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GK DIGEST for LIC AAO 2016 Exam

Dear readers, This GK Digest is a complete docket of important news and events that occurred in last 5 months (September – February 2016). The GK Digest is important and relevant for all competitive exams like - LIC AAO 2016 Exam, Railway Recruitment 2016 Exam, SSC CGL 2016, Insurance and UPSC Exams.

Banking, Economics & Financial News

RBI in the News

1. RBI Keeps interest rate unchanged - On 2nd February 2016, the Reserve Bank of India in its 6th bi – monthly policy review, key policy interest rates were kept unchanged on the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation in the country.

Current Policy & Reserve Rates:

1.Repo Rate 6.75% (unchanged)

2.Reverse Repo 5.75% (unchanged)

3.CRR(Cash Reserve ratio) 4.00% (unchanged)

4.SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio) 21.50% (unchanged)

5.MSF (Marginal Standing Facility) 7.75% (changed)

6.Bank Rate 7.75% (changed)

Basis points - ‘one’ Basis Point is a unit equivalent to 0.01% i.e. 1/100th of a percent. 2. Raghuram Rajan conferred with the Central Banker of the Year Award 2016 - The Reserve Bank of India Governor, Dr.

Raghuram Rajan conferred with the Central Banker of the Year Award (Global and Asia Pacific) for 2016 by The Banker, a

monthly publication of the Financial Times Group focussing on banking.

3. Urjit Patel reappointed as RBI deputy governor for 3 years - The Government of India re-appointed Dr. Urjit R. Patel as

the Deputy Governorof the Reserve Bank of India, for a further period of three years.

He is the fourth deputy governor, the other three being HR Khan, R Gandhi and SS Mundra.

4. Reserve Bank of India increased its shareholding in National Housing Bank by contributing Rs 1,000 crore towards the

paid capital, thereby increasing its shareholding in theNHB from Rs 450 crore to Rs 1,450 crore.

5. RBI seeks additional ₹26k cr for PSU banks - The RBI has sought an additional ₹26,000 crore from the government by

2018 for capital infusion into Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) banks for implementing Basel-III norms in the banks. The

government has already pledged ₹70,000 crore for the purpose by the end of FY19.

6. RBI Governor Dr Raghuram Rajan elected as Vice-Chairman on BIS Board - With this, he became the first Indian to be

elected to this position in the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

Note: At present, Jens Weidmann is the Chairman of the Board of Directors. He is also the head of Bundesbank, the

German banking regulator.

7. RBI imposes Rs 1 crore fines on State Bank of Travancore - Reserve Bank has imposed a penalty of Rs. 1 crore on an

SBI associate bank, State Bank of Travancore, for violation of some of its instructions.

8. Deepak Singhal appointed Executive Director of Reserve Bank of India - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appointed

Deepak Singhal as the Executive Director (ED). He replaced K K Vohra who will now look after the Deposit Insurance and

Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC).


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9. RBI proposed marginal cost of funds methodology to calculate Base Rate –

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) proposed a new methodology to calculate Base Rate (Base Rate). It is based on marginal

cost of funds methodology. The new methodology is aimed at bringing uniformity among BRs of banks so that they will

be more sensitive to any changes in policy rates of the RBI like Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR),

etc.

Under the proposed methodology, the components of Base Rate will include cost of funds, negative carry on CRR/SLR,

un-allocable overhead costs and average return on net worth. It will be effective from 1 April 2016.

Base Rate

• It is defined as the minimum interest rate of a bank below which it is not viable to lend.

• It was introduced on 1 July 2010 by the RBI.

• It replaced the benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR), the interest rate which commercial banks charged their most

credit worthy customer.

10. Banks are free to fix interest rates on gold deposit scheme: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed banks to fix their

own interest rates on gold deposits under the Gold Monetisation Scheme.

Key points –

(i) As per the RBI guidelines, Banks are free to set interest rate such as principal and interest on the deposit denominated

in gold.

(ii) Designated banks will accept gold deposits under the – Short Term Bank Deposit (1-3 years), Medium (5-7 years) and

Long term (12-15 years) Government Deposit Schemes.

(iii) Short term bank deposits will be applicable cash reserve ratio (CRR) and statutory liquidity ratio (SLR).

(iv) There is no bar for maximum gold deposit but the minimum deposit at one time should be raw gold equivalent to 30

grams of 995 fineness standard.

(v) The raw gold should be in the form of coins, bars, jewellery excluding stones and other metals Individual banks will

determine the provision for premature withdrawal subject to a minimum lock-in period and along with the penalty.

11. RBI declared Priority Sector Lending norms for Regional Rural Banks

Key points of the norms:

(i) Priority Sector Lending (PSL) target was increased to 75 percent of total outstanding from the existing 60 percent.

(ii) The revised target will be effective from 1 January 2016.

(iii) Medium enterprises, social infrastructure and renewable energy were included under PSL category.

(iv) Agri-Loans: Loans to individual farmers, for the purpose of PSL, was increased to 50 lakh rupees from the present 10

lakh rupees against pledge/ hypothecation of agricultural produce (including warehouse receipts) for a period not

exceeding 12 months.

(v) Aggregate limit loan was doubled to 2 crore rupees per borrower in the case of loans, among others, to corporate

farmers, farmers’ producers organisations/ companies of individual farmers, farmers partnership firms/ co-operatives

engaged in agriculture and allied activities.

(vi) Housing Loans: The RBI has lowered the quantum of loans that will qualify as PSL. Against the earlier limit of 25

lakh rupees, loans to individuals up to 20 lakh rupees only are considered as PSL as per revised guidelines.

Note: As on March 2015, there were 56 RRBs operating in the country with a network of 20059 branches. They cover 644

notified districts in 26 states and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

12. RBI formed Financial Inclusion Fund with 2000 crore rupees corpus: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) formed a single Financial Inclusion Fund (FIF) with a corpus of 2000 crore rupees. The fund was formed by merging the Financial Inclusion Fund (FIF) and Financial Inclusion Technology Fund (FITF). This fund will support the developmental and promotional activities covered under the financial inclusion initiatives.


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13. RBI to Issue Rs. 500, Rs. 1000 Bank Notes with Enhanced Features - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will issue Rs. 500

and Rs. 1,000 bank notes with additional features to aid the visually impaired in identification. To help visually impaired person in easy identification of bank notes, RBI decided to add two more features in Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 bank notes.

14. RBI to issue Rs 5 coin on golden jubilee of 1965 Indo-Pak war - The Reserve Bank of India will shortly put into

circulation Rs 5 coins to commemorate golden jubilee of Indo-Pak War 1965. "The coins will be legal tender as provided in The Coinage Act 2011.

15. RBI granted 'in-principle' approval to set up Small Finance Banks & Payment Banks –

Small Finance Banks – The purpose of the small banks will be to provide a whole suite of basic banking products

such as deposits and supply of credit, but in a limited area of operation. The aim of small banks is to increase financial inclusion in the country. The small bank shall be registered as a public limited company under the Companies Act, 2013.

Committee on Small Banks - Usha Thorat RBI granted 'in-principle' approval to the 10 applicants to set up Small Finance Banks. Names of selected applicants Au Financiers (India) Ltd., Jaipur Capital Local Area Bank Ltd., Jalandhar Disha Microfin Private Ltd., Ahmedabad Equitas Holdings P Limited, Chennai ESAF Microfinance and Investments Private Ltd.,

Chennai

Janalakshmi Financial Services Private Limited, Bengaluru

RGVN (North East) Microfinance Limited, Guwahati

Suryoday Micro Finance Private Ltd., Navi Mumbai Ujjivan Financial Services Private Ltd., Bengaluru Utkarsh Micro Finance Private Ltd., Varanasi

The “in-principle” approval granted will be valid for 18 months to enable the applicants to comply with the

requirements under the Guidelines and fulfill other conditions as may be stipulated by the RBI. Eligibility - Resident individuals with 10 years of experience in banking and finance, companies and Societies will be

eligible as promoters to set up small banks. Key points Capital requirement - The minimum paid-up capital requirement for small banks is Rs. 100 crore. As per the guidelines, the promoters' initial minimum contribution will be at least 40 % of the minimum capital, to be

locked in for a period of 5 years. Small banks will offer both deposits as well as loan products. They cannot set up subsidiaries to undertake non-banking financial services activities. The maximum loan size and investment limit exposure to single/group borrowers/issuers would be restricted to 15

per cent of total capital funds. Loans and advances of up to Rs 25 lakhs, primarily to micro enterprises, should constitute at least 50 per cent of the

loan portfolio. For the first three years, 25 per cent of branches should be in unbanked rural areas. The foreign shareholding in the bank would be as per the extant FDI policy. For the initial three years, prior approval will be required for branch expansion.

Payment Banks – The main objective of payment banks is to increase financial inclusion in the country via a primary

focus on domestic payments services by providing small savings accounts. Payments banks will be used only for transaction and deposits purposes. Unlike small banks, payments banks cannot lend money.

Committee on Payment Banks - Dr. Nachiket Mor RBI granted 'in-principle' approval to 11 Payment Banks applicants.


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List of 11 Payment Banks applicants -

1. Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited 2. Airtel M Commerce Services Limited 3. Cholamandalam Distribution Services Limited 4. Department of Posts 5. Fino PayTech Limited 6. National Securities Depository Limited – Director G.

V. Nageswara Rao

7. Reliance Industries Limited - Joint ventured with SBI 8. Sun Pharma - Dilip Shanghvi, Managing Director of

Sun Pharmaceuticals. 9. Paytm – Founder of Vijay Shekhar Sharma 10. Tech Mahindra Limited 11. Vodafone m-pesa Limited

Key Points: Capital requirement - The minimum paid-up capital requirement for payments banks is Rs. 100 crore. The Reserve Bank grants a license for commencement of banking business under Section 22(1) of the Banking

Regulation Act, 1949. RBI's “in-principle” nod will be valid for a period of 18 months, during which time the applicants have to comply with

the requirements under the Guidelines and fulfill the other conditions as may be stipulated by the Reserve bank. As per the guidelines, the promoters' initial minimum contribution will be at least 40 % of the minimum capital, to be

locked in for a period of 5 years. The payments bank will need to invest 75 percent of its funds in government securities. Payments banks can open small savings accounts and accept deposits of up to Rs.1 lakh per individual customer and

provide remittance services. Hence, the balance at the close of business on any day should not exceed Rs.1 lakh per customer.

Payments banks can issue debit cards but they are not eligible to provide credit card facilities. Payments Banks are allowed to set up their own ATMs (automated teller machines). Payments banks will have to invest in government securities with a maturity of up to 1 year.

Difference between Small & Payment Banks –

(i) Small banks can accept all types of deposits like a commercial bank ( savings, current, fixed deposits, recurring deposits etc) on the other hand Payment banks can take deposits only on current & savings account. These cannot offer credit cards, NRI account, & time deposits( FD & RD). (ii) Small banks cannot give depositors money as loan to others ( big industries) , but for small area of operation. Payment banks cannot give loans but can invest in G securities ( as most of the depositors are poor people. so, banks cannot take a risk). (iii) For small banks - - - NBFC's , any individual with 10 years of experience in banking can apply for licenses. For payment banks - - - Indian post, telecom companies can apply for licenses. (iv) Target for small banks are MSME's, business man. For Payment banks, poor people.

16. RBI extends deadline to exchange pre-2005 notes to June 30, 2016 - Reserve Bank extended the deadline for

exchanging pre-2005 currency notes of various denominations, including Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, by another six months to June 30, 2016 from earlier date December 31, 2015.


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Government approves conversion of MUDRA into bank –

Government of India recently converted MUDRA Ltd into MUDRA Bank. MUDRA Bank thus created is a wholly-owned

subsidiary of SIDBI, which will be known as MUDRA (SIDBI) Bank.

Along with this, a Credit Guarantee Fund for MUDRA Units (CGFMU) will also be set up. In the Budget of 2015-16,

Credit Guarantee Fund has been allocated with funds worth Rs 3000 Crore.

As per budget 2015-16, MUDRA Bank is to be set up with refinance corpus of Rs 20,000 Crore.

Functions / Roles of Mudra Ltd –

The major role of MUDRA Ltd would be in refinancing and developing Micro Enterprises.

It will provide funds to Non-corporate small business sector.

It will also partner with State/Regional level financial intermediaries to provide finance to small/micro business

enterprises.

MUDRA Bank will not be the regulator of the micro finance institutions. (As RBI as a regulator for the MFIs registered

as the non-banking finance companies)

MUDRA loans are available in three categories – For small business

Loans up to Rs. 50000/– is available under the ‘Shishu’ category

Loans beyond Rs. 50,000 and up to 5 lakh under the ‘Kishor’ category

Loans beyond Rs. 5 lakh and up to Rs. 10 lakh under the ’Tarun’ category

Note: Maximum Loan Mudra Bank can grant is Rs. 10 lakh.

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank launched by Chinese President

Chinese President Xi Jinping officially launched Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Beijing. The opening

ceremony of AIIB is attended by representatives of 57 member countries.

Key Facts -

With authorised capital of $100 billion and subscribed capital of $50 billion, Beijing-based AIIB will invest in sectors

including energy, transportation, urban construction, and logistics as well as education and healthcare. The bank was formally established in Beijing on December 25, 2015.

The headquarter of AIIB is located in Beijing, China.

Chairman - Chinese Finance Minister, Lou Jiwei,

First President of AIIB- China’s former Finance Minister, Jin Liqun

In all 57 countries have joined as founding members, while the US and Japan have stayed out.

Largest shareholders of AIIB – China – 30.34%, India - , 8.52%, Russia - 6.66%

Their voting shares of – China - 26.06%, India -7.5 %, Russia - 5.92 %.

Based on the shareholding, India is expected to get the Vice-President’s post.

The AIIB will work together with multilateral development banks, including the World Bank and the Asian

Development Bank, to facilitate Asian infrastructure construction and sustainable development.

India elected to new AIIB Bank’s First Board - Dinesh Sharma, Additional Secretary of Ministry of Finance elected

to the 12-member board.

Union Finance Minister of India Arun Jaitley is the designated governor of the AIIB from the country.


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SBI Bank in News –

1. SBI launches FlexiPay Home Loan Scheme for

Professionals - State Bank of India introduced a new

home loan scheme ‘SBI FlexiPay Home Loan’ for young

working professionals/executives.

Under the scheme, borrowers will get higher loan

amount compared to their loan eligibility under

normal home loan schemes and they will also have

the option of step-up monthly repayments.

2. SBI opens first branch in South Korea - India’s

largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) today said it

has opened its first branch in Seoul, South Korea.

SBI is second Indian bank after Indian Overseas

Bank to have branch in South Korea. SBI already had a

representative office in Seoul.

3. SBI Launches First Dedicated Branch For Startups

InCube - The State Bank of India, has launched first

exclusive startup bank branch – SBI InCube in

Bangalore. It is a specialised branch to understand

and address banking needs of startups.

4. SBI Card launches SimplyCLICK credit card for online

shopping - in association with seven partners including

Amazon India, BookMyShow and Cleartrip.

ICICI Bank in News –

1. ICICI Bank opens its first branch in South Africa - ICICI Bank inaugurated its first full service branch at Sandton in Johannesburg becoming the first Indian private sector bank to open a branch in the African continent.

2. ICICI Bank has launched ‘Smart Vault’ first of its kind fully automated digital locker facility in India.

3. ICICI Bank has launched ‘ICICI Bank Saral-Rural Housing Loan’ Scheme for weaker sections of society.

Housing loan will be provided at the ICICI Bank Base Rate (known as I-Base) which is currently at 9.70%.

4. ICICI Bank launched its first branch in China: India's largest private sector bank, ICICI bank has launched its first branch in Shanghai, China, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Other Banking & Financial News -

5. India gets more voting rights in IMF reforms -

International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) long-

pending 2010 Quota and Governance Reforms

have finally become effective and came into effect

on 27 January 2016.

India’s voting rights increased by - 0.3% from

the current 2.3% to 2.6%.

China’s voting rights increased by - 2.2% from

current 3.8% to 6 %.

China will have the 3rd largest IMF quota and

voting share after the US and Japan.

6. Govt revises down 2014/15 GDP growth to 7.2%

y/y - Government revised down its annual economic

growth for the fiscal year that ended in March 2015 to

7.2 percent from 7.3 percent reported earlier.

7. HDFC Bank to sell loans to non-customers through

ATMs.

8. TranServ launches India’s first social mobile wallet

Udio - TranServ, a leading digital payments company,

has launched India’s 1st Social Mobile Wallet, Udio.

Udio Wallet integrates a social, community-driven

aspect with anytime, anywhere accessibility to digital

P2P (peer-to-peer) transactions via its secure and

seamless payment structure, creating a ubiquitous

ecosystem for both consumers and brands.

9. India to be fastest growing economy at 7.3% in

2016: United Nations.

