GK Power Capsule for IBPS PO 2015-16 Download | Current Affairs Pdf | General Awareness

8/20/2019 GK Power Capsule for IBPS PO 2015-16 Download | Current Affairs Pdf | General Awareness

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IBPS PO Mains Online Exam 2015-16GK Power Capsule

for

Newstechcafe.com ReadersExam Date :- 31 October 2015 Visit :- http://newstechcafe.com Visit:- http://newstechcafe.net Like Us :-

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GK Power Contains :- IBPS PO Mains Exam Pattern

Key Points To Remember

Current affairs from March 2015 to August 2015

Union Budget , Awards , Honours

Rail Budget

Important Dates

Currency and Capitals

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About IBPS PO 2015 Exam/Post

IBPS PO Mains 2015 Exam Pattern

40 Questions from every section will be asked.

1. Reasoning - 50 marks

2. Quantitative aptitude - 50 marks

3. English language - 40 marks

4. General knowledge with special reference to Banking industry - 40 marks

5. Computer knowledge - 20 marks

Key Points To Remember For IBPS PO 2015-16 Examination

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

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

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

award

Brij Raj Sharma appointed as Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir

Music Composer Aadesh Shrivastava died

Acclaimed writer Jhumpa Lahiri awarded with 2014 National Humanities Medal by White House

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

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

NASA and ISRO jointly working on NISAR mission

R Sampanthan became first tamilian to lead opposition in Sri Lankan parliament in 32 years

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

AK Jha appointed as Interim CMD of NTPC

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

L C Goyal appointed as CMD of India Trade Promotion Organisation

Raghav Chandra took charge as the Chairman of NHAI

Ratan P Watal took charge as Union Finance Secretary

PM Modi released digitally restored recordings of epic ‘Ramcharitmanas’

Rajiv Mehrishi appointed as Union Home secretary

Eminent Kannada writer Dr. MM Kalburgi shot dead in Dharwad

Kandakatla Manohar appointed as Director of NIMS

US designated Aziz Haqqani as global terrorist

Tennis Player Novak Djokovic appointed as Goodwill Ambassador of UNICEF

Rajendra Singh conferred with 2015 Stockholm Water Prize

Girish Sahni assumed charge as Director General of CSIR

Veteran journalist Pranab Kumar Borah passed away

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

Syrian woman Journalist Zaina Erhaim awarded with Peter Mackler Award 2015

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

Union Government released Postal stamp on Ashoka

Amol Palekar appointed as Chairman of India's Oscar jury

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

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

Book titled Mrs Funnybones authored by Twinkle Khanna released Historian Babasaheb Purandare bestowed with Maharashtra Bhushan Award 2015

Making India Awesome authored by Chetan Bhagat released

Ranil Wickremesinghe sworn in as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka

Ashwani Lohani appointed as CMD of Air India Limited

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

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

India’s First Lady Suvra Mukherjee passed away

Ajit Kumar Seth appointed as Chairman of Public Enterprises Selection Board

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

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

North Korea’s Foreign Minister, Ri Su-yong, arrived in New Delhi,India on a three day visit. The Union home ministry has renamed the tourist visa-on-arrival scheme as 'e-tourist visa' scheme.

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

India and Canada signed an agreement on uranium supply.

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

Most Promising CEO Award".

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

Mohan Kumar has been appointed the next Ambassador to France.

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

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

Sachin Tendulkar was inducted as one of the five new members into the prestigious

Laureus Sports Academy.

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

Nokia announced to acquire French telecommunications firm Alcatel-Lucent for around $16.6 billion.

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

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

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

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

criminal court judge in New York City.

Vivek Oberoi has been named for the prestigious 'Dada Saheb Phalke Pride Award 2015'.

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

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

Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic was named the Laureus Sportsman of the Year. Ethiopian sprinter Genzebe Dibaba was named the Laureus Sportswoman of the Year.

Supreme Court appoints CBI SP Vivek Priyadarshi to head team probing IPL scandal 2013.

India has clinched three awards in the annual awards given by Asian Squash Federation (ASF).

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

Junior in Sweden.

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



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

to overcome addiction to liquor.

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

at the 5th annual Asian Awards in London.

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

IPC) has suspended the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) for indefinite period. The annual trade deficit for India for fiscal year 2014-15 increased to touch $137 billion.

Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton won the Bahrain Grand Prix for the second year in a

row.

India’s Y. Pranjala has won the Asian Junior Tennis championship title.

Maharashtra Government announced the target of 14400 MW power generation by

2019.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced a new tournament to be known as the Africa T20 Cup.

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

The government has retained the rate of interest for General Provident Fund (GPF) at 8.7 per cent for

the current fiscal.

Pakistan conferred its top civilian award 'Nishan-e-Pakistan' on Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Income Tax Department was awarded 'Prime Minister's award.

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

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

Shah Rukh Khan has been conferred with Dadasaheb Phalke Film Foundation Award 2015.

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

World Bank established Pollution Management and Environmental Health (PHEM) program.

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

Africa.

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

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

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

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

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

(WTTC).

The Union Cabinet gave its approval for signing of a shipping agreement between India and Jordan.

Global Accounting company KPMG elected Lynne Doughtie as its CEO and Chairman.

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

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

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

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

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

operation.

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

The government has allowed EPFO to invest 5% of its corpus in exchange traded funds (ETFs).

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

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

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



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Actor Anil Kapoor was conferred the Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar Award.

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

Akhilesh Das Gupta was elected the vice-president of the Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC)

for a four year term.

Bhalchandra Nemade received 50th Jnanpith Award.

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

Railway Sports Promotion Board has won the 5th Senior Men’s National Hockey Championship 2015.

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

festival.

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

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

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

Mukesh Ambani regained his position as the world's richest Indian with a networth of $19.6 billion.

Uttar Pradesh has signed two MoUs for establishing a solar and an ultra-mega solar power project in

the state.

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

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

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

India won for the first time the 22nd President’s Cup Boxing Tournament in Palembang, Indonesia.

