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GK Power Capsule :- LIC AAO 2016 Exam Pattern

Key Points To Remember

Current affairs from June 2015 to December 2015

Union Budget , Awards , Honours

Rail Budget

Important Dates

Currency and Capitals

About LIC AAO 2016 Exam/Post








Total Number of Vacancies Available: 700

Name of Post: Assistant Administrative Officer (AAO)

Seats for Unreserved Category Candidates: 349

Seats for OBC Category Candidates: 192

Seats for SC Category Candidates: 106

Seats for ST Category Candidates: 53

Insurance Company In India

Public Sector Life insurance companies

Life Insurance Corporation of India

Private Sector Life Insurance Companies

AEGON Religare Life Insurance

Aviva Life Insurance Company India Limited

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited

Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company Ltd.

Birla Sun Life Insurance Co. Ltd

Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company Ltd.

DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

Exide Life Insurance Company Limited

Future Generali India Life Insurance Company Limited

HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Limited

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd

IDBI Federal Life Insurance Company Ltd

IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited

Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Limited

Max Life Insurance Co. Ltd

PNB Metlife India Insurance Co. Ltd.

Alimchandani Life Insurance Company Limited

Sahara India Life Insurance Co, Ltd.

SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd

Shriram Life Insurance Co, Ltd.

Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance

Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Limited

Public Sector General Insurance Companies

New India Insurance

National Insurance Company

The Oriental Insurance Company








United India Insurance Company

Agriculture Insurance Company of India

Private Sector General Insurance Companies

Bajaj Allianz General InsuranceBharti AXA General Insurance Company Limited

Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Co. Ltd.

Cigna TTK Health Insurance Company Ltd.

Future Generali India Insurance Company Limited

HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Ltd.

ICICI Lombard

IFFCO Tokio

L&T General Insurance Company Limited

Liberty Videocon General Insurance Co Ltd

Magma HDI General Insurance Company Limited

Max Bupa Health Insurance Company LtdReliance General Insurance

Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance Co. Ltd

SBI General Insurance Company Limited

Shriram General Insurance Company Limited,

Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Limited

Tata AIG General

Universal Sompo General Insurance Co. Ltd.

Export credit guarantee insurance companies Govt.

Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India

Health insurance companies

Max Bupa Health Insurance Company

Star Health and Allied Insurance

CignaTTK Health Insurance Company Limited

Apollo Munich Health Insurance

Religare Health Insurance

LIC – Life Insurance CorporationLife Insurance Corporation (India) (LIC) is an Indian state-owned insurance group and investment company

headquartered in Mumbai. It is the largest insurance company in India .

The Life Insurance Corporation of India was founded in 1956 when the Parliament of India passed the Life

Insurance of India Act that nationalised the private insurance industry in India. Over 245 insurance companies

and provident societies were merged to create the state owned Life Insurance Corporation.








"Your welfare is our responsibility" is the slogan of LIC which is derived from ancient Hindu text, the

Bhagavad Gita's 9th chapter, 22nd verse.

Zonal offices 8

Divisional offices 113

Branches 2048

Satellite & Corporate Office 992

Customer Zone 54

Metro-Area Service Hubs 25

Individual Agents Around 1,337,064

Corporate Agents Around 242

Referral Agents 89

List of LIC’s New plans – launched in 2015.

JEEVAN TARUN will be launched in May 2015

Jeevan Lakshya Launched on 12 March 2015

Children Money Back Plan launched on 4 March 2015

Jeevan Sangam Single Premium Plan launched on 4 March 2015

Click here to Know more about LIC Policy

Key Points To Remember For LIC AAO 2016 Examination

Agriculture expert Ramesh Chand appointed as a full time member Niti Aayog

Arun Jaitley launched digital version of Mahatma Gandhi's collected work

Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit of South Africa selected for 2015 UNEP Champions

of the Earth award

Brij Raj Sharma appointed as Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir

Music Composer Aadesh Shrivastava died

Acclaimed writer Jhumpa Lahiri awarded with 2014 National Humanities Medal by

White House

Commemorative coins of Rs 125, Rs 10 released in honour of former President S

Radhakrishna

Haryana bagged Skoch Order-of-Merit National award for implementing e-governanceinitiatives

NASA and ISRO jointly working on NISAR mission

R Sampanthan became first tamilian to lead opposition in Sri Lankan parliament in

32 years




http://www.licindia.in/







India won UNESCO's Award of Excellence 2015 for conserving Sree Vadakkunnathan

Temple

AK Jha appointed as Interim CMD of NTPC

Dinesh Kumar Likhi took charge as CMD of Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited

L C Goyal appointed as CMD of India Trade Promotion Organisation

Raghav Chandra took charge as the Chairman of NHAI

Ratan P Watal took charge as Union Finance Secretary

PM Modi released digitally restored recordings of epic ‘Ramcharitmanas’

Rajiv Mehrishi appointed as Union Home secretary

Eminent Kannada writer Dr. MM Kalburgi shot dead in Dharwad

Kandakatla Manohar appointed as Director of NIMS

US designated Aziz Haqqani as global terrorist

Tennis Player Novak Djokovic appointed as Goodwill Ambassador of UNICEF Rajendra Singh conferred with 2015 Stockholm Water Prize

Girish Sahni assumed charge as Director General of CSIR

Veteran journalist Pranab Kumar Borah passed away

105-year-old Urdu copy of Ramcharitmanas written by Shiv Brat Lal found

Syrian woman Journalist Zaina Erhaim awarded with Peter Mackler Award 2015

Indian-American Vince Chhabria appointed as a full-time federal judge by Obama

Union Government released Postal stamp on Ashoka

Amol Palekar appointed as Chairman of India's Oscar jury

Jains held nationwide protests against ban on Santhara by Rajasthan High Court

Noted academician Amitabh Mattoo appointed as Advisor to J&K CM Mufti

Mohammad Sayeed

Book titled Mrs Funnybones authored by Twinkle Khanna released

Historian Babasaheb Purandare bestowed with Maharashtra Bhushan Award 2015

Making India Awesome authored by Chetan Bhagat released

Ranil Wickremesinghe sworn in as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka

Ashwani Lohani appointed as CMD of Air India Limited

World Humanitarian Day observed with theme Inspiring the World's Humanity

Debut Novelist Zia Haider Rahman won the James Tait Black Award 2015

India’s First Lady Suvra Mukherjee passed away

Ajit Kumar Seth appointed as Chairman of Public Enterprises Selection Board

2015 United States-India Cyber Dialogue held in Washington, DC

PM Modi became the first Indian prime minister in over 42 years to visit Canada.








North Korea’s Foreign Minister, Ri Su-yong, arrived in New Delhi,India on a three

day visit.

The Union home ministry has renamed the tourist visa-on-arrival scheme as 'e-tourist

visa' scheme.

India has slipped 6 places to rank 89th on a global Networked Readiness Index.

India and Canada signed an agreement on uranium supply.

BALCO’s IT major Reena Srivastava won 2015's "INFOSEC MAESTROS Top 50

Most Promising CEO Award".

Meenakshi Madan Rai sworn in as the first lady judge of the Sikkim High Court.

Mohan Kumar has been appointed the next Ambassador to France.

India retained its No. 2 position in the ODI rankings.

Pakistan successfully test- fired a new ballistic missile, Ghauri missile.

Sachin Tendulkar was inducted as one of the five new members into the prestigiousLaureus Sports Academy.

Former Prime Minister of Nepal, Surya Bahadur Thapa passed away.

Nokia announced to acquire French telecommunications firm Alcatel-Lucent for around

$16.6 billion.

Moody’s pegged India’s growth at 7.5 percent for 2015.

Satya Nadella was honoured with the ‘White House Champions of Change’ Award.

Satya Nadella is the first Indian-origin Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Microsoft.

Raja Rajeswari has become the first person of Indian descent to be named as a

criminal court judge in New York City.

Vivek Oberoi has been named for the prestigious 'Dada Saheb Phalke Pride Award

2015'.

India successfully test fired its nuclear-capable Agni-III ballistic missile.

The UN peace envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar, has resigned.

Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic was named the Laureus Sportsman of the Year.

Ethiopian sprinter Genzebe Dibaba was named the Laureus Sportswoman of the

Year.

Supreme Court appoints CBI SP Vivek Priyadarshi to head team probing IPL

scandal 2013.

India has clinched three awards in the annual awards given by Asian Squash

Federation (ASF).

Mary Kom has been named best film at the Stockholm International Film Festival








Junior in Sweden.

Sitaram Yechury was unanimously elected CPI (M)’s new General Secretary.

State Government of Kerala launched Subodham project, to help people in the state

to overcome addiction to liquor.

Shahrukh Khan was honoured with the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Cinema’ award

at the 5th annual Asian Awards in London.

Britain’s swimmer Adam Peaty has broken the men's 100-meter breaststroke world

record.

IPC) has suspended the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) for indefinite period.

The annual trade deficit for India for fiscal year 2014-15 increased to touch $137

billion.

Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton won the Bahrain Grand Prix for the

second year in a row. India’s Y. Pranjala has won the Asian Junior Tennis championship title.

Maharashtra Government announced the target of 14400 MW power generation by

2019.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced a new tournament to be known as the Africa

T20 Cup.

Eminent historian Professor Christopher Alan Bayly died in Chicago. He was 70.

The government has retained the rate of interest for General Provident Fund (GPF)

at 8.7 per cent for the current fiscal.

Pakistan conferred its top civilian award 'Nishan-e-Pakistan' on Chinese President Xi

Jinping.

The Income Tax Department was awarded 'Prime Minister's award.

The Indian passport has been ranked 48th in a list of 50 most powerful travel

documents in the world.

Metals and mining conglomerate Sesa Sterlite Ltd has changed its name to Vedanta

Ltd.

Shah Rukh Khan has been conferred with Dadasaheb Phalke Film Foundation Award

2015.

Jaya Prada was conferred with Kalashree Award by the Dada Saheb Phalke Film

Foundation.

World Bank established Pollution Management and Environmental Health (PHEM)

program.








The New York Times won two prestigious Pulitzer prizes for coverage of the Ebola

outbreak in West Africa.

ICICI Bank launched a payment service 'Tap-n-Pay'.

Janaki Ballabh Patnaik, a three-time Odisha Chief Minister and former Governor of

Assam, passed away.

Loretta Lynch has been chosen as the new attorney general of America.

Indian-American Vivek Murthy was sworn-in as the U.S. Surgeon-General.

Achanta Sharath Kamal will spearhead the Indian challenge in the World TableTennis

Championship (WTTC).

The Union Cabinet gave its approval for signing of a shipping agreement between

India and Jordan.

Global Accounting company KPMG elected Lynne Doughtie as its CEO and

Chairman. Gopinath Pillai has been bestowed with 'Outstanding Service Award' for his services

to Singapore.

The Indian Air Force received the first two upgraded Mirage-2000 aircrafts from

France.

Japan has been appointed as host of the FIFA Club World Cup for the next two

years.

India is at the 117th spot on Global Happiness Index 2015.

Russia and Argentina have signed a series of framework agreements on economic

and energy co-operation.

India would become fourth largest infrastructure projects market in the world by 2025.

The government has allowed EPFO to invest 5% of its corpus in exchange traded

funds (ETFs).

Len Blavatnik is Britain's richest man with a £13.17bn fortune.

Sangeeta Bhatia has won a prestigious USD 250,000 Heinz award.

India launched a relief and rescue Operation named Maitri in earthquake hit Nepal.

Actor Anil Kapoor was conferred the Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar Award.

State of Assam has been awarded as the Best e-Panchayat state.

Akhilesh Das Gupta was elected the vice-president of the Badminton Asia

Confederation (BAC) for a four year term.

Bhalchandra Nemade received 50th Jnanpith Award.








Togo's President Faure Gnassingbe has won a third term with 58.75% of the vote in

polls.

Railway Sports Promotion Board has won the 5th Senior Men’s National Hockey

Championship 2015.

'Margarita With A Straw' has bagged the best feature film honour at Washington DC

International Film festival.

China won the World Men's Team Chess Championship held in Armenia.

Georgia won the World Women's Team Chess Championship held in Armenia.

India Ratings projected the India’s economic growth at 7.7 per cent this financial

year.

Mukesh Ambani regained his position as the world's richest Indian with a networth of

$19.6 billion.

Uttar Pradesh has signed two MoUs for establishing a solar and an ultra-mega solarpower project in the state.

Raja Rajeswari became first India-born woman to be appointed a judge in the New

York City.

The government has raised the limit of FDI in pension sector to 49 per cent.

Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) has won the Asian Banker Achievement Award 2015.

India won for the first time the 22nd President’s Cup Boxing Tournament in

Palembang, Indonesia.

Eden Hazard has won the Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year

award.

Lewis Hamilton has been named as the richest sportsman in Britain.

Kei Nishikori won Barcelona Open title.

China has for the first time overtaken the United States as Australia's largest source

of foreign investment.

Praful Patel was elected as vice-president, South Asian Football Federation

(SAFF)Region.

