January 2015

Current Affairs Today
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Current Affairs
January 2015
Compilation of Current Affairs as Published on GKTODAY
Useful for SSC, Banking, Railways, State PSC and UPSC Examinations
Published by: GKTODAY.IN

2015 GKToday | All Rights Reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form whatsoever, without the prior written permission
from GKToday.
Current Affairs : January 2015
Contents
Government signs $ 75 million loan deal with Asian Development Bank for KIUWMIP ................................. 9
M Sathiyavathy becomes first woman to be appointed as Director General DGCA ......................................... 9
Union government blocks 32 websites for spreading anti-India views and ISIS propaganda ........................ 9
Tropical storm Jangmi hits Philippines .............................................................................................................. 10
Union Government renames Planning Commission as Neeti Ayog ............................................................... 10
India and Pakistan exchange list of nuclear facilities ........................................................................................ 11
Microsoft sues Indian firm C-Cubed Solutions for technical support scam .................................................... 11
Government splits Chairman & MD post in PSU banks and names chiefs for 4 PSU banks .......................... 11
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Delhi Police launches women safety
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Himmat...............................................................................
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Former MoS for External Affairs Kamala Sinha passes away ........................................................................... 12
French Economist Thomas Piketty turns down Frances top award ................................................................ 13
Gujarat government announces new industrial policy for 2015 ....................................................................... 13
Central Government appoints A.K. Mittal as Chairman of Railway Board ..................................................... 13
Greece dissolves parliament ahead of snap elections ........................................................................................ 14
IAS officer R K Srivastava takes charges as AAI Chairman ............................................................................... 14
Former ISRO chief and Renowned Scientist Dr V R Gowarikar passes away ................................................. 14
Indian-origin man J Y Pillay reappointed as top advisor to Singapore President........................................... 15
Indian company IRCON restores Jaffna-Kankasanthurai rail track in Sri Lanka .......................................... 15
Boxing India (BI) gets nod from Union Sports Ministry .................................................................................. 16
PM inaugurates 102nd Indian Science Congress 2015 at Mumbai University ................................................ 16
Union Government extends AFSPA for another one year in Assam ................................................................ 16
Sri Lankan Cricketer Kumar Sangakkara Joins Elite 12,000-Runs scorer Club in Test Cricket..................... 17
RBI signs an information sharing agreement with US banking regulators .................................................... 17
RBI relaxes KYC norms for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) ..................................................... 18
Andy Murray wins ATP World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi ............................................................... 18
UNICEF to prepare a Tea Atlas in Assam............................................................................................................ 18
ICICI Bank Launches Digital Village Project in Akodara Village of Gujarat ................................................... 18
National Flag designer Pingali Venkayya honoured.......................................................................................... 19
Edward Brooke, first black elected US senator passes away ............................................................................. 19
Union Sports Ministry recommends Saina Nehwals name for Padma Bhushan award .............................. 20
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International Hindi Conference 2015 will be hosted in New Jersey ................................................................ 20
Eminent Economist Arvind Panagariya appointed as NITI Aayog vice-chairman ......................................... 21
Sutirtha Bhattacharya takes charge as Coal India Limiteds full-time CMD ................................................... 21
PM launches National Programme for LED-based Home and Street Lighting for energy conservation ..... 22
Government launches subsidised 5 kg LPG Cylinder scheme for BPL families .............................................. 22
PM releases commemorative coins to honour late industrialist Jamsetji Tata ............................................... 23
President signs ordinance amending Citizenship Act, 1955 ............................................................................. 23
Government gives nod to Neutrino project in Tamil Nadu .............................................................................. 23
Tulsi Gabbard and Ami Bera take oath for their second term .......................................................................... 24
BCCI announces Indias squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 ............................................................... 24
Punjab bans sale of loose cigarettes and tobacco ............................................................................................... 25

Amitabh Bachchan appointed as Brand Ambassador of Andhra Pradesh health sector ................................ 25
ICICI Bank launches Indias first contactless credit and debit cards .............................................................. 25
Dinesh Oraon elected as Speaker of Jharkhand Assembly ................................................................................ 26
Pakistan enacts new law to create constitutional military courts to try terrorists ......................................... 26
Indian diplomat Atul Khare named as UN Under Secretary-General for Field Support ................................ 26
Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthis Prize for Display at Rashtrapati Bhavan museum ................................... 27
Kotak Mahindra-ING Vysya merger gets shareholders nod ............................................................................. 27
President signs ordinance to pave way for e-rickshaws on Delhi roads ..........................................................28
19th National Youth Festival begins in Guwahati, Assam .................................................................................28
PM Narendra Modi inaugurates Dandi Kutir museum in Gujarat .................................................................. 29
Japanese automaker Honda pays $ 70 million fine to US after failing to report safety issues ....................... 29
15 NRIs awarded Pravasi Bharatiya Samman 2015 ............................................................................................ 29
NASAs Kepler Telescope achieves big milestone with 1,000th exoplanet discovery ...................................... 30
M. Karunanidhi re-elected as DMK Chief for 11th time..................................................................................... 31
Governors rule imposed in Jammu and Kashmir.............................................................................................. 31
Maithripala Sirisena sworn-in as 7th President of Sri Lanka ........................................................................... 32
Aziz Qureshi sworn in as Governor of Mizoram ................................................................................................ 33
Union Government merges PIO and OCI cards................................................................................................. 33
Chinese Physicist Yu Min awarded State Preeminent Science and Technology Award 2014......................... 33
Tatas Vistara airline starts domestic flight operation ...................................................................................... 34

3 day Flamingo Festival begins near Pulicat Lake in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh ............................... 34
Sindhushree Khullar appointed as Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog ..................................................... 35
World Hindi Day is being observed on 10 January every year .......................................................................... 35
Union Government unblocks 32 websites .......................................................................................................... 35
DRDO successfully tests advance EW suite in Tejas-PV1 Aircraft .................................................................... 36
People from 11 countries take part in First Buddha Heritage Walk in Bihar ................................................... 36
PM Narendra Modi inaugurates 7th vibrant Gujarat summit .......................................................................... 36
First China-CELAC Forum ministerial meeting concludes in Beijing ............................................................. 37
UN chief Ban Ki Moon inaugurates Gujarats second canal-top 10-MW solar power project ........................ 37
January 12 being observed as National Youth Day ............................................................................................. 38
Roger Federer records 1000th win after winning Brisbane title ...................................................................... 38
Union Finance Minister Jaitley adopts 4 Gujarat villages as part of Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana................ 38
Union Government appoints Pournima Gupte as IRDA actuary ..................................................................... 39
72nd Golden Globe Awards .................................................................................................................................. 39
Idukki district of Kerala becomes Indias first district with rural broadband network..................................40
Odhisas Sun Temple gets ASIs Adarsh Monument tag ....................................................................................40
Cristiano Ronaldo wins FIFA Ballon dOr award for the third time .................................................................40
Justice S K Sinha becomes first Hindu Chief Justice of Bangladesh ................................................................ 41
Border haat to enhance trade between India, Bangladesh opens in Tripura .................................................. 41
Government appoints Alur Seelin Kiran Kumar as ISRO chairman ................................................................ 42
Haryana Government unveils new sports policy ............................................................................................... 42
Kamal Kishore Goyanka selected for Vyas Samman 2014 ................................................................................. 43
RBI governor Raghuram Rajan wins Governor of the Year award ................................................................... 43
Railway Ministry flagged off Indias first CNG train in Haryana ..................................................................... 44
USAID, Gates Foundation to partner with government for Swachchh Bharat Mission ................................ 44
Government sacks DRDO Chief Avinash Chander, 16 months before end of his tenure ............................... 44
ISRO Mars Orbiter Mission team wins 2015 Space Pioneer Award.................................................................. 45
Pope Francis declares Indian priest Joseph Vaz as saint in Colombo .............................................................. 45
SHAR director MYS Prasad selected for Vikram Sarabhai Memorial Award 2014-15 ..................................... 46
Eminent Sanskrit scholar Prabhu Nath Dwivedi named for Sahitya Akademi Award 2014 .......................... 46
Italys President Giorgio Napolitano resigns ..................................................................................................... 46

Government hands over new Maritime Security Gadget to Navy, Coast guard.............................................. 47
Indias Open water swimmer Bhakti Sharma sets world record in Antarctic Ocean ..................................... 47
Army Day is being observed on 15 January ......................................................................................................... 47
Team India unveils new eco-friendly ODI jersey kit.......................................................................................... 48
HS Brahma appointed as Chief Election Commissioner of India .................................................................... 48
RBI cuts repo rate by 25 basis point .................................................................................................................... 48
US designates Taliban Chief Mullah Fazlullah as Global Terrorist................................................................... 49
Leela Samson resigns as Chairperson of Central Board of Film Certification ................................................ 49
SEBI notifies stringent insider trading norms ..................................................................................................50
Haryana government announces yoga guru Ramdev its brand ambassador..................................................50
J&K wins National e-Governance award 2014-15 for best district-level initiative ...........................................50
Veteran freedom fighter Ghelubhai Naik passes away...................................................................................... 51
Missing Mars probe Beagle 2 found on Mars after 11 years .............................................................................. 51
Sania Mirza, Bethanie Mattek-Sands wins Sydney doubles title ..................................................................... 52
Tribal Food Festival-2015 begins in New Delhi................................................................................................... 52
Union Cabinet gives nod to FM Phase 3 auction ................................................................................................ 52
Union Government launches schemes to support entrepreneurs from Scheduled Castes ............................ 53
New travel and trade rules between US and Cuba come into effect................................................................. 53
President launches pulse polio immunization programme.............................................................................. 53
IAF gets first indigenously-built Light Combat Aircraft Tejas .......................................................................... 54
Egypts best-known actresses Faten Hamama passes away.............................................................................. 54
Winners of mens & womens single title of Sydney International Tennis tournament ................................ 55
5th General Assembly of IRENA begins in Abu Dhabi ....................................................................................... 55
Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani lays Foundation stone of IIM-Visakhapatnam ......................................... 55
Andhra Pradesh government signs pact with ICRISAT to boost sustainable farming ................................... 56
South African cricketer AB de Villiers hits fastest century in ODIs ................................................................. 57
2014 hottest year on record: US scientists .......................................................................................................... 57
Indian-American Frank Islam presented with Martin Luther King Award..................................................... 57
United Nation and Mali government declares country Ebola-free .................................................................. 58
World Future Energy Summit begins in Abu Dhabi.......................................................................................... 58
Eminent political scientist Rajni Kothari passes away ...................................................................................... 59

Union Government reconstitutes Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) .............................................. 59
IIT, ONGC ink MoU to develop indigenous technologies to enhance oil exploration ....................................60
Australian cricketer David Warner fined over speak English incident............................................................60
Indias growth to reach 6.3 per cent in 2016: UN WESP report .........................................................................60
First successful organ donation from newborn takes place in UK ................................................................... 61
Indias Tigers population increases by 30% since 2011 ...................................................................................... 61
India ranks 78th globally in Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) 2014 ............................................. 62
Union Government launches monitoring system for skill development scheme ........................................... 62
Punjab government launches e-stamping project ............................................................................................. 62
Maharashtra government declares Chandrapur as dry district ....................................................................... 63
EU decides to lift ban on import of mangoes from India.................................................................................. 63

Twitter buys Indian start-up ZipDial .................................................................................................................. 63
Japanese automaker Toyota tops in global vehicle sales.................................................................................... 64
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana features into Guinness book of World Records ........................................ 64
Cyberabad CP awarded by ECI for Best Electoral Practices-2014 ..................................................................... 64
Union Government launches HRIDAY scheme ................................................................................................. 65
Economist Bibek Debroy takes over as member of NITI Aayog ....................................................................... 65
Microsoft unveils virtual assistant Cortana for Windows handsets ................................................................ 66
Union Budget Session will begin on February 23 ............................................................................................... 66
Keralas Periyar tiger reserve wins NTCA biennial award ................................................................................. 66
Union Government launches Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao campaign .................................................................. 67
Prof Kaptan Singh Solanki sworn-in as governor of Punjab ............................................................................ 67
Supreme Court bars N Srinivasan from contesting BCCI elections ................................................................ 67
Saudi Arabias King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz passes away ................................................................................. 68
Yemen government resigns under pressure from Shia Houthi rebels............................................................. 68
Telugu comedian and director M.S.Narayana passes away .............................................................................. 69
Vodafone appoints Sunil Sood as India CEO ..................................................................................................... 69
US scientists make safe GMO .............................................................................................................................. 69
Jhumpa Lahiri wins DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2015....................................................................... 70
India, US inks pact to cooperate in ICTE to facilitate Digital India programme ............................................ 70
SBI signs 100 mn euro loan pact with EIB.......................................................................................................... 70

Saraswathi Menon named on Panel to Review UN Peace-Building Architecture ........................................... 71
Thailand impeaches former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra .................................................................. 71
Shanta Kumar Committee on Restructuring of FCI submits report to PM..................................................... 72
RBI lifts ban on carrying 1,000, 500 bank notes to and from Nepal, Bhutan .................................................. 72
Queen Elizabeth II Now Oldest Living Monarch in World ............................................................................... 73
Arundhathi Subramaniam wins inaugural Khushwant Singh Memorial Prize for Poetry ........................... 73
National Voters Day observed on 25th January .................................................................................................. 73
TRAI issues draft rules for full mobile number portability ............................................................................... 74
Pooja Thakur- first woman officer to lead guard of honour at Rashtrapathi Bhavan .................................... 74
Renowned Marathi writer MD Hatkananglekar passes away .......................................................................... 74
India funds Nepals Pancheshwar project to counter Kheri floods .................................................................. 75

Saina Nehwal wins Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament 2015 .............................................. 75
Parupalli Kashyap Wins Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold Title 2015 ....................................................................... 75
India, U.S. sign three MoUs on smart cities ....................................................................................................... 76
Edgar Lungu sworn into office as Zambias new president .............................................................................. 76
Padma Awards 2015 .............................................................................................................................................. 76
Anti-austerity Syriza party wins Greeces general elections ............................................................................. 79
Major Mukund Varadarajan and Naik Neeraj Kumar Singh awarded Ashok Chakra posthumously .......... 80
Colombias Paulina Vega crowned Miss Universe 2015 .................................................................................... 80
For first time all-women contingent marches on 66th Republic Day parade ................................................. 80
Eminent cartoonist RK Laxman passes away..................................................................................................... 81
Famous Greek singer Demis Roussos passes away............................................................................................ 81
Libby Lane, first female bishop of England consecrated ...................................................................................82
Barack Obama becomes first US President to be Chief Guest at Republic-Day ..............................................82
DP Sinha appointed as secretary (security) in the cabinet secretariat .............................................................82
K Durga Prasad appointed as Special DG of CRPF ............................................................................................ 83
RBI signs an information sharing agreement with Brazils Central Bank ...................................................... 83
Australian cricketer Sean Abbott wins Bradman young cricketer of the year award ..................................... 83
India challenges WTO panels ruling in US poultry case to DSB ...................................................................... 84
Maharashtra to observe Industries Day on September 17 ................................................................................. 84
Gujarat Technological University launches e-Raksha centre to fight cybercrime........................................... 84

Ancient star with five Earth size planets discovered by astronomers .............................................................. 85
Veteran Malayalam actor Mala Aravindan passes away .................................................................................... 85
Kalyan Singh sworn in as Himachal Pradesh Governor .................................................................................... 86
Sri Lankas new government reinstates impeached chief justice Shirani Bhandaranayake .......................... 86
Maharashtra government issues Letter of Intent to buy B R Ambedkars London house .............................. 86
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar appointed as new Foreign Secretary .................................................................... 87
SC directs search engines to block sex determination advertisements ........................................................... 87
US tech giant Apple reports largest quarterly profit in history......................................................................... 87
Hike Messenger introduces free voice calling service to its users ....................................................................88
Nation pays tributes to Lala Lajpat Rai on his 150th birth anniversary............................................................88
Union Government to sell up to 10% stake in Coal India Limited (CIL)........................................................... 89

Packaging of foodgrains & sugar in jute material mandatory: CCEA .............................................................. 89
India to host ICC World Twenty20 in 2016 ........................................................................................................ 89
Eminent singer Shekhar Sen appointed as Chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi ........................................90
GNLF founder Subhash Ghisingh passes away ..................................................................................................90
World Bank Report on Himachal Pradesh released...........................................................................................90
Zomato buys Turkeys restaurant search company Mekanist........................................................................... 91
India tops Credit Suisse emerging consumer scorecard 2015 .......................................................................... 91
IIT Bombay launches Mass Open Online Courses (MOOC) .............................................................................. 92
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe appointed as Chairman of African Union ........................................... 92
Gujarat government launches Taluka Planning Atlas project........................................................................... 92
Senior IPS officer Krishna Chaudhary appointed as new ITBP DG ................................................................. 93
Scientist V K Saraswat joins as full-time member of NITI Aayog .................................................................... 93
First Canister-based Agni-V missile successfully test-fired .............................................................................. 94
Maharashtra government gives nod for GM food trials .................................................................................... 94
RBI constitutes high level panel on urban cooperative banks (UCB) ............................................................... 95
Serena Williams wins Australian Open 2015 Womens Singles title ................................................................ 95
Union Government releases Commemorative Postage Stamps on Swachh Bharat Mission ........................ 95
Sergio Mattarella elected as President of Italy ................................................................................................... 96
Government signs $ 75 million loan deal with Asian Development Bank for KIUWMIP
January 1, 2015
Government has signed a loan agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB) for 75
million dollars and 1.8 million dollar grant for Karnataka Integrated Urban Water
Management Investment Program (KIUWMIP).
This loan fund will be used in the three towns of Byadagi, Davanagere and Harihar of
Karnataka under the KIUWMIP.
This loan seeks to expand and upgrade: urban water supply and sanitation infrastructure,
improve water resource planning, monitoring and service delivery, and strengthen
operational and administrative capacity in these towns.
As per this agreement, the loan has a 25 year term including a grace period of five years.
Implications: This project by utilizing the loan fund will help these urban towns to increase water treatment capacity
by 15,000 cubic meters per day. It will also help expand and upgrade more than 1,000 kilometers of water pipelines
and increase sewage treatment capacity
by 48,000
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thereby promoting water efficiency and
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environmental protection.
About Karnataka Integrated Urban Water Management Investment Program (KIUWMIP)
KIUWMIP- is an investment program that aims to improve water resource management in urban areas of
Karnataka State in a holistic and sustainable.
It seeks to modernize and expand urban water supply and sanitation (UWSS) by strengthening relevant
institutions related to it in order to enhance their efficiency, productivity and sustainability in water use.
It takes help of innovative social instruments like as public-private partnership (PPP)or reform oriented
incentive funds.
This Program also aims to improve the condition of more fragile environments located in North Karnataka that are
increasingly affected by water resource degradation by promoting climate-resilient development, capacitydevelopment techniques for conducive adaptation.
M Sathiyavathy becomes first woman to be appointed as Director General DGCA

January 1, 2015
IAS officer M Sathiyavathy has become first woman to be appointed as Director General (DG) of Directorate
General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
She will succeed Prabhat Kumar, to become first woman to become the chief aviation regulator for period
of three years till 2017.
She is a 1982-batch UT cadre IAS officer. Earlier she has served in the Civil Aviation Ministry as a Joint
Secretary and Financial Adviser since February 2014.
About Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)
DGCA is Indias regulatory body for civil aviation. It comes under the aegis of Union Ministry of Civil Aviation.
As a regulatory body, it seeks to promote
Safe and efficient Air Transportation through regulation and proactive safety oversight system in India.
Enforce civil air regulations, air safety and airworthiness standards in India as per International standards.
Union government blocks 32 websites for spreading anti-India views and ISIS propaganda
January 1, 2015
Union government has blocked access to 32 websites for carrying anti-India views and spreading banned terrorist
outfit Islamic State of Iraq and Syrias (ISIS) propaganda. These websites were blocked after following an advisory
given by an anti-terrorism team.
The blocked uniform resource locators(URLs) include files, videos and source code-sharing websites.

They were blocked by Department of Telecom(DoT) under Section 69 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and
under Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public) Rules,
2009.
These rules give powers to the central government to block access to information on websites if it threatens the
interest of the sovereignty and integrity of the country, defence of India, security of the state, friendly relations with
foreign states or public order or for preventing incitement to the commission of any cognizable offence.
Tropical storm Jangmi hits Philippines

January 1, 2015
Tropical storm Jangmi has hit Surigao del Sur province on northern Mindanao in Philippines. This tropical storm is
locally is known as Seniang.
This storm had approached the land with gusts wind of 100 kph resulting heavy rain. This heavy rain has
triggered flash floods and landslides in the country.
Jangmi storm has also affected several parts of neighbouring countries of Philippines like Malaysia and
Thailand.
In 2014, in total 30 storms had

occurred
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16 of them have affected the Philippines.
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Among 16 storms, 6 were strong enough to be classified as typhoons. Earlier in December 2014, Super
Typhoon Hagupit had lashed central parts of Philippines with winds of 215 kph.
Union Government renames Planning Commission as Neeti Ayog

January 1, 2015
Union government has renamed Planning commission as National Institution for Transforming India (NITI)
Aayog.
The renaming of the Planning Commission is being seen as the first step towards replacing it with a new-age
institution.
Key Facts about National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog
It will serve as a Think Tank of the government i.e. a directional and policy dynamo.
It will also provide governments at the central and state levels with relevant strategic and technical advice
across the spectrum of key elements of policy formulation.
This includes matters of national and international import on the economic front, dissemination of best
practices from within the country as well as from other nations, the infusion of new policy ideas and
specific issue-based support
It will work towards the following objectives
Evolve a shared vision of national development priorities
Foster cooperative federalism
Develop mechanisms to formulate credible plans at the village level
Focus on technology upgradation, among other things.
Composition
Chairperson- Prime Minister.

Governing Council- It will consist of- Chief Ministers (of States) and Lt. Governors (of Union
Territories).
Regional Council- It will be formed on need basis. It will compromise Chief Ministers (of States) and Lt.
Governors (of Union Territories).
Vice-Chairperson- To be appointed by the Prime Minister.
Members- Full time Basis.
Part time members- Maximum of 2. They will from leading universities research organizations and other
relevant institutions on a rotational basis.
Ex Officio members- Maximum of 4 members of the Union Council of Ministers to be nominated by the
Prime Minister.
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Special invitees- They will be nominated by the Prime Minister and will be experts, specialists and
practitioners with relevant domain knowledge as special invitees.
Chief Executive Officer- Appointed by the Prime Minister for a fixed tenure, in the rank of Secretary to
the Government of India.
Secretariat- If deemed necessary.
Background
Governments decision comes after the Prime Minister Narendra Modis 2014 Independence Day announcement that
the Planning Commission would be replaced with a new-age institution. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on
7th December 2014 had held consultation meeting with Chief Ministers of states, where most CMs had favoured
restructuring of the Socialist-era planning body. However, some Congress Chief Ministers opposed disbanding of the
existing set-up.
India and Pakistan exchange list of nuclear facilities

January 1, 2015
India and Pakistan on 1st January 2015

havebandi
exchanged
the list of their nuclear
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| 19038 installations and facilities under the
agreement on Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear installations between India and Pakistan.
The exchange of list was done through diplomatic channels simultaneously at New Delhi and Islamabad.
It is the 24th consecutive exchange of such list between the two neighboring countries which bars them from
attacking each others atomic facilities.
Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear installations between India and Pakistan
This bilateral agreement bars both nations from carrying out any surprise attack (or to assist foreign power
to attack) on each others nuclear installations and facilities.
It was signed on 31st December 1988 and entered into force on 27 January 1991. It was signed by then
Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and his Pakistani counterpart Benazir Bhutto.
Both countries inform each other about their nuclear installations and facilities that need to be covered under the
Agreement on 1 January every year.
Microsoft sues Indian firm C-Cubed Solutions for technical support scam
January 1, 2015
Microsoft has sued an Indian company C-Cubed Solutions along with other entities for misusing its name and
registered trademarks by providing fraudulent technical support services to unsuspecting consumers.
In this regard, Microsofts Digital Crimes Unit has filed a civil lawsuit in federal court located in the Central District
of California against C-Cubed Solutions for unfair and deceptive business practices and trademark infringement.
As per the lawsuit, C-Cubed Solutions along with other entities had used the Microsoft trademarks to enhance their
credentials and confuse customers without any authorisation from them. Microsoft is demanding a jury trial against
these entities.
Microsoft is also seeking from jury a permanent injunction to restrain and enjoin these entities for the infringement
of their registered trademarks and directly or indirectly engaging in false advertising regarding the quality or security
of Microsoft software.
It should be noted that, law suit has mentioned C-Cubed as a private company associated under Indian law. Its
directors include Marc Haberman, Rachel Eilat Haberman and Jay Wurzberger. It is a subsidiary of California-based
Customer Focus Services (CFS) and operates the mail server by which CFS.
Microsoft has chosen to sue these entities after they had received more 65,000 customer complaints regarding
fraudulent tech support scams since May 2014.
Government splits Chairman & MD post in PSU banks and names chiefs for 4 PSU banks
January 1, 2015
Government has decided to separate the post of Chairman and Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) in public sector banks.
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With this decision government is breaking the tradition of having the heads of state-run banks act as both chairman
and managing director.
As per the Finance Ministry, the Chairman in public sector banks other than State Bank of India (SBI) will be a parttime board member. He will preside over the board meetings and will not be an Executive Chairman.
This means that for the first time, PSU banks will have a non-Executive Chairman, giving operational responsibility
to Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
In pursuance of the decision, the government has appointed four Managing Directors and CEOs of following 4 PSU
banks
Koteeswaran was named as MD and CEO of Indian Overseas Bank.
Srinivas was named as MD and CEO of United Bank of India.
Animesh Chauhan was named MD and CEO of Oriental Bank of Commerce.
Kishore Sansi was named MD and CEO of Vijaya Bank.

Above 4 MDs and CEOs will have tenure of 3 years or till the date of superannuation, whichever is earlier. These
appointments were made based on the recommendations of Appointments Board chaired by the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) Governor.
Government also has decided to go for
a fresh selection procedure for the post of Chairman and MD and CEO in
Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank and Canara Bank, which are A category large banks.
Delhi Police launches women safety mobile app Himmat

January 1, 2015
Delhi police has launched women safety mobile application Himmat. It was launched by the
Union home minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi.
It is an android based mobile app, which aims to cater employed women who have
smartphones and travel alone late in the night.
This application will allow women to send a distress call to Police Control Room (PCR) and
their relatives in case of any emergency.
Key facts of women safety mobile app Himmat
In case to use this app, user has to download this app on their smartphone.
After downloading the app, new user has to register them with the Delhi Police website by sharing their
name, mobile number and that of a minimum of two relatives/friends.
In case of emergency, user can send an alert by shaking her phone or by pressing the power button/soft
button.
As soon as the distress button is pressed, it will trigger a 30-second audio and video recording on the
phone which will be relayed to the PCR. The victim will get a call back from the PCR.
After distress button is pressed, SMS alert consisting of all the details of the victim, including her location,
time will be forwarded to the PCR. Then from PCR, SMS alert it will be forwarded to the police patrol
cars in the area and the local station house officer (SHO) through the Delhi Police cyber highway.
In case of emergency, SMS alert will also be sent to minimum of 5 friends and relatives of the user. It will
also post a status on the victims Facebook and Twitter accounts.
In order to tackle false SOS alerts/ alarms the app is provided with inbuilt feature which cancels the registration after
3 such (False SOS alerts) incidents. But, the user can re-register to re-activate the facility.
Former MoS for External Affairs Kamala Sinha passes away

January 1, 2015
Former Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs Kamala Sinha passed away in Syracuse, New York in US. She
was 82.
About Kamala Sinha
She was born in Dhaka (now in Bangladesh) on 30 September 1932. She is grandniece of Jan Sangh
founder Shyama Prasad Mukherjee.
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She was married to freedom fighter and Bihar minister Late Basawan Singh, a native of Vaishali district,
Bihar. She was initiated into politics by her husband.
She was twice elected a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1972 to 1984 and also had served as the Indian
Ambassador to Suriname and Barbados.
For several times, she was elected as the national President of Hind Mazdoor Sabha of the socialists.
During the socialist movement of led by Jaya Prakash Narayan in 1974, she was imprisoned under
Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA).
She was a member of former Prime Minister I K Gujrals cabinet from 1997-98.
French Economist Thomas Piketty turns down Frances top award

January 2, 2015
French economist Thomas Piketty has turned down Frances top award, the Legion DHonneur.
He is the bestselling author of book Capital in the 21st Century, which examines income
inequality in society.
Earlier in 2014, cartoonist Jacques Tardi had turned down this award. Others who have refused this award include
philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre and radiology
pioneers
Pierre and Marie Curie.
preetham
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Officier de la Legion dHonneur (Officer of the Legion of Honour) is the highest award among Civilians and Military
conferred by France upon French citizen as well as foreigners.
Some facts: Indian luminaries who have been decorated with France highest honor are Satyajit Ray, Lata
Mangeshkar, Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan.
Gujarat government announces new industrial policy for 2015

January 2, 2015
Gujarat government has announced its new industrial policy for 2015. It was announced by
Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit which begins
from January 11, 2015.
This industrial policy aims to make state a global manufacturing hub by playing a pivotal role in
realising Prime Minister Narendra Modis Make in India dream.
Key facts of Gujarat Governments industrial policy for 2015
This policy will focus on key areas like infrastructure development, simplification of labour laws and
motivation of new innovations through technology transfer.
It seeks to cater and provide opportunities to around 60 per cent of Gujarats population which is between
the age group of 15 years and 59 years.
It aims to create a business friendly environment and motivate start-ups through this new policy. It will
prepare these people to start their own businesses instead of merely looking for job opportunities.
Besides, it will also give special focus on incentives for youth, women, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes
and handicapped entrepreneurs.
It will also provide assistance to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector for upgrading
technology.
It focuses to reduce pollution by promoting use of clean and green energy as well as setting up zeroeffluent discharge plants.
This policy seeks to boost value addition in these existing resources, which will create new jobs and reduce imports
as industries like auto components, engineering, drugs, cement and chemicals already have flourished in state.
Special incentives will be given to set up new businesses in sectors like garments, apparel, agro and food processing.
Central Government appoints A.K. Mittal as Chairman of Railway Board

January 2, 2015
Central Government has appointed A.K. Mittal as Chairman of Railway Board. His name was cleared
by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister.
He will succeed incumbent chief Arunendra Kumar whose term had ended on 31st December 2014.
13

About A.K. Mittal
He is an officer of the Indian Railway Stores Service of the 1976 batch. He has become first-ever officer
from the Stores service to be Chairman of Railway Board.
Before this appointment A.K. Mittal was Member Staff of Railway Board and ex-officio Secretary to the
Government of India.
He has also served as General Manager of South Western Railway (SWR). He also had held additional charge of
General Manager, South Central Railway (SCR).
Greece dissolves parliament ahead of snap elections

January 2, 2015
Greeces Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has dissolved the countrys parliament ahead of snap elections to be held
on 25 January.
Dissolution of Parliament comes after it failed to elect the President in the third and final round of voting.
In the third and final round for electing President, ruling governments candidate Stavros Dimas (former European
Commissioner) was defeated by 180 votes, resulting in dissolution of the Parliament.
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras ruling
coalition
government had came
into power in 2012 after the General
preetham
| 19038
Elections.
In 2012 General elections, Prime Minister Samaras-led New Democratic Party had won the elections and formed the
government.
IAS officer R K Srivastava takes charges as AAI Chairman

January 2, 2015
IAS officer R K Srivastava took over as the new chairman of Airports Authority of India
(AAI). Earlier in December, Srivastava was appointed as chairman of AAI by the
government for 5 years.
He is a 1984-batch Jharkhand-cadre IAS officer and has replaced Sudheer Raheja who was
charge of the post since late August 2014.
Airports Authority of India (AAI)
AAI is statutory body under the aegis of Ministry of Civil Aviation. It is responsible for creating,
upgrading, maintaining and managing civil aviation infrastructure in India.
It also provides Air traffic management (ATM) services over Indian airspace and adjoining oceanic areas.
AAI manages around 125 airports in India, which include 18 International Airport, 07 Customs Airports,
78 Domestic Airports and 26 Civil Enclaves at Defense airfields.
Former ISRO chief and Renowned Scientist Dr V R Gowarikar passes away

January 2, 2015
Former ISRO chief and renowned Scientist Dr. Vasant Ranchod Gowarikar passed away in Pune, Maharashtra. He
was 81. He is considered as the Father of the Indian Monsoon Model.
About Dr. Vasant Gowarikar
Dr. Vasant Gowarikar was born in Pune on 25th March, 1933.

