September 1-10

� The Supreme Court rejected the BCCI’s plea to reinstate its ousted president N Srinivasan, saying he

would have to wait for a clean chit from the IPL 2013 corruption probe panel, headed by Justice Mukul

Mudgal.

� India will get USD 35 billion from Japan over the next five years for developmental projects, including

building of smart cities and next generation infrastructure as also cleaning of the Ganga, as Premier

Shinzo Abe pledged to partner Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "ambitious" vision of inclusive

development. The two sides also signed five pacts covering defence exchanges, cooperation in clean

energy, roads and highways, healthcare and women while vowing to take their relationship to newer level.

� Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan and fiery cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri have been booked under the anti-

terrorist act for attempting to attack Pakistan's parliament. The police registered a First Information

Report (FIR) against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Khan and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT)

chief Qadri on behalf of the government.

� Declaring the entire state of Haryana as drought-affected for Kharif 2014, the Haryana government has

sought Central assistance of Rs 4,829 crore to compensate farmers.

� The Centre unveiled a kala-azar rapid diagnosis kit as part of its strategy to combat the disease which

predominantly strike Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh. The kit

developed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) was released by Union Health Minister Harsh

Vardhan.

� Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has set up a committee under Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor

H R Khan to assess the amount of unclaimed deposit in the popular Public Provident Fund (PPF) and Post

Office saving schemes, and suggest steps for utilization of funds for the benefit of senior citizens.

� The Indian and Russian air forces have held their first-ever military exercises, Avia Indra-2014, involving

counter-terror, fire-fighting and air defence in Russia.

� Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, in his two day visit to India, sealed a civil nuclear deal to sell

uranium to India and also offered to increase supplies of conventional fuel to help it overcome chronic

shortages. The nuclear deal is a further step toward India achieving international acceptability for its

nuclear programme despite not ratifying the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. It will also help end lingering

mistrust between the former British colonies, who share just A$15 billion in annual trade, a fraction of

Australia's roughly A$150 billion trade with China.

� Aimed at enhancing the Navy's coastal surveillance, its largest offshore patrol vessel INS Sumitra was

formally commissioned by Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R K Dhowan. The vessel is the fourth in its class

and built on in-house design of state-owned Goa Shipyard Ltd.

� For the third time in a row, South Africa has refused to grant a visa to the Dalai Lama for attending World

Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, fearing that the Tibetan spiritual leader's trip would jeopardize relations

with China.

� India's Sania Mirza captured her third Grand Slam mixed doubles title, winning the US Open crown with

Brazilian partner Bruno Soares. Mirza and Soares defeated American Abigail Spears and Mexico's Santiago

Gonazalez.

SNIPPETS

� Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels in the east signed a truce deal to end almost five months of fighting. More

than 2,600 people have died since rebels stormed several eastern cities. The takeover - which followed

the annexation by Russia of the southern Crimea peninsula in March - prompted a military operation by

Ukrainian forces to retake the cities.

� The United States said that it was forming a "core coalition" to battle Islamic State militants (ISIS) in Iraq,

calling for broad support from allies and partners but ruling out committing ground forces.

� Japan PM Shinzo Abe arrived in Dhaka on his three-day visit to Bangladesh.

� For the first time in its nearly half century of existence, the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) will

be led by woman. Maharaja Ganga Singh University vice-chancellor Chandrakala Padia has been appointed

as the chairperson of the prestigious research institute in Shimla.

� Myanmar's election commission scrapped November by-elections in 35 parliamentary seats, citing the

pressure of hosting an upcoming regional summit and extra costs ahead of a nationwide poll in 2015.

� Lewis Hamilton won a controversial Italian Grand Prix that conspiracy theorists believe was rigged by

Mercedes.

� India has formally signed a free trade agreement for services and investments with ASEAN. Philippines,

now the only ASEAN country yet to sign the pact, is also expected to do so soon.

All ASEAN members — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore,

Thailand and Vietnam — are expected to get the agreement ratified by their Parliaments after which it will

be formally adopted during the next India–ASEAN summit later this year. The services agreement will

open up opportunities of movement of both manpower and investments. The pact will allow India to

leverage its competitive edge in the areas of finance, education, health, IT, telecommunications and

transport. This will be especially helpful for balancing India’s deficit with ASEAN countries in trade of

goods. The India–ASEAN Agreement on trade in goods was operationalised in 2010.

� India's Bharti Airtel Ltd has agreed to sell more than 3,500 of its mobile phone masts in six African

countries to telecommunications tower company Eaton Towers in a bid to cut costs. Bharti Airtel will lease

back the towers from Eaton under a 10-year contract.

� China successfully launched two satellites into orbit to relay informations on natural resources, disaster

management and smart satellite experiments.

� Saeed Ajmal has been banned from bowling for a year after the ICC ruled that he possessed an illegal

bowling action, denting his chances of participating in the 2015 World Cup.

� The government approved share-sale plans in three major state-owned companies — Coal India Limited

(CIL), National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) —

that can potentially earn the exchequer Rs. 44,000 crore. If successfully concluded, the government can

more than meet the Rs. 43,425-crore target it had set for earnings from stake sales in public sector

companies in the current financial year.

September 11-20

� Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided not to merge state-owned telecom companies MTNL and BSNL,

a move that could well be termed as the first by the present NDA government to overturn a major

decision of the previous UPA government. Sources in the government said that instead of infusing fresh

capital or merging them to revive the cash-strapped and loss-making BSNL and MTNL, the Prime Minister

has asked the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to consider a proposal for the outright purchase

of the optic fibre cable (OFC) network of the former, which is the largest in the country.