10. Tech Mahindra launches contactless wallet

‘MoboMoney’ - Tech Mahindra has announced the

launch of ‘MoboMoney’, a first of its kind ‘Tap N Pay’

contactless digital payment solution for the Indian

masses.

MoboMoney is a prepaid wallet issued in the form of a

NFC (Near Field Communication) contactless tag that

could be used to ‘Tap N Pay’ for goods and services.

11. YES Bank commits $5 bn for climate action in India

- YES Bank, India’s fifth-largest private sector bank, has

announced mobilisation of $5 billion towards its

commitment to climate finance in India.

12. Banks need $140 billion to comply with Basel III

norms by FY19: Fitch


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Indian Banks will need about $140 billion to ensure

full compliance with the Basel III norms by 2018-19,

Fitch Ratings said.

13. SBT launches new initiative for faster release of

wages under MGNREGS - State Bank of Travancore

(SBT) has launched an electronic fund management

system for direct and faster release of wages under the

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment

Guarantee Scheme.

This scheme has been introduced in the country

for the first time and Kerala has been chosen for

the pilot project.

System (NeFMS) will enable direct and immediate

credit of wages into the accounts of the 21 lakh

beneficiaries (90% women) of MNREGS in all

districts of Kerala. Out of the above, about 50% of

the beneficiaries maintain accounts with SBT.

14. BankBazaar.com launches ‘One Loan Two Homes’

program - BankBazaar.com, an online financial

marketplace, has launched a new ‘One Loan Two

Homes’ program to help the flood-affected citizens of

Chennai.

15. ADB to fund $840-m corridor between Vizag,

Chennai - The Asian Development Bank will extend a

$625 million loan to the proposed $840 million

Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor.

16. China’s Yuan included in IMF’s SDR Basket –

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) decided to

include the Chinese Yuan in the basket of its elite

reserve currencies which is used to calculate the value

of the special drawing rights (SDRs).

Note: The Yuan, also known as the Renminbi, will

join the US dollar, euro, Japanese yen and British

pound next year from October 2016.

About Special Drawing Rights (SDR)

SDRs are supplementary foreign exchange reserve

assets defined and maintained by the International

Monetary Fund (IMF). Their value is based on a basket

of key international currencies reviewed by the IMF

every five years.

Note:

(i) SDR basket help countries defend against exchange

rate fluctuations. After inclusion of the Yuan, the SDR

will consist of five currencies viz., US dollar (41.73

percent weightage), euro (30.93), pound sterling

(8.09), Japanese yen (8.33) and Chinese Yuan (10.92

percent).

(ii) The weightage assigned to each currency in the

SDR basket are adjusted to take into account their

current share in international trade and national

foreign exchange reserves.

Why IMF Include Yuan in SDR Basket?

(i) China is the world’s second largest economy and its

share in global trade is rising.

(ii) The inclusion of the Renminbi will enhance the

attractiveness of the SDR by diversifying the basket

and making it more representative.

(iii) Due to various steps taken by the Chinese officials

like relaxing controls on foreign institutional investors

buying Chinese securities, easing restrictions on

interest rates and the exchange rate, allowing capital to

flow freely into and out of the just-launched Shanghai

Free Trade Zone and efforts to develop China’s money

and bond market.

(iv) China now has five offshore Yuan trading centres

viz., Hong Kong, London, Singapore, Taiwan and

Sydney.

(v) In 2013, the Yuan overtook the euro as the world’s

second-most used currency in traditional trade

finance.

(vi) Recently, HSBC estimated that the amount of

bonds denominated in Yuan sold outside China has

doubled each year since 2008.

17. Singapore replaced Mauritius as top source of FDI

into India

Singapore replaced Mauritius as top source of Foreign

Direct Investment (FDI) into India during April-

September of 2015-16 financial year.

Note: As per the data, between 15 April and 15

September 2015, India received 43096 crore rupees as

FDI from Singapore. In the same period FDI from

Mauritius was 23490 crore rupees.

18. Arvind Subramanian-led panel recommended

standard rate for GST at 17-18 % -

The Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian led

panel submitted its report on Possible Tax rates under

Goods and Services Tax (GST) to Finance Minister Arun

Jaitley.

The commission recommended standard rate for GST

at 17 to 18 percent, the rate at which most products

would likely be taxed.

19. ONGC joined World Bank’s Zero Routine Flaring by

2030 Initiative

The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited joined

Zero Routine Flaring by 2030 Initiative of the World

Bank on the sidelines of Conference of Parties-21

(COP-21) of UNFCCC in Paris.

Note: With this joining, ONGC has become the first

oil company from India to join the global initiative


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that is aimed at curbing routine gas flaring at oil

production sites around the world by 2030.

20. Farhan Akhtar appointed new brand ambassador of

IndusInd Bank.

21. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has been chosen as

'Finance Minister of the Year, Asia' by London-based

publication Emerging Markets.

22. EPFO raises maximum insurance cover to Rs 6 lakh

- Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)

substantially increased the maximum amount assured

under its Employees' Deposit Linked Insurance

Scheme (EDLI) to Rs 6 lakh from the existing Rs 3.6

lakh.

23. Cabinet allows 100 per cent FDI under automatic

route for white label ATMs operations, a move that is

aimed at promoting financial inclusion.

24. Axis Bank launched “LIME app”, a mobile phone

application offering wallet, shopping, payments and

banking facilities.

25. Gujarat tops in ease of doing business in India:

Gujarat has been placed to top position in World

Bank’s first ever ranking of States on the ease of doing

business in India.

Top 5 States: Gujarat (71.14%), Andhra Pradesh

(70.12%), Jharkhand (63.09%), Chhattisgarh (62.45%)

and Madhya Pradesh (62.00%).

26. ADB (Asian Development Bank) lowered India’s

Growth Forecast for 2016 from 7.8% to 7.4%

27. Union Government has decided to set up a Bank

Board Bureau (BBB) to monitor key performance

indicators of two dozen public sector banks (PSBs)

It was announced by Union Finance Minister Arun

Jailtley as part of a seven-pronged revamp plan for

PSBs dubbed as Indradhanush (rainbow) plan.

Key points –

(i) Bank Board Bureau (BBB) will start the functioning

from next financial year i.e. from 1st April 2016 and

the selection of its member will start in the next six

months.

(ii) It will replace existing system Appointments Board

in which appointments for top level jobs at PSBs are

made by an appointments committee led by the

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor.

(iii) Composition: The BBB will be a body of ’eminent’

professionals and shall consist of only one government

official. It will be six members body with at least 3

former bankers, 2 professionals and secretary,

department of financial services representing

government.

(iv)The board will give recommendations for

appointment of full-time Directors as well as non-

Executive Chairman of PSBs.

28. Axis Bank has launched the first Contactless Debit,

Credit and Multi-Currency Forex Card in association

with VISA payWave in the country.

29. Meghalaya achieves 100% financial inclusion

under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna.

30. New Bank Note Paper Line unit inaugurated by

Finance Minister Arun Jaitely in Hoshangabad,

Madhya Pradesh.

31. World Bank has approved an additional loan of 650 million dollars for India’s Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) Project. DFC Project aims at the faster delivery of goods between the northern and eastern parts of the country.

32. Axis Bank launched Ping Pay service for instant money transfer: With the help of this service, Axis bank customer can transfer or ask for cash, through various social media channels like Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter, Email list and phone contact list. The transaction limit is at Rs50,000 per day.

India’s GDP growth rate projected by different organisations for FY16

1. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) – 7.4% 2. United Nation – 7.5% 3. World Bank – 7.8%

4. IMF – 7.3% 5. ADB (Asian Development Bank) – 7.4% 6. Central Statistics Organisation (CSO) – 7.6%


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CURRENT AFFAIRS

New Appointments/ National

New Delhi Police Chief – Alok Kumar Verma

New Chairman of Chairman of The Energy and

Resources Institute (TERI) - Ashok Chawla. He

replaces B V Sreekantan.

New Secretary of Department of Industrial Policy and

Promotion (DIPP) - Ramesh Abhishek

New Executive Vice-Chairman of The Energy and

Resources Institute (TERI) - Rajendra K Pachauri

New Chief Justice of Bombay High Court - Justice

Dhirendra Hiralal Waghela

New DG of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) - Archana

Ramasundaram

Note: She became the first woman to head a

paramilitary force.

New DG of CRPF - K. Durga Prasad.

New DG of BSF - K.K. Sharma.

New Census Commissioner of India – Sailesh. He

replaces C Chandramauli.

Achyuta Samanta elected as General President of

105th Indian Science Congress

New Chairman of Internet and Mobile Association of

India (IAMAI) – Kunal Shah.

New Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes

(CBDT) - Atulesh Jindal. He replaces A K Jain.

New Mumbai Police Commissioner - Datta

Padsalgikar. He succeeds Ahmed Javed, who was

appointed as Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

New Chief Commissioner for Persons with

Disabilities - Kamlesh Kumar Pandey.

New Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of

National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Limited.

- Gurdeep Singh

New Telecom Secretary – J. S. Deepak. He replaces

Rakesh Garg.

New CEO of NITI Aayog - Amitabh Kant. He replaces

Sindhushree Khullar.

New CMD of BHEL - Atul Sobti

New DG of Police of Uttar Pradesh - Javed Ahmed

New CEO of Wipro - Abid Ali Neemuchwala.

New ambassador of Incredible India campaign -

Amitabh Bachchan

New Chairman of Competition Commission of India -

Devender Kumar Sikri

New DG of National Centre for Good Governance -

Dr Gyanendra D Bandgaiyan

Sam Pitroda appointed Technical Advisor to Odisha

government

New CEO of Flipkart - Binny Bansal

New Tata SIA Airlines Chairman - Bhaskar Bhat. He

replaced Prasad Menon

New MD & CEO of Tata Motors Ltd - Guenter

Butschek

New MD of Corporation Bank - J K Garg

New Chief Minister of Bihar - Nitish Kumar.

Senior JDU leader Nitish Kumar was sworn-in as Chief Minister of Bihar for the fifth time.

New Chief Information Commissioner - R K Mathur. He succeeds Vijai Sharma.

New Chief Justice of India - Justice Tirath Singh (TS) Thakur sworn in as 43rd Chief Justice of India. He succeeded incumbent Justice H L Dattu.

New President of FICCI - Harshavardhan Neotia. He succeeds Jyotsna Suri.

New Lokayukta Appointed New Lokayukta of Uttar Pradesh – Sanjay Mishra. New Lokayukta of Delhi - Justice Reva Khetrapa

Ambassador (Envoy) New Australia’s Envoy to India - Harinder Sidhu

New Indian Ambassador to Mexico - Muktesh Kumar Pardeshi. New Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia – Ahmed Javed (Mumbai Police Commissioner) New Indian ambassador to Pakistan - Gautam Bambawale. He replaced TCA Raghavan. New Indian ambassador to United Kingdom - Navtej Sarna. He succeeded Ranjan Mathai. New Indian ambassador to China - Vijay Gokhale. He replaces Ashok Kantha.


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Governor of States of India - 1. Jammu & Kashmir – N.N. Vohra (Narinder Nath

Vohra) 2. Arunachal Pradesh - J P Rajkhowa 3. Manipur - V Shanmuganthan gets additional charge of

Manipur. Present Governor of Manipur Syed Ahmed passed away.

4. Tripura - Keshari Nath Tripathi.

5. Bihar – Ram Nath Kovind.

6. Uttar Pradesh – Ram Naik

7. Himachal Pradesh - Acharya Dev Vrat.

8. Arunachal Pradesh - J P Rakkhowa

9. Meghalaya - V Shanmuganthan 10. Mizoram - Nirbhay Sharma 11. Jharkhand - Draupadi Murmu.

She is the first woman Governor of Jharkhand

Appointments/ International

Prime Minister

New PM of Burkina Faso's - Paul Kaba Thieba New PM of Georgia - Giorgi Kvirikashvili New PM of Canada - Justin Trudeau (second

youngest prime minister to serve Canada) New PM of Nepal – KP Sharma. New PM of Greece - Alexis Tsipras

New PM of Egypt - Sherif Ismail. New Pm of Australia - Malcolm Turnbull.

President

1st female President of Taiwan - Tsai Ing-wen New President of Portugal - Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa New President of Argentina - Mauricio Macri Blanco

He succeeded Cristina Elisabet Fernandez de Kirchner New President of Nepal - Bidhya Devi Bhandari

She is the first women president of Nepal. New President of Tanzania - John Pombe Magufuli First Female Vice – President of Tanzania - Samia

Suluhu

Others Appointment

New Vice – President of Asian Infrastructure

Investment Bank (AIIB) - DJ Pandian

Saroj Kumar Jha appointed as Senior Director in

World Bank.

New Director of the United Nations Information

Centre (UNIC) - Tamar Hahn

New Chairman of General Motors - Mary Barra. She

succeeds Tim Solso.

Indian-born Harjit Sajjan sworn-in as Defence

Minister of Canada

He succeeded Conservative Defence Minister Jason

Kenney.

New Goodwill Ambassador for the UN children’s

agency, UNICEF - Novak Djokovic.

New CEO of Google - Sundar Pichai. New India’s permanent representative in the UN -

Syed Akbaruddin. He replaces Asoke Mukerji.


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International Meets & Summits

Summits held/to be held in India

1. 103rd Indian Science Congress held in Mysuru, Karnataka – Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the

103rd edition of the Indian Science Congress (ISC) in Mysuru, Karnataka.

The theme of this edition of the Congress is “Science and Technology for Indigenous Development in India.”

2. 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (PBD) held in New Delhi.

3. 10th World Hindi Conference held in – Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Theme of the Conference is “Hindi Jagat: Vistar avm sambhavnai”.

International

1. World Economic Forum 2016 meeting held in

Davos, Switzerland. The official theme of the 2016 meeting is

“Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution”.

2. 15th G -20 Summit 2015– Antalya, Turkey Women G20 Summit 2015 – Istanbul, Turkey The focus of the W20 is to enhance the role of

women in business. Gulden Turktan was appointed as the first

president of the group. She is one of the founders and President of the

Women Entrepreneurs' Association in Turkey (KAGIDER), and is currently a member of its Executive Board.

16th G -20 Summit 2016 - China 17th G -20 Summit 2017 - Germany G20 Members: Argentina, Australia, Brazil,

Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and European Union.

3. 7th BRICS Summit 2015 – Ufa, Russia.

Theme of the summit - BRICS Partnership – a Powerful Factor of Global Development.

8th BRICS summit 2016 - New Delhi, India Note: BRICS nations include - Brazil, Russia,

India, China and South Africa.

4. Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit

2015 held in – Ufa, Russia Note: India and Pakistan to become full member of

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) by 2016.

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation – Head office – Beijing, China

Member’s countries - China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

5. 41st G7 Summit 2015 - Elmau, Germany. Theme of

the summit - Think Ahead. Act Together. Note: G 7 nations include - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, U.K., US, and the European Commission (EC). EC is a permanently welcome participant in all meetings and decision-making since 1981. Future Summits to be held in – The 42nd G7 Summit 2016 – Japan The 43rd G7 Summit 2017 – Italy The 44th G7 Summit 2018 – Canada

6. 19th SAARC Summit 2016 - Islamabad, Pakistan.

Note: 18th SAARC Summit held in Kathmandu, Nepal in 2014. .

7. 4thNuclear security summit 2016 – United States.


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India ranking in various sectors –

1. India largest recipient of World Bank loans over 70 years According to the Bank’s lending report, India is the

largest recipient of loans from the World Bank, amounting to $102.1 billion, between 1945 and 2015 (as on July 21, 2015).

India is followed by Brazil ($58.8 billion), China ($55.6 billion), Mexico ($54 billion) and Indonesia ($50.5 billion).

2. India ranks first in business optimism: Report India ranks first in business optimism, according

to Grant Thornton International Business Report, a quarterly global survey of 2,580 business leaders across 36 nations.

India was followed by Ireland (88%) and the Philippines (84%).

3. India home to 2.36 lakh millionaires: report According to the Asia Pacific 2016 Wealth Report,

by New World Wealth, India was ranked among

the top five Asia-Pacific countries in terms of the

number of high net worth individuals (HNWIs).

India is home to the fourth largest population of millionaires in the Asia-Pacific region, with 2.36 lakh such high net worth individuals, while Japan topped the list with 12.60 lakh people.

China ranked second with 654,000 HNWIs and Australia was at the third place had 290,000.

4. India among top 5 most promising markets globally – According to the annual Global CEO survey of

consultancy giant PwC, India has emerged as one of the five most promising markets for businesses globally as it offers one of the best opportunities for both domestic as well as global companies.

The top five markets considered as most important for overall growth prospects by the respondents are USA, China, Germany, the UK and India.