He was renowned scientist and his significant contribution includes in field of space research, weather and
population study and Polymer Chemistry.
In 1965, Dr Gowarikar along with Vikram Sarabhai started working on satellite technology in the Tata
Institute of Fundamental Research. Both of them played important role in laying foundation stone for
Indias space technology and space programmes.
He also headed Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). On 17th April 1983, under his leadership
Satellite launcher SLV-3 became successfully operational in orbit.
He was the scientific advisor to late Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao from 1991 to 1993. For some
time, he was Vice Chancellor of Pune University.
He was also chairman of Marathi Vidnyan Parishad from 1994 to 2000.
14
Books: Many books and scientific essays are credited to his name. His book I Predict, an essay on the
Indian population, has become famous.
Awards: He was honoured with the Padmashree Award, Padma Bhushan (2008), Fie Foundation Award, Nayak Gold
Medal and Doctorates from many prestigious universities.
The Fertilizer Encyclopedia: Dr. Gowarikar, along with his associates in 2008 had compiled the massive The
Fertilizer Encyclopedia that featured 4,500 entries of chemical composition of fertilizers. It contains collection of
information related to fertilizers consisting of their manufacturing, application and environmental considerations.
Indian-origin man J Y Pillay reappointed as top advisor to Singapore President

January 3, 2015
Veteran Indian-origin civil servant Joseph Yubaraj Manuel Pillay was reappointed as the Chairman of
the Presidential Council of Advisers (CPA) by Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam.
He was sworn in as top advisor to Singapores President for a period of next four years.
As Chairman of the CPA, he will exercise the functions of the Presidents office in the absence of
President. If he is unavailable, the Speaker of Parliament would act as the head of state.
Presidential Council of Advisers (CPA):
Thisbandi
council
was formed in 1992. |It19038
advises Singapores President in various
preetham
areas, including safeguarding the past reserves of the Government and key appointments in the public services.
About J Y Pillay
He has served in a number of senior civil service positions in Singapore. He was first appointed to the CPA
on January 2, 2001 and served its Chairman since September 2, 2005.
He is one of the pioneers who helped build the Singapore economy after its separation from Malaysia in
1965. He also had served as Chairman of Singapore Airlines from 1972 until 1976.
In 2012, for his public service, Pillay was awarded the Order of Nila Utama (First Class) award- one of Singapores
most prestigious National Day Awards.
Indian company IRCON restores Jaffna-Kankasanthurai rail track in Sri Lanka

January 3, 2015
Indian Railways construction company (IRCON) has restored the rail track between Jaffna
and Kankasanthurai in North Sri Lanka.
This restored commercial Yal Devi Express service was formally inaugurated by Sri
Lankas Transport Minister Kumara Welgama.
This 18 kilometer track passes through the high security zone which was freed from the
control of Tamil tigers in 2009.
Background
The entire rail line between Colombo and the Northern part of Sri Lanka was
destroyed in the late 1980s by the LTTE.
Indias IRCON is playing important role in rebuilding the 252 km railway track on this route. Indian
government had provided a line of credit of 800 million dollars for these projects. In 2014, the line upto
Jaffna was made operational after it was restored.
Facts about Indian Railways construction company (IRCON)
It was established in 1976 by Union Government under the Companies Act, 1956. It is wholly owned by
the Ministry of Railways. In 1995, it was renamed as IRCON International Limited.
Since its establishment, this company had undertaken construction of railway projects in India and abroad
especially in difficult terrains.
It has completed more than 300 major infrastructure projects in India and over 121 major projects globally in more
than 21 countries.
15

Boxing India (BI) gets nod from Union Sports Ministry
January 3, 2015
Union Sports Ministry has given nod to Boxing India (BI) as the new governing body for the
sport.
In this regard, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (Department of Sports) Government of India
has given the nod as it is a recognized member of the International Boxing Association (AIBA).
It will help BI to expedite the administrative formalities and streamlining the overall functioning
and activities boxing.
Boxing India President: Sandeep Jajodia
PM inaugurates 102nd Indian Science Congress 2015 at Mumbai University

January 3, 2015
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Indian Science Congress 2015 at the
Mumbai University. It is the 102nd edition of this congress and Mumbai is hosting it again
after the gap of 45 years.
The theme of 102nd Congress is Science and Technology for Human Development.
The Congress sessions aims to bring together eminent scientists, research scholars to
popularize science and foster a scientific temperament.
Key facts
It is 5 day event and will witness deliberations and presentation of papers by the scientific fraternity from
across the globe. More than 12 thousand delegates are going to participate in the session.
In this congress several symposia on relevant themes such as Womens Science Congress, Children Science
Congress and Science Exhibition etc will be also organized.
This edition will cover a wide variety of topics like: Agriculture and forestry, veterinary science, earth
science, environment, engineering, information & communication, computer sciences, mathematics,
medicine, biology, physics and plant sciences among others.
Other themes of interest include science & technology in SAARC countries, biodiversity conservation, space
application, GM crops and the use of modern biotechnology in agriculture, clean energy systems for the future.
Union Government extends AFSPA for another one year in Assam

January 3, 2015
Union Government has extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 for another one year in Assam and
has declared the entire state of Assam as a Disturbed Area.
As per government notification, this extension will for another one year beyond 03 November 2014 which
is presently in force.
Besides Assam, government has declared the area falling within 20 km wide belt along the border of Assam
with Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya as Disturbed Area.
In these disturbed areas, Army is empowered to take action for counter Insurgency (CI) operations against
the underground (UG) outfits under the provisions of AF (SP) Act, 1958.
Thus it seeks to control the violent incidents caused by the UGs which has direct disturbances to general
law and order of the state.
Background
This extension comes after the law and order situation had worsen in the North eastern state of Assam and its border
areas due to the violent incidents caused by the underground banned outfits like ULFA(I), NDFB(S), KPLT, UALA,
NSCN(IM) and NSCN(K) etc.
Facts about Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958
It was enacted by Parliament on September 11, 1958.
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It conferred special powers upon the armed forces in disturbed areas in the states of Arunachal Pradesh,
Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura. The act was introduced in Jammu and
Kashmir in 1990.
AFSPA was enacted to provide army officers and jawans legal immunity for their actions in disturbed
areas. Under this act, a member of the Indian armed forces cannot be prosecuted or tried in any criminal or
civil court for any act committed by him or her while performing duty in a disturbed area. Moreover, no
court or quasi-judicial body can question the governments decision to declare any area disturbed.
The provisions of AFSPA are very objectionable as it requires the following:
All that is necessary for a part of the State to be handed over to the armed forces is for the Governor or the
Central Government to notify it to be in a disturbed and dangerous condition.
Even a non-commissioned officer of the armed forces is free, on the mere suspicion of violation of the law
or commission of an offence, to fire upon or otherwise use force, even to the causing of death, against any
person.
He can also without any warrant, arrest any person and enter and search any premises.
No prosecution of anyone indulging in excesses purporting to act under AFSPA is possible except with the
previous sanction of the Government.
Sri Lankan Cricketer Kumar Sangakkara Joins Elite 12,000-Runs scorer Club in Test Cricket
January 3, 2015
Sri Lankan batsman Kumar Sangakkara has joined an elite group of cricketers to make 12,000 runs in
Test Cricket.
He reached this milestone in Sri Lankas second Test match against New Zealand held in
Wellington, New Zealand.
He has become the fifth cricketer to make 12,000 runs. Other four cricketers are Indian
cricketer Sachin Tendulkar (15,921 runs), Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting (13,378 runs), Jacques Kallis
from South Africa (13,289 runs) and Indias Rahul Dravid (13,288 runs).
Earlier in December 2014, he had achieved another feat by becoming only the fourth batsman to surpass
the 13,000-run mark in one-day internationals (ODIs).
Other three batsmen in this list are Sachin Tendulkar (18,426 runs), Ricky Ponting (13,704 runs) and Sri Lankan
cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya (13,430 runs).
RBI signs an information sharing agreement with US banking regulators

January 3, 2015
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has signed an information sharing agreement with United States (US)
banking regulators for better coordination with them in supervising financial institutions.
Earlier in December 2014, RBI had concluded a Statement of Co-operation (SoC)

on Supervisory Cooperation and Exchange of Supervisory Information with the US
banking regulators like Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System(FRB), Office of the
Comptroller of Currency (OCC) and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
SoC was signed by Michael S Gibson- Director, FRB; Martin Pfinsgraff, Senior Deputy Comptroller-OCC;
Doreen R Eberley, Director-FDIC and Indian counterpart P R Ravi Mohan, Chief General Manager-inCharge, Department of Banking Supervision, RBI.
RBI by signing such MoU/SoC with supervisors of other countries is seeking to promote greater cooperation and share supervisory information among the authorities.
In this regard, RBI in total has signed 22 such MoUs, one Letter for Supervisory Co-operation and one SoC, with
overseas regulators/supervisors.
17

Background
In September 2014, during Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to the US, both countries had issued a joint
statement to boost the efforts of the RBI and American banking regulators and supervisors for exchange of
information to enhance the effectiveness of cross border supervision.
RBI relaxes KYC norms for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs)

January 4, 2015
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has relaxed Know-Your-Customers (KYC) norms for Non-Banking
Financial Companies (NBFCs).
In this regard, RBI has amended the KYC norms in order to remove the practical difficulties and
constraints being faced by NBFCs in getting KYC documents at frequent intervals.
Previously, as per the norms it was necessary for NBFCs to undertake KYC once in every 5 years
for low risk category customers and once in two years for both high and medium risk categories.
But as per new norms, full KYC exercise will be required to be done at least every 10 years for low risk and at least
every 8 years for medium risk individuals and entities.
While for the high-risk individuals and
entities, it should be done in at least every 2 years.
This full KYC exercise will be done by taking into account whether and when client due diligence measures have
previously been undertaken and the adequacy of data obtained.
However, the new norm does not mention physical presence of clients for such periodic updations.
Andy Murray wins ATP World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi

January 4, 2015
Andy Murray has won the ATP World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi.
His win comes after world number one Novak Djokovic withdrew from the final match citing
reason of illness.
In the Semi-finals, Andy Murray had defeated Rafael Nadal by score of 6-2, 6-0 in straight sets to
enter in finals.
While, in another semi-final match Novak Djokovic had defeated Australian Open Champion Stanislas Wawarinka
by score of 6-1, 6-2.
UNICEF to prepare a Tea Atlas in Assam

January 5, 2015
United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) has decided to prepare a Tea Atlas in Indias North
Eastern State Assam. This atlas seeks to create a comprehensive database of the tea gardens and
socio-economic condition of its workers in state.
Key facts
It will cover all aspects of the Tea industry, including garden workers who comprise nearly 20
percent of the state population by mapping tea community database, graphs and maps.
It will also provide features like geographical locations of the gardens, proprietorship, various indicators like
implementation of Plantations Labour Act and government schemes meant for the tea community.
In this case, tea communities have been identified as the focus of UNICEF Assams Social Inclusion and Equity
Programming which addresses the issues like early marriage, alcoholism and child labour among them.
ICICI Bank Launches Digital Village Project in Akodara Village of Gujarat

January 5, 2015
Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) Bank has launched its
own version of Digital Village Project by adopting entire Akodara Village in
Sabarkantha district of Gujarat.
It was launched presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ICICI Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochar to mark
60-year-celebration of the ICICI groups existence.
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Key facts about ICICI Banks Digital Village Project
It is launched in lines with Governments flagship programme of Digital India.

It seeks to provide entire village with services ranging from cashless banking to digitised school teaching.
As part of this project, banking platform at rural part will be digitized by covering all aspects of banking
like opening an account to sale of goods to purchase of products including milk from the vendors or local
kirana stores.
In case of school teaching, it will digitized all school records along with the Gujarat syllabus and even
teaching methods and tools.
It will also provide necessary infrastructure needed for digisiting entire village in order to provide villager
with the access required to data and information in a digital format.
Besides basic banking facilities like ATMs and other digital banking services, other services like e-health,
e-milk producer group, Wi-Fi connectivity and schools with digital black boards in the village, along with
a host of other digital facilities will be provided under this project.
About ICICI Bank
It was established in 1955 aspreetham

ICICI Ltd.
bandi | preetham.di.ban@hotmail.com | 19038
Originally it was set up as an Indian financial institution as the initiative of the World Bank, the
Government of India and representatives of Indian industry to provide project financing to Indian
businesses.
Later in 1994, it got merged to form ICICI Bank.
National Flag designer Pingali Venkayya honoured

January 5, 2015
Freedom fighter and National Flag designer Pingali Venkayyawas honoured by naming All India
Radio(AIR) Vijayawada (in Andhra Pradesh) building after him.
In this regard, Union Minister for Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs, M. Venkaiah
Naidu unveiled the statue of Pingali Venkaiah, in the premises of AIR Vijayawada.
On this occasion, minister also released a book on the biography of Pingali Venkayya, translated
into Hindi by Mr.Venna Vallabha Rao.
About Pingali Venkayya
He was born in Bhatlapenumarru, near Masulipatnam district in Andhra Pradesh.
In the National Conference of Indian National Congress (INC) held in Kakinada (in Andhra Pradesh)
1921, he had suggested that India should have a flag of its own that impressed Mahatma Gandhi.
After Mahatma Gandis request, he had designed the flag which initially had saffron and green colours, but
in the course of time, modifications were made with additions like a spinning wheel at the centre and a
third colour- white, Chakra i.e Dharma Chakra which depicts the wheel of the law.
It should be noted that Indias present flag was adopted during the meeting of Constituent Assembly held
on the 22 July 1947, a few days before Indias independence from the British.
He was also an educationist who had set up an educational institution in Machilipatnam district of Andhra
Pradesh and was an authority in geology, agriculture.
He died in 1963.
Edward Brooke, first black elected US senator passes away

January 5, 2015
Edward Brooke, the first elected black US senator passed away on 3rd January 2015. He was 95.
He belonged to USs Republican Party.
About Edward Brooke
He was elected to US Congress in 1966 by voters of Massachusetts State at a time of widespread racial
unrest in the country.
19

He was also the first African-American to hold the post of attorney general of any state in US. He was attorney
general Massachusetts State.
He had served as Congressmen in the US Senate till 1979 and was one of only nine African-Americans to do so,
including US President Barack Obama.
His name i.e. the Brooke amendment was given to US federal housing act, passed in 1969, which limited to 25
percent the amount of income a family must pay for rent in public housing.
He lost his bid for the third term to Congress in 1978. After this defeat he returned to private law practice.
In 2004, he was awarded US Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2009, he was also awarded Congressional Gold
Medal, the highest award Congress has to honor civilians.
Union Sports Ministry recommends Saina Nehwals name for Padma Bhushan award
January 5, 2015
Union Sports Ministry has recommended badminton player Saina Nehwals name for Padma
Bhushan award. As per Sports ministry, recommending her name is a special case.
Earlier, she had expressed anger for not being nominated for this years award.
However, Sports ministry earlier did preetham
not nominate
her citing reason that Badminton
Association
| 19038
of India (BAI) did not apply for Sainas name for award on time. Later on 3rd January 2015, BAI
had acknowledged Sainas name to Sports ministry paving way for her nomination.
About Saina Nehwal
She was born 17 March 1990 in Hisar, Haryana.

She is the first Indian to win Olympics medal in Badminton and had achieved this feat by winning the
Bronze medal at the London Olympics 2012.
She is the first Indian to win the World Junior Badminton Championships and was also the first Indian to
win a Super Series tournament, by winning Indonesia Open in 2009.
She also has won the China Open Super Series Premier-2014.
She is only Indian badminton player who attained a career best ranking of number 2 in December 2010 by
Badminton World Federation.
Awards
Government has awarded her with Arjuna Award (2009), Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (20092010) and Padma Shri
(2010).
About Padma Bhushan award
It is the third highest civilian award in India, after Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan. It was established
on 2 January 1954 by President and is awarded to recognized person for their distinguished service of a
high order to the nation, in any field
Every year it is announced on the occasion of Republic Day. It is conferred to recipient by the President at
a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
International Hindi Conference 2015 will be hosted in New Jersey

January 5, 2015
International Hindi Conference-2015 ( -2015) will be hosted by New Jersey,

United States in April 2015.
Theme of 2015 edition of this conference is Expanding World of Hindi: Possibilities and
Challenges.
Key facts of International Hindi Conference 2015
This conference seeks to provide a platform for participants to get together and
identify challenges and find solutions for the advancement of the Hindi language in
North America and the Caribbean region.
20
In this conference, Hindi scholars from various parts of the world, particularly from United States and
India will participate.
Participants are expected to discuss individual and organisational partnerships and leadership and field
capacity building and infrastructure building skills and topics.
In this case they are going to discuss topics such as material selection and development funding,
professional development of teachers, and volunteer management.
This conference will also hold sessions on topics such as, Hindi in higher education, expanding the use of Hindi in
businesses and commerce, Community support for Hindi, Current status of the teaching and learning of Hindi etc.
Eminent Economist Arvind Panagariya appointed as NITI Aayog vice-chairman

January 5, 2015
Eminent free-market economist Arvind Panagariya has been appointed as Vice-chairman of

National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog.
NITI Aayog is established by government to function as both a think tank and a policy forum and
replaces decades year old Planning Commission.
As a vice chairman, he will play a pivotal
rolebandi
in coordinating
economic strategy
preetham
| 19038 and hold position similar to cabinet
rank minister.
About Arvind Panagariya
He is an Indian-American economist and Professor of Economics at Columbia University. He holds a

Ph.D. degree in Economics from prestigious Princeton University.
He was an ex-Chief Economist at the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
He has also worked for the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization, and
the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in various capacities.
He has written around 10 books and the latest was India: The Emerging Giantpublished in 2008.
Other Appointments of NITI Aayog
Full-Time Members:
Bibek Debroy- Economist.
V.K. Saraswat- Former Secretary Defence R&D.

Ex-officio members:
Rajnath Singh- Union Home Minister.
Arun Jaitley- Union Finance, Corporate Affairs and Information & Broadcasting Minister.
Suresh Prabhu- Union Minister of Railways.
Radha Mohan Singh- Union Minister of Agriculture.

Special Invitees:
Nitin Gadkari- Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping.
Thawar Chand Gehlot-Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment.
Smriti Zubin Irani- Union Minister of Human Resource Development (HRD).
Sutirtha Bhattacharya takes charge as Coal India Limiteds full-time CMD

January 6, 2015
Sutirtha Bhattacharya has taken charge as full-time Chairman and Managing Director (CMD)
of Coal India Limited (CIL).
He is a 1985 batch IAS officer and for this post his name was cleared by Appointments Committee
of the Cabinet after it was recommended by the Public Enterprises Services Board (PESB).
Prior to this appointment, he was the CMD of state-owned Singareni Collieries Company.
Background
The post of full time CMD was vacant for past six months after then full-time CMD S Narsing Rao had resigned
from the post in May, 2014 to join Telangana government.
21

Till this vacant time, Additional Secretary Coal A K Dubey was given the additional charge as CMD of CIL from
June 26, 2014.
About Coal India Limited (CIL)
It is a state-controlled coal mining company. It is headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal.

It is the largest coal producer company in the world and contributes around 81% of the coal production in
India.
Union Government of India owns 90% of the shares in CIL and controls the operations of CIL through
Ministry of Coal.
In April 2011, CIL was conferred the Maharatna status by Government of India. It is Indias 5th most valuable
company in terms of market value.
PM launches National Programme for LED-based Home and Street Lighting for energy conservation
January 7, 2015
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched National Programme for LED-based Home
and Street Lighting in New Delhi for energy conservation by reducing energy
consumption.
Along with this programme, PM launched scheme for Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulb
distribution under the Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP) and a web-based
system to enable consumers in Delhi to register requests for procuring LED bulbs under
DELP.
National Programme for LED-based Home and Street Lighting
It aims to install LED bulbs for domestic and street-lighting in 100 cities across India by March 2016.
Under this programme, LED bulbs will be distributed in a phased manner from March 2015 onwards.
The initiative is part of the Governments efforts to spread the message of energy efficiency in the country.
LED bulbs have a very long life, almost 50 times more than ordinary bulbs, and 8-10 times that of CFLs,
and therefore provide both energy and cost savings in the medium term.
It will help in saving of energy around 24 crore units every year.
Government launches subsidised 5 kg LPG Cylinder scheme for BPL families

January 7, 2015
Central government has launched the sale of subsidised 5-kg LPG cylinders scheme for Below
Poverty Line (BPL) families and others.
It was launched by Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in Bhubaneswar,

Odhisa.
This scheme was launched as part of the oil companies Corporate social responsibility
(CSR) activities to cover BPL population in urban areas.
Under this pilot scheme, a BPL family would be provided with LPG connection. In this
case customers not need to pay security deposit and cost of pressure regulator.
Government by launching this scheme is aiming to promote LPG as it a cleaner fuel which will help in
creating better and smoke less cooking environment and help in improvement of womens health.
Petroleum Minister also launched the sale of 5-kg cylinders under Free Trade LPG scheme in
Bhubaneswar, Odhisa.
Free Trade LPG scheme: It will cater the LPG requirement of all sections of the society including the
economically weaker section, student, migrant labourers who do not have proof of address due to their
short stay in a particular place.
This scheme is aims at increasing the usage of LPG by providing customers with more affordable facilities.
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PM releases commemorative coins to honour late industrialist Jamsetji Tata
January 7, 2015
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has released commemorative coins to honour Tata Group
founder Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata. PM released coins in the denomination of 100 and five
rupee to mark Jamsetji Tatas 175th birth anniversary.
Thus, Jamsetji will be the first industrialist in India to be felicitated by the

government in such a manner.
He was chosen by the government because he is a legendary figure and the

government wants to encourage Indian businesses through this initiative.
So far government has minted coins in honour of artists, freedom fighters, scientists, institutions and organisations.
Earlier, government had honoured Jamsetji twice by releasing his postal stamps one in 1958 and another in 1965.
Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata
He was pioneer industrialist who had founded Tata Group- Indias biggest conglomerate company. He is
regarded as Father of Indian Industry.
He was born on 3 March 1839

in Navsari then part of the princely state of Baroda (Now in Gujarat).
His successors work led to achieve:
Tata Steel: formerly known as Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (TISCO ) is Asias first and Indias
largest steel company. It is also worlds fifth largest steel company.
Indian Institute of Science (IISc): Located in Bengaluru, it is pre-eminent Indian institution for research
and education in Science and Engineering.
Tata Hydroelectric Power Supply Company: later it was renamed Tata Power Company Limited, currently
Indias largest private electricity company.
It should be also noted that present Jamshedpur district in Jharkhand is named after him. Earlier it was known
as Sakchi.
President signs ordinance amending Citizenship Act, 1955

January 7, 2015
President Pranab Mukherjee has signed the ordinance that amends Citizenship Act, 1955.
Earlier, union government had promulgated this ordinance in order to merge Person of Indian
Origin (PIO) and Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) schemes. Thus, providing life-long Indian
visa facility to PIOs.
It was signed on the eve of the opening of the three-days meet of Indian Diaspora i.e. Pravasi
Bharatiya Divas 2015 held in Gujarat.
Key amendments
Citizenship Act amendments will benefit PIO and will give them benefits like life-long visa and exemption from
appearing before the local police station on every visit etc.
It will also change the clause of parent Act which says that foreigners who marry Indians must continuously stay in
the country for a period of one year before they get an Indian citizenship. In this regards they will get relief of 30 days
in a year when they can travel outside the country.
The amendment also clears the way for relaxed visa norms for minor children of OCI cardholders.
Government gives nod to Neutrino project in Tamil Nadu

January 7, 2015
Union cabinet meeting has approved setting up of India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) project in Bodi West
Hills, Tamil Nadu. This cabinet meeting was headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Key facts about India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) project
It is an underground project, jointly supported by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the
Department of Science and Technology (DST).
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Neutrino
It will comprise a complex of caverns the main cavern, which will house detector which is 130 metres
long, 26 metres wide and 30 metre high.
Along with main cavern, there will be two smaller caverns that will be used for setting up experiments for
neutrino double detector and dark matters.
This underground complex will be approached by a 2-kms long tunnel.
It will host experiments such as the neutrino-less double beta decay and the search for dark matter.
It also involves Inter-Institutional Centre for High Energy Physics (IICHEP) and Iron Calorimeter
Detector (ICAL).
Along with project, government has also approved the construction of a 50,000 tonne magnetised iron
calorimeter detector (ICAL). It will study the properties of the neutrino, in particular the mass hierarchy
among different types of neutrino.
It is an electrically neutral, weakly interacting elementary subatomic particle with half-integer spin. It belongs to the
lepton family. There are three types of neutrinos: electron neutrinos, muon neutrinos and tau neutrinos.
preetham
| 19038
Tulsi Gabbard
andbandi
Ami| preetham.di.ban@hotmail.com
Bera take oath for their
second term
January 7, 2015
Tulsi Gabbard and Dr. Ami Bera have been sworn in for their second consecutive term in US
House of Representatives.
Both of them belong to Democratic Party. They were sworn in after the 114th session of the US
Congress began.
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard is the first Hindu lawmaker in US to take her oath on Bhagavad-Gita.
She was administered the oath of office by re-elected Speaker of US House of Representatives John Boehner.
She is representing Hawaiis second congressional district since 2013. In 2013, she also had taken her oath on Gita.
While Dr. Ami Bera, is only serving Indian-American in the current Congress. He has been elected as co-chair of the
Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans which is the largest country- specific caucus in the House of
Representatives.
He is representing, Californias 7th congressional district since 2013 and is third Indian-American elected to the
House of Representatives after Dalip Singh Thind and Bobby Jindal.
Some facts
In 114th session of the US Congress, Republicans have formally taken control of both chambers the House of
Representative and Senate for the first time since the 109th Congress (2005-2006).
BCCI announces Indias squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
January 7, 2015
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced Indian squad for the ICC Cricket
World Cup 2015.
It was announced by the BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel, after the meeting of the selection
committee of BCCI.
Indian squad for the ICC CWC 2015
MS Dhoni (Captain & Wicket Keeper), Virat Kohli (Vice Captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit
Sharma, Stuart Binny, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ambati Rayudu, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar,
Md. Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma.
ICC Cricket world cup 2015
ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 will be the 11th edition and in total 49 matches will be played across 14 venues.
It will start on 14th February 2015 in Christchurch and co-host New Zealand team will play against Sri Lanka.
On the same day in Melbourne, Australia will play against England.
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Punjab bans sale of loose cigarettes and tobacco
January 7, 2015
Punjab has become first state in India, to completely ban the sale of loose cigarettes (even as single sticks) and loose
tobacco.
State government had banned the sale of loose cigarettes and tobacco under Section 7
of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 (COTPA Act, 2003).
Section 7 of COTPA bans sale of these products if they are traded, supplied or
distributed without specified warning including pictorial warning on it.
State government notification in this regard clearly mentions that loose cigarettes and tobacco products do not carry
a pictorial or a written warning so they are banned.
Earlier state government had banned sale of nicotine in the form of e-cigarette.
About COTPA Act, 2003
It was enacted by Parliament in 2003. It prohibits advertisement and regulates tobacco business in India.
This Act has put restriction on tobacco products which includes cigarettes, gutka, panmasala (containing
tobacco), cigar, cheroot, Beedi,
Snuff, chewing tobacco, hookah, tooth powder containing tobacco.
Amitabh Bachchan appointed as Brand Ambassador of Andhra Pradesh health sector