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

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

Kei Nishikori won Barcelona Open title.

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

investment.

Praful Patel was elected as vice-president, South Asian Football Federation (SAFF)Region.

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

Siddhartha Gigoo has won the 2015 Commonwealth Short Story Prize.

The International Table Tennis Federation has become the world's largest sports body in terms ofmembership.

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

the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Mazen Darwish was honoured with UNESCO-Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize 2015.

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

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

Championship 2015.

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

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

2014.

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

Government has made Permanent Account Number (PAN) mandatory for private firms seeking central

excise registration.

International Shooting Competition 2015 was held in Hannover, Germany.

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

Roger Federer won Istanbul Open Tournament.

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



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

Athletics championship.

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

Former Union minister and veteran Congress leader Baleshwar Ram died. He was 87.

Wang Jianlin became the wealthiest man in Asia.

France signed an agreement with Qatar to supply 24 Dassault Aviation-built Rafale fighter jets. The United States authorized commercial ferry services to Cuba for the first time in more than a half -

century.

Stuart Bingham won 2015 Snooker World Championship.

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

Michael Blake, who won an Oscar for writing the script of Dances With Wolves died at the age of 69.

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

Norway is at the top of Global Motherhood Index 2015.

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

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

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

Championship.

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

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

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

Eminent Bengali writer Suchitra Bhattacharya passed away in Kolkata.

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

six decades.

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

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

Diplomacy Initiative award.

The government appointed M.J. Joseph as the Controller General of Accounts in the Ministry of

Finance. Indian shooter Gagan Narang won the bronze medal in the 50m Rifle Prone Event of the ISSF World

Cup.

Najama Heptullah is the Union Minister for Minorities Welfare.

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

Officer.

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

Commission.

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

Kochi will host the World Senior Badminton Championships in 2017.

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

Islamic clothing company East Essence tied up with Snapdeal. Novak Djokovic captured his fourth Rome Masters Tennis title with a win over Roger Federer.

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

ICICI Bank opened its first branch in China.

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

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

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

cards.



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

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

international cricket.

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

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

Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai has won the Man Booker International Prize. Bank of India has elevated R.A. Sankara Narayanan as the executive director of the bank.

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

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

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

Parliament.

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

Lithuania topped the Environmental Democracy Index.

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

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

Indian-origin US filmmaker Prashant Bhargava passed away.

Indian IT major Wipro has been felicitated by Microsoft with 'Supplier of the Year award'. Hwang Kyo-ahn has been named the new South Korean prime minister.

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

Year.

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

Gujarat government and Chinese software firm ZTEsoft have signed an agreement for smart city

projects in the state.

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

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

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

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

Indian boxers won a total of seven medals including four gold, one silver and two bronze medals at theDoha International boxing tournament.

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

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

Andrzej Duda has won Poland's Presidential elections.

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

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

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

ICICI Bank has launched a service where customers can make transactions using just their voice.

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

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

Western Union has renewed its 14-year-old partnership with India Post. Manoj Mishra has been appointed as CMD of National Fertilizers Ltd (NFL).

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

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

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

The PM Narendra Modi, launched DD Kisan - India's first television channel dedicated to farmers.

India and Vietnam signed a Joint Vision Statement on Defence Cooperation for the period 2015-2020.

Veteran filmmaker Subhash Ghai has been selected for FIFA Lifetime Achievement honour.



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

India’s exports to China are expected to grow by around 14 per cent a year in the decade to 2030.

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

Documentary photographer Mary Ellen Mark passed away.

Pakistani spinner Raza Hasan was banned by the Pakistan Cricket Board from playing any form of

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

India has topped the world hunger list.

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

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

The Maharashtra Government launched 'Swachhata Saptapadi' scheme.

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

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

Mauritius President Kailash Purryag has resigned from office.

Akinwumi Adesina has been elected as the new President of the African Development Bank

(AfDB).

G. S. Reddy has been appointed as the Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister. The United States has removed Cuba from its list of countries sponsors of terrorism.

More than 100 US cities will organise a Yogathon on the first International Yoga Day on June 21.

American actor and comedian Reynaldo Rey passed away.

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

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

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

System (ABPS).

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

Muhammadu Buhari sworn-in as President of Nigeria.

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

Singapore honoured Gautam Banerjee with 'Public Service Medal'. US-based taxi hailing app Uber has appointed Amit Jain as President of its India operations.

Veteran filmmaker Subhash Ghai has been selected for FIFA Lifetime Achievement honour.

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

India’s exports to China are expected to grow by around 14 per cent a year in the decade to 2030.

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

Documentary photographer Mary Ellen Mark passed away.

Pakistani spinner Raza Hasan was banned by the Pakistan Cricket Board from playing any form of

cricket.

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

India has topped the world hunger list.

Eminent scientist Dr. Selvin Christopher has been appointed as the Director General of DRDO. Mauritius President Kailash Purryag has resigned from office.

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

capitalisation.

ADB announced to give 3,200 crore rupees loan assistance to the West Bengal Government.

Nearly 300 deals worth USD 55 billion have been signed at the 3rd China-South Asia Expo in Kunming.

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

2015'.



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

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

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

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

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

An Egyptian court sentenced former President Mohamed Morsy to 25 years in prison. India and Poland has set an ambitious trade target of USD 5 billion.

The Centre has approved an anti-chit fund bill passed by West Bengal Assembly in 2013.

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

Australia signed a landmark Free Trade Agreement with China.

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

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

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

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

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

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

BSNL announced to set up 40,000 wi-fi hotspots across the country. India's rank is 143th on Global Peace Index (GPI).

Iceland topped the Global Peace Index (GPI) 2015.

Mumbai is the most expensive city in India according to the latest Mercer survey for 2015.

Archana Ramasundaram was appointed as the Director of National Crime Records Bureau.

Sharad Pawar was re-elected as the President of Mumbai Cricket Association.

Asia has overtaken Europe as the world’s second-richest region in the world in 2014.

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

Asian Development Bank announced to increase about 50 percent loan to India to $12 billion by 2018.

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

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

South Korea's Justice Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn was appointed as the country's new prime minister. India has been ranked third in a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Report for 2013.

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

Journalist and writer Aakar Patel appointed as Executive Director of Amnesty International (AI) India.

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

ONGC lifted the 42nd All India Goswami Ganesh Dutt Memorial Cricket Tournament 2015.

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

ISRO announced to provide navigational support to Indian Railways through GAGAN system.

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

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

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

SBI has launched Internet-based platform SBI eforex. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ‘Narendra Modi Mobile App’.

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

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

India created two world records on the first International Yoga Day on 21st June 2015.

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

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

Bangladesh defeated Team India in the second ODI cricket match.



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Benni Joseph Mavelil has been chosen for the V.K. Krishna Menon award.

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

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

Former Indian women hockey captain Shashi Bala and her son Agrim Thakur died in a road accident.

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

India-born Nikesh Arora appointed the president of Japan's SoftBank Corp. EPFO has made Universal Account Number (UAN) mandatory for all employers.

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

Carnatic vocalist Sanjay Subrahmanyam selected for Sangitha Kalanidhi award of Madras Music

Academy.

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

Nico Rosberg won Austrian Grand Prix 2015 beating Lewis Hamilton.

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

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

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

Debendranath Sarangi elected as president of the Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI).

K. Rajendiran elected as secretary-general of the Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI). Tennis legend Steffi Graf was appointed the Ayurveda brand ambassador of Kerala.

Railway Team defeated France in the 20th USIC- Tennis (World Railways)Championship.

Narayana Murthy conferred with Astronautical Society of India's Rocket and Related Technologies

Award.

'Sabar Shouchagar' project in West Bengal’s Nadia district won UN award for innovative public

services.

SIDBI has set up a Rs.1000 crore 'Make in India' fund for MSMEs.

Rajasthan topped the list of states commissioning grid connected solar power projects in the country.

Former Pakistan captain Zaheer Abbas has been appointed President of ICC.

India is at 9th rank in terms recipients of FDI in 2014.

India has emerged as the third largest source of FDI for United Kingdom. India would provide an assistance of $1 billion for quake-hit Nepal's reconstruction.

Australia announced that it would join the new China AIIB as a founding member.

Prominent journalist, riter and anti-nuclear activist Praful Bidwai passed away in Netherlands.

Russia and Saudi Arabia have signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of nuclear energy.

HDFC Bank extended managing director Aditya Puri's tenure for another five years.

Famous writer of Sanskrit and Telugu Professor Pullela Srirama Chandraudu passed away.

Satnam Singh Bhamara became the first Indian basketball player to be drafted in America's NBA.

Asha Bhosle is declared the greatest Bollywood playback artist of all times by the U.K. based Eastern

Eye newspaper.

State Bank of India announced the appointment of Anshula Kant as its Chief Financial Officer.

Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has been conferred with Colombia's highest civilian award. Axis Bank has launched an EMV-chip-based debit card called ‘Secure+’.

Sachin Tendulkar has been voted the 'Best Test player' of the 21st century.

11 Indian companies are ranked in Forbes Asia's 'Best Under A Billion' list.

Dr. Vishwanath Tripathi has been choosen for the 28th Moortidevi Award 2014.

Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa won the Canada Open Grand Prix women's doubles title.

Bangladesh cricketer Shakib Al Hassan ranked the best all-rounder in ODI once again.

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



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

Russia's former prime minister Yevgeny Primakov passed away.

Pratap Pawar was awarded Punyabhushan Award 2015.

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

Railways is the 8th largest employer in the world.

U.S. Department of Defense is world’s largest employer. India is at the top in Baseline Profitability Index (BPI).

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

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

IMF has approved USD 506.4 million loan tranche to Pakistan.

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

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

Brazilian racer Nelson Piquet Jr won the FIA Formula E Championship title of the 2014-15 season.

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

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

Nandkumar Saravade has been appointed as CEO of the Data Security Council of India (DSCI).

HDFC Bank launched '30-min auto' and '15-min 2-wheeler' loan schemes. Khalin Joshi finished sixth at the USD 76,000 Bali National Golf Championship.

Suresh Prabhu inaugurated the Integrated Security System (ISS) at four railway stations in Mumbai.

Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani for the first time nominated a female as judge in Supreme Court.

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

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

Current Affairs of July/Aug - 2015

INTERNATIONAL

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

Iran and P5+1 Countries Reached Agreement On Iran’s Nuclear Programme Iran and P5+1 countries comprising of the United States, the United Kingdom (UK), Russia,China, France and Germany on 14 July reached an agreement on the Iran nuclear programme.

The agreement called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA) or Vienna agreement wasreached after 17 days of almost uninterrupted negotiations in Vienna (Austria) involving foreignministers of seven countries.



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

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

EU approves 7 Billion Euro Short-Term Loan To Greece The European Union (EU) on 17 July approved a short-term loan of 7.16 billion euros to Greece

after it was backed by the 28 member states. This loan will allow Greece to pay its debt toEuropean Central Bank (ECB) and the Inter-national Monetary Fund (IMF) till new bailout planis ratified. The loan will be given through the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism(EFSM) which is a rescue fund set up during the first time bailout of Greece in 2010. But presently it covers the whole of the 28 EU member nations and not just the 19 eurozonemembers.

INDIA & WORLD

India-Uzbekistan Signed Three Agreements India and Uzbekistan have signed three agreements during delegation level talks held between

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov in Tashkent, the capitalof Uzbekistan on 6 July 2015. The agreements were signed in the field of tourism, culture and protocol.

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

India Ranked 33rd ‘Most Reputable Nation In The World’ Canada has been named as the most reputable nation in the world, in a recent survey on howcountries are perceived across the world.The north American country reclaimed the top spot inthe Reputation Institute’s annual report, which looks at the government, environment andeconomy of 55 nations.India is ranked 33rd among 55 countries as far as its reputation perceived by people from across the world is concerned. Its reputation has increased by 7.4%.



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

India and US signed Inter-Governmental Agreement India and United States (US) signed Inter Governmental Agreement (IGA) to implement theForeign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The intergovernmental agreement (IGA) onFATCA was signed by Indian Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das and the US Ambassador toIndia Richard Verma on 9 July in New Delhi. The agreement will promote transparency on taxmatters between the two countries.

NATIONAL

PM Narendra Modi Launched ‘Digital India Week’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1 July launched the ‘Digital India Week’ in New Delhi. Thenewly created week is aimed at encouraging people’s involvement and creating awarenessamong them about various initiatives launched under the Digital India Programme launched inAugust 2014.

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

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

Prime Minister Unveiled National Policy for Skill Development & Entrepreneur ship 2015 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15 July unveiled National Policy for Skill Development andEntrepreneurship 2015 in New Delhi.The policy was unveiled in a programme held on the

occasion of first-ever World Youth Skills Day. It is the first such policy on entrepreneurshipsince independence and intended to replace the National Policy on Skill Development 2009.

India signed Loan Agreement of $300 Million with ADB For NUHM India on 28 July signed a loan agreement of 300 million US dollars with Asian DevelopmentBank (ADB) for its flagship programme National Urban Health Mission (NUHM). The main ofthe NUHM is to improve the health status of the country’s urban population.



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STATES

Adani Group To Set Up 650 MW Solar Power Plant in Tamil Nadu Adani Group has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tamil Nadu Govern-mentto set up 650 Mega Watt (MW) solar power plant in Ramanathapuram district. The group will set

up five solar power units at a cost of 4,536 crore rupees.

Uttar Pradesh Tops List of States with Highest Mobile Penetration Uttar Pradesh has highest number of households with a mobile phone (86.63 per cent). In otherhand Odisha (33.56 per cent) has the least number of households with a mobile phone as per theSocio Economic and Caste Census 2011.

Asia’s First Armed Forces Preparatory Institute For Women Asia’s first ever institute to train young women to join armed forces Mai Bhago Armed Forces

Preparatory Institute was inaugurated by the Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar andPunjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in Mohali, Punjab on 25 July. With 25 girls beingselected, the one-of-its-kind institute will equip students with skills required in army, navy andair force.

India’s First Railway-Line Built Under PPP model Inaugurated In Gujarat Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu on 14 July inaugurated the broad-gauge railway-line between Gandhidham and Tuna-Tekra Port in Gujarat by flagging off a goods train.The rail lineis India’s first railway-line built with private sector participation under Non-GovernmentRailway (NGR) Policy 2012 of Indian Railways.

CONFERENCES

Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit 2015 The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) 2015 summit was held on 9-10 July 2015 in Ufa,Russia. Leaders and officials from the four SCO observer countries of Mongolia, Iran, Pakistanand India were also present at the summit. India has been accorded full accorded the fullmembership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) at its Ufa summit Technically,India will become the member of SCO by 2016 after completion of certain procedures. The SCOgroup has six full time members at present namely China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia,

Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.



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46th Indian Labour Conference The 46th Session of Indian Labour Conference was held on 20 July in New Delhi. PrimeMinister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 46th Indian Labour Conference dedicating the NationalCareer Service (NCS) the largest nationwide portal for job matching in dynamic and efficientmanner and launching of ESIC 2.0, the second generation health reform agenda for the numerous

employees nationwide.

AWARDS & HONOURS

Sanjeev Galande Selected For G D Birla Award 2014 Noted scientist Sanjeev Galande has been selected for the prestigious G D Birla award for2014.He was selected for his pioneering research in the field of epigenetics and molecular cell biology.The name was on 1 July announced by the K K Birla Foundation and he is the 24th recipient ofthe award.

Ravi Shankar Conferred with Peru’s Highest Award ‘Grand Officer’ Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was on 1 July conferred with Peru’s one of the highestawards ‘Grand Officer’ for social work and mission to deliver peace through his foundation TheArt of Living. Andean Parliament in Lima honoured Sri with the award titled “Medalla dela

Integracion en el Grado de Gran Oficial”.

Indian-American Teacher Darshan Jain Named For US Presidential Award Darshan Jain, an Indian American teacher was chosen for prestigious Presidential Award forExcellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. He is one of the 108 teachers named byPresident Barack Obama as recipients of the prestigious award.

Indian-American Woman Sunita Viswanath Honoured with Champion of Change Sunita Viswanath,an Indian-American woman has been with Champion of Change award by theWhite House of United States. Sunita Viswanath, the only Indian American to figure in the list,has been selected for her work to encourage Hindus to take care of the environ-ment.

SPORTS & GAMES

Lewis Hamilton Won 2015 Birtish Grand Prix

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain won 2015 Birtish Grand Prix of Formula One (F1)on 5 June. This was his fourth victory of the season and his second of Birtish Grand Prix. Withthis win, Hamilton became the second British driver since David Coulthard in 1999-2000 to postsuccessive wins in the race.



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Wimbledon Tennis Championship 2015 Winners Men’s Singles: Novak Djokovic of Serbia on 12 July won men’s singles title of Wimbledon. Inthe final clash played in London, Serbian Djokovic defeated Roger Federer of Switzerland. It isDjokovic’s 3rd wimbledon title and overall 12th men’s single Grand Slam title.

Women’s Singles: Serena Williams (US) won wimbledon women’s singles title. In the finalmatch played she defeated Garbine Muguruza of Spain.It is Williams’ sixth Women’s SinglesWimbledon title and overall 21th Grand Slam title.

India Won 2015 South Asian Basketball Championship India on 5 July won the South Asian Basketball (SABA) Championship title. In the final playedat the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, Karanataka, India defeated Sri Lanka 93-44. It was 4thedition of the championships. India was the winner of third SABA Championship.With this win

India qualified for the FIBA Asia Champion-ship which will be hosted by China in September2015.

ECONOMY

Corporation Bank Launched First MUDRA card Corporation Bank on 4 July launched country’s first MUDRA (Micro Units Development and

Refinance Agency) card under the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) in Mangalore,Karnataka. The card is based on the RuPay platform and facilitates the withdrawal and use of theworking capital finance by micro entrepreneurs.

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

Seven Indian Companies Among World’s 500 Largest Companies Seven Indian companies were listed among the world’s 500 largest companies in the Fortune

Global 500 list for 2015 that was released on 22 July. The list has been topped by Wal-Mart,which retained its top spot.

Ten Indian Companies In Forbes Asia Fabulous 50 List The Forbes Asia’s Fabulous 50 list of the year 2015 was released on 23 July. India has securedthe second highest position in the Forbes Asia Fabulous 50 list with 10 Indian companiesfeaturing in the list. China secured No 1 position in the list with 25 companies.



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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

NASA successfully Flight Tested Prandtld Aircraft NASA announced that it successfully flight tested Prandtl-d aircraft. It was a prototypeof Prandtl-d aircraft which will be the first airplane to be launched on Mars between 2020 &

2024. ICGS ‘Rani Durgavati’ Commissioned The Third Inshore Patrol Vessel (IPV) ofthe Indian Coast Guard ICGS ‘Rani Durgavati’ was commissioned at Visakhapatnam (AndhraPradesh) on 6 July. The vessel, built by HSL, has a maximum speed of 34 knots and at an econo-mical 14 knots has an endurance of 150 nautical miles.

‘GAGAN’ Satellite Based Navigation System Launched Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju on 13 July launched the GPS-Aided GeoAugmented Navigation (GAGAN) system,which would make airline operations more efficientand reduce costs. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Airports Authority ofIndia (AAI) developed the system, at a cost of Rs. 774 crore, over 15 years. India is the fourth

country to offer space-based satellite navigation services to the aviation sector.

India Ranks 12th In World In Nuclear Power Generation India has been ranked at 12th place in terms of power generation from nuclear source, as per thereport published by the Power Reactor Information System (PRIS) of the International AtomicEnergy Agency (IAEA). India also holds 6th position in terms of the number of reactors inoperation in the country.

China Successfully Tests 5th Generation Long March Carrier Rocket Chinese scientists have successfully tested the power system of a Long March-5 carrier rocket

scheduled for flight in 2016. The fifth-generation launch vehicle of the Long March family, hasentered a run off phase. The rocket will have a payload capacity of 25 tonnes to low Earth orbits,or 14 tonnes to geostationary transfer orbit, about twice the current capacity.

PERSONS IN NEWS

A). APPOINTMENTS

China Nominates Jin Liqun as AIIB president China on 6 July nominated its former finance Minister Jin Liqun as the Presidential candidate for

$100 billion Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Presently, Jin is Secretary General ofAIIB’s interim secretariat.

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



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Ashish Bahuguna Appointed as Chairman of FSSAI Ashish Bahuguna, former agriculture secretary, has been appointed as the chairman of FoodSafety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on 27 July. His tenure will be of three years

and he succeeded K Chandramouli whose tenure ended in January 2015. Since then the positionwas lying vacant and the Health Secretary Bhanu Pratap Sharma was given the interim charge ofchairman of FSSAI.

B). RESIGNS

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

C). DEATHS

Former Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam Died Former Indian President Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen (APJ) Abdul Kalam passed away on 27 July inShillong (MeghalayA).He was 83. He was also known as the Missile Man of India. He was bornon 15 October 1931 in Rameswaram, Ramanathapuram District of Tamil Nadu. He spent fourdecades as a scientist and science administrator, mainly at the DRDO and ISRO. During histenure as Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister from July 1992 to December 1999, heled the weaponisation of strategic missile systems and the Pokhran-II nuclear tests, which madeIndia a nuclear weapon state. He was the 11th President on India from 2002 to 2007. He has been

awar-ded with the coveted civilian awards including Padma Bhushan (1981) and PadmaVibhushan (1990) and the highest civilian award Bharat Ratna (1997).Kalam authored numerousinspira-tional books including India 2020, Wings Of Fire and Ignited Minds.

D). VISITORS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Visited Uzbekistan Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Uzbekistan on 6-7 July 2015. India and Uzbekistan havesigned three agreements during delegation level talks held between Prime Minister NarendraModi and Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov in Tashkent ,the capital of Uzbekistan. During

the visit, Narendra Modi released the first Uzbek-Hindi dictionary at the event along withUzbeki-stan Prime Minister and Indologist Rakhmatov.



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Prime Minister Narendra Modi Visited Turkmenistan Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Turkmenistan on 10-11 July 2015. During the visit, Narendra Modi held formal talks with Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow.The two leaders reaffirmed their strong commitment towards timely implementation of thestrategic Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) project. In the visit, India and Turk-

menistan signed eight agreements to deepen bilateral cooperation between the two nations.During the visit Narendra Modi had unveiled a bust of Gandhi at a traditional medicine and yogacentre in Turkmenistan capital Ashgabat.

E). MISCELLANEOUS

Gennady Padalka Sets Record For Spending Longest Time In Space Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka has set a Guinness World Record for spending longesttime in space with a total of 804 days as on July 2015. With this he broke the previous record of803 days, nine hours and 41 minutes set by Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev (now retired)

across six missions from 1998 to 2005.

Guinness Book Recognises Madhya Pradesh’s World Record in Washing Hands The Guinness Book of World Records has on 3 July 2015 recognised a record created in MadhyaPradesh on ‘World Hand washing Day’ in 2014. The mega hand washing event was held on 15October 2014 to create awareness about hygiene by washing hands with soap.

PLACES IN NEWS

World’s First 3-D Printed Office To Be Built In Dubai

The world’s first office building constructed using 3-D printer is set to come up in Dubai, UAE.The Office will be approximately 2,000 square feet in size and will be printed layer-bylayerusing a 20-foot tall 3-D printer, then assembled on site in Dubai.

Remnants of India’s One of the Oldest Port Discovered In Goa A team of scientists from Goa based National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) on 15 Julydiscovered the remnants of a historically important port on Goa’s Zuari river which is expectedto be amongst the oldest signs of human trade on the central west coast.The Port is supposed to be existed between 1000 to 3500 AD which makes it India’s oldest ports.



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ABBREVIATIONS

FATCA – Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act

UGC – University Grants Commission

MGNREGA – Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act

SECC – SocioEconomic&Caste Census

CDC – Centre for Disease Control

MUDRA – Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency

AIIB – Asian Infrastructure Invest ment Bank

Books in News

“Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years” Book Released

The book titled Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years was published on 6 July by HarperCollins. It was co-

authored by AS Dulat and Aditya Sinha. The book focuses on initiatives launched by the Vajpa-yee

government between 1998 and 2004 to restore normalcy in India’s most beautiful but troubled state.

COMMITTEES

Deepak Mohanty Committee To Frame Action Plan On Financial Inclusion The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) formed a committee to work out a five-year (medium term)action plan for financial inclusion. This committee comprises total 14 members and will beheaded by RBI executive director Deepak Mohanty. The main aim of this committee will be toreview the existing policy of financial inclusion, including customer protection framework andsupportive payment system.

Ashwini Nachappa Committee To Study Status of SAI training Centers The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on 8 July 2015 constituted an eight membercommittee to study status of Sports Authority of India (SAI) training centers across the country.

The committee will be headed by former athlete Ashwini Nachappa and includes Pullela GopiChand as a member among others.



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IMPORTANT DAYS & DATES

September 5 – Teacher’s Day (Birthday of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan)

September 8 – World Literacy Day

September 14 – Hindi Diwas ( Day)

September 15 – Engineer’s Day

September 16 – World Ozone Day

September 20 – Railway Police Force (RPF) Foundation Day

September 21 – Alzheimer’s Day

September 27 – World Tourism Day

September 29 – World Heart Day

Current Affairs of June - 2015

INTERNATIONAL

US President Barack Obama Signed USA Freedom Act 2015 into Law US President Barack Obama on 2 June signed the USA FREEDOM Act 2015 in law. The USAFREEDOM stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and EnsuringEffective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2015. With this, the National Security Agency(NSA) lost its authority to collect the phone records of millions of Americans.

Ameenah Gurib-Fakim Is First Woman President of Mauritius Ameenah Gurib-FakimProminent scientist Ameenah Gurib-Fakim was on 5 June sworn in asPresident of Mauritius. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim is an internationally-renowned scientist and biologist. She replaced Kailash Purryag who stepped down as country’s President on 29 May2015.

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

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



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INDIA & WORLD

India and Sweden Signed Six Agreements India and Sweden on 1 June signed six agreements, including in the field of polar research andfor boosting trade. Both sides also signed a MoU for cooperation in the field of micro, small and

medium enterprises. The agreements were signed in the presence of President Pranab Mukherjeeand Swedan Prime Minister Stefan Lofven at Rosenbad in Stockholm, Sweden.

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

India – Bangladesh Ratify Historic Land Boundary Agreement India and Bangladesh on 6 June signed ratification pact to operationalise the historic Land

Boundary Agreement (LBA).It was signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hisBangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina.According to the agreement 111 enclaves with a totalarea of 17,160.63 acres from India will be transferred to Bangladesh, while 51 enclaves of area7,110.02 acres will be transferred to India.

India – Netherlands Signed Agreements India and the Netherlands on 5 June signed a number of agreements, including to collaborate in building dredgers in India as part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative and manufacture vaccinesagainst measles and rubella in India.The agreements were signed in the presence of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Netherland Mark Rutte in New Delhi after thetwo leaders held discussions on various issues related to the region and the world.

India – Thailand Signed Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty India and Thailand on 29 June signed the Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty (DTAT) andexchanged instruments of ratification on the extradition treaty signed in 2013. The tax treaty provides for the framework of avoiding double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion withrespect to taxes so as to promote bilateral economic cooperation.

NATIONAL

Union Government Announced Rs 1500 crore INIP

Union Government on 13 June launched an Indian Nuclear Insurance Pool (INIP) of 1,500 crorerupees as per the mandatory provision under the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act(CLND), 2010. This pool will be the 27th such market pool globally. This insurance pool waslaunched to address the concerns of the clauses in the CLND Act, which give the operator theRight to Recourse and allow it to sue the suppliers in case of any accident. General InsuranceCorporation of India (GIC Re) is the fund operator of this Rs. 1,500 crore Indian insurance pooland it includes 11 other non-life insurers as associates of the pool.



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

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

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

Union Cabinet Approved Six new IIMs In India The Union Cabinet on 24 June 2015 approved setting up of six new Indian Institutes ofManagement (IIMs) in the country. These new IIMs will be located at Amritsar (Punjab), Bodh

Gaya (Bihar), Nagpur (Maharashtra), Sambalpur (Odisha), Sirmaur (Himachal Pradesh) andVishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh). The Union Cabinet also gave its approval to the proposal ofthe Ministry of Culture for setting up of a National Memorial at Lala Ka Tola, Sitab, Diara,District Chhapra (Saran) in Bihar – the birth place of Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan.

STATES

Maharashtra Govt Approved new Renewable Energy Policy Maharashtra government has approved a new Renewable Energy Policy which aims at achieving14,400 MW of installed capacity over a period of five years i.e. till 2020. The approval decisionof new policy worth 4,156.43 crore rupees was taken by state cabinet meeting chaired by Chief

Minister Devendra in Mumbai. The policy aims at achieving installed capacity of renewableenergy of 21,100 MW by 2020 from current installed capacity of 6,700 MW.

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

Haryana’s Jind, Karnal & UP’s Muzaffarnagar Included In NCR Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on 9 June announced that Jind and

Karnal districts of Haryana and Muzaffarnagar of Uttar Pradesh have been included in the National Capital Region (NCR). With this the total number of districts included in NCR has risento 22.

Kerala Govt Declares June 22 as ‘Snake Bird Day’ Kerala Government has declared June 22 as ‘Snake Bird Day’ in a bid to protect the endangered

species which is also known as Indian darter.



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CONFERENCES

41st G7 Summit Held In Germany

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1981.

AWARDS & HONOURS

Bangladesh Conferred Award of Liberation War Honour On Atal Bihari Vajpayee Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was conferred Award of of Bangladesh LiberationWar Honour for his active role in the country independence struggle and consolidating Indiafriendship with the Bangladesh.Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi received this award on behalf of Former PM from Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid at a ceremony at Bangabhaban,the President house on 7 June 2015.

Historian Ramachandra Guha Selected For Japan’s Fukuoka Prize Eminent Historian-writer Ramachandra Guha has been selected for Japan’s Fukuoka Prize 2015in n the Academic category. Fukuoka Prize honours those who have made outstandingcontributions to academia, arts and culture across Asia.

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

Ravi Shankar Conferred With Colombia’s Highest Civilian Award

Indian spiritual leader, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was on 25 June conferred with the Columbia’shighest civilian award Orden de la Democracia Simon Bolivar en el grado de cruz Caballero(Order of the Democracy Simon Bolivar) by Columbia. The award has been given in recognitionto the spiritual leader’s contribution in spreading the message of peace in society, inter -mediationin war, reducing stress and combating violence through yoga and breathing exercises.



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Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna 2015 and Arjuna Awards 2015

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

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

i) Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ranta 2015

S. No. Name of the sportsperson Discipline

1 Ms. Sania Mirza Tennis

(ii) Arjuna Awards 2015

S. No. Name of the sportsperson Discipline

1 Naib Subedar Sandeep Kumar Archery

2 Ms. M.R. Poovamma Athletics3 Mr. Kidambi Srikanth

NammalwarBadminton

4 Mr. Mandeep Jangra Boxing

5 Mr. Rohit Sharma Cricket

6 Ms. Dipa Karmakar Gymnastic

7 Mr. Sreejesh P.R. Hockey

8 Mr. Manjeet Chhillar Kabaddi

9 Ms. Abhilasha Shashikant Mhatre Kabaddi

10 Mr. Sawarn Singh Rowing

11 Mr. Anup Kumar Yama Roller Skating12 Mr. Jitu Rai Shooting

13 Shri S. Sathish Kumar Weightlifting

14 Mr. Bajrang Wrestling

15 Ms. Babita Kumari Wrestling

16 Ms. Yumnam Sanathoi Devi Wushu

17 Mr. Sharath M. Gayakwad Para-Swimming

The awardees will receive their awards from the President of India at a specially organized

function at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on August 29, 2015.

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



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SPORTS & GAMES

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

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

Wesley Hall Inducted into ICC cricket ‘Hall of Fame’ Former West Indies fast bowler Sir Wesley Winfield Hall was on 12 June inducted into the ICCCricket Hall of Fame. He is 80th cricketer to be inducted in the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame and18th from West Indies. Hall is the fourth cricketer this year to be inducted into the ICC CricketHall of Fame after Betty Wilson, Anil Kumble and Martin Crowe, who were inducted earlier thisyear during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

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

China Won 2015 Snooker’s World Cup China won the 2015 Nongfu Spring Snooker’s World Cup on 21 June by defeating Scotland 4-1in the final match held at Wuxi near Shanghai in China.India stood at the third position in thecompetition, the best finish so far for India.

ECONOMY

RBI lowers Repo Rate To 7.25 per cent The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its second bi-monthly policy announced on 2 June hasreduced the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points from7.5 per cent to 7.25 per cent with immediate effect. However, the cash reserve ratio (CRR) ofscheduled banks was kept unchanged at 4 percent of net demand and time liabilities (NDTL).The reverse repo rate under the LAF stands adjusted to 6.25 per cent, and the marginal standingfacility (MSF) rate and the bank rate to 8.25 per cent.

India Joined MCAA on AEOI India joined the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) on Automatic Exchangeof Financial Account Information (AEOI) on 3 June in Paris, France, alongwith Australia,Canada, Costa Rica, Indonesia and New Zealand.Earlier, Fifty-one countries had joined MCAAon 29 October 2014, in Berlin. Switzerland became the fifty-second country on 19 November2014. On 3 June 2015, 6 countries – India, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Indonesia and NewZealand joined MCAA by signing the agreement in Paris.



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India Tops The World Bank Growth Chart World Bank Group’s latest Global Economic Prospects (GEP) report released on 10 June putsIndia at the top of the growth chart of major economies. With an expected growth of 7.5 percentthis year, India is, for the first time, leading the World Bank’s growth chart of major economies.According to the report China is likely to grow at 7.1 percent. The Bank expects developing

countries to witness a rise in growth to 5.2 percent in 2016 and 5.4 percent in 2017.

India Placed at 61st Position In Terms Of Foreigners’ Money In Swiss Banks India was placed at 61st position in terms of foreigners’ money in Swiss banks. This wasrevealed by latest data released by Swiss National Bank (SNB), the central bank of Switzerlandon 21 June 2015. As per the data, India now accounts for a meagre 0.123 per cent of the totalglobal wealth worth 1.6 trillion US dollars in Switzerland’s banking system. Indians’ money inSwiss banks declined by over 10 percent to about 1.8 billion Swiss francs (1.98 billion USdollars or 12615 crore rupees) in 2014.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Indian Researchers Successfully Complete Whole Genome Sequencing of Tulsi Scientists at Central Institute of Medicinal & Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), Lucknow succeeded inwhole genome sequencing of Holy basil or Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum). CIMAP is a frontier plantresearch laboratory of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).This is the firstreport of complete genome sequence of Tulsi, which is both used as an essential medicinal plantand revered as Vishnupriya and worshipped for over 3000 years in India.

India’s First Indigenous Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant Undocked India’s first indigenously-built largest aircraft carrier INS Vikrant was on 10 June successfullyundocked at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) in Cochin district of Kerala. The ship will undergo

a series of fitment and trial processes along with series of static and dynamic trials beforeinducting it into the Indian Navy in end-2018. With successful completion of construction of INSVikrant India joins elite group of four nations in the world viz United States, Russia, UnitedKingdom and France that are capable of designing and constructing aircraft carriers.

World’s Thinnest Light Bulb Created From Graphene Researchers have created the world’s thinnest light bulb using graphene as filament. It wascreated by team of scientist led by Young Duck Kim comprising members from ColumbiaUniversity School of Engineering, Seoul National University and Korea Research Institute ofStandards and Science.

China Produces World’s First Electric Plane The world’s first electric passenger aircraft named BX1E was manufactured in China. Theaircraft was designed by Shenyang Aerospace University and Liaoning General AviationAcademy located in the northeastern Liaoning Province of China.

PERSONS IN NEWS



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A) APPOINTMENTS

Petteri Taalas Appointed Secretary-General of WMO Petteri Taalas, Director-General of the Finnish Meteorological Institute, was on 4 June appointedas the next Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) for a four-year

mandate starting 1 January 2016. He succeeds Michel Jarraud (France).

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

B)RESIGNS

FIFA President Sepp Blatter Resigned

President of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Sepp Blatter hasresigned on 2 June amid a corruption scandal which under investigation in United States. Earlieron 30 May 2015, he was re-elected as the FIFA President for a fifth term by defeating his rivalcandidate Prince Ali bins Al Hussein of Jordan.

C)DEATHS

Nobel Chemistry Winner Irwin Rose Died Irwin Rose, a biochemist who shared the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering a waythat cells destroy unwanted proteins the basis for developing new therapies for diseases such ascervical cancer and cystic fibrosis has died on 2 June in Massachusetts.. He was 88. Rose was

born on July 16, 1926 in New York, United States. He had shared this noble prize with AaronCiechanover and Avram Hershko.

Chandigarh’s Iconic Rock Garden Creator Nek Chand Died Nek Chand Saini, creator of Chandigarh’s iconic Rock Garden passed away on 12 June in

Chandigarh. He was 90. His creation Rock Garden of Chandigarh was opened for public on 24January 1976. The garden is maintained by the Nek Chand Foundation, formed in 1996. NekChand was awarded the Padma Shri in 1984. Born on 15 December 1924 in Shakargarh region,now in Pakistan, Chand immigrated to India with his family and settled in Chandigarh in 1950.

D)VISITORS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Visited Bangladesh Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Bangladesh on 6 – 7 June 2015. During the visit,the twosides held talks and signed 22 agreements. These includes the Land Boundary Agreement,cooperation in maritime safety and agreement to curb human trafficking and fake Indiancurrency. Narendra Modi along with her Bangladeshi Counterpart Sheikh Hasina and WestBengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee flagged off the Dhaka-Shillong-Guwahati and Kolkata-Dhaka-Tripura bus services. Modi received the Award of Liberation of War Honour on behalf of



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former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who emphasized on strong ties with the neighboringcountry.

E)MISCELLANEOUS

Bhutan Sets New Guinness Record For Tree Planting A team of 100 volunteers in Bhutan has set a new world record by planting 49,672 trees in onehour. They smashed the previous record by almost 10,000 trees. It had been set by an Indianteam three years ago.Bhutan’s planters gathered in the capital, Thimphu, for their feat, whichwas confirmed by Guinness World Records on 5 June 2015.

PLACES IN NEWS

3800 Year Old Statuettes Discovered In Peru Researchers discovered a trio of mud statuettes inside a reed basket in a building, an importantarchaeological site, in the ancient city of Vichama in northern Peru. They believe that it was

created about 3800 years ago by the ancient Caral civilization.

ABBREVIATIONS

CDRI – Central Drug Research Institute

ESMA - Essential Services Maintenance Act

HDFC - Housing Development Finance Corporation

IFFI - International Film Festival of India

IISCO – Indian Iron and Steel Company

BOOKS IN NEWS

President Pranab Mukherjee Released ‘ Yogikaspars ‘ President Pranab Mukherjee on 8 June released Yogikasparsh, a yoga manual in braille written by Nivedita Joshi, at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. Nivedita Joshi, daughter of

senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, suffered from a critical ailment some 19 years ago andgot fully cured with the help of Yoga.



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COMMITTEES

Recommendations of Bibek Debroy Committee On Restructuring Of Indian Railways The Bibek Debroy committee on the restructuring of Indian Railways (IR) has submitted its finalreport to the Union Ministry of Railways on 12 June.Union government had constituted the high-

level committee in September 2014 to restructure the Railways and suggest ways for resourcemobilisation. It was seven-member panel headed by eminent economist and NITI Aayogmember Bibek Debroy.

Recommendations of Bibek Debroy committee:- * Establishment of an independent regulator Railway Regulatory Authority of India (RRAI) witha separate budget and to be independent of the Ministry.* No privatisation of Indian Railway but allowed participation of private sector in the railway projects.* Separation of activities like running of hospitals, schools, real estate development, catering,manufacturing of locomotives, coaches and wagons from the core business of running trains.* State governments should be asked to entirely fund the Government Railway Police (GRP).

* The recommended changes should be implemented only by Union Railways ministry in thefirst five years including the resolution of the social cost issue.

Current Affairs of May 2015

INTERNATIONAL

South Korea and Vietnam Signed Free Trade Agreement Vietnam and South Korea on 5 signed a bilateral free trade agreement in the Vietnamese capitalof Hanoi, concluding the countries’ two-year talks. The deal, which was initiated a month back,

will enable the trade between the two nations to reach $70 billion a year by 2020.

David Cameron Re-elected as Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative Party on 8 May won the United Kingdom General election 2015

by securing 331 seats in a Parliament of 650.With this win, David Cameron will become PrimeMinister for second term.The elections were held on 7 May 2015. Conservative Party received36.9% vote share of the total national vote. Labour Party has won 232 seats with 30.4% voteshare, emerging as largest opposition party.

Canadian House of Commons Approved Anti-Terror Act 2015 The Canadian House of Commons on 6 May approved the Bill C-51, Anti-Terror Act, 2015 that

empowers the country’s spy agency. It was adopted in a 183 to 96 vote

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