Austrailia’s Russell Ford announced his retirement from international hockey.

Siddhartha Gigoo has won the 2015 Commonwealth Short Story Prize.

The International Table Tennis Federation has become the world's largest sports

body in terms of membership.

Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim al Khalifa of Bahrain was re-elected as the president of

the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).








Mazen Darwish was honoured with UNESCO-Guillermo Cano World Press

Freedom Prize 2015.

The Fourteenth edition of the Indo-French naval exercise VARUNA 2015

concluded.

Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) won the 5th Hockey India Senior Women

National Championship 2015.

Tennis player Rafael Nadal received the ‘Golden Medal for Merit in Work’.

Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport has been adjudged the world's best airport

for the year 2014.

R&B and soul singer Ben E King, best known for the classic song 'Stand By Me'

passed away.

Government has made Permanent Account Number (PAN) mandatory for private firmsseeking central excise registration.

International Shooting Competition 2015 was held in Hannover, Germany.

Novak Djokovic held on to first place in the ATP world singles men’s rankings.

Roger Federer won Istanbul Open Tournament.

France’s Richard Gasquet won the Estoril Open Tennis Tournament’s Title.

Deepamale Devi won gold in the women's 20km walk in the 19th Federation Cup

National Senior Athletics championship.

Vasco da Gama secured the Rio de Janeiro state championship for the 23rd time.

Former Union minister and veteran Congress leader Baleshwar Ram died. He was

87.

Wang Jianlin became the wealthiest man in Asia.

France signed an agreement with Qatar to supply 24 Dassault Aviation-built Rafale

fighter jets.

The United States authorized commercial ferry services to Cuba for the first time in

more than a half-century.

Stuart Bingham won 2015 Snooker World Championship.

England batsman Jonathan Trott (34) has retired from international cricket.

Michael Blake, who won an Oscar for writing the script of Dances With Wolves died

at the age of 69.

The government has appointed Arun Jha as the next Tribal Affairs Secretary.

Norway is at the top of Global Motherhood Index 2015.

The IMF projected a 4.3 per cent growth rate for Pakistan this year.








Nadia district in West Bengal has won the 2015 United Nations Public Service

Award.

Geeta Phogat bagged a bronze in the Women's freestyle 58kg category in the Senior

Asian Wrestling Championship.

India and China have signed 24 agreements worth over 10 billion dollars in Beijing.

Tata Consultancy Services has been ranked as the 57th leading brand in the US.

Tejaswini Sagar won under-15 category of World School Chess Championships.

Eminent Bengali writer Suchitra Bhattacharya passed away in Kolkata.

India was honoured for its significant contribution to UN Peacekeeping over the last

six decades.

India has been ranked at a lowly 100 position on the global Human Capital Index.

The US diplomatic mission in India has bagged People's Choice Greening

Diplomacy Initiative award. The government appointed M.J. Joseph as the Controller General of Accounts in the

Ministry of Finance.

Indian shooter Gagan Narang won the bronze medal in the 50m Rifle Prone Event of

the ISSF World Cup.

Najama Heptullah is the Union Minister for Minorities Welfare.

Syndicate Bank has appointed Arun Shrivastava as its as Managing Director and

Chief Executive Officer.

Jonodev Osceola Chaudhuri has been sworn in as the chairman of the US’s National

Indian Gaming Commission.

UC Browser has appointed all rounder Yuvraj Singh as its Product Specialist and

Brand Ambassador.

Kochi will host the World Senior Badminton Championships in 2017.

Franz Wright, a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, passed away.

Islamic clothing company East Essence tied up with Snapdeal.

Novak Djokovic captured his fourth Rome Masters Tennis title with a win over Roger

Federer.

Narendra Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Mongolia.

ICICI Bank opened its first branch in China.

India announced a US $1 billion credit line to Mongolia for infrastructure

development.

Infosys announced to establish its first overseas centre outside India in China.








Private sector Federal Bank along with card issuing company SBI Card launched co-

branded credit cards.

India announced that it would contribute USD 2.1 million to the World Health

Organisation.

Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Brad Haddin has announced his retirement from one-

day international cricket.

David Granger, a retired army general, has become Guyana’s new president.

The government has allocated Rs. 5,000 crore for the growth of Department of

AYUSH.

Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai has won the Man Booker International Prize.

Bank of India has elevated R.A. Sankara Narayanan as the executive director of the

bank.

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) named Kuldeep Malik as the new chiefnational coach.

Joe Root has been elected England Cricketer of the Year for 2014-15.

Former Union minister and BJP MP S.S. Ahluwalia was appointed chairman of a

Joint Committee of Parliament.

India has ranked 24th out of 70 countries in the first Environmental Democracy

Index.

Lithuania topped the Environmental Democracy Index.

Indians have become the second biggest job creators in London in 2015.

India is on 6th position in terms of scientific publications.

Indian-origin US filmmaker Prashant Bhargava passed away.

Indian IT major Wipro has been felicitated by Microsoft with 'Supplier of the Year

award'.

Hwang Kyo-ahn has been named the new South Korean prime minister.

Rory McIlroy has been named the European Tour’s Golfer of the Year and the

Players’ Player of the Year.

AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalithaa sworn in for the fifth time as Tamil Nadu chief

minister.

Gujarat government and Chinese software firm ZTEsoft have signed an agreement

for smart city projects in the state.

IRCTC has partnered with Mydala.com to provide deals and offers to customers.

French thriller film Dheepan has been awarded Palme d’Or Award at 68th Cannes

Film Festival.








Mumbai Indians' (MI's) won the eight edition of Indian Premier League (IPL).

India's Deepa Kumari has been accorded an international outdoor umpire status by

the FIH.

Indian boxers won a total of seven medals including four gold, one silver and two

bronze medals at the Doha International boxing tournament.

G. Mohan Kumar has been appointed as the Secretary of the Ministry of Defence

(MoD).

John Nash, a Nobel prize winner and Mathematician passed away.

Andrzej Duda has won Poland's Presidential elections.

Saurabh Kumar was appointed as the next Indian Ambassador to Iran.

Batsman Ajinkya Rahane won the CEAT Indian Cricketer of the Year award.

Ranjit Singh Baxi has been elected as the head of the Bureau of International

Recycling. ICICI Bank has launched a service where customers can make transactions using

just their voice.

China has set up a gold sector fund involving countries along the ancient Silk Road.

Nico Rosberg of Germany won the Monaco Grand Prix Formula 1 World

Championship title.

Western Union has renewed its 14-year-old partnership with India Post.

Manoj Mishra has been appointed as CMD of National Fertilizers Ltd (NFL).

China's PM Li Keqiang and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet signed a currency

swap deal.

Lt general (Retd) Nirbhay Sharma was sworn-in as the governor of Mizoram.

Ace cross-country bike racer C.S. Santosh won the coveted Motorsport Man of the

Year award.

The PM Narendra Modi, launched DD Kisan - India's first television channel

dedicated to farmers.

India and Vietnam signed a Joint Vision Statement on Defence Cooperation for the

period 2015-2020.

Veteran filmmaker Subhash Ghai has been selected for FIFA Lifetime Achievement

honour.

The Indian food and beverage sector is likely to touch Rs. 3.80 lakh crore by 2017.

India’s exports to China are expected to grow by around 14 per cent a year in the

decade to 2030.

Anindo Majumdar has been appointed as the CMD of Delhi Finance Corporation.








Documentary photographer Mary Ellen Mark passed away.

Pakistani spinner Raza Hasan was banned by the Pakistan Cricket Board from

playing any form of cricket.

The Spanish football club, Sevilla Football Club (FC) won Europa League title.

India has topped the world hunger list.

Eminent scientist Dr. Selvin Christopher has been appointed as the Director General

of DRDO.

Singapore has appointed S. Chandra Das as its non-Resident High Commissioner to

Sri Lanka.

The Maharashtra Government launched 'Swachhata Saptapadi' scheme.

Nebraska has become the 19th US state to abolish the death penalty.

Sepp Blatter was re-elected President of FIFA for a fifth term.

Mauritius President Kailash Purryag has resigned from office. Akinwumi Adesina has been elected as the new President of the African

Development Bank (AfDB).

G. S. Reddy has been appointed as the Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister.

The United States has removed Cuba from its list of countries sponsors of terrorism.

More than 100 US cities will organise a Yogathon on the first International Yoga Day

on June 21.

American actor and comedian Reynaldo Rey passed away.

Service tax hike to 14% has become effective from 1st June 2015.

India won four gold at International Wrestling tournament (Men’s) in Sassari City,

Italy.

Himachal Pradesh has emerged as first the state in the country to start Aadhaar

Based Payment System (ABPS).

Edward Gilligan, the president of American Express Co. Passed away.

Muhammadu Buhari sworn-in as President of Nigeria.

Govt. approved agreement on Coastal Shipping between India and Bangladesh.

Singapore honoured Gautam Banerjee with 'Public Service Medal'.

US-based taxi hailing app Uber has appointed Amit Jain as President of its India

operations.

Veteran filmmaker Subhash Ghai has been selected for FIFA Lifetime Achievement

honour.

The Indian food and beverage sector is likely to touch Rs. 3.80 lakh crore by 2017.








India’s exports to China are expected to grow by around 14 per cent a year in the

decade to 2030.

Anindo Majumdar has been appointed as the CMD of Delhi Finance Corporation.

Documentary photographer Mary Ellen Mark passed away.

Pakistani spinner Raza Hasan was banned by the Pakistan Cricket Board from

playing any form of cricket.

The Spanish football club, Sevilla Football Club (FC) won Europa League title.

India has topped the world hunger list.

Eminent scientist Dr. Selvin Christopher has been appointed as the Director General

of DRDO.

Mauritius President Kailash Purryag has resigned from office.

Coal India Limited has become the 6th-largest mining company in the world in terms

of market capitalisation. ADB announced to give 3,200 crore rupees loan assistance to the West Bengal

Government.

Nearly 300 deals worth USD 55 billion have been signed at the 3rd China-South

Asia Expo in Kunming.

The National Union of Seafarers of India has bagged the 'Best Welfare Organisation

of the Year Award-2015'.

Former Union minister (Congress) and close relative of Jawaharlal Nehru Sheila Kaul

passed away.

FDI inflows into the services sector grew to 3.2 billion dollars in 2014-15.

India is home to the fourth largest number of ultra-high-networth households.

India signed a motor vehicles pact with three SAARC nations, Bhutan, Bangladesh

and Nepal.

SEBI has barred Karvy Stock Broking from taking up new IPO assignments for one

year.

An Egyptian court sentenced former President Mohamed Morsy to 25 years in prison.

India and Poland has set an ambitious trade target of USD 5 billion.

The Centre has approved an anti-chit fund bill passed by West Bengal Assembly in

2013.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is the world's richest self-made billionaire.

Australia signed a landmark Free Trade Agreement with China.

Narendra Kumar Yadav has taken over the charge of CMD of MTNL.

Viswanathan Anand lost to Magnus Carlsen in the Blitz Chess tournament.








Charles Correa, the face of modern architecture in India, passed away.

The UNGA elected Denmark's Mogens Lykketoft as its President for its 70th

session.

China launched "Wu-14", a supersonic nuclear delivery vehicle.

Sunil Chhetri became the first Indian footballer to score 50 international goals.

BSNL announced to set up 40,000 wi-fi hotspots across the country.

India's rank is 143th on Global Peace Index (GPI).

Iceland topped the Global Peace Index (GPI) 2015.

Mumbai is the most expensive city in India according to the latest Mercer survey for

2015.

Archana Ramasundaram was appointed as the Director of National Crime Records

Bureau.

Sharad Pawar was re-elected as the President of Mumbai Cricket Association. Asia has overtaken Europe as the world’s second-richest region in the world in 2014.

The Election Commission of India suspended the recognition of the National People’s

Party.

Asian Development Bank announced to increase about 50 percent loan to India to

$12 billion by 2018.

Japan lowered the voting age to 18 years from 20 years.

Turkey's former president and prime minister Suleyman Demirel passed away.

South Korea's Justice Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn was appointed as the country's new

prime minister.

India has been ranked third in a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Report for 2013.

Russia topped World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Report for 2013.

Journalist and writer Aakar Patel appointed as Executive Director of Amnesty

International (AI) India.

10th Bharatiya Jnanpith Navlekhan Price was awarded to Babusha Kohli and

Upasana.

ONGC lifted the 42nd All India Goswami Ganesh Dutt Memorial Cricket

Tournament 2015.

Hawaii becomes first US state to raise smoking age from 18 years to 21 years.

ISRO announced to provide navigational support to Indian Railways through GAGAN

system.

Historian-author Ramachandra Guha has been selected for Japan's prestigious

Fukuoka Prize.








Eminent scientist C.N.R. Rao was conferred Japan's highest civilian award.

China has manufactured the world’s first electric passenger aircraft “BX1E”.

SBI has launched Internet-based platform SBI eforex.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ‘Narendra Modi Mobile App’.