5. India ranks 97th on Forbes’ best countries for business list – • India ranked 97th out of 144 nations, on Forbes’ annual list of the best countries for business in 2015,

scoring poorly on metrics like trade and monetary freedom and tackling challenges like corruption and violence. Note: Denmark topped the list of the 144 nations on the

Best Countries of Business in 2015 list by Forbes. The US ranked 22nd continuing a six-year descent

since 2009 when it had ranked second overall. The United Kingdom ranked at no. 10, Japan at No

23. Germany ranked 18th and China ranked 94.

6. India ranked 130 out of 189 in ease of doing business: World Bank The 2016 report titled, Measuring Regulatory

Quality and Efficiency says that more than 60 percent of World’s Economies improved their business rules in 2015. Note: The report ranked Singapore as first on ease of doing business while Eritrea has been ranked last at 189th position.

Top 5 countries - Singapore (1), New Zealand (2); Denmark (3); Republic of Korea (4); Hong Kong SAR, China (5);

7. India is World’s largest remittance recipient: World Bank World Bank announced that India is the World’s

largest remittance recipient. It was revealed in the Migration and Development Brief that conveyed recent trends in remittance flows and migration across the world.

As per the report, remittances to India are projected to increase by 2.5 percent in 2015, well above the 0.6 percent increase in 2014.

8. India becomes world’s 7th most valued nation

brand: Report

India was placed at 7th position in world’s most valuable nation brands report among the 100 assessed nations. It was revealed in recently released annual report compiled by Brand Finance.

Top 7 countries: United States, China, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, France and India.


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India’s rank in different indexes 1. Consumer Confidence Index 2016 – 1st

India maintains top spot in Consumer Confidence

Index. India was followed by the Philippines, Indonesia

and Thailand.

2. US Chamber Intellectual Property index –

India is placed at a poor second last position at

37/38 in the US Chamber of Commerce’s latest IP

index.

Venezuela finished last and United States ranked

first in the annual index.

3. 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index – 76th.

(Denmark is the world’s least corrupt country).

4. Global Talent Competitiveness Index – 89th

(Switzerland topped the list)

5. World Human Development Index 2015– 130 (Norway

tops the list)

6. Global Competitiveness Index 2015 – 55

Note: Switzerland, Singapore and the US are at the top

of the Global Competitiveness Index, which profiles

140 economies.

7. Investor Protection Index – 8th

8. Environmental Democracy Index 2015 – 24

Note: The index is topped by Lithuania at the first

position, Latvia at the second and Russia at the third

position.

9. World Press freedom Index 2015 – 136

Note: Finland on the first position followed by Norway

and Denmark.

10. FM Global Resilience Index 2015 – 119 (Norway

topped the index.)

11. World Hunger List 2015 - India tops in World Hunger

List.

12. World Happiness index 2015 – 117

Note: Switzerland topped the index and followed by

Iceland, Denmark, Norway and Canada.

Syria ranked last (158), making it the least happy

country in the world.

Important Committees

1. Kamlesh Chandra Committee - to examine the wage

structure, service conditions of the Gramin Dak Sevaks

(GDS) in the Department of Posts (DoP).

2. Adam Lewis Panel - to safeguard integrity in

International tennis.

3. Shyam Benegal Committee - to look into revamp the

film certification nuances by Central Board of Film

Censors (CBFC).

4. RM Lodha Committee - on the IPL betting scandal.

5. Dr T K Viswanathan Committee - on Bankruptacy

Law Reforms

6. A P Shah committee - to look into the dispute

between Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited

(ONGC) and Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on

Krishna Godavari (KG) gas fields.

7. L Narasimha Reddy Committee - to look into the

implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP)

scheme for the ex-servicemen.

8. Arvind Subramanian Committee - on Possible Tax

rates under Goods and Services Tax (GST)

9. MB Shah Committee - on Black Money

10. RV Easwar Committee - to simplify the provisions of

the Income Tax Act, 1961.

11. T Haque committee - NITI Aayog constituted T Haque Expert Group on Land Leasing

12. R Gandhi committee - recommended conversion of Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) with business size of 20,000 crore rupees or more into regular banks.

13. Deepak Mohanty committee – to frame action plan on financial inclusion.

14. A P Shah committee – A high level committee on the controversial issue of payment of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) by foreign institutional investors.

15. Vijay Kelkar committee: on Revisiting and Revitalizing the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Model of Infrastructure Development.

16. AK Bhargava committee: to look into the issues of "Net neutrality".


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National News

1. Mysuru India’s cleanest city among 73 cities –

Msuru has emerged as the cleanest city for the

second year in a row while Chandigarh,

Tiruchirapalli , the New Delhi Municipal

Council and Visakhapatnam make up the top five.

The other in the dirty list included Dhanbad,

Asansol, Patna, Meerut, Raipur, Ghaziabad,

Jamshedpur, Kalyan Dombivilli and Itanagar.

Top 5 cleanest cities in India

1. Mysuru 2. Chandigarh

3. Tiruchirapalli 4. New Delhi Municipal Council

5. Visakhapatnam

2. India sets target to eliminate malaria by 2030 -

India has set a target to eliminate malaria disease

by 2030 and will allocate infrastructure and

financial resources towards this task.

Launching the National Framework for Malaria

Elimination (NFME) 2016-2030, which outlines

India’s strategy for elimination of the disease by

2030.

3. Vizag to be first major port to run on solar energy –

Vizag port in Andhra Pradesh is set to run its

entire operations on solar power from next

month thus it will be the first to run operations on

solar energy.

VPT, which has recently commissioned 2MW

solar power plants with in investment of ₹60

crore, will be adding another 8 MW capacity in

about a month from now.

4. Gujarat to have India’s first disabled-friendly

beach –

Gujarat has launched its latest project on making

beaches more inclusive for the disabled. The

Tithal beach in Valsad district is all set to become

the first disabled-friendly beach in India.

The Tithal Beach is the most popular tourist spot

in Gujarat with an average of thousand visitors on

a weekly basis. People with disability were

missing out on the experience, as it is an arduous

task to negotiate a wheelchair on sand.

5. Maharashtra tops Internet readiness index: report

Maharashtra has emerged as the top ranking

state in terms of the overall Internet readiness

index, followed by Karnataka, Gujarat,

Telengana and Tamil Nadu, according to a

report released by the Internet and Mobile

Association of India (IAMAI).

Among the smaller states, Delhi has emerged

as the topmost state in terms of Internet

readiness index, followed by Puducherry and

Goa.

Among the Union Territories, Chandigarh is

ranked at the top in terms of Internet readiness

index.

6. India records highest Milk production worldwide -

India has retained its position as the world’s highest

milk producing country.

7. National Deworming Day observed on 10th

February.

8. IRCTC awarded national innovation award -

IRCTC’s new version of the Next Generation e-

Ticketing System (NGET) was awarded gold national

award for e-governance 2015-16 in the category of

“Innovative Use of ICT by Central Government PSUs”.

9. National Arogya Fair-2016 held at Dehradun in

Uttarakhand.

10. Govt approves over Rs 4,087 crore aid to seven

drought-hit states – Government approved central

assistance of over Rs 4,087 crore to seven states

affected by drought.

The committee approved over Rs 1177 crore for

Rajasthan, 17,73 crore for Tamil Nadu, Rs 280

crore for Andhra Pradesh, 337 crore for

Jharkhand, 332 crore for Assam, 170 crore for

Himachal Pradesh and Rs 16 crore for Nagaland.

11. Abu Dhabi Crown Prince arrives in India - Crown

Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander

of UAE armed forces Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayad Al

Nahayan arrived India.

12. India’s first aviation park to open in Gujarat –

India is set to open its first ever aviation park in

Gujarat which will include an airstrip, training

school, helipad and space for setting up small

manufacturing units among others.

13. IIT – M tie up with Nokia for rural net connectivity -

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M), has

tied up with Nokia for three years to create technology

solutions which, in turn, will help enhance broadband

connectivity in rural India.

14. National Organic Farming Research Institute to be

set up in Sikkim –

The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers

Welfare decided to set up the National Organic

Farming Research Institute in Sikkim.


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The setting up of the institute is of primary

importance for Sikkim as it was declared as the

first organic farming State in the country in

January 2016 by the Prime Minister Narendra

Modi.

15. India’s first fully solar-powered educational

institute opened in Puducherry.

16. CSIR launched India’s first ayurvedic anti-diabetic

drug – BGR-34

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research

(CSIR) launched the country’s first anti-diabetic

ayurvedic drug for type two Diabetes mellitus.

The drug was launched by Senior Principal

Scientist, CSIR-NBRI, Dr A K S Rawat in at a

function in Kozhikode, Kerala.

The drug BGR-34 is developed jointly by National

Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) and Central

Institute for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants

(CIMAP), the Lucknow-based research units of

CSIR.

17. India Develops World’s First Zika Vaccine

Bharat Biotech, Hyderabad based vaccines and

bio-therapeutic manufacturer, claimed to have

achieved a breakthrough in developing a vaccine

to fight the dreaded mosquito-borne Zika virus,

which causes serious birth defects in children.

Note: Zika virus is spread by mosquitoes of the

Aedes genus, which can breed in a pool of water

as small as a bottle cap and usually bite during the

day. The mosquito-transmitted infection is

related to Dengue, Yellow Fever and West Nile

virus.

18. TCS becomes world’s most powerful IT Services

brand –

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s top IT

services and consulting company said that it has

been rated as the world’s most powerful brand in

IT Services by Brand Finance, the world’s leading

brand valuation firm.

TCS emerged as the IT services industry’s most

powerful brand with a score of 78.3 points –

earning it an AA+ rating.

Across all industries, Disney was rated as the

most powerful brand and Apple as the most

valuable brand for 2016.

19. India becomes world’s largest exporter of Rice -

India has overtaken Thailand as the world’s largest

rice exporter in 2015, shipping 10.23 million

tonnes in the year 2015 as compared to

Thailand’s 9.8 million tons.

Vietnam was ranked third largest rice exporter

with 6.4 million tonnes.

In terms of imports, China remains the number

one importer of rice.

20. Govt. releases list of 20 smart cities –

The Union government announced the names of

the first 20 urban areas that will be developed as

smart cities.

Budget of Rs 50,802 crores has been proposed in

selected smart cities and towns during the five-

year period.

There are five capital cities among the 20 smart

cities chosen which are as follows –

1. Bhubaneswar 2. Pune 3. Jaipur

4. Surat 5. Kochi 6. Ahmedabad

7. Jabalpur 8. Vishakapatnam 9. Sholapur

10. Davangere 11. Indore

12. New Delhi (New Delhi municipal council area)

13. Coimbatore 14. Kakinada

15. Belagavi 16. Udaipur

17. Guwahati 18. Chennai

19. Ludhiana 20. Bhopal

21. India Celebrates 67th Republic Day -

India celebrates its 67th Republic Day with

President Francois Hollande as the chief guest

It was the fifth time a French president has been

chief guest, the biggest honour India can bestow on

a foreign leader.

Army dogs march after 26 years in R-day.

First time an All-women stunt contingent - For the

first time, all women CRPF contingent performed

at Republic Day parade. They showed their

motorcycle stunts.

French army first foreign contingent

participate at R – day - Soldiers of French Army’s

35th Infantry Regiment, which was Led by Lt Col

Paul created history by marching down the

Rajpath during the Republic Day parade, becoming

the first foreign military contingent to take part in

the celebrations.

22. India’s first blind friendly train flagged off from

Mysuru to Varanasi.

Note:

The Mysuru-Varanasi Express will be the first in

the country where all reserved coaches have

embedded Braille signage.


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Mysore Railway station is the first blind friendly

station.

23. Prime Minister Narendra Modi becomes the second

most followed Indian on Twitter. His following of

17.4 million stands close to Amitabh Bachan, who has

18.9 million followers. Shah Rukh Khan takes the third

spot with his 17,351,100 followers.

24. Google Launches First Public Wifi Service in India

Google, in partnership with Indian Railways,

launched its first free high-speed public WiFi

service in the country at the Mumbai Central

Railway Station.

The service will be made available next in

Allahabad, Patna, Jaipur, and Ranchi.

25. Andhra Pradesh tops in implementing MGNREGA

for 2014-15 - Andhra Pradesh has topped in the

country in implementing the Mahatma Gandhi National

Rural Employment Guarantee Act for the 2014-2015 in

category of transparency and accountability.

26. India’s largest and tallest tricolour hoisted at Ranchi,

Jharkhand.

27. In Maharashtra, the first Solar Power operated Mini-

Water Supply Plant in the state has been

commissioned in Hingna village of Mouda Taluka in

Nagpur district.

28. 11th World Hindi Day observed on 10 January

29. Coca Cola to launch dairy drinks in India - Coca-Cola

beverage giant announced that it will launch milk –

based beverages under the brand name “Vio”.

30. The Government signed an 80million US dollar loan

agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB)

to continue improving infrastructure in Agartala and

Aizwal.

31. IRCTC announces new rule for online ticket

booking - Railway Ministry announced a new rule for

booking of online tickets through the IRCTC website,

further reducing the maximum number of ticket

bookings allowed by an individual user to 6 from the

current 10 in a month.

32. Govt bans zero duty import of capital goods for

power plants - The government today banned duty-

free import of capital goods for power generation and

transmission projects under the EPCG Scheme.

The Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) scheme

allows import of capital goods for pre-production,

production and post-production at zero Custom duty.

33. Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur is the world’s

best hotel –

According to travel website TripAdvisor, Umaid

Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur is the world’s best hotel

of 2016.

Top 5 hotels for 2016 according to TripAdvisor

members:

Umaid Bhawan Palace Jodhpur – Jodhpur, India

Shinta Mani Resort – Siem Reap, Cambodia

Bellevue Syrene – Sorrento, Italy

Hanoi La Siesta Hotel & Spa – Hanoi, Vietnam

Achtis Hotel – Afitos, Greece

34. Kerala becomes 1st state to achieve 100% primary

education - This has been achieved through the

primary education equivalency drive of the state

literacy mission — Athulyam.

35. PayPal ties-up with Shopmatic for cross-border

transactions - Digital payments firm PayPal has tied up

with ecommerce platform solutions provider

Shopmatic to enable its merchants to expand their

sales globally. This is PayPal’s first tie-up with an

Indian partner.

36. Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes (CIRB) in

Hisar becomes India’s second centre to produce a

cloned buffalo ‘Cirb Gaurav’.

37. Telangana become the first State in the country to

introduce compulsory gender education at the

graduate level.

Note: In this regard, state government has introduced

bilingual textbook titled ‘Towards a World of Equals’

on a pilot basis in engineering colleges. These

engineering colleges are affiliated to the Jawaharlal

Nehru Technological University (JNTU-Hyderabad).

38. Sikkim becomes India’s first organic state. Sikkim

has become India’s first fully organic state by

implementing organic practices on around 75,000

hectares of agricultural land.

39. Govt. of India signs loan agreement with WB for

watershed project

The government signed a loan agreement with the

World Bank for the Rs 2,142 Crore Neeranchal

National Watershed Project, which is expected to

increase the productivity of agriculture in the

country.

The project to be implemented by the Ministry of

Rural Development over a six-year period from

2016 to 2021 will support the Pradhan Mantri

Krishi Sinchayi Yojana in hydrology and water

management, agricultural production systems,

capacity building and monitoring and evaluation.


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The loan credit will support the watershed

activities of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee

Yojana (PMKSY) in selected sites in 9 states. These

states are Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,

Telangana, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra,

Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan.

40. MP state govt. inks MoU with IFC for World’s

largest Solar Plant

The Madhya Pradesh government has inked a pact

with International Finance Corporation (IFC),

member of the World Bank Group, to set up the

world’s largest solar energy plant with a capacity

of 750 MW.

The Rewa Ultra-Mega Solar Power Project will be

set up in Gurh tehsil of Rewa district over an area

of 1,500 hectares at an estimated cost of Rs 4,500

crore.

41. BHEL commissioned the second 660 MW

supercritical unit of Lalitpur Super Thermal Power

Project (STPP) in Uttar Pradesh.

Note: Last month, BHEL has successfully

commissioned the first unit of 3×660 MW Prayagraj

Super Thermal Power Project (STPP) at Bara in

Allahabad district of Uttar Pradesh.

42. World Bank to fund a zoo in Andhra Pradesh -

In Andhra Pradesh for the first time World Bank

will be funding a zoo.

Hudhud-ravaged Indira Gandhi Zoological Park in

Visakhapatnam will be funded seven million

dollars for restoration and development as a

world-class international ecological park by the

World Bank.

43. Somnath Temple to invest in Gold Monetisation

Scheme - Somnath Temple Trust is all set to become

first temple from Gujarat to deposit its idle gold in the

Gold Monetization Scheme.

44. India’s first radio taxi service for the Lesbian Gay

Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) community, Wings

Rainbow, was flagged off in Mumbai.

45. Mumbai, Delhi figure in world’s top-30 ‘super

cities’ –

Two Indian cities — Delhi and Mumbai — have

made it to a top-30 list of the world’s most

powerful, productive and connected cities.

