Major River Basins of India

Sl. No.	River Basin	Catchment Area  (Sq. Km.)
	Indus (up to Border)	321289
	a) Ganga	861452
	b) Brahmaputra,	194413
	c) Barak & Others	41723
	Godavari	312812
	Krishna	258948
	Cauvery	81155
	Subernarekha	29196
	Brahamani & Baitarni	51822
	Mahanadi	141589
	Pennar	55213
	Mahi	34842
	Sabarmati	21674
	Narmada	98796
	Tapi	65145
	West Flowing Rivers from Tapi to Tadri	55940
	West Flowing Rivers from Tadri to Kanyakumari	56177
	East Flowing Rivers between Mahanadi & Pennar	86643
	East Flowing Rivers between Pennar and Kanyakumari	100139
	West Flowing Rivers of Kutch and Saurashtra including Luni	321851
	Area of Inland drainage in Rajasthan	-
	Minor River Draining into Myanmar (Burma) & Bangladesh	36202

New Judicial appointments commission bill introduced

The Union Government has introduced national Judicial appoints commission bill, in Lok Sabha. The NDA government has withdrawn the previous government’s bill which was introduced through 120th amendment bill. Now the 121st amendment bill was introduced. This bill is aimed insertion of new articles 124A, 124B and 124C

The Constitutional Amendment Bill……….

• Scraps the Collegium System and establishes a six-member body for appointment of judges
• It is proposed that the Chief Justice of India will head the commission
• The judiciary will be represented by two senior judges of the Supreme Court
• Two eminent personalities and the Law Minister will be the other members of the proposed body

The other important points are…………

• It provides for the establishment of a six-member Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) to make recommendations to the President on appointment and transfer of judges to the higher judiciary.
• ouraging collaborations between the judiciary and executive, the members constituting JAC will comprise of the Chief Justice of India, two other senior most judges of the Supreme Court, the Union Minister for Law and Justice, and two eminent persons to be nominated by the Prime Minister, the CJI and the Leader of Opposition of the Lok Sabha. Law Commission of India Chairman and former Delhi High Court Chief Justice AP Shah has recommended the strength of the body be raised to seven.
• sic function of the JAC would include making recommendations for appointments of the CJI, SC judges, Chief Justice and other High Court judges, and even the transfer of HC judges.
• would empower the Parliament to pass a law providing for the composition, functions and procedures of the JAC.
• e entire process under the JAC will be aimed at ensuring transparency. It has been suggested that the entire record of the process, starting from the nominations received up to the final recommendation made to the President, must be publicly disclosed.
• e JAC will work in a stipulated time frame. It provides time periods within which vacancies will be filled up. Even the government has time limit of upto 2 months to intimate the Commission of the vacancy.

The Standing Committee report to Rajya Sabha in December 2013 noted that, "Because of its inherent deficiencies in the collegium, as many as approximately 275 posts of judges in various High Courts are lying vacant, which has direct bearing upon justice delivery system and thereby affecting the 13 institutional credibility of judiciary.

Other suggestions to the JAC urge to provide it constitutional validation, thus making it a permanent body and not an ad hoc set up. It is also recommended that its decision be binding on the President and in case the President rejects any name, it should be open to judicial review.

Jaitley, Karan Singh, Sharad Yadav felicitated with Outstanding Parliamentarian Awards

President Pranab Mukherjee on 12 August 2014 conferred the Outstanding Parliamentarian Awards on Arun Jaitley, Dr Karan Singh and Sharad Yadav. The awards were given for their invaluable contribution in discharge of their parliamentary duties. The awards were given at Balyogi Auditorium in Parliament Library, New Delhi. 

• BJP leader Arun Jaitley received the award for the year 2010
• Congress Veteran Karan Singh received the award for the year 2011
• JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav received the award for the year for 2012

President while conferring the awards asked all Parliamentarians to uphold the prestige and dignity of Parliament, as it’s a responsibility of every Parliamentarian. 

About Outstanding Parliamentarian Award
The Outstanding Parliamentarian Award was instituted in 1992 by Shivraj Patil who was then the Speaker of Lok Sabha from 1991-96. The award is given by the Indian Parliamentary Group to an outstanding sitting Member of the Indian Parliament for overall contribution in Indian Parliament. 

