lic aao capsule -2016

Transcription

LIC AAO CAPSULE -2016
Presents
Dear BA"ians,
We bring to you most eagerly awaited LIC AAO CAPSULE to give a kick start to your preparation. We know most of you feel
energised the moment the capsule comes into your access, so here it is.
This capsule is a compilation of last 2 months worth of GK and Current Affairs i.e December and January and along with GK the till
the 10th of February covered in an exhaustive manner.
Since this is an insurance related Exam, we do not ant you to leave any stone unturned, so have covered the Insurance portion
aswell
A separate Banking related Capsule will be up this week only to add to this Blast of Knowledge.
The remaining days of February will be covered in our other weekly Tonic and Hindu review initiatives
So brace yourself to update your self and become Exam ready soon!.
Good luck!
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www.bankersadda.com | www.sscadda.com | www.careerpower.in | www.careeradda.co.in
INSURANCE SECTOR IN NEWS
S. No
1.
News
LIC offered a ‘New Year gift’ to the public in the form of a limited-premium, non-linked and with-profit endowment
assurance plan ‘Jeevan Labh’. The highlight of the plan is that premium is payable for a limited period while risk is
covered for the whole policy term. The plan is available from ages 8 to 59 years with a choice of policy term of 16, 21
and 25 years and premium-paying terms of 10,15 and 16 years. The maximum age at maturity is 75 years.
Minimum basic sum assured is ₹2 lakh with maximum basic sum assured having no limit.
LICs New Plan Jeevan Pragati
This is a non-linked, with-profits Endowment Assurance plan. The main feature of this Jeevan Pragathi plan is the ‘sum
assured on death’ (part of death benefit) automatically increases after every five years during the term of the policy.
Key Features & Eligibility Conditions of LIC Jeevan Pragati Plan
Minimum Basic Sum Assured (payable on maturity) : Rs. 1,50,000/Maximum Basic Sum Assured : No Limit (Maturity Sum Assured shall be in multiple of Rs. 10,000/- only)
Minimum Policy Term : 12 years
Maximum Policy Term : 20 years
Minimum Age at entry for Life Assured : 12 years (completed)
Maximum Entry Age : 45 years (nearer birthday)
Maximum Age at Maturity for Life Assured : 65 years
Minimum Accident Benefit Sum Assured is Rs 10,000
Maximum Accident Benefit Sum Assured is an amount equal to the Basic Sum Assured subject to the maximum of Rs 1 cr.
Minimum entry age for the rider is 18 years.
LICs JEEVAN SHIKHAR Plan
LIC’s Jeevan Shikhar is a participating, non-linked, saving cum protection single premium plan wherein the risk cover is
ten times of Tabular Single Premium.The proposer will have an option to choose the Maturity Sum Assured. The premium
payable shall depend on the chosen amount of Maturity Sum Assured and age at entry of the life assured. The plan will be
open for sale for a maximum period of 120 days from the date of launch.
ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS AND OTHER RESTRICTIONS:
Minimum Entry Age : 6 years (completed)
Maximum Entry Age : 45 years (nearer birthday)
Sum Assured on Death : 10 times of tabular single premium
Minimum Maturity Sum Assured : Rs. 100,000/Maximum Maturity Sum Assured : No Limit (Maturity Sum Assured shall be in multiple of Rs. 20,000/- only.)
Policy Term : 15 years
Premium payment mode : Single premium only
Date of commencement of risk: In case the age at entry of the Life assured is less than 8 years, the risk under this plan will
commence from one day before the policy anniversary coinciding with or immediately following the age of 8 years.
For those aged 8 years or more at entry, risk will commence immediately from the date of acceptance of risk.
Insurance sector is likely to attract FDI of over Rs 12,000 crore in 2016 as more than a dozen foreign companies plan to
raise their stake in private sector insurance joint venture this year, industry body Assocham said. The investment push
has come as a result of liberalisation of foreign investment ceiling from 26 per cent to 49 per cent last year through the
passage of Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill.
Private sector India First Life Insurance, a joint venture between Bank of Baroda, Andhra Bank and Legal and General of
the UK, entered into pension sector with launch of a 9 percent guaranteed retirement plan. IndiaFirst Guaranteed
Retirement Plan is a non-linked, participating, endowment, deferred pension plan. This plan is for customers who are
conscious to plan for their retirement and want to remain financially young, IndiaFirst Life Insurance Managing Director
and CEO R M Vishakha said.
Standalone health insurance company Apollo Munich announced its partnership with Axis Bank for offering bank
customers customised insurance policies.
Dena Bank said that it has tied up with SBI Life Insurance Company to provide Group Life Insurance coverage to its
housing loan borrowers under the 'Dena Grihaswami Suraksha Yojana'. Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU),
insurance cover will be given to all housing loan borrowers at a very low premium, Dena Bank said.
French insurer AXA has raised its holdings in Indian insurance joint ventures with Bharti Enterprises to 49 per cent.
AIA group said it will raise stake in the life insurance venture with Tata group to 49 per cent from the existing 26 per cent.
AIA will increase shareholding in Tata AIA Life Insurance Company, a joint venture company formed by Tata Sons and
AIA, from the current level of 26 per cent to 49 per cent through the purchase of a 23 per cent stake in the company.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) said the existing micro insurance products will
continue to be on offer till March 31, 2016.
German reinsurer Munich Re would buy an additional 23.27 per cent stake in Apollo Munich Health Insurance Co from its
joint venture partner Apollo Hospitals Group India for Rs 164 crore ($24.18 million). The deal increases Munich Re's
holding in Apollo Munich to nearly 48.75 per cent, with 51.1 per cent held by Apollo Hospitals, and the rest by employees.
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Mahindra Insurance Brokers Ltd. (MIBL) has been appraised and rated at Maturity Level 3 of the People Capability
Maturity Model (People-CMM), thus becoming the first insurance broking company globally to achieve this international
benchmark. MIBL joins the league of top companies practising People-CMM such as Accenture, Computer Sciences
Corporation, Wipro, CMC, Mahindra Mahindra Financial Services Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services, LT Infotech, etc.
Government has extended RuPay card usage condition to 90 days for a claim under an in-built accident insurance cover in
case of RuPay Classic cardholders with effect from November 25, 2015. Under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY),
RuPay Debit Card, with an in-built accident insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh, is provided to account holders. About 16.54
crore RuPay cards have been issued so far under PMJDY.
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INDIAN ECONOMY NEWS
S. No
1.
News
The deposits in accounts opened under the government’s flagship financial inclusion programme under Pradhan Mantri
Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) have crossed the Rs. 30,000 crore mark. According to the recent updates on Jan. 20, 20.38 crore
bank accounts were opened under the PMJDY. These bank accounts had deposits of Rs. 30,638.29 crore (about $4.5
billion).
The World Bank will be the anchor investor in the new Railway Development Fund, which would be used to fund the
modernisation of Indian Railways, according to the Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.
Pension fund regulatory body PFRDA has started using PAN instead of Aadhaar for validation of new customers who can
now be registered online under the National Pension System (NPS) scheme.
The World Bank approved a 1.5 billion US dollar loan for the ambitious Clean India Campaign (Swachh Bharat Mission).
The loan was granted to support the government in its efforts to ensure all citizens in rural areas have access to improved
sanitation and end the practice of open defecation by 2019.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) included China's Yuan into its elite reserve currency basket. Yuan's entry into the
basket takes effect from 1 October 2016.
Chief Economic Advisor Dr Arvind Subramanian led Committee has recommended standard rate for Goods and Services
Tax (GST) at 17 to 18 per cent. He also recommended the Revenue-neutral rate of 15 to 15.5 per cent.
Singapore replaced Mauritius as top source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into India during April-September of
2015-16 financial year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi released two commemorative coins of 125 rupees and 10 rupees, as part of the 125th birth
anniversary year celebrations of Dr. Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar.
Cabinet approved Rs 8,000- crore funds that will stand guarantee for loans to new ventures and also announced ‘Stand up
India’ scheme for credit facilities to SC, ST and women entrepreneurs at lower rates. While the Rs 3,000 crore MUDRA
Credit Guarantee Fund (CGF) will act as hedge against default of Rs 50,000 to Rs 10 lakh loan extended to small
entrepreneurs, the Rs 5,000 crore Stand Up India CGF will stand guarantee for Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore loans to be
provided to least 2.5 lakh SC/ST and women.
India Post, which was among the eleven applicants to have received approval from RBI for payment banks in August, will
start its service by March 2017.
According to a report, India’s current account deficit may narrow to 0.5 per cent of GDP in 2016 from 0.7 per cent in 2015
owing to lower commodity prices, particularly oil.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes clarified that quoting of PAN will be required for transactions of an amount exceeding
Rs. 2 lakh regardless of the mode of payment.
The country’s foreign exchange reserves were at $350.4 billion as on January 1, 2016.
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RBI IN NEWS
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RBI received complaints about notes of Rs 1,000 denomination without the security thread being in circulation and has asked
banks not to issue them in case these are found. These notes were printed by Currency Note Press, Nashik, on the paper
(without security thread) supplied by Security Paper Mill (Hoshangabad).
RBI has asked the lenders to open more brick and mortar branches in villages with no banking facilities and with a population
of more than 5,000. It has asked banks to submit a roadmap on how many branches they will be opening by 31 March 2017.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) created a dedicated helpline (Email) for start-ups in India in order to offer assistance on
Forex matters to them for undertaking cross-border transactions within the ambit of the regulatory framework.
The Reserve Bank of India extended the deadline for exchanging pre-2005 currency notes of various denominations by
another six months to 30 June 2016.
India’s central bank The Reserve Bank of India has invited applications for “Payment System Innovation Awards” to encourage
innovative solutions in the field of Payment and Settlement System.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the final guidelines on computing interest rates on advances based on the Marginal
Cost of Funds Methodology. The guidelines will come into effect from 1 April 2016. All rupee loans sanctioned and credit limits
renewed with effect from 1 April 2016 will be priced with reference to the Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR)
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which will be the internal benchmark for such purposes.
The Supreme Court held that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is liable to disclose information about the banks and financial
institutions for their action against the loan defaulters including industrialists under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005.
The Reserve Bank of India has cancelled the certificate of registration of 56 non-banking finance companies (NBFCs),
including ABNL, Future Ventures India and Bajaj Finserve.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the revised Priority Sector Lending (PSL) norms for Regional Rural Banks (RRBs).
In this, the PSL target was increased to 75 percent of total outstanding from the existing 60 percent. The revised target will be
effective from 1 January 2016.
The Reserve Bank has signed an agreement with the UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority for
supervisory cooperation and exchange of information.
BANKS IN NEWS
SBI
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It launched its wealth management offering and inaugurated 'SBI InCube' is the branch for start-ups that would offer
a dedicated branch for start-ups.
advisory services to the budding entrepreneurs under one
The wealth management service is named as 'Exclusif' is roof.
targeted at the fast-growing affluent segment in the country.
State Bank of Travancore (SBT) has teamed up with the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) to provide customers of the
state utility online facility for remittance of electricity charges.
The ‘MUDRA' loan for women entrepreneurs or Boutique Loans are being provided at a concessional rate of interest.
Finance for Women Entrepreneurs is a special loan scheme Loans up to Rs. 10 lakh will be provided under the scheme
under Prime Minister MUDRA Yojana – has been launched by without any collateral security. A maximum loan amount of
SBI for catering to the financial needs of women Rs. 50 lakh can be availed under the scheme.
entrepreneurs.
State Bank of India (SBI) to raise up to Rs 15,000 crore from 5. SBI said that it has secured a $500 million loan from
various means, including public offer and overseas issuance Korean EXIM Bank to help fund companies from the East
of shares, in the next 14 months i.e. by March 2017. The fund Asian nation setting up units in India.
raised will help the bank to meet global risk norms, Basel III,
which will kick in from March 2019.
SBI is planning to monetise non-core assets and list some of 7. SBI has raised Rs4,000 crore by issuing tier-II bonds on
its subsidiaries to meet capital needs as well as global risk private placement basis under the Basel-III norms.
norms, Basel III, which will start from March 2019.
ICICI Bank
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The private sector lender, ICICI Bank which has entered into a tie-up with IRCTC, said the ‘novelty’ of this facility is that
customers of any bank can use this service. This is the first time any bank is offering railway tickets for sale from its
website, that too for customers of all banks.
ICICI Bank will partner FINO PayTech to foray into the The ICICI Group, with about 16 per cent stake in FINO
payments bank space.
Paytech, a business correspondent, is the largest domestic
shareholder.
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BANKS IN NEWS
S.No
1.
Name of Bank
News/Schemes
Other Points
Dharwad HQ
Set up a separate cell for monitoring progress Chairman: Ashok Reddy
Karnataka
Vikas under
all
the
government-sponsored
Grameen Bank (KVGB)
schemes.
Iran’s leading banks will open branches in India to energise commercial ties between New Delhi and Tehran.
Andhra Bank
Launched Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) The service makes payments possible within
across all its branches in association with the fraction of seconds with all the standards and
National Payments Corporation of India integrity maintained for security.
(NPCI).
Axis Bank
Launched a 'display variant' debit card which The card has an embedded EMV chip, a
does away with the hassles of generating one display screen and a touch-sensitive button
time password (OTP) over SMS while which helps generating the OTP on the card
transacting.
itself.
Tata Sons Ltd and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) have formed a long-term partnership, under
which ICBC will become a strategic banking partner to the Tata group.
Quickrupee, a portal to help SMEs get bank loans founded by Jyotsna and HD Sheriff. It has tied up with 16 bankers (mostly
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private banks and NBFCs) and will sign more banks in the coming time.
The Department of Posts (DoP) plans to open 1,000 ATMs and bring all 25,000 departmental post offices under core
banking system by March this year.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has collaborated with CSC e-Governance Services India to launch
Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) at locations where CSC eGov has been acting as Business Correspondent of
banks. This system facilitates disbursement of government entitlements like NREGA, social security pension, Handicapped
Old Age Pension etc of any Central or State Government bodies, using Aadhaar and authentication thereof as supported by
UIDAI
The government said the Credit Guarantee Fund for loans disbursed under the Pradhan Mantri Micro Units Development
Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Yojana would be able to guarantee loans of over Rs.one lakh crore as it gave its approval to
convert MUDRA into a bank. The government expects the fund to be able to guarantee loans worth more than Rs.one lakh
crore over the next three years of micro and small units
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NEW APPOINTMENTS(INDIA)
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Newly Appointed
Mamta Binani
Amitabh Bachchan & Priyanka Chopra
Noted environmentalist Ravi Chellam
Atulesh Jindal
Amit Shah
Alice Vaidyan
Gurdeep Singh
Justice Sanjay Mishra
KK Jalan
Shobhana K Pattanayak
Avinash K Srivastava
Vinod Agrawal
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Shyam S Agarwal
JS Deepak
Muktesh Kumar Pardeshi
Kamlesh Kumar Pandey
Datta Padsalgikar
Ashish Saraf
Binny Bansal
R Shivakumar
Dinesh Sharma
Rostow Ravanan
Guenter Butschek
D.K.Hota
Shekhar Saran
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Abidali Neemuchwala
Atul Sobti
Akshay Kothari
Sailesh
Amitabh Kant
Devender Kumar Sikri
Kunal Shah
AB Khare
Dr Achyuta Samanta
Satyanarayan Gangaram Pitroda
Pavan Kapoor
Bhanumurthy B M
Dr Urjit R Patel
Pawan Kumar Agarwal
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Post
President of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI).
Apointed as 'Incredible India' brand ambassadors.
Executive Director of Greenpeace India. Note: He succeeds Samit Aich.
Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). Jindal will succeed A K Jain.
President of BJP Party.
Chairman and Managing Director of General Insurance Corporation of India
Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of NTPC Ltd
Lokayukta of Uttar Pradesh.
Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME)
Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare
Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries
Secretary, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of
Social Justice and Empowerment
Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs
Telecom Secretary
India’s Ambassador to Mexico.
Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (CCPD)
Commissioner of Police of Mumbai
VP - Industry Development, Strategic Partnerships and Offsets in Airbus Group.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Flipkart
Chairman of Assocham Karnataka Regional Council
12-member board of directors in Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
CEO and Managing Director,Mindtree
Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Tata Motors' Group.
CMD of Defence PSU BEML Ltd
Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Central Mine Planning & Design Institute
Ltd.
CEO, Wipro
Chairman and Managing Director (CMD),Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)
Country Manager for India, LinkedIn. Note: Kothari replaces Nishant Rao
Registrar General and Census Commissioner.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog.
Chairman of fair-trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI)
Chairman, Industry body Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI)
Chairman and Managing Director ,Madras Fertilzers
General President of the 105th Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA)
Technology Advisor to the Odisha Government
India's ambassador to Israel
Chief Operating Officer (COO) and President, Wipro
Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), for a second three-year term.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India
(FSSAI).
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Gautam H Bambawale
Farhan Akhtar
Karan Adani
Dr Gyanendra D Bandgaiyan
Jeff Williams
R.K. Mathur
Reva Khetrapal
Lalit Modi
Ahmad Javed
Prakash Kumar Singh
Kapil Chopra
Udai Kumar
Sanjeev Sharma
Justice Tirath Singh (TS) Thakur
Indian-American Dr Vijay M Rao
Vijay Kumar Chaudhary
Kaher Kazem
Sachin Tendulkar
Pavan Kapoor
Lieutenant General Suresh Sharma
RK Singh Bhadauria
High Commissioner of India to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Amway India’s Brand Ambassador to promote Nutrilite range of the products
CEO of Adani Ports and SEZ (APSEZ)
Director General of the National Centre for Good Governance
Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Apple Inc
Chief Information Commissioner (CIC)
Delhi's new Lokayukta
President of the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA)
Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
Chairman, SAIL
Chairman of World Travel & Tourism Council
MD & CEO, Metropolitan Stock Exchange (formerly MCX Stock Exchange)
Managing Director,ABB India Ltd
43rd Chief Justice of India (CJI)
Chairperson, Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Board of Directors
Speaker of the Bihar Legislative Assembly.
General Motors(India) President and Managing Director of India operations,
Brand Ambassador for the disease awareness campaign 'Changing Diabetes'
India’ ambassador Israel, where he will succeed Jaideep Sarkar.
24th Director General Border Roads (DGBR)
Deputy Chief of the Air Staff
NEW APPOINTMENTS (WORLD)
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Newly Appointed
Pavel Filip
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa
Leslie Berland
Tsai Ing-wen
Tamal Chaudhuri
Mary Barra
Filippo Grandi
Sanjay Pradhan
Pravin Gordhan
Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan
Paul Kagame
James Michel
Louise Richardson
Paul Kaba Thieba
Giorgi Kvirikashvili
Post
Prime Minister, Moldova
President of Portugal
Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Twitter In
Taiwan President
General Manager, for HaloSource Inc.’s India operations
Chairman of General Motors (GM) Board of Directors
UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Head, The Open Government Partnership (OGP)
South Africa’s Finance Minister
Presidency of the Royal Society in London.
Rwanda President
Seychelles President
First woman vice-chancellor in the 900-year history of the University of Oxford.
Prime Minister of Burkina Faso
Prime Minister of Georgia
NATION IN NEWS (INDIA)
S. No
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News
PM Narendra Modi along with the President of France François Hollande laid the foundation stone of the International Solar
Alliance (ISA) headquarters in National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) in Gwalpahari, Gurgaon.
India has overtaken Thailand as the world’s largest rice exporter in the year 2015 by shipping (exporting) 10.23 million
tonnes of rice.
Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu inaugurated implementation of E-enabled Track Management System
(TMS) and Mobile Application of TMS on Indian Railway at Rail Bhawan in New Delhi. These initiatives will bring efficiency
and effectiveness in management practices.
Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has announced that India’s grid-connected solar power generation capacity
has crossed the 5,000 Mega Watt (MW) mark. ii. Presently, Government has set an ambitious plan to achieve 175 Giga Watt
(GW) of power generation capacity from renewable sources by 2022. It includes 100 GW from solar and 60 GW from wind.
The World Bank has decided to extend an assistance of 20 million US dollar to help reconstruct the Indira Gandhi Zoological
Park (IGZP), which got devastated during cyclone Hudhud in October 2014, in Visakhapatnam.
India-Nepal Bus Service resumed after a gap of 27 years. The service was suspended 27 years ago in the wake of the IndoNepal Trade and Transit Treaty. The service runs between Kanchanpur in Nepal, which is close to Banbasa border in
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Champavat district of Uttarakhand, and Anand Vihar ISBT in Delhi.
Sterlite Grid set a new benchmark by commissioning the Transmission Project to Rajasthan Atomic Power Project (RAPP)
ahead of schedule under the Tariff Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) incentive regime. RAPP is the first power
transmission line to be been commissioned ahead of schedule since the implementation of TBCB scheme.
In order to avoid duplication of work and to improve efficiency, the government merged the Ministry of Overseas Indian
Affairs (MOIA) with the Ministry of External Affairs.
As a major initiative towards fast track implementation of Namami Gange Programme the first company of Ganga Task force
Battalion was deployed at Garhmukteshwar.
The Union Government allowed the conduct of the traditional bull-taming sports, Jallikattu, in Tamil Nadu. The ban on the
sports was lifted few days before the traditional harvest festival will begin in Tamil Nadu.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has launched an online initiative to seek suggestions from LPG consumers across
the country, which will help in providing efficient and friendly service. Two online discussion forums : Citizen-Friendly
Services and Increasing LPG Coverage in the Country were launched and are available on myGov.in and mylpg.in
President Pranab Mukherjee promulgated the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Ordinance, 2016 to make
amendments to the Enemy Property Act, 1968. These amendments will help is dealing with the loopholes of the Enemy
Property Act, 1968 and ensure that the enemy properties that have been vested in the Custodian remain so and they do not
revert back to the enemy subject or enemy firm.
The Union Minister of Human Resource Development Zubin Irani launched the 6th All India Survey on Higher Education
(AISHE) in New Delhi. The survey covers all the Higher Education (HE) institutions of the country including Universities,
Colleges and Stand-Alone institutions from 2010-11 to 2014-15. The major findings of the AISHE 2014-15 included increase
in overall enrolment from 27.5 million in 2010-11 to 33.3 million in 2014-15.
Rajya Sabha passed the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2015. The Bill permits juveniles between the
ages of 16-18 years to be tried as adults for heinous offences. Also, any 16-18 year old, who commits a lesser (serious)
offence, may be tried as an adult only if he is apprehended after the age of 21 years.
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its approval for implementation of an umbrella scheme for integrated
development and management of fisheries. The scheme will be implemented at an outlay of 3000 crore rupees, for a period
of five years.
Union Government has announced to link LPG subsidy to income of consumers in order to ensure that the subsidy benefits
go to the targeted group. Henceforth, the LPG subsidy will not be available to LPG consumers if the consumer or his/her
spouse has taxable income of more than ten lakh rupees.
Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) has introduced e-office, an initiative which will help provide
efficient services to the people by digitizing more than 12,000 files. It was formally launched by WCD Minister Maneka
Sanjay Gandhi in New Delhi on the lines with the spirit of Good Governance initiative of Union Government.
The Cabinet approved the formation of joint venture companies with various state governments to mobilise resources for
undertaking rail infrastructure projects. The initial paid-up capital of the Ministry of Railways will be limited to Rs. 50 crore
for each state. The joint venture companies would be formed with equity participation from the Ministry of Railways and
the state governments concerned. Each joint venture will have an initial paid-up capital of Rs. 100 crore.
As per new Forest report India’s forest cover increased by 5,081 sq. km between 2013 and 2015. The forest cover is
7,01,673 sq. km, which is 21.34% of the geographical area of the country. Natural forests contribute around 95 per cent of
the total forest cover of the country.
India and United Kingdom launched a joint initiative 2016: UK-INDIA Year of Education and Research in New Delhi.
India and France launched the International Solar Alliance in Paris. The alliance was launched jointly by PM Narendra Modi
and French President Francois Hollande during the United Nations climate change conference (COP21).
The Union Cabinet approved setting up of six new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in Andhra Pradesh, Chhatisgarh,
Goa, Jammu, Kerala and Karnataka.
India launched the Indian Long Term Ecological Observatories (I-LTEO) programme to scientifically monitor eight different
biomes (natural landscapes) across the country. The initiative was launched on the sidelines of the Conference of Parties-21
(COP-21) of UNFCCC in Paris.
Gurib-Fakim, the first woman President of Mauritius, who is a distinguished scientist, was on a three-day visit to India.
India 2nd Largest Fruit Producer In World After China.
India and Syria held wide-ranging talks, focusing largely on the situation in the war-torn country and the UN-backed peace
process aimed at ending the strife that has claimed lives of over 2.5 lakh people in the last five years. Syrian deputy prime
minister Walid al-Muallem, during the talks with external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, appreciated India for its support
to the people of Syria and its position in finding a solution to the civil war.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
S. No
Country/Continent in
News
Somalia
1.
7
Related to
Agreed on Election Model outlined by the Mogadishu Declaration. The declaration calls for the
2.
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4.
Yale
School
Management
Liberia
China
5.
France
6.
Sri Lanks
7.
Nepal
8.
Iraq
9.
Nepal
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Philippines
Zimbabwe
12.
Japan
13.
Bangladesh
14.
Pakistan
15.
China
16.
Republic of Guinea
17.
University of South
Florida (USF)
18.
Saudi Arabia
19.
Iran
20.
Saudi Arabia
21.
Turkmenistan
22.
Myanmar
23.
Luxembourg
24.
25.
New Zealand
Brazil
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Gambia
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China
8
of
electoral process in Somalia to establish a new, bicameral Federal Parliament in 2016, based on
inclusivity and representation.
Indra Nooyi becomes ‘most generous graduate’ of Yale School of Management as she gifted an
undisclosed amount to her alma mater, becoming the school’s biggest alumni donor.
Becomes Ebola epidemic free according to World Health Organisation (WHO).
China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), in which India and 56 countries
have joined as founding members, was formally opened by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
French President Francois Hollande has declared “a state of economic emergency” and says it’s
time to redefine France’s economic and social model.
Sri Lankan parliament began a process to formulate a new constitution with Prime Minister
Ranil Wickremesinghe presenting a resolution to set up Constitutional Assembly of all members
for the purpose.
Elected to the UNICEF executive board, representing the group of Asia-Pacific countries for the
term 2016-2018.
Miss Iraq beauty pageant held for the first time since 1972. Note: Shaymaa Qasim Abdelrahman
was crowned Miss Iraq.
Government of Nepal has decided to amend the Constitution to address two key demands of
agitating Madhesis regarding proportional representation and constituency delimitation.
The first Asian country to approve the sale of the world's first-ever dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia.
Zimbabwe's Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa announced that the country has planned to
adopt the Chinese Yuan as legal tender.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet approved 5.05 trillion yen ($41.8 billion) in defence
spending for the next fiscal year starting in April, with the focus on strengthening protection of a
string of southern islands that stretch from Japan’s mainland to waters near Taiwan.
Bangladesh's state-run Atomic Energy Commission signed a deal with Russia to set up two
nuclear power plants, each with 1,200 MW capacity, an investment totalling $12.65 billion.
The World Bank approved an additional financial assistance to Pakistan of $35 million to
support improved management, planning and development of water resources in the Indus
River Basin in Pakistan.
China’s National People's Congress Standing Committee, country’s top law making body gave its
approval to amending One Couple, One Child Policy. The amended policy will lift the restrictions
on couples from having only one child.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the end of Ebola virus transmission in the
Republic of Guinea.
The University of South Florida (USF) announced a postgraduate fellowship in the name of
former president Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam to support accomplished and talented Indian students
looking to study abroad.
Launched Islamic Military Coalition, a new military alliance of 34 nations mainly Muslim nations
to fight terrorism.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has ended its 12-year investigation into concerns
that Iran might be developing nuclear weapons. IAEA Board of Governors passed a resolution
ending its long-running inquiry against Iran but allowing inspectors to continue to police the
country’s nuclear programme.
Saudi Arabian voters voted to elect women in at least 18 municipal council seats. This was a
historic local elections in Saudi Arabia in which women were allowed to vote and run for office
for the first time.
Construction work on the TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) Gas Pipeline project
started in Turkmenistan.
Launched its first UNSECO Biosphere Reserve Inle Lake in Shan state. The Inle Lake was
designated as UNESCO Biosphere reserve in Paris in June 2015.
Became the 10th country to ratify the Articles of Agreement (AoA) that will lay the legal
framework for the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
Formally become a member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
Economy contracted by 1.7 percent during July-September 2015 compared to April-June period
in 2015. It was Brazil's third consecutive quarter of contraction starting from January 2015 and
thus, making it the country's longest recession since the 1930s.
Gambia’s President has declared the country an Islamic republic, saying he decided this because
Islam is the religion of the majority of its citizens.
Granted a license for production of first manned two seater electric aircraft RX1E known as
28.
Australia
29.
Pakistan & Sri Lanka
30.
China
31.
Beijing
32.
China
33.
Spain
RX1E by the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
It has been designed by Shenyang Aerospace University and Liaoning General Aviation Academy
in northeastern Liaoning province.
Federal Parliament has passed Australian Citizenship Amendment (Allegiance to Australia) Bill,
2015 to strip citizenship of convicted persons on terrorism charges.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz sharif was on a three-day state visit to Sri Lanka in January
2016. In Colombo he met Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena and his Sri Lankan
counterpart Ranil Wickremesinghe and discussed bilateral issues. Pakistan sealed a landmark
deal to sell JF-17 Thunder fighter jets to Sri Lanka as the two countries signed eight agreements
to boost cooperation in areas like trade promotion, and science and technology besides
combating money laundering and terror financing.
The top organ of China’s Parliament, National People’s Congress Standing Committee adopted
the country first counter-terrorism law
Issued its first-ever red alert on air pollution ordering schools to close due to hazardous air
quality. Red alert is the highest possible state of caution.
China’s country code domain ‘.cn’ has become the worlds most commonly used in the internet
with 16.36 million users, surpassing Germany’s ‘.de’ domain.
Ruling conservative People’s Party (PP) of Spain led Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy won the
2015 general election of the country.
OBITUARIES (NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL)
S. No
1.
2.
Aroon Tikekar
Mrinalini Sarabhai
Person Died
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Ettore Scola
Nirmala Gajwani
Pandit Shankar Ghosh
Kalpana
Marvin Minsky
Abe Vigoda
General Kotikalapudi Venkata Krishna Rao
Rajesh Vivek Upadhyay
Alan Rickman
Ventrapragada Rama Rao
Lakshman Rao Mohite alias Geethapriya
Yasutaro Koide
Glenn Frey
Sarosh Homi Kapadia
Mufti Mohammad Sayeed
Labhshankar Thakar
Ravindra Kalia
David Bowie
Maria Teresa de Filippis
Sadhana
V S Malimath
Haskell Wexler
George Clayton Johnson
Ian Fraser Lemmy Kilmister
Subir Sen
General Om Prakash Malhotra.
Peter Dickinson
Chatla Sriramulu
Sharad Anantrao Joshi
Ustad Sabri Khan
Eldar Ryazanov
MAM Ramaswamy
9
Profession/Famous In?
Senior journalist and scholar
Eminent danseuse & wife of the late Dr Vikram Sarabhai, father of
India’s space programme.
Italian director
Former Deputy Speaker of Gujarat Assembly and Social Activist
Eminent Tabla player
National award-winning actress
The pioneer of artificial intelligence
Actor known for his work in The Godfather
Former Army Chief
Bollywood actor
Actor
Veteran BJP leader and former Sikkim Governor
Renowned film-maker
The world’s oldest man at the age of 112
Afounding member and guitarist of the Eagles
Ex-Chief Justice of India
Jammu and Kashmir Ex-Chief Minister
Noted Gujarati writer and poet
Noted Hindi writer and journalist
British singer
First woman to compete in a world championship F1 Grand Prix
Yesteryear Hindi film actress
Former Chief Justice of Karnataka and Kerala High Courts Justice
Oscar-winning cinematographer
Popular science-fiction writer
Founding member and singer in the British band Motorhead
Veteran singer
Former Punjab Governor and ex-Chief of Army
British Novelist
Noted writer and theatre artiste
Renowned Agro-Economist and Veteran Leader of farmers
Renowned sarangi player
Russian film Director
Industrialist, Founder of Chettinad Group, Former parliamentarian
35.
36.
37.
Anil Ganguly
Haskell Wexler
Noted filmmaker
Influential Oscar-winning cinematrographer
S. No
1.
Awards
Technical Achievement Award from Oscar for his contribution
to cinema
World's best hotel at the Travellers' Choice award
National Award for e-Governance 2015-16 for its Universal
Account Number programme
Padma Vibhushan Awards
AWARDS
2.
3.
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6.
Yash Chopra Memorial Award
Honoured with the highest civilian honour, the Order of
Australia.
Honoured with the Order of Australia
8th Human Rights Award by Amnesty International Germany.
Allan Border Medal for 2016
2016 William E. Colby Award.
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Prince Mahidol Award 2015
K Veeramani Award for Social Justice 2015
V Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award
2015 Harikrishna Devsare Baalsahitya Award
Ballon d'Or award for world's best player for fifth time
Neerja Bhanot Award
Lorenzo Natali Media Prize for 2015 in Asia and the Pacific
mateur category
Prof MV Pylee Award for the Distinguished Academician of
India.
Received a Knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II
20.
2015 eASIA Award under Trade Facilitation category
21.
22.
23.
2015 Sangita Kalanidhi Award
Britain's Costa Book Awards 2015
The Banker magazine's Global and Asia-Pacific Central Bank
Governor of the Year 2015
Prime Minister’s Trophy for being the ‘Best Performing
Integrated Steel Plant’ in the country for the performance year
2013 – 2014.
Miss Universe 2015
Miss World 2015
National Medal of Science 2015 of United States (US)
2015 Col. CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award
'Export Quality Excellence' award for the 11th time in a row.
Globe Soccer Awards 2015 conferred
The Globe Soccer on 27 December 2015 presented the sixth
edition of Globe Soccer Awards 2015 to the winners at a
ceremony held in Dubai, UAE.
•Best Player of the Year - Lionel Messi
•Best President of the Year - Josep Maria Bartomeu

