August 2014 in pictures

India - Japan; Modi's visit to Japan

 It will be Mr. Modi's first bilateral visit outside South Asia since taking office, signalling the importance of a nation he said offered "immense scope for cooperation". Mr. Modi visited Japan twice when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat state, and met Mr. Abe on both occasions.

Here's 10-point cheat-sheet to what's on the PM's agenda.

Ø     PM Modi, 63, will first meet host Prime Minister Shinzo Abe privately in the historic city of Kyoto before holding official talks in Tokyo, seeking to boost trade between Asia's second and third largest economies.

Ø     Both premiers are right-wing nationalists elected on a pledge to revive their countries' economies, and lead countries embroiled in territorial disputes with China. The United States, Japan's key ally, is concerned about Beijing's growing economic and military clout, and would welcome a closer relationship between New Delhi and Tokyo, which geographically bookend China.

Ø     In a statement released yesterday, PM Modi said he is keenly looking forward to the visit.  Calling Japan one of India's "closest partners in political, economic, security and cultural realms," he added that he is confident that his visit will "write a new chapter in the annals of the relations between Asia's two oldest democracies and take our strategic and global partnership to the next higher level."

Ø     Mr. Modi is traveling with a large delegation studded with some of India's biggest industrialists including Reliance's Mukesh Ambani and software giant Wipro's Azim Premji. The PM will seek Japanese support in infrastructural developments.

Ø     This could include Japanese investment for the high-speed 'bullet' trains that the PM has promised. His government has said the country's dilapidated railways needed an "immediate course correction".

Ø     India is hoping to win Japanese backing for a nuclear energy pact and lure investment into its $85 billion market while addressing Japan's concern about nuclear proliferation.

Ø     India has been pushing for an agreement with Japan on the lines of a 2008 deal with the United States under which Delhi was allowed to import U.S. nuclear fuel and technology without giving up its military nuclear programme.

Ø     But Japan wants explicit guarantees from India, which has not signed the international Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, to strictly limit nuclear tests and to allow more intrusive inspections of its nuclear facilities to ensure that spent fuel is not diverted to make bombs. An agreement is not expected to be sealed at the bilateral summit, but progress in negotiations is likely.

Ø     The two leaders will agree to have their countries jointly produce mixed rare earth minerals and metals, key elements in defence industry components and modern technology.

Ø     Mr. Modi and host Prime Minister Abe are also expected to strengthen defence ties, speeding up talks on the sale of an amphibious aircraft to the Indian navy.

National Sport Awards 2014

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award winners - complete list

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award ( medal + Rs. 7.5 lakh)
----NIL----
Arjuna Award (statuette + citation + Rs. 5 lakh each)
01	Abhishek Verma	Archery
02	Tintu Luka	Athletics
03	H N Girisha	Para-athletics
04	V Diju	Badminton
05	Geethu Anna Jose	Basketball
06	Jai Baghwan	Boxing
07	R Ashwin	Cricket
08	Anirban Lahiri	Golf
09	Mamta Pujari	Kabaddi
10	Saji Thomas	Rowing
11	Heena Sidhu	Shooting
12	Anaka Alankamony	Squash
13	Tom Joseph	Volleyball
14	Renubala Chanu	Weightlifting
15	Sunil Kumar Rana	Wrestling
Dronocharya Award (statuette + citation + Rs. 5 lakh each)
01	Mahabir Prasad	Wrestling
02	N. Lingappa	Athletics – lifetime achievement
03	G. Manoharan	Boxing – lifetime achievement
04	Gurcharan Singh Gogi	Judo – lifetime achievement
05	Jose Jacob	Rowing – lifetime achievement
Dhyan Chand Award
01	Gurmail Singh	Hockey
02	K.P. Thakkar	Swimming-diving
03	Zeeshan Ali	Tennis
Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar
01	Employment of sports persons and sports welfare measures	Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
02	Community sports–identification and nurturing of budding/young talent	Jindal Steel Works
03	Establishment and management of sports academies of excellence	Guru Hanuman akhara
04	Other forms of sports activities not covered in the categories mentioned in the schemes	Child Link Foundation of India–Magic Bus
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy
01	Punjabi University, Patiala
Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards
01	Subedar Jagat Singh	Land adventure
02	Passang Tenzing Sherpa
03	MWO Surender Singh	Air adventure
04	Wg. Cdr. (retd) Amit Chowdhury	Lifetime achievement

Somewhere in Chennai

Dog's love

A dog in Chennai, Tamil Nadu has displayed endearing loyalty to its owner. The late Bhaskar's brown mongrel sat at the teenager's grave for more than a fortnight....The 18-year-old boy died in a road accident and the dog he had adopted sat by his grave, refusing to eat and braving the sun and rain.

Blue Cross of India volunteers spotted the dog at the open burial ground near Avadi Bridge. When they tried to take the dog away, it refused to budge, pawing the grave and whining. After some inquiries, the volunteers found out about Bhaskar, and later managed to locate his mother, Sundhari.

The 50-year-old construction worker said the dog, Tommy, was her son's pet for five years. "It disappeared after Bhaskar died," she said.

Sundhari, a widow, said life became meaningless after the death of her only son. "However, Tommy's undying affection for Bhaskar gave me the impetus to move on."

3 southern districts top the list in atrocities against Dalits in Tamil Nadu

Madurai district stands 17th in the Dalit population in Tamil Nadu, but it is ranked first in atrocities against the community. According to the data of the National Crimes Record Bureau for 2013 published recently, the district, including the city, recorded 318 cases. Next is Tirunelveli, another caste-sensitive district, with 224 cases, followed by Virudhunagar 119. Thanjavur (93) and Dharmapuri (79) are the other toppers. It is a cause for concern that the top three districts are in the south.

How does one interpret the data? Increased awareness among the downtrodden sections had enabled the victims to file police complaints. This was not the case in the past, Dalit activists say.

A. Kadir, executive director of Evidence, a Madurai-based NGO, said that of the 4,630 cases pending in courts across the State, only 106 had resulted in conviction. The police closed many cases citing “mistake of facts”. In a way, this resulted in the acquittal of the accused.

R. Satyamurthi, an advocate said that, while the police registered 4.93 lakh cases in 2013 for cognisable offences, the cases against Dalits (1,845) accounted for just 0.37 per cent.

Activists appealed to the government to speed up these cases, adopting the fast-track court model, to achieve higher conviction rates. This would embolden the weaker sections to fight oppression.

Satyamurti said that, for the murder of a Dalit, though the government had to rehabilitate the family by giving it a job or agricultural land, it was not being done. In the past 25 years, only 20 families would have got the benefits after the murder of their breadwinners.

Richard Attenborough (1923-2014)

Richard Samuel Attenborough, an English actor, film director, film producer, and entrepreneur was passed away. He was the President of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).

As a film director and producer, he won two Academy Awards for Gandhi in 1983. He also won four BAFTA Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. As an actor, he is perhaps best known for his roles in Brighton Rock, The Great Escape, 10 Rillington Place, Miracle on 34th Street and Jurassic Park. In 1983, Attenborough was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award.

Coal scam: SC says since 1993 it was illegal (both BJP& Cong)

By-polls a setback for BJP

Sahitya Akademi Award Winner – 2014

Winners of Bal Sahitya Puraskar
Language	Genre	Title	Winner
Konkani	Stories	Bhurgyanlo Samsar	Surya Ashok
Manipuri		SanaKokchao Amasung Bhut Ningthou	Rajkumar Bhubonsana
Nepali		Junkiri	Munni Saptoka
Punjabi		Rajkumar Da Supna	Kulbir Singh Suri
Rajasthani		Jaadoo Ro Pen	Neeraj Dahiya
Tamil		Vigghana Vikramaathithan Kathaigal	Era. Natarajan
Telugu		Anandam	Dasari Venkataramana
Bodo	Poetry	Gothosaforni Rao	Kaushalya Brahma
Dogri		Pardhe Nyaane Gurdhe Syaane	Dhian Singh
Hindi		Gayain Geet Gyan-Vigyan Ke	Dinesh Chamola Shailesh
Maithili		Hamar Athanni Khaslai Van Me	(Late) Jeevakant
Santali		Bachra Bayar	Kanhailal Tudu
Urdu		Rangarang Phulwari	Mahboo Rahi
Kashmiri	Novel	Haari Jang	Hamid Siraj
Assamese	Essay	Bijnanar Anupam Jagat	Dinesh Chandra Goswami
Bengali	Total Contribution to Children Literature		Gouri Dharmapal
English			Subhadra Sen Gupta
Gujarati			Ishwar Parmar
Kannada			Anand V. Patil
Malayalam			K.V. Ramanathan
Marathi			Madhuri Purandare
Odia			Dash Benhur
Sindhi			Vashdev ‘Sindu Bharati’

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Winners of Yuva Puraskar
Language	Genre	Title	Winner
Bengali	Poem	Mati (Earth)	Abhimanyu Mahato
Bodo		Thwinikhruibw Gwjasin Nwngni Gaba	Shanti Basumatary
Gujarati		Savaar Laine	Anil Chavda
Hindi		Barish Mera Ghar Hai	Kumar Anupam
Kannada		Dhyanake Thaareekhina Hangilla	Kavya Kadame
Maithili		Visdanti VVarmal Kalak Rati	Praveen  Kashyap
Manipuri		Ngayonba Asheiba	Wangthoi Khuman
Nepali		Paitalataltira	Tika Bhai
Odia		Pidaparba	Narendra Kumar Bhoi
Punjabi		Ikalla Nahin Hunda Banda	Gagan Deep Sharma
Rajasthani		Chal Bhatooliya Ret Rama	RajuRam Bijarniyan Raj
Santali		Namal	Anpa  Marndi
Urdu		Chikne Paat	Iltefat Amjadi
Assamese	Short Stories	Jahar- Mahar	Manika Devee
Konkani		Gauman	Naresh Chandra Naik
Malayalam		Chumbanasabdatharavali	Indu Menon
Sanskrit		Samparkah	Paramba Shree Yogamaya
English	Novels	Windhorse	Kaushik Barua
Marathi		Svatahala Faltu Samajnyachi Goshta	Avadhoot Dongre
Tamil		Kaalkal	R. Abilash
Telugu	Essay	Seema Sahiti Swaram Sri Sadhana Patrika	Appireddy Harinath Reddy