Important Awards and Honours 2013

1.Sanjiv Bhatt gets Mother Teresa Award 

Suspended IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt was conferred the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice for 2012.

2.Priyadarshini Karve: Scientists of home and hearth

In January 2013, Priyadarshini Karve has won the Ashden Award for Renewable Energy for her biowaste-to-charcoal technology.

3.Award for Muthunayagam, Saraswat

The former secretary of the Department of Ocean, Development, A.E. Muthunayagam, will receive  the prestigious Aryabhatta award, instituted by the Astronautical Society of India (ASI), for 2010 and V.K. Saraswat, Scientific adviser to the Defence Minister, will receive the award for 2011. They have been selected for their achievements in rocketry.

4.President distributes awards to NRIs

1. President Pranab Mukherjee distributed the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman awards to 15 persons in January 2013.
2. The awardees included Mauritius President Rajkeswur Purryag, who was the chief guest at the inaugural of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.
3. The other recipients are: Ashok Shambhomal Vaswani, Tan Sri Ravindran Menon, Rasik Vihari Joshi, Satendra Kumar Singh, Gilbert Canabady Moutien, Mohammad Rabeeh karuvanthodi, Ismail Ebrahim, Bava Pandalingal, Patricia Maria Rozario, Narendra Ramakrishna Kumar and Subash Razdan.
4. The Australia India Society of Victoria and the Indian Doctors Forum, Kuwait, also won awards.
5. The award consisted of a medal, a citation scroll and a memento.

5.President presents Census Medals

1. President Pranab Mukherjee presented the Census Medals for extraordinary performance at a function in Vigayan Bhavan in January 2013.
2. The President congratulated all the Census Medal winners and said informed decision-making has to be based on empirical data and census is the only source of data that provides information on various individual characteristics right up to  the village level for rural areas and ward level for urban areas.
3. Ever since the first Census of India after Independence, it has been the tradition with the Census Organization to award silver and bronze medals and certificates of honour from the President to various census functionaries, including enumerators, supervisors, charge officers in recognition of their work.

6.Army Major Manjali to get Kirti Chakra

Major Abup J. Manjali to the Rashtriya Rifles will be awarded the Kirti chakra on Republic Day for bravery in counter-terrorism operations in Jammu and Kashmir.

7.India, Pakistan flavor to Man Booker International shortlist

1. Two of the biggest names in literatures from India and Pakistan – Kannada writer U.R. Ananthamurthy and Urdu novelist Intizar Hussain – are among the 10 writers form a round the world shortlisted for  this year’s £60,000 Man Booker International Prize released in January 2013.
2. It is awarded every two years to a living author in recognition of his or her achievement in fiction.
3. Mr. Ananthamurthy, a Jnanpith awardee and regarded as one of the most important voices of the “new movement” in Kannada, is also in the running for the $50,000 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature to be announced a the Jaipur Literature Festival.
4. Previous winners include Philip Roth, Alice Booker Prize, it recognize a writer for his or her continued creativity, development and overall contribution to fiction on the world stage.

8.Michael Clarke gets Allan Border Medal

1. In January 2013, Australian captain Michael Clarke won his fourth Allan Border Medal as the nation’s Cricketer of  the Year at a gala ceremony in February 2013.
2. Clarke, 31, and his predecessor as captain, Ricky Ponting, are the only players to win the medal, considered Australian cricket’s most prestigious individual prize, four times.

9.Jeet Thayil wins DSC Prize for South Asian Literature

1. Author Jeet Thayil has won the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2013 for his debut novel Narcopolis based on the theme of drug addiction destroying the poor, deranged and marginalized people in Mumbai during 1970s and 80s. he was presented the coveted prize at a ceremony in the Jaipur Literature Festival.
2. The prize, carrying a cash award of $50,000 is given every year to an international author or shared with the translator for a work of fiction thematically linked to the South region. Mr. Thayll is the first Indian to win the prize, running into its third year.