51st Jnanpith award
Garwood Award for ‘Outstanding Global Leader in Open
Innovation’ from UC Berkeley-Haas School of Business
2016 Genesis Prize Laureate for his accomplishments as a
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10
Winner
Rahul Thakkar
Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur, Rajasthan
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation
Actor Rajinikanth, Media baron Ramoji Rao, former J&K
Governor Jagmohan and spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi
Shankar
Veteran Bollywood actress Rekha
Sajeev Koshy
Chennupati Jagadish and Jay Chandra
Henri Tiphagne
Australian batsman David Warner
Nisid Hajari for his book, Midnight’s Furies: The Deadly
Legacy of India’s Partition
Professor Morton Mower and Sir Michael Marmot
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar
Veteran wildlife filmmaker Naresh Bedi
Balkrishna Garg
Lionel Messi
Subhashini Vasanth
Delhi-based writer Ankita Anand
Dr Jancy James, the first woman Vice Chancellor of
Kerala
Harpal Singh Kumar, Indian-origin cancer research
expert
Drug Authentication and Verification Application
(DAVA) project of The Department of Commerce
south Indian classical vocalists Sanjay Subrahmanyam
British writer Kate Atkinson
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan
Tata Steel
Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach
Miss Spain Mireia Lalaguna Royo
Indian American professor Rakesh K Jain
Sayeed Kirmani
Pump manufacturing major CRI Pumps
•Best Media Attraction in Football - F.C. Barcelona
•Best Coach of the Year - Marc Wilmots
•Best Agent of the Year - Jorge Mendes
•Best Referee of the Year - Ravshan Irmatov
•Best Academy of the Year – Benfica
Best Club of the Year - F.C. Barcelona
Eminent Gujarati litterateur Raghuveer Chaudhary
President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee
Renowned Israeli-US violinist Itzhak Perlman
musician, teacher and advocate for people with disabilities.
West Bengal Government’s Lifetime Achievement Awards
South East Asian Write Award for Singapore
Mailer Prize for lifetime achievement
2015 Aegis Graham Bell Award for developing a solution for
the Internet of Things (IoT).
Lifetime achievement award at the Dubai International Film
Festival (DIFF)
2016 Queen's Young Leaders award in the United Kingdom
2015 Person of the Year
Uttar Pradesh Ratna Award
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E-India Award for adopting technology to serve the public
better
Sangeet Samman at the ITC Sangeet Sammelan
Indian National Bar Association's (INBA) General Counsel of
the year 2015 - Retail Award
Harikrishna Devsare Baal Sahitya Award 2015
Miss Iraq 2015
National Payments Excellence Awards 2015
Sangita Kalanidhi Award 2015
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‘Favourite Actress in a New TV series’ award at the People’s
Choice Awards 2016 in Los Angeles
Bappi Lahiri and singer Kumar Sanu
Indian-origin Tamil writer Jamaludeen Mohamed Sali
India-born author Salman Rushdie
Wipro
Veteran Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah
Two Indians, Kartik Sawhney and Neha Swain
German Chancellor Angela Merkel
Frank Islam, an Indian-American entrepreneur and
philanthropist
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA)
Renowned violinist Lakshminarayana Subramaniam
Pulin Kumar, Group Senior Legal and Compliance
Director of Adidas India
Veteran poet Balkrishna Garg
Shaima Qassem Abdulrahman
Corporation Bank bagged three awards
Sanjay Subrahmanyam, a renowed South-Indian
classical vocalist
Priyanka Chopra
SPORTS NEWS
CRICKET
a) Uttar Pradesh won its maiden Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy with a
38-run win over two- time champions Baroda in the final played
at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
c) The West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul announced
his retirement from international cricket almost 22 years after
making his debut.
d) Former India player and Bengal captain Laxmi Ratan Shukla
announced his retirement from cricket.
f) Australia withdrew from the Under-19 World Cup
Tournament in Bangladesh. It pulled-out citing security reasons.
h) Kane Williamson became the first cricketer from New
Zealand to top the International Cricket Council’s (ICC’s) Test
rankings.
j) Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Kusal Perera is facing the prospect
of a four-year ban after his B sample tested positive for a
banned substance.
l) Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene was awarded
with an honorary life membership of the Marylebone Cricket
Club (MCC).
n) Pranav Dhanawade, a 15-year old boy from Mumbai became
first cricketer ever to score 1000 runs in an innings. With this
he became the world’s highest individual scorer in all forms of
cricket.
p) Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) imposed a life
time ban on Haryana off-spinner bowler Ajit Chandila
considering his involvement in the IPL spot-fixing scandal 2013.
11
b) India won the first T20 Asia cup cricket for Blind. In the final
clash, India defeated Pakistan by 44 runs.
d) Indian Test captain Virat Kohli was named ‘Cricketer of the
Year’, while Mithali Raj was picked for the M.A. Chidambaram
Trophy for the best women’s cricketer.
e) The Supreme Court-appointed Lodha Committee
recommended sweeping reforms for the controversy-ridden BCCI,
suggesting a bar on ministers from occupying positions, putting a
cap on the age and tenure of the office-bearers and legalising
betting.
g) The ICC and MoneyGram International announced an eightyear deal which confirms MoneyGram as an event partner for ICC
events from 2016-2023.
i) New Zealand cricket captain Brendon McCullum announced
retirement from all forms of international cricket.
k) Gujarat clinched the Vijay Hazare Cricket Trophy. It is the first
time that Gujarat won the trophy.
m) Pune and Rajkot became the interim franchises in the Indian
Premier League (IPL) till 2017. The will take place of the
suspended teams of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan
Royals (RR).
o) Australia became First Team to Score 1000 Individual
Centuries.
q) Pakistan Opener Imran Farhat on 27 January 2016 retired
from international cricket.
TENNIS
a) Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis won the
2016 Australian Open title of tennis in the women’s doubles
category.
c) World Number One Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open
Men’s Singles title. In the final played at Melbourne, the Serbian
defeated Andy Murray of Britain in straight sets 6-1, 7-5, 7-6.
e) Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis’ awe-inspiring run continued
unabated as they lifted their second trophy of the season with
the WTA Apia International title.
g) Andy Murray of the UK received the 2015 BBC Sports

Personality of the Year award in London.
b) Angelique Kerber became the first German to win a Grand Slam
when she upset world number one Serena Williams 6-4 3-6 6-4 to
clinch the Australian Open 2016.
d) The Russian Tennis Federation announced that former World
No.1 tennis player Marat Safin joined the International Tennis
Hall of Fame.
f) Stanislas Wawrinka won the Chennai Open title. In the summit
clash at the Nungambakkam tennis stadium of Chennai, he
defeated Croatian Borna Coric 6-3, 7-5.
h) Serena Williams is Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the
Year-the first female athlete honoured on her own by the
magazine in more than 30 years.
i) World number one Novak Djokovic (Servia) claimed his first j) India’a Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis broke
title of the year with an impressive win over Rafael Nadal a 22-year-old world record by winning their 29th women’s
(Spain) in the Qatar Open.
doubles match in a row.
k) Tennis’s governing bodies on 27 January 2016 constituted the Adam Lewis headed Independent Review Panel (IRP) to safeguard
integrity in tennis.
GRAND PRIX

a) Sahara Force India Academy racer Jehan Daruvala won one of New Zealand's most prestigious events, the Lady Wigram Trophy. It
was Daruvala’s maiden victory in Formula cars.

a) Shiva Keshavan grabbed a silver medal in the 18th edition of the Asian Luge Championship held in Nagano, Japan. The first place
was claimed by defending champion Hidenari Kanayama of Japan.
ATHLETICS
FOOTBALL
a) Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan was bestowed honorary
life membership of Kolkata’s soccer outfit Mohammedan
Sporting.
c) India won of the South Asian Football Federation Cup (SAFF)
championships by defeating Afghanistan at Trivandrum
International Stadium of Kerala.
e) Bengaluru FC (BFC) midfielder Eugeneson Lyngdoh and
striker Bala Devi named the 2015 All India Football Federation
(AIFF) Player-of-the-Year and woman Footballer-of-the-Year
respectively.
g) FC Barcelona won the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup by
defeating Argentina’s River Plate. The final match was held at
the International Stadium in Yokohama, Japan.
i) International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced
winners of 2015 World Champions.
Men’s World Champion - Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
Women’s World Champion - Serena Williams (the USA)
Men’s Doubles World Champions - Jean-Julien Rojer
(Netherlands) & Horia Tecau (Romania)
Women’s Doubles World Champions - Martina Hingis
(Switzerland) & Sania Mirza (India)
ITF Junior World Champions - Dalma Galfi (Hungary) &
Taylor Fritz (the USA)
ITF Wheelchair World Champions - Jiske Griffioen
(Netherlands) & Shingo Kunieda (Japan)
b) David Beckham was presented with the Danny Kaye
Humanitarian Leadership Award at the sixth biennial UNICEF Ball
in Los Angeles.
d) Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has been voted 2015
England Player of the Year for the fourth time.
f) Chennaiyin FC was crowned as the champions of the 2nd Indian
Super League (ISL) Football tournament. In the final played at the
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, Goa, Chennaiyin defeated
the hosts FC Goa, 3-2.
h) FIFA’s Independent Ethics Committee banned Sepp Blatter,
Michel Platini from football for 8 years.
j) Polish professional footballer Robert Lewandowski’s nineminute, five-goal haul for German Football Club Bayern Munich
against Wolfsburg was officially recognised by Guinness World
Record.
SHOOTING

a) Indian shooter Apurvi Chandela broke the world record on
way to winning gold in the women's 10 metre air rifle event at
the Swedish Cup Grand Prix. Chandela shot 211.2 in the event to
surpass the feat of Chinese Olympic gold medallist Yi Siling, who
held the record with 211.
c) Vijay Kumar won the centre fire pistol gold in the 59th
National shooting championship at the Dr Karni Singh Range in
12
b) Apurvi Chandela from Rajasthan has won a Gold medal in the
59th National Shooting Championship in Delhi.
d) Kerala’s Elizabeth Susan Koshy won the Women's 50m Rifle 3
Positions Gold at the 59th National Shooting Championships held
Tughlakabad in New Delhi.
at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting range in New Delhi.
BADMINTON
a) India’s P.V. Sindhu clinched the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix

Gold title after defeating Scotland’s Kristy Gilmour in straight
games in the final in Penang.
c) Delhi Acers emerged victorious over Mumbai Rockets by 4-3
in the summit clash to clinch the Premier Badminton League
(PBL) title.
e) China’s Chen Long and all England and World champion
Carolina Marin bagged the Badminton World Federation (BWF)
Male and Female Player of the Year Awards respectively in
Dubai.
b) Ace Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth won the Men's Singles
title of the Syed Modi International Badminton Championships
2016.
d) Japanese shuttlers Kento Momota and Nozomi Okuhara won
Men's singles and Women’s singles title respectively at the BWF
World Superseries at the Hamdan Sports Complex, Dubai.
HOCKEY
a) The International Hockey Federation (FIH) announced
the winners of its Hockey Stars awards for 2015. The
Netherlands' Robert Van der Horst and Lidewij Welten won
the men's and women's FIH Player of the Year awards
2015.
• Goalkeeper of the year (Women) - Joyce Sombroek (The
Netherlands)
• Goalkeeper of the year (Men) - David Harte (Ireland)
• Rising Star of the Year (Women) - Lily Owsley (Great
Britain)
• Rising Star of the Year (Men) - Chrisopher Rühr
(Germany)
c) Sweden's Bjorn Isberg appointed as the Tournament
Director of Coal India Hockey India League (HIL), the
premier league for hockey in India.
b) Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) won the 26th Lal Bahadur
Shastri Hockey tournament.The ONGC defeated Indian Railways 3-0 in
the final match held at the Shivaji Stadium in New Delhi.
a) The Philippines' Miguel Tabuena was voted as the Hilton
Asian Tour Golfer of Month for December 2015. Tabuena
won the award ahead of Thailand's Phachara Khongwatmai
and India's Himmat Rai.
b) India’s star golfer Anirban Lahiri has won the coveted Order of
Merit crown of Asian Tour for year 2015.
d) Australia defeated Belgium by 2-1 to win 2014-2015 Men’s Hockey
World League Final at Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel Stadium, Raipur.
GOLF
Other SPORTS NEWS
S. No
1.
Sports
Table Tennis
2.
Rowing
3.
Moto GP
4.
5.
Snooker
Snooker
6.
Chess
7.
Squash
8.
Weightlifting
9.
Miscellaneous
10.
South Asian Games
2016
13
News
Japan's Izumo Takuto and Hong Kong's Zhu Chengzhu became champions in the boys' and girls'
categories in the 11Even Sports 2015 ITTF World Junior Circuit Finals
Punjab’s Navneet Kaur won two gold medals in the 34th Senior National Rowing Championship at
Hussainsagar Lake, Hyderabad.
Brazilian racing driver Pietro Fittipaldi clinched the 2015-16 MRF Challenge Formula 2000 at
Madras Motor Racing Track in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu.
Aditya Mehta won the 83rd Senior National Snooker Championship in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
Ronnie O'Sullivan won his sixth Snooker Masters title after defeating Barry Hawkins 10-1 in the
final at the Alexandra Palace in London.
World champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway won the Qatar Masters Open chess tournament, billed
as the strongest Open in history.
India’s Abhay Singh won the Under-19 Singapore Squash Open. In the final of the Old Chang Kee
Singapore Open, he defeated second seed Alwin Chai of Malaysia.
Rakhi Haldar and Kavita Devi bagged gold in their respective weight categories in the Senior
National Weightlifting Championships held in Patiala, Punjab.
Cricketer Rohit Sharma along with Graphic India, UK-based ISM Komix and Cornerstone Sport set
to launch a new environmental superhero team called 'Hyper Tygers’. The digital comic will be
free to read on all devices from February 1.
Orgnaising committee of 12th South Asian Games (OC-SAG) unveiled mascot of the games and
logo at ITA Cultural Center Machkhowa in Guwahati, Assam. The mascot Tikhor is a one horned
rhino and is the brand ambassador of the games carries the message of peace, stability, amity and
progress.
11.
Cycling
Indian cyclist Deborah Herold became the first Indian female cyclist to be ranked fourth in the
World Elite Women Ranking for the 500m time trial event. The ranking was issued by cycling
world body International Cycling Union (UCI).
Bodybuilding
India’s Thakur Anoop Singh won gold medal in the 7th WBPF World Bodybuilding and Physique
Championships.
Snooker
Ronnie O’Sullivan eased to win the Dafabet Masters title 2016. He defeated Barry Hawkins.
International referee from India, Ashok Kumar was selected for officiating in the Rio Olympics 2016. This is the first time
in the in the Indian wrestling history that a referee from India will be officiating at the Olympic Games.
Matthew Mitcham, the Australian Olympic diving gold medalist, announced his retirement from the sport on 28 January
2016.
12.
13.
14.
SPORTS VENUES RECENTLY ANNOUNCED
S.no
1.
Sport Event
2021
World
Championships
Aquatics
Venue
Japanese city of Fukuoka
Other Points
The Qatari capital Doha will host the
2023 event.
DEFENCE NEWS (India & World)
S. No
1.
Which Defence Force/ Body/
Initiative?
India’s Aircraft Tejas
2.
3.
Mi-25 gunship helicopters
Indian Reserve Battalions
(IRBs)
4.
Surface-to-air Akash missile
5.
6.
Defence
Research
and
Development Organisation
‘Sahayog-Kaijin 2016’
7.
ITBP
8.
LRSAM
9.
Pinaka II
10.
Shakti-2016
11.
INS Kadmatt
12.
Reservation for women in
CAPF
13.
26th January Parade
14.
Indian Navy Service (INS)
Godavari
14
News
Country’s own fighter aircraft light combat aircraft (LCA), Tejas, took part in the threeday Bahrain International Airshow.
3 Mi-25 gunship helicopters supplied by India are to officially join the Afghan Air Force.
The Union Cabinet has approved proposal of raising of 17 Indian Reserve Battalions
(IRBs) in Jammu & Kashmir and 4 Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected states. 17 IRBs
includes 5 battalions in J&K, 4 in Chhattisgarh, 3 each in Jharkhand and Odisha and 2 in
Maharashtra.
India test fired its indigenously-built surface-to-air Akash missile from Integrated Test
Range (ITR) at Chandipuri in Odisha.
DRDO successfully test-fired Nag anti-tank missile at the Mahajan Field Firing Range in
Rajasthan.
15th edition of bilateral exercise by the Indian Coast Guard and its Japanese counterpart
titled ‘Sahayog-Kaijin 2016’ begun off the coast of Chennai, Tamil Nadu in the Bay of
Bengal.
A freshly-trained contingent of 500 women personnel will become the first 'mahila'
squad to be deployed in high-altitude posts along the India-China border. The squad was
commissioned into the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LRSAM), the missile co-developed by India and
Israel, was successfully test-fired on the Western Sea Board. The missile was developed
by the DRDL, Hyderabad in collaboration with Israel Aerospace Industries.
Amament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) successfully test-fired
Pinaka II multi barrel rocket launcher (MBRL) System. The three-day long user assisted
trials were conducted at Pokhran in Rajasthan.
India and France started their eight-day counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency joint
exercise Shakti-2016 in Rajasthan. This is the third edition in the series of bilateral
exercises.
Anti-submarine warfare (ASW) corvette INS Kadmatt commissioned in the Indian Navy
at naval dockyard in Visakhapatnam by Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral R K Dhowan.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has approved 33% reservation for women in
Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) at constable-level positions. There will be 33%
reservation for women at constable-level posts in Central Reserve Police Force and
Central Industrial Security Force, and 14-15% reservation at the constable level in
border guarding forces i.e. Border Security Force, Sashastra Seema Bal and Indo Tibetan
Border Police.
The French soldiers march down the Rajpath on Republic Day along with Indian troops
in the presence of President Francois Hollande. Hollande was the Chief Guest for 26
January 2016 celebrations.
India’s first indigenously designed and built warship Indian Navy Service (INS) Godavari
decommissioned in Naval Dockyard Mumbai.
15.
First Naval Base
16.
Astra
17.
Barak 8
18.
Manufacture 200 Kamov
226T light helicopters
19.
Defence Acquisition Council
(DAC)
20.
Combined
Conference
21.
Shaheen-IA
22.
The torpedo defence system,
Maareech
23.
Fast Patrol Vessels
24.
Indra Navy 2015
25.
Indian Navy
26.
Agreement
Commanders
Seychelles government allowed India to build its first Naval Base on the Assumption
Island in the Indian Ocean region (IOR) as a joint project between both countries.
Indigenously developed Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile, Astra, successfully
test fired. The test was conducted by the Indian Air Force off the coast of Odisha near the
Integrated Test Range (ITR), Balasore.
The Navy successfully test-fired the nearly 70 KM range Surface to Air Missile Barak 8
from INS Kolkata, paving the way for installation of the system, developed jointly by
India and Israel, on board country’s frontline warships.
Russian firm Rostech State Corporation has tied up with India's Hindustan Aeronautics
Limited (HAL) to manufacture 200 Kamov 226T light helicopters. The new fleet of
Kamovs will replace the ageing Cheetah and Chetak helicopters.
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the purchase of Russian advance S-400
Triumf Air Defence Missile Systems from Russia at an estimated cost of 40000 crore
rupees.
Combined Commanders Conference, an annual tri-services event chaired by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi was held on board INS Vikramaditya about 50 kms off Kochi
coast. This is the first time when the conference was held outside New Delhi.
Pakistan successfully tested the nuclear-capable Shaheen-IA ballistic missile with a
range of 900 km. The test of the missile was aimed at re-validating several design and
technical parameters of the weapon system.
A fully indigenous decoy system, that can divert underwater torpedo attacks on ships
and submarines, has been developed by Visakhapatnam-based Naval Science and
Technological Laboratory (NSTL). The torpedo defence system, Maareech, was recently
inducted into the Indian Navy.
The public sector Cochin Shipyard Ltd launched the nineteenth of the 20 Fast Patrol
Vessels being built for Indian Coast Guard. The vessel was named “ICGS Atulya” and
launched by Hema Subramaniam, wife of Commodore K. Subramaniam, Chairman &
Managing Director, CSL.
Indo-Russia bilateral maritime exercise Indra Navy 2015 commenced in
Vishakhapatanam. The exercise epitomises the strategic relationship between the two
nations. The 8th edition of Indra Navy conducted in the Bay of Bengal till 12 December
2015.
The fifth ship of Indian Navy's LCU MK IV project, was launched at Garden Reach
Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE) in Kolkata. LCU L-55 is the fifth vessel in the
series of eight Landing Craft Utility Ships being designed and built by GRSE for the
Indian Navy.
Reliance Defence Limited and Russian AlmazAntey, have decided to work jointly on the
entire range of AD Missile and Radar Systems that are required for Indian defence
forces.
Israel got delivery of its fifth German-built submarine, an advanced Dolphin-class vessel.
The new arrival is named ‘Rahav’ after a biblical sea monster.
27.
Nuclear-capable Submarine
‘INS-Rahav’
S. No
1.
News
Union Government sanctioned 33000 crore rupees for the development of infrastructure projects in Tamilnadu. With this,
the total amount sanctioned was raised to 50000 crore rupees.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) signed an interim consultancy agreement with Kerala Rapid Transit Ltd (KRTL)
for the Rs. 6,728-crore 'light metro' in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.
Google India and Indian Railways’ telecom arm RailTel launched free Rail Wire Public Wi-Fi service for railway passengers
at the Mumbai Central Station. With this, Mumbai Central has become the first railway station in India to have free highspeed Wi-Fi Internet facility.
Manipal Hospitals Bangalore becomes the first centre in Karnataka for conducting the MRCP practical assessment of
examination skills (PACES) mock exam in collaboration with UK-based Royal College of Physicians Federation.
President Pranab Mukherjee on 26 January 2016 approved the Union Cabinet’s recommendation for the imposition of
President’s rule on Arunachal Pradesh.
Uttar Pradesh became the fourth state to join the Centre’s scheme to revive state electricity distribution utilities.
Lt Governor of Puducherry AK Singh launched the MITRA mobile application to ensure safety and security of women in the
Union Territory. The app was launched in the presence of the Chief Minister N Rangasamy in Puducherry.
Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar launched Goa e-Suvidha Portal, an online project tracking mechanism to fast track
STATE IN NEWS (INDIA)
2.
3.
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5.
6.
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8.
15
projects. It aims at resolving a variety of issues in setting up infrastructure and other large projects , both in the public and
private sectors, with targeted investment between ₹50 crore and ₹1,000 crore.
The Asian Development Bank extend a $625 million loan to the proposed $840 million Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial
Corridor.
Telangana became the first State in India to introduce compulsory gender education at the graduate level.
Vice President Hamid Ansari declared Kerala as the first state in the country to attain 'Total Primary Education', and
described the achievement as 'historic.'
Sikkim has become India's first fully organic state by converting around 75,000 hectares of agricultural land into
sustainable cultivation.
The 40th edition of the International Kolkata Book Fair – the world’s largest non-trade fair – is all set to bring to life a slice
of history.
Telangana become first state to accept e-motor insurance policies. The e-Vahan Bima, an electronic motor insurance policy
issued in digital form with Quick Response (QR) code, has been formally launched by the Minister for IT, K T Ramarao.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das inaugurated the state's land bank web portal, jharbhoom.nic.in, that will help
investors know land-related information.
State election commissioner (SEC) Ashok Kumar Chauhan announced that toilets will be mandatory requirement for
eligibility to contest panchayat elections. This declaration means that no one can contest the Bihar panchayat elections
scheduled in 2016 without having a toilet at their home.
Wattan Ko Jano, an initiative being carried out by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in coordination with the Jammu and
Kashmir (J&K) Government. The initiative came in news after more than 240 youth in the age-group of 15 to 24 from J&K
met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief guest at the National Conference on Sustainable Agriculture and Farmers’
Welfare being held in Gangtok. The conference is being held in Sikkim.
Human Resource Minister Smriti Irani inaugurated the 43rd edition of the New Delhi World Book Fair which commenced
here with China as the guest of honour country and a theme presentation of the cultural heritage of India.
The West Bengal Government cleared the proposal for setting up five new districts in the state. These five new districts
will increase the number of districts of West Bengal to 25.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar approved much anticipated Patna Metro Rail project's proposal. The state government
will now send the proposal for the union government's clearance.
Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Lucknow Metro Rail Project Phase-1 A. To be
developed at an expenditure of 6928 crore rupees, the project will cover a length of 22.878 km with 22 stations.
The Basohali town which is located in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir was in news as the Union Defence Minister
Manohar Parrikar dedicated the first cable-stayed bridge of North India to the nation. The 592-metre bridge was
constructed over river Ravi on Dunera- Basohli-Bhadharwah road.
Bihar government banned 15-year-old diesel vehicles from plying in the Capital, Patna. The decision was taken in view of
increasing pollution.
Government of Andhra Pradesh signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft India on a range of
technology initiatives.
State-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has commissioned a 660 MW unit of Prayagraj Super Thermal Power
Project at Bara town in Allahabad district of Uttar Pradesh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the All-India conference of Directors General of Police (AICDGPs) at Dhordo in
white Rann of Kutch region near Bhuj, Gujarat.
Mumbai’s iconic boulevard Marine Drive, also popularly called the Queen’s Necklace, completed 100 years, and residents
of the city’s western waterfront flagged off the centenary celebrations with a postcard showcasing the crescent-shaped
bay off the Arabian Sea.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi recalled nationalist leader Shyamji Krishna Varma as the first “non-Brahmin” to have
received a “degree of Pandit” in Varanasi.
Out of the total 60 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) of the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly, 33 members passed a
resolution to remove the Speaker Nabam Rebia.
Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) announced the launch of the Phase-2 development, which will be
focused on International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) to be set up in GIFT SEZ.
National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered ban on registration of new diesel-run vehicles in Delhi to curb the growing
menace of air pollution in the capital city. This ruling was given by NGT bench headed by Chairperson Justice Swatanter
Kumar.
Losar, the biggest Tibetan Buddhist Festival began in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir. The festival marks the
beginning of New Year for Buddhists.
Two Indian cities, Varanasi and Jaipur, have made it to the Creative City Network of the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the first time ever. Varanasi and Jaipur made it to the network in the
categories, City of Music and City of Crafts and Folk Art respectively.
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Himachal Pradesh became the first state of India to launch Rotavirus vaccination project. The vaccine will help in
controlling the child mortality rate (under five years of age) due to diarrhoea.
Uttar Pradesh Government has launched International festival on Birds in a bid to promote state as an international birdwatching destination. The first-of-its-kind festival was inaugurated by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav at the National
Chambal Sanctuary (NCS).
The Andhra Pradesh government has conveyed its in-principle decision to the Ministry of Power of joining UDAY (Ujwal
Discom Assurance Yojana) scheme.
The Maharashtra legislature has become the first in the country to launch an online mechanism for its members to send
questions and move different motions in the House.
Rajasthan Government along with its power distribution companies (DISCOMS) has signed a MoU to join UDAY (Ujwal
Discom Assurance Yojana) Scheme. State DISCOMS part of this MoU are Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (JVNL),
Jodhpur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (JVVNL) and Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (AVNL).
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has cleared a euro 450 million loan to the Lucknow Metro Rail project, the first ever
loan by the European lending agency for a Metro rail project in the country.
Pollution in Lucknow touched a new high and the UP capital emerged as the most polluted city in the country.
The Union petroleum ministry has officially declared in Vyachakurahalli, Karnataka as India’s first smokeless village,
owing to its conversion from conventional fuel to LPG.
Haryana Tourism is getting a power couple boost, what with Dharmendra and Hema Malini being roped in as their new
ambassadors.
The Union Government has ranked e-governance project of Punjab as number 1 among all states in the country. While
Madhya Pradesh ranked second, Uttar Pradesh was adjudged third in the country.
Tripura announce Yoga mandatory for students from Class I-VIII from the new academic session beginning January 1.
Tripura is the second state after Gujarat to make yoga compulsory in schools.
Haryana chief minister Monohar Lal Khattar was on a two-nation visit to Japan and China. At the first leg of his tour he
reached Tokyo in Japan. Here he attended an investment seminar organised by Indian Embassy. At the second leg of his
tour he arrived Beijing . Some MoUs—mostly investment-related were signed during his visit. Mr. Lal’s visit is part of a
growing decentralization of Sino-Indian ties, where Indian States and Chinese provinces were imparting considerable
influence on foreign policy.
The Union Minister of State (independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel,
Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurated the Hall of Nuclear Power in New
Delhi.
Union government’s prestigious Krishi Karman Award was conferred on Madhya Pradesh for 4th consecutive year.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs carried out an initiative named ‘Watan ko Jano’ in coordination with Jammu and
Kashmir government. More than 240 youth in the age-group of 15 to 24 from J&K met with Prime Minister Modi in Delhi.
India’s grid-connected solar power generation capacity has crossed the 5,000 MW mark, with Rajasthan on top with
1,264.35 MW capacity followed by Gujarat.
The Government of Haryana in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is all set to unfold ‘The
Happening Haryana Global Investors’ Summit 2016’ slated to be held at Gurgaon on March 7 and 8, 2016.
After two years of dithering, Uttar Pradesh is implementing the food security law from the New Year’s Day. While 24
districts, mostly in western UP, will roll out the scheme, the remaining 51 districts will join the bandwagon on March 1.
Lalu Prasad is set to be re-elected president of the Rashtriya Janata Dal for the ninth consecutive time.
Government of Andhra Pradesh signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft India on a range of
technology initiatives. The MoU was signed after a meeting between the Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and
Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella in Hyderabad.
Delhi recorded the highest per capita income among all states in the country at Rs 2,40,849 during financial year 2014-15,
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
Israel and Andhra Pradesh Government during a joint working group meeting discuss ways to enhance cooperation in
agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, urban water management and HLS.
The Maharashtra legislature has become the first in the country to launch an online mechanism for its members to send
questions and move different motions in the House.
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OPERATIONS LAUNCHED FOR SAFETY
S.No
1.
Operation Name
Operation Green Hunt
2.
Operation Smile-II
January 2016.
17
from
1
Important Point
An all-out offensive by India’s paramilitary forces and the state's forces against the
Naxalites
During this operation, all children residing in shelter homes, platforms, bus stands,
roads, religious places, etc. are to be screened by trained police personnel.
News Related to Stock Exchange
1.
Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Ltd has launched a new service for algorithm trading test facility for investors on its
derivatives and equity platform. The new service has been launched in partnership with Mumbai based Symphony Fintech
Solutions Pvt Ltd and is free-of-cost for market participant.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) released the first report of the Alternative Investment Policy Advisory
Committee (AIPAC) for comments from the stakeholders. The 21-member committee was constituted by the SEBI, under
the chairmanship of N R Narayan Murthy, to suggest measures for development of the alternative investment funds (AIFs)
and startup eco-system in the country.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has launched three separate indices on three corporate houses of India viz. Tata,
Aditya Birla and Mahindra Group. The first of its kind three separate indices based on corporate houses have been
designed to reflect the performance of companies belonging to the respective corporate group. Each of three indices will
comprise all the companies of the respective business group.
Myanmar inaugurated a new stock exchange, named Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX), with plans for six companies to start
trading in March 2016. The Stock Exchange will be open only to Myanmar companies and investors and will eventually
allow foreigners to invest in Myanmar shares.
2.
3.
4.
RECENTLY FIRST IN INDIA
1.
Sr. No.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
News
India’s largest tricolour was hoisted atop the tallest pole at Pahari Mandir in Ranchi, by Defence Minister Manohar
Parrikar. It is world’s largest and the highest hoisted Indian flag. It measures 66 feet in height and 99 feet in width in the
proper ratio 2:3. It was hoisted on pole with height of 293 feet. It weighs 80 kg.
India’s digital payment startup company TranServ has launched country’s first Social Mobile Wallet named Udio. The
digital wallet seeks to address the gap between real and virtual modes of payment as it has more social experience.
Aparna Kumar, IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, became India's first civil servant to scale Mount Vinson Massif, the
highest peak in the Antarctica.
Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the River Information System (RIS) - the first of its kind in India - to
facilitate safe and accurate navigation on National Waterway-1 (the Ganga River).
India’s biggest Wildlife Rescue Centre named as Gorewada Zoo and Wildlife Rescue Centre has been commissioned at
Gorewada near Nagpur, Maharashtra. The centre was inaugurated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in
presence of State Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar.
LIST/RANKING ANNOUNCED
S. No
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
18
List Name
Global
index
of
talent
competitiveness
2015 Human Development Index
(HDI) in the South Asia Region.
The World Bank released a
report titled World Development
Report 2016: Digital Dividends
in Washington DC, the USA.
The World Tourism Organization
(UNWTO) released the World
Tourism
Barometer,
which
reviewed trends in tourism at
the regional and global level for
2015 and enumerated prospects
for 2016.
Forbes released the 2016 30
Under 30 List featuring 600 men
and women who achieved
remarkable professional success
before attaining 30 years of age.
Important Points
India has slipped 11 places to rank 89th.
Other Points
The list is topped by Switzerland.
India ranked 130 in the list.
Sri Lanka tops in 2015 HDI in South Asia
Region & was ranked 73.
In relation to India, the authors of the
report appreciated the Aadhaar scheme
as it saved 1 billion US dollars by
bringing down corruption.
The
Organization
of
the
Petroleum Exporting Countries
As per the report, oil and gas, combined,
are expected to supply around 53
The report explored the impact of the
internet, mobile phones, and related
technologies on economic development
across the world including India.
As per the publication, international
tourist arrivals grew by 4.4 percent in
2015 to reach a total of 1184 million in
2015.
The list includes John Boyega
(Hollywood & Entertainment category),
Shawn Mendes (Music), Emerson Spartz
(Media) among others.
Indian-origin people figured in the list
are,
Ritesh Agarwal, OYO Rooms CEO
Karishma Shah, Alphabet’s Google X
Divya Nettimi, Viking Global Investors
Nisha Chittal, MSNBC
Ashish Patel, NowThis Media
Saagar Govil, CEO of Cemtrex
(OPEC) released the 2015 OPEC
World Oil Outlook (WOO).
The United Nations Human
Development Report 2015
Forbes’ annual list of the best
countries for business in 2015
percent of the global energy demand by
2040.
India ranked 130 out of 188 countries in
terms of Human Development Index
India has ranked a low 97th out of 144
nations, behind Kazakhastan and Ghana
9.
10.
Global Corruption Index
Global Talent Competitiveness
Index (GTCI) 2015-16
India is place at 76th out of 168 countries
India slipped to rank 89th
S.no
1.
Summits
New Mangalore Port Trust
(NMPT), in association with
Mysore Chamber of Commerce
and Industry and Nanjangud
Industries
Association,
organized a trade meet
World Economic Forum (WEF)
19th National Conference on eGovernance
‘Nypunyam International Skill
Summit and Skill Fiesta 2016’
The 2016 Constro exhibition
The
22nd
edition
of
Confederate of Indian Industry
(CII) Partnership Summit cum-Sunrise Andhra Pradesh
Investment Summit
Conference of Quadrilateral
Coordination Group (QCG) on
Afghan
Peace
and
Reconciliation
The annual Indian Science
Congress (ISC) at on Sunday.
7.
8.
The list is topped by Norway.
Denmark topped the list of the 144
nations on the Best Countries of
Business.
Denmark ranked number 1
Topped by Switzerland
CURRENT SUMMITS HELD (INTERNATIONAL)
2.
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8.
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15.
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19
Location
Mysore, Karnataka
Other Detail
The purpose of the meet was to interact with
importers and exporters of Karnataka, especially
from the Mysore-Nanjangud region, where a
large volume of container cargo is generated.
Davos, Switzerland
Nagpur, Maharashtra
Kerala
Pune
Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
It will focus on the Smart City concept.
Islamabad
The conference was participated representatives
from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the US.
University of Mysore campus in
Karnataka
Theme of this edition (103rd) of the ISC is
"Science & Technology for Indigenous
Development in India".
11th International Conference The
Global
Communication
of
media
experts
and Association (GCA), Mysuru
communication
specialists
from around the world
The 14th Pravasi Bharatiya New Delhi.
Diwas
88th annual conference of Ranchi, Jharkhand
Nikhil Bharat Banga Sahitya
Sammelan
10th
World
Trade Nairobi, Kenya
Organisation
(WTO)
Ministerial Conference
18th Session of the India-Iran New Delhi
Joint Commission Meeting
(JCM)
2nd World Internet Conference Wuzen in China
Conference of the Parties 21 (COP 21) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held
in
Paris
9th International Fire & Security Exhibition and Conference (IFSEC) India Expo 2015 was held at New Delhi
India-Laos Conference
In New Delhi
First India International Science Festival (IISF) in IIT-Delhi
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
Biz Bridge Meet
Forum
of
China-Africa
Cooperation Summit 2015
Shanghai
Cooperation
Organisation
(SCO)
2015
summit
Heart of Asia Conference
16th
India-Russia
Annual
Summit
Arab-India Cooperation Forum
Meet
Held in Kolkata
Johannesburg, South Africa
10th
World
Trade
Organisation
(WTO)
Ministerial Conference
2nd World Internet Conference
BRICS media summit
10th East Asia Summit (EAS)
World Robot Olympiad (WRO)
Nairobi, Kenya
Zhengzhou, China
Chinese president Xi Jinping and his South
African counterpart Jacob Zuma co-chaired it.
India’s minister of state for external affairs V.K.
Singh represented India in this summit
Islamabad, Pakistan
in Moscow
Bahraini capital Manama
External Affairs
represented India
minister
Sushma
Swaraj
Wuzen in China
China’s Xinhua
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Doha, Qatar
IMPORTANT DAYS OBSERVED RECENTLY
S. No
1.
2.
Date
6th National Voters’ Day
67th India’s Republic Day
3.
4.
150th birth anniversary of Lala Lajpat Rai
International Day of Commemoration in
memory of the victims of the Holocaust
Anti-Leprosy Day
30 January
National Youth Day
12 January
11th World Hindi Day
10 January
National Mathematics Day
22 December
30th National Consumers Right Day
24 December
The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution to observe 5 November every year as World Tsunami
Awareness Day
Good Governance Day
25 December
International Migrants Day
18 December
Vijay Diwas
16 December
Human Rights Day
10 December
International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
2 December
44th Navy Day
4 December
International Volunteer Day (IVD)
5 December
World Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome 1 December
(AIDS) Day
International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
2 December
118th Birth Anniversary of Netaji Subhash 23 January
Chandra Bose / National Day of Patriotism /
Desh Prem Divas
National Girl Child Day
24 January:
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
Day
25 January.
26 January 2016 . President of France Francois Hollande was the
Chief Guest at 67th Republic Day parade.
28th January 2016
27 January
BOOKS & AUTHORS PART 1
Book
Go Set a Watchman
Author
Harper Lee
“MARU BHARAT SARU
BHARAT “(My India Noble
India)
Jain Acharya
Ratnasundersuriswarji
Maharaj
20
Book
The Z Factor: My Journey as the
Wrong Man at the Right Time
Nathuram Godse - The Story of an
Assassin
Author
Autobiography of Subhash
Chandra
Anup Ashok Sardesai
The Bose Brothers and
Indian Independence – An
Insider’s Account
On My Terms: From the
Grassroots to the Corridors
of Power
Madhuri Bose
Jawaharlal Nehru and The Indian
Polity in Perspective
Edited by Prof Alexander .
Autobiography of
Sharad Pawar
Dial D for Don
Neeraj Kumar
Gujarat Behind The Curtain
Swimmer Among the Stars
R.B. Sreekumar
Kanishk Tharoor
Tablish Khair
Farahnaz Ispahani
Orhan Pamuk
A is for Arsenic: The Poisons
of Agatha Christie
The Girls on the Train
The Peshwa
Azad Bachpan Ki Aur
Kathryn Harkup
Paula Howkins
Ram Sivasankaran
Kailash Satyarthi
Anything but Khamosh
(Bharathi S.
Pradhan/Shatrughan Sinha)
Autobiography of
actor-MP Shatrughan
Sinha
The New Xenophobia
Purifying the Land of the Pure
A Strangeness in My Mind: A
Novel
Original Spin: Downing Street
And The Press In Victorian
Britain
Concorde: The Rise and Fall
of the Supersonic Airliner:
The Life Negroni
Jonathan Glancey
Through Orphaned Eyes
Ajay Singh
Leigh and Nargess
Banks
Children of Monsters: An Inquiry
into Sons and Daughters of
Dictators
My Gita
This Unquiet Land
The China Pakistan Axis
Kissinger 1923-1968: The
Idealist
This Unquiet Land
Pimps
Cross Justice
Democrats and Dissenters
Professor Porsche’s Wars
Murder House
The Guilty-Going Back Home Can
Kill you
Jay Nordlinger
The Spirits
Rebellious Spirits:
Richard Godwin
Ruth Ball
Weeping Britannia: Portrait
of a Nation of Tears
Second Thoughts
Rebooting India
Of Bridges Among Us
The Brothers Bihari
Reckless
The Secret Sanctuary
One Point Two Billion
Thomas Dixon
Navtej Sarna
Nandan Nilekani
Neeru Iyer
Sankarshan Thakur
Sidney Sheldon
Stephan Alter
Mahesh Rao
Paul Brighton
Devdutt Pattanaik
Barkha Dutt
Andrew Small
Niall Ferguson
Barkha Dutt
Shashank Gupta
James Patterson
Ramachandra Guha
Karl Ludvigsen
James Patterson & David Ellis
David Baldacci
ISRO/NASA/Other Space Organization in News
1.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System
(IRNSS) 1-E satellite. The satellite will provide navigation, tracking and mapping services to the Indian sub continent.
This is the fifth of the IRNSS constellation. It was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR), Sriharikota in
Andhra Pradesh on-board the PSLV-C31. The 'XL' configuration of PSLV was used for this mission.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully launched SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from California’s
Vandenberg Air Force Base in the USA The rocket carried the ocean monitoring satellite Jason-3 on board. The satellite
will examine the topography of the ocean floor to help study effects of climate change or human-induced changes on the
ocean.
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) announced discovery and assignment of elements with
atomic numbers 113, 115, 117 and 118.
American aerospace company SpaceX achieved the historic feat of successfully launching and landing Falcon 9 rocket. The
Falcon 9 rocket was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida carrying 11 satellites to low-Earth orbit and was
also successfully landed after 10 minutes to the Earth.
China launched the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) Satellite to shed light on mysterious dark matter. It was the
country's first space telescope and launched on a Long March 2-D rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
China successfully launched Gaofen-4 Earth observation satellite toward a geostationary orbit from the Xichang Satellite
The Satellite was launched aboard a Long March-3B carrier rocket.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched 6 satellites of Singapore into Space. The satellites were
launched using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C29 from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre
(SDSC) at Sriharikotta in Andhra Pradesh.
GAIL (India) Limited in collaboration with National Remote Sensing Centre, a unit of Indian Space Research Organization
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(ISRO), has launched a surveillance geo-portal – ‘Bhuvan-GAIL Portal’ – that utilises space technology for its pipeline
safety application.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V (401 configuration) rocket carrying the OA-4 Cygnus cargo spacecraft with much
needed supplies blasted off towards the International Space Station (ISS). The rocket lifted off from Space Launch
Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station after three days of delay due to poor weather.
A total of five minor planets were named after top Chinese scientists, including the country’s first Nobel laureate scientist
Tu Youyou. The naming was suggested by the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
(CAS) and approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Minor Planet Centre (MPC).
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COMMITTEES IN NEWS
S.No
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Committee
Commission for Backward Classes was reconstituted by
Andhra Pradesh Government
Committee to to hasten the Mumbai-Ahmedabad HighSpeed Rail Corridor
Committee to simplify the provisions of Income-tax Act,
1961.
Committee to examine the wage structure, service
conditions of the Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS) in the
Department of Posts (DoP)
Committee on Censor Board revamp
One-member commission of inquiry on Delhi and District
Cricket Association (DDCA) scam
Committee on Revisiting and Revitalising Public Private
Partnership (PPP) Model
Committee on Medium-term Path on Financial Inclusion
Committee to look into the dispute between Oil and
Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) and Reliance
Industries Limited (RIL) on Krishna Godavari (KG) gas
fields
Maharashtra government constituted a task force for
setting up an International Financial Service Centre
(IFSC) in Mumbai
Judicial Committee to look into the implementation of
One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme for the exservicemen.
Commission looking into the allegations against the
Robert Vadra land deals
Shyam Benegal committee
14.
Alternative Investment Policy Advisory Committee
(AIPAC) for comments from the stakeholders
S.No
1.
Companies
Cognizant Technology Solutions
2.
Three
major
Indian
IT
companies
Infosys,
Tata
Consultancy Services and Wipro
Illumina, the world’s largest
DNA sequencing company
Headed by
It will be two member commission with Justice KL Manjunath,
(Retd.) as its Chairman .
Under Arvind Panagariya, Vice-Chairman of the NITI Aayog
Justice R V Easwar (Retd)
Headed by Kamlesh Chandra, Retired Member of Postal
Services Board.
Headed by noted film-maker Shyam Benegal
Headed by former Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium
Headed by former Finance Secretary Vijay Kelkar
Headed by RBI Executive Director Deepak Mohanty.
Headed by the Chairman of the 20th Law Commission of India
Justice (retd) Ajit Prakash Shah.
Headed by Union Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha.
Headed by Justice L Narasimha Reddy, retired Chief Justice of
Patna High Court.
Headed by Justice S.N. Dhingra (Retd)
Actor Kamal Hassan and Director Gautam Ghosh was
included
Under the chairmanship of N R Narayan Murthy
BUSINESS NEWS (NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL)
3.
4.
5.
Lenovo
Paytm
6.
Nokia Corporation
22
News related to
United States (US) based Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTS) has acquired
cloud-based computing firm KBACE Technologies.
Joined US President Barack Obama's ambitious 'computer science for all' initiative
as part of a public-private collaboration, pledging thousands of dollars in grants.
Announced the launch of the startup named GRAIL to develop blood-based cancer
tests. The company was launched in association with Microsoft co-founder Bill
Gates, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezo’s venture fund Bezos Expeditions and Arch Venture
Partners.
To launch new smartphone under Google’s Project Tango.
Acquired Shifu for $8 million (about Rs 53.2 crore), a move that will enable the
digital payments company to offer more personalised user experience.
Completed the regulatory formalities for acquiring the French telecom equipment
company Alca-Lucent. The deal, worth 15.6 billion euro, was signed in 2014 and
later approved by the European Commission.
Reliance
Capital
Asset Competition Commission of India (CCI) gave its approval to Reliance Capital Asset
Management
Management's proposed acquisition of Goldman Sachs' mutual fund business in
India for 243 crore rupees.
Quikr
Announced acquisition of the property search website Commonfloor.com for an
undisclosed amount in a majority stock-swap transaction.
Taxi-hailing app Uber
Announced a new start-up mentorship programme in the country in partnership
with Invest India called ‘uberEXCHANGE’.
Oil and Natural Gas Company Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its approval for investment of
Limited
5000 crore rupees by Oil and Natural Gas Company Limited (ONGC) into the equity
share capital of ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) by conversion of existing loan of
equivalent amount into equity.
Idea Cellular
Became the third mobile operator in India to launch 4G services in India.
Tech Mahindra
Launched first of its kind ‘Tap N Pay’ contactless digital payment wallet
MoboMoney for the Indian masses.
Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL) Launched 4G telecom service. It was launched at the Reliance Corporate Park in
or Reliance Jio
Navy Mumbai to mark the birth anniversary of Dhirubhai Ambani, founder of the
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL).
Tech Mahindra and Mahindra Acquired Italian car designer Pininfarina SpA for 165 million US dollars in an alland Mahindra Ltd, part of the cash deal. Pininfarina is well-known for designing cars for Ferrari, Maserati, RollsMahindra Group
Royce and Cadillac.
Hyderabad-based Hetero Drugs
Received the approval of Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to launch fixeddose combination therapy Ledipasvir-Sofosbuvir. The product will be available
under the brand name Ledisof in India.
YouTube
Opens first video production studio in India along with Subhash Ghai-owned film
school Whistling Woods International.
Godrej
Acquired 51 per cent stake in home decor and personal accessories brand India
Circus, which will increase its footprint in the lifestyle space.
Vedanta
Named Samir Cairae as CEO of Metals division.
Bharti Airtel
Acquired the balance 26 per cent stake in Augere Wireless, which holds 4G
spectrum in Madhya Pradesh
Amway’s
first
manufacturing Set up the factory at SIPCOT Industrial Park in Nilakottai, Dindigul district, on 50
facility
acres.
Indian Oil Corporation has maintained its numero uno position followed by Reliance Industries in terms of revenue for
the sixth consecutive year in the list of Fortune 500 Indian companies 2015.
Tata Motors has entered the top-50 league of the world’s biggest companies in terms of their R&D investments, topped by
German automaker Volskwagen. Tata Motors has moved up from 104th position last year to 49th now .
The Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Entertainment and acclaimed Hollywood director Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks
announced formation of Amblin Partners-a new film, television and digital content creation company. Participant Media
led by Jeff Skoll and Entertainment One (eOne), a leading US-based media company, are also part of the joint venture. The
firms have raised $500 million debt for the venture.
LIC HFL
LIC Housing Finance Ltd (LIC HFL) will acquire 19.3 per cent shares of LIC Nomura
Mutual Fund Asset Management Company for Rs27 crores.
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AGREEMENTS (INDIA/WORLD)
S. No
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Related to
Memorandum of understanding
(MoU) for a skill training
programme for the youth in the
state.
MoU on Cooperation in governance
reforms
Agreement signed between?
Maharashtra Government with Tata
Trust
Other Points
Tata Trust will train around one lakh
youths in the state in order to make
them employable.
Between India and United Kingdom
Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) on cooperation in the
exploration and use of outer space
for peaceful purposes
Indian Space Research Organization
(ISRO) and Kuwait Institute of Scientific
Research (KISR)
The MoU seeks to extend bilateral
cooperation in public administration
and governance reforms.
It will allow use of data from Indian
Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites by KISR
for initiating a few research and
application projects.
Union Ministry of Skill Development
5.
(MoU) to develop and implement
National Action Plan for Skill
Development in Telecom Sector
Cyber security agreements
6.
MoU to join UDAY Scheme
7.
Protocol to amend the existing
Double
Taxation
Avoidance
Convention (DTAC) to curb
instances of tax evasion
$80-million loan agreement
8.
9.
Two agreements covering new
aircraft
orders
and
a
comprehensive civil aviation cooperation package.
Two bilateral Advance Pricing
Agreements (APAs)
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11.
Partnership
to
explore
the
environment of Ladakh under
NASA’s
Spaceward
Bound
programme
MoU envisages investment of
around 38500 crore rupees to take
up
various
projects
at
Visakhapatnam
MoU to set up a world class naval
facility in Andhra Pradesh
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13.
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and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) with
Department of Telecommunication
(DoT)
Indian Computer Emergency Response
Team (CERT-In) signed cybersecurity
agreement with Malaysia, Singapore
and Japan.
Rajasthan Government along with its
power
distribution
companies
(DISCOMS)
State DISCOMS part of this MoU are
Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited
(JVNL), Jodhpur Vidyut Vitran Nigam
Limited (JVVNL) and Ajmer Vidyut
Vitran Nigam Limited (AVNL).
India and Armenia
Asian Development Bank (ADB) has
signed with the Centre to help continue
improving infrastructure in the two
North-Eastern cities of Agartala and
Aizawl.
Iran and Airbus
The Central Board of Direct Taxes
(CBDT) with United Kingdom
The agreement includes purchase of
118 new Airbus aircrafts.
This is a significant step towards
providing a stable and predictable tax
regime.
India and the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA)
Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL),
the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam
Steel Plant signed with Andhra Pradesh
government.
Reliance Defence Ltd, a unit of Anil
Ambani led Reliance Infrastructure Ltd
with Andhra Pradesh Government
Union Government with World Bank
Loan agreement for the Neeranchal
National Watershed Project.
Four MOUs to collaborate in urban Madhya Pradesh (MP) Government
planning, skill development, clean with Singapore
energy and food processing.
Online marketplace Flipkart has tied up with auto major Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd to exclusively launch newest SUVKUV100.
To conduct an enterprise survey of The
National
Institution
for Objective of the Survey is to assess the
manufacturing firms
Transforming India (NITI) Aayog business regulatory environment in
collaborated with the IDFC Bank Ltd.
each State and Union Territories (UTs)
and identify policy and regulatory
hurdles faced by businesses in the
States/UTs.
Memorandum of Understanding Exim Bank of India and the Government
(MoU) for promotion of exports
of Andhra Pradesh
$50-million credit agreement for Union government and the World Bank
the aimed at helping young people
from
minority
communities
complete their education and
improve
their
employment
opportunities named Nai Manzil
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Scheme.
MoU for web-based monitoring of
Indo-German
Watershed
Development projects
20.
The National Bank for Agriculture and
Rural Development (NABARD) with
National Remote Sensing Centre
(NRSC).
AAI with with Singapore
21.
Mou in field of Civil Aviation
22.
Memorandum of understanding to Karnataka’s Tourism and the National
set up a Cauvery river gallery in Academy of Sciences of India (NASI)
Mysuru
Memorandum of understanding for Indian Oil Corporation and Oil India Ltd
cooperation in geologic survey, signed with Russian national oil
exploration and production of company Rosneft.
hydrocarbons in select onshore
areas in Russia
Reliance Defence signed a manufacturing and maintenance deal potentially worth $6 billion with Russia's Almaz-Antey,
the maker of an air defence system.
Reliance Defence Limited and Russian AlmazAntey decided to work jointly on the entire range of AD Missile and Radar
Systems that are required for Indian defence forces.
The Union Cabinet has given approval to sign Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) on the Conservation of Migratory
Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia. This MoU is also called as the ‘Raptor MoU’ under the Convention on Conservation of
Migratory Species (CMS). With signing it, India will become the 54th signatory to the MoU.
Agreement on Issue of Comfort Japan and South Korea
It aims to resolve a decades-old dispute
Women
over Korean women who were used as
sex slaves by Japanese soldiers during
World War II
Mou for strengthening energy Between India and BRICS countries The MoU provides for Joint scientific
efficiency cooperation
(Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa). and
technological
research
and
Conferencing and holding of lectures
and seminars
Train passengers will now find it easier to make online payments for the food ordered through e-catering with Indian
Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) entering into a tie-up with Paytm.
Union Government has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for establishing three Indian Institute of
Information Technology (IIITs) in the country. The agreement to this effect was signed between Department of Higher
Education (DoHE) and private agencies including Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Motors, ADCC Infocad and
Hubtown. These IIITs are being set up at Ranchi (Jharkhand), Nagpur and Pune (Maharashtra).
Deals on bullet train, defence, civil India & Japan
nuclear energy
Memorandum of understanding India and South Korea
(MoU) on suspension of collection
of taxes during pendency of mutual
agreement procedure
Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Banglore bagged a US military contract for research and development on solar powered
micro-grid. It is one of the rare instances that an Indian scientific institute has been awarded a federal contract by the US
military.
Memorandum of Understanding Ministry of Skill Development and The MoU focused on capital goods and
(MoU) for skill development in the Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and the automotive sector
manufacturing sector
Department of Heavy Industry (DHI)
Agreement for Singapore airport Governments of India and Singapore
developer Changi being nominated
for taking up the operations and
management of the two Indian
airports
Expression of Interest (EoI) Karnataka delegation signed an with As per the EoI, the company is expected
agreement
Reitzel Group
to invest 3 million Euros (about Rs. 20
crore) and create about 50 new jobs to
the already 200 existing jobs
Agreement on visa facilitation for India and Iran.
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Objective of this MoU is to establish
mutual cooperation in the field of civil
aviation, which will cover, to begin with,
the airports of Jaipur and Ahmedabad
Diplomatic, Official/Service and
Ordinary passport holders
MoU for amending the Double
Taxation Avoidance Convention
(DTAC) in order to facilitate taxrelated exchange of information
MoU for adopting Integrity Pact
(IP)
38.
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Five-year,not-for-profit
partnership to enable free online
education for the Indian market
MoU
for
marketing
the
inventions/innovations, patents,
formulations,
knowhow/processes and also collection
of premia and royalties.
MoU for Operation of Border Haats
Approved
41.
42.
43.
Loan Agreement for pollution
abatement of River Mula-Mutha in
Pune
(MoU) in co-operation in the field
of health
44.
India and Japan
National Textile Corporation (NTC)
Limited
with
Transparency
International India (TII).
Tata Trusts and Khan Academy
With this signing, NTC became the 51st
Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) and
49th Central PSU to sign a MoU with TII.
The National Research Development
Corporation (NRDC) with CSIR-Indian
Institute of Chemical Technology,
Hyderabad
Between India and Bangladesh on
January 6, 2016.
The Government of India (GOI) signed
with Japan International Cooperation
Agency
India and Maldives
Miscellaneous News
S. No
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26
NEWS
The Cabinet approved a new power tariff policy that aims at promoting clean energy, better regulation of discoms, and
faster roll-out of investments.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its approval for setting up over 5000 MW of Grid-Connected
Solar PV Power Projects on build, own and operate basis. The work will be implemented by Solar Power Developers
(SPDs) with Viability Gap Funding (VGF) under Batch-lV of Phase-ll of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission
(JNNSM).
India has submitted its first Biennial Update Report (BUR) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) towards fulfillment of the reporting obligation.
Key highlights of BUR
• BUR has been prepared by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (UNFCC) under its NATCOM
project funded by Global Environment Facility (GEF).
• Contains national inventory of Green House Gases (GHG) for 2010 and has been prepared in accordance with the
guidelines of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
New case of child born with the virus has been reported in these countries. However, Brazil is experiencing the largest
known outbreak of Zika with most cases in the north-east region.
The term BEPS is an acronym of and it was in news in the third week of January 2016 as India has decided to implement
Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) guidelines. It refers to tax planning strategies that would exploit the gaps and
mismatches in tax rules to artificially shift profits to low or no-tax locations where there is little or no economic activity,
resulting in little or no overall corporate tax being paid.
Ministry of Culture released a commemorative coin of 150 rupees and a circulation coin of 10 rupees on Lala Lajpat Rai.
The Commemorative Coin of 150 rupees is made of Quaternary alloy with diameter of 44 mm and weight of 35 grams.
The colourful Kullu folk dance (Nati), which saw participation of 20,000 dancers during Kullu Dussehra festival has
entered the Guinness book of world records. In the Nati, 10,000 men and women attired in traditional Kullu dress
performed at Dhalpur Ground during Kullu Dussehra festival.
Master blaster and former captain of the Indian cricket team Sachin Tendulkar launched two safety and awareness
initiatives by the Mumbai Railway Police.
The Somnath Temple is all set to become Gujarat’s first temple to deposit its idle gold in the Gold Monetisation Scheme as
its trustees including Prime Minister Narendra Modi have given their nod to invest the yellow metal reserves in the
scheme.
The Union Home Ministry cleared the proposal to grant Adnan Sami the citizenship of India. Mr Sami, who has been
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staying in India since 2011, will now have to fill a citizenship form at the Home Ministry’s office in Delhi and pay Rs
13,700.
Arunima Sinha, the amputee mountaineer who set a record by climbing the Mount Everest conquered Mount Aconcagua in
Argentina.
The world's largest blue star sapphire that weighs 1404.49 carats was discovered in a mine in Sri Lanka.
Biocon Limited launched the generic version of hepatitis – C drug in the Indian market. The generic version of the drug
named Harvoni will be sold under the brand name CIMIVIR-L.
The Lok Sabha passed The Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Bill, 2015. The Bill will allow doubling of wage ceiling for
calculating bonus of factory workers. The Bill seeks to amend the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965.
The Union Government has added 106 drugs including that of HIV/AIDS, Cancer and Hepatitis C to the National List of
Essential Medicines (NLEM). In this regard, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s core committee has revised the
NLEM. The committee was headed by V.M. Katoch, former secretary of Department of Health Research.
Well-known sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik’s Santa Claus sculpture found a place in Limca Book of World Records. Pattnaik
claimed that he had created a 45 feet high sand Santa Claus at Puri beach which was recognised as the largest sand Santa
Claus as of today by the Limca Book of World Records.
The Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health is to open its new centre in Mumbai, the first in South Asia in a bid to help
broaden and coordinate the School’s nearly 60 years of collaboration to improve health in India and around the world. The
centre is to open at the Piramal Tower Annexe, in a space that has been provided by Swati Piramal and Ajay Piramal, two
Harvard alumni.
Supreme Court has banned the registration of all diesel SUVs (Sports Utility Vechiles) and luxury cars in the entire
National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi. The ban will be valid to SUVs, luxury cars with engine capacity of 2000 cc or more
till March 31, 2016. The SC ruling aims at curbing the alarming pollution level in Delhi.
The Lok Sabha passed the landmark Atomic Energy (Amendment) Bill, 2015. The bill seeks to overcome difficulties
encountered in the setting up of new nuclear projects and enhancement of nuclear power generation.
The Mexican authorities approved the use of the first-ever vaccine against dengue fever, which will be publicly available
for the first time. French manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur declared that the Mexican authorities have granted marketing
authorization to Dengvaxia, the vaccine against dengue fever.
President Pranab Mukherjee gave assent to Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2015 of Maharashtra. Among other things, the bill
amends Section 66(1)(c) of the Factories Act, 1948 that restricts women from working at a factory between 7 PM and 6
AM.
The Lok Sabha passed the Bureau of Indian Standards Bill, 2015 to establish the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) as a
National Standards Body. The bill seeks to establish harmonious development of standardization and assessment and
quality assurance of goods, processes and services.
The South Western Railways (SWR) Zone with headquarters in Hubli, Karnataka has introduced biodiesel for trains,
operating under its zone. In this regard, SWR’s first train Hubballi-Bengaluru Janshatabdi Express powered by five per
cent biodiesel blended with High Speed Diesel was flagged off from Hubli.
Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu flagged off the first Goa to Mumbai double-decker Shatabdi train through video
conference from Panaji, Goa.
The Supreme Court directed State and Union Territory (UT) Governments to consider acid-attack victims under the
disabled quota.
Heritage Circuit Train Launched:
A semi-luxury train service that will unveil the country’s multifaceted heritage before travel lovers with stoppages at
Varanasi, Khajuraho and Agra was on December 20,2015 launched by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism
Corporation Limited (IRCTC).
YATRAS/MELAS IN NEWS
S.No.
1.
Yatra/Mela
30th Surajkund International Crafts
Mela
S.no
1.
Scheme & Launched by
Union Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment
Thaawarchand
Gehlot launched the National level
Job
portal
Place
Began at Surajkund in Faridabad, Haryana. The event that will continue till 15
February 2016 was inaugurated by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
Telangana was selected as the Theme State.
SCHEMES BY UNION GOVERNMENT
27
Features
It aims to carry out skill training
programme for 5 lakh Persons with
Disabilities in next 3 years.
Other Points
www.disabilityjobs.gov.in
for
Persons with Disabilities (PwDs)
The 1st batch of 20 smart cities from 11 States and Union Territory of Delhi under the Smart Cities Mission was
announced. The 20 cities were selected through the Smart City Challenge competition that saw the participation of 1.52
crore citizens from 97 cities and towns. Among the 20 cities and towns, 3 cities are from Madhya Pradesh, two each from
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan and one each from the remaining five made
it to the winning list. The 20 winning cities and towns have proposed a total investment of 50802 crore rupees over five
years with all the cities proposing Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) as a major vehicle of resource mobilization.
The crop insurance scheme "The new Crop Insurance Scheme is in Under PMFBY, the farmers are required
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana line with One Nation - One Scheme to pay a uniform premium of two
(PMFBY)
theme.
percent for all Kharif crops and 1.5
percent for all Rabi crops while it is five
percent for annual commercial and
horticultural crops.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley kick- It envisages technology business The Human Resource Development
started Prime Minister Narendra incubators and research parks.
Ministry and the Department of Science
Modi's ambitious Start-Up India
and Technology have agreed to partner
mission at Vigyan Bhavan in New
in an initiative to set up over 75 such
Delhi.
startup support hubs in the National
Institutes of Technology (NITs), the
Indian
Institutes
of
Information
Technology (IIITs), the Indian Institutes
of Science Education and Research
(IISERs) and NIPERs or National
Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education
and Research.
Union Ministry of Shipping is set to The system is expected to improve To operationalise the system, Radars
launch the River Information navigation in Indland Waterways as the and sensors will be installed along the
System (RIS) for Inland Waterways government is set to expand the route and there will be major base
in the country
network across the country through the stations to monitor the movement.
National Waterways Bill, 2015.
Union Minister of Water Resources, Under the scheme, 1600 villages of UP iii. It is proposed to incur the
River Development and Ganga situated along the banks of river Ganga expenditure of 1 crore rupees on every
Rejuvenation Uma Bharti launched will be developed.
village. These villages will be developed
Ganga Gram Yojana at Village Puth In the first phase of the progamme, 200 under the Sichewal model. Sichewal is
in Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh villages have been selected initially. In situated in Punjab, where cooperation of
(UP).
these villages, open drains falling into the villagers has been solicited for the
river Ganga will be diverted and water management and waste disposal.
alternative arrangements for sewage
treatment will be made. The villages will
have toilets in every house hold.
Centre decided to implement The decision was taken at an interstricter emission norms of Bharat ministerial meeting chaired by Road
Stage (BS) VI from April 1, 2020, by Transport and Highways Minister Nitin
skipping BS-V altogether.
Gadkari, which was attended by Oil
Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Heavy
Industries Minister Anant Geete and
Environment
Minister
Prakash
Javadekar.
Union Minister for Health and The
initiatives
include
three Kilkari is an audio-based mobile service
Family Welfare J P Nadda applications, namely, Kilkari, Mobile that delivers weekly audio messages to
announced 4 new Information Academy and M-Cessation and a families about pregnancy, child birth
Technology-based initiatives to dedicated toll free number 1800-11– and child care.
provide
citizen-centric
health 6666 which will provide round the clock
services.
counselling and treatment support
services for TB patients.
“Online Labs” - developed by OLabs or Online virtual Science Labs
Amrita
CREATE
(Centre
of allows students to repeat the
Research
in
Advanced experiments as many times as they
Technologies for Education) in wish; it includes simulators, videos,
association with CDAC (Centre for animation, theory and quiz. It is based
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
28
Development
Computing).
of
Advanced
10.
Narendra Modi approved the IndiaAustralia Civil Nuclear Cooperation
11.
Cabinet Committee on Economic
Affairs
(CCEA)
approved
introduction
of
Amended
Technology Upgradation Fund
Scheme (ATUFS) for technology
upgradation of the textiles industry
Union Govt approves constitution
of 69 bridges on Trilateral Highway
in Myanmar
12.
13.
Union Govt unveils National
Biotechnology
Development
Strategy 2015-2020
Revised Model Text for the Indian
Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT)
14.
15.
Union Ministry of Human Resource
Development (HRD) launched
Global Initiative of Academic
Networks (GIAN) Scheme
16.
Union Government launched the
injectable Inactivated Polio Vaccine
(IPV) in New Dellhi
17.
Stand Up India Scheme to promote
entrepreneurship
among
Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes
and Women entrepreneurs
S.no
1.
State/UT
Jammu and Kashmir
on the premise that lab experiments can
be taught over the Net in a cost effective
and efficient manner.
The deal along with the administrative
arrangement for implementing the
accord will bolster India’s energy
security by supporting the expansion of
nuclear power in the country.
The ATUFS replaces existing Revised
Restructured Technology Upgradation
Fund Scheme (RR-TUFS) to give a boost
to textile sector under Make in India
campaign.
These bridges will be constructed at a
cost of Rs.371.58 crore and shall impart
all weather usability to the TKK road
section.
To establish India as a world-class biomanufacturing hub.
The revised Indian model text for BIT
will replace the existing Indian Model
BIT.
a) To boost the quality of higher
education in India.
b) It aims at improving the quality of
higher education in the country through
international collaboration.
The IPV injection launched by Union
Minister for Health and Family Welfare
JP Nadda. The first phase this vaccine
will be introduced in six states, viz
Assam, Gujarat, Punjab, Bihar, Madhya
Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh.
The Scheme is intended to facilitate at
least two projects per bank branch, on
an average one for each category of
entrepreneur. It is expected to benefit at
least 2.5 lakh borrowers.
It was unveiled by the Union Science and
Technology Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan
in New Delhi.
The revised model BIT will be used for
re-negotiation of existing BITs and
negotiation of future BITs and
investment chapters in Comprehensive
Economic Cooperation Agreements
(CECAs)/ Comprehensive Economic
Partnership Agreements (CEPAs) / Free
Trade Agreements (FTAs).
c) Initially 500 international faculties
will be engaged in conducting courses
and later in subsequent years 1000
faculties would be engaged under GIAN
throughout India.
IPV injection will be given to children
below one year of age along with the
third dose of the Oral Polio Vaccine
(OPV) at the routine immunization
sessions free of cost.
It provides for refinance window
through Small Industries Development
Bank of India (SIDBI) with an initial
amount of 10000 crore rupees.
It will create credit guarantee
mechanism through the National Credit
Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC). It
will provide support for borrowers both
at the pre loan stage and during
operations.
SCHEMES BY STATE GOVERNMENT
29
Scheme/Initiative Launched
Nai Manzil scheme launched for the
first time in. The scheme was
launched for girls in Srinagar in three
institutionsSkill
Development
Centre, University of Kashmir and two
Madarsas
Other Points
Under the scheme, girls from minority
communities will be imparted three month
skill development training in seven identified
sectors relevant to the region. These include
training in saffron processing, food
processing, embroidery, computers IT (both
software
and
hardware),
2.
Andhra Pradesh Government
Giriputrika
Kalyana
Pathakam
Scheme to support the tribal women
in their quest for livelihood. ii.
3.
Tamil Nadu
4.
Delhi government
Launched a round-the-clock call
centre for ensuring fast response to
grievances named the ‘Amma Call
Centre’, which will work all through
the year.
Launched the ambitious odd-even
scheme
5.
Eight States
6.
Kerala
7.
Odisha Government
Anwesha scheme to provide free
education to scheduled caste and
scheduled tribe students.
8.
Delhi Assembly
Passed the Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill, 2015
for establishment of statutory anticorruption ombudsman.
9.
Andhra Pradesh
Online Tappal Management System, a
software tool for the convenience of
people
Agreed to implement direct benefit of
transfer in kerosene in 26 districts.
The scheme will be implemented
from April 1, 2016 and till then state
governments will be consulted in the
run up to the scheme.
‘Sampoorna Arogya Keralam’ project
INDIA’S GDP PREDICTIONS
S.No
1.
2.
3.
INDIA’S GDP
PREDICTIONS BY
WHICH
ORGANIZATIONS
United Nations (UN)
World Economic
Situation and
Prospects 2016
Report
IMF
Asian Development
Bank
30
4.
201516
(2015)
201617
(2016)
201718
(2017)
7.2%
7.3%
7.5%
7.3%
7.4%
7.5 %
7.8%
7.5 %
-
5.
6.
Tourism/hospitality,
electronics
and
plumbing. Trainees will also be given stipend
of 4500 rupees for the course.
The scheme seeks to reduce rampant infant
mortality and child marriages among tribal
people. It is designed to provide a onetime
financial assistance of 50000 rupees to each
tribal woman who gets married.
It aimed at ensuring quick response to
people’s grievances where in they can dial
toll-free number ’1100’ at any point of time in
the day.
As the clock struck eight, the vehicular
restriction policy came into effect with
thousands of volunteers carrying roses also
taking to the streets to assist traffic police in
enforcing the pilot plan that will stay in force
till January 15.
The scheme will be implemented in three
districts of Chhattisgarh, two in Haryana,
three in Himachal Pradesh, six in Jharkhand,
four in Madhya Pradesh, two in Maharashtra,
three in Punjab and three in Rajasthan.
The project aims to bring all major
government health services under one
umbrella. With this, people will not be
required to visit multiple offices or agencies
for medical care.
ii. Instead, they can go to enlisted public and
private hospitals and get the services through
a smart health card.
Under the scheme, 5000 SC and ST children
will annually be enrolled into Standard I in
leading private schools in urban areas of the
state.
The Bill provides powers to Lokpal to act
against
any
government
functionary
including those of the Centre and in the
national capital territory (NCT) of Delhi
through its own investigation wing.
Standard & Poor’s
Ratings Services
World Bank
RBI
7.4%
8%
-
7.5%
-
7.8%
7.4%
7.9%
7.6%
Persons on Visit (India and World)
1) PM Modi was on a two-day Russia visit. Ways to expand
economic cooperation between the two countries were also
explored in the meeting with both countries aiming to take the
current bilateral annual trade of USD 10 billion to USD 30
billion in the next 10 years.
India and Russia have decided to expand cooperation in
various sectors. Some of the important were following..
The Inter-Governmental Agreement on the manufacture
of Kamov-226 helicopters in India is the first project for
a major defence platform under the Make-in-India
mission.
They agreed to actively work towards localisation of
manufacturing in India under the aegis of “Make in India”
and in tandem with the serial construction of nuclear
power plants,” said the statement.
The cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy
is a cornerstone of the Russia-India strategic partnership.
2) PM Modi visited Afghanistan, where he met Afghan
President Ashraf Ghani and discussed issues related to security
and bilateral cooperation. He also inaugurated Afghan
Parliament House which was entirely built by India. The hand
over three Mi 25 attack helicopters to Afghanistan Armed
Forces was made.
3) After completing the visit to Afghanistan, PM Modi briefly
stopped over in Pakistan. In Lahore, he met the Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif. With this visit, he became the fourth
Prime Minister to visit Pakistan in the post independence
period.
4) Sushma Swaraj Visited Pakistan, where she attended the
'Heart of Asia' conference and held bilateral talks
with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his adviser
Sartaj Aziz.
Japan PM Shinzo Abe arrives in India: Bullet train, civil
nuclear deal top agendas
The focus of the visit would be on forging greater
synergies between two major Asian economies and take
forward the special strategic ties.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived in India on a
three-day visit. A Rs 98,000-crore deal to build a bullet train
network was among a number of agreements were signed
during Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s three-day visit. In
the 9th annual Indo-Japan summit, Modi and Abe had reviewed
implementation of various decisions taken in course of last one
year to enhance economic ties, particularly in the trade and
investment sector.
Sources said a number of agreements were signed including…..
1. Rs 98,000 crore contract to build India’s first bullet
train network was inked.
2. Memorandum concerning the Agreement on Cooperation in
the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy.
3. Agreement concerning transfer of Defence Equipment and
Technology Cooperation.
Vice President Visit to Thailand & Brunei
Brief about the countries
Thailand
Capital: Bangkok
Currency: Baht
Prime Minister: Prayut-Chan-o-Cha
Brunei
31
Capital: Bandar Seri Begawan
Currency: Brunei Dollar
Sultan: Hassanal Bolkiah
Deputy Sultan: Al-Muhtadee billah
Vice-President Hamid Ansari embarked on a trip to Brunei and
Thailand. His visit to Brunei at the invitation of crown prince
Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah is the first high-level trip from India
since the establishment of diplomatic relations with that
country in May 1984.
Cooperation in ASEAN and East Asia Summit and other
multilateral fora were also on the agenda and a couple of MoUs
on health and defence cooperation would be signed. Ansari had
delivered at the University of Brunei Darussalam and
addressed the Indian community at a reception. Brunei is an
important partner for India in ASEAN and besides contributing
to energy security, hosts a 10,000-strong Indian community.
Maritime security, trade routes on agenda at India-Thai
meet
In a major initiative, India discussed with Thailand the
possibility of a multi-lateral venture on maritime security and
establishment of maritime trade routes, also involving
countries like Japan and Myanmar.
During discussions between Vice-President Hamid Ansari and
Thai Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha here, the two sides
also decided to collaborate in jointly developing and
manufacturing defence equipment as also investing in
infrastructure development programmes.
Other issues discussed at the high-level meeting included
Strengthening ongoing cooperation in counter-terrorism
and security, joint military exercises and pharmaceuticals.
The two sides also discussed a proposal to establish a
working level group to complete the India-MyanmarThailand trilateral highway which is expected to fructify in
about two years.
Issues related to extradition of gangsters and exchanging
information on how to apprehend wanted terrorists if they
happen to be in ASEAN countries were also discussed.
Abbrevations in News
GIAN:
Global Initiative on Academic Network
ESA:
Endangered Species Act
AISHE: All India Survey on Higher Education
NIRF:
National Institution Ranking Framework
NAAC: National Assessment and Accreditation Council.
CBDT: Central Board of Direct Taxes.
APASL: Asia-Pacific Association for Study of the Liver.
IDSA:
Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses
DAC:
Defence Acquisition Council
NRAI:
National Rifle Association of India
DTTI:
Defence Technology and Trade Initiative
SCO:
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
ISC:
Indian Science Congress
PAN:
Permanent Account Number
BIN:
Business Identification Number
CIN:
Company Identification Number
DESA:
Department of Economic and Social Affairs
32
UDAY:
CCEA:
JICA:
IRNSS:
NFHS:
OCEMS:
GIMPS:
NOAA:
AIIB:
CIRT:
DAVA:
IAMAI:
JJB:
LASTEC:
LRSM:
NICDA:
NIMHA:
Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs
Japan International Cooperation Agency
Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System
National Family Health Survey
Online Continuous Effluent Monitoring Systems
Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
Central Institute of Road Transport
Drug Authentication and Verification Application
Internet and Mobile Association of India
Juvenile Justice Board
Laser Science & Technology Centre
Long Range Surface to Air Missile
National Industrial Corridor Development Authority
National Institute of Mental Health and NeuroSciences
NISE:
National Institute of Solar Energy
PHFI:
Public Health Foundation of India
NECTAR: North East Centre for Technology Application &
Research
Best Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Bajirao Mastani)
Lifetime Achievement: Moushumi Chatterjee
Best Debut Director: Neeraj Ghaywan (Massan)
Best Debutant (Male): Sooraj Pancholi (Hero)
Best Debutant (Female): Bhumi Pednekar (Dum Laga Ke
Haisha)
Critics Award for Best Film : Piku
Critics Award for Best Actor (Male): Amitabh Bachchan
(Piku)
73rd annual Golden Globe Awards announced
The 73rd Golden Globe Awards honored the best in film and
American television of 2015 and was presented on January 10,
2016. The Revenant was only three-time winner at the 73rd
annual awards, taking Best Actor for star Leonardo DiCaprio
and Best Director for Alejandro G. Iñarrito along with Best
Picture.
Gallantry Awards Announced
President Pranab Mukherjee has conferred the country’s
highest peacetime gallantry award Ashok Chakra to Lance
Naik Mohan Nath Goswami posthumously. On the eve of 67th
Republic Day celebrations President has approved 365
Gallantry awards and other Defence decorations to Armed
Forces personnel and others. It includes one Ashoka Chakra, 4
Kirti Chakras and 11 Shaurya Chakras.
Ashok Chakra:
Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami (Posthumous). He belonged
to 9 PARA (Special Force) and laid down his life while fighting
LeT militants in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Kirti Chakra:
1. Subedar Mahendra Singh of 9 PARA (Special Force).
2. Sepoy Jagdish Chand (Posthumous) of 546 DSC Platoon.
Shaurya Chakra:
1. Colonel Santosh Mahadik (Posthumous) of 41 Rashtriya Rifle
(PARA).
2. Major Praphul Kumar Bhardwaj of 12 PARA (Special Force).
3. Major Sandip Yadav of 55 Rashtriya Rifle (Armed).
4. Major Anurag Kumar of 9 PARA (Special Force).
5. Lieutenant Harjinder Singh of 3 KUMAON.
6. Naik Satish Kumar (Posthumous) of 21 Rashtriya Rifle
(Guards).
7. Naik Kheem Singh Mehra of 21 KUMAON.
8. Sepoy Dharma Ram (Posthumous) of 1 Rashtriya Rifle
(MAHAR).
61st Filmfare Awards
The grand annual 61st Filmfare Awards event was organised in
Mumbai, Maharashtra on January 15, 2016. Bajirao Mastani
was 8 awards was the film winning highest number of awards.
Awards in various categories are’
Best Actor: Ranvee Singh (Bajirao Mastani)
Best Actress: Deepika Padukone (Piku)
Best Film: Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Bajirao Mastani)
33
List of Important Winners at the 2016 Golden Globe
Awards:
Best Motion Picture – Drama: The Revenant
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture –
Drama: Leonardo Dicaprio, The Revenant
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture –
Drama: Brie Larson, Room
Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy: The Martian
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture –
Musical Or Comedy: Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Best Director – Motion Picture: Alejandro Gonzalez, The
Revenant
Best Television Series – Drama: Mr. Robot (Usa Network)
Best Original Song – Motion Picture: “Writing’s On The
Wall” — Spectre
Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language: Son Of Saul
(Hungary)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in
Any Motion Picture: Sylvester Stallone, Creed
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture –
Musical Or Comedy: Matt Damon, The Martian
The 9th BCCI Awards were presented to the cricketers
for the year 2014-15
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) presented the
ninth BCCI Awards 2014-15 at a ceremony held in Mumbai.
The Complete list of the BCCI annual award winners are as
follows:
Col. C K Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award: Syed
Kirmani
Polly Umrigar Award (for Cricketer of the Year): Virat
Kohli
Lala Amarnath Awards:
Best all-rounder in the Ranji trophy, 2014-15: Jalaj
Saxena, Madhya Pradesh (583 runs and 17 wickets from 8
games)
Best
all-rounder
in
domestic
limited-overs
competitions, 2014-15: Deepak Hooda, Baroda
M A Chidambaram Trophy awards for 2014-15:
Best under-23 cricketer: Almas Shaukat, Uttar Pradesh
Best under-19 cricketer: Anmolpreet Singh, Punjab
Best under-16 cricketer: Shubman Gill, Punjab
Best senior woman cricketer: Mithali Raj, Railways
Best junior woman cricketer: Devika Vaidya,
Maharashtra
Best umpire in domestic cricket in 2014-15: O Nandan,
Karnataka.
ICC AWARDS 2015 Announced
Steve Smith became the fourth Australia player and 11th
player overall to win the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers
Trophy after being named as the ICC Cricketer of the Year
2015. Australia captain also wins ICC Test Cricketer of the
Year award while De Villiers named ICC ODI Cricketer of
the Year.
The full list of ICC Award 2015 winners is:
ICC Cricketer of the Year (Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy)Steve Smith (Australia)
ICC Test Cricketer of the Year – Steve Smith (Australia)
ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year – AB de Villiers (South
Africa)
ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year – Meg Lanning
(Australia)
ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year – Stafanie
Taylor (West Indies)
ICC T20I Performance of the Year – Faf du Plessis (South
Africa)
ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year – Josh Hazlewood
(Australia)
ICC Associate/Affiliate Cricketer of the Year – Khurram
Khan (UAE)
ICC Spirit of Cricket Award – Brendon McCullum (New
Zealand)
ICC Umpire of the Year (David Shepherd Trophy) –
Richard Kettleborough
22nd Annual Star Screen Awards 2016
Here is the complete list of winners of Star Screen Awards
2016:
Best Actor: Ranveer Singh for "Bajirao Mastani" and
Amitabh Bachchan for "Piku"
Best Actress: Deepika Padukone for "Piku"
Best Actor (Popular Choice): Shah Rukh Khan
Best Actress (Popular Choice): Deepika Padukone for
"Piku" and "Tamasha"
Best Actor (Jury Choice): Irrfan Khan for "Talvar"
Best Actress (Jury Choice): Kalki Keochilin for "Margrita
With A Straw"
Best Film (Popular Choice): "Bajrangi Bhaijaan"
Best Film (Jury Choice): "Talvar"
Best Director: Kabir Khan for "Bajrangi Bhaijaan"
Best Story: "Bajrangi Bhaijaan"
Best Supporting Actor: Deepak Dobriyal for "Tanu Weds
Manu Returns"
Best Supporting Actress: Priyanka Chopra for "Bajirao
Mastani"
Best Playback Singer (Male): Papon for "Moh Moh Ke
Dhaage" ("Dam Laga Ke Haisha")
Best Playback Singer (Female): Monali Thakur for "Moh
Moh Ke Dhaage" ("Dam Laga Ke Haisha")
Best Dialogue: "Piku"
Lifetime Achievement Award: Rishi Kapoor
PADMA AWARDS 2016
One of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred
in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan
and Padma Shri. The Awards are given in various disciplines/
fields of activities, viz.- art, social work, public affairs, science
and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and
education, sports, civil service, etc. ‘Padma Vibhushan’ is
awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; ‘Padma
Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order and ‘Padma
Shri’ for distinguished service in any field. The awards are
announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year.
This year the President of India has approved conferment of
Padma Awards to 112 persons. The list comprises of 10 Padma
Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan and 83 Padma Shri Awardees.
19 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 10
persons from the category of foreigners, NRIs, PIOs (include
one posthumous) and 4 Posthumous awardees.
Padma Vibhushan Awardees
1. Ms. Yamini Krishnamurthi — Art-Classical dance —
Delhi
2. Shri Rajinikanth — Art-Cinema — Tamil Nadu
3. Smt Girija Devi — Art-Classical Vocal — West Bengal
4. Shri Ramoji Rao — Literature & Education-Journalism —
Andhra Pradesh
5. Dr Viswanathan Shanta-Medicine-Oncology-Tamil Nadu
6. Shri Shri Ravi Shankar-Others-Spiritualism — Karnataka
7. Shri Jagmohan — Public Affairs — Delhi
8. Dr Vasudev Kalkunte Aatre — Science & Engineering —
Karnataka
9. Shri Avinash Dixit(Foreigner)-Literature & EducationUSA
10. Late Shri Dhiru Bhai Ambani (Posthumous)-Trade &
Industry-Maharashtra
Some Padma Bhushan Awardees
11. Shri Anupam Kher — Art-Cinema — Maharashtra
34
12. Shri Udit Narayan Jha — Art-Playback Singing —
Maharashtra
13. Shri Ram V Sutar — Art-Sculpture — Uttar Pradesh
14. Shri Heisnam Kanhailal — Art-Theatre — Manipur
15. Shri Vinod Rai — Civil Service — Kerala
16. Prof D Nageshwar Reddy — Medicine-Gastroenterology
— Telangana
17. Dr Venkata Rama Rao — Alla Science & Engineering —
Andhra Pradesh
18. Ms Saina Nehwal — Sports-Badminton — Telangana
19. Ms Sania Mirza — Sports-Tennis — Telangana
20. Ms Indu Jain — Trade & Industry — Delhi
21. Late Swami Dayanand Sarawasati (Posthumous) —
Others-Spiritualism — Uttarakhand
22. Shri Robert Blackwill (Foreigner) — Public Affairs —
USA
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
60.
61.
Some Padma Shri Awardees
23. Shri Ajay Devgn — Art-Cinema — Maharashtra
24. Ms Priyanka Chopra — Art-Cinema — Maharashtra
25. Shri SS Rajamouli — Art-Film Direction and Production
— Karnataka
26. Shri Madhur Bhandarkar — Art-Film Direction and
Production — Maharashtra
27. Prof M Venkatesh Kumar — Art-Folk Artist — Karnataka
28. Ms Gulabi Sapera — Art-Folk Dance — Rajasthan
29. Smt Mamta Chandrakar- Art-Folk Music — Chhattisgarh
30. Shri Dahyabhai Shastri — Literature & Education —
Gujarat
31. Prof Pushpesh Pant — Literature & EducationJournalism — Delhi
32. Dr Mannam Gopi Chand — Medicine-Cardio Thoracic
Surgery — Telangana
33. Prof Ravi Kant — Medicine-Surgery — Uttar Pradesh
34. Shri Piyush Pandey — Others-Advertising &
Communication — Maharashtra
35. Dr Mylswamy Annadurai — Science & Engineering —
Karnataka
36. Prof Dipankar Chatterji — Science & Engineering —
Karnataka
37. Prof(Dr) Ganapati Dadasaheb Yadav — Science &
Engineering — Maharashtra
38. Smt (Prof) Veena Tandon — Science & Engineering —
Meghalaya
39. Shri Onkar Nath Srivastava — Science and Engineering
— Uttar Pradesh
40. Ms Sunita Krishnan — Social Work — Andhra Pradesh
41. Shri Ajoy Kumar Dutta — Social Work — Assam
42. Shri M Pandit Dasa — Social Work — Karnataka
43. Shri PP Gopinathan Nair — Social Work — Kerala
44. Smt Madeleine Herman de Blic — Social Work —
Puducherry
45. Shri Srinivasan Damal Kandalai — Social work — Tamil
Nadu
46. Shri Sudhakar Olwe — Social Work — Maharashtra
47. Dr TV Narayana — Social Work — Telangana
48. Shri Arunachalam Murugantham — Social Work —
Tamil Nadu
49. Ms Deepika Kumari — Sports-Archery — Jharkhand
50. S Shri Sushil Doshi — Sports-commentary — Madhya
Pradesh
35
62.
Shri Mahesh Sharma — Trade & Industry — Delhi
Shri Saurabh Srivastava — Trade & Industry — Delhi
Sh Dilip Sanghvi — Trade & Industry — Maharashtra
Dr Keki Hormusji Gharda — Trade & Industry —
Maharashtra
Late Shri Prakash Chand Surana (Posthumous) — Art Classical Music — Rajasthan
Late Shri Saeed Jaffrey (NRI/PIO/Posthumous) — ArtCinema — UK
Shri Michael Postel (Foreigner)-Art-ArchaeologyFrance
Shri Salman Amin Sal Khan (NRI/PIO) — Literature &
Education — USA
Smt Hui Lan Zhang (Foreigner) — Others-Yoga — China
Shri Predrag K Nikic (Foreigner) — Others-Yoga —
Serbia
Dr Sundar Aditya Menon (NRI/PIO) — Social Work —
UAE
Shri Ajaypal Singh Banga (NRI/PIO) — Trade & Industry
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of
Children) Act, 2015 Passed
The Juvenile Justice Act, which allows children aged 16 to 18
years and in conflict with law to be tried as adults in cases of
heinous offences, finally comes into force on January 15, 2016.
The Act, was passed by the Rajya Sabha in the winter session of
parliament, received President Pranab Mukherjee’s assent on
December 31, 2015.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development has passed
orders stating that the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of
Children) Act 2015 will be enforceable from January 15, 2016.




