2016 - International Year of Pulses

The veteran wildlife film maker who has been awarded the V Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award at the inaugural ceremony

A commemorative coin of Rs. 150 and a circulation coin of Rs. 10 were released by the Govt of India in commemoration of 150th

The Chief Minister of Bihar who has been chosen for the K Veeramani Award for Social Justice 2015 for his contribution towards
The book written by Nisid Hajari which has been awarded the 2016 William E. Colby Award
The public sector undertaking in which the Govt has announced the sale of 10% of its stake through offer for sale route

The American cognitive scientist in the field of artificial intelligence (winner of 1969 Turing Award) who passed away on 24 Janu
The veteran bollywood actress who has been honoured with the third Yash Chopra Memorial Award

The railway station from which countrys first Braille-embedded train (with all reserved coaches embedded with Braille signage) h

The ultra marathon runner from Australia who is leading the 4,600-kilometer-long run, called "Spirit of India" run from Kanyakum
The theme of 6th National Voters Day observed on 25 January 2016

The place in Haryana where the Indian PM Shri Narendra Modi and the French President Francois Hollande jointly inaugurated th
The team India has defeated to win the first T20 Blind Cricket Asia Cup in Kochi, Kerala

The Indian badminton player who has won the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold Women's Singles title defeating Scotlands Kris

The bilateral maritime exercicse between the Indian Navy and Royal Navy of Oman being held from January 22 to 27 in the Arab

The railway station at which Google and Railtel have launched the first of its free high-speed public Wi-Fi services planned for 40
The senior revenue service officer who has been chosen as the next chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)

The renowned classical dancer, choreographer and the founder of the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts who passed away on 2

The minimum time period set by IRCTC for reservation of online tickets to prevent faster booking of tickets by use of illegal softw
The teams which have won the National Basketball Championship men's and women's titles respectively (held at Mysuru)

The place from which IRNSS-1E, the fifth satellite of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) was launched abo

The place in Uttar Pradesh at which the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee formally inaugurated Shiv Nadar University an
The theme of four-day long Matdaata Mahotsav organized by Election Commission of India from 14 to 17 January 2016

The airbase in Bahrain at which Indian made LCA Tejas aircraft became the first Indian aircraft to participate in an international a
The Russian chess player who has won the 14th Delhi International Open chess title ahead of runner-up Attila Czebe of Hungary

The Indian novelist and journalist who has been awarded the 2016 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature for her novel Sleeping on
The Democratic Progressive Party candidate who has been elected to become the first woman President of Taiwan in the recently

The place in Tamil Nadu where around 100 short-finned pilot whales were washed ashore, many of which could not be rescued le
The Argentine professional footballer who has been chosen for the FIFA Ballon dOr for the fourth time in his career
The 1975 Gujarat cadre IAS officer who has taken over as the new Chairperson of Competition Commission of India

The state which has become the first in the country to make gender education compulsory at graduate level with the introduction o

The exercise conducted by the School of Artillery at Devlali on 08 & 11 January 2016, where a entire range of guns demonstrated
The Serbian tennis star who has won the Qatar Open 2016 tennis tournament defeating Rafael Nadal in the finals
The Indian shooter who has been awarded the Shooter of the Tournament title in the Swedish Cup Grand Prix tournament
The lake in Nellapattu Bird Sanctuary at which a 3-day flamingo festival is being organised from 09 to 11 Jan 15

The country which has won the Hopman Cup tennis tournament held at Perth, Australia and defeating Ukraine in the finals

The second ship of Project 28 (P28) class Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Corvettes which was commissioned into the Indian Na

The operation launched by the Indian Army to neutralise terrorists at the Pathankot Air Force base in Punjab on 02 Jan 2016 was n

The film director and screen writer who has been chosen to head the committee constituted by the Govt of India for Holistic interp

The place at which Indian Space Research Organisation has decided to set up a space park allowing private industries to take up m
The two-time Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and former Home Minister of India who passed away on 07 Jan 2016

The date by which the Govt of India has decided to implement BS-VI norms to regulate the output of air pollutants from internal c

The venue of 103rd Indian Science Congress held from Jan 03 to 07 with the theme "Science and Technology for Indigenuous De
The 38th Chief Justice of India who passed away on 04 January 2016 (CJI from 05 August 2003 to 17 December 2003)

The 15-year old student of KC Gandhi School, Mumbai who has scored 1009 runs in 329 balls (breaking over 100-year old record

The place in Uttarakhand through which Friendship bus service between India and Nepal has been resumed after a gap of 27 years
The theme of Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) Calender-2016 released by the Govt
The place in Manipur which was the epicentre of 6.8 magnitude earthquake which hit the north-eastern states killing and injuring

The place in Karnataka where the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has inaugurated International Conference on Frontiers in Yo
The former General Secretary of Communist Party of India who passed away on 02 Jan 2015

The place in Karnataka where the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has laid the foundation stone for new helicopter manufactur

The first female amputee to conquer Mt. Everest who has also become the first female amputee to conquer 5 summits (of 7 summ

The southern state which has become the first in the country to legally accept electronic motor insurance policies called e-Vahan B

The venue of the first Science Film Festival of India (SCI-FFI) to be held from 14 January and organised by Vigyan Parishad in as

The uniform four-digit emergency response number which has been launched for LPG consumers to seek help in case of a gas lea
The UK born singer, musician and pianist of Pakistani descent who has been granted the citizenship of India on 01 Jan 2016

Australian Open 2016

Event
Men's Singles
Women's Singles
Men's Doubles
Women's Doubles
Mixed Doubles

List of Cities to be developed as Smart Cities

#

City

Bhubaneshwar, Odisha

Pune, Maharashtra

Jaipur, Rajasthan

Surat, Gujarat

Kochi, Kerala

Ahmedabad, Gujarat

Jabalpur, M.P.

Visakhapatnam, A.P.

Solapur, Maharashtra

10

Davangere, Karnataka

Important News in Brief - January 16

Republic Day 2016 Awards
1.

Best Marching Contingent among the Services category - Assam Regiment

2.

Best Marching Contingent among the Para-Military Forces and other auxiliary marching contingents Border Security Force

3.

Best Tableau 1st Position - West Bengal (which depicted the famous Baul folk singers)

4.

Best Tableau 2nd Position - Tripura (on beautiful Unakoti sculptures)

5.

Best Tableau 3rd Position - Assam (showcasing the popular Rongali Bihu festival)

6.

Special prize - Tableau of Ministry of Communication and Information Technology on the theme
Digital India

7.

Best Children Item - South Central Zone Culture Centre, Nagpur (Maharashtra) for performing the folk
dance SongiMukhota of Maharashtra.

8.

Consolation Prize - Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya and Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya, Gandhi Nagar,
Delhi, for their beautiful portrayal of traditional Folk Dance Dal Khai seen in Western Odisha.

Order of Australia to Persons of Indian Origin

1.

Companion of the Order of Australia : Jagadish Chennupathi For eminent service to physics and
engineering

2.

Member of the Order of Australia : Jay Chandra For significant service to manking in the filed of
ophthalmology.

3.

Medal of the Order of Australia : Sajeev Koshy For service to dentistry.

Corruption Perceptions Index 2015

Rank

Country

Denmark

Finland

Sweden

New Zealand

Netherlands, Norway

Switzerland

Singapore

Canada

10

Germany, Luxembourg, U.K.