10.Asian Nobel, made in Taiwan

1. In January 2013, Samuel Yin, one of Taiwan’s richest men launched the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize – the Tang Prize – by donating Tw$3 billion (about $101 million) for it.
2. The Prize is named after China’s Tang Dynasty (618-907) – which inspired generation after generation with administration for its vibrant characteristics of self-confidence and cosmopolitan inclusiveness – the qualities that the Tang Prize seeks to promote.
3. Beginning in 2014, prizes will be awarded every two years in four categories – sustainable development: biopharmaceutical; sinology; and the ‘rule of law’ – to individuals, regardless of nationality.
4. The winter in each category will receive Tw$50 million ($1.7 million), compared to the eight million Swedish kronor ($1.2million) that comes with a Nobel Prize.

11.L.N. Tallur bags Rs. 1 million Skoda Art Prize 2012

In February 2013, Karnataka-born artist L.N. Tallur, whose works depict majorly the underbelly of India, has won the Rs. 1 million Skoda Prize 2012 for contemporary art, from among a shortlist of four artists – including an artist collective.

12. Daughter accept Ravi Shankar’s Grammy

1. In February 2013, Sixty days after his demise, sitar legend Pandit Ravi Shankar was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Grammy award, which was jointly accepted by his musically-gifted daughters Anoushka Shankar and Norah Jones.
2. Ms. Anoushka Shankar, a reputed sitarist herself, and Ms. Jones, who has carved a niche as a singer-songwriter, attended the pre-Grammy ceremony at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre to accept the honour bestowed on their iconic father, who passed away on December 11, 2012 at  the age of 92.

13.Ravi Shankar wins best music album award

1. In February 2013, Sitar legend Ravi Shankar was posthumously awarded the best would music album trophy at the 55^thGrammys, beating his daughter Anoushka Shankar, a day after being honoured with a Lifetime Achievements award by The Recording Academy.
2. Pandit shankar’s album ‘The Living Room Sessions Part 1’ saw off competition from Ms. Anoushka Shankar’s ‘Traveller’; Amadou & Mariam’s  ‘Folila’; Daneil Ho’s ‘On A Gentle Island Breeze’; and Hugh Masekela’s Jabulani’.

14.Renowned poet gets Assam Literary Award

1. In January 2013, renowned Assamese poet Sameer Tanti has been awarded the prestigious Assam Valley Literary Award for the year 2012.
2. The award, instituted by Williamson Magor Education Trust, is given to preserve and promote the rich literary heritage of Assam.

15.Life achievements awards of the Department of Atomic Energy

1. In January 2013, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reiterated that while the Centre went ahead with its nuclear energy programme to meet the growing energy needs of the country, it would continue to ensure that nuclear power remained totally safe.
2. Presenting the lifetime achievement awards of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to four of its veteran scientists at a brief ceremony, Dr. Singh noted that the Department worked in “one of the most complex, sophisticated and challenging areas of science, technology and engineering.”
3. The scientists who were presented the lifetime achievements are: R.B. Grover, who played a key role in negotiating the Indo – U.S. nuclear deal, K. Balaramamoorthy, who developed non-destructive testing techniques, mathematician R. Balasubramanian, and S.K. Sikka, a key player in the nuclear tests of 1974 and 1998.
4. Known as India’s leading nuclear diplomat, Dr. Grover played a key role in opening ensuring India became a part of the International nuclear trade which were shut after the peaceful nuclear experiment of 1974. He was also in the forefront of talks that resulted in India’s entry into the pioneering International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor project to tap fusion energy to meet future global power needs. Among other things, he conceptualized and set up the Homi Bhabha National Institute to meet the human resources requirements of the nuclear programme.
5. Dr. Balaramamoorthy, a former Chief Executive of the Nuclear Fuel  Complex, was honored for his pioneering contribution to the development of non-destructive testing techniques and outstanding work in the field of nuclear fuel and nuclear components fabrication.
6. Dr. Balasubramanian, who is the Director of the DAE’s Chennai-based Institute of Mathematical sciences, was conferred the award for his outstanding contribution to the field of higher mathematics, cryptology and theoretical computer science.
7. Dr. Sikka was honored for his contribution to condensed matter  physics and to the strategic  programme of the department of atomic energy.

16.U.R. Rao to join Satellite Hall of Fame

1. The former ISRO chairman, U.R. Rao, is all set to join the prestigious international Satellite Hall of Fame on March 19, an ISRO statement said in February 2013.
2. Prof. Rao, who presided over the country’s space programme as Secretary, Department of Space, and Chairman of the Space Commission for 10 years from 1984, will join some 40 space celebrities who include Arthur Clarke. He is now the chairman of the governing council of the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmadabad.
3. On that day, the U.S. – based Society of Satellite Professionals International will formality induct Prof. Rao into its membership and Hall of Fame at a ceremony to be held in Washington D.C.

