November Double Tonic 2015

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Dear Readers,This is the new series which have been started by us in which we will provide you weekly compilation of the current affairs.

We will publish our new document named DOUBLE GA TONIC.

We really hope that you all will like this new initiative by our team. This document contains the important current affairs

from November 2015, i.e. 1stNovember to 14thNovember.

This tonic is useful for all those candidates who are appearing for the RBI GRADE B EXAM AND NABARD EXAM.

Also, this is useful for the IBPS CLERK EXAM 2015-16.
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INDIAINNEWS

The Government of India announced on 12 November2015 that it signed Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with six countries. These countries are: Finland,Kazakhstan, Kenya, Sweden, Norway and Denmark, andOman and Ethiopia. In addition, Agreed Minutes were

signed with Serbia, Greece, and European Commission.The Record of Discussions was signed with BruneiDarussalam and Qatar.India was re-elected by the General Assembly to a sixyear term on the United Nations Commission onInternational Trade Law (UNCITRAL). Apart from India,22 other countries including the United States andPakistan were also re-elected to the UNCITRAL.The Union Government on 9 November 2015 signed273 million US dollar loan agreement with AsianDevelopment Bank (ADB) to continue improving ruralroads in the States of Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya

Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal. The loan agreementwas signed by S Selvakumar, Joint Secretary (BilateralCooperation), Department of Economic Affairs andTeresa Kho, Country Director of ADB.The government approved an agreement with Belgiumfor cooperation in development of new and renewableenergy technologies. The objective of the Memorandum,it added is to establish the basis for a cooperativeinstitutional relationship to encourage and promotetechnical bilateral cooperation on new and renewableenergy issues on the basis of mutual benefit, equalityand reciprocity.India, UK announced commercial deals worth 9 billionpounds. The deals cover retail, financial andprofessional services, health and education amongothers.India, Indonesia signed MoUs on Energy, CultureExchange. These MoUs were signed in the presence ofVice President Hamid Ansari and his counterpart JusufKala in Jakarta.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

An Indian culture week called India in Shanghai was on5 November 2015 inaugurated at China ShanghaiInternational Arts Festival (SIAF) at the Shanghai Grand

Theatre. The SIAF annual festival began on 16 October2015 and will continue till 16 November 2015. Theculture week was inaugurated by Indian AmbassadorAshok K Kantha along with Zhong Yanqun, Vice Chair ofThe Standing Committee of the Shanghai MunicipalPeople's Congress.

Sierra Leone has been declared Ebola-free by the WorldHealth Organisation, prompting nationwidecelebrations tinged with sadness over the loss of 4,000victims to the disease. The capital Freetown wastransformed into a giant carnival on Friday night asecstatic crowds took to the streets in an emotionaloutpouring.President Xi Jinping of China met with Ma Ying-jeou, thepresident of Taiwan in the first ever encounter betweenthe leaders of the neighbors and longtime rivals, an actboth sides described as a breakthrough gesture meantto promote peace and mutual prosperity.A court of Belgium asked Facebook to stop tracking thecountry's Internet users who are not members of theUS-based social networking website. It gave 48 hours tothe social networking site to stop tracking people inBelgium. The ruling was pronounced on a case lodged inJune 2015 by the Belgian Privacy Commission, whichsaid Facebook indiscriminately tracks Internet userswhen they click like or share on the website.A rare tropical Cyclone Chapala has slammed intoYemen triggering heavy flooding and causing damage incoastal region of the war racked country. The cyclonemade landfall in the south eastern provinces ofHadramawt and Shabwa along the Gulf of Aden coast of

Yemen in Arabian Sea bringing winds of speed morethan 100 kms per hour.

Punjabi in the first week of November 2015 became thethird most common language, after English and French,in the House of Commons of Canada after 20 Punjabi-


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speaking candidates were elected to the parliament inOctober 2015.Cyclone Megh struck Yemeni Island of Socotra.Bosnian and Serbian Governments held first jointsession post-Bosnian War in Saravejo. The joint sessionwas the first since the end of the Bosnian War in 1995.