16

United States

27

Bhutan

76

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burkina Faso,India, Thailan

83

Sri Lanka

117

Pakistan

139

Bangladesh

167

Korea (North), Somalia

Academy Awards 2016 - Scientific and Technical Achievements

Persons of Indian origin
1.

Rahul Thakkar (alongwith Richard Chuang) for the groundbreaking design at DreamWorks
Animation Media Review System.

2.

Cottalango Leon (alongwith J Robert Ray and Sam Richards) for the design, engineering and
continuous development of Sony Pictures Imageworks Itview

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has recently approved the Pradhan
Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana - a path breaking scheme for farmers welfare. The new Crop Insurance Scheme is in
line with One Nation One Scheme theme. It incorporates the best features of all previous schemes and at the
same time, all previous shortcomings/weaknesses have been removed.
The highlights of this scheme are as under:
1.

There will be a uniform premium of only 2% to be paid by farmers for all Kharif crops and 1.5% for all
Rabi crops. In case of annual commercial and horticultural crops, the premium to be paid by farmers
will be only 5%. The premium rates to be paid by farmers are very low and balance premium will be
paid by the Government to provide full insured amount to the farmers against crop loss on account of
natural calamities.

2.

There is no upper limit on Government subsidy. Even if balance premium is 90%, it will be borne by
the Government.

3.

Earlier, there was a provision of capping the premium rate which resulted in low claims being paid to
farmers. This capping was done to limit Government outgo on the premium subsidy. This capping has
now been removed and farmers will get claim against full sum insured without any reduction.

4.

The use of technology will be encouraged to a great extent. Smart phones will be used to capture and
upload data of crop cutting to reduce the delays in claim payment to farmers. Remote sensing will be
used to reduce the number of crop cutting experiments.

Road Safety Week - 2016

1.

Observed from January 11 to January 17

2.

Theme : Road Safety - Time for Action

3.

Measures announced by the Union Govt to reduce road accidents by half by 2019
a.

Constitution of the Road Safety Authority to look after overall aspects related to road safety in
the country

b.

Introduction of the Road Transport and Safety Bill in the Parliament to seamlessly develop a
secure, efficient, cost-effective, sustainable and inclusive transport system for the movement
of passenger and freight in the country

c.

Between 2015 and 2019, a total of 11,000 crore rupees will be spent to fix the block spots
across the country

d.

Airbags will be made compulsory in every car

e.

Computers will be used for conducting driving tests to curb irregularities in issuing licenses.

73rd Golden Globe Awards

1.

Best Picture (Drama) The Revenant

2.

Best Picture (Musical of Comedy) The Martian

3.

Best Director Alejandro G. Inarritu (The Revenant)

4.

Best Actor (Drama) Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

5.

Best Actor (Musical or Comedy) Matt Damon (The Martian)

6.

Best Actress (Drama) Brie Larson (Room)

7.

Best Actress (Musical or Comedy) Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)

8.

Best Supporting Actor Sylvester Stallone (Creed)

9.

Best Supporting Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)

BCCI Awards - 2015

1.

Col. C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award S. M. H. Kirmani

2.

Polly Umrigar Award Virat Kohli

3.

Lala Amarnath Award for the Best All-Rounder in the Ranji Trophy, 2014-15 Jalaj Saxena of
Madhya Pradesh C A

4.

Lala Amarnath Award for the Best All-Rounder In Domestic Limited-Overs Competitions, 2014-15
Deepak Hooda Of Baroda C A

5.

Madhavrao Scindia Award Highest Scorer in the Ranji Trophy In 2014-15 Robin Uthappa of
Karnataka

6.

Madhavrao Scindia Award Highest Wicket-Taker in the Ranji Trophy In 2014-15 R Vinaykumar
of Karnataka

7.

Madhavrao Scindia Award Highest Wicket-Taker in the Ranji Trophy In 2014-15 Shardul Thakur
of Mumbai

8.

M.A. Chidambaram Trophy Best under-23 cricketer of 2014-15 Almas Shaukat of Uttar Pradesh

9.

M.A. Chidambaram Trophy Best under-19 CRICKETER OF 2014-15 Anmolpreet Singh of

Punjab

10. M.A. Chidambaram Trophy Best under-16 CRICKETER OF 2014-15 Shubman Gill of Punjab
11. M.A. Chidambaram Trophy Best Woman Cricketer (SR) OF 2014-15 Mithali Raj of Railways
12. M.A. Chidambaram Trophy Best Woman Cricketer (JR) OF 2014-15 Devika Vaidya of
Maharashtra
13. Best Umpire In Domestic Cricket In 2014-15 O Nandan
14. Best Overall Performance in 2014-15 Karnataka State Cricket Association
PAN Card made mandatory
With effect from 01 January 2016
1. For all transactions in excess of Rs.2 lakh, regardless of the mode of payment.
2. In the case of immovable property limit raised from Rs.5 lakh to Rs.10 lakh.
3. In the case of hotel or restaurant bills paid at any one time, and for bills on account of overseas travel the limit
has been raised from Rs. 25,000 to Rs.50,000.
4. For purchase or sale of shares of an unlisted company the limit has been raised from Rs. 50,000 to Rs.1 lakh.
Presidential Assent to important Laws
The Atomic Energy (Amendment) Act: The amendment allow state-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India
Ltd (NPCIL) to have collaboration with other public sector undertakings in the nuclear field. At present, only
two PSUs NPCIL and Bhartiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI), which are under the
administrative control of the Department of Atomic Energy, operate nuclear power plants in the country. The
law has amended the 1962 Atomic Energy Act to change the definition ofgovernment company in the Act with
a view to expand its scope.
The Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Act, 2015: The amendment provides for enhancing monthly bonus
calculation ceiling to Rs 7,000 per month from the existing Rs 3,500. It also enhances the eligibility limit for
payment of bonus from Rs 10,000 per month to Rs 21,000 per month.

Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015: As per the amendment, an arbitrator will have to settle
a case within 18 months. After the completion of 12 months, certain restrictions will be put in place to ensure
that the arbitration case does not linger.
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015: The Act
states that any intentional touching of an SC or ST woman in a sexual manner without her consent, using words,
acts or gestures of a sexual nature, dedicating her as a devadasi to a temple, or any similar practice will be
considered an offence.

