July 2013 Sports | Current Affairs July 2013

*Devendra Jhajharia created history by becoming the first differently-abled Indian to win a gold at the IPC Athletics World Championships as he bagged the yellow metal in javelin throw in the sixth edition of the event in Lyon, France on 22nd July 2013. Jhajharia, also a world record holder in the event which he created while winning gold in the 2004 Athens Olympics, hurled the javelin to 57.04m in F-46 category, meant for one-armed athletes, at the Rhone Stadium. The 32-year-old Rajasthan athlete, whose world record stands at 62.15m, led the 11-athlete field from the very beginning as he opened with a throw of 54.71m. He came up with his best of 57.04m in his sixth and last throw.

*Ace Iranian thrower Mirshekari Abdolrasoul won the silver with a throw of 52.62m while Ismail Mahmoud of Egypt was third in 50.22m. With Jhajharia’s effort, India opened their medal account in the Championships organized by International Paralympics Committee and now stands at 19th in the medal tally.

*India is represented by a 10-member contingent in the July 19-28 Championships. All 10 athletes have qualified with ‘A’ standard. IPC President Sir Phil Cravon and CEO Xavier Gonzalez congratulated Jhajharia on his achievement. Paralympics Committee of India President Sultan Ahmed said Jhajharia will be felicitated when he returns home. The PCI also announced a cash award of Rs 5 lakh for Jhajaria.

*The 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships, featuring over 1,000 athletes from nearly 100 countries, is the biggest gathering of international differently-abled athletes since the 2012 London Olympics. Meanwhile, The Paralympic Committee of India announced a cash prize of Rs five lakh for Javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia on 22nd July.

*India’s K. Jennitha Anto on 24 July 2013, became the World chess champion for the disabled after winning the 13th IPCA World women’s individual championship in Velke Losiny, Czech Republic. Hailing from Tamil Nadu, Jennitha scored 4.5 points from nine rounds after winning three, drawing three, and losing three games. She competed in a combined group with men and became the highest scorer among the woman players and was awarded the IPCA women’s title. Two Russian women finished tied with Jennitha on points but a higher buchcholz score helped her win the title. The triumph was more special for Jennitha as she also became a Woman International Master (WIM). The new WIM title would allow her direct entry into many National events for women, except the premier tournament. The event attracted 49 physically challenged players from 15 countries.

*Chris Froome from Britain on 21 July 2013 has won the 100th edition of the Tour de France. It was Britain's second successive victory in the race. Earlier in year 2012 Sir Bradley Wiggin became the first Briton to win Tour de France. The Tour de France is an annual multiple stage bicycle race primarily held in France while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. The race was first organized in 1903 to increase paper sales for the magazine L'Auto.

*India continues to reign at the top of the table in International Cricket Council’s latest ODI ranking released on 25 July 2013. With 122 rating points, India is the number one team followed by Australia with 114 and England with 112 points. The latest ODI rankings were released by the ICC in Dubai. Among the batsmen, South Africa’s Hashim Amla replaces countryman AB Devilliers at the top. India’s Virat Kohli has maintained his position at number three while skipper Dhoni is at number six.

*32 Year old Swiss tennis legend Martina Hingis was inducted in Tennis Hall of Fame on 13 July 2013. With the induction she became the fourth youngest members to be included in the tennis hall of fame., followed by Tracy Austin (30), Bjorn Borg (31) and Hana Mandlikova (32).She had won three Australian Open titles (1997, 1998, 1999), one Wimbledon (1997) and a US Open title (1997). She held the number one ranking for 209 weeks. She also won nine grand slam doubles titles and a mixed doubles title.

*The clamour may have been for Sachin Tendulkar, but the Sports Ministry has recommended hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand for the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civillian honour. "The letter recommending Bharat Ratna for Dhyan Chand has already been sent to the Prime Minister," Sports secretary P. K. Deb said."The Ministry has only recommended Dhyan Chand's name for the highest honour," he added. Before for the hockey wizard can be conferred the award posthumously, the recommendation, sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will be studied before it goes for approval to President Pranab Mukherjee. Dhyan Chand won three gold medals at the Olympics – 1928 in Amsterdam, 1932 in Los Angeles and 1936 in Berlin. He passed away in 1979. The government, in 2011, ignored a plea of 82 Members of Parliament, who recommended Dhyan Chand's name for the Bharat Ratna, but in January 2012, the Ministry itself forwarded his name along with that of Olympic gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra and mountaineer Tenzing Norgay for the award. And, Tendulkar was not considered as the Board of Control for Cricket in India had not recommended him.

*Former world junior champion Abhijeet Gupta has won the 19th edition of Commonwealth Chess Championship title, Which held at Boardwalk in Port Elizabeth in Republic of South Africa. The South African President Jacob Zuma handed the Gold medal to 23 year old Abhijeet Gupta. So far, Abhijeet has won 20 medals representing India at World, Asian and Commonwealth Chess Championships in sub-junior, junior and senior categories. Nearly 900 participants from 29 countries participated in the event. Amongst the women in the open section, WGM Soumya Swaminathan won the Silver, while national women’s champion Mary Ann Gomes won the bronze. The Indians also clean swept the junior section with G. Akash winning the gold, Sahaj Grover getting the silver and Rakesh Kulkarni ending with the bronze medal.

*Two of the sport’s biggest names Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell had failed drugs tests and tested positive for an Unidentified Substance at an out-of-competition test on 16 May 2013. 30 years old Gay is the second fastest man of all time and has run the three quickest 100m times of 2013, but tested positive for an unnamed substance. Asafa Powell on the other hand has clocked 9.88s but was not selected in Jamaica World Championships team to travel to Moscow in August 2013.The banned drug is named oxilofrine and is a stimulant used to boost the body's ability to burn fat. It helps athletes to boost their power-to-weight ratio with more lean muscle and less fat, and so increase their speed.

*India on 11 July 2013 won the West Indies Tri-Nation Series 2013 – Final after defeating SriLanka with 1 wicket at Port of Spain in Trinidad. Mahendra Singh Dhoni captained the Indian Side in the tri-nation series, whereas, AD Mathews was the captain of the Sri Lanka. Player of the match won by MS Dhoni (India),whereas,Player of the series won by B Kumar (India)

*Former Australia spinner Shane Warne will be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame on July 19 during the tea interval of the second Ashes Test between England and Australia at Lord's. Warne becomes the 69th male member of the Hall of Fame, and joins fellow 2012-13 inductees Brian Lara of the West Indies, England's Enid Bakewell and former Australia team-mate Glenn McGrath in being recognised by the ICC and the living members of the Hall of Fame.Lara and Bakewell were inducted last year at the ICC Awards in Colombo in September, and McGrath during the Sydney Test between Australia and Sri Lanka in January this year. Warne represented Australia in 145 Tests between 1992 and 2007, claiming 708 Test wickets at an average of 25.41. He was the first cricketer to reach 700 Test scalps.He also played in 194 ODIs, claiming 293 wickets at an average of 25.73 and was part of the Australia side that won the World Cup in 1999 at Lord's against Pakistan alongside fellow Hall of Famers Glenn McGrath and Steve Waugh.

*Lajja Goswami on 9 July 2013 won silver medal in women's 50-metre Rifle 3 Position event at the ISSF World Cup in Granada, Spain. Petra Zublasing of Italy won the gold after scoring 459.1 in the medal round. 24-year-old Lajja Goswami, hails from Gujarat and is a silver medalist at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Lajja Goswami had teamed up with Tejaswani Sawant to win silver in pairs 50-m rifle 3 position at the Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010.

*In the Women's Singles category of Wimbledon, Marion Bartoli of France on 6 July 2013 won her maiden Grand Slam title. 23rd seed Sabine Lisicki of Germany lost to Bartoli andin the finals, 1-6, 4-6. Marion Bartoli is 28 years old. She is the fifth oldest woman to become a first time major winner in the Open Era. While, Andy Murray on 7 July 2013 defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 at Center Court of London to become the first Briton in 77 years to win the Men’s Singles Title at Wimbledon 2013. Wimbledon was held from 24 June to 7 July 2013 in London. The 26-year-old became the Britain’s first male winner after almost eight decades, to win the championship. Earlier it was Fred Perry, who won the Championship in 1936. Daniel Nestor of Canada and Kristina Mladenovic of France defeated Bruno Soares of Brazil and Lisa Raymond of USA to win Mixed Doubles – Final at Centre Court.

*Andy Murray ended Britain's agonizing 77-year wait for a Wimbledon men's singles champion on 7 July, when he destroyed world number one Novak Djokovic, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 in the blistering heat of the All England Club. The 26-year-old became the country's first male winner since Fred Perry in 1936. It was Murray's second Grand Slam title to follow his breakthrough triumph at the US Open in 2012 which followed his Olympic gold medal as well as a heartbreaking, tearful loss to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final.

*In the Women's Singles category of Wimbledon, Marion Bartoli of France on 6 July 2013 won her maiden Grand Slam title. 23rd seed Sabine Lisicki of Germany failed to match Bartoli and lost in title clash in straight sets, 1-6, 4-6. Marion Bartoli is presently French no. 1. She has won one singles major, seven other Women's Tennis Association singles titles and three doubles titles.

*Brazil won the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013 on 30 June 2013 against Spain in the final match. Brazil won 3-0 against FIFA World Cup holders Spain. On the Brazilian side, two goals were scored by Fred and one was scored by Neymar. Brazil won the FIFA Confederations Cup for the third time. Earlier, it had won the Cup in the year 2005 in South Africa, 2009 in Germany and 1997 in Saudi Arabia. Fernando José Torres of Spain was awarded with the Golden Boot Award, while Fred of Brazil won the Silver Boot Award. The Bronze Boot Award was given away to Neymar. Italy defeated Uruguay on penalties and secured the third place. The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup was the ninth cup, held at Brazil from 15 June to 30 June 2013.

July 2013 Bilateral Affairs | Current Affairs July 2013

*India plans to launch a business network to promote trade and commerce, investment, business-to-business interactions and exchanges with Saudi Arabia. The proposed Saudi-India Business Network (SIBN), which will function in Riyadh and Dammam, would comprise both Indian and Saudi businessmen, entrepreneurs, industrialists and members of business chambers. The first meeting of the SIBN (Riyadh) is scheduled to take place on September 2, a statement released by the Indian Embassy in Riyadh said on 27 July. India-Saudi Arabia trade relations have witnessed a steady and remarkable growth in the last few years. Saudi Arabia is India’s fourth largest trade partner and the bilateral trade stood at $43.19 billion in 2012-13.Saudi Arabia is also India’s largest supplier of crude oil, accounting for 17 per cent of the country’s requirements, and is one of the major markets in the world for Indian exports. Saudi Arabia is destination to more than 1.86 per cent of India’s global exports and is also the source of 6.35 per cent of India’s global imports. For Saudi Arabia, India is the fifth largest market for its exports.