January 7, 2015
Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan is appointed as the brand ambassador for health sector in
Andhra Pradesh.
His name was announced by the Andhra Pradesh state Health Minister Kamineni Srinivas. As a
brand ambassador actor Amitabh Bachchan will participate in various health-related campaigns to
be taken up by the state government without taking any remuneration for the services.
Implication
It will help bifurcated state to boost and improve its health sector as it worst hit due to bifurcation. At present, state
does not have proper health sector facilities due major corporate hospitals and medical and health institutions are
located in then capital of undivided state Hyderabad (now capital of Telangana).
Some facts
It should be also noted that, actor Amitabh Bachchan is also brand ambassador of Gujarat Tourism since 1 February
2010. While in 2002, he was brand ambassador for the Polio Eradication Campaign.
ICICI Bank launches Indias first contactless credit and debit cards
January 8, 2015
Indias largest private sector bank Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation
of India (ICICI) Bank has launched countrys first contactless debit and credit cards.
These cards will provide its customers to make electronic payments by waving the
cards near the merchant terminal instead of dipping or swiping.
Facts about ICICI Banks contactless cards
These cards are based on the Near Field Communication (NFC) technology and powered by MasterCard
contactless and Visa payWave technologies.
It provide customers with the improved convenience of speed as these cards require significantly less time
than traditional cards to complete a transaction.
It also enhances security features for the customer.
Presently, bank has introduced these cards in cities like Gurgaon, Hyderabad and Mumbai. ICICI Bank also
has provided with over 1200 Electronic Data Capture (EDC) machines that are capable of accepting
contactless payments in these cities.
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Dinesh Oraon elected as Speaker of Jharkhand Assembly
January 8, 2015
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Dinesh Oraon was unanimously elected as the Speaker of Jharkhand Legislative
Assembly.
It was announced by the Protem Speaker Stephen Marandi. His name for the post was proposed by the
Chief Minister Raghubar Das.
He is the 10th Speaker of the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly since the state was granted statehood status
after bifurcating from Bihar on 15 November 2000.
About Dinesh Oraon
He is a member of Jharkhand Legislative Assembly from Sisai constituency of Gumla district. He has represented this
constituency twice, first time in 2000 and for second time in 2014. He has studied M A. and was lecturer in Ranchi
University.
Pakistan enacts new law to create constitutional military courts to try terrorists
January 8, 2015
| preetham.di.ban@hotmail.com | 19038
Pakistan government has enacted newpreetham
law, tobandi
create
constitutional military courts to try and punish terrorists.
This new law came into effect after it was signed by Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain.
Earlier, Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2015 and 21st Constitution Amendment Bill, 2015 was passed by
Pakistans National Assembly and the Senate.
Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill 2015 aims to set up Constitutionally protected military courts to try and punish
terrorists.
While, 21st Constitution Amendment Bill, 2015 provides constitutional cover for the establishment of military
courts in Pakistan.
Background
For past few years, Pakistan is struggling to come up with an adequate response to deal with the increasing
menace of militancy.
Pakistans ruling government was under pressure after Peshawar School attack that had killed around 150
people including 132 children. So there was need of strict law to deal with the militants.
Summary
The law will give a tough message to militants who often are wriggled out of ordinary courts. Thus it will help to
curb and eliminate militancy in Pakistan. Presently, Pakistan has already lifted moratorium on death penalty and
hanged seven convicted militants.
Indian diplomat Atul Khare named as UN Under Secretary-General for Field Support
January 8, 2015
Indian diplomat Atul Khare is named as UN Under Secretary-General for Field Support,
Department of Field Support (DFS). It was announced by Secretary-General of United Nations Ban
Ki-moon.
He will succeed Bangladeshs Ameerah Haq. This appointment makes him as one of the highest
ranking Indian officials in UN.
UN Department of Field Support (DFS)
This department provides dedicated support to peacekeeping field missions and political field missions
around the world.
It also provides support in the areas of finance, logistics, Information, communication and technology
(ICT), human resources and general administration to help missions promote peace and security.
His appointment to this position will bring strategic management and innovative reform expertise in both
headquarters and field perspective of UNs DFS.
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About Atul Khare
He belongs to 1984 cadre of Indian Foreign Service (IFS).

Diplomat career: As Indian diplomat, he has served in Indian Missions in Paris, Dakar, Port Louis and
London as well as the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations in New York.
He is Former Director of The Nehru Centre and Minister (Culture), High Commission of India in London
(2005-2006).
United Nations career: Previously, he was Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Timor-Leste
and Head of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) at the level of Under
Secretary-General (2006-2009).
Earlier he also has worked as Chief of Staff and Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General
with the United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET).
He also has served as Assistant Secretary-General leading the Change Management Team (2011-2012) and Assistant
Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations and Deputy Head of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations in
New York (2010-2011).
Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthis Prize for Display at Rashtrapati Bhavan museum
January 8, 2015
Kailash Satyarthis Nobel Prize has been put up for display at Rashtrapati Bhavan
museum.
It was put for display, after Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi dedicated his
prize to the nation. He presented his medal to President Pranab Mukherjee in a
ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Now, visitors to Rashtrapati Bhavan will now be able to get a glimpse of the Nobel
Peace Prize received by him.
The medal made up of 18 carats gold and weighing 196 grams will be kept at Rashtrapati Bhavan museum for
display.
Rashtrapati Bhavan museum: It was inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee in July 2014. This museum provides
public an inside view of the Rashtrapati Bhavan along with its art, architecture and lives of past presidents.
About Kailash Satyarthi
He is the eighth Nobel laureate to have been born in India. He is an adherent of Gandhian philosophy. He has upheld
Mahatma Gandhis practice of engaging and conducting peaceful protests against the exploitation of children for
financial gain. He is the founder of the Bachpan Bachao Andolan (Save the Childhood Movement). Through his
NGO, he campaigns for protection of child rights and to abolish illegal human trafficking.
Kotak Mahindra-ING Vysya merger gets shareholders nod

January 8, 2015
Private sector Kotak Mahindra Bank has received its shareholders nod for
merger of Bengalaru-headquartered ING Vysya Bank with itself.
It was approved by the 99.30 per cent in number representing 99.93 per cent
in value of the shareholders present.
This approval is considered as important step for merging of two banks to
form new entity. Now this merger is subject to the final approval from Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Competition
Commission of India (CCI) and such other approvals.
Background
In November 2014, Kotak Mahindra Bank had announced that it is acquiring ING Vysya Bank in an allstock deal.
This merger will make Kotak the fourth-largest private bank in India in terms of total business. The
biggest three private banks are ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank.
27
The management of these banks are expecting that the new merged entity will be operational by April 1,
2015.
The acquisition will help Kotak Mahindra Bank to widen its reach in South Indian market and also help in
acquiring SME customers as ING Vysya Bank was having stronghold in SME customers.
After merger the combined banking entity will have a widespread network of 1,214 branches across pan India.
President signs ordinance to pave way for e-rickshaws on Delhi roads

January 8, 2015
President Pranab Mukherjee has signed an ordinance to amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 as per
Article 123 of Constitution. This ordinance will pave the way for plying of e-rickshaws on roads of
Delhi.
Earlier, in December 2014 Union Cabinet had approved promulgation of the ordinance as a bill in
this regard was not able to pass in the recently concluded winter session of Parliament due to logjam
in Upper House (Rajya Sabha).
Background
preetham
bandiCourt
| 19038 or battery-operated three-wheeler
Previously in July 2014, Delhi

High
had banned E-rickshaws
vehicles on safety concerns.
Union government had brought Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill, 2014 to amend to parent Act in order to
legalize E-rickshaws. It was passed by the Lok Sabha.
Article 123 of Constitution: It gives legislative power to President. He can issue ordinances when
Parliament is in recess i.e. not in session if there is urgent need to have a law on some urgent public
matter. The ordinance has similar effect to an act of parliament.
However, every ordinance must be laid and approved by both houses of the parliament within 6 weeks from the
reassembling. If not placed and approved by both houses of the parliament after reassembling it becomes invalid.
19th National Youth Festival begins in Guwahati, Assam

January 8, 2015
The 19th National Youth Festival has begun in Guwahati, Assam. This festival coincides with the
152nd birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.
Theme of this edition of youth festival is Youth for Clean, Green and Progressive India. It aims to
spread to spread national integration and harmony.
Events
It is 5 day event, which will provide platform to the young talents to perform their level best in
music and cultural events.
During this festival, different competitions, exhibitions, cultural programs, and seminars will be held.
In this festival sports persons including Virender Sehwag, Sushil Kumar and Mary Kom along with several
young MPs are participating to motivate the young minds towards nation building. This youth festival is
also likely to give a boost to the tourism industry of the state.
It will showcase various shades of youth talent through Yuva Kriti, Food Festival, Young Artist Camp,
Youth Convention, Suvichar and Adventure activities.
Besides these there will be other competitive and non-competitive events between youths of different
states.
Opening ceremony: It was attended by Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Union Sports Minister
Sarbananda Sonowal and Minister of State for Home state Kiren Rijiju at Nehru Stadium in Guwahati.
About National Youth Festival
It is an annual gathering of youth during National Youth Week i.e. from 12 to 16 January. It is celebrated to mark
birth anniversary of youth icon Swami Vivekananda.
It is organized by Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in collaboration with one of the State Governments.
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PM Narendra Modi inaugurates Dandi Kutir museum in Gujarat
January 9, 2015
Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Dandi Kutir museum in Gujarats
capital of Gandhinagar. It is a state-of-the-art three-storey museum, based upon the life and
works of Mahatma Gandhi.
It was inaugurated on the occasion of the 13th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD) and 7th edition of
Vibrant Gujarat.
Key facts about Dandi Kutir museum
It is the biggest permanent museum in the world based on life of one person- Mahatma Gandhi.
It traces the life and times of Mahatma Gandhi through various faces as barrister, his struggles in South
Africa, return to India and successfully leading the freedom struggle.
Each and every aspect of Gandhis life is portrayed in the form of sculptures in the salt-mound at
Mahatma Mandir.
Dandi Kutir is located inside a 41-metre high salt-mound. This salt-mound depicts Gandhijis famous
Dandi march of 1930 against
the salt tax provisions imposed by the British regime.
Through number of exhibits that are displayed in museum, key concepts of Gandhian thoughts like
Satyagraha, non-violence, self-reliance, Gram Swaraj are elaborately explained.
This museum also showcases 3D short film and also an audio-visual presentation of milestone incidents of the Indian
Independence Movement.
Japanese automaker Honda pays $ 70 million fine to US after failing to report safety issues
January 9, 2015
Japanese automaker Honda has agreed to pay US 70 million dollars in fines to the US
authorities for failing to report safety issues involving its cars.
It was announced by the US regulator National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) after Honda had accepted liability for the breach on safety issues.
As per NHTSA, Honda failed to report more than 1,700 death and injury claims involving its
cars between July 2003 and June 2014.
In this regard, Honda will pay two $35 million fines, making it as the largest amount ever paid by any automaker.
Background
Honda was under investigation for violations of NHTSAs Early Warning Reporting regulations.
As per the NHTSA rules, it is necessary for the automakers to report quickly any information about
possible defects, deaths and injuries or damage and warranty claims made by consumers.
But Honda failed to reveal and report 1,729 cases involving deaths or injuries between July 2003 and June
2014 to the NHTSA.
NHTSA earlier had reported that, few incidents of Honda cars involved Takata Corp air bags that had
ruptured and had been the subject of massive recalls.
But, Honda attributed this incident to its data entry and computer programming errors. Thus, failing to comply
NHTSA rules and regulations. So the fine was imposed by US regulator.
15 NRIs awarded Pravasi Bharatiya Samman 2015

January 9, 2015
Pravasi Bharatiya Samman 2015 has been awarded to 15 prominent non-resident Indians
(NRIs) on the concluding day of 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas.
They have been conferred with award for their contribution in various fields. The awards
were presented by Vice-President Hamid Ansari at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
Recipients of awards are:
Satyanarayan Nadella- CEO of tech giant Microsoft.
29
Donald Rabindernauth Ramaotar- He is President of Guyana and awarded for his work for the Indian
diaspora in Guyana.
Mala Mehta- For her contribution to Hindi language. She is founder of Indo- Australian Bal Bharatiya
Vidyalaya in Thornleigh suburb in Sydney. Since its establishment, she has been pursuing the growth of
Hindi in Australia.
Rajaram Sanjaya- He is India-born Mexican scientist. He is winner of the 2014 World Food Prize for
developing 480 wheat varieties that have been released in 51 countries.
Kanwaljit Singh Bakhshi- He is Member of Parliament (MP) from New Zealand. He is also known for
work he had done for the Indian diaspora in New Zealand.
Essop Goolam Pahad- He is a South African politician. He was Minister in the Presidency from 1999 to
September 2008 in South Africa.
Mahendra Nanji Mehta- Uganda-based businessman of Indian origin.
Professor Nathuram Poori -He is founder of Purico Group are also chosen for their contribution to Indian
diaspora.
Lord Raj Lumba- He is a philanthropist and founder of clothing company Rinku Group. He is a Liberal
Democrat member of the House of Lords, United Kingdom.
Kamlesh Lulla- He is chief scientist for Earth observation in the Human Exploration Science Office at the
Johnson Space Centre at NASA. He has named for the award for his exceptional service to the space
science.
Nandini Tandon- She has been given this award for her work in life sciences and Healthcare and IT in
USA and India along with other emerging markets.
Rajmal Parakh
Duraikannu Karunakaran
Shah Bharatkumar Jayantilal
Ashraf Palarkunnummal
About Pravasi Bharatiya Samman
It is the highest honour conferred on overseas Indians. As a part of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), this award is
conferred by the President of India on
Non-Resident Indian, Person of Indian Origin (PIO) or
An organization or institution established and run by the Non-Resident Indians or Persons of Indian
Origin.
This award carries a bilingual Sanad (certificate) under the hand and the seal of the President. In addition, it includes
a citation, a gold medallion and a miniature of the medallion in the form of a lapel pin.
About Pravasi Bhartiya Divas
Pravasi Bhartiya Divas is a programme organized by Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs to foster greater interaction
between the Indian Diaspora and Indian government. It provides the Diaspora a platform to put forth their issues
and grievances before the government. At the same time, the government also uses this occasion to showcase
opportunities for investment in India to the expatriate community. Started in 2003 by the then NDA Government, it
is held every year for 3 days between Jan 7-9. Mahatma Gandhi had returned from South Africa to India on Jan 9th
in 1915, this event inspires the dates of this programme.
NASAs Kepler Telescope achieves big milestone with 1,000th exoplanet discovery
January 9, 2015
NASAs Kepler Space Telescope has achieved a big milestone after it had discovered
1000 exoplanet.
In order to achieve this milestone, planet hunting telescope had continuously monitored more
than 150,000 stars beyond our solar system.
It has offered scientists an assortment of more than 4,000 candidate planets for further study and
30

recently, 1,000 exoplanet was verified among these monitored stars.
Key facts
Using Keplers data, scientists have reached this millenary milestone after validating 8 more planet
candidates that were spotted by the telescope.
Kepler team also has added another 554 candidates to the roll of potential planets. Among them 6 are nearEarth-size and orbit in the habitable zone of stars similar to our Sun.
As per Kepler team, 3 of the newly-validated planets are located in their distant suns habitable zone. They
are in the range of distances from the host star where liquid water might exist on the surface of an orbiting
planet.
Of the three planets, two are likely made of rock like Earth. They were named asKepler-438b and Kepler442b.
Both Kepler-438b and Kepler-442b orbit stars smaller and cooler than our Sun. Thus making the habitable
zone closer to their parent star, in the direction of the constellation Lyra.
Exoplanet
It is is a planet that does not orbit the Sun and instead orbits a different star, stellar remnant, or brown dwarf. It is
also termed as extrasolar planet.
M. Karunanidhi re-elected as DMK Chief for 11th time

January 9, 2015
M. Karunanidhi has been re-elected as the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Partys
President for the 11th time. He was elected by the newly constituted general council of party.
Facts about Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Party
It is a state political party in South Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Union Territory
(UT) Puducherry.
It was founded in 1949 in then Madras Presidency by C. N. Annadurai as a breakaway

faction from the Dravidar Kazhagam (known as Justice Party till 1944) headed by Periyar.
It was a former member of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
Karunanidhi was elected President of the Party on July 27, 1969 after C.N. Annadurais death. Since then
he is President of Party.
This party also holds the distinction of being the first party in India other than the Indian National
Congress (INC) to win state-level elections with a clear majority on its own in any state.
Chief Ministers of DMK in Tamil Nadu
N Annadurai- He was first CM of DMK. He was in office from 1967-69.

M. Karunanidhi- He was CM on five separate occasions. They are 1969-71, 1971-76, 1989-91, 1996-2001,
2006-11.
Governors rule imposed in Jammu and Kashmir

January 9, 2015
Governors rule has been imposed in the state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). It was imposed after President Pranab
Mukherjee approved the recommendation of J&K Governor N. N. Vohra as there is deadlock in the State over
formation of a new government after state assembly election.
Earlier, Governor had submitted a report to the President, after caretaker Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had
resigned.
Background
Jammu Kashmir State assembly election held in December 2014 had given hung verdict as no party has
majority to form government in State.
31
In this election, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has emerged as the single largest party with 28 seats in
the 87 members House. While Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) has emerged second largest party winning 25
seats. But both parties failed to get the magic figure of 44 to form a government.
Other parties like National Conference (NC) have 15 MLAs while Indian National Congress (INC) has 12
MLAs.
What is Governor Rule in Jammu & Kashmir?
In case of failure of constitutional machinery in any other state of India, the Presidents Rule is imposed
under Article 356 of the Constitution.
But in case of J&K, as per Section 92 of state Constitution, the Governors Rule can be imposed in the state
for a period of six months only after the consent of the President of India in case of failure of constitutional
machinery. During the Governors rule, State Assembly is either suspended or dissolved.
If the Constitutional machinery is not restored before the expiry of this six month period, the provision of Article
356 of the Constitution of India are extended to J&K and the Presidents rule is imposed in the State.
It should be noted that, Governors rule has been imposed in the state for the 6 time since 1977.
Maithripala Sirisena sworn-in as 7th President of Sri Lanka

January 9, 2015
Maithiripala Sirisena has sworn-in as 7th President of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankas Supreme Court Judge K. Sri Pawan administered the oath of office to Maithiripala
Sirisena at a oath taking function held at the Independence Square in Colombo.
While, United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickramasinghe was sworn-in as Sri Lankas
Prime Minister.
Election verdict
Maithiripala Sirisena was declared elected in Presidential elections after he had defeated incumbent President
Mahinda Rajapaksa by more than 4 and a half lakh votes. In this election he had secured 51.28 per cent of total votes
casted.
Summary on Sri Lankas 2015 Presidential Election
After the result was declared, incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa had conceded defeat. It should be
noted that for the first time in Sri Lanka, an incumbent President was defeated.
Mahinda Rajapaksa was President for one decade and had played important role to end LTTE militancy in
2009.
He also played important in huge development projects in the island nation, but failed to address the
political aspirations of the minority Tamil community, protect the Muslims from Buddhist hardliners and
secure a better economic deal for the poor.
Maithiripala Sirisena was Health Minister Rajapaksas government. But after Presidential were declared in
November 2014 he opposed Mahinda Rajapaksa by contesting the elections.
In this Presidential election, Maithiripala Sirisena got huge support of rainbow coalition of several parties
and minority communities as he had promised constitutional, electoral and administrative reforms within
a hundred days of coming to power.
He also had promised to abolish Executive Presidency in Sri Lanka and hand over political power to the
Prime Minister and the Parliament.
Maithripala Sirisena
He was born on 3 September 1951 and is son of a World War II veteran.
Political career:
He had joined mainstream politics in 1989 through the Sri Lankan Freedom Party. He was first elected to Sri Lankan
Parliament in 1989. He has held several ministries in Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga government. He was
Minister of Agriculture in the first Rajapakas government elected in 2005. He was reelected in 2010 and appointed
32

Minister of Health. In 1971, he was arrested on suspicion of leading a revolt against the government and was in jail
for almost two years.
Aziz Qureshi sworn in as Governor of Mizoram

January 10, 2015
Aziz Qureshi has sworn-in as the Governor of Mizoram. Justice Michael Zothankhuma, Judge
of the Gauhati High Court, administered the oath of office to Qureshi.
The swearing-in ceremony was held at the Durbar Hall of the Raj Bhavan in Aizawl. It was
attended by the s Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla and some of his cabinet colleagues.
Earlier Aziz Qureshi was governor of Uttarakhand. But in December 2014, he was transferred
from Uttarakhand and was appointed as the Mizoram Governor.
Constitutional provisions of Governor
Article 153: It says that there shall be Governor for each state. But 7th Constitutional Amendment Act,
1956 facilitated the appointment of the same person as a governor for two or more states.
Article 156: Governor is appointed by President and hold office during the pleasure of President. It should
be also noted that this article
also mentions tenure of Governor. In this regard it says that Governor shall
hold office for the term of 5 years from date he enters office.
Union Government merges PIO and OCI cards

January 10, 2015
Union Government has merged Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) card-holders with Overseas
Citizens of India (OCI) card-holders.
Union Home Ministry in this regard has issued notification mentioning that all PIO cardholders henceforth are deemed to be OCI card-holders with effect from 9th January 2015.
Thus, withdrawing PIO cards with immediate an effect. Now only OCI cards facility with
enhanced benefits will exist to provide maximum possible benefits to Indian Diaspora.
This notification was announced on the concluding day of 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas.
Background
Earlier on January 6, 2015 Government had promulgated Ordinance to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955.
This amendment changed the eligibility and provided additional benefits of PIO Card holders that have
been incorporated in OCI Card and certain other relaxation to OCI Card holders.
Governments this decision comes in lines with Prime Minister Narendra Modi previously made
announcement in USA and Australia visits.
During this visit he had announced that PIO and OCI cards will be merged and the Indian Diaspora will be given
maximum possible benefits.
Chinese Physicist Yu Min awarded State Preeminent Science and Technology Award 2014
January 10, 2015
Prominent Chinese theoretical physicist Yu Min has been awarded State Preeminent Science
and Technology Award for 2014.
Chinese President Xi Jinping gave him the award in the ceremony held at Great
Hall of the People in Beijing.
He was awarded for his groundbreaking research which led to the development of
Chinas first hydrogen bomb in 1967. It was tested after Chinas first successful
atomic weapons test. He is famously known as Chinas Father of Hydrogen bomb.
About Yu Min
He was a researcher at the Modern Physics Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
His work on nuclear weapon theory played a critical role in the design of the nuclear weapons of China
and number of high-tech research projects.
33
He has also won Chinas national scientific progress prizes three time and was honored as a national labor
model, and in 1992 was awarded the Guanghua Special Prize.
About State Preeminent Science and Technology Award of China
It is Chinas highest prize, awarded annually by the State president to countrys scientists. It is also referred
to as the State Supreme Science and Technology Award and considered as the Chinas Nobel Prize.
It was started in 2000 and declared in month of January of every year.

This award consists of monetary sum of 5 million Renminbi (official currency China). Out of this total sum, 10% is
given to the awarded scientist, and 90% is given as the fund for his scientific research project.
Tatas Vistara airline starts domestic flight operation

January 10, 2015
Tatas Vistara airline has started domestic flight operation in India. Vistara started its flight
operation after first flight took off from Delhi to Mumbai on 9 January 2015.
Vistara airline is a joint venture of Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines (SIA). Earlier in 2014, Tata
Group had to launch a full-service carrier in India with the help of SIA.
Some facts about Vistara airline preetham bandi | preetham.di.ban@hotmail.com | 19038
As part of joint venture Tata group owns 51 percent stake of Vistara airline, while
Singapore Airlines holds 49 percent of stake.
In the first year of their service, they will operate flights from Delhi to Goa, Mumbai, Bangalore,
Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Jammu and Patna.
To start full-service, Vistara has leased two A320s air crafts.
It will be the third full-service airlines in India, after state-run Air India and private carrier Jet Airways.
This is the second time the Tata group, has entered the full service airline business in India. First time in 1932, they
had started Tata Airlines, which was later renamed Air India in 1946, and was nationalised in 1953.
3 day Flamingo Festival begins near Pulicat Lake in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh
January 10, 2015
3 day Flamingo Festival has begun at the famous brackish water of Lake Pulicat in Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary located
at Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. It will be hosted in Doravari Satram mandal, in Nellore district.
This festival provides a unique opportunity for people, particularly ornithologists, environmentalists, bird watchers,
forest and tourism officials:
To study the bio-diversity of Pulicat and Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary
To initiate measure to conserve the bio-zones for future generations in this area.
It also promotes eco-tourism in the district. In this three day festival, several cultural and entertainment programmes
will take place.
Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary
The Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary, considered one of the biggest habitats for some hundreds of pelicans and other birds.
It is located about 20 km north of the Pulicat Lake on the Andhra Pradesh-Tamil Nadu border.
This sanctuary spread in an area about 459 hectares.
Every year from October to March, different species of migratory birds, roosting migrants and some rare
and endangered species from various parts of the world visit the habitat.
This sanctuary plays important role in nesting of various birds especially migratory birds.
Birds found in this sanctuary are: Flamingos, Pelicans, Siberian Storks, Open Billed Storks, Night Herons,
Egrets, Little Cormorant, Golden Backed Wood Pecker, Spotted and Ring Doves, King Fishers, Painted
Storks, White Necked Storks, Spoon Bills and other species of birds.
The villagers in area nearby to this sanctuary treat the migratory birds with affection and provide protection to them.
34

Sindhushree Khullar appointed as Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog
January 10, 2015
Appointment Committee of the Cabinet has appointed senior bureaucrat Sindhushree Khullar as
the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog.
She will serve in the post for one year starting from 1st January.
She is 1975-batch officer of the Indian Administrative Services (IAS) Union Territories
cadre. She had retired from the service in March 2013. Earlier, she was member-secretary
of Planning Commission.
Background
Union Government had replaced 6 decade year old Planning Commission with a new institution named National
Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) on 1st January.
This new institution aims to serve as Think Tank of the Government. Noted Economist Arvind Panagariya was
appointed Vice Chairman of the NITI Aayog.
World Hindipreetham
Day isbandi
being
observed on 10 January every year
January 10, 2015
Every year, 10 January is observed World Hindi Day. Objective of this day is to promote use of Hindi
language abroad.
To mark the occasion, special functions are being organized. It is usually, observed by Union Ministry of
External Affairs (MoEF) and Indian Missions abroad.
Background of World Hindi Day
On this day in 1975, the First World Hindi Conference was organized in Nagpur by then Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi. It was held from 10 to 12 January 1975.
In first conference, then Prime Minister of Mauritius Seewoosagur Ramgoolam was Chief Guest. This
conference was attended by 122 delegates from 30 countries.
Since then every year 10th January is being observed as the World Hindi Day.
Union Government unblocks 32 websites

January 11, 2015
Union Government has unblocked 32 websites which were blocked earlier in November 2014.
These websites were unblocked after they had promised to cooperate with the authorities and remove objectionable
content.
They were blocked for carrying anti-India views and spreading banned terrorist outfit Islamic State of Iraq and
Syrias (ISIS) propaganda.
Background
Earlier in November 2014, these websites were blocked following complaint of Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad
(ATS). They were blocked by Department of Telecom (DoT) under Section 69 of the Information Technology Act,
2000 and Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public)
Rules, 2009. These rules give powers to government to block access to information on websites if it threatens the
interest of:
Sovereignty and integrity of the country.
Defence of India.
Security of the state.
Friendly relations with foreign states or public order.

