Profile of India at a glance

India is one of the oldest civilizations in the world with a kaleidoscopic variety and rich cultural heritage. It has achieved all-round socio-economic progress during the last 67 years of its Independence. India has become self-sufficient in agricultural production and is now one of the top industrialised countries in the world and one of the few nations to have gone into outer space to conquer nature for the benefit of the people. It covers an area of 3,287,590 sq. km (1,269,346 sq mi), extending from the snow-covered Himalayan heights to the tropical rain forests of the south. As the 7th largest country in the world, India stands apart from the rest of Asia, marked off as it is by mountains and the sea, which give the country a distinct geographical entity. Bounded by the Great Himalayas in the north, it stretches southwards and at the Tropic of Cancer, tapers off into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal on the east and the Arabian Sea on the west.

Lying entirely in the northern hemisphere, the mainland extends between latitudes 8° 4' and 37° 6' north, longitudes 68° 7' and 97° 25' east and measures about 3,214 km from north to south between the extreme latitudes and about 2,933 km from east to west between the extreme longitudes. It has a land frontier of about 15,200 km. The total length of the coastline of the mainland, Lakshadweep Islands and Andaman & Nicobar Islands is 7,516.6 km.

INDIA at a glance ::

Particulars	Description
Location	The Indian peninsula is separated from mainland Asia by the Himalayas. The Country is surrounded by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Arabian Sea in the west, and the Indian Ocean to the south.
Geographic Coordinates	Lying entirely in the Northern Hemisphere, the Country extends between 8° 4' and 37° 6' latitudes north of the Equator, and 68° 7' and 97° 25' longitudes east of it.
Indian Standard Time	GMT + 05:30
Area	3.3 Million sq. km
Telephone Country Code	91
Border Countries	Afghanistan and Pakistan to the north-west; China, Bhutan and Nepal to the north; Myanmar to the east; and Bangladesh to the east of West Bengal. Sri Lanka is separated from India by a narrow channel of sea, formed by Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar.
Coastline	7,517 km encompassing the mainland, Lakshadweep Islands, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
Climate	The climate of India can broadly be classified as a tropical monsoon one. But, in spite of much of the northern part of India lying beyond the tropical zone, the entire country has a tropical climate marked by relatively high temperatures and dry winters. There are four seasons:
	1. winter (December-February)
	2. summer (March-June)
	3. south-west monsoon season (June-September)
	4. post monsoon season (October-November)
Terrain	The mainland comprises of four regions, namely the great mountain zone, plains of the Ganga and the Indus, the desert region, and the southern peninsula.
Natural Resources	Coal, iron ore, manganese ore, mica, bauxite, petroleum, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, magnesite, limestone, arable land, dolomite, barytes, kaolin, gypsum, apatite, phosphorite, steatite, fluorite, etc.
Natural Hazards	Monsoon floods, flash floods, earthquakes, droughts, and landslides.
Environment - Current Issues	Air pollution control, energy conservation, solid waste management, oil and gas conservation, forest conservation, etc.
Environment - International Agreements	Rio Declaration on environment and development, Cartagena Protocol on biosafety, Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on climatic change, World Trade Agreement, Helsinki Protocol to LRTAP on the reduction of sulphur emissions of nitrogen oxides or their transboundary fluxes (Nox Protocol), and Geneva Protocol to LRTAP concerning the control of emissions of volatile organic compounds or their transboundary fluxes (VOCs Protocol).
Geography - Note	India occupies a major portion of the south Asian subcontinent.
	Physical, Political, Population, Rain fall, Railway & Sea Routes, Road, Soil, etc.
PEOPLE
Particulars	Description
Population	India's population, as on 1 March 2011 stood at 1,210,193,422 (623.7 million males and 586.4 million females).
Population Growth Rate	The average annual exponential growth rate stands at 1.64 per cent during 2001-2011.
Birth Rate	The Crude Birth rate was 18.3 in 2009.
Death Rate	The Crude Death rate was 7.3 in 2009.
Life Expectancy Rate	65.8 years (Males); 68.1 years (Females) in the period 2006-2011.
Sex Ratio	940 females per 1000 males according to 2011 census
Nationality	Indian
Ethnic Groups	All the five major racial types - Australoid, Mongoloid, Europoid, Caucasian, and Negroid find representation among the people of India.
Religions	According to the 2001 census, out of the total population of 1,028 million in the Country, Hindus constituted the majority with 80.5%, Muslims came second at 13.4%, followed by Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and others.
Languages	There are 22 different languages that have been recognised by the Constitution of India, of which Hindi is an Official Language. Article 343(3) empowered Parliament to provide by law for continued use of English for official purposes.
Literacy	According to the provisional results of the 2011 census, the literacy rate in the Country stands at 74.04 per cent, 82.14% for males and 65.46% for females.
GOVERNMENT
Particulars	Description
Country Name	Republic of India; Bharat Ganrajya
Government Type	Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic with a Parliamentary system of Government.
Capital	New Delhi
Administrative Divisions	29 States and 7 Union Territories.
Independence	15th August 1947 (From the British Colonial Rule)
Constitution	The Constitution of India came into force on 26th January 1950.
Legal System	The Constitution of India is the fountain source of the legal system in the Country.
Executive Branch	The President of India is the Head of the State, while the Prime Minister is the Head of the Government, and runs office with the support of the Council of Ministers who form the Cabinet Ministry.
Legislative Branch	The Indian Legislature comprises of the Lok Sabha (House of the People) and theRajya Sabha (Council of States) forming both the Houses of the Parliament.
Judicial Branch	The Supreme Court of India is the apex body of the Indian legal system, followed by other High Courts and subordinate Courts.
Flag Description	The National Flag is a horizontal tricolour of deep saffron (kesaria) at the top, white in the middle, and dark green at the bottom in equal proportion. At the centre of the white band is a navy blue wheel, which is a representation of the Ashoka Chakra at Sarnath.
National Days	26th January (Republic Day)
	15th August (Independence Day)
	2nd October (Gandhi Jayanti; Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday)