*The 6th Session of the India-Belarus Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation was held on 24 July 2013 in New Delhi. The session was co-chaired from the Indian side by Dr. E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry and Mr. Dmitry S. Katerinich, Minister of Industry of the Republic of Belarus.

*Highlighting that the meeting is yet another step in the direction of strengthening trade and economic relations between the two countries, Dr. Natchiappan said that “sectors like pharmaceutical, fertilizers, information technology and research & development offer tremendous potential for cooperation between India and Belarus.” Elaborating on the fertilizer sector, the Indian Minister conveyed that “India is looking for long-term contracts for supply of potash to meet its growing requirements.”

*He also added that Indian companies can also look for “opportunities for setting up joint ventures in Belarus for production of potash-based fertilizers.” The Belarusian side recommended India to determine an Indian counterpart deputed to negotiate on the long-term cooperation agreement, take decisions and signing of the agreement for the full volume of the deliveries. The JSC,a Belaruain Potash Company, and an Indian counterpart to be nominated by the Government of India should finalize the volumes, terms and conditions of the long-term cooperation agreement for MOP deliveries to India within specified time period.

*The two Ministers also signed a Protocol after the Meeting. It was decided by both the sides that necessary steps will be taken to sign an MoU between the Ministry of Textiles, India and the Belarusian State Concern for Manufacturing and Marketing of Light Industry Goods i.e. Bellegprom on Cooperation in the Field of Textiles, Clothing and Fashion Industries. Both the sides also agreed to create a Certification Centre of Belarusian companies and professionals in the field of software at the earliest possible time. The Belarusian side will provide a draft concept for the same to initiate negotiations with the Indian side. The Belarusian delegation proposed to hold the 9th meeting of the Business Council “India-Belarus” in 2013 to promote the collaboration of business representatives, as well as agreed to define the dates of the National Exhibition of the Republic of India during 2013-2014 in Minsk.

*At the invitation of the Minister of Defence A.K. Antony, the French Minister of Defence Mr Yves Le Drianis on an official visit to India on 25-27 July, 2013. Both the ministers held detailed and useful talks on regional and international security challenges of mutual interest. They also reviewed the status of various measures for bilateral defence cooperation and the progress in various areas pursuant to their discussions in February, 2013, during the State visit of the French President to India.

*The Ministers noted that defence cooperation is an important pillar of the strategic partnership between both countries and that the ongoing dialogue and cooperation is mutually beneficial to both nations. The Ministers also noted that the range and depth of defence exchanges and interactions between the Ministries of Defence and the Armed Forces of both sides is being steadily enhanced in areas of mutual interest and in a spirit of mutual understanding, respect, trust and support, taking account of respective security interests.

*The Ministers agreed that exchanges between respective defence institutions and armed forces should continue to be progressed, including in the areas of military education and training and through the conduct of military exercises. In this respect, the Ministers welcomed the upcoming bilateral exercise ‘Shakti’ in September 2013 in France between both Armies. The Ministers noted with satisfaction that the Navies of both countries are working towards finalizing the schedule for the conduct of Exercise ‘Varuna’ off the coast of India and also that the next Air Force exercise ‘Garuda’ would be held during the first half of 2014. The Ministers had detailed discussions regarding current and future co-operation in the areas of defence equipment and technology collaboration. They agreed that such cooperation should continue to be progressed to the mutual benefit of both countries, including in high technology areas involving joint research and development and transfer of technology. The Ministers tasked the High Committee on Defence Cooperation (HCDC), which is scheduled to meet in France in October 2013, to follow up the above points and to finalize practical measures to expand and deepen the bilateral partnership in defence.

*India and Nigeria on 22 July 2013 signed an agreement in Abuja to locate sites for solar power plants in Niger state. The agreement will provide additional energy for Nigeria's national grid. It would be the first of a series of power plant deals. The agreement was signed between the secretary to the Government of India, Sutanu Behuria and Nigeria's permanent secretary in the Ministry of Power Godknows Igali. With this agreement in place, Bharat Heavy Electricals (BSE) will begin preliminary studies for setting up independent solar-powered plants in selected locations in Niger. India expressed interest in the provision of funds in various forms for the development of Nigeria's power sector.

*India on 9 July 2013 agreed to co-operate with Mongolia in developing its renewable Energy Sector and Human Resource Development. The agreement between the two nations was reached during a meet between the Farooq Abdullah Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy and Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj at Ulaanbaatar during his visit to Mongolia. Farooq Abdullah was on a visit to Mongolia to represent India at the oath taking ceremony of Elbegdorj, who has been re-elected as the President for his second four-year term.

*During his visit to Mongolia, Abdullah also met Foreign Minister of Mongolia Lu Bold and Minister of Environment and Green Development, Sanjaasuren Oyun. The bilateral relations between India and Mongolia has expanded in recent past and at present it covers cooperation in defense and strategic issues along with educational and cultural exchanges. To give a new boost to the bilateral relations, the President of Mongolia Elbegdorj selected India as the first destination for foreign visit after taking over as President of Mongolia for his first term, in 2009. The Union Government’s decision to depute a senior Cabinet Minister to the President’s inauguration is a signal of importance that India places Mongolia and towards further strengthening of bilateral relations with Mongolia.

*The Union Government of India and Government of Albania on 8 July 2013 signed an Agreement for Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to the Taxes on Income and on Capital (DTAA). The agreement was signed to provide tax stability for the residents of both the nations. It would also facilitate mutual economic cooperation between the two countries. The signed agreement would also stimulate the flow of investment, technology and services between India and Albania. The agreement incorporates provisions for effective exchange of information between tax authorities of the two countries, which also includes exchange of banking information and supply of information without recourse to domestic interest. The agreement was signed by the Chairperson of Central Board of Direct Taxes, Dr. Sudha Sharma and the Ambassador of Republic of Albania, Fatos Kercikuon at New Delhi.

*Indian Defense Minister, A.K. Antony paid an official visit to China from 4-7 July 2013. He held talks with his counterpart Gen. Chang Wanquan. The two Defense Ministers had an extensive exchange of views on a wide range of defence and security issues. A. K. Antony meeting the Chinese State Councillor, Yang Jiechi in Beijing. They reaffirmed that defense exchanges were an important facet of the India-China strategic and cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity.

*They reviewed the working of agreements and protocols dealing with the maintenance of peace and tranquility and directed that it be further strengthened. Appreciating that border defense cooperation would make a significant contribution in this regard, they agreed on an early conclusion of negotiations for the Border Defense Cooperation agreement between the two Governments. The Ministers discussed ongoing and proposed bilateral exchanges and welcomed the holding of the counter-terrorism bilateral joint exercise between their armies in China in 2013.They also agreed on the following additional exchanges and visits between India and China:
Senior military commanders from service headquarters, command/military region and field formations will exchange visits regularly on a mutually agreed annual schedule.
Visits of border troop delegations would be enhanced to promote dialogue and strengthen trust and cooperation.
Border Personnel Meetings (BPM) will take place with greater frequency and additional locations will be finalized after discussions.
The Navies will increase ship visits, consider conducting joint maritime search and rescue exercises and cooperate in counter-piracy operations. The call by PLA Navy Hospital ship ‘Peace Ark’ to Mumbai in August 2013 was welcomed.
The Air Forces will carry out high level visits and expand their functional exchanges. They would focus on topics of mutual interest including flight safety, aviation medicine and training.
Military training institutions will also strengthen their exchanges at the faculty and student levels.
To promote greater awareness and understanding among young officers of the armed forces, visits and exchanges will be carried out annually.

*The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma met Sayyad Abd-Al-Cader Sayed Hossen, Minister of Industry, Mauritius, in Port Louis on 4 July. During the meeting, the Mauritian minister conveyed that most of the issues regarding renewal of contract with Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) have been sorted out. Sharma reiterated India`s commitment to ensure uninterrupted supply to Mauritius. India’s exports to Mauritius comprises largely of petroleum products as a result of the three year Agreement signed between MRPL and the State Trading Corporation of Mauritius in July 2007 for the supply of all petroleum requirement of Mauritius. The Agreement is expected to be renewed later this month. Five institutional level MoUs were signed to take the partnership forward. These are:

1. MoU between Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) and Enterprise Mauritius (EM)
2. MoU between Northern India Textile Research Association (NITRA) and Mauritius Standards Bureau
3. MoU between NITRA and National Productivity and Competitive Council (NPCC) of Mauritius
4. MoU between Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) and Mauritius Export Association (MEXA); and
5. MoU between Institute of Apparel Management (IAM) and Fashion and Design Institute of Mauritius (FDI)

*Ministry of Tourism of India on 2 July 2013 agreed to a proposal from the visiting Tourism and Travel delegation from Nepal for joint publicity of India and Nepal as Tourist destinations in other countries. The Ministry also agreed to a suggestion for joint offering of Tour packages in third countries by tour operators of India and Nepal. The Nepalese delegation sought India’s cooperation in the development of Hotel Infrastructure in Nepal. They also suggested joint promotion and development of Buddhist Tourism sites in both the countries. The Indian side suggested joint venture with Nepal in Himalayan and Adventure Tourism. The above agreement will help in improving the tourism infrastructure both in India and Nepal.

July 2013 International Affairs | Current Affairs July 2013

*Kate, Prince William’s wife, has given birth to a boy, a child now third in line to the British throne. The child was born on 22nd July 2013, after many Britons woke up to the news that Kate had gone into labor with the couple’s first child. The birth announcement, via a press release from Kensington Palace, said the boy was born at 4:24 p.m. weighing 8 pounds 6 ounces.

*The royal birth recalled that of the baby’s father, William, in 1982, at the same Central London hospital. Many remember the moment when he was carried out in his mother Princess Diana’s arms with proud father Prince Charles at their side.

*William and Kate’s son is expected to follow Charles and William to the throne. No one can tell what political and personal changes the intervening years will bring, but the baby can be expected to become the head of state of 16 countries, including Britain, Australia and Canada, and possibly the head of the Commonwealth, which covers 54 nations. The child will also eventually become Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

*A team of Israeli archaeologists believes it has discovered the ruins of a palace belonging to the biblical King David, but other Israeli experts dispute the claim. Archaeologists from Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Israel's Antiquities Authority say on 18 July, the large fortified complex west of Jerusalem is the first palace of the biblical king ever to be discovered. One of the archeologists who led the dig says the site revealed the best example exposed to date of a fortified city from the time of King David, suggesting that David himself would have used the site. He says his team found "unequivocal evidence" that David and his descendants had ruled at the site, such as cultic objects typically used by Judeans, the subjects of King David. Critics say the site could have belonged to other kingdoms of the area. The consensus among most scholars is that no definitive physical proof of the existence of King David has been found.