India’s financial capital Mumbai has been ranked

22nd while the national capital Delhi is placed at

24th.

The list is topped by Tokyo, which along with

New York, London and Paris, make the top four

‘super cities’ These four were the destination of

over 50 per cent of all foreign capital invested in

the Global Top 30 cities.

46. Arunima Sinha, the amputee mountaineer who set a

record by climbing the Mount Everest, has added

another feather in her cap by conquering Mount

Aconcagua in Argentina.

47. Friendship bus service between India-Nepal

resumes - A friendship bus service between India and

Nepal was flagged off via Champawat district in

Uttarakhand after a gap of 27 years.

48. Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs to merge with

MEA –

Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the long-

awaited merger of the Ministry of Overseas Indian

Affairs (MOIA) with the Ministry of External Affairs

(MEA).

49. Ministry of Railways flagged off first double decker

Goa-Mumbai train

Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu flagged off the first

Goa to Mumbai double-decker Shatabdi train through

video conference from Panaji, Goa.

The fully air-conditioned double-decker train is the

first-of-its-kind in India.

50. First India International Science Festival began at

IIT-Delhi

51. Union Government approved setting up of 6 new

IITs

The Union Cabinet approved setting up of six new

Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in Andhra

Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Goa, Jammu, Kerala and

Karnataka.

52. Union Finance Ministry launched E-Sahyog Pilot

Project to facilitate Taxpayers

The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley launched the

e-Sahyog pilot project of the Income-Tax Department

to facilitate taxpayers by reducing their need to

physically appear before tax authorities.

53. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid the

foundation stone of fourth terminal of country’s

largest container port – Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust

(JNPT) in Mumbai.

54. The World Bank approved a 1.5 billion US dollar

loan for the ambitious Clean India Campaign (Swachh

Bharat Mission).

The loan was granted to support the government in its

efforts to ensure all citizens in rural areas have access

to improved sanitation and end the practice of open

defecation by 2019.


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55. Hetero became first Indian company to receive

DGCI’s approval for hepatitis C drug

Hyderabad-based Hetero Drugs announced that it

received the approval of Drug Controller General of

India (DCGI) to launch fixed-dose combination therapy

Ledipasvir-Sofosbuvir. The product will be available

under the brand name Ledisof in India.

With this approval, Hetero became the first

company in the country to get approval from DGCI

to launch hepatitis C medicines.

56. Asia’s biggest telescope Multi-Application Solar

Telescope (MAST) inaugurated at the Udaipur Solar

Observatory in Rajasthan.

57. Union Cabinet gives nod to 3 new AIIMS -

3 AIIMS will be established at Nagpur (Maharashtra),

Manglagiri (Andhra Pradesh) and Kalyani in West

Bengal.

International News -

1. Sindh becomes first Pakistan province to adopt

Hindu Marriage Bill

Pakistan’s Sindh Assembly passed the Hindu

Marriage Bill making the province the first in the

country to allow the minority community to

register their marriages, amid calls from a leading

Hindu group to remove a controversial clause in

the landmark bill.

The bill fixes the minimum age of marriage at 18.

2. World’s largest concentrated solar plant opened

in Morocco -

The Noor Ouarzazate Solar Complex, world’s

largest solar power plant opened in the Souss-

Massa-Drâa area in Morocco.

The plant holds the capacity to produce enough

energy to power over one million homes by 2018

and reduce carbon emissions by an estimated

760000 tons per year.

3. France became first country in the world to ban

supermarket food waste

The French Senate unanimously passed a law to

ban large food stores from throwing away food

that is approaching its expiration date.

The National Assembly, France’s other

legislative chamber, had unanimously voted on

the same measures in December 2015.

4. India become the second largest smartphone

market -

India has surpassed the US to become the

largest smartphone market in the world after

China, by number of units sold, as the availability

of 4G handsets fueled demand, a new report has

revealed.

5. India becomes Associate Member of EMBO

India officially became the Associate Member

State of European Molecular Biology Organisation

(EMBO).

India is second country outside the European

region to be an Associate Member State of EMBO.

First one being Singapore which had signed such

agreement with European Molecular Biology

Conference (EMBC) in 2015.

Note:

EMBO is a professional organization of life

scientists in Europe, which was founded in

1964 and its head office located at Heidelberg,

Germany.

It promotes research in life science and

enables international exchange of scientific

information between scientists.

6. World Cancer Day observed on 4th February 2016.

The day was observed with year’s theme – We can. I

can.

7. WHO declares Zika virus outbreak as

International Emergency

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has

declared an international public health

emergency over the explosive spread of the

mosquito-borne Zika virus.

WHO has predicted that around four million

people may be infected with Zika virus in the

Americas (South and North America).

Zika virus is a mosquito-borne virus transmitted

by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

It is close cousin of other other vector-borne

diseases like Dengue, Chikungunya and Yellow

Fever transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes .


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The virus was first identified in 1947 in Uganda

and its name has been derived from Zika Forest.

8. Vietnam inaugurated the world’s longest three-

rope cable car system in Lao Cai province. With a

total length of 6,292.5 metres, the system was

recognized by the Guinness World Records as the

world’s longest three-rope cable car route, and also

the world’s biggest height gap between its departure

and arrival stations of 1,410 metres.

9. Vietnam lifted ban on import of Indian groundnut.

10. Priyanka Chopra to present at the Oscars -

Bolywood actress Priyanka Chopra is all set to

present at the upcoming 88th Academy Awards.

Priyanka becomes the sole representative of India at

this year’s Oscar ceremony. The country’s official

entry in the best foreign film category for the Oscars

2016, ‘Court’ could not make it to the final five.

11. Alphabet becomes The Most Valuable Public

Company in the World –

Google’s parent company Alphabet surpassed

Apple to become the most valuable U.S. traded

company in the world.

Alphabet became the most valuable publicly-

traded company in the world — coming in at a

market cap $558 billion after jumping about 8%

after the company reported its fourth-quarter

earnings, and passing Apple, which sits at a

market cap of $535 billion.

12. Denmark is the world’s least corrupt country.

Denmark has emerged as the least corrupt country in

the world for a fourth consecutive year, according to

the non-governmental organisation Transparency

International.

Finland and Sweden ranked second and third

respectively on the 2015 Corruption

Perceptions Index, while North Korea and

Somalia were named the most corrupt out of 196

nations.

India rank at 76th spot on the list.

13. Bill Gates is the richest person on earth - According

to new Wealth-X data on the world’s 50 richest people

– Bill Gates is the richest person in the world with a

net worth of $87.4 billion.

The 5 Richest People in the World

1. Bill Gates 2. Amancio Ortega 3. Warren

Buffett 4. Jeff Bezos 5. David Koch

14. Germany the ‘best country in the world’. Germany

is the best country in the world, according to new

analysis unveiled at the World Economic Forum in

Davos.

The first-ever Best Countries report awarded Germany the top spot “in part because of its strong economy, world influence and its focus on key global issues, such as the migrant crisis and eurozone unity.

The top 5 countries in the world Germany Canada United Kingdom United States Sweden Australia

Best place to start a career China Germany U.S.

Best place to start a business Thailand Malaysia Philippines

Best place to invest in India Singapore Vietnam

15. Denmark named world’s best country for women - Denmark is the best country in the world for women to live in, according to a survey conducted by American media company US News and World Report. List of Top 5 countries - Denmark, Sweden, Canada, the Netherlands and Australia

16. PM Modi Second most popular world leader on FB - Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become the second most popular leader on the social networking website Facebook. PM Narendra Modi has over 31 million fans on his personal Narendra Modi page. Note: US President Barack Obama is the most popular leader in the world. The US President has over 46 million likes on his Facebook page.

17. World’s largest blue star sapphire discovered in Sri Lanka.

18. China’s country code domain “.cn” becomes world’s

largest - China’s country code domain ‘.cn’ has

become the world’s most commonly used in the

internet with 16.36 million users, surpassing

Germany’s ‘.de’ domain.

19. Nepal elected as UNICEF’s executive board term member for 2016-2018 - Nepal has been elected to the UNICEF Executive Board, representing the group of Asia-Pacific countries for the term 2016-2018. Nepal’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN Durga Prasad Bhattarai, has also been unanimously elected as Vice-President to the Bureau


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of the Executive Board, according to Nepal’s Permanent Mission to the UN in New York.

20. 2016 to be China – India Tourism Year: China - The

China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) has

announced 2016 as the ‘China – India Tourism Year’

in India.

21. Indra Nooyi becomes Yale’s biggest alumni donor

- Indra Nooyi, the Indian-born PepsiCo Chairperson &

CEO, has become the Yale School of Management’s

biggest alumni donor with a ‘landmark gift’ to endow

the deanship at her alma mater.

22. UN launched 2016 International Year of Pulses Under the slogan ‘nutritious seeds for a sustainable future,’ the United Nations, led by its Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), launched the 2016 International Year of Pulses. The aim is to raise awareness about the protein power and health benefits of all kinds of dried beans and peas, boost their production and trade, and encourage new and smarter uses throughout the food chain.

23. Philippines became first Asian country to approve world’s first-ever dengue vaccine Philippines became the first Asian country to approve the sale of the world’s first-ever dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia. The Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration approved the dengue vaccine for the prevention of disease caused by all four dengue types in individuals from 9 to 45 years old living in endemic areas. Note: (i) Earlier Dengvaxia, manufactured by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, secured its first regulatory approval in Mexico. (ii) Sanofi is a French multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Paris, France.

24. Zimbabwe adopt Chinese Yuan as legal currency after debt cancellation Zimbabwe has announced that it will adopt the Chinese currency as legal tender. The announcement came after China cancelled $40-million (U.S.) in Zimbabwean debt earlier this week.

25. List of Fortune 500 Indian companies 2015 announced Indian Oil Corporation has retained its position

on the top spot for the sixth consecutive year which is followed by Reliance Industries in the list of Fortune 500 Indian companies 2015.

IOC tops the chart with an annual revenue of Rs 4,51,911 crore, while Mukesh Ambani-led RIL’s full-year revenue is Rs 3,82,565 crore.

List of Top 5 Indian companies – (i) IOC (ii) Reliance Industries Ltd. (iii) Tata Motors (iv) SBI

(v) Bharat Petroleum 26. PM Narendra Modi inaugurates new building of

Afghanistan Parliament in Kabul Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the

new building of Afghanistan Parliament in the capital city Kabul built by India.

It was inaugurated during Narendra Modi’s first official visit to Afghanistan after becoming Prime Minister.

He also named one block of Parliament as Atal Block after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Prime Minister also handed over 4 Mi-25 attack helicopters to Afghanistan Air Force symbolising a shift in India’s position on supplying ‘offensive’ equipment.

27. India to build Naval Base on Seychelles Island Seychelles government allowed India to build its first Naval Base on the Assumption Island in the Indian Ocean region (IOR) as a joint project between both countries. Note: India’s first Naval Base project has acquired significance following China acquiring its first African naval base in Djibouti (near Horn of Africa) in November 2014.

28. TIME Magazine named German Chancellor Merkel as 2015 ‘Person of the Year’ German Chancellor Angela Merkel was named as 2015 Person of the Year by Time Magazine. The magazine cited her role in Europe’s crisis over migration and Greek debt.

29. World Trade Organisation (WTO) approved Afghanistan’s membership terms to join as 164th member

30. 1st December: World AIDS Day The theme for year 2015 is ‘Getting to zero, End AIDS by 2030‘.

31. Google officially becomes Alphabet Inc. Internet Search engine giant Google has officially has converted into new parent company Alphabet Inc.

32. Mexico Government approves world’s 1st Dengue fever vaccine named Dengvaxia Note: Dengvaxia has been manufactured by French pharmaceutical manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur.

33. Myanmar launched its first UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Inle Lake

34. Myanmar inaugurated Yangon Stock Exchange 35. Myanmar inaugurated a new stock exchange, named

Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX), with plans for six companies to start trading in March 2016.

36. UNESCO designated Varanasi and Jaipur as members of Creative Cities Network Varanasi and Jaipur made it to the network in the categories, City of Music and City of Crafts and Folk Art respectively.


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37. 10 November: World Science Day for Peace and Development The theme for 2015 is Science for a Sustainable Future.

38. Forbes list of World's Most Powerful People 2015 released 1. Russian President Vladimir Putin 2. German Chancellor Angela Merkel 3. US President Barack Obama 9. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi

39. Punjabi became third most common language, after

English and French in Parliament of Canada 40. Nepal signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

with China in order to ease fuel crisis in the country by importing all kinds of fuel.

41. Luxembourg became the 10th country to ratify Articles of Agreement (AoA) of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

42. PM Narendra Modi is world's 13th most influential person: Bloomberg Note: The list of 50 most influential people is topped by Federal Reserve chairperson Janet Yellen, followed by Chinese President Xi Jinping on the second position with Apple CEO Tim Cook occupying the third slot.

43. Germany offers India 2 billion euros for solar energy projects and clean energy corridor.

44. Cow becomes national animal of Nepal Theme 2015 - Social Protection and Agriculture’.

45. 11 October: International Day of Girl Child 2015 theme: ‘The Power of the Adolescent Girl: Vision for 2030’.

46. World Egg Day - 9 October 2015 47. September 21: International Day of Peace

The theme for the year 2015 is Partnerships for Peace- Dignity for All.

48. India to be world’s most populous country by

2022: UN: According to the report, India will surpass

China to become the most populous nation in the

world by 2022.

49. World’s first malaria vaccination approved: The shot, called RTS,S or Mosquirix, would be the first licensed human vaccine against a parasitic disease and could help prevent millions of cases of malaria in countries that use it. The vaccine was developed by British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in partnership with the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative.

50. Bangladesh became first country to receive funds

from UN for Solar Home Systems.

News around the States

Andhra Pradesh

1. AP Govt. launched Giriputrika Kalyana Pathakam

Scheme for tribal people - The Andhra Pradesh

Government launched Giriputrika Kalyana Pathakam

Scheme to support the tribal women in their quest for

livelihood. It is designed to provide a onetime financial

assistance of 50000 rupees to each tribal woman who

gets married.

2. AP Govt. signed MoU with Microsoft India on technology initiatives Government of Andhra Pradesh signed a

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft India on a range of technology initiatives.

The purpose of the MoU is to improve use of information and communication technologies, drive digital inclusion and provide IT-based decentralised citizen services.

3. Country’s first underwater tunnel to be come up in Andhra Pradesh India’s first underwater tunnel to be come up in

Andhra Pradesh. The proposed riverfront capital city of Andhra

Pradesh is all set to get an underwater tunnel in river Krishna.

As per the detailed master plan for the upcoming capital Amaravati, the transparent road tunnel will connect the administrative capital with Vijayawada.

4. Four new Greenfield Airports to come up in Andhra Pradesh & Gujarat - The Centre has given its clearance for four greenfield airports — three in Andhra Pradesh and an international airport at Dholera in Gujarat. Three of the total four greenfield airports will be

set up in Andhra Pradesh. Bhogapuram, a town around 40 kilometre from Andhra Pradesh’s capital Visakhapatnam, will host one such airport.

Two other airports will come up in Kurnool and Nellore districts in Andhra Pradesh.

5. Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, BHEL has

commissioned a 520-MW coal-based thermal power

unit in Andhra Pradesh.

6. Andhra Pradesh became the first state of India to join the Union Government’s Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY). The scheme aims at reviving debt-stressed power distribution companies. Other states to join UDAY scheme are Jharkhand (second state) and Rajasthan (third state).


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7. Andhra Pradesh launches e-Pragati scheme to bring all government services under one roof.

Arunachal Pradesh 1. President rule imposed in Arunachal Pradesh. Assam – 1. PM inaugurates petrochemical plant in Dibrugarh –

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited (BCPL) at Lepetkata, Assam.

It is the first ever petro-chemical plant located in the entire North-Eastern region of Indian. It has been built at cost of 10000-crore rupees and shall be producing raw material for manufacturing plastic

Bihar – 1. Bihar Cabinet approved 35 % reservation for

women in govt. jobs - The Bihar Cabinet formally

approved 35 percent reservation for women in all

government jobs in the state. The 35 percent

reservation for women will be applicable to in all

government jobs including reserved and unreserved

category.

2. Toilets made mandatory to contest Panchayat polls in

Bihar.

Himachal Pradesh – 1. The Nati folk dance of Kullu district of Himachal

Pradesh listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest folk dance in the world.

2. Himachal Pradesh has become the first state in the country to start Rotavirus vaccination project under the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP).

Haryana –

1. 30th Surajkund International Crafts Mela started at

Faridabad. This year Telangana will be the Theme

State, which is showcasing its unique culture and rich

heritage and the two focus countries are China and

Japan.

2. Haryana bagged Skoch Order-of-Merit national award for implementation of six e-Governance and IT initiatives in the state.

