1) In which city, India's first hill station bicycle path was launched?
a. Darjeeling
b. Indore
c. Pune
d. Gangtok
2) On the occasion of Maha shivratri , PM Narendra Modi unveiled a 112-feet-tall Lord Shiva statue,that was made entirely of ………
a. Bronze
b. Steel
c. Gold
d. Silver
3) India’s first Gramin Khel Mahotsav will be conducted in which city from 25th to 31st March 2017.?
a. Hyderabad
b. Chennai
c. New delhi
d. Agra
4) Which country army has launched nationwide military operation named ‘Radd-ul-Fasaad’ to eliminate menace of terrorism and consolidate gains of its counter-terrorism operations?
a. Iran
b. Iraq
c. Russia
d. Pakistan
5) The ……editon BRICS Summit’s first Sherpas Meeting took place in Nanjing?
a. 9th
b. 10th
c. 8th
d. 7th
6) Government has announced to bring high-speed broadband connectivity to every village by which year?
a. 2018
b. 2019
c. 2020
d. 2021
7) Which series of Sovereign Gold Bonds in 2016-2017 has been issued by union finance ministry recently?
a. Series III
b. Series IV
c. Series V
d. Series VI
8) The state-owned Airport Authority of India (AAI) along with International Air Transport Association (IATA) launched, an e-billing solution for airport operators across the world. Name it?
a. SKYREV360
b. SKYREV260
c. SKYREV460
d. SKYREV560
9) Which country and India held detailed deliberations on the legal processes and procedures on Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance held in New Delhi recently?
a. USSR
b. USA
c. UK
d. UAE
10) The Union Cabinet has approved signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and which country for promotion and development of coop - eration in civil aviation security?
a. Australia
b. Norway
c. Cuba
d. Cambodia
11) The PSU bank that has bagged two IBA Banking Technology awards is ……?
a. SBI
b. Andhra bank
c. Karnataka bank
d. Kerala bank
12) Hassan Ali Khaire is the new PM of which country , appointed on 23rd Feb 2017?
a. Somalia
b. Saudi arabia
c. Doha
d. Cuba
13) The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has launched a mobile application for Goods and Services Tax. Taxpayers can readily access a host of GST information. Which of the following statements are true about it?
1. Migration to GST-Approach and guidelines for migration
2. Draft Law-Model GST Law, IGST Law and GST Compensation law
3. Draft Rules-Rules related to Registration, Returns, Payment, Refund and Invoice
4. Various resources on GST such a videos, articles etc
5. Related website links, FAQs, Help desk/email contact
a. Only 1,2,3 are true
b. Only 2,3,4 are true
c. Only 3,4,5 are true
d. All 1,2,3,4 and 5 are true
14) Sampark is a …………..?
a. Business Idea challenge
b. Industry academia interface event
c. Both of the above
d. None of the above
15) As cyber attacks are increasing, the government through its Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-in) on 21st Feb 2017 launched which among the following?
a. Cyber swachhtha kendra
b. Cyber forensic kendra
c. Cyber swatch kendra
d. None of the above
16) Telecom operator Bharti Airtel will acquire the business of which among the following company?
a. Vodafone
b. Telenor (India) Communications Private Limited
c. Telenor India
d. Both b & c
17) TATA Communications recently launched which iOT platform?
a. MOVE
b. PULL
c. PUSH
d. SPEED
18) Rate of retreat of Gangotri glacier has slowed down to how many metres since 2008 from the maximum of 35 metres recorded in 1974?
a. 11
b. 13
c. 14
d. 15
19) Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with which Bank for providing concessional finance to micro and small enterprises (MSEs)?
a. State bank of India
b. Vijaya bank
c. Axis bank
d. Yes bank
20) India’s first heliport, built by stateowned Pawan Hans will be set up at ?
a. Agra
b. Delhi
c. Hyderabad
d. Jaipur
21) Which Tata Steel's iron mine was felicitated with the Best Green Organ isation of the Year Award at the Global Green Future Leadership Awards in recognition of its environmental prot -
ection measures?
a. Katamati
b. Bokaro
c. Dhanbad
d. None
22) Shurhozelie Liezeitsu is the new Chief minister of which state in India?
a. Nagaland
b. Tripura
c. Mizoram
d. Meghalaya
23) The government on 22nd Feb 2017 approved a plan to double the capacity of solar parks and ultra-mega solar power projects (UMSPP) to how much MW from 20,000 mw?
a. 70,000
b. 40,000
c. 30,000
d. 35,000
24) The Impossibility Theorem was proposed by whom among the following, who died on 21st Feb 2017 in california?
a. John adems
b. John andrews
c. Kenneth J. Arrow
d.Kenneth K. James
25) Among the following, who is the largest G20 investor in India?
a. Britain
b. Japan
c. China
d. USA
26) On which day The International Mother language day was observed?
a. Feb 21
b. Feb 23
c. Feb 20
d. Feb 19
27) The South Asian Speakers Summit 2017 concluded on 20 February 2017 in which city?
a. Agra
b. Indore
c. Bhopal
d. Dispur
28) Identify the state that released digital road map?
a. AP
b. Telengana
c. Haryana
d. Punjab
29) Professor from Delhi University (DU) and his team discovered four new miniature species, and that the Frogman of India is …………?
a. SD Biju
b. SD Bilu
c. SD Biku
d. SD Bibbu
30) Government is developing which among the following, to promote cashless economy?
a. Online platform for regulating cashless payments
b. Mobile app for regulating online transactions
c. Digital matrix to evaluate states for cashless economy
d. All above
ANSWERS:
1. A 2. B 3.C 4.D 5.A 6.A 7.B 8.A 9.C
10.A 11.C 12.A 13.D 14.C 15.A 16.D 17.A 18.A 19.B 20.B
21.A 22.A 23.B 24.C 25.A 26.C 27.B 28.C 29.A 30.C
Showing posts with label CURRENT AFFAIRS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CURRENT AFFAIRS. Show all posts
Sunday, March 12, 2017
Linking of Bank Account with Aadhaar
Banks are committed to seed savings bank accounts with the account holder’s Aadhaar number, based on the account holder’s consent.
Aadhaar seeding will help accountholders to do fund transfer through the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) at Banking Correspondent points. Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) app also supports pay to Aadhaar number mode. Further, Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) can be made to eligible seeded accounts.
As per reports received from public sector banks, Regional Rural Banks and 13 private sector banks, there are 110.03 crore individual, operative savings bank accounts (including Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana accounts) with Aadhaar number seeded in 52.95 crore accounts.
The overreaching aim and objective of seeding is enabling delivery of basic financial services.
Aadhaar seeding will help accountholders to do fund transfer through the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) at Banking Correspondent points. Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) app also supports pay to Aadhaar number mode. Further, Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) can be made to eligible seeded accounts.
As per reports received from public sector banks, Regional Rural Banks and 13 private sector banks, there are 110.03 crore individual, operative savings bank accounts (including Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana accounts) with Aadhaar number seeded in 52.95 crore accounts.
The overreaching aim and objective of seeding is enabling delivery of basic financial services.
National Foundation for Corporate Governance (NFCG)
With the objective of fostering a culture of good governance, the National Foundation for Corporate Governance (NFCG) has accredited forty Seven premier Indian Institutions/Organizations as National Centers for Corporate Governance. These centers conduct seminars, workshops conferences, directors’ orientation programmes etc. for promoting good corporate governance practices and also carry out research work in this field. More than 250 events have been organized and 30 research works completed under the aegis of NFCG, besides publication of compendium on corporate sector and inclusive growth. The research report of the foundation, which include subject such as the role of independent directors, CSR, corporate governance in energy sector, reforms in banking sector etc. have also been hosted on its website for the benefit of the Stakeholders.
The objectives of the National Foundation for Corporate Governance (NFCG) set up in 2003, as per the trust deed, are given as under.
(a) To provide a platform to deliberate issues relating to good corporate governance as the key to sustainable wealth creation;
(b) To sensitize corporate leaders on the importance of good corporate governance, self- regulation and directorial responsibilities- statutory, social and environmental;
(c) To stimulate and to facilitate exchange of experiences and ideas between corporate leaders, policy makers, regulators, law enforcing agencies, non-government organizations and voluntary agencies with a view to developing a framework for corporate governance reforms in the context of liberalization and globalization;
(d) To provide research, training, practice, building, standard setting, advocacy, rating, monitoring, recognition and related support in the field of corporate governance;
(e) To provide financial or any other assistance directly or indirectly for activities which seek to promote corporate governance including research and training;
(f) To develop strategies that enhance value for all stakeholders and ensure long term benefits to the shareholders and the society at large;
(g) To establish and deepen links with organizations in various parts of the world which promote corporate governance for exchange of ideas and for collaborative actions, projects and programmes;
(h) To institute national awards and recognitions for excellence in corporate governance and develop a system of corporate governance rating;
(i) To collaborate and to support, directly or indirectly, the initiative of any individual, group, organization or institution in promoting corporate governance;
(j) To develop a code of best practices for corporate governance taking into consideration the international examples and to promote its voluntary adoption by the corporate bodies;
(k) To prepare, print and publish any papers, periodicals or newspapers, books or leaflets either on its own or in collaboration with other persons/ entities through print or other media and to contribute to any papers or periodicals to disseminate information and knowledge in the area of corporate governance;
(l) To facilitate, promote, commend and collaborate on the proposals from individuals, associations and organizations for funding by national, international and multi- lateral organizations as also industry- associations, regulators and governments;
(m) To provide advice, consultancy and technical and managerial support to the beneficiaries of the Trust’s programmes through a network of advisors drawn from the industry and institutions of excellence; and
(n) Other related objects.
BHIM app
The Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) app has been launched on the iOS platform after its successful launch on android platform. On iOS it is currently supporting over 35 banks
and is currently available in Hindi and English BHIM app on iOS also has a limit of Rs 10, 000 per transaction and Rs20, 000 in a day for transfers through the bank account.
and is currently available in Hindi and English BHIM app on iOS also has a limit of Rs 10, 000 per transaction and Rs20, 000 in a day for transfers through the bank account.
Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved 'Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan' (PMGDISHA) to make 6 crore rural households digitally literate.
PMGDISHA is expected to be one of the largest digital literacy programs in the world. Under the scheme, 25 lakh candidates will be trained in the FY 2016-17; 275 lakh in the FY 2017-18; and 300 lakh in the FY 2018-19. To ensure equitable geographical reach, each of the 250,000 Gram Panchayats would be expected to register an average of 200-300 candidates.
PMGDISHA is expected to be one of the largest digital literacy programs in the world. Under the scheme, 25 lakh candidates will be trained in the FY 2016-17; 275 lakh in the FY 2017-18; and 300 lakh in the FY 2018-19. To ensure equitable geographical reach, each of the 250,000 Gram Panchayats would be expected to register an average of 200-300 candidates.
Digital Payment of Salaries
The Lok Sabha has passed the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill, 2017 on 7th Feb 2017, which allows for digital payment of salaries or through cheque. The bill will now go to Rajya Sabha and following its passage in the upper House, the amendments will be notified.
The move will enable employers to pay wages of less than Rs.18,000 a month by cheque or digitally to bank accounts, besides in cash, by doing away with the requirement of employees' written consent for the same.
The move will enable employers to pay wages of less than Rs.18,000 a month by cheque or digitally to bank accounts, besides in cash, by doing away with the requirement of employees' written consent for the same.
TAMRA Portal
The Union Govt has launched TAMRA (Transparency, Auction Monitoring and Resource Augmentation) portal and Mobile Application on 10th February, 2017 with an objective to enhance transparency and accountability as a part of the Ease of Doing Business in the Mining sector.
National Testing Agency (NTA)
The Union Human Resource Development Ministry has announced to set up a National Testing Agency (NTA) department to conduct examinations for higher and secondary.
Note:
Initially, examinations like IIT, NIT and even university exams will be conducted by the NTA. An open web-based platform 'SWAYAM' will be launched by next month. The two thousand courses will be run for students across the country through SWAYAM.
Note:
Initially, examinations like IIT, NIT and even university exams will be conducted by the NTA. An open web-based platform 'SWAYAM' will be launched by next month. The two thousand courses will be run for students across the country through SWAYAM.
Friday, September 16, 2016
GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE QUESTIONS FOR ALL BANK EXAMS
1. Who has been appointed as new Chairman of Central Silkboard?
A) Anil Agarwal
B) Anand Mahindra
C) Achyuts Samanta
D) K.M. Hanumantarayappa
E) Rangarajan
2. Who was appointed as Managing Director of State Bank of India?
A) Dinesh Kumar Khara
B) Sandeep Kumar Khara
C) Dilip Sagvi
D) Ashok Soota
E) Laxmi Mittal
3. Who has been selected for the 23rd Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award 2016?
A) Singer Shubha Mudgal
B) C. Ajit Kumar
C) R Naveen
D) L. Samayasri
E) Priyarshini
4. The 2016 Kabaddi World Cup will be hosted by which country?
A) Nepal
B) Bhutan
C) Bangladesh
D) Pakistan
E) India
5. Which has announced a 0.05% reduction in its Marginal Cost of funds based Lending Rate (MCLR)?
A) Axis Bank
B) RBI
C) ICICI Bank
D) SBI
E) HSBC
6. World Bank has approved a ......... credit from the International Development Association (IDA) to support the Sri Lanka's economic reforms programme.