Under the Juvenile Justice Act 2015
Juveniles between 16 and 18 years of age, who are found guilty
of committing heinous offences through a preliminary inquiry
by the Juvenile Justice Board, will be sent to a children’s Court
that can pronounce the child guilty.
Such Juveniles can be detained in a place of safety until they
reach the age of 21.
If still not found to have been reformed by 21, they can be sent
to jails housing adults.
It specifies imprisonment up to seven years and fine up to Rs. 1
lakh for giving a child any intoxicating liquor, narcotic, drug,
tobacco and psychotropic substances.
Four Mobile Health Services Launched
JP Nadda, the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare
launched four mobile health (m-Health) services to provide
citizen-centric health services on January 15, 2016.
These m-Health services are Kilkari, Mobile Academy, MCessation and TB Missed Call initiative.
Kilkari
It is an audio-based mobile service that delivers weekly audio
messages to families about pregnancy, child birth and child
care.
Mobile Academy
It is a mobile-based application aimed at providing training
services to 9 million ASHAs.
M-Cessation
It will be an IT-enabled tool to help tobacco users to quit
tobacco.
TB Missed Call Initiative
Under TB Missed Call initiative, a dedicated toll free number
1800-11-6666 which will provide round the clock counseling
and treatment support services for TB patients.
Odd-Even scheme Launched
The ambitious odd-even scheme, set to roll out from January 1,
will have out of its ambit CNG-certified vehicles, two wheelers,
cars being driven by women drivers and those carrying the
differently abled, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said. Violators
would attract a penalty of Rs 2,000, he said. The car rationing
scheme would be applicable from 8 AM to 8 PM on all days
except Sunday and on cars with NCR and other states’
registration number plates, Kejriwal said. Cars being driven by
a woman alone or even while being accompanied by children
up to the age of 12 would be exempted while cases of medical
emergencies would be treated on “basis of trust”, the CM said.
The PM’s Start Up Initiative Launched On 16th January
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Start-up India
initiative to begin startup ecosystem in the country. The
initiative was launched in New Delhi. To promote a culture of
entrepreneurship, the government announced a slew of
incentives including a Rs10,000-crore corpus for innovationdriven enterprises, a three-year break from paying income
tax on profits, a Rs500-crore per year credit guarantee
mechanism, and exemption from capital gains tax for startups.
Modi unveiled a 19-point action plan for start-up enterprises in
India & also stated that there would be no inspection of the
enterprises during the first three years of the launch.
Some Important agendas announced:
The start-ups will adopt self-certification to reduce the
regulatory liabilities.
An all-India hub will be created as a single contact point for
start-up foundations in India, which will help the
entrepreneurs to exchange knowledge and access financial
aid.
An online portal, in the shape of a mobile application, will be
launched to help start-up founders to easily register. The app
is scheduled to be launched on April 1.
The government will develop a fund with an initial corpus of
Rs 2,500 crore and a total corpus of Rs 10,000 crore over
four years, to support upcoming start-up enterprises. The
Life Insurance Corporation of India will play a major role in
developing this corpus.
A National Credit Guarantee Trust Company (NCGTC) is
being conceptualised with a budget of Rs 500 crore per year
for the next four years to support the flow of funds to startups.
Start-ups would not pay Income Tax for three years. This
policy would revolutionise the pace with which start-ups
would grow in the future.
The Atal Innovation Mission will be launched to boost
innovation and encourage talented youths.
The government plans to set up seven new research parks,
including six in the Indian Institute of Technology campuses
36
and one in the Indian Institute of Science campus, with an
investment of Rs 100 crore each.
A rebate amount of 80 percent of the total value will be
provided to the entrepreneurs on filing patent applications.
20 Smart Cities Announced
Urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu announced the
first list of 20 cities to be developed as Smart Cities, with
Bhubaneswar topping the list and Pune and Jaipur coming in
second and third respectively.
The others on the list include Surat, Kochi and Ahmedabad.
These cities will be developed to have basic infrastructure
through assured water and power supply, sanitation and solid
waste management, efficient urban mobility and public
transport, IT connectivity, e-governance and citizen
participation.
These are the 20 cities named in the first list
Bhubaneswar
Pune
Jaipur
Surat
Kochi
Ahmedabad
Jabalpur
Visakhapatnam Solapur
Davanagere
Indore
New Delhi
Coimbatore
Kakinada
Belgaum
Udaipur
Guwahati
Chennai
Ludhiana
Bhopal
The government plans to build these smart cities by 2022 to
help accommodate its swelling urban population, which is set
to rise by more than 400 million people to 814 million by 2050.
The Centre and states will equally split the overall cost of the
project estimated at Rs 96,000 crore. The central government
will provide on an average Rs. 100 crore per chosen city per
year. The project cost of each smart city will vary depending
upon the level of ambition, model, capacity to execute and
repay.
Liberia and Afghanistan becomes the new WTO members
Liberia has finally acceded to the World Trade Organization
(WTO) with President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf describing the
event as another turning point in Liberia's history. The
accession makes Liberia the 35th least developed country to be
admitted into the WTO and the organization's 163rd Member
State.
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) formally
approved Afghanistan’s membership to the WTO at its 10th
ministerial conference in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
Afghanistan has become the 164th WTO member and the 36th
least developed country (LDC) to join the global trade body
after 11 years of negotiations.
Important Facts related to WTO
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Established: 1 January 1995
Created by: Uruguay Round negotiations (1986-94)
Membership: 164 countries on 22 December 2015
Head: Roberto Azevêdo (Director-General)
India’s fifth navigation satellite IRNSS-1E successfully
put into orbit
Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) successfully put the
IRNSS-1E in orbit using Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-31.
The 1,425 kg satellite was the fifth to be launched as part of the
Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) which will
consist of a constellation of seven satellites.
ISRO scientists plan to put all the seven navigation satellites in
to the orbit by March 2016. The mission life of IRNSS-1E is 12
years.
IRNSS -1E carries two types of payloads – navigation payload
and ranging payload. The navigation payload of IRNSS-1E will
transmit navigation service signals to the users. This payload
will be operating in L5-band and S-band. The ranging payload
of IRNSS-1E consists of a C-band transponder which facilitates
accurate determination of the range of the satellite. IRNSS-1E
also carries Corner Cube Retro Reflectors for laser ranging.
PSLV C29 launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre
with 6 Singapore Satellites
Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has added another
country to its client list for commercial satellite launches after
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C29) put in orbit six
Singapore satellites. The Singaporean satellites would help the
city-state gather information on disaster monitoring and urban
planning were launched by ISRO’s workhorse Polar Satellite
Launch Vehicle(PSLV-C29) coinciding with the 50th
anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations
between Singapore and India this year
Small Bank & Payment Bank
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) granted 10 entities inprinciple licenses to open small finance banks & 11 entities to
open payment banks. Payment Banks
The objectives of payments banks is financial inclusion by
providing small savings accounts and payments or remittance
services to migrant labour workforce, low income households,
small businesses, other un-organised sector entities and other
users.
RBI Guidelines for the Payment Banks
• Existing non-bank Pre-paid Payment Instrument (PPI)
issuers, mobile firms and supermarket chains, among
others existing NBFCs and micro finance lenders are
promoters who are eligible to set up payment banks.
• Large public sector enterprises and big industrial houses
are not allowed to establish Payment banks.
• A promoter or promoter group can have a joint venture
with an existing scheduled commercial bank to set up a
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•
•
•
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•
payments bank. But they should have a sound track record
of five years period of running businesses.
Payment Banks will initially be restricted to holding a
maximum balance of 1 lakh rupees per individual customer.
It can issue ATM or debit cards but not credit cards.
Payment bank cannot undertake lending activities but can
distribute the non-risk sharing simple financial products
such as mutual fund units and insurance products, etc.
These banks also should maintain Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR)
with the Reserve Bank, it will be required to invest
minimum 75 percent of its demand deposit balances in
Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) with maturity up to one
year and hold maximum 25 per cent in current and time or
fixed deposits with other scheduled commercial banks for
operational purposes and liquidity management.
The minimum capital for payments banks is 100 crore
rupees and it should have a leverage ratio of not less than 3
percent that is its outside liabilities should not exceed 33.33
times its net worth (paid-up capital and reserves).
The promoter’s minimum initial contribution to the paid-up
equity capital for payments bank shall at least be 40
percent for the first five years from the commencement of
its business.
Small Banks
• The purpose of the small banks is to provide a whole suite
of basic banking products such as deposits and supply of
credit, but in a limited area of operation.
• The objective for these Small Banks is to increase financial
inclusion by provision of savings vehicles to under-served
and unserved sections of the population, supply of credit to
small farmers, micro and small industries, and other
unorganised sector entities through high technology-low
cost operations.
• Resident individuals with 10 years of experience in banking
and finance, companies and Societies will be eligible as
promoters to set up small banks. NFBCs, micro finance
institutions (MFIs), and Local Area Banks (LABs) can
convert their operations into those of a small bank.
• Branch expansion: For the initial three years, prior
approval will be required.
• The bank shall primarily undertake basic banking activities
of accepting deposits and lending to small farmers, small
businesses, micro and small industries, and unorganised
sector entities. It cannot set up subsidiaries to undertake
non-banking financial services activities. After the initial
stabilisation period of five years, and after a review, the RBI
may liberalise the scope of activities for Small Banks.
• The maximum loan size and investment limit exposure to
single/group borrowers/issuers would be restricted to 15
per cent of capital funds.
• Loans and advances of up to Rs 25 lakhs, primarily to micro
enterprises, should constitute at least 50 per cent of the
loan portfolio.
• For the first three years, 25 per cent of branches should be
in unbanked rural areas.
Note:
* Reserve Bank gets 41 applications for payments banks, 72 for
small banks.
Who all got Payment Bank License?
1. Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited
2. Airtel M Commerce Services Limited
3. Cholamandalam Distribution Services Limited
4. Department of Posts
5. Fino PayTech Limited
6. National Securities Depository Limited
7. Reliance Industries Limited
8. Shri Dilip Shantilal Shanghvi
9. Shri Vijay Shekhar Sharma
10. Tech Mahindra Limited
11. Vodafone m-pesa Limited
Who all got Small Bank License?
Here are the names of selected applicants:
1. Au Financiers (India) Limited, Jaipur
2. Capital Local Area Bank Limited, Jalandhar
3. Disha Microfin Private Limited, Ahmedabad
4. Equitas Holdings P Limited, Chennai
5. ESAF Microfinance and Investments Private Limited,
Chennai
6. Janalakshmi Financial Services Private Limited, Bengaluru
7. RGVN (North East) Microfinance Limited, Guwahati
8. Suryoday Micro Finance Private Limited, Navi Mumbai
9. Ujjivan Financial Services Private Limited, Bengaluru
10.Utkarsh Micro Finance Private Limited, Varanasi.
PRIORITY SECTOR LENDING
Highlights of PSL
It means provide credit to the needy sectors of the society. The
sectors are:
• Agriculture
• Micro and Small Enterprises
• Education
• Housing
• Export
• Weaker Sections
• Social Infrastructure
• Renewable Energy
Targets under PSL
• Agriculture: 18 percent of ANBC. Out of this 18 percent, a
target of 8 percent of ANBC is for Small and Marginal
Farmers, to be achieved in a phased manner i.e., 7 per cent
by March 2016 and 8 per cent by March 2017.
• Weaker Sections: 10 percent of ANBC.
• Micro Enterprises: 7.5 percent of ANBC has been
prescribed for Micro Enterprises, to be achieved in a
phased manner i.e. 7 percent by March 2016 and 7.5
percent by March 2017.
• Overall PSL Target for Domestic Bank/Foreign Bank with
more than 20 Branches: 40 percent of Adjusted Net Bank
Credit.
• Overall PSL Target for Foreign Bank with less than 20
Branches: 40 percent of Adjusted Net Bank Credit to be
achieved in a phased manner2015-16
32
2016-17
34
2017-18
36
2018-19
38
2019-20
40
Categorization of MSME according to MSME ACT 2006
Manufacturing Sector (Goods)
38
Enterprises
Micro
Enterprises
Small
Enterprises
Medium
Enterprises
Investment in plant and machinery
Does not exceed twenty five lakh rupees
More than twenty five lakh rupees but does
not exceed five crore rupees
More than five crore rupees but does not
exceed ten crore rupees
Service Sector
Enterprises
Micro Enterprises
Small Enterprises
Investment in equipment
Does not exceed ten lakh rupees
More than ten lakh rupees but does not
exceed two crore rupees
Medium
More than two crore rupees but does
Enterprises
not exceed five crore rupees
Other Targets under PSL
 Farmers with landholding of up to 1 hectare are
considered as Marginal Farmers. Farmers with a
landholding of more than 1 hectare and upto 2 hectares
are considered as Small Farmers.
 Scheduled Commercial Banks having any shortfall in
lending to priority sector shall be allocated amounts for
contribution to the Rural Infrastructure Development
Fund (RIDF) established with NABARD.
 For Renewable Energy, bank loans up to a limit of Rs.15
crore to borrowers for purposes like solar based power
generators, etc. For individual households, the loan limit
will be Rs.10 lakh per borrower.
 For Housing, banks can provide loans to individuals up to
Rs. 28 lakh in metropolitan centres (with population of ten
lakh and above) and loans up to Rs. 20 lakh in other
centres for purchase/construction of a dwelling unit per
family.
 Export credit will be allowed up to 32 percent of ANBC for
Foreign banks with less than 20 branches in India.
 For Education, banks can provide loans to individuals for
educational purposes including vocational courses upto
Rs. 10 lakh for studies in India and Rs. 20 lakh for studies
abroad.
 Limits under Social infrastructure Bank loans up to a
limit of ₹ 5 crore per borrower for building social
infrastructure for activities namely schools, health care
facilities, drinking water facilities and sanitation facilities
in Tier II to Tier VI centres.
Monitoring of Priority Sector Lending targets
To ensure continuous flow of credit to priority sector, there
will be more frequent monitoring of priority sector lending
compliance of banks on ‘quarterly’ basis instead of annual
basis as of now.
Non-achievement of Priority Sector targets
Scheduled Commercial Banks having any shortfall in lending to
priority sector shall be allocated amounts for contribution to
the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) established
with NABARD and other Funds with NABARD/NHB/SIDBI, as
decided by the Reserve Bank from time to time.
The interest rates on banks’ contribution to RIDF or any other
Funds, tenure of deposits, etc. shall be fixed by Reserve Bank of
India from time to time.
RBI revises priority sector lending norms for RRBs
Seeing the growing significance of RRBs in pursuit of financial
inclusion agenda, it has been decided to revise the priority
sector guidelines for RRBs.
Some of the salient features of the guidelines are as following:i. Targets: 75 per cent of total outstanding to the sectors
eligible for classification as priority sector lending.
ii. Categories of the Priority Sector: Medium Enterprises,
Social Infrastructure and Renewable Energy will form part
of the Priority Sector, in addition to the existing categories,
with a cap of 15 per cent of total outstanding.
iii. Agriculture: 18% per cent of total outstanding should be
advanced to activities mentioned under Agriculture.
iv. Small and Marginal Farmers: A target of 8 percent of
total outstanding has been prescribed for Small and
Marginal Farmers within Agriculture.
v. Micro Enterprises: A target of 7.5 per cent of total
outstanding has been prescribed for Micro Enterprises.
vi. Weaker Sectors: A target of 15 per cent of total
outstanding has been prescribed for Weaker Sections.
vii. Monitoring: Priority Sector Lending will be monitored on
a quarterly as well as annual basis.
The revised guidelines will be operational with effect from
January 1, 2016.
Sixth Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement, 2015-16
RBI keeps key rates unchanged; looking the Union Budget
2016-17 for taking the next action
On the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving
macroeconomic situation, RBI has decided to:
• keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment
facility (LAF) unchanged at 6.75 per cent;
• keep the cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks
unchanged at 4.0 per cent of net demand and time liability
(NDTL);
• continue to provide liquidity under overnight repos at 0.25
per cent of bank-wise NDTL at the LAF repo rate and
liquidity under 14-day term repos as well as longer term
repos of up to 0.75 per cent of NDTL of the banking system
through auctions; and
• the reverse repo rate under the LAF will remain unchanged
at 5.75 per cent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF)
rate and the Bank Rate at 7.75 per cent.
Important Key Points based on the review:
Expects inflation to be around 5 per cent by March 2017.
39
Expects GDP growth of 7.6 per cent for FY17, 7.4 per
cent with downward bias for FY16.
Have not factored in 7th pay panel recommendation in
inflation target.
Continue to remain accommodative even if rates remain
unchange.
Working with banks and government to ensure
identification of stressed assets.
RBI to create a special ecosystem for startup funding.
Prospects for the rabi harvest are improving slowl.
First bi-monthly monetary policy for 2016-17 on April 5.
Government notified mandatory quoting of PAN for
cash transactions over Rs 2 lakh
The central government has made it a must to quote the
permanent account number (PAN) for all transactions above
Rs.2 lakh in a bid to curb black money. The monetary limits for
quoting PAN has raised to Rs. 10 lakh from Rs. 5 lakh for sale
or purchase of immovable property, to Rs 50,000 from Rs
25,000 in the case of one time hotel or restaurant bills and to
Rs 1 lakh from Rs 50,000 for purchase or sale of shares of an
unlisted company.
The government also made PAN mandatory for the purchase of
cash or prepaid cards amounting to Rs.50,000 or more in year.
Gold jewellery purchase above Rs.2 lakh too would also need
PAN details. The current limit is Rs.5 lakh. All fixed deposits
with post offices, cooperative banks, Nidhis, non-banking
finance companies will also require PAN.
It will also be required under:
PAN should be quoted for purchase of bank drafts/ pay
orders/ banker's cheques exceeding Rs 50,000 on a single
day
Cash deposit exceeding Rs.50,000/- in a single day.
For purchase of foreign currency or cash payment related
to foreign travel exceeding Rs.50,000/Payment in excess of Rs 50,000 for purchase of mutual
fund units
For opening a demat account
Payment exceeding Rs.50,000 for purchase of RBI bonds
Payment exceeding Rs.50,000/- in a year as life insurance
premium
IMPORTANT OFFICIALS
AUTONOMOUS BODIES)
(GOVT
Attorney General of India
Atomic Energy Commission,
Chairman
Cabinet Secretary
Comptroller and Auditor
General of India
Chief Justice of India
C.B.I. Director
Election commission, Chief
National Book Trust, Chairman
National Commission for
Women, Chief
National Commission for SC,
Chairman
National Commission for ST,
OF
INDIA
&
Mukul Rohtagi
Shekhar Basu
P.K. Sinha
Shashi Kant Sharma
T.S. Thakur
Anil Kumar Sinha
Nasim Zaidi
Baldev Sharma
Lalitha Kumaramanglam
P.L. Punia
Dr. Rameshwar Oraon
Chairman
National commission for
Minorities
National Human Rights
Commission, Chairman
Reserve Bank of India,
Governor
Space Commission, Chairman
Securities and Exchange Board
of India (SEBI), Chairman
Solicitor General of India
U.P.S.C., Chairman
UGC., Chairman
Prasar Bharti Board, Chairman
National Security Adviser
Central Vigilance
Commissioner
Chief Information
Commissioner
Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog
Chairman, 14th Finance
Commission
Secretary General of Lok Sabha
Secretary General of Rajya
Sabha
Chief of Army Staff
Naseem Ahmad
Chief of Air Staff
Justice Cyriac Joseph
(Acting)
Raghuram G. Rajan
Chief of Naval Staff
General Dalbir Singh
Suhag
Air Chief Marshal Arup
Raha
Admiral Robin K. Dhowan
All about Australian Open 2016
A.S. Kiran Kumar
U.K. Sinha
Ranjit Kumar
Deepak Gupta
Prof. Ved Prakash
Dr. A. Surya Prakash
Ajit Kumar Doval
K.V. Chowdary
R.K. Mathur
Arvind Panagariya
Y.V. Reddy
Anoop Mishra
Shumsher K. Sheriff
The 2016 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took
place at Melbourne Park, Victoria, Australia between 18-31
January 2016. It was the 104th edition of the Australian Open,
and the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. The
tournament consisted of events for professional players in
singles, doubles and mixed doubles play. Junior and wheelchair
players competed in singles and doubles tournaments.
List of winner of 2016 Australian Open as follow:1. Men's Singles : N. Djokovic defeated Andy Murray
2. Men's Doubles : J. Murray / B. Soares defeated Daniel Nestor
/ Radek Stepanek
3. Women's Singles : A. Kerber defeated Serena Williams
4. Women's Doubles : M. Hingis / S. Mirza defeated Andrea
Hlaváčková / Lucie Hradecká,
5. Mixed Doubles : Russia Elena Vesnina / Brazil Bruno Soares
defeated United States Coco Vandeweghe / Romania Horia
Tecău
CURRENT AFFAIRS INJECTIONS (1ST -10TH FEBRUARY 2016)
Banking News
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The Reserve Bank of India said that it has cancelled the
certificate of registration of four non-banking financial
companies. No details were given by the apex bank for
cancellation of the certificates of these firms. Those
NBFCs are
1. Goyal Commercial Pvt Ltd.
2. Debt Management Co. of India Ltd.
3. Nostalgia Finvest Private Limited.
4. Narad Realtors Private Limited.
Loans worth about Rs1 lakh crore have been sanctioned
to small entrepreneurs under the Pradhan Mantri
MUDRA Yojana.
Corporation Bank has signed a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) with Universal Sompo General
Insurance Co Ltd for providing accident death coverage
to its savings bank account holders under Corp Signature,
Corp Super and Corp Saral category. According to this pact
the bank provides free personal accident death cover of
Rs.10 lakh to its Corp Signature and Rs. 5 lakh to its Corp
Super account holders.
State Bank of India has tied up with Thomas Cook to
offer online customers recurring deposits that help them
save toward an `inflation proof' holiday.
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State Bank of India has launched its "SBI FlexiPay Home
Loan" aimed at youngsters with a rising income. The loan
allows takers the option of only paying the interest on the
loan for the first years.
The government will infuse about Rs.5,000 crore capital
in the public sector undertaking (PSU) banks in the
current fiscal to strengthen their balance sheet.
Indian Economy in News
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Capital market regulator SEBI has set up a task force to
review the risk management norms for national-level
commodity bourses following the suspension of
futures trading for castor seed on NCDEX.
Finance Ministry now has an official YouTube Channel,
which is expected to disseminate information about the
official events. The Channel will feature videos on the
major schemes, events, meetings, press conferences and
other exclusive videos relating to the Ministry.
In continuation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
startup India mission, BSE Institute Ltd, a wholly owned
subsidiary of BSE Ltd, has launched a new accelerator for
start-ups.This accelerator is set up by BSE Institute in
collaboration with Ryerson Futures Inc (Toronto), the
technical arm of Ryerson University from Ontario, Canada.
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BSE and the International Finance Corporation (IFC)
have partnered to develop a corporate governance score
card. The score card seeks to help companies assay their
corporate governance performances against national or
international-benchmarked practices. Using the scorecard,
companies can identify areas of further improvement and
track progress over time.
The National Pension System now has 1.15 crore
subscribers, each with an average Rs. 95,000 of assets
under management. “The total assets under management
are worth Rs. 1,09,140 crore while assets under
management per subscriber is Rs. 95,000 on an average,”
said the Finance Ministry , adding that the total corpus of
the National Pension System (NPS) is Rs. 90, 327 crore.
The scheme has 16,11,020 Central government employees
as subscribers, amounting to 14.1 per cent of its total
member base. They have a total corpus of Rs. 34,754 crore
Union Health and Family Welfare Minister JP Nadda on 1
February 2016 awarded the certificate of Miniratna
Category-I status to Hospital Services Consultancy
Corporation (I) Ltd (HSCC). The honour was awarded to
its CMD Gyanesh Pandey at Nirman Bhawan in New Delhi.
The World Bank Board on 29 January 2016 approved a 35
million US dollars credit for the Citizen Access to
Responsive Services Project.The Project will improve
access to selected public services for the people of Madhya
Pradesh (MP) and particularly those belonging to deprived
groups.
Union Ministry of Shipping exported a batch of six
metro coaches to Australia from Mumbai. The shipment
was made as part of a deal with Australian government to
export 450 made-in-India coaches in two and a half year
period. The coaches were made in Baroda
manufacturing plant. It created a history in the India's
manufacturing sector in exports as it is first of its kind.
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global brand valuation firm, the company said on
Wednesday.
Billionaire Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Entertainment
today announced a joint venture with film-maker
producer duo Neeraj Pandey and Shital Bhatia’s
Filworks for production of movies.
Alphabet, the company that owns Google, has overtaken
rival Apple in Monday’s extended trading to become the
highest valued company in the world. Alphabet now
comes before Apple atop the list of the world’s most
valuable companies.
Three major Indian IT companies — Infosys, Tata
Consultancy Services and Wipro — have joined US
President Barack Obama's ambitious 'computer science
for all' initiative as part of a public-private collaboration,
pledging thousands of dollars in grants.
The CCEA under chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra
Modi approved Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments
Limited (REIL) of Jaipur to delink from its parent
company Instrumentation Limited (IL) and turn into an
independent Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE)
under Department of Heavy Industry.
Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology
(CIPET), under the Union Ministry of Chemicals and
Fertilizers signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
with Karnataka Government to set up Advanced Polymer
Design and Development Research Laboratory cum High
Learning Centre at Bengaluru.
Mahindra Asset Management Company (AMC) received
Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI’s) approval
to manage the Mahindra Mutual Fund. Mahindra AMC is
a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra
Financial Services (MMFS), a part of the Anand Mahindraled Mahindra group.
Business News
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CAMS, the leading services solutions provider for fund
houses, has launched Aadhaar-based eKYC (know your
customer) using OTP (one-time password) authentication
to make mutual fund (MF) account opening and
transactions a paperless and presence less process
through my CAMS at www.camsonline.com.
Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra) has signed a share
purchase agreement with Birla Corporation, Reliance
Infrastructure Ltd has agreed to sell its cement assets
to Birla Corp. Ltd for Rs.4,800 crore. Birla Corporation
will acquire the 100 per cent shareholding of RInfra in
RCCPL.
Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani announced the
establishment of Dhirubhai Ambani Centre for
Innovation and Research in Aerospace at Whitefield in
Bengaluru.
Mobile messaging app WhatsApp said it has crossed the
one billion user milestone globally with the addition of
100 million users in last five months.
India's top multinational IT Company Tata Consultancy
Services has been rated as the world's most powerful
brand in Information Technology Services by a leading
41
National News
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The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
has decided to set up the National Organic Farming
Research Institute (NOFRI) in Sikkim.
The Union Ministry of Urban Development approved
projects worth more than Rs.12 crore for improving
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tourist infrastructure in heritage locations in Amaravati
in Andhra Pradesh and Warangal in Telangana.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a
petrochemical project in Lepetkata in Dibrugarh
(Assam), which is the first such project of NorthEast. The project has been named as Brahmaputra
Cracker and Polymer Ltd (BCPL). It has been built at
cost of 10000-crore rupees and shall be producing raw
material for manufacturing plastic.
Prime Minister Modi dedicated wax producing unit in
Numaligarh Refinery Limited to the nation in Assam. It is
India’s highest wax producing unit and shall be using
indigenous technology.
The 30th edition of the Surajkund International Crafts
Mela began at Surajkund in Faridabad, Haryana on 1
February 2016. The first edition of the Surajkund Crafts
Mela was hosted in 1987. Every year a theme State and a
Partner Nation is chosen. Theme State is chosen with a
view to promote and focus the art, craft and cuisine of the
theme State whereas Partner Nation is chosen to
showcases the best of that nation’s art, culture, traditions
and heritage.
Union government launched the 24x7 Toll Free Tourist
Infoline in 12 International Languages including Hindi
and English in New Delhi. The languages handled by the
contact centers include ten International languages
besides English and Hindi, namely, Arabic, French,
German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Portuguese,
Russian and Spanish. This Infoline service will provide
information relating to Travel and Tourism in India to the
domestic and International tourists or visitors.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Paradip
Oil Refinery in Odisha. It is Indian Oil Corporation
Limited’s 11th refinery.
The Indian government has sanctioned Rs.580 crore for
the vital rail link. As it expected to complete the work on
the 15-km-long rail line to connect Agartala with Akhaura
in that country by 2017. Of the 15 km railway track, 10 km
falls in the Bangladesh side and the rest in India.
Union Ministry of state for Petroleum and Natural gas
(MoPNG) has released the Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 for
north-east India.
International News
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Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe declared a state
of disaster in rural parts of the country hit by a drought.
World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Public
Health Emergency of International Concern over the
explosive spread of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which
is linked to birth defects in the Americas.
The European Union (EU) approved 3.3 billion Euros in
funding to help Turkey cope with the issue of Syrian
migrants. At present, Turkey is home to around 3 million
Syrians who fled the country since the beginning of the
civil war in 2011.
World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended all
governments to rate movies with smoking scenes to
protect children and adolescents from tobacco addiction in
Geneva.
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The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority
(HFEA) of United Kingdom granted license to the Francis
Crick Institute to use new gene editing techniques on
human embryos. Under the license, the institute will be
allowed to genetically modify human embryos for research
purposes in order to better understand infertility and
miscarriage issues.
The French Senate on unanimously passed a law to ban
large food stores from throwing away food that is
approaching its expiration date. With this, France has
become the first country in the world to ban
supermarkets from throwing away or destroying
unsold food, forcing them instead to donate it to charities
and food banks.
Bangladesh Cabinet approved the draft of a proposed
Citizenship Law, 2016 that was framed by amalgamating
two existing laws and expanding scopes for dual
citizenship for expatriate Bangladeshi nationals. The new
Law was proposed by amending the existing the
Citizenship Act 1951 and consolidating it with the
Bangladesh Citizenship Temporary Provisions Order 1972
to help future citizens in the complex immigration world.
States in News
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Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda has
launched Project Sunrise on for prevention of AIDS
specially among people injecting drugs in the 8 NorthEastern states. The AIDS prevention special project aims to
diagnose 90 per cent of such drug addicts with HIV and
put them under treatment by 2020.
The Himachal Pradesh Government has decided to spend
15 crore rupees on Swachh Bharat Mission in tribal
district of Kinnaur.
Kerala’s all-women taxicab service She-Taxi received the
prestigious Chief Minister's Award for Innovation in Public
Policy 2014 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. It was
selected for the recognition in the developmental
interventions category.
Maharashtra Government rolled out a de-radicalisation
programme for the minority community. The programme
was launched to face the challenges of both home-grown
extremism and global Islamic State (IS) threat.
The Government of Odisha decided to extend the Aahar
scheme to 29 districts in the State.
Maharashtra Cabinet announced Bharatratna Dr.
Babasaheb Ambedkar Special Collective Incentive Scheme
for the economically backward Dalit entrepreneurs.
Union Railway Ministry signed Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with Chhattisgarh Government for
formation of Joint Venture Companies for development of
railway infrastructure in the state.
The Odisha government lifted the restrictions on visit of
foreign tourists to certain tribal areas in the State. The ban
was lifted after three years.
Manufacturers in Kerala should come out with more valueadded products if they want to compete in the global
market, Minister for Public Works VK Ebrahim Kunju
has said. Inaugurating the three-day Kerala Business-toBusiness Meet 2016 at the CIAL Trade Fair & Exhibition
Centre in Nedumbassery.
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Central government will spend Rs 1 lakh crore for
development of road infrastructure in Karnataka. In
addition to this, Rs 200 crore will be spent on
developing four light houses in the state in PPP mode.
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National Appointments
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Brijbhushan Sharan Singh: Wrestling Federation of India
(WFI) Chief Brijbhushan Sharan Singh has been
appointed as the president of the South Asian Wrestling
Federation (SAWF).
Dr. R K Pachauri & Dr. Ajay Mathur: The Governing
Council of TERI has appointed Dr. R K Pachauri as the
Executive Vice Chairman with immediate effect," a TERI
official said. "Dr. Ajay Mathur has joined as Director
General of TERI.
Gurdeep Singh: has taken charge as the Chairman and
Managing Director of NTPC. Singh, who was earlier
Managing Director of Gujarat State Electricity Corporation
Ltd. He replaces Arup Roy Choudhury, who retired from
the post on August 31, 2015
Parameshwaran Iyer: The government has appointed
World Bank’s water and sanitation specialist,
Parameshwaran Iyer, as the new Secretary of the Drinking
Water and Sanitation Department.
Aruna Sethi, the Principal Adviser (Cost), took over
charge as the head of Indian Cost Accounts Service
(ICoAS). With this appointment, she became the first
woman to occupy the post.
DJ Pandian: Former chief secretary of Gujarat DJ Pandian
was appointed vice-president and chief investment officer
of the newly-created Asian Infrastructure Investment
Bank (AIIB).
Jai Kumar Garg: The Union Government appointed Jai
Kumar Garg as Managing Director (MD) and Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) of Corporation Bank for a period
of three years. Garg took charge of the public sector bank
on 1 February 2016, succeeding S R Bansal, who
superannuated from services as CMD on 31 January 2016.
HL Samariya: a 1985 batch IAS officer from the Telangana
cadre, has been given additional charge as Central
Provident Fund Commissioner (CPFC), for three months
or till the appointment of a regular incumbent or till
further orders, a release said.
Saroj Kumar Jha: An Indian national Saroj Kumar Jha was
in news as he was appointed as the Senior Director for the
Fragility, Conflict and Violence Group at the World Bank.
Archana Ramasundram: Tamil Nadu Cadre IPS officer
Archana Ramasundram was appointed as the Director
General of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) that guards
India's frontiers with Nepal and Bhutan.
S N Prasad: has taken over as Director (Marketing), Coal
India Ltd, from February 1. According to a CIL release,
Prasad has succeeded B K Saxena, who has retired.
Muktesh Kumar Pardeshi: Senior IFS officer Muktesh
Kumar Pardeshi was appointed as India’s Ambassador to
Mexico.
Kamlesh Kumar Pandey: was appointed as the Chief
Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (CCPD) for a
period of three years.
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Datta Padsalgikar: Senior IPS officer Datta Padsalgikar
was appointed as the Commissioner of Police of Mumbai.
He succeeds Ahmed Javed, who was appointed as
Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
Justice Ramayyagari Subhash Reddy was appointed as
Chief Justice of the Gujarat high Court with effect from the
date he assumes charge of his office.
Mukesh Ambani and Sam Pitroda: Reliance Industries
chairman and managing director (CMD) Mukesh Ambani
and Sam Pitroda were elected to be members of the
National Academy of Engineering (NAE). It is a nonprofit organisation based in the United States of America.
International Appointments
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Vishal Mehta, A 34-year-old Indian-origin man based in
Singapore was today appointed President of the newlyformed International Grown Diamond Association
(IGDA).
Major General Jai Shanker Menon of the Indian Army, a
veteran of peacekeeping operations, has been appointed
as the head of a key United Nations force stationed in
Golan to maintain the ceasefire between Israeli and
Syrian forces.
Army Lieutenant General John Nicholson was
appointed as the commander of the NATO forces in
Afghanistan. He succeeded US General John Campbell
who has been leading the Afghan operations for nearly 18
months.
Awards and Recognition:
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Manipuri documentary film Phum-Shang bagged the
prestigious Golden Conch Award for the best
documentary film at the 14th Mumbai International Film
Festival for Documentary, Animation and Short Films
(MIFF 2016). The film is directed by Haobam Paban
Kumar, an alumnus of the Satyajit Ray Film & Television
Institute, Kolkata
Sarangi maestro Pandit Ram Narayan has been chosen
for the prestigious Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi
classical music award for 2015-2016.
Indian film-maker Kanu Behl directorial Titli bagged the
Best First Foreign Film Award conferred by the French
Syndicate of Cinema Critics 2016 (FSCC).
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was selected for the
prestigious K Veeramani Award for Social Justice 2015.
Kumar is chosen for the award for his contribution
towards social justice as Chief Minister.
Veteran wildlife filmmaker Naresh Bedi was honoured
with the V Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award at
the 14th edition of the Mumbai International Festival for
Documentary, Short and Animation Films (MIFF 2016).
Indian writer Geetu Mohandas won Sundance Institute
Global Filmmaking Award 2016 for her script of yet-to-be
shot film Insha Allah. The award was presented at 2016
Sundance Film Festival Awards Ceremony held in Park
City, Utah.
Amitabh Harivansh Bachchan was presented with the
lifetime achievement award in New Delhi. He received the
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honour at NDTV Indian of the Year Awards for his
contribution to the film industry.
The Chettinad cotton saree won the India Handloom tag
for its unique designs and identity. The Ministry
authorised the Amarar Rajiv Gandhi Handloom
Weavers Cooperative Society, which produced the
sarees, to use the brand and logo for marketing the
product.
The Revenant director Alejandro Gonzalez was received
his second consecutive Directors Guild of America (DGA)
award for best feature film at the 68th annual DGA
Awards.
The Government of India has announced the Prime
Ministers Shram Awards for the year 2014. The award
will be awarded to 54 workers employed in the
Departmental Undertakings and Public Sector. The
award has been given in recognition of their distinguished
performances,
innovative
abilities,
outstanding
contribution in the field of productivity and exhibition of
exceptional courage and presence of mind.
Shram Ratna the highest Award among the Shram
Awards and carries the cash award of Rs.2 Lakhs along
with a ‘Sanad’. For the year 2014, the prestigious Shram
Ratna Award has not been awarded to anyone as
screening committee did not consider any nominee
eligible for the award.
Shram Bhushan: The total numbers of Shram Bhushan
Awardees are 9. It carries a cash award of Rs.1 Lakhs and a
‘Sanad’. The Nine nominations were found suitable for the
Shram Bhushan Award for the year 2014 in respect of
Public Sector Undertaking and Private Sector.
Shram Vir/Shram Veerangana: The total numbers of
Shram Vir/Shram Veerangana Awardees are 19. It carries
a cash award of Rs. 60,000/- and a ‘Sanad’.
And the total numbers of Shram Shree/Shram Devi
Awardee are 26. It carries a cash award of Rs. 40,000/and a ‘Sanad’.
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Exercise & Operations
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Summits and Conferences
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India will host the first-ever global maritime summit in
April 2016.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley inaugurates the two-day
India Investment Summit in New Delhi, which is aimed
at attracting long-term foreign investors into the
infrastructure sector. Opening the two-day India
Investment Summit 2016, the minister highlighted
opportunities the country presents to investors and
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sought investment in sectors like road, highways, oil & gas,
urban infrastructure and railways.
Renowned dancer-choreographer and speaker Dr Ananda
Shankar Jayant will address the high-profile India
Conference at Harvard in USA this week. Ananda is a
Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee and a motivational
speaker with a popular talk at TED. She is a career Indian
Railway Services Officer.
The Mangaluru-based MSNM Besant Institute of
Postgraduate Management Studies will conduct a
conference on ‘Make in India’ on February 5.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive at Kozhikode
early this afternoon to open the 'vision conclave’ of the
Global Ayurveda Fest.
Supporting Syria and the Region Conference 2016 was
held in London. The objective of the conference was to
discuss issues related to the over 5-year old civil war in
Syria and measures to mitigate the humanitarian conflict
faced by the country and the region as a whole. The
conference was co-hosted by Germany, Kuwait, Norway,
the United Kingdom and the United Nations and saw the
participation of over 60 countries.
President Pranab Mukherjee hosted a two-day Conference
of Governors at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
It is the fourth Conference to be presided over by
President Mukherjee and 47th such Conference to be held
in Rashtrapati Bhavan. 23 Governors and 2 Lieutenant
Governors will attend the Conference.
The border troops of India and China have held their first
joint tactical exercise codenamed Sino-India Cooperation
2016 in Chushul-Moldo area along with the northern
border in Jammu and Kashmir.
The term Cobra Gold was in news on 3 February 2016 as
India confirmed its participation in the annual amphibious
military exercise in 2016. The decision in this regard was
conveyed to Thailand, the host country, during Vice
President Hamid Ansari’s visit to the country.
The 9th edition of India-Nepal Combined Military
Exercise Surya Kiran IX has commenced at Pithoragarh
district of Uttarakhand.
The International Fleet Review (IFR) 2016, an
international military exercise hosted and conducted by
Indian Navy was inaugurated in Visakhapatnam, Andhra
Pradesh. Theme of this edition on IFR is “United through
Oceans” and its objective is to enhance mutual trust and
confidence with neighbouring navies by inviting their
ships to participate in the event. The last IFR conducted by
the Indian Navy in 2001 in Mumbai, Maharashtra in which
navies of 29 countries from across the globe had
participated.
Sports News
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India’s ace squash player Joshna Chinappa has won the
gold medal in women’s individual category at the 12th
South Asian Games (SAG). With this she became first
Indian squash player to win individual gold medal in
2016 SAG.
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Indian wrestlers simply grabbed, scooping 14 gold
medals out of a total 16 on offer as the wrestling
competition in the 12th South Asian Games.
New Zealand won the three-match Chappell-Hadlee
Trophy of cricket against Australia, 2-1.
Brendon Barrie McCullum (New Zealand) retired from
One-Day Internationals (ODIs).
The National School Athletics championship began on
January 29 and concluded yesterday, i.e on February 2.
Kerala emerged as the overall winner for the 19th
consecutive time. The national School Athletics
championship was held at Olympian Rahman Stadium in
Kozhikode, Kerala.
India Under-19 opener Rishabh Pant had the fastest
recorded U-19 international century comfortably in his
sights when he was dismissed for 78 off 24 balls, having
blown Nepal Under-19 away in a small chase.
Brazilian racing driver Pietro Fittipaldi clinched the
2015-16 MRF Challenge Formula 2000 at Madras Motor
Racing Track in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu.
The International Swimming Federation (FINA)
announced that the Japanese city of Fukuoka will host the
2021 World Aquatics Championships. On the other hand,
the Qatari capital Doha will host the 2023 event.
Aditya Mehta won the 83rd Senior National Snooker
Championship in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
Ace Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth won the Men's
Singles title of the Syed Modi International Badminton
Championships 2016. In the final played in Lucknow.
World Number One Novak Djokovic won the Australian
Open Men’s Singles title. In the final played at Melbourne,
the Serbian defeated Andy Murray of Britain in straight
sets 6-1, 7-5, 7-6.
Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag was
appointed as mentor of the Kings XI Punjab team for
season 9 of Indian Premier League (IPL).In his new role,
Sehwag will work along with head coach Sanjay Bangar
and would be responsible for guiding and motivating the
squad.
Sapna Devi clinched gold for India in the women Wushu
Taulu (Changquan) Competition of the 12th South
Asian Games held at the Rising Sun Sports Complex,
Assam Rifles, Laitkor in Shillong.
Virat Kohli was rewarded for his stupendous
performance in India's clean sweep against Australia in
the T20 internationals as he replaced Aaron Finch as the
top-ranked batsman in the ICC list for the shortest format.
The hallowed Lord's will host the final of the Women's
Cricket World Cup in 2017.
Trade and Agreements
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India and Sri Lanka signed two memorandum of
understanding (MoUs) in the health sector and renovation
of schools. Under the MoU on health, India will construct a
surgical unit at the Batticaloa Teaching Hospital in the
island nation's Eastern province and supply medical
equipment. In the second MoU, India will aid in the
renovation of 27 schools in the Northern Province.
Haryana and the Province of Ontario in Canada signed
an MoU aimed at enhancing commercial and cultural ties.
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Chinese technology company ZTE has inked a pact with
the Andhra Pradesh government to work on smart city
projects in the state.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) signed two
bilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) with United
Kingdom. With this signing, CBDT has concluded three
bilateral APAs the first one being a bilateral APA
signed with Japan in December 2014.
Canadian Provinces of Prince Edward Island (PEI) and
Ontario inked Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) in
Chandigarh.
All twelve Pacific Rim countries signed the US-led
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement in New
Zealand. This is one of the biggest trade deals in history.
The agreement was signed by Australia, Brunei, Canada,
Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru,
Singapore, the United States of America and Vietnam.
India and Brunei signed 3 Memorandums of
Understanding (MoUs) to deepen bilateral cooperation.
The MoUs were signed in Brunei capital Bandar Seri
Begawan during the Vice President Hamid Ansari’s 3-day
visit to the country. The MoUs are in Healthy Cooperation,
defecnce cooperation, and cooperation in youth and
sports affairs.
National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF)
Ltd. signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with
RUSNANO OJSC of Russia. The MoU was to set-up RussiaIndia High Technology Private Equity Fund for joint
implementation of investments into projects in India.
India and Afghanistan inked a pact for visa-free travel
by their diplomats.
India’s the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)
and United States Technical Development Agency (USTDA)
were signed the grant agreement for India Aviation Safety
Technical Assistance Phase II in New Delhi.
India through the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry
of Science and Technology signed a Cooperation
Agreement to acquire the status of the Associate Member
State European Molecular Biology Organisation
(EMBO).The agreement will strengthen scientific
interaction and collaborative research between India and
Europe in this field.
Books and Authors
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The book titled Nathuram Godse - The Story of an
Assassin authored by Anup Ashok Sardesai.
Science & Technology
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India and the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) entered into a partnership to
explore the environment of Ladakh under NASA’s
Spaceward Bound programme.
North Korea’s National Aerospace Development
Administration (NADA) launched the Kwangmyongsong4 satellite. The satellite was launched on-board the
Kwangmyongsong-4 rocket from the Sohae Space Center
in Cholsan County, North Phyongan Province.
The US space agency NASA announced that the first flight
of its new rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS),
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carrying 13 CubeSats and an uncrewed Orion Spacecraft
will be launched in 2018.
Indian biotechnology company Bharat Biotech claimed
that it has achieved a breakthrough in developing a
vaccine to fight the mosquito-borne Zika virus. Bharat
Biotech developed world’s first, two promising
candidates ZikaVac vaccines for Zika infection. The
company is probably the first in the world to file for
global patent for the two vaccines. One of the possible
vaccines is recombinant, which means it is created by
genetic engineering, while the other was inactivated, and
will enter pre-clinical trials in animals in two weeks.
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
launched the BGR-34, the country's first anti-diabetic
ayurvedic drug for Diabetes. BGR is acronym for blood
glucose regulator. The ayurvedic drug BGR-34 was
launched at Kozhikode, Kerala by CSIR's Senior Principal
Scientist Dr AKS Rawat as part of the Global Ayurveda
Festival in the city.
Dr Harsh Vardhan, the Union Minister for Science,
Technology and Earth Sciences inaugurated the
construction work of Borehole Geophysics Research
Laboratory (BGRL) at Hazarmachi, Karad of
Maharashtra. BGRL is being developed at Karad to
understand and address the challenges of the
seismological problems (natural calamities) of societal
relevance in the Koyna Region through drilling
investigation.
An international team of scientists (biologists) discovered
a new species of hydroid polyps emitting green
fluorescence in the Red Sea. These polyps were found to
be emitting light in the night in association with the
gastropod Nassarius margaritifer. These hydroid polyps
also called hydrozoas.
Committees
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Supreme Court appointed a committee under former
Chief Justice RM Lodha to sell assets of Pearls Agrotech
Corporation Ltd (PACL) and refund 49 thousand crore
rupees to the investors. The investors invested in the
firm’s collective investment scheme (CIS) that was deemed
illegal by the Securities and Exchange Board of India
(SEBI).
Batting great Rahul Dravid has been named in ICC’s
newly appointed Anti-Corruption Oversight Group as part
of the recommendation from its Integrity Working Party of
the parent body.
The government has set up two new committees -- Tax
Policy Research Unit and Tax Policy Council in order to
bring coherence and streamline the direct and indirect tax
policy and administration. Led by the Finance Minister,
the Tax Policy Council would suggest broad policy
measures for taxation based on inputs from the Tax Policy
Research Unit (TPRU).
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Obituaries
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Defence News
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The Indian Coast Guard has proposed to induct 38 more
aircraft and helicopters into its fleet by 2020. The CG at
present has a fleet strength of 62 airplanes and
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helicopters. To boost its surveillance and search, and
rescue capabilities. In this regard, the maritime security
will sign a contract with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
(HAL) to procure 16 Advanced Light Helicopters (ALHs) in
the next three - four months.
The world’s oldest aircraft carrier, INS Viraat, is all set to
be converted into a luxury hotel to attract tourists once it
is decommissioned from service in June this year. The
Defence Ministry has given its nod to a proposal from
Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation
(APTDC) to convert the Centaur-class aircraft carrier
into a hotel-cum-museum.
Muqtida Hasan Nida Fazli has taken his last breath on
8th Feb. He was an Indian Hindi and Urdu poet.
Sushil Koirala Nepal's former Prime Minister Sushil
Koirala passed away at his resident.
Sudhir Tailang Famous political cartoonist Sudhir
Tailang, passed away in Gurgaon, Haryana.
NASA Astronaut Edgar Mitchell, who was the sixth man
to walk on the Moon, died in West Palm Beach, Florida.
S.S. Tarapore, former deputy governor of the Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) and a noted economist, passed away in
Mumbai.
Balram Jakhar Veteran Congress leader and former Lok
Sabha Speaker Balram Jakhar passed away in New Delhi
on Wednesday. He was 92. Jakhar served as Speaker of
Lok Sabha from 1980 to 1989 during which he contributed
to the establishment of Parliament Museum.
Kotikalapudi Venkata Krishna Rao Former Army Chief
General Kotikalapudi Venkata Krishna Rao passed away in
New Delhi following a cardiac arrest. He was the 14th
Chief of the Army Staff of Indian Army.
Terry Wogan British television and radio personality
Terry Wogan died of cancer in Buckinghamshire, United
Kingdom. He was 77.
Renowned American singer-songwriter Dan Hicks passed
away after a two-year long battle with throat and liver
cancer in California.
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Important Days
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10 February: The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
today launched the first 'National Deworming Day' -a
massive school-based deworming effort in twelve states.
National Deworming Day is a groundbreaking initiative
focused on reducing the threat of parasitic worm
infections, a widespread health issue affecting over 241
million children in India alone.
6 February: International Day of Zero Tolerance for
Female Genital Mutilation
4 February: World Cancer Day (WCD) 2016 was observed
across the world on 4 February 2016. The day was
observed with year’s theme – We can. I can.
2 February: The World Wetlands Day was observed on 2
February 2016 across the globe to mark the adoption of
the Convention on Wetlands in the city of Ramsar in Iran
in 1971. The theme of World Wetlands Day this year
is Wetlands for our Future – Sustainable Livelihoods.
Miscellaneous
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In a maiden initiative, a squad of 162 dogs is being raised
by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to aid its
personnel in rescuing people trapped under debris in the
aftermath of natural calamities like earthquake.
The Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) has
ordered Chennai based Geographical Indications Registry
(GIR) to issue ‘Geographical Indication’ tag for basmati
rice.
Vice President Hamid Ansari reached Thailand on a threeday visit during which he will hold discussions on a range
of issues with the country's top leadership to boost
bilateral ties.
Vietnam formally lifted the ban on import of Indian
Groundnut. With the decision, India will be able to resume
export after nine months.
The place Sonadia Island was in news. It was in news
because, as per newspaper reports, Bangladesh cancelled
China’s proposal to develop a deep sea port on the island
that lies in the Bay of Bengal.
The Operation Rahaat came in news in second week of
February 2016 after the Royal Navy of United Kingdom
(UK) presented its desire to officially study India’s
humanitarian rescue operation in Yemen.
The United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA)
unveiled a set of six commemorative stamps to promote
UN Free & Equal, a global United Nations campaign for
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality.
The new stamps, which celebrate the diversity of the LGBT
community, mark the first time the United Nations has
issued stamps with this theme. The colourful stamps
were designed by artist and UNPA art directorSergio
Baradat.
The first machine harvestable chickpea variety, NBeG
47 was released in Andhra Pradesh on 4 February 2016. It
was released by International Crops Research Institute for
the Semi-Arid-Tropics (ICRISAT).
The ICICI academy and the RSETIs will train close to
45,000 candidates in the 2017 fiscal and take the total
number of trained youth to over a lakh. The academy has
in the last two years (since inception in 2013) trained
47