Previous important Parliamentarians to be awarded include
• Indrajit Gupta was honoured with the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award in 1992
• Atal Bihari Vajpayee was honoured with the award in 1994
• Pranab Mukherjee r was honoured with the award in 1997
• Lal Krishna Advani was honoured with the award in 1999
• Manmohan Singh was honoured with the award in 2002 
• Sushma Swaraj was honoured with the award in 2004
• P Chidambaram was honored with the award in 2005
• Murli Manohar Joshi was honoured with the award in 2009

Former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan to head the Expenditure Management Commission

The Union Government decided to appoint former RBI governor Bimal Jalan as the head of the Expenditure Management Commission on 12 August 2014. He would be tasked to suggest ways for managing public finances by reducing food, fertiliser and oil subsidies to include fiscal deficit. 

Expenditure Management Commission
Union Finance minister Arun Jaitley had announced the setting up of an Expenditure Management Commission in the Union Budget 2014-15 in July 2014. The purpose of setting up the commission is to cut-off the spending and review government expenditure to get maximum output.

The Commission will submit its interim report before the Budget of 2015-16 and its final report before the Budget of 2016-17.

Subsidies on Food, petroleum and fertilisers
In revised estimates for 2013-14, the subsidy bill on food, petroleum and fertilisers was 245451.50 crore rupees. For 2014-15, the subsidy bill is estimated to be 251397.25 crore rupees. 

The increase in subsidy bill for 2014-15 is due to the increased allocation for fertiliser sector. The government estimated total fertiliser subsidy bill of 72970.30 crore rupees than the amount of 67970 crore rupees that was proposed in the interim budget.

The government allocated the total amount of 115000 crore rupees which includes a provision of 88500 crore rupees for the implementation of National Food Security Act.

Previous Expenditure Reforms Commission
During the year 1999-2000, Atal Bihari Vajpayee government initiated Expenditure Reforms Commission (ERC) headed by former finance secretary K P Geethakrishnan. This commission recommended for reducing the central government machinery and winding up of some government departments. Certain recommendations of the commission were implemented during the reign of finance minister Yashwant Sinha. 

In 2002, UPA government appointed Vijay Kelkar Committee, former finance secretary, for fiscal consolidation plan which included reduction in subsidies. His panel suggested increasing diesel and cooking gas prices gradually. His recommendations are followed today.

ANDHRA PRADESH STATE STATISTICAL ABSTRACT

National Policy for Older Persons

The National Policy on Older Persons (NPOP), 1999 envisages State support to ensure financial and food security, health care, shelter and other needs of older persons, equitable share in development, protection against abuse and exploitation, and availability of services to improve the quality of their lives. The policy also covers issues like social security, intergenerational bonding, family as the primary caretaker, role of Non-Governmental Organizations, training of manpower, research and training. 

The Ministry of Rural Development has been implementing Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) since 1995 with the aim to provide financial security to senior citizens living below the poverty line. Under the Scheme Central assistance is given towards pension @ Rs. 200/- per month to persons above 60 years and @ Rs. 500/- per month to persons above 80 years of age. 

The National Council of Older Persons was constituted in 1999 to monitor the implementation of the Policy and advise the Government on issues related to the welfare of senior citizens. The Council has been reconstituted in 2012 as National Council of Senior Citizens with wider national impact. Similar Councils have been constituted at the State level also. Further, the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act has been enacted in 2007 for providing more effective provisions for maintenance and welfare of senior citizens. 

Due to continuous increase in the life expectancy, there is an increase in the population of senior citizens. Ensuring that the senior citizens lead a secured, dignified and productive life, the allocation of funds under Integrated Programme for Older Persons (IPOP) for the current financial year (2014-15) has been increased from 45 crores (2013-14) to Rs. 51 crores. 

Setting up of Export Promotion Mission

The Export Promotion Mission as announced in the budget of 2014-15 is aimed at preparing a comprehensive policy for promoting foreign trade which will include deeper involvement of States in achieving targets to be fixed under the Foreign Trade Policy. 

