NATIONAL

1. Nagaland Government approved 33 % reservation to women in Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).

2. Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa announced Rs 1,000 increase in freedom fighters pension from Rs 11,000.

3. 10¬day long Velankanni our lady of health basilica annual feast held at Vellankan shrine in Tamil Nadu.

4. 12 day Sailing campaign Jal Tarang has been started from Bilaspur (Himachal Pradesh), aimed at strengthening national unity and integrity.

5. 12¬day long Krishna Pushkar festival began in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The festival comes once in every 12 years.

6. 2016 Youth Voters’ Festival will be held in Nagaland in September 2016.

7. 3 day long India's International Footwear Fair (IIFF) held in Delhi with 263 companies from India and abroad participating.

8. Tata Power Solar commissioned a 100 MW solar project for NTPC in Anantapur (Andhra Pradesh). It is biggest solar project

commissioned using domestically manufactured solar cells and modules.

9. Aadhar linked eSignature facility ¬ eSignDesk has been launched by LegalDesk, a Bengaluru based start¬up. eSignDesk is an initiative of Government to allow all citizens (with Aadhaar) to remotely sign any document. It saves both

time and money and also provides security as nobody can forge this signature unlike wet signatures.

10. Aadi Perukku festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu as a thanksgiving festival to rivers, especially Cauvery river. This festival is celebrated on 18th of Aadi month in Tamil calendar year.

11. Alibaba Group, along with Crossword and Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust launched Mission Million Books as an initiative inviting Indians to donate textbooks and educational material for underprivileged.

12. Andhra Pradesh became first state to launch DNA Index System (DIS) for DNA (Deoxyribonucleac acid) profiling of criminals. The system uses latest DNA technology tool (RapidHIT DNA System) developed by IntegenX of USA. It creates DNA profiles within 90 to 120 minutes compared to currently available technologies which take at least two days or more.

13. Andhra Pradesh government signed MoU with Japan to develop a food value chain in state.

14. Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) discovered an ancient camping site dating 8500 BC in Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), indicating humans were camping in the area 10,500 years ago.

15. Assam Assembly passed Amusements and Betting Tax (Amendment) Bill 2016 to boost local film industry. Bill Proposes to fix service charge at a maximum of Rs 12 per ticket, which is as high as Rs 40 at present.

Raised government tax to 30 % on service charge from earlier 20 %.

A cess of 1 Rupee will be levied on each ticket for creating a welfare fund for film and theatre sectors.

16. Assam became first state to ratify Goods and Services Tax Constitutional Amendment Bill.

Parliament has cleared GST bill to bring a uniform indirect tax regime in India. Now it awaits ratification of at least 15 states to make it a law. Centre seeks to roll¬out GST by April 1, 2017.

17. Automobile manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd introduced DiGiSENSE as a cloud based technology solution to track vehicle information in real time.

18. BHEL commissioned second 500 MW thermal unit at Marwa Thermal Power Station in Chhattisgarh.

19. Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) signed MoU with The Energy and Resources Institute (Teri) for promoting renewable energy.

20. Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology (SCTIMST) (Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala) signed agreemet for developing ‘Deep Brain Stimulator’ (DBS). DBS involves implanting electrodes within certain areas of brain and regular electrical pulses generated by a pacemaker¬like device placed under skin in upper chest regulates the abnormal impulses of the brain. DBS is used in typical neurological conditions of Essential tremor, Parkinson's disease and Dystonia.

21. Bharti Airtel launched 4G services in Kharagpur. Kharagpur is second city in West Bengal to have 4G services.

22. Bombay High Court ruled that women should be permitted to enter Haji Ali Dargah of Mumbai.

23. Bombay Stock Exchange signed MoU for co¬operation in cyber security with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur.

24. Cabinet approved introducing Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill 2016, to amend Maternity Benefit Act, 1961. This law protects employment of women during the time of her maternity and entitles her of a ‘maternity benefit’. Proposed amendments Increase Maternity Benefit to 26 weeks from 12 weeks for 2 surviving children and 12 weeks for over 2 children.

Mandatory 12 weeks Maternity Benefit to ‘Adopting mother’ and ‘Commissioning mother’.

Facilitate Work from home for women during the time of her maternity.

25. Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) signed MoU with Manonmaniam Sundaranar University (Tirunelveli) to carry out collaborative research programmes in marine biodiversity.

