India-Japan Business & Defense Deals, Bangladesh Boundary Settlement, & Indian Economic Gr, Exams of Abnormal Psychology

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June 2015 Current Affairs Capsule Person in News  Ameenah Gurib-Fakim  The government of Mauritius designated Ameenah Gurib-Fakim as the Indian Ocean Island nation‘s new president, making her the first woman to hold the ceremonial position. o Gurib-Fakim, 56, will be the first female President of the Island, which gained independence from Britain in 1968 and which replaced Britain‘s Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state in 1992. o Mauritius is one of the richest, and least corrupt, countries in Africa, a middle- income country of some 1.3 million people with a per capita GDP of just over $9,000 (7,200 euros). o Gurib-Fakim is currently director of the Mauritius-headquartered Centre for Phytotherapy Research (CEPHYR), which carries out research on plants for use in cosmetics, nutrition and therapy.  Shri Vijai Sharma  Shri Vijai Sharma (Indian Administrative Service:1974), Information Commissioner in the Central Information Commission, New Delhi, has been appointed as the Chief Information Commissioner. o Shri Sudhir Bhargava (Indian Administrative Service:1979), retired Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, has been appointed as the Information Commissioner in the Central Information Commission, New Delhi. o The above appointments have been made for a term of five years from the date(s) on which they enter upon their office(s) or till they attain the age of sixty five years, whichever is earlier. o Central Information Commission, which is mandated to resolve appeals and complaints filed against government departments or public authorities by information seekers under the Right to Information Act, has been working without a Chief for over nine months, after the tenure of CIC Rajiv Mathur ended on August 22, 2014.  Shri K.V. Chowdary  Shri V. Chowdary (Indian Revenue Service:1978) retired Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has been appointed as the Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC), New Delhi. o Shri M. Bhasin, Chairman & Managing Director, Indian Bank, has been appointed as the Vigilance Commissioner in the CVC, New Delhi. o The above appointments have been made for a term of four years from the date(s) on which they enter upon their office(s) or till they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. o Chowdary, a former Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, is working as an Adviser in Supreme Court appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) to check black money. o CVC is conceived to be the apex vigilance institution, free of control from any executive authority, monitoring all vigilance activity under the Central Government and advising various authorities in Central Government organizations in planning, executing, reviewing and reforming their vigilance work.  Sharad Pawar  Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar was unanimously re-elected as the president of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), a post he has occupied since he founded the party in 1999 after parting ways with Congress.  Mogens Lykketoft  The United Nations General Assembly has elected by acclamation Mogens Lykketoft of Denmark as President of its upcoming 70th session.  Dileep Singh Bhuria  Senior BJP leader and Lok Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh Dileep Singh Bhuria, one of the prominent tribal faces of the saffron party, passed away after a brief illness at a hospital in Gurgaon today. o Bhuria started his political career with Congress and first made it to Parliament from Jhabua, a tribal-dominated district in Madhya Pradesh which he made his pocket-borough in 1980 when Indira Gandhi swept back to power at the Centre. o He won Jhabua Lok Sabha seat five times consecutively – from 1980 to 1996. o Born on June 19, 1944, Bhuria began his legislative stint in the state in 1972 when he was elected MLA from Petlawad seat in Jhabua district. o He served as National SC/ST Commission Chairman during the Vajpayee government. Bhuria also joined Gondwana Gantantra Party for a brief period.  Zaheer Abbas  Former Pakistan captain Zaheer Abbas has assumed the role of the ICC President on day three of the apex cricket body‘s Annual Conference week here. o Zaheer began his one-year term and thanked the ICC Board and the Full Council for confirming his nomination. o Zaheer, 67, played 78 Tests and 62 ODIs from 1969 to 1985 in which he scored 5,062 and 2,572 runs, respectively. He also played in the 1975, 1979 and 1983 ICC Cricket World Cups and captained Pakistan in 14 Tests and 13 ODIs. o With 108 centuries, Zaheer is the only Asian batsman to score a century of first- class centuries as he finished his 22-year career with 34,843 runs. o Zaheer was also an ICC match referee in the 1993 series between Sri Lanka and the West Indies in Sri Lanka. o The ICC has 105 members. The ICC President is required under the body‘s Memorandum and Articles of Association to be ‗an iconic former international cricketer of high standing and repute (unless truly exceptional circumstances mean that nobody so qualified is available)‘.  