17. J.C. Daniel Award for Sasikumar

1. In February 2013, Yesteryear film director Sasikumar has been chosen for Kerala government’s prestigious J.C. Daniel Award for lifetime achievements in cinema for the year 2012.
2. The filmmaker, who has set what is stated to be a world record by making 141 films, was chosen for the award.

18.Mary Verghese Award presented to social worker from Kerala

The Mary Verghese Award 2013, instituted by the Mary Verghese Award Foundation to an individual, or organization, who, or which, made an outstanding contribution to the cause of enhancing the quality of life of physically-challenged persons, was presented to K.V. Rabia, founder of the Chalanam Movement in Malapuzha, kerala.

19.The Hindu Literary Prize goes to Jerry Pinto

Journalist-author Jerry Pinto has bagged The Hindu Literary Prize 2012 for his novel Em and the big Hoom.

20.Ela Bhatt honoured with Indira award

President Pranab Mukherjee presented the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2011 to Ela Ramesh Bhatt of the Self-Employed Women’s Association at Rashtrapati Bhavan in February 2013.

First breast milk bank inaugurated in Kolkata

A modern and sophisticated breast milk bank, stated to be the first in India in the public sector, was inaugurated  at the premier state-run SSKM hospital by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

"This is a novel scheme to cater to the basic needs of a child who is just born, but does not get the milk from the mother or when the mother dies after giving birth to the child," Banerjee said, stressing on the importance of breast feeding.

The bank was being funded by the National Health Renewal Mission and equipment procured and the recruitment process done. New born babies suffering from malnutrition would also benefit from it.

HALF YEARLY CURRENT AFFAIRS 2013 ISSUE

Objectives of National Urban Livelihoods Mission

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation has proposed to launch a “National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM)” in 12th Five Year Plan, which will replace the existing Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY). The NULM would focus on organizing urban poor in self help groups, creating opportunities for skill development leading to market-based employment and helping them to set up self-employment ventures by ensuring easy access to credit. The Mission would aim at providing shelter equipped with essential services to the urban homeless in a phased manner. In addition, the Mission would also address livelihood concerns of the urban street vendors. This was stated by Dr. (Ms.) Girija Vyas, Union Minister of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA), in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today. 

The Minister further stated that a total of 13,06,767 beneficiaries have been assisted under Urban Self Employment Programme (USEP), 31,32,830 persons have been skill trained under Skill Training for Employment Promotion amongst Urban Poor (STEP-UP) and 6,62,766 women beneficiaries have been assisted for setting up Group micro enterprises under Urban Women Self-help Programme (UWSP) components of Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) since its inception. So far, total Central funds to the tune of Rs. 5038.53 Crores has been released to States/UTs under the SJSRY scheme. 

A total of 1,35,298 beneficiaries have been assisted under Urban Self Employment Programme (USEP), 1,84,739 persons have been skill trained under Skill Training for Employment Promotion amongst Urban Poor (STEP-UP) and 69,077 women beneficiaries have been assisted for setting up Group micro enterprises under Urban Women Self-help Programme (UWSP) components of Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) in Andhra Pradesh since its inception, as reported by the State Government. So far, total Central funds to the tune of Rs. 473.76 Crores has been released to Andhra Pradesh under this scheme since inception, the Minister added. 

Raghuram Govind Rajan Appointed as the 23rd Governor of RBI

Raghuram Govind Rajan, the Chief Economic Adviser was on 6 August 2013, appointed as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a time period of three years, i.e., till 2016. He succeeds D. Subbarao who demits the office on 4 September 2013. He will be the 23rd Governor of RBI. 

About Raghuram Govind Rajan

• Raghuram Govind Rajan was born on 3 February 1963. 
• He is 50 years of age and so far, he is the youngest person to become the Governor of the Central Bank of India. 
• He is known for predicting the economic crisis of 2008. 
• He is an alumnus of IIT-Delhi and IIM-Ahmedabad. He received his Doctorate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
• He also remained Eric J. Gleacher Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. 
• He is the visiting professor for Swedish Parliamentary Commission, World Bank and Federal Reserve Board. 
• Formerly, he also served as the president of the American Finance Association.
• He remained a chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana (MGPSY)

An estimated 5 million Indian Nationals with ECR (Emigration Check Required) passports are working on temporary employment/contract visas in the Gulf Countries.