CENSUS 2011 FINAL STSTISTICS

CURRENT AFFAIRS - JULY 2014 INFO TRACK

Economy

1. Central Board of Direct Tax (CBDT) on 17 July 2014 constituted a six-member empowered committee to reduce litigation at the dispute resolution forums in the Income Tax Department. The Committee will also suggest steps to reduce legal cases and has been asked to submit its report within two months.
2. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 15 July 2014 announced to ease the infrastructure financing norms in order to encourage infrastructure development and affordable housing.
3. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 15 July 2014 barred founder of Satyam Computers, B Ramalinga Raju and four other top executives from accessing the capital markets for 14 years.
4. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 17 July 2014 issued draft guidelines for licensing of payments banks and small banks. Both these banks will be created with a common objective of furthering financial inclusion by adding value through adapting technological solutions to lowers costs.
5. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely on 9 July 2014 presented Economic Survey of India 2013-14 in the Lok Sabha. India’s economy in financial year 2014-15 is expected to grow in the range of 5.4 – 5.9 percent overcoming sub-5 percent growth. The Survey listed certain risk factors for the growth and they are poor monsoon, the external environment and the poor investment climate.
6. Union Budget introduced new scheme Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojna for tribals, National level institutes for Universal Inclusive Design, Mental Health Rehabilitation and a Centre for Disability Sports to be established.
7. Union budget to energize capital markets introduced uniform KYC norms and inter-usability of the KYC records across the financial sector.
8. The Union Budget provided finances to set up an institute which provides support to mainstream the 4PIndia, Comprehensive policy will be announced, to develop Jal Marg Vikas (project on Ganges) and encouraging Tier I and Tier II airports.
9. Union Budget 2014-15 provided new initiatives like National Industrial Corridor Authority and preparing master planning of industrial corridors and economic corridors to increase the industrial growth.
10. National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) on 4 July 2014 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the development of Small Farm Producers.
11. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 2 July 2014 approved the inclusion of onion and potato under the purview of stock holding limits under the Essential Commodities Act 1955. The inclusion will remain in force for a year. 
12. Indian Railways on 3 July 2014 successfully conducted a trial run of a semi-high-speed train to make travel faster between Delhi and Agra. This train is equipped with an electronic locomotive of WAP 5400 horse power from the Ghaziabad Loco Shed. It is the country’s fastest train. 

News

1. Business 20 (B20) Australia Summit was held in Sydney, Australia on 18 July 2014. At the Summit, the business leaders of G20 countries issued a blueprint for G20 leaders to boost economic and job growth and make global economy more resilient to deal with future shocks.
2. The Global Innovation Index 2014 (GII) was released at the B20 Australia Summit held in Sydney on 18 July 2014. The 2014 Index was released by the Australia’s industry minister Ian Macfarlane. GII 2014 in its 9th edition covers 143 countries around the world and uses 81 indicators across a range of theme.
3. Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 plane, MH-17, was shot down over war-torn eastern Ukraine near the Russian border on 17 July 2014. The Plane was shot down at an altitude of 10000 meters (33000 feet).
4. 7th India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) summit will be held in New Delhi, India in 2015. This was announced after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met South African President Jacob Juma on the sidelines of 6th BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil on 16 July 2014.
5. Om Prakash Kohli on 16 July 2014 took oath of office as Governor of Gujarat. He succeeded Kamla Beniwal who was transferred to Mizoram by the President of India
6. Environmentalist and social activist Chandi Prasad Bhatt on 15 July 2014 was awarded with the prestigious Gandhi Peace prize for 2013.
7. Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kuthar Warship was damaged in a mishap on 13 July 2014. This was the 15th such incident after INS Sindhurakshak sank on 14 August 2013. The Indian Navy ordered a Board of Inquiry to probe the incident.
8. World Population Day was observed across the world on 11 July 2014. The theme of World Population Day 2014 was investing in Young People. It is observed to bring awareness to people about importance of small families and living healthy lives.
9. India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2013 was released in New Delhi by Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Environment, Forests & Climate of 8 July 2014.  The report provides information on forest cover, tree cover, mangrove cover and growing stock inside and outside forest areas.
10. Emma Watson, the British Actress on 8 July 2014 was appointed as theGoodwill Ambassador for UN Women.
11. India on 8 July 2014 successfully test-fired an advanced version of the 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from Chandipur-on-Sea off Odisha coast.
12. President Pranab Mukherjee on 1 July 2014 joined Twitter with the handle -@RashtrapatiBhvn. He is the first serving president of India to join Twitter.
13. Michelle Howard became the first female four-star admiral in US Navy. She is the first women admiral in 236 year old history of US Navy.
14. Four India-born Americans were honoured on the eve of US Independence Day on 4 July 2014. They were honoured for their contributions to the US during annual Great Immigrants tribute held in New York, US.
15. DY Patil, the Governor of Bihar, on 4 July 2014 assumed the additional charge of West Bengal as the acting Governor. His oath of the office was administered by senior most judge Justice Asim Kumar Bandyopadhya of the Calcutta High Court at a function in Raj Bhawan in Kolkata. 
16. Special Air India flight carried 46 Indian nurses and 137 others from Erbil in Kurdistan, Iraq arrived to Kochi in Kerala, India on 5 July 214. 
17. Bharat Vir Wanchoo, the Governor of Goa resigned on 4 July 2014. He is the fifth Governor to resign in last one month after M K Narayanan (West Bengal), B L Joshi (Uttar Pradesh), Shekhar Dutt (Chhattisgarh) and Ashwani Kumar (Nagaland).