For preventing incitement to the commission of any cognizable offence.
35

DRDO successfully tests advance EW suite in Tejas-PV1 Aircraft
January 11, 2015
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully tested an advanced electronic warfare
(EW) suite.
It was tested onboard of the countrys Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas-PV1.
Key facts about Electronic Warfare (EW) suite
It is developed by Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE) of DRDO.
EW suite consists of Radar Warner and Jammer.
This suit gives pilot an additional capability of nullifying the effect of detected radar
threat by appropriate mode of jamming.
It will replace existing EW systems, which are fitted on various combat aircraft as they consist of basic equipment
Radar Warner Receiver. It only has capability to provide warning to the aircraft pilot in case of detection of a radar
threat.
January 11, 2015
People from 11 countries

take part in First Buddha Heritage Walk in Bihar
People from 11 countries have taken part in First Buddha Heritage Walk in Bihar.
In this heritage walk over 500 pilgrims from 11 countries walked through a 13-km-long
forest trail.
They walked through the trail which Lord Gautam Buddha had taken to reach
Rajgir from Bodh Gaya around 2,543 years ago.
It was organized by Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation (BSTDC).
Buddhist monks from Japan, China, South Korea, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar,
Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil, and India took part in it.
Some facts about this route
As per scholars, this well documented route is among such several routes taken by Buddha during his 45
years of preaching in various parts of India.
It passes through lush green forest, hills and valleys and several ancient Stupas can be seen in the along the route.
It is also believed that Bimibsara (emperor of the Magadha Empire from 542 BC till 492 BC) took Lord Buddha to
Venu Van near Rajgir on this route and offered him place to stay as a gift. Buddha had stayed there during his visit.
PM Narendra Modi inaugurates 7th vibrant Gujarat summit

January 11, 2015
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated 7th Vibrant Gujarat Summit in Mahatma Mandir,
Gandhinagar.
Key facts
Inaugural ceremony was attended by United Nations General Secretary and US State
Secretary John Kerry.
Apart from them, several ministers from Europe, Japan, Australia and Canada and over 50 CEOs of top
Indian as well as international companies attended it.
Gujarat Chief Minister Anandi Ben Patel earlier had welcomed all head of states dignitaries, diplomats and
deligates to the summit.
This edition will be 3 day event, starting from 11 January and conclude on 13 January 2015.
For the first time, eight countries Canada, Japan, China, Australia, the Netherlands, Singapore, South
Africa and U.S. have become partner for the summit with State.
This event is expected to bring in record investments to Gujarat. State government expects to sign over
20,000 Expression of Interest during the summit.
36

About Vibrant Gujarat Summit
This mega business event is brainchild of PM Narendra Modi and had started it when he was Chief
Minister of State.
It is biennial event and started in 2003.
The summit is advertised as a platform to understand and explore business opportunities in the State of
Gujarat.
It aims to provide single window platform to bring together business leaders, investors, corporations,
thought leaders, policy and opinion makers.
In previous six Vibrant Gujarat Summits, state government had signed MoUs worth Rs. 48 lakh crore.
First China-CELAC Forum ministerial meeting concludes in Beijing

January 11, 2015
First ministerial meeting of the Forum of China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States
(CELAC) concluded in Beijing.
It was two-day meeting and was co-chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Costa Rican counterpart,
Manuel Gonzalez Sanz.
First China-CELAC Forum ministerial meeting passed three major documents:
Beijing Declaration.
Five-year cooperation plan.
Regulations on the China-CELAC forum.

Both sides also reached a consensus on deepening political mutual trust, expanding cooperation and promoting
development of the forum.
On the concluding day it was announced that forums next meeting will be held in Chile in 2018.
Implication of this forum: It is considered as historical meeting as it launched to improve overall cooperation
between China and countries in Latin America and the Caribbean region. It will also build a closer CELAC-China
relationship and benefit people from both sides.
Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)
CELAC is a regional bloc of Latin American and Caribbean countries. It was outcome of Rio GroupCaribbean
Community Unity Summit.
It was created in 2011, in Caracas, Venezuela, with the signature of The Declaration of Caracas.
This bloc consists of 33 sovereign countries as its members in the southern American region representing around
600 million people.
UN chief Ban Ki Moon inaugurates Gujarats second canal-top 10-MW solar power project
January 12, 2015
United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon inaugurated Gujarats second canal-top
10-MW solar power project.
It is located on 5.5 km stretch of Vadodara branch of Sardar Sarovar project canal. It is
implemented by Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL)
Key facts of Gujarats Canal-top solar power project
It is considered as first-of-its-kind project in the world to generate power.
This project is brain child of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Earlier in April 2012, one-MW pilot project
was commissioned on the Sanand canal when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat.
The project comprises around 33,000 to 36,000 solar panels and financed by the State government.
Platform for these panels has been designed in such a manner it can sustain a wind velocity of 150 km/hr.
Power generated from it is fed into the State grid and also to operate pumping stations on the canal.
Advantages
It saves land and also prevents evaporation losses from the canal. It generates clean source of energy without any
kind of pollution.
37

January 12 being observed as National Youth Day
January 12, 2015
In India, January 12 is being observed as National Youth Day.

This day marks birth anniversary of social reformer, philosopher and thinker Swami Vivekananda.
On this day, numbers of functions are being organised nationwide to celebrate the birth
anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.
Background
Union Government in 1984 had declared and decided to observe the birthday of Swami
Vivekananda i.e. 12 January as a National Youth Day every year from 1985 onwards.
Significance of day
It will help to propagate the philosophy and the ideals of Swami Vivekananda for which he lived and worked. It will
also help and act as a great source of inspiration for the Indian Youth.
About Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda was born on 12 January 1863 and died on 4 July 1902.
He was born Narendranath Dutta and was chief disciple of the 19th century saint Ramakrishna
Paramhamsa and the founder
of thebandi
Ramakrishna
Math and the Ramakrishna
Mission.
preetham
| 19038
He was one of the most prominent figures of India who introduced Indian philosophies of Vedanta and
Yoga to the Western World.
His inspiring speech given at Worlds Religions Parliament held at Chicago in 1893 is famous.
Roger Federer records 1000th win after winning Brisbane title

January 12, 2015
Tennis living legend Roger Federer has recorded 1000 titles wins in mens professional circuit
career.
He made his 1000 win after winning Brisbane International Tennis title. In his 1,000 career
match, he defeated Milos Raonic with score of 6-4, 6-7, 6-4.
It should be noted that Roger Federer is third tennis player to win more than 1000 titles. Other
two tennis player are Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl.
About Roger Federer
He is a Swiss professional tennis player.
Currently, he is ranked world No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
He has won the most prize money of any player in history of tennis.
In 2008 Olympic Games, he has won the Olympic gold medal in doubles with his compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka and
the Olympic silver medal in singles at the 2012 Olympic Games.
He also holds record of winning 17 Grand Slam singles titles and reaching each Grand Slam Final at least five times.
Union Finance Minister Jaitley adopts 4 Gujarat villages as part of Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana
January 12, 2015
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has adopted 4 villages in Vadodara district in Gujarat as
part of the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana. He has adopted following 4 villages of Vadodara
district:
Karnali village
Pipaliya village
Valida village
Baglipura village
About Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY)
SAGY encourages Members of Parliament (MPs) from both Houses to identify and develop one village
from their constituency as a model village
38
Under this scheme, MPs will be responsible for developing the socio-economic and physical infrastructure
of three villages each by 2019, and a total of eight villages each by 2024.
Key objectives of the Yojana include:
The development of model villages, called Adarsh Grams, through the implementation of existing
schemes, and certain new initiatives to be designed for the local context, which may vary from village to
village.
Creating models of local development which can be replicated in other villages.
Under this SAGY, the first Adarsh Gram must be developed by 2016, and two more by 2019.
From 2019 to 2024, five more Adarsh Grams must be developed by each MP, one each year. This implies
that a total of 6,433 Adarsh Grams, of the 2,65,000 gram panchayats, will be created by 2024.
Thus, SAGY aims to transform lives of many for whom economic development never happened and also bring about
a sense of pride, volunteerism, and self-reliance in villages.
Union Government appoints Pournima Gupte as IRDA actuary

January 13, 2015
Union Government has appointed Pournima

Gupte
as member (actuary) of| 19038
Insurance Regulatory Authority of India
preetham bandi
(IRDA).
With her appointment, IRDA got an actuary after a gap of three years. Since 2011, this post was lying vacant after R
Kannan retired from IRDA.
It should be noted that for the first time a woman has been appointed on the board of IRDA.
Earlier, Pournima Gupte had worked with Life Insurance Corporation and has worked as actuary at Reliance Life
Insurance and IDBI Federal.
About Insurance Regulatory Authority of India (IRDA)
IRDA is an apex statutory body that regulates and develops the insurance industry in India.
It was constituted as per provisions of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999.
Headquarters: Hyderabad, Telangana.
Structure and Composition: It is 10 members body consisting of: Chairman, 5 full-time members, 4 parttime members. All members are appointed by Union Government.
Current chairman of IRDA is T.S. Vijayan.

On 31st December 2014, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) was renamed as Insurance
Regulatory and Development Authority of India.
72nd Golden Globe Awards

January 13, 2015
72nd edition of Golden Globe Awards was organized at Beverly Hills, California.
The winners of various awards in 72nd Golden Globe Awards are as follows:
Best Motion Picture Drama: Boyhood
Best Motion Picture Musical/Comedy: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Director in Motion Picture-Drama: Richard Linklater for Boyhood
Best Actor in Motion Picture-Drama: Eddie Redmayne for The Theory of

Everything
Actress in Motion Picture-Drama: Julianne Moore for Still Alice
Best Actor in Motion Picture or Musical or Comedy: Michael Keaton for Birdman
Best Actress in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy: Amy Adams for Big Eyes
Best Actor in a Supporting role in Motion Picture: K. Simmons for Whiplash
Best Actress in a Supporting role in Motion Picture: Patricia Arquette for Boyhood
Best Original Score Motion Picture: Jhann Jhannsson for The Theory of Everything
Best Foreign Language Film: Leviathan (Russia)
39

Idukki district of Kerala becomes Indias first district with rural broadband network
January 13, 2015
Idukki district of Kerala has become first district in India to have high speed Rural Broadband Network i.e. National
Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) Internet connectivity.
Union Minister of Information Technology and Communications Ravi Shankar Prasad commissioned this Hi-speed
rural broadband network under the governments flagship Digital India programme.
In Idukki, 8 block offices and 52 village panchayats out of 53 will benefit from this project.
Facts about National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN)
NOFN is the largest rural connectivity project of its kind in the world.
It aims to transform the country into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.
It seeks to link each of the 2.5 lakh village panchayats in the country spread over 6600 blocks and 631
districts through broadband optical fibre network in order to provide a minimum bandwidth of 100 Mbps.
On its completion, NOFN is expected to facilitate Broadband connectivity to over 600 million rural
citizens of the country.
NOFN, is being funded by

the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), Department of Telecom,
Ministry of Communications & IT.
It will offer people with friendly services like e-governance, e-health, e-education, e-banking, public internet access
etc. It will also enable delivery of various government services such as local planning, management, monitoring and
payments of Government schemes at panchayat level.
Thus it will help to provide non-discriminatory telecom infrastructure, in order to bridge the gap of digital divide in
rural internet access.
Odhisas Sun Temple gets ASIs Adarsh Monument tag

January 13, 2015
Sun Temple at Konark, Odhisa has been the coveted with Adarsh Monument tag by the
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
Along with Sun Temple, three other monuments of eastern India were given Adarsh
Monument tag. They are
Hazarduari Palace in Murshidabad district of West Bengal.
Vaishali-Kolhua in Bihar.
Rang Ghar in Sibsagar (Sivasagar) district of Assam.

At present, 25 out of 3,680 protected monuments in India have been selected under the
Adarsh Smarak Yojana.
It includes monuments like Taj Mahal, Khajuraho, Qutab Minar and Red Fort which have highest number of tourists
visiting them. By awarding this monument Adarsh Monument tag, Central government gives them special attention
in order to boost international tourism.
Under Adarsh Smarak Yojana, ASI provides amenities of international standards like washrooms, drinking water,
signs, cafeteria, audiovisual centres, Wi-Fi connectivity, interpretation centres and encroachment-free areas around
these monuments.
About Konark SunTemple
It is a 13th century temple of Odisha, built by Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty. It is also known as
Black Pagoda. Its a World Heritage Site. It is considered as architectural marvel for which Odisha, best known
worldwide.
Cristiano Ronaldo wins FIFA Ballon dOr award for the third time
January 13, 2015
Cristiano Ronaldo has won the FIFA Ballon dOr award for year 2014.
40

He has earned this title of worlds best football player for a third time. Earlier he was conferred with award in 2008
and 2013.
He has retained this highest individual honour in football after scoring 61 goals for Real Madrid and Portugal in
2014. He also had played important role, by making record tally of 17 goals in a Champions League season that
helped his club to win an unprecedented 10th European Cup title.
While in womens section, Germanys midfielder Nadine Kessler has been awarded FIFA Womens World Player of
the Year title.
FIFA Ballon dOr Award
It is an annual football association award given by FIFA to the male player who has performed the best in
the previous calendar year.
This award was instituted in 2010 after France Footballs Ballon dOr and the mens FIFA World Player of
the Year award were merged.
It is awarded to the male player, based upon highest votes secured by him from national team coaches and
captains, as well as journalists from around the world.
Inaugural 2010 FIFA Ballon dOr waspreetham
awarded
to| Lionel
Messi. Later he won
bandi
| 19038this award for consecutive two years
i.e. 2011 and 2012.
Justice S K Sinha becomes first Hindu Chief Justice of Bangladesh

January 13, 2015
Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha was appointed Chief Justice of Bangladesh by President Mohammad
Abdul Hamid.
With this appointment, he has become the first Hindu to hold highest judicial post in the Muslimmajority country.
He will succeed incumbent Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain as he is retiring on 16 January 2015
and will have a term of around three years.
About S K Sinha
Legal career: He started his legal career in 1974 as an advocate of the district court, Sylhet after completing
LLB.
He was an advocate of the high court in 1978 and later in the appellate division in 1990.
In 1999, he was appointed as judge of the High Court and later in 2009 as judge of the Appellate Division.
It should be noted that Bangladesh has unitary Supreme Court structure and comprises two divisions the
Appellate Division and the High Court division.
Key judgments: His landmark judgments include on assassination of Bangladeshs first President
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the 5th and 13th amendments to the countrys Constitution.
Border haat to enhance trade between India, Bangladesh opens in Tripura

January 13, 2015
India and Bangladesh inaugurated third border haat in Srinagar-Purba on the TripuraBangladesh border.
It was inaugurated by Union Commerce and Industries Minister Nirmala along with her
Bangladeshi counterpart Tofail ahmed in the presence of Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar.
This is the first border haat opened in state Tripura which shares 856-km border with
Bangladesh.
Key facts of Border Haat
Haats in India Language means Rural Market. The aim of this border haat is to enhance border trade
between the two countries.
It will also cater to the needs of the people living within a five km radius in this border area.
41
It will facilitate bilateral trade of 16 locally produced goods between both nations. It includes agricultural
and horticultural crops, spices, poultry, dairy products, cottage industry items, furniture and handicrafts
and hand-looms.
It will also boost people to people contacts between the two countries.
Background
Border haats along the border of two countries are established under a MOU for Border Trade and Border
Haats. It was signed by the two countries in October 2010.
As per the rules and guidelines of this MOU, traders in communities of both India and Bangladesh can
trade their local produce without any duty.
This bilateral trade will take place once a week in this haat and each trader is allowed to do business of US $ 100 per
day.
Government appoints Alur Seelin Kiran Kumar as ISRO chairman

January 13, 2015
Alur Seelin Kiran Kumar has been appointed chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO).
His name was cleared by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi.
He will replace former ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan who had retired on 31 December 2014.
He will have tenure of 3 years from the date he take charge.
Previously, Shailesh Nayak, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, was given additional charge of
ISRO till the appointment of a new head following the retirement of K Radhakrishnan.
About Alur Seelin Kiran Kumar
Education: He has an honours degree in Physics from National College, Bangalore University and an M Tech in
Physical Engineering from Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore.
ISRO career: In 1975, he started his ISRO career with the Space Application Centre.
He had played a key role in developing image sensors for Bhaskara- Indias first remote sensing satellite launched in
1979.
He also had played important role in developing key components of Indias Chandrayaan-1 and Mangalyaan
missions.
Before this appointment, he was director of Space Application Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad.
Awards: In 2014, he was awarded Padma Shri.
Haryana Government unveils new sports policy

January 13, 2015
Haryana government has unveiled new sports policy named Haryana Physical Activities and Sports Policy-2015.
It was announced Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar at function organized at Rohtak.
Key facts of Haryana Physical Activities and Sports Policy-2015
New sports policy, substantially increases the award money given to winners of international and national sports
events.
Olympic and Paralympic games
Gold medal winners: Will get Rs 6 crore. Earlier they were given Rs 5 crore.
Silver medal winners: Will get Rs 4 crore. Earlier they were given Rs 3 crore.
Bronze medal winners: Will get Rs 2.5 crore. Earlier they were given Rs 2 crore.
Participants: will get Rs 15 lakh cash awards. Earlier they were given Rs 11 lakh earlier.
Asian Games
Gold medal winners: Will get Rs 3 crore. Earlier they were given Rs 2 crore.
Silver medal winners: Will get Rs 1.5 crore. Earlier they were given Rs 1 crore.
Bronze medal winners: Will get Rs 75 lakh .Earlier they were given Rs 50 lakh.
Commonwealth Games
42
Gold medal winners: Will get Rs 1.5 crore. Earlier they were given Rs 1 crore.
Silver medal winners: Will get Rs 75 lakh. Earlier they were given Rs 50 lakh.
World Cup/World Championship winners
Gold medal winners: Will get Rs 20 lakh. Earlier they were given Rs 10 lakh.
Silver medal winners: Will get Rs 15 lakh. Earlier they were given Rs 8 lakh.
State government also has increased the award money for various other sports competitions including World
University Games, Youth Olympic Games, National School Games, All India University Tournaments, World
Marathon for Mentally Challenged, among other events.
Eligibility and conditions
Cash award will only be given to those sportspersons who has represented the state of Haryana in any sports. The
sportspersons or their parents should be residents of Haryana. As per the policy, players will be given awards for the
performance of preceding financial year only and not for past performance or achievements.
Kamal Kishore
selected for Vyas Samman
2014
preethamGoyanka
| 19038
January 13, 2015
Well-known Hindi scholar and writer Dr Kamal Kishore Goyankahas been selected for the
prestigious Vyas Samman for the year 2014. He has been chosen for this award for his research
workPremchand Kee Kahaniyo Kaa Kaalkramanusar Adhyayan.
Vyas Samman
This award is instituted by the K.K. Birla Foundation. It was started in 1991.
It is awarded annually in recognition of the hindi literary work published in past 10
years.
The award carries monetary award of 2.5 lakh rupees, a citation and a plaque.
RBI governor Raghuram Rajan wins Governor of the Year award

January 13, 2015
A British magazine has named RBI Governor and well-known economist Raghuram Rajan as
the Governor of the Year in the Central Banking Awards for 2015.
It was announced by British magazine Central Banking.
Governor Raghuram Rajan was chosen for this award by magazine for his disciplined
and focused approach in leading the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) during his first year as
Governor.
It also mentioned that, RBI Governor deserved the award for his deep understanding of the root causes of
Indias economic problems.
About Raghuram Rajan
He is 23 Governor of RBI and had taken charge in September 2013.
Earlier, he was chief economic adviser (CEA) to Indias Ministry of Finance in 2013.
He was chief economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 2003 to 2007.
He is also a celebrity economist known across the globe for predicting the 2008 global meltdown.
He has authored many books on economics and is professor of finance at the graduate business school at
the University of Chicago.
Awards:
Fischer Black Prize- In 2003, he was awarded this award by the American Finance Association for
contributions to the theory and practice of finance.
Deutsche Bank Prize for Financial Economics- In 2013, he was awarded this award for his groundbreaking research work which influenced financial and macro-economic policies around the world.
Best Central Bank Governor award- In 2014, he was awarded this award by Euromoney magazine.
43

Railway Ministry flagged off Indias first CNG train in Haryana
January 13, 2015
Railway Ministry has flagged off Indias first compressed natural gas (CNG) powered train
between Rewari and Rohtak in Haryana.
It was flagged off by Union Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu at Rewari junction of the
Northern Railway zone.
Some facts about CNG train
It is powered by Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU). It is based on dual fuel

system- diesel and CNG.
This train is integrated with 1,400 HP engine to run on dual fuel through fumigation technology.
It is capable of running at a speed of 100 km per hour.
Train comprised of two power cars and six car coaches, manufactured by Integral Coach Factory at
Chennai with the CNG conversion kit supplied by Cummins.
Its successful implementation, marks a major landmark in adoption of green fuel by Indian Railways.
Implications:
It will reduce greenhouse gas emissions of Railways and also the consumption of diesel. Thus, contributing
in environment conservation.
It will help to reduce the operating cost of locomotives by over 50% compared to conventional trains
powered by diesel and electricity.
USAID, Gates Foundation to partner with government for Swachchh Bharat Mission
January 14, 2015
Union Urban Development Ministry, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Bill and
Milinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) have agreed to partner in Swachh Bharat programme.
In this regard, USAID has inked a pact with the Urban Development Ministry while BGMF signed a Memorandum
of Cooperation.
The Memoranda were signed in presence of Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and US
Ambassador to India, Richard Verma.
Key facts
As a global partner in Swachh Bharat programme, USAID will assist union governments flagship
programme by knowledge exchange and identification and sharing of best practices for water and
sanitation services.
It will also provide technical support and promote public private partnership (PPP) and spend about $2.50
million per year on these activities.
While, BMGF as a partner will provide technical and management support in the implementation of the
mission.
It will provide coordination of decentralised and non-sewered sanitation solutions, implementation and
management through skill development focusing on towns located along the Ganga river at a cost of $2.50
million annually.
Thus it can be said that Governments Swachchh Bharat Mission got global boost, which will take sanitation beyond
construction of toilets and offers holistic solutions towards cleanliness.
Government sacks DRDO Chief Avinash Chander, 16 months before end of his tenure
January 14, 2015
Union Government has sacked chief of Defence Research and Development Organization
(DRDO) Avinash Chander, 16 months before his contract end.
Termination of his contract was approved by Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) headed by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with effect from 31 January 2015.
44

He was appointed as DRDO chief in June 2013. He was to retire on 30 November 2014, but government had
extended his tenure beyond his retirement on contract basis.
About Avinash Chander
In 1972, he had joined DRDO after completing graduation in Electrical Engineering from IIT Delhi. He is
a fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineers.
He is the chief architect of Agni series of ballistic missile systems and considered asAgni man of India.
Indias range of Agni missiles were developed missiles under his technology forecast, perspective planning
and relentless efforts.
Awards: He was awarded Padma Shri for his contribution in the successful development of 5000-km range Agni-V
missile.
ISRO Mars Orbiter Mission team wins 2015 Space Pioneer Award
January 14, 2015
The team of ISROs Mars Mission has been awarded 2015Space Pioneer Award in the Science and
Engineering category by National Space Society (NSS).
They are being conferred with

this award for achieving the rare feat of entering Mars orbit
in maiden attempt.
Mars Orbiter Programme Team will receive the award during NSS 34th International
Space Development Conference which will be held in Toronto from 20 May 2015.
ISROs Mars Orbiter Mission(MOM)
It was launched on 5 November, 2013. It made history on 24 September 2014 after it entered Mars orbit in
maiden attempt.
It achieved two significant missions. First, entering into orbit around Mars and secondly, taking full-disk
colour imagery of Mars with its onboard high resolution camera.
It should be noted that, the Mars Orbiter programme team is located in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It is headed
by eminent ISRO scientist Mylswamy Annadurai.
About Space Pioneer Award
It recognizes those individuals and teams whose accomplishments have helped to open the space frontier.
It was instituted in 1988.
This prestigious award is be given by the National Space Society (NSS), an American educational and
scientific organization.
Award memento consists of a silvery pewter Moon globe cast. It is casted by the Baker Art Foundry in Placerville,
California. Originally, this sculpture was created by Don Davis, the well-known space and astronomical artist.
Pope Francis declares Indian priest Joseph Vaz as saint in Colombo

January 14, 2015
Pope Francis has declared 17th century Indian priest and missionary Joseph Vaz as saint in
Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Pope announced it while addressing a holy mass for 5 lakh people at the Gall Face Green in
Colombo. Joseph Vaz has become first priest from Sri Lanka, canonised as saint.
About Joseph Vaz
He was born on 21 April 1651 in Benaulim Goa (then Portuguese India) and was
ordained as priest in 1676 in Goa.
Later in 1687, he moved to Sri Lanka and worked for revival of Catholic Church in a period of Dutch
repression of Catholics.
Since then he had founded several churches and chapels, helping revive the faith of Catholics by Calvinists
in Sri Lanka.
He died in 1711 and was beatified by Pope John Paull II in Colombo on 21 January 1995.
45

SHAR director MYS Prasad selected for Vikram Sarabhai Memorial Award 2014-15
January 14, 2015
M.Y.S. Prasad, director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota Range (SHAR), has been
selected for the prestigious Vikram Sarabhai memorial award 2014-15.
He will be presented award by the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA).
He was selected for this award for his outstanding contribution to R&D in the field of
space science in his long and chequered career at the Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO).
Prior to Dr. Prasad, former ISRO chairmen Dr. Satish Dhawan, Dr. K. Kasturi Rangan, Dr. G. Madhavan
Nair and Dr. K. Radhakrishnan have received this prestigious award.
Vikram Sarabhai memorial award
It was instituted in 1997-98 by ISCA- a premier scientific organization of the country.
Every alternate year it is awarded to distinguished scientist of the country in recognition of their
outstanding contributions.
This award comprises a gold medal and certificate and presented at the inaugural function of the Annual Session of
ISCA.
Eminent Sanskrit scholar Prabhu Nath Dwivedi named for Sahitya Akademi Award 2014
January 14, 2015
Eminent Sanskrit scholar Prabhu Nath Dwivedi has been conferred with prestigious Sahitya
Akademi Award 2014 for Sanskrit language. He was chosen for his work Kanakalochanaha- a
collection of 16 short-stories based upon various social issues eroding the system.
His book was selected by a three-member jury of the Sahitya Akademi.
Mr Diwedi is Sanskrit teacher and has been teaching in various universities for
more than three decades.
Backround
Earlier in December 2014, Sahitya Akademi had announced names of 22 poets and authors for prestigious
Sahitya Akademi Award 2014. But they had not announced the winners of Manipuri and Sanskrit
language.
About Sahitya Akademi Award
Sahitya Akademi Award ( ) is conferred on writers of outstanding works in one of the

twenty-four major Indian languages.
24 major Indian languages are- Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri,
Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Rajasthan, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi,
Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.
The award consists of a casket containing an engraved copper-plaque, a shawl and a cheque of 1 Lakh rupees.
Italys President Giorgio Napolitano resigns

January 14, 2015
Italys President Giorgio Napolitano has resigned from office. He has resigned citing reason of poor
health ahead of his 2020 expiry term. He also announced his retirement after stepping down as
President.
About Giorgio Napolitano
He was a long-time member of the Italian Communist Party and was elected to Italian
parliament for first time in 1953.
He was Minister of Interior from 1996 to 1998 under then Prime Minister Romano Prodi.
President: In 2006, he was elected by parliament as President of Italy for first time. He was re-elected as
President in 2013 and was to retire in 2020. He is longest-serving President of Italy and was in office for
around 8 years.
46
As a President, he was regarded as a guarantor of stability amid of current unstable governments and Italys
longest recession since World War II.
President of Italy: His role is mainly ceremonial but can declare legislation unconstitutional. He also has the power
to dissolve parliament, nominate prime ministers and call early elections. He has tenure of 7 years.
Government hands over new Maritime Security Gadget to Navy, Coast guard
January 15, 2015
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has handed over Resident Identity Card (RIC)readers to Navy Chief Admiral
R K Dhowan and Coast Guard Director General Vice-Admiral A G Thapliyal.
As part of RIC Scheme, these maritime security gadgets will be used by security agencies to check identity cards of
the residents of coastal areas issued under RIC Scheme.
Government had issued more than 65 lakh people mainly residents of coastal villages with identity cards as per RIC
Scheme under the National Population Registrar.
Key facts of Resident Identity Card (RIC) scheme
It aims to strengthen coastal security measures in 9 states and 4 Union Territories which have a sea-line
running along their borders.
The scheme of issuing Cards is being implemented by the Office of the Registrar General and Census
Commissioner- an office under the aegis of Union Home Ministry.
Under this scheme, Union Government will prepare National Population Registrar (NPR) in 3,331 coastal
villages by issuing Resident Identity Cards (RIC).
RIC readers will be used by coastal security agencies to authenticate an individuals demographic and
biometric authentication without using Internet services.
RIC cards are manufactured indigenously and can be read only when the key present in the RIC readers.
RIC reader is temper-proof and self-destructs itself if it is opened in an unauthorized manner.

Initially, these card readers will be issued to the Navy and Coast Guard. Later it will be given to Maritime Police
stations and state governments.
Indias Open water swimmer Bhakti Sharma sets world record in Antarctic Ocean
January 15, 2015
Indias open water swimmer Bhakti Sharma has set a new world record by swimming 1.4 miles
in 52 minutes in one degree temperature in the Antarctic Ocean.
She has bettered the earlier record of British open water swimmer Lewis Pugh and American
swimmer Lynne Cox. She is also the first Asian girl and youngest in the world to achieve this
feat.
Hindustan Zinc had sponsored her to achieve this feat and pursue swimming career.
About Bhakti Sharma
She has been pursuing open water swimming for the last 10 years.
She holds the distinction of being the youngest female swimmer in the world to swim in 5 oceans (Indian,
Atlantic, Pacific, Antarctic and Arctic) and 7 seas.
Awards: She is recipient of the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award-2010.
Army Day is being observed on 15 January

January 15, 2015
In India, Army Day is being observed every year on 15 January.

Significance of Day
In 1949, on this day Lt. General (later Field Marshal) Kodandera Madappa Cariappa became
the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army (of the independent India) by
succeeding British Army General Roy Butcher.
47
Events: It is celebrated every year at all the Army Command headquarters and national capital by
organizing army parades including many other military shows.
This day inspires the troops to continue to enrich the glorious traditions of the Indian Army with their
dedication and sacrifice.
On 15 January 2015, it will be the 67th Indian Army Day.
Team India unveils new eco-friendly ODI jersey kit

January 15, 2015
Indian cricket team has unveiled new eco-friendly ODI jersey ahead of the triangular series starting in Australia on
16 January 2015. It was unveiled in Melbourne.
Key facts of Team Indias eco-friendly ODI jersey
It is made out of 100% recycled polyester obtained from 33 recycled plastic bottles.
The new light weight kit combines high performance innovation with sustainability.
The jersey is light, comfortable and packed with innovation.
This eco-friendly jersey kit is made by BCCIs official apparel sponsor Nike.
HS Brahma appointed as Chief Election Commissioner of India

January 15, 2015
President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed Harishankar Brahma as the new Chief Election
Commissioner (CEC) of India.
He will be 19th CEC of India and succeed V S Sampat who had retired after attaining
age 65 on 15 January 2015.
He will take charge on 16 January 2015.

About Harishankar Brahma
He is a retired IAS officer of 1975 batch from the Andhra Pradesh cadre.
He hails from the state of Assam. He is second person from North East India to become Chief Election
Commissioner after J. M. Lyngdoh.
He had assumed charge of Election Commissioner on 24 August 2010, after he retired from position of
Secretary in Ministry of Power.
About Chief Election Commissioner
As per the provisions of Article 324 of Constitution

Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners are appointed by the President.
They hold office for the term of 6 years or until they attain age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from office only throughimpeachment by Parliament.
RBI cuts repo rate by 25 basis point

January 15, 2015
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cut down repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.75 percent from 8 percent, with
immediate effect.
It was announced ahead of the scheduled date of monetary policy announcement on 3rd February
2015 as part of RBIs 6th bi-monthly monetary policy statement.
RBIs 6th bi-monthly monetary policy statement says that
Repo rate: RBI has reduced the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility
(LAF) by 25 basis points from 8.0 per cent to 7.75 per cent.
Cash reserve ratio (CRR): RBI has unchanged CRR and kept it at 4.0 per cent of net demand and time
liabilities (NDTL).
Reverse repo rate: RBI has adjusted reverse repo rate under the LAF to 6.75 per cent.
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While, RBI has adjusted Marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 8.75 per cent with immediate
effect.
US designates Taliban Chief Mullah Fazlullah as Global Terrorist

January 15, 2015
United States has designated Maulana Fazlullah, chief of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)- an outfit of Pakistans
Taliban, as global terrorist and has imposed sanctions against him.
It was announced after US Secretary of State John Kerry had asked Pakistan to target all terror outfits like the
Lashkar-e-Taiba, Taliban and the Haqqani Network that pose a threat to itself, neighbours like India and to US.
What does it means?
Being designated as global terrorist, all the property and interests of Maulana Fazlullah that are in US or
that come within the US, or the possession or control of US persons will be freezed.
It also prohibits US nationals against engaging in transactions with Maulana Fazlullah.

Why Maulana Fazlullah is designated as global terrorist?
In November 2013, he was

elected as TTP chief commander after the death of former TTP leader
Hakimullah Mehsud.
Under his leadership, TTP had carried out barbaric attack on army school in Peshawar on 16 December
2014, killing at least 150 people, mostly children.
In 2012, prior to becoming the leader of TTP, he was behind the killing of Pakistani Army Major General
Sanaullah Niazi as well as ordering the shooting of schoolgirl and activist Malala Yousafzai (later won
Nobel peace prize-2014).
He is also responsible for the beheading of 17 Pakistani soldiers.

It should be noted that United Nations and US already have declared Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as banned
Terrorist Organisation after Al-Qaeda.
Leela Samson resigns as Chairperson of Central Board of Film Certification

January 16, 2015
Chairperson of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) Leela Samson has resigned. She
resigned after Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) cleared the controversial film
Messenger of God featuring Dera Saccha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in lead role.
The Censor Board headed by Ms. Samson had earlier denied the clearance certificate to the film
saying that the movie depicts Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh as a God.
Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT)
FCAT is a statutory body. It has been constituted under the provisions of the Cinematograph Act, 1952.
It comes under the aegis of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Headquarters: New Delhi.
The Tribunal has a Secretary to look after its day to day affairs.
Function: It hears the appeals filed as per provisions of Cinematograph Act. Any applicant can file an
appeal before the tribunal for a certificate in respect of a film who is aggrieved by an order of the Central
Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
Leela Samson
She is a Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, instructor and writer. She is recipient of the many awards for her
contributions to Bharatanatyam. It includes Padma Shri (1990), Kalaimamani (2005) given by Government of Tamil
Nadu, and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (19992000).
49

SEBI notifies stringent insider trading norms
January 16, 2015
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has notified stringent revamped rules related to the Insider
trading.
Insider trading refers to the trade of a companys stocks or other securities and making unethical profits with access
to the non-public information. This is detrimental to the other / small investors who dont have such information.
In this regard market regulator has issued SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015. Thus, revamping
nearly two-decade old regulations on insider trading.
The key facts about new rules are as follows:
It highlights greater clarity on concepts and definitions along with a stronger legal and enforcement
framework for prevention of insider trading.
The new rules has expanded the definition of insider. It says that that anyone who is in contractual,
fiduciary or employment relations with the promoters will be presumed to be insiders. Thus, the new
rules include the immediate relatives of promotes, directors and employees who are in possession or have
access to such information, preetham
within bandi
the scope
of insiders.
The new rules make it mandatory that the perpetual insiders such as promoters and directors will have to
disclose their future trading plan in advance to the stock exchanges. They are required to trade strictly as
per that plan in order to protect the interest of investors
The definition of the unpublished price sensitive information (UPSI) has been broadened. Earlier, it has
reference to only to company but now, it will have reference to company as well as securities.
Background
The rules have been prepared after taking into consideration recommendations of Sodhi panel and other
panel recommendations.
It should be noted that a panel headed by former Justice N K Sodhi (former Chief Justice of Karnataka and
Kerala High Courts) had submitted its report on insider trading norms in December 2013.
Haryana government announces yoga guru Ramdev its brand ambassador

January 16, 2015
Haryana government has announced yoga guru Ramdev as its brand ambassador.
By appointing the yoga guru as its brand ambassador state aims to promote yoga and Ayurveda in the
state. It was announced by Haryanas minister of sports and health Anil Vij.
In order to promote ayurveda in a big way, state government is planning to to develop a first ever
herbal forest with over 25,000 plants over 1,000 acres of land in the state.
State government also plan to open Vyayamshalas and Yogshalas in 6,500 villages and cities of Haryana.
J&K wins National e-Governance award 2014-15 for best district-level initiative
January 16, 2015
Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has been selected for National e-Governance award 2014-15 for
its best district level initiative in the country.
J&K state has been selected for this award by Department of Administrative Reforms for its ePanchayat project.
This award will be presented during 18th National Conference on e-Governance to be held at
Gandhinagar, Gujarat on January 30-31, 2015.
Background
J&Ks e-Panchayat project was shortlisted among 53 nominees for spot study which was done by PriceWater
Coopers Ltd and officers of Department of Administrative Reforms of PMO in November-December 2014.
50

Finally it was is selected by the by jury headed by Secretary Administrative Reforms and conferred after approval of
Prime Minister who heads Ministry of Personnel, Department of Administrative Reforms.
J&Ks e-Panchayat project
It was launched in 2013-14 for strengthening 147 panchayats in the state.

This project provided platform for a decentralized regime of panchayats in the state by shifting the service
delivery from block level to panchayat level.
National e-Governance award
It was instituted in 1997. It is given by Department of Administrative Reforms.

Purpose of the award
It recognizes the achievements in the area of e-Governance.
It seeks to disseminate knowledge on effective methods of designing and implementing sustainable eGovernance initiatives.
Encourage incremental innovations in successful e-Governance solutions.
Promote and exchange experiences in solving problems, Mitigating risks, resolving issues and planning for
success.
It should be noted that J&K state has bagged this award for first time in 18 years since award was instituted.
Veteran freedom fighter Ghelubhai Naik passes away

January 16, 2015
Veteran Gandhian and freedom fighter Ghelubhai Naik passed away in Dangs district of Gujarat. He was 90.
He was well-known for his social work and tribal development in Dangs district of Gujarat.
About Ghelubhai Naik
Being Gandhian and freedom fighter, he was close to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Following Gandhian principles, he started his social work in Dangs as the Sarvodaya worker in 1948.
He along with Chunilal Vaidya had set up Swaraj ashram in Dangs district for spreading the education
among the tribal.
He also played important role in changing names of thousands of tribal people, who earlier beared names
like Ravio, Thagio, Nariyo etc, in order to bring them in mainstream society.
His lifelong social work played key role in promoting education, de-addiction and spreading awareness about health
and upliftment of Dangi tribe.
Missing Mars probe Beagle 2 found on Mars after 11 years

January 17, 2015
A British-built space probe Beagle 2 has been found on the surface of Mars, 11 years
after it was thought that it was lost on Mars.
It was discovered in the high-resolution images taken by HiRISE camera mounted on
NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).
Thus, its discovery has ended the decade long mystery of what happened to the mission
since 2003.
After the discovery, the Royal Society has announced an award in commemoration of
Prof Colin Pillinger (died in 2014) who was Principal Investigator of Beagle2 probe.
About Beagle2
Beagle2 was released to its landing trajectory from its mother craft- European Space Agencys Mars
Express (MEx) orbiter on 19 December 2003.
After its release, it was due to land six days later on Mars surface using parachutes and airbags.
But nothing was heard from probes radio contact after its scheduled touchdown.
It was assumed by many scientists that it had been destroyed in a high-velocity impact during landing.
51

Sania Mirza, Bethanie Mattek-Sands wins Sydney doubles title
January 17, 2015
Indias Sania Mirza along with her American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands has won doubles title
at the Sydney International Tennis Tournament 2015.
Indo-American in the finals defeated top-seeded Americans Abigail Spears and Raquel Kops-Jones
by score of 6-3, 6-3.
It should be noted that it was fifth WTA title won by Sania and Bethanie together as partner.
While, this win is Sanias first title of the season and 23rd of her career.
Sydney International Tennis Tournament
It is one of the oldest professional tennis tournaments in the world, dating to 1885.
It is currently noted as an ATP 250 point event on the mens tour and a WTA Premier event on the
womens tour.
It is played annually at the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre in Homebush, New South Wales,
Australia.
preetham
| 19038
Tribal
Foodbandi
Festival-2015
begins in New
Delhi
January 17, 2015
Tribal Food Festival-2015 has begun in New Delhi. It was inaugurated by Union Tribal Affairs
Minister Jual Oram.
It is 3 day event organized by Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India
(TRIFED) on behalf of the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
The main objective of Tribal Food Festival-2015 is to introduce and create awareness on the
varieties of ethnic Tribal Foods to the people of Delhi. It also seeks to provide additional source
of income to the tribals.
In this unique event, tribals from various States including Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,
Nagaland and Odisha have participated.
Union Cabinet gives nod to FM Phase 3 auction

January 17, 2015
Union Cabinet has given its nod for conducting FM Phase-III auction and renewal of Private FM Radio licenses from
Phase-II to Phase-III in 69 existing cities for 135 channels. It was decided in Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi.
Key facts of FM Phase-III auction
The Phase III will e-auction around 839 FM channels in 294 cities. It is expected to commence before the
end of the present fiscal year. However, it will continue over the next three years.
It will be done according to recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on
payment of migration fee.
Union Government already had appointed an e-auctioneer to monitor the e-auction.
Successful auctions of all proposed channels in Phase-III seeks to add an estimated revenue of over 550
crore to the National Exchequer.
Background
Earlier, the decision relating to Phase-III was taken by then Union Cabinet of UPA Government on 7 July
2011.
But it was delayed as channel auction was proposed on e-auction basis.
In March 2014, the Empowered Committee had decided to charge a fee for migration to existing operators
who wanted to move to Phase-III.
In India, as of now two phases of Private FM Radio have been implemented. They are Phase-I (1999-2000)
and Phase-II (2005-06). While, there are 243 private FM channels operating in 86 cities of the country,
spanning 26 States and three Union Territories.
52
Thus, cabinets decision for auction is critical for the private radio industry since some of the licenses of the
channels are expiring on 31 March, 2015.
Union Government launches schemes to support entrepreneurs from Scheduled Castes

January 17, 2015
Union Government has launched Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes Schemeto encourage budding and
existing entrepreneurs from Scheduled Castes (SCs).
It was launched by Union Social Justice Minister Thaawar Chand Gehlot in Delhi.
Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes Scheme
Objectives
To promote entrepreneurship amongst the SCs who are oriented towards innovation and technological
growth by providing concessional finance to them. It also seeks to enhance direct and indirect employment
generation for SC population.
It consists of an initial capital of Rs. 200 crore.
Industrial Finance Corporation of India
(IFCI) Limited will be the Sponsor this scheme. While, Settler and Asset
Management Company (AMC) will be nodal agency to operate the scheme.
Under this scheme, Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment will provide assistance of Rs. 15 crore to
each 30 persons a year, in the form of loan.
New travel and trade rules between US and Cuba come into effect
January 17, 2015
New travel and trade rules between the United States (US) and Cuba have come into effect on 16 January 2015.
It is considered as biggest policy shift between the two countries in more than 50 years after restrictions were
imposed on travel and trade .
New travel and trade rules between the US and Cuba
It allows US citizens to use credit cards in Cuba and US businesses to export some technologies. Earlier this
facility was not available to US citizens.
It also allowed US citizens to take home up to 100 dollar in alcohol and tobacco from Cuba.
Background
These new travel and trade rules are implemented after US and Cuba agreed to re-establish diplomatic ties
between the two countries in December 2014.
Enmity between US government and Cubas communist government started in 1959 after the Cuban
revolution led by Fidel Castro had overthrown then Cuban President Fulgencio Batista.
In 1961, Cuba had broken all its diplomatic relations with US and had joined hands with US cold war rival
Soviet Union. During this time, US had imposed travel and trade ban on Cuba.
Enmity between both nations had attained its peak in 1962 after Cuban missile crisis that brought whole
world to the brink of nuclear war.
But after the fall of Soviet Union in 1991, Cuba was left alone without any strong international support.
President launches pulse polio immunization programme

January 17, 2015
President Pranab Mukherjee has launched the Pulse Polio Immunization(PPI) Programme by
administering polio drops to children at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
It was launched by President ahead of the National Immunization Day which is

observed on 18 January.
PPI Programme is a Government drive to sustain polio eradication from the

country. As part of it children less than 5 years of age are given polio vaccine drops.
Background
Since 1995, India has been implementing the Pulse Polio Immunization Programme.
53
On 27 March 2014, India and 7 other Asian countries were declared polio-free by the World Health
Organisation (WHO).
7 other Asian countries are: Bangladesh, Bhutan, North Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, the Maldives and
Myanmar.
It should be noted that WHO declares any country polio free if no case is reported for three consecutive
years.
Key facts about Polio
Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease, which mainly affects young children below age of
5.
Transmission: The virus is transmitted from person-to-person. It mainly spreads through the faecal-oral
route (e.g. contaminated water or food). After entering body, it multiplies in the intestine, from where it
can invade the nervous system and can cause paralysis.
Symptoms: Initial symptoms include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck, and pain in
the limbs. In some cases, it causes permanent paralysis. There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented
by immunization.
IAF gets first indigenously-built Light Combat Aircraft Tejas

January 17, 2015
First indigenously-built Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas was handed over to the Indian
Air Force (IAF) by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar at ceremony held at Bengaluru,
Karanataka.
It was handed over after it was granted Initial Operational Clearance (IOC)-II, which signifies
that aircraft is airworthy to fly in different conditions.
About Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas
Tejas is outcome of Indias LCA programme, which began in the 1983 to replace
countrys aging MiG-21 fighters.
It is a lightweight multi-role jet fighter indigenously-built by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited

(HAL).
It is a tailless and having compound delta wing design. It is powered by a single engine.
It is mounted with inbuilt MultiMode Radar (MMR), Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) systems.
As part of LCA programme, 20 aircraft will be built by 2017-2018, to make the first squadron of the
aircraft.
IOC-I was granted to the aircraft in January 2011 after it was built by HAL. While, IOC- II was granted in
September 2014, after the aircraft successfully completed its maiden flight.
It is yet to receive the Final Operational Clearance (FOC) and excepted to receive it by the year-end which includes
testing mid-air refuelling and its long-range missiles capabilities.
Egypts best-known actresses Faten Hamama passes away

January 18, 2015
One of Egypts best known actresses Faten Hamama has passed away. She was 83.
She was known as the Lady of the Arabic Screen and was a star of the golden age of Egyptian
cinema.
About Faten Hamama
She was born in 1931. She had started her film career in 1939, when she was only 7
years old in Youm Saeed (Happy Day), alongside legendary singer Mohamed Abdel
Wehab.
She was an Arab film icon who had appeared in almost 100 films.
Her film career was at its peak in the 1950s when she met fellow three-time Golden Globe winner actor
Omar Sharif, later whom she married.
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She played important role in improving the cinema industry in Egypt and emphasized the importance of
women in cinema and Egyptian society.
She had appeared in films including Struggle in the Valley (1954), The Nightingales Prayer (1959), I Want
a Solution (1974) and The Night of Fatimas Arrest (1985).
She also had appeared on several TV shows, such as 1992s Dameer Abla Hekmat (The Conscience of Mrs. Hekmat)
and 2000s Wagh Al-Qamar (Face of the Moon).
Winners of mens & womens single title of Sydney International Tennis tournament
January 18, 2015
Mens single title
Viktor Troicki of Serbia has won the mens single title of Sydney International Tennis
tournament 2015.
In the finals, he defeated Russias Mikhail Kukushkin by score of 6-2, 6-3.
It is Viktor Troickis 2nd career title. His first title was 2010 Kremlin Cup.
Womens single title
Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic has won the womens single title of Sydney International Tennis
tournament 2015.
In the finals, she defeated Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic by score of 7-6, 7-6.
It is Petra Kvitovas 15th career title. She is two times Wimbledon Champion (2011 and 2014) and
currently ranked World no. 4.
About Sydney International Tennis Tournament
It is also known as Apia International Sydney, is one of the oldest professional tennis tournaments in the
world, dating to 1885.
It is currently noted as an ATP 250 point event on the mens tour and a WTA Premier event on the
womens tour.
It is played annually at the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre in Homebush, New South Wales,
Australia.
5th General Assembly of IRENA begins in Abu Dhabi

January 18, 2015
The 5th General Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency

(IRENA) has began in Abu Dhabi.
Government leaders from more than 150 countries including India and
representatives from more than 110 international organizations are taking part in
this two day meet.
5th meet of IRENA seeks to address global issues like enhancing the share of renewable energy in the overall energy
mix and to tackle global challenges like climate change, energy access and energy security.
About International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
It is an intergovernmental organization to promote adoption and sustainable use of renewable energy. It is

the global hub for renewable energy cooperation and information exchange within its member nations.
It was founded in 2009 and its statute entered into force on 8 July 2010.
Headquarters: Abu Dhabi.
Members: In total it has 138 Members. India is one of the 33 Permanent members of IRENA.
Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani lays Foundation stone of IIM-Visakhapatnam

January 18, 2015
Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani has laid the foundation stone for Indian Institute of Management (IIM)Visakhapatnam at Gambheeram village of Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh.
55

Key facts
It is the first institution among the 11 Central premier institutions to be established in the state as per the
provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.
IIM- Visakhapatnam will start its functioning from 2015-16 from the campus of Andhra University till the
construction of campus is completed.
It should be noted that IIM- Visakhapatnam will be fourteenth IIM of the country.
Union Government is also planning to introduce a bill on Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) in Parliament, in
order to empower these public, autonomous institutes to award MBA degrees instead of postgraduate diploma
certificates.
Andhra Pradesh government signs pact with ICRISAT to boost sustainable farming
January 18, 2015
Andhra Pradesh government has signed a pact with the International Crop Research
Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) to boost sustainable farming in the state.
In this regard, Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) was signed by state government with
ICRISAT.
Key highlights of agreement
It seeks to provide assistance in making agriculture sustainable and profitable in state by

increasing productivity of agriculture and allied sectors.
Strategy paper
ICRISAT will prepare a strategy paper for primary sector mission, hold research and development (R&D) and
establish sites of learning in districts of Andhra Pradesh.
Use of Technology
Best technological tools and scientific practices from across the world will be incorporated into primary sector
activities of state.
International expertise
ICRISAT will bring in international expertise from CGIAR centres. It will include consortium of international
organisations like International Livestock Research Centre (ILRI), International Rice Research Institute (IRRI),
International Water Management (IWMI), Asia Vegetable Research and Development Centre (AVRDC),
International Centre for Improvement of Maize and Development Centre (AVRDC), World Fish Centre and
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
This consortium will also bring in regional and national research institutions for the benefit of farmers.
Pilot sites
It will be established in 13 districts (10,000 hectares each) of state to educate farmers for increasing productivity,
profitability and sustainability through science-led development and climate-smart agriculture
Quality assurance system for soil analytical laboratories: It will be developed to undertake capacity building for staff
and upgrade existing soil labs for nutrient profile analysis.
Publicprivate partnership (PPP)
ICRISAT will assist state government in developing PPP mode guidelines, mobilise private entrepreneurs and
organise a Global Investors Meet.
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South African cricketer AB de Villiers hits fastest century in ODIs
January 18, 2015
South African cricketer AB de Villiers has hit the fastest century and half-century in one-day
internationals (ODI).
He achieved the feat in second match as part of the 5-match ODI series against West
Indies. Overall in this match, AB de Villiers made 149 off 44 balls.
Fastest century: He made the century in just 31 balls and broke earlier record of
New Zealands Corey Anderson who had hit the century in 36 balls in 2013-14.
Fastest half-century: He also made fastest half-century, off 16 balls breaking Sri Lankan cricketer Sanath
Jayasuriyas previous record who had made half-century in 17 balls.
Most sixes in an innings: His innings included 16 sixes. It equalled the previous record set by Indias Rohit
Sharma against Australia in Bangalore in 2013/14.
Second Highest innings totals: In this match, South Africa scored 439, which is the second highest total in
one-day internationals. They
surpassed
previous record of| 19038
second highest score of 438 which they
preetham
bandi | their
had made in a record run chase against Australia in 2005/06.
It should be noted that, Sri Lanka holds the world record of highest innings. They had made this record by
scoring 443 runs against the Netherlands in 2006.
2014 hottest year on record: US scientists

January 19, 2015
According to US scientists, year 2014 was the hottest year on record, with global average temperature increasing
about 0.8 degrees Celsius since 1880.
It was revealed by two separate analyses carried out by NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA).
Key outcomes
10 warmest years since records began in the 19th century have all been since 1997.
In 2014, record temperatures were spread around the globe. It included most of Europe stretching into
northern Africa, the western United States, far eastern Russia into western Alaska, parts of interior South
America, parts of eastern and western coastal Australia and elsewhere.
Recent trends of warming have been dominated by human emissions of greenhouse gases.
Earlier, it was thought of chaotic weather patterns. But later it was considered that year-to-year
fluctuations in average global temperature are caused by phenomena such as El Nino or La Nina.
El Nino or La Nina phenomena generally warm or cool the tropical Pacific oceanic region and are thought
to have played a role in the flattening of the long-term warming trend over the past 15 years.
However, 2014s record warmth occurred during an El Nino-neutral year.
Indian-American Frank Islam presented with Martin Luther King Award

January 19, 2015
Frank Islam, an eminent Indian-American entrepreneur and philanthropist has been presented
with the prestigious Martin Luther King Jr Award.
He was given the award for his contribution to the legacy of the great leader through his efforts in
international service and civil engagement.
About Frank Islam
He was born in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh to a peasant father. He had moved to US when he was only 15
years old.
He is an entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist.
In 1993, he had bought a struggling IT company in Maryland. Later in 2007, he sold it to spent rest of his
life in philanthropy, both in India and the US.
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Currently, he heads the FI Invest Group a firm that he established after selling his IT Company.
He is also board member of several think tanks, academic and cultural organisations including pretigious
Kennedy Centre for Performing Arts, the Brookings Institute and US Institute of Peace.
Books
He has written two well-regarded books on the American condition. They are Working the Pivot Points: To Make
America Work Again (2013). Renewing the American Dream: A Citizens Guide for Restoring Our Competitive
Advantage (2010).
About Martin Luther King Jr Award
It is an annual award started in 1991.

It honors the legacy of noble peace recipient civil right leader Martin Luther King Jr and the legendary
Dorothy I Height and their impacts both at home and abroad.
United Nation and Mali government declares country Ebola-free

January 19, 2015
Mali Government has declared country

Ebola free. It was announced after no new
case of deadly virus was reported in last 42-day period (i.e. two incubation periods
of 21 days for Ebola virus).
While, United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) has also
declared that Mali as Ebola free.
Key facts
Mali was the sixth West African country to record cases of Ebola virus.
First case was reported in October 2014.
As per World Health Organisation (WHO) in Mali, in total 8 cases were reported, killing 6 of them.
According to WHO, it is the worst Ebola (viral haemorrhagic fever) outbreak in history which has infected
at least 21,296 people.
Till date deadly Ebola virus has killed more than 8,400 people mostly from West African countries of Guinea, Sierra
Leone and Liberia.
World Future Energy Summit begins in Abu Dhabi

January 19, 2015
The World Future Energy Summit 2015 has begun in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
(UAE).
It is eight edition of the summit and will be four day event.
It will provide platform to delegates including world leaders, international policy makers,
industry leaders, investors, experts, academia, intellectuals and journalists from all over
the world including India.
Delegates will discuss the future of renewable energy and how to overcome the challenges in tapping potential of it.
Key highlights of World Future Energy Summit
It will provide a platform for commercial solutions to clean and green energy.
It will include exhibition of first-of-its-kind, fully integrated hybrid product that captures both solar and
wind energy to provide more consistent power generation.
Summit will also display a mobile solar power plant on a trailer with a 4.8 kWp capacity and battery
storage of up to 20 kWh and a new turbine that converts energy from sea waves.
It will also display parabolic sun-dish concentrators combined with a specialized steam generator suitable
for enhanced oil recovery, power generation, water desalination operations and power generations are on
display.
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Eminent political scientist Rajni Kothari passes away
January 20, 2015
Eminent political scientist, scholar and former Planning Commission member Rajni Kothari passed away in New
Delhi. He was 86.
About Rajni Kothari
He was born on 16th August, 1928.
He was a well-known political thinker, political theorist, academician and writer.
He had started his career as a lecturer at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda (Baroda University).
In 1961, for first time he received recognition when his essays series, Form and Substance in Indian
Politics were published in Economic and Political Weekly (then Economic Weekly) over six issues.
In 1963, he had founded Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) a social sciences and
humanities research institute based in New Delhi.
In 1980, he had founded Lokayan (Dialogue of the People), a forum for interaction between activists and
intellectuals.
He was member of the Planning

during the national
Front Government led by then Prime
preethamCommission
| 19038
Minister V P Singh.
He was also associated with number of prestigious institutions including Indian Council of Social Science Research
(ICSSR), International Foundation for Development Alternatives and Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).
Books: His famous published works include Politics in India (1970), Caste in Indian Politics and Rethinking
Democracy (1973), In Search of Humane World Order Poverty: Human Consciousness (1989) and the Amnesia of
Development and Communalism in Indian Politics (1995).
Awards: In 1985 on behalf of Lokayan, he has received the Right Livelihood Awardfrom the Swedish Parliament in
Stockholm (widely referred as the Alternative Nobel Prize). He has also received the UGCs Swami Pranavananda
Award in Political Science.
Union Government reconstitutes Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC)

January 20, 2015
Union Government has reconstituted Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). In this regard,
government has appointed 1 chairperson and 9 board members.
Chairperson
Filmmaker Pahlaj Nihalani was appointed chairperson. He will be office in for a period of three
years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
9 Members are
BJP leader Vani Tripathi Tikoo, filmmakers Ashoke Pandit and Chandra Prakash Dwivedi, film writer Mihir Bhuta,
Syed Abdul Bari, Ramesh Patange, actor George Baker, actor-filmmaker Jeevitha and actor- playwright S Ve
Shekhar.
Background
Earlier, then Chairperson of CBFC Leela Samson had resigned after Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT)
cleared the controversial film Messenger of God featuring Dera Saccha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in
lead role.
As the Chairperson of Censor Board she had denied the clearance certificate to the film saying that the movie depicts
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh as a God.
Following her resignation, 9 board members also had resigned creating vacancies in the booard.
About Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC)
It is a statutory body under the aegis of Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The Board, consists of non-official members and a Chairman (all of them are appointed by Union
Government)
Headquarters: Mumbai.
59
Its function is to regulate the public exhibition of films in India under the provisions of the Cinematograph
Act 1952 by granting them certificate under 4 categories. They are
U: Unrestricted Public Exhibition.
UA: Unrestricted Public Exhibition- but with a word of caution that Parental discretion required for
children below 12 years.
A: Restricted to adults.
S: Restricted to any special class of persons.
IIT, ONGC ink MoU to develop indigenous technologies to enhance oil exploration
January 20, 2015
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) have signed a Memorandum
of Collaboration to develop indigenous technologies to enhance oil exploration.
It was signed in the presence of the Union Minister of Human Resource Development Smriti Irani and the Minister
of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan in New Delhi.
Key facts
As per Memorandum of preetham

Collaboration
both parties will work
| 19038towards a collective Research and
Development Programme.
This programme will aim for developing indigenous technologies to enhance exploration and exploitation
of hydrocarbons and alternate sources of energy.
It is a long-term initiative between both parties for sustained research, development and capacity building.
It will provide a multi-pronged approach that will help to foster research capability and transform
experiential based learning in oil exploration sector.
It will also help to realize full potential of Indias inherent strengths to develop indigenous technologies in order to
make country global leader in this sector.
Australian cricketer David Warner fined over speak English incident

January 20, 2015
Australian cricketer David Warner was fined by the International Cricket Council (ICC) over
speak in English spat with Indian counterpart Rohit Sharma.
He was fined 50 per cent of his match fee over the incident.
Incident
David Warner had demanded Sharma speak English instead of his native Hindi during IndiaAustralias tri-series ODI match held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
The incident was sparked after India batsman Rohit Sharma ran a contentious single off an
overthrow the Australians believed came after Warners return deflected off Sharma. It should be noted that Cricket
etiquette dictates that batsmen do not run when a throw deflects off their body or bat.
Indias growth to reach 6.3 per cent in 2016: UN WESP report

January 20, 2015
According to the United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2015
report, Indias growth in terms of GDP is expected to reach 5.9 per cent in 2015 and 6.3 per cent
in 2016.
Key highlights of report
India: Its growth recovery is partly the result of improved market sentiment after the
new government took office in the second quarter of 2014 and had announced plans
to reform the bureaucracy, labour laws and public subsidies.
South Asia: Economic growth in South Asia is set to gradually pick up from an estimated 4.9 percent in
2014 to 5.4 percent in 2015 and 5.7 percent in 2016. India, will account for about 70 percent of regional
output in South Asia.
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Average inflation in this region is expected remain moderate at 7.8 percent in 2015 and 7.2 percent in
2016, as commodity prices are likely remain subdued and domestic demand picks up gradually.
Global economy: It is expected to grow at 3.1 percent in 2015 and 3.3 percent in 2016, compared with an
estimated growth of 2.6 percent in 2014.
About United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) report
This report is published at the beginning of each year by the combined efforts of
UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
5 UN regional commissions.
World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
First successful organ donation from newborn takes place in UK

January 20, 2015
Doctors from United Kingdom (UK) have carried out the first successful organ
donation from a newborn baby.
It is considered as a milestone
in neonatal care after donors kidneys and
liver were used to save the lives of two patients.
Successful organ donation involved
Kidneys, which were transplanted into a patient with renal failure.
Liver cells (hepatocytes), which were transfused into a further recipient.
The donor was six-day-old baby girl who had died after she was born in
extremely poor health. After donors death, her parents had given their
consent for organ donation in order to benefit of other sick patients.
Implication
In future organ donation from newborns will play significant role in saving the lives sick newborns dying due to
organ failure.
Indias Tigers population increases by 30% since 2011

January 20, 2015
As per tiger census report 2014, the population of tigers in India has increased from 1,706 in
2011 to 2,226 in 2014.
This tiger census report was released by Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar.
Key facts of tiger census report 2014
It shows an increase of 30 per cent in countrys tiger population compared to 2011

tiger census report.
The latest tiger census figures show that Karnataka has the highest number of
tigers in the age group of 1.5 years and more. It has 408 tigers in that age group.
While census figures show that 340 tigers are in Uttarakhand, 308 in Madhya Pradesh, 229 in Tamil Nadu,
190 in Maharashtra, 167 in Assam, 136 in Kerala and 117 in Uttar Pradesh.
As per new census, India is estimated to be home to around 70% of the worlds tigers.
For census, total of 3,78,118 sq km of forest area in 18 tiger states was surveyed with a total of 1,540
unique tiger photo captures.
Tiger census
In India, tiger census is carried out after a gap of every three years by the National Tiger Conservation
Authority (NTCA).
2008 tiger census: Tiger population estimated was 1,411.
2011 tiger census: Tiger population estimated was 1,706.
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India ranks 78th globally in Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) 2014
January 21, 2015
India ranked 78th globally in Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) 2014 list of 93 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).
GTCI measures a nations competitiveness based on the quality of talent it can produce, attract and retain.
Key facts of Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) 2014 list
Top twenty scoring countries in the GTCI 2014 are all high-income countries. While, the top rankings were
dominated by European countries, with only six non-European countries in the top 20 which included Singapore
(2nd), the United States (4th), Canada (5th), Australia (9th), New-Zealand (16th) and Japan (20th).
Rich countries were able to top in the list, since they tend to have better universities and a greater ability to attract
foreign talents through higher quality of life and remuneration, making them more talent competitive.
Top 10 in GTCI list
Switzerland (1st), Singapore (2nd), Luxembourg (3rd), United States (4th) and Canada (5th), Sweden (6th), United
Kingdom (7th), Denmark (8th), Australia (9th) and Ireland (10th).
Indias lower position indicates acute shortage of skilled workforce. It also ranks at last among BRICS members.
Indias neighbuors in GTCI list: China (41th), Sri Lanka (76th), Pakistan (89th), Bangladesh (90th).
Union Government launches monitoring system for skill development scheme

January 21, 2015
Union Government has launched Management Information System (MIS) to check progress and
implementation of Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana (DAY) scheme in different states.
MIS aims to check real time progress on skill development and enhancing livelihood opportunities for
urban poor under DAY scheme.
It was launched by Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) Minister M Venkaiah Naidu.
Key facts about Management Information System (MIS)
This system is developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC) at a cost of Rs 2.24 crore.
It enables real time and regular monitoring of the progress of DAY scheme and its seven components
which include employment through skill training and placement, self-employment groups, shelters for
urban homeless and support to urban vendors.
It will help to remove the deficiencies in the present manual submission of monthly progress reports which are
submitted by states.
Punjab government launches e-stamping project

January 21, 2015
Punjab government has launched e-stamping project in the state. It was launched by state Deputy Chief Minister
Sukhbir Singh Badal.
This project seeks to computerize revenue departments of the state in order to remove malpractices and end leakage
of government revenue. It also seeks to make revenue transactions safe and secure.
Key facts
At present, e-stamping has been initiated as a pilot project in five districts of state. They are Mohali,
Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Bathinda.
All districts of state will be covered under this project by 31 March 2015.
This project will help citizens to pay the exact fee through a wire transfer, a draft or even a cheque for
stamp instead of buying it from middlemen at higher cost.
E-stamps have various safety features which includes a unique ID generated by computer and could be verified online
and also UV, ultra violet, micro film and thermal fixtures besides an encrypted 2 D bar code.
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Maharashtra government declares Chandrapur as dry district
January 21, 2015
Maharashtra Government has declared mineral rich Chandrapur district (in Vidarbha region) as dry district. Thus
imposing ban on the sale, purchase, production and consumption of liquor in the district.
In this regard, state government has cancelled all alcohol permits in Chandrapur district and henceforth will be
shifted to other districts.
Chandrapur district is third district in state to be declared dry district. The demand for banning liquor in Chandrapur
was made in late 2010, following which a committee was set up by state government. Thus, this decision was taken
that in the interest of health of the people of Chandrapur, liquor consumption must be prohibited.
Earlier, Wardha and Gadchiroli districts from same region were declared dry districts.
Wardha was declared dry district as it is closely linked to Mahatma Gandhi with his ashram situated in Sevagram.
While, in the case of Gadchiroli the decision to declare it as a dry district was taken in 1992 owing to a public outcry
to ban alcohol in view of growing Naxal movement.
EU decides to lift ban on import of mangoes from India

January 21, 2015
European Union (EU) has decided to lift seven-month-long ban on the import of
mangoes from India. In this regard, a European Commission committee unanimously
voted to lift the ban.
The ban was lifted after an audit carried out by the European Commissions Food and
Veterinary Office in India in September 2014.
This audit had showed that India worlds biggest producer of mangoes have made
significant improvements in the phytosanitary export certification system of mangoes.
Background
EU had imposed temporary ban on import of mangoes from in 1 May 2014 after authorities in Brussels found
consignments of the premium Alphonso mangoes infested with fruit flies.
Along with Alphonso mangoes they also had banned import of 4 vegetables- aubergines, bitter gourds, snake gourds
and patra leaves.
They had imposed ban citing the reason that fruit flies from these consignments may damage European salad crops.
However, it should be noted that EU has not lifted ban on these 4 vegetables and will be reviewed at later stage after
collecting more evidence.
Twitter buys Indian start-up ZipDial

January 21, 2015
Leading social networking website Twitter has bought Indian mobile marketing start-up ZipDial. It will be first
Indian technology product startup to be bought by Twitter.
This deal is expected to cost Twitter around $34-35 million (Rs 215 crore).
About ZipDial
It is Bengaluru based startup, founded in 2011. It is co-founded by

Valerie Wagoner, an American origin entrepreneur who
graduated from Stanford University.
ZipDials mobile marketing platform gives information about businesses to users when they place a missed
call.
This interaction information is useful in areas where people arent always connected to the Internet or can
access data only through intermittent Wi-Fi networks
Its mobile mobile marketing platform has nearly 60 million users, which includes the worlds leading brands and
media companies.
63

Japanese automaker Toyota tops in global vehicle sales
January 21, 2015
Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. has topped in global vehicle sales in 2014 by selling
10.23 million vehicles, beating Volkswagen and General Motors.
While, Germen automaker Volkswagen AG is second in global vehicle sales list and has sold
10.14 million vehicles in 2014.
Detroit-based General Motors (GM) is third in the list and has sold at 9.92 million vehicles.
Some facts
In 2014, Toyotas sales grew 6 per cent in the U.S, 13 per cent in China, and 10 per
cent in Brazil compared to year 2013.
But in 2011, company had suffered a setback in top position rank, when its production was hit by the
earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan but it made a comeback as No. 1 in 2012.
It should be noted that, GM was top-selling automaker for more than seven decades. But in 2008, it was surpassed by
Toyota.
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana features into Guinness book of World Records
January 21, 2015
NDA governments flagship scheme Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) has
entered into Guinness book of World Records.
Guinness book of World Records has given certificate stating it as most bank accounts
opened in one week.
In one week, 18,096,130 bank accounts were opened as part of the financial inclusion
campaign from 23rd to 29th August, 2014. It was achieved by the Department of
Financial Services (Government of India).
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)
It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the goal of eradicating financial untouchability of the poor
by opening at least one bank account for every family in the country in less than six months.
It seeks to financially empower the poor by providing them access to formal banking system.
It also seeks to provide platform for Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) which will curb leakages in government
subsidies and thus saving government exchequer.
Initially, after its launch the scheme had a target of opening 7.5 crore bank accounts by 26 January, 2015, but later it
was revised and raised to 10 crore bank accounts.
As on 17th January 2015, PMJDY has achieved feat of opening of 11.50 crore bank accounts under it in the short
span of 5 months since it was launched.
Cyberabad CP awarded by ECI for Best Electoral Practices-2014

January 21, 2015
Cyberabad Police Commissioner (PC) CV Anand has been conferred with the Election
Commission of Indias (ECIs) National Special Category Award for the Best Electoral Practices2014.
He has been bestowed this award for the commendable election related measures taken by him
in the area of Expenditure Monitoring and Tackling Money Power during the General
Elections of 2014.
He will receive the award in Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi on January 25 on the occasion of
National Voters Day Function.
ECIs National Special Category Award
It was instituted in 2011.

It recognises the efforts and innovations of the officers and to commend and encourage individual and
team accomplishments in diverse fields of election management.
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It carries a cash reward of Rs 50,000 along with a plaque and citation.

Lok Sabha election 2014 was the first General Election after Institution of the award.
Union Government launches HRIDAY scheme

January 21, 2015
Union government has launched a Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) scheme to
preserve and rejuvenate the rich cultural heritage of the country.
Union governments ambitious Rs 500 crore HRIDAY project was launched by Urban Development
Minister Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi.
In the initial phase, 12 heritage cities have been identified which will be rejuvenated and developed under
HRIDAY.
The 12 cities are: Amritsar, Varanasi, Gaya, Puri, Ajmer, Mathura, Dwarka, Badami, Velankanni,
Kanchipuram, Warangal and Amaravati.
HRIDAY- Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana
It aims to bring urban planning, economic growth and heritage conservation together for heritage cities.
It also seeks beautification preetham
in an inclusive
and integrated manner with focus on cleanliness, livelihoods,
skills, safety, security, accessibility and faster service delivery of heritage cities.
Heritage management plan (HMP) will be prepared for the identified cities which will outline heritage
resources and develop policies to guide their conservation, restoration, future use and development.
It will seek to improve last-mile connectivity heritage sites by documentation, conservation of areas,
providing more facilities for women, senior citizens and differently abled citizens.
HRIDAY will be dovetailed with the Tourism Ministrys Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation
Drive (PRASAD) scheme which has an outlay of Rs 100 crore for augmentation of infrastructure at
pilgrimage sites across the country.
Economist Bibek Debroy takes over as member of NITI Aayog

January 22, 2015
Economist Bibek Debroy has taken over as the full-time member of National Institution for
Transforming India (NITI) Aayog.
Bibek Debroy
He has been working as a professor at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi.
Previously he has worked as Director of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies
and as a Consultant in Finance Ministry in various capacities.
He was also the Chairman of High Powered Committee of the restructuring on Railways.
He has been associated with a number of prestigious institutes in the field of academics. It includes Presidency
College Kolkata Delhi School of Economics Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, the Indian Institute of
Foreign Trade, the National Council of Applied Economic Research, Trinity College, Cambridge, and institute for
South Asian Studies , Singapore.
He has authored several books, papers and articles on Economic issues. He also has authored a ten-volume
unabridged English translation of the Hindu epic the Mahabharata.
Background
Earlier on 5 January 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had appointed Bibek Debroy along with Scientist V K
Saraswat as full time member of NITI Aayog.
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Microsoft unveils virtual assistant Cortana for Windows handsets
January 22, 2015
Technology giant Microsoft has unveiled virtual assistant-Cortana for Windows Phone
handsets.
Cortana is female voice-controlled application. It uses Microsofts search engine

Bing and data stored on the handsets to make personalised recommendations and
carry out tasks.
It is named after AI system in the firms Halo video game franchise.
Initially, it will be made available in US, then in UK and China and finally other
markets as part of a wider Windows Phone 8.1 system software update.
It should be noted that Apple and Google already offer comparable facilities on their iOS and Android platforms.
Union Budget Session will begin on February 23

January 22, 2015
The Budget Session of Parliament will begin on 23 February 2015.

Railway Budget will be presented on 26 February, while Economic Survey on 27
February.
It will be first full-year General Budget of the NDA government under the
leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It will be presented on 28 February
2015.
These dates were announced by the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs
that met under the chairmanship of Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M.
Venkaiah Naidu.
Some facts
Budget is a statement of the estimates receipts and expenditure of Union Government in a financial year.
Constitutional provisions of Budget are mentioned Article 112. It should be noted that word Budget is not
mentioned in Constitution rather it is referred as Annual Financial Statement.
Budget is presented in two parts namely: The Railway Budget and the General Budget.
Railway Budget
It is estimates of receipts and expenditure of Ministry of Railways only .
General Budget: It is estimates of receipts and expenditure of all Ministries of Union Government.
Keralas Periyar tiger reserve wins NTCA biennial award

January 22, 2015
Periyar Tiger Reserve located in Kerala has won the National Tiger Conservation Authority
(NTCA) biennial award for encouraging local public participation in managing the reserve.
Public participation in managing the Periyar Tiger Reserve
India Eco-Development project (IEDP): Peoples participation started in the reserve in

December 1996 by establishing India Eco-Development project (IEDP). It was a
community-based eco-tourism initiative, which promoted tourism activities which
helped visitors. It also promoted pepper growing in this region and marketing it.
Periyar Foundation: Later in 2006, reserve set up the Periyar Foundation which was a model for other
reserves in biodiversity conservation and community participation in managing natural resources. It
involved 75 communities living around the reserve, including tribal people.
There are around 19 different eco-tourism programmes apart from village eco-development programmes for public
participation in managing the reserve.
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Union Government launches Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao campaign
January 22, 2015
Union Government has launched ambitious Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao(BBBP) campaign to save
and empower girl child.
The scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Panipat in
Haryana.
Why Haryana was chosen to launch Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao campaign?
Haryana was chosen to launch the nation-wide Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao initiative
because of the skewed sex ratio in the state.
It has one of the lowest Child Sex Ratio in country which stands at 879 girls per 1,000 boys as against the
national child sex ratio of 918 girls per 1000 boys.
Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao (BBBP)campaign
It aims to spread awareness about the declining trend of Child Sex Ratio in the country.
Objective
To prevent gender biased sex selective elimination by strict enforcement of laws with stringent
punishment to violators.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD), is the nodal agency for the implementation of
the scheme. While, Centre has provided initial corpus of 100 crore rupees for it.
It will be implemented in 100 districts of the country, including 12 districts of Haryana.
In this regard, union government will try to ensure access and availability of essential requirements related
to nutrition, health-care, education, protection and elimination of discrimination of girl child.
This scheme will also generate awareness and improve the efficiency of delivery of welfare services meant for
women.
Prof Kaptan Singh Solanki sworn-in as governor of Punjab

January 22, 2015
Haryana governor Prof Kaptan Singh Solanki took over the additional charge of Governor of
Punjab. He will be 34th governor of Punjab.
He was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High
Court Shiavax Jal Vazifdar at Punjab Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh.
He was given the additional charge of Punjab after the tenure of then governor Shivraj V
Patil retired on 21 January 2015 after his tenure came to an end.
Constitutional provisions of Governor
Article 153: It says that there shall be Governor for each state. But 7th Constitutional Amendment Act,
1956 facilitated the appointment of the same person as a governor for two or more states.
Article 156: Governor is appointed by President and hold office during the pleasure of President. It should
be also noted that this article also mentions tenure of Governor. In this regard it says that Governor shall
hold office for the term of 5 years from date he enters office.
Supreme Court bars N Srinivasan from contesting BCCI elections

January 22, 2015
Supreme Court (SC) has barred Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President-in-exile N
Srinivasan, from contesting any BCCI election on grounds of conflict of interest.
This judgment was given by two-member SC bench of Justices T S Thakur and F M I Khalifulla.
SC judgment in case BCCI elections
It struck down the Amendment in the BCCI rules that allowed Srinivasan to own IPL
team. It mentioned the Amendment is bad as conflict of interest in cricket leads to great confusion.
67
No one who has commercial interest including N Srinivasan shall be eligible for any post in the BCCI and
so he is disqualified on the ground of commercial interest.
The Bench directed BCCI to hold fresh elections of office bearers within six weeks.
The SC bench also held that charges against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) team official Gurunath
Meiyappan (son in law of Srinivasan) and Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra stands proved in the
2013 IPL betting scam. However, charges against Srinivasan were not proved.
Along with judgment, SC also set up a judges committee under a former Chief Justice of India to decide on the
punishment in the 2013 IPL betting scam.
Saudi Arabias King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz passes away

January 23, 2015
Saudi Arabias King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz has passed away. He was 93-year old patriarch.
Abdullahs brother Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is his successor and new King of Saudi
Arabia. Salman in turn, has named his half-brother Muqrin as the new crown prince and his
heir.
Earlier, king Salman was the Crown preetham
Prince and
minister since 2012.
He was also the
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Governor of Riyadh province for five decades before that.
About Abdullah bin Abdulaziz
He was born in Riyadh in August 1924 (although actual date is disputed).

In 1962, he was appointed commander of the Saudi National Guard.
In 1982, he became crown prince and first deputy prime minister when King Fahd succeeded King Khalid.
In August 2005, he succeeded to the throne following the death of then King Fahd. He had handled the
affairs of the country for a decade, before when his predecessor King Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke.
He played important role in introducing the cautious changes in ultraconservative Muslim kingdom by
bringing significant reforms in the country. These include increased womens rights and economic
deregulation.
Under his leadership Saudi Kingdom joined hand with its powerful ally U.S. to fight against al-Qaida.
King Abdullah had been the guiding force behind Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as the
Head of worlds largest crude oil producer and exporter.
Yemen government resigns under pressure from Shia Houthi rebels

January 23, 2015
President Mansour Hadi of Yemen along with Prime Minister Khaled Bahah and his cabinet have resigned.
Yemen governments resignation comes after the President agreed to the demands of Shia Houthi rebels, who had
stormed his palace and private home in Sanaa (Capital of Yemen) earlier.
However parliament speaker Yahia al-Rai refused to accept the Presidents resignation.
Who are Shia Houthi rebels of Yemen?
This rebel group takes its name from Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, their former commander, who was
killed by Yemeni army forces in September 2004.
They adhere to a branch of Shia Islam known as Zaidism (a sect of Islam exclusively present in Yemen).
These rebels are members of a group also known as Ansar Allah (Partisans of God). They are fighting to
win greater autonomy for their heartland of Saada province, and also to protect Zaidi religious and cultural
traditions from perceived encroachment by Sunni Islamists.
It should be noted that Zaidis make up one-third of the population of Yemen. They had ruled North
Yemen under a system known as the imamate for almost 1,000 years which came to end in 1962.
After death of Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, his successors had led five uprisings. But in 2010, ceasefire
was signed between Yemeni government and Houthi rebels.
But current crisis began after President Hadi had declared that Yemen will be federation of six regions by
drafting constitution in February 2014.
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Houthi rebels have rejected this draft constitution creating federation of six regions in Yemen.
Telugu comedian and director M.S.Narayana passes away

January 23, 2015
Popular Telugu comedian and director Mylavarapu Surya Narayana has passed away in Hyderabad, Telangana. He
was 63.
He is noted for his comic timing and facial expressions with witty dialogues in Telugu
Cinema.
About Mylavarapu Surya Narayana
He was born on 16 April, 1951 in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.
He is popularly known as M.S.Narayana and had acted in over 700 Telugu

movies.
He had started his career as a teacher and later graduated into acting.
He had won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor- Telugu film Dookudu. He also had won
Andhra Pradesh State Nandi Award for Best Male Comedian five times for the films Maa Nanna ki
Pelli, Ramsakkanodu, preetham
Sardukupodam
Randi,Shivamani and |Dookudu.
19038
S. Narayana had made his debut as director in the film Koduku with his son Vikram in 2007.
Vodafone appoints Sunil Sood as India CEO

January 23, 2015
Vodafone has appointed Sunil Sood as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for its
India operations. He will be first Indian CEO of Vodafone.
He will replace Martin Pieters will step down on 1 April 2015. Presently, he is Chief
Operating Officer (COO) of the company
Martin Pieters was the longest serving CEO of a telecom firm in the country and was
CEO since 2009.
Under Pieters leadership, Vodafone India had doubled its revenues and added more
than 100 million customers. He also played important role in increasing market share of Vodafone
India and launched data services which is used by more than 57 million customers.
About Sunil Sood
He is graduate with a B Tech from IIT Delhi and PGDM from IIM Kolkata. He is also a graduate of
Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program.
In 2000, he had joined Vodafone Indias predecessor business, Hutch and has held roles leading the
companys operations in Gujarat, Kolkata and Chennai.
He had previously worked for Pepsi in a range of Indian and international leadership roles.
US scientists make safe GMO

January 23, 2015
US scientists have taken the first step towards making safe genetically modified organisms
(GMOs) by using synthetic biology so they cannot spread in the wild.
Using synthetic biology, scientists have re-written the genetic code of bacteria by using
synthetic chemicals to grow them. In this case, scientists have engineered organisms so
that they require synthetic amino acids for survival or for life.
Key characteristic of these GM bacteria is that they die if escaped into nature as they fed
synthetic amino acids for survival.
Implication of this research
Currently, genetically engineered micro-organisms are used in Europe, the US and China to produce drugs
or fuels under contained industrial conditions.
With this GMOs scientist can build safety measures so that their spread could be controlled and can be
used in the outside world.
69
Now the future challenge is to re-engineer the code of other lifeforms.
Jhumpa Lahiri wins DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2015
January 23, 2015
Indian American Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri has won prestigious
DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2015. Fifth edition of this prize was announced at
the Jaipur Literature Festival.
She has received the prestigious $50,000 DSC Prize for her book The Lowland. Her
book was chosen by 5 judges from 75 books.
The Lowland is a tale of two Indian brothers during time of 1950s in Calcutta. It depicts
story of both brothers one who get involved in the Naxalite movement in the late 1960s
and the other leaves for the United States.
Jhumpa Lahiri
Her original name is Nilanjana Sudeshna.

Works- Her debut short story collection Interpreter of Maladies (1999) has won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for
Fiction.
Her first novel was Namesake (2003) was adapted in a movie with the same name which was directed by
Mira Nair. Suresh Kalpenn acted in this movie. The Lowland (2013).
Currently, she is a member of US Presidents Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

About DSC Prize for South Asian Literature
It is awarded annually to writers of any ethnicity or nationality writing about South Asia such as culture,
politics, history, or people. It was instituted in 2011.
It is funded by infrastructure company the DSC Group.

Other recipients are: Pakistani author H.M. Naqvi (Homeboy)- 2011, Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka
(Chinaman)-2012, Jeet Thayil(Narcopolis) 2013 and Cyrus Mistry (Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer)-2014.
India, US inks pact to cooperate in ICTE to facilitate Digital India programme

January 23, 2015
India and United States have agreed to cooperate in the field of Information and
Communications Technology and Electronics (ICTE) to facilitate Union governments
ambitious Digital India programme(DIP).
In this regard, Joint Declaration of Intent for cooperation was signed by Secretary in the
Department of Electronics and IT- RS Sharma and US Ambassador to India- Richard Rahul
Verma.
Key highlights of Joint Declaration
It will facilitate Union governments flagship DIP, including electronic manufacturing and cyber security and several
other such related fields between the two countries.
Within period of next five years, it will help in strengthening industrial, technological, research and innovation and
economic cooperation between India and the US.
Under the umbrella of the ongoing India-US ICT Dialogue, it will also provide platform to US companies for
exploring opportunities to collaborate in DIP, electronics manufacturing and human resource development
SBI signs 100 mn euro loan pact with EIB

January 23, 2015
Indias largest bank State Bank of India (SBI), has signed a loan agreement for 100 million euro
(about Rs 700 crore) with European Investment Bank (EIB).
This agreement was facilitated by SBI Capital Markets, a subsidiary of SBI.
It is the third tranche of a total sanctioned loan of 200 million euro by EIB to SBI for
lending it to private businesses in the country.
70
SBI will utilize this loan to support the development of private sector in country in particular for small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It will be also utilized social and economic infrastructure as well as
climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Earlier on 25 June and 28 November 2014, first tranche of Euro 55 and second tranche of Euro 45 million was signed
between both banks.
Saraswathi Menon named on Panel to Review UN Peace-Building Architecture

January 24, 2015
Saraswathi Menon, an eminent Indian academician has been named on advisory panel to Review
UN Peace-Building Architecture.
She is among seven experts nominated by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to conduct a policy
and institutional review on UNs peace-building architecture and make recommendations.
The other 6 experts are: Anis Bajwa (Pakistan), Funmi Olonisakin (Nigeria), Sahel Sahara
Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah (Mauritania), Charles Petrie (France), Gert Rosenthal (Guatemala) and
Edith Grace Ssempala (Uganda).
7 experts advisory group function:preetham bandi | preetham.di.ban@hotmail.com | 19038
It will undertake studies in countries like Burundi, Central African Republic, Sierra Leone, South Sudan,
and Timor-Leste in order to conduct a policy and institutional review of the UN peace-building
architecture.
It will also develop findings and recommendations based on this work.
The group will submit a report to the General Assembly and the Security Council for further consideration
through an inter-governmental process.
Background
Earlier in December 2014, the Presidents of the UN General Assembly and the Security Council had asked
the Secretary-General to nominate up to seven experts to form an Advisory Group on the review of the
peace-building architecture.
About Saraswathi Menon
She is former Director of the Policy Division in UN-Women and has extensive experience as a researcher
and academician as well as in the UN system.
Earlier she was Director of UN Development Programmes (UNDP) Evaluation Office.
Her UN career includes experience in both policy and programme areas. She has served in UNDP as
Resident Coordinator, Deputy Resident Representative in various countries.
Before joining the UNDP, she was lecturer in sociology at the Madras University, Tamil Nadu.
Thailand impeaches former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra

January 24, 2015
Thailands military-appointed legislature has voted to impeach former Prime

Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
She was impeached for her role in overseeing a government rice subsidy program
that lost billions of dollars.
More than three-fifths i.e. 190 legislatures voted against Yingluck in the legislature
of 220 members. It should be noted that, for this impeachment more than threefifths votes of the legislatures was required.
Most members of the legislature who voted against her are part of the military or political opponents her
government and past governments allied with her brother Thaksin Shinawatra (former Prime Minister
who was ousted in a 2006 coup).
This impeachment means she will be banned from politics for five years.
71

While, Thailands military government is also planning to indict criminal charges on her for negligence related to
losses and alleged corruption in the rice scheme. If she is convicted, she could face 10 years in jail.
Shanta Kumar Committee on Restructuring of FCI submits report to PM

January 24, 2015
The High Level Committee (HLC) for Restructuring of Food Corporation of India (FCI) chaired by Shanta
Kumar has submitted its report to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Some Recommendations of Shanta Kumar Committee
On procurement related issues:
FCI should hand over all procurement operations of wheat, paddy and rice to Andhra Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Punjab as they have sufficient experience and
reasonable infrastructure for procurement.
FCI procurement should focus on eastern belt, where farmers do not get minimum support price.
On stocking and movement related issues:
FCI should outsource its stocking operations to various agencies such as Central Warehousing
| 19038 Sector under Private Entrepreneur
Corporation (CWC), State preetham
Warehousing
Corporation (SWC), Private
Guarantee (PEG) scheme.
It should be done on competitive bidding basis, inviting various stakeholders and creating competition to
bring down costs of storage.
Movement of grains should be containerized in order to reduce transit losses. While, railways should have
faster turn-around-time by having more mechanized facilities.
NFSA and PDS related issues
Restructuring the National Food Security Act (NFSA) by virtually diluting its scope and coverage from 67
per cent of population to about 40 per cent population.
In order to curtail leakages in PDS, government should defer implementation of NFSA in states that have
not done end to end computerization.
End to end computerization:
It recommends end to end computerization of the entire food management system, starting from
procurement from farmers, to stocking, movement and finally distribution through PDS.
It will help for real time basis monitoring in order to curb leakages.
Background
In August 2014, Union government had set up 8 members High Level Committee (HLC) on FCI restructuring. It was
restructuring chaired by Shanta Kumar.
Other members are: FCI Chairman-cum-Managing Director C Viswanath, Electronic and IT Secretary Ram Sewak
Sharma, Former Chairman of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) Ashok Gulati, Chief Secretaries
of Punjab and Chhattisgarh; and Academicians G Raghuram and Gunmadi Nancharaiah of IIM-Ahmedabad.
RBI lifts ban on carrying 1,000, 500 bank notes to and from Nepal, Bhutan
January 24, 2015
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has lifted ban on carrying Indian bank notes of Rs 1,000 and 500
denominations to and from Nepal, Bhutan.
In this regard RBI has issued a circular that eased the restriction on export and import of bank
notes of 1,000 and 500 denominations for Nepal and Bhutan.
However, RBI has put a limit of carrying such notes at Rs 25,000 per person.
Earlier in May 2000, RBI had imposed ban following the request of Union government to curb
smuggling of counterfeit currency.
Implication: It will provide a great relief to workers from both nations as well as Indian tourists travelling to Nepal
and Bhutan.
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Queen Elizabeth II Now Oldest Living Monarch in World
January 25, 2015
Britains Queen Elizabeth II is now the worlds oldest living monarch. Currently she is 88
years old.
Earlier, Saudi Arabias King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz was oldest living monarch but he died
on 23 January 2015.
It should be noted that, Queen Elizabeth II is one of the eight octogenarian monarchs in
the world. Others include the King of Thailand and the Emperor of Japan.
Queen Elizabeth II
She was born on 21 April 1926.
She acceded to the throne on 6 February 1952 after her father, King George VI died.
In 1945, she had actively joined World War II as a driver in the Womens Auxiliary Territorial Service
(WATS).
She is also the second longest reigning monarch in British history, behind her great-great grandmother
Queen Victoria.
She is Queen of 16 of the preetham

53 member
in the Commonwealth
bandi |states
| 19038 of Nations. She is also Head of the
Commonwealth and Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
Arundhathi Subramaniam wins inaugural Khushwant Singh Memorial Prize for Poetry
January 25, 2015
Poetess Arundhathi Subramaniam has won the inaugural Khushwant Singh

Memorial Prize for Poetry.
She has been conferred this prize for her work When God is a Traveller. Her name
was announced at a prize ceremony held at Jaipur Literature Festival.
The jury, which included Ashok Vajpeyi, Jeet Thayil, Namita Gokhale, Pavan K.
Varma and Soli Sorabjee had chosen her work When God is a Traveller from among
the nominated books of poetry by a single author published between September 15,
2013 and 2014.
Arundhathi Subramaniam
Work
She is a poetess and a writer on spirituality and culture.

She has authored three books of poems: Where I live (2005), Sadhguru- More Than A Life (2009),
Pilgrims India (2011).
Award
She has received the Raza Award for Poetry (2009)

Khushwant Singh Memorial Prize for Poetry
It was established in 2014 by Suhel Seth in memory of the late Khushwant Singh.
It is conferred to Indian poets writing in English or Indian language translation. The award is carrying a
cash prize of Rs. 2 lakh.
National Voters Day observed on 25th January

January 25, 2015
Every year National Voters Day (NVD) is observed on 25th January. This year i.e. 2015 is fifth National Voters Day
and theme of this year is Easy Registration, Easy Correction.
Functions
73

On this occasion, awards for best electoral practices are given to Chief Electoral Officers and District Election
Officers. Media houses and civil society organisations are also given awards for best campaign in Voters Education
and Awareness.
Background
It was initiated in 2011 to commemorate the foundation day of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The ECIs aim behind National Voters Day is to enhance registration of voters, particularly of the spring
chickens, by using this social occasion to make Universal Adult Suffrage a complete reality, and thus
increase the worth of Indian democracy.
TRAI issues draft rules for full mobile number portability

January 25, 2015
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued draft regulations to facilitate
full mobile number portability (MNP).
In this regard, TRAI has issued draft amendment to the Telecommunication

Mobile Number Portability Regulation, 2009. It will enable mobile subscribers
to retain their numbers when
they shift to other states or telecom service areas.
TRAI has sought public comments on the subject by 6 February 2015.
Key highlights of draft amendment
It insets a clause in current rules in order to safeguard interest of post-paid

mobile service users. It was necessary as these users were facing disconnection in new network even after
clearing all their dues of their old telecom service provider.
It also fixed a time line for both the old or donor service providers and new or recipient service provider. This time
line will clarify dues regarding the any with their subscribers to ensure continuity of service.
What is Mobile Number Portability?
Mobile Number Portability (MNP) enables mobile telephone users to retain their mobile telephone numbers when
changing from one mobile network operator to another.
Currently, MNP norms allow users to retain their numbers while changing their operators within the same service
area. It should be noted that India has 22 telecom circles or service areas.
Pooja Thakur- first woman officer to lead guard of honour at Rashtrapathi Bhavan
January 25, 2015
Wing Commander Pooja Thakur has become the first woman officer to lead the ceremonial Guard
of Honour at Rashtrapathi Bhavan.
On 25 January 2015, she led the ceremonial Guard of Honour which was inspected by the U.S.
President Barack Obama at Rashtrapathi Bhavan. President Barack Obama is on 3 day visit to India.
He is first American President to be Chief Guest of Indias Republic Day celebrations 2015.
About Pooja Thakur
She hails from Rajasthan.

She belongs to the administrative branch of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
Currently she is posted at Disha- the publicity cell under the Directorate of Personnel Officers at the Air
Force Headquarters.
As a sportsperson she is active in para-jumping and adventure sports.
Renowned Marathi writer MD Hatkananglekar passes away

January 25, 2015
Renowned Marathi literary critic, writer and translator Madhukar Dattatreya Hatakananglekar passed away in Sangli
district of Maharashtra. He was 89.
About Madhukar Dattatreya Hatakananglekar
74
He was born in 1927 in Hatkanangale, a town in Ichalkaranji of Kolhapur district in Maharashtra.

Earlier in 2008, he was president of Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan held at Sangli.
In 1956, he started his career as Professor of Marathi language in Willindon College, Sangli. In 1973, he
was promoted as Principal and retired in 1978.
He had written several books in Marathi. He also had translated many Marathi short stories in English and
was associated with a number of literary institutions in Maharashtra.
He had written many articles in Satyakatha () magazine. In 1986, he founded Ugawai ()
magazine.
India funds Nepals Pancheshwar project to counter Kheri floods

January 25, 2015
India will provide fund of Rs 1500 crore to Nepals Pancheshwar multi-purpose project on
Mahakali river for countering the Kheri floods in Uttar Pradesh.
This move of Union government comes after a delegation of MPs visited Nepal and had
submitted their report to government.
Pancheshwar multi-purpose project preetham bandi | preetham.di.ban@hotmail.com | 19038
It is located at Narayan Ghat of Dharchula on Mahakali River( also known as Kali

Ganga in Uttarakhand ) in Nepal. The height of dam is the 315 meters.
After completion dam will be the second largest dam in the world with a capacity of 6720 Mega Watt
(MW) power production.
In case of power sharing, India has reached into an agreement with Nepal to procure additional electricity
produced by project.
This project will regulate and control the free flow of Karnali and Mohana rivers which cause floods in Kheri,
Pilibhit of Uttar Pradesh and other Terai districts of northern India.
Saina Nehwal wins Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament 2015
January 25, 2015
Indian ace shuttler Saina Nehwal has clinched the Syed Modi International India Grand Prix
Gold badminton title 2015 in the womens singles category.
In the final match she defeated world champion Carolina Marin (Spain) by score of 19-21, 2523, 21-16 held at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
With this win she has retained this title which she had won in 2014.
About Syed Modi International India Open Grand Prix championship
It is named after a famous Indian badminton player Syed Modi, an eight-time National Badminton
champion.
After his death, a badminton tournament was constituted in his memory, Syed Modi Memorial and All
India Syed Modi badminton championship hosted each year at Lucknow.
Parupalli Kashyap Wins Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold Title 2015
January 25, 2015
Indias Parupalli Kashyap has won $120,000 Syed Modi India Grand Prix Gold badminton title 2015.
In the final match he defeated Kidambi Srikanth to win the mens singles title held at the Babu
Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
Kashyap won the final match by score of 23-21, 23-21.
About Syed Modi International India Open Grand Prix championship
It is named after a famous Indian badminton player Syed Modi, an eight-time

National Badminton champion.
After his death, a badminton tournament was constituted in his memory, Syed Modi Memorial
and All India Syed Modi badminton championship hosted each year at Lucknow.
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India, U.S. sign three MoUs on smart cities
January 25, 2015
India and United States (US) have signed three Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs) on
smart cities.
These MoUs were signed by the representatives of United States Trade and Development
Agency (USTAD) and the respective Chief Secretaries of State Governments of Uttar Pradesh,
Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh in the presence of Union Urban Development Minister M.
Venkaiah Naidu.
These MoUs seeks to give a boost to Union governments flagship smart cities scheme, by
building smart cities in
Vishakapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
Ajmer in Rajasthan.
Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh.

US will help each respective state to conduct feasibility studies, finding investors, ways to use the best technology and
formulating the plan for building three smart cities.
| 19038
While, respective state Governmentspreetham
will provide
resources like technical
information and data related to smart
cities planning; staff, logistical and travel support and budgetary resources.
Edgar Lungu sworn into office as Zambias new president

January 25, 2015
Edgar Lungu has sworn in as Zambias sixth President.

He was declared elected as President in elections held at 24 January 2015 to replace the late
Michael Sata, who died in office in October 2014.
In this election his ruling party Patriotic Front (PF) won with a narrow margin by securing
48.33 percent of total votes over his rival Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National
Development (UPND). He will be in office and lead southern African nation for the remainder
term of Satas until next a general election scheduled in September 2016.
Edgar Lungu is former defence minister from the Zambias ruling Patriotic Front (PF).
Padma Awards 2015

January 26, 2015
President Pranab Mukherjee has announced the names of Recipients of this years Padma awards. He approved
conferment of 104 Padma Awards.
Padma Awards, the countrys highest civilian awards, are conferred in three
Categories viz. Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.
This years list comprises 9 Padma Vibhushan, 20 Padma Bhushan and 75 Padma
Shri Awardees. Among these awardees 17 are women and equal number are in
category of foreigners, NRIs, PIOs. While, 4 are posthumous awardees.
The Awards are given in various disciplines- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and
industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc.
2015 Padma Vibhushan Awards
It is the second highest civilian award. It is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service.
Sr No
Name of the Awardee
Discipline
State/Domicile
1
L. K. Advani
Public Affairs
Gujarat
2
Amitabh Bachchan
Art
Maharashtra
3
Prakash Singh Badal
Public Affairs
Punjab
4
Dr.D.Veerendra Heggade
Social Work
Karnataka
5
Dilip Kumar
Art
Maharashtra
6
Swami Rambhadracharya
Others
Uttar Pradesh
76

7
Prof.
Malur
Ramaswamy
Srinivasan
8
Shri Kottayan K. Venugopal
Karim Al Hussaini Aga Khan
9
(Foreigner)
2015 Padma Bhushan Awards
Science
&
Engineering
Public Affairs
Trade & Industry
Tamil Nadu
Delhi
France/UK
It is the third highest civilian award. It is awarded for distinguished service of high order.
Sr No
Name of the Awardee
Discipline
State/Domicile
1
Jahnu Barua
Art
Assam
2
Dr. Vijay Bhatkar
Science
& Maharashtra
Engineering
3
Swapan Dasgupta
Literature
& Delhi
Education
4
Swami Satyamitranand Giri
Others
Uttar Pradesh
5
N. Gopalaswami
Civil
Service
Tamil Nadu
6
Dr. Subhash C. Kashyap
Public Affairs
Delhi
7
Dr.
(Pandit)
Gokulotsavji Art
Madhya Pradesh
Maharaj
8
Dr. Ambrish Mithal
Medicine
Delhi
9
Sudha Ragunathan
Art
Tamil Nadu
10
Harish Salve
Public Affairs
Delhi
11
Dr. Ashok Seth
Medicine
Delhi
12
Rajat Sharma
Literature
& Delhi
Education
13
Satpal
Sports
Delhi
14
Shivakumara Swami
Others
Karnataka
15
Dr. Kharag Singh Valdiya
Science
& Karnataka
Engineering
16
Prof. Manjul Bhargava(NRI/PIO)
Science
& USA
Engineering
17
David
Frawley Others
USA
(Vamadeva)(Foreigner)
18
Bill Gates(Foreigner)
Social Work
USA
19
Melinda Gates (Foreigner)
Social Work
USA
20
Saichiro Misumi(Foreigner)
Others
Japan
2015 Padma Shri Awards
It is the fourth highest civilian award. It is awarded for distinguished service in any field.
Sr
Name of the Awardee
Discipline
State/Domicile
No
1
Dr. Manjula Anagani
Medicine
Telangana
Science
& Karnataka
2
S. Arunan
Engineering
3
Kanyakumari Avasarala
Art
Tamil Nadu
Literature
& Jammu & Kashmir
4
Dr. Bettina Sharada Baumer
Education
5
Naresh Bedi
Art
Delhi
6
Ashok Bhagat
Social Work
Jharkhand
7
Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Art
Maharashtra
Literature
& Assam
8
Dr. Lakshmi Nandan Bora
77

9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
Education
Literature
Education
Prof. (Dr.) Yogesh Kumar Chawla
Medicine
Jayakumari Chikkala
Medicine
Literature
Bibek Debroy
Education
Dr. Sarungbam Bimola Kumari Devi
Medicine
Dr. Ashok Gulati
Public Affairs
Dr. Randeep Guleria
Medicine
Dr. K. P. Haridas
Medicine
Rahul Jain
Art
Ravindra Jain
Art
Literature
Dr. Sunil Jogi
Education
Prasoon Joshi
Art
Dr. Prafulla Kar
Art
Saba Anjum
Sports
Literature
Ushakiran Khan
Education
Dr. Rajesh Kotecha
Medicine
Prof. Alka Kriplani
Medicine
Dr. Harsh Kumar
Medicine
Literature
Narayana Purushothama Mallaya
Education
Literature
Lambert Mascarenhas
Education
Dr. Janak Palta McGilligan
Social Work
Veerendra Raj Mehta
Social Work
Tarak Mehta
Art
Neil Herbert Nongkynrih
Art
Chewang Norphel
Others
Trade
T. V. Mohandas Pai
Industry
Dr.Tejas Patel
Medicine
Jadav Molai Peyang
Others
Bimla Poddar
Others
Science
Dr. N. Prabhakar
Engineering
Dr. Prahalada
Science
Engineering
Dr. Narendra Prasad
Medicine
Literature
Ram Bahadur Rai
Education
Mithali Raj
Sports
P. V. Rajaraman
Civil Service
Literature
Prof. J. S. Rajput
Education
Kota Srinivasa Rao
Art
Literature
Prof. Bimal Roy
Education
Dr. Gyan Chaturvedi
&
Madhya Pradesh
&
Chandigarh
Delhi
Delhi
&
Manipur
Delhi
Delhi
Kerala
Delhi
Maharashtra
Delhi
&
Maharashtra
Odhisa
Chhattisgarh
Bihar
&
Rajasthan
Delhi
Delhi
Kerala
&
Goa
&
Madhya Pradesh
Delhi
Gujarat
Meghalaya
Jammu & Kashmir
Karnataka
&
Gujarat
Assam
Uttar Pradesh
Delhi
&
Maharashtra
&
Bihar
Delhi
&
Telangana
Tamil Nadu
Uttar Pradesh
&
Andhra Pradesh
West Bengal
78

47
48
Shekhar Sen
Gunvant Shah
Art
Literature
&
Education
Literature
&
49
Brahmdev Sharma (Bhaiji)
Education
Literature
&
50
Manu Sharma
Education
51
Prof. Yog Raj Sharma
Medicine
Science
&
52
Vasant Shastri
Engineering
Science
&
53
S. K. Shivkumar
Engineering
54
P. V. Sindhu
Sports
55
Sardara Singh
Sports
56
Arunima Sinha
Sports
57
Mahesh Raj Soni
Art
58
Dr.Nikhil Tandonpreetham bandi | preetham.di.ban@hotmail.com
Medicine| 19038
59
H. Thegtse Rinpoche
Social Work
60
Dr.Hargovind Laxmishanker Trivedi
Medicine
61
Huang Baosheng(Foreigner)
Others
Science
&
62
Prof. Jacques Blamont(Foreigner)
Engineering
Late
Shri
Syedna
Mohammad Others
63
Burhanuddin(Posthumous)
Literature
&
64
Jean-Claude Carriere(Foreigner)
Education
Trade
&
65
Dr. Nandrajan Raj Chetty(NRI/PIO)
Industry
George L. Hart(Foreigner)
66
Others
Jagat Guru Amrta Suryananda Maha Others
67
Raja(NRI/PIO)
Late
Shri
Meetha
Lal
Mehta Social Work
68
(Posthumous)
69
Tripti Mukherjee(NRI/PIO)
Art
70
Dr. Dattatreyudu Nori(NRI/PIO)
Medicine
71
Dr. Raghu Rama Pillarisetti(NRI/PIO)
Medicine
72
Dr. Saumitra Rawat(NRI/PIO)
Medicine
Literature
&
73
Prof. Annette Schmiedchen(Foreigner)
Education
Pran
Kumar
Sharma
alias Art
74
Pran(Posthumous)
75
R. Vasudevan(Posthumous)
Civil Service
These Padma Awards are conferred by the President of India at a function held
March/ April every year
Maharashtra
Gujarat
Delhi
Uttar Pradesh
Delhi
Karnataka
Karnataka
Telangana
Haryana
Uttar Pradesh
Rajasthan
Delhi
Arunachal Pradesh
Gujarat
China
France
Maharashtra
France
USA
USA
Portugal
Rajasthan
USA
USA
USA
UK
Germany
Delhi
Tamil Nadu
at Rashtrapati Bhawan around
Anti-austerity Syriza party wins Greeces general elections

January 26, 2015
In Greece, anti-austerity Syriza party has won general election.
In this election Syriza party has won about half the seats in Parliament.
While the earlier ruling government led by outgoing Prime Minister Antonis Samaras
of centre-right New Democracy party has been placed second.
79

Syriza party
It was formed in 2004 as an umbrella group. Syriza- an acronym means the Radical Coalition of the Left.
It is led by Alexis Tsipras and first came to prominence following the 2008 Greek riots.
In this general election, Syriza Party has promised to end Greeces painful austerity measures and wants to
renegotiate its debt.
Major Mukund Varadarajan and Naik Neeraj Kumar Singh awarded Ashok Chakra posthumously
January 26, 2015
Two army personnel, Major Mukund Varadarajan and NaikNeeraj Kumar Singh were awarded the
highest peacetime military honour, the Ashok Chakra posthumously by President Pranab
Mukherjee.
The awards were received by their wives at the 66th Republic Day celebrations.
Both the army men had laid down their lives while battling groups of militants in separate
operations in Shopian and Kupwara districts of Kashmir.
In April 2014, Major Mukund Varadarajan who was an officer in the Rajput Regiment of the Indian Army
had killed three terrorists inpreetham
an encounter
in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir.
While in August 2014, Naik Neeraj Singh was leading a search operation in general area Gurdaji of Kupwara district,
he died after heavy fire from terrorists.
About Ashok Chakra
It is Indias highest peacetime military decoration awarded for valor, courageous action or self-sacrifice
away from the battlefield
It is the peace time equivalent of the Param Vir Chakra, and is awarded for the most conspicuous bravery
or some daring or pre-eminent valour or self-sacrifice other than in the face of the enemy.
Colombias Paulina Vega crowned Miss Universe 2015

January 26, 2015
Colombias Paulina Vega was crowned 63rd Miss Universe after beating out contenders from the
United States, Ukraine, Jamaica and Netherlands.
Miss USA Nia Sanchez from Las Vegas was named a runner-up, along with Miss
Ukraine Diana Harkusha.
Paulina Vega- She is granddaughter of celebrated Colombian singer Gastn Vega.

Currently, she is a student of business from the northern Colombia city of Barranquilla.
Miss Universe
It is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by the Miss Universe Organization.
Along with the Miss World and Miss Earth contests, Miss Universe is one of the three largest beauty
pageants in the world and one of the most anticipated beauty pageants worldwide.
It was founded in 1952 by the California clothing company Pacific Mills.
For first time all-women contingent marches on 66th Republic Day parade
January 26, 2015
For the first time in the history of Indias Republic Day, all-women contingent from the three
forces Army, Air Force and Navy marched down in the parade.
Army contingent was led by Capt Divya Ajith.
Navy contingent was led by Lieutenant Commander Priya Jeyakumar.
Air Force contingent was led by Squadron Leader Sneha Shekhawat.
Each contingent had 148 women personnel. In previous Republic Day parades, women
officers were just participating.
80

Some facts
Capt Divya Ajith who had led Army contingent is a graduate from the prestigious Officers Training
Academy (OTA) in Chennai.
Earlier, in 2010 she had created history by becoming the first woman in the army to receive the coveted
Sword of Honour (which is awarded to the best cadet of a course).
Currently, Indian army does not have women in combat roles.
Eminent cartoonist RK Laxman passes away

January 26, 2015
Eminent cartoonist, illustrator and humorist Rasipuram Laxmanpassed away in Pune. He was 94.
About Rasipuram Laxman
Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Laxman (famously known as RK Laxman) was born on 24 October 1921
in Mysore, Karnataka. Famous novelist R. K. Narayan was his older brother.
His creation:
He is best known for creation

of iconic character The Common Man, for his daily cartoon strip, You Said
It in The Times of India(TOI). It was started in 1951. This character held a mirror to the society and
targeted politicians for more than five decades.
In 1988, commemorative postage stamp of The Common Man was released by the Indian Postal Service
on the 150th anniversary TOI.
He also created a popular mascot for the Asian Paints group called Gattu in 1954.
Other Works:
His cartoons have appeared in Hindi films such as Mr. & Mrs. in 1955 and a Tamil film Kamaraj.
His creations also include the sketches drawn for the television adaptation of Malgudi Days (written by his
elder brother R K Narayan and directed by Shankar Nag).
Awards: He is recipient of Padma Bhushan (1971), Padma Vibhushan (2005) andRamon Magsaysay
Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts (1984).
His Autobiography: The Tunnel of Time: An Autobiography.

Books: He had published numerous short stories, essays, and travel articles, some of which were collected in The
Distorted Mirror (2003). His novels include The Hotel Riviera, The Messenger and the short story
collection Servants of India.
Famous Greek singer Demis Roussos passes away

January 27, 2015
Famous Greek singer Demis Roussos passed away in Athens, Greek. He was 68.
He was best known for his hit operatic pop ballads in the 1970s and 1980s and for his highpitched voice and melodies inspired by Greek folklore which sold about 60 million records
worldwide.
About Demis Roussos
He was born as Artemios Ventouris Roussos in Alexandria, Egypt in 1946.
He had started his music career at age of 17, when he joined band called The Idols.
He was best known for his solo hits in the 1970s and 80s, including Forever and Ever, Goodbye and Quand
je taime.
He was also a member of progressive rock group Aphrodites Child.
81

Libby Lane, first female bishop of England consecrated
January 27, 2015
Church of England has consecrated Reverend Libby Lane as its first female bishop in a ceremony
held at York Minster (a Gothic cathedral) in northern England.
With this consecration, Church of England ended its 500 year old male dominated tradition and
considered as a historic move towards widening female participation in the Church.
Background
Earlier in December 2014, she was appointed Bishop after Church formally had adopted
legislation to allow women bishops.
In this regard General Synod- the law-making body of the Church of England had given nod to this
legislation in November 2014 which was passed by UK Parliament in October 2014.
Reverend Libby Lane
Since April 2007, she was Vicar of St Peters Hale and St Elizabeths Ashley, in Greater Manchester,
England.
In 1993, she was ordained aspreetham

deaconbandi
and| later
in 1994, as priest.
preetham.di.ban@hotmail.com | 19038
In January 2010, she was appointed as Dean of Women in Ministry for the Diocese of Chester.
Barack Obama becomes first US President to be Chief Guest at Republic-Day

January 27, 2015
US President Barack Obama has become the first American President to be Chief Guest on
Republic Day celebrations.
He is also the first American President to visit India twice (earlier he had visited India in
November 2010).
Key highlights of 66th Republic Day celebrations
In this Parade, US President witnessed Indias military might and cultural diversity. This
years parade was more based on cultural diversity rather than showing on military might.
For the parade, Barack Obama arrived in his own vehicle named cadillac one (The Beast) and not with
President Pranab Mukherjee. Thus, breaking the traditional practice, as the Chief Guest usually comes to
the venue with the President, the Head of the State.
Several States displayed tableaux depicting their local flavor and traditions.
While, some Union government departments displayed tableaux related to government initiatives like
Make in India and save the girl child.
For first time in history, all women contingents of the three services Army, Navy and Air Force marched
in the parade.
Some of Indias latest military arsenal was displayed in this years parade. However, Nuclear-capable Agni missiles- a
highlight for the past several years was not displayed this year.
DP Sinha appointed as secretary (security) in the cabinet secretariat

January 27, 2015
Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has appointed Divya Prakash Sinhaas secretary (security) in the
cabinet secretariat. Since November 2013, this post was lying vacant after Yashovardhan Azad who was holding the
post then, was appointed information commissioner.
Divya Prakash Sinha
He is IPS officer, belonging to 1979 batch of the Manipur-Tripura cadre.
Before this appointment he was special director with Intelligence Bureau (IB).
He is associated with IB for several years handling operations in key regions such as the northeast and even
Delhi.
He known to be instrumental in neutralization of banned terrorist outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM) and various
extremists groups in North east India.
82

K Durga Prasad appointed as Special DG of CRPF
January 27, 2015
Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has appointed K Durga Prasad as the special director general (DG)
of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
He will be in office for next three years or till further orders, whichever is earlier.
K Durga Prasad
He is IPS officer of 1981 batch from Andhra Pradesh cadre.
Before this appointed, he was director of the Special Protection Group (SPG), but was removed from this
post in November 2014.
It should be noted that SPG provides security to the prime minister, former prime ministers and their
family members.
About Central Reserve Police Force (CRFP)
CRPF is the largest Central Armed Police Forces in India. It operates under the aegis of Ministry of Home
Affairs (MHA).
It was established in 1939, under Crown Representatives Police but after independence it was made
statutory Central Reserve Police
Force
the enactment of the| CRPF
preetham
bandiafter
19038 Act, 1949.
At present CRPF is the worlds largest paramilitary force with 228 battalions and over three lakh
personnel.
Function: Its primary role is to assist States/Union Territories in police operations to maintain law and order and
contain insurgency.
RBI signs an information sharing agreement with Brazils Central Bank

January 27, 2015
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Supervisory
Cooperation and Exchange of Supervisory Information with Brazils Central Bank- Banco
Central do Brasil (BCB).
This MoU was signed by Anthero de Moraes Meirelles, Deputy Governor for Supervision, BCB
and S.S. Mundra, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India.
RBI by signing such MoU with supervisors of other countries is seeking to promote greater cooperation and share supervisory information among the authorities.
In this regard, RBI in total has signed 23 such MoUs, one Letter for Supervisory Co-operation and one Statement of
Co-operation (SoC), with different Central Banks of other countries and overseas regulators/supervisors.
Australian cricketer Sean Abbott wins Bradman young cricketer of the year award
January 28, 2015
Australian cricketer Sean Abbott has won Bradman young cricketer of the
year award 2015.
While, Steve Smith was awarded the Allan Border Medal and being named
both Test and one day player of the year.
Sean Abbott is the bowler, who was unwittingly at the centre of the tragic
death of Phillip Hughes. In November 2014, he had delivered bouncer to
Hughes that hit him in head during a Sheffield Shield match at the SCG
against South Australia.
Bradman young cricketer of the year award: It was instituted in 1990. It is
bestowed annually by Cricket Australia to best player under the age of 24. The recipient is presented with a bat
personally signed by Sir Donald Bradman (He had signed 100 bats in 1989 for this award)
83

India challenges WTO panels ruling in US poultry case to DSB
January 28, 2015
India has challenged a World Trade Organisation (WTO) panels ruling that challenges countrys ban on United
States (US) poultry product imports.
In this regard, India has appealed to the Dispute Settlement Board (DSB) of the WTO.
Background
In 2007, India had banned imports of various agriculture products including poultry meat and eggs from the US.
They were banned as a precautionary measure to prevent outbreaks of Avian Influenza.
In March 2012, US had dragged India to the WTO for banning these products.
WTO ruling
WTO panels ruling in October 2014 in this regard had said that Indias measures are arbitrarily and unjustifiably
discrimination on international trade and constitutes a disguised restriction on it.
US Stance
preetham
US also had contended that Indias Avian
Influenza
measures amounted to| 19038
an import prohibition was not based on
the relevant international standard or on a scientific risk assessment.
Indias Stance
While, India has claimed that the panel ruling is committed with several legal errors in its interpretation and
application of numerous articles of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) agreement.
Why US is focusing on Indias poultry business?
US is one of the worlds largest exporters of chicken meat. It is looking India as one of its potential markets poultry
exports.
While, in past few years Indias broiler meat consumption has increased and has touched to 3.72 million tonnes in
2014 from 3.45 million tons in 2013.
Maharashtra to observe Industries Day on September 17

January 28, 2015
Maharashtra government has announced that, September 17 (on Vishwakarma Jayanti) will be
observed as Industries Day in each district.
Significance of Day
It will be observed as part of State governments effort to provide balanced growth to

existing small, medium and large scale enterprises.
It will also render assistance to state government for setting up new industries to boost
the states financial health.
On this day, all districts in state will exhibit their growth potential and opportunities received for their
development in the year.
It will provide state government single platform to ensure that its policies benefit people at the grass-root
level with regards to industrial growth as well as provide employment opportunities.
In each district of state, a committee will be set up under district collectors for holding the Industries Day
celebrations.
On this day, awards to industries at the district level will be given for their exemplary performance.
Gujarat Technological University launches e-Raksha centre to fight cybercrime

January 28, 2015
Gujarat Technological University (GTU) has launched e-Raksha Research Centre to curb rising menace of
cybercrimes.
This research Centre will provide solution for issues related to cyber security by encouraging research and enhance
capability in this field.
84

Key facts e-Raksha Research Centre
This centre is established by GTU in collaboration with Cyber Peace Foundation (CPF).
Its goal is to establish a peaceful and harmonious cyber space through research in this area.
Various activities like research on latest techniques of cybercrime and capacity building on this issue to the
faculties, students and government officers will be undertaken by this centre.
It will also support Union governments Make in India campaign by manufacturing routers, switches,
firewalls, UTMs (Unified Threat Management) and other network appliances.
This centre will also train students in areas of cyber security and enhance their capability to provide
solution for issues related to it.
It will support government in protecting critical infrastructure and mission critical services including
research on malwares such as botnet by setting up malware analysis test bed.
Gujarat Technological University (GTU)
It is headed by the state government and came into existence on the 16th of May, 2007.
Ancient star with five Earth size planets discovered by astronomers

January 28, 2015
Astronomers have discovered a star that is 11.2 billion years old and has at least five Earth-size
planets.
It was discovered by team of astronomers after analyzing data from NASAs planethunting Kepler spacecraft for over four years.
Key findings
This star is named as Kepler-444. It is 25 percent smaller than our Sun and is 117 light
years from Earth.
It belongs to the first generation of stars and considered as part of one of the oldest systems in the galaxy.
This star has five known planets which have sizes that fall between Mercury and Venus.
These 5 planets are so close to their star that they complete their orbits in fewer than 10 days.
This discovery is going to help astronomers learn more about the history of our solar system- Milky Way.
Veteran Malayalam actor Mala Aravindan passes away

January 28, 2015
Veteran Malayalam actor Mala Aravindan has passed away in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. He was 76.
He was best known for his work as a comedian, character artist in Malayalam films and was also noted theatre
personality. He was also the president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA).
About Mala Aravindan
He was born in 1941 at Vadavucode in Ernakulam, Kerala.
Career
He had started his career as a tabla artist with the vibrant travelling professional theatre groups.
He began his acting career in the plays of National Theatres, Kottayam, and later associated with theatre
groups such as Natakasala and Suryasoma.
His made debut as actor in 1968 by acting in film Sindhooram, directed by Balakrishnan. Since then he has
acted in over 400 films.
Awards
He has won the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademis award for the best actor for his role in Sooryasomas play Nidhi.
85

Kalyan Singh sworn in as Himachal Pradesh Governor
January 28, 2015
Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh has sworn in as the 26th Governor of Himachal Pradesh.
He was administered oath of office by Himachal Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Mansoor
Ahmed Mir at oath taking ceremony held at Raj Bhawan in Shimla.
He was given an additional charge of Himachal Pradesh after then governor Urmila Singh,
completed the full five year term on January 24.
About Kalyan Singh
Kalyan Singh was born on 5 January 1932 in Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh.
He was elected as member of Uttar Pradesh legislative Assembly for six times consecutively from 1967.
He has served two terms as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. First term from 24 Jun 1991 to 6 Dec
1992. Second term from 21 Sep 1997 to 12 Nov 1999.
In 1977, he was Health Minister of Uttar Pradesh. He was also Member of Parliament from 2004 to 2014.
He is 20th Governor of Rajasthan and was appointed on 26 August 2014.

Article 153: It says that there shallpreetham
be Governor
for each state. But 7th
Constitutional Amendment Act, 1956
| 19038
facilitated the appointment of the same person as a governor for two or more states.
Sri Lankas new government reinstates impeached chief justice Shirani Bhandaranayake
January 28, 2015
Sri Lankas new government led by President Maithiripala Sirisena has reinstated former
Chief Justice Shirani Bhandaranayake to her former position.
She was impeached by the previous government of former President Mahinda

Rajapaksa.
With this move, countrys new government is attempting to deliver on election

promises assuring independence of the judiciary.
Shirani Bhandaranayake was 43rd and first woman Chief Justice of Sri Lanka
appointed in May 2011.
In 2013, she was unceremoniously removed from this post after she was
impeached in late 2012.
Earlier in January 2015, Sri Lankas new government had reinstated the rank of former army Chief
General Sarath Fonseka, who was stripped of all ranks and sentenced to jail by Rajapaksa.
General Sarath Fonseka was Sri Lankas only four-star general who had led the Army to defeat the Tamil Tigers in
2009. In 2010, he had fallen out with Rajapaksa and challenged him in the election of 2010. Thereafter Fonseka was
arrested, court martialled and jailed for corruption.
Maharashtra government issues Letter of Intent to buy B R Ambedkars London house

January 28, 2015
Maharashtra government has issued Letter of Intent (LoI) to buy Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkars
London house to the Indian High Commission in United Kingdom(UK).
This is the house where architect of the Indian Constitution Ambedkar had lived in 1920 during his
stint with the London School of Economics.
State government is buying this 2050 square feet three-storey house on 10, King Henry Road, NW3
of London and has finalised at a sum of 35 crore rupees.
This house is of cultural and national importance and pride of millions of people of India as Dr. Ambedkar had stayed
in it when he was completing higher studies at the London School of Economics in 1920-21.
State government after buying the house will convert it into a memorial-cum-museum and open it to public from 14
April, 2015 i.e. on the 124 birth anniversary of the architect of the Indian constitution.
86

Subrahmanyam Jaishankar appointed as new Foreign Secretary
January 29, 2015
Union Government has appointed Subrahmanyam Jaishankaras the new Secretary of Ministry of
External Affairs (i.e. Foreign Secretary).
His name was cleared by Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) chaired by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He will be replacing incumbent Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh whose tenure was
curtailed with immediate effect. She had assumed office in August 2013 and was due to
retire in August 2015.
About Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
He was born 9 January 1955 and is son of Indian foreign policy doyen K Subhramanyam.
He is Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of the 1977 batch and was one of the key officials who negotiated
in the Indias nuclear deal with the US in 2009.
Before this appointment, he was Indias Ambassador to United States and was appointed in September
2013.
Previously he had served as Indiaspreetham
Ambassador
to the Peoples Republic
of China from 2009 to 2013. High
| 19038
Commissioner to Singapore from 2007 to 2009 and Ambassador to the Czech Republic from 2001 to 2004.
SC directs search engines to block sex determination advertisements

January 29, 2015
Supreme Court (SC) has directed search engines like Google India, Yahoo and Micrsofts
Bing to block advertisements on sex determination and strictly comply with the laws.
This ruling was given by SC bench comprising of Justices Dipak Misra and Prafulla C. Pant
on public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Dr. Sabu Mathew George in 2008.
PIL had highlighted that the use of Internet and popular search engines to promote sex
determination technologies violates laws.
SC directions to search engines
Withdraw advertisements on sex determination as it violates Section 22 of the Pre-Conception and PreNatal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act,1994.
Search engines must upload this order on their policy page and also the page containing terms and
conditions of service to serve as a warning for persons intending to put up such advertisements.
Background
Though sex determination is illegal India, it is still practiced which has a severe effects on male-female
ratio.
As per UN data, Indias child sex ratio has dropped from 964 in 1971 to a low of 918 in 2011.
While between 2001 and 2011, child sex ratio has declined in more than two-thirds of the districts in the
country and this problem is worse in urban areas.
US tech giant Apple reports largest quarterly profit in history

January 29, 2015
US technology giant Apple, has reported the biggest quarterly profit of 18 billion US dollar.
It is the biggest quarterly profit ever made by any public company in World and broke the
previous record of ExxonMobil which had earlier topped by making $15.9 billion profit in
2012.
Apples revenue had grown to $74.6 billion in 2014 from $57.6 billion in 2013 i.e.
reporting 30% increase in profit.
The main reason for Apples profit is record sale of iPhones. The company has sold
74.5 million iPhones in quarter ending December 2014 with 39.9% profit per
product.
87

Apples impressive profit comes after it shifted towards the massive untapped potential of Chinese market and
partnering with China Mobile Limited the largest global mobile carrier.
Company sales in China had hit $16 billion in 2014- a 70% increase from 2013 and almost equalling the $17 billion in
sales the company recorded in Europe 2013.
Hike Messenger introduces free voice calling service to its users

January 29, 2015
Hike Messenger, a home-grown chat application has introduced free voice-calling feature called
Hike Calls to its users.
This feature will allow its users to call each other for free, over 2G, 3G and Wi-Fi and
across the globe in over 200 countries.
Hike Messenger has introduced this service, after it had acquired free calling application
company Zip Phone earlier in January 2015.
This feature has been launched in beta on Android operating system, which contributes to over 90 percent
of Hikes user base. While, the iOS and Windows versions will be released later.
About Hike Messenger
It was launched on 12th December 2012 and is a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and Softbank.
User base: In August 2014, Hike had hit 35 million users.
Nation pays tributes to Lala Lajpat Rai on his 150th birth anniversary
January 29, 2015
On 28 January 2015, nation paid tributes to national martyr of freedom movement, Lala Lajpat
Rai on his 150th birth anniversary.
Events marking this day: Various seminars and symposia were organised at many places in Punjab
to remember Lala Lajpat Rai. Special programme and sports meet was organised in his ancestral
village Dhudi ke of Moga district where thousands of people paid their tributes to national martyr
at the memorial. While, intellectuals apprised young generation about Lala and his sacrifice for
the nation.
About Lala Lajpat Rai
He was born on 28 January 1865 in Dhudike (now Moga district) of Punjab.

He was popularly known as Punjab Kesari meaning The Lion of Punjab also known asSher-E- Punjab in
Punjabi for his contribution to the freedom movement.
He was part of the Lal Bal Pal trio i.e. assertive nationalists Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and Bipin
Chandra Pal from 1905 to 1918. Lal Bal Pal trio had advocated the Swadeshi movement involving the
boycott of all imported items and the use of Indian-made goods in 1907 during the anti-Partition agitation
in Bengal which began in 1905.
He was lawyer by profession and had practiced his legal profession for few years but later curtailed it to
focus on all his efforts to the freedom struggle.
He was also associated with the foundation of Punjab National Bank in 1895 and later Lakshmi Insurance
Company.
He also had helped to establish the nationalistic Dayanand Anglo-Vedic School and became a follower of
Dayanand Saraswati (founder of the Arya Samaj).
In 1888 and 1889 he was a delegate to the annual sessions of Indian National Congress (INC) and was
elected as its President in the Calcutta Special Session of 1920.
In 1921, he had founded Servants of the People Society, a non-profit welfare organisation, in Lahore,
which shifted based to Delhi after partition, and has branches in many parts of India.
His books: As an author he had written many books which includes The Story of My Deportation (1908),
Arya Samaj (1915), The United States of America: A Hindus Impression (1916), Unhappy India (1928) etc.
88
Death: He died on 17 November 1928 after sustaining serious injuries in lathi charge carried by the police
when he leading a non-violent protest against the Simon Commission.
Union Government to sell up to 10% stake in Coal India Limited (CIL)

January 29, 2015
Union government has announced to sell up to 10 per cent stake in state owned Coal India
Limited (CIL) on 30 January 2015.
This decision was cleared by high-powered ministerial panel headed by Finance

Minister Arun Jaitley.
It will help the government to raise revenue of 24,000 crore rupees at the current
market price and meet the fiscal deficit.
Government is planning to divest 5 per cent stake in the company via share sale and
the remaining 5 per cent through the green-shoe option.
Currently, the government holds 89.65 per cent stake in CIL. As per the minimum shareholding norms for listed
companies, the government needs to lower its stake to 75 percent.
Coal India Limited (CIL)
It is a state-controlled coal mining company, headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal.

It is the largest coal producer company in the world and contributes around 81% of the coal production in
India.
Union Government of India owns 90% of the shares in CIL and controls the operations of CIL through
Ministry of Coal.
In April 2011, CIL was conferred the Maharatna status by Government of India. It is Indias 5th most valuable
company in terms of market value.
Packaging of foodgrains & sugar in jute material mandatory: CCEA

January 29, 2015
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has made packaging of foodgrains &
sugar in jute material mandatory for jute year 2014-15.
In this regard CCEA mentioned that packaging with jute material will be
mandatory for minimum 90 per cent of production in case of food grains and 20
per cent in case of sugar production.
With this decision, government is seeking to help the jute sector which generates
a lot of livelihoods for farmers and workers.
CCEA also has approved providing financial support to the Jute Corporation of
India (JCI). In this regard, government will provide subsidy to JCI on a continuous basis to off-set the
losses on account of Minimum Support Price (MSP) operations.
The quantum of subsidy will include the difference between the Purchase and Sale Price of MSP Raw Jute.
India to host ICC World Twenty20 in 2016

January 29, 2015
India is going to host International Cricket Council (ICC) World Twenty20 in 2016.
It was announced by ICC Board meeting chaired by Chairman N. Srinivasan held in Dubai. ICC
Board meeting also scheduled the ICC events during the period 2015-2019.
Following schedule was announced
India will host the World Twenty20 from 11 March to 3 April 2016. While, Ireland and
Scotland will host the qualifiers between 6-26 July, 2015.
England will host three ICC events in the next four-year period.
In 2017, England will host two events- the Champions Trophy from 1 to 19 June and Womens World
Cup from 4 to 27 August and 2019 ICC World Cup from 30 May to 15 July 2019.
2018 Womens World Twenty20 will be organised in the West Indies between November 2 and 25.
89

Eminent singer Shekhar Sen appointed as Chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi
January 29, 2015
Eminent singer, composer, lyricist and actor Shekhar Sen has been appointed as the chairman of the Sangeet Natak
Akademi (SNA).
His appointment was announced by Union Ministry of Culture and will have term five
years with immediate effect.
This post was vacant since September 2014, after then Chairman Leela Samson had
resigned.
About Shekhar Sen
Awards
Since 1983, as a singer, lyricist and composer, he has done many research oriented musical programmes
including Dushyant Ne Kaha Tha, Madhya Yugeen Kaavya, Pakistan Ka Hindi Kavya, Meera Se Mahadevi
Tak.
He also has rendered many significant bhajan albums.
He is famous for his mono act musical plays Tulsi, Kabeer, Vivekananda, Sanmanti, Saahab and Soordas.
His performances have been acclaimed in India and abroad where he has performed.
He has received prestigious awards including the Padma Shri (2015), Safdar Hashmi Puraskaar (2001) by
Sangeet Natak Academy of Uttar Pradesh, Shantaram Samman (2008) by Rajya Hindi Sahitya Academy of
Maharashtra.
You may read more about Sangeet Natak Akademi here
GNLF founder Subhash Ghisingh passes away

January 30, 2015
Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) founder Subhash Ghisingh has passed away in New
Delhi. He was 78.
He had spearheaded the Gorkhaland movement in the 1980s for a separate state for ethnic
Gorkha people living in Darjeeling district of West Bengal.
Subhash Ghisingh
He was born on 22 June 1936 at Manju Tea Estate in Darjeeling, West Bengal.
In 1954, he had joined the Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army as a soldier but quit in
1960.
In 1968, he formed a political organisation called Nilo Jhanda to protect rights of the ethnic Gorkhas.
Later, in April 1979, he raised the demand for a separate state for the Nepali-speaking people of the
Darjeeling hills.
In 1980, he had founded GNLF and led the movement, which disrupted the Darjeeling district with
massive violence between 1986 and 1988.
Later in 1988, this issue was resolved and resulted in setting up of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, a
semi-autonomous body.
He was first chairman of Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council after winning the first council elections and was its
chairman from 1988 to 2008.
World Bank Report on Himachal Pradesh released

January 30, 2015
The World Bank has released report Scaling the Heights: Social inclusion and sustainable development on
Himachal Pradesh.
It was released by Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Dhani Ram Shandil in Shimla.
This was first of its kind report prepared by the World Bank for Himachal Pradesh. The report reveals that state has
effectively balanced economic growth with social inclusion.
Some facts from report
90
Himachal Pradesh has emerged as one of the states with the best human development outcomes in the
country.
The performance in poverty reduction, education, women employment and health sectors was much
better as compared to other states in India.
The state had also taken lead in implementation of various national programmes and had given special
emphasis on infrastructural development.
The state had prepared a plan to mitigate the natural disasters which had been well appreciated by the
government of India.
But female child sex ratio, under-nutrition in children and an ageing population still remain issues of concern in the
state.
Zomato buys Turkeys restaurant search company Mekanist

January 30, 2015
Indias online restaurant search and discovery service providerZomato has announced the
acquisition of Turkeys restaurant search company Mekanist.
With this acquisition, Zomato

has
increased
its coverage from
about 27,500
preetham
bandi
| 19038
restaurants in Istanbul and Ankara to more than 50,000 restaurants across
Turkey.
Now, Mekanists traffic and restaurant-related content will be shifted to

Zomato. While, Turkish restaurants now will be able to make use of Zomatos
hyperlocal advertising model to reach out to target customers.
Over the past year, Zomato has acquired five restaurant search players in New Zealand, Poland, Czech
Republic, Slovakia and Italy.
Earlier in January 2015, it had taken over Urbanspoon for about $52 million, which enabled Zomato to
enter US and Australian markets.
About Zomato
It was founded in 2008. Since, then it has expanded to global market on its own. At present it has its
presence in India and 21 other countries.
Zomatos founder is Deepinder Goyal and he is current CEO. Its Headquarter is in New Delhi.
India tops Credit Suisse emerging consumer scorecard 2015

January 30, 2015
India has topped in the list of Credit Suisse emerging consumer scorecard 2015,among the 9 emerging economies.
This scorecard was prepared by fifth annual Emerging Consumer Survey by the Credit Suisse Research Institute.
Key facts
The survey had interviewed consumers across nine emerging economies including Brazil, China, India,
Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey.
Ranking of other countries
Brazil (2nd), Indonesia (3rd), Saudi Arabia (4th), China (5th), Turkey (6th), Mexico (7th), Russia (8th) and
South Africa (9th).
This survey had profiled the consumer sentiment and its drivers across the emerging world. Thus, providing insights
regarding consumer sentiment and future consumption patterns in emerging economies.
As per the survey, the formation of a strong government at the centre in India had triggered a major revival of
consumer sentiment in 2014.
It also mentioned that, e-commerce share in India have increased to 32 per cent from 20 per cent in 2013.
In 2014 survey, India was placed at fourth position.
91

IIT Bombay launches Mass Open Online Courses (MOOC)
January 30, 2015
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has launched Mass Open Online Courses
(MOOC) in three subjects, computer programming, thermodynamics, and signals and systems.
It aims to provide mass online education programme that will provide free online courses by
giving access to high quality, IIT-style education to Indian students in Indian language.
Key features of Mass Open Online Courses (MOOC)
It is launched as part of institutes IITBombayX platform developed in collaboration

with edX, a not-for-profit initiative by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard
University.
It will provide 16-week Computer Programming course in two parts aimed at computer programming
students.
The course on Thermodynamics is designed for mechanical engineering students and will last 12 weeks.
Signals and Systems will be a 16-week course in two parts designed for electrical engineering students.
The students will get an honour

certificate of achievement certifying successful completion of the course
after they have qualified in the tests.
It will also offer training workshops for invited teachers on effective teaching for each of these three subjects under
the Train 10,000 Teachers or T10KT programme of the institute.
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe appointed as Chairman of African Union

January 30, 2015
Zimbabwes President Robert Mugabe has been appointed as Chairman of African Union (AU).
He will be 13th Chairman of African Union (AU) and succeed Mauritanian President Mohamed
Ould Abdel Aziz for a one-year term. The position of chairman of the AU is a rotating one on yearly
basis and largely ceremonial.
About Robert Mugabe
He has ruled Zimbabwe since independence. He is Zimbabwes longest serving President and had assumed office in
December 1987. Currently, he is also chairman of the 15-nation Southern African Development Community.
African Union (AU)
It is the successor of Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and came into existence in 2002 at Durban
summit in South Africa.
Headquarters: It is located at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Motto: A United and Strong Africa.
Objective: As pan-African organization, AU aims at promoting unity and cooperation among African
nations. It also strives to spread democracy and good governance in the continent.
Members: At present the African Union has a total of 54 members. Morocco is the only African country
which is not the part of the Union.
Gujarat government launches Taluka Planning Atlas project

January 30, 2015
Gujarat government has launched Taluka Planning Atlas (TPA) project. It was launched by Chief Minister
Anandiben Patel at a function held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
Taluka Planning Atlas (TPA) project
This project has been undertaken by the state planning department with the help of director of Economics
and Statistics, Gujarat and Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geo-Informatics (BISAG).
TPA aims to help the local administration in taking effective decisions about the development in respective
regions.
92
In this regard, TPA will provide the maps that will give precise information about the current status of
various facilities and schemes.
Under this project, an atlas of 100 maps will be compiled to showcase various facilities as well as
government schemes at village level in each taluka.
It will include precise information about facilities such as number of primary and secondary schools, health
centres, dairies, cold storages, post offices, banks, etc.
It will be implemented in phases. In the first phase, atlas for one taluka each in 33 districts will be prepared
and put on state government portal Gswan.
This atlas has used the information consisting of village profile provided by every village in state as well as taluka
panchayat based on various indicators of development since 2010.
Senior IPS officer Krishna Chaudhary appointed as new ITBP DG

January 31, 2015
Senior IPS officer Krishna Chaudhary has been appointed the new Director General (DG) of
the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). His name was announced by the Appointments Committee
of Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister
Modi and will be in |office
preetham Narendra
19038 till June 2017.
Krishna Chaudhary is 1979-batch Bihar cadre officer. Before this appointment he was working as
the Director General of the Railway Protection Force.
Background
The post of ITBP DG has been vacant since 1 January 2015 after the retirement of Subhas Goswami on 31
December 2014.
Till the vacant time, CRPF DG Prakash Mishra was holding the additional charge of the ITBP chief.
Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
It is one of the eight statutory Central Armed Police Forces of India and was established on 24 October
1962, under the CRPF Act, in the wake of India- China War of 1962.
Later Parliament enacted the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force Act, 1992 to provide full autonomy to
ITBP.
At present ITBP has about 50,000 personnel strong force, to secure the 3,488 km border with China along
Tibet Autonomous Region and operates under Ministry of Home Affairs.
ITBP force also render in a variety of internal security tasks in the country including civil Medical Camp, disaster
management, nuclear, biological and chemical disasters and UN peacekeeping missions around the world.
Scientist V K Saraswat joins as full-time member of NITI Aayog

January 31, 2015
Former DRDO chief Vijay Kumar Saraswat has taken charge as full time-member of National
Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog.
V K Saraswat
He had played a very significant role in the development of the countrys first Liquid
Propulsion Engine, DEVIL.
He was Project Director of Prithvi and had steered the design, development, production and induction of
the first indigenous Surface-to-Surface missile system into the armed forces.
He was Secretary of Defence (Research & Development) and Director General of Defence Research &
Development Organisation (DRDO).
Awards: He was conferred the Padma Shri (1998) and Padma Bhusan (2013).
Background
Earlier on 1 January 2015, Union Government had announced the replacement of 6 decade year old Planning
Commission with new age NITI Aayog to function as both a think-tank and a policy forum for government.
93

On 5 January 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Chairman of NITI Aayog had appointed V K Saraswat along
with eminent economist Bibek Debroy as its full time members and Arvind Panagariya as its first Vice-Chairman.
First Canister-based Agni-V missile successfully test-fired

January 31, 2015
For the first time, a canisterised version of Agni-V missile was successfully test-fired on 31
January 2015 from Wheeler Island off Odisha coast.
This was the third successful flight test of the Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) and the
first canister trial.
Test: The missile was launched from sealed canister, mounted on a TATRA truck. It
was carrying dummy payload. Test showed that dummy payload withstand
temperatures more than 3,0000 C and hit the target at pre-designated point in the Indian Ocean.
Implication: A canister-launch system of Agni-V missile will give the forces the requisite operational
flexibility. With this system, ballistic missile can be transported and can launched from any place.
Agni-V missile
Agni-V ICBM is indigenously designed and developed by Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO).
It is Part of the Agni series of missiles, one of the missile systems under the original Integrated Guided
Missile Development Programme.
Range: 5,5005,800 km. It will allow India to strike targets across Asia and into Europe
It is a 3 stage solid fuelled missile with composite motor casing in the second and third stage.
It carries Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles (MIRV) payloads. A single MIRV equipped
missile, that can deliver multiple warheads at different targets.
Incorporate advanced technologies involving ring laser gyroscope and accelerometer for navigation and guidance.
First successfully test-fired by DRDO from Wheeler Island off the coast of Orissa on April 19, 2012. With this, India
joined an elite nuclear club that also included China, Russia, France, the US, the UK and possibly Israel.
Maharashtra government gives nod for GM food trials

January 31, 2015
Maharashtra government has given nod to confined genetically modified (GM) food trails in state.
In this regard, state government has granted no-objection certificates (NOC) for open field trials of 5
genetically modified (GM) crops. They are rice, chana (chickpeas), maize, brinjal and cotton.
NOC was granted by state government after state-level Committee, headed by Anil
Kakodkar had given clearance for field test of these five GM crops.
Based upon the results of these trials, government take further steps.
With this decision, Maharashtra has become the fourth state after Punjab, Delhi and Andhra Pradesh to
approve open field trials in GM crops.
Confined trials: It is typically carried out in small plots of one hectare or less. It is primarily meant to
collect data on the potential bio-safety impact of the GM crop lines.
Why state governments NOC are required for GM food trails?
Earlier, Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) under the previous UPA Environment Ministry had
permitted field trials of GM food in India. But GEAC had inserted mandatory condition of separate NOCs from
states for such trials. So, states like Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have banned such research activities.
94

RBI constitutes high level panel on urban cooperative banks (UCB)
January 31, 2015
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted a high-powered panel on urban cooperative
banks (UCB).
It will be headed by RBI Deputy Governor R Gandhi and comprise of eight member who will be
experienced bankers. They will submit its report within three months from the date of its first
meeting.
This high-powered panel will re-examine and recommend appropriate set of businesses, size,
conversion and licensing terms for the UCB sector.
The Terms of Reference of the high level panel are:
Businesses: Examine the line of businesses that UCBs may be permitted to undertake and their benchmark
in terms of size of business, capital requirement, regulatory regime etc.
Size of UCB: Suggest the appropriate size up to which a UCB may be able to grow without undue risk to
the system.
Conversion Criteria & licensing
terms : Suggest the criteria for allowing voluntary conversion by a UCB
and examine whether the time is opportune to give license to new UCBs.
Determine the modalities of implementing the suggestion of the Malegam Committee. Especially, whether
the 50 per cent in value of deposits should be held by voting members. Thus, propose a feasible structure
that puts majority voting in the hands of contributors of funds in UCB.
Serena Williams wins Australian Open 2015 Womens Singles title

January 31, 2015
Serena Williams of United States has won Australian Open 2015 Womens Singles title.
In the finals she defeated Russias Maria Sharapova by score of 6-3, 7-6, 7-5.
With this win Serena Williams has won 6th Australian Open title and 19th Grand Slam title.
Serena Williams
Currently she is ranked No. 1 in womens singles tennis.
She also has won 4 Olympic gold medals, 1 in womens singles and 3 in womens doubles.
Her 19 singles title includes:
6 Australian Open Titles -2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015.
2 French Open Titles- 2002, 2013.
5 Wimbledon Titles- 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012.
6 US Open Titles- 1999, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014.
Union Government releases Commemorative Postage Stamps on Swachh Bharat Mission

January 31, 2015
Union Government has released set of three Commemorative Postage Stamps on Swachh Bharat
Mission (Clean India Mission).
This set of 3 stamps was released by Union Ministry for Communications &
Information Technology and issued by Department of Posts.
These stamps were released to in order to achieve the vision of Clean and Healthy
India.
Department of Posts has selected the design for the stamps through a competition among the children on
the theme of Swachh Bharat Mission.
Swachh Bharat Mission
It was launched by the Prime Minister on the 2nd October, 2014 on the occasion of Birth Anniversary of
Father of the Nation- Mahatma Gandhi.
95
This mission seeks to achieve Clean India and aims to provide access to toilets to all households in the
country.
It also seeks to provide adequate arrangements for Solid and Liquid Waste Management.
Sergio Mattarella elected as President of Italy

January 31, 2015
Italys parliament has elected constitutional court judge Sergio Mattarella as the countrys
president.
He will Italys 12th president and succeed Giorgio Napolitano who had resigned earlier in January
2015 citing reason of poor health before his 2020 expiry term.
President of Italy: His role is mainly ceremonial but can declare legislation unconstitutional. He
also has the power to dissolve parliament, nominate prime ministers and call early elections. He has
tenure of 7 years.
96

January 2015

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Published by: GKTODAY.IN

Current Affairs : January 2015

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Current Affairs : January 2015

Punjab bans sale of loose cigarettes and tobacco ............................................................................................... 25

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EU decides to lift ban on import of mangoes from India.................................................................................. 63

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India funds Nepals Pancheshwar project to counter Kheri floods .................................................................. 75

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Union Government to sell up to 10% stake in Coal India Limited (CIL)........................................................... 89

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Current Affairs : January 2015

M Sathiyavathy becomes first woman to be appointed as Director General DGCA

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Tropical storm Jangmi hits Philippines

In 2014, in total 30 storms had

Union Government renames Planning Commission as Neeti Ayog

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India and Pakistan exchange list of nuclear facilities

India and Pakistan on 1st January 2015

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Current Affairs : January 2015

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Current Affairs : January 2015

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Airports Authority of India (AAI)

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Current Affairs : January 2015

Indian-origin man J Y Pillay reappointed as top advisor to Singapore President

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Boxing India President: Sandeep Jajodia

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