BJP MLA and former Madhya Pradesh Minister Tukojirao Puar passed away.

HDFC Bank launched a 10-second paperless instant loan plan for its existing

customers.

India created two world records on the first International Yoga Day on 21st June

2015.

Serbia won the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2015 by defeating Brazil.

Roger Federer defeated Andreas Seppi to win ATP Gerry Weber Open Halle Tennis

title.

Bangladesh defeated Team India in the second ODI cricket match. Benni Joseph Mavelil has been chosen for the V.K. Krishna Menon award.

German football club Cologne’s striker Patrick Helmes has announced his

retirement.

Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport has the world's fastest WiFi service.

Former Indian women hockey captain Shashi Bala and her son Agrim Thakur died in

a road accident.

Indian mission in Sweden has launched ‘India Unlimited’ platform.

India-born Nikesh Arora appointed the president of Japan's SoftBank Corp.

EPFO has made Universal Account Number (UAN) mandatory for all employers.

ICICI Bank has partnered with Alibaba.com, to launch a ‘trade facilitation centre’.

Carnatic vocalist Sanjay Subrahmanyam selected for Sangitha Kalanidhi award of

Madras Music Academy.

Britain’s Andy Murray won the men’s singles of the Aegon Championships.

Nico Rosberg won Austrian Grand Prix 2015 beating Lewis Hamilton.

Nagesh Kukunoor is the director of the film “Dhanak”.

China won the 2015 Nongfu Spring Snooker’s World Cup by defeating Scotland.

India has moved down to 61st place in terms of foreigners' money in Swiss banks.

Debendranath Sarangi elected as president of the Squash Rackets Federation of

India (SRFI).

K. Rajendiran elected as secretary-general of the Squash Rackets Federation of India

(SRFI).

Tennis legend Steffi Graf was appointed the Ayurveda brand ambassador of Kerala.








Ericsson has appointed Paolo Colella as the new head of its India operations.

Exim Bank has extended a loan of $268.35 million to Tanzania.

Russia's former prime minister Yevgeny Primakov passed away.

Pratap Pawar was awarded Punyabhushan Award 2015.

FIICI and Quality Council of India started a programme for 'Zero Defect, Zero Effect'

products.

Railways is the 8th largest employer in the world.

U.S. Department of Defense is world’s largest employer.

India is at the top in Baseline Profitability Index (BPI).

Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia won the men's singles title of the Canada Open

Badminton tournament.

Michelle Li of Canada won women’s singles title of the Canada Open Badminton

tournament. IMF has approved USD 506.4 million loan tranche to Pakistan.

Justin Gatlin won the 200m title at the US athletics championships.

Ujjwal Batria was appointed as the CEO of French cement maker Lafarge's India

operations.

Brazilian racer Nelson Piquet Jr won the FIA Formula E Championship title of the

2014-15 season.

IDFC appointed India’s former CAG Vinod Rai as independent director.

Y.C. Modi has been appointed as Additional Director in the CBI.

Nandkumar Saravade has been appointed as CEO of the Data Security Council of

India (DSCI).

HDFC Bank launched '30-min auto' and '15-min 2-wheeler' loan schemes.

Khalin Joshi finished sixth at the USD 76,000 Bali National Golf Championship.

Suresh Prabhu inaugurated the Integrated Security System (ISS) at four railway

stations in Mumbai.

Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani for the first time nominated a female as judge

in Supreme Court.

Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel has become the world’s third largest mobile operator.

Infosys has launched a mobile app, the 'Finacle SME Enable'.

Current Affairs of October/November - 2015








INDIA & WORLD

India and Germany signed 18 MoUs India and Germany on 5 October, 2015 ink 18 Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) forcooperation in various fields including higher education, civil aviation, railways and food safety.India and Germany also signed a deal to fast track business approvals. The other deals include promotion of German as a foreign language in India and promotion of modern Indian languagesin Germany, cooperation on Indo-German solar energy partnership, cooperation in fields of skilldevelopment and vocational education and training, cooperation in the field of disastermanagement, Indo-German partnerships in higher education, cooperation in the field of railways.

Union Cabinet approved MoU with Mozambique for cooperation in renewable energy The Union Government on 14 October 2015 approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, India and Mozambique. The agreementaims at establishing a cooperative institutional relationship to encourage and promote technical bilateral cooperation, investment promotion and partnership on new and renewable energy issueson the basis of mutual benefit, equality and reciprocity. The focus will be on the development ofnew and renewable energy technologies in the field of conducting on-the-job and specializedtraining courses on renewable energy field, research & development and of technology transferin renewable energy.

ADB to provide loan for India-Bangladesh Electricity link upgradation The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide $120 million loan to upgrade the India-Bangladesh electricity network. Once completed, this will allow Bangladesh to meet itsincreasing power demand and support power exchanges across South Asia. The loan will be usedto double the capacity of the existing inter-grid connectivity which links the power grid ofwestern Bangladesh at Berhamara with the power grid of eastern India at aharampur.The twoelectricity networks were first connected in December 2013 under a previous ADB project underwhich India exports 500 MW power to Bangladesh.

India pips China to emerge as world’s largest cotton producer India has emerged world’s largest cotton producer in the season ending in September 30, 2015 by surpassing China. As per data released by the International Cotton Advisory Committee(ICAC) India has produced 6.51 million tonnes (mt) of the cotton against 6.48 mt registered byChina in the cotton year 2014-15. US Department of Agriculture has predicted that India willretain its top position till next cotton season by producing around 29 million bales or around 27 per cent of the global cotton crop.








India-Sri Lanka joint training exercise “Mitra Shakti-2015” concluded The third India-Sri Lanka jointt raining exercise “ Mitra Shakti-2015” culminated on 12 October2015 after a closing ceremony held at Aundh Military Camp, Pune.The 14-day joint training

included understanding of transnational terrorism, developing interoperability and conduct of joint tactical operations controlled by a Joint Command Post. Brigadier Tapan Lal Sah of theIndian Army and Brigadier KP Aruna Jayasekera of the Sri Lankan Army jointly reviewed the parade commanded by Major Ashish Kumar, of Indian Army.

NATIONAL

India to cut emissions intensity upto 35 Per cent by 2030 The Union Environment Ministry on 2 October, 2015 submitted it’s Intended NationallyDetermined Contributions (INDCs) to the UN Frame work Convention on Climate Change

(UNFCCC), committing to cut the emissions intensity of GDP by 33-35 per cent by 2030 from2005 levels. India has committed to 40 per cent of non-fossil fuel energy to be adopted by 2030.It has also set the target of generating 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent of Carbon sinks in theform of forests. India aims to mobilise domestic and global funds to implement it’s mitigation

actions.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi released postal stamp on Abdul Kalam Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the A P J Abdul Kalam’s birth anniversary celebrationsheld at DRDO Bhavan in New Delhi on 15 October. Modi released a commemorative postal

stamp on Kalam. Narendra Modi also announced a memorial for Kalam at Rameshwaram inTamil Nadu. The Prime Minister unveiled a statue of Dr. Kalam at DRDO Bhavan and opened a photo exhibition titled “A Celebration of Dr. Kalam’s Life”.

Supreme Court Bench strikes down NJAC Act as ‘unconstitutional and void’ The Supreme Court on 16 October rejected the National Judicial Appointments Commission(NJAC) Act and the 99th Constitutional Amendment which sought to give politicians and civilsociety a final say in the appointment of judges to the highest courts. With this veredict, theCollegium system as it existed before the NJAC Act was passed, will become operative again.

Central Government launches KISAN Project and Hailstorm App for crop damage The Central Government launched its flagship Kisan Project on 5 October to help farmers in thelong run. KISAN stands for (K)rop Insurance using Space technology And geoinformatics.Combining the forces of digital world with the age old tradition of agriculture, the government isall set to make the lives of farmers more secure and comfortable. The project uses satellite and








drone-based imaging and other geospatial technology to get accurate data on crop yields.TheKISAN project will be implemented by Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre (MNCFC)in collaboration with ISRO Centres – Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad & NationalRemote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad; India Meteorological Department; CCAFS; state agriculturedepartments and state remote sensing centres.

India launched massive awareness drive on climate change by flagging off unique train ‘Science Express Climate Action Special’ is a 16-coach air-conditioned train that was launchedon 15 October from Delhi in the run-up to the global climate summit in Paris in December 2015.The exhibits on the train would cover specific topics like adaptation, mitigation, India’s action on

mitigation, international climate change negotiations, nature conservation, innovations in India,science lab, biotechnology applications and others.Over 190 countries would meet in Paris inDecember 2015 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC) to strike a new global climate deal aimed at controlling global carbon emissions for

tackling global warming.

STATES

Jammu and Kashmir High Court ruled that Article 370, granting special status to the state

is permanent Jammu and Kashmir High court has ruled that Article 370, granting special status to the state,has assumed place of permanence in the Constitution and the feature is beyond amendment,repeal or abrogation. The Court also said that Article 35A gives “protection” to existing laws in

force in the State. Article 370 though titled as ‘Temporary Provision’ and included in Para XXItitled ‘Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions’ has assumed place of permanence in theConstitution.

‘House of Kalam’ launches international foundation in Chennai Three months after former President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam died, his family ‘House ofKalam’ has launched an international foundation to carry forward his good deeds and accomplishthe vision envisaged by Abdul Kalam. Legendary music director Illayaraja officially launchedthe logo of the foundation and pledged his support for the initiative. The family promised that itwill realise the dreams of Dr Kalam and hold his flag of education and human values.

Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu declared as ‘AMRUT’ town Rameshwaram town in Tamil Nadu has been declared as ‘AMRUT’ town on 15 October, 2015

by the Minister of Urban Development. Rameshwaram has been included in Atal Mission forRejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) for providing basic urban infrastructure.








Tamil Nadu Government banned drug Ketoprofen to save vultures Tamil Nadu in the second week of October 2015 banned the use of Ketoprofen, a non-steroidantiinflammatory drug (NSAID), which is used extensively for veterinary purposes. The step has been taken to save critically endangered vultures in the state.This drug has been banned in thethree western districts of state viz in Erode, Coimbatore and Nilgiris where the vulture

population is in danger.

Swadhar Greh scheme approved by Haryana Government for women in distress The Haryana Government on 18 October 2015 approved Swadhar Greh scheme, which willassure economic and social security to women in distress. The scheme aims at creating asupportive institutional framework catering to their primary needs in difficult situations. Thescheme will work upon providing basic amenities, such as shelter, food, clothing and healthalong with economic and social security to women in distress.

CONFERENCES

Indo-German Summit 2015 held in Bengaluru The Indo-German Summit 2015 has been held in Bengaluru on 6 October, 2015. The summitwas organised by Nasscom. Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with German ChancellorAngela Merkel attended the summit. Industrialists from India and Germany and deligates from15 states attended the summit. In this summit both the nations signed five B to B (Business toBusiness) agreements.

BRICS Ministerial migration meeting held in Sochi The First BRICS Ministerial migration meeting was held in Sochi on October 8, 2015. Thediscussion of the meeting focused on the regulation of migration processes exerting greaterinfluence on the geopolitical environment in the world. Alongside with the meeting the roundtable on “New strategies of managing migration as the key to a successful development ofsociety” was organized. The BRICS leaders emphasized the importance of mutual cooperation

among BRICS countries in the migration area and welcomed Russia‘s initiative to hold the first

BRICS Ministerial migration (Heads of migration authorities) meeting.

2015 IMF, World Bank Annual Meeting held in Peru The 2015 annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank has been held from 9-11 October, 2015 in Lima, the capital city of Peru. After 48 years the meetingwas held in Latin America. Over ten thousand pariticipants from 188 countries attended themeeting. The main subjects of discussions are challenges facing the world economy, ways tocombat illicit financial flows, private investment in renewable energy, structural reforms, amongothers. Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister from India also attended the meeting. IMF MD ChristineLagarde and World Bank President Jim Yang Kim attended the meeting. The meeting is very








important for discussing and clarifying the road map for getting to the 100 billion dollars goal inclimate finance.

5th Meeting of the India-Maldives Joint Commission held in Maldives

The 5th meeting of the India-Maldives Joint Commission was held on 11 October 2015 in Male,the capital of Maldives. India-Maldives Joint Commission was co-chaired by External AffairsMinister Sushma Swaraj and Maldivian foreign minister Dunya Maumoon. It assessed the entirerange of bilateral relations including economic security and cultural aspects apart from focusingon the growing policy alignment between two countries as seen in India’s Neighbours First and

Maldives India First policies.

AWARDS & HONOURS

Maruthi Chairman Bhargava honoured with Forbes Life Time Achievement Award Maruthi Suzuki chairman R.C. Bhargava has been honoured with the Life Time AchievementAward at the Forbe’s India Leadership Awards, 2015. Mr Bhargava was one of the f oundingmembers of Maruthi in 1982. He led the company as MD from 1990 to 1997. From 2007 he wasleading the company as the Chairman.