Latest Current Affairs of December 2015

Current Affairs of December updated 31 December 2015
The Gujarati novelist, poet and critic who has been chosen for the prestigious Jnanpith Award for 2015

The project of Department of Commerce which has won the 2015 eASIA Award under Trade Facilitation category as announced b
The Gujarati novelist, poet and critic who has been chosen for the prestigious Jnanpith Award for 2015
The Indian Navy ship aboard which Indian-Israeli surface-to-air missile (SAM) Barak 8 was test fired for the first time
The Industry Secretary who has been chosen to be the CEO of NITI Aayog replacing the current CEO Ms Sindushree Khullar
The team which has won the Vijay Hazare Trophy defeating Delhi in the finals at Bangalore

Indian Navy's aircraft-carrier which has won the Cock Trophyduring the Western Fleet Whaler Pulling Regatta, (it is the last time
The former Indian cricketer who has been chosen for BCCI's Lifetime Achievement Award for 2015

The Indian-American doctor who has been named the first Poet Laureate of the U.S. State of Ohio for showcasing a variety of styl

The Indian-American entrepreneur and philanthropist who has been chosen to be conferred with Uttar Pradesh Ratna Award in rec
India's first indigenously designed warship which has been decommissioned 32 years after it was inducted into the Indian Navy
The week from 23 Dec to 29 Dec 2015 is being observed as

The medical institution in Bangalore which has been dedicated to the nation as an Institute of National Importance by the Presiden
The theme of National Consumer Day observed on 22 December 2015
The Chinese city which was recently affected by a landslide of dirt and construction debris (killing over 70 people)
The contestant from Philippines who has been crowned Miss Universe 2015 at a beauty pageant in Las Vegas
The Indian footballer who has been named the Player of the Year 2015 by the All India Football Federation

The football team (owned by Vita Dani, Abhishek Bachchan and MS Dhoni) which has won the 2015 season of Indian Super Leag

The former defence secretary who has been appointed the new Chief Information Commissioner
The west African country which has been declared to be an Islamic Republic by its President Yahya Jammeh
The country from which India is set to buy 5 S-400 Triumf air and missile defence systems

The country whose six satellites were launched by ISRO PSLV C-29 launch vehicle from Sriharikota, A.P. (The satellites were nam
The week from 14 Dec to 20 Dec 2015 is being observed in India as
The venue of 10th WTO Ministerial Conference being held from 15 to 18 Dec 2015

The veteran Hindi film star who was presented the Padma Vibhushan award by the Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh (the

The places where 3 new IIITs are to be set up as per MoU signed by the Central Govt to be operated on PPP mode with the State G

The Indian golfer who has been awarded the 2015 Asian Tour's Order of Merit, thus becoming the fourth Indian, after Jyoti Randh

The one-man judicial commission set up by the Central Govt to look into the implementation of the one rank one pension (OROP)

The country which has for the first time allowed women to vote and stand in elections (in its recently held municipal council elect
The India-U.S. bilateral maritime exercise which has been formally turned into a trilateral exercise with the inclusion of Japan

The country which has approved world's first anti-dengue vaccine developed by French company Sanofi Pasteur and named Deng
The Chancellor of Germany who has been named Person of the Year by the Time magazine

The venue of 11th UIC Global Security Congress being organized by the Security Directorate of Indian Railways in collaboration

The theme of Kala Utsav, initiative of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) to promote arts in education by nurtur

The relief and rescue operation launched by the Indian Armed Forces in the wake of incessant rains and floods in Chennai was nam

The bilateral maritime exercise between Indian and Russian navies being conducted in the Bay of Bengal (off Visakhapatnam) is n

The denominations in which commemorative coins were released by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on the occasion of 12

The venue of 2014-15 FIH Hockey World League final which was won by Australia defeating Belgium (India stood at third positi
The extra-tropical cyclone which caused heavy rainfall in northern Europe, especially United Kingdom and Ireland was named

The country with which India has launched International Solar Alliance to boost solar energy in developing countries at the UN C

The northern white rhinoceros which died at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park near Escondido, California leaving behind only 3 of h

The rank of India in the Global Innovation Index 2015 released recently by Cornell University, INSEAD, and the World Intellectu

The venue of First India International Science Festival a joint event of Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Earth
The currency which has been accepted by the International Monetary Fund as its reserve currency (the fifth after US dollar, Euro,
The command level exercise of the Southern Command of Indian Army being conducted in the deserts of Rajasthan is named
The new Chief Justice of India who has taken over from Chief Justice H.L. Dattu (retired on 02 Dec 2015)

The city in which Yadgar-e-Taqseem, or the Memories of Partition museum, (the brainchild of Kishwar Desai, writer and former m

The renowned sarangi player recipient of Padma Bhushan (2006) and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1986) who passed away on

The Indian film actor who has been chosen to be honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award at the Dubai International Film Fest
The theme of World AIDS Day observed on 01 December 2015

The telecom company which has launched an ambitious plan Project Leap, of investing Rs 60,000 crore in telecom network for es

Important News in Brief - December

PAN Card made mandatory
With effect from 01 January 2016
1. For all transactions in excess of Rs.2 lakh, regardless of the mode of payment.
2. In the case of immovable property limit raised from Rs.5 lakh to Rs.10 lakh.
3. In the case of hotel or restaurant bills paid at any one time, and for bills on account of overseas travel the limit
has been raised from Rs. 25,000 to Rs.50,000.
4. For purchase or sale of shares of an unlisted company the limit has been raised from Rs. 50,000 to Rs.1 lakh.

All India Football Federation - Awards for 2015

1.

Player of the Year : Eugenson Lyngdoh

2.

Woman Footballer of the Year: Bala Devi

3.

Emerging Player of the Year: Pritam Kotal

4.

Emerging Woman Footballer of the Year: Pyari Xaxa

5.

AIFF Award for Best Grassroots Prorgamme: The Football Association of Odisha (FAO)

6.

The 2015 AIFF Award for long time contribution to Indian Football: Coca Cola

7.

AIFF Award for Best Referee: C.R. Srikrishna

8.

AIFF Award for Best Assistant Referee: Sapam Kennedy

Kilkari
Kilkari is a major IT initiative announced by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. It is an audio-based
mobile service that delivers weekly audio messages to families about pregnancy, child birth and child care. Each
pregnant woman and infants mother, registered in Mother and Child Tracking System (MCTS), a web- enabled
name-based system to monitor and ensure delivery of full spectrum of services to all pregnant women and
children, would receive weekly voice messages relevant to the stage of pregnancy or age of the infant. The 72
messages would reach the targeted beneficiaries from the 4th month of pregnancy until the child is one year old.
On an average, the duration of each message is two minutes. This service will be provided free to the
beneficiaries. In the first phase of implementation, such messages would be sent to the pregnant women and
infants mothers in six States in Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and HPDs of Madhya Pradesh
and Rajasthan. They are being developed in Hindi, English and Odiya languages in the first phase, to be later
expanded to other languages to cover the entire country and would benefit over 2 crore pregnant women and 2
crore infants, annually.
M-Cessation
M-Cessation is an an IT-enabled tool announced by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to help tobacco
users to quit tobacco. Built on a helpline concept, it will register beneficiaries on the basis of a missed call. The
counselling would be done through a two-way SMS process.
TAPI Pipeline
Important Points
1.

Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI), also known as Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, is a

natural gas pipeline being developed by the Asian Development Bank.

2.

The pipeline will transport Caspian Sea natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into
Pakistan and then to India.

3.

Construction on the project started in Turkmenistan on 13 December 2015.

4.

Indian Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Afghan President Ashraf
Ghani and Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow attended the ground-breaking
ceremony at Mary, 311 km from the capital Ashgabat in Turkmenistan.

5.

The length of the pipeline is 1800 km and is expected to be operational by 2019.

Real Estate (Regulation and Development Bill), 2015

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the Real Estate (Regulation
and Development) Bill, 2015, as reported by the Select Committee of Rajya Sabha. The Bill will now be taken
up for consideration and passing by the Parliament.
The Bill ensures mandatory disclosure by promoters to the customers through registration of real estate projects
as well as real estate agents with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority. The Bill aims at restoring confidence of
consumers in the real estate sector; by institutionalizing transparency and accountability in real estate and
housing transactions which will further enable the sector to access capital and financial markets. The Bill will
promote orderly growth through consequent efficient project execution, professionalism and standardization.
The salient features of the Bill are as under:
1.

