Competition Booster English August

www.mahendraguru.
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Eco/Banking/RBI
ECONOMY
AUG 2 : According to Citi report further noted
that it is comfortable holding on to its 7.7
per cent 2016-17 GDP growth forecast for
now because of rural economy boost from
a better monsoon and 7th Pay Commission
impact on public sector salaries.
AUG 2 : Tata Capital Housing Finance Ltd (TCHFL)
announced a new home loan scheme Prapti,
at subsidised interest rates from 4 per cent
targeted at low income group under the
affordable housing plan.
AUG 2 : HDFC, India's largest private sector
mortgage lender, raised Rs 30 billion by
issuing the world's first ever "Masala" or
rupee-denominated bond outside India in
London Stock Exchange, a landmark event
that will boost economic ties between India
and the UK post Brexit.
AUG 4 : In the biggest tax reform since Independence,
the national sales tax or GST Bill was
approved by the Rajya Sabha to replace a raft
of different state and local taxes with a single
unified value added tax system to turn the
country into world's biggest single market.
AUG 4 : Leading stock exchange BSE
signed
an agreement with Indian Institute of
Technology (IIT) Kanpur for collaboration
in the areas including cyber security.
AUG 5 : Government notified 4 per cent inflation
target with a range of plus/minus 2 per cent
for the next five years under the monetary
policy framework agreement with the
Reserve Bank.
The government had amended the RBI Act
through Finance Act 2016 to provide for a
Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) with a
specific inflation goal, but it did not notify
the inflation target.
AUG 9 : Moving a step closer to form the country's
biggest private sector life insurer, the
board of HDFC approved the merger of
Max Life and Max Financial Services with
its insurance arm HDFC Standard Life
Insurance Company.
AUG 9 : NTPC Limited and Commonwealth

Scientific and Industrial Research
Organization (CSIRO) which is Australias
National Science Organization and
largest scientific enterprise have signed
a Letter of Intent (LOI) for scientific
collaboration and encourage joint research
activities in the area of low emission
energy technologies including advance
combustion and gasification technologies
and renewables.
AUG 11 : Finance minister Arun Jaitley will launch
a databank to gather information about
micro, small and medium enterprises
besides Online Finance Facilitation Centres
to provide collective funding options for
MSMEs.
AUG 11 : Leading stock exchange BSE stated that
has got approval from the Corporate Affairs
Ministry to establish BSE International
Exchange and BSE International Clearing
Corporation at Gujarat International Finance
Tec-city (GIFT).
AUG 16 : Wholesale inflation soared to a 23-month
high of 3.55 per cent in July as vegetables,
pulses and sugar turned costlier.
The wholesale price-based inflation,
reflecting the annual rate of price rise, in
June stood at 1.62 per cent. In July 2015,
WPI inflation was (-)4.00 per cent.
AUG 17 : Asia Index, a joint-venture between S&P
Dow Jones Indices and BSE, launched a
new index to measure the performance
of Collateralised Borrowing and Lending
Obligation (CBLO) rate one of most
liquid rates in the country over a period
of time.
The new index S&P BSE Liquid Rate
Index can be used to create exchange
traded funds for both retail and institutional
investors.
AUG 19 : Two Indian companies -- Cipla and Godrej
Consumer Products -- have been named in
Fortune magazine's list of top 50 companies
that are addressing global social problems
as part of their core business strategy. The
second annual 'Change the World' list is
topped by UK's Glaxo Smith kline, .
www.mahendraguru.com
[2]
AUG 23 : Ind-Ra has revised upwards Indias economic
growth forecast to 7.8 per cent for the
ongoing fiscal on better monsoon, but said
the economy is just "chugging along" despite
the euphoria emerging after the formation
Modi government at the Centre.
and launched the 'D-Change' programme

which will support education and learning,
women's empowerment and rural skills
development in the country.
AUG 2 : With the banking sector buffeted by bad
loans, the country's largest private lender
ICICI Bank has teamed up with private
equity major Apollo Global Management to
launch an asset reconstruction company.
AUG 25 : According to Goldman Sachs, Indian

economy is expected to clock 7.9 per cent
growth in the current fiscal driven by better
monsoon, government pay hike, key reforms
and FDI inflows.
AUG 11 : Agri-logistics company National Collateral

Management Services Ltd (NCML) entered
into a strategic partnership with Syndicate
Bank for collateral management and
warehousing services.
AUG 26 : In a push to a cash-less economy, National

Payments Corporation of Indias Unified
Payments Interface is ready and customers
of 21 banks will in a day or two be able to
send and collect money via a smartphone.
AUG 11 : In the first IPO by a private sector lender in a

decade, Kolhapur-headquartered RBL Bank
announced Rs.1,230 crore initial public offer
(IPO).
AUG 27 : With an aim to discourage cash transactions,

the Finance Ministry has set up a high-level
committee to suggest steps to promote card
payments through incentives like tax rebates
and cash back schemes.
The plan includes raising up to Rs.832.50

crore through the issue of fresh shares and
up to Rs.380 crore in an offer-for-sale by
existing shareholders. RBL Bank, formerly
known as Ratnakar Bank.
The 11-member committee, headed by

former Finance Secretary Ratan P Watal is
organized for this plan.
AUG 30 : Public sector Canara Bank has launched an

Unified Payment Interface (UPI) app named
"empower". The mobile app works on NPCI
(National Payments Corporation of India)
platform and enables bank customers pay
and collect using this single app, the bank
said.
AUG 30 : Mobile payments company MobiKwik

announced tie-up with 12 electricity boards
in eight states to allow customers to pay their
bills using its website or app.
AUG 31 : According to the FICCI's (Federation of
Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry)
Economists, India's economy is likely to
expand 7.8 per cent during the current
financial year on the back of good monsoons.
RBI
AUG 4 : RBI's Rajan launches 'Sachet' to curb illegal
collection of deposits.
AUG 31 : Max Life Insurance has launched 'Max Life

Future Genius Education Plan' to make
parents ready to meet money needs for
children education.
A week before the announcement of monetary

policy, the Reserve Bank of India Governor
Raghuram Rajan launched "Sachet" a web
portal to curb illegal collection of deposits.
AUG 31 : National Payments Corporation of India

said that it has launched the pilot project for
Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) with 26
Bharat Bill Payment Operating Units. BBPS
is the Reserve Bank mandated system which
will provide interoperable bill payment
services to customers.
AUG 26 : RBI retained 'too big to fail' tag for the

state-owned SBI and private lender ICICI
Bank for the second year in a row, calling
them systemically important banks for 2016
requiring higher level of supervision.
AUG 26 : The central bank will allow commercial
banks to issue rupee bonds in overseas
markets known as Masala bonds, both for
their capital requirement and for financing
infrastructure and affordable housing,
according to an RBI statement.
BANK
AUG 2 : Global software and Cloud major Oracle
India announced a corporate citizenship
collaboration with State Bank of India (SBI)
[3]
[4]
The foundation stone was laid by Rajasthan
Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in presence
of Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry.
National & State News of

the Month
AUG 1 : Attempting to usher transparency and remove
corruption from mid-day meal distribution,
Rajasthan government has initiated an SMSbased system through which meal data will
be sent everyday by schools to a toll free
number that will be monitored at the statelevel.
AUG 1 : Tripura entered the broad gauge railway map
of the country with Union Railway Minister
Suresh Prabhu flagging off the AgartalaNew Delhi Tripura Sundari Express. The
foundation stone for the much awaited
railway track to link Agartala to Akhoura
in Bangladesh was jointly laid at the
programme by Prabhu and his Bangladeshi
counterpart Md Mujibul Haque.
AUG 3 : The West Bengal government passed a
proposal to rename the state as just Bengal.It
was during Partition in 1947 that the British
province of Bengal was split into West
Bengal, which stayed with India, and East
Bengal, which went to the newly-created
Pakistan.
AUG 5 : In the presence of Minister of Railways,
Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu and Chief Minister
of Chhattisgarh Raman Singh, Joint Venture
Agreement was signed between Ministry
of Railways and State Government of
Chhattisgarh for Formation of Joint Venture
Company.
AUG 5 : The Madhya Pradesh government has
allowed Baba Ramdev-led Patanjali
Ayurveda Ltd to set up a Rs 500-crore food
processing unit at Dhar district in the state.
AUG 5 : Under the Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU), Tata Trusts and Gilead will form
a joint program committee to implement
activities related to prevention, awareness
and education, testing and treatment of viral
hepatitis.
The US - headquartered Gilead is a
biopharmaceutical company.
AUG 6 : Infrastructure firm Tata Projects kicked off
the Rs 1,676-crore rejuvenation project of
the Dravyawati river in Rajasthan.
AUG 6 : Minister of Communications Manoj Sinha

