Senior IAS officer, Mr. Giridhar Aramane,who acted against RIL relieved of powers

Mr. Giridhar Aramane, , Joint Secretary (Exploration) in the Ministry of  Petroleum and Natural Gas, has been relieved of charge of gas pricing, acquisition of E&P assets abroad, all establishment and administrative matters related to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Videsh Limited and unconventional hydrocarbon.

Amendments of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969

The Union Cabinet today approved the introduction of a Bill in the Budget Session of Parliament to amend the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 to include registration of marriages as well, so that the existing administrative mechanisms will be able to carry out such registration of marriages in accordance with the specified procedures and be able to maintain necessary records and statistics for registration of marriages also.

First amendment to RTI Act tabled in Lok Sabha

The Manmohan Singh government 12-08-2013 introduced the Right to Information (Amendment Bill), 2013 in the Lok Sabha .

Vinay Mittal is appointed as the member of UPSC

Former Railway Board Chairman Vinay Mittal has been appointed as member of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). He was appointed on August 8 for a period of six years or until he attains the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier  He is a former Indian Railway Traffic Service officer.

P. V. Sindhu bags bronze in 2013 BWF World Championships

P.V.Sindhu of India bagged Bronze medal women’s singles category at the BWF World Championships 2013. She was defeated by  Ratchanok Inthanon of Thailand in the semifinals in Guangzhou, China on 10 August 2013.

First public sector breast milk bank in Kolkata inaugurated

A modern and sophisticated breast milk bank, stated to be the first in India in the public sector, was on 07-Aug-2013 inaugurated in Kolkata at the premier state-run Seth Sukhlal Karnani Memorial Hospital(SSKM) hospital by chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

Renowned Naturalist and Ornithologist Zafar Futehally passed away

Zafar Rashid Futehally an Indian naturalist, ornithologist and conservationist passed away on 11 August 2013 at Kihim in Maharashtra. 

Noted Kamaicha player Sakar Khan passed away

Renowned Rajasthani folk musician and Padma Shri awardee Sakar Khan, an exponent of the melodious bow and string instrument Kamaicha, passed away in Jaisalmer on 10-Aug-2013. 

Delhi state government conferred Lifetime Achievement Award-2013 to Abdul Rashid Khan and Anjolie Ela Menon.

Delhi state government conferred Lifetime Achievement Award-2013 to Abdul Rashid Khan and Anjolie Ela Menon. 

Nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile successfully test fired

The country’s first nuclear weapons-capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile, Prithvi-II, was successfully test-fired for its full strike range of 350 km from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, off  Odisha coast 

Sardar Singh to lead a young Indian Hokey team in Asia Cup

India, on 11 August 2013 named Sardar Singh as the captain of the 18-member squad in the Asia Cup hockey tournament, which is scheduled to take place from 24 August 2013 to 1 September 2013 in Ipoh, Malaysia.

India created a National Record by organizing a Half-Marathon at an altitude of 10050 ft

India set a world record at Lahaul and Spiti of Himachal Pradesh on 10^th August 2013. It was a twenty-one (21) kilometer long Half Marathon at such a high altitude of 10050 feet at Kaylong. 

Maharashtra became first state to disburse Salary through Aadhaar linked Bank Accounts

Maharashtra State Government on 07/08/2013 became the first state in the country to disburse salary of its staff through their Aadhaar-linked bank accounts. The employees of the state government’s Information Technology (IT) department got their July 2013 salaries through their Aadhaar-linked bank accounts.

Maharashtra State Government on 7 August 2013 became the first state in the country to disburse salary of its staff through their Aadhaar-linked bank accounts. The employees of the state government’s Information Technology (IT) department got their July 2013 salaries through their Aadhaar-linked bank accounts. - See more at: http://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/maharashtra-became-first-state-to-disburse-salary-through-aadhaar-linked-bank-accounts-1376200375-1#sthash.gw3teHBJ.dpuf

Maharashtra State Government on 7 August 2013 became the first state in the country to disburse salary of its staff through their Aadhaar-linked bank accounts. The employees of the state government’s Information Technology (IT) department got their July 2013 salaries through their Aadhaar-linked bank accounts

Food Security Replacement Bill Introduced in Loksabha

 Union Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister, Shri K.V.Thomas today introduced National Food Security Bill in Loksabha today to replace the National Food Security Ordinance, 2013 which was promulgated on 5th July, 2013.”

The National Food Security Bill is a historic initiative for ensuring food and nutritional security to the people. It gives right to the people to receive adequate quantity of foodgrains at affordable prices. The Bill has special focus on nutritional support to poorest of the poor, women and children. In case of non-supply of foodgrains now people will get Food Security Allowance. The bill provides for grievance redressal mechanism and penalty for non compliance by public servant or authority. 

Other features of the Bill are as follows:

Special National Investment Fund created

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved creation of the Special National Investment Fund for the specific objective of meeting the minimum public shareholding of 10 percent requirement in the following six Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs).

(i) Andrew Yule & Company Ltd.
(ii) Fertilizers & Chemicals (Travancore) Ltd.
(iii) Hindustan Photo Films Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
(iv) HMT Ltd.
(v) ITI Ltd.
(vi) Scooters India Ltd. 

Union Cabinet approves amendment to the Right to Information Act, 2005

The Union Cabinet has approved introduction of a Bill in the coming session of the Parliament to amend the Right to Information Act, 2005, to exclude the political parties from the definition of Public authority for the purpose of the Act.

The Central Information Commission (CIC) in its decision dated 03.06.2013, has held that the political parties, namely, AICC/INC, BJP, CPI(M), CPI, NCP, and BSP are public authorities under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act. While deciding that the said political parties are public authorities, the CIC has relied mainly on the grounds that there is substantial (indirect) financing of political parties by the Central Government and they perform public duty. 

Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar Retires and Bhim Sain Bassi takes charge as new Commissioner

The Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar retired from his office on 31 July 2013. He served to the police force for 37 years. At the end of his career , he came under criticism after the rape of para medical student and a five-year-old girl  However, Neeraj Kumar and his police force unearthed  the scam of spot fixing in Indian Premier League (IPL). 

 Bhim Sain Bassi, the 1977-batch IPS officer, took over the charge as the next Delhi Police Commissioner on 31 July 2013. He succeeded Neeraj Kumar. The chief of the Delhi Police, said the security of women would be given priority and special arrangements will be made to check incidents such as eve-teasing in buses and other areas to ensure that the feminine gender feels safe in the national capital

 

Aditya Mehta lifts snooker gold medal in the World Games

 India's number one snooker player, Aditya Mehta clinched the gold medal in the World Games,  in Cali, Columbia. beating China's Liang Wenbo, 3-0, in the final Aditya Mehta hails from Mumbai. Aditya won a Silver and a Bronze medal in Men's Snooker Team and Men's Snooker Singles respectively, at the 2010 Asian Games held in Guangzhou, China.