Jamaica’s Marlon James wins Man Booker Prize Marlon James became the first Jamaican winner of the prestigious Booker Prize for fiction on 14October, 2015. His book “ A Brief History of Seven Killings” won the prestigious Man Booker

Prize Award. The novel is based on the attempted assassination of Bob Marley.

2015 Right Livelihood Awards announced for three persons Laureates of 2015 Right Livelihood Awards were announced on 1 October 2015. Tony de Brum& the People of the Marshall Islands, Sheila Watt-Cloutier (Canada), Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera (Uganda) and Gino Strada & his organisation ‘Emergency’ (Italy) were chosen f orthe prestigious award that is also known as Alternative Nobel Prize. The Canadian wasrecognised for her lifelong work to protect the Inuit of the Arctic and defend their right tomaintain their livelihoods and culture.

SPORTS & GAMES

India won Gold medal in the Women’s event at Asian Air Gun Championship Indian pistol shooter Heena Sidhu won the gold medal in women’s 10 meter air pistol event at

the 8th Asian Air Gun Championships in New Delhi. Heena is the India’s first pistol shooter to be ranked num ber one in the world. India’s Shweta Singh won the Silver medal and Korean








NASA’s New Horizons found blue skies and water ice on Pluto The first colour images of Pluto’s atmosphere returned by NASA’s New Horizon Spacecraft hasrevealed a blue skies and numerous small exposed regions of water ice. Scientists say a blue sky

often results from scattering of sunlight by very small particles. On Earth those particles are verytiny nitrogen molecules. On Pluto they appear to be larger but still relatively small soot-like particles. The Haze particles are grey or red, but the way they scatter, the blue light attracted theattention of the New Horizon.

ARSAT2 is a second communication satellite launched by Argentina ARSAT2 is a second communication satellite launched by Argentina. The country’s previous

telecommunications satellite, ARSAT1, was sent up nearly a year ago, when Argentina becamethe first Latin American country to develop and launch a telecommunications satellite into orbit.

PERSONS IN NEWS

A). APPOINTMENTS

A.K.Pujari assumed additional charge as CMD of SAIL Dr. Anup K. Pujari on 1 October, 2015 assumed additional charge as the chairman and ManagingDirector of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). At present he is the secretary, Government

of India, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). He was also given theadditional charge of the post of Secretary in Ministry of Steel.

Shashank Manohar elected as BCCI President Nagpur lawyer, Mr. Shashank Manohar has been elected as the President for Board of Controlfor Cricket in India (BCCI) for the second time on 4 October, 2015. He is the 36th President ofBCCI. He will be in this post for two years. He has promised to initiate stern and practical stepsand deliver results in two months to win back the confidence of Indian cricket fans.

Sekhar Basu to be the next chairman of Atomic Energy Commission Renowned scientist Sekhar Basu was on 9 October appointed as chairman of Atomic Energy

Commission. Basu, who is presently director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) andchief executive of the Nuclear Recycle Board (NRB), will replaced RK Sinha who superannuateson October 23 and he will have a tenure till September 19, 2016. Basu has also been appointedSecretary, department of atomic energy. Basu was instrumental in setting up reprocessing andwaste management facilities at Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research in Kalpakkam.

IPCC Elects Hoesung Lee as New Chairman The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) elected Hoesung Lee of the Republic of








Korea as its new Chairman 2015. Hoesung Lee was elected by 78 votes to 56 in a run-off withJean – Pascal van Ypersele. A total of six candidates had beennominated for the position.

B). RESIGNS

Author Shashi Deshpande resigned to Sahitya Akademi General Council Award-Winning author Shashi Deshpande on 9 October resigned from the Sahitya Akademigeneral council expressing a sense of strong disappointment over the literary body’s silence on

the killing of Kannada writer M.M. Kalburgi. She wrote several novels, short stories and essaycollections and books for children and won the Sahitya Akademi award for her novel “That LongSilence” in 1990. She was awarded the Padma Sri in 2009.

Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala resigned

Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala on 10 October resigned to his post. Koirala resigned after parties failed to forge a consensus amid continued protests and blockade of key border trade point with India over the country’s new Constitution.

C). DEATHS

Veteran Tamil actress Manorama passed away The legendary Tamil actress Manorama (78) was passed away on 10 October in Chennai. Acomedy artist and a singer, she belonged to a generation of South Indian Cinema. In a career

spanning nearly six decades, she acted in over 1500 films and created a Guinness world record.

Renowned Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell passes away Renowned Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell was passed away on 5 October. He was 67.He created the famous character Kurt Wallander in 1997 and a series of mystery novels till 2009revolving around this protagonist. He is also known as a dramatist and children’s author. He

received Corine Literature Prize for German audio book.

D). VISITORS

German Chancellor Angela Merkel three day visit to India German Chancellor Angela Merkel came to India on 4 October on a three day visit to Delhi andBangalore. She met the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 5 October and bilateral discussionstakeplace between India and Germany. A deal to fast track approval for German companies inIndia and Euro 1 billion Solar power fund by Germany were among major takeaways from thetalks between the two countries. Both sides inked 18 MoUs to scale of ties in strategic areas.Germany returned to India a 10 century Durga idol that had gone missing from a temple in








Kashmir over two decades ago. On 6 October Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Angela Merkelattended the Indo-German summit held in Bengaluru. In this summit two countries signed dealsworth 2.25 billion dollars (around Rs.14,600 crore) on German Investment in developing India.Modi and Merkel visited the vocational training centre at Bosch in Bengaluru. On 6 OctoberGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel completed her tour.

President Pranab Mukherjee visit to Jordan President Pranab Mukherjee on 10 October began a six day historic visit to Isreal, Jordan &Palestine. Pranab Mukherjee is the first Indian Head of State to visit these countries. On 10October he visited Jordan and met the Jordan King Abdullah and held deligate level talks. Hediscussed terror related issues with the Jordan King. During the talks India and Jordan said anunderstanding was needed to fight terror. President inagurated the Mahatma Gandhi street inJordan capital city Amman.

E). MISCELLANEOUS

Google tops list of World’s Best Workplaces Google has topped the list of world’s best company to work for compiled by research and

consulting firm ‘Great Place to Work Institute’, grabbing the numero uno position for the thirdstraight year, while software developer SAS Institute and manufacturing firm W L Gore wereranked second and third respectively. The annual ‘World’s Best Multinational Workplaces List’

ranks the top 25 global companies to work for. Data storage specialist NetApp and mobilecommunications provider Telefonica are at fourth and fifth places respectively. EMCCorporation has been ranked sixth, followed by software giant Microsoft at seventh position inthe list. Others in the top ten include, BBVA (8th), Monsanto (9th) and American Express (10th) place.

Nepal elects Onsari Gharti as first woman Parliament speaker Nepal on 16 October elected the country’s first woman speaker of Parliament. UCPN- Maoistlaw maker Onsari Gharti Mangar elected as the speaker of Parliament. Earlier she had served asDeputy Speaker in Parliament. Ganga Prasad Yadav has been elected as the Deputy Speaker ofthe Parliament.

Modi ranks 13th in global list of most influential people Prime Minister Narendra Modi has debuted at the 13th spot in ‘Bloomberg Markets MostInfluential’ annual ranking topped by US Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen. Chinese premier Xi Jinping(2nd place), US President Barack Obama(6th place) and German ChancellorAngela Merkel(9th place) are other politicians ranked above PM Modi in the coveted list of 50 people.








DRDO Missile Complex renamed as Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex The DRDO Missile Complex in Hyderabad was renamed as Dr APJ Abdul Kalam MissileComplex by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on 15 October 2015. Dr Kalam joined theMissile Complex, DRDO in 1982 and was a part of it for nearly two decades. The MissileComplex comprises Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), Defence Research and Development

Laboratory (DRDL) and Research Centre Imarat (RCI), which are considered to be the brainchild of Dr Kalam.As founder Director, Dr Kalam conceived and steered RCI as a generator ofcritical missile technologies.

PLACES IN NEWS

DRDO inagurates new R&D centre at 17,600 Ft in Jammu & Kashmir The DRDO on 2 October, 2015 inaguarated an Extreme Altitude Research Centre at Chan La in

Jammu and Kashmir at 17,600 Ft above the mean sea level. This is in records as the world’shighest terrestrial R&D centre. It has been established by Defence Institute of High AltitudeResearch (DIHAR) of DRDO. This centre is for Research & Development work in frontal areasof food and agriculture and bio-medical sciences for well being of the soldiers deployed in high-altitude cold deserts.

Biotechnology International Conference-2016 to be held in Bengaluru Bangalore India Bio 2016 themed ‘What’s trending in Biotech India’ featuring multi trackconferences, international trade show, talks and many other events is scheduled from February 9-

11 in the year 2016 in Bengaluru. It will also feature 100 young researchers presentinginnovations through poster sessions.

India’s largest container port terminal, JNPT inaugurated By PM Narendra Modi Prime Minister Sir Narendra Modi on 11 October 2015 inaugurated the fourth terminal ofcountry’s largest container post, named Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in Mumbai. The

terminal will be 4th terminal of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust.This project will be executed byBharti Mumbai Container Terminal (BMCT) is a subsidiary port of Singapore.

ABBREVIATIONS

PBD: Pravas Bharatiya DivasPMSKY: Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai YojanaDDUGJY: Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyothi Yojana








DRDA: District Rural Development AssociationRWSS: Rural Water Supply, Sanitation

Books in News

The Nationalist President Pranab Mukherjee’ book released by Vice-President The coffee table book ‘The Nationalist President Pranab Mukherjee’ edited by Prabhu Chawla,

The New Indian Express Editorial Director has been released by the Vice-President HamidAnsari on 7 October, 2015 at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The first copy of the book was received by thePresident.

The book Courage to Act: A Memoir of Crisis and its Aftermath released The former chairman of the US Federal Reserve Ben S Bernanke released his book titledCourage to Act: A Memoir of a Crisis and its Aftermath. The book is a personal and detailedaccount of the events that ensued as he witnessed it. Bernanke, headed the US’s central bank

from 2006- 2014 and was at the centre of the bank’s response to the 2008 financial crisis and the

subsequent recession.

Smita Patil: A Brief Incandescence by Maithili Rao launched The book titled Smita Patil: A Brief Incandescence authored by Maithili Rao was launched on 18

October 2015. The book, which was launched on Smita Patil’s 60th birth anniversary, acquaintsthe readers with a remarkable journey of the short-lived actress. It traces the journey of theactress from her childhood to stardom.

COMMITTEES

Committee on Kalam’s Memorial at Ramesh-waram Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15 October announced a memorial would be constructed for

Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam at Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu. A committee of Union MinistersVenkaiah Naidu, Manohar Parrikar and Pon Radhakrishnan and former Chief ElectionCommissioner N Gopalaswamy will work out the details of the memorial.

Achary panel recommended 400% hike in basic salary of Delhi MLAs The three-member committee chaired by former Secretary General of Lok Sabha PDT Achary, in








its report submitted to Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel, has favoured a 400 percent hike in basic salary of MLAs from Rs 12,000 to Rs 50,000 per month. Overall, the hike recommendedhas been 138 percent. In July, a group of AAP legislatiors had demanded a significant hike insalary, arguing their earnings were not enough to run their family and offices.

Central Press Accreditation Committee reconstituted The Central Press Accreditation Committee (CPAC) that issues Press Information Bureau (PIB)cards to journalists has been reconstituted by the Ministry of Information and Broad casting. PIBdirector general Frank Noronha will be the ex-officio chairman of the Committee. The period ofthe committee is two years from the date of it’s first meeting.

IMPORTANT DAYS & DATES

Oct – 2 : International Peace DayOct – 8 : National Airforce DayOct – 9 : International Post Office DayOct – 10 : National Post Office DayOct – 17 : International Poverty eradication DayOct – 21 : National Police Day

Oct – 24 : United Nations Day

Current Affairs of September - 2015

INTERNATIONAL

China celebrated 70th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War-II On 3 September, 2015 China celebrated the 70th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War -II.Chinese President announced that the size of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) would be

reduced by 300,000. This will be the fourth reduction of forces for China. Russian PresidentVladimir Putin, South Korea President Park Guen Hye, United Nations Secretary General BanKI Moon, Indian Minister of State for External Affairs general V.K. Singh are participated in thecelebrations along with deligates from nearly 30 different countries.








6th Indo-Maldives Joint Military Exercise begins in Thiruvananthapuram The sixth Indo-Maldives joint Training Exercise with tha name “EKUVRIN 2015 has

commenced at Pangode Military Station in Thiruvanantha puram district of Kerala. Aim of theJoint Exercise is to acquaint forces of both countries with each other’s operating procedure and

increase understanding and interoperability between Armies of both countries.

Government cleared multi billion dollar deal with America’s Boeing for military

helicopters The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on 22 September cleared a multi billion dollar dealfor 22 Apache attack helicopters and 15 Chinook heavy lift choppers with American aviationgiant Boeing. The deal valued to be over USD 2.5 Billion. The 22 Apache AH, 64 D Longbowhelicopters are one of the most advanced multi role combat helicopters, featuring all weather andnight fighting features, ability to track up to 128 targets in less than a minute and engage with 16.The deal for Apache is a hybrid one. The deals have direct commercial contracts with Boeing as

well as a direct government to government component between the two governments.

Modi addressed special summit on Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is on a visit to US addressed a special summit onSustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. Modi met the United NationsChief Ban Ki-Moon on 25 September. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting withBangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina discussing bilateral ties. Modi attended a meetingwith 42 CEOs of Fortune 500 companies in New York in the name of ‘Round Table with

American Inc’. Modi invited US companies to set up manufacturing units in India. During his

visit in US Narendra Modi also met the World Bank president Jim Yong Kim.

India-Sri Lanka Joint Military Excercise “Mitra Shakti – 2015″ The third edition of India-Sri Lanka Joint Military Excercise “MITRA SHAKTI-2015″ has

begun in pune on 29 september. It is a 14 days excercise. The aim of the excercise is to share the best military practices, to develop joint strategies between the two armies and to build Military toMilitary Co-Operation and inter operability.

NATIONAL

Union Government recognizes Yoga as Sports discipline On 1 September 2015,the Sports Ministry has decided to recognize Yoga as a sports disciplineand place it in the Priority category. The Ministry also decided to upgrade Fencing from ‘Others’

to ‘General’ category, based on the past performance in major international events. The s ports








ministry reviewed the categorization of various disciplines and also revised the scale of financialassistance admissible to each category.

Internet user base in India reached 302 million in 2014: IAMAI The number of Internet users in India rose 32% last year, to reach 302 million, according to theInternet and Mobile Association of India, which includes members such as Google, Microsoft,eBay, IBM, Flipkart, Ola Cabs and LinkedIn. The Internet in India took more than a decade tomove from 10 million to 100 million and three years from 100 to 200 million. However, it tookonly a year to move from 200 to 300 million users .Mobile Internet in India also grewsignificantly last year. The mobile Internet user base reached 213 million by June 2015. Thecountry had 159 million mobile Internet users by October 2014, out of which 119 million userswere from urban users and the rest 40 million were from rural India.

Central Government accepted One Rank – One Pension (OROP) Scheme The Central Government on 5 September announced the acceptance of 40 year old demand of‘One Rank One Pension’ (OROP) scheme for the retired military personnels. The scheme will be

effective from July 1, 2014. New pensions will be fixed with 2013 as the base year. The schemeexpected to benefit three million pensioners retiring in the same rank with the same length of theservice, regardless of the date of retirement. The Government will engage a one membercommittee on this issue.

Indian Army organises cycle rally to commemorate 1965 victory over Pakistan in the nameof ‘The Victory Car Rally’ The Indian army’s Udhampur headquartered Northern Command on 12 September

commemorated the victory in the 1965 India-Pakistan war.Thirty-six army officials began acycle rally from the northern Jammu town to New Delhi to commemorate the golden jubilee ofIndia’s victory over Pakistan in the 1965 war. ‘The Victory Car Rally’ comprises a team of ex-servicemen and serving officers who traverse 1700 kms from Udhampur to New Delhi.

Government of India launches Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana

(PMKKKY) The Central Government on 17 September 2015 announced the launch of the Pradhan MantriKhanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojna (PMKKKY). This is a new programme meant to provide for thewelfare of areas and people affected by mining related operations,using the funds generated by District Mineral Foundations (DMFs).








STATES

Punjab Government wins award for achievement in rooftop solar power output Punjab Government has won first award in the category of highest capacity addition in grid

connected solar rooftop power in the country during the financial year 2014-15. It is one of 5awards won by Punjab New and Renewable Energy Department (PNRED) for outstanding performance in the various fields of Renewable Energy and Power Generation.

West Bengal Government declassified 64 secret files on Subhash Chandra Bose West Bengal Government on 18 September in Kolkata declassified 64 secret files on ‘Netaji’

Subhash Chandra Bose. The declassified files contained total 12,744 pages. The files were keptunder secrecy for 70 years. The files are being kept at Kolkata police museum. It will be open for public from September 21.

A stadium with the name of Sachin in Kerala The Kerala Cricket Asso-ciation (KCA) decided to name a newly built cricket stadium in thename of Sachin Tendulkar. There is already a pavilion in the name of Sachin at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Kochi. Sachin Tendulkar act as brand ambassador for the National Games of2015 which were held in Kerala.

Perumanna Grama Panchayat becomes first Panchayat in Kerala to declare a water policy In Kerala, Perumanna Grama Panchayat in Kozhikode district has become the first Panchayat inthe State, to declare a water policy on the lines of the State government’s water policy declared

in 2008.The water policy of Perumanna was drafted with the help of the Centre for WaterResources Development and Management, Kunnamangalam, after a detailed study of waterresources and usage in the Panchayat over the last two years.

Rajasthan Assembly passed two bills on Reservations Rajasthan Legislative Assembly on 22 September 2015 passed two seperate bills providing for 5

percent and 14 percent reservation for Specially Backward Classes (SBC) and EconomicallyBackward Classes (EBC) respectively. The purpose of the bills is to ensure advancement of backward communities and financially weaker sections fo unreserved categories in the State. Thenames are Rajasthan Special Backward Classes Bill 2015 and Rajasthan Economically BackwardClasses Bill 2015.








CONFERENCES

SAARC countries’ conference on Disaster Mitigation in New Delhi Disaster Mitigation conference of member countries of South Asian Association on Regional

Cooperation (SAARC) begin in New Delhi on 3 September 2015. The two day conference seeksto chalk out and undertake various joint efforts on various issues related to disaster mapping andmitigation in the member nations.

The third G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting held in Ankara G 20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors third meeting was held in TurkishPresidency Ankara on 4-5 September , 2015. The meeting was attended by Finance Ministersand Central Bank Governors of the G 20 members, invited countries and the heads and seniorrepresentatives of the international organisations. The theme of the meeting is to submit Finance

Track deliverables to G20 leaders at the Antalya Summit & discuss actions required to achieveG20′s ambitions of this year.

The Economist: India Summit 2015 held in New Delhi India Summit-2015 by The Economist publishers has been held in New Delhi on 09 September.Minister of Finance Arun Jaitley, Union Minister of Commerce Nirmala Sitaraman and manyother industralists are attended the meeting. India summit convenes 150+ business leaders, senior policy makers, leading academics and business leaders to examin the critical issues andopportunities for India.

First Conference on contemporary relevance of Bhagvad Gita The first conference on the contemporary relevance of Bhagvad Gita was held at London on 25September, 2015. It was organised by Indian Council of cultural Relations (ICCR) and Highcommission of India. The aim of the Conference is deal with the innumerable questions thatexcercise and confound through Bhagvad Gita and help to tep unique transpormational energy.

AWARDS & HONOURS

Kerala Temple won the UNESCO Award 2015 India has won the top UNESCO ‘Award of Excellence’ 2015 for Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple

in Kerala. The award recognises the remarkable conservation effort undertaken at the sacred sitewhich employed age-old rituals and conservation techniques drawn from Vastu Sastra focusing








Women’s Hockey Team Selected for Rio Olympics The Indian Women’s Hockey team selected for the 2016 Olympics which are going to be held inRio de Janerio of Brazil. The Federation of International Hockey (FIH) announced this on 2September. The fifth place at the Hockey World League semifinals which were held at Belgiumin July,2015 is the reason for the team to select for Olympics. After 36 years Indian women

hockey team is going to participate in the Olympics. In 1980 at Moscow Olympics Indian teamgot the fourth place.

India wins silver Medal at 2015 Asian Air Gun Championship India won the silver medal in 2015 Asian Air Gun Championship held in New Delhi. India’s ace

shooter Gurpreet Singh won the medal, in the 10 metre Air Pistol event. The gold medal in thisevent won by Iran. India’s Jitu Rai is at third position and won the bronze medal.

ECONOMY

The 11th Indo -American Economic Summit held in New Delhi The 11th Indo -American Economic Summit has been held in New Delhi on 14 September,2015. In this summit, the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has participated along with USAmbassador to India Richard Verma. The Indo -US bilateral trade will surge five times to 500 billion dollors in the next few years.

Chanda Kochhar of ICICI tops Fortune’s Asia Pacific most powerful women list Indian bankers Chanda Kochhar and Arundhati Bhattacharya have been ranked as the top two ina list of most powerful women in Asia-Pacific prepared by the global magazine, Fortune. ChandaKochhar, head of ICICI bank ranked first in the list from second position last year. ArundhatiBhattacharya, the Chairman of SBI ranked second. Her rank was fourth in the last year’s list.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation’s Chairperson and Managing Director Nishi Vasudeva is at

fifth place in the list and Shikha Sharma, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of AxisBank ranks 9th place. With 11 names, Chinese women lead the list.

India ranks 11th place in World Wealth Report-2015 India has become the 11th largest population of millionaires with 198,000 such high net worthindividuals (HNWI). India got the 11 rank in the World Wealth Report- 2015 released byCapsgemini and RBC Wealth Management. In 2013, there were 1,56,000 HNWIs in India. TheUS topped the list with 43,51,000 millionaires followed by Japan with 24,52,000 millionaires,Germany with 11,41,000 millionaires and China with 8,90,000 millionaires in the second, thirdand fourth places respectively.








India signed Loan Agreement with Asian Development Bank India on 28 September signed a 123.51 million US dollar loan agreement with AsianDevelopment Bank (ADB) to upgrade tourism infrastructure and services in Punjab, Uttarakhand

and Himachal Pradesh. The loan will be used for development and conservation of the places oftourist attractions. India emerged most-favoured destination for FDI. London based businessdaily Financial Times (FT) on 29 September released foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Data forthe Six Months of 2015. India in the first half of 2015 surpassed China to emerge as the mostfavoured destination for FDI. In 2014, India ranked fifth in terms of capital investment. afterchina, the US, the UK and Mexico. FDI inflow into India grew 47% to 24 billion dollar in 2014.India attracked 30 billion dollars by the end of June 2015.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

India to launch Indonesian satellite LAPAN A2/ Orari India will launch a second multi-spectral remote sensing Indonesian satellite that will help thecountry to monitor land-use, natural resource and in disaster mitigation. The name of the satelliteis LAPAN A2/ Orari. LAPAN A2/Orari satellite is a successor to LAPAN A1/Tubsat.Thesatellite was delivered to India on 4th September 2015 and will be launched at the SatishDhawan Space Center in Sriharikota.

The first indigenous howitzer ‘Dhanush’ developed by Ordanance Factory Board ofKolkata The Indian army is set to soon be handed over the indigenously developedhowitzer ‘Dhanush’also known as‘desi bofors’ has been developedby Ordanance Factory Board, Kolkata. Dhanush

is a indigenously developed 155 mm gun with 45 calibre having advanced features, a towedhowitzer with a strike range of 38 Km. This will be handed over to the army in the month of November.

NASA developing world’s first space shot gun to blast Asteroids

NASA is developing the world’s first space shot gun that can blast asteroids into small pieces forcollection as samples when a robotic space craft reaches near one such space rock in the nearfuture. Along with a Brooklyn based company Honey Bee Robotics, the US Space agency isworking on a shot gun as part of its Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM). The ARM aims to chopoff a massive chunk of an asteroid and shift it into the moon’s orbit.








China Successfully launched Long March -11 carrier Rocket China successfully launched a new model of carrier rocket, the Long March-11,on 25 Septemberfrom the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern province of Gansu. The rocketcarried four micro-satellites into space, which will be used mainly for testing. The solid propellant rocket was developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology. The

rocket will mainly be used for launching micro-satellites.

PERSONS IN NEWS

A). APPOINTMENTS

J. Manjula as the first Woman Director General at DRDO J. Manjula has been appointed as the first Woman Director General (D G), Electronics andCommuni-cation Systems Cluster at Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).She has assumed charge from distinguished scientist and Director General Dr. K.D. Nayak on 9September, 2015. Manjula has the honour of being the first woman DG of DRDO cluster.Manjula is a receipient of DRDO award for ‘Perfor -mance Excellence’ and ‘Scientist of the Year

2011.

K.M. Singh as new Chairman of NHPC K.M.Singh on 23 September took over as the new Chairman and Managing Director of NationalHydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC). Prior to this appointment, he was the chief executivedirector of NHDC, a joint venture company of NHPC and the Government of Madhya Pradesh.He began his professional career as an executive trainee in NHPC at its Loktak Power Station in1979.

Meghalaya Governor V. Shanmuganathan gets additional charge of Manipur Governor of Meghalaya V. Shanmuganathan was given additional charge of Manipur after previous Governor Syed Ahmed passed away. He was appointed as Governor of Meghalaya inMay 2015. He will discharge additional functions of the Governor of Manipur along with hisown duties.