� Oct 15 is set for assembly polls in Haryana and Maharashtra.

� Oscar Pistorius found guilty of culpable homicide.

� Devastating floods in Jammu and Kashmir have caused an immediate loss of Rs 5,400-5,700 crore to the

state's economy, with heavy damages to trade, hotels, restaurants, horticulture and handicraft, according

to initial estimates of industry body Assocham. Jammu & Kashmir has been hit by the worst floods in over

a century, throwing basic infrastructure like power, railways and communication in the state completely

out of gear.

� The Union Cabinet gave its nod for launching the National AYUSH Mission (NAM) with “core and flexible

components.” It is aimed at addressing the gaps in health services by supporting AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga

and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) care and education, particularly in vulnerable and far-

flung areas. The Bharatiya Janata Party, in its election manifesto, said it would increase public investment

to promote AYUSH and start integrated courses for Indian system of medicines and modern science.

� China's President Xi Jinping held talks with his Sri Lankan counterpart, seeking to strengthen defence ties

with the strategically located Indian Ocean nation.

� Ukrainian legislators ratified a landmark EU pact that steers the ex-Soviet state closer to the West, and

pledged autonomy for pro-Russian rebels waging war in the east.

� Chinese Prez Xi Jinping reached Ahmedabad on a three-day India tour.

� The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development appointed BJP national executive member Lalitha

Kumaramangalam as the new chief of the National Commission for Women (NCW).

� India and China business received a $3.4 billion boost, with companies from both countries signing 24

contracts for supply of equipment and service. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) were signed in

areas of aircraft leasing and financing, telecom, chemicals, wind power components, cotton yarn and

fabric, synthetic fibre and seafood.

� The French government survived a high-risk confidence vote with a majority after Prime Minister Manuel

Valls appealed to Socialist rebels to back him. In spite of 31 abstentions from Socialist party MPs, a total

of 269 MPs voted for the government and 244 against, giving Valls a clear mandate.

� Bangladesh’s Supreme Court commuted the death sentence of an Islamist political leader, Delwar Hossain

Sayedee, whose conviction last year for “war crimes in 1971” had sparked deadly protests.

� In the wake of regular faceoffs in Ladakh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his talks with visiting Chinese

President Xi Jinping, said he had raised India’s “serious concern over repeated incidents along the border”

and suggested that clarification of the Line of Actual Control would greatly contribute to mutual efforts to

maintain peace and tranquillity. Apart from discussing the stand-off in Ladakh, Prime Minister Narendra

Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping have decided that China would invest USD 20 billion in the next five

years. Significantly, the Chinese financial pledge is much less that what India got from Japan during

Modi's visit. Japan had pledged USD 35 billion spread over five years.

� External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj inaugurated the revived Nalanda University (Bihar), renowned as

a centre for learning till it was burnt down 800 years ago by an invading Turkish army.

� Scotland spurned independence in a historic referendum that threatened to rip the United Kingdom apart.

A vote for the 307-year union is a relief for millions of Britons, including Prime Minister David Cameron,

whose job was on the line. Opponents of independence won 55 per cent of the vote and separatists won

45 per cent with all 3.6 million votes, a record 85 per cent turnout counted. Scottish nationalist leader

Alex Salmond conceded defeat and later said he would step down in November.

� The 17th Asian Games Kicked off in Incheon, South Korea.

� Prime Minister John Key secured New Zealand's first majority government in almost 20 years on a promise

to maintain a strong economy, but slowing growth in China may challenge his outlook and also threaten

fiscal discipline. Key's center-right National party stormed to a third straight term in general elections

after promising to stay on the path of economic growth and fiscal prudence, despite one of the roughest

campaigns in recent years.

September 21 onwards

� Shiite rebels seized the Yemeni government headquarters and the premier resigned as violence raged

despite a UN announcement of a power-sharing deal to end days of fighting. Prime Minister Mohamed

Basindawa stepped aside, accusing President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi of being "autocratic".

� After being rapped by the Supreme Court for its approach to clean Ganga, the Narendra Modi government

placed before it a blueprint of short, medium and long term measures that spread over 18 years and

thousands of crore of investment to restore the glory of the holy river.

� Lieutenant General Rizwan Akhtar, a close confidant of Pakistan’s Army Chief, was named the new head of

the powerful spy agency ISI, enhancing the military’s clout over the embattled government facing

protests.

� The Hindi film Liar’s Dice has been selected as India’s official entry in the Best Foreign Film Category for

the 2015 Oscar awards. Liar’s Dice, a road drama starring Geetanjali Thapa and Nawazuddin Siddiqui and

the directorial debut of Malayalam actress Geetu Mohandas, beat 29 other films, including Mary Kom, to

represent India at the 87th edition of the Oscars next year. Other films in the race were Shahid, Queen,

Mardaani, Marathi films Yellow and Fandry and Bengali films Jatishwar and Apur Panchali. The 104-minute

feature film was selected by a 12-member jury headed by eminent filmmaker T. Hariharan from 30

entries.

� Government has withdrawn National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) powers to cap prices of non-

essential drugs in the country. However, according to initial analysis of the NPPA officials the price cap on

108 non-essential drugs, which had triggered protests from industry, will stay as the order is prospectively

placed.

� Creating history, ISRO's Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) successfully entered the orbit of the red planet. With

this, India has become the first nation in the world to have entered the Mars orbit in the first attempt.