Satnam Singh Bhamara  Satnam Singh Bhamara, a 19-year-old from the small village of Ballo Ke, Punjab, became the first Indian-born player ever selected in the NBA Draft. o The Dallas Mavericks chose the 7-foot-2, 290-pound center with the 52nd overall pick in the 60-pick draft. o The groundbreaking news comes less than three months after Canadian-born 22- year-old Sim Bhullar – a giant himself at 7-foot-5, 360 pounds – became the first player of Indian descent to sign an NBA contract and appear in an NBA game. Rahul Agarwal  Technology major Lenovo today said it has appointed Rahul Agarwal as the Managing Director of its India operations with immediate effect. National Affairs  A web portal to be used as social medium for people to share information about missing children was launched by the government here. o Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad jointly launched the website — „Khoya-Paya‟, a platform for citizens to report children sighted as abandoned, lost or with suspicious person. o Besides enabling those who spot a missing child in suspicious circumstances to upload data along with photo, the portal will allow parents to upload information about their missing children in real time. o According to National Crime Record Bureau, the figure of missing children every year is 70,000. In 2010 and 2011, it was 77,000 and 90,000 respectively. While in 2012 and 2013, 65,000 children went missing. The total number of recovered children from January 2012 and April 2015 is 23,597. o The portal is developed by Women and Child Development Ministry in partnership with Information Technology and Communications.  India and US signed a new strategically important 10-year defence framework agreement setting the stage for co-development and manufacture of defence equipment and technology besides holding joint exercises and greater intelligence sharing. o The agreement, which was decided during the visit of US President Barack Obama to India in January and focuses on issues ranging from maritime security, aircraft carrier to jet engine technology cooperation, was inked by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and visiting US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter. o The signing of the agreement comes as the two countries moved ahead on two of the four ―pathfinder projects‖ identified under the Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) during Obama‘s visit. o One of the projects is the development of a high-tech mobile power source for the Marine Corps that would work on solar energy, be smaller, more portable and efficient, and which could be used in remote outposts. o The other is a protective suit for the Indian Army that would be more lightweight and effective when used in chemical and biological hazard incidents. o During Obama‘s visit, both countries had identified four ―pathfinder projects‖ as well as decided to explore development of aircraft carrier technologies and jet engines.  Marking the World Environment Day on June 5, Prime Minister Narendra Modi planted a sapling at the lawns of his Race Course Road residence and exhorted people to work for protecting the environment for the sake of future generations. Land Boundary Agreement  India and Bangladesh opened a new chapter in their ties as they settled the 41- year-old boundary dispute and promised to do more in other areas amid Prime Minister Narendra Modi‟s announcement of a fresh line of credit of USD 2 billion to the neighbouring country. o The chief component under the campaign is the Jal Gram Yojana, whereby one village facing acute water scarcity would be selected from each of the 672 districts in the country. o The scheme will identify and train a cadre of local water professionals, preferably women panchayat members, to be called “Jal Mitra” who will create mass awareness about water problems. o The scheme also provides for a “Sujalam Card” which will provide annual status/information about the quality of drinking water available for a Jal Gram.  The Union government has launched an insurance pool of Rs. 1,500 crore, mandatory under the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act to offset the financial burden on foreign nuclear suppliers in case of an accident. o The announcement was made here on Saturday by Union Minister of State in the Department of Atomic Energy Jitendra Singh. o The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 (CLND), had suggested that the nuclear insurance pool be made operational with funds of Rs 1,500 crore. o R K Sinha, Secretary in the Department of Atomic Energy, said this would be a solution for suppliers‘ concerns about liability from nuclear risks. o Clauses in the CLND Act, which give the operator the Right to Recourse and allow it to sue the suppliers in case of any accident were seen as being a major hindrance to the growth of the nuclear industry. These concerns led to to the formation of the Indian nuclear insurance pool. o Under the Rs 1,500 crore pool, set up by General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) and 11 other non-life insurers including New India, Oriental Insurance, National Insurance and United India Insurance from the public sector apart from private insurance companies, policies offered will be a nuclear operators liability insurance policy and a nuclear suppliers‘ special contingency (against right to recourse) insurance policy.  The Election Commission suspended the recognition of P A Sangma”s National People”s Party for failing to file its election expenditure statement for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. o ―Exercising power under para 16A of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order 1968, the Election Commission of India has suspended the recognition of the National People‟s Party, a recognized state party in Meghalaya, due to its failure in filing the election expenditure statement of the party,‖ the EC said. o This is for the time that the poll watchdog has taken such a step of suspending recognition of a party using its powers under Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order 1968 ―for its failure to follow the Lawful directions of the Commission,‖ EC said in a statement. o The party had requested time to submit its expenditure statement by April 15, 2015 and again May 15, 2015 ―but failed to honour the deadline‖  The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh launched an Augmented Reality (AR) application named „Sakaar‟ to highlight the achievements of the Department of Space during one year in office of the present Government. DECU-ISRO has developed this application for Android devices. o Sakaar consists of 3D models of MOM, RISAT, rockets (PSLV, GSLV Mk-III); videos of INSAT 3D-predicting cyclones, GSLV D5/Cryo, Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) orbit insertion, launch video of MOM, 360 degree animated view of MOM; Anaglyph of Mars surface. The sakaar app is loaded on webpage with the URL: http://www.sac.gov.in/SACSITE/sakaar/index.html. The user can scan the QR code using a QR code reader on the device for downloading the app. o Augmented Reality is a live direct view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated 3D models, animations, videos etc. The technology enhances user‘s current perception of reality. Augmentation is in real time and the information is overlaid on the live view of the device‘s camera. Essentially, AR requires three elements: Android device with back camera, AR application, AR Markers. The Multimedia content which is embedded in the Sakaar app is generated with the support of multimedia & editing facilities of DECU-ISRO. o Shri S. Kiran Kumar, Secretary Department of Space and Chairman, ISRO highlighted the achievements of Department of Space during the last one year such as the launch of PSLV-C23, IRNSS-1C, IRNSS-1D, GSAT-16, LVM3-X/Crew Module, successful ground testing of high thrust cryogenic engine for GSLV MkIII. He also said that an MoU was signed between ISRO and CNES in April, 2015 and between ISRO and China National Space Administration in September, 2014. o The ISRO Chairman informed that various missions are planned for the upcoming year 2015-16 including launch of PSLV-C28 in July, GSLV–D6 in August, ASTROSAT in September this year among others. The launch of IRNSS-1F and IRNSS-1G are planned for beginning of the next year 2016, he informed.  Stepping up his digital presence, the Prime Minister launched „Narendra Modi Mobile App‟ to provide instant updates and an opportunity to receive messages and emails directly from him. o The Android-based application is also aimed at giving a chance to people to interact with him and share ideas and suggestions. o The application description said, ―download the app and get the latest updates anywhere, anytime! Highlights of the Narendra Modi app include receiving the latest news and updates, exclusive opportunity to receive E-Mails & Messages directly from the PM and ‗Mann Ki Baat‘ with the PM.‖ o Apart from providing a chance to interact with the Prime Minister and share ideas and suggestions, it will also give latest thoughts from Modi and his blogs.  The Indian government launched a free SMS service called ”Nowcast‟‗ to provide alerts on extreme weather conditions like hailstorm every three hours to over one crore registered farmers on their mobile phones.  Prime Minister Narendra Modiled the first International Yoga Day celebrations in the country, defining yoga as a means to train the human mind to begin a new era of peace and harmony. o The gathering at Rajpath, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, set record for „Largest number of participants‟ at 35,985and „Most number of nationalities‟ at 84. o Confirming this, an official release by the Ministry of AYUSHsaid -―The Ministry of AYUSH has been awarded with two Guinness World Records in two different categories on the first International Day of Yoga. o Category 1was for the largest number of participants in a Yoga Lesson at single venue. The earlier record was of 29,973. To beat that record a target of 30,000 was required. The Ministry broke that record as 35,985 participants performed Yoga at Rajpath today morning. o Category 2was most number of nationalists in a Yoga Lesson. To achieve this at least participants from 50 countries were required to perform. But today participants from 84 countries performed Yoga at Rajpath. o Shri Shripad Yesso Naik. MoS(I/C). Ministry of AYUSHand Secretary AYUSH received the awards which were presented by the representatives of Guinness World Records Ms Victoria from UK and Marco Frigatti from Italy. o The Guinness recordwas earlier held by Vivekananda Kendra which organised a yoga event in which 29,973 people participated in Gwalior on November 19, 2005.  The Centre launched a mobile application, where the public can upload pictures of pollution sources of the Ganga riverfor further action by the authorities concerned. o Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bhartilaunched Bhuvan Ganga Mobile Application and web portal after signing of an MoU between the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), ISRO to effectively plan and monitor the Centre‘s flagship Clean Ganga Mission here today, a statement said. o Bhuvan Ganga portalis an exclusive web portal deployed in ISRO Bhuvan‘s geoportal with all geospatial layers related to river Ganga. o It will be used as a tool to support decision making and planning for the Clean Ganga Mission. Bhuvan Mobile App is a user-friendly android based application to enable public to collect and report information on various pollution sources that affects the water quality of river Ganga. o The first version of the app is available for download in the Bhuvan Gangaweb portal (http://bhuvan.Nrsc.Gov.In/ganga).  The International Day of Yogawas observed in all 192 countries except strife- torn Yemen, the Union Cabinet was informed.  