Jammu & Kashmir – Governor’s Rule imposed in Jammu and

Kashmir - Narinder Nath Vohra is the current governor of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Jharkhand – 1. Jharkhand first state to sign up for UDAY reforms.

2. Jharkhand Government inaugurated land bank web portal. Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das inaugurated the state’s land bank web portal, jharbhoom.nic.in, that will help investors know land-related information.

Kerala – 1. Perumanna Grama Panchayat in Kozhikode district

of Kerala has become the first Panchayat in the State, to declare its own water policy.

2. Kerala Govt declares state as "Digital State" - Kerala Government has declared state totally digital, thus becoming first state in the country to achieve it.

3. Kerala Government inaugurated a 12 MW solar power project at Cochin International Airport. Note: With this project, Cochin airport became the first airport in India to run on solar power. This project is estimated to generate approximately 50000 units of electricity daily. Through this project, the airport will technically become grid power neutral.

Madhya Pradesh – 1. 1st Mega Food Park (MFP) of Madhya Pradesh

inaugurated at Panwa village in Kasarwad tehsil of

Khargone district.

2. Madhya Pradesh Government declared 33 percent quota for women in government jobs

3. Madhya Pradesh Government launches M-Shiksha-Mitra mobile app for teachers

4. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) commissioned a 500 MW coal-based power plant unit at Vindhyachal Super Thermal Power Station (STPS) in Vindhyanagar, Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh.

5. Shree Singaji Thermal Power Plant (600 MW) launched in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh.

Odisha – 1. Now free education to SC/ST students under

“Anwesha” - The state government of Odisha has launched a scheme named “Anwesha” which aims to provide free education to scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students from remote areas in urban area public schools. As per the scheme, 5 thousand children would be enrolled in class-I every year. At present around 3.5 lakh SC and ST students are availing the residential facility in the state.

2. Tata Steel has commissioned the first phase of its integrated steel plant at Kalinganagar steel plant in Jajpur district of Odisha


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Rajasthan – 1. Rajasthan has become the first state in the country

to submit State Annual Action Plan under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).

Tamil Nadu –

1. Tamil Nadu’s first Global Investors Summit (TNGIM 2015) held in Chennai.

2. World Bank offers $400 million loan to the Tamil Nadu government for its Sustainable Urban Development Project.

Telangana 1. Kakatiya thermal plant commissioned in

Telangana - The 600-MW Kakatiya thermal power plant

commissioned at Bhoopalapally in Warangal district of the State.

This is the first major power plant to be commissioned after the formation of the new State of Telangana in June 2014.

2. e-Vahan Bima Scheme launched by Telangana State

Govt. Government of Telangana launched e-Vahan Bima

Scheme to issue motor insurance policy in digital form in the state.

With the launch of this scheme, Telangana became the first state in the country to legally accept motor vehicle insurance policy in digital form.

Uttar Pradesh – 1. Union Government launched Ganga Gram at Village

Puth in Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh (UP). Under the scheme, 1600 villages of UP situated along the banks of river Ganga will be developed.

2. 3. BHEL commissions Prayagraj power project unit in

Uttar Pradesh State-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)

has commissioned a 660 MW unit of Prayagraj Super Thermal Power Project at Bara town in Allahabad district of Uttar Pradesh.

This is the first supercritical thermal unit to be commissioned in the state to achieve capacity addition on attaining full load.

It is Greenfield thermal power project is owned by Prayagraj Power Generation Company Limited (PPGCL), a subsidiary company of Jaiprakash Power Ventures Limited.

4. UP launches helpline number for journalists with number 1880.

Important Agreements/ MoU Signed/ Deals: India & Abroad

1. India seeks investment from UAE in energy sector

UAE’s Adnoc to store crude oil in India Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has

agreed to store crude oil in India’s maiden strategic storage and give two-thirds of the oil to it for free.

India is building underground storages in Visakhapatnam and Mangalore and Padur in Karnataka to store about 5.33 million tonnes of crude oil to guard against global price shocks and supply disruptions.

2. India & France ink 14 pacts - India and France have singed 14 pacts for

enhancing the bilateral cooperation various fields including defence, space, railways, education etc.

Some important signed Agreements are Defence: MoU on purchase of 36 Rafale Aircrafts. Space: Implementation Arrangement between

ISRO and CNES on hosting Argos-4 Payload onboard Oceansat-3 satellite of India.

Railways: Joint Venture Shareholding Agreement between Indian Railways and Alstom for production of 800 electric locomotives in Madhepura plant in Bihar.

Education: MoU between IIT Mumbai and Thales Systemes Aeroportes for Industry Sponsored Ph.D (Doctorate) Fellowship.

Airbus Group & Mahindra to manufacture helicopters - As part of ‘Make in India’ initiative, an agreement was signed between Airbus Group and Mahindra to manufacture helicopters.

To develop 3 smart cities of India this includes - Chandigarh, Nagpur and Puducherry.

3. India and Armenia signed Protocol amending the

India-Armenia Double Taxation Avoidance Convention

in New Delhi.

4. Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-

In) has signed cyber security agreement with its

counterparts in Malaysia, Singapore and Japan.

5. India to provide 300 MW to Nepal in 18 months -

India agreed to supply 300 MW of electricity to energy-


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starved Nepal in the next one-and- a-half year as the

two sides decided to expedite construction of cross-

border transmission lines and boost bilateral

cooperation including in power trade.

6. India exported six metro train coaches to Australia - According to the Union Ministry of Shipping, India has exported six metro coaches to Australia from Mumbai port. The shipment was made as part of a deal with Australian government to export 450 made-in-India coaches in two and a half year period.

7. India and Afghanistan have signed an agreement for visa-free travel for diplomatic passport holders of the two countries.

8. India and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) entered into a partnership to explore the environment of Ladakh under NASA’s Spaceward Bound programme. Under the partnership, a team of scientists from NASA, the Mars society Australia and the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, Lucknow will undertake an expedition to Ladakh in August 2016.

9. India and Japan inked three agreements for

cooperation in Railway Sector Note: (i) India and Japan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation and assistance in the Mumbai – Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project (Bullet Train project). (ii) Both the countries also entered into two comprehensive technological cooperation agreements for modernization and upgradation of Indian Railways.

10. India, France launched International Solar Alliance. It will function from the National Institute of Solar Energy in India, Gurgaon.

Obituaries / Person Died

National

1. Aurobindo Mukherjee - Veteran film director 2. Nida Fazli - Noted Urdu Poet and well known

Bollywood lyricist 3. Sudhir Tailang - Noted Political cartoonist 4. S S Tarapore - Former deputy governor of the Reserve

Bank of India (RBI) and a noted economist 5. Intizar Hussain - Veteran Urdu writer, novelist,

columnist and poet

6. Balram Jhakar Yadav - Former Lok Sabha speaker 7. O N V Kurup - Malayalam’s renowned poet &

Jnanpith-winner 8. Sadhna - Veteran Bollywood actress. 9. Subir Sen - Viteran singer. 10. Rajesh Vivek - Lagan Actor passed away 11. Anil Ganguly – Filmmaker 12. AB Bardhan - Veteran CPI leader 13. Sarosh Homi Kapadia - Former Chief Justice of India 14. Mufti Mohammad Sayeed - J & K Chief Minister 15. Ravindra Kalia - Noted Hindi writer and journalist

16. J.F.R. Jacob - Lieutenant General JFR Jacob (retired),

who negotiated the surrender of Pakistani troops in

Dhaka following the 1971 war, passed away.

17. V Rama Rao - Former Sikkim Governor 18. Manpreet Akhtar - Punjab folk Singer

She sang famous song “Tujhe Yaad Na Meri Aye” in Bollywood movie “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai”.

19. Geethapriya - Kannada filmmaker & lyricist 20. Aroon Tikekar - Senior journalist and scholar 21. Mrinalini Sarabhai - Noted dancer, choreographer 22. Pt. Shankar Ghosh - Eminent Tabla player 23. Kalpana Ranjani - Noted Malayalam film actress 24. Ranbir Chopra - Former India basketball captain 25. Mahip Singh - Writer, Journalist 26. Sankaran Nair - RAW former Chief 27. RK Trivedi - Former Gujarat Governor 28. Ashok Singhal - Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader 29. Saeed Jaffrey - Veteran Bollywood actor 30. Ravindra Jain - Renowned music director and lyricist


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International

1. Sushil Koirala - Former Prime Minister 2. Edgar Mitchell - US astronaut Edgar Mitchell, who was

the sixth man to walk on the Moon, has died aged 85. 3. Marvin Minsky - Pioneer in Artificial Intelligence

4. Maria Teresa de Filippis - First female Formula One driver

5. David Bowie - British singer-songwriter 6. Alan Rickman - Harry Porter actor passed away

New Books & Authors

1. Book titled ‘Jawaharlal Nehru and The Indian Polity in Perspective’- by Prof (Dr) P J Alexander

2. The Z Factor,” a book written by Subhash Chandra - The book is the autobiography of the promoter of Essel/ Zee Group Subhash Chandra.

3. Book titled “MARU BHARAT SARU BHARAT “(My India Noble India) written by Jain Acharya Ratnasundersuriswarji Maharaj.

4. Book titled Nathuram Godse – The Story of an Assassin - authored by Anup Ashok Sardesai

5. Former President APJ Abdul Kalam’s book “Transendence” launched in Johannesburg, South Africa

6. The Bose Brothers and Indian Independence – An Insider’s Account authored by - Madhuri Bose (the grand-niece of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose)

7. Life On My Terms: From the Grassroots to the Corridors of Power: an autobiography of Sharad Pawar

8. What Happened to Netaji? authored by former

journalist Anuj Dhar

9. Rebooting India: Realizing a Billion Aspirations:

authored by Nandan Nilekani and Viral Shah

10. Interlinking of Indian Rivers authored by Radha

Kant Bharati

11. Dreaming Big: My Journey to Connect India: Sam

Pitroda

12. Two Years Eight Months and Twenty Eight Nights:

Salman Rushdie

13. The Courage to Act - A Memoir of a Crisis and Its Aftermath authored by Ben S. Bernanke

14. Dreaming Big: My Journey to Connect India: auto biography of Sam Pitroda written with the help of David Chanoff, an American author.

15. Two Years Eight Months and Twenty Eight Nights authored by the British Indian novelist Salman Rushdie

16. To the Brink and Back: India's 1991 Story written by former Union Environment & Forest Minister (Independent Charge) Jairam Ramesh.

17. Making India Awesome written by – Chetan Bhagat 18. Green Signals: Ecology, Growth, Democracy in India

written by Jairam Ramesh 19. Uniki written by – CH Vidyasagar Rao, Governor of

Maharashtra. 20. The China Model written by – Daniel A Bell. 21. Recasting India written by – Hindol Sengupta. 22. Sourav Ganguly: Cricket, Captaincy and Controversy

written by Saptarshi Sarkar. 23. Flood of fire written by Amitav Ghosh. 24. “India Central Asia Relations”: The Economic

Dimension authored by Amiya Chandra. 25. “Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years” – authored by AS Dulat

and Aditya Sinha. 26. “37 Bridges and Other Stories” – authored by noted

Pakistani author Aamer Hussein.


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Awards & Honours

National

1. Sahitya Academy Puraskar - Noted Odia writer

Shakuntala Baliarsingh has been nominated for this

year’s Kendriya Sahitya Academy Puraskar. The award

has been awared to Shakuntala for her illustrious piece

of translation literature ‘Kaberi Bhali Jhiyatiye’.

2. Kerala Award - Bollywood actress Vidya Balan has

been awarded with the ‘Pride of Kerala’ Award by the

World Malayalee Council and Kairali TV.

3. Golden Beaver Award - Nagaland is changing,

But...a film on conservation efforts by villagers won

the Golden Beaver Best Film Award in the institutional

category at the 6th National Science Film Festival and

Competition in Mumbai.

Gurmeet Sapal is the director of the film. 4. Infosys Prize 2015 - The Infosys Science Foundation

(ISF) announced the winners of the Infosys Prize 2015

across six categories: Engineering and Computer

Science, Humanities, Life Sciences, Mathematical

Sciences, Physical Sciences and Social Sciences.

The winners are –

(i) Engineering and Computer Science - Prof. Umesh

Waghmare

(ii) Humanities – Prof. Jonardon Ganeri

(iii) Life Sciences – Dr. Amit Sharma (iv) Mathematical Sciences – Prof. Mahan Mj (v) Physical Sciences – Prof. G Ravindra (vi) Social Sciences – Dr. Srinath Raghavan

5. Bhimsen Joshi Award - Sarangi maestro Pandit Ram

Narayan was selected for the prestigious Bharat Ratna

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Classical Music Award for 2015-

2016.

6. Golden Conch Award at MIFF – Manipuri documentary film ‘Phum Shang’ won the

coveted Golden Conch Award for the best documentary at the 14th Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF).

Directed by Hao Bam Pabankumar 7. Yash Chopra Memorial award conferred on

Bollywood actress Rekha. 8. K Veeramani award - Bihar Chief Minister Nitish

Kumar has been selected for K Veeramani award for social justice by the Periyar International.

9. V Shantaram Award - Veteran wildlife filmmaker Naresh Bedi honoured with the V Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award.

10. Neerja Bhanot Award - Bengaluru-based activist Subhashini Vasanth conferred with the award.

11. 51st Jnanpith Award for 2015 - Noted Gujarati writer Raghuvir Chaudhary has

been chosen for the Jnanpith award for 2015.

12. Sangita Kalanidhi 2015 Award Sangita Kalanidhi 2015 Award conferred on South

Indian classical vocalists Sanjay Subrahmanyam.

13. EPFO bags National Award on e-Governance - The

Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation has won the

National Award on e-Governance 2015-16 for

launching the Universal Account Number (UAN).

14. The Hindu Prize, 2015 - Easterine Kire, a poet,

novelist and children’s writer from Nagaland won

The Hindu Prize, 2015.

She won the award for her novel ‘When the River

Sleeps’, a book about a lone hunter seeking a heart

stone in a faraway sleeping river and fighting all odds

to get it.

15. 2016 DSC Prize - Indian author Anuradha Roy won

the prestigious DSC Prize for South Asian Literature

for her novel ‘Sleeping on Jupiter’ at the Galle

Literary Festival in Sri Lanka.

16. 61st Filmfare Awards announced -

List of the Awards

Best Actor: Ranveer Singh for Bajirao Mastani

Best Actress: Deepika Padukone for Piku

Best Film: Bajirao Mastani

Best Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Bajirao

Mastani

Lifetime Achievement: Moushumi Chatterjee

Best Debut Director: Neeraj Ghaywan for Massan

Best Debutant (Male): Sooraj Pancholi for Hero

Best Debutant (Female): Bhumi Pednekar for Dum

Laga Ke Haisha

Best Story: V Vijayendra Prasad for Bajrangi

Bhaijaan

17. Azim Premji the ‘most generous Indian’ in Hurun

India Philanthropy List 2015 - Wipro Chairman Azim

Premji has emerged as the ‘most generous Indian’ in

the Hurun India Philanthropy List 2015, a ranking of

the most generous individuals from India.


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18. 2015 Harikrishna Devsare Baalsahitya Award - Veteran Hindi poet Balkrishna Garg conferred with the 2015 Harikrishna Devsare Baalsahitya Award in New Delhi.

19. Colombian film Embrace of The Serpent adjudged best film of 46th IFFI Colombian film ‘Embrace of The Serpent’ has been

adjudged as the best film of the 46th International

Film Festival of India (IFFI) Directed Ciro Guerra of

Embrace of The Serpent was bestowed with the Golden

Peacock award and the cash prize of 40 lakh rupees.

20. Legendary actor Dilip Kumar conferred with Padma Vibhushan Award.

Note: Dilip Kumar Autobiography: The Substance and the Shadow written by author and former journalist Udaya Tara Nayar.

21. 2015 Uttar Pradesh Ratna Award - Indian-American entrepreneur and philanthropist Frank Islam

22. 2015 Aditya Vikram Birla Kala Shikhar Award - Santoor maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma awarded with Aditya Vikram Birla Kala Shikhar Award for life time achievement by Maharashtra government.

23. Miss Diva 2015 - Urvashi Rautela. 24. 2015 Hridaynath Mangeskar Award – Music

composer AR Rehman. 25. Kolkata Port adjudged as the best 'Major Port of

2014-15'. 26. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna 2015 – Sania Mirza (Tennis)

Padma Awards -

Padma Awards, one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year. The list comprises of 10 Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan and 83 Padma Shri Awardees

List of Padma Vibhushan awardees Ms. Yamini Krishnamurthi Art- Classical dance Delhi Shri Rajinikanth Art-Cinema Tamil Nadu Smt. Girija Devi Art-Classical Vocal West Bengal Shri Ramoji Rao Literature & Education-Journalism

Andhra Pradesh Dr. Viswanathan Shanta Medicine- Oncology Tamil

Nadu

Shri Shri Ravi Shankar Others-Spiritualism Karnataka

Shri Jagmohan Public Affairs Delhi Dr.Vasudev Kalkunte Aatre Science & Engineering

Karnataka Shri Avinash Dixit (Foreigner) Literature & Education

USA Late Shri Dhiru Bhai Ambani (Posthumous) Trade &

Industry Maharashtra

List of Padma Bhushan awardees-

Noted actor Anupam Kher Singer Udit Narayan, Former CAG Vinod Rai, Chairperson of media group Bennett, Coleman & Co.