It is observed that a majority of the earnings periodically remitted by overseas Indian workers to their families in India are rarely accumulated as savings and often cause only a temporary improvement in the consumption expenditure of their families. As a result majority of overseas Indian workers face the risk of poverty when they return to India and when they are too old to work. Overseas Indian workers are largely excluded from formal social security benefits available to residents of ECR countries.

Overseas Indian workers are largely excluded from formal social security benefits available to residents of ECR countries.

Thus, to provide them social security, the Ministry has launched Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana(MGPSY) in May 2012. The objective of MGPSY is to encourage and enable overseas Indian workers having Emigration Check Required (ECR) passports going to ECR countries, to (a) save for their return and resettlement and (b) save for their pension. They are also provided Life Insurance cover against natural death, during the period of coverage, without any additional payment by them.

Overseas Indian workers with ECR passports and aged between 18 and 50 years on an employment/contract visa are eligible to join the scheme.

The Ministry also contributes, for a period of five years, or till the return of workers to India, whichever is earlier, as under:

a) Rs.1,000 per subscriber who saves between Rs.1,000 and Rs.12,000 per annum in their National Pension Scheme(NPS) -Lite account;
b) An additional contribution of Rs.1,000 per annum for overseas Indian women workers who save between Rs.1,000 and Rs.12,000 per annum in National Pension Scheme(NPS)-Lite account;
c) An annual contribution of Rs. 900 per annum per subscriber who saves at least Rs. 4000 per annum towards Return and Resettlement fund;
d) Rs.100/- for life insurance cover of Rs.30,000 per year against natural death and Rs.75,000 against death by accident through the Janshree Bima Yojana of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).

There is an integrated enrollment process for the subscribers who will be issued a unique MGPSY account number upon enrolment. On their return to India, the subscriber can withdraw the Return and Resettlement savings as a lump sum.

However, the subscriber would be able to continue savings for their old age in the NPS-Lite in line with the Swavalamban Scheme. Alternatively subscriber can withdraw pension corpus as per the guidelines prescribed by the Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority (PFRDA).

What is ECR:

As per the Emigration Act, 1983, Emigration Check Required (ECR) categories of Indian passport holders, require to obtain "Emigration Clearance" from the office of Protector of Emigrants (POE), Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs for going to following 18 countries.

United Arab Emirates (UAE), The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Malaysia, Libya, Jordan, Yemen, Sudan, Brunei, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Syria, Lebanon, Thailand, Iraq (emigration banned). 

However , the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (Emigration Policy Division) have allowed  ECR passport holders traveling abroad for purposes others than employment  to leave the country on production of valid passport, valid visa and return ticket at the immigration counters at international airports in India w.e.f. 1st October 2007.

CURRENT NEWS & EVENTS AUGUST 2013 MAGAZINE

MOST IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS QUESTIONS FOR ALL COMPETITIVE EXAMS

• The Person who succeeded Ranjan Mathai to be the next Foreign Secretary of India by Manmohan Singh-Sujata Singh

• The vice chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia University who on 1 July 2013 appointed as the 20th Lt Governor of Delhi- Najeeb Jung

• The Person who on 2 July 2013 has been appointed as Director General of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)-Sunil Soni

• The first ever Indian woman to receive Dubai Government's coveted Emirates Woman Award for business excellence in June 2013- Vandana Gandhi
• The U.S. inventor who was known as the father of the computer mouse who died on 3 July 2013 at age of 88-Douglas Engelbart

• The Egyptian Leader who sworn in as interim president of Egypt till the next elections takes place succeeding Mohamed Morsi, who was removed after a military coup- Adli Mansour

• Renowned Madhubani painting artist who died at a private hospital in Ranti, near Madhubani on 4 July 2013-Mahasundari Devi

• The former Secretary, Department of Telecommunications (DoT), who was appointed as the President of NASSCOM on 5 July 2013- R. Chandrasekhar