The aim of the session was to improve their relationsand contribute to the stabilization of the WesternBalkans.Maldives Parliament voted to Impeach Vice PresidentAhmed Adeeb. All 61 parliamentarians present voted infavour of the impeachment and none opposed in the 85-member house. The opposition Maldivian DemocraticParty stayed away from voting.Romania's Prime Minister Victor Ponta resigned. SinceSeptember 2015, he has been facing weeks of intensepressure to quit after going on trial in facing charges offraud, tax evasion and money laundering.Maldives declared State of Emergency for 30 days.Maldives president declared emergency, givingsweeping powers to security forces to arrest suspectsahead of a major anti-government protest rally.Hindi largest spoken Indian language in US: CensusBureau of US. As per the American Community Surveydata, Hindi has emerged as the largest Indian languagespoken in the US with nearly 6.5 lakh people speaking it.Nepal, US armies launched Joint Military trainingBalance Nail 16-01. Since 2003, the two countries haveconducted about 30 Balance Nail training sessions. TheBalance Nail is beneficial as the training is then passedon to the wider Nepalese army.

Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) wonmajority in Parliamentary elections of Turkey. Theparty founded by President Recep Tayyip Erdogansecured 376 seats which was 14 seats less needed tocall a referendum on changing the constitution toincrease the powers of the president.

APPOINTMENTS(INDIA&WORLD)

Indian-origin barrister in UK, Kalyani Kaul was sworn-in as a Circuit Judge in the UK on 9 November 2015.Now, she will be sitting at Snaresbrook Crown Courtwith immediate effect.

Former Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India SubirVithal Gokarn on 12 November 2015 was appointed asan Executive Director on the board of the InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF). Gokarn will replace RakeshMohan at the IMF. Mohans three year tenure ends inNovember 2015.Raghuram Rajan, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governorwho has been a vocal votary for increased co-ordinationamong central banks, has been elected vice-chairman ofthe Bank of International Settlement (BIS). Mr. Rajanwill have a three-year term as vice-chairman of the BIS.

Former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, Justice AjitPrakash Shah, was on 9 November 2015 appointed asthe ethics officer (ombudsman) at Board of Control forCricket in India (BCCI). He will preside as the soledecision maker on all conflict of interest issues plaguingIndian cricket.

Tanzania's first female Vice President Samia HassanSuluhu was sworn into office. She was sworn in alongwith the new President John Pombe Magufuli at theswearing-in ceremony held in the countrys economiccapital Dar es Salaam.Navtej Singh Sarna appointed as Indian HighCommissioner to United Kingdom (UK). Sarna is a 1980batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer.Oxford University Press India (OUPI) has appointed VSivaramakrishnan (Siva) as the managing director, withregional responsibilities including Bangladesh, SriLanka, and Nepal.Indo-Canadian Sikh Harjit Sajjan was on 4 November2015 sworn-in as Defence Minister of Canada. Sajjansucceeded Conservative Defence Minister Jason KenneyJustice T S Thakur (63) will be next Chief Justice ofIndia. His name has been recommended by current CJIJustice Dattu. Current CJI Justice Dattu will retire onDecember 2, 2015. Presently, Justice Thakur is thesenior most judge of the Supreme Court. He would bethe 43rd CJI.Former Cabinet secretary T.S.R. Subramanian has beenappointed chairperson of a committee set up by theHuman Resource Development Ministry to draft thenew education policy. The committee has been

mandated to submit the draft of the new policy no laterthan December 31, 2015.Anil Kumar Jha today took over the charge of Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd(MCL), a leading subsidiary of Coal India.Indian-born Harjit Sajjan sworn-in as Defence Ministerof Canada. He is one of the Prime Minister JustinTrudeaus 30-member Cabinet that was sworn-in at apublic ceremony held at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Canada.Deepak Singhal appointed Executive Director of ReserveBank of India. Singhal replaced K K Vohra who will nowlook after the Deposit Insurance and Credit GuaranteeCorporation (DICGC).Air Marshal Virender Mohan Khanna took over asMaintenance Head of IAF


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wanted to vacate the place for youngsters who areready to fill in his shoes.Inzamam ul Haq, the former Pakistan captain, has beenroped in as the Afghanistan coach for a two-year period.Inzamam had agreed to be the batting consultant for theAsian side during the recent tour of Zimbabwe.