Prime Minister Narendra Modilaunched three urban development schemes, AMRUT, Smart Cities Mission and Housing for All, saying urbanisation should be viewed as an opportunity and urban centres should be seen as growth engines. o While 500 cities will be developed under AMRUT scheme, there would be 100 smart citiesover five years and Housing for All aims at construction of 2 crore houses in urban areas in the next seven years, Modi said. o PM Modion Thursday pitched for maximum FDI in urban infrastructure and involvement of private players as he launched three ambitious programmes for provision of housing for all and development of 600 cities, 100 of them as ‗smart cities‘. o The 100 Smart Citiesare proposed to be built through a competitive mechanism on the basis of demand from the residents and municipalities instead of the Central government ―imposing‖ it, the Prime Minister said. o Urban development initiatives, Smart Cities Mission and Housing for All, unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Moditoday, are likely to infuse Rs 4 lakh crore once integrated with other missions like Digital India and Swachh Bharat, say industry experts. o The move is expected to help create as many as 34 lakh jobsin the country as the decision will have significant ―multiplier effect‖ for over 250 core and ancillary sectors, including infrastructure, logistics and modern retail, they said.  Indiawas among the 50 founding countries that signed an agreement on Monday providing the legal framework for the China-led USD 100 billion multilateral Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) which is being seen as a rival to the US and Europe-dominated banking institutions. o The 60-article agreement specified each member‘s share as well as governance structure and policy-making mechanism of the bank, which is designed to finance infrastructure in Asia. o The AIIBwill have authorised capital of $100 billion, and Asian countries will contribute to up to 75% of the total capital. Each member will be allocated a share of the quota based on their economic size, according to the agreement. o China, India and Russia are the three largest shareholders, taking a 30.34%, 8.52%, 6.66% stake, respectively. Their voting shares are calculated at 26.06%, 7.5% and 5.92%. o The AIIB is designed to finance infrastructure construction in the continent. The AIIB was proposed by President Xi Jinpingin October 2013. o Apart from China and India, some of the countries which signed the agreement include Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.K. o TheAIIB is expected to become operational by the end of the year.  India and Thailandsigned a number of important agreements, including the double taxation avoidance treaty, and exchanged instruments of ratification on the extradition treaty inked in 2013, which provides for the legal framework for seeking extradition of fugitive offenders. o The new law puts Japan in line with nearly 90% of the world‘s countries in setting the minimum voting age at 18.  Keith Vaz, Britain‖s longest-serving Indian-origin MP was re-elected as chair of Parliament‖s influential Home Affairs Select Committee, even as a controversy rages over his help to scam-tainted former IPL chairman Lalit Modi in obtaining British travel documents.  Chinese authorities have manufactured the world‟s first electric passenger aircraft. o It is priced at about one million yuan ($163,000). o The ―BX1E” has a 14.5-metre wingspan and a maximum payload of 230kg. It can fly at an altitude of 3,000 metres, according to the report. o It can be charged within two hours, and can fly for 45 minutes to an hour at a maximum speed of 160kmph.According to the manufacturer, the aircraft can be used for pilot training, tourism, meteorology and rescue operations. o The plane was designed by the Shenyang Aerospace University and Liaoning general aviation academy in the northeastern Liaoning province. o The total number of orders has reached 28.  India has moved down to 61st place in terms of foreigners” money in Swiss banks and it now accounts for a meagre 0.123 per cent of the total global wealth worth USD 1.6 trillion in Switzerland”s banking system. o In a first major admission of being an ―attractive location‖ for laundering of assets amassed illegally abroad, Switzerland has said it needs to further strengthen systems for combating money laundering and terrorist financing.  China opened a new, ―safer‖ and ―more convenient‖ route for Indians undertaking the arduous Kailash-Manasarovar Yatra as the first batch of pilgrims crossed the Indian border and entered Tibet via Nathu La.  In a landmark opinion, a divided Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples can marry nationwide, establishing a new civil right and handing gay rights advocates a historic victory. o Nearly 46 years to the day after a riot at New York‟s Stonewall Inn ushered in the modern gay rights movement, the decision could settle one of the major civil rights fights of this era. o The U.S.A is now the 21st country to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide, including territories. Married same-sex couples will now enjoy the same legal rights and benefits as married heterosexual couples nationwide and will be recognized on official documents such as birth and death certificates. o The decision affirmed growing public support in the U.S.A for gay marriage, with about two-thirds of Americans now in favor. o Several hundred gays, lesbians and transgender people held a Gay Pride rally in the Philippine capital to push for LGBT rights and to celebrate the US Supreme Court decision recognizing gay marriages in all US states as a victory for their cause. Economy  Bangladesh has granted permission to the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) to run its business, making it the second foreign insurance company to operate in the country, officials said.  