ISRO's MOM is also the cheapest such mission till now. European, US and Russian probes have managed

to orbit or land on the planet, but after several attempts.

� The Supreme Court deallocated 214 coal blocks out of the 218 coal blocks allocated since 1993. The 4 coal

blocks which are exempt from the verdict arerun by the Central government with no joint venture with the

private sector. Two of them are with NTPC and SAIL, and the other two have been allocated for ultra

mega power projects udner competitive bidding.

� Launching his government's ambitious project to make India a manufacturing hub, Prime

Minister Narendra Modi promised effective and easy governance to help achieve high growth and creation

of jobs. Kicking off the "Make in India" campaign, Modi said his government's focus will be on physical

infrastructure creation as well as creating a digital network for making India a hub for global

manufacturing of goods ranging from cars to softwares, satellites to submarines and paper to power.

� Long-standing political formations in Maharashtra crumbled with BJP snapping its 25-year-old alliance

with the Shiv Sena and NCP parting ways with the Congress and pulling out of the government, raising

the possibility of at least a four-cornered contest in the October 15 Assembly polls. BJP announced the

break-up with Sena as seat-sharing talks collapsed over the latter's refusal to sacrifice seats for smaller

allies and reported insistence of party president Uddhav Thackeray on chief ministership.

� Rival Palestinian factions Hamasand Fatah reached an agreement for the return of their unity government

in Gaza. The Palestinian rivals had set up a unity government of independents in June but it never took

hold, with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas accusing Hamas of running a "parallel" administration as

de facto ruler in the Gaza Strip.

� Standard & Poor's lifted India's rating outlook to 'stable' from 'negative', acknowledging efforts by the

Narendra Modi government to maintain fiscal discipline while reviving the economy and drumming up

investment.

� In less than 24 hours after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) pulled out of the Congress-NCP government,

chief minister Prithviraj Chavan resigned, leading to a possibility of President’s rule being imposed in the

state.

� Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit back at Pakistan, questioning its seriousness in resolving the Kashmir

issue by raising it at the United Nations. Instead of raising these issues at the UN, he said, India and

Pakistan should be helping victims of the devastating floods on both sides of the border.

� Jayalalithaa Jayaram, a former film star and the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, was found guilty on

corruption charges and sentenced to four years in jail. She was immediately obliged to stand down as

Chief Minister and make her way to Bangalore central jail. The political leader has served four terms as

Tamil Nadu’s head of state, first in 1991. She has previously been convicted of corruption only to see the

charges over-turned, and fought back when her party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

(AIADMK), seemed down and out. She spent a brief period in jail in 1996.

� Sri Lanka won the backing of 22 nations in its battle against the U.N.’s war crimes probe into the country’s

human rights record during its brutal civil war. A government statement said the countries in a joint

statement had termed the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution passed last March as an

intrusive mandate and unwarranted in the context of Sri Lanka’s own local investigation.

� Justice Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu was appointed as the next Chief Justice of India and will

have tenure of 14 months.

� J. Jayalalithaa's loyalist and senior AIADMK leader O. Panneerselvam was chosen the next chief minister of

Tamil Nadu.

Anandji Dossa

Veteran cricket historian and statistician Anandji Dossa passed away at the age of 98 in New York. Considered the

most well-respected in his chosen field, Dossa, who was mostly a reserve in Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy squad, made

his presence felt in Indian cricket by introducing the culture of scoring and stats.

Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai

Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai was sworn in as Afghanistan's new president, replacing Hamid Karzai in the country's first

transfer of power since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion toppled the Taliban.

Chandrakala Padia

For the first time in its nearly half century of existence, the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) will be led

by woman. Maharaja Ganga Singh University vice-chancellor Chandrakala Padia was, on 4 September 2014,

appointed as the chairperson of the prestigious research institute in Shimla.

Daya Reddy

Professor Daya Reddy, an internationally recognized mathematician from South Africa, became the new President-

elect of the International Council for Science

G K Pillai

Tata International Ltd, the global trading and distribution arm of the Tata group, appointed former Union Home

Secretary G K Pillai as its Chairman. Pillai succeeds B Muthuraman, who retired today after 48 years of association

with the Tata group. The new chairman's appointment is with effect from September 26, 2014. Before becoming

Home Secretary, Pillai also held the posts of Commerce Secretary and Secretary of the Department of Justice in

the Ministry of Law & Justice. As Special Secretary in the Commerce Ministry, he was India's Chief negotiator at

the WTO. Belonging to the Kerala cadre of the Indian Administrative Service (1972 batch) Pillai has held various

positions in his cadre and at the centre. He is also Chairman of IvyCap Ventures and serves on the boards of

several companies, including Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd and the Data Security Council of India.

Govind Mishra

Renowned Hindi author Govind Mishra was conferred the 'Saraswati Samman' for his novel "Dhool Paudhon Par"

published in 2008. Govind Mishra is the second Hindi author who was conferred this honour after it was given

to Harivansh Rai Bachchan in 1991. Mishra's published works include 11 novels, 14 short story collections

containing 100 stories, five travelogues, five collection of literary essays, one poem collection and 2 story books

for children. Mishra's first novel "Wo Apna Chehra" was published in 1969. His famous novel "Lal Peeli Zameen"

published in 1976 was much talked about. He is also the recipient of various awards like 'Sahitya Akademi Award',

'Vyas Samman' and 'Bharat-Bharti Samman'. The novel, 'Dhool Paudhon Par', is about the struggle of modern

Indian women. It is an artistic blend of reality and romance and can be read both for the realistic portrayal of the

plight of Indian women in our times and for a love story.