Applicable both for commercial and residential real estate projects.

2.

Establishment of Real Estate Regulatory Authority in States/UTs to regulate real estate transactions.

3.

Registration of real estate projects and real estate agents with the Authority.

4.

Mandatory disclosure of all registered projects, including details of the promoter, project, layout plan,
land status, approvals, agreements along with details of real estate agents, contractors, architect,
structural engineer etc.

5.

Deposit of specified amount in a separate bank account to cover the construction cost of the project for
timely completion of the project.

6.

Establishment of fast track dispute resolution mechanisms for settlement of disputes through
adjudicating officers and Appellate Tribunal.

7.

Civil courts jurisdiction prohibited from taking up matters defined in Bill, however, consumer court
allowed to hear real estate matters.

8.

Promoters barred from changing plans and design without consent of consumers.

9.

Provision of Appropriate Government to make rules for the matters specified in the Bill, and the
Regulatory Authority to make necessary regulations.

Launch of Logo and Mascot of 12th South Asian Games, 2016

1.

Place of launch: Guwahati

2.

Host Cities : Guwahati and Shillong

3.

Name of the mascot: Thikor

4.

Mascot designed by : Kolhapurs Anant Khasbardar

5.

Logo designed by : NIFT's Abhijeet Krishna

Abbreviations in News
1.

LLIN: Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets

2.

GIAN: Global Initiative of Academic Networks

3.

GATI: Governance through Accountability, Transparency and Innovation

4.

PRAGATI: Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation

Latest Current Affairs of November 2015

Current Affairs of November updated 30 November 2015

The British professional boxer who has become the new WBA (Super), IBF, WBO champion by defeating Ukranian boxer Wladim

The Indian badminton player who has won the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold third time in a row defeating Japan's Minatsu Mitani

The chess player from Tamil Nadu who has been crowned the national champion at the ONGC 53rd National Premier Chess Cham
The Japanese scholar of Tamil language and recipient of Padma Shri in 2013 who passed away on 26 November 2015
The American private space developer which has successfully tested its reusable rocket New Shepard for the first time

The colour in which many monuments across the world were lighted to mark 25 November as International Day for Elimination o

The Serbian tennis player who has won the ATP World Tour Finals (Men's Singles) for the fourth consecutive time defeating Roge
The Indian spiritual personality whose statue was unveiled by the Indian Prime Minister at Kuala Lumpur recently

The Hungarian film which has won the best film award (Golden Royal Bengal Tiger Award) at the 21st Kolkata International Film
The Indian snooker player who has won the 2015 IBSF World Snooker defeating his opponent Zhua Xintong in the final

The place in Rajasthan where the Central Govt has announced setting up of National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Re
The Maharatna Public Sector Undertaking in which the Govt has approved the disinvestment of 10 percent paid up equity capital

The Union Minister of State for Home Affairs who has been designated as the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Champion for the A
The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by DRDO the last of the four held with the Indian Army crashed recently
The country which has won the Fed Cup Tennis tournament defeating Russia in the finals at Prague
The public sector bank which has announced the launch of mobile app named Batua which can be used to make utility payments,

The venue of tenth G-20 heads of Government summit held from 15 to 16 November 2015

The Indian Navys training establishment at Visakhapatnam for architect officers, shipwright officers, and shipwright sailors, whic

The African nation against which the United States has lifted sanctions imposed 11 years ago for the actions of its President Charl

The Long Range Maritime Patrol aircraft which was dedicated to the nation by the Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar at INS

The new website launched by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change especially for the purpose of puttin

The former Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India who has been appointed as an Executive Director on the board of the Inter
The new Chairman of International Cricket Council to replace outgoing Chairman N Srinivasan

The annual exercise of the Indian Air Force conducted to work up the full spectrum of IAF capability and undertake planned opera

The seventh Indo-Russian joint training exercise which commenced at Mahajan Field Firing Ranges in Rajasthan on 08 Novembe
The Indian cricketer who has become the first batsman to cross the 10,000 run mark in Ranji Trophy tournaments

The social media company which has crossed General Electric company in market valuation and has become the seventh most val

The quantum of Swachh Bharat cess which the Govt of India has decided to levy on all services liable to service tax with effect fro

The scheme for financial turnaround and revival of Power Distribution comapnies (DISCOMs) which has been approved by the U

The city in Uttar Pradesh which has been chosen by Microsoft as the venue for a project to fund local entrepreneurs aiming to buil
The station of South Western Railway which has become the first station in India to be Visually Challenged Friendly station
The seniormost judge of the Supreme Court who has been nominated to be the next Chief Justice of India on 02 Dec 2015

The rank of India as per annual report on the world's most valuable nation brands of world's leading independent brand valuation a
The Argentine football player who has been chosen as the Global Brand Ambassador of Tata Motors

The Indian Navy's stealth destroyer from which super-sonic cruise missile BrahMos was test fired to successfully hit a decommiss

The Indian businessman and founder and chairman of Hero Motocorp (Hero Group of companies) who passed away on 01 Novem
The Bangladeshi publisher of secular books who has been hacked to death in the capital Dhaka by unidentified assailants

The Airbus A321-231 carrying 217 passengers on its flight from Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport, Egypt, to Pulkovo Airport

Launch of GSAT-15 - Communication Satellite

1.

Launch date - 11 Nov 2015

2.

Launch Station - Kourou, French Guiana

3.

Launch Vehicle - European Ariane 5 VA-227

4.

Specifications - Geosynchronous satellite weighing 3164 kg carries communication transponders in

Ku-band as well as a GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) payload operating in L1 and
L5 bands. GSAT-15 is the third satellite to carry GAGAN payload after GSAT-8 and GSAT-10, which
are already providing navigation services from orbit. GSAT-15 will be positioned at 93.5 deg East
longitude in the geostationary orbit along with the operational INSAT-3A and INSAT-4B satellites.

Rajiv Gandhi Manav Sewa Award 2015

Presented by the President Shri Pranab Mukherjee on 14 November 2015
1.

Dr. Santhosh G. Thomas, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

2.

Smt. Vaijayanti M. Chougala, Karnataka

3.

Dr. Moji Jini, Arunachal Pradesh

Important News in Brief - November

Quami Ekta Week Nov 19 to Nov 25

November 19 to be observed as National Integration Day

November 20 to be observed as Welfare of Minorities Day

November 21 to be observed as Linguistic Harmony Day

November 22 to be observed as Weaker Sections Day

November 23 to be observed as Cultural Unity Day

November 24 to be observed as Womens Day

November 25 to be observed as Conservation Day

WTA Finals 2015

Venue : Singapore

Event
Women's Singles
Women's Doubles

Launch of IMPRINT India

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee launched IMPRINT India, a Pan-IIT and IISc joint initiative to
develop a roadmap for research to solve major engineering and technology challenges in ten technology
domains relevant to India was launched by the President on November 5, 2015.
The objectives of this initiative are to
1.

identify areas of immediate relevance to society requiring innovation,

2.

direct scientific research into identified areas,

3.

ensure higher funding support for research into these areas and

4.

measure outcomes of the research effort with reference to impact on the standard of living in the
rural/urban areas.