The United States has overtaken Saudi Arabia as the world‟s biggest oil producer in 2014 while India has recorded the highest growth in energy consumption among major economies. o The US produced 15.9% more oil in 2014 at 11.6 million barrels of oil per day to topple Saudi Arabia‘s 11.5 million bpd production, according to BP Plc‟s Statistical Review of World Energy released. o Russia with 10.8 million bpd oil production was placed third. o The US surpassed Russia as the world‘s largest producer of oil and gas, producing 1,250.4 million tons of oil and oil equivalent natural gas in 2014. This compared with Russia‘s 1,062 million tons of oil equivalent. o BP said the US shale revolution helped it overtake ―Saudi Arabia as the world‘s biggest oil producer and surpass Russia as the world‘s largest producer of oil and gas.‖ o India posted a 7.1% rise in energy consumption, the fastest among major economies and second only to Algeria‘s 8.4% expansion.  In a move to cut debts, India‖s largest private miner Vedanta Ltd headed by billionaire Anil Agarwal will absorb oil firm Cairn India in a USD 2.3 billion all-share deal to create India‘s largest diversified natural resources company. o Vedanta will use Rs 16,867 crore cash lying with Cairn to pay off part of its Rs 77,752 crore debt. o Vedanta, previously known as Sesa Sterlite Ltd, in 2013 consolidated its iron ore mining business by merging Sesa Goa Ltd with Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd, which ran copper and aluminium businesses. o The merger will help Cairn spread its risk from volatile oil business to other metals and commodities. o Shareholders in Cairn India, the country‘s top private oil producer, will get one ordinary share and 7.5 percent redeemable preference share of Vedanta Ltd with a face value of Rs 10.  India achieved a milestone with the signing of a motor vehicles pact with Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh enabling seamless transit of passenger, cargo and vehicles with the first stage of the USD-8 billion road connectivity project set to begin in October. o India signed a major motor vehicles pact with three SAARC nations – Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal – that will enable seamless transit of passenger amongst them. o The index-based insurance policy will cover losses incurred by orange fruit- growing farmers due to deviation in weather conditions and has been approved by Central and the State government, a company release issued here said. o The losses would be assessed on the basis of pre-defined and government- approved term sheets and actual weather data received from an approved automatic weather station installed in each block of these districts. o Farmers who have taken loan through Kissan Credit Card (KCC) would automatically get insured (for the scheme) by their banks, while those who don‘t have KCC but savings accounts need to visit the bank branches and authorise the banks to enrol them in the scheme. Banking & Finance Second Bi-monthly Monetary Policy, 2015-16  EMIs on home and auto loans will come down with SBI & other banks cutting lending rates within hours of RBI slashing policy rate by 0.25 per cent for the 3rd time this year. o RBI cut the repo rate (short-term lending rate) from 7.5 per cent to 7.25, but left all other policy tools like cash reserve requirement unchanged at 4 per cent andStatutory Liquidity Ratio at 21.5 per cent. o But the move comes with a message that any further cut this year is unlikely. Articulating the concerns of the RBI over the expected poor monsoon and crude oil prices, Governor Raghuram Rajan expressed fears that a monsoon shock could push up food prices and challenge its control over inflation. o The Reserve Bank lowered the economic growth forecast for the current fiscalto 7.6 per cent from 7.8 per cent projected in April, citing various risks, including poor monsoon and rising crude oil prices. o Current account deficit is estimated to be around 5 per cent of the GDP in the current fiscal, helped by sharp fall in oil prices even as gold imports rose in the past few months, the Reserve Bank said today.  RBI in its First Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement, 2015-16 said banks will be allowed to invest in bonds issued by other banks to fund long-term infrastructure projects and affordable housing. o In its latest circular on cross-holding of long-term bonds by banks for financing infrastructure and affordable housing, the RBI said banks‘ investment in such bonds will not be treated as ‗assets with the banking system in India‘ for the purpose of calculation of net demand and time liability (NDTL). o NDTL (or deposits) is used to determine the cash reserve ratio (CRR) — slice of deposits that banks have to place with RBI — and the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) – the portion of deposits that banks have to invest in government securities. o Currently, the CRR is at 4 per cent of NDTL and the SLR is at 21.5 per cent of deposits. o Banks‘ investment in such bonds will not be treated as ‗assets with the banking system in India‘ for the purpose of calculation of NDTL. o Investing bank‘s investment in a specific issue of such bonds will be capped at 2% of the investing bank‘s Tier 1 Capital or 5% of the issue size, whichever is lower. o Banks cannot hold their own bonds.  Multi-lateral lender World Bank approved $250 million loan for Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project for reconstruction of flood-affected public infrastructure in Jammu & Kashmir. o It will also strengthen the capacity of state government to respond and better manage natural disasters in future, World Bank said in a release. o The project will be funded by credit from World Bank‟s concessionary — International Development Association (IDA). o The loan has a maturity of 25 years, including a 5 year grace period. o A continuous spell of rains in September 2014 had caused Jhelum, Chenab and Tawi rivers, their tributaries and many other streams to flow above the danger mark which had severely affected livelihoods in the state.  