and English.19th century philosopher-monk Swami Vivekananda have been compiled in a book as a facsimile copy of his original handwriting.

” An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions ” Book Released
” An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions “authored by  Jean Dreze, the development economist and Amratya Sen, an economist, a philosopher and a Nobel Prize winner.The book was released in month of  July 2013.The book has been published by Penguin Books India.In the book authors have presented a far reaching analysis of the conditions of contemporary India with a compilation of the wealth of illuminating data.

” The New Bihar – Rekindling Governance and Development “Book Released
On 21 July “The New Bihar – Rekindling Governance and Development ” was released by Noble laureate Amartya Sen.President Pranab Mukherjee received a copy of  book from Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen (centre) at Rashtrapati Bhavan .The book has been edited by N.K. Singh.

“An Agenda for India’s Growth: Essays in Honour of P. Chidambaram” Book Released
On 31 July The book entitled ” An Agenda for India’s Growth: Essays in Honour of P. Chidambaram “ was released in New Delhi by Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh.The book, which is edited by Sameer Kochhar of the Skoch Foundation, encompasses various excellent essays by well known distinguished experts. In the book, all the authors dated their association with P. Chidambaram from 1991, when he was the Minister of Commerce as well as a key reformer initiating trade policy reform.

COMMITTEES

Harshvardhan Patil Committee On Agricultural Marketing Submits Report
On 3 July The Committee of State Ministers In-charge of Agriculture Marketing to Promote Marketing Reforms has submitted final report to the Agriculture Minister, Shri Sharad Pawar.It has called for an effective implementation of Model APMC Act in all the states. This committee was constituted in March, 2010 under the Chairmanship of Shri Harshvardhan Patil, Minister for Cooperation and Parliamentary Affairs, Govt.of Maharashtra.The committee has also recommended the setting up of multiple and competitive marketing channels; independent regulatory authority to encourage private investors; need for viability gap funding to attract private sector investment; higher investment in marketing infrastructure.

IMPORTANT DAYS AND DATES

” Nelson Mandela International Day ” Observed On 18 July
Nelson Mandela International Day was observed across the world on 18 July 2013 to earmark freedom, justice and democracy. The overarching objective of Mandela Day is to inspire individuals to take action to help change the world for the better, and in doing so build a global movement for good. Ultimately it seeks to empower communities everywhere. “Take Action; Inspire Change; Make Every Day a Mandela Day.”In November 2009, the UN General Assembly declared 18 July as the Nelson Mandela International Day to recognize the former South African President’s contribution to the culture of peace and freedom.

” World Population Day ”  Observed Across The World On 11 July
World Population Day was observed on 11 July 2013 across the world. The theme for the year 2013 is ‘Focus is on Adolescent Pregnancy’. In 1989, in its decision 89/46, the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) declared 11 July as the day that should be observed as World Population Day by the International Community.The UNDP recommended 11 July as world Population Day, in order to focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues in the context of overall development plans and programmes and the need to find solutions for these issues.The 2013 World Population Day is being observed with an aim of raising awareness on the issue of adolescent pregnancy with the hope of delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted and every childbirth is safe, and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. The 2013 aim has been proposed because as per reports about 16 million of girls under 18 years of age give birth to a child every year. Apart from this about 3.2 million undergoes an unsafe abortion and about 90 percent of the pregnant adolescents in the developing world are married.

” Malala Day”  Observed Across The World On 12 July
12 July 2013 was observed as Malala Day across the World and by United Nations. The day is being observed by the United Nations to highlight the fight of education of the Pakistani child activist Malala Yousafzai. Seminars, conferences and other ceremonies were held across Pakistan wherein scholars, educationists and analysts participated to pay tribute to Malala, who fought for girl’s education in Swat valley against the Taliban. 12 July, the day of Malala’s Birth was declared as Malala Day by UN General Secretary Ban-Ki-Moon on her 16th Birthday.Malala is the girl from Pakistan, who was shot in head and neck by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on 9 October 2012 for advocating girls for their right to education and speaking against Taliban.