Mana Patel and Virdhawal Khade emerged as the bestswimmers of the 69th senior National AquaticChampionships 2015 that concluded in Rajkot on 2November 2015.The name of former footballer and Asian games goldmedallist late Ram Bahadur Chetri and renownedathletics coach Renu Kohli have been officially approvedby the state sports ministry for the prestigious KhelRatna (posthumous) and Devbhoomi UttarakhandDronacharya respectively this year.Nico Rosberg claimed victory at the Mexican Grand Prixahead of Mercedes teammate and newly-crowned worldchampion Lewis Hamilton.New Zealand cemented their status as the greatest teamin rugby history when they overwhelmed Australia 34-17 at Twickenham to become world champions for arecord third time, and the first nation to retain theWebb Ellis Cup.Nigeria won 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Thechampionship was held across 8 cities in Chile.BCCI announced monetary benefits for former players.All retired All India Panel Umpires who have officiatedin One Day International as field Umpires will get 15000rupees per month.FIFA World Rankings 2015: Belgium topped for first

time. Belgium rose from third to first after overtakingArgentina and world champions Germany.Shiva Thapa ranked World No 2 in boxing.2015 Paragliding World Cup concluded. It was held foreight days in Bir village of Himachal Pradesh.Roger Federer won 2015 Swiss Indoors mens singlestitle by defeating Rafael Nadal. Federer defeated RafaelNadal 6-3 5-7 6-3 at the final match held at the St.Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland.Sania Mirza-Martina Hingis won women's doubles titleof Singapore Open. The top-seeded Indo-Swiss pairdefeated eighth seed Spanish team of Garbine Muguruzaand Carla Suarez Navarro 6-0, 6-3.

BANKS&ECONOMYINNEWS

Union Ministry of Finance on 6 November 2015 decidedto impose 0.5 percent Swachh Bharat Cess (SBC) on alltaxable services. It will be levied in addition to the 14percent service tax that is in force now. The SBC willcome into force on 15 November 2015. Its proceeds willbe exclusively used to support Swachh Bharat initiative.Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 5 November 2015issued revised and uniform guidelines on Internet

Banking for all licensed cooperative banks includingUrban Cooperative Banks (UCBs), Cooperative Banks(StCBs) and Districts Co-operative Banks (DCBs). Theseguidelines relate to Internet Banking (View Only)facility and Internet Banking with Transaction facility.The cooperative banks have to report commencement

of the service to the concerned Regional Office of RBI(and also NABARD in case of StCBs/DCCBs) within onemonth of operationalisation of this facility.The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has

cleared four FDI proposals worth 384 crore includingthat of pharma firm Lupin. Based on therecommendations of FIPB in its meeting held onOctober 19, 2015, the Government has approved fourproposals of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)amounting to Rs. 384.45 crore, a Finance Ministrystatement said.Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairperson of country'slargest bank SBI, remains the most powerful woman inthe Indian business sector, according to Fortune India.ICICI Bank's Chanda Kochhar and Shikha Sharma of AxisBank follow Bhattacharya at the second and third place,respectively.

Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Finance, is planning tomeet Chief Executives of State-run banks every 45 daysto take stock of various performance parameters anddiscuss evolving issues. The move comes at a time whenpublic sector banks are witnessing increasing pressureon asset quality, which is eroding their capital andprofitability.A leading UAE-based bank has announced a partnershipdeal with State Bank of India to help NRI customers inthe gulf to carry out their remittances instantly and

more conveniently. Emirates NBD has expanded itspartner bank network in India to include State Bank ofIndia (SBI) for the DirectRemit 60 seconds remittanceplatform.The Reserve Bank has imposed Rs 1 crore penalty onDhanlaxmi Bank for violation of Know Your Customer(KYC) and Anti Money Laundering (AML) norms. It hadissued a Show Cause Notice to the bank for notcomplying with KYC and AML guidelines in respect of acurrent account under investigation of the EconomicOffences Wing (EOW), Mumbai.