ICICI Bank, the country‘s largest non-state lender, has named MK Sharma its non-executive chairman. He will succeed KV Kamath, who will shortly step down from the bank‘s board after being nominated as the first president of the BRICS development bank. o Sharma, a former vice chairman of Hindustan Unilever, was an independent director on the ICICI Bank board from 2003 to 2011.  An ordinance that will allow filing of cheque bounce case at the place where the cheque was presented for clearance has been promulgated by President Pranab Mukherjee. o The President has promulgated the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015, that will help lakhs of persons battling cheque bounce cases far away from their places, official sources said. o It is the 14th ordinance by the Modi government in a little over a year time. o The ordinance will enable filing of cheque bounce cases in the place where the cheque was presented for clearance or payment and not the place of issue. o There are an estimated 18 lakh people facing cheque bounce cases across the country. o The Union Cabinet had on June 10 approved the ordinance.  Looking not to miss out on the e-commerce boom, private lender HDFC Bank launched a mobile phone application, PayZapp, for online payments and money transfer. o In PayZapp, SmartBuy will help drive the payment process. The bank has tied up with Flipkart, Cleartrip, Goibibo and Expedia for SmartBuy. o Also, customers would be able to make money transfers, pay utility bills and recharge their mobile and DTH connections with just one click and a single PIN entry. notes in multiple series in circulation at the same time is a standard international practice, the Reserve Bank has pointed out. o The Reserve Bank will continue to monitor and review the process so that the public is not inconvenienced in any manner.  Easing norms for accessing foreign funds, RBI allowed banks to borrow from international financial institutions for general banking business without its permission. o Such borrowings, RBI added, should be for the purpose of general banking business and not for capital augmentation. o In another circular, RBI allowed all non-deposit taking NBFCs to act as sub- agents under Money Transfer Service Schemes (MTSS) without seeking prior approval from it. o Deposit accepting non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) are however, not permitted to undertake such activity, RBI  United Bank of India has topped the list of public sector lenders with maximum bad loans including restructured assets as a percentage of total advances. o According to the data provided by the RBI to the Finance Ministry, United Bank of India‘s 21.5 per cent assets are either bad or have been restructured to save them from turning non-performing assets (NPAs).  Showing anti-consumer bias in Indian banks‖ approach on interest rates, an IMF study shows they are faster in effecting lending rate hike, but rise in deposit rates not so quick. o In her research paper on „Monetary Policy in India: Transmission to Bank Interest Rates‟, IMF Economist Sonali Das has said there is fresh evidence about ―significant, albeit slow, pass-through of policy rate changes to bank interest rates in India.‖ o The problem has also been raised by various commentators in India, including RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, that banks tend to resist passing on the policy rate cuts to consumers. o The latest IMP paper said the ―extent of pass-through to the deposit rate is larger than that to the lending rate, and the deposit rate adjusts more quickly to changes in the policy rate‖. o The study has studied the monetary policy transmission in India from end-March 2002 to end-October 2014.  JCB International, a Japanese cards issuer, has entered into a strategic partnership with National Payments Corporation of India under which its card-holders will be able to transact at all NPCI locations. o At present, JCB cards are accepted in India through a tie-up with American Express. Following the pact, the Japanese company will call off the tie-up with the American issuer here. o Under the tie-up, RuPay-JCB international debit cards will also be issued by NPCI member-banks that would be globally accepted through the JCB network. o NPCI currently has 10 lakh card merchants and 2 lakh ATMs across the country. o The co-branded card will work as RuPay cards in the country and work as JCB cards outside. Reports Fortune 500 Annual list  Walmart stayed at the top of the Fortune 500 annual list of the largest US companies today, while Apple was the most profitable and Facebook the most upward-bound.  This year‘s Fortune 500 marks the 61st running of the list. In total, the Fortune 500 companies account for $12.5 trillion in revenues, $945 billion in profits, $17 trillion in market value and employ 26.8 million people worldwide.  Retail behemoth Wal-Mart Stores remained in the number one spot for the third year in a row, based on company revenues last year of USD 485.6 billion.  The biggest jump was notched by Facebook, which climbed from 341 to 242. New entrants included emerging tech heavyweights com, Netflix and Expedia. Forbes magazine‟s 2015 list of the world‟s highest-paid Athletes  With earnings of $31 million, ace Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the only Indian to feature in Forbes magazine‟s 2015 list of the world‟s highest-paid athletes.  Dhoni, who retired from Test cricket at the end of 2014, is ranked 23rd on the list, one notch below his 2014 ranking. Dhoni‟s total earnings stood at $31 million, including amount from salary/winnings at $4 million and endorsements worth $27 million.  