26. Chairperson of Reliance Foundation, Nita Ambani became first Indian woman to be elected as an individual member of International Olympic Committee (IOC).

27. Competition Commission of India imposed penalties on Karnataka Chemists and Druggist Association (‘KCDA’) and Lupin Ltd, for being in contravention of provisions of Competition Act 2002.

28. Defence Ministry sanctioned construction of a National War Memorial and National War Museum in New Delhi.

29. Delhi High Court ruled that National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi will continue to be a Union Territory (UT) under administrative control of Lt Governor (LG).

30. Delhi will have a sprawling new Aerospace Museum close to international airport focused on India’s rich aviation history.

31. Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC) organized a 64¬day¬long theatre festival in Kolkata as biggest theatre festival in World. It will showcase 245 theatres of several groups at Bharatiyam Cultural Multiplex in Kolkata's satellite town Salt Lake.

32. Festival Amazing North¬East…Paradise Unexplored will be held in New Delhi to promote rich folk culture of North¬East India.

33. First Children Court of South India launched at Nampally Criminal Courts Complex in Hyderabad (Telangana) to fast disposal of cases related to children. Telangana is third state to have a child friendly court after Goa and Delhi.

34. First Indian TV channel on higher education and skill development been launched by Millionlights (education content provider) in partnership with DEN Manoranjan Satellite in Pune (Maharashtra).

35. Former Cricketer and Rajya Sabha MP Sachin Tendulkar selected Donja village in Osmanabad district of Maharashtra for development under Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojna (SAGY).

36. Goa Tourism will organize ‘Freedom Ride’ as an exclusive bike rally on Independence Day (August 15, 2016).

37. Goa government signed MOU with Google to promote digital literacy and drive digital transformation in Goa.

38. Government allowed online authentication using Aadhar for new mobile connections. Aadhaar enabled e¬KYC seeks to make online process of application and authentication faster and simpler for subscribers.

39. Government approved Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill 2016 to improve road safety scenario. It amends 68 of existing 223 sections of Motor Vehicles Act (MVA) 1988 and proposes hefty penalties on violations of road safety rules. It proposes addition of 28 new sections.

Increases compensation for Hit & Run cases to Rs. 2 lakh from Rs.25000. Adds provision for payment of compensation in road accidents fatalities upto . e-Governance ¬ It focuses on improving delivery of services to the stakeholders using e¬Governance. It enables online learning licenses, increases period of driving licenses validity and remove requirements of educational qualifications for transport licenses etc.

Vahan & Sarathi platforms ¬ Proposes to create National Register for Vehicle registration and National Register for Driving Licence through “Sarathi” and “Vahan” platforms. This will facilitate uniformity of the process across the country and bring harmony of the registration and licensing process.

Offences committed Juveniles ¬ Owner or guardian will be deemed guilty in cases of offences by the Juveniles.

40. Government approved Rs 400 Crore projects under Namami Gange mission, Mostly for Uttar Pradesh (307 Crores).

41. Government approved amendments in Central List of OBCs (Other Backward Classes) applicable to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

42. Government approved introduction of Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill 2016 to banning commercial surrogacy in India. Bill will ensure effective regulation of surrogacy, prohibit commercial surrogacy and allow ethical surrogacy to the needy infertile couples.

43. Government launched Accessible E¬Library ‘Sugamya Pustakalaya’ for Divyang under Prime Minister’s Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan.

44. Government launched first phase of Smart Ganga City programme in 10 cities located along River Ganga ¬ Haridwar, Rishikesh, Mathura, Varanasi, Kanpur, Allahabad, Lucknow, Patna, Sahibganj and Barrackpore.

45. Gujarat became first state to distribute 2 crore LED Bulbs under UJALA Under UnnatJyoti programme. Gujarat reached this milestone in just 96 days and over 42 lakh households have already benefitted from scheme.

46. Gujarat high court removed 10 % reservation quota for economically backward classes (EBCs) in in higher educational institutions and government jobs, by terming Gujarat Unreserved Economically Weaker Sections Ordinance 2016 as unconstitutional. Ordinance was termed unconstitutional as total reservation exceeds in state exceeded 50 % percent cap set by Supreme Court.

47. HRD Minister Prakas Javedkar inaugurated IIT Raipur in Chhattisgarh at campus of Government Engineering College, Raipur.

48. Himachal Pradesh Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur launched mobile application '108 HP' to facilitate efficient access to ambulances for medical emergencies.

49. Human Resource Ministry launched Indian Institute of Techonogy (IIT) Dharwad in Karnataka.

50. Human Resource and Development Minister Prakash Javadekar inaugurated transit campus of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) at village Jagti in Jammu.

51. ICICI Bank signed MoU with Apollo India Credit Opportunity Management LLC and AION Capital Management to set up an asset reconstruction company.

52. India's First touch and feel garden for visually impaired people in country has been inaugurated near Calicut University campus by Kerala government.

53. Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) will document stories relating to villages and towns across India into an encyclopedia, aimed at connecting people better with oral and folk traditions. ICHR will also undertake study of princely States of modern India and studies to fill gaps between Harappan civilisation (first Indian urbanisation) and the 6th century BC (second urbanisation).

54. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)¬Kanpur adopted five villages in Uttar Pradesh under Namami Gange programme ¬ Ramel Nagar, Khoyra Katree, Pratapur, Hari Hindpur, and Katri Ladhva Khera.

55. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and Manipur government signed MoU to provide improved hospitality and tourism services to customers.

56. Indian Railways partnered with Google for digitizing and showcasing its heritage on digital platforms.

57. Indian Railways will build India’s longest tunnel and world’s tallest girder rail bridge on Jiribam¬Tupul¬Imphal new broad gauge railway line in Manipur.

111¬km long line already has 37 tunnels on it. New tunnel will be 11.55 km long and will surpass Pir Panjal tunnel (BanihalQazigund line in J&K ). Rail bridge with height of 141m will surpass the existing tallest bridge in Europe which has a height of 139m.

58. India’s first BIO¬CNG plant producing CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) from agricultural residue inaugurated in Pune (Maharashtra).

59. India’s first military heritage website “coloursofglory.org” has recently launched by Glory Foundation.

60. India’s first textile university will be set¬up in Surat (Gujarat) with an investment of approx 800¬900 crores.

61. India’s first underground museum will be opened at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi in October 2016. Approx Rs. 80 crores were spent in creating this museum.

62. Kerala govt allotted 10,000 crores for government schools for next 5 years. As part of this, 60,000 new hi¬tech class rooms will be set up.

63. Larsen & Toubro got contract as Implementation Partner to convert Nagpur (Maharashtra), into country's first large¬scale integrated Smart City. 

64. Lok Sabha passed Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill 2016 to pave way for employers in textile sector to avail income tax benefits. Bill seeks to amends the Income Tax Act (IT), 1961 and the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. Key Features are ¬ Amendments to IT Act 1961 In case a public sector company demerges (split) into multiple companies, resultant company will be no longer a public sector company.

Deduction in respect of employment of new employees ¬ limit of employing employee for minimum of 240 days in previous year to obtain a deduction on taxable income has been reduced to 150 days.

Amendments Customs Tariff Act 1975 Customs duty on marble and granite blocks and slabs is increased to 40% from earlier 10%.

65. MOU signed between National Tiger Conservation Authority and WII (Dehradun) for establishing India’s first tiger cell. It will have a database of tigers as well as DNA and stripes samples from over 50 tiger reserves and will aid conservation efforts.

66. Maharashta became first state to launch India’s first comprehensive ‘Crime Criminal Tracking Network System’ (CCTNS) in Mumbai, through operationalisation of 34 cyber laboratories across state in order to combat growing cybercrimes. CCTNS is developed by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) Pune.

67. Maharashtra Government has unveiled ambitious Mumbai¬Nagpur Super Communication Expressway project in Mumbai. The 46,000¬crore rupee ambitious project will create state¬of¬the art road connectivity within a period of three years and give a fillip to investment in the state.

68. Maharashtra Government launched Quit India 2 Swaraaj to Suraaj Movement against various social ills during. On 8th August 1942, Mahatma Gandhi had given the clarion call of Quit India at the historic August Kranti Maidan (then called as Gowalia Tank Maidan).

69. Maharashtra Government will provide upto 1,200 wi¬fi hotspots in Mumbai as part of its plans to make Mumbai a wi¬fi city by May 2017.

70. Maharashtra and Telangana signed agreements for irrigation projects to be constructed on Godavari (Medigadda barrage ), Pranahita (Tummadihatti barrage) and Painganga rivers (Chanaka¬Korata barrage).

71. Maharashtra became first state in country to draft its own internal security legislation Maharashtra Protection of Internal Security Act (MPISA), 2016. It focuses on maintaining law and order and combating terrorism, insurgency, caste¬related violence and communalism in state.

72. Maharashtra became first state to sign an MoU with ministry of civil aviation and Airports Authority of India for Regional Connectivity Scheme to develop 10 airports.

73. Maharashtra government will transform 1,000 villages with help of corporate sector and civil society over next 5 years.

74. Manipal Technologies Ltd (MTL) secure print solutions organization acquired CrossFraud ¬ an advanced fraud detection and anti¬money laundering solution from Bengaluru¬based Saraansh Software Solutions.

75. Material Sciences Firm and Part of Murugappa Group Carborundum Universal inaugurated its highh¬end Research and Development centre in its Hosur (Tamil Nadu).

76. Mega Food Park inaugurated in Jangipur of Murshidabad District of West Bengal.

77. Minister for Health & Family Welfare J P Nadda inaugurated 3 Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment (AMRIT) outlets at North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) Shillong, Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) Imphal and All India Institute Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Jodhpur, To reduce expenditure incurred by common patients on treatment of cancer and heart diseases.

78. Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan launched Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) in West Bengal, a scheme to provide clean cooking fuel to women belonging to 'Below Poverty Line' (BPL) households. PMUY was launched at Ballia (Uttar Pradesh) with an aim to provide LPG connections to 5 Crore BPL households by 2019 and is a part of larger programme of adding 10 Crore new LPG connections by 2019.

79. Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation launched a short film series An Open Mind, in honour of those who are driving positive behaviour change in their communities across country by helping eliminate open defecation and adopt safe sanitation practices.

80. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) launched a mobile app (developed by Facebook for free) that integrates various social media handles of over 170 Indian missions on a common platform.

81. Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) approved construction of 37013 houses for urban poor in Karnataka and Haryana with an investment of 1491 crore rupees (central assistance of 569 crores).

82. Ministry of Labour and Employment renamed Central Board for Workers’ Education as “Dattopant Thengadi National Board for Workers Education and Development.

83. Ministry of Mines launched portal for Star Rating of Major Mineral Mines with an aim to promote sustainable mining. Portal was developed by IBM (Indian Bureau sof Mining) through NISG (National Institute of Smart Government), Hyderabad.

84. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) allocated Rs. 142.00 crore has been provided for Biogas Programme for 2016¬

17, for implementing National Biogas and Manure Management Programme (NBMMP) for setting up of family type biogas plants in rural and semi¬urban areas of the country. A target of 1,00,000 biogas plants has been fixed for the current year.

85. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways issued a Notification to free e rickshaws and e carts from permit requirements. Now, vehicles registered as e carts / e rickshaws will not require any permits. State Governments can still impose restrictions under appropriate traffic laws on plying of these vehicles in specific areas.

86. Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) signed MoU with Comic Book Publisher Amar Chitra Katha to publish a special edition of comic book focusing on Swachh Bharat Mission.

87. Ministry of Women and Child Development has launched Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) e¬box in Delhi.  POCSO e¬box is an online complaint management system for easy reporting of sexual offences against children and timely action against offenders under POCSO Act, 2012. It is an initiative of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) (www.ncpcr.gov.in).

88. Mobile application “I Feel Safe” aimed at helping women ensure their safety in Delhi has been launched at Delhi University, powered by Nirbhaya Jyoti Trust.

89. Motorcycle finance company Bajaj Finance partnered with India Post to facilitate purchase of vehicles in Karnataka.

90. Myanmar President Htin Kyaw Visited India ad signed 4 agreements with India ¬

• First ¬ construction of 69 bridges on Tamu¬Kalewa section of the trilateral highway connecting India, Myanmar and Thailand.

• Second ¬ Upgrading Kalewa¬Yargi section of trilateral highway.

• Third ¬ cooperation in renewable energy

• Fourth ¬ cooperation in traditional medicines.

91. National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR) Vadodara signed MoU with Maharaja Sayajirao(MS) University (Vadodara) for awarding MBA degree in specific Railway fields to railway probationary officers belonging to Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS), Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS) and Indian Railway Store Service (IRSS).

92. National Association of Software and Services (NASSCOM) launched its startup warehouse at Sunrise Startup Village at Rushikonda in Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh).

93. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) sanctioned 26 crore to Punjab government, for tackling waterlogging by constructing lift schemes in low¬lying areas, village ponds, and other allied works.

94. National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) registered 9 new breeds of indigenous farm (livestock and poultry) animals.

9 newly registered breeds are Badri cow (Uttarakhand), Kodi Adu goat (Tamil Nadu), Teressa goat (Nicobar Island), Kendrapada sheep (Odisha), Chevaadu sheep (Tamil Nadu), Nicobari pig (NicobarIsland), Tenyi Vo pig (Nagaland), Doom pig (Assam) and Kaunayenchicken (Manipur). Total indigenous breeds of livestock in country now reached 160.

95. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) signed MOU with IIT¬Kharagpur for research project on Laboratory and Field investigations on Paneled Cement Concrete Pavements for Highways.

96. National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) of Ministry of AYUSH launched National campaign on Medicinal Plants at State Institute of Agriculture Management (Jaipur, Rajasthan).

97. National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) signed MoU for industrial use of treated water.

This helps in establishment of STP in Mathura which will provide treated water for industrial use.

98. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) launched Unified Payments Interface (UPI) application, allowing customers to make easier real¬time payments using smartphones.

Reserve Bank of India’s allowed 21 banks’ UPI applications to go live on Google Play Store.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a flagship product of NPCI that will help India to move towards a cashless economy by allowing customers to send and receive money from their smartphones using virtual payments address without entering bank account details. It merges several banking features, seamless fund routing and merchant payments into one hood.

Karnataka Bank launched “KBL¬SMARTz” a mobile application (app) built on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform.

99. National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) capped prices of 24 essential drugs used for treatment of cancer, HIV, bacterial infections, anxiety and cardiac conditions.

100. Odisha Government dedicated 100 multi¬purpose shelter houses to people of Odisha for use during floods and cyclones, aiming to minimize casualtes during calamities.

101. Odisha Police Launched Operation Muskan¬2 as an initiative to trace missing children and reunite them with parents.

102. Odisha government launched a website of state's Home department to enable differently¬abled persons to interact with website.

103. Odisha government made Aadhar Card mandatory for procurement of paddy in the state, to maintain transparency and ensure quick payment of dues.

104. Odisha government will recruit members of transgender community persons as warders in jails, as per directive of Supreme Court.

105. Online marketplace Amazon launched India’s first dedicate online Telugu book store with a wide selection of over 10,000 Telugu titles.

106. PM Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin dedicated first unit of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) in Tamil Nadu to nation, through video conferencing.

• It has India’s single largest nuclear generation unit with capacity of 1000 megawatt (MW)

• KKNPP is located in Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu, around 650 km from Chennai.

• It is built under India¬Russian Nuclear agreement of 1988.

107. PM Narendra Modi laid foundation stone for the Rs 10,598.98 crore National Thermal Power Corporation's (NTPC) 1,600 MW Telangana Super Thermal Power Project (Phase I) in Ramagundam city. NTPC will establish project in Telengana in two phases ¬1600 MW in Phase I and 2400 MW in Phase II. He also launched phase¬1 of 'Mission Bhagiratha', a flagship project of Telangana government aimed at providing piped drinking water to every household in state.

108. PM Narendra Modi launched Saurashtra Narmada Irrigation (SAUNI) Project at Sanosara in Gujarat.

109. PM Narendra Modi released theme song for Tiranga Yatra to be organised between 16 to 23 August 2016 across the country to mark 70 years of Independence. Theme song 70 Saal Azadi Yaad Karo Kurbani has been composed by Ghazal Srinivas.

15¬day programme Azadi 70¬ Yaad Karo Kurbani (Freedom Fortnight) on August 9, 2016 to commemorate freedom fighters on 70th year of India’s Independence will startfrom from birth place of Great freedom fighter Chandrashekhar Azaz at Alirajpur (Madhya Pradesh).

110. President Pranab Mukherjee has given his approval to set up 6 new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in ¬ Jammu, Tirupati, Palakkad (Kerala), Goa, Dharward (Karnataka) and Bhilai (Chhattisgarh).

This law also brought Indian School of Mines (ISM), Dhanbad under its ambit, to be called now as Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) Dhanbadd.

President also gave his assent for establishment of a National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Andhra Pradesh.

111. President Pranab Mukherjee launched Akashvani Maitree Channel and its website in Bengali language for listeners in West Bengal, Bangladesh and adjoining areas. Akashvani Maitree Channel is an initiative of Kolkata Akashvani Kendra for blending content both from India and Bangladesh and preserving Bengali culture.

112. Rajasthan become first state to approve sewage and waste water policy.

113. Rajya Sabha passed Dentists (Amendment) Bill 2016 that seeks to amend Dentists Act 1948. It will also replace Dentists (Amendment) Ordinance 2016. Key Features include introduction of a uniform entrance examination for all dental educational institutions.

114. Rajya Sabha passed Mental Health Care Bill to provide better healthcare for people suffering from mental illness and also to decriminalise suicide. In case of person who attempts to commit suicide shall be presumed to be suffering from mental illness at the time of attempting suicide unless proved otherwise. Such person shall not be liable to punishment under section 309 (attempt to commit suicide) of Indian Penal Code (IPC).

115. Research and innovation firm Fifth Generation Technologies (specialisation in building real time intelligence solutions) signed agreement with Anna University (Chennai) for conducting research to arrive at a useful prediction of remaining life of critical equipment that are working in high temperature environments.

116. Researchers from Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI) Bhavanagar, (Gujarat) developed photocatalyst that can degrade 3 industrial dyes (methyl orange, methylene blue and reactive black¬5) in presence of sunlight. Photocatalyst was developed using titanium dioxide doped with red seaweed polymer carrageenan (a substance extracted from purple and red seaweeds).

Conventionally, titanium dioxide was used for photocatalytic degradation of industrial dyes, but it took long time to degrade dyes.

117. South Korea will be focus country at 47th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2016 to be held in Goa in November 2016.

118. Sreekrishna temple in Guruvayur is included in Tourism Ministry’s Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spirituality Augmentation Drive (PRASAD).

119. Supreme Court stated that former Chief Ministers are not entitled for government accommodation for lifetime. Judgment came on a plea filed by Uttar Pradesh¬based NGO Lok Prahari.

120. Tamil Nadu Assembly passed resolution to rename Madras High Court as Tamil Nadu High Court and not as High Court of Chennai as proposed by Central government.

121. Tamil Nadu government launched an online service for consumers to apply for low¬tension service connections, through Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) website.

122. Telangana government will rearrange its interim borders to create 17 new districts in October 2016.

123. Telangana signed MOU with Indian Space Research Organisation for setting up a Water Resources Information System (WRIS) on ISRO's ‘Bhuvan’ web portal.

124. Town and Country Planning (TCP) department of Himachal Pradesh launched citizen governance mobile App “HIM TCP” to take vital services online. This App ensures single point access to services and other functions of department.

125. Traditional farm festival of Hareli celebrated in Chhattisgarh. It marks beginning of Shravan month (holy month of Hindus).

126. Union Bank of India (UBI) launched an Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) based *99# mobile application for their customers for basic banking needs, in partnership with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). It can be used even without internet, is available in 10 languages and provides basic banking facilities like checking account balance, sending money, Mobile PIN (MPIN) management. Unstructured Supplementary Service Data is a GSM based technology i.e. used to send text between a mobile phone and an application program in network. It is sometimes referred to as Quick Codes or Feature codes. It is a protocol used by GSM cellular telephones to communicate with the service provider’s computers.

127. Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu launched Swachh Survekshan-2017 for 500 cities with an idea to make competitive environment to make cities clean.

128. Uttar Pradesh government approved a Metro Rail project for Allahabad city. Detailed project plan to be laid out later.

129. West Bengal Legislative Assembly has passed a resolution changing the name of the State to Bengal in English and Bangla in Bengali.

130. Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi inaugurated Uttarakhand's first animal birth control centre (ABC) in Dehradun. Government will take measures for Birth Control for stray dogs, whose population has been rising in state.

131. World Bank has sanctioned Rs 980 crore to dredge Brahmaputra River as an initiative to develop waterways to Bangladesh and to other South East Asian countries in a bid to boost trade and industry in the Northeast.