IMPRINT India will focus on ten themes with each to be coordinated by one IIT/IISc, namely
a.

Health Care - IIT Kharagpur,

b.

Computer Science and ICT IIT Kharagpur,

c.

Advance Materials IIT Kanpur,

d.

Water Resources and River systems IIT Kanpur,

e.

Sustainable Urban Design IIT Roorkee,

f.

Defence IIT Madras,

g.

Manufacturing IIT Madras,

h.

Nano-technology Hardware- IIT Bombay,

i.

Environmental Science and Climate Change IISc, Bangalore and

j.

Energy Security IIT Bombay.

MSP for Rabi Crops of 2015-16 Season

Commodity
Wheat
Barley
Gram
Masur
Rapeseed/Mustard
Safflower

Launch of e-Pathshala, Saransh, Shaala Siddhi portals

The Union Minister Smt Smriti Irani launched the e-Pathshala, Saransh, Shaala Siddhi portals on 07 Nov 2015
e-Pathshala: A web portal which hosts educational resources for Students, Teachers, Parents, researchers and
educators. It is available through especially developed mobile app interface on Android, IOS and windows
platforms for wider access and contains textbooks and other e-books as E-Pub 3.0 and Flipbooks in English,
Hindi and Urdu.
Shaala Siddhi : It is a comprehensive instrument for school evaluation which enables the schools to evaluate
their performance in more focused and strategic manner to facilitate them to make professional judgement for
continuous improvement. The web-portal of the framework will help all schools to assess themselves and the
results can be seen by all enabling them to provide feedback. The initiative has already been successfully piloted
in four districts of Tamil Nadu.
Saransh : It is a tool which allows the schools to identify areas of improvement in students, teachers and
curriculum to facilitate and implement change. The platform is presently available for classes 9th to 12th and
provides a comprehensive overview of standard 10th performance since 2007 and standard 12th performance
since 2009 till the current academic session.

19th International Children's Film Festival of India

Venue: Hyderabad
Held from: 14 to 20 Nov 2015

Awards
1.

Best Feature Film Award - Russian movie 'Celestial Camel'

2.

Best Director Award - Jury Feting for 'Celestial Camel'

3.

Best Actor Award - Hetal Gada for her performance in Rainbow

4.

Best Short Film - Yellow Festival (Tamil film)

5.

Best Animated Feature Film - Song of the sea from Belgium

6.

Best Animated Short Film - Bear story from Chile

Competition Asian Panorama - Child Jury

1.

Best feature film - Blue Mountain

2.

Best short film - Chinese Whispers

Competition Asian Panorama - Adult Jury

1.

Best Feature film - How to steal a dog from South Korea

2.

Best short film - A tree in the sea from UAE

3.

Best actor - Micko Laurent of the Philippines for `Bambanti scarecrow'

46th International Film Festival of India 2015

1.

Venue - Goa

2.

Held from - 20 - 30 Nov 2015

3.

Opening Film - The Man Who Knew Infinity, written and directed by Matthew Brown

4.

Closing Film - El Clan directed by Pablo Trapero

5.

Focus Country - Spain

6.

International Jury headed by - Mr. Shekhar Kapur

7.

Chief Guest of the Opening Ceremony - Anil Kapoor

8.

Chief Guest of the Closing Ceremony - A.R. Rahman

9.

Opening film of the Indian Panorama section - Sanskrit film,Priyamanasam

10. Special Retrospective on - Shashi Kapoor

11. Lifetime Achievement Award - Nikita Mikhalkov (Oscar winning Russian filmmaker)
12. Centenary Film Personality Award - Music composer Illayaraja
13. Golden Peacock Award for Best Film - Colombian film Embrace of Serpent (Al Abrazo de la
Serpiente)
14. Inaugural ICFT UNESCO Fellini Medal - Kaushik Ganguly, for his movie Cinemawala
15. Best director award - Peter Greenaway for Eisenstein
16. Best Actor Award - French actor Vincent Lindon for his role in The Measure of a Man
17. Best Actress award was shared by five actress Gunes Sensoy, Doga Doguslu, Tugba Sunguroglu,
Elit Iscan and Ilyada Akdogan for their roles in Turkish film Mustang
18. Special Mention Award - Director Goran Radovavovics Enclave
19. Special Jury Award - Sealed Cargo directed by Julia Vargas

Abbreviations in News
1.

UDAY: Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana

2.

IMPRINT: Intended Nationally Determined Contribution

3.

SATYAM: Science and Technology of Yoga and Meditation

Current Affairs of October 2015

Current Affairs of October updated 31 October 2015
The year by which India is set to implement BS-VI (Bharat Stage-VI) fuel norms as confirmed by the Petroleum Ministry

The Saudi Arabian blogger, activist and creator of website Free Saudi Liberals, who has been awarded European Parliament's Sak

The rank of India in the Ease of Doing Business Rankings released by the World Bank group recently (The rank was 134 in the pr

The chairperson of ruling Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist) who has been elected the first woman President of

The sports magazine which has launched its digital version with the Indian tennis legend Ramanathan Krishnan and cricketer Venk

The Chinese company which has announced that it has developed the world's first 3D blood vessel bio-printer, which makes it pos

The Indian lady, winner of Mrs India, Queen of Substance title who has been crowned Mrs Earth 2015 at a beauty pageant in Jama
The venue of Paragliding World Cup 2015 tournament being held from 24 to 31 Oct 2014

The public sector bank with which the Indian e-commerce website, Paytm has tied up to offer mobile wallet top up facility throug

The renowned nuclear scientist who has taken over as the Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary, Department of

The Indian golfer who has been awarded the inaugural Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of the Month award launched to recognise outsta

The political party of Canada led by Justin Trudeau which has won the Canadian Federal Elections 2015 by winning 184 seats out
The cyclonic storm which lashed parts of Philippines displacing thousands of people is named

The agricultural commodity on which the Govt has decided to hike the customs duty from 10% to 25% for a period upto 31.03.20
The Indian tennis player who has entered the ATP top 100 hundred rankings for the first time in his career
The agricultural pest which has affected about two-third of Punjab's cotton crop causing a loss of over Rs. 4000 crores

The places between which the Central Govt has agreed to declare river Godavari as National Waterway in the revised National Wa

The Chinese smartphone making company which has replaced PepsiCo as the title sponsor of Indian Premier League, cricket tour

The alternative train accommodation scheme to be launched by the Indian Railways to enable waitlisted passengers of train to opt
The annual military exercise by the Navies of India, United States and Japan in the Indian Ocean being conducted from Oct 14 to

The country with which Pakistan has signed an agreement to build a 1,100-km gas pipeline with a capacity of 12.4 billion cubic m
The theme of World Food Day 2015 observed on 16 October 2015
The Indian pace bowler who has announced his retirement from international cricket having taken 311 test and 282 ODI wickets
The book written by Jamaican author Marlon James which has been awarded the Man Booker Prize 2015
US-based Internet based TV streaming service provider which launched its service in India recently

The Indian-American activist and founder of Sustainable Innovations who has been listed among CNN's Top 10 Heroes of 2015, f