H.L Dattu

Justice Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu was, on 28 September 2014, sworn in as the 42nd Chief Justice of

India by President Pranab Mukherjee. Justice Dattu has been heading the bench monitoring investigations into the

2G spectrum scam.He will have a tenure of 14 months and will retire on December 2, 2015. He is the second apex

court judge to take oath as the Chief Justice of India this year. Justice Lodha took oath in April this year.

PEOPLE IN NEWS

J Jayalaithaa

In a huge setback to J Jayalalithaa, a special court awarded a 4-year jail term and fine of Rs 100 crore to the Tamil

Nadu Chief Minister after founding her guilty of amassing Rs 66.65 crore wealth disproportionate to known sources

of her income during her first term in office. With the announcement of four-year jail term, the AIADMK leader

now stands disqualified immediately from the Assembly and will have to step down as chief minister. The Rs 66.65

crore assets case dates back to Jayalalithaa`s first term as the Chief Minister, from 1991 to 1996. It was filed

before a special court in Chennai in 1997 by the Tamil Nadu's Department of Vigilance and Anti Corruption

(DVAC).

KK Paul

Meghalaya Governor KK Paul was given the additional charge of Manipur and Mizoram following the resignation of

VK Duggal.

Kaushik Basu

The International Economic Association (IEA) has appointed Kaushik Basu, who is Chief Economist and Senior Vice

President of the World Bank, as its president-elect. IEA is one of the most important associations of professional

economists, and has been influential in shaping global economic policy and research. Among IEA past presidents

are Nobel laureates Robert Solow, Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz. With Mr Basu, this will be the second time an

Indian will be heading this association that produces a large number of research papers and books and organises

round tables on topics of contemporary interest.

Kira Kazantsev

Miss New York Kira Kazantsev has been named the new Miss America, marking the third year in a row that a

contestant from her state has walked away with the crown in the nationally televised pageant.

Manpreet Singh

Indian midfielder Manpreet Singh was named the Junior Men's Player of the Year by the Asian Hockey Federation

(AHF) .The 22-year-old has played 103 international matches and captained India in the 2013 Junior World Cup.

He also led his side to the 2013 Sultan of Johor Cup title in Johor Bahru. Manpreet made his international debut in

2011 and since then has been a regular member of the Indian team. The Jalandhar-lad was also part of the silver

medal winning team at the 20th Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and represented India at the 2014 World Cup

in The Hague.

Marin Cilic

Croatia's Marin Cilic won his first Grand Slam title with a comprehensive straight-sets win over Kei Nishikori of

Japan at the US Open. Cilic won 6-3 6-3 6-3 to become the first Croat to win one of the four tennis majors since

his coach, Goran Ivanisevic, at Wimbledon in 2001.

Maya Rao

Renowned Kathak dancer Maya Rao, who helped the dance form gain popularity in South India, died at 86. Known

for her mastery over abhinaya and dance ballet, Maya Rao was also a recipient of the National Award for

Choreography

Naseeruddin Shah

Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah on 12 September 2014 released his autobiography “And then One Day: A

Memoir”.

Norman Gordon

South African fast bowler Norman Gordon, oldest surviving Test cricketer at 103 years, passed away after a year

long illness. Gordon played five Tests against England back in 1939 taking 20 wickets in all before World War II

cut short his international career. He was best known for being one of the 22 players, who took part in the epic

‘Timeless Test’ between England and South Africa that was held between March 3-14, 1939 in Durban.

Padmini Prakash

Padmini Prakash has become India's first transgender to anchor a daily television news show and she has been

grabbing attention in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Since 15 August - India's Independence Day - Padmini

appears every evening at 19:00 to present a news show on the Tamil-language Lotus TV based in the city of

Coimbatore.

Palaniswamy Sathasivam

Former Chief Justice of India, Palaniswamy Sathasivam, has been appointed Governor of Kerala in the middle of a

raging debate over whether such political appointments will compromise judicial independence.

Priyadarsi Mukherji

On 5th September 2014, JNU professor Priyadarsi Mukherji was awarded with China Book Award by China. He was

honoured for his excellent work and long term contribution to the translation of Chinese works.China Book Award

is a special award given by China to honour the people who have given great and long lasting contributions to

introducing Chinese books overseas.

R.M Lodha

The 41st Chief Justice of India, R.M. Lodha, retired on 26 September 2014. Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha was

appointed as the Chief Justice of India with effect from 27 April 2014.

Sania Mirza

Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza clinched her third mixed doubles Grand Slam title as she and her partner Bruno

Soares won the US Open Mixed Doubles title. They defeated Abigail Spears from the USA and Santiago Gonzalez

from Mexico.

Serena Williams

American Serena Williams won her third consecutive U.S. Open women's tennis championship. 32-year-old

Williams beat 24-year-old Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3. With her victory, Williams ties

Americans Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova with 18 career Grand Slam tournament wins, fourth on the all-time

list. Six of her championships have come at the U.S. Open, which Williams won in 1999 at age 17 for her first

Grand Slam title.

Subhash Chandra Garg

Senior IAS officer Subhash Chandra Garg was appointed as Executive Director (ED) in World Bank. Garg, a 1983-

batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre, will have a tenure of three years from the date of assuming charge of the

post. The Executive Directors are responsible for the conduct of the general operations of the World Bank and

exercise all the powers delegated to them by the Boards of Governors. Garg is presently serving in Rajasthan.

