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Compendium- January 2014

National International UN Women Appointments-National/International Person Resigned/Retired Honours/ Awards Obituaries Important Days Foreign Visits / Foreign Visitors

Compiled By Sanjay Singh

National

12th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD)  Pranab Mukherjee, the President of on 9 January 2014 conferred the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman Awards to thirteen NRIs, PIOs and organisations for their outstanding contribution in the country of their residence as well as to India.

 The Pravasi Bhartiya Divas was organised in from 7 to 9 January 2014.  The theme for the year was Engaging Diaspora: Connecting Across Generations.  Chief Guest of 12th PBD was Datuk Seri G. Palanival, Minister of Natural Resource & Forest, .

 Following people were awarded  Lisa Maria Singh from she was given for Public service and fostering friendly relations between India and Australia.  Kurian Varghese from Bahrain was awarded for Business for enhancing India’s image and for Promotion better understanding of India abroad.  Vasdev Chanchlani from Canada was awarded for Community service and fostering ties between India and Canada and efforts in promotion Indian culture and heritage.  Ramakrishna Mission from Fiji was awarded for Community service and philanthropic activity and enhancing India’s prestige abroad.  Satnarainsing Rabin Baldewsingh from was awarded for Public service and developing closer ties between India and South Africa.  Bikas Chandra Sanyal from was awarded for Education and culture and enhancing India’s image.  Sasindran Muthuvel from Papua New Guinea was awarded for the field of Public service.  Shihabudeen Vava Kunju from Saudi Arabia was awarded for the Community service and promoting ties between India and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

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 Ela Gandhi from South Africa was awarded for Public service, enhancing India’s image and promoting ties between India and South Africa.  Shamsheer Vayalil Parambath from United Arab was awarded for Health business and in promoting Better understanding of India .  Shailesh Lakhman Vara from has been awarded for Public service and in promoting ties between India and the people of U.K.  Parthasarathy Chiramel Pillai from USA was awarded for Science and for fostering closer relations between India and USA.  Renu Khator from USA has been awarded for Education and enhancing India’s prestige abroad.

 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas  Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is celebrated on 9 January every year to mark the contribution of Overseas Indian community in the development of India. Mahatma Gandhi returned from South Africa to India on 9 January 1915 and that’s the reason that the day has been chosen to celebrate the day. He has been termed as the greatest Pravasi of India, who led the freedom struggle and changed the lives of Indians forever.  PBD conventions are being held every year since 2003. These conventions provide a platform to the overseas Indian community to engage with the government and people of the land of their ancestors for mutually beneficial activities. These conventions are also very useful in networking among the overseas Indian community residing in various parts of the world and enable them to share their experiences in various fields.

National Waqf Development Corporation Limited inaugurated by Prime Minister  Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh inaugurated National Waqf Development Corporation Limited (NAWADCO), a new Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Minority Affairs.

 The NAWADCO is termed as an important institution for the development of Waqf properties and for the community welfare, particularly of Muslims in India. The establishment of NAWADCO is a follow up of ‘Sachar Committee’ recommendations.

 About National Waqf Development Corporation Limited (NAWADCO):  Established with Authorized Share Capital of Rs.500 Crore with a paid up capital of Rs.100 crore.  National Minority Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC) have 49% shares in NAWADCO.

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 Objective: To facilitate and mobilize financial resources for the development of Waqf properties for community development purposes in a joint venture with the State/ Union Territory Waqf Boards and the Mutawallis.

 Till yet, the Waqf Boards and the Muthawallis were not having the financial resources to develop the properties leading to encroachments. The Sachar Committee has estimated that such properties, if properly developed, with a minimum return of 10%, would be capable of generating an income of Rs 12,000 crore per annum.  Recently, the Indian Government enacted the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2013 and made administration of Waqf properties transparent. The Act will also provide an enabling environment for development and utilization of Waqf lands for welfare of minorities.  What is “Waqf” ?  A waqf/ wakf, is basically donating (a building/ plot of land/ cash) for Muslim religious/ charitable purposes.These donated assets / grants ( known as “Mushrut-ul-Khidmat”) are held by a charitable trust. The person who makes the grant/ Mushrut-ul-Khidmat is known as “Waqif/ Wakif”.  Note: India has the largest number of Waqf properties in the world. There are more than 4.9 lakh registered Auqaf (Waqf properties) and the current annual income from these properties is about Rs.163 crores.

Govt. launched “India Inclusive Innovation Fund (I.I.I.F.)”  The National Innovation Council (NIC), in partnership with the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), launched the India Inclusive Innovation Fund (IIIF). IIIF is an impact investment fund that will invest in ventures catering to the country’s poor. It is an autonomous Rs. 500-crore fund, with the Union Government contributing 20 %. The balance will come from public sector banks, financial institutions, insurance companies, multilateral/bilateral development agencies, Indian & global corporates.

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 About India Inclusive Innovation Fund (I.I.I.F.)  Objective: To expand the corpus to Rs 5,000 crores over the next 24 months and to provide modest financial returns, while ensuring significant social impact to the community.  Focus on: healthcare, food and nutrition, agriculture, education, energy, financial inclusion, environment, technology as an enable.  Will be registered under SEBI’s Alternative Investment Fund Category I guidelines with an initial corpus of Rs 500 crore, with the Ministry of MSME committing to 20% (Rs 100 crore) and the balance being given by banks, insurance companies, overseas financial and development institutions.  Help to create a new class of capital or venture capital to set up and scale entrepreneurial skills and innovation in the firms delivering goods and service to the poorest of the country.  Combined innovation and the dynamism of enterprise to solve the problems of citizens at the base of the economic pyramid in India.  The Fund will invest in innovative ventures that are scalable, sustainable and profitable.  It will address social needs of less privileged citizens in areas viz. healthcare, food, nutrition, agriculture, education / skill development, energy, financial inclusion, water, sanitation, employment generation, etc.

India Post to install 3000 ATMs, 1.35 lakh micro-ATMs by Sept 15, 2014  In a bid to start a commercial banking, India Post has drawn a plan to install approx 3,000 ATMs and 1.35 lakh micro-ATMs at the post offices across the country for savings account holders by September 2015. On this plan, India Post worked with software giant Infosys.  Via interoperability, India Post will join the National Financial Switch, which will benefit India Post account holders to transact at the banks’ ATMs and vice versa.  The micro ATMs will be handheld devices to be operated at the post office level while the ATM will be similar to the one operated by any commercial bank.  The ATMs can be used only by 26 crore savings account-holders who save with the postal department. Though, its rough idea that within six months of the launch, India Post will get the interoperability permission from the Reserve Bank of India(RBI).

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 The postal department has 1.55 lakh post offices and more than 90 % are in villages, offers the savings account to people across the country and pays an interest of 4 % per annum for such deposits. The account offers cheque facility at present.  Postal savings are worth around Rs 6.05 trillion, which is half the savings in the largest lender SBI and more than double that of the largest private sector lender ICICI Bank.

Addressing judges lord, lordship, your honour not mandatory: Apex Court  The Supreme Court observed that addressing judges “my lord”, “your lordship” or “your honour” in courts is not mandatory. The judge expects to be called only in a respectful and dignified manner.  The court was hearing a petition filed advocate Shiv Sagar Tiwari demanding abolishing the use of such terms and ordering the courts that the judges should not be addressed in such a traditional manner.  As per the petition, addressing judges as “my lord or your lordship” in courts is a relic of colonial era and a sign of slavery.  The court refused to accept the plea and said that it is for the lawyer to choose how he addresses the judge and the judge does not take exception if he/she is called ‘Sir’. However, the court declined to order the courts to abolish the use of the conventional terms.

Scientists spot rare Indian Pitta after 60 years  Indian Pitta, a bird endemic to the Himalayan foothills and Western Ghats, was spotted at Aravalli Biodiversity Park near Vasant Kunj in Delhi recently. As per ornithologists, Indian Pitta, a small and colourful bird which is mainly seen in closed- canopy forests, was spotted in Delhi after 60 years.