Indu Jain, Spiritual leaders late Swami Dayanand Saraswati,

Industrialist Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry, Maruti Suzuki chairman R C Bhargava Eminent architect Hafeez Contractor Swami Tejomayananda and former US Ambassador to

India Robert Blackwill are among the 19 eminent people chosen for Padma Bhushan.

List of some Padma Shri Award awardees Senior lawyer Ujjwal Nikam, Actors Ajay Devgn Actress Priyanka Chopra Actor the late Saeed Jaffrey, CEO of MasterCard Ajaypal Singh Banga, Bharatanatyam dancer Prathibha Prahlad,

Gujarati folk musician Bhikhudan Gadhvi, Goa’s musician Tulsidas Borkar and scientist Onkar

Nath Srivastava were among those who were named for Padma Shri awards.


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Padma awards for sports Sania Mirza and ace shuttler Saina Nehwal - Padma Bhushan, while archer Deepika Kumari was chosen for the Padma Shri .

International

1. Best First Foreign Film award –

‘Titli” has bagged the Best First Foreign Film Award

conferred by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics

2016 (FSCC). Kanu Behl is the director of the film

“Titli”.

69th BAFTA Awards 2016 announced - This year

saw the 69th British Academy Films Awards (BAFTAs)

being announced on 14 February 2016, which was held

at the Royal Opera House in London. The awards were

announced to honour the best British and international

contributions to film in 2015.

Mad Max: Fury Road won four awards for its return

to the big screen: Costume Design, Production Design,

Make Up & Hair and Editing.

List of Awards – Best Film – The Revenant Best Outstanding British Film – Brooklyn Best Leading Actor – Leonardo DiCaprio for The

Revenant Best Leading Actress – Brie Larson for Room Best Director – Alejandro G. Iñárritu for The

Revenant Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or

producer – Naji Abu Nowar (Writer/Director) & Rupert Lloyd (Producer)

Best Animated Film – Inside Out Best British Short Animation – Edmond Best British Short Film – Operator Best Documentary – Amy EE Rising Star (voted for by the public) – John Boyega

2. Rahul Thakkar wins Oscar for groundbreaking

design –

Rahul Thakkar, a computer engineering graduate

from Mumbai University, has won an Oscar for

technical achievement. He will be sharing the

award with his mentor Richard Chuang.

3. Australia’s highest civilian honour - Three Indian-origin persons have been awarded Australia's highest civilian honour for their contribution in the fields of physics, engineering and medicine.

For physics – Chennupati Jagadish [eminent professor at Australian National University (ANU)]

For engineering – Jay Chandra, an eye doctor in New South Wales.

For medicine - Sajeev Koshy, a dentist in Melbourne.

4. Amnesty International Human Rights Award 2016 Indian lawyer and human rights defender Henri

Tiphagne selected for the 8th Human Rights

Award by Amnesty International Germany.

5. 2015 Prince Mahidol Award - Morton Mower (US),

Sir Michael Marmot (UK) have won the prestigious

2015 Prince Mahidol Award for their outstanding

achievements in the international healthcare

sector.

6. 2015 eASIA Award - DAVA or Drug Authentication and Verification Application Project won the 2015 eASIA Award under Trade Facilitation categoy.

7. An Indian-origin cancer research expert Harpal Singh Kumar received a Knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for his influential work on prevention and treatment of cancer.

8. Miss Universe 2015 Award – Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach of Philippines won the Miss

Universe 2015 title. The final of 64th edition of Miss Universe held in

Las Vegas, the USA. 9. Miss World 2015 Award -

Mireia Lalaguna Royo of Spain won the Miss World 2015.

The final of Miss World 2015 was held at the Beauty of Crown Theater in Sanya, China.

She is the first Miss World from Spain.

10. 2015 National Medal of Science of the United

States –

Indian American professor Dr. Rakesh K. Jain

selected for 2015 National Medal of Science of the

United States.

Rakesh K. Jain is currently working as professor

at Harvard Medical School and also is the director

of tumour biology laboratory at Massachusetts

General Hospital.


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11. Costa novel award - Kate Atkinson has won the Costa novel award for

the second time, for her novel for A God in Ruins. 12. Priyanka Chopra wins People’s Choice Award for

‘Quantico’ Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra has bagged the

favourite actor in new TV series honour at the 2016 People’s Choice Awards for her performance of an FBI recruit on American show Quantico.

Priyanka becomes the first Indian actor to register a win at the People’s Choice Awards

List of Golden Globe Awards 2016 winners - The 73rd Golden Globe Awards honored the best in film and American television of 2015.

The Winners List for MOTION PICTURES

Best Picture, Drama: “The Revenant.” Best Picture, Musical or Comedy: “The Martian.” Best Actor, Drama: Leonardo DiCaprio, for “The

Revenant.” Best Actress, Drama: Brie Larson for “Room.”

Best Director: Alejandro Inarritu for “The Revenant.”

Best Foreign Language: “Son of Saul.” Best Animated Film: “Inside Out.”

13. 2015 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought –

Saudi blogger Raif Badawi awarded Sakharov Prize

for Freedom of Thought for the year 2015.

Note: Badawi, author of the website Free Saudi

Liberals, was convicted of insulting Islam in 2012

and was sentenced to 10 years in jail and 1000 lashes.

16. United Nations Champions of the Earth Award 2015 - Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina conferred with the award.

17. 2015 Humanitarian of the Year Award - Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi Note: In 2014, this award was conferred on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

18. 2015 Man Booker Prize for Fiction - Marlon James Note: He won the 2015 Man Booker Prize for Fiction for his novel A Brief History of Seven Killings. With this, James became the first Jamaican author to win the prize in its 47-years of history.

Schemes/ Policy launched by State/ Union Govt. of India

1. Highlights of Start up India – Stand up India Scheme

Startup India Standup India was first mentioned by PM Narendra Modi on August 15, 2015 while addressing the nation on Independence Day. However the scheme was formally launched on January 16, 2016 in New Delhi by PM Modi.

The scheme aims to push for Entrepreneurship in the country by providing enabling environment for the entrepreneurs.

The features of the Action Plan are as follows:

Funds of Fund worth Rs 10,000 Crore will be created, for development and growth of innovative enterprises. Credit Guarantee Fund – Rs 500 Crore per year over next 4 years. Profits of Start-up units will be tax-free for 3 years. No labour Inspection for 3 years instead self-certification based regime to be followed. Quicker and subsidized (i.e. 80%) patent clearance mechanism to be evolved. New mobile App to register Start-ups & apply for Online Clearances will be operational from April 1, 2016. Provision of easier exits (within 90 days) for failed ventures under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Bill, 2015. 500 sector specific incubators, including 5 new Bio clusters will be established across the country. Under this, 35 new incubators, 7 new research parks, 31 innovation centers will be set up at the National institutes

under the public private partnership mode. Under Atal Innovation Mission, seeds fund and Pre- incubation training will be given. Capital gains tax to be exempted for venture capital investments. The exemption,however, will be applicable only

when only when the proceeds are invested in another startup.


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An innovation programme will be launched in 5 lakh schools across the country to nurture innovation among 10 lakh children.

To protect intellectual Property Rights, a new scheme will be developed. Impact of this policy in the long run: This policy will encourage entrepreneurship. It will create new employment opportunities for the unemployed. It will also promote entrepreneurship among SC/ST and Women Entrepreneurs. It is expected to benefit at least 2.5 lakh borrowers. It will restrict the role of state and facilitate ease of doing business.

Current Statistics for startups:

With 4200 startups registered in India, India ranks 3rd globally. Indian startups draw $18 billion during 2010-15 including $9 billion in 2015 alone. 9 Indian startups have been valued at more than a billion dollars. Increase in number of incubators: 80 in 2014, 110 in 2015; 50% outside Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai.

2. Stand Up India Scheme - The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, approved the “Stand Up

India Scheme” to promote entrepreneurship among SC/ST and Women entrepreneurs. It provides for Refinance window through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) with an initial amount

of Rs. 10,000 crore.

The details of the scheme are as follows: Focus is on hand holding support for both SC/ST and Women borrowers. The overall intent of the approval is to leverage the institutional credit structure to reach out to these under-served

sectors of the population by facilitating bank loans repayable up to 7 years and between Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 100 lakh for greenfield enterprises in the non farm sector set up by such SC, ST and Women borrowers.

iii. The loan under the scheme would be appropriately secured and backed by a credit guarantee through a credit guarantee scheme for which Department of Financial Services would be the settler and National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Ltd. (NCGTC) would be the operating agency.

iv. Margin money of the composite loan would be up to 25%. Convergence with state schemes is expected to reduce the actual requirement of margin money for a number of borrowers. • Over a period of time, it is proposed that a credit history of the borrower be built up through Credit Bureaus.

3. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Beema Yojna (New Insurance Crop Scheme) –

The Cabinet approved Pradhan Mantri Fasal Beema Yojna, a crop insurance scheme aimed to ensure farmers’ welfare.

The new crop insurance scheme has been proposed to replace the existing National Agricultural Insurance Scheme

(NAIS) and Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS).

There will be a uniform premium of 2% to be paid by farmers for all kharif crops and 1.5 % for all Rabi crops.

The premium for all horticulture crops will be 5%. At present, premiums charged in crop insurance schemes go up to

25% of the sum insured.

The budget for Crop Insurance will be substantially increased from 2823 crore rupees in 2015-16 to 7750 crore

rupees in 2018-19.

4. PM launches 3 gold schemes and national gold coin

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched three gold related schemes- (i) Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS), (ii) Gold Sovereign Bond Scheme and the (iii) Gold Coin and Bullion Scheme India has surpassed China as the world's largest gold consumer, buying 562 tonnes of yellow metal so far this year, against China's 548 tonnes


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Scheme highlights: Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS), 2015 - The GMS will replace the existing Gold Deposit Scheme, 1999. However,

the deposits outstanding under the Gold Deposit Scheme will be allowed to run till maturity unless the depositors prematurely withdraw them. Few things to know about the scheme –

Who can make deposit under the scheme – Resident Indians (individuals, HUF, trusts, including mutual funds/exchange traded funds registered under Sebi norms) can make deposits under the scheme.

Minimum Limit - The minimum deposit at any one time will be raw gold (bars, coins, jewellery excluding stones and other metals) equivalent to 30 grams of the precious metal of 995 fineness.

Maximum limit - There is no maximum limit for deposit under the scheme and the metal will be accepted at the Collection and Purity Testing Centres (CPTC) certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards.

Interest Rate - Gold Monetisation Scheme can earn up to 2.50 per cent interest rate on their idle gold. Note: Interest rate on Medium and Long Term Government Deposit (MLTGD) are 2.25 per cent and 2.20 per cent, respectively.

Tenor - The tenor of medium term would be between 5-7 years while long term would for 12-15 years tenure.

Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme –

Few things to know about the scheme

Instead of buying gold in physical form investors can park their money in bonds which are backed by gold. The bonds will be available both in demat and paper form.

Sovereign Gold Bond has more or equal advantage against the physical gold. The bond will be issued by RBI on behalf of the Government of India.

Maximum Limit - The bond would be restricted for sale to resident Indian entities and the maximum allowable limit is 500 grams per person per year.

Rate per gram - The RBI has fixed the public issue price of sovereign gold bonds at Rs 2,684 per gram. Denominations - These bonds will be issued in denominations of 5, 10, 50 and 100 grams of gold or other

denominations. Know-your-customer (KYC) norms will be the same as that for purchase of physical gold. KYC documents such as

Voter ID, Aadhaar Card/PAN or TAN /Passport will be required.

Gold coins and Bullion Scheme - The coins will be available in denominations of 5 and 10 grams. A 20 gram bar or bullion will also be available. About 15,000 coins of 5 gm, 20,000 coins of 10 gm and 3,750 gold bullions will be made available through MMTC outlets.

5. President launches IMPRINT India initiative of IITs and IISC

President Pranab Mukherjee launched Impacting Research Innovation and Technology (IMPRINT) India to boost research in the country. The initiative is joint venture of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISC). Key facts IMPRINT India initiative seeks to develop a roadmap for research in order to solve major engineering and technology

challenges in 10 identified technology domains. These 10 domains are: Health Care, Computer Science and ICT, Advance Materials, Water Resources and River

systems, Sustainable Urban Design, Defence, Nano-technology Hardware, Environmental Science and Climate Change and Energy Security.

6. Union Cabinet launched UDAY for financial turnaround and revival of DISCOMS

(i) The Union Cabinet gave its nod to Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojna (UDAY), a new scheme proposed by the Ministry of

Power.


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(ii) The scheme aims at alleviating the financial crunch faced by Power Distribution companies (DISCOMs) that has

impaired their ability to buy electricity.

(iii) The scheme targets the revival of DISCOMs. It will also ensure a sustainable permanent solution to the problem.

How UDAY will revive the DISCOMS?

UDAY will empower DISCOMs with the opportunity to break even in the next 2-3 years through four initiatives:

Improving operational efficiencies of DISCOMs.

Reduction of cost of power.

Reduction in interest cost of DISCOMs.

Enforcing financial discipline on DISCOMs through alignment with state finances.

Key features of UDAY States will take over 75 percent of DISCOM debt as on 30 September 2015 over two years. Union Government will not include the debt taken over by the states n the calculation of fiscal deficit of respective states in

the financial years 2015-16 and 2016-17. States will issue non-SLR including SDL bonds in the market or directly to the respective financial institutions holding the

DISCOM debt to the appropriate extent. States will take over the future losses of DISCOMs in a graded manner. States accepting UDAY and performing as per operational milestones will be given additional/priority funding through

schemes of Ministry of Power and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. States not meeting operational milestones will be liable to forfeit their claim on IPDS and DDUGJY grants. 7. Green Indian Mission (GIM) Plans Approved for 4 States - National Mission for a Green India (GIM) falling under the

Environment Ministry has approved annual plans for Kerala, Mizoram, Manipur and Jhakhand. Note: GIM, which is one of the eight Missions outlined under National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), acknowledges the influence forests have on environmental amelioration through climate change mitigation, food security, water security, biodiversity conservation and livelihood security of forest-dependent communities.

8. “SEHAT” scheme - The Union government launched a telemedicine initiative 'Sehat' in collaboration with Apollo Hospitals to provide healthcare facilities in rural areas. The initiative was launched by Union Communication and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad at a function in New Delhi.

9. PAHAL scheme enters into Guinness Book of world records – Key Points – Union Government’s ambitious Pratyaksha Hastaantarit Laabh (PAHAL) scheme has been acknowledged as the

world’s largest cash transfer program (households) by the Guinness Book of World Records. The scheme was formally launched as Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme for LPG subsidy in 2013 in 291 districts

under the aegis of Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. It was modified and christened as PaHal in November 2014 and was launched in 54 districts. Later it was

extended nationwide on 1 January 2015. Under the scheme, subsidized liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders are sold at market rates and consumers

are entitled to receive LPG subsidy directly into their bank accounts.

10. ‘Housing For All’: Centre identifies 305 cities, towns - Key points – The housing ministry has identified 305 cities and towns across 9 states to start building houses for the poor in

urban areas. The government has set the target to provide houses to two crore families belonging to the economically weaker

section (EWS) in urban areas by 2022.

11. Union Government releases Rs 2,000 crore for Employees’ Pension Scheme Key points – Union Government has released 2,000 crore rupees to Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS), 1995 as its contribution for

the year 2015-16.


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This contribution is in addition to the 250 crore rupees contributed by the government as grant-in-aid in the EPS in order to provide minimum pension of 1,000 rupees to pensioners under the scheme.

12. e-Pragati’ to pave way for Digital Andhra Pradesh -

Key points – Andhra Pradesh State government is now rechristening the AP State Enterprise Architecture (APSEA) as ‘e-Pragati’. APSEA is a comprehensive architecture to leverage the latest advances in e-governance tools. e-Pragati extends to 33 secretariat departments and over 300 government agencies in AP. It seeks to provide a bouquet of 745 services in the government to customer (G2C), government to business (G2B),

government to enterprise (G2E) and government to government (G2G) areas. 13. Union Government has launched the Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) for the welfare of

people affected by mining related operations.

14. Union Cabinet approves Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission to drive economic, social and infrastructure development in rural areas. Note: In this regard, Union Government has earmarked an outlay of Rs. 5142.08 crores rupees for the mission to develop 300 clusters over next three years across the country.