Vice President Hamid Ansari visited Combodia India Vice-President Hamid Ansari on 15 September went to Combodia on a four day officialvisit to conduct delegation level talks and sign Memorandums of Understanding in tourism andinfrastructure building. The visit is an effort to shore up bilateral trade and investment whichremains much below potential.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visit to Ireland Narendra Modi, who is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Ireland after 1959, held talks withthe Prime Minister of Ireland Enda Kenny. Modi on 23 September visit Ireland and soughtIreland’s support for India’s membership of UN Security Council and International export

control regimes, including NSG, during wide ranging talks with Enda Kenny and also coveredglobal challenges like terror and radicalisation.

E). MISCELLANEOUS

Indian-origin Mahesh Ramanujam as new CEO of America’s Green Council Indian-origin Mahesh Ramanujam has been named as the new CEO of the prestigious ‘US Green

Building Council’ (USGBC), a non-profit organisation that promotes sustainability in how buildings are designed, built and operated. Ramanujam is from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. In 2009,he joined the company as senior vice-president, in 2011 he become the COO of the company andin December 2012 he become the president of GBCI.

Japanese centenarian “Golden Bolt” sets Guinness World Record in racing A fleet-footed Japanese centenarian raced into the Guinness World Records reference book on23 September and declared him a ‘medical marvel’ as he continues to stalk sprint king Usain

Bolt. Hidekichi Miyazaki, dubbed ‘Golden Bolt’ after the fastest man on the planet clocked 42.22 seconds in Kyoto to set a 100 metres world record in the over-105age category.

Mukesh Ambani’ is the richest Indian in Hurun Report’s ‘India Rich List-2015’

Relience Industries Head Mukesh Ambani is the richest Indian as per the Hurun Report’s IndiaRich List-2015. His assets are valued at Rs. 1,60,951 Crores. As per Hurun Reports there are 124dollar billionaires in the country. And there are 296 high net-worth individuals (those whoseassets are valued above Rs. 1600 Crores). The Pharmaceuticals tycoon Dilip Singhvi of SunPharma is the second richest Indian and S.P. Hinduja is the third. This is the fourth year forHurun Report, a Shanghai based luxury publishing group has come out with the list of Super richin India.








PLACES IN NEWS

2000 Year old Ashoka Stupa in China A 2000 year old stupa constructed by emperor Ashoka in China’s Nangchen which fell into ruin

has been restored and unveiled by spiritual head of Ladakh based Drukpa Buddhism. Therenovated stupa enshrined with precious Buddhist relics is a precious structure of the Buddhafollowers. It underwent a restoration process in the last a few years and was inaguarated byGyalwang Drukpa.

Vishakapatnam Steel Plant gets CIO-100 Award in IT excellence For the highest level of operational and strategic excellence in Information Technology shown

during the year, RINL, the corporate entity of Vishapatnam Steel Plant was conferred with “CIO-100” award and it’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) KVSS Rajeswara Rao, General Manager

(IT) received it on RINL’s behalf.

Hangzhow city of China will host the 2022 Asian Games The Chinese city of Hangzhow has been confirmed as the host of the 2022 Asian Games.China’s capital city Beijing will host the winter Olympic games in 2022. The 2018 Asian Games

will be held in Indonesia.

Odisha government names Wheeler Island as Abdul Kalam Island On 3 September 2015,the Odisha government has renamed the Wheeler Island in Bhadrakdistrict as Abdul Kalam Island. The Wheeler Island is located approximately 10 kilometres of theOdisha coast on the Bay of Bengal. The Island, which is about 2 kilometres in length and 390acres, is considered as country’s most advanced missile testing site. Wheeler Island assumes

great significance in view of its strategic location. It has been used as the launching pad forIndia’s missile defence system.

ABBREVIATIONS

SPMRM : Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurbal MissionOROP : One Rank One PensionSFB : Small Finance Banks NTCA : National Tiger Conservation Authority








PMKKKY : Pradhan Mantri Khaniz Khestra Kalyan YojanaPMAY : Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana

Books in News

Neither a Hawk Nor a Dove’ book launched by Oxford University Press Oxford University Press on September 8, 2015 launched it’s latest publication ‘’Neither a Hawk

Nor a Dove : An Insider’s Account of Pakistan’s Foreign Relations including Details of KashmirFrame Work” which was written by former foreign minister of Pakistan Khurshid Mahmud

Kasuri. A large number of retired army generals, diplomats, writers and academicians attendedthe book launching ceremony. The book is the first comprehensive account by a Pakistan foreignminister who contributed in moving the peace process with India forward.

Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane unveil Aakash Chopra’s book “The Insider” Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane unveil Aakash Chopra’s book, “The Insider” on 4 September

2015. This book describes different angles inside the cricketer.

“The Chronology of Ancient India” book released by Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu in

Hyderabad The Union Minister for Urban development M.Venkaiah Naidu on 13 September released a book

on ancient Indian history, “The Chronology of Ancient India – Victim of concoctions anddistortions” in Hyderabad. The book was written by Vedveer Arya, an Indian Defence AccountsServices (IDAS) officer. The book explains about the chronology of ancient Indian History.

COMMITTEES

An expert committee to review Civil Services exam pattern An expert committee has been formed by the Government to examine various issues related to

age relaxation, eligibility, syllabus and pattern of the civil services examination to select the IASand IPS officers. Based on the report of the committee, further changes in the civil services exam pattern would be considered. The panel would be headed by the former Chattisgarh cadre IASofficer B.S. Baswan and consists of leading academicians, technocrats and senior bureaucrats.








Union Government formed Mihir Shah Committee on restructuring Water Agencies The Union Ministry of Water Resources on 11 September, 2015 constituted a seven membercommittee to advice it on restructuring the Central Water Commission (CWC) and The CentralGround Water Board (CGWB). The expert committee will be headed by former planningcommission member Mihir Shah. The committee was mandated to suggest ways for optimal

development of water resources in the country.

IMPORTANT DAYS & DATES

September 5 – Teacher’s Day (Birthday of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan) September 8 – World Literacy DaySeptember 14 – Hindi Diwas ( Day)September 15 – Engineer’s Day September 16 – World Ozone DaySeptember 20 – Railway Police Force (RPF) Foundation DaySeptember 21 – Alzheimer’s Day September 27 – World Tourism DaySeptember 29 – World Heart Day

Current Affairs of July/Aug - 2015

INTERNATIONAL

Cuba Becomes First Nation To Eliminate Mother-To-Child HIV World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced Cuba has become the first country toeliminate the transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and syphilis from motherto baby. Over the past five years, Caribbean countries have had increased access to antiretroviraldrugs as part of a regional initiative to eliminate mother-to-child transmission.

Iran and P5+1 Countries Reached Agreement On Iran’s Nuclear Programme Iran and P5+1 countries comprising of the United States, the United Kingdom (UK), Russia,China, France and Germany on 14 July reached an agreement on the Iran nuclear programme.The agreement called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA) or Vienna agreement wasreached after 17 days of almost uninterrupted negotiations in Vienna (Austria) involving foreign








ministers of seven countries.

Japan Pledges $6 billion To Mekong Nations Japan on 4 July committed 6.1 billion US dollars (750 billion Japanese Yen) in OfficialDevelopment Assistance (ODA) to Mekong Region countries for the next three years. Thedecision was taken by Japan during the seventh Mekong-Japan Summit held in Tokyo. TheMekong region countries include Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

Japan’s Lower House Approved Change To Self -defence Law Lower House of Japan’s Parliament (Diet) on 16 July approved 11 security-related bills thatchange the self-defence law, which was followed by Japan since World War -II.The change paves the way for the Japanese military to potentially fight abroad for the first time since World

War II.

EU approves 7 Billion Euro Short-Term Loan To Greece The European Union (EU) on 17 July approved a short-term loan of 7.16 billion euros to Greeceafter it was backed by the 28 member states. This loan will allow Greece to pay its debt toEuropean Central Bank (ECB) and the Inter-national Monetary Fund (IMF) till new bailout planis ratified. The loan will be given through the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism(EFSM) which is a rescue fund set up during the first time bailout of Greece in 2010. But presently it covers the whole of the 28 EU member nations and not just the 19 eurozonemembers.

INDIA & WORLD

India-Uzbekistan Signed Three Agreements India and Uzbekistan have signed three agreements during delegation level talks held betweenPrime Minister Narendra Modi and Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov in Tashkent, the capitalof Uzbekistan on 6 July 2015. The agreements were signed in the field of tourism, culture and protocol.

India – Pakistan Become Permanent SCO members

India and Pakistan on 10 July were accepted as the full members of the Shanghai CooperationOrganisation (SCO), a six-member regional grouping, including China and Russia. India that hashad on the observer status of the group for past 10 years will become a full member of SCO by2016.

India Ranked 33rd ‘Most Reputable Nation In The World’ Canada has been named as the most reputable nation in the world, in a recent survey on how








countries are perceived across the world.The north American country reclaimed the top spot inthe Reputation Institute’s annual report, which looks at the government, environment and

economy of 55 nations.India is ranked 33rd among 55 countries as far as its reputation perceived by people from across the world is concerned. Its reputation has increased by 7.4%.

India – Singapore Signed Agreement On Maritime Cooperation India and Singapore signed Technical Agreement (TA) on sharing white-shipping information toenhance maritime cooperation between the two navies. The agreement was signed on 21 July.

India and US signed Inter-Governmental Agreement India and United States (US) signed Inter Governmental Agreement (IGA) to implement theForeign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The intergovernmental agreement (IGA) onFATCA was signed by Indian Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das and the US Ambassador to

India Richard Verma on 9 July in New Delhi. The agreement will promote transparency on taxmatters between the two countries.

NATIONAL

PM Narendra Modi Launched ‘Digital India Week’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1 July launched the ‘Digital India Week’ in New Delhi. The

newly created week is aimed at encouraging people’s involvement and creating awareness

among them about various initiatives launched under the Digital India Programme launched inAugust 2014.

Union Cabinet Approved Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana Union Cabinet on 1 July approved Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) aiming at providing irrigation facilities to every village. The Yojana was approved with an outlay of 50000crore rupees over a period of five years, that is, from 2015-16 to 2019-20 and the allocation forthe financial year 2015-16 has been kept at 5300 crore rupees.

PM Narendra Modi Launched Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15 July launched the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana in New Dehi.The programme aims to impart skill training to 24 lakh youth during 2015-16 withfocus on first time entrants to the labour market and class 10 and class 12 drop outs.

Prime Minister Unveiled National Policy for Skill Development & Entrepreneur ship 2015 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15 July unveiled National Policy for Skill Development andEntrepreneurship 2015 in New Delhi.The policy was unveiled in a programme held on theoccasion of first-ever World Youth Skills Day. It is the first such policy on entrepreneurshipsince independence and intended to replace the National Policy on Skill Development 2009.








successive wins in the race.

Wimbledon Tennis Championship 2015 Winners Men’s Singles: Novak Djokovic of Serbia on 12 July won men’s singles title of Wimbledon. In

the final clash played in London, Serbian Djokovic defeated Roger Federer of Switzerland. It isDjokovic’s 3rd wimbledon title and overall 12th men’s single Grand Slam title.

Women’s Singles: Serena Williams (US) won wimbledon women’s singles title. In the final

match played she defeated Garbine Muguruza of Spain.It is Williams’ sixth Women’s Singles

Wimbledon title and overall 21th Grand Slam title.

India Won 2015 South Asian Basketball Championship India on 5 July won the South Asian Basketball (SABA) Championship title. In the final playedat the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, Karanataka, India defeated Sri Lanka 93-44. It was 4thedition of the championships. India was the winner of third SABA Championship.With this winIndia qualified for the FIBA Asia Champion-ship which will be hosted by China in September2015.

ECONOMY

Corporation Bank Launched First MUDRA card

Corporation Bank on 4 July launched country’s first MUDRA (Micro Units Development andRefinance Agency) card under the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) in Mangalore,Karnataka. The card is based on the RuPay platform and facilitates the withdrawal and use of theworking capital finance by micro entrepreneurs.

RBI signed Special Currency Swap Agreement with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka A Special Currency Swap Agreement was signed between Reserve Bank of India (RBI) andCentral Bank of Sri Lanka on 17 July.As per this agreement, Central Bank of Sri Lanka can drawup to 1.1 billion US dollar for a maximum period of six months. This special arrangement is inaddition to the existing Framework on Currency Swap Arrangement for the SAARC Member

Countries.

Seven Indian Companies Among World’s 500 Largest Companies Seven Indian companies were listed among the world’s 500 largest companies in the FortuneGlobal 500 list for 2015 that was released on 22 July. The list has been topped by Wal-Mart,which retained its top spot.








RS Sharma Appointed as the Chairman of TRAI IT secretary RS Sharma has been appointed the Chairman of Telecom Regulatory Authority ofIndia (TRAI) on 27 July. Sharma is an IAS officer from 1978 Jharkhand batch and replacesRahul Khullar, who had retired in May 2015.

Ashish Bahuguna Appointed as Chairman of FSSAI Ashish Bahuguna, former agriculture secretary, has been appointed as the chairman of FoodSafety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on 27 July. His tenure will be of three yearsand he succeeded K Chandramouli whose tenure ended in January 2015. Since then the positionwas lying vacant and the Health Secretary Bhanu Pratap Sharma was given the interim charge ofchairman of FSSAI.