The fifth joint military exercise between India and China which began at Kunming Military Academy, Yunnan Province, China on
The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug which has been banned by the Tamil Nadu government to save vultures
The book written by former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri which was launched in Mumbai
The newly elected Prime Minister of Nepal under the new Constitution who was sworn in by the President Ram Baran Yadav

The Padma Shri winning Tamil film actress who entered the Guiness Book of World Records for having acted in 1000 films who p

The tennis player who has won the Fenesta Open National Championship 2015 women's title for the fourth time in a row defeating
The tennis player who has won the Fenesta Open National Championship 2015 men's title defeating Vishnu Vardhan in the finals
The British boxer who has been defeated by Indian professional boxer Vijender Singh in his debut professional fight

The country which has won the Bermuda Bowl Bridge tournament beating Sweden in the finals of World Bridge Championships i

The state which has decided to launch a programme named Food Net to ensure transparency and plug leakage and diversion of far
The veteran lyricist and music composer who passed away on 09 Oct 2015

The World Bank-assisted National Watershed Management Project approved by the Union Cabinet is named (The project aims to

The South Korean climate change expert who has been elected the new chief of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change (a po

The places where the Union Cabinet has cleared the proposal to set up three new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AllMS)
The Ukrainian-born Russian chess grandmaster who has won the Chess World Cup 2015 tournament held in Baku, Azerbaijan

India's first indigenously-designed and built torpedo launch and recovery vessel which was commissioned into the Indian Navy at

The language which has been included to be taught in Kendriya Vidyalayas as an additional foreign language (a year after KVs ha

The police officer from Telangana who has become the first Indian woman to conquer the 7,077 m high Kun mountain, the twin o
The new President of Board of Control for Cricket in India who has been chosen following the death of Mr. Jagmohan Dalmiya
The new private sector bank which has launched its operations with 23 branches for corporate and rural customers, becoming the
The Indian magician who has been conferred the Merlin Award (popularly known as the Oscar of the magic)
The rank of India in the Global Competitiveness Index report 2015-16 released by World Economic Forum recently

The Governor of Meghalaya who has been sworn in as the Governor of Manipur following the death of Mr. Syed Ahmed in Septe
The year in which India is set to chair the G-20 summit

Nobel Prizes 2015

#

Field

Winners

Nationality

Contribution

1
.

Medicine

William C.
Campbell

Ireland

for their discoveries concerning a novel therapy

against infections caused by roundworm parasites.

2
.

Chemistry

3
.

Physics

4
.

Satoshi Omura

Japan

Youyou Tu

China

Tomas Lindhal

Sweden

Paul Modrich

U.S.A.

Aziz Sancar

Turkey

Takaaki Kajita

Japan

for her discoveries concerning a novel therapy against

Malaria

for mechanistic studies of DNA repair.

for the discovery of neutrino oscillations, which shows

that neutrinos have mass.

Arthur B.
McDonald

Canada

Literature

Svetlana
Alexievich

Belarus

for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering

and courage in our time.

5
.

Peace

National
Dialogue
Quartet

Tunisia

for its decisive contribution to the building of a

pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the
Jasmine Revolution of 2011.

6
.

Economic
Sciences

Agnus Deaton

U.K.

for his analysis of consumption, poverty, and welfare.

Important News in Brief - October

Indias Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC)

India has submitted its action plan to the UN climate body, UNFCCC. Every country is submitting these action
plans, called Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, or INDCs, ahead of an annual climate change
conference in December to be held in Paris. India has submitted its Intended Nationally Determined
Contribution (INDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Some of the salient
points of the INDC are:
To put forward and further propagate a healthy and sustainable way of living based on traditions and
values of conservation and moderation.
To adopt a climate-friendly and a cleaner path than the one followed hitherto by others at
corresponding level of economic development.
To reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030 from 2005 level.
To achieve about 40 per cent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel based
energy resources by 2030, with the help of transfer of technology and low cost international finance,
including from Green Climate Fund.
To create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional
forest and tree cover by 2030.

To better adapt to climate change by enhancing investments in development programmes in sectors

vulnerable to climate change, particularly agriculture, water resources, Himalayan region, coastal
regions, health and disaster management.
To mobilize domestic and new and additional funds from developed countries to implement the above
mitigation and adaptation actions in view of the resource required and the resource gap.
To build capacities, create domestic framework and international architecture for quick diffusion of
cutting edge climate technology in India and for joint collaborative R&D for such future technologies.

Trans-Pacific Partnership
On October 5, 2015 the U.S. and 11 other Pacific Rim nations agreed to Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), the
largest regional trade accord in history. It is a potentially precedent-setting model for global commerce and
worker standards that would tie together 40 per cent of the worlds economy. It seeks to eliminate or reduce
about 18,000 tariff and non-tariff barriers.
The 11 nations are Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Canada
and Vietnam.

Virender Sehwag
1.

Test career from 2001 to 2015 (104 tests and 8586 runs) and ODI career from 1999 to 2015 (251
matches and 8273 runs)

2.

First Indian to be honoured as the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World for his performance in 2008
and the first in the world to be honoured twice consecutively.

3.

Holds the world record for fastest triple century in international cricket (off 278 balls)

4.

Highest score by an Indian in test cricket, 319 against South Africa in Chennai, also the only Indian to
score a Test triple century.

5.

One of the four cricketers to score 2 triple centuries in Test cricket with Don Bradman, Brian Lara and
Chris Gayle

6.

Awarded Arjuna Award in 2002 and Padma Shri in 2010.

IDFC Bank
IDFC Bank started its operations on October 1, 2015 with 23 branches.

Headquarters : Mumbai.
MD & CEO : Dr. Rajiv B. Lall
Launched by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on : 19 Oct 2015
The bank was a part of non-banking financial company IDFC (Infrastructure Development Finance Company)
which was granted an in-principle approval to set-up a bank in 2014.

Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards 2014

Presented by the President on 23 October 2015

AKADEMI FELLOW (RATNA)

1.

Shri S R Janakiraman (Carnatic Vocalist and Musicologist)

2.

Shri M S Sathyu (Film and Art Director

3.

Shri Vijay Kichlu (Classical Singer)

4.

Shri Tulsidas Borkar (Harmonium Player)

AKADEMI AWARDS (PURASKAR)

FIELD OF ACTIVITY - MUSIC
1.

Smt. Ashwini Bhide Deshpande - Hindustani Vocal Music

2.

Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan - Hindustani Vocal Music

3.

Shri Nath Narelkar - Hindustani Vocal Music

4.

Pandit Nayan Ghosh - Hindustani Instrumental Music - Tabla

5.

Shri Ronu Majumdar - Hindustani Instrumental Music - Flute

6.

Shri .Neyveli Santhanagopalan - Carnatic Vocal Music

7.

Shri TA Kaliyamurthy - Carnatic Instrumental Music Thavil

8.

Ms. Sukanya Ramgopal - Carnatic Instrumental Music - Ghatam

9.

Shri Dwaram Durga Prasad Rao - Carnatic Instrumental Music Violin

FIELD OF ACTIVITY - DANCE

1.

Shri Adayar Janardanan - Bharatanatyam

2.

Smt. Uma Dogra - Kathak

3.

Smt. N. Amusana Devi - Manipuri

4.

Shri Vedantam Radhesyam - Kuchipudi

5.

Shri Sudhakar Sahoo - Odissi

6.

Smt. Anita Sharma - Sattriya

7.