*In a bid to make sanitation for all a global development priority, the United Nations General Assembly on 24 July 2013, designated 19 November as World Toilet Day, urging changes in both behavior and policy on issues ranging from enhancing water management to ending open-air defecation.

*Adopting a new resolution, the Assembly urged UN Member States and relevant stakeholders to encourage behavioral change and the implementation of policies to increase access to sanitation among the poor, along with a call to end the practice of open-air defecation, which it deemed “extremely harmful” to public health. The resolution also recognizes the role that civil society and non-governmental organizations play in raising awareness of this issue. It also calls on countries to approach sanitation in a much broader context that includes hygiene promotion, the provision of basic sanitation services, and sewerage and wastewater treatment and reuse in the context of integrated water management.

*Of the world’s seven billion people, six billion have mobile phones. However, only 4.5 billion have access to toilets or latrines – meaning that 2.5 billion people, mostly in rural areas, do not have proper sanitation. About 1.1 billion people still defecate in the open. The countries where open defecation is most widely practiced are the same countries with the highest numbers of under-five child deaths, high levels of under-nutrition and poverty, and large wealth disparities. World Toilet Day has previously been marked by international and civil society organizations all over the world. However, it was not formally recognized as an official UN day until today.

*Wikileaks founder Julian Assange on 25 July 2013 officially launched his political party to contest Australian elections this year. According to him, the new party i.e. Wikileaks Party would be fielding seven candidates including Assange for upper house Senate seats in the states of New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia. It is important here to note that the two Indian-origin persons are among the seven candidates who will contest elections on Wikileaks Party ticket in Senate polls in Australia. Indian-origin academician Binoy Kampmark, who was born in Malaysia and has Bengali heritage, will stand for the Upper House election from Victoria whereas Suresh Rajan, who is based out of Kerala, will stand for the party in Western Australia. The core value of Wikileaks Party's is transparency, accountability and justice are the template against which we will examine any important issues for Australians: tax reform, asylum-seekers, climate change policy and more. Australia will be going into polls in November 2013 where the ruling Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's Labour party is up against Tony Abbott-led conservatives. Julian Assange is held up at Ecuador's embassy in London since June 2012 where he demanded refuge during his legal battle for exile from Britain to Sweden.

*A senior United Nations team tasked with investigating the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria's civil war began a mission to Damascus on 24 July, trying to hammer out with Syrian officials the terms for its investigation. It is the first such trip by international experts, and the talks were expected to be thorny - focusing on about a dozen incidents in which chemical arms were allegedly used.

*The rebels, the United States and others have accused the government of using the weapons of mass destruction, while Damascus and its ally Russia have blamed the rebels. The team was invited by the Syrian government to discuss the terms of a possible inquiry. Damascus agreed that the UN investigate only one of the reported attacks - a March 19 incident in the northern village of Khan al-Assal in which rebels and the government accuse each other of using chemicals weapons - but rejected inquiries into other alleged attack sites in the central city of Homs, Damascus and elsewhere.

*The U.S. and UN have called on Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime to grant the United Nations team unfettered access to investigate all allegations of chemical weapon use. Swedish chemical weapons expert Ake Sellstrom and UN disarmament chief Angela Kane arrived from neighbouring Lebanon for a two day visit, during which they are set to meet with senior Syrian officials, the UN said in a brief statement issued in the Syrian capital.

*The US, UK and other western countries and a section in the UN leaving no stone unturned to prove the existence of chemical weapons in Syria, but only want to establish such proof against the government. They have conveniently forgot the evidence submitted by Russia on alleged use of chemicals by the terrorist forces that are ransacking the country with support of Saudi, Qatar and the West. On 23 July, UN Mideast envoy Robert Serry said in the Security Council that the UN has received 13 reports of alleged chemical weapons use in Syria. He said Sellstrom's team is studying this and other material. Russia, Syria's close ally, has called the chemical weapons allegations against Assad's regime groundless, claiming Russian experts determined that Syrian rebels made sarin nerve gas and used it in the Khan al-Assal attack, in which 31 people died.
Gay marriage to become legal in England and Wales soon, as the lower house of the British parliament approved the final changes here on 16th July. The law has Prime Minister David Cameron's backing, but split his ruling Conservative party.The law also had the support of Labour and the Liberal Democrats, Britain's two other main political parties, but damaged Cameron's standing within his own party with many of his own lawmakers criticising him for being too liberal. His own MPs had previously twice voted against it. Gay marriage will be declared legal as soon as the final assent given by Queen Elizabeth, which is a mere formality.

*The writings of Cuban Revolution leader Ernesto "Che" Guevara are to be included in the Uited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) Memory of the World Register on 19 July. The documents include original manuscripts from his youthful Motorcycle Diaries days and his diary from the mountains of Bolivia where he was executed by that nation's military in 1967.They will now be protected and cared for with the help of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The Memory of the World Register comprises nearly 300 documents and collections from five continents. Guevara's works are among 54 new additions this year.

*European Union (EU) has issued a directive that will bar all 28 member states from funding projects connected to Jewish settlements in the occupied territories, including annexed east Jerusalem. The guidelines, adopted by the European Commision (EC) on June 28 and are due to be published on 12 July, will affect all EU grants, prizes and funding from 2014 onwards, with no further funding available to Israeli entities beyond the 1967 Green Line, a spokesman said. The new rules require that a clear distinction be made in all signed agreements between Israel and the territories it occupied in the 1967 Middle East war — including the Golan Heights as well as the Gaza Strip and the West Bank including east Jerusalem.

*Israeli officials slammed the directive. A high-ranking official described it as a disproportionate “attack” on Israel. Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin told army radio the Europeans had made a “mistake” and that the directive would undermine any return to peace talks with the Palestinians. Direct peace talks have been on hold for nearly three years, with the Palestinians refusing to return to the table without a freeze on settlement activity and Israel’s acceptance of the 1967 lines as the basis for final status negotiations. Israel says it wants to resume talks, but without such “preconditions”.

*Nelson Mandela International Day was observed across the world on 18 July 2013 to earmark freedom, justice and democracy. In November 2009, the UN General Assembly declared 18 July as the Nelson Mandela International Day to recognize the former South African President’s contribution to the culture of peace and freedom. United Nations General Assembly Resolution, recognizes Nelson Mandela’s values and his dedication to the service of humanity, in the fields of conflict resolution, race relations, the promotion and protection of human rights, reconciliation, gender equality and the rights of children and other vulnerable groups, as well as the upliftment of poor and underdeveloped communities. It acknowledges his contribution to the struggle for democracy internationally and the promotion of a culture of peace throughout the world.

*The committee in charge of international book industry named the South Korean city of Incheon the "World Book Capital" for the year 2015, announced the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on 19 July. The nomination was made by an international committee of experts representing the book industry and UNESCO, who met on July 16 at the Paris headquarters of UNESCO.UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova endorsed the committee's decision and welcomed the number and quality of applications received by UNESCO for the title of World Book Capital 2015.

*Since 2001 when Madrid was the first to win the title, UNESCO and the international organizations representing the three major sectors of the book industry -- the International Publishers Association (IPA), International Booksellers Federation (IBF) and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) -- select every year the World Book Capital for a one-year period. This initiative, in addition to the celebration of World Book and Copyright Day, represents a collaborative undertaking by key stakeholders in the publishing world and cities to promote books and literacy. Incheon comes as the 15th city to be to crowned with "World Book Capital," after Bangkok in 2013 and Port Harcourt in 2014.

*Opposition party, The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won the National Assembly elections in Bhutan on 14 July, by having secured a majority of thirty two seats. The Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) won fifteen seats and was elected as the opposition party. In 2008, the DPT had won the election by a landslide and won the first round of this year's polls with 45 percent of the vote. Bhutan's king had given up the monarchy's centuries-old absolute power in 2008 and allowed the introduction of democracy to the Himalayan kingdom.

*World's largest building opens in west China. China now has what is billed as the world's largest building — a vast, wavy rectangular box of glass and steel that will house shops, hotels, offices and a faux ocean beach with a huge LED screen for video sunsets. The mammoth New Century Global Center that opened last month in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu has 1.7 million square meters (19 million square feet) of floor space — or about 329 football fields — edging out the previous record-holder, the Dubai airport. The structure is half a kilometer long, 400 meters wide and 100 meters high. The New Century project is a sign that China's growth has spread from the country's more prosperous eastern and southern regions to the west, where wages are lower and the central government has encouraged development with subsidies and tax breaks. With its booming economy, China has become home to some of the largest and tallest buildings in the world. The building also has a 14-screen movie theater and an ice rink.

*Irish lawmakers overwhelmingly voted in favour of a groundbreaking law that will allow abortion in limited cases in the predominantly Catholic country on 11th July, following an outcry over the death of an Indian dentist after a miscarriage last year. Prime Minister Enda Kenny and his coalition government pushed through the protection of life in pregnancy bill, which will allow for abortions only when a woman's life is under threat if her pregnancy continues or if she is suicidal. The bill was voted through by 127 to 31 against after marathon discussions on 165 amendments. Ireland was forced to review its abortion law in cases where the mother's life is at risk following the death of Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar in a Galway hospital last October after she was denied an abortion.

*China has cancelled the construction of a USD six billion nuclear procession plant in Guangdong province apparently due to public concerns over its safety. The planned nuclear fuel processing project in south China's Guangdong Province has been cancelled, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on 13 July. The planned Longwan Industrial Park project under China National Nuclear Corporation, located in Zhishan Township in Heshan City, was cancelled, the report said. The planned industrial park, with a designed capacity of 1,000 tonnes of uranium in 2020, was to feature facilities for uranium conversion, enrichment and manufacturing of nuclear fuel equipment, involving a total investment of 37 billion yuan (USD 6 billion). The brief report did not mention why the project was cancelled. This is the first nuclear project cancelled by China, which is embarking on a massive expansion of nuclear power projects. Earlier reports said local people had expressed concerns over the safety of the processing plant handling such large quantities of uranium. Public protests which are rare in China are now becoming common specially when it comes to preservation of the environment.