Goods and Service Tax Bill

GOODS AND SERVICE TAX BILL (GST Bill)

What is G.S.T.:

Goods and Service Tax is an integrated tax system which levy the tax on supply of goods or service or both rather than imposing the tax on sale or purchase in the indirect taxation in India. It brings lots of reforms in the taxation system and all types of taxes can come under one roof and may be levied and collected at a time rather that imposition of tax on tax at various stages what now our Government is following.

Highlights of the G.S.T. Bill:

·         The bill amends the Articles 249, 250 and other of constitution to introduce Goods and Service Tax in Indian Indirect Taxation system.

·         Parliament and state legislature are having the powers to amend the Constitution and having power to make Laws and Acts.

·         Alcohol for human consumption has been exempted from the G.S.T.

·         In the beginning G.S.T. will not impose or levy excise duties or VAT on the petroleum, diesel, petrol, natural gas, crude oil and others petroleum products. At later date the G.S.T. council may take the decision of tax imposition on such products.

·         G.S.T. council will recommend the rates tax on Goods and service and other changes in the taxation system.

Scope of G.S.T.:

·         GST will be imposed on supply of goods and service inspite of sale or purchase of goods.

·         Liquor for human consumption shall be exempted from G.S.T.

·         Tobacco and tobacco products may be subjected to G.S.T.. the Central may impose the excise duty on the tobacco and tobacco products.

·         In beginning of implementation of the GST Petroleum products may be exempted under GST for few years and later date the GST council may decide the tax imposition under GST Act.

Power to Levy of G.S.T. :

·         The Central Government and State Government both are having the power to impose and levy of G.S.T.

·         The law or Act made by the Central can not be override by the the State Government Laws or Acts in a same issue.

·         Based on the recommendations of the GST council, tax rates may be decided.

Constitutional Amendments for G.S.T.:

·       An amendment of 122^nd was introduced in the Parliament for passing of the GST Bill.

·       As per the existing structure of the indirect tax system the GST system will be introduced.

·       In Article 249 the parliament has vested with powers to make laws pertaining to GST on behalf of the national interest. The Central Government may implement GST by appointing GST Counseling in case of Emergency in Country or a particular State.