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BUSINESSNEWS

Sameer Gehlaut led Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd.(IHFL) has acquired a 40 per cent stake in OakNorthBank of the U.K. for $100 million, making it the largestshareholder of a full service universal bank. Theinvestment has been identified and approved by the

Strategic Investment Committee for Liability FranchiseDevelop- ment, headed by K. C. Chakrabarty, anindependent director on the board and ex-DeputyGovernor of the Reserve Bank of India.Anheuser-Busch InBev says it has finalized the terms ofa $107 billion takeover of SABMiller that will combinethe planets two biggest brewers and create a companythat makes almost a third of the beer consumedworldwide. As part of the deal, SABMiller will sell itsstake in a venture with Molson Coors.Ministry of Railways issued a Letter of Award (LoA) toUSA-based GE Global Sourcing India Pvt Limited for

setting up of Diesel Locomotive Factory (DLF) atMarhowra, Saran district, Bihar and for procurementand maintenance of mainline Diesel ElectricLocomotives. With this, a Joint Venture Companybetween Union Ministry of Railways and GE GlobalSourcing India Pvt Limited will be formed soon toconstruct and run the factory. The factory willmanufacture modern diesel electric locomotives of4500 HP and 6000 HP to Indian railways.Internet giant Google is working with the governmenton a pilot project for providing Internet connectivity byusing large balloons. Google, under its Project Loon, is

using big balloons floating at a height of 20 kilometersabove earth surface for transmission of Internetservices. It has already tested this technology in NewZealand, California (the US) and Brazil.US-based social networking giant Facebook on 31October 2015 partnered with state-owned BharatSanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) to create 100 WiFi hotspotsin rural areas of western and southern India. During thepartnership, Facebook will invest 5 crore rupees perannum for buying bandwidth from BSNL. The hotspotswill be set up by BSNL selected vendor Quad Zen andTrimax.Tata Motors has roped in Football star Lionel Messi as

the global brand ambassador for its passenger vehicles.To start with, Tata Motors will roll out the associationcampaign, #madeofgreat, starring Lionel Messi.Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications Ltd (R-Com)is merging the telecom business of Sistema ShyamTeleservices Ltd (SSTL) that operates MTS brand withitself in an all-stock deal worth Rs.4,500 crore, markingthe start of the much-anticipated consolidation inIndias telecom sector.

SUMMITS/CONFERENCE

The 21st International Conference on Frontiers in YogaResearch and its Applications (INCOFYRA) will be heldfrom 3 to 7 January 2016 at Prashanti Kutiram,Bengaluru. The summit will be organized by theVivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Sansthana. The 21stINCOFYRA will bring together the traditional andmodern medical systems. The theme of the conferenceis Yoga in Integrated Healthcare Systems.

To recognise the spirit of the persons with disabilities,first international film festival for the persons withdisabilities (IFFPD) will be held in Delhi from 1December to 3 December 2015.11th National Tribal Crafts Mela Aadishilp has begun inNew Delhi. It was inaugurated by Union Minister ofTribal Affairs Jual Oram. This edition of Crafts Mela hasbeen organised by Tribal Cooperative MarketingDevelopment Federation of India Limited (TRIFED) andwill be open till November 11, 2015.2015 Valletta Summit on Migration concludedin Valletta(Malta). Among the key initiatives, the EU

Emergency Trust Fund was established with 1.8 billioneuros to deal with ongoing Mediterranean MigrationCrisis.12th ASEM Foreign Ministers' meet held in Luxemburg.The ASEM FMM 12 was held under the theme WorkingTogether for a Sustainable and Secure Future.21st INCOFYRA to be organised in Bengaluru in 2016.The theme of the conference is Yoga in IntegratedHealthcare Systems.International Indigenous Terra Madre 2015 started inShillong.