25,200 youths (of which 32 per cent were women)
belonging to the economically weaker sections.
As per the report compiled and published by Internet and
Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Indicus Analytics
Maharashtra has topped in terms of the overall Internet
readiness index. Karnataka, Gujarat, Telengana and Tamil
Nadu followed in the tally.
Insurance Awareness
Introduction
1) The insurance industry of India consists of 52 insurance
companies of which 24 are in life insurance business and 28
are non-life insurers.
2) Among the life insurers, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) is
the sole public sector company. Apart from that, among the
non-life insurers there are six public sector insurers.
3) In addition to these, there is sole national re-insurer,
namely, General Insurance Corporation of India.
4) There are two more specialised insurers belonging to
public sector, namely, Export Credit Guarantee
Corporation of India for Credit Insurance and Agriculture
Insurance Company Ltd for crop insurance.
The following are some of the major investments and
developments in the Indian insurance sector.
a) Life Insurance Corp of India (LIC) has earmarked a total of
around Rs 1 trillion (US$ 16.12 billion) for investments in
bonds, including non-convertible debentures (NCDs),
certificates of deposit (CDs), commercial papers (CPs) and
collateralized borrowing and lending obligations (CBLOs), with
primary focus on infrastructure and real estate.
b) Kotak Mahindra Bank became the first bank to get the
permission from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to set up a
wholly-owned non-life insurance company.
INTRODUCTION
1) Insurance is an agreement in which a person makes regular
payments to a company and the company promises to pay
money if the person is injured or dies, or to pay money equal to
the value of something (such as a house or car) if it is damaged,
lost, or stolen or a risk-transfer mechanism that ensures full or
partial financial compensation for the loss or damage caused
by event(s) beyond the control of the insured party.
2) Under an insurance contract, a party (the insurer)
indemnifies the other party (the insured) against a specified
amount of loss, occurring from specified eventualities within a
specified period, provided a fee called premium is paid.
3) Insurance, however, provides protection only against
tangible losses. It cannot ensure continuity of business, market
share, or customer confidence, and cannot provide knowledge,
skills, or resources to resume the operations after a disaster.
4) With the establishment of the Oriental Life Insurance
Company in Kolkata, the business of Indian life insurance
started in the year 1818.
Important milestones in the Indian Life insurance busin
• 1912: The Indian Life Assurance Companies Act came into
force for regulating the life insurance business.
• 1928: The Indian Insurance Companies Act was enacted for
enabling the government to collect statistical information on
both life and non-life insurance businesses.
• 1938: The earlier legislation consolidated the Insurance Act
with the aim of safeguarding the interests of the insuring
public.
• 1956: 245 Indian and foreign insurers and provident
societies were taken over by the central government and they
got nationalized. LIC was formed by an Act of Parliament, viz.
LIC Act, 1956. It started off with a capital of Rs. 5 crore and that
too from the Government of India.
Life Insurance Corporation
Life Insurance in India was nationalized by incorporating Life
Insurance Corporation (LIC) in 1956. All private life insurance
companies at that time were taken over by LIC. In 1993, the
Government of India appointed RN Malhotra Committee to lay
down a road map for privatization of the life insurance sector.
Independent Regulatory Body - IRDAI
Insurance sector has been opened up for competition from
Indian private insurance company with the enactment of
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999
(IRDA Act). As per the provisions of IRDA Act, 1999, Insurance
Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) was
established on 19th April 2000 to protect the interests of
holder of insurance policy and to regulate, promote and ensure
orderly growth of the insurance industry.
Insurance Repository in India
The Insurance Repository in India is a database of insurance
policies. It allows policy holders to make revisions to a policy
with speed and accuracy. It launched on 16 September 2013. It
is the world's first of its kind. India's Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority had issued licenses to five entities to
act as Insurance Repositories:
• Central Insurance Repository Limited (CIRL)
• SHCIL Projects Limited
• Karvy Insurance repository Limited
• NSDL Database Management Limited
• CAMS Repository Services Limited
Public Sector Insurance Companies
• Life Insurance Corporation of India
• General Insurance Corporation of India
• National Insurance Co. Ltd.
• Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd.
• New India Assurance Co. Ltd.
• United India Insurance Co. Ltd.
What is Banc-assurance?
Banc-assurance means selling of insurance products through
banks. The insurance companies and the banks come up in a
partnership wherein the bank sells the tied insurance
company’s insurance products to its clients.
Who is an Actuary?
A person with expertise in the fields of economics, statistics
and mathematics, who helps in risk assessment and estimation
of premiums etc for an insurance business, is called an actuary.
What is an Actuarial Science?
Actuarial science is the discipline that applies mathematical
and statistical methods to assess risk in insurance, finance and
other industries and professions.
48
Who are Third Party Administrators?
a) Third Party Administrators or TPAs are a vital link between
health insurance companies, policyholders and health care
providers.
b) The TPAs maintain databases of policy holders and issue
them identity cards with unique identification numbers and
handle all the post policy issues including claim settlements.
What is Mortality Charge?
Mortality Charge is the amount charged every year by the
insurer to provide the life cover to the policyholder on the life
of the Life Insured. It is also called as Cost of Insurance.
Who is an Agent?
An Agent is a person who is licensed by state to sell Insurance.
The Agents serve as an intermediary between the insurance
company and the insured.
• Captive Agent – Agent sell Insurance of a specific Company.
• Independent Agent – Agent who works independently and
sells Insurance of many companies.
What is Annuity?
A long-term contract sold by an insurance company designed
to provide payments to the holder at specified intervals,
usually after retirement.
What is AD&D in Insurance?
AD&D in Insurance refers to Accidental Death and
Dismemberment Insurance. It is a policy that pays benefits to
the beneficiary if the cause of death is an accident. This is a
limited form of life insurance which is generally less expensive.
What is Lapse in Insurance?
The policy for which all benefits to the policy holder cease and
is terminated due to nonpayment of premium amount on the
due date or even after the grace period is called a lapsed policy.
What is Surrender Value?
Surrender Value is the amount the policy holder will get from
the insurance company if he decides to exit the policy before
maturity. Surrender value is payable only after three full years
premiums.
What is Maturity claim?
Maturity claim is a type of claim, wherein the insured fills a
maturity claim form.
What is Death claim?
Death claim is a type of claim made by the nominee of the
insured to the insurance company due to death of the insured,
abiding to the policy terms and conditions.
What do you mean by Policy not in force?
If the policy is lapsed i.e., the insured has not paid the policy
amount before the grace period expires, then it is termed as
policy not in force. The insured is not covered by the policy
when it is termed as policy not in force.
What is Gratuity?
Gratuity is a part of salary that is received by an employee from
his/her employer in gratitude for the services offered by the
employee in the company.
What is Void & Voidable contract?
Void contract cannot be enforced by law. Any agreement which
is illegal is considered as void contract.
What is Paid up value?
The right to change the normal policy into paid up value is
given to the insured by the insurance company, if the insured
have paid premiums for minimum of three years. The paid
policy means, after the period if the insured cannot pay
premium then the policy is not cancelled but the sum assured
is reduced in proportion to the number of premiums paid by
the insured.
What is Terminal bonus?
Terminal bonus is the loyalty bonus paid by the insurance
company to the insured for maintaining the policy till the
maturity date. It is the bonus paid during the time of maturity
and the value is not guaranteed by disclosed during the time of
policy maturity only.
REINSURANCE
It is an insurance that an insurance company buys for its own
protection. The risk of loss is spread so a disproportionately
large loss under a single policy doesn’t fall on one company.
LAPSE RATIO--The ratio of the number of life insurance
policies that lapsed within a given period to the number in
force at the beginning of that period.
IRDA
Insurance regulatory and development authority (IRDA) is the
regulatory body of Insurance sector In India. Mr. T.S. Vijayan is
the chairman of IRDA (Earlier J HarniNarayan). The Authority
is a ten member team consisting of (a) a Chairman (b) five
whole-time members (c) four part-time members. At present
there are 24 general insurance companies including the ECGC
and Agriculture Insurance Corporation of India and 23 life
insurance companies operating in the country. FDI allowed in
Insurance sector is 49%.
Insurance Ombudsman
The institution of Insurance Ombudsman was created by a
Government of India Notification dated 11th November, 1998
49
with the purpose of quick disposal of the grievances
(problems) of the insured customers and to mitigate their
problems involved in redressal of those grievances. This
institution is of great importance and relevance for the
protection of interests of policy holders and also in building
their confidence in the system. The institution has helped to
generate and sustain the faith and confidence amongst the
consumers and insurers.
Eligibility for Ombudsman:
Ombudsman is drawn from Insurance Industry, Civil
Services and Judicial Services.
Terms of office:
An insurance Ombudsman is appointed for a term of 3
years or till the ns the age of sixty five years, whichever is
earlier.
Re-appointment is not permitted.
Types of Life Insurance Policies:
Life-based contracts tend to fall into two major categories:
(a) Protection policies:– Designed to provide a benefit in the
event of specified event, typically a lump sum payment. A
common form of this design is term insurance.
(b) Investment policies:–where the main objective is to
facilitate the growth of capital by regular or single premiums.
Common forms are whole life, universal life and variable life
policies.
Life insurance may be divided into two basic classes:
Temporary and Permanent;
(a) Term Policy (Temporary): Term life insurance plans
provide insurance to an individual for a fixed tenure. It is the
pure and cheapest form of life insurance for an
individual. This type of policy is suitable for people who are
unable to pay high insurance in order to buy endowment
policies.
Once the term of insurance has passed, the agreed upon rate of
payment and coverage expires and the former holder of the
insurance must either go without
coverage or renegotiate a new policy covering a different term.
Term is generally considered "pure" insurance, where the
premium buys protection in the event of death and nothing
else.
Term Insurance are of the following types in India:
1. Straight Term Insurance:- The corporation issues term
insurance for 2 years .The sum assured will be payable only in
the event of the life assureds death occurring within 2 years
from the commencement of
the policy.
2. Renewable Term Policies:- Annual renewable term is a 1
year policy, but the insurance company guarantees it will issue
a policy of an equal or lesser amount regardless of the
insurability of the applicant, and with a premium set for the
applicant's age at that time. The policy holder can renew it
many times. Provided the attained age has not crossed 55
years.
3. Convertible Term Policy:- Under this policy, option to
convert it into whole life or endowment policy is available. The
premium rates will be increased according to the age attained.
Permanent life insurance: -
Life insurance that remains active until the policy matures,
unless the owner fails to pay the premium when due. The
policy cannot be cancelled by the insurer for any reason except
fraudulent application, and any such cancellation must occur
within a period of time (usually 2 years) defined by law.
Basic types of permanent insurance:
1. Whole life coverage:- It provides lifetime death benefit
coverage for a level premium in most cases. Premiums are
much higher than term insurance at younger ages, but as term
insurance premiums rise with age at each renewal, the
cumulative value of all premiums paid across a lifetime are
roughly equal if policies are maintained until average life
expectancy.
The cash value can be accessed at any time through policy
loans and are received income tax free. Policy loans are
available until the insured's death. If there are any unpaid
loans upon death, the insurer subtracts the loan amount from
the death benefit and pays the remainder to the beneficiary
named in the
policy.
2. Universal life coverage:- UL is a relatively new insurance
product, intended to combine permanent insurance coverage
with greater flexibility in premium payment, along with the
potential for greater growth of cash values. This policy includes
a cash value.
Premiums increase the cash values, but the cost of insurance
reduces cash values. With universal life, both the premiums
and death benefit are flexible.
Except with regards to guaranteed death benefit universal life,
this flexibility comes with the disadvantage of reduced
guarantees.
3. Limited-pay:- In this all the premiums are paid over a
specified period after which no additional premiums are due to
the policy in force. Common limited pay periods include 10year, 20-year, and are paid out at the age of 65.
4. Endowments:- Endowments are policies in which the
cumulative cash value of the policy equals the death benefit at
a certain age. The age at which this condition is reached is
known as the endowment age.
Endowments are considerably more expensive (in terms of
annual premiums) than either whole life or universal life
because the premium paying period is shortened and the
endowment date is earlier.
Endowment insurance is paid out whether the insured lives or
dies, after a specific period (e.g. 15 years) or a specific age (e.g.
65).
Information about Policies:
i. Single Premium Policy: The premium is paid only once.
ii. Limited Payment Policy: The minimum amount for which a
policy will be issued under this policy is Rs.1000.
iii. Convertible whole life Policy: It provides maximum
insurance protection at minimum cost and offers a flexible
contract which can be allowed to an endowment policy. The
minimum assured for which a policy will be issued under this
plan is Rs.5000 and the maximum age at entry shall be 45
years.
iv. Health Insurance Scheme: This provides financial support
during health problems.
50
v. Joint Life Policy: This is taken on the lives of 2 or more
persons simultaneously. Under this policy the sum assured
becomes payable on the death of anyone of those who have
taken the joint life policy.
vi. Double Accident Benefit Policy: This policy provides that
if the insured person dies of any accident. His beneficiaries will
get double the amount of the sum assured.
vii. Annuity Policy: Under this policy, the sum assured is
payable not in one lump sum payment but in monthly,
quarterly and half-yearly or yearly instalments after the
assured attains a certain age.
Umbrella Policy : A special form of liability policy designed to
protect the insured for certain unknown contingencies over
and above coverages and to provide excess insuranc e.
Third Party Insurance : When a policy insures a person
against the liability he may incur to another for damages, it is
"Third Party Insurance." The insured is indemnified with
respect to any loss which he might suffer as a result of his legal
liability to others arising out of the peril against which
insurance is written.
Rider : It is an optional feature that can be added to a policy.
For instance, you may take a life insurance policy and an add
on accident insurance as a rider.
Personal Property Floatre (P.P.F.)
A Broad Form policy covering all personal property worldwide
including at the insured's home, usually on an all risks basis.
Annuity : Annuities refer to the regular payments the
insurance company will guarantee at some future date i.e. After
you cross 55, the insurance company will start giving you a
monthly or quarterly return. This is often done to supplement
income after retirement.
Burglary: Unlawful removal of property from premises
involving visible forcible entry.
Burglary Insurance: Insurance against loss of property
caused by burglars.
Forgery : The illegal signing of another's name to a document,
such as, a cheque. Falsely making or altering a written
instrument.
Free look period: Once you get an insurance policy, the rules
offer you 15 days within which you can revisit your purchase
decision. This gives you the time to go through the policy's fine
print, understand how the policy is going to work and be
convinced that you need such a policy before deciding to
commit funds every year over the insurance plan's tenure.
Lapse : An insurance policy which, having reached its expiry
date, is not renewed or extended is said to have lapsed, Or
When the policy holder is unable to or does not pay the
premium any more, within the specified grace period, the
policy is said to have lapsed.
1.
2.
G.K. For INSURANCE
In which of the following years the Government of India
nationalized the general insurance business under the
General Insurance Business (Nationalized) Act?
(1) 1970
(2) 1972
(3) 1976
(4) 1973
(5) 1981
The small payment or series of regular payments made by
the insured are:
(1) Interest
(2) Sum assured (3) Premium
(4) Either 1 or 2 is correct
(5) None of these
3.
One of the role of insurance in the development of
economy is:
(1) To reduce inflation in the economy
(2) To give the financial support to the insurer
(3) Both 1 or 2 are correct
(4) Either 1 or 2 (5) None of these
4. Suicide clause is applicable if the life insured committed
suicide within one year from the:
(1) Date of Commencement of Policy
(2) Date of Policy revival
(3) Both 1 and 2 (4) Either 1 or 2
(5) None of these
5. In the absence of utmost good faith the insurance contract
becomes:
(1) Null and Void
(2) Void –ab-initio
(3) Wagering Contract
(4) Allium Fact per se
(5) None of these
6. To avoid a contract after 2 years from the date of
acceptance of risk, it is necessary for the insurer to
establish that:
(1) The prosper was aware of the correct facts (2) The
statement by the proposer was inaccurate or false and
material
(3) Both 1 & 2
(4) Either 1 & 2
(5) None
7. The premium regarding permanent assurance whole life
policies can be made payable:
(1) For a certain number of year
(2) Till survival
(3) Both 1 & 2
(4) Either 1 & 2
(5) None of these
8. The Premium can be paid in lump sum of:
(1) Term insurance (2) Market linked plan
3) Both 1 & 2
(4) Either 1 & 2
(5) None of these
9. In case of Joint life policy after death of the spouse the
future payment of premium is:
(1) Continued
(2) Waived
(3) Forfeited
(4) Deposited
(5) None of these
10. Special investigation is necessary if death is occur within
two years from:
(1) the date of commencement
(2) the date of revival
(3) either of the two
(4) the date of maturity
(5) None of these
Answers:
1 2 2 3 3 1 4 3 5 1 6 3 7 3 8 3 9 2 10 3
INSURANCE QUIZ
1. The Life Insurance Corporation of India does not have its
foreign units in which of the following countries?
(1) UK
(2) Sri Lanka
(3) Fiji
(4) Afghanistan
2. Who is the Present chairman of the Life Insurance
Corporation of India?
(1) Arvind Mayaram
(2) Sushbohan Sarker
(3) Thomas Mathew
(4) S. K. Roy
3. Insurance is meant to:
(1) Prevent specified events
(2) Prevent damage to assets from specified Events
(3) Compensate for losses from specified events
(4) Rebuild the assets lost because of specified events
51
4. The amount of Insurance depends upon:
(1) The peril
(2) The risk
(3) Neither
(4) Both
5. The amount payable under a life insurance policy depends
on:
(1) The income of the insured person at the time of the
claim
(2) The income of the insured person when he took the
insurance
(3) The amount of the sum assured
(4) None
6. Which of the following event are insurable in a life
insurance policy?
(1) The child to be born is not a male child
(2) The child, when born, has physical deformities
(3) Neither
(4) Both
7. In a life insurance contract, the beneficiary may be the:
(1) The Policy holder
(2) The life insured
(3) The depends of the life insured
(4) All
8. Which one of these principles does not apply in the case of a
life insurance contract?
(1) The principle of indemnity
(2) The principle of good faith
(3) The principle of insurable interest
(4) The principle of large numbers
9. Reinsurance is the name given to:
(1) An individual taking insurance for the second time
(2) An insurer placing insurance with another insurer
(3) Both the above situations
(4) Neither the above situations
10. Life insurance is better than other avenues of savings in
respect of:
(1) Marketability
(2) Liquidity
(3) Transferability
(4) All of the above
Answers:
1 – 4, 2 – 4, 3 – 3, 4 – 4, 5 – 3, 6 – 3, 7- 4, 8- 1, 9 – 2, 10 – 4
Insurance Terms Assignment
Assignment means legal transference. A method by which the
policy holder can person on his interest to another person. An
assignment can be made by an endorsement on the policy
document or as a separate deed.
Business Insurance
A policy which primarily provides coverage of benefits to a
business as contrasted to an individual. It is issued to
indemnify a business.
for the loss of services of a key employee or a partner who
becomes disabled.
Coinsurance
1) A provision under which an insured who carries less than
the stipulated percentage of insurance to value, will receive a
loss payment that is limited to the same ratio which the
amount of insurance bears to the amount required.
Convertible Whole Life Policy
A mix of "whole life policy" and "endowment policy", it
provides for very low insurance premiums with maximum risk
cover while the life assured is just beginning his working
career, and the possibiliy of converting the policy to an
"endowment" policy after five years of commencement.
Coverage--The scope of protection provided under a contract
of insurance; any of several risks covered by a policy.
Days Of Grace
Policy holders are expected to pay premium on due dates. a
period is 15-30 days is allowed as grace to make payment of
premium; such period is days of grace.
Corporation of India. This amount is referred to as GIS. The
monthly pension that is payable one month after payment of
first premium is calculated on the basis of the age at entry.
Gross Insurance Value Element (GIVE)
The amount payable on the deferred date under Jeevan Dhara
Life of Life Insurance
Corporation of India. An annuity of 1% of the GIVE is payable
per month after the deferment period. And the entire GIVE is
payable on death after deferment period.
Indemnity--Legal principle that specifies an insured should
not collect more than the actual cash value of a loss but should
be restored to approximately the same financial position as
existed before the loss.
Insured-The person whose life is covered by a policy of
insurance.
Joint Life Endowment Assurance Plans
The sum assured (plus any accrued bonuses) under this type of
policy is payable on the end of the endowment term or on the
first death of the two lives assured, whichever is earlier.
Typically (though not a necessity) taken out by a couple, a
variation is available for couples only.
Deferment Period
Period between the date of subscription to an
insurance-cum-pension policy and the time at
which the first installment of pension is received. Such policies
generally prescribe a minimum and maximum limit on the
deferment period.
Double/Triple Cover Plans
These offer to the beneficiaries double/triple the sum assured
on death of life assured during the term of the policy. On
survival to the date of maturity, the basic sum assured is paid
to the assured. These are low-premium plans, most useful for
situations such as housing.
Endowment Policy
The assured has to pay an annual premium
which is determined on the basis of the assured's age at entry
and the term of the policy. The insured amount is payable
either at the end of specified number of years or upon the
death of the insured person, whichever is earlier.
Excess And Surplus Insurance
1) Insurance to cover losses above a certain
amount, with losses below that amount usually covered by a
regular policy.
(2) Insurance to cover an unusual or one-time risk, e.g.,
damage to a musician's hands or the multiple perils of a
convention, for which coverage is unavailable in the normal
market.
Guaranteed Insurance Sum (GIS)
A lump sum purchase price is given to purchase future
pensions under the Jeevan Akshay Plan of Life Insurance
52
Keyman Insurance Policy
A life insurance policy taken by a person on the life of another
person who is or was his
employee/connected to his business in any
manner whatsoever.
Lapsed Policy--A policy which has terminated and is no longer
in force due to non-payment of the premium due.
Moral Hazard
Moral hazard is the risk factor that affects the decision of the
insurance company to accept the risk.
Reinstatement
The restoration of a lapsed policy to in-force status.
Reinstatement can only occur after the expiration of the grace
period. The company may require evidence of insurability
(and, if health status has changed, deny reinstatement), and
will always require payment of the total amount of past due
premium. The process of evaluating and selecting risk is
known as underwriting.
Vesting Age
The age at which the receipt of pension starts in an insurancecum-pension plan.
Whole Life Policy
Premiums are paid throughout the life time of life assured .
This can be with profits or without profits ( A "with profit"
policy is eligible for various bonuses declared by LIC every
year, while a "without profits" policy does not have this
privilege )
Taglines of some Insurance Companies
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
SBI Life Insurance Company Limited Tagline - With Us,
You’re Sure
New India Assurance Company Limited Tagline - India’s
premier general insurance company
PNB India Insurance Company Limited Tagline - Have you
met life today.
Max Life Insurance Company Limited Tagline - Aapke
Sachhe Advisor Also Check All Indian Bank Taglines
United India Insurance Company Limited Tagline - Rest
Assured with Us
Max Newyork Life Insurance Company Limited Tagline Karo Zyada ka Iraada
Apollo Munich Health Insurance Tagline - We know
Healthcare.
Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Limited Tagline - You
click, we cover
Future Generali Life Insurance Tagline - Ek Shagun Zindagi
Ke Naam
Aviva India Life Insurance Tagline - Kal par Control
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited Tagline Zimmedari ka humsafar
HDFC Standard life Insurance Company Limited Tagline Sar utha Ke Jiyo
Max Bupa Health Insurance Tagline - Your Health First
Exide Life Insurance India Company (Formerly Known as
ING Vysya Life Insurance) – Tagline - Adding Life to
Insurance CEO- Kshitij Jain.
Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited Tagline Jiyo Befiqar
Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited Tagline Muskurate Raho
Oriental Insurance Company Limited Tagline - Prithvi,
Agni, Jal, Akash, Sabki Suraksha Hamare Paas
Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Limited Tagline
- Faidey ka Insurance
IMPORTANT DESIGNATIONS IN INDIA
Constitutional Heads
Designation
Person
 Speaker, Lok Sabha
Sumitra Mahajan
 Deputy Speaker, Lok Sabha
M. Thambidurai
 Comptroller and Auditor
Shashikant Sharma
General
 Chairperson, 14th Finance
YV Reddy
Commission
Heads of Financial Institutes/Organisations
Designation
Person
 Raghuram G. Rajan
Governor, Reserve Bank of
India
 Jyotsana Suri
Chairperson, FICCI
 SB Mathur
Chairperson, Unit Trust of
India
 SK Roy
Chairperson, Life
Insurance Corporation of
India
 Harsha Kumar Bhanwala
Chairperson, NABARD
 NK Maini
CMD, SIDBI
 Sriram Kalyanaraman
Chairperson, National
Housing Bank
53
Sunil Kanoria
Rajan Bharati Mittal
Chairperson, ASSOCHAM
Chairperson, International
Chamber of Commerce
 Satyanand Mishra
Chairperson, Multi
Commodities Exchange
Chairperson, Indian Banks
Association
CMD, Oriental Insurance
Company
Director Genral,
Employee’s State
Insurance Corporation
Chairperson Institute of
Company Secretary of
India
 TM Bhasin
 M. Ramadoss
 Deepak Kumar
 R. Sridharan
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TADF
Minister of State for Commerce & Industry (I/C), Mrs.
Nirmala Sitharaman, launched the Technology
Acquisition and Development Fund (TADF) under
National Manufacturing Policy.
TADF is a new scheme to facilitate acquisition of Clean,
Green & Energy Efficient Technologies, in form of
Technology / Customised Products / Specialised Services /
Patents / Industrial Design available in the market
available in India or globally, by Micro, Small & Medium
Enterprises (MSMEs).
The Scheme is conceptualized to catalyse the
manufacturing growth in MSME sector to contribute to
the national focus of “Make in India”.
The scheme will be implemented through Global Innovation
and Technology Alliance (GITA), a joint venture company,
support to MSME units is envisaged by the following:
I. Direct Support for Technology Acquisition
II. In-direct Support for Technology Acquisition through
Patent Pool
III. Technology / Equipment Manufacturing Subsidies
IV. Green Manufacturing – Incentive Scheme
FIF: Financial Inclusion Fund (FIF)
The GOI has merged the Financial Inclusion Fund (FIF) and
Financial Inclusion Technology Fund (FITF) to form a single
Financial Inclusion Fund. The new FIF will be administered
by the reconstituted Advisory Board constituted by GOI and
will be maintained by NABARD.
Important Points related to FIF
1) The overall corpus of the new FIF will be Rs. 2000 crore.
2) Contribution to FIF would be from the “interest
differential” in excess of 0.5% on RIDF and STCRC deposits
on account of shortfall in priority sector lending (as
notified by RBI from time to time) kept with NABARD by
banks.
3) The Fund shall be in operation for another three years or
till such period as may be decided by RBI and Government of
India in consultation with other stake holders.
4) The objectives of the FIF shall be to support
“developmental and promotional activities” including
creating of FI infrastructure across the country, capacity 
building of stakeholders, creation of awareness to address
demand side issues, enhanced investment in Green 
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solution,
research and transfer of technology, increased technological
absorption capacity of financial service providers/users with a
view to securing greater financial inclusion.
Note: The fund shall not be utilized for normal
business/banking activities.
NIIF
a) India will launch National Investment and
Infrastructure Fund that would focus only on core sector
projects.
b) The NIIF will have a corpus of Rs 20,000 crore.
c) National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) is a
fund created by the Government of India for enhancing
infrastructure financing in the country.
d) The objective of NIIF would be to maximize economic
impact mainly through infrastructure development in
commercially viable projects, both greenfield and
brownfield, including stalled projects. It could also consider
other nationally important projects, for example, in
manufacturing, if commercially viable.
Note:
a) Government's contribution/share in the corpus will be
49% in each entity set up as an alternate Investment Fund
(AIF). The whole of 49% would be contributed by
Government directly.
b) Cash-rich Central Public Sector Enterprises (PSUs) could
contribute to the Fund, which would be over and above the
Government's 49%. Similarly, domestic pension and provident
funds and National Small Savings Fund may also provide funds
to the NIIF.
c) Government has set up a search committee under
Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das for selection of
a CEO for the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund
(NIIF).