·       In regard to above there may be certain amendments has to done for these articles and Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India.

June, 2015 Current Affairs

1] List of Important International Days in June 2015

·         1 June – Global Day of Parents

·         1 June – “Vesak”, the Day of the Full Moon

·         4 June - International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression

·         5 June - World Environment Day

·         6 June - Russian Language Day at the UN

·         8 June - World Oceans Day

·         12 June - World Day Against Child Labour

·         13 June - International Albinism Awareness Day

·         14 June - World Blood Donor Day

·         15 June - World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

·         17 June - World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought

·         20 June - World Refugee Day

·         21 June - International Day of Yoga

·         23 June - United Nations Public Service Day

·         23 June - International Widows’ Day

·         25 June - Day of the Seafarer

·         26 June - International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking

·         26 June - United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture

·         26 June - International Albinism Awareness Day

2] Union Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad announced that BSNL free national roaming will be available by June 15.

3] Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan cut the key interest rate by 0.25 percent, third time this year, meeting market and government expectations of boosting growth by lowering borrowing cost.

4] Former greats Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman were inducted into the BCCI’s newly-constituted cricket advisory panel to guide the Board in all matters related to the game.

5] Former captain Ravi Shastri was retained as Director of the Indian cricket team for the tour of Bangladesh starting 10th June as the BCCI continued its search for a new permanent coach to succeed Duncan Fletcher.

6] Former Assam Chief Secretary Jyoti Prashad Rajkhowa was sworn in as the 19th Governor of Arunachal Pradesh in a ceremony at the Darbar Hall of the Raj Bhawan in Itanagar.

7] Sepp Blatter resigned as FIFA president on Tuesday, four days after being re-elected to a fifth term.

8] The US Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter who is on a 3 day India visit is holding talks with Defence Minister Manohar Parikar today. He also met Prime Minister Modi, National Security Advisor and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

9] India joined the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information on 3rd June, 2015, in Paris, France, alongwith Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Indonesia and New Zealand. On our behalf, the Declaration to comply with the provisions of the MCAA was signed by H.E. Mr. Mohan Kumar, Ambassador of the Republic of India to France, in a signing ceremony held in Paris.

10] India and United States signed a new strategically important 10-year defence framework pact, envisaging joint development and manufacture of equipment and technology. It includes jet engines, aircraft carrier design and construction.

11] President Pranab Mukherjee was conferred with the Professor Honoris Causa by the Rector of the University at Sergey Ablameyko.

12] President Pranab Mukherjee unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at Belarus State University.

13] South Korea's health ministry confirmed that two people had died from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), the country's first fatalities from the virus.

14] Netherland's Prime Minister Mark Rutte met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House.Bilateral talks between the two leaders concluded which was followed by lunch.

15] The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, planted a Kadamb sapling (Neolamarckia Cadamba), at the Race Course Road lawns, to mark the occasion of World Environment Day (5 June). 16] The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi today presented Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina a hand-woven tapestry from Venkatagiri, Andhra Pradesh, woven in jamdani style – a well-known tradition in Bangladesh.

17] India and Bangladesh on Saturday signed ratification pact to operationalise the historic Land Boundary Agreement. The agreement which was signed in 1974 between then Indian PM Indira Gandhi and her Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, had been long pending.

18] Bangladesh confers Award of Liberation War Honour on Atal Bihari Vajpayee - President Abdul Hamid handed over the Bangladesh Liberation War Honour to PM Modi at a glittering ceremony at the President's house, which was attended by Premier Sheikh Hasina and top officials.

19] Luis Suarez and Neymar scored second-half goals to give Barcelona a 3-1 Champions League final victory over Juventus as the Spaniards became the first team to twice win the European treble.

20] Stan Wawrinka wins French Open men title 2015.

21] Serena Williams wins French Open women title 2015.

22] The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee received the first copy of ‘Yogikasparsh’, a Yoga Manual in Braille written by Smt. Nivedita Joshi at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan.