OBITUARIES

Rhythm and Blues legend Allen Toussaint died at theage of 77 after suffering two heart attacks.Hero MotoCorp patriarch and doyen of Indian two-wheeler industry, Brijmohan Lall Munjal, passed awaythis evening after a brief illness. He was 92.Former Israeli President Yitzhak Navon died. Navonwas Israels first Sephardic president.NRI industrialist Swraj Pauls son Angad Paul dead.French intellectual Rene Girard passed away.India's former Ambassador to Nepal Bimal Prasad dead


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Tollywood comedian Kondavalasa Lakshman Rao died.Colin Welland, the writer of Oscar winning Chariots ofFire, died at 81Former England Cricketer Tom Graveney died.Former West Bengal assembly speaker Hashim AbdulHalim died.

American actor Al Molinaro passed away.Eminent archaeologist V.N. Misra passed away.

DAYS

The World Science Day for Peace and Development,dubbed World Science Day, was observed on 10November 2015 across the world. The theme for 2015is Science for a Sustainable Future.World Pneumonia Day observed on 12thNovember withthe theme Every Breath Counts: Stop Pneumonia Now.

DEFENCEINNEWS

Indian Army on 7 November 2015 successfully test-fired the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile at thePokhran Test Range in Rajasthan. It was launched froman Autonomous Mobile Launcher (AML). For BrahMos,it was the 50th test-flight. The previous test-firing wasfrom INS Kochi off the west coast on 1 November 2015.Indian Armys Strategic Forces Command (SFC) on 9November 2015 successfully test-fired surface-to-surface Agni-IV missile. The nuclear capable missile wastest-fired from the Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast.Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on 10 November2015 commissioned the India Coast Guard Offshore

Patrol Vessel (OPV), Samarth at Vasco inGoa. It isCoast Guards largest OPV. The Ship built by GoaShipyard limited is the first in the series of six off ShorePatrol vessels. The 105m OPV is fitted with mostadvance technology, navigation and communicationequipment, sensors and machinery. It has a maximumspeed of 23 knots and has an endurance of 6000nautical miles at economical speed.The seventh edition India-Russia Joint Military ExerciseIndra-2015 has begun in Bikaner district of Rajasthan.This edition of exercise is focusing on CounterTerrorism Operations in Desert Terrain under a UnitedNations Mandate. The bilateral exercise would be heldbetween Indian Armys Infantry Battalion andIndependent Russian Motorised Brigade from 7 to 20November 2015.An Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Arinjay was on 1November 2015 commissioned by Vice Admiral SunilLanba PVSM, AVSM Flag Officer Commanding-in-chief,Southern Naval Command at a ceremony held at NavalBase in Kochi. The ship will be based at Okha under theadministrative and operational control of thecommander, coast guard region (north west). The ship

is commanded by Commandant AK Mudgal and hascomplement of four officers and 31 enrolled personnel.Supersonic cruise missile BrahMos, with a strike-rangeof over 290 kms, was test-fired from the navy's neweststealth destroyer INS Kochi successfully hitting adecommissioned target ship in the Arabian Sea.

Captain Krishna Swaminathan took over command ofaircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. INS Vikramaditya isIndian Navy's new and formidable aircraft carrier whichwas commissioned at Severodvinsk in Russia on 16November 2013.

BOOKS&AUTHORS

Book titled What Happened to Netaji? authored byformer journalist Anuj Dhar was released.The book titled Rebooting India: Realizing a BillionAspirations authored by Nandan Nilekani and ViralShah was released on 4 November 2015.Interlinking of Indian Rivers authored by Radha KantBharati released.

AWARDSANDRECOGNITION

Santoor maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma on 7November 2015 was honoured with the Aditya VikramBirla Kala Shikhar Award for lifetime achievement. Thegovernor of Maharashtra C Vidyasagar Rao presentedthe award to the 77-year old Santoor player in Mumbai.Liberian teenager Abraham M Keita was on 10November 2015 awarded with the prestigiousInternational Childrens Peace Prize 2015. He wasawarded for his extraordinary and peaceful fight forjustice for child victims of physical or sexual violence,and for successfully campaigning for the Liberian

parliament to adopt the Childrens Law.A team of Indian scientist led by Sameer Panda fromOdisha on 6 November 2015 won the NASA award foran innovative technology named Burst Prevention &Puncture Curative (BPPC) technology. Udit Bondia, KNPanda and Smitiparna Satpathy are the other membersof the team. They won the award in the Create theFuture Design Contest- 2015 conducted by NASA TechBrief in New York. Tech Brief is a contest jointlyorganized by NASA and Society of AutomobileEngineers, International.