B). RESIGNS

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis Resigned Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis on 6 July resigned from his post after Greeks votedresoundingly to reject the austerity terms of a bailout.

C). DEATHS

Former Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam Died Former Indian President Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen (APJ) Abdul Kalam passed away on 27 July inShillong (MeghalayA).He was 83. He was also known as the Missile Man of India. He was born

on 15 October 1931 in Rameswaram, Ramanathapuram District of Tamil Nadu. He spent fourdecades as a scientist and science administrator, mainly at the DRDO and ISRO. During histenure as Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister from July 1992 to December 1999, heled the weaponisation of strategic missile systems and the Pokhran-II nuclear tests, which madeIndia a nuclear weapon state. He was the 11th President on India from 2002 to 2007. He has beenawar-ded with the coveted civilian awards including Padma Bhushan (1981) and PadmaVibhushan (1990) and the highest civilian award Bharat Ratna (1997).Kalam authored numerousinspira-tional books including India 2020, Wings Of Fire and Ignited Minds.

D). VISITORS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Visited Uzbekistan Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Uzbekistan on 6-7 July 2015. India and Uzbekistan havesigned three agreements during delegation level talks held between Prime Minister NarendraModi and Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov in Tashkent ,the capital of Uzbekistan. Duringthe visit, Narendra Modi released the first Uzbek-Hindi dictionary at the event along withUzbeki-stan Prime Minister and Indologist Rakhmatov.








Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2015. With this, the National Security Agency(NSA) lost its authority to collect the phone records of millions of Americans.

Ameenah Gurib-Fakim Is First Woman President of Mauritius Ameenah Gurib-FakimProminent scientist Ameenah Gurib-Fakim was on 5 June sworn in as

President of Mauritius. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim is an internationally-renowned scientist and biologist. She replaced Kailash Purryag who stepped down as country’s President on 29 May

2015.

African Leaders Signed 26 Nation Free Trade Agreement African countries have signed a historic The Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) that facilitatescreation of Africa’s largest free-trade zone. This free-trade zone will cover 26 countries in anarea from southernmost tip of African continent i.e. Cape Town (South Africa) to Cairo (Egypt)in the north. The agreement was signed on 10 June in Egypt.

Hwang Kyo-ahn Is The New Prime Minister of South Korea

South Korea’s Justice Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn was on 18 June appointed as the country’s newPrime Minister.The National Assembly approved the appointment of Hwang Kyo-ahn by a voteof 156-120.

INDIA & WORLD

India and Sweden Signed Six Agreements India and Sweden on 1 June signed six agreements, including in the field of polar research andfor boosting trade. Both sides also signed a MoU for cooperation in the field of micro, small andmedium enterprises. The agreements were signed in the presence of President Pranab Mukherjeeand Swedan Prime Minister Stefan Lofven at Rosenbad in Stockholm, Sweden.

India – US signed Defence Framework Agreement India and the US on 3 June signed a new strategically important 10-year defence frameworkagreement envisaging joint development and manufacture of defence equipment and technologyincluding jet engines, aircraft carrier design and construction. The framework was signed by theManohar Parrikar, India’s Defence Minister and Ashton Carter, US Secretary of Defence.

India – Bangladesh Ratify Historic Land Boundary Agreement India and Bangladesh on 6 June signed ratification pact to operationalise the historic LandBoundary Agreement (LBA).It was signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hisBangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina.According to the agreement 111 enclaves with a total

area of 17,160.63 acres from India will be transferred to Bangladesh, while 51 enclaves of area7,110.02 acres will be transferred to India.

India – Netherlands Signed Agreements India and the Netherlands on 5 June signed a number of agreements, including to collaborate in building dredgers in India as part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative and manuf acture vaccinesagainst measles and rubella in India.The agreements were signed in the presence of Prime








Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Netherland Mark Rutte in New Delhi after thetwo leaders held discussions on various issues related to the region and the world.

India – Thailand Signed Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty India and Thailand on 29 June signed the Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty (DTAT) and

exchanged instruments of ratification on the extradition treaty signed in 2013. The tax treaty provides for the framework of avoiding double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion withrespect to taxes so as to promote bilateral economic cooperation.

NATIONAL

Union Government Announced Rs 1500 crore INIP Union Government on 13 June launched an Indian Nuclear Insurance Pool (INIP) of 1,500 crorerupees as per the mandatory provision under the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act(CLND), 2010. This pool will be the 27th such market pool globally. This insurance pool waslaunched to address the concerns of the clauses in the CLND Act, which give the operator the

Right to Recourse and allow it to sue the suppliers in case of any accident. General InsuranceCorporation of India (GIC Re) is the fund operator of this Rs. 1,500 crore Indian insurance pooland it includes 11 other non-life insurers as associates of the pool.

Union Cabinet Approved Housing For All By 2022 Mission The Union Cabinet on 17 June gave its approval for Housing for All by 2022 Mission aimed at providing housing facilities to all eligible people in urban areas by 2022. It will be implementedas a Centrally Sponsored Scheme and the States and Union Territories (UTs) are given greaterautonomy in execution of the mission. Union Cabinet also approved increasing India’s solar

power capacity target under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) to 1 LakhMega Watt (MW) by 2022.

Union Cabinet Approved Bureau of Indian Standards Bill 2015 The Union Cabinet on 17 June gave its approval to introduce Bureau of Indian Standards Bill,2015 in the Parliament. It will repeal the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act, 1986.The bill isintended to improve the quality of goods, services and systems in the country.

Union Cabinet Approved Six new IIMs In India The Union Cabinet on 24 June 2015 approved setting up of six new Indian Institutes ofManagement (IIMs) in the country. These new IIMs will be located at Amritsar (Punjab), BodhGaya (Bihar), Nagpur (Maharashtra), Sambalpur (Odisha), Sirmaur (Himachal Pradesh) andVishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh). The Union Cabinet also gave its approval to the proposal of

the Ministry of Culture for setting up of a National Memorial at Lala Ka Tola, Sitab, Diara,District Chhapra (Saran) in Bihar – the birth place of Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan.

STATES

Maharashtra Govt Approved new Renewable Energy Policy Maharashtra government has approved a new Renewable Energy Policy which aims at achieving








14,400 MW of installed capacity over a period of five years i.e. till 2020. The approval decisionof new policy worth 4,156.43 crore rupees was taken by state cabinet meeting chaired by ChiefMinister Devendra in Mumbai. The policy aims at achieving installed capacity of renewableenergy of 21,100 MW by 2020 from current installed capacity of 6,700 MW.

World Bank Approves $ 250 million Loan For Jammu & Kashmir Multi-lateral lender World Bank on 3 June approved 250 million US dollars loan for Jhelum andTawi Flood Recovery Project in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). The project will be funded by loancredit from International Development Association (IDA), a World Bank’s concessionary with amaturity of 25 years, including a 5 year grace period.

Haryana’s Jind, Karnal & UP’s Muzaffarnagar Included In NCR Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on 9 June announced that Jind andKarnal districts of Haryana and Muzaffarnagar of Uttar Pradesh have been included in the National Capital Region (NCR). With this the total number of districts included in NCR has risento 22.

Kerala Govt Declares June 22 as ‘Snake Bird Day’ Kerala Government has declared June 22 as ‘Snake Bird Day’ in a bid to protect the endangeredspecies which is also known as Indian darter.

CONFERENCES

41st G7 Summit Held In Germany

G7 Summit 2015 was held at Schloss Elmau in Bavaria, Germany from 7- 8 June 2015. This was the 41st

G7 summit and the theme for the summit was “Think Ahead. Act Together”. The Summit focused on the

global economy as well as on key issues regarding foreign, security, environment and development

policy. After the talks, the leaders of the G7 committed to raising a 100 billion US dollars fund through

public and private sources to combat the rising global temperatures and agreed to implement

international mechanisms to bolster global healthcare security by creating a financial instrument at the

World Bank to react better to pandemics. The Summit was attended by all the seven members’ viz.,

Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States and the European

Commission (EC). EC is a permanently welcome participant in all meetings and decision-making since

1981.

AWARDS & HONOURS

Bangladesh Conferred Award of Liberation War Honour On Atal Bihari Vajpayee Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was conferred Award of of Bangladesh LiberationWar Honour for his active role in the country independence struggle and consolidating Indiafriendship with the Bangladesh.Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi received this award on








behalf of Former PM from Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid at a ceremony at Bangabhaban,the President house on 7 June 2015.

Historian Ramachandra Guha Selected For Japan’s Fukuoka Prize Eminent Historian-writer Ramachandra Guha has been selected for Japan’s Fukuoka Prize 2015

in n the Academic category. Fukuoka Prize honours those who have made outstandingcontributions to academia, arts and culture across Asia.

Sanjay Subrahmanyam Selected For Sangitha Kalanidhi Award 2015 Renowned Carnatic singer Sanjay Subrahmanyan was on 21 June selected for Sangita Kalanidhiaward for his outstanding achievements in Carnatic music.The Sangita Kalanidhi is the highesthonour given to Carnatic musicians in India.

Ravi Shankar Conferred With Colombia’s Highest Civilian Award Indian spiritual leader, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was on 25 June conferred with the Columbia’shighest civilian award Orden de la Democracia Simon Bolivar en el grado de cruz Caballero

(Order of the Democracy Simon Bolivar) by Columbia. The award has been given in recognitionto the spiritual leader’s contribution in spreading the message of peace in society, inter -mediationin war, reducing stress and combating violence through yoga and breathing exercises.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna 2015 and Arjuna Awards 2015

A large number of nominations were received for these awards this year, which were considered by the Selection Committee headed by Mr. Justice V.K. Bali, former Chief Justice of Kerla HighCourt and consisting of eminent sportspersons and sports administrators.

Based on the recommendations of the Committee and after due scrutiny, the Government hasapproved to confer Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Arjuna Awards for 2015 upon the following

sportspersons:i) Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ranta 2015

S. No. Name of the sportsperson Discipline

1 Ms. Sania Mirza Tennis

(ii) Arjuna Awards 2015

S. No. Name of the sportsperson Discipline

1 Naib Subedar Sandeep Kumar Archery

2 Ms. M.R. Poovamma Athletics

3 Mr. Kidambi Srikanth

Nammalwar

Badminton

4 Mr. Mandeep Jangra Boxing

5 Mr. Rohit Sharma Cricket

6 Ms. Dipa Karmakar Gymnastic

7 Mr. Sreejesh P.R. Hockey

8 Mr. Manjeet Chhillar Kabaddi

9 Ms. Abhilasha Shashikant Mhatre Kabaddi








10 Mr. Sawarn Singh Rowing

11 Mr. Anup Kumar Yama Roller Skating

12 Mr. Jitu Rai Shooting

13 Shri S. Sathish Kumar Weightlifting

14 Mr. Bajrang Wrestling

15 Ms. Babita Kumari Wrestling

16 Ms. Yumnam Sanathoi Devi Wushu

17 Mr. Sharath M. Gayakwad Para-Swimming

The awardees will receive their awards from the President of India at a specially organizedfunction at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on August 29, 2015.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardee will receive medal, certificate and award money of Rs. 7.5lakh and Arjuna Awardees will receive statuettes, certificates and award money of Rs.5 lakh

each.

SPORTS & GAMES

French Open Tennis Tournament – 2015 Winners Women’s Singles :- Serena Williams of United States won French Open women’s single title on

6 June. In the final match she defeated Lucie Safarova of Czechoslovaki. This was her third

French Open title (earlier she had won in 2002, 2013) and overall 20th Grand Slam title.Men’s Singles :- Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland won his first French Open title of Tennis on7 June. In the final clash played at Roland Garros in Paris, Wawrinka defeated Novak Djokovicof Serbia.It was his first his first French Open title second grand slam title after Australian Open2014.

Wesley Hall Inducted into ICC cricket ‘Hall of Fame’ Former West Indies fast bowler Sir Wesley Winfield Hall was on 12 June inducted into the ICCCricket Hall of Fame. He is 80th cricketer to be inducted in the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame and18th from West Indies. Hall is the fourth cricketer this year to be inducted into the ICC CricketHall of Fame after Betty Wilson, Anil Kumble and Martin Crowe, who were inducted earlier this

year during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

Serbia Won 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup Serbia won the FIFA U-20 World Cup by defeating Brazil on 20 June at the final match held atthe North Harbour Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand.

China Won 2015 Snooker’s World Cup China won the 2015 Nongfu Spring Snooker’s World Cup on 21 June by defeating Scotland 4-1








India’s First Indigenous Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant Undocked India’s first indigenously-built largest aircraft carrier INS Vikrant was on 10 June successfullyundocked at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) in Cochin district of Kerala. The ship will undergoa series of fitment and trial processes along with series of static and dynamic trials beforeinducting it into the Indian Navy in end-2018. With successful completion of construction of INS

Vikrant India joins elite group of four nations in the world viz United States, Russia, UnitedKingdom and France that are capable of designing and constructing aircraft carriers.