23] Exercise AJEYA WARRIOR, a Joint Exercise between the armies of India and UK, will be conducted from 13 June to 28 June 2015 at Westdown Camp, Salisbury Plains Training Area, UK. 24] Rahul Dravid appointed India A, Under-19 cricket coach: BCCI 25] World Bank says despite drop in investment commitments in 2014, India figures among top economies in private and infrastructural sectors. 26] Kochi Metro ties up with Axis Bank to make significant revenues from ticket sales.

27] MS Dhoni only cricketer in Forbes list of highest-paid athletes - Dhoni, ranked 23rd in the list, is widely hailed as India's best captain and is among the most recognised cricketers in the world. He earned a whopping $31 million, including amounts from salary/prize money at $4 million and a further $27 million from endorsements during the 2014-15calendaryear.

28] Stanford scientist Manu Prakash makes water based computer.

29] The Industrial output for the country zooms to 4.1 percent in April against 2.1 percent in March, starkly higher than economists' expectations.

30] The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley would hold the Quarterly Review Meeting of the CEOs of the Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and Financial Institutions (FIs) for the year ending 31st March, 2015 tomorrow in the national capital.

31] The Reserve Bank of India will shortly issue ₹ 10 denomination Banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi Series-2005, incorporating “₹” symbol on the obverse and the reverse, with inset letter ‘U’ in both the numbering panels, bearing the signature of Dr. Raghuram G. Rajan, Governor, Reserve Bank of India and the year of printing ‘2015’ printed on the reverse of the Banknote.

32] World Bank says despite drop in investment commitments in 2014, India figures among top economies in private and infrastructural sectors. Despite a drop in investment commitments of USD 6.2 billion last year, India has figured in top five emerging economies for highest investment commitments in private sector, infrastructure sectors i.e. energy, transport and water, according to a World Bank report.

33] The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today described “knowledge” (“ilm”) as the focal point of all religions. Addressing an eminent gathering of scholars, historians and diplomatic representatives at the release function of the book, “Education of Muslims: The Prime Minister said the book can help us in our efforts towards “understanding each other” – understanding different points of view. He complimented the book’s editor, Shri J.S. Rajput. The Prime Minister also complimented Shri Sirajuddin Qureshi, who has written the foreword for the book.

34] Ameising Luikham, IAS took over as Secretary, Department of Public Enterprises in the M/o Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises.

35] India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh signed a landmark Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) for the Regulation of Passenger, Personnel and Cargo Vehicular Traffic among the four South Asian neighbours in Thimpu, Bhutan today. The MVA agreement between sub-grouping of four SAARC nations, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) will pave the way for a seamless movement of people and goods across their borders for the benefit and integration of the region and its economic development. The BBIN MVA Agreement was signed by the Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Mr. Nitin Gadkari on behalf of India.

36] The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued the final guidelines for the 6-year and 13-year cash settled Interest Rate Futures (IRF) on government securities with residual maturity of 4-8 years and 11-15 years respectively under the Interest Rate Futures (Reserve Bank) (Amendment) Directions, 2015. For this purpose, RBI amended the Interest Rate Futures (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2013 dated 5 December 2013.

37] Contracting for the sixth month in a row, India's exports dipped by 20.19 percent in May to USD 22.34 billion mainly due to global slowdown and dip in crude oil prices that impacted overseas shipments of petroleum products.

38] The Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari received a book entitled ‘Modi – Incredible emergence of a star” in Chinese language written by Tarun Vijay.

39] The Vedanta Group today announced a merger between its flagship Indian mining firm Vedanta Limited (formerly Sesa Sterlite) and its oil subsidiary Cairn India.

40] The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today gave its approval for launch of “Housing for All by 2022” aimed for urban areas with following components/options to States/Union Territories and cities.

41] Ministry of AYUSH released a book titled ‘Yoga and Islam’. The Book has been complied by Dr. Imran Chaudhary and Shri Abhijeet Singh which has been published by Muslim Rashtriya Manch. The book clearly indicates that Yoga has nothing to do with religion and is universally accepted.

42] New series of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ TV commercials starring Aamir Khan as brand ambassador.

43] China on 19 June 2015 launched the world’s first electric passenger aircraft named BX1E.

44] Sharad Pawar re-elected as President of Mumbai Cricket Association

45] PM Modi release of the book: “Red Tape to Red Carpet… and then some”. The book has been written by Mrs. Gina Rinehart.

46] Indian Railway Team wins World Railway Championship, 2015 in Tennis and Volleyball.

47] Former Superior General of Missionaries of Charity Sister Nirmala died in Kolkata at early hours on Tuesday after brief illness. She was 81 . Sister Nirmala took over the highest post in Missionaries of Charity after the death of Mother Teresa. She worked as Superior General till the year 2009.

48] Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee Appointed as Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court.

49] Passport Seva Divas on June 24.

50] Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar will be honoured with Columbia’s highest civilian award on June 24

51] 2nd Commemoration Day of Rescuers Day” June 25, 2015.

52] Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today launched three mega urban schemes viz., Smart Cities Mission, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Housing for All in urban area setting in motion the process of urban transformation to enable better living and drive economic growth. Stressing on the need for people centric urban planning and development, he said that for the first time in the county such an effort has been launched.

53] Beyond Doubt: A Dossier on Gandhi's Assassination written by Teesta Setalvad.

54] China won 2015 Nongfu Spring World Cup of Snooker.

55] Sanjay Subrahmanyam selected for Sangitha Kalanidhi award for the year 2015.

56] India placed at 61st position in terms of foreigners’ money in Swiss banks.

57] IEP released Global Peace Index 2015 - India is ranked 143rd out of 162 countries and maintained the same position compared to the GPI 2014.

58] IBEF report: Maharashtra topped the list of States and UTs in IPR filing in 2013-14.

59] Russia won European Team Athletics Championships 2015.

60] SoftBank Corp, Bharti Enterprises Limited and Foxconn formed a JV named SBG Cleantech Ltd.

61] Maharashtra declared Blue Mormon as State butterfly.

62] Titanic composer James Horner died.

63] SEBI relaxed the IPO norms for technological start-ups to raise funds from capital market.

64] Steffi Graf appointed as Kerala’s Ayurveda brand ambassador.

65] UK-based philanthropist Benni Joseph Mavelil selected for VK Krishna Menon Award 2015.

66] Zaheer Abbas, former Captain of Pakistan’s Cricket team, named as President of ICC.

67] Union Cabinet approved to set up a National Memorial at birth place of Lok Nayak JP Narayan in Bihar.

68] Sachin Tendulkar named as greatest Test player of 21st century.

69] Sri Sri Ravi Shankar conferred with Columbia’s highest civilian award.

70] Anshula Kant appointed as CFO and Deputy Managing Director of SBI.

71] RBI allowed AD Category-I Banks to borrow from International Financial Institutions.

72] President conferred Punyabhushan Award on Prataprao Pawar.

73] Indian Railways ranked at the eighth place in the list of world's biggest employers with 1.4 million staff.

74] Famous Writer Vishwanath Tripathi chosen for 28th Moorti Devi Award.

75] Satnam Singh Bhamara became first Indian basketball player to join NBA.

76] The Theme of Social Development Chosen for the National Statistics Day.

77] Census data on disabled population released - The data released shows 207.8 lakh households having disabled persons in the country constituting 8.3 percent of the total households. Out of the total households having disabled persons, about 99 percent households are normal households, 0.4 percent are institutional and 0.2 percent are houseless households. Total households having disabled persons show an increase of 20.5 lakhs, from 187.3 lakhs in 2001 to 207.8 lakhs in 2011 (6.2 lakhs in rural and 14.3 lakhs in urban). Normal households increased by 2,02,4495, institutional households by 8,370 and houseless households by 13,560 during the decade 2001-11. Disabled persons in normal households increased by 48,19,382, institutional households by 65,895 and houseless households by 22,948 during the said decade.

78] National Level Sikh museum to be constructed in Lakhnaur Sahib Village of Punjab. 79] ITU defined 5G network speed as 20 Gbps.

80] Elephant Census Report 2015 of Odisha released - Odisha increased to 1954 from 1930 recorded in 2012 Census.