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Renowned film, television and stage actor VikramGokhale was conferred with the prestigious VishnudasBhave Award. The actor was felicitated with the awardfor his outstanding contribution to Marathi theatre.The 33-year-old Mary Kom actress, who has made itto the top five, will be competing with big names like

Jamie Lee Curtis, Emma Roberts, Marcia Gay Hardenand Lia Michele. In her debut American TV thrillerQuantico the Gunday star plays the lead role of ayoung FBI recruit Alex Parish. The news of her beingone of 15 actresses vying for a final nomination in thecategory came last month.

NASA/ISRO IN NEWS

a) Indigenously made communications satellite GSAT-15 was launched successfully by the European Ariane 5VA-227 launch vehicle at 3:04 am. The launch tookplace from Kourou in French Guyana in South America.

The Ariane-5 rocket was hired at a cost ofapproximately 581 crores rupees.) The 3164 kilogram GSAT-15 carries communication

transponders in Ku-band as well as a GPS Aided GEOAugmented Navigation (GAGAN) payload operating inL1 and L5 bands. An Arabsat communications satellitealso accompanied the GSAT-15 on the same launch.

SCHEMES/POLICIES LAUNCHED BYCENTRAL&

STATEGOVERNMENT

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on 5November 2015 launched the Rajasthan Agro-

Processing and Agri-Marketing Promotion Policy 2015.The policy seeks to promote agro-processing and toreduce post-harvest losses at the farm gate. The policyaims to promote agro-processing and to reduce post-harvest losses at the farm gate thus ensuring maximumprices of farmers agri produce. The state government

also signed 112 MoUs with private companies indifferent sectors during the launch of policy.The Union Human Resource Development MinisterSmriti Irani on 7 November 2015 launched the e-Pathshala, Saaransh and National Programme on SchoolStandards and Evaluation Framework (Shala Siddhi)web portals/ mobile apps. These portals were launchedduring the edNEXT, the National Conference on ICT inSchool Education that was held at New Delhi. During theConference, Shala Darpan, MDM-IVRS and Ekta projectfrom Alwar, Rajasthan were also show-cased.Union Government issued the notification regardingimplementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP) inrespect of Defence Forces personnel. The notification isin tune with the modalities for implementationannounced on 5 September 2015.Features of OROP scheme -

Pension will be re-fixed for all pensioners retiring in thesame rank and with the same length of service as theaverage of minimum and maximum pension in 2013.

The benefit will be given with effect from 1 July 2014 tothe ex-service men of all the three forces.

Those drawing pensions above the average will be

protected. In future, the pension would be re-fixed every 5 years. Arrears will be paid in four half-yearly installments. All widows, including war widows, will be paid arrears

in one installment. Personnel who voluntarily retire will not be covered

under the scheme. The estimated cost to the exchequer would be 8000 to

10000 crore at present, and will increase further infuture.Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched three goldrelated schemes. The schemes are Gold MonetizationScheme, Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme and Indian GoldCoins. The primary purpose of the schemes is to reducedependence on imported gold, recycle the unutilizedgold in the country and most importantly, streamlinethe gold business in the country. At present, India is thelargest consumer of gold in the world.Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 5 November 2015launched Imprint India, a Pan-IIT and IISc jointinitiative. The project encourages the Indian technicalinstitutions to develop a blueprint for research to crackmajor engineering and technology challenges relevantto the nation. Imprint India is a 1000 crore rupeesproject, which aspires to identify areas of immediate

relevance to society requiring innovation and Directscientific research into identified areas.The Maharashtra state Government has approved arevised scheme, named APJ Abdul Kalam Amrut Yojna,for pregnant and lactating women in the tribal areas ofthe state. The scheme aims at providing at least one fullhot cooked nutritious food to every pregnant lady andlactating mother. The scheme will be rolled out on 15November 2015. The anganwadis workers, the tribalwomen and the local meal committees will implementthe scheme. The Women and Child Welfare Departmentwill spend 10 crore rupees in stipend to anganwadiworkers.