A) $10 million
B) $50 million
C) $100 million
D) $120 million
E) $80 million
7. ......... Bank tied up with a fintech start-up Fisdom for personal wealth management services.
A) Axis Bank
B) RBI
C) ICICI Bank
D) SBI
E) BOB
8. The main aim of SBI's certification program for officers who sanction loans to ...
A) Reduce NPA'S
B) Reach targets
C) Upgrade them
D) Increase the standards
E) None of these
9. 'Grassroots Innovation' book written by ......
A) Prof. Anil K. Gupta
B) Amitav Ghosh
C) Shashi Tharoor
D) Aravind Adiga
E) Vikram Seth
10. Nobel Laureate Ahmed Zewail has passed away recently. He belongs to which country?
A) Egypt
B) Spain
C) USA
D) China
E) India
11. Which payments company recently announced the partnership with IRCTC's food app?
A) Mobikwik
B) Paytm
C) Freecharge
D) Post payment
E) Quicker
12. ICICI Bank ties up with Apollo India Credit Opportunity Management LLC and AION Capital Management to form .........
A) Bank Accurance
B) Payment Bank
C) Joint Venture
D) NBFI
E) Asset Reconstruction Company
13. CBI has been made the nodal authority for banks to report high value frauds worth over ............ in public sector banks.
A) Rs.80 crore
B) Rs.50 crore
C) Rs.100 crore
D) Rs.55 crore
E) Rs.60 crore
14. IBM in partnership with ......... launched a global development hub called Garage for iOS apps
in Bengaluru.
A) APPLE
B) SAMSUNG
C) XIOMI
D) HTC
E) MICROMAX
15. Name the typhoon made its landfall near Dapeng Peninsula in China's Guangdong province?
A) Nida
B) Rina
C) Gert
D) Otto
E) Julia
16. German Engineering major Siemens Ltd. has received an order worth approximately Rs.217 crore for power project in which of the following country?
A) Pakistan
B) Myanmar
C) Nepal
D) Bangladesh
E) India
17. Which one of the following countries Cabinet approved a fresh economic stimulus package of worth more than $275 billions?
A) Canada
B) France
C) Norway
D) China
E) Japan
18. Which of the following country has assured India support for UNSC high seat?
A) Philippines
B) Vietnam
C) Malaysia
D) Indonesia
E) Thailand
19. Which state government has decided to recruit members of transgender community as warders in jails of the State?
A) Bihar
B) Kerala
C) Odisha
D) Maharashtra
E) Punjab
20. Central body approves .......... crore rupees for Ganga rejuvenation projects.
A) Rs.400 crore
B) Rs.425 crore
C) Rs.450 crore
D) Rs.475 crore
E) Rs.500 crore
21. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu recently lays foundation stone of broad-gage rail project in which state?
A) Mizoram
B) Nagaland
C) Haryana
D) Tripura
E) Meghalaya
22. Resolution for renaming of which high court passed recently by the state assembly?
A) Mumbai High Court
B) Kolkata High Court
C) Delhi High Court
D) Kerala High Court
E) Madras High Court
23. How many Jan Aushadhi Stores to be opened across India under Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Yojana?
A) 1500
B) 2500
C) 3500
D) 4500
E) 3000
24. Former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India Vinod Rai has stepped down from which private sector lender?
A) AXIS
B) HDFC
C) ICICI
D) YES
E) IDFC
25. Yuriko Koike elected as ........ first female governor.
A) Moscow
B) Tokyo
C) Beijing
D) Shangai
E) None
26. Which state become the first state to approve sewage & waste water policy?
A) Nagaland
B) Rajasthan
C) Andhrapradesh
D) Gujarath
E) Odisa
27. Amazon launches fulfilment centre for prime deliveries in which city of india?
A) Pune
B) New Delhi
C) Bangalore
D) Chennai
E) Mumbai
28. Which university to perform world's CRISPR-Cas9 first genetic editing trial on humans aiming to cure lung cancer?
A) Sichuan University
B) Stanford University
C) Harvard University
D) University of Cambridge
E) University of Bristol
29. Which program is launched by the Minister of Communications Manoj Sinha for Telecom and Postal Service users can now file complaints with the government directly?
A) Twitter Sewa
B) Facebook Sewa
C) Twitter Jana
D) Facebook Jana
E) None
30. Which country has successfully launched its first mobile telecom satellite "Tiantong- 01"?
A) France
B) China
C) South Korea
D) Japan
E) Germany
31. Centre to organise 'Make in India' conference in which of the following city?
A) Bhubaneswar
B) Mumbai
C) Thiruvanthapuram
D) Bangalore
E) Nagpur
32. SAARC Immigration Authorities meeting held in which of the following city?
A) New Delhi
B) Islamabad
C) Kathmandu
D) Kabul
E) Dhaka
33. The National Handloom Day is celebrated on which day in India?
A) August 7
B) August 8
C) August 5
D) August 6
E) August 11
34. Who won the STAR Sports-ProKabaddi League 2016?
A) Patna Pirates
B) Telugu Titans
C) Jaipur Pink Panthers
D) Dabang Delhi
E) Bangalore Bulls
35. Vishu a Hindu festival celebrated in which of the following states?
A) Andhra Pradesh
B) Telangana
C) Kerala
D) Assam
E) Manipur
Answers:
1-D, 2-A, 3-A, 4-E, 5-C, 6-C, 7-E, 8-A, 9-A, 10-A
11-A, 12-E, 13-B, 14-A, 15-A, 16-D, 17-E, 18-B, 19-C, 20-A
21-B, 22-E, 23-E, 24-E, 25-B, 26-B, 27-D, 28-A, 29-A, 30-B
31-A, 32-B, 33-A, 34-A, 35-C
A) Anil Agarwal
B) Anand Mahindra
C) Achyuts Samanta
D) K.M. Hanumantarayappa
E) Rangarajan
2. Who was appointed as Managing Director of State Bank of India?
A) Dinesh Kumar Khara
B) Sandeep Kumar Khara
C) Dilip Sagvi
D) Ashok Soota
E) Laxmi Mittal
3. Who has been selected for the 23rd Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award 2016?
A) Singer Shubha Mudgal
B) C. Ajit Kumar
C) R Naveen
D) L. Samayasri
E) Priyarshini
4. The 2016 Kabaddi World Cup will be hosted by which country?
A) Nepal
B) Bhutan
C) Bangladesh
D) Pakistan
E) India
5. Which has announced a 0.05% reduction in its Marginal Cost of funds based Lending Rate (MCLR)?
A) Axis Bank
B) RBI
C) ICICI Bank
D) SBI
E) HSBC
6. World Bank has approved a ......... credit from the International Development Association (IDA) to support the Sri Lanka's economic reforms programme.
A) $10 million
B) $50 million
C) $100 million
D) $120 million
E) $80 million
7. ......... Bank tied up with a fintech start-up Fisdom for personal wealth management services.
A) Axis Bank
B) RBI
C) ICICI Bank
D) SBI
E) BOB
8. The main aim of SBI's certification program for officers who sanction loans to ...
A) Reduce NPA'S
B) Reach targets
C) Upgrade them
D) Increase the standards
E) None of these
9. 'Grassroots Innovation' book written by ......
A) Prof. Anil K. Gupta
B) Amitav Ghosh
C) Shashi Tharoor
D) Aravind Adiga
E) Vikram Seth
10. Nobel Laureate Ahmed Zewail has passed away recently. He belongs to which country?
A) Egypt
B) Spain
C) USA
D) China
E) India
11. Which payments company recently announced the partnership with IRCTC's food app?
A) Mobikwik
B) Paytm
C) Freecharge
D) Post payment
E) Quicker
12. ICICI Bank ties up with Apollo India Credit Opportunity Management LLC and AION Capital Management to form .........
A) Bank Accurance
B) Payment Bank
C) Joint Venture
D) NBFI
E) Asset Reconstruction Company
13. CBI has been made the nodal authority for banks to report high value frauds worth over ............ in public sector banks.
A) Rs.80 crore
B) Rs.50 crore
C) Rs.100 crore
D) Rs.55 crore
E) Rs.60 crore
14. IBM in partnership with ......... launched a global development hub called Garage for iOS apps
in Bengaluru.
A) APPLE
B) SAMSUNG
C) XIOMI
D) HTC
E) MICROMAX
15. Name the typhoon made its landfall near Dapeng Peninsula in China's Guangdong province?
A) Nida
B) Rina
C) Gert
D) Otto
E) Julia
16. German Engineering major Siemens Ltd. has received an order worth approximately Rs.217 crore for power project in which of the following country?
A) Pakistan
B) Myanmar
C) Nepal
D) Bangladesh
E) India
17. Which one of the following countries Cabinet approved a fresh economic stimulus package of worth more than $275 billions?
A) Canada
B) France
C) Norway
D) China
E) Japan
18. Which of the following country has assured India support for UNSC high seat?
A) Philippines
B) Vietnam
C) Malaysia
D) Indonesia
E) Thailand
19. Which state government has decided to recruit members of transgender community as warders in jails of the State?
A) Bihar
B) Kerala
C) Odisha
D) Maharashtra
E) Punjab
20. Central body approves .......... crore rupees for Ganga rejuvenation projects.
A) Rs.400 crore
B) Rs.425 crore
C) Rs.450 crore
D) Rs.475 crore
E) Rs.500 crore
21. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu recently lays foundation stone of broad-gage rail project in which state?
A) Mizoram
B) Nagaland
C) Haryana
D) Tripura
E) Meghalaya
22. Resolution for renaming of which high court passed recently by the state assembly?
A) Mumbai High Court
B) Kolkata High Court
C) Delhi High Court
D) Kerala High Court
E) Madras High Court
23. How many Jan Aushadhi Stores to be opened across India under Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Yojana?
A) 1500
B) 2500
C) 3500
D) 4500
E) 3000
24. Former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India Vinod Rai has stepped down from which private sector lender?
A) AXIS
B) HDFC
C) ICICI
D) YES
E) IDFC
25. Yuriko Koike elected as ........ first female governor.
A) Moscow
B) Tokyo
C) Beijing
D) Shangai
E) None
26. Which state become the first state to approve sewage & waste water policy?
A) Nagaland
B) Rajasthan
C) Andhrapradesh
D) Gujarath
E) Odisa
27. Amazon launches fulfilment centre for prime deliveries in which city of india?
A) Pune
B) New Delhi
C) Bangalore
D) Chennai
E) Mumbai
28. Which university to perform world's CRISPR-Cas9 first genetic editing trial on humans aiming to cure lung cancer?
A) Sichuan University
B) Stanford University
C) Harvard University
D) University of Cambridge
E) University of Bristol
29. Which program is launched by the Minister of Communications Manoj Sinha for Telecom and Postal Service users can now file complaints with the government directly?
A) Twitter Sewa
B) Facebook Sewa
C) Twitter Jana
D) Facebook Jana
E) None
30. Which country has successfully launched its first mobile telecom satellite "Tiantong- 01"?
A) France
B) China
C) South Korea
D) Japan
E) Germany
31. Centre to organise 'Make in India' conference in which of the following city?
A) Bhubaneswar
B) Mumbai
C) Thiruvanthapuram
D) Bangalore
E) Nagpur
32. SAARC Immigration Authorities meeting held in which of the following city?
A) New Delhi
B) Islamabad
C) Kathmandu
D) Kabul
E) Dhaka
33. The National Handloom Day is celebrated on which day in India?
A) August 7
B) August 8
C) August 5
D) August 6
E) August 11
34. Who won the STAR Sports-ProKabaddi League 2016?
A) Patna Pirates
B) Telugu Titans
C) Jaipur Pink Panthers
D) Dabang Delhi
E) Bangalore Bulls
35. Vishu a Hindu festival celebrated in which of the following states?
A) Andhra Pradesh
B) Telangana
C) Kerala
D) Assam
E) Manipur
Answers:
1-D, 2-A, 3-A, 4-E, 5-C, 6-C, 7-E, 8-A, 9-A, 10-A
11-A, 12-E, 13-B, 14-A, 15-A, 16-D, 17-E, 18-B, 19-C, 20-A
21-B, 22-E, 23-E, 24-E, 25-B, 26-B, 27-D, 28-A, 29-A, 30-B
31-A, 32-B, 33-A, 34-A, 35-C
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act - The Journey of a Decade
The Mandate of the Act and Achievements
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) completes ten years of implementation on 2nd February 2016. The achievements of a decade are a cause of national pride and celebration. Since the start of the programme, the expenditure on the programme has amounted to Rs. 3,13,844.55 crore and out of this 71% has been spent on wage payments to workers.