T.N. Suresh Kumar

T.N. Suresh Kumar, a senior scientist working with the ISRO’s Master Control Facility in Hassan, has become the

first Indian to visit the stratosphere – the second layer of the Earth’s atmosphere.

Uppalapu Srinivas

Renowned mandolin player Uppalapu Srinivas died at a private hospital in Chennai. He was 45. Born on February

28, 1969 in Palakolu, Andhra Pradesh, Srinivas was a child prodigy. In 1998, he was honoured with the Padma

Shri award. He's also the recipient of the prestigious Sangeeta Ratna award.

Yogeshwar Dutt

London Olympic bronze medallist Yogeshwar Dutt ended a 28-year gold drought for India in wrestling as he

accounted for the country's fourth yellow metal in the 17th Asian Games after beating Zalimkhan Yusupov of

Tajikistan in men's 65kg freestyle. This is India's first Asian Games wrestling gold since 1986 when Kartar Singh

won it in Seoul.

8th China Book Award

Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Priyadarsi Mukherji has been honoured by China this year in recognition of

his long-term contribution to the translation and publication of Chinese works and cultural exchanges between the

two neighbouring countries. Prof. Mukherji, who is from the Chinese and Sinological Studies department of JNU,

has translated a number of literary works from Chinese into Bengali, Hindi and English, and monographed books

on Chinese culture and language over the last 25 years. He was among the 10 award winners of the 8th Special

Book Award of China.

China Book Award is a special award to commend those who have made great and long lasting contributions to

introducing Chinese books overseas, First launched in 2005 by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of

China as a State-level award, the China Book Award for Special Contributions aims to promote Chinese culture and

literature abroad. Awards usually go to foreign sinologists, translators, writers and publishers who have made

great strides introducing Chinese culture to the world.

2014 Right Livelihood honorary Award

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and Guardian editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger have been jointly given the

2014 Right Livelihood honorary award. The award, from Swedish charity the Right Livelihood Award Foundation,

recognised Snowden’s “courage and skill in revealing the unprecedented extent of state surveillance violating basic

democratic processes and constitutional rights”. Rusbridger’s citation recognised his role in “building a global

media organisation dedicated to responsible journalism in the public interest, undaunted by the challenges of

exposing corporate and government malpractices”.

The Right Livelihood award was established in 1980 to honour and support those “offering practical and exemplary

answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today”, with 153 laureates from 64 countries. It is presented

annually at a ceremony at the Swedish parliament and there are normally four winners. Three other 2014

laureates will share the cash award of SEK1.5million equally: Pakistani human rights lawyer and activist Asma

Jahangir; Basil Fernando of the Asian Human Rights Commission; and American environmentalist, author and

journalist Bill McKibben.

Asia’s Junior Player of the Year

Rising Indian midfielder Manpreet Singh was named the ‘Junior Player of the Year’ by the Asian Hockey Federation

in its Congress held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 22-year-old has played 103 international matches and

captained the junior men’s team in the Hero FIH Hockey Junior Men’s World Cup in New Delhi, and the third Sultan

of Johor Cup in Johor Bahru last year.

Asian CSR Leadership Award

Sukinda Chromite Mine of the Tata Steel in Odisha has bagged the Asian Corporate Social Responsibility

Leadership Award for Community Development. Voluntarily, several officers of Sukinda Chromite Mine have been

sponsoring orphan tribal girls of nearby schools of Sukinda. Due to 'Improvement Activities' done by employees in

the work place, when they receive prize money, even that they donate to the needy school kids for buying books

and school uniform.

AWARDS & HONOURS

Bhartendu Harishchandra Awards

Union Ministry for Information & Broadcasting on 9 September 2014 conferred the Bhartendu Harishchandra

Awards for the years 2011 and 2012.

For the year 2011, the first prize in the Journalism and Mass Communication category was awarded to Shri Vijay

Dutt Shridhar for his manuscript ‘Pehla Sampadakiya’. Shri Harish Chandra Barnwal’s book ‘Television ki Bhasha’

has been chosen for the second prize in this category. The third prize went to Shri Santosh Kumar Nirmal for his

book ‘Filmein aur Prachar: Tab se ab tak’. In the Women’s Issues category, the award was conferred on Ms.

Gitashri for her manuscript ‘Aurat ki Boli’ while for National Integration went to Dr. Navratan Kapoor for the book

“Tyoharon Tatha Melon ki Vichitratain, Jansanchar Maadhyam aur Rashtriya Ekta”. The first prize in Children’s

Literature category for the same year was given to Ms. Bano Sartaj for her book ‘Pakya aur Parichham’ and the

second prize to Shri Rajiv Saxena for ‘Professor Khurana ka Clone’.

For 2012, the first prize in Journalism and Mass Communication category was awarded to Ms. Vijaya Lakshmi

Sinha’s ‘Maine Awaaz ko Dekha’, while the second and third prize was conferred on Shri Madhav Hada for his book

titled ‘Seedhiyaan Chadhta Media’ and Shri Suresh Kumar’s ‘Online Media’ won the third prize. In Women’s Issues

category in 2012, Ms. Urmila Kumari’s book ‘Jaar Jaar Taar Taar’ was selected for the first prize while Dr. Sanjula

Thanvi’s book ‘Manavaadhikar, Panchayati Raj Se Sashakt Naari’ was selected for the second prize. In Children’s

Literature category Dr. Mohammed Arshad Khan’s book ‘Mickey Mouse’ won the first Prize and the book ‘Phoolon

se Pyar’ by Ms. Pavitra Agrawal received the second prize.