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a
multilateral development bank (MDB) conceived for the 21st
century. The Bank's foundation is built on the lessons of
experience of existing MDBs and the private sector. Its modus
operandi will be lean, clean and green:
lean, with a small efficient management team and highly skilled
staff
54
clean, an ethical organization with zero tolerance for
corruption
green, an institution built on respect for the environment.
Mr. Jin Liqun has served as AIIB's President-designate
since September 1, 2015. He was appointed SecretaryGeneral of the Multilateral Interim Secretariat by the AIIB
Special Ministerial Meeting on October 24, 2014
Shareholder in AIIB: BRICS members China, India and Russia
are the three largest shareholders, with a voting share of 26.06
per cent, 7.5 per cent and 5.92 per cent, respectively.
GOLD SCHEMES LAUNCHED BY GOI
a) Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched three ambitious
schemes to reduce the physical demand for gold and fish out
20,000 tonnes of the precious metal worth $800 billion
lying idle with households.
b) Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched three gold
related schemes- Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS), Gold
Sovereign Bond Scheme and the Gold Coin and Bullion Scheme.
c) He also unveiled the first ever Indian gold coin & bullion,
bearing national emblem Ashok Chakra on one side and
Mahatma Gandhi's image engraved on the other side.
Initially the coins will be available in denominations of 5
and 10 grams. The 20 grams bullion will also be available
through 125 MMTC outlets.
d) The Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS), 2015 will offer
option to resident Indians to deposit their precious metal
and earn an interest of up to 2.5%; while under the Sovereign
Gold Bonds Scheme, investors can earn an interest rate of
2.75% per annum by buying paper bonds.
Must know Points on Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme 2015
 SGBs are government securities denominated in grams of
gold & will be issued by Reserve Bank on behalf of
Government of India.
 Persons resident in India as defined under Foreign
Exchange Management Act, 1999 are eligible to invest in
SGB. Eligible investors include individuals, HUFs, trusts,
universities, charitable institutions, etc.
 The Bonds are issued in denominations of one gram of
gold and in multiples thereof. Minimum investment in the
Bond shall be two grams with a maximum buying limit of
500 grams per person per fiscal year.
 The Bonds bear interest at the rate of 2.75% (fixed rate)
per annum on the amount of initial investment.
 Bonds are sold through scheduled commercial banks and
designated Post Offices either directly or through their
agents like NBFCs, NSC agents, etc.
 Price of bond will be fixed in Indian Rupees on the basis of
the previous week’s (Monday – Friday) simple average
price for gold of 999 purity published by the India Bullion
and Jewellers Association Ltd. (IBJA). The issue price will
be distributed by the Reserve Bank of India
 Though the tenor of the bond is 8 years, early
encashment/redemption of the bond is allowed after fifth
year from the date of issue on coupon payment dates.
 TDS is not applicable on the bond. However, it is the
responsibility of the bond holder to comply with the tax
laws.
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Gold Monetisation Scheme, 2015
The scheme is aimed at converting an estimated 20,000
tonnes of idle gold worth Rs 540,000 crore in family
lockers and temples into the banking system.
The GMS will replace the existing Gold Deposit Scheme,
1999.
Resident Indians (Individuals, HUF, Trusts including
Mutual Funds/Exchange Traded Funds registered under
SEBI (Mutual Fund) Regulations and Companies) can
make deposits under the scheme.
The minimum deposit at any one time shall be raw gold
(bars, coins, jewellery excluding stones and other metals)
equivalent to 30 grams of gold of 995 fineness. There is no
maximum limit for deposit under the scheme. The gold
will be accepted at the Collection and Purity Testing
Centres (CPTC) certified by Bureau of Indian Standards
(BIS) and notified by the Central Government under the
Scheme. The deposit certificates will be issued by banks in
equivalence of 995 fineness of gold.
The principal and interest of the deposit under the scheme
will be denominated in gold.
The designated banks will accept gold deposits under the
Short Term (1-3 years) Bank Deposit (STBD) as well as
Medium (5-7 years) and Long (12-15 years) Term
Government Deposit Schemes. While the former will be
accepted by banks on their own account, the latter will be
on behalf of Government of India.
Interest on deposits under the scheme will start accruing
from the date of conversion of gold deposited into tradable
gold bars after refinement or 30 days after the receipt of
gold at the CPTC or the bank’s designated branch, as the
case may be and whichever is earlier.
Facts related to Gold Coin/Bullion Scheme
a) It is the first ever national gold coin minted in India.
b) It is having National Emblem of Ashok Chakra engraved on
one side and Mahatma Gandhi on the other side.
c) The Coin weighs 5 and 10 grams.
d) The gold coin and bullion will carry advanced anticounterfeit features and tamper proof packaging and
hallmarked by Bureau of Indian Standards.
e) The gold coin and bullion will be of 24 carat purity and 999
fineness.
f) Aim: The government's move comes on the hope that Indians
who is said to have an obsession for gold will prefer the
national coin over imported ones.
g) All coins will be hallmarked as per the BIS standards.
h) This coin will be distributed through the outlets of stateowned Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Other GP Held
6) Australian Grand Prix-Lewis Hamilton
7) Malaysian Grand Prix-Sebastian Vettel
8) Chinese Grand Prix-Lewis Hamilton
9) Bahrain Grand Prix-Lewis Hamilton
10) Spanish Grand Prix-Nico Rosberg
11) Monaco Grand Prix-Nico Rosberg
12) Canadian Grand Prix-Lewis Hamilton
13) Austrian Grand Prix-Nico Rosberg
14) British Grand Prix-Lewis Hamilton
15) Hungarian Grand Prix-Sebastian Vettel
16) Belgian Grand Prix-Lewis Hamilton
17) Italian Grand Prix -Lewis Hamilton
18) Singapore Grand Prix -Sebastian Vettel
19) Japanese Grand Prix -Lewis Hamilton
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Some Abbreviations related to Gold Schemes
CPTC- Collection and Purity Testing Centre
MLTGD - Medium and Long Term Gold Deposit
STBD- Short Term Bank Deposit
IBJA- India Bullion and Jewellers Association Ltd.
MMTC- Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India
55
Grand Prixes & Their Winner 2015
Recent GP Held
Russian Grand Prix - Lewis Hamilton
United States Grand Prix-Lewis Hamilton
Mexican Grand Prix-Nico Rosberg
Brazilian Grand Prix-Nico Rosberg
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix-Nico Rosberg