 Corporate

1. B Ashok on 16 July 2014 took charge as Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the India’s largest oil firm.
2. M S Mehta was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Reliance Infrastructure on 7 July 2014. He took charge as CEO for a period of five years.
3. Adani Ports & SEZ Ltd (APSEZ) on 4 July 2014 formed a joint venture (JV) with French shipping company CMA CGM to build a container terminal. The container terminal will be built at Mundra in Gujarat.
4. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on 3 July 2014 announced to provide 50 million US dollars of equity investment into an Indian company, ReNew Power Ventures Private Limited.

International

1. 7th BRICS Summit will be held in Russian city of Ufa in 2015. The announcement was made in Fortaleza Declaration on 16 July 2014 on the sidelines of 6th BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil.
2. Bolivia on 18 July 2014 passed a law to legalise child labour for kids from age 10. The bill was approved by Bolivian Congress in June 2014. The bill was signed into law by the Vice President of Bolivia.
3. 6th BRICS Summit was held in Fortaleza, Brazil on 15 July and 16 July 2014. The theme of the Summit was Inclusive Growth: Sustainable Solutions.
4. India and Brazil on 16 July 2014 signed three agreements during the sixth BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil. The agreement was signed by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff at the Brazilian President official residence the Itamaraty Palace.
5. Bashar al-Assad was sworn in as Syria’s President in Damascus for a seven-year term on 16 July 2014. With this he became the President for the third consecutive term. He was re-elected after a presidential election that was held in June 2014. 
6. India and Canada has signed an India-Canada Audiovisual Co-production Treaty with an aim to create jobs in both countries and boost tourism. This audiovisual treaty is the first of its kind for India and was signed in Delhi. The treaty came into force on 1 July 2014 but the announcement was made on 9 July 2014.
7. India and United Kingdom on 8 July 2014 decided to launch negotiations forcivil nuclear cooperation. The decision was taken during the visit of UK foreign secretary of state William Hague to India.  He visited India on 7- 8 July 2014.
8. German Cabinet headed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel on 3 July 2014 approved a new law that allows dual citizenship for the children of immigrants on 3 July 2014.
9. Senegal President Macky Sall on 4 July 2014 sacked Prime Minister Ms Aminata Toure. She was sacked due to her failure to win a seat from Dakar in the 2014 local elections.
10. UN Tribunal, Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on 8 July 2014 ruled on the Indo-Bangladesh maritime border dispute of the Bay of Bengal. The court has awarded 19467 square kilometers, a major part of disputed area to Bangladesh from a total disputed area of 25602 square kilometers.
11. Senegal President Macky Sall on 4 July 2014 sacked Prime Minister Ms Aminata Toure. She was sacked due to her failure to win a seat from Dakar in the 2014 local elections.
12. Japan on 1 July 2014 ended the 60 years of pacifism giving Army the option to exercise force. The resolution towards this was adopted by Japanese Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Shizo Abe.
13. China – South Korea bilateral summit was held in Seoul on 3 July 2014. The summit was held between South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping. It was held during the Chinese President Xi’s first visit to South Korea since he became the President in 2013.
14. Japan on 3 July 2014 issued multiple entry visas for short term stay to Indians. The visas will allow Indian visitors to spend up to 15 days on a visit and the visas are likely to be valid for three years.
15. Four-party meet held in Berlin on 2 July 2014 agreed on a series of step to resume the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. The four-party meet was held between Foreign Ministers of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France.
16. France on 30 June 2014 announced to provide one billion Euros (8200 crore rupees) line of credit over a three years period to India. The announcement was made by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius who is on a visit to India.
17. Sri Lanka and Seychelles on 28 June 2014 signed 6 agreements of bilateral importance. The agreements were signed during the visit of Sri Lankan President to Seychelles.
18. India and China on 30 June 2014 signed three agreements in the fields of commerce, water resources and human resources development. The signed agreements will facilitate China to set up industrial parks, share hydrological information during Brahmaputra floods and impart training to public officials.

 Sports

1. Germany was ranked number One in the latest release of the FIFA's world rankings released on 17 July 2014. Germany improved its position by one places as it was ranked number two behind Spain until now.
2. Philipp Lahm, the captain of Germany’s football team announced his retirement from international game on 18 July 2014. He announced his retirement just five days after Germany led by him won its fourth football World Cup beating Argentina
3. The 127th edition of the Durand Cup Football Tournament will be held in Goa from 28th October 2014 to 9th November 2014. This was revealed by a Defence press release from Mumbai on 15 July 2014.
4. Mahela Jayawardene, the former skipper of Sri Lankan cricket team, announced his retirement from Test cricket on 14 July 2014. He will retire from Test Cricket after the home series against Pakistan in August 2014
5. Sim Bhullar became the first basketball player of Indian origin to join the National Basketball Association (NBA). He signed a summer contract in second week of July 2014 with the Sacramento Kings, a professional basketball team in the US.
6. Germany on 13 July 2014 became the 2014 FIFA World Cup championafter defeating Argentina 1-0 at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The single goal of the final was made by Mario Gotze during the extra-time. 
7. FIFA on 9 July 2014 suspended Nigeria from all international football competitions with immediate effect. Nigeria was suspended on account of government interference in running Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
8. Sania Mirza, the Indian tennis ace, along with her Zimbabwean doubles partner Cara Black on 7 July 2014 were ranked career-best fifth in the latest WTA Doubles rankings. 
9. The Sports Authority of India (SAI) and TheFootballLink on 8 July 2014 jointly launched F-Cube, technology to promote football at the grass-root level. F-Cube technology was launched at the Weightlifting Auditorium of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. 
10. Petra Kvitova of Czechslovakia on 5 July 2014 won the women’s single of Wimbledon Tennis Open of 2014. To win her second title, she defeated the Canadian Eugenie Bouchard 6-3, 6-0.
11. Novak Djokovic of Serbia on 6 July 2014 won the Men’s Wimbledon Tennis Open defeating Roger Federer of Switzerland. He defeated Federer 6-7(7), 6-4, 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-4. This is the second Wimbledon title for 27-year-old, Djokovic and seventh career Grand Slam. Djokovic won his first Wimbledon title in 2011.
12. Marylebone Cricket Club XI on 5 July 2014 won the match played to celebrate 200-years (bi-centenary) of Lord’s Cricket Ground – the Home of Cricket. Sachin Tendulkar-led MCC XI beat Shane Warne-led Rest of the World XI in Lord’s in London, UK.
13. Jitu Rai became World Number 1 pistol shooter in the men's 10m air pistol category. This was revealed by the latest rankings released by the International Shooting Federation (ISSF) on 1 July 2014.
14. Pankaj Advani, the Indian cueist on 29 June 2014 won his maiden IBSF 6-Red World snooker title at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. To win the title, he defeated Kacper Flilpiak of Poland in a game that lasted for an hour. 

MPSC Assistant Preliminary Examination-2014 Solved Papers

MPSC Police Sub Inspector Preliminery Examination-2014 Solved Paper

Global Innovation Index 2014

India is placed at the 76th position, a slip of 10 places from last year, in the annual Global Innovation Index (GII) survey for 2014 released by Cornell University, INSEAD, and the World Intellectual Property Organisation. Among the BRICS nations India is the worst performer and China is the best among BRICS nations at 29th position, 6 places up from last year. Brazil climbed three positions to 61, Russia rose 13 rungs to 49, and South Africa five places to 53

This is the fourth consecutive year that India performed poorly on GII. It occupied 62nd rank in 2011, 64th in 2012, and 66th in 2013.

Singapore and Hong Kong are the only two Asian countries that find a place among the top 10 in the GII. Singapore displaced Hong Kong to lead the continent in overall innovation performance. Switzerland topped the Index followed by UK, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands. 

Top ten countries:

1. Switzerland
2. UK
3. Sweden
4. Finland
5. Netherlands 
6. US
7. Singapore
8. Denmark
9. Luxembourg
10. Hong Kong

President confers Gandhi Peace prize on Chandi Prasad Bhatt

President Pranab Mukherjee conferred the prestigious Gandhi Peace Prize for 2013 upon environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhatt. The 80-year-old Bhatt, a true Gandhian and member of the Sarvodaya movement, has organized the Dashauli Gram Swarajya Sangh in 1964. Through the Sangh he tried to improve the lives of villagers by providing employment near their homes in forest-based industries, and fighting against wrong policies through Gandhian non-violent satyagraha. In 1973 he started Chipko movement for the redressal of the legitimate rights of the hill people to collect wood and fodder and saving them from natural calamities owing to large scale deforestation. The Gandhi Peace Prize which carries a plaque, citation and an amount of Rs. 1 crore was instituted by the government in 1995 on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The previous recipients of this award are: former Tanzanian President Dr Julius K Nyerere, founder President of Sarvodaya Sharamadana movement in Sri Lanka Dr A.T. Ariyaratne, Dr Gerhard Fischer of Rama Krishna Mission in Germany, Baba Amte, Dr Nelson Mandela and Grameen Bank of Bangladesh (jointly), Dr John Hume of the Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan in Ireland, former Czechoslovakian President Vaclav Havel and Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa.

Bor Sanctuary becomes 47 Tiger Reserve of India

The Minister of State (Independent Charge), Environment, Forests & Climate Change Prakash Javadekar approved the recommendation on a proposal from the State of Maharashtra for notifying the Bor Sanctuary, New Bor Sanctuary and the New Bor Extended Wildlife Sanctuary as a tiger reserve.

Bor is the 47th tiger reserve in the country and the 6th tiger reserve of Maharashtra. With the approval of this sanctuary as tiger reserve it would receive funding and technical support which would strengthen tiger conservation, besides eco-development to benefit fringe people.

The Bor Wildlife Sanctuary, notified by the State in 1970, is rich in biodiversity with a wide variety of flora and fauna, including tiger, co-predators, prey animals and birds. The habitat is scenic and is on the boundary of Nagpur and Wardha districts, amidst the Satpura-Maikal landscape, forming catchment of the river Bor. The sanctuary, which covers 138.1214 sq.km., is also an important corridor between Tadoba-Andhari and Pench Tiger Reserves of the State. 

Highlights of the Union Budget 2014-15

Here are the highlights of the Budget 2014-15 presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Fiscal deficit● Accepts fiscal deficit target of 4.1 percent of GDP for 2014/15
● Fiscal deficit seen at 3.6 percent of GDP in 2015/16
● Finance Minister says: "We cannot spend beyond our means"
● Tax-to-GDP ratio must be raised

Growth
● Aims for sustained growth of 7-8 percent in the next 3-4 years
● Finance minister says he is bound to usher in policies for higher growth, lower inflation

Taxation● Aims to approve goods and services tax by end of this year
● Will not change rules on retrospective taxation
● All pending cases of retrospective tax for indirect transfers to be examined by a high-level committee before action is taken
● Proposes changes in transfer pricing mechanism
● Extends 5 percent withholding tax on corporate bonds until June 30 2017
● Income tax exemption limit raised by Rs 50,000 to Rs 2.5 lakh and for senior citizens to Rs 3 lakh
● Government expects Rs 9.77 lakh crore revenue crore from taxes
● Long term capital gain tax for mutual funds doubled to 20 per cent; lock-in period increased to three years
● Excise duty on footwear reduced from 12 per cent to 6 per cent
● Net effect of direct tax proposals is revenue loss of Rs 22,200 crore
● Tax proposals on indirect tax front would yield Rs. 7,525 crore

Investment● Raises limit on foreign direct investment in defence sector from 26 per cent to 49 per cent; raises FDI limit in insurance sector to 49 percent
● Earmarks Rs 7000 Crore to create 100 "smart cities"
● Will provide the necessary tax changes to introduce real estate investment trusts and infrastructure investment trusts
● Proposes Rs 4000 crore for affordable housing through national housing bank and extends tax incentives for housing loans
● Exemption limit for investment in financial instruments under 80C raised to Rs 1.5 lakh from Rs 1 lakh.
● Investment limit in PPF raised to Rs 1.5 lakh from Rs 1 lakh
Foreign direct investment
● Raises limit on foreign direct investment in defence sector from 26 percent to 49 percent
● Raises FDI limit in insurance sector from 26 percent to 49 percent

Spending● Capital outlay for defence raised by 50 billion rupees over interim budget
● Earmarks Rs 7000 crore to create 100 "smart cities"
● Proposes Rs 5000 crore for warehousing capacity; 100 billion rupees of private capital for start-up companies; and 378 billion rupees of investment in national and state highways
● Rs 4000 crore for affordable housing proposed through national housing bank and extends tax incentives for housing loans
● Proposes Rs 8000 crore for rural housing scheme

Subsidies● Plans to make food and petroleum subsidies more targeted
● Rural job-guarantee scheme, which provides 100 days of paid employment a year, will become more focused on asset creation
● Proposes Rs 8000 crore for rural housing scheme

Agriculture● Will focus on achieving 4 growth per year in agriculture
● Proposes a long-term rural credit fund with an initial corpus of Rs 5000 crore
● Rs 100 crore for development of organic farming

Social sector● Pension Scheme to be revived for a year (Aug 15-14) for citizens above 60
● Rs 50,548 crore for SC welfare schemes.
● Rs 32,387 crore for ST welfare schemes.

Infrastructure● Earmarks Rs 500 crore for 24x7 uninterrupted power in all homes
● Rs 100 crore for metro projects in Lucknow and Ahmedabad
● Rs 2,037 crore set aside for Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission called 'Namami Gange'
● Rs 200 crore for world-class sports stadium in Jammu and Kasmir
● Trade Facilitation Centre in Varanasi Handloom and Crafts Museum
● Rs 1000 crore to enhance rail connectivity in the Northeast
● Rs 2250 crore for the development and modernization of the border infrastructure
● A project on the river Ganga called 'Jal Marg Vikas' for inland waterways between Allahabad and Haldia; Rs 4,200 crore set aside for the purpose
● War memorial to be set up along with a war museum; Rs 100 crore set aside for this
● Rs 7,060 crore for setting up 100 Smart Cities

Education● Five more IIMs to be opened in HP, Punjab, Bihar, Odisha and Rajasthan
● Five more IITs in Jammu, Chattisgarh, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
● Four more AIIMS like institutions to come up in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Vidarbha in Maharashtra and Poorvanchal in Uttar Pradesh

Tourism● E-Visas to be introduced at 9 airports
● Finance Minister says tourism helps in job creation and e-visas will encourage more tourists to visit India
● A provision of Rs 500 crore for five tourism sector.

Banking● Deduction limit on interest on loan for self-occupied house raised to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 1.5 lakh.
● Set aside Rs 11,200 crore for PSU banks capitalisation
● Government in favour of consolidation of PSU banks
● Government considering giving greater autonomy to PSU banks while making them accountable
● PSUs to invest to over Rs 2.47 lakh crore this fiscal

Others● Earmarks Rs 200 crore for Sardar Patel statue
● Proposes Rs 150 crore for improving women safety
● LCD, LED TV become cheaper
● Cigarettes, pan masala, tobacco, aerated drinks become costlier
● Government proposes to launch Digital India' programme to ensure broad band connectivity at village level
● Rs 100 crore scheme to support about 600 new and existing Community Radio Stations
● Rs 150 crore for Communication facilities in Andaman and Nicobar Islands
● Rs 188 crore for disaster preparedness in Puducherry
● Rs 3,600 crore for providing safe drinking water
● North-stop 24-hour channel is proposed to be introduced
● Farmer TV channel will be launched for the benefit of farmers.
● Rs 200 crore to make Delhi a world class city for social welfare and Rs 500 crore for energy
● Kisan Vikas Patra to be reintroduced, National Savings Certificate with insurance cover to be launched
● 'Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya New Teachers Training Programme' launched with initial sum of Rs 500 crore
● Government provides Rs 500 crore for rehabilitation of displaced Kashmiri migrants
● Indian Custom Single Window Project to be taken up for facilitating trade