One of the key initiatives of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to promote books and manuscripts

original writing in Hindi, the Bharatendu Harishchandra awards have been implemented by the Publications

Division annually since 1983. Named befittingly after Bharatendu Harishchandra, who paved the renaissance for

Hindi language and literature, the awards were initially given in Journalism and Mass Communication. The other

three categories, viz., National Integration, Women’s Issues and Children’s Literature were added in 1992. Original

writing in Hindi by Indian authors is the eligibility criteria for the award.

Bradman Honourees

Sachin Tendulkar and Steve Waugh of Australia were chosen as Bradman Honouree 2014. Sachin Tendulkar was

selected for Bradman Honouree as he has scored more test runs than the other cricketer in history and bestrode

the international cricket stage for twenty-four years. Steve Waugh was chosen as he was the most successful

captain of Australia and also embodies values of Bradman like courage, honour and determination.

The Bradman Foundation, a non profitable organisation was established in 1987 with the support of Sir Donald

Bradman. it absolutely was established to promote cricket as a valuable cultural and sporting force inside the

community. Every year two Bradman Honourees are selected for his or her significant contribution to international

cricket as exemplified by Sir Donald Bradman.

G.K. Reddy Memorial Award 2014

Eminent journalist and Editorial Chairman of Outlook group Vinod Mehta has been chosen for the G.K. Reddy

Memorial Award 2014. The award, given for outstanding contribution to journalism, was founded by Member of

Parliament and Chairman of the TSR Foundation, T. Subbarami Reddy. It carries a cash award of Rs. 5 lakh, a gold

medal and a citation and will be presented at a function in New Delhi in December.

India’s entry at the 87th Oscar Awards

Hindi film ‘Liar’s Dice’, a road drama starring Geetanjali Thapa and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in lead roles, has been

selected as India’s official entry to the best foreign film category at the Oscar 2015 awards. ‘Liar’s Dice’, which is

Malayalam actress Geetu Mohandas’ feature film directorial debut, beat 29 other films including ‘Mary Kom’ to

represent India at the 87th edition of Oscars next year.

The film won the National award for best actress to Thapa and best cinematography award to Mohandas’

cinematographer husband Rajeev Ravi. India has never won an Oscar in the best foreign film category. The last

Indian film that made it to the final five nominees at the Oscars was Ashutosh Gowariker’s ‘Lagaan’. ‘Mother India’

and ‘Salaam Bombay’ are the only other two Indian films to have made it to the top five. The 87th Academy

awards event will take place in the US on 22 February 2015.

Indian Movie at Venice Film Festival

Indian writer-director Chaitanya Tamhane's debut feature "Court" won the Lion of the Future award at the recently

concluded Venice Film Festival. The 27-year-old filmmaker's multilingual courtroom drama won the trophy for its

striking narrative style and also bagged the Orizzonti Award for Best Film in the festival. Swedish director Roy

Andersson won the top Golden Lion prize for absurdist drama "A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting On Existence".

JC Daniel Award 2013

The versatile writer and filmmaker, M T Vasudevan Nair won the prestigious J C Daniel Award for 2013. His

achievements and contributions to the Malayalam movie industry led him to achieve this prestigious award in the

field of Malayalam cinema.

J C Daniel Award was instituted by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala in 1992 in memory

of J C Daniel, the father of Malayalam cinema.

Midori Prize 2014

Indian scientist and ecologist Kamal Bawa won the prestigious Midori Prize in Biodiversity 2014 for his research

that included climate change in the Himalayas. Bawa will receive the prize with a cash award of USD 100,000 in

October during the conference of Parties (COP-12) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in

Pyeongchang, South Korea. Bawa is also the founder president of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and

the Environment (ATREE) in Bangalore. Bawa, who has taught at the University of Massachusetts for more than 40

years, had also received international recognition as the recipient of the first Gunnerus Award in Sustainability

Science, a major international prize, in 2012.

The Midori Prize for Biodiversity was founded by the AEON Environmental Foundation, Japan in 2010. The prize

honours three individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the conservation and sustainable use of

biodiversity at global, regional or local levels.

Other Awardees of 2014 Midori Prize in Biodiversity

� Dr. Alfred Oteng-Yeboah, Chair, Ghana National Biodiversity Committee, Ghana

� Dr. Bibiana Vila, Principal Researcher, National Research Council (CONICET) and Director, Vicunas,

Camelids and Environment (VICAM), Argentina

Saraswati Samman for 2013

Renowned Hindi author Govind Mishra was conferred the 'Saraswati Samman' for his novel "Dhool Paudhon Par"

published in 2008 at a function in New Delhi on 22 September 2014. Giving away the award, constituted by the K

K Birla Foundation, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that it has been recognized as the highest literary award in

India. Govind Mishra is the second Hindi author who was conferred this honour after it was given to Harivansh Rai

Bachchan in 1991. Mishra's published works include 11 novels, 14 short story collections containing 100 stories,

five travelogues, five collection of literary essays, one poem collection and 2 story books for children. Mishra's first

novel "Wo Apna Chehra" was published in 1969. His famous novel "Lal Peeli Zameen" published in 1976 was much

talked about. He is also the recipient of various awards like 'Sahitya Akademi Award', 'Vyas Samman' and 'Bharat-

Bharti Samman'.

The novel, 'Dhool Paudhon Par', is about the struggle of modern Indian women. It is an artistic blend of reality and

romance and can be read both for the realistic portrayal of the plight of Indian women in our times and for a love

story.

The award is given annually to an outstanding literary work of an Indian citizen published during the last ten years

in any of the languages included in the Schedule VIII of the Constitution. The KK Birla Foundation has instituted

three awards in the field of literature. These are Saraswati Samman, Vyas Samman (for Hindi) and Bihari Puraskar

(for Hindi and Rajasthani writers of Rajasthan).

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award

Ten scientists from across premier Indian research institutions were selected for the country's prestigious Shanti

Swarup Bhatnagar award for the year 2014. This annual award is conferred to selected scientists for their

outstanding Engineering Sciences works in the field of science and technology. It consists of a cash prize of Rs 5

lakh, a citation and a plaque. The award was announced by P S Ahuja, director general of the Council for Scientific

& Industrial Research (CSIR) during the CSIR's 72nd foundation day celebrations. The awardees are as under:

Biological Sciences

� Dr. Roop Mallik Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Mumbai

Chemical Sciences

� Dr. Kavirayani Ramakrishna Prasad Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru,

� Dr. Souvik Maiti Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB) New Delhi.

Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean and Planetary Sciences

� Dr. Sachchida Nand Tripathi Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

Engineering Sciences

� Dr. S Venkata Mohan Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT) Hyderabad

� Dr. Soumen Chakrabarti Indian Institute of Technology Mumbai.

Mathematical Sciences

� Dr. Kaushal Kumar Verma Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru.

Medical Sciences

� Dr. Anurag Agrawal Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB) New Delhi.

Physical Sciences

� Dr. Pratap Raychaudhuri Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Mumbai

� Dr. Sadiqali Abbas Rangwala Raman Research Institute Bengaluru.

Tang Prizes

Ma Ying-jeou, The President of Taiwan presented the first Tang Prizes in Taiwan’s capital Taipei on 18 September

2014. This award honours the outstanding contributions to the environment, human rights, medicine and Sinology.

The Tang Prize is treated as Asia's version of the Nobels.

The five laureates are Gro Harlem Brundtland, former prime minister of Norway, who won the prize for sustainable

development; immunologists James P. Allison of the United States and Tasuku Honjo of Japan, who shared the

prize for biopharmaceutical science; Chinese American historian Yu Ying-shih, who won the prize for sinology; and

Albie Sachs, a former justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, who was named the winner of the prize

for rule of law.

UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation

A total of 14 projects from 10 countries, including India, Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, New Zealand

and Thailand, have been recognized in this year’s UNESCO Asia‐ Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.

Award of Distinction: Restoration of the Saryazd Citadel, Yazd, Islamic Republic of Iran.

Awards of Merit:

- Exeter Farm, Glenwood, New South Wales, Australia

- Shri Sakhargad Niwasini Devi Temple Complex, Kinhai Village, Maharashtra, India

- Frankton Boatshed, Queenstown, New Zealand

- Wak Hai Cheng Bio, Singapore

- Phraya Si Thammathirat Residence, Bangkok, Thailand

� Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. surged in its U.S. trading debut, after the company raised a record-

breaking $21.8 billion in an initial public offering.

The Chinese company’s shares rose 38 percent to $93.89 in New York, after the IPO was priced at $68.

The e-commerce company, which started in 1999 with $60,000 cobbled together by founder Jack Ma, is

now valued at $231.4 billion. That makes it larger than Amazon.com Inc. and EBay Inc. combined, and

more valuable than all but 10 companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. Ma, a former English teacher

who started the company in his Hangzhou apartment, drew crowds of money managers to meetings held

around the world as the company pitched itself to investors. Alibaba has profited from China’s burgeoning

consumer class by dominating the e-commerce industry in the country of 1.36 billion people.

� Bharti Airtel Ltd has agreed to sell more than 3,500 mobile phone towers in six African nations to

telecom tower firm Eaton Towers, in a deal, which sources said could be worth up to $800 million. Bharti

Airtel will lease back the towers from Eaton under a 10-year contract. Bharti Airtel, India's biggest

telecoms group which operates in 20 African countries, is selling most of its more than 15,000 mobile

phone towers there to cut costs. Maintenance is typically more expensive in Africa due to factors such as

security costs and electricity shortages. Bharti bought loss-making mobile phone operations in Africa from

Kuwait's Zain in 2010, but has yet to earn a profit because of high operational costs and a heavy debt

load. In July, Bharti agreed to sell about 3,100 towers in four African countries to Helios Towers Africa.

� In a surprise move, Roopa Kudva, MD and CEO of rating agency CRISIL — an affiliate of Standard &

Poor's, resigned from her posts. The company is now looking for a successor.

� The government cleared a mega divestment package, including in blue chip companies like Coal India,

ONGC and NHPC which is expected to net the government more than Rs 40,000 crore. The government

cleared 5% disinvestment in oil major ONGC, which may fetch the exchequer about Rs 18,000 crore.

� The government increased the wage ceiling for coverage under the Employees' Provident Fund

Scheme from Rs 6,500 to Rs 15,000 per month. The decision to increase basic wage ceiling to Rs 15,000

per month is expected to bring in 50 lakh more workers under the EPFO's ambit. Minimum monthly

pension for EPFO subscribers has also been fixed at Rs 1,000. The decision of the government would

immediately benefit 28 lakh pensioners including 5 lakh widows getting less than Rs 1000 as pension

every month. In all, there are 44 lakh pensioners under the EPS-95 scheme.

� T Suvarna Raju has been named as the next Chairman of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). Raju will

succeed R K Tyagi, who will superannuate by the end of January 2015. Raju will be the 17th chairman of

HAL.