*Hazem El-Beblawi on 9 July 2013 was named as the new Prime Minister of Egypt by the Interim President Adly Mansour. A leading economist, Beblawi will form a caretaker Government that comprises technocrats from different walks of life. The caretaker government would play a major role in steering away Egypt through the transitional period. The interim President Adly Mansour also named Mohammad ElBaradei, a Nobel laureate and former IAEA chief as the new Vice-President of the country. In a gesture of reconciliation, the new designated prime minister of Egypt declared that his government will offer cabinet posts to the leaders of Muslim Brotherhood of the ousted President Mohammed Morsi’s Government. Earlier, Mohammed Morsi, the first democratically elected President of Egypt was ousted from his office following a military coup conducted by the Army Chief Abdel Fateh Al Sissi. The coup was conducted following the mass protests by the nationals of the country against Morsi and his Government.

*12 July 2013 was observed as Malala Day across the World and by United Nations. The day is being observed by the United Nations to highlight the fight of education of the Pakistani child activist Malala Yousafzai. Seminars, conferences and other ceremonies were held across Pakistan wherein scholars, educationists and analysts participated to pay tribute to Malala, who fought for girl's education in Swat valley against the Taliban. 12 July, the day of Malala’s Birth was declared as Malala Day by UN General Secretary Ban-Ki-Moon on her 16th Birthday. Malala is the girl from Pakistan, who was shot in head and neck by the terrorists of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on 9 October 2012 for advocating girls for their right to education and speaking against Taliban. On Malala Day, UN awarded the United Nations' Special Envoy for Global Education's Youth Courage Award for Education to Razia Sulatana, a teenager from a Nanglakhumba village of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, India. Razia was opted for the award for her efforts to motivate 48 children to go school after freeing them, from child labour bondage.

*India and Iraq signed a pact to enhance co-operation in energy security, bilateral trade commerce, infrastructure and others on 8th July. The agreement was signed by the Union Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily and his counterpart from Iraq, Abdul Karim Luaibi at the end the India-Iraq Joint Commission on technical co-operation in Baghdad.
As per the agreement, in energy sector, Iraq will supply more crude oil to India to meet the growing needs of energy in the country. Petroleum Minister M. Veerappa Moily is leading a 28-member delegation to Iraq to participate in the 17th India-Iraq Joint Commission meeting in Baghdad. Delegation reached Baghdad on 6 July 2013.
Earlier, Salman Khurshid, the Union External Affairs Minister was on a two-day visit to Iraq from 19 to 20 June 2013, which was the first visit of an Indian Minister to Iraq after 1990 visit of Inder Kumar Gujral, during his tenure as Union External Affairs Minister.

*North and South Korea on have agreed in-principle to resume work at the Kaesong Business Park, a joint venture at the border between the two states. The deal was reached after 15 hours of talks held at the truce village of Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone. As part of the deal, both sides agreed to allow South Korean company managers to inspect their factories, as well as retrieve finished goods and raw materials.

*The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma has, co-chaired the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) Economic and Business Conference in Port Louis, Mauritius. Member States and Dialogue Partners of IORARC, met in the Mauritius, for the First Economic and Business Conference on July 4-5, 2013, under the theme of ‘Deepening Economic Linkages for Balanced, Inclusive & Sustainable Growth’.

*The meeting was co-hosted by the Governments of Mauritius and India and brought together Ministers and business representatives from across the Indian Ocean Rim. First IOR-ARC Economic and Business Conference was in keeping with the decisions taken by the IOR Business Forum held in Gurgaon, India, during the IOR-ARC Council of Ministers and Related Meetings in October-November 2012,which recommended that business-to-business meetings have an important role to play for expanding trade and commerce between Member States.

*Discussions took place in the four panel sessions, namely:1).Unlocking the Potential of the Services Sector in the IOR-ARC (ICT, Tourism, Financial Services), 2).Enhancing Trade and Investment in the IOR-ARC, 3).Creating Agri-business linkages, addressing Food Security and Sustainable Development’, 4).Ocean Economy/Blue Economy. The conference encouraged the concept of ‘Open Regionalism’ and identifies trade as an integral factor in promoting economic cooperation and development.

*The Indian Ocean Rim-Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC), initially known as the Indian Ocean Rim Initiative, is an international organization with 20 member states. It was first established in Mauritius on March 1995 and formally launched on 6–7 March 1997. In 2011 six priority areas of cooperation were identified for IOR-ARC, which include - Maritime Safety and Security, Trade and Investment Facilitation, Fisheries Management, Tourism and Cultural Exchanges, Academic and Science and Technology Cooperation, and Disaster Risk Management. Its full members are – India, Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

*China and Russia kicked off their largest-ever joint naval drills on 5 July, in the Sea of Japan, a further sign of the broad-based progress in ties between the former Cold War era rivals. Eighteen surface ships, one submarine, three airplanes, five ship-launched helicopters and two commando units were taking part in the “Joint Sea-2013” exercise that runs through July 12. The drills will cover anti-submarine warfare, close maneuvering, and the simulated take-over of an enemy ship. The drills are bigger than anything China’s navy has previously held with a foreign partner. China has long been a key customer for Russian military hardware, but only in the last decade have their militaries begun training jointly. The naval drills are to be followed by another round of anti-terrorism joint drills in Russia’s Ural Mountain region of Chelyabinsk.

*Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first elected President was ousted from his office in a military revolt on 3 July 2013. After the revolt, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt, Adli Mansour has sworn in as the interim President on 4 July to oversee early Presidential elections of the country. Mansour will get the support of national unity government in running the country until the elections are held.

*The ousted President, Mohamed Morsi has been moved to an undisclosed location and a travel ban has been imposed on him from going abroad. After the revolt, the new military rulers of Egypt have issued arrest warrants for up to 300 members of Muslim Brotherhood .Leading liberal opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei on 6 July was named as Egypt's new Prime Minister to head a caretaker government.

*ElBaradei leads an alliance of liberal and left-wing parties, the National Salvation Front. He was named as Prime Minister after interim President Adly Mahmud Mansour held talks with the army chief and political leaders. The 71-year-old Mohamed Mustafa ElBaradei is an Egyptian law scholar. He was the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, an intergovernmental organization under the auspices of the United Nations, from 1997 to 2009. He and the IAEA were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005. ElBaradei also played an important role in recent politics in his country, particularly the 2011 revolution which deposed President Hosni Mubarak, and in the 2013 revolution that ousted President Mohamed Morsi.

*The World Health Organization announced on 5 July 2013 that it had convened emergency talks on the deadly MERS corona virus for on 2 July, but said the move did not mean it was hiking its global alert level. The first recorded MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) death was in June 2012 in Saudi Arabia. The number of infections stands at 79, with 43 dead — an extremely high rate of 54 per cent, compared to nine per cent of the 8,273 recorded patients with SARS. Like SARS, it has flu-like symptoms but causes kidney failure.

July 2013 National Affairs | Current Affairs July 2013

*With Tirumal shrine attracting visitors in hordes, Andhra Pradesh has become the top tourist destination in the country, recording 206.8 million domestic tourists last year, according to the data available with Union ministry of tourism revealed on 23rd July 2013. Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh stood at second and third places respectively, with 184.1 million and 168.4 million domestic tourists.

*Built in 10th century, the Lord Venkateswara temple, located in Tirumala, near Tirupati town, attracts more tourists than the domestic visitors to Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, which boast of Taj Mahal and Ajanta-Ellora caves respectively, a senior tourism ministry official said. The footfall at domestic tourist destinations across the country witnessed a surge touching 1,036 million compared to 865 million in 2011 -- an increase of 19.87 per cent.

*It was 748 million in 2010. Meanwhile, the number of foreign tourist visits (FTVs) to states/UTs registered a growth of 6.33 per cent during the same year. These states accounted for 84.5 per cent of the total number of domestic tourists during 2012. The top 10 states in terms of FTVs in 2012, remained the same as those in 2011 with Maharashtra topping the list.

*In a record of sorts, the AP State Legislative Assembly will become the first paperless legislature house in the country. Assembly speaker, N. Manohar has said that the Union Ministry of Information Technology and Communications had chosen the AP Assembly for implementation of an Rs 16.50-crore World Bank-aided project for its computerization. “The paperless functioning will increase the efficiency in the functioning of the legislature and will improve transparency. Even Parliament is yet to convert itself into paperless mode,” he said on 22nd July 2013.

*“A file-monitoring network, integrated with all government departments, will be put in place to ensure paperless administration. All information on government schemes and public assets in each constituency will be made available to legislators on their mobile phones through GIS. Hereafter, all communication to MLAs will be in electronic format only.’’ The Assembly website - www.aplegislature.org will be made bilingual (English and Telugu) soon for the convenience of legislators and the Telugu-speaking populace of Andhra Pradesh state.

*ZEE News has changed its identity and now become ZEE Media Corporation Limited. The channel has so far reached to 100 million people, stated the CEO of the company, Alok Agarwal. The Zee network includes several channels like ZEE 24 Gantalu, Zee Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand, Zee Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh, Zee 24 Taas, Zee Business, Zee News, and Zee Punjab, Haryana and Himachal.

*The Judicial Commission on Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) appointed by the Supreme Court of India submitted a 100 page report to the Court in the third week of July 2013. The report has highlighted the rampant misuse of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Manipur. The judicial commission also noted that the Act has failed in tackling the insurgencies and the armed forces were indulged in gross violation of Human Rights.

*The Commission in its findings has also noted that the Act was abused widely and several encounters under the blanket of the Act, carried out in the North-Eastern states, were fake. The report submitted by the commission also mentioned that the activities of the forces appear as if they believed a priori that the suspects involved in the encounters had to be eliminated and acted accordingly.

*The Judicial Commission on AFSPA was headed by Santosh Hegde the former Judge of Supreme Court and included J.M. Lyngdoh former Chief of Election Commission and A.K. Singh, retired IPS officer as its members. The commission was formed by the Supreme Court to probe into the alleged cases of extra judicial killings in Manipur after receiving complaints related to 1500 fake encounter deaths that occurred in Manipur in last 10 years in September 2012. The Extra Judicial Execution Victim Families’ Association (EEVFAM) along with Human Rights Alert (HRA) demanded investigations into the deaths.

*The Ministry for Women and Child Development is going to celebrate the World Breastfeeding Week in the first week of August to focus attention on the important aspect of protection, promotion and support of Breastfeeding with a theme: ‘BREASTFEEDING SUPPORT- Close to Mothers’.

*As part of the Breastfeeding Week, the Ministry will disseminate crucial information about breastfeeding through district/ State Officials of Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Child Development Project Officers (CDPOs), NGOs etc.