The list is topped by American boxer Floyd Mayweather with earnings of $300 million, more than double the previous high for an athlete.  This is the third time in four years that Mayweather has ranked as the world‟s highest-paid athlete.  The 100 highest-paid athletes made $3.2 billion in total over the last 12 months, up 17 percent from the prior year. Top 10 athletes: 1. Floyd Mayweather, US, Boxing $300 mn 2. Manny Pacquiao, Philippines, Boxing $160 mn 3. Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal, Football $79.6 mn 4. Lionel Messi, Argentina, Football $73.8mn 5. Roger Federer, Switzerland, Tennis $67mn 6. LeBron James, US, Basketball $64.8 mn 7. Kevin Durant, US, Basketball $54.1 mn 8. Phil Mickelson, US, Golf $50.8 mn 9. Tiger Woods, US, Golf $50.6 mn 10. Kobe Bryant, US, Basketball $49.5 mn Top 25 Self-Made Billionaires In the World indicators can be grouped into three broad themes: the level of safety and security in a society, the number of international and domestic conflicts and the degree of militarisation.  Ranking India among 20 most violent places in the world, a global study today said the country‘s economy took a hit of over Rs 1 lakh crore in containing and dealing with cases of violence last year.  In the latest annual ranking of Global Peace Index, India has been ranked at 143rd position out of 162 countries surveyed.  Within South Asia, Bhutan has been ranked as the most peaceful country, followed by Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. India is ranked fifth in the region — better than Pakistan at sixth and Afghanistan at seventh.  Globally, Pakistan is ranked 154th, while Afghanistan is at 161st position in this year‘s list.  As per the report, India suffers chronically from international tensions and widespread internal conflict. Highlights  Since last year, 81 countries have become more peaceful, while 78 have deteriorated.  Many countries in Europe, the world‟s most peaceful region, have reached historically high levels of peace. 15 of the 20 most peaceful countries are in Europe.  Due to an increase in civil unrest and terrorist activity, the Middle East and North Africa is now the world‟s least peaceful region for the first time since the Index began.  Globally the intensity of internal armed conflict has increased dramatically, with the number of people killed in conflicts rising over 5 times from 49,000 in 2010 to 180,000 in 2014.  The economic impact of violence reached a total of US$14.3 trillion or 4% of global GDP last year. World‟s Biggest Employer Report  Two Indian organizations — Army and Railways — are among the world‟s biggest employers, together employing a whopping 2.7 million people, said a report.  The organization is ranked at the eighth place in the list of world‘s biggest employers.  Immediately after Indian Railways in the 8th rank with 1.4 million staff is the Indian Armed Forces with 1.3 million people.  According to a research published by the World Economic Forum, the US department of defense is the world‟s biggest employer which claims over 3.2 million employees on its roster.  Second is People‟s Liberation Army (the Chinese military) with 2.3 million, and in third is the US supermarket giant Walmart with 2.1 million workers, the report said.  McDonald‟s is the 4th biggest employer with 1.9 million employees, however, as the majority of its restaurants are franchises, this figure falls to 4,20,000 when they are excluded, the report said.  UK‟s National Health Service was ranked at the 5th place, with 1.7 million employees, followed by state-run China National Petroleum Corporation with 1.6 million. World Cellular Information Service (WCIS) Report  Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel has become the world”s third largest mobile operator with 303 million subscriber.  Bharti Airtel has become the world‘s third largest mobile carrier by subscribers, behind China Mobile and UK‟s Vodafone Group, latest data from research firm Ovum‘s World Cellular Information Service (WCIS) showed.  Bharti Airtel, with more than 303 million mobile subscribers across 20 countries in South Asia and Africa, has ―moved up one position in the global rankings‖, WCIS said. It now leads China Unicom and Mexican carrier America Movil, which are at fourth and fifth spots, respectively. Bibek Debroy Committee Report  The Bibek Debroy Committee, in its recent report, has said the Railway‘s core activity is to run trains and not to engage in activities like running hospitals, schools, catering, real estate activities and maintaining the Railway Protection Force (RPF). o Ministry of Railways have constituted a committee on 22.09.2014 with a tenure of one year for “Mobilization of resources for major Railway projects and Re-structuring of Railways, Ministry & Railway Board”under the chairmanship of Dr. Bibek Debroy. o The committee has said that RPF is meant for protecting railway properties, passenger areas and passengers though it has limited police powers which are mainly vested with the GRP for which Railway bears the half the cost. o Law and order being essentially a state subject, the committee has recommended two-fold action on the RPF front. It has suggested that first the state governments should be persuaded to bear the entire cost of GRP. o It has also recommended that General Managers and Divisional Railway Managers should be given freedom to choose between private security agencies and RPF for providing security on the trains. o With regard to running schools, the committee suggests that educational needs of the children of Railway employees could be met through susbisdising their education in alternative schools, including Kendriya Vidyalayas and private schools. o On medical service undertaken by the Railway, the committee has recommended a multi-pronged approach. It has said for functions such as periodic medical examination, pre-employment examination, medical boards, safe water and food supply at stations, the GMs and DRMs as also the employees could be given the choice to opt for services either through Indian Railway Medical Service or through private empanelled practitioners. o Reacting to Debroy panel‘s report, the National Federation of Indian Railways has said it has totally failed in understanding the complexities of the Indian Railway‘s working system.  Serena Williams captured her third French Open title – and an incredible 20th major singles trophy in the process – thanks to a 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-2 defeat of Lucie Safarova in an absorbing two-hour final. Stuttgart Open  Indo-Romanian pair of Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea clinched the men‟s doubles title at the 574,965-euro Stuttgart Open on the grass courts of Tennis Club Weissenhof.  The fourth seeds took just an hour and 12 minutes to beat Austrian-Brazilian third seeds Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares 5-7, 6-2, 10-7 in the final.  This is the second title the two have won together, having won the clay court Madrid Open last month. This is 35-year-old Bopanna‘s fourth title of the year, having won two hard court tournaments in Dubai and Sydney with Canadian partner Daniel Nestor. This is also the Bengaluru-born‘s 14th career doubles title and second on grass. Gerry Weber Open title  Roger Federer showed he is ready for Wimbledon by defeating Italy‘s Andreas Seppi 7-6 (1), 6-4 to claim his record eighth Gerry Weber Open title.  The 17-time Grand Slam winner sealed his 15th title from 20 finals on grass and his 86th career title from 130 finals overall. Lleyton Hewitt is next on grass with eight titles.  The GERRY WEBER OPEN is one of seven grass-court events on the calendar, and has been re-categorised as an ATP World Tour 500 tournament from 2015 as part of the extended grass-court swing.  The GERRY WEBER OPEN has crowned five German winners since the inaugural event in 1993: Michael Stich (1994), Nicolas Kiefer (1999), David Prinosil (2000), Tommy Haas (2009 & 2012) and Philipp Kohlschreiber (2011). Roger Federer won his eighth title in 2015. Canada Open Women‟s Doubles Title  Indian shuttlers Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa won the Canada Open women‟s doubles title after upstaging the top-seeded Dutch pair of Eefje Muskens and Selena Piek in the summit clash here.  The third-seeded Indian pair triumphed 21-19, 21-16 in the contest which lasted 35 minutes.  This was Jwala and Ashwini‘s first title since their reunion after the 2012 London Olympics. Awards Norwegian prize for freedom of expression  Former security contractor Edward Snowden won a Norwegian prize for freedom of expression and received yet another invitation to leave his exile and receive the award in person.  The Norwegian Academy of Literature and Freedom of Expressionsaid the 31-year old fugitive had won the Bjornson Prize — named after a Norwegian Nobel literature laureate — ―for his work protecting privacy and for shining a critical light on US surveillance of its citizens and others.‖  Snowden, a former analyst at the US National Security Agency, has lived in exile inRussiasince 2013 after revealing mass spying programmes by the United States and its allies.  The academy requested assurances from the Norwegian governmentthat Snowden would not be extradited to the US if he travelled to Norway to receive the 100,000 kroner ($12,700, 11,500 euros) prize money in person on September 5. Space Pioneer award-2015  The country‖s low-cost Mars mission which is in rendezvous with the red Planet for an extended period has been presented with the Space Pioneer award for the year 2015 by the US” National Space Society.  Space Pioneer award for the year 2015 was presented to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in the Science and Engineering category during the 34th Annual International Space Development Conference held at Toronto in Canada, city-headquartered ISRO said on its website.  It said the National Space Society (NSS) of USA presented the award in recognition of ISRO‟s efforts in accomplishing Mars Mission in its very first attempt.  Scripting space history, India on September 24, 2014 successfully placed its low- cost Mars spacecraft in orbit around the red planet in its very first attempt, breaking into an elite club of three – US, Russia and Europe who have successfully undertaken missions to Mars or its orbit.  The Space Pioneer Award consists of a silvery pewter Moon globe cast by the Baker Art Foundry in Placerville, California, from a sculpture originally created by Don Davis, the well-known space and astronomical artist, ISRO said. Fukuoka Prize  Historian-author Ramachandra Guha has been selected for Japan‟s prestigious Fukuoka Prize in the Academic category.  His fellow awardees are Thant Myint-U, a highly regarded historian from Myanmar who is working towards preserving cultural heritage, and Minh Hanh, a VietnameseThe well-known author and columnist, who is currently ―completely immersed‖ in his three-part biography of Gandhi.  The Fukuoka Prize has been awarded to Guha for presenting “thorough explanations of the complex history of India.”  Some of his early writings, such are This Fissured Land: An Ecological History of India (1992), Savaging the Civilized: Verrier Elwin, his Tribals and India (1999), and Environmentalism: A global history (2000).  ―His books vividly illustrate the actual state of the Indian democratic system, shedding light on our current multi-dimensional and chaotic world,‖ says the citation.