MISCELLANEOUS

The Forbes list of the World's Most Powerful People2015 was released on 4 November 2015. The list wastopped by Russian President Vladimir Putin for thethird year in a row. Putin is followed by GermanChancellor Angela Merkel (rank 2) who moved up 3spots from 2014, and President Barack Obama (rank 3)dropped 1 spot, making it the first year a sitting USPresident has not made it into the top 2 spots. Indias


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Prime Minister Narendra Modi was ranked as theworlds ninth most powerful person. In 2014, Modiwasplaced at 14th position.The United Nations General Assemblys (UNGA)

Disarmament Committee has adopted a draft resolutionsubmitted by Japan calling for the abolition of nuclear

arms. The resolution was adopted by 156 membercountries, while 17 abstaining and 3 voting against itincluding China and Russia. But it failed to secureendorsement US, Britain, France and other key powersas they abstained from voting despite supporting it. Theresolution Stresses the inhumanity of nuclear weaponsand urges nuclear powers to be more transparent intheir disarmament efforts. The resolution asks worldleaders to visit the two Japanese cities of Hiroshima andNagasaki which were devastated by the nuclear attacks.Since 1994, Japan has been spearheading efforts UNGADisarmament Committee to introduce resolutions onnuclear arms every year.Financial Secrecy Index 2015 released; Indiamoderately secretive. While Switzerland is the mostsecretive jurisdiction in the world, India is moderatelysecretive among the 92 countries/jurisdictionssurveyed.Shekhar Kapur to head jury and Anil Kapoor to be chiefguest at IFFI 2015. The Man Who Knew Infinity, aBritish film on Indian mathematician SrinivasaRamanujans life, will open the 46th edition and Spainwill be the focus country of the IFFI 2015.The Legatum Prosperity Index 2015 released. Indiaranked 99 in terms of prosperity out of the 142

countries surveyed.

COMMITTEES INNEWS

The Committee of Eminent Persons (CEP) on 5November 2015 submitted its report. It was constitutedby the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Councilunder the Chairmanship of Prof Ashok Misra to suggestreforms to the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE).Richard Proud-chaired Independent Commission (IC)on Doping in Sports submitted its report to the World

Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The report was submittedon 9 November 2015 in Vienna, Switzerland.The Union Government on 4 November 2015constituted an Empowered Committee to approveschemes proposed under the Nirbhaya Fund. TheCommittee comprises officials from various ministries,

including Women and Child Development, Home AffairsRoad Transport and Railways. The Nirbhaya Fund has atotal of 3000 crore rupees fund as 1000 crore each wasallocated to it in 2014-15 and 2015-16 on top of 1000crore rupees initial corpus.Dr T K Viswanathan Committee on Bankruptacy LawReforms submitted its report. The report is in twoparts-Recommendations and a comprehensive draftInsolvency and Bankruptcy bill.Justice MB Shah-headed SIT on Black Money submittedits third report. The report dealt with shell companiesand beneficial ownership.

Army Cloud, Software Defined Data Centre and

Digi-Locker in New Delhi

a) Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on 9November 2015 launched Army Cloud, SoftwareDefined Data Centre and Digi-Locker facilities for theIndian Army at the Army Headquarters in New Delhi.

b) The three initiatives are aimed at catalysing automationand digitization of the Indian Army and help intransforming it from a Platform Centric to a NetworkCentric Force.

c) Army Cloud includes a Central Data Centre, a Near LineData Centre, both in Delhi and a Disaster Recovery sitefor replication of its critical data along with virtualisedservers and storage in an environmentally controlledcomplex.

d) Digi Locker will provide a secure and exclusive datastorage space to all the units and formationheadquarters of the Army over its dedicated datanetwork. It is similar to e-Locker of Digital Indiaprogram and has all the advanced features like digitalsignatures and watermarking.