15. Union Government launches 2nd phase of Mission Indradhanush

Key points – Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched the second phase of Mission Indradhanush to achieve full

immunization of children below two years. In the second phase, the week-long programme will be implemented in 352 districts of the country. Mission Indradhanush depicts 7 colours of the rainbow which aims to cover all those children by 2020 who are

either unvaccinated or are partially vaccinated against 7 vaccine preventable diseases. These 7 diseases are Diphtheria, Whooping cough, Tetanus, Polio, Tuberculosis, Measles and Hepatitis B. WHO (World Health Organisation), UNICEF, Rotary International and others are donor partners for Mission

Indradhanush. Note: The mission was launched in December 2014 on the occasion of National Good Governance Day. The first phase drive was started in April 2015 in 201 districts covering 45 lakh children and immunising 20 lakh children.

16. PM Narendra Modi launches IPDS in Varanasi to ensure 24×7 power supply to every house

Key points – Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched National Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) in Varanasi, Uttar

Pradesh to provide 24×7 power supply to every house. To start the scheme in Varanasi, PM laid foundation stone of two power substations and Union Government will

provide 572 crore rupees to implement it. Apart from launching IPDS, PM also laid the foundation stone of seven other developmental projects in Varanasi. He

also formally inaugurated the biggest Trauma centre of the country in Banaras Hindu University. 17. Union Government launches SAHAJ scheme for online release of new LPG connections

Union Government has launched SAHAJ scheme for online release of new LPG connections for the consumers as parts of its consumer friendly initiative.

It was launched by Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at a function held in New Delhi. 18. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) - Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Housing for All by 2022 scheme,

also known as the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in New Delhi. The ‘Housing for All’ scheme will replace all previous government housing schemes such as the Rajiv Awas Yojana. Two other schemes were also launched as complementary to the affordable housing scheme, a scheme for development of Smart Cities across the country and the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) that allows for urban renewal and upgradation of infrastructure in the major urban tracts of the country. I. Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) – Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched AMRUT mission aimed at transforming 500 cities and towns into efficient urban living spaces, with special focus on a


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healthy and green environment for children. The Cabinet approved Rs 50,000 crore for this mission which is to be spent over the next five years. Note: Rajasthan has become the first state in the country to submit State Annual Action Plan under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). II. Smart Cities Mission - Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Smart Cities Mission, focus on developing 100 select Smart cities by focusing on optimising efficiencies in urban services and infrastructure management, with proactive use of technology and people participation. The Cabinet approved of Rs 48,000 crore outlay to be spent on the project over the next five years.

19. Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana - Union Government launched Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana

(DUGJY) in Patna, Bihar. The flagship scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with an aim to provide 24×7 uninterrupted electricity supply to each rural household across the country by 2022. Key points – (i) This scheme replaces Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY), which was launched by previous UPA government led by then PM Manmohan Singh. (ii) The scheme is one of the flagship programmes of the Power Ministry. (iii) It also seeks to strengthen Micro grid and off grid distribution network of rural electrification.

20. HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana – Union Ministry of Urban Development launched the National Heritage Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) for 12 cities in the country from Amritsar, Punjab. The scheme was launched by Union Minister of Finance, Corporate Affairs and Information & Broadcasting Arun Jaitley. Key points - (i) The scheme seeks to preserve and rejuvenate the rich cultural heritage of the country in the 12 selected cities in the country. (ii) With a duration of 27 months (completing in March 2017) and a total outlay of INR 500 Crores, the Scheme is set to be implemented in 12 identified Cities namely, Ajmer, Amaravati,(Andhra Pradesh), Amritsar, Badami, Dwarka, Gaya, Kanchipuram, Mathura, Puri, Varanasi, Velankanni and Warangal.

21. Skill India’ campaign 2015 - Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Skill India campaign at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on first ever World Youth Skills Day on 15th July 2015. Key points – (i) The campaign aims to converge and monitor skill development schemes across the country as well as provide subsidized loans to students for vocational training. (ii) A ‘Skill Loan’ has been launched, where loans from 5,000 to 1.5 lakh rupees will be available to over 34 lakh youth, over the next five years.

22. Mobile app “Disha” launched in Bihar - Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad launched a new mobile app named Disha

to promote digital literacy in Bihar.

23. Grama Jyothi scheme launched in Telangana - Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao launched a flagship programme Grama Jyothi across the state.

24. RISHTA project launched in Himachal Pradesh - Himachal Pradesh Government launched the Rajiv Gandhi Illuminating Scheme for Hill Town Advancement (RISHTA) project, an efficient smart LED based street lighting project. With this, Himachal Pradesh became the first state in North India to do so. Key points – (i) The scheme is also known as Centralized Control and Monitoring System (CCMS) Smart Street Lighting Scheme for Urban Local bodies which implements LED based street lighting project.

25. Namami Gange Program - Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the flagship Namami Gange Program. It has a budgetary outlay of 20000 crore rupees for 2015-20. It will be implemented National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) with the help of State Program Management Groups (SPMGs).

26. Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) - Agriculture Irrigation Scheme. Key points:


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Scheme aims at providing irrigation facilities to every village in the country by converging ongoing irrigation schemes implemented by various ministries.

Budgetary allocation: 1,000 crore rupees for fiscal year 2015-16. Funding Pattern: Centre- States will be 75: 25 per cent. In case of north-eastern region and hilly states it will be 90:10.

27. Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana: It is a small deposit scheme for the girl child.

Key points of the scheme – In one family, a maximum of two accounts can be opened for two girl children. The account can be transferred

anywhere in India from one Post office/Bank to another. Age Limit: The upper age limit of the girl child for opening this account is 10 years. The govt. has given a relaxation of

one year in the upper age limit for those opening accounts till December 1, 2015. Documents required - 1. Birth Certificate of the girl child. 2. Address proof. 3. Identity proof. Minimum & Maximum deposit: The minimum deposit under the scheme is Rs. 1000/-. The maximum deposit is Rs.

1.5 lakhs. There is no limit on the number of investments one can make in an account either in a month or in a year. Interest rate: The government will announce the interest rate of the scheme every year. However, the government of

India has increased the rate of interest from 9.1% (2014-15) to 9.2% (2015-16) for this financial year. Maturity period: The maturity period of the scheme is 21 years from the date of account opening, though deposits

need to be made only for the first 14 years. The minimum lock-in in period under the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is 11 years.

28. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY):

The scheme aims to impart skill training to youth with focus on first time entrants to the labour market and class 10 and class 12 drop outs.

The scheme will be implemented by the Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship through the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). I

t will cover 24 lakh persons and skill training would be based on the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) and industry led standards

29. Bhagyashree scheme: It is girl child scheme was launched in Maharashtra. Bollywood actress Bhagyashree is the brand

ambassador of the scheme. Key points of the scheme: The state government will deposit an amount of 21200 rupees in bank for a girl child born in a Below the Poverty Line

(BPL) family. The scheme aims at providing one 1 lakh rupees on maturity after the girl completes 18 years of age. The scheme would be linked to the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme of Union Government.

30. Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan (RAA): Former President of India Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam launched the Rashtriya Avishkar

Abhiyan (RAA) in New Delhi. The abhiyan aims to inculcate a spirit of inquiry, creativity and love for Science and Mathematics in school children. Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan is a concept developed by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. RAA is an effort to take forward the Prime Minister Narednra Modi’s vision of Digital India, ‘Make in India’ and ‘Teach in India’.

31. Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY): It is a low premium insurance scheme which will link with the

Pradhan Mantri Jhan Dhan Yojna. Key points of the scheme:

Eligibility: Minimum 18 years and maximum 50 years and have bank account are eligible for the scheme. If the account is opened before attaining the age of 50 years, the life cover would remain intact up to the age of 55 years, if premium is paid regularly.

Premium - Rs.330 per year i.e. less than Rs.1 per day. Risk coverage - Rs.2 Lakh in case of death for any reason. The premium paid will be tax-free under section 80C and also the proceeds amount will get tax-exemption u/s 10(10D).

32. Atal Pension Yojana (APY): It is a scheme mainly for workers in unorganised sector. The scheme will be administered by

the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and replace the previous government's Swavalamban Yojana NPS Lite. Key points of the scheme:


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The subscribers who will joined the scheme would receive the fixed pension of Rs. 1000 per month, Rs. 2000 per month, Rs. 3000 per month, Rs. 4000 per month, Rs. 5000 per month, at the age of 60 years, depending on their contributions.

Age limit: minimum 18 years and maximum age is 40 years. A subscriber can contribute for minimum period of 20 years or more and pension payment will start at the age of 60

years. The government of India has decided to co-contribute 50% of the subscriber's contribution or Rs. 1000 per annum,

whichever is lower, to each eligible subscriber account, for a period of 5 years, i.e., from 2015-16 to 2019-20, who join the NPS before 31st December, 2015 and who are not income tax payers.

33. Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY): It is an insurance scheme which covers death or disablement of the policyholder caused due to accident or accidental injuries. Key points of the scheme: Age limit: Minimum 18 yrs and maximum 70 years. The scheme will be a one year cover, renewable from year to year and would be administered through the Public

Sector General Insurance Companies in collaboration with Banks. Risk coverage: Rs. 2 Lakh and for partial disability cover of Rs. 1 Lakh. Premium: Rs.12 per annum. The premium will be directly auto-debited by the bank from the subscribers' account.

34. Kisan Vikas Patra – Saving scheme relaunched by government of India.

Key points – (i) Money will be doubles in 8 years 4 months (100 months). Thus the applicable interest rate is 8.7% (ii) KVP will be available in denominations of Rs.1,000, Rs. 5,000, Rs. 10,000, and Rs. 50,000. (iii) There will be no upper ceiling on investment. (iv) Minimum lock-in period is 2 years and 6 months. (v) KVP can be encashed in eight equal monthly installments after the lock-in period. (vi) No KYC norms would be applicable at the time of purchase of KVP, PAN details will not be required.

35. Public Provident Fund (PPF) – Saving scheme. Key points – (i) An individual can open account with Rs. 100/- but has to deposit minimum of Rs. 500/- in a financial year and maximum Rs.1.5 lakh. (ii) Maturity period is 15 years but the same can be extended within one year of maturity for further 5 years and so on. (iii) Interest rates - 8.70% per annum (compounded yearly). (iv) Account can be opened by cash/cheque and In case of cheque, the date of realization of cheque in Govt. account shall be date of opening of account.

Sports News

Cricket News

ICC World Cup Cricket Venues:

ODI Test T20 1. England – 2019 1. England - 2017 1. India -2016 2. India – 2023 2. India – 2021 2. Australia – 2020


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Cricket news- 1. ICC U19 Cricket World Cup - West Indies defeated

India to lift their maiden ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup title. The final played at Mirpur, Bangladesh.

2. De Kock of South Africa became fastest cricketer to make 10 ODI centuries - Quinton de Kock, the wicketkeeper-batsman of South Africa, the fastest cricketer to make 10 One Day International (ODI) centuries. He took mere 55 innings to reach as many centuries.

3. Rahul Dravid has been named in ICC’s newly appointed Anti-Corruption Oversight Group as part of the recommendation from its Integrity Working Party of the parent body.

4. BCCI bans Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf for 5 years -

Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf banned for five years by

the BCCI after its disciplinary committee found him

guilty of corrupt practices and bringing the game into

disrepute.

5. Virat Kohli becomes No.1 T20 batsman. 6. India reaches to No.1 spot in ICCC T20 ranking. 7. Allan Border Medal 2016 - David Warner wins the

award. 8. Blind T20 Asia Cup - India defeat Pakistan in first

Blind T20 Asia Cup. 9. Virat Kohli becomes fastest to score 24 tons in

ODIs - Indian batsman Virat Kohli became the fastest to register 24 hundreds in one-day cricket, surpassing the twin milestones in just his 161st innings.

10. Virat kohli fastest to reach 7,000 runs in ODIs - Virat Kohli has become the fastest man to score 7000 runs in One-Day International cricket. Fastest to reach 7000 ODI runs Virat Kohli (India) – 161 innings AB de Villiers (South Africa) – 166 innings Sourav Ganguly (India) – 174 innings Brian Lara (West Indies) – 183 innings Desmond Haynes (West Indies) – 187 innings

11. BCCI imposed a life ban on Haryana off-spinner Ajit Chandila for his involvement in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal.

12. Steve Smith wins ICC Cricketer of the Year Award 2015 – He was also adjudged the ICC Test Cricketer of the

Year. Other awards –

ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year – AB de Villiers (South Africa’s ODI captain)

ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year – Meg Lanning (Australia women’s captain)

ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year award – Stafanie Taylor (West Indies women’s captain)

ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year award – Josh Hazlewood (Australia fast bowler)

ICC Spirit of Cricket Award – Brendon McCullum (New Zealand captain)

ICC T20I Performance of the Year – Faf du Plessis (South Africa)

ICC Umpire of the Year (David Shepherd Trophy) – Richard Kettleborough

13. Syed Kirmani selected for C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award

14. Justin Langer to coach Australian ODI team in 2016. He replaces Darren Lehmann.

15. Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy - Uttar Pradesh defeat

Baroda in the final to win its Syed maiden Mushtaq Ali

T20 Trophy.

16. Gujarat won maiden Vijay Hazare title - Gujarat beat Delhi by 139 runs to win their maiden Vijay Hazare Cricket Trophy.

17. V S Laxman’s masterly innings of 281 against Australia at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata has been rated as the greatest Test performance of the last 50 years.

18. Pranav Dhanawade hits world record 1009 runs at school level tournament. Pranav Dhanawade a 15-year-old cricketer of Smt

KC Gandhi School, Kalyan team from Mumbai, smashed an unbeaten 1009 not out off 327 deliveries to notch up the highest individual score in minor cricket, breaking a 117-year-old record.

19. Virat Kohli wins Polly Umrigar Award 2015 – 16 20. South African Graham Xavier Ford was named as the

chief coach of the Sri Lankan Cricket team. 21. Colin Munro hits 2nd-fastest 50 in T-20 - New

Zealand’s Colin Munro has blasted second-fastest fifty just 14 balls in T-20 Internationals against Sri Lanka.

22. ICC announces MoneyGram as Event Partner - The ICC and MoneyGram International, a leading global provider of money transfer services, today announced an eight-year deal which confirms MoneyGram as an event partner for ICC events from 2016-2023.

23. MRF becomes global partner for ICC - MRF Ltd

becomes a global partner for International Cricket

Council (ICC) by signing a four-deal with the council

that includes this year’s ICC World Twenty 20 in India,

next year’s ICC Champions Trophy and ICC Cricket

World Cup in 2019.

24. West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul announced his retirement from international cricket almost 22 years after making his debut.

25. Pakistan Cricketer Imran Farhat retired from International Cricket.

26. Chris Gayle Equals Yuvraj Singh’s Fastest T20 Fifty Record - Chris Gayle hit a 12-ball 50 for Melbourne Renegades against Adelaide Strikers in a Big Bash League semifinal to equal Yuvraj Singh’s record, set at


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the 2007 World Twenty20. Gayle’s innings included seven sixes and two fours.

27. Rajkot franchise IPL team name as ‘Gujarat Lions’ - Intex Technologies, which owns the newly formed

Rajkot IPL team, announced its official name as ‘Gujarat Lions’. The team also announced Suresh Raina as its captain.

Football News

FIFA (Football) World Cup Venue

FIFA U – 17 World Cup Venues

1. Russia – 2018 1. Chile - 2015

2. Qatar - 2022 2. India – 2017

FIFA 2015 World Rankings announced - India rank at 163rd spot in the latest FIFA rankings -

Top 5 teams in the latest FIFA rankings • Belgium (1) • Argentina (2) • Spain (3) • Germany (4) • Chile (5)

1. Lionel Messi wins World’s best Football player

Award for 5th time. Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo

was second, while Messi’s Barcelona team-

mateNeymar was third.

2. Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho Gaucho inaugurated the Nagjee International Club Football Tournament, which is being revived after a gap of 21 years, at a function in Kozhikode.

3. Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan bestowed

honorary life membership of the city’s famed soccer

outfit Mohammedan Sporting which is celebrating its

125th anniversary this year.

4. Chennaiyin FC clinch ISL Champions 2015 title Chennaiyin FC defeated FC Goa by 3-2 in the final

to clinch the 2nd Indian Super League Football

tournament 2015 title.

Mendoza, who finished as the tournament’s

highest scorer with 13 goals, bagged the ‘Golden

boot’ as well as the ‘Hero of the League’ award.

5. Barcelona lifted FIFA Club World Cup 2015 Barcelona defeated River Plate by 3-0 in the final

and clinched the Fifa Club World Cup for a third time.

This is the fifth trophy of Barcelona in year 2015. 6. Suspended FIFA President Sepp Blatter and European

football chief Michel Platini have been banned from

all football-related activities for eight years.