• The Bollywood actress who on 6 July 2013 got the Best Actress award at 14th IIFA (International Indian Film Academy) awards 2013 held in Macau- Vidya Balan
• Leading liberal opposition leader who on 6 July 2013 was named as Egypt's new Prime Minister- Mohamed ElBaradei

• Senior parliamentarian who on 4 July 2013 was appointed as the new governor of Sikkim- Shriniwas Dadasaheb Patil

• Former Delhi police Chief, who on 8 July 2013 took over as the new Governor of Meghalaya- KK Paul
• An acknowledged food scientist and the former Director of the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) who died on 9 July 2013- Dr. H.A.B. Parpia

• The Person who on 8 July 2013 took over as the new Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands-Lt Gen (Retd) AK Singh
• The Theme of world Population day observed across the World on 11 July 2013- Focus is on Adolescent Pregnancy

• Indian Parsi conductor of western classical music who was selected to be honoured with Tagore Award 2013-Zubin Mehta

• The legendary actor and the proud recipient of Dada Saheb Phalke Award and Padma Bhushan Award who died on 12 July 2013- Pran

• The Person who on 16 July 2013 was appointed as the next Commissioner of Delhi Police and will besucceeding Neeraj Kumar- Bhim Sain Bassi
• The Person who was administered the oath of the office of Chief Justice of India (CJI) by he President of India on 19 July 2013-Justice Palanisamy Sathasivam

• The Chief Justice of India who on 18 July 2013 retired from the office after a short term of just nine months-Justice Altamas Kabir
• The day which was observed as Nelson Mandela International Day to inspire people to be an agent of change-18 July 2013

• 82 Years old Veteran Tamil film lyricist who died at a private hospital in Chennai on 18 July 2013- Vaali

• An Indian-American woman was nominated for the Post of Assistant Secretary of State of USA- Nisha Desai Biswal

• South Korean city which was named as the World Book Capital for the year 2015 as per UNESCO announcement-  Incheon

• Former Kuttanad MLA and Chairman of the Kerala State Farming Corporation, who died at a hospital in Kochi- Prof. Oommen Mathew

• The Finance Minister of Jammu and Kashmir who on 21 July 2013 appointed as the new Chairman of GST Panel- Abdul Rahim Rather

• The Chairman and CEO of Leo Burnett, India who was re-elected as the President of Advertising Agencies Association of India-Arvind Sharma

• Renowned south India yesteryear actor, who died in Chennai at the age of 59 on 23 July 2013 followed a brief illness- Manjula Vijayakumar

• The Duchess of Cambridge, who gave birth to a baby boy on 22 July 2013 at the London hospital- Kate Middleton

• Indian American author who novel The Lowland has been listed among 13 novels longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2013- Jhumpa Lahiri

• The cousin of Rajiv Gandhi as well as the Minister for Internal Security during his government, who died in Gurgaon on 25 July 2013- Arun Nehru

• The famous Indian Port which was conferred with the Major Port of the Year award for its excellent performance in the year 2012-13- Paradip Port

• The Bollywood actor who held the Guinness World Record for being the most type-cast actor, died on 28 July 2013 at the age of 85 years- Jagdish Raj
• Sarod maestro who was chosen for the 21st Rajiv Gandhi National Sadhbhavna Award- Amjad Ali Khan

• The former Indian Test umpire who passed away on 29 July 2013 at a private hospital in Karnataka. He was 83 years of age- SN Hanumantha Rao

• The principal architect of India’s missile programmes who on 31 May 2013was  appointed DRDO chief and scientific advisor to defence minister- Avinash Chander

• The  person who resigned as Chairman of IPL on 1 June 2013 in the wake of the raging spot-fixing scandal- Rajiv Shukla

• The name of bombs which is being developed by India for its fighter jets, which are expected to be geared up for deployment by the end of year 2014- Glide Bombs

• The Person who was appointed new Prime Minister of Palestine, by Mahmoud Abbas on 2 June 2013 - Rami Hamdallah 

• The 25-year old Bollywood actress who allegedly committed suicide on 3 June 2013 at her Juhu residence in Mumbai – Jiah Khan

• The Person who became the youngest Indian to scale the Mount Everest on 21 May 2013 with his five schoolmates- Raghav Joneja

• The Leader of Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N), who on 3 June 2013 elected as the Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan- Ayaz Sadiq 
• The Person who became the first woman to be elected to the FIFA Executive Committee (ExCo) for a full term of four years- Lydia Nsekera
• The theme of World Environment Day which was observed on 5 June 2013 -Think, Eat, Save Reduce YourFoodprint
• The Person who was appointed as the National Security Adviser of US President Barack Obama on 5 June 2013- Susan Elizabeth Rice

• The Australian radio presenters who responsible for Royal prank and was awarded with Jock by the employer- Michael Christian
• The Person who on 6 June 2013 was reelected as the chairman of  India Bank Association (IBA) for 2013-14 tenure- KR Kamath

• The Irish writer who won the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award for his debut novel City of Bohane which is the portrayal of  Ireland of 2053- Kevin Barry

• The Uttarakhand NGO which on 6 June 2013 bagged a French award for its contribution to protection of human rights- Central Himalayan Environment Association (CHEA)
• Name the Scottish author, who is best known for his novels The Wasp Factory and The Crow Road, died of Cancer on 9 June 2013- Iain Banks
• The BJP leader who  resigned from all top positions of BJP on 10 June 2013 a day after Narendra Modi was selected as the chairman party’s election campaign- LK Advani

• A former Union Minister and Congress veteran from Chhattisgarh, died on 11 June 2013 of multiple organ failure- Vidya Charan Shukla
• The theme of World Day against Child Labour which was celebrated on 12 June 2013-No to Child Labour in Domestic Work
• The first Indian-American girl from Avon School to get admission in United States Military Academy at West Point- Sneha Singh

• The  First NATO and European Country to Draft Women in Military Service- Norway

• The Indian-origin sculptor who was honoured with Knighthood, the highest honour of Britain by Queen Elizabeth II- Anish Kapoor

• The Person who became only the second Hindu to be part of the Pakistan’s Punjab assembly after Seth Bharta Ram- Kanji Ram

• The ambassador to the United Nations for Antigua and Barbuda who was selected as the President of UN General Assembly for its 68th session- John William Ashe
• One of the founders of RAW, who passed away on 16 June 2013 in Chennai after a long fight with cancer- Bahukutumbi Raman

• The ex-chairman of the Tata Group who was appointed as the Chief Advisor of AirAsia’s India board- Ratan Tata

• The moderate cleric of Combatant Clergy Association party won the presidential election in Iran on 15 June 2013- Hassan Rohani

• The Malaysian author who  was declared as the winner of Walter Scott Prize for his English fiction novel The Garden of Evening Mists- Tan Twan Eng

• The 29-year-year-old Indian origin journalist became the Editor of UK national paper, The Independent, on 17 June 2013- Amol Rajan

• The former head of the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), was appointed as the Chairman of AirAsia India on 18 June 2013- Subramanian Ramadorai

• The Chinese supercomputer which is declared is the fastest computer of the world- Tianhe-2

• The Book Released by Hamid Ansari, the Vice President of India and compiled by Kumar Deepak Das- An Ardent Patriot– Dinesh Goswami
• The Parliamentary Speaker who on Parliamentary Speaker who sworn in as Bangladesh President to replace Zillur Rahman- Abdul Hamid

• An IAS officer of the 1979 batch who on 1 May 2013 was appointed as Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh government- Prasanna Kumar Mohanty

• The Former President of Pakistan who was imposed with a lifetime ban from contesting elections-Pervez Musharraf
• The communication Satellite successfully launched by China from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province- Zhongxing-11  
• The last British member of the Church of North India’s Delhi Brotherhood who passed away on 30 April 2013-Father Ian Weathrall

• The day celebrated as the World Press Freedom Day across the world with a theme safe to Speak- 3 May 2013

• The Indian national and a death row prisoner in the Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail who died on 2 May 2013 at the Lahore's Jinnah hospital- Sarabjit Singh
• The  young Indian biologist who was honoured with the Whitley award, also known as Green Oscar, in London on 2 May 2013- Aparajita Datta

• The former tour player and president of ATP since January 2012 who died on 3 May 2013- Brad Drewett

• The Person who on 3 May 2013 took over the office of Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand for second time-Subhash Kumar

• The prosecutor who was handling the Mumbai terror attack and Bhutto assassination case was gunned down in Islamabad- Zulfiqar Ali

• Italian Deputy Foreign Minister who was appointed as the special envoy to India to work out on fair trials for the Italian Marines- Staffan de Mistura

• The Prime Minister of Italy who died on 6 May 2013 at Rome after serving as the Italian Prime Minister seven times between 1972 and 1992- Giulio Andreotti

• The first ever national surfing and stand up paddle (SUP) competition of India concluded at Kovalam beach on 5 May 2013- Spice Coast Open
• The Senegalese singer and Finnish composer who were named as the recipients of Polar Music Prize 2013-Youssou Ndour and Kaija Saariaho
• An Indian conglomerate company who created a new Guinness World Record on 6 May 2013 when its 121653 workers sang India’s national anthem in Lucknow- Sahara India Pariwar
• The Pakistani Prisoner who was attacked by an inmate in Kot Bhalwal jail in Jammu died at the hospital in Chandigarh on 9 May 2013- Sanaullah Ranjay

PROPOSED APPSC EXAM SCHEDULE

Government to launch Bharat Mobile Scheme

Government planned to launch Bharat Mobile Scheme under which one member of every rural household who has completed 100 days of work under MGNREGA can get free mobile device on 30th July. The new scheme is aimed at empowerment. The mobile may be provided per household preferably to a woman and the handset will come with a three-year warranty.

The mobile device for The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act workers will be non-transferable as it will also be customized for transfer of benefits of different government programmes like direct cash transfers scheme.

According to initial proposal, selected telecom operators will be asked to provide mobile devices. Distribution would be done by the service providers in coordination with district administration. The mobile numbers in the device is expected to work as first level authentication to identify and inform the beneficiary of scheme, sources said. Around 5 crore households have been provided work in year 2012-13. The proposal for Bharat Mobile Scheme was mooted by Planning Commission of India.

Petroleum Ministry and Delhi Government launched IGL Suraksha Yojana

Union Ministry for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Delhi state government on 31 July 2013 launched IGL Suraksha Yojana, a group accident insurance scheme for nearly 2.5 lakh drivers of CNG run public transport vehicles in Delhi.

New schemes like IGL Suraksha Yojana are required to be introduced to benefit the common man.  IGL would be paying the premium amounting to nearly 35 lakh rupees for the insurance scheme, which is currently being offered through Oriental Insurance Company.

What is IGL Surakhsa Yojana
IGL Suraksha Yojana is an initiative being undertaken by IGL under its CSR programme. Under the scheme, a sum of 1.5 Lakh rupees would be paid to the nominee in case of Death of a Driver in an accident while driving the CNG run Public Transport vehicles. An additional amount of 25000 rupees towards children’s education allowance per child subject to a maximum of 50000 rupees for two children would also be paid to the family in such cases. In case of an accident requiring treatment for fracture a maximum sum of 10000 rupees would be paid to the driver. In case of permanent disability that leads to loss of employment, than a lump sum equal to 100 percent is payable to such insured person. In case of partial disability, a graded compensation from 1500 rupees to 75000 rupees would be paid to the driver. The insurance policy is being issued through Oriental Insurance Company in the first year and IGL would be paying premium for the policy to cover drivers of nearly 2.5 lakh CNG run public transport vehicles operating in the capital.

IGL Suraksha Yojana would be absolutely free for the drivers and the procedure for claim would be quite simple. The claim forms would be available at all CNG stations of IGL as office of Oriental Insurance Company in the capital. In case of death claim, nominee will have to submit copies of FIR, postmortem report, viscera report, copy of driving license of the deceased and copy of RC of public transport vehicle being driven. In case of disability, the claim would have to be supported by certificate from government approved panel. However, acceptance of claim would be subject to the driver having a valid driving licence and the CNG mode being endorsed on RC at the time of accident.

National Archives of India Launches e-Abhilekh

The quarterly newsletter of the National Archives of India entitled e-Abhilekh was launched by the Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Shri Ravindra Singh. This news bulletin has been planned with the objective of disseminating information for the development of Archives.

          The inaugural issue provides information about the activities of National Archives of India, States/Union Territories Archives, Archives of Business and other learned institutions for the period April-June 2013. The special feature of the issue is on International Archives Day and International Archival Organisations.