Shri Jagru Mahato - Chhau

8.

Shri Navtej Singh Johar - Contemporary Dance

9.

Shri Varanasi Vishnu Namboothiri - Music for Kathakali

FIELD OF ACTIVITY - THEATRE

1.

Shri Asgar Wajahat - Playwriting

2.

Shri Surya Mohan Kulshreshtha - Direction

3.

Shri Chidambar Rao Jambe - Direction

4.

Shri Debshankar Haldar - Acting

5.

Shri Ramdas Kamath - Acting

6.

Shri Amod Bhatt - Allied theatre arts Music for theatre

7.

Shri Manjunath Bhagwat Hostota - Other major traditions of theatre Yakshgana

8.

Shri Amardas Manikpuri - Music for Theatre - Chhattisgarh

FIELD OF ACTIVITY TRADITIONAL/FOLK/TRIBAL MUSIC/DANCE/THEATRE &

PUPPETRY
1.

Shri Puran Shah Koti - Traditional music, Punjab

2.

Shri K. Kesavasamy - Puppetry - Puducherry

3.

Shri Kalamandalam Ram Mohan - Make-up/costume for Kathakali

4.

Shri Reba Kanta Mohanta - Mask making, Assam

5.

Shri Abdul Rashid Hafiz - Folk music, Jammu & Kashmir

6.

Shri K.Shanathoiba Sharma - Thang-ta, Manipur

7.

Shri Ramdayal Sharma - Nautanki, U.P.

8.

Shri Thanga Darlong - Folk music, Tripura

FIELD OF ACTIVITY: OVERALL CONTRIBUTION / SCHOLARSHIP IN PERFORMING

ARTS (NUMBER OF PURASKAR 2)
1.

Shri Akshara K.V. (Kannada Director, Playwright and Writer)

2.

Shri Indudhar Nirody (Hindustani Classical Music Singer)

Abbreviations in News
1.

KISAN project: C(K)rop Insurance using Space technology And geoiNformatics

2.

INDC: Intended Nationally Determined Contribution

WHO CLASSIFICATION OF RED AND PROCESSED MEATS

The WHO (World Health Organisation) classified meat into the category of carcinogenic (cancer causing)
substances.
Causes Cancer - Processed meats including sausages and hotdogs, bacona and salami.
Probably causes cancer - Red meat including pork, beef and lamb.

Right Livelihood Awards 2015

Honorary Award - Tony de Brum & the People of the Marshall Islands (Marshall Islands)
In recognition of their vision and courage to take legal action against thenuclear powers for failing to honour
their disarmament obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Sheila Watt-Cloutier (Canada)
For her lifelong work to protect the Inuit of the Arctic (indigenous people) and defend their right to maintain
their livelihoods and culture, which are acutely threatened by climate change.
Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera (Uganda)
For her courage and persistence, despite violence and intimidation, in working for the right of LGBTI
people to a life free from prejudice and persecution.

Gino Strada, founder of organisation named EMERGENCY (Italy)

For his great humanity and skill in providing outstanding medical and surgical services to the victims of
conflict and injustice, while fearlessly addressing the causes of war.

Current Affairs of September 2015

Current Affairs of September updated 30 September 2015
The third joint military exercise by the armies of India and Sri Lanka which commenced at Pune on Sep 29 is named
The second ship of the Kolkata-class (Project 15A) Guided Missile Destroyers which was commissioned into the Indian Navy by
The typhoon which hit the coast of China after lashing Taiwan, forcing evacuation of over 2.5 lakhs in eastern provinces of China

The Indian billiards player who has won the IBSF World Billiards Championships 2015 (timed format) defeating Peter Gilchrist o

The American aircraft manufacturing company with which Govt of India has signed defence deals to purchase Apache and Chinoo

The 60-year-old commodities regulatory body which has been merged with the capital markets watchdog Securities and Exchange
The theme of World Tourism Day observed on 27 Sep 2015
The Governor of Manipur who passed away on 27 Sep 2015

The venue of United Nations Sustainable Development Summit 2015 held from 25 to 27 Sep 2015 for adoption of post-2015 deve

The tennis player who has won the TVS-ITF Futures Tennis Tournament Mens' Single title defeating Vishnu Vardhan in the finals
The new name of Facebook owned mobile app internet.org
The venue of 6th edition of AbilityFest2015 India an international disability film festival to be held from Sep 28 to Oct 1

The organisation which has been presented a certificate by Limca Book of Records for the Largest Yoga performance simultaneou

The venue of 9th Regional Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas to be organized on 14 and 15 November 15 with the theme The Indian Diaspo

The film directed by Chaitanya Tamhane which has been chosen to be India's official entry to the Academy Awards (Oscars) in the

The latest version of Microsoft Office productivity suite which was released for OS X and Windows on 22 Sep 15 (it was released

The CEO of German automotive multinational, Volkswagen AG who resigned taking responsibility for an emissions cheating scan
The Indian subsidiary of Norway-based Telewings Communications which has rebranded itself as Telenor
The Chairpersons of PepsiCo and Hindustan Times Group who have been awarded the 2015 Global Leadership Award by the US
The President of Board Of Control for Cricket in India and Cricket Association of Bengal who passed away on 20 Sep 2015

The venue of 55th National Athletics Open Championships held from 16 to 19 Sep 2015

The British-American romance novelist, well-known author of The World Is Full of Married Men, who passed away on 19 Sep 20

The country which has passed bills allowing its military to engage in overseas combat in limited circumstances for the first time a
The premiere design school which has designed the symbol for None of the above (NOTA) option for voters on EVMs and ballot
The two rivers which have been linked in India's first river-linking project, popularly known as Pattiseema project
The Indian institutes which have figured in the QS World University Rankings of 2015-16 at rank 147 and 179 respectively
The leader of the Liberal Party who has assumed office as the 29th Prime Minister of Australia after defeating the former PM Ton

The six-day exhibition being held at the India Gate lawns in New Delhi celebrating the Golden Jubilee of Indo-Pak War of 1965 is

The music group which has won the Dhun music contest organised by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), unde

The American professional boxer who has matched Rocky Marciano's record of 49-0 (wins and losses) by defeating Andre Berto i
The Mohiniyattam exponent and Padma Shri recipient dancer and choreographer who passed away on 13 September

The bilaterial maritime exercise being conducted off the coast of Visakhapatnam by the navies of India and Australia for the first t
The severe tropical storm which caused widespread flooding in Japan forcing evacuation of over 100,000 people was named
The venue of 10th World Hindi Conference being held from 10 to 12 Sep with Madhya Pradesh as partner state
The new species of ancient human relative whose remains have been found in Johannesburg, South Africa has been named
The place in Karnataka which has been chosen to be the seat of state's first Indian Institute of Technology

The chemical whose import in loose form has been prohibited by the Govt of India on the grounds that it is a threat to national sec

The Indian golf player who has become the first from the country to qualify for the prestigious President's Cup team (President's C
The theme of International Literacy Day 2015 observed on 08 September

The latest establishment of the Indian Navy at Karwar, Karnataka commissioned by the Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar i
The award instituted by the Government of India in 1995 which was conferred on the Indian Space Research Organisation by the
The place in Bihar where three-day International Buddhist conclave was held with delegates from 47 countries attending it

The pain-killer drug the multi-dose vials of which have been banned by the Govt to save the vultures from extinction (the vultures

The island off the coast of Odisha (Integrated Test Range maintaining a missile testing facility is located in the island) which has b

The denomination in which the Reserve Bank of India has decided to issue coins to commemorate golden jubilee of Indo-Pak war

The Indian Railways zone which has become the first in the country to eliminate all unmanned level crossings from its system by
The South African city which has been chosen to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games becoming the first African city to host the
As per a report released by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) the number of internet users in India is
The mobile app launched by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu for monitoring freight operation is named

US Open 2015
Event
Men's Singles
Women's Singles
Men's Doubles

Women's Doubles

Mixed Doubles

Leander Paes Grand Slam titles Won

Mens Doubles
French Open
Wimbledon
US Open
Australian Open

Sania Mirza Grand Slam titles Won

Womens Doubles
Wimbledon

US Open

Girls Doubles
Wimbledon

Important News in Brief

Launch of W-20
1.