7. India beat Afghanistan to lift SAFF Cup title for 7th time.

8. World football’s governing body, FIFA, has dismissed

Secretary General Jerome Valcke. He was

provisionally suspended from football for his alleged

involvement in a scheme to profit from the sale of

World Cup tickets.

9. Nigeria defeated Mali 2-0 to won 2015 FIFA U-17

World Cup

Note: India will host the bi-annual championship in

2017

10. Real Madrid Cristiano Ronaldo wins a record 4th Golden Boot

11. (SAFF) under-16 title - Bangladesh Under-16 team won their first-ever South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) under-16 title. In the title clash the hosts defeated defending champions India 4-2 in penalties.

12. 2015 Women’s Fifa World Cup - USA defeated Japan to win Women's FIFA World Cup for the third time.

Hockey News –

Hockey World Cup venue

Venue Year 1. India (Men’s) 2018 2. England (Women’s) 2018


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1. 26th Lal Bahadur Shastri Hockey tournament - Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) defeated Indian Railways by 3-0to won the 26th Lal Bahadur Shastri Hockey tournament.

2. Bjorn Isberg appointed Tournament Director of 2016 Hockey India League. 3. Sultan of Johor Cup 2015 - Great Britain defeated Indian junior men's hockey team and captured Sultan of Johor Cup

(SOJC). 4. Punjab National Bank won Beighton Cup of Hockey, defeated Indian Oil Corporation in the final. 5. Senior India hockey player Gurbaj Singh suspended for 9 months for indulging in groupism and creating disharmony

within the team. 6. Hockey India appointed Roelant Oltmans as coach of Men’s national team Tennis News

Australian Open Title - 2016 Category Winner Runner up Men’s single Novak Djokovic Andy Murray Women’s single Angelique Kerber (Germany) Serena Williams Women's double Sania Mirza & Martina Hingis Andrea Hlavackova &

Lucie Hradecka Note:

Novak Djokovic wins sixth Australian Open title 2016. He also draws level with tennis greats Bjorn Borg and Rod

Laver on 11 Grand Slam titles.

Angelique Kerber is the first German to win a major singles title since Steffi Graf at the 1999 French Open. This is the third consecutive Grand Slam title for Sania and Martina, having won the Wimbledon and US Open in the

2015 season. Sania and Martina have now extended their unbeaten run to 36 matches, winning eight titles in a row. ITF announced winners of 2015 World Champions - International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced the winners of 2015 World Champions List of Awards – Men’s World Champion – Novak Djokovic (Serbia) Women’s World Champion – Serena Williams (the USA) Men’s Doubles World Champions – Jean-Julien Rojer (Netherlands) & Horia Tecau (Romania) Women’s Doubles World Champions – Women’s Doubles World Champions ITF Junior World Champions – Dalma Galfi (Hungary) & Taylor Fritz (the USA) ITF Wheelchair World Champions – Jiske Griffioen (Netherlands) & Shingo Kunieda (Japan) 1. 2016 St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy - Sania Mirza and

her Swiss partner Martina Hingis won the 2016 St.

Petersburg Ladies Trophy in St. Petersburg, Russia.

They defeated Russian-Czech team of Vera Dushevina

and Barbora Krejcikova by 6-3 6-1 in the women’s

doubles final.

2. Roger Federer is first man to win 300 Slam

matches - Swiss legend Roger Federer becomes first

male tennis player to win 300 Grand Slam matches. He

achieved this feat by defeating Grigor Dimitrov of

Bulgaria by 6-4 3-6 6-1 6-4 in the third round of

Australian Open.

3. Sania Mirza & Martina Hingis maintains top spot in

WTA double ranking

4. Qatar Open Title 2016 - Novak Djokovic defeated

Rafael Nadal in the final.

5. Brisbane International Title 2016 women’s single-

Victoria Azarenka defeated Angelique Kerber in the

final.

6. Brisbane International title 2016 women’s double -

Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis beat Angelique Kerber

and Andrea Petkovic of Germany.

7. Brisbane International title 2016 men’s single -

Milos Raonic of Canada beat Roger Federer of

Switzerland in the final.

8. Sydney International Title 2016 - Sania Mirza and

Martina Hingis defeat Caroline Garcia and Kristina

Mladenovic in the final.


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9. Marat Safin of Russia inducted Into International

Tennis Hall of Fame. With this, he become first

Russian national to be inducted in the International

Tennis Hall of Fame.

10. Chennai Open title - Stanislaus Wawrinka beat

Borna Coric by teenager 6-3, 7-5 in the final to win

third consecutive Chennai Open title. This is the fourth

Chennai Open title for the Swiss player and the third

consecutive win, who first won it in 2011.

11. Hopman Cup 2016 - Australia beat Ukraine to win

Hopman Cup for 1st Time in 17 Years.

12. Andy Murray named 2015 BBC Sports Personality of

the Year Award.

13. Singapore Slammers wins IPTL Title 2015

The Singapore Slammers won the Indian Premier

Tennis League (IPTL) – 2015 title by defeating

Micromax Indian Aces in the final.

14. Yan Dhanda has become the first player of Indian

heritage to sign a professional contract with English

football powerhouse Liverpool.

15. 2015 Davis Cup tennis title - Great Britain defeated

Belgium to win

Commonwealth Games (CWG)

1. CWG - 2022 – Durban, South Africa.

2. CWG - 2018 – Gold Coast, Australia.

Olympics Games Venue

Summer Olympics Games

(i) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 2016 (ii) Tokyo, Japan – 2020

Winter Olympics Games (i) Pyeongchang, South Korea – 2018 (ii) Beijing, China – 2022

1. 2024 Summer Olympics - International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced name of five cities namely Los Angeles,

Hamburg, Paris, Rome and Budapest as candidates to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. Asian Games Venue – The 2018 Asian Games to be held in – Jakarta, Indonesia 2022 Asian Games to be held in - Hangzhou City of China. Note: Asian Games were held every 4 years. In 2014 Asain Games was held in Incheon, South Korea. Badminton News 1. Ace Indian shuttler K. Srikanth clinched the Men’s Singles title of the Syed Modi International Grand Prix Gold

Badminton Championships.

2. PV Sindhu wins Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold Badminton title. 3. Siril Verma tops junior badminton rankings

India’s Siril Verma occupy the number one spot in junior men’s singles category in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings.

4. Delhi Crowned Premier Badminton League Champion - Delhi Acers beat Mumbai Rockets in the final.

Formula 1 winner 1. 2015-16 MRF Challenge Formula 2000 - Pietro

Fittipaldi (Brazilian racing driver) 2. Lady Wigram Trophy - Jehan Daruvala (Sahara Force

India Academy racer) Note: The Lady Wigram Trophy is a New Zealand motorsport race trophy.

3. Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2015 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes driver)

4. Brazilian Grand Prix 2015 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes driver)

5. United States Grand Prix title 2015 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes driver) Mexican Grand Prix 2015 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes driver)


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Other Sports News

1. South Asian Games: India finishes on top with 308

medals

The 2016 South Asian Games, officially the XII

South Asian Games, is a major multi-sport event

which took place from 5 February to 16 February

2016 in Guwahati and Shillong, India.

Total 8 countries participate – Afghanistan,

Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal,

Pakistan & Sri Lanka

India finishes on top with 308 medals including

188 gold, 90 silvers, 30 bronze medals.

Sri Lanka, placed second in the table featuring

eight SAARC countries, came nowhere close to

India in the medals tally list. The Lankans bagged a

total of 186 medals (25 golds, 63 silvers and 98

bronze medals).

Ranking Gold Silver Bronze Total 1. India 188 90 30 308 2. Sri Lanka

25 63 98 186

3. Pakistan

12 37 57 106

2. Kerala wins 61st National School Athletics

championship

Kerala has won the 61st National School Athletics

championship which was held in Kozhikode.

This is for the 19th consecutive time Kerala

becomes the champions in the event. Tamil Nadu

came second.

Kerala, the host of the championship got 306

points winning 39 gold, 29 silver and 17 bronze

medals. Tamil Nadu, who came second, got 116

points winning 11 gold, 8 silver and 13 bronze

medals.

Maharahtra with 101 points gained the third

position. Kerala won 10 meet records out of 20

records which were reported in the meet.

3. Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of the Year award - India’s

Anirban Lahiri has been voted as the Hilton Asian Tour

Golfer of Year by fans in an online poll.

4. Fukuoka to host 2021 World Aquatics

Championships - The International Swimming

Federation (FINA) announced that the Japanese city of

Fukuoka will host the 2021 World Aquatics

Championships. And the Qatar capital Doha will host

the 2023 event.

5. Aditya Mehta defeated Manan Chandra 6-3 in the final

to won the 83rd Senior National Snooker

Championship held in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

6. Apurvi Chandela bags tournament’s best shooter

award

Apurvi Chandela won the second gold medal and

emerged as the ‘Shooter of the Tournament’ in the

Swedish Cup Grand Prix.

7. Miguel Tabuena of Philippines has been voted as the

Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of Month for December 2015.

8. 12th South Asian Games to be held in Guwahati &

Shillong.

9. Denmark’s sportsperson of 2015 - Rene Holten

Poulsen

10. Vijender Singh becomes first Indian to score Pro-

Boxing hat-trick

Indian boxer Vijender Singh defeated Samet

Hyuseinov of Bulgaria at Pro – Boxing tournament

held in Manchester.

11. Abhay Singh lifted U-19 Singapore Squash Open

Abhay Singh has lifted Under-19 Singapore Squash

Open 2015 title.

He defeated Alwin Chai of Malaysia by 11-8, 11-3,

11-8 in the final played at Singapore.

12. Bajrang Punia in Men’s 65kg and Ritu Phogat in

women’s 48kg Freestyle categories won gold medals

on the first day of the Senior National Wrestling

Championship in New Delhi.

13. Indian cyclist Deborah Herold became World No. 4 Cyclist

14. Indian Golfer Anirban Lahiri wins Order of Merit crown of Asian Tour

15. Rory McIlroy bagged European Tour Golfer of the Year award

16. Australia defeated Belgium to win Hockey World League 2015 Final

17. India’s Thakur Anoop Singh won gold medal in

World Bodybuilding and Physique Championships

18. Robert Lewandowski awarded with four Guinness

World Record certificates for scoring five goals in

nine minutes

19. New Zealand defeated Australia to won Rugby

World Cup for record third time

20. 2015 FIDE World Chess Cup - Russia’s Sergey Karjakin defeated Peter Svidler by 6-4 in the final to won the title.


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Joint Militiary Exercise

1. LAMITYE 2016 – India & Seychelles joint military exercise

2. Surya Kiran IX - India-Nepal Military Exercise 3. ‘Shakti-2016′ - Indo-French military exercise 4. “Sahayog – Kaijin 2016” - India & Japan joint Coast

Guard Exercise 5. Joint Naval Exercise SLINEX 2015 - India & Sri Lanka 6. Indra - Indo-Russia bilateral naval exercise 7. Malabar Exercise 2015 – India, US & Japan. 8. Mitra Shakti 2015 – India – Sri Lanka 9. Hand in Hand – India & China 10. EKUVERIN 2015 – India – Maldives

11. AUSINDEX-15 – India – Australia (Bilateral Maritime

Ex.)

12. Indradhanush – India – UK (Bilateral Air Ex.)

13. Varuna Exercise 2015 - India - France Naval Exercise.

14. Surya Kiran VIII – Indo- Nepal joint military exercise. 15. HADR Exercise - Indian Navy conducted a large scale

Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) exercise in the Lakshadweep Islands (Karavati, Aggatti, Kalpeni and Androth).

16. Shaheen (Eagle)-4 - China and its strategic partner Pakistan have launched a joint air exercise called Shaheen (Eagle)-4 in China.

Science | Defence | News 1. North Korea’s National Aerospace Development

Administration (NADA) launched the

Kwangmyongsong-4 satellite.

2. Japan unveiled its first stealth fighter aircraft X-2.

Japan becomes the fourth nation to test fly its own

stealth jet after US, Russia & China.

3. India’s first Defence Industrial Park gets nod by

DIPP - Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion

(DIPP) of Union Government have given its final

approval to Kerala Government’s approval to set up

India’s first Defence Industrial Park at Ottappalam.

4. Anti-submarine warfare (ASW) corvette INS

Kadmatt commissioned in the Indian Navy at naval

dockyard in Visakhapatnam.

5. LRSAM successfully test-fired from INS Kolkata -

Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LRSAM), the missile

co-developed by India and Israel, successfully test-

fired on the Western Sea Board.

6. ISRO launches 5th navigation satellite IRNSS-1E -

RNSS-1E is the fifth navigation satellite in the IRNSS

space system, comprising seven satellites, which would

be on par with US-based GPS once the full complement

of spacecraft is launched.

7. ISRO & Kuwait Institute ink cooperation in space

exploration –

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)

and Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research (KISR)

signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on

cooperation in the exploration and use of outer

space for peaceful purposes.

8. India to build satellite tracking station in Vietnam -

India will set up a satellite tracking and imaging centre

in southern Vietnam that will give Hanoi access to

pictures from Indian earth observation satellites that

cover the region, including China and the South China

Sea.

9. Akash missile successfully test fired - Indigenously-

built surface-to-air Akash missile successfully test fired

from complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at

Chandipuri in Odisha. Akash missile is a mid-range

surface-to-air missile (SAM).

10. American aerospace company SpaceX successfully

launched Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

11. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar inaugurated the

first cable-stayed bridge of north India in Kathua

district at Jammu & Kashmir, which will provide close

connectivity between the three states of Jammu and

Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.

Note: The Basohli bridge is fourth of its kind in India. The other three cable-stayed bridges are, Hooghly Bridge at Kolkata, Naini Bridge in Allahabad and Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link in Mumbai.

12. Reliance Defence signs pact with Russian arms firm Almaz-Antey - Reliance Defence had signed a $6 billion deal with Russia’s Almaz-Antey, whose air defence system is likely to be bought by the Indian defence forces.

13. India’s first indigenously designed warship INS

Godavari decommissioned after 32 years of service.

14. China launches Gaofen-4 observation satellite -

China successfully launched its most sophisticated


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observation satellite, Gaofen-4, as part of the country’s

high-definition earth observation project.

15. ISRO successfully launches 6 Singapore Satellites onboard PSLV-C29 - Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully placed six commercial satellites from Singapore in their dedicated orbits. These satellites were launched using Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C29) from the first launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

16. Indigenously developed Communication satellite GSAT-15 successfully launched from French Guiana

17. Japan successfully launches its first commercial satellite - TELSTAR 12V

18. India’s 1st dedicated satellite for astronomy research ASTROSAT launched. The satellite was

launched from the first launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C30). PSLV-C30 is the tenth flight of PSLV in its 'XL' Configuration.

19. India’s first Harbour Defence System commissioned in Kochi, Kerala. Designed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

20. India has gifted its former Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Ship Varaha to Sri Lanka.

21. DRDO inaugurated world’s highest Research Centre in Ladakh - The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) inaugurated an Extreme Altitude Research Centre at Chang La, Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir at 17600 feet above mean sea level. It is the world’s highest terrestrial research and development centre.

Cabinet Ministers and their Constituencies

1. Narendra modi- Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh)

2. Rajnath singh- Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh)

3. Ramvilas paswan- Hajipur (Bihar)

4. Arun jaitley- Gujarat (Rajya sabha). Lost from Amritsar

constituency in 2014 elections

5. Venkaiah naidu- Karnataka (Rajya sabha)

6. Nitin gadkari- Nagpur (Maharashtra)

7. Sushma swaraj- Vidisha (Madhya Pradesh)

8. Dr.Harsh vardhan- Chandani chowk (Delhi)

9. Dr. Najma heptullah- Madhya pradesh(Rajya sabha)

10. Kalraj mishra- Deoria(Uttar Pradesh)

11. Narendra singh tomar- Gwalior (madhya pradesh)

12. Maneka gandhi- Pilibhit (Uttar Pradesh)

13. Ananth kumar- Bangalore south(Karnataka)

14. Ravi Shankar prasad-Bihar(Rajya sabha)

15. Ashok gajapathi raju - Vizianagaram (Andhra Pradesh )

16. Anant geete- Raigad (maharashtra)

17. Harsimrat kaur- Bathinda(Punjab)

18. Suresh prabhu- Rajapur(Maharashtra)

19. Jagat prakash nadda- Bilaspur(Himachal pradesh)

20. Smriti irani- Gujarat (Rajya sabha)

21. Jual oram- Sundargarh (Odisha)

22. Radha Mohan singh-Purvi champaran(Bihar)

23. Thawar chand gehlot- Madhya Pradesh (Rajya sabha)

24. Manohar parrikar- Panaji(Goa)

25. Sadananda gowda-Bangalore north (Karnataka)

26. Ch. Birender singh- Uchana kalan (Haryana)

27. Uma bharti- Jhansi (Uttar Pradesh)

Best wishes for your exams!


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