Venues for the upcoming Tournaments
Hockey World Cup 2018 Venue:
1. Men’s Hockey World Cup – India
2. Women’s Hockey World Cup - England
ICC World Cup Cricket Venue:
ODI: (One day International):
1. Australia & New Zealand: 2015.
2. England - 2019
3. India - 2023
T20 World Cup:
1. Bangladesh -2014. – Sri Lanka defeat India to win the
maiden title.
2. India -2016.
3. Australia - 2020.
Test:
1. England– 2017 (for first time).
2. India - 2021.
FIFA (Football) World Cup venue: - RQ
1. 2018 : Russia
2. 2022: Qatar
Commonwealth Games venues:
1. 2014 – Glasgow (Scotland).
2. 2018 – Gold Coast (Australia).
Olympics Games venues:
1. 2014 winter: Sochi (Russia) – Russia tops in the medal
tally in 2014 winter Olympic games.
2. 2016 Summer: Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
3. 2018 winter: Pyeongchang (South Korea)
4. 2020 summer: Tokyo (Japan)
Asian Games host cities:
1. 2014: Incheon (South Korea) (Note: 2010 Asain Games
held in Guangzhou, China).
2. 2019: Hanoi (Vietnam)
BANKING / FINANCIAL REALTED SCHEMES
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Indradhanush Mission
Union Government has launched a seven pronged plan called
Indradhanush Mission to revamp functioning of public sector
banks (PSBs). It was launched by Union Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley in New Delhi.
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Facts about Indradhanush Mission
 The seven shades of Indradhanush mission include
appointments,
de-stressing
PSBs,
capitalisation,
empowerment, framework of accountability and
governance reforms.
 It seeks to achieve the objective of economic growth
revival through improving credit and minimising the
political interference in the functioning of PSBs.
 Bank Board Bureau (BBB): It will be a body of ’eminent’
professionals to be selected within 6 months i.e. February
2016. It will become functional from Financial year 201617 i.e. form 1st April 2016.
 Capitalisation: Infuse 25,000 crore rupees of capital into
debt-laden banks in this fiscal in phased manner. Out of
this 20,000 crore rupees would be injected in August
2015. Rest 5,000 crore rupees will be performance based
allocation to be allocated in the last quarter of 2016.
 De-stressing PSBs: To develop vibrant debt market for
PSBs in order to reduce lending pressure on banks.
Strengthen asset reconstruction of companies.
 Empowerment: Provide greater flexibility in hiring of
manpower in PSBs.
 Framework of accountability: It will seek to streamline
vigilance process for quick action in case major frauds and
also include connivance of staff.
 Governance reforms in PSBs: Next Gyan Sangam (also
known as the Banker’s Retreat) will be held from 14 to 16
January 2016. Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) will be
initiated for top management.
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Eligibility: The savings bank account holders of the
participating Bank between 18 years (completed) and 70
years (age nearer birthday) who give their consent to join
/ enable auto-debit, as per the modality, will be enrolled
into the scheme.
Premium: Rs. 12/- + service tax (per annum).
Risk Coverage: Total coverage (sum-insured) under the
scheme is Rs. 2 Lakh.
Atal Pension Yojana
The APY is focussed on all citizens in the unorganized
sector.
The scheme is administered by the Pension Fund
Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) through
NPS architecture.
Under the APY, there is guaranteed minimum monthly
pension for the subscribers ranging between Rs. 1000 and
Rs. 5000 per month.
GoI will also co-contribute 50% of the subscriber’s
contribution or Rs. 1000 per annum, whichever is lower.
Government co-contribution is available for those who are
not covered by any Statutory Social Security Schemes and
is not income tax payer.
GoI will co-contribute to each eligible subscriber, for a
period of 5 years who joins the scheme between the
period 1st June, 2015 to 31st December, 2015. The benefit
of five years of government Co-contribution under APY
would not exceed 5 years for all subscribers including
migrated Swavalamban beneficiaries.
All bank account holders may join APY.
Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana
Highlights of the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana
(PMJJBY – Scheme 2 – for Life Insurance) are:
Eligibility: Savings Bank (SB) Account holders between
18 years (completed) and 50 years.
 Premium: Rs. 330 (per annum).
 Risk Coverage: Sum Assured of Rs. 2 Lakh on death of the
Insured member for any reason is payable to the Nominee.
 Termination of assurance:
 Account holder attains age of 55 years
 Closure of account with the Bank or insufficiency of
balance for debiting premium.
 In case of multiple coverage under the scheme, the cover
will be restricted to Rs.2 lakhs and other insurance
covers are terminated and premium shall be forfeited.
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Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana
Highlights of the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana
(PMSBY – Scheme 1 – for Accidental Death Insurance) are:
56
Sukanya Samriddhi Accounts
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Rate of interest 9.2% Per Annum(2015-16b),calculated on
yearly basis ,Yearly compounded.
Minimum INR. 1000/-and Maximum INR. 1,50,000/- in a
financial year. Subsequent deposit in multiple of INR 100/Deposits can be made in lump-sum No limit on number of
deposits either in a month or in a Financial year.
Account can be opened up to age of 10 years only from the
date of birth.
If minimum Rs 1000/- is not deposited in a financial year,
account will become discontinued and can be revived with
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a penalty of Rs 50/- per year with minimum amount
required for deposit for that year.
Partial withdrawal, maximum up to 50% of balance
standing at the end of the preceding financial year can be
taken after Account holder’s attaining age of 18 years.
Account can be closed after completion of 21 years.
United Nations Headquarters
International Organizations
UNO (United Nations Org)
UNICEF
UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on
Trade & Development)
WHO (World Health Org)
ILO (International Labour Org)
WMO (World Meteorological Org)
World Intellectual Property Org
International Standards Org.
IMF (International Monetary Fund)
World Bank
UNESCO (United Nations Educational
Scientific and Cultural Org)
OECD (Org. for Economic Cooperation
and Dev.)
UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Dev.
Org)
IAEA (International
Atomic Energy
Agency)
OPEC(Organization
of
Petroleum
Exporting Countries)
Amnesty International
Commonwealth of Nations
IM(International Maritime Organization)
ICJ (International Court of Justice)
FAO(Food and Agricultural Organization)
NATO(North
Atlantic
Treaty
Organization)
Transparency International
SAARC(South Asian Association for
Regional Coop.)
ASEAN (Association of South East Asian
Nations)
APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Forum)
Organization of Islamic Cooperation
Headquarters
New York
New York
Geneva
Geneva
Geneva
Geneva
Geneva
Geneva
Washington DC
Washington DC
Paris
Paris
Vienna
100
Medical devices
100
White Labelled ATM
100
Telecom
100
Construction, operation and maintenance
of specified activities of Railway sector
100
Credit Rating Agencies in India and World:
Indian credit rating industry mainly comprises of CRISIL,
ICRA, CARE, ONICRA, FITCH (India Ratings & Research) &
SMERA.
 CRISIL - Credit Rating Information Services of India
Limited, Headquarter – Mumbai
 ICRA - Investment information and credit rating agency
Headquarter - Gurgaon, India
 CARE - Credit Analysis and Research Headquarters –
Mumbai
 ONICRA - Headquarter - Gurgaon, India
 SMERA - Headquarters – Mumbai
 Fitch (India Ratings & Research) - Headquarters –
Mumbai
 Note: CRISIL is the largest credit rating agency in
India, with a market share of greater than 60%
 Standard & Poor's (S&P) – Headquarter – New York, US
 Moody's – Headquarter - New York, US
 Fitch - Headquarter - New York, US
Vienna
Vienna
London
London
London
The Hague
Rome
Brussels
Berlin
Kathmandu
Jakarta
Singapore
Jeddah
FDI Limits in different sectors:
Defence
49
Pension
Insurance
Print Media
Civil Aviation
Public Sec. Banks
Private Sec. Banks
Multi Brand
Single Brand
49
49
26
49
20
74
51
100
57
Tourism
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ABBREVIATIONS
RIDF- Rural Infrastructure Development Fund
GPEI- Global Polio Eradication Initiative
GMS- Gold Monetisation Scheme
SGBS- Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme
ATAS- Alternative Train Adjustment Scheme
IVRS- Interactive Voice Response System
UDAY- Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana
IRRC- India Rapid Reaction Cell
PMMY- Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana
MUDRA- Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency
ISLRTC- Indian Sign Language Research and Training
Centre
SPMRM-Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission
STATIC GK CAPSULE
Some Important CUPS AND TROPHIES
Cup/Trophy
Game with which associate
Aga Khan Cup
Hockey
Ashes
Cricket.
B.C.Roy Trophy
National Junior Football (India)
Beighton Cup
Hockey
C.K. Naidu Trophy
Junior National Cricket. (India)
Davis Cup
International Tennis Championship
DCM Cup
Football
Derby
Horse Racing (United Kingdom)
Dhyan Chand Trophy
Hockey (India)
Duleep Trophy
Cricket (India)
Durand Cup
Football (India).
Guru Gobind Singh Gold Hockey (India)
Cup
Indira Trophy
Irani Trophy
Merdeka Tournament
Modi Gold Cup
Moin-ud-Dowla
Gold
Cup
Murugappa Gold Cup
Nehru Trophy
Nizam Gold Cup
Rangaswamy Cup
Ranji Trophy
Rovers Cup
Ryder Cup
Scindia Gold Cup
Todd Memorial Trophy
Thomas Cup
Wellington Trophy
National
Table
Tennis
Championship (Boys)
Cricket..
Football (Played at Kuala Lumpur)
Hockey (India)
Cricket (India)
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Hockey (India)
Hockey (India)
Football (India)
National Hockey Championship
(India)
Cricket National Championships
(India)
Football (India)
Golf (United Kingdom)
Hockey (India )
National Basketball Championships
Badminton (World Championship)
Rowing (India)
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Revolutions in the field of agriculture in India:
Black Revolution - Petroleum Production
Blue Revolution - Fish Production
Brown
Revolution
Leather/non
conventional
(India)/Cocoa production
Golden Fiber Revolution - Jute Production
Golden Revolution - Fruits/Overall Horticulture
development/Honey Production
Green Revolution - Food grains
Grey Revolution - Fertilizer
Pink Revolution - Onion production/Pharmaceutical
(India)/ Prawn production
Red Revolution - Meat & Tomato Production
Round Revolution - Potato
Silver Fiber Revolution - Cotton
Silver Revolution - Egg/Poultry Production
White Revolution (In India: Operation Flood) - Milk/Dairy
production
Yellow Revolution - Oil Seeds production
Evergreen Revolution - Overall development of
Agriculture.
WILDLIFE SANTUARIES/NATIONAL PARKS / POWER PLANTS IN INDIA
S.no
1.
2.
3.
4.
States
J&K
Governor:
Narendra
Vohra
Capital:
Jammu(Summer)
Srinagar(Winter)
Himachal Pradesh
CM: Virbhadra Singh
Governor:
Acharya
Dev Vrat
Capital: Shimla
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Dachigam National Park
Hemis National Park
Kishtwar National Park
Salim Ali National Park
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Wild Life
Sanctuaries(WLS)
Gulmarg WLS
Limber WLS
Nandini WLS
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Pin Valley National Park
Great Himalayan National
Park
Inderkilla National Park
Khirganga National Park
Simbalbara National Park
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Bandli WLS
Daranghati WLS
Dhauladhar WLS
Nargu WLS
Pong Dam Lake WLS
Shilli WLS
Talra WLS
Abohar WLS
Harike Lake WLS
Jhajjar Bacholi WLS
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Punjab
CM: Parkash Singh
Badal
Governor:
Kaptain
Solanki
Capital: Chandigarh
Haryana
CM:
Manohar
Lal
Khattar
Governor:
Kaptain
Solanki
Capital: Chandigarh
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Bhindawas WLS
Kalesar WLS
Khaparwas WLS
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58
National Parks(NP)
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Kalesar National Park
Sultanpur National Park
Power Plants
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Girinagar Hydel Project
Binwa Hydel Project
Rangtong Hydel Project
Baner & Neugal Project
Guru Gobind Singh Super
Thermal Power Plant
Gorakhpur Atomic Power
Station
Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram
Thermal Power Station
Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power
Station
5.
UP
CM: Akhilesh Yadav
Governor: Ram Naik
Capital: Lucknow
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Dudhwa National Park
6.
Bihar
CM: Nitish Kumar
Governor: Ram Nath
Kovind
Capital: Patna
Chattisgarh
CM: Raman Singh
Governor:
Balram
Tandon
Capital: Raipur
Jharkhand
CM: Raghuvar Das
Governor: Draupadi
Murmu
Capital: Ranchi
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Valmiki National Park
Andhra Pradesh
CM: N. Chandrababu
Naidu
Governor:
E.S.L
Narasimhan
Capital: Hyderabad
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7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Assam
CM: Tarun Gogoi
Governor:
Acharya
Capital: Dispur
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Hastinapur WLS
Ranipur WLS
Sohagibarwa WLS
Sur Sarovar WLS
Chandraprabha WLS
National Chambal WLS
Bankatna WLS
Gautam Budha WLS
Kaimur WLS
Pant (Rajgir) WLS
Valmiki WLS
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Narora Atomic Power Station
Rihand Thermal Power Station
Anpara Thermal Power Station
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Kahalgaon Super Thermal
Power Station
Barauni
Thermal
Power
Station
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Sipat Thermal Power Plant
Hasdeo Thermal Power Station
Bhilai Expansion Power Plant
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Betla National Park
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Badalkhol WLS
Bhairamgarh WLS
Bhoramdev WLS
Udanti Wild Buffalo
WLS
Betla National Park
Lawalong WLS
Palkot WLS
Parasnath WLS
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Indravati National Park
Kanger Valley National
Park
Guru Ghasi Das (Sanjay)
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Chandrapura Thermal Power
Station
Koderma Thermal Power
Station
Bokaro Thermal Power Station
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Goa
CM:
Laxmikant
Parsekar
Governor:
Mridula
Sinha
Capital: Panaji
Gujarat
CM: Anandiben Patel
Governor: O.P.Kohli
Capital: Gandhinagar
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Karnataka
CM: Siddaramaiah
Governor: Vajubhai R.
Vala
59
Sri
Venkateswara
National Park
Mahavir
Harina
Vanasthali National Park
Mrugavani National Park
Rajiv Gandhi National
Park
Namdapha National Park
Mouling National Park
Dibru-Saikhowa National
Park
Kaziranga National Park
Manas National Park
Nameri National Park
Rajiv
Gandhi
Orang
National Park
Bhagwan
Mahavir
(Mollem) National Park
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13.
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P.V.
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Blackbuck National Park,
Velavadar
Gir Forest National Park
Marine National Park,
Gulf of Kutch
Bansda National Park
Bandipur National Park
Bannerghatta
National
Park
Kudremukh National Park
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Coringa WLS
Kawal WLS
Kolleru WLS
Nellapattu WLS
Pulicat Lake WLS
Rajiv
Gandhi
(Nagarjuna
SagarSrisailam) WLS
Rollapadu WLS
Amchang WLS
Chakrashila WLS
Dihing Patkai WLS
East Karbi Anglong
WLS
North Karbi Anglong
WLS
Nambor WLS
Bondla WLS
Madei WLS
Bhagwan
Mahavir
(Mollem) WLS
Netravali WLS