What is it?: An engagement grouping of women leaders from G-20 countries, to push for gender
inclusive global economic growth.

2.

The beginning: The W-20 was launched at the G-20 meeting of Finance Ministers and central bank
governors in Turkish capital Ankara.

3.

The President of W-20: Ms. Gulden Turktan has been appointed the first President of the group.

4.

The first summit : 07-08 Oct 2015

5.

Venue of first summit: Istanbul, Turkey.

Sovereign Gold Bonds Scheme - Salient Features

1.

The scheme will help in reducing the demand for physical gold by shifting a part of the estimated 300
tons of physical bars and coins purchased every year for Investment into gold bonds. Since most of the
demand for gold in India is met through imports, this scheme will, ultimately help in maintaining the
country's Current Account Deficit within sustainable limits.

2.

Sovereign Gold Bonds will be issued on behalf of the Govt of India by the RBI, on payment of rupees
and denominated in grams of gold.

3.

The bond would be restricted for sale to resident Indian entities. The cap on bonds that may be bought
by an entity would be at a suitable level, not more than 500 grams per person per year.

4.

The Government will issue bonds with a rate of interest, either floating or fixed, to be decided by the
Government.

5.

The bonds will be available both in demat and paper form and in denominations of 5,10,50,100 grams
of gold or other denominations.

6.

Banks/NBFCs/Post Offices/ National Saving Certificate (NSC) agents and others, as specified, may
collect money / redeem bonds on behalf of the government (for a fee, the amount would be as decided).

7.

The tenure of the bond could be for a minimum of 5 to 7 years, so that it would protect investors from
medium term volatility in gold prices. Since the bond, will be a part of the sovereign borrowing, these
would need to be within the fiscal deficit target for 2015-16 and onwards.

8.

Bonds can be used as collateral for loans. Bonds to be easily sold and traded on exchanges to allow
early exits for investors who may so desire.

9.

The amount received from the bonds will be used by Gol in lieu of government borrowing and the
notional interest saved on this amount would be credited in an account "Gold Reserve Fund" which
will be created.

10. On maturity, the redemption will be in rupee amount only. The rate of interest on the bonds will be
calculated on the value of the gold at the time of investment. The principal amount of investment,
which is denominated in grams of gold, will be redeemed at the price of gold at that time. If the price of
gold has fallen from the time that the investment was made, or for any other reason, the depositor will
be given an option to roll over the bond for three or more years.

World Bank's ranking of Indian States - Ease of doing business

Rank

State

1.

Gujara

2.

Andhr

3.

Jharkh

4.

Chhatt

5.

Madhy

Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY)

This is a new programme meant to provide for the welfare of areas and people affected by mining related
operations, using the funds generated by District Mineral Foundations (DMFs).
The objectives of PMKKKY
1.

to implement various developmental and welfare projects/programs in mining affected areas that
complement the existing ongoing schemes/projects of State and Central Government;

2.

to minimize/mitigate the adverse impacts, during and after mining, on the environment, health and
socio-economics of people in mining districts; and

3.

to ensure long-term sustainable livelihoods for the affected people in mining areas. Care has been taken
to include all aspects of living, to ensure substantial improvement in the quality of life.

The District Mineral Foundations set up under the provisions of The Mines and Minerals (Development &
Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015 will receive contributions from miners at rates specified by the Govt.

National Tourism Awards 2013-14

The National Tourism Awards 2013-14 were given away by the President of India on 18 Sep 2015
1.

Best State/UT - Comprehensive Development of Tourism - 1. Gujarat, 2. Madhya Pradesh, 3. Rajasthan

2.

Tourist Friendly Railway Station - Habibganj (M.P.)

3.

Airport in Class X cities - Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi

4.

Airport in other cities - Swami Vivekananda Airport, Raipur (Chhattisgarh)

5.

Best Heritage City - Gwalior

For the complete list visit GoI, PIB

55th National Athletics Open Championships

Venue : Sai East Centre Stadium, Kolkata
Best Athlete - Men - Arokya Rajiv (Services) 400 m
Best Athlete - Women - Lalita Babar (Railways) 3000 m Steeple Chase
Championships
Overall Championships
Mens' Championships
Womens' Championships

PM Narendra Modi's gifts to Mr Enda Kenny, PM of Ireland

Reproductions of a selection of manuscripts and papers available in the National Archives of India pertaining to
two Irish officials, Thomas Oldham (1816-1878) and Sir George Abraham Grierson (1851-1941), in recognition
of their contributions in India.
Thomas Oldham was appointed as geological surveyor in 1850 to conduct a geological survey in India. He
conducted the first systematic coal mapping of India. His joining day is celebrated as the foundation day of the
Geological Survey of India.
Sir George A Grierson was an Irish civil servant and philologist who, starting 1898, conducted the first
Linguistic Survey of India.

Launch of ASTROSAT
ASTROSAT is the country's Multi Wavelength Space Observatory.
Launch vehicle : PSLV C-30
Launch date : 28 Sep 2015
Launched : Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota
The PSLV also launched Canada's NLS-14 nanosatellite, Indonesia's LAPAN-A2 microsatellite and four
identical LEMUR nano satellites for the United States into space. This the first time ISRO has launched
satellites for the USA. With this launch ISRO has launched 51 foreign satellites so far.

Constitution of 21st Law Commission of India

The Union Cabinet approved the Constitution of the 21st Law Commission of India, for a period of three years
w.e.f. 1st September. 2015 to 31st August, 2018.
The 21st Law Commission will consist of :
1.

a full-time Chairperson;

2.

four full-time Members (including a Member-Secretary);

3.

Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs as ex off do Member;

4.

Secretary, Legislative Department as ex offcio Member; and

5.

not more than five part-time Members.

The Law Commission shall, on a reference made to it by the Central Government or suo-motu, undertake
research in law and review of existing laws in India for making reforms therein and enacting new legislations. It

shall also undertake studies and research for bringing reforms in the justice delivery systems for elimination of
delay in procedures, speedy disposal of cases, reduction in cost of litigation etc.
Reference: GoI, PIB release dated 09 Sep 2015

Abbreviations in News
1.

MAT: Minimum Alternate Tax

2.

PRASAD: Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive

3.

PMKKKY: Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana

4.

SISMA: South Indian Sugar Mills Association

5.

LIMBS: Legal Information Management & Briefing System

6.

PRAGATI: Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation