June 25

Union Government granted Navratna Status to EIL and NBCC.

* The Union Government on 24 June 2014 granted Navratna status to Engineers Indi
a Ltd (EIL) and National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC).
* The Navratna status to two Central Public Sector (CPSEs) will provide the comp
anies greater leeway in deciding on business propositions such as forming joint
ventures or taking call on projects involving major investments.
Union Cabinet approved pact with China for setting up industrial park.
* China is interested in investing in India especially in agro-processing, touri
sm and manufacturing.
* The approval came during a Cabinet meet that was headed by Narendra Modi, the
Prime Minister of India. But, the details of the agreement will be available aft
er the agreement is signed.
Maharashtra State Cabinet approved reservation for Marathas and Muslims in the
State.
* State Cabinet of Maharashtra approved 16 percent reservation to Maratha commun
ity and 5 percent to Muslims in government jobs and educational institutions.
* The reservation is applicable only for non-creamy layer of these communities a
nd will be implemented immediately. This decision will not affect the existing 5
2 percent reservation in the State and with this the overall reservation has now
increased to 73 percent.
June 26
Amma Pharmacy launched.
* Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa launched Amma Pharmacy, which will sell q
uality medicines at ''fair price''.
Maharashtra government announces 16 per cent reservation for Marathas, 5 per ce
nt for Muslims.
* With an eye on assembly elections after severe drubbing in Lok Sabha polls, th
e Congress-NCP government on Wednesday approved 16 per cent reservation for Mara
thas and five per cent for Muslims in government jobs and education institutions
.
June 27
Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry on 27 June 2014 upgraded the National I
ndustrial Classification - 1987 (NIC-1987) to National Industrial Classification
- 2008 (NIC-2008).
* The upgradation decision, with immediate effect, to NIC-2008 will assist new b
usinesses, being more investor friendly and internationally-attuned, as compared
to the previous version of NIC Code.
* The NIC-2008 is an improved version over NIC-1987 which provides a more contem
porary industrial classification system in the light of changes in the structure
and composition of the economy, changing user requirements and compatibility wi
th international standards.
Sonia, Rahul summoned in National Herald case.
* The Patiala House Court summoned Congressleaders Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahu
l in a case of alleged irregularities in taking control of Associated Journals,
a company which owned National Herald, a newspaper founded by Rahul's great gran
dfather Jawaharlal Nehru.
* The court issued summons to the duo and five others to appear on August 7.
Defence Minister laid the foundation stone IDS Headquarters.
* Defence Minister Shri Arun Jaitley, Delhi Cantt Mehramnagr the Integrated Defe
nce Staff (IDS) headquarters laid the foundations for building complex.
* Shri Jaitley said that since its launch the Integrated Defence Staff Headquart
ers procurement, joint - Methods, procedures for joint training and sharing betw
een different services through the proper priority discussion resources by ensur
ing that of desired has played a role in coordination and consensus.
June 28
R.K. Singhs panel on GAIL pipeline fire.
* The Centre-appointed committee launched its probe into the GAIL pipeline fire
tragedy in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh that has claimed 16 lives.
* The committee comprises officials of Oil Industry Safety Directorate, NDMA and
Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) as members.
Vadodara offers shocking response to harassment.
* Molesters in Gujarat are in for a rude shock.
* The Vadodara Range police have started a new initiative of selling 'shock torc
hes' to women to empower them with a tool to deal with molesters.
June 29
India, China may soon ink pact on industrial parks.
* India and China are close to inking an agreement on setting up of industrial p
arks.
* Following a bilateral meeting between the two sides, Foreign Secretary Sujatha
Singh told media persons here that both countries had agreed that a growing tra
de deficit was unsustainable.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today chaired a meeting of India's top
envoys from Gulf countries to discuss the situation in conflict-hit Iraq where t
he Indian government is in the process of facilitating departure of nearly 10,00
0 of its nationals from non-conflict zones.
* Apart from the Indian envoys, the Ambassadors of Gulf countries posted in Indi
a also attended the meeting. It was aimed at chalking out a future strategy for
the safety and evacuation of Indian nationals in Iraq.
* The meeting also reviewed the steps taken so far in this regard.
June 30
Singapore to help India build Smart Cities.
* Building on Prime Minister Narendra Modis theme of smart cities will be a key obj
ective as Singapores Foreign Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam begins his Ind
ia visit.
* In the five day visit, Mr. Shanmugam will speak about urban planning, water an
d waste management issues, where Singaporean expertise may be of use in Indias qu
est for renewing its city infrastructure, as also new ideas for strategic invest
ment in infrastructure like the Mumbai port Singapore has contributed to.
India announced a new liberal visa policy for nationals of Afghanistan on human
itarian grounds. The Policy was released by Union Home Ministry and will be effe
ctive from 1 July 2014.
* The new policy allows nationals of Afghanistan to stay in India on stay visa o
r resident permit for a period of two years at a time. Besides, Afghanistan nati
onals below 12 years or above 65 years are also granted exemption from police re
porting.
* The policy has also the liberal provisions in relation to exemption from the r
equirement of police reporting to various categories including Afghan students,
medical patients, short-term visitors, businessmen, scholars and eminent persons
.
national - 2014 JULY
July 1
EPFO launches online registration facility for firms.
* The registration of employers and issuing of code to identify the firms has be
en a time consuming process so far, leading to unnecessary delays, taking upto 2
0-25 days.
* Under the new facility, employers will be provided instructions for filling up
the forms and the check list online. Once the registration is done, the PF (emp
loyer) code will be allotted online within a day after verification of Permanent
Account Number (PAN) of the firm.
Adivasis to go on 'padayatra' against Polavaram.
* A 'mahapadayatra' will be launched under the aegis of