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UDAY Scheme

a) Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister NarendraModi has given its nod Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojna(UDAY) for financial restructuring of debt of powerdistribution companies.

b) The Scheme aims for financial turnaround and revival of

Power Distribution companies (DISCOMs) and alsoensures a sustainable permanent solution to theproblem.

) UDAY scheme allows power DISCOMs in selected statesto convert their debt into state bonds as well as roll outnumber of measures to improve efficiency at powerplants.

d) Selected states would be able to sell the balance 25 percent as state-backed power bonds or loans which willcarry interest rates of g-sec plus 50 basis points.

) Thus with nod to UDAY Scheme, Union Governmentseeks to accelerate the process of reform across the

entire power sector in order to ensure affordable andaccessible 247 Power for All.) The scheme has been framed by Union Power Ministry

as power DISCOMs in several states have been severelymismanaged, resulting in a debt burden upward of 4lakh crore rupees. This has taken a toll on the power aswell as bank sectors.

GOLD SCHEMES by Union Government

The three schemes launched by Govt. are:(i) Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS)(ii) Gold Sovereign Bond Scheme

(iii) Gold Coin and Bullion Scheme

a) Prime Minister Modi also unveiled the first evernational gold coin minted in India with the nationalemblem of Ashok Chakra engraved on it. The GoldMonetisation Scheme is aimed at tapping part of anestimated 20,000 tonnes of idle gold worth Rs. 5,40,000crore in family lockers and temples into the bankingsystem.

b) The Gold Sovereign Bond will be issued by the ReserveBank of India (RBI) on behalf of the government with aninterest rate of 2.75%. The bonds will be sold throughbanks and designated post offices. Describing theschemes as sone pe suhaga (icing on the cake), Modisaid gold has often been a source of womensempowerment in the Indian society, and these schemeswill underscore that sense of empowerment.

) Gold monetisation scheme (GMS) is a deposit scheme ofbanks where you will be paid interest on the weight ofgold you give. The minimum deposit is 30 grams (of 995fineness). To make a deposit under this scheme, youneed to first get your gold tested from one of the centrescertified by BIS. These centres, gold refiners and banks

will be in a tripartite agreement. After doing an XRF (x-ray fluorescence) and a fire assay test, you will be toldthe result. If you still wish to deposit the gold, the centrewill give a purity certificate endorsing the weight andpurity of gold. You have to then take the certificate toone of the designated banks. In the meantime, the

banker will also get intimation from the centre of yourgold deposit and he will credit your gold depositaccount with the equivalent amount of gold. Thetestcentre will send the gold to a refiner who will keep thegold in his warehouse (unless the banks choose to holdit themselves).

d) This deposit scheme will be available for the short termof one to three years, medium term of five to sevenyears and long term of 12-15 years. While deposits of alltenures will be run only by banks, for the medium andlong-term deposits, the terms and conditions and rate ofinterest will be fixed by the Central Government. At theend of the deposit period, your deposit, either incash/gold (medium and long-term deposits will beredeemed only in cash) will be returned to you by thebank. If redeemed in cash, the rupee value of the golddeposit at the prevailing market price will be paid.

e) Some Key Features:Gold Monetization Scheme

KYC - a must, but income is tax-free Will be melted, but returned as gold Fixed deposit, but can break it for a fee Interest nominal, but it is on gold weight

Gold Sovereign Bond Earns you interest Minimal charges Better liquidity


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Important Days in November

Nov. 1 - World Vegan Day Nov. 6 - International Day for Preventing the

Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed

Conflict Nov. 7 - World Cancer Awareness Day Nov. 8 - World Radiology Day Nov. 9 - World Legal Service Day Nov.11 - National Education Day Nov.12 - Public Service Broadcasting Day

Nov.13 - World Kindness Day Nov. 14 - World Diabetes Day Nov. 16 -International Day for Endurance or Tolerance Nov.19 - World Toilet Day, National Integration Day Nov. 20 - Universal Childrens Day 3rd Sunday of November - World Day of

Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims 3rd Thursday of November - World Philosophy Day

ALL THE BEST FOR RBI GRADE B

EXAM AND NABARD ASSISTANT

EXAM

November Double Tonic 2015

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Transcript of November Double Tonic 2015