Of the workers, the percentage of Scheduled Caste workers has consistently been about 20% and Scheduled Tribe workers has been about 17%. A total of 1,980.01 crore persondays have been generated, out of which the percentage worked by women has steadily increased much above the statutory minimum of 33%.
Sustainable assets have been created linked to conservation of natural resources and overall development of Gram Panchayats. More than 65% of the works taken up under the programme are linked to agriculture and allied activities.
Revival of the Programme
The past year, 2015-16, has seen a revival of the programme. The personday generation is the highest in the second quarter (45.88 crore) and third quarter (46.10 crore) than it has been in the last five years. The national personday generation to date at 146 crore is well above what this figure was at this time last year.
44% of all wage payments are being made on time. More than 64% of total expenditure is on agriculture and allied activities, the highest in three years. 57% of all workers are women, well above the statutory requirement of 33% and the highest in three years. 23% of all persondays are being done by SC workers, and 18% by ST workers, the highest in three years.
This revival has been achieved due to a slew of reforms undertaken by the Ministry of Rural Development. Most important of these has been the timely release of funds to states to provide work on demand. An electronic fund management system has been successfully instituted which allows for real time and transparent release of funds to implementing agencies and beneficiaries. There has been consistent coordination between banks and post offices and constant monitoring of pendency of payments has led to a reduction in wage delays.
The Ministry has reacted swiftly to the distress situation of droughts in nine states by declaring an additional 50 days of employment in the drought affected areas.
Way Forward
The focus for the upcoming years will be on simplification and strengthening of procedures for the implementation of the MGNREGA as an employment guarantee. A Master Circular is being issued today which consolidates all key instructions from the Central Government on the implementation of the Act. Beyond this, states are encouraged to innovate with flexibility.
The convergent planning exercise currently underway in 2569 backward blocks in the country will be consolidated in the State Rural Development Plan (SRDP) which will be the basis of implementation and monitoring for the coming year.
Concurrent social audits and community monitoring will be undertaken. There will be a renewed focus on sustainable individual assets to benefit the poor and vulnerable households with the following targets; 5 Lakh farm ponds and 10 Lakh Vermi and NADEP compost pits in the FY 2016-17. There will be a continued focus on construction of Anganwadi Buildings and individual household latrines.
The Ministry will focus on imparting skills to workers. It will aim to train and place 10,000 Barefoot Technicians from worker households and through Project LIFE, skill and train workers for wages, for self-employment and livelihood upgradation.
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
PADMA AWARDS 2016
Padma Vibhushan Awardees 2016
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 and 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 and Engineering (Karnataka)
9. Shri Avinash Dixit (Foreigner) – Literature and Education (USA)
10. Late Shri Dhiru Bhai Ambani (Posthumous) – Trade and Industry (Maharashtra)
Padma Bhushan Awardees 2016
11. Shri Anupam Kher – Art-Cinema (Maharashtra)
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. Dr. Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad – Literature and Education (Andhra Pradesh)
17. Prof. N. S. Ramanuja Tatacharya – Literature and Education (Maharashtra )
18. Dr. Barjinder Singh Hamdard – Literature and Education - Journalism (Punjab)
19. Prof. D. Nageshwar Reddy – Medicine-Gastroenterology (Telangana)
20. Swami Tejomayananda – Other-Spiritualism (Maharashtra)
21. Shri Hafeez Contractor – Others-Architecture (Maharashtra)
22. Shri Ravindra Chandra Bhargava – Public Affairs (Uttar Pradesh)
23. Dr.Venkata Rama Rao Alla – Science and Engineering (Andhra Pradesh)
24. Ms. Saina Nehwal – Sports-Badminton (Telangana)
25. Ms. Sania Mirza – Sports-Tennis (Telangana)
26. Ms. Indu Jain – Trade and Industry (Delhi)
27. Late Swami Dayanand Sarawasati (Posthumous) – Others-Spiritualism (Uttarakhand)
28. Shri Robert Blackwill (Foreigner) – Public Affairs (USA)
29. Shri Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry (NRI/PIO) – Trade and Industry (Ireland)
Padma Shri Awardees 2016
30. Smt. Prathibha Prahlad – Art- Classical Dance (Delhi)
31. Shri Bhikhudan Gadhvi – Art- Folk Music (Gujarat)
32. Shri Sribhas Chandra Supakar – Art- Textile Designing (Uttar Pradesh)
33. Shri Ajay Devgn – Art-Cinema (Maharashtra)
34. Ms. Priyanka Chopra – Art-Cinema (Maharashtra)
35. Pt. Tulsidas Borkar – Art-Classical Music (Goa)
36. Dr. Soma Ghosh – Art-Classical Vocal (Uttar Pradesh)
37. Shri Nila Madhab Panda – Art-Film Direction and Production (Delhi)
38. Shri S.S. Rajamouli – Art-Film Direction and Production (Karnataka)
39. Shri Madhur Bhandarkar – Art-Film Direction and Production (Maharashtra)
40. Prof. M. Venkatesh Kumar – Art-Folk Artist (Karnataka)
41. Ms. Gulabi Sapera – Art-Folk Dance (Rajasthan)
42. Smt. Mamta Chandrakar – Art-Folk Music (Chhattisgarh)
43. Ms. Malini Awasthi – Art-Folk Music (Uttar Pradesh)
44. Shri Jai Prakash Lekhiwal – Art-Miniature Painting (Delhi)
45. Shri K. Laxma Goud – Art-Painting (Telangana)
46. Shri Bhalchandra Dattatray Mondhe – Art-Photography (Madhya Pradesh)
47. Shri Naresh Chander Lal – Art-Theatre and Cinema (Andaman and Nicobar)
48. Shri Dhirendra Nath Bezbaruah – Literature and Education (Assam)
49. Shri Prahlad Chandra Tasa – Literature and Education (Assam)
50. Dr.Ravindra Nagar – Literature and Education (Delhi)
51. Shri Dahyabhai Shastri – Literature and Education (Gujarat)
52. Dr.Santeshivara Bhyrappa – Literature and Education (Karnataka)
53. Shri Haldar Nag – Literature and Education (Odisha)
54. Shri Kameshwaram Brahma – Literature and Education - Journalism (Assam)
55. Prof. Pushpesh Pant – Literature and Education Journalism (Delhi)
56. Shri Jawaharlal Kaul – Literature and Education Journalism (Jammu and Kashmir)
57. Shri Ashok Malik – Literature andEducation (Delhi)
58. Dr.Mannam Gopi Chand – Medicine-Cardio Thoracic Surgery (Telangana)
59. Prof. Ravi Kant – Medicine-Surgery (Uttar Pradesh)
60. Prof. Ram Harsh Singh – Medicine- Ayurveda (Uttar Pradesh)
61. Prof. Shiv Narain Kureel – Medicine- Paediatric Surgery (Uttar Pradesh)
62. Dr.Sabya Sachi Sarkar – Medicine –Radiology (Uttar Pradesh)
63. Dr. Alla Gopala Krishna Gokhale – Medicine-Cardiac Surgery (Andhra Pradesh)
64. Prof. T.K. Lahiri – Medicine-Cardio Thoracic Surgery (Uttar Pradesh)
65. Dr. Praveen Chandra – Medicine-Cardiology (Delhi)
66. Prof. (Dr) Daljeet Singh Gambhir – Medicine-Cardiology (Uttar Pradesh)
67. Dr.Chandrasekar Shesadri Thoguluva – Medicine Gastroenterology (Tamil Nadu)
68. Dr. (Mrs.) Anil Kumari Malhotra – Medicine-Homeopathy (Delhi)
69. Prof. M.V. Padma Srivastava – Medicine-Neurology (Delhi)
70. Dr. Sudhir V. Shah – Medicine-Neurology (Gujarat)
71. Dr. M. M. Joshi – Medicine-Ophthalmology (Karnataka)
72. Prof. (Dr) John Ebnezar – Medicine-Orthopaedic Surgery (Karnataka)
73. Dr. Nayudamma Yarlagadda – Medicine-Paediatric Surgery (Andhra Pradesh)
74. Shri Simon Oraon – Other Environment Conservation (Jharkhand)
75. Shri Imitiaz Qureshi – Other-Culinary (Delhi)
76. Shri Piyush Pandey – Others-Advertising and Communication (Maharashtra)
77. Shri Subhash Palekar – Others-Farming (Maharashtra)
78. Shri Ravinder Kumar Sinha – Others-Wildlife Conservation (Bihar)
79. Dr. H.R. Nagendra – Others-Yoga (Karnataka)
80. Shri M. C. Mehta – Public Affairs (Delhi)
81. Shri M. N. Krishna Mani – Public Affairs (Delhi)
82. Shri Ujjwal Nikam – Public Affairs (Maharashtra)
83. Shri Tokheho Sema – Public Affairs (Nagaland)
84. Dr. Satish Kumar – Science and Engineering (Delhi)
85. Dr.Mylswamy Annadurai – Science and Engineering (Karnataka)
86. Prof. Dipankar Chatterji – Science and Engineering (Karnataka)
87. Prof.(Dr.) Ganapati Dadasaheb Yadav – Science and Engineering (Maharashtra)
88. Smt. (Prof.) Veena Tandon – Science and Engineering (Meghalaya)
89. Shri Onkar Nath Srivastava – Science and Engineering Uttar Pradesh
90. Ms. Sunita Krishnan – Social Work (Andhra Pradesh)
91. Shri Ajoy Kumar Dutta – Social Work (Assam)
92. Shri M. Pandit Dasa – Social Work (Karnataka)
93. Shri P. P. Gopinathan Nair – Social Work (Kerala)
94. Smt. Madeleine Herman de Blic – Social Work (Puducherry)
95. Shri Srinivasan Damal Kandalai – Social work (Tamil Nadu)
96. Shri Sudhakar Olwe – Social Work (Maharashtra)
97. Dr. T.V. Narayana – Social Work (Telangana)
98. Shri Arunachalam Murugantham – Social Work (Tamil Nadu)
99. Ms. Deepika Kumari – Sports-Archery (Jharkhand)
100. Shri Sushil Doshi – Sports-commentary (Madhya Pradesh)
101. Shri Mahesh Sharma – Trade and Industry (Delhi)
102. Shri Saurabh Srivastava – Trade and Industry (Delhi)
103. Sh Dilip Sanghvi – Trade and Industry (Maharashtra)
104. Dr. Keki Hormusji Gharda – Trade and Industry (Maharashtra)
105. Late Shri Prakash Chand Surana (Posthumous) – Art -Classical Music (Rajasthan)
106. Late Shri Saeed Jaffrey (NRI/PIO/Posthumous) – Art-Cinema (UK)
107. Shri Michael Postel (Foreigner) – Art-Archaeology (France)
108. Shri Salman Amin Sal Khan (NRI/PIO) – Literature and Education (USA)
109. Smt. Hui Lan Zhang (Foreigner) – Others-Yoga (China)
110. Shri Predrag K. Nikic (Foreigner) Others-Yoga (Serbia)
111. Dr.Sundar Aditya Menon (NRI/PIO) Social Work (UAE)
112. Shri Ajaypal Singh Banga (NRI/PIO) Trade and Industry (USA)
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 and 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 and Engineering (Karnataka)
9. Shri Avinash Dixit (Foreigner) – Literature and Education (USA)
10. Late Shri Dhiru Bhai Ambani (Posthumous) – Trade and Industry (Maharashtra)
Padma Bhushan Awardees 2016
11. Shri Anupam Kher – Art-Cinema (Maharashtra)
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. Dr. Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad – Literature and Education (Andhra Pradesh)
17. Prof. N. S. Ramanuja Tatacharya – Literature and Education (Maharashtra )
18. Dr. Barjinder Singh Hamdard – Literature and Education - Journalism (Punjab)
19. Prof. D. Nageshwar Reddy – Medicine-Gastroenterology (Telangana)
20. Swami Tejomayananda – Other-Spiritualism (Maharashtra)
21. Shri Hafeez Contractor – Others-Architecture (Maharashtra)
22. Shri Ravindra Chandra Bhargava – Public Affairs (Uttar Pradesh)
23. Dr.Venkata Rama Rao Alla – Science and Engineering (Andhra Pradesh)
24. Ms. Saina Nehwal – Sports-Badminton (Telangana)
25. Ms. Sania Mirza – Sports-Tennis (Telangana)
26. Ms. Indu Jain – Trade and Industry (Delhi)
27. Late Swami Dayanand Sarawasati (Posthumous) – Others-Spiritualism (Uttarakhand)
28. Shri Robert Blackwill (Foreigner) – Public Affairs (USA)
29. Shri Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry (NRI/PIO) – Trade and Industry (Ireland)
Padma Shri Awardees 2016
30. Smt. Prathibha Prahlad – Art- Classical Dance (Delhi)
31. Shri Bhikhudan Gadhvi – Art- Folk Music (Gujarat)
32. Shri Sribhas Chandra Supakar – Art- Textile Designing (Uttar Pradesh)
33. Shri Ajay Devgn – Art-Cinema (Maharashtra)
34. Ms. Priyanka Chopra – Art-Cinema (Maharashtra)
35. Pt. Tulsidas Borkar – Art-Classical Music (Goa)
36. Dr. Soma Ghosh – Art-Classical Vocal (Uttar Pradesh)
37. Shri Nila Madhab Panda – Art-Film Direction and Production (Delhi)
38. Shri S.S. Rajamouli – Art-Film Direction and Production (Karnataka)
39. Shri Madhur Bhandarkar – Art-Film Direction and Production (Maharashtra)
40. Prof. M. Venkatesh Kumar – Art-Folk Artist (Karnataka)
41. Ms. Gulabi Sapera – Art-Folk Dance (Rajasthan)
42. Smt. Mamta Chandrakar – Art-Folk Music (Chhattisgarh)
43. Ms. Malini Awasthi – Art-Folk Music (Uttar Pradesh)
44. Shri Jai Prakash Lekhiwal – Art-Miniature Painting (Delhi)
45. Shri K. Laxma Goud – Art-Painting (Telangana)
46. Shri Bhalchandra Dattatray Mondhe – Art-Photography (Madhya Pradesh)
47. Shri Naresh Chander Lal – Art-Theatre and Cinema (Andaman and Nicobar)
48. Shri Dhirendra Nath Bezbaruah – Literature and Education (Assam)
49. Shri Prahlad Chandra Tasa – Literature and Education (Assam)
50. Dr.Ravindra Nagar – Literature and Education (Delhi)
51. Shri Dahyabhai Shastri – Literature and Education (Gujarat)
52. Dr.Santeshivara Bhyrappa – Literature and Education (Karnataka)
53. Shri Haldar Nag – Literature and Education (Odisha)
54. Shri Kameshwaram Brahma – Literature and Education - Journalism (Assam)
55. Prof. Pushpesh Pant – Literature and Education Journalism (Delhi)
56. Shri Jawaharlal Kaul – Literature and Education Journalism (Jammu and Kashmir)
57. Shri Ashok Malik – Literature andEducation (Delhi)
58. Dr.Mannam Gopi Chand – Medicine-Cardio Thoracic Surgery (Telangana)
59. Prof. Ravi Kant – Medicine-Surgery (Uttar Pradesh)
60. Prof. Ram Harsh Singh – Medicine- Ayurveda (Uttar Pradesh)
61. Prof. Shiv Narain Kureel – Medicine- Paediatric Surgery (Uttar Pradesh)
62. Dr.Sabya Sachi Sarkar – Medicine –Radiology (Uttar Pradesh)
63. Dr. Alla Gopala Krishna Gokhale – Medicine-Cardiac Surgery (Andhra Pradesh)
64. Prof. T.K. Lahiri – Medicine-Cardio Thoracic Surgery (Uttar Pradesh)
65. Dr. Praveen Chandra – Medicine-Cardiology (Delhi)
66. Prof. (Dr) Daljeet Singh Gambhir – Medicine-Cardiology (Uttar Pradesh)
67. Dr.Chandrasekar Shesadri Thoguluva – Medicine Gastroenterology (Tamil Nadu)
68. Dr. (Mrs.) Anil Kumari Malhotra – Medicine-Homeopathy (Delhi)
69. Prof. M.V. Padma Srivastava – Medicine-Neurology (Delhi)
70. Dr. Sudhir V. Shah – Medicine-Neurology (Gujarat)
71. Dr. M. M. Joshi – Medicine-Ophthalmology (Karnataka)
72. Prof. (Dr) John Ebnezar – Medicine-Orthopaedic Surgery (Karnataka)
73. Dr. Nayudamma Yarlagadda – Medicine-Paediatric Surgery (Andhra Pradesh)
74. Shri Simon Oraon – Other Environment Conservation (Jharkhand)
75. Shri Imitiaz Qureshi – Other-Culinary (Delhi)
76. Shri Piyush Pandey – Others-Advertising and Communication (Maharashtra)
77. Shri Subhash Palekar – Others-Farming (Maharashtra)
78. Shri Ravinder Kumar Sinha – Others-Wildlife Conservation (Bihar)
79. Dr. H.R. Nagendra – Others-Yoga (Karnataka)
80. Shri M. C. Mehta – Public Affairs (Delhi)
81. Shri M. N. Krishna Mani – Public Affairs (Delhi)
82. Shri Ujjwal Nikam – Public Affairs (Maharashtra)
83. Shri Tokheho Sema – Public Affairs (Nagaland)
84. Dr. Satish Kumar – Science and Engineering (Delhi)
85. Dr.Mylswamy Annadurai – Science and Engineering (Karnataka)
86. Prof. Dipankar Chatterji – Science and Engineering (Karnataka)
87. Prof.(Dr.) Ganapati Dadasaheb Yadav – Science and Engineering (Maharashtra)
88. Smt. (Prof.) Veena Tandon – Science and Engineering (Meghalaya)
89. Shri Onkar Nath Srivastava – Science and Engineering Uttar Pradesh
90. Ms. Sunita Krishnan – Social Work (Andhra Pradesh)
91. Shri Ajoy Kumar Dutta – Social Work (Assam)
92. Shri M. Pandit Dasa – Social Work (Karnataka)
93. Shri P. P. Gopinathan Nair – Social Work (Kerala)
94. Smt. Madeleine Herman de Blic – Social Work (Puducherry)
95. Shri Srinivasan Damal Kandalai – Social work (Tamil Nadu)
96. Shri Sudhakar Olwe – Social Work (Maharashtra)
97. Dr. T.V. Narayana – Social Work (Telangana)
98. Shri Arunachalam Murugantham – Social Work (Tamil Nadu)
99. Ms. Deepika Kumari – Sports-Archery (Jharkhand)
100. Shri Sushil Doshi – Sports-commentary (Madhya Pradesh)
101. Shri Mahesh Sharma – Trade and Industry (Delhi)
102. Shri Saurabh Srivastava – Trade and Industry (Delhi)
103. Sh Dilip Sanghvi – Trade and Industry (Maharashtra)
104. Dr. Keki Hormusji Gharda – Trade and Industry (Maharashtra)
105. Late Shri Prakash Chand Surana (Posthumous) – Art -Classical Music (Rajasthan)
106. Late Shri Saeed Jaffrey (NRI/PIO/Posthumous) – Art-Cinema (UK)
107. Shri Michael Postel (Foreigner) – Art-Archaeology (France)
108. Shri Salman Amin Sal Khan (NRI/PIO) – Literature and Education (USA)
109. Smt. Hui Lan Zhang (Foreigner) – Others-Yoga (China)
110. Shri Predrag K. Nikic (Foreigner) Others-Yoga (Serbia)
111. Dr.Sundar Aditya Menon (NRI/PIO) Social Work (UAE)
112. Shri Ajaypal Singh Banga (NRI/PIO) Trade and Industry (USA)
Gallantry awards 2016
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:
Subedar Mahendra Singh of 9 PARA (Special Force).
Sepoy Jagdish Chand (Posthumous) of 546 DSC Platoon.
Shaurya Chakra:
Colonel Santosh Mahadik (Posthumous) of 41 Rashtriya Rifle (PARA).
Major Praphul Kumar Bhardwaj of 12 PARA (Special Force).
Major Sandip Yadav of 55 Rashtriya Rifle (Armed).
Major Anurag Kumar of 9 PARA (Special Force).
Lieutenant Harjinder Singh of 3 KUMAON.
Naik Satish Kumar (Posthumous) of 21 Rashtriya Rifle (Guards).
Naik Kheem Singh Mehra of 21 KUMAON.
Sepoy Dharma Ram (Posthumous) of 1 Rashtriya Rifle (MAHAR).
Kirti Chakra is the second highest peace time gallantry award i.e. awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the field of battle. Shaurya Chakra is third highest peace time gallantry award generally awarded for counterinsurgency operations and actions against the enemy during peace-time.
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:
Subedar Mahendra Singh of 9 PARA (Special Force).
Sepoy Jagdish Chand (Posthumous) of 546 DSC Platoon.
Shaurya Chakra:
Colonel Santosh Mahadik (Posthumous) of 41 Rashtriya Rifle (PARA).
Major Praphul Kumar Bhardwaj of 12 PARA (Special Force).
Major Sandip Yadav of 55 Rashtriya Rifle (Armed).
Major Anurag Kumar of 9 PARA (Special Force).
Lieutenant Harjinder Singh of 3 KUMAON.
Naik Satish Kumar (Posthumous) of 21 Rashtriya Rifle (Guards).
Naik Kheem Singh Mehra of 21 KUMAON.
Sepoy Dharma Ram (Posthumous) of 1 Rashtriya Rifle (MAHAR).
Kirti Chakra is the second highest peace time gallantry award i.e. awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the field of battle. Shaurya Chakra is third highest peace time gallantry award generally awarded for counterinsurgency operations and actions against the enemy during peace-time.
Sunday, January 24, 2016
4th India Africa Hydrocarbons Conference begins in New Delhi
The fourth edition of India Africa Hydrocarbons Conference (IAHC) has begun on January 21, 2016 in New Delhi. The two day conference aims at enhancing greater cooperation between India and African continent in the field of Hydrocarbons. It also seeks to explore opportunities, bridge boundaries and boost bilateral trade between India and Africa.
4th India Africa Hydrocarbons Conference (IAHC):
India-Africa Relations for Energy Security:
4th India Africa Hydrocarbons Conference (IAHC):
- 22 African nations have participated of which 9 are represented by their Ministers.
- These 9 countries are Morocco, Algeria, Liberia, Mauritius, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea and Senegal.
- Provide a global forum and common platform to African Countries to share their vision and chart out the road map for extended energy cooperation.
- Bring together African leaders in and also CEOs from India and abroad to exchange expert insights and develop strategies for enhancing energy cooperation.
India-Africa Relations for Energy Security:
- India and African nations have common colonial past and enjoyed political and cultural ties. However, energy security stands as one of the major focus area of the bilateral ties.
- Presently, India is importing close to 75 per cent of its crude oil and is seeking to diversifying import basket to meet its energy requirements.
- Oil imports from Africa play a significant role in meeting the demands of India. In June 2015, Nigeria had stood as the second largest supplier of oil to India.
- Though Africa has huge hydrocarbon resources, it lacks capital, technology and ability, experience and manpower to exploit these resources for future growth.
- This can serve as the catalyst to encourage proper cooperation in the hydrocarbon energy sector as India can provide investment capital for development needs of African countries.
India submits first Biennial Update Report to UNFCCC
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. The BUR has been submitted as per the provisions of the UNFCCC Convention which is obligatory on countries to periodically provide national information.
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).
6 GHGs in Inventory: Carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), Perfluorocarbons (PFCs), Nitrous Oxide (N2O), Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) and Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
Five categories: It covers agriculture, waste and Land-use, Land-use, Change and Forestry (LULUCF), energy, industrial processes and product use (IPPU),.
India’s emissions: India has emitted around 2,137 million tonnes (mt) of CO2 equivalent GHGs in 2010. About 12% of emissions were offset by carbon sink action of croplands and forests. Thus, total of 1,884.31 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent GHGs were emitted. In 2010, India’s per capita GHG emission was less than one- third of the world’s per capita emissions. It is far below many developed and developing countries.
Category wise Emissions: Energy sector was the prime contributor to emissions with 71%. While, agriculture contributed 18 % and IPPU 8% to the national GHG inventory.
Background
In the conference of Parties (COP)-16 of UNFCCC held in Cancun (Mexico) in 2010 it was decided that the developing countries will submit updates in the form of BUR. The scope of a BUR is to provide an update to the latest National Communication submitted by the country to the UNFCCC. Accordingly, India’s first BUR is an update to the Second National Communication which was submitted in 2012. India had submitted its first national communication in 2004.
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).
6 GHGs in Inventory: Carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), Perfluorocarbons (PFCs), Nitrous Oxide (N2O), Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) and Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
Five categories: It covers agriculture, waste and Land-use, Land-use, Change and Forestry (LULUCF), energy, industrial processes and product use (IPPU),.
India’s emissions: India has emitted around 2,137 million tonnes (mt) of CO2 equivalent GHGs in 2010. About 12% of emissions were offset by carbon sink action of croplands and forests. Thus, total of 1,884.31 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent GHGs were emitted. In 2010, India’s per capita GHG emission was less than one- third of the world’s per capita emissions. It is far below many developed and developing countries.
Category wise Emissions: Energy sector was the prime contributor to emissions with 71%. While, agriculture contributed 18 % and IPPU 8% to the national GHG inventory.
Background
In the conference of Parties (COP)-16 of UNFCCC held in Cancun (Mexico) in 2010 it was decided that the developing countries will submit updates in the form of BUR. The scope of a BUR is to provide an update to the latest National Communication submitted by the country to the UNFCCC. Accordingly, India’s first BUR is an update to the Second National Communication which was submitted in 2012. India had submitted its first national communication in 2004.
Thursday, January 21, 2016
India ranks 89th in Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2015-16
India has ranked 89th globally in Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) 2015-16 list of 106 assessed countries in terms of talent competitiveness of its human capital. This GTCI list was compiled by INSEAD business school in partnership with Adecco and Human Capital Leadership Institute of Singapore (HCLI). This index measures a nation’s competitiveness based on the quality of talent it can produce, attract and retain.
Report highlights:
In this edition of list top 20 scoring countries are all high-income countries. The top rankings were dominated by European countries.
Top 10 in GTCI list:
Switzerland (1st), Singapore (2nd), Luxembourg (3rd), United States (4th), Denmark (5th),Sweden (6th),United Kingdom (7th), Norway (8th), Canada (9th) and Finland (10th).
Bottom 5 countries:
Mali (105th), Tanzania (106th), Ethiopia (107th), Burkina Faso (108th) and Madagascar (109th).
India’s scenario:
It has slipped by 11 positions in this edition of list compared to previous rank of 78 in 2014-15 edition of list. Lower position indicates acute shortage of skilled workforce. It also ranks at last among BRICS members.
Report highlights:
In this edition of list top 20 scoring countries are all high-income countries. The top rankings were dominated by European countries.
Top 10 in GTCI list:
Switzerland (1st), Singapore (2nd), Luxembourg (3rd), United States (4th), Denmark (5th),Sweden (6th),United Kingdom (7th), Norway (8th), Canada (9th) and Finland (10th).
Bottom 5 countries:
Mali (105th), Tanzania (106th), Ethiopia (107th), Burkina Faso (108th) and Madagascar (109th).
India’s scenario:
It has slipped by 11 positions in this edition of list compared to previous rank of 78 in 2014-15 edition of list. Lower position indicates acute shortage of skilled workforce. It also ranks at last among BRICS members.
PSLV-C31 Successfully Launches India's Fifth Navigation Satellite IRNSS-1E
ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C31, successfully launched the 1425 kg IRNSS-1E, the fifth satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) on January 20, 2016 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota. This is the thirty second consecutively successful mission of PSLV and the eleventh in its 'XL' configuration.
After the PSLV-C31 lift-off at 0931 hrs (9:31 am) IST from the Second Launch Pad with the ignition of the first stage, the subsequent important flight events, namely, strap-on ignitions and separations, first stage separation, second stage ignition, heat-shield separation, second stage separation, third stage ignition and separation, fourth stage ignition and satellite injection, took place as planned. After a flight of about 18 minutes 43 seconds, IRNSS-1E Satellite was injected to an elliptical orbit of 282.4 km X 20,655.3 km inclined at an angle of 19.21 degree to the equator (very close to the intended orbit) and successfully separated from the PSLV fourth stage. After injection, the solar panels of IRNSS-1E were deployed automatically. ISRO's Master Control Facility (at Hassan, Karnataka) took over the control of the satellite. In the coming days, four orbit manoeuvres will be conducted from Master Control Facility to position the satellite in the Geosynchronous Orbit at 111.75 deg East longitude with 28.1 deg inclination.
IRNSS-1E is the fifth of the seven satellites constituting the space segment of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System. IRNSS-1A, 1B, 1C and ID, the first four satellites of the constellation, were successfully launched by PSLV on July 02, 2013, April 04, 2014, October 16, 2014 and March 28, 2015 respectively. All the four satellites are functioning satisfactorily from their designated orbital positions.
IRNSS is an independent regional navigation satellite system designed to provide position information in the Indian region and 1500 km around the Indian mainland. IRNSS would provide two types of services, namely, Standard Positioning Services (SPS) - provided to all users - and Restricted Services (RS), provided to authorised users.
A number of ground stations responsible for the generation and transmission of navigation parameters, satellite ranging and monitoring, etc., have been established in eighteen locations across the country. In the coming months, the remaining two satellites of this constellation, namely, IRNSS-1F and IG, are scheduled to be launched by PSLV, thereby completing the entire IRNSS constellation.
After the PSLV-C31 lift-off at 0931 hrs (9:31 am) IST from the Second Launch Pad with the ignition of the first stage, the subsequent important flight events, namely, strap-on ignitions and separations, first stage separation, second stage ignition, heat-shield separation, second stage separation, third stage ignition and separation, fourth stage ignition and satellite injection, took place as planned. After a flight of about 18 minutes 43 seconds, IRNSS-1E Satellite was injected to an elliptical orbit of 282.4 km X 20,655.3 km inclined at an angle of 19.21 degree to the equator (very close to the intended orbit) and successfully separated from the PSLV fourth stage. After injection, the solar panels of IRNSS-1E were deployed automatically. ISRO's Master Control Facility (at Hassan, Karnataka) took over the control of the satellite. In the coming days, four orbit manoeuvres will be conducted from Master Control Facility to position the satellite in the Geosynchronous Orbit at 111.75 deg East longitude with 28.1 deg inclination.
IRNSS-1E is the fifth of the seven satellites constituting the space segment of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System. IRNSS-1A, 1B, 1C and ID, the first four satellites of the constellation, were successfully launched by PSLV on July 02, 2013, April 04, 2014, October 16, 2014 and March 28, 2015 respectively. All the four satellites are functioning satisfactorily from their designated orbital positions.
IRNSS is an independent regional navigation satellite system designed to provide position information in the Indian region and 1500 km around the Indian mainland. IRNSS would provide two types of services, namely, Standard Positioning Services (SPS) - provided to all users - and Restricted Services (RS), provided to authorised users.
A number of ground stations responsible for the generation and transmission of navigation parameters, satellite ranging and monitoring, etc., have been established in eighteen locations across the country. In the coming months, the remaining two satellites of this constellation, namely, IRNSS-1F and IG, are scheduled to be launched by PSLV, thereby completing the entire IRNSS constellation.
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Establishment of Science Cities
National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), an autonomous organization under the Union Ministry of Culture is enga ged in establishment of Science Centres throughout the country. NCSM is developing a Science City at Guwahati, Assam which will subsequently be handed over to the Govt. of Assam for future operation and maintenance. Proposals from various state governments have also been received for setting up of Science Cities. The Science Centres/Cities projects are taken up by NCSM in a phased manner depending upon the availability of resources, project handling capacity of NCSM and the existing level of science centre activities in that particular State.
The following proposals have also been received by NCSM for establishment of Science Cities:-
1) Science City, Sampla, Govt. of Haryana
2) Science City, Bengaluru, Govt. of Karnataka
3) Science City, Navi Mumbai, Govt. of Maharashtra
4) Science City, Hyderabad, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh (before bifurcation into Telangana and Andhra Pradesh).
5) Science City, Patna, Govt. of Bihar
6) Science City, Nagpur, Govt. of Maharashtra
7) Science City, Bhubaneswar, Govt. of Odishab
8) Science City, Kumhari, Govt. of Chhattisgarh Science Park is now an integral component of all Science Centres and Science Cities.
The following proposals have also been received by NCSM for establishment of Science Cities:-
1) Science City, Sampla, Govt. of Haryana
2) Science City, Bengaluru, Govt. of Karnataka
3) Science City, Navi Mumbai, Govt. of Maharashtra
4) Science City, Hyderabad, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh (before bifurcation into Telangana and Andhra Pradesh).
5) Science City, Patna, Govt. of Bihar
6) Science City, Nagpur, Govt. of Maharashtra
7) Science City, Bhubaneswar, Govt. of Odishab
8) Science City, Kumhari, Govt. of Chhattisgarh Science Park is now an integral component of all Science Centres and Science Cities.
Sunday, August 16, 2015
CURRENT AFFAIRS AT A GLANCE 2015
❖ Lithuania adopted the Euro currency on January 1, 2015 and became the 19th member of the Eurozone.
❖ A.B. de Villiers of South Africa scored the fastest century in One Day International cricket history on January 18, 2015. He scored a hundred in just 31 deliveries against the West Indies. He broke
the previous record of 100 off 36 balls set by Corey Anderson of New Zealand in 2014.
❖ Alexis Tsipras was sworn in on January 26, 2015 as the Prime Minister of Greece.
❖ S. Jaishankar was appointed as India's new Foreign Secretary on January 28, 2015. He replaced Sujatha Singh.
❖ NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India Aayog) replaced Planning Commission
on January 1, 2015. Its Chairperson is the Prime Minister. Arvind Panagariya is the first Vice Chairman. Sindhushree Khullar is the Chief Executive officer. Economist Bibek Debroy and former DRDO Chief V.K. Saraswat are the two full time members.
❖ A.S. Kiran Kumar was appointed the Chairman of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on January 12, 2015. He succeeded K. Radhakrishnan.
❖ Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha was appointed the first Hindu Chief Justice of Bangladesh on January 12, 2015.
❖ Maithripala Sirisena was sworn in as the President of Sri Lanka on January 9, 2015. He succeeded Mahinda Rajapaksa. Ranil Wikramasinghe is the new Prime Minister.
❖ Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe took over the post of African Union Chairman on January 30, 2015.
❖ Dineshwar Sharma is the new Intelligence Bureau (IB) Chief and Krishna Chaudhary is the new
Director General of the Indo- Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
❖ The first canister-based Agni V trial was successful. It was launched from Wheeler Island off Odisha coast on January 31, 2015. It has a strike range of 5,000 km.
❖ The first indigenously-built Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) was handed over by Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar to the Indian Air Force on January 17, 2015.
❖ Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) entered the Guinness World Records for opening the highest number of bank accounts in the least time. 11.5 crore new bank accounts have been opened under PMJDY as on January 17, 2015. It was launched by the Prime Minister on August 28, 2014.
❖ ICICI Bank launched India's first contactless debit and credit cards on January 7, 2015 that use the near field communication (NFC) technology.
❖ The government announced the names of 104 recipients of Padma Awards on January 25, 2015. This year's list comprises 9 Padma Vibhushan, 20 Padma Bhushan and 75 Padma Shree awardees. L.K. Advani, Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar and Prakash Singh Badal are among the Padma Vibhushan winners.
❖ The President conferred Ashok Chakra on the occasion of the 66th Republic Day to Major Mukund
Varadarajan (posthumous) and Naik Neeraj Kumar Singh (posthumous). Ashok Chakra is the highest gallantry award given during peacetime.
❖ Eminent Hindi scholar Kamal Kishore Goenka has been selected for Vyas Samman for 2014 for his research work "Premchand Kee Kahaniyo aa Kaalkramanusar Adhyapan".
❖ Paulina Vega of Colombia was crowned 63rd Miss Universe on January 25, 2015 in Miami, USA.
❖ Indian American author Jhumpa Lahiri won the prestigious DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2015 for her book "The Lowland". This prize was announced at the Jaipur Literature Festival on January 23, 2015.
❖ Arundhathi Subramaniam won the inaugural Khushwant Singh Memorial Prize for Poetry for her work "When God is a Traveller" on January 24, 2015.
❖ Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala won the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) biennial award on January 22, 2015.
❖ M.Y.S. Prasad, Director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota, was selected for the
Vikram Sarabhai Memorial Award 2015.
❖ RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan won the Governor of the Year Award in the Central Banking Awards for 2015.
❖ Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" programme in Panipat, Haryana on January 22, 2015 in a bid to encourage birth and education of girls. Actress Madhuri Dixit is the brand ambassador. On the same day Sukanya Samriddhi Account was launched for the girls aged below 10.
❖ Saina Nehwal clinched the women's singles crown of the Syed Modi International Masters Badminton Tournament on January 25, 2015. She defeated Carolina Marin of Spain in the final in Lucknow. In the men's singles final Parupalli Kashyap of India beat compatriot K.Srikanth.
❖ Portugal footballer Cristiano Ronaldo won the FIFA Ballon d'Or 2014 Award. It is his second year running and third overall award.
❖ Legendary cartoonist R.K. Laxman died on January 26, 2015. He created "Common Man" cartoon.
❖ Wing Commander Pooja Thakur became the first lady
officer on January 25, 2015 to lead the Inter- Service Guard of Honor for the visiting US President Barack Obama at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan. Barack Obama is the first US President to be the Chief Guest for India's Republic Day.
❖ The French satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo's Paris office was attacked by gunmen on January 7, 2015. In the attack 12 persons were killed.
❖ The 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (PBD) was celebrated between January 7-9, 2015 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. It marked the 100th year of Mahatma Gandhi's return to India from South Africa. The Chief Guest was Guyana President Donald Ramotar. The theme of the 13th PBD was Bharat ko jano, Bharat ko mano. The Vice President Hamid Ansari presented the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman awards to 15 persons on January 9. The awardees include plant scientist Sanjay Rajaram and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
❖ The 102nd Indian Science Congress (ISC) was held from January 3 - 7, 2015 in Mumbai. The theme was Science and Technology for Human Development.
❖ The 60th Filmfare Awards were presented on February 1, 2015. "Queen" bagged highest number of awards i.e. 6. "Shahid Kapoor" is the best actor for the film "Haider" and "Kangana Ranaut" best actress for "Queen".
❖ Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic was sworn in as the first female President of Croatia on February 15, 2015.
❖ Sergio Mattarella took over as the President of Italy on February 3, 2015.
❖ Ashton Carter replaced Chuck Hagel as the Defense Secretary of the United States.
❖ Arvind Kejriwal of Aam Aadmi Party became the Chief Minister of Delhi on February 14, 2015.
Manish Sisodia is the Deputy Chief Minister.
❖ Nitish Kumar of Janata Dal (United) took oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar on February 22,
2015. He succeeded Jitan Ram Manjhi.
❖ L.C. Goyal replaced Anil Goswami as the Union Home Secretary.
❖ Dr.Y. Nayudamma Memorial Award 2014 was conferred on two women scientists- Tessy Thomas (DRDO) and Geeta Varadan (ISRO).
❖ Eminent Marathi writer Bhalachandra Nemade was chosen for the Jnanpith Award 2014. He is the 50th recipient of Jnanpith Award, India's highest literary honor.
❖ Nobel Economics laureate Amartya Sen has been awarded the inaugural Charleston-EFG John Maynard Keynes Prize 2015.
❖ Ricky Kej of India won the Grammy award for his album "Winds of Samsara" in the Best New Age Album category.
❖ ICICI Bank launched first digital bank in India "Pockets" on a mobile phone.
❖ Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Serena Williams of USA won the men's and women's singles titles respectively, in the 2015 Australian Open tennis championship. Indo-Swiss pair Leander Paes and Martina Hingis won the Mixed Doubles title.
❖ Virat Kohli became the first Indian batsman to score a century in a World Cup game against Pakistan on February 15, 2015.
❖ Kerala hosted the 35th National Games from January 31 to February 14, 2015. Sachin Tendulkar was the brand ambassador. Ammu, the Great Hornbill, was the mascot. Services Sports Control Board (SSCB)
won 159 medals with 91 gold, 33 silver and 35 bronze and topped the medals tally.
❖ Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu presented Railway budget on February 26, 2015 that did not announce any passenger fare hike.
❖ Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Economic Survey 2014- 15 on February 27, 2015. He presented the Union Budget for 2015- 16 on February 28, 2015.
❖ The 87th Academy Awards ceremony was held on February 22, 2015. The Best Picture Award was given to "Birdman". Its director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu won the Best Director Award. Eddie Redmayne was given the Best Actor Award for "The Theory of Everything" and the Best Actress Award was given to Julianne Moore for "Still Alice".
❖ Nobel laureate Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan was named as the President of Britain's prestigious Royal Society. He will take up the post on December 1, 2015. He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009.
❖ IFS officer Vikas Swarup was appointed as the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on March 25, 2015. He is the author of the novel "Q & A" on which the Oscar winning film Slumdog Millionaire was based.
❖ Kerala Finance Minister K.M. Mani was appointed as the Chairman of the Empowered Committee
of State Finance Ministers on Goods and Services Tax (GST) on March 24, 2015.
❖ Mufti Mohammad Sayeed of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir on March 1, 2015. Nirmal Singh of BJP is the Deputy Chief Minister.
❖ Aditi Arya of Chandigarh was crowned Miss India 2015. She will represent
India at the Miss World pageant.
❖ The 3rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) took place in Sendai, Japan from March 14 to 18, 2015.
❖ According to a report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on March 16, 2015, India is the world’s largest importer of weapons and military equipment.
❖ Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar undertook SAARC Yatra and visited four SAARC nations Bhutan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan from March 1 to 4, 2015.
❖ India banned dreaded terror group The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
❖ The Supreme Court struck down the centre's controversial decision to grant reservation to the Jat community in jobs and educational institutions.
❖ The government has launched a new National Action Plan for Skill Training of Persons with Disabilities on March 21, 2015. National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) will be the implementing agency for this Plan.
❖ Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar launched a scheme for girl child "Aap ki Beti Humari Beti" with an aim to combat the problem of declining child sex ratio in the state on March 8, 2015. March 8 is International Women’s Day.
❖ Maharashtra government launched "Bhagyashree" scheme for girls on March 8, 2015. Bollywood actress
Bhagyashree is the brand ambassador.
❖ The indigenously developed Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile, Astra, was launched from
Sukhoi-30 fighter aircraft on March 18, 2015.
❖ The 8th edition of India-Nepal combined exercise Surya Kiran VIII was held at Salijhandi in Nepal.
❖ India launched its fourth navigation satellite on March 28, 2015. The PSLV-C27 ejected the 1,425 kg IRNSS-1D.
❖ Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertook a five-day tour of three Indian Ocean countries Seychelles,
Mauritius and Sri Lanka from March 10 to 14, 2015.
❖ As per the IntelCenter's "Top 10 Most Dangerous Countries" list released in March 2015, Pakistan is the eight most dangerous country. The list is topped by Iraq.
❖ The President Pranab Mukherjee conferred country's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on March 27, 2015. Educationist and freedom fighter Madan Mohan Malviya was honored with Bharat Ratna posthumously on March 30, 2015.
❖ Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has been selected for the Gandhi Peace Prize for the
year 2014.
❖ Veteran actor and film producer Shashi Kapoor has been named
for the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2014. He is the 46th film
personality to receive India's highest award in cinema.
❖ Former Union Minister Veerappa Moily was selected for the Saraswati Samman for 2014 for his
Kannada book "Ramayana Mahanveshanam".
❖ John Nash and Louis Nirenberg of USA shared the 2015 Abel Prize for Mathematics. The prize was announced by the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters.
❖ Rajendra Singh of India won the 2015 Stockholm Water Prize. He is popularly known as
"Waterman of India". He is an eminent water conservationist from Rajasthan.
❖ Indian ecologist Madhav Gadgil has won the Tyler Prize 2015 for environmental achievement. He shared the prize with American marine ecologist Jane Lubchenco.
❖ National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has linked 15 crore Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)
accounts with the Aadhaar numbers.
❖ Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth won women's and men's singles titles in the Indian Open Badminton
Championship in New Delhi on March 29, 2015.
❖ K. Srikanth of India won the Swiss Grand Prix Gold Badminton Championship title in Basel on
March 15, 2015. He beat Viktor Axelson of Denmark in the final.
❖ Carolina Marin of Spain won the All England Badminton Championship women's singles title by defeating Saina Nehwal in the final on March 8, 2015. Saina is the first Indian woman to reach the final.
Men's singles title was won by Chen Long of China.
❖ Services beat Punjab to win the Santosh Trophy football championship in Ludhiana on March 15, 2015.
❖ Karnataka clinched their eighth Ranji Trophy cricket title by defeating Tamil Nadu in the final in
Mumbai on March 12, 2015. Karnataka retained the Irani Cup also by beating Rest of India on March 20, 2015.
❖ Former Sri Lankan Army Chief Sarath Fonseka was conferred the highest military rank of Field
Marshal by the Government of Sri Lanka.
❖ Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's first Prime Minister, passed away on March 23, 2015.
❖ India launched a massive air and sea operation-"Operation Raahat"- to evacuate over 4,000 Indian
nationals from Yemen in April 2015.
❖ Tennis star Novak Djokovic and athlete Genzebe Dibaba were named Laureus Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year on April 15, 2015. The German football team was named "World Team of the Year".
❖ Sachin Tendulkar was inducted as a Laureus World Sports Academy member.
❖ Former Chief Minister of Odisha J.B. Patnaik died on April 21, 2015. He was also the former Governor
of Assam.
❖ Former Nepal Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa passed away on April 15, 2015.
❖ German Nobel laureate Gunter Grass died on April 13, 2015. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1999. His most famous book is "The Tin Drum".
❖ Former Australia Cricket captain and renowned commentator Richie Benaud died on April 10, 2015.
❖ Ace Indian mountaineer Malli Mastan Babu who went missing in the Andes Mountains on March 24 was
found dead on April 4, 2015.
❖ Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA Bank) on April 8, 2015. It is set up with a corpus of Rs. 20,000 crore.
❖ RBI approved the merger deal between Kotak Mahindra Bank and ING Vysya Bank.
❖ Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy was won by Gujarat on April 7, 2015. It beat Punjab in the final.
❖ New Zealand lifted the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Hockey tournament after defeating Australia in the final in Malaysia.
❖ Chris Gayle of West Indies became the first batsman to make double century in ICC World Cup history on February 24, 2015. He scored 215 runs against Zimbabwe. New Zealand's Martin Guptill hit the highest score of 237 in ICC World Cup. He achieved this feat against the West Indies on March 21, 2015.
❖ Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka became the first batsman to score four consecutive One Day International centuries. He created this record in the 11th ICC World Cup.
❖ Viswanathan Anand was granted the honor of having a minor planet named after him on April 1, 2015.
It is called 4538 Vishyanand.
❖ Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai won the Man Booker International Prize for 2015. This prize is given every two years. Indian author Amitav Ghosh is one of the ten short listed authors.
❖ David Cameron became the Prime Minister of United Kingdom for the second term on May 8, 2015. David Cameron-led Conservative Party won 331 seats out of total 650 seats in House of Commons.
❖ J. Jayalalithaa was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for the fifth time on May 23, 2015.
❖ Actor Mukesh Khanna was appointed as the Chairperson of the Children's Film Society of India (CFSI).
He is known for his iconic role as Shaktimaan on Television.
❖ Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev won his fifth successive term in the Presidential election. Karim Masimov is the Prime Minister.
❖ Indian-American Vivek Murthy was sworn in as the US Surgeon General. He is the youngest ever in-charge of America's public health.
❖ Neel Mukherjee's "The Lives of Others" won the UK's Encore Award for the best second novel on May 12, 2015.
❖ UNESCO Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize for 2015 was awarded to Mazen Darwish, a Syrian journalist.
❖ Two Indians Ananda Kumar and Pramod Patil were awarded the Whitley Awards, dubbed "Green Oscar", for their contribution to wildlife conservation.
❖ Siddhartha Gigoo won the 2015 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for Asian region for "Umbrella Man".
❖ Aruna Shanbaug, a former hospital nurse, brutally raped in 1973, died on May 18, 2015. She was at the centre of euthanasia or mercy killing issue.
❖ The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Liberia Ebolafree on May 9, 2015.
❖ Francois Hollande visited Havana on May 10, 2015, the first French President to visit Cuba in more than a century.
❖ Seychelles became the 161st member of World Trade Organization (WTO) on April 26, 2015.
❖ India ranked at a low 100th position on global Human Capital Index 2015. Finland topped the 124 nation list.
❖ Switzerland topped the World Happiness Index 2015 and India ranked 117 out of 158 countries.
❖ India signed an agreement with Iran for the development of Chabahar Port on May 6, 2015. It will give India sea-land access route to Afghanistan bypassing Pakistan.
❖ Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani visited India from April 27 to April 29, 2015.
❖ India assumed Presidency of the 68th session of the World Health Assembly (WHA), the top decision making body of the World Health Organization (WHO).
❖ The Union Cabinet cleared the "Namami Gange" integrated conservation mission to clean river Ganga on May 13, 2015. Budget allocated is Rs. 20,000 crore for the next 5 years.
❖ The Lok Sabha passed the Goods and Services Tax Constitutional (122nd Amendment) Bill on May 6, 2015. GST is proposed to be implemented from April 1, 2016. It will subsume excise, service tax, state
VAT, entry tax, octroi, etc.
❖ Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda launched "Kayakalp" –an initiative for awards to public health facilities.
❖ Nadia in West Bengal became the first Open Defecation Free (ODF) district in India. Nadia has more than 3.47 lakh toilets.
❖ Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) won the Asian Banker Achievement Award 2015 for Technology Implementation in the category of Best Outsourcing Project (New Bank). The award was received by Usha Ananthasubramanian, CMD of BMB in Hong Kong.
❖ Bilateral naval exercise SIMBEX- 15 between India and Singapore was held from May 23 to 26, 2015 in Singapore.
❖ The French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo was presented with the 2015 Freedom of Expression Courage Award of the PEN American Centre at the American Museum of Natural History.
❖ Four Indians have been named in Forbes magazine's 12th annual list of World's 100 Most Powerful
Women. They are- Arundhati Bhattacharya (SBI Chairperson), Chanda Kochchar (MD and CEO of ICICI
Bank), Kiran Mazumdar Shaw (MD of Biocon) and Shobhana Bhartia (Chairperson of Hindustan Times
Group). The list is topped by Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany.
❖ China defeated Japan in the final of the Sudirman Cup badminton tournament in Dongguan, China on May 17, 2015.
❖ Mohun Bagan won the I-League football title on May 31, 2015. Bengaluru FC ended as runners-up.
❖ The trial of Pinaka Mark-II missile cum multi barrel rocket launcher system was successfully conducted at Pokhran on May 30, 2015.
❖ The Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited three Asian nations i.e. China, Mongolia and South Korea
from May 14 to 19, 2015.
❖ Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley inaugurated the New Bank Note Paper Line unit of 6,000 metric tonne capacity at Security Paper Mill in Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh.
❖ India topped in World Hunger List with around 194 million people according to a UN report.
❖ Maharashtra Government has launched Swachhata Saptapadi Scheme on the lines of Union Government's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
❖ Former Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo succeeded Amartya Sen as the Chancellor of Nalanda University in Bihar.
❖ S. Christopher is the new Director General of the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO). G. Sateesh Reddy is the new Scientific Advisor to the Defense Minister.
❖ Veteran actor Michael Douglas received the Genesis Prize on June 18, 2015. This prize is nicknamed "Jewish Nobel Prize".
❖ Delhi Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar of Aam Aadmi Party was arrested for possessing fake academic documents on June 9, 2015. Later he resigned.
❖ Sepp Blatter resigned as the President of FIFA on June 2, 2015, four days after being elected to a fifth term.
❖ Sister Nirmal Joshi, who succeeded Mother Teresa as the head of the Missionaries of Charity, died on June 23, 2015.
❖ K.V. Chowdary, former Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), was appointed the
new Central Vigilance Commissioner on June 8, 2015. He is the first
non IAS to head the Central Vigilance Commission. Indian Bank CMD T.M. Bhasin was appointed the Vigilance Commissioner.
❖ Repo Rate: 7.25% Reverse Repo Rate: 6.25% Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR): 4% Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR): 21.5%
❖ Britain celebrated the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta accord on June15, 2015.
❖ China unveiled the world's first facial recognition ATM on June 1, 2015.
❖ The first International Yoga Day was celebrated on June 21, 2015. 192 countries celebrated.
❖ The 41st G7 Summit was held in June 2015 in Krun city in Germany.
❖ Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland beat Novak Djokovic of Serbia to win his first French Open singles title. Serena Williams of USA defeated Lucie Safarova of Czech Republic to win the women's singles title of French open.
❖ Australia won the ICC World Cup for the fifth time beating New Zealand by seven wickets in the final in Melbourne on March 29, 2015. James Faulkner of Australia was declared the Man of the Final and Mitchell Starc of Australia the Player of the Tournament.
❖ IPL 8 Mumbai Indians clinched their second Indian Premier League (IPL) title defeating ChennaiSuper Kings by 41 runs in the final at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on May 24, 2015.
❖ A.B. de Villiers of South Africa scored the fastest century in One Day International cricket history on January 18, 2015. He scored a hundred in just 31 deliveries against the West Indies. He broke
the previous record of 100 off 36 balls set by Corey Anderson of New Zealand in 2014.
❖ Alexis Tsipras was sworn in on January 26, 2015 as the Prime Minister of Greece.
❖ S. Jaishankar was appointed as India's new Foreign Secretary on January 28, 2015. He replaced Sujatha Singh.
❖ NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India Aayog) replaced Planning Commission
on January 1, 2015. Its Chairperson is the Prime Minister. Arvind Panagariya is the first Vice Chairman. Sindhushree Khullar is the Chief Executive officer. Economist Bibek Debroy and former DRDO Chief V.K. Saraswat are the two full time members.
❖ A.S. Kiran Kumar was appointed the Chairman of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on January 12, 2015. He succeeded K. Radhakrishnan.
❖ Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha was appointed the first Hindu Chief Justice of Bangladesh on January 12, 2015.
❖ Maithripala Sirisena was sworn in as the President of Sri Lanka on January 9, 2015. He succeeded Mahinda Rajapaksa. Ranil Wikramasinghe is the new Prime Minister.
❖ Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe took over the post of African Union Chairman on January 30, 2015.
❖ Dineshwar Sharma is the new Intelligence Bureau (IB) Chief and Krishna Chaudhary is the new
Director General of the Indo- Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
❖ The first canister-based Agni V trial was successful. It was launched from Wheeler Island off Odisha coast on January 31, 2015. It has a strike range of 5,000 km.
❖ The first indigenously-built Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) was handed over by Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar to the Indian Air Force on January 17, 2015.
❖ Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) entered the Guinness World Records for opening the highest number of bank accounts in the least time. 11.5 crore new bank accounts have been opened under PMJDY as on January 17, 2015. It was launched by the Prime Minister on August 28, 2014.
❖ ICICI Bank launched India's first contactless debit and credit cards on January 7, 2015 that use the near field communication (NFC) technology.
❖ The government announced the names of 104 recipients of Padma Awards on January 25, 2015. This year's list comprises 9 Padma Vibhushan, 20 Padma Bhushan and 75 Padma Shree awardees. L.K. Advani, Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar and Prakash Singh Badal are among the Padma Vibhushan winners.
❖ The President conferred Ashok Chakra on the occasion of the 66th Republic Day to Major Mukund
Varadarajan (posthumous) and Naik Neeraj Kumar Singh (posthumous). Ashok Chakra is the highest gallantry award given during peacetime.
❖ Eminent Hindi scholar Kamal Kishore Goenka has been selected for Vyas Samman for 2014 for his research work "Premchand Kee Kahaniyo aa Kaalkramanusar Adhyapan".
❖ Paulina Vega of Colombia was crowned 63rd Miss Universe on January 25, 2015 in Miami, USA.
❖ Indian American author Jhumpa Lahiri won the prestigious DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2015 for her book "The Lowland". This prize was announced at the Jaipur Literature Festival on January 23, 2015.
❖ Arundhathi Subramaniam won the inaugural Khushwant Singh Memorial Prize for Poetry for her work "When God is a Traveller" on January 24, 2015.
❖ Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala won the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) biennial award on January 22, 2015.
❖ M.Y.S. Prasad, Director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota, was selected for the
Vikram Sarabhai Memorial Award 2015.
❖ RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan won the Governor of the Year Award in the Central Banking Awards for 2015.
❖ Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" programme in Panipat, Haryana on January 22, 2015 in a bid to encourage birth and education of girls. Actress Madhuri Dixit is the brand ambassador. On the same day Sukanya Samriddhi Account was launched for the girls aged below 10.
❖ Saina Nehwal clinched the women's singles crown of the Syed Modi International Masters Badminton Tournament on January 25, 2015. She defeated Carolina Marin of Spain in the final in Lucknow. In the men's singles final Parupalli Kashyap of India beat compatriot K.Srikanth.
❖ Portugal footballer Cristiano Ronaldo won the FIFA Ballon d'Or 2014 Award. It is his second year running and third overall award.
❖ Legendary cartoonist R.K. Laxman died on January 26, 2015. He created "Common Man" cartoon.
❖ Wing Commander Pooja Thakur became the first lady
officer on January 25, 2015 to lead the Inter- Service Guard of Honor for the visiting US President Barack Obama at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan. Barack Obama is the first US President to be the Chief Guest for India's Republic Day.
❖ The French satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo's Paris office was attacked by gunmen on January 7, 2015. In the attack 12 persons were killed.
❖ The 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (PBD) was celebrated between January 7-9, 2015 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. It marked the 100th year of Mahatma Gandhi's return to India from South Africa. The Chief Guest was Guyana President Donald Ramotar. The theme of the 13th PBD was Bharat ko jano, Bharat ko mano. The Vice President Hamid Ansari presented the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman awards to 15 persons on January 9. The awardees include plant scientist Sanjay Rajaram and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
❖ The 102nd Indian Science Congress (ISC) was held from January 3 - 7, 2015 in Mumbai. The theme was Science and Technology for Human Development.
❖ The 60th Filmfare Awards were presented on February 1, 2015. "Queen" bagged highest number of awards i.e. 6. "Shahid Kapoor" is the best actor for the film "Haider" and "Kangana Ranaut" best actress for "Queen".
❖ Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic was sworn in as the first female President of Croatia on February 15, 2015.
❖ Sergio Mattarella took over as the President of Italy on February 3, 2015.
❖ Ashton Carter replaced Chuck Hagel as the Defense Secretary of the United States.
❖ Arvind Kejriwal of Aam Aadmi Party became the Chief Minister of Delhi on February 14, 2015.
Manish Sisodia is the Deputy Chief Minister.
❖ Nitish Kumar of Janata Dal (United) took oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar on February 22,
2015. He succeeded Jitan Ram Manjhi.
❖ L.C. Goyal replaced Anil Goswami as the Union Home Secretary.
❖ Dr.Y. Nayudamma Memorial Award 2014 was conferred on two women scientists- Tessy Thomas (DRDO) and Geeta Varadan (ISRO).
❖ Eminent Marathi writer Bhalachandra Nemade was chosen for the Jnanpith Award 2014. He is the 50th recipient of Jnanpith Award, India's highest literary honor.
❖ Nobel Economics laureate Amartya Sen has been awarded the inaugural Charleston-EFG John Maynard Keynes Prize 2015.
❖ Ricky Kej of India won the Grammy award for his album "Winds of Samsara" in the Best New Age Album category.
❖ ICICI Bank launched first digital bank in India "Pockets" on a mobile phone.
❖ Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Serena Williams of USA won the men's and women's singles titles respectively, in the 2015 Australian Open tennis championship. Indo-Swiss pair Leander Paes and Martina Hingis won the Mixed Doubles title.
❖ Virat Kohli became the first Indian batsman to score a century in a World Cup game against Pakistan on February 15, 2015.
❖ Kerala hosted the 35th National Games from January 31 to February 14, 2015. Sachin Tendulkar was the brand ambassador. Ammu, the Great Hornbill, was the mascot. Services Sports Control Board (SSCB)
won 159 medals with 91 gold, 33 silver and 35 bronze and topped the medals tally.
❖ Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu presented Railway budget on February 26, 2015 that did not announce any passenger fare hike.
❖ Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Economic Survey 2014- 15 on February 27, 2015. He presented the Union Budget for 2015- 16 on February 28, 2015.
❖ The 87th Academy Awards ceremony was held on February 22, 2015. The Best Picture Award was given to "Birdman". Its director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu won the Best Director Award. Eddie Redmayne was given the Best Actor Award for "The Theory of Everything" and the Best Actress Award was given to Julianne Moore for "Still Alice".
❖ Nobel laureate Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan was named as the President of Britain's prestigious Royal Society. He will take up the post on December 1, 2015. He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009.
❖ IFS officer Vikas Swarup was appointed as the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on March 25, 2015. He is the author of the novel "Q & A" on which the Oscar winning film Slumdog Millionaire was based.
❖ Kerala Finance Minister K.M. Mani was appointed as the Chairman of the Empowered Committee
of State Finance Ministers on Goods and Services Tax (GST) on March 24, 2015.
❖ Mufti Mohammad Sayeed of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir on March 1, 2015. Nirmal Singh of BJP is the Deputy Chief Minister.
❖ Aditi Arya of Chandigarh was crowned Miss India 2015. She will represent
India at the Miss World pageant.
❖ The 3rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) took place in Sendai, Japan from March 14 to 18, 2015.
❖ According to a report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on March 16, 2015, India is the world’s largest importer of weapons and military equipment.
❖ Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar undertook SAARC Yatra and visited four SAARC nations Bhutan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan from March 1 to 4, 2015.
❖ India banned dreaded terror group The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
❖ The Supreme Court struck down the centre's controversial decision to grant reservation to the Jat community in jobs and educational institutions.
❖ The government has launched a new National Action Plan for Skill Training of Persons with Disabilities on March 21, 2015. National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) will be the implementing agency for this Plan.
❖ Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar launched a scheme for girl child "Aap ki Beti Humari Beti" with an aim to combat the problem of declining child sex ratio in the state on March 8, 2015. March 8 is International Women’s Day.
❖ Maharashtra government launched "Bhagyashree" scheme for girls on March 8, 2015. Bollywood actress
Bhagyashree is the brand ambassador.
❖ The indigenously developed Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile, Astra, was launched from
Sukhoi-30 fighter aircraft on March 18, 2015.
❖ The 8th edition of India-Nepal combined exercise Surya Kiran VIII was held at Salijhandi in Nepal.
❖ India launched its fourth navigation satellite on March 28, 2015. The PSLV-C27 ejected the 1,425 kg IRNSS-1D.
❖ Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertook a five-day tour of three Indian Ocean countries Seychelles,
Mauritius and Sri Lanka from March 10 to 14, 2015.
❖ As per the IntelCenter's "Top 10 Most Dangerous Countries" list released in March 2015, Pakistan is the eight most dangerous country. The list is topped by Iraq.
❖ The President Pranab Mukherjee conferred country's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on March 27, 2015. Educationist and freedom fighter Madan Mohan Malviya was honored with Bharat Ratna posthumously on March 30, 2015.
❖ Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has been selected for the Gandhi Peace Prize for the
year 2014.
❖ Veteran actor and film producer Shashi Kapoor has been named
for the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2014. He is the 46th film
personality to receive India's highest award in cinema.
❖ Former Union Minister Veerappa Moily was selected for the Saraswati Samman for 2014 for his
Kannada book "Ramayana Mahanveshanam".
❖ John Nash and Louis Nirenberg of USA shared the 2015 Abel Prize for Mathematics. The prize was announced by the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters.
❖ Rajendra Singh of India won the 2015 Stockholm Water Prize. He is popularly known as
"Waterman of India". He is an eminent water conservationist from Rajasthan.
❖ Indian ecologist Madhav Gadgil has won the Tyler Prize 2015 for environmental achievement. He shared the prize with American marine ecologist Jane Lubchenco.
❖ National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has linked 15 crore Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)
accounts with the Aadhaar numbers.
❖ Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth won women's and men's singles titles in the Indian Open Badminton
Championship in New Delhi on March 29, 2015.
❖ K. Srikanth of India won the Swiss Grand Prix Gold Badminton Championship title in Basel on
March 15, 2015. He beat Viktor Axelson of Denmark in the final.
❖ Carolina Marin of Spain won the All England Badminton Championship women's singles title by defeating Saina Nehwal in the final on March 8, 2015. Saina is the first Indian woman to reach the final.
Men's singles title was won by Chen Long of China.
❖ Services beat Punjab to win the Santosh Trophy football championship in Ludhiana on March 15, 2015.
❖ Karnataka clinched their eighth Ranji Trophy cricket title by defeating Tamil Nadu in the final in
Mumbai on March 12, 2015. Karnataka retained the Irani Cup also by beating Rest of India on March 20, 2015.
❖ Former Sri Lankan Army Chief Sarath Fonseka was conferred the highest military rank of Field
Marshal by the Government of Sri Lanka.
❖ Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's first Prime Minister, passed away on March 23, 2015.
❖ India launched a massive air and sea operation-"Operation Raahat"- to evacuate over 4,000 Indian
nationals from Yemen in April 2015.
❖ Tennis star Novak Djokovic and athlete Genzebe Dibaba were named Laureus Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year on April 15, 2015. The German football team was named "World Team of the Year".
❖ Sachin Tendulkar was inducted as a Laureus World Sports Academy member.
❖ Former Chief Minister of Odisha J.B. Patnaik died on April 21, 2015. He was also the former Governor
of Assam.
❖ Former Nepal Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa passed away on April 15, 2015.
❖ German Nobel laureate Gunter Grass died on April 13, 2015. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1999. His most famous book is "The Tin Drum".
❖ Former Australia Cricket captain and renowned commentator Richie Benaud died on April 10, 2015.
❖ Ace Indian mountaineer Malli Mastan Babu who went missing in the Andes Mountains on March 24 was
found dead on April 4, 2015.
❖ Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA Bank) on April 8, 2015. It is set up with a corpus of Rs. 20,000 crore.
❖ RBI approved the merger deal between Kotak Mahindra Bank and ING Vysya Bank.
❖ Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy was won by Gujarat on April 7, 2015. It beat Punjab in the final.
❖ New Zealand lifted the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Hockey tournament after defeating Australia in the final in Malaysia.
❖ Chris Gayle of West Indies became the first batsman to make double century in ICC World Cup history on February 24, 2015. He scored 215 runs against Zimbabwe. New Zealand's Martin Guptill hit the highest score of 237 in ICC World Cup. He achieved this feat against the West Indies on March 21, 2015.
❖ Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka became the first batsman to score four consecutive One Day International centuries. He created this record in the 11th ICC World Cup.
❖ Viswanathan Anand was granted the honor of having a minor planet named after him on April 1, 2015.
It is called 4538 Vishyanand.
❖ Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai won the Man Booker International Prize for 2015. This prize is given every two years. Indian author Amitav Ghosh is one of the ten short listed authors.
❖ David Cameron became the Prime Minister of United Kingdom for the second term on May 8, 2015. David Cameron-led Conservative Party won 331 seats out of total 650 seats in House of Commons.
❖ J. Jayalalithaa was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for the fifth time on May 23, 2015.
❖ Actor Mukesh Khanna was appointed as the Chairperson of the Children's Film Society of India (CFSI).
He is known for his iconic role as Shaktimaan on Television.
❖ Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev won his fifth successive term in the Presidential election. Karim Masimov is the Prime Minister.
❖ Indian-American Vivek Murthy was sworn in as the US Surgeon General. He is the youngest ever in-charge of America's public health.
❖ Neel Mukherjee's "The Lives of Others" won the UK's Encore Award for the best second novel on May 12, 2015.
❖ UNESCO Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize for 2015 was awarded to Mazen Darwish, a Syrian journalist.
❖ Two Indians Ananda Kumar and Pramod Patil were awarded the Whitley Awards, dubbed "Green Oscar", for their contribution to wildlife conservation.
❖ Siddhartha Gigoo won the 2015 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for Asian region for "Umbrella Man".
❖ Aruna Shanbaug, a former hospital nurse, brutally raped in 1973, died on May 18, 2015. She was at the centre of euthanasia or mercy killing issue.
❖ The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Liberia Ebolafree on May 9, 2015.
❖ Francois Hollande visited Havana on May 10, 2015, the first French President to visit Cuba in more than a century.
❖ Seychelles became the 161st member of World Trade Organization (WTO) on April 26, 2015.
❖ India ranked at a low 100th position on global Human Capital Index 2015. Finland topped the 124 nation list.
❖ Switzerland topped the World Happiness Index 2015 and India ranked 117 out of 158 countries.
❖ India signed an agreement with Iran for the development of Chabahar Port on May 6, 2015. It will give India sea-land access route to Afghanistan bypassing Pakistan.
❖ Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani visited India from April 27 to April 29, 2015.
❖ India assumed Presidency of the 68th session of the World Health Assembly (WHA), the top decision making body of the World Health Organization (WHO).
❖ The Union Cabinet cleared the "Namami Gange" integrated conservation mission to clean river Ganga on May 13, 2015. Budget allocated is Rs. 20,000 crore for the next 5 years.
❖ The Lok Sabha passed the Goods and Services Tax Constitutional (122nd Amendment) Bill on May 6, 2015. GST is proposed to be implemented from April 1, 2016. It will subsume excise, service tax, state
VAT, entry tax, octroi, etc.
❖ Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda launched "Kayakalp" –an initiative for awards to public health facilities.
❖ Nadia in West Bengal became the first Open Defecation Free (ODF) district in India. Nadia has more than 3.47 lakh toilets.
❖ Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) won the Asian Banker Achievement Award 2015 for Technology Implementation in the category of Best Outsourcing Project (New Bank). The award was received by Usha Ananthasubramanian, CMD of BMB in Hong Kong.
❖ Bilateral naval exercise SIMBEX- 15 between India and Singapore was held from May 23 to 26, 2015 in Singapore.
❖ The French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo was presented with the 2015 Freedom of Expression Courage Award of the PEN American Centre at the American Museum of Natural History.
❖ Four Indians have been named in Forbes magazine's 12th annual list of World's 100 Most Powerful
Women. They are- Arundhati Bhattacharya (SBI Chairperson), Chanda Kochchar (MD and CEO of ICICI
Bank), Kiran Mazumdar Shaw (MD of Biocon) and Shobhana Bhartia (Chairperson of Hindustan Times
Group). The list is topped by Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany.
❖ China defeated Japan in the final of the Sudirman Cup badminton tournament in Dongguan, China on May 17, 2015.
❖ Mohun Bagan won the I-League football title on May 31, 2015. Bengaluru FC ended as runners-up.
❖ The trial of Pinaka Mark-II missile cum multi barrel rocket launcher system was successfully conducted at Pokhran on May 30, 2015.
❖ The Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited three Asian nations i.e. China, Mongolia and South Korea
from May 14 to 19, 2015.
❖ Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley inaugurated the New Bank Note Paper Line unit of 6,000 metric tonne capacity at Security Paper Mill in Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh.
❖ India topped in World Hunger List with around 194 million people according to a UN report.
❖ Maharashtra Government has launched Swachhata Saptapadi Scheme on the lines of Union Government's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
❖ Former Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo succeeded Amartya Sen as the Chancellor of Nalanda University in Bihar.
❖ S. Christopher is the new Director General of the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO). G. Sateesh Reddy is the new Scientific Advisor to the Defense Minister.
❖ Veteran actor Michael Douglas received the Genesis Prize on June 18, 2015. This prize is nicknamed "Jewish Nobel Prize".
❖ Delhi Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar of Aam Aadmi Party was arrested for possessing fake academic documents on June 9, 2015. Later he resigned.
❖ Sepp Blatter resigned as the President of FIFA on June 2, 2015, four days after being elected to a fifth term.
❖ Sister Nirmal Joshi, who succeeded Mother Teresa as the head of the Missionaries of Charity, died on June 23, 2015.
❖ K.V. Chowdary, former Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), was appointed the
new Central Vigilance Commissioner on June 8, 2015. He is the first
non IAS to head the Central Vigilance Commission. Indian Bank CMD T.M. Bhasin was appointed the Vigilance Commissioner.
❖ Repo Rate: 7.25% Reverse Repo Rate: 6.25% Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR): 4% Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR): 21.5%
❖ Britain celebrated the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta accord on June15, 2015.
❖ China unveiled the world's first facial recognition ATM on June 1, 2015.
❖ The first International Yoga Day was celebrated on June 21, 2015. 192 countries celebrated.
❖ The 41st G7 Summit was held in June 2015 in Krun city in Germany.
❖ Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland beat Novak Djokovic of Serbia to win his first French Open singles title. Serena Williams of USA defeated Lucie Safarova of Czech Republic to win the women's singles title of French open.
❖ Australia won the ICC World Cup for the fifth time beating New Zealand by seven wickets in the final in Melbourne on March 29, 2015. James Faulkner of Australia was declared the Man of the Final and Mitchell Starc of Australia the Player of the Tournament.
❖ IPL 8 Mumbai Indians clinched their second Indian Premier League (IPL) title defeating ChennaiSuper Kings by 41 runs in the final at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on May 24, 2015.
APPOINTMENTS IN 2015
Achal Kumar Jyoti : Election Commissioner
G. Mohan Kumar : Defence Secretary
Surender Singh : Director General of CISF
Loretta Lynch : USAAttorney General
P. Kunhikrishnan : Director, Satish Dhawan Space Centre
Pawan Munjal : Chairman, CEO and MD of Hero Moto-Corp
Sharad Pawar : President of Mumbai Cricket Association
Pradeep Kumar Sinha : Cabinet Secretary
Vijai Sharma : Chief Information Commissioner
R.C. Tayal : Director General of National Security Guards
R.Seshasayee : Non executive Chairman of Infosys
Benjamin Netanyahu : Israel Prime Minister
Jagmohan Dalmiya : BCCI President
Anurag Thakur : BCCI Secretary
David Hale : US Ambassador to Pakistan
Nasim Zaidi : Chief Election Commissioner
Sitaram Yechury : CPI (M) General Secretary
Mohan Kumar : Indian Ambassador to France
Sumit Mazuimdar : President of CII
Rajeev Shukla : Chairman of IPL governing council
G. Mohan Kumar : Defence Secretary
Surender Singh : Director General of CISF
Loretta Lynch : USAAttorney General
P. Kunhikrishnan : Director, Satish Dhawan Space Centre
Pawan Munjal : Chairman, CEO and MD of Hero Moto-Corp
Sharad Pawar : President of Mumbai Cricket Association
Pradeep Kumar Sinha : Cabinet Secretary
Vijai Sharma : Chief Information Commissioner
R.C. Tayal : Director General of National Security Guards
R.Seshasayee : Non executive Chairman of Infosys
Benjamin Netanyahu : Israel Prime Minister
Jagmohan Dalmiya : BCCI President
Anurag Thakur : BCCI Secretary
David Hale : US Ambassador to Pakistan
Nasim Zaidi : Chief Election Commissioner
Sitaram Yechury : CPI (M) General Secretary
Mohan Kumar : Indian Ambassador to France
Sumit Mazuimdar : President of CII
Rajeev Shukla : Chairman of IPL governing council
62nd National Film Awards
Best Feature Film – Court (Marathi, Guajarati, Hindi and English)
Best Actor -Vijay Sanchari (Nanu Avanalla Avalu, Kannada)
Best Actress – Kangana Ranaut (Queen)
Best Direction – Srijit Mukherjee (Chotushkone, Bengali)
Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment –Mary Kom Haider, a Hindi film bagged most awards (5)
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