 Why sighting of Indian Pitta is special for scientists?  The sighting of Indian Pitta or ‘Navaratna’ was last reported by ornithologist Usha Ganguli in her book-A Guide to the Birds of Delhi. But for scientists, the spotting of the bird in national capital after 60 years is special because it was seen in the mining pits which they have converted in to moist forests. As an experiment, scientists planted evergreen species in these despoiled pits of Aravalis which was a wasteland earlier. The bird discovered the type of atmosphere it needs at this location

PARAM Yuva II: India’s no.1 and world’s 44th most power efficient supercomputer  As per Green500 List announced at the Supercomputing Conference (SC 2013) in Denver, Colorado, in the US, India’s PARAM Yuva II supercomputer built by the Centre for

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Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), has been ranked no.1 in India, 9th in the Asia Pacific Region and 44th in the world among the most power efficient computer systems.  Why does ‘Green 500’ rank computer systems according to their power efficiency?  Generally, supercomputers eat up a lot of power and produce much heat that requires sophisticated cooling facilities to ensure proper functioning. This renders the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of operating supercomputer to increase. In a bid to draw attention towards development of energy efficient supercomputers, Green500 ranks computer systems in the world according to compute performance per watt, thus providing a world ranking based on energy efficiency.

Assam will follow “Chaibagaan time”  The state of Assam decided to follow the ‘chaibagaan’ time instead of the Indian Standard Time (IST). The bagaan time will be helpful to save energy, reduce power consumption and increase productivity. IST is calculated on the basis of solar time in Allahabad in the northern-central state of Uttar Pradesh. States located to the west of this longitude have more daylight hours as compared to those in the east. Assam lies in the extreme east of the country and borders Bangladesh and Bhutan. This means that the sun sets as early as 16:31 (4:31 p.m.) IST in November and December.  Clocks in India are 5:30 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), making the country one of the few territories with a half-hour UTC offset. If the time zone change is implemented, Assam will be 6:30 hours ahead of UTC.  Note:The chaibagaan time or bagaan time – Introduced by British people over 150 years ago, was set one hour ahead of the Indian Standard Time (IST) for tea estates, collieries and oil industry of Assam. This Baggan time is more suitable for tea plantations.

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World’s largest 4,000 MW ultra mega solar power project in Rajasthan  In a first of its kind venture, six public sector undertakings (PSUs) including state-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) on 29 January 2014 announced joining hands to set up world’s largest 4,000 MW

ultra mega solar power project in Rajasthan. Sambhar in Rajasthan this solar plant spread across 19,000 acres is going to be established. The project will be the largest single location solar plant spread across 19,000 acres at Sambhar in Rajasthan. It entails an investment of Rs. 7,500 crore in the first phase. The JV will have equity of 26% from BHEL, 23% from SECI (Solar Energy Corporation of India), 16% from SSL (Sambhar Salt Ltd), 16% from PGCIL, 16% from SJVNL (Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam) and 3% from REIL (Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments Limited).

Bangalore first in India to offer free Wi-Fi  Bangalore on 25 January 2014 became the first in India to offer free Wi-Fi spots for the public. Karnataka Government’s Department of Information Technology, Biotechnology, Science & Technology launched the ‘Namma Wi-Fi’ hotspots across six spots in the city. Usage will be limited to three hours per day or up to 50 MB data. The total number of access points would be 23 in the coverage area which will accommodate 2,000 users at the same time. To use this service, users should have an authentication password which would be sent to their mobile after they register on the network.

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Notes issued before year 2005 will be withdrawn by the RBI  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on 22 January 2014, warned that it would withdraw from circulation all old banknotes and announced that it will withdraw all old notes from 31 March 2014. From 1 July 2014 these old notes would be put out of circulation. According to an RBI advisory, anybody who had such currency notes would have to approach a bank in order to exchange them. The RBI would start withdrawing the notes after 31 March 2014. This step will apparently hit currency hoarders and counterfeiters. However, the currency notes issued before 2005 would remain legal tender. But from 1 July 2014 those wanting to exchange more than 10 pieces of 500 and 1000 rupee notes in a bank where they do not have an account will have to provide proof of residence and identity.

India has the largest population of illiterate adults in the world  According to the recently released Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2013-14, India has the largest population of illiterate adults in the world and it comprises of about 37% of the global total. 287 million or 28.7 crore is the total number of illiterate adults in India according to this report. The report mentions that India’s literacy rate rose from 48% in 1991 to 63% in 2006, the latest year it has available data, but population growth cancelled the gains so there was no change in the number of illiterate adults.

Jain community as the sixth minority community in India  Union Government on 27 January 2014 issued the notification declaring the Jain community as the sixth minority community in India. Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi are the other five communities accorded this status earlier. The minority status was accorded to Jain community under Section 2(C) of National Minority Commission Act, 1992.  After formally recognised as a minority, Jains would get a share in central funds earmarked for welfare programmes and scholarships for

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the minorities. They can also manage and administer their own educational institutions. The community is already enjoying minority status in some states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan but the new decision extends that status across the country

Three Consecutive Years without A Single Wild Polio Case In India  India on 13 February 2014 completed three consecutive years without a single wild polio case being reported from any part of the country. It thus achieved the three-year milestone necessary to achieve poliofree certification from the World Health Organisation (WHO). The official announcement of India becoming a polio free country will be made on 11 February 2014. Howrah in West Bengal From where was the last case of polio reported in India on 13 January 2011. Commemorating the day, Rotary International lit up iconic monuments and buildings across the nation. In Delhi, the historic India Gate and Red Fort was lit up with the message — “Celebrating 3 Years of last Polio case in India”.

Nuclear Threat Initiative’s Nuclear Materials Security Index  India’s rank is 23rd in the 2014 Nuclear Threat Initiative’s Nuclear Materials Security Index, which was released on 8 January 2014. India’s 23 ranks were among 25 countries included in this index, which basically throws light on the level of nuclear material security in the world. India has been ranked below its two nuclear-armed neighbours – Pakistan and . India received 41 out of 100 points, which is improvement by one point from the 2012 score. China received 64 points and has been ranked at 20th spot, while Pakistan with 46 points stands at 22nd place. India and these countries are included in the list of 25 countries with one kilogram or more of these materials, which also includes all other nuclear-armed states.

Nachiket Mor Committee's Report on Financial Inclusion  The committee constituted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI’s) to promote financial inclusion headed by Nachiket Mor in its proposal has recommended universal electronic bank accounts to all Indian citizens above the age of 18 years. 1 January 2016 is the deadline for opening these bank accounts as recommended by the committee. The committee has recommended that an instruction to open the bank account should be initiated by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI) after the issue of an Aadhaar number to an individual over the age of 18. It also recommended that the RBI

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should issue a circular indicating that no bank can refuse to open an account for a customer who has adequate KYC proof which specifically includes Aadhaar.

Petrotech 2014  The Government on 12 January 2014 unveiled 46 oil and gas blocks, which are expected to

be auctioned soon under the tenth round of the Government’s New Exploration and Licensing Policy (NELP X). These blocks were unveiled at the 4-day biennial international oil and gas conference which started at New Delhi. Petrotech 2014 has being jointly organised by the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and the PETROTECH Society. Nearly 11 energy ministers from across the world are expected to fly down to the fourday event. Companies from more than 15 countries participated in the event. In this conference, all regulators, national oil companies, private operators, services and ancillary firms, form a combined platform to demonstrate India as an E&P (exploration and production) destination.

Supreme Court sets up the Gender Sensitisation and Internal Complaints Committee  The Supreme Court has set up a 10-member Supreme Court Gender Sensitisation and Internal Complaints Committee headed by Supreme Court judge, Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai. The Committee has been entrusted to look into sexual harassment complaints within its premises.  In October 2013, the Supreme Court had notified the Gender Sensitisation & Sexual Harassment of Women at the Supreme Court of India (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Regulations, 2013 (Regulations).  The Regulations were framed by a six member Committee which comprised of Senior Advocate Fali Nariman along with Advocates Indu Malhotra, Meenakshi Arora, Binu Tamta and Vibha Makhija, and Member Secretary of National Legal Services Authority Asha Menon.

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Rann Utsav 2013 Began in Kutch, Gujarat  The Rann Utsav, a cultural festival of Gujarat state was inaugurated by Gujarat Tourism Minister Saurabh Patel on 17 December 2013 at Kutch, Gujarat.  The two-month long cultural festival that attracts huge number of domestic and international tourists is celebrated from 17 December to 14 February 2014.  The Rann Utsav started in 2005, and it was initially held for three days, which later extended to a span of two months due to overwhelming response from the people.  This year, the Rann Utsav will be held on the public-private partnership model. For the first time, online photography competition has been organised during the two-month festival for the amateur and professional photographers, who will take pictures of the natural beauty of Kutch and share them on the social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.  Other major attractions for the event will be folklore such as camel safari, local art, folk music besides such as desert biking, para-motoring, hang glider and paraceiling.

Human Resource Development announced Maulana Azad Taleem-e-Baligan scheme  Union Ministry of Human Resource Development announced Maulana Azad Taleem-e- Baligan scheme along with two other new initiatives on 5 January 2014.It was announced at the annual meeting of the National Monitoring Committee for Minorities Education.  Maulana Azad Taleem-e-Baligan aims to achieve higher literacy for the minority Muslim community.  The scheme will be launched in 61 Muslim-concentrated Sakshar Bharat districts, the Centre's adult literacy programme running in eleven states.  The scheme will impart literacy to one crore population in the age group of 15 years and above and the basic education to 2.5 lakh adults and skill development programmes.  Additional 1000 Adult Education Centers will be set up exclusively for women exceeding 5000 muslim population.  The other new scheme is for establishing educational hubs by co-locating KGBV, Girls/Women Hostels, Degree colleges, Polytechnics in few selected towns/Districts which are educationally backward and have substantial Muslim concentration.  Besides, a new scheme on the lines of HUNAR for skill development among Minority girls has been announced. The scheme will cover 9.20lakhs minority girls at the proposed outlay of Rs.978 crores.

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Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D5) successfully launched  Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on 5 January 2014 successfully launched a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D5) for placing communication satellite GSAT-14 into the orbit with an indigenous cryogenic engine from the spaceport of Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota (AP), entering a select club of nations. With this launch, ISRO became the sixth space agency in the world to have tasted success with an indigenous cryogenic engine. U.S., , , China and France are the other five countries in this select club. Launching a GSLV with an indigenous cryogenic engine has been a major challenge for ISRO since 2001 after multiple unsuccessful attempts. Only four of earlier seven attempts have succeeded. GSLV-D5’s scheduled launch on August 19 last year was called off in the eleventh hour after a fuel leak, following which ISRO moved the vehicle back to the Vehicle Assembly Building and rectified the defect. Cryogenic engines are essential for rockets to put communication satellites, weighing more than two tonnes, into orbit.

 India and China on 24 January 2014 launched a special year ‘Year of Friendly Exchanges’ to mark the coming year of exchanges in the field of economy, culture and people-to-people cooperation between the two countries.  The Government of India has started the country’s first comprehensive adolescent health programme- Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram, which will also focus on adolescents’ reproductive health.  Southern Grid has been synchronously connected to the rest of the Grid of India to accomplish a mission of One Nation–One Grid–One Frequency.  The festival of Losar is being celebrated across Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir with traditional and religious fervor.  President gave his assent to the Lokpal Bill. The assented bill provides creation of an anti- graft watchdog even to the office of the Prime Minister.  India has signed a credit agreement of 160 million dollar with World Bank. The agreement was signed for Rajasthan Road Sector Modernisation Project.  India asked US Embassy not to screen movies at American Center without obtaining a licence.  Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed the Indian companies to issue non-convertible or redeemable preference shares or debentures to non-resident shareholders as bonus.  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) selected the Clearing Corporation of India Ltd (CCIL) as legal entity identifiers (LEIs) on 6 January 2014.  Reserve Bank of India has allowed the Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) to lend up to 75 percent of the value of gold.  Facebook acquired Bengaluru-based Little Eye Labs for 90 crore rupees on 7 January 2014.

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 Seventh Global Insurance Summit was held at Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh on 8 January 2014.  SEBI has made it compulsory for all investments into Collective Investment Scheme funds to be made through banking channels and not in cash.  Kelkar panel submitted report to Union Oil Ministry on January 8, 2014.  Election Commission decided to call off the tie with Google for registering the new voters.  Reserve Bank of India relaxed Foreign Direct Investment rules.  Ministry of Environment and Forest cleared the Tawang-II hydro project in Arunachal Pradesh.  The Union Cabinet approved the introduction of the National Youth Policy, 2014 (NYP, 2014) on 9 January 2014.  Gorakhpur railway station entered Limca Book of Records as world’s longest platform.  The 151st birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda was celebrated on 12 January 2014.  The President of India Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated Andaman and Nicobar Tribal Research and Training Institute at Port Blair on 12 January 2014.  SC has directed the Government to place the report of Justice Shah Commission on illegal mining in and Jharkhand to it by 27 January 2014.  World Bank in its Global Economic Prospects Report forecasted that economy of India will grow by just 6 percent in 2014-15.  Tamil Nadu government has sanctioned 1.75 crore rupees towards conducting two world level events in Chennai.  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) included Hong Kong and in the sensitive list.  Defence Ministry has justified its decision to scrap INS Vikrant to High Court of Mumbai as it has completed its operational life.  66th Army Day was observed on 15 January in recognition of General KM Carippa who became first Commander-in-Chief of the independent India.  A team of archaeologist has discovered a tomb of the unknown Pharaonic king of dated back to about 1650 BC.  Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued new 5 rupees and 10 rupees coins bearing images of Goddess Vaishno Devi.  Vice President of India, Hamid Ansari released a book entitled Sangharsh ke safar ka nayak Mulayam written by Omveer Tomar on 17 January 2014.  India has test-fired nuclear-capable surface-to-surface Agni-IV missile with a range of 4000 kilometer from Wheeler Island of Odisha.  RBI has constituted an Expert Committee to Review Governance of Boards in India, which will be chaired by PJ Nayak, former Chairman and CEO of Axis Bank.  Google acquired Bengaluru based Impermium for 9 million dollar on 20 January 2014.  Climate change theatre opened at Pushpa Gujral Science City in Kapurthala, Punjab.  RBI panel suggested that a new consumer price index should be adopted. It has set an inflation target at 4 percent, with a band of (+/-) 2 percent.  Uttarakhand Assembly during a special session passed new Lokayukta Bill. It has replaced the Uttarakhand Lokayukta Act passed by BJP government.

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 Union Government approved Capacity Building Scheme and Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Climate Change.  Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved sale of the Government’s residual stakes of Hindustan Zinc worth 16500 crore rupees. Government holds 29.5% stakes of the company.  Ratings and Research firm CRISIL released its Indian Economic Forecast for 2014-15 on 21 January 2014.  World Economic Outlook of IMF projected India’s Economic Growth at 4.5 percent for 2013-14.  Pitroda Committee submit report to Information and Broadcasting Ministry.  The Election Commission of India celebrated the 4th National Voters Day across the country on 25 January 2014.  Dhruva-3 indigenous High Performance Computing System inaugurated.  The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2014 was released on 25 January 2014.  PAN allotment procedure will undergo a change from 3 February 2014 and will ask for selfattested copies of POI, POA and DOB documents.  RBI raised the Repo rate under LAF by 25 basis points from 7.75% to 8% and kept the CRR of scheduled banks unchanged at 4% of NDTL.  Civil Aviation Ministry decided to remove restrictions on flights of Airbus A-380 to India on 27 January 2014.  Salman Khurshid held a bilateral meeting with John Kerry US Secretary on the sidelines of Geneva II meet on Syria in Montreux.  India and Japan inked MoUs to strengthen cooperation in tourism and power generation.  Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) issued order that exempts medal winning sportsperson at Olympics, Commonwealth and from payment of Income Tax on cash rewards.  Uttar Pradesh government launched Samajwadi Pension Yojana on 28 January 2014.  First cantilever bridge of India, Pamban Railway Bridge, completed its 100 years.  The National Rural Livelihoods Mission and the Digital Green, a Microsoft Research Project signed a memorandum of understanding.  Hero MotoCorp unveiled a 150cc hybrid diesel concept motorcycle RNT on 29 January 2014.  Agriculture Ministry issued guidelines on National Mission on Oil seeds and Oil Palm.  Union Cabinet approved amendments in the Central List of OBCs in 13 states and three Union Territories as per advices received from the NCBC.  Cabinet approved Amendments to the Mental Health Care Bill.  India overtook Japan to become the third largest crude oil importer in the World.  The Union Government decided to amend the rules governing IAS, IPS and Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officers 30 January 2014.  Union Government raised the quota of subsidised LPG cylinders to 12 cylinders per household in a year on 30 January 2014.  Allahabad High Court ordered CBI probe into alleged misappropriation of MGNREGA funds.  Economic growth for 2012-13 lowered to 4.5 percent from 5 percent estimated earlier.

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 India launched a Gandhi Portal named Search for Gandhi in on 31 January 2014.  Cabinet approved second Phase of Bangalore Metro Rail Project.  Coal India Ltd (CIL) board declared a dividend of 290 percent to its shareholders for the financial year 2013-14 on 14 January 2014.  Wal-Mart registered a new Company called Wal-Mart India Private Ltd in India.

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International

UN International Year 2014  2014: International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People:  In its resolution on 26 November 2013, the General Assembly decided to proclaim 2014 the International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (IYSPP), and requested the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People to organize activities to be held during the year, in cooperation with Governments, relevant organizations of the United Nations system, intergovernmental organizations and civil society organizations. The objective of the IYSPP would be to promote solidarity with the Palestinian people as a central theme, contributing to international awareness of (a) core themes regarding the question of Palestine, as prioritized by the Committee, (b) obstacles to the ongoing peace process, particularly those requiring urgent action such as settlements, Jerusalem, the blockade of Gaza and the humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territory and; (c) mobilization of global action towards the achievement of a comprehensive, just and lasting solution of the question of Palestine in accordance with international law and the relevant resolutions of the United Nations.

 2014: International Year of Small Island Developing States:  2014 will be a big year for Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Both the United Nations Conference on SIDS taking place in Apia, Samoa, from 1 to 4 September, and the International Year of SIDS, to be launched on 24 February, will draw the world’s attention to these states and promote actions aimed at achieving their sustainable development.

 2014 has been declared International Year of Small Island Developing States, the first Year ever dedicated to a group of countries. The Year and the Conference preparations will be mutually reinforcing, raising the profile of the SIDS and calling attention to their challenges but also to their unique cultural heritage and their contributions in the arts, culture, innovation and natural resource management among many other areas. The global launch of the Year will take place on 24 February at UN headquarters in New York and will be webcast worldwide.

 2014: International Year of Crystallography:  The International Year of Crystallography 2014 (IYCr2014) commemorates not only the centennial of X-ray diffraction, which allowed the detailed study of crystalline material, but

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also the 400th anniversary of Kepler’s observation in 1611 of the symmetrical form of ice crystals, which began the wider study of the role of symmetry in matter.  Goals  The major objectives of the IYCr2014 are:  to increase public awareness of the science of crystallography and how it underpins most technological developments in our modern society  to inspire young people through public exhibitions, conferences and hands-on demonstrations in schools  to illustrate the universality of science  to intensify the programme Crystallography in Africa and create similar programmes in Asia and  to foster international collaboration between scientists worldwide, especially North–South contributions  to promote education and research in crystallography and its links to other sciences  to involve the large synchrotron and neutron radiation facilities worldwide in the celebrations of IYCr2014, including the SESAME project set up under UNESCO auspices

 2014: International Year of Family Farming:  The 2014 International Year of Family Farming (IYFF) aims to raise the profile of family farming and smallholder farming by focusing world attention on its significant role in eradicating hunger and poverty, providing food security and nutrition, improving livelihoods, managing natural resources, protecting the environment, and achieving sustainable development, in particular in rural areas.  Family farming includes all family-based agricultural activities, and it is linked to several areas of rural development. Family farming is a means of organizing agricultural, forestry, fisheries, pastoral and aquaculture production which is managed and operated by a family and predominantly reliant on family labour, including both women’s and men’s.

Google Inc. announced selling Motorola’s smartphone business  Google Inc. on 29 January 2014 announced selling Motorola’s smartphone business (Motorola Mobility) to Chinese company Lenovo for $2.9 billion. The price of the sale makes Google’s biggest acquisition of Motorola look like its most expensive mistake. For $12.4 billion price Google acquired Motorola Mobility in 2012. Motorola has lost nearly $2 billion since Google took over, while trimming its workforce from 20,000 to 3,800. Google had previously recovered some of the money that it spent on Motorola by selling

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the company’s set-top operations last year to Arris Group Inc. for $2.35 billion. On the other hand Lenovo now appears determined to become a bigger player in smartphones as more people rely on them instead of laptop and desktop computers to go online.

Path-Breaking Development in India and Pakistan Relations  In a path-breaking development India and Pakistan on 18 January 2014 agreed upon numerous measures to smoothen trade between the two countries. Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and his Pakistani counterpart Khurram Dastgir Khan in their meeting held at New Delhi decided to re-start the trade liberalisation process stalled for 16 months and work towards non- discriminatory market access on a reciprocal basis.  Following are important agreements achieved at this meeting.  India and Pakistan decided to open the Wagah- Attari border for trade 24X7  The two countries allowed containers from two countries to be moved right up to Amritsar and Lahore instead of being unloaded at the checkpost and re-loaded on the other side  It was decided to expedite the process of giving banking licences so that Indian and Pakistani banks can operate in the other country (India and Pakistan had started negotiations to normalise trade ties in January 2011 and had made several concessions for each other before the talks came to an abrupt halt due to violence across the Line of Control)

New Carbon Dioxide Restriction Treaty  The Parliament of Europe on 14 January 2014 signed a new carbon dioxide restriction treaty which seeks to slash emissions for a segment of transport across the European Union (EU) by 28% from year 2020. The treaty focuses on Commercial Vans transport segment. All new light commercial vehicles sold across the EU come under these new rules, under which these vehicles are to emit a maximum 147 grammes of carbon dioxide per kilometre instead of 203 grammes as per the level set in 2007. The legislation would be reviewed in 2015. According to data released by the European Commission, 12% of emissions in the light-duty vehicle segment are done by vans. These emissions contribute for 1.5% of total European Union carbon dioxide emissions.

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Colorado (U.S.A.) legalized the sale of marijuana  Colorado, U.S. state came to news recently after it legalized the sale of marijuana for recreational use from 1 January 2014. From 1 January 2014 Colorado legalized the sale of marijuana on experimental basis. Under this experiment, Colorado residents 21 and older are allowed to buy up to an ounce of marijuana per transaction, and out-of-state customers are allowed to purchase up to a quarter-ounce. If Colorado is able to successfully legalize marijuana without causing a social backlash, the tourism, tax and other considerations are likely to compel several other states to quickly follow suit.

Latvia became the 18th member of Eurozone  Latvia became the 18th member of Eurozone on 1 January 2014. The former Soviet republic on the Baltic Sea recently emerged from the financial crisis to become the EU’s fastest- growing economy. Latvia was given final clearance to join Eurozone on 9 July 2013 by finance ministers of the 28-nation European Union. It should be noted that 28-member EU is a political entity and represents the interest of all of Europe whereas Eurozone is a currency block of 18 nations that have accepted Euro as a common currency. Not all countries of EU use Euro as currency (Britain still uses Pound as its currency).

International Anti-Corruption Day observed on 9 December  International Anti-Corruption Day is observed across the world on 9 December 2013 to raise awareness about the menace of Corruption and what people can do to fight it.  The theme for the year 2013 is: Act against Corruption Today.  The day is observed on December 9 each year to raise awareness about the corruption.  The UN General Assembly by resolution of 58/4 of 31 October 2003 designated 9 December as International Anti-Corruption Day. This decision aimed to raise people’s awareness of corruption and of the role of the United Nations Convention against Corruption in combating and preventing it.  The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is the secretariat for the Convention’s Conference of States Parties. The Convention entered into force in December 2005.

 British PM ordered enquiry into Thatcher’s role in Operation Bluestar.  NASA discovered potentially hazardous asteroid 2013 YP139.

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 Lewis Clarke youngest person to reach South Pole.  The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of China decelerated to 7.7 percent in 2013-14.  Cumbria University of UK became the first public university to accept fees in Bitcoin.  Professor Rakesh Khurana of Indian origin appointed as Dean of Harvard College.  USA allowed the Sikh military men to wear turbans, head scarfs and other religious clothing with their uniform.  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) banned the import of products from Ranbaxy’s Toansa plant in Punjab, India on 27 January 2014.  World’s first 3D-printer Objet500 Connex3 was launched on 28 January 2014.  Google purchased the British artificial intelligence company DeepMind Technologies.  The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) announced Indian rupee as a legal tender on 29 January 2014.  Organisers of Oscars withdrew the song Alone Yet Not Alone from the Best Song Nomination category on 30 January 2014.  Federal Aviation Administration of the US downgraded the safety ratings of Indian aviation on 31 January 2014 from top to the second category.  China marked arrival of its Year of the Horse, which is celebrated across the world by Chinese people on 31 January 2014 as the Lunar New Year.

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Appointments-National/International

Janet Yellen becomes the first women chief of Federal Reserve Bank of US  Janet Yellen (67) has been confirmed as the new chief of the Federal Reserve Bank of the US. With this, she has become the first woman to head the world’s most powerful central bank.  Yellen who was earlier nominated by President Barack Obama was elected with the 56-26 vote in the US senate voting.  Yellen will replace current chairman Ben Bernanke, who steps down on January 31, 2014 after 8 years in this service, during which the pair tackled the country’s worst economic crisis since the Great Depression

Pakistan appoints a female judge to Sharia Court for the first time  Ms Ashraf Jehan (56) appointed as the first female judge of Shariah Court (Pakistan), which hears cases under the Islamic legislation. Ms Jehan was earlier serving as an additional judge at the high court in Sindh.  Note: The Shariah Court was established in 1980 during the rule of military dictator Ziaul Haq as part of his policy towards Islamisation of Pakistan’s institutions. It examines the country’s laws to check them for conformity with Islamic injunctions and hears appeals under religious legislation known as the “Hudood Laws”, which run parallel to the penal code.

New Head of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB)  T. Nanda Kumar selected to head the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), who will become the first ever person from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) to hold the position of NDDB Chairman. Nanda Kumar, currently Member of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), is slated to take over from 1 March 2014. He will replace Amrita Patel who has been holding the post since 1998. Both Patel and her illustrious predecessor Verghese Kurien, who was chairman from 1965 to 1998, had dairy professional backgrounds. NDDB’s heydays were in 1970-95, when it implemented the Operation Flood programme that made India self- sufficient in milk production and end reliance on imports of milk powder and butter oil.

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First Woman Head of the Country’s Premier Training Institute for IPS Officers  Aruna Bahuguna chosen as the new Director of National Police Academy (NPA), Hyderabad and with this she becomes the first woman head of the country’s premier training institute for IPS officers. She will be the first woman to head the country’s premier training institute for IPS officers selected by the Union Public Service Commission since its inception in 1948. Ms. Bahuguna, who belongs to the 1979 batch of IPS, is an officer of the rank of Director General of Police from Andhra Pradesh cadre. She is presently the Special Director General of Central Reserve Police Force, the country’s largest para-military force with a strength of three lakh.

SEBI Chairman UK Sinha’s term was extended by 2 years  SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) Chairman UK Sinha’s term was extended by 2 years during January 2014. Sinha will now head the regulatory body till 16 March 2016. Among the last four chairmen, Sinha is the only one whose term has been extended. D.R. Mehta is the only SEBI chief to have held the post for a longer duration than Sinha. Mehta served as SEBI Chairman for 7 years (1995-2002). Sinha’s three predecessors – GN Bajpai (2002-2005), M Damodaran (2005-2008) and CB Bhave (2008-2011) – had only got a three-year terms.

New President of NASSCOM  R. Chandrashekhar took over as the new President of National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) on 4 January 2014. He took place of Som Mittal who relinquished the office on 3 January 2014 after serving for around six years. NASSCOM is the leading trade association of India’s information technology (IT) and business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina re-elected  Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is all set to form the new government in the country after winning an absolute majority in the 5 January 2014 parliamentary elections boycotted by the Opposition. Awami League is the name of the political party of Sheikh Hasina. The Awami League won 104 of the 139 seats for which results were declared. Having already won 127 seats uncontested, the ruling party has 231 seats under its belt, giving it a clear three-fourths majority in the new Parliament. The Jatiya Party , which won 33 seats, is likely to be

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the main Opposition. Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) did not participated in this election.

New Vice Chief of Army Staff General Dalbir Singh Suhag  Eastern Army Command, Lieutenant General Dalbir Singh Suhag on 12 December 2013 was designated as the Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCoAS). He takes over charge from Lieutenant General SK Singh as the Vice Chief of Army Staff retires on 31 December 2013.  He will be replaced by Lieutenant General MMS Rai at the based Eastern Army Command. Lieutenant General Arun Kumar Sahni will head the Jaipur-based Southwestern Army Command. It is expected that, Lieutenant General Suhag by seniority after the post of Vice Chief of Army Staff would succeed as the Chief of the Indian Army Staff, after the retirement of General Bikram Singh on 31 July 2014.

 Chief of Army Staff Bikram Singh took Charge as Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman.  Shri S.K. Sharma was appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).  R. Chandrashekhar was appointed as President of National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) on 4 January 2014.  H C Meena appointed as the Secretary Security in the Cabinet Secretariat on 24 January 2014.  Kathy Cross became the first woman to be appointed in an ICC umpires panel as an Associate and Affiliate panel of International umpires.  Arun Gupta appointed as CMD of Shipping Corporation of India.  Pradhyuman Singh appointed as pro-tem speaker of 14th Rajasthan Assembly  US Senate confirmed Janet Yellen as next Chairperson of Federal Reserve  Sirajuddin Qureshi elected as the President the Indian Islamic Cultural Centre (IICC).  Jamila Bayaz, first women to be appointed police chief of Kabul province  Catherline Samba-Panza, Mayor of Bangui elected CAR’s Interim President  Kailash Meghwal elected as the Speaker of Rajasthan Assembly  Professor Rakesh Khurana of Indian origin appointed as Dean of Harvard College  Hery Rajaonarimampianina declared as the new President of Madagascar following the result of elections conducted with an aim to restore democracy.  Gen Fattah al-Sisi has promoted to the rank of Field Marshal (highest in the military), who ousted the Islamist President, Mohammed Morsi.  New technocratic government of Tunisia headed by Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa was sworn in and replaced the Islamist-led administration of the country.

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Person Resigned/Retired

Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India retired  Anand Sinha retired as Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 20 January 2014. With Anand Sinha relinquishing his charge as Deputy Governor, the RBI re- allocated his portfolios among the remaining three Deputy Governors — K.C. Chakrabarty, H.R. Khan and Urjit Patel. Sinha was in-charge of eight departments, including Departments of Banking Operations and Development, Risk Management, Information Technology and Expenditure and Budgetary Control.

Justice A.K. Ganguly resigned from WBHRC  Former Supreme Court judge, Justice A.K. Ganguly, who has been accused of sexual assault by a law intern, on 6 January 2014 resigned from Chairman of West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC) after continuous pressure on him to resign from this post. The intern’s allegations created a media furore, with female lawyers, politicians and activists calling for the Supreme Court to investigate the incident and for the accused judge to be named publicly. Pressure on him to resign increased after the three-judge Supreme Court committee probing the complaint filed by the law intern against Justice Ganguly said that there was prima facie evidence against him. He also resigned as honorary professor of National University of Juridical Sciences.

 The Aviation Ministry removed V.P. Agrawal as chairman of the state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) on 24 January 2014.  Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Vijay Bahuguna submitted his resignation to the Governor of the state.  Ukraine’s Prime Minister Mykola Azarov resigned on 28 January 2014.  Garry Kenneth Toomey, CEO of Jet Airways was resigned.  Ali Larayedh, the Prime Minister of Tunisia resigned.

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Sports

Australian Open-2014  Stanislas Wawrinka won the Australian Open men’s singles title on 26 January 2014 by defeating Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in . This is the maiden Grand Slam crown of eighth seeded, Wawrinka. This is the first victory of Wawrinka over Nadal in 13 career meetings as he had never won a single set against the Spanish, Nadal before the final match on 26 January 2014.  Wawrinka’s maiden Grand Slam success comes in his 36th major, only Goran Ivanisevic (37) has taken longer to win a first major crown. With this win, Wawrinka became the first man to defeat the top two seeds at a grand slam since 1993 French Open played by Sergi Bruguera.  Li Na of China won the women’s singles title by defeating Dominika Cibulkova 7-6 (3), 6-0 on 25 January 2014 at Melbourne Park. Earlier, Li Na has lost two finals in the previous three years. Li Na, who will turn 32 in February is the oldest women’s Champion in the Open era in Australia.  French-Canadian pair of Kristina Mladenovic and Daniel Nestor won the Mixed doubles title of the tournament after defeating India's Sania Mirza and her Romanian partner Horia Tecau 6-3, 6-2.

Hockey World League 2014  The inaugural Hero Hockey World League 2014, which was held at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, was won by the Netherlands. In the final played on 18 January 2014 the Netherlands thrashed New Zealand 7-2 to claim the title. Third place was claimed by England which defeated Australia by 2-1 in the bronze medal match. India earlier finished sixth in the tournament after losing 1-2 to . Robbert Kempermann of the Netherlands was declared Player of the Tournament.  India had Sixth position in the Hero Hockey World League Final, in which it played its last classification match on 18 January 2014. India finished at sixth position after it was defeated 2-1 by Belgium in the fifth-sixth place classification game. The sixth place finish in this League is certain to give a major boost to India’s world rankings. India are presently lying 10th in the world rankings.

3rd  3rd Lusofonia Games started on 18 January 2013 at . These games are held for community of Portuguese- speaking countries. Athletes from 12 countries are participating in these games, which are – , , , , , Guinea- Bissau, Goa (India), Macau (China), , , Sao Tome & Principe and .

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First and the Only Indian To Win a Gold Medal at the World Athletics Championships  Indian woman long jumper Anju Bobby George became the first and the only Indian to win a gold medal at the World Athletics Championships after her silver medal position was promoted to gold medal position due to disqualification of the Gold Medalist Tatyana Kotova of Russia for doping. Anju had won this silver medal in World Athletics Championships 2005 held at Monte Carlo. At the World Athletics Final in 2005, Anju Bobby George won the Silver Medal with a long jump of 6.75 meter. The Gold Medal was won by Russia’s Tatyana Kotova with a jump of 6.83 meter and the Bronze Medal was won by Grace Upshaw of the US. Following the disqualification of Tatyana Kotova by the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) on 13 January 2014, Anju was declared winner of long jump event. Eunice Barber of France was awarded the bronze medal.

Fastest Ever One-Day International (ODI) Century  New Zealand cricketer Corey Anderson came to limelight recently after he scored the fastest ever oneday international (ODI) century while scoring his unbeaten 131 against the West Indies. Anderson scored his century off just 36 deliveries. Shahid Afridi of Pakistan record of fastest century he broke. Afridi had scored his century off 37 deliveries against Sri Lanka in an ODI match played at Nairobi on 4 October 1996. Anderson broke his record by just one ball on 1 January 2014 at Queenstown, New Zealand.

 Corey Anderson broke Afridi’s record of fastest century in One Day International against West Indies on 1 January 2014.  Cristiano Ronaldo was awarded the Order of Prince Henry.  Serena Williams won the Brisbane International Title 2014.  Aditya Joshi became world no. 1 junior shuttler.  India defeated Pakistan to win 2014 Under-19 Asia Cup in the final match played at Sharjah cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on 4 January 2014.  Mahesh Mangaonkar began the New Year in the same way he ended 2013 by defeating Greg Lobban to win PSA Tour title at the Open du Gard.  Sanil Shetty and Ankita Das won their maiden men’s and women’s singles championship on 12 January 2014.  Cristiano Ranaldo awarded FIFA Ballon d’Or award 2013.

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 Jimmy Walker of the US won the Sony Open golf tournament held in Hawaii on 13 January 2014.  Abhijeet Gupta won his second Parsvanth International Grandmasters chess tournament on 16 January 2014.  Netherlands won the Hero Hockey World League Final by defeating New Zealand 7-2 at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi.  Churchill Brothers beat Sporting Club de Goa to lift the 35th Football Federation Cup.  India Women Cricket team won one day series against Sri Lanka 3-0.  Shane Warne to mentor Australia's spinners for World T20 Tournament.  OCA recognized Russian martial art Sambo and is now a part of Asian Games.  MS Dhoni became the first captain to be involved in four tied ODI matches, while playing third match against New Zealand in Auckland.  ICC approved introduction of International Women’s Championship.  Sumit Malik winner of 400m gold in men’s 400m race of Lusofonia Games has been stripped off from his medal for violating anti-doping rules.  Heena Sandhu 10 m Air Pistol score recognized as World record.  India lost the fifth and final cricket ODI series of 5 matches against New Zealand by 87 runs in Westpac Stadium at Wellington.  Saina Nehwal won the Syed Modi International India Grand Prix title 2014.  India has won the basketball gold in the men’s section at the Lusofonia Games by defeating Angola 77- 70 in Goa.  ONGC Men & Chhattisgarh Women won Federation Cup National Basketball Championship.  Louis Oosthuizen retained the Volvo Golf Champions title.

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Honours/ Awards

Cristiano Ronaldo wins FIFA Ballon d’Or Award 2013  Real Madrid forward footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo won the 2013 FIFA world’s best player awardat FIFA Awards Ceremony in Switzerland. He beat Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery of Bayern Munich to win the FIFA Ballon d’Or Award 2013.  FIFA awards 2013:  Ballon d’Or: Cristiano Ronaldo  Women’s world player: Nadine Angerer  Male coach: Jupp Heynckes  Female coach: Silvia Neid  Ballon d’Or Prix d’Honneur: Pele  Puskas goal award: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden v England)  Fifa Presidential Award: Jacques Rogge  Fair Play Award: Afghanistan Football Federation  Cristiano Ronaldo scored a staggering 69 goals in 59 matches during 2013 and helped Portugal to secure their place in next year’s World Cup finals by scoring all four goals in their 4-2 aggregate play-off victory over Sweden.

National Communal Harmony Award 2013  The Centre for Study of Society and Secularism (CSSS) was chosen for the National Communal Harmony Award 2013 in the organisations category. The award was announced on 25 January 2014 by the National Foundation for Communal Harmony. Mohinder Singh of Delhi and Dr. N Radhakrishnan of Kerala have been selected for the award in the individual category. Established in 1996, CSSS is a Mumbai-based organisation working to promote peace, secularism and communal harmony in the country. Mohinder Singh, 72, is a scholar and member of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions. Dr. N. Radhakrishnan, 69, is a well-known academic, Gandhian scholar and peace worker. The National Communal Harmony Awards were instituted in 1996 by the National Foundation for Communal Harmony, an autonomous organization under the Union Home Ministry.

2014 Golden Globe Awards  Best Motion Picture, Drama:: 12 Years a Slave  Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama:: Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)  Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama:: Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)  Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy:: American Hustle  Best Actress In A Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy:: Amy Adams (American Hustle)  Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy:: Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street)

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 Best Animated Feature Film:: Frozen  Best Foreign Language Film:: The Great Beauty  Best Director - Motion Picture:: Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)

56th Grammy Awards 2014  The 56th Annual Grammy Awards were held on, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Category Album Artist Best album of the year Random access Daft Punk memories Best record of the year Get Lucky Daft Punk , Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers Best song of the year Royals Lorde Best new artist - Macklemore and Ryan Lewis Children’s Album Throw a Penny in the Jennifer Gasoi Wishing Well Best Pop solo Royals Lorde performance Best Pop Duo/Group Get Lucky Daft Punk & Pharrell Williams Performance

Winner of 59th Filmfare Awards 2014  Best Film - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag  Best Director-Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra – Bhaag Milkha Bhaag  Best Actor- Farhan Akhtar – Bhaag Milkha Bhaag  Best Actress-Deepika Padukone – Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela  Best Supporting Actor-Nawazuddin Siddiqui – The Lunchbox  Critics' Choice Best Movie (Best Director)-The Lunchbox (Ritesh Batra)  Critics' Choice Best Actor-Rajkummar Rao– Shahid  Critics' Choice Best Actress-Shilpa Shukla– B.A. Pass

Padma Awards-2014  Padma Awards-one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, , and Padma Shri. The Awards are given in various disciplines/ fields of activities, viz. -art, social work, public affairs, science

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and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc.  ‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service;  ‘Padma Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order and  ‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any field.  Padma Awards were instituted in the year 1954. Except for brief interruption(s) during the years 1978 and 1979 and 1993 to 1997, these awards are being announced every year on Republic Day.

Padma Vibhushan 1. Dr. Raghunath A. Mashelkar, Science and Engineering,

2. Shri B.K.S. Iyengar, Others-Yoga, Maharashtra

Padma Bhushan 1. Prof. , Art – Painting, Gujarat 2. Begum , Art – Classical Singing, Maharashtra

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3. Shri Kamala Haasan, Art-Cinema, Tamil Nadu 4. Justice Dalveer Bhandari, Public Affairs, Delhi 5. Ms. Anita Desai, Literature and Education, Delhi 6. Dr. Dhirubhai Thaker, Literature and Education, Gujarat 7. Shri Ruskin Bond, Literature and Education, Uttarakhand 8. Shri Pullela Gopichand, Sports – Badminton, Andhra Pradesh 9. Shri Leander Paes, Sports – Tennis, Maharashtra

Padma Shri 1. Ustad Moinuddin Khan, Art – Instrumental Music – Sarangi Player, Rajasthan 2. Ms. , Art – Odishi Dance, Delhi 3. Shri Sudarsan Pattnaik, Art – Sand Artist, Orissa 4. Shri Wendell Augustine Rodricks, Art – Fashion Designing, Goa 5. Prof. Kalamandalam Sathyabhama, Art – Mohini Attam, Kerala 6. Ms. , Art-Bengali Cinema, West Bengal 7. Ms. , Art-Cinema, Maharashtra 8. Ms. Anjum Chopra, Sports – Cricket, Delhi 9. Shri Love Raj Singh Dharmshaktu, Sports – Mountaineering, Delhi 10. Ms. Dipika Rebecca Pallikal, Sports – Squash, Tamil Nadu 11. Shri Yuvraj Singh, Sports – Cricket, Haryana 12. Smt. Mamta Sodha, Sports – Mountaineering, Haryana

 Mammen Mathew, the Chief Editor of Malayala Manorma has been chosen for prestigious journalism Lokmanya Tilak National Award.  Dr. Ambedkar National Merit Awards conferred by Kumari Selja.  P.K.Goyal, Director of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) was awarded the Best CFO Award on 12 January 2014.  Pranab Mukherjee presented the Sunil Gangopadhyay Memorial Award of 2012 and 2013 to Nirendranath Chakraborty and Sankha Ghosh, respectively.  Taiwanese poet Yushi was awarded the Thiruvalluvar award on Thiruvalluvar Day.  Cyrus Mistry won the DSC prize 2014 for South Asian literature for his book Chronicles of a Corpse Bearer.  India-born Prof A J Paulraj won 2014 Marconi Prize.  Dr. Tej Vir Singh from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh won the 2013 UNWTO Ulysses Prize on 22 January 2014.  Richard Quest won 2013 UNWTO Lifetime Achievement Award.  Rapper-turned-actress Queen Latifah won the 2014 Matrix Award on 25 January 2014.  Anand Kumar, founder of Super30 classes was conferred with 2014 Ramanujan Mathematics Award at the Eighth National Mathematics Convention in Rajkot.  Cristiano Ronaldo was awarded the Order of Prince Henry  Andhra Pradesh bagged Oil and Gas Conservation Award, 2013.

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 Deepika Padukone won the Best Actress award and Farhan Akhtar won the Best Actor Award at the 20th Screen Awards.  Ela Gandhi honoured with Amadelkufa in South Africa.

Obituaries

‘Mother of PIL’: Pushpa Kapila Hingorani passed away  Pushpa Kapila Hingorani (86), a lawyer who is known by the title ‘Mother of PIL’ for being the first women to file a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on behalf of voiceless under- trial prisoners in around more than three decades ago, has passed away.

 What were the key contributions of Kapila Hingorani?  During her 60-year long career as a lawer, Kapila Hingorani fought more than 100 cases in the Supreme Court voicing concern through PILs for the poor, downtrodden and help-less people before the judiciary. She took the initiative of filing a PIL in 1979 to fight a lawsuit regarding the condition of the prisoners detained in the Bihar jail, whose cases were pending in the court. The main thing about this petition was that it was not filed by any single prisoner, rather it was filed by various prisoners of the Bihar jail. The case was admitted in the Supreme Court before the bench headed by Justice P. N. Bhagwati. This petition was filed by the name of the prisoner, Husnara Khatoon, hence the petition came to be known as Husnara Khatoon Vs State of Bihar. In this suit, the Supreme Court upheld that the prisoners should get benefit of free legal aid and fast hearing. Because of this case 40,000 prisoners, whose suits were pending in the court, were released from the jail. Thereafter many cases like this were registered in the apex court.  Public Interest Litigation (PIL):  A PIL means litigation for the protection of the public interest.  Understanding the Right to Constitutional Remedies:  Article 32 of the Constitution of India is known as “Right to Constitutional Remedies”. Article 32 (1) says that “The right to move the Supreme Court by appropriate proceedings for the enforcement of the rights conferred by this Part is guaranteed”.  Why PIL?  In ordinary cases the aggrieved person/ party has the right to seek redress under Article 32. Prior 1980s only the aggrieved party could approach the courts for justice. The Indian legal system which was more or less with colonial nature saw the state of deprivation of civil and political rights particularly during the emergency era. After the emergency got ended in 1977, the 2 judges of the Supreme Court Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer and P. N. Bhagwati recognized the possibility of providing access to justice to the poor and to reach