� India, the world’s top rice exporter, is preparing to import the grain for the first time in nearly a quarter

of a century to feed its remote and hilly northeastern region where rail freight is being disrupted due to a

track overhaul. The country will import more than 100,000 tonnes of rice from neighbouring Myanmar

over the next several months, likely spread out across 10,000-30,000 tonne tenders. The imported rice

and grain from domestic stocks will be distributed to the northeast region through Bangladesh’s Ashuganj

port. The imports and the distribution arrangement underscore the extensive challenges India faces as it

tries to become a regional agricultural powerhouse. But the quantities are too small to shake up the rice

market. India took the crown as the world’s top rice exporter in 2012, with nearly 10 million tonnes of

annual overseas sales since then. India is undertaking the first major overhaul of the region’s rail

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

infrastructure. The broadening of the railway gauge will start in October and is likely to be completed in

April 2015.

� Indian and Chinese businesses inked agreements worth US$ 3.43 billion, including the US$ 2.6-billion deal

between low-cost carrier IndiGo and China's largest commercial bank ICBC. Under pact with Indigo,

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) will finance the no-frill airline's plans to purchase

over 30 aircraft. The Gurgaon-based carrier signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with

the ICBC Financial Leasing Company Ltd to execute the deal.

� Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided not to merge state-owned telecom firms MTNL and BSNL, a

move that could well be termed as the first by the present NDA government to overturn a major decision

of the previous UPA government. Sources in the government said that instead of infusing fresh capital or

merging them to revive the cash-strapped and loss-making BSNL and MTNL, the PM has asked the

Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to consider a proposal for the outright purchase of the optic

fibre cable (OFC) network of the former, which is the largest in the country.

� The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) capped the maximum age till which a person can continue to be

managing director, chief executive officer or a whole time director in a private sector bank at 70 years.

Previously there was no such age limit for directors. The change has been done in light of provisions in the

Companies Act 2013, which says, “No company shall appoint or continue the employment of any person

as managing director, whole time director or manager who is below the age of 21 years or has attained

the age of 70 years,” RBI said.

� In a move that will put intense pressure on businessmen whose companies default in future, the Reserve

Bank of India (RBI) has tightened wilful defaulter norms and said failure of a company to repay could

result in other group units and management being termed wilful defaulters. This cross default condition

would apply if the delinquent borrower has raised funds on the strength of the balance sheet of other

group companies. Banks have also been told to recover from personal guarantees provided by promoters

even without exhausting other avenues. The new norms appear to be a fallout of cases like Kingfisher

Airlines where despite having a promoter guarantee and the presence of cash-rich companies in the

group, lenders are finding it a challenge to raise funds. Close to 5% of the loans in the Indian banking

system are in default while another 5% are under stress and have been provided some leeway in

repayment under a restructuring programme.

� Korean electronics major Samsung launched world's largest bendable curved ultra high definition

television with screen size measuring 105 inches. The company has tripled its curved television portfolio in

the last few months and now offers about 17 different models. The bendable television has been launched

for European market at the moment. The curved TV has 11 million pixel screen resolution which is almost

five times the resolution of Full high definition television.

� State Bank of India (SBI) in tie-up with MasterCard launched its first multi-currency international card

to allow consumers to use a single card to pay in multiple currencies. At present, the card can be issued at

an annual fee of Rs. 100 without any interchange fee to customers. Customers will have to pay the

traditional ATM withdrawal charges of $1.75 in the US, €1.5 in Europe, £1.25 in Britain and S$2 in

Singapore. The card is aimed at corporates and professionals, tourists and students travelling abroad and

will be available at 100 SBI branches in four major cities.

� Raghuram Rajan, the governor of the Reserve Bank of India and the first woman to head the State Bank

of India, Arundhati Bhattacharya are the two Indians whose names are listed in the list of Bloomberg's

50 most influential people. Rajan was accredited by Bloomberg for an effort, which provided stability to

the rupee and for positioning a more-credible fight in contradiction of inflation. "He desires to change

government aid to the poor to cut out corrupt middlemen and politicians," it said. "Bhattacharya runs

India's biggest bank and is pushing politicians to abandon their practice of forgiving loans, saying that it

corrupts the credit culture," Bloomberg Markets said in a statement.

� In a landmark for India Inc, the number of female employees at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has

crossed the one-lakh mark, making it the country's biggest employer of women in the private sector.

Women now comprise one-third of the IT major's 3.06 lakh workforce. This makes TCS, also the most

valued company in India, one of the top employers of women in the technology sector globally. The top

slot is held by IBM, which has an estimated 1.3 lakh women out of a workforce of 4.31 lakh. In terms of

market cap, the next two players in the domestic IT market are Infosys (54,537 women employees) and

Wipro (45,276) but the female workforce of TCS is more than the two combined. The IT and BPO sector

collectively employs about 3.1 million, of which nearly one million are women, according to industry body

Nasscom.

� Tata International Ltd, the global trading and distribution arm of the Tata group, appointed former

Union Home Secretary G K Pillai as its Chairman. Pillai succeeds B Muthuraman, who retired today after

48 years of association with the Tata group. Before becoming Home Secretary, Pillai also held the posts of

Commerce Secretary and Secretary of the Department of Justice in the Ministry of Law & Justice.

� United Bank of India (UBI) has declared Vijay Mallya and three directors of Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) as

wilful defaulters. The bank has an exposure of between Rs.350 crore and Rs.400 crore to KFA, which was

given by the Bangalore branch of UBI. Mr. Mallya and other directors of KFA have decided to challenge

UBI’s decision in the Supreme Court.