unveiled the Commemorative Postage
Stamps on Rio Olympic Games and said
the unique initiative will motivate the Riobound Indian athletes.
AUG 8 : The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi,
launched
Mission
Bhagiratha
at
Komatibanda Village, Gajwel, in Medak
District of Telangana. The scheme has been
launched by the State Government with an
objective to provide safe drinking water to
all.
AUG 8 : Telangana Irrigation Department signed
a memorandum of understanding with
the Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO) for setting up a Telangana Water
Resources Information System (TWRIS)
on the 'Bhuvan' web portal.
AUG 8 : Union HRD Minister, Prakas Javedkar
inaugurated IIT Raipur in Chhattisgarh at
the campus of Government Engineering
College, Raipur. Inaugurating the IIT,
Javedkar stated that the institute will have
its own campus by the time first batch of
students obtains degree.
AUG 9 : Indian Railway Catering and Tourism
Corporation (IRCTC) and Manipur
government have joined hands to provide
improved hospitality and tourism services
to their customers by making joint use of
their capabilities and facilities.
AUG 10 : A mobile application "I Feel Safe" aimed
at helping women ensure their safety in
the national capital was launched at Delhi
University.
The mobile app, powered by Nirbhaya Jyoti
Trust, is a personal safety application for
smartphone users developed in association
with Mobile Standards Alliance of India.
AUG 11 : The Union cabinet approved a proposal that
seeks to grant six months maternity leave
to women employees double the time off
they get now after childbirth.
The cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, also approved 12 weeks
[5]
maternity benefits to a commissioning
mother and adopting mother.
AUG 11 : Union Minister for Urban Development
Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the BRICS
Friendship Rose Garden at Shanti Path,
Chanakyapuri. The garden has been
developed by the New Delhi Municipal
Council (NDMC). BRICS is a group of
five emerging economies Brazil, Russia,
India, China and South Africa.
AUG 12 : Rajasthan
government
signed
a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with
India Trade And Exhibition Centre (ITEC),
Dubai for promotion of skill development,
investment and tourism sectors.
AUG 12 : Finance Minister of Assam Himanta Biswa
Sarma tweeted that Assam has become the
first state to ratify the Goods and Services
Tax (GST) constitution amendment Bill.
AUG 24 : India has assumed the Chairmanship of
BRICS for the year 2016 and a major political
cum business engagement will be held in
October 2016. As a lead up this Summit,
Indian has initiated a number of events within
the spirit of the BRICS, one of which being
the Conference on International Arbitration
in BRICS: Challenges, Opportunities and
Road ahead on August 27, 2016 at Vigyan
Bhawan, in the national capital.
AUG 24 : V.O.Chidambaranar Port Trust created new
record by handling 14,590 tonnes of Wheat
import surpassing the previous record of
12,000 tonnes.
AUG 25 : President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated a
Mega Food Park at Jangipur in Murshidabad,
aimed at providing critical food processing

infrastructure to the farmers of this backward
belt in West Bengal.
AUG 25 : Giving a push to fast disposal of cases related
to children, south India's first Children's
Court was inaugurated in Hyderabad.
After Goa and Delhi, Telangana has become
the third state to have a child friendly court .
AUG 26 : In a landmark judgment, the Bombay High
Court allowed women to enter inside the
sanctum of the Haji Ali dargah.
AUG 27 : Women and Child Development Minister
Maneka Gandhi launched a Protection of
Children from Sexual Offenses, POCSO
e-box, in New Delhi.
POCSO e-box is a platform where a child
victim of sexual abuse can report such cases
online.
AUG 29 : Himachal Pradesh Health Minister Kaul
Singh Thakur launched a mobile app for
availing immediate and easy access to
ambulances in the state.
The app named '108 HP' can be downloaded
on any smartphone.
AUG 30 : J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and
Family Welfare launched the Mera Aspataal
/ My Hospital initiative at the third National
Summit on Good and Replicable Practices
and Innovations in Public Health Facilities
at Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.
AUG 31 : Gujarat has become the first state to distribute
2 crore LED bulbs under the Centre's 'Unnat
Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for all' (UJALA)
scheme.
[6]
her birth centenary, coinciding with the
celebrations of Indias 70th Independence
Day.
International News of
the Month
AUG 3 : Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
appointed conservative Ally Tomomi Inada
as defence minister .
Inada, a 57-year-old lawyer, will be the
second woman to hold the defence post.
The first, Yuriko Koike, who held the job
briefly in 2007, was recently elected Tokyo
governor.
AUG 4 : Communist
Party
of
Nepal-Maoist
Chairperson (CPN-MC) Pushpa Kamal
Dahal was elected as the 39th Prime Minister
of Nepal on Wednesday, with more than 360
lawmakers voting for him.
AUG 4 : India has signed a memorandum of
understanding with Mozambique to
import 3,75,000 tonnes of pulses during
2016-19.
AUG 10 : Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank)
stated that has given an additional line
of credit (LoC) of USD 23.50 million to
Malawi for construction of a new water
supply management from Likhubula river in
Mulanje to Blantyre.
AUG 11 : The Cabinet gave its nod for signing and
ratification of an agreement between India
and Croatia on economic cooperation.
India and Croatia had earlier signed
an agreement on trade and economic
cooperation in September, 1994, with an aim
to promote and develop bilateral trade and
economic relations.
AUG 11 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
Russian PresidentVladimir Putin dedicated
Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project's
(KKNPP) first unit to the country .
The first unit of the Indian nuclear power
plant is already in service. It was connected
to the southern grid and the operation of the
first 1,000 MWe unit at Kudankulam Nuclear
Power Project (KKNPP) has started from 00
00 hours on December 31, 2014 generating
1000 Mwe.
AUG 12 : To honour the legacy of Indias Carnatic
music legend M.S. Subbulakshmi, the
United Nations will issue a stamp to mark
AUG 20 : The Central Council for Research in

Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) signed
an MoU with University of Latvia for
establishment of an academic chair for
ayurveda research in the European nation.
AUG 22 : An Indo-Canadian Sikh Cabinet Minister
Bardish Chagger, was sworn in as the new
leader of the government in the House
of Commons, becoming the first woman
to hold the position in the Canadian
parliament, the media reported.
AUG 22 : Deepening
collaboration
on
skill
development, India and Germany signed
an agreement that aims to foster conditions
that will help create and improve
workplace-based vocational training in
India's industrial clusters.
AUG 25 : The Pharmacopoeia Commission for
Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy
(PCIM&H) under the Ministry of AYUSH
and the United States Pharmacopeial
Convention (USP) signed a Memorandum
of Understanding (MOU) in New Delhi for
promoting the safety, quality and integrity
of traditional medicines and botanical
dietary supplements.
AUG 25 : The Government gave its nod to signing of
a pact between India and Myanmar in the
field of traditional system of medicines.
The pact aims to provide a structured frame
work for cooperation between both the
countries and for promotion of AYUSH
and traditional systems of medicine in
Myanmar.
AUG 27 : Barack
Obama
has
created
the
worlds largest marine protected area
Papahnaumokukea marine national
monument by expanding an existing
ocean reserve off Hawaii to cover 582,578
square miles, providing whats likely to
be the grandest, and final, chapter in the
presidents conservation legacy.
AUG 29 : Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
invited the leaders of SAARC Member
States to grace the 19th SAARC Summit
[7]
on 9-10 November with their presence and
said that he is looking forward to welcome
them at Islamabad.
Nine Observers of SAARC have also
been invited to attend the Summit at
Islamabad.
AUG 29 : China's first driverless subway line in the
capital city Beijing, is expected to start
operations at the end of 2017.
Operations on the Yanfang line will be fully
automatic, including train departures, door
opening, closing, and cleaning.
AUG 30 : The US and India signed an agreement
governing the use of each others land, air
and naval bases for repair and resupply, a
step toward building defence ties as they
seek to counter the growing maritime
assertiveness of China.
AUG 30 : India and Myanmar have joined hands

to enhance bilateral cooperation between
the two countries in the field of traditional
medicine.
Indian government signed an agreement
with the Government of Myanmar to
enhance bilateral cooperation between the
two countries.
AUG 30 : In the latest development, IIT-K has signed
a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
with the Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber
Research Center (ICRC) of Tel Aviv
University. This would facilitate bi-lateral
academic relationships, cooperative research
and teaching projects in selected fields.
AUG 31 : China has commissioned its first military air
ambulance for cross-border army operations,
naval missions and evacuation of wounded
military personnel.
[8]
Sports News of the

Month
AUG 1 : India will host the Kabaddi World Cup in Oct
this year, featuring 12 countries.
USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Iran, Poland,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Korea, Japan and
Kenya will be playing in the event the dates
for which will be declared later.
AUG 1 : Minutes after completing a 6-3, 7-5 ATP
Toronto Masters final win over Kei Nishikori
for his 66th career title, Novak Djokovic had
already shifted his focus to the Rio Olympics.
AUG 1 : Pardeep Narwal produced a terrific
performance as Patna Pirates beat Jaipur
Pink Panthers in the final of season 4 in the
Pro Kabaddi League. Patna, who were the
champions of season 3, dominated the game
right from the first whistle. The Patna unit
made history as they became the only team
to lift the trophy twice in the tournaments
history of four editions.
AUG 5 : The International Olympic Committee has
added five new sports to the programme
for Tokyo 2020 - baseball/softball, karate,
skateboarding, sports climbing and surfing.
The next summer Olympics, coming to Tokyo
in 2020, will invite athletes to compete for
medals in six sports just added to the lineup:
surfing, skateboarding, karate, climbing,
mens baseball, and womens softball.
AUG 6 : When archer Zahra Nemati carried the
Iranian flag into the Maracana Stadium in
Rio Olympics, 2016, she created a new
ground for the Islamic country. Never before
had a woman led Irans team into the parade
of athletes in an Olympic opening ceremony.
Its quite a way for the 31-year-old Nemati to
make her mark on her first Olympics.
AUG 8 : Odishas capital city Bhubaneshwar is set
to host the mens hockey World Cup in
2018 and the World League final in 2017 at
Kalinga Stadium.
AUG 8 : Michael Phelps won his 19th Olympic gold
medal as the United States won the 4x100
relay at the Olympics. The Americans
traditional rival in the event, France, was
second, and Australia third.
AUG 8 : Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar scripted

history as she became the first Indian to
make the cut for the individual vault finals
in her debut Olympic Games after finishing
8th in the qualifying round.
AUG 9 : England pacer James Anderson has
reclaimed the number-one ranking from
Indias Ravichandran Ashwin in the ICC
Player Rankings for Test Bowlers released
after the end of the Edgbaston Test.England
won the match by 141 runs to take a 2-1 lead
over Pakistan.
AUG 10 : Michael Phelps is celebrating a double
triumph after winning his 20th and 21st
Olympic gold medals.
About an hour later, Phelps completed a
gruelling double with a triumphant four laps
of the pool in the 4x200m freestyle relay.
AUG 13 : Katie Ledecky has broken her world record
to win the 800 metres freestyle final at the
Rio Olympics, while Joseph Schooling has
denied Michael Phelps another victory to
claim Singapore's first Olympic gold medal.
AUG 13 : Rafael Nadal added a second Olympic
tennis gold medal to all of those Grand Slam
trophies, teaming with Marc Lopez to win
the mens doubles championship for Spain
at the Rio de Janeiro Games.
AUG 16 : Jamaica's Usain Bolt became the first athlete
to win three Olympic 100m titles by beating
American Justin Gatlin to gold at Rio 2016.
Bolt, 29, ran 9.81 seconds in his final
Olympics to replicate his success at Beijing
2008 and London 2012.
AUG 16 : Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng
has been voted German footballer of the year
by sports journalists in Germany. Boetens is
the Ist defender to win the accolade since
Bayern Munich & Borussia Dortmund
starwart Jurgen Kohler.
AUG 17 : The Indian cricket team has moved back
to No 1 on the ICC table for Test teams,
following Sri Lanka's 163-run win over
Australia in Colombo.
AUG 19 : Usain Bolt won gold in his last olympic 200
meter race, which he finished in 19.78 sec,
more than a half second short of his own
world record.
[9]
AUG 19 : Indian wrestler Narsingh Yadav has been
ousted from Olympics as the CAS slapped
him with a four-year ban, while hearing into
the World Anti-Doping Agency's appeal
against the clean chit given to him in a dope
scandal by NADA.
AUG 19 : Argentina won their first Olympic men's
hockey gold with a 4-2 victory over Belgium
thanks to a 10-minute goal blitz in the first half.
AUG 20 : Usain Bolt went on his knee, gave the
track one final kiss, flattened his hand, then
reached down and slapped the white number
3 painted at the starting line. The relay
which was his last race in the 2016 Rio
Olympics ended with another Gold medal,
making it his 9th Gold Olympic medal.
AUG 20 : North East United FC and Kerala Blasters
FC will kick off the third season of the
Indian Super League (ISL) in Guwahati
in Oct 2016, in Indira Gandhi stadium by
awarding Guwahati the rights to host ISL
2016 opening ceremony.
AUG 23 : The International Kabaddi Federation (IKF)
announced that the 2016 Kabaddi World
Cup will be hosted in Gujarat's leading city,
Ahmedabad. The tournament is set to take
place from October 7th and will conclude on
22nd of the same month.
AUG 24 : The Minister of State (I/C) Youth Affairs &
Sports, Vijay Goal has constituted a twomember Committee consisting of Onkar
Kedia, Joint Secretary (Sports) and Vivek
Narayan, Director (Sports) to enquire into
the allegations of Ms. O.P. Jaisha.
The two member committee will submit its
report in 7 days.
AUG 25 : The National Table Tennis tournament will
be held at the Port Indoor Stadium from
October 19 to 25.
Vizag has been hosting various sporting

events.
AUG 25 : India's Saina Nehwal dropped four points
to be ninth, while compatriot P.V. Sindhu
remained in the 10th spot in the Badminton
World Federation (BWF) rankings despite
getting a silver in the women's singles
competition at the recently-concluded
Olympics.
AUG 26 : Cristiano Ronaldo has beaten off Gareth
Bale and Antoine Griezmann to be crowned
UEFA's Best Player in Europe for the
2015/16 season.
AUG 27 : With India getting only two medals in the
Rio Olympics, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi announced the decision to set up a task
force to prepare a comprehensive action plan
for effective participation in the next three
Olympics.The next Olympic Games will be
held in Tokyo in 2020.
AUG 27 : Sports Flashes, a first-of-it-kind app which
will give all the sports fans a staple diet of
sports news, views, trivia, gossip, tips in just
70-words a story, was launched.
The Sports Flashes app provides crisp news
of current sports events from all across the
globe .
AUG 29 : Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza received a
confidence booster ahead of the US Open
Grand Slam tournament with a doubles title
victory at the Connecticut Open with Monica
Niculescu of Romania.
AUG 31 : Indias star batsman Virat Kohli has
maintained his number one position in
the ICC T20 batsmen rankings, while offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin returned to
the top five in the bowlers list, climbing up
to fourth spot from seventh.
Mahendra Publication Pvt. Ltd.

[10]
Science & Miscellaneous

News of the Month
SCIENCE
AUG 6 : China conducted a surprise lift off of its
flagship Long March 3B booster, carrying
the countrys first Tiantong mobile
communications satellite.
It is the first satellite of Chinas home-made
satellite mobile telecom system, and a key
part of the countrys space information
infrastructure.
AUG 10 : China launched a new high-resolution
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging
satellite in northern Shanxi province. As
China's first SAR imaging satellite that is
accurate to one metre in distance, it covers
the globe with an all-weather, 24-hour
observation service and will be used for
disaster warning, weather forecasting, water
resource assessments, and the protection of
maritime rights.
AUG 10 : NASA has selected six US companies to help
develop prototypes and concepts of deep
space habitats for future manned missions to
Mars.
The selected companies are Bigelow
Aerospace,
Boeing,
Lockheed
Martin, Orbital ATK, Sierra Nevada
Corporations Space Systems and Nano
Racks.
The six partners will have up to about 24
months to develop ground prototypes and
conduct concept studies for deep space
habitats.
AUG 10 : Ventura Business Solutions introduced Indias
first Smart endoscopy technology, G-EYE
endoscope and NaviAid in a strategic
partnership with Israel based, Smart Medical
Systems, a developer and manufacturer
of world-leading gastrointestinal (GI)
endoscopy devices.
AUG 12 : China has developed a cutting-edge
ultralight material for thermal insulation
on its rockets and spacecraft, according to
engineers.
Zou Junfeng, a senior engineer at the

Aerospace Institute of Advanced Materials
and Processing Technology in Beijing, said
the material, called aerogel, has been widely
used in space missions by the United States,
Russia and Europe.
AUG 16 : The worlds first quantum communications
satellite has been launched into orbit
aboard a Long March-2D rocket. The
main task of the Chinese satellite is to
potentially secure communications in an
age of cyber attacks and global electronic
surveillance.
AUG 25 : In a discovery that has been years in the
making, researchers have confirmed the
existence of a rocky planet named Proxima
b orbiting Proxima Centauri, the closest
star to our sun, according to a new study.
It is the closest exoplanet to us in the
universe.
AUG 25 : A new record for the most distant galaxy
cluster has been set using NASAs
Chandra X-ray Observatory and other
telescopes. This galaxy cluster may have
been caught right after birth, a brief, but
important stage of evolution never seen
before.
MISCELLANEOUS
AUG 3 : Tata Trusts and the Global Fund have joined
hands to launch India Health Fund (IHF)
aimed at addressing key health challenges
in the country - starting with malaria and
tuberculosis.
AUG 4 : Four Indian-origin persons have been
named among Americas top wealth advisors
by Forbes on a list of 200 members who
collectively manage USD 675 billion.
AUG 5 : Five Indian-origin South Africans feature in
a list of the top 100 youth figures who are
expected to shape the future of Africa.
The leaders were selected by public
nomination in a project coordinated by
Independent Media, one of South Africas
top media groups.
AUG 6 : Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit alongside
Health & Family Welfare Minister J P
Nadda launched 'MAA- Mother's Absolute
[11]
Affection', a nationwide programme to
promote breast-feeding.
AUG 9 : BJP senior leader and Chairperson of
Estimates Committee Murli Manohar
Joshi released a book titled "The Indian
Parliament - Beyond the Seal and Signature
of Democracy" in Parliament.
AUG 11 : Wipro Chairman Azim Premji and HCL
co-founder Shiv Nadar are the only two
billionaires from India in Forbes list of the
worlds 100 richest people in technology,
ranking in the top 20 ahead of Google
boss Eric Schmidt and Uber CEO Travis
Kalanick.
AUG 25 : Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone,
who herself battled depression, has joined
hands with the Indian Psychiatric Society,
founded in 1947 as its brand ambassador to
spread awareness about mental health and
help reduce the stigma associated with its
ailments.
AUG 25 : The Vice President of India, Shri M.
Hamid Ansari released the book Patriots,
Poets and Prisoners: Selections from
Ramananda Chatterjee's The Modern

Review, 1907-1947 edited by Anikendra
Sen, Devangshu Datta and Nilanjana S.
Roy.
AUG 26 : Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh
Bachchan, Salman Khan and Akshay
Kumar are among the worlds highest paid
actors of 2016, raking as many dollars as
Hollywood heavyweights Robert Downey
Jr and Brad Pitt, according to a Forbes list
topped by wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne
Johnson.
AUG 27 : FICCI said that Iran will be the partner
country at India's largest chemicals and
petrochemicals event - 'India Chem 2016 ' to be held in September 1-3.
India Chem, the ninth edition of which will
be held at the Bombay Exhibition Centre,
is a joint initiative of the Union Ministry of
Chemicals and Fertilizers and the Federation
of Indian Chambers of Commerce and
Industry, while the theme of this year is
"Exploring Opportunities".
[12]
Appointments of the
Month
N J S Dhillon
March 2017.
P K Purwar
: Air Marshal N J S Dhillon took

charge as Senior Air Staff Officer of
Western Air Command.
He took over from Air Marshal B

Suresh, who assumes charge of Air
Officer-in-Charge, Personnel, at Air
Headquarters.
Rani Nair
: Senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS)

officer Rani Singh Nair is set to be
appointed the Central Board of Direct
Taxes (CBDT) chairperson, with
incumbent Atulesh Jindal retiring
soon.
Yuriko Koike : Former Defence Minister Yuriko

Koike has been elected governor
of Tokyo, the first woman to lead
Japan's capital.
Masooma Muradi : Creating new ground as Afghanistan's
only female governor, Muradi's
ascent to the top post in remote
Daikundi province is a remarkable
feat in Afghanistan, where stubborn
patriarchal traditions are at odds with
progressive ideas about a woman's
place in the world.
Purwar is currently working as

Director (Finance) in MTNL, which
has been without a full-time CMD
since May 31, 2014, following
superannuation of A K Garg.
Markandey Katju: The BCCI appointed former Supreme
Court judge Markandey Katju as the
head of a four-member legal panel
to help the Board understand the
implications of the Justice Lodha
Committee reforms, which have
been made mandatory by the apex
court.
Nita Ambani
: Nita Ambani was formally elected

as an individual member of the
International Olympic Committee
(ICC) at its 129th session.
Vijay Rupani
: After high drama at a meeting of

top leaders to name a successor to
outgoing Gujarat Chief Minister
Anandiben Patel, the BJP named
party president Amit Shahs protg
and first time MLA Vijay Rupani
as Chief Minister while Nitin Patel,
backed by Ms. Patel, was named his
deputy.
Anand Sinha
: IDFC Bank, the newest lender in

the country, has appointed former
Reserve Bank of India deputy
governor Anand Sinha to the bank's
board.
Kedar Upadhye : Pharma major Cipla has appointed

Kedar Upadhye as its Global chief
financial officer (CFO).
Sree Sreenivasan : An eminent Indian-American digital
media expert Sree Sreenivasan has
been named by New York Mayor
Bill de Blasio as the citys new Chief
Digital Officer to focus on promoting
access to local government through
technology and support its tech
ecosystem.
Anant Maheshwari

: Microsoft Inc. named Honeywell

India president Anant Maheshwari
as president of Microsoft India.
Maheshwari, who will join Microsoft
India on 1 September, will take
over operations of the company
on 1 January, 2017 from chairman
Bhaskar Pramanik, who retires in
: P K Purwar has been given additional

charge of Chairman and Managing
Director of Mahanagar Telephone
Nigam Limited (MTNL) for three
months.
His appointment comes into effect

from August 1.
Takehiko Nakao : The board of Asian Development
Bank has re-elected Takehiko Nakao
as the multilateral funding agency's
president for a five-year term
beginning on 24 November 2016.
Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. & Ugur Erdener

[13]
: The International Olympic Committee

(IOC) has elected two new vice
presidents at its 129th session.
Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. of
Spain, son of former Olympics chief
Juan Antonio Samaranch and Ugur
Erdener from Turkey will replace
outgoing vice presidents Nawal El
Moutawakel of Morocco and Sir
Craig Reedie from Britain.
He has been appointed to the post for

five years, or till the age of 65 years
whichever is earliest.
Najma Heptullah, V.P. Singh Badnore, Banwarilal
Purohit
:

K M Hanumantharayappa

: The Central Silk Board stated that K

M Hanumantharayappa, sericulturist
and a weaver, has assumed charge as
its new Chairman for a period of three
years. As the 25th Chairman of the
board, he succeeds N S Bissegowda.
Pawan Munjal : Two-wheeler market leader Hero

Moto Corp reappointed Pawan
Munjal as its chairman, managing
director and chief executive for a
period of five years and also elevated
its head of operations and supply
chain Vikram Kasbekar as a director
on the company's board.
Dinesh Kumar Khara

: Dinesh Kumar Khara was appointed

as Managing Director of State Bank
of India (SBI).
He is presently working as MD
and Chief Executive Officer of SBI
Funds Management Pvt Ltd.
Pawan Kumar Bajaj & Ravindra Prabhakar Marathe

: Pawan Kumar Bajaj and Ravindra

Prabhakar Marathe were appointed
as Managing Director (MD) and
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of
United Bank of India and Bank of
Maharashtra respectively.
Sriram Rajamani : Microsoft

announced
the
appointment of Sriram Rajamani as
new managing director of its India
lab.
He will replace Chandu Thekkath,
who was the managing director of
the lab for two years.
G Mahalingam : RBI's
Executive
Director
Gurumoorthy Mahalingam was
appointed as Whole-Time Member
of market regulator Sebi.
Former Union Minister for Minority

Affairs Najma Heptullah has been
appointed as Governor of Manipur.
BJP leader and former Rajya Sabha
MP V.P. Singh Badnore will be the
new Governor of Poll-bound Punjab.
BJP leader and former Nagaur

MP Banwarilal Purohit has been
appointed as Governor of Assam.
Sunil Arora
: Former
Information
and
Broadcasting Secretary Sunil Arora
has been appointed as an advisor in
public broadcaster Prasar Bharati.
P D Gupta
: Eminent scientist P D Gupta was

appointed as Vice Chancellor of
Mumbai-based
Homi
Bhabha
National Institute (HBNI).
He has been appointed to the post for

five years.
Manjula Chellur : The Ministry of Law and Justice has
notified the appointment of Justice
Manjula Chellur as the next Chief
Justice of the Bombay High Court.
She took charge of Bombay High
Court in August 2016.
Jagdish Mukhi : Senior BJP leader Jagdish Mukhi
assumed office as the 12th Lieutenant
Governor of the union territory of
Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Anjali Tripathi & Tina R Shah

: Astrophysicist Anjali Tripathi from

California and physician Tina R
Shah from Chicago are among the
16 White House Fellows appointed
from across the nation for the year
2016-17.
Rajesh Mokashi : CARE Ratings said Rajesh Mokashi

will take charge as MD and CEO of
the company with effect from August
22.
Amit Sanan
[14]
: YES BANK, Indias new age

private sector Bank, announced the
appointment of Amit Sanan as Group
President & Country Head for MidCorporate Banking.
Greg Clarke
: The Football Association has

confirmed the appointment of Greg
Clarke as its chairman, in succession
to Greg Dyke, at a specially convened
council meeting at Wembley, with
the new man to take up the post
just before Englands World Cup
qualifier in Slovakia on 4 September.
Sharmila Tagore : Film actress Sharmila Tagore,

theatre activist Arundhati Nag and
film studies academician Ira Bhaskar
have been appointed as a new
members of Broadcasting Content
Complaints Council (BCCC), the
self-regulatory body which hears
complaints against TV content.
Aishwaryaa Rajinikanth Dhanushs
: Noted
filmmaker
and
actor
Rajinikanth's daughter Aishwaryaa
was appointed as a UN Womens
Advocate for Gender Equality and
Womens Empowerment in India.
Bala Girisaballa : Microsoft said Bala Girisaballa will

be leading Microsoft Accelerator in
India as CEO-in-Residence.
Prior to this, Bala was with
Globalisation and market expansion
advisory Zinnov as Partner and
Practice Head helping MNC R&D
companies.
Anuradha Rao : SBI Mutual Fund said that it has
appointed Anuradha Rao as its
Managing Director and chief
executive.
Prior to this, Rao was Deputy
Managing Director at SBI handling
New Business Portfolio.
[15]
Awards of the Month

Kusumanjalis Sahitya Samman 2016 :
Writer-politician and media personality
MP Veerendra Kumar and author Kusum
Khemani were awarded this years
Kusumanjalis Sahitya Samman for their
contribution to literature in Malayalam and
Hindi, respectively.
'Today's Traveller Award 2016' :
The tourism industry in Arunachal Pradesh
received a major boost with the state
receiving the 'Today's Traveller Award 2016'.
National Tourism Award :
Sante Fe-based Stephanie Pearson an
American woman journalist, who penned an
exhilarating account of Kerala - a snapshot
on the state's palm-fringed beaches,
gorgeous topography, serene spirituality
and hospitality - has won National Tourism
Award.
Lifetime achievement award at Goa Film Festival :
Bollywood filmmaker N Chandra was
honoured with the Lifetime Achievement
award during the 8th Goa State Film Festival
held between August 5-8.
Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award :
Singer Shubha Mudgal will be awarded the
Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award
for her outstanding contribution towards the
promotion of communal harmony, peace and
goodwill.
Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2016 AWARD :
Bollywood actors Sonam Kapoor and
Nawazuddin Siddiqui bagged the best
actress and best actor awards at the Indian
Film Festival of Melbourne 2016.
First 'Arunachal Ratna' Award :
Arunachal Pradesh government conferred
the first 'Arunachal Ratna' award to Deputy
Superintendent of Police Bomto Kamdak
posthumously, who lost his life during
exchange of fire with criminals in East
Kameng district.
Lifetime Achievement Award :
According to Sursagar Society of Dilli

Gharana announcement Santoor maestro
Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma will be conferred
upon with the annual Sangeet Martand
Ustad Chand Khan Lifetime Achievement
Award this year.
APJ Abdul Kalam Award :
Central Leather Research Institute's
Principal Scientist P Shanmugam has
bagged the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Award for
meritorious services in the Higher Education
Department of Tamil Nadu.
Rani Laxmi Bai Award :
The Uttar Pradesh government announced
to honour Indian wrestler Sakshi Malik who
won a bronze at the Rio Olympic Games
with the prestigious Rani Laxmi Bai Award.
Frances Chevalier Award :
Actor Kamal Haasan has been chosen for
the coveted French honour of Chevalier
Award.
Honour at Yale institute :
Top economist and RBI's former deputy
governor Rakesh Mohan has been named
senior fellow at the prestigious Yale
University's institute for global affairs.
Asian Filmmaker Award :
Late Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami has
been selected for the Asian Filmmaker of
the Year Award at the Busan International
Film Festival beginning October 6.
The 21st Busan International Film Festival
(BIFF) has selected Kiarostami, who passed
away on July 4 at the age of 76, for the
award .
Arjuna Award :
A day after the Olympic Games came to
an end in Rio de Janerio, the government
conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna
Award 2016 to Olympic medallists P.V.
Sindhu and Sakshi Malik; ace gymnast Dipa
Karmakar, who lost a medal by a whisker,
and shooter Jitu Rai. This is for the first time
the nation's highest sporting award has been
conferred on four athletes.
Young Scientist INSA Award 2016 :
[16]
Dr Iqbals got this INSA Young Scientists
Award, considered to be the highest
recognition of promise, creativity and
excellence in a young scientist, is made
annually to those whose research work is
carried out in India evinces these qualities.
Until last year, 737 young scientists have
been awarded by INSA.
SJAM Awards :
Maharashtra's sixth Chess GM Shardul
Gagare, and steeplechase specialist Lalita
Babar, who finished a creditable 10th in the
Rio Olympics, have been chosen for the
Sports Journalists Association of Mumbai's
(SJAM) Golden Jubilee Annual Awards
2016.
Khel Ratna Award :
It was a celebration of woman power in
sports as Olympic stars P.V. Sindhu, Sakshi
Malik and Dipa Karmakar were conferred
India's highest sporting honour the Rajiv
Gandhi Khel Ratna along with shooter Jitu
Rai in a gleaming awards ceremony at the
Rashtrapati Bhawan.
For the first time in the history of National

Sports Awards, four athletes were chosen for
the Khel Ratna honour.
Saraswati Samman :
Jammu-based poet and novelist Padma
Sachdev was awarded the prestigious
Saraswati Samman for the year 2015 for
her autobiography Chitt-Chete in Dogri
language.
Biju Patnaik Sports Award :
Prominent woman athlete Purnima
Hembram was conferred with the
prestigious Biju Patnaik Sports Award
while Odisha Chief Minister Naveen
Patnaik also felicitated six other Odia girls,
who participated in the Rio Olympics, on
the National Sports Day.
Tenzing Norgay Award :
President Pranab Mukherjee awarded the
Tenzing Norgay National Adventure award
to ace mountaineer and senior ITBP officer
Harbhajan Singh.
[17]
Hanif Mohammad :
Eulogies of the Month
The former Pakistan captain Hanif

Mohammad has died at the age of 81.
Gloria De Haven :
Singer-actress Gloria De Haven, the
perky star of MGM musicals in the
1940s and a stalwart of show business
for more than six decades, has died. She
was 91.
Ahmed Zewail :
Egyptian Ahmed Zewail, who won
the 1999 Nobel Prize for his work on
the study of chemical reactions over
immensely short time scales, has died at
the age of 70.
He is also known as Father of Fematochemistry.
Mahim Bora : Eminent Assamese litterateur Mahim
Bora died. He was 92.
A prolific short story writer and a poet,
Bora had received the Sahitya Akademi
award for his most popular work Edhani
Mahir Hanhi in 2001.
Bernard Farrelly :
Australia's first world champion surfer,
Bernard 'Midget' Farrelly, has passed
away at the age of 71.
Kalikho Pul : Congress rebel Kalikho Pul, who briefly
served as Arunachal Pradesh chief
minister, allegedly committed suicide in
Itanagar at the age of 46 years.
Jyothi Lakshmi :
Lakshmi made her debut on the big
screen with the Tamil film Periya Idathu
Penn in 1963. She was 63 years old.
In the Telugu industry, Lakshmi was part
of films like Pilla Piuga, Bangaru Babu,
Gandharva Kanya etc.
Barendra Krushna Dhal :
Veteran journalist and author Barendra
krushna Dhal died at his residence, his
family members said. He was 77.
Dhal started the Bhubaneswar Bookfair
in 1984 and received Sahitya Akademi
award in 1993.
Hanif was born in Junagadh, India, in

1934, then after Partition he moved as a
13-year-old with his family to Karachi.
Sarguna Pandian :
Senior DMK leader and former minister
S P Sarguna Pandian died. She was 75.
Party President M Karunanidhi said
Pandian, who was the Social Welfare
Minister during 1996-2001, had spoken
in DMK stage meetings even as a young
woman and had later grown through the
party ranks.
B P Kesri : Notable educationist Prof B P Kesri has
passed away in Ranchi district. He was
in his 80s.
Gurdial Singh : Eminent Punjabi writer and novelist
Gurdial Singh died in Bathinda after a
brief spell of illness. He was 83.
Mr Singh was a teacher by profession
and retired as a professor of Punjabi
University, Patiala in 1995. He was
awarded Padma Shri in 1998.
Joao Havelange :
Former Fifa president Joao Havelange
has died at the age of 100.
The Brazilian was predecessor to Sepp
Blatter at world football's governing
body, serving from 1974 to 1998.
Subrata Banerjee :
Bengal's leading international cricket
umpire Subrata Banerjee died at the age
of 71.
He had also served the Cricket
Association of Bengal as the chairman
of Umpire's Committee and as member
of the Cricket Committee.
George Curry : A
prominent
African-American
journalist and publisher George Curry
has died. He was 69.
Curry's syndicated column appeared
in more than 200 African-American
[18]
newspapers. He served as editor-inchief of both Emerge magazine and
the National Newspaper Publishers
Association, a news service for black
newspapers.
S R Nathan : Indian-origin
former
Singapore
President S R Nathan died at the age of
92-year .
He was the sixth and longest-serving
President of Singapore and served two
terms from 1999 to 2011.
A R Kidwai : Former state Governor A R Kidwai, 96,
who breathed his last at a private hospital
in New Delhi.
Rudy Van Gelder :

Rudy Van Gelder, who recorded some of
jazz's masterpieces which were prepared
from his parent's living room as artists
died at the age of 91 years.
Juan Gabriel : Mexican superstar Juan Gabriel, the
bigger-than-life performer who at the age
of 66 revamped his career in spectacular
fashion, has died unexpectedly.
Dinanath Pathy :
Eminent painter, writer and art historian
Dinanath Pathy passed away. He was
74.
DOWNLOAD OUR
ANDROID APP
[19]
IMPORTANT DAYS
CBLO - Collateralised Borrowing & Lending

Obligation
August 3 : Independence Day of Niger
CCIL - Clearing Corporation of India Ltd.
August 5 : Independence Day of Upper Volta
CCRAS - Central Council for

Ayurvedic Sciences.
August 6 : Anti Nuclear Day

August 6 : Hiroshima Day
HBNI - Homi Bhabha National Institute
August 9 : Quit India Day

August 9 : Nagasaki Day
of
the
in
MSDE - Ministry of Skill Development &

Entrepreneurship
August 8 : World Senior Citizen's Day
August 9 : International day

Indigenous People
Research
Worlds
August 12 : International Youth Day
COPIC - Commission on Public Information &

Communication.
ASOIF - Association of Summer
International Federations.
Olympic
CSIRO - Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial

Organizations
August 14 : Pakistan's Independence Day

August 15 : Independence Day (India )
SAR - Synthetic Aperture Radar
August 19 : World Humanitarian Day
AERB - Atomic Energy Regulatory Board
August 19 : World Photography Day
IFSC - International Financial Services Centre
August 20 : Sadbhavna Divas

August 23 : International Day for the Remembrance
of the Slave Trade and its Abolition
August 29 : National Sports Day ( Birthday of Dhyan
Chand )
August 30 : Small Industry Day
ABBREVIATIONS
POSCO - Protection of Children from Sexual Offences.
NCML - National
Collateral
Services Ltd.
Management
TCHFL - Tata Capital Housing Finance Ltd.

QUESS - Quantum Experiments at Space Scale
ICA - Indian Council of Arbitration
PCIM & H - Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian
Medicine & Homoeopathy
[21]
SPECIAL FEATURES
China launches world's 1st quantum communications
satellite
entanglement emitter, and entanglement source to

transmit quantum keys to Earth.
Quantum communication encryption is a unique method
of encoding the content of a message as quantum keys
are theoretically impossible to crack with the system
detecting any intrusion attempts. For instance, when two
people share an encrypted quantum message, if a third
person intercepts it, it will change in an unpredictable
way.
China hopes that the experimental quantum encryption
programs will be instrumental in addressing information
security concerns when the government, military and
financial networks are becoming prime targets for
espionage.
The worlds first quantum communications satellite has

been launched into orbit aboard a Long March-2D rocket.
The main task of the Chinese satellite is to potentially
secure communications in an age of cyber attacks and
global electronic surveillance.
The 600+kg Quantum Experiments at Space Scale
(QUESS) satellite took off from the Jiuquan Satellite
Launch Center in Gobi Desert at 1:40am local time on a
two-year mission.
QUESS is one of the National Space Science Center's

'Strategic Priority Programs'. If QUESS is successful,
China hopes to erect an Asian-European quantum key
distribution network by 2020, and a global quantum
communications network in 2030.
Cipla, Godrej Consumer Products in Change the
World list
Nicknamed 'Micius', in honor of the 5th century BC

Chinese philosopher and scientist, QUESS will be
positioned at sun-synchronous orbit, some 600km (373
miles) above the Earth at an angle of 97.79 degrees,
allowing it circle our planet once every 90 minutes.
The newly-launched satellite marks a transition in
Chinas role from a follower in classic information
technology (IT) development to one of the leaders
guiding future IT achievements, said Pan Jianwei, chief
scientist of QUESS project with the Chinese Academy of
Sciences (CAS).
The satellite has been tasked with testing out a potentially
uncrackable communications system. QUESS will
explore quantum teleportation by sending out keys from
space to ground command using the principle of 'quantum
entanglement', an act of fusing two or more particles into
complementary 'quantum states'.
In practice, China hopes to send out photons from the
satellite to two ground stations separated by about
1,200km (746 miles), which together form one entangled
system. Operated by the Chinese Academy of Sciences,
the satellite contains a quantum key communicator,
a processing unit, a laser communicator, quantum
Two Indian companies Cipla and Godrej Consumer

Products have been named in Fortune magazine's list
of top 50 companies that are addressing global social
problems as part of their core business strategy. The
second annual 'Change the World' list is topped by
UK's Glaxo Smithkline, followed by Israel-based IDE
Technologies and American conglomerate General
Electric at the second and third positions, respectively.
Drug major Cipla is ranked 46th while Godrej Consumer
Products is placed at the 48th spot. Other companies in
the list include Gilead Sciences (4th rank), Nestle (5),
Nike (6), MasterCard (7), United Technologies (8),
Novozymes (9) and First Solar (10). Coca-Cola (11),
Walmart (15), LinkedIn (35), PepsiCo (38) and Starbucks
(45). For the list, companies with annual revenues of
USD 1 billion or more were prioritised and then they
were assessed on the basis of various factors including
'measurable social impact' and 'business results'. About
[22]
Cipla, the magazine said that more than two decades ago,
a Mumbai-based 80-year-old pharmaceutical company
developed a revolutionary anti-AIDS cocktail and stunned
the world by offering it for as low as a dollar a day. The
move may have pushed the envelope in patent law, but
it proved to be a turning point in the battle against the
killer disease. Today, one in three people living with HIV
across 115 countries are taking a Cipla drug. Regarding
Godrej Consumer Products, Fortune said a 119-year-old
conglomerate whose businesses span from appliances
to aerospace, Godrej gets nearly a quarter of its revenue
from its "Good and Green" products. Since 2010, the
company has flooded the market with eco-friendly
products, taken giant strides in a carbon neutral, zero
waste, and a renewable energy effort, and imparted skills
training to more than 200,000 youth from marginalised
communities in 142 cities. For Godrej, it's been a growth
story: Revenue from its Good and Green portfolio has
grown 140 percent annually for the past 5 years.
It represents a major vote of confidence in London as the

leading global financial centre and is further proof that
Britain is a great place to do business.
This deal signifies a strengthening of the already close
economic ties between the UK and India and paves the
way for further masala bonds to be listed in the UK. It is
a taste of things to come. Britain is open for business and
one of the most attractive places in the world for foreign
investment.
Masala Bonds are rupee-denominated bonds issued to
overseas buyers.
Cabinet clears amendment to Maternity Benefits,
Factories Act
HDFC issues world's first Masala bond listing in LSE
The Union cabinet approved a proposal that seeks to

grant six months maternity leave to women employees
double the time off they get now after childbirth.
HDFC, India's largest private sector mortgage lender,

raised Rs 30 billion by issuing the world's first ever
"Masala" or rupee-denominated bond outside India
inLondon Stock Exchange, a landmark event that will
boost economic ties between India and the UK post
Brexit.
UK Chancellor Philip Hammond described the
"landmark" listing by the Housing Development Finance
Corporation (HDFC) as a "major vote of confidence" in
London.
HDFC is the first company to issue a bond of this type,
which raised Rupees 30 billion, equivalent to around
USD 450 million. It has a maturity of three years and
an annual yield of 8.33 per cent and was more than four
times oversubscribed.
The cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra

Modi, also approved 12 weeks maternity benefits to
a commissioning mother and adopting mother.
A commissioning mother is one who gets a baby via
surrogate mothers. This is a completely new provision
that forms part of the Maternity Benefit (Amendment)
Bill, 2016, which the labour ministry wants tabled and
passed during the current session of Parliament.
The aim, labour ministry officials said, is two fold to
help women devote time to take care of their babies
and enable an increase in the womens labour force
participation (WLFPR) rate in India. The labour force
participation rate (LFPR) in India is around 40%, but
for females, it is only 22.5%. The gap in male-female
labour force participation is such that the LFPR for rural
women above 15 years is only 35.8%, while forrural
males it is more than double at 81.3%, according to a
2015 research paper by the government policy think
tank NITI Aayog.
[23]
Once approved by the Parliament, the Maternity Benefit
(Amendment) Bill, 2016 will mandate opening crches
in all companies having 50 employees or 30 women
employees whichever is lower. The cabinet said that the
bill also seeks to facilitate work from home.
The cabinet also gave ex-post facto approval for
amendment of the Factories Act, 1948 by introducing
the Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in Parliament. The
amendments relates to increase in overtime hours from
the existing 50 hours per quarter to 100 hours (Section 64)
and existing 75 hours per quarter to 125 hours (Section
65) in some urgent situations.
in Parliament in the winter session to enable a rollout

of GST by April 1, 2017. However, Congress and Left
leaders believe the April 1 deadline to be unrealistic given
that much of GST related infrastructure isnt ready yet.
Premji, Nadar in Forbes list of 100 richest tech tycoons
BJP-ruled Assam becomes first state to ratify GST

Bill
Wipro Chairman Azim Premji and HCL co-founder Shiv

Nadar are the only two billionaires from India in Forbes
list of the worlds 100 richest people in technology,
ranking in the top 20 ahead of Google boss Eric Schmidt
and Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.
Finance Minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma

tweeted that Assam has become the first state to ratify the
Goods and Services Tax (GST) constitution amendment
Bill. It was the last day of Assams ongoing legislative
assembly session, its first full session after the new
Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government was
sworn in after the assembly polls in May.
Proud that Assam is the First state to ratify historic GST
Bill, which promises to transform India. In another tweet,
Sarma said that Happy to share that Assam assembly has
unanimously ratified the GST Bill.
The GST constitution amendment Bill needs to be ratified
by at least 16 of the 31 state assemblies, including the
assemblies of Union Territories Delhi and Puducherry. It
would receive a presidential assent when that is done and
the empowered committee of finance ministers would
turn into the GST Council to draft the subsequent Central
GST, Integrated GST and State GST Bills.
Apart from the above three states, Bihar has promised a
special session while West Bengal and Delhi could ratify
the Bill at their respective assembly sessions at the end
of the month.
The Union Government is keen that the requisite 16
states ratify the Bill for the subsequent Bills to be tabled
The 100 Richest Tech Billionaires In The World 2016

list has been topped by Microsoft founder Bill Gates with
an estimated fortune of $78 billion.
Mr. Premji ranks 13th on the list with a networth of
$16 billion and Mr. Nadar comes in on the 17th spot
with $11.6 billion of net worth. Two Indian-American
technology czars Symphony Technology Group CEO
Romesh Wadhwani and founders of IT consulting and
outsourcing company Syntel Bharat Desai and his wife
Neerja Sethi are also on the list.
Forbes said Mr. Premji, who heads Indias third-largest
outsourcer, Wipro has been on a buying spree in the past
year to boost growth. Premjis son Rishad, who heads
strategy and sits on the board, also oversees Wipros
$100-million venture capital fund.
Mr. Nadar co-founded HCL, which is reportedly mulling
a U.S. listing, Forbes said adding that Mr. Nadar also
owns HCL TalentCare, a skills-development firm that
provides training to new graduates. His latest venture
is a $500 million fund to invest in start-ups and U.S.
healthcare tech firms.
Mr. Wadhwani comes in on the 67th position with a
$3-billion net worth. A recipient of the 2013 Forbes
India Non-Resident Philanthropist Award, Mr.
Wadhwani announced in 2015 that he plans to commit
up to $1 billion to fund entrepreneurship initiatives in
India.
[24]
Actor Kamal Haasan chosen for Frances Chevalier
Award
The award will be conferred on the 61-year-old veteran

star at a special ceremony.
Haasan is the second Tamil star after the spian Sivaji
Ganesan to be honoured with the French award, with the
latter being chosen for it in 1995.
The Tamil Cinema industry was all praise for the
"Vishwaroopam" star. Actors Nasser, Karthi and
Prasanna, directors KS Ravikumar, Lingusamy and
Venkat Prabu among others congratulated him.
Having made his debut as a child actor in 1959 in the
Gemini Ganesan-starrer "Kalathur Kannamma," Haasan
rose to become one of the icons of Indian cinema.
Actor Kamal Haasan has been chosen for the coveted

French honour of Chevalier Award.
Hailed as a multi-faceted professional, the actorfilmmaker is known for his penchant for experimenting
with different scripts and characters.
Kamal Haasan has been appointed Chevalier de

l'Ordre des Arts Arts et Lettres (Knight in the National
Order Arts and Letters) by the Minister of Culture and
Communication, France.
His roles as an ageing freedom fighter in the movie

"Indian" and a woman in "Avvai Shanmugi," besides
donning ten diverse roles in the 2008-hit "Dasavatharam,"
have been well received by the movie-goers.
[25]
[26]
National Sports AwardsI
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ranta 2016

Sr. No.
Person Name
Category
1.
P.V. Sindhu
Badminton
2.
Dipa Karmakar
Gymnastics
3.
Jitu Rai
Shooting
4.
Sakshi Malik
Wrestling
Dronacharya Awards 2016

Sr. No.
Person Name
Category
1.
Nagapuri Ramesh
Athletics
2.
Sagar Mal Dhayal
Boxing
3.
Raj Kumar Sharma
Cricket
4.
Bishweshwar Nandi
Gymnastics
5.
S. Pradeep Kumar
Swimming (Lifetime)
6.
Mahabir Singh
Wrestling (Lifetime)
Dhyan Chand Award 2015

Sr. No.
Person Name
Category
1.
Satti Geetha
Athletics
2.
Sylvanus Dung Dung
Hockey
3.
Rajendra Pralhad Shelke
Rowing
[27]
National Sports Awards-II
Arjuna Awards 2016

Sr. No.
Person Name
Category
1.
Rajat Chauhan
Archery
2.
Lalita Babar
Athletics
3.
Sourav Kothari
Billiards & Snooker
4.
Shiva Thapa
Boxing
5.
Ajinkya Rahane
Cricket
6.
Subrata Paul
Football
7.
Rani
Hockey
8.
Raghunath V.R.
Hockey
9.
Gurpreet Singh
Shooting
10.
Apurvi Chandela
Shooting
11.
Soumyajit Ghosh
Table Tennis
12.
Vinesh
Wrestling
13.
Amit Kumar
Wrestling
14.
Sandeep Singh Mann
Para-Athletics
15.
Virender Singh
Wrestling (Deaf)
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy 2015-16

Punjabi University, Patiala
Award by:
Pranab Mukherji (President of India)
Venue:
Rashtrpati Bhavan
Date:
29 Aug 2016
Cash prize:
7.5 Lakhs (Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna)
5 Lakhs (Arjuna, Dronacharya and Dhyan Chand)
10 Lakhs (Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar)
[28]
SWIFT
A Transformative Approach towards Ease of Doing Business
## As part of the Government's initiatives for improving the Ease of Doing Business, several facilitation measures
are being taken by the Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC) in last two years.
## SWIFT will help India to improve its ranking in World Banks Doing Business Report 2016.
## India now ranks 130 out of 189 countries in the Ease of Doing Business, moving-up four places from last years
(2015) adjusted ranking of 134.
## The Customs SWIFT enables importers/exporters to file a common electronic Integrated Declaration on the
Indian Customs Electronic Commerce/Electronic Data Interchange (EC/EDI) Gateway i.e. ICEGATE portal.
## It replaces nine separate forms required by these 6 different agencies and Customs.
## Need:
## In order to reduce the transaction costs and decrease cargo release time, a number of steps have been initiated by
the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) in last two years.
## A significant leap in this direction is the launch of the Customs Single Window clearances.
## How will SWIFT help:
## It will provide a single point interface for clearance of import goods.
## Replaces 9 separate documents with one Integrated Customs Electronic Declaration
## Facilitates trade by reducing Dwell Time & improving Ease of Doing Business
## Reduces Documentation & Cost of Clearance
## Brings 6 participating Government agencies on a single platform
## Eliminates need for tax-payers to interact separately with these agencies.
## SWIFT will indeed go a long way in order to take the new trade facilitation initiatives of the present Government
to new heights in times to come.
[29]
NATIONAL INCOME
## The money value of all goods and services produced in a country during a financial year is constituted as National
Income.
## National Income is denoted by NI or NNP (FC)
## GDP: The value of all final goods and services produced within a geographical area during a financial year.
## GNP= GDP+(NFIA)
## NFIA= NET FACTOR INCOME FROM ABROAD.
## NNP (MP) = GNPDepreciation
## Depreciation means decrease in the value of an asset due to wear and tear.
## NNP (MP)net indirect taxes = NNP(FC)
## Indirect taxes +subsidies= Net Indirect Taxes
## The formula of calculating PCI (Per Capita Income):
## NATIONAL INCOME / TOTAL POPULATION
## METHODS TO CALCULATE NATIONAL INCOME

1. PRODUCTION METHOD
GDP = money value of total goods and services + income from abroad
2. INCOME METHOD
GDP = rent + wage + interest + profit + income from abroad
3. EXPENDITURE METHOD
GDP = Individual Expenditure + Government Expenditure
## THE NEW CONCEPT ADDED HERE IS OF GVA ( GROSS VALUE ADDITION)

## NOW, keeping in line with the international practices tabulation will be done on the basis of MARKET PRICE or
the price which consumer pays is known as GVA.
[30]

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www.mahendraguru.

AUG 9 : NTPC Limited and Commonwealth

and launched the 'D-Change' programme

AUG 25 : According to Goldman Sachs, Indian

AUG 11 : Agri-logistics company National Collateral

AUG 26 : In a push to a cash-less economy, National

AUG 11 : In the first IPO by a private sector lender in a

AUG 27 : With an aim to discourage cash transactions,

The plan includes raising up to Rs.832.50

The 11-member committee, headed by

AUG 30 : Public sector Canara Bank has launched an

AUG 30 : Mobile payments company MobiKwik

AUG 31 : Max Life Insurance has launched 'Max Life

A week before the announcement of monetary

AUG 31 : National Payments Corporation of India

AUG 26 : RBI retained 'too big to fail' tag for the

National & State News of

AUG 6 : Minister of Communications Manoj Sinha

aimed at providing critical food processing

AUG 20 : The Central Council for Research in

AUG 30 : India and Myanmar have joined hands

Sports News of the

AUG 8 : Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar scripted

Vizag has been hosting various sporting

Mahendra Publication Pvt. Ltd.

Science & Miscellaneous

Zou Junfeng, a senior engineer at the

Ramananda Chatterjee's The Modern

: Air Marshal N J S Dhillon took

He took over from Air Marshal B

: Senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS)

Yuriko Koike : Former Defence Minister Yuriko

Purwar is currently working as

: Nita Ambani was formally elected

: After high drama at a meeting of

: IDFC Bank, the newest lender in

Kedar Upadhye : Pharma major Cipla has appointed

: Microsoft Inc. named Honeywell

: P K Purwar has been given additional

His appointment comes into effect

: The International Olympic Committee

He has been appointed to the post for

: The Central Silk Board stated that K

Pawan Munjal : Two-wheeler market leader Hero

: Dinesh Kumar Khara was appointed

: Pawan Kumar Bajaj and Ravindra

Sriram Rajamani : Microsoft

Former Union Minister for Minority

BJP leader and former Nagaur

: Eminent scientist P D Gupta was

He has been appointed to the post for

: Astrophysicist Anjali Tripathi from

Rajesh Mokashi : CARE Ratings said Rajesh Mokashi

: YES BANK, Indias new age

: The Football Association has

Sharmila Tagore : Film actress Sharmila Tagore,

Bala Girisaballa : Microsoft said Bala Girisaballa will

Awards of the Month

According to Sursagar Society of Dilli

For the first time in the history of National

Eulogies of the Month

The former Pakistan captain Hanif

Hanif was born in Junagadh, India, in

Rudy Van Gelder :