Jambugodha WLS
Jessore WLS
Kachchh Desert WLS
Mitiyala WLS
Porbandar Lake WLS
Rampara Vidi WLS
Ratanmahal WLS
Shoolpaneswar
(Dhumkhal) WLS
Thol Lake WLS
Wild Ass WLS
Arabithittu WLS
Attiveri WLS
Bhadra WLS
Bhimgad WLS



Simhadri
Super
Thermal
Power Plant
Sri Damodaram Sanjeevaiah
Thermal Power Station
Bongaigaon Thermal Power
Plant
-





Mundra
Thermal
Power
Station
Ukai Thermal Power Station
Akrimota Thermal Power
Station
Kakrapar Nuclear Power Plant
Raichur
Thermal
Power
Station
Udupi Thermal Power Plant
Capital: Bangalore
14.
Kerala
CM: Oommen Chandy
Governor:
P.
Sathashivam
Capital:
Trivandampuram



Eravikulam National Park



Mathikettan
Shola
National Park
Periyar National Park
Silent Valley National
Park
Anamudi Shola National
Park
Pampadum
Shola
National Park
Kanha National Park
Madhav National Park
Mandla Plant Fossils
National Park
Panna National Park
Pench
National
ParkSanjay National Park
Satpura National Park
Van Vihar national park
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
Chandoli National Park
Navegaon National Park


Tadoba National Park
Pench National Park
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15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
MP
CM:
Shivraj
Singh
Chouhan
Governor:
Ram
Naresh Yadav
Capital: Bhopal
Maharashtra
CM: Devendra Fadnavis
Governor:
C.
Vidyasagar Rao
Capital: Mumbai
Manipur
CM: Okram Ibobi Singh
Governor:
V.
Shanmuganathan
Capital: Imphal
Meghalaya
CM: Mukul Sangma
Governor:
V.
Shanmuganathan
Capital: Shillong
Mizoram
CM: Lal Thanhawla
Governor: Nirbhaya
Sharma
Capital: Aizawl
Nagaland
CM: T. R. Zeliang
Governor:
P.B.Acharya
60
Nagarhole National Park
Anshi national park
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
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
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













Brahmagiri WLS
Cauvery WLS
Nugu WLS
Pushpagiri WLS
Ranganathittu
Bird
WLS
Sharavathi Valley WLS
Someshwara WLS
Aralam WLS
Chimmony WLS
Idukki WLS
Malabar WLS
Mangalavanam
Bird
WLS
Neyyar WLS
Periyar WLS
Thattekad Bird WLS

Bellary Thermal Power Station


Brahmapuram Power Station
Kayamkulam Power Station
Bori WLS
Gandhi Sagar WLS
Ghatigaon WLS
Ken Gharial WLS
Narsighgarh WLS
National Chambal WLS
Orcha WLS
Kuno WLS
Sardarpur WLS
Son Gharial WLS
Aner Dam WLS
Bhamragarh WLS
Bhimashankar WLS
Great Indian Bustard
WLS
Jaikwadi WLS
Koyana WLS
Nagzira WLS
Painganga WLS
Radhanagari WLS
Sagareshwar WLS
Tipeshwar WLS
Tungareshwar WLS
Yangoupokpi-Lokchao
WLS

-
Vindhyachal Super Thermal
Power Station
 Sant Singaji Thermal Power
Plant
 Satpura
Thermal
Power
Station
 Amarkantak Thermal Power
Station
 Sasan Ultra Mega Power
Project
 Tarapur Atomic Power Station
 Tirora Thermal Power Station
 Amravati Thermal Power Plant

Keibul Lamjao National
Park

Balphakram
National
Park
Nokrek National Park



Baghmara
Pitcher
Plant WLS
Nongkhyllem WLS
Siju WLS




Dampa WLS (TR)
Ngengpui WLS
Pualreng WLS
Tokalo WLS
-

Murlen National Park
Phawngpui Blue National
Park
Mountain National Park

Intanki National Park



Fakim WLS
Puliebadze WLS
Rangapahar WLS
Dikhu Hydro Electric Power Plant



-
Capital: Kohima
21.
22.
23.
24.
Odisha
CM: Naveen Patnaik
Governor: S.C. Jamir
Capital:
Bhubaneshawer

Rajasthan
CM: Vasundhara Raje
Governor:
Kalyan
Singh
Capital: Jaipur
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
Sikkim
CM: Pawan Kumar
Chamling
Governor:
Srinivas
Patel
Capital: Gangtok
Tamil Nadu
CM: Jayalalithaa
Governor: K. Rosaiah
Capital: Chennai

Khangchendzonga
National Park
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25.
26.
27.
Tripura
CM: Manik Sarkar
Governor: Tathagata
Roy
Capital: Agartala
UK
CM: Harish Rawat
Governor: K.K. Paul
Capital: Dehradun
WB
CM: Mamata Banerjee
Governor:
Keshari
Nath Tripathi
Capital: Kolkata
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Bhitarkanika
National
Park
Simlipal National Park
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Badrama WLS
Baisipalli WLS
Chilika (Nalaban) WLS
Hadgarh WLS
Khalasuni WLS
WLS
Satkosia Gorge WLS
Bandh Baratha WLS
Darrah WLS
Jawahar Sagar WLS
Kailadevi WLS
Mount Abu WLS
Ramsagar WLS
Sariska WLS
Sawai Man Singh WLS
Shergarh WLS
Sitamata WLS
Fambong Lho WLS
Kitam WLS (Bird)
Maenam WLS
Pangolakha WLS
Mudumalai National Park

Mukurthi National Park
Indira
Gandhi
(Annamalai)
National
Park
Guindy National Park
Gulf of Mannar Marine
National Park
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Sariska National Park
Ranthambore
National
Park
Darrah National Park
Desert National Park
Keoladeo National Park
Bison( Rajbari ) National
Park
Clouded
Leopard
National Park

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Gangotri National Park
Jim Corbett National Park

Valley
of
National Park
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Flowers
Buxa National Park
Neora Valley National
ParkSingalila
National
Park
Sundarbans National Park
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Talcher Super Thermal Power
Station

Chhabra
Thermal
Power
Station
Suratgarh Power Station


Rangit Hydro Electric Power
Prject
Indira
Gandhi
(Annamalai) WLS
Kalakad WLS
Karaivetti WLS
Karikili WLS
Mudumalai WLS
Pulicat Lake WLS
Vaduvoor WLS
Vedanthangal WLS
Vettangudi WLS
Gumti WLS
Rowa WLS
Sepahijala WLS
Trishna WLS
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Kudankulam Nuclear Power
Plant
Neyveli Thermal
Tuticorin Thermal Power
Station

Palatana Thermal Power Plant
Askot Musk Deer WLS
Binsar WLS
Govind Pashu Vihar
WLS
Kedarnath WLS
Sonanadi WLS
Ballavpur WLS
Chintamani Kar Bird
Sanctuary
Haliday Island WLS
Lothian Island WLS
Mahananda WLS
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Chibro Power Plant
Khodri Power Plant
Chilla Power Plant


Mejia Thermal Power Station
Farakka Super Thermal Power
Station
Kolaghat
Thermal
Power
Station
Bakreshwar Thermal Power
Station
Durgapur
Steel
Thermal
Power Station
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Dams in India:
Tehri Dam: on Bhagirathi River, Uttarakhand
Lakhwar Dam on Yamuna river, Uttrakhand
Iduuki Arch Dam – on Periyar river, Kerala
61
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Koyna Dam – on Koyana river, Maharshtra
Bhakra nangal Dam: on Sutlej River, Punjab and Himachal
Pradesh.
Sardar Sarovar Dam: on Narmada River, Gujarat
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Srisailam dam: on Narmada River, Andhra Pradesh
Ranjit Sagar Dam: on Rav river, Punjab
Baglihar Dam: on Chenab river , J& K
Cheruthoni (Eb) Dam: on Cheruthoni, Kerala
Hirakud Dam: on Mahanadi River, Orissa
Nagarjuna sagar Dam: on Krishna River, Andhra Pradesh
Indira SagarDam: on Narmada River, Madhya Pradesh
Ukai Dam: on Tapi river, Gujarat
Maithon Dam: on Barakar river, Jharkhand
Krishnarajsagar Dam: on kaveri river, Karnataka
Mettur Dam: on Kaveri River, Salem district in Tamil Nadu
TungaBhadra Dam – on Tungabhadra rive, Karnataka
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Folk dances in India
Changu: Odissa and Andhra Pradesh
Gair: Rajasthan.
Garba, Dandiya Rass: Gujarat
Ghoomar: Rajasthan.
Karagam: Tamil Nadu.
Dumhal: Kashmir.
Lavani: Maharashtra
Odissi: Orissa
Rauf – Jammu & Kashmir
Nautanki, Thora, Chappeli, Raslila, Kajri - UP
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Classical dances in India
Kathak: Uttar Pradesh.
Bihu: Assam
Bharat Natyam: Tamil Nadu
Kuchipudi: Andhra Pradesh.
Kathakali: Kerala.
Chhau: Orissa, Bihar and West Bengal
Bhangra: Punjab.
Khantumm – Mizoram
Lines b/w Different Countries in the World
1. Durand Line: Pakistan and Afghanistan
2. Mc. Mohan Line: India(Arunachal Pradesh Region) and China
3. Radcliff Line: India and Pakistan
4. Line of Control :It divides Kashmir between India and
Pakistan.
5. Hidden berg Line: Germany and Poland
6. Maginot Line: France and Germany
7. Older Neisse Line: Germany and Poland
8. Mannerheim Line :Russia and Finland border.
62
9. Siegfried Line : Germany and France.
10. 17th Parallel: North Vietnam and South Vietnam
11. 24th Parallel : India and Pakistan.
12. 26th Parallel : Australia & South Africa
13. 38th Parallel: North Korea and South Korea
14. 49th Parallel: Canada and USA
CENSUS
1) The population of the country as per the provisional figures
of Census 2011 is 1210.19 million of which 623.7 million
(51.54%) are males and 586.46 million (48.46%) are females.
The major highlights of the Census 2011 (Provisional figures)
are as under:
*The population of India has increased by more than 181
million during the decade 2001-2011.
2) %age growth in 2001-2011 is 17.64; males 17.19 and
females 18.12.
*2001-2011 is the first decade (with the exception of 19111921---GREAT DEPRESSION) which has actually added lesser
population
compared
to
the
previous
decade.
3) *Uttar Pradesh (199.5 million) is the most populous State in
the country followed by Maharashtra with 112 million.
Some of the highlights
 Slogan - Our census, Our Future
 India's 1st Census - 1872
 2011 Census is - 15th Census
 Total Population - 1,21,01,93,422
 India's Rank in population - 2nd with 17.5% (1st China
with 19%)
 Most Populous State - Uttar Pradesh
 Least Populous State - Sikkim
 Most Literate State - Kerala (93.9%)
 Least Literate State - Bihar (63.82%)
 National Sex Ratio - Female : Male (940 : 1000)
 Highest Sex Ratio (State) - Kerala (1084 : 1000)
 Lowest Sex Ratio (State) - Haryana
 Highest Sex Ratio (UT) - Puducherry
 Least Sex Ratio (UT) - Damn & Dayyu (61 : 1000)
 Literacy of Male - 82.14%
 Literacy of Female - 65.46%
 Population Growth Rate - 17.64%
 Highest fertility Rate - Meghalaya
 Most literate union territory - Lakshadweep (92.2%)
 Least literate Union Territory - Dadra Nagar & Haweli
 Most Literate District - Serechhip (Mizoram)
 Least Literate District - Dadra Naga & Haveli
 Highest Density of Population - Bihar (1102 sq.km)
 Lowest Density of Population - Arunachal Pradesh (17)
 Total number of districts - 640
 Highest Populous District - Thane (Mumbai)
 100% Literacy District - Palakkad (Kerala)
 100% Banking State - Kerala
 100% Banking District - Palakkad (Kerala)
 Density of Population in India - 382 sq. km
 Increase in population (during 2001-2011) - 181 million
List of Latest schemes and apps launched by banks 2015
 M visa Electronic Card-less Transactions For Pockets AppLaunched By ICICI Bank
 LIME-Axis Bank Launches, India’s First Mobile App
Integrating Wallet, Shopping, Payments And Banking
 Indpay Mobile App -Launched By Indian Bank.
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First Home Grown INDEX “COMPOSITE INDEX” – SBI
India’s First” Transparent Credit Card “In Association With
American Express – ICICI
India’s First Credit Card Exclusively For GOLF LOVERS –
RBL Bank
Instant Money Transfer – BOI
Instant Money Transfer (IMT) – Bank Of India
Kotak Mahindra Bank Launched Facebook-Based Funds
Transfer Platform –“Kaypay”
Kisan Card – AXIS BANK
Maha Millionaire”, “Maha Lakhpati” – Bank Of Maharashtra
M-Pesa – ICICI+Vodafone
M-Wallet – Canara Bank
State Bank Freedom App – State Bank Of India
Student Travel Card – ICICI Bank
I-Mobile App For Windows Phone – ICICI
Fedbook Selfie App (India’s First Mobile App For Bank
Account Opening) – Federal Bank
Digital Banking “POCKET” – ICICI Bank
Eforex – SBI Bank
E-KYC – SBI Bank
EMI ON DEBIT CARD – ICICI BANK
E-Wallet – IRCTC
Facebook-Based Funds Transfer Platform “Kaypay”– Kotak
Mahindra Bank
TAB BANKING FACILITY – SBI Bank
List of Important Awards and its Related Fields
Awards
Grammy
Pulitzer
Arjun
Bowelay
Kalinga
Dhanwantri
Bhatnagar
Nobel Prize
Abel
Merlin
Bharat Ratna
Vyas Samman
Saraswati
Samman
Man Booker
Vachspati
Samman
Param Vir
Chakra
Ashok Chakra
Juliet Curie
Award
Dronacharya
Award
Sahitya Akademi
Award
63
Related Fields
Music
Journalism and Literature
Sports
Agriculture
Science
Medical Science
Science
Peace, Literature, Economics, Physics,
Chemistry, Medical Science
Maths
Magic
Art, Science, Public Service, Sports
Literature
Literature
Literature
Sanskrit Literature
Military
Civilians
Peace
Sports Coaches
Literary
IMPORTANT INDIAN TOWNS ON RIVERS
Allahabad
Patna
Varanasi
Kanpur
Haridwar
Badrinath
Agra
Delhi
Mathura
Ferozpur
Ludhiana
Srinagar
Lucknow
Jaunpur
Ayodhya
Bareilly
Ahmedabad
Kota
Jabalpur
Panji
Ujjain
Surat
Jamshedpur
Dibrugarh
Guwahati
Kolkata
Sambalpur
Cuttack
Srirangapatna
Hyderabad
Nasik
Vijayvada
Kurnool
Tiruchirapalli
At the confluence of the
Ganga and Yamuna
Ganga
Ganga
Ganga
Ganga
Alaknanda
Yamuna
Yamuna
Yamuna
Satluj
Satluj
Jhelum
Gomti
Gomti
Saryu
Ram Ganga
Sabarmati
Chambal
Narmada
Mandavi
Shipra
Tapti
Subarnarekha
Brahmaputra
Brahmaputra
Hooghly
Mahanadi
Mahanadi
Cauvery
Musi
Godavari
Krishna
Tungabhadra
Cauvery
Nick Names of Important Indian Places
Nick Names
Golden City
Manchester Of India
City Of Seven Islands
Queen Of Arabian Sea
Space City
Garden City Of India
Silicon Valley Of India
Electronic City Of India
Pink City
Gateway Of India
Twin City:
City Of Festivals
Deccan Queen
City Of Buildings
Dakshin Ganga
Old Ganga
City
Amritsar
Ahmedabad
Mumbai
Cochin
Bangalore
Bangalore
Bangalore
Bangalore
Jaipur
Mumbai
Hyderabad, Secunderabad
Madurai
Pune
Kolkata
Godavari
Godavari
Egg Bowls Of Asia
Soya Region
Manchester Of The South
City Of Nawabs
Venice Of The East
Sorrow Of Bengal
Sorrow Of Bihar
Blue Mountains
Queen Of The Mountains
Sacred River
Hollywood Of India
City Of Castles
State Of Five Rivers
City Of Weavers
City Of Lakes
Steel City Of India
City Of Temples
Manchester Of The North
City Of Rallies
Heaven Of India
Boston Of India
Garden Of Spices Of India
Switzerland Of India
Abode Of The God
Pittsburg Of India
Andhra Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Coimbatore
Lucknow
Cochin
Damodar River
Kosi River
Nilgiri
Mussoorie (Uttarakhand)
Ganga
Mumbai
Kolkata
Punjab
Panipat
Srinagar
Jamshedpur (Called Tatanagar)
Varanasi
Kanpur
New Delhi
Jammu & Kashmir
Ahmedabad
Kerala
Kashmir
Prayag(Allahabad)
Jamshedpur
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
Important Organizations:
1.
2.
3.
4.
List of Cabinet Ministers
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Narendra Modi – Personnel, Public Grievances and
Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of
Space, All important policy issues and all other portfolios
not allocated to any Minister
Rajnath Singh – Home Affairs
Sushma Swaraj – External Affairs, Overseas Indian Affairs
Arun Jaitley – Finance, Corporate (Additional charge –
Affairs Information and Broadcasting)
Manohar Parrikar – Defence
M Venkaiah Naidu – Urban Development, Housing, Urban
Poverty Alleviation, Parliamentary Affairs
Nitin Gadkari – Road Transport and Highways, Shipping
Suresh Prabhu – Railways
Uma Bharati – Water resources, River Development and
Ganga Rejuvenation
Dr Najma Heptulla – Minority Affairs
Ramvilas Paswan – Consumer Affairs, Food and Public
Distribution
Kalraj Mishra – Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
Maneka Gandhi – Women and Child Development
Ananthkumar – Chemicals and Fertilizers
Ravi Shankar Prasad – Communications and Information
Technology
Ashok Gajapathi Raju – Civil Aviation
Anant Geete – Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises
Harsimrat Kaur Badal – Food Processing Industries
Narendra Singh Tomar – Mines, Steel, Labour and
Employment
Jual Oram – Tribal Affairs
Radha Mohan Singh – Agriculture
Thaawar Chand Gehlot – Social Justice and Empowerment
64
Smriti Irani – Human Resource Development
JP Nadda – Health and Family Welfare
Birender Singh – Rural Development, Panchayati Raj,
Drinking Water and Sanitation
DV Sadananda Gowda – Law and Justice
Dr Harsh Vardhan – Science and Technology Earth
Sciences
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
United Nation (UN) – is an intergovernmental
organization established on 24 October 1945 to promote
international co-operation.
Headquarter – New York , Head – Ban ki-moon Member South Sudan new member country . Total– 193 members
WTO (World Trade Org.) –Kazakhstan new member.
Headquarter – Geneva, Switzerland, Head - Roberto
Azevêdo
World Bank - The World Bank is a United Nations
international financial institution that provides loans to
developing countries for capital programs.
Headquarter - Washington D.C. (United States) President –
Jim Yong Kim
Member - South Sudan new member country. Total– 188
members
IMF – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an
international organization that was initiated in 1944 at the
Bretton Woods Conference and formally created in 1945
by 29 member countries.
Headquarter – Washington DC . (United States) President
– Christine Lagarde
Member - South Sudan new member country. Total– 188
members
European Union – Croatia new member country. Total–
28 member countries.
Headquarter – Brussels, Belgium
President of the European Commission: Jean-Claude
Juncker
Eurozone - The growth of the eurozone is an ongoing
process within the European Union (EU). All Member
states of the European Union, except for Denmark and the
United Kingdom are obliged to adopt the euro as their sole
currency once they meet the criteria.
Member – The eurozone currently comprise 19 EU states.
Note: i). Latvia becomes the 18th Member State to adopt
the euro on 1 January 2014.
ii. Lithuania has been approved for euro adoption on 1
January 2015.
ASEAN - Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a
political and economic organisation of ten countries
located in Southeast Asia, which was formed on 8 August
1967.
Headquarter – Jakarta, Indonesia Member - 10 member
countries (India is not the member of ASEAN)
APEC – Asia – Pacific Economic Cooperation –is a forum
for 21 Pacific Rim member economies that seeks to
promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout
the Asia-Pacific region. It was established in 1989
Headquarter – Singapore Member – 21
OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries) is an international organization and economic
cartel whose mission is to coordinate the policies of the
oil-producing countries.
Headquarter – Vienna, Austria , Member - 12 member
countries.
President - Diezani Alison-Madueke
10. NATO (North Atlantic treaty Organization): NATO’s
essential purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security
of its members through political and military means.
Headquarter – Brussels, Belgium Member – 28 Member
Countries.
11. SAARC (South Asian Association of Regional CoOperation): is an economic and geopolitical organization
Regulator
Reserve Bank of India
Securities and Exchange
Board of India (SEBI)
Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority (IRDA)
Telecom
Regulatory
Authority of India (TRAI)
Pension Fund Regulatory
Development Authority (PFRDA)
of eight countries that are primarily located in South
Asia or the Indian subcontinent.
Headquarter – Kathmandu, Nepal – 8 Member Countries.
Secretary-General: Arjun Bahadur Thapa.
12. ICJ (International Court of Justice): is the primary
judicial branch of the United Nations. It is based in the
Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. Its main functions
are to settle legal disputes submitted to it by states and to
provide advisory opinions on legal questions submitted to
it by duly authorized international branches, agencies, and
the UN General Assembly.
Headquarter The Hague, Netherlands.
Sectors
Financial system and monetary policy,
Money Market
Security & Capital Market, stock
broking & Merchant Banking, Nidhis,
Chit Fund
Insurance industry
Telecommunication Industry
Pension sector
Chairman
Raghuram
Rajan
U.K. Sinha
Headquarter
Mumbai
T. S. Vijayan
Hyderabad
Ram Sewak
Sharma
Hemant
Contractor
New Delhi
Mumbai
New Delhi
IMPORTANT DAYS
July
 4 July (first Saturday in July)
International Day of Cooperatives
 11 July World Population Day
 15 July World Youth Skills Day
 18
July
Nelson
Mandela
International Day
 28 July World Hepatitis Day
 30 July World Day against
Trafficking in Persons
October
 1 October National Voluntary
Blood Donation Day
 2 October International Day of
Non-Violence
 5 October World Teachers’ Day
 5 October World Habitat Day
 8 October Air Force Day
 9 October World Post Day
 10 October World Mental Health
Day
 10 October National Post Day
 16 October World Food Day
 17 October International Day for
the Eradication of Poverty
 20 October World Statistics Day
 24 October United Nations Day
 31 October Anti -Terrorism Day
65
August
 12 August International Youth
Day
 19 August World Humanitarian
Day
 20 August Rajiv Gandhi’s Birth
Anniversary
(Sadhbhavana
Diwas)
 29 August International Day
against Nuclear Tests
 30 August International Day of
the
Victims
of
Enforced
Disappearances
November
 14 November World Diabetes Day
 16 November International Day
for Tolerance
 19
November
National
Integration Day (Indira Gandhi’s
Birthday)
 19 November World Philosophy
Day
 20
November
Universal
Children’s Day
 20 November National Child
Rights Day
 21 November World Television
Day
 26 November Constitution Day
September
 8 September International Literacy
Day
 14 September Hindi Divas
 15 September International Day of
Democracy
 16 September International Day for
the Preservation of the Ozone Layer
 21 September International Day of
Peace
 25 September World Maritime Day
 27 September World Tourism Day
December
 1 December World AIDS Day
 2 December National Pollution
Control Day
 4 December Naval Day
 3 December National Conservation
Day
 5 December World Soil Day
 7 December International Civil
Aviation Day
 9 December International AntiCorruption Day
 10 December Human Rights Day
 14 December National Energy
Conservation Day
 18
December
International
Migrants Day
 20 December International Human
Solidarity Day
 24 Dec- National Consumers Rights
Day
Other Important Days:





















12th January- National Youth day (Birthday of
Vivekananda).
15th January- Army day.
24th Jan- National Girl Child Day.
25th January- National tourism day/ Voters day
30th January- National Martyrs day & World anti Leprosy
Day
4th Feb- World Cancer Day.
28th Feb- National science day
8th March- International women day
9th March- World Kidney day
15th March- World Consumer rights day ,
20th MarchWorld Sparrow Day & International
Happiness Day.
21st March- World Forestry day
22nd March- World water day
23rd March- World Meteorological day
24th March- World T.B. day
2 April- World Autism Awareness Day
7th April- World Health day
21st April- Civil service day
22nd April- World Earth day
24th April- Panchayat Divas
1st May- International Labour day
Countries & currencies
African Countries
Name
Algeria
Angola
Cameroon
Egypt
Ethiopia
Gambia
Ghana
Kenya
Liberia
Libya
Madagascar
Mali
Mauritius
Morocco
Mozambique
Capital
Algiers
Luanda
Yaoundé
Cairo
Addis Ababa
Banjul
Accra
Nairobi
Monrovia
Tripoli
Antananarivo
Bamako
Port Louis
Rabat
Maputo
Namibia
Nigeria
Rwanda
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Windhoek
Abuja
Kigali
Victoria
Freetown
Mogadishu
Cape Town
Juba
66
Currency
Dinar
Kwanza
CFA franc
Egyptian pound
Birr
Gambian dalasi
Ghana cedi
Kenyan shilling
Liberian dollar
Dinar
Malagasy ariary
CFA franc
Mauritian rupee
Moroccan dirham
Mozambican
metical
Namibian dollar
Naira
Rwandan franc
Seychellois rupee
Leone
Somali shilling
South African rand
South Sudanese
Sudan
Tanzania
Tunisia
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Khartoum
Dodoma
(official)
Tunis
Kampala
Lusaka
Harare
pound
Sudanese pound
Tanzanian shilling
Tunisian dinar
Ugandan shilling
Zambian kwacha
US dollar
Asian Countries
Name
Afghanistan
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Capital
Kabul
Manama
Dhaka
Thimphu
Cambodia
China
Cyprus
[Europe]
Georgia
[Europe]
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Japan
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Lebanon
Malaysia
Phnom Penh
Beijing
Nicosia
Currency
Afghani
Bahraini dinar
Taka
Bhutanese
ngultrum
Riel
Renminbi (yuan)
Euro
Tbilisi
Lari
Jakarta
Tehran
Baghdad
Jerusalem
Tokyo
Astana
Bishkek
Vientiane
Beirut
Kuala Lumpur
(official)
Malé
Ulaanbaatar
Naypyidaw
Rupiah
Rial
Iraqi dinar
New Shekel
Yen
Tenge
Som
Kip
Lebanese pound
Ringgit
Maldives
Mongolia
Myanmar
(Burma)
Nepal
North Korea
Oman
Pakistan
Philippines
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
South Korea
Sri Lanka
Syria
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Thailand
Turkey
Kathmandu
Pyongyang
Muscat
Islamabad
Manila
Doha
Riyadh
Seoul
Sri
Jayawardenepur
a-Kotte
Damascus
Taipei
Dushanbe
Bangkok
Ankara
Maldivian rufiyaa
Tögrög
Kyat
Nepalese rupee
North Korean won
Rial
Pakistani Rupee
Philippine Peso
Riyal
Saudi riyal
South Korean won
Sri Lankan rupee
Syrian pound
New Taiwan dollar
Somoni
Baht
Turkish lira
[Europe]
Turkmenistan
United Arab
Emirates
Uzbekistan
Ashgabat
Abu Dhabi
Turkmen new
manat
UAE dirham
Tashkent
Uzbekistan som
Nicaragua
Panama
Trinidad and
Tobago
United States
European Countries
Name
Albania
Austria
Belarus
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Monaco
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Serbia
Slovakia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Ukraine
United
Kingdom
Vatican City
Name
Bahamas
Barbados
Bermuda
Canada
Cuba
Jamaica
Mexico
67
Capital
Tirana
Vienna
Minsk
Brussels
Sofia
Zagreb
Prague
Copenhagen
Helsinki
Paris
Berlin
Athens
Budapest
Reykjavík
Dublin
Rome
Riga
Vilnius
Luxembourg
Valletta
Monaco
Amsterdam
Oslo
Warsaw
Lisbon
Bucharest
Moscow
Belgrade
Bratislava
Madrid
Stockholm
Bern
Kiev
London
Currency
Lek
Euro
Belarusian ruble
Euro
Lev
Kuna
Czech koruna
Danish krone[a]
Euro
CFP franc
Euro
Euro
Forint
Icelandic króna
Euro
Euro
Euro
Euro
Euro
Euro
Euro
Euro
Norwegian krone
Złoty
Euro
Romanian leu
Russian ruble
Serbian dinar
Euro
Euro
Swedish krona
Swiss franc
Ukrainian hryvnia
Pound sterling
Vatican City
Euro
Name
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Ecuador
Paraguay
Peru
Uruguay
Venezuela
Name
Australia
Fiji
New Zealand
Managua
Panama City
Port of Spain
Washington,
D.C.
Nicaraguan cordoba
Panamanian balboa
Trinidad and Tobago
Dollar
United States Dollar
South American Countries
Capital
Currency
Buenos Aires
Peso
Sucre
Boliviano
Brasília
Real
Santiago
Peso
Bogotá
Peso
Quito
United States dollar
Asunción
Guaraní
Lima
Nuevo sol
Montevideo
Uruguayan peso
Caracas
Bolívar fuerte
Other Countries
Capital
Currency
Canberra
Australian dollar
Suva
Fijian dollar
Wellington
New Zealand Dollar
North American Countries
Capital
Currency
Nassau
Bahamian Dollar
Bridgetown
Barbadian Dollar
Hamilton
Bermudian Dollar
Ottawa
Canadian Dollar
Havana
Cuban peso
Kingston
Jamaican Dollar
Mexico City
Mexican peso

lic aao capsule -2016

Transcription

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