World’s Thinnest Light Bulb Created From Graphene Researchers have created the world’s thinnest light bulb using graphene as filament. It was

created by team of scientist led by Young Duck Kim comprising members from ColumbiaUniversity School of Engineering, Seoul National University and Korea Research Institute ofStandards and Science.

China Produces World’s First Electric Plane The world’s first electric passenger aircraft named BX1E was manufactured in China. The

aircraft was designed by Shenyang Aerospace University and Liaoning General AviationAcademy located in the northeastern Liaoning Province of China.

PERSONS IN NEWS

A) APPOINTMENTS

Petteri Taalas Appointed Secretary-General of WMO Petteri Taalas, Director-General of the Finnish Meteorological Institute, was on 4 June appointedas the next Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) for a four-yearmandate starting 1 January 2016. He succeeds Michel Jarraud (France).

K.V.Chowdary is new Central Vigilance Commissioner K V Chowdary, former chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), was on 10 Junesworn in as the new Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) by President Pranab Mukherjee.Vijai Sharma, the senior most information commissioner, was also sworn in as the ChiefInformation Commissioner (CIC) by the president.

B)RESIGNS

FIFA President Sepp Blatter Resigned President of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Sepp Blatter has

resigned on 2 June amid a corruption scandal which under investigation in United States. Earlieron 30 May 2015, he was re-elected as the FIFA President for a fifth term by defeating his rivalcandidate Prince Ali bins Al Hussein of Jordan.

C)DEATHS

Nobel Chemistry Winner Irwin Rose Died Irwin Rose, a biochemist who shared the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering a way








HDFC - Housing Development Finance Corporation

IFFI - International Film Festival of India

IISCO – Indian Iron and Steel Company

BOOKS IN NEWS

President Pranab Mukherjee Released ‘ Yogikaspars ‘ President Pranab Mukherjee on 8 June released Yogikasparsh, a yoga manual in braille written by Nivedita Joshi, at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. Nivedita Joshi, daughter ofsenior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, suffered from a critical ailment some 19 years ago andgot fully cured with the help of Yoga.

COMMITTEES

Recommendations of Bibek Debroy Committee On Restructuring Of Indian Railways The Bibek Debroy committee on the restructuring of Indian Railways (IR) has submitted its finalreport to the Union Ministry of Railways on 12 June.Union government had constituted the high-level committee in September 2014 to restructure the Railways and suggest ways for resourcemobilisation. It was seven-member panel headed by eminent economist and NITI Aayogmember Bibek Debroy.

Recommendations of Bibek Debroy committee:- * Establishment of an independent regulator Railway Regulatory Authority of India (RRAI) with

a separate budget and to be independent of the Ministry.* No privatisation of Indian Railway but allowed participation of private sector in the railway projects.* Separation of activities like running of hospitals, schools, real estate development, catering,manufacturing of locomotives, coaches and wagons from the core business of running trains.* State governments should be asked to entirely fund the Government Railway Police (GRP).* The recommended changes should be implemented only by Union Railways ministry in thefirst five years including the resolution of the social cost issue.








is to be set up in Nagaland & Orissa each.

17. University of Disability Studies will be established in Kerala. 50

18. In Arunachal Pradesh, Centre of film production, animation and gaming will comeup.

19. For Infrastructure sector Rs. 70,000 crores allocated. Projects in rail road andirrigation bonds will be tax free.

20. For Rural Infrastructure Development Bank, Rs. 25,000 crore allocated.

21. Target of renewable energy capacity revised to 175000 MW till 2022,

comprising 100000 MW Solar, 60000 MW Wind, 10000 MW Biomass and 5000 MW

Small Hydro.

22. Forward Markets commission to be merged with SEBI.

23. National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), to be established with an

annual flow of

Rs.20,000 crores to it. Tax free infrastructure bonds for the projects in the rail, road

and irrigation

sectors

BUDGET ESTIMATES:

>Gross Tax receipts are estimated to be Rs. 14,49,490 crore.

>Total Expenditure has accordingly been estimated at Rs.17,77,477 crore.

>Fiscal deficit will be 3.9 per cent of GDP and Revenue Deficit will be 2.8 per cent ofGDP.

TAX PROPOSAL:

>implement GST from next year.

>No change in rate of personal income tax.

>Proposal to reduce corporate tax from 30% to 25% over the next four years,

starting from next financial year.

>Wealth-tax replaced with additional surcharge of 2 per cent on super rich

with a taxable income of over Rs.1 crore annually

>PAN being made mandatory for any purchase or sale exceeding Rs. 1lakh.

>Evasion of tax in relation to foreign assets to have a punishment of rigorous

imprisonment upto 10 years, be non-compoundable, have a penalty rate of 300% and the offender will not be permitted to approach the Settlement Commission.

>Non-filing of return/filing of return with inadequate disclosures to have a

punishment of rigorous imprisonment upto 7 years.

>General Anti Avoidance Rule (GAAR) to be deferred by two

years.GAAR to apply to investments made on or after 01.04.2017, when








implemented.

>Domestic transfer pricing threshold limit increased from Rs.5 crore to Rs.20 crore.

>Excise duty on footwear with leather uppers and having retail price of more than Rs.1000per pair reduced to 6%.

>Education cess and the Secondary and Higher education cess to be subsumed inCentral Excise

Duty.

>Time limit for taking CENVAT credit on inputs and input services increased from

6 months to 1 year.

>Service-tax plus education cesses increased from 12.36% to 14% to facilitate

transition to GST. >Online central excise and service tax registration to be done in

two working days.

>100% deduction for contributions, other than by way of CSR contribution, to

Swachh Bharat Kosh and Clean Ganga Fund.

>Clean energy cess increased from Rs.100 to Rs.200 per metric tonne of coal,

etc. to finance clean environment initiatives.

Benefits to middle class tax-payers:

>Limit of deduction of health insurance premium increased from Rs.15000 to

Rs.25000, for senior citizens limit increased from Rs.20000 to Rs.30000

>Senior citizens above the age of 80 years, who are not covered by health

insurance, to be allowed deduction of Rs.30000 towards medical expenditures.

>Deduction limit of Rs.60000 with respect to specified decease of serious

nature enhanced to Rs.80000 in case of senior citizen.

>Additional deduction of Rs.25000 allowed for differently abled persons.

>Limit on deduction on account of contribution to a pension fund and the new

pension scheme increased from Rs.1 lakh to Rs.1.5 lakh.

>Additional deduction of Rs.50000 for contribution to the new pension scheme u/s 80CCD.

>Payments to the beneficiaries including interest payment on deposit in

Sukanya Samriddhi scheme to be fully exempt.

>Service-tax exemption on Varishtha Bima Yojana.

>Yoga to be included within the ambit of charitable purpose under Section 2(15) of

the Income-tax Act.

Defence:








>Rs.2,46,726 crore allocated for Defence. It is 9.87 per cent greater than last year.

>Make in India campaign will take into consideration for speedy

manufacturing of Defence equipments.

Highlights of Railway Budget 2015-16

Financial Performance for the year 2014-15

Total Receipts were ` 1,39,558 crore

Total Expenses - 1,30,321 crore,

Operating ratio - 93.6%

Budget Estimates for 2015-16

Total receipts - 1,64,374 crore

Total expenditure - 1,49,176 crore.Operating ratio - 88.5%

Highlights

There will be no hike in passenger fares in the year 2015-16.

No new trains.

Social service obligation rose from 9.4% of Gross Traffic Receipts in 2000-01 to 16.6% in

2010-11.

Bullet train to be introduced in Mumbai-Ahmedabad route.

CCTVs to be installed to monitor cleanliness.

eTicketing system to be upgraded. Right 2000 tickets can be booked persecond. It is

proposed to increase this limit to 7200 per second. This system will be able to handle1,20,000

users simultaneously.

Ultrasonic system to be installed to detect problems in tracks.

17,000 toilets to be replaced by bio-toilets.

Track capacity to be increased to 1.38 lakh km.

Railways to raise finances via PPP, FDI.

4,000 women constables to be recruited in RPF.

Battery operated cars to be provided at major stations for Physically disablepeople.

Nation wise helplines to be installed. Toll free number -182 (It will be active

from 01-03-2015).Tickets can be booked 4 months prior to travel, earlier it was 2 months.

Senior citizens to get lower births.

Entry gates will be broader.

Disposable bags will be provided for sleerper passengers.

Mechanical designing of new engines that would consume less fuel.

Water vending machines to be installed at stations.








e-Tickets will be available in lical language.

WiFi facility will be provided at railway stations.

List of Important Days

Sr.no. Date Day1. 12th January National Youth Day ( Birthday of Swami Vivekanand)

2. 15th January Army Day

3. 24th January National Girl Child Day

4. 25th January National Tourism Day/ voters Day

5. 30th January National Martyrs Day & World anti Leprosy Day

6. 4th February World Cancer Day

7. 28thFebruary National Science Day

8. 8th March International Women’s Day

9. 9th March World Kidney Day (celebrated on 2nd Thursday of

march)

10. 15th March International Consumer Day11. 20th March World Sparrow Day & International Happiness Day

12. 21st March World Forestry Day

13. 22nd March World Water Day

14. 23rd March World Meterological Day

15. 24th March World T.B Day

16. 2nd April World Autism Day

17. 7th April World Health Day

18. 21st April Civil Service Day

19. 22nd April World Earth Day

20. 24th April Panchayat Divas

21. 1st May International Labour Day

22. 3rd May World Press Freedom Day

23. 11th May National Technology Day

24. 21st May Anti Terrorism Day ( death date of Rajiv Gandhi)

25. 31st May Anti Tobacco Day / No Smoking Day

26. 5th June World Environment Day

27. 1st July Doctors Day

28. 11th July National Technology Day

29. 6th August Hiroshima Day

30. 9th August Nagasaki Day

31. 12th

August International Youth Day32. 29th August National Sports Day

33. 5th September Teachers Day

34. 8th September World literacy Day

35. 14th September Hindi Divas

36. 15th September Engineers Day

37. 16th September Ozone Day

38. 2nd October International non-violence Day








39. 8th October Air force Day

40. 9th October World Post Day

41. 24th October United nation Day

42. 17thNovember Students Day

43. 18th November Adults Day

44. 19th

November Citizen DayWSTECHCAFE.C 45. 27th November National Law Day

46. 1st December AIDS Day

47. 4th December Navy Day

48. 10th December Human Rights Day

49. 14th December National Energy Conservation Day

50. 22nd December National Mathematics Day

51. 24th December National Consumer Rights Day

52. 25th December Good Governance Day (Birthday of Atal Bihari

Vajpai)

53. 21st June International Yoga DaySTE

List of Countries Capital and Currency

Countries Capital Currency

Austria Vienna Euro

Argentina Buenos Aires Peso

Australia Canberra Australian Dollar

Afghanistan Kabul Afgan-afgani

Azerbaijan Baku Manat

Bangladesh Dhaka TakaBelarus Minsk Ruble

Belgium Brussels Euro

Bhutan Thimphu Ngultrum

Brazil Barsilia Real

Cambodia Phnom penh Riel

Canada Ottawa Canadian Dollar

Chile Santiago Peso

China Beijing Yuan

Colombia Bogota Peso

Costa Rica San jose Costa Rican

ColonCroatia Zagreb Kuna

Cuba Havana Peso

Czech Republic Prague Koruna

Denmark Copenhagen Krone

Egypt Cairo Pound

Ethiopia Addis Ababa Ethiopian Birr

Fiji Suva Dollar








Finland Helsinki Euro

France Paris Euro

Germany Berlin Euro

Ghana Accra Cedi

Greece Athens Euro

Hungary Budapest ForintHong-kong Victoria Dollar

Iceland Reykjavik Euro

India New Delhi Indian Rupee

Indonesia Jakarta Rupiah

Iran Tehran Rial

Iraq Baghdad Dinar

Ireland Dublin Euro

Israel Jerusalem Sheqel

Italy Rome Euro

Japan Tokyo Yen

Jordon Amman DinarHCAFE.COMJamaica Kingston Dollar

Kazakhstan Astana Tenge

Kenya Nairobi Shilling

Korea North Pyongyang Won

Korea South Seoul Won

Kuwait Kuwait City Dinar

Latvia Riga Euro

Lithuania Vilnius Euro

Luxembourg Luxembourg Euro

Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Ringgit

Maldives Male Rufiyaa

Mauritius Port Louis Rupee

Mexico Mexico city Peso

Myanmar (Burma) Nay Pyi Taw (Rangoon) Kyat

Namibia Windhoek Dollar

Nepal Kathmandu Rupee

Netherlands Amsterdam Euro

New Zealand Wellington Dollar

Nigeria Abuja Naira

Norway Oslo KroneOman Muscat Rial

Pakistan Islamabad Rupee

Peru Lima Nuewo Sol

Philippines Manila Peso

Poland Warsaw Polish Zloty

Portugal Lisbon Euro

Qatar Doha Riyal





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