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out to the people. Hence Public Interest Litigation was devised an innovative way wherein a person or a civil society group could approach the supreme court seeking legal remedies in cases where public interest is at stake. Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer and Justice P. N. Bhagwati were the first judges to accept PIL. In S. P. Gupta v. Union of India, 1981 case, Justice P. N. Bhagwati articulated the concept of PIL.  Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar was the first such PIL case filed by advocate Kapila Hingorani and focused on the inhuman conditions of the prisons. The case led to release of more than 40, 000 under trial prisoners.  Concept of PIL:  In S. P. Gupta v. Union of India, 1981 case, Justice P. N. Bhagwati provisioned that if an injury is caused to a person or class of person or a legal right of the person/class of person is violated, and such person or class of person by reasons of poverty, helplessness or disability or social/economical disadvantageous position cannot approach the court, then a member of the public can maintain an application for an appropriate direction / order/ writ in the High Court under article 226 and in case any breach of the fundamental rights the person or class of person can seek judicial redress in Supreme court under article 32.  Please note that Article 226 is Power of High Courts to issue certain writs.  Can PIL be filed for personal gains?  In Pandey v. State of West Bengal case it was maintained that one can approach the court to wipe out violation of fundamental rights and genuine infraction of statutory provisions, but not for personal gain or private profit or political motive or any oblique consideration.  Remedial nature of PIL:  The PIL has remedial nature and indirectly incorporates the principles enshrined in the part IV (Fundamental Duties) of the Constitution of India into part III (Fundamental Rights) of the Constitution.  National Legal Services Authority (NALSA)  In 1979, the apex court for the first time talked of the necessity of free legal aid to poor persons to make the justice system mount a meaningful protection of their rights. Eight years after the judgment of Hussainara Khatoon Vs State of Bihar case, the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) was constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to provide free Legal Services to weaker sections of the society and to organize Lok Adalats for amicable settlement of disputes.

Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin passed away  Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin passed away on 17 January 2014 at Mumbai. 102- year old Dr. Burhanuddin was a spiritual leader of Dawoodi Bohra community sect of Muslims. Dawoodi Bohra is a sect of Shia Muslims spread all over the world. The word Bohra means trader and traditionally, most members of the sect have been entrepreneurs. Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin was credited with transforming Dawoodi Bohras into a vibrant community. Bohras thronged to Syedna’s sermons in thousands. He was cremated on 18 January 2014. However at least 18 persons died

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in the early hours of 18 January due to a stampede outside his south Mumbai residence where innumerable of his followers had assembled to have a last glimpse of this great preacher.

Legendary Bengali actress passed away  Legendary Bengali actress Suchitra Sen passed away on 17 January 2014 at a private hospital in Kolkata. She was admitted to the hospital with a with chest infection on 23 December. Sen acted in over 50 movies between 1952 and 1978 of which six were in Hindi. She went into recluse after her last film was released. Over the past three decades she withdrew herself from public life and did not meet people except her family members. She was considered for Dada Saheb Phalke Award in year 2005, which she reportedly refused in order to remain away from public life. The award that year was conferred upon . Capturing the public’s imagination for three decades through her ethereal beauty and intense celluloid performance, Suchitra Sen symbolised the golden age of Bengali cinema with memorable films like ‘Agnipariksha’, ‘Devdas’ and ‘Saat Paake Bandha’. Gulzar’s ‘Aandhi’ was one of her foremost Hindi films.

Namdeo Dhasal, the Marathi poet passed away  Namdeo Dhasal, the Marathi poet, firebrand writer and fierce fighter for Dalit rights, passed away at a Mumbai hospital on 15 January 2014. He was being treated for numerous illnesses including cancer at the hospital. Dalit Panthers is the name of the popular movement started by Dhasal which focused on radical approach to solve the problems of Dalits in India. Dalit Panthers was founded by Namdeo Dhasal in 1972 in Mumbai. The Dalit Panther movement was a radical departure from earlier Dalit movements. Its initial thrust on militancy through the use of rustic arms and threats, gave the movement a revolutionary coloration.

Ariel Sharon passed away  Ariel Sharon, who passed away on 11 January 2014, was the former Prime Minister of Israel. Sharon, a hardliner revered by Israelis as “Mr. Security” for his contributions in all the major wars fought by Tel Aviv and reviled across the Arab world as the “butcher of Sabra and Shatila”, was elected prime minister in 2001 and served until he suffered a stroke that left him comatose in January 2006.

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 Sunanda Pushkar, who was found dead in a New Delhi hotel late on 17 January 2014, was the wife of Shashi Tharoor, the Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development. Her last rites were performed on 18 January at New Delhi.  India's Former Shooting Coach Tibor Gonczol died  Singer Phil Everly died at age 74  Portugal’s former footballer Eusébio died  Vishwanath Ramachandra, the former Ranji Trophy cricketer of Mumbai died  Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin spiritual leader of Dawoodi Bohra community died  Uday Kiran Telugu film actor died.  Israel’s Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon died.  Famous Marathi writer and Social activist, Namdeo Dhasal died in Mumbai.  Famous Bengali actress Suchitra Sen died in Kolkota on 17 January 2014. She was 82.  Christopher Chataway, former 5000 meter world record holder Olympian died.  Legendary actor died at the age of 91 in Hyderabad.  Sudhir Mahato, the former Deputy Chief Minister of Jharkhand died.  Karl Slym, MD of Tata Motors died after falling from hotel building in Bangkok, where he was to attend board meet of Tata Motors Thailand Limited.  Raymond Weil, the pioneer of Swiss watch died.  Pete Seeger, the singer, folk-song collector and songwriter died at Presbyterian Hospital in New York on 27 January 2014.  Ulises Estrada, the Cuban Revolutionary and associate of Che Guevara died.

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Important Days

 January 1 Army Medical Corps Establishment Day  January 4 World Braille Day  January 8 African National Congress Foundation Day  January 10 World Laughter Day  January 9 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas  January10 World Hindi Day  January 11 Death anniversary of Lal Bahadur Shastri  January 12 National youth Day (Birth Day of Swami Vivekanand)  January 15 Army Day  January 23 Netaji Subhashchandra Bose's birth anniversary  January24 National Girl Child Day  January 25 International Customs Duty Day, India Tourism Day, Indian Voter Day  January 26 Republic Day  January 28 Birth anniversary of Lala Lajpat Rai  January 30 (Martyr's day) Mahatma Gandhi's Martyrdom Day; World Leprosy Eradication Day  January 31 World Leprosy Eradication Day.

Foreign Visits / Foreign Visitors

 King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Queen Jetsun Pema Wangchuck visited India from 6-10 January 2014.  President of the Republic of Korea Mme. Park Geun-hye visited India from January 15-18, 2014.  Salman Khurshid held a bilateral meeting with John Kerry US Secretary on the sidelines of Geneva II meet on Syria in Montreux.  Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe visited India between 25-27 January, 2014. He was the Chief Guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations.

UN Women  In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. In doing so, UN Member States took an historic step in accelerating the Organization’s goals on gender equality and the empowerment of women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system, which focused exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment:  Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW)  International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW)

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 Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI)  United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)  The main roles of UN Women are:  To support inter-governmental bodies, such as the Commission on the Status of Women, in their formulation of policies, global standards and norms.  To help Member States to implement these standards, standing ready to provide suitable technical and financial support to those countries that request it, and to forge effective partnerships with civil society.  To hold the UN system accountable for its own commitments on gender equality, including regular monitoring of system-wide progress.  Ms. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka(South Africa), Executive Director, Under-Secretary- General of the United Nations

 Ms. Lakshmi (India), Deputy Executive Director, Intergovernmental Support and Strategic Partnerships Bureau, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Compiled By-Sanjay Singh

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