*During this week various activities will also take place in the Anganwadi centers which includes, Community/ family sensitization on Breastfeeding, Mothers’ Meet (specially for the pregnant and lactating women), growth monitoring linked with counseling on breastfeeding, Healthy Baby show, sensitization on breastfeeding through audio aids, wall writing, display/ exhibition on breastfeeding at Anganwadi centers, quiz competition on breastfeeding involving women, mothers, adolescent girls, grandmothers.

*The Union Government of India on 27 July 2013 announced that it would set-up a Marine Training Academy at Tuticorin. The academy would be set-up through the Shipping Corporation of India in collaboration with the VO Chidambaram Port Trust.The announcement was made by Shipping Minister, GK Vasan at Chennai that the Ministry has already allocated 15 crore rupees for the development of the infrastructure for the academy. The first batch of the academy would commence from September or October 2013, with a batch of 40 students.

*The Campaign Clean India will be extended to cover the World Heritage Site, Taj Mahal which would be adopted by ONGC in the presence of K. Chiranjeevi, the Union Minister for Tourism at a function to be held tomorrow at Agra. Taj Mahal a world heritage site and is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The Minister has strongly felt the need to undertake sustained operations to ensure clean and hygienic environment, commensurate with the stature of this prestigious destination.

*At the initiative of Ministry of Tourism, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has agreed to the proposal of ONGC for adopting five more monuments under the Clean India Campaign which include -1). Ellora & Elephanta Caves – Maharashtra 2). Red Fort – Delhi, 3). Golkonda Fort – Hyderabad and 4). Mahabalipuram – Tamil Nadu.

*The Ministry of Tourism launched Clean India Campaign as part of Government strategy for 12th Five Year Plan for improving the quality of services and environs in and around tourist destinations across India. The campaign is aimed at undertaking both sensitization and action at field level on bringing tourism destinations and their surroundings to an expectable level of cleanliness and hygiene.

*The People’s Linguistic Survey of India (PLSI) has revealed that northeast has the highest per capita language in the entire world. While addressing a press conference in Guwahati, on 24 July 2013, PLSI chairperson G. N. Devy told that linguistic survey has been completed in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Nagaland and Manipur. It is the first linguistic survey since George Grierson’s survey conducted a century ago. PLSI told that the survey accounts 130 languages, as well as near extinct languages of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Nagaland and Manipur. The region contains more than 210 languages. PLSI have published books on the survey and the volume will also depict the rich cultural and linguistic geography of all the indigenous communities of the states of the region.

The Supreme Court upheld the Juvenile Justice Act providing for differential treatment to a minor irrespective of the nature of crime committed by him or her on 17th July. The apex court bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir upheld the Juvenile Justice Act by declining the prayer that the age in the act should be reduced from 18 to 16 and those involved in heinous crimes should not be treated differently.

The petitioner had also sought that the punishment for heinous crime committed by a minor should not be decided by the juvenile justice board. Rejecting the petition, Chief Justice Kabir said here was no need to interfere in the matter. The petition was filed in the context of a minor who was among those who were arrested for the gang rape, brutal assault and torture of a 23-year-old woman in a moving bus in Delhi on December 16 last year. She later died in a Singapore hospital on December 29.

The Bengaluru International Airport will be named after the city's founder Kempe Gowda as “Kempegowda International Airport”. The government on 17 July approved a Civil Aviation Ministry proposal to this effect. The proposal was approved by the Union Cabinet at its meeting, fulfilling a long-pending demand of the people of Karnataka, official sources said. Hiriya Kempe Gowda was a ruler under the Vijayanagar Empire who ruled most parts of Karnataka during the 16th century. Having built the Bengaluru Fort and moved his capital from Yelahanka, he is widely accepted as the founder of Bangalore. The airport, run by a private-led consortium, would be renamed Kempegowda International Airport after the founder whose 503rd birth anniversary was observed this year. The Civil Aviation Ministry had last year approved the proposal of the state government following efforts by then External Affairs Minister S M Krishna.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 17 July has approved an allocation of 50 lakh tonnes of food grains to States/ Union Territories (UTs) during 2013-14 for Below Poverty Line (BPL) families. This additional allocation of 50 lakh tonnes will remain valid for lifting up to 31st March, 2014 or till the National Food Security Bill is passed by Parliament and implemented in the respective States/UTs. The allocation will meet the additional requirement of food grains for BPL families. The estimated subsidy on additional allocation of 50 lakh tones of food grains (rice and wheat) for BPL families in all the States/UTs at BPL prices during 2013-14 will be Rs. 9471.22 crore. Considering the sufficient availability of stock of food grains in the Central Pool and requests received from States/UTs, Government has been allocating additional BPL allocation of 50 lakh tonnes of wheat and rice to the States/UTs since 2010-11. The Government of India is allocating food grains to the States/UTs under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) for 6.52 crore BPL families which include 2.43 crore Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) families.

Union Cabinet on 17 July 2013 approved amendments to the marriage law enabling a married woman to get a share of her husband's ancestral property as reparation in case of a divorce. The Bill is now expected to come up for channel in the Monsoon Session of Parliament in August 2013. The decision was taken to make marriage law more women friendly and to decide how sufficient compensation can be given to a woman from her husband's ancestral property in case of divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage. As per the bill the woman should get adequate compensation by calculating the husband's share in the event that ancestral property cannot be divided.

Government has taken key decisions on FDI limits in 13 sectors, in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 16 July .These decisions are-
FDI cap in telecom raised to 100 percent from 74 percent; up to 49 percent through automatic route and beyond via FIPB.
No change in 49 percent FDI limit in civil aviation.
FDI cap in defense production to stay at 26 percent, higher investment may be considered in state-of-the-art technology production by Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS).
100 percent FDI allowed in single brand retail; 49 percent through automatic, 49-100 percent through FIPB.
FDI limit in insurance sector raised to 49 percent from present 26 percent, subject to Parliament approval.
FDI up to 49 percent in petroleum refining allowed under automatic route, from earlier approval route.
In power exchanges 49 percent FDI allowed through automatic route, from earlier FIPB route.
Raised FDI in asset reconstruction companies to 100 percent from 74 percent; of this up to 49 percent will be under automatic route.
FDI limit increased in credit information companies to 74 percent from 49 percent.
FDI up to 49 percent in stock exchanges, depositories allowed under automatic route.
FDI up to 100 percent through automatic route allowed in courier services.
FDI in tea plantation up to 49 percent through automatic route; 49-100 percent through FIPB route.
No decision taken on FDI cap in airports, media, brownfield pharma and multi-brand retail.


Boosting the Army's war fighting capabilities along the Line of Actual Control, government on 16 July, gave the go-ahead for the creation of a corps including deployment of 50,000 additional troops along the China border at a cost of around Rs. 65,000 crore. The Cabinet Committee on Security headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh cleared the proposal in its meeting, sources said. As part of the plans, the around 1.3 million-strong Army is expected to raise the new Corps' headquarters at Panagarh in West Bengal along with two divisions in Bihar and Assam and other units from Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh. Army Chief Gen. Bikram Singh and IAF chief Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne were also present at the Prime Minister's Office for providing any possible clarifications, if any, sought by the CCS members including Defense Minister A.K. Antony, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram.

As per the plans, the IAF will also deploy its force multiplier assets such as six each mid-air refueling tankers and C-130J Super Hercules special operations aircraft at Panagarh. The army had sent the proposal in this regard in 2010 but it was returned by the government asking the three services to work together on plans to strengthen their capabilities in that region. The Army will also get a number of new armoured and artillery divisions along with it to be deployed along the Northeast region.

Hyderabad could become a “women-dominated” city in the future if the current population trend continues. Despite the real concerns about female foeticide and infanticide, the city has shown impressive numbers in terms of female births. Hyderabad is the only one of the six major cities in the country to have a higher number of female births than males. The proportion of female deaths in the city was also the least among all the cities.

According to new data released by the Census of India, there were about 1.75 lakh births in the city in 2009 and 48,000 deaths. Of course, the level of reporting is also low in the state. About 76.3 per cent of births and 68.4 per cent of deaths are registered. However, in terms of recorded births, Hyderabad was the only city which had more females being born than males during that year. Every other city, including Chennai which has a higher sex ratio than Hyderabad, had a substantial difference in the number of male and female births.

The sex ratio in the city has been seeing an upward curve over the last decade with the figure rising from 933 females per 1,000 males to 954: 1,000. According to the Civil Registration System report, female births in the city were about 52 per cent of all births in the year 2009. Every other major city had a female birth proportion of less than 50 per cent.

The Supreme Court upheld the right of bar dancers to pursue their profession subject to dancing bars taking licence from the State authorities on 16th July.

The apex court bench of Chief Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice S. S. Nijjar upheld the right of bar dancers as it rejected the Maharashtra government’s plea against the Bombay High Court verdict striking down the police orders that bar dancing in hotels below three stars.

Pronouncing the judgment, Justice Nijjar said that they have not touched the question of the right of the dancing girls under article 19 (A).

The bar dancers had contended that besides being discriminative the police order impinged on their right to livelihood. They had also contended that besides dancing at the bar they knew no other trade to earn their living.

President Pranab Mukherjee launched Kisaan Portal for sending SMS through mobile phones to the farmers across the country, here on 16th July, 2013. The SMS initiative will enable the farmers to take informed decisions as to different aspects of farming including crop production and marketing, animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries and weather forecasts.

The Kisaan Portal directly aimed at spreading information, advisories and services through SMS to more than 12 crore farmers across the country. Farmers will need to register for this service by calling Kisaan Call Centre on the toll free number 1800-180-1551 or through the web portal.The farmers can opt to receive SMS messages customized to their specific requirements.

The Supreme Court Thursday banned over-the-counter sale of acid at retail outlets and ordered a compensation of Rs.3 lakh to be paid by the government to each acid attack victim on 18th July. The apex court bench, headed by Justice R.M. Lodha, issued detailed directions for regulating the sale of acid at retail outlets. The court direction came in the wake of reports of increasing number of acid attacks.

In a direction, the court said the retail outlets having license to sell acid will maintain a stock register and failing to do so or possessing unaccounted acid will lead to a fine of Rs.50,000.

The court said all the states which already have rules to regulate the sale of acid will reinforce them and those who don't have them will frame them in accordance with the model rules framed by the central government. The court said the rules should be made stringent as has been spelt out in the model rules framed by the government.

Penguin Books India has launched a dedicated website for young readers, titled - youngreaders.penguinbooksindia.com. The new portal has child-friendly navigation and has organized sections, which the book house claims to be interesting.

A category called “Read What” of the website offers literature on various subjects such as non-fiction, classic, anthology, short stories, young adults, crime and many more. The new website includes works of some of the popular authors such as Asha Nehemiah, Rabindranath Tagore, Herge as well as Ruskin Bond.

Metro rail coach is reaching Hyderabad city by the end of September month. The rail coach is coming from South Korea and it will be displayed at People’s Plaza for the people to have a look at. The L & T Metrorail will be accepting suggestions and advises from people. The first Metrorail will run in the Nagole-Mettuguda route, track works for which will begin in another four weeks, on March 23, 2015.

L & T Metrorail Managing Director V.B. Gadgil supervised the metro rail works along with media persons. Speaking to the reporters, he said Grand Metro Museum will be set up show the developments in city transport sector from 1911 to 2013. The place of the Museum will be opened will be informed later, he said.

Visitors to the IRCTC portal would soon get to shop apparels, home appliances, and electronic products along with buying rail tickets. The railway PSU has tied up with online lifestyle and home portal Yebhi.com, thus making its entry into the online shopping.

Yebhi.com is a franchisee of Shop Online Trading Pvt Ltd. (SOTPL). Through this tie-up SOTPL and Yebhi.com will be responsible for developing and managing the e-commerce platform for IRCTC. IRCTC gets close to 1.2 million daily visits generating 180 million transactions every year thus making it the largest e-commerce site in the country.

Officials in IRCTC said they want to capitalize on the large user base of its portal which sees about 12 lakh visitors per day and four lakh ticket bookings. Yebhi.com, on the other hand, gets close to 100 million visits per annum and does over 2 million transactions every year.

"We are thrilled to partner with the India's largest e-commerce website, and look forward to this mutually beneficial association. With this association IRCTC is getting a readymade supply chain with all products offering at one go powered by us," said CEO of Yebhi.com Manmohan Agarwal. As per the contract, SOTPL will be deploying the entire online shopping platform for IRCTC within 60 days from the date of signing of the agreement.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha legislator Hemant Soren, son of former Chief Minister Shibu Soren, was sworn in as Jharkhand’s ninth Chief Minister. 37-year-old Soren, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Syed Ahmed on Saturda after President Pranab Mukherjee revoked the nearly six-month-long President rule in the state. Soren became the fifth tribal CM after Babulal Marandi (once), Arjun Munda (thrice), Shibu Soren (thrice) and Madhu Koda (once) since the Jharkhand state was created on 15th November 2000.The Soren had staked claim on 9th July for formation of a government in alliance with Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal, smaller parties and independent MLAs. The President’s rule was imposed on 18th January due to political instability after the JMM withdrew support to the BJP-led government under Arjun Munda and it was set to end on 18th July.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 10 July, constituted a Cabinet committee to oversee reconstruction and rehabilitation in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand.Defence minister AK Antony, agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, finance minister P Chidambaram, health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, home minister Sushilkumar Shinde, road transport minister Oscar Fernandes, law minister Kapil Sibal, housing minister Girija Vyas, rural development minister Jairam Ramesh and water resources minister Harish Rawat are the members of the committee chaired by Singh. Planning commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Uttarakhand chief minister Vijay Bahuguna and national disaster management authority vice chairman M Shashidhar Reddy are the permanent invitees. The committee will provide broad guidance to reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in Uttarakhand, and take such decisions, as may be required, said a notification issued by the Cabinet Secretariat. Singh has announced Rs. 1,000 crore for disaster relief measures in flood-devastated parts of Uttarakhand.

Lawmakers have to quit if they are convicted of a crime and can't stay on regardless of appeals to higher courts, the Supreme Court said, in a big leap towards cleaning up Indian politics. The top court struck down a provision in the Representation of the People's Act (RPA) that protects convicted MPs and MLAs from disqualification if they appeal to a higher court. "The disqualification takes place from the date of conviction," said a bench of justices A K Patnaik and S J Mukhopadhaya. The verdict won't affect lawmakers who have already filed appeals against their conviction.

A petition had said that allowing such lawmakers to stay in office was "discriminatory and encouraged criminalization of politics'. The petition sought to highlight the dichotomy in the laws that allow convicted lawmakers to stay on but ban a person convicted and sentenced to a term of over two years from even contesting an election. The government's affidavit had argued against MPs and MLAs being disqualified.

The Supreme Court in its landmark judgment on 11th July barred persons in jail or police custody from contesting election for legislative bodies. The Supreme Court’s decision would help in bringing an end to the era of the under trial politicians, who contest elections from behind the bars.

The Court ruled that only an elector can contest the polls and the elector ceases the right to cast vote due to confinement in prison or being in custody of police. The court, however, made it clear that disqualification will not be applicable to person subjected to preventive detention, under any law.

The Bench that comprised Justices A.K. Patnaik and S.J. Mukhopadhayay, while referring to the Representation of Peoples’ Act said that the Act (Section 4 & 5) lays down the qualifications for membership of the House of the people and legislative assembly and one of the qualifications laid down is that he must be an elector.

The court passed the order on an appeal filed by the Chief Election Commissioner and others challenging the order of Patna High Court that barred people in police custody from contesting polls. The judgment of the Supreme Court has confirmed 2004 ruling of the Patna High Court that said if - a jailed person can’t vote, than a jailed person can’t contest election.

The country's first exclusive women university is set to come up at Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh with the government on 11 July, clearing a proposal in this regard. The university, which would focus on research and higher studies, would be named after late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who represented Raebareli during a substantive part of her political career. At present, the constituency is represented by Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The proposal, which received the Union Cabinet's nod on 11 July, would be set up at a cost of Rs 500 crore during the 12th Plan Period.

A bill named the 'Indira Gandhi National University for Women Bill' will be introduced in the coming Monsoon Session of Parliament, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari told reporters in new Delhi, adding that the varsity will be set up following its passage. The establishment of the varsity would "set the pace for all-round growth and development of women in the country and supplement the efforts of the government for women's empowerment by giving them an increased access to employment oriented basic courses and high-end research," a government statement also said.

The first-ever national aviation university in the country would come up at Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh, Sonia Gandhi's Lok Sabha constituency, to impart complete training to pilots, cabin crew and aircraft engineers. The Union Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved the creation of this university in the name of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi as a central university, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari told reporters in New Delhi on 11 July. The Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University would be set up on a 26-acre plot of land at the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Udaan Academy (IGRUA) at Fursatganj. It would have an estimated funding of Rs 202 crore during the 12th Plan period, of which Rs. 80 crore has already been sanctioned by the Centre. The university would be an autonomous body under the administrative control of the Civil Aviation Ministry.
Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Manish Tewari has said that Right to Safe Drinking Water for the entire country is under the consideration of the Centre. Addressing a gathering in Ludhiana on 7 July, he said special care will be taken for those who cannot afford RO systems and distilled bottled water. The Minister also said that the government is giving top priority to the healthcare of the people through the National Rural Health Mission and National Urban Health Mission.

President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to the government's food welfare programme on 5 July 2013. The scheme that provides subsidized food to nearly 800 million or 67 per cent of the population is now law, but it must be cleared within six weeks of Parliament's next session. The populist programme, championed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, will cost Rs. 1.25 lakh crore per year. The cabinet used an executive order to clear the scheme to bypass a debate in Parliament.

"Up to 75 per cent of the rural population and up to 50 per cent of the urban population will have uniform entitlement of five kilos per month at highly subsidized prices," a government statement said. The bill had been expected to be cleared by Parliament in February, but it was never introduced due to opposition protests. Critics of the food programme also say that India can ill-afford such a costly subsidy at a time of slowing economic growth and when credit ratings agencies are eyeing the country's large deficit.

The Global Innovation Index 2013 (GII), in its 6th edition this year, is co-published by Cornell University, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO, a specialized agency of the United Nations).

According to this report, the United States rejoined the five most-innovative nations and the United Kingdom moved up to the third spot while Switzerland retained its first place in the rankings in the Global Innovation Index 2013.A group of dynamic middle- and low-income countries – including China, Costa Rica, India, and Senegal – are outpacing their peers, but haven’t broken into the top of the GII 2013 leader board.

India got 66th rank, while Sri Lanka attained 98th rank. The core of the GII Report consists of a ranking of world economies’ innovation capabilities and results. Recognizing the key role of innovation as a driver of economic growth and prosperity and the need for a broad horizontal vision of innovation applicable to developed and emerging economies, the GII includes indicators that go beyond the traditional measures of innovation such as the level of research and development.

In just six years, the GII has established itself as the premier reference among innovation indices, and has evolved into a valuable benchmarking tool to facilitate public-private dialogue, whereby policymakers, business leaders and other stakeholders can evaluate progress on a continual basis. To support the global innovation debate, to guide polices and to highlight good practices, metrics are required to assess innovation and related policy performance. The Innovation Input Sub-Index gauges elements of the national economy which embody innovative activities grouped in five pillars:(1)Institutions,(2) Human capital and research,(3) Infrastructure,(4) Market sophistication, and(5) Business sophistication. The Innovation Output Sub-Index captures actual evidence of innovation results, divided in two pillars: (6) Knowledge and technology outputs and (7) Creative outputs.

Union Government of India on 4 July 2013 announced to launch Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Surakhsa Yojna (MGPSY), a pension scheme for blue-collar Indian workers in the Gulf. The scheme would be launched in August 2013. The Pension and Life Insurance fund scheme, is applicable for the Overseas Indian workers having Emigration Check Required, ECR passports. The announcement was made by the Rajiv Mehrishi, Secretary of Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs in Riyadh. This pension and life insurance fund scheme would benefit a large number of oversees Indian Workers. The MGPSY is aimed towards helping the overseas Indian workers in saving money for their retirement, re-settlement in India after their return and a life insurance that will cover them against natural death during the period of coverage.

July 2013 Economic Affairs | Current Affairs July 2013

*India achieved a record production of 18.45 million tones of pulses in the 2012-13 crop year ended June 2013. This augurs well for the country which is dependent on imports to meet the shortfall of around 3 to 4 million tones. Higher support price prompted farmers to grow pulses. According to the 4th advance estimates released, overall food grain production is projected at 255.36 million tones, which is lower than the record 259.29 million tones achieved in the previous crop year. In food grains category, rice production has been revised upward to 104.4 million tones from 104.22 million tones and coarse cereals to 40.06 million tones from 39.52 million tones in the third estimates. However, wheat output has been revised downward to 92.46 million tones from 93.62 million tones.

*Poverty ratio in the country has declined to 21.9 per cent in 2011-12 from 37.2 per cent in 2004-05 on account of increase in per capita consumption, said the Planning Commission. According to the Commission, in 2011-12 for rural areas, the national poverty line by using the Tendulkar methodology is estimated at Rs. 816 per capita per month in villages and Rs. 1,000 per capita per month in cities. This would mean that the persons whose consumption of goods and services exceed Rs. 33.33 in cities and Rs. 27.20 per capita per day in villages are not poor.

*The Commission said that for a family of five, the all India poverty line in terms of consumption expenditure would amount to Rs. 4,080 per month in rural areas and Rs. 5,000 per month in urban areas. The poverty line however will vary from state to state. The percentage of persons below poverty line in 2011-12 has been estimated at 25.7 per cent in rural areas, 13.7 per cent in urban areas and 21.9 per cent for the country as a whole, a Commission’s press statement said. The percentage of persons below poverty line in 2004-05 was 41.8 per cent in rural areas, 25.7 per cent in cities and 37.2 per cent in the country as a whole.

*In actual terms, there were 26.93 crore people below poverty line in 2011-12 as compared to 40.71 crore in 2004-05.This ratio for 2011-12 is based on the methodology suggested by Suresh Tendulkar Committee which factors in money spent on health and education besides calorie intake to fix a poverty line. The Commission said the decline in poverty is mainly on account of rising real per capita consumption figures which are based on 68th round of National Sample Survey on Household Consumer Expenditure in India in 2011-12. Earlier, a committee was appointed under Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council Chairman C Rangarajan to revisit the Tendulkar Committee methodology for tabulating poverty. The Committee is expected to submit its report by mid 2014.

*State-wise, the Commission said the poverty ratio was highest in Chhattisgarh at 39.93 per cent followed by Jharkhand (36.96%), Manipur (36.89%), Arunachal Pradesh (34.67%) and Bihar (33.47%). Among the union territories, the Dadra and Nagar Haveli was the highest, with 39.31 per cent people living below poverty line followed by Chandigarh at 21.81 per cent. Goa has the least percentage of people living below poverty line at 5.09 per cent followed by Kerala (7.05%), Himachal Pradesh (8.06%), Sikkim (8.19%), Punjab (8.26%) and Andhra Pradesh (9.20%).

*As part of its CSR initiative, Rural Electrification Corporation (REC), a Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Power, has committed financial assistance to provide free one year residential JEE/IIT coaching and mentoring 20 underprivileged meritorious students from Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Bihar, J&K and Delhi under the 'Abhayanand Super 30' initiative. Inaugurating the Delhi chapter of the 'National Super 100' programme on 18 July, Rajeev Sharma, CMD, REC, hoped that the Programme will help the aspiring students to successfully compete and gain admission in prestigious engineering colleges of the country. This initiative, co-founded by Shri Abhayanand, presently Director General of Police, Bihar, for providing free coaching to 30 students of Bihar, has achieved high success rates, and over the years, has expanded to become the 'National Super 100', by providing coaching to 100 students from underprivileged sections of society in seven centres across the country, with the vision of transforming the lives of deserving children with little or no means. The selection of the students is done through transparent procedure.

*Providing a big boost to the power sector, Coal India Limited (CIL) on 26 July, has signed 82 FSAs as on 25 July, 2013, with power stations with a capacity of 34,793 MW. This includes 16 power stations belonging to NTPC and its Joint Venture companies (JVs). 11 more FSAs are ready to be signed shortly with NTPC or its JVs, while another 23 FSAs with State and private sector entities are in the pipeline. These FSAs were part of the 131 FSAs for a capacity of 60,678 MW which CIL was directed to sign in February, 2012. This will substantially increase the power generation during the current and subsequent years. In yet another fillip to the power sector, Ministry of Coal has issued another Presidential Directive to CIL on 17.07.2013 for signing of FSAs for a capacity of 78,000 MW instead of the earlier 60,678 MW. This will not only increase the power generation further but will also fast track several power projects which are under development.

*In a major upgrade of powers given to SEBI, the government has allowed it to pass orders like search and seizure, attachment of properties, arrest and detention of defaulters and pass disgorgement directions to recover the wrongful gains made in contravention of laws. At the same time, the government has also allowed the market regulator to seek information from other regulators within India and abroad with retrospective effect, paving way for collection of details pertaining to cases pending for over 15 years now

*In another retrospective change, which forms part of the Securities Laws Amendment Ordinance promulgated by the President of India last week, the individuals and companies being probed by SEBI can settle their pending investigations. Such settlements can be undertaken in cases that are currently pending for more than six years.

*To tackle the growing menace of ponzi schemes being floated as Collective Investment Schemes (CIS), the rules have also been amended to classify any money collection of Rs. 100 crore or more as CIS operation. SEBI has been given powers to crack down on illegal investment schemes floated by individuals as well, as against companies only as of now. However, all government-notified schemes would be out of the Collective Investment Scheme framework.

*The changes are part of as many as 22 amendments made by the government in three main Acts governing SEBI and its operations -- the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Act, the Securities Contracts Regulation Act (SCRA) and the Depositories Act -- through a 16-page Ordinance. Among others, SEBI has also been given powers to pass disgorgement orders for amount equivalent to wrongful gains or to losses averted by contravention of regulations.

*Besides, the regulator can now enter and search buildings, places, vessels, vehicles and aircraft of defaulters. Its officers can also break open the lock of any door, box, locker, safe almirah, etc to get information from suspected entities. At the same time, the defaulters can seek settlement of pending cases with SEBI with retrospective effect from April 20, 2012.

*In yet another step to contain the current account deficit, the Reserve Bank of India imposed restrictions on gold imports by banks and other authorized agencies on 22nd July. As per the new norms, all banks and authorized agencies will have to ensure that at least 20 per cent of the imported gold is made available for exports and a similar amount is retained with the customs. "It shall be incumbent on all nominated banks/nominated agencies to ensure that at least one fifth of every lot of import of gold (in any form/purity including import of gold coins/dore) is exclusively made available for the purpose of export," the RBI said in a notification.

*It further added that such imports should be linked to financing of exporters by the nominated agencies. The banks and other entities will also be required to retain 20 per cent of the imported quantity of the gold in customs bonded warehouses. The restrictions are meant to contain gold imports, which in addition to oil, is putting pressure on the current account deficit that soared to a record high of 4.8 per cent in 2012-13. The RBI and the government had earlier imposed other restrictions on import of gold to check CAD.

*The Cabinet on 17th July approved amendment to the SEBI Act, which is expected to arm the stock market regulator – Securities and Exchanges Board of India (SEBI) to crack down on collective investment schemes such as the Saradha scam in West Bengal.

*The Cabinet had given the nod to the proposal to provide powers to market regulator to help investigate and punish fly-by night operators of p. SEBI will be able to summon any person or entity to assist in an investigation into a chit fund or a para-banking operation. It also provides powers to the stock market regulator to undertake "search and seizure" operations and help them access call records.

*"This will enhance regulation of collective investment schemes," said a senior government official. The changes in the Act are also likely to plug regulatory loopholes and clearly detail the jurisdiction of the stock market regulator on such schemes.

*SEBI will be able to impose "disgorgement orders" on a company that defaults on its commitments or makes illegal gains. The regulator will use its "inherent powers" to recover ill-gotten gains that will then be utilized to promote "investor protection and education".

*The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) opened a special liquidity window for commercial banks to meet the cash requirements of mutual funds (MFs) on 17th July. The special liquidity window was opened taken into concern the Mutual Funds which faced heavy redemption pressure in debt-oriented MF schemes following a series of steps taken by the RBI to shore up the faltering currency.Keeping all this into consideration the RBI opened a special three-day repo window that will allow banks to borrow a total of 25000 crore Rupees at a rate of 10.25%. Banks can borrow this money to lend onwards to MFs. RBI will conduct the first repo auction under the special facility on 19 July 2013.The second auction is scheduled for 23 July 2013 and the subsequent operations at an interval of three days. Individual banks will be allocated funds in proportion to their bids, subject to the overall ceiling of 25000 crore, Rupees. The RBI is also planning to sell bonds worth 12000 crore Rupees in the secondary market on 18 July 2013 for another liquidity draining measure.

*Government of India signed an agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB) on 19 July, for a $60 million loan for improving urban services and strengthen municipal and project management capacity in several towns in North Karnataka. The agreement is for the 3rd Project under the overall facility of $270 million for the North Karnataka Urban Sector Investment Program (NKUSIP).

*The third tranche loan under the North Karnataka Urban Sector Investment Program will develop sewerage networks in six towns, and help the rehabilitation and expansion of potable water systems in two more towns. More than 100,000 households will benefit from the improvements. Nilaya Mitash, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance signed the agreement on behalf of Government of India and Mr. Hun Kim, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission, signed the agreement on behalf of ADB. ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members – 48 from the region. In 2012, ADB assistance totaled $21.6 billion, including co-financing of $8.3 billion.

*The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on 15 July, penalized 22 banks by imposing fines for violating Know-Your-Customer (KYC) norms and anti-money laundering guidelines. The list includes banks such as SBI, Bank of Baroda and Canara Bank all of whom were fined Rs.3 crore each. The RBI said that it “came to the conclusion that some of the violations were substantiated and warranted imposition of monetary penalty.” The central bank also issued “cautionary letters” to seven other banks including Citibank, Standard Chartered and Barclays as no violation of serious nature by them was established. The violations by the public sector banks were revealed in a sting operation by online portal, Cobra post, reported in May. Though it imposed penalties, the RBI said that its investigation did not reveal any prima facie evidence of money laundering. Any conclusive inference in this regard can be drawn only by an end to end investigation of the transactions by tax and enforcement agencies, the central bank statement said.

*Slow progress of economic reforms is expected to pull down India's growth to 5.8 per cent in the 2013 calendar year from 6 per cent projected earlier, an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report said on 16th July.

*"In India...slow progress in pushing through the reforms needed to ease business bottlenecks means growth is likely to be 5.8 per cent this year, slower than the previously forecast 6.0 per cent," the report 'Asian Development Outlook Supplement' said.

*Satyam formally merged with Tech Mahindra on 15th July. After debuting on the stock market in 1995, Satyam soon went on to become one of the country's top five IT companies and its share price was trading Rs. 250 level in late 2008. It came to be known by January 2009 that Satyam was home to India's biggest ever corporate scam. Satyam is a Sanskrit word that means truth.

*A quick revival, however, followed with its takeover by Tech Mahindra through a government-monitored auction process and its name was changed to Mahindra Satyam. Tech Mahindra on 12 July 2013 announced the completion of allocation of its shares to the shareholders of Satyam Computer Services, raising the issued capital of the firm from 129 million shares to 232 million.

*Many changes have come through under Mahindra’s and the group finally decided to amalgamate the two IT companies under its fold. Shares of Mahindra Satyam are no longer traded on the bourses. They last traded at a level close to 120 rupees a piece and the value of each erstwhile Satyam share is now equivalent to about 130 rupees a piece, taking into account Tech Mahindra's current share price of 1120 rupees.

*As per the merger ratio, two Tech Mahindra shares have been given for every 17 shares held by Satyam investors. Experts say it made sense for the new owner to drop the Satyam brand name from the business, given its infamous past. Following the integration, Tech Mahindra is now amongst the top-5 IT companies of India with revenues of 2.7 billion US dollars and expects it to rise to 5 billion US dollars by 2015. The integration of two entities makes it a much larger software company and will also aid in cracking and winning larger outsourcing contracts.

*Economic ties between India and Vietnam are on track and may cross $7 billion by 2015, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said on 11 July. Speaking to the media after the 15th meeting of the India-Vietnam Joint Commission, the Minister said investments by Indian companies total about $936 million in 86 projects in sectors such as oil and gas exploration, mineral exploration and processing, sugar manufacturing, agro-chemicals, IT, and agricultural processing.

*Khurshid said Vietnam had recently chosen Tata Power as the developer for a $1.8-billion 2X660 MW Long Phu 2 Thermal Power Project in Soc Trang province in southern Vietnam, despite strong competition from Korean and Russian companies. “It will be the single largest Indian investment in Vietnam when it comes through and will enhance our economic co-operation and strategic partnership. The MoU between the two central banks – Reserve Bank of India and the State Bank of Vietnam – signed in 2012, will enable Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank to upgrade their representative offices that they opened in Ho Chi Minh City in February 2003 and March 2008, respectively, into full-fledged branches in the near future,” Khurshid said. India has extended 17 letters of credit (LoCs) totaling $164.5 million, including a $19.5-million LoC for setting up Nam Trai-IV hydropower project and Binh Bo Pumping station, which was signed on 11 July. India has also agreed to consider earmarking $100 million under buyer’s credit under the National Export Insurance Account for use by Vietnam.

*The government cleared a proposal to replace Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) with a new aviation regulator with full operational and financial autonomy on 11th July. The new regulatory body would be called the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and it would replace the DGCA. It will administer and regulate civil aviation safety and manage safety oversight over air transport operators, air service navigation operators and operators of other civil aviation facilities. The DGCA had limited delegation of financial powers and hence was “incapable of making adequate structural changes” to meet the demands of a dynamic civil aviation sector. This necessitated its replacement with CAA that would have more administrative and financial powers to deal with the fast-changing aviation scenario.CAA, like DGCA, would also deal with matters relating to financial stress on safety of air operations, as witnessed in connection with the bankrupt Kingfisher Airlines in October last year.CAA is being established to meet the standards set by UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and in line with aviation regulators in other countries like the Federal Aviation Administration of the US and the UK’s CAA.

*The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 10 July, approved disinvestment of government stake in State Trading Corporation (STC) and India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), which would fetch around Rs 30 crore to the exchequer. The Disinvestment Department had sought Cabinet nod to offload 5 per cent stake in ITDC and 1.02 per cent in STC through the Offer For Sale (OFS) route. The government expects the sale of 5 per cent stake or 42.88 crore shares in ITDC to fetch Rs 23.58 crore. Besides, it aims to garner about Rs. 10 crore through disinvestment of 1.02 per cent, or 6.13 crore shares, in STC. Government currently holds 92.11 per cent stake in ITDC and 91.02 per cent stake in STC. The stake sale would help both the companies meet the minimum 10 per cent public holding norm of market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The government is required to bring down its stake in these two companies to 90 per cent by August 8.

*The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), on 10th July, has approved the Modified Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme (MIIUS) with an approved outlay of Rs. 1030 crore for the 12th Five Year Plan period consisting of Rs. 450 crore for committed liability and the remaining Rs. 580 crore for taking up 14 to16 new projects including a minimum 2 projects in the North Eastern Region (NER) for up gradation of infrastructure in existing or Greenfield industrial clusters. The CCEA further approved that at least 10 percent outlay will be set aside for the minimum two projects in the NER. All States are covered under the scheme. However projects are likely to be undertaken in only 14 to 16 States/Districts due to limitation of outlay in the 12th Plan. After notification of the MIIUS, the Project Management Agency (PMA) would be appointed. The IIUS was launched in 2003 as a Central Sector Scheme to enhance competitiveness of industry by providing quality infrastructure through a public private partnership in selected functional clusters with central assistance up to 75 percent of the project cost subject to a ceiling of Rs. 5 crore. The Scheme was recast in February, 2009 based on the recommendation of an independent evaluation.

*Software giant TCS has replaced its group firm Tata Steel as the country's most admired company, as per a Fortune list released on 9th July. TCS is followed by Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Infosys and SBI in the top-five, while last year's top-ranked firm Tata Steel has slipped to seventh position in the list of India's 50 most admired companies. Both ITC and Infosys have shared the third spot. The rankings have taken into account various factors such as corporate governance, innovativeness, corporate social responsibility and leadership. There are a total of four Tata group companies on the list. Besides Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Tata Steel, other Tata group firms in the list are Tata Motors at the 12th spot and Tata Power at 50th. As many as ten public sector units (PSUs) have made it to the rankings, global business magazine Fortune's Indian edition said. Among state-run enterprises, SBI and ONGC are in the top ten, ranked at fifth and eighth positions, respectively. L&T (6th rank), Maruti Suzuki (9th) and ICICI Bank (10th) feature in the top ten. State-run oil major Indian Oil Corp was placed at 11th rank, while SAIL (22nd), Bharat Petroleum (25th), NTPC (28th), HPCL (31st), GAIL (34th), ONGC Videsh (47th) and Coal India (48th) also made the cut. Other companies who made it to the list include Microsoft India (15th), Colgate Palmolive (16th), IBM India (17th), Samsung India Electronics (18th), Bharti Airtel (19th), Cadbury (23rd), Dell India (32nd), Siemens (36th), Intel India (38th), Nokia India (42nd) and Sony India (44th).
The Union Government of India on 1 July 2013 launched the National Cyber Security Policy 2013 at New Delhi with an aim to protect information and build capabilities to prevent cyber attacks. The National Cyber Security Policy 2013 to safeguard both physical and business assets of the country. The Policy has outlined the roadmap for creation of a framework for comprehensive, collaborative and collective responsibility to deal with cyber security of the country.

*The policy has ambitious plans for rapid social transformation and inclusive growth and India's prominent role in the IT global market. It will cater to the cyber security requirements of government and non-government entities at the national and international levels. The policy will help in safeguarding the critical infrastructure like Air Defense system, nuclear plants, banking system, power infrastructure, telecommunication system and many more to secure country's economic stability.

*The National Cyber Policy in order to create a secure cyber ecosystem has planned to set-up a National Nodal Agency to coordinate all matters related to cyber security in the country. The nodal agency has clearly defined roles and responsibilities. The policy will also establish a mechanism for sharing information as well as identifying and responding to cyber security incidents and for cooperation in restoration efforts. The National Cyber Security Policy has been prepared in consultation with all relevant stakeholders, user entities and public.

*The Telecom Commission has approved the enhancement of the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in the telecom sector from 74 per cent to 100 per cent on 2 July. The Telecom Commission’s decision will now be submitted to the Union Cabinet for its approval. The move comes on the eve of Finance Minister P. Chidambaram’s visit to the U.S. on July 11, followed by the Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal’s week-long visit to the U.S. starting July 15.

*The announcement also comes on the heels of new balance of payment challenges; with the rupee at an all-time low of nearlyRs. 60 per one US dollar. The announcement has multiple implications for India. Mr. Sibal said in a statement that, he expected the move to reenergize the telecom industry out of its legacy debt issues by bringing in at least $10-15 billion of FDI. “By improving connectivity through the highest quality of connectivity and competition, it will further empower the aam aadmi of the country in a meaningful manner,” Mr. Sibal said. He further asserted that security concerns surrounding telecom networks would also be addressed with a firm hand.

*It may be unheard of for an energy company, but Oil India Ltd. (OIL) plans to tie-up with the Assam government to start a co-operative dairy business along the lines of Gujarat’s successful ‘Amul’ model. The project named ‘Kamdhenu’ envisages setting up of a milk production facility in Upper Assam to establish the dairy business in 3-5 years, OIL said inj Guwahati on 2 July.“Assam is a milk-deficient state. Availability of good milk is a big issue here. So, as part of our corporate social responsibility, we have decided to join hands with the state government to start a co-operative dairy business here,” OIL Chairman and Managing Director Sunil Kumar Srivastava told reporters.

*The model and OIL’s role are being studied to see how the company can support it. “We are an oil company and milk production is not our business. We will tie-up with the government and see how we can implement this plan,” Mr. Srivastava said. The company was assessing options such as giving cows to farmers in villages, setting up collection centers, and establishing a distribution network, he said. The co-operative might supply milk to the entire North East in future, he said. OIL has started the ground work for the project, and has initiated talks with the Assam government.

*India has ranked 66th in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2013, an index that is published by Cornell University, INSEAD, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as a knowledge partner. The study ranked 142 economies across the world on their innovation capacity and efficiency. This year’s report casts additional light on the local dynamics of innovation, an area which has remained under-measured globally.

*It shows the emergence of original innovation eco-systems, and signals a needed shift from the usual tendency to try and duplicate previously successful initiatives, CII said in a statement. “The local dynamics of innovation varies across the globe and influences innovation measurement. Learning from the local innovation systems adds newer dimensions to existing measurement approaches.

*The focus of this year’s GII makes it a valuable guide for the policy makers to develop specific strategies relevant to their local innovation eco-system,” said CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee. India ranked 1st in the Central and South Asia region followed by Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka, and 11th overall in innovation efficiency ratio. (Innovation efficiency reflects the innovation output per unit of innovation input in the economy).India ranked poor in areas such as political stability (rank 123), ease of starting business (rank 128) knowledge absorption (rank 122) among others. As per the report, despite the economic crisis, innovation is alive and well.

*Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) on 2 July, has lost the giant Kashagan oilfield to the Chinese after Kazakhstan blocked its $5-billion deal to buy U.S. energy major ConocoPhillips’ stake in the Caspian Sea oilfield. ONGC Videsh, the overseas investment arm of ONGC, had, in November last, struck a deal to buy ConocoPhillips’ 8.4 per cent stake in Kazakhstan